I used to think collecting variant covers was a waste of money

For about five years, I only bought the standard cover of any comic I wanted. Then, at a convention in Atlanta, a friend showed me his collection of a specific artist's variants for a single series, all laid out side by side. Seeing the artistic evolution and different interpretations of the same characters over 24 issues completely changed my view. I started picking up a few artist-focused variants myself, and it's added a whole new layer to the hobby. Has anyone else had a specific collection that made them appreciate a part of fandom they used to ignore?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_avery22d ago

That Atlanta convention story hits home. I was the same way about trade paperbacks, thought single issues were clutter. Then I found a run of old Hellblazer floppies at a garage sale and got hooked on the feel of reading the actual monthlies.

mitchell.mark22d ago

Totally get that shift in thinking. I used to be all about the clean bookshelf look with trades too. Something about finding a random issue of old Swamp Thing in a dollar bin changed it for me. The ads and the letter columns make it feel like a little time capsule, you know? Now I hunt for those floppies every weekend.