Sadly it has come to this

[jmatt]

Wow is this what constitutes as a hardship these days? What has happened to us?

Not sure that anyone called it a hardship, and everyone on the board wants to support the company (to the point where I have purchased and given away 20 copies free to people in my LCS). But these are $4 comics. Just purchasing that price point is ample support in a world where most comics are still $3.

Variants are a marketing gimmick, no different than the chromium covers of the mid 90's. I don't fault the company, I hope they make tons of money with them. I just cannot justify spending another $17 for a 1:20 with content that is no different than that of the $4 version; especially when that 1:20 is selling for $9 four months later.

[DK2]

I don't get the big fuss about collecting variant covers. I've never made a big deal about all the cover versions out there. The stores always seem to jack up the price on them anyways (unless these variants cost the stores a bit more money to the regular versions). All that money you folks have spent on these could be used on other comics or other purchases. I never went after variants my entire life when the publishers started this. Only time was the 1990's when they'd make those special gimmicky covers which most of us stopped when we got tired of it. But there are readers/collectors out there that actually pursue them all? Thats just extreme. Anyways you can always grab the cover image off the internet too. To each their own I guess.

[bygranddesign]

But I'd much rather have Variants than some chromium cover gimmick

I think there is something special about a great artist creating a great cover for a great issue of a great title

Lupacciono's flamingo for Harby #7 fits that bill - I still don't have this cover and I'd pay 20+ bucks easy if I saw it on ebay right now

I know all these variants can be frustrating for completist .. But for me - I like having the option to pick up some great cover art for an issue that I think is important.

There is some cover art for 1:20 that I wouldn't even pay cover price for like the Evans 1:20 for Harbinger Wars were really weak covers IMO

I guess the bottom line for me is ... I do think that there are too many variants out there .. I do think Valiant should tone it down ... But I do enjoy it when an artist creates a really great iconic cover that I think is better then the regular cover.

[lorddunlow]

I am an unashamed lover of the gimmick cover. I'd snatch up a glow-in-the-dark, die-cut, or chromium cover in an instant!

[ShadowTuga]

I think there is something special about a great artist creating a great cover for a great issue of a great title

Lupacciono's flamingo for Harby #7 fits that bill - I still don't have this cover and I'd pay 20+ bucks easy if I saw it on ebay right now

This. I actually own that variant, and the very first moment I saw it on the store, I was surprised on how good it looks when you're holding the book. It's one of my fav covers, definitely.

On topic: I feel the pain of the op. I had a rough year in terms of finances - lost my teaching job, due to government cuts, btw SQUEE the UE - and went 4 to 5 months without picking my monthly pile. Other priorities took place, of course.
I am now on the field again, but I'm slowly quitting the variant game, and probably will pick only number #1s or #0s, and the occasional A/B choice I like most. But I'm stuck with ALL the Variants until October, because my LCS has to receive a 3 month notice before I actually stop receiving any series that I decide to quit. So, from what I see, there's another buttload of 'em on the way.

I think I own a couple of 1:20/1:50 incentive variants, but I got them all by accident, like the Harby#12 (or 13?) by Evans, and the "1:50" X-O #6 ). I got that Flaming cover by accident too, didn't expect it at all and for cover price it was a no-brainer. As a matter of fact I snagged all of those line-wide incentive Variants that were kinda weird to order, according to my lcs guy.

[jthuconn]

I really wanted to get the reverse Harbinger Wars #3 incentive variant with HC up front but it turned out to be the 1:50 and was way too expensive

So far for the solicited issues of BS&HC, I've ordered the variants that have HC on the covers and luckily they have just been cover price ones.

[cjv]

Wow is this what constitutes as a hardship these days? What has happened to us?

Not sure that anyone called it a hardship, and everyone on the board wants to support the company (to the point where I have purchased and given away 20 copies free to people in my LCS). But these are $4 comics. Just purchasing that price point is ample support in a world where most comics are still $3.

