Like many comic shops, Blerds Underground carries manga as part of their overall mix, along with comics and other graphic novels. Blerds (Black nerds) Mike Davis and Marcell Kirk founded the store in 2022, and it aims to be a family-friendly store with a diverse range of merchandise that is welcoming to everyone. “We are a very small store in terms of square-footage, but we have a huge community of friends-turned-customers and customers-turned-friends supporting us, and that community continues to grow,“ co-owner Zoë Seick told ICv2. “While our inventory isn‘t that of a multi-location business, we are always happy to do the work to track down and special order a title for any customer, new or old. The most important goal of Blerds Underground is to be a space where every reader and fan feels welcome and safe.“
Blerds Underground Current Vibe
Location: 15 1/2 South LaGrange Road
La Grange, Illinois 60525
What is the overall sales trend in your store in the last month compared to a year ago, and is manga hotter or cooler now?
Overall, our shop has continued to see a modest but continuous increase in sales across genres. While our manga section has seen slower growth, the release of many English language editions of titles with new anime releases or live-action adaptations has certainly helped our little shop attract more manga/manhua/manhwa readers.
What is the mood of customers in your store?
Our regulars represent a large portion of our customers, and lively and energizing conversations are overwhelmingly the norm; but we work to create an equally welcoming environment for everyone from first-time shoppers to our day-one regulars.
What titles are generating new excitement?
The release of anniversary editions of titles like Shugo Chara! and Tokyo Babylon have grabbed the attention of younger readers who weren‘t around at the time of their original release, while Half Is More grabbed the attention of a few of our non-manga reading regulars!
On the comics side, the return of Miles Morales and the hype of the Spider-Man: Brand New Day movie have shifted popularity back toward Marvel from the domination of the Absolute runs on the DC side.
What manga are bringing new customers into the store?
Any title with an anime counterpart can bring an unfamiliar face into the shop, but especially One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Dandadan Outside of the anime vs. manga realm, though, Junji Ito is our most requested creator.
What‘s bringing new customers into your store besides manga: movies, anime, webtoons, something else?
Aside from the anime that pulls in new manga readers, our biggest draw is definitely movie and television adaptations. The successes of last year‘s Superman and this year‘s Supergirl and Spider-Man: Brand New Day have driven a huge portion of our non-subscriber customers. And the Invincible television show brings new readers in every season, whether to catch up with the comics before a new season releases or to tide over fans during the inter-season hiatus.
What are the biggest challenges you have had to face in the last month?
Anticipating the next big hit is always a challenge, and because we are such a small store we have to be cautious to avoid over-ordering anything. Thankfully we prepared well for the excitement around the Queen in Black event from Marvel but unfortunately under-anticipated the demand for the new Miles Morales run when many of our original subscribers had fallen off the last one.
Similarly, limited space adds a wrinkle to maintaining a good stock of manga titles, and we’re still learning where our safest bets lie.
What‘s your pick hit for a manga you think will do really well in the next 3 months?
This may be – and almost definitely is – my bias toward anything adorable, but I think Fluffy Café in Another World is going to be a cozy hit for our store this year. The release of the second volume in June sparked more interest in the series than the initial volume, and volume three releasing next month should hopefully carry that interest through the back-to-school season and into the fall.
Click Gallery below for photos!
For more ICv2 Manga Week – Fall 2026 coverage, click here.
Source: ICV2
