View Full Version : Spider-Man comic book included in every Sunday newspaper now!

11-12-2006, 01:18 PM
I think Marvel might be trying to get people back into comic books. The Spider-Man movie will sell next summer without this kind of campaign.

So it must be new comics readers they are after.

12 page, thin comic books have started showing up in my Sunday newspaper every week. They're in the comics section, but they are assembled just like actual comic books you buy at a comic book store (Dark Horse Star Wars titles or what not).

They feature Spidey's on-going fight with the Lizard-Man and the story continues every week.

So it's my guess that they are trying to hook people on free samples, just like crack dealers give away folks' first hit on the crack pipe.

It's a pretty interesting campaign there. But it might mean the comic book industry is struggling - though you wouldnt think it when you take a look around Comic Con.

And with all the titles for Comic Books out there, Spidey can't be struggling as we all know he's in the Top 10 without a doubt.

(in no particular order, and only maybe):

1) Superman
2) Batman
3) Hulk
4) Spider-Man
5) X-men
6) Wonder Woman
7) Star Wars
8) Blade
9) (??? - I don't know fill something in here. I took out Aquaman and Green Lantern)
10) Underworld

But I think some of the above are the best-known comics - Oh and Silver Surfer...

Well, anyway, to bring people back into the fold with the basics, my paper is including a new issue of Spider-Man every Sunday. Interesting.

El Chuxter
11-12-2006, 01:51 PM
My mother-in-law lives in San Diego and has been pulling these out for me every week. They're reprints of classic Amazing Spider-Man stories from the 1960s, divided in two (meaning two Sunday inserts per issue, which means one of them gets a new cover). They're pretty cool, and I'm fairly certain they are intended to drum up comic book sales. (Of course, I'm not sure how people will react when they get hooked on these and then read the crap Marvel's putting out now.)

Looking at Diamond's top 100 selling comics for September, and weeding out limited series and crossovers and such, the top ten look to be:

1) Justice League
2) X-Men
3) Spider-Man
4) Wolverine
5) Ultimates
6) Batman
7) Captain America (go figure; the guy's a tool)
8) Green Lantern
10) Supergirl (go figure again)

I don't think Blade and Silver Surfer have current titles, and I'm not sure what Underworld is?

11-12-2006, 02:10 PM
Blade has a new series, with only 2 or 3 issues so far.
The only Underworld I know is the crappy movies.

11-12-2006, 03:00 PM
Comic sales are way down, and no one under the age of 30 or so seems to be interested in the hobby. They need to hook kids, and they need to hook them soon, or else we'll see the end of comics as we know them during our lifetimes. There are just too many other flashier (and cheaper) things for kids to do these days.

11-12-2006, 04:15 PM
That's too bad. I only follow the 4 Star Wars titles:

Knights of the Old Republic (mediocre retread of a wannabe Ulic Qel Droma)

Dark Times (looks to be cool, pre-Rebel, Clone Army driven book)

Rebellion (exactly what the title says it is, post-Yavin era, which is well-documented already anyway).

Legacy (150 years or so after ROTJ with Skywalker and Solo descendants messing up all their ancestors fought for in TOT, however, it might end up making sense depending upon how the Legacy of the Force novel series goes that will supposedly explain Jacen Solo's determination to screw everything up).

In the end, Legacy might become awesome. I'm giving it a chance.

Dark Times could be very cool - but it's only been out for 1 issue - and it's not the Ongoing Series moving through the Clone Wars.

KOTOR and Rebellion don't excite me that much yet. We'll see. I think I actually have only collected and not read Rebellion though, as there's still enough out there to keep me busy.

For Super Heroes, I primarily watch the movies (Batman Begins, X-Men 3, Superman Returns, and Smallville on the WB). I just don't have the time or cash to start another hobby, let alone jump into a huge continuity that continuously resets itself (like how many times will the Joker die in a Batman storyline?)

