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

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 panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

distributor serving retailers in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and worldwide. They transport comic books and graphic novels, as well as other

popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...

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 sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

ers. Diamond distributes to 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: * four major comic distributors: ** Lunar ...

in the United States and has exclusive distribution arrangements with several major U.S. comic book publishers, including

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...

Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-ow ...

, 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), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly recog ...

(until June 1, 2022). It is owned by Geppi Family Enterprises, which is also the parent company of

Alliance Game Distributors Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. (often called Diamond Comics, DCD, or casually Diamond) is an American comic book distributor serving retailers in North America and worldwide. They transport comic books and graphic novels, as well as other pop ...

, Diamond Book Distributors, Diamond UK,

Diamond Select Toys Diamond Select Toys was founded in 1999 by sister company Diamond Comics Distributors to create collectibles for adult collectors, and has since licensed a variety of pop culture properties, including Marvel Comics, ''Star Wars'', ''Star Trek'', ' ...

, Gemstone Publishing, E. Gerber Products, Diamond International Galleries, Hake's Americana & Collectibles, Morphy's Auctions, the

Geppi's Entertainment Museum Geppi's Entertainment Museum was a 16,000-square-foot (1,500 m2) privately owned pop culture museum located at historic Camden Station at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland. The museum chronicled the history of pop culture in America from the ...

, and ''Baltimore'' magazine. Diamond is the publisher of ''Previews'', a monthly catalog/magazine showcasing upcoming comic books, graphic novels, toys, and other pop-culture merchandise available at comic book specialty shops. The publication is available to both comic shop retailers and consumers. On March 23, 2020, founder and CEO

Steve Geppi Stephen A. Geppi (born January 24, 1950) is an American comic book distributor, publisher and former comic store owner. Having established an early chain of comic shops in Baltimore in the mid-late 1970s, he is best known for his distributing busi ...

announced that, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Diamond would stop distributing comics to retailers and had directed printers not to send any new shipments to the company until further notice."Largest US comics distributor won’t ship new books ‘until further notice’ due to coronavirus"
Polygon.com. Accessed Mar. 24, 2020. The shutdown began on April 1 and ended on May 20."Comics will start shipping to shops again on May 20"
Polygon.com. Accessed Nov. 16, 2021. It also organized Free Comic Book Day, a promotional effort to bring new comic book readers to independent comic bookstores since 2002.

History

In 1982, Baltimore-based comics retailer Steve Geppi founded Diamond Comic Distributors. Diamond became the successor to direct market pioneer

Phil Seuling Philip Nicholas Seuling (January 20, 1934 – August 21, 1984) was a comic book fan convention organizer and comics distributor primarily active in the 1970s. Seuling was the organizer of the annual New York Comic Art Convention, originally held ...

's distribution dream when it took over

New Media/Irjax New Media Distribution/Irjax Enterprises was a comic book distributor and publisher active from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. In 1978, the company's legal actions against the dominant distributor of the era, Sea Gate Distributors, widened the fi ...

's warehouses in 1982. Diamond further bought out early-distributor

Bud Plant Inc. Bud Plant was a wholesale comics distributor active in the 1970s and 1980s during the growth of the direct market. He also published a selection of comics and zines during the same period. Starting in 1970 as a mail-order distributor specializing ...

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 to 198 ...

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

Beginnings

By 1981/82 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 creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and recognition for Supe ...

, "From Mailman to Tycoon," ''

Success Success is the state or condition of meeting a defined range of expectations. It may be viewed as the opposite of failure. The criteria for success depend on context, and may be relative to a particular observer or belief system. One person mig ...

'' (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 Mile High Comics is an online retailer and a chain of three Colorado comic book stores founded by Chuck Rozanski in 1969 from his parents' basement in Colorado Springs, Colorado. History In 1969, when Chuck Rozanski was 13, he began working out ...

Chuck Rozanski Charles Rozanski (born March 11, 1955) is a German-American retailer and columnist, known as the President and CEO of the Denver, Colorado-based Mile High Comics Inc., and a columnist for the ''Comics Buyer's Guide''. Early life Rozanski was born ...

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 an American comic book publishing, 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 Co ...

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, and in 1985 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 and DC Comics 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 Jake "Buddy" Saunders (born 1947) is an American author and businessman, working in the fields of comic books and science fiction. Work Saunders started out in the world of fanzines. As part of the "Texas Trio" (with Larry Herndon and Howard Ke ...

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 The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...

(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 Titan Distributors was a British comic book distributor which existed from 1978 to 1993, when it was acquired by a larger U.S. distributor. Operated by Nick Landau, Mike Lake, and Mike Luckman, Titan Distributors supplied comics, science fiction, ...

