Comic book veteran Jamie S. Rich is moving to Tapas Media. Rich joins the digital publisher of webcomics and novels as editor-in-chief on June 21.
Rich comes to the digital publisher after spending time at DC Comics, which he joined in 2015 as part of its Vertigo imprint, where he edited Sheriff of Babylon by Tom King and Mitch Gerads, as well as that duo’s Eisner-winning Mister Miracle series. He also oversaw Gerard Way’s Young Animal imprint and nabbed an Eisner as part of the team for DC’s charity anthology Love Is Love.
“Growing up reading indie and self-published comics in the 1980s, I saw whole new worlds, and I started telling my stories, too,” says Rich. “These days the realm may be digital, but it’s still comics. It’s still words and pictures, the basic components of modern storytelling. So, the great thing about Tapas is that it provides a platform for new voices, a place for the storytellers coming up now to share their voices. Anything is possible in a comic book.”
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Rich came up in the industry at Dark Horse comics, joining the indie publisher in 1994 and moving to Oni Press in 1998, where he served as editor-in-chief.
Tapas, which is known for licensing manga and was recently acquired as part of a $510 million deal by entertainment giant Kakao, has been focusing on original content, which can be accessed via its mobile app. The publisher received its first two Eisner nominations this year, including for DPS Only!!! (pictured above).
“We are thrilled to have Jamie join us as editor-in-chief. As both a creator and an editor, he has an innate understanding of the storytelling power of comics, and its ability to transcend the medium to both entertain and empower,” said Tapas Media CCO Michele Wells. “With this deep knowledge and experience, Jamie is uniquely positioned to help us expand our global reach by guiding the next generation of creators in finding just the right story to tell at just the right time.”
