Former IDW CEO Ted Adams Returns

Ted Adams, founder of IDW, was replaced as CEO in July 2018. (His replacement was replaced seven months later.) There was mention at that time of him returning in a new role. Now we know what that will be.

The parent “integrated media company”, IDW Media Holdings, will be launching Clover Press, a “joint book publishing venture… led by the company’s co-founders Ted Adams and Robbie Robbins.”

Clover Press is skipping out on the comic book market, focusing instead on the book market with “progressive projects, creator-owned endeavors, and celebration of classic works from authors and artists.” They will also sell direct to consumer. Their website currently lists the first of those marketing efforts, a variant cover drawn by Gabriel Rodríguez for Marvel’s Silver Surfer Black #1, available either plain for $20 or signed for $50.

The Clover Press tagline is a “progressive, eclectic, boutique publisher”, but making money off of variant covers isn’t particularly forward-looking. It will be interesting to see what of their own titles they’ll be bringing out; they will announce those later this summer.

IDW was a leader in setting the current $4-an-issue comic price point, justifying it at the time through increased production quality. It sounds, with this quote from Adams, that they’re aiming to put out similar works, focused on presentation.

“Growing IDW Publishing with Robbie — from where it was 20 years ago to where it is today — has been an incredible ride. Now with the company in excellent hands, it’s time to focus our attention on new projects. Our small team at Clover Press will be working on outside of the box projects that we are excited about, and we look forward to exploring new markets and getting more beautiful books out into the world.”