, thus cornering the

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 a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

. 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 Heroes World Distribution Co., originally named Superhero Enterprises, was an American comic book distributor. It was founded by Ivan Snyder, active from 1975 to 1997, during the growth and consolidation of the direct market. Heroes World was acqui ...

— and distributing its titles in-house after taking over from

Curtis Circulation Curtis Circulation Company, LLC (abbreviated as CC), is a magazine distribution company. History Curtis Circulation Company began as the circulation department of the Philadelphia-based Curtis Publishing Company, publisher of ''The Saturday Evenin ...

. On April 26, 1995, Diamond reacted by outbidding Capital City for exclusive deals with Marvel's main rivals

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 thei ...

Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. Origin Th ...

and

Image An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...

on July 24, and Valiant Comics in August. Capital City's response saw it sign exclusive deals with Kitchen Sink Press and

Viz Comics VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...

, 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 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 el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...

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

, 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 long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

s and

trade paperback Trade paperback may refer to: * Trade paperback, a higher-quality softcover version of a book * Trade paperback (comics) In comics in the United States, a trade paperback (shortened: TPB or trade) is a collection of stories originally published ...

s to bookstores including

Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 U. ...

, Ingram,

Baker & Taylor Baker & Taylor, a distributor of books to public and academic libraries and schools, has been in business for over 190 years. It is based in Charlotte, North Carolina and currently owned by President & CEO Amandeep Kochar. Before being acquired ...

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

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

. 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 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 thei ...
,
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, 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 Co ...
, 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 LLC is an Anglo-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House. On April 2, 2020, Bertels ...

for their

s and by UCS Comic Distributors (subsidiary of Midtown Comics) and Lunar Distribution (subsidiary of Discount Comic Book Service in

Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. 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 as of the 2020 Censu ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th 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.

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 ''Void Indigo'' was a short-lived and controversial comic book series written by Steve Gerber and drawn by Val Mayerik. It was published by Epic Comics from 1983 to 1984. ''Void Indigo'' focuses on an alien named Jhagur (he is known on Earth as " ...

'' 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, and 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 First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

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 rights of comics creators, publishers, and retailers covering legal expenses. Charles Brownstein served as the organiza ...

. 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 Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22 ...

'', and in 1989 when it similarly decided not to carry

Allen Freeman Allen, Allen's or Allens may refer to: Buildings * Allen Arena, an indoor arena at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee * Allen Center, a skyscraper complex in downtown Houston, Texas * Allen Fieldhouse, an indoor sports arena on the Univer ...

'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 the erotic Eros Comix imprint. History Founding Fantagraphics was found ...

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

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 ''The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide'' (or ''Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide'') is an annually published comic book price guide widely considered the primary authority on the subject of American comic book grading and pricing in the ...

''. Gemstone has also published

Russ Cochran Russell Earl Cochran (born October 31, 1958) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour Champions, having previously been a member on the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour. He is one of the few natural left-handed players to wi ...

EC Comics Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books, which specialized in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction, dark fantasy, and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-195 ...

reprints,

Disney comics Disney comics are comic books and comic strips featuring characters created by the Walt Disney Company, including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge. The first Disney comics were newspaper strips appearing from 1930 on, starting with ...

and Blue Book price guide in the past as well.

''Baltimore''

In 1994, Geppi purchased ''

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

'' 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 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 William Maxwell Gaines (; March 1, 1922 – June 3, 1992), was an American publisher and co-editor of EC Comics. Following a shift in EC's direction in 1950, Gaines presided over what became an artistically influential and historically import ...

' 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 a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...

''-editor and EC-shepherd Russ Cochran.

EC Comics reprints

Cochran, like Geppi, was a particular fan of

Carl Barks Carl Barks (March 27, 1901 – August 25, 2000) was an American cartoonist, author, and painter. He is best known for his work in Disney comic books, as the writer and artist of the first Donald Duck stories and as the creator of Scrooge McDuck ...

' Disney comics, and had previously-published EC reprints in association with Disney-reprinter

Gladstone Publishing Gladstone Publishing was an American company that published Disney comics from 1986 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1998. The company had its origins as a subsidiary of Another Rainbow Publishing, a company formed by Bruce Hamilton and Russ Cochran to ...

. 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 Weird Science is the name of: * ''Weird Science'' (film), a 1985 film directed by John Hughes ** ''Weird Science'' (TV series), a television series based on the film ** "Weird Science" (song), the theme song to the film and the TV series by Oing ...

