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We are
Gateway Comics and Manga!
(formerly known as Issues Comics and Culture)
Well hi!! We’re Tom and Bea, and in late 2023 we had the bright idea to commit our free time to selling our second hand comics and manga collection, and sharing the stories we love with people we’ve never met. We bought ourselves a bunch of supplies and set up at our first Camberwell Sunday Market in December, and things took off from there. We found our confidence and tried out some more markets across Melbourne, getting a little bigger with every event we’ve done. Now we’ve got some hard time under our belt, our backs ache and our car’s suspension is crying (newsflash-a car full of books is HEAVY), but we’re more motivated than ever!
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When we started as Issues, we had a vision for where we were headed that involved a lot more single issue comic books, but in our time on this ride, we’ve found our biggest passion in connecting people with more complete stories, and helping people find their new passions. There truly is a story for everyone, and a lot of people just need to find their one special book to make the whole idea of reading comics/manga/graphic novels click for them. So our collection and selection of books has grown tenfold as we’ve brought in a constantly revolving selection of second hand books, as well as growing our selection of brand new small press books from local and international creators.
With a more complete idea of who we are and what we want to be, it only made sense to change our name to Gateway Comics and Manga, complete with a fresh coat of paint, a new logo and an adorable mascot in Gary the Gateway Gator, courtesy of our good friend and local creator Gwangi. Our new name feels like a mission statement to us, we want to be the Gateway into this world for you, and if you’re already here, we want to be the Gateway to your next obsession. Our dream has always been to open our own physical store, a place where we get to do this every day. A place where you always feel welcome and accepted, whether you’re a long time fan, or just delving into a new hobby for the first time. Where you can feel free to like the things you like, and where the people behind the counter always care about you and your story. We now feel like we’re on the road to that destination, and we really hope you’ll join us for the ride!
us at our first ever market!