Chris Ryall and IDW Publishing have made the joint announcement that Ryall is stepping down as President, Publisher and Chief Creative Officer to pursue new business opportunities.  

“Change is often hard, and I will miss this extended family I have worked with for more than 15 years,” Ryall said. “In the past year alone, we brought on some amazing hires, expanded the scope of many of the departments, and refocused the foundation of the business to best support the integrated multimedia company that IDW has become. Our collective success with the entertainment team on Locke & Key has been a crowning moment for the entire company. I’m so proud of this special place and the incredible people who work here. I know that I leave IDW perfectly poised for continued success.”

Ryall is partnering with Ashley Wood and many creators he has worked with at IDW to launch a new storytelling venture based on the worlds and characters he brought to life at IDW.

Though he is stepping away from his role at IDW, Ryall will continue to be an executive producer on the Netflix series Locke & Key and continue as the sole editor on any of that title’s publishing ventures.

“After the wonderful experience this past year serving as an executive producer on Locke & Key and working with the amazingly creative team that brought the show to life, I look forward to bringing exciting new stories into the world through many different storytelling forms,” Ryall added. “I’m thrilled to be back working alongside Ashley Wood, as well as other creators to come, in developing interesting projects for our World of Syzygy venture.”

With Ryall as President and Publisher, IDW had a multi-year publishing initiative with the Smithsonian Institution, launched a program to produce Spanish-language graphic novels for the North American market, transitioned its foreign book distribution business to Penguin Random House, and led IDW Publishing to 15 Eisner Award nominations in 2020, the most of any publisher. He also wrote several projects, including Zombies vs Robots, with Wood as the artist, in development at Sony Pictures, and helped different divisions and creators to bring stories to life.

“Chris has been instrumental in IDW Publishing’s success, and we thank him for the passion and commitment he brought to the company. We wish him all the best in his new ventures. With Chris’s departure, IDW will be restructuring and expanding its operations, and we will name a new management team very soon,” Howard Jonas, IDW’s Chairman said.