MARVEL REVISES ULTIMATES v2 #1 INCENTIVE PLAN

[MattBrady]

Last week, retailers learned of Marvel’s latest incentive/variant – a “sketch variant,” according to the Marvel Previews.

Information released to the retailers explained the plan: “The Ultimates 2 #1 (OCT041716) - already the ultimate in comic book entertainment - will provide the Ultimate Retailer Incentive when it arrives in stores 12/1/04 with a special 50/50 Sketch Variant. When retail accounts place their orders for the best-selling return of The Ultimates this December, they will have their orders fulfilled with both the full color regular edition and black-and-white sketch variant (interiors and cover), designed to showcase the incredible artwork by Bryan Hitch!

”A sample order: 200 copies of The Ultimates 2 #1 will be fulfilled with 100 copies of The Ultimates 2 #1 (Regular Edition) and 100 copies of The Ultimates 2 #1 (Variant, featuring B&W Sketch Cover and B&W sketch interiors).”

Retailers were quick to criticize the plan, which would have them ordering twice as many copies of the book in order to receive the original number of color copies they would have normally ordered. Both versions of the issue, colored and un-inked, and uncolcored, would have carried the same cover price.

Many retailers suggested that the sketch version of the first issue would have been acceptable if it was an incentive variant (i.e., available to accounts for x number of copies of the regular edition ordered), but as it was offered, many retailers found it unacceptable.

Retailers e-mailed Marvel Publisher Dan Buckley and Sales and Marketing Manager David Gabriel throughout the weekend requesting a reconsideration of the plan. Today Marvel released a statement to Newsarama about their revised plans for the variant.

Marvel’s statement reads:

Marvel announces an updated variant incentive for Ultimates V2 #1. Thanks to an incredible outpouring of input from retailers, Marvel has decided to alter its previously announced 50/50 black and white (cover and interior) sketch variant to heed the demands of not only retailers, but of customers. The revised incentive will simply be a 1 in 10 ratio with the same black and white sketch variant. So for every 10 books retailers order, 1 will be the variant. This will give retailers a reasonable percentage of the variants to sell off to customers who enjoy the sketch books, while also keeping the quantity fairly limited.

Dan Buckley, Publisher of Marvel Comics said "It was obvious to us right from the start that we miscalculated the 50/50 variant. For the first time that I can remember, we heard from multiple retailers expressing their concern for how this type of incentive would hurt the sales of the books in their stores.” We would like to thank our retail partners for communicating their concerns to us so quickly and concisely.”

Said David Gabriel Marvel's Sales and Marketing Manager, "While we were going to wait until Tuesday afternoon in the weekly Marvel Mailer, it seemed that some folks just had to hear about the revised incentive right away. That tells me that this book is absolutely going to be one of the biggest events of the year. Thanks to the retail community and their quick response we were able to solve this problem in record time. As I mentioned to retailers at the recent Diamond Summit, I am extremely open to hearing feedback (both positive and negative) from retailers and to make myself available to help solve problems and avoid any crisis situation in the future.

[Skyldt]

i'm gonna try to get both of those.



and yes, i am a marvel zombie.

[Christian Otte]

Well played, Marvel .

[Clint Kent]

hmmm...what's that smell? Oh yeah, publicity stunt. Nice job guys. Marvel really are the masters of jerking people around to increase their sales.

[Son of Satan]

Good grief, why?

I mean, DC has no problem doing the 50/50 program with variant covers. They don't cheat the public and try to ramp up the new speculator boom that's sure to go bust.

But Marvel? Try doing one good thing--a 50/50 split--and suddenly every retailer cries foul because it's depriving them of the so-called "special"-ness that drives up Marvel's variant covers to exorbitant prices.

I'm sorry, I liked some of the variants (the dealer incentive Cassaday cover to AXM #1 is my pride and joy, signed by Whedon, Cassaday and Martin...and I got it cheap), but it would have been nice for good old common sense to have won the day here, with things falling in line closer to the (better) way DC does things, with consumers simply able to pick out the cover they like better without having to worry that one costs 50 bucks more than the other.

