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SPIDER-GIRL MEDIA BLITZ The Time Has Come

Your life as a Spider-Girl fan has led to this moment.

We are about to embark on a campaign that will be like nothing the comics industry has seen. We shall appoint ourselves Spider-Girl’s publicity department, dedicated to making sure our favorite title is no longer the best keep secret in comics. If we succeed, we won’t have to worry about another cancellation threat until our children have children.

This will require a lot of time, some writing and quite a bit of postage. But we have to do it, and fast. An opportunity nears that we cannot let slip.

On April 14, the Spider-Girl trade paperback that we campaigned for will be released. We have to make sure readers, especially young readers, know about it. That gives us a few weeks.

More critically, in June Marvel will release two other Spidey-related titles also featuring teenage girls: “Mary Jane” and “Amazing Fantasy.” The world must know that ours is the original Spider-Girl, and that ours is the book with the most dedicated following in comicdom.

The Game Plan

How do we do it? We contact the entertainment editors of the nation’s biggest newspapers and let them know the Spider-Girl story. We also contact the comic book media and, perhaps most crucially, magazines aimed at young girls.

We must write letters, because letters show we care. Where emails get deleted and faxes get crumpled, letters get attention. And we must address the letters to actual people, not generic titles. Editors will read letters addressed directly to them. Letters addressed to “Features Department” will go through a clerk who might show it to an editor in a day or so.

The Pitch

Always remember one thing: We are pitching a great story. For reasons no one understands, a corporation ignores one of its products, a wholesome little comic that features the daughter of the world’s most popular superhero (and big-time movie star). The suits try to cancel the comic three times, but the fans unite and save the comic thrice over, unprecedented in comics history if not publishing history.

Now, frustrated with the company’s lukewarm attempts to promote the book, we have decided to market “Spider-Girl” ourselves, at our own expense. That right there is newsworthy.

Right now newspaper editors are in a tizzy looking for ways to appeal to young readers. And here we come talking about a comic book that features a 16-year-old girl.

Talking Points

  • With the upcoming trade paperback, we hope Spider-Girl gets the wider audience she deserves.
  • In an industry where female characters tend to be sex bombs, “Spider-Girl” features a well-adjusted teenage girl who always tries to do the right thing. The book is free of smut.
  • Don’t bash Marvel. Reporters working on the story will want to interview Joe Quesada, and we don’t want him to feel defensive.
  • Don’t mention the upcoming “Amazing Fantasy” or even “Mary Jane.” Be positive about our book, not negative about others.
  • Praise Tom DeFalco to high heaven. We don’t want this campaign to be so successful that Marvel gets the urge to put a hot writer on the book.
  • Remind editors that “Spider-Man 2” is coming in July. They will like the chance to tie this story to a blockbuster movie.

Parting Thoughts

If you use mail merge to send a letter to multiple editors, make sure you don’t make such mistakes as getting a “Mr.” mixed up with a “Ms.” Also remember your audience, the same pitch won’t work with the editor of a Sunday paper and a girls’ magazine. Write an appropriate base letter for each category.

Strongly consider including your phone number, especially if you are writing to a paper in your region. Reporters will want to interview fans, and with phone numbers we provide an immediate pool of sources.

If you can afford it, send copies of the comic. We should keep track at the message board of who has sent comics to which publications, just to make sure we’re spreading it around.

The following list is broken down into major daily newspapers, general magazines, comic magazines and girls’ magazines. Write to as many as you can, and do it quickly. We have less than a month until the trade paperback appears.

OK, Spider-Girl fans. Let’s make history. Again.

