Pepín

Pepín is a comic book series published by Editorial Juventud S.A in Mexico City, Mexico commencing on the 4th of March, 1936 thru till 1954. Originally published on a weekly basis, it quickly became a daily publication due to it’s popularity, with reports even stating that up to a million copies were being sold on a daily basis. Considered the longest running comic book series in the world, with at least 7500 comic books published under the Pepín heading.

Editorial Juventud S.A was founded by Jose Garcia Valseca in 1926 in a warehouse in León, Guanajuato, Mexico. Originally starting as a newspaper publisher, Jose Garcia Valseca changed the companies direction due to poor sales, and founded/published 2 national magazines, Antequera in 1929, then Provincias in 1932.

In 1935, Paquito was the first comic book title released by Editorial Juventud S.A. Due to it’s massive success, a second titled was introduced in 1936, Pepín, which became equally popular. Then in 1937, we see a third comic book series published titled Paquita, which managed to sell 320,000 copies in it’s first year. This era of comic book publication is commonly referred to as the ‘Golden Age of Mexican Comics’ (from the 1930s to the mid 1950s).

Pepín had a big social influence in Mexico, with its name becoming a generic name for all comic magazines for three decades.

With the acquisition of national newspapers, the interests of the publishing house shifted to news press, and Pepín ceased to be published in 1954.

The Phantom appears on at least 4 covers of Pepín comic books, with internal comic strips published in Spanish language. Each edition isn’t solely dedicated to the one comic book character, a mix of comic strips are found within each edition.

The early editions of Pepín contained comic strips from USA, such as the Phantom and Superman, however as the series developed over the years, nationally produced comic strips were favored over those produced internationally. Pepin comics measure 5.5″ x 7.25″.