The comic shop clerk who told me to stop reading variant covers

Last Saturday at Golden Age Comics in Denver, the guy at the counter said I was wasting my money chasing ratio variants. Told me about a regular who dropped over $600 last year on covers he never even opened. Got me thinking about how the hobby turned into a collectible market instead of just reading good stories. Anybody else feel like the variant cover chase killed the fun of just picking up a random issue?

3 comments

3 Comments

grace_allen1mo agoMost Upvoted

Wait, a clerk actually called you out for chasing ratio variants to your face? I would've been mortified but also kind of glad someone finally said it. I've watched guys at my shop drop $50 on a virgin cover of a character they don't even like, just because it's a 1:100 ratio. Meanwhile they never cracked open the actual story inside, which is usually the same book just with a different picture on the front. It's like buying a car for the paint job and never turning the key. Makes you wonder if the hobby's more about bragging rights than good writing these days.

thomas_martinez2mo ago

Man, that clerk actually said that to your face? Wild. Did he at least recommend a good run to check out instead of just lecturing you?

adamgreen2mo ago

@thomas_martinez read an article saying variants are just FOMO traps for collectors.