Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, entertainment, image, image comics, ron richards

Ron Richards, Gone From Image Comics

Ron Richards came to Image Comics as Business Manager. Founder of iFanboy, he joined Graphic.ly when they bought the site out and was instrumental in arranging the Graphic.ly del to put Image Comics titles onto the Amazon Kindle… and when Graphic.ly went down owing millions, the Image titles (aside from Jimmy Palmiotti's independently arranged books) never returned.

That was probably the low point.

The high point must have been helping increase Image Comics' marketshare month on month to their stellar 13% last month and seeing the market support books that otherwise would have been very unlikely to have seen the day – and not just support, but see them thrive in the market. Much of the success of Southern Bastards and Wytches, for example, will have been down to Ron Richards' input.

Image Comics were in business meetings a lot of yesterday, and this may be why. Ron Richards is no longer at the publisher. It seems to have come of something of a surprise. He posts, with Don Quixote imagery of tilting against windmills, writing of frustration,

As anyone who works in the comic book industry will tell you — especially those folks behind the scenes — working in this industry is immensely rewarding but equally frustrating and exhausting. The term, "Seeing how the sausage is made" gets used quite a bit in comics, and with good reason. It's not an easy industry to work in by any means, given the challenges of the direct market and comic book retailers, working with a single distributor, the "polite" competition between companies, the looming shadow of online retailers, and not to mention the increasing toxic atmosphere in the echo chamber of the comics social media community. All together, it can be quite the challenge and, when you deal with all of those things on a daily basis, can take a lot of out of you. Anyone who knows me knows that I gave the job everything I had to give — every day, night and weekend. But you know what? It was fueled by my passion for comics and I loved nearly every minute of it. I will treasure the experience for the rest of my life.

I am immensely proud of the work that I was able to be a part of. Re-defining how a comic company makes announcements and interacts with their fans with Image Expo, and helping usher in new and exciting comics like Black Science, Wytches, Southern Bastards, Deadly Class, The Wicked + The Divine (among so many more) has been an honor and a privilege. It's been a delight to work alongside some of the most talented comics creators in the business — and I leave with respect for all of them.

Further, the majority of the staff at Image Comics are some of the most positive and driven co-workers I've ever had the opportunity to work with. These "behind-the-scenes" folks rarely get the credit they deserve and I tip my hat to them for continually helping to make the best comics. As I move on, I wish them the best luck for the future.

Because he doesn't seem to have his immediate future mapped out,

For now I'll be getting back to some things that are important to me and taking some time for myself (remember that bit above about all that exhaustive work?). But not to worry, everyone knows I won't stay idle for long, and probably my next chapter will be my greatest adventure yet.

I've enjoyed working with Ron at Image (when he would return my emails) and I do hope someone smart snaps him up soon.

Image Comics did not immediately reply to inquiries.

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