Dates for the next two events have been set at the last Saturday in September, which will be the permanent home of the event going forward: September 28, 2024, and September 27, 2025. "September is usually a slow month," ComicsPRO Executive Director Marco Davanzo said of the move. "By moving it to the Fall, we hope more publishers, retailers, and distributors can participate as it won't overlap with an already busy end of year/winter holiday season; and [it will] stake out its own unique space on the calendar."
For the 2024 event, no LCSD-branded items will be solicited; there have been complaints that too many variants are being offered, the organization said, and they want to reboot the solicitation process and come back stronger in 2025. So for 2024, ComicsPRO is asking for the following types of publisher participation:
- Two-week sale on variant, comic, or graphic novel backlist beginning in late August.
- Free comics, graphic novels, posters, bookmarks, or other items for the anticipated 150-300 retailers registered for the event, to be distributed through normal distribution channels.
- Advertising and marketing for the event.
"The focus of Local Comic Shop Day® 2024 will be to get a message out to the world that Comic Book Stores are unique entertainment destinations and that people should go in to visit their local store," ComicsPRO board of directors member Marc Bowker said in a statement accompanying the announcement. Bowker, from Alter Ego Comics in Lima, Ohio, is the Board Director in charge of Programs and Events for the organization (see "ComicsPRO Elects").
Bowker is convening a working group of retailers, publishers, and distributors to plan for the 2025 Local Comic Shop Day, which will have a new focus. "One of the goals of Local Comic Shop Day® is to offer limited, and exclusive items," he said. "We don’t have enough time to source these for the 2024 event, but they will return in 2025. Specifically, we will be asking publishers to offer items that have low print runs, are released earlier or exclusively in the Direct Market, or are unique in some way."
