Cyberspace Comics

During the speculator boom in the 1990s comic book market, publishers enhanced comic covers to increase sales. These gimmicks included shiny foil, holograms and even pop-ups! But, one of the coolest enhancements was the glow in the dark cover. Let’s shed some light on the subject, shall we?

Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Date: November 1999

The fourth and final issue of the first Aria series “spawned” a glow in the dark variant featuring Neil Gaiman’s Angela.

On Ebay: Aria
On AtomicAvenue: Aria

During the speculator boom in the 1990s comic book market, publishers enhanced comic covers to increase sales. These gimmicks included shiny foil, holograms and even pop-ups! But, one of the coolest enhancements was the glow in the dark cover. Let’s shed some light on the subject, shall we?

Publisher: Darqüe Studios
Cover Date: October 1991
Cover Price: $2.00

Continuity’s CyberRAD #5 has a pretty nifty glow in the dark cover enhancement. In the light, the human side declares his humanity but when it glows in the dark, the robotic component says “I AM A MACHINE”.

On Ebay: CyberRAD

During the speculator boom in the 1990s comic book market, publishers enhanced comic covers to increase sales. These gimmicks included shiny foil, holograms and even pop-ups! But, one of the coolest enhancements was the glow in the dark cover. Let’s shed some light on the subject, shall we?

Publisher: Darqüe Studios
Cover Date: April 1993
Cover Price: $2.50

Darqüe Studios proved that glow in the dark cover enhancements weren’t just for the mainstream publishers with the second issue of Cristian Dark. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get it to glow strong enough on it’s own so I had to use a blacklight – that’s why this one looks purple instead of the usual green hue..

On Ebay: Cristian Dark

During the speculator boom in the 1990s comic book market, publishers enhanced comic covers to increase sales. These gimmicks included shiny foil, holograms and even pop-ups! But, one of the coolest enhancements was the glow in the dark cover. Let’s shed some light on the subject, shall we?

Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: September 1993
Cover Price: $2.95

The Frontier line of comics was Marvel UK‘s last-ditch effort to stay relevant in the U.S. market. It was comprised of a few mini-series that ultimately went nowhere. To make these new series stand out from the crowded comic stands, each one featured a cover enhancement. The Children of the Voyager got the glow cover!

On Ebay: Children of the VoyagerG

During the speculator boom in the 1990s comic book market, publishers enhanced comic covers to increase sales. These gimmicks included shiny foil, holograms and even pop-ups! But, one of the coolest enhancements was the glow in the dark cover. Let’s shed some light on the subject, shall we?

Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Date: December 1992
Cover Price: $2.50

As promised, here’s the back cover to Shadowhawk #3. A very cool glow-in-the-dark Image symbol!

On Ebay: Shadowhawk

During the speculator boom in the 1990s comic book market, publishers enhanced comic covers to increase sales. These gimmicks included shiny foil, holograms and even pop-ups! But, one of the coolest enhancements was the glow in the dark cover. Let’s shed some light on the subject, shall we?

Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Date: December 1992
Cover Price: $2.50

Shadowhawk used a lot of gimmicks to move a ton of books. The first issue featured an embossed, silver foil cover. Issue two highlighted a Spawn cameo and included some shiny, silveriness. The third book features a terrific glow-in-the-dark cover picturing Shadowhawk, hunched over a gargoyle as he patrols the city. You can see it below! Also, the back of this cover glows in the dark, as well. I’ll spotlight that next week.

On Ebay: Shadowhawk

During the speculator boom in the 1990s comic book market, publishers enhanced comic covers to increase sales. These gimmicks included shiny foil, holograms and even pop-ups! But, one of the coolest enhancements was the glow in the dark cover. Let’s shed some light on the subject, shall we?

Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Date: December 1993
Cover Price: $2.50

The Spectre is an undead spirit who puts fear in the hearts of criminals. He was introduced in the 1940s but, he’s not necessarily an A-Lister. He was brought back to the forefront in the 1990s with a third series that lasted over 5 years. It featured some glow in the dark covers, including this one.

On Ebay: the Spectre

During the speculator boom in the 1990s comic book market, publishers enhanced comic covers to increase sales. These gimmicks included shiny foil, holograms and even pop-ups! But, one of the coolest enhancements was the glow in the dark cover. Let’s shed some light on the subject, shall we?

Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Date: 1991
Cover Price: $3.50

Two years after Neil Gaiman started his legendary Sandman, DC Comics released this Sandman Special. It featured an all-new story by Gaiman and also included characters pin-ups by well-regarded artists including Barry Windsor-Smith, Peter Craig Russell, Simon Bisley, Kent Williams, Dave McKean and Sergio Aragones. To celebrate this first in a long line of Sandman spin-offs, we were treated to a glow in the dark cover that reveals a special message from Morpheus: “In Dreams I Walk With U.”

On Ebay: Sandman

During the speculator boom in the 1990s comic book market, publishers enhanced comic covers to increase sales. These gimmicks included shiny foil, holograms and even pop-ups! But, one of the coolest enhancements was the glow in the dark cover. Let’s shed some light on the subject, shall we?

Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: July 1993
Cover Price: $2.75
Cover Artists: Adam Kubert, Andy Kubert

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, it was the “cool thing” to create an edgier, modern version of a classic character. Spider-Man had Venom. Iron Man had War Machine. Thor had Thunderstrike. Cap had U.S.Agent. And Ghost Rider? He got Vengeance.

In this same time period, Ghost Rider books were hot and several spin-off series were being published. One such spin-off featured the alter-ego of the original Ghost Rider alongside the newest incarnation. Throw in Vengeance and you’ve got yourself a whole lotta leather and motorcycles. Oh … and make it glow in the dark, too!

On Ebay: Ghost Rider

During the speculator boom in the 1990s comic book market, publishers enhanced comic covers to increase sales. These gimmicks included shiny foil, holograms and even pop-ups! But, one of the coolest enhancements was the glow in the dark cover. Let’s shed some light on the subject, shall we?

Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: July 1993
Cover Price: $2.95

In the early 1990s, the Marvel UK line launched dozens of titles into the comics market. Many of them were limited series or poorly selling titles that didn’t even last a year.

One such title was Cyberspace 3000, and despite appearances by Galactus, the Silver Surfer, Adam Warlock, Thanos and Doctor Strange, it was canceled at issue 8. However, it left behind a legacy including one of the coolest glow in the dark covers. In the dark, this cover creates the silhoutte of Galactus‘ head. Depriving this cover of light exposes a glowing eye and a word ballon that says “I HUNGER“. Very cool!

On Ebay: Galactus | Cyberspace 3000