by Paul O’Brien

It’s the height of crossover season at Marvel, as SIEGE enters its second month, while “Fall of the Hulks” and “Necrosha-X” also continue through their respective books. Oh, and BLACK PANTHER is replaced on the schedules by DOOMWAR, starring half the Marvel Universe.

February also saw the next phase of the Ultimate relaunch, with the debut of ULTIMATE COMICS X. Further down the chart, there’s a wave of cancellations, with the final issues of MS MARVEL, DOCTOR VOODOO and INCREDIBLE HERCULES (though that last one is pretty clearly coming back).

This month’s variant cover theme: Deadpool. For those of you who literally can’t get enough of him.

As per usual, Marvel had the biggest share of the North American direct market, beating DC by 45% to 34% in terms of units, and 42% to 31% in dollar terms.

Thanks as always to Milton Griepp and ICV2 for permission to use their figures for these cancellations.

2.  SIEGE
01/10  Siege #1 of 4 - 108,484
02/10  Siege #2 of 4 - 108,429  (-0.0%)

Well, that’s interesting. If this is to be believed, then SIEGE has lost only 55 sales between its first two issues.

The overwhelming majority of titles have a big drop between issues #1 and #2, for fairly obvious reasons. It’s not completely unknown for a book to hold steady or climb, but it’s extremely unusual, and usually connected with something like a crossover. There’s nothing of that sort here.

So a more likely explanation is a theory which was floated in the comments section last month. SIEGE #1 was partially returnable (albeit under limited conditions). Diamond may have scaled back its sales to reflect that promotion. They’ve done this in the past for comics which were solicited on a returnable basis. The logic, presumably, is that retailers will order more copies of a returnable book because there’s less risk in doing so; therefore, the chart needs to be adjusted to avoid comparing apples with oranges.

Unfortunately, Diamond have never made clear quite how much they’re deducting in these cases. The best guide we have comes from books like 52, which were returnable for the first few issues, and had settled into a pattern by the time the promotion ended. That book actually jumped up the charts by 20% or so when returnability ceased. This doesn’t mean, however, that the reduction was 20%. The starting number might have been even higher due to the returnability offer. But the implication is that Diamond have been overcorrecting by about 20%, which, as it happens, would broadly match the sort of drop we’d normally expect on a second issue. That would go some way towards improving the sales on SIEGE #1, though it would still come in a distant last place among Marvel’s event minis of the last few years.

Then again, it’s always possible that Diamond have changed their deduction since the last time. Or perhaps this sales oddity has an entirely unrelated cause. The chart is an unsatisfactory beast at times.

6.  DARK AVENGERS
02/09  Dark Avengers #2  - 102,277  (-26.5%)
03/09  Dark Avengers #3  - 101,978  ( -0.3%)
04/09  Dark Avengers #4  -  99,694  ( -2.2%)
05/09  ---
06/09  Dark Avengers #5  -  95,746  ( -4.0%)
06/09  Dark Avengers #6  -  93,634  ( -2.2%)
07/09  Dark Avengers #7  -  94,189  ( +0.6%)
08/09  Dark Avengers #8  -  94,191  ( +0.0%)
09/09  Dark Avengers #9  -  79,729  (-15.4%)
10/09  Dark Avengers #10 -  75,618  ( -5.2%)
11/09  Dark Avengers #11 -  72,225  ( -4.5%)
12/09  Dark Avengers #12 -  69,799  ( -3.4%)
01/10  Dark Avengers #13 -  76,002  ( +8.9%)
02/10  Dark Avengers #14 -  76,639  ( +0.8%)
                            6 mnth  (-18.6%)
                            1 year  (-25.1%)

The second part of a Siege tie-in. Part one, from issue #13, picks up 2,290 in re-orders. The series ends with issue #16 as part of the relaunch of the Avengers line.

7.  NEW AVENGERS
02/05  New Avengers #3  - 148,973
02/06  New Avengers #16 - 121,492
02/07  New Avengers #27 - 130,531
02/08  New Avengers #38 - 104,140
=====
02/09  New Avengers #50 - 106,831  (+13.3%)
03/09  New Avengers #51 -  95,340  (-10.8%)
04/09  New Avengers #52 -  93,975  ( -1.4%)
05/09  New Avengers #53 -  94,367  ( +0.4%)
06/09  New Avengers #54 -  93,878  ( -0.5%)
07/09  New Avengers #55 -  84,745  ( -9.7%)
08/09  New Avengers #56 -  89,996  ( +6.2%)
09/09  New Avengers #57 -  85,598  ( -4.9%)
10/09  New Avengers #58 -  76,656  (-10.4%)
11/09  New Avengers #59 -  74,379  ( -3.0%)
12/09  New Avengers #60 -  72,790  ( -2.1%)
01/10  New Avengers #61 -  78,202  ( +7.4%)
02/10  New Avengers #62 -  76,405  ( -2.3%)
                           6 mnth  (-15.1%)
                           1 year  (-28.5%)
                           2 year  (-26.6%)
                           3 year  (-41.5%)
                           4 year  (-37.1%)
                           5 year  (-48.7%)

Again, the second part of a Siege tie-in. As with DARK AVENGERS, sales are up, but not by enough to cancel out the drops of the last year. The six month and one year comparisons are exaggerated, though, since they’re both with issues that had one-off spikes.

NEW AVENGERS ends wth issue #64, to be relaunched with a fresh issue #1.

10. UNCANNY X-MEN
02/05  Uncanny X-Men #455 - 88,920
02/06  Uncanny X-Men #469 - 79,039
02/07  Uncanny X-Men #483 - 83,009
02/08  Uncanny X-Men #495 - 90,410
=====
02/09  Uncanny X-Men #506 - 71,684  (-12.9%)
03/09  Uncanny X-Men #507 - 77,957  ( +8.8%)
04/09  Uncanny X-Men #508 - 76,442  ( -1.9%)
04/09  Uncanny X-Men #509 - 69,185  ( -9.5%)
05/09  Uncanny X-Men #510 - 75,139  ( +8.6%)
06/09  Uncanny X-Men #511 - 71,148  ( -5.3%)
06/09  Uncanny X-Men #512 - 76,283  ( +7.2%)
07/09  Uncanny X-Men #513 - 87,582  (+14.8%)
08/09  Uncanny X-Men #514 - 90,316  ( +3.1%)
09/09  Uncanny X-Men #515 - 73,585  (-18.5%)
10/09  Uncanny X-Men #516 - 73,916  ( +0.4%)
11/09  Uncanny X-Men #517 - 69,557  ( -5.9%)
12/09  Uncanny X-Men #518 - 68,572  ( -1.4%)
12/09  Uncanny X-Men #519 - 67,043  ( -2.2%)
01/10  Uncanny X-Men #520 - 65,758  ( -1.9%)
02/10  Uncanny X-Men #521 - 67,049  ( +2.0%)
                            6 mnth  (-25.8%)
                            1 year  ( -6.5%)
                            2 year  (-25.8%)
                            3 year  (-19.2%)
                            4 year  (-15.2%)
                            5 year  (-24.6%)

This is the penultimate part of the “Nation X” storyline. The slight bump is probably because of the Deadpool variant cover. Like the other major X-books, UNCANNY is heading into the “Second Coming” crossover in April.

11. THOR
02/08  Thor #6  -  98,315
=====
02/09  Thor #600 - 96,718  (+31.1%)
03/09  ---
04/09  Thor #601 - 82,742  (-14.5%)
05/09  ---
06/09  Thor #602 - 69,568  (-15.3%)
07/09  ---
08/09  ---
09/09  Thor #603 - 65,265  ( -6.2%)
10/09  ---
11/09  Finale    - 53,566  (-17.9%)
12/09  Thor #604 - 61,608  (+15.0%)
12/09  Thor #605 - 55,242  (-10.3%)
01/10  Thor #606 - 55,353  ( +0.2%)
02/10  Thor #607 - 66,973  (+21.0%)
                   6 mnth  (  --- )
                   1 year  (-30.8%)
                   2 year  (-31.9%)

This is a SIEGE tie-in with a Deadpool variant. Again, sales are up, but not enough to cancel the drop of the last year. Of course, one has to take into account that THOR was previously being sold very heavily on the strength of departed writer J Michael Straczynski. The new regular creative team of Matt Fraction and Pasqual Ferry don’t arrive until issue #611.

13. CAPTAIN AMERICA
02/05  Captain America #3   -  48,104
02/06  Captain America #14  -  44,041
02/07  ---
02/08  Captain America #35  -  86,038
=====
02/09  Captain America #47  -  62,850  ( -14.1%)
03/09  Captain America #48  -  62,108  (  -1.2%)
04/09  Captain America #49  -  63,874  (  +2.8%)
05/09  Captain America #50  -  72,708  ( +13.8%)
06/09  Captain America #600 - 123,152  ( +69.4%)
07/09  Captain America #601 -  87,844  ( -28.7%)
07/09  Reborn #1 of 6       - 197,565  (+124.9%)
08/09  Reborn #2 of 6       - 125,366  ( -36.5%)
09/09  Reborn #3 of 6       - 108,331  ( -13.6%)
10/09  ---
11/09  Reborn #4 of 6       -  96,571  ( -10.9%)
12/09  Reborn #5 of 6       -  91,790  (  -5.0%)
01/10  Reborn #6 of 6       -  84,844  (  -7.6%)
01/10  Captain America #602 -  63,948  ( -24.6%)
02/10  Captain America #603 -  63,568  (  -0.6%)
                               6 mnth  ( -49.3%)
                               1 year  (  +1.1%)
                               2 year  ( -26.1%)
                               3 year  (   --- )
                               4 year  ( +44.3%)
                               5 year  ( +13.2%)

This is the second part of the “Two Americas” storyline. Sales are holding up nicely, although that’ll be partly due to a Deadpool variant cover. One would imagine, though, that at least a few extra copies must also have been shifted by the publicity inadvertently generated by issue #602.

