Posted in: Boom, Comics, Comics Publishers | Tagged: Andy Schmidt, Editor-in-Chief

Andy Schmidt Named Boom Studios' New Editor-In-Chief

Andy Schmidt named Boom Studios' new Editor-In-Chief, Lilly Kessinger joins as Editor, with Olivia Dontsov as Managing Editor

In January, Bleeding Cool ran the news that Matt Gagnon was stepping down at Boom Studios as Editor-In-Chief. Today, we have the news that he is being replaced by Andy Schmidt. His position as Boom Studios Editor-in-Chief will begin on the 7th of April.

Andy Schmidt has a long and involved comics history. Founder and president of Comics Experience from 2007 which offers and teachers courses about the comics industry, as well as consulting for business, producing documentaries The Image Revolution and Diagram for Delinquents and partnering with IDW, Source Point Press and comiXology to showcase new talent in the comics industry. He is also founder and president of ONS Printing, form 2019.

Andy Schmidt was Director – Intellectual Property Development and Brand Design at Hasbro, working on Transformers, from 2022 to 2013 after being Senior Editor at IDW Publishing from 2008 to 2011, relaunching both those franchises. As well as developing the only official tie-in with J.J. Abram's re-launch of Star Trek.  Before that, he was a Marvel Editor from 2002 to 2007 on Avengers and Marvel's cosmic line, which developed the Guardians Of The Galaxy into the version that the MCU then used. He has also written video games such as Transformers: Devastation, Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark, Transformers: Battle Tactics and Marvel Heroes, and comics such as Generations: Shattered, Generations: Forged, Crime Syndicate #1-6, X-Men, Guardians Of The Galaxy, Challenger Deep, Five Days To Die, GI Joe, Transformers and more and won the Eagle Award for his Insider's Guide to Creating Comics and Graphic Novels from 2009.

Boom Studios states that "Andy comes to BOOM! with a wealth of experience, creative vision, and contacts throughout the creative community.  In his role, Andy will lead the editorial team, help formulate and execute BOOM!'s overall publishing strategy and provide guidance and vision for the creative output of each of BOOM!'s four imprints." Andy will report to Bryce Carlson, Deputy Publisher of Boom Studios.

Also joining Boom Studios is Lily Kessinger as Editor, who previously worked at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers, where she was a key contributor to the development and launch of HMH's graphic novel imprint, Etch. During that time, she also sat on the Graphic Novel Committee of the Children's Book Council. She then worked at Clarion Books, a division of HarperCollins. Lily will report to Andy Schmidt, the new Editor-in-Chief.

And Olivia Dontsov is joining Boom Studios as their new Managing Editor. Previously she was managing at Astra Publishing House in New York, across both their children's and adult divisions. Her work included The Bronx Is Reading, with panels and reading groups. Olivia will report to Stephanie Lazarski, Director of Operations. Along with these external appointments, Boom Studios is promoting a number of individuals:

• Josh Hayes is promoted to VP, Consumer & Sales Marketing after joining Boom in 2022 as simply Vice President of Sales. Boom states that he "quickly established himself as the go-to resource for our retail and distribution partners. Building upon relationships he made during his 15 years working at Diamond Distributors, Josh is a well-known and highly respected member of the publishing community. His expertise has guided BOOM! through a time of massive change in the industry, while simultaneously helping BOOM!'s direct to consumer business evolve. Recently Josh has taken on a key role in the transition to PRH's sales team. In his new and expanded role, Josh will oversee BOOM!'s sales support, marketing, and publicity teams, ensuring that each book has an opportunity to shine and succeed.  Josh continues to report to Michael Kelly, Publisher."
• Ash Troub is promoted to Senior Associate, Special Projects, after joining Boom Studios in 2021 as Associate, Consumer Sales. Boom says "Over the last four years, she's moved into the lead role of managing BOOM!'s webstore presence, improving the customer service flow on our crowdfunded projects, becoming a key contributor to live events, and taking on the metadata management in the digital space.  In the past year, Ash has been an essential collaborator with BOOM!'s integration into PRH.  We're very excited to expand her role in the crowdfunding space and in improving our metadata process where she can continue to develop our interactions with outside partners.  Ash will report to Josh Hayes, VP, Consumer & Sales Marketing."
• Austin Yi is promoted to Associate, Sales focusing on foreign rights, after joining Boom Studios in January of 2023 as a Sales Assistant. Boom says " Austin immediately outperformed his role and has been instrumental in our solicitation process as well as our customer service team.  In his new role, Austin will be handling all aspects of foreign rights, an area in which his attention to detail and dedication to process management will be key.   Austin will report to Josh Hayes, VP, Consumer & Sales Marketing."

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!