ISOM Concept Art Book Reviewed by a Comic Newbie from

The Rippaverse Concept Art Book as part of the ISOM #1 campaign is very little for the $75 cost. I know it is supposed to be a collectors item but it should still provide value at the base price. Disappointed in the item but hopefully the investment pays off down the road. Let me know what you think in the comments below. Please let me know if there are any comments or suggestions for future reviews.
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[@fedenciogonzalezjr9051]

And the worst part is a blank cover lol not even artwork on the cover.

[@BigSeanH]

Eric July can not take criticism.

[@postpaal]

….dont cry….you supported great quality shipping and the salaries of the valued staff at the number one Warehouse west of the Mississippi…

[@RmasterJ]

lol not crying, calling out what I thought was an overpriced product. Only people that can do it honestly, are the people who bought it. thanks for the comment!

[@svensvensson2724]

@@RmasterJThere's plenty to call out for people that didn't buy it as well. Shady business practices are everybody's concern.

[@christophersequeira4155]

Now it becomes clear why it's called the Rippaverse.

[@JohnSmith-yd5wq]

But hey July is not a grifter, right?

[@christophersequeira4155]

@@JohnSmith-yd5wq I probably wouldn't be so harsh as to call him a 'grifter' at the current time because that often implies a purposeful deception or actual full-fledged fraud of not giving people what you say you would give, whereas 'rip-off' can be used to just describe bad value. Here, I think it's a case of offering a garbage, worthless item, for an expensive price tag, but it was the customer's own lack of care and examination of the offer that results in them getting shockingly poor value. I would be embarrassed to offer these for the entire $75 package, and it is a colloquial 'rip off' of a price, but I will hold off from saying 'grift' just at the moment. If people fall for this a second time, they may need professional help, though. By the looks of the very detailed and calm, un-hysterical analysis of ISOM by Mike Partyka, the product is woefully sub-standard and over-priced by a factor of at least 4.

[@JohnSmith-yd5wq]

@@christophersequeira4155 come on. We know what July is doing here. The comic reviews from honest non sjws or anti sjws say the story and art are less than mediocre. July made his money because "it's anti woke" . Whatever that means. The art is a bad Dave Finch rip off. I draw as a hobby and can tell bad art.

[@christophersequeira4155]

@@JohnSmith-yd5wq I am being kind. I agree with Parkyn and you, I think it's complete crap, but I'm willing to accept other people have different tastes to me. What's inarguable, though, is that it is hideously overpriced. It will have ZERO collectability factor in the future.

[@cowboy1980]

@@christophersequeira4155 The thing is that the campaign couldn't even rely on the merit of the story itself. There's a reason why It has been promoted and funded by right-wing media outlets. There's nothing about ISOM's costume design that pops out. If I wanted to try to tell a buddy of mine who is also into comics about why they should be getting into ISOM, I would not know what to tell them...

[@Crank1]

thank you for this video, RmasterJ helped me to take action and put the word out there regarding this sacm.

[@louisalexander133]

To be worth $75, it needs autographs from writer and/or artist.

[@Hot_Dice]

It’s already worth 300, check eBay sold.

[@ratskraad5890]

Actual respectable ppl in the comic world wud shit in this guys butt for the trash he puts out.

[@ratskraad5890]

@@Hot_Diceyall are pathetic

[@uncappedturtle]

check dates sold@@Hot_Dice

[@LOLheyman]

I have buyers remorse spending $20 on doordash, I cant imagine the regret I would have spending $75 on a 8 page fugazi concept art book😂

[@Hot_Dice]

Since they’re 4x the price already I’m feeling pretty good about buying 2 😎

[@ratskraad5890]

Fr ppl are coping so hard im sad for humanity

[@CAPS0L]

@@Hot_Dicebetter sell ‘em before they hit dollar bins

[@uncle_ben_rices_nephew]

Valid criticism. I purchased the book myself because I like artbooks. I would have liked more at the same time I paid it no mind, but it is something we can request to them as an improvement in the future.

[@RmasterJ]

yeah just thought we would get a lot more for the price. give it that collectors feel, something you might leave out on the coffee table. the comic its self feels more like a collectors item.

[@CruderQuotient1]

These character sketches are the type of thing you usually get for free in the back of a graphic novel

[@RmasterJ]

yeah it just does not feel like a collectors item

[@JohnSmith-yd5wq]

Now you know why July didn't put out much info on the story or much of the art. Which is trash.

[@ratskraad5890]

I got better free comics at pizza hut as a kid

[@williamgrayson6942]

@@ratskraad5890😂😂😂

[@williamgrayson6942]

@@ratskraad5890I’ve had free October fest comics that were better than this 😂

[@deverslath]

You can get a CGC graded version now! Only $215!

[@RmasterJ]

I would not recommend that purchase...

