Posted in: Bad Idea, Comics | Tagged: comicspro, david lapham, mark waid

Mark Waid & David Lapham's New Bad Idea Comic Has A 200 Copy Print Run

Mark Waid and David Lapham's new Bad Idea comic When I Was Five has a 200 copy print run and only from 99 comic stores at ComicsPRO

Published Fri, 13 Feb 2026 17:01:07 -0600

by Rich Johnston

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Article Summary

Mark Waid and David Lapham's "When I Was Five" gets a 200 copy print run for 99 ComicsPRO stores only
Bad Idea's "Secret Six" comics are ultra-rare, released through unconventional distribution methods
ComicsPRO attendees can obtain an exclusive copy by simply attending the Bad Idea presentation
Bad Idea Comics teases 2026 plans with new titles and creator signings at their ComicsPRO event

When I Was Five by Mark Waid and David Lapham is another of the very rare Bad Idea "Secret Six comics" and will only be available to and from 99 specific comic book stores whose owners or employees are attending the comic book retailer activist group annual meeting ComicsPRO in Glendale, California next week. Expect a lot of ComicsPRO news this week… and if you have soimething to share yourself, get in touch!

And When I Was Five will be the fourth such title, beginning with the legend: "Congratulations. You've found one of the extremely rare Bad Ideac Secret Six comics. Each of the six is released differently. Some are hidden in plain sight, others demand decoding. This one exists only for those in the room."

The first was their first title, The Hero Trade: Hero for Sale by Matt Kindt and David Lapham, as Bad Idea mailed a single copy to each of their 154 Bad Idea Destination Stores, without saying it was from Bad Idea or who the creators were, just slipped quietly into anonymous, unmarked manila envelopes. I managed to snag a copy.

The second was The First Seven Days, listed in Diamond Previews as a release from a brand-new publisher called B-Side Press and not credited to creators Joshua Dysart and Kano. I also got a copy.

Playtime by Mike Carey and Jonathan Wayshak was simply placed, bagged and boarded, on a giveaway table at a comic book conference, wrapped in a torn-off cover from an old Marvel Free Comic Book Day title. Bagged. Boarded. And wrapped in a torn-off cover from an old Marvel Comics. I did not get that. And since I can't go to ComicsPRO, I won't get this one either…

But if I were, I would go to the Bad Idea: Megalith & Beyond meetings in Room 1709, Executive Level of the Hilton Los Angeles Glendale, during ComicsPRO, next week, from the 19th to the 21st of February. And only available to the 99 comic shops attending ComicsPRO this year. All you have to do is attend a presentation, and sign up here in advance. You don't even have to buy a timeshare. You just get one copy. No orders. No allocations. No second printing. It will not be available anywhere else. Two hundred copies and that is it. Slap that on eBay and it will probably pay for your hotel room at the event.

The presentation will include 2026 Bad Idea Comics plans for Habitat, Project Goat, Megalith and more, with creator signings and giving away copies of the Bad Idea 2026 preview comic. Refreshments, snacks and a bar will be available.

Bad Idea Comics is a relatively new comics publisher from Dinesh Shamdasani, Joshua Johns, Karl Bollers, and Anthony Militano. A formerly direct-to-retailer publisher, eschewing digital, variants, and trade paperbacks in favour of one-cover one-per-person comic book sales from big comic book names. And some very silly promotional ideas.

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