After more than a month of no new books of sequential art to admire, some geeks are most likely truly suffering from cabin fever. Diamond Comic Distributors and Alliance Game Distributors have officially restarted distribution and many comic book and game stores are starting to reopen safely, following a pause and temporary closure of many retailers amid stay-at-home orders across many countries.
With new comics and games starting to ship to eager stores and fans, consumers can look forward to games from WizKids, Renegade Studios, Wizards of the Coast, and others as well as new stories from Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, BOOM! Studios, Dynamite Entertainment, Marvel and DC Comics, among others in the coming weeks.
While this Back the Comeback campaign is very specific to operations in the United States, we shouldn’t stop there. In Canada, the UK, Australia and other points in between, the operations here also need fandom’s help.
Highlighting the return of local comic book and game stores, Diamond and Alliance last week announced the launch of the Back The ComebackTM Campaign. Centred around the rallying cry of, “Our Comeback Will Be Bigger Than Our Setback,” Diamond and Alliance created the campaign in partnership with publishers and industry influencers to shine a light on the unique relationship consumers have with their local comic and game retailers.
Launched with a social media challenge last week by Steve Geppi, Chairman and CEO, Geppi Family Enterprises, challenging five friends to #BackTheComeback and post messages of support for their favourite comic or game store, the idea quickly gained traction across Twitter and Instagram with influencers such as Kevin Smith, J. August Richards, Todd McFarlane, Ming Chen, and Steve Jackson jumping on board to show their support for comics and game retailers, and keep the challenge going. Soon after, fans heeded the call to “Back The Comeback,” and expressed enthusiasm at being able to return shopping at their favourite comics and game stores–frequently citing superb customer service. Comic shops joined in as well, sharing photos of new comics and games, as shipments arrived.
In the local front, Curious Comics is starting to get their shipments in, and it’s expected by next month, more titles will grace the shelves. Legends Comics have a huge inventory of collectables and some of the best titles from the Golden or Silver Age will get listed on eBay. Some shops as their bread and butter to pay the bills.
Additional information on Back The Comeback can be found at backthecomeback.com, including a link to purchase campaign T-shirts and more information on an upcoming charity auction to provide financial support to local comic book and game stores. All proceeds from T-shirt sales will be distributed to charities that support comic and game stores.
Charity recipients include:
- Book Industry Charitable Foundation: https://www.bincfoundation.org
- Jack Vasel Memorial Fund: https://www.jackvasel.org
- Comic Book Legal Defense Fund: http://cbldf.org
