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Bill Kunkel (journalist)

January 01, 1970

Bill Kunkel (July 21, 1950 – September 4, 2011) was a graphic novelist as well as pioneering professional wrestling and video game journalist and critic from the 1970s until his death in the early 2010s. During his time working with the video game industry, Kunkel authored numerous strategy guides, co-designed several video games, served as an expert witness in three court cases, and taught courses in Game Design for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Kunkel served as the executive editor of Electronic Games Magazine and the editor-in-chief of Tips & Tricks magazine, writing columns and comics for several magazines and game sites. He often wrote under nicknames, the most common of which were "The Game Doctor" (for video game topics), and "Potshot" (for professional wrestling topics).

Bill Kunkel
Born(1950-07-21)July 21, 1950
United States
DiedSeptember 4, 2011(2011-09-04) (aged 61)
United States
Other namesThe Game Doctor; Potshot
Occupation(s)Editor, writer
SpouseCharlene Kunkel[1]

Graphic novels and zines edit

Coming from a professional music background in the 1960s, Kunkel met and became friends with fan newsletter/fanzine writers Arnie Katz and Joyce Worley in 1971 in New York City. Katz and Worley hosted monthly science fiction fanzine parties at their apartment and these were attended by several notable figures in the fanzine and comic scenes. At one of these parties, Kunkel met Denny O'Neil and their friendship led to Kunkel writing comics for DC, Marvel, and Harvey.[1] Kunkel wrote several comic book stories which were published by DC Comics in 1977–1978 including Action Comics, "Madame Xanadu" in Doorway to Nightmare, and "Vigilante" in World's Finest Comics. At Marvel Comics, he wrote two issues of Marvel Team-Up in 1978–1979.[2] By the late 1970s, Kunkel's freelancing efforts for Harvey had led to his becoming the primary scripter for the Richie Rich comics.[1]

Professional wrestling journalism edit

Alongside his work with comics, Kunkel also worked during the 1970s in the niche field of professional wrestling journalism and became known as a ground-breaking wrestling journalist. Working in collaboration with Arnie Katz, Joyce Worley, and his wife Charlene,[1] Kunkel edited, published, and served as photographer for Main Event magazine[3][4] and hosted weekly broadcasts of The Main Event Radio Show from New York.[5] Main Event was mimeographed in the apartment of Katz and Worley, and sold through WWWF concession stands at prominent East Coast venues including Madison Square Garden and The Philly Spectrum.[3][6] Kunkel soon became a "must-read" columnist and played a key part during the early days of Pro Wrestling Torch in turning the small newsletter into a wrestling newsletter powerhouse. Adopting the moniker, "Potshot", Kunkel later moved to Wrestling Perspective as a featured columnist and cartoonist. Along with the Phantom of the Ring, Kunkel's work for Wrestling Perspective attracted respect and prestige to the publication.

During the late 1980s, Kunkel co-designed the first professional WWF-based wrestling video game, MicroLeague Wrestling (C64, Subway Software), and in 1989 he co-hosted a local Las Vegas professional wrestling radio show with Ric "Hotline" Carter.[3]

Video game journalism edit

Discovering common interests in the then-nascent video game industry, Kunkel, Katz and Worley approached Video editor, Bruce Apar in 1978 about writing a video game column for his magazine. Apar agreed and "Arcade Alley" was launched that Spring,[7] with Katz writing under the pseudonym "Frank T. Laney II".[8]

Although Video publisher, Jay Rosenfield (of Reese Publishing Co.) had initial concerns over whether there was sufficient reader interest to justify Arcade Alley, the column proved to be of significant interest to readers. Working in direct consultation with game designers, Kunkel, Katz (who began writing under his real name starting in April 1982[8]), and Worley popularized the new "sport" of "electronic gamesmanship",[9] and by 1981 they had secured the blessing of Rosenfield to launch a new magazine under Reese Publishing that would be entirely dedicated to video games. The first issue of Electronic Games, and first dedicated video game magazine published in the United States, was released in October 1981.[10]

Bill Kunkel was the executive editor of Electronic Games Magazine in the early 1980s.[11] Kunkel was also editor-in-chief of Tips & Tricks magazine from January 2007 until August 2007 when it ceased publication. Following staff cuts at Reese Publications in 1984–1985, Kunkel left Reese to join his two lifelong friends, Arnie Katz and Joyce Worley (who had both been laid off) and formed Katz Kunkel Worley, Inc. (KKW) to focus on journalistic content,[4] and Subway Software to focus on game design. Kunkel's nickname, "The Game Doctor", was based on a column he wrote for several magazines (including both versions of Electronic Games, VG&CE, EGM, and CGW) and game sites (including HappyPuppy.com, PostalNation.net and J2Games.com).

