Last time, in part two, we mentioned the concept of a variant cover — so let’s expand upon that a little, shall we?
The first thing that you need to know is that all comic formats: Floppies, TPB’s, and omnibuses, come with a standard/base cover. They can also have optional covers called “variant covers” which come in a variety of designs and styles. Unlike a standard cover, not every book produced will have variant options, but in the modern era it is a likely occurrence.
So what’s the difference?
Usually it is just the outside cover art, though sometimes there may be special inserts added inside the comic as well. All other elements of the comic, TPB, or omnibus remains exactly the same. The interior of all of these comics contain the same panels, and they are the same story or collection of stories. You are basically choosing your favorite exterior art.
Shopping for a cover is like settling on the color of paint and trim level you want when you’re buying a car. Aesthetics go a long way, and sometimes the extra features will cost a little more. Options can be fun to look at, as long as you take one home that fits your budget. We’ll expand more into more detailed art options in part 4.
For the purposes of this article we’re going to be talking about mostly modern comics (post-1990). Diving into vintage comics is a whole ball of wax for another time. For the moment, let’s start with talking about the big differences between standard covers and variants.
Standard covers
All comic books are released with a standard or base cover option. They are also referred to as an “A Cover” “Regular Cover” “Main Cover” “Primary Cover.” Sometimes they’re just discussed as the “cover.” No matter the terminology, the meaning is the same, they are the primary cover/art for a particular issue.
The standard cover is the design that the team working on the book has selected to reflect the storyline contained inside (though sometimes they might be plot misdirects). The image is usually full color and features characters from the book and is commonly drawn by the artist doing the interior art on the comic issue, but that is not always the case. The standard cover is generally used in merchandising and advertisements for the issue.
Standard covers have the most issues printed and as such are the most common covers to find in retail spaces and on secondary markets. As far as rarity goes, they’re only rare if they are older, harder-to-find issues.
For an example, this is the standard cover for Uncanny X-Men, the first full appearance of Gambit which came out in 1990.
Now, sometimes standard covers of new issues are so popular they are reprinted- the result is simply referred to as a “reprint” or labeled with the number of the printing (for example, “2nd” or “3rd” printing). A fairly recent reprint is Uncanny X-Men (2024) #1. In this case, there are slight differences to coloration to differentiate the first and third printings which share the same cover art. It does not count as a variant unless the cover art is a completely different image.
In some cases, popular older comics are reprinted. For example, the standard cover of Uncanny X-Men (1981) #266 has been reprinted several times- including in 2019 and 2024. Reprints of older issues are often referred to as “facsimile” covers because they are a copy of the original. If you’re trying to track down older comics, be sure to double check that you are buying an original and not a facsimile cover. Responsible sellers will document this or put the year of publishing in the listing. The point is they look identical to the original. Another handy tip is to look at the price in the corner art - reprints will have a different price than the original (Note the 1990 comic shown above was $1.00, the more recent reprint below is priced at $4.99).
Of course, some things will add value to standard cover comics, such as a signature by the artist, or if they’re CGC graded. Graded comics are any that have been professionally rated (that’s the number in the upper left corner) and sealed into a plastic case to protect them. Once they’re sealed, that’s it. they remain there to hold their value. Having comics rated can be expensive and should only be done to comics that you think will hold or increase in value over time. We’ll do another post going deeper into CGC grading in the future.
Standard Covers that are seen as variants
Some standard covers (especially in comics from the 90’s and further back) had minor additions that cause them to be seen as variants.
Special inserts - Special inserts are advertisements which increase the value/rarity of the issue but the cover art will remain the same. One of the most popular and well known insert was done by Mark Jewelers. They included an advertisement for their stores in about 5% of the issues for certain titles. Uncanny X-Men (1990) #266 was one such title. Finding one of these in a good condition copy can skyrocket its value.
Newsstand Copies - Another thing to note, especially if you are looking for comics from the early X-Men days, is that there were different versions of the standard cover printed depending on their final retail destination.
Copies sold direct to comic shops did not used to have a UPC code. However, newsstand copies, intended for sale at streetside newsstands did. For the direct copies, they instead printed a drawing or small advertisement in the space where the UPC would be. Some circles consider newsstand copies an early variant, but the only thing different is the presence or absence of a barcode. This practice has since fallen out of use and all comics include a UPC on the front or back cover regardless of their point of sale location.
Value-wise, newsstand copies were generally treated more roughly due to increased contact by non-collectors, and have a decreased chance of remaining in good condition. If you happen to find one in excellent shape, it may end up being worth a pretty penny.
Variant cover history
In the modern era, many comics no longer just have the standard single cover option.
Most now come with more than one cover (well, at least they have since the mid-1980s). The first comic marketed with a variant cover was a DC Comic, Man of Steel (1986) #1 by John Byrne.
It sold so well that it kicked off a new era with companies producing more cover alternatives for people to purchase. This helped encourage collectors to pick up multiple copies of the same book and boosted comic sale numbers.
Variant covers have been a fairly successful market since they broke into the mainstream. Today they are one of the things most sought out by collectors, and they vary widely in rarity, artists, colors, and even materials.
Defining a variant
Now that we’ve given you some background into standard covers and how variants started becoming a thing, let’s dig deeper into variants and what that name entails.
Anything that is not the regular cover is a variant cover. In the Marvel world, you’ll hear these described as variants, or referred to by a letter other than A (which is your regular cover). So “B cover” “C Cover” or “D Cover” would be an indicator that they are a Marvel variant. The corner boxes will also indicate if they are a variant cover, usually using the words “Variant Edition” but sometimes they may not be marked.
Variant covers fall broadly into several categories. We’re going to try to explain those and show you some different examples as we discuss each one. Let’s start with the most common types.
Comic shop variants
These variants are the most common types of variant cover, available at your local comic shop storefronts or online.
Free-to-Order/Open Order variants - This doesn’t mean free to the consumer, this means that comic shops are free to order as many copies of a variant cover that they would like to try to sell. They are just a different cover art, and sell for the same retail price. Below is the regular cover for Uncanny X-Men (2024) #23 by David Marquez (who is doing the book interior), and two of the free-to-order variants by Domenico Cava and NetEase Games. They are usually listed by the artists name, for example the middle comic below would be the “Domenico Cava Variant”
Incentive Covers - Incentive covers are a way comic companies try to get retailers to order more issues of a particular book. Usually, these comics are listed with a ratio next to them such as 1:100, 1:50, or 1:25. This means is for every one copy of the variant cover, the store would have to order a certain amount of regular covers or free-to-order variants as well. For 1:100, it would be 100 comics, 1:50 it would be 50 comics, and 1:25 it would be 25. Other common ratios are 1:5 and 1:10.
Because Incentive covers are rarer, they usually fetch a higher price, well above “sticker cost.” Shops set their own pricing for these so they will vary from store to store. The more rare the ratio, the higher the price. Usually the price is pretty close to the ratio - e.g. 1:25 should be about $25 USD, 1:100 about $100 USD. Covers will be listed in shops and online as the “(ratio) (artist name) variant” so you should be able to expect at least roughly how much the comic will run.
The example we have for an incentive cover is Uncanny X-Men (2024) #23. The incentive cover is by Rickie Yagawa, and it is a 1:25. So this particular issue will be the “1:25 Rickie Yagawa Variant” and the store will only have one of these for every 25 regular covers or open order variants it has.
Incentive variants may also have special attributes to them beyond just different art. Those variants may be listed by attribute (such as virgin, connector, or foil) instead of or in addition to the artists name - we’ll get into that more specifically in part 4.
There’s also something called a “party” incentive for larger retailers that is generally tied to new title launches. If the store orders a large enough number of the new title issues and is part of the “launch” of said title, they get a “party” variant as an incentive for joining the launch party.
Incentive covers may also be marked as “retailer incentive” or “RI” covers on the secondary market, for those of you looking at places like eBay.
Retailer Exclusive Variants - Retailer exclusive variants are a special comic cover designed by the publisher and sent to stores who have ordered a set amount of copies. They are usually part of a limited production print run, resulting in low available numbers and greater rarity. Generally, a retailer exclusive variant is a single cover design (and possibly variants of that design, see below) which is sent to a single retailer (or partnership group). It may also have the purchasing stores name or logo printed on the front or back cover. To get these covers, you will need to visit the specific retailer that has them.
Retailer exclusives may be marked as such on the front cover, and may be advertised as “retailer exclusive” or “RE” on secondary markets. The price on these will vary by rarity and demand.
Store Variants are a type of retailer exclusive variant where the retailer or store directly commissions the publisher to produce a variant cover for their stores and only their stores based on art they request. In many cases, the retailer works with an artist or chooses from a list of approved artists to produce the cover art and submits that to the publisher. Store variants may also have their own variants as well (such as a black and white version). If you would like to purchase a store variant cover, you can only purchase it directly from the store that ordered it. For example, this variant for Uncanny X-Men (2024) #1 by Nathan Szerdy is only available through Unknown Comics or their partners, who had the cover made for their own use. Popular artists like J. Scott Campbell use their own art to commission store variants and then sell their cover work on their own website.
Non comic shop variants
There are also variant covers that are variants from specific places. Some of these are places for only the retailers, and some that are for everyday customers. Let’s break those down.
Special Event Retailer Exclusives: There are retailer exclusive variants that are meant to only be distributed at retailer events. These are more rare than traditional retailer exclusives, and are called Diamond Retailer Summit Variants. They are only printed in very limited numbers for these events, are specially marked, and can be quite expensive to acquire.
Convention/Event Variants - This seems pretty self explanatory. Convention variants are popular at larger comic conventions such as San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) and New York Comic Con (NYCC). They usually have a special logo on the front or back cover and are printed in low volumes/limited runs. Sometimes it is a single issue, sometimes, there’s about 1000 copies total. The issue below is the Fan Expo 2024 Stanley 'Artgerm' Lau Variant of Uncanny X-Men (2024) #1.
Another example is this David Marquez variant made for NYCC of Uncanny X-Men (2024) #4. Convention variants are fun to look for both at the con and at secondary markets!
DVD Variants - DVD variants are generally reprinted or special edition mini comics that were sold inside of DVD/Blu-ray releases. They are available at non-comic book stores like Target or Walmart. They are becoming less common now due to the rise of streaming - but they have been out in the last decade so keep an eye out!
Mail Away Variants - These are now rarer and mostly found on secondary markets. Mail away comic variants were the result of a partnership between comic producers and non-comic companies. Consumers would buy a product like cookies or a board game and mail in the UPC to be sent a variant cover. Sometimes, there would be a voucher for a comic or a full comic packaged in with a board game, such as this issue of Uncanny X-Men (1993) #297. These were mostly phased out by the early 2000s.
That should cover most of the common variant types you will come across as an X-Men collector coming into the fandom. Hopefully these explanations will help you start dipping your toes into the variant collecting hobby!
Next up: The variations in the variants! Stay tuned for part 4!