The Variant Madness

[Dr. Solar]

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.

I didn't intend for my post to be a "shut up and deal with it" sort of thing, but moreso that "maybe our old way of thinking about collecting isn't feasible today".

I can appreciate the frustration with the variant covers. I was "complete" right up through month 4, then it started to slip. I was frustrated with it for about a week, then I decided that I needed to adjust my views on completion in order to save both my sanity and my checkbook.

[Phoenix8008]

No hard feelings here, don't worry. I'm smilin'!

Your logical argument finally turned me around.

[jaden_sai]

I can appreciate the frustration with the variant covers. I was "complete" right up through month 4, then it started to slip. I was frustrated with it for about a week, then I decided that I needed to adjust my views on completion in order to save both my sanity and my checkbook.

Very True, I'm at the frustrated - trying to adjust my views on completion stage...

I want them all, but I can't afford them...
but I want them all...

[MrBigFeathas]

I can appreciate the frustration with the variant covers. I was "complete" right up through month 4, then it started to slip. I was frustrated with it for about a week, then I decided that I needed to adjust my views on completion in order to save both my sanity and my checkbook.

Very True, I'm at the frustrated - trying to adjust my views on completion stage...

I want them all, but I can't afford them...
but I want them all...

Once you let the first couple go it gets pretty easy to not worry about them. I have OCD in many areas of life, comics being one, so it was tough to initially decide against getting them all. Now if I could just stop buying Spider-Man comics I hate just because I have to get them all. At least I got out of the variant game.

[grendeljd]

I can appreciate the frustration with the variant covers. I was "complete" right up through month 4, then it started to slip. I was frustrated with it for about a week, then I decided that I needed to adjust my views on completion in order to save both my sanity and my checkbook.

Very True, I'm at the frustrated - trying to adjust my views on completion stage...

I want them all, but I can't afford them...
but I want them all...

Once you let the first couple go it gets pretty easy to not worry about them. I have OCD in many areas of life, comics being one, so it was tough to initially decide against getting them all. Now if I could just stop buying Spider-Man comics I hate just because I have to get them all. At least I got out of the variant game.

We are a funny bunch, aren't we? DrSolar said it best... Our mindset for collecting has to change more than anything else. I feel the vicious circle of aggravation over 'want every variant, but can't afford them, let go of it... But want them, can't afford...'

I am still getting quite a few but now that I don't have several of them it gets easier to much more picky, and only get the ones I really like. It's a blessing & a curse that my LCS is a chain of three stores... They typically order enough to get any 1:20 variants whether I personally order one or not... So some that I have passed on are sitting up on the 'variant wall' behind the cash... Taunting me...

[nutflush76]

I'm a little confused when people complain about the variant covers. I read a whole long thread on the CGC boards at how variants ruined the industry once and they were afraid that it was happening again.

I disagree.

First, the industry was ruined by speculators who were trying to get 50 copies of a book in the hopes that later on they could flip those books for a profit. (mostly Valiants which explains some of the attitude toward VEI that some retailers have) These people suddenly started not picking up books that they pre-ordered and since comics are not returnable, the retailers were stuck with piles of books that they could not do anything with. Then, when the Diamond bills piled up, they went out of business.

The Variants of today are a retailer incentive. They are meant to reward the retailers for what they order. If it causes a retailer to order an extra book or two, then I think its a good thing. If a retailer orders 200 books that will never sell just to get a variant, then I don't think that retailer is making a very smart business decision. But I don't see how that will collapse the industry again unless the majority of retailers do exactly that but, from what I have seen, I don't think that is the case.

On the CGC boards, the posters were saying that the people who pay outrageous prices for a book when it first comes out, will leave the industry and comic shops will no longer be profitable. Again, it would require a large number of shops to be over ordering and relying on variant sales for this to happen.

I think that what drives the high initial prices for these books are the people who just "gotta have" the latest and greatest thing (oh and they need to be the first one to have this thing) and will pay accordingly. These kinds of collectors won't go away. They exist in every collectible industry. They exist in the action figure industry, the coin industry, and even in the comic industry.

Something may kill the comic industry, but I doubt it's going to be variant covers.

