Do you have a massive manga library? Are you a collector of rare, weird, or out-of-print titles? Could the Library of Congress learn something from the way you’ve organized your manga? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions — or simply take great pride in your collection — please consider contributing to Show Us Your Stuff, a weekly column in which otaku proudly display their manga and discuss their reading habits. (Click here to view previous columns.)
To contribute, please include the following items in an email to me:
Pictures of your collection. If you have a flickr account, just post your pictures on flickr and send me a link to the gallery. If you don’t, no worries–please send higher-quality jpg files in a zipped folder. Most contributors submit 5-8 pictures.
A brief statement about who you are. You don’t have to reveal anything that makes you feel uncomfortable (e.g. where you live, what you do for a living, your last name), though you’re welcome to include links to blogs, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, Tumblr accounts, etc.
A completed questionnaire (see bullet list below). You can answer in as much or as little detail as you want; the goal is to help readers understand your taste in manga and how your taste has informed your collecting habits.
- How long have you been collecting manga?
- What was the first manga you bought?
- How big is your collection?
- What is the rarest item in your collection?
- What is the weirdest item in your collection?
- How has your taste in manga evolved since you started your collection?
- Who are your favorite comic artists/manga-ka?
- What series are you actively collecting right now?
- Do you have any tips for fellow collectors (e.g. how to organize a collection, where to find rare books, where to score the best deals on new manga)?
Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis, and are posted in the order in which they’re received. Anyone with a passion for manga is encouraged to submit their collection, regardless of the size. Questions? Feel free to send me an email or reach out to me on Twitter.