MARK WAID NAMED BOOM! STUDIOS EDITOR-in-CHIEF – NEWSARAMA

Ok, I have no idea what this means for his DC work.  I guess we will just have to see.

MARK WAID NAMED BOOM! STUDIOS EDITOR-in-CHIEF – NEWSARAMA

MARK WAID NAMED BOOM! STUDIOS EDITOR-in-CHIEF

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by JK Parkin

BOOM! Studios announced in San Diego that effective Aug. 1, Mark Waid
will join BOOM! as Editor-in-Chief. Waid will fill the position in the
company previously held informally by publisher and co-owner, Ross
Richie. Prior to joining BOOM!, Waid was under exclusive contract to DC
Comics.

Chief among Waid’s duties will be to institute a “steady hand at a
company that has seen explosive growth”, according to the publisher.
Day-to-day, he will “oversee the creation of all the BOOM! titles, work
with established and non-established talent on new properties designed
to ignite the medium’s boundaries, and shepherd BOOM!’s exciting slate
of licensed properties.”

While most recently in the spotlight as part of the writing team that wrote DC’s 52,
Waid began his career as an editor. Waid’s editorial accomplishments
include Grant Morrison’s run on DOOM PATROL, LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES,
SECRET ORIGINS, and a host of one-shot titles. Waid has written stories
for every major comics publisher, including stints on DC Comics’ THE
FLASH and Legion of Super Heroes, plus Marvel Comics’ CAPTAIN AMERICA
and FANTASTIC FOUR. Waid and Alex Ross’ seminal graphic novel, KINGDOM
COME, is one of the best-selling graphic novels of all time.

Below is BOOM!’s full press release…

More information on the BOOM!, as well as ZOOM!, their new kid’s line, is forthcoming in a complete panel report, so stay tuned.

Press Release

Writer of DC’s 52 and KINGDOM COME to Make His Kingdom at BOOM!

July 27th, 2007

San Diego Comic-Con – In a surprise announcement that rocked the
comic-book world, BOOM! Studios revealed that fan-favorite scribe Mark
Waid will become BOOM!’s Editor-in-Chief effective August 1st, 2007.
Waid will fill a key position in the company previously held informally
by Publisher and co-owner, Ross Richie.

“BOOM! Studios is the next generation comic book company. They are
doing innovative work of astounding quality,” Waid says. “Co-owners
Ross Richie and Andy Cosby have an incredible vision for the future of
the industry and the company, and they approached me to partner with
them to realize that vision. ‘Here’s a comic-book company,’ says Ross.
‘Go run it, and run it your way.’ It’s an unbelievable offer.”

“Mark is as close to the Leonardo DaVinci of comics as you can get.
There’s nothing he hasn’t done. The man can write. The man can edit. He
designs characters, he can do production and layout, I’ve gotten files
on his books back with the colors Photoshop-corrected by the man
himself. He knows comics inside and out. And he is just an
honest-to-goodness genuine human being who loves this medium and got
taught all the right lessons by the heroes he grew up reading. His
standing in the comics community speaks for itself,” said BOOM!
Publisher and co-owner Ross Richie. “Mark is at the top of his game and
we look forward to him taking BOOM! into the stratosphere.”

Chief among Waid’s duties will be to institute a steady hand at a
company that has seen explosive growth. Day-to-day, he will oversee the
creation of all the BOOM! titles, work with established and
non-established talent on new properties designed to ignite the
medium’s boundaries, and shepherd BOOM!’s exciting slate of licensed
properties.

“BOOM!’s exploded – quite literally — in the last two years. Mark’s
two decades of experience will help us bring our A-game to the fans,”
co-owner Andrew Cosby said.

Waid’s relationship with BOOM! grew organically given his involvement with the company since its inception two years ago.

“Back when BOOM! started as four guys in a barn, they corralled me into
writing for their first comic, ZOMBIE TALES, and the experience was
terrific. They earned my trust, so I brought them my new creation,
POTTER’S FIELD with artist Paul Azaceta. That led to the E-I-C offer.
Working with Ross and Andy and all their little office Boomlets has
been a pleasure,” Waid said.

Fans who enjoy Waid’s mainstream superhero series such as FLASH or
BRAVE AND BOLD need not fret; the award-winning writer has no plans to
abandon his outside commitments, but BOOM! will serve as the home for
his upcoming–and numerous–creator-owned projects.

While most recently in the spotlight as part of the writing team that
spawned DC’s sales mammoth 52 which Waid wrote on a weekly basis along
with Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Geoff Johns, Waid began his career
as an editor. Waid’s editorial accomplishments include Morrison’s run
on DOOM PATROL, LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES, SECRET ORIGINS, and a host of
one-shot titles. Waid has written stories for every major comics
publisher, including well-loved stints on DC Comics’ THE FLASH and
Marvel Comics’ CAPTAIN AMERICA and FANTASTIC FOUR. Waid and Alex Ross’
seminal graphic novel, KINGDOM COME, is one of the best-selling graphic
novels of all time.

The relationship with Waid solidifies BOOM! as a leader in the
industry, particularly on the heels of Thursday’s announcement
regarding the acquisition of THE GODFATHER license. THE GODFATHER will
be one of the many titles Waid will oversee in his new position when it
launches Winter 2007.

BOOM! has gone through a growth spurt like no other publisher this past
year. At the 2007 Book Expo in New York, BOOM! announced their new mass
market book distribution deal via Perseus, a unique relationship for a
comic book publisher that positions BOOM! with one of the market
leaders to book retailers. Perseus just recently acquired Publisher’s
Group West and continues to grow and expand its reach into the mass
market.
By the end of this summer, BOOM! will be offering a line of trade
paperback graphic novels collecting their popular series, including
TALENT, HERO SQUARED, TAG, DEATH VALLEY, and X ISLE.

In the last twelve months, BOOM! has sold three of its comic book
series to Hollywood: THE FOUNDATION was just bought in a preemptive
pre-publication bid by Paramount Pictures, while Universal Studios
bought TALENT and TAG last year.

Last December’s launch of WARHAMMER 40,000: DAMNATION CRUSADE initiated
a new, successful series of comic books and graphic novels followed up
by the summer’s launch of WARHAMMER: FORGE OF WAR. BOOM! enjoys the
unique position of being one of only four licensors of Games Workshop
material, and will continue to grow and expand its line of WARHAMMER
40,000 and WARHAMMER series.

Following on the heels of its success with these comics, BOOM!
announced a comic book and graphic novels license with Epic Games’
mega-selling GEARS OF WAR video game. This fall will see a huge launch
for this exciting new property.

Prior to joining BOOM!, Waid was under exclusive contract to DC Comics.

ABOUT BOOM! STUDIOS

Winner of Wizard Magazine’s “Best New Publisher,” BOOM! Studios is a
unique new publishing house specializing in high profile projects from
some of the industry’s biggest talents. Founded by the creator of the
TV show EUREKA, Andrew Cosby, and his partner Ross Richie, BOOM!
Studios continues to be on the leading edge of comic and graphic novel
publishing.

BOOM! Studios co-founder Andrew Cosby’s television series, EUREKA, just
started its second season at the Sci-Fi Channel on July 10th, launching
to impressive ratings and winning several key demographics on basic
cable. EUREKA is the highest-rated series in the network’s history.

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Related posts:

1. BOOM! Studios Announces Tom Fassbender new VP of Publishing
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3. NEWSARAMA.COM: HEROES CON/WW: PHILLY ’07 – MARK WAID RETURNS TO THE FLASH
4. NEWSARAMA.COM: MARK WAID TALKS THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD
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