One big event that took place recently in the comics universe was the Battle Beast Blind Bag release for the debut issue of that series from Image/Skybound.
On Wednesday, May 14, Image/Skybound released Invincible Universe: Battle Beast #1, which featured a character known from his interactions with Invincible both in the comics and in the animated series.
Let’s talk about the book itself before we dive into the bagging experience. Here’s what we know about that:
“Cursed with an unquenchable thirst for violence that threatens those he loves, Battle Beast searches the universe for the one warrior mightier than him…so that he may die before harming anyone else. But even in a universe of mighty Viltrumites like Invincible and Omni-Man, it seems that no one may be able to stop the galaxy’s deadliest warrior… unless he does the unthinkable.”
Even with nearly 400,000 copies ordered by fans worldwide, Invincible Universe: Battle Beast #1 sold out at the distributor level well in advance of that initial release. If you missed it or are just looking to complete your collection of this comic, a new printing will be released in June, and it will feature three new covers by Ryan Ottley, Jason Howard, and Ryan Sook.
So, what was the big deal? According to an Image news release: “While fans already knew that Invincible Universe: Battle Beast #1 featured a first-of-its-kind blind bag program that allows readers a chance to get ANY of the solicited covers from A through I, they learned there were not one, not two, but THREE intermixed secret covers including:
- A new printing of Invincible #19, the first appearance of Battle Beast!
- A special advance edition of Invincible Universe: Battle Beast #2, allowing fans to read the next shocking issue in its entirety.
- And, in partnership with Marvel Comics, a reprint of Marvel Team-Up #14, the historic first meeting of Invincible and Spider-Man—and features art by Invincible co-creator Cory Walker.”
By the way, I still hear Michael Dorn’s voice whenever Battle Beast speaks in the comics now!
“With every launch we do at Skybound, we always try to roll out the red carpet and do something special, but I’ll be honest, I never knew we’d be able to do something THIS special!” said series creator and writer Robert Kirkman. “Reprinting Invincible issue #19, cool. Releasing an advance version of Battle Beast issue #2 on the same day, crazy! But actually reprinting a Marvel comic, especially one as rare and sought after as Marvel Team-Up 14… well, it’s so amazing I can hardly believe it actually happened!”
Image let the word get out that they didn’t want fans opening the bags early, so when some online comics shops began opening them during auctions prior to the previously mentioned release date, well, the company was none too happy about it! My understanding is that some auctions on Whatnot were considered the worst offenders of this, but that is likely to have happened on eBay as well! After all, the purchase was confirmed, so they didn’t think it was too big of a deal.
We’ll see what retribution comes from Image to these dealers!
Still, many local comics shops were scrambling to find more copies of this bagged book! As often happens, once the word online came about that this was going to be a BIG book, well, the collectors and other fans alike all went after it like sharks smelling blood in the water!
The first comic that really got my attention because it was being bagged was Superman #75, which showed the actual death of the Man of Steel. It was dressed up in a black bag to keep the more sensitive (and probably younger) among us from seeing an event that has become both epic and classic.
There have also been other books that have been sold bagged over the counter, including some recent ones with DC characters meeting videogame heroes and villains. But I’m sure there are a great many more of these than I am remembering right now.
This leads to the question of, Why bag a comic, anyway? Well, one reason is the one I’ve previously mentioned—keeping young and impressionable eyes away from shocking content.
I do have to mention that the premiere issue of Battle Beast has a high blood content—when you have to measure the blood in quarts, even I, an “experienced” comics reader, can get a little queasy.
The trick is, though, that once you open the bag, the value of the comic inside plummets! After all, it’s not the original condition it was offered in anymore. This can really hurt if you truly want to actually READ the book, for pity’s sake! (My take has always been to buy two copies—one to read and one to keep! I’ve done that with action figures I wanted to keep and also to display on my desk.)
I mentioned the DC crossover comics with some videogame characters? Since it was a DC book, the owner of the LCS I frequent included it with my pulled stack. When I was buying it, she asked me if I intended to actually open the thing—you know, use scissors or something else to get to the book. I told her that I would be doing that. She cringed a little, knowing the value would decrease. We talked about instead buying a copy someone else had already owned so she could hold onto the pristine condition version! I didn’t go for it, though, so she let me actually read the book at home. (I didn’t dare remove the bag in front of her—she might have passed out on me as she saw those dollar signs float away forever!)
What I’ll be interested in seeing will be the numbers for the second issue of Battle Beast. Will they take the usual nosedive downward after a strong-selling debut issue (usually half the original number or less) or will the interest actually continue to grow? After all, the Invincible animated show is scoring highly on Prime, which can only help this comic.
It is always the case that, when someone does something novel in some way, that other comics publishers will follow suit, so I’m sure that, even now, another book is being readied to hit the stands bagged and with some special inserts to help attract the attention of fans.
More than that, though, I think this will likely only be another temporary fad when it comes to selling comics. After all, if you can sell issues without a bag, you are saving money on the cost of making the books available. That usually means higher profits for the company putting out the book.
I would say that publishers would be wise to use this trick only occasionally so that it retains some of it’s specialness as far as fandom goes—at least, for a while!
Also, there are plenty of other tricks up publishers’ sleeves that they can use to garner attention. Be creative, okay? Do something original instead of simply falling in line before the company that does it first! It’ll mean more to fans and creators alike!
What do you think? Does bagging a comic make it more desirable or less interesting to you? What other ways can publishers get fan attention? Would you be willing to pay more for an issue that is bagged or has some other unique packaging involved? Whatever your opinions or thoughts, be sure to share them in the space below!
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Wayne Hall creates the Wayne's Comics Podcast. He’s interviewed Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, John Layman, Kyle Higgins, Phil Hester, Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray, David Petersen, Christos Gage, Mike Grell, and Matt Kindt. On this site each week, he writes his "Comics Portal" column (general comics comments and previews) and reviews comics.