ABSTRACT
The popularity of Japanese manga, both in Japan and abroad, has spawned not only a lucrative commercial industry but a huge amateur comics scene as well. In Japan there are said to be 50,000 manga "circles"- groups of amateur artists who create and publish their own works. Comics conventions, at which amateurs display and sell dojinshi ("fanzines"), are held throughout the year; a large manga convention in Japan will have thousands of booths and can attract over 200,000 fans. I Amateur manga creation is on the rise overseas as well, with Internet home pages providing the outlet for many budding and accomplished artists.
