 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Founder |
|
| Headquarters | , United States |
Number of locations | 3 stores (2010) |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | |
| Website | midtowncomics |
Midtown Comics is aNew York Citycomic bookretailer with three shops inManhattan and an e-commerce website.[1][2] The largest comic book store in the United States,[3] the company opened its first store in theTimes Square area in 1997. Its second was opened onLexington Avenue in 2004,[2] and is known as the Grand Central store for its proximity toGrand Central Terminal.[4] Its downtown store was opened on Fulton Street in theFinancial District in November 2010, and itsAstoria, Queens outlet store opened in March 2020. It also used to operate a boutique inside Manhattan'sTimes SquareToys R Us. In 2020 Midtown, which had handledDC Comics' subscription sales for years, launched a sister company, the comics distributor UCS Comic Distributors, would begin distributing DC's books.
The store is noted for appearances by celebrities known outside the comic book industry,[5] for its friendly and energetic staff, and for being the most media-friendly comic store in the United States.[6] It was named byThe Village Voice in 2012 as the Best Comic Book Store in New York,[7] and has been hailed byCBR.com as "the industry's leading retailer of comic books, graphic novels andmanga."[4] On July 13, 2012, theNational Geographic Channel premieredComic Store Heroes, areality television program set at Midtown Comics. In 2013, it was ranked number 44 onBleeding Cool magazine's Top 100 Power List of Comic Books, due to its geographic proximity to the then-headquarters of "Big Two" of the American comic book publishing industry,Marvel Comics and DC Comics,[a] and the relationship between the store and industry professionals.[6]
Midtown was founded by partners Gerry Gladston, Angelo Chantly, Thomas Galitos and Robert Mileta, who met as teenagers inAstoria, Queens, and later sold comics in their video stores inBrooklyn andQueens before opening the flagship Midtown Comics inManhattan,[5][8] on West 40th Street and Seventh Avenue.[9] The store houses approximately 500,000 books in its collection.[5][8] According toThe New York Times:
The stereotypical view of comics stores is that they are dim, cramped and dusty places with a no-girls-allowed clubhouse atmosphere. In reality, they run the gamut. For instance, the West Side Midtown store is bright, airy and welcoming to all, with two floors and 5,000 square feet (460 m2) of space. The main floor, which is one story above street level, has a long wall with countless racks of new and recently released comics. The rest of the space offers DVDs, manga, trading cards,back issues and trade paperbacks. Toys and other collectibles are upstairs. The second Midtown store, on Lexington Avenue and 45th Street, though smaller than the first one, is just as inviting.[2]
Midtown Comics is the official retail sponsor ofNew York Comic Con, and has performed this role since the NYCC's inception in 2006.[2] Each year, Midtown creates a "show-within-a-show", featuring round-the-clock appearances by comics creators and variant comic books by publishers likeMarvel Comics andTop Cow.[10]
Midtown's website was at first purely informational, but has developed into a full-scaleretail website. The stores and website are supported by a warehouse in Queens, and a staff of around 150[2] who are described byNew York Magazine as "a rare mix of nerd knowledge and chummy confidence – [and] who foster an atmosphere where browsing is more than just a means to a badly needed social end."[8]
Midtown also produces a weeklypodcast that covers the comic book industry, with a differentcomic book creator interviewed each week.[11]
On November 10, 2010, Midtown Comics opened a third Manhattan store. Known as their Downtown store, it is located in theFinancial District, at 64 Fulton Street, in the southernmost section of the borough.[12][13][14] Inaugural book signings were held for that branch featuringJim Lee and Jonathan Layman, creator ofChew.[14] As of June 2012, Midtown is the largest comic book store in the United States.[3]
The store is a sponsor of Artists Assemble!, a comics festival inUnion City, New Jersey that began in February 2013.[15]
In May 2012, Midtown Comics opened a boutique inside the flagshipFAO Schwarz toy store in Manhattan'sFifth Avenue shopping district. The boutique offered graphic novels, hardcover books, apparel and collectibles.[16][17][18] The boutique ceased operations when FAO Schwarz closed in July 2015.[19] In October 2013, Midtown opened a shop inside theToys R Us store in Manhattan'sTimes Square. The shop, which is located next to the second flooranimatronicTyrannosaurus that forms the centerpiece of theJurassic Park display, offers items similar to that offered in the FAO Schwarz boutique.[20]
