It’s still several months out — and there’s Baltimore, SPX, and the New York Comic-Con to go first — but I found this fascinating news. The Virginia Comicon, a local Richmond show that’s held four times a year, is working hard to grow beyond its “dealers room” roots.

The November 20-21 show will take place over two days, have a number of professional guests (including Kelly Yates, Brian Pulido, Ethan Van Sciver, Jim Calafiore, Billy Tucci, Larry Hama, and Herb Trimpe), and feature publishers Top Cow, Fangoria, and AdHouse. But that’s not the exciting part to me. This is: The Virginia Comicon is joining forces with Anime Mid-Atlantic.

In an exclusive event partnership, the AMA will host multiple rooms showcasing vendors and creators of Anime and Manga! … We are pleased to announce that you will get into BOTH shows for the SAME LOW PRICE!

I’m not buying that many older back issues these days, but this gives me an excellent reason to go and shop.