Tag Archives: holly aitchison

Mad Cave Studios Levels Up its Editorial and Marketing Teams with Promotions and Additions

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As part of its continued growth and expansion across imprints and platforms, Mad Cave Studios has announced team updates, including the promotion of Kristen Simon to Executive Editor of Nakama Press, the addition of Charles Beacham as Editor, Holly Aitchison as Trade Marketing Manager, and the onboarding of Summer Marketing Interns Gillian McMahon and Yomari Lobo.

Kristen Simon has been promoted to Executive Editor for Nakama Press, Mad Cave’s imprint dedicated to global storytelling and manga-inspired narratives. A seasoned editor with decades of experience in the comics industry, Simon has been integral to the successful launch and direction of Nakama’s debut titles.

Mad Cave also welcomes Charles Beacham as a new Editor under Executive Editorial Director Mike Marts. Charles brings editorial expertise from his time at Marvel and IDW, where he worked on major properties including Star Wars and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

In the Marketing Department, Holly Aitchison joins the team as Trade Marketing Manager, overseeing trade-facing campaigns, metadata optimization, and retailer engagement across independent bookstores, libraries, and the direct market.

Additionally, Mad Cave welcomes two Summer Marketing Interns: Gillian McMahon and Yomari Lobo, who will support upcoming seasonal campaigns, digital initiatives, and social media planning as the company ramps up for a major summer of releases and convention appearances.

IDW’s marketing team adds Holly Aitchison and Jasmine Baker

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IDW Publishing has announced two talented and ambitious people have joined the marketing department: Holly Aitchison and Jasmine Baker!

Aitchison joins IDW and Top Shelf Productions as the new Book Trade Marketing Manager. With nearly a decade of experience in the comic book publishing industry – including BOOM! Studios and Oni Press – they will spearhead marketing efforts for the Top Shelf Productions line, as well as book market focused efforts for IDW’s Original collected editions. 

Baker joins IDW as the new Social Media Manager. With experience in social media at PBS and several years as a Manga and Comics Lead at Barnes and Noble, Baker’s eager to utilize IDW’s social media platforms to help readers find their next favorite series.

Humanoids announces new hires and promotions

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Humanoids has announced that it has hired Holly Aitchison as Director of Sales and Esther Kim as Director of Marketing, as well as promoted Amanda Lucido to Director of U.S. Publishing Operations, just as the company launches one of its most ambitious and expansive publishing slates in 2023, leading up to the historic 50th Anniversary of the publishing house, founded by legendary French creators Jean Giraud (known as Mœbius), Philippe Druillet, and Jean-Pierre Dionnet, in 1974. 

The company welcomed Marie-Christine Conchon, one of the French publishing industry’s most seasoned executives, as CEO of its French and European publishing operations in 2022. The company also expanded its film and television global studio operations, now reaching over 40 projects in various stages of development. 

Humanoids’ most recent hires in the U.S. office include Holly Aitchison as Director of Sales and Esther Kim as Director of Marketing. 

Holly Aitchison brings nearly a decade of experience in the comic book publishing industry. With their extensive background in Operations, Sales, Retail, Marketing, and Client Relations, they have been referred to as “Comics’ Swiss Army Knife.” Beginning in 2015, they were a key member of the BOOM! Studios Sales team, assisting with the growth of the company within the book market and library spaces, as well as spearheading digital sales expansion. Most recently, they were a part of the Oni Press team, managing Consumer Marketing, while developing eCommerce and Merchandising. In their time in the industry, they have worked on marketing and selling award-winning titles like Chef’s Kiss by Jarrett Melendez and Danica Brine, the Scott Pilgrim series by Bryan Lee O’Malley, Klaus by Grant Morrison and Dan Mora, Sacrifice of Darkness by Roxane Gay, and many more.

