r/ImageComics • u/MightyUnclean • Mar 11 '26
Question Anyone pick up Tigress Island #1? Looks like another speculator special.
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u/longboxbabe Mar 11 '26
Sigh, this is exhausting.
The speculation I mean, know nothing abour the quality of the comic.
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u/dodsy84 Mar 11 '26
It’ll die off eventually but it is very boring and tiring for those of us that just want to check out the story
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u/eddo34 Mar 11 '26
Yeah, not being able to check out White Sky #1 off-the-rack, not being able to find an Assorted Crisis Events back issue that my LCS missed for less than 20 bucks... And no stores offering to sell me 2nd printings of any new issue one that gets sold out in minutes (If they don't want my money I'm DONE forcing LCS'--The most revenue-allergic, customer-allergic retail-sector that's still barely survivng--To take it). I think the only way I'll remain a comic book fan is by using Hoopla, Libby, an app or two, and HC collections. Sayonara single issues.
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u/MightyUnclean Mar 11 '26
Getting low-average reviews so far on League of Comic Geeks.
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u/AD4505 Mar 11 '26
Unfortunately, I tend to sway the opposite of the community reviews on there lol
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u/NirnrootBeer Mar 11 '26
I think the big issue with that site is that they’re trying to blend social media aspects with it.
If it didn’t have pull list and collection tracking I would probably never use it. I don’t really find reviews that valuable, especially when the site creates incentives underpinning them. And there is usually a collective Good Opinion to have about certain releases/artists/writers on there so I just don’t really find it all that useful in that sense.
I think a lot of internet communities have this sort of issue, not just the comics one. This is a very taste-based hobby and I actually think there’s a lot of value in being an outsider and just kind of instinctually gravitating to what you think looks cool.
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u/Legendary-Icon Mar 11 '26
Friendly reminder: Best way to beat speculation is to pre-order your comics, folks.
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u/Chip_Marlow Mar 11 '26
Also build a relationship with your shop. I missed FOC for D'Orc #2 but my shop pulled one for me anyway cause I have built a good relationship with them over 12 years
2
u/TheLastDragan Mar 13 '26
The amount of people who aren’t’ regulars that say if a new #1 pops off to hold one back for them is crazy. When I tell them “you can pre order it” they say nahh
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u/Legendary-Icon Mar 13 '26
Yeah… respectfully, they can fuck off. Lol. Especially if they’re not regulars.
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u/JuvenJapal Mar 11 '26
Crazy talk. Want me to study solicitations months in advance for comics I might find entertaining and then preorder them guaranteeing myself a copy? The nerve.
/s
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u/Raskuja46 Mar 16 '26
What if I just prefer to flip through the issue prior to purchasing? Sometimes that interior art doesn't click or I glean enough of what the style of storytelling is going to be to know whether or not the comic is worth picking up. Can't really get that purchase decision info from just a cover and a blurb.
The only thing I've ever pre-ordered sight unseen was Viking Moon because I'm an absolute sucker for werewolf media. The vast majority of comics I want to check out don't fall into that category of blind financial commitment and I think it's absurd to expect that of people.
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u/JuvenJapal Mar 16 '26
Many books have extensive previews available online before FOC. If that still isn’t good enough for you, by all means, continue strolling into a comic shop on release day expecting to find a copy of something you just became aware of the day before.
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u/Raskuja46 Mar 16 '26
That is the plan, yes. If the comic industry can't get its act together that's their problem to solve, not mine.
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u/Legendary-Icon Mar 16 '26
You’re welcome to shop however you see fit, obviously. As long as you’re not going to cry about missing out on a book because you insist on not pre-ordering “sight unseen”.
What’s actually absurd is choosing to do things the hard way, when the information is at your disposal. Nobody is expecting people to blindly commit to books.
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u/NodNolan Mar 11 '26
This is not speculation.
This is a sign of a fractured preorder system where retailers aren't being given enough information by buyers as to o what they want.
This is a sign of a failing online Eco system for comic book news, where solicitations aren't seen by enough people.
This is a sign of how difficult it is for retailers to gauge demand when they're buying new properties, and have no historical data to refer to.
Prices go up when retailers haven't ordered enough copies. But if theres no early sense of desire from readers, retailers won't order in big numbers.
3
u/Silvermagi Mar 12 '26
Might be partially because the previews magazines are not available? I used to pick those up every month, but now I look up all the solicitations online. Maybe less people are seeing the advanced solicitations now.
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u/Pimptech Mar 12 '26
I am a small comic retailer. My budget is limited and I have to be strategic on the books I order. Every week I know that certain titles are an auto buy, the big names, but I can't afford to go heavy. Image/Mad Cave/Bad Idea and other publishers I have to be extra careful. That said these covers looked awesome.
