Here’s Diamond complete market share charts for January, which show Marvel and DC splitting the dollars and units.

And here are links to all of the sales charts released for the month.

As a reminder, an Indie publisher is a non-premiere publisher— so any company but DH, DC, IDW, IMAGE, or MARVEL.

A “Small Press” publisher is one outside the top-10 bestselling publishers over the previous six months.

Here ya go!
Diamond January 2012 Top 300 comics periodicals
Diamond January 2012: Top 300 graphic novels
Diamond January 2012 Top 50 Small Graphic Novels
Diamond January 2012 Top 50 Small Comics
Diamond January 2012: Top 50 Manga
Diamond January 2012: Top 50 Indie comics
Diamond January 2012: top 50 Indie graphic novels
Diamond January 2012 Charts in Toys, Books, etc.

Have you been wondering what digital comics DC has been selling the most of? While you can do a running snapshot of iTunes’ “in app Sales” it doesn’t give you a month’s total. But, as they did last month, DC has just released their Top Ten digital comics for January to CBR. And it goes like this:

DC Comics’ Top 10 Digital Titles, January 2011

#1 Batman (2011-) #5
#2 Justice League (2011-) #5
#3 Action Comics (2011-) #5
#4 Detective Comics (2011-) #5
#5 Green Lantern (2011-) #5
#6 Batman and Robin (2011-) #5
#7 Batman (2011-) #4
#8 Justice League (2011-) #4
#9 Superman (2011-) #5
#10 Aquaman (2011-) #5

So—new comics holding steady.

Of course this chart lacks actual numbers. But perhaps we can extrapolate a little teeny bit here — in a December interview, DC’s John Rood suggested that
But consistency is the right word — especially consistency in the digital end. There has been no shake up of numbers when you look at the percentage of physical sales by title. So if something is selling 6% of its physical sales digitally for issues #1 and 2, then it’s about 6% in issues #3 and 4. And if another title has been selling at 16% of print sales in the early titles, the latter titles have stayed at the same level. So there’s been no fluctuation. And the fact is that the makeup is largely the same and the performances you’ve seen in the data provided is largely the same in digital as it is in physical, yet we know from both anecdotal and primary research that this is a different audience. It suggests that the people might be different [for digital and print] but their tastes and their demos are largely the same.
6% and 16% seem like awfully specific numbers. So perhaps we can except that digital sales are someone between those number as percentage of print sales?

That’s a LOT more than the 1-3% that we’ve previously heard from most publishers. Again, only guessing.

Rood and Bob Wayne have their usual chat in this month’s report, and a subject near and dear to our heart comes up:
People frequently ask – and sometimes this is other people in the industry while sometimes it’s retailers or fans – whether these

numbers on the Diamond charts are the same numbers that actually sell. The argument there is that with returnability and the fact that these are estimates rather than the actual data you have, these numbers may inflate performance. Overall, do you feel this data honestly represents what you’ve been getting back when all is said and done?

Wayne: The Diamond charts for a number of years – ever since we started doing very limited returnability offers on certain projects to retailers could make sure they’re able to stock things like the weekly “52″ project a number of years back – have done a set aside on the numbers in reserve against any returns. So the numbers are depressed on the side of the set asides. We know what the set aside is, and we also then have our data later that shows us what the actual return rate was. And we’ve been very pleased that this has been an effective and efficient way for us to get as many copies on the shelves of retailers around the world as possible. In that ten out of ten, only one of those ten titles on the chart has any level of returnability. Nine of them have none.

Rood: So in answer to your question, not only do we consider the list accurate and reflective of our sales, we think anyone who would question that is kidding themselves.

Burn!

By Todd Allen

Diamond has posted the top 100 sellers for January 2012.  I’ve taken their index and plugged in 31,496 for the sales of Walking Dead and calculated sales guesstimates for the rest of the titles based on Diamond’s index where 100 = the sales of the current issue of Batman.  Where did I get that number?  That was December’s estimated sales for Walking Dead and for the last 6 months, The Walking Dead has fluctuated 1.5% or less from month to month.  It’s a shockingly consistent book of late, but if the real estimates of Walking Dead fluctuated in January, then these guesstimates are going to be further off.

