Following its July 2024 acquisition of Boom! Studios, Random House Publishing Group continues to revamp the company’s editorial operations. That process began last September with the appointment of Michael Kelly, the former VP of global publishing at Hasbro, as publisher. In April, another Hasbro vet, Andy Schmidt, joined as editor-in-chief.
The most recent additions feature the appointment of Sara Miller as editorial director, reporting to Schmidt. Miller had been with DC Comics for 13 years and at Boom! she will be responsible for setting the strategy and editorial vision for the Boom! Box and KaBoom! imprints for young adult and middle grade readers.
Kiara Valdez moves to Boom! as special projects editor, a new role in which Valdez will work with deputy publisher Bryce Carlson on the direct-to-consumer team to work to expand Boom!’s Kickstarter campaigns. Prior to joining Boom!, Valdez spent nine years at First Second.
Boom! has also brought in three new executive editors, who Boom! said “will drive the editorial vision” of its adult imprints, Boom! Studios and Archaia.
Tea Fougner, most recently with King Features Syndicate, and Sebastian Girner, whose background includes serving as editor-in-chief of TKO Studios, will share oversight of the Boom! Studio imprint. Kwanza Osajyefo will head Boom!’s graphic literature imprint, Archaia. Osajyefo previously worked in marketing at the M Booth firm and in editorial at DC, where he launched its first webcomics imprint, as well as Humanoids, where he co-created H1 Comics and wrote its flagship title with Mark Waid.
All three will start at Boom! on June 23, reporting to Kelly. “As the comics industry continues to evolve, we need to evolve along with it,” said Kelly in a statement.
The Boom! makeover has also involved some departures. The Beat reported that senior editor Jon Moisan, editor David Mariotte, associate publicity director Amanda Lawson, and retailer sales manager Rosalind Morehead were laid off.
