Uncanny Avengers... I think not.

[COI]

You could just look at it as having 18 covers to choose a handful of favorites from, and you may enjoy the title. You're smart enough to control your compulsions, so your angst is self-inflicted.

 

[VintageComics]

You could just look at it as having 18 covers to choose a handful of favorites from, and you may enjoy the title. You're smart enough to control your compulsions, so your angst is self-inflicted.

 

 

Virgo vision. I like it.

 

 

[DrWatson]

You could just look at it as having 18 covers to choose a handful of favorites from, and you may enjoy the title. You're smart enough to control your compulsions, so your angst is self-inflicted.

 

Not me. It's all or nothing. Yes or no. Black or white. No shades of gray.

[VintageComics]

Sounds like my way or the highway.

 

[COI]

You could just look at it as having 18 covers to choose a handful of favorites from, and you may enjoy the title. You're smart enough to control your compulsions, so your angst is self-inflicted.

 

Not me. It's all or nothing. Yes or no. Black or white. No shades of gray.

 

Does that mean you won't even read the title, or just that you won't collect slabbed copies of it?

[DrWatson]

You could just look at it as having 18 covers to choose a handful of favorites from, and you may enjoy the title. You're smart enough to control your compulsions, so your angst is self-inflicted.

 

Not me. It's all or nothing. Yes or no. Black or white. No shades of gray.

 

Does that mean you won't even read the title, or just that you won't collect slabbed copies of it?

I might buy a hardcover trade, but that's it.

[spideysenses78]

It looks like Marvel is making Uncanny Avengers their main title. I'll check out the first issue to see how it is. But yeah, Marvel really dropped the ball with 18 covers for this book and 7 or so covers for each of the other relaunched titles. This will end up hurting them in the end.

[Whizzer]

I don't fully understand the angst on this subject. If you like chasing variants, go nuts. If you don't, just buy the cover that most appeals to you and leave it at that.

 

Surely you all have enough free will where you are not likely to feel coerced into buying covers you don't want?

 

Also, it's promotional tools like this which allow retailers to carry and support low print run books which on their own wouldn't sell enough to be worthwhile stocking. It's a little like an actor doing a blockbuster movie to subsidize an art house film.

 

It's also the entire reason why the industry crashed in the early 90s.

 

 

Actually, I think there is a difference between what's happening now and the Nineties. Back then, there was a naive belief that holographic, foil, acetate flip book, variants were going to be worth a fortune one day, to the point where people were selling their Silver age to buy the latest variant. Now, I think that there are people who just like to collect what they perceive to be cool covers.

 

Personally, I like variants because of the choice. If cover A sucks I can buy cover B I certainly don't feel the need to buy them all.

[Ken Aldred]

You could buy one or two covers that you really like and then, if you need them all, wait a couple of years to pick up the incentive variants at clearout prices, which is the way this has progressed before, more than a few times.

[Ken Aldred]

You could just look at it as having 18 covers to choose a handful of favorites from, and you may enjoy the title. You're smart enough to control your compulsions, so your angst is self-inflicted.

 

Not me. It's all or nothing. Yes or no. Black or white. No shades of gray.

 

Does that mean you won't even read the title, or just that you won't collect slabbed copies of it?

I might buy a hardcover trade, but that's it.

 

That's something I like about hardcover collections. They also tend to give you all of the variant covers to an issue as well. I prefer the cheapskate option here.

[Whizzer]

The other difference between today's variants and those from the 90's, is that they tended to be based on printing and bindery gimmicks, whereas today's variants are more concerned with actual differences in the cover art.

 

 

[Balham's Finest]

This topic seems to come up every time there's a multi-variant issue (see WD #100). I've come to the conclusion that completionists and non-completionists are never going to see eye to eye on the "just buy the one cover that you like, surely you can control your compulsions..." argument.

 

What seems beyond debate, to me, is that these variants are targetted at those people. I can't believe that Marvel are producing 18 covers of Uncanny Avengers #1 because they think it will be fun, or to give artists more work, or for any reason other than to make money out of collectors that can't help themselves. That's a shame - it's not "obscene", as someone else said, but it's a little sad.

