Showing posts 81 - 85 of 137 matching: russ burlingame
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Thank Goodness There Are Not 57 States
If you missed it, the big news from DC yesterday was the announcement that Justice League of America, the title that Geoff Johns has teased will feature the eventual return of Booster Gold to DCnU continuity, will hit stands in February alongside its own spin-offs, Katana and Vibe. Russ Burlingame has the info on the Booster Gold-Andrew Kreisberg-Vibe connection at ComicBook.com.
To ensure that this Justice League book -- featuring a team without a Flash, Superman, or Wonder Woman much like the now-cancelled Justice League International -- is a sales success, DC plans to cheat the market. In addition to the standard cover, the book will be published with 52 variant covers: one for each state in the union, plus the territories of the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. That's a total of 53 covers. Fifty-three! I pause here for emphasis.
Let's be frank: the purpose of variant covers is to promote sales via an artificial scarcity. If an issue has a variant cover printed in limited quantities, some collectors will buy an extra copy for the sake of maintaining a comprehensive collection. Some speculators will seek out the variants hoping that their relative scarcity will lead to a long-term increase in value. Whatever your opinion on the morality of this marketing strategy, it cannot be denied that variant covers do increase sales.
Is DC genuinely hoping that completists or speculators out there will try to acquire all 53 covers? Of course they are. By allowing retailers to order each of the 52 variants as a separate issue, the company is obviously hoping that each direct market retailer spends a small fortune trying to acquire at least a few of each cover to appease those collectors and speculators.
(It seems to me that DC is specifically targeting the direct market with this stunt. I've never seen any evidence that variant covers increase sales of digital editions, where "collecting" and "speculating" have little meaning.)
There must be a limit to the variant cover sales response, and I would expect it to be something less than 53. Consider that if you were to buy one of each at cover price, the total at the register will be $211.47 before tax. That's a lot of cash for just one issue. Compare that to the hardcover 52 Omnibus due out next week that will reprint all 52 issues of 2007's 52 series. Unlike the stack of variant covers for Justice League of America #1, the 52 comics included in the $150 Omnibus will at least tell a complete story.
There is no word yet whether Booster Gold will be seen in the series' first issue. If he is, I might consider buying 53 copies. But only if he is.
Comments (6) | Add a Comment | Tags: 52 andrew kreisberg comicbook.com covers geoff johns justice league news russ burlingame
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Quiet: Artist at Work
Two weeks later, and I'm still discovering neat tidbits from New York Comic Con 2012. Today, we'll watch as Franco Aureliani of AW Yeah Comics creates Booster Gold from scratch for some lucky fan (who happens to be Russ Burlingame, Senior Staff Writer at ComicBook.com).
Thanks to Russ Burlingame for posting this on the web for us to see, and thanks to Franco for taking Russ' commission.
Comments (6) | Add a Comment | Tags: commissions franco aureliani russ burlingame
Monday, October 15, 2012
New Eyesores For Your Toy Shelf
New York Comic Con 2012 was this past weekend, and there was plenty to see. Too bad most of it was so ugly.
TheBlotSays.com has details on DC Collectible's upcoming Booster Gold mini-bust planned for a February 2012 release. The sculpting looks fantastic; too bad that when we finally get a Booster mini-bust from DC, I can't buy it. Giving $69.95 to DC Collectibles for that 6" bust would imply that I approved of -- or at least tolerated -- that DCnU atrocity of a costume. I don't, and I won't. (By the way, what's with that star? Is it Booster's newest logo? Ugh-ly.)
Even on a 1/48 scale model, that costume looks terrible. Obviously, DCnU Booster Gold will be in an upcoming set of Heroclix as well. Fortunately, he won't be alone. Also on display at NYCC 2012 was an appropriately Heroclix-scaled version of the late, lamented Blue Beetle's Bug airship. (Now that's something that I can endorse dropping some heavy cash on!) Fly on over to Russ Burlingame's article at ComicBook.com for more info and pics.
UPDATE 10/15/2012: Heroclix.com has a page up detailing the dial, powers, and abilities of the Booster Gold figure to be released in the Batman set next month. The Heroclix website calls this week "Blue & Gold Week," so pay attention this week for more official news about that Blue Beetle Bug seen at NYCC.
UPDATE 10/16/2012: Action Figure Insider has complete details about the bust, including the name of the sculptor, James Shoop.
Comments (4) | Add a Comment | Tags: 2012 actionfigureinsider.com blot blue beetle comicbook.com conventions costumes heroclix nycc reboot russ burlingame statue
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
I am Not Going to Complain About the New 52
Yesterday, DC promoted their Halloween event, er, I mean their "Multi-Faceted DC Comics Super-Villain Campaign" with a graphic clearly showing pre-Flashpoint costumes and characters. DC has had over a year to plan and promote the New 52, so why aren't they promoting their reimagined universe this holiday season? Is this a hint that DC isn't committed to the New 52, or just another example of a fractured company with no cohesive strategy?
Booster booster Russ Burlingame asks much the same question in his recent article for ComicBook.com, "Is DC Comics Running Away From Their Own New 52 Philosophy?"
With The Question appearing in both Justice League and Multiversity, though, one has to wonder whether Justice League writer Geoff Johns might have some designs on the Multiverse himself, especially given that Booster Gold saw an alternate-reality or future version of himself in the recent, Johns-penned Justice League International Annual #1. If that's the same Question, as opposed to two worlds' versions of a similar character like the Blue Beetle we see in Multiversity, it could raise some eyebrows—and some serious questions (no pun intended).
While none of DC's recent questionable behavior clearly indicates that we'll see Skeets, Michelle, and Rip Hunter anytime soon, we can at least keep hope alive.
Comments (2) | Add a Comment | Tags: comicbook.com dccomics.com reboot russ burlingame
Friday, August 17, 2012
Superman Never Made Any Money
It was announced back in April that Cartoon Network's Robot Chicken would have a "DC Comics Special" in their upcoming sixth season. Yesterday, we finally got a quick look at the episode by way of IGN.com. Surprise, surprise, it includes an appearance of Booster Gold (at about 1:34).
So mark your calendars! Booster Gold may not have any comic appearances scheduled through November, but he'll be on your TV this September 9th. (Thanks to Russ Burlingame at ComicBook.com for calling this to my attention.)
UPDATE 09/07/12: According to Vaneta Rogers' Newsarama.com interview with Robot Chicken writer Kevin Shinick, Booster Gold's speaking part has been cut from the episode. You may or may not still see Booster in the episode, but he won't be opening his big mouth. Thanks to MetalWoman for pointing out this disappointing news.
Comments (1) | Add a Comment | Tags: comicbook.com ign.com metalwoman robot chicken russ burlingame solomon grundy television
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