The desperation mounts

>Marvel has added another variant to the November debut issue of the latest Venom series, but to get it, Direct Market retailers have to order 1000 copies of the primary cover. And as for what the cover looks like or who is even drawing it, that's a 'secret' according to the publisher.

>A new "1 for 1,000 Venom #1 Top Secret Artist Variant" was announced in the publisher's weekly 'Marvel Mailer' to retailers. The deadline for retailers to place these orders is October 31.

>As for when the publisher will reveal who the 'Top Secret Artist' is? "Stay tuned for an exciting announcement!" reads the newsletter.

>Assuming Marvel plans to deliver on their promise of an artist noteworthy enough to spur orders, names like Todd McFarlane, Erik Larsen, Mark Bagley, Chris Bachalo, Humberto Ramos, Tony Moore, or Declan Shalvey come to mind. Some are currently doing work for Marvel, while others like McFarlane and Larsen - both remembered for contributions to early days of Venom - would be somewhat a surprise and could certainly command the attention of the market.

You do know this is Cred Forumss fault for buying variants right?
Who even cares, its just the fucking cover.

JUST

>Anyone buys comics and not just pirates shit.

>Who even cares, its just the fucking cover.

It speaks volumes to Marvel's strategy for beating DC.

Continue the same disastrous policies that got us here in the first place and just flood the stands with copies of a book people don't want so retailers can get a shiny variant to sell to collector's. It's shit mate.

Cred Forums doesn't buy variants.
Variants are bought by either casuals who think they will increase in value or tasteless fanboys who will pay any amount of money for a super special picture of their favorite characters.

Also note that they have money, which we do not.

Yep.

Another flop incoming.

>impling

>that's a 'secret' according to the publisher.
You can almost hear the amused wink. Can't wait for the disappointment.

The current Venom book sells less than fucking Bombshells.

What will it take for Marvel to change strategies?

Why don't they hire the Bombshells artist for a Venom cover?

A complete comic market crash and the failure of their movie line.
But even then, I'd half expect their response to be doubling down on shit they're pulling now, giving Slott MORE books and blaming Straight White Males for ruining comics while at the same time suggesting they're not buying enough comics to keep the entire industry afloat.

>It speaks volumes to Marvel's strategy for beating DC.
user, this is just business as usual for Marvel. And just because Marvel does it more often, let's not pretend like DC doesn't get in on the incentive variant cover game. Or did you miss that Harley Quinn #1 had like 40 fucking variants?

>did you miss that Harley Quinn #1 had like 40 fucking variants?
Yeah, but she wasn't relaunched two months later or such.

Shit, how the mighty have fallen LOL.

Even DC's attempts at pandering outdo Marvel HAHA.

Even better, that's Bombshells #16 versus Venom #10

I don't recall DC forcing any retailers to order X amount of Harley Quinn variants for incentives, however.

You say that as if Harley Quinn #1 isn't a relaunch of the already running Harley Quinn ongoing with the SAME creative team. When Marvel pulled this shit with Howard the Duck/Ant-man/Silver Surfer, everyone went into a frothing rage about how it's unacceptable to relaunch a comic with the same creative team just for those sweet #1 bucks, yet DC does it and everyone fucking applauds them for it.

It's one thing to attack shitty business practices, it's another to only attack those practices when a publisher you don't like does it while touting it as a victory for comic fans everywhere when the publisher you do like does the same thing.

>carnage sells better than venom
>Carnage will never get a push like this
>it wilñ be revealed that this venom is actually a female d-lister

DC has severely toned down variant strategies and pretty much axed their monthly variant themes because of the negative impact it was having on long-term sales despite the fact that it was consistently boosting sales.

They're not perfect, but they are nowhere near as bad as Marvel has been historically and Harley Quinn was more of a one-off thing because the character is absolutely red hot right now.

It's not my fault if DC is also interested in making good books besides selling variant covers, user.

The vast majority of the Harley Quinn variants were incentive covers, user. Just because you're willfully ignorant about it so you can keep up the narrative that DC is some bastion of ethical business practices doesn't mean they're not doing it.

It's shitty when Marvel does it. It's shitty when DC does it. Marvel does it way more often and on way more books than DC, but that doesn't mean DC doesn't indulge in that practice too. They just never get any shit for it because DC is a good boy, they dindu nuffin.

Man, Mania being the new Venom is pretty much a best-case scenario.

Knowing Marvel it could very well be Mary Jane or Doc Ock's midget waifu.
Fuck it, make it Aunt May.

>yes, I stole 1,000 bucks but you can't judge me because that guy stole 100!

>yes, I stole $900 bucks but you can't judge me because that guy stole $1000 bucks
Fixed.

Kek

>DC steals more than Marvel!
The desperation mounts, indeed.

No? DC is the "I" in this case. Marvel is the "that guy."

And you're the buttblasted marvelite. Oh well.

The point is that if you demonize one company for doing something then praise another company for doing the same thing, all that tells the first company is "oh, it's OK to do this afterall."

>all these variants
Jesus, marvel is still stuck in the 90s.

I'll buy variants if they aren't much more expensive (like $7 is my cap) and by artists I really really like.
I have a tendency to get 2nd printing variants for series I really live, but that's a different scenario.
I do have like two "expensive" variants, but those were gifts.

It's also been about 4 years since I've grabbed a Marvel variant cover of any kind.

Well okay can I get source for this then?

Except I don't really give a fuck about Marvel, I'm just sick of the blatant hypocrisy and double-standard that Cred Forums's newfag shitposters display.

I guess the concept of not selling your soul to a corporate entity is lost on DCfriends.

No, but they did do the 1:1000 thing for DK3.

DK3 went further and did a 1:5000 variant

>Ramos

Why on Earth would you want that? He's the absolute worst Venom artist.

It's OK when DC does it though

I actually really, really like Ramos, especially on Spider-Man but that's pretty poor.

>Secret artist
>Host is still secret
I have a bad feeling about this.

Cred Forums barely buys comics at all, and most of those who do buy trades, and those who DO buy floppies rarely buy variants. It's gotta be like 1% of Cred Forums who buys variants and that's a GENEROUS estimate

It really, really is though.

>Fuck it, make it Aunt May
That's a monkey's paw wish bound to happen

I for one am grateful and happy to hear this news, because before this I had no idea there was a new venom book coming out.