Posted in: Comics, DC Comics | Tagged: dc comics, distributor wars, midtown, ucs

UCS Customers to Receive a Graded DC Comic as a Thank You

Published Fri, 26 Jun 2020 07:30:09 -0500

On April 17th, Bleeding Cool broke the news that DC Comics was splitting from being exclusive with their distributor to comic stores, Diamond, and instead was empowering two comic book stores to become temporary distributors to all the others. On June 5th, Bleeding Cool broke the news that DC Comics had decided to quit Diamond for good and was moving everything across to new distributors/comic stores UCS and Lunar, and to Penguin Random House for graphic novels. We asked the then-unanswered question, what about the UK, which was due to receive shipping costs ten times the amount charged by Diamond UK. After repeated badgering, DC Comics relented and allowed Diamond UK to continue distributing DC Comics until the end of the year – something DC representatives credited Bleeding Cool with for repeatedly raising the issue. What happens in 2021, we still don't know.

It does mean that UK stores – and those using Lunar – may miss out on one promotional items. It appears that UCS Comic Distributor customers will be receiving a mystery graded comic book as a thank you for choosing them to distribute DC Comics titles. The title is UCSP0000011 on the UCS system and right now, that;'s all we know. But UCS founder Midtown Comics does have access to quite a few slabbed titles, definitely enough for a one-per-account distribution spread.

Midtown Comics is a New York City comic book retailer with three shops in Manhattan and an e-commerce website. 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. 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, for its friendly and energetic staff, and for being the most media-friendly comic store in the United States. On July 13, 2012, the National Geographic Channel premiered Comic Store Heroes, a reality television program set at Midtown Comics.