Smallville Comics

Getting your hands on manga where I live can be really challenging, and even in stores that should stock manga don’t always do, often falling back on the excuse that ‘people don’t really buy manga’. So it is always a great find to see manga on the shelves of an actual store that doesn’t leave you wondering if you have wandered into the wrong part of town.

When my dad said that he was going to a comic book store I went along not daring to let my hopes get too high. On the drive there I was contemplating whether they will or won’t have any manga. Also, if they did have, what would they have and how high would their prices be. When we arrived I was very happy to see shelves of comics and after a quick look, I located their manga! Yay, an actual store with manga in plastic sleeves with printed prices! Yes I have been to some really dodgy stores trying to locate manga, sad I know but I just can’t help it, I want to collect my manga.

I was pleasantly surprised at what they had on offer. There were a few of the mainstream manga as well as a few others that I have really enjoyed and want to get my hands on. I was also impressed that they had two shelves worth. Plus as I braced myself for the price, I wasn’t instantly dejected. Their prices are reasonable and fair. They might seem high at first but once you realise it is still cheaper than normal books these days plus there are all the various people who the manga goes through before even hitting the shelves where we can buy it. It needs to be bought from Japan by the main distributor. The distributor puts on their mark up, then the stores get it from the distributor who then in turn also put their mark up on and soon the price adds up.

A bit of the manga that they had:

Once I had done my fill of browsing the manga I wandered around the store and found anime figurines, this was the icing on the cake called my day. Even their figurines are decently priced. All I can say is I am glad I left my bank card at home otherwise I would be flat broke for the rest of the month!

You can find them online here or you can visit their store:

41 St Aubyn Road
Corner Penzance and St Aubyn Road,
New Redruth, Alberton, Johannesburg,
Gauteng

You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter! If you can’t get to their actual store and buying online makes you uneasy, a little birdie told me that they would be at rAge this year just like they have been over the past four years!