Barb Wire v2 #1 Cover

The standard cover read "Don't Mess With Barb Wire" but a mail in retailer variant could be obtained for one that was a little more digitally blood spattered and read "Don't @#$% With Barb Wire."

How to get the variant? Dark Horse Comics (in a stroke of pure marketing psychotic genius) said that the ultra rare version was only available by sending in 20 copies of the (at the time) newly-released Marvel Star Wars #1 first printing.

Said Dark Horse president Mike Richardson: "No retailer who is a true Star Wars fan would destroy his or her own first issue, so what better way to pump sales than by offering a reward for extra copies? Of course, we're hoping that Marvel returns the favor by offering an exclusive Star Wars cover for every 20 Barb Wire covers it receives. Seems fair and what better combination exists in this or any other galaxy that Star Wars and Barb Wire?"

Apart from the somewhat bonkers history, this cover is one of the best examples I've seen of Hughes traditional work. Commissions are usually pen and Copic, and modern covers are pen and ink with digital color. This baby is a mixed media extravaganza, with marker, paint, intense crosshatching, etc. I had long been on the hunt for a great Hughes cover, so being able to pick this up from him was fun.

When I purchased, he looked at the piece and wistfully said "Bye, crotch shot." It was a more touching moment than I'm making it sound.