Worst Comic Book Gimmicks

[Darthdiesel]

fortunaTEly for you they are down from the $50 I used to sell them at in 2001;

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=77&item=2277415782&rd=1

[awe4one]

I'm not a big fan of variant covers, but the one gimmick that *really* ticked me off- variant interiors.

 

You may remember a series from Marvel about 5 years ago called SLINGERS. It was a team book with 4 members. For the first issue, there were four different versions, with the middle 12 (or something) pages all different, focusing on an indivdual team member.

 

You want the whole story? You gots to buy 4 different copies of # 1.

 

That instantly made me go out of my way *not* to read SLINGERS.

 

 

 

Bingo, you nailed it! This has the be the worst example of the 90s age of gimmicks. I was going to post this also but for the life of me couldn't remember the title. I believe DC also did a similar stunt.

 

Jim

[awe4one]

Inserts in the center (Mark Jeweler, the Identity Crisis "Sky Capt" poster, etc).

 

 

How exactly are Mark Jeweler inserts gimmicks? The publishers never hyped the fact of their existence and in fact, I bought them for years and never gave a second thought about them. I assumed they were in every issue...

 

Jim

[read_em-migration]

I'm not really thinking about that on-topic off-topic question (although an "unintentional gimmick" doesn't really seem to fit the spirit of the original question.)

 

I can see what you're saying. But the thread title doesn't say exactly "Worst Comic Book Gimmicks By A Publisher" so I exploited its vagueness to also include "Worst Comic Book Gimmicks By Comic Sellers."

 

What I want to know is why price variants bother you so much. Your avatar for a while made it known to the world that you think they're the "dumbest thing to collect"

 

Ah, ah, that avatar didn't say "dumbest", it said "worst".

 

and I, for a long time, was wondering why. What about them bothers you SO MUCH that instead of an avatar that somehow expresses something about you,

 

Oh, but it does! All of them do (did). Did you see my "Speculators Suck, Read Your Comics!" avatar before that? That's me in a nutshell. My passion for comics manifests itself in my anti-speculator attitude, posts, and screen name. Some may view this as negative - but that's their point of view. I can show you people who view it as a positive. It's all in your perspective.

 

you chose one that expressed something totally negative that was basically a slap in the face to a bunch of people on these boards.

 

Truth hurts sometimes. Don't worry, if I couldn't take it, I wouldn't dish it out.

 

Are they not rare? Are they not part of comics history? Were they not a legit part of Marvel's market research?

 

I addressed these questions in the thread I posted. The quick answers are

1. Yes, if you mean "rare cover", no if you mean "rare book."

2. Yes.

3. Yes.

 

Is your problem that the differences aren't major enough to make a difference or is it that paying anything extra simply because one copy is different than another is wrong? If so, do you feel that paying more money for a Mint copy than a Good reader is also idiotic?

 

To answer the second question first, absolutely not. But I don't see how the two questions relate to each other (apples and oranges to me). Paying for a book dependent on its condition has nothing to do with what's printed on the cover (see Solar # 10, ASM # 36, Superman Wedding Album, etc). My argument can be distilled down to what's already said: people pay (are duped into paying?) hundreds of dollars extra for a cover where the price has a 5 instead of a 0?? That's the only difference?? (Wait, they used pica instead of elite? I take it all back!).

I think fantastic_four summed it up nicely in that other thread:

 

"From a certain perspective price variant collectors are similar to high grade collectors. Both types find challenge in looking for issues that are rarer than the bulk of the issues of a title available, and both like feeling "special" about owning those rare comics. The difference between the two types of collectors is that condition has an aesthetic idea behind it that the average person can somewhat understand. ANYBODY would rather have a VG or better copy as compared to a Fair copy, whether they're a hard-core collector or not. The 9.0 and up collectors are an extension--most reader/collectors think an OVER-extension--of an aesthetic preference that every single reader/collector has. So while the average reader/collector thinks the high grade guys are nuts to pay as much as they do for these flawless copies, they sort of understand it. They might think the high grade guys are stupid for wanting to own a comic that you can't read, but they can somewhat relate to their sickness.

 

The price variant collectors have a unique type of collecting sickness/obsession that the VAST majority of people would never be able to understand. There's no aesthetic difference between a "30" cent label on a comic versus a "35" cent label. High grade guys are nuts, but price variant collectors are completely off their F'ing rocker."

