Capital City Distribution co-founder, musician, and film scholar John Francis Davis passed away on June 13 in Madison, Wisconsin after a long illness. He was watching film classic Chinatown in the company of family when he passed. He was 82.
Davis speaking at a Capital City Distribution Sales Conference in the early 90s
Davis was best-known in the comics and games businesses as the co-founder of comics direct market pioneer Capital City Distribution, which he co-founded in 1980 with Milton Griepp (founder and CEO of ICv2). In his role as a key executive of the company, he was friend to publishers, retailers, artists, writers, and other distributors around the world, and to Capital’s employees.
Davis attended the University of Wisconsin in the 1960s, where he studied film, founded the campus’s first private film society, and became book editor and later editor of scholarly film journal The Velvet Light Trap.
He joined Griepp in the comics department of distribution co-op Wisconsin Independent News Distributors in the mid-70s, and after W.I.N.D. shut down, the pair moved to Big Rapids Distribution Company, which in the late 70s was briefly the largest direct comic distributor in the U.S. When BRDC closed in 1980, he and Griepp started Capital City Distribution, which was one of the two largest comic distributors in the U.S. and a major tabletop game distributor with over 20 locations in the U.S. and a large international business (see “The Rise and Fall of Capital City Distribution”).
After Diamond Comic Distributors purchased Capital City Distribution, its last competitor after the distribution wars of the 1980s and 1990s, in 1996, Davis took a sales role with Diamond for several years, then founded Davis Marketing Services, which represented companies seeking distribution in the U.S.
Davis was also a blues guitarist and vocalist throughout his life, co-founding the White Trash Blues Band, which achieved regional success in the late 1960s. He played with other bands throughout the 70s and frequently played at Capital City Distribution events throughout his years at the company as part of the Capital City All Stars. He continued to perform through the 90s, 2000s, and 2010s.
Davis with Capital City Distribution partner Milton Griepp and blues legend Junior Wells, who performed at a Capital City Distribution party
His love of music also manifested in other ways at Capital City Distribution, which employed many musicians he’d known through the years in a variety of non-musician roles, and which frequently featured live music at parties the company threw at conventions, Sales Conferences, and for employees and business associates in Madison.
“John was a great partner and a great friend, and the world is a poorer place without him,” ICv2’s Milton Griepp said of his passing.
A Celebration of Life is being planned; we’ll publish details here when available. Our condolences to family and friends.
Source: ICv2
