So, let’s talk about variants. For the moment, set aside your personal feelings for them and let’s agree that variants are probably here to stay for the foreseeable future. Now, with that said, do you believe that they are a sign of a pending comic book crash?
If you listen to some members of the comic book community, variants are indeed a harbinger of a comic book crash. Are they wrong? Maybe, maybe not.
I think folks are certainly free to have their opinions on variants. I would never ask anyone to substitute my judgment for their own, but I would encourage folks to go beyond the surface.
First, not all variants are created equal. Many use the term variant as if it’s a homogeneous thing but the truth is that there are more than a dozen types of variants including cover variants, convention variants, incentive variants, retailer exclusive variants, Diamond retailer variants, and store variants just to name a few. And, don’t get me started on foreign, newsstand, reprint, and error/recalled variants. Pardon the obvious pun with the numerous types of variants listed, but the point is that variants aren’t a single thing.
Based upon my observations, some people are anti-variants because they are falsely connecting variants to what happened back in the 90s with the comic book crash. Despite some similarities between now and then, the fundamentals of the comic book market are very, very different.
If you’re interested in continuing the discussion around variants as a harbinger of a comic crash, please check out a recent video on my Youtube channel.
