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Tabella Publishing Shutters after nearly a decade of comic publishing

By John Freeman on 8 February 2016

Lost in post-Christmas catch-ups was the news that British graphic novel publisher Tabella Publishing has closed its doors.

Originally set up with the aim of publishing graphic novels and art books, Tabella diversified into iOS apps, ebooks, and even publishing consultancy and self publishing. Their early titles included People Aren’t Scary (Really) by Marilyn Allis and Thomas Wogan is Dead by Dave Hughes (reviewed here).

They also published Dreams and Everyday Life by Aziv Ratzin (reviewed here), Ryan Dodd’s Hippy Jonny and the Banality of Life and another personal favourite, the delightful A Day in the Life of Alfred by Oivind Hovland.

“I’m afraid we’ve taken the difficult decision to close our business,” Kevin Quinn announced at the beginning of January on Twitter. “It’s been a fun few years, and I’ve met some fantastic people we’ve seen some great work and are proud to have been part of bringing it to a wider audience, and we wish them all, and you, the nest of luck in the future.

All rights have reverted to the respective artists, but copies of the Tabella editions of many of their titles are still, for now, available from Amazon.co.uk and via the SEQUENTIAL iPad app.

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.