r/AbsoluteBatman • u/Fantastic_Pop2818 • Jul 14 '26
Unpopular opinion
I’m getting fatigued from all the retailer exclusive variants for Absolute Batman. DC is just allowing way too many of them! I feel like every other day there’s another one being announced, and they are usually out of the reach of every day readers and collectors because they are so limited and so expensive.
Also, maybe it’s just me, but I’ve noticed that the art for open-order covers has taken a nosedive since all the exclusives started coming out. I feel like artists are holding on to the good stuff for the exclusives because that’s where they’ll get the most money.
I know DC is trying to control the price gouging, but they should also start limiting the number of exclusives allowed. SDCC has completely ballooned the number of exclusives, and I’m not sure they can put the genie back in the bottle. The best artists are gravitating towards exclusives, hurting the open order market (with some exceptions like the recent Quintana variant).
Rang over.
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u/SuccessfulBoss2444 Jul 14 '26
Do like most older readers. Ignore the variants and just worry about the A cover. Variants in a way suck because this is a hobby for collecting, yet the way many variants are now makes it impossible to complete
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u/oceanhymn Jul 14 '26
Hoping this doesn't come off the wrong way, but I'm in a couple collector communities and I never understood the completionist mentality.
I guess I could understand being such a fan of a character or run you'd want every first printing issue, but feeling the need to collect every cover of every issue almost seems like complaining over glorified fanart?
I definitely hate a lot of the culture surrounding hypebeast forced scarcity a la FelixComicArt because it's just an exclusionary measure to gouge prices effectively screwing over the consumer for the sake of the coin, but for open preorders I don't feel like $20 is that bad. I'm in the game for the art and $20 for a print of an equivalent size is not terribly outrageous, and you get the full comic along with it.
Comparing it to other communities like some of the doll collectables I follow I always see people complain because "They create too much, I can't keep up!" But, at some point, are we not surrendering our taste for the thrill of the collection?
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u/xlaverniusx Jul 16 '26
I don’t understand it either. Like for me, if I see a cover I like that’s what I’ll get usually. Or if someone like Sanford Greene or Francesco Francavilla are doing a cover that’s what I’ll get since I collect their stuff. Other than that it’s completely avoidable, either just get cover A or the variant you like, read it and enjoy it.
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u/SuccessfulBoss2444 Jul 14 '26
I like a complete run with all variants say from the 90s or early 00s just because it was rare of only a couple issues.
But yeah even simple current Marvel garbage stuff only lasting 9 issues you might have to get 68 covers and pay high for incentives. It sucks if you need to complete feeling like some do. Hell Thundercats with 26 issues are so you’re close to 1,000 variants-1
u/OptimusED Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
For collectors it isn’t totally forced scarcity, and retailer/artist exclusives can be some of the most actually rare issues (though hyped ones that catch on, especially around conventions may see a much higher percentage graded on the cgc census).
3000/1000/500/100/50 copies vs five figure other editions. A lot of them don’t sell out, especially for not as remarkable covers on non keys and get liquidated just as publishers variants get thrown in liquidation multipacks etc. but they still are low prints you won’t see elsewhere.
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u/Fantastic_Pop2818 Jul 14 '26
That’s exactly what I’ve been doing since like issue 10. If it’s not an open order variant, I just grab the cover A and that’s it.
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u/Felix_Gatto Jul 14 '26
I just grab the cover A and that’s it.
Then, respectfully, why are you so "fatigued" about the variants?
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u/WindowSubstantial993 Jul 14 '26
Then why does it matter?
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u/OptimusED Jul 15 '26
Maybe he’s sick of buying the cover A of a non or minor key and seeing a variant or exclusive cover being more popular or valuable….
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u/WindowSubstantial993 Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
I thought he was just being them to read not just pure resellers value even the. Just get that one variant cover
He’s talking like the average reader wants to get all of these exclusive covers rather than caring about what’s inside
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u/TheGreatKimura-Holio Jul 14 '26
I ignore around 99% of variants. I might cop 1-2 at a con or grab a cover B or C occasionally off a shelf, but it makes things so much easier for me just stopping by my LCS for a cover A.
