Maya Fox

Maya Fox is a series of horror comics and novels from the Italian studio Rainbow SpA, which is co-owned by Iginio Straffi and Viacom. The franchise's title character was co-created by Straffi, known for his previous creation Winx Club, and Silvia Brena, the former director of Cosmopolitan Italy.[1] Straffi and Brena co-wrote each of the comic issues and four Maya Fox novels. The series follows a young woman named Maya Fox who lives in London. After her father is murdered by a serial killer named Michael Gacy, Maya discovers that she has the ability to speak with the dead. While avoiding Gacy, she works to prevent an apocalypse in 2012.

Maya Fox
Publication information
PublisherRainbow SpA (Viacom)
Arnoldo Mondadori Editore
Genre
Publication dateOctober 2008 – 2011
Main character(s)Maya Fox
Creative team
Created byIginio Straffi
Silvia Brena
Written byIginio Straffi
Silvia Brena
Artist(s)Iginio Straffi
Penciller(s)Vincenzo Nisco
Inker(s)Elena de' Grimani
Letterer(s)Red Whale (Francesco Artibani)

In Italy, the first Maya Fox novel and an extract from the first comic issue were jointly published on 28 October 2008 by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore.[1] Three sequel novels and a monthly comic magazine were released from 2009 to 2011.

In late 2008, Iginio Straffi revealed plans for Maya Fox adaptations for both television and cinema, depending on the success of magazine sales.[2] In 2010, a script for the feature film adaptation was written by Jane Prowse[3] for a release date of late 2011.[4] The project was left unfinished.

Background

In September 2005, Silvia Brena interviewed Iginio Straffi for the magazine IO Donna, which inspired a collaboration between the two.[5] They met again in 2006 to develop a concept that would appeal to young adults between the ages of 15 and 25, a target that Brena called "one of the most attractive markets for those involved in entertainment."[4] Rainbow's publishing manager, Cristiana Buzzelli, carried out some research on what topics were popular with teenagers and found that "they are particularly fascinated by thrillers and the supernatural."[6] Working off of this idea, they centered the story of Maya Fox around the 2012 phenomenon, a belief that the world would end in December 2012.[6]

In an interview with the magazine Millionaire, Brena elaborated on the choice to focus on the apocalypse, saying that the "2012 date seemed perfect. Many peoples have attributed a high symbolic value to it—not only the Mayans, but also the Egyptians, the Cambodians, and the Europeans with Nostradamus. It marks an end, but also a rebirth. A date that is, in short, very 'salable'."[4]

Straffi designed the titular character to appeal to rebellious teenagers, wearing dark makeup and black clothes.[7] Like his previous works, Maya Fox's drawing style was heavily influenced by manga. Alessandra Rota of la Repubblica called the comics' visual style "very close to that of Japanese manga models, only a little less gloomy."[8]

Publication history

Mondadori Editore released the first novel (La predestinata) on 28 October 2008 with a print run of 40,000 copies.[1] The second (Il quadrato magico) was published in November 2009;[9] the third (Domani, 2012) was published in October 2010;[10] and the fourth (2012, la rivelazione) was published in November 2011.[11] The novel series was published internationally by Carlsen Verlag in Germany, by Pocket Jeunesse in France, and by Planeta Group in Latin America, Spain, and Portugal.[12]

The comic stories were serialized across 12 issues of a teen magazine based on the Maya Fox character, called Maya Fox: Tag Your Life.[13] Every issue featured thirty pages of a comic (each 30-page installment was called an "episode"). The first episode, Oltre la morte (Beyond Death), was included in both the first novel in October 2008 as well as the April 2009 launch issue of Tag Your Life. The magazine had a print run of 150,000 copies.[1]

Plot
The lead characters of the series, Maya (left) and Trent (right).

