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Posted by:

MacGlaspyn

Date:

February 16th, 2007 10:19 AM

Header:

It's a bad 90's Flashback!

Bulletin:

Okay, granted... with images of MC Hammer pants and Courtney Love now popping into my head it kinda all seems like a bad time; but, I am wanting to bring up covers. Specifically multiple covers. Now I have absolutey no objection to them for big whatsit occassions like every 100th something issue or a tribute to a special cause, so please don't get me wrong here. I just remember when the speculators swooped in and nearly killed the industry (with the publishers help mind you) by thinking there was a market for a bajillion covers to every book... and then waiting a year to try to resell them.

A) Hopefully they learned it doesn't work (but it seemes they didn't, and B) Thank the powers that be we as an industry managed to (barely) survive that.

So my question is this: why are we doing it again? Okay, the big guys putting things out in a 50/50 split, fine. People can get the artist they like and it does nothing to affect the distribution. Fine. The little guys though, putting out 16 page issue #1s with 6 covers ranging from regular to wraparound to premium to gold foil to jewel tone to platimum to blah blah blah... at prices that vary from $2.95 to $30? And then the next month putting out a different #1 instead of a #2? Huh? Why? Why even number things then? Why sell the art (the obvious money maker) in comic form? I have no problem with one shots. I enjoy the heck out of them in fact, but does the world really need a one shot that might be the best read in the world... with ten different covers? and another ten the next month? What does that tell the die hard fan/collector as opposed to the speculator? Just put a ski mask on and ask for their wallet in text on a cover next month, it's more honest. It used to be a point of pride to be able to say "Oh such and such book? I love it! I have every issue!" Now people can only say "Oh I love that book, I only get the covers I can afford though... someday I will save up for that special ruby foil convention sketch signed edition that dill hole nonreader can afford". That's this week's rant... stay tuned for next week when I tell some kids to get off my lawn.

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