Tag Archives: polarity

Oni Lion Forge Releases a Statement on Recent Firings and Rumors

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Oni Press

In what isn’t going to help them at all Oni Lion Forge Publishing Group released a statement regarding the recent staff layoffs as well as rumors about the publisher. The oddly worded statement called the rumors “sensationalistic” and “false information”. The statement opens stating that the recent “personnel changes” (aka firings) were done to “evolve the brand” with a focus on long-term success. As of this article, no one that we know of, has been named to replace anyone let go in the past two weeks which included many key decision makers at the publisher.

About two weeks ago publisher James Lucas Jones and vp of creative & business development Charlie Chu both were fired. There has been no announcement of replacements. The recent layoffs include the Senior VP of sales, a sales manager, a senior editor, and an editor. Again, no replacements announced.

The word salad of a statement goes on to celebrate the long history of both publishers, though Oni’s celebration of 25 years at SDCC has been canceled, and a commitment to embracing “pioneering creators” and “advancing authentic diversity and inclusion.” One of the narratives that has emerged since yesterday is numerous creators with projects at the publisher whose contact/editor/whomever has been fired and they don’t know if the project is still going on. Like above, it points to a lack of planning regarding the “personnel changes.” And while Oni has done a fantastic job of comics and graphic novels focused on LGBTQ+ representation, Lion Forge’s Catalyst Prime universe has languished.

The message has gone over as well as you’d expect online and seems to only have worsened the situation. As usual, comics shows its inability to manage crisis.

So content consumers, what do you think?

Oni Lion Forge Publishing Group Sees More Layoffs

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Oni Press

It looks like Polarity is slashing Oni Press to the bare minimum as today news broke that there were four more layoffs at the publisher. This is the latest round as two top staffers, James Lucas Jones and Charlie Chu, were laid off two weeks ago. Senior VP of sales and marketing Alex Segura, sales manager Henry Barajas, senior editor Amanda Meadows, and editor Jasmine Amiri were all let go today.

With less than a week to go before San Diego Comic-Con, the layoffs make no sense and are sure to further fuel discussion as to what’s going at the publisher. Creators with projects unannounced and already published are in the dark as to what’s going on based on comments on Twitter. Many have talked about regaining their rights and pulling their projects from the publisher as well as questionable sales/payment reporting.

We’ve heard through the rumormill the parent company Polarity is focused on their animation division and cutting Oni to focus on licensed IP after the publisher was hit hard during the pandemic. Rumors have swirled about a sale as well.

With the publisher celebrating 25 years, it has canceled two panels at San Diego Comic-Con celebrating that achievement.

Oni Press was purchased and merged with Lion Forge in May of 2019. Soon after the announcement, Oni staff were laid off eclipsing the news of the acquisition. With SDCC coming, it looks like Polarity again fumbles putting itself even more in the spotlight with negative news and with a timing that it’ll be dragged out.

Around the Tubes

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Afterlift

The weekend is almost here! Our days are starting to blend together, how are you all holding up? Sound off in the comments below! While you wait for the weekday to end and the weekend to begin, here’s some comic news and reviews from around the web in our morning roundup.

CBR – TNT’s Snowpiercer Series Gets an Earlier Premiere Date – It’s still too far away. We’re very excited for this show.

Newsarama – Lion Forge Labs Closed, All Employees Laid Off – We wish everyone impacted luck. We’re biting out tongues otherwise.

Reviews

Newsarama – Afterlift Vol. 1
Talking Comics – Angel & Spike #10
The Beat – Something is Killing the Children Vol. 1
But Why Tho Podcast – Witchlight

Joker Nabs a Leading 11 Oscar Nominations, Avengers: Endgame Nominated for 1. Lion Forge Animation Gets Its First.

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Joker

The nominees for the 92nd annual Academy Awards have been announced. Joker has an impressive amount of nominations with 11 total including “Best Picture,” “Best Director,” and “Lead Actor.” That amount leads the pack of nominated films.

The film goes into the race with a good chance of nabbing “Lead Actor,” which Joaquin Phoenix has already been winning numerous awards for, and “Original Score,” which Hildur Guðnadóttir has also been bringing in the wins.

The Warner Bros. film wasn’t the only comic adaptation to get a nomination. Marvel Studios‘ Avengers: Endgame received one nomination for “Visual Effects.”

