GeeksAreMyPeeps

I've never worked for a distributor or for any outlet that sold newsstand editions, but I've read in various sources (don't remember exactly where, as I first read this years ago, in some publication about comics) that the reason new comics used to have a cover date on them that was three months out was to keep it out there for sales on newsstands for longer, so there was a greater chance of them actually selling. So at the very least *some* outlets must have been checking dates. But if all of them were, there would be no reason to include the stripes. So I assume that various outlets handled returns in different ways.

Arguably they are, when they change the cover, since the main element of what a variant is is having an alternate cover. Is it marketing? Sure. But the two don't have to be mutually exclusive.

Marvel seemed to think they were for a bit. YMMV

I can think of a few

I like to walk into Arby's and say "I don't like roast beef," and then turn around and be on my way. People seem to think that's weird but I don't get it.

This. A million times this. Previews, ads, editorials and marketing have their place in the esoterica of collecting, but in the lexicon of collecting, an appearance is in a story

I'm not stating that the scenario as you present it isn't possible, but I think you're jumping to some conclusions about what should and what shouldn't have happened, and what people would have been considering. One possibility: as noted, the reprint for Spider-man was different from previous reprints in that the cover was significantly different. Perhaps that was reason enough to distribute the reprints through the newsstand (especially since the anticipated demand for this book was very high, before release).

While looking up some book details, I found something interesting. A copy of Dazzler #10 (December 1981) I had has a $.50 cover price (no big deal), but the image I found of the Marvel fandom wiki (https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Dazzler_Vol_1_10) is $.60. I checked eBay and everything I found there (newsstand and direct) is $.50. December 1981 was the last month of $.50 cover prices for Marvel. So, was this book a price variant to test the new cover price? Or, is this a reprint? (The lack of cover date suggests that as a better possibility.) Or, since this is not my book or my image, is this simply a Photoshopped image? (But why would anyone care to do that?)

It's because it's a white symbiote. Peter shops at Symbiote Wearhouse.

First appearance of what?

I did read the whole post, but I'm not seeing any more support for what you're suggesting than the scenario I tossed out there. (Not saying that I have it right, just that the evidence isn't there either way.) There may have been no mechanism in place for an outlet to order specific books, but certainly the publisher is deciding what books get out there in the first place. It's logical that they would want more copies of a book out there (without an exterior influence askign for them) of a book that was an instant sell-out, since the probability is high that the new copies will sell as well.

I don't understand the "should not exist" claim. If there was no mechanism to order for the Newsstand, that just meant that the publisher was deciding how many copies to send out there. Since publishers knew the books were an instant sellout, it would make sense that reprints for newsstands would sell as well, without anyone requesting them specifically

I think the method of using "market cap" to rank desirability breaks down a little when evaluating Golden Age books. It makes sense with stocks because investors can buy pretty much whatever public stock they want. But the prices of individual issues of key Golden Age books are just too prohibitive to own for a larger portion of collectors. I think if there were 10x or 100x as many copies of Detective #27 or Action #1 available, you'd find that the prices on those books would be significantly more than 1/10 or 1/100 the current value, because there would be a lot more collectors that would be in the market for one. Those books are basically the Berkshire Hathaway of the comics market.

Sandman wasn't initially a Vertigo book (the imprint didn't exist then), and if you're going to make an argument that the imprint exists because of the book, then the same argument could probably be made for Moore's Swamp Thing, which predates it

I thought there were no politics on the board

I understand the criteria is that a book has no variants, but if we're looking for examples where the common version of the book has that value (but variants still exist), there are probably a number of examples of that as well that don't fit into the original list. Edge of Spider-verse 2 is the obvious example. Quantum & Woody #1 has sold for over $500 as well, and both versions were available as order-alls. (Those results might be due to so few on the census though, but there are more now).

One big difference in the Cable/Gambit vs Venom/Deadpool scenario is that the latter pair started as antagonists. They couldn't really show up every month, as that would require their constant defeat, which would have lessened the characters. So they didn't get worn out.

Omega Red is a big character?

Maybe. But his smartarseness wasn't all that different from Spider-man's to begin with, I'd say. The breaking of the 4th wall is what made it different enough. (And yes, Byrne did that well before with She-Hulk, but people were too busy with the latest hot artist to care much at that time)

People need a reminder that the credit for Deadpool becoming insanely popular doesn't go to Liefeld.

Thanks. Only examined an extra copy through the bag so far, but there's nothing obviously knocking it down yet

Is there a common defect on Wolverine 35 that keeps the 9.8 results down?

Well, it's true that their talent did boost sales, but that only matters if it's a good read. I think we're basically on the same page, but the character doesn't matter so much as the writer. A good writer can write an interesting book about a character that everyone previously thought was , and a bad writer can write unreadable books about beloved characters. The initial problem with Image is that they didn't try to pair with decent writers, but also that they didn't have decent editorial guidance pushing them to work out the kinks in their books and keep their deadlines. Lateness more than anything else killed the hype. People can't read books that are never published.

I have to credit Bogdanove for one thing; for me, his Warlock is the definitive Warlock. But agreed that the rest of the characters could have been better

I just realized that "every issue of every title" suggests they're making Legends of the Geomancer available in another format other than the incentives for the first time.