Posted in: Boom, Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News | Tagged: andrew cosby, boom studios, filip sablik, Paul Levitz, Penguin Random House, ross richie, Stephen Christy

Ross Richie, Paul Levitz, Filip Sablik & Stephen Christy Talk Boom

Ross Richie, Paul Levitz, Filip Sablik & Stephen Christy on Penguin Random House buying Boom without mentioning Andrew Cosby or redundancies

I broke the news that Penguin Random House was buying Boom Studios last week, that this would be accompanied by redundancies, and that all previous owners including Disney, had been bought out as part of the deal. But I clarified that Boom wouldn't be jumping from Diamond to PRH for distribution… at least not yet.

It was noted that the press release, talking about the history of the publisher, committed its co-founder, Andrew Cosby. And there was a lot of that about. Ross Richie, co-founder of Boom Studios, posted the following statement to social media, saying;

"I have sold BOOM! Studios to Penguin Random House. This is exciting news for creators. PRH is the biggest publisher in the world. They will be able to get more of our creators' comics into more fans' hands in the book trade because of their experience and size and in the Direct Market they are the distributor of choice for Marvel. Their publishing has global reach and will be able to get creators' series into the international global market in a way that will be simply unmatched by anyone else.
This is exciting news for our retailers in the Direct Market. Random House Worlds, the division of PRH acquiring BOOM!, has experience publishing prose books of the biggest IP in the world, like Star Wars, Marvel, Critical Role, Magic The Gathering, and Dungeons and Dragons, so they love the pop culture space, understand its customer, and its distribution arm is already an experienced provider of Marvel Comics every week into the comic shop specialty space.
This is exciting news for our fans. The biggest prose book publisher in the world is excited about comics and wants to get into the action and believes it is an area of growth. They want more people to read — more people to read comic books!
The real hero of this deal is Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Harned who redefines what "above and beyond" means. Her dedication and commitment has been nothing short of awe inspiring and she kept going, delivering Herculean result after Herculean result, long after anyone else including me would have given up. My respect and gratitude for you, Jen, knows no end.
When I launched BOOM! out of my apartment, I did not have the resources to grow it to its potential. I have to thank Scott Lenet, co-founder and Director of the venture capital fund DFJ Frontier, who saw potential in me and was willing to invest actual dollars in comic book publishing. The Lumberjanes, Erica Slaughter, and Keanu Reeves' BRZRKR simply would not exist without your investment and dedication to the company.
I would also like to thank Paul Levitz, one time President of DC Comics, who has been on the BOOM! board of directors for 10 years. He has served tirelessly hoping to provide the very best for the company's creators, its retailers, and its staff.
For years, Google has had an autocomplete on its query "Who owns BOOM! Studios?" After 20th Century Fox made a minority investment in the company, it would erroneously say Fox owned the company. Then when Disney bought Fox, the Google search function would say Disney owned BOOM!. So let me clarify for once and for all…
As of today, Penguin Random House owns BOOM! Studios.
What an exciting, momentous day!
Thank you to everyone who made this possible: the creators who made the comics, the fans who bought our books, and the retailers who championed them!
Thank you all for your support.
As for me, The Founder of the company, it has been an epic ride as CEO for 16 years and then my promotion to Chairman of the Board for the past 3 years.
I am not transitioning to Penguin Random House as a part of this deal, so that means I no longer work at BOOM!, the house I built and ran.
I'm looking forward to exceptionally long vacations with my wife and 2 kids and figuring out anything I might want to do in the future. But for right now, the pool is looking really good.
Thanks to all of you! "

What it is probably not good for is the employees of Boom Studios, of whom a fifth are expected to lose their jobs, with ten dismissed on the day of the announcement. Ross again credits himself as the founder of Boom, as co-founder Andrew Cosby continued to be erased from history. The statement also skips the fact that Ross Richie has had no role but a ceremonial one for a decade, after he was ousted by the likes of Filip Sablik, Stephen Christy and others. He no longer worked at Boom in any meaningful capacity long before the sale. I was told that there would be no chance of Richie returning in the new setup and, well, Richie confirms that. Departing President Filip Sablik gave his own speech.

