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In their continuing
effort to get comics into new readers' hands, Marvel Comics is
introducing the Ultimate Marvel Magazine.
This new initiative will make the highly-touted Ultimate series
more accessible to readers because of its broad distribution strategy in
an effort to ensure a generation of new Marvel fanatics.
For Immediate Release
January 3, 2001
MARVEL ENTERPRISES
LAUNCHES REVOLUTIONARY NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE
ULTIMATE
MARVEL MAGAZINE
Magazine
To Include Hot New Ultimate Marvel
Stories
Along
With Teen-Oriented Editorial Encompassing Movie Previews
Music
And Video Reviews, Celebrity Interviews, And More
Revolutionary
Design And Distribution Strategy Delivers Publication To
Mainstream
Consumers Via Newsstands And Mass-Market Retail Chains
New
York, NY – Always the frontrunner in developing new and strategic ways
to market their ever-popular superhero properties, Marvel Enterprises
introduces Ultimate
Marvel Magazine. The new magazine is the next step in Marvel’s
aggressive strategy to increase the appeal and accessibility of the
company’s core comic book heroes to a younger demographic. To help
ensure that the exciting new magazine will be available for mainstream
consumers, Marvel is increasing the size of the publication to standard
magazine dimensions -- thereby availing itself to a much wider
distribution system than with traditional comic books. This broader
distribution system will widen the magazine’s reach into more
conventional retail outlets including newsstands and mass-market retail
chains. Featuring rotating Spider-Man and X-Men covers, Ultimate
Marvel Magazine will fly into stores January 16 with a cover
price of $3.99.
Ultimate
Marvel Magazine
will include issues of the best-selling Ultimate
Marvel Comic Books, which re-introduce incredibly popular comic book
favorites like Spider-Man and X-Men in new, exciting contemporary
stories that take place in the 21st Century. Launched in
September to critical and retail success, Ultimate Spider-Man
sold out its first four issues and has bucked the industry trend by
increasing sales each month. Ultimate X-Men #1 opened in the top
spot when it soared into stores December 20th.
Boasting hyper-realistic computer-generated covers, the stories
will feature issues and settings that are easily identifiable to
today’s youth. In addition to the Ultimate
Marvel Comic books, the magazines will contain teen-centric
editorial coverage including movie previews, music and movie reviews,
celebrity interviews, extreme sports, features on hot toys and video
games, and more.
“The
Ultimate Marvel Magazine
will revolutionize the comic book industry and will help to resolve two
of the major issues facing comic book publishers – distribution and
appeal to tweens and teens,” said Matt Ragone, Marvel Vice President
Retail Sales. “We recognize the difficulty some consumers currently
face in finding the specialty stores to buy our comics. By developing
the product in a magazine format we are able to ensure there will be
ample distribution and that it will be available everywhere.”
NEW
DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
The
new format of Ultimate
Marvel Magazine enables Marvel to take advantage of a
distribution system that will allow the Company to significantly improve
delivery of the magazines to the mainstream consumer. Marvel will
utilize Curtis Circulation Company and I.D. Wholesalers (Regional
Magazine Wholesalers) to distribute Ultimate
Marvel Magazine to newsstands and mass market retailers which
have not traditionally carried comic books in recent years.
MARKETING
AND PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN
The
largest publishing initiative in the Company’s history, Marvel will
back the Ultimate’s program with
a major marketing and promotional campaign that will include print
advertising, content on Marvel.com, ads promoting the other Marvel comic
book lines, and the distribution of promotional samples through its
licensing and promotional partners.
Through the ownership of over 4,700
proprietary characters, Marvel Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: MVL) is one of
the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies with
operations in five divisions: licensing, toys -- via its Toy Biz
division, comic book and trade publishing, entertainment and the
Internet. Marvel licenses its characters in a wide range of consumer
products, services and media such as feature films, television, the
Internet, apparel, video games, collectibles, snack foods and
promotions. Marvel's characters and plot lines are created and developed
through the comic book publishing division, which maintains a leadership
position in the U.S. and abroad. For additional company information
visit the Company's corporate Web site at http://www.marvel.com.
Copyright©2000 GrayHavenMagazine and Contributors