So apparently Fantastic Four #536 has sold out. Some sort of “Civil War” thing about a guy with a hammer.
When the sellout was announced on Wednesday, Marvel had “no current plans to go back to press for a second printing.”
But now – two whole days later – they have announced a second printing. With a new cover by Bryan Hitch.
So. On Wednesday, they had no plans to reprint. On Friday, they have plans to reprint, along with an entirely new cover by one of the most popular artists in the industry. Either a) they honestly had no plans to reprint a popular and apparently crucial issue and suddenly changed their minds; b) they completely lied, or at least took the most incredibly literal meaning of “current plans” – ie. “at this very moment, we don’t have a specific plan to reprint.”
Obviously, I lean heavily towards Option B. Option A is plausible, but would have us believe that Marvel has random covers by superstar artists just lying around the office waiting for use. Maybe this is why Ultimates is always late.
I’m sorry. I feel very cynical today.