The artist behind a viral, hand-drawn poster for "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" has come forward after his employer forced him to remove the artwork. Drake Landon, an employee at a Cineplex theater, created the "Spooderman" poster when his workplace did not receive an official one for the film's promotion.
The hand-drawn poster, which featured a charmingly imperfect "Spooderman," included a note explaining the situation. While the poster gained significant traction online, Landon's employer was contacted by Cineplex's head office and asked to take it down.
Landon confirmed the removal on Reddit, stating that he "honestly don't care at this point" and that he was asked to remove it to avoid upsetting the studio. He has since retrieved the original artwork and plans to sell limited prints.
He explained that the need for the poster arose because the official distribution materials were sent to the wrong location. Despite the setback, Landon's creative solution garnered him unexpected attention, including a free booth at a local comic convention where he intends to sell his other work.
"Spider-Man: Brand New Day" has been a box office success, surpassing "Avengers: Endgame" for the largest domestic opening weekend in history and is projected to cross $2 billion globally. The film received a 7 out of 10 from IGN's Tom Jorgensen, who praised its focus on the web-slinger's core themes of inner turmoil, heroism, and style.