15,19,22. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
02/05  Amazing Spider-Man #517 -  78,584
02/06  Amazing Spider-Man #529 -  90,414
02/07  Amazing Spider-Man #538 - 142,956
02/08  Amazing Spider-Man #551 -  88,084
=====
02/09  Amazing Spider-Man #585 -  60,286  ( -5.4%)
02/09  Amazing Spider-Man #586 -  59,521  ( -1.3%)
02/09  Amazing Spider-Man #587 -  60,118  ( +1.0%)
03/09  Amazing Spider-Man #588 -  61,334  ( +2.0%)
03/09  Amazing Spider-Man #589 -  58,832  ( -4.1%)
04/09  Amazing Spider-Man #590 -  66,415  (+12.9%)
04/09  Amazing Spider-Man #591 -  60,508  ( -8.9%)
04/09  Amazing Spider-Man #592 -  65,940  ( +9.0%)
05/09  Amazing Spider-Man #593 -  58,363  (-11.5%)
05/09  Amazing Spider-Man #594 -  58,464  ( +0.2%)
05/09  Amazing Spider-Man #595 -  71,837  (+22.9%)
06/09  Amazing Spider-Man #596 -  63,525  (-11.6%)
06/09  Amazing Spider-Man #597 -  61,646  ( -3.0%)
06/09  Amazing Spider-Man #598 -  61,585  ( -0.0%)
07/09  Amazing Spider-Man #599 -  72,412  (+17.6%)
07/09  Amazing Spider-Man #600 - 116,857  (+61.4%)
08/09  Amazing Spider-Man #601 -  74,279  (-36.4%)
08/09  Amazing Spider-Man #602 -  71,532  ( -3.7%)
08/09  Amazing Spider-Man #603 -  71,051  ( -0.7%)
09/09  Amazing Spider-Man #604 -  63,435  (-10.7%)
09/09  Amazing Spider-Man #605 -  62,831  ( -1.0%)
09/09  Amazing Spider-Man #606 -  70,177  (+11.7%)
09/09  Amazing Spider-Man #607 -  62,570  (-10.8%)
10/09  Amazing Spider-Man #608 -  72,035  (+15.1%)
10/09  Amazing Spider-Man #609 -  61,176  (-15.1%)
11/09  Amazing Spider-Man #610 -  61,170  ( -0.0%)
11/09  Amazing Spider-Man #611 -  64,514  ( +5.5%)
11/09  Amazing Spider-Man #612 -  68,459  ( +6.1%)
11/09  Amazing Spider-Man #613 -  64,499  ( -5.8%)
12/09  Amazing Spider-Man #614 -  59,696  ( -7.4%)
12/09  Amazing Spider-Man #615 -  63,738  ( +6.8%)
12/09  Amazing Spider-Man #616 -  58,856  ( -7.7%)
01/10  Amazing Spider-Man #617 -  76,730  (+30.4%)
01/10  Amazing Spider-Man #618 -  61,969  (-19.2%)
01/10  Amazing Spider-Man #619 -  56,837  ( -8.3%)
02/10  Amazing Spider-Man #620 -  59,860  ( +5.3%)
02/10  Amazing Spider-Man #621 -  55,350  ( -7.5%)
02/10  Amazing Spider-Man #622 -  53,929  ( -2.6%)
                                  6 mnth  (-24.1%)
                                  1 year  (-10.5%)
                                  2 year  (-38.8%)
                                  3 year  (-62.3%)
                                  4 year  (-40.4%)
                                  5 year  (-31.4%)

Issue #620 has the obligatory Deadpool cover. Otherwise, we may be back on a slight downward drift, with issue #622 getting down to the 54K range. However, as you can see, AMAZING has developed unusual sales patterns – it wavers up and down, apparently depending on storylines and variants.

16. ULTIMATE COMICS X
02/10  Ultimate Comics X #1 - 59,159

The cover logo actually says ULTIMATE X, but the solicitations and the chart both say this is called ULTIMATE COMICS X, so there you go.

This is third ongoing title for the relaunched Ultimate imprint. So far the relaunch doesn’t seem to have done much good in revitalising things. This book is the spiritual successor to ULTIMATE X-MEN, which was selling in the mid-40K range when the axe fell at the start of last year. But while ULTIMATE COMICS X launches with a more impressive 59K figure, it achieves that with the help of six different covers, including 1:15 and 1:25 incentives. Given that, and the usual level of drop-off for a second issue, I’d expect this one to drop back fairly quickly.

For what it’s worth, orders of 59,159 would put this book just below the level of ULTIMATE COMICS AVENGERS #4, which sold 59,023 in November 2009 before honouring the traditions of its forefathers and spiralling off schedule.

21. DARK WOLVERINE
02/05  Wolverine #25      -  83,180
02/06  Wolverine #39      -  72,248
02/07  Wolverine #51      -  97,181
02/08  Wolverine #62      -  64,197
=====
02/09  ---
03/09  Wolverine #71      -  91,229  ( -7.8%)
04/09  ---
05/09  Wolverine #72      -  91,333  ( +0.1%)
05/09  Wolverine #73      -  83,324  ( -8.8%)
06/09  Wolverine #74      -  66,186  (-20.6%)
06/09  Dark Wolverine #75 -  80,780  (+22.0%)
07/09  Dark Wolverine #76 -  74,017  ( -8.4%)
08/09  Dark Wolverine #77 -  68,593  ( -7.3%)
09/09  Dark Wolverine #78 -  60,702  (-11.5%)
10/09  Dark Wolverine #79 -  60,076  ( -1.0%)
11/09  Dark Wolverine #80 -  52,394  (-12.8%)
12/09  Dark Wolverine #81 -  48,102  ( -8.2%)
01/10  Dark Wolverine #82 -  54,838  (+14.0%)
02/10  Dark Wolverine #83 -  53,958  ( -1.6%)
                             6 mnth  (-21.3%)
                             1 year  (  --- )
                             2 year  (-15.9%)
                             3 year  (-44.5%)
                             4 year  (-25.3%)
                             5 year  (-35.1%)

The second part of a Siege tie-in. The first part, in issue #82, picks up re-orders of 2,823, so the first-month sales are actually up in February. On the other hand, this issue has the added benefit of a Deadpool variant.

24. HULK
02/09  Hulk #10 - 77,217  (-12.0%)
03/09  ---
04/09  Hulk #11 - 82,726  ( +7.1%)
05/09  Hulk #12 - 73,105  (-11.6%)
06/09  ---
07/09  ---
08/09  Hulk #13 - 71,369  ( -2.4%)
08/09  Hulk #14 - 77,455  ( +8.5%)
09/09  Hulk #15 - 58,667  (-24.3%)
10/09  Hulk #16 - 56,811  ( -3.2%)
11/09  Hulk #17 - 52,653  ( -7.3%)
12/09  Hulk #18 - 53,222  ( +1.1%)
01/10  Hulk #19 - 56,738  ( +6.6%)
02/10  Hulk #20 - 51,962  ( -8.4%)
                  6 mnth  (-32.9%)
                  1 year  (-32.7%)

Continuing the “Fall of the Hulks” crossover, which is no doubt boosting sales to some degree, but isn’t turning around the book’s decline. Last month’s issue #19 picks up re-orders of 2,472.

25. X-MEN LEGACY
02/05  X-Men #167        -  84,155
02/06  X-Men #182        -  78,653
02/07  X-Men #196        -  75,707
02/08  X-Men Legacy #208 -  88,132
=====
02/09  X-Men Legacy #221 -  56,517  ( -4.7%)
03/09  X-Men Legacy #222 -  55,606  ( -1.6%)
04/09  X-Men Legacy #223 -  71,935  (+29.4%)
05/09  X-Men Legacy #224 -  54,008  (-24.9%)
06/09  X-Men Legacy #225 -  58,374  ( +8.1%)
07/09  X-Men Legacy #226 -  59,298  ( +1.6%)
08/09  X-Men Legacy #227 -  63,316  ( +6.8%)
09/09  ---
10/09  X-Men Legacy #228 -  52,855  (-16.5%)
11/09  X-Men Legacy #229 -  50,789  ( -3.9%)
12/09  X-Men Legacy #230 -  49,776  ( -2.0%)
12/09  X-Men Legacy #231 -  50,929  ( +2.3%)
01/10  X-Men Legacy #232 -  49,200  ( -3.4%)
02/10  X-Men Legacy #233 -  51,344  ( +4.4%)
                            6 mnth  (-18.9%)
                            1 year  ( -9.2%)
                            2 year  (-41.7%)
                            3 year  (-32.2%)
                            4 year  (-34.7%)
                            5 year  (-39.0%)

This is the final part of LEGACY’s “Necrosha-X” tie-in arc, but it’s also got a Deadpool variant to boost sales. LEGACY takes a month off from the crossovers in March before leaping into “Second Coming” in April.

26. INVINCIBLE IRON MAN
02/05  ---
02/06  ---
02/07  Iron Man #15            - 60,662
02/08  Iron Man #26            - 36,607
=====
02/09  Invincible Iron Man #10 - 56,381  ( +7.7%)
03/09  Invincible Iron Man #11 - 52,165  ( -7.5%)
04/09  Invincible Iron Man #12 - 51,774  ( -0.7%)
05/09  Invincible Iron Man #13 - 51,311  ( -0.9%)
06/09  Invincible Iron Man #14 - 53,229  ( +3.7%)
07/09  Invincible Iron Man #15 - 50,554  ( -5.0%)
08/09  Invincible Iron Man #16 - 53,782  ( +6.4%)
09/09  Invincible Iron Man #17 - 47,182  (-12.3%)
09/09  Invincible Iron Man #18 - 48,039  ( +1.8%)
10/09  Invincible Iron Man #19 - 47,178  ( -1.8%)
11/09  Invincible Iron Man #20 - 61,667  (+30.7%)
12/09  Invincible Iron Man #21 - 49,986  (-18.9%)
01/10  Invincible Iron Man #22 - 49,130  ( -1.7%)
02/10  Invincible Iron Man #23 - 50,027  ( +1.8%)
                                 6 mnth  ( -7.0%)
                                 1 year  (-11.3%)
                                 2 year  (+36.7%)
                                 3 year  (-17.5%)
                                 4 year  (  --- )
                                 5 year  (  --- )

Issues #21 and #22 both chart with their second printings, adding 2,656 and 2,367 respectively to their totals. As usual, this one has a 50/50 variant cover; it also has a Deadpool variant. On the whole, sales are impressively stable on this title.

27. X-FORCE
02/08  X-Force #1  - 105,149
=====
02/09  X-Force #12 -  51,449  ( -0.7%)
03/09  X-Force #13 -  51,797  ( +0.7%)
04/09  X-Force #14 -  62,674  (+21.0%)
05/09  X-Force #15 -  58,340  ( -6.9%)
06/09  X-Force #16 -  58,818  ( +0.8%)
07/09  X-Force #17 -  61,104  ( +3.9%)
08/09  X-Force #18 -  56,421  ( -7.7%)
09/09  X-Force #19 -  49,817  (-11.7%)
10/09  X-Force #20 -  48,921  ( -1.8%)
11/09  X-Force #21 -  53,967  (+10.3%)
12/09  X-Force #22 -  51,859  ( -3.9%)
01/10  X-Force #23 -  50,848  ( -1.9%)
02/10  X-Force #24 -  49,790  ( -2.1%)
                      6 mnth  (-11.8%)
                      1 year  ( -3.2%)
                      2 year  (-52.6%)

Continuing the Necrosha-X arc which has been running since November. Notionally it’s a crossover with NEW MUTANTS and X-MEN LEGACY, though in fact it’s really a self-contained X-FORCE storyline which the other titles have used as a backdrop for their own stories. As usual, this has a Clayton Crain variant. Again, sales seem fairly steady. The arc ends with issue #25, after which the book dives straight into “Second Coming.”

