"Batgirl" Variant Cover Cancellation Sparks Further Debate Among Comic Pros and Fans

[Outside_85]

So now I will just sit back and wait for the next cover to get changed because some people will throw a fit while wondering why they didn't do the same against a cover from the month before that was of the same vein.

[macattack]

So now I will just sit back and wait for the next cover to get changed because some people will throw a fit while wondering why they didn't do the same against a cover from the month before that was of the same vein.

I think DC and probably Marvel too will be conservative (ironically!) with their variants for a while because of this. Sadly.

[Stormcrow]

So now I will just sit back and wait for the next cover to get changed because some people will throw a fit while wondering why they didn't do the same against a cover from the month before that was of the same vein.

Cliff Chiang's Harley Quinn month variant is hardly in the same vein of the Rafael Albuquerque cover in question. Other than referencing the same story and featuring Batgirl, they have nothing in common.

[dzub]

I think DC and probably Marvel too will be conservative (ironically!) with their variants for a while because of this. Sadly.

a while? u mean until the internet stops?
but yeah it's kinda of a bummer that artists have a little bit more restirictions to do their covers now

[numberthirty]

I don't know. What is the bigger "bummer"?



Creative team seemingly had zero say in if an alternate cover fit into the artistic direction of their run?

Cover that references a story that many fans dislike(and has no connection to current continuity) gets scrapped?

[Jason Todd]

Is there anywhere that there is a count of how many times that Batgirl has coped a cover like this? There seems to be no problem when D.C. use the beating death of a 13 year old to sell a cover but as soon as someone referances the crippling and subsiquent changing of roles for Ms Gordon the whole internet is up in arms. IF you must voice disapproval about a comic book cover then do so, but be equally "outraged" by the images of Bruce holding the dead Jason on the Bat line covers, but wait that is an iconic scene though isnt it???

[Ite]

I don't see anything wrong with the cover.

[DCFanSince88]

the basic problem is that the cover was not right for the content of the comic. DC editorial must have some control over variant covers so it doesn't happen again.

Agreed. This is like the "Batman's wife" controversy. DC Editorial was out of the loop for licensing, so they have apparently fixed that. Hopefully now, they will fix this issue with Variants contracts being handled outside of Editorial's control. That's more work for the editors, but at least it'll keep these issues from springing up again.

[Outside_85]

Cliff Chiang's Harley Quinn month variant is hardly in the same vein of the Rafael Albuquerque cover in question. Other than referencing the same story and featuring Batgirl, they have nothing in common.

... has nothing to do with what I said.

I am saying that, now that 'consumers' have managed to get something changed they didn't agree with the company on, they will now feel emboldened to do so again. Like if something like this appears;

We will back here doing this dance again.

While we (or rather they) are blatantly ignoring, that Wonder Woman was being humiliated on the cover of her own book in the Harley Quinn variant.


Which to me is far more offensive than the BG cover.

[Sighphi]

Addressing these together as they're very much the same issue;

Sure, it's a variant...but I think it's also reductive to view it as only a variant.

Not, that's what this actually is. A variant.
Variants now are random covers made so Comic companies can get bigger order numbers to make it seem like the book is doing better than it actually is. And for shops to make some good profit.

Comics marketing and fandom is so much more than just what happens in the store or on the racks; DC know very well that there's a huge living and breathing and very rabid online component that they need to be mindful of and shape their messaging to,

Why does DC have to worry about about people not buying the book?
Kind of strange that comics books are now being shaped, after years away from the code authority, by outside groups again.

So DC is worrying about the potential of some mother not buying some toy because what they read online. So basically what you are saying is that the actual reading audience doesnt matter anymore.

Movies make way more money than the books so screw the readers? I think that's more damaging than the movies. If you cant pop out a new dress in a comic to make a new toy that a serious issue. If there are no readers to read that's a serious issue.

and even more so with Batgirl who's success has been very much lifted by Tumblr etc. So the way a comic book is perceived by its intended audience is hugely important, in any channel.

Batgirl doesnt seem to be doing that much better than before. Is that considered success? Just doing a little better?

It's actually far more important that the un-interrupted execution of a planned one-off variant promotion. So in short, the fact it's only a variant is irrelevant to the people getting upset about this, and to the creative team who found it at odds with the intention of their book.

That variant was going to bump up the numbers of the book to make it seem like there something going. Variants are used for PR. Now the cover has to be replace, more money dumped into this to make it seem like something is happening in the book. Worst case scenario is that the cover is nor replaced and the numbers for this month take a dip. So good job at appeasing a certain crowd and screwing up the numbers, if they dont replace the cover.

