Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers, IDW | Tagged: Devon Ashby, idw, idw publishing, Jack Levesque, Julia Borden, keith davidsen, Megan Brown, Shawn Lee, Topher Alford, Zac Boone

Former IDW Employees, Now Available For Work

Bleeding Cool providing a platform for a number of IDW employees who were amongst the now unjobbed. Can you do anything to help?

Last week Bleeding Cool broke the news about San Diego-based comic book publisher, and TV/Film/Games producer, IDW laying off two-fifths of its staff dubbed by those involved as IDW's own Red Wedding. We have also run news on what is happening for the publisher next, but Bleeding Cool is also providing a platform for a number of IDW employees were amongst the now unjobbed. If you are in a position to hire them or pass their details on to someone who might, there is a plethora of talent suddenly available to you.

Keith Davidsen – Director of PR and Marketing is a 23-year comic industry veteran who had just marked his five-year anniversary with IDW Publishing. He'd previously done six-year tours of duty as a Brand Manager at Diamond Comic Distributors and at Dynamite Entertainment as a Director of Sales and Marketing, and even served as an editor at Bleeding Cool. A familiar and friendly face to journalists, comic retailers, and global brand licensors alike, Keith's professional experience spanned beyond sales and PR to virtually every aspect of the business — from editing to design to book trade to events planning to inventory management — and he even dabbled a bit in writing characters like Godzilla, Evil Ernie, and Reanimator along the way.

Jack Levesque (formerly Rivera) – Marketing Art Director is an experienced Graphic Designer based in San Diego with over ten years of print and digital design expertise. She has over seven years of experience in the publishing industry. She has managed and led creative teams, serving as Marketing Design Manager for IDW for three years and Marketing Art Director for two years, where she designed and oversaw the creative direction of all marketing materials, including print and trade ads, book trailers, social media graphics, trade show design, and more. You can reach her at shesjackart@gmail.com and find her work at jacklevesque.com.

Julia Borden – Foreign Licensing Sales Manager. directed the sublicensing program for hundreds of titles in IDW and Top Shelf's catalogs, working closely with creators, publishers in 50+ countries, and top brands such as SEGA, Hasbro, and Paramount. She oversaw every aspect of the foreign rights sales pipeline, from newsletters to pitching, representation of the company at the Bologna and Frankfurt international book fairs, deal negotiation, contracting, project management, and more, working strategically to beat sales goals and expand the company's reach in territories around the world. She is actively seeking new opportunities.

Megan Brown – Editor, Originals. An editor and writer with five years of experience in both monthly comics and original graphic novels. She has previously edited licensed titles including MY LITTLE PONY, MARVEL ACTION: CAPTAIN MARVEL, and STAR TREK. She most recently helped spearhead IDW Publishing's original initiative, acquiring over ten new graphic novels in the YA and MG space. She has also written for various IDW comics. You can find more of her work and her contact info at megancolleenbrown.com/, or @megan_mb on Twitter.

Topher Alford – Senior Digital Marketing Manager at IDW. Prior to IDW he was at DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics before that. He has over 20 years experience in marketing with over 10 of those in comic book publishing. Topher oversaw social media, digital marketing, and various other consumer facing marketing. Additionally, he was key manager at Comic Cons for all three of the these comic book publishers. He help create and run the booths, signings, and various other experiential activations for fans. You can see more of his work at TopherAlford.com.

Devon Ashby – Sales And Marketing Associate for IDW Publishing with five years of recent experience in book publishing and adjacent fields. She worked previously for the publishing industry newsletter Shelf Awareness, and has written for Rue Morgue Magazine, Guff.com, CraveOnline, Geekscape, California Literary Review, and others. Recent samples of her work can be found here, here, and here.

Zac Boone – Associate Editor – IDW Publishing most recently worked on monthly comics, after several years in graphic novels and collections. Prior to that, he worked in Marketing and as Warehouse Manager, his first position when he started at Top Shelf in 2014. His editorial credits include Dungeons & Dragons, TMNT, the upcoming Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons, The Girl and the Glim, and Surfside Girls (adapted as a streaming series on Apple+), as well as most of IDW's collections over the last three years, including TMNT: The Last Ronin, Sonic the Hedgehog: The IDW Collection Volumes 1-3, and Star Wars Adventures: Beware Vader's Castle.

Keith Davidsen also tells me "It's a real shame. The sales and marketing team at IDW was one of the most dependable, energetic, and supportive crews I'd ever seen — or even heard of, to be honest. Just real down-to-earth people that had a fantastic camaraderie and rolled up their sleeves every day, even in instances where their hands may have been tied by external forces. To see the entire team wiped out in one fell swoop is heartbreaking and I hope that their value can be recognized by the professional community." I just hope this helps.

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