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Step Into the Light?

I took a rare look over at Newsarama today and saw the announcement from this past Friday concerning a Marvel/Guiding Light crossover..?!

In brief: On the November 1st episode of CBS' soap opera The Guiding Light there will be a crossover with the Marvel universe. Meanwhile, a comics story looking at the crossover will appear in three, 8-page installments over a three week period, focusing on a GL character who may be an emerging superpower, drawing the interest of S.H.I.E.L.D., the Avengers and an assortment of villains.

The installments are set to appear in the following comics, each of the comics in each of the three groups carrying the same piece, of course, a new piece showing up each week:

10/25 - part one
Civil War: Choosing Sides
Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane 11
Marvel Select Flip Magazine 18
Marvel Tales Flip Magazine 17

11/1 - part two
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man 21
Spider-Man And Power Pack 1
Marvel Adventures Flip Magazine 18
Marvel Heroes Flip Magazine 18

11/8 - part three
Amazing Spider-Girl 2
Franklin Richards: Happy Franksgiving!
Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four 18/

The promotion's not intended for comics fans, per se, but as a means of bringing new eyes to Marvel comics. Judging from the list the only thing on there I might be getting would be the Civil War: Choosing Sides item... and I don't even recall ordering it.

As has been said, though, this isn't aimed at someone like me. But, if you know someone who follows that CBS soap, you may find yourself with something to talk to her or him about come November.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Odd. Definitely odd.

Not necessarily wrong just yet...
6:56 PM
Mike Norton said…
Yeah, it's a strange bit of cross-promotion, but I suppose it makes some sense. People developing special powers is a more mainstream idea now than I ever recall being the case, and people who watch soaps -- potentially endless, episodic fiction -- would seem an ideal audience to try to draw into comics.

If it's judged a solid success I wouldn't be surprised if they try to develop a stronger link, at least in terms of a presence for some of the Guiding Light characters in one or more of the comics. The trick would be to keep it sufficiently interesting to the people who follow the tv show without alienating the comics readers who have no interest in that show.

The idea would likely be to keep some version of Springfield (the GL's setting) in the Marvel universe -- which is basically what they're doing for this 24-page story.

[Between radio and tv GL's been on over 69 years (?!) -- a little fact I just learned.]
10:06 PM
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