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Boom! Studios has a new boss.

Michael Kelly has been named publisher of the award-winning comic publisher, as the first big move at the company following its acquisition by Penguin Random House. Kelly, who earlier this year Popverse named the hottest free agent executive in the comics industry, comes to Boom! after 18 years as Hasbro's head of publishing - acting as a licensor and liaison to comic (and book) publishers work on Hasbro franchise. In this new role at Boom!, Kelly will be on the other side of the table - working with licensors such as Hasbro, Disney, and others as well as overseeing projects owned by Boom! and those owned (or co-owned with) individuals such as Keanu Reeves' BRZRKR and James Tynion IV's Something is Killing the Children, 

According to Kelly in a LinkedIn post (his only official statement on the hiring at press time), he has been aiming to move into pop culture publishing (and specifically comics) after a decade of working with comic publishers such as Boom!, Image Comics, Skybound Entertainment, IDW Publishing, and others.

In July 2024, Penguin Random House acquired Boom! Studios after being primarily a privately-owned company (with some investment from Fox). As part of the deal, its original publisher (and co-founder) Ross Richie left the company and Boom!'s director of strategy Jen Harned was placed in charge on a temporary basis.

In the days since, Harned was quietly promoted to become president of Boom! Studios (as well as executive director of business management & publishing operations), and the company itself was slotted into the PRH org-chart under its licensed publishing arm Random House Worlds (led by president Scott Shannon). While at some companies the president doubles as the publisher (such as at Marvel), Harned and Stevens saw the need for a separate publisher in this new era and courted (and ultimately) acquired Kelly due to his almost two decades of licensed publishing experience.

As publisher, Michael Kelly will oversee Boom! Studios' marketing, sales, and operations - along with a stated focus on integrating the company into the larger Penguin Random House organization.

Bryce Carlson, who has managed most of the editorial team at Boom! since 2018, has been given full control over editorial - with a new title to boot (deputy publisher). Matt Gagnon, who has been Boom!'s editor-in-chief since 2010, will now report to Carlson - years after Carlson originally reported to Gagnon when he was an editor. 

Although Penguin Random House runs a massive book (and comic book) distribution arm that services everyone from Amazon to your local comic shop, the now-PRH-owned Boom! Studios is currently locked in a multi-year exclusive deal with Diamond (for comic shops) and Simon & Schuster (for book stores) ... but once those deals expire, you have to imagine everyone would at least look into bringing its print distribution in-house.

This is pure speculation, but don't expect any major moves in the short-term from Boom! Studios following the hiring of a new publisher. Given everything involved, the strategy seems to be to understand what works, and build on that while beginning to lay out (and in some cases revise) the company's long-term plans.

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