[@Crank1]

I'm one of the stupid people who bought this garbage book, 85 bucks for a so called art of book, so pissed too! no art of , no developement art, nothing!!!!!!!!!!!! A TOTAL SCAM!!!!!!! I'm a collector of art of books and after all Eric July's pontificating about how much he knows about comics, I thought "why not and chip in and back it", geez I'm still pissed off!!!!! At least I'm not wearing a coffee brand t-shirt I got Scammed, crooked Eric July, I have a right to critizies this Piece of SH*T!

[@Lastlineshow]

Good on you for being honest. Personally I read Isom 1 & 2 and thought they were pretty bad. But Erics never going to listen to criticism from someone like me. But I think whether you like Eric or not we can all agree that $75 for an 8 page concept art book should actually have……concept art. There should be rough sketches, variations, here’s 20 different designs we went through getting his super hero suit to where it is now(if that actually happened). Makes me wonder how many drafts anything went through from character design to scripting. Either way a $75 exclusive art book should be at least 30-40 pages and in my opinion hardcover as well. Your review was very rational and reasonable.

[@RmasterJ]

That’s what I thought it was going to be. The fact that there is a meme about the Eric sketch needing to be released makes it even worse. They should have been in this art book! Thanks for commenting!

[@RmasterJ]

@jaybyhop and that shit still grinds my gears.

[@StrangeSignal]

Sorry for your loss, and I do mean that. I kept from getting anything more than the comic because my purchase was for a review. It never really made sense to me for a new property to have such expensive items so soon. To do with collector's items, there needs to be something to collect. This exclusive item indicates for us that there just isn't much special about Isom, or the book would contain more. An economist would be a lot tougher, to be clear.

[@CAPS0L]

Glad I didn’t get suckered into buying these . Pretty soon toilet paper will be worth more than these books

[@crimsondragon18]

You definitely got ripped off man, 75$ for an 8 page art book is unacceptable. And the art inside looks amateurish at best

[@RmasterJ]

yep. the art quality is not the issue, its "concept art" so I was expecting drafts and doodles, but it was the most limited amount of "concept art" for the price point.

[@JohnSmith-yd5wq]

The art in the book is trash. Why would you think the concept art would be good or even interesting.

[@crimsondragon18]

@@JohnSmith-yd5wq For 75$ i thought the art would be better, concept or not, i thought the art would be on par with cover A.

[@JohnSmith-yd5wq]

@@crimsondragon18 fair enough. But we know what July is doing here. And it's not because I dislike his political takes. Hell I'm a Ditko fan and he was far more libertarian than July

[@crimsondragon18]

​@@JohnSmith-yd5wq Yeah, granted i never thought Rippa would fleece/scam his fans though. I watched a live where he hyped these 'art books' saying how great they were and how they'd likely increase in value because they're so limited, smh, guy is a snake oil salesman and which makes me believe his politics are driven by which ever side he believes he can make money on.

[@bigchillphil]

Another one scammed by the rippaverse. At least you have opened your eyes. There still some dumbies out there buying everything.

[@Anciano_Goh]

Lets be honest, the artbook is this short because the vast majority of the art was a 3D asset. Artbooks with that price usually dont just contain characters, but environments and landscape, vehicle designs, set designs, story boarding, step by step processes, etc. Anything that was designed or conceptualized specifically for the story would be in the artbook. And sometimes promo art are included, covers, posters, etc. This was a cash grab.

[@RmasterJ]

You nailed what my expectations were based on the price "Artbooks with that price usually dont just contain characters, but environments and landscape, vehicle designs, set designs, story boarding, step by step processes, etc." This had none of that.

[@venomousmedia3370]

Something like this should have been one of the stretch goal rewards. 75 bucks for 8 pages of concept art? And most of the designs are just official art of the characters ripoff. Honestly I would have like legit concept art of his characters and the scripts too. I didn't know there was a concept art book sorry that you got scammed. Thanks for showing man.

[@svensvensson2724]

If this had been my first ever comic book experience I probably would have quit reading. Get some quality stuff before you go into a depression.

[@verbena208]

Yeah i brought up the cost to Eric himself. He doesn't care about fans unless they agree with him.

[@RmasterJ]

yeah I have seen one of these reactions from Eric on a stream and it did not still well with me, cause his immediate response was "I don't see it that way." well of course you don't but do you see where the criticism comes from? I am still going to get this next round of books but nothing additional. Had to take this as a learning experience.

[@D-RAiL-Gaming]

Dude they didn't even do a second pass with any of the Isom scripts. So I am not surprised that concept art is the same.

[@ComicsExposed]

So many were ripped off by this. And he's going to make a t-shirt to make fun of you.

[@JJTWrites]

The upmark of a collector's item should come because of the high demand in the aftermarket. Honestly, it seems EJ is trying to bleed his base dry. I went all in on Isom 1 but was very disappointed after reading Isom 2.

[@RmasterJ]

I have just been picking up the books or a sale t-shirt since, no foils no graded or signed. I do think that the ISOM books and Eric might end up being the weakest series that the rippaverse puts out near term. I really liked Alphacore and very intrigued to see what the sisters will put out. I am the least excited on ISOM 3 based on the planned releases. Thanks for the discussion. BTW did someone share this video? gotten a bunch of comments the last hour?