Three years after the murder of her father, David, Maya Fox discovers that she can communicate with the dead. She receives a message from David, warning her that the end of the world is near but that she can prevent it. While she rushes to solve a string of puzzles relating to the apocalypse, Maya learns that her father's killer, Michael Gacy, has escaped from prison. Michael sends multiple profane letters to Maya and her mother, indicating that he has made a plan to kill Maya on the last day of the month. When the day comes, Maya narrowly avoids Michael with the help of her father.

Reception

According to Rainbow in May 2009, the comic magazine sold approximately 70,000—80,000 copies every month in kiosks around Italy.[14] As of August 2010, 100 thousand combined copies of the novel series had been sold worldwide.[6]

Reviewing the first novel based on Maya Fox, Alessandra Rota of la Repubblica wrote that its "presentation strategy is spot-on ... the ingredients of teenage angst are all there, as well as those of noir."[8] Kirill Reshetnikov of the Russian magazine Vzglyad complimented the series' blend of supernatural themes with a "sensible and charismatic" protagonist relatable to teenagers.[15] He called Maya Fox "something so eclectic that it cannot be ignored."[15] Pino Cottogni of FantasyMagazine wrote that "Maya is destined to win over [Winx Club fans'] older sisters."[16]

Credits
  • Iginio Straffi – co-creator, co-director, character designer, story supervisor, art supervisor
  • Silvia Brena – co-creator, co-director, story supervisor
  • Elena de' Grimani – inks
  • Vincenzo Nisco – art supervisor, penciller
  • Giulia Basile – colors
  • Paolo Maddaleni – colors
  • Nicola Pasquetto – colors
  • Giorgio Viola – colors
  • Red Whale (Francesco Artibani) – lettering

Credits adapted from the magazine's list of artists.[17]

References
  1. Zahed, Ramin (26 May 2009). "Winx Creator Offers Darker Teen Property". Animation Magazine.
  2. Cavazzuti, Nicole (24 November 2008). "Iginio Straffi, padre delle Winx, ad Affaritaliani: così ho rilanciato il cartoon made in Italy nel mondo". Affaritaliani.it (in Italian).
  3. "Jane Prowse: Writer / Director" (PDF). Jane wrote the first script in the MAYA FOX series, adapted from the teen novels by Iginio Straffi and Silvia Brena for producers Amber Films.
  4. Tripepi, Tiziana (December 2010). "2012: la fine del mondo è un business". Millionaire.
  5. Brena, Silvia (10 September 2005). "Con le mie fate sfido Disney". IO Donna.
  6. Bussi, Chiara (23 August 2010). "Un business che è la fine del mondo". Il Sole 24 Ore (in Italian).
  7. "Winx fairies get older, cooler sister". Italy Magazine. 5 November 2008.
  8. Rota, Alessandra (27 October 2008). "Maya, sorella maggiore delle Winx alla conquista degli adolescenti". la Repubblica.
  9. "Libri: 'Maya Fox: Il quadrato magico', in libreria il nuovo volume della saga gotica". Adnkronos (in Italian). 7 November 2009.
  10. Cottogni, Pino (18 November 2010). "Maya Fox. Domani, 2012". FantasyMagazine (in Italian).
  11. "Maya Fox. 2012, la rivelazione. 4". Arnoldo Mondadori Editore.
  12. "Rainbow Launches Teen Property: Maya Fox". License! Global. 27 May 2009.
  13. "Rainbow: nasce il magazine Maya Fox – Tag your Life". Duesse Communication. 15 May 2009.
  14. Afan, Emily Claire (26 May 2009). "Rainbow intros teen-targeted fashion property Maya Fox". Kidscreen.
  15. Reshetnikov, Kirill (22 October 2010). "Apocalypse Podium". Взгляд.
  16. "Dall'autore delle Winx ecco Maya la predestinata". fantasymagazine.it. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
  17. Iginio Straffi, Silvia Brena (w), Vincenzo Nisco (p), Elena de' Grimani (i). Maya Fox: Scomparsa (1ª parte) 4 (2009), Rainbow SpA
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