Since that number puts Batman #5 at 130,095 copies and the real estimate from ICV2 for Batman #4 was 133,781, I’m thinking these guesstimates are more likely to be high than low… which would bode ill for Marvel.  As it is, I’ve only got them with two issues (of one title) breaking the 60K barrier.

All clear on how I arrived at these numbers?

Here are the guesstimates:

DC was #1 had the #1 comic for the sixth month in a row, with JUSTICE LEAGUE #5 topping the comics sales chart, according to Diamond’s just-released figures for January. They beat Marvel 39.86% to 37.51%. However, Marvel eked out a slim lead in the dollars chart, 35.17% to 33.55%, while in Unit Share DCE edged Marvel. However, DC held all top ten spots.

Image was once again #3, with Dark Horse and IDW very close for fourth and fifth. Dynamite held on to its 6th place spot.

Month-to-month sales were down, but year to year, they were up—in the case of periodicals WAY up: 32%. GNs were up by 18%. Year-to-year overall unit sales were up nearly 30%.

The little heralded Bruce Jones/Sam Kieth original Batman GN BATMAN: THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS led the GN charts. Two Robert Kirkman books, INVINCIBLE #15 and THE WALKING DEAD #1, were next.

TOP COMIC BOOK PUBLISHERS

COMPARATIVE SALES STATISTICS

TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS

TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS

 TOP 10 TOYS

TOP 10 GAMES

By Paul Mellerick

Walking Dead, Buffy and TMNT again dominate, but a rare appearance of Aspen’s Lady Mechanika is the third best-selling indie book this month. Dark Horse and Dynamite have a couple of promising launches, but apart from them it’s mostly downhill for the rest of the chart. If you ever wanted an indie charts drinking game, try taking a shot everytime I say drop or dropping, you’ll be smashed before you’re halfway through.

126 indie books charted this month, slightly up on last month with less Marvel or DC books charting this month. The bottom book sold 3,105, way lower than last month’s 4,330. In total those books sold approximately 1,067,927, a bit down from last month’s 1,099,699 with more titles. Average sales are 8,475 per book, down from last month’s 8,940. As usual, UK and European sales from Diamond UK are not reported in this chart.

This month Image were the number three publisher, with 6.75% dollar share and a 4.89 market share, followed by IDW with 5.26% dollar share and 4.43% market share, Dark Horse with a 3.97% dollar share and a 3.34% market share, Dynamite with a 3.35% dollar share and a 3.27% market share, Eaglemoss make an appearance with 1.63% dollar share and 0.37% market share and Boom with 1.41% dollar and 1.32% market share. Image, IDW & Eaglemoss are up for the month, everyone else is down.

Thanks to icv2.com and Milton Griepp for permission to use these numbers, which are estimates, and can be found here.

58. The Walking Dead (Image)

12/2006: The Walking Dead #33 - 21,235
12/2007: The Walking Dead #45 - 22,674
12/2008: The Walking Dead #56 - 23,582
12/2009: The Walking Dead #68 - 24,230
12/2010: -

====

01/2011: The Walking Dead #80 - 29,526 (+1.9%)
02/2011: The Walking Dead #81 - 30,750  (+4.1%)
03/2011: The Walking Dead #82 - 31,174 (+1.4%)
03/2011: The Walking Dead #83 - 33,686 [39,938](+28.1%)
04/2011: The Walking Dead #84 - 31,930 (-20.1%)
05/2011: The Walking Dead #85 - 37,552 (+17.6%)
06/2011: The Walking Dead #86 - 32,187 (-14.3%)
07/2011: The Walking Dead #87 - 32,126 (-0.2%)
08/2011: The Walking Dead #88 - 31,839 (-0.9%)
09/2011: -
10/2011: The Walking Dead #89 - 31,351 (-1.5%)
10/2011: The Walking Dead #90 - 31,778 (+1.4%)
11/2011: The Walking Dead #91 - 31,813 (+0.1%)
12/2011: The Walking Dead #92 - 31,496 (-0.1%)

Still holding super-strong at the top of the indie chart, the second season restarts very soon on TV. The fifteenth trade charts at the top of the graphic novel chart with astonishing sales of 21,844. Every single other Walking Dead collection with the exception of the fourth and sixth hardcovers chart as well, including both omnibi and the compendium.

61. Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Dark Horse)

12/2007: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #9 - 89,556
12/2008: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #20 - 71,896
12/2009: BTVS Willow One Shot - 45,136
12/2010: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #39 - 40,010 

====

01/2011: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #40 - 39,486 (-1.3%)
09/2011: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 #1 - 42,945 (+8.0%)
10/2011: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 #2 - 36,448 (-15.1%)
11/2011: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 #3 - 33,485 (-8.1%)
12/2011: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 #4 - 31,157 (-7.0%)

Still dropping perilously fast, and well below the sales of the previous series. A little worrying.

95. Lady Mechanika (Aspen)

12/2010: Lady Mechanika #1 - 20,034
====

01-06/2011: -
07/2011: Lady Mechanika #2 - 20,760 (+3.6%)
07/2011: Lady Mechanika Collected Edition #1 - 6,902
08-11/2011: -
12/2011: Lady Mechanika #3 - 21,358 (+2.9%)

Despite the irregular shipping schedule this book is still on an upwards trend, and doing very well. There are many variants.

102, 109, 130. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ongoing (IDW)

08/2011: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ongoing #1 - 34,803 (39,180)
09/2011: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ongoing #2 - 19,333 (-44.4%)
10/2011: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ongoing #3 - 22,855 (+18.2%)
11/2011: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ongoing #4 - 22,898 (+0.2%)
12/2011: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ongoing #5 - 19,689 (-14.0%)
12/2011: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Micro Series #1 Raphael - 18,687
12/2011: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Micro Series #2 Michelangelo - 15,930

A biggish drop this month, but the microseries aren’t very far behind in sales from the parent series, and I have an idea that the Michelangelo one may have been slightly under-ordered.

113. Angel & Faith (Dark Horse)

12/2007: After the Fall #2 - 44,792
12/2008: After the Fall #15 - 37,649
12/2009: Angel #28 - 21,301
12/2010: Angel #40 - 14,182 

====

01/2011: Angel #41 - 13,566 (-4.3%)
02/2011: Angel #42 - 13,136 (-3.2%)
03/2011: Angel #43 - 13,032 (-0.8%)
04/2011: Angel #44 - 12,897 (-1.0%)
08/2011: Angel & Faith #1 - 22,813 (+76.9%)
09/2011: Angel & Faith #2 - 20,473 (-10.3%)
10/2011: Angel & Faith #3 - 19,437 (-5.1%)
11/2011: Angel & Faith #4 - 18,855 (-2.9%)
12/2011: Angel & Faith #5 - 18,356 (-2.6%)

This seems to be finding its level, even if my prediction that sales might increase a little was wrong.

122, 276. Archie (Archie)

12/2006 : Archie #571 - 2,663
12/2007 : -
12/2008: -
12/2009: Archie #604 - 25,058
12/2010: Archie #616 - 10,885 [12,251] 

====

01/2011: -
02/2011: Archie #617 - 11,358 (-7.3%)
03/2011: Archie #618 - ???? (???)
03/2011: Archie #619 - ???? (???)
04/2011: Archie #620 - 3,644 (???)
05/2011: Archie #621 - 3,588 (-1.5%)
06/2011: Archie #622 - ???? (???)
07/2011: Archie #623 - 3,669 (???)
08/2011: Archie #624 - ???? (???)
09/2011: Archie #625 - 3,452 (???)
10/2011: Archie #626 - ???? (???)
11/2011: Archie #627 - 17,387 (21,298)(???)
12/2011: Archie #628 - 17,286 (-0.6%)

Holding steady for the second part of the Kiss crossover, while the first part charts again with sales of 3,911.

