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| Company type | Division |
|---|---|
| Industry | Printing |
| Founded | 1994; 31 years ago (1994) as "Marvel Italia" |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Europe, Latin America |
| Products | Comics,graphic novels,magazines |
| Parent | Panini Group |
| Divisions | Marvel UK Planet Manga |
| Website | comics.panini.it |
Panini Comics is an Italiancomic book publisher. A division ofPanini Group, which also produces collectible stickers, it is headquartered inModena,Italy.[1] The company publishes comic books inArgentina,Brazil,Chile,France,Germany,Hungary,Italy,Mexico,Peru,Portugal,Spain and theUnited Kingdom, as well asmanga in several non-English-speaking countries through thePlanet Manga publishing division.
In the United Kingdom, Panini Comics prints its Collectors' Edition (CE) line, which consists of reprints of AmericanMarvel Comics. These are usually 76 pages long (with occasional 100-page specials). Each comic is published every 28 days, with the exception ofAstonishing Spider-Man which has been published fortnightly since volume 2.
Since 2013, Panini Comics has been publishingdigest sizecomics magazines featuringDisney characters.
Panini Comics started as an evolution ofMarvel Italia, an Italian division ofMarvel Comics created in 1994 to publish Marvel titles inItaly, the rights to which had been previously held by different publishers (Star Comics, Comic Art, Play Press and Max Bunker Press). In December 1994, Marvel Italia was absorbed byEdizioni Panini of Modena, following the acquisition of the latter by Marvel Comics. Panini Comics in Italy has since evolved to encompass a series of sub-divisions:
Subsequently, Marvel Comics sold Panini to a group of investors includingIndesit Company. Currently, Panini Comics also publishes in Brazil, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal and Hungary. In Germany and Brazil, it also publishes translations ofDC Comics series.
Panini obtained theMarvel UK license in 1995, enabling it to publish reprinted AmericanMarvel Comics titles. They also began publishing theDoctor Who Magazine. Panini Comics had been part of Marvel Europe, and had already been reprinting American material across the continent for several years.
Thanks to this licensing deal, reprints of American Marvel Comics material were continued in the UK by Panini from the mid-1990s. Each issue of their 'Marvel Collector's Editions' series contained approximately two or three Marvel US strips in one issue with possibly a "classic" comic printed as a substitute for an installment in the current run, whilst being priced at a reasonable level. Initially the lineup consisted of onlyAstonishing Spider-Man andEssential X-Men and followed the continuity of the US comics, however it was approximately two to three years behind the current run in America.
In addition to reprinting the mainstream US comics, Panini also published a monthly (later every three weeks) oversized comic, entitledThe Spectacular Spider-Man, for younger readers to accompanySpider-Man: The Animated Series, which began broadcasting in the UK in the mid-90s. Initially, the stories were simply reprints of the US comics based on the series, but eventually the title moved to all-new UK-originated stories, marking the first Marvel UK material featuring classic Marvel characters to be produced since early 1994.
Panini have since extended their line to include other characters within theMarvel Universe. In addition toEssential X-Men andAstonishing Spider-Man cameWolverine Unleashed, in whichWolverine's solo comic was reprinted. The comic ran for 54 issues before it was renamedWolverine & Gambit to allow reprints of theGambit series, and subsequentlyWolverine and Deadpool when the Gambit material had been exhausted and Deadpool was introduced as a replacement in 2004.Marvel Heroes Reborn was released in 1997, to introduce the newHeroes Reborn saga, and expand the range of characters in Marvel UK's lineup. It was initially published with only two strips (or 56 pages) but this was expanded to 76 pages (commonly 3 strips) from issue 17 onwards. This title was short-lived due to continuously lagging sales, and was eventually cancelled in 2000.
Later titles includeAvengers United (later replaced byAvengers Unconquered),Fantastic Four Adventures,Marvel Legends featuringCaptain America,Iron Man andThor, a newThe Mighty World of Marvel as well as the introduction of the Ultimate Marvel imprint, consisting ofUltimate Spider-Man and X-Men (which was originally two titles, which merged since it was reprinting the stories too fast for Marvel US to print them) andUltimate Fantastic Four (cancelled because of low sales, and because it was only a few issues behind the US title by the end).
In March 2006, Marvel Entertainment and Panini S.p.A. announced that they had "renewed and expanded their publishing agreement under which Panini retains a master license for producing translated versions of Marvel comics for Europe and selected Latin American countries. The new agreement includes a major expansion of editorial projects in which Panini will originate new content under the creative supervision of Marvel."[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, includingWolverine: Saudade, byJean-David Morvan andPhilippe Buchet,[3] andDaredevil & Captain America: Dead On Arrival, byTito Faraci andClaudio Villa.
Alongside these mainly reprint titles, Panini continues to printDoctor Who Magazine which still features originally produced comics by British creators. This includes the first newCaptain Britain story by a British creative team in over a decade, created byJim Alexander,Jon Haward andJohn Stokes forSpectacular Spider-Man (UK version) #114 published in March 2005. Also published from 2004 onwards wasMarvel Rampage, which likeSpectacular Spider-Man was aimed at a younger audience, and similarly featured all-new UK-originated material, this time featuring characters from all across the Marvel Universe. Several of those short stories were written by noted Spider-Man writerRoger Stern.
Panini also release their own range oftrade paperbacks. These are all reprinted material from the American originals, and can be bought from their online shop. They also published a series ofA.T.O.M. comics from 2006 to 2007, which followed on from their long-runningAction Man series.
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 580 members and 580 posts as of August 2011. This closed down in March 2013 and a new forum was set up by its members.
The titleMarvel Heroes was launched in 2008, based on the general formula ofSpectacular Spider-Man, with new comic stories from creators likeScott Gray,Al Ewing andJohn McCrea.[4]
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