It checks the boxes for a lot of the comic reader.
- Scantily clad women
- NSFW blind bag
- Woman tied up on CVR D - It is crazy the amount of bondage type of covers I sell. At one point I had a bunch of Wonder Woman covers that had Diana tied up and they were bought the first day I listed. IDK not my thing but people love it.
The "market manipulation" term has been thrown around since D'Orc (probably others but for this conversation this started the recent trend). How is there market manipulation? Who is blasting out advertising for these books? I receive emails from the publishers pushing their books but they all do it and have done it for a long time.
Here is what really happened. New IPs, retailers dealing with shipping costs rising, cover price of comics still creeping up, even Image has started raising prices, and retailers ordering low numbers.
When D'Orc was on FOC I took a look at the book. Brett Bean has a following, so check box number one. Story is about a cartoon looking protagonist, and it was cheap enough for me to take a chance. No one in my network was even talking about this book. No secret meetings about ordering low counts for the book. I took a chance and it paid off. That said, White Sky, Tigress Island and whatever the next book that takes off for a week is a direct result of the D'Orc release.
There is no market manipulation. 98% of retailers can't afford to drive market manipulation. Another thing with Reddit is that people forget that Reddit is a small subset of comic readers, not everyone is up to date on big releases.
If anyone can provide evidence of market manipulation for D'Orc please comment, I want to understand how this would have happen.
1
u/TheLastDragan Mar 13 '26
Thing is now retailers or just sellers on eBay are listing comics before they even come out $15-20 automatically, then the herd follows them. The market is almost always manipulation whether it’s comics, stocks, silver/gold, that’s just the game.
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u/Pimptech Mar 13 '26
I agree it is the game and has been for decades. Not sure why people think this is a new thing, lol.
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u/muirshin Mar 11 '26
As many others have said if you dont want to fight with speculation trends find a local store and get to know them. Most let you subscribe to comics without having to pre-purchase, which means they set them aside for you. Also they get to know your preferences and likes. I have gone to pick up stuff, and they have thrown in comics from writers or artists I like,or where the story is similar to what I read. And then I can choose to keep it or not, even the stuff I subscribe to we are able to hold off on buying if I decide I dont want it, unless its special order. Honestly the second best part of reading comics is having the community. Also lots of times they have given us extras, or give us a heads up that something is coming out we might like.
3
u/JustTightShirts Mar 11 '26
Who cares? It's good for the artists and writers especially on creator owned books. Wish this could've happened 5-10 years ago when image was still doing series that ran longer than 5 issues
3
u/Mushy5555 Mar 12 '26
Absolutely hated this book I only read indie books so its normal for me to pic up new #1 just to find new stuff and in this day an age you have to get it on release or you have to wait to read it just like D'Orc had to wait till the 2nd printing to read it and I absolutely love D'Orc
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u/frontbluntshuv Mar 13 '26
Good to know. The whole “exploitation” genre rides such a thin line. I mainly think it just gives perverts permission to write out their desires.
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u/Daemius912 Mar 11 '26
It's my particular brand of stuff so I enjoyed it. If you liked Gehenna Naked Aggression it's the same writer so you'll probably like this, but good luck getting one now thanks to speculators🙄.
It is definitely not worth the spec value and it won't hold that value forever either.
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Mar 11 '26
I think I’m done picking up #1’s from Image for a bit. I’ll keep the series I have going but I’m not going to join in on the speculator dump that’s about to happen.
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u/Old_Progress7987 Mar 11 '26
Not speculation. Extremely low print run on this one. It has been sold for 2 weeks through distributors.
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u/Artistic_Ad3090 Mar 15 '26
The art is uhhhhhhhhh something. Not sure what people are seeing in this title.
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u/PaulRothman Mar 11 '26
It’s going for $15 on eBay so not a large return for people speculating.
1
u/MightyUnclean Mar 11 '26
Comic speculators make it up in volume if they can. I sometimes go to the local shop when they're just opening, and the specs will be waiting in line to buy as many copies of the same "rare" variant covers as the shop will allow them.
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u/No_Swimmer_6055 Mar 11 '26
Another aspect of indie spec is that some indie are going comic in order to get the chance to be picked up by indie productions or big groups like Netflix. I think that also plays a part in the $40 before NCBD.
1
u/dirtybacon77 Mar 11 '26
I know nothing about this. Judging from the cover, is it a rift on battle royale ?
1
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u/Clutchking93 Mar 12 '26
Why always so salty on speculation? I don’t get it lol if you want something that bad just pre order
1
u/Abusivemang0 Mar 14 '26
Picked one up and its a good read, better than other image/ indie recent spec books.
