Looking at the comic market today is almost like looking back in time - variants, crazy alternate universes, and massive cross-overs are happening every week, and it all reminds me of the state of comics of my youth, during the 90s. Big narrative events came thick and fast: Superman died, Batman got his back broken by some dude named Bane, and Wolverine had his adamantium ripped out. I had to buy every issue of the Superman books to keep up with how he was going to come back to life, and frankly, it was awesome. Numbers were through the roof and the Big 2 were looking at ways to keep the money flowing. As a result there were several good things, but not all of it was good, with some clear compromises in quality, and the decade can teach us as comic book fans, and the Big 2 as publishers a lot. So without further ado here are 5 things the 90s taught us about comics...
1. Variant Covers: The Possibilities Are Endless
Poly-bagged, die cut, glow in the dark, nude, hologram, trading card included, 1 in 20 black and white variant- every single one of these is something taking to extremes by companies in the 90s - I didn't make up a single variant type. And that is not to mention the amount of covers one comic can have: Gen13 had 13, X-Men #1 had 5 covers. Now Uncanny Avengers #1 is going back to the well with 17 different covers. SEVENTEEN! I can understand 2 or 3, but that is just overkill. What purist is going to out and buy 17 of the same comics? Will they sell a sketch cover variant? If so, how much will that sell for?