In 2013, Midtown was ranked number 44 onBleeding Cool magazine's Top 100 Power List of Comic Books, due to its geographic proximity to the headquarters of the "Big Two" of the American comic book publishing industry, Marvel and DC, and the fact that industry professionals both shop there and are privy to reaction from Midtown staffers and owners.[6]
In October 2016, Marvel Comics and Midtown Comics jointly decided to pull from circulationJ. Scott Campbell's variant cover of the first issue ofThe Invincible Iron Man, produced exclusively for the store, after previews of the cover were criticized for sexualizing the depicted character, 15-year-oldRiri Williams.[21][22] The cover depicted the character, a teenagedMIT engineering student whoreverse engineers one of Iron Man's armored suits to wear herself, in a midriff-baringcrop top, in contrast to the more modest way in which artist Stefano Caselli depicted the character in the book's interior art. Campbell called the decision "unfortunate", explained that his rendition of the character was intended to depict "a sassy, coming-of-age young woman". He regarded the reaction to the cover as a "faux controversy", saying, "I gave her a sassy 'attitude'...'sexualizing' was not intended. This reaction is odd."Brian Michael Bendis, the writer on the series, was pleased with the decision to pull the cover, saying that while he liked the face Campbell had drawn on Riri when he viewed the art as a work in progress, he disliked the completed art, saying, "Specialty covers are not in my purview and it was being produced separately from the work of the people involved in making the comic. Not to pass the buck but that's the fact. If I had seen a sketch or something I would have voiced similar concerns. I am certain the next version will be amazing."[23]
On March 7, 2020, Midtown Comics opened its fourth location, an outlet store at 32-11 41st Street inAstoria, Queens, the only branch not in Manhattan.[24][25] The location's basement level houses an extensive collection of back issues of both recent and vintage single issues and fullstory arc sets, including rare issues dating from as early as theGolden Age of Comic Books. The back issue selection also includes one dollar books that the store sells for discounted prices when purchased in bulk. The store's ground floor level sells various other types of overstocked company merchandise, including newer and out-of-printgraphic novels,manga, action figures, and other collectibles, at discounted prices of up to 70% off their normal retail prices. The store is open only on Saturdays and Sundays, with a pick-up service for comics ordered on the company's website that would allow local residents to avoid traveling into Manhattan.[24][26] The store garnered a positive review by industry reporterHeidi MacDonald, who likened the outlet to a permanent Midtown Comics warehouse sale. MacDonald lauded the attractive price points of its back issue selection, and expressed surprise at how extensive the store's graphic novel section was for an outlet store.[24]
In 2020, Midtown, having handledDC Comics' subscription sales for years, launched the comic book distributor UCS Comic Distributors, a sister company that, along with Lunar Distribution (which is owned by the Indiana-based company DCBS), would begin distributing that publisher's books beginning on April 27 of that year.[27][28]
In October, 2024 one of the variant covers with which DC Comics publishedAbsolute Wonder Woman #1 was an exclusive Midtown Comics cover illustrated byDan Panosian.[29]
In February 2025, as part of the press tour for the feature filmCaptain America: Brave New World, its star,Anthony Mackie, visited a number of institutions in Manhattan, including appearances on the TV shows,Good Morning America, andLive with Kelly and Mark, and a stop at the Times Square Midtown Comics, where Mackie spoke about having been a customer of the store before he rose to fame.[30]
Midtown Comics has developed a reputation for being the most media-friendly comic store in the United States.[6] AsManhattan is the location of the Big Two of the American comic book publishing industry,Marvel Comics andDC Comics,[a] and the setting for much of theformer's stories,[31] Midtown Comics Times Square and its staff have been utilized for local news reporting relating tocomic books andpopular culture.[32][33] Midtown Comics co-owner Gerry Gladston, who as of 2019, functions as the company's chief marketing officer,[1] has often been interviewed for comment on such stories, including a 2006 story on vintage comics selling for large amounts of money at auction,[34] a 2009 story on the return ofCaptain America after Marvel Comics had killed him off two years prior,[35][36] and a 2014 Marvel storyline that introduced a femaleThor.