Owing to the calendrical vagaries (this year, December has five weeks, and Christmas and New Year's Day are Fridays), Diamond Comic Distributors—which is the major source of comics for comic shops—has decided to take the last week of the year off, shipping no new comics for the typical Wednesday arrival (which would be New Year's Eve Eve). A group of independent comics creators has decided this is an opportunity.
The group behind Indy Comic Book Week writes it is "not only an event, but also a call to action." Diamond's week off, they say, is not "a sad week without our favorite mainstream titles," but an opportunity. "This vacancy allows independent and small press comic book creators to claim this week as their own."
They go on to "challenge writers and artists to self publish new material for this week, and offer it to their local stores. We ask for retailers to take this as an opportunity to showcase local independent talent on the new release shelves. We encourage fans to break from their buying habits and try something new."
At press time, eleven comics shops have announced they'll be participating, including: Madness Games & Comics, Zeus Toys & Comics, Titan Comics, Keith's Comics, Lone Star Comics, and Heroplex Comics & Games (all in Texas), as well as Ssalefish Comics (North Carolina), Jim Hanley's Universe (New York), Brainstorm Movies, Comics & Games (Illinois), Green Brain Comics (Michigan), and Sarge's Comics (Connecticut). The full list of stores and creators participating in ICBW is updated on this page.
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