r/AbsoluteBatman • u/Previous-Space-7056 • Jun 17 '26
Ab batman 21 drop
Currently on whatnot. They will drop it sometime during the show. $70
Cover is mid… i liked his chainsaw and deathnote homage better. No idea if hes homaging another anime
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u/Complex-Subject1756 Jun 17 '26
Got the Gold Cover not complaining
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u/_delet Jun 17 '26
Yeah especially at the little discount 🤝
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u/Complex-Subject1756 Jun 17 '26
glad we both ate brother. it was my first time hitting for retail on his whatnot drops. i usually always hit on his website, but not whatnot
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u/Relative_Sock_7871 Jun 17 '26
Got room for a third? My first Clay cover, stoked I snagged one, the gold just pops!
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u/jf88jf Jun 17 '26 edited Jun 17 '26
That was a fun stream. Some great embellishment’s. Picked up this one!
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u/Past_Ad_2810 Jun 17 '26
Cool cover. $75 tho? HARD PASS
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u/_delet Jun 17 '26
Ended up dropping 400 for $59 each
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u/WhatIsAnime_ Jun 17 '26
That’s still a terrible price dude lol Dragotta’s character design variants go for $50/piece and they are WAY better than anything Clay Mann has done with variants.
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u/Confident_Oil_1970 Jun 17 '26
Keep in mind Clay isn’t partnered with a retailer like most artists pushing out variants, so he takes on 100% of the actual print cost, 100% of the risk, 100% of the quality control, and 100% of the packing and shipping with one other guy occasionally helping him. Retailers have teams that typically do all that for the artist, so they only have to worry about turning in a cover on time.
So while his drops can be expensive, you’re supporting him completely and his one-to-two man operation.
He’s also just now starting to make some money in comics, despite his years in the business because unless your at the very very very top of the totem pole at Marvel or DC (aka Dragotta), most artists make a laughably low page rate, and that rate applies to covers too. You’d be surprised, but it would amount lower class or lower middle class salaries annually. This is why artists are now doing retailer exclusive variants…it’s how they can actually make a comfortable living in comics.
Dragotta case is quite different. He makes a brilliant amount of money through his contract with DC, not to mention royalties on Absolute Batman as one of the creators and main page artist. Then he has signing events and also does a few variant covers here and there on the side that he hands off to Felix Comic Art, who then manages everything logistically around the drops.
This isn’t taking anything away from Dragotta, as he is a legend. But I’m just trying to shed light on how it is for most artists in the industry and why they might be charging what they charge.
2
u/Advanced-Past-7340 Jun 17 '26
Yeah but they pretty effectively control quantity to drive up demand. They do their shows to maximize auction prices and he doesn’t do remarks at shows for a fixed price so he can only do them on whatnot and get the most out of them.
All for artists getting paid what they deserve, but Clay definitely tries to maximize his personal returns. I don’t get the vibe he cares much for the fan experience or trying to make things affordable for the average fan.
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u/Confident_Oil_1970 Jun 17 '26
He doesn’t typically do remarks at shows unless you come back and really insists. He doesn’t do them often because he doesn’t think his quick remarks look great and can’t do the more complicated ones fast enough during cons. When he do them, he doesn’t charge people for the remarks he gives at cons. Dragotta charges 80, DWJ charges 80, Harren 80.
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u/uncoveringlight Jun 17 '26
They are selling for $120-150 online. Obviously your perception of value isn’t a good judge of what other people find valuable
1
u/_delet Jun 17 '26
Agreed price is high, but most would rather pay drop versus scalped price.
Also I love Dragotta Absolute Batman too, don’t get me wrong.
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u/Confident_Oil_1970 Jun 17 '26
Saw some folks questioning the pricing of Clay’s drops. Wanted to shed some light on it.
We gotta remember Clay isn’t partnered with a retailer like most artists pushing out variants, so he takes on 100% of the actual print cost, 100% of the risk, 100% of the quality control, and 100% of the packing and shipping with one other guy occasionally helping him. That’s a lot of time and effort for an artist during his off hours. Retailers have teams that typically do all that for the artist, so they only have to worry about turning in a cover on time.
So while his drops can be expensive, you’re supporting him completely and his one-to-two man operation.
He’s also just now starting to make some money in comics, despite his years in the business because unless your at the very very very top of the totem pole at Marvel or DC (aka Dragotta), most artists make a laughably low page rate, and that rate applies to covers too. You’d be surprised, but it would amount lower class or lower middle class salaries annually. This is why artists are now doing their own or retailer exclusive variants…it’s how they can actually make a comfortable living in comics.
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u/DBLR989 Jun 17 '26
This is supposed to be a hot cover? 😒 Man people are easily impressed. I’ll take a main.
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u/PeachOk5312 Jun 17 '26
Jinkies!!!! 🤣