Chris Ryall Steps Down as IDW Editor-in-Chief

Chris Ryall is stepping down from his role as editor-in-chief at IDW Publishing after 14 years with the company.

The Beat broke the news, which Ryall confirmed via Twitter.

“The business of leaving a 14-year job eats up a lot of hours so it seems sometimes word can leak out before there’s time to announce it publicly,” Ryall tweeted. “But it’s true, I’m stepping aside from IDW. We’ll announce things properly soon…”

Earlier today, PR manager Steven Scott informed reporters that he would be leaving IDW on Friday as well. Other recent moves have included former publisher Ted Adams stepping into the CEO role, to be replaced as publisher by Greg Goldstein.

“Through it all—through the deadline craziness, market fluctuations, assorted business challenges, social-media storms, new faces, new projects, and new challenges—it’s all served as a constant reminder how lucky I’ve been to contribute to this industry that I love so much,” Ryall wrote in an e-mail to employees today, as reprinted at The Wrap. “And I plan to keep making contributions outside these walls. But for now, I’m stepping aside to take a break, get off the never-ending-deadline train and see what new challenge makes the most sense as my next move. It might seem short at times, but 14 years is a long time to do anything — I’ve certainly never done anything else in my life for this amount of time….I remain excited about comics, about creating, and about giving people good reasons to keep reading and, separately, about seeing everything IDW is going to do next. I first noticed IDW’s books in its earliest days, impressed by the care and uniqueness that those early titles offered, so it’s been a thrill to join all of you to build things out in an even bigger way. And I look forward to once again being able to experience IDW’s output with a fresh eye.”

In addition to serving as an editor during the company’s expansion over the last decade-plus, Ryall has written projects as varied as Zombies vs Robots, The Hollows, and Transformers.

Expect an official statement from IDW and Ryall soon.