But, there’s one more comic-related nomination. Hair Love is nominated for “Animated Short.” The film by Matthew A. Cherry was the first project for Lion Forge Animation, the studio under Polarity the parent company of comic companies Lion Forge and Oni Press. The short played along The Angry Birds Movie 2 and started as a Kickstarter campaign in 2017 that raised almost $300,000.

The Academy Awards will air live Feb. 6 on ABC. Check out below for the full list of nominees:

Best Picture:

  • “Ford v Ferrari”
  • “The Irishman”
  • “Jojo Rabbit”
  • “Joker”
  • “Little Women”
  • “Marriage Story”
  • “1917”
  • “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
  • “Parasite”

Lead Actor:

  • Antonio Banderas “Pain and Glory”
  • Leonardo DiCaprio “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
  • Adam Driver “Marriage Story”
  • Joaquin Phoenix “Joker”
  • Jonathan Pryce “The Two Popes”

Lead Actress:

  • Cynthia Erivo “Harriet”
  • Scarlett Johansson “Marriage Story”
  • Saoirse Ronan “Little Women”
  • Charlize Theron “Bombshell”
  • Renee Zellweger “Judy”

Supporting Actor:

  • Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
  • Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”
  • Al Pacino, “The Irishman”
  • Joe Pesci, “The Irishman”
  • Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Supporting Actress:

  • Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”
  • Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”
  • Scarlett Johannson, “Jojo Rabbit”
  • Florence Pugh, “Little Women”
  • Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”

Director:

  • Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”
  • Todd Phillips, “Joker”
  • Sam Mendes, “1917”
  • Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
  • Bong Joon Ho, “Parasite”

Animated Feature:

  • “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” Dean DeBlois
  • “I Lost My Body” Jeremy Clapin
  • “Klaus” Sergio Pablos
  • “Missing Link” Chris Butler
  • “Toy Story 4” Josh Cooley

Animated Short:

  • “Dcera,” Daria Kashcheeva
  • “Hair Love,” Matthew A. Cherry
  • “Kitbull,” Rosana Sullivan
  • “Memorable,” Bruno Collet
  • “Sister,” Siqi Song

Adapted Screenplay:

  • “The Irishman,” Steven Zaillian
  • “Jojo Rabbit,” Taika Waititi
  • “Joker,” Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
  • “Just Mercy” Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Lanham
  • “Little Women,” Greta Gerwig
  • “The Two Popes,” Anthony McCarten

Original Screenplay:

  • “Knives Out,” Rian Johnson
  • “Marriage Story,” Noah Baumbach
  • “1917,” Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns
  • “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Quentin Tarantino
  • “Parasite,” Bong Joon-ho, Jin Won Han

Cinematography:

  • “The Irishman,” Rodrigo Prieto
  • “Joker,” Lawrence Sher
  • “The Lighthouse,” Jarin Blaschke
  • “1917,” Roger Deakins
  • “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Robert Richardson

Best Documentary Feature:

  • “American Factory,” Julia Rieichert, Steven Bognar
  • “The Cave,” Feras Fayyad
  • “The Edge of Democracy,” Petra Costa
  • “For Sama,” Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts
  • “Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov

Best Documentary Short Subject:

  • “In the Absence”
  • “Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone,” Carol Dysinger
  • “Life Overtakes Me,” Kristine Samuelson, John Haptas
  • “St. Louis Superman”
  • “Walk Run Cha-Cha,” Laura Nix

Best Live Action Short Film:

  • “Brotherhood,” Meryam Joobeur
  • “Nefta Football Club,” Yves Piat
  • “The Neighbors’ Window,” Marshall Curry
  • “Saria,” Bryan Buckley
  • “A Sister,” Delphine Girard

Best International Feature Film:

  • “Corpus Christi,” Jan Komasa
  • “Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov
  • “Les Miserables,” Ladj Ly
  • “Pain and Glory,” Pedro Almodovar
  • “Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho

Film Editing:

  • “Ford v Ferrari,” Michael McCusker, Andrew Buckland
  • “The Irishman,” Thelma Schoonmaker
  • “Jojo Rabbit,” Tom Eagles
  • “Joker,” Jeff Groth
  • “Parasite,” Jinmo Yang

Sound Editing:

  • “Ford v Ferrari,” Don Sylvester
  • “Joker,” Alan Robert Murray
  • “1917,” Oliver Tarney, Rachel Tate
  • “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Wylie Stateman
  • “Star Wars: The Rise of SkyWalker,” Matthew Wood, David Acord

Sound Mixing:

