Brick and mortar comic book stores have been finding new ways to sell their products and interact with customers during the COVID-19 pandemic. A group of retailers in Canada, along with artists and writers, have come together to create Be Our Heroes, Canada. The collaboration between retailers and creators will be held on May 16-17, 2020 as a Facebook Live event.

“What started as a conversation between four retailers on how we could cross-promote our shops turned into this idea of a national fundraiser to help preserve Canada’s unique comics landscape,” Jennifer Haines, owner of The Dragon, said. “Now more than ever, we need to come together to support one another, and provide our respective communities with a way to stay connected, all while protecting retailers that might otherwise fall through the cracks of government funding.”

The event was organized by Guelph, Ontario’s The Dragon family of stores, along with Ontario retailers Gotham Central, Heroes World, and Cyber City Comix. During the two-day Facebook Live event, creators and stores will have scheduled slots to interact with customers and fans. The funds raised will go to the Comic Legends Legal Defense Fund, a Canadian-based non-profit protecting free speech in the industry, supporting retailers, schools and libraries, and creators and publishers.

The current list of those participating include Adam Gorham, Andy Belanger, Brendan Fletcher, Casey Parsons, Chip Zdarsky, Dylan Burnett, Ed Brisson, J. Torres, Jason Fabok, Jason Loo, Jay Stephens, Karl Kerschl, Ken Lashley, Michael Cho, Ray Fawkes, Richard Pace, Scott Chantler, Seth, Shawn Daly, Svetlana Chmakova, and Yanick Paquette. 

Be Our Heroes, Canada is still accepting offers to participate among the Canadian creative community and will announce the full list soon.