Cover Strategy

A few thoughts on the importance of having a solid variant cover strategy when launching a new book...

I’m not too proud to admit that, as guy who fell in love with comics in the 90s, I’m a sucker for a great cover gimmick. I can remember hitting local comic cons like a boy on a mission back in the day, hunting for that Wild C.A.T.S. #2 holographic cover. And when I finally found it at a price my modest allowance could afford, I squealed with joy!

So, it’s probably no surprise that all these years later, as a publisher, I put a ton of thought into cover strategy. Reality is, people DO judge a book by it’s cover in the world of comics and always have! That’s why ComixTribe has tried to push the envelope on production value for hardcover collections (die-cut, foil enhanced, spot uv, oh my!) and why we’re always trying new things with our single issue cover offerings.

Of course, that’s not to say that the covers come first. At ComixTribe, we’ve always been a story first publisher. One of the benefits of working with such talented writers and artists is that I never have to worry about the pages between the covers… our stories always deliver. But in this current market, variant cover strategy is a big deal. On Kickstarter, projects that are able to build a fanbase that serves both the reader and the collector community tend to thrive. I believe when covers reinforce and amplify the content within, that’s where the magic happens.

In putting together the new campaign for SINK: Monsters, which will be a double-sized issue containing the 12th & 13th chapter of John Lees and Alex Cormack’s, once again, we wanted to try some new things. I’ve been wanting to do a connecting cover series for a while… and as this next chapter of SINK is one where many of the previously stand-alone SINK tales start connecting and the characters start smashing into each other, it made sense to pull the trigger for it here.

In scripting the synopsis for this next installment, John wrote the line, “In Sinkhill, no matter the era, past or present, MONSTERS ARE REAL.” And so I had the idea to lean into that and do a cover series highlighting four of the main “MONSTERS” that feature prominently in this series and the new issue. We chose to focus on:

Si McKurdie

The kingpin of Sinkhill, Si McKirdie stands at the top of Glasgow's criminal underworld. With his far-reaching influence and his rumoured occult connections, Si has developed a fearsome reputation, but he follows a twisted code of ethics. Si is the star of the first story in SINK: Monsters, and we’ll see place in the pecking order of the Glasgow underworld challenged like never before.

Mr. Dig

Rojan Hardi is a migrant building a new life for himself and his family in his adoptive home of Glasgow, Scotland. But he leads another life as the masked, shovel-wielding vigilante Mr. Dig. Driven by fury and vengeance, Mr. Dig delivers brutal street justice to the criminal underworld terrorizing Sinkhill. Dig is certainly the most iconic and recognizable character in SINK, and definitely the most popular. He’s also the closest thing we have to a “hero” for the series, so is it right to call him a monster? Honestly, I see him similar to Godzilla… he’s a terrible force of destruction, but in a world full of darkness, he’s one monster you’re glad is on your side.

The Duke

So far, The Duke has not been featured much in SINK… with short appearances in SINK #9 and DIG #1. That changes in the new issue. His Most Revered Excellency, Lord Augustus Glory Wetherford IV, AKA The Duke, rules the vast, country-spanning criminal network of which Si McKirdie is a member, which makes him Si's boss. And now he’s coming to Sinkhill to take a more hands on approach to the events happening in Glasgow. And what does John Lees say about the Duke? “I’m very excited for you to meet him. He’s a real piece of shit.”

Iron-Tooth Jack

Better known as The Gorbals Vampire, Iron-Tooth Jack is a local legend that terrified Glasgow's children in the 1950s. The story goes that Jack was a 7-foot-tall vampire with a mouth filled with iron fangs, who emerged from his nest in the Glasgow Necropolis to hunt the young. In the new issue, the first time we flashback to an earlier era of SINK, readers will get the full story behind Jack!

Connecting the Monsters

So, with our four monsters picked as subjects for our connected cover series, the next step was to figure out a way to connect the covers. We tossed out a few ideas, but ended up landing on using the backdrop of UNSUNKHILL HOUSE as the unifier.

Sink readers will know Unsunkhill house as Si McKurdie’s mysterious and creepy home… but having had the chance to read ahead, it’ll be the locale of some of the biggest moments in the series. So I thought it would be a cool idea to start bringing it into the forefront… (er, well, actually the background.)

So, here’s how the SINK: Monsters Connecting Covers will look. One of the things I know about fans is that they enjoy having a choice. So, on our launch for SINK: Monsters, our lowest physical comic pledge will let backers pick whichever one of these covers they want… and for our fans who choose to get the full connecting set, we’ll give them a nice discount and an extra incentive for doing so.

Upping the Ante with Vampire Variants

Now, for some books, a connected cover series would probably be enough. But our fans have been waiting patiently for new SINK for a while now, so we wanted to do a little more. With the MONSTERS title and the fact that this was going to be, in part, a vampire story, I felt it would be a missed opportunity if we didn’t lean all the way into the Vampire concept. So, we’ll also be offering limited to 350 copies each, VAMPIRE VARIANTS for each of our monsters. Once again, artist Alex Cormack outdid himself with these vampire renditions of our crew:

And as you can probably see, these Vampire Variant covers will ALSO connect!

Pretty cool, right? We think so, and we’re hoping our fans agree. The goal is to keep this series rolling strong, and we’re excited about the covers we’ll be making available during this launch. As always we may have a few more surprises in store should the campaign overperform.

GET ON THE ADVANCED NOTICE LIST FOR SINK MONSTERS

We’re going live on Valentine’s Day for this next launch, and will launch with some DAY ONE BACKER specials. If you like crime horror comics, please get on our ADVANCED NOTICE LIST.

QUESTION: What’s the most special comic cover (or set of covers) in your collection?

Give us a reply and let us know!