DC promotes Mark Chiarello to vice president-art direction & design

DC Comics

Mark Chiarello, the award-winning editorial art director of DC Comics, has been promoted to the newly created position of vice president-art direction & design, the company announced today.

He’ll oversee the editorial art department, and “lead in establishing the style, visual look and graphic design across all of DC’s imprints.” Chiarello will continue to be based in New York City, where he’ll report directly to Co-Publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee.

The news follows Wednesday’s announcement that longtime editor Eddie Berganza has been promoted to executive editor of the DC Universe imprint and Senior Story Editor Ian Sattler to the new position of director–editorial, special projects & archival editions.

The moves come as part of a massive restructuring that began in September 2009 with the creation of DC Entertainment with Warner Bros. veteran Diane Nelson as president, and continued in February with the naming of an executive team that includes DiDio and Lee as co-publishers and Geoff Johns as chief creative officer. DC announced in September that it would close its WildStorm and Zuda imprints, and shift business/administration, multimedia and digital-content operations to Burbank, Calif., while leaving the publishing division in New York City. As part of that “bi-coastal realignment strategy,” as many as 80 employees are expected to be fired or relocated.

The shakeup has seen the departures of executives like Richard Bruning, Steve Rotterdam and Cheryl Rubin, and the promotions of Bob Wayne, Hank Kanalz and, most recently, Bob Harras, who was named editor-in-chief, VP, DC Comics.

Chiarello, a respected artist who joined DC in 1993 as color editor before becoming editorial art director, has overseen such acclaimed titles as Batman: Hush, Batman Black & White, Solo, DC: The New Frontier and Wednesday Comics.