It’s a rarity these days for a comic to get up into high numbers. With Marvel & DC constantly stopping and restarting titles to get a new #1 on the shelves, mini series galore, and series just getting cancelled...it seemed like nothing would make it to a milestone number like issue #300 ever again.
Until now...
The long running independent comic book Spawn by the master Todd McFarlane, is about to do just that. We are a couple of weeks away from issue #300 being released and he’s celebrating the occasion by releasing 17 friggin covers!!! 15 of these are regular covers that will retail for $7.99 a pop, with 2 being ratio variants that will cost a bit more...but I’ll get to that in a second.
It’s crazy to think that it was 27 years ago that Spawn #1 was released. Todd and a smattering of other top tier comic artists and writers at the big 2, combined like the Power Rangers to form a mega powerhouse...Image Comics. Today they are the 3rd largest comic publisher and a major force in the industry.
I still remember the excitement on my stupid face the day I got my copy of Spawn #1. I was just 12 years old and I rode my bike down to the Hobby Shack and snagged my copy from Mike. We all hung out for hours and the excitement in the air from all the regulars was absolutely electric. My favorite artist was doing his own thing. I was saddened that he wouldn’t be doing Spidey anymore but was thrilled at this new creation.
Fast forward 27 years later and Spawn is going strong. It wasn’t always the case. There are some lean years for this title but it stuck it out and it’s cult following helped keep it in the spotlight enough for it to basically have a renaissance. It’s more popular that it’s been at any point in the 11 years I’ve had my shop. We are blowing through copies and customers are adding it to their stacks. It’s an exciting time for Spawn again. Congrats Todd...looking forward to seeing where this goes!!!
So let’s take a look at the covers that will be hitting shelves in just a couple of weeks...
- Cover A ~ McFarlane
Cover B ~ McFarlane B&W
Cover C ~ Capullo
- Cover D ~ Capullo Virgin
- Cover E ~ Capullo & McFarlane
- Cover F ~ Capullo & McFarlane B&W
- Cover G ~ Campbell
- Cover H ~ Opena
- Cover I ~ Alexander
- Cover J ~ Parody/Homage
- Cover K ~ Capullo & McFarlane Virgin 1:25
- Cover L ~ McFarlane Virgin 1:50
- Cover M ~ Campbell Virgin
- Cover N ~ Campbell B&W
- Cover O ~ Opena Virgin
- Cover P ~ Opena B&W
- Cover Q ~ Blank
That’s it for the covers. Outside of if they decide to do a NYCC Excludive or something like that...this would be it. A couple of things to note. The blank is just that...a blank cover. Usually it’s a nice cardstock Cover and these are mainly used to get sketches on by artists. The 1:25 & 1:50 mean that a retailer has to order 25 of the other covers to be able to order 1 of this one. Same goes with the 1:50...order 50 copies of the others and you can order 1 of these. Hear are done as a sales tactic to get retailers to bump their orders. This also means that they will command a pretty penny.
I think these will sell well in shops. Outside of the big numbers we ordered across the board, I had 3 customers order 50 copies so they can obtain the variants. I think we have around 250 copies of these on order. Madness!!!
Spawn #300 will be on sale at comic shops across the land on 9/4/19!!! Go snag your copies then!!!
Congrats on your success with this title Todd!!!
Blewitt
So sad that these never appreciated in value... one of my favorites...
Well that’s where you are mistaken brother! There are tons of Spawn issues that fetch bank ...just jot the early stuff that everyone collected and hoarded. It’s those years where nobody was getting them. Print runs were tiny and folks have been scrambling to snag em the past few years as they are ghosts.
There a several year period where regular issues are $20-$75 a pop. It’s pretty nutty!!! When did you stop collecting em?
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Huh, that is nuts. Most of mine are early and I got a first issue of dark ages I think. Glad to hear some of it's going up anyways though. Very underrated series imo and that first movie was soooooo bad lol. The animated series that ran on hbo in the 90s is gold though.
I had to resteem this, @blewitt! Spawn was truly when I knew I wanted to be a comic book artist. I was just a little older than you for Spawn #1, but I remember the electricity, and pre-internet by in large. I had to beg my parents to take to me the only comic book shop in Wilkes-Barre, Phoenix Comics. Todd McFarlane wrote pencil and inked those first few issues and to this day, that's reflected my view of what a comic creator should be. He's such a nerd, but I absolutely love him. SO fucking cool Capullo came back for a few of these cover collaborations. What a milestone. Glad Spawn outlived the necroplasm counter, lol
Lololol
Thanks brother! Love reading stuff like this. While I hold 0 artistic abilities, he’s 99% responsible for getting me into comics as a whole so we kinda share that.
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Is Al Simmons still spawn? Last time I read a spawn comic he wasn't but these comics always go back to basics and what works.
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It was someone else for a while. Some dude named Jim Downing. I think Al came back a couple years ago but don’t quote me on it. Not reading it at all. Lol
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Wow, I feel owed as I remember buying #1! Still have the first 25 issues with me!
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Yeah, the first 40 or so issues are fairly common but if you have a newsstand version of #1, those fetch a pretty penny.
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I can't wait to cover A myself - and that J Scott Campbell variant isn't bad either!
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Are you going to get the homage cover as well? That’s probably the one that’ll do the best out of the regulars.
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oh yea, I meant to include that one. It's amazing, but makes me sad I gave my ASM 300 to a friend years ago. I'm picking up two copies so that I can give one to my brother, so that he too can remember the pain of losing Venom when we were kids...
Ugh...gave away an ASM #300?!? Nooooooooo!!! Don’t worry, the 3D reprint comes out next week. Lol
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Yes, my brother and I were dumb kids sharing Venom with the world - morons, really...
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Lol.
Lesson learned. Be selfish.
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Sup Dork?!? Enjoy the Upvote!!!
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Awesome post.
SM300 'parody" is amazing since he drew both...
Add this to my order, just lemme know the damage ;)
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