Grimm Fairy Tales....Why?

[MedicAR]

I suspect I already know the answer, but I'm curious about the GFT books. I have yet to read any post or hear anyone say "this is a fantastic read! You've gotta try it!" All I see is a parade of scantily clad and well-drawn women on multiple covers of what I assume are the same book(s).

 

Is it just the covers? If so, why not just move on to some soft core porn?

 

I've often wondered the same thing myself. Some of these go for big bucks around these parts. I don't collect these, but if I did I'd be worried about the long term value of my investment if people are buying them solely for the covers.

 

Yeah, they do. And I don't want this to be perceived as an attack on those collectors or sellers. I'm really just curious as to the popularity.

 

And I'm with you on the long term potential. It all has a very pre-implosion 90's feel

[MedicAR]

I suspect I already know the answer, but I'm curious about the GFT books. I have yet to read any post or hear anyone say "this is a fantastic read! You've gotta try it!" All I see is a parade of scantily clad and well-drawn women on multiple covers of what I assume are the same book(s).

 

Is it just the covers? If so, why not just move on to some soft core porn?

 

I've often wondered the same thing myself. Some of these go for big bucks around these parts. I don't collect these, but if I did I'd be worried about the long term value of my investment if people are buying them solely for the covers.

 

Cover collecting has a long and storied history. Alex Schomberg, Neal Adams, and Dave Stevens covers are all highly collected, despite some of the books being *ahem* mediocre on the inside. Take a look at the inside of one of the Tomahawks with a Neal Adams cover sometime.

 

I've got no problem with cover collecting, especially by the names you mentioned. The difference here is that I've never heard of the majority of these artists. In all fairness, I don't keep up with new artists so maybe they are up-and-comers, I don't know. And yeah, I'm no Tomahawk fan, regardless of the covers.

[MedicAR]

Oh, no doubt. I collect Adam Hughes covers, so I totally understand that aspect of collecting. I do see GFT as being somewhat different, as it's not the work of a single artist, but several different artists working with similar themes. The huge stream of manufactured variants isn't my cup of tea either. Hats off to everyone who's able to get most of all of the variants to this series, because I wouldn't have the patience for it.

 

I think that's what it boils down to for me as well. I just don't see the interest in these books and wondered if I was missing out on something else.

[MedicAR]

Who doesn't like seeing Red Riding Hood, Alice and the Red Queen getting dirty?

 

 

[MedicAR]

im guilty of collecting GFT up to about 30 but i gave up because the ammount of variants. i didnt mind the early early stories. ive wondered about cry for dawn,

big following on here but ive never heard about the stories etc etc

 

CFD is about the same to me. Again, it seems popular but I've never heard anything about the stories. Given what I've seen of Lisner's art outside of the series, I'm not inclined to pick it up. I will admit the covers are gorgeous, though.

[MedicAR]

and whats cherry poptart like? seems big on here too though ive never seen a copy. is it just porn?

 

Another solid example. I would like a Cherry sketch, but it has to be a tame one. Now the big question....why? I think I want one because it's a relative underground and the artist is actually available to do sketches.

[MadGenius]

I suspect I already know the answer, but I'm curious about the GFT books. I have yet to read any post or hear anyone say "this is a fantastic read! You've gotta try it!" All I see is a parade of scantily clad and well-drawn women on multiple covers of what I assume are the same book(s).

 

Is it just the covers? If so, why not just move on to some soft core porn?

 

I've often wondered the same thing myself. Some of these go for big bucks around these parts. I don't collect these, but if I did I'd be worried about the long term value of my investment if people are buying them solely for the covers.

 

Yeah, they do. And I don't want this to be perceived as an attack on those collectors or sellers. I'm really just curious as to the popularity.

 

And I'm with you on the long term potential. It all has a very pre-implosion 90's feel

 

Exactly! If the stories are truly great, then this discussion is a moot point, BUT if not...remember all of the "Bad Girl" comics from the '90s? All once hot books that you can't give away today.

 

Obviously, collectors should collect what they love regardless of how much it's going to be worth now or in the future. The question is, is GFT popular because people truly love the books, or because they're "hot" books that are in demand (at the moment)?

[NewEnglandGothic]

Which goes toward how speculation is killing Moderns(again ).

 

I was trying to get to the bottom of this question myself.

 

I loved my title, but I see how the publisher is milking utterly terrible variants to push dealers to over-order. It then becomes a completist's nightmare, with all these books that spin their wheels. Granted, some books have great stories within, but terribly bland art and covers and some have T&A art to the highest extreme to meet the demand of the horniest fan-boy. It's nice to accumulate a collection of Moderns of modest worth, but be prepared for it to crash hard if it does and they usually do, from what I have seen and heard.

