Big Comic

is a semimonthly ''seinen'' manga magazine published since 18 February 1968 by Shogakukan in Japan.

Publication history

It was originally launched as a monthly magazine, but switched to twice monthly on the 10th and 25th beginning in April 1968. It is paired with sister magazine ''Big Comic Original'', going on sale in the weeks ''Big Comic Original'' does not. Circulation in 2008 was reported at slightly over a half-million copies. but by mid-2015 had declined to 315,000, as part of an industry-wide trend in manga magazine sales.

The magazine has published works by a number of well-known manga artists, including Osamu Tezuka, Shotaro Ishinomori, Sanpei Shirato, Takao Saito, Fujiko Fujio A, Fujiko F. Fujio, and Tetsuya Chiba. ''Big Comic'' also serializes Saito's '' Golgo 13'', which is the oldest manga series still in publication.

The front cover of the magazine featured a caricature of a famous individual by manga illustrator Shūichi Higurashi for more than forty years. Higurashi's drawings were featured on the cover of ''Big Comic'' from 1970 until 2011. Higurashi retired in the autumn of 2011 due to failing health.

Legacy

''Big Comic'' played a pivotal role in the maturation of postwar manga, particularly in the emergence of ''seinen'' manga during the late 1960s and 1970s. The magazine brought together diverse artistic currents: it featured contributors from the ''gekiga'' tradition, such as Sanpei Shirato and Shigeru Mizuki, as well as artists associated with ''story manga'', including Osamu Tezuka and the Fujiko team. Under the editorial direction of Konishi Yōnosuke, ''Big Comic'' embraced the concept of the "quasi-novel" (''chūkan shōsetsu''), aiming to bridge mass media and serious literature. This editorial vision helped elevate manga as a serious art form and positioned ''Big Comic'' as a cornerstone of literary and artistic manga. While some critics of the time resisted what they saw as the commercialization of manga by major publishers, ''Big Comic'' nonetheless became a platform for more mature, diverse, and experimental storytelling, influencing generations of artists and readers.

List of works

Currently serialized

These series appear according to a regular schedule in the magazine.

* by Takao Saito
*''Hinemosu no Tari Nikki'' (ひねもすのたり日記) by Tetsuya Chiba (since 2015)
*''Deep3'' written by Mitsuhiro Mizuno and illustrated by Ryosuke Tobimatsu
* by Tsuyoshi Nakaima
* by Yoichi Komori and Yutaka Toudo
* by Keisuke Yamashina
*, written by Norio Hayashi and illustrated by Ken'ichirō Takai
* by Tōru Nakajima
* by Fujihiko Hosono (continued from Big Comic Spirits)

Irregularly serialized

These series are currently serialized, but have no specific schedule for when each chapter appears in the magazine.
*''Uchū Kazoku Nobeyama'' by Jirō Okazaki

Formerly serialized

*'' A Distant Neighborhood'' by Jiro Taniguchi
*''Akabee'' by Hiroshi Kurogane
*'' Ayako'' by Osamu Tezuka
*''Barbara'' by Osamu Tezuka
*''Big Wing'', written by Masao Yajima and illustrated by Shinji Hikino
*'' Baiyaku Kakebachō Kazuryū'' by Shotaro Ishinomori
*''C-kyū Salaryman Kōza'' by Keisuke Yamashina
*''Chūshun Komawari-kun'' by Tatsuhiko Yamagami
*''Cruise: Ishi Yamada Kōhei Kōkaishi'', written by Masao Yajima and illustrated by Hiroyuki Kikuta
*''Double Face'' by Fujihiko Hosono
*'' Eagle: The Making of an Asian-American President'' by Kaiji Kawaguchi
*''Five'' by Riki Kusaka, created by Yuzuru Hirayama
*''Gekiga ObaQ'' by Fujiko F. Fujio
*''Gekitō Magnitude 7.7'' by Takao Yamaguchi
*''Gin no Shippo'' by Shinri Mori
*'' Gringo'' by Osamu Tezuka
*''Hana China'' written by Yūji Nishi and illustrated by Shinji Hikino
*''Happyaku Yachō Hyōri no Kewaishi'' by Shotaro Ishinomori
*'' Hidamari no Ki'' by Osamu Tezuka
*''Hotel'' by Shotaro Ishinomori
*''I.L.'' by Osamu Tezuka
*'' The Laughing Salesman'' (one-shot) by Fujiko A. Fujio
*''Kamui Den: Dai-ni-bu'', written by Sanpei Shirato and illustrated by Tetsuji Okamoto (1988–2000)
*''Kamui Gaiden: Dai-ni-bu'' by Sanpei Shirato (1982–1987)
*'' Kamurobamura-e'' by Mikio Igarashi
*''Kobayakawa Nobuki no Koi'' by Fumi Saimon
*''Kusakabe Shomei Kyūka Omiya-san'' by Shotaro Ishinomori
*''Minotaurus no Sara'' by Fujiko F. Fujio
*''Mirai no Omoide'' by Fujiko F. Fujio
*''Munakata Kyōju Ikōroku'' by Yukinobu Hoshino
*'' MW'' by Osamu Tezuka
*'' Nakaharu Koko-kun'' by Tatsuhiko Yamagami
*'' Notari Matsutarō'' by Tetsuya Chiba
*'' Ode to Kirihito'' by Osamu Tezuka
*''Osozaki Jijii'' by Yoshinori Kobayashi
*'' The Quest for the Missing Girl'' by Jiro Taniguchi
*''Roommates'' by Yōko Kondō (1991–1996)
*'' Sabu to Ichi Torimono Hikae'' by Shotaro Ishinomori
*'' Shō mo Nai Bokura no Renai-ron'' by Hidenori Hara
*''Sora! Flight Attendant Monogatari'', written by Masao Yajima and illustrated by Shinji Hikino
*'' Swallowing the Earth'' by Osamu Tezuka
*'' Taiyō no Mokushiroku'' by Kaiji Kawaguchi
*'' Tsukiji Uogashi Sandaime'', written by Masaharu Nabeshima and illustrated by Mitsuo Hashimoto
*''Veterinarian Dolittle'', written by Midori Natsu and illustrated by Kiyoshi Chikuyama

References

External links

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{{Shogakukan manga magazines

1968 establishments in Japan
Semimonthly manga magazines published in Japan
Magazines established in 1968
Seinen manga magazines
Shogakukan magazines