124. The Boys (Dynamite)

12/2006: The Boys #6 (DC) - 27,039
12/2007: The Boys #13 - 29,195
12/2008: The Boys #25 - 27,134
12/2009: The Boys #37 - 24,025
12/2010: The Boys #49 - 19,582
====

01/2011: The Boys #50 - 19,293 (-1.5%)
02/2011: The Boys #51 - 18,728 (-2.9%)
03/2011: The Boys #52 - 18,955 (+1.2%)
04/2011: The Boys #53 - 18,692 (-1.4%)
05/2011: The Boys #54 - 18,671 (-0.1%)
06/2011: The Boys #55 - 18,330 (-1.8%)
07/2011: The Boys #56 - 18,108 (-1.2%)
08/2011: The Boys #57 - 17,884 (-1.2%)
09/2011: The Boys #58 - 17,660 (-1.3%)
10/2011: The Boys #59 - 17,533 (-0.7%)
11/2011: The Boys #60 - 17,323 (-1.2%)
12/2011: The Boys #61 - 17,024 (-1.7%)

Drifting down towards the end of the series.

128. The Strain (Dark Horse)

12/2012: The Strain #1 - 16,023

Not a bad start for this adaptation of Guillermo del Toro’s vampire book series.

129. Star Trek Legion of Superheroes (IDW)

10/2011: Star Trek Legion of Superheroes #1 - 20,950
11/2011: Star Trek Legion of Superheroes #2 - 17,782 (-15.1%)
12/2011: Star Trek Legion of Superheroes #3 - 15,952 (-10.3%)

Still dropping, but even so, pretty good sales for this sort of crossover.

132. Star Wars Agent O/T Empire Iron Eclipse

12/2011: Agent O/T Empire Iron Eclipse #1 - 15,700

Although this is the highest charted Star Wars title, it’s got the second lowest launch figures of any of the recent titles, with only the recent Knight Errant series selling less of its debut.

138. Voltron (Dynamite)

12/2011: Voltron #1 - 15,001

Pretty much unknown in the UK, this is a great first issue figure, although I’m not sure how well it’ll hold up in the long run.

142. Game of Thrones (Dynamite)

09/2011: Game of Thrones #1 - 20,888
10/2011: Game of Thrones #2 - 16,094 (-22.9%)
11/2011: Game of Thrones #3 - 15,983 (-0.7%)
12/2011: Game of Thrones #4 - 14,514 (-9.2%)

Another big drop, as this struggles a little to stabilize.

143. Invincible (Image)

12/2006: Invincible #37 - 13,523
12/2007: Invincible # 47 - 14,380
12/2008: Invincible #56 - 14,852
12/2009: Invincible #69 - 15,161
12/2010: Invincible #76 - 15,577 

====

01/2011: -
02/2011: Invincible #77 - 15,515 (-0.4%)
03/2011: Invincible #78 - 15,808 (+1.9%)
04/2011: Invincible #79 - 15,558 (-1.6%)
05/2011: -
06/2011: Invincible #80 - 15,563 (+0.0%)
07/2011: Invincible #81 - 15,207 (-2.3%)
08/2011: Invincible #82 - 15,105 (-0.7%)
09/2011: -
10/2011: Invincible #83 - 15,249 (+0.9%)
11/2011: Invincible #84 - 15,067 (-1.2%)
11/2011: Invincible #85 - 14,678 (-2.6%)
12/2011: Invincible #86 - 14,457 (-1.5%)

Very stable at the moment, only shedding a couple of hundred copies since last issue.

144. Valen The Outcast (Boom!)

12/2011: Valen The Outcast #1 - 14,343

Good launch numbers, but this was a dollar book with a load of variants, so expect a hefty drop next month.

145. Witchblade (Image)

12/2006: Witchblade #102 - 14,331
12/2007: Witchblade #112 -14,110
12/2008: Witchblade #122 - 12,992
12/2009: Witchblade #133 - 12,811
12/2010: Witchblade #140 - 11,172 

====

01/2011: Witchblade #141 - 9,768 (-12.6%)
02/2011: Witchblade #142 - 9,803 (+0.4%)
03/2011: Witchblade #143 - 9,394 (-4.2%)
04/2011: -
05/2011: Witchblade #144 - 10,662 (+13.5%)
06/2011: Witchblade #145 - 8,996 (-15.6%)
07/2011: Witchblade #146 - 8,765 (-2.6%)
08/2011: Witchblade #147 - 8,487 (-3.2%)
09/2011: Witchblade #148 - 8,461 (-0.3%)
10/2011: -
11/2011: Witchblade #149 - 8,391 (-0.8%)
12/2011: Witchblade #150 - 14,266 (+70.0%)

Ron Marz’ last issue brings a big boost, and the whole Top Cow universe reboots to an extent next month.

