Comings and Goings at Image, D&Q, IDW, Zenesope and more
Hoo we’re way behind on the latest comics industry comings and goings but for the record:
§ Francine Yulo has been promoted to Marketing and Sales Manager at Drawn & Quarterly, effective immediately. She started as a bookseller for D&Q, rising to editorial assistant to the Publisher and Executive Editor, and co-editing Giant Robot: 30 Years of Defining Asian-American Culture with the magazine’s founder, Eric Nakamura.
In her new role, Yulo will manage D+Q’s foreign rights alongside the Transatlantic Agency; cement international relationships with literary organizations and publishers; direct D+Q’s involvement in festivals and conventions; and oversee library and academic marketing. Yulo sits on the advisory board for the Montreal Comic Arts Festival and is the incoming treasurer for the Association of English Language Publishers of Quebec.
§ Many comings at Image Comics: Cat Nuwer has joined as Publicist, reporting to Kat Salazar, VP of PR & Marketing. (Yes, Cat and Kat. Only 3,352 other people made that joke.) Nuwer was formerly at DC Comics and Modern Fanatic.
“I’ve been a fan of Image Comics for more than a decade, so I feel incredibly lucky to join the team as a Publicist,” said Nuwer. “Image Comics has always published the highest caliber of original storytelling and art, and I’m excited to work with their top-level talent to shine an even brighter spotlight on upcoming projects, utilizing the skills I’ve honed from working in comic book publicity for the last several years.”
Salazar praised Nuwer as nimble and scrappy. “I can’t wait to see what we all cook up together!”
But that’s not all! Pat O’Connell, José Meza, and Dan Coyle all joined Image this week!
O’Connell joins the team as Inventory Manager. He will be in charge of overseeing the movement of all Image Comics inventory between domestic and international printers, distributors, and creators. He will prioritize stock availability with a goal of maintaining ongoing sales momentum. O’Connell comes to the company with over 14 years of experience in comics publishing working in Sales and during that time managed various inventory needs across the sales markets while at DC, Dynamite, and most recently IDW. He will report directly to Eric Stephenson, Publisher & Chief Creative Officer at Image.
“To say that Image Comics has an astounding roster of legendary talent and an enormous catalogue of ground breaking and award winning titles would be an understatement,” said O’Connell. “I’m elated to have the opportunity to join the team and help make it easy for comic shops and customers to always get their hands on any image book or comic they are dying to read!”
Meza joins the team as Specialty Sales Coordinator, a role previously held by Jon Schlaffman who moved into the Production department as a Production Artist. Meza will be in charge of handling the day-to-day sales coordination of the retailer exclusive covers program. He comes to the company with a decade of experience in comics publishing, working previously at Boom Studios in Sales and Exhibit Options as a Project Manager. He will report directly to Alex Cox, Director of Direct Market Sales at Image.
“For years, I’ve closely followed Image and have found their approach to comics publishing to be truly inspiring,” said Meza. “I’ve even incorporated elements of their strategy into my own work when working across the aisle, and I’m now incredibly grateful for the opportunity to contribute directly to their continued success.”
Coyle joins the team as Marketing Content Associate, a role previously held by Andrew Fitzgerald who was promoted recently into the Production department as a second Content Manager. Coyle will be supporting the Marketing department with various owned marketing initiatives including newsletters, website content, and social media. Previously he worked as a Shortboxed street team member/content creator and on freelance content creation promoting comics at his handle, @DieselDanComics. He will report directly to Cat Nuwer, Publicist at Image.
“As a kid my passion for reading and collecting comics began with Image Comics, they are my childhood and my adulthood. The characters and stories weren’t the only appeal for me but the attitude that Image Comics has, influenced my young impressionable mind,” said Coyle. “Now I’m working for the same publisher that I’ve admired since childhood!? Pinch me, because this must be a dream! Coming from being a content creator on social media to being hired by Image Comics is the dream I’ve been chasing. I owe a lot to the online community and I hope to make them proud as the Image Comics Marketing Content Associate.”
§ IDW made it press release official that Cassandra Jones has joined the team and Bixie Mathieu has also joined the editorial staff.