[37] Midtown's staff were also consulted by major media outlets in 2009 regarding theappearance of President Barack Obama in an issue ofSpider-Man,[38][39] and again later that year regarding the anticipation of the release of the filmAvatar.[40] The media also rely on Midtown as a source for reaction to industry news and events.Publishers Weekly relies on them for their annual survey about the state of the comics and graphic novel marketplace[41] and for their coverage ofFree Comic Book Day,[42] whileCBR.com quoted Gladston for reaction toAxel Alonso's 2011 promotion to editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics.[43] Gladston was consulted by multiple publications on the effects on new readership of DC Comics' 2011 relaunch,The New 52, for which Midtown Comics held a midnight signing on August 31, 2011.[44][45]
Midtown Comics Times Square was the location of the December 21, 2010 press conference in which Marvel Comics Editor-in-ChiefJoe Quesada and Executive EditorsTom Brevoort and Axel Alonso announced the 2011 company-wide crossover storyline "Fear Itself".[46][47][48] It was later the location of the March 31, 2012 New York City Launch Party for theDisney XD TV series,Ultimate Spider-Man, where Marvel Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada and series writer/producerJoe Kelly presented a sneak preview of the series' pilot episode for small audiences of fans.[49][50][51] In January 2015, Marvel announced their "Secret Wars" storyline at a press conference held at Midtown.[52]
The store has also been mentioned in comic book stories themselves. InEx Machina #12 (August 2005) byBrian K. Vaughn andWildstorm Productions, the main character, Mitchell Hundred, laments the closing of a beloved comic book store inLower Manhattan following theSeptember 11 attacks, and a friend mentions some real-life comics shops that are still open, includingSt. Mark's Comics, Jim Hanley's Universe, and Midtown Comics.[53] Comic book writerMark Millar explicitly references the store inUltimate Comics Avengers 3 #2 (October 2010), in whichNerd Hulk requests permission fromCaptain America to attend a book signing there.[54]
On July 13, 2012, theNational Geographic Channel premieredComic Store Heroes, areality television program set at the store, and starring Gladston, Marketing Manager Thor Parker, and pricing expert Alex Rae. Like similar series such asPawn Stars andComic Book Men, the program focuses on the interactions between the store's staff and its devoted comics aficionado customer base, as well as the conflict among its staff as it prepares its booth for the New York ComicCon.[3][17][55][56] Parker explains thatComic Store Heroes is distinct from filmmakerKevin Smith's reality series,Comic Book Men, saying, "We're fans of Kevin's show and what it brings to the table, but we wanted to take things in a different direction. We wanted to try and work [past] the typical stereotypes about comic book fans and show that comics and the comic community have the ability to help people find acceptance, become part of an extremely welcoming family, and really make a difference in people's lives."[57]
In 2017,ABC News used the Times Square store as the remote location portion of a segment[58] reporting on the controversial Marvel storyline "Secret Empire".[58][59][60][61]
In March 2019, theTruTV hidden camera television seriesImpractical Jokers filmed a segment at the Downtown location, during a book signing by actorZachary Levi to promote his filmShazam!. The segment was part of the program's eighth-season premiere, which debuted on March 28, 2019.[62][63]
Midtown Comics has hosted signings by comic book creators, includingRob Liefeld,Dave Gibbons,Mark Millar andSimone Bianchi,[64] and with celebrities known outside the comic book industry,[5] includingAmber Benson,[65]Tim Gunn,Fall Out Boy,[64]Olivia Munn,[4] New York City MayorMichael Bloomberg,[12][66][67][68] filmmakerKevin Smith[69][70] actorZachary Quinto,[71][72][73] and civil rights leader and U.S. CongressmanJohn Lewis.[74]
The store will sometimes hold special midnight releases to begin selling certain high-profile books during the first minutes of the Wednesday shipping day, before other stores are able to. These events usually feature store appearances by creators, including a September 2008 appearance byPeter David andMike Perkins to promoteThe Dark Tower: Treachery andThe Stand: Captain Trips,[75][76] and an August 2011 appearance byJim Lee andGeoff Johns to promote titles related toDC Comics' 2011 "Flashpoint" storyline and its subsequentThe New 52 relaunch.[77][78]
Notable customers who visited the shop have included actorsAnthony Mackie[30] andJack Quaid,[79] and professional wrestlerBritt Baker.[80]
^ a: DC Comics, one of the Big Two, moved its headquarters toBurbank, California in 2015.[81])
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