All the current string of Marvel variants benefit are the retailers who senselessly deprive their own customers of the product in favor of hocking the books on eBay. I have to shake my head.

At least a few of my retailers around here give the variants--ALL of them--to store subscribers, and one store simply shuffles the variants in with the regular covers on the racks, first-come, first-served-like, at regular price. eBay? Ridiculous.

I thought with the Ultimates offer Marvel might have been reconsidering their variant program. Guess I was mistaken.

With the speculator market running rampant and the market as it is, the next time the boom goes bust, as it inevitably must, the entire business will go with it.

~G.

[CapeMonkey]

Originally posted by Son of Satan
Good grief, why?

I mean, DC has no problem doing the 50/50 program with variant covers. They don't cheat the public and try to ramp up the new speculator boom that's sure to go bust.

But Marvel? Try doing one good thing--a 50/50 split--and suddenly every retailer cries foul because it's depriving them of the so-called "special"-ness that drives up Marvel's variant covers to exorbitant prices.

I'm sorry, I liked some of the variants, but it would have been nice for good old common sense to have won the day here, with things falling in line closer to the (better) way DC does things, with consumers simply able to pick out the cover they like better without having to worry that one costs 50 bucks more than the other.

All the current string of Marvel variants benefit are the retailers who senselessly deprive their own customers of the product in favor of hocking the books on eBay. I have to shake my head.

At least a few of my retailers around here give the variants--ALL of them--to store subscribers, and one store simply shuffles the variants in with the regular covers on the racks, first-come, first-served-like, at regular price. eBay? Ridiculous.

I thought with the Ultimates offer Marvel might have been reconsidering their variant program. Guess I was mistaken.

~G.

This is completely different from a DC 50/50 variant, which would just affect the covers, this is an edition that vastly changes the interiors. How would you feel if you got stuck with the variant - which would be pencils-only versions of the art? I'd be pissed off if I was stuck with it.

[algertman]

in all honesty if the B&W version cost above a dollar then it is a COMPLETE ripoff

[Velvet Glove]

More nonsense and bullshit. Does anybody even WANT a b/w Ultimates? I can't see it being improved. Some artists look great in b/w but the coloring IMHO is part of what makes the book's look. This is so incredibly stupid I'm starting to wonder if Bizarro Quesada is running the company. "Me am going to make comics suck! Then everybody will love them!"

[newarrior]

Actually, it's not a variant cover. It's variant cover AND interior. The entire interior of the book would be black & white. Imagine trying to sell those to regular customers who want the normal color version.

Thanks to Millar and Marvel for jumping on this quickly!

[Garth Rockett]

Originally posted by Son of Satan
But Marvel? Try doing one good thing--a 50/50 split--and suddenly every retailer cries foul because it's depriving them of the so-called "special"-ness that drives up Marvel's variant covers to exorbitant prices.

Actually, if it had been a 50/50 split of a cover variant, there probably wouldn't have been much of a stink, if any. The problem is there are variant interiors as well. In other words, half the copies of Ultimates Vol. 2 would have been black-and-white on the inside. That's going to be a tough sell; certainly some people will want the b&w version but the vast majority will want color. 1 in 10 sounds about right to me in this case.

[Mr Wesley]

I think the problem the retailers had was with the black and white copies. It's not the same as DC with two variant covers over the exact same interior pages. It's more like what DC did with Team Titans way back in the day, except that instead of getting more (in the way of story) you're actually getting less (no color).

[Leviathan]

I hope to get both, but changing it from 50/50 to 1/10 is definetely going to make the penciled version more expensive. I see how it would be better for retailers, but it won't help my wallet

[Lobok]

Black and white? What the--

[JK Parkin]

So is Marvel testing the waters to get rid of colorists completely? Sorry, been reading too much Lying in the Gutters lately.

