X-MEN SPECIAL EDITION (1983) Canadian Price Variant comic books

For sale SPECIAL EDITION X-MEN #1. Giant-Size X-Men #1 reprint with new wraparound cover plus new back-up story. One-Shot. 12 pages New Story with Kitty Pryde & Illyana Rasputin aka Magik.

- SPECIAL EDITION X-MEN #1, Marvel Comics February 1983. $2.25 Canadian Price Variant Newsstand. The $2.25 cover price was target to newsstands in Canada (a much smaller market).

Condition: Near Mint (NM), Price $60

Here it is... The uncanniest volume all! Are-presentation of Giant-Size X-Men #1 reprint plus 12 new pages of Chris Claremont / Dave Cockrum back-up story. "Second Genesis," script by Len Wein, art by Dave Cockrum; The old X-Men are captured by Krakoa, the Living Island, and Professor X forms a new team to rescue them. "A Day Like Any Other," script by Chris Claremont, pencils by Dave Cockrum; Kitty shows Illyana around the x-mansion and talks about the X-Men. Kitty is thrown a surprise birthday party. New Wraparound cover by Dave Cockrum. Giant-Size X-Men Pinup by Dave Cockrum. Giant-Size X-Men #1 cover reprint, pencils by Gil Kane, inks by Dave Cockrum. 52 pages.

Why are the Special Edition X-Men #1 newsstand cover price variants worth so much more than the direct edition copies?

As collectibles, direct edition copies are already at a disadvantage compared to newsstand copies in the highest grades, because direct editions were extraordinarily well preserved as the distinct type sold in specialty comic shops. The comic shop owners ordered direct edition copies of Special Edition X-Men #1 at a discount to cover price, but on a non-returnable basis (the graphical logo was to tell non-returnable copies apart from their returnable newsstand counterparts). When their orders arrived, the comic shop staff handled the books with extreme care to preserve their condition, and then the comic book collectors who shopped there typically preserved their purchases in plastic bags with backing boards. By contrast, newsstand copies were treated as reading material with no staff training to handle the books with any semblance of care, and they were then sold to the general public; unsold copies were returned for credit and typically pulped/recycled forward. Only those newsstand copies of Special Edition X-Men #1 that were taken home and preserved by collectors would survive today in the highest grades. Among surviving newsstand copies of Special Edition X-Men #1, the market area that received the $2.25 cover price newsstand copies was a restricted area representing less than 10% the population of the total North American newsstand market. That's because the destination market for $2.25 copies of Special Edition X-Men #1 was Canadian newsstands — hence the name Canadian Price Variant as a short-hand for $2.25 Price Variant. All of this adds up to a market value for the $2.25 variant approximately 48% higher than the direct edition in Very Fine / Near Mint condition.

Purchase by appointment at my place in Terrebonne. Possibility of sending by Post Canada (at your expense) if you pay by E Transfer or Paypal (add 3% for Paypal fees). The tracking number is provided. No email, text or cell phone. I prefer to communicate on Kijiji.