I continue to go heavy on these monsters books. At some point, the hype will die. I sense it coming with issue number 3 of the series; however anything to do with issue #1 and #2 will remain mostly relevant as there’s still some steam left as people are just now getting on the Spears train.
Two things to look forward to in the future are his card sets and his new kickstarter project. I’m waiting for the cards to explode in value as they’re pretty rare. And then once his second kickstart comics drop next year, they’ll be another level of interest for his new and older work.
Mark is keeping things exciting for us flippers and collectors which I am certainly thankful for.
When something “hits”, people jump on the band wagon. Then publishers/creators/stores jump on the bandwagon and water it all down. And then comes the “i’m buying a used sink” time.
One has to know when to get out and stop purchasing before the market tells you for sure that you should have already
This is a series I am supporting because I like monsters anti is pretty well done, I will flip copies while I can and then continue to buy the covers I like to collect.
Only reason I passed on the Bridezilla was because they put the trade dress right on her head. I like the #2 Creature cover the most. The #3 Frankenstein looks cool as hell. I think what is great about this series is that the covers I like aren’t incentives. I pass on so many books because I’m not going to pay extra.
The excitement only ends for FLIPPERS when the comics stop selling.
For collectors, keep on churning them out Mark - I’m buying for the collection as some of these covers are awesome and the story is pretty good so far. At least these will have a theme season every year to bring them back out (Halloween)
Being an artist myself, I started following Spears a couple years ago on IG b/c his work really pops. Started to pick up his early work (Spawn Covers, Headless Horseman one shot etc) and thought the Monsters series was not spec but surely collectible. The wolves (retailers) are starting to get the bite out of the Wolfman it seems, but I’m hoping he keeps his material collectible. Granted the characters are already used properties but he took something we are all familiar with and breathed new life into these Monsters.
I like some of the homage covers for upcoming issues…so
I plan on grabbing those as long as they are cover price. Staying away from the exclusives as well.
Mark made this update today to answer some questions around the covers on the Kickstarter…
I just wanted to let everyone know and I will put this on the story section as well, that all covers used in the kickstarter will be retired after the kickstarter. Meaning that they will never be used as covers for Keenspot books or exclusives. I had a few people ask and I wanted to make sure everyone knows. I think this makes the kickstarter rewards a little more limited.
That Venom #39 Foreshadow variant I had mentioned continues to do fairly well in case you have any. Not insane amounts but it’s creeping up and certainly worth grabbing if you still see it on the shelf at cover price.
There are limits. Laura from Bird City Comics was talking about the exclusives in the last Top 10 stream they did yesterday. The last sale had 700 people on the site to buy 200 books, they didn’t let anyone buy more than 4. You can see it here (you can skip to 28:17 if you want to see the part she talks about the last exclusive):
Interesting how they keep releasing these in sets of 200. They even have it listed at $35 and then mark it 29% off ($25). lol. Like what kind of game is that?
Pretty confident you would get 5 if you had presale up before the book went live. I will say we all know retailers leak copies to their friends or guarantee a set amount. Hell, I have been guilty of buying from friends in the early days of store variants before the sales went live.
It’s been mentioned before but the Monster and the Wolf (prequal to Monsters) Kickstarter is doing very well but there are still some covers left. If the store variants are doing good on the aftermarket these should as well. No 1 minute sellouts either but I have a feeling it will be completely sold out of all covers before the end of the allotted time. Mark Spears also stated none of the covers used in the Kickstarter will be used anywhere else. Anything for retail or store variants later on will be all new covers. Also, I don’t think a lot of people out there know this Kickstarter is going on. Just sayin.
It is but considering store variants with the same print run or more usually have a buy in at $29 there could be some meat left on the bone, especially since some of those store variants are selling for a pretty good amount right now.
Just to get all 27+ covers is quite the buy in. I backed it at first and then cancelled. Just felt my money was better spent on obtainable keys right now as opposed to the possibility of making a profit months down the line.
