What are 'card stock variants'?

[al-f]

As someone who mostly buys older comics on ebay, and new comics just digitally... I was wondering what the card stock variant covers are? I'm just looking at the month's solicitations for DC and that seems to be a consistent one for all titles (amidst the dozens of other variants on every single title!)

[fin5]

Where did you find Dc solicitations. I meant Augest 2021

[Jim Kelly]

In the 1990s especially, during the speculator boom, they would put out variant issues with card stock covers, instead of the regular slick paper covers. These often had other features--like lenticular covers (never knew what lenticular was before those covers came out) and glow-in-the-dark covers.

[al-f]

For example, solicitations here: https://www.gamesradar.com/dc-may-2021-solicitations/

Take the issue LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #1 for example, it indicates:
Card stock variant cover by: David Marquez
Teams card stock variant cover by: Francesco Francavilla

Does that mean like chrome covers or something like that? Is there any place you can see details on those, to pre-order the ones you are interested in?

[RJT]

As someone who mostly buys older comics on ebay, and new comics just digitally... I was wondering what the card stock variant covers are? I'm just looking at the month's solicitations for DC and that seems to be a consistent one for all titles (amidst the dozens of other variants on every single title!)

DC offers variant covers printed on cardstock, which they charge an extra dollar for.

[al-f]

DC offers variant covers printed on cardstock, which they charge an extra dollar for.

Yeah, I saw it was an extra $. I'm just asking what those are. Is it just a thicker cover?

[Jim Kelly]

Yeah, I saw it was an extra $. I'm just asking what those are. Is it just a thicker cover?

Yes it's thicker. It's card stock as opposed to regular paper stock. But just as you can have varying types of paper stock--weight, fibres, coating, etc--you can have varying types of card stock. Some can be thicker than others. And there can be different treatments of the card stock. For example some can be foil. But that new LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT looks like your standard card stock cover, with no extra treatment. Pretty much just like a slick cover but a heavier stock of paper.

[RJT]

Yeah, I saw it was an extra $. I'm just asking what those are. Is it just a thicker cover?

Yes, it's cardstock. Cardstock is between regular paper and cardboard in terms of thickness.

[Captain Nostalgia]

Variants were brought in back in the day for the speculative market. (Example: an issue of Detective Comics might have two different covers, the rarer cover being worth more)

Cardstock variant is the same thing, but backed by cardstock, so harder cover paper. From what I've seen in the comic shop they seem to be used for special issues?

[al-f]

Got it, thanks. Yes, unclear if it's special issues only, since every issue seems to have that option?

So, if they released something with like a chromium cover, that would be explicitly called out I imagine, right?

[Captain Nostalgia]

Got it, thanks. Yes, unclear if it's special issues only, since every issue seems to have that option?

So, if they released something with like a chromium cover, that would be explicitly called out I imagine, right?

I'm assuming so, but your guess is as good as mine.

[al-f]

Dang.. I was hoping to catch chromium covers and similar on the solicitations directly, but never see any of them listed