Cyberspace Comics market report, reviews and more

After looking at hundreds of comic book covers, it becomes quickly apparent that not every cover is 100% original. Whether done intentionally or even underhandedly, there’s something about uncovering these “swipes” that adds a new element of fun to reading and collecting comics.

Although the cover to Excalibur #49 credits Neal Adams (the cover artist of X-Men #56), it’s also a nod to X-Men #135. That issue is part of the Dark Phoenix Saga and the story featured in Excalibur #49 heavily involves the Phoenix Force. I think the most interesting part of this cover homage is that the Excalibur logo is destroyed here by Necrom and actually replaced in the very next issue with a new logo.

X-Men #56 May 1969 Neal Adams	X-Men #135 July 1980 John Byrne
Excalibur #49 April 1992 Alan Davis

On Ebay: Excalibur | X-Men
On AtomicAvenue: Excalibur | X-Men

After looking at hundreds of comic book covers, it becomes quickly apparent that not every cover is 100% original. Whether done intentionally or even underhandedly, there’s something about uncovering these “swipes” that adds a new element of fun to reading and collecting comics.

After the events of the Fall of the Mutants, the world believed that the X-Men had died. Even past members who were no longer with the team were not aware that they were still alive. Two of these past members, Nightcrawler and Kitty Pryde, found themselves joined by Captain Britain and Megan in their attempt to save Phoenix. Mojo had sent the Warwolves (a group of deadly shapeshifters – for lack of an in-depth examination of their powers) to capture Phoenix – this team-up led to the formation of Excalibur. In Excalibur #41, the team found themselves up against the recently-revealed-to-be-alive X-Men – only to discover that they were actually the Warwolves in disguise.

Excalibur: the Sword is Drawn 1987 Alan Davis

Excalibur #41 September 1991 Dave Hoover

On Ebay: Excalibur
On AtomicAvenue: Excalibur

After looking at hundreds of comic book covers, it becomes quickly apparent that not every cover is 100% original. Whether done intentionally or even underhandedly, there’s something about uncovering these “swipes” that adds a new element of fun to reading and collecting comics.

Todd McFarlane’s classic cover to Spider-Man #1 is probably one of the most-swiped covers in comics. The limited [print run: 2,000] auxiliary variant of No Hero #7 paid homage to this classic in 2009

Spider-Man #1 August 1990 Todd McFarlane

No Hero #7 (auxiliary) September 2009 Juan Jose Ryp

On Ebay: Spider-Man | No Hero
On AtomicAvenue: Spider-Man | No Hero