Spider-Man Comic Appearances for April 25, 2012

Summer is in full swing, because we have another banner week for new Spider-Man comic book appearances.  I found 19 new comics featuring Spidey...or at least Spider-Man-related imagery.  Nearly half of the bunch are variant cover or 2nd printing issues.

My favorite this week belongs to the Spider-Man bed sheets found in Wolverine #305.  And while the imagery of Wolverine all snug in his bed with his Spidey pillow beneath his head is creeping into my brain (emphasis on "creep"), the Spidey inspired sheets don't belong to him.

AvX continues to dominate the Summer with the launch of the new AvX Vs title pitting hero against hero in wall-to-wall action.

Here's the list for the week:

Spider-Man Comic Appearances for April 18, 2012

This week's 21 new Spider-Man appearances is dominated by variants.  Chief among them are the 7 variant covers for AvX #2.  And we have 2nd printings of #0 and #1 as well.

Aside from the AvX issues, we have a number of Avengers Art Appreciation variant covers for several books.  I'm not sure about you, but "Appreciation" is a strong word for variant covers that no one really wants.  Oh well.

Here's the list:

Spider-Man Comic Appearances for April 11, 2012

Sorry for the delayed post.  This is a fairly modest week with 10 new Spider-Man comic book appearances.

Next week's release of Avengers vs X-Men #2 (assuming he is in there) will have tons of variants.  They're milking that series for all its worth.

Without further ado, here's the list:

• Amazing Spider-Man Hooky #1
• Avenging Spider-Man #6
• Avenging Spider-Man #6 (Granov Variant)
• Avenging Spider-Man #6 (Checchetto Variant)
• Carnage U.S.A. #5
• New Avengers #24
• New Avengers #24 (Avengers Art Appreciation Variant)
• Scarlet Spider #4
• Scarlet Spider #4 (Avengers Art Appreciation Variant)
• Uncanny X-Men #10

I'll be back soon with this week's list in a more timely fashion.  Happy boxdiving!

Spider-Man Comic Appearances for April 4, 2012

This is a massive week for new Spider-Man comic book appearances.  The shelves were filled with 23 comic books with Spidey sightings at my local comic shop.

Avengers versus X-Men (AvX) #1 has been released with 10 variant covers, and Hulk #50 sports 6 variant covers of its own.  Spidey is featured in both.

The flagship Spidey title -- Amazing Spider-Man -- has three covers for issue #683.  And the Ends of the Earth storyline is a fun ride so far.  It's nice to see the Sinister Six back again and outsmarting Spidey (and the Avengers)...for now anyway.

Ultimate Comics Spider-Man continues to be a solid book -- one of my favorites for sure.

Here's the list of new books for the week...

Spider-Man Comic Appearances for March 28, 2012

Pretty beefy number of Spider-Man appearances this week with 14 new ones hitting the shelves at your local comic shop.

Several titles end their run this week:  Daken, Moon Knight, and Marvel Adventures Spider-Man included.  I'm really only sad to see Marvel Adventures Spider-Man go, because it was consistently a well produced book for young audiences.  The bright side is that it will be replaced with a new kid-friendly title in the near future.

Spidey's appearance in the Avengers vs X-Men #0 teaser is minimal with the cover teaser for the first issue towards the back of the book.  Also, the wraparound variant features Spidey on the cover.

Lastly, Astonishing X-Men #48 doesn't feature Spidey inside, but the variant cover promoting his 50th anniversary does, and it's by far the best cover of the week.

Here's the list of new appearances this week...

Spider-Man Comic Appearances for March 21, 2012

This is an interesting week for Spider-Man appearances in the latest new comic releases.  We have a respectable number of alternate printings and variant covers, but we also have an entry from Archie Comics.

First off is a previous appearance that was missed.  FF#15 features a tiny Spidey cameo, and that book also has a variant cover to boot.

This week brings the final issue of the Avengers X-Sanction mini-series, which is an appetizer to the Avengers vs. X-Men series getting set to start next week with a #0 issue (and that also has two variant covers by the way).

Also in the Avengers mix is the Avengers Assemble series that started last week.  It features two custom retailer variant covers, and I have located about 20 participating comic shops so far.  I'll post a current list soon.

The non-Marvel appearance this week is Archie Comics' Stan Lee's Mighty 7 #1.  This is a tiny pinup on the wall of an artist's cubicle in a comic bullpen that features a character in a pose strikingly similar to something Spidey would do.  Not an overt lifting of the character's designs, but truly an homage.  That one has two variant covers.

Here are this week's new appearances...

Spider-Man Comic Appearances for March 14, 2012

This is a really diverse week for Spider-Man comic book appearances.  There are 7 different titles and 5 different variant covers for Avengers Assemble #1.

Spidey (barely) makes an appearance in the new Avengers Assemble #1 and with it come a hoard of variants.  From the 5 variant covers (in addition to the regular one), two of those variants are store-specific variants.  And like those that have come before that means there are dozens of alternate covers, each featuring a comic shop's own logo.

There hasn't been a published list of participating stores yet, but I have a dozen accounted for already.  I suspect I've only scratched the surface.  Oh boy.  I'll print more on this one as I get the info.

Here's the full list of books for the week...

Spider-Man Comic Appearances for March 7, 2012

Just 7 new Spider-Man appearances this week with a variant cover, a 2nd printing and several non-Spidey titles.

The new Ultimate Spider-Man series continues to be very good, and Amazing Spider-Man is exceptionally fun to read lately.  There's been an obvious shift to ensure the stories are well written and it shows.

Here are this week's appearances:

Spider-Man Comic Appearances for February 29, 2012

Wow!  We are variant free for the second week in a row.  I think Marvel has kicked the variant disease and wants to put out meaningful books once again.  And I truly appreciate it because now we can afford to buy their comics each week.

Not to mention, there were only 4 new comic books this week with a Spider-Man appearance.  That keeps things light on the wallet too.

There is an end to this happiness though.  I'm sure you've all seen the promos for the upcoming Avengers vs X-Men mini-series.  There are plans for a boat-load of comics and variants for that one to be sure.  Not the least of which are two retailer variant covers that local comic shops can opt to get personalized for heir store if they purchase the minimums required.  The jury is still out on how many will be taking them up on that one.

From a store participation standpoint, the personalized retailer variants have severely decreased in popularity since Amazing Spider-Man #666 kicked off the trend for Marvel -- it wasn't the first company to use the gimmick, but it was wildly popular with roughly 140 stores participating.  I would guess the AvX mini-series has the potential to persuade a few dozen stores to get involved, but not the 140 or so that bought into Spidey #666.

Recent reports have over a 1,000 local comic shops signed up to participate in the AvX preview parties that are set to occur the night before the book is released.  And I'm guessing that will be enough for most stores.  Buying 500 of a variant cover in addition will just be too costly.

All of that said, no matter how many stores get their own variant, rest assured that SPIDERMANFAN.com will assemble a set because of an appearance by our favorite webhead.

Now on to this week's books:

Spider-Man Comic Appearances for February 22, 2012

I never thought I'd write these words, but this week there were NO VARIANT COMIC BOOKS with a Spider-Man appearance.  It's been a while.

With that said, there were eight new comics with Spidey in them, and one of those was a freebie promoting the upcoming Avengers vs X-Men (AVX) series.

And speaking of the AVX series, Marvel has announced there will be another round of retailer-specific variants.  Only time will tell how many decide to pony up for the minimums needed to get their own variant.  I keep hoping they will get past this fad.

Here is the list of new books for the week: