The Variant Madness

[carter3175]

As much as I support Valiant this variant madness has to stop. I mean really, does every issue deserve a variant? Not sure how much longer I can have double issues in my pullbox. We all know how addictive this can get. It's like Pokemon "Gotta catch them all". I think the industry as a whole needs to stop with the variants this is going the way of the '90's.

[KXXX]

The only true variant thusfar has been X-O Manowar #7.

It's going to fall apart for me soon, I know it. I love having everything but it's going to be too much of a headache to track down all the variants. When I do stop, it's going to be me going from spending almost $200 (sometimes more) a month to $20 or so. If others do the same for their own reasons, VEI is going to experience a large 'settling' of profits. I hope they see that possibility coming.

[MrBigFeathas]

I stopped with the variants after the #1 issues. I love the books but I can't justify buying the same exact book with different covers anymore. That money could be used to pick up different books or just for anything else. Now I can just pick up the DCBS bundle every month and get the issues for half off. It has been nice not caring about getting any variants.

[pixierosa]

The only true variant thusfar has been X-O Manowar #7.

It's going to fall apart for me soon, I know it. I love having everything but it's going to be too much of a headache to track down all the variants. When I do stop, it's going to be me going from spending almost $200 (sometimes more) a month to $20 or so. If others do the same for their own reasons, VEI is going to experience a large 'settling' of profits. I hope they see that possibility coming.

That's an interesting point about the profits. I'll admit I don't normally follow the profit game closely, but this makes me wonder just how much of it is from the variant collection. Personally I can't justify buying them all, but if there's a cover I really like, I do investigate. My market is small tho so most variants would be bought online. Just not worth the extra expense on a regular basis.

So - percentage-wise, how much of their business is from fans buying multiple copies? I've only done that myself a few times, but I always buy one of each book. I also picked up the Harbinger TPB, but I don't know that I'd do that for every series. I'm not a serious collector, all of my books save a few special ones are reader copies. That's what I get them for, ya know? But I can understand the desire to collect everything. I'd rather save the cash and put it towards purchasing the original art.

[FormerReader]

I buy the variants for the first five issues of each series and thats it.

[Donovan]

I buy every one except for the gold covers, and get enjoyment out of collecting them.

I'm still not sure how variants 'hurt' the industry in the absence of rampant speculation. I'm sure some retailers over ordered some books for the variants, but if they can't flip those variants for a profit, the market would just auto correct itself in that regard, imo.

[SJS4]

Other than the paradise deals I can't remember the last time I bought a variant. Who knows...maybe in a fit of boredom at some point I will pick up some of them, but for the most part I am happy getting my one issue per month in my pull box at my LCS. The stories and art are what keep me interested in Valiant, and they are doing a good job with that aspect. If they want to keep spending this much time and resources on variants, hopefully they are making a profit from it. It does seem like a lot of effort though.

[Shadowman99]

Hm, I really have no interest in buying variant covers. I'll pretty much only consider them if the 'regular' cover doesn't interest me (for instance 2013's Bloodshot #7) but even then, I'm so keen to just read the comic that I'll only put a little effort into trying to buy the variant before I give up and just buy the issue with the regular cover.

But right now, Valiant's comics are of such superior quality that I just can't wait to dive right in and get on with *reading* them and soak up all the gorgeous artwork inside the covers...

I think I must have been looking at this month's Shadowman for about an hour from front to back on first read...

[kevinbastos]

I am ratcheting back my variant interest. So far - the 1:20 issues (withOUT) the 1:50 (all 1's, X-O 5, etc.) seem to be holding value at a price I can find.

[BugsySig]

As long as the incentives continue to be such to retailers, it will and should continue. If they are no longer affecting orders, then ditch them. Purely a business decision.

[GGSAE]

I am ratcheting back my variant interest. So far - the 1:20 issues (withOUT) the 1:50 (all 1's, X-O 5, etc.) seem to be holding value at a price I can find.

