The long holiday made for a slow news month, but things are picking up and here are a few personnel moves that have been announced over the last few months:
• Sam Kusek has left his job as Senior Outreach Lead for Comics at Kickstarter, as he announced on LinkedIn and elsewhere. He won’t be gone long: he already has a new unannounced position in the comics industry, according to his post. He also took a victory lap for his accomplishments at Kickstarter:
– I worked on 1,200+ projects during my time, with creators of all shapes and sizes.
– I brought new publishers to the platform, in Dark Horse, Ignition Press & Tiny Onion and helped many others revive or solidify their approach.
– During my time, the category broke a few records: We had the highest funded comics crowdfunding campaign of all time, and the highest funded single issue campaign of all time.
– Wrote a Comics Resource Guide that was illustrated by the incomparable Nicole Goux. Someone described it as “Understanding Comics but Manga” and I was fortunate enough to give Scott McCloud a copy. A comic’s dream come true.
– I conducted 15 interviews for The Creative Independent, highlighting some of my favorite creators. You can read them here: https://lnkd.in/gyWE9wBk
– Started a monthly Comics newsletter that highlights projects directly to the people who care about them & people in the community.
– Started the NSFW newsletter, helping those spicier projects get the focus they deserve.
– I participated in a historic strike, to fight for the rights of tech workers everywhere. We won and I will always be proud of standing up for what is right.I am grateful to every single person in comics who I got to talk to during my time there. You made this experience worth it. You are the reason why this community thrives and why we can keep making great, interesting art.
I hope to see you around the convention circuit. Don’t hesitate to reach out…I will always be a friend to comics.
Kusek only joined Kickstarter 18 months ago so with 1200+ projects handled, you can see the huge volume of projects that go through Kickstarter. As he mentioned, it was a HUGE year with several record setting campaigns. No word on who will succeed him, but every time this job come open it is The Most Desired Job In Comics, and my inbox will inevitably be filled with people asking me if I know how they can get an interview. Spoiler: I cannot!
• We mentioned some job openings in DC Comics’s book market sales department a few weeks ago, including an opening for Director of Book Channel Sales which disappeared. Well the solution to that mystery was also revealed on LinkedIn: longtime DC marketer Albert Ching will take over the position, moving up from Marketing Manager. DC is still hiring a Manager, Book Market Sales, so they are obviously putting a lot of muscle into that channel.
• Collector’s Paradise, a three store comics shop chain in Los Angeles, is having a leadership change with co-founder Joseph Zelich retiring, and General Manager Nicholas Ignacio becoming a partner. The store has outlets in West Valley, Pasadena, and North Hollywood, ICv2 reports. Co-founder Edward Greenberg, remains as partner.
“Joseph’s passion and commitment to our business have been the cornerstone of Collector’s Paradise’s success,” Greenberg said of his retiring partner in a statement accompanying the announcement. “From humble beginnings to becoming a staple of the Los Angeles comic community, Joe’s behind the scenes management of our resources has kept us on track for over 30 years. On behalf of everyone at Collector’s Paradise, we thank him for his many years of dedication and wish him a fulfilling and joyous retirement.”
Greenberg also lauded his new partner. “He has been managing many aspects of our company for years, so it’s only fitting that he joins the business,” Greenberg said of Ignacio. “With him in a full-time leadership position, Collector’s Paradise will continue to thrive and innovate in both retail and community engagement.”
• Finally although it was announced quite a while ago, Jen Harned, President and Executive Director of Business Management & Publishing Operations at Boom! Studios, will be leaving that position at the end of this month. She joined Boom in 2021. Scott Shannon, President of Random House Worlds, praised her – and her role in PRH’s acquisition of Boom – in an announcement:
It’s impossible to overstate Jen’s impact. The successful acquisition and seamless integration of BOOM! Studios into the Penguin Random House family simply could not have happened without her steady leadership and deep expertise. Guiding a dynamic, standalone company through such a complex transition is no small feat—and Jen approached it with vision, rigor, and heart.
Before joining BOOM!, Jen brought a wealth of management, operational, and financial experience across organizations of varying size and industry, including Attn.live, Pair of Thieves, Vista Outdoor, Easton-Bell Sports, THQ, Guitar Center, and Deloitte & Touche. Over her career, she has developed a deep understanding of how to turn potential into performance while retaining the soul of the organization. Those strengths proved invaluable as she helped bridge BOOM!’s creative independence with PRH’s global publishing infrastructure, all while preserving what makes BOOM! exceptional: its fiercely independent spirit, creative boldness, and enduring commitment to world-class storytelling.
Jen’s ability to pivot her experience into the comics and graphic storytelling space coupled with her ability to think several moves ahead while mastering every detail, and her intuitive understanding of how best to support creators and teams have been extraordinary to witness. She has led with integrity, humor, and a collaborative energy that elevated everyone around her. Among her many contributions, navigating through the post-pandemic downturn in the industry, modernizing operational processes and procedures ahead of the acquisition, and managing external relationships with a partnership mindset stand out as testaments to her strategic insight and unwavering dedication.
Jen’s contributions are innumerable and deeply felt. Please join me in celebrating all that she has built and in wishing her continued success and fulfillment as she embarks on her next adventure.
