Comings & Goings old

Via email, word that Charles Kochman, whose Abrams ComicArts imprint has been putting out high quality books of comics and comics history for several...

With the rampaging (heh) success of The Walking Dead TV show, expect comics as episodic fodder to get a fresh look in Hollywood --...

Bob Schreck, one of the industry's best regarded editors, has left his position as Senior Editor at IDW to start a comics division for Legendary Pictures (not Entertainment, as the IDW release states), according to PR that just went out. The parting was amicable. Legendary Pictures, founded by Thomas Tull, has produced such films as Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Hangover, Inception, and Where the Wild Things Are, so the connection to starting their own comics company is pretty obvious and Schreck is well qualified to start such an effort.

Over at the Source, PR for DC Entertainment's new SVP of Finance, Nairi Gardiner. Things have been quiet on the DC front, publicly, for a variety of reasons, but there is still a lot of restructuring going on. Burbank-based WB vet Gardiner replaces New York-based Pat Caldon, who is retiring, and shows in emerging detail that DC Entertainment is very much a Burbank company.

Ardden Entertainment has been in the news a bit of late with their relaunch of Atlas Comics, but they are also losing their editor-inchief, J.M. DeMatteis, who announced on his blog:

Via Twitter, Marvel Associate Editor Nathan Cosby, who works out of the Mark Paniccia office on such books as the Shanower/Young Oz adaptations, Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers and Marvel Adventures Spider-Man is leaving to do other stuff. He tweeted:

§ Hank Kanalz has been promoted to Senior VP-Digital of DC Comics, it was announced at this morning's DC Nation panel. He was formerly...

And our second press release about a comics retailer getting another job in as many minutes, Alex Cox, formerly of the much-missed comics shop Rocketship in Brooklyn, has joined the CBLDF as Development Manager. Just to tie up all the loose ends, Shy Allott, who formerly held the position, has joined Dr. Sketchy's as Sponsorship Coordinator. Congrats to everyone who is now employed!

Retailer Atom! Freeman, recently hired as Direct Market Liaison at Top Cow, has already been promoted to Director of Sales and Marketing. Congrats to Freeman!

Nothing really, business as usual. Seriously, there is a lot of change going on -- although DC Comics is staying in New York, a lot of people are either leaving their jobs or being faced with a move to another coast. We're not going to run all 80 -- or however many it is -- names, but some departments are newsworthy enough to be reported on.

As part of DC's ongoing reorganization, three editorial personnel have been laid off from the Vertigo imprint: Pornsak Pichetshote, Jonathan Vankin, and Joan Hilty, The Beat has learned. All three are Vertigo veterans. Pichetshote was responsible for the recent hit THE UNWRITTEN, while Hilty and Vankin had mostly worked in acquiring graphic novels, including fall releases, CUBA and HOW TO UNDERSTAND ISRAEL IN 60 DAYS OR LESS.

Former Marvel E-i-C Bob Harras has just been named DC Editor-in-Chief. Harras will be in charge of all DC imprints, including DC Comics, Vertigo and MAD. Since leaving Marvel in 2000, Harras held a variety of consulting positions and and joined DC's collected editions department several years ago as Group Editor. The announcement is a little bit of a surprise as Harras had kept a low profile at DC...perhaps all the more reason to be given a promotion. At any rate, it's sort of a no-brainer since he already has experience running a giant comics publishing company and knows DC's operations inside out.