Descender #1 Image Comics March 2015

[GLOURO]

Hi Gang. This thread was brought to my attention by a board member and I thought I would drop in with a few words about FourColorGrails.com.

 

Yes we are new. Yes we are a subscription based service. Each month we select four books, work with the Publishers to produce variant covers for those books and deliver them to our subscribers. Subscribers who joined in February will be receiving the FourColorGrails variant editions of Star Wars #1, Lady Mechanika #4, Secret Identities #1, and Orphan Black #1 shortly.

 

We don't advertise in advance the books and artists we've selected but rather we release the images of the books as they become available for sale. So throughout the month you can visit the website and see what will be included in that months Grail package. For example our February Grail package included the 4 books mentioned above which are now being prepared for shipment.

 

As some of you who visited the site would have seen our March Grail package already includes a Spider-Gwen #1 variant by Dale Keown and come tomorrow you will see the image for the Descender #1 book with a Ray Fawkes variant cover. That's two of the four books for March and 2 more will be revealed later in the month. These four books will then be shipped to subscribers the first week of April.

 

Now a little bit about our website since it seems some folks are having issues navigating it. You can subscribe directly from the home page. Select either a one month recurring plan or save a few dollars and prepay for a three month recurring plan. The countdown clock on the homepage simply indicates how much longer you have to guarantee yourself the months four books. Once the month is over you can go to the "Grail Shop" page and purchase previous months packages while quantities are available although at a higher price then the subscription pricing.

 

Here are a few other questions we've been getting regularly.

 

When do you ship? ---> At the beginning of the month

Where do you ship? ---> Canada and US only at this time

Do you accept paypal? ---> Visa and MasterCard only at this time. Paypal coming soon.

Do you sell books individually? ---> No we only sell as a Grail package.

How are the books packaged? ---> The four books are packaged in a custom bookshelf ready presentation which holds each months grails.

How are the books packaged for delivery? ---> The grails are shipped to you in a custom box designed specifically for the grail package.

Why is shipping expensive? ---> Each grail packaging itself is significantly larger than the comics inside of it and is sent fully insured and with tracking. We aren't stuffing 4 comics in an envelop and sending it media mail.

 

Hopefully that answers some of the questions kicking around. Shoot me a PM and I would be happy to answer more.

 

Give us a try. You won't be disappointed and who doesn't love receiving comics in the mail!

 

Sorry for hijacking the thread. Now lets continue talking about what is shaping up to be a great book coming out tomorrow --- DESCENDER #1.

 

 

 

[Astoria]

Not my thing I think, buying books blind on subscription. Its like your buying FourColorGrail books not the actual title. No idea what book your buying, if you like the cover art, or even if you will like the book your forced to read. Well good luck, I hope you do well with it.

[SquareChaos]

Not my thing I think, buying books blind on subscription. Its like your buying FourColorGrail books not the actual title. No idea what book your buying, if you like the cover art, or even if you will like the book your forced to read. Well good luck, I hope you do well with it.

 

Seems like a more specific loot crate business model? :shrug:

 

Could be interesting. The "who knows what I'll get" nature could be fun for some people.

[GLOURO]

Yes in some respects you could compare our service to a subscription service / loot crate business model. The main exception being that you will receive 4 variant edition comics each month - gauranteed. Oh yes, and some lucky subscribers will also receive additional awesome (retailer incentives on top of their regular 4CG variants). We'll also reveal the books you are going to receive so you have the ability to opt out at any time. There is no box filling junk in the Grail packages, just comic goodness!

[Astoria]

Sounds like some will like, the loot is certainly popular.

[IntoAnother]

Yes in some respects you could compare our service to a subscription service / loot crate business model. The main exception being that you will receive 4 variant edition comics each month - gauranteed. Oh yes, and some lucky subscribers will also receive additional awesome (retailer incentives on top of their regular 4CG variants). We'll also reveal the books you are going to receive so you have the ability to opt out at any time. There is no box filling junk in the Grail packages, just comic goodness!

 

What is the print run for your Descender variant?

[Astoria]

I see you are building a brand , That bookshelf packaging is a smart idea. I would expect that these books will generally sell and move together, it will be hard to find these books separately . The day may come that people may talk about a Feburary 15 Grail or March 17 Grail. Smart, but I'm not sure I like the idea.

 

Is this Feb 15 the first Grail? and is it limited or do you keep making them forever?

 

[jmh722]

Is the Nguyen variant the absolute rarest? Or is it going to be the ECCC variant?