[Gordon McAlpin]

Originally posted by Velvet Glove
More nonsense and bullshit. Does anybody even WANT a b/w Ultimates? I can't see it being improved. Some artists look great in b/w but the coloring IMHO is part of what makes the book's look. This is so incredibly stupid I'm starting to wonder if Bizarro Quesada is running the company. "Me am going to make comics suck! Then everybody will love them!"

"Nonsense"? "Bullshit"? Jesus, you don't need to be a dick about it -- and try thinking about it a little before you go acting like Marvel is raping your grandmother.

It's not about "improvement" -- it's about showing Bryan Hitch's artwork. I personally would love to see a full issue of Bryan Hitch's pencils, and I'm going to get both, if I can. He's one of the best artists working in comics today.

For one thing, aspiring inkers could scan in the pages and practing inking over blown-up prints of the pages.

I'm clearly in the minority on this point, which is why revising the allotment scheme is considerate of Marvel.

[Battle_Snake]

Today is the first day I've even heard of this, and unfortunately the way I see it, my comic shop ( which SUCKS btw) might order 20 issues, total, so I'm probably gonna be SOL when it comes to me gettin a copy of Brian's Amazing pencils. I can see they're point, that alot of people aren't gonna want black and whites, but I better get on the phone and make sure I got myself a pencil copy to look forward to.

BAM!

[saiyanspider]

Originally posted by Garth Rockett
Actually, if it had been a 50/50 split of a cover variant, there probably wouldn't have been much of a stink, if any. The problem is there are variant interiors as well. In other words, half the copies of Ultimates Vol. 2 would have been black-and-white on the inside. That's going to be a tough sell; certainly some people will want the b&w version but the vast majority will want color. 1 in 10 sounds about right to me in this case.

Yeah but now anyone who wanted the B&W version are going to be paying out the wazoo, for something that at a 50/50 ratio would have been cover price. You know the stores will be selling the B&W version for like 25 dollars above the counter. That's why they were crying foul.

[CapeMonkey]

Originally posted by Leviathan
I hope to get both, but changing it from 50/50 to 1/10 is definetely going to make the penciled version more expensive. I see how it would be better for retailers, but it won't help my wallet

I don't think that will be the case. Marvel's done stuff like this before - I own the Rough Cut of Busiek/Perez's Avengers #1, which is Perez's pencils plus Busiek's plot, IIRC. I like it a lot - but it was solicited separately. In addition, it gives you an idea of how a Marvel-style comic is produced; while this is just Hitch's (admittedly gorgeous) pencils. I'd be extremely surprised if there was enough interest to support this one-in-ten variant, outside of completionists and the occasional person who's genuinely interested in seeing Hitch's bare pencils.

[IvCNuB4]

Oh, please. They can't get one version of this title out on time. How are they gonna manage two ?

[deathmasterj]

i only collect the Ultimate titles in trades (too much other stuff every month) and i was REALLY looking forward to buying a copy of the B&W version cos i LOVE Hitch's artwork... looks like i'm going to have to pay through the nose for a copy now knowing the shops round here!

[IanZL]

Looks like I'll be going to the shop at noon that day so I can get both.

[Hunter]

Originally posted by Velvet Glove
More nonsense and bullshit. Does anybody even WANT a b/w Ultimates?

I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

Mike

[CrazyFool]

What Marvel SHOULD do is offer these as 2 separate books, especially since a black and white book should not be selling for the same price a color book will be. But we know Marvel's not going to do that.

[O.J. Flow]

I'm just surprised to see the words "bullshit" and "Ultimates" in the same sentence. That seems kind of out of the nrom.

[Garth Rockett]

Originally posted by saiyanspider
Yeah but now anyone who wanted the B&W version are going to be paying out the wazoo, for something that at a 50/50 ratio would have been cover price. You know the stores will be selling the B&W version for like 25 dollars above the counter. That's why they were crying foul.

You don't think retailer concerns that they might be unable to sell 35-40% of their Ultimates order played a factor?

As for what retailers will charge... that's going to depend on the retailer. I've never known mine to jack up the price on a one in ten variant.