Bud Plant was a

wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

distributor active in the 1970s and 1980s during the growth of the

direct market The direct market is the dominant distribution and retail network for American comic books. The concept of the direct market was created in the 1970s by Phil Seuling. The network currently consists of: * four major comic distributors: ** Lunar ...

. He also published a selection of comics and zines during the same period. Starting in 1970 as a mail-order distributor specializing in

underground comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

, Plant absorbed some of his smaller rivals in the 1980s, and then sold his business to

Diamond Comics Distributors Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. (often called Diamond Comics, DCD, or casually Diamond) is an American comic book distributor serving retailers in North America and worldwide. They transport comic books and graphic novels, as well as other pop ...

in 1988. He still, as Bud Plant's Art Books, sells quality reprints and graphic novels.

History

Origins

Plant (born 1952) was a comics and illustrated books enthusiast from

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

, who throughout his high school years bought and sold back issue comic books through ads in fanzines such as '' Rocket's Blast''/''ComicCollector''. In 1968 he co-founded Seven Sons Comic Shop with five friends, John Barrett, Jim Buser, Mike Nolan, Frank Scadina, and Tom Tallmon, in San Jose. Selling Seven Sons within a year, Plant along with Barrett, Buser, and Dick Swan later opened another San Jose-based comics shop called Comic World in 1969."THE TOUCAN INTERVIEW: Bud Plant: Comics Retailing Pioneer,"
''Toucan'': The Official Comic-Con & Wondercon Blog (June 28, 2013). In 1970 Plant founded Bud Plant, Inc. as a mail order company specializing in

. (His Holly Drive address appears as the publishing address of the first issue of ''Promethean Enterprises'' in 1969.) In 1971, Plant and five friends spent the summer dealing comics at conventions in Houston,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, Dallas,

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, Miami, Boston, and Washington, D.C.Jacobson, Aileen. "Serious Comics Fans", ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' (Aug 16, 1971), p. B2. Plant had met direct market pioneer

Phil Seuling Philip Nicholas Seuling (January 20, 1934 – August 21, 1984) was a comic book fan convention organizer and comics distributor primarily active in the 1970s. Seuling was the organizer of the annual New York Comic Art Convention, originally held ...

on the convention circuit; in late 1973 Seuling called Plant to inform him that he had just cut a deal to ship

Archie Archie is a masculine given name, a diminutive of Archibald. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Archie Alexander (1888–1958), African-American mathematician, engineer and governor of the US Virgin Islands * Archie Blake (mathematici ...

, DC, Marvel, and

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

comic books from a new distribution center in

Sparta, Illinois Sparta is a city in Randolph County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,095 at the 2020 census. The city was the principal filming location for the 1967 film '' In the Heat of the Night''. Consumer ammunition manufacturer Underwood a ...

. Seuling offered the West Coast region to Plant, but Plant turned him down, preferring then to concentrate on the proliferating underground comix market.

Publishing

Plant entered the publishing field in 1969 as one of the three publishers, along with Al Davoren and Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr., of '' Promethean Enterprises''—a

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...

that attempted to straddle the comic/comix boundary. (''Promethean Enterprises'' lasted from 1969–1974.) In 1972, Plant took over the publishing responsibilities of the fanzine '' Anomaly'' from

Jan Strnad Jan Steven Strnad (sometimes credited as J. Knight) is an American writer of comic books, horror, and science fiction. He is known for his many collaborations with artist Richard Corben, as well as his work in the ''Star Wars'' expanded universe ...

who had published three issues since 1969. Plant published issue #4 of ''Anomaly'', evolving it into an underground comic. As part of his retailing enterprise Comics & Comix ( see below), in 1974 Plant co-published one issue of the underground/

sword and sorcery Sword and sorcery (S&S) is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of high fantasy, the tale ...

hybrid ''Barbarian Killer Funnies''; moving from there to the similarly themed ''

The First Kingdom Jack Katz (born September 27, 1927)
at the Jack Katz. (Under various publishing names, Plant published 24 issues of ''The First Kingdom'', from 1974 to 1986.) Comics & Comix also published three issues of Jim Pinkoski's ''Spaced'' in 1974–1976; two issues of '' Dan O'Neill's Comics and Stories'' in 1975; and two issues of

Alfredo Alcala Alfredo P. Alcala (August 23, 1925 – April 4, 2000) was a Filipino comics artist, born in Talisay, Negros Occidental in the Philippines. Alcala was an established illustrator whose works appeared in the ''Alcala Komix Magazine''. His 1963 cre ...

