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Semic Comics

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Semic Press.

Semic S.A.
PredecessorÉditions Lug
FoundedJanuary 1989; 35 years ago (1989-01)
Country of originFrance
Headquarters location(1989–1999) Lyon
(from 1999) Paris
Publication typesComic books (reprints, translations, original stories)
Fiction genresAdventure, war, superheroes
Owner(s)(1989–c. 1999) Semic Press
(from c. 1999) Tournon Group

Semic Comics (French: [semik] is one of the leading comic book publishers in France. It is officially known as Semic S.A.

Along with French comics, the company formerly published the official translations of products produced by DC Comics and Marvel Comics. Today, Semic publishes translations from other American publishers such as Avatar Press, Dark Horse Comics, Image Comics, and Top Cow Productions.

Semic's imprints include Semic Books and Semic Manga.

History

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Éditions Lug

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Main article: Éditions Lug

In 1950, writer/editor Marcel Navarro and Auguste Vistel founded Éditions Lug. At first, the company only reprinted old French and Italian comics. But soon, Navarro decided that his company needed some original characters. He enlisted a number of French and Italian studios to create a new series. Although many of them invoked characters featured in American comics, they had enough differences to make them unique.

In 1969, Éditions Lug began publishing licensed translations of Marvel Comics in a magazine called Fantask. That year also saw the creation of Wampus. But French censorship forced Éditions Lug to cancel both of these magazines after six issues.[1]

In the next two decades, Éditions Lug continued to expand, thanks to its growing program of French editions of Marvel Comics, which began to include Conan the Barbarian. Many new magazines and series were added to their French line. A shared universe began to emerge,[2] although not nearly as tightly integrated as the Marvel Universe.

In the mid-1980s, Auguste Vistel died. Eventually, Marcel Navarro chose to retire. In 1989, Éditions Lug was sold to the Semic Group / Semic Press, a Scandinavian comic book publisher, and renamed Semic France.[3]

Semic Group

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After Navarro's departure, Semic continued to publish French editions of Marvel Comics, but in 1993 discontinued the creation of original material. The half-dozen original Lug titles that remained became reprints-only; Lug was fully merged into Semic in 1994.[4]

Tournon Group / Semic S.A.

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In 1997 the Semic Group was sold to the Danish media house Egmont.[5] At the time of the sale, the Semic Group sold a controlling interest in the company that had formerly been Éditions Lug back to its French partners/distributors, the Tournon Group. The new, autonomous publisher operated under the name Semic S.A.[4] In May 1999, Tournon moved the company's headquarters from Lyon to Paris.[6]

In 2000, under new editor-in-chief Thierry Mornet, Semic S.A. revamped its old characters and began publishing new stories.[4] In late 2003/early 2004, Semic canceled the new lines. As a result, in early 2004, a multinational group of writers and artists formed Hexagon Comics and reclaimed the rights to the characters they had created for the publisher.[7]

In 2005, the Tournon Group dissolved the company, although the "Semic" brand continued to belong to Tournon.

Since 2011, the name has been revived by one of Tournon's companies, Semic Distribution, which is responsible for marketing derivative products, in particular those of Marvel Comics.

Titles

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Franco-Belgian comics

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Carabas

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Tournon/Semic

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  • L'Affaire se Corse
  • Brigade Temporelle
  • C'est la Vie
  • Caleb
  • Cosmic Patrouille
  • Fallait Pas Faire les Cons
  • Hé, Nic ! Tu rêves? ("Hey, Nick! Are you dreaming?")
  • Hip Flask
  • La Grande Purge
  • La Légende de la Jarre
  • Légendes Celtes
  • Légendes Lakotas
  • Les Mysteres du Meurtre
  • No Man's Land
  • OverEarth
  • Relais & Mago
  • Ruse
  • La Tapisserie de Soie
  • La Voie du Samouraï

Comics

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Semic Comics

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Manga and manhwa

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Semic Manga

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See also

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References

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Notes

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  1. ^ AGGABI, Pascal (December 11, 2023). "Décès de Claude Vistel la "Miss" Marvel des Éditions Lug" [Death of Claude Vistel, 'Miss' Marvel from Éditions Lug]. ActuaBD (in French).
  2. ^ Lofficier, Jean-Marc. "French Silver Surfer: Vive le Silver Surfer!". Alter Ego. No. 1. TwoMorrows Publishing.
  3. ^ Jennequin, Jean-Paul (June 1990). "Semic France" [Semic France is taking the place of Lug Editeur, as of January 1989, as publisher of American comics in translation]. Les Cahiers de la Bande Dessinée (in French). No. 89. p. 57.
  4. ^ a b c "Hexagon Comics". BDbase.fr. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  5. ^ Nilsson, Peter (1997). "Egmont köper Semic". Bild & Bubbla (in Swedish). No. 1.
  6. ^ Mélikian, Laurent (February 2000). "Lug est Mort, Vive Semic". Bo Doï (in French). No. 27. p. 83.
  7. ^ Johnston, Rich (December 1, 2022). "Hexagon Comics Puts Out Luciano Bernasconi's Kit Kappa in December". Bleeding Cool. In 2004, Luciano Bernasconi teamed up with other writers and artists to reclaim the rights to his characters under the banner of Hexagon Comics.
  8. ^ "Semic To Publish Original Spawn Story in France". Newsarama. March 18, 2003.[permanent dead link‍]

Sources

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