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stevegreer1 Posts: 41
10/20/2018
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Good day! I recently watched a YouTube video presenting the hosts view on a hot new upcoming antagonist for the new Fantastic Four series (vol 6). He specifically talked about his suggestion to pick up the #1 variant Lucio Parrillo covers (both). Very nice cover art to say the least. I was interested, so I searched on eBay and went here to the price guide to see how closely the prices matched. Upon my search here I counted 65 variant covers for #1, including the 2nd print! 65!!! Now, I'm not sure if that is a record or not, but that is crazy! And some of them were already listed in the $200 to $400 range.
So how many variants for an issue do you feel is too much? And do you like or dislike variant covers?
Me personally, my first experience with variant covers was Image's Gen 13 #1 when it came out back in the 90's. There were 13 variants at the time, and I felt that was kind of silly, but I see where they were going with it. I tried to get them all, but I was but a broke young lad at the time and simply could not afford it as a few of them were a bit pricey. Personally, I don't have a problem with variant covers, but there does seem to be a lot of them lately. It seems to me it would be challenging yet frustrating to collect.
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colbalt91 Posts: 298
10/20/2018
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Spider Gwen returns as the Ghost Spider next week and they are restarting her over at number 1, and my understanding is all the variants are sold out already. The ones that the comic stores order through Diamond.
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imatonkatoo Posts: 151
10/21/2018
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Hmmm. How long is a ball of string? They might do 500 variant covers that are all banging or they might only do two that are crappy. How many is too many depends on the art work. End of the day it's still the same comic inside.
JMO
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Ronbatman Administrator Posts: 2530
10/22/2018
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Steve,
This is a good question. 65 variants for a single book isn't a record. Shocking but true.
Action Comics #1000 had 44 total.
Batman #1 from 2016 had 45 total.
Return of Wolverine #1 had 59 total.
Star Wars #1 had 81 total.
Batman #50 (fake wedding book) has 101 total, which I believe is the current record
From our perspective, variants take an enormous amount of time. But I don't see an end in the near future based on the popularity of those books.
To answer your questions, how many is too much? 3
Do I like or dislike variants? Working for the price guide, I hate them. From the collector side, I enjoy some of them.
R
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+2
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rixmaxx Posts: 463
10/22/2018
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Doesn't Amazing Spider-Man #666 have like 142 different covers, technically all variants, right?
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Ronbatman Administrator Posts: 2530
10/23/2018
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Technically you're right but it only has maybe 5 cover designs with a different name in the box. It doesn't feel like that should be #1.
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rixmaxx Posts: 463
10/23/2018
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Ronbatman wrote:
Technically you're right but it only has maybe 5 cover designs with a different name in the box. It doesn't feel like that should be #1.
I know, you're right but you had to input them all separately, right?  (bummer) That does make them variants (with 6 different cover designs )
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Guest
10/24/2018
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Yeah I really dislike variant covers. They are really out of control. It was cool when it was a couple of variants for key issues. But now? It's a damn variant for EVERY. SINGLE. ISSUE. And then we have like 50 variants for some issues.
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ComicsDude Posts: 30
10/24/2018
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The above was my post. Page keeps on logging me out for some reason.
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Finley2020 Posts: 43
10/24/2018
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I don't have an issue with variant covers in general but they can go overboard sometimes- especially when the rarity is manufactured and people are asking hundreds for a book that just came out simply because it has a different cover on it. I collected The Darkness when I was in high school and when issue #11 came out they "celebrated" with 11 different variant covers. I had to have all of them. Not because I liked them but because the collector in me could not allow me missing out on any of them. When getting my hands on every cover felt more like a sigh of relief than a sense of satisfaction I knew it was time to back off. To each their own though. If you like them then I say God speed.
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kds_comics Posts: 686
10/25/2018
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How many is too much? - Three is too much. One regular and one variant - that is all you need.
Never going to happen except in Oz - but a nice thought.
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solarno Posts: 166
10/26/2018
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Didn't Dark Knight III #1 have upwards of 100 variants? I seem to remember reading that somewhere.
I have a love/hate relationship with variants. The collector in me loves them, but the accountant in me hates them. I was first hooked by variants in the early 2000's and I spent way too much money hunting down "rare" variants. If I remember correctly that was the first time when variants were being pushed by speculators which coincided with the rise of eBay. I viewed this as really more a ploy to try and prop up sales after the crash in the 90's, and I sadly bought in for some titles (Dreamwave published Transformers *cough cough*). It felt like it had died down for quite some time, but variants seemed to really ramp up again a couple of years ago with some titles having dozens of variant choices and then virgin versions, sketch version, blank version, etc.
Thankfully, for the most part, I've been able to avoid the variant bug the time around. I'm much pickier nowadays, choosing covers by specific artists, or that just happen to look really amazing. The recent run of Batman variants that Francesco Mattina has done are amazing. Nowadays if I like a variant I will not buy the regular cover unless it's equally amazing. And I ignore the so-called hot covers (unless it's by a very small number of artists).