 

Also, statements like this "You want to claim that you have every issue of the Hulk, Invaders, FF or anything else, you'd be hard pressed to make that contention if you don't have the variants" only serve to pizz me off more. I was collecting comics in the early 90's and saw this same type of attitude with the gimmicks then, and I felt the same way. I never bought variant covers and hated being forced to buy a gimmick book because it was part of the regular run. (How about those Whitman covers, or pence copies? Why don't these variant collectors need to have these too? I guess everyone has their limits, eh? Do you 30/35 cent variant collectors feel the same way about Whitman/pence copies that I feel about the 30/35 cent books?)

 

I've been collecting comics for quite a while, and I remember when I first saw Overstreet list the price variants. I guess you could say I've watched the evolution of this particular gimmick, and I've felt this way from the start. With the advent of Ebay and CGC, the hype on these books have gone through the roof. It's the speculators and greedy dealers that have exploited this obsessive weakness in some collectors on these books.

 

One example might be my friend Gifflefunk from the Ebay Board. He knows as much or more about these variants as anyone on both boards. Do I think he's a fool? No way. Two reasons:

1. He's acquired this knowledge just for the sake of knowledge, to put the history of comics in this particular era into context.

2. He doesn't buy these comics! All he needs is a scan of the cover.

He's a true "collector" (of information) and a real comic historian.

And that's what these comics should be - a curiousity, a footnote in comic history - not "worth" more than the average ciomic geek makes in a week.

 

Like Darth said about me "Just something I've learned to accept/expect when reading his posts". On any chatboard, you're always going to have at least one person who will speak his mind, even if it's 100% against the accepted norm. If anyone thinks I post here just to be an @sshole and that I hate comics, you couldn't be more wrong (about hating comics, at least - I think I have one of the more well-rounded collections of comics on this Board).

People use the catch-all phrase "why do you care what other people collect?", which is really a senseless statement. If everybody truly felt this way, nobody would be posting on any comic chatboards, would they?

 

Stu

[chrisco37]

you may want to consider printing errors or things like that FF 110 green "variant"

 

Darth -

 

Do you have one of these yet? I look for this Issue, but have never seen it.

[read_em-migration]

you may want to consider printing errors or things like that FF 110 green "variant"

 

Darth -

 

Do you have one of these yet? I look for this Issue, but have never seen it.

 

Here's the one I own. Very cool printing error.

 

[chrisco37]

you may want to consider printing errors or things like that FF 110 green "variant"

 

Darth -

 

Do you have one of these yet? I look for this Issue, but have never seen it.

 

Here's the one I own. Very cool printing error.

 

 

I worded my post wrong. I've seen the book before, just never in person. But, thanks for posting it. Yours is a really nice copy! Where did you get it? What do you grade it? Do you have anymore?

[read_em-migration]

you may want to consider printing errors or things like that FF 110 green "variant"

 

Darth -

 

Do you have one of these yet? I look for this Issue, but have never seen it.

 

Here's the one I own. Very cool printing error.

 

 

I worded my post wrong. I've seen the book before, just never in person.

 

I thought "in person" might have been dropped from your post.

 

But, thanks for posting it. Yours is a really nice copy! Where did you get it? What do you grade it? Do you have anymore?

 

If I remember correctly, I got it about 5 years ago from Doug Sulipa and I paid $15 for it as a VF- (which appears accurate enough for me). This is the only one I own (and the only one I have seen in person). I have seen a few for sale on Ebay over the years after I got this one...

[Darthdiesel]

Stu - we've gone back and forth many times but I want to clarify something I saw:

 

"(How about those Whitman covers, or pence copies? Why don't these variant collectors need to have these too? I guess everyone has their limits, eh? Do you 30/35 cent variant collectors feel the same way about Whitman/pence copies that I feel about the 30/35 cent books?)"

 

I collect these Whitman covers DC and marvel and that site Metarog posted helps a lot - I know cosmic-spider-man does as well. I also have penc copies of Spider-man and X-men because I think they are cool. Here is the difference to me and why I pay more for high grade MArvel Price variants. It's availability. When I see some high grade variants that I think may beat out the copy I have in hand, i bid high. Why don't I go all out on Whitmans and pence copies? Because I have them or because I know I'll come across them for cheap somewhere else because they were distributed all over the country instead of just in a few cities.

 

"One example might be my friend Gifflefunk from the Ebay Board. He knows as much or more about these variants as anyone on both boards. Do I think he's a fool? No way. Two reasons:

1. He's acquired this knowledge just for the sake of knowledge, to put the history of comics in this particular era into context.

