Over the last few years, Austin's Mondo has grown into its own little empire via its finely curated series of soundtrack releases, exclusive posters and toy releases, in no small part due to creative director Justin Ishmael. In a surprise move, it's just been announced that Ishmael is stepping down from his duties and leaving the company.
A brief statement posted this afternoon (June 8) confirms that Ishmael "has chosen to leave Mondo as of this week and will be pursuing other opportunities." It's as yet unexplained what the next step is for the artist, who had been with Mondo since 2009.
The imprint's official Twitter account had been maintained directly by Ishmael, but is now apparently being run by the existing Mondo team.
Ishmael's Instagram account, which had delivered more than its fair share of product teases over the years, has now removed his affiliation with Mondo, though all of his previous posts are still visible. As recently as last week, he was hinting at a wrestling-themed project for MondoCon 2015, which takes place next October in Austin.
As for the future of Mondo, the company has yet to reveal who the next creative director will be. Apparently, it will be business as usual.
According to its statement, the company "is hard at work preparing for Comic-Con, MondoCon and a slew of incredible poster, soundtrack, toy and apparel releases for the rest of the year and beyond."
As previously reported, Mondo last year brought on Death Waltz founder Spencer Hickman as its label manager, a post he continues to hold.
A brief statement posted this afternoon (June 8) confirms that Ishmael "has chosen to leave Mondo as of this week and will be pursuing other opportunities." It's as yet unexplained what the next step is for the artist, who had been with Mondo since 2009.
The imprint's official Twitter account had been maintained directly by Ishmael, but is now apparently being run by the existing Mondo team.
Ishmael's Instagram account, which had delivered more than its fair share of product teases over the years, has now removed his affiliation with Mondo, though all of his previous posts are still visible. As recently as last week, he was hinting at a wrestling-themed project for MondoCon 2015, which takes place next October in Austin.
As for the future of Mondo, the company has yet to reveal who the next creative director will be. Apparently, it will be business as usual.
According to its statement, the company "is hard at work preparing for Comic-Con, MondoCon and a slew of incredible poster, soundtrack, toy and apparel releases for the rest of the year and beyond."
As previously reported, Mondo last year brought on Death Waltz founder Spencer Hickman as its label manager, a post he continues to hold.