I’ve been focusing attention on the writers this month, but it’s a superstar artist whose covers are seeing the most movement thus far in September.
Name recognition helps sell comics, especially the variants. And there’s no other modern artists that have more name recognition with both hardcore and casual fans than J. Scott Campbell. We tend to see most of his work whenever Marvel or DC reboots a series, and collectors simply adore first issues just in case they end up being worth small fortunes. Such is the case with the variant covers of the recent X-Men titles.
Campbell is a cover specialist. You don’t find many issues that he’s drawn the interior for, but when seven of your covers are in the top 100 Hottest Comics, you can leave the interior work to someone else.
One thing that must be said when it comes to variants is that many experts in the comic industry have been complaining about the major publishers, particularly Marvel, putting out too many variants and essentially flooding the market. While that may be true, if sales of graded J. Scott Campbell variants are any indication, they are still sought after and will continue to be as long as fans are buying.
Some of the hottest selling comics on eBay this month all have variant covers drawn by Campbell.
The biggest mover in the top 100 is Campbell’s variant of “Astonishing X-Men” #1. This one is from Campbell’s website and is dubbed the JScottCampbell.com Edition D variant. Did I mention it’s been hot? AXM #1 has simply been a missile as it has ascended 1,866 positions to explode into the 64th position on the Hottest Comics list.
Collectors are not just buying the Edition D variant. Campbell’s “Astonishing X-Men” #1 Edition C cover has risen by over a thousand positions as well. This variant is 82nd on the list having climbed an astounding 1,457 spots.
But it doesn’t stop there.
The ASX #1 Edition B variant is 86th after improving by 926 spots. Even the “X-Men: Blue” #1 Edition C variant cover is in the top 100 at 94th.
Another of Campbell’s X-Men covers has been consistently popular this summer. The “Jean Grey” #1 Campbell Edition D variant has been steady in the top 100, and this month it climbed 20 spots to 31st. Collectors wanting a copy of their own should be ready to pony up. JG #1 Campbell Edition D has been selling for $125 and up in high grades.
These Edition D variants are all over the top 100. Along with the previously mentioned titles, there’s the variants of “Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man” #1 and “Avengers” #8. While neither are anywhere close to AXM #1 in terms of movement (but so far this month, nothing is), they are nonetheless popular, especially that Spider-Man I just mentioned. The revamped “Spectacular Spider-Man” #1 is the 24th-hottest comic so far this month after moving up 311 positions. Likewise, “Avengers” #8 is a popular issue as it has moved up 112 spots and is 56th overall on the list.
