The licensing arrangement for t-shirts between Graphitti Designs and Marvel Comics appears to be on the rocks.  Other licensing agreements between Graphitti and Marvel involving hardcover books, etc., are not affected, but any Graphitti Designs Marvel t-shirt that was not shipped by October 1 should be considered canceled.  Pending the resolution of some outstanding issues, Graphitti can no longer ship Marvel shirts (frontlist or backlist) to either retail or wholesale locations, which will make obtaining backlist replacements for popular designs increasingly difficult.  Retailers interested in stocking up on Graphitti's Marvel designs should try to obtain them from wholesalers who may still have stock on some shirts (check with Diamond or FM International).

 

The direction that Marvel intends to take with its apparel licensing program is not clear at this time.  Marvel has used several mass-market t-shirt manufacturers including Changes, but none of them have demonstrated the ability that Graphitti has to service independent pop culture retailers with top quality shirts and designs.  Will Marvel choose to go exclusively with major mass-market t-shirt producers, or will the publisher find an organization with direct market savvy (but not as well-know for manufacturing t-shirts) such as Diamond or Dynamic Forces to make shirts for the comic shop market?