Got New Euro-Comics - Mobile Edition

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Got New Euro-Comics
By Hervé St-Louis
December 13, 2009 - 07:23

I'm doing a stop over in Montreal and instead of going after poutine, smoked meat or some cool designer shirt and suits that would be ridiculously expensive if purchased in Calgary, I went after some bandes dessinées - Euro-comics.

This is one thing I always do when I go to Montreal. Montreal is the only place I know in the world where one can easily get all types of original comics from the European continent, Japan and North America. The Chinatown is not the most extensive of Chinatowns, but it does have its quality stores where I once bought the entire collection of the Roses of Versailles in the original Japanese collected edition for around $100. Then of course every North American comic book is easy to locate at some of the many comic book stores in the city. Finally, European comics can be found all over the city in any bookstore.

A few comic shops, like I've written about a few years ago even carry both European and North American comics on the same venue, making it quite easy to get all the great stuff in one place.

European comics can be expensive. Most of them come in hardcover formats and are printed in large formats. Maybe it's time the publishers experimented more often with soft covers and cheaper formats. $30 for a 40-50 page story is not a good deal and may limit who can read these comic books. I'm pretty sure more North American venues would be more risky with getting European comics for their customers if they were cheaper and less risky to stock up on. Distribution channels for European comics are well established through Canadian distribution channels which are compatible with other distributors in North America.

Although they are expensive and not often translated into English, European comic book collectors can check out this old article I wrote a few years ago on how to buy European comic books in North America. It's full of tips and interesting links from stores that are still in business.

cheers