I think DC and probably Marvel too will be conservative (ironically!) with their variants for a while because of this. Sadly.

That's not even the issue, the issue is when is this going to happen next. Because now that they got a cover pulled this is going to embolden them to do this again for anything else they see as bad.

[Staygold]

I know you are done, so I will leave this open for the next person, but it was also his decision to create the cover in the first place. Was his decision respected then?

It's certainly not uncommon for anyone in any creative industry to make something and then later on think it was rubbish and then bin it. That's what seems to have happened here. Just like if you're an author you may write something and then decide to get rid of it later on or a musician where you might record a song and then wish to scrap it.

[dzub]

at the rate variant covers are getting taken down before they even hit the shelves, i see a future of blank covers from both DC and Marvel

[GoingPostal]

Good decision to cancel that cover.

Very wise and responsable from the artist.

[nepenthes]

Addressing these together as they're very much the same issue;

Sure, it's a variant...but I think it's also reductive to view it as only a variant. Comics marketing and fandom is so much more than just what happens in the store or on the racks; DC know very well that there's a huge living and breathing and very rabid online component that they need to be mindful of and shape their messaging to, and even more so with Batgirl who's success has been very much lifted by Tumblr etc. So the way a comic book is perceived by its intended audience is hugely important, in any channel. It's actually far more important that the un-interrupted execution of a planned one-off variant promotion. So in short, the fact it's only a variant is irrelevant to the people getting upset about this, and to the creative team who found it at odds with the intention of their book.

Not, that's what this actually is. A variant.
Variants now are random covers made so Comic companies can get bigger order numbers to make it seem like the book is doing better than it actually is. And for shops to make some good profit.

Why does DC have to worry about about people not buying the book?
Kind of strange that comics books are now being shaped, after years away from the code authority, by outside groups again.

So DC is worrying about the potential of some mother not buying some toy because what they read online. So basically what you are saying is that the actual reading audience doesnt matter anymore.

Movies make way more money than the books so screw the readers? I think that's more damaging than the movies. If you cant pop out a new dress in a comic to make a new toy that a serious issue. If there are no readers to read that's a serious issue.

Batgirl doesnt seem to be doing that much better than before. Is that considered success? Just doing a little better?

That variant was going to bump up the numbers of the book to make it seem like there something going. Variants are used for PR. Now the cover has to be replace, more money dumped into this to make it seem like something is happening in the book. Worst case scenario is that the cover is nor replaced and the numbers for this month take a dip. So good job at appeasing a certain crowd and screwing up the numbers, if they dont replace the cover.

That's not even the issue, the issue is when is this going to happen next. Because now that they got a cover pulled this is going to embolden them to do this again for anything else they see as bad.

I know exactly what a variant is - what I'm saying though is that no piece of content is ever viewed in isolation. EVERYTHING that occurs online whether from previews, concept art, creator interviews, analyses/review, rumour, twitter, fan art, to even cosplay and related screen media contributes to how the fandom relate to comics. The fact that this image appears on only 1:10 covers or whatever is irreverent because its still a piece of content related to this book and to its readers. This whole blow-up is direct evidence of that.

Your post mentions outside groups and mothers...however please note I've been referring only to actual readership of this book; the creators of the book; and at the broadest fringe, the online comics fandom who may not read but are peripherally aware of it's significance to the DC line and of the baggage of the character. They may not read but their perceptions are still of interest to DC. The creators wishes are of interest to DC. Never referred to outside groups though.

How is Batgirl doing? I don't follow sales figures so can't tell you there. I do know however that DC have essentially retooled a good chunk of their creative output based on learnings from new Batgirl. The June line-up is hugely owing to this book and a new approach to audience cultivation that it spearheads.

When is this going to happen next? That's a question for DC marketing and their creative teams; this is an issue of internal coordination that only incidentally blew up into a manufactured outrage in the echo chamber of the internet. The cover's great...but the creative teams nixed it...big deal. The only truly remarkable thing is that people on both sides are so worked up about it. Now sorry for bailing but that's me out. Cheers.

[tombo]

I really don't like that cover. It's too well drawn, too realistic, too reminiscent of real life violence. I like stories of Batgirl in peril but not scenes that put me in mind of real life violent attacks. And a cover can't be chosen to be seen like a panel inside a book with a violence warning.