Big Rapids Distribution

Big Rapids Distribution
Formerly	Keep On Truckin' Coop
Company type	comic books/underground comix
Subsidiaries	Donohue Brothers; The Comic Distributor; Isis News; Nova; Well News Co.; Wisconsin Independent News Distributors;

Big Rapids Distribution was a

underground newspapers, radical literature, and underground comix

. 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 mainstream comics.

Services

Among the periodicals distributed by Big Rapids were the Berkeley Barb, Fifth Estate, Creem, Rolling Stone, and High Times, in addition to a plethora of underground comix.

History

Origins

Big Rapids was founded as a

co-op structure. Jim Kennedy, Big Rapids' "first-among-equals," described the company as an "alternative Independent Distributor

."

Rise to prominence

Big Rapids' entry into mainstream comics distribution came in early 1975, when

Ann Arbor

went under and Big Rapids purchased its assets. (Up to that point, Big Rapids had bought its mainstream comics from Donohoe Brothers.)

Moving their headquarters back to Detroit, 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

Sea Gate Distributors and all the major comics publishers — opened up the distribution market, enabling Big Rapids to expand even further.^[1]

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 Distribution branch
Wisconsin Independent News Distributors (WIND) — run by Milton Griepp and John Davis, who later founded Capital City Distribution^[2]

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 —

New Media Distribution

.

References

^ Gearino, Dan. Comic Shop: The Retail Mavericks Who Gave Us a New Geek Culture (Ohio University Press, 2017).
^ "Who We Are: Milton Griepp," ICv2.com. Accessed October 15, 2009.

External links

Video slideshow of Big Rapids activities and employees

[Gearino-1] Gearino, Dan. Comic Shop: The Retail Mavericks Who Gave Us a New Geek Culture (Ohio University Press, 2017).

[ICv2-2] "Who We Are: Milton Griepp," ICv2.com. Accessed October 15, 2009.

[1]

[2]