Panini Comics is an Italian comic book publisher. A division of Panini Group, best known for their collectible stickers, it is headquartered in Modena, Italy.[1] The company publishes comic books in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom, as well as manga in several non-English-speaking countries through the Planet Manga publishing division.
History[]
It obtained the Marvel UK license in 1995, enabling it to publish reprinted American Marvel Comics titles, and is also the company responsible for printing the Doctor Who Magazine.
In the United Kingdom, Panini Comics prints its Collectors' Edition (CE) line, which consists of reprints of Marvel US Comics. These are usually 76 pages long, and the current cost of the comics is £2.50. A subscription offer is also available, and each comic is published every 28 days, with the exception of Astonishing Spider-Man which has been published fortnightly since volume 2.
Also printed is Ultimate Spider-Man and X-Men and, in a larger format to its US counterpart and for younger readers there is Spectacular Spider-Man Adventures and Spider-Man and Friends. Former titles printed by Panini include Marvel Rampage, Batman Legends (now printed by Titan Magazines), Marvel Heroes Reborn and Ultimate Fantastic Four.
Panini also release their own range of trade paperbacks. These are all reprinted material from the American originals, and can be bought from their online shop. They have also been printing a seemingly highly successful series of A.T.O.M comics, though this appears to have been recently cancelled.
Panini renewed and expanded their license with Marvel in 2006.[2] This made them the "master license holder" for Europe and parts of Latin American and lead to the development of non-English language titles with Marvel, including Wolverine: Saudade, by Jean-David Morvan and Philippe Buchet,[3] and Daredevil & Captain America: Dead On Arrival, by Tito Faraci and Claudio Villa.
The CE's have now been printing the "events" that Marvel have put out yearly. House of M was recently printed in Essential X-Men #160-163 and Civil War teasers have been revealed. Civil War will be printed in new title Avengers Unconquered which will replace Avengers United, as well as across all the other Marvel CEs.
The UK site also has a popular forum, primarily for discussion of Panini Comics' publications and comics in general as well as promotion of British Comic Conventions. It has around 400 members and 83817 posts as of February 2008 and members have recently been previewing the Collector's Editions on YouTube.
A new title, Marvel Heroes, was launched in 2008, based on the general formula of Spectacular Spider-Man, with new comic stories from creators like Scott Gray, Al Ewing and John McCrea.[4]
In 2009 a new title G.I Joe: Rise of Cobra was published based on the film of the same name
Publications[]
Their current comics are:
- Astonishing Spider-Man
- Avengers Unconquered (formerly Avengers United)
- Essential X-Men
- Fantastic Four Adventures
- Wolverine and Deadpool (formerly Wolverine Unleashed and Wolverine and Gambit)
- Marvel Legends
- The Mighty World of Marvel
- Marvel Heroes
- G.I Joe: Rise of Cobra
Notes[]
- ↑ "Corporate Info." Panini Group. Retrieved on 5 September 2009.
- ↑ Panini, Marvel Expand Agreement, Announce New Projects (press release), Newsarama, March 29, 2006
- ↑ Going Inside Wolverine: Saudade, Newsarama, September 11, 2008
- ↑ Panini UK Launches 'Marvel Heroes' with All-New Strips, Newsarama, October 9, 2008
References[]
- Panini (UK) at the Grand Comics Database
- Panini (UK) at the Comic Book DB
- Panini (France) at the Grand Comics Database
- Panini (France) at the Comic Book DB
- Panini (Spain) at the Grand Comics Database
- Panini (Spain) at the Comic Book DB
- Panini (Germany) at the Comic Book DB
External links[]
- Panini Group
- Panini Comics
- Panini Comics UK
- Your Friendly UK Spider-Man: Talking To Panini's Ed Hammond, Newsarama, December 10, 2007
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