2. He doesn't buy these comics! All he needs is a scan of the cover.

He's a true "collector" (of information) and a real comic historian.

And that's what these comics should be - a curiousity, a footnote in comic history - not "worth" more than the average ciomic geek makes in a week. "

 

good for gifflefunk - why doesn't he share this knowledge? I had no idea he had any interst in these books and I've watched for the past few years real closely for anything regarding this particular topic.why is it an issue what they are worth...everything is always worth what anyone will pay for it...relativity/subjectivity

 

and what does an average comic geek make per week, in your world view? I'm not spending my kids' college funds exaactly to win these 30 cent variants?

[Darthdiesel]

I picked one up locally here at the tyson's show. I sold one on ebay on 11/22/2003 CGC 7.0 for $61.01

[*paull*]

"THE FANTASTIC FOUR EATS YESTERDAY'S EGGS AT DENNY'S"

 

"BECAUSE YOU DEMANDED IT!"

[ShieldAgent]

Yea, I felt the need to post regarding price variants. Unfortunately it is what I talk about the most on these boards, but it IS what I am into collecting. It actually seems kind of wierd to defend what I collect, but I feel that variant collectors have been taking more than their fair share of bashing from a few "haters" out there.

 

Some things about variants--

 

It is a small market. It is even smaller when it comes to people putting together the whole run of either 30 or 35 cent sets. I have tried to contact each and every one of them, and have made many new friends, that are willing and able to help others with their collections.

 

Variants are not like a run of ASM. In order to put together a run of ASM, one only needs money----and losts of it. With variants, it is not the same. Some books never show up for sale to the general public. It does not matter how much money you have if the book is not offered for sale. I have in my possession several variants that I have never seen offered on Ebay. I have aquired these through off Ebay contacts and the abovementioned collectors.

 

With variants, it is all about the hunt. Though I have found several X-men 94's and Hulk 181's hidden in auctions during my searches, I have yet to find a hidden X-men 1 or AF15, or ASM 1 hidden in a lot of SA books. It is possible, and thrilling, to find a variant book hidden in an auction with a bunch of other [!@#%^&^]. You can't get it like this with other books.

 

Variants span the entire spectrum of books published by Marvel. If not for variants, I doubt I would have become interested in some of the other BA runs I am working on. Talk about well rounded!

 

Like any other run, there is a list of each kind of variant, and it is just as much fun filling that list as it was working on my other runs. The exception is you see allot more, and do not just have to search on one title,

 

The contacts I have made during my quest for the variant runs have been the best ever. I would not trade that for my last book.

 

Lastly, I do understand that variants are only worth something to just a few. I collect because I enjoy collecting. I am not investing or speculating in variants. I just want to complete my runs, and move on to something else.

 

I do not understand the "haters" or the "bashers". You must be lonely.

 

I am missing three books for the run--how many scans is your "smart" scan collecting friend missing? Does he collect scans of key books too? If so I can send him a Heritage catalog............

 

Just my 30 cents..........

 

Harry

[FlyingDonut]

I guess I must be the uber geek then in your eyes, seeing as I have a complete set of 30 cent variants, a bunch of 35s, a near complete set of Whitman variants and I paid $250 for Identity Crisis 4 with the poster. And how did I pay for them? Selling Silver Age Marvels and DCs, which I think, for the most part, are awful. Its a good thing that didn't have to tap into my weekly paycheck for it, since it is soooooooooooooo small.

 

What do you collect? Seriously. Let me know so I can blast you for your idiotic choices.

[Darthdiesel]

Its a good thing that didn't have to tap into my weekly paycheck for it, since it is soooooooooooooo small.

 

Stupidman/Read_'em's variant envy continues!

 

Make sure you read that whole thread - I realize it only posts possible the latest replies...

 

 

...oh...and..um Donut, I've been meaning to ask you...can you lend me a few bucks for groceries to feed my family since I blew my miniscule paycheck on that $50 price vairant I bought last week! ... um... no really, Buy me Groceries?

[Tango 'n Cash]

There still a comic for every "kid" that wants one = there are just less kids that actually do want them

 

You are a prophet.

[THE_BEYONDER]

Would this book go for more or less than it's direct counter-part?

 

 

I am also curious whether pence copies are worth less/same/more than the US versions...

