Tag Archives: retailers

SDCC 2025: Image Announces its latest Comic Shop Retailer Appreciation Winner: Comics Etc.

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Comics Etc.

Image Comics has announced that the Summer 2025 Image Select Retailer Award winner is: Comics Etc. in Australia.

The Image Select Retailer Award is a new initiative from Image to galvanize recognition of members of the Comic Book Direct Market retail community that are going above and beyond to serve their customers, expand readership, and grow a healthier marketplace. The previous winner of the award was Peebles Comics & Games in Scotland.

Comic shops were nominated by fans via a form submission and based on on criteria such as:

  • exemplary customer service
  • thoughtful and exciting hand-selling recommendations
  • efforts fostering a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere
  • easy-to-browse shelving
  • attractive and innovative displays
  • forward-thinking customer marketing and out-of-box consumer outreach
  • community engagement
  • robust inventory of & support for Image Comics and other creator-owned/indie comics

The Image team read and tallied thousands of glowing testimonials about stores in order to select the winner. As the winner, Comics Etc. in Australia will receive:

  • a commemorative medallion to display with pride
  • a spotlight Q&A to be featured on Image Comics’ social media platforms and Website
  • the store’s choice of a gold foil exclusive variant, branded as an Image Select Retailer Award winner, with store logo (limited to 250 copies).

The Local Comic Shop is the sales backbone of the comic book industry, and sadly, the least appreciated when it comes to award recognition. The Image Select Retailer Award is a way to reward and spotlight stores that have done exemplary work expanding the audience, and evangelizing the medium to new readers. Image Comics feels that there is not enough being done to point out stores that are raising the bar, changing the marketplace, and building readership, and this award is meant as a fun way to help repair that oversight.

The next Image Select Retailer Appreciation Award nomination window will be announced soon via the official Image website, social media, and via Lunar Distribution communication, to retailers and the public for those interested in nominating their store.

Exclusive: Matt Bors whips up a variant cover for The Toxic Avenger Comics #1 for Bat City

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The Toxic Avenger Comics #1 from writer Matt Bors, artist Fred Harper, and published by Ahoy Comics is out in shops today. It kicks off a new ongoing series featuring the movies’ grossest hero.

In this issue’s self-contained horror story, kids are disappearing from Toxie’s hometown of Tromaville, NJ. Did they simply run away from the chemically polluted town? Or is the real explanation even more frightening?

You have a choice of multiple covers but Bat City Comic Professionals has an awesome variant cover from Matt Bors you can order now!

The Toxic Avenger Comics #1 Bat City variant cover

Things From Another World webstore announces its closure

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Things From Another World

In a sort of surprise, retail store Things From Another World has announced its closure of its webstore. The online shop will shutdown as of April 30, 22025. The physical stores in Milwaukie, OR, Beaverton, OR, and Universal CityWalk, CA will remain open.

The announcement isn’t a total surprise as product availability has been spotty at best for quite some time and the site announced it was shutting down its affiliate program with no replacement, usually a sign of issues behind the scenes.

Things From Another World was opened in 1979 as a physical store by Mike Richardson who also launched Dark Horse Comics.

In 2021, Embracer Group purchased Dark Horse which included Dark Horse Comics, Dark Horse Entertainment, and Things From Another World. Embracer has been having issues of its own after an aggression expansion and splitting into three standalone entities. Embracer also owned the tabletop game retailer Miniature Market which it sold in 2024.

The last day for in-stock orders from the Things From Another World webstore is April 21 and it will officially go offline on April 30.

Below is the full email announcement:

Dear Valued Customers,

We regret to inform you that as of April 30, 2025, TFAW.com will be shutting down. The TFAW.com Team would like to sincerely thank you for your continued support, and for making us your comic shop. It’s been a pleasure serving the comic community for over 25 years. Please note: our physical stores located in Milwaukie, OR, Beaverton, OR, and Universal CityWalk, CA will remain open, and we hope to continue serving you in person.

Below are the relevant dates and how they will impact you.

  • As of the announcement, we will start to remove future preorders that will be impacted by this site closure.  
  • April 9, 2025, will be the last subscription and preorder processing day. Any pending preorders received will be processed this day, regardless of your shipping frequency. We will allow you to remove any preorders from your account regardless of the date they were added if you do not want this last shipment. 
  • April 21, 2025, will be the last day for In-Stock orders on the site so we can ensure all items will be shipped by April 30, 2025. You will be able to access your account up until that date. 
  • On April 30, 2025, the site will go offline.

