Tag Archives: spencer simpson

Oni Press Announces Multiple New Hires and Companywide Promotions for 2025

Oni Press has announced a series of new hires and internal promotions for key roles companywide in key departments, including Accounting, Editorial, Marketing, Operations, and beyond. 

Beginning next week, Oni Press will attend this year’s annual ComicsPRO Comic Book Industry Meeting in Glendale, CA, where it will reveal a series of major announcements about future publishing initiatives for 2025 and beyond. 

Spencer Simpson | VP, Marketing & Sales

Publishing industry veteran and former VP, Sales Spencer Simpson has been promoted to the new role of VP, Marketing and Sales.

Simpson began his career in publishing working in bookstores before joining the corporate offices of Books-A-Million in Store Operations. He became a Buyer for American Wholesale Book Company in 2011, curating for over 200 stores the selection of graphic novels, manga, and other categories. In 2014, he spearheaded a periodical comics program in 2nd & Charles and Books-A-Million, launching the Fried Pie variant imprint and 2nd & Charles’ annual comics convention program. In 2018, he joined BOOM! Studios as Director of Sales and, in 2021, moved to DC Comics, where he served as Director of Sales and then subsequently Director of Channel Strategy, Book Market before joining Oni Press in 2023. 

Spencer Simpson

Jung Hu Lee | Associate Editor

Born in Seoul, South Korea, raised in Washington, DC and Maryland, Lee graduated from the University of Pittsburgh’s English Writing program. Post-university, they worked as a library page, bookseller, newspaper intern, substitute teacher, special ed. tutor, EMT recruit, TV production technician, and research assistant before moving to Portland in 2010. They started at Oni Press in 2013 as a Warehouse Assistant, and then as Logistics Coordinator in 2018. Starting in August 2022, they began as an Editorial Assistant, then as Assistant Editor in 2023. 

Presently, they help edit the EC Comics line, Adventure Time, and Rick and Morty and previously worked on such titles as Cemetery Kids Don’t Die, Night People, XINO and Let Me Out.

Jung Hu Lee

Sara Harding | Administrative Manager

Harding (she/her) joined Oni Press in February 2022 as the Entertainment Executive Assistant before being promoted into her previous role of Executive Coordinator in October 2023. While having an extensive history in administrative and legal fields, she also flourishes in the creativity of the comics/publishing world. Previously, she has provided her editing talents on .SELF by Christopher Sebela and Cara McGee (Comixology/Dark Horse), All the Devils are Here by Jarred Lujan and Matt Harding (Scout Comics), and various creator-owned anthologies such as Not Forgotten, A Cold, Dark Universe, and Big Hype: Volume One. Additionally, she has written for the horror anthology From the Static (Band of Bards).

Sara Harding

Kaia Rokke | Marketing and Communications Manager

Formerly Marketing & Communications Coordinator, Rokke joined Oni Press in October 2023 after graduating from Sweet Briar College and will be managing marketing, publicity, and social media efforts for Oni’s growing slate of comics and graphic novels.

Kaia Rokke

NEW HIRES

Allyson Gronowitz | Senior Editor

After interning with DC Comics, Gronowitz joined BOOM! Studios in 2019, where she brought her talent and enthusiasm to a variety of BOOM! Studios and Archaia projects, from single-issue series like Darcy Van Poelgeest’s Lotus Land, Christopher Cantwell’s Briar, and Jude Ellison S. Doyle’s Maw to original graphic novels such as Eighty Days by A. C. Esguerra and Better Angels by Jeff Jensen. As a six-year veteran of BOOM!’s Editorial team, Gronowitz helped spearhead the Jim Henson Company license and was the lead Editor of the acclaimed and long-running Power Rangers comics, launching the all-new Power Rangers Prime series in 2024.

Allyson Gronowitz

Elyse Raimo | Director of Reporting & Special Projects

Previously Finance Manager for BOOM! Studios for five years, Raimo joins Oni as the Director of Reporting & Special Projects. In this specialized role, Raimo manages royalties administration and accounting, internal and external reporting for multiple distributors and vendors, as well as strategic oversight of Oni’s growing direct-to-consumer operations through channels including OniPress.com and Kickstarter. 

Elyse Raimo

Megan Christopher | Director of Operations

A veteran of BOOM! Studios and TKO Studios, Christopher brings nearly a decade of experience in project management, efficiency, and expansive logistical thinking to Oni Press as Director of Operations. While at BOOM! she managed fulfillment on record-shattering Kickstarter projects, including BRZRKR and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Complete Comic Book Collections, and drove internal initiatives to set future projects up for success.

