Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. (often called Diamond Comics, DCD, or casually Diamond) is an American

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

distributor A distributor is an electric and mechanical device used in the ignition system of older spark-ignition engines. The distributor's main function is to route electricity from the ignition coil to each spark plug at the correct time. Design ...

serving retailers in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

and worldwide. It transports comic books and graphic novels, as well as other

popular culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of cultural practice, practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art

f. pop art F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet. F may also refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * F or f, the number 15 (number), 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems * ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function * F-distributi ...

or mass art, sometimes contraste ...

products such as toys, games, and apparel, from comic book publishers or suppliers to

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholes ...

ers. It is owned by Geppi Family Enterprises, which is also the parent company of Alliance Game Distributors, Diamond Book Distributors, Diamond UK, Diamond Select Toys, Gemstone Publishing, E. Gerber Products, Diamond International Galleries, Hake's Americana & Collectibles, Morphy's Auctions, the Geppi's Entertainment Museum, and ''Baltimore'' magazine. On May 16th 2025 the company was sold to Sparkle Pop, a subsidiary of Ad Populum. The acquisition included several companies under the Geppi Family Ent umbrella. Diamond is the publisher of ''Previews'', a monthly catalog/magazine showcasing upcoming comic books, graphic novels, toys, and other pop-culture merchandise.

History

In 1982, Baltimore-based comics retailer Steve Geppi founded Diamond Comic Distributors. Diamond became the successor to direct-sales pioneer Phil Seuling's distribution dream when it took over New Media/Irjax's warehouses in 1982. Diamond further bought out early distributor Bud Plant Inc. in 1988, and main rival

Capital City Distribution Capital City Distribution was a Madison, Wisconsin–based comic book distributor which operated from 1980 to 1996 when they were acquired by rival Diamond Comic Distributors. Under the name Capital Comics, they also published comics from 1981 ...

in 1996, to assume a near-monopoly on comics distribution, including exclusivity deals with the major comic book publishers.

Beginnings

By 1981/1982 Geppi had four comics retail locations and was already "doing a little informal distributing... for smaller retailers."Warshaw, Michael with illustration by

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a Creator ownership, creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and re ...

, "From Mailman to Tycoon," '' Success'' (June, 1994), pp. 28–32 Geppi found himself "one of the biggest accounts" for New Media/Irjax, and when the distributor "relocated to Florida, he asked Geppi to service more accounts for a bigger discount." One of the "last loyal customers" when New Media began having fiscal difficulties, Geppi made a deal: " e owner was going into retail," so Geppi agreed to provide New Media/Irjax with "free books for a period of time in return for his account list," buying parts of the company, and founding Diamond Comic Distribution. Geppi had been a sub-distributor for Hal Shuster's Irjax in the late 1970s.Duin, Steve and Richardson, Mike (ed.s) " Direct Distribution" in ''Comics Between the Panels'' ( Dark Horse Publishing, 1998) , p. 126-130 In what Mile High Comics' Chuck Rozanski describes as an "incredibly risky and gutsy move," Geppi took over New Media/Irjax's "office and warehouse space" and, recalled Rozanski, had to "sort out the good customers from the bad overnight" negotiating with creditors to continue Shuster's distribution business as Diamond Comic Distribution. Almost overnight, noted Rozanski, " went from being a retailer in Baltimore to having warehouses all over the place." Geppi named his new company 'Diamond' "after the imprint

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

used on non-returnable comics," and although the "publisher discontinued the symbol" months later, the name remained. "Diamond grew an average of 40 percent a year," as comics retail took off. In 1983, Diamond hired an accounting firm. In 1985, Diamond hired "no-nonsense CPA" Chuck Parker "as Diamond's first controller". In 1994, Diamond employee Mark Herr noted that this move was Geppi's "best decision", as Parker "cares nothing about the comics. To him, it's dollars and cents." Parker describes his role as "smooth ngthe emotion out of some decisions. Steve eppiis a visionary and a risk-taker... and I tend to be more conservative."