Forbidden Planet acquires Camden’s Mega City Comics

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Forbidden Planet Mega City Comics

Following the shock news that famed Camden comics retailer Martin Kravetz was retiring and potentially closing his legendary Mega City Comics store at 18 Inverness Street in Camden Town, Forbidden Planet has announced that they have taken over the store from Martin as of Friday February 14th, 2025!

Mega City’s mighty sales staff, Vik and Jack, will be staying on with the store and joining our comics-manga-anime-and-pop-culture-loving Forbidden Planet team.

Forbidden Planet will be continuing Mega City Comics’ singular relationship with its valued long-term customers in this unique London borough, one of the coolest neighborhoods in the world. Camden Town is the focal point of the UK music industry, the cradle of Britpop and the epicenter of Japanese anime culture in London. Where else can you buy award-winning comics & manga and immediately celebrate with a round of drinks at The Good Mixer?

Mega City Comics will briefly shut its doors for some necessary behind-the scenes renovation work and they’ll be re-opening the store in a few weeks with a major Forbidden Planet bang – keep watching the skies and stay tuned for more announcements!

In the meantime, online customers can pick up everything they need at ForbiddenPlanet.com, while Vik and Jack will continue to take care of all their existing customers with a Mega City Comics shop save account – fear not, true believers, your regular comics order is in very safe hands!

Image opens up its Comic Shop Retailer Appreciation Award for Winter 2025 Nominations

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Image Select Retailer Award

Image Comics has announced that the Image Select Retailer Award for Winter 2025 is now open for nominations. The deadline to nominate a store is Friday, February 14.

Starting today, Image invites fans to nominate their local comic shops for this award based on criteria such as:

  • exemplary customer service
  • thoughtful and exciting handselling recommendations
  • efforts fostering a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere
  • easy-to-browse shelving
  • attractive and innovative displays
  • forward-thinking customer marketing and out-of-box consumer outreach
  • community engagement
  • robust inventory of & support for Image Comics and other creator-owned/indie comics

To nominate a shop, simply fill out this form with your local store’s name, location, and summarize some of the ways they store go the extra mile to create a great retail experience for you and other customers.

One winner will be announced on Thursday, February 20 in the evening at the ComicsPro retailer event in Glendale, CA and will receive:

  • a commemorative medallion to display with pride
  • an Image Select Retailer Award window cling for their store’s window
  • a spotlight Q&A to be featured on Image Comics’ social media platforms and Website
  • the store’s choice of a gold foil exclusive variant, branded as an Image Select Retailer Award winner, with store logo (limited to 250 copies).

The Image Select Retailer Award is an initiative to galvanize recognition of members of the Comic Book Direct Market retail community that are going above and beyond to serve their customers, expand readership, and grow a healthier marketplace.

Galaxy of Comics’ owner Warren Jaycox has passed away

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The comic industry has lost another of its family as founder of Galaxy of Comics, Warren Jaycox, passed away on December 28. The store’s team made the announcement on social media yesterday.

Owned and operated by Jaycox, The Van Nuys California store Galaxy of Comics was opened January 2009. In 2021 it expanded taking over the shop next door, boasting a 2500 square foot superstore.

In the announcement, Warren’s friends stated:

Warren loved this store, and each and every one of you who helped make his dream a reality for the last 15+ years. We know he impacted so many people with his kindness, his passion, and his generosity. Through all the ups and downs of owning an independent comic shop, we all stayed loyal to him because he was loyal to us.

In that spirit, be good to each other. Give hugs to yourself, the shop cats, and your loved ones. Keep buying banned books and supporting independent creators and fighting the system like you know Warren would.

The store will remain open for normal hours and further information regarding a memorial is coming and the store will make further announcements. The store has left a table outside where individuals can leave gifts and memorials to show their appreciation.

Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and all those impacted by this loss.

Binc Offers Two Scholarships to ComicsPRO Industry Meeting

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Book Industry Charitable (Binc) Foundation

The Book Industry Charitable (Binc) Foundation will provide two $750 scholarships for comic store owners and their employees to attend the ComicsPRO industry meeting in Glendale, CA, February 20-22, 2025. The funds may be used for travel, replacement wages, lodging, and meals; ComicsPRO will cover the registration fee for the meeting. The deadline to apply is Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024, at 5 p.m. EST. 

