After Phil Seuling established the direct market in 1972, his company Sea Gate Distributors maintained a virtual monopoly on comic book distribution, until a lawsuit brought by Irjax in 1978 [REF].
When Hal Shuster relocated to Florida early in 1982,[REF] he asked "Geppi to service more accounts for a bigger discount,"[REF] thereby effectively selling Geppi the distribution end of the business [REF].