Lunar Distribution has told comic retailers that all products distributed through Lunar with an October 7, 2026 release date are eligible for Midnight Release, according to Bleeding Cool (October 2, 2026, ~4:27 p.m. CT). The email frames the change as an exception to Lunar’s standard street-date policy because special midnight events are already planned for that Wednesday street.
Framing note: this story is the Lunar-wide retail policy and the DC delay — not a rehash of any Marvel Midnight Universe order-quantity claims still pending separate desk review. Midnight Spider-Man, Midnight X-Men, and Midnight Fantastic Four #1 remain the best-known reasons shops planned late openings; Oni (Sabrina the Teenage Witch #1), Image (Avengylene midnight variant), and Ignition (Dinner Date #1) had already been called out as midnight-eligible before Lunar widened the window. Report the distribution rule, not invented unit figures.
Bleeding Cool notes the usual Lunar carve-out language: titles routed through Penguin Random House and certain other publishers (Boom, Dark Horse, IDW, Dstlry, Ignition, TokyoPop, Drawn & Quarterly among those listed in coverage) are not automatically swept into the Lunar midnight exception. Do not invent a PRH matching policy from this email alone.
Separately, DC’s Start Here horror/fantasy slate lined up against the Oct. 7 cluster is slipping. DCeased #1 – DC Start Here! now ships October 2 for an in-store date of October 14, 2026 (was Oct. 7). Dark Knights of Steel #1, DC vs. Vampires #1, and Dark Nights: Metal #1 Start Here editions are likewise delayed to October 14 in-store.
For US Direct Market readers watching the same Oct. 7 calendar already on RCG — including Jonah Hex Shadow of Death #1 on sale Oct. 7 — the practical takeaway is simpler: shops that open at Tuesday midnight may sell Lunar-fed Oct. 7 product early; DC’s Start Here horror/fantasy pack is a week later.
Retailers still must follow Lunar’s wording on display and sale timing; this is not a blanket invitation to break street dates on non-Lunar product. Fans should check their local shop’s midnight hours rather than assuming every store will open.
What we are not saying: we are not repeating or inventing Marvel Midnight order totals, claiming every publisher joined the midnight window, or moving DC Start Here back to Oct. 7. Report Lunar’s all-Oct.-7-Lunar midnight exception and DC Start Here’s Oct. 14 in-store delay.