147. Star Wars Crimson Empire III 

10/2011: Crimson Empire III #1 - 19,095
11/2011: Crimson Empire III #2 - 14,524 (-23.9%)
12/2011: Crimson Empire III #3 - 13,814 (-4.9%)

Hopefully starting to stabilize.

148. Butcher Baker (Dynamite)

07/2011: Butcher Baker Candlestickmaker #1 - 16,118
08/2011: Butcher Baker Candlestickmaker #2 - 15,168 (-6.2%)
09/2011: Butcher Baker Candlestickmaker #3 - 14,605 (-3.7%)
10/2011: Butcher Baker Candlestickmaker #4 - 14,303 (-2.1%)
11/2011: Butcher Baker Candlestickmaker #5 - 13,668 (-4.4%)
12/2011: Butcher Baker Candlestickmaker #6 - 13,684 (+0.1%)

The last issue of the last Boys miniseries holds steady.

 155. Spawn (Image)

12/2006: Spawn #163 - 24,922
12/2007: Spawn #173 - 23,136
12/2008: Spawn #187 - 22,143
12/2009: -
12/2010: -

====

01/2011: Spawn #200 - 65,448 (+262.1%)
01/2011: Spawn #201 - 18,458 (-71.8%)
02/2011: Spawn #202 - 18,335 (-0.7%)
02/2011: Spawn #203 - 15,572 (-15.1%)
03/2011: Spawn #204 - 15,591 (+0.1%)
03/2011: Spawn #205 - 15,320 (-1.7%)
04/2011: Spawn #206 - 15,160 (-1.0%)
05/2011: Spawn #207 - 14,796 (-2.4%)
06/2011: Spawn #208 - 14,468 (-2.2%)
07/2011: Spawn #209 - 13,964 (-3.5%)
08/2011: Spawn #210 - 14,100 (+0.1%)
09/2011: Spawn #211 - 13,526 (-4.1%)
10/2011: Spawn #212 - 13,483 (-0.3%)
11/2011: Spawn #213 - 13,369 (-0.8%)

Yet another low, you would think another relaunch is probably imminent.

156, 173. Transformers Ongoing (IDW)

12/2008: All Hail Megatron #6 - 11,843
12/2009: Transformers Ongoing #2 - 12,516
12/2010: Transformers Ongoing #14 - 10,573 

====

01/2011: Transformers Ongoing #15 - 10,159 (-3.9%)
02/2011: Transformers Ongoing #16 - 10,265 (+1.0%)
03/2011: Transformers Ongoing #17 - 10,094 (-1.7%)
04/2011: Transformers Ongoing #18 - 9,813 (-2.8%)
05/2011: Transformers Ongoing #19 - 10,089 (+2.8%)
06/2011: Transformers Ongoing #20 - 10,232 (+1.4%)
07/2011: Transformers Ongoing #21 - 10,165 (-0.7%)
07/2011: Transformers Ongoing #22 - 9,884 (-2.8%)
08/2011: Transformers Ongoing #23 - 10,327 (+4.5%)
08/2011: Transformers Ongoing #24 - 10,097 (-2.2%)
08/2011: Transformers Ongoing #25 - 9,533 (-5.6%)
09/2011: Transformers Ongoing #26 - 10,118 (+6.1%)
10/2011: Transformers Ongoing #27 - 10,242 (+1.2%)
10/2011: Transformers Ongoing #28 - 10,469 (+2.2%)
11/2011: Transformers Ongoing #29 - 10,440 (-0.3%)
11/2011: Transformers Ongoing #30 - 10,452 (+0.1%)
12/2011: Transformers Death Of Optimus Prime (One Shot) - 12,961
12/2011: Transformers Ongoing #31 - 10,348 (-1.0%)

The last issue before it relaunches as two separate ongoings next month.

