Marvel Launches $1 "Best of" Line

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I'll buy THAT for a dollar!

From Newsarama:

Press Release

What can you get for a dollar? How about the Marvel Universe? Today, Marvel is proud to present TRUE BELIEVERS – a new line of comics debuting exclusively in comic shops this April. Printing the first chapter of popular series for the suggested retail price of $1 – TRUE BELIEVERS is the perfect way for readers interested in trying out some of Marvel’s most popular titles in history without breaking the bank.

Just in time for 2015’s Secret Wars, catch up on some of the most celebrated stories in Marvel history before their appearance in the biggest comic event of 2015! Enter the world of Civil War, Age of Apocalypse, Old Man Logan, Planet Hulk, the critically-acclaimed ICON series Powers and many more with the first chapters of these top-selling collections – each for the suggested retail price of $1!

“These are some of the most popular stories in recent memory,” says Marvel SVP Sales & Marketing David Gabriel. “We’re proud to bring them to fans in a new format that will allow them to sample some of Marvel’s best and brightest gems. Each of these issues are the perfect place to start for fans curious about Miles Morales, the Age of Apocalypse, Civil War and everything in between.” Your window into the biggest stories in Marvel history costs a buck! Don’t miss these exciting TRUE BELEIVERS issues, on sale throughout the month of April in comic shops!

  • TRUE BELIEVERS: INFINITY GAUNTLET #1
  • TRUE BELIEVERS: MARVEL ZOMBIES #1
  • TRUE BELIEVERS: AGE OF APOCALYPSE #1 (X-Men Alpha)
  • TRUE BELIEVERS: CIVIL WAR #1
  • TRUE BELIEVERS: PLANET HULK #1 (Incredible Hulk #92)
  • TRUE BELIEVERS: HOUSE OF M #1
  • TRUE BELIEVERS: OLD MAN LOGAN #1 (Wolverine #66)
  • TRUE BELIEVERS: ARMOR WARS #1 (Iron Man #225)
  • TRUE BELIEVERS: MILES MORALES #1 (Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1) 
  • TRUE BELIEVERS: AGE OF ULTRON #1
  • POWERS FIRSTS #1

Commentary:  In our Open Mike Night column last week, I complained that Marvel needed to do a better job of making their first issues cheaper.  This isn't quite what I was asking for, but I still think this is a welcome idea.  It also should help sell trades of these series.  It's a great sales gimmick,  I would much rather see something like this, than variant covers or charging a buck or two MORE for some extra pages.  

I also liked the wide variety of titles they chose.    You get some recent series like Miles Morales and Age of Ultron, some classic stories like Infinity Gauntlet, Age of Apocalypse, and Armor Wars.  I also like that they threw in Powers, since they have a new Powers series launching next week.  

Definitely a cool move by Marvel here, and I hope they continue this program with other titles.  Ms. Marvel would be a great one to do.  I think this could be a great way to help give lower selling books a nice boost.