Sonic gear Comics title
Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Comics - Variants
Archie Sonic comics started out in the usual way, with a special cover here and there for a landmark issue. For example, 25 had silver ink applied only to it's first edition. Later, as they gained more series, like Boom, the Mega Man Crossovers, & Sonic Universe, they started producing more variant covers. Sometimes as many as 2 or 3 per issue, and for no real occaision.
Archie Mini Series Sonic Comics
Archie Book-Style Compilation Collections
Archie Super Specials Comics (48 pages)
Character First Appearance Facts		 SonicGear Main
3 Variant Covers & Wrong Boom Amy Here are 3 example variant covers, without their original counterpart. Variant covers are sometimes done by a non-Sonic book guest artist, or are themed after something specific, like Shadow/Spatter paint, or the "internal workings" design for Silver Sonic there. The lower left cover is a guest artist.
What's up with the lower right cover? It's a "Boom Variant" on the "Worlds Unite" crossover, where they're crossing over with Mega Man again. But look at Amy. That's not Boom Amy, she has her main series design, so this cover is a flaw. All cover photos by RaeLogan
More examples of variants include covers dedicated to other characters (the Burning Blaze) example, or done in a different style that doesn't appear in the book (lower right "chibi style") even if it doesn't fit the tone, theme, or content of the story. (Wacky babyish characters on the cover, dark dangerous story inside, it wasn't appropriate) Covers with dialogue/a joke on them (chatter on the cover usually messes with the design) can also appear as variants.All cover photos by RaeLogan
Archie Variant Cover Block 3 Sometimes the variants are done by someone who makes CG art, like the top right "Super Smash Var" cover, or the bottom right "Werehog is posed like SA1 disk Sonic". The CG covers are likely used to make the book "seem more related to the games" which, after however many issues, the series does actually have much more game-like content. All cover photos by RaeLogan

Variant Beware:
Too many variants, or doing such covers all the time can create confusion for people just picking up the series, as well as regular fans. Completists can also be annoyed if non-special books are constantly having to be bought 3 or 4 times just to get "all of the content" which is the different cover. Abusing variants to try to extort money from a fan base may not always be a cool move.