Applicants must meet the following criteria:

  • The applicant’s store must be in the U.S. or U.S. territories and be either a retail bricks-and-mortar store owned by an entity, a substantial portion of whose revenue is derived from the bricks-and-mortar sale of books/comics, or mobile or pop-up store with an ongoing overhead investment that is open to the general public and maintains an annual average of 30 hours per week with an employee present.
  • The applicant must be a regular part-time or full-time employee or owner of a comic shop.
  • Applicants must be currently employed and have 90 days of continuous employment with the comic shop.
  • Applicants must discuss application and potential selection as scholarship recipient with store owner/manager prior to applying for the scholarship.

Forbidden Planet returns to Bristol on Saturday December 7

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Forbidden Planet

After facing down the Bristol Triangle fire and living to tell the tale, Forbidden Planet’s legendary Bristol megastore will be reopening (after much anticipation and public demand) on Saturday December 7th 2024!  

We’ll be celebrating with a wild array of costumed characters, special visitors, festive decorations and launch day goodie bags – along with some amazing events lined up throughout the festive season! 

December creator signings, themed days and Yuletide events will be announced throughout the festive season – make sure to follow Forbidden Planet’s social channels for regular updates! 

Saturday December 7th 2024: Free Comic Book Day 2024 – Bristol Redux! 

Forbidden Planet Bristol missed out on 2024’s Free Comic Book Day so we’re bringing FCBD back for its Saturday December 7th reopening! 

Free Comic Book Day is perfect for fans and newcomers alike – get a taste of the massive range of comics available at Forbidden Planet and join the comics revolution: discover comics for the first time or return to the fold to see what you’ve been missing! 

We have bags of comics to give away that will provide you with a perfect starting point. Discover – or rediscover – titles including Conan the Barbarian: Battle of The Black Stone, Hellboy/Stranger Things, Ultimate Universe: Spider-Man: Venom, Doctor Who: The Fifteenth Doctor, Energon Universe Special and much, much more.      

Sunday December 22nd 2024 – EXCLUSIVE signing with two Bristol movie legends: Wallace & Gromit directors Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham! 

In advance of Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl’s highly-anticipated BBC One debut on Christmas Day 2024, we’ll be hosting legendary Wallace & Gromit directors Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham at Forbidden Planet Bristol on Sunday December 22nd 2024! Nick and Merlin will be at the store from 1pm til 2pm signing copies of Titan Books’ amazing behind-the-scenes coffee table book The Art Of Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl. 

North Carolina’s Acme Comics Downtown 1 Year Anniversary Event this Saturday

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Acme Comics Downtown will celebrate its on year anniversary this October 26th 2024! To celebrate Acme Comics’ return to downtown Greensboro, North Carolina where it began in 1983 we will have a variety of events open to the public that day including a Halloween Market with vendors and a meet and greet with special guest, multi-award winning writer/artist Chicago’s own Daniel Warren Johnson! There will also be a special limited seating Acmecast LIVE podcast recording with Daniel that evening!

DANIEL WARREN JOHNSON MEET & GREET

DANIEL WARREN JOHNSON MEET & GREET

October marks a FULL CALENDAR YEAR since ACME COMICS DOWNTOWN first opened its doors!
We want to celebrate this IMPORTANT milestone with you in UNFORGETTABLE ways!

NOT A DREAM! NOT A HOAX! NOT A WHAT IF! World famous, multi-Eisner Award Winning writer/artist DANIEL WARREN JOHNSON returns to Acme Comics for a very specialsigning/ meet & greet with you on:

OCTOBER 26TH
ACME COMICS DOWNTOWN335 S. DAVIE STREETGREENSBORO NC
12PM to 4PM

To say that Daniel is extremely busy and globally in demand is an understatement.

But he loved his 2022 visit so much that he made it a priority to come back again and now it is finally happening!
In 2022, people drove in from as far away as the NC coast and Richmond VA to meet Daniel. That was before winning TWO Eisner Awards for TRANSFORMERS and before his new series THE MOON IS FOLLOWING US, so you can only imagine the turn out this time.

Before Someone Else Does… SAVE THE DATE: SATURDAY OCTOBER 26TH 12p-4, Meet Daniel and get your comics and graphic novels signed!

