The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #47 will feature a Batman cover by comics legend Jim Steranko and a ROM cover by Locke & Key artist Gabriel Rodriguez. The editions will be highlighted in the April 2017 issue of PREVIEWS from Diamond Comic Distributors.

Scoop: Tell us about getting Jim Steranko and Gabriel Rodríguez to draw the covers this year?
J.C. Vaughn (JCV): It's no stretch of the imagination to say that Steranko is one of the most influential comic book artists of all time. Despite a body of panel-to-panel work that is not as extensive in terms of quantity as fans would wish, his ability to push the medium for what it was worth, to challenge the status quo, and to take on those challenges for a reason (not just because he could)... this is someone who you'd expect to find on the cover of the Guide.

One of the greatest things about getting a Steranko cover is that it’s been something on Bob Overstreet’s wishlist for many years. And if you take a look at the Batman piece he delivered, it was clearly worth the wait.

On our other cover, we have ROM, the spaceknight, by Locke & Key’s Gabriel Rodríguez. Not only is Gabriel a wonderful artist, but he's also built a solid following with his work on Locke & Key. When I was discussing who we might pair up with cover subject, Chris Ryall at IDW suggested Gabriel and the lightbulbs went off. Brilliant suggestion. When people see the results, I think they'll feel the same way.

By the way, Chris’ enthusiasm for ROM – both the original Marvel series and the new IDW one he co-writes, is sort of hard to ignore. It’s infectious and reminded me of how fun the character is. It was great to be able to ask him what he thought of putting ROM on the cover the Guide.

Of course we always judge our Guide covers against Bob Overstreet's choices for Overstreet #5, 6, and 7 – Joe Kubert, Will Eisner, and Carl Barks – and the small army of great artists who followed. We know the fans are going to agree that these gentlemen belong on our cover.

Scoop: The response to The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide gets bigger every year. What do you think that says for the comic book collecting market?
JCV: The success of the comic book-based movies and TV shows have raised the pop culture awareness of the general public, and news of record sales in the past decade has compounded that awareness. I love hearing people – just a few years ago we would have called them “civilians” – on the train or at the mall talking about comic book characters in a totally normal fashion. Some of them – and we always want more – are discovering the roots, the great comics we love. We've got to encourage this, and the Guide does that.

We’ve seen this translate to a sustained increase in number of hardcover sales. We’ve seen stronger comic book direct market results over the past six years or so, and a good retention of the sales from the book market.

Scoop: Can you tease any special content we can expect to see in the Guide this year?
JCV: The big draw, of course, is the new prices, but we've had a tremendous and diverse group of retailers, collectors, and historians submit market reports this year. They're always intriguing, but this year the market reports are genuinely compelling. In addition, we also have new feature articles, new additions to The Overstreet Hall of Fame, and more!

Scoop: Are there any trends in the collecting hobby that have become more obvious over the last year?
JCV: There are a lot of different things going on in the secondary market right now, and Bob Overstreet and the Overstreet Advisors cover a truly surprising variety of them. That’s what makes the Market Reports section of the book so vital each year. This year will be no exception. We have a tremendous line-up of contributors this time!

Scoop: Is there anything surprising about the current secondary market that newcomers to the hobby might not be aware of?
JCV: It’s not something new this year, but the speculation on first appearances of characters that might – only might – show up in film or on television has been something else to watch. It doesn’t always make sense, but it is interesting.

Scoop: Besides the main editions of the Guide, since CBPG #40 there has also been a limited, exclusive Hero Initiative edition, the last few years have also featured The Big, Big Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, and last year there was a new “Hall of Fame” edition, too. Will any or all of those be coming back?
JCV: All of those will be back. The main editions of the Guide will be featured in the April PREVIEWS from Diamond Comic Distributors. The Big, Big and Hall of Fame editions will be featured in the May catalog. I can’t wait for fans and retailers to see them! As always, the Hero Initiative version will be available exclusively from Hero and the 501(c)(3)’s supporting retailers.

ADVERTISING RATES
The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #47 is scheduled to go on sale Wednesday, July 19, 2017. With our Standard Rates, Overstreet advertisers can bill their full-page, half-page, quarter-page, and business card ads to their Diamond Comic Distributors accounts (and Directory Listings, too – see separate form) or pay by check, money order, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover Card. The price for a full-page B&W ad ranges from $900 to $1,080, depending on placement, and a full-page color ad is $2,500. Discounts of 10% remain available for three or more ads of the same size and type. Half-page B&W ads run $600, quarter-page B&W ads are $400, and the business card spots are $125. As they do with the Early Bird rates, all full page, standard rate ads come with a free directory listing as well.

The advertising reservation deadline is March 15, 2017.

PREMIUM POSITIONS
Almost all of the premium advertising positions in The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide are spoken for years in advance. However, changes do occur. If you are interested in a premium spot, please let us know.

DIRECTORY LISTINGS
Whether you have a traditional brick-and-mortar retail location, a mail-order business or run a website, simply fill out this form with all the pertinent information and send it back to us, via email, fax or regular mail. Please use the Genre Codes to indicate the types of products you offer by circling the appropriate letters. These letters are, in turn, listed in the directory with your business information for future customers to see.

Directory Listings range from $40 to $60, and they also come free with full page ads. The final day to submit a Directory Listing for this edition is March 13, 2015.

DEADLINES
Standard Rates: March 15, 2017

Materials Deadline: March 31, 2017

Directory Listings Deadline: April 7, 2016

Overstreet #47 on sale: July 19, 2016

CONTACTS
For additional information about rates, placements, deadlines, or anything else about advertising in The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, contact Assistant Editor Carrie Wood by phone at (443) 318-8468 or by email at wcarrie@gemstonepub.com. You can also contact Vice-President of Publishing J.C. Vaughn by email at vjeff@gemstonepub.com.