Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. (often called
Diamond Comics,
DCD, or casually
Diamond) is the largest
comic bookA comic book is a magazine made up of narrative artwork, often accompanied by dialog and often including brief descriptive prose...
distributorDistribution is one of the four elements of marketing mix. An organization or set of organizations involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption by a consumer or business user....
serving North America. They transport comic books from both big and small comic book publishers, or suppliers, to the retailers. Diamond dominates the
direct marketThe direct market is the dominant distribution and retail network for North American comic books. It consists of one dominant distributor and the majority of comics specialty stores, as well as other retailers of comic books and related merchandise...
in the United States, and has exclusive arrangements with most major U.S. comics publishers, including
Dark Horse ComicsDark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book publisher.Mike Richardson, the owner of several comic book shops in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area, began to publish in 1986 with an anthology series called Dark Horse Presents, investing profits from his stores into Dark...
,
DC ComicsDC Comics is one of the largest and most popular American comic book and related media companies, along with Marvel Comics. It is the publishing division of DC Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary company of Warner Bros. Entertainment...
,
Image ComicsImage Comics is an American comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by seven high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties...
, and
Marvel ComicsMarvel Publishing, Inc., a company doing business as Marvel Comics, produces American comic books and related media. It forms a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, Inc....
.
Diamond is also the parent company of Diamond Select Toys, Diamond International Galleries, Hake's Americana & Collectibles, Morphy's Auctions, Alliance Game Distributors,
Baltimore magazine, Diamond Book Distributors, E. Gerber Products,
Gemstone PublishingGemstone Publishing is a U.S. company that publishes comic books and collectors' guides. The company was formed by Diamond Comic Distributors President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen A. Geppi. Gemstone was the lastpublisher of licensed Disney comic books, starting in June 2003 until November...
, and
Geppi's Entertainment MuseumGeppi's Entertainment Museum is a privately owned pop culture museum located in Baltimore, Maryland. The museum chronicles the history of pop culture in America from 1600s to today as made popular in newspapers, magazines, comic books, movies, television, radio and video games...
.
Diamond publishes
Previews a monthly catalog showcasing upcoming comic books, graphic novels, toys, and other pop-culture related items available at comic book specialty shops. The publication is available to both comic merchants and consumers.
Overview
Diamond has what it calls an "open-door policy" to new suppliers. This means that anyone who makes a comic book can send samples of it to Diamond for review. If the comic book has sufficient sales potential, Diamond might distribute the comic book to retail stores for the comic book creator.
History
In
1982-Year overall:Steve Gerber sues Marvel over rights to his character, Howard the Duck, and brings out his own Destroyer Duck from Eclipse Comics....
, Baltimore-based comics retailer Steve Geppi founded Diamond Comic Distributors. Diamond became the successor to direct market pioneer
Phil SeulingPhil N. Seuling 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 Conventions, originally held in New York City every July 4 weekend throughout the 1970s...
'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 Distributors 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." 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: "[t]he 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. In what
Mile High ComicsMile High Comics is an online retailer and a chain of 4 Colorado comic book stores founded by Chuck Rozanski in 1969 from his parents' basement in Colorado Springs, Colorado....
'
Chuck RozanskiCharles Rozanski is the President and CEO of Mile High Comics Inc. which is based in Denver, Colorado. He was born in Goldbach, Bavaria, Germany and later moved to the United States with his mother and stepfather, an American army officer...
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, "[h]e went from being a retailer in Baltimore to having warehouses all over the place."
Geppi named his new company 'Diamond' "after the imprint
Marvel ComicsMarvel Publishing, Inc., a company doing business as Marvel Comics, produces American comic books and related media. It forms a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, Inc....
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[ing] the emotion out of some decisions. Steve [Geppi] is 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 "[buy] out 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[ing] into the hands of the major distributors such as
CapitalCapital City Distribution was a Madison, Wisconsin-based comic book distributor which operated from 1980–1996...
and Diamond," and hastening the demise of smaller distributors.
Bud Plant Inc.
Most notably, Geppi bought up early mail-order distributor Bud Plant Inc., who had himself "bought out Charlie Abarr in the early 1980s." Plant had, since 1970, been selling underground comics (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-First issues by title:*The Adventures of Tintin: Breaking Free* Fright Night *Punisher War Journal...
