DARK HORSE COMICS PROMOTES LEADERSHIP ⋆ First Comics News

Veteran Dark Horse Comics staff take new three-pillar leadership structure, promote talent within the company, and welcome new Vice President of Marketing

MILWAUKIE, Ore., (July 8, 2026)— Dark Horse Comics recently unveiled a new leadership structure for the company, offering insight into the future of this foundational comics publisher. Dark Horse will now be led by three department heads: Tim Wiesch, Head of Publishing and Business Development, Vanessa Todd-Holmes, Head of Publishing Operations, and Melissa Teeman, Head of Finance and Administration. Each of these three leaders represents a move towards collaborative operation and reliance on the expertise of veteran Dark Horse staff to grow the company.

In addition to the new leadership, Dark Horse has promoted several employees internally to senior roles including: Mark Bernardi, who has been promoted to Vice President of Publishing Sales, Daniel Chabon, who has been elevated to Executive Editor, and Samantha Garcia who has been promoted to Director of Marketing.

“I couldn’t be more excited about the future our team is building at Dark Horse right now,” says Wiesch. “I’ve been lucky enough to know a staggering amount of people here for twenty years and my entire world view on the industry was shaped with their influence. It’s truly an honor to be taking these next steps at the company that literally inspired me to work in comics to begin with.”

Dark Horse also welcomes publishing industry veteran Kevin Callahan who has signed on as the new Vice President of Marketing.

“Joining Dark Horse during its 40th anniversary year is a tremendous opportunity, and I look forward to working with the team to expand audiences, strengthen fan engagement, and create new opportunities for readers and fandoms to connect with the stories, characters, and worlds they love.”

Callahan’s role as Vice President of Marketing, in addition to Bernardi’s promotion to Vice President of Publishing Sales, reinforces a move towards better focus in the Marketing, Advertising, and Sales strategies within Dark Horse Media that began with the hiring of Stuart Schreck as Director of Sales in late 2025. The reinforcement of support for direct market business, in addition to large-scale, global retailers and the impact they have on publishing, products, and entertainment, is a key focus for Dark Horse moving forward, reflected in the internal promotions and acquisition of key industry talent.

Read more about each of the Dark Horse staff who’ve been recently promoted/hired below:

Tim Wiesch: Head of Publishing & Business Development

As Head of Publishing & Business Development Wiesch will oversee Editorial, Licensing, Entertainment and Games, as well as Product and Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) operations. Wiesch has been Vice President of Licensing at Dark Horse for over 5 years, spending the past two decades negotiating deals in the entertainment space across a vast array of mediums and properties. After starting his career at Dark Horse Comics in sales and international licensing, Wiesch also spent time in licensing at Mondo and the Alamo Draft House Cinemas. In addition to the comics creators and industry relationships he’s developed over the years, he’s also been a passionate advocate for creators rights and expanding our footprint to include tabletop gaming, tie-ins with nostalgic brands, musicians and more. His return to Dark Horse and promotion to Head of Publishing demonstrate his passion for the longevity and excitement for everything we do.

Vanessa Todd-Holmes: Head of Publishing Operations

As Head of Publishing Operations, Todd-Holmes will oversee the integrated efforts of the Design, Production, Sales, and Marketing teams. She brings two decades of book publishing experience to the role, including over a decade dedicated as Vice President of Design and Production at Dark Horse Comics, where her direction and love for the industry have touched nearly every item we publish. Her career includes roles at Phaidon Press in both London and New York. By uniting creative vision with strategic commercial execution, Todd-Holmes is uniquely positioned to grow Dark Horse’s publishing operations while maintaining the company’s signature standard of high-quality books and comics.

Melissa Teeman: Head of Finance and Administration

As Head of Finance and Administration, Melissa will lead the company’s financial strategy and oversee accounting, budgeting, forecasting, and administrative operations. Since joining Dark Horse as Vice President of Finance, Teeman has played a key role in strengthening the company’s financial planning processes and guiding budget strategy through a period of significant industry evolution. Bringing over 20 years of experience in the financial industry to the role, Teeman brings extensive expertise in financial management, strategic planning, internal controls, and organizational leadership. In her expanded role, Teeman will continue to build the strong financial foundation, systems, and processes that will support and position Dark Horse for long-term success, while ensuring the company is well prepared to seize new opportunities as we enter the next 40 years of our story.

Kevin Callahan: Vice President of Marketing

Accepting the position of Vice President of Marketing, Kevin Callahan will lead our marketing strategy across its portfolio of books, comics, digital content, collectibles, and consumer products, driving audience growth, fan engagement, and direct-to-consumer initiatives. Callahan brings more than two decades of book publishing experience spanning popular culture, entertainment, comic arts, collectibles, and licensed publishing. Most recently, he served as Senior Director of Marketing and Publicity at Insight Editions. Previously, he was Associate Publisher of Dey Street Books at HarperCollins and held editorial, marketing, and leadership roles at HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, Other Press, ABRAMS, and Abrams ComicArts.

Samantha Garcia: Director of Marketing

As Director of Marketing, Garcia will oversee the marketing team in conjunction with the new VP of Marketing, Kevin Callahan. Garcia has been with Dark Horse for just over two years at the helm of Dark Horse Social Media and Digital Advertising. She brings a wealth of expertise to the team from her previous roles at Activision Blizzard and Disney Interactive and recently earned her Master of Communication Management from USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Having already helped shape and grow the social presence of the company, Garcia is poised to accelerate the ambitious goals of the company and reach new audiences through creative and research-based campaigns.

Mark Bernardi: Vice President of Publishing Sales

Expanding his previous role as Vice President of Book Trade & Digital Sales, Mark

Bernardi has been promoted to Vice President of Publishing Sales, overseeing both Book Market and Direct Market sales. Bernardi is a 30-year Dark Horse veteran with extensive experience in executing distribution strategies and cultivating vital sales relationships. Having been a foundational pillar of Dark Horse’s sales operations for three decades, Bernardi brings unparalleled industry insight that ensures that Dark Horse’s diverse catalog will continue to reach and inspire readers worldwide.

Daniel Chabon: Executive Editor

As Executive Editor, Daniel Chabon will work closely with Dark Horse’s Head of Publishing & Business Development and Editor-in-Chief to help shape our comic publishing program, with a continued and strong focus on creator-owned comics and original graphic novels. With nearly two decades of editorial experience at Dark Horse, Chabon has helped bring in some of the company’s most acclaimed creator-owned publishing programs to print while also collaborating with licensing partners including Mattel, CD Projekt Red, and more.

Stuart Schreck: Director of Sales

Stuart Schreck has recently taken on the Director of Sales role at Dark Horse Comics with a particular focus on Direct Market retailer support and growth. Previously, Stuart worked at Diamond Comics Distributors in Purchasing from 2021 through 2025, where he was the Marvel Comics Brand Manager and led a team to work with Penguin Random House. He worked at DC Comics from 1999 to 2021 in Sales, where he built his relationship with comic shops. He has been reading comics since the early 80s, and after college, he managed Comic Attitudes, a comic book store on Staten Island, NY, in the late 90’s. Stuart is a big supporter of the Direct Market and has a long and positive relationship with the Comic Retailer Community. In his time with Dark Horse so far, he has already proven instrumental in strengthening our relationship with Comic Stores and their customers.

Dark Horse Media and its parent organization, Fellowship Entertainment, strongly believe in the comics industry talent that they have cultivated within Dark Horse staff and are excited to continue to promote growth, innovation, and excellent stories by building leadership from within.

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