Limited edition covers or multiple covers?

[primenova]

What are people thoughts on this subject we have had since about 1991 onwards.

Should comics be run off in a normal print run but with so many of each cover - or with the rare covers you get one in the delivery if you have ordered 25 issues of the title - but all the covers being available at retails.

Or

Do you love the rare covers not ready available in comic shops for ordering - stuff with print runs of 1000 comics.

But is it a good idea? With comic sales dropped so much - could have 2 covers for most issue be something that helped drive the market down [how many times have we had a company produce 11 different cover like Image did for an #11 of i think it was Darkness #11]. Most just seem to stick with about 5 covers if its something like Uncanny X-men #500 [if there was just 5 covers?]

I know we have had DVD's, Games & increase in comic prices from 60p an issue to £3 an issue.

[The Doctor]

I'm not usually fussed about alternate covers unless they are done by a favourite artist. In which case I'll just plump for that cover anyway. I do still have a weakness for shiny shiny covers.

Generally, though, as I order comics online now there isn't always a choice of cover where there is more than one so not too fussed.

Generally my days of multiple cover collecting are behind me, due to space/cost/pointlessness/single issues not being the collectable thing they once were (due to trades and digital options). Though I can see alternate covers being all the rage again in the cheaper digital domain...

-Ralph

[primenova]

With Digital copies they can have a cover gallery in with the credits page - like they have on the comics. But at least IDW don't spend time printing the issue out & then having Diamond ship it to the UK & then waiting for it to be delivered to your home or picking the issue up form a shop.

Also you don't have printing errors with digi-comics [how much Marvel would have saved with that spellign error in Wolverine - then the printing errors with Transformers IDW #25 - same I expect in Marvel US ClanDestine #3,4 - where the gloss paper stuck together]

But with Marvel - most of the comic is adverts unlike IDW comics. IDW have about 5 ads while Marvel must have about 20 pages per issue. Adverts being what they get most of the money from. [but saying that the ad free Archangel #1 was about standard price - but that issue didn't have multi covers, so doesn't really tie in with this thread that much]

[legios]

It is very rare for me to consider buying two of a comic for any reason, multiple covers don't generally have any effect on the probability of it. Like Ralph I will usually buy the cover I like/can get/can afford and not worry about the others. I think the only thing recently that I have bought multiple covers was Last Stand of the Wreckers, I really liked the Trevor Hutchinson covers and I didn't think that IDW would end up putting them in the trade so I picked them up specifically.

Haven't done it since and it had been several years since I had done it the previous time.

Karl

[Andy Turnbull]

I don't mind a limited edition cover, but I think some of the variants we have gotten boggle the mind. Marvel's variant policy being a head scratcher.

Andy

[The Doctor]

Yes, whenever I see one of the blank white variant covers I just laugh.

-Ralph

[primenova]

What's the first comic you picked up that had a different cover? whether if you got the comic when it first came out & it just happened to go back for a 2nd print with slightly different cover [sometimes gold or silver coloured - ie New mutants #87,100, Death's head 2 v1 #1,2]

[Jaymz]

Sept 20, 2011 14:24:01 GMT The Doctor said:

Yes, whenever I see one of the blank white variant covers I just laugh.

They're for getting sketches on at conventions and the like, uses different paper than the usual cover for optimum sketching. I sell them for cover price and they go pretty well.

As for other ratio variants and the like, as a retailer I don't go out of my way to get them. If I happen to order enough to qualify, I'll get them, and they sell for a bit more and it's a nice bonus.

As a collector, I'm happy enough to get the one cover I prefer, except with Uncanny X-Men where I collect them all as it's something I decided to do one day.