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.
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.
[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.
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 remained active in the industry until his death, having served as editor-in-chief of Tips & Tricks during its final year of publication (2007).
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.
[13] 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.