Back before San Diego Comic-Con launched, we talked to the co-founders of CovrPrice about — among other things — variants at the convention, whether they’re worth lining up for, and what the aftermarket value is for some of the most coveted items at the annual pop culture festival. Well, now CovrPrice has released a breakdown of the con, including a wild, record-breaking 896 variants that were available.
Per the company, this is a quantum leap from the past two years, with 560 available in 2024 and 760 available in 2025. At this rate, we could see a double variant cover event in seven days (just kidding).
“Exclusive comic books are a hallmark of all major comic conventions, especially in the last decade,” CovrPrice Co-founder John Sulatis said via press release. “Starting back in 2023, we wanted to highlight what was being offered at each of these conventions and realized no one actually had the full list available, not even the conventions themselves.”
Added CovrPrice Co-founder Matt DeVoe, “comic collectors of all types have come to rely on our lists to help them plan their budgets and even help them track down those issues they missed when they were in the middle of typical convention craziness.”
So what is on the list? And what was actually worth the time and moolah? You can check out below for the breakdown from the company (per the press release), or check out the full list online. And yep, they’re already getting ready to do the same thing for this October’s New York Comic-Con.
TOP EXCLUSIVE COMIC BOOKS
Many of the books made available through this year’s show found an immediate audience, commanding a premium price in the aftermarket. To understand what the true fair market value is for each book, CovrPrice ingests the results of tens of thousands actual, documented online sales every single day and combines those to algorithmically determine current prices. Those values are then made available for reference in the CovrPrice database.
Top 10 San Diego Comic-Con Exclusive Comic Books
by Fair Market Value
As of 7/30/26
1
Something is Killing the Children 2026 Comic Pack (Boom! Studios)
Slaughter Box, 7 comics per box (limited 50 copies)
Original selling price = $600
Current Fair Market Value = $975
2
Something Is Killing the Children #1 (Boom! Studios)
Werther Dell’Edera, 10th Print, Embossed Metal (limited 100 copies)
Original selling price = $100
Current Fair Market Value = $658
3
Absolute Batman #1 (DC)
Upper Deck x Shoe Palace Bundle (limited 500 copies)
Original selling price = $100
Current Fair Market Value = $517
4
Fall of the House of Slaughter #1 (Boom! Studios)
Andrew K Currey, Gold Gilded Wraparound (limited 50 copies)
Original selling price = $600 (only available in the Something Is Killing the Children Slaughter Box)
Current Fair Market Value = $500
5
Dungeon Crawler Carl Special Edition #0 (Vault)
Big Clutch / Rupp’s Comics Invincible Homage, B&W Spot Foil, Bloody Logo (limited 100 copies)
Original selling price = $100
Current Fair Market Value = $500
6
Dungeon Crawler Carl Special Edition #0 (Vault)
Big Clutch / Rupp’s Comics Invincible Homage, Spot Foil, Bloody Logo (limited 150 copies)
Original selling price = $30
Current Fair Market Value = $321
7
Absolute Batman #20 (DC)
Daniel Warren Johnson, Felix Comic Art, Virgin Foil
Original selling price = n/a
Current Fair Market Value = $318
8
Ghost Machine 2026 Ashcan (Image)
Prism Foil
Original selling price = n/a
Current Fair Market Value = $311
9
Felix Comic Art 2026 SDCC Blind Bag
Regular, two books per bag
Original selling price = $100
Current Fair Market Value = $252
10
Dungeon Crawler Carl Special Edition #0 (Vault)
Big Clutch / Rupp’s Comics, Heart Boxers (limited 200 copies)
Original selling price = $40
Current Fair Market Value = $250
TOP PROPERTIES AMONG EXCLUSIVE COMICS
Not only were specific comics clearly popular, so were key properties. Of the nearly 900 exclusive comics made available, here were the then that rose to the top based on total number of unique covers. To determine whether a cover was unique, variations such as a character in different clothing were counted, while simple color changes were not.
Top 10 San Diego Comic-Con Exclusive Comic Book Properties
by Total Number Displaying Unique Cover Art
As of 7/30/26
1. Absolute Batman = 53
2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles = 26
3. Invincible = 19
4. Something Is Killing the Children = 18
5. Gun Honey = 17
6. Exquisite Corpses = 16
7. Dungeon Crawler Carl = 15
8. Lady Death = 12
9. Sweet Death = 10
T10. Postal = 9 (excludes their blind bag offering)
T10. Swat Kats = 9 (excludes their blind bag offering)
TOP PUBLISHERS OF EXCLUSIVE COMICS
Publishers made their presence known throughout the show through their booths, panels, announcements, promotions and especially comic book exclusives.
Top 10 San Diego Comic-Con Exclusive Comic Book Publishers
by Number of Comics
As of 7/30/26
- DC = 170
- Image = 117
- Boom! Studios = 68
- IDW = 42
- Zenescope Entertainment = 40
- Roditeli Productions = 39
- Black Horizon Publishing = 38
- Titan = 34
- Marvel = 32
- Coffin Comics = 27
TOP FEATURED COVER ARTISTS AMONG EXCLUSIVE COMICS
When CovrPrice took a look at the cover artists represented across the exclusives, key creators bubbled up due to their total number of unique covers.
Top 5 San Diego Comic-Con Exclusive Comic Book Cover Artists
by Number of Comics With Unique Cover Art
As of 7/30/26
- Katya Sinyukhina = 13 unique (32 with treatments)
- Tyler Kirkham = 11 unique (14 with treatments)
- Sveta Shubina = 7 unique (13 with treatments)
- Godtail = 7 unique (11 with treatments)
- Dan Quintana = 6 unique (11 with treatments)
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