Bud Plant, owner of Bud's Art Books announced last year that he was retiring in 2026 at the age of 73. In a recent blog post, Plant wrote that he had sold his business to long-time friend Bill Schanes.
I have been a customer of Bud's fine establishment for many years and I'm sad to see him go. I hope that Mr. Schanes doesn't decide to re-invent the wheel after he takes over which happens so often when a business changes hands.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Bud's Art Books, it is one of the most valuable sources for books about art, comics and just about anything else that is printed regarding the topics we all enjoy. Visit the sight by clicking on the sidebar on the right column of this blog.
This message was published on his blog:
A press release has just gone out announcing that this business, as of February 1, will now be owned by a new corporation co-owned by William “Bill” Schanes and Sasha Fera-Schanes, who currently co-manages Pop-King Inc., an eBay store, with her father Steve Schanes, Bill's brother.Our staff will remain the same. New to us is Marty Grosser, former 37-year head editor of Diamond Previews, stepping into my duties here. He’ll be choosing new items to handle, editing descriptions, recommending items, putting together the weekly eblast, editing the print catalog and so on. I (Bud) have been working with Marty to get him up to speed for several weeks now.I will remain on board on a part-time basis over February and March to see that the transition runs smoothly and to help out wherever I can.Many of you will know Bill Schanes; Bill was Vice President of Purchasing for Diamond Comics for 30 years; he retired 13 years ago to take time off and travel. Bill and the Schanes family started and ran the legendary Pacific Comics—publisher of comics, portfolios and books, and an early comics distributor. I (Bud) acquired their distribution arm in 1985. You may recall they were first to publish Dave Stevens and The Rocketeer, Jack Kirby’s creator-owned titles and much, much more.Bill has no lack of experience in this industry, and he and I have been friends since he started out in the industry in the mid-1970s—he’s several years younger than I am. Bill was also integral in the sale of my own distribution business to Diamond Comics in 1988, after which I went back to direct-to-customer retailing which is where this brings us to today. – Bud