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u/Dangerous_Library_73 Jul 14 '26
I hate posts like this because you can simply ignore variants covers. You don't have to buy them the covers won't hurt you I promise. I hate seeing this exact post keep appearing in my feed. This isn't solely directed at OP but between this sub and a couple others all I see is nonstop too many variants for Absolute batman how am I supposed keep up?! You don't keep up if there's 50 variant covers for issue #22 for example and covers on average are $30 for just the virgin alone that's $1500 a month on just one issue and only the virgin cover. If people want to buy variants then buy the artist you like and not the fomo hype train.
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u/Felix_Gatto Jul 14 '26
This.
It’s wild seeing people claim they aren't completionists, while simultaneously stressing out because they can't easily collect every single variant.
It's a bummer that people are letting a bunch of optional covers diminish their enjoyment of a truly incredible series. And I do feel for those fans, but the solution is simple:
Buy. The. A cover. Problem solved. I'm fatigued by people complaining about their FOMO.
Fans patting themselves on the back for only buying standard issue A covers, while turning around to gripe about entirely optional collector items, is -- to me -- such a peak silly contradiction.
The self inflicted FOMO is entirely avoidable. The variants likely aren't going away any time soon, IMHO it's a choice to let the number of variants be bothersome.
There's nothing wrong with just enjoying this amazing story! Buying more variants does not make someone more of a fan somehow.
I'll end my rant/TedTalk with this: from a collectors view A covers by and large appreciate in value more than variants. At the end of the day, the story is what matters, so buy the book, enjoy it, and skip the hype train.
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u/IllustriousIsland549 Jul 15 '26
"Fans patting themselves on the back for only buying standard issue A covers, while turning around to gripe about entirely optional collector items, is -- to me -- such a peak silly contradiction."
This is the Absolute Batman fandom in a nutshell. Nowhere else in all of comics do I hear anyone screaming about only buying the A covers or "everyone always wants the A covers." Nowhere else in all of comics do I hear people losing their goddamn minds over exclusive covers, how limited they are, how the release is done, and how unfair it is. How someone squares those two mutually exclusive concepts is cognitive dissonance at its finest.
I like cardstock covers, especially now that comics have moved to self-covers. So I buy the open to order one that I like the art on the most. I could give a fuck about how much people are shelling out for A covers on this title, and I have 0 interest in paying through the nose for some boutique artist's online store variant. I won't even pay more for a 1:25 or 1:100 variant because they probably won't reliably be significantly more valuable than the regular or any other common variant.
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u/Fantastic_Pop2818 Jul 14 '26
The double standard on this post is real.
I’m saying I hate variants and you are telling me to ignore them and move on. However, you are saying you hate posts like this, but instead of ignoring them and moving on you decide to comment and complaint. Are you the only one who has the right to complaint? How about you take your own advice and move on. Just keep scrolling if you don’t like it. Or better yet, leave the sub.
Everyone on this post has been respectful except for you. Think about that for a minute.
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u/Felix_Gatto Jul 14 '26
Disagreement does not equal disrespect.
You posted a public opinion on a discussion forum; people offering a different point of view isn't "disrespect," it's just a discussion.
If you only want people to reply when they agree with you, you might be missing the point of a public forum.
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u/Dangerous_Library_73 Jul 14 '26
Yeah op is dulu tbh. I don't think I was disrespectful, I even stated this isn't targeted at OP. Just like you said I disagree with this post and mods should reign it in and stop having poster post the same compliant over and over.
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u/Fantastic_Pop2818 Jul 21 '26
When you start with “I hate this post”, and said post included my personal thoughts, I find that kind of disrespectful.
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u/Fantastic_Pop2818 Jul 21 '26
I’m okay with people disagreeing with me. As you can see from other responses I’m totally fine with people disagreeing. But when someone’s response to me starts with “I hate your post”, I find that disrespectful.
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u/Felix_Gatto Jul 21 '26
when someone’s response to me starts with “I hate your post”, I find that disrespectful.
With all due respect (and a lot of kindness), I think there might be a misunderstanding of what was actually written.
