Newly named IDW publisher Jud Meyers, who was placed on administrative leave less than a week after being promoted to the position, has been fired, according to reports in pop culture news sites GamesRadar and CBR.
GamesRadar has posted a brief statement from IDW about Meyer’s termination: "IDW Publishing has parted ways with Jud Meyers and would like to thank everyone for their discretion.”
Meyers was originally promoted to publisher of IDW on July 23 while Jerry Bennington was named president. The promotions followed the departure of Chris Ryall who left to join a startup. On July 28, it was reported in the Hollywood Reporter, The Beat, and Bleeding Cool, that Meyers had been suspended from the job and placed on administrative leave by IDW.
Bennington was named interim publisher after Meyers was placed on administrative leave. It is uncertain whether he will retain that position or if IDW will appoint a new publisher.
According to reporting in the Hollywood Reporter, The Beat, and Bleeding Cool, after Meyers’s appointment, IDW was informed of the existence of a lawsuit filed in 2012 by a former comics retailing business partner of Meyers that charged Meyers with breach of fiduciary duty, conversion, and misappropriation of trade secrets.
The suit was settled but included allegations of mismanagement of inventory by Meyers including the surreptitious removal of stock and proprietary customer information from his partner’s store allegedly for use at Blastoff Comics, a competing retail venue under Meyers's sole control at the time. Blastoff Comics has since closed.