The later 1:20, and especially the 1:50s are going for serious cash, and will probably continue to maintain that price because there's so few retailers ordering 50 books of the later issues. I would prefer if VE1 just did line-wide variants of 1:100 over a title-specific 1:50 variant, I think that helps the retailer, and also the fan because it's a little more available. I wonder if those rare 1:50 variants are all gonna sit in a storage locker for the trailor park trash storage wars people to find, or if they will be distributed some other way. I see some retailers still have early 1:50 variants, so either they've been sitting on them or they were given them afterwards.

[GGSAE]

As long as the incentives continue to be such to retailers, it will and should continue. If they are no longer affecting orders, then ditch them. Purely a business decision.

Right, and I think aside from the guys like I mentioned (Dynamite) that their variant business model is creating a slow downward decline. I would actually see them get rid of the pull-box variant, I don't see the point of it. I think having just retailer variants makes more sense.

[caniac]

I'm only focusing on XO variants now

[BugsySig]

As long as the incentives continue to be such to retailers, it will and should continue. If they are no longer affecting orders, then ditch them. Purely a business decision.

Right, and I think aside from the guys like I mentioned (Dynamite) that their variant business model is creating a slow downward decline. I would actually see them get rid of the pull-box variant, I don't see the point of it. I think having just retailer variants makes more sense.

Agreed. They also have to look at the average order per store. If its at, say, 15 issues, then continuing the 1:20s to promote stores buying 5 more books is worth it.

I also think the line-wide variants are a good concept. Again, if stores average 15 copies per title, a line-wide 1:100 makes a lot of sense as an incentive.

[Newton]

I've given up on them almost completely because my LCS does not get 80% of them. I do buy the ones my shop gets, but they do not order enough to get most of the variants and I don't feel like trying to track them all down.

Variants are at the point where I feel like they are something for the OCD fans out there that just can't spend enough on comics rather than part of standard collections.

[MrPlentl]

I buy them only to support Valiant. Well, mostly. Unfortunately, it is inflating their sales and prospected readers a bit. I have 3 Archer and Armstrong #1's. I look as it as an investment in the company but I agree, after a year, this needs to stop.

I am mostly aggravated when there is a sweet pull box cover and I can't find it.

[Phantom..]

Hm, I really have no interest in buying variant covers. I'll pretty much only consider them if the 'regular' cover doesn't interest me (for instance 2013's Bloodshot #7) but even then, I'm so keen to just read the comic that I'll only put a little effort into trying to buy the variant before I give up and just buy the issue with the regular cover.

But right now, Valiant's comics are of such superior quality that I just can't wait to dive right in and get on with *reading* them and soak up all the gorgeous artwork inside the covers...

I think I must have been looking at this month's Shadowman for about an hour from front to back on first read...

Like the shadowman jumpsuit blue!

I have to admitt at the start I brought every cover.
But Forbidden planet does not put all covers in my box anymore ~ even though I order them, So I buy what I get.
The recent harbinger 7, I chose the reg cover as it was a nicer cover (all where allocated but I was their when they where sorting). Just like I selected the bedlam 2 ghost variant over the reg cover as it looked much better.
If both are in my box I will by them if only one cover ~ saves me money. However saying that ~ their is some cool variant covers I would like to own Harbinger 8 pen sketch and gatefold 0.

Covers did get out of hand, but to get retailers to stock and make extra bucks hopefully gets valiant on the shelves.

[Dr. Solar]

Believe it or not, you don't have to buy the variants.

In fact, the books with the standard cover have the exact same story as the books with the variant cover.

[/snark]

[MarkRoseHFX]

Believe it or not, you don't have to buy the variants.

In fact, the books with the standard cover have the exact same story as the books with the variant cover.

[/snark]

+1 if you're not happy about them and you don't want them, don't buy 'em.

