Variety, Trade, or Death (or No Hooks, Chum)

I was working on another post here that kind of morphed beyond what I wanted it to be and as of now may appear at Throne World instead as a Jan-ken-pon installment in some condensed form (if I can get it to a point that I’m pleased with–it’s some thoughts about Bendis and the Avengers). One of the off-topic asides that cropped up regarded variant covers. Online, “variant cover” is a bit of a taboo term, and a rather predictable one as they are often cast as one of the many elements that accurately describe as what’s wrong with current/modern comics. Personally, I’ve never understood any of the arguments that treat the subject of variants as the bane of all that’s good in comics. In fact, I think people who make such claims are at best rather silly. There are numerous arguments against variants, and I will go over all of them that have true merit.

Okay. I’m done.

Which leads me to the point of this post at this (sane) blog. I LOVE variants. Why? Because after I thinking about it, they are really the only new floppies (hipster word for single issue) that I’m even tempted to buy these days. Why? If I’m going to go out my way to make a purchase (and let’s face it, to buy American monthly comics, you do have to go out of your way) I need some extra reasoning, something that feels like – even if a lie – that I’m getting in on something, or even better, that I’m possibly potentially missing out. I’m buying the hardcover later anyway, so my sample needs to give me even incentive.

Which is why they coined the term incentive covers.

Or (and more likely), I’m a simple man, and happily suckered by books branded Boogeyman editions. Oddly enough, a title I now know that I have to have. I’ve railed against manufactured collectibles, especially how they apply to the book market in the past, but i think in comics – for the small publishers – there is a market, because unlike novels or prose collections, you can gauge half of the quality and content of a sequential art product by the cover and a flip through the it pages. Even now, I buy random magazines and catalogs rocking covers by favorite artists’ of mine (like a James Jean or an Amy Sol).

I almost exclusively buy collected material, and even more specifically, hardcovers. I find that I get very little joy out of 1-month gap of anticipation and I just want to read a (relatively) complete story or arc of one. 36 bucks & 12 months for 40 minutes of reading isn’t an impressive ratio. Don’t get it twisted though, I LOVED it when I was younger and among my favorite early childhood memories are weekly trips to the bookstore or comic shop in anticipation to see if the next issue of Amazing or Uncanny was in. I just don’t need to be strung out any longer, and though the recent Brian Hibbs analysis (brought to my attention by Wood83 on twitter) of Bookscan figures reveal the bookstore market is perhaps not yet he optimal place to move product even with reasonably large and familiar names in books like Ian Rankin and his Dark Entries*, it is my optimal reading experience, and not only that, it’s really the only way I want to read comics (I just love picking up a true OGN like Eric Powell’s Chinatown and the Mystery of Mr. Wicker off of the shelf. Indeed, one of my next posts here will be on a recent purchase of a first issue that I would never checked out if I didn’t happen to see a limited variant offered.

One exception that comes to mind is DC’s Wednesday Comics, which has this winning and charming mixture of novelty and overwhelming unprecedented talent. I was listening to an episode of Comic Geek Speak recently that featured a guest – Julian Lytle** – who properly put in context the untapped suave potential of comics that Wednesday Comics brought back. If you listen longer, he’ll fully convince you we need more Aquaman, and we need it now!

My preference for collected material effects my original art habits quite a bit. Since covers, variant or not, are generally not shared with the trade, I don’t become attached to a piece – as many pieces – like I did when I was buying of the rack. Now, entire stories share a single cover. For this reason, interior art take us on a much greater precedence for me in market that tends to give ultimate grail status to cover. While I admitted to one of my own recently, a look at my own original art want list reveals interior art being my chief interest. I enjoy the moments.

Now, the proliferation of variants seems (again, I have no stakes in monthlies) out of control, with some publishers like Dynamite (not that I even care) really making the practice rather laughable at times, but this is just a product of the rather convenient truth that every month comics are marketed to retailers and not fans. Covers no longer are hooks in the vast ocean, they are chum for a targeted audience. On some level the same could be said of most any merchandise, but with a non-returnable product that lack of transparency is just that much more evident and open to be scorn. Personally, I don’t have an issue with this.

No issues at all.

_{*over at BSC we have two reviews of Dark Entries}

_{**who has a dope ass webcomic that should be at BSC}

Related posts:

1. The Toughest G.I. Joe Comic?
2. Hobgoblin Panel Tribunal
3. Cover Grab – Fawcett’s Funny Animals #37