ComicsPRO has announced that Local Comic Shop Day will be September 26, 2026, and the organization has put out an initial call for publishers and others to participate. The deadline for non-retail participants to sign up is June 2.
ComicsPRO suggests that publishers offer special print-to-order items, limited editions, sales on backlist titles, free promos such as bookplates, posters, and stickers, early release editions, LCSD branded blind bags, and advertising. Non-publishers could offer special deals to stores so they can stock up, as well as free promos and advertising.
“We’re talking to publishers about variant fatigue with Local Comic Shop Day variants,” ComicsPRO Director of Operations Kate deNeveu said after last year’s LCSD (see “ComicsPRO: This Year’s Local Comic Shop Day a Success“), “and… part of my ask for 2026 is asking publishers to provide more community event materials, rather than variant covers.”
ComicsPRO revised the format of LCSD last year to include more emphasis on community events. Over 270 retailers participated, and those who responded to the post-event survey reported that sales were twice as high on LCSD as on previous Saturdays, and retailers who built community events around the day had higher sales than those who did not.
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Source: ICv2
