Back With A BOOM!: Mike Kunkel's Herobear and the Kid

Feel-good comics are guaranteed to have kids coming back for more four-color stories, as it helps them believe in things like justice, fair play, and the light at the end of the tunnel. For creator Mike Kunkel, it was that sort of emotional pay-off that made working on Herobear and the Kid so rewarding. Passionate about his craft, Kunkel’s dedication for his book earned him the Eisner Award for "Best Title for Younger Readers/Best Comics Publication for a Younger Audience" in both 2002 and 2003. But things went sideways for a few years, and many people wondered if Mike had given up on his project as the book was absent from the shelves towards the end of the decade. In our interview with him at the 2013 New York Comic Con, Mike explained the reason for his absence.

“Life took over a little bit,” he smirked. “Getting it [Herobear and the Kid] set up at Universal for a little while. It was an interesting adventure.”

Now that Mike’s found a home publishing under BOOM! Studios’ Kaboom! imprint, he says the circle is once again complete, and he’s ready to put his all-ages comic back on track, along with some cool merchandise that ties into the title.

In parting, Mike was quick to say how it’s funny the way life can throw you a curve ball. You never know how things will work out until they’re right on top of you. “I tease everybody that if I could tell my ten year-old self that he’d be at the same table as Garfield and Peanuts, he’d kind of lose his mind a little.”