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Remember Early-’90s Speculation on Image Comics?

Posted on August 26, 2015 by Walt

Remember when Image was so brand-new it was a company having its comics published by another (Malibu)?

Remember when those #1s were supposed to be so “hot” and “valuable” in the future?

Remember how $1.95 was quite a hefty price next to DC and Marvel‘s $1.25(-ish) cover prices of the time?

Remember that supposed notion that a comic’s “value” could only go up?

wildcats001x16

These 16 copies of WildC.A.T.s: Covert Action Teams cost me a whopping $4. Basically the cover price of two copies of the issue…at its original, August 1992 cover price. With the bound-in card thingie still intact/present.

Maybe these aren’t “mint” and wouldn’t get anything close to a “9.8” if I “slabbed” them (shelling out far more than any copy is “worth” for the price of getting ANY “graded”)…but for a guy who collects for completion and story…the chance to read the entire story (or as MUCH of it as I’m able to get access to)…25 cents is not at all a bad price for this #1 issue.

It’s actually the later issues that would be more of a problem to find. “Everyone” has #1. How many people followed the series itself? How many followed for more than just the first year? Or after the cartoon didn’t last? Or…whatever else. How many saw the bright flash in the pan mature into something with any staying power?

Continue reading →

Filed under: 2015 Non-Review posts, 2015 posts | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

"Upgrading" and beyond: Priest’s Black Panther

Posted on August 25, 2015 by Walt

black_panther_old_and_newOne key comic series for me during college was Priest‘s Black Panther. I’d first tried the series because of its part in the launch of Marvel Knights in Fall 1998, and kept up with it for a few issues. I was nearly ready to let it go–and posted something about that on an old usenet forum–and was convinced to try a couple more issues. The way I remember it, the very next issue was “that” one with the big revelation about why T’Challa actually joined with the Avengers…and I stayed with the series through the end of its run and even followed the short-lived The Crew that followed it.

While I have the entire series in single issues, I remember being thrilled to find the series in paperback (though I don’t remember these early volumes being QUITE so early–2001 based on the indicia). And I was QUITE disappointed when nothing else got collected beyond the first 12 issues, and when this series was basically ignored and “forgotten” for everything that’s come since.

black_panther_book_stack

black_panther_one_volume_thicker_than_two_oldNow, in one single volume, we get 17 issues…five more than the previous two volumes combined. Which really makes this quite an “upgrade.” The two prior volumes collected 5 issues and 7 issues each. Though my photo doesn’t show it very effectively, the new volume IS thicker than the previous two, even with the extra set of covers. The old volumes are also noticeably of their time-period, as they’re from when Marvel tried to save money by shaving 1/8 inch black_panther_new_taller_than_both_oldoff the height of their publications to use less paper or something to that general effect.

This new volume also stands out as being another where after all those years, Marvel switched to a red box with white text for their logo instead of the red text on white box.

While I was left hanging with only the first twelve issues collected, with 17 issues or so per volume, three volumes would get us through the first 50 issues or so, and a fourth would be able to include The Crew as an extension of this series.

I’m definitely hoping the cover/title of this edition holds true: Black Panther: The Complete Collection by Christopher Priest.

Though an Omnibus or other hardcover series of collections would be preferred…I’ll gladly take this over nothing, and it sure beats the skinny little 6ish-issue collections.

black_panther_old_prices

Despite the decade or so waiting, the price of this new volume is surprisingly well in-line (if not better value) than the originals. $15 and $17 got me 12 issues for $32; another $3 adds five more issues (the same quantity as the first $15!). Of course, I don’t recall what I paid for these originals, whether it was full cover price or a discount; given I’d’ve sworn I got them during grad school as they came out, but they seem significantly older.

black_panther_new_price

And of course, I paid significantly less than cover price by pre-ordering this from Amazon this time around.

black_panther_new_book_back_text

I doubt I’d care whatsoever about the Black Panther character if it wasn’t for this series. So while I’m shying away from Marvel‘s print products lately…stuff like this gets through on the nostalgia factor.

And being able to have the contents of two books in one with even more content, I’m actually glad to “upgrade” to have–hopefully–the entire series in nice-looking paperbacks that actually look like they go together, on the shelf…and AS a series, having numbering. Perhaps I’m odd, but I prefer the numbers, as it makes it more obvious this isn’t just a single contained story or volume…and the publisher has more “confidence” in it to give a number rather than just one skinny volume at a time with no apparent intent to go beyond the current.

