Holy Product Placement, Batman!

"Product placement has become commonplace in movies and TV shows. Now it's coming to comic books -- in part because the industry's two giants, DC and Marvel, are promoting some of their titles as places to reach one of Madison Avenue's most elusive audiences: guys in their 20s," reports Brian Steinberg. DC Comics' new miniseries, called "Rush City," will have "visible promotional support from General Motors Corp.'s Pontiac." The series' hero will drive a Pontiac Solstice. Marvel Entertainment "has begun putting the 'swoosh' logo from Nike Inc. in the scenes of some of its titles, such as 'New X-Men.' So far, the emblem has appeared on a car door and on a character's T-shirt." Marvel also signed a deal with DaimlerChrysler, in which the new Dodge Caliber may be featured in their comic books' cityscapes, "on billboards, T-shirts or signs over the next four to eight months."