From a King Features Syndicate press release:
King Features Syndicate, a unit of Hearst and home to some of the world’s most popular entertainment characters, is growing its global publishing program under the direction of publishing director Christina Nix Lynch to develop new partnerships for original content. The expansion includes new territories, titles, formats and narratives that introduce spinoff characters and their storylines in reimagining classic intellectual properties.
We touched on this the other day with a Publishers Weekly report. Here is more.
As the owner of classic franchises including The Phantom, Flash Gordon, Prince Valiant, Mandrake the Magician and Popeye, the traditional publishing program has focused on comic reprints. While continuing to maintain the reprint market, King Features recently shifted the program’s focus toward developing new content for both its classic and new IP.
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King Features is planning to launch a YA graphic novel series for Flash Gordon with Macmillan that offers a new twist on the classic story as the original characters are re-imagined as young adult heroes. More information, including the imprint and launch dates for the series, will be released soon.
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Publishing also affords King Features the opportunity to grow its characters’ fanbases in global markets and in 2020, King Features’ international agents signed more than 50 publishing deals. Since the first costumed superhero’s debut 85 years ago, King Features has continued to build awareness and grow The Phantom’s fanbase internationally. In India, where The Phantom has been a beloved character for decades, Regal Publishers is releasing 77 new titles in Malayalam and English to tap into affinity for the brand and keep the character fresh for his millions of fans. They are also introducing Mandrake the Magician to the region this year with 20 new titles. Also in the territory, Shakti Comics will be releasing comics in English, Hindi and Bengali for Flash Gordon, The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician, while Lion Comics will launch Secret Agent X9, Rip Kirby, The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician comics in Tamil. The Phantom’s popularity also continues in Australia with comics from Frew, and has been thriving in the Nordics for decades thanks to the works distributed by Egmont.
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This fall, King Features and Hermes Press will release a comprehensive new coffee table-sized retrospective dedicated to the 90-plus year history of Popeye the Sailorman. Fans everywhere will be thrilled to get their hands on this highly collectible book that includes everything they ever wanted to know about the spinach-eating sailor.
King Features is also planning on a worldwide push for Cuphead books and figures.
Read the full press release here.
Mandrake, The Phantom, Popeye, Dethany © King Features Syndicate