29. SIEGE: EMBEDDED
01/10  Siege: Embedded #1 of 4 - 55,482
02/10  Siege: Embedded #2 of 4 - 46,003  (-17.1%)

Issue #1 adds a further 2,312 to its total with a second printing, so the second-issue drop is actually quite modest.

30. INCREDIBLE HULK
02/05  Incredible Hulk #78  -  44,721
02/06  Incredible Hulk #92  -  39,224
02/07  Incredible Hulk #103 -  46,690
02/08  Hulk #2              -  93,725
02/09  Hulk #10             -  77,217
=====
07/09  Incredible Hulk #600 -  92,343
08/09  Incredible Hulk #601 -  64,120  (-30.6%)
09/09  Incredible Hulk #602 -  51,582  (-19.6%)
10/09  Incredible Hulk #603 -  49,126  ( -4.8%)
11/09  Incredible Hulk #604 -  40,652  (-17.2%)
12/09  Incredible Hulk #605 -  43,964  ( +8.1%)
01/10  Incredible Hulk #606 -  48,197  ( +9.6%)
02/10  Incredible Hulk #607 -  45,870  ( -4.8%)
                               6 mnth  (-28.5%)
                               1 year  (-40.6%)
                               2 year  (-51.1%)
                               3 year  ( -1.8%)
                               4 year  (+16.9%)
                               5 year  ( +2.6%)

Another “Fall of the Hulks” tie-in. Issue #606 picks up re-orders of 3,342, so there’s some interest in this event. Nonetheless, the general trend remains downhill. This issue also has a variant cover.

In fairness, INCREDIBLE HULK is just the Hulk’s B-title these days, and it’s still doing better than it was four years ago when it was his main book.

31,32. DEADPOOL
02/09  Deadpool #7  - 44,082  ( -5.3%)
03/09  Deadpool #8  - 53,109  (+20.5%)
04/09  Deadpool #9  - 54,556  ( +2.7%)
05/09  Deadpool #10 - 56,123  ( +2.9%)
06/09  Deadpool #11 - 55,343  ( -1.4%)
07/09  Deadpool #12 - 58,807  ( +6.3%)
08/09  Deadpool #13 - 55,442  ( -5.7%)
08/09  Deadpool #14 - 50,263  ( -9.3%)
09/09  Deadpool #15 - 50,479  ( +0.4%)
10/09  Deadpool #16 - 46,288  ( -8.3%)
11/09  Deadpool #17 - 46,765  ( +1.0%)
12/09  Deadpool #18 - 45,914  ( -1.8%)
01/10  ---
02/10  Deadpool #19 - 44,580  ( -2.9%)
02/10  Deadpool #20 - 43,347  ( -2.8%)
                      6 mnth  (-13.8%)
                      1 year  ( -1.7%)

Drifting slowly downhill, but still doing pretty well overall – you’ll note that it’s taken this long to return to the initial dip reached wtih issue #7 a year ago. Surely, though, overexposure has to catch up to him at some point?

33. DOOMWAR
02/05  Black Panther #1  - 50,490
02/06  Black Panther #13 - 26,054
02/07  Black Panther #25 - 56,479
02/08  Black Panther #34 - 23,395
=====
02/09  Black Panther #1  - 52,991  ( +57.6%)
03/09  Black Panther #2  - 33,755  ( -36.3%)
04/09  Black Panther #3  - 33,356  (  -1.2%)
05/09  Black Panther #4  - 30,984  (  -7.1%)
06/09  Black Panther #5  - 29,762  (  -3.9%)
07/09  Black Panther #6  - 29,727  (  -0.1%)
08/09  Black Panther #7  - 27,619  (  -7.1%)
09/09  Black Panther #8  - 23,020  ( -16.7%)
10/09  Black Panther #9  - 20,346  ( -11.6%)
11/09  Black Panther #10 - 19,147  (  -5.9%)
12/09  Black Panther #11 - 17,989  (  -6.0%)
01/10  Black Panther #12 - 17,881  (  -1.0%)
02/10  Doomwar #1 of 5   - 43,241  (+141.8%)
                           6 mnth  ( +56.6%)
                           1 year  ( -18.4%)
                           2 year  ( +84.8%)
                           3 year  ( -23.4%)
                           4 year  ( +66.0%)
                           5 year  ( -14.4%)

Well, that certainly helped. DOOMWAR is effectively BLACK PANTHER with a whole load of guest stars, and I’m treating it as a continuation of the title. The stunt seems to have worked – sales shoot up to a very respectable level. There’s also a “Women of Marvel” variant cover on this, which will help a bit.

A glance at the history will show that BLACK PANTHER has been propelled to these heights in the past, and it’s never stuck. Still, it’s clearly one of those titles that Marvel won’t give up on without a fight.

34. ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN
02/05  Ult. Spider-Man #72  - 86,685
02/06  Ult. Spider-Man #90  - 71,470
02/07  Ult. Spider-Man #105 - 74,376
02/08  Ult. Spider-Man #119 - 58,045
=====
02/09  Ult. Spider-Man #131 - 49,565  (  -0.1%)
03/09  ---
04/09  ---
05/09  Ult. Spider-Man #132 - 50,144  (  +1.2%)
06/09  Ult. Spider-Man #133 - 57,364  ( +14.4%)06/09  USM: Requiem #1 of 2 - 44,988  ( -21.6%)
07/09  USM: Requiem #2 of 2 - 41,374  (  -8.0%)
08/09  U.C. Spider-Man #1   - 86,008  (+107.9%)
09/09  U.C. Spider-Man #2   - 57,477  ( -33.2%)
10/09  U.C. Spider-Man #3   - 52,813  (  -8.1%)
11/09  U.C. Spider-Man #4   - 49,106  (  -7.0%)
12/09  U.C. Spider-Man #5   - 45,849  (  -6.6%)
01/10  U.C. Spider-Man #6   - 43,622  (  -4.9%)
02/10  U.C. Spider-Man #7   - 42,176  (  -3.3%)
                              6 mnth  ( -51.0%)
                              1 year  ( -14.9%)
                              2 year  ( -27.3%)
                              3 year  ( -43.3%)
                              4 year  ( -41.0%)
                              5 year  ( -51.3%)

The post-ULTIMATUM decline continues, though it does seem to be levelling off.

36. AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE
02/08  ---
=====
02/09  Initiative #22 - 46,932  ( -1.7%)
03/09  ---
04/09  Initiative #23 - 45,146  ( -3.8%)
05/09  Initiative #24 - 42,510  ( -5.8%)
06/09  Initiative #25 - 40,101  ( -5.7%)
07/09  Initiative #26 - 38,215  ( -4.7%)
08/09  Initiative #27 - 39,014  ( +2.1%)
09/09  Initiative #28 - 33,855  (-13.2%)
10/09  Initiative #29 - 31,412  ( -7.2%)
11/09  Initiative #30 - 28,688  ( -8.7%)
12/09  Initiative #31 - 32,291  (+12.6%)
01/10  Initiative #32 - 36,127  (+11.9%)
02/10  Initiative #33 - 39,968  (+10.6%)
                        6 mnth  ( +2.4%)
                        1 year  (-14.8%)
                        2 year  (  --- )

A Siege tie-in, and a Deadpool variant cover. This book is doing particularly well from the crossover. It ends with issue #35, to be replaced by (or relaunched as, depending on your point of view) AVENGERS ACADEMY.

37. FALL OF THE HULKS: RED HULK
01/10  Red Hulk #1 of 4 - 42,482
02/10  Red Hulk #2 of 4 - 39,259  (-7.6%)

More of the “Fall of the Hulks” crossover. The second issue drop is fairly small.

39. DAREDEVIL
02/05  Daredevil #70  - 48,702
02/06  Daredevil #82  - 53,058
02/07  Daredevil #94  - 46,773
02/08  Daredevil #105 - 42,098
=====
02/09  ---
03/09  Daredevil #116 - 41,261  ( +2.6%)
03/09  Daredevil #117 - 41,046  ( -0.5%)
04/09  Daredevil #118 - 44,982  ( +9.6%)
05/09  ---
06/09  Daredevil #119 - 41,403  ( -8.0%)
07/09  ---
08/09  Daredevil #500 - 73,486  (+77.5%)
09/09  ---
10/09  Daredevil #501 - 45,181  (-38.5%)
11/09  Daredevil #502 - 40,354  (-10.7%)
12/09  Daredevil #503 - 38,680  ( -4.1%)
01/10  Daredevil #504 - 37,135  ( -4.0%)
02/10  Daredevil #505 - 38,693  ( +4.2%)
                        6 mnth  (-47.3%)
                        1 year  (  --- )
                        2 year  ( -8.1%)
                        3 year  (-17.3%)
                        4 year  (-27.1%)
                        5 year  (-20.6%)

This is the start of a new arc, but the slight sales boost is probably due to the Deadpool variant.

41. FANTASTIC FOUR
02/05  Fantastic Four #523 - 46,276
02/06  Fantastic Four #534 - 44,573
02/07  ---
02/08  Fantastic Four #554 - 92,654
=====
02/09  Fantastic Four #564 - 49,520  ( -6.1%)
03/09  Fantastic Four #565 - 48,378  ( -2.3%)
04/09  ---
05/09  Fantastic Four #566 - 46,653  ( -3.6%)
06/09  Fantastic Four #567 - 46,225  ( -0.9%)
07/09  Fantastic Four #568 - 45,828  ( -0.9%)
07/09  Fantastic Four #569 - 44,710  ( -2.4%)
08/09  Fantastic Four #570 - 62,401  (+39.6%)
09/09  Fantastic Four #571 - 47,468  (-23.4%)
10/09  Fantastic Four #572 - 41,939  (-11.6%)
11/09  Fantastic Four #573 - 39,433  ( -6.0%)
12/09  Fantastic Four #574 - 38,431  ( -2.5%)
01/10  Fantastic Four #575 - 41,284  ( +7.4%)
02/10  Fantastic Four #576 - 37,526  ( -9.1%)
                             6 mnth  (-39.9%)
                             1 year  (-24.2%)
                             2 year  (-59.5%)
                             3 year  (  --- )
                             4 year  (-15.8%)
                             5 year  (-18.9%)

Disregarding variant covers, this looks to be settling down in the high 30K range. That’s not great by the book’s standards over recent years, but then the market as a whole is down, and the book also has a comparatively low-profile creative team at the moment.

44. DARK X-MEN
11/09  Dark X-Men #1 of 5 - 50,167
12/09  Dark X-Men #2 of 5 - 42,207  (-15.9%)
01/10  Dark X-Men #3 of 5 - 37,873  (-10.3%)
02/10  Dark X-Men #4 of 5 - 35,007  ( -7.6%)

Considering that X-Men spin-offs don’t sell the way they used to, and that Dark Reign tie-ins are all over the place, this is doing well. It’s outselling X-FACTOR and NEW MUTANTS, for example.

