Grupo Editorial Vid

Grupo Editorial Vid, also known as Editorial Vid, Vid, or Mundo Vid, was a Mexican publishing group associated with comics, manga, books, and magazines. Its origins trace back to Editorial Argumentos, commonly abbreviated as EDAR, which was established in the early 1940s. The company became particularly recognized for publishing popular illustrated entertainment for Mexican readers and for distributing material across the wider Latin American market. Vid’s publishing activity covered both locally developed or licensed Mexican properties and translations of internationally known comics and Japanese manga. Its catalog included superhero comics, independent comics, adaptations, serialized romance and melodrama stories, and manga or manhwa. The company’s Mexican comic properties included Memín Pinguín, identified as its first published comic, El Pantera, and the Lágrimas y Risas franchise, formerly known as Lágrimas, Risas y Amor. Several stories associated with Lágrimas y Risas were later adapted into telenovelas by Televisa, linking Vid’s publishing output with Mexico’s broader popular-culture and television industries. During the mid-1990s, Vid expanded its licensed comics program. It published titles from major American publishers including Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, and Bongo Comics, alongside independent material. Its Marvel-related publications included The Amazing Spider-Man, Uncanny X-Men, Ultimate Spider-Man, The Avengers, Secret Wars, The Infinity Gauntlet, Marvels, and other titles. Its DC-related catalog included Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Watchmen, JLA, Superman/Batman, All-Star Superman, 52, and major crossover or event publications. Vid also issued comics such as Spawn, Hellboy, 300, Star Wars, The Simpsons, and other licensed properties. The company later became an important Mexican publisher of manga and manhwa, issuing translated editions in a regular monthly publishing cycle. Reference material describes typical retail prices of approximately 30 Mexican pesos for comics and 60 pesos for manga during the period covered, equivalent to roughly five to six U.S. dollars at the time. These price points and recurring monthly releases positioned the company toward accessible, mass-market distribution rather than a narrowly specialized collector audience. A major change occurred in 2005, when Televisa acquired the rights to publish Marvel titles in Mexico. Vid consequently stopped selling its Marvel line, ending an important part of its licensed-superhero business. The available reference material does not establish the precise date of the group’s closure, its ownership structure, current operations, or a confirmed successor. It is therefore best described here as a historically significant Mexican comics and popular publishing brand whose current status requires further verification.

Grupo Editorial Vid developed from Editorial Argumentos, or EDAR, a Mexican publishing venture founded in the early 1940s. The precise founding year and founder are not established in the supplied reference material. From its Mexican base, the company built a publishing program centered on comics, magazines, books, and other popular printed entertainment. It later used the Mundo Vid name in connection with parts of its publishing activity. The company’s early and continuing identity was closely tied to Mexican comic culture. Memín Pinguín is identified as the first comic published by the group. Vid also became associated with El Pantera and with the Lágrimas y Risas franchise, originally known as Lágrimas, Risas y Amor. The latter property was especially significant because several of its stories were adapted into telenovelas by Televisa, demonstrating the circulation of Vid-related characters and narratives between print and television. By the mid-1990s, Vid had broadened its catalog through licensing agreements with major international comics publishers. Its output included Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, and Bongo Comics, as well as independent titles. The Marvel and DC programs covered both ongoing superhero series and collected or event-oriented stories. Examples included The Amazing Spider-Man, Uncanny X-Men, Ultimate Spider-Man, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Watchmen, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Infinite Crisis, and other well-known properties. Other licensed material included Spawn, Hellboy, 300, Star Wars, and The Simpsons. Vid also became a notable publisher of translated manga and manhwa in Mexico. Comics and manga were generally issued monthly, and the reference material places typical prices at around 30 pesos for comics and 60 pesos for manga, or approximately five to six U.S. dollars at the time. This recurring and relatively accessible format helped connect international comics and Japanese-origin publishing with Mexican readers through local-language editions and domestic distribution. The licensing environment changed in 2005 when Televisa acquired the rights to publish Marvel titles. Vid stopped selling Marvel material after that change, removing one of the most prominent international lines from its catalog. The supplied sources do not document the precise terms of the rights transfer, the subsequent performance of Vid’s other publishing programs, or a confirmed date and legal process for any later cessation of operations. They also do not identify company executives, founders, or ownership details with sufficient certainty. The group is therefore documented primarily through its publishing history and catalog rather than through corporate-financial or management records.

