This week saw the debut of a brand new direct to consumer release program from Boom! Studios. Boom! Dropped 3 exciting new books straight to comic collectors via their webstore. This is just the beginning of what looks to be a brand new ongoing initiative at Boom!. The first offerings saw a diverse array of Boom! Books all available in limited quantities. I am a big fan of the direct to consumer approach with limited quantity variants.
On June 2nd Boom! dropped a Magic #1 Ashcan that was originally meant for conventions. They sold a limited quantity of 450 copies at $24.99. The hype of the initial release caused the webstore to crash almost immediately. This made Boom! Back off their next two releases and get their ducks in a row.
On June 3rd, Boom! dropped their remaining two offerings to an almost immediate sell out. The first was a Webstore Exclusive for Cullen Bunn’s Basilisk #1. The gorgeous cover features artwork by Jahnoy Lindsay. The variant is limited to 275 copies and dropped for $19.99. The final book was a BRZRKR #1 Convention Exclusive which was created to be sold at conventions that never happened. The limited print run will make this copy one of the rarest variants for issue #1 with just 225 copies printed. The book dropped for $59.99 and even the steep price did not slow down potential buyers.
Overall the concept was proven effective as Boom! Released three diverse offerings (an Ashcan, Convention Exclusive, and Webstore Exclusive) all selling out in a matter of minutes. Their style of release, featuring an unknown drop time that forced potential buyers to stay alerted to Boom!’s social accounts, added a bit of mystery and intrigue. It will be interesting in the coming days to see what these books end up trading for on the open market in the coming days and weeks. I have no doubt this isn't the last of these webstore drops so I would definitely be on the lookout for the next crop of variants and be sure to follow Boom! Studios on all their social channels.
Jack DeMayo is a Comic Book Investor, Consultant, and Market Influencer. He is a Freelance writer for ONE37pm and Frankie's Comics Blog as well as the Podcast Co Host of CBCS Live presented by Beckett Media.
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