[MarrowMan]

I don't go out of my way to get variants, but I have a few recent ones (The X-O #6 Zircher and Harbinger #7 flamingo)

[tetrisdork]

Personally, I don't mind variants. I just want two things from Valiant that they aren't doing:

-Include the variant covers in their trades. Marvel does it with theirs (no clue about DC or any other publisher, although BOOM! did include them for Irredeemable vol 1). Example: As I look through my copy of New Mutants (v3) volume 1, not only did it include the variants to the first issue, but covers to issues #2-4. I was a bit disappointed that X-O: By the Sword only had issue #1's variants and not #2-4's

-Maybe include the blank sketch covers for retailers and not make them con exclusive. I bought Scarlet Spider #1's blank cover at my LCBS for regular price, hoping to get a good custom sketch cover for it at a con or via a DeviantArt commission.

[IMJ]

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.

I've sort of decided that I'll probably try to put together a collection of the Valiant books and their variants of the titles basically through issue 6, and then I'm probably done. Then after that, if I'm bored and have the cash I'll look into expanding, but for now I just order the DCBS package featuring a discounted "universe" bundle and that's it.

[jmatt]

Once you let the first couple go it gets pretty easy to not worry about them.

Amen. Once it's out of your system, it's easier to not care about it.

[jaspersk]

I have a comment on the recent variants Harbinger #7 flamingo cover, xo #9 crain, archer #6 variant
where your retailer has to order more than he ordered the last time. First of all my local retailer might order pullboxes for me and yet not receive anything but the one cover so I have to get them elsewhere that is poor distribution or perhaps valiants fault. Secondly, retailers are already getting incentives on these issues with the 1:20, etc, and they aren't necessarily going to order more books than the last time as you see each month the orders on books are declining despite the incentives. Are they declining because people are not buying them and they are realizing that these books are going to sit (for most small retailers) - the big guys can buy tons of books and sell off the variants to cover some of their costs. But the latest variants are absurd where you can't seem to find anyone even selling the harbinger 7 flamingo cover, etc. Is it being done for the sake of collecting so that someone who might just run into a store and get lucky and pick up a harder to find variant book since I would guess that most retailers are selling their variants at $15-20 or more, or is it just a poorly designed incentive to get retailers to order more books. I think Valiant would be much better off making these variant covers as 2nd prints or 3rd prints on their books, since the other 2nd , 3rd , 4th prints sold 1,800- 3,500 copies, this way they can sell more books each month with special covers and this way you can order them through your LCS and they can make the most money possible out of these extra covers. I am really wondering how many flamingo covers were printed - I'm sure there are a bunch of them sitting somewhere waiting for reorders? I don't mind buying an extra cover on each book a month if that is what it takes to keep the company going financially. I waited this long to have Valiant comics back so I don't mind supporting them. I just don't like how they have you hooked into buying the incentive covers where you don't mind shelling out 15-100 bucks for those covers and that keeps the retailers ordering their books and then they go out and jerk you by creating weird incentives which make it very difficult to find their books or go out and do a whole fiasco with the X-O #6 by making their design variants so hard to find. I think they need to get their act together a bit. I mean right now the stories are not bad but most of us already know the stories from way back and it's slow going. I don't mind extra covers and 2nd prints as long as it isn't like Images stupid thief of thieves variants where the 2nd has a purple cover the 3rd a red cover 4th a yellow cover 5th a green cover. Those variants are absolutely asinine. The only thing I might not buy and which I do not have is the Shadowman black - either. I am assuming that it is not even a comic book- that it is only a few pages of a preview of shadowman #1 so I don't think I will buy that. But everything else bring on the blank cover flip books, the gold books, the wrap arounds, and sketch covers, just don't make things so ridiculous where you can't find the books or buy them from a retailer for extra $$$.

[Cyberstrike]

I don't variant covers form any company. IDW, Dynamite and Valiant are the worse with stupid variant covers. If Valiant wants me to support them on their Pullbox Idea then give me more than a damn cover. Give me an exclusive content INSIDE the book (new story and art, interview with creators, behind the scenes info, advance previews, etc) I don't like, never did, and never will support pointless variant covers. Offer me something more than a stupid cover and I will be more likely to buy it (just like I'm willing to do the same thing on video games, DVDs and Blu-Rays).

[GGSAE]

I don't variant covers form any company. IDW, Dynamite and Valiant are the worse with stupid variant covers. If Valiant wants me to support them on their Pullbox Idea then give me more than a damn cover. Give me an exclusive content INSIDE the book (new story and art, interview with creators, behind the scenes info, advance previews, etc) I don't like, never did, and never will support pointless variant covers. Offer me something more than a stupid cover and I will be more likely to buy it (just like I'm willing to do the same thing on video games, DVDs and Blu-Rays).