's ''Magic Carpet'' in 1977–1978. Around 1978, Plant was approached by Wendy &

Richard Pini Wendy Pini ''née'' Fletcher, (born June 4, 1951) and Richard Pini (born July 19, 1950) are the husband-and-wife team responsible for creating the well-known ''Elfquest'' series of Comic book, comics, graphic novels and prose works. They are al ...

about publishing '' Elfquest'', but he turned the couple down, as he was getting out of the comics publishing business. (The Pinis later successfully self-published their project.) From 1980 to 1985, Comics & Comix also published the industry trade journal '' Telegraph Wire''.

Titles published

* ''Promethean Enterprises'' (5 issues, 1969–1974) * ''Anomaly'' #4 (Nov. 1972) – taking over from

* ''Barbarian Killer Funnies'' (1974) – by Tom Bird * ''

The First Kingdom Jack Katz (born September 27, 1927)
at the Jack Katz * ''Spaced'' (3 issues, 1974–1976) – by Jim Pinkoski * '' Dan O'Neill's Comics and Stories'' vol. 2 (2 issues, 1975) – by

Dan O'Neill Dan O'Neill (born April 21, 1942) is an American underground cartoonist, creator of the syndicated comic strip ''Odd Bodkins'' and founder of the underground comics collective the Air Pirates. Education O'Neill attended the University of Sa ...

; picked up from

Company & Sons Company & Sons was an early underground comix publisher based in San Francisco, ran by John Bagley. The company operated from 1970 to 1973, publishing a total of 15 titles, all but one of them consisting of a single issue. Company & Sons was t ...

* ''Magic Carpet'' (2 issues, 1977–1978) – by

* ''Telegraph Wire'' (24 issues, 1980–Dec./Jan. 1985) – trade journal

Comics & Comix

In August 1972, while still an undergraduate at

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sys ...

,Beerbohm, Robert
"Comics Dealer Extraordinaire Robert Beerbohm: In His Own Words"
Comic-Convention Memories (Jan. 6, 2010). Plant co-founded what became the comics retailer Comics & Comix in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

, with John Barrett and Plant's housemate Robert Beerbohm.Beerbohm, Bob
"Please Consider Buying Some Comics From Industry Icon Robert Beerbohm"
The Comics Reporter (March 14, 2008). In 1973 Comics & Comix helped host the first Bay Area comics convention, Berkeleycon 73, in the Pauley Ballroom in the ASUC Building on the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

campus. At that show, Comics & Comix acquired over 4,000

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...

comic books owned by Tom Reilly. The phenomenal sales of the Reilly collection enabled Comics & Comix to open more retail locations, first in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

(May 1973), on Columbus Avenue (down from the North Beach area on the way to Fisherman's Wharf), and later in San Jose and

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, making it the first comic book chain store in America.

Expansion

In the early 1980s Plant supplied product to Destiny Distributors, a sub-distributor based in Seattle and Vancouver, started by Phil Pankow (which was acquired by Diamond in 1990). In 1982, Plant bought out regional rival Charles Abar Distribution, based in Belmont, California.Duin, Steve and Richardson, Mike (eds.) "Bud Plant" in ''Comics Between the Panels'' ( Dark Horse Publishing, 1998) , p. 356–357. The year 1985 brought two important developments in the distribution industry, the bankruptcy of Seuling's

Sea Gate Distributors Philip Nicholas Seuling (January 20, 1934 – August 21, 1984) was a comic book fan convention organizer and comics distributor primarily active in the 1970s. Seuling was the organizer of the annual New York Comic Art Convention, originally held ...