45. DEADPOOL: MERC WITH A MOUTH
07/09  Merc With A Mouth #1 - 59,628
08/09  Merc With A Mouth #2 - 51,147  (-14.2%)
09/09  Merc With A Mouth #3 - 43,855  (-14.3%)
10/09  Merc With A Mouth #4 - 40,154  ( -8.4%)
11/09  Merc With A Mouth #5 - 37,781  ( -5.9%)
12/09  Merc With A Mouth #6 - 37,051  ( -1.9%)
01/10  Merc With A Mouth #7 - 40,568  ( +9.5%)
02/10  Merc With A Mouth #8 - 34,281  (-15.5%)
                              6 mnth  (-33.0%)

The June solicitations are retroactively billing this as a 13-issue miniseries, presumably because it’s making way for DEADPOOL CORPS. So apparently there is a limit to the character’s seemingly unstoppable expansion.

46. THUNDERBOLTS
02/05  New Thunderbolts #5  - 29,377
02/06  New Thunderbolts #18 - 23,735
02/07  Thunderbolts #111    - 62,791
02/08  ---
=====
02/09  Thunderbolts #129    - 45,401  ( -0.7%)
03/09  Thunderbolts #130    - 52,264  (+15.1%)
04/09  Thunderbolts #131    - 49,155  ( -5.9%)
05/09  Thunderbolts #132    - 43,911  (-10.7%)
06/09  Thunderbolts #133    - 39,479  (-10.1%)
07/09  Thunderbolts #134    - 40,885  ( +3.6%)
08/09  ---
09/09  Thunderbolts #135    - 39,961  ( -2.3%)
09/09  Thunderbolts #136    - 34,031  (-14.8%)
10/09  Thunderbolts #137    - 32,409  ( -4.8%)
11/09  Thunderbolts #138    - 31,238  ( -3.6%)
12/09  Thunderbolts #139    - 29,957  ( -4.1%)
01/10  Thunderbolts #140    - 28,644  ( -4.4%)
02/10  Thunderbolts #141    - 33,948  (+18.5%)
                              6 mnth  (  --- )
                              1 year  (-25.2%)
                              2 year  (  --- )
                              3 year  (-45.9%)
                              4 year  (+43.0%)
                              5 year  (+15.6%)

This is a Siege tie-in, with the expected sales boost. The series gets a new direction after the crossover, starting with issue #144.

52. X-FACTOR
02/06  X-Factor #3   - 48,307
02/07  X-Factor #16  - 38,240
02/08  X-Factor #28  - 56,572
=====
02/09  X-Factor #40  - 31,943  ( -2.6%)
03/09  X-Factor #41  - 31,888  ( -0.2%)
04/09  X-Factor #42  - 32,000  ( +0.4%)
05/09  X-Factor #43  - 31,543  ( -1.4%)
06/09  X-Factor #44  - 31,552  ( +0.0%)
06/09  X-Factor #45  - 31,109  ( -1.4%)
07/09  X-Factor #46  - 31,213  ( +0.3%)
08/09  X-Factor #47  - 33,052  ( +5.9%)
09/09  X-Factor #48  - 30,305  ( -8.3%)
09/09  X-Factor #49  - 29,934  ( -1.2%)
10/09  X-Factor #50  - 30,138  ( +0.7%)
11/09  ---
12/09  X-Factor #200 - 36,577  (+21.4%)
01/10  X-Factor #201 - 29,732  (-18.7%)
02/10  X-Factor #202 - 30,981  ( +4.2%)
                       6 mnth  ( -6.3%)
                       1 year  ( -3.0%)
                       2 year  (-45.2%)
                       3 year  (-19.0%)
                       4 year  (-35.9%)

Another Deadpool variant. The renumbering stunt seems to have made no difference to this book’s sales.

53. SECRET WARRIORS
02/09  Secret Warriors #1  - 62,764
03/09  Secret Warriors #2  - 48,086  (-23.4%)
04/09  Secret Warriors #3  - 50,126  ( +4.2%)
05/09  Secret Warriors #4  - 42,781  (-14.7%)
06/09  Secret Warriors #5  - 40,849  ( -4.5%)
07/09  Secret Warriors #6  - 41,749  ( +2.2%)
08/09  Secret Warriors #7  - 38,990  ( -6.6%)
09/09  Secret Warriors #8  - 33,893  (-13.1%)
10/09  Secret Warriors #9  - 36,385  ( +7.4%)
11/09  Secret Warriors #10 - 31,567  (-13.2%)
12/09  Secret Warriors #11 - 30,748  ( -2.6%)
01/10  Secret Warriors #12 - 29,894  ( -2.8%)
02/10  Secret Warriors #13 - 30,843  ( +3.2%)
                             6 mnth  (-20.9%)
                             1 year  (-50.9%)

And another Deadpool variant, hence the upward blip.

54. NEW MUTANTS
05/09  New Mutants #1  - 60,972
06/09  New Mutants #2  - 43,230  (-29.1%)
07/09  New Mutants #3  - 42,961  ( -0.6%)
08/09  New Mutants #4  - 38,558  (-10.2%)
09/09  New Mutants #5  - 31,502  (-18.3%)
10/09  New Mutants #6  - 34,967  (+11.0%)
11/09  New Mutants #7  - 33,328  ( -4.7%)
12/09  New Mutants #8  - 32,240  ( -3.3%)
01/10  New Mutants #9  - 30,572  ( -5.2%)
02/10  New Mutants #10 - 30,807  ( +0.8%)
                         6 mnth  (-20.1%)

And yet another Deadpool variant. The fact that sales go up by less than 1% tends to suggest that the underlying trend is still downhill. Luckily for NEW MUTANTS, it’s participating in the “Second Coming” crossover.

55. NATION X
12/09  Nation X #1 of 4 - 41,796
01/10  Nation X #2 of 4 - 33,596  (-19.6%)
02/10  Nation X #3 of 4 - 30,670  ( -8.7%)

The current X-Men anthology title, behaving as you’d expect.

56. WOLVERINE: WEAPON X
04/09  Weapon X #1  - 97,896
05/09  Weapon X #2  - 59,192  (-39.5%)
06/09  Weapon X #3  - 51,076  (-13.7%)
07/09  ---
08/09  Weapon X #4  - 49,284  ( -3.5%)
09/09  Weapon X #5  - 40,975  (-16.9%)
10/09  Weapon X #6  - 38,446  ( -6.2%)
11/09  Weapon X #7  - 36,108  ( -6.1%)
12/09  Weapon X #8  - 33,470  ( -7.3%)
01/10  Weapon X #9  - 31,678  ( -5.4%)
02/10  Weapon X #10 - 30,132  ( -4.9%)
                      6 mnth  (-38.9%)

It’s a good book, but sales continue to drop. With WOLVERINE ORIGINS (on a skip month in February) ending in the not too distant future, and DARK WOLVERINE apparently set to continue beyond the end of “Dark Reign”, surely something will be done here.

57. DEADPOOL TEAM-UP
10/09  Deadpool #900         - 51,337
11/09  Deadpool Team-Up #899 - 39,584  (-22.9%)
12/09  Deadpool Team-Up #898 - 36,308  ( -8.3%)
01/10  Deadpool Team-Up #897 - 32,671  (-10.0%)
02/10  Deadpool Team-Up #896 - 30,119  ( -7.8%)

Losing sales quite steeply.

58. MARVELS PROJECT
08/09  Marvels Project #1 of 8 - 89,062
09/09  Marvels Project #2 of 8 - 47,744  (-46.4%)
10/09  Marvels Project #3 of 8 - 39,313  (-17.7%)
11/09  ---
12/09  Marvels Project #4 of 8 - 34,775  (-11.5%)
01/10  Marvels Project #5 of 8 - 31,644  ( -9.0%)
02/10  Marvels Project #6 of 8 - 30,108  ( -4.9%)

Fairly standard miniseries behaviour, once you get past the huge initial drop. It’s levelling out as it goes along.

60. ULTIMATE COMICS ENEMY
01/10  Enemy #1 of 4 - 38,880
02/10  Enemy #2 of 4 - 29,820  (-23.3%)

64. ULTIMATE COMICS ARMOR WARS
09/09  U.C. Armor Wars #1 of 4 - 51,035
10/09  U.C. Armor Wars #2 of 4 - 34,141  (-33.1%)
11/09  ---
12/09  U.C. Armor Wars #3 of 4 - 29,439  (-13.8%)
01/10  ---
02/10  U.C. Armor Wars #4 of 4 - 27,950  ( -5.1%)

I’m taking ARMOR WARS out of sequence, as we might as well have both the Ultimate minis together. Neither has done particularly well, given the recent high-profile relaunch; ENEMY is below ARMOR WARS. That said, these aren’t particularly bad sales by the standards of miniseries set in the regular Marvel Universe.

63. CABLE
02/09  Cable #11 - 31,817  ( -4.5%)
03/09  Cable #12 - 32,407  ( +1.9%)
04/09  Cable #13 - 47,638  (+47.0%)
05/09  Cable #14 - 52,245  ( +9.7%)
06/09  Cable #15 - 49,912  ( -4.5%)
07/09  Cable #16 - 39,646  (-20.6%)
08/09  Cable #17 - 39,424  ( -0.6%)
09/09  Cable #18 - 33,958  (-13.9%)
10/09  Cable #19 - 31,009  ( -8.7%)
11/09  Cable #20 - 29,245  ( -5.7%)
12/09  Cable #21 - 29,094  ( -0.5%)
01/10  Cable #22 - 28,414  ( -2.3%)
02/10  Cable #23 - 28,890  ( +1.7%)
                   6 mnth  (-26.7%)
                   1 year  ( -9.2%)

Cancelled with issue #25.

65. DARK TOWER: BATTLE OF JERICHO HILL
02/07  Gunslinger Born #1 of 7 - 175,214
02/08  ---
=====
02/09  Treachery #6 of 6       -  48,127  ( -5.0%)
03/09  ---
04/09  Sorcerer #1             -  39,210  (-18.5%)
05/09  Fall of Gilead #1 of 6  -  43,580  (+11.1%)
06/09  Fall of Gilead #2 of 6  -  39,978  ( -8.3%)
07/09  Fall of Gilead #3 of 6  -  36,982  ( -7.5%)
08/09  Fall of Gilead #4 of 6  -  35,607  ( -3.7%)
09/09  Fall of Gilead #5 of 6  -  34,522  ( -3.0%)
10/09  ---
11/09  Fall of Gilead #6 of 6  -  32,531  ( -5.8%)
12/09  Jericho Hill #1 of 5    -  30,756  ( -5.5%)
12/09  Jericho Hill #2 of 5    -  28,350  ( -7.8%)
01/10  ---
02/10  Jericho Hill #3 of 5    -  27,215  ( -4.0%)
                                  6 mnth  (-23.6%)
                                  1 year  (-43.5%)
                                  2 year  (-84.5%)

Three years after the DARK TOWER minis began, they don’t quite have the direct market presence that they started with. Of course, the usual disclaimers apply with particular force to books like this, which would seem to have plenty of potential to sell through other channels and in other formats.

