publishers. In 1993, DC Comics shipped the first printing of Superman #75, featuring the climax of "The Death of Superman" storyline, in a black polybag with a Superman armband inside. Collectors who wanted to keep their copy pristine but also read the story either bought multiple copies or subsequent printings (which had the same cover but not the polybag and fan incentives). Likewise, second printings of other issues with "gimmick covers" typically shipped without the gimmick. Jim Lee, now one of the co-founders of Image Comics, published variant cover comic books through his Wildstorm Studios imprint. Gen13 #1 bore 13 different covers, each with a character in an homage to a comic book, advertisement, or movie poster. DV8 #1 bore eight different covers, one a group shot and the rest representing the seven deadly sins. Chase covers Due to shortages caused by production errors, some variant covers came to be known as "chase covers", as many scrambled to find them, much as baseball card collectors sought chase cards. Publishers created chase covers by issuing variants in ratios designed to make one variant rare. They also began to produce retailer-incentive copies - identical to the retail version, but with covers usually printed or embossed in silver or gold - with one retailer-incentive shipping for every 25 or 50 copies of the regular issue that the retailer ordered. Some smaller publishers such as Verotik created expensive adult-only variants depicting nudity. Additionally, comic book conventions gave attendees convention-exclusive variants as part of their convention packages. Post-boom DC Comics In the years since the boom ended, with the remaining readers and publishers left in shell-shock, publishers generally shied away from producing comics that appeared to be directed at collectors, variant covers among them. Recently, however, variant covers have made a comeback. The 2004 limited series Identity Crisis from DC Comics was so popular that every issue went through multiple printings, each with a different cover. Some fans who had already bought the first printing bought the variants to complete their collection. Seeing this, other publishers tried to duplicate the success. For instance, for every set number of issues a retailer ordered of New Avengers #1-6, they received a retailer-incentive issue featuring art by a heavily promoted Marvel artist. In addition to retailer incentives, publishers again publish simple variants, though usually in equal proportions. Since Identity Crisis, second printings usually have a different cover, often