It’s been a long time since we updated coming and goings and job openings around the industry so here’s a brief catchup – I’m sure we missed many so you can always drop us a line ([email protected] comicsbeat.com) with updates.
• Dark Horse and its retail arm Thing from Another World have reorganized their marketing department, with Jules Morales promoted to Vice President of Retail Sales (TFAW) and Cara O’Neil to Vice President of Marketing (DHC).
“Cara and Jules have both demonstrated a positive impact on their respective departments. Cara is a fantastic leader all while developing her own successful campaigns and communications with creators and licensors,” said Mike Richardson, CEO and Founder of Dark Horse Comics. “With Jules’ passion and experience, he’ll flourish in his new role. I am excited to see where they will lead Dark Horse and TFAW and the growth they will accomplish.”
Morales joined TFAW in 2019, and has had a rapid rise – promoted four times in three years and now oversees the day-to-day operations of both the physical stores and the website.
“Pop culture, especially comic books, has been a huge part of my life from a very young age,” Jules said. “I have very clear memories of seeing Batman vs Predator on the shelf and having the entire concept blow my mind. Being able to share the love and enjoyment of such an important medium with so many people means a lot to me. It’s a dream come true to be a part of a company with such a rich history in the industry.”
O’Neil joined Dark Horse in 2017, and has overseen social media and communications management, and promotional campaigns for some of Dark Horse’s most popular titles including Berserk, The Witcher, Critical Role, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Hellboy, The Umbrella Academy, Stranger Things, and many others.
“We have experienced a lot of growth and change in the past few years at Dark Horse, and I look forward to continuing to expand and update our overall marketing efforts to help our books and other products succeed,” O’Neil says. “Thank you to all of my colleagues for your continued support–we are just getting started.”
• Industry veteran Rob Peredya has joined 555 Comic Co as its Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Partnerships Officer. Pereyda will report to 555 Comic Founder and CEO Ben Watanabe, Anime New Network reports. Pereyda was Head of Anime, Editorial & Publishing at Netflix, where he drove global strategy for anime and helped anime viewership grow over 50%, before being part of that streamer’s recent layoffs. He also instrumental in founding Crunchyroll.
555 is a newish company that specializes in interactice storytelling over social media platforms such as Twittr and TikTok. Pereyda will continue the kind of growth strategies for the new company he employed at his previous positions.
“Over the past two decades, Rob has relentlessly driven the growth, discoverability, and monetization of content that anime and gaming fans love,” said Watanabe, the founder and CEO of 555. “Even before joining us, we as a team have already felt the meaningful impact he has played on the industry. Now, we’re excited to have him help lead this next chapter of 555’s story as we open up our worlds for fans to bring their own original characters and adventures to them and become canon.”
• Archie comics has hired entertainment journalist Chris Cummins as its new social media manager. Showing his chops at the job right off the bat, Cummins included a photo of his battered first Archie comics purchase as part of the release. Philadelphia based, he has contributed to such outlets as Topless Robot to Philadelphia Weekly and USA Today, including an eight-year stint at Den of Geek hosting live interviews. He also hosts the show Sci-Fi Explosion.
“We’ve worked with Chris for so many years now that it feels like he’s already been with us for our major milestones, like the Riverdale TV series, the introduction of the Archie Horror imprint, and the addition of new characters to our ongoing roster like Stacy Banks and Eliza Han,” said Archie Comics CEO Jon Goldwater. “Chris is a true-blue Archie fan who’s adept at so many aspects of pop culture coverage; putting him at the forefront of the daily conversation with our fans, sharing all the fun new projects we have coming up, it’s such a great fit.”
“In 1982, my parents impulse-bought me an Archie digest at the supermarket checkout,” Chris said. “I read it and reread it until it fell apart then I taped it back together and read it some more. I was immediately drawn to the characters and their antics, and the artwork was unlike anything I had ever seen before. I knew immediately that I was hooked on Riverdale and its residents for life. I see this position as a huge responsibility obviously, but also as a literal dream come true!”
“These characters are so versatile that they can be thrown into any situation no matter how fantastic and still maintain their essential Archieness,” Chris added. “As a lifelong fan and now someone who will get the opportunity to help shape the future of the many Archieverses, that is something that is so incredibly exciting. Riverdale is a place where dreams come true, and this position is proof of that!”
• Hiring alert: Oni Press is hiring a marketing coordinator. The basics:
Oni Press is seeking an enthusiastic, hardworking, and detail-oriented individual to join our team as Marketing Coordinator. This position will report to the Director of Marketing and will work closely with the marketing team on a variety of tasks including content development and execution for Oni’s social channels, coordinating with digital vendors on title metadata, creator care and communication, asset development, and marketing campaign planning and analysis.
Details in the link.
Send news of hires, promotions and lob postings to info @comicsbeat.com.
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