Competitions and open submissions
First and foremost! PLEASE DO BE CAREFUL OF SIGNING PREDATORY CONTRACTS / SUBMISSION FORMS. Always ask someone to double check the Terms and Conditions of wherever you are submitting to or committing to. Unfortunately some people will take advantage of the love and effort from comickers wanting to make their next big step and include terms such as signing over all your IP (stories and characters, all content) for very little. This is why developing separate stories and characters to enter into competitions is good practice to protect your content.
On the plus side! Entering a competition can really help develop you as a storyteller and artist. You get a theme and a set deadline. Some competitions’ terms and conditions means you have to hand over all character and story rights upon submission, but not all - some you are free to republish yourself afterwards. Read the small print and decide from there. You don’t even have to enter the competition in full - you can take a look at competitions out there and use the brief as a starting point for your own inspiration independently, not submit and publish yourself, or submit to publishers.
After you have decided to pursue, it's up to you to complete your work! Competitions running in, or accept submissions from the UK, are as follows;
Global Comic Awards - Celsys holds a Global Comic Awards in cooperation with comic posting sites. Each contest has a theme, plus cash prizes and publishing opportunities!
The World Manga Senbatsu - Your work should be a 1 page manga (submitted individually), accepting works from all over the world, anyone can participate.
Silent Manga Audition (SMAC) - Organised by Nobuhiko Horie and legendary names in Manga industry in Tokyo. A biannual global manga publishing competition with prizes.
Manga Jiman [Hosted by the Embassy of Japan in London] - you can publish and sell your work after the deadline has passed and the winners have been announced after every annual competition (usually in March).
2000AD Competitions - [By Rebellion/2000AD] - Not Japanese comic-style-specific, but Rebellion are always on the lookout for new works and artists. Art Stars is their social media art competition. Take a look!
The Annual International Manga Award [Initiated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Taro Aso]. Four top prizes including a stay in Japan, exchanges with other mangaka and visits to publishing companies.
In March 2019, Viz Media launched Viz Originals. This is a new North American imprint dedicated to publishing original graphic novels developed by manga-inspired creators.
Other
Here are links to other open submission/competition pages;
[* Links may be down due to being out of date, but I will update them as and when I can. Do email me if you find a dead link!]
Extras
If you decide to self-publish and market your work, here is a list of things that can help you on your comic-making quest!
Stickman’s Tips for Having a Table at a Comic Book Convention :: Handy tips for newcomers and oldskoolers alike!
About.com :: A great section based around Japanese comics. Check out articles for Publishers and advice for Artists and Writers.
That's it!
I hope this has laid out the case clearly, so there are no obstacles in your way to create your own comics! It is not an easy path to take, but incredibly satisfying and very PUNK ROCK!
Get to it and have fun!
Any other questions? Contact me and I will respond when possible :)