Comic-Con fans and cosplayers give thanks: the industry’s top convention announced its first in-person event since 2019.

Earlier this year, Comic-Con International declared that they would be having a virtual-only event this July, just as they had last year when the country (and the state of California) was subject to a lockdown in the face of the the Covid-19 pandemic.

Saturday, however, the news changed. In a statement on their website, Comic-Con International announced they will be holding an event in November.

As the timing and scope of our larger event factored greatly into our decision to postpone, we believe that launching a smaller in-person event at a later time may be a safe alternative. For this reason, we are happy to announce that San Diego Comic Convention is planning to present a three-day in-person convention in San Diego in November. At this time, we are still working on specific details as to attendance capacity, badge cost, and related information, and those details will be forthcoming. Please continue to visit our website, comic-con.org, for official updated information as it becomes available.

Statement from the SDCC website

Variety reports that the three-day event, titled “Comic-Con Special Edition” will take place over Thanksgiving weekend Friday, Saturday and Sunday, November 26th through the 28th at the San Diego Convention Center.

Fans that already bought tickets will have priority over new wannabe attendees; those who purchased badges that were rolled over to the 2021 show will automatically have them transferred to the 2022 event unless a refund is requested. Badge prices and attendance capacity is not yet known.

Per the website announcement, the November event will highlight “all the great elements that make Comic-Con such a popular event each year, as well as generate much needed revenue not only for the organization but also for local businesses and the community.”

“While we have been able to pivot from in-person gatherings to limited online events, the loss of revenue has had an acute impact on the organization as it has with many small businesses, necessitating reduced work schedules and reduction in pay for employees, among other issues,” said David Glanzer, a spokesperson for the nonprofit organization that puts the convention together. “Hopefully this event will shore up our financial reserves and mark a slow return to larger in-person gatherings in 2022.”