...When Too Much of a Good Thing is a Bad Thing...

What's with all the variant covers?

Is this really helping the industry grow? Is there a genuine reason why a comic, with a listed cover price of $2.99, needs to be marked-up to $10 or $25 bucks by your local specialty shop, solely because it contains a variant cover?

And just because these covers are considered rarer than they're standard cover brethren, does it really deserve a higher price valuation?

BFD! It's a gimmick... a commercial marketing scheme to suck the reader's dry of their hard earned cash. It has no merit... no substance... and in my opinion needs to come to an abrupt end.

Do I like seeing the different artists take on covers? Yes... I'll admit that... I love eye-candy... who doesn't?... but there's a simple solution... and this suggestion is aimed at the publishers... save these gorgeous variant covers for an inner portfolio... a gallery of images... to be included in the standard periodical as a little extra for the readers. I remember such portfolios were a mainstay in the pages of Savage Sword of Conan magazines, and I loved it... still do. The readers deserve these golden nuggets. We all do. Times are rough and we all need to save a buck or two! Christmas is coming and I got some CGC'd comics to buy!

Now here's a gimmick... designer coffins... designed in the logo and color scheme of your favorite superhero. And, as an added bonus... your rotting corpse will be dressed in the costume of your hero of choice.

What do you think?

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