Chris Ryall to step down at IDW and start a new publishing venture

Chris Ryall and IDW have jointly announced that Ryall will step down from his role as president, publisher and chief creative officer in order to launch “a new storytelling venture focused on the disparate worlds and characters that he brought to life at IDW Publishing.”

The new venture will be called World of Syzygy and is a partnership with Ashley Wood, who Ryall worked with on Zombies vs Robots, and other creators he has worked with at IDW.

“Change is often hard, and I will miss this extended family I have worked with for more than 15 years,” said Ryall. “In the past year alone, we brought on some amazing hires, expanded the scope of many of the departments, and re-focused the foundation of the business to best support the integrated multi-media 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.”

According to the release, Ryall will continue to edit Locke & Key and any projects related to it, as he transitions to an “advisory role.”

“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 said. “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.”

Ryall was named to his current position in December of 2018, when he rejoined the company after departing earlier that year. Prior to March of 2018, he was editor-in-chief at IDW for about 14 years.

Howard Jonas, IDW’s Chairman, said, “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.”

This announcement follows on the heels of IDW announcing they sold a tourism-focus subsidiary, CTM Media Group, to Jonas.