Still…a  Black Panther by Priest omnibus would be quite a volume–even as two volumes–to sit on a shelf with the Classic Quantum and Woody volume.

Filed under: 2015 Non-Review posts, 2015 posts | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Recent Acquisitions

Posted on August 21, 2015 by Walt

It’s been an interesting week with several things ‘converging’ for me: a forgotten pre-order item, a purchase substituting for a convention, and my largest single “back issue” purchase ever.

First off, last weekend I happened to to see a link on Facebook to some group called Something Valiant. I clicked through, and found some stuff involving classic Valiant stuff, so did not immediately click away.

I noticed a post offering Harbinger #s 2-5 for a very reasonable price, shipped–and messaged the poster to inquire if they were still available (not seeing any comments on the post). They were, so arrangements were made.

harbinger_90s_2thru5

Easily my biggest “back issue” purchase in this regard–for what I paid for “only” 4 issues. However, considering I’d expected to pay significantly more per issue and not get them all but dropped in my lap from one source, I’m very happy with the purchase, and will certainly reach out to this seller again in the future as I whittle down my “missing” list of classic Valiant.

Another surprise arrival this week was the new Hellblazer volume.

hellblazer_tpb_11

This is the 11th volume in this incarnation of the series, reprinting it from its start including key tie-ins and such, and incorporating a numbering so it’s not just a bunch of random volumes.

hellblazer_tpb_thicknessIt turns out that I apparently had pre-ordered this from Amazon several months ago and forgot about it. So when it showed up, it was a very pleasant surprise.

I continue to be quite impressed with the size of these volumes, particularly for the cover price. Though this would easily be a $40+ volume from Marvel, this one carries a $24.99 cover price…and thanks to Amazon I got it for less than $12.

Though I grouse about Marvel‘s pricing, they make up a significant chunk of my graphic novels collection due to various clearance and blowout sales and such through the years, as well as having a lot of stuff I’m truly interested in.

A couple years ago, I was quite impressed when I came across the X-Men: The Age of Apocalypse Omnibus at Carol and John’s. It was very far out of my price range, though more recently I’d lamented realizing it was out of print, and so had been jacked up astronomically beyond my price range by “third party sellers.” So when I more recently learned of the Age of Apocalypse Companion I didn’t even consider pre-ordering it from anyone…no sense having the companion volume without the main.

age_of_apocalypse_companion_omnibus_01

I was listening to a recent episode of the Collected Comics Library and learned that there’s to be a new printing of the main omnibus in the first part of next year, in time for the new movie. So, rather than beat around the bush and put it off, I found a mostly-reasonable price online and bought this volume, knowing I’ll be able to pair it up in the spring (and for what that’s gonna cost me, I certainly would not want to be trying to buy TWO omnibii nor “risk” this one going out of print!).

Plus, I had decided that I was not going to be attempting to attend a particular convention I had been considering, so with gas money and admission I would not be spending, as well as other random purchases I would not be making…I was able to justify (to myself) this rather large singular purchase.

age_of_apocalypse_companion_omnibus_02

If you look to the right in the photo above, you’ll see a quarter leaned up against the volume–showing just how thick this companion edition is.

And below, it currently has a place on a shelf with the last Omnibus I’d bought, as well as the recent TMNT by IDW hardcover.

tmnt_cap_aoa_hardcovers

Filed under: 2015 Non-Review posts, 2015 posts | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

TMNT Amazing Adventures #1 [Review]

Posted on August 20, 2015 by Walt

tmntamazingadventures001Story: Landry Q. Walker
Art: Chad Thomas
Back-up Story by: James Kochalka
Colors: Heather Breckel
Letters: Shawn Lee
Edits: Bobby Curnow
Cover: Jon Sommariva
Published by: IDW
Cover Date: August 2015
Cover Price: $3.99

We open on the turtles out in the city following up on a rumored sighting of Doctor Cluckingsworth. They’re soon surprised–and defeated by the same. Enlisting Splinter’s aid, they soon learn they were (and are) actually facing an old entity known as Zodiac. The turtles and Splinter find themselves forced into an alliance with the Shredder (after an obligatory fight) but soon find themselves at the mercy of a number of familiar antagonists under the control of the Zodiac and face the loss of one of their own.

Perhaps that all sounds a bit dramatic–and it is. Yet at the same time it’s also a bit simplistic…especially as I’m not much of a fan of the “mutant of the week” theme that seems to run with this particular incarnation of the turtles (compared to the ongoing serialized continuities of the 2003 tv show and the current “main” IDW series).

