Variant Covers: A decent concept totally overdone

[Spencer]

I've got good news and bad news about the contest Lilja had a while back that I was one of the winners of, which leads to a larger issue. The good news is that Lilja found a new prize provider for the contest winners, Tales of Wonder, after the original provider welched.

The BAD news is that at the original contest end date, the only variant covers out were the premiums seeded 1:25 and 1:75. Since then, 2nd and 3rd printings have come out, which, even though they're not rare by any means, Marvel still lists as "variant" editions, a practice I loathe, by the way. So, it looks like I'm getting a 3rd printing "variant" of Issue #1, which there are at least 10 copies of at my local comic store, and I had passed on getting it because there were so many. Technically, they are delivering what was promised, albeit the bare minimum, but after months of waiting for what I thought would be a premium variant cover, and then to get something I could go to the store and buy for $3.99, I'm a bit disappointed, to say the least.

Despite that though, BIG kudos to Lilja for making sure the contest winners get their prizes! He's a great guy for sure.

Now, as for the practice of releasing later printings with different covers, (which only started recently, all printings of comics used to have the same cover with slight differences in color or logo only), and calling them "variants", I think it stinks, and is just an excuse to get people to buy something that's gonna be worth no more than cover price in most cases, plus it creates WAY too many covers to chase if one happens to be a completist.

What do you guys think?

[Patrick]

...What do you guys think?

1. I agree that Lilja is a great guy and doing the best he can.

2. The original prize provider, whoever it was, is a snake in the grass.

3. It totally sucks that you pretty much got a lame prize that only technically fits the prize definition, but completely violates the spirit of the contest when it was announced.

4. I like different covers on the later printings, but I don't think they should be billed as "variant" as that practice only dilutes the meaning and perception of that term in the marketplace.

[Matt]

I agree with all that too. I would figure its a good idea to lay your hands on the prizes before starting the contest.

But I agree Lilja fixed it as best he could

[Randall Flagg]

I have to agree that the whole "variant" thing caught me-a book collector-never before a Comic book collector by suprise. I ended up buying the first variants, then was kind of (self decision) stuck buying the rest. All of them where substabtially overpriced-but in a market economy someone-me bought them.
They really are just a profit center for the comic bookstore seller. To my understanding they cost the same wholesale as the regular edition. So a store owner takes a comic that wholesales for ~$2.49 and sells it for $65.
A complete ripoff.
Now I know most comic bookstore owners aren't driving a Bentley to work, but in this instance the markup is crazy.
The only way to change the market is for demand to decrease. I'm only one person, but I can assure you that I have no plans to buy ANY variants ever again.
I am also as a King book collector grateful that there isn't a similar thing done very often with King trades-what a nightmare that would be. It's bad enough buying 12 different versions of The Colorado Kid, but at least the books had different artists for each version and more importantly were consistently priced.

[Arthur Heath]

This is something that is easy to get caught up in when you are younger. Before you could see the whole picture. Ron Pearlman, then CEO of Marvell, made variants popular in the early nighties. It was just a big scam to pump up revenue. I would be shocked if a comic shop was able to sell a 65 dollar comic these days. Who in their right mind would pay that? You pick up comics for whats in between the covers! Varients are just a re-hash.

[Wuducynn]

This is something that is easy to get caught up in when you are younger. Before you could see the whole picture. Ron Pearlman, then CEO of Marvell, made variants popular in the early nighties. It was just a big scam to pump up revenue. I would be shocked if a comic shop was able to sell a 65 dollar comic these days. Who in their right mind would pay that? You pick up comics for whats in between the covers! Varients are just a re-hash.

A scam to pump up revenue? Someone saw that comic collectors are..in fact..collectors and figured out that they would like special collectible covers of their comics. Mr Pearlman tried it out and he was right. What? Is he not supposed to "pump up revenue" for the company he works for?
If no one cared about them they wouldn't have bought them, no one is forcing them to. I am a big fan of The Gunslinger Born but for the most part couldn't stand the artwork on the variants so I never bought them. Where is the scam here?

[Patrick]

I have all regular and variant versions of the The Gunslinger Born with the sole exception of the Jae Lee Sketch variant of Issue #7. Darn comic store reduced their order and didn't get one. I've spent plenty already, and I'm a completist, so I'd like to get that one.

Going forward with the new arcs, I plan to buy the color variants, but the sketch variants are simply too damn expensive unless you have a kick-ass connection that sells them to you for a reasonably high mark-up rather than an exorbitant one. If they do the mass market pseudo-variants (2nd or 3rd printings with different covers at standard price), I'll buy those too - I can live with cover price all day long.

[Wuducynn]

More power to ya Patrick. I just haven't been impressed with any of the covers enough to buy them.

[jhanic]

I'm in the same boat as Patrick. I too am missing the Lee variant of #7 because my comics store didn't order enough. I will, however, continue to get all the variants of the following arcs because my store only charges me 3x the cover price for the sketch variants and cover price for the color ones. I can live with that!

John

[Matt]

I would have bought them all if I could actually walk into a comic book shop around here, for sure.

I guess I am lucky that I couldn't but I think the idea stands. We have two serious collectors in this very thread that are missing one and want it. That's "collectible" in my book.

