Collectors Network Holdings, PBC, a Public Benefit Corporation that owns ComicArtFans.com (CAF), the global hub for everything related to original art from comic books and other narrative or visual storytelling art, announced today the launch of Indie Comics Creator Con (IC3) as a national platform of interconnected in-person, co-promoted, and virtual conventions.
IC3 will be an affordable, dynamic, reliable, and inclusive environment that brings together independent comic book creators, publishers, art collectors, and fans to celebrate and support unique and diverse creators in comics. IC3 is launching nationally with five annual shows in place and many more in development and expects to announce up to six more IC3 shows by the end of 2026.
IC3’s core tenets, mission, current shows, future development, and national partners may all be found on the new www.IC3.art website. Make sure to sign up to the IC3 newsletter to receive updates.
“This is a big day for all of us at CAF, as we love indie comics and conventions and believe that CAF is uniquely positioned to play an important role as an advocate for indie creators,” said Kasra Ghanbari, CEO of CAF. “Our website, features, tools, mobile app, art collector base, global professional network, YouTube channels, and promotional capabilities will all be actively brought to indie creators and publishers in order to materially support their creations through multiple new discovery channels, increased art sales, creator rights protection, and our national circuit of well-produced and attended indie comic book conventions. We want to thank our outstanding group of national partners for joining us from the start and contributing to making the American indie comic book scene thrive for many years to come.”
As part of its national launch, IC3 has added a new show in Jacksonville, Florida, on July 11, 2026, under a co-promotion partnership with First Coast Comic Con (FC3). FC3 is northeast Florida’s premier comic-centric event for creators, collectors, and fans. The combined IC3/FC3 show will be at the brand-new Jacksonville Fairgrounds Expo Hall and will enjoy 40,000 square feet of floor space with over 100 artists and 100 exhibitors with greater than 4,000 people expected to attend. Information on the show and ticket sales will be posted soon.
IC3 has now also been added to the Original Art Expo (OAX) show in Orlando, Florida. OAX is the premier narrative art-focused event in the world that exclusively showcases original comic book, illustration, collector card, comic strip, game, animation, and other visual storytelling art. IC3@OAX26 will focus on showcasing established and legendary independent comic book creators, as well as up-and-coming indie talent. More information on IC3@OAX26 attending artists may be found on the OAX site HERE, where you can filter the overall attending artist list by IC3@OAX artists.
Our annual IC3@New Haven show, which enjoyed two years at Southern Connecticut State University, has now been moved to Providence, Rhode Island and will be held at the Teamworks Warwick indoor soccer facility. IC3@Providence has been scheduled for September 26, 2026.
IC3 has also put in place national partnerships and co-promotion agreements with some of the best and most innovative people in the comics industry. Collectively, they cover creator, intellectual property, and product protection; multiple types of artist representation groups; community-based comic convention promotion; novel and curated indie comic book distribution; and grass-roots indie publishing. More information for each on the www.IC3.art site.
Further information available at the link.
