Steve Geppi, founder and CEO of Diamond Comic Distributors, has accepted a seat on the Board of Directors of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.  Other members of the CBLDF Board include Chris Staros, Peter David, Neil Gaiman, Milton Griepp, Greg Ketter, Frank Mangiaracina, Louise Nemschoff and Paul Levitz. 

Geppi brings over three decades of experience in the industry as a retailer (Geppi's Comic World), distributor (Diamond Comic Distributors), and publisher (Gemstone, Overstreet, Baltimore Magazine).   In addition to his business connections to all portions of the industry, Geppi is also one of the key collectors of vintage comic books in America today and his interest in the industry is fueled by a genuine passion for the medium.

The recent additions of Geppi and Levitz (see 'Paul Levitz Named to CBLDF Board') to the CBLDF Board of Directors should greatly strengthen the organization, since both men are key players in the mainstream comic book industry -- Levitz is President and Publisher of DC Comics, the tradition-rich company whose roots go back to the very origins of comic book publishing, while Steve Geppi, in addition to his retailing and publishing interests, controls Diamond Comic Distributors, the dominant distributor in the direct market.