But this isn’t exactly aimed at me. This seems very much aimed at younger readers, and fans of the current Nickelodeon tv show. However, as with its predecessor (TMNT New Animated Adventures), this plays a bit on my nostalgia factor. This is a separate series from the “main comics version” of the turtles, based on the characters as they appear in a still-putting-out-new-episodes animated series. Where the old Archie-publilshed TMNT Adventures quickly diverged into its own continuity entirely, this seems to hold closer to tv continuity.

Given that…I dig the art on this issue. The characters are all clear, consistent, and are definitely comic-book-characters. This looks like a comic book, and not some adaptation. The visual style is its own thing, though the character designs are obviously the current tv versions, with certain key things about the various characters apparent. That’s to be expected given what the series is, and I consider that a very strong positive that everything is obvious while not trying to be something it’s not.

The story is relatively simple, but quite solid. As a new #1 and thus introductory point, I rather enjoy that so many familiar characters were pulled in (if only as cameos) while also seeming to introduce an entirely new character in Zodiac. I suspect this will make the issue that much more accessible to existing readers and fans of the tv show, as well as–this being a first issue–serving to quickly show off a number of the colorful mutant characters that are part of this universe.

The voice of the characters rings true and I like having an apparently-new antagonist not given a goofy name by one of the turtles.

Unfortunately, the story is cut dreadfully short at a mere 16 pages, apparently to make room for a very uninteresting-to-me backup story. This basically involves Mikey trying to volcano-roast a pizza, and the turtles then conveniently discovering an actual volcano underground, and generally acting (to this mid-30s adult) overly childish and stupid.

The backup story’s art does not look at all like “professional quality” art, and standing strictly by and for itself looks absurd next to the main story. There’s nothing to contextualize the piece, to say if the artist is a kid, or if they’re going for a certain look, etc…and while I usually am rather welcoming to alternative artistic interpretations of the turtles, I feel like losing 1/3 of the content pages to this was a waste of space and cover price.

All in all, Walker‘s lead story is good, and I’m interested to see where it goes (and whether it is only a 2-parter or something a bit longer). For a younger reader, this would seem to be an excellent jumping-on point, and certainly worth and adult buying them a copy.

The price and loss of story to the backup gives me serious pause in regards to this title, though I’ll give it another issue or two to see if the backup thing is a regular part of this series and where that quality goes. I’ve enjoyed Walker‘s work in the past, so that’s going to be the core draw for me on the series…it just sucks to consider paying $4/issue to “only” enjoy a lead feature instead of having the entire issue be up to the lead feature’s quality/interest.

As a first issue, definitely recommended.

Plus, hey…it’s TMNT. More fun than plenty of other stuff out there.

Filed under: 2015 posts, 2015 Reviews, IDW Publishing, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW), TMNT New Animated Adventures (IDW) | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Finishing the Story: A Redeeming Price on DC’s Convergence

Posted on August 18, 2015 by Walt

The other day, I very nearly walked out of the Mentor Half-Price Books empty-handed. Several collected volumes caught my attention on the shelf–but each was priced ABOVE cover price. A used books store, named HALF-PRICE Books, and they just randomly price books ABOVE cover price because it’s “out of print.” Yet, isn’t that the POINT? It’s a bunch of USED, old books, that probably are NOT just available walking into the local BAM, B&N, or even Walmart/Target.

But that’s more a topic for another post.

HPBhaul_convergence_0_to_8

This HPB location has a $1 default price, unless specifically priced with a higher price on a bag or bag/board.

BUT…they also had several “sets” in a box, and I flipped through, curious about what OUTRAGEOUS prices they’d have, if they’re already considering 25-cent comics $1.25+ individually.

I noticed this set, and pulled it out, VERY curious…and was rather surprised to see it priced ONLY $15. DC‘s Convergence…#0 and #1-8.

Three of the 9 issues were cover price $5 ($4.99). That’s $15 right there. The other 6 issues were $4 ($3.99), so that’s $24. $39 in cover price, for a series from only 3-4 months ago, complete set in one place…no hunting through multiple stores and paying full price all the while.

Less than half-price. Best yet, the full set CHEAPER than it would cost me to buy the single issues I was missing. And I held off on ordering the collected volumes, because the main thing I wanted was to actually finish reading the full “core” story…but if I’m getting that, I want it to match the other collected volumes…which means a much longer wait for the hardcover to be swapped out for a paperback edition.

