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Marvel Goes To War Armed With Retailer Exclusive Covers, Through October And November

Published Thu, 22 Sep 2016 17:01:48 -0500

Last updated Sat, 24 Sep 2016 03:41:31 -0500

It was IDW who started it, with a Godzilla launch in 2011. The idea that retailers could commission their own exclusive cover of a regularly released comic book if they ordered a very large amount, which they could sell for a premium or use as a promotional device for the store.

And it has certainly helped sales – it put Harley Quinn #1 over All-Star Batman #1 by dint of having more retailers sign up to a Harley Quinn exclusive. And, with Suicide Squad #1 really helped DC Comics in their marketshare figures against Marvel in August.

It can be a lot more work for publisher, printer and distributor alike. But it can make a massive difference to sales – in the short term at least.

Image Comics has banned them, stating that the extra work does not justify any bump in long term sales – simply there isn't one, and it becomes a distraction.

But as August's stats reveal, that distraction can really juice those numbers.

We've seen all the retailer exclusive covers for Champions #1, which – along with the Scholastic Book Fair exclusive variant will see sales of over 400,000.

Text up for Marvel is the launch of the new Invincible Iron Man #1, featuring Iron Heart in the lead.

But it is being followed up by more retailer exclusives from Marvel than ever before.

Avengers #1
Black Panther: World of Wakanda #1
Venom #1
Ghost Rider #1
Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #1
The Unworthy Thor #1
Thanos #1

Could this be part of the Marvel marketshare fightback? For the first time with Champions #1, Marvel have been using the retailer covers to promote themselves. Expect that to continue…

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