Stephen Bissette's lost work for TYRANT to hit Kickstarter in March!

Will Eisner Hall of Fame creator Stephen R. Bissette's TYRANT, the never-before-collected dinosaur masterpiece, is coming soon from new publisher Lighthouse. The project will launch on Kickstarter early this March and offer multiple deluxe editions designed by Jim Rugg.

Stephen and Lighthouse Comics will soon launch the Kickstarter for TYRANT, Stephen’s four-issue brutal dinosaur masterpiece published between 1994 and 1996. Those issues were originally released under Bissette’s own Spiderbaby Graphix publishing operation and nominated for the 1995 Eisner for Best New Series. 

The Kickstarter will present two editions of the seminal series, about a Tyrannosaurus Rex’s struggle for survival in the late Cretaceous Period. 

• Stephen R. Bissette’s TYRANT: The Original Art Edition—an oversized hardcover with 100-plus pages

• Stephen R. Bissette’s TYRANT: The Complete Edition—hardcover with a slipcase and over 200-plus pages

These books will be comprehensively exhaustive, including all the backmatter from the TYRANT 1-4 issues, as well as letters and essays on paleontology and pop culture, and illustrations from Jim Rugg (who's also designing the book), paleontologist Dr. Michael Ryan and (of course) loads of art no one's seen and has never been collected. Backers can look forward to a special essay from Rick Veitch as well!

"Been a terribly long time adrift in an ocean of tears," said Bissette, "but Lighthouse shines the light! Yes, it's for real, Lighthouse is bringing my personal primordial 'lost Odysseus' back into harbor—meaning my orphaned 'S.R. Bissette's Tyrant®,' is at long last out of the egg he's been stuck half-way-in-&-out-of for decades now. What I've seen thus far is absolutely beautiful, thanks to Lighthouse, Chris Stevens, and Jim Rugg—it never would have hatched out of the nest without them."

Lighthouse founder and publisher Chris Stevens previously published the Eisner and Harvey Award-winning LITTLE NEMO: DREAM ANOTHER DREAM (also designed by Rugg) and has savored the relationship with Bissette, which has developed since the legendary SWAMP THING artist's participation in that project.

"Steve is one of the greatest comic book creators of all time and TYRANT is his most personal work, one he put all his blood, sweat, and tears into, not to mention staking his entire livelihood on it," said Stevens. "It is an honor and a thrill to see the work finally brought to market for new generations and for its avid original readers, in multiple editions that will allow you to experience this unbridled cartooning genius in its most primal and comprehensively exhaustive forms, lovingly designed by one of comics' greatest craftsmen, Jim Rugg. Working with Jim on this was the only option to me once I knew these books could happen."

"Tyrant is one of the most beautiful comic books I've ever seen," said Rugg (STREET ANGEL, HULK: GRAND DESIGN). "Dinosaurs never looked better! I fell in love with this book when it first appeared in the 90s and I am thrilled to help share this monumental masterpiece with a new generation of comics fans today. There is no other comic book like it. It is truly a book for everyone from age 3 to 103."

Sign up to follow the campaign at kickstarter.com/projects/comicslighthouse/bissette-tyrant-deluxe-editions

And find more news and behind-the-scenes content at instagram.com/comicslighthouse, tiktok.com/@comicslighthouse, and comicslighthouse.bsky.social

ABOUT LIGHTHOUSE

Lighthouse is a book publisher and comic book maker founded by multiple-Eisner-award-winner Chris Stevens. Stephen R. Bissette's timeless masterpiece TYRANT is their debut offering, with future books by comics' finest creators coming in 2026 and beyond.

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