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Semic Interprint

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Semic Interprint
PredecessorInterprint
Founded1988
SuccessorAdoc-Semic
Country of originHungary
Headquarters locationBudapest
Publication typesComic books
Fiction genresSuperhero, Humor, Manga, adventure
Csodálatos pókember #1 (1989)
Marvel Extra #17 (1995)

Semic Interprint, now known as Adoc-Semic, is a Hungarian publishing company, located in Budapest. It publishes mainly translated Hungarian comics and magazines. It has been the main comics company in Hungary, and the only source for American comics in the country for over a decade.

Publishing history

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Formed in 1988, it started as a Hungarian-Swedish joint venture, incorporating the Swedish Semic Press and the former Hungarian publisher Interprint. It took over former titles and introduced a whole series of American and European comics, never before seen in Hungary, including Spider-Man, Batman, Superman, and The Phantom. Publishing peaked in 1991, when the company put out more than 120 books a year.

After the success of the three well-known American titles, new ones got introduced, such as Transformers, the X-Men, and Marvel Extra, which featured the Avengers, Fantastic Four, Daredevil, and many more. Others were Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Mirage comics), RoboCop, Garfield, and Calvin and Hobbes. Kretén featured mainly works of Hungarian artists; later it translated some material from MAD. Some older ones were forced into joint bi-monthly titles like Batman and Superman. Besides the growing number of comics, there were also unsuccessful moves like the short-lived X-07 magazine, which was meant to feature Franco-Belgian comics like XIII and Largo Winch.

At the end of the 1990s, financial disputes with Marvel Comics (which at that time was bankrupt) led to the cancellations of Marvel Extra, X-Men, and the Transformers, leaving only Spider-Man as the last Marvel character in the country. After this, Semic Interprint turned to Dark Horse Comics and Image Comics. X-Files, Spawn, and Star Wars were launched in 1997. X-Files got canceled after one year, and Spawn in 1999 together with Spider-Man, leaving the county with practically no comics.

In 1999 the company introduced the first manga published in Hungary, namely Dragon Ball, Video Girl Ai, and Sailor Moon. The first two were manga-sized 52 page, monthly titles; Sailor Moon featured the colored Animanga version in a 52-page comic book-sized edition. The ban on Dragonball in Hungarian TV broadcasting had a diminishing effect on the spread of anime and manga at that time, and after the cancellation of Video Girl Ai and Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball also got sacked.

The next big move for the company was the introduction of the hit US comic series Ultimate Spider-Man. Titled Csodálatos Pókember in Hungarian, it got the same title as its predecessor in hope of wider recognition among older comic fans. 2001 also featured a sad event. DC's last representatives, Superman & Batman, disappeared from the news stands.

The years since can be dubbed stagnation at the company. No new regular titles, few one-shots like the Batman movie adaptation got published, but no big investments.

With the Appearance of Panini Comics in Hungary, which also publishes American comics, Semic chose to make Csodálatos Pókember a monthly title.

Adoc-Semic products are available at newsstands (there is no direct market for comics in Hungary). Some back issues are still available from the publisher.

Published titles

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Title Publication dates Issues Content
Ai, a videolány 2000 4 Video Girl Ai
Alf 1990 12 Alf
Batman 1990–1993 25 Monthly, later bi-monthly title featuring various stories from Detective Comics and Batman. Issue #1 featured Batman: The Killing Joke.
Bobo 1986-1992 53 Bobo, the Swedish comic.
Bolondos dallamok 2003 1 A one-shot with the crew from Looney Tunes.
Csodálatos Pókember 1989–1999 127 One of the company's longest-running comics, featuring Spider-Man stories from The Amazing Spider-Man, Spectacular Spider-Man, Web of Spider-Man, and Marvel Team-Up.
Csodálatos Pókember Album 1990–1991 2 Oversize annuals featuring Marvel Team-Up stories with Spider-Man.
Csodálatos Pókember: Sikoly 2005 1 A 96-page one-shot featuring the legendary Shrieking story from The Amazing Spider-Man.
Csodálatos Pókember vol. 2 2001-2010 90 Ultimate Spider-Man
Csodálatos Pókember vol. 3 2011 2 Featuring Spider-Man stories from The Amazing Spider-Man.
Dragon Ball 2000–2001 16 Dragon Ball manga split into 52-page monthly manga size comics.
Falomlás 1989 1 A one-shot about the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Fantom 1987–1992 24 Stories from the Swedish The Phantom, Fantomen.
Fantom Album 1990 1 An oversized album of collected The Phantom strips.
Flintstone család 1990 6 The Flintstones
Garfield 1990-2011 253 Various Garfield strips collected in a monthly comic book format.
Garfield zsebkönyv 1991-2010 97 Garfield strips in pocket-size books
Góliát 1986–1992 52
Góliát Album 1988–1991 3
James Bond 1988–1989 6 Black and white James Bond stories plus
Juli, Klári, Cili 1991 1 One-shot with French comics.
Képregény Koktél 1994 6 Calvin and Hobbes strips collected into comic volumes.
Kretén 1993-2009 100 A humor magazine, mainly with Hungarian artists' works. It has a regular MAD section.
Lobo 1999 2 Short-lived title about the DC Comics character Lobo
Lobo & Maszk 1999 2 Team-up of Lobo and The Mask.
MAD 1997 6 Stories from MAD magazine.
Maja, a méhecske 1990 12
Marvel Extra 1993–1996 24 Various stories from Marvel Comics featuring The Avengers, Iron Man, Daredevil, Fantastic Four, Hulk, Spider-Man and partially events, like Secret Wars, Inferno, and Kraven's Last Hunt.
Nils Holgersson 1988–1992 49 Nils Holgersson
Pókember - A sors hálójában 2005 1 A Spider-Man one-shot.
Pókember mozifilmek 2002 2 Comics adaptations of the Spider-Man movies.
Robotzsaru 1990–1993 13 Marvel's RoboCop comics.
Rózsaszín Párduc 1987–1992 41 Pink Panther comics.
Sailor Moon 1999–2000 24 52-page monthly color animanga about Sailor Moon
Snoopy 1997 2 Snoopy
Spawn - Az ivadék 1997–1999 18 Todd McFarlane's Spawn
Star Wars 1997–2011 82 Bi-monthly title featuring various Star Wars stories from Dark Horse Comics.
Star Wars film adaptációk 1999–2005 3 Comics adaptations of the Star Wars movies
Superman 1990–1992 18 Monthly (later bi-monthly) Superman title, featuring stories from The Man of Steel, Action Comics, and Superman vol. 2
Superman & Batman 1992–2001 54 Bi-monthly book featuring stories from Action Comics, Superman vol. 2, Superman: The Man of Steel, Batman, Detective Comics, and Shadow of the Bat.
Szimat szörény 1989 3 Photo-comic about a Hungarian TV show, featuring a hound as detective
Tarzan 1992 4 Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan by Blackthorne Publishing
Tini Titán Teknőcök 1991–1995 38 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Mirage comics) from Mirage Studios
Tiszta Dili 1994–1997 24 Bimonthly humor magazine with various artists
Transformers 1990–1997 35 Transformers by Marvel Comics
Tumak 1988–1989 15 Tumac, an Incan Indian.
X-07 1995 2 Featuring XIII and Largo Winch
X-Akták 1997 6 The X-Files by Topps Comics
X-Men 1992–1997 36 Stories mainly from Uncanny X-Men
X-Men: X2 2003 1 Comics adaptation of the X-Men: X2 movie

Sources

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