Skybound announces multiple staffing additions and changes including Ben Abernathy as Executive Editor; Arune Singh Upped to VP, Brand
Skybound Entertainment has announced the onboarding of three new hires joining its editorial staff—Ben Abernathy (DC Comics), Blake Kobashigawa (IDW Publishing), and Alex Hargett (IDW Publishing), alongside the promotion of Arune Singh.
Ben Abernathy joins as Executive Editor, overseeing the Energon Universe, as well as a developing a new slate of original projects from comics’ top creators. Prior to joining Skybound, Abernathy was an Executive Editor at DC Comics, overseeing the entire Batman family line of titles as well as assembling their 2024 Elseworlds imprint relaunch. Skybound is the latest step in a career spanning over two decades, with stops at Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics, and more.
Blake Kobashigawa joins as Senior Director, Business Development, where he’ll be growing Skybound’s footprint outside traditional distribution channels. Blake will be creating new strategic partnerships, as well as managing licensor relations, retailer exclusive variant cover programs, foreign licensing, and more. Prior to joining Skybound, Kobashigawa has worked in sales, marketing, content strategy, operations and business development at comics publishers such as DC Comics and IDW Publishing, as well as music merchandise platform Merchbar.
Alex Hargett joins Skybound as Director, Brand, Editorial, leading day-to-day Sales & Marketing strategy around publishing lines of business. She will be focused on further developing bookseller and librarian relationships, with a focus on growing comics readership across audiences. Hargett comes to Skybound with over twelve years of experience in publishing, focusing on sales, marketing, and publicity at various publishers including IDW Publishing, DC Comics, and Penguin Press.
Arune Singh has been promoted to VP, Brand, Editorial. Previously Director, Brand, Editorial, Singh joined Skybound in January 2021 and has been instrumental in its marketing and sales successes. Singh has cracked open the Book Market, paving the way for the launch of Skybound Comet and expanding Skybound’s footprint with bookstores, libraries, Scholastic, and more, which has been recognized with a 2022 Publishers Weekly Star Watch honoree distinguishment. He’s also coordinated the launch of the Energon Universe, an unqualified commercial success in the Direct Market, and leveraged his relationships with comic book influencers to create buzz in the collectors’ market. In his new role as VP, Brand, Editorial, Arune will be leading the rapidly expanding Brand team to continue to create and execute innovative marketing and sales plans for a rapidly expanding publishing line. Prior to joining Skybound, Singh was instrumental in historic publicity and marketing campaigns with Marvel Entertainment, Syfy, and BOOM! Studios.
Skybound’s Editorial leadership team is rounded out by Editorial Director Alex Antone. Also a 2022 Publishers Weekly Star Watch honoree, Antone has led tremendous growth for the company across licensed comics with Creepshow, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, and the Universal Monsters line, Kickstarter campaigns including Extra Fabulous, Mr. Lovenstein, and Extremity: Signature Edition, and the young readers imprint Skybound Comet, whose releases include the acclaimed Clementine and Ava’s Demon graphic novels.
These hirings join a handful of recent strategic executive moves at Skybound, who has been steadily fortifying its senior executive team with key hires across the company’s verticals. New additions include Jeff Chaiken as SVP, Head of Corporate Development and Strategy and Chris Paulson as Executive Vice President and General Manager of Games Publishing, as well as key executives across film, television and video games to be announced.
BOOM! Studios has announced that it has hired Arune Singh as Vice President, Marketing. In this newly created role, Singh will report to Filip Sablik, President of Publishing and Marketing, while overseeing all day-to-day aspects of marketing, communications, and social media, in addition to brand development and new corporate initiatives. The BOOM! Studios marketing team includes Mel Caylo, Marketing Manager, and Stephanie Hocutt, Social Media Coordinator.