When I joined BOOM! Studios as Executive Editor of Archaia, the imprint had a strong legacy; Mouse Guard, Labyrinth, Slaughterhouse-Five, but a drifting identity. Sporadic output and brand-agnostic acquisitions had blurred what Archaia stood for. Premium by reputation. Purposeless by execution.

The imprint needed more than a new slate. It needed a new operating logic, who is this for, what does it promise, how does it decide what to publish, what does success look like in three years?

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I rebuilt it from scratch: audience definition, value proposition, acquisition criteria, and a new premium periodicals model built around finite three-act seasons rather than open-ended monthly launches that bleed readers and strain retailers. The model addressed the two structural failures that kill most periodical programs, reader attrition and retailer risk, by treating each season as a complete story with a clear path to collection.

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The three-year slate moved deliberately from reprints toward original content, giving the imprint a credible commercial bridge while the new acquisitions developed.

Full imprint playbook delivered. New periodicals model approved by leadership. Ten public-facing titles advanced. Six confidential acquisitions and adaptation initiatives in progress. The imprint was later eliminated in a broader restructuring, a business decision, not an editorial one. The model was sound. The work was done.

That's not editing. That's brand architecture.