Kodansha’s Afternoon Magazine and pixiv presents: “Going Pro from the Start! Rookie Debut!” Contest! The contest begins on April 15th.

The normal route to becoming a professional comic artist in Japan is a rough road. Through this contest, you can debut your first professional comic!

Entries will need to be original comics that can grab the reader with only 8 pages.



Here’s a message from Afternoon’s editorial staff about the Rookie Debut:

It’s really difficult to impress readers from the first few pages in recent years so we decided to look for someone who that could. There’s a lot of new stories released every month, so it gets very overwhelming. Afternoon’s editorial department is seeking someone can convey a strong, interesting, or characteristic quality through the medium of sequential art. We want someone who can instantly grab the reader within the first 8 pages. If your readers can’t stop reading your comic, you have a chance to debut in a physical publication. The winner will be required to complete their entire story after the contest (pages 9 and onward) to have their entry serialized into Afternoon. We will not be reading the complete story prior to publication, which creates a huge challenge for us, but it’s a great risk we’re willing to take.

Entries will be judged by the editorial staff of Afternoon Magazine along with Shimoku Kio, the creator of the manga series, Genshiken.

We’re looking forward to your 8 pages that will attract readers to continue reading your story all the way to its conclusion.

【Contest Period】
Monday, April 15th 2013 to Sunday, June 16th 2013 23:00 Japan Standard Time

【How to Enter】
(1) Create an original comic that will last longer than 9 pages. Only the first 8 pages of that story will entered into the contest. You can also submit an existing original comic if you have one, but you can only enter the first 8 pages. Entrants can also submit 8 pages of an incomplete story as long as you can complete the comic if you win. It can be in either color or monochrome.

(2) Submit your 8 pages to pixiv with the illustration tag, marked in red below, attached to your entry. Entries without this tag will not be entered into the contest.
Illustration Tag: アフタヌーン出だしで勝負新人賞

(3) Next to your comic title, write the number of assumed pages for the complete story. Example: “Chobi’s Great Adventure (About 40 Pages)”

By following the rules above, you’ll be entered into the contest.

【Submission Format】
Web Submission Size: There are no size restrictions for submission. However, winning entries will need to submit either a monochrome (black/white) version with a resolution of at least 600 dpi or a greyscale or color version with a resolution of at least 350 dpi. The details of publication will be shared to the winner so there are no other restrictions.
Number of Submissions: You may submit more than 1 entry, as long as they are not duplicate entries.

【Judging Process】
The winners will be selected by a professional artist, Shimoku Kio, and the Afternoon editorial staff.

○Grand Prize（1 winner）
Awarded 200,000 yen.
Their comic published in Afternoon Magazine and featured on the online comic service, pixiv Comic.
※Winners will only be published after meeting their assumed page numbers and complete their story.

Please contact us if you cannot read Japanese and you wish to understand the Terms and Conditions by contacting us through Facebook or Twitter.

◆Contest Outline (Japanese)
◆Submitted Entries
◆Terms and Conditions (Japanese)

◆pixiv Comic: Digital Afternoon Magazine
◆Kodansha Official Website