Spider-Man has come to North Bergen. His mission: to help local resident Michael Kanik launch his new TotallyPopCulture.com website. And to raise a few bucks for breast cancer research while he’s at it.
Issue number seven of the comic book The Amazing Spider-Man has a special variant cover drawn by comics legend Bill Sienkiewicz. The limited edition is only available through Kanik’s site or at the annual New York Comic Convention (NYCC) taking place at the Javits Center through Sunday, Oct. 12. Purchasers through the website can receive a discount while donating part of the cost to breast cancer research.
The cover, depicting a team-up between the costumed superhero and Ms. Marvel, was printed in an edition of 3,000 to help promote the new website, which is described by Kanik as “a hub for anyone who’s interested in pop culture. It pulls different articles from different categories like music, movies, tv shows, comics, video games.”
Kanik, 24, a longtime comics and media fan, first developed the site for his own amusement.
“I like to read up on a lot of things and one day I was on my computer and realized I kept opening tabs and going to multiple sites,” he said. “There wasn’t one site that had everything. So I developed my own for my personal use. My brother saw it and thought it was great and thought I should develop it more.”
With the help of his older brother and a friend, TotallyPopCulture came into existence about four months ago.
A pop shrine
“My brother threw out all of my old Power Rangers toys when I was kid and I just started crying,” recalled Kanik. “I said they’re going to be worth a lot of money. And now they’re really hard to find and worth a lot. So when I got a job I started buying all the old toys.”
Power Ranger toys adorn the wall of one room in the house Kanik shares with his parents, grandmother, and hyperactive Yorkie puppy (named Chewbacca, naturally). Other walls feature a wide array of Simpson toys, signed Star Wars posters, and other pop ephemera, including numerous comic books sporting the signatures of comic book superstars like John Romita, Sr. and Stan Lee.
It is, not unexpectedly, a shrine to pop culture. “My mom won’t allow me to bring any more nerdy things inside the house,” said Kanik with a laugh. “She says I’m taking over. I told her I’m going to throw her out and bring in more toys.”
Upstairs in his attic bedroom, Kanik sat at a table furiously bagging and sealing comics in preparation for their Oct. 8 release date. “I had 100 or so preorders,” he said as he worked. “One guy bought 50 copies in one shot. I told my brother he’s going to put it on eBay right now. And he did, for like 40 bucks. So that’s when I put it up on eBay, just because I wanted to take out the scalpers.”
A 3,000-copy limited edition of the comic book “Amazing Spider-Man” number 7 was created to promote the new website www.TotallyPopCulture.com out of North Bergen.
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“I put the website logo on the cover so the book is actually a marketing ploy for the site,” he said. “The whole thing was really to get more people on the site and raise some money for breast cancer research. And hopefully I can make some money myself and pay off some student loans.”
Market mania
Kanik grew up in Union City, attending Woodrow Wilson School and Union Hill before going to college at Montclair State University with a scholarship in film.
“After two weeks I dropped out and went into marketing,” he said. Fascinated by TV advertisements and the way people memorize commercials – whether they want to or not – he made that his life goal. Currently head of marketing at an office supply firm in New York, Kanik has worked on huge campaigns with creative ideas.
“I’ve become a celebrity in the office supply world because of that.”
Of course, he brought his marketing acumen to the current project, timing the site launch and Spider-Man comic to coincide with NYCC, an ongoing “Spider-verse” plotline in which all the Spider-Man universes are coming together, and issue number seven, which just happens to be a favorite number.
The comic is being sold by Conquest Comics at their booth in the convention. Conquest printed a variant cover to The Amazing Spider-man issue number four, so Kanik is hoping some of the expected 120,000 attendees at NYCC will buy both issues.
“I have to give Conquest a commission but they’re doing me a favor selling the books, and I have the luxury of enjoying the convention,” said Kanik. “Although I’ll probably be panicking hoping my books are selling.”
Totally pop
In addition to Kanik’s interest in comics and film, TotallyPopCulture.com features other aspects of entertainment. For that, he brought in his brothers.
“Joey, my older brother [age 27], he writes blogs for the site,” said Kanik. “He’s really funny and really into video games and TV. He added on all those categories.”
His other brother, Chris, 31, is a former stand-up comedian. “I used to help him out doing marketing when I was in high school,” said Kanik. “I got to meet a lot of comedians and I helped them out. A lot of them are successful comedians now and we’re planning on doing a live streaming event on the site.”
Plans are in the works for a live stand-up show at the New York Comedy Club, to be streamed for free on the site. “I’m in talks with two comedians right now, both very well known in their field,” said Kanik. He is aiming for the event to take place before June.
But first things first. “Right now I’m focusing on getting all these comic books out of my house,” he said.
Art Schwartz may be reached at arts@hudsonreporter.com.