Oni Press Announces New Hires and Promotions for Key Publishing Positions
PORTLAND, OR (October 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 a series of new hires and promotions for key positions throughout the company’s Editorial, Operations, Production & Design, and Administrative divisions.
"No comic or graphic novel is created in a vacuum, and, at Oni Press, we're blessed to have one of the hardest working, most resourceful, and vastly talented teams anywhere in the industry. Together, we're committed to working collaboratively with creators to put forward stories that connect with readers around the world, and their hard work shows on every page. It's a pleasure and honor to call our growing, 25-strong team both friends and colleagues, and we're energized to unleash a bevy of surprises in 2024 and beyond," said Oni Press President & Publisher Hunter Gorinson.
“It's tremendously exciting to celebrate the achievements of Oni’s dedicated, steadfast team who are making some of the most thoughtful, fun, weird, and brilliant comics and graphic novels out there," said Editor-in-Chief Sierra Hahn. "Please join us in applauding their work and to welcome our new team members whose own contributions and ideas will surely influence the shape of Oni in the years to come.”
First, Oni is proud to welcome several new additions to its ranks, including:
Karl Bollers, Editor
Karl Bollers is a veteran editor with more than 25 years of industry experience at Marvel Comics, Valiant Entertainment, and Bad Idea. Additionally, Bollers is a well-known writer, having earned an Eisner Award nomination for his series Watson & Holmes and contributing to series including Marvel's Emma Frost, Machine Man, and What If?, as well as Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog and Valiant's Archer & Armstrong.
Megan Brown, Editor
Megan Brown is an editor who, during her time at IDW Publishing, helped spearhead their original graphic novel initiative and worked on licensed titles including Marvel Action: Captain Marvel, GLOW, Dungeons & Dragons, Star Trek, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and more. When she's not editing, you can find her writing comics, writing novels, or scouring local antique stores for VHS tapes to add to her growing collection.
Andy McElliott, Operations Manager
Andy McElliott became part of the Oni Press family as the Operations Manager in June 2023. Having dedicated the past 8 years to logistics and operations management, Andy operates behind the scenes–basically the wizard behind the curtain. He diligently works to ensure that Oni titles make their way onto shelves and into the hands of enthusiastic fans. He likes to drink hot black coffee, even in the middle of the summer.
Winston Gambro, Graphic Designer
Winston Gambro is a comic creator that previously created the cyberpunk mystery, Overflow, the all-ages mystery Gumshoe City, the horror-romance, Haunted House: A Love Story and is currently drawing Lights in the Sky. He’s currently designing Dwellings by Jay Stephens, The Man from Maybe by Jordan Thomas and Shaky Kane and the upcoming Invasive by Cullen Bunn and Jesús Hervás. He lives with his cat, Hazel.
Matt Harding, Pre-Press Technician
Matt Harding has worked in comics production for over ten years at companies like Black Mask Studios and Madefire Motion Books and now Oni Press. When he’s not working, he can be found writing and illustrating comics.
Chris Robinson, Consulting Editor
Chris Robinson is the editor of All-Negro Comics 75th Anniversary Edition, and previously edited Black Panther, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Ghost Rider, and much more for Marvel Comics.
Kaia Rokke, Marketing & Communications Coordinator
A recent graduate of Sweet Briar College, Kaia will help manage marketing, publicity, and social media efforts for Oni's growing slate of comics and graphic novels.
Additionally, Oni is proud to recognize multiple members of its team for recent promotions:
Troy Look, VP, Publishing Services
A veteran of Oni Press since 2011, Troy Look came to Oni from Dark Horse Comics, where he had previously served as Prepress Technician and contributed to series including Hellboy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Conan, and Star Wars. Over the course of the next decade, he was subsequently promoted to Production Manager and later Director of Design and Production. As VP of Publishing Services, Look oversees all production, manufacturing, operations, and logistics on Oni's behalf. He is extremely grateful to work with one of the most talented teams in the industry.
Jeremy Colfer, Director of Development
A veteran film and television executive based in Los Angeles, Jeremy Colfer has two decades of experience in content development with globally recognized media organizations, including MGM, and Sony Pictures Television. In his new role, he oversees development of Oni's extensive library of comics and graphic novels.
Angie Knowles, Director of Production & Design
Angie Knowles began her career at Oni Press as a Prepress Technician in 2016 and climbed her way up to the role of Director of Design & Production. She applied fresh out of college with a degree in Digital Arts, dreaming she could work on graphic novels all day. Now, she's worked on hundreds of books and comics by compositing and quality-checking artwork, sending files to print, and designing books and logos.
