Penguin Random House Acquired Boom! Studio in July PRH announced that it is now complete and they have hired a new publisher. Michael Kelly has joined the company as publisher, reporting to BOOM!’s president and executive director of business management and publishing operations. studio, Jane Harned.
Harned, who joined Boom three years ago as chief financial officer, will Scott Shannon, President, Random House Worlds, PRH’s brand portfolio will now include Boom.
Kelly served as Hasbro’s Vice President of Worldwide Publishing, where he was instrumental in growing the publishing business from $20 million in annual wholesale revenue to more than $200 million and managing more than 1,000 new titles annually. At Boom, he will manage marketing, sales and operations and lead the integration of Boom into the PRH organization.
Boom’s new organizational chart has also been finalized, with Bryce Carlson Promoted to Vice President Associate Publisher, reporting to Kelly Josh HayesVice President of Sales, Stephanie LazarskiDirector of Operations, BOOM! studio, and Ryan MatsunagaMarketing Director, BOOM! The studio all reports to Kelly. Matt GagnonVice President, Editor-in-Chief, and Michelle AnkleyThe design director will now report to Carlson.
Carlson is promoted from his previous role as vice president of editorial and creative strategy and will continue to develop publishing plans and strategic priorities for the entire editorial team.
Kelly spent 17 years at Hasbro and has been a prominent executive since leaving. His passion for the comics industry includes working with IDW, BOOM! Studios, Skybound/Image and Marvel, and has collaborated with brands such as Clue, Jem and the Holograms, Micronauts and My Little Pony. Most importantly, he helped launch Skybound’s highly successful Energon Universe series Robert Kirkman. Back in April, he launched his own intellectual property licensing/development company, Extrude Enterprises, and continued growing it at PRH.
Interestingly, Kelly was mentioned as a potential strong hire in the comics industry back in March Chris Allant of Popversewho wrote: “Hasbro’s current vice president of global publishing, Michael Kelly, finds himself with one of the most sought-after and rarest skill sets in comics and pop culture publishing.
PRH seems to feel the same way.
As mentioned before, Boom will now be Random House Worlda division focused on licensed publishing. We’ll likely hear some first hints about how the new Boom will work at the upcoming New York Comic Con.