Spencer Simpson joins Oni Press as VP of Sales

The constructing course of at Oni Press continues with the announcement that business veteran Spencer Simpson has joined the writer as Vice President of Sales, the place he’ll oversee operations throughout the Book Market, Direct Market, and Digital platforms. He joins different current hires, together with President & Publisher Hunter Gorinson and Editor-in-Chief Sierra Hahn. And it’s one other sturdy rent: Simpson is a veteran of DC, Boom, and retailer Books a-Million, the place he innovated the Fried Pie unique program, and he has a large information of comics publishing and advertising and marketing on many ranges.

More quotes and BG beneath, however Simpsons is one of the execs who was laid off from DC again within the March downsizing/reorganization, together with a number of different nicely revered executives. At the time insiders have been very stunned on the transfer, as a result of when you’re going to publish comics, you’re in all probability going to want Director of Sales and Marketing. Anyway, DC’s loss is Oni’s acquire — so let’s go to the PR!

“With a track record of exceptional performance at DC Comics, BOOM! Studios, and Books-A-Million, Spencer is one of the most accomplished comics publishing professionals of his generation,” stated Oni Press President & Publisher Hunter Gorinson. “Spencer’s keen understanding of the comics marketplace has been an instrumental part of some of our industry’s biggest success stories of the modern era – from BRZRKR and Something is Killing the Children to Batman/Fornite and Wonder Woman: Historia – and his considerable talents are a massive boon to our ambitious plans for the future of Oni Press.”

A local of Alabama, Simpson started his publishing profession as the Graphic Novel Buyer for the Books-A-Million (BAM!) bookstore chain, rising the corporate’s intensive enterprise in graphic novels throughout shops in 32 states and main its growth into single situation gross sales and the founding of the primary Fried Pie unique program that spotlighted main releases from Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Image Comics, and plenty of extra.

In 2018, Simpson joined BOOM! Studios as the corporate’s first head of gross sales, inaugurating the submit of Sales Manager in 2018 earlier than being appointed to the position of Director of Sales in 2020. During his tenure, Simpson spearheaded some of probably the most high-profile unbiased comics and graphic novel launches of the twenty first century, together with 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 unbiased comics launch of the previous 30 years with greater than 600,000 models ordered.

Simpson subsequently moved to DC Comics, the place he served as Director of Marketing & Sales from 2021 onward and contributed to many of the writer’s most notable successes in recent times with collection together with Batman/Fortnite, Beast Boy Loves Raven, The Human Target, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, Wonder Woman: Historia, and World’s Finest: Batman/Superman, as nicely as the best-selling reintroduction of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman to coincide with Netflix’s adaptation of the identical collection.

“I am elated to be joining the team at Oni Press, a publisher that I’ve followed closely during my time in the comics industry,” stated Simpson. “Oni represents a vital and necessary voice in the medium with a fantastic history of seminal and ground-breaking works – from Courtney Crumrin, The Sixth Gun, and Scott Pilgrim through new classics such as Gender Queer, Mooncakes, Sheets, and The Tea Dragon Society. I’ve seen the exciting slate of upcoming releases that the company will be unveiling in the months ahead, and can’t wait to get started on furthering the long and deep-rooted success Oni has established in bookstores, libraries, and comic shops.”