70. SPIDER-WOMAN
09/09  Spider-Woman #1 - 50,344
10/09  Spider-Woman #2 - 37,255  (-26.0%)
11/09  Spider-Woman #3 - 32,437  (-12.9%)
12/09  Spider-Woman #4 - 29,755  ( -8.3%)
01/10  Spider-Woman #5 - 27,716  ( -6.9%)
02/10  Spider-Woman #6 - 26,134  ( -5.7%)

Not solicited past issue #7, though there’s talk of it simply being on hiatus while Alex Maleev works on STEPHEN KING’S N.

72. MS MARVEL
02/07  Ms Marvel #12 - 30,763
02/08  Ms Marvel #24 - 24,139
=====
02/09  Ms Marvel #36 - 25,864  ( -3.6%)
03/09  Ms Marvel #37 - 25,053  ( -3.1%)
04/09  Ms Marvel #38 - 27,535  (+10.0%)
05/09  Ms Marvel #39 - 24,757  (-10.1%)
06/09  Ms Marvel #40 - 25,216  ( +1.9%)
07/09  Ms Marvel #41 - 27,187  ( +7.8%)
07/09  Ms Marvel #42 - 25,103  ( -7.7%)
08/09  Ms Marvel #43 - 28,261  (+12.6%)
08/09  Ms Marvel #44 - 25,550  ( -9.6%)
09/09  Ms Marvel #45 - 30,528  (+19.5%)
10/09  Ms Marvel #46 - 25,717  (-15.8%)
11/09  Ms Marvel #47 - 22,937  (-10.8%)
12/09  Ms Marvel #48 - 22,527  ( -1.8%)
01/10  Ms Marvel #49 - 21,177  ( -6.0%)
02/10  Ms Marvel #50 - 25,309  (+19.5%)
                       6 mnth  ( -0.9%)
                       1 year  ( -2.1%)
                       2 year  ( +4.8%)
                       3 year  (-17.7%)

Cancelled with this issue. The variant cover and the anniversary numbering probably account for the bump.

73. INCREDIBLE HERCULES
02/08  Hercules #114 - 52,200
=====
02/09  Hercules #126 - 31,000  ( -2.8%)
03/09  Hercules #127 - 31,890  ( +2.9%)
04/09  Hercules #128 - 33,739  ( +5.8%)
05/09  Hercules #129 - 28,995  (-14.1%)
06/09  Hercules #130 - 27,872  ( -3.9%)
07/09  Hercules #131 - 29,188  ( +4.7%)
08/09  Hercules #132 - 32,680  (+12.0%)
08/09  Hercules #133 - 27,491  (-15.9%)
09/09  Hercules #134 - 25,380  ( -7.7%)
09/09  Hercules #135 - 26,344  ( +3.8%)
10/09  Hercules #136 - 26,447  ( -0.4%)
10/09  Hercules #137 - 23,463  (-11.3%)
11/09  Hercules #138 - 25,116  ( +7.0%)
12/09  Hercules #139 - 23,591  ( -6.1%)
01/10  Hercules #140 - 23,244  ( -1.5%)
02/10  Hercules #141 - 24,539  ( +5.6%)
                       6 mnth  (-10.7%)
                       1 year  (-20.8%)
                       2 year  (-53.0%)

Cancelled with this issue, to be followed by a miniseries about supporting character Amadeus Cho and, presumably, a relaunch down the line. It’s got another Deadpool variant cover, hence the sales jump.

75. WEB OF SPIDER-MAN
10/09  Web of Spider-Man #1 - 58,412
11/09  Web of Spider-Man #2 - 32,093  (-45.1%)
12/09  Web of Spider-Man #3 - 29,368  ( -8.5%)
01/10  Web of Spider-Man #4 - 24,424  (-16.8%)
02/10  Web of Spider-Man #5 - 24,296  ( -0.5%)

Don’t be fooled by the book levelling out – it’s got a Deadpool variant, which evidently wasn’t quite enough to cancel out the downward trend. This one isn’t looking too healthy.

76. REALM OF KINGS: SON OF HULK
02/09  Skaar, Son of Hulk #8  - 28,771  ( -7.5%)
03/09  Skaar, Son of Hulk #9  - 27,137  ( -5.7%)
04/09  Skaar, Son of Hulk #10 - 27,317  ( +0.7%)
05/09  ---
06/09  Skaar, Son of Hulk #11 - 28,633  ( +4.8%)
06/09  Skaar, Son of Hulk #12 - 35,920  (+25.4%)
07/09  Son of Hulk #13        - 29,195  (-18.7%)
08/09  Son of Hulk #14        - 27,171  ( -6.9%)
09/09  Son of Hulk #15        - 22,722  (-16.4%)
10/09  Son of Hulk #16        - 20,504  ( -9.8%)
11/09  Son of Hulk #17        - 19,097  ( -6.9%)
12/09  ---
01/10  ---
02/10  Son of Hulk #1 of 4    - 24,010  (+25.7%)
                                6 mnth  (-11.6%)
                                1 year  (-16.5%)

The recently-cancelled character returns for a REALM OF KINGS tie-in mini. After the second issue drop, sales will probably be more or less where they left off.

78. PUNISHER
02/07  War Journal #4  - 52,961
02/08  War Journal #16 - 32,508
=====
02/09  Punisher #2     - 40,928  (-16.9%)
03/09  Punisher #3     - 37,570  ( -8.2%)
04/09  Punisher #4     - 36,995  ( -1.5%)
05/09  Punisher #5     - 35,621  ( -3.7%)
06/09  Punisher #6     - 32,982  ( -7.4%)
07/09  Punisher #7     - 31,227  ( -5.3%)
08/09  Punisher #8     - 33,057  ( +5.9%)
09/09  Punisher #9     - 28,424  (-14.1%)
10/09  Punisher #10    - 27,167  ( -4.4%)
11/09  Punisher #11    - 24,900  ( -8.3%)
12/09  Punisher #12    - 24,985  ( +0.3%)
01/10  Punisher #13    - 23,734  ( -5.0%)
02/10  Punisher #14    - 23,455  ( -1.8%)
                         6 mnth  (-29.0%)
                         1 year  (-42.7%)
                         2 year  (-27.8%)
                         3 year  (-55.7%)

The title’s bizarre new Frankenstein direction hasn’t turned around the sales, but they do at least seem to be levelling out.

79. NOVA
02/08  ---
=====
02/09  Nova #22 - 25,065  ( -2.3%)
03/09  Nova #23 - 26,413  ( +5.4%)
04/09  Nova #24 - 26,240  ( -0.7%)
05/09  Nova #25 - 26,172  ( -0.3%)
06/09  Nova #26 - 28,107  ( +7.4%)
07/09  Nova #27 - 25,677  ( -8.6%)
08/09  Nova #28 - 27,038  ( +5.3%)
09/09  Nova #29 - 23,924  (-11.5%)
10/09  Nova #30 - 22,845  ( -4.5%)
11/09  Nova #31 - 22,928  ( +0.4%)
12/09  Nova #32 - 22,202  ( -3.2%)
01/10  Nova #33 - 21,841  ( -1.6%)
02/10  Nova #34 - 23,014  ( +5.4%)
                  6 mnth  (-14.9%)
                  1 year  ( -8.2%)
                  2 year  (  --- )

80. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
02/09  Guardians o/Galaxy #10 - 27,648  ( -3.0%)
03/09  Guardians o/Galaxy #11 - 27,415  ( -0.8%)
03/09  Guardians o/Galaxy #12 - 26,764  ( -2.4%)
04/09  Guardians o/Galaxy #13 - 27,107  ( +1.3%)
05/09  Guardians o/Galaxy #14 - 27,130  ( +0.1%)
06/09  Guardians o/Galaxy #15 - 26,808  ( -1.2%)
07/09  Guardians o/Galaxy #16 - 26,605  ( -0.8%)
08/09  Guardians o/Galaxy #17 - 27,893  ( +4.8%)
09/09  Guardians o/Galaxy #18 - 24,896  (-10.7%)
10/09  Guardians o/Galaxy #19 - 23,597  ( -5.2%)
11/09  Guardians o/Galaxy #20 - 22,965  ( -2.7%)
12/09  Guardians o/Galaxy #21 - 22,271  ( -3.0%)
01/10  Guardians o/Galaxy #22 - 21,623  ( -3.0%)
02/10  Guardians o/Galaxy #23 - 22,807  ( +5.5%)
                                6 mnth  (-18.2%)
                                1 year  (-17.5%)

Both cancelled in April, with a Thanos miniseries taking over as the main cosmic title.

81. THE STAND
01/09  Captain Trips #5 of 5  - 46,702  ( -5.1%)
02/09  ---
03/09  Nightmares #1 of 5     - 47,473  ( +1.7%)
04/09  Nightmares #2 of 5     - 38,909  (-18.0%)
05/09  Nightmares #3 of 5     - 36,364  ( -6.5%)
06/09  ---
07/09  Nightmares #4 of 5     - 34,292  ( -5.7%)
08/09  Nightmares #5 of 5     - 31,506  ( -8.1%)10/09  Soul Survivors #1 of 5 - 27,725  (-12.0%)
11/09  Soul Survivors #2 of 5 - 25,600  ( -7.7%)
12/09  Soul Survivors #3 of 5 - 24,308  ( -5.0%)
01/10  ---
02/10  Soul Survivors #4 of 5 - 22,804  ( -6.2%)
                                6 mnth  (-27.6%)
                                1 year  (-51.2%)

Marvel’s other Stephen King adaptation continues its decline – but, as noted above, these books are presumably well-suited to sell through other channels.

