Interest
History of Comiket's First 30 Years Posted as Free PDF
posted on by Eric Stimson
Comiket, Japan's flagship dōjinshi convention, has a long and colorful history stretching back 40 years. To commemorate its 30th anniversary and educate younger manga fans about its past, the Comiket Planning Committee prepared a lengthy booklet in 2005 called Comic Market 30's File. It describes the chronology of the 67 Comikets that had convened up to that point and provides numerous behind-the-scenes insights, anecdotes, and interviews with the staff that organize the events, the journalists who report on them, and the dōjin circles, publishers, and industry representatives who participate in them. The booklet was originally sold at the 30th Anniversary Comiket Special 4 in 2005, but the planning committee has helpfully scanned it and posted it here in PDF form. (It is in Japanese.)
The front cover includes the phrase "DO TRUST OVER 30" in the bottom right corner as a parody and rebuttal of the 1960s mantra "Don't trust anyone over 30."
The Comiket Planning Committee has also compiled an updated version, 40th Comic Market Chronicle, which brings the history up to the present. It was first sold at Comiket 88 in August and was so popular it sold out. It will reappear at Comiket 89 in December; in the meantime, interested fans can purchase it here for 2,000 yen ($16.66).
[Via Comiket official site and Kai-You]
