83 thoughts on “Spoilers: Captain Marvel #8, The Reason Behind the Hype”

  1. Hmmm….think this Star character is just here to create a false sense of security so Captain Marvel would agree to leave? Could be a shapeshifter posing as Star… maybe a NM98 / X-Force 11 type thing where the true star appears later on?

      1. Flipping and speaking the likely truth are two different things.

        After seeing the spoilers, do I think people are jumping the gun on the new character? Absolutely. New character doesn’t seem special to me. Is that going to stop me from flipping them if I obtain a few copies, heck no! Buy low, sell high and let the FOMO kick in I say, those are the ones who really boost one’s profit.

          1. That’s what I tell myself but it’s usually buy and put in a box. Haven’t had the selling bug in a year or so only thing I’ve sold in the last year is my extra copy of TWD #1. Have a stack of TWD #193s to sell just sitting in the original unopened package, getting around to start up selling again dump those and a few of my Hulk #228s.

            1. I’ve got the selling bug currently. The bug I’m still trying to find is the motivation to actually list bug.. Anyone know where motivation is at and hiding? I could really use some motivation..

              1. More rare doesn’t mean it will be the most valuable or sought after. Still needs demand. It’s still worthy but a lot of collectors don’t bother with store only variants.

                1. Maybe so, I would rather have an awesome virgin variant by Lee, than a crappy looking 1:25 from a no name. But to each there own I guess.

                2. Just look at it this way, the virgin variant was a $20 book to start off with. The regular issued one with dressing is $3.99. I’ll skip the premium price and save myself $16 to get the same cover art.

                  But yes, one thing we agree on, buy what you like and if you’re flipping them, buy low, sell high.

                3. I don’t collect the series so I am looking to get the books in and flip them ASAP. I bought a bunch of rare horror comics with my turtle windfall from two weeks ago.

                4. I think the virgin variant is too high a buy-in. Likely it’ll stay in the same price range as the trade dress. And what is the print run on the virgin….1000? So,1000 stores need to order 25 copies for the 1:25 to match the virgin print run, I’m guessing.

                  Not bloody likely…

                  I actually like the 1:25 the best of all…but will settle for the carnage variant if I find it…

                5. I’d guess it’s probably more like 300-500 stores probably bought 25 copies. Yes, Captain Marvel just had a movie but just like Black Panther, the masses are not all out buying this comic each month…

                6. This is hard for people to grasp.
                  It’s supply and demand. If there’s say 500 copies that’s a very small print run. But If nobody wants it it might not even be worth $4.

                1. They have already bumped their price on it to $29.99 as well.
                  The thing is..the book has been hot since last Friday & readily available since that time (while both A & B & 1:25 have been sold out/very scarce or higher priced than the virgin). That Virgin has also been readily available on ebay as well. It just won’t have the ROI or demand the others do & it shows by the fact it’s still available.

                2. Probably won’t even be that many. Captain Marvel #7 last month was a 26,141 print run. With this being a total surprise book, I doubt shops changed their order totals for this book. I’d imagine a lot of shops don’t order more than 25 copies either, I know one of my shops has just a handful each month.

                3. Really be curious to see how many are Cover As. Awful cover in contrast to the very sharp B cover. Then add in the splits between the Carnagized vs Non Carnagized A’s?
                  I know my shop only got a few A’s & def higher on B (& not many total either way).

                4. #10 is also pretty sharp looking. I know the verdict on Star isn’t in yet, but I do like the fact that we have 2 guaranteed books with great covers clearly focussed on her still to come.

              2. Store variants have a minimum 3000 print run. The print run for this series sits around 25,000 or less. That would put the 1:25 at 1000 copies. There is no way the reused art store variant with a 3000 print run will even be sought after, imo. Store variants rarely out do books by the publishers.

                1. Store variants have minimum, not maximum of 3000 copies on trade dress. Virgin copies are normally limited to 1000 or less.

                2. If there is a second ‘version’ of the store variant, then that is 1000. If they do 1 cover for the store variant, it is a minimum 3000 print run. The print run on the CM8 virgin is at least 3000.

        1. Ok so my Powers of X , Lucio Parillo, limited to 600 virgin cover has a 3k print run. What about my immortal hulk 19, limited to 500. What do you think the print run will be on Powers of X. It will be big.

          1. Or my Vampirella #1 limited to 400, I could go on and on proving that your information on store variants is absolutely wrong. Now find me an incentive on those three issues that can beat the print numbers for even close to the price of the store variant. The answer is you cannot.

