Comicforum is an internet forum

Internet forum

An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...

 with a focus on comics

Comics

Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...

 that was founded in the year 2000.

Development and content

When the forum went online in 2000, it was the only comics-related discussion forum. Various large comic publishers like Carlsen

Carlsen Verlag

Carlsen Verlag is a subsidiary of the homonymous Danish publishing house which in turn belongs to the Swedish media company Bonnier. The branch was founded on 25 April 1953 in Hamburg. The publisher's program focuses on books for children Carlsen Verlag is a subsidiary of the homonymous Danish...

, Egmont Ehapa, and Panini Comics

Panini Comics

Panini Comics is an Italian comic book publisher. A division of Panini Group, best known for their collectible stickers, it is headquartered in Modena, Italy...

 opened official forums.

Carlsen left Comicforum in 2002 and opened new official forums at Comics in Leipzig. In 2004, Panini left as well. Carlsen returned to Comicsforum in March 2009. However, the Carlsen Manga-Forum and the forum of the manga anthology Daisuki

Daisuki

Daisuki is a German manga anthology for girls published by Carlsen Verlag. Carlsen began publishing Daisuki in January 2003....

remained at Comics in Leipzig. At this time, alongside the large publishers Carlsen and Egmont Ehapa, there are many small comic publishers located at Comicforum. Also, there is a large area for artists.

The Comicforum of today is not only a forum for comics, but also for games, books, films, and music. Currently, there are 35,000 registered members of which about 800 are active every day.

The subject areas in the part of the forum dedicated to comics are:

• Official publisher forums
• Retailers and support (for example the collectors software Comickeeper)
• Magazines (forums of comic magazines, online and printed)
• Fan pages and fan forums
• Fairs and contacts (for example: the official forum of the Frankfurt Book Fair
  Frankfurt Book Fair
  The Frankfurt Book Fair is the world's largest trade fair for books, based on the number of publishing companies represented. As to the number of visitors, the Turin Book Fair attracts about as many visitors, viz. some 300,000....
  
   - Faszination Comics)
• Themes (for example: albums, anime, and manga)
• Artist area (presentation- and critic-forum, job market for illustrators)
• Marketplace

Awards

For its artist area, Comicforum received the ICOM Sonderpreis 2004. The Interessenverband Comic, which awards this independent comic prize, explained this with the connecting effect the forum has for the comic fans. Additionally, they note the creation of networks for artists, which influence later publications, and call Comicforum a factor the German comic landscape can no longer be imagined without.