The document analyzes and compares the front covers of two comics - The Beano comic and a Spider-Man comic. For the Beano comic, the summary is that it uses informal language and colors as its target audience is 6-9 year olds. It costs 50p and advertises a free club inside. For the Spider-Man comic, it uses more formal language for its older 9-14 year old audience. It costs £2.50 and depicts Spider-Man struggling while being attacked by his antagonist. Overall, the document examines the differences in typography, illustrations, characters and other design elements between the two comics aimed at different age groups.

1. Comic Media Essay – Analysing the
front cover of two comics
The front cover for the beano comic has used different ranges of typography. The type of
language used on the front cover of this comic is informal because the target audience for this
comic is targeted to 8-12 year olds. The connotation for using informal language on the front
cover of this comic shows that the target audience will be able to understand it. There is a
plug used which is shown at the bottom of the front cover. It shows the reader that you can
join the fantastic new beano club for free inside the comic. The price is for this beano comic
is shown underneath the masthead. It costs 50p so it can be affordable to the target audience
which are 6-9 year olds. The date is written right next to the price. The illustrators of this
comic wrote out the full date including the day and year. The issue number is also written
next to the date. This co notates that it is great for comic collectors so they know when the
comic was released and the issue number for it. The words “it’s a girl written” on the speech
bubble is informal. The language used on the front cover of this beano comic is informal, this
co notates that it is easy for the target audience to understand it. The comic uses freebees to
make people buy it.
The front cover for this spider-man comic has also used different ranges of typography. This
comic uses more formal language because the target audience is more mature and older, so
they will find it more interesting. The masthead has used the word “astonishing” which is a
formal word to use for amazing, surprising and shocking. In this comic, the illustrators have
used play-on words near the bottom of the page. This co notates that spider man is the prey
because he is on the floor reaching out looking like he’s need for help. All of the writing on
the front cover of this spider man comic uses formal language because the target audience for
this comic are 9-14 year olds; they are more mature and would like to have a more formal
comic so it will make it more interesting for them to read. The plug on the top of the comic
that says “the civil war chapter” shows that the story of the comic was set in the civil war.
The institution of this product is called Marvel. Marvel is a well known comic so people who
like reading Marvel will be interested in this product. There is also the issue number written
underneath the price, this co notates that it will be good for comic collectors.
There are different types of illustration used in this beano comic. The style of drawing used in
the masthead for the beano comic is very big and bold in 3D. It is very simple and has used a
very big size of font so that it can stand out and attract the target audience. The use of colour
on the masthead is two primary colours; red and yellow. These colours are suited for both
genders. The face of the Dennis, which is a character in the comic, is on one of the letters of
the masthead. This co notates that Dennis is the main character of the comic. The type of
characters that has been chosen for the front cover is very masculine. It is very masculine
because the main characters in the front cover which make the full-bleed are all boys who
wear masculine clothes and the colours of their clothes are very masculine. There is lots of
reds and blacks included on the character’s clothes. Red and black reminds me of evil so the
reds and blacks co notates that they are characters who like to prank others. The colours used

2. for the setting of the full-bleed, are different shades of blue. There is one character that is
wearing green and looks like he is wearing clothes from the hospital. He is running, and I can
tell this because of the motion lines. The body language of Dennis is that he is on the floor,
this co notates that he might have fallen over. The facial expression of Dennis and his dog
looks like they are both shocked. The facial expression of the Dad, looks like he is happy
because he has got a big smile on his face. The type of font used in the speech bubble is very
big and bold. It has used the colour red to match the style of Dennis. The type of font used for
the plugs are also very big and bold so that it can attract the target audience. The colours used
in this comic are very masculine. Primary colours are mostly used because the younger
audience will appreciate the colours more and it is more eye catching.
There are different types of illustrations also used in the spider man comic. The type of font
used on the masthead is big and bold so that the target audience can see it clearly and it
attracts them because of the colour used. They used yellow because it matches the scenery of
a dessert. The masthead stands out from all the dull colours. The font goes bigger on both of
the ends of the text and it goes smaller on the inside. The colours used for the setting are very
dull because it the comic is set on a dessert. I know this because in the background there are
cactus and sand. The colours used are masculine because it is targeted for males so using
masculine and dull colours match the products target audience. They used dark colours so
that the target audience will appreciate it more because it is a more mature comic and
wouldn’t really use lots of primary colours. The types of characters that have been chosen to
be on the front cover are the main character of the comic which is spider man, who is a
protagonist. The other type of character that has been chosen to be on the front over is the
antagonist of spider man. There is a man standing on top of a cactus. This is shot on a low
angle and it shows that he is powerful. He is wearing dull coloured clothing. Mostly greys
and blacks are used in what he is wearing. He is also wearing a long feathered jacket so it
looks like he is half bird because in the background, it looks like he has bird wings. His facial
expression looks like he being serious while looking down on spider man looking like he is
winning. Spider man’s mask is ripping off so this looks like he just got into a fight with
someone and is failing because his body expressions show that he is on the floor with his
hands reaching out looking like he needs help. Spider man’s mask hides his identity but in
this comic cover, his mask is torn so it means that his identity could be shown and by the
facial expressions, it looks like he’s losing his strength. The logo of this product has used
bright and bolder colours to make it stand out.
There is other information that is given on the front cover of the beano comic. This product
doesn’t say the institution of the comic because the target audience wouldn’t care about the
company that has made it. They care more about the colours and pictures used. The plug says
that Dennis has a new sister. This co notates that this is what the story line of the comic is
about. The product includes freebees. This entices the audience to buy the comic. I think that
the target audience will enjoy reading this comic for entertainment.
There is also other information that is given on the front cover of this spider man comic.
There are birds in the background. It looks like they are following the antagonist bird man.
This co notates that the antagonist bird man is the leader of those birds. The institution is

3. called Marvel; I know this because the logo for the institution is on the top left hand corner of
the comic. Marvel is a well-known comic, so people who like reading marvel comics might
be interested in buying this comic. The price for this comic is £2.50. It is more expensive then
the beano comic because the target audience is older, so they will buy this product and they
get paid so they get money to buy it.
The target audience for this beano comic is targeted to 6-9 year olds it’s based on a children's
TV show for kids. It is targeted to boys because the main character is a boy and he likes to
prank people like most boys. Another reason why it’s aimed at boys is because the comic is
using muscular colours. I think this comic is for class A – C1 people because they get more
disposable income.
The target audience for the spider man comic is targeted to 9-14 year old boys because it’s
more mature and the language used is formal so a younger target audience will probably
not understand it properly. I think this comic is aimed for class B – C1 because it’s for people
who get paid most so that they can afford the product.