I do like how some publishers are treating variants, at least for some titles. I love how DC strips the branding off of their main variant covers, allowing the artwork to really shine. Marvel has done a fine job with having themed series of variants where one artist will do a long run of variants for a title or titles. John Christopher Tyler with his action figure variants come to mind. They do nothing for me, but I still appreciate the work and that Marvel is offering buyers an intriguing option.
Which brings me to my close. I am totally behind publishers who want to offer variants as it provides consumer choice. I can choose my favorite version(s) and really personalize my comic book collection with artwork I truly appreciate. At times it feels like there are way too many for a title, but again, choice. Just because the majority of variants don't float my boat, doesn't mean they don't float someone else's. It's the incentives behind the variants that concern me. I'm all for supporting my favorite artists by buying additional books with their art because I want to support them, and in some cases I'll pay a bit extra. But at times it seems that some variants are printed with the intent to fill a resellers pockets with extra profit with little if any going to the artist. At least that's how it feels when there are 20, 30, 40, or more variants all being sold by different resellers at various surprisingly large mark-ups. I get supply and demand, small print runs, commissioned art fees, and all that, but it still feels off and artificial. If it is artificial then the consumer ultimately loses.
/end rant
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Oxbladder Posts: 487
10/26/2018
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Variants are here to stay whether you like it or not. Collectors like the art and the money they can make and for publishers it is an easy means of pumping up the sales. Does it get ridiculous? That is subjective. If people are buying in, and they usually buy in, then no they are not doing too much. Are they "artificially" scarce? Perhaps but not really since for decades scarcity has been dependent on number believed to be in circulation out there. Yeah they are not scarce in the same way as say a book from the 40 or 50's but those decades had a COMPLETELY different mindset. Now it is all about collectors then it was just a form of entertainment that few people saw much value in holding on to. It is interesting too that people complain about variants being artificially rare but they don't complain about small press book being artificially rare. Many small print book may have print numbers only in the hundreds or low thousands (well below big variant counts in many cases) and never appreciate in value. Heck there are 30's - 60's era books that probably have as few as one know copy that don't have a lot of value on the market because no one cares. So scarcity is a very relative thing whether a book is old or just came out today. Availability can drive prices but only if people care. If people are paying big dollars for current variants then they want them and how available the book is is going to drive the price. Supply and demand is the name of the game.
BTW, if you don't like and don't want variants published then you are going to have to convince the collectors because very little happens without their permission (dollars).
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stevegreer1 Posts: 41
10/29/2018
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I appreciate the replies! There are some very good opinions. I agree with everything that has been said. It truly does seem that the variant covers is a big thing now and will be around for a while. I have long since left my days of collecting for the sheer numbers and have moved on to going for key issues and artwork. This is why I am in fact guilty of buying a few variant covers recently myself, namely Catwoman vol. 5 #4 Stanley Lau cover. The artwork for that cover just blew me away. So whether it goes up in value at all or not doesn't matter much to me.
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rperryx2000 Posts: 166
10/30/2018
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I personally am not a fan of every issue having a variant cover. I feel it cheapens the whole gimmick but from a business perspective it makes a lot of sense. And yes I am guilty of promoting the practice. I remember spending a lot of time and money tracking down the gold and vvs variants of Valiant comics from the early 90s. I also got the Stanley Lau variant covers for Catwoman 2,3, and 4.
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quinnspuddinjoker Posts: 673
10/30/2018
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Batgirl 31 will have a Stanley Lau variant which I preordered.
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+1
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ComicsDude Posts: 30
10/30/2018
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rperryx2000 wrote:
I personally am not a fan of every issue having a variant cover. I feel it cheapens the whole gimmick but from a business perspective it makes a lot of sense. And yes I am guilty of promoting the practice. I remember spending a lot of time and money tracking down the gold and vvs variants of Valiant comics from the early 90s. I also got the Stanley Lau variant covers for Catwoman 2,3, and 4.
This is my thought exactly. It's just an overdone gimmick. I understand that it's a thing now and a lot of collectors have bought into the gimmick. It's just annoying to me.
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quinnspuddinjoker Posts: 673
10/30/2018
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It would be expensive if a completist trying to get all covers of a issue. I saw one book had a 1 in 1000 variant that a online shop trying to sell over $1,000. Crazy to say the least.
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imatonkatoo Posts: 151
10/30/2018
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Just having a look at The Walking Dead Weekly and didnt rralise they stopped at 52. Only a few more to.get now. Anyway I digress. I went to have a look at The Walking Dead list and if I counted correctly they have 68 variants for the number 1.
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colbalt91 Posts: 298
10/31/2018
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Is that counting the variants that individual stores had made for the recent anniversary that feature the store on the front cover?
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