 

[NewEnglandGothic]

To go back to Doug's original question, the interiors are somewhat badly drawn and really tame as an episode of The Vampire Diaries. Some issues with the Modern twists, the 3 Little Pigs are Neo-Nazi punks or Jack and the Beanstalk is a druggie, are good, but their morals seemed too obvious and pushed by the end most of the time.

[shortstack comics]

I don't know about anyone else, but I pick them up for the articles

[MedicAR]

Which goes toward how speculation is killing Moderns(again ).

 

I was trying to get to the bottom of this question myself.

 

I loved my title, but I see how the publisher is milking utterly terrible variants to push dealers to over-order. It then becomes a completist's nightmare, with all these books that spin their wheels. Granted, some books have great stories within, but terribly bland art and covers and some have T&A art to the highest extreme to meet the demand of the horniest fan-boy. It's nice to accumulate a collection of Moderns of modest worth, but be prepared for it to crash hard if it does and they usually do, from what I have seen and heard.

 

I'm not a variant fan. The occasional variant is fun, especially if there is something "major" happening in a book. The variants for their own sake drive me crazy, though. I did pick up the the "I am Captain America" variants because I like the theme there and it's Cap's 70th Anniversary. I'm surprised Marvel hasn't pushed Cap more than they have within the Marvel U.

[MedicAR]

Oh, I meant to add that I don't even get all the variants for books that I actually read and enjoy. Not trying to rub salt, but L&K is a prime example. I started out trying to get them all but was soon overwhelmed and simply got only the ones that stood out to me.

 

Someone mentioned that the L&K variants were getting lazy. Yeah, so lazy that I didn't even notice that they were variants. If I have to play "what's missing" to find the differences, you've definitely lost me on the variants.

[MadGenius]

Which goes toward how speculation is killing Moderns(again ).

 

I was trying to get to the bottom of this question myself.

 

I loved my title, but I see how the publisher is milking utterly terrible variants to push dealers to over-order. It then becomes a completist's nightmare, with all these books that spin their wheels. Granted, some books have great stories within, but terribly bland art and covers and some have T&A art to the highest extreme to meet the demand of the horniest fan-boy. It's nice to accumulate a collection of Moderns of modest worth, but be prepared for it to crash hard if it does and they usually do, from what I have seen and heard.

 

The value of today's moderns will be an interesting thing to check out in 20-30 years. On the one hand, print runs are extremely low today compared to decades past. On the other hand, there will be a ton of moderns in NM/Mint condition thanks to speculation and slabbing. There will also be a lot of product to sort through between the number of titles on the market and the endless variants being printed.

 

Not to beat a dead horse, BUT Locke & Key is definitely a victim of its own marketing strategy, at least as far as single issues go. I think I'm pretty typical of most collectors in that when it comes to collecting, I'm either all-in or all-out. Locke & Key's variants essentially gave me a reason NOT to continue collecting the title because I didn't want to commit to buying two, three, or even four versions of the same book every two months. Trying to build a Locke & Key registry set only complicated the matter further.

 

I hate to admit it, but if Marvel wanted to do this with Daredevil I'd buy as many variant editions as they chose to print each month because I have every Daredevil from #1 on and I'm not about to break my run now. I just don't have that same kind of loyalty with Locke & Key.

 

It's a great series, so I'll continue to buy the hardcovers when they come out, but IDW drove me away from the monthlies, not only for Locke & Key, but also for The Cape and whatever Joe Hill/Gabriel Rodriguez collaboration planned for the future. Locke & Key, simply because of the number of variants available, is very daunting for a new collector to get into. Not only that, but it seems that even loyal followers are getting burned out on it because of the variants.

 

 

 

 

[NewEnglandGothic]

Oh, I meant to add that I don't even get all the variants for books that I actually read and enjoy. Not trying to rub salt, but L&K is a prime example. I started out trying to get them all but was soon overwhelmed and simply got only the ones that stood out to me.

 

Someone mentioned that the L&K variants were getting lazy. Yeah, so lazy that I didn't even notice that they were variants. If I have to play "what's missing" to find the differences, you've definitely lost me on the variants.

I didn't realize what I was doing until it was too late. I would have dropped this graded title subscription after the second Head Games issue and just collected the raws. It was weird, once I started to worry, the variants stopped at Head Games #5. But, started up again after Crown of Shadows #1, with a needless flow of them ever since for every issue. Once, it started to add up, I started to notice something wasn't right. Similar to when Grimm Fairy Tales went variant crazy by Issue #20, infecting earlier issues with DF versions and 2nd prints. Now, there is a convention issue everytime someone farts.