 

[Darthdiesel]

I just made two kids that I know I'll be reading comics to at bedtime.

[Darthdiesel]

Chris - if you are targetting selling to someone who is collecting specifically for the Newstand edition, then yes, it'l'l sell more than it's DM counterpart in that same grade. I haven't found too many exhibiting that interest personally, but I have talked to at least 3 forum members who actively collect both DM and newstand but no one is aggressively paying premiums.

 

Pence copies have always been interesting and from what some of our UK members have said on here, they sell for less than their US counterparts because of a misconceprion that they were released later in the UK from a later printing run and thus terming them as reprints. and yes, FF, I know they are not

[THE_BEYONDER]

Thanks for the 411.

 

How about these?

 

[read_em-migration]

One reply for two posts, Darth's and ShieldAgent's -

 

"good for gifflefunk - why doesn't he share this knowledge? I had no idea he had any interst in these books and I've watched for the past few years real closely for anything regarding this particular topic."

 

But he has shared his knowledge, all the time - how do you think he got some of the scans? A while back he would post on the Ebay Board with his "website", asking for scans of books, and sharing his info with everyone who read the Board. It's not like you even have to be an Ebay member to read the Board. In fact, Darth, I've seen you post a link to Giffle's Star Wars variants, haven't I? You missed it because either you don't like Ebay's chat format, the people there, or . Is he supposed to have a huge website just for you guys? As far as I can see, he doesn't like CGC or price variant speculators much, so why should he go out of his way to discover a new variant, just so you guys can make it a $100 book? Are you saying that because he doesn't post his vast knowledge HERE that he's holding out?

 

why is it an issue what they are worth...everything is always worth what anyone will pay for it...relativity/subjectivity

 

That's right. And if my posts break up the price variant lovefests and convince just one person that collecting price variants isn't worth it, I've done my job. You see this as a negative, I see it as a positive - it's all relative and subjective, right?

 

and what does an average comic geek make per week, in your world view? I'm not spending my kids' college funds exactly to win these 30 cent variants?

 

Yeah, that was a bit vague. Of course, I meant the slabbed IF # 14s and their ilk.

 

Variants span the entire spectrum of books published by Marvel. If not for variants, I doubt I would have become interested in some of the other BA runs I am working on. Talk about well rounded!

 

Wow, you went from collecting 5 Marvel BA titles to collecting 10 (fake example). This statement shows how narrow-minded you are, if you actually consider adding a few Marvel Bronze books to your want list "well-rounded". Really expanded your horizons there.

Well-rounded to me means reading/collecting both Marvel and DC Gold, Silver, Bronze, Copper, and Modern, ECs/horror, UGs, b+w indies, getting new comics every week, and reading a variety of companies over the years (Dark Horse, Image, Malibu, Caliber, Valiant, Slave Labor, First, etc... to name a few). I see Marvel Zombies bash DC on here and vice versa, so price variant bashing should come as no surprise.

 

Like any other run, there is a list of each kind of variant, and it is just as much fun filling that list as it was working on my other runs. The exception is you see a lot more, and do not just have to search on one title. Lastly, I do understand that variants are only worth something to just a few. I collect because I enjoy collecting.

 

Ok, next question: have you read (or plan to read) every price variant book you have bought? Is my assumption that the answer is "no" correct?

 

 

I am not investing or speculating in variants.

 

Do you pay more for these variants than you would for the regular issue? Would you even buy that regular issue if it wasn't a price variant? If you answered "no" and then "yes", then congrats! If it's the other way around, then

 

I do not understand the "haters" or the "bashers". You must be lonely.

 

! Yeah, my 681 posts in 2 1/2 years is just sad. Come back and talk to me when I put up 10,000 in less than 2 years.

 

I am missing three books for the run--how many scans is your "smart" scan collecting friend missing?

Not sure. I think he got near to completion ...

Does he collect scans of key books too? If so I can send him a Heritage catalog......

Do you mean variant price key books? If so, I'm sure he does.

 

Once again, I come back to F_F's quote:

"The price variant collectors have a unique type of collecting sickness/obsession that the VAST majority of people would never be able to understand. There's no aesthetic difference between a "30" cent label on a comic versus a "35" cent label. High grade guys are nuts, but price variant collectors are completely off their F'ing rocker." "

 

You guys may actually have a physical disease that transcends the normal fanboy collecting bug. Or a mental disease (OCD) that could be affecting your ability to reason. So maybe it's not really your fault - you just can't help it??