Big Rapids Distribution
Encyclopedia
Big Rapids Distribution was a Detroit, Michigan
-based distributor
focusing on underground newspapers, radical literature, and underground comics. They were responsible for the unusually good coverage that underground comix and underground papers got in the Michigan area in the early 1970s, when they could be found in most full-service newsstands there. At its height, shortly before it went bankrupt in 1980, Big Rapids was functioning as an alternative independent distributor in the central and southern Michigan areas, selling a full line of magazines and paperbacks, as well as comics.
circa 1970 as the Keep On Truckin' Coop. They eventually changed their name but retained their co-op structure. Jim Kennedy, Big Rapids' "first-among-equals," described the company as an "alternative Independent Distributor
."
Big Rapids was aggressive, often taking over the businesses of customers who ran up large debts (ironic, given that their delivery vehicles carried pictures of Karl Marx
on the inside doors). At its height, Big Rapids was actually functioning as an alternative independent distributor in the Detroit and central and southern Michigan areas, selling a full line of magazines and paperbacks, as well as comics.
There was a scramble to fill the void; a couple of new companies that grew briefly from the wreckage lasted only briefly — Bob Hellems' company in Detroit and Bob Beerbohm's in the San Francisco Bay Area. Most of the pieces were picked up by the brand-new Capital City Distribution
or by New Media Distribution.
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
-based distributor
Distribution (business)
Product distribution is one of the four elements of the marketing mix. An organization or set of organizations involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption by a consumer or business user.The other three parts of the marketing mix are product, pricing,...
focusing on underground newspapers, radical literature, and underground comics. They were responsible for the unusually good coverage that underground comix and underground papers got in the Michigan area in the early 1970s, when they could be found in most full-service newsstands there. At its height, shortly before it went bankrupt in 1980, Big Rapids was functioning as an alternative independent distributor in the central and southern Michigan areas, selling a full line of magazines and paperbacks, as well as comics.
Origins
Big Rapids was founded as a cooperativeCooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
circa 1970 as the Keep On Truckin' Coop. They eventually changed their name but retained their co-op structure. Jim Kennedy, Big Rapids' "first-among-equals," described the company as an "alternative Independent Distributor
Direct market
The direct market is the dominant distribution and retail network for North American comic books. It consists of one dominant distributor and the majority of comics specialty stores, as well as other retailers of comic books and related merchandise...
."
Rise to prominence
Big Rapids' entry into mainstream comics distribution came in early 1975, when Donahoe Brothers Inc. of nearby Ann Arbor went under and Big Rapids purchased its assets. (Up to that point, Big Rapids had bought its mainstream comics from Donohoe Brothers.)Big Rapids was aggressive, often taking over the businesses of customers who ran up large debts (ironic, given that their delivery vehicles carried pictures of Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
on the inside doors). At its height, Big Rapids was actually functioning as an alternative independent distributor in the Detroit and central and southern Michigan areas, selling a full line of magazines and paperbacks, as well as comics.
Acquisitions
Distributors acquired by Big Rapids:- The Comic Distributor — run by Jim Friel. Big Rapids called in Friel's debt in 1979 and he became an employee for a year. (The name "The Comic Distributor" was later taken by Mark Hylton of Comic Carnival.)
- Isis News (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
- Nova (Los Angeles, California)
- Well News Co. (Columbus, Ohio) — their personnel became the nucleus of an early Capital City DistributionCapital City DistributionCapital City Distribution was a Madison, Wisconsin-based comic book distributor which operated from 1980 to 1996 when they were acquired by rival Diamond Comics Distributors...
branch - Wisconsin Independent News Distributors (WIND) — run by Milton Griepp and John Davis, who later founded Capital City DistributionCapital City DistributionCapital City Distribution was a Madison, Wisconsin-based comic book distributor which operated from 1980 to 1996 when they were acquired by rival Diamond Comics Distributors...
Bankruptcy and dissolution
In 1980, despite being the largest of many distributors in the direct market, Big Rapids went bankrupt and their assets were liquidated.There was a scramble to fill the void; a couple of new companies that grew briefly from the wreckage lasted only briefly — Bob Hellems' company in Detroit and Bob Beerbohm's in the San Francisco Bay Area. Most of the pieces were picked up by the brand-new Capital City Distribution
Capital City Distribution
Capital City Distribution was a Madison, Wisconsin-based comic book distributor which operated from 1980 to 1996 when they were acquired by rival Diamond Comics Distributors...
or by New Media Distribution.