We partner with talented creators who bring a unique and fresh perspective to storytelling for our diverse, contemporary audience. Studio Tapas Originals are more than just comics–they’re authentic, accessible, and meaningful elevated genre stories that reflect the passions of our reader and creator community. Our mission is to lift up the next generation of storytellers and bring their stories into the spotlight.
About Us
”At Tapas, we set out to share stories that you can’t find anywhere else by creating a global, open publishing platform for independent storytellers. We debuted the platform in 2012 with seven creators, and over the years, we’ve built a strong relationship with the creator community. We are proud to say that now over 57,000 creators call Tapas their home.
As a platform, we not only cultivate meaningful connections with our community, but also incubate and elevate diverse stories through utilizing technology and data in order to empower the next generation of storytellers. At Tapas, our goal is to serve these creators by forming powerful partnerships in the entertainment community to propel these stories across the global content landscape.
Chang KimCEO of Tapas Media
At Studio Tapas,
Meet Our Team
Michele R. Wells is the CCO at Tapas, leading the Content and Community side of the organization. In her role, Wells defines Tapas’s content vision and ensures the creation of storytelling IP that reaches audiences across episodic novels, comics, audio, film, TV, merchandise, and more. Her mission is simple—to deliver high-quality content that is reflective of Tapas’s brand and voice to audiences wherever and however they want to engage with it.
Previously, Wells was recruited in 2017 by WarnerMedia as their Vice President of Content Strategy to found DC’s middle grade and young adult graphic novel imprints; she was later named the VP/Executive Editor in charge of these lines, reimagining Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and more for a younger audience. Prior to that, Wells led the Interactive Editorial department at Disney Publishing Worldwide, the world’s largest children’s publishing company. She has over two decades of content acquisition and development experience in all forms of media, with a particular focus on content for kids and family.
Wells was the Founding Chairperson of First Book-Brooklyn, a nonprofit organization that provides new books to kids in need; is on the Advisory Board of Reading With Pictures; and volunteers regularly with LA- and NYC-based literary and mentoring programs. The author of several books for children and young adults, she lives in Los Angeles.
Michael Son is the VP of Content at Tapas Media, overseeing Studio Tapas by helping develop the mandates and slates for all Originals across webcomics and novels. Michael graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, and joined Tapas in 2012. From editorial, social media management, graphic design, business development and more, Michael has had the great fortune to grow alongside Tapas. He made his editorial debut by helming Cheshire Crossing by Andy Weir and Sarah Andersen. His favorite genre is modern romance and has an affinity for melodramas.
Kevin Nicklaus - Head of Creative Development. An executive with a background in film and television development, most recently with a production company based at Warner Bros., responsible for the department, but with a personal focus on film, television, podcasts and video games. His previous work has also helped to produce series such as BATES MOTEL (A&E) and PENN & TELLER: BULLSHIT (Showtime) and event limited series such as the recent, reimagined, Emmy-nominated ROOTS (History, A&E, Lifetime), which featured Rege-Jean Page, Laurence Fishburne, Forest Whitaker, and Anika Noni Rose and was produced with Will Packer and LeVar Burton, Stephen King’s SALEM’S LOT (TNT), THE MISTS OF AVALON (TNT), HELTER SKELTER (CBS), SYBIL (CBS), A WILL OF THEIR OWN (NBC), THE BAD SEED (Lifetime) and more.
Alex R. Carr has spent almost two decades in publishing and content strategy, across international locales, mediums, and genres to drive initiatives at franchise and global levels. A background in editing, combined with an early start in sales and analytics, led Carr to join as a founding editor on Amazon’s pilot program for original content, Amazon Publishing. There, he developed content strategies to launch global, multiplatform imprints, including Montlake Romance, followed by 47North – a Science Fiction & Fantasy imprint, and then Jet City Comics. After leading these teams, along with Kindle Serials, he relocated to the United Kingdom to spearhead the Non-Fiction publishing initiative.