"and went national" thereby assuming control of "40 percent of the
direct-sales marketThe direct market is the dominant distribution and retail network for North American comic books. It consists of one dominant distributor and the majority of comics specialty stores, as well as other retailers of comic books and related merchandise...
." (Diamond and
Capital City DistributionCapital City Distribution was a Madison, Wisconsin-based comic book distributor which operated from 1980–1996...
had control of at least 70% between them.)
Further expansion
By 1994, Diamond had "27 warehouses in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., employ[ing] between 750 and 900 people," owned its own trucking line, and controlled 45% of the market, making $222 million in sales.
Heroes World and Capital City Distribution
In 1995,
Marvel ComicsMarvel Publishing, Inc., a company doing business as Marvel Comics, produces American comic books and related media. It forms a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, Inc....
challenged Diamond and main rival Capital City by buying the third distributor — Heroes World — and distributing its titles in-house. Diamond reacted by outbidding Capital City for exclusive deals with Marvel's main rivals
DC ComicsDC Comics is one of the largest and most popular American comic book and related media companies, along with Marvel Comics. It is the publishing division of DC Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary company of Warner Bros. Entertainment...
, as well as
Dark HorseDark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book publisher.Mike Richardson, the owner of several comic book shops in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area, began to publish in 1986 with an anthology series called Dark Horse Presents, investing profits from his stores into Dark...
and
ImageImage Comics is an American comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by seven high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties...
. Capital City's response saw it sign exclusive deals with
Kitchen Sink PressKitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1969. Kitchen owned and operated Kitchen Sink Press until 1999...
and Viz Comics, but a year later faced the choice between bankruptcy and selling out. Diamond bought Capital City in the summer of 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.
When Marvel's Heroes World endeavor failed, Diamond also forged an exclusive deal with the House of Ideas — 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 departmentThe United States Department of Justice is a Cabinet department in the United States government designed to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans...
for possible
antitrustUnited States antitrust law is the body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. Antitrust laws are designed to encourage competition in the marketplace....
violations."
In the summer of 1997, the
U.S. Department of JusticeThe United States Department of Justice is a Cabinet department in the United States government designed to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans...
launched an
antitrustUnited States antitrust law is the body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. Antitrust laws are designed to encourage competition in the marketplace....
investigation into the comics industry and the alleged
monopolyIn economics, a monopoly exists when a specific individual or an enterprise has sufficient control over a particular product or service to determine significantly the terms on which other individuals shall have access to it...
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).
International and book trade
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 London, England. Alliance Game Distributors, Inc. distributes Role-playing games, "collectible card games, miniature games,
Animeis animation originating in Japan. The world outside Japan regards anime as "Japanese animation". Anime originated about 1917.Anime, like manga , has a large audience in Japan and high recognition throughout the world...
, board games," and other periphery elements for gamers., as well as publishing
Game Trade Magazine.
In 2002, Diamond consolidated its book trade into Diamond Book Distributors, marketing comics-related books and trade paperbacks to bookstores including
Barnes & NobleBarnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest book retailer in the United States, operating mainly through its Barnes & Noble Booksellers chain of bookstores headquartered in lower Fifth Avenue in Manhattan...
,
IngramIngram may refer to:the following places:* Ingram, Northumberland in England* Ingram, California, community in Mendocino County, California, USA* Ingram, Pennsylvania in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA* Ingram, Texas, city in Kerr County, Texas, USA...
,
Baker & TaylorBaker & Taylor is the world's largest distributor of books and entertainment, in business for over 180 years. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and privately owned, in 2006 it had $2.2 billion in sales, employed 3,750 and was # 181 on Forbes list of privately owned companies...
,
WaldenBooksWaldenbooks , operated by the Walden Book Company, Inc., is an American shopping mall-based bookstore chain. The Walden Book Company is a subsidiary of Borders Group. Currently, there are 370 Waldenbooks stores in malls across the United States...
,
Amazon.comAmazon.com, Inc. is an American-based multinational electronic commerce company. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, it is America's largest online retailer, with nearly three times the Internet sales revenue of the runner up, Staples, Inc....
[and]
BordersBorders Group is an international bookseller based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Borders is the second-largest bookstore chain in the United States , selling a wide variety of books, CDs, DVDs, and periodicals, as well as gifts and stationery.In 2004, Borders reached an agreement with...
