Semic

Semic is a publisher specialized in the Cartoon. She publishes mainly Comic S resulting from the American editors cd. Comics, Marvel Comics, Image Comics, Top Cow Productions, Wildstorm, and Crossgen. In 2005, it lost the rights of the series of the Univers cd. to the profit of its competitor Panini Comics which had already recovered the Marvel rights previously.

History

Lug editions

In 1950, the journalist Marcel Navarro decided to launch out in the edition. After having worked as scenario writer for Pierre Mouchot, he collaborates actively with Aventures & Voyages where he takes shares. In parallel, with the assistance of Auguste Vistel, it founded the Éditions Lug what leads it to yield its shares at Aventures & Voyages. At its beginnings, the company republishes only old French and Italian cartoons. But quickly, Navarro decided that it needed original characters. It urged some French and Italian studios to write and draw for him. Their first realization was a man of the Jungle called Zembla. In spite of the obvious resemblance to Tarzan (or perhaps because of this resemblance), the title met an immediate success. In fact, it was especially created to compete with another Tarzanide : Akim appeared at My Newspaper. Moreover, Lug called upon the creator of Akim to initiate his clean héros : Augusto Pedrazza .

Encouraged by this success, the members of the Lug Editions créérent a handle of new heroes, through a broad range of genres : cowboys, supermen, avengers, adventurers, astronauts, magicians… Even if they resembled for the majority an American inspiration, they had sufficient differences to make them single.

At the end of the Years 1960, the Lug Editions started to publish translations of the titles of Marvel Comics. Raising superb painted covers of Jean Frisano they were sold very well, and engaged Navarro with launching even more its own titles. This period saw the creation of Wampus (scénario : Francesco Frescura, dessin : Luciano Bernasconi), a series having for hero an Extraterrestrial whom can change form sent on Earth by an entity malfaisante with an aim of weakening planet to facilitate its conquest. But the series proved too violent and was stopped by the censure in spite of obvious qualities which made a series worship of it.

But the expansion of the Lug Editions continued. Into the years 1970, of the atypical heroes were introduced within the review Futura (or in second part of other publications of pocket), like Jaleb , extraterrestrial telepathic which - as Superman - had grown on Earth. There was also Homicron , a superman who had obtained his capacities while amalgamating with an extraterrestrial entity. Or the Temporal Brigade , a group which endeavoured to maintain the course of the History vis-a-vis malefic temporal travellers. Sibilla , a journalist of magazine with feeling which fought supernatural threats. And of course, there was Larry Canon, an investigator of an insurance company trying to dam up the invasion of the Earth by an extraterrestrial parasite. Some more conventional heroes were also published. It is as at this period as the other , a softened version of Wampus, was launched.

It is at the beginning of the Années 1980 that the company knew its more beautiful years. It sold licenses of its titles at Spanish and Italian companies, where it met a great success. A universe common to various titles started to emerge. If the various heroes never met there, some references there were frequently crossed.

In the middle of the years 1980, Auguste Vistel died. It was the beginning of the end for the Lug Editions. In 1989, Navarro decided to take its retirement, and all the properties of the company were sold in Semic, a Swedish editor, whose name is a combination of the Swedish word for the cartoons, to seriate , and the English word for the same thing, comic .

Starting from 1993, all the original series were stopped. Even if Semic continued to publish republications, the Lug Editions had died.

Semic in October 1996 lost the Marvel licenses and undertook to compensate for this loss by publishing titles of cd. Comics (in Strange) and Image Comics (Gen 13, WildC.A.T.s, Cyberforce,…).

In May - June 1999, the Tournon group, owner of Semic at the time, moves the drafting from Lyon to Paris. The same year, the repurchase of the editor Mascara makes it possible the press group to reach the network of diffusion bookstore. The creation of the collection " Semic Books" will follow in 2000, fiftieth anniversary of Lug. This collection will shelter characters and series such as Batman, Superman, Authority, Green Arrow, Spawn, Sam & Twitch… These albums, which touch a new public, allow soon the development of new collections (" Semic Noir" …) and of new projects (republication of Cosmic Patrols, creation of Sentaï School…).

The Semic universe

At the end of the Years 1990, the Semic group transferred all its French properties to Tournon , their distributer in France. This last separated quickly from its head office and created Semic S.A . In 2000, new editor association Thierry Mornet (resulting from the fanzine comics Scarce and since end 1998 posts some) wanted to republish new stories with the characters of the Lug Editions. Its meeting with Jean-Marc Lofficier served as catalyst. Lofficier had grown by reading the data bases Lug before leaving to the USA where he became (inter alia) scenario writer for Marvel and cd. Comics. Mornet and Lofficier fell from agreement to set up a coherent universe (way US comics) with the Lug characters. In all logic, it is Lofficier which inherited this task, helped scenario writers like Jean-Marc Lainé, François Corteggiani, Chris Malgrain or Eric Stoffel : to combine more than 200 characters and their environments esoteric (and sometimes contradictory) in the same continuity. The Small sizes of the editor got leading space necessary while the editorial team of Semic and young French draftsmen, often resulting from the Scarce team (+ Lofficier) would form the framework of the creative team.