Why don't you tell us how you really feel!

[IMJ]

I don't variant covers form any company. IDW, Dynamite and Valiant are the worse with stupid variant covers. If Valiant wants me to support them on their Pullbox Idea then give me more than a damn cover. Give me an exclusive content INSIDE the book (new story and art, interview with creators, behind the scenes info, advance previews, etc) I don't like, never did, and never will support pointless variant covers. Offer me something more than a stupid cover and I will be more likely to buy it (just like I'm willing to do the same thing on video games, DVDs and Blu-Rays).

Or at least make the variant something special by a high profile artist. IDW is making the same mistake with TMNT - often the standard cover is a more exception drawing than the variants, which have no theme to them or often are just a single figure image of someone doing nothing.

[ShadowTuga]

Once you let the first couple go it gets pretty easy to not worry about them.

Amen. Once it's out of your system, it's easier to not care about it.

What I find a bit ridiculous, is that I don't feel the same way about my non-Valiant comics: I could not care less for a "Batman" variant, one of my fav titles, but I'm kinda *SQUEE* off with this recent confusions regarding X-O 6 and Harby 7.
I was only getting Pullbox variants and multiple prints, but I think I might start getting only one copy of each book. I look at the Harbinger Wars month and I see 3 PB variants- it's getting a bit too much and I don't think it's VEI'S goal to make us WANT to collect'em all. There are WAAAAAAY too many variants right now, and we haven't reached 1 year of books. In this economy, it's IMHO a bit too much for the consumer, but I think they (VEI) know it.

Not to mention, when there are 7,8 or 10 titles out there, it will be definitely much more harder to get these, for those of us with a budget.

[cjv]

I posted a while back that the years of "no Valiant" gave many collectors a "completionist" mentality, which was do-able because there were no new comics coming out.

When the new ones started coming out, many people (myself included) were still thinking "must get one of everything). But with more variant titles than regular ones, and at the cost of some of the variants, it simply wasn't possible.

I actually stopped collecting the paper issues completely, in part to try to break the completionish mentality. I may start collecting again in a couple of months, but not with the "must have one of everything mentality".

While I can completely understand the printing on variants from a financial perspective (people will order more, you sell more, you make more money), I get frustrated personally when I see more variant titles then regular issues. Do we need a few 1:20 variants, a 1:50 variant, AND a 1:100 variant each month? Does each title (or almost each title) need a variant each month? I like some on the innovation (pullbox variant, line-wide variants) but they seem to be compeltely saturating the market.

I wonder if anyone has done any analysis of the long term effects on smaller printing companies (which, at this point, Valiant still is). While it can help short term by boosting sales, is it a sustainable practice for a small publisher? There certainly is a chance the retailers will start to have a more difficult time selling high priced variants, so they may start to order less.

Chris

[MrBigFeathas]

I posted a while back that the years of "no Valiant" gave many collectors a "completionist" mentality, which was do-able because there were no new comics coming out.

When the new ones started coming out, many people (myself included) were still thinking "must get one of everything). But with more variant titles than regular ones, and at the cost of some of the variants, it simply wasn't possible.

This is definitely what's going on. Also, with hardly any interest in Valiant other than people from this site while there were no new issues coming, they could be had for pretty cheap. So, no new issues to worry about in addition to getting one of everything from a then defunct publisher and not a ton of demand to drive the prices too high.

[GGSAE]

I posted a while back that the years of "no Valiant" gave many collectors a "completionist" mentality, which was do-able because there were no new comics coming out.

When the new ones started coming out, many people (myself included) were still thinking "must get one of everything). But with more variant titles than regular ones, and at the cost of some of the variants, it simply wasn't possible.

I actually stopped collecting the paper issues completely, in part to try to break the completionish mentality. I may start collecting again in a couple of months, but not with the "must have one of everything mentality".

While I can completely understand the printing on variants from a financial perspective (people will order more, you sell more, you make more money), I get frustrated personally when I see more variant titles then regular issues. Do we need a few 1:20 variants, a 1:50 variant, AND a 1:100 variant each month? Does each title (or almost each title) need a variant each month? I like some on the innovation (pullbox variant, line-wide variants) but they seem to be compeltely saturating the market.

I wonder if anyone has done any analysis of the long term effects on smaller printing companies (which, at this point, Valiant still is). While it can help short term by boosting sales, is it a sustainable practice for a small publisher? There certainly is a chance the retailers will start to have a more difficult time selling high priced variants, so they may start to order less.