.
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 IndigoVoid 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.-Publishing history:...
for its excessive violence.
In 1987, Geppi responded to "a graphic childbirth scene in
MiraclemanMarvelman, known for trademark reasons as Miracleman in his American reprints and story continuation, is a fictional comic book superhero created in 1954 by writer-artist Mick Anglo for publisher L. Miller & Son. Originally intended as a United Kingdom home-grown substitute for the American...
#9 [written by
Alan MooreAlan Oswald Moore is an English writer known for work in comics, including the acclaimed comic book series Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell...
]." Geppi wrote to retailers that:
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."
Publishing
Diamond's monthly comics retail catalog,
Previews has been produced by Diamond for over twenty years for store owners to order products from. It is additionally available for sale to customers to facilitate personal orders. Comics publishers vie for space within the publication's pages, with DC, Image, and Dark Horse (three of the big four publishers) taking precedence. Marvel Comics has its own separate section of
Previews available separately, for contractual reasons.
Geppi is president and publisher of
Gemstone Publishing Inc.Gemstone Publishing is a U.S. company that publishes comic books and collectors' guides. The company was formed by Diamond Comic Distributors President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen A. Geppi. Gemstone was the lastpublisher of licensed Disney comic books, starting in June 2003 until November...
, through which he publishes Russ Cochran's
EC ComicsEntertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books specializing in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, most notably the Tales from the Crypt series, until censorship...
reprints,
Disney comicsDisney comics are comic books and comic strips featuring Walt Disney characters.The first Disney comics were newspaper strips appearing from 1930 on. In 1940, Western Publishing began producing Disney comic books in the United States. The most notable American Disney comics books are Walt Disney's...
and
Blue BookBlue book or Bluebook is a term often referring to an almanac or other compilation of statistics and information. The term dates back to the 15th century, when large blue velvet-covered books were used for record-keeping by the Parliament of the United Kingdom.Examples include:U.K...
price guide
The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide.
Diamond also publishes (through Gemstone and Diamond International Galleries) a weekly e-newsletter dealing with collectibles, called
Scoop.
Baltimore magazine
In 1994, Geppi purchased
Baltimore magazine, "a 50,000 circulation monthly and one of the nation's oldest regional publications."
Gemstone Publishing
Geppi's publishing ventures in the comics field saw him form Gemstone Publishing Inc., which was formed in large part from other purchases. In
1992-June:* June 3: EC Comics and Mad magazine publisher William Gaines dies at age 70.* June 6: Long-time Marvel Comics publisher Martin Goodman dies at age 84.-July:* July 12: Al Gabriele dies at age 75....
, Diamond bought Ernst Gerber Publishing (publisher-author of the
Photo-Journal Guide to Comics).
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. In 1993, Geppi bought Russ Cochran Publishing. Long-term
EC ComicsEntertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books specializing in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, most notably the Tales from the Crypt series, until censorship...
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 BookBlue book or Bluebook is a term often referring to an almanac or other compilation of statistics and information. The term dates back to the 15th century, when large blue velvet-covered books were used for record-keeping by the Parliament of the United Kingdom.Examples include:U.K...
priceguide
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 BarksCarl Barks was a famous Disney Studio illustrator and comic book creator, who invented Duckburg and many of its inhabitants, such as Scrooge McDuck , Gladstone Gander , the Beagle Boys , Gyro Gearloose , Flintheart Glomgold , John D. Rockerduck and Magica De Spell...
'
Disney comicsDisney comics are comic books and comic strips featuring Walt Disney characters.The first Disney comics were newspaper strips appearing from 1930 on. In 1940, Western Publishing began producing Disney comic books in the United States. The most notable American Disney comics books are Walt Disney's...
, 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 FearThe Haunt of Fear, Tales from the Crypt and The Vault of Horror are three bi-monthly horror comic anthology series published by EC Comics in the early 1950s. The Haunt of Fear hit newsstands with its May/June 1950 issue and ceased publication with its November/December 1954 issue, producing a total...
,
The Vault of HorrorThe Vault of Horror, Tales from the Crypt, and The Haunt of Fear are three bi-monthly horror comic anthology series published by EC Comics in the early 1950s. The Vault of Horror hit newsstands with its April/May 1950 issue and ceased publication with its December/January 1955 issue, producing a...
and
Weird ScienceWeird Science was a science fiction anthology comic book that was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s. Over a four-year span, the comic ran for 22 issues, ending with the November-December, 1953 issue...
