Insert comic for Ant-Man joke here
After years of uncertainty surrounding the franchise, fans can now purchase a hard disc (or cartridge) of a brand new Marvel vs. Capcom release again though it is made up of classic arcade titles.
The Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection just released its physical edition version a few days ago where players who pre-ordered received an exclusive comic book, which may not have been quite what was expected.
Personally, I too was among those surprised at how small the pre-order bonus ended up being compared to what was being shown on retailer websites — though Capcom did give some warning as to the size right before release.
Since I ordered the MvC collection the same week it launched, I wasn’t sure I was even going to get the comic and was a bit disappointed when I learned that there was only a game case in my Amazon package.
Upon returning home, however, I saw the sticker on the box that said the comic was included, so I popped it open and saw what was inside.
The comic was definitely in there, and it didn’t even fit in both of the manual clips of the PlayStation 4 case.
I’ve included a couple photos so you can see for yourself how it appears compared to the package and a regular comic book.
Click images for larger versions
Now, I’m not reporting all this to say the comic is bad or awful and is not close to the level of the Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite eggs, but it was at least surprising.
After pulling out the tape measure, the MvC comic is around 4.5 inches tall and 3.5 inches wide, which is significantly smaller than the standard comic book size of 10.1 inches x 6.6 inches.
Perhaps this was done to make sure the comic would fit inside the smaller Nintendo Switch case.
Capcom never stated the book would be a full-sized comic, but they also never really made clear it would be a mini book either.
All we really knew leading up to launch was that it was 32 pages long and had the cover art done by Marvel’s Todd Nauck.
Those pages equate to what would be a medium to large panel or two on a regular comic though.
When Capcom first showed off a few pages from the comic, we thought those were panels on a larger page, but those were indeed the full pages.
Fans did end up getting a glimpse if they follow the official MvC X/Twitter page where they showed the book as being just slightly larger than some Capcom Funko Pop figures two days before release.
For this month’s book club, our action figures and statuettes are reading the comic that comes with the physical version of #MvCFightingCollection! pic.twitter.com/zrzgHh6UdE
— Marvel vs. Capcom (@marvelvscapcom) November 21, 2024
We have seen some fans complain about the size of the comic online of course, but much of the negative attention we’ve witnessed for the physical release has been a bit different.
Most of said complaints have come from buyers in the United Kingdom and Europe in general stating their copies of the collection didn’t come with the comic at all.
We’re not sure what the pre-order info and marketing was like in other regions for the game, but it seems players are a bit unhappy that Capcom may not have been fully clear that the comic wasn’t coming to everyone.
The other main complaint we’ve seen is coming from those who purchased a copy of the physical Switch version in Europe that only contained a code for the collection, but this was confirmed to be the case a few months back.
Got my UK release today and there was no comic inside is only the US that gets it?
— Richard (@FrostyRogue) November 22, 2024
It is curious that Capcom would produce a physical cartridge for North America and presumably other regions like Japan but not Europe.
Ultimately, I’m still happy with my pre-order and that I got the book since it still has nice art as a little collector’s item.
It’s just not really big enough to easily display on a shelf or in a frame as I had hoped.
And there is a full-sized option coming in December with Marvel releasing 11 comics with Marvel vs. Capcom 2-themed alternate cover arts, so at least some other ways to display your enjoyment of the fighting game series is on the way soon.
