Superman is already in the theaters, and the Fantastic Four: First Steps is coming soon, so both companies are employing magazines to help get the word out about them!
As reported here at MajorSpoilers.com, Marvel has released Marvel Comics: The Fantastic Four in a “bookazine” format, available wherever magazines are sold. It retails for $14.99, and it features “perfect entry points to learn about Marvel’s First Family.”
In it, you will find an illustrated look at the origin of the Fantastic Four by renowned artist Alex Ross, behind-the-scenes sneak peeks at Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps, interviews with Marvel Studios Executive Producer Grant Curtis and Creative Director of Visual Development Ryan Meinerding, and three introductory issues of some of the Fantastic Four’s most iconic comic book runs, including: Fantastic Four #60 (2002) “Inside Out” written by Mark Waid and drawn by Mike Wieringo, Fantastic Four #570 (2009) “Solve Everything” written by Jonathan Hickman and drawn by Dale Eaglesham, and Fantastic Four #1 (2022) “The Last Town to the Left” written by Ryan North and drawn by Iban Coello.
If you are new to the FF, this might be particularly interesting: Along with each full introductory issue to these seminal Fantastic Four comic book arcs spotlighting Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben, readers will receive a code to unlock over $30 in free digital comics to continue each storyline for FREE on the Marvel Unlimited app! Also, for the collectors among us, this bookazine is available in two collectable covers by Arthur Adams, Christina Strain, and Phil Noto, comic book industry legends.
This issue can be found at your local retail outlet, Amazon, or at your magazine stand. Perhaps your local comics shop might also be carrying it!
DC Comics Presents: Superman: The Official Comic Book Stories That Inspired The New Movie! It has “The Official Comic Book Stories That Inspired the New Movie!” It also sells for $14.99, and it contains Superman’s origin story, descriptions of several of Superman’s friends and foes, and several of the groundbreaking comics stories featuring the Man of Steel.
I’ve seen it at my local Winn Dixie grocery store, and I hear it is making the rounds in local magazine racks! Now that the film is actually in theaters, it may be harder to find in physical form, but again you should check your local retailer, Amazon, your local comics shop, and at your nearest magazine stand.
As I’m writing this column, many copies have already made their way to eBay and other online services, so if you really, really want to have one and can’t find it in person, go to those websites and order it today… before it leaves even those shelves!
Since I don’t access what has been called ‘broadcast TV” these days (I’m deeply into the streaming services currently), I don’t get to see local commercials for things like movies. However, you can always go to YouTube and give them a look! I’m sure you will find the ads for both movies there.
Are magazines a good way to advertise comic book-related movies? In my opinion, it certainly couldn’t hurt! After all, people who read comics certainly know how to, ahem, read, after all! If you are someone who appreciates writing and art and all, it definitely will help to get the word out among that group!
Is that the only method you should use? I don’t think so! I have often stated in this column that local comics shops should check out the theaters showing these films and see if it is possible to set up a stand in the lobby of the movie house and see if you can get the word out about your store AND the books!
Granted, the main purpose for these magazines is indeed to get people to go to the theaters, not to buy comics. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be used to let fans know how they can enjoy other adventures by these characters!
At this point, the comics industry needs to try just about anything and everything to bring in new readers and fans who will plunk down their hard-earned cash to buy books and any related merchandise featuring the heroes they enjoy!
If a movie is happening in your neighborhood, for goodness’ sake, local shops and fans should try to use these events to reach people who are at least interested in these stories!
Does this always work? Not necessarily, but I did experience first-hand what this method of outreach can do! I had just moved to a new area and, already being a Star Trek fan, I went to the local theater to see the newest Trek film with my brother. When I got to the lobby, what did I see? A group of local fans wearing Trek costumes and handing out flyers about when the next meeting of that club would occur! I took one of those flyers, and sure enough—my brother and I were sitting in that next meeting. If we hadn’t taken one of those flyers from the movie lobby, well, I doubt we ever would have heard about the group.
By the way, as I talked about recently in this column, I have finally been finding more of those “good things” I love about movies in my local stores, including action figures, books, and other merchandise normally associated with comics films. They sure took a long time to get there, though! In the past, they would have been available a few months before the film would run. This time, it was barely just a week or two!
We as comics fans need to look at these events (and they don’t come along very often these days) as a chance to promote the characters we love and enjoy, and we can hopefully turn some of our friends and/or neighbors on to their adventures.
It’s good for them, and good for us! The industry gets people added to their rolls, and we get to see the books and heroes continue on long after we’re gone! At least, that’s what we’d like to see happen!
What do you think? Do we have to love each and every comics-related movie before we reach out to others about the comics industry? Or can we take advantage of this rare opportunity when the world is actually looking at comics characters, even if for just a short time? Are there other ways we can promote “the books” so others can find them and enjoy them, too? Whatever your opinion, be sure to share it in the space below!
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Wayne Hall creates the Wayne's Comics Podcast. He’s interviewed Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, John Layman, Kyle Higgins, Phil Hester, Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray, David Petersen, Christos Gage, Mike Grell, and Matt Kindt. On this site each week, he writes his "Comics Portal" column (general comics comments and previews) and reviews comics.