Alex R Carr headshot.jpeg

Another DC alum has landed a new gig: Alex R. Carr is joining Tapas Media as Senior Director of Publisher Relations. In the new position he’ll oversee growing the Tapas catalog off-platform.

Carr was formerly a Group Editor at DC, and he joins another ex-DC editor, Michelle Wells, who is currently the CCO at Tapas.

Last month Tapas was acquired by Kakao Entertainment, a huge Korean media company, for $510 million. As we reported, Kakao has big plans to expand their webcomics offerings in the US, and hiring an exec with Carr’s background seems in line with that expansion.

“There is an incredible spectrum of storytelling at Tapas, and I am so impressed not only with the innovation but also the level of customer engagement,” says Carr in a statement. “That passion will fuel my mission: to expand the reader base for Tapas’ rich catalog and to surprise and delight existing Tapas readers with new formats for their favorite stories. I’m thrilled and thankful to join this team and platform as we begin the next chapter.”

“We are so happy to have Alex join us at this pivotal moment in our company’s growth,” said Wells. “He will be developing and overseeing the entire print publishing program, as well as guiding the strategy for the global reach of Tapas content—a leadership role for which he is uniquely qualified. We’re looking forward to partnering with Alex on a number of new and exciting initiatives in Tapas storytelling both on and off platform!”

Carr formerly led Amazon’s Jet City Comics line and at DC he worked on their young readers books before taking on the mantle of JLA Group Editor. Details of his CV via the PR:

Carr has spent almost two decades in publishing and content strategy, across international locales, mediums, and genres to drive initiatives at franchise and global levels. A background in editing, combined with an early start in sales and analytics, led Carr to join as a founding editor on Amazon’s pilot program for original content, Amazon Publishing.  He developed content strategies to launch global, multiplatform imprints, including Montlake Romance, followed by 47North – a Science Fiction & Fantasy imprint, and then Jet City Comics.  After leading these teams, along with Kindle Serials, and acquiring talent like George R.R. Martin, Neal Stephenson, Seanan McGuire, Blake Crouch, Melinda Leigh, and Hugh Howey, he relocated to the United Kingdom to spearhead the Non-Fiction publishing initiative.

After a decade at Amazon, Carr joined the Warner Bros. Entertainment/DC Comics team in 2018 to help launch two new initiatives in the Young Reader space, recontextualizing franchises that are over 80 years old for new audiences, and acquiring New York Times bestselling talent to develop these stories, including Maggie Stiefvater, Claudia Gray, and Marieke Nijkamp.  In addition, he also led the Justice League group of titles in DC’s periodical business, working with creators such as Brian Michael Bendis, David Marquez, Ram V, Mike Perkins, Kelly Sue DeConnick, and Doug Mahnke.”

Carr has a BA in English Language and Literature from the University of Colorado Boulder.

We keep hearing rumors about other well known US comics figures joining Tapas. They are definitely in expansion mode, so we wouldn’t be surprised with more prominent hires in the coming months.