ACME COMICS-NATTY GREENE'S MONSTER MARKET

ACME COMICS-NATTY GREENE’S MONSTER MARKET

You know us for our yearly Halloween Markets, great artists and vendors, free comics, and lots of candy! To match the occasion of the Acme Comics Downtown One Year Anniversary we wanted to go EVEN BIGGER! On OCTOBER 26th Acme is partnering up with their friends across the street at NATTY GREENE’S BREWERY for the first annual ACME COMICS / NATTY GREENE’S MONSTER MARKET!

Natty Greene’s recently opened a gorgeous outdoor Beer Garden Patio Space and from 12pm-4pm that is where The Monster Market will take place! Outstanding food and Drink available for purchase from Natty Greene’s all day!

The best part is, you’ll be able to easily access both the Daniel Warren Johnson signing and the Monster Market through the Beer Garden’s back gate that directly faces the doors to Acme Comics Downtown! Because ACME COMICS DOWNTOWN is a member of the ‘Boro Social District’ you’ll be able to bring in outside drinks purchased through Natty’s into Acme Comics Downtown! Just don’t spill anything. A full list of participating vendors is coming your way soon!

ACMECAST LIVE!

ACMECAST LIVE!

You asked for it! Acme Delivered! For the very first time EVER be apart of the recording for everyone’s favorite comic book retail podcast, THE ALL NEW-ALL DIFFERENT ACMECAST! Challenge the crazy things Ben and Austin say LIVE! Clap when you know what Jermaine is talking about LIVE! Ask your listener questions LIVE! Need another reason to come out?

Acme’ll be joined by the weekend’s esteemed guest DANIEL WARREN JOHNSON as a very SPECIAL GUEST for this very special episode! This LIMITED SEATING TICKETED EVENT will start at 8PM ON OCTOBER 26TH. Tickets are only $5 and will get you an exclusive ACME CAST LIVE! print created by Alex Brinegar! ALERT: Grab your tickets HERE! There is NO capacity to this event, but to ensure that you have a seat Acme suggests you arrive EARLY! AFTER all seats are filled, this event will be STANDING ROOM ONLY! How about that for an anniversary celebration? Here’s what YOU need to do:- Take the day off work!- Arrange a babysitter!- Move some things around!

NYCC 2024: Image announces the latest Comic Shop Retailer Appreciation Winner: Peebles Comics & Games

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Peebles Comics & Games

Image Comics’ Fall 2024 Image Select Retailer Award winner is: Peebles Comics & Games in Scotland. The winner was announced last night, Wednesday, October 16 at the Lunar Distribution retailer event during New York Comic Con.

The store raked in the highest number of nominations from customers.

The Image Select Retailer Award is a new initiative from Image to galvanize recognition of members of the Comic Book Direct Market retail community that are going above and beyond to serve their customers, expand readership, and grow a healthier marketplace. The previous winner of the award was Hall of Justice Comics in Parker, Colorado.

Comic shops were nominated by fans via a form submission and based on on criteria such as:

  • exemplary customer service
  • thoughtful and exciting hand-selling recommendations
  • efforts fostering a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere
  • easy-to-browse shelving
  • attractive and innovative displays
  • forward-thinking customer marketing and out-of-box consumer outreach
  • community engagement
  • robust inventory of & support for Image Comics and other creator-owned/indie comics

The Image team read and tallied thousands of glowing testimonials about stores in order to select the winner. As the winner, Peebles Comics & Games in Scotland will receive:

  • a commemorative medallion to display with pride
  • a spotlight Q&A to be featured on Image Comics’ social media platforms and Website
  • the store’s choice of a gold foil exclusive variant, branded as an Image Select Retailer Award winner, with store logo (limited to 250 copies).

The Local Comic Shop is the sales backbone of the comic book industry, and sadly, the least appreciated when it comes to award recognition. The Image Select Retailer Award is a way to reward and spotlight stores that have done exemplary work expanding the audience, and evangelizing the medium to new readers. Image Comics feels that there is not enough being done to point out stores that are raising the bar, changing the marketplace, and building readership, and this award is meant as a fun way to help repair that oversight.

The next Image Select Retailer Appreciation Award nomination window will be announced soon via the official Image website, social media, and via Lunar Distribution communication, to retailers and the public for those interested in nominating their store.

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