Media Contacts

Newspapers

LOS ANGELES TIMES:
Lennie LaGuire
Entertainment Editor
Los Angeles Times
202 W. First St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

DENVER POST:
Ed Smith
Entertainment Editor
The Denver Post
1560 Broadway
Denver, Colorado 80202-1577

THE WASHINGTON POST:
John Pancake
Style/Arts Editor
The Washington Post
1150 15th St., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20071

MIAMI HERALD:
Enrique Fernandez
Entertainment Editor
Miami Herald
1 Herald Plaza
Miami, FL 33132

ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION:
Ellen Voss
Entertainment/Features Editor
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
P.O. Box 4689
Atlanta, GA 30302

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES:
Christine Ledbetter
Features Editor
Chicago Sun-Times
401 N. Wabash Ave.
Chicago, IL 60611

CHICAGO TRIBUNE:
Scott L. Powers
Entertainment Editor
Chicago Tribune
435 N. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60611

Denise Joyce
Q Editor
Chicago Tribune
435 N. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60611

INDIANAPOLIS STAR:
Zach Dunkin
Arts and Entertainment Editor
The Indianapolis Star
P.O. Box 145
Indianapolis, IN 46206

PIONEER PRESS:
Heidi Raschke
Senior Editor, Arts and Entertainment
Pioneer Press
345 Cedar St.
St. Paul, MN 55101

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH:
Cliff Froelich
Editor, Get Out
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
900 N. Tucker Blvd.
St. Louis, Mo. 63101

NEWSDAY:
Cheryl Kushner
Entertainment Editor
Newsday
235 Pinelawn Road
Melville, NY 11747-4250

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS:
Robert Heisler
Entertainment Editor
450 W. 33rd St.
New York, NY 10001

THE PLAIN DEALER:
Elizabeth McIntyre
Entertainment Editor
The Plain Dealer
1801 Superior Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44114-2198

THE OREGONIAN:
Jolene Krawczak
Senior Editor, Features
The Oregonian
1320 S.W. Broadway
Portland, OR 97201.

PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS:
Theresa Johnson
Features Editor
Philadelphia Daily News
P.O. Box 7788
Philadelphia, PA 19101

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE:
Alan Walton
Entertainment Editor
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
34 Blvd. of the Allies
Pittsburgh, PA 15222

HOUSTON CHRONICLE:
Lindsay Heinsen
Arts and Entertainment Editor
Houston Chronicle
P.O. Box 4260
Houston, TX 77210

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER:
Duston Harvey
Arts and Entertainment Editor
P.O. Box 1909
Seattle WA 98111-1909

MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL:
Diane Bacha
Entertainment and Features Editor
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
P.O. Box 37
Milwaukee, WI 53201-0371.

LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL:
Frank Fertado
Features Editor
Las Vegas Review-Journal
P.O. Box 70
Las Vegas, NV 89125

KANSAS CITY STAR:
Mary Lou Nolan
Features Managing Editor
The Kansas City Star
1729 Grand Blvd.
Kansas City, MO 64108

FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM:
Rick Press
Features Editor
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
400 W. Seventh Street
Fort Worth, TX 76102

ORLANDO SENTINEL:
Kim Marcum
Associate Managing Editor, Features
The Orlando Sentinel
633 N. Orange Ave.
Orlando, FL 32802

THE HARTFORD COURANT:
Gina Seay
Deputy Features Editor
The Hartford Courant
285 Broad St.
Hartford, CT 06115

EAST VALLEY TRIBUNE:
Sam Mittlesteadt
Assistant Features Editor
East Valley Tribune
120 W. First Ave.
Mesa, AZ. 85210

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR:
Yvonne Zipp
Features Editor
The Christian Science Monitor
1 Norway St.
Boston, MA 02115

USA TODAY:
Susan Weiss
Managing Editor/Life
USA Today
7950 Jones Branch Drive
McLean, VA 22108-0605

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL:
Eric Gibson
Leisure and Arts Editor
The Wall Street Journal
200 Liberty St.
New York, NY 10281

General Magazines

NEWSWEEK:
Jeff Giles
Arts and Entertainment Editor
Newsweek
P.O. Box 2120
Radio City Station
New York, NY 10101-2120