[@JJTWrites]

@@RmasterJ Yeah, I saw it on twitter

[@svensvensson2724]

@@RmasterJ @ComicArtistProSecrets played your video and commented on his livestream LATE NIGHT TRASH.

[@RmasterJ]

@@svensvensson2724 Thanks! I just watched through it.

[@svensvensson2724]

@@RmasterJCool. What did you think?

[@dramonmaster222]

Wow! $75.00 for that? What a ripoff!

[@austinmckee2484]

I still gonna support Eric July. But that does seem like a rip off with concept art book. So your argument is very valid.

[@RmasterJ]

Yep. And I have pre ordered Isom2 so I’m still excited for what’s to come but got to call things like I see it.

[@austinmckee2484]

@@RmasterJ well I am gonna order Isom 2 when I get some money to do so. Can not wait to read it 😁. Plus glad for your honest review. I was never gonna to buy the concept book anyways and thanks to you I am not gonna waste my money on it. But I still love the comics though.

[@deathfab]

Looks like a cheap nondescript super hero sticker book from a pound/dollar shop.

[@nemesiscomix]

E: I have only seen the art and i can't judge the total product. I have friends who went in on this. They were not impressed with what they got. Everything put out in the Rippaverse seems to be 90% hype. Which is another slap in the face to real comic fans and creaters.

[@RmasterJ]

yeah there has been all sorts of noise with the Rippaverse so far, but the product from ISOM 1 has continued to improve. Cause the 1st book was average at best, and this art book was a major disappointment. But Alphacore 1 was great. Eric is bringing in actual comic talent to raise his overall product for the company. I would say give Alphacore a try if you have any interest to checking out the universe (or check out my review ;) )

[@nemesiscomix]

@@RmasterJ E: i will definitely check out your review before i toss any money at Mr. July. Ha ha

[@RmasterJ]

That’s fair

[@tom-u8k6y]

The writing is bad and the characters are soooo boring. I just don't get why people like this universe. The wrtwork isnt even good

[@WarrickAuthor]

I didn't get one because I just wanted to see the story, but man am I glad I didn't get one. 9 pages for $75?! Bro that's outrageous. I don't care how much I like and support Eric, that was not a smart decision on his part.

[@RmasterJ]

Agreed

[@larryjake7783]

Yeah its best to voice this complaint to them. I didn't get one myself and knowing this I'm happy I didn't. Granted I'm excited for the story and the actual comic, these things as fans should be expressed via their website

[@Hot_Dice]

Weird I bought 2 and eBay sold says I 4-5x’ed my money already. Weird.

[@communistcomputergod6449]

@@Hot_Diceeveryone knows your lying lol

[@svensvensson2724]

Just don't say it to Eric. He will block you.

[@artbell259]

Where are the angry ERIC FANS ? usually there is some attack of the critic ?!

[@RmasterJ]

I know really disappointed 😉 people can tell when something is done honestly and in good faith which I felt my criticism was. Thanks for the comment!

[@cjflan32]

Rippa himself has no defense for this therefore toolbags like Sturgis AKA renownedZ3r0 have no defense.

[@EuropaPhoenix]

This is 100% a scam. People should stop blindly trust people on the internet. Go to a comic book shop, talk with the owner and quickly flip through the books you're interested in before you purchase them. That's the only way to avoid scams like this.

[@ThomasRoiloup]

Buying comics ONLY to resell them is a huge part of why comics suck. Everything I've seen from Isom, from its content to its creators behavior, looks completely SJW to me. I know people will say "listen to what he says, not what he does," but personally I always go by a person's actions instead of their words.

[@RmasterJ]

I bought it cause I wanted it, which is why I have issues cause it is not worth what it cost even as an exclusive item. But with anything collectable there is an expectation on it being an investment (if that makes sense). I am not going to try and convince you anything about Eric, but I enjoy his content and the knowledge he has on a wide array of topics. Thanks for the comment.

[@thenandnow2065]

I watch him to but dont understand why you say hes an SJW, can you explain?

[@aquariuskudo]

@@thenandnow2065 He has a misconception of Eric and his colleagues. That's all.

[@account_deleted-l3l]

There's 2 Isom concept art book o ebay right now. One for $400 with 5 watchers that you can buy now. The other is in ausction at $350 with 10 hours left and 8 watchers. If it were me I'd be trying to sell it off and make that $350-400 or whatever you're comfortable selling at. I can't imagine most people are happy with 8 pages for $75 and I highly doubt that Rippaverse is going to become some IP juggernaut and concept art book goes up to $3000 in value. So far reviews have been meh. The hype around rippa is probly making people think there's going to be high probability of return on the investment but you have to consider that the hyper could die down and then NOBODY wants the concept art book and you miss out on making $300 now.

[@RmasterJ]

yeah something for me to consider.

