New York Comic Con is just too epic to be confined to a mere four days – the event, to be held October 17-20 at the Javits Center, is adding Wednesday as a “Retailer Day” Popverse reports.
In what is dubbed ‘Retailer Day,’ New York Comic Con 2024 will open its doors a day early on Wednesday, October 16 for comic book retailers and sponsors of the event for a full-day of programming, meet-ups, and more about the comics industry. NYCC 2024 Retailer Day takes place Wednesday, October 16 from 12:00 pm to 9:00 pm as a closed-door event for those with a pro-badge in the comic book industry, as well as those presenting at the event.
The day will feature presentations by Lunar Distributions, ComicPRO, and Tiny Onion with such programs as:
- Get Your Shop on The News: PR Basics
- Benefits of Collaborating with Fellow Retailers/Intro to ComicsPro
- Working With Schools and Libraries
- Speed Networking with Comic Book Retailers
There will also be exclusives for retailers, such as a variant edition of The Department of Truth #25, with a new cover illustrated by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell.
As a dedicated attendee of every New York Comic Con “pro day” there are a few things to unpack here, at least if you’re a fan of industry gatherings – and The Beat is!
First off, this timing hit some attendees by surprise – we’ve already heard grumbling from industry insiders who already bought plane tickets to arrive Wednesday afternoon. Who knew?
Popverse says this is “NYCC’s first ever Wednesday event schedule,” but that’s not exactly right. ICv2 held a “Graphic Novel Conference” the day before NYCC all the way back in 2006 and 2007, but then not only was NYCC held in February…it was a three day affair! So there was programming the day before the show but it was Thursday.
The tradition of the “Pro Day” continued with various attempts, including one led by, believe it or not, Chris Hardwick in 2011. But in 2012, ICv2 held its ICv2 Conference on Comics and Digital II on the Wednesday before the show. I even found a photo of Hardwick and Fred Seibert chatting it up at the event.
Over the years there has almost always been some kind of party or kick-off event on Wednesday. I could spend a lot of time digging up other reports (or going through my photos) but it’s safe to say that just as there have always been ghosts in the machine, there have always been pro days of some kind at New York Comic Con – it just changes shape and timing.
Last year was a very robust and, it must be said, exhausting Pro Day all day Thursday. It started with a dawn retailer breakfast presented by Lunar, followed up with ComicsPRO, continued on with ICv2 programming and a cocktail mixer, and CONTINUED ON EVEN FURTHER with an evening “Industry Summit.” It was a long, fact filled day.
Perhaps it was this grueling schedule which led them to move retailer-related programming to Wednesday and spread things out more. The Industry Summit will return in 2024, but on Thursday from 7-9 pm, once again sponsored by Comic Sketch Art, with several speakers, an industry mixer, and complimentary merchandise from Tiny Onion.
At any rate, NYCC Wednesday just got bigger! For those who would like to participate in the Industry Summit, reach out to ReedPop’s Comic Publishing Talent Manager Alex Rae. Retailers can get a complimentary Wednesday and Thursday badge to NYCC 2024 through Lunar Distribution, and they can also purchase special 4-day badges. As for badges for other attendees, 4-day passes and Saturday are sold out, but you can get single day tickets for the other days here.
