Éditions Lug


Éditions Lug was a French comic book publisher based in Lyon, operating from 1950 to 1989. Originally known for publishing digest-sized reprints of old French and Italian comics, it then created its own characters and titles, such as the Tarzanesque Zembla. Later, Lug began licensing and publishing translated versions of Marvel Comics superhero comics with titles such as Fantask, Marvel, and most notably, Strange.
In 1989, the company was acquired by the Semic Group, a Scandinavian comic book publisher, and later became a French company, Semic Comics.

History

Origins

Éditions Lug was created in 1950 by writer/editor Marcel Navarro and businessman Auguste Vistel. The name of the company came from Lugdunum, the Gallo-Roman name for the city of Lyon.
When it started, Éditions Lug only reprinted old French and Italian comics in digest-sized magazines.
Among its most popular Italian imports were:Tex Willer, from Sergio Bonelli Editore Il Grande Blek Capitan Miki Alan Mistero
The latter three are from Studio EsseGesse.
Another notable non-French comic book series published by Éditions Lug at the time was Dan Dare.

Original characters

Early on, however, 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 of these series was often evocative of 1960s DC Comics.
Éditions Lug's first major original success was a Tarzanesque jungle lord named Zembla ; 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.

Marvel Comics / superheroes

In 1968, Claude Vistel, Auguste Vistel's daughter, returned from a trip to New York and convinced Navarro to publish the first translations of Marvel Comics in France, in a magazine titled Fantask, which featured Fantastic Four, Spider-Man and the Silver 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, Éditions Lug had run-ins with French censorship, and both Fantask and Wampus were canceled after only six issues.
The following year, Navarro re-launched the Marvel characters, first in a magazine called Strange, then in Marvel. At the same time, he continued to introduce more new French characters in magazines such as:Futura, which published Jaleb, Homicron, Brigade Temporelle, L'Autre, Aster, Jeff Sullivan and SibillaWaki Kabur which also published Le Gladiateur de Bronze .
Throughout this period, Luciano Bernasconi became one of Éditions Lug's major artists, co-creating a number of major characters, such as Wampus, Kabur and Phenix.

1970s/1980s success

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, Nova, Spidey, and graphic novels of The Fantastic Four, Conan the Barbarian, etc.
A number of original titles were added, including a revamped version of Mustang, which published Photonik, Mikros and Ozark. Other characters introduced during this period included Phenix and Starlock. 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 the Marvel Universe. While the titles made references to each other, characters from different titles never interacted directly.

Acquisition by Semic Press

In the mid-80's, Auguste Vistel died. This was the beginning of the end for Éditions Lug. Eventually, Marcel Navarro chose to retire. In 1989, the company was sold to the Semic Group, a Scandinavian comic book publisher, which renamed it Semic France. It later became a French company, Semic Comics.

Hexagon Comics

In 2004, after Semic Comics decided to cancel the Éditions Lug lines of comic books, a syndicate of French, Italian, and Spanish former Lug writers and artists reclaimed the rights to their characters and reorganized under the banner of Hexagon Comics.

Selected titles

Plutos Rodeo Tex Pipo Pampa Kiwi Pim Pam Poum Hondo Nevada Flambo Bourask Yuma Zembla Blek Bronco Baroud Dago Ombrax Mustang Fantask Wampus Strange Marvel Futura Yampa Waki Kabur Titans Nova