I agree. I have given away a total of about 70 to 80 comics to local fans trying to support the company.

But at $4 per book (for the "regular" variants, no even considering the 1:20 or 1:50 variants), and with more titles on the way, I can't see spending an extra $20 to $40 per month just to have a different title. It's not like I am deciding whether to feed my child or by a pullbox edition, but it is if I can reasonably justify spend an extra 50% to 75% of my comic book budget per month just to have a different cover. With 4 titles, I justified it to myself. With 7 or 8 titles, I can't.

Chris

[The Dirt Gang]

What has been a real help is the 50% off bundles of Valiant:

http://www.dcbservice.com/category.aspx?id=1&pid=417986" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Is it 50% off the bundle every month? Or is that something that they only do every so often? I'm in the same boat and may need to go this route if I want to keep reading Valiant monthly.

[cjv]

What has been a real help is the 50% off bundles of Valiant:

http://www.dcbservice.com/category.aspx?id=1&pid=417986" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Is it 50% off the bundle every month? Or is that something that they only do every so often? I'm in the same boat and may need to go this route if I want to keep reading Valiant monthly.

I think every month.

Too bad they don't offer a 50% off the pullbox variants as well.

Chris

[shadow5555]

Variants are a marketing gimmick, no different than the chromium covers of the mid 90's. I don't fault the company, I hope they make tons of money with them. I just cannot justify spending another $17 for a 1:20 with content that is no different than that of the $4 version; especially when that 1:20 is selling for $9 four months later.

Exactly. I hated that about the 90's and still hate it now to a degree, (they are cool to see, but for fans who collect everything it can be a hassle) I can't and won't support that with my money anymore. I barely collect current books as it is, so why try and nickle and dime me for something I have no interest in.

Reminds me of reading Shooter's column in a issue of Magnus talking about how Valiant wouldn't be "THAT" company and would create superior stories and that's how they'd make their mark, even though on his watch they did do a few variant and 2nd print variants, so C'est la vie. And then after they kicked him out it was cover crazy with Chromium all over the place.

Simple solution for you OP (original poster), buy the TPB's you can get all of your variant covers and save a boat load of cash too.

[drmirage]

It'll be interesting to see when the prices and demand for the variants rise. How many wished they would have gotten them at pre-order or during the time of release.

Some of the variants including the mid 1:50's are hard to find.

X-O # 15 1:50's sold for 105.46

http://www.ebay.com/itm/X-O-Manowar-201 ... 1e7d6aa6b8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[GGSAE]

It'll be interesting to see when the prices and demand for the variants rise. How many wished they would have gotten them at pre-order or during the time of release.

Some of the variants including the mid 1:50's are hard to find.

X-O # 15 1:50's sold for 105.46

http://www.ebay.com/itm/X-O-Manowar-201 ... 1e7d6aa6b8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The price model of variants seem to be an inverted curve. They start high, quickly decline, then recover some of the initial price, and a few exceed it. I don't think they'll rise across the board. It's the rarer 1:50 books down the line, and the obscure ones (I passed on a harby wars 4 1:50 bin which quickly dissolved) that have potential. The difference Emery, with so many variants it's hard to say how many will really be sought after?

I think a lot of people won't complain about not getting them, because in a year or two moving forward the number of variant covers will be far too many to keep track of, and their desire hasn't waned. If they did want them they probably rationalized that they couldn't afford them at the time, which for a lot of us, is true. And even if I could spend $500-1000 a month on variants, I can think of many better places to invest/spend.

[comicsyte95]

I am an unashamed lover of the gimmick cover. I'd snatch up a glow-in-the-dark, die-cut, or chromium cover in an instant!

I liked those old gimmick covers in the 90's.I still have them and would still probably buy them if they were released now and had a lower print run then the one in the 90's.I know they aren't worth much if anything now but enjoying the comics isn't about making a profit.