            1. Vampirella is not a Marvel book. Most Indie publishers allow a 750 minimum peint run for their exclusives. DCs is 2000 mininmum. Marvel is 3000. If you do the math, almost every 1:25 has a much lower print than 3000. FACTS.

              1. @justin. If you enjoy the art on the exclusive and want to pay a premium to get it, that is your prerogative. Im simply trying to let you know the truth about the print runs. If you would rather listen to the stores that are charging you a premium for reused art, that is also your prerogative. Betwen the stores and me, who has an incentive to lie to you about the print runs? The store taking your money, or the guy with zero on the line?

                1. Absolutely none of the issues I mentioned were reused art. They were original pieces by well known artist.

                2. I always say, buy what you like, sell what others want to buy what you like. If you like it, buy it. Nothing wrong with that. I am not “against store covers” have bought some. But only buy what I really want in my collection.

                1. Now that you have the facts, Justin. I would imagine you would be upset, not ‘jelly’. I have a few store variants left, for sale, if you’re interested.

          2. I am unaware of these books as I have zero interest in store variants. I purged them from collection a few years ago. And those books you mentioned, Parillo virgin et al. If they have one cover, it has a 3000 print run. If the books have two covers, one will be 3000, the other a minimum of 1000. If the stores you bought them from claim there are only 600 printed. They are lying to you. Here is a list of stores that are well known among experienced collectors as trying to manipulate the market by not being transparent with their print runs;
            – comic exposure
            -unknown
            -frankies
            -sad lemon
            – mutant beaver

            I have personally worked on Marvel/DC/Indie exclusives for a local shop
            and I have personal been in touch with Marvels sales dept. Marvels policy, the actual email has been posted many times before, is if you have one cover, it is 3000 print. If you do a 2nd cover. That 2nd cover can be limited to 1000. These are facts.

              1. Believe what you want, Justin. Albert, above, Also knows that the print run is 3000 minimum for Marvel, as he stated. It is a well known fact among experienced collectors about each publishers minimum ordering requirements when it comes to exclusives. It is also well known amongst these experienced collectors that the stores have not transparent with their print runs. Im not here to argue, but these are the facts, Justin, and I simply wanted to inform you. As I stated earlier, I do not collect store exclusives, and have not for years (a few exemptions with that for flipping), so I have no skin in this game. Believe what you want, and choose wisely. Enjoying your books is the most important thing. Cheers, my friend.

                1. I will and remember when you buy those overpriced incentive variants with overinflated prices from retailers, that some one out there has a more rare and better looking store variant.

                  Also do you really think you can calculate a 1:25 print run by figuring how many copies of regular covers stores may buy. Yes Marvel only prints the exact amount of 1:25 variants that are needed to match regular sales. That’s sarcasm. What ever your figure is you forgot to add the crapload marvel still has.

                  Game.Point. Match

                2. here’s a direct quote from an email from Dan Petaglia, manager of sales at Marvel Publishing, regarding getting store variants from Marvel:

                  “Thanks for reaching out! I’m happy to share some information about retailer variants. Pricing varies by issue, depending on cover price, and minimum quantity is 3000 units, but we can move a little bit on that number to accommodate your needs. Once those details are agreed upon, I’ll provide a list of artists with potential availability that you can request for the cover, and you can provide a cover concept. Once editorial approves the concept and the artist agrees to the cover, I’ll send you art in progress as it becomes available. Let me know if you have any questions, and if there are any upcoming issues you’re interested in for a variant.

                  Thanks!
                  Dan”

                  This was posted recently by One Guy Who Owns A Shop. The words about moving slightly on the 3000 is the 1st time ive seen that. So, Marvel exclusives may be as low as 2500, but there is no way that they go to 600. You have been lied to, and fooled, by the online stores who told you these books have a 600 print run. Choose wisely, Justin. ?

                3. And the saying is ‘game, SET, match’. Its a tennis term. ‘Game, point, match’, as you referred too, doesnt make any sense. If you wanted to make up your own victory saying, I think ‘point, game, match’ would he more logical. ?

                4. My primary shop doesn’t sell incentive variants at inflated prices. If they get them and no one else has grabbed them, then all new comics and all past issue comics are cover price.

                  But you need to let the “rare” thing go.. rare doesn’t automatically make your book more valuable or in higher demand. I can a one of a kind but if I’m the only person in the world that wants it, that makes that one of a kind item worthless if no one is willing to pay money for it.

