By Tom Fehn
Looking for a job? Well here comes your friendly neighborhood Spiderman to the rescue!
New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, the Daily News and Marvel comics have teamed up to create a comic to help the citizens of New York go through the trials and tribulations that come with looking for a job.
The full color eight-page comic features an unemployed Peter Parker starting his job search after being let go from his last job and frustrated about going through all the steps that come with looking for a new job. Parker sets up a meeting with the mayor, who helps put him on the right track to finding a job.
“New York City provided free, first-rate job training and placement assistance, and we want every New Yorker who needs help to know about it, so we asked Spiderman to help us spread the word,” said Bloomberg in a press release. “One of the reasons we created the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment was to find new ways to connect with New Yorkers. Our partnership with Marvel and the Daily News is a fun and innovative way to let everyone know about the web of resources the city has to offer New Yorkers who need job assistance.”
The recently created Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment is identifying and implementing new ways to let New Yorkers know the many resources that are available to them for jobs. To promote the city’s free workforce training and job placement services, the office worked with Marvel Custom Solutions, a special division within Marvel Entertainment that develops innovative programs addressing all the different ways New Yorkers can not only find job openings but also many ideas about what they can do to help themselves, to create a special edition Spiderman comic book featuring Bloomberg.
“We are always looking for new ways to reach people in all forms of media about the job resources offered by the city,” said Katherine Oliver, Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. “Working with Marvel, the Daily News and Small Business Services on this special Spiderman edition is a tremendous example of how the government can work with the private sector to really help people.”
Using the popularity of the famous Marvel superhero attempts to help New Yorkers realize the options that they have in the current decline of the job market. “Marvel’s proud to team up with the city of New York to help inform all New Yorkers about the free services designed to assist them in finding employment. We couldn’t find two better leading men than Spiderman and Mayor Bloomberg,” says Jeffrey Klein of Marvel Comics. “Even New York’s most famous superhero needs to find a day job.”
Throughout the story, readers follow Spiderman as he is fighting crime but in the end is also looking for a day job. Spiderman isn’t the only one looking for a job as he tries his best to also help out Mary Jane find a new job as well. Even after defeating Doc Ock, Spiderman recommends that he quit his day job as a criminal, and in the end Doc Ock actually beats him to a job opportunity.
Two additional one-page comics have also been created in conjunction with this launch. In the first comic, Spider-Man can be seen at various well-known New York City attractions describing the great free job services that the city offers, such as Workforce1 Career Centers. They are located throughout the five boroughs and provide job seekers with a full array of employment services, including job placement, career counseling, professional development, and access to training opportunities.
In the second comic, Spider-Man takes Mary Jane to learn more about the “Made in NY” Production Assistant Training Program. Developed in partnership between the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment and Brooklyn Workforce Innovations, this free program helps diverse New Yorkers gain access to entry level positions in the entertainment industry. The program is currently recruiting for applicants.
“Spiderman, You’re Hired” can be downloaded for free from iTunes through the Marvel Comics application. A special edition of the comic ran in the New York Daily News.
