Too Much Is Never Enough, Or Is It?

Buried With Exclusives

By Guest Writer Mandalore The Wise

For years we have asked for more. Artists and authors answered. Fan made movies popped up all over the web. Die-hard fans created their own storylines when they weren't satisfied with what the authors were writing. The Mickey Mouse Marketing Ears of Disney heard the call, the collective cry of “give us more” and they have answered – AND IT WILL BE CANON.

The animated Clone Wars was pushed off to Netflix, so it wouldn't compete with the new Rebels series. Marvel announced they would be releasing 3 new series. All the current novels were tagged as “Legends” and new novels are hitting the shelves. Exclusive action figures are popping up all over, and I’m not even talking about the ones from the various conventions. Target, Wal-Mart and Walgreens are getting figures you can’t find anywhere else. I spent countless hours on the phone and driving around just to get my hands on a Prototype Armor Boba Fett, just to find them all over the shelves about a month later when they got their next shipment. Oh well, it was an adventure and learning experience.

At first, I was in awe. I was excited for the cartoon and the comics. I created an event on my calendar so I wouldn't miss out on Star Wars #1. It had been years since I had set foot inside a real comic shop. This was going to be like reliving my childhood. The day finally came. I stepped through the doors and breathed in the geekdom! The smell of graphic novels and comics – Oh how I have missed thee. I walked up to the counter and there is was… Comic of the week… Star Wars #1. I reached for it. Then I looked past it. On the wall, there were rows of different covers. Wait. Shenanigans I say! I asked my fellow geek working behind the counter if there was any difference in the story itself. “Nope, just the cover.”

Ok, deep breathe. How many covers can there be? How many do I need? Logically, I knew the answer but the geek in me wanted them all. So I picked up a few different covers, paid and headed home. When I got home, I surfed the web and found over 50 covers. My head swam with variants and exclusives and incentives….

I started looking through my comic collection from the mid 90’s and found a few comics that had a couple different covers. A couple, nothing remotely close to 50. Then Darth Vader #1 and Princess Leia #1 hit the stands also coming in a multitude of different cover options. Star Wars #2 also has multiple covers. When will the lunacy stop! Then I made a realization. It won’t.

Disney answered our collective cry and we are paying for it, literally. Don’t get me wrong, I am enjoying all the new content. I am looking forward to reading the new novels. I will continue to buy the comics, only 1 cover. I will fight the urge to be lured into hunting for the exclusives, knowing I will lose some of the battles and will continue to expand my overall collection.

Gone are the days of having to brave the lines at a Wizard World for an exclusive. Now you just have to head to Walgreens...  Let us know what you think on our FB group.