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY:
Thom Geier
Books Editor
Entertainment Weekly
1675 Broadway
New York, NY 10019

CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS:
Matthew Flamm
Media Reporter
Crain's New York Business
711 Third Ave.
New York, NY 10017-4036

SALON:
Kerry Lauerman
Arts and Entertainment Editor
Salon.com
41 E. 11th St.
11th floor
New York, NY 10003

SLATE:
Meghan O’Rourke
Culture Editor
Slate
1 Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052

USA WEEKEND:
Casey Shaw
Creative Manager
USA Weekend
7950 Jones Branch Drive
McLean, VA 22107

PARADE:
Lee Kravitz
Editor
Parade
711 Third Ave.
New York, NY, 10017

Comic Book Media

WIZARD:
Brian Cunningham
Wizard Editorial Department
151 Wells Ave.
Congers, NY 10920-2064

COMIC BUYERS GUIDE:
Maggie Thompson
Comic Buyers Guide
700 E. State St.
Iola, WI 54990

COMICS & GAMES RETAILER:
John Miller
Comics & Games Retailer
700 E. State St.
Iola, WI 54990

COMIC SHOP NEWS:
Cliff Biggers
Comic Shop News
2770 Carillon Crossing
Marietta, GA 30066

CINESCAPE:
Arnold T. Blumberg
Senior Editor
Cinescape
12456 Ventura Blvd.
Suite 2
Studio City, CA 91604

CINEFANTASTIQUE:
Edward Gross
Senior Editor
Cinefantastique
P.O. Box 34425
Los Angeles, CA 90034-0425

ELECTRIC PLAYGROUND (TV show):
Victor Lucas
Executive Producer
Electric Playground
No. 320-611 Alexander St.
Vancouver, BC V6A-1E1
Canada

Magazines for Young Women

SEVENTEEN:
Holly Eagleson
Associate Editor/Entertainment
Seventeen Magazine
850 Third St.
New York, NY 10022

TEEN:
Jane Fort
Editor in Chief
Teen
3000 Ocean Park Blvd.
Suite 3048
Santa Monica, CA 90405

J-14:
Danielle Chiara
Features Editor
J-14 Magazine
P.O. Box 1990
Marion, OH 43306-8090

GL (Girls' Life):
Kim Childress
Books Editor
Girls’ Life 4517 Harford Road Baltimore, MD 21214

TEEN PEOPLE:
Laura Morgan
Entertainment Director
Teen People
P.O. Box 999
Radio City Station
NY, NY 10101-0999

AMERICAN GIRL:
Kristi Thom
Executive Editor
American Girl
8400 Fairway Place
Middleton, WI 53562

DISCOVERY GIRLS:
Naomi Kirsten
Features Editor
Discovery Girls
4300 Stevens Creek Blvd.
Suite 190
San Jose, CA 95129

YM:
Alyssa Vitrano
Entertainment Director
YM
15 E. 26th St.
New York, NY 10010-1505

BRIO:
Susie Shellenberger
Editor
Brio Magazine
8605 Explorer Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80920
(Note: This is a Christian magazine aimed at girls.)

JUSTINE:
Jana Pettey
Publisher/Editorial Director
Justine
6263 Poplar Ave.
Suite 430
Memphis, TN 38119

Children’s Magazines

DISNEY ADVENTURES:
Amy Weingartner
Executive Editor\Editorial
114 Fifth Ave.
NY, NY 10011-5690

TIME OUT NEW YORK KIDS:
Barbara Aria
Editor
Time Out New York Kids
475 Tenth Avenue
12th Floor
New York, NY 10018

TIME FOR KIDS:
Claudia Walls
Managing Editor
Time for Kids
1271 Sixth Ave.
25th Floor
New York, NY 10020

The Spider-Girl Media Blitz is a fan-organized effort to promote the
Marvel Comics title "Spider-Girl" and is not affiliated with Marvel Comics.

Spider-Girl Media Blitz