                  Each week we have indie books that have print runs under 1000 copies. Those are rare right? Meh.. they might be hard to obtain but if no one wants them, that’s why you find them in the 50 cent bin 6 months later.

                5. If I buy ratio variants at my LCS, they are cover at one shop, cover +$1 at another shop, and ratio at the bigger shop. I am currently waiting on an ANW2 1:25 9.8 candidate to arrive in the mail, that I bought with my TWD193 et al profits. It should be here any day. Im stoked. ?

            1. He is not wrong. I’ve looked into it as well…most shops will state “limited to 500 copies world wide” but will not actually give you the print run (which is likely 3000).

              I don’t see that as lying….maybe withholding information as they may or may not destroy the remaining copies. Who knows?

              Some actually do disclose they destroy the remaining copies, however you’re basically taking their word they actually do this.

              1. You are right, Drog, that it probably does not qualify as lying, per se, depending on their wording. Whatever we want to call it, I think we agree that its nature is deceptive. A deceptive retailer is not an honest retailer.

  2. Seems like 1st full but Conan 23 isn’t 1st full Red Sonja even though she has dialogue and is in 10 + panels so who knows?

    1. People who say Conan #23 is a cameo obviously have never read the book she’s in pages of panels speaks and is even named only thing Conan #24 is 1st cover appearance of Red Sonja. One of the best examples of people making shit up.

      1. Conan #23 is a first. An appearance is an appearance. Now, if the market goes for another issue as the one with demand that creates value, so be it. That’s just how the market works.

        1. I don’t know my people get hung up over first, first cameo and first full. A first app is THE first….and usually the only thing hat makes a 2nd appearance more desirable is if he character is on the cover.

          Hulk 180 and 181 values would be totally reversed if the covers were switched.

  3. I haven’t read it yet but for those thinking the run is down in numbers keep in mind many of us increased orders to get the Carnage-ized Trade Dress Variants we knew would be mixed in time to bump preFOC and ordered even more copies for the Carnage variant theme. In my case I got a total of 7 in the door where I would have only ordered 1 copy for the shelf and no one has subscribed to the series. From my point of view the order size increased by 700%.

    1. @BJ think you’re a variant in the normal trend. Yes, the bigger shops might do what you did…but what percentage of all sales come from shops with the capability of taking those kinds if risks with a book like capt. marvel in the lull in MCU movie hype?

      1. At the time the orders were increased the 1st Carnage-ized Trade Dress was out pulling good numbers. The order increases should have a variety or reasons from stores hoping the CTD would stay up in price to those customers wanting both which means pretty much doubling the orders to satisfy them, especially when in the 1st couple weeks when this was happening it wasn’t absolutely certain yet what the mix percentage would be.

        Then there’s the CAPTAIN MARVEL #8 INHYUK LEE CARNAGE-IZED VAR which just screamed buy some because it looked great and because it would appeal to fans collecting the Carnage-ized Variants. That suggests ordering more than just A cover for most stores and more total than they originally planned if they new about the CTD’s which they should.

        Then there’s the 25 QTY Variant which was another one that could be achieved easily with a mix of the A and B Covers. I didn’t go after that one myself but thought about it. It didn’t scream sexy easy sell to me but I’m sure enough stores did to get the print run up a good deal over months with just the A cover to pick from.

        That store that ordered the virgin should have been eligible for up to 120 copies of the 25 qty.

        Captain Marvel #6 most likely had a good sized print run also with 31,297 copies.

        We want know until next month but I’m expecting something at least in the 40’s for the size of the print run. I actually feel I under ordered A Cover realizing later I wanted to make multiple sets of all 10 CTD’s.

  4. I just read it and Star was in the book but not enough revealed to really say anything at all about her. That leaves the guess train running wild. The whole fall apart in 7 days thing feels rushed/slapped together. It reminds me of a lot of the Iron Man stories I’m reading during the time when she had the drinking problem. They’d toss together some excuse to have Tony paparatzi’d to the point of going off to hide/give up or start a new life just to find out there was a mastermind behind it all manipulating the media and orchestrating the players. In that case his childhood rival and supposed friend. I’m thinking Star is just a tool in the hands of a master manipulator doing something like they’ve already done several times to Iron Man. It’s an interesting idea but they aren’t really even making the most of the female hero’s they already have.