[Jimmy Linguini]

I think the four color might be the rarest.

I will be ordering a box when the descender variant goes live.

[IntoAnother]

Is the Nguyen variant the absolute rarest? Or is it going to be the ECCC variant?

 

Pretty sure the B/W Nguyen is 500 as is the B/W Eh! The ECCC is 900 from what I've read.

Can the Fawkes really be less than 500?

[GLOURO]

We are working with the Publishers to produce the lowest minimum order quantities possible to preserve exclusivity. I'm not in a position to speak to specific arrangements we have secured but I can say that these will be very limited in comparison to other variants being produced.

 

Once we sell out of a months Grails that's it. We don't produce more of that months offering nor would we ask a publisher to go back to print for us. We will only offer First Print editions when they are released.

 

Thanks for all the great questions.

[IntoAnother]

We are working with the Publishers to produce the lowest minimum order quantities possible to preserve exclusivity. I'm not in a position to speak to specific arrangements we have secured but I can say that these will be very limited in comparison to other variants being produced.

 

Once we sell out of a months Grails that's it. We don't produce more of that months offering nor would we ask a publisher to go back to print for us. We will only offer First Print editions when they are released.

 

Thanks for all the great questions.

 

Soo, are you saying less than 500? I Would imagine you'd be getting numerous orders within the next few hours if that's the case.

[Astoria]

That doesn't really answer the question, you obviously know what a months printing is, and would understandably raise the quantity as the the program becomes more and more successful , But releasing the number available can only increase value, something you should consider, especially in these early times. I become more and more interested the more I consider this

[Jimmy Linguini]

Is the Nguyen variant the absolute rarest? Or is it going to be the ECCC variant?

 

Pretty sure the B/W Nguyen is 500 as is the B/W Eh! The ECCC is 900 from what I've read.

Can the Fawkes really be less than 500?

 

Its 1000.

[GLOURO]

This is the last I will say on our print runs. We worked very diligently with our participating publishers to bring them on board. Each and every one we have approached has agreed to support us and understands the challenges of starting a new concept ground up. As a start up we ordered accordingly and very conservatively. It is not our intention to push scarcity on individuals nor will we be disclosing print runs on any of our books.

[Awax]

Why?

[RubberFlipz-migration]

Sorry for the noob question, when it comes to moderns I'm still learning.

 

But with variants such as the Eh/ECCC and Nguyen B/W all in the sub-1000 print run range, what ultimately decides which is the hot-variant collectors go after.

 

I've bought Eh! variants in the past and I love Jimmy's program, think its a great value, I just never understand why some variants get hotter than others with these books. Especially when we're talking about similar or identical print runs.

 

(speaking of which Jimmy have I missed the boat on the Eh! variant ordering for this one?)

[the420kid]

Sorry for the noob question, when it comes to moderns I'm still learning.

 

But with variants such as the Eh/ECCC and Nguyen B/W all in the sub-1000 print run range, what ultimately decides which is the hot-variant collectors go after.

 

I've bought Eh! variants in the past and I love Jimmy's program, think its a great value, I just never understand why some variants get hotter than others with these books. Especially when we're talking about similar or identical print runs.

 

(speaking of which Jimmy have I missed the boat on the Eh! variant ordering for this one?)

It is usually a crapshoot in terms of which variant rises to the top. Every so often collectors latch onto a cover and it goes for a ride. Unfortunately the other 98% of the variants are all back to cover price or near that after hype dies down and people forget about the book.

 

I tested my theory on a book I wanted - MD 8 SDCC sketch variant (supposedly 500-1000 printed). During the show when it was first released, auctions were hitting $300+. I waited a while and picked up a cgc 9.8 for $120 which I thought was fair.

[dhurley]

This is the last I will say on our print runs. We worked very diligently with our participating publishers to bring them on board. Each and every one we have approached has agreed to support us and understands the challenges of starting a new concept ground up. As a start up we ordered accordingly and very conservatively. It is not our intention to push scarcity on individuals nor will we be disclosing print runs on any of our books.

 

So you are capping the growth of your business to keep the exclusive books at low print runs?

 

Don't see this lasting long unless you raise the price per box.. like the idea overall but you will never grow with that strategy

 

people will make more money on the secondary market until like most variants the prices hit rock bottom.

[krighton]

4cg you sound like you're running for office, too much spin. How about 'we're printing X and when those are sold out they won't be reprinted'.