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You've heard of Record Store Day - the one-day event where people are encouraged to visit their local record store and buy some vinyl. But have you heard of Local Comic Shop Day? Local Comic Shop Day was launched in 2015, and is being celebrated this year on Saturday, September 28 - and like its unofficial sister event Free Comic Book Day, is a good excuse to get regular comic store visitors as well as new comics fans into comic shops.

Local Comic Shop Day is organized by the comic store trade organization ComicsPRO, and recently its executive director Marco Davanzo sent a message out to retailers announcing the new date, but also polling for improvements to be made to the event.

The 2024 Local Comic Shop Day will be held on Saturday, September 28 - a full two months earlier than when it was in 2023. According to Davanzo, the organization intends for it to always be in this timeframe from here on out - the last Saturday in September.

"We also would like to get away from variant covers. A main complaint of the day - from consumers and retailers - was that the day [previously] focused too much on variants," writes Davanzo.

The ComicsPRO executive director is asking publishers to consider some of the following options for the next Local Comic Shop Day. The ideas are:

• A Local Comic Shop Day limited edition item "between 500 to 1000 units"
• A Local Comic Shop Day early release
• An exclusive Local Comic Shop Day story/comic of some kind
• A publisher backlist sale, either linewide or on a theme of titles

Now, asking publishers about this just four months before the next event, especially in publishing circles, is a big ask. And ComicsPRO realizes this.

"We realize that with a four month planning window, it may be difficult to offer up more than just variant covers," says Davanzo. "If you have a great idea for a variant, we would also love to hear it."

Davanzo also floats the idea, and wants feedback from retailers, on cancelling the 2024 Local Comic Shop Day due to this push for changes but with only four months to institute it, and instead focus on 2025's Local Comic Shop Day, which would be September 27.

Get into the vibrant world of comics with our guide to buying digital comics, how to make the most out of comic shops, our comprehensive guide to the upcoming comics, manga, and graphic novels you should be looking for, and everything you need to know about Free Comic Book Day and Local Comic Shop Day.