  5. marvel has a very strict rule, 1st cover minimum of 3k, every cover after that is 1k minimum. thats why stores say “600 available” and not 600 printed. as for your Vampirella, dynamite has different rules about print runs. if you ever see a marvel store exclusive with a number below 600 your being lied too. unless they say or give proof of destruction of remaining copies

  6. My math is off. I forgot I’d bumped the order again for Captain Marvel A Cover a second time to make sure I got plenty of CTD Variants mixed in. 6 more shipping in on next weeks invoice. That would be 9 A covers combined for a cover I normally only order 1 of and 3 of the other Carnage Variant for a total of 12 combined.

    Just noticed my SDCC Variants on the invoice and my Nova Pop GOTG incentives are on there as well. Should be another fun week. It appears the incentives are shipping ahead of the Pop figures.

    1. Scratch that. Apparently those 6 were ordered post FOC trying to get the CTD’s ordered July 9 and I ordered 4 more on July 12 that haven’t invoiced yet for the same reason. No wonder they sold out before we looked Friday at Diamond when the rumors broke if other stores had also placed after FOC orders like I did trying to get CTD’s. Price appears to be crashing early though so it may not matter.

      1. I’ll take $15-20 sales on a book not even on the market yet all day long. I don’t know that I’ve seen any signs of it “crashing”, just a bit of correction from the really absurd prices that started up last Friday when there were minimal listing to begin with it/presales sold out and the FOMO buyers were fully taken advantage of.

        Ultimately, we will see how it plays out, but there is no denying this was a great spec book which is why we are all here. I really believe you will be the exception versus the rule in regards to number of these books on hand at your shop today.

        In talking with a buddy, it is very likely a play by Captain Minerva who will be the true protagonist at the end of the day.

  7. Watch Captain Marvel #9 come out with a b cover with Star on it and the market jumps on it as being the real 1st full app.

    Make it an homage cover to ASM 361 with carnage swapped for Star and boom!

    Lol

  8. Just to piggyback on what JayClue has said… here’s a direct quote from an email from Dan Petaglia regarding getting store variants from Marvel:

    “Thanks for reaching out! I’m happy to share some information about retailer variants. Pricing varies by issue, depending on cover price, and minimum quantity is 3000 units, but we can move a little bit on that number to accommodate your needs. Once those details are agreed upon, I’ll provide a list of artists with potential availability that you can request for the cover, and you can provide a cover concept. Once editorial approves the concept and the artist agrees to the cover, I’ll send you art in progress as it becomes available. Let me know if you have any questions, and if there are any upcoming issues you’re interested in for a variant.

    Thanks!
    Dan”

    And as far as pricing the retailer paid to Diamond, pretty much any shop that would even consider a store variant has a 55-56% discount on Marvel. So a normal $3.99 book costs that retailer $1.7955 plus inbound freight (which varies between 1.5%-3% of retail depending on whether they are in a pickup location, whether they get a zone skip discount etc). But store variants are more expensive. Also quoting Dan:

    “Variant pricing for 3.99 books is 2.75 per unit, which includes all printing and art fees.”

    So yes, it’s possible a shop arranged to have a print run of 2500 (“move a little bit on that number to accommodate your needs”) but there’s zero chance that any Marvel store variant only had 600 copies.

    Image is a different matter. With Image most anything is possible. But Image gets around it by requiring you order a larger minimum of the regular book. So to get a store variant of Saga 55, you’d have to order at least 1,000 of the regular cover. That sort of thing.

    1. I appreciate the info, @OneGuy. I have seen several of these emails before, but this is the first time Ive heard them say they can move on that number a little bit. Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

      1. I wonder if there has been a store marvel variant that was sold and advertised as ‘600’, but the CGC census has more copies on it than the original advertised print run. Lmoa

          1. The other copies would of had to of been destroyed, if there was not a special circumstance. Do you recall anything like that, Alana?

          2. I just looked. That book was advertised as ‘limited to 600’. I highly doubt there were only 600 printed. Marvels policy says that there is more than 600, if the other 2000 or so copies were not destroyed.

          3. Right now, on CGCs census, there are 429 graded copies of the Mayhew ASM979 Variant. 380 of which are graded 9.8. If the print run is 600, do you really suppose that 63% of the print run came out as graded 9.8s? Thats a damn clean print run for any Marvel book. And 71% came out as 9.6 graded or better? I find that hard to believe that 72% of the total print run has been graded. Those numbers dont add up to me.

            1. I just checked eBay listings for Mayhew ASM797. I saw at least 10 CBCS graded copies at 9.8, some were SS. And I saw a PGX 9.9. With those copies added to the numbers. The stated print run is close to 75% graded 9.8s. That def doesnt add up.

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