 | |
| Founded | 1990 |
|---|---|
| Founders | Kevin Eastman |
| Defunct | 1993 |
| Headquarters location | Northampton, Massachusetts |
| Publication types | Comics, graphic novels |
| Fiction genres | Horror, humor, adventure, thrillers, science fiction |
| Imprints | King Hell |
Tundra Publishing was a Northampton, Massachusetts-based comic book publisher founded by Kevin Eastman in 1990.[1] The company was founded to provide a venue for adventurous, creator-owned work by talented cartoonists and illustrators. Its publications were noted in the trade for their high production values, including glossy paper stock, full-color printing, and square binding. Tundra was one of the earlier creator-owned companies, before the formation of Image Comics and Dark Horse Comics' Legends imprint.[2]
Creators and projects involved with Tundra included Alan Moore and Bill Sienkiewicz's Big Numbers, Moore & Eddie Campbell's From Hell, Moore & Melinda Gebbie's Lost Girls (these last two original serialised in Stephen R. Bissette's Taboo anthology, which was also part-published by Tundra), The Crow, Mike Allred's Madman and Dave McKean's Cages.[2]
Despite its ambitious start, Tundra never became a profitable enterprise. It closed its doors in 1993 after burning through $14 million in three years.[3] Kitchen Sink Press acquired its holdings;[4] it reprinted popular Tundra publications such as Understanding Comics and continued to publish some Tundra series such as Taboo.
- ^ "Eastman Begins New Company," The Comics Journal #137 (September 1990), p. 20.
- ^ a b "Talking to Kevin Eastman 1: Turtle Days, Turtle Nights" by Benjamin Ong Pang Kean, August 31, 2007. Accessed September 25, 2013
- ^ Wolk, Douglas. Reading Comics: How Graphic Novels Work and What They Mean (Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2007), 45.
- ^ Comic Bubble, Deal Craze, Foreshadowing the Crash: Ten Years Ago this Month in Internal Correspondence. IcV2.com. April 30, 2003. Accessed October 14, 2007.