ANN ARBOR, MI–The Book Industry Charitable (Binc) Foundation has awarded seven comic retailers $1,500 scholarships to the ComicsPRO industry meeting in Glendale, CA, February 18-21, 2026, three of them to first-time attendees thanks to the co-owners of Comics Place in Bellingham, WA.
Scholarships were awarded to Sam Bolenbaugh and Miranda Nordell, Dreamers & Make-Believers, Baltimore, Maryland; Joey Martinez, Secret Identity Comics, Fresno, Calif.; and Robert Howard, Comicazi, Somerville, Mass. The three additional recipients, all first-time attendees, are Tim Hershey, Comic Zen, Lansdale, Penn.; Todd Rubin, Gorilla Todd Comics, Las Vegas, Nevada; and Michael Nelson, Resistance Comics and Games, Roanoke, Texas.
The funds, up to $1,500 per scholarship, may be used for travel, lodging, and meals; ComicsPRO covers the registration fee for the meeting.
“We are pleased to continue our support for comic retailers with these scholarships and are grateful to our friends Jeff Figley and Django Bohren for their generous commitment to increase the number of scholarships we could offer,” said Binc CEO Pam French. “Their support provided additional opportunities for first-time attendees and we look forward to meeting all the recipients in California.”
ComicsPRO is the only trade organization for direct-market comic book retailers. The organization’s industry conference is a chance for all store-front comic retailers (members and non-members) to meet with comic publishers and distributors and other pop culture wholesalers.