  • “Ad Astra”
  • “Ford v Ferrari”
  • “Joker”
  • “1917”
  • “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Production Design:

  • “The Irishman,” Bob Shaw and Regina Graves
  • “Jojo Rabbit,” Ra Vincent and Nora Sopkova
  • “1917,” Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales
  • “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh
  • “Parasite,” Lee Ha-Jun and Cho Won Woo, Han Ga Ram, and Cho Hee

Original Score:

  • “Joker,” Hildur Guðnadóttir
  • “Little Women,” Alexandre Desplat
  • “Marriage Story,”Randy Newman
  • “1917,” Thomas Newman
  • “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” John Williams*“The King,” Nicholas Britell

Original Song:

  • “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” “Toy Story 4”
  • “I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” “Rocketman”
  • “I’m Standing With You,” “Breakthrough”
  • “Into the Unknown,” “Frozen 2”
  • “Stand Up,” “Harriet”

Makeup and Hair:

  • “Bombshell”
  • “Joker”
  • “Judy”
  • “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”
  • “1917”

Costume Design:

  • ”The Irishman,” Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson
  • “Jojo Rabbit,” Mayes C. Rubeo
  • “Joker,” Mark Bridges
  • “Little Women,” Jacqueline Durran
  • “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Arianne Phillips

Visual Effects:

  • “Avengers Endgame”
  • “The Irishman”
  • “1917”
  • “The Lion King”
  • “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”

NYCC 2019: Magnetic Press Becomes Independent Under the Polarity Banner

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Nils: The Tree of Life

Three years almost to the day after the acquisition of Magnetic Press was announced at New York Comic Con, the former Lion Forge imprint is announced to return to its status as full-service publisher under the David Steward II founded Polarity holding company, which also operates Lion Forge Comics and Oni Press.

Independently established in 2014 by founder Mike Kennedy, former publisher of Archaia Entertainment, Magnetic Press was acquired by Lion Forge in October of 2016 and rebranded as The Magnetic Collection. Kennedy has received numerous accolades in Magnetic’s first five years of operation, including 17 Eisner Award nominations over their first four consecutive years of eligibility.

Titles planned for 2020 include the dystopic fantasy Nils: The Tree of Life by Jerome Hamon and Antoine Carrion, Streamliner by Fane, Paris 2119 by Zep and Dominique Bertail, and Gunland by Captain Artiglio. The coming year will also the continuation of sci-fi series Infinity 8 by Lewis Trondheim and ORPHANS by Roberto Recchioni and Emmanuel Mamucari, as well as the return of several popular series including KLAW by Ozanam and Jurion and The Ogre Gods by Hubert and Bertrand Gatignol. Other titles will be announced in the coming months, with Magnetic offering something for all ages across its diverse lineup. 

The company will also build a robust gaming catalogue with new original projects and more, adding to current titles like the graphic novel/RPG hybrid Hugo Broyler and the fantasy card game universe The World of Cassyno.

Magnetic Press, LLC will be distributed in both the direct and book markets exclusively by Diamond, with an active digital first strategy through Comixology.

Graphic Policy Weekly Episode 1: Pilot

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Welcome to the launch of Graphic Policy Weekly, our new weekly show going over the biggest comic news out there.

On this debut episode:

  • Last week and this week’s comics!
  • Marvel Celebrates 80 Years
  • Dark Horse and Netflix cut a first look deal

Main story:

  • Polarity, Lion Forge, and Oni Press, this past week’s biggest comic news. We dissect what it means, why it happened, and why you shouldn’t believe the spin.

Polarity’s Oni Acquisition Leaves Staff Scrambling for Jobs, to Pay Bills, and Medical Coverage

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While some were praising the acquisition of Oni Press by Lion Forge‘s new parent company Polarity, there was a very human side to the story as individuals were laid off just hours after the announcement. That’s even after the initial press announcement article said staffing decisions were still being made about that.

While many rightly pointed out those fired were women, queer, disabled, and people of color, they are also human beings with bills to pay and medical expenses to cover. They need our help in the short term and jobs in the long term.

While an official butcher’s bill isn’t know, we’ve been told from those in the know that most of Lion Forge’s staff has been laid off along with some of Oni’s. In essence, Oni was acquired to absorb Polarity’s comic publishing arm and run that operation out of their Portland office.

The firings undermine the quote from a damage control interview where Polarity/Lion Forge founder David Steward II has said:

…there are things that we have to do, unfortunately, from a business standpoint to make sure that the organization stays healthy and that we’re able to continue to keep on our mission going forward.