82. PUNISHERMAX  [Max]
02/05  Punisher #17     - 38,714
02/06  Punisher #30     - 34,293
02/07  Punisher #44     - 32,951
02/08  ---
=====
02/09  Frank Castle #67 - 22,267  ( -2.4%)
03/09  Frank Castle #68 - 22,255  ( -0.0%)
04/09  Frank Castle #69 - 21,843  ( -1.9%)
05/09  Frank Castle #70 - 21,864  ( +0.1%)
06/09  Frank Castle #71 - 21,319  ( -2.5%)
07/09  Frank Castle #72 - 21,049  ( -1.3%)
08/09  Frank Castle #73 - 20,375  ( -3.2%)
09/09  Frank Castle #74 - 20,259  ( -0.6%)
10/09  Frank Castle #75 - 22,210  ( +9.6%)
11/09  PunisherMax #1   - 29,119  (+31.1%)
12/09  PunisherMax #2   - 23,110  (-20.4%)
01/10  PunisherMax #3   - 22,887  ( -1.0%)
02/10  PunisherMax #4   - 22,472  ( -1.8%)
                          6 mnth  (+10.3%)
                          1 year  ( +0.9%)
                          2 year  (  --- )
                          3 year  (-31.8%)
                          4 year  (-34.5%)
                          5 year  (-42.0%)

Levelling out, and it’s looking as though the title might have got at least a small benefit from the relaunch – though that could well be attributable to the creative team rather than the renumbering.

86. PSYLOCKE
11/09  Psylocke #1 of 4 - 26,144
12/09  Psylocke #2 of 4 - 23,018  (-12.0%)
01/10  Psylocke #3 of 4 - 22,978  ( -0.1%)
02/10  Psylocke #4 of 4 - 21,678  ( -5.7%)

A fairly low-selling X-Men mini, but at least it held up pretty well over the course of its run.

91. VENGEANCE OF THE MOON KNIGHT
02/07  ---
02/08  Moon Knight #15 - 31,553
=====
02/09  Moon Knight #27 - 21,413  ( -1.8%)
03/09  Moon Knight #28 - 20,866  ( -2.6%)
04/09  Moon Knight #29 - 22,689  ( +8.7%)
05/09  Moon Knight #30 - 19,693  (-13.2%)
06/09  ---
07/09  ---
08/09  ---
09/09  Moon Knight #1  - 35,706  (+81.3%)
10/09  Moon Knight #2  - 26,493  (-25.8%)
11/09  Moon Knight #3  - 23,359  (-11.8%)
12/09  Moon Knight #4  - 21,482  ( -8.0%)
01/10  ---
02/10  Moon Knight #5  - 19,733  ( -8.1%)
                         6 mnth  (  --- )
                         1 year  ( -7.8%)
                         2 year  (-37.5%)
                         3 year  (  --- )

Back where it started before the relaunch, and dropping at 8% a month. Not promising, I’m afraid.

92. REALM OF KINGS: INHUMANS
11/09  Inhumans #1 of 5 - 24,213
12/09  Inhumans #2 of 5 - 21,242  (-12.3%)
01/10  Inhumans #3 of 5 - 19,872  ( -6.4%)
02/10  Inhumans #4 of 5 - 19,118  ( -3.8%)

95. REALM OF KINGS: IMPERIAL GUARD
11/09  Imperial Guard #1 of 5 - 23,450
12/09  Imperial Guard #2 of 5 - 20,647  (-12.0%)
01/10  Imperial Guard #3 of 5 - 18,949  ( -8.2%)
02/10  Imperial Guard #4 of 5 - 17,939  ( -5.3%)

I’m taking these slightly out of order, but the REALM OF KINGS minis are still close together and holding up reasonably well.

93. WOLVERINE ONE-SHOTS
02/09  ---
03/09  ---
04/09  Anniversary         - 23,276  (+10.9%)
05/09  ---
06/09  Revolver            - 21,425  ( -8.0%)
07/09  ---
08/09  ---
09/09  ---
10/09  ---
11/09  ---
12/09  Under the Boardwalk - 19,271  (-10.4%)
01/10  Wendigo             - 17,476  ( -9.3%)
02/10  Savage              - 18,396  ( +5.3%)
                             6 mnth  (  --- )
                             1 year  (  --- )

Unusually for a one-shot, this has a Deadpool variant, which presumably accounts for the slight increase on sales.

94. AGENTS OF ATLAS
02/09  Agents of Atlas #1  - 34,449
03/09  Agents of Atlas #2  - 26,783  (-22.3%)
04/09  Agents of Atlas #3  - 29,748  (+11.1%)
05/09  Agents of Atlas #4  - 25,377  (-14.7%)
05/09  Agents of Atlas #5  - 25,207  ( -0.7%)
06/09  Agents of Atlas #6  - 22,579  (-10.4%)
07/09  Agents of Atlas #7  - 23,217  ( +2.8%)
07/09  Agents of Atlas #8  - 20,540  (-11.5%)
08/09  Agents of Atlas #9  - 20,828  ( +1.4%)
09/09  Agents of Atlas #10 - 17,877  (-14.2%)
09/09  Agents of Atlas #11 - 17,529  ( -1.9%)
10/09  X-Men vs #1 of 2    - 32,743  (+86.8%)
11/09  X-Men vs #2 of 2    - 25,222  (-23.0%)
12/09  ---
01/10  Avengers vs #1 of 4 - 21,777  (-13.7%)
02/10  Avengers vs #2 of 4 - 17,998  (-17.4%)
                             6 mnth  (-13.6%)
                             1 year  (-47.8%)

Not holding up as well as the X-Men mini – we’re back in the territory of regular AGENTS OF ATLAS sales here.

96,101. X-MEN FOREVER
06/09  X-Men Forever #1  - 36,213
06/09  X-Men Forever #2  - 31,767  (-12.3%)
07/09  X-Men Forever #3  - 28,651  ( -9.8%)
07/09  X-Men Forever #4  - 28,645  ( -0.0%)
08/09  X-Men Forever #5  - 27,825  ( -2.9%)
08/09  X-Men Forever #6  - 24,875  (-10.6%)
09/09  X-Men Forever #7  - 24,115  ( -3.1%)
09/09  X-Men Forever #8  - 23,174  ( -3.9%)
10/09  X-Men Forever #9  - 21,926  ( -5.4%)
10/09  X-Men Forever #10 - 22,287  ( +1.6%)
11/09  X-Men Forever #11 - 20,130  ( -9.7%)
11/09  X-Men Forever #12 - 19,541  ( -2.9%)
12/09  X-Men Forever #13 - 18,870  ( -3.4%)
12/09  X-Men Forever #14 - 18,376  ( -2.6%)
01/10  X-Men Forever #15 - 17,665  ( -3.9%)
01/10  X-Men Forever #16 - 17,290  ( -2.1%)
02/10  X-Men Forever #17 - 17,873  ( +3.4%)
02/10  X-Men Forever #18 - 16,464  ( -7.9%)
                           6 mnth  (-33.8%)

Issue #17 has a Deadpool variant. Otherwise, X-MEN FOREVER continues its gentle downward slide. Nonetheless, Marvel are clearly happy enough with these sales, given that sister books like X-FACTOR FOREVER are on their way. The book is being relaunched in June with a fresh number one, marking the start of its second year.

102. BLACK WIDOW: DEADLY ORIGIN
11/09  Deadly Origin #1 of 4 - 29,352
12/09  Deadly Origin #2 of 4 - 20,925  (-28.7%)
01/10  Deadly Origin #3 of 4 - 16,644  (-20.5%)
02/10  Deadly Origin #4 of 4 - 15,724  ( -5.5%)

Not quite the numbers you’d hope for when an ongoing series is about to be launched.

105. SPIDER-MAN CLONE SAGA
09/09  Clone Saga #1 of 6 - 27,697
10/09  Clone Saga #2 of 6 - 21,473  (-22.5%)
11/09  Clone Saga #3 of 6 - 19,478  ( -9.3%)
12/09  Clone Saga #4 of 6 - 18,324  ( -5.9%)
01/10  Clone Saga #5 of 6 - 16,213  (-11.5%)
02/10  Clone Saga #6 of 6 - 15,465  ( -4.6%)

Considering that this miniseries really ought to be a niche product, it’s done better than I expected.

108. MARVELS: EYE OF THE CAMERA
02/09  Marvels #4 of 6 - 20,909  (-16.7%)
03/09  ---
04/09  Marvels #5 of 6 - 18,125  (-13.3%)
05/09  ---
06/09  ---
07/09  ---
08/09  ---
09/09  ---
10/09  ---
11/09  ---
12/09  ---
01/10  ---
02/10  Marvels #6 of 6 - 15,399  (-15.0%)

The long delay on the final issue doesn’t seem to have made any particular difference to the existing trend.

111. GHOST RIDERS: HEAVENS ON FIRE
08/09  Heavens on Fire #1 of 6 - 21,944
09/09  Heavens on Fire #2 of 6 - 18,262  (-16.8%)
10/09  Heavens on Fire #3 of 6 - 16,879  ( -7.6%)
11/09  Heavens on Fire #4 of 6 - 16,193  ( -4.1%)
12/09  Heavens on Fire #5 of 6 - 15,128  ( -6.6%)
01/10  ---
02/10  Heavens on Fire #6 of 6 - 14,626  ( -3.3%)

No sign of a GHOST RIDER relaunch to follow, so this looks to be it for the character for now.

112. CRIMINAL  [Icon]
02/07  ---
02/08  Criminal #1     - 18,655
=====
10/09  Sinners #1 of 5 - 20,580
11/09  Sinners #2 of 5 - 15,628  (-24.1%)
12/09  Sinners #3 of 5 - 14,624  ( -6.4%)
01/10  ---
02/10  Sinners #4 of 5 - 14,569  ( -0.4%)
                         2 year  (-21.9%)

Levelling out quite quickly.

113. STRANGE
11/09  Strange #1 of 4 - 23,362
12/09  Strange #2 of 4 - 18,005  (-22.9%)
01/10  Strange #3 of 4 - 15,729  (-12.6%)
02/10  Strange #4 of 4 - 14,393  ( -8.5%)

Considering that the book wasn’t heavily promoted, I suppose this isn’t so bad.

114. X-MEN: PIXIE STRIKES BACK
02/10  Pixie #1 of 4 - 14,167

The X-Men really can’t support spin-offs like they used to. It’s actually a decent enough comic, but the sales are likely to be rather bleak by the end of the series.

115. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN PRESENTS JACKPOT
09/09  Anti-Venom #1 of 3 - 32,128
10/09  Anti-Venom #2 of 3 - 23,870  (-25.7%)
11/09  ---
12/09  Anti-Venom #3 of 3 - 20,364  (-14.7%)
01/10  Jackpot #1 of 3    - 18,014  (-11.5%)
02/10  Jackpot #2 of 3    - 13,697  (-24.0%)

These numbers don’t look great, but we’re getting even more AMAZING SPIDER-MAN PRESENTS minis in the months to come, with both AMERICAN SON and BLACK CAT running simultaneously. I have my doubts about this.

118. SPIDER-MAN AND THE SECRET WARS
12/09  Secret Wars #1 of 4 - 22,397
01/10  Secret Wars #2 of 4 - 15,353  (-31.5%)
02/10  Secret Wars #3 of 4 - 13,561  (-11.7%)

An all-ages miniseries, doing quite well by those standards.

