Panini: Difference between revisions
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Panini's Italian parent company was purchased by [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]]'s US parent company Marvel Entertainment in 1994<ref name="marvelpurch">[http://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/07/business/company-news-marvel-entertainment-to-buy-italian-sticker-producer.html NY Times reporting on Panini's acquiration by Marvel Entertainment in 1994]</ref>, who used Panini's established structures on the European market to form their Marvel Europe division, and established comic-specific branches in other European countries such as Germany and France, including domestic Marvel imprints. In 1995, Panini acquired the assets of Marvel UK, which had been in a steady decline for several years by that point. | Panini's Italian parent company was purchased by [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]]'s US parent company Marvel Entertainment in 1994<ref name="marvelpurch">[http://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/07/business/company-news-marvel-entertainment-to-buy-italian-sticker-producer.html NY Times reporting on Panini's acquiration by Marvel Entertainment in 1994]</ref>, who used Panini's established structures on the European market to form their Marvel Europe division, and established comic-specific branches in other European countries such as Germany and France, including domestic Marvel imprints. In 1995, Panini acquired the assets of Marvel UK, which had been in a steady decline for several years by that point. | ||
In 1999, following Marvel's temporary bankruptcy, Panini was sold to Italian company Vittorio Merloni Fineldo SpA. Panini retained their international Marvel licenses, and later renewed and expanded them in 2006. In addition, Panini | In 1999, following Marvel's temporary bankruptcy, Panini was sold to Italian company Vittorio Merloni Fineldo SpA. Panini retained their international Marvel licenses, and later renewed and expanded them in 2006. In addition, Panini also acquired the license to publish DC Comics in various countries following their split from Marvel, as well as licenses from numerous other comic book publishers such as Image Comics and even [[Dreamwave Productions]], effectively making them a monopolist on many markets. | ||
In 2003, Panini temporarily held the license to publish an [[Armada (Panini comic)|''Armada'' comic magazine]] in the UK. Presumably, this had nothing directly to do with Panini's absorption of Marvel UK (who had previously published a [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)#Marvel UK|''Transformers'' comic]] several years ago)—Panini had simply acquired a new license from Hasbro. | In 2003, Panini temporarily held the license to publish an [[Armada (Panini comic)|''Armada'' comic magazine]] in the UK. Presumably, this had nothing directly to do with Panini's absorption of Marvel UK (who had previously published a [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)#Marvel UK|''Transformers'' comic]] several years ago)—Panini had simply acquired a new license from Hasbro. | ||
Panini's German division also published a short-lived German language version of the Dreamwave [[Armada (Dreamwave comic)|''Armada'' comic]] under their (now defunct) Dino Comics label in 2003. | |||
==External Links== | ==External Links== | ||
Revision as of 16:32, 23 December 2009
Panini Comics, a subdivision of Panini Group, is an Italian comic publisher. These days, Marvel UK is an imprint of Panini's UK division. Furthermore, Panini also also publishes DC comics under license in several European countries. They also used to publish an Armada comic magazine in the UK.
History
For a long time, Panini had been mostly known for its sticker albums based around a wide variety of topics including football ("soccer" for Americans), movies, TV shows and cartoons. Coincidentally, they also released a sticker album with screencaps from episodes of the Generation 1 cartoon in several countries back in the 1980s.
Panini's Italian parent company was purchased by Marvel's US parent company Marvel Entertainment in 1994<ref name="marvelpurch">NY Times reporting on Panini's acquiration by Marvel Entertainment in 1994</ref>, who used Panini's established structures on the European market to form their Marvel Europe division, and established comic-specific branches in other European countries such as Germany and France, including domestic Marvel imprints. In 1995, Panini acquired the assets of Marvel UK, which had been in a steady decline for several years by that point.
In 1999, following Marvel's temporary bankruptcy, Panini was sold to Italian company Vittorio Merloni Fineldo SpA. Panini retained their international Marvel licenses, and later renewed and expanded them in 2006. In addition, Panini also acquired the license to publish DC Comics in various countries following their split from Marvel, as well as licenses from numerous other comic book publishers such as Image Comics and even Dreamwave Productions, effectively making them a monopolist on many markets.
In 2003, Panini temporarily held the license to publish an Armada comic magazine in the UK. Presumably, this had nothing directly to do with Panini's absorption of Marvel UK (who had previously published a Transformers comic several years ago)—Panini had simply acquired a new license from Hasbro.
Panini's German division also published a short-lived German language version of the Dreamwave Armada comic under their (now defunct) Dino Comics label in 2003.