Midtown Comics is a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. ...

retailer with three shops in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

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 ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''.Gustines, George Gene (November 16, 2005)
"Some Caution Helps When Selling Fantasies"
''The New York Times''. The largest comic book store in the United States,Kaplan, Don (June 25, 2012)
"It’s a geek drama"
'' New York Post''. the company opened its first store in the Times Square area in 1997. Its second was opened on

Lexington Avenue Lexington Avenue, often colloquially abbreviated as "Lex", is an avenue on the East Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City that carries southbound one-way traffic from East 131st Street to Gramercy Park at East 21st Street. Along its ...

in 2004, and is known as the Grand Central store for its proximity to

Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...

."Olivia Munn Signs Her New Book at Midtown Comics"

CBR.com ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...

. July 2, 2010 Its downtown store was opened on Fulton Street in the Financial District in November 2010, and its Astoria, Queens outlet store opened in March 2020. It also used to operate a boutique inside Manhattan's Times Square Toys R Us. The store is noted for appearances by celebrities known outside the comic book industry,Gustines, George Gene (May 4, 2007)
"Superhero Worship, Gotham to Riverdale"
''The New York Times''. for its friendly and energetic staff, and for being the most media-friendly comic store in the United States. Johnston, Rich (November 2013). "The Top 100 Power List of Comic Books". '' Bleeding Cool'' magazine #7. p. 62. It was named by '' The Village Voice'' in 2012 as the Best Comic Book Store in New York, and has been hailed by

as "the industry’s leading retailer of comic books, graphic novels and

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

." On July 13, 2012, the

National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television television network, network and flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel owned by the National Geograp ...

premiered '' Comic Store Heroes'', a

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

program set at Midtown Comics. In 2013, it was ranked number 44 on '' Bleeding 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 Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...

and

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...

, and the relationship between the store and industry professionals.

History

Midtown was founded by partners Gerry Gladston, Angelo Chantly, Thomas Galitos and Robert Mileta, who met as teenagers in Astoria, Queens, and later sold comics in their video stores in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

and

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

before opening the flagship Midtown Comics in

,Perkins, Ben
"Midtown Comics"
'' New York Magazine'', February 3, 2003 on West 40th Street and Seventh Avenue. The store houses approximately 500,000 books in its collection. According to ''

'':

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 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 issue Back issue may refer to: * A past (normally out-of-print) issue of a magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally fin ...
s 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.

Midtown Comics is the official retail sponsor of New York Comic Con, and has performed this role since the NYCC's inception in 2006. Each year, Midtown creates a "show-within-a-show", featuring round-the-clock appearances by comics creators and variant comic books by publishers like

and Top Cow. Midtown's website was at first purely informational, but has developed into a full-scale

retail website Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser or a mobile app. Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of ...

. The stores and website are supported by a warehouse in Queens, and a staff of around 150 who are described by '' New York Magazine'' as "a rare mix of nerd knowledge and chummy confidence – ndwho foster an atmosphere where browsing is more than just a means to a badly needed social end." Midtown also produces a weekly podcast that covers the comic book industry, with a different comic book creator interviewed each week. On November 10, 2010, Midtown Comics opened a third Manhattan store. Known as their Downtown store, it is located in the Financial District, at 64 Fulton Street, in the southernmost section of the borough.Gustines, George Gene (November 17, 2010)
"Out of Work, Spider-Man Gets Advice From Bloomberg"
''The New York Times''"Grand Opening! Midtown Comics Downtown NYC!"
midtowncomics.com, November 8, 2010. Inaugural book signings were held for that branch featuring Jim Lee and Jonathan Layman, creator of ''Chew''. As of June 2012, Midtown is the largest comic book store in the United States. The store is a sponsor of Artists Assemble!, a comics festival in Union City, New Jersey that began in February 2013. In May 2012, Midtown Comics opened a boutique inside the flagship FAO Schwarz toy store in Manhattan's

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...

shopping district. The boutique offered graphic novels, hardcover books, apparel and collectibles.Melrose, Kevin (June 1, 2012)
"Midtown Comics opens boutique inside FAO Schwarz"
CBR.com. The boutique ceased operations when FAO Schwarz closed in July 2015. In October 2013, Midtown opened a shop inside the Toys R Us store in Manhattan's Times Square. The shop, which is located next to the second floor animatronic Tyrannosaurus that forms the centerpiece of the ''

Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later also referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton and centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs. It began in 1990 when ...