Expansion

After starting his business through buying New Media/Irjax's warehouses and offices in 1982, Geppi's distribution company has bought out many other distribution companies since. Many fans "with little experience" started rival distribution companies only to "find they were in over their heads," allowing Geppi to " uyout the smart ones or pick... up the pieces after the stupid ones went out of business," according to Herr. Diamond was aided in his efforts by the publishers themselves. In the early 1980s, Marvel Comics and

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

provided trade terms favorable for larger distributors and those with efficient freight systems, effectively "play nginto the hands of the major distributors such as Capital and Diamond," and hastening the demise of smaller distributors. In 1988, ''Previews'', Diamond's monthly magazine showcasing upcoming comic books was first published.

Bud Plant Inc.

Most notably, in 1988, Geppi bought up early mail-order distributor Bud Plant Inc., who had himself bought out Charles Abar Distribution in 1982.Duin, Steve and Richardson, Mike (ed.s) "Bud Plant" in ''Comics Between the Panels'' ( Dark Horse Publishing, 1998) , p. 356-357 Plant had, since 1970, been selling

underground comics Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

(a field which Geppi and fellow distributor Buddy Saunders had tended to steer clear of). After making $19m in sales in 1987, Diamond bought West Coast distributor Plant's business in 1988 "and went national" thereby assuming control of "40 percent of the direct-sales market." (Diamond and Capital City Distribution had control of at least 70% between them.)

Further expansion

In 1990, Diamond acquired Oregon-based Second Genesis Distribution (whose operations folded in 1991). Second Genesis had previously absorbed distributors Sunrise Distributors and Comex. One week after announcing the acquisition of Second Genesis, Diamond announced the acquisition of the Seattle-based sub-distributor Destiny Distribution."Diamond Timeline Chronicles 30 Years of Service & Success,"
Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. official website. Accessed Feb. 10, 2015. Destiny had been started by Phil Pankow in the early 1980s, and was initially supplied by Bud Plant. In 1991, Diamond moved into the UK market, acquiring Neptune Comic Distributors Ltd. (to whom they had formerly supplied US comics for the UK market), in the process creating Diamond UK. In 1993, Diamond acquired the single remaining dominant British distributor Titan Distributors, thus cornering the

direct market The direct market is the dominant distribution and retail network for American comic books. The concept of the direct market was created in the 1970s by Phil Seuling. The network currently consists of: * three major comic distributors: ** Luna ...

in the United Kingdom."Newswatch: Diamond Acquires Titan Distributors," ''The Comics Journal'' #162 (Oct. 1993), pp. 35-36. In 1994, Diamond acquired Staten Island-based distributor Comics Unlimited. By this point, Diamond had "27 warehouses in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., employ ngbetween 750 and 900 people;" operated its own trucking line; and controlled 45% of the market, making $222 million in sales. In 1996, Diamond launched the toll-free Comic Shop Locator service.

Heroes World and Capital City

In 1995, Marvel Comics challenged Diamond and main rival Capital City by buying the third largest distributor — Heroes World Distribution — and distributing its titles in-house after taking over from Curtis Circulation. On April 26, 1995, Diamond reacted by outbidding Capital City for exclusive deals with Marvel's main rivals DC Comics, Dark Horse and

Image An image or picture is a visual representation. An image can be Two-dimensional space, two-dimensional, such as a drawing, painting, or photograph, or Three-dimensional space, three-dimensional, such as a carving or sculpture. Images may be di ...

on July 24, and

Valiant Comics Valiant Comics is an American comic books, comic book publisher, the first incarnation of which was founded in 1989 by former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter along with lawyer and businessman Steven Massarsky. In 1994, the company was ...

in August. Capital City's response saw it sign exclusive deals with Kitchen Sink Press and Viz Comics, but a year later faced the choice between bankruptcy and selling out. Diamond bought Capital City on July 26, 1996, assuming near-control of the comics distribution system. The purchase price was not disclosed, but the acquisition brought an estimated $50 million in sales revenue to Diamond. In early 1997, when Marvel's Heroes World endeavor failed, Diamond also forged an exclusive deal with Marvel after the publisher's filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 1996. — giving the company its own section of comics catalog ''Previews'' (not least because the DC/Dark Horse/Image deal gave contractual prominence to those companies) — making "Geppi... the sole king of comics industry distribution in the summer of 1996."