[@dr.aleccort1833]

You did get ripped off brother. All of the Rippaverse is one massive rip off. People are paying triple price for garbage. It’s Absurd

[@RmasterJ]

While I agree that the “collectible” items seem to be over priced, this art book in particular was egregious cause it was not clear on how limited the product would be. The actual comics are priced fine, if you look across independent comic/GNs they price in the $20-30 per 100 pages which is what Eric is charging.

[@dr.aleccort1833]

@@RmasterJ maybe but the story is neither coherent nor compelling. I wouldn’t give 25 cents for a Rippaverse book

[@verbena208]

I'm a bit late on this so I might not get a response, but I crunched the numbers Eric and Michael Knowles gave when Eric was on his show and some things are bugging me. I talked to Eric about this, but I got a lot of deflecting and no real answers. Now, Eric said he made 3.7 million dollars on the comic with 50,000 total copies sold. Isom is 35 dollars per issue, of which there is only one. There are variant covers, but its the same comic behind them. Okay, 50,000 times 35 is 1,750,000, which means the remaining 1,950,000 dollars was made from merch. That means that only half of the figure he gave was made from the actual comic. Not counting the art book, which sold for 75 dollars, all of the other Isom merchandise on the store was originally priced at 30 dollars, that's caps, t-shirts, and posters. That means that to make that 1.9 mil, he had to sell 65,000 of these. Now the art books sold 2000 copies, which was a number preset to make the book more valuable as a collectible. At 75 dollars, that means that he made 150,000 on the art book alone, meaning he made more from merch than he did from his actual comic. Now, to put things in perspective, Eric's KZbin channel has 513,000 subscribers and he has 119,000 followers on Facebook. Assuming all his Facebook followers are subscribers on his channel (not very likely, but possible), these figures means that only a quarter of his audience bought his comic or any merch associated with it. Now, I am not saying he didn't do well, but I can't help but think that the high price of both his comic and his merch might have turned a sizable number of his potential customers away. He might have done better to offer single issues in addition to his large volumes so he could bring in people who might not be able to afford a price that, though he has labelled it as competitive, is actually quite a bit higher than those of his competitors. I expressed this view to Eric and was told by him that he didn't care about the people who could not afford the comic and was only concerned with those that had already purchased his comic. I was also told I knew nothing about the comic industry and how it works ( a bold statement to make about someone you've never met,), but I also got a lot of deflecting about my "disrespecting" him. The message was loud and clear. I was wrong about everything i said and he would take none of it under advisement. This is sad, because given that over 400,000 people who are fans of him didn't buy anything from him at all, that means he doesn't care about anything but a small percentage of his audience, a sad thing when you consider that if those 400,000 had been offered the chance to purchase a smaller, cheaper issue at say 10 dollars and did so, Eric would be looking at an additional earning of over 4 million dollars. Even if only half or even a quarter of that number chose to make a purchase, he would have been looking at an additional million or two in sales, hardly a number to sneeze at. Comics are a niche market. Of the entire population of the United States (300 million as of 2022), two percent, (around 6 million people), read comics. Put up against that, the 50,000 copies Eric sold means he is not reaching nearly the audience or level of popularity he is making it out that he has. In our conversation, Eric kept asking me what cost had to do with anything, well this is my answer. In business, cost is very important, especially the cost your customers must pay for your product. Yes, he made money to spite his mistakes, but it pales in comparison to what he could have made and what he could make in the future if he would learn to take criticism and learn from it instead of concentrating on his political opponents and their arguments. Add to that the problems that his genuine critics have pointed out about the art and writing and you have a lot of mistakes that need to be corrected. Unless he changes some of his practices, I don't really see the Rippaverse or any of its characters lasting. I think the high price and the quality of the work, as well as Eric's very combative attitude toward anyone who disagrees with him, will continue to result in loss of customers until he eventually goes bankrupt, sells to another company, or maybe hires somebody with a better head for long-term business.

[@RmasterJ]

lot to unpack here lol. Yes there seems to be a lot of fluff with his 3.7mil for the Isom #1 campaign. I am not saying that he didn't make it but as you point out only about half the earning were from the book at roughly $1.75mil (you didn't even mention the 50K from cannonize me which I assume wont be something he does again). I would think his future campaigns even hitting $1.5mil each would still be MASSIVELY successful, cause that would mean he sold almost the same amount of units with some additional merch. but him hitting that I personally think is a stretch for these next three books. As for the cost, while I will not argue that the book being cheaper will allow for more units to be sold you have to maintain a certain profit margin per unit. based on what I have seen from my limited comic book experience, is that Eric is making a "high end" book that comes with a base cost to produce (i mean this in the physical book, paper, finish, binding, and not the art/story). for him to make a reasonable profit from each book he needs to sell it at the cost he has set it to. lowering the cost will not get him more money as if his profit drops in half per book he need to sell double. and due to the niche market you mention he would, for now, rather have a smaller buyer base of a "high end" product. So long term is he willing to get a more "mid/low end" book so that he can maintain similar profits per unit while opening up the buyer base? that is only a question he can answer and for now it seems like he will maintain what he has going. For a similar comparison moistcritical sells his 45 page books for $12 ($17 for variants) they are a "lower end" book. but if you double the book to 90 pages like Eric your still sitting at $24 (and we'll say $29 for variants). while $10 delta per book will add up its not that different. I think there is just a higher base cost to being independent and trying to publish you own books in this current economy that does not allow for the books to get significantly cheaper. I would really love to talk numbers with both of them to see how some of this is actually working out. Thanks for the commets!!!

