Boom! Studios just announced a bunch of promotions and personnel changes, but the biggest was the return of Arune Singh as their new VP, Marketing. Singh will report to Filip Sablik, President of Publishing and Marketing, while running marketing, communications, social media, brand development and new corporate initiatives.
Singh was formerly at Marvel, SyFy and CBR and it’s safe to say he’s a popular figure in the industry, and it’s great to have him back.
“Since I was a kid, there’s no medium I’ve loved as much as graphic fiction and I’m thrilled to re-enter the industry with BOOM! Studios,” said Singh. “From titles like LUMBERJANES to KLAUS to MOUSE GUARD to MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS, BOOM! is creating premiere storytelling that truly brings new voices and readers to comic shops, with an unparalleled team of people behind the scenes who represent the future of the entertainment industry.”
Other Boom moves:
• Kate Henning has been hired as Operations Manager. Henning began her career at Diamond Comic Distributors as a Brand Manager in the Purchasing department. Over her 5 years there, she developed a sterling reputation of working with publishers. In 2013, Henning was hired by IDW, where she served as the publisher’s Sales & Operations Manager. In her new role, Henning will oversee BOOM!’s publishing logistics along with printer and distributor relationships.
• Dafna Pleban has been promoted to Editor, Talent Development. Pleban has been with BOOM! since 2009 and has been instrumental in discovering and developing high-performing talent for many years. This new designation reflects her continued success in identifying singular talents including Russ Manning Award nominee Vanesa R. Del Rey (THE EMPTY MAN, Black Widow) and Russ Manning Award winner Dan Mora (KLAUS, WWE: THEN. NOW. FOREVER.).
• Alex Galer has been promoted to Associate Editor. Galer started at BOOM! in 2012 and has been a passionate ambassador for titles such as BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, BILL & TED and POWER RANGERS. He also shepherded the Harvey Award-winning PEANUTS: A TRIBUTE TO CHARLES M. SCHULZ HC, a book that was years in the making.
• Cameron Chittock has been promoted to Associate Editor. Chittock joined BOOM! in 2013 as part of the publisher’s acquisition of Archaia. He has played a significant role in continuing and developing the Archaia imprint, as well as working on the Eisner Award nominated maxi-series, THE SPIRE. Chittock has also been an instrumental part of the MOUSE GUARD team with David Petersen as it celebrated its 10-year anniversary.
• Stephanie Hocutt has been promoted to Social Media Coordinator. Hocutt joined BOOM! in 2013 as a PR Assistant before her title changed to Marketing Assistant in 2015 to reflect her broader role in the department. In 2016, she spearheaded the growth in the publisher’s social media channels including launching dedicated Tumblrs for BOOM! Box and KaBOOM!. Hocutt has also significantly increased BOOM!’s reach and engagement on established platforms including Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
• Michelle Ankley has been promoted to Production Designer. After interning with the company, Ankley started with BOOM! in late 2013 in the Operations Department and moved to the Production Team in early 2015. Her design work has included the IRREDEEMABLE PREMIER HC, THE BAKER STREET PECULIARS, and LUMBERJANES/GOTHAM ACADEMY.
Boom had a good year with over a million units sold of MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS, half a million copies of Lumberjanes sold and great reviews for titles including Giant Days and Goldie Vance. In addition, The Woods, the series by James Tynion and Michael Dialnyas just got optioned by SyFy, Singh will have a lot of territory to cover in his new position.