Kunkel remained active in the industry until his death, having served as editor-in-chief of Tips & Tricks during its final year of publication (2007). He continued to be active as a member of Running With Scissors and EIC of Postal Nation (PostalNation.net) and wrote regularly for J2Games.com. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Classic Gaming Expo in 1999 along with the other co-founders of the original Electronic Games magazine, Arnie Katz and Joyce Worley-Katz. The trio revived the Electronic Games title for several years in the early 1990s for Sendai/Decker.

Dubbed "The Grandfather of video game journalism", Kunkel wrote numerous retrospective "memoir pieces" for DigitPress as an irregular series entitled "The Kunkel Report" (a reference to one of Kunkel's columns by the same name in Electronic Games), and for GoodDealGames.com. In articles like these Kunkel detailed his role in the video game industry from its earliest years, discussed his decision to testify on behalf of smaller video game companies in lawsuits against larger corporations, and described the difficult task of maintaining journalistic integrity and critical neutrality in the face of lucrative investment opportunities such as the offer by Steve Case to invest in AOL precursor Quantum Link that Kunkel (who was reviewing software for the Commodore 64) was forced to turn down in order to maintain credibility as a journalist.[12][1] These retrospective articles were subsequently collected and published in 2005 as a memoir under the title Confessions of The Game Doctor. The Society of Professional Journalists honored Kunkel's role in the industry by naming their video game journalism awards the Kunkel Awards.[13]

Video game design edit

In the mid-80s, subsequent to their departure from Reese Publications, Kunkel formed Subway Software with Arnie Katz and Joyce Worley and provided design for over 15 video games.[4][14]

Expert witness edit

Kunkel's credentials as an expert in the field of video games was recognized in three US court cases from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s, where Kunkel served as an expert witness in three seminal video game copyright cases:[15]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e Williams, Carl. "". RetroMags.com. 31 May 2009.
  2. ^ Bill Kunkel at the Grand Comics Database
  3. ^ a b c Kunkel, Bill; Meikle, Betty A.; WWF: Warzone 64. Acclaim Books, 1998. ISBN 157840990X.
  4. ^ a b c Kohler, Chris. "Bill Kunkel, Original Gaming Journalist, Dies at 61". Wired. 6 September 2011
  5. ^ Thomas, Donald A. Jr. "World Of Atari Convention Las Vegas 1998 - Program". 21 August 1998. (Available via Archive.org here).
  6. ^ Fulton, Steve. "Electronic Games: The Arnie Katz Interview". Gamasutra. 28 December 2009.
  7. ^ Federico, Chris. "A Lifetime to Master - An Interview with Bill Kunkel". Orphaned Computer & Game Systems. 14 June 2002.
  8. ^ a b Kunkel, Bill; Katz, Arnie (April 1982). "Arcade Alley: Ropin', Ridin', and Skatin' with Activision". Video. 6 (1). Reese Communications. ISSN 0147-8907.
  9. ^ Apar, Bruce. "Switch On! - A Message to Readers of E.G." Electronic Games. Vol.1, No.1. Winter 1981. ISSN 0730-6687
  10. ^ Plunkett, Luke. "A Little Background On The World's First Ever Video Game Magazine". Kotaku. 29 December 2009.
  11. ^ Blackman, Mark L. (September 6, 2011). . SFScope.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
  12. ^ Fulton, Steve. "". GamerDad.com. 1 January 2006. (reprinted at 8BitRocket.com and at Gamasutra).
  13. ^ SPJ.org
  14. ^ Slotnik, Daniel E. "Technology: Bill Kunkel, an Early Chronicler of Video Games, Dies at 61". The New York Times. 9 September 2011.
  15. ^ Thomasson, Michael. "Interview: Bill Kunkel". GoodDealGames.com. Accessed 24 April 2015.

