COVR Price is a collecting…..tool? Database? Whatever it is, it aggregates information about sales, auction prices, exclusives, crowdfunding and other stuff. To be honest, I just got added to their list and haven’t had time to really dig in.
That said, their email about their NYCC 2025 Exclusives List caught my eye. According to this list there are at least 1,360 different exclusives available at this year’s show. And that’s WAY up from last year. To quote their email:
Fun Facts (Con exclusives are BOOMING!):
NYCC 2025 is shaping up to be the biggest year for convention exclusives ever!
Just look at how much things have grown:
NYCC: 716 exclusives in 2024 → 1,360 in 2025 (AND counting!)*
SDCC: 552 in 2024 → 1,120 in 2025
C2E2: 175 in 2024 → 629 in 2025
Fan Expo Dallas: 89 in 2024 → 621 in 2025
MegaCon: 207 in 2024 → 550 in 2025*Note: These totals include every version of each exclusive (foil, virgin, metal, etc.). On our site, you’ll see just the main book listed, with those variations grouped under it for faster browsing. The number shown on the site (currently 705) is the condensed version of the overall list of exclusives, which is 1,360, as noted above.
Did your mind just boggle? Because mine did.
The list has 15 dense pages of swimsuit editions, metallic silver, leather, virgins, blind bags, foils and metals….whatever your mind can imagine, I guess there’s an exclusive edition. They are from every kind of publisher, large, small, known, unknown.
BTW this is just COMICS. I imagine there are a gajillion other exclusivized objects available at NYCC as well.
I only got a few pages into the list, and I can already see that many that feature healthy women proudly spotlighting their assets. People still like sexy drawings of other people. The above is for The Boys, oddly enough.
There’s a BRZRKR blind bag exclusive with
- BRZRKR #1 7th Print – Flops Exclusive
- BRZRKR Bleeding Tide Ashcan – John Giang Exclusive (5 possible cover treatments)
There’s this from a fellow named John Azar showing the Iron Sheik giving the Terminator the Camel Clutch. As you do.
There is something for everybody.
We all know that massive amounts of money change hands at super shows like NYCC and SDCC. Exclusives are part of the con economy, and there’s nothing wrong with it per se. They are fun, sometimes stunning, and enhance the collecting experience.
But 1,360 different exclusives? Most of these go in the $20-50 range. Let’s say an average of $25 (on the low side.) That would be $34,000 to get one of each. I doubt COVR Price has prints runs, but doing a little math you see how much money is being made here.
A sorting feature on the database allowed me to see who had the most variants – yep I’m data diving on the data dive.
| Publisher | Count |
| Unknown Publisher | 1 |
| 247 Comics | 2 |
| Amaze Publishing | 44 |
| Archie | 9 |
| Bad Idea | 1 |
| Blame Canada Publishing | 12 |
| Boom! Studios | 48 |
| Calaguerra Comics | 1 |
| Cave Comics | 4 |
| Cherry Comics | 1 |
| Comicsketchart | 1 |
| Counterpoint Entertainment | 9 |
| Dc | 66 |
| Dynamite Entertainment | 54 |
| Grind Pop | 1 |
| Gumby Comics | 1 |
| Idw | 62 |
| Ignition Press | 4 |
| Image | 74 |
| James Tynion Iv | 1 |
| Jolzar Entertainment | 1 |
| Kid Heroes Productions | 1 |
| Knight Of Comics | 4 |
| Kwento Comics | 1 |
| Last Torch Studios | 1 |
| Mad Cave Studios | 17 |
| Marvel | 68 |
| Massive | 2 |
| Panini | 2 |
| Red Anvil Comics | 1 |
| Reedpop | 1 |
| Savage Mind Comic Studio | 1 |
| Seerojas Comics | 5 |
| Self-Published | 48 |
| Still Ill Princess | 3 |
| Sumerian Comics | 13 |
| Tcm Press | 1 |
| The H Co., Llc | 2 |
| Tidalwave Productions | 118 |
| Titan | 7 |
| Udon Entertainment | 14 |
| Valiant Entertainment | 1 |
| Vault | 11 |
| Veefriends, Llc | 11 |
| Victorious Comics | 5 |
| Zenescope Entertainment | 3 |
| Zq Studios | 7 |
Not doing this to name and shame but Tidalwave….wow. And to those brave heroes who have only 1 exclusive each – we salute you.
I should also note that these numbers do not necessarily reflect exclusives directly sold by each publisher. For instance, DC has exclusive covers for Absolute Batman available from individual artists in Artist Alley, like this one for Absolute Batman #14 by Rose Besch – $65 for a foil variant.
Other exclusives are sold through various companies, like WhatNot. A lot of players in this game. And for sure, many – perhaps most – companies set up at shows to make money selling exclusives.
Convention exclusives are an important part of publisher economics – maybe not because they are a huge line item in the P&L but because they help defray the cost of setting up at a show – which can run into six figures for a huge booth when you factor in travel, lodging, meals etc. for the booth workers, shipping, union fees, etc. And the same goes for artists who set up: selling that exclusive cover paid for their trip so you get to meet them.
In short, if there are collectors who want to buy this stuff, they are basically helping fund the entire convention experience of meeting you favorite creators and editors.
And there’s nothing wrong with that. But still, 1,360…this feels like a bubble that will be a lot smaller in the future.
I dunno…..these are some thoughts I dashed off as I’m prepping for Day 0 of NYCC. I’m sure there’s more to it….please sound off in the comments because my head is swimming.
Stay tuned to The Beat for more coverage from NYCC ’25.
Tidalwave seems to be going all out on those FAME biographical comics this year. They seem to have coordinated with many different retailers. I have to say I respect their hustle. Out of all the con exclusive gimmicks I prefer that than all this “sexy” trash being pumped at cons. It really bothers me knowing really good artists are struggling in this industry while these unoriginal computer graphic hack artist charge an arm and a leg for absolute trash.
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