Wizard.com reports that their CEO, Gareb Shamus, has acquired the Big Apple Con, "one of the trailblazing brands in the comic book and pop culture world, and the longest-running annual show in New York City."

Per the press release, Big Apple's fall show, called The National, will move from its traditional November date to Oct. 16-19 at Pier 94 in Manhattan. Also building on a partnership they announced for Wizard's Philadelphia show, Wizard will also partner with the Video Game Expo on both the Big Apple show and the upcoming Chicago Comic-Con.

This is interesting news for a few reasons, not the least of which is that Wizard recently canceled their Dallas show and postponed their Los Angeles show. They also shut down Anime Insider and have had many, many layoffs over the last couple of years, so it's a little surprising to see any news on the acquisition front coming from the Wizard camp.

Also, as Heidi MacDonald notes about the new October date, "Should this date hold for next year it would put the show in direct competition with the New York Comic-Con which is moving to a fall date in 2010."