Now, I”ll just get to read the story, and the heck with the Convergence collected volumes for awhile.

Filed under: 2015 Non-Review posts, 2015 posts | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Adding Another Lego Mech: Hulkbuster Iron Man

Posted on August 17, 2015 by Walt

I spotted this in a store a few weeks back, but left it. Seeing a lot of Lego stuff clearanced out of Walmart and Target lately, I figured I’d better snag it while I can, before it becomes some nightmarish “out of production” hunt.

lego_hulkbuster_box_a

I’m a definite fan of the various Lego Mechs, so this is RIGHT up my alley.

lego_hulkbuster_box_b

The minifigs aren’t a bad bonus, either…a few pieces of the set going to those, and the contraption for Hulk…but the vast majority being for the Hulkbuster mech…not a bad purchase.

There’s a Batman set with a Bat-mech, but that’s about $20 more expensive and has enough other stuff I’m not interested in building/having, so I have not been able to talk myself into buying that as yet. But then, though it’s cool, it doesn’t have MUCH based in my Batman familiarity, either…whereas the Hulkbuster suit was in the most recent Avengers movie, and it just makes sense for Iron Man to have a giant oversized mech suit.

Now I just need to find time to actually get the thing assembled!

Filed under: 2015 Non-Review posts, 2015 posts | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Next Grail – Uncanny X-Men #266

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Walt

uxm266directI already have most comics that I truly, SPECIFICALLY want. A lot of my bargain-bin finds and such are things that I’ve been aware of, had some interest in, and are cool to GET, but not typically specific, "key" issues that I’ve specifically sought.

As I fill in general holes in my collection with various series, I’m certainly going to get down to where there will be just a few one-off issues here and there that I’m after.

Having recently acquired Spider-Man vs. Wolverine, and the first chapter of Batman: Year Two it got me thinking. My next "grail" issue has got to be Uncanny X-Men #266–the first (full?) appearance of Gambit. I don’t seek it BECAUSE it’s his first appearance…it’s just that because it IS his first appearance, it has never been something tossed into a bargain bin and so has never randomly entered my collection that way.

But not having this issue is a singular hole preventing me from having a run from Inferno through well past #400, and my eventual aim is to fill in to have a complete run from Inferno to 544 or whatever the final issue was before the Schism relaunch alongside Wolverine and the X-Men. All of the other issues are simply a matter of the odds of finding the issue, given the time periods and quantities.

I have no intention of getting #266 to flip or make any profit on. And where a lot of things I’d be content with a reprint, the only reprint in single-issue format that I’m aware MIGHT exist would be one of those black-border issues that used to be packed into the original Marvel Legends action figures. And I truly don’t want a reprint, simply because ALL my other issues in the run are standard/first print issues, to my knowledge (if there are any second prints, they’re the kind that don’t have any cover variation).

As such, even though I do really specifically want the issue, I’m not willing to pay Big Money for it. In 27 years, I have NEVER paid more than $10 for a single-issue comic book. However, I do have to be reasonable: for any kind of halfway-decent copy of this–even "just" a "reader copy" condition WOULD pretty well be a "steal" for $10 or under. I feel (personally) that $20 would be quite reasonable and "fair" for a decent-condition/reader-copy of the issue. The more I pay, the better I’ll expect the condition to be. But I’m by no means looking for a "near-mint," "mint," or high-grade slabbed edition.

I just want it for my collection, as the only hole in an otherwise 150+ issue run, toward a nearly 300 issue run.

And given that this is a KEY "key book," first appearance of Gambit, and the maybe/maybe-not pending Channing Tatum Gambit film looming and such…this would be a worthy issue to be an exception to or break down my $10 "limit" that I’ll spend on single-issues.

Filed under: 2015 Non-Review posts, 2015 posts | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Wooden Comic Covers…for Decoration

Posted on August 10, 2015 by Walt

giant_comic_cover_signs_01bSome time back, at a Meijer, I happened across a display of large wooden wall decorations–comic covers. One of them was the “newsstand edition” Superman #75, and being such an iconic piece, I bought it on the spot.

There were other covers, but none of them particularly appealed to me…while others just baffled me as they did not seem all that “iconic” to me. Giant-Sized X-Men #1, a number of the early Marvel #1s, a good number of DC #1s, sure.

I put the thing on a shelf as a quasi-background piece behind some of my old Marvel Legends build-a-figures and oversized Heroclix figures and all but “forgot” about the things.

