As you are possibly aware in 1995, after Marvel US closed down the Marvel UK imprint, it was Panini (Yup, the Italian company who makes the Sticker Albums and trading cards) who bought up the Marvel UK license, and began reprinting American titles under the terms of that license. Now, anybody who's ever walked into a WH Smith, or other large chain Newsagent, in the UK will know that they do a good trade in those reprints (And some reprints of DC books, too) but it is still US written material. Reprints, not UK developed.
Bar one.
Spectacular Spider-Man began life as a series based up the 1990s Spider-man animated series. It re-told the episodes from the series in panel form. And for that reason I have to admit that I steered clear of it. But when the animated series came to an end, something interesting happened. They started producing new material themselves...
It started with the first UK written Captain Britain story in a decade, and has now led to an ongoing run of new material. Granted, it isn't in mainstream continuity like Marvel UK used to be, but it is a start.
Ed Hammond, editor of Panini UK as it is now, has done an interview with Newsarama about where they are at, right now. It's all quite interesting, and more importantly will give American readers a bit of a clearer picture of the market in the UK. The artwork certainly looks pretty good.
Check it out:
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