Comic Book Movie Posters Are Cool and All, but It’s a Shame They Aren’t Better

There’s no denying that the popularity of comic book movies has skyrocketed over the past decade. We are in the golden age of live-action superhero films, and it’s a whole lot of fun. Second to the films themselves, the most exciting part about these movies is the lead-up to them. That’s right, I’m talking about the marketing campaigns. The teasers, the trailers, the title reveals, and money shots captured from the film. Dread it, run from it, deny it all you want. We live for this shit. However, there is one part of the promotion that is sadly almost always lacking – the movie posters.  This doesn’t just go for comic book movies either. Most action films tend to have boring or generic posters. The reason I’m singling out comic book movie posters is that, well, there is precedent for why they should be better than what we’ve been given. There are almost 70 years of iconic comic book covers from world-class artists. It all goes back as far as a Superman lifting the car over his head in Action Comics #1 to Spider-Man swinging in midair while saving someone in Amazing Fantasy #15. Comic book covers are dope as hell. 

In fact, the art that adorns the front cover of our comic books is probably just as important to the culture of the fandom as the stories inside of the pages. Most comic book fans will tell you that they’ve bought at least one comic book off of the strength of its cover art. That art alone has the power to make you pick up a series, get to know a character, …