Atlas Publishing Co., Inc.

May 10

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Atlas Logo

ATLAS PUBLISHING CO. INC., popularly known as ATLAS, was formerly the Pilipino Komiks, Inc. To prevent confusion of the company and the komiks-magazine itself, then incorporators of PKI decided to change its name which led to the formation of Atlas Publishing Co., Inc. The name “Atlas” was inspired by the mythical hero who bore the world on his shoulders. Its publisher was Dona Carmen Roces-Davila, one of the daughters of Don Ramon Roces.

Upon the formation of Atlas Publications, the ownership of the komiks-magazines currently published by PKI was transfered into this newly-organized company. Some of these titles included Pilipino Komiks, Tagalog Klasiks, Hiwaga Komiks, Espesyal Komiks, Tin-Edyers Songs and Shows, Darna Komiks and Sixteen Magazine. In 1972, it acquired Kidlat Komiks from the defunct PSG Publishing House which they published under its new title: Kidlat Superkomix. Then in 1976, it introduced Extra Special Komiks to the public and in 1981, it released the maiden issue of King Komiks. Three more komiks titles were added to the Atlas komiks family in 1984: B’wisheart Komiks, Love-Drama Komiks and Kasaysayan Komiks. When GASI created Speed Komiks, its first pocket-size komiks in 1985, ATLAS also came out with its own series of pocketkomiks, the most popular of which included Ninja Pocketkomiks, Super Action Pocketkomiks, Horror Thriller Pocketkomiks, Ayos! Pocketkomiks and Children’s Stories. They were transformed, however, into the regular-sized komiks later on. Atlas continued to produce more komiks titles until the early 2000s. Aside from the Big Four Komiks, the other most widely read komiks title Atlas ever produced was True Horoscope Stories.

In 1996, one half of the Roces family’s Filipino komiks publishing monopoly, the Atlas Publishing Co., Inc., was sold to National Bookstore, Inc., the leading Filipino bookstore chain in the country owned by the Ramos family. Its unfortunate that since the sale, “traditional” Filipino komiks under the Ramos family’s watch has practically disappeared from the Philippines’ cultural map.

Then in 2006, after more than 60 years of comics tradition in the Philippines, Atlas Publishing Co. Inc. made a final vow with the cessation of the publication of its komiks titles including the Big Four komiks: Pilipino Komiks, Tagalog Klasiks, Hiwaga Komiks, and Espesyal Komiks.

List of Titles

Posted on 2007/05/10, in Komiklopedia, Komiks Publishers and tagged . Bookmark the permalink. Comments Off.

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