After decades of helping transform the comic industry, Image Comics’ latest initiative is paying it forward in an epic way. This week, Image Comics announced the details surrounding their Fall 2024 Image Select Retailer Award, an honor aiming to celebrate the best local comic shops across the country. Until Friday, October 11th, fans and readers can fill out this form to nominate their local shop based on the following criteria:
- 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 winner of the Fall 2024 Image Select Retailer Award will be announced at New York Comic Con’s Lunar Distribution retailer event. The lucky recipient will receive a commemorative medallion and special window cling to display in their store, a spotlight Q&A on Image’s website and social media platforms, and their choice of a gold foil exclusive variant with their store’s logo, limited to 250 copies. Previous winners have included Nirvana Comics in Knoxville, Tennessee and Hall of Justice Comics in Parker, Colorado.
Videos by ComicBook.com
“We have some amazing customers, and are honored that they took the time to nominate us!” Jon Garnett of Hall of Justice Comics & Collectibles previously said of winning the award. “Everyday our staff strives to make anyone who sets foot in the shop feel welcome and a part of the comic community. Without the support of that community and the friendships that it has fostered, we all wouldn’t be able to do what we love, and that is sell comics! A giant shout out to the folks at Image who create opportunities like this and really help to foster that community by publishing a variety of comic titles ensuring that there is something for everyone!”
Will Image United Be Completed?
One aspect of Image’s portfolio that fans have been especially eager to see is the conclusion of Image United, the ambitious crossover involving a number of established Image heroes and creators.
“I would say there’s a chance. I think the chance is small, but there’s a chance,” Image Comics president Todd McFarlane previously told ComicBook.com. “If I was going to bet on it, the way to get there is not necessarily that we have to get all the boys back together, because everybody might’ve moved on. And as time goes by, maybe even one of us isn’t even standing on the earth. So you can’t have your band reunion anymore, which was the first thought I had when I heard the news of John Lennon. It was like The Beatles will never be together again. And I’m not saying we’re The Beatles. I’m using a big example, but I think what is more likely is that two or three of us may take up the torch and just finish it, because we want to finish it, and just do the rest of the work and not worry about whether everybody’s doing their own life and things, which is what got it [bogged down with]. So I think that’s the bet. If I was going to Vegas, that’s the bet of how it gets done.”
As mentioned above, submissions for the Fall 2024 Image Select Retailer Award will close on Friday, October 11th.