[Whizzer]

I absolutely take your point. However, my observations of customers in the shop are that there tend to be three main categories when this comes up;

 

1. The completist who will buy all variants, but wants to because that is what they enjoy.

 

2. The ambivalent buyer, who will buy the single cover which most appeals to them.

 

3. The art fan who might buy 2 or 3 covers that they particularly appreciate.

 

What you and Watson are talking about is a fourth type, which would be the coerced completist who is driven by a compulsion to own all possible covers while resenting the fact that those covers are made available. There is no doubt that these people exist, but from my observations they are a real minority.

 

I also stand by my assertion that these variants enable retailers to stock small press or Indy books they might not otherwise be able to.

 

Like all debates there probably isn't a single 'right' answer.

[Balham's Finest]

I think your categories are pretty much right - although your set 1 is probably in an even smaller minority than set 4!

 

I'm not arguing that producing so many variants is "wrong" per se - personally I like having the choice of a load of covers but I'll only take one. And if it brings more people into stores, and lets stores stock other titles, then fine by me. But I feel bad for the people that suffer financially and end up feeling resentful towards a title that they really like because of it.

 

I was trying to think of another industry that has a similar system and I couldn't - magazines don't tend to have lots of variant covers because readers aren't invested enough in the titles to make them want to buy a complete set. People are emotionally invested in/connected to the bands that they like, but albums are too expensive to make it likely that people would buy multiple copies if they had different covers. Same goes to an even greater extent for video games.

[Ken Aldred]

One of the worst offenders here in the UK is the Radio Times.

 

Very common to see variant covers. Whenever the new Doctor Who season begins, the Olympics, the Live 8 concerts, as examples.

[DeliBebek]

I absolutely take your point. However, my observations of customers in the shop are that there tend to be three main categories when this comes up;

 

1. The completist who will buy all variants, but wants to because that is what they enjoy.

 

2. The ambivalent buyer, who will buy the single cover which most appeals to them.

 

3. The art fan who might buy 2 or 3 covers that they particularly appreciate.

 

What you and Watson are talking about is a fourth type, which would be the coerced completist who is driven by a compulsion to own all possible covers while resenting the fact that those covers are made available. There is no doubt that these people exist, but from my observations they are a real minority.

 

I also stand by my assertion that these variants enable retailers to stock small press or Indy books they might not otherwise be able to.

 

Like all debates there probably isn't a single 'right' answer.

It's pretty sad that there isn't a category of buyer who doesn't care about the cover but about the interior, for the sake of reading.

 

I would think a buyer who buys the one variant that appeals to them is decisive rather than ambivalent.

[Whizzer]

I absolutely take your point. However, my observations of customers in the shop are that there tend to be three main categories when this comes up;

 

1. The completist who will buy all variants, but wants to because that is what they enjoy.

 

2. The ambivalent buyer, who will buy the single cover which most appeals to them.

 

3. The art fan who might buy 2 or 3 covers that they particularly appreciate.

 

What you and Watson are talking about is a fourth type, which would be the coerced completist who is driven by a compulsion to own all possible covers while resenting the fact that those covers are made available. There is no doubt that these people exist, but from my observations they are a real minority.

 

I also stand by my assertion that these variants enable retailers to stock small press or Indy books they might not otherwise be able to.

 

Like all debates there probably isn't a single 'right' answer.

It's pretty sad that there isn't a category of buyer who doesn't care about the cover but about the interior, for the sake of reading.

 

I would think a buyer who buys the one variant that appeals to them is decisive rather than ambivalent.

 

Just to clarify, as the topic at hand was variant covers, that was the context I was coming from. Assuming that the buyer would buy let's say ASM 700 anyway, and that the cover is their secondary motivation for buying, then the categories I mention would come into play. (thumbs u

[Whizzer]

I think your categories are pretty much right - although your set 1 is probably in an even smaller minority than set 4!

