Tag Archives: dirk wood

Matt Parkinson joins Image which also announces other promotions

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Matt Parkinson

Image Comics has announced that Matt Parkinson is now VP of Sales & Publishing Planning. He will oversee Image’s Sales Department and will report directly to Eric Stephenson, Publisher & Chief Creative Officer.

Parkinson comes with 17 years of experience working previously at Dark Horse Comics as Vice President of Marketing. During that time, Parkinson oversaw all day-to-day operations of the company’s marketing department including publicity, social media, internal company communications, direct market relations, conventions and special events, promotions, advertising, and much more.

Reporting to Parkinson are: Chloe Ramos as Book Market & Library Sales Manager and Alex Cox as Director of Direct Market Sales. Jon Schlaffman, Specialty Sales Coordinator, will now report directly to Cox. 

Lorelei Bunjes, formerly the Director of Digital Services at Image, is being promoted up to VP of Digital Strategy. Dirk Wood, formerly the Director of International Sales & Licensing, will be VP of International Sales & Licensing. Heather Doornink, formerly the Production Director, is being promoted to VP of Production. Nicole Lapalme, formerly the Controller, is being promoted to VP of Finance. Kat Salazar, formerly the Director of PR & Marketing, is being promoted up to VP of PR & Marketing. 

Image Comics Promotes Jeff Boison and Hires Alex Cox and Dirk Wood With Other Promotions

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Image Comics

Image Comics has announced that it will reorganize the company’s Sales department. Jeff Boison is now Director of Sales & Publishing Planning. He will oversee Image’s Sales Department and will report directly to Eric Stephenson, Publisher & Chief Creative Officer. 

Previously, Boison spearheaded the sales efforts in the Book Market channel, shepherding the company’s business with Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Chapters Indigo, and independent bookstores, like Powell’s City of Books, for the past five years and strengthening Image’s standing as the leading graphic novel publisher in the U.S. 

Prior to Image Comics, Boison was VP, Publishing Planning & Collected Editions at DC Entertainment for nearly seven years until the company relocated to California, and before that he was at Random House for over a decade.  

Reporting to Boison are: Alex Cox, as Director of Direct Market & Speciality Sales, Emilio Bautista as Digital Sales Coordinator (a recent promotion), Chloe Ramos-Peterson as Book Market & Library Sales Manager (a recent promotion), and Dirk Wood—who will start at the company in September—as the Director of International Sales & Licensing.

Both Cox and Wood are new to Image Comics’ Sales team. 

Cox brings over 20 years of experience in the industry to the table. He is a former Direct Market retailer himself, first at the legendary St. Mark’s Comics in New York City, and then at his own NYC shop, Rocketship Comics, and most recently, he worked at IDW as Event Programming & Special Projects Director. At Image, Cox will act as a liaison on sales matters with both Direct Market retailers and Diamond, as well as coordinate variant covers, and manage convention sales.

Wood has 27 years of experience in the industry, previously at IDW and Dark Horse. At Image, Wood will be responsible for growing Image’s international sales and will be negotiating foreign licensing agreements and representing titles at shows like Frankfurt, Angoulême, Bologna Children’s Book Fair, the London Book Fair, and more. 

Full Bleed, a New Quarterly Magazine from IDW:PDX’s Woodworks

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IDW Publishing‘s Dirk Wood announced the first project to come out of the publisher’s new Portland office and Woodworks imprint at Rose City Comic Con this past weekend, getting strong positive reactions for both the art and content revealed, and a unique distribution plan. Premiering today on Kickstarter is the new division’s flagship publication: Full Bleed!