Antitrust litigation

In 1997, Diamond's position in the comics industry, as "the sole source of most new comics products to comics specialty shops," ultimately saw the company become the subject of "an investigation by the

U.S. Justice department The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

for possible

antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...

violations." The Justice Department launched an antitrust investigation into the comics industry and the alleged

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

of Diamond Comics. The investigation was closed in November 2000, with no further action deemed necessary on the basis that, although Diamond enjoyed a monopoly in the North American comic book direct market distribution, they did not enjoy a monopoly on book distribution (books including non-comic books).

Books and games

In addition to having cornered the American comics distribution market, Diamond includes a number of subsidiary and affiliated companies. UK and European comics distribution is served by Diamond UK, based in Runcorn, England. On August 31, 2000, Diamond Comic Distributors acquired Alliance Game Distributors, North America's largest distributor of tabletop games. In 2002, Diamond consolidated its book trade into Diamond Book Distributors, marketing

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

s and trade paperbacks to bookstores including

Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. The company operates approximately 600 retail stores across the United States. Barnes & Noble operates mainly through its B ...

, Ingram, Baker & Taylor, Amazon.com and Borders.

2020 coronavirus shutdown

On March 23, 2020, Geppi announced that Diamond would stop sending comics to retail shops until further notice and had instructed printers not to send any new shipments to the company, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Issues of comics with United States release dates of April 1 or later, and with United Kingdom release dates of March 25 or later, would not be shipped until normal operations resumed."Largest US comics distributor won’t ship new books ‘until further notice’ due to coronavirus"
Polygon.com. Accessed Mar. 24, 2020. The shutdown took effect on April 1, 2020, and ended on May 20."Comics will start shipping to shops again on May 20"
Polygon.com. Accessed Nov. 16, 2021.

DC Comics, Marvel Comics, IDW Publishing shift to other distributors

On June 5, 2020, DC Comics announced that they would discontinue their distribution agreement with Diamond and that their books would now be distributed by

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House Limited is a British-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Books and Random House. Penguin Books was or ...

for their

s and by UCS Comic Distributors (subsidiary of

Midtown Comics Midtown Comics is a New York City comic book retailer with three shops in Manhattan and an e-commerce website.Gustines, George Gene (May 8, 2019)"As Comic Book Industry Grows, Smaller Publishers Learn to Adapt" ''The New York Times''.Gustines, Ge ...

) and Lunar Distribution (subsidiary of Discount Comic Book Service in

Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 United S ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

). While acknowledging how huge the decision was, DC reiterated that the move was intended to fortify and increase the viability of the comic book

while also widening its fan base."DC Cuts Ties with Diamond Comic Distributors"
Hollywoodreporter.com. Accessed June 5, 2020. On March 25, 2021, Marvel Comics announced they plan to shift their direct market distribution, for both monthly comics and graphic novels, to Penguin Random House. The change is scheduled to start on October 1, 2021, in a multi-year partnership. Unlike DC Comics' complete split, Marvel will still be giving stores the option to order comics from Diamond, but Diamond will be acting as a wholesaler rather than distributor. On September 17, 2021, IDW Publishing announced a new deal with Penguin Random House to distribute newly published and backlist comic book periodicals, trade collections, and graphic novels to the Direct Market comic shops beginning June 1, 2022. The deal is non-exclusive, allowing retailers to choose ordering from Penguin Random House directly or from Diamond as a wholesaler rather than a distributor in the US and the UK."IDW Goes Exclusive With Penguin Random House, Diamond Responds"
Bleedingcool.com. Accessed September 18, 2021.