[@verbena208]

@@RmasterJ You're welcome and you might be right on that. I do think now that the initial sales are out of the way for the first issue, that offering the remaining books at discount might not be a bad idea. As for the high end value of his book, I think he concentrates too much on that aspect and not enough on the storytelling. Image did the same thing in the 90s. They went for really quality paper and gloss finishes and drove their prices up, but they didn't do near enough work on making their comics a good read. Honestly, I'm willing to take a drop in paper quality if it means my readers can get and enjoy the story. To me, his strategy is too many bells and whistles and not enough core quality. As to it being so long, from what I've heard of the story I think he wasted his page count. The staple of rookie writers is that they write really long and never learn to tighten their narrative, which I'm worried is going to be a trend since he announced that Isom #2 will be even longer than the previous issue. Any fool can ramble on, but honestly I think the story he told could have been done in a way shorter amount of room, especially if he had maybe employed the services of a ghost writer or consulting editor. Page count and story length should always be a factor that is considered when writing because every unnecessary page equals money wasted, money that then has to be passed on to the customer in order to make a profit.

[@RmasterJ]

For his first book it was fine, I had it 5/10 so hopefully he will continue to develop his skills as he keeps writing his books. And honestly he might not have to write too much if he keeps bringing in actual talent like he is already starting to do. Will be an excited end of 2023 for rippavrese and the quality of the product and decisions he makes in the next 8 months will dictate will this last for a generation or pitter out in a few years?

[@gunn25]

@@RmasterJShow us you're a newbie.... that Isom book was a 2 at best.

[@smashball]

Yeah I agree this was a bad product. I got the concept art book as well (😂😢) it’s actually terrible all around when we consider the plethora of concept art books that exist out there. It’s essentially character sheets with a bit more of a description. It’s weird bc I feel the rest of the available items were good. Like The cards were profoundly better as a product

[@RmasterJ]

yeah I thought we would get so much more specifically we would get to see Eric's original concepts. When they weren't in there I figured they didn't really exist that he just worked directly with artist to develop the character models. The fact that they do exist and "release the Eric sketch" has become a meme for the chat and campaigns does grind my gears. thanks for the comment!

[@gringles]

I think it’s more than fair that people would have expected the character bios from the cards to be in the book, maybe even some of the Yaira depictions for the art book. If people want to pay extra for side merch, that’s fine too but some of the “secrets” that have yet to be revealed in the comic are in those biographies. Lillian and Michael weren’t even named or given purpose in issue #1 but you could find out their motives and insights into their abilities for 100$.

[@SpiderWireless]

Damn! You paid $75 for that??!!!

[@williamgrayson6942]

$75 for a concept art book???? Bruh, I bought the second printing of the killing joke for $65 Near Mint ☠️☠️☠️

[@gringles]

People on Twitter have discovered the 3D assets that were used in Isom. Some of them are reused in another comic, for example: when Avery goes into the living room to take a nap, it has the same layout with the green couch, the same glass end table and the same lamp on top. There are scene comparisons flying around on Twitter now.

[@RmasterJ]

saw that flash by but had not really looked into it. That would be something that Eric has to take up with Cliff. Being that art is digitally driven it would not surprise me that artist use digital templates to quickly execute and assist with their drawings, especially something basic like laying on the couch. Even if Cliff went full AI to produce the base of his work I'm not sure that I care. I will note that I thought the art in ISOM #2 was a step down from #1, talk about the big misses in my ISOM #2 review.

[@gringles]

@@RmasterJ Totally fair assessment, I did find it interesting as there is a lot of mud slinging going around and the topic of product delivery brought into question the validity of the value/good practice, seeing as these comics are reusing buildings/character models/etc. It doesn’t change my opinion on the story itself and I’m still looking forward to seeing what Chuck Dixen delivers with Alphacore. Do you have a review planned for that book?

[@RmasterJ]

@@gringles there is SOOO much mud on everything rippavrese lol I poke in every once in a while, but I have no interest play in that mud haha. Yes Alphacore is on order I will be putting out a review! hope you come by to check it out. 🙂

[@gringles]

@@RmasterJ I definitely will be here. Glad you’re steering clear of the “drama”.

[@svensvensson2724]

What's the printing cost for this anyway? Eric was printing the actual book for $2.50 This might have been a $1 book of content that cost him nothing to begin with.

