Great insight, brother! In my experience, I’ve always found it best to not have any expectations on ROI when buying variants. I buy the ones I buy because I love the art/artist and/or the character. If you’re picking up variants as an “investment” hoping to make money from it later, you’re going to be disappointed 95% of the time. At least that’s how I’ve experienced it. Congrats on your first 1:25 tho! As long as you love it, that’s all that matters! Appreciate the video, bro. Keep’em coming! 🍻
I LOVE variants. My grail run is every cover of every Spider-Gwen series. It's what I've found to give me the most joy to hunt. That being said, 20-30 store exclusives for a book is absolutely out of hand. I wish the publishers would have a ten cover gentleman's agreement to keep things manageable for us completist types.
I'm addicted to variants. And all over them for the art. 90% of the time the variant art would have been stellar on the regular release but it just rarely seems to be the way.
I just came across this video from last year and I, too, love that particular variant of the rebooted Darkhawk -which is an excellent series that would be a perfect Disney+ show.
Just picked up the 1 in 50 for Darkhawk and also found issue 1 Darkhawk 90’s today. Another great character when I was a kid and I feel they might be bringing him back. The Amazing spider man issue is definitely one of my favorites and I also have that issue in my collection. Well done!👍🍻
I won't let myself get caught up with this Variant craze until they start properly releasing the exact print runs on all the issues and the ratios. Not to mention Walmart burnt all the Variant hunters
You’ll never see exact print runs. That would be to the detriment of the companies that want you to buy. There hasn’t been an accurate figure of ratio books since Civil War.
@@davidsamuelson2089 And for that reason, I won't feed into this variant, exclusive insanity. Look at what they did by including Comic Shop exclusives in the Walmart 3 packs
@@Swagglehaus You're probably right. Which means they could be uncirculated cases if issues sitting in Warehouses at any given time of what might the hot book at any given moment
This was a good video with a really good topic. The fact that you used Venom as example is some ways because they kind of made variants cool again. The problem I am having with variants lately is seeing 1:25 or 1:50 on second or third prints! It ultimately comes down to collect what you like and unless your selling immediately you aren’t going to back your money unless it is a key character like Miles. Or has a key appearance.
When I got back into the hobby 4 yrs ago I was totally against variants. I would tell my LCS “ONLY COVER A’s”… 4 yrs later and I have two Shortboxes full of variants 😂
Hahahaha after your video on that. I picked up 3 copies of that asm sinister six book. Hilarious great pickups. :) and as far as variants. My philosophy is just get the ones you like personally. That way no matter what you are ok with it. Great post
Swagglehaus holding a modern book! :D Seriously, I'm a sucker for awesome cover artwork so I don't mind variants at all. A lot can be hit and miss, especially store exclusives, but you'll also discover unique art styles on these variants that you normally wouldn't see on a comic like fully painted art or 3D rendered art, and the variant cover artists seem to put more passion into the cover since it's their only time to shine. I also think of it as supporting an artist, like Mico Suayan from the Philippines! 👍 You're right that most won't hold their value unless they're keys but there are still a lot of variants that remain hot because of the artwork alone (Something is Killing the Children has lots of these).
@@Swagglehaus Hey - I am a person who, if that is your speed or your jam, more power to you. That's why I said I never 'got' him and didn't say "Awww I think that guy's stupid..." Just because it's not my thing doesn't make it bad. Plenty of stuff that I love that isn't other people's favorite :-). And you completely expressed your personal reasons why you made the purchase - that's all legit for me.
Like the darkhawk Variant you picked up. I've been hit and miss on variants as far as value is concerned but at the end of the day you buy what you like so it's not that bad
I have a love/hate relationship with variants. If they’re better than the regular cover then I’m down but most of the time they’re a waste and there’s just way too many nowadays. Comics don’t need 5,6, 7 + different covers.
Hey swag I was thinking about this vid again after the book I just recently got. When it comes to variants I've been going after ones that have a specific limited number such as 1000 made only. Those will almost always hold value and possibly go up if it's a hot book. When you can find something by a top level artist like a David Mack for instance and there are only 1000 to 3000 made its usually a good buy at a reasonable price. I agree with you that paying $50 to $75 for these is nuts and of you wait till someone lowers their price after months of not selling you can sometimes get them half off.
I like variant cover's, at first I didn't. I did look at it as a cash grab. But this is all choice, you can choose to get the original cover and be done. Great show, great content.
Great unboxing. I really enjoyed your segment weeks back you did on the jack kirby 1977 1st black panther comicbook and his history I feel the same way as you do he deserves more attention like the other top marvel characters.
Love your videos. I was looking at the 2015 Secret Wars limited series and I was overwhelmed with the number of variants. I can't believe all the #1 variants. It has turned me off to getting the series.