157. Star Trek Ongoing (IDW)

09/2010: Captain's Log Pike #1 - 6,038 (+7.6%)
09/2011: Star Trek Ongoing #1 - 15,943
10/2011: Star Trek Ongoing #2 - 13,198 (-17.2%)
11/2011: Star Trek Ongoing #3 - 13,296 (+0.7%)
12/2011: Star Trek Ongoing #4 - 12,746 (-4.1%)

Still dropping a bit, but well above previous Star Trek books from IDW.

160. Chew (Image)

12/2009: Chew #7 - 12,902
12/2010: Chew #16 - 12,473
====

01/2011: -
02/2011: -
03/2011: Chew #17 - 12,165 (-2.5%)
04/2011: Chew #18 - 12,438 (+2.2%)
05/2011: Chew #27 - 12,561 (+1.0%)
06/2011: -
07/2011: Chew #19 - 12,510 (-0.4%)
08/2011: Chew #20 - 12,202 (-2.4%)
09/2011: -
10/2011: Chew #21 - 12,310 (+0.9%)
11/2011: -
12/2011: Chew #22 - 12,296 (-0.01%)

Pretty solid. The second hardcover collection charts at number 51 with sales of 1,453.

162, 167. Warlord of Mars (Dynamite)

12/2010: Warlord of Mars #3 - 14,710 

====

01/2011: -
02/2011: Warlord of Mars #4 - 14,780 (+0.5%)
03/2011: Warlord of Mars #5 - 14,110 (-4.5%)
04/2011: Warlord of Mars #6 - 13,837 (-1.9%)
05/2011: -
06/2011: Warlord of Mars #7 - 14,038 (+1.5%)
07/2011: Warlord of Mars #8 - 13,872 (-1.2%)
08/2011: -
09/2011: Warlord of Mars #9 - 13,565 (-2.2%)
09/2011: Warlord of Mars #10 - 13,003 (-4.1%)
10/2011: Warlord of Mars #11 - 12,491 (-3.9%)
11/2011: Warlord of Mars #12 - 12,036 (-4.8%)
12/2011: Warlord of Mars #13 - 11,896 (-1.2%)
12/2011: Warlord of Mars #14 - 11,210 (-5.8%)

Back to precipitous drops, with the film dropping in March.

164.  Jennifer Blood (Dynamite)

02/2011: Jennifer Blood #1 – 17,413
03/2011: Jennifer Blood #2 - 14,180 (-18.6%)
04/2011: -
05/2011: Jennifer Blood #3 - 13,502 (-4.8%)
06/2011: -
07/2011: -
08/2011: -
09/2011: Jennifer Blood #4 - 12,557 (-7.0%)
10/2011: Jennifer Blood #5 - 12,337 (-1.7%)
11/2011: Jennifer Blood #6 - 11,660 (-5.5%)
12/2011: Jennifer Blood #7 - 11,522 (-1.2%)

Surprisingly, despite no Garth Ennis this month, the lowest drop-off in the series so far.

165. Haunt (Image)

12/2009: Haunt #3 - 28,390
12/2010: Haunt #12 - 16,175 

====

01/2011: -
02/2011: Haunt #13 - 15,413 (-4.7%)
03/2011: Haunt #14 - 14,700 (-4.6%)
04/2011: Haunt #15 - 14,280 (-2.9%)
05/2011: -
06/2011: Haunt #16 - 14,360 (+0.6%)
07/2011: -
08/2011: Haunt #17 - 13,443 (-6.3%)
09/2011: -
10/2011: -
11/2011: Haunt #18 - 12,840 (-4.5%)
11/2011: Haunt #19 - 12,195 (-5.0%)
12/2011: Haunt #20 - 11,476 (-6.0%)

The new creative team of Joe Casey & Nathan Fox don’t seem to be holding the readers as the drops increase.

168. Conan (Dark Horse)

12/2006: Conan #35 - 27,115
12/2007: Conan #47 - 22,140
12/2008: The Cimmerian #6 - 22,526
12/2009: -
12/2010: The Road of Kings #1 - 16,099 

====

01/2011: The Road of Kings #2 - 13,385 (-16.9%)
02/2011: -
03/2011: The Road of Kings #3 - 13,193 (-1.4%)
04/2011: The Road of Kings #4 - 12,827 (-2.8%)
05/2011: The Road of Kings #5 - 12,672 (-1.2%)
06/2011: The Road of Kings