'' display, offers items similar to that offered in the FAO Schwarz boutique. In 2013, Midtown was ranked number 44 on '' Bleeding 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. In October 2016, Marvel Comics and Midtown Comics jointly decided to pull from circulation

J. Scott Campbell Jeffery Scott Campbell (born April 12, 1973) is an American comic book artist. He was initially known professionally as Jeffery Scott, but is best known as J. Scott Campbell. He rose to fame as an artist for Wildstorm Comics, though he has since ...

's variant cover of the first issue of '' The Invincible Iron Man'', produced exclusively for the store, after previews of the cover were criticized for sexualizing the depicted character, 15-year-old Riri Williams. The cover depicted the character, a teenaged MIT engineering student who reverse engineers one of Iron Man's armored suits to wear herself, in a midriff-baring crop 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."

On March 7, 2020, Midtown Comics opened its fourth location, an outlet store at 32-11 41st Street in Astoria, Queens, the only branch not in Manhattan. The location's basement level houses an extensive collection of back issues of both recent and vintage single issues and full story arc sets, including rare issues dating from as early as the

Golden Age of Comic Books The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and many well-known char ...

. 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-print graphic novels,

, 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. The store garnered a positive review by industry reporter Heidi 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.

In media

Midtown Comics has developed a reputation for being the most media-friendly comic store in the United States. As

is the location of the Big Two of the American comic book publishing industry,

and

, and the setting for much of the former's stories, Midtown Comics Times Square and its staff have been utilized for local news reporting relating to comic books and popular culture. Midtown Comics co-owner Gerry Gladston, who as of 2019, functions as the company's chief marketing officer, has often been interviewed for comment on such stories, including a 2006 story on vintage comics selling for large amounts of money at auction, a 2009 story on the return of Captain America after Marvel Comics had killed him off two years prior, and a 2014 Marvel storyline that introduced a female

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing ...

. Midtown's staff were also consulted by major media outlets in 2009 regarding the appearance of President Barack Obama in an issue of ''

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...

'', and again later that year regarding the anticipation of the release of the film '' Avatar''. 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 and for their coverage of Free Comic Book Day, while

quoted Gladston for reaction to Axel Alonso's 2011 promotion to editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. 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. Midtown Comics Times Square was the location of the December 21, 2010 press conference in which Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada and Executive Editors Tom Brevoort and Axel Alonso announced the 2011 company-wide crossover storyline " Fear Itself".Sacks, Ethan (December 21, 2010)
"Marvel Comics launches 'Fear Itself'; Miniseries has superheroes threatened by God of Fear"
''Daily News'' (New York)Truitt, Brian

'' USA Today''. December 21, 2010Manning, Shaun (December 21, 2010)
"Marvel Announces 'Fear Itself'"
CBR.com. It was later the location of the March 31, 2012 New York City Launch Party for the Disney XD TV series, '' Ultimate Spider-Man'', where Marvel Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada and series writer/producer Joe Kelly presented a sneak preview of the series' pilot episode for small audiences of fans. In January 2015, Marvel announced their " Secret Wars" storyline at a press conference held at Midtown. The store has also been mentioned in comic book stories themselves. In '' Ex Machina'' #12 (August 2005) by Brian K. Vaughn and Wildstorm Productions, the main character, Mitchell Hundred, laments the closing of a beloved comic book store in

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...

following the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

, and a friend mentions some real-life comics shops that are still open, including

St. Mark's Comics St. Mark's Comics was a New York City comic book retailer in Manhattan. The company opened its first store, at 11 St. Mark's Place, in 1983. For a period, the store had two other locations, one in Lower Manhattan and one in Brooklyn Heights. In ...

