Absolute Batman #19, Dan Quintana And Dropgate

Posted in: Batman, Comics, DC Comics | Tagged: absolute, Absolute Batman, Dan Quintana, When Comics Go Bad

Absolute Batman #19, Heavy Mental Comics, Dan Quintana and Dropgate… how much did you pay? How much would you pay?

As Bleeding Cool previously reported, Absolute Batman #19 was the first title of the series to have record retailer cover variants, only now matched by Absolute Batman #20. It has yet to be revealed if Dan Quintana is doing a variant cover after the effects of “Dropgate” earlier in the month. Because it was the Absolute Batman #19 Dan Quintana Heavy Mental Comics retailer variant offering, which kicked off online, Dan Quintana has become one of the most sought-after comic book cover artists of late, especially on the Absolute line from DC Comics, with his original art for one selling for $100,000.

And lots of folk thought this would be a hot book. Dan Quintana posted on Instagram, saying, “We want people to have them always at some non-astronomical price right off the bat… $25 for the first round and will remain under $100. 2nd round, good luck!” Heavy Mental Comics seemed to take an unconventional approach to the release, initially listing just twenty-five copies on their website at $25 each, which sold out instantly. A second batch of twenty-five was then listed at $75 and also sold out quickly. These items also only appeared on Heavy Mental’s mobile site not their store website

And then the rest of the print run shifted to a Heavy Mental Whatnot livestream featuring live signings and re-marked copies of the comic by Dan Quintana himself. During the livestream, unsigned copies were auctioned individually, with many climbing into the hundreds or thousands of dollars. Signed and remarked editions reportedly reached as high as $2,500 as buy-it-now options at lower prices disappeared almost immediately. The allegation is also that some dealers used bots to pick up those copies as fast as possible.

Either way, this left hundreds of fans in the chat frustrated and unable to afford a collectable comic at a price they could afford to pay, some calling this class warfare, and Heavy Mental was accused of intentionally creating scarcity to drive up secondary-market prices.  Raw copies quickly appeared on eBay for hundreds of dollars, while the paired Virgin and Trade Dress editions were listed for over $1,200. Facing widespread criticism, Heavy Mental Comics then issued a public apology, saying

“This weekend’s drop didn’t meet the standard we hold ourselves to and we understand why a lot of you are frustrated. Our goal has always been to bring fair, transparent, and exciting drops to the community and we clearly missed the mark here. We’re currently reviewing everything from pricing to how the books were released so we can make this right and improve. We appreciate everyone who showed up and gave feedback good or bad. We’re listening, and we’ll be addressing this properly.”

And in a follow-up statement,

“We’ve taken your feedback to heart and spent time really reflecting on it, and we want to share how we’re moving forward Regarding the Absolute Batman #19 release. We’ll be releasing 500 copies of each variant on Whatnot on Tuesday… Each variant will be bin dropped once, with a quantity of 500 each. Everyone who picked up books during the auctions will be receiving signed and stamped copies. The remaining books are planned for upcoming conventions, collector boxes, and future signings, with some also being sent to CGC. We know this could’ve been communicated more clearly from the start, and we appreciate everyone’s patience and giving us a second chance.”

Which seemed to go more smoothly. Dan Quintana also addressed the backlash, sharing the retailer’s statement and offering his perspective, “I currently command the highest, quickest resales on the planet right now… It’s hot and tricky to handle. Definitely difficult for me to even think about logistics.” eBay sales are still high, just not quite four figures high. Absolute Batman #19 Dan Quintana Trade Foil Variant sold for $200 yesterday but $175 today. A Signed Cardstock Virgin went for $435 yesterday, but one signed and gold-stamped Virgin Cardstock just went for $650. And a Trade Foil and Cardstock Virgin together sold for $400 today.

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