Full Bleed is a brand-new quarterly, print-only, 200-page hardcover magazine, curated and edited by IDW Publishing’s Dirk Wood alongside CEO and Publisher, Ted Adams. Bringing together the very best in comics, fiction, non-fiction, in-depth interviews, opinion, history, think-pieces, and more, Full Bleed will be a reading experience like no other. Shot through an international lens, but filtered through the unique perspective of the IDW:PDX satellite office in Portland, Oregon, Full Bleed will tackle all aspects of the creative culture, and beyond — comics, music, film, television, fine art, photography, design, politics, and more. Full Bleed seeks true and total diversity through its content, creators and contributors, as well as genre and format.

Full Bleed is the premiere publication from IDW’s new Oregon-based imprint; Woodworks. Following the December launch, IDW and Woodworks will be creating a campaign to help Traveling Stories, a charity dedicated to children’s literacy and “outsmarting poverty one book at a time,” as well as the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, to help with their continued work for literacy and libraries. Woodworks aims to make “smart books for smart people,” with the hope of “helping to make a few more smart people.”

Full Bleed‘s first volume scheduled for release in early December.

IDW Publishing Opens Up a Portland Office

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idw-pdxIDW Publishing is headed to Portland, Oregon! While the company’s main base of operations will remain in San Diego, IDW is officially branching out to the burgeoning comic book scene in Portland, establishing a beachhead for its new phase of development, headed up by VP of Marketing, Dirk Wood.

Wood will serve as Creative Director for Woodworks, a brand new imprint of IDW to be run out of the Portland office. Woodworks will consist primarily of a new line of books, anchored by a high-end, curated magazine, featuring contributions by, and conversations with, the most talented and diverse creators in the industry. While the primary focus will be comics, it will also have a dash of general entertainment and culture features; film, TV, art, music, history, and more. Further details will be unveiled in the coming weeks as this budding line continues to develop.

The idea sprung out of conversations between Wood and IDW Publisher and CEO Ted Adams. They both recognized the Portland comic scene which has become a haven of talent. This expansion opens up a new chapter for the company by expanding their reach.

In the press release, Adams said the expansion and independent bent of this new line not only extends to the comics and magazines, but also in how those get into the hands of readers.

In addition to this exciting endeavor, Wood will be staying on with IDW in an advisory role concerning Trade Shows and Marketing, particularly as it relates to the Direct Comic Market.

IDW’s Dirk Wood Named Vice President of Marketing

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IDW’s Dirk Wood Named Vice President of Marketing

[Dirk Wood Avatar]San Diego, CA (April 11, 2012)—IDW Publishing, an award-winning leader in graphic novel and book publishing, announced today that Dirk Wood has been promoted to Vice President of Marketing.

“Since Dirk joined IDW, we’ve seen increased sales and exposure in comic book specialty stores and he’s overseen revolutionary marketing campaigns such as the Godzilla “Smash Your Store” cover promotion,” said Greg Goldstein, IDW President and COO. “His new title reflects the bigger overall role he’s taken in shaping all of IDW’s marketing and promotional efforts and is well deserved.”

Mr. Wood started his career with the retail chain Things From Another World, before a long run in Marketing at Dark Horse Comics, capped by several years as that company’s Marketing Director. He joined IDW as director of retail marketing in 2010, and has nearly 20 years of combined experience in the comic book industry.

As a company, IDW has grown exponentially in recent years, expanding both its comics and book catalogs, and continuing its leadership in the digital space. As Vice President of Marketing, Mr. Wood will play a key role in driving continued growth in all these areas, and lead the company’s public relations, and tradeshow efforts as well.

“I could not be happier about where I am,” said Mr. Wood. “The whole crew at IDW is amazing. Every day I get to work with great people at the best comic publisher there is. The only problem is that I have to buy more bookshelves, because the books we’re putting out are unreal. I look forward to new challenges, and continuing to expand IDW’s presence everywhere.”

Mr. Wood also plays guitar for The Woodford Brownley Band, and is right wing for the IDW soccer team, where he spends most of his time injured.

Visit IDWPublishing.com to learn more about the company and its top-selling books.

