This story first dropped in January but we must have been having blizzard or something. Anyway, in an effort to sell more comics, Marvel has introduced a line of bargain priced $1 introductory issues for a number of tried and true story lines. It’s called True Believer and the books go on sale in April.
The books go back to some classic story lines like Civil War, Planet Hulk—and just for the PS3 generation, Powers (debuting tonight!) Presumably these jump on board spots will enable new reads to join in the Secret Wars fun.
“True Believers are your perfect entry point to not only the Marvel Universe but the new Secret Wars Universe as well,” says Marvel SVP Sales & Marketing David Gabriel in a statement. “They’re a great way for retailers to promote and streamline consumers into Marvel’s extensive back list and the ideal way for fans to get caught up before the cataclysmic events of Secret Wars! We’re proud to present these great stories in this format, allowing fans to sample some of Marvel’s best and brightest gems.”
And here’s the lineup. For all you conspiracy freaks, the Spider-Man #1 is the Milea Morales issue…..
TRUE BELIEVERS: INFINITY GAUNTLET #1 (FEB150760)
Reprinting material from INFINITY GAUNTLET #1.
32 PGS./Rated T …$1.00 MSRP
TRUE BELIEVERS: MARVEL ZOMBIES #1 (FEB150761)
Reprinting MARVEL ZOMBIES #1.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$1.00 MSRP
TRUE BELIEVERS: AGE OF APOCALYPSE #1 (FEB150762)
Reprinting material from X-MEN ALPHA.
32 PGS./Rated T …$1.00 MSRP
TRUE BELIEVERS: CIVIL WAR #1 (FEB150767)
Reprinting material from CIVIL WAR #1.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$1.00 MSRP
TRUE BELIEVERS: PLANET HULK #1 (FEB150764)
Reprinting INCREDIBLE HULK (2000) #92.
32 PGS./Rated T …$1.00 MSRP
TRUE BELIEVERS: HOUSE OF M #1 (FEB150765)
Reprinting HOUSE OF M #1.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$1.00 MSRP
TRUE BELIEVERS: OLD MAN LOGAN #1 (FEB150766)
Reprinting WOLVERINE (2003) #66.
32 PGS./Parental Advisory …$1.00 MSRP
TRUE BELIEVERS: ARMOR WARS #1 (FEB150763)
Reprinting material from IRON MAN (1968) #225.
32 PGS./Rated T …$1.00 MSRP
TRUE BELIEVERS: MILES MORALES #1 (FEB150768)
Reprinting ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN (2011) #1.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$1.00 MSRP
TRUE BELIEVERS: AGE OF ULTRON #1 (FEB150769)
Reprinting AGE OF ULTRON #1.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$1.00 MSRP
POWERS FIRSTS #1 (FEB150770)
Reprinting POWERS #1.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$1.00 MSRP
Okay… I’m gonna ask about the elephant…
How many of these series are currently available as trade collections, in stock at the warehouse?
That is, say I’m the perfect customer…
“Golly GEE! These stories are swell! I can’t wait to find out what happens next! Here’s $100 I made Bitcoin mining! Give me everything you’ve got!”
Do the $1 editions advertise the collected series/storylines volumes?
Is there a digital coupon inside to purchase the digital stories online?
Is Marvel offering these trades on consignment to encourage/help retailers?
Are the companion trades listed/spotlighted on the February order sheet?
Pretty sure they are all available in one firm or another
Sounds nice for newbies. Reprints are nothing new. Discounts are nice.
I wonder if they will be edited. Stuff or pages left out for reason of saving money. Like in the old Marvel Tales (Amazing Spider Man reprints) or in the old Marvels Greatest (FF reprints.) Or edited for content to fool new readers to think their comics are more similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Or other strange Media/Hollywood politics.
A dollar for a 32 page comic reprint sounds about right. Will we see sales reports on these? Will the creators get royalties?
Good!!!!!
Some observations:
These appear to be just the “#1’s” so to speak for the major Secret Wars mini-series that will be coming out. In effect, wetting the whistle — showing everyone why they were timeless or notable or whatever.
They’ve been doing this relatively frequently with all their major events the past several years. The comic shop freebie “Secret Invasion Saga” books or whatever they were that were just a backlog advertisement did the same thing.
Silly but True
leave it to the Beat to dredge up a 2 month old Marvel press release about a tactic used by every single publisher on the planet, and make it into “news”.