Hey, it’s Nick from GCC Andersonville, once again here to talk about one of my favorite things in comics: gimmick covers! This time, I will focus on one of the best all time gimmicks: holograms! In the early 90’s, Marvel Comics were all about the future (2099 everything!), and future was holograms! And now that we are in the future (comparatively with the 90’s), I’ve gotta ask: Where all the holograms be at!?! I haven’t seen a hologram in years, when once there was a time when they were everywhere. I was promised a hologram future! Anyway, here is my list of 5 of my favorite hologram covers of all time.
Spectacular Spider-Man #225 holodisk variant. I begin with one of the absolute worst ones ever, which makes it one of my favorites. If you look at this cover on our website, you can see the hologram image is just a blob of colors. I do remember the hologram working decently well when it came out, but most of the time when I see this cover nowadays, you can barely see what the hologram is trying to be. Did the hologram degrade? Is it just the ones I’ve seen recently? Am I imagining things? Either way, this tiny circle of hologram is one of the worst holograms ever.
Wolverine #100. A momentous issue for sure, as it led to one of the most hated chapters in Wolverine history, this giant, whole cover hologram let you know this was one you just couldn’t miss, and then you wished you had. I remember the store I shopped at ran out and it took me more than a year to find it, all for it to just suck. The cover, however, did not disappoint.
Spider-Man #50. Absolutely sick! You see, back in the day, they knew you had to do a little extra when you got to an anniversary issue like #50. Slap a hologram on it! Kraven reflected in Spider-Man’s eyes? It cost a whole $1.50 more than the regular version of the cover without the hologram ($3.95!), but it was more than worth it, as the book has an evaluation of $8.00 on our website today. That’s a win! Lesson: you can never go wrong when you slap a hologram on it.
Uncanny X-Men #304. Now we are getting into the crème de la crème of the hologram universe. The entire set of X-Men Fatal Attractions hologram covers is as must own as it gets, and this is one of the best of them. How cool does Magneto look on that hologram? I would argue, as cool as it gets!
Amazing Spider-Man #365. Once again, the 4-comic-set of these 30th Anniversary Spider-Man covers is absolutely essential. When I was a kid, there was a little while when there was no comic shop in the town I lived. I was at a flea market, and a guy there had all of these, and I was hooked instantly. I probably read these 4 issues a thousand times, and they are a key reason that I became the comic fan that I am today.
In conclusion, there is no better cover gimmick than a hologram. You knew instantly that this was an issue you couldn’t pass up. I would love to have some hologram covers on some new books today, but it would probably turn a four-dollar issue into a fifteen-dollar issue, or something crazy. And I still would not be able to resist. I mean, a $15 dollar hologram cover today would be guaranteed to be a $30 book in 30 years, right? It’d be downright stupid of me not to buy it. That’s how they get ya.