Comiket 83 (Winter 2012)

Comiket, otherwise known as the Comic Market, is the world’s largest self-published comic book fair, held twice a year in Tokyo, Japan. The first Comiket was held on December 21, 1975, with only about 32 participating circles and an estimated 600 attendees. Attendance has since swelled to over a half million people. It is a grassroots, DIY effort for selling dōjinshi, self-published Japanese works. As items sold in Comiket are considered very rare (because dōjinshi are seldom reprinted), some items sold at Comiket can be found in shops or on the Internet at prices up to 10 times the item’s original price. The continuing operation of Comiket is the responsibility of the Comic Market Preparatory Committee (ComiketPC). Comiket 82 (Summer 2012) will take place August 10-12 at Tokyo Big Sight in Japan.