[Paratrooper]

I suspect I already know the answer, but I'm curious about the GFT books. I have yet to read any post or hear anyone say "this is a fantastic read! You've gotta try it!" All I see is a parade of scantily clad and well-drawn women on multiple covers of what I assume are the same book(s).

 

Is it just the covers? If so, why not just move on to some soft core porn?

 

I was thinking the same thing

 

edit: except the soft core part, why do things half-arsed?

[Paratrooper]

I suspect I already know the answer, but I'm curious about the GFT books. I have yet to read any post or hear anyone say "this is a fantastic read! You've gotta try it!" All I see is a parade of scantily clad and well-drawn women on multiple covers of what I assume are the same book(s).

 

Is it just the covers? If so, why not just move on to some soft core porn?

 

I've often wondered the same thing myself. Some of these go for big bucks around these parts. I don't collect these, but if I did I'd be worried about the long term value of my investment if people are buying them solely for the covers.

 

Cover collecting has a long and storied history. Alex Schomberg, Neal Adams, and Dave Stevens covers are all highly collected, despite some of the books being *ahem* mediocre on the inside. Take a look at the inside of one of the Tomahawks with a Neal Adams cover sometime.

 

*ahem* Russ Heath

[NewEnglandGothic]

It's a great series, so I'll continue to buy the hardcovers when they come out, but IDW drove me away from the monthlies, not only for Locke & Key, but also for The Cape and whatever Joe Hill/Gabriel Rodriguez collaboration planned for the future. Locke & Key, simply because of the number of variants available, is very daunting for a new collector to get into. Not only that, but it seems that even loyal followers are getting burned out on it because of the variants.

That would be me.

 

Not to knock Isreal's beautiful hand-crafted keys either, but once they started getting "Legacy" variants, I decided to get off this ride as soon as possible.

 

I mean technically, I couldn't even finish my Registry Set out of disgust over a couple "underwhelming" meetings with Joe at conventions(around the time the show was axed) and IDW's most apparent greed(the KTTK variants were beyond awful). I mean, I finally found the last minute bolt of energy to tweak it better on the day before the award deadline, but was ironically locked out.

 

Joe collects comics and really knows better, IMHO. If he doesn't care about what's happening with his title, then I'm not gonna care to collect it either.

[phobalicious]

I believe the story of GFT is based on this book: Children's and Household Tales (correct me if I am wrong)? If this is true then some of stories we already known for ages through movies, plays, songs, etc...nothing new. As mentioned by boardies, the main reason collecting GFT is because of the covers. I was interested at first but then when I look at the art inside the book, I gave up!!! BAD BAD BAD

 

GFT has 209-210 stories. If Zenescope followed the original book's tales and at the rate of the variants, we are looking at close to 1000 or more covers when this series finished.

 

$15.7 x 1000 = $15,700 (CGC collectors), this is a serious investment if you are really into this series and their variants. May be Beachbum is the only one able to finish off this series!!!

[MadGenius]

It's a great series, so I'll continue to buy the hardcovers when they come out, but IDW drove me away from the monthlies, not only for Locke & Key, but also for The Cape and whatever Joe Hill/Gabriel Rodriguez collaboration planned for the future. Locke & Key, simply because of the number of variants available, is very daunting for a new collector to get into. Not only that, but it seems that even loyal followers are getting burned out on it because of the variants.

That would be me.

 

Not to knock Isreal's beautiful hand-crafted keys either, but once they started getting "Legacy" variants, I decided to get off this ride as soon as possible.

 

I mean technically, I couldn't even finish my Registry Set out of disgust over a couple "underwhelming" meetings with Joe at conventions(around the time the show was axed) and IDW's most apparent greed. I mean, I finally found the last minute bolt of energy to tweak it better on the day before the award deadline, but was ironically locked out.

 

Joe collects comics(he has weekly pull-lists in NH) and really knows better, IMHO. If he doesn't care about what's happening with his title, then I'm not gonna care to collect it either.

 

From what I know about Joe he seems to be a comic book traditionalist, so it is interesting that he doesn't seem to have an issue (as far was we know) with all the L&K variants.

 

I don't regret getting out of the L&K slab game. I would have liked to have recouped more of my initial investment at the end, but I'll chalk it up to a learning experience and move forward. I'll continue to stick with my Umbrella Academy registry set though. With the writer making albums and touring around the world and whatnot, UA's sporadic publishing schedule makes it a low maintenance series to collect.

[hulksmashdave]

Here is another answer for me.

 

My wife doesn't mind GFT covers.