Star Comics (Italy)
Star Comics is an Italian publisher of comic books established in December 1987, primarily focusing on Italian translations of manga and comic series. Prior to the establishment of Marvel Italia (currently part of Panini Comics) in 1994, Star Comics was responsible for releasing numerous Marvel Comics titles within Italy. The enterprise manages twenty-eight publishing branches and had introduced 316 manga series by the year 2007.
History
Background
During the mid-1980s, Marvel Comics experienced a significant decline in popularity across Italy. Following the bankruptcy of Editoriale Corno in 1984, Marvel's publications were halted for approximately fifteen months. In 1985, Labor Comics briefly obtained the license to publish certain Marvel titles but ceased operations by late 1986.
Foundation and Growth
Star Comics was founded in 1987 by former Labor Comics employees Sergio Cavallerin and Marco Marcello Lupoi, who collaborated with Giovanni Bovini’s printing company based in Perugia to revive L’Uomo Ragno (Spider-Man). Although initial sales were modest, they eventually increased enough to support additional series such as Fantastic Four, Gli incredibili X-Men, and Il Punitore.
The launch of Marvel Italia in 1994 compelled Star Comics to discontinue its Marvel superhero lineup, with Lupoi transferring to Marvel Italia. In response, Star assembled a new editorial team led by Ade Capone and Paolo A. Livorati, shifting focus toward American independent publishers like Image Comics—featuring titles like Spawn and Gen¹³—and Dark Horse Comics. Beginning in 1995, Star concentrated on Image’s WildStorm imprint, showcasing characters created by Jim Lee.
Concurrently, Star expanded into manga publishing to leverage the expanding Italian market, introducing landmark series such as Dragon Ball, which was Italy’s first manga published in its original right-to-left reading format. The company also resumed popular Japanese series previously interrupted due to Granata Press's bankruptcy, including Ranma ½ and Maison Ikkoku. From 1999 onward, manga became Star’s main growth area with prominent franchises like Saint Seiya, One Piece, Shaman King, and Detective Conan.
Star further invested in original Italian comics, notably the series Lazarus Ledd, created by Ade Capone and published from 1993 through 2006 with continuing special editions. In 2004, it acquired and revitalized Federico Memola’s Jonathan Steele. However, due to market changes and internal difficulties, the USA comics division was shut down in 1998.
A brief return to American comics occurred in 2004 with anthology titles such as Star Magazine New and Star Book. Nevertheless, limited distribution led to their discontinuation within two years. After an unsuccessful attempt at launching a TV magazine, Star redirected its focus toward manga and Italian comics, introducing original miniseries like Nemrod and Khor in 2007. In 2009, it published Memola's Rourke, reinforcing its dedication to domestic content.
Following 2010, investments increased in Italian titles including Factor V, Valter Buio, and Pinkerton S.A.. That same year marked the end of collaboration with the Kappa Boys—consultants who had played a key role in developing Star’s manga catalog—due to differing strategic goals.
In 2013, Star released the comedic comic strip Suore Ninja by Davide La Rosa and Vanessa Cardinale after their previous success with self-published projects.
Starting from 2014, oversight of Western comics was assigned to Davide G.G. Caci as publishing manager, while Cristian Posocco took leadership of the manga division in 2016 following his decade-long tenure at Flashbook Edizioni.
In February 2021, Star Comics unveiled a refreshed brand identity featuring a new logo and introduced two separate imprints: Star, dedicated to manga under Posocco’s direction, and Astra, focusing on Western comics managed by Caci.
Mondadori Period (from 2022 onward)
On June 6, 2022, the Mondadori Group secured a 51% ownership stake in the Perugia-based publishing house Star Comics, with the transaction valued at around €15 million. CEO Simone Bovini and editorial director Claudia Bovini continued in their leadership roles, maintaining the majority of the editorial team. The company’s main office remained located in Bosco, while Mondadori also acquired full ownership of Grafiche Bovini S.r.L., the entity responsible for printing and distribution operations.
Antonio Porro, CEO of Mondadori, underscored Star Comics’ broad range of formats and its growing catalogue as pivotal factors driving expansion. This acquisition strategically enhances Mondadori’s footprint within the expanding comics segment by capitalizing on Star Comics’ well-established distribution network across newsstands, bookstores, and specialty comic retailers throughout Italy.
“In recent years, the comics sector has emerged as a key growth engine for the entire publishing industry, fueled by innovative content and its remarkable capacity to attract new audiences.”
Claudia Bovini highlighted that integration with Italy’s foremost publishing group will promote comics as a mainstream cultural medium, reflecting similar developments observed in other European countries.
Post-acquisition, the combined Mondadori/Star Comics entity achieved a market share exceeding 30% in bookstore comic sales, establishing itself as Italy’s leading comics publisher within this channel. This dominant position surpassed rivals such as Sergio Bonelli Editore, Edizioni BD, and Panini Comics, leveraging bookstores as the fastest-growing point of sale for comics globally throughout the 2020s.
This strategy aligns with patterns seen in the U.S. Direct Market, which serves as a reference for Western comic markets. In 2021, U.S. comic sales reached an unprecedented $2 billion in revenue—marking a 62% increase from 2020—with bookstores generating $1.165 billion, comic specialty stores $700 million, digital platforms $170 million, and other retail channels $35 million.
On September 5, 2023, Star Comics revealed it would assume the role of official Italian publisher for Frank Miller's body of work.
By March 3, 2025, Mondadori plans to elevate its ownership share to 75.5%.
Publishing Divisions
- Action
- Amici
- Anime comics
- Dragon
- Dragon Quest
- Express
- Fan
- Ghost
- Greatest
- Gundam universe
- Hot
- Kappa extra
- Kappa magazine
- KM Presenta
- Must
- Mitico
- Neverland
- Point break
- Shot
- Starlight
- Storie di kappa
- Techno
- Turn over
- Up
- Young
- Zero
- Albi fuoriserie