External links edit

  • at Classic Gaming Expo (archived via Wayback Machine)
  • Bill Kunkel Bio at WrestlingPerspective.com
  • at Videogame History Museum
  • forum at J2Games.com (archived via Wayback Machine)
  • The Kunkel Report at DigitPress.com
  • Thomasson, Michael (Oct. 2000). "Interview: Bill Kunkel". GoodDealGames.com.
  • Stilphen, Scott (2000). "... Easter Egg Hunting with Bill Kunkel and Joyce Worley". DigitPress.com.
  • Marentes, Nickolas (April 2001). . ClassicGaming.com. Archived from the original on 3 November 2005.
  • Federico, Chris (14 June 2002). "A Lifetime to Master - An Interview with Bill Kunkel". Orphaned Computer & Game Systems.
  • Fulton, Steve (1 January 2006). "". GamerDad.com. (reprinted at 8BitRocket.com and at Gamasutra).
  • Williams, Carl. (31 May 2009) "The Game Doctor Is In... (going Live At 7 Pm Central Time)". RetroMags.com.
  • 2002 Classic Gaming Expo keynote (audio, with some pictures)
  • 2005 Classic Gaming Expo keynote (audio only)
  • 2007 Classic Gaming Expo keynote (video)
  • 2008 DigitPress keynote (video)