'' (all 1992). Gemstone also republished (in single issue and 'annual' — four issues per 'annual' — format) EC's ''

New Trend Entertaining Comics, commonly known as EC Comics, was a major publisher of comic books in the 1940s and 1950s. The letters EC originally stood for Educational Comics. EC's ''Pre-Trend'' titles are those published by Max Gaines and his son William ...

'' 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 ''Confessions Illustrated'' was a black-and-white magazine published by EC Comics in early 1956. Part of EC's Picto-Fiction line, each magazine featured three to five stories. The format alternated blocks of text with several illustrations per pag ...

'', ''

Crime Illustrated ''Crime Illustrated'' was a black-and-white magazine published by EC Comics in late 1955 and early 1956. Part of EC's Picto-Fiction line, each magazine featured three to five stories. The format alternated panels of typography with panels of illus ...

'', ''

Shock Illustrated ''Shock Illustrated'' was an American black and white magazine published by EC Comics from late 1955 to early 1956. Part of EC's List of Entertaining Comics publications#Picto-Fiction, Picto-Fiction line, each magazine featured three to five stori ...

'' and ''

Terror Illustrated ''Terror Illustrated'' was a black-and-white magazine published by EC Comics in late 1955 and early 1956. Part of EC's Picto-Fiction line, each magazine featured three to five stories. The format alternated blocks of text with several illustrati ...

'', 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 The ''EC Archives'' are an ongoing series of American hardcover collections of full-color comic book reprints of EC Comics, published by Russ Cochran and Gemstone Publishing from 2006 to 2008, and then continued by Cochran and Grant Geissman's G ...

— similar to the

DC Archives ''DC Archive Editions'' is a line of hardcover reprint runs of early, often rare comic book series, titles, and stories which ran from 1989-2014. They include more than 160 Golden Age and Silver Age comic properties currently owned by DC Comics, ...

and

Marvel Masterworks ''Marvel Masterworks'' is an American collection of hardcover and trade paperback comic book reprints published by Marvel Comics, with the main goal of republishing classic ''Marvel Comics'' storylines in a hardcover, premium edition, often with ...

volumes — which reprint in full-color hardback ('archival') format sequential compilations of the EC Comics titles. Designed by art director/designer

Michael Kronenberg Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

, a number of volumes have been released, with the entirety of the ''

'' 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 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 ...

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

Joe Dante Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director, producer, editor and actor. His films—notably ''Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix 1950s-style B movies wit ...

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, Mic ...

'' and ''

Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge Walt is a masculine given name, generally a short form of Walter, and occasionally a surname. Notable people with the name include: People Given name * Walt Arfons (1916-2013), American drag racer and competition land speed record racer * Walt Bel ...

'', 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 American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...

and

Silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

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 A collectable (collectible or collector's item) is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector. Collectable items are not necessarily monetarily valuable or uncommon. There are numerous types of collectables and terms t ...

auction house An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

(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

in Baltimore. Geppi reorganized its holdings into Geppi Family Enterprises in 2015.

Alliance Game Distributors

is North America's largest distributor of tabletop games -

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, 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 these roles within ...

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, introduced with ''Magic: The Gathering'' in ...

s, miniature wargames,

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a comp ...

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 Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, suc ...

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

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 ...

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

Stargate ''Stargate'' (often stylized in all caps) is a military science fiction media franchise based on the Stargate (film), film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin. The franchise is based on the idea of an alien E ...

, 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. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...

Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise based on the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., a fictional professor of archaeology, that began in 1981 with the film '' Raiders of the Lost Ark''. In 1984, a prequel, '' Th ...

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series), original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel se ...

, 24 and Back to the Future. 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 Minimates are a block-styled miniature action figure originally created by Art Asylum in 2002 and now released by Diamond Select Toys. The basic Minimate figure design has a tall body that resembles an extremely simplified human form with 14 point ...

, 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 consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 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 poster A film poster is a poster used to promote and advertise a film primarily to persuade paying customers into a theater to see it. Studios often print several posters that vary in size and content for various domestic and international markets. The ...

s, 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 writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries ''Marvels'', on which he collaborated wi ...

, Murphy Anderson, Joe Shuster,

Joe Simon Joseph Henry Simon (October 11, 1913 – December 14, 2011) was an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s–1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the ...

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 state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, tracing the history of

pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * Pop (Gas al ...

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

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 financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

s, movies,

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written 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 politics, business, sports a ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

and

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

memorabilia A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...

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

cereal A cereal is any Poaceae, grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, Cereal germ, germ, and bran. Cereal Grain, grain crops are grown in greater quantit ...

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 ...

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 the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

Citations

General references

Hoover's profile of Diamond Comic Distributors

External links

*

* ttp://sequart.org/magazine/27826/defending-diamond/ 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