Earlier this month, Supergirl #12 came out. It was the first to sport an Stanley 'Artgerm' Lau variant cover. Artgerm certainly produces eye-grabbing, truly spectacular art. And I immediately notice a couple of aftershocks.
1) The number of Supergirl issues on the rack of my dramatically less than usual for a Wednesday afternoon and all the Artgerm covers were already sold.
2) My store thankfully pulled both covers off the shelves figuring it would sell out quickly.
3) That cover was up on walls at Terrificon last weekend and was already tagged at $10
4) I already wondered if these covers would somehow drive up orders/sales.
Well, lo and behold, it looks like that might be true.
Well according to Bleeding Cool, Supergirl #13 is the #4 advance reordered issue. Here is the link:
https://www.bleedingcool.com/2017/08/25/legacy-metal-mister-miracle-reorders/
But please note that it is the variant edition that has been reordered.
Amazing. I can't remember the last time a Supergirl issue was on this list.
Here is the Artgerm cover for Supergirl #13.
I guess whatever leads to healthier sales/orders makes me happy. Hopefully people who buy it will read the inside, like the story, and keep buying when Lau leaves.
But I don't mind thinking short term about this.
Awesome! Positive news!
ReplyDeleteLet's hope it's a good omen.
Those covers are terrific. I love them.
I wish Supergirl keeps having terrific cover and interior artists to complement Orlando's good stories.
3I've long held that good art is job #1 in a comic, good writing will keep a character going for a long time, but bad art can quickly drive awaya readers in droves from the git-go. Sounds like this is good news....but in a larger sense is the floppie audience, growing or at least getting a little younger at all? I think not. I think the majors long ago painted themselves into a distribution corner and the huge conglomerates that own them will sooner or later simply discontinue floppies...does anyone here really think their kids will be reading and buying floppies going forward?
ReplyDeleteSorry to be such a bummer but maybe this is a discussion we need to have now rather than later....free feel to prove me wrong, I'm looking for reasons for optimism...
JF
These covers are spectacularly gorgeous. One word for DC: posters!
ReplyDeleteThose two covers are amazing...and both dare I say...sexy.
ReplyDeleteThe one of Supergirl flying shows her being sexy and confident. The variant where that cat walks up to her is sexy...and yet playful and relaxed at the same time.
Posters of these soon to be iconic poses...PLEASE DC...PLEASE!!!!!!
A couple of comments about the alternate covers:
ReplyDelete1) Cheesecake sells. It always has, especially in modern comics.
2) Looks like DC Comics has finally figured out that successful TV shows don't automatically translate into increased comics sales. The Direct Market has its own demographics that need to be catered to.
Let's wait and see how long this upswing on variants lasts.
KET
I'm going to be optimistic and believe that DC has made these artistic changes (Lau on variant covers, Rocha on the interior art) because they are behind this book 100% and are committed to its success. Supergirl's recent appearances in other super-books, increasing her visibility, is also encouraging.
ReplyDeleteArtgerm's covers are obviously the big draw, but the regular edition of Supergirl 12 was almost impossible to find, at least where I live. I would be curious to know if that was the case all over. Was it just the variant, or was the regular edition also flying off the shelves?
I want more eyes on the story. I hope people who buy for the cover read the inside too.
ReplyDeleteInteresting though how variants work, especially these '50:50 ones.
Artgerm does it again! Check this out:
ReplyDeletehttps://pbs.twimg.com/media/DJm8HqbU8AAqa-5?format=jpg
Apparently this one is not a variant cover, but a new print for NYCC. Whatever, it's once again heart-stoppingly gorgeous. The man's a sorcerer.
And here he is taking a little different tack, for the variant of Supergirl 14:
ReplyDeletehttps://pbs.twimg.com/media/DJpQPzgUEAAhDf7?format=jpg