Comic retailer organization ComicsPRO has announced that the second annual Local Comic Shop Day will be held on Saturday, November 19, 2016.  That date moves the event one week earlier this year, to the weekend before Thanksgiving, or one week before Small Business Saturday, the event organized by American Express to encourage shopping at independent retailers. 

Retailers were polled on which date they wanted.  “By a margin of 73% to 27%, our retailers wanted to change the date to the earlier Saturday so it would have a distinct identity separate from Small Business Saturday,” ComicsPRO President Peter Dolan (Main Street Comics, Middletown, NY) explained.   

Modeled on Record Store Day, the 2015 event was announced at San Diego Comic-Con and had nearly 400 stores participating (see “ComicsPRO’s Local Comic Shop Day Exclusives Revealed”).  Like Record Store Day, publishers were encouraged to produce special editions for participating stores on the event.   

Registration for both retailers and publishers will begin at the end of May.