Oni Press has announced a flurry of promotions and hires.
Spencer Simpson has been promoted from VP, Sales to the new position of VP, Marketing and Sales. Simpson came to Oni in 2023 from DC, where he was Director, Sales and Marketing (see “Exclusive: Oni Press Names Spencer Simpson as VP of Sales”). Simpson is a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and started his career on the retail side as a Buyer for American Wholesale Book Company, part of the Books-A-Million bookstore chain. In 2014, he led a periodical comics program at the company’s 2nd & Charles and Books-A-Million stores, including the Fried Pie variant program. He moved to the publishing side in 2018 when he was hired by BOOM! Studios as Sales Manager; he was subsequently promoted to Director of Sales before departing for DC in 2021(see “Spencer Simpson Named Director of Sales at DC”).
Oni Press veteran Jung Hu Lee, who has been with the company since 2013, has been promoted to Associate Editor. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh’s English Writing program, Lee started at Oni as a Warehouse Assistant and was promoted to Logistics Coordinator in 2018, then moved to editorial as an Editorial Assistant in August 2022 and Assistant Editor in 2023 (see “New Hires and Promotions at Oni Press”). They edit the EC Comics line as well as Adventure Time and Rick and Morty; previous titles include Cemetery Kids Don’t Die, Night People, XINO, and Let Me Out.
Sara Harding is the new Administrative Manager at Oni. She came to the company in February 2022 as Entertainment Executive Assistant and was promoted to Executive Coordinator in October 2023. With a background in administrative and legal work, she also was the editor for Christopher Sebela and Cara McGee’s .SELF (ComiXology Originals), Jarred Lujan and Matt Harding’s All the Devils Are Here (Scout Comics), and several creator-owned anthologies, and wrote the story “The Bodega” for the Band of Bards horror anthology From the Static.
Kaia Rokke has been promoted to Marketing and Communications Manager; she graduated from Sweet Briar College and was hired as Marketing & Communications Coordinator in 2023. She will oversee marketing, publicity, and social media for Oni’s catalog of comics and graphic novels.
Oni also announced five new hires.
Senior Editor Allyson Gronowitz was an intern at DC before going to BOOM! Studios, where her responsibilities included the Jim Henson license, Power Rangers comics (including launching Power Rangers Prime), as well as editing original graphic novels and comic series for both BOOM! and its Archaia imprint.
Another BOOM! alumna, Elyse Raimo comes to Oni as Director of Reporting and Special Projects, responsible for royalties administration and accounting, internal and external reporting for distributors and vendors, and strategic oversight of Oni’s direct-to-consumer operations through channels including OniPress.com (see “Premium Direct Program”) and Kickstarter. Previously, Raimo was Finance Manager at BOOM! Studios.
Oni has also hired Megan Christopher as Director of Operations. Christopher worked in Operations at BOOM! Studios, starting as Operations Assistant in 2016 and leaving as Operations Lead in 2022; while there, she managed fulfillment for their Kickstarter projects, including BRZRKR and Power Rangers. She then moved to TKO Studios as Vice President Operations. Before working in publishing, she was an Associate at Golden Apple Comics.
Azat Sayadi actually signed on with Oni as Assistant Editor in May 2024 and has been working on The Autumn Kingdom, Goat Magic, Plague House, Agent Cupcake, and Out of Alcatraz, among other projects.
Melanie Ujimori, Oni’s new Prepress Lead, after spending three years doing prepress on manga, manhwa, manhua, and webtoons at Seven Seas. She also contributed to the Eisner Award-wining anthology Elements: Fire.Source: ICv2