Megan Christopher

Azat Sayadi | Assistant Editor

After interning at Warner Bros. and DC Comics, and graduating from Chapman University, Sayadi joined Oni Press in May of 2024 as Assistant Editor and, in the first eight months of her tenure has helped pioneer numerous projects, such as The Autumn KingdomGoat MagicPlague HouseAgent CupcakeOut of Alcatraz, and more.

Azat Sayadi

Melanie Ujimori | Prepress Lead

Ujimori began her career as a silkscreen t-shirt designer before moving on to print publication. Prior to Oni, Ujimori worked at Seven Seas Entertainment for three years doing prepress on manga, Korean webtoons, and Chinese danmei. Part of the Eisner and Ignatz-winning Elements: Fire Anthology, her previous lettering clients include Vault (She Said Destroy), Difference Engine (The Makers Club), HarperAlley (Up to No Ghoul), and DC (Girl Taking Over: A Lois Lane Story). Decades ago, a tiny Mel in Hawaii pointed at the jet planes flying overhead and said “I want to be a pilot in Top Gun and fight giant robots in space!” She now finds working in print much more fulfilling and far less hazardous.

Melanie Ujimori

Oni Press Names Spencer Simpson Vice President of Sales

Spencer Simpson

Oni Press has announced that industry veteran Spencer Simpson has joined the company as Vice President of Sales, effective immediately. In his new role, Simpson will oversee Oni’s sizable and expanding operations across the Book Market, Direct Market, and Digital platforms. 

A native of Alabama, Simpson began his publishing career as the Graphic Novel Buyer for the Books-A-Million (BAM!) bookstore chain, growing the company’s extensive business in graphic novels across retail outlets in 32 states and leading its expansion into single issue sales and the founding of the first Fried Pie exclusive program that spotlighted major releases from Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Image Comics, and many more. 

In 2018, Simpson joined BOOM! Studios as the company’s first head of sales, inaugurating the post of Sales Manager in 2018 before being appointed to the role of Director of Sales in 2020. During his tenure, Simpson spearheaded some of the most high-profile independent comics and graphic novel launches of the 21st century, including James Tynion IV & Werther Dell’Edera’s Something is Killing the Children, Ryan North & Albert Monteys’ acclaimed adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, and BRZRKR by Keanu Reeves, Matt Kindt, and Ron Garney – the #1 best-selling independent comics launch of the past 30 years with more than 600,000 units ordered. 

Simpson subsequently moved to DC Comics, where he served as Director of Marketing & Sales from 2021 onward and contributed to many of the publisher’s most notable successes in recent years with series including Batman/FortniteBeast Boy Loves RavenThe Human TargetSupergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, Wonder Woman: Historia, and World’s Finest: Batman/Superman, as well as the best-selling reintroduction of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman to coincide with Netflix’s adaptation of the same series.

BOOM! Studios Announces Key Management Team Promotions

BOOM! Studios

BOOM! Studios announced today that it has promoted two key managers of its Sales and Operations teams following a historic year in which the company launched its best-selling original series launch (Something is Killing The Children), best-selling original graphic novel (Just Beyond: The Scare School), earned six Eisner Award nominations (including two wins for Giant Days), delivered industry leading on time shipping (97%) and announced a diverse slate of new projects in development for film & television.

These promotions include the following:

  • Kate Henning has been promoted to Director, Operations: 
    Henning joined BOOM! Studios in September 2016 as Manager of Operations. She came to the company with a wealth of experience as Sales & Operations Manager for IDW Publishing for 3 years and, prior to that, at Diamond Comic Distributors where she was a Brand Manager for several years. Since joining BOOM!, Henning has developed and evolved the Operations team to oversee key aspects of the company’s manufacturing, distribution, and supply chain logistics, including product innovation and partner relationships.
  • Spencer Simpson has been promoted to Director, Sales: 
    Simpson joined BOOM! Studios in January 2018 as the company’s first Manager of Sales. He came to BOOM! with a decade of experience in the book market, and more specifically in chain retail 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. Under his leadership, Simpson has spearheaded double-digit revenue growth in the book market for 2 consecutive years (2018 & 2019). Throughout his time at BOOM!, Simpson has worked enthusiastically and tirelessly to not only champion BOOM!’s books to buyers, librarians, and press, but also grow graphic novel readership nationwide.

BOOM! Announces New Hires and Promotions

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 RangersSaban’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.