Satanik
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- For the Italian character called "Satanik" in France, see Killing (comics).
Satanik is an Italian noir comic book created in December 1964 by Max Bunker (writer) and Magnus (drawer), also authors of the popular characters Kriminal and Alan Ford.
Satanik is Marnie Bannister, a skilled female scientist whose face is marked by an unpleasant angioma. One day she casually 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 crime mastermind. Satanik was innovative in the fact she took advantage of her sex appeal to conclude 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 sequestrated.
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 coloured private detective. One of the villains of the series, the vampire Baron Wurdalak, later also appeared in Alan Ford's series.
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 Roberto Romanini and Franco Verola. The last Satanic comic book was Issue 231 of November 1974, in which Satanik and her boyfriend seem to drown. Satanik was translated in France as Demoniak.
In 1968 Satanik became a movie directed by Pietro Vivarelli, starring Magda Konopka in the main role.