Mathieu joins IDW as Associate Editor, with an emphasis on the MY LITTLE PONY and SONIC THE HEDGEHOG lines of comics in addition to developing pitches for original properties. Mathieu was formerly as DC, Tapas, and Skybound. “Of course I’m excited to be on this team… it’s IDW,” proudly exclaimed Mathieu. “With some of the best IP and characters to play around with, I’m excited to help shape franchises. Not only that, but this is one of the best teams in comics with some of the most capable folks in the whole industry.”
Jones will be Editorial Assistant, focusing on the Eisner Award-nominated STAR TREK line. They previously created and edited the comics anthology Let Her Be Evil. Jones is eager to boldly explore the vast STAR TREK universe in addition to the other captivating tales that IDW publishes.
“I’m looking forward to wholeheartedly delving into each of the fascinating worlds found within IDW’s licenses and working with all of the passionate creators,” stated the new Editorial Assistant. “Every day I learn something new, whether that be about the crew of the Enterprise or the Defiant, a whimsical detail about Equestria, a sick new ninja plot in TMNT, or a hint about an upcoming GODZILLA showdown – there’s never a boring day.”
In addition, some promotions: Nic Niño becoming Assistant Editor on TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, Jake Williams as Associate Editor on the GODZILLA line and creator-owned titles, and Thea Cheuk as Editor leading the SONIC THE HEDGEHOG line and SATURDAY MORNING ADVENTURES titles.
§ We used to trawl LinkedIn for hirings announcements, but it seems few people are getting hired these days. Some goings however.
§ Industry veteran David Wohl notes that he’s leaving his position as editor in chief at Zenescope:
Looks like my time as Editor in Chief at Zenescope is coming to an end. It’s been a great three years at a phenomenal company, and I’ve formed some amazing new relationships that I hope to keep forever. And fortunately, we will continue to work together in a lesser capacity. This is always sort of a scary time, but I’m excited to see what new opportunities await as I continue down this always interesting road. Thank you!!!
§ Cartoonist/animator Scott Morse was one of the recent layoffs at Pixar, leaving his job as Story Supervisor after nearly 20 years. A supremely talented individual, Morse is sure to move on to new things quickly! Morse has been writing his thoughts in a series of posts on LinkedIn and they are well worth a read.
Over the past few years, we’ve all had life hit us with politics, a pandemic, senseless wars, and in entertainment, strikes. Somewhere in there, audiences decided they’d wait for streaming and stop going to theaters like they used to. Budgets, schedules, and expectations all went sideways. And now, studios are struggling to understand where to focus.
The thought that keeps surfacing for me, that keeps coming into focus, is ironically something storytellers and visual artists can’t live without. It’s inherent in creating, and it’s inherent in capturing an audience. But it’s something almost everyone shies away from:
Conflict.
The “rule of threes” is driven and defined by conflict. Jazz works because it does the unexpected, conflicting with pattern. Characters are usually the most fun to watch when they don’t get along, and we lean in closer for free therapy when characters don’t get along with themselves. They’re in conflict with what they want versus what they need, just like us. Act structure is an orchestrated pinball machine that’s designed to knock characters around in unexpected ways—reacting—and “reaction” itself is intrinsically locked in a sort of conflict with monotony.
Two weeks ago, when friends at Pixar didn’t know what to say to their suddenly-past-tense-coworkers, I often offered up this little idea: “You have to think of these layoffs like we’re the first kids that stepped off the boats at Normandy. We took some fire so others can advance. We bought you time. How will you use that time?”
§ To end this on an upbeat note note, John Domingos, formerly in A&R at Z2 Comics and at the Paradigm Talent Agency has started his own company, Sunday Funnies, a management, consulting, and production company specializing in Comedy and Comic Books.
Sunday Funnies is a culmination of my professional life, combining my passion for working with artists of all kinds in a representation capacity and getting to help them and others bring their projects to the world. It also allows me to keep myself involved in the comics publishing space where I know my experience as an agent and development executive can be of value to creators looking to see their work have new life in TV and Film.
The company is part talent management, part producing entity, part consulting business that total of which is a hub for bespoke representation and service to the artist and not beholden to any outside influences, just myself and the artists themselves. I will also continue to help any artist with an interest in the comic book space, find studio and/or publishing partners for the work. Or, if you’re someone in the comics space who needs some support in the transition of optioning your original IP, I have the experience to help you navigate that process.
Curious to know more? Don’t hesitate to reach out. I am always down to meet or reconnect and find ways to work with great people with a similar mindset and desire to help create the type of entertainment I want to see in the world.
More details are available on the company’s page and website.
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