- Editions Lug
"Editions Lug" was a French
comic book publisher created in 1950 bywriter /editorMarcel Navarro and businessmanAuguste Vistel .History
When it started, Editions Lug only reprinted old French and Italian comics in
digest-sized magazine s.Among its most popular Italian imports were:
* "Tex Willer " (which it began publishing in 1951, then moved to its eponymous magazine in 1952), fromSergio Bonelli Editore
* "Il Grande Blek " (which it began publishing in "Kiwi" in 1955)
* "Capitan Miki " (which it began publishing in "Nevada" in 1958)
* "Alan Mistero " (renamed "Ombrax") (which it began publishing in an eponymous magazine in 1967)The latter three from StudioEsseGesse .Another notable non-French comic book series published by Editions Lug at the time is "
Dan Dare " (in 1962).However, early on, Navarro decided that his company needed some original characters. He enlisted a number of French and Italian studios to script and draw original series and began experimenting with a wide variety of genres. The look and feel of these series was often evocative of 1960s
DC Comics .Editions Lug's first major original success was a "
Tarzan "-like jungle lord named "Zembla" (1963); its eponymous title was an immediate hit. Among other notable characters created at the times were "Rakar ", a masked Lakota chief, "Tanka", another jungle lord, "Gun Gallon ", a "John Carter of Mars "-type hero lost on a parallel world with three moons, World War II hero Rick Ross aka "Baroud ", kung-fu cowboy "Jed Puma ", Barbary Coast corsair "Dragut" and superhero "Pilote Noir ".In 1968, Claude Vistel, Auguste Vistel's daughter, returned from a trip to
New York and convinced Navarro to publish the first translations ofMarvel Comics in France, in a magazine entitled "Fantask " (1969), which featuredFantastic Four ,Spider-Man and theSilver Surfer .Sensing that he was on to something, Navarro followed suit with his own creations. "
Wampus " was launched the same year; it featured the eponymous alien monster sent by an evil cosmic intelligence to destroy the Earth, and the exploits of a "S.H.I.E.L.D. "-like organization named "C.L.A.S.H. ". Unfortunately, Editions Lug had run-ins with Frenchcensorship , and both "Fantask" and "Wampus" were cancelled after only six issues.The following year, Navarro re-launched the Marvel characters, first in a magazine called "Strange", then in "Marvel" (which also fell victim to censorship a year later). At the same time, he continued to introduce more new French characters in magazines such as:
* "Futura" (1972), which published "Jaleb ", "Homicron ", "Brigade Temporelle ", "L'Autre" (The Other, a toned-down version of "Wampus"), "Aster", "Jeff Sullivan " and "Sibilla "
* "Waki" (1974)
* "Kabur " which also published "Le Gladiateur de Bronze " (The Bronze Gladiator) (1975).The late 1970s and early 1980s were arguably the best years of the company. Its line of French-language Marvel editions thrived with titles such as "Titans" (1976), "Nova" (1978), "Spidey" (1979) and graphic novels of "The Fantastic Four" (1973), "
Conan the Barbarian " (1976), etc.A number of new original titles were added, including a revamped version of "Mustang" (1980), which published "
Photonik ", "Mikros " and "Ozark". Other characters introduced during this period included "Phenix " (1978) and "Starlock " (1980). It even licensed its own creations to Spanish and Italian companies, where they sold with great success.Around this time, a
shared universe began to emerge. It wasn't nearly as tightly integrated as theMarvel Universe . While the titles made references to each other, characters from different titles never interacted directly.In the mid-80's, Auguste Vistel died. This was the beginning of the end for Editions Lug. Eventually, Marcel Navarro chose to retire. The company was sold to the Semic Group, a Scandinavian comic book publisher, and later became a French company,
Semic Comics .In 2004, a group of former Lug writers and artists reclaimed the rights to their characters and reorganized under the banner of
Hexagon Comics .elected Titles
* "Plutos" (1950)
* "Rodeo" (1951)
* "Tex (1952)
* "Pipo" (1952)
* "Pampa (1954)
* "Kiwi" (1955)
* "Pim Pam Poum " (1955) (French edition of the "Katzenjammer Kids ")
* "Hondo" (1956)
* "Nevada" (1958)
* "Flambo " (1959)
* "Bourask " (1960)
* "Yuma" (1962)
* "Zembla" (1963)
* "Blek" (1963)
* "Bronco" (1966)
* "Baroud " (1966)
* "Dago" (1966)
* "Ombrax " (1966)
* "Mustang" (1966)
* "Fantask " (1969)
* "Wampus " (1969)
* "Strange" (1970)
* "Marvel" (1971)
* "Futura" (1972)
* "Yampa" (1973)
* "Waki" (1974)
* "Kabur " (1975)
* "Titans (1976)
* "Nova" (1978)
* "Spidey" (1979)elected Characters
* "
Afrikanders ", Boer War adventures
* "Agent Sans Nom ", espionage
* "Ami Barry ", ghost detective
* "Antonin ", Musketeer adventures
* "Apollo, western adventures
* "Archie, eccentric scientist
* "Aster", science fiction
* "L'Autre", toned down sequel to "Wampus"* "Babette", young fashion model adventures
* "Barefoot le Magnifique ", French-Indian wars adventures
* "Baroud ", WWII adventures
* "Bathy-09 ", underwater adventures
* "Ben Leonard ", archeological, science fiction adventures
* "Benny du Bayou ", growing up in Louisiana
* "Bill & Barry , a boy looking for his parents
* "Billy Boyd", western
* "Bob Lance ", modern-days descendants of the Round Table
* "Bob Pepper ", insurance investigations
* "Bob Stanley", an American in 19th century Japan
* "Brigade As ", Interpol adventures
* "Brigade Temporelle ", time travel adventures* "
Capitaine Giroflée "
* "Captain Tiger ", Polynesian adventures
* "Captain Tom & Co. "
* "Le Chat", international boxing
* "Champagne"
* "Chevalier de l'Espace ", science fiction
* "Chikotawa ", Canadian adventures
* "C.L.A.S.H.
