Update: 16 days after the promotion, he’s been terminated:

IDW Publishing terminates publisher Jud Meyers | GamesRadar+

IDW Publishing has terminated its recently-promoted publisher Jud Meyers.

"IDW Publishing has parted ways with Jud Meyers and would like to thank everyone for their discretion," reads the publisher's brief statement on Meyers' termination.

Meyers' termination comes 16 days after his promotion to publisher was announced. Five days after that promotion, he was placed on administrative leave.

"IDW Publishing has decided to put Jud Meyers on administrative leave," IDW's chief executive officer Ezra Rosensaft told The Hollywood Reporter at the time. "President Jerry Bennington will assume his responsibilities as interim publisher at this time."

IDW has not announced whether Bennington, who was promoted alongside Meyers, will continue in the role of publisher or if a replacement has been or will be hired.

Meyers moved into the role following the departure of longtime president/publisher/chief creative officer Chris Ryall, with Ryall's roles being split up.

"To say that the shoes we'll be stepping into will be hard to fill is the mother of all understatements," Meyers tweeted on July 22 after the promotions were announced.

In the press release announcing his promotion, IDW described the publisher position as overseeing "all aspects of production and publication" of IDW's comics.

Meyers joined IDW in August 2019 as global sales director, following a short stint in a similar position at Humanoids.

Prior to that, Meyers had a long track record as a comics retailer, working for Forbidden Planet in London, consulting in Virgin Megastore UK's first comic store, managing (and co-owning) Earth-2 Comics in Los Angeles, and later co-founding an L.A. comic store named Blastoff Comics.

IDW has not commented on the reason for Meyers' administrative leave or subsequent termination.

 

Guess Don Murphy was right after all back in 2005: It Doesn't Work.

 

How do you screw up so badly in just five days?

 

Here you go: Comics and Graphic Novel Sales Top $1.2 Billion in 2019

Digital was only $90m of $1.21b in sales last year. The greatest driver of sales is graphic novels through the book market. The direct market is in trouble, but the direct market isn't comics.

 

Well, if you read the assorted things on the internet about his prior behaviour and business dealings, and who he was required to work with in this new job, you can put the pieces together. Really it looks like this was IDW's screw-up in hiring him for the job in the first place.

 

By screwing up really badly over and over for several years before it, I believe.  

 

If John Barber is needed to take on the role, I'd be more than happy to take over the Beast Wars series for him. You know, just to help out.