At he Nashville International Auto Show the top attraction was Spider-Man, and OK, the Easter Bunny. I’m not sure I understand. This show is billed as THE Automotive Event of the Year with “2007/2008 Models, Concept Cars, Exotics, Test Drives and More!” But the headliner is Spiderman.
Now, I’m a DC Comic book fan, not much of a Marvel Comic Book fan. But, I want to point out that the comic book industry still catches the eye of our national pop culture.
Understandably, the advertisement was geared to parents with children, who want an added bonus for their children to endure the car show. However, they choose a comic book character that is being read by primarily 30 year olds.
My point is this, the comic book industry has centered itself to market those 30 year old males, but the national culture retains the idea that comic books are for the younger audience. Interestingly enough, the comic book industry remarks that they need to do more to attract a younger audience. Why can’t the comic book industry get in their head that they are missing their market? All of the country thinks that the market for comic books is the younger generation, except for the comic book publishers themselves. This is a big problem.Â
Do I think that the story lines need to be adjusted greatly to accommodate this market? No. But the marketing focus needs to be toward the younger audience. What are DC Comics and Marvel Comics doing to attract younger readers? When was the last time there was an advertising campaign focused on reading comic books? When was their a brief introduction to comics given in the movies and television shows that are out? Having Spiderman show up at a car show promotes good will with the parents, but does little to promote the reading of comic books, and isn’t comic books the main focus of Marvel Comics?