Oni Press has hired industry veteran Sam Kusek to the newly created role of Director of Business Development. He will oversee Oni’s programming and operational strategy for crowdfunding platforms, grow their ecommerce reach, and further develop Oni’s licensing program in comics, graphic novels, tabletop and video games, collectibles, and more.

Prior to this appointment, Kusek was Kickstarter’s Senior Outreach Lead where he oversaw the launch of over 1,200 comic and graphic novel campaigns. Before that, he was Special Projects Manager at BOOM! Studios where he worked on crowdfunding preorder projects with partners like Hasbro and the Jim Henson Company. Prior to that, Kusek worked for Tiny Onion as Operations Manager, coordinating merchandising for James Tynion IV’s publishing imprint.

“Having worked with Sam professionally many times in recent years, I can assuredly say that he shares the same great passion that drives everyone at Oni: To work with our industry’s most talented creators to tell impactful stories that can find the largest audience possible,” Oni President & Publisher Hunter Gorinson said. “With a proven track record of reaching fans and readers around the globe, Sam is both a perfect and powerful addition to our growing and formidable team as we prepare for Oni to break even more new ground in the months and years ahead.”

“2025 was a really exciting year for comics, and I can’t think of a publisher who is pushing the boundaries of what comics can do more than Oni Press,” Kusek said. “Building on so many of the company’s recent successes, I’m excited for the opportunity to help define even bigger and more unexpected frontiers for one of the most important independent publishers in the business. We have big plans, so stay tuned!”

With the news of Kusek’s appointment, Oni Press also announced some of their comic and graphic novel plans for the coming months. They include the Benjamin hardcover collections by Ben H. Winters and artist Leomacs, Free for All by cartoonist Patrick Horvath, an adaptation of Opal Lee’s life in First Freedom: The Story of Opal Lee and Juneteenth by Angélique Roché, and Gender Queer: The Annotated Edition by Maia Kobabe.

Later in 2026, they will bring Matt Kindt’s Flux House imprint to Oni with new beginnings of Mind MGMT: New & Improved in June and Fort Psycho #1 in August. In the fall of 2026, Oni and Archie will partner on Archie #1 by Maxwell Prince and artists Fábio Moon and Nick Cagnetti in September; Sabrina the Teenage Witch #1 by Corinna Bechko and artist Kano in October; and Archie in Hell #1 by Patrick Horvath and artist Tyler Cook in November.