And then not far apart, I came across one of these for Adventures of Superman #423, and Man of Steel #1. Being two of the first four premieres of the “post-Crisis” Superman stuff, I bought the Adventures of Superman one…but could not find the Man of Steel one again for awhile. I finally located it again at Hobby Lobby, but a sale that had been going on was over, and I had no interest whatsoever in paying full “regular” price for the thing, so I decided to just wait, and try to notice when there was a sale again and hope it was still available.

giant_comic_cover_signs_01

Tonight I found myself near a different Hobby Lobby, and decided to pop in, figuring if nothing else, maybe I’d find a magnet for my overhead bin at work, and confirm that the section of the store with the comic stuff was indeed not on sale.

Turned out…it is. “Mens’ metal and wood wall hangings” 50% off. Including the various wooden comic covers as well as the various smaller metal versions, and enough stuff that I easily could have blown $500 given the spare finances and available wall space to justify ’em.

50% off put the Man of Steel piece exactly in what I’ve come to see as reasonable pricing, and I decided to flip through the other ones to see if there were any appealing Marvel ones. The last piece behind everything, though, was the original Superman #233…itself a highly-iconic image, so I figured why not? Two for the price of one.

Now, I’m very interested in these for Superman #1 (1986) and Superman: The Man of Steel #1 (1991) if they even exist. Despite being iconic, I’m not all that interested in the Golden Age #1s–Action Comics, Superman, Batman, Detective Comics #27, anything Wonder Woman.

Marvel-wise, I’d be most interested in 1990s stuff–X-Men Alpha or Omega, 1991’s X-Men #1 or #30, Captain America #1 or Thor #1 from the Heroes Return period…maybe a handful of others.

Though these are smaller than posters, they’re far more durable and sturdy, and I just really like them. I look forward to getting them hung, and perhaps in a later period of life, making use of them in a “man cave” or a Single Guy’s living room as actual “art pieces.”

Filed under: 2015 Non-Review posts, 2015 posts | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The Weekly Haul – Week of August 5th, 2015

Posted on August 6, 2015 by Walt

Though the photo looks contrary, this was my smallest week yet since dropping all Valiant several weeks ago.

weekly_haul_20150805a

The only thing on my pull list is the TMNT issue. The Age of Apocalypse mini is one that I’ll buy even though I’m primarily waiting for Secret Wars to make its way to Marvel‘s Digital Comics Unlimited.

The Eclipso: The Darkness Within issue is from the quarter bin, and really only caught my eye due to being one of the issues with the plastic 3-D diamon shard…a nifty artifact of the ’90s.

The Savage Dragon, the Strangers in Paradise, and Ultimate Spider-Man tpbs were in a 90% off bin…combined, the three were still cheaper than a contemporary single issue!

Finally, the Nightwing volume. This has the original 4-issue mini-series and then the first 8 issues of the ongoing (sadly, the Return of Alfred issue is not included). While I’d prefer to get something like this for a discount, I’m so completely fed up with Amazon right now that they’re not even a consideration. Plus, lacking Valiant, I wanted to get something I wouldn’t otherwise, and continue to support the LCS, so I bought this volume. 12 issues’ content for roughly original cover price, even a bit cheaper…nto bad at all.

I’m looking forward to the Robin volumes like this, and have had my eye on the Spectre ones as well as Saga of the Swamp Thing. These hit a sweet spot of having quite a number of issues while holding to a $20 price point. Sure, tax makes ’em a bit more, but to mentally settle at “$20” works, where even “$21” seems a lot steeper to me.

Filed under: 2015 Non-Review posts, 2015 posts | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Alternatives to Content Held Hostage: LotG Didn’t Have to be 1:25

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Walt

rune000Legends of the Geomancer #1 was offered–as an entirely unique issue–cover, content, everything–on a 1:25 ratioed basis to retailers, based on the quantity of Book of Death #1 they ordered. Things did not have to be that way–the content did not have to be held “hostage” to force fans to do the legwork of the publisher in trying to convince a local retailer to order more copies (that they probably would not be able to actually sell on through to other customers) of Valiant‘s latest event series.

Here are some alternatives That I can come up with–some based on recent things, others also rooted in the time of the original Valiant (the 1990s)–that could have been used as a means to make LotG a special book, a prize for collectors and an incentive to die-hard buyers-of-such-things WHILE allowing a basic/standard copy, the CONTENT–to be easily accessible to those who just want the complete story and do not care about variants and other such things.

