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, George Gene (November 16, 2005). "Some Caution Helps When Selling Fantasies". The New York Times. Cited by the New York Post as the largest comic book store in the United States, the company opened its first store in the Times Square area in 1997. Its second was opened on Lexington Avenue in 2004, and is known as the Grand Central store for its proximity to Grand Central Terminal."Olivia Munn Signs Her New Book at Midtown Comics". CBR.com. 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. In 2020 Midtown, which had handled DC Comics' subscription sales for years, launched a sister company, the comics distributor UCS Comic Distributors, would begin distributing DC's books.
The store is noted for appearances by celebrities known outside the comic book industry,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 CBR.com as "the industry's leading retailer of comic books, graphic novels and manga." On July 13, 2012, the National Geographic Channel premiered Comic Store Heroes, a reality television 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 and DC Comics, and the relationship between the store and industry professionals. In July 2026, The New York Times included the Times Square store in a list of recommended Midtown Manhattan bookstores, calling it a "mecca of fandom", and "a two-story treasure trove of comics and graphic novels."
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 and Queens before opening the flagship Midtown Comics in Manhattan,Perkins, Ben. "Midtown Comics". New York Magazine, February 3, 2003 on West 40th Street and Seventh Avenue.Prendergast, Daniel (October 10, 2017). "Man robs comic-book store, tries to escape like a superhero". New York Post. The store houses approximately 500,000 books in its collection. According to The New York Times:
The stereotypical view of comics stores is that they are dim, cramped and dusty places with a no-girls-allowed clubhouse atmosphere. In reality, they run the gamut. For instance, the West Side Midtown store is bright, airy and welcoming to all, with two floors and of space. The main floor, which is one story above street level, has a long wall with countless racks of new and recently released comics. The rest of the space offers DVDs, manga, trading cards, back issues and trade paperbacks. Toys and other collectibles are upstairs. The second Midtown store, on Lexington Avenue and 45th Street, though smaller than the first one, is just as inviting.
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 Marvel Comics and Top Cow.MacDonald, Heidi. "The Beat: NYCC: Midtown Comics" Publishers Weekly, April 15, 2008
Midtown's website was at first purely informational, but has developed into a full-scale retail website. 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 – [and] who 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."Midtown Comics". iTunes. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
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 TimesMacDonald, Heidi. "Midtown goes Downtown" The Beat, June 23, 2010."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 shopping district. The boutique offered graphic novels, hardcover books, apparel and collectibles.MacDonald, Heidi (May 31, 2012). "Midtown Comics opens boutique in FAO Schwarz". The Beat.Melrose, Kevin (June 1, 2012). "Midtown Comics opens boutique inside FAO Schwarz". CBR.com."Midtown Comics Opens in FAO Schwarz". Publishers Weekly. June 1, 2012. 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 display, offers items similar to that offered in the FAO Schwarz boutique.Melrose, Kevin (October 22, 2013). "Midtown Comics opens boutique in Toys 'R' Us Times Square". CBR.com.
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'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.Couto, Anthony (October 20, 2016). "Marvel Pulls J. Scott Campbell's Riri Williams Iron Man Cover". CBR.com. Retrieved September 23, 2019.Jusino, Teresa (October 19, 2016). "Dear Marvel: Stop Sexualizing Female Teenage Characters Like Riri Williams. Love, Everyone". The Mary Sue. Retrieved September 23, 2019. 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 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, manga, action figures, and other collectibles, at discounted prices of up to 70% off their normal retail prices. The store is open only on Saturdays and Sundays, with a pick-up service for comics ordered on the company's website that would allow local residents to avoid traveling into Manhattan. 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 2020, Midtown, having handled DC Comics' subscription sales for years, launched the comic book distributor UCS Comic Distributors, a sister company that, along with Lunar Distribution (which is owned by the Indiana-based company DCBS), would begin distributing that publisher's books beginning on April 27 of that year.
In October, 2024 one of the variant covers with which DC Comics published Absolute Wonder Woman #1 was an exclusive Midtown Comics cover illustrated by Dan Panosian.
In February 2025, as part of the press tour for the feature film Captain America: Brave New World, its star, Anthony Mackie, visited a number of institutions in Manhattan, including appearances on the TV shows, Good Morning America, and Live with Kelly and Mark, and a stop at the Times Square Midtown Comics, where Mackie spoke about having been a customer of the store before he rose to fame.
In July 2026, Jennifer Harlan and Umi Syam, writing for The New York Times, included the Times Square store in a list of recommended Midtown Manhattan bookstores, in an article titled, "How to Spend a Bookish Afternoon in Midtown Manhattan", referring to the store as a "mecca of fandom", and "a two-story treasure trove of comics and graphic novels."
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