AWA Recruits Gabe Yocum To Head Up Sales

Artists, Writers, and Artists (AWA), the comic book and digital media publisher founded by Marvel alumni Bill Jemas and Axel Alonso and former News Corp CEO Jon Miller, announced this week that industry veteran Gabe Yocum, has been named Director of Sales. Yocum, who has been running sales for ReedPop's Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo the past two years, has a long background in dealing with the direct market, having spent time as the Purchasing Manager at Midtown Comics and running direct market sales efforts at comic publisher Double Take. Yocum will focus on both direct market and book market sales for AWA, whose first titles are scheduled for release in February 2020.

"Working in the direct market again is incredibly exciting – when you get out there and visit comic shops and get a chance to see the passion that these retailers have distilled down into 500 or 1000 or even 10,000 square feet of ink and paper you can't help but be in awe", Yocum said. "We are a well-funded creative studio, an anomaly in comics, and I intend to take full advantage of that in my efforts to treat retailers as true partners. Plainly, I plan on spending money at retail. Our goal is to equip retailers with quality content from incredibly talented, well known creators, the best terms in the industry, bar none, and perhaps most importantly, direct participation in AWA's publishing plans."

Yocum will also head up AWA's fan convention appearances. "If I've learned anything in my incredible two years at ReedPop, it's that conventions are where to find new fans, so we will be hitting the road to introduce AWA's offerings to fans far and wide".

Artists Writers & Artisans is a comic book and digital media publisher, owned and operated by creators, founded by Marvel alumni Bill Jemas and Axel Alonso, along with Jon Miller, the former CEO of News Corp. Fully funded by James Murdock and Lightspeed Venture Partners, AWA has some of the biggest names in comics and film, such as J. Michael Straczynski, Reggie Hudlin, Garth Ennis, and Frank Cho working to craft new worlds, characters, and stories for a 21st Century audience.