"Yesterday was the culmination of a major chapter for me and the company I've been associated with for the last 12 years. I may talk about my personal journey at a later date, but today I wanted to celebrate something else. Something magical. The TEAM at BOOM! Studios.
Not just the current team, which is spectacular, but the ones that came before it. The remarkable group of folks who left their imprint and built BOOM! Studios into the kind of publisher that the largest trade publisher in the world was inspired to acquire. I genuinely believe that this acquisition will be a net positive for BOOM! and the industry at large, but integrations like this are challenging, require tremendous work, and impact individuals in real ways which shouldn't be minimized in recognizing everyone's contributions.
My thoughts are limited to those whose paths I was lucky enough to cross and if I omit anyone it's entirely unintentional. I hope fellow BOOM!ies will do me the solid of jumping into the comments and singing their praises. Frankly, I hope that happens for everyone I mention as well, they deserve more praise than anyone will reasonably read in a single post.
Buckle up, this one is going to go long.
As with most stories, it's best to start at the beginning, and Matt Gagnon and Bryce Carlson have been there longer than anyone else. The editorial team at BOOM! Studios is second to none, spotted and nurtured talent (both editors and creators), innovated formats and entire categories, and been constants for most of the company's history. You just need to glance around the industry to see amazing editors doing tremendous work that came through BOOM! – Dafna Pleban, Shannon Watters, Eric Harburn, Sierra Hahn, Whitney Leopard, Rebecca Taylor, Chris Rosa, Matt Levine, Alex Galer, Jasmine Amiri, Jeanine Schaefer, Amanda LaFranco, Gwen Waller, Cameron Chittock, Jonathan Manning, and Gavin Gronenthal to name a few. More recently editors like Jon Moisan, Shantel LaRocque, Allyson Gronowitz, Ramiro Portnoy, Kathleen Wisneski, Elizabeth Brei, Sophie Philips-Roberts, Kenzie Rzonca, Maya Bollinger, Caroline Butler, and David Mariotte have continued to build on that legacy in exciting ways and inspired ways.
The graphic design in BOOM! Studios' comics and graphic novels has always been fantastic, but I have been in constant awe of how it has continued to evolve and elevate the look and tone of so many different series, genres, and brands. Early contributors who have gone on to brilliant careers beyond BOOM! include Stephanie Gonzaga, Kassandra Heller, Jillian Crab, Bones Leopard, Kelsey Dieterich, Chelsea Roberts, and others. The production & design department established by Scott Newman and now generously led by Michelle Ankley has more recently included Marie Krupina, Crystal White, Grace Park, Nancy Mojica, Madison Goyette, Samantha Knapp, Veronica Gutierrez, Armando Elizondo, Jessy Gould, and Mittie Paul who have continued that fantastic lineage with dynamic logos, captivating trade dress, and fantastic merchandise.
One of the things I heard repeatedly from creators when they first chose to work with BOOM! is how excited they were to collaborate with our marketing team. Following the pace set by Chip Mosher with Ivan Salazar and taken to the next level by Arune Singh, the BOOM! marketing team has always punched above their weight class and turned heads. Again, you only need to look around the industry to see the impact and influence of the amazing marketing professionals who graced BOOM!'s halls including Mel Caylo, Steph Hocutt, Esther Kim, Bre Sarpy, Christine Dinh, José Meza, Cat O'Grady, and many others. More recently, led by Ryan Matsunaga, the marketing team of Anthony Mauro, Adrian Lopez, Amanda Lawson, Grecia Martinez, and Alex Lorenzen have continued to innovate and pour so much incredible creativity into every single new project that the company publishes.
The sales department pioneered by Sam Kusek, Morgan Perry, and Holly Aitchison, and then more firmly established and led by Spencer Simpson speaks for itself with results and even awards. They set a standard of dedication and care for our retail partners that is often imitated, but rarely replicated. Thanks to their tireless efforts, BOOM! boasts not just one, but two of the highest selling original series launches of the last 25 years. More recently, Josh Hayes has led an incredible team of Roz Morehead, Harley Salbacka, Greg Hopkins, Manny Castellanos, Ash Troub, and Austin Yi to reach different fans and markets.
The unsung heroes of BOOM! are the members of the best-in-class operations team, who consistently ensure that the company delivers on its promises to our retail partners and customers with incredible quality and value. First established by Irene Bradish and then grown by Kate Henning, this department has been staffed by some of the most generous, caring people I've ever had the opportunity to work with including Devin Funches, Aaron Ferrera, Megan Christopher, James Arriola, Zipporah Smith, and others. More recently, this department led by Stephanie Lazarski with the hard work of Rodrigo Hernandez, Nick Romeo, Elle Flores, and Caitlin Holland has continued to evolve and build a lean supply chain and direct-to-consumer fulfillment system that is truly impressive.
Equally unsung and often invisible to fans and most of the industry is the finance team that works tirelessly to ensure everyone else can do their jobs and creators and partners are taken care of in a timely and ethical fashion. The leadership of past department heads like Phil Barbaro, Chuck Camps, and Joy Huffman, along with contributions from Elizabeth Loughridge, Sabrina Lesin, and others built the foundation and kept the company moving during lean and challenging times. The transformational impact of BOOM!'s current CFO, Jen Harned who is leading the company through this next transition, cannot be overstated. Behind the scenes team members like Elyse Raimo, Jason Lee, Amber Peters, and others routinely pull off the miracles necessary to grow an independent comic publisher.
BOOM! has also built one of the most impressive and respected media arms among comic publishers. Stephen Christy, alongside incredible development executives like Josh Levy, Mark Ambrose, Hannah Armour, and the current team of Adam Yoelin, Mette Norkjaer, and Ciara Wardlow, have brought BOOM!'s comics to the big and little screens including The Empty Man, Just Beyond, Mech Cadets, and the upcoming Butterfly and Hex Vets. The incredible love, quality, and respect for the source material present in their adaptations is second to none.
Other supporting team members and leaders including Lance Kreiter, Brianna Hart, Kate Albin, Hillary Levi, Cornelia Tzana, Rey Netschke, Cheryl Parker, among others, including Mark Smylie and Jack Cummins who were instrumental in Archaia, have contributed in unique and powerful ways throughout BOOM!'s history.
And the BOOM! team could not have accomplished everything it has without the steady support and guidance of its longtime Board of Directors including Scott Lenet, Paul Levitz, Steve McBeth, Beth Kearns, and Dan Peate. Their work and commitment was largely invisible to the industry, but absolutely integral.
Lastly, I want to thank Ross Richie. Ross envisioned a comic company that was "the Justice League of comic professionals" and I believe that vision was made reality. I'm eternally grateful for him giving me the opportunity to work alongside so many rock stars and legends.
And of course, NONE of BOOM!'s success would be possible without our partners – the creators the company has the privilege of publishing, the retailers who support that work, the countless business partners that lend their expertise and talents, and the fans whose passion and support fuels BOOM! every day.
Yesterday's news was a validation and in many ways a culmination of nearly 20 years of incredible work from a truly phenomenal group of people. This group of people have won awards, broken sales records, built franchises, and in many ways seen and unseen changed the industry they love. These successes came with incredible sacrifices, both seen and unseen, from countless individuals who poured their blood, sweat, and tears into the company. The coming days will require more incredible teamwork, effort, and sacrifice that are the hallmarks of the BOOM! team.
Random House Worlds is an amazing, equally passionate group of publishing professionals and a wonderful new home for that legacy. As a fan, I'm excited to see how Scott Shannon, Keith Clayton, Bill Takes, and their team will empower and inspire the next incredible chapter of BOOM! Studios. Arriving at this inflection point was a true TEAM effort, and that deserves a bigger spotlight on it than I will ever be able to shine on it. Thanks for reading."