• 2005

  Loss of Marvel publishing rights

  [1]Grupo Editorial Viden.wikipedia.org

  Televisa acquired the rights to publish Marvel titles in Mexico, after which Vid stopped selling its Marvel line.

• Origins as Editorial Argumentos

  [1]Grupo Editorial Viden.wikipedia.org

  The publishing operation that later became associated with Grupo Editorial Vid was established as Editorial Argumentos, or EDAR, in the early 1940s. The exact year is not specified in the available reference material.

• Publication of Memín Pinguín

  [1]Grupo Editorial Viden.wikipedia.org

  Memín Pinguín is identified as the first comic published by the group and became one of the Mexican properties associated with its catalog.

• Expansion into international licensed comics

  [1]Grupo Editorial Viden.wikipedia.org

  By the mid-1990s, Vid was publishing licensed material from Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse, and Bongo Comics, in addition to independent and Mexican titles.

Mass-market Mexican publisher combining domestic popular comics with affordable licensed international comics, manga, and other illustrated entertainment.

• Domestic comics

  Mexican comics

  Vid’s domestic comics catalog included Memín Pinguín, identified as the group’s first published comic, as well as El Pantera and other Mexican properties. These works formed the local popular-comics foundation of the company’s business and complemented its later international licensing activities.

• Romance and melodrama comics

  Lágrimas y Risas

  Lágrimas y Risas, formerly known as Lágrimas, Risas y Amor, was a major serialized romance and melodrama property associated with Vid. Stories from the franchise were adapted into telenovelas by Televisa, giving the comic line visibility beyond the print market.

• Licensed superhero comics

  Marvel Comics editions

  Vid published Mexican editions of numerous Marvel titles during its licensed-comics period. The catalog included The Amazing Spider-Man, Uncanny X-Men, Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate X-Men, The Avengers, The Ultimates, Secret Wars, The Infinity Gauntlet, Marvel Mangaverse, and Marvels. The Marvel program ended after Televisa acquired the relevant publishing rights in 2005.

• Licensed superhero comics

  DC Comics editions

  Vid’s DC catalog included Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Infinite Crisis, Justice, JLA, Superman/Batman, All-Star Superman, All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder, DC vs. Marvel, JLA/Avengers, Watchmen, Wildcats, and 52.

• Licensed and independent comics

  Image, Dark Horse, and Bongo Comics editions

  The group also published selected titles from Image or Top Cow, Dark Horse, and Bongo Comics. Examples included Spawn, Hellspawn, Savage Dragon, Tomb Raider, Hellboy, 300, Star Wars, and The Simpsons, broadening the catalog beyond superhero publishers.

• Translated comics

  Manga and manhwa

  Mundo Vid issued Spanish-language manga and manhwa for the Mexican market. Comics and manga were generally released monthly, with the reference material describing approximate retail prices of 30 pesos for comics and 60 pesos for manga during the period covered.

• 2005

  Discontinuation of Marvel publicationsStrategy

  Background

  Televisa acquired the rights to publish Marvel titles in Mexico, changing the licensing environment in which Vid operated.

  Action taken

  Vid stopped selling its Marvel Comics line after the rights moved to Televisa.

  Aftermath

  The change ended Vid’s Marvel publishing program, although the supplied reference material does not document the later performance of its DC, manga, Mexican-comics, or other lines.

  Source

1. 1Grupo Editorial Viden.wikipedia.org