Dargaud

Société Dargaud (French pronunciation: [sɔsjete daʁɡo]), doing business as Les Éditions Dargaud (pronounced [lez‿ edisjɔ̃ daʁɡo]), is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics series, headquartered in the 18th arrondissement of Paris.[1] It was founded in 1936 by Georges Dargaud, publishing its first comics in 1943.

For other uses, see Dargaud (disambiguation).
Les Éditions Dargaud
Parent companyMédia-Participations
FoundedApril 1936 (1936-04) in the 18th arrondissement of Paris
FounderGeorges Dargaud
Country of originFrance
Headquarters locationParis
Publication typesBooks
Fiction genresComics
ImprintsDargaud-Lombard
Dargaud Suisse
Dargaud Media
Ellipsanime
Lucky Comics
Media-Diffusion
Mediatoon Distribution
Mediatoon Licensing
Urban Comics
Official websitewww.dargaud.com
Dargaud head office, 15-27 rue Moussorgski, Paris 18th arr.

History

Initially, Dargaud published novels for women. In 1948, it started Line, a "magazine for elegant women", as well as a French edition of the Belgian Tintin magazine.

In 1960, Dargaud bought the weekly Pilote magazine from René Goscinny, Albert Uderzo, and Jean-Michel Charlier. Goscinny continued as editor of the magazine, and Charlier was album editor for a period. In October 1961, Dargaud published the first Asterix album.[2]

In 1974, Dargaud wanted to diversify. Pilote became a monthly magazine and spawned two other monthly magazines. The new magazines were Lucky Luke Mensuel (a Western themed magazine around the series Lucky Luke) and Achille Talon Magazine (a humor based magazine around the series Achille Talon). However, both magazines could not sustain a readership and folded within a year. The comics from these two magazines were put back into Pilote.

In 1988, Dargaud was acquired by Média-Participations. Two years later, it sold the weekly gardening and do-it-yourself magazine Rustica to Média-Participations as well.

In 1992, the publisher Le Lombard became a part of Dargaud, followed in 1993 by Les Éditions Blake et Mortimer. Over the course of the 1990s, Dargaud subsequently acquired several audiovisual production companies, including Citel in 1994, Marina Productions in 1997, and Millésime Productions in 1998. The latter two, specialized in television animation, joined in 1999 to create Dargaud Marina, later renamed Dargaud Media.

At the end of the 1990s, Dargaud created manga publisher Kana, followed by Lucky Comics, centered on the series Lucky Luke.

In 2003, Dargaud acquired the production studio Ellipsanime, holder of one of the most extensive catalogues of European cartoons (including Tintin and Babar).

In 2008, Dargaud founded the foreign rights agency Mediatoon Licensing, and in 2015, it joined with twelve other European comics publishing actors to create Europe Comics, a digital initiative co-funded by the European Commission's Creative Europe program.[3]

In 2014, Dargaud acquired the assets of the now defunct Moonscoop Group, which includes the rights to series such as Hero: 108 and Code Lyoko.[4]

Georges Dargaud in 1988

Foreign Imprints

Outside of France, imprints include Dargaud USA, Dargaud Canada, and Hodder-Dargaud in the United Kingdom.[5]

Selected titles

References
  1. "Mentions légales Archived 2011-04-07 at the Wayback Machine." Dargaud. Retrieved on 1 May 2011. "15/27 rue Moussorgski 75018 Paris"
  2. Maussion, Florian (22 October 2015). "DANS LE RETRO. Quand "Le Parisien" s'est renommé "Le Lutécien"". Le Parisien. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  3. "Creative Europe Project Results: Europe Comics". Creative Europe. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  4. "Moonscoop". Code Lyoko. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  5. Hodder Dargaud, Openlibrary.org. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
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