And again, a very long list of thanks, but no mention of Andrew Cosby… or the redundancies that are coming. Unless that's what the "sacrifice" bit refers to. Paul Levitz, former DC Comics President and Publisher, and until just now Boom Studios board member, also put out a much shorter statement, saying;

"Today the announcement was made that Boom Studios! has agreed to a sale to Penguin Random House, a deal I played a small part in as a member of Boom!'s board of directors for the last decade. It's my hope that this will prove to be a good outcome for most of Boom!'s stakeholders: creative talent, staff, retailers, readers and shareholders. Like any change, it won't be perfect for everyone, but sometimes there are unintended and unforeseen good outcomes (when I bought WildStorm for DC, we laid off their special projects team as an unhappy part of the transition–but Ted Adams pulled many of them together to form IDW and bring many interesting projects out). My thanks to Ross Richie and Scott Lenet for inviting me onto the Boom! board, and for letting me exercise some of my comics muscles for all these years."

Remaining President of Development, the only division of Boom Studios that will not be suffering redundancies, and the only one quoted in this article who is staying with Boom Studios now, Stephen Christy, posted his take.

"The news broke today that BOOM! Studios is being acquired by Penguin Random House, the world's largest book publisher. I've known the team at PRH for years, and I can't think of a better home for our comics, creators, and our company. I'm thrilled to join the Penguin Random House team and continue at BOOM! after the transaction closes.
When I look back on this 15-year journey I've been on– 11 years at BOOM! and 4 years at Archaia– I feel a profound sense of gratitude for all of the amazing projects my colleagues and I have been able to be a part of. We've had the chance to work with the most brilliant and gifted creators in the business, launching original franchises like SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN, LUMBERJANES, MOUSE GUARD, and many more. The series and graphic novels we've published have won countless Eisner Awards and have been translated and published all over the globe.
We've produced movies and TV shows based on our comics for the biggest studios and streamers in the world, and published the highest-selling independent comic book of the 21st century with BRZRKR from Keanu Reeves. We've also innovated in direct-to-consumer sales, creating the biggest comic book Kickstarter of all time. Our new TV series BUTTERFLY debuts next year on Amazon Prime ,and our Nickelodeon animated series HEXVETS AND MAGIC PETS will hit screens in 2026. And of course the BRZRKR feature film and SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN TV adaptation at Netflix continue to march ahead with great momentum.
Comics are a team effort, and this acquisition happened thanks to the work of all of our amazing creators, partners, collaborators, investors, and colleagues. The entire BOOM! team has worked incredibly hard, especially through industry disruptions in recent years, to achieve the success that led to this sale. Everyone who's worked at the company, past and present, can claim ownership of our accomplishments.
I'm grateful to all who supported me during this journey, and I can't wait to see what we create at our new home with Penguin Random House."

For those of whom are still with Boom Studios that is. It could make for some interesting scenes at San Diego Comic-Con in ten days time.

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