by Gregg Katzman
DC Studios’ Supergirl has soared into movie theaters around the (daily) planet. Just like the release of any other major comic book movie, the initial conversation is primarily revolving around the box office results and reviews, both from critics and the general audience. Was this technically a “success” for the studio, whether critically or commercially? Was this the “right step” after Superman? What could it potentially mean for the future of this beloved comic book universe on the big screen?
Considering this is the second theatrical outing since James Gunn became the new architect of the DCU, these questions and debates among press and fans are totally understandable; however, one very important aspect is being massively overlooked: The Kryptonian-level strength behind the effort to promote the comic books! In this case, the acclaimed story Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow by writer Tom King, artist Bilquis Evely, colorist Matheus Lopes, letterer Clayton Cowles, logo designer Darran Robinson, and editors Brittany Holzherr and Jamie S. Rich.
While director Craig Gillespie and writer Ana Nogueira‘s movie may have not soared to new heights at the box office, it did successfully set a new standard for how Hollywood – and the respective comic book publisher, DC – supports and celebrates the source material. Now, this isn’t to say other comic book movies, studios, film creatives, and publishers haven’t made efforts to spotlight the comics and creators during the opening weekend pushes of their film adaptations, but respectfully, Supergirl has seemingly soared above all previous efforts. In fact, it feels like DC has truly been a leader in this regard, even prior to Gunn taking the helm.
At press and early screenings, a QR code was on display offering free Supergirl comics. At select showings of the movie, fans were handed reprints of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #1. This is such an important step beyond emailing a digital code or making people go through another obstacle to obtain a comic. It’s the publisher and studio putting a comic directly into a movie theater attendee’s hand and saying, “Here, give comics a shot.” One can only hope the next step is getting key comics at the concession stands. After all, they already feature the characters on popcorn buckets and other collectibles!
The efforts didn’t stop there. The Supergirl steelbook has been revealed and that will also contain a physical copy of the reprint. DC’s official social media is regularly putting images of the comic art next to live action images, further stressing the importance of the source material. And you’ve undoubtedly heard, read, or watched mentions of the comic during interviews over the past few months. In fact, even James Gunn’s original announcement of the movie was a big promotion of the King and Evely-led story. Now, have some of these efforts been made before? Absolutely, but the sheer combination has been incredible to witness. People can argue all day about whether they liked the movie and if it was successful in pulling inspiration from the source material, but there’s just no denying DC and DC Studios deserves praise for the herculean effort to celebrate comics.
While it may have felt like Hollywood was embarrassed by source material for some time – we all remember the joke about yellow spandex in X-Men, right? – there has been positive momentum for years, just not occurring at superspeed. Most recently, Marvel offered QR codes during Disney+ ads for fans to check out comics if they liked Daredevil: Born Again and it seems like Marvel Studios is starting to promote the comics more and more, especially with Spider-Man: Brand New Day seemingly turning multiple covers into slow motion shots in the upcoming movie. And I’m proud to say the company I work for, IDW, put comic trailers featuring QR codes ahead of the Fathom screenings of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and an ad promoting comic shops before the Fathom screening of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze – shoutout to VP of Marketing Aub Driver for those! Also, TMNT: Mutant Mayhem director Jeff Rowe joined the TMNT comics panel at NYCC, and the animated film and upcoming sequel’s script manager Andrew Joustra has stepped into the world of comics for the Tales of the TMNT series.
Giant studios and the creatives calling the shots supporting the comics matters. It gets more people to visit their local comic shop or at least purchase collected editions at places like Barnes & Noble or online retailers. It gets more people checking out and supporting press about comics. It gets more people talking about comics and encouraging others to check ’em out. And it brings more awareness to the people who make the comics. A rising tide lifts all boats, right? Obviously, there is always room for improvement with how Hollywood gives back to the comic industry, but for now, Supergirl has truly set a new standard. Hopefully, the entire industry continues to move in this direction. After all, these movies wouldn’t exist without the comics and the creatives who brought it all to life. So, kudos to DC, DC Studios, and James Gunn for raising the bar with their support of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.
Gregg Katzman is the Senior Publicity Manager at IDW Publishing (formerly Valiant, Midtown Comics, ComicVine, and more), but a proud supporter of promoting comics and getting them into new hands, regardless of the logo on the cover. Opinions are his own.
