Baltimore, Maryland, comics retailer Steve Geppi took over the business and warehouse of failing distributor New Media/Irjax to form Diamond, starting out with 17 customers. Over the years, Diamond acquired a number of its competitors, including, finally, Capital City Distribution, and ended up as the largest distributor of English-language comics and pop culture items in the world. 

Parent company Geppi Family Enterprises also owns a number of other pop culture companies, including Diamond Book Distributors, Alliance Game Distributors, Diamond Select Toys, Hake’s Americana and Collectibles, and Gemstone Publishing, among others. Last year, Diamond added the grading company CGA (see “Diamond Acquires Toy and Video Game Grading Company”). Geppi also owned the Geppi Entertainment Museum, which closed down in 2018 and donated its collections to the Library of Congress (see “‘Geppi Gems’: Historic Comics Exhibit at Library of Congress”).

“None of this would have been possible without our customers, our vendors and of course our incredible employees,” Geppi said in the announcement. “I am deeply grateful for the commitment to excellence and the dedication my teams bring to what they do every day. The fact that we are marking Diamond’s 40th anniversary today is a tribute to their hard work and gives us all reason to celebrate!” 

Diamond President Chuck Parker noted the roots of the company.  “When Steve launched Diamond 40 years ago, his vision was to create a company that was a true partner to customers and suppliers, as well as a place employees would be proud to work,” he said. “I have been with Diamond for almost 37 years and while I have seen many changes in our industry, Diamond has stayed true to that vision.”