Satanik

For the Italian character called "Satanik" in France, see Killing (comics).

Satanik
Publication information
Publisher	Editoriale Corno
Format	Magazine
Publication date	1964-1974
No. of issues	231
Creative team
Written by	Max Bunker
Artist(s)	Magnus

Satanik is an Italian noir comic book created in December 1964 by Max Bunker (writer) and Magnus (artist), also the authors of the popular series Kriminal and Alan Ford.

Synopsis

Satanik is Marny Bannister, a skilled female chemistry scientist whose face is marked by an unpleasant angioma. One day, following a theory of a mad alchemist, she develops a drug which transforms her into a charming and fascinating red-haired woman: but, as in Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the drug has an unexpected side effect, making her a murderous criminal mastermind. Satanik was innovative in the fact she took advantage of her sex appeal to conduct her crimes, and some proto-erotic scenes appeared in the series. It showed also a broad range of horror and supernatural themes like vampires, evil ghosts and monsters. The series had several problems with censorship and some of the books were confiscated by authorities (like "Murder in the correction house").

Lieutenant Trent, Satanik's main opponent.

The main antagonist of Satanik is the policeman Lt. Trent, whose companion Satanik had killed. After a ménage with the jewel trader Max Lincoln (#38-100), in the last numbers she gets engaged with Kriss Hunter, a black private detective. One of the villains of the series, the vampire Baron Wurdalak, who, due to his bumbling nature, later also appeared in the comedic-oriented series Alan Ford.

Publication history

The comic book, in black and white digest format, was published for ten years. Magnus left after Issue 161. Other artists who worked on the series include Giovanni Romanini and Franco Verola. The last Satanik comic book was Issue 231 of November 1974, in which Satanik and her boyfriend seem to drown. Satanik was named Demoniak in France, in order to avoid confusion with Killing, which had been translated in French as Satanik.

In 1968 Satanik was adapted into a film directed by Piero Vivarelli, starring Magda Konopka in the main role.

External links

• Max Bunker Press
• Fumetto nero
• Complete list of Satanik stories Template:It icon
• Satanik's entry in International Catalogue of Superheroes
• Satanik at IMDb