IDW Publishing has announced the acquisition of Sunday Press Books, a publishing company specializing in high-quality, archival editions of classic comic strips, published in oversized hardcovers. Publishers Weekly reports that founder Peter Maresca will continue to “oversee the publishing program,” while IDW will focus on marketing and distribution, including a digital publishing program. He told the magazine that this will allow them to keep recovering strips “destined to disappear,” with the freedom to focus on the restoration side, while IDW focuses on the “daunting” business aspect.
Sunday Press was founded by Maresca in 2005, and has in their collection a number of 1930s books including “Dick Tracy,” “Little Nemo in Slumberland,” “Krazy Kat,” and “Thimble Theatre,” the original home of E.C. Segar’s Popeye and friends. Their work has earned them Will Eisner Award nominations for almost every published book, with them winning at least three awards, according to their website.
This is not new territory for IDW, as they have been publishing their high-end Artist’s, Artifact and Artisan Editions of classic comics, with high-res scans of original pages published in their original size. They also have been publishing archival comic strips since 2007 with their imprint The Library of American Comics.
