Uncanny X-Men #500 Sketch Covers
Marvel Comics, September 2008.
The ongoing Uncanny X-Men series, which first started in 1963, hit its 500th issue in 2008. To celebrate this milestone, Marvel commissioned a number of variants for the issue:
- Alex Ross cover (est. qty: 74,000)
- Greg Land cover (est. qty: 74,000)
- Turner variant cover (est. qty: 5,000)
- Turner variant sketch cover (est. qty: 400)
- Dodson variant cover (est. qty: 5,000)
- Dodson variant sketch cover (est. qty: 400)
- Dynamic Forces cover (4,000 issued)
- Toronto fan Expo variant (1,500 issued)
- 2nd printing variant (est. qty: 9,200)
Amongst these are two rare sketch variants, one by Michael Turner and one by Terry Dodson. Tragically, the Turner sketch variant was one of the last pieces of work completed by the artist Michael Turner before he died of bone cancer complications in June 2008 aged only 37.
This historic issue is part of the overall story arc "Manifest Destiny" where the X-Men relocate to San Francisco and face, amongst other things, an old and very dangerous antagonist.
Below is the cover from the Greg Land variant:
The sketch variants have been steadily climbing in value and, between 2010 and 2011, average sale value jumped from around $100 to $200 making them a very sound investment over this period.