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Absolute Batman next to Akira? The growing manga store chain Manga Spot thinks today’s comics readers don’t care about old boundaries
Manga Spot isn’t just selling manga. Absolute Batman and Invincible are finding an audience there too.
NewsbyChris Arrant, Editor-in-Chief
Published on Thu Sep 03 2026
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When the company behind one of the largest manga publishers in the United States starts a manga store chain, you might expect it to only include Yen Press titles. You’d be wrong. It’s not even limited to just manga, as it includes webtoon collections, light novels, and other associated merchandise, but also American comics… and not just those inspired by manga.
Akira next to Absolute Batman.
Hunter x Hunter right before Invincible.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? It’s over there, near Slam Dunk.
Also, over there with Naruto thanks to the recent TMNT x Naruto crossover.
“We will do some American comics,” Manga Spot boss Kurt Hassler tells ICv2’s Milton Griepp. “We don’t expect that it’s going to take up half the store, but we want to appeal to a broad range of consumer interests that may not be limited to just one area of the business. We do very well with things like Invincible. Especially since the animation came out, that’s been popping. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has been doing very well. Now they’ve got the Turtles and Naruto crossover. I can safely say that that’s represented in the store.”
At a recent visit to a Manga Spot location myself, I happened to see several Marvel collections while browsing, and Hassler says that DC, particularly the Absolute books, are “doing very well.”
“It’s not really that we’re limiting it to any one product. It’s more just keeping it very top-of-mind interest, very broad audience interest, not deep dives,” says Hassler. “You’re probably not going to find a deep Aquaman book on the shelf somewhere, but if you’re looking for something that is in the cultural mindset, you’d probably find it in the stores these days.”
I reckon when DC does the Absolute Aquaman book they’ve been researching, we’ll be able to find that at Manga Spot as well.
Interested? Here’s where to find your closest local comic store, courtesy of Sweet, and here’s a guide to how (and where) to read comics online. If you’re looking for the best comics in recent memory, check out the Eisner Awards winners and the Harvey Awards nominees. And if you like free comics, here’s everything we know about Free Comic Book Day 2027.
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Chris Arrant: Chris Arrant is the Popverse’s Editor-in-Chief. He has written about pop culture for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher’s Weekly, Marvel, Newsarama, CBR, and more. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. (He/him)
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