[@estania]

Yeah, I'm glad I didn't pay extra for all that. I only brought cover C just to support him, but I wasn't interested in anything else. I thought the concept book would have like the origins of how isoms came to be and his process of starting a company, and along with creations of the characters...

[@RmasterJ]

that was exactly my thought, which is why I was interested in getting it. gonna give the next round of the comics a go, but like you will only get a book and nothing else going forward.

[@estania]

@@RmasterJ Yep. It's best to do so. I don't know when something is new, I just like to know what I'm getting. But that's terrible for you to pay that much money for it. Hopefully, you can see it online for that price or more someday!

[@ratskraad5890]

Idk how i have to be raised to be so mediocre at life and buy this filth. Yeah erics products look professional thats great all products shud be shipped processed professionally im glad that aspect he seems to be s great business man but all of the content ive seen is super fucking bland

[@chucknorris2418]

I don't want to spend $35 on a video game and thats something that'd usually be at least 20 hours of playtime. Even if its 90 pages thats just too much for me. Maybe as they get established they can get better delivery contracts and drop the prices on stuff but as of now damn all that shit if i want to show support I'd just be a channel member for a few months or something 😂 😅

[@THETHRILLOFIT]

Ripoffverse

[@verbena208]

Hell I could do a better art book than that and I'm just starting out.

[@rayray5076]

75 bucks? HaHaHaHaHaHaHa!

[@louiefillet6932]

We should have all known back then.. lol

[@BlackAngusReviews]

Nice video, given the team sports factionalism around books like Isom I appreciate the balls to say the truth. As a hoped creator I’m taking these points to heart. What a jip 🤣

[@RmasterJ]

thanks for the comment and good luck with your creative endeavors!

[@mrporro]

you are being scammed people

[@thesammyjenkinsexperience4996]

Do you have a problem with the pricing now you know these books cost $2.50 each to print?

[@RmasterJ]

do you have where they said a book only cost $2.50 to print each? If really that is there print rate 100%+ mark up does seem like a lot when buying straight from the scouse and covering distribution. With that said I have not had issue with the cost of the book cause when you compare the book cost to almost any other independent comic its pretty much the same pricing. The primary example I bring up is comics from Moist Critical and BadEgg publishing as they sell there 45 page book (mostly black and white, cheaper paper/feel) for $12-15 based on the cover. That would mean $24-30 for a 90 page book which is pretty much what Eric is charging.

[@thesammyjenkinsexperience4996]

@@RmasterJ I'm sure I replied to this earlier but for some reason my comment is no longer here. In any case, google the "Rippaverse transparency update." There's a whole bunch of financials in there, including $125,000 for a 50,000 print run of Isom #1 Cover C.

[@RmasterJ]

Yeah I have links blocked which is probably why the comment deleted. Thanks I’ll check that out. Overall I’m comfortable with the book price as it seems in line with many others out there. It is a business at the end of the day and if sales continue to drop due price supply and demand will forage an adjustment. If not clear the concept art book was still WAY over priced for the delivered product. Thanks for the comments!

[@TopBillinVillain]

Even though I'm super late, was the concept art book by itself $75 or did you choose an option which included the concept art book which was $75. If it was a single item for $75 I can understand how you could feel the way you do. A fair criticism would be maybe the page count should have been listed but at the same time I'm not sure if thats a standard thing for concept art books. That being said, it's always a good idea to ask instead of assume if the info isn't listed. I don't mean that as a dig but actual advice. As someone who almost exclusively shops online I've learned that lesson.

[@RmasterJ]

The art book itself was $75. And have absolutely taken this as a learning experience, in the ways you have pointed out. As I continue to look to support more indy comics I have been a little more caution on big price items. thanks for the comment!

[@grimjim666]

I don't have a copy of the comic to gauge the material quality though i think price should be lowered due to content of using lazy 3D assets and then running a filter over it. It is known some think its fine, I'm on the its taking the piss side of it. Interesting topic fair comments. Lovely curtains. Enjoyable cretic.

[@HiddenHandMedia]

Well since he's selling a "3D Assets " shirt and his dumb followers are buying it, I don't think EJ cares

[@RmasterJ]

I do not take issue with the comic prices. Almost every independent comic person sells the individual comics for similar pricing. As I note some of the "collector" item clearly seem to be overpriced for extra profits. I also am not overly concerned with the whole 3D assets thing, people who produce art will use the tools available at their disposal. Even if full AI, not sure I really care. Noting that the ISOM art is average/fine. Now Eric paying for what he might had thought was going to be full custom art, but ended up be heavily template assisted, that's on him to figure out because he has said he paid Cliff a premium... did he really get that type of product in return? Glad you liked the curtains, the wife of course picked them out XD. Thanks for the discussion and comments!

[@Steger13]

We just saw your review on Evs stream. Sorry man that you've gotten Rippedverse😅 funny but i would had been pissed off too.

[@svensvensson2724]

That folder will never be worth even what you paid for it. The exclusivity should come from limited availability and demand down the line. Eric basically stole your resale value.

