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 Comics' Chuck Rozanski 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 Comics 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 Capital and Diamond," and hastening the demise of smaller distributors. In 1988, Previews, Diamond's monthly magazine showcasing upcoming comic books was first published. Bud Plant Inc. Most notably, in 1988, Geppi bought up early mail-order distributor Bud Plant Inc., who had himself bought out Charles Abar Distribution in 1982. 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