Categories Seinen manga Company Shogakukan | Year founded 1972 Country Japan | |
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Frequency Semimonthly on the 5th and 20th Circulation 504,333
(July-September, 2016) | ||
Big Comic Original (ビッグコミックオリジナル, Biggu Komikku Orijinaru) is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Shogakukan, aimed at an older adult and mostly male audience. It is a sister magazine to Big Comic, the biggest difference being that it goes on sale twice a month in the weeks Big Comic doesn't. Cover artwork usually features a dog or cat, and a haiku. The dozen or so manga serials running at any given time feature a wide variety of material, from historical dramas and suspense to sports and romance, with relatively little science fiction or fantasy.
Launched in 1972, it has published over 1000 issues, typically running to about 350 pages in a black-and-white, saddle-stapled format, selling for 340 yen (2015). More than 83% of readers are reported to be over 30 years old, with female readers comprising about a quarter of the total. Most readers are company employees. Circulation in 2015 was reported at 539,500.