Spanish comics publisher Dolmen Editorial has announced a new line in reprints of British comic strips under the imprint Albión – the name chosen because it evoked the island of Great Britain in ancient times, as a tribute to the great British creators.
The new imprint, which will kickstart this summer with collections of Rebellion Publishing-owned The Spider and The Steel Claw – both popular characters in Spain in translation during their original publication in the UK in Lion and Valiant.
The Albión line joins two other imprints, Sin Fronteras, focused on reissues of American strips and Fuera Borda, dedicated mainly to Franco-Belgian classics, and marks a further expansion in the Palma-based publisher’s catalogue and aspirations.
Dedicated to reissues of classic British comics that were published in weekly magazines like Lion, the first title in the new line will be The Spider (or Flierman as translated in Spanish), a Spanish language version of The Spider’s Syndicate of Crime to be published by Rebellion next month, followed by The Steel Claw, released here last month.
These two anti-heroes, who still have a popular following in Spain, will be the first protagonists of the new Albión publishing line, due to launch this summer in Spanish bookshops, followed by more titles yet to be announced.
Spanish fans of The Spider, include artists such as Javier Orabich Frutos, who really knows how to capture the character.
Dolmen Editorial enthusiastically describes their Albión launch titles as “magnificent classics” that, after a long time, “will finally be published in Spain in restored and cared for editions, with our usual quality that we value and appreciate so much with our Sin Fronteras and Fuera Borda lines, as well as with a high-level bonus content.”
Dolmen Editorial was founded by Vicente García, Carlos Pacheco, Francisco Pérez Navarro and collector Jaume Vaquer in 2001, around the magazine of the same name. Their catalogue includes comics, graphic novels and books by both Spanish and international creators.
The deal with Rebellion Publishing of course begs the question – might this mean the British partner might pick up some of Dolmen’s books, such as those by Enrique Vegas? It will be interesting to see if this happens, although unlikely this year since the Oxford-based publisher has already announced its plans for 2021, which include some titles carried over from COVID-19 wrecked 2020.
• Check out Dolmen Editorial at dolmeneditorial.com
• The Steel Claw – English edition is available here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
• The Spider’s Syndicate of Crime – English edition is available to pre-order here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)
• Check out Rebellion Publishing’s full 2021 Schedule here
The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “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.
Categories: downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News
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