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, otherwise known as the or 'CM', is the world's largest comic convention, held twice a year in Tokyo, Japan. The first CM was held in December 1975, with only about 30 participating circles and an estimated 700 attendees. Attendance has since swelled to over half a million people. The convention lasts for three days. It is a grassroots, DIY effort for selling dōjinshi, self-published Japanese works. As items sold in CM are considered very rare (because dōjinshi are seldom reprinted), some items sold at CM can be found in shops or on the Internet at prices up to 10 times the item's original price.
The continuing operation of CM is the responsibility of the Comic Market Preparatory Committee (CMPC).

Contents

Time, date, and location

Admission

Size

The Comic Market Catalog

The Catalog

Where the catalog can be purchased

When the catalog can be purchased

General Rules

Problems related to Comiket

External links

Time, date, and location

CM is held twice a year for three days each; once in August and once in December. These are referred to typically as ''Summer Comike'' and ''Winter Comike'' respectively. The current convention location is the Tokyo Big Sight convention center near Ariake, in Odaiba, Kōtō, Tokyo. The doors open to attendees at around 10:00 AM. Because there are large crowds, the actual time of entry into the event will more than likely be delayed. The next Comiket will be Comiket 73, in December 2007.

Admission

No entrance fee is required for admission to CM, however attendees are strongly encouraged to purchase the Comic Market Catalog.

Size

Approximately 35,000 sellers, known as circles, currently participate in CM. An estimated 510,000 attendees converge in the course of 3 days, but this number continues to increase. With the addition of police, guards, staff, volunteers, there are over half a million people. Because of the extreme number of people gathering in a single place, mobile phone companies set up temporary antennas that are usually employed when stationary antennas are out of service. Area hotels, trains, and bus services also make special arrangements to accommodate the large crowds.

The Comic Market Catalog

The Catalog

The CM Catalog contains information about the buyers and sellers at CM and other general event information. It is available in print and CD-ROM format. The print version is roughly the size of a small phone book. It contains lists of all the participating circles, maps of the convention layout, maps and directions to get to and from the convention, rules for the convention, and arguably the most useful, a picture or two for every participating circle. The visuals are extremely helpful, especially for non-Japanese speakers.
The catalog is not required for admittance, but without it the event is nearly impossible to navigate. Catalogs are often sold at tents in and around the event for the benefit of latecomers.
The CD-ROM edition of the catalog includes the following features:

★ Advanced search functions by day, location, circle, title, genre, etc.

★ Custom color coded checklist creation

★ Customized map and list printing with customizeable lists and fields

★ Clickable layout map for navigation

★ Importing and exporting circle and image data (presumably for new versions)

★ Saving lists as .csv files for use in a spreadsheet program
To date, there is no English edition of the catalog available.

Where the catalog can be purchased

The CM website usually has a list of stores (by prefecture) where you can order the catalog. Please be aware that not all stores have the CD-ROM version and some may not have the print version. This is also on the list of stores on the CM homepage. Catalogs can be ordered from overseas, depending on the store.

When the catalog can be purchased

The catalog typically comes out two weeks before the convention. Up until the first day of CM, large manga shops such as "Tora no Ana", "Mandarake", and "Animate" tend to still have catalogs in stock.

General Rules

The general rules for the convention are all outlined in the CM Catalog and are fairly basic.

★ Running is forbidden, to prevent injury.

★ Lining up for hours before the convention is forbidden, as pre-convention "parties" have drawn complaints from local residents in previous years.

★ Taking pictures of cosplayers outside of the Cosplay Square is forbidden. In the past, there have been problems with unscrupulous photographers snapping unsolicited shots.

★ Do not take pictures of cosplayers without their express permission.
There are additional rules which apply to cosplayers as well.

Problems related to Comiket

As the number of circles participating and number of participants increase rapidly, the event has become very crowded. In order to buy their favorite items (and especially famous items, such as dōjinshi from famous authors or special limited-edition items), thousands of people line up outside the Tokyo Big Sight convention center days before the event starts, causing serious security problems. Hence, in recent years lining up before the day Comiket is held on has been prohibited.
To relieve the congestion the Russian government offered to rent an aircraft carrier to the event so that the vessel could be used as the second venue just outside the main venue, Tokyo Big Site, which is built on the seaside. However, due to the carrier's maintenance cost being around 1 million yen per day, the plan is currently only being considered.
Recently there has been a rumor spreading that cosplay photography has been completely forbidden at Comiket, beginning with Comiket 68. However, that was only a rumor. During Comiket 69, 70 and 71, the cosplay photography event has been celebrated as normal. The specific rules, however, restrict unsolicited photography only, and do not ban photography as a whole.

External links

★ The official Comic Market site (in English)

★ Dan Kanemitsu's Otaku Subculture Related Research Lab - Author of "The Storm Front Journal - Doujinshi, the Alternative Publishing Medium of Japan"

★ The Japan Comic Market FAQ: A Gaijin's Guide to Comike via the Internet Archive

★ How to Comiket, Part I: Intelligence at Heisei Democracy

★ How to Comiket, Part II: Strategy at Heisei Democracy