 

I'm not arguing that producing so many variants is "wrong" per se - personally I like having the choice of a load of covers but I'll only take one. And if it brings more people into stores, and lets stores stock other titles, then fine by me. But I feel bad for the people that suffer financially and end up feeling resentful towards a title that they really like because of it.

 

I was trying to think of another industry that has a similar system and I couldn't - magazines don't tend to have lots of variant covers because readers aren't invested enough in the titles to make them want to buy a complete set. People are emotionally invested in/connected to the bands that they like, but albums are too expensive to make it likely that people would buy multiple copies if they had different covers. Same goes to an even greater extent for video games.

 

 

Actually, I can remember when records, particularly singles were released with variant covers in an attempt to get a high entry position in the charts. Downloads and the lessening importance of the top 40 has seen this decline, although many bands these days have started releasing variant vinyl editions to go alongside cd and digital versions of the same material. Again with the artwork and physical desirability being the motivating force for purchase.

 

 

[DrWatson]

I think your categories are pretty much right - although your set 1 is probably in an even smaller minority than set 4!

 

I'm not arguing that producing so many variants is "wrong" per se - personally I like having the choice of a load of covers but I'll only take one. And if it brings more people into stores, and lets stores stock other titles, then fine by me. But I feel bad for the people that suffer financially and end up feeling resentful towards a title that they really like because of it.

 

I was trying to think of another industry that has a similar system and I couldn't - magazines don't tend to have lots of variant covers because readers aren't invested enough in the titles to make them want to buy a complete set. People are emotionally invested in/connected to the bands that they like, but albums are too expensive to make it likely that people would buy multiple copies if they had different covers. Same goes to an even greater extent for video games.

 

 

Actually, I can remember when records, particularly singles were released with variant covers in an attempt to get a high entry position in the charts. Downloads and the lessening importance of the top 40 has seen this decline, although many bands these days have started releasing variant vinyl editions to go alongside cd and digital versions of the same material. Again with the artwork and physical desirability being the motivating force for purchase.

 

I used to collect Human League, Pet Shop Boys and Depeche Mode CD singles.

 

It wasn't just the covers to the singles that were different. You also received different B-sides and different remixes depending on whether you bought CD1 or CD2. It wasn't the same songs (interior story and art) released with different cover.

 

And yes, I bought both CD singles and sometimes the US maxi single as well, but at least I received something different on each disc.

[Balham's Finest]

I think your categories are pretty much right - although your set 1 is probably in an even smaller minority than set 4!

 

I'm not arguing that producing so many variants is "wrong" per se - personally I like having the choice of a load of covers but I'll only take one. And if it brings more people into stores, and lets stores stock other titles, then fine by me. But I feel bad for the people that suffer financially and end up feeling resentful towards a title that they really like because of it.

 

I was trying to think of another industry that has a similar system and I couldn't - magazines don't tend to have lots of variant covers because readers aren't invested enough in the titles to make them want to buy a complete set. People are emotionally invested in/connected to the bands that they like, but albums are too expensive to make it likely that people would buy multiple copies if they had different covers. Same goes to an even greater extent for video games.

 

 

Actually, I can remember when records, particularly singles were released with variant covers in an attempt to get a high entry position in the charts. Downloads and the lessening importance of the top 40 has seen this decline, although many bands these days have started releasing variant vinyl editions to go alongside cd and digital versions of the same material. Again with the artwork and physical desirability being the motivating force for purchase.

 

I used to collect Human League, Pet Shop Boys and Depeche Mode CD singles.

 

It wasn't just the covers to the singles that were different. You also received different B-sides and different remixes depending on whether you bought CD1 or CD2. It wasn't the same songs (interior story and art) released with different cover.

 

And yes, I bought both CD singles and sometimes the US maxi single as well, but at least I received something different on each disc.

 

Yes, exactly - the content was different. I was trying to think of an analogy where it's purely a cosmetic difference on the outside.

 

And I remember those days too - but even then it was rare to see more than two versions of a single.

 

Marvel does variant covers of hardcovers like Masterworks, don't they? I wonder how many people buy multiple copies of those? My guess would be that it's a far lower proportion of the HC buyers than of the floppy buyers, because of the cost.