11. Buy it at an anime or comic convention
The exhibit halls at most anime conventions big and small will almost always have a manga vendor or three. I've bought manga at deep discounts at these shows, sometimes as low as a buck a book. Many publishers will also offer special discounts just for show attendees at their booths.
Ready to shop? See the current schedule of upcoming anime and comic conventions for the next con coming soon to a city near you.
12. Join a manga "rental" service
Following the Netflix model of media rental, California-based Manga Takeout offers a flat rate, all-you-can-eat model of manga and anime DVD rental. Well, all you can eat is relative, because you're only allowed out two manga at any given time, at any membership rate. Monthly DVD and manga rental memberships start at $24.95/month.
The upside? You can read as many as you can manage to cram into a month. The downside? The books are sent via USPS media mail, which takes several days longer than standard first class mail for delivery.
13. Sample manga online with free previews
Before you commit to buying a new manga series, check out the free previews online. Several publishers provide access to a few sample pages of the first volume of a manga series to give you a taste of the art and the story. Here are a few publishers' sites that offer free manga previews.
- Del Rey Manga
- Go! Comi
- Shojo Beat / VIZ Media
- Shonen Jump / VIZ Media
- TokyoPop
- Yaoi Press (adult content)
14. A few words about scanlations
Scanlations or unauthorized fan translations is a popular way for manga fans to read and enjoy the latest chapters of their favorite manga. It's also the prime way that fans can check out manga series that haven't been licensed or translated in English. Scanlations can create a lot of fan buzz that can lead to a story being picked up by a publisher.
All that's great, but scanlations shouldn't be a substitute for buying the licensed, authorized versions when they're available. Keep in mind that like pirated downloads of movies and music, scanlations give nothing back to the original creators. Whenever possible, support the artists who create what you love, so we can continue to see lots more great manga for years to come.
