Saturday, August 11, 2007


Aug. 11, 2007 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) --
Marvel Comics gives minor league baseball the superhero treatment in a comic book that will be distributed at Triple-A stadiums across the country, sparked by an idea from Buffalo.

The Buffalo Bisons on Sunday will give away copies of 'Triple-A Baseball Heroes' to the first 5,000 fans for the 1:05 p.m. game at Dunn Tire Park, as part of a tie-in that all 30 Triple-A teams are participating in on different days.

Christopher Hill, the Bisons' director of sales and marketing, initially approached Marvel Entertainment about creating a comic book for a Bisons promotion. That evolved into a plan involving all International League and Pacific Coast League teams, with most of the giveaways happening this month.

Comic book superheroes are on the big screen in movies like 'Spider- Man 3' and on stamps issued by the U.S. Postal Service. Hill wanted to tap into that superhero craze to draw fans to the ballpark. 'We're baseball, Americana,' he said. 'They're Americana.'

The covers for 'Triple-A Baseball Heroes' vary somewhat from team to team. Buffalo, Durham and Memphis each ordered special covers. Buffalo's is a homage to Norman Rockwell's 'Bottom of the Sixth,' with Buster Bison, Iron Man and Captain America as the umpires pondering whether to call the game on account of rain.

The comic book artist who painted the cover, John Watson, said on his Web site it was 'the best painting I've done for a few years.'

Watson, in an e-mail interview, said the Triple-A promotion showcases some of Marvel's best-known characters in a setting familiar to the audience, and provides copies to people who don't frequent comic book stores.

'Adults can see that comics have progressed from the days when they were just for kids, and children can see their favorite characters from movies or games in the medium they were originally created for,' Watson wrote.

Robert Sabouni, vice president of business development for Marvel Entertainment, recalled that after Hill presented his idea, Marvel officials 'sort of looked at each other and said, 'Wow, how come we didn't think of that?' '

'It just made so much sense that baseball and comic books would come together,' Sabouni said, calling them 'two revered forms of American entertainment.'

The comic book's story line involves Marvel superheroes at the Triple-A All-Star Game. The book's dialogue promotes Triple- A ball's fan appeal and family atmosphere, and all 30 teams' logos appear in the book.

Teams that didn't order unique covers will distribute copies with a general cover featuring Marvel characters and team mascots.

Hill declined to reveal the cost of the comic book project. Both Hill and Sabouni said Triple- A baseball and Marvel are working on a more extensive business relationship for 2008.

Gates open at noon for Sunday's game. About 30 comic book vendors will be on the concourse for a comic book fair that will last until 5 p.m. Robert Atkins, the penciler of the Triple- A comic book, and inker Rick Ketcham will be on hand to sign copies.

On the Web: To see a copy of John Watson's cover for the Bisons comic book and other examples of his work, go to: www.johnwatsonart.com.

 mglynn@buffnews.com

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