Abrams ComicArts, previously an imprint of Abrams Books, will become a new division of the company, alongside its adult and children’s books groups. The new division will expand its publishing purview to include manga and international comics, in collaboration with Abrams parent company Média-Participations, which is based in France.
Rodolphe Lachat has been named v-p and publisher of Abrams ComicArts. He will report to Abrams president and CEO Mary McAveney. In addition to this new role, Lachat will continue his existing duties at Cernunnos, the imprint he manages under the adult division of the company.
Charles Kochman, who launched Abrams ComicArts in 2009, will serve as editor-in-chief and report to Lachat. Kochman, who joined Abrams in 2005, is the editor of Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, which he will continue to edit in addition to select comics titles as part of the Amulet children's imprint.
Megascope, the line of graphic novels founded in 2018 and dedicated to speculative fiction and nonfiction by authors of color, which is curated by John Jennings, will continue to be published under Abrams ComicArts and will be overseen by Kochman.
Abrams ComicArts will release its inaugural titles as a new division in fall 2024. Its first list will include two new additions to the Marvel Arts line, including The Veracity Vortex by Chip Kidd and Michael Cho and a deluxe edition of the national bestseller Fantastic Four: Full Circle by Alex Ross. Upcoming original graphic novels include Cormac McCarthy’s The Road: A Graphic Novel Adaptation and Thomas Piketty’s Capital and Ideology: A Graphic Novel Adaptation.
“Graphic novels, comics, and manga are an area of tremendous growth with a devoted and diverse fan base,” McAveney said in a statement. “Our unique access to rich content through Média Participations allows us to strategically expand our presence in this market. Our best-in-class publishing in the art of comics makes Abrams ComicArts the division to magnify our backlist publishing while expanding into this important market.”