* "Comte de Saint-Germain
* "Corsak ", jungle lord* "Dago", supernatural western
* "Dan Diamond ", espionage
* "Dan Lucky ", western
* "Dan Sabre ", western
* "Dan Tempest ", western
* "Dave Kaplan ", news photographer
* "Dick Demon ", supernatural western
* "Dick Spade ", journalist
* "Digger Drake , India under the Raj
* "Doc Sullivan ", medical adventures
* "Don Juan l'Epervier ", swashbuckler
* "Dragut, pirate* "
Etoile à Cinq Branches ", supernatural adventures* "
Face d'Ange ", espionage
* "Fargo Jim ", western
* "Flag des Neiges ", Mountain rescue adventures
* "Flambo ", Napoleon's Little Drummer
* "Flanagan ", detective
* "Frank Ale ", boxing adventures
* "Frank Universal ", ecological science fiction
* "Fred & Gib ", western
* "Frères Thunderbolt ", private eyes
* "Fury", Korean war* "Galaor", sword & sorcery
* "Gallix ", heroic fantasy against Rome
* "Galton & Trumbo ", NYPD adventures
* "Gladiateur de Bronze ", superhero
* "Greg Jordan ", racecar driver
* "Gun Gallon ", heroic fantasy* "Havoc", western
* "Homicron ", superhero
* "Homme de Metal ", heroic fantasy
* "Hunter", western* "
Indian Kid ", western
* "Ivan Karine ", Tsarist Russia adventures
* "Ivan Wolonsky ", Teenage Psychic* "
Jacky West , western
* "Jaleb ", alien telepath
* "Jaydee", alien shapeshifter
* "Jean Brume ", Scarlet Pimpernel-like hero
* "Jean Girodet ", espionage
* "Jed Puma ", western martial arts
* "Jeff Sullivan ", superhero
* "Jill & John "
* "Jim Mississippi ", masked western avenger
* "Johnny Bourask ", Colonial hero* "
Kabur ", heroic fantasy
* "Kit Kappa ", martial arts* "Larry Cannon", insurance investigations
* "Lion des Thermopyles ", Greek Antiquity adventures
* "Lucifer", fallen angel must do good to redeem himself
*Lys Noir , pirate adventures* "Mac, three Scotsmen in the Old West
* "Madison Bill ", Prohibition-era adventures
* "Malinbourne ", space fantasy
* "Marino", underwater superhero
* "Masque Blanc ", Apartheid superhero
* "Max Flanagan ", WWI photographer
* "Max Tornado ", superhero
* "Mikros ", superhero
* "Morgane ", supernatural adventures
* "Motoman", teenage superhero
* "Mozam ", African jungle lord* "Neptune", underwater adventures
* "
Oncle Rufus ", eccentric superhero
* "Ozark", Lakota magic* "
Patrouille des Profondeuirs ", underground adventures
* "Pedro & Doc ", western odd couple
* "Petit Cube ", superhero
* "Petit Scout ", western adventures
* "Phenix ", superhero
* "Photonik ", superhero
* "Pilote Noir ", superhero
* "Prince de la Nuit ", crimefighter in 1800 Paris* "
Quanter , genius scientist* "
Rakar ", Lakota superhero
* "Rataplan ", US Cavalry adventures
* "Renard le Flambeur ", Mississippi riverboat adventures
* "Ricky Rox ", western
* "Ring Joe ", boxing
* "Rip MacQueen ", journalist
* "Rod Zey ", engineer and troubleshooter
* "Roi des Profonbdeurs ", underwater superhero* "
Sadko le Prince Archer ", Robin Hood-type adventures
* "Sergeant Cannon ", WWII adventures
* "Sibilla ", supernatural adventures
* "Silver Shadow", science fiction adventures
* "SOS Trio ", detective
* "Starlock ", superhero
* "Stormalong", 1800 New Orleans adventures
* "Superbill", young prodigy* "
Tahy Tim ", adventures in the Raj
* "Tanka", jungle lord
* "Ted Brenton ", western adventures
* "Tocard Gang ", Prohibition-era adventures
* "Trapper John", French-Indian Wars adventures
* "Trois Lords ", three British Lords fight crime* "Utopia", three kids found a new country
* "Viking", a
viking warrior in the New World* "Waki", post-cataclysmic adventures
* "Wampus "* "
Wingo Scout ", western hero* "
X-101 ", espionage hero* "
Yatan ", a jungle lord* "
Zapo ", a western avenger
* "Zembla"External links
* [http://www.hexagoncomics.com/ Hexagon Comics official website] Hexagon Comics website; contains detailed character bios and articles on history of Editions Lug.
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