Readers may recall that when the blind bag/mystery polybags comics for the Image/Skybound comic, “Battle Beast,” were a hit that I made a prediction/bet. I said there would be at least six different blind bag promotions from comic publishers (even multiple ones from the same company), and if that did not happen, I’d gladly buy someone a dollar coffee at Scooters (or they’d owe me one). Well, nobody took my bet, and it’s a good thing for them because the market is getting absolutely flooded with mystery Polybag variants. Some are overpriced and don’t sound exciting (the, “Batman,” relaunch comes to mind), others are the same price as a regular issue and look fun (Mark Spears has one promotion due before Halloween and announced a Christmas-themed batch). Marvel is doing, “True Believers,” blind bags for, “Ultimate Endgame,” and DC just announced they’re doing even more of these for, “D.C. K.O.,” as well.
Publishers big and small are into the trend, and some fans love it while others appear to hate this, passionately. Some people say it is an exciting and fun little idea. Others say it is like comics trying to imitate trading cards with their packs and odds of pulling a, “Common,” one, “Rare,” version and so forth. I see multiple sides and have lived through a number of eras of comic gimmicks that came and went pretty quickly—remember lenticular covers? I don’t think this is going to destroy the comic industry or change it too much either. It’s a method to promote your comic, and right now it’s the hottest thing around. It’ll fade away mostly and be replaced by another gimmick before too long, most likely, and the one thing that will stand out when the hype fades is the quality of the comic itself.
Ah, yes, the actual comic. You see, I get the idea that it is fun to buy a comic and have a chance of a rare variant cover, but I only care as long as the comic is good. When the comic sucks and the only selling point is a cool variant cover stuffed into a blind bag, that is a problem, my friends. That’s the crux of this too: It is a gamble. Pay $6 for your comic, and if you’re lucky, maybe pull a rare $100 cover! Plus, if you get a regular/common cover, you still have a comic to enjoy, so it’s a bit better than buying a lottery ticket, kind of. It just worries me to see folks speculating on these blind bags like a guy buying a bunch of bulk of aforementioned scratchers with the idea to resell them. At the end of the day, at least the (winning) scratchers can be redeemed for money no matter waht, who is to say even the rarest of these mystery polybag comics will hold their value in a year or two from now?
Comics are already a volatile market where a book worth thousands one day could suddenly lose popularity and be worth a tenth of what it was going for a mere week later. Comic speculation can be fun—I’m an active member of the Comics Heating Up Forum where we talk about popular comics and what could get hot next—but with comic-books you’re best off buying what you love and wanna read, then selling it if the book happens to become sought-after. Chasing trends and dropping a mortgage’s worth of money on blind bags is only going to get you burnt, I’d imagine. My overdrawn point is that these blind bags are a gimmick that marries gambling with comics.
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Should you like to play the slots or a hand of blackjack sometimes and think these blind bags are a fun gamble, then have at it and buy some mystery polybags! Just remember, as with any gamble, you should only play what you can afford to lose, and the House (in this case, the comic publishers) always wins in the long run/overall. That’s why I previously have just bought one Polybag comic if it’s priced reasonably and it is a series I want to read. I get the comic I wanted to enjoy and whatever cover I get, I can happy with. In conclusion: Tread carefully if you’re into these blind bags, plenty of gimmicks before have been a massive success right before suddenly flopping into dollar bins.