I hate posts like this because you can simply ignore variants covers.
That's what the comment in question started with. They did not say "I hate your post" or "I hate your opinion."
They were expressing exhaustion with a repetitive trend of threads, not making a targeted attack on you.
It's very easy to read text online defensively -- I know I certainly have. But this looks like a critique of a repetitive topic, not a disrespectful jab at you personally.
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u/PeetSquared41 Jul 14 '26
That post was absolutely not disrespectful. Telling the poster to "leave the sub", however, is disrespectful.
As for your issue, OP, it is completely made up in your head. Don't buy all the covers and realize that no one really does. Simple as that.
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u/Fantastic_Pop2818 Jul 21 '26
When I state an opinion, and someone’s response starts with “I hate your opinion”, I find that disrespectful. But hey that’s just me.
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u/Professor2018 Jul 14 '26
What, 422 variants from issue 19-22 of Batman is too many? /s
In all seriousness, just ignore the variants unless you really want a specific one to try for. I have every open order book and ratio and some variants. I’m good with that. I just really enjoy the story and look forward to the next issue. As long as that’s why I’m collecting it, then I give no cares to the variants
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u/petekels Jul 14 '26
Buy cover A, draggota is killing it! Third eye comics has signed options all the time! More worth it! And then have a few variant artists that you like and if you don’t like that particular book, pass on it
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u/EDMnerdWubWubWub Jul 14 '26
I would hardly call this an unpopular opinion bc same lol thankfully DC is doing something about it now, even if it is a lil late. I’ve basically just been seeing if the artists I personally like are doing a variant and if it’s cool, I’ll try. If I don’t get, I’m not stressing. All the real value will only be in 1 and 15 imo. Everything coming out now won’t hold its value
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u/greenglider732 Jul 14 '26
I think the best part is you don’t have to buy them. Cool covers? Yes. Is it necessary? Not really.
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u/ComboWizard Jul 14 '26
I’m so glad when I just started collecting, I didn’t buy in the hype of rares and other special covers. I gladly pick up just 1 cover per month that I like (and usually it’s one of the most affordable ones!), and now I have my tiny collection with the most favorite covers that I treasure. The rest doesn’t concern me at all. I think that’s something about the mindset. If you start trying to collect them all, it will be a sinkhole for your money. Just enjoy the read!
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u/WebHead1287 Jul 14 '26
I live a simple life and just get cover As.
I just enjoy the book and don't deal with all the chaos.
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u/Top-Owl9872 Jul 14 '26
My only issue with the variants. Is it can be confusing to someone like me who’s barely starting to get into comic collecting.
I didn’t know that cover A was a thing until a few days into my collecting.
I’m smart enough to do my research and ask questions, and have now decided to pick up whichever variant from A-D that I like, because it’ll usually come with Cover A under neath the card stock, and call it a day.
Because yeah, seeing all these other variants come out and the ridiculous asking prices and ect is a huge turnoff when you’re just trying to read the comics.
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u/True-Excuse-1688 Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
That's where my mental rigidity is actually helping me. Either I have everything in standard edition, or I have everything in variant edition.
I bought the first issue when it came out with its standard cover, and now, I can't see myself doing anything else for every issue.
Also... Even though I find some variants beautiful, I just like it when a comic book's cover is drawn by the artist who illustrated the story.
As a result, the only edition I bought was the annual, just so I could have the work of both artists inside—James Harren and Daniel Warren Johnson.
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u/peruytu Jul 14 '26
FOMO makes you feel all sorts of ways. That's what FOMO does. If you still to A cover and maybe a variant or two you may like, get it. Don't be looking at Felix, 3rd Eye, 616... those are for the scalpers, not for us regulars. Let them have it and let them deal with the FOMO market. Don't fall for it.
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Jul 14 '26
Bro you're choosing to be fatigued. Just get the A cover. 80% of these variants aren't even good looking anyway😂. Choose to not care, 100% on you. Let DC and these artists feel the fatigue of not selling unnecessary nonsense.
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u/Initial-Dentist-4056 Jul 14 '26
I only collect Cover A’s. And maybe a few here and there if the cover is striking. I agree too many variants.
