Posted in: Ahoy, Boom, Comics, Conventions, Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics, Dynamite, Events, Image, Mad Cave Studios, Marvel Comics, NYCC, Pop Culture, Rebellion / 2000AD, Titan, Yen Press | Tagged: comicspro, dennis barger, lunar, new york comic con, Shannon Live
New York Comic Con Retailer Day Begins With The Great Lunar Divide
The New York Comic Con Retailer Day Of 2026 Begins With The Great Lunar Distribution Divide Of Retailers
Article Summary
- New York Comic Con Retailer Day opened with a Lunar Distribution split, barring some retailers from key publisher talks.
- The “Everyone Welcome” Retailer Summit required Lunar wristbands for the noon-to-2 PM block, catching many off guard.
- Dennis Barger and roughly a third of attendees were removed after being told non-Lunar accounts could not stay inside.
- The NYCC Retailer Day schedule placed Lunar, Image Comics, and DC Comics in the restricted window without advance notice.
Footage from the Retailer Day at New York Comic Conshows Shannon Live of ComicsPRO (tipped for the top position) and Cameron Merkler, co-founder of DCBS and Lunar Distribution, dividing the retailers.
The “Everyone Welcome” Retailer Summit kicking off tomorrow’s New York Comic Con has a special carve-out for Lunar Distribution publisher presentations, including DC Comics and Image Comics, between noon and 2 pm. And retailers who don’t have a Lunar account, like one Dennis Barger, well known to this parish, were ejected along with around a third of retailers present, most of whom had accounts but hadn’t known to sign up for a Lunar wristband before coming to the show… though it seemed that all the online streamers and flippers were wristbanded up. Indeed, Dennis got special treatment, being told by Cameron Merkler, “Dennis, do you have a blue wristband? No, you don’t, cause you have to have a Lunar account to have one, you’ll be kicked out in 5 minutes”, before taking to the stage as seen in the footage, so that everyone got the same treatment. Dennis has only been in New York for a couple of hours before causing more trouble. Here’s the day’s schedule, the Lunar chunk is between 11.50 am and 1.50 pm on the schedule, no note was made of its wristband exclusivity beforehand.
Comic Book Retailers’ Day NYCC 2026 Schedule
- 11 AM – ComicsPro
- 11:30 AM – Marvel
- 11.50 AM – Lunar Distribution
- 12:10 PM — Mad Cave Studios
- 12:15 PM — Rebellion Publishing
- 12:20 PM — Abrams ComicArts
- 12:25 PM — Avery Hill Publishing
- 12:30 PM — Zenescope Entertainment
- 12:35 PM — Clover Press
- 12:40 PM — Bad Idea
- 12:45 PM — Chronicle Books
- 12:50 PM — HarperCollins
- 12:55 PM — Yen Press
- 1 PM — Stranger Comics
- 1:05 PM — COMICS! The Magazine & REKCAH
- 1:11 PM — AHOY Comics
- 1:15 PM — Dynamite Entertainment
- 1:22 PM — Titan Comics
- 1:28 PM — Image Comics
- 1:38 PM — DC Comics
- 1.50 PM – CBDLF
- 2 PM – Dark Horse
- 2.10 PM – IDW
- 2.20 PM – eBay
- 2.30 PM – WinC
- 2.40 PM – Manage Comics
- 2.20 PM – eBay
- 2.50 PM – Keynote retailer signing with Stephanie Phillips
- 3.40 PM – Prana Direct Marketing
- 3.50 PM – Penguin Random House
- 4 PM – ComicsPRO
- 4.10 PM – PSA
- 4.20 PM – AWA
- 4.30 PM – Tiny Onion
- 4.40 PM -Keynote and retailer signing withTodd McFarlane
- 5.30 PM – Oni Press
- 5.40 PM – Ignition Press
- 5.50 PM – Universal Distribution
- 6 PM – Steve Wacker endnote
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