New This Week: Lion Guard Magazine from Panini

By John Freeman on 27 July 2016

Panini’s new 36-page children’s magazine based on the popular new animated series The Lion Guard launches in the UK this week (Friday 28th July), aimed at kids aged five to seven.

The animated series premiered in April, continuing the story of The Lion King film, focusing on the adventures of Simba’s son, Kion and his group of friends. The series has been accompanied by a number of tie-in merchandise releases, including figures, stickers and more.

The new title aims to encourage imaginative play, early years learning, show the importance of friendship and working as a team – and features stories, puzzles, crafts, posters, competitions and more.

“We are delighted to be working with Disney on this fantastic new property and hope to mirror the current success on screen to print,” said Jess Tadmor, head of marketing at Panini.

“Our strong editorial, creative design and retail support make a great launch platform for a roaring success.”

The Lion Guard has already been launched in Europe in Bulgaria, Poland and Spain.

• The Lion Guard monthly pre-school magazine will launch at £3.99 with each monthly issue carrying a £2.99 price tag

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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.