119. MARVELOUS LAND OF OZ
02/09  Wizard of Oz #3 of 8   - 15,668  (-11.0%)
03/09  Wizard of Oz #4 of 8   - 16,159  ( +3.1%)
04/09
Wizard of Oz #5 of 8   - 16,110  ( -0.3%)
05/09  Wizard of Oz #6 of 8   - 15,774  ( -2.1%)
06/09  Wizard of Oz #7 of 8   - 15,473  ( -1.9%)
07/09  Wizard of Oz #8 of 8   - 15,487  ( +0.1%)
08/09  ---
09/09  ---
10/09  ---
11/09  Marvelous Land #1 of 8 - 25,338  (+63.6%)
12/09  Marvelous Land #2 of 8 - 15,783  (-37.7%)
01/10  Marvelous Land #3 of 8 - 14,216  (-10.0%)
02/10  Marvelous Land #4 of 8 - 13,364  ( -6.0%)
                                6 mnth  (  --- )
                                1 year  (-14.7%)

Continuing to do very well by the standards of Marvel’s novel adaptations.

121. HIT-MONKEY
02/10  Hit-Monkey #1 - 12,975

Origin one-shot for the character introduced in DEADPOOL #19. Obviously it was never going to sell in huge quantities, but considering that it did get some publicity, I’d say this was underwhelming.

124. IRON MAN: I AM IRON MAN
01/10  I Am Iron Man #1 of 2 - 17,544
02/10  I Am Iron Man #2 of 2 - 12,595  (-28.2%)

134. IRON MAN VS WHIPLASH
12/09  Whiplash #1 of 4 - 20,126
12/09  Whiplash #2 of 4 - 15,494  (-23.0%)
01/10  Whiplash #3 of 4 - 12,886  (-16.8%)
02/10  Whiplash #4 of 4 - 11,274  (-12.5%)

Again, we’ll depart slightly from the chart order to take these two together. They’re Iron Man minis – one an adaptation of the original film, the other featuring a villain from the new film. Neither has sold very well in the direct market, but then they’re generating material for use in collected editions to coincide with the movie release.

127. TORCH
09/09  Torch #1 of 8 - 26,921
10/09  Torch #2 of 8 - 18,115  (-32.7%)
11/09  Torch #3 of 8 - 15,209  (-16.0%)
12/09  Torch #4 of 8 - 13,782  ( -9.4%)
01/10  ---
02/10  Torch #5 of 8 - 12,211  (-11.4%)

Spiralling downwards.

128. DOCTOR VOODOO, AVENGER OF THE SUPERNATURAL
10/09  Dr Voodoo #1 - 23,328
11/09  Dr Voodoo #2 - 16,681  (-28.5%)
12/09  Dr Voodoo #3 - 14,769  (-11.5%)
01/10  Dr Voodoo #4 - 13,427  ( -9.1%)
02/10  Dr Voodoo #5 - 12,154  ( -9.5%)

Axed.

132. S.W.O.R.D.
11/09  S.W.O.R.D. #1 - 21,988
12/09  S.W.O.R.D. #2 - 15,113  (-31.3%)
01/10  S.W.O.R.D. #3 - 13,271  (-12.2%)
02/10  S.W.O.R.D. #4 - 11,778  (-11.3%)

Cancelled with issue #5.

133. SPIDER-MAN NOIR: EYES WITHOUT A FACE
02/09  Spider-Man Noir #3 of 4 - 25,601  ( -2.4%)
03/09  Spider-Man Noir #4 of 4 - 24,720  ( -3.4%)
=====
12/09  Eyes w/o Face #1 of 4   - 16,447  (-33.5%)
01/10  Eyes w/o Face #2 of 4   - 13,239  (-19.5%)
02/10  Eyes w/o Face #3 of 4   - 11,379  (-14.0%)
                                 6 mnth  (  --- )
                                 1 year  (-55.6%)

139. X-MEN NOIR: MARK OF CAIN
02/09  X-Men Noir #3 of 4   - 27,054  ( -5.4%)
03/09  X-Men Noir #4 of 4   - 25,861  ( -4.4%)
=====
12/09  Mark of Cain #1 of 4 - 16,043  (-38.0%)
01/10  Mark of Cain #2 of 4 - 13,399  (-16.5%)
02/10  Mark of Cain #3 of 4 - 10,564  (-21.2%)
                              6 mnth  (  --- )
                              1 year  (-61.0%)

This gimmick doesn’t seem to have the staying power to support sequels. There’s an IRON MAN NOIR series up next, presumably to coincide with the movie.

140. DEATHLOK
11/09  Deathlok #1 of 7 - 20,855
12/09  Deathlok #2 of 7 - 14,059  (-32.6%)
01/10  Deathlok #3 of 7 - 11,670  (-17.0%)
02/10  Deathlok #4 of 7 - 10,185  (-12.7%)

Levelling out, but the sales are still very low with three issues to go.

144. MARVEL BOY: THE URANIAN
01/10  Uranian #1 of 3 - 14,258
02/10  Uranian #2 of 3 -  9,981  (-30.0%)

Only about 3,000 behind the parent title, but I question the logic of doing spin-offs for books selling at that level.

147. INDOMITABLE IRON MAN
02/10  Indomitable Iron Man - 9,716

Another of Marvel’s black-and-white anthology one-shots. They’re something of a specialist taste.

149. ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER
02/07  ---
02/08  Guilty Pls. #8 of 12    - 27,358
=====
02/09  Laughing Corpse #5 of 5 - 14,095  ( -2.3%)
03/09  ---
04/09  Necromancer #1 of 5     - 15,308  ( +8.6%)
05/09  ---
06/09  Necromancer #2 of 5     - 12,907  (-15.7%)
07/09  Necromancer #3 of 5     - 12,143  ( -5.9%)
08/09  Necromancer #4 of 5     - 11,597  ( -4.5%)
09/09  Necromancer #5 of 5     - 11,142  ( -3.9%)
10/09  Executioner #1 of 5     - 11,205  ( +0.6%)
11/09  ---
12/09  Executioner #2 of 5     - 10,454  ( -6.7%)
01/10  Executioner #3 of 5     -  9,958  ( -4.7%)
02/10  Executioner #4 of 5     -  9,626  ( -3.3%)
                                 6 mnth  (-17.0%)
                                 1 year  (-31.7%)
                                 2 year  (-64.8%)

Still in decline, but presumably the collected editions are doing better.

153. BLACK WIDOW & THE MARVEL GIRLS
12/09  Marvel Girls #1 of 4 - 13,873
12/09  Marvel Girls #2 of 4 - 12,087  (-12.9%)
01/10  Marvel Girls #3 of 4 - 10,326  (-14.6%)
02/10  Marvel Girls #4 of 4 -  9,149  (-11.4%)

At the high end of the range for an all-ages book.

154. UNCANNY X-MEN: FIRST CLASS
02/07  First Class #6 of 8 - 25,125
02/08  First Class #9      - 15,320
=====
02/09  Finals #1 of 4      - 15,736  (+18.6%)
03/09  Finals #2 of 4      - 11,533  (-26.7%)
04/09  Finals #3 of 4      - 10,870  ( -5.7%)
05/09  Finals #4 of 4      - 10,579  ( -2.7%)
06/09  Giant-Size Special  - 12,614  (+19.2%)
07/09  Uncanny #1 of 8     - 18,363  (+45.6%)
08/09  Uncanny #2 of 8     - 12,978  (-29.3%)
09/09  Uncanny #3 of 8     - 11,954  ( -7.9%)
10/09  Uncanny #4 of 8     - 11,260  ( -5.8%)
11/09  Uncanny #5 of 8     - 10,589  ( -6.0%)
12/09  Uncanny #6 of 8     - 10,021  ( -5.4%)
01/10  Uncanny #7 of 8     -  9,396  ( -6.2%)
02/10  Uncanny #8 of 8     -  9,043  ( -3.8%)
                             6 mnth  (-30.3%)
                             1 year  (-42.5%)
                             2 year  (-41.0%)
                             3 year  (-64.0%)

With the conclusion of this miniseries, the FIRST CLASS franchise is laid to rest for now.

156. HALO: BLOOD LINE
12/09  Blood Line #1 of 5 - 10,551
01/10  Blood Line #2 of 5 -  9,172  (-13.1%)
02/10  Blood Line #3 of 5 -  8,793  ( -4.1%)

Once again, let’s note that video game adaptations are reported to do very well through other channels.

164. SPIDER-MAN 1602
10/09  Spider-Man 1602 #1 of 5 - 18,273
11/09  Spider-Man 1602 #2 of 5 - 12,802  (-29.9%)
12/09  Spider-Man 1602 #3 of 5 - 10,392  (-18.8%)
01/10  Spider-Man 1602 #4 of 5 -  9,052  (-12.9%)
02/10  Spider-Man 1602 #5 of 5 -  8,303  ( -8.3%)

Presumably the last we’ll hear of the 1602 universe for a while.

166. TAILS OF THE PET AVENGERS
05/09  Pet Avengers #1 of 4 - 17,638
06/09  Pet Avengers #2 of 4 - 12,317  (-30.2%)
07/09  Pet Avengers #3 of 4 - 11,739  ( -4.7%)
08/09  Pet Avengers #4 of 4 - 11,340  ( -3.4%)
09/09  ---
10/09  ---
11/09  ---
12/09  ---
01/10  ---
02/10  Tails o/Pet Avengers -  8,214  (-27.6%)

A one-shot leading in to another PET AVENGERS miniseries starting in March. It seems to be another idea that Marvel are willing to stick with despite low direct market sales.

171. X-MEN: SECOND COMING - PREPARE
02/10  Prepare - 7,829

The promotional one-shot leading in to the “Second Coming” crossover. The number will refer to the bundles ordered by retailers; usually those are bundles of 75, in which case there’s an awful lot of these things out there.

189. ENDERS GAME: COMMAND SCHOOL
09/09  Command School #1 of 5 - 9,840
10/09  Command School #2 of 5 - 8,428  (-14.3%)
11/09  Command School #3 of 5 - 7,735  ( -8.2%)
12/09  Command School #4 of 5 - 7,129  ( -7.8%)
01/10  ---
02/10  Command School #5 of 5 - 6,851  ( -3.9%)

201. ENDERS GAME: MAZER IN PRISON
02/10  Mazer in Prison - 6,423

203. ENDERS SHADOW: COMMAND SCHOOL
09/09  Command School #1 of 5 - 8,972
10/09  Command School #2 of 5 - 7,547  (-15.9%)
11/09  Command School #3 of 5 - 6,938  ( -8.1%)
12/09  Command School #4 of 5 - 6,628  ( -4.5%)
01/10  ---
02/10  Command School #5 of 5 - 6,282  ( -5.2%)

The current ENDERS minis wrap up, with a one-shot joining them. Again, given the volume of product here, we have to assume that this material is doing better through other channels (whether that be bookstores, collected editions, or even foreign licensing). Another miniseries, ENDER IN EXILE, startsin June.

