There really is no Cass to be had in Tokyo...

Well, I gave it a try.  As soon as I hit Tokyo, I went to Monster in Ebisu.  They had a very few new comics, some back issues that were all from this year and a small selection of graphic novels and trade collections.  Despite not finding a huge wall of comics, I still managed to spend 8,100 yen.  I bought as many Boom! Studios Peanuts as I could find-- Peppermint Patty in dress?-- plus the second and third issues of Marvel's Fearless Defenders and two issues of Dark Horse's new Star Wars ongoing, along with some other books I probably never would have bought save for desperation.  Monster has some 200 yen issues, but most comics will cost you between 420-480 yen or so.  That's nothing unusual for Japan.

Monster was a very cool shop to hang out in even if the comic book selection was pretty slender.  It's easy to find, only a minute or so from Ebisu station-- right on the Yamanote Line, so there's no chance of getting lost-- and the store is absolutely jam-packed with superhero and movie toys.  They seem to specialize in Star Wars but they had a lot of DC and Marvel action figures and statues, plus all kinds of other neat little items.  This stuff isn't cheap, but Monster is worth a stop if you're jonesing for little Luke Skywalkers (or that mega-expensive two-figure 1/6th scale Bespin Luke from Hot Toys; he was in stock), die cast metal Batmobiles or plastic figures of Wonder Woman in her new costume.  Or if you just like looking at such things.  They had some Batgirl toys, but nothing featuring Cass.  Probably because there are so few of them and most of those were made years ago.

The customers were nice, a mixed crowd of young men and women, some parents and their little kids browsing and having pop culture fun.  I also found the staff very pleasant.  Big smiles and arigato gozaimashitas to seal the deal.  I had a great time there, and I can't say I was disappointed not to find an overlooked stash of Batgirls and Outsiders with Cass.  That was always a longshot.  I'll be making regular visits to Monster when I go to Tokyo.  It beats hauling my butt all the way to Akihabara to see the same things, plus there are a lot of intriguing restaurants on the same street.

With Blister closed for the weekend, my only other choice was to find Manga No Mori in Ikebukuro.  This proved an exercise in frustration.  I finally located its former location, which is now a K-Books Men's.  They sell those plastic statues and artwork of cutie-pie nearly-nekkid anime/manga girls.  Kind of ironic, when one of the draws of Manga No Mori was its reputation for catering to female customers.  I didn't expect to find any Cass there-- another shot in the dark-- but I had hoped to find the store at least.  Since I'm not into the kind of stuff they sell, I didn't linger at K-Books Men's.

So, once again, if you're a Cassandra Cain fan and you're in Japan, don't expect to find her hanging around.

Looking for Cass in Ebisu...

Okay, for the longest time I've been claiming Blister in Nihonbashi was the only place to get American comics in Tokyo.  By comics I mean the newest monthly issues, not the trades; tons of those can be had at Tower Records (Shibuya) and Kinokuniya (various, but Shinjuku is probably the one you want).  I'm happy to say I was (more than likely) wrong about that.  I have to go to Tokyo for some official business this weekend and since Blister is closed the days I'll be there, I started doing some Internet searches for other possible sources for four-color amusements of the Cassandra Cain kind.  Or possibly the Hellboy-ish.

To get to the point, I found a nice blog by someone named Filipo who apparently lives in Japan and collects comics.  Filipo missed a chance at Blister (the dreaded orange wall of closure gives me the willies), but found a place called Monster, located in Ebisu.  Monster is mostly a toy shop but they have a small selection of American comics.  Actually, from Filipo's description, Monster seems pretty much like Blister.  Maybe not as ambitious as the original Blister, which was freakin' geek paradise and a must-stop for those tripping through Japan with comic book print running in their veins instead of blood.  But still Blister-esque as far as the current incarnation of Blister goes.

I'd been planning to keep things simple-- I would have been satisfied with finding Manga no Mori in Ikebukuro-- because this is really a business trip, but now I'm going to have to stop at Ebisu and find Monster just to see if it's worth making it a regular destination.

Also, if they happen to have any Cass Cain Batgirl back issues, I'll be buying every single one of them.

Potential Cass hunt denied! Or... is it?

I have to go to Tokyo in a couple of weeks so I can get something notarized at the US embassy.  I thought about dropping by Blister in Nihonbashi to see if maybe they'd restocked any back issues of Cass Cain's Batgirl series-- remember, I bought every single one of them a few years ago-- or if some of those out-of-print trade collections had miraculously shown up.  They had Fists of Fury and Destruction's Daughter last time I was there.  Maybe someone in a distributor's warehouse somewhere in Japan found a box of DC trades with Silent Running, Death Wish Or A Knight Alone and sent it along.  That was my fantasy, and stranger things have happened.

Like the family that found they'd inherited 44 of the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide's top 100 Golden Age comics.

But it's not to be.  Blister isn't open on any of the days I'm there.  There's still a chance I can locate Manga no Mori in Ikebukuro, where I've heard there are a few American comics available.  My information is a bit outdated, plus the last time I was there the selection was limited.  A couple of dozen, if I'm remembering correctly, which I doubt.  But even if I'm wrong, there aren't many more than that.  I also don't remember if there were any Batgirl issues in the mix.  I don't think there were, but it may be that I'd already bought the ones I saw there so my brain just blotted them out or filed the memory away in some inaccessible neuron.

The trick is finding this place.  It's small and not on a main street.  I wandered around for about half and hour looking for it and that was probably six or even seven years ago.  What makes it easier on me this time is I'm staying in Ikebukuro and it should only be a twenty-minute walk at most.

I feel I owe it to you dedicated Cass fans out there to at least try.  Plus, it's something to write about here while we're waiting for any real news from DC about Cassandra Cain.

Incredibly, against all expectations, there was Cass to be had in Tokyo!

Whenever I'm in Tokyo, I try to find American comics (or even Japanese comics translated into English).  The best place for this is Blister, a small comic book store in Hamacho.  They're only open a few brief hours during the week but we managed to fit in a stop there during our busy holiday ramble.  And what did I find?

The Batgirl:  Destruction's Daughter trade paperback collection and yet another copy of Batgirl: Fists of Fury.  I believed DC let all their Cass Cain Batgirl collections go out of print-- and also that I'd bought the last Fists of Fury available in Japan earlier in the year-- but these two may actually still be alive out there somewhere.  Seeing them was a happy surprise.  Since I have sworn to buy everything Cass I come across that I don't already own, I immediately bought Destruction's Daughter, even though I find for everything cool within there's something equally lame.  Fists of Fury is superior in almost every way.  That's not to say Destruction's Daughter is all bad.  We'll discuss this at a later time.

How much did I pay for this gem?  A mere 2000 yen.  As of today, that's 23.29 USD, three bucks and change over the SRP.  In Japan, when we're talking imported comics, that qualifies as a bargain.  I'm not sure how much Fists of Fury was retailing for this time around.

There are no copies of the monthly series at Blister.  If there had been, I would have bought all of them.  There are plenty of the Stephanie Brown Batgirl and the New 52 Batgirl to be had.  This is because they're of a more recent vintage and I'm not into them.  For me, it's Cass or nothing.

Tower Records in Shibuya and Kinokuniya in Shinjuku had no Cass books whatsoever.  Perhaps she's a guest star in something with Robin or Red Robin or Batman, but I'm not into any of those, either, so I didn't check.

In related news, I finally signed up for Comixology so I can participate in some of these pro-Cass campaigns.  It's difficult for me to wait for the official days, though.  I'm seriously considering just jumping the gun and buying some digital Cass while I'm all fired up about her again!