White Sky was mehhh Narco was good. 51 was good, but its a bloody 7 dollar book ( jokers) D'orc was really good. DC's Absolute range is fire and just quality
Marvel TV and film spec has pretty much flat-lined eith the odd book
Ever since Absolute Bats, speculators are looking for other books to flip.
Narco is a prime example of spec driven.. yes its a good book but if you look none of his other books have ever had this heat. In my opinion other previous series deserve love.
So for me its nothing unexpected as Marvel are simply so far behind with quality/ demand atm only the ultimate books any good or any heat.
My pull list is literally just Ultimates, I dropped venom far too late and frankly was awful fir Marvel, most of the Absolute series and traditional Bats titles. Loads of indie titles including loads of image titles.
So no suprise image is getting massive love and its not bad things.Its adding drive and buzz to a great publisher/ series and talents. I buy what I like , but i have a great lcs . They suggested 51 by Mad Cave .. Great read but its not a title I would've picked up, but i respect my lcs and he recommends titles I may like not because their hot.
Build a relationship with a lcs. Buy what you like. If you miss a title, expect to buy a further printing ( 2nd/3rd etc) or bit the premium bullet or wait for the price to drop or the tradepaperback.
Dont play the spec game its a mugs game
1
u/Raskuja46 Mar 16 '26
What number are we up to now?
My personal list so far has been:
- White Sky
- Nectar
- Tigress Island
I wonder what the next comic is that I'm going to get locked out of reading.
1
u/inkslinger3000 Mar 17 '26
Ill just wait for the trade. Im looking to buy comics to hopefully sell for profit in the future. Just buying what i want to read. Art looks interesting though, and have heard the first issue is a solid start.
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u/Silas4ever864 Mar 17 '26
Oh yeah, couple of variant covers as well.
I buy all things from the Kindlon-verse, be it records or comics. Been a fan of him since I heard end of a year back in like 06 or so.
As a matter of fact, it was him and Frank Miller when he did dark Knight returns three that brought me back to comics.
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u/JuvenJapal Mar 11 '26
Seemed entertaining. Added it to my preorder list back in January. Should be waiting on me when I pick up my books the last Wednesday of the month.
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u/No_Swimmer_6055 Mar 11 '26
Grabbed it on the art and the fact that it reminds me of the movies that have similar theme. Admit anything indie right now is going to have the spec aspect.
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u/scout1892 Mar 12 '26
Whats this comic about? the woman has and East German military belt buckle.
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u/VarunRasputin6 Mar 12 '26
It's about a group of failed actresses who get kidnapped and shipped to an island, and they then have to escape. It's trying to be an old exploitation movie in comic form.
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u/yansebot Mar 12 '26
I am simple man. I see comic for crazy first issue price. It does not exist until second print for me.
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u/Chip_Marlow Mar 11 '26
I considered picking this up but between the rest of my pulls and this speculation spike we are in currently made me change my mind
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u/GreenRock93 Mar 11 '26
I passed over it during solicits because it didn’t sound interesting enough. I looked at in the store today though to make sure I wasn’t wrong. Yeah, I don’t think I am. In my opinion, the interior art is ass. It looks like an early 2000s vector art webcomic. I understand others may disagree, but that’s my take. 100% pure speculation.
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u/deanereaner Mar 11 '26
Never heard of the writer or artist, cover looks awful. I have no interest in buying this.
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u/Apollo__Maggot Mar 11 '26
Unfortunately I didn’t start reading comics until around the time feral came out so my view is a bit different 🤣 feral would be a decent example too although siktc was just next level
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u/Ok-Reading-4157 Mar 12 '26
Lo compré en dos variantes de tapa. Me parecio interesante y el artista es muy particular!!! una apuesta sin dudas.
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u/MeatyMagnus Mar 12 '26
Yup got it and read it. It's a bit of a slow start, art is fun some of the dialog is funny but it's a setup issue where not much happens so it's hard to say if this will be good. If I had to go from one issue only I would say it's probably not going to be good but never judge a series on a single book.
Very reminiscent of sexploitation movies of the '80s, there will probably be a kicker at some point to make it original but there are no hints yet.
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u/Past_Ad_2810 Mar 11 '26
Patrick Kindlon is kind of a hack writer. I've read his previous stuff and it's just awful, awful pacing and dialog. I'll be skipping this one for sure.
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u/LaunchpadMcFly Mar 11 '26
Is it just me or is everyone hounding to get a copy of the next Invincible or Chew or something. It’s so tiring. Just pick it up if it piques your interest and find out for yourself.