Chris

Variants are definitely a fine-line. I'm suggesting they get rid of the PB variants, because it doesn't really appeal to the retailer (just getting a different cover) and not getting a more valuable retailer incentive. I think the demand for the retailer variants will stay steady that way, I as consumer will be more likely to go after all the retailer variants if there's total fewer variants. I just think continually having 4-5 issues/title is excessive, and it creates confusion among the readers. I'm considering dropping A&A to put that cake toward the other titles.

[tarheelmarine]

I posted a while back that the years of "no Valiant" gave many collectors a "completionist" mentality, which was do-able because there were no new comics coming out.

When the new ones started coming out, many people (myself included) were still thinking "must get one of everything). But with more variant titles than regular ones, and at the cost of some of the variants, it simply wasn't possible.

I actually stopped collecting the paper issues completely, in part to try to break the completionish mentality. I may start collecting again in a couple of months, but not with the "must have one of everything mentality".

While I can completely understand the printing on variants from a financial perspective (people will order more, you sell more, you make more money), I get frustrated personally when I see more variant titles then regular issues. Do we need a few 1:20 variants, a 1:50 variant, AND a 1:100 variant each month? Does each title (or almost each title) need a variant each month? I like some on the innovation (pullbox variant, line-wide variants) but they seem to be compeltely saturating the market.

I wonder if anyone has done any analysis of the long term effects on smaller printing companies (which, at this point, Valiant still is). While it can help short term by boosting sales, is it a sustainable practice for a small publisher? There certainly is a chance the retailers will start to have a more difficult time selling high priced variants, so they may start to order less.

Chris

Variants are definitely a fine-line. I'm suggesting they get rid of the PB variants, because it doesn't really appeal to the retailer (just getting a different cover) and not getting a more valuable retailer incentive. I think the demand for the retailer variants will stay steady that way, I as consumer will be more likely to go after all the retailer variants if there's total fewer variants. I just think continually having 4-5 issues/title is excessive, and it creates confusion among the readers. I'm considering dropping A&A to put that cake toward the other titles.

Don't drop it. It's a good book.

Smarter individuals on this board have presented the evidence that variants make financial sense for VEI. I know for "completionist" it may seem challenging, but just be be patient and you will get the covers...eventually. I just get one cover per book per month. I do like being able to pick between the pullbox and regular cover when I place my order, but I like "choice."

I am just thrilled VEI is publishing new stories that I want to read about characters that are intriguing!

[vaevictis]

I would definitely say I am a completionist. I know there is a line that will break that but I think I keep pushing it. I am not a fan of all the variants covers that come out, especially when you are talking 4 covers for one book and nearly every book has at least 2 (X-O #7 breaking that mold). For me, my ideal variants would be ones done by fans, classic artists, and/or a retro (VH1) cover. Meaning, Shadowman would be in his old costume, X-O in his from VH1.

[jmatt]

I have to admit, with all the awesome Valiant product headed this way I'm being sorely tempted by some of these variant covers.

What to do...

[erwinrafael]

I like the variants because they give me a choice. if Valiant does not produce variants, I would not have those amazing character design covers by David Aja, the black cover for Shadowman #1 and Nord's cover for X-O #9.

I hope people would just stop complaining about these variant covers. Nobody's forcing anybody to buy these covers. These are bonuses which add flavor to buying hard copies by giving us choices. They also showcase different artists which translate to more jobs for these amazing creators.

Would I be mad if there are no variants? No. Would I be mad if there are lots of variants? No, I actually like having some choices.

[ShadowTuga]

I have to admit, with all the awesome Valiant product headed this way I'm being sorely tempted by some of these variant covers.

What to do...

I'm with you, jmatt. So many great covers coming, it's hard to resist.

And I wish I could bury the voices in my head that want me to get all of those ABSOLUTELY MAGNIFICENT Dave Johnson' covers. I spent 15 minutes or so yesterday, just staring at the final version for Shadowman#04.

[greg]

And I wish I could bury the voices in my head that want me to get all of those ABSOLUTELY MAGNIFICENT Dave Johnson' covers. I spent 15 minutes or so yesterday, just staring at the final version for Shadowman#04.

Don't click here.

[GGSAE]

The Shadowman variants have been very good overall, maybe the best of all the titles...I like how it's been one artist to do the first few issues too.