Deathmatch #1 Sells Out, Coming Back for Second Print

Boom! Studios announced early this morning that Paul Jenkins's Deathmatch #1 had sold out at Diamond Comics Distributors and would be reprinted with a new cover. The series is said to be the top-selling original series in Boom!'s history, beating out things like Supurbia and Mark Waid's Irredeemable, although obviously its popular licensed properties like Die Hard, 28 Days Later and Hellraiser are another thing entirely. The second print will go out for order next week, and be in stores in early February, according to the publisher. The first issue, written by Jenkins and featuring art by Carlos Magno, carried a $1 cover price, and likely benefitted from a confluence of factors: it was released on December 26, when almost nothing else came out. What did come out, though, mostly sold out (Amazing Spider-Man #700, Avenging Spider-Man #15.1 and Justice League #15 were among the week's releases); what do you do when you find yourself at a mostly-empty comic book store the day after Christmas with your planned $8 comic book already sold out by noon? Why not try something new and cool if it's only a buck? As with all sell-outs in the comics industry, Boom! reminds readers to check with their retailer, who may still have copies of the first issue on-hand at this point. Digital copies, of course, don't sell out so the issue is likely available on ComiXology now as well. The publisher describes the book as follows:

A powerful and mysterious supervillain has imprisoned the world's greatest superheroes, forcing them to fight to the death until there is but one victor. It's kill or be killed as we settle the score on all those hypothetical superhero match-ups in the ultimate DEATHMATCH. DEATHMATCH #1 second print ships with a must-have all new cover by Tom Derenick (HYPERNATURALS) under a Diamond order code of NOV128196. DEATHMATCH #2 is eligible under Diamond's FOC program today, January 7th, under Diamond codes NOV120975-78, and ships with dynamic covers by Whilce Portacio (Incredible Hulk) and Trevor Hairsine (X-O Manowar). Issue #2 will be in stores on January 30th, 2013.