(all 1992). Gemstone also republished (in single issue and 'annual' — four issues per 'annual' — format) EC's
New Trend and
New Direction titles 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 IllustratedConfessions 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 page....
,
Crime IllustratedCrime 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 3-5 stories. The artist would draw 1-4 panels per page and text was overlaid onto the artwork...
,
Shock IllustratedShock Illustrated was a black and white magazine published by EC Comics from late 1955 to early 1956. Part of EC's "Picto-Fiction" line, each magazine featured three to five stories. The artists drew one to four panels per page with the text overlaid onto the artwork...
and
Terror IllustratedTerror 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 illustrations per page....
, along with "18 previously unseen stories, never published before".
In
2006-January:*January 1 2006: Newsweek offer a look back at 2005 through editorial cartoons. *January 2 2006: Enquirer cartoonist Jim Borgman starts a blog to detail his creative process...
, Gemstone began producing a more durable and luxurious series of hardback reprint collections; the
EC ArchivesThe EC Archives are a series of American hardcover collections of full-color comic book reprints of EC Comics publications, published by Gemstone Publishing.-Earlier EC reprints:...
— similar to the
DC ArchivesDC Archive Editions, collect early, sometimes rare, comic books published by DC and other publishers into a permanent hardcover series. With more than 100 titles, this series began in 1989 with Superman Archives Vol. 1...
and
Marvel MasterworksMarvel Masterworks is an American collection of hardcover and trade paperback, full-color comic book reprints published by Marvel Comics, featuring various series in chronological order....
volumes — which reprint in full-color hardback ('archival') format sequential compilations of the EC titles. Designed by art director/designer Michael Kronenberg, a number of volumes have been released, with the entirity 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 LucasGeorge Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, director and chairman of Lucasfilm Ltd. He is best known for being the creator of the epic sci-fi franchise Star Wars and joint creator of the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
,
Steven SpielbergSteven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer. In a career of over four decades, Spielberg's films have touched on many themes and genres. Spielberg's early sci-fi and adventure films, sometimes centering on children, were seen as an archetype of modern...
,
Joe DanteJoseph James "Joe" Dante is an American film director and producer of films generally with humorous and scifi content....
and
Paul LevitzPaul Levitz is an American comic book writer, editor and executive. The president of DC Comics since 2002, he has worked for the company for over 35 years in a wide variety of roles...
, et al.
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. Launched with a title for
Free Comic Book DayFree Comic Book Day is an annual promotional effort by the North American comic book industry to help bring new readers into independent comic book stores...
2003, the line started soon after with
Walt Disney's Comics and StoriesWalt Disney's Comics and Stories, sometimes abbreviated WDC or WDC&S, is an anthology comic book series that has an assortment of Disney characters, including Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, Mickey Mouse, Chip 'n Dale, Lil Bad Wolf, Scamp, Bucky Bug, Grandma Duck, Brer Rabbit, Winnie the Pooh, and...
and
Walt Disney's Uncle ScroogeUncle Scrooge is a comic book with the stingy Scrooge McDuck "the richest duck in the world" as the main character. The series also featured Donald Duck and his nephews as supporting characters. The first 70 issues mostly consisted of stories written and drawn by Carl Barks, the creator of 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, although the status of the remaining Disney titles is unknown as of December, 2008.
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
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comic bookA comic book is a magazine made up of narrative artwork, often accompanied by dialog and often including brief descriptive prose...
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 PublishingGemstone Publishing is a U.S. company that publishes comic books and collectors' guides. The company was formed by Diamond Comic Distributors President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen A. Geppi. Gemstone was the lastpublisher of licensed Disney comic books, starting in June 2003 until November...
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 GoldenThe Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s...
and SilverThe Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those in the superhero genre. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and the interregnum the Atomic Age, the Silver Age is considered to cover the period from...
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." Geppi hinted at "new developments" for the Overstreet Price Guide in 2010, and stated that while "no final decision has been made regarding The EC Archives or our comic books featuring Disney's standard characters... it seems certain that both lines will continue in some form."