(Seuling himself had died in 1984), and the failure of Plant's West Coast rival Pacific Comics (which by that point was also a large independent comics publisher). Plant and Midwestern distributor Capital City Distributors opened "an expanded facility in Seagate's old space in Sparta, Illinois, alongside acific's oldprinting plant".Sanford, Jay Allen
"Two Men and their Comic Books
, ''

San Diego Reader The ''San Diego Reader'' is an alternative press newspaper in the county of San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a ...

'' blog (Aug. 19, 2004). In 1987, Plant acquired Alternate Realities Distributing, Inc., based in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, a wholesale distribution operation run by Nanette Rozanski. By 1988, Plant dominated distribution of comics in the West Coast, finally fulfilling Seuling's 1974 vision.

Sale to Diamond

In the summer of 1988,

Steve Geppi Stephen A. Geppi (born January 24, 1950) is an American comic book distributor, publisher and former comic store owner. Having established an early chain of comic shops in Baltimore in the mid-late 1970s, he is best known for his distributing busi ...

Diamond Comics Distribution Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. (often called Diamond Comics, DCD, or casually Diamond) is an American comic book distributor serving retailers in North America and worldwide. They transport comic books and graphic novels, as well as other pop ...

bought Plant's distribution warehouses, allowing Diamond to go "national",Warshaw, Michael. "From Mailman to Tycoon", ''Success'' (June, 1994), pp. 28–32. "thereby assuming control of "40 percent of the direct-sales market". Later in 1988, Plant also sold Comics & Comix.

Back to basics

Since divesting himself of his distribution and brick-and-mortar retail businesses, Plant has maintained a mail-order (and now Internet) presence in art books, trade paperbacks, and rare books. Plant is known for the colorful titles of his sales catalogs: * ''Bud Plant's Incredible Catalog'' (1987–1996) * ''Bud Plant Illustrated Books'' (1987–2005) – out-of-print/rare book catalog * ''Bud Plant's Comic Art Update'' (1993–2002) * ''Bud Plant Comic Art Wholesale Catalog'' (Winter 1996) * ''Bud Plant's Incorrigible Catalog'' – pinup art, erotic comic books, etc. (Winter 2001–2002) * ''Bud Plant's Incredible Update'' (2003–present) – continuation of ''Comic Art Update''

Realignment

On July 5, 2011, Plant announced plans to sell his mail-order business and retire. Then in April 2012 (after failing to find a buyer) he announced plans to downsize (eliminating print catalogs) but continue operations. After just under a year with no catalogs but email announcements, and just three on staff, he began expanding again. Beginning with color flyers, by 2013 he was back to do smaller full color bi-monthly catalogs. He also hired back several long time employees, including LaDonna Padgett, who had been with him since before the wholesale business sold to Diamond in 1988. She is still with him in 2020. As of April 2020, he is back to producing bi-monthly full color catalogs, weekly new item emails and periodic special emails for various categories, such as out of print, adult, and clearance sales. He was a staff of seven full time employees and remains in the same warehouse of 34 years. 2020 is his 50th year of operation. He exhibited at the first 48 San Diego Comic-Cons, but stopped in 2018. He was a special guest in 2019 there, as part of their celebration of the dealers and fans who were at the first Comic-Con in 1970. He spoke on two panels. He was also a guest at the 2019 Comic Fest and did two panels there, too. (source: Bud Plant interview, April 27, 2020).

Awards

*1985: Named as one of the honorees by DC Comics in the company's 50th anniversary publication '' Fifty Who Made DC Great''. * Plant was the recipient of an Inkpot Award at the 1994

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...

References

External links

* {{official website 1970 establishments in California Plant, Bud Comics industry Comics retailers Companies based in Nevada County, California Book distributors Underground comix Business services companies established in 1970 American companies established in 1970 American companies disestablished in 1988 1988 disestablishments in California