Ah, man...you should reconsider. I held off reading it myself until earlier this year and it was actually pretty entertaining. There were an embarrassing number of side series that weren't necessary except as background filler, but the main story is strong.
Great video! I’m with you on the ratio variants. I only own a few. Happy to see you picked up that S6 book! Sorry about the packaging! Just got mine in the other day! ☺️
@2:45 - as you hold that Sinister Six book it exemplifies the hobby: That Joy is way bigger than "the money". It's the REAL value. On Variants: Jennika #1 is a great example to your point. Cover A is hideous. I chose the RI incentive B. That cover is awesome.
I am also a Cover A type of buyer. There is some nice regular variants but cover A is my go to. I do support variants in general as you are just supplying for a demand that exists. However I don’t think it’s great for comic shops, so I agree with the comic shops charging a premium on the ratio variants to help cover the costs of having to order extra comics to get them for their customers.
Another great video :) I don't generally buy variants, but I did buy all the Artgerm Supergirl variants, and I like Frisson variants, and have quite a few of those. I also grab virgin variants and ratios I like from the back issue bins/sections for a steal, and usually get those just for the pure aesthetics. Kind wishes from Australia :)
Hell yeah, right on Swags! There are several great reasons to pick up variants and yours is probably the best. I do selectively collect ratio variants and exclusive variants (buy what you like), but they're not for everyone and can get expensive pretty quickly. I'm not a big fan of four different covers per issue in general, but do like some of them (like Skottie Young variants or the Stray Dogs horror movie poster covers). I'm afraid Pandora's box has been open, however, and they are here to stay. Might need to get a Darkhawk 1:25 for myself, it is pretty righteous.
variants are more of a preference like buying artworks you only want the piece because it resonates with you. Some are nice but some get 20+ variants which just are too much, like some have to be centered on a different character that has nothing to do with the comic. i don't hate them since i too have a few as well, most due to the cover artist or just the artwork in general.
Only variants I bought were from a couple of the Batman arcs ( Three Jokers, Death of The Family ) and when Action 1000 came out. I thought the Andy Kubert Joker cover variants were great.
Awesome pick up by mail call on that asm issue hope it didn't get damage at all but I agree with you that I usually pick up variant covers if they interested me
I got sucked into the store exclusive variants and the ratios as well when I first got back into collecting comics, now I stick to the A-C covers if I pick any up.
Have you read that first issue of that new Darkhawk yet? There's something different about the new guy that's more interesting then his age and ethnicity. It's worth a read.
You should never say never just by what you like get cover a but you know once-in-a-blue-moon something might catch your eye why not buy it if it's in your budget I personally bought a bunch of spawn covers that were black and white 1:10 for $8 at my lcs
I’ve always been a cover A type of guy, but I’m also a fan of artist so depending on the artist I will pick up variants for sure. But for collectors sake I hope cover A’s will always hold the best premium
I really don't care much for varients unless I like artwork better like Alex Ross. But buy all spawn varients at 299 no big deal and this my main collection and title. I also picked up ASM 336-341 in alot for small Price.
Publisher ratio variants are fine, and I'll sometimes get them if I like them. But except for the rare case, store exclusive variants just aren't great for investing. Only buy those if you want the cover. I've never really been a big fan of virgin covers either, I like to see that the art work is obviously a comic book and not just art. But then the Fett covers this past spring....I went a bit crazy on store exclusives AND virgins :( (I mean, its Boba Fett !) For me though, I spec for investment...and that's mostly just A covers. That's the one people will want when they find out they missed picking up a book.
I only buy for my own collection with no concern for resale. That being said, if an issue is the first of a new character and the character does not appear on the A cover but is on a first print variant I will seek out the variant. I have the 1:25 UF 4 which I bought from my comic shop when new. I purchased that because it showed the costume on the variant but not on the A cover. Conversely I passed on Edge of Spiderverse 2 1:25 because the A cover not only had the character but it was drawn by the artist credited with her first appearance. I wouldn't trade for the Land variant even today.
I have a 1:50 variant of convergence #0, however I only have it because it came with a stack of other books. Cost me a whopping $1, but I think the “value” is between $5-$15. I think it was as high as $40. I think the majority of ratio variants would fall in value over time. I think the cover would have to be very appealing or controversial, or the book itself would have to be a key to maintain and rise in value comparatively to Cover A.
To me every book has two values, market value and personal value. If you enjoy the character and the variant cover art is made by an artist you like then I don’t see a problem with purchasing that. The value does go down for most variants though so its smart to keep an eye out and not go into buying it immediately.
Another great video. What are your thoughts on 1 per store variants vs. say 1:10, 1:25, 1:50, 1:100, etc.? Do those seem to be more sought after since there is less of them when compared to the ratio variants?
I am going backwards from you sounds like. Bought too many variants and now im a cover a guy (sounds like you still are too though). There are some beauties out there though like Finch Moon Knight 1:20 for #1 of Vengeance series or Skan cover of Moon Knight #200. I will buy if i absolutely love it but it is a purchase for me thing now and not really an investment thing
hmm you make very good points. I don't like spending a lot of money on comic books even though I've gotten back into the hobby. I always wait for new releases get thrown in the $1 bin in my local stores and buy modern keys that way. I do see varaints online being sold for clearance prices ranging from $5-$10 each but I think if anything I will only buy the ones that are key issues. Besides the ratios I also see numbers like 1000 or 3000 copies so I am assuming these are number of copies in circulation so which would be more rare in that case?
Variants make it so hard to understand sales data vs. what you book might be worth. I think comic book investing is pretty much over, with the advent of variant covers. Self inflicted collecting debasement.
I just don't know how people can justify the price difference of UF#4 Regular Cover 9.4 selling for $799 and 1:25 Variant 9.4 selling for 6K. That is insane to me, you are paying over 5K for a cover. Variants are not worth it for me. You hit the nail on the head about buying variant covers of KEY issues.
Love Darkhawk he was one of my favorite 90s comic creations. I really like variants but for me to buy one it has to speak to me artistically because I know it most likely will not hold it's value.
When I got back into the hobby a couple years back I was overwhelmed by the variant covers. For someone that was collecting in the 80's and 90's, the amount of different covers that exist today reminds me of the sports card market and what destroyed the hobby (oversaturation). I really hope that it does not come to that as I love picking up amazing art work for some variant covers/artist and the odd hard to find ones, but way too much out there to wrap your head around. For example Brzrkr # 1 with about 600K print run and 30 variant covers, I think its nuts but again the demand (for now) is there and I am just one person :)
It’s hard to shell out all the coins for that one issue, because you can as easily get the other covers for cover price. It will go up because of the demands. But I see your view, but Darkhawk 1 did not get to that many exclusive covers compared MoonKnight 1. Both have first appearance. I suppose that MoonKnight is more popular than Darkhawk.
Do you think Marvel picks out a weaker cover A art so the better art variants can sell more copies? Like Hulk 6 first appearance of titan cover was weak but all the variants had awesome cover art.
I saw BRZRKR #1 1:50 ratios for $5 on eBay. Seems that variants are not great investments overall. Especially Marvel ones because they print ratio books for so many non key issues.
@@Swagglehaus I had one recently just like that, in a mailer with no cardboard. Somehow it survived. Another purchase had 10-12 comics that were wrapped with some bubble wrap only and placed in a box. This box had the thickness of a little debbie carton and was completely crushed on one side and 8 of the comics had bent corners. Seller gave me a nice discount but I'd rather have my comics in the NM condition that I bought them in.
I'm simply providing a snapshot to demonstrate what I'm talking about. I could pull up sold items but the point would remain the same as would the proportionate values.
IMHO variants are the future. A key book in a variant is more scarce. Just a simple economic dynamic. And the variant covers are prettier in general. I also think once the present love of the Silver Age has passed (5-10 years from now), Silver and Gold age books will be less valuable than they are today. Partly due to the more diverse audience rejecting the past characters they can't relate to. Partly due to the price keeping people away from owing, and loving them. They will reject the older books value to increase the value of what they own. My buck-o-5.
@@Swagglehaus I think there is a 3 year window on Silver Age books. Some keys will stay high, but the books that are hot due to a movie, or hot due to the keys rising will fall off hard. More and more people are slabbing the old books, so scarcity will give way to scarce books being less scarce. Look at Golden age book prices compared to Silver age, Silver is way higher. This wave pattern will happen again with Silver compared to Modern.
Don’t do another thumbnail face like that. Look more smart and less like a dork being surprised by something you know. Just a thought. I’m in a shitty mood, but the point stands. Sorry, I don’t wanna erase, yet I don’t wanna remove. Bad day……sorry to spread it to you. I think a valid point is made. The issue is…….that clover face could it high views.
Jeez...sorry to hear you had a bad day, but damn that was kinda mean. I don't think I'm the only youtuber who has done an expression like that and it wasn't really meant to be "surprise"..more so "excitement" for me pick up.
You have no variants and all you talk about is spec and value? For PC I can totally see not wanting or liking variants, but if your flipping books for spec value as well as collecting and you don't own any or care to figure out what's hot your doing it wrong bro...lol. Cover artists are too important to ignore.
I'm just not that into variants. What I spec on are only books that I wouldn't mind being left holding the bag with. That's how I hedge on what I spec. And with my approach I've done extremely well. I don't want to be left with a bunch of worthless variant modern comics.