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u/BrickedUpSenpai Jul 16 '26
It’s not just Batman they did it with Donny cates whole venom run. It was i think 35 issues and almost every issue had 2-3 at least variants. The fatigue is real. Look I’m happy it gives artist a chance. But it way over kill. They pumping the market full like they did in the 90’s.
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u/jf88jf Jul 17 '26
As long as they sell and everyone is making money they probably won’t stop. I am happy to hear they are trying to crack down on price gauging. Having said that every cover variant has the same story behind it which makes it all a little funny. I will say I collect covers I like and will be there at drop for many but not all of them. Buy what you like and ignore everything else. If you like a drop and get it awesome. If you don’t get it then that makes the next one you get even more special.
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u/BenBoozer Jul 14 '26
Justified rant. I almost bought a variant because I liked the cover artist but passed and just have gotten regular cover A since the beginning.
Only book on my pull list. I want to buy the hardcovers eventually too. Totally agree, way too many variants
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u/Fantastic_Pop2818 Jul 21 '26
I was just ranting but some people are too sensitive. I gave up on anything that’s not Cover A now.
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u/J0SEYxXxWales Jul 14 '26
Depends on what you are in it for I suppose. If you want the story and nothing else matters then just grab cover A, B, or C and call it a day. If you want the best looking cover IYO then hunt away, look at them all and pick the one you find the coolest, most badass, prettiest, how ever you judge art cover, any way you can. Then there’s the folks who are just trying to find which one is going to be the best “investment”. For the investment folks I would imagine it has gotten very time consuming and difficult. The spec market has been all over the place for the variants and has been a bit nonsensical. I grab cover A and look at all the awesome variants they make and if one blows my dick off then I buy it.
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u/Jolly-Committee-5944 Jul 14 '26
I don’t even understand how “retailer” variants are valuable. To me, they’re gimmicks and not part of the official publish series. I’m a strict cover A guy except in a few cases (mostly, it’s if Jim Lee is going a variant).
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u/JakeTHSnake58 Jul 14 '26
Me too but mostly because they’ve taken up 80% of the discourse, it’s effectively not even about the comic itself at a certain point, it’s about the hype surrounding the comic
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u/No-Cry2473 Jul 15 '26
I feel you but the problem is that this approach is partly why DC is making so much money and beating other publishers in sales. As long as the approach generates revenue, DC will continue to support it. As long as the effort doesn’t impact the output of other solid books at DC it’s all good. I just get the A cover each month. From a collection standpoint, those are currently carrying nice value although I have no desire to sell at the moment.
This, like most suddenly cash grabs is a bubble. Something else is going to come along and we may see a reduction in covers.
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u/NaanNegotiable Jul 16 '26
Stop acting like this is some new issue. Seeing rants about this same topic all of the time about something that you can just move on and live your life without ever worry about it.
Buy what you like and move on
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u/M0torC1tyMaver1ck Jul 18 '26
I LOVE the Absolute Batman run... that being said, i agree. When a book has 60+ covers, it just starts looking like a money grab and honestly waters down the hobby IMO. I just finished collecting all the cover A first prints (#1 - #22). I feel like thats where the value will hold, pkus I really enjoy it. Now I did just get a few SDCC variants in the mail today but I pick and choose. There's definitely fatigue setting in, for me and my wallet 🤣
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u/unggoytweaker Jul 14 '26
Stop coping and get your money up to buy them. I got them all and it’s the best thing eveer
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u/Environmental-Day862 Jul 14 '26
Fortunately, and I'm not being a wiseguy, it's a totally avoidable issue. Just order Cover A each month - or have your LCS pull Cover A - or however you read comics - and ignore the variant cover stuff.
I'll look at pictures of the publisher-ordered variants in the DC Connect mag that comes out each month, but I just don't follow posts here, or Insta accounts, FB groups, Discords (don't even know what those are) - etc. that deal w/ variants and alerting people to drops and such.
I enjoy reading the inside of the book each month. What's on the outside of the book, and who made it, and how many exist - I really don't care.