Experienced DC Comics, BOOM! Studios Veteran to Lead Sales for Award-Winning and Influential Publisher of Scott Pilgrim, Gender Queer, Tea Dragon Society, and More
PORTLAND, OR (September 6, 2023) – Oni Press – the multiple Eisner and Harvey award-winning publisher of best-selling comic books and graphic novels for all ages – is proud to announce 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.
“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,” said 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 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/Fortnite, Beast Boy Loves Raven, The Human Target, Supergirl: 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.
“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,” said 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, andScott 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.”
Simpson is the latest high-profile addition to the Oni Press executive team in recent months, following the appointment of President & Publisher Hunter Gorinson and Editor-in-Chief Sierra Hahn in December 2022 and February 2023, respectively. His appointment comes at an fortuitous moment, as Oni Press readies for a much-anticipated slate of new titles – including Jordan Thomas & Shaky Kane’s The Man From Maybe, Matt Lesniewski’s Faceless and the Family, Cullen Bunn & Jesús Hervás’ Invasive, LySandra Vuong’s Covenant, and more – as well as the forthcoming release of Scott Pilgrim Takes Off!, the brand-new Netflix anime series based on Bryan Lee O’Malley’s New York Times best-selling Scott Pilgrim series debuting in November.
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