January 01, 1970
bill, kunkel, journalist, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, bill, kunkel, journalist, news, newspapers. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Bill Kunkel journalist news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2010 Learn how and when to remove this message Bill Kunkel July 21 1950 September 4 2011 was a graphic novelist as well as pioneering professional wrestling and video game journalist and critic from the 1970s until his death in the early 2010s During his time working with the video game industry Kunkel authored numerous strategy guides co designed several video games served as an expert witness in three court cases and taught courses in Game Design for the University of Nevada Las Vegas UNLV Kunkel served as the executive editor of Electronic Games Magazine and the editor in chief of Tips amp Tricks magazine writing columns and comics for several magazines and game sites He often wrote under nicknames the most common of which were The Game Doctor for video game topics and Potshot for professional wrestling topics Bill KunkelBorn 1950 07 21 July 21 1950United StatesDiedSeptember 4 2011 2011 09 04 aged 61 United StatesOther namesThe Game Doctor PotshotOccupation s Editor writerSpouseCharlene Kunkel 1 Contents 1 Graphic novels and zines 2 Professional wrestling journalism 3 Video game journalism 3 1 Video game design 3 2 Expert witness 4 References 5 External linksGraphic novels and zines editComing from a professional music background in the 1960s Kunkel met and became friends with fan newsletter fanzine writers Arnie Katz and Joyce Worley in 1971 in New York City Katz and Worley hosted monthly science fiction fanzine parties at their apartment and these were attended by several notable figures in the fanzine and comic scenes At one of these parties Kunkel met Denny O Neil and their friendship led to Kunkel writing comics for DC Marvel and Harvey 1 Kunkel wrote several comic book stories which were published by DC Comics in 1977 1978 including Action Comics Madame Xanadu in Doorway to Nightmare and Vigilante in World s Finest Comics At Marvel Comics he wrote two issues of Marvel Team Up in 1978 1979 2 By the late 1970s Kunkel s freelancing efforts for Harvey had led to his becoming the primary scripter for the Richie Rich comics 1 Professional wrestling journalism editAlongside his work with comics Kunkel also worked during the 1970s in the niche field of professional wrestling journalism and became known as a ground breaking wrestling journalist Working in collaboration with Arnie Katz Joyce Worley and his wife Charlene 1 Kunkel edited published and served as photographer for Main Event magazine 3 4 and hosted weekly broadcasts of The Main Event Radio Show from New York 5 Main Event was mimeographed in the apartment of Katz and Worley and sold through WWWF concession stands at prominent East Coast venues including Madison Square Garden and The Philly Spectrum 3 6 Kunkel soon became a must read columnist and played a key part during the early days of Pro Wrestling Torch in turning the small newsletter into a wrestling newsletter powerhouse Adopting the moniker Potshot Kunkel later moved to Wrestling Perspective as a featured columnist and cartoonist Along with the Phantom of the Ring Kunkel s work for Wrestling Perspective attracted respect and prestige to the publication During the late 1980s Kunkel co designed the first professional WWF based wrestling video game MicroLeague Wrestling C64 Subway Software and in 1989 he co hosted a local Las Vegas professional wrestling radio show with Ric Hotline Carter 3 Video game journalism editDiscovering common interests in the then nascent video game industry Kunkel Katz and Worley approached Video editor Bruce Apar in 1978 about writing a video game column for his magazine Apar agreed and Arcade Alley was launched that Spring 7 with Katz writing under the pseudonym Frank T Laney II 8 Although Video publisher Jay Rosenfield of Reese Publishing Co had initial concerns over whether there was sufficient reader interest to justify Arcade Alley the column proved to be of significant interest to readers Working in direct consultation with game designers Kunkel Katz who began writing under his real name starting in April 1982 8 and Worley popularized the new sport of electronic gamesmanship 9 and by 1981 they had secured the blessing of Rosenfield to launch a new magazine under Reese Publishing that would be entirely dedicated to video games The first issue of Electronic Games and first dedicated video game magazine published in the United States was released in October 1981 10 Bill Kunkel was the executive editor of Electronic Games Magazine in the early 1980s 11 Kunkel was also editor in chief of Tips amp Tricks magazine from January 2007 until August 2007 when it ceased publication Following staff cuts at Reese Publications in 1984 1985 Kunkel left Reese to join his two lifelong friends Arnie Katz and Joyce Worley who had both been laid off and formed Katz Kunkel Worley Inc KKW to focus on journalistic content 4 and Subway Software to focus on game design Kunkel s nickname The Game Doctor was based on a column he wrote for several magazines including both versions of Electronic Games VG amp CE EGM and CGW and game sites including HappyPuppy com PostalNation net and J2Games com Kunkel remained active in the industry until his death having served as editor in chief of Tips amp Tricks during its final year of publication 2007 He continued to be active as a member of Running With Scissors and EIC of Postal Nation PostalNation net and wrote regularly for J2Games com He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Classic Gaming Expo in 1999 along with the other co founders of the original Electronic Games magazine Arnie Katz and Joyce Worley Katz The trio revived the Electronic Games title for several years