Selected characters

Afrikanders, Boer War adventuresAgent Sans Nom, espionageAmi Barry, ghost detectiveAntonin, Musketeer adventuresApollo, western adventuresArchie, eccentric scientistAster, science fictionL'Autre, toned down sequel to WampusBabette, young fashion model adventuresBarefoot le Magnifique, French-Indian wars adventuresBaroud, WWII adventuresBathy-09, underwater adventuresBen Leonard, archeological, science fiction adventuresBenny du Bayou, growing up in LouisianaBill & Barry, a boy looking for his parentsBilly Boyd, westernBob Lance, modern-days descendants of the Round TableBob Pepper, insurance investigationsBob Stanley, an American in 19th century JapanBrigade As, Interpol adventuresBrigade Temporelle, time travel adventuresCapitaine Giroflée Captain Tiger, Polynesian adventuresCaptain Tom & Co.Le Chat, international boxingChampagneChevalier de l'Espace, science fictionChikotawa, Canadian adventuresC.L.A.S.H.Comte de Saint-GermainCorsak, jungle lordDago, supernatural westernDan Diamond, espionageDan Lucky, westernDan Sabre, westernDan Tempest, westernDave Kaplan, news photographerDick Demon, supernatural westernDick Spade, journalistDigger Drake, India under the RajDoc Sullivan, medical adventuresDon Juan l'Epervier, swashbucklerDragut, pirateEtoile à Cinq Branches, supernatural adventuresFace d'Ange, espionageFargo Jim, westernFlag des Neiges, Mountain rescue adventuresFlambo, Napoleon's Little DrummerFlanagan, detectiveFrank Ale, boxing adventuresFrank Universal, ecological science fictionFred & Gib, westernFrères Thunderbolt, private eyesFury, Korean WarGalaor, sword & sorceryGallix, heroic fantasy against RomeGalton & Trumbo, NYPD adventuresGladiateur de Bronze, superheroGreg Jordan, racecar driverGun Gallon, heroic fantasyHavoc, westernHomicron, superheroHomme de Metal, heroic fantasyHunter, westernIndian Kid, westernIvan Karine, Tsarist Russia adventuresIvan Wolonsky, Teenage PsychicJacky West, westernJaleb, alien telepathJaydee, alien shapeshifterJean Brume, Scarlet Pimpernel-like heroJean Girodet, espionageJed Puma, western martial artsJeff Sullivan, superheroJill & JohnJim Mississippi, masked western avengerJohnny Bourask, Colonial heroKabur, heroic fantasyKit Kappa, martial artsLarry Cannon, insurance investigationsLion des Thermopyles, Greek Antiquity adventuresLucifer, fallen angel must do good to redeem himselfLys Noir, pirate adventuresMac, three Scotsmen in the Old WestMadison Bill, Prohibition-era adventuresMalinbourne, space fantasyMarino, underwater superheroMasque Blanc, Apartheid superheroMax Flanagan, World War I photographerMax Tornado, superheroMikros, superheroMorgane, supernatural adventuresMotoman, teenage superheroMozam, African jungle lordNeptune, underwater adventuresOncle Rufus, eccentric superheroOzark, Lakota magicPatrouille des Profondeuirs, underground adventuresPedro & Doc, western odd couplePetit Cube, superheroPetit Scout, western adventuresPhenix, superheroPhotonik, superheroPilote Noir, superheroPrince de la Nuit, crimefighter in 1800 ParisQuanter, genius scientistRakar, Lakota superheroRataplan, US Cavalry adventuresRenard le Flambeur, Mississippi riverboat adventuresRicky Rox, westernRing Joe, boxingRip MacQueen, journalistRod Zey, engineer and troubleshooterRoi des Profondeurs, underwater superheroSadko le Prince Archer, Robin Hood-type adventuresSergeant Cannon, WWII adventuresSibilla, supernatural adventuresSilver Shadow, science fiction adventuresSOS Trio, detectiveStarlock, superheroStormalong, 1800 New Orleans adventuresSuperbill, young prodigyTahy Tim, adventures in the RajTanka, jungle lordTed Brenton, western adventuresTocard Gang, Prohibition-era adventuresTrapper John, French-Indian Wars adventuresTrois Lords, three British Lords fight crimeUtopia, three kids found a new countryViking, a viking warrior in the New WorldWaki, post-cataclysmic adventuresWampusWingo Scout, western heroX-101, espionage heroYatan, a jungle lordZapo, a western avenger
  • ''Zembla''