Part of the initial announcement of Polarity was one of investment and funding. While the elimination of redundant positions would be expected in a merger/acquisition, this mass layoff, including another 11 laid off recently at Lion Forge, signals a business hemorrhaging money, a comics and entertainment dot com bubble in the making. It’s a sign of weakness, not strength. It also has become the story of the acquisition.

It looks like those fired are again in the double digits leaving talent out their for other publishers to snatch up including award winning creators. Some of that talent directly responsible for the diversity in creators and content that the company claims is a priority.

The layoffs also make little sense unless production is also being cut, otherwise you’d have a smaller staff producing the content of two publishers. No matter the careful spin by Polarity, there’s many questions they haven’t answered.

Below are just some of those looking for work or need our help to help cover medical expenses (if there are more, please comment below or contact us so we can add them):

This is just some of those laid off and the real people behind corporate decisions beyond their control.

There’s much more to come to this story.

Layoffs Have Already Begun Due to the Oni/Lion Forge Merger

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Update: We’ve been told of many more layoffs but attempting to confirm the extent so as to not exaggerate. If anyone has more specific details or can confirm what we’ve been told, please contact us.

The press release and announcement isn’t even 2 hours old and already staff are losing their jobs due to the merger of Oni Press and Lion Forge. We’re told there’s multiple staffers who have been let go of the around 40 staff involved. In the initial story staffing decisions were mentioned but it’s happening much sooner than expected.

Mergers will lead to staffing cuts as positions overlap but decisions can take weeks, months, or longer to shake out. The Disney/Fox merger for instance is expected to cause up to 10,000 jobs lost over the next year as decisions are made.

We’ll let the Tweets below do the talking.

https://twitter.com/swindlesoiree/status/1126173121348694016

Lion Forge and Oni Press Merge Under Polarity

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Rumors have been swirling of buyouts and mergers in the comics publishing world for some time and this year it looks like some of that is finally play out with today’s announcement that Lion Forge and Oni Press have announced a merger. Polarity, the parent company of Lion Forge, will become the majority owner of the new combined entity, with James Lucas Jones serving as president and publisher and the Oni team leading creative and business operations.

The combination of the two companies creates an industry player focused on creator-owned, cutting-edge licensed partnerships and original content. Both companies are known for engaging diverse and under-served audiences. In March 2019, Oni Press held 0.74% of the dollar share and 0.64% of the unit share for Diamond Comic Distributors. In 2018, the publisher made up 0.83% of the dollar share and 0.54% of the unit share.

The deal, which streamlines and concentrates the editorial, marketing, production and operations in Portland, OR, was orchestrated by Polarity president, Edward Hamati, who oversees administration and corporate development for Polarity.

As part of this transition, Joe Nozemack is stepping down as president and will move to a board and advisory role with the company. Sarah Gaydos will be serving as editor in chief of the new company. The staffing of the two companies is still up in the air as both have about 20 employees.

The move comes after the announcement of Polarity, Lion Forge’s parent company and its focus on expanding its reach into other media such as games, television, and film.

From Comics to Beyond, David Steward II Launches Polarity

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David Steward II

News was revealed today that Lion Forge founder David Steward II has been quietly expanding his portfolio over the past year to meet the demands of today’s modern audiences. The goal is to go beyond comics but also television, movies, streaming, and gaming. In early 2018, Steward formed Polarity, a holding company and investment platform and began recruiting a new team of professionals.

The focus is authentic content for a global audience and Polarity has recruited individuals beyond the traditional Hollywood roots.

To form Polarity, Steward sought out talent from the business world to augment the creative talent led by himself and Carl Reed, Chief Creative Officer and co-founder of several companies in the Lion Forge brand family.  Polarity oversees operations for the portfolio and pursues new business opportunities to expand the company’s offerings.  

David recruited Edward Hamati, Polarity’s President, in early 2018. The two previously worked together at a private equity firm. Hamati also leads the firm’s corporate development activities including mergers and acquisitions and investments.

The core management team includes Shonagh Clements (Chief Legal Officer) and Angie Smith (Chief Financial Officer), well regarded industry professionals and leaders. On the portfolio operations side, the team includes Chip Schafer (VP, B2B services focus) and Rick Johnson (VP, publishing focus).

Polarity is based in St. Louis, MO with an office in Boston, MA.

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