Esther Kim began her comic book career in 2012 as a retail assistant then expanded the role to manager and co-owner of the nationally recognized Fantom Comics in Washington, D.C. In 2017, she joined Image Comics in Portland, Oregon as a member of the Sales team. Most recently, she was Marketing Manager at BOOM! Studios, where she worked on publicity and marketing for a diverse array of highly acclaimed record-breaking series including Keanu Reeves’ BRZRKR, Something Is Killing The Children by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera, and R.L. Stine’s Just Beyond which inspired a TV series now streaming on Disney+. 

In addition, Humanoids promoted Amanda Lucido to Director of U.S. Publishing Operations.

Amanda Lucido is a writer, filmmaker, and creative coordinator who joined Humanoids in 2018 as they fortified their Los Angeles headquarters. She supported multiple initiatives including the development of the Life Drawn and U.S. Originals imprints, expanding their foothold from the European to the American market and into the film and television space. Amanda began in Editorial but quickly evolved to support each department in various capacities. She now oversees all day-to-day operations of the U.S. Publishing Branch and looks forward to leaning into and expanding Humanoids’ rich history and catalog.

CORPUS: A Comic Anthology of Bodily Ailments Explores Illness, Both Mental and Physical

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Launched on Kickstarter, CORPUS: A Comic Anthology of Bodily Ailments is a new comic anthology that explores illness, both mental and physical. The full color graphic novel features over 200 pages and 40 stories.

The graphic novel covers a wide range of topics from peanut allergies to losing an eye, from depression to epilepsy, what it takes to care for a sick person to the stigma of chronic illness.

The creative line-up is impressive:

COVER ART BY: Mark Wang

You can get a digital copy for as low as $12 and items range from your name in the back of the book to comissions.

The project is looking to raise $25,000 and ends on March 4th.

Check out some art from the graphic novel below.

BOOM! Announces New Hires and Promotions

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BOOM! Studios has announced that it has hired Spencer Simpson as Sales Manager. In this newly created role, Simpson will report directly to Filip Sablik, President of Publishing and Marketing, while focused on growing BOOM! Studios’ already expanding book, library, specialty, and mass market footprint beginning in January 2018.

Simpson is a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, with a decade of experience as a key influencer who’s shaped graphic novel availability in bookstores at a national level. Spencer comes to BOOM! Studios with nearly 20 years of experience in the book market, as a store manager, Training Manager, and Communications Coordinator for Books-A-Million, before rising to the position of Buyer at American Wholesale Book Company (AWBC). AWBC distributes into 2nd & Charles and Books-A-Million, the second largest bookstore chain in the US. Beginning in 2011, as the Buyer for Comics & Graphic Novels, he developed AWBC’s comic program at retail (2014) bringing single issue comics into Books-A-Million and 2nd & Charles stores. In 2015, Simpson developed and launched AWBC’s variant cover brand, Fried Pie Comics. The following year he spearheaded the first annual Fried Pie Con, a free in-store convention.

This new hire follows other recent key personnel moves for BOOM! Studios in a landmark year which saw 20th Century Fox become a minority investor in the company; the launch of some of the most critically acclaimed new releases in company history (Grass Kings, Mech Cadet Yu, Bolivar, Jane and Heavy Vinyl);  the announcement of a feature film development slate including Mouse Guard and Goldie Vance; and celebrating over 1,000,000 copies sold of Lumberjanes worldwide.

  • Cameron Chittock has been promoted to Editor. Chittock joined BOOM! in 2013 as part of the publisher’s acquisition of Archaia and was promoted to Associate Editor in 2016. He has played a significant role in continuing and developing the Archaia imprint, as well as developing exciting new series such as Mech Cadet Yu. Chittock has also been instrumental in developing new comic book series with the Jim Henson Company, including Jim Henson’s Power of the Dark Crystal and the upcoming Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: Coronation.
  • Matthew Levine has been promoted to Associate Editor. Levine joined BOOM! Studios in 2015, as a key contributor to high-profile projects including Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Saban’s Go Go Power Rangersand original series such as The Unsound.
  • Holly Aitchison has been promoted to Operations Coordinator. Aitchison joined BOOM! Studios in 2015, quickly becoming an integral part of the operations team by managing digital distribution relations and playing a key role in BOOM! Studios’ outreach into the book market.