Comings & Goings old

With the March (issue 7) solicitations out, we have a little better idea of what the first round of changes for the New 52/DCnU are. Some of these departures are thought to be the writer choosing to leave (Simone, Brandon) and some appear to be the writer getting the quick hook (Cornell, Gates). When these change decisions were made, there has been history of collected edition sale and it may be a little early to judge digital sales. (Do we know what happens to sales when the titles drop to $1.99? This is new enough, you'd really like to see more than 2-3 months of digital sales before trusting it.)

Over on their "Mystery Project Liveblog," Marvel has announced the new team on Astonish X-Men. Taking over with issue #48 in March are Marjorie Liu and Mike Perkins.

IDW has announced that Greg Goldstein has been promoted to the rank of president. In a release, Goldstein is credited with helping drive much of IDW's growth in new business channels. Publisher Ted Adams will continue to oversee overall strategy while Goldstein takes on more of the day-to-day operations of the company. In addition, Anna Maria White, IDW's Director of Marketing and PR, is leaving to start her own marketing company.

DC sure is coming on steady with these writer changes. On Wednesday, you had Paul Cornell off Stormwatch (though DC really only announced Paul Jenkins writing a 2-parter, Cornell was the one announcing he was off). On Tuesday, you had Joe Harris replacing Gail Simone as Firestorm co-writer. On Monday, you had Tom DeFalco replacing Fabian Niceiza on Legion Lost. Are we seeing a pattern pattern here?

The Valiant comics relaunch has been brewing for a while, with some hires and much consultation, but they've just let the cat out of the bag -- their new line is expected to launch next May, with a Free Comic Book Day preview leading the way. The preview will feature X-O MANOWAR, BLOODSHOT, HARBINGER, and probably some other Valiant favorites. The creatives teams haven't been announced but the preview over is by Jelena Kevic-Djurdjevic. Valiant has also hired Hunter Gorinson as Marketing & Communications Manager and Atom Freeman as Senior Sales Representative in addition to Warren Simon as Executive Editor, so they're putting together a pretty good team.

These days, it seems like three years on a title is a good run. Brian Michael Bendis is calling it a day with eight years on the Avengers titles. In an interview with Comic Book Resources, Bendis says:

As of last Thursday, Gareb Shamus is no longer president/CEO of Wizard World, Inc. Being publicly traded, notice of this change had to be filed with the SEC. This includes the company's report:

Via PR. Congrats to Alex! He gets to wear a shiny deputy badge now.

Bon Alimagno is leaving Marvel to take a job with software company The Apollo Group. At Marvel Alimagno worked closely with Senior Vice President, Business Affairs & Talent Management David Bogart on freelancer scheduling and handling. He was formerly the editor at Harris Comics, overseeing the adventures of Vampirella.

Janna Morishima, formerly of Scholastic and Diamond, has just joined Papercutz as Marketing Director. At Diamond Morishima helped spearhead the then-nascent market for kids graphic novels, so working with the Papercutz lineup of such things as The Smurfs and Lego is a natural move for her.

As the leaves turn and fall and the days get shorter, the world churns on, and our wonderful intern DaYoung Jung is moving on to a paid gig doing character designs and backgrounds for video games. Paying work drawing. Bah humbug. What is this world coming to?

Anyway we have another opening for an intern here. Our former interns have all gone on to fame and glory, so consider this the elite of internships.

There is no pay but you get LOTS of free comics and other perks. And if you write anything for the site, magazine or newsletter, you will be paid our regular rates.

Duties include mailing out review copies, coordinating digital review copies, updating spreadsheets, opening mail, and so on. Although we don't require writing ability, it is a bonus, and as mentioned, there are definitely spots for writing -- if you like to write about comics, that skill will be put to good use. Hours are flexible but approximately 10-12 a week.

Oni Press has sent out a call for interns. If you're one of the many comics-lover citizens of Portland, this could be a great opportunity. Info below: