aerischan

Alas, since can't see them online and my local Walmart doesn't carry them, I don't know.

Are the Walmart variants in store shelves yet?

It was featured on CBSI. Market makers.

Lol, yep. I don't think it's actually rare. It's X-Men. Even if Marvel's having trouble with their renumberings, I still expect a print run of 80K at least and I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was in the 100K range. Besides, Marvel just said it'll be removed from subsequent printings, digital and trades. They didn't say they'll pull the existing copies. Wonder if they'll do a reprint of the variants with edited interior art?

Currently heating up because Ardian Syaf put in hidden anti-Semitic messages in the art which will be removed from subsequent printings. I preordered the Skottie Young variant from Midtown so I haven't received nor read it yet. My copy will likely arrive end of the month or beginning of May.

X-Men: Gold #1

Saw this on ebay and goodness, why would you even bother slabbing a 7.5 if you're just selling? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Monstress-1-2015-Image-Comics-CGC-7-5-First-Print-/201880172634

Since its release, Monstress Volume 1 has placed in the Top 20 of both Bookscan and Diamond GN charts almost every month.

Monstress, Volume 1: Awakening was nominated for Best Graphic Story and Sana Takeda was nominated for Best Professional Artist for the 2017 Hugo Awards. http://www.comicsbeat.com/hugo-award-nominees-announced-black-panther-monstress-bkv-among-comics-noms/

Those BA12 are super tempting. Unfortunately not in the budget.

In fairness, even developed characters would have problems succeeding when Marvel has something like 70+ "ongoing" series already.

I'm reading the interview with Axel Alonso and David Gabriel on ICv2 and thus far, it seems to me that Marvel just keeps shooting down and dismissing retailer suggestions and concerns while making excuses for Marvel. That doesn't make me hopeful at all. And hey, looks like Marvel's planning on $10 comics being the norm.

Nothing wrong with that. He's free to spend his earnings in whatever legal way he deems fit. He's not forcing anyone to buy his exclusive variants. Disclaimer: I've never bought a JSC exclusive variant. I just don't feel they're worth the cost. I think the only JSC variants I have are the Red Sonja and Vampirella ones which I got from DCBS for $2.59 each.

I do worry about fingerprints but a quick spray and wipe and they're back to 10.0. Apple just released a new budget model 9.7" iPad starting at $329 (online preorders last week, brick and mortar shops this week). For someone who doesn't like panel/guided view, that's the minimum display size I'd recommend for American comics. I hear you about not having to dig through boxes and my collection size isn't nearly anywhere near close to what you guys have. Waiting for an upgrade to the 12.9" iPad Pro. Now that one should be really nice for reading comics. As for ASM #25, I believe that's 40 pages main story and 30 pages backup or something so ballpark minimum $35K in creative costs alone. Whether the quality of the stories is worth the high price tag, I have no idea. Man, Monstress #1 was darned cheap for what you got. It was 64 story pages of amazing story, world building and gorgeous art for a mere $4.99.

Why do I collect? For the most part, because I'm enjoying reading about the characters and stories. Also, particularly for indies and smaller publishers, to support the works I enjoy so creators can continue making them. I've been doing it with anime and manga (watch/read unofficial fansubs and scanlations and then buy DVD and books when they get licensed) and it's just naturally carried over. I do collect some variants (primarily Skottie Young) but that's a small fraction of my monthly budget (except February when I went all variant crazy on Super Sons #1). Granted, I probably wouldn't be buying any Marvel anymore if not for the Young variants. If Marvel starts releasing a collection of the Skottie Young covers (e.g. Marvel: The Hip Hop Covers Vol. 01 HC), I might stop purchasing Marvel floppies altogether. I actually appreciate the semi-monthly schedule on some of DC's books. A 2-week wait is much more tolerable than a month. It also seems to better facilitate crossovers (e.g. Superman Reborn) since you get a new installment every week. Admittedly, I've started trade waiting most of the semi-monthlies aside for Action and Superman. I was getting too many books that the stories have been getting mixed up. Will DC/Marvel retcon everything again sometime in the future? Probably. As long as the stories remain enjoyable though, I'll continue reading them. If not, there's tons of great reading material available I can switch to.

Surprising, right? It's a nice change to have a comic that takes longer than 5 minutes to read and has quite a bit of replay value. Was planning on doing this but I just ended up with a large pile of unread comics by the bedside. If a comic isn't something I'm interested in reading immediately or includes a digital copy that I can read at leisure, I remove it from my pull and just trade wait. That said, really enjoying one and done issues of I Hate Fairyland.

Just received X-O Manowar #1 from DCBS. The cover and paper stock is quite nice. How come Valiant can afford to do this with their lower print runs and circulation when DC and Marvel use paper that crumple if you so much as breath wrong? DCBS usually has Valiant titles for 50% off if buying the entire bundle. I think I'll start getting those.

I use http://pulllist.comixology.com to check the subs I need to pick up from the LCS every Wednesday. Useful since they keep track of changes in release dates so I don't have to. Lol, I do this for Monstress. Black Monday Murders, I also buy digitally at midnight but I usually wait to read it until I pick up the print copy from the LCS and have more time. I just don't have the brain cells to process it during what's supposed to be sleeping time. Southern Bastards, I trade wait.

In fairness, we don't know what sales are like via Scholastic and to libraries, etc. It may not crack 10K in the DM but the target audience for the book can't be found in the DM anyway. That said, I agree, there's a disconnect between the actual audience and high-dollar variant buyers.

Velvet Deluxe Edition HC available for 50% off at InStockTrades. Since I ordered something last week, getting an extra 2% off.

Super Sons #1 - Unknown Comic Books I really love this one. I normally have a $15 per book limit but I'm biting the bullet and ordering the $50 Joker Only variant, too. Amazing Spider-Man #25 - Unknown Comic Books I like it but I've spent too much on Super Sons already plus Marvel seems to be cranking out Skottie Young baby variants left and right. That's a bigger collecting focus of mine so passing up on this one.

And I wouldn't be surprised if the switch to legacy numbering involves a ton more super high ratio variants. Maybe we'll see a 1:10,000 now.

Venom #150 has a 1:2000 variant (B&W/sketch of 1:1000) and I believe the upcoming X-books are also getting 1:1000 (iirc, Gold, Blue, Jean Grey, maybe some others). Blue and Gold are recycling old Jim Lee art.

Wow, thanks for the tip. I use a 9.7" iPad for browsing and hated how the layout seemed optimized for smartphones and smaller tablets. The theme option to use the desktop site on mobile is heaven sent and I don't even need to pinch zoom.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I actually appreciate the schedule. It's nice to have the story arcs go fairly uninterrupted and then just have the break after the story arc is completed. Image's scheduling has actually allowed me to try new titles while my followed series are on hiatus. I reckon the schedule is also conducive to trade waiters or those who are just starting to pickup an ongoing series. Image TPBs are usually released a little bit before the release of a new story arc. Hmm, I think Kill Or Be Killed Vol 01 TPB (#1-4) might have actually been released the same day as Kill Or Be Killed #5. Gotta say, it's much easier to start a new series when the TPB containing previous issues is readily available. I will say this about Black Monday Murders, I've read it multiple times and I'm still confused (in a good way). I purchased it in floppy, digital and TPB format and despite the triple dipping, I feel it's well worth the expense unlike most of Marvel's output. I'm probably gonna buy the Deluxe or Omnibus HCs, too, if/when those are released. Alas, Seven to Eternity, I didn't like. Didn't like Black Science nor Deadly Class, either. I think I'm just gonna avoid Remender's stuff. I just don't seem to enjoy his work.