Grace Scheipeter, Senior Editor
A veteran of Andrews McMeel Publishing where she worked on series like Big Nate and Phoebe and Her Unicorn, Grace Sheipeter joined Lion Forge Comics in 2017. In the six years she's been with the company, she has worked on titles like Brenna Thummler’s best-selling Sheets series, Jarrett Melendez and Danica Brine’s award-winning graphic novel, Chef’s Kiss, and Austin Paramore and Sarah Bollinger's Malcolm Kid and the Perfect Song. Grace is passionate about working closely with creators to bring their stories to life and is eager to continue acquiring and editing compelling, beautiful stories for Middle Grade and Young Adult audiences.
Bess Pallares, Senior Editor
Bess Pallares previously served as Editor and Editorial Assistant at Oni Press, and holds a Master's Degree in Publishing and a certificate in Comics Studies from Portland State University. She edits licensed titles such as Rick & Morty, as well as creator-owned series and graphic novels including the upcoming Invasive by Cullen Bunn and Jesús Hervás, and I Feel Awful, Thanks by Lara Pickle. Pallares lives in the Midwest with her husband and daughter, where she likes to brew specialty coffee and knit with a cat in her lap.
Carey Soucy, Senior Graphic Designer
Over the last 13 years Carey has lent her talents to countless books such as: Skottie Young and Jorge Corona’s Eisner-nominated Middlewest (Image Comics), Skottie Young & Aaron Conley's Bully Wars (Image Comics), Jim Zub & Troy Little’s Rick and Morty vs. Cthulhu (Oni Press), and Cristian Castelo’s Wild! (or So I Was Born to Be) (Oni Press). She is excited for the upcoming release of her latest design project, Matt Lesniewski’s Faceless and The Family (Oni Press), hitting shelves November 2023. When not in front of her computer, you can find Carey working on her tiny house or playing with her enormous dog.
Sarah Rockwell, Senior Graphic Designer
Sarah "Rocky" Rockwell has been designing at Oni Press since 2019 and has collaborated with fantastic people on great (and a great many) things, including the Eisner Award-nominated Chefs’ Kiss, the award-winning Sheets Trilogy, Invisible Differences, Pink Lemonade, Cindy & Biscuit, Silk Hills, Lamentation, Rick & Morty vs. Dungeons & Dragons, and XINO. She'd love to tell you more about her non-pixel pushing hobbies, but the list is much too long, so keep an eye (and a tissue) out for Brenna Thummler’s Lights, in stores now!
Gabriel Granillo, Editor
Gabriel Granillo worked as journalist, multimedia director, and editor for newspapers and magazines for several years before joining Oni in 2022. Notable titles he’s edited include Dega by Dan McDaid, the sci-fi anthology XINO, and Dwellings by Jay Stephens. He also co-edits many of Oni’s licensed titles, including Rick and Morty. In addition to his work at Oni Press, he is also a writer of prose and nonfiction, a somewhat-decent photographer, and an on-again, off-again musician.
Jung Hu Lee, Assistant Editor
Born in Seoul, South Korea, raised in Washington DC/Maryland, Jung Hu Lee graduated from the University of Pittsburgh’s English Writing program. Post-university, they worked as a library page, bookseller, newspaper intern, substitute teacher, special ed. tutor, EMT recruit, TV production technician, and research assistant before moving to Portland in 2010. They started at Oni Press in 2013 as a Warehouse Assistant, and then as Logistics Coordinator in 2018. Starting in August 2022, they were introduced to editing work and assisted on such titles as Action Journalism, Let Me Out, Rick and Morty, and XINO. Outside of work, Jung enjoys building Gundam models (known as Gunpla), watching 80's/90’s anime and Hong Kong films, reading Cormac McCarthy and a good bowl of noodles.
Sara Harding, Executive Coordinator
Sara Harding joined Oni Press in February 2022 as Entertainment Executive Assistant. Previously, she has provided her editing talents on .SELF by Christopher Sebela and Cara McGee (Comixology/Dark Horse), All the Devils are Here by Jarred Lujan and Matt Harding (Scout Comics), and various creator-owned anthologies such as Not Forgotten, A Cold, Dark Universe, and Big Hype: Volume One. Additionally, she has written for the horror anthology From the Static (Band of Bards). When she's not working on several novels of her own, Harding can be found wandering the lush forests of the Pacific Northwest.
Founded in 1997, Oni Press has a 25-year history as one of the industry’s most respected and acclaimed independent comic book publishers. In 2019, the Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group was formed through a merger with fellow independent comic book publisher, Lion Forge Comics, founded in 2011 by entrepreneur David Steward II. The Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group now exists as a publishing subsidiary of Steward’s diversified global media company, Polarity.
Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group publishes more than 60 original graphic novels annually, in addition to an extensive list of periodical comics.