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

Spider-Man Comic Appearances for September 5, 2012

Okay this week brings a small haul of new Spider-Man comic book appearances.  There are five of them, but two are from non-Marvel publishers.

First off, Ultimate Spider-Man continues to be a great read.  Just like the early years of the original Ultimate Spider-Man series, each issue is better than the previous one.  And dang if the stories seem too short.  A sign of a good book when it has you wanting more each month.

On the weird side of things, the latest issue of Garfield features a Spider-Man parody with multiple arms and a red and blue costume to boot.

The latest issue of Spawn features a "post"view (opposite of "pre"view) of the previous month's Spider-Man inspired cover.

Here's this week's books...

Amazing Spider-Man #692 Fan Expo Variant

I just got this gem in the mail today -- a variant of Amazing Spider-Man #692 sold exclusively at the Fan Expo in Canada last week.

The variant cover was created by J. Scott Campbell.

If you weren't able to make it to the show, then Ebay is your best best to get a copy.  Buy It Now copies are around the $30-40 range.

Spider-Man Comic Appearances for August 29, 2012

This week things are short and sweet with just five new Spider-Man comic book appearances, and not a variant cover or alternate printing in site.

Here's the list...

• Avenging Spider-Man #11
• FF #21
• Hulk #57
• Marvel Previews #109
• Web of Spider-Man #129.2

And last week I was unable to check Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe #4, as all of my local shops were sold out.  But a buddy reports that Spidey indeed does make an appearance with a picture on a mug.  This series was fun and likely to gain some value due to its reasonable low printing numbers.

Spider-Man Comic Appearances for August 22, 2012

This week there's a hodgepodge of variants, alternate printings and regular issues.  There are a total of 13 new Spider-Man appearances.

The Amazing Spider-Man #692 variants feature alternate covers through the decades.  They are attractive covers, but I'm not sure 5 variant covers were justified.  Feels a bit over the top.

Secret Avengers is the oddest appearance this week with a blink-and-you'll-miss-it-on-the-cover Spidey-inspired pole dancer.  She's in the background of the cover only and standing beside other dancers wearing costumes inspired by Daredevil, Captain America, and others.

Here's the list for the week...

Spider-Man Comic Appearances for August 15, 2012

No surprise this week as we have a heap of new variants with the release of Avengers Vs. X-Men #10, and a bruised and battered Spidey only barely appears towards the end of the book.  In total there are 12 new Spider-Man comic book appearances.

If you grab the 3rd issue of the Marvel Super Heroes Magazine, be sure to look for both covers.  As of this issue they are publishing 2 different covers.  You gotta love em for that (sarcasm).  And these are newsstand barcode editions too, since they no longer print a unique direct edition for comic shops any longer.

Here's the list for the week:

Spider-Man Comic Appearances for August 8, 2012

We've got 11 new comic books this week featuring a Spider-Man appearance.  There are 8 regular titles with 3 variant covers along for the ride.

My favorite for the week is Spider-Men #4.  The mini-series is very well written, and I would personally like to see its impact felt for some time to come by the characters within the respective books and not just forgotten.

Here's the list for the week...

Spider-Man Comic Appearances for August 1, 2012

We have a little bit of everything with this week's 16 new comic books featuring a Spider-Man appearance.  There are regular issues, alternate printings, variant covers, and even a non-Marvel cover swipe.

The highlight has to be Image Comics' Spawn #222 with its McFarlane self-homage of Amazing Spider-Man's #332.  You have to love an artist doing an homage of their own work from another book.

Avengers Vs. X-Men inches closer to its goal line with the Karate Kid inspired Spidey-centric #9.  Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe is a fun book, and Ultimate Comics Spider-Man continues to be a solid read.

Here are the appearances from this week...

Spider-Man Comic Appearances for July 25, 2012

This week we have 7 new Spider-Man comic book appearances, but more importantly we have 4 new appearances from recently released comics...that we failed to find the first time around.

On the variant front, there is just one lone cover variant for Amazing Spider-Man #690.

This week brings us Astonishing X-Men #52 -- the follow-up to issue #51's wedding -- which sports Spider-Man clearly present at the reception.  Considering we counted #51 as an appearance with just a partial hand present, it's nice to have the confirmation in this issue.  (Of course, it was also nice to have confirmation straight from the issue's artist too.)

Here is this week's list...

Spider-Man Comic Appearances for July 18, 2012

Wow!  It's a lite week with only two comic titles featuring a Spider-Man appearance.

BUT...and there's always a but...they each have variants that combine for a total of 10 books.  Psych!

The weirdest thing for the week is that there were no core Spider-Man titles released.  That's more than made up for by the 7 versions of Avengers Vs. X-Men #8 and 3 versions of Captain Marvel #1.

Here's the list:

Spider-Man Comic Appearances for July 11, 2012

This week we have 6 new comic books featuring a Spider-Man appearance.  Spider-Men #3 makes up half that list with its regular cover and two variants.

Here's the list:

• Avenging Spider-Man #9
• Marvel Universe The Avengers Earth's Mightiest Heroes #4
• Scarlet Spider #7
• Spider-Men #3
• Spider-Men #3 (Pichelli Variant)
• Spider-Men #3 (Dodson Variant)

If you're lucky enough to go, have fun in San Diego this weekend.  If not, then you can watch updates on G4.

Happy boxdiving!