, Jim Hanley's Universe, and Midtown Comics. Comic book writer

Mark Millar Mark Millar (; born 24 December 1969) is a Scottish comic book writer and television producer who first came to prominence with a run on the superhero series '' The Authority'', published by DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint. Millar has written ex ...

explicitly references the store in ''

Ultimate Comics Avengers 3 ''Ultimate Comics: Avengers'' is a comic book published by Marvel Comics that began in August 2009 as part of the relaunch of the Ultimate Universe under the "Ultimate Comics" imprint. It is a direct follow up to the events of "Ultimatum." The s ...

'' #2 (October 2010), in which

Nerd Hulk In addition to his mainstream incarnation, the Hulk has also been depicted in other fictional universes, in which Bruce Banner's transformation, behavior, or circumstances vary from the mainstream setting. In some stories, someone other than Bruce ...

requests permission from Captain America to attend a book signing there. On July 13, 2012, the

premiered '' Comic Store Heroes'', a

program set at the store, and starring Gladston, Marketing Manager Thor Parker and pricing expert Alex Rae. Like similar series such as '' Pawn Stars'' and '' Comic 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.Ritchie, Kevin (June 28, 2012)
"Nat Geo acquires 'Comic Store Heroes'"
Real Screen.Videos: "The Challenge"

. Retrieved June 29, 2012. Parker explains that ''Comic Store Heroes'' is distinct from filmmaker Kevin 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 astthe 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."Fama, Russell (June 2, 2012)
"An Interview with Thor of Comic Store Heroes"
Super Sidekick. In 2017,

ABC News ABC News is the journalism, news division of the American broadcast network American Broadcasting Company, ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other progra ...

used the Times Square store as the remote location portion of a segment reporting on the controversial Marvel storyline " Secret Empire". In March 2019, the TruTV hidden camera television series ''

Impractical Jokers ''Impractical Jokers'' is an American hidden camera Reality television#Hidden cameras, reality show with improvisational elements. Produced by NorthSouth Productions, ''Impractical Jokers'' premiered on truTV on December 15, 2011 starring the m ...

'' filmed a segment at the Downtown location, during a book signing by actor Zachary Levi to promote his film ''

Shazam! Shazam () may refer to: Comic book franchise * Captain Marvel (DC Comics), also known as Shazam, a superhero character published by Fawcett Comics and DC Comics ** Shazam (wizard), a character from the ''Shazam!/Captain Marvel'' comics, who give ...

''. The segment was part of the program's eighth-season premiere, which debuted on March 28, 2019.

Signings and appearances

Midtown Comics has hosted signings by comic book creators, including Rob Liefeld, Dave Gibbons,

and Simone Bianchi,Signing & Event Archive
Midtown Comics. and with celebrities known outside the comic book industry, including Amber Benson,

Tim Gunn Timothy MacKenzie Gunn (born July 29, 1953) is an American author, academic, and television personality. He served on the faculty of Parsons School of Design from 1982 to 2007 and was chair of fashion design at the school from August 2000 to Mar ...

Fall Out Boy Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...

, Olivia Munn, New York City Mayor

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a ca ...

, filmmaker Kevin Smith actor Zachary Quinto, and civil rights leader and U.S. Congressman John Lewis. 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 by Peter David and Mike Perkins to promote '' The Dark Tower: Treachery'' and '' The Stand: Captain Trips'', and an August 2011 appearance by Jim Lee and Geoff Johns to promote titles related to

' " Flashpoint" and The New 52 events. Notable customers who visited the shop have included actress Cate Blanchett and ''

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

'' creator

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...

, who visited the shop in March 2015 to browse for Marvel's new ''Star Wars'' comics (following the 2012 acquisition of

Lucasfilm Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is a business segment of The Walt Disney Company. The studio is best known for creating and producing the ''Star Wars'' and ' ...

by Marvel's parent company, Disney, and the resumption of Marvel's license of ''Star Wars'' comics for the first time since 1987Brewer, Byron (January 4, 2015)
"DF Interview: Jordan D. White a ‘force’ behind Marvel’s Star Wars franchise"
Dynamic Forces.).

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.midtowncomics.com/
Midtown Comics
on Twitter
"MIDTOWN COMICS AT NYCC 2008!"
Midtown Comics
"Free Comic Book Day Thrills Action Fans"
'' Daily News'' (New York). May 2, 2015 Retail companies established in 1997 Shops in New York City Comics retailers Privately held companies based in New York (state) 1997 establishments in New York City