on Humanoïdes. A number of additional crises (including a narrowly averted 1993-1995 hostile takeover attempt by Parisian publisher Hachette, considered by Giger as Humanoïdes' darkest hour), led Humanoïdes to be put into administration, which it exited after 18 months in late 2009. Since then, the company has enjoyed renewed success with a number of new series, such as Crusades, La Légende des nuées écarlates, Les Épées de verre, Carthago, and Le Manoir des murmures. Humanoïdes have also tried their hand at European manga, such as Omega and B.B. Project. These titles were published in the traditional manga format, but Humanoïdes has also experimented with manga-type publications in a more European style. The Ecube series is an example of this mixed genre, written by Iovinelli and illustrated by Dall Oglio. Crusades, another example of this blended style, has European authors but a Chinese illustrator. The North American and Japanese markets Humanoids Publishing, Inc. ("Humanoids") was founded in the United States in 1999 by Giger, eleven years after his acquisition of the French parent company, with the aim to publish French cult classics as well as recruit American talent. A number of successful French works were published, including Bouncer, Metabarons, Technopriests, The White Lama, The Incal, The Nikopol Trilogy, and others. In 2002, Humanoids began publishing an English-language version of the new Métal Hurlant (not to be confused with the then still running Heavy Metal magazine), which would only last two years. In January 2004, Humanoids signed an agreement with DC Comics aimed at integrating the Humanoids publications into the DC Comics catalog. This agreement enabled Humanoids to gain greater visibility on the market, while DC Comics obtained the distribution rights for the English-language versions of Humanoids' works. Certain works published since 1998 were reprinted, while new titles were also translated into English (El Niño, Megalex, Basil and Victoria, etc.). However, the books were expensive and success was limited, leading DC Comics to announce the end of the agreement in April 2005. In 2007, an agreement was signed with Image Comics to publish Lucha Libre in North America. In July 2008, Humanoids began a partnership with Devil's Due to publish new translations of French works. These graphic novels were published in the classic American comic book format in order to not put off American readers. New works were translated, such as The Zombies That Ate The World and I Am Legion. In