Bankruptcy and sale

On January 14, 2025, Diamond filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

protection to facilitate the restructuring of its operations. The company received a $39 million stalking horse bid to sell off Alliance Game Distributors to Canadian-based hobby distributor Universal Distribution. Alliance Entertainment ultimately won the bid to acquire Diamond's assets in March, but later backed out after filing multiple lawsuits against the company. A joint bit between Universal Distribution and Ad Populum was then approved and finalized in May 2025. Universal acquired the assets of Alliance Game Distributors, while Ad Populum acquired Diamond Comic Distributors, Diamond Book Distributors, Diamond Select Toys & Collectibles, Collectible Grading Authority, and other assets. Diamond UK was not included in this sale. Major layoffs at Diamond were reported soon after, including the shutdown of Diamond Select Toys.

ended its sub-distributor agreement with Diamond, ending its distribution of comics from Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, BOOM! Studios, and others. By the end of May, Udon Entertainment had ceased shipments to Diamond.

Criticism

In 1983, Diamond was criticized for taking exception to certain "adult"-themed titles and scenes, effectively causing the cancellation of a series called '' Void Indigo'' for its excessive violence. In 1987, Geppi responded to "a graphic childbirth scene in '' Miracleman'' #9 ritten by Alan Moore">Alan_Moore.html" ;"title="ritten by Alan Moore">ritten by Alan Moore" Geppi wrote to retailers that: This call for retailers to refuse to stock ''Miracleman'' led to accusations of censorship, charges the company was forced to address when it criticized or refused to carry other titles, including books by Kitchen Sink Press, Dave Sim in 1988,"Diamond Backs Down," ''The Comics Journal'' #121 (April 1988), 7. Jon Lewis (comics), Jon Lewis in 1994, and Mike Diana in 1996."What's the Story Behind Diamond's Rejection of Mike Diana?: Three Diana Comics Rejected in 1996: Publishers and Distributor give Different Reasons; Accusation of Bias against Small Publishers" ''The Comics Journal'' #192 (December 1996), pp. 7–10. Diamond lost customers with this approach, however, "and eventually backed down." Geppi recalls compromising, and accepting "that as a distributor, I owed the retailers the product they wanted." In fact, in an attempt to prove Diamond did not practice censorship, the company joined DC Comics in 1993 to raise money for the industry's First Amendment advocacy group

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) is an American non-profit organization formed in 1986 to protect the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, First Amendment rights of comics creators, publishers, and retailers covering legal ...

. Because of its industry dominance, Diamond also faced charges it bullied publishers and discriminated against small publishers. These charges first surfaced in 1988 when Diamond rejected Matt Feazell's comic '' Ant Boy'', and in 1989 when it similarly decided not to carry Allen Freeman's ''Slam Bang'' anthology. After the industry consolidation of 1996, Diamond faced similar charges in 1996, 1999, and 2000 (when smaller publishers like

Fantagraphics Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and (formerly) the Erotic comics, erotic Eros Comix imprint. They have managed sev ...

and Drawn & Quarterly lodged complaints).

Publishing

Diamond's monthly comics retail catalog, ''Previews'', has been produced by Diamond for over 25 years for store owners and comic shop customers to order their products. It is additionally available for sale to customers to facilitate pre-orders from "pull and hold" or subscription customers who frequent comic shops on a regular basis. Comics publishers vie for space within the publication's pages, with Dark Horse, DC Comics, Image Comics, and

IDW Publishing IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW) and is recognized as the fifth-largest comic ...

taking precedence as "Premier" publishers. Marvel Comics has its own mini-catalog of ''Marvel Previews'' available separately, for contractual reasons. Geppi is also owner of Gemstone Publishing Inc., through which he publishes '' The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide''. Gemstone has also published Russ Cochran's EC Comics reprints, Disney comics and Blue Book price guide in the past as well.

