When it comes to design, it's tough being a Spider-Man fan. On the one hand, the comic book franchise can deliver visual delights such as the incredible film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. On the other, it can churn out some fairly underwhelming posters. This includes a recent effort to promote the IMAX release of Spider-Man: Far From Home (below).
Released on the official Spider-Man: Far From Home Instagram page, the poster sees characters clumsily arranged on a jazzy background of famous landmarks from around the world. As far as promotional material goes, it's a bit of a hodge-podge that looks like it would benefit from one of our collage maker tools.
And because the internet can be a creative place when designers hate something, the poster has inspired funny imitations that take the awkward look to the next level. There's this one with a hand drawn eye-patch...
New Spider-Man: Far From Home poster? #SpiderMan #SpiderManFarFromHome pic.twitter.com/30oI2hByDOJune 14, 2019
And this pixellated mess turns villain Mysterio's spherical head into a goldfish bowl.
The Spider-Man: Far From Home poster creators are at it again pic.twitter.com/NV4tAAm5q7June 13, 2019
Microsoft Paint looks like it got a good workout in this version.
Sony's Spider-Man Far From Home posters just keep getting better wow 😍 pic.twitter.com/kK1eCkBMUdJune 12, 2019
Meanwhile the dreaded Comic Sans makes an appearance in this mess:
No one:Official Spider-Man posters: pic.twitter.com/uCrXrnZ7DrJune 12, 2019
And this is just a fraction of the deliberately terrible creations knocking about on Twitter. What's more, this isn't the first time Spider-Man fans have been let down by a poster. When the cluttered Spider-Man: Homecoming poster was revealed in 2017, we asked whether or not movie posters were in a design crisis.
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It looked like Wonder Woman was going to save the day when the stunning retro poster for Wonder Woman 1984 was released recently. However with this IMAX poster, it looks like we're back on course for crowded compositions.
It's important to keep in mind though that this isn't the be all and end all when it comes to the film's poster. This is the poster being used to promote IMAX screenings, but there are plenty of other (arguably better) posters out there that are drumming up interest for Spider-Man: Far From Home. For example, this coming soon poster takes a more professional approach.
That's more like it [Image: Sony Pictures, Marvel Studios]
But perhaps we're being too harsh on the IMAX poster. As Instagram user selenfrantastic pointed out on the film's official account, "I actually think this is a pretty accurate poster. It feels very high-schooler's notebook-y which is perfect for Peter's whole storyline."
When you take that into account, maybe this poster isn't so bad after all.
Dom Carter is a freelance writer who specialises in art and design. Formerly a staff writer for Creative Bloq, his work has also appeared on Creative Boom and in the pages of ImagineFX, Computer Arts, 3D World, and .net. He has been a D&AD New Blood judge, and has a particular interest in picture books.
