And They Don’t Look A Year Older Than 48

Something that I kind of love, and kind of hate, about the constant need for comic publishers to have special anniversaries in order to justify variant covers/price increases/promotional activities/whatever is the way that it makes math even more funky. For example:

This is the cover of a Marvel comic from 1986:

And this is a Marvel comic from 2009:

Now, to most people, 23 years separates those two dates, but not for Marvel; they’ve gone from their 25th anniversary (Top left of the first cover) to their 70th (Bottom center of the second). I know that time passes differently in comics, but this is ridiculous.

(To everyone: Yes, I know that it’s because Marvel have retroactively changed the date of the company’s creation from… well, the company’s creation to the first comic published bearing the name Marvel Comics. I still find it funny, is all. I have little doubt that 2011 will feature new branding celebrating “50 Years Of The Marvel Universe” or something similar, just to confuse the issue even more.)

Related posts:

1. Now My Parents Know How Jack Kirby Feels
2. Say Hello To The New Logo, Pretty Much Exactly The Same As The Old Logo
3. Because Stuart Immonen Demanded It!
4. Turns Out I Am A Bad Comics Fan
5. Why It’s A Good Thing That I Don’t Run A Comic Book Company, Part 23