Standard Deviations: judging books by their covers
I am an unabashed fan and reader of comic books, but I am also a collector. As a consequence, I’ll go out of my way to track down variant covers of issues from titles I'm invested in or images I think are generally awesome (primarily from Marvel's ever expanding X-Men line). A quick disclaimer before we go on, I know the interior pages are identical, I know these books will not command the price I’ll pay for them going forward, and I know I can get a high resolution digital version of the cover image on my computer that will be far more accessible long term. I seek this stuff out because I want it in my collection. It’s OK if you want to consider it a disorder, disease or other malady; synonyms are really just variant covers for words.
-ptb
Standard Deviations vol. 15:
Marvel’s Uncanny Avengers #1 variantsThe Marvel Now! movement begins today with the release of Uncanny Avengers #1 in comic shops across the country. The publisher is pulling out all the stops with its line wide “refresh” including an appearance by Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live last night. The inaugural series of the Marvel Universe’s
Standard Deviations vol. 12:
Marvel’s “Iron Man by Design” variantsIn commemoration of the this weekend’s premiere of Marvel’s The Avengers (and as part of our month long Standard Deviations series dedicated to the team), we’re taking a look at some past sets of variants shipped to coincide with the premieres of the solo movies featuring the Avengers’ “Big Three:” Iron Man, Thor and Captain
Standard Deviations vol. 11:
Avengers “Art Appreciation” variantsThis installment of Standard Deviations takes a look at April 2012′s set of Avengers “Art Appreciation” variants. Released in anticipation of the of the premiere of Marvel Studios’ shared universe film epic The Avengers on May 4th, these images specifically feature characters that are among the film’s cast as opposed to drawing on the huge
Standard Deviations vol. X (10):
Wolverine “Art Appreciation” variantsThis installment of Standard Deviations takes us back to the Spring of 2009 as Marvel Comics produced a set of “Art Appreciation” variants as part of their celebration of Wolverine’s 35th anniversary. The books also coincided with the release of Fox’s Wolverine: Origins in theaters around the world on May 1st of that year. With
Standard Deviations vol. 9:
Avengers versus X-Men variantsMarvel’s biggest event of the year is here along with perhaps the most extensive set of variant covers the publisher has ever produced. Avengers versus X-Men promises to be huge in every way, and each of the series’ twelve issues will be wrapped in at least five different covers. Shipping from April to October, these books
Standard Deviations vol. 8
X-Men: Messiah ComplexIn the last edition of Standard Deviations, we took a look at a set of variant covers for Marvel’s House of M series released in 2005. The Scarlet Witch was a central figure in that series as she will be in this year’s Avengers versus X-Men. Also central to AvX is Hope Summers, the first
Standard Deviations vol. 7
House of MAs Marvel’s Avengers versus X-Men event looms on the horizon and Avengers: The Children’s Crusade wrapped up this week, this edition of Standard Deviations takes a look back at the set of variant cover images from 2005′s House of M. The Scarlet Witch’s “no more mutants” spell has been a defining moment for the Marvel Universe
Standard Deviations vol. 6
Image Expo variantsAs part of the 20th Anniversary celebration of Image Comics, the publisher will be hosting the Image Comics Expo this weekend in Oakland, California. The show features a who’s who of creators participating in discussion panels and autograph signings, but fans will also have the chance to pick up a handful of issues from some of Image’s
Standard Deviations vol. 5: A look back at Marvel’s “70th Anniversary” variantsTwo weeks ago we took a look at 2011′s Marvel Comics’ 50th Anniversary homage variants and I couldn’t help but mention 2009′s “70th Anniversary” set. You read those numbers correctly: 70th anniversary in 2009, 50th anniversary in 2011. Using an “any excuse for a celebration” approach, the publisher decided to cobble together its history as Marvel (dating
Standard Deviations vol. 4:
Marvel’s Venom variant coversThroughout January, Marvel Comics released a series of Venom variants on 19 issues of their ongoing titles. I’m not really sure about the motivation here. Normally these themed variant months are timed as promotional pieces for something in the publisher’s schedule. Last year, there were sets of variant covers released as cross promotion with Marvel’s X-Men:
Standard Deviations vol. 3:
Marvel’s 50th Anniversary variant coversLast Fall, Marvel Comics released a set of 50th Anniversary variant covers on a number of their titles shipping between October and December. As expected, the 50th comes just two years after the publisher’s 2009 “70th Anniversary” as they combined their history as Marvel, Atlas and Timely Comics. The variant covers associated with that celebration featured individual
Standard Deviations vol. 2:
Avengers X-Sanction variant coversWednesday saw the release of Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness’s Avengers: X-Sanction #1 (look for our review of the issue here). The book features the return of the X-Men’s Cable that was teased at this year’s San Diego Comic Con and is the first appearance of the character after his noble death during X-Men: Second Coming.
Standard Deviations vol. 1:
X-Men: Regenesis variant coversI am an unabashed fan and reader of Marvel Comics’ X-Men, but I am also a collector. As a consequence, I’ll go out of my way to track down variant covers of issues from most titles in the X-franchise. A quick disclaimer before we go on, I know the interior pages are identical, I know the
Also be sure to check out our variant posts that predate the Standard Deviations series with these Linear Regressions.
Marvel’s X-Men Evolutions variantsIn anticipation of next month’s release of the X-Men: First Class film, Marvel is producing a set of “X-Men: Evolutions” variants on its May titles. This follows a month of “Thor Goes Hollywood” covers on books in April coinciding with the God of Thunder’s big screen debut and is part of a long line of
All things TRONThroughout December I was inundated with all manner of media related to Disney’s TRON: Legacy, the sequel to the 1982 classic TRON. This is ok, I’m a fan, but there was so much TRON in my life all month it would be wrong not to mention it here. Seeing the movie was just the tip
X-Force Day Eve 2010It’s like 1991 all over again. In July, Marvel launched a new X-Men #1 by Victor Gischler and Paco Medina featuring a mutants versus vampires story that’s still raging on. Tomorrow, Marvel follows up that launch with Uncanny X-Force #1 by Rick Remender and Jerome Opena. It’s hard to say that this merits its own
Women of Marvel Djurdjevic variantsMarvel Comics is celebrating the women of their publishing line this year with a series of Women of Marvel promotions. In a similar manner to their 70th anniversary celebration in 2009, Marvel is releasing a year long series of variant covers on selected titles. Last year’s cover variants were created by one of their top
Women of Marvel Frame VariantsLast August, Marvel celebrated its 70th Anniversary by combining their publication history as Timely, Atlas and Marvel Comics which dates back to 1939. As part of the celebration, the publisher returned to a fondly remembered variant cover gimmick they used during their 25th Anniversary (almost 25 years ago): every book with a matching cover featuring a
X-Men Day Eve 2010No comics shipped this Wednesday due to the 4th of July holiday, so new books will be in stores tomorrow, July 8th. Tomorrow will be particularly special as Marvel has declared it “X-Men Day” since we’ll be seeing the launch of a new X-Men series with a number one issue. This is the first “X-Men
Marvel 70th Anniversary Frames RevisitedThe last of Marvel’s 70th Anniversary Frame variants shipped this week. I’ve made my feelings about these books pretty clear, but as a true Marvel Zombie I couldn’t just let them pass by. So, consider this my digital revenge as I add them to my “virtual collection.” Take that, Marvel! See if you can spot
Break Even
Not Just Take Out
Piqulette
The Man Called Havok
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