Even though the organisers have cancelled Comiket 98 due to the COVID-19 outbreak, they still went through with the sale of the event’s catalog. This was maunly because they have already printed and manufactured them. But despite there being no event, fans still bought the catalog in droves and became the bestselling book on Amazon Japan.

Doujin shops Comic Toranoana and Melonbooks also sold them in their physical stores, and they even came with exclusive bonuses from the event’s participating doujin artists. And while the event’s cancellation resulted in a big loss for the organisers, those two doujin shops have revealed that they are giving all their proceeds back to the Comic Market Committee. Sales for the catalog spiked after the committee asked fans to buy the booklets in support of the event.

Comiket 98 was just one of the big anime events which cancelled or postponed due to the outbreak. While many concerts postponed performances, big events like AnimeJapan 2020 and Machi Asobi actually outright cancelled their events. This is all part of the effort to contain the virus’s spread and flatten the curve.

Source: Livedoor News