Collectibles grading company CGC is teaming up with “Dungeon Crawler Carl” author Matt Dinniman for the release of a free exclusive variant cover of his comic book series at New York Comic Con next month. From Oct. 8-11, CGC will offer a limited-edition “Dungeon Crawler Carl” #0 variant featuring newly commissioned artwork by “The Mask” and “Aliens” artist Doug Mahnke at its NYCC booth, where Dinniman and Mahnke are both set to make signing appearances. Adapted from Dinniman’s bestselling litRPG novel series of the same name and published as a webcomic and in print through Vault Comics, the “Dungeon Crawler Carl” comic book is a post-apocalyptic story that follows the titular Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat, Princess Donut, as they’re thrust into a deadly, game-show-style dungeon where survival depends on wit, grit and leveling up fast.
Per CGC, fans submitting eligible collectibles to CGC for grading at the brand’s NYCC booth (CGC Booth #2805, CGC Signature Series & JSA Booth #HB906) will be able to receive the exclusive “Carl” variant for free, limited to one per person while supplies lasts. Written by Scott Snyder with art by Nick Dragotta, “Absolute Batman” reimagines Bruce Wayne as a younger Dark Knight without the Wayne fortune, forcing Batman to rely on ingenuity, determination, and sheer physicality. Additionally, CGC is also introducing a new “Dungeon Crawler Carl” custom label that will be available beginning Sept. 22 for “Dungeon Crawler Carl” comic book submissions.
News of the CGC-“Dungeon Crawler Carl” collab comes amid intense popularity for the book series, which is now in the works as a TV show at Peacock. It’s humbling to know people are actually interested in collecting them and keeping them to display.” See below for Variety‘s Q&A with CGC’s Caffrey about the collaboration. Caffrey: CGC has spent the last couple of years building a tradition of giving away exclusive, free variant covers to fans at San Diego Comic-Con and New York Comic Con, including a Superman #680 variant from Dan Mora and an Avengers #31 variant from Peach Momoko, among several other fan-favorite artists.
For New York Comic Con, artist representative Jon Jespersen approached CGC about working with acclaimed artist Doug Mahnke on a variant cover. With the incredible buzz surrounding “Dungeon Crawler Carl,” we saw an opportunity to do something especially fun for fans of the series. Jon shared an initial concept art-directed by his wife, Sarah, a longtime “Dungeon Crawler Carl” fan, and with Doug’s artwork and colors by David Baron, we knew we had something special.
We’re thrilled to bring the “Dungeon Crawler Carl” variant to New York Comic Con and to have both Doug Mahnke and David Baron signing for free at the CGC booth during the show. Doug approached the cover with a real respect for Matt’s world – the characters, the tone, and all of those details “Dungeon Crawler Carl” fans know so well. That gave him the foundation to bring his own distinctive artistic style to the cover while still making it feel unmistakably DCC.
David Baron’s colors really bring the finished piece to life, and we think fans are going to love what they created together. That makes being able to debut it at New York Comic Con especially exciting. Issue #0 launched right alongside a huge wave of momentum for “Dungeon Crawler Carl,” and issue #1 comes out right after the show, so NYCC felt like the perfect moment to put this variant directly into fans’ hands.
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