According to Popverse, New York Comic Con is too big to be limited to just four days. The event will be held at the Javits Center from October 17th to 20th, with the addition of Wednesday as “Retailer Day.”
In a day dubbed “Retailer Day,” New York Comic Con 2024 will open its doors a day early on Wednesday, October 16 to comic retailers and event sponsors for a full day of programming, parties and more for the comic industry . NYCC Retailer Day 2024 will be held on Wednesday, October 16th from 12:00 pm to 9:00 pm, a closed event for comics industry advocates as well as those in attendance.
The day will feature demonstrations from Lunar Distributions, ComicPRO and Tiny Onion, including:
- Get your store in the news: PR basics
- Benefits of Working with Retailers/Introduction to ComicsPro
- Work with schools and libraries
- Quickly connect with comic book retailers
There will also be exclusive releases for retailers, such as a variant version of Ministry of Truth #25, with a new cover drawn by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell.
As a loyal attendee of every New York Comic Con Career Day, here’s something to unpack, at least if you’re a fan of industry gatherings – and The Beat is!
First, the timing surprised some attendees — we’re already hearing complaints from industry insiders who had already purchased tickets to arrive Wednesday afternoon. Who knows?
Popverse says this is “NYCC’s first-ever Wednesday schedule,” but that’s not entirely correct. Back in 2006 and 2007, ICv2 held a “Graphic Novel Convention” the day before NYCC, but then NYCC was not only held in February… but it lasted for three days! So there was a show the day before the show, but it was a Thursday.
The tradition of Career Day continues through various endeavors, including, believe it or not, Chris Hardwick 2011. But in 2012, ICv2 held the ICv2 Comics and Digital II conference on the Wednesday before the show. I even found a photo of Hardwick Fred Seibert Chat at the event.
Over the years, there has almost always been some kind of party or launch event on Wednesday. I could spend a lot of time digging through other reports (or looking through my photos), but suffice it to say that just like there’s always been a ghost in the machine, there’s always been some kind of career day at New York Comic Con – it’s just changed shape and time.
Gotta say, it was a pretty strong pro day last year and it was exhausting all day Thursday. The event kicked off with a Dawn Retailer Breakfast hosted by Lunar, followed by ComicsPRO, followed by ICv2 programming and cocktail bartenders, and ended with the evening Industry Summit. It had been a long, fact-filled day.
Perhaps it was this tight schedule that led them to move the retailer-related shows to Wednesdays and spread the shows out more. The Industry Summit will return in 2024 but will be held on Thursday from 7-9pm, once again sponsored by Comic Sketch Art, and will feature several speakers, industry mixers and free merchandise from Tiny Onion.
Anyway, NYCC Wednesday just got bigger! For those interested in attending the industry summit, please contact Alex Rae, ReedPop’s Comic Publishing Talent Manager. Retailers can receive free badges for Wednesday and Thursday of NYCC 2024 through Lunar Distribution, as well as purchase special 4-day badges. As for other attendee badges, the 4-day pass and Saturday are sold out, but you can purchase single-day tickets for other dates here .