So there are 2 Spider-Man comic books in every Sunday paper in San Diego? I've been finding one that I recall. I might be missing out on another? I've collected these but haven't read them. I'm about to go have a bowl of cereal and try one though. Sounds like fun. I like Spider-Man.

11-12-2006, 05:17 PM
For Super Heroes, I primarily watch the movies (Batman Begins, X-Men 3, Superman Returns, and Smallville on the WB). I just don't have the time or cash to start another hobby, let alone jump into a huge continuity that continuously resets itself (like how many times will the Joker die in a Batman storyline?)I think Marvel's answer to that was the Ultimate universe, which has been a hit, but I think the same people that are buying those are the same ones buying the regular universe titles.

El Chuxter
11-12-2006, 06:56 PM
No, there's only one per week, but it's only a reprint of half a classic story.

It looks to me like there's a major disconnect if superhero films can smash all sorts of records, but people aren't reading the corresponding books. Of course, with Marvel's current output being "let's totally disregard everything that came before so as not to alienate anyone, while gearing all our stories toward the 30-something fanboy" and DC's just, well, inaccessible, it's not too tough to figure out why.

11-12-2006, 07:53 PM
You're right, Chux - there's a problem - but it's NOT that people don't love the characters anymore.... it's that comics don't make cool sounds, and you actually have to physically turn the pages to see what happens next. They can't compare with movies, when you introduce them to someone who's been watching movies and TV forever, but equate reading anything on paper with schoolwork. Kids around 12 just don't that much for pleasure, I don't think - and that's the problem.

The second phase is that Marvel knows this, and hence tailors their stories for us..... which screws the recruitment of new fans up. IF, by chance, some kid was able to convince his mom to by him a $5 Spider-Man comic instead of a $1 chocolate bar, he might not even see Spidey sling a web - ruining any chance he'll want to read the next issue.

They need to get back to Stan Lee's motto: EVERY comic is somebody's FIRST comic. That's how they hooked the readers back in the day - and that's what it's gonna take to hook the readers now.

El Chuxter
11-12-2006, 09:33 PM
Personally, I think they need to accept that each comic will be someone's first, as well as someone else's 1,567,823rd. Think about all the comics from when you first started reading. Unless you started on indies or something I'm not familiar with, there would've been a rich history, and it would simultaneously be friendly to newcomers. (That's why they're reprinting old Lee/Ditko Spideys and not Clone Saga Spideys.)

It's funny that stuff like Maus or Sandman or The Dark Knight Returns have been constantly in print for almost two decades. It's not a problem with the genre, or the format. It's just that, despite Marvel and DC both making some pretty seemingly misguided attempts to get new readers, they're not really making the comics accessible.

Case in point #1: Civil War. I only read the first one (my disdain for this "story" has been well documented). But if this had been my very first comic, there's no way I'd buy a second. Period. It made no sense to newbies, and yet I'm sure if p***ed off old school readers like me with the lack of consistency with earlier stories featuring some of the characters.

Case in point #2: Jubilee. (Come on, I can dredge up this turd, can't I?) Marvel tries to make a superhero comic for little girls. So, instead of creating a new character, they decide to take an X-Men character totally out of context and throw all history to the wind. Going for the "best of both worlds," it seems. But the story sucked donkeys, so no new readers picked it up, and existing fans were either p***ed about taking her totally out of the X-universe or they thought it looked stupid just like the kids did. Either way, a truly rank turd and it bombed within a few issues.

11-12-2006, 10:00 PM
Wouldn't kids be interested in:

Spider-Man getting a pre-nuptual agreement with MaryJane?

Hulk applying for health insurance?

Batman researching develoment codes and zoning laws for Wayne Enterprises' next project?

Superman helping Martha Kent with refinancing her mortgage on the farm?

Um, are these the "adult" topics that Super Hero comics are now addressing to be geared to the 30-something crowd? LOL.

The scary thing is, these subjects might entertain ME :rolleyes:

11-13-2006, 08:38 PM
Joke all you want, Tycho - if you had any idea how close you were to the truth.... you'd likely be buying more comics. :(