Next, Carr joined the Warner Bros. Entertainment/DC Comics team to help launch two initiatives in the Young Reader space, recontextualizing legacy franchises for new audiences, and acquiring New York Times bestselling talent to develop these stories. In addition, he also led the Justice League group of titles in DC’s periodical business, working with talent and developing worlds-colliding stories that would make his younger self proud.
Alex is always looking for the next story to scare him.
Jamie is a veteran of the comics industry, both as an editor (he has worked for Dark Horse, Oni Press, and DC Comics) but also as a writer, having published prose novels and comic books of his own. His most popular books are the ones he co-created with writer/artist Joëlle Jones, like 12 Reasons Why I Love Her and Lady Killer, and Jamie was recently Joëlle's editor when she created the new Wonder Girl for DC. Jamie's specialty back in the day was working with new talent to create genre-busting comics with a personal point of view, something he is eager to continue at Tapas. Even after all this time, watching stories come to life is still his favorite part of the job.
Gabrielle Luu is the Head of Studio Tapas, directing the new development and strategy of Originals series on Tapas. Since her start at Tapas in 2015 and after graduating from the University of California, Berkeley, she's brought in hit titles spanning several genres, such as The Beginning After the End, The Dragon Prince's Bride, Born Sexy Tomorrow, and His Barcode Tattoo. She loves a good story that is lighthearted and fun, leads into a deeper message, and can make her feel all the emotions. She is excited to provide creators with more opportunities to build and grow their careers.
Alison is head of the new Original Novels Department at Studio Tapas. She’s loved writing and telling stories since she was a young child, and has never met a book she didn’t like (even the bad ones have that amazing fresh ink smell!) She parlayed that love of stories into a career of writing for television, then working as head of development for a Chinese American Film Studio, and was thrilled to make the move to Tapas to be at the forefront of the digital novel revolution. She’s always accepting submissions for exciting new novels, and if you’ve got a patent on an app to make web novels smell like fresh ink, she’ll happily take that too.
Seolhee is the head of the Korean studio Tapas. She has been in the content industry since 2010, and has entered the webcomic industry in earnest since 2014.
She mainly leads the production and outbound of webtoons at the Seoul Office and oversees the actual production process.
Seolhee is directly responsible for the adaptation of "Contractual Marriage to a Sickly? Husband" and mainly leads the production of the romance genre.
She likes romance, mystery, action, etc., and is a lot interested in OSMU business using webtoons.
As an Executive Editor at Studio Tapas, Hayden is inspired by creators and stories exploring the unknown. A graduate of San Francisco State University’s Creative Writing program, Hayden is here to help creators edit, develop, and produce stories that ask “what if?”. He is looking for stories that blend all genres, venturing into brave new worlds or peeking into the dark corners of ourselves. He believes technology is a tool for elevated storytelling and that facing our fears is fun! If he's not working on or helping others create stories, he’s probably playing old video games.
Brooke Huang is an Executive Editor at Studio Tapas, and works with creators to help their storytelling reach its fullest potential and advance their creative careers. A graduate of Duke University, she has been with Tapas since 2017 and worked with creators on stories of various genres. Her development and editorial credits include Magical Boy, Happiness Theory, Lost and Found, and Timeless Melody. She has also worked with publishers to bring print comics such as BOOM! Studios’ Heavy Vinyl and Vault Comics’ Heathen to Tapas readers in a digital-optimized format. She’s looking for relatable, emotional, and character driven stories that grab you and don’t let go.
Hyun is an executive editor at Tapas Korea. She has been active in the webcomic and film industries since 2011. She's currently working on 'How to Stop a Tyrant From Being Decadent' and 'The Contractors of Pandora', supporting the creators with her creative ideas and outstanding storytelling insights.
Hyun's main area of focus is in the romance genre, particularly romance-fantasy. She displays excellent leadership and guidance not only to experienced creators, but also to new creators.
She is also planning her own original story, as well as facilitating the adaptation of various content.
At Studio Tapas, she's excited to continue working with creators and looking forward to new challenges.
Hyun's main area of focus is in the romance genre, particularly romance-fantasy. She displays excellent leadership and guidance not only to experienced creators, but also to new creators.