''Baltimore''

In 1994, Geppi purchased ''

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

'' magazine, "a 50,000-circulation monthly and one of the nation's oldest regional publications."Geppi's Entertainment Museum Press Room: "Geppi's Entertainment Museum President/CEO Stephen A. Geppi Bio"
Accessed March 5, 2009

Gemstone Publishing

Geppi's publishing ventures in the comics field saw him create Gemstone Publishing Inc., which was formed in large part from other purchases. In 1992, Diamond bought Ernst Gerber Publishing (publisher-author of the ''Photo-Journal Guide to Comics'').Duin, Steve and Richardson, Mike (ed.s) "Diamond Comic Distributors" in ''Comics Between the Panels'' ( Dark Horse Publishing, 1998) , p. 125-126 E. Gerber Products, LLC is a Diamond-affiliated company started by Gerber in 1977 which sells

Mylar BoPET (biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate) is a polyester film made from stretched polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and is used for its high tensile strength, chemical stability, dimensional stability, transparency reflectivity, an ...

bags as well as "acid-free boxes and acid-free backing boards" for comics collectors to store their collection in.Diamond Comics Distributors, Inc. "Affiliated Companies"
Accessed March 5, 2009 In 1993, Geppi bought Russ Cochran Publishing. Long-term EC Comics fan Cochran auctioned Bill Gaines' personal file copies of EC publications, as well as most pages of original EC artwork (which, almost uniquely, Gaines had maintained ownership and possession of), before being granted the reprint rights to the EC back catalog itself. Geppi included Cochran's publications — and Cochran himself — under his new imprint, Gemstone Publishing. In 1994, Geppi bought Overstreet Publishing, taking up the publishing reins of official-Blue Book price guide ''The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide'', and other related publications, bringing them under the Gemstone imprint. Geppi's publishing activities with Gemstone Publishing consist primarily of reprints of classic titles and artworks, as well as publications (including professional fanzines "pro-zines") focusing heavily on the history of the comics medium. Many Gemstone publications revolve around '' Comic Book Marketplace''-editor and EC-shepherd Russ Cochran.

EC Comics reprints

Cochran, like Geppi, was a particular fan of Carl Barks' Disney comics, and had previously-published EC reprints in association with Disney-reprinter Gladstone Publishing. In the early 1990s, Geppi's Gemstone embarked on a full series of reprints of classic EC titles, starting with new reprints of the Cochran/Gladstone-reprints of '' The Haunt of Fear'', '' The Vault of Horror'' and '' Weird Science'' (all 1992). Gemstone also republished (in single issue and 'annual' — four issues per 'annual' — format) EC's '' New Trend'' and '' New Direction'' titles (with the exception of '' Mad'') between 1992 and 2000. In 2005, Gemstone added to Cochran's earlier-published oversize, hardback, black & white slip-cased "The Complete EC Library" collections with the complete '' Picto-Fiction'' collection, comprising the EC comics: '' Confessions Illustrated'', '' Crime Illustrated'', '' Shock Illustrated'' and '' Terror Illustrated'', along with "18 previously unseen stories, never published before". In 2006, Gemstone began producing a more durable and luxurious series of hardback reprint collections; the EC Archives — similar to the DC Archives and Marvel Masterworks volumes — which reprint in full-color hardback ('archival') format sequential compilations of the EC Comics titles. Designed by art director/designer Michael Kronenberg, a number of volumes have been released, with the entirety of the '' New Trend'' and '' New Direction'' planned for eventual release. These EC Archives volumes have drawn praise for their quality, and feature introductions by such notable EC fans as George Lucas,

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

Joe Dante Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director. His films—notably ''Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, ''Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix the 1950s-style B movie genre with Counterculture of th ...

and Paul Levitz.

