Eminem and Marvel announced on Instagram Monday (November 21) that the rapper is on the cover of The Amazing Spider-Man (2022) #1 issue to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the film 8 Mile. There were 5000 pieces in the Eminem’s shop but these sold out after two days – another 1000 will be available from November 29th TheHaul sold. “8 Mile” was released on November 8, 2002, the soundtrack to the film was released on October 28, 2002.
Eminem, or rather B-Rabbit, played by Eminem, can be seen on stage in the comic. He faces none other than Spider-Man himself in a rap battle. Taking to Instagram, the rapper wrote: “‘Climb the walls like Spider-Man.’ Honored to be on The Amazing Spider-Man variant.” “I’ve been a huge fan of Spider-Man since I was a kid. He’s definitely in my top 5. So to be on the cover and compete against Spider-Man is so exciting and such an honor,” says Eminem of the collaboration. Already in a text of “Los Angeles Times” from 2000 says: “The young Eminem had a love for storytelling and dreamed of becoming a comic book author until he met rap.” In addition to a great interest, the rapper is said to have a large collection. “I got a glimpse of Eminem’s collection and it’s out of this world. [Er hat Ausgaben]that don’t even sell in stores,” Riggs told Morales in 2009 MTV. Morales was a temp executive at Shady Records, Eminem’s label. He is also a producer and worked on the Broadway version of Hamilton.
The cover was drawn by Salvador Larocca, who primarily works on the Marvel Comics “X-Men” books. More superheroes can be seen in the audience of the “Eminem vs. Spider-Man” battle and so Miles Morales and Luke Cage are at the front of the stage, Daredevil is sitting in a tree and Ghost-Spider is standing in the background against a wall. Larocca also drew the booklet Eminem/Punisher (2009)#1, which was published as part of RELAPSE in collaboration with Marvel and hip-hop magazine XXL.
Another rapper who has been immortalized on a comic book cover is The Notorious BIG He was featured on the “Deadpool (2022) #1” issue in early November 2022. Christopher Wallace, his real name, was murdered in Los Angeles in 1997 and would have been 50 this year. To mark the anniversary, the late rap legend is pictured sitting on a throne in the middle of Times Square, wearing his famous crown, while Deadpool stands behind him.