Secret Wars #1 Exclusive Cover Variants for Retailers - Full List

Secret Wars, the latest massive company-wide crossover from Marvel Comics is newly upon us.  The inaugural #0 issue is being released as a free comic during the 2015 Free Comic Book Day (FCBD).

The FCBD giveaway, coupled with the release of the new Avengers movie, has resulted in a ton of attention being paid to the comic book industry.  Enterprising retailers have taken advantage of the media maelstrom by purchasing their own exclusive cover art for the first issue of Secret Wars.

This trend of single stores getting their own cover has become much more mainstream lately, but has not reached the fevered pitch of Amazing Spider-Man #666 -- one of the early comics to offer exclusive covers to stores who pre-purchase a large number of issues.

It's time to scout out all of the exclusive retailer variant covers for Secret Wars #1.  The list below is a work in progress, so please post a comment if you find anything that should be added.  Happy hunting!

Amazing Spider-Man #1 (Volume 3) (2014) Barcode Numbers

As a follow-up to my previous post listing all of the variants for Amazing Spider-Man #1 (2014), I wanted to provide an additional breakdown of the barcode numbers for each of the 49 issues...

Amazing Spider-Man #1 (Volume 3) (2014) Comic Shop Retailer Variants -- The Full List with Pictures & Contact Info

Marvel is setting the sales charts on fire with the latest relaunch of the Amazing Spider-Man comic book franchise.

Set to be released in April 2014, Amazing Spider-Man #1 has reportedly racked up over a half million orders from retailers.

Never one to shy away from a good gimmick, a large component of those sales are made up of limited edition cover variants for retailers who order a minimum number of books.

The following is a list of comic shop retailers who will have their own variant cover of Amazing Spider-Man #1 along with images and contact information where available.

This list was last updated on July 2, 2014...

Age of Ultron #1 SXSW Gaming Expo Variant Comic Book

Marvel just finished up their South By Southwest (SXSW) presentation where they announced a bevy of new digital initiatives.

The big treat for comic collectors wasn't the news about the Marvel Gamma adaptive audio or the 700 free digital comics available for download, but rather the free copy of Age of Ultron #1 variant to commemorate the SXSW event.

Age of Ultron features a fairly sizeable Spider-Man appearance, and this variant promises to be one of the rarest released.

The Marvel team for the panel included Axel Alonso (Editor in Chief, Marvel Entertainment) and Peter Phillips (SVP & GM, Marvel Digital Media Group) among others.  They both seemed genuinely happy and a bit surprised at the turnout for the presentation.  By my count, there were a couple hundred folks there to hear the news Marvel had so deftly teased the weeks prior.

The crowd was easily double, if not triple, the size from the previous year's presentation -- Marvel's first visit to SXSW.

Axel let everyone know up front that the Age of Ultron #1 variant would be given away one per person after the speech for free as long as copies remained available.  And they meant it.  They announced they had a very small print run of around 200 copies, and that many of the team at Marvel headquarters wouldn't even be able to get a copy.

As Axel started unpacking the single box of variants comics, it was clear they were right and it was not going to come close to satisfying the hungry crowd of hundreds standing in line both inside and outside the exhibit hall.

I made it to about tenth in line, and watched as issue after issue got autographed by the Marvel team.  I respectfully asked for an unautographed copy because I've always shyed away from signed comics.  As a collector, I guess I'm a purist.  My estimation is that not very many of the comics will end up pure and unsigned.

The event was great.  Marvel packed a ton of news and video clips into their hour-long session.  And it was really great to get Marvel's involvement at SXSW.  I hope they show up again next year.

And good luck finding a copy of this variant.  As of yet (the afternoon following the event) no copies have shown up on Ebay, but I would guess they will eventually.

Spider-Man Comic Appearances for October 17, 2012

This week we have 10 new comic books featuring an appearance by the ever-lovin' Spider-Man.

Marvel Now is in full swing and picking up steam each week.  This week we get the teaser book for the event -- Marvel Now Point One #1 along with its 4 covers.

The latest issue of Marvel Super Heroes Magazine #4 is out and is interesting in that it sports a newsstand bar code.  I figure Marvel is shaving a few bucks here by printing the magazine mainly for bookstores and magazine outlets, and shipping some of those copies to comic shops.  It's probably cheaper, and I can't imagine comic shops are ordering heavy on this.

Here's this week's list...

Spider-Man Comic Appearances for October 10, 2012

There's a mix of everything in this week's 11 new Spider-Man comic book appearances.

The odd (re: fortunate) thing is that in many cases we get Spidey appearing only on the cover of a few books.  Fortunate, because that means you don't have to track down and shell out mucho dough for the variant covers he's not on.

The Fantastic Four #611 (regular issue) cover appearance is ridonkulously hard to find.  I would have easily skipped on getting the issue, but prior to my local comic shop visit I checked out the artwork online without the masthead logo. Spidey appears in part behind that.

Here's the list for the week...

Spider-Man Comic Appearances for October 3, 2012

I took a couple weeks off, but now I'm back as things cool down on Avengers Vs X-Men and heat up on Marvel Now.

Speaking of Avengers Vs X-Men, the twelfth and final issue of the maxi-series is the largest single contributor with 7 out of this week's total 16 new issues featuring a Spider-Man appearance.  Especially when you factor in the 2 additional versions of AvX #6 too.

Minimum Carnage #1 doesn't include Spider-Man, but does include the Scarlet Spider which counts as a genetic version of our Peter Parker.

Defenders would be an easy one to miss, but keep your eyes out not for Spider-Man, but rather Peter Parker at the pivotal time he is bitten by the radioactive Spider.

Here's the list...

Spider-Man Comic Appearances for September 26, 2012

Only five new comics for the week.

Here's the list...

• Amazing Spider-Man #694
• Captain America and Black Widow #637
• FF #22
• Marvel Universe Ultimate Spider-Man #6
• Ultimate Comics The Ultimates #16

Spider-Man Comic Appearances for September 19, 2012

We have 11 new appearances in-hand for the week.

Here's the list...

• Avengers #30
• Avengers Vs X-Men #1 (7th Printing)
• Avengers Vs X-Men #2 (7th Printing)
• Avengers Vs X-Men #3 (4th Printing)
• Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe #4 (2nd Printing)
• Mighty Thor #20
• Spider-Men #5
• Spider-Men #5 (Sara Pichelli Variant Cover)
• Spider-Men #5 (Travis Charest Variant Cover)
• Thanos The Final Threat #1
• Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #15

Spider-Man Comic Appearances for September 12, 2012

There are a dozen new comic books this week that feature a Spider-Man appearance to some degree.

Here's the list...

• Avengers Vs X-Men #11
• Avengers Vs X-Men #11 (Yu Avengers Team Variant)
• Avengers Vs X-Men #11 (Yu X-Men Team Variant)
• Avengers Vs X-Men #11 (Yu Promo Variant)
• Avengers Vs X-Men #11 (Pichelli Variant)
• Avengers Vs X-Men #11 (Pichelli Sketch Variant)
• Avenging Spider-Man #12
• Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe #1 (2nd Printing)
• Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe #2 (2nd Printing)
• Fantastic Four #610
• Marvel Universe The Avengers Earth's Mightiest Heroes #6
• Scarlet Spider #9