Disney comics

In December 2002, it was announced that "Gemstone Publishing had signed the license to publishing Disney comics in North America," with ex-Gladstone Publishing editor-in-chief John Clark joining Gemstone in the same position over its Disney line."Starting Over — The Return of the Disney Comics" online in Diamond's ''Scoop'', January 25, 2003
Accessed March 5, 2008 Launched with a title for Free Comic Book Day 2003, the line started soon after with ''

Walt Disney's Comics and Stories ''Walt Disney's Comics and Stories'', sometimes abbreviated ''WDC&S'', is an American Comics anthology, anthology comic book series featuring characters from The Walt Disney Company's films and shorts, including Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, Micke ...

'' and '' Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge'', both described by Clark as "monthly 64-page prestige-format books at $6.95, which is the same price they were when last produced, in 1998." Other titles followed, and Gemstone held their license until early 2009.

Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide

The (Official) Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, first published by Robert M. Overstreet in 1970 as one of the earliest authorities on American

industry grading and collection values. Overstreet sold his company to Gemstone in 1994, but continued to "serve as author and/or publisher of Geppi's Entertainment Publishing & Auctions' line of books." Publication of the ''Price Guide'' was taken over by Gemstone in 1998, Gemstone took over publication, and the twenty-eighth edition to the present have been (co-)published by Geppi's Gemstone publications. The ''Guides 39th edition was published by Gemstone Publishing in 2009. Overstreet also produced a variety of smaller publications updating his yearly guides on a monthly schedule. The most recent of these – ''Overstreet's Comic Price Review'' – began publication from Gemstone in July 2003, and was a monthly publication designed to update the yearly price guide more regularly, as well as provide articles, analysis and various lists of comics prices. Gemstone published more than a hundred issues of the magazine ''Comic Book Marketplace'', a monthly magazine for comics fans focusing heavily on the Golden and

Silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

ages, while more popular magazines (such as '' Wizard'') skew more recent in focus.

Future

In early 2009, the future of Gemstone Publishing was unclear, after reports of unpaid printing bills, particularly from the EC Archives. In April, Geppi responded to the uncertainty, noting that while there had been "a reduction in staff at Gemstone," such moves did "not signal the end of Gemstone Publishing.""Rumors about Gemstone Publishing?"
in ''Scoop'', April 18, 2009 In 2008, Diamond introduced ComicSuite, an add-on application for Microsoft Dynamics’ Retail Management System (RMS) software. Together, ComicSuite & RMS give specialty storeowners a point-of-sale (POS) system specifically geared towards their unique business model, offering a host of exclusive features that grant you direct communication with Diamond databases, making it easier than ever before to place orders, track inventory and maintain “pull-and-hold” subscriptions for your customers."

Geppi Family Enterprises subsidiaries

In 1995, Geppi founded Diamond International Galleries, which acquired Hake's Americana & Collectibles

auction house An auction house is a business establishment that facilitates the buying and selling of assets, such as works of art and collectibles. Overview The auction house is the physical facility where the objects are catalogued, displayed, and presented ...

(2004), and in 2005, Pennsylvania-based Morphy Auctions."Sneak Preview Geppi's Entertainment Museum at Camden Yards – Baltimore, Maryland," ''The Journal of Antiques and Collectibles'' (September 2006)
. Accessed March 5, 2009 In 1999, Geppi founded Diamond Select Toys, and in 2006 he founded Geppi's Entertainment Museum in Baltimore. Geppi reorganized its holdings into Geppi Family Enterprises in 2015.

Alliance Game Distributors

Alliance Game Distributors is North America's largest distributor of tabletop games –

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...

collectible card game A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategy game, strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards. The genre was introduced with ''Magic: The G ...

s, miniature wargames,

board game A board game is a type of tabletop game that involves small objects () that are placed and moved in particular ways on a specially designed patterned game board, potentially including other components, e.g. dice. The earliest known uses of the ...

s, and related merchandise – and the publisher of ''Game Trade Magazine''. Alliance was acquired by Diamond in August 2000, two years after being formed by the merger of game distributors Chessex and The Armory.

