Late last year 2 groups sprung almost out of thin air, producing rare and beautifully designed comic variants of indie Image titles for select comic shops around the US. Both groups had rather ghoulish names, the first being called Ghost Variants, with the other being referred to as Phantom Variants. Some discussion arouse about the two groups as winter of 2012 set in, but it mainly stayed in circles of hardcore variant collectors. Artist Skottie Young, however, has recently drawn many casual comic fans into collecting variants with his cute Marvel Now baby variants that are beloved by many and drawing much attention and reblogging on Tumblr. Today Young posted an image of his newest variant cover on his personal tumblr, and it was not a Marvel Now baby variant, but of a style that would likely draw those same fans to pick up the cover. This variant is set to be the newest Phantom variant, designed for Image Comic’s upcoming Lost Vegas #1. But not many people are asking just what is a Phantom variant and how is it different from the Ghost variants? Hopefully this will help answer your questions.

Ghost variants first popped up almost out of nowhere with an unexpected and highly rare variant for The Walking Dead. This was surprising because The Walking Dead does not often get variants and at the time of release, most comic fans had no clue what Ghost variants were or who created them. The Ghost variant program seems to have been put together by a few retailers, all of which seem to have ties to ComicsPRO, yet I am assured the Ghost Variant program is not tied to ComicsPro. Instead the tie seems to be these are all friendly shops that hold a progressive and positive outlook at comic book retailing. The first notable organization of the Ghost variant program appeared when a Facebook for the group was created back on Saturday, April 7, 2012 very subtly. This Facebook page saw no use until early August, when a hint of the upcoming Walking Dead variant cover was posted on the page. Around the same time the group created a Tumblr page, also hinting at the Ghost variant for The Walking Dead. However, unless you were in on the Ghost variant project or an extremely keen comic fan that scoured the internet for such things, you weren’t likely introduced to the concept until The Walking Dead’s creator, Robert Kirkman, tweeted about it on August 10th.

Word was now out that on Wednesday, August 15th, The Walking Dead #101 would feature a Ghost variant drawn by Jim Rugg. This was the first Ghost variant cover and it actually caused quite a stir amongst variant collecting fans and fans of The Walking Dead. But the Ghost variant program would that come across rather silent for about 4 months until its second variant sprung up. The second Ghost variant was an alternate cover for Saga #7, drawn by Paul Pope with colors by Fiona Staples, and released on November 14th of 2012. The most recent Ghost variant came out later that same month, on November 28th, and was a Melanie Tingdahl cover to IDW’s My Little Pony #1. The following shops received both Ghost Variant 003: My Little Pony #1 and Ghost Variant 002: Saga #7: Another Dimension, Strange Adventures Comix & Curiosities, Beach Ball Comics, CornerStoreComics, Earth-2 Comics, Flying Colors Comics & Other Cool Stuff, Secret Headquarters, TATE’S Comics, Bunjee’s Comics, Chicago Comics, Fantasy Books and Games, Heroic Adventures, Comicopia, That’s Entertainment, Casablanca Comics, Casablanca Comics, Star Clipper, Chapel Hill Comics, Comic Oasis, Alternate Reality Comics, Main Street Comics, Speeding Bullet Comics, Bridge City Comics, Brave New Worlds, Austin Books & Comics, Keith’s Comics, More Fun Comics, Laughing Ogre Comics, and Local Heroes. The CBLDF also received a small number of the Saga #7 Ghost variant to help raise funds for their cause. There has not been much recent news on Ghost variants since, but I am told they have not faded into obscurity just yet, and more variants are planned for later in 2013.

 

Also popping up somewhat mysteriously in 2012 was the Phantom variant program. The Phantom variant program seemingly began on October 25th, 2012, with the creation of its twitter account. They, however, did not wait as long as the Ghost variant program in releasing their first cover. On October 31st, a variant cover to Bedlam #1 with the Phantom variant logo was released in 20 stores across the US. The Phantom variant is the brain child of Larry Doherty of Larry’s Comics, a comic retailer with quite the online reputation. The program is somewhat similar to the Ghost variant, but takes things a step further by being a distributor of sorts. Larry created the group after frustrations of being left out of the Ghost variant program, which he believes was ComicsPRO related, yet left out a large majority of ComicsPRO members. Larry believes the Ghost variant folks created a sort of limited group, excluding much of the comics community. With Phantom variants, just about any retailer can get involved, as well as small publishers looking to spread their titles with variants and guaranteed distribution through those a part of the Phantom variant program. As it is described on the Phantom variant website:

The Phantom Project is a world-wide gathering of comic retailers/entrepreneurs/aficionados working together to provide unique comic experiences to the fans! Any retailer (or group) can make a quick cash grab on a well-known popular title! The Phantom’s goal is to support creators and publishers at a level that matters! One issue, if that is what they need, or a dozen if the publisher and creators are up for it! The Phantom Project will only get behind properties they expect to be around for some time! With all of our support The Phantom Project hopes to ensure titles get the recognition and sales needed to grow their fan base.

So far the Phantom variant project has produced variants for Image, Marvel, and Boom comics and I have it on good authority they have approached other publishers about creating more variants in the future. They have done several variants for Bedlam, The Legend of Luther Strode, Revival, and Great Pacific from Image Comics, as well as variants for Marvel Now’s Captain America, Deadpool, Fantastic Four, and the Indestructible Hulk #1′s. Through Boom/Kaboom they have also released variants for Adventure Time Fiona & Cake #1 and Deathmatch #1. And as we stated at the start of the article, now they have Skottie Young on board, who will be providing a cover for Jim McCann’s upcoming Lost Vegas #1, set to release on March 6th. Phantom Variants started out with 20 retailers, including the obvious Larry’s Comics. Joining Larry was Jetpack Comics, Comikaze, Friendly Neighborhood Comics, Alpha Comics, Phat Collectables, Third Eye Comics, Wonderworld Comics, Graham Crackers Comics, Chris’ Cards & Comics, Double Midnight, Coast City Comics, Jay Company, Collector’s Paradise, Comics Conspiracy, Happy Harbor, and Magic Dragon. Now comic shops like Mile High Comics and A Comic Shop have joined, with more sure to follow. For those interested in seeing all of the Phantom variants, just look below:

The last 2 images are the as of yet unreleased Phantom variant covers to Bedlam #5 and Lost Vegas #1, respectively. The Bedlam piece is by C.P. Wilson III and the Lost Vegas piece is the aforementioned cover by Skottie Young. These rare retailer variants are sure to be quite the commodity, especially considering they’re limited to just a few shops around the world (mostly in the US). But they are more than just a profitable item for retailers and collectors, as they help spread the popularity of many underrated, smaller press titles that deserve spotlight and attention. Keep an eye on the social networks of both groups to check out more of the incredible variants they will be putting out in the future.