Boom! Studios to Be Acquired by Penguin Random House

Penguin Random House is set to acquire comic book and graphic novel publisher Boom! Studios.

The publishing house announced Wednesday that Random House Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, has agreed to the deal for Boom! Studios, which was founded in 2005 by Ross Richie. The deal is expected to close later this summer, and terms were not disclosed. As part of the transaction, Disney is selling its minority stake in Boom! Studios that 20th Century Fox acquired in 2017.

Boom! Studios will continue its editorial and publishing independence and is set to report to Random House Worlds president Scott Shannon, while Random House Worlds vp publisher Keith Clayton and Random House Publishing Group executive vp of business strategy Bill Takes will help manage the new imprint. Also part of Random House Worlds’ portfolio of imprints are Del Rey, Inklore and the RH Worlds licensing program.

Among Boom! Studios’ original titles are Keanu Reeves’ BRZRKR, Something Is Killing the Children and Lumberjanes, while the company has published work from such licensees as Power Rangers, Dune, Garfield and Dark Crystal. Boom! Studios will maintain its Los Angeles offices and continue to publish through four distinct lines: Boom! Studios, Boom! Box, KaBoom! and Archaia. Diamond Comic Distributors will continue to distribute Boom! Studios titles to the direct market, with Simon & Schuster handling the bookstore trade.

Boom! Studios has been involved in the film and television adaptations of its work since the company’s inception. The current media division will remain the same under the new deal, with Stephen Christy continuing to lead the production company team. Its previous projects include the action-comedy movie 2 Guns (2013), starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg; horror film The Empty Man (2020); and last year’s animated series Mech Cadets.

Currently in production for Boom! Studios is Butterfly, a live-action Prime Video spy series starring Daniel Dae Kim and Reina Hardesty. BRZRKR and Something Is Killing the Children remain in development at Netflix. Additionally, Ryan Coogler is producing Universal’s adaptation of Boom! title A Vicious Circle that counts the comic’s co-creator Mattson Tomlin as screenwriter.

“It’s every entrepreneur’s dream to launch a company, build it, and sell it to the best,” said Richie, who has dialed back his day-to-day Boom! involvement since being named board chairman in 2021. “I’m excited to hand the reins of Boom! over to the best and largest publisher in the world. Their focus on readers and retail partnerships will build upon our work and help our creators achieve even more success. Personally, it’s time for me to take some much-needed time off with my family and explore what’s next.”

Shannon added, “Over the past several years, Random House Worlds has partnered with Boom! Studios on various projects and had the benefit of seeing first-hand their best-in-class comic publishing. Ross and his team have built a dynamic, imaginative home for a diverse and talented roster of creators.”

Borys Kit contributed to this report.