Posted in: Boom, Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News, IDW, Image | Tagged: eric gitter, filip sablik, jamie s rich, Jeremy Haun

Jamie S Rich, Filip Sablik, Jeremy Haun & Eric Gitter's Big New Thing

Jamie S Rich, Filip Sablik, Jeremy Haun and Eric Gitter are launching a brand new comic book publisher, still waiting for a name.

Over two months ago, I first scooped that IDW's Editor-in-Chief Jamie S. Rich had abruptly stepped down on the eve of sending their record-breaking hit of the year, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1, to press. Then two weeks later, I also scooped that longtime Boom Studios' President of Publishing and Marketing Filip Sablik had handed in his notice –  and would be setting up something new with Jamie S Rich ahead of the publisher's acquisition by Penguin Random House.

This evening THR confirmed Bleeding Cool's scoop, first posited at the end of June and all but confirmed at San Diego Comic-Con, that Sablik and Rich have indeed teamed up for something new. Unsurprisingly, they are doing so to form a brand new comic and graphic novel publisher. Perhaps a bit surprising is that they managed to keep a lid on the identity of their two other partners in this new venture all this time from the comic gossip mill and my usual sources.

Writer and artist Jeremy Haun rounds out the trio of comic industry veterans in the new publishing venture as Creative Director, and presumably will also contribute new series to their slate. In addition to plenty of work as an artist at Marvel and DC over his two-decade-long career, Haun has created a number of successful original properties, including The Beauty and The Realm at Image Comics, 40 Seconds at Comixology and then Dark Horse Comics, and Red Mother and The Approach at Boom Studios. The exclusive announcement also highlights Haun's entrepreneurial and business acumen, which is likely a good indication of why he's a core figure in this new publisher.

Movie producer Eric Gitter, who apparently recruited Sablik, Rich, and Haun to start this new publisher, has a similarly long shared history with comics. More than a decade ago, he partnered with Oni Press to bring their properties to Hollywood resulting in film adaptations of Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim, Atomic Blonde (which was retitled from The Coldest City graphic novel by Antony Johnston and Sam Hart), and a doubleheader of Extraction (which was retitled from Ciudad by Ande Parks, Joe & Anthony Russo, and Fernando Leon Gonzalez). Over the years, he's also developed other comic-related projects, including Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt's The Sixth Gun, Frenemy of The State with Rashida Jones, The Auteur by James Callahan and Rick Spears with Taika Waititi and Jude Law. And from what I'm hearing, this is just the tip of the iceberg of projects Gitter has in development currently. So while details on the new publisher are light, clearly there will be a film and TV component to it.

The combination of Rich, Sablik, and Haun's network of talent and business relationships, coupled with Gitter's track record of actually getting comics turned into films, will certainly make the new publisher one to watch. After all, unlike most new publishers, they won't have to build a pipeline to Hollywood from scratch. From what I'm hearing, conversations with high-profile creators have already begun, so it will be interesting to see who is part of their initial slate. My primary complaint for the moment is they still haven't told us what the name of the company is, making writing headlines a bit harder…

The new company will be repped by WME and attorneys Fred Goodman and Rich Marin of Marin Goodman, LLP. Additional details, including the publisher's name and publishing plans, will be announced at a later date.

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