However, I was involved in what happen during the 90's with Marvel and most of that stuff people paid for was way overboard. But this is kind of different because we aren't dealing with a Marvel universe wide arc.

Imagine if you will...Avengers, FF, X-men, Hulk, 4 other X-men teams, Spiderman and about a jillion other titles, each with several variants. It was a mad house in those days. I think this is probably okay.

[Patrick]

I'm in the same boat as Patrick. I too am missing the Lee variant of #7 because my comics store didn't order enough. I will, however, continue to get all the variants of the following arcs because my store only charges me 3x the cover price for the sketch variants and cover price for the color ones. I can live with that!

John
SWEET! I've got one store that sells me the color variant for $10 and another store where I was negotiating every month for the sketch and the color variants - over time the price kept coming down, but both cost much more than that.

I'll be sure not to bid against you if I ever decide to go the eBay route for that issue #& sketch cover. :)

[Patrick]

I would have bought them all if I could actually walk into a comic book shop around here, for sure.

I guess I am lucky that I couldn't but I think the idea stands. We have two serious collectors in this very thread that are missing one and want it. That's "collectible" in my book.

However, I was involved in what happen during the 90's with Marvel and most of that stuff people paid for was way overboard. But this is kind of different because we aren't dealing with a Marvel universe wide arc.

Imagine if you will...Avengers, FF, X-men, Hulk, 4 other X-men teams, Spiderman and about a jillion other titles, each with several variants. It was a mad house in those days. I think this is probably okay.

Yep. I think the key is to buy them because you want them, not because you think there might be some financial gain down the road.

[Daghain]

I'm all about the free market. If you can get people to spend money, good for you.

That said, I'm just not.that.interested in the variant covers. Some of them are great, but I'm too cheap and not that much into comics to feel like I need them all. But hey, I'm all about someone making a buck. :D

[Wuducynn]

I'm all about the free market. If you can get people to spend money, good for you.

That said, I'm just not.that.interested in the variant covers. Some of them are great, but I'm too cheap and not that much into comics to feel like I need them all. But hey, I'm all about someone making a buck. :D

Right on sister, right on! I just wish I had liked most of the variant covers but I think I hated all but one, the one with Roland in this wide open plain in front of the Dark Tower.

[Matt]

I may fill out my collection with them one of these days, I am kind of hoping they won't go up in value so I can get them cheaply because its never about selling the stuff to me.

[wizardsrainbow]

What do you think a complete set of all 1st variants and original comics (21 issues) would be worth.....all signed by Jae Lee?

[Matt]

Holy shit Wiz, I am not sure but I would throw my hat into the ring to have them.

I bet that could generate some serious auction activity.

[Randall Flagg]

What do you think a complete set of all 1st variants and original comics (21 issues) would be worth.....all signed by Jae Lee?


$25. I'll Paypal you.:nope:

[Daghain]

:lol:

Good one, Jerome!

BTW, aren't the variant covers going to be in the hardcover edition anyway? That would be cool for me. :D

[Patrick]

What do you think a complete set of all 1st variants and original comics (21 issues) would be worth.....all signed by Jae Lee?


$25. I'll Paypal you.:nope:

I'll quadruple his offer. :P

Honestly, Wiz, I have no idea but I bet you could make good money at auction. I'm betting you wouldn't sell though, unless this is a second set.

[wizardsrainbow]

What do you think a complete set of all 1st variants and original comics (21 issues) would be worth.....all signed by Jae Lee?


$25. I'll Paypal you.:nope:

I'll quadruple his offer. :P

Honestly, Wiz, I have no idea but I bet you could make good money at auction. I'm betting you wouldn't sell though, unless this is a second set.

No, I just have the one set, and I am not thinking about selling...just wondering. Just doing a back-of-the-envelope calculation I figured I spent just over $400 for the set (assumes 7 each of $4 regular trade, $20 variant and $35 variant).

[Spencer]

:lol:
BTW, aren't the variant covers going to be in the hardcover edition anyway? That would be cool for me. :D

I haven't seen that confirmed, but it's a safe bet, as a lot of hardcover and TPB collections of storylines all over comics have included a gallery of the regular and variant covers, usually, but not always, giving a full page to each cover.

[Daghain]

Let's hope so!

[Wuducynn]

I'm looking forward to these maps and other goodies I've heard mentioned.

[BlakeMP]

The real problem with variants, and the reason I despise the practice, is because they feed the speculator portion of the market moreso than any other. Variants -- like the gimmicks of the 90s -- are sold to people who expect them to go up in value. The problem is, even "variants" these days are printed in enough quantities that anyone who seriously wants one (i.e., the "collectors") will be able to get their hands on a copy.

Feeding the speculators artificially inflates sales, making it appear to the analyst as if a comic has more readers than it actually does. Invariably, once the speculators finally realize their "investments" are never going to bear fruit, they bail on comics and move on to something else. In the 90s, this happened in ridiculous numbers and helped contribute to the near-collapse of the industry.

So yeah, I hate variants.

I don't really mind putting a different or altered cover on a second or third print of a comic, as that helps differentiate the printings and speculators generally don't go in for those the way they do first print "variants." Other than that? I hate 'em.