DIGITAL CODES

There are several ways that I can think of–offhand–that would involve digital codes.

marvel_free_digital_copy_offer_sticker1. Get a code in BoD #1 and “combine” it with a code from ANOTHER Valiant book published in the same month. Go to a website, key in the codes, pay s/h, get 1 copy of Legends of the Geomancer.

2. Get a series-specific code, and combine one code from each of 9 or however many series, pay s/h, get 1 copy of LotG.

3. Some other combination to ensure LotG is rarer than any single issue, but someone buying multiple–or all–Valiant series would have no problem getting it, and would get different issues’ content rather than buying tons of copies of one specific issue.

BULK PURCHASE PACKS

There are several ways I can think of that would involve bulk purchasing to get more copies of stuff out there for Valiant.

rune000_coupon1. Make a bulk pack of 10, 15, 20, 25 copies of BoD orderable as a single line-item/SKU, priced at whatever the bulk/discount/eligible-for-returnability cost is for retailers. $19.99 or $24.99 or whatever. This shrink-wrapped/bundled pack would include 1 copy of LotG . The fan now has 10+ copies of the issue–they can give it away to their non-LCS-going friends or other channels, hoard them, or “give” them to their LCS to sell.

2. Make a bulk pack of the entire month’s books available at the end of the month that would include LotG . This might also logistically tie to codes for redemption.

These would either allow a fan to have ordered a PACK of comics including LotG without otherwise having to make special arrangements with a comic shop or to just order a pack of that month’s books. If a shop ordered the packs–for fans or for LotG it would get some titles onto the shelves that might not otherwise be ordered, yet would not screw the fans.

FLIPBOOKS

1. Make LotG a flipbook with BoD. For the 1:25, LotG is orderable as its own standalone issue.

2. Make LotG a segmented flipbook, with 2-3 page segments on the backs of the entire month’s worth of Valiant comics. Buy 1 comic, get a short segment. Buy them all, you functionally have an entire issue. For the 1:25 to BoD, retailers can order LotG as its own standalone issue.

rune003_ultraversepremiere001

3. Have LotG as a standalone issue, and 1:25 BoD there’s a flipbook edition with BoD and LotG combined…maybe an overlay cover or varied cover image for this edition.

This would allow for the creation of a unique edition/comic that would appeal to collectors as an incentive item yet allow someone otherwise soley interested in the content/universe of the story to also access that without being forced to a secondary market or otherwise far out of the simple enjoyment of getting their books as they have for nearly 40 months.

GOLD/PREMIUM EDITION TIED TO PREVIOUS ORDERS

1. Have LotG as a standalone issue, but for every 25 copies of BoD, retailers get a Gold edition of LotG

redeeming_marvel_digital_copy2. Have LotG as a standalone issue, but if a retailer orders twice as many copies of all the Valiant books as usual (min of 1 if they didn’t order last month), get a Gold edition of LotG

3. Have LotG as a standalone issue, but if a fan sends in a photo of BoD and other Valiant issues on display at their LCS, with a card/signed form that the shop did the display because of/with the fan, get a Gold edition of LotG .

This would reward retailers/fans for putting forth extra effort to promote Valiant while not interfering with fans who just want the content.

STICK WITH QUALITY AND DON’T SCREW THE FANS

1. Have LotG as a standalone issue, with a 1:25 variant cover tied to BoD. Let the market do the work from there, if any.

2. Quit screwing around with variants and false/artificial scarcity and collectability and HAVE PATIENCE for the fanbase to continue to grow, and don’t screw loyal but casual-ish fans that DO buy everything but aren’t militantly evangelical about your stuff.

Though ultimately, this is all a moot point–it won’t change the past, Valiant is not listening to me–and short of announcing LotG as something to be included in a Deluxe Edition hardcover, I’m done with buying their single issues, on principle.

I’m just still curious–thoroughly curious–at the result of their little experiment and how stuff plays out.

For better or worse, I get the impression that I am in an extreme minority with my stance, and not only will Valiant pull this kinda crap again, it’ll catch on with other publishers (like pullbox variants) and making content an incentive will be all too normal before long.

sludge001_freex004

Above: Sludge #1 and Freex #4, 2 of the October 1993 Rune month flipbooks. Below: Flip the books over for a chapter of Rune #0!

rune_a_rune_e

Filed under: 2015 Non-Review posts, 2015 posts | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

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