Affiliated and subsidiary companies
In 1995, Geppi founded Diamond International Galleries, which acquired Hake's
AmericanaAmericana refers to artifacts, or a collection of artifacts, related to the history, geography, folklore and cultural heritage of the United States. Many kinds of material fall within the definition of Americana: paintings, prints and drawings; license plates or entire vehicles, household objects,...
& Collectibles auction house (2004), and in 2005, Pennsylvania-based Morphy Auctions. In 2006, Geppi founded
Geppi's Entertainment MuseumGeppi's Entertainment Museum is a privately owned pop culture museum located in Baltimore, Maryland. The museum chronicles the history of pop culture in America from 1600s to today as made popular in newspapers, magazines, comic books, movies, television, radio and video games...
in Baltimore.
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, PennsylvaniaDenver is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,332 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Denver is located at ....
-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 MuseumGeppi's Entertainment Museum is a privately owned pop culture museum located in Baltimore, Maryland. The museum chronicles the history of pop culture in America from 1600s to today as made popular in newspapers, magazines, comic books, movies, television, radio and video games...
. Geppi's galleries showcase much of his private collection, including comics,
movie posterA film poster is a poster used to advertise a film. There may be several versions for one film, with variations in regards to size, content and country of production of the poster. It usually contains an image with text, though this has evolved over time from image-free bill posters through to the...
s, toys, original artwork by individuals including "
Carl BarksCarl Barks was a famous Disney Studio illustrator and comic book creator, who invented Duckburg and many of its inhabitants, such as Scrooge McDuck , Gladstone Gander , the Beagle Boys , Gyro Gearloose , Flintheart Glomgold , John D. Rockerduck and Magica De Spell...
,
Gustav Tengren (sic)Gustaf Adolf Tenggren was a Swedish-American illustrator. He is known for his Arthur Rackham-influenced fairy-tale style and use of silhouetted figures with caricatured faces...
,
Alex RossNelson Alexander "Alex" Ross is an American comic book painter, illustrator, and plotter, acclaimed for the photorealism of his work. He is praised for his realistic, human depictions of classic comic book characters. Since the 1990s he has done work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics Nelson...
,
Murphy AndersonMurphy Anderson is an American comic book penciller and inker who has worked for companies such as DC Comics for over 50 years, starting in the 1930s-'40s Golden Age of Comic Books...
,
Joe ShusterJoseph "Joe" Shuster was a Canadian-American comic book artist best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with writer Jerry Siegel, first published in Action Comics #1 ....
,
Joe SimonJoseph H. Simon is a Jewish-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 first editor of Timely Comics, the company that would evolve into Marvel Comics...
and Charles Schulz."
Diamond International Galleries has assisted "in such projects as
DCDC Comics is one of the largest and most popular American comic book and related media companies, along with Marvel Comics. It is the publishing division of DC Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary company of Warner Bros. Entertainment...
's Archive series," as well as hosting industry events.
Geppi's Entertainment Museum
Geppi's Entertainment Museum is a museum in Baltimore,
MarylandMaryland is a state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east. It is comparable in size to the European country of Belgium. According to the U.S...
, tracing the history of pop culture in American over the last four hundred years. Its collections include newspapers, magazines, comic books, movies,
televisionTelevision is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission...
,
radioRadio is the transmission of signals by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and video game memorabilia, including comic books,
movie posterA film poster is a poster used to advertise a film. There may be several versions for one film, with variations in regards to size, content and country of production of the poster. It usually contains an image with text, though this has evolved over time from image-free bill posters through to the...
s, toys, buttons, badges,
cerealA breakfast cereal is a packaged breakfast food. It is eaten cold, usually mixed with milk or water, but sometimes eaten dry. Some cereals, such as oatmeal, may be served hot as porridge. Some companies promote their products for the health benefits from eating oat-based and high-fiber cereals....
boxes,
trading cardA trading card is a small card, usually made out of cardboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person and a short description of the picture, along with other text...
s, dolls and figurines. The majority of the exhibits come 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 is Dr. Arnold T. Blumberg, former editor at Geppi's
Gemstone PublishingGemstone Publishing is a U.S. company that publishes comic books and collectors' guides. The company was formed by Diamond Comic Distributors President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen A. Geppi. Gemstone was the lastpublisher of licensed Disney comic books, starting in June 2003 until November...
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