I Do Love Those Shiny Retailer-Appreciation Variant Covers from Image Comics

Shiny text? Yah!

I've at times both been critical of marketing-gimmicks (DC's 3-D covers continue to just seem lame to me and Villain's Month was a fiasco) and found them fun too. That said, even though novelty covers sometimes make cynical ol' me all cranky, I must confess I really love those shiny retailer-appreciation variant covers Image has been doing. Generally limited to one-per-store, I've always asked my local comic shop nicely if it would be possible to have a shiny variant whenever one comes out if no one else requests it. Some stores sell those shiny-variants for extra money but my folk always sell it at cover-price to me because they are awesome.

I don't know what it is about these shiny-covers that I fancy so much, but they just look really cool. I mean, not even the entire cover has a gloss to it with these variants, just the title of the comic. Still, something about it just super-appeals to me and having all the covers with their gorgeous shimmer sitting on my shelf just looks delightful. I hope to continue to get shiny covers so that I can display them proudly/find a way to harness their power and take over the world (whichever is easier). It may be a gimmick, but its a gimmick that is good-looking and classy enough that I quite like it.