Summer Comic Market

Friday, August 11th. In the hazy summer heat of Japan, the world's biggest doujinshi (fan fiction and/or fan art) convention, "Comic Market 58", or "Natsu Komi" ("Summer Comic Market") opened its doors for the first of three days. This year, it was held in one of the biggest convention centers in the country, Tokyo Big Sight (AKA Tokyo International Exhibition Center), located near central Tokyo.

What is "Comiket"?

"Comic Market", which is abbreviated officially as "Comiket" but better known as "Komike" to fans, is a convention run by a nonprofit organization called the "Comiket Preparation Committee", chaired by Yoshihiro Yonezawa. (The name "Comic Market" and "Comiket" are registered trademarks of this committee.)

This is an event where the fans of manga, anime and games (and any other form of entertainment from board games to TV celebrities) get together to share their work. Since it is basically a festival run by fans for fans, admission is free, and purchasing a program/catalogue is optional - the main one costing 2,100 yen in advance, and 1,700 yen at the door. Some may think that the CPC charge too much for the catalogue, but for a book the size of a telephone directory featuring samples of work it really is worth the price. Not only does the catalogue include lists and comments for all of the 34,000 circles and company booths present at Komike, it also has comments from the circles that could not appear at the event this time round. In addition to all this, the strict rules and regulations of the event are explained in both words and in manga form.

Originally, Comiket was created for the fans of Japanese manga and anime who either wanted to exchange their own homemade fan manga based on famous titles or show off their original works. However, as time passed and many of the talented amateur artists became professionals thanks to Komike, the festival became a marketplace where both amateurs and professionals exchange their ideas and communicate through their works.

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This year's catalog/program

For more information on the
Tokyo Big Sight convention center,
Check out the venue's
English language homepage

A tiny section of the sprawling floorplan

For more historical information on Komike, check out the website of the official
Comiket Preparation Committee
(currently, only a few articles are in English, though they are going to complete the English site by next year)