Usually, when we hear about "team ups" we think about comic book characters and teams getting together to fight a common enemy. Well, that's not the only kind of team up in comics. Earlier today DC Comics and General Mills officially announced that the two companies would be teaming up on a new project that would promote literacy. It's like Geoff Johns' dream come true! The cereal company is teaming up with the comic book publisher to promote literacy among children by including a free comic book in each of their specially marked boxes of cereals for a limited time.
The books will feature the Justice League cast of characters (Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman, Green Lantern, Flash and Aquaman) and will contain the first part of a story. After reading the first part of the story, readers can check out the official promotional site to read part two of the comic online. In all, the companies will feature 4 different comic books featuring four different stories. Some of the best things are free! You may recognize some of the creative teams on these promotional books, too, including writers Joshua Williamson, Doug Wagner, Paul Tobin, and Scott Beatty. The books will feature art from Christian Duce and Derec Donovan, among others. You can check out some of the books on the General Mills/DC website for a preview of what you can expect.
== TEASER ==
The books will be available in specially marked boxes of the following General Mills cereals: Cinnamon Toast Crunch® (17 oz.), Lucky Charms® (16 oz.), Honey Nut Cheerios® (17 oz.), Trix (14.8 oz.), Golden Grahams® (16 oz.), Reese’s® Puffs (18 oz.) and Cocoa Puffs® (16.5 oz.).
While the idea of teaming up with a cereal company to promote children's literacy by giving away free comics is a fantastic idea and a great way to reach a younger audience, this is definitely an interesting venture consider the publisher has recently been at the center of controversy for putting some rather violent and sexualized comic books on the market more recently with the launch of their "New 52."What's the message these companies are trying to send out when they give away comic books that feature kid friendly stories involving characters like Batman, Wonder Woman and others, but then then publish what some consider overly sexual or gratuitously violent scenes featuring these same characters in their ongoing books? What do you think of the free comics in these cereals?
Source: DC Source and Big Cereal Heroes