Mark Waid Steps Down as Chief Creative Officer of BOOM! Studios
In a surprise announcement, BOOM! Studios have revealed that Mark Waid was stepped down as chief creative officer of the company. Waid states that the reason for his departure is that he wishes to focus his energies on writing and cresting comics, instead of publishing them.
Waid has been with BOOM! since 2007, when he accepted the role of Editor-in-Chief. In the summer of 2010, he moved into the role of Chief Creative Officer. BOOM! has not announced who his be taking over from Waid as CCO, but has assured fans that Waid will be continuing his successful runs on Incorruptible and Irredeemable, as well as his recent collaboration with Stan Lee, The Traveler.
Not that he’ll need it, but I wish Mark the best of luck with his future endeavors. It’s been a great three years for BOOM!, which was seen the company make huge strides towards becoming a dominant force in the comic industry. He leave the company in the extremely capable hands of CEO Ross Richie, EiC Matt Gagnon, and marketing director Chip Mosher.
Here’s the official press release:
MARK WAID IS…
FREELANCE!Mark Waid steps down as Chief Creative Officer
of BOOM! Studios
Waid will continue fan-favorite runs on
IRREDEEMABLE, INCORRUPTIBLE,
and STAN LEE’S THE TRAVELER
December 9th, 2010 – Los Angeles, CA – It is with a heavy heart but also with great warmth and fondness that BOOM! Studios bids adieu to one of its own: effective immediately, Mark Waid is stepping down from the responsibility of Chief Creative Officer at BOOM! Studios. Waid will continue his run on IRREDEEMABLE and INCORRUPTIBLE and his brand new break-out hit collaboration with Stan Lee, THE TRAVELER.
“Mark was key in BOOM!’s transition from a promising upstart to top tier publisher,” Ross Richie, the Chief Executive Officer of BOOM! Studios remarked. “Now that we’ve reached this stage, Mark’s made it clear to me that he’s ready to take on new challenges. And we wish him the best!”
“I learned a lot in my time at BOOM! about the ever-evolving job of publishing comics in the 21st century, and it’s been an invaluable experience,” Waid said. “But now that BOOM! is in a strong place with its best foothold ever in the market, it’s time for me to refocus my energies on writing and on creating. And maybe take one of these ‘vacation’ things that people are always talking about.”
At Comic-Con International in 2007, BOOM! Studios shocked the industry with the appointment of Mark Waid as Editor-in-Chief of BOOM! Studios. After three years as Editor-in-Chief, and writer of some of the bestselling BOOM! Studios titles like IRREDEEMABLE, INCORRUPTIBLE and most recently THE TRAVELER, Waid was promoted to Chief Creative Officer in the summer of 2010. Today, after a little over three years at the company, Waid leaves BOOM! Studios firmly entrenched as one of the top comic book companies in North America.
“Working day-to-day with a creator of Mark’s caliber is an experience I’ll never forget,” said recently-minted Editor-in-Chief Matt Gagnon. “Thankfully, with IRREDEEMABLE, INCORRUPTIBLE, and THE TRAVELER going strong on the stands, I still get the pleasure of working day-in-and-day-out with Mark. He’s one of the greats and I wish him the best in the next chapter of his influential career.”
“Mark’s such a phenomenal talent, but also a phenomenally good sport.” Chip Mosher, Marketing Director added. “I’d like to publicly apologize that the tagline ‘Mark Waid is Evil’ will follow him the rest of his days! While Mark’s presence on the BOOM! team will be missed, I look forward to reading what is next on all the BOOM! books he will continue to concentrate on.”
While Mark Waid exits the executive team at BOOM! Studios, Waid will continue writing all three of his current BOOM! Studios titles. This December sees the release of IRREDEEMABLE #20 and INCORRUPTIBLE #13, in what continues to be one of the most successful launches of a new series in the past five years in the Direct Market. The success of the single issues for both series have been surpassed only by the massive trade paperback sales, with December also seeing blockbuster pre-orders for IRREDEEMABLE VOL. 5 and INCORRUPTIBLE VOL. 3 TPBs, that will be hitting store shelves later this month. Waid’s collaboration with Stan Lee, THE TRAVELER #2, also tearing up the sales charts, hits store shelves later this month.
About BOOM! Studios
BOOM! Studios (www.boom-studios.com) 2009 “Best Publisher” of the year, generates a wide-ranging catalog of multiple Eisner and Harvey Award-nominated comic books and graphic novels featuring some of the industry’s top talent, including Philip K. Dick’s DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP?, 20th Century Fox’s 28 DAYS LATER and DIE HARD, The Henson Company’s FARSCAPE, and the original Mark Waid series IRREDEEMABLE. This fall sees BOOM! teaming up with the legendary Stan Lee, creator of Marvel Comics’ characters Spider-Man, The Hulk, and The X-Men for a line of original superhero series, the legend’s first new superhero creations in nearly 20 years. BOOM!’s youth imprint, BOOM Kids!, is an undisputed industry leader publishing Disney/Pixar’s THE INCREDIBLES, CARS, and TOY STORY, as well as Disney’s THE MUPPETS, DONALD DUCK, UNCLE SCROOGE and WALT DISNEY’S COMICS AND STORIES. This year, BOOM! Studios celebrates its fifth anniversary.
Related posts:
- BOOM! Studios Promotes Mark Waid to Chief Creative Officer!
- Mark Waid Was Evil, Mark Waid Is Incorruptible! A New Ongoing BOOM! Studios Series from Mark Waid!
- Mark Waid Hosts Boom! Studios’ 5 Year Anniversary Drink Up!
- Party at Long Beach Comic Con ’09 with Mark Waid
- A Five-Page Sneak Peak Preview of Mark Waid’s Incorruptible!