After some stories of Zembla which were used as testing ground, came the revival from the review Fantask . Wampus made there a return with Luciano Bernasconi, its draftsman of origin. He crossed former protagonists there (Ozark the Indian shaman, Kabur the warrior, Kit Kappa the Master of martial arts…) autonomous series in order to join together them in a common universe. Some characters could grow and to found a family, others became friendly. Finally, to help the new universe to take life, of new characters made their appearance.

The Semic universe had been born.

The new stories met a success mitigated . For example, Fantask only stopped at the end of 5 numbers. If the readers of comics which took the step liked this new universe rather, the former readers of small sizes did not taste too these transformations with the sauce Super-héros. The various heroes thus migrated towards the pockets (Rodéo, Spécial Rodeo, Spécial Zembla, Kiwi, Yuma…), which enabled them to profit from the impact of the sales of hero like Tex Willer.

In 2002, thanks to a special agreement, Image Comics published English translations of The Strangers , a series of extraterrestrial of the Semic universe, supposed to be a prelude to a Semic invasion. But that did not go as envisaged, the sales proving to be poor.

At the beginning of 2005, Semic lost license cd. for the titles of superman as well as other titles like the license of Todd McFarlane Productions. Panini France took again the distribution of cd. and Delcourt created Delcourt Comics in order to publish titles Spawn and Aspen.

Hexagon Comics

End 2003, following the stop of its rights of publication of the material Bonelli , Semic decided to stop its series of Small sizes (data base pocket in black and white), putting the Semic universe outstanding. A group of Semic scenario writers, being based on the European laws on the intellectual property, recovered the royalties of the majority of the characters. They were grouped under the banner of Hexagon Comics . They envisage to recover to publish news and old stories in 2005.

Dissolution

Since the beginning of the summer 2005, Semic was dissolved without liquidation by its only shareholder the Tournon group. Semic is from now on a title of collection of bookstore of Carabas.

Publications

Angela, a series Todd McFarlane Productions/Image Comics
Arcanum, a series Signal Cow/Image Comics
Authority, a series Wildstorm
Batman, a series cd. Comics
Blek, a Concrete review of the Editions Lug
, a series Dark Horse Comics
Crisis one infinity Earths, a series cd. Comics
Cyberforce, a series Signal Cow/Image Comics
Danger Girl, a series of the Cliffhanger label of Wildstorm
The Darkness, a series Signal Cow/Image Comics
Fables, a series Vertigo
Fantask, two-monthly newspaper (at the origin a publication of the Editions Lug)
First, a series CrossGen
Gen 13, a series Wildstorm
Green Arrow, a series cd. Comics
JLA/Avengers, a Cross-country race-over DC/Marvel
Kiwi, a review of the Lug Editions
Midnight Nation, a series Signal Cow/Image Comics
Mustang, a review of the Editions Lug
Mystic, a series CrossGen
Nevada, a review of the Editions Lug
Ombrax, a review of the Editions Lug
Planetary, a series Wildstorm
Promethea, a series of the label ABC of Wildstorm
Punisher, a series Marvel Comics
The Red Star, a series Archangel/Image Comics
Rodeo, a review of the Editions Lug
Rising Stars, a series Signal Cow/Image Comics
Scion, a series CrossGen
Sentaï School
ShockRockets, a series Gorilla/Image Comics
Sigil, a series CrossGen
Sojourn, a series CrossGen
Spawn, a series Todd McFarlane Productions/Image Comics
Special Strange, a review of Editions Lug
Special Kiwi, a review of the Editions Lug
Special Rodeo, a review of the Editions Lug
Special Zembla, a review of the Editions Lug
Spider-man, a series Marvel Comics
Strange (newspaper), a review of the Editions Lug
Super Conan
Superman, a series cd. Comics
Tellos, a series Image Comics
Titans (re-examined), a review of the Editions Lug
Tomb Raider , a series Signal Cow/Image Comics
Tom Strong, a series of the label ABC of Wildstorm
Top Ten, a series of the label ABC of Wildstorm
Torso, a series Image Comics
X-Men, a series Marvel Comics
WildC.A.T.s, a series Wildstorm
Witchblade, a series Signal Cow/Image Comics
Y, The Last Man, a series Vertigo
Zembla, a review Editions Lug

External bonds

Official site of Semic
Official site of Hexagon Comics
Site of Jean-Marc Lofficier
* Official site of Thomas Frisano

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