[R Daneel]

+1

It has to stop? Valiant is rewarding order numbers with different variant covers. Do we want Valiant to stop rewarding retailers or both readers and retailers? Are the gold issues "harming the industry" or are those OK? Is it just the pullbox issues that are cancer? I get that completionist OCD'ers might be bummed but I just don't get it otherwise.

[Phoenix8008]

Believe it or not, you don't have to buy the variants.

In fact, the books with the standard cover have the exact same story as the books with the variant cover.

[/snark]

I know that you are totally right. While I am one of the variant 'complainers', I guess I'm guilty of being a bit jealous. I WANT to get all the variants because I am a completionist at heart, but there is just no way financially to do so at this time. Another part of my worry is if these variants artificially inflate the sales numbers and the company suffers at some point because of it. I really like that they are trying to just tell good stories, but all the variant madness seems to fly in the face of that to me. It seems like a cheap gimmick after awhile and just bugs me. If it is actually good for the company and the retailers financially without a downside, then I'm happy to spend a little extra at this point getting pullbox variants (thats my limit until they start putting out more titles) to help make sure the company keeps going strong so they can grow bigger. I can stop anytime I want to... Yah...right.

Okay, over.

On a side note, I just realised after going back to fix it that I had accidentally capitalized the word 'Variant' in the above post. Then I looked and realized there is only 1 letter difference between that and 'Valiant'! Hmmmm.... Maybe that's the reason. Somebody with a spelling impairment thinks it is supposed to be Variant Entertainment making Variant comics about Variant characters! Ta-da! Explanation done!

[Dr. Solar]

Snarkiness aside, I think we were trained a bit by the original Valiant to be completionists, since there were relatively few variants published in the 90s. It is very feasible to have a complete collection of Classic Valiant, with all the variants, without breaking the bank that much.

That mindset doesn't fit with the current publishing paradigm, which is to have at least one variant per book. We're applying rules derived from an old formula to a new situation. It doesn't make sense.

The problem doesn't lie with Valiant. If variant covers weren't a good business decision, they wouldn't be doing them. It is counterproductive to not want Valiant to make variants, because that directly leads to Valiant being less successful, and producing less quality product for us to enjoy.

I think it is time to readjust our collecting paradigms.

[MarkRoseHFX]

At least they aren't doing an issue with 53 different covers for 53 different flags.

[Elveen]

Snarkiness aside, I think we were trained a bit by the original Valiant to be completionists, since there were relatively few variants published in the 90s. It is very feasible to have a complete collection of Classic Valiant, with all the variants, without breaking the bank that much.

That mindset doesn't fit with the current publishing paradigm, which is to have at least one variant per book. We're applying rules derived from an old formula to a new situation. It doesn't make sense.

The problem doesn't lie with Valiant. If variant covers weren't a good business decision, they wouldn't be doing them. It is counterproductive to not want Valiant to make variants, because that directly leads to Valiant being less successful, and producing less quality product for us to enjoy.

I think it is time to readjust our collecting paradigms.

Doc, you have the skill to put clear and concise words to the thoughts I am having.

[Phoenix8008]

Snarkiness aside, I think we were trained a bit by the original Valiant to be completionists, since there were relatively few variants published in the 90s. It is very feasible to have a complete collection of Classic Valiant, with all the variants, without breaking the bank that much.

That mindset doesn't fit with the current publishing paradigm, which is to have at least one variant per book. We're applying rules derived from an old formula to a new situation. It doesn't make sense.

The problem doesn't lie with Valiant. If variant covers weren't a good business decision, they wouldn't be doing them. It is counterproductive to not want Valiant to make variants, because that directly leads to Valiant being less successful, and producing less quality product for us to enjoy.

I think it is time to readjust our collecting paradigms.

Doc, you have the skill to put clear and concise words to the thoughts I am having.

Okay, Doc, you convinced me. I'm done complaining about it. If it's ever not good for them financially to be putting out so many variant covers, I'll trust the people running the company to know when to stop. Until then, I'll be quietly envious of all the variants I can't get and maybe look at the possibility of having them... someday.