Did you pay extra for the foil covers? Did you try and track down a "regular cover" variant, when there was one? (There wasn't always.) What did you do when, for example, speculators bought up all the copies of a particular foil issue and you just wanted to read the story? Or your local store hiked up the cover price on Day 1 of release?

Me, I paid extra for the foil covers because I was reading the story. I didn't buy the lower-priced variants because my local store didn't get many of them. And I went to a convention the day the DeFalco/Ryan "White Embossed" Human Torch Nova cover came out, and pre-show, dealers bought every copy on the floor. I walked all over and couldn't find one, for any price.
This was a key, pivotal issue to the plot, too! I never did determine how Johnny rescued Lyja and why they weren't speaking.
The joke's on them now - that's not even a quarter comic these days.

I have never, in my life, paid extra money for a foil (or otherwise enhanced) cover. If a cheaper version was available, that's what I bought.

I've picked up a few "enhanced" isues in the fitty cent boxes, though...because that's where a lot of them wound up. (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #400 and INCREDIBLE HULK #418, for example.)

Oh, and before I forget: fuck Image.

When I unpacked my longboxes after a ten year lapse in buying comics, I was disgusted to find that I had bought both covers of the Byrne Superman launch. It's my only varient purchase ever.

Haw haw haw, Frank. You did see my signature, right?

Steve, I tend to ignore signatures. If I am correct in assuming that yours admits some connection with Image Comics, I hope that you did not take the last two words in my above post personally. They certainly weren't aimed at you specifically.

That said: once again, fuck Image. Today. Tomorrow. Forever.

All the best to Steve Horton, though. He's always been okay by me around here.

It says:
STRONGARM! Coming FEBRUARY 28 from IMAGE COMICS!

I'm writing it.

Image isn't the same company it once was. It's mostly a creator-owned comics collective, which is good for comics. They do INVINCIBLE and WALKING DEAD.

I know you don't mean it personally - but there are far worse things in comics to raise your ire about these days, really...

Incidentally, which company made the first foil cover?

I'm with Frank on the not having paid full price-thing.

However, I don't think any title I was following had those - okay, probably I wasn't really following anything at the time, just picking up the occassional issue of something or other.

...waitaminnit...I did buy the first issue of Bloodstrike (hey, I thought the concept was kinda interesting ) when it came out, and it did have that raised-blood thing. So that kinda-sorta counts.

As to variant covers...
When Legends of the Dark Knight debuted, the first issue had four or five different covers - sorta. They were 'protective' covers, each just a different colour than the rest, with all of them having the 'real' cover underneath.
I forget which one I bought at the time, but I only got the one.
Five years or so later, I bought up all of them at a quarter apiece.

Heh. And I did the same thing with both versions of Man of Steel #1 as well

I have to admit that I bought the "regular" and "enhanced" covers of just about everything in the mid 90s. Having said that, I was really only buying any and all Bat-related titles and Spider-Man books during the time, so I didn't get raked over the coals too badly. I just missed the Marvel 30th anniversary books with all their holo-covers (got them for $1 each later in a bin). Nowadays, I just pick up the cheap one. Can't STAND those variant covers by Neal Adams or whoever big name artist they have which cost 3-4 times more. Have two covers, but don't gouge me or the retailers.

I used to put aluminum foil on covers of comics that I already owned.

I hope you were kidding, Matthew. That's just weird!

Jeff: On the other hand, there were more Bat titles and Spider titles around then than ever before or since! Even more than now. And with all the foil covers...!

I always bought the foil cover when given a choice back in the day. and the hologram cover.

I cannot remember what company did the first.

But there were two comics that started the craze.

I believe the first was a SIlver Surfer #50 with the silver embossed Surfer. Everyone and his mother thought that was the coolest of the cool. I believe shortly after that, Ghost Rider had a cover with a Glow in the dark Ghost rider head. As far as I know, that started the craze.

I used to go every wednesday religiously right after school so i almost never missed out on a copy.


I remember the Death of Superman issue being limited to 6 copies of each. and literally the store being mobbed from people 10 years old to like 80. One grandmother didn't realize this was part 6 and was upset she couldn't get all of the back issues. I think she did buy most of them, paying through the nose, except for that rare Justice League issue.

The funny thing is, they're all quarter comics now, almost to a man. Especially that Justice League issue. Reading the Death of Superman trade now, it's amazing how much the Justice League sucked then. They filled it with Z-List third stringers - no wonder Doomsday kicked their asses.

Kind of strayed from even Giffen's concept - the Giffen League may not have had Superman or Wonder Woman, but it had Batman, Captain Marvel, Green Lantern...

I have a lot of foil covers sitting in my last remaining longboxes, and every single one was pulled from the quarter box. Every single one.

I'm no stranger to oddball, nonsensical buying habits - I own about 15 different editions of The Lord of the Rings for no good reason at all - but the gimmick cover thing just never clicked with me.

Sadly, the Absolute editions might.

They're worth a quarter, tho! Some of 'em would look great hanging on a wall.

I agree, for a quarter, they're worth it. And some do look pretty good.

I'd like to get rid of the majority of my 90s stuff, but on eBay you'll get 99 cents for a lot of 50 comics. That's just not worth my time and effort, so in neglected longboxes they sit. I'd give them to my son, but they SUCK. I'm a better dad than to subject him to early '90s comics!

You might pick out the really good ones. There are some gems among the crap!

I got rid of 6 longboxes of 90s comics a year or two back. The owner of my LCS bought them from me for something like $50/box (might have been less, can't remember), except for a smattering of books that were actually worth a little. There is such a glut of 90s material out there, it's almost impossible to unload. He only bought them from me because I've always been a good regular customer. Same day, he let me hold a copy of Amazing Fantasy 15 in my hands. Easily the most valuable comic I've ever touched!

I managed to pick up that trade for a buck a couple of years ago.

That's actually not a bad deal! I'd gladly take two or three longboxes into my LCS and trade them in for a few "free" graphic novels.

Hmmmm ... actually, why didn't I think of that before? I wonder if they'd do it?

All my 60s DC I'd keep, a chunk of 70s Marvel, and a few runs my son would like (Spider-Man stuff, mostly), along with a few a special favorites. The Vertigo, indies, and anything published after 1978, gone. That would leave me with about two longboxes, I think, depending on how much 70s Marvel I ditch. I'd prefer just one box left.

I ought to skip eBay and just call my local shop.

It saved me tremendous money and kept my comic's freshness locked in.