Marvel Lampoons DC with Deadpool 3D Comic Book

DC Comics is making a big deal of their month long FUTURES END-themed comic books with lenticular 3-D covers hitting stores in September. Now Marvel is taking a friendly swipe at their comic book competitor with their own 3-D covered comic book that will also be available in September that has the popular Deadpool character lampooning DC's promotion.

Marvel's Deadpool #34 limited edition 3-D variant cover will be provided to retailers for every 52 copies of the standard issue they order (catch the 52 connection with DC's current product lineup?)  Marvel notes that 3-D stands for "Dashingly Dancing Deadpool." This looks to be a fun collectible to get your hands on but may not be so easy to get as retailers will probably provide as a reward to their most loyal customers or jack up the price for resale based upon the limited quantities being distributed.  If you really want one, you may want to talk to your local comic book specialty store this month because they are placing their September orders to publishers now.

September's lampoon isn't the first time Marvel has poked fun at DC.  Going back to the 1990s, Deadpool #17 mocked the DC Comics promotion "Faces of DC Month".  A Marvel press release hints back to that Deadpool #17 lampoon:

Flashback to an earlier time – the 1990s – covers were flashier, pouches were really in style, and every comics  tied into an event or crossover. Have we mentioned this latest issue ties in to Original Sin yet? Thanks to the events of Original Sin, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents Adsit & Preston have learned the dark secrets in Deadpool’s past. 

Now, witness the events they uncovered about Deadpool first-hand as what really happened is finally revealed!  Plus, don’t miss guest appearances from some of the biggest comic stars of the 1990s – 90s Sabretooth, 90s Alpha Flight and 90s artwork!

More recently, Marvel lampooned DC with a Deadpool 53 state birds variant cover for "Uncanny X-Men" which was released at the same time "Justice League #1" which featured 52 state flag variant covers was out.  Also in 2010, Marvel offered retailers a special Deadpool themed variant cover for Siege #3 for every 50 stripped covers of DC's most popular titles returned to the publisher.

Deadpool by the way is a disfigured and mentally unstable mercenary that originally appeared as a villain in Marvel Comic's in a 1991 issue of the New Mutants and has evolved into somewhat of a quasi hero with appearance in multiple other titles and his own series.

So what do you think? Is Marvel's poke at DC funny and amusing or do you think it is kinda tacky?

They're Back! DC giving 3D Comic Book Covers Promotion a Second Chance

DC COMICS likes to make a splash in September with special issues and promotions.  Last year it promoted VILLAINS MONTH which featured special one-shot villain focused stories with impressive 3-D covers.  Check out this 3-D cover from the JOKER issue of last year's Villains Month promotion:

DC's bringing the 3-D covers back this September for a month long event they have titled "Futures End."  Inspired by the newly created weekly comic book series of the same name (which I have to admit I haven't read yet), each of the monthly titles in DC's New 52 lineup during September will feature a stand-alone story that leaps your favorite super hero characters into a possible future five years ahead of the current timeline.  Each of these one-shots will feature a 3-D motion cover that hints at the story within the comic book. Here are a few samples of the upcoming 3-D covers, I think they look pretty sharp:

 

Hopefully DC has learned its lesson from the mistakes it made in VILLAINS MONTH. Last September, they didn't produce enough of the 3-D covers to meet demand and many of the publications were hard to get your hands on.  Also it appears DC over-extended its staff with all these one-shots because to be honest most of the stories were pretty badly put together and a lot of the artwork was lacking in quality. It seemed as if this whole promotion was rushed into distribution beyond the capabilities of the publisher.  So while you did have a nice cover for your collection with these 3-D titles (if you could fine the books),  the pages behind the covers weren't very impressive...which was pretty disappointing with how much potential the the promotion could have been with its theme.  Come on DC, comic book fans are as interested in checking out the histories, plots, and imagery of cool villains as they are your super heroes.  After last year's experience, I initially rolled my eyes when I heard they were doing a big September promo with 3-D covers again.

Than I picked up a new weekly series by DC titled BATMAN ETERNAL.  It is a year-long weekly serial celebrating Batman's 75th anniversary and I have to say I've purchased 13 issues now enjoying every one.  The artwork has been incredible and the stories are really well scripted.  This is what I thought VILLAINS MONTH would be like and while that failed Batman Eternal has exceeded my expectations.  If you haven't read this weekly Batman comic book series (most comic books are published monthly) and you are a fan of the caped crusader you have to grab it.  I believe BATMAN ETERNAL is the best comic book series that DC currently has on the market!  It utilizes a wide array of authors and artists from across all DC's titles to be able to meet its publishing demands and yet it meshes together.  So now I have a slimmer of hope that in addition to some cool 3-D covers, FUTURES END will also have good scripts and artwork making these comics coming out in September more like BATMAN ETERNAL than VILLAINS MONTH.

THE FUTURES END comic books will be published in weekly waves throughout the month of September.  So we'll be able to see from the first week if the titles are worth the money to purchase from weeks 2 - 4.  Of course, it is all about your own interests and tastes and even if the inside content isn't the best you may want to purchase the 3-D books just to showcase their covers for a collection.  I've also been told by some comic book retailers that they are getting plenty of allocations for every issue so the limited supply and price gauging issues of VILLAINS MONTH shouldn't be a problem this year.

Whether you are a new or long-time collector these 3-D covers are a nice addition to any collection.  I'd encourage you to keep an eye out for them this fall.  If you grab one off the shelf, send me an e-mail to thegeekdaddy [at] yahoo [dot] com and let me know what you think of both the 3-D covers and the pages that fall in between.