IDW Publishing and IDW Entertainment have announced that Blake Kobashigawa has been named Vice President of Sales, IDWP. Joseph Hughes has been named Director of Creative Affairs, IDWE, and Marisa Stotter has been elevated to Manager of Creative Affairs, IDWE.   

As IDWP’s new Vice President of Sales, Kobashigawa will be responsible for developing the company’s sales strategy, initiatives, campaigns and overall business objectives across all markets. 

Kobashigawa previously spent more than seven years at DC Comics, working in multiple capacities including sales, marketing, business development and product development for the book trade, mass, digital and direct-to-consumer markets. At DC Comics, he spearheaded the Essential Graphic Novels program, and led its international book and mass market initiatives.

Since leaving DC in 2018, Kobashigawa has worked as the Head of Industry Operations at Merchbar.com, the world’s largest direct to consumer marketplace for official music merchandise.

Hughes moves up from an editorial role with IDWP to IDWE’s Director of Creative Affairs. He will be responsible for working across the business to develop strategy and hone creative for IDW’s translation of its extensive IP library into TV, film, podcasts and digital media. He will manage creator talent for all IDWE projects, identify and recruit creators to pitch new comics for publishing consideration, and work with creative affairs and development to identify and curate titles to pitch to external talent.

During his time with IDWP, Hughes successfully developed and oversaw significant titles including Star Trek, DuckTales, Samurai Jack and Sonic the Hedgehog while building and maintaining relationships with major industry licensors. Hughes previously served as Editor-in-Chief at ComicsAlliance. During his tenure, the site received the Eisner Award for Journalism, the industry’s highest honor. Before being an Editor-in-Chief, Hughes worked at DC Comics as a Direct Sales Representative and later as an Assistant Editor at the Vertigo imprint. He was previously a Manager at Forbidden Planet in New York.

Stotter moves from Senior Coordinator to Manager of Creative Affairs, IDWE, where she will support the translation of library titles with media rights into their optimal ancillary format including tv, film, podcasts and other digital media. 

Before joining the IDW team, Stotter was Coordinator of Scripted Television for Conde Nast Entertainment. She started her career producing and directing the documentary She Makes Comics.