About IDW Publishing

About IDW Publishing 
IDW is an award-winning publisher of comic books, graphic novels and trade paperbacks, based in San Diego, California. Renowned for its diverse catalog of licensed and independent titles, IDW publishes some of the most successful and popular titles in the industry, including: Hasbro’s The TRANSFORMERS and G.I. JOE, Paramount’s Star Trek; HBO’s True Blood; the BBC’s DOCTOR WHO; Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; Toho’s Godzilla; Wizards of the Coasts Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons; and the Eisner-Award winning Locke & Key series, created by best-selling author Joe Hill and artist Gabriel Rodriguez. IDW is also home to the Library of American Comics imprint, which publishes classic comic reprints, and Yoe! Books, a partnership with Yoe! Studio.

IDW’s critically- and fan-acclaimed series are continually moving into new mediums. Currently, Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Disney are creating a feature film based on World War Robot, while Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes and Sony are bringing Zombies vs. Robots to film.

IDW Announces Retail Marketing Director

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Official Press Release

IDW Announces Retail Marketing Director

Dirk Wood joins leading company to expand direct market outreach

AnnaMaria White promoted to Director of Marketing and Public Relations

San Diego, CA (July 15, 2010) – IDW Publishing, a leader in graphic novel and book publishing, announced today that seasoned comic-industry marketing veteran Dirk Wood has joined the company as its first Director, Retail Marketing. Additionally, IDW’s first in-house marketing manager, AnnaMaria White, has been promoted to Director, Marketing and Public Relations.

“AnnaMaria has done an amazing job getting the word out about IDW books and has substantially increased our PR efforts and convention appearances,” said IDW CEO and Publisher, Ted Adams. “As IDW continues to grow, it became clear that we needed to expand our marketing team and particularly wanted to focus on direct market retailers and customers. When we made the decision to start looking for someone, there was no one we wanted to recruit more than Dirk. I’ve had the opportunity to get to know him over the last couple of years and he’s going to help us build our business in new and exciting ways.”

With over 16 years in the industry, Mr. Wood inaugurates the position of Director of Retail Marketing at IDW, bringing his extensive experience to the rapidly growing company.  In this position, Mr. Wood will serve as the main contact for comic store retailers at IDW, expanding the company’s relationship with and presence within the direct market.

As Director of Marketing and PR, Ms. White will continue to grow IDW’s consumer marketing and outreach, oversee the company’s conventions and external messaging, and serve as the primary public relations contact.

Prior to joining IDW, Mr. Wood served as the Director of Communications for Dark Horse Comics, capping his nine-year career with the company. Mr. Wood was the Operations Manager for Things from Another World for seven years before transitioning to Dark Horse Comics.

“I couldn’t be more excited about joining the team at IDW. It’s been no secret for a while now that they’re a growing force in the Industry, and joining them at this stage of my career is a tremendous opportunity,” said Mr. Wood. “I want to thank Ted and the whole crew for welcoming me into the fold so graciously. I’ve always been a big supporter of the Direct Market, and I look forward to working with the retailers to ensure that IDW is a big part of their success for years to come.”

Visit IDWPublishing.com to learn more about the company and its top-selling books.

About IDW Publishing
IDW is an award-winning publisher of comic books, graphic novels and trade paperbacks, based in San Diego, California. Renowned for its diverse catalog of licensed and independent titles, IDW publishes some of the most successful and popular titles in the industry, including: Hasbro’s The Transformers and G.I. JOE, Paramount’s Star Trek; Fox’s Angel; the BBC’s Doctor Who; and comics and trade collections based on novels by worldwide bestselling author, James Patterson. IDW is also home to the Library of American Comics imprint, which publishes classic comic reprints; Yoe! Books, a partnership with Yoe! Studios; and is the print publisher for EA Comics and ComicMix.

IDW’s original horror series, 30 Days of Night, was launched as a major motion picture in October 2007 by Sony Pictures and was the #1 film in its first week of release. More information about the company can be found at IDWPublishing.com.