alternative manga: where to buy (that isn’t amazon)
i posted this on my anilist so i might as well post it here too. this is an incomplete list of bookstores & publishers specializing in alternative manga (as well as alternative comics of other nationalities) that you can browse and support! many of these are especially great if you want to explore the world of japanese avant-garde comics that pushes beyond the typical western stereotypes of what “manga” is like, although styles vary widely between sites (some publish more gekiga, others more underground comix, and others still defy broad categorization). i included in parentheses what language(s) they sell manga in. these are just off the top of my head, mostly places i’ve bought from myself.
drawn and quarterly (english)
breakdown press (english)
black hook press (english)
fantagraphics (english)
floating world comics (english)
glacier bay books (english, japanese)
hollow press (english, italian, japanese)
domino books (english)
the beguiling (english)
star fruit books (english)
gutter pop comics (english)
other books (english, spanish)
50 watts books (english)
TACO ché (japanese)
akatako (japanese)
popotame (japanese)
seikosha (japanese)
torch comics (japanese)
dennou mavo (japanese)
igarou (japanese)
ax store (japanese)
888 books (japanese)
hakusen (japanese, english)
suika toka no tane (japanese)
seirin kogeisha (japanese) — note: while you cannot buy books directly from their site, there is a bookstore navigator to find bookstores that sell their products.
le dernier cri (french, english)
lézard noir (french)
éditions imho (french)
éditions matière (french, japanese, english)
cococino press (italian)
canicola (italian)
fat bottom books (spanish)
milky way ediciones (spanish)
norma editorial (spanish)
editorial ivréa (separate peninsular & argentinian spanish, finnish)
panini comics (spanish, italian)
sendai editora (portuguese, english)
feel free to offer any suggestions, as i update this list regularly as i discover more places!
happy shopping :)