in the early 1990s for Sendai Decker Dubbed The Grandfather of video game journalism Kunkel wrote numerous retrospective memoir pieces for DigitPress as an irregular series entitled The Kunkel Report a reference to one of Kunkel s columns by the same name in Electronic Games and for GoodDealGames com In articles like these Kunkel detailed his role in the video game industry from its earliest years discussed his decision to testify on behalf of smaller video game companies in lawsuits against larger corporations and described the difficult task of maintaining journalistic integrity and critical neutrality in the face of lucrative investment opportunities such as the offer by Steve Case to invest in AOL precursor Quantum Link that Kunkel who was reviewing software for the Commodore 64 was forced to turn down in order to maintain credibility as a journalist 12 1 These retrospective articles were subsequently collected and published in 2005 as a memoir under the title Confessions of The Game Doctor The Society of Professional Journalists honored Kunkel s role in the industry by naming their video game journalism awards the Kunkel Awards 13 Video game design edit In the mid 80s subsequent to their departure from Reese Publications Kunkel formed Subway Software with Arnie Katz and Joyce Worley and provided design for over 15 video games 4 14 Borrowed Time 1985 MicroLeague Wrestling 1987 The Three Stooges 1987 Kunkel credited separately for Game Manual and Documentation Ringling Bros Circus Games 1988 Star Trek First Contact 1988 1st Person Pinball 1989 Buffalo Bill s Wild West Show 1989 Mayday Squad 1989 MicroLeague Baseball II 1989 Roller Coaster Rumbler 1989 Superman The Man of Steel 1989 Beverly Hills Cop 1990 Omnicron Conspiracy 1990 Orb 3D 1990 Bart s Nightmare 1992 Batman Returns 1992 Kunkel credited separately for Game Design Blood Bowl 1995 Kunkel given Special Thanks Postal 1997 Kunkel credited separately for Story and Cutscene Text Earth amp Beyond 2002 Kunkel credited separately as a Writer Expert witness edit Kunkel s credentials as an expert in the field of video games was recognized in three US court cases from the early 1980s to the mid 1990s where Kunkel served as an expert witness in three seminal video game copyright cases 15 Atari Inc v North American Philips Consumer Electronics Corp Kunkel testified that Philips K C Munchkin was a significantly different game from Atari s Pac Man evidence suggesting that a copyright violation by Philips had not occurred Lewis Galoob Toys Inc v Nintendo of America Inc Kunkel provided dollar estimates for the amount of damage Nintendo had done to Galoob in enjoining the release of the Game Genie cheat cartridge until after the 1990 Christmas shopping season Capcom U S A Inc v Data East Corp Kunkel testified that Data East s Fighter s History was significantly different from Capcom s Street Fighter II evidence suggesting that a copyright violation by Data East had not occurred References edit a b c d e Williams Carl The Game Doctor Is In RetroMags com 31 May 2009 Bill Kunkel at the Grand Comics Database a b c Kunkel Bill Meikle Betty A WWF Warzone 64 Acclaim Books 1998 ISBN 157840990X a b c Kohler Chris Bill Kunkel Original Gaming Journalist Dies at 61 Wired 6 September 2011 Thomas Donald A Jr World Of Atari Convention Las Vegas 1998 Program 21 August 1998 Available via Archive org here Fulton Steve Electronic Games The Arnie Katz Interview Gamasutra 28 December 2009 Federico Chris A Lifetime to Master An Interview with Bill Kunkel Orphaned Computer amp Game Systems 14 June 2002 a b Kunkel Bill Katz Arnie April 1982 Arcade Alley Ropin Ridin and Skatin with Activision Video 6 1 Reese Communications ISSN 0147 8907 Apar Bruce Switch On A Message to Readers of E G Electronic Games Vol 1 No 1 Winter 1981 ISSN 0730 6687 Plunkett Luke A Little Background On The World s First Ever Video Game Magazine Kotaku 29 December 2009 Blackman Mark L September 6 2011 Fan writer magazine creator Bill Kunkel dies SFScope com Archived from the original on October 18 2011 Retrieved September 11 2011 Fulton Steve The Game Doctor Confesses to GamerDad GamerDad com 1 January 2006 reprinted at 8BitRocket com and at Gamasutra SPJ org Slotnik Daniel E Technology Bill Kunkel an Early Chronicler of Video Games Dies at 61 The New York Times 9 September 2011 Thomasson Michael Interview Bill Kunkel GoodDealGames com Accessed 24 April 2015 External links editThis article s use of external links may not follow Wikipedia s policies or guidelines Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references April 2023 Learn how and when to remove this message Bill Kunkel Bio at Classic Gaming Expo archived via Wayback Machine Bill Kunkel Bio at WrestlingPerspective com Katz Kunkel Worley Journalistic Archive Gallery at Videogame History Museum The Game Doctor forum at J2Games com archived via Wayback Machine The Kunkel Report at DigitPress com Thomasson Michael Oct 2000 Interview Bill Kunkel GoodDealGames com Stilphen Scott 2000 Easter Egg Hunting with Bill Kunkel and Joyce Worley DigitPress com Marentes Nickolas April 2001 Interview with Bill Kunkel ClassicGaming com Archived from the original on 3 November 2005 Federico Chris 14 June 2002 A Lifetime to Master An Interview with Bill Kunkel Orphaned Computer amp Game Systems Fulton Steve 1 January 2006 The Game Doctor Confesses to GamerDad GamerDad com reprinted at 8BitRocket com and at Gamasutra Williams Carl 31 May 2009 The Game Doctor Is In going Live At 7 Pm Central Time RetroMags com 2002 Classic Gaming Expo keynote audio with some pictures 2005 Classic Gaming Expo keynote audio only 2007 Classic Gaming Expo keynote video 2008 DigitPress keynote video Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bill Kunkel journalist amp oldid 1152431873, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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