206. MARVEL HEARTBREAKERS
02/10  Marvel Heartbreakers #1 - 5,986

Valentine’s day anthology. The numbers really are quite disappointing, though – this is a Marvel Universe book, after all.

217. SUPER HERO SQUAD
09/09  Super Hero Squad #1 of 4 - 6,760
10/09  Super Hero Squad #2 of 4 - 4,496  ( -33.5%)
11/09  Super Hero Squad #3 of 4 - 4,384  (  -2.5%)
12/09  Super Hero Squad #4 of 4 - 4,132  (  -5.7%)
01/10  Super Hero Squad #1      - 9,709  (+135.0%)
02/10  Super Hero Squad #2      - 5,691  ( -41.4%)

Still ahead of the miniseries.

225. OFFICIAL HANDBOOK
02/10  A to Z Update #1 of 5 - 5,406

Returning to a monthly run after spending a year concentrating on the hardbacks. The A TO Z issues will be interspersed with themed books. This is a surprisingly low number; the HANDBOOK issues used to regularly sell in five figures. That said, it’s also a miscellany issue, which should be among the lowest-selling.

226. TALES OF THE DRAGON GUARD  [Soleil]
02/10  Tales of the Dragon Guard #1 - 5,405

This is a Soleil reprint, priced at $6, so it’s not really comparable to anything around it.

255. MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN  [All ages]
02/06  M.A. Spider-Man #12 - 6,087
02/07  M.A. Spider-Man #24 - 6,678
02/08  M.A. Spider-Man #36 - 5,893
=====
02/09  M.A. Spider-Man #48 - 4,622  ( +0.7%)
03/09  M.A. Spider-Man #49 - 4,640  ( +0.4%)
04/09  M.A. Spider-Man #50 - 4,780  ( +3.0%)
05/09  M.A. Spider-Man #51 - 4,557  ( -4.7%)
06/09  M.A. Spider-Man #52 - 4,612  ( +1.2%)
07/09  M.A. Spider-Man #53 - 5,710  (+23.8%)
08/09  M.A. Spider-Man #54 - 5,684  ( -0.5%)
09/09  M.A. Spider-Man #55 - 5,668  ( -0.3%)
10/09  M.A. Spider-Man #56 - 4,579  (-19.2%)
11/09  M.A. Spider-Man #57 - 4,501  ( -1.7%)
12/09  M.A. Spider-Man #58 - 4,352  ( -3.3%)
01/10  M.A. Spider-Man #59 - 4,315  ( -0.9%)
02/10  M.A. Spider-Man #60 - 4,212  ( -2.4%)
                            6 mnth  (-25.9%)
                            1 year  ( -8.9%)
                            2 year  (-28.5%)
                            3 year  (-36.9%)
                            4 year  (-30.8%)

274. MARVEL ADVENTURES SUPER HEROES
02/09  M.A. Super Heroes #8 -  3,993  ( -3.6%)
03/09  M.A. Super Heroes #9 -  3,716  ( -6.9%)
04/09  M.A. Super Heroes #10 - 3,699  ( -0.5%)
05/09  M.A. Super Heroes #11 - 3,474  ( -6.1%)
06/09  M.A. Super Heroes #12 - 3,508  ( +1.0%)
07/09  M.A. Super Heroes #13 - 4,439  (+26.5%)
08/09  M.A. Super Heroes #14 - 4,355  ( -1.9%)
09/09  M.A. Super Heroes #15 - 4,268  ( -2.0%)
10/09  M.A. Super Heroes #16 - 3,250  (-23.9%)
11/09  M.A. Super Heroes #17 - 3,308  ( +1.8%)
12/09  M.A. Super Heroes #18 - ?,???  (  ??? )
01/10  M.A. Super Heroes #19 - 3,103  (  ??? )
02/10  M.A. Super Heroes #20 - 3,008  ( -3.1%)
                              6 mnth  (-30.9%)
                              1 year  (-24.7%)

Both relaunch with a fresh issue #1 in April.

272. OFFICIAL INDEX TO THE MARVEL UNIVERSE
02/09  Index #2  - 7,278  (-26.1%)
03/09  Index #3  - 6,331  (-13.0%)
04/09  Index #4  - 5,517  (-12.9%)
05/09  Index #5  - 4,913  (-10.9%)
06/09  Index #6  - 4,743  ( -3.5%)
07/09  Index #7  - 4,518  ( -4.7%)
08/09  Index #8  - 4,263  ( -5.6%)
09/09  Index #9  - 4,144  ( -2.8%)
10/09  Index #10 - 3,980  ( -4.0%)
11/09  Index #11 - 3,739  ( -6.1%)
12/09  Index #12 - 3,689  ( -1.3%)
01/10  Index #13 - 3,248  (-12.0%)
02/10  Index #14 - 3,161  ( -2.7%)
                  6 mnth  (-25.9%)
                  1 year  (-56.6%)

The final issue of this run, having brought AMAZING SPIDER-MAN more or less up to date, and completed both IRON MAN and UNCANNY X-MEN. Surprisingly, given the modest sales, but very happily for continuity nerds like me, a new series begins in May, covering AVENGERS, CAPTAIN AMERICA and THOR. Obviously the economics for a project like this are completely different from a regular comic. There’s also a collected edition of the Iron Man Index available, which might be a more appealing format to some people.

281. DAFFODIL  [Soleil]
01/10  Daffodil #1 of 3 - 3,860
02/10  Daffodil #2 of 3 - 2,650  (-31.3%)

And rounding us off, another Soleil book.

6 month comparisons
===================

+56.6% - Doomwar/Black Panther
+10.3% - PunisherMax
+ 2.4% - Avengers: The Initiative
- 0.9% - Ms Marvel
- 6.3% - X-Factor
- 7.0% - Invincible Iron Man
-10.7% - Incredible Hercules
-11.6% - Son of Hulk
-11.8% - X-Force
-13.6% - Agents of Atlas
-13.8% - Deadpool
-14.9% - Nova
-15.1% - New Avengers
-17.0% - Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter
-18.2% - Guardians of the Galaxy
-18.6% - Dark Avengers
-18.9% - X-Men Legacy
-20.1% - New Mutants
-20.9% - Secret Warriors
-21.3% - Dark Wolverine
-23.6% - Dark Tower miniseries
-24.1% - Amazing Spider-Man
-25.8% - Uncanny X-Men
-25.9% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
-25.9% - Official Index to the Marvel Universe
-26.7% - Cable
-27.6% - The Stand miniseries
-28.5% - Incredible Hulk
-29.0% - Punisher
-30.3% - X-Men: First Class
-30.9% - Marvel Adventures Super Heroes
-32.9% - Hulk
-33.0% - Deadpool: Merc With A Mouth
-33.8% - X-Men Forever
-38.9% - Wolverine: Weapon X
-39.9% - Fantastic Four
-47.3% - Daredevil
-49.3% - Captain America/Reborn
-51.0% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man

1 year comparisons
==================

+ 1.1% - Captain America
+ 0.9% - PunisherMax
- 1.7% - Deadpool
- 2.1% - Ms Marvel
- 3.0% - X-Factor
- 3.2% - X-Force
- 6.5% - Uncanny X-Men
- 7.8% - Moon Knight
- 8.2% - Nova
- 8.9% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
- 9.2% - X-Men Legacy
- 9.2% - Cable
-10.5% - Amazing Spider-Man
-11.3% - Invincible Iron Man
-14.7% - Marvelous Land of Oz
-14.8% - Avengers: The Initiative
-14.9% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man
-16.5% - Son of Hulk
-17.5% - Guardians of the Galaxy
-18.4% - Doomwar/Black Panther
-20.8% - Incredible Hercules
-24.2% - Fantastic Four
-24.7% - Marvel Adventures Super Heroes
-25.1% - Dark Avengers
-25.2% - Thunderbolts
-28.1% - New Avengers
-30.8% - Thor
-31.7% - Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter miniseries
-32.7% - Hulk
-40.6% - Incredible Hulk
-42.5% - X-Men: First Class
-42.7% - Punisher (Marvel Universe)
-43.5% - Dark Tower miniseries
-47.8% - Agents of Atlas
-50.9% - Secret Warriors
-51.2% - The Stand miniseries
-55.6% - Spider-Man Noir miniseries
-56.6% - Official Index to the Marvel Universe
-61.0% - X-Men Noir miniseries

2 year comparisons
==================

+84.8% - Doomwar/Black Panther
+36.7% - Invincible Iron Man
+ 4.8% - Ms Marvel
- 8.1% - Daredevil
-15.9% - Dark Wolverine
-21.9% - Criminal
-25.8% - Uncanny X-Men
-26.1% - Captain America
-26.6% - New Avengers
-27.3% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man
-27.8% - Punisher
-28.5% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
-31.9% - Thor
-37.5% - Moon Knight
-38.8% - Amazing Spider-Man
-41.0% - X-Men: First Class
-41.7% - X-Men Legacy
-45.2% - X-Factor
-51.1% - Incredible Hulk
-52.6% - X-Force
-53.0% - Incredible Hercules
-59.5% - Fantastic Four
-64.8% - Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter miniseries
-84.5% - Dark Tower miniseries

3 year comparisons
==================

- 1.8% - Incredible Hulk
-17.3% - Daredevil
-17.5% - Invincible Iron Man
-17.7% - Ms Marvel
-19.0% - X-Factor
-19.2% - Uncanny X-Men
-23.4% - Doomwar/Black Panther
-31.8% - PunisherMax
-32.2% - X-Men Legacy
-36.9% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
-41.5% - New Avengers
-43.3% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man
-44.5% - Dark Wolverine
-45.9% - Thunderbolts
-55.7% - Punisher
-62.3% - Amazing Spider-Man
-64.0% - X-Men: First Class

4 year comparisons
==================

+66.0% - Doomwar/Black Panther
+44.3% - Captain America
+43.0% - Thunderbolts
+16.9% - Incredible Hulk
-15.2% - Uncanny X-Men
-15.8% - Fantastic Four
-25.3% - Dark Wolverine
-27.1% - Daredevil
-30.8% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
-34.5% - Punisher (Max)
-34.7% - X-Men Legacy
-35.9% - X-Factor
-37.1% - New Avengers
-40.4% - Amazing Spider-Man
-41.0% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man

5 year comparisons
==================

+15.6% - Thunderbolts
+13.2% - Captain America
+ 2.6% - Incredible Hulk
-14.4% - Doomwar/Black Panther
-18.9% - Fantastic Four
-20.6% - Daredevil
-24.6% - Uncanny X-Men
-31.4% - Amazing Spider-Man
-35.1% - Dark Wolverine
-39.0% - X-Men Legacy
-42.0% - Punisher (Max)
-48.7% - New Avengers
-51.3% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man