Diamond Select Toys & Collectibles

Envisioned to create collectibles for children and adults, DST was founded in 1999 and has since licensed a variety of pop culture properties, including Marvel Comics,

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Tomy, Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two Extraterrestrials in fiction, alien robot fac ...

, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero,

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

Stargate ''Stargate'' is a military science fiction media franchise owned by Amazon MGM Studios. It is based on Stargate (film), the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin; production company StudioCanal owns the ...

, Ghostbusters, Halo,

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. The concept is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film, also written by Whedon, a ...

Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise consisting of five films and a prequel television series, along with games, comics, and tie-in novels, that depicts the adventures of Indiana Jones (character), Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, ...

, Battlestar Galactica, 24 and

Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985 ...

. While they also make action figures in a variety of sizes, as well as banks, busts, statues and prop replicas, many of their licensed properties are released in the form of Minimates, which has helped make Minimates one of the most prolific and diverse block figure toy lines in the world. In 2007, after years of partnership, Diamond Select Toys made a move to acquire select assets of New York-based design house Art Asylum, the creators of Minimates and DST has since developed Minimates based on its own concepts, under the brands Minimates M.A.X. and Calico Jack's Pirate Raiders.

Diamond International Galleries

In 1995, Geppi "opened Diamond International Galleries," a showplace for comics and collectibles, part of Geppi's attempts to "see... collectibles attain serious respect." Nine years later, Diamond International Galleries purchased "one of the country’s first, and most respected, collectibles auction houses: Hake's Americana & Collectibles." In 2005, Geppi added the "

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, Pennsylvania-based Morphy Auctions" to his growing stable of parts of the collectibles market, which already included publishing the main comics price guide: ''The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide''. Geppi describes his International Galleries as being "at the heart of many significant opportunities to preserve, promote and present historical comic character collectibles," an endeavor that led to his establishing Geppi's Entertainment Museum. Geppi's galleries showcase much of his private collection, including comics, movie posters, toys, original artwork by individuals including "Carl Barks, Gustav Tengren (sic),

Alex Ross Nelson Alexander Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an American comic book creator, comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries ''Marvels'', on which ...

, Murphy Anderson, Joe Shuster, Joe Simon and Charles Schulz." Diamond International Galleries has assisted "in such projects as DC's Archive series," as well as hosting industry events.

Geppi's Entertainment Museum

Geppi's Entertainment Museum was a museum in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, tracing the history of

pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...

in American over the last four hundred years. Its collections included comic books,

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

movie A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

and

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

memorabilia A souvenir (French language, French for 'a remembrance or memory'), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memory, memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collecte ...

, including comic books, movie posters, toys, buttons, badges,

cereal A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize ( Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, ...

boxes,

trading card A trading card (or collectible card) is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing (fictional or real) and a short description of the picture, along with other t ...

s, dolls and figurines. The majority of the exhibits came from Geppi's private collection, while Geppi's daughter Melissa "Missy" Geppi-Bowersox became the executive vice-president of the museum in 2007, after Wendy Kelman left the museum on August 31, 2007, to start her own tourism consulting firm. The museum's curator was Dr. Arnold T. Blumberg, former editor at Geppi's Gemstone Publishing. The museum closed in June 2018. Geppi donated much of his collection to the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

Citations

External links

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The Comics Chronicles.com: Archive of Diamond comic book sales charts

Sequart.org: "Defending Diamond"
��defense of the company, by Julian Darius (February 2006). {{Authority control American companies established in 1982 1982 establishments in Maryland Companies based in Hunt Valley, Maryland Comic book publishing companies of the United States Book distributors Comics industry Privately held companies based in Maryland Publishing companies established in 1982 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2025