She is also planning her own original story, as well as facilitating the adaptation of various content.
At Studio Tapas, she's excited to continue working with creators and looking forward to new challenges.
Tessa is an executive editor of comics at Studio Tapas. Series she works with include Kids Being Kids, Jamie, Chinatop, #muted, Living When Dead, and Rechargeable. She is excited to work with long-form, character-driven stories that cover any range of the human experience, and some of her go-to series feature witty and authentic romance, coming of age, fantasy, science fiction, adventure, and supernatural stories. She is actively seeking underrepresented voices, and has a special focus on queer stories. In her free time, she does flying trapeze, aggressively purchases tea, and obeys the whims of her many plant-children.
Holly Fisher is the Novels-to-Comics Manager at Studio Tapas, leading the charge to bring amazing prose stories into the webcomics medium. Before coming to Tapas, Holly worked as a comics editor on popular film and video game adaptations such as Mean Girls: Senior Year, A Million Ways to Die Hard, and XCOM: Factions. Now, she's very excited to work with authors and creators of all kinds to adapt their novels into the visual world of webcomics. She finds the opportunity to introduce a great story to new readers while giving old fans the chance to see the stories they cherish in a whole new light to be exhilarating. The stories she loves to work with the most are character driven and always leave you on the edge of your seat begging for more.
As the executive editor of Studio Tapas China, Zhao Zhao is responsible for sourcing outstanding webcomic writers and high-quality webcomic series in China. She has many years of experience in the Chinese webcomic industry and a discerning eye for aesthetics. She's edited a diverse range of series including romances such as 'Your Voice' and 'Customize Your Other Half', as well as the Chinese-style fantasy romance 'Dream Back to the South Dynasty'. She enjoys a variety of different genres and styles including but not limited to romance, BL, suspense, and Chinese martial arts, but her favorite stories all share the same core characteristics of being relatable and deeply moving.
Meghan is an Associate Editor at Studio Tapas, where she's proud to develop and engineer stories that can't be found anywhere else. A graduate of Denison University and The Ohio State University's MFA program in Creative Writing, Meghan has been published in numerous literary magazines and worked as a freelance writer both in fiction and true crime. Before joining Tapas, Meghan brought creative ideas to life in the film and TV industry on a diverse range of projects, including Dreamworks' Trolls: World Tour and Amazon's The Man in the High Castle. The only thing she likes more than making a strong elevator pitch is hearing a better one.
Summer is an Original Novels Editor at Studio Tapas. After graduating from UC Santa Barbara, she worked in film & tv story development and earned a staff writing position at a small production company before she landed at Tapas. She is thrilled to now be developing stories that allow her to ignore everything she was taught about serious film theory and indulge in the wildest fantasies imaginable in the magical world of webnovels. She’s interested in telling humorous but grounded stories about complicated characters that make a lot of mistakes, and she’s definitely not interested in projecting her own shortcomings onto the page.
Claire Wen Zhang is an Associate Editor at Studio Tapas. They are driven by the joy and social good of diverse storytelling, and love a project that embodies both empathy and humor. They are always ready to partner with the next creator to not only vivify their visions but also advance their professional careers! They are proud to have edited the Tapas Originals Pandora's Devils, Sound of Bread, The Prince's Personal Physician, and Peach and Her Papas.
Karen Yarima Ramirez is an Assistant Editor at Studio Tapas where she is currently working on The Dragon Prince’s Bride and many other exciting, unreleased projects. She is a graduate of CSU Long Beach’s BFA program in Illustration/Animation and has a background in non-profit arts education for underserved schools. Growing up with limited opportunities herself, Karen grew hungry for knowledge and developed a strong curiosity for the world and the people in it. So she started reading. A lot. She never turned away from any type of media or genre and was always ready to analyze it and digest it. She believes that reading is a great way to see things from a new perspective and develop a sense of empathy you can carry your whole life. She is dedicated to telling stories with unique perspectives, with characters who struggle and grow, have a fun sense of humor, and have a little magic sprinkled in.