[@ink-cow]

Technically that's 16 pages, because facing pages are generally counted. That's STILL razor-thin though, for that kind of money.

[@RmasterJ]

Yeah that’s why I tried to show myself flipping the pages in the vid that I was counting individual sheets, I realize that 8 is a little misleading.

[@ink-cow]

​@@RmasterJ It's def not important, I didn't even notice this video is a year old. 😄 I saw it linked on Twitter this morning and thought it was new.

[@RmasterJ]

lol got a lot of traffic today cause of that tweet. my first viral-ish moment I guess, and on a 1 year old video too XD

[@smacktalkerskywalker_8139]

No gonna lie im a Eric July fan and i was definitely disappointed on that art book it was trash but i took it as a learning lesson but great comic and trading cards

[@RmasterJ]

agreed. I just hope Eric will sees the feedback. I have been getting the feeling he thinks its all prefect based on the few comments he has made.

[@DreadSeamus]

LoL. "Hopefully, someday it's worth 3000 dollars." Good luck with that.

[@VikkiVerse]

Times New Roman. Whelp, at least he didn't use Comic Sans.

[@Stackinginvestments1]

I wish it had some art work on the covers as well. But it is what it is.

[@PumaFist]

It's a pamphlet.

[@sonic31century1]

It's a rip-off.

[@RmasterJ]

I was wondering if you would find this video, thanks for stopping by! and agree really disappointed in this "art book"

[@PumaFist]

@@RmasterJ It's amazing that this guy had the balls to charge $75 for something like that.

[@pentagon56]

​@@PumaFist People were ready and willing to hold those balls and gargle them too is the problem. Critical thought is needed to be applied to everything, even the things one enjoys. But that wasn't done here by many.

[@PumaFist]

@@pentagon56 Agreed.

[@Hot_Dice]

This book is sold out everywhere and eBay sold shows the last went for 250-350. Artists sell single pages for 500+. It was always marketed as a limited collectors item. What is the complaint here?

[@RmasterJ]

As I said in the video, it is in my opinion that the art book was very over priced. it is not worth anywhere near $75. Its potential re-sale cost can be another discussion. But I bought it to own it and I was disappointed with the product, even as a collectable, for the cost. That is my complaint. If you are happy with the purchase, I am happy for you.

[@Hot_Dice]

@@RmasterJ well something is worth precisely what people are willing to pay for it. We both know what people are willing to pay for it, so it is clearly worth well over $75. It was marketed as a collectible. Eric is a writer and not an artist, he doesn’t have pages and pages of sketches. This was just the transition from his crappy sketches to comic book art, as he clearly stated. If you mean to set some kind of art per square inch parameter I would like to introduce you to trading cards. Look I’m not stupid I know what you’re saying is it’s small in comparison to other concept art books. You didn’t buy an artists collection, you bought a piece of the beginning of the Rippaverse.. and you did very well I would not let go of that thing. All I’m saying is be fair and as a collectible collector, this and the rest of the campaign are looking like real good money.

[@RmasterJ]

Saw your comment on the review video. Thanks for checking that out to get my full context and this is 100% in good faith. I have zero intentions of getting rid of it and the reasons you point out are why I was excited to get it. Be a part of rippavrese history! The final product was just a disappointment and did not meet my expectations. And I wanted to get that out there be honest with the review, you know tell my truth (lol). I am still excited for the next round of books. Isom also got me into looking at other independent books as well! Thanks for the conversation!

[@Hot_Dice]

@@RmasterJ upon further thought I realize i was hyper informed and knew exactly what to expect from it. I can see how it could be disappointing as a “concept art book” perhaps he could have been more specific that it is a small book. Anyway, I see now we are on the same team and this is friendly fire. I like that coffee brand coffee shirt too, let’s go Indie’s! You sit, have earned a sub from me.

[@RmasterJ]

Thanks for the sub! And a little friendly fire in the comments is good. Keeps us honesty and in check

[@DocUgs]

You got GOT dude!!

[@rockon8174]

It's 16 pages!!!

[@TheLegacy-wj3rp]

Sorry you got taken man that definitely is a cheat on customers ,but they again the interiors of the isom comic looks like bagged dollar store ones ,looks like the company is going for quanity over quality like the current mainstream im not a newbie been collecting for a very long time

[@jonathansoko1085]

While i disagree with you on some fronts, criticism is a good thing.... The artbook was indeed a rip off, id be pissed if i paid 75$ for 9 pages of art i can see on google. If that was a 15$ book, id have no problem. Also i must give a bit of leeway since this is a first endevour and he will for sure learn and mistakes are going to happen. I expect it to get better. Lets be real, the fact that it even was released and was such a success, is impressive as nearly everyone outside of the community, laughed it off as a joke. I am willing to bet itl just get better in quality, i know nothing about the logistics of printing comic books, im sure hes met new people along the way and rd 2 should be better. I will admit, i didnt like the quality of ison #1, it was NOT bad by ANY means, i just disliked the glossy paper, and this may sound weird, but the pages smell funny lmao. But i still dig it, look forward to more. My main worry is us getting an issue once a year. If he can up the time to atleast once a quarter i think most would be happy.

[@RmasterJ]

thanks for the comment and the discussion. yes the main point I was trying to make, which we agree on, is that there was no way the art book should have been priced at $75 without it being VERY clear on what you were getting, and I felt that the book was the least promoted item outside of "wont ever be printed again". If you check out my ISOM review I thought the product was professionally done and the story was average with a lot of intrigue. I plan to support the next round of books well see if I am kept as a customer after that.

[@jonathansoko1085]

@@RmasterJ Agreed. From personal experience, Eric is very abrasive when it comes to criticism and he does not take it well. But i also have to try and put myself in his shoes, he is indeed used to being attacked all day long so i can understand not knowing where a person is coming from and if its real criticism or just another person attempting to flame him. But ive tried to give him some critiques and they were all met with abrasive insults, but its whatever, as long as he reads some of them and atleast considers some of them. I hate the yes men mentality of any community and i hope hes actually open to hearing different takes. I just want it all to be good and people in the community giving it a 10/10 isnt helping

[@sonic31century1]

@@jonathansoko1085 " But ive tried to give him some critiques and they were all met with abrasive insults," --Eric July has his saying about Marvel and DC which is, "Don't buy comics from people who hate you." This quote could be applied to Eric too. If Eric hates you, why are you going to continue to buy his comics?

[@resistancepublishing]

Wow that’s a crappy experience for a new comic reader to have the first time around

[@RmasterJ]

Why i made the video. Would have appreciated a little more detail on this specific item, but I'll have to take it as a learning experience.

[@resistancepublishing]

@@RmasterJ I agree. I was skeptical from the beginning so I stuck to just the first issue

[@ClassyVigilante]

I think you have a point here. Personally, I got all the covers and the concept art book. I haven’t thoroughly read anything yet because my cover c hasn’t come in and that’s the one I want to read. Even though it may not amount to a refund or anything, I would suggest that you forward this video to Eric via Twitter or something. He is very much customer friendly and if he sees this, he might address it at the least.

[@verbena208]

He won't. i made similar criticism and got no positive feedback. Eric is high on his own success and nobody can tell him he made any mistakes.

[@Scifi4life]

It should have been 10 dollars

[@flyingdragoncar4975]

owning the libs , one pamphlet at time lol

[@countlessbathory1485]

I get what your saying but I also see rippa's perspective. it's meant to be an exclusive, behind the scenes, limited edition product. While $75 is a lot many limited edition poster's, cards, etc cost twice as much. Reviews are allowed on his site so people who feel like the book is slim can voice their opinion. I think it's a tad overpriced but not a rip off 9 quality pages to me are better thab 50 mediocre ones. Plus, I think most buyers were just happy to support the company and this book was a bonus.

[@jbktpl1245]

Understandable criticism

[@geekbro6265]

and then you went on and dropped more money on eric july's crap 😂😂😂

[@RmasterJ]

I did, but significantly different then I would have based on this product.

[@brandonzzz1]

U That is exclusive you could resell it for way more than what you paid for it eBay guarantee

[@RmasterJ]

I get that but I bought it cause I wanted it. I just thought it was going to be something more then what it is for the price. The actual comic feels more like a collectable then the art book.

[@donfuego5716]

The Artwork in all his books are boring 💤 😴

[@olijadu]

You do have a point but i think Marvel fans would have paid the same. And if Ripper-verse does become huge, then that $75 for an exclusive book would be actually nothing, it would be worth much more than $75.

[@RmasterJ]

I’m rooting for the rippaverse, and hopefully the purchase will be a great return on investment as you note. Just disappointed cause I bought it thinking it was going to be a really cool coffee table style art book and it just is not that.

[@Scifi4life]

Do you think rippaverse will be a valuable company?

[@Catlady_RMasterJ_fan]

cutie, i watched the whole thing and still dont know how it happened

[@IxChestyLaRuexI]

I like Eric July but that is a blatant piss take.

[@funkydanieluk]

Fair criticism.

[@kandonkane]

Valid issues stated; however, your video (and videos like it) will devalue the item. And I don't think you want that

[@RmasterJ]

yeah but you have to be honest, if you lie to increase the value on something you dont believe in then your just a scummy politician. I don't want rippa to ever sell anything like this that is just blatantly over priced for the sake of being collectable. He wants to beat DC/Marvel? then he needs to be better then them in all facets.

[@Matt_Wilson01]

Some sperg on KZbin isn’t devaluing anything lmao 🤣😂🤣😂

[@BuklauTheLegend]

Valid criticism. If your paying $75 you expect to receive a certain level of quality and content which this does not reach. Disappointed in Eric July for this, as he brands his company as one that puts the fans first. You can’t say that, then rip your fans off like this!