Whoa! Boom hires Fougner, Girner, Miller, Osajyefo, and Valdez

Wow! Talk about bold faced names. Boom has just hired five people for senior editorial roles, and I have to say, they hired five of the smartest people in the room. If you were going to start something up, these folks would be on your call list – including Sara Miller and Kwanza Osajyefo formerly of DC Comics; Sebastian Girner formerly of Marvel and current head of Flying Goats Press; Kiara Valdez from First Second; and Tea Fougner formerly at King Features. 

Sara Miller has joined BOOM! Studios in the position of Editorial Director. Reporting to Editor-in-Chief Andy Schmidt, Sara will be responsible for setting the strategy and editorial vision for our BOOM! Box and KaBOOM! imprints for young adult and middle grade readers. Sara joins BOOM! after thirteen years at DC Comics, where she began as an assistant editor for the iconic VERTIGO imprint and rose to the position of Editor for DC’s Books for Young Readers. Sara’s experience developing professional workshops for aspiring writers and artists, as well as her talent in guiding new talent toward authentic storytelling, will be tremendous assets to BOOM! Studios. 

Kiara Valdez has joined BOOM! Studios in the position of Special Projects Editor. In this newly created role, Kiara will work closely with the Deputy Publisher Bryce Carlson and our direct-to-consumer team to build upon the successful Kickstarter campaigns that have become a signature success of BOOM! Studios. Additionally, Kiara will oversee our retailer exclusives programs and other projects directed towards our fans and readers. Prior to joining BOOM!, Kiara spent nine years rising through the editorial ranks at First Second, from editorial assistant all the way to managing her own award-winning list as editor. We are thrilled to have Kiara join the BOOM! Team in this innovative new position.

In addition to the above positions, BOOM! Studios has also recently hired three individuals to the newly created role of Executive Editor. Reporting to the Editor-in-Chief Andy Schmidt, these three talented visionaries will drive the editorial vision of our adult audience imprints, BOOM! Studios and Archaia.

Tea Fougner will be coming to BOOM! Studios from King Features. Tea spent 16 years in the editorial department of King Features Syndicate, including the past seven as Editorial Director. Tea’s experience working with characters from the very earliest days of comics, like Popeye, Flash Gordon, and The Phantom, give her a unique perspective on our ever-evolving marketplace. This, coupled with her significant achievements in advancing the works of underrepresented creators, makes Tea a fantastic addition to BOOM! Studios team. Tea will be co-leading our eponymous (and largest) imprint, BOOM! Studio with Sebastian Girner.

Kwanza Osajyefo, creator of the critically acclaimed BLACK, brings industry expertise and an outside lens to BOOM! Studios. At top marketing and PR agency M Booth, he led creative strategy on Kenvue, P&G, and Campari Group brand campaigns. Kwanza started as a Marvel intern, became their digital editor, and later joined DC to launch its first webcomics imprint and shape their digital publishing strategy. For Humanoids, he co-created H1 Comics and wrote its flagship title with Mark Waid. As the lead of Archaia, our graphic literature imprint, Kwanza is ready to apply his ability to turn bold ideas into big hits. 

Sebastian Girner rounds out our new team. Sebastian’s background reads like a who’s who of comics creators and companies, working in various editorial roles at Marvel, Image, TKO Studios and Taschen. As Editor-in-Chief at TKO Studios he worked with such talent as Garth Ennis, Jeff Lemire, Roxane Gay and Juni Ba, among many others. For over 15 years Sebastian has successfully pioneered a wide range of titles for readers of all ages, backgrounds, and interests. We are thrilled to have him with us for his next chapter. Sebastian will co-lead our BOOM! Studios imprint with Tea Fougner.

Tea, Kwanza, and Sebastian will start with BOOM! on June 23^rd, and all bring a wealth of talent and experience, as well as unique backgrounds and perspectives, to the BOOM! team.