For awhile the variant covers stopped but over the last 15 years it has become worse. I’ve talked about this problem for years and I will keep talking about it until one day it ends, (which won’t happen as long as us buyers continue to buy, me included). Variant covers are cool, I love some of the art that gets put on them, but come on, give it a rest. How can a collector possibly afford to even get these books? Lets us a title that will be coming out July 15, 2020 from Marvel Comics, the one I used for the images of this post, Empyre. Here is a list of the ones I know about.
Empyre #1 (Of 6)(Cover A Jim Cheung), $5.99
Empyre #1 (Of 6)(Cover B Alexander Lozano Avengers Variant), retailer picks price
Empyre #1 (Of 6)(Cover C Michael Cho Fantastic Four Variant), retailer picks price
Empyre #1 (Of 6)(Cover D Tony S. Daniel Kree Skrull Variant), retailer picks price
Empyre #1 (Of 6)(Cover E David Finch), retailer picks price
Empyre #1 (Of 6)(Cover F Jamie McKelvie), retailer picks price
Empyre #1 (Of 6)(Cover G Mahmud A. Asrar), retailer picks price
Empyre #1 (Of 6)(Cover H Ed McGuinness Launch Variant), retailer picks price
Empyre #1 (Of 6)(Cover I Jim Cheung Premiere Variant), retailer picks price
Empyre #1 (Of 6)(Cover J Mike Mignola Hidden Gem Variant), retailer picks price
Empyre #1 (Of 6)(Cover K John Tyler Christopher 2-Pack Action Figure Variant), retailer picks price
Empyre #1 (Of 6)(Cover L Blank Variant), retailer picks price
Empyre #1 (Of 6)(Cover M Skrull Green Variant), retailer picks price
Empyre #1 (Of 6)(Cover N TBD Secret Variant), retailer picks price
Empyre #1 (Of 6)(Cover O Marvel Wednesday Variant), retailer picks price
Empyre #1 (Of 6)(Cover P Jim Cheung Back The Comeback Variant), retailer picks price
Empyre #1 (Of 6)(In-Hyuk Lee 2nd Printing Variant Cover), $5.99
Now, for sake of argument, lets pretend that all 17 covers are cover price, (which we know that’s not going to be true, but lets pretend). At the cover price of $5.99 times 17, that comes to a whopping $101.83 before tax. Now that’s the fantasy price, that won’t happen. Know how I know? Because there’s one site that’s selling 12 of the covers at $229.99 (they are sold out by the way), and that still leaves 5 other covers. Since this is a special pack from a site that’s sold out, these same covers at a comic shop or another online retailer(s) might mean even higher price tags. It’s possible that to get all the covers for this 1 issue might cost someone in mid to high hundreds of dollars.
This is how it is will so many books these days. If you know me, you know I love Harley Quinn. Because of this love I try to get as many of the books with her in it or on the cover. Well, coming soon is Harley Quinn #75, the last of that series of comic, and with it comes the variant covers. In the last 10 days there have already been 13 different variant covers released for this 1 issue.
Now out of these 13 there are a bunch of different formats you can buy. 1 cover, 2 packs, 3 packs, 5 packs, signed, graded, signed graded, and remarked. The lowest price is $15 and so far ranges up to $160, I don’t know yet what a remarked one will cost or what a graded version of that remarked one would cost but I’m going to go out on a limb and say between $300-$500. Right now, get just the regular covers, ungraded, unsigned, and nothing else, would cost about $300, and that’s only 10 of the 13 covers, I still don’t know the prices yet of 3 of them that come out tomorrow. So now we are looking at around $400 for 13 covers with no autographs and not graded and we still have another month before the comic even comes out, so who knows how many more might appear.
I would love to have a remarked one that comes out tomorrow, but the cost of that will be high, so now my choice is maybe getting the 1 cover vs the 13 covers. Wait, it gets better. If I choose the 1 or even the 13, now I can’t afford to get any of the new books out on Wednesday (and about 3 to 5 other Wednesdays after). So, what do I do? Buy the variant cover for my collection, buy all of them, or buy none and get all the new issues for about 2 to 3 months? I can’t have them all, I wish, but I can’t. Now what if I was a teenager again and can only afford $20 a week or even a month? Maybe 1 book, maybe, or a few of the new regular ones. Which by the way, I didn’t add the 2 regular covers to that list for Harley Quinn #75, that would put it at 15 covers.
Just think about that, how many hundreds of dollars being spent on just that 1 book and there are so many other books out there to get. I like more than just Harley Quinn but now I have to make that choice also. Do I spend my money on those variants or do I buy the Amazing Spider-Man, Venom, Batman, or so, so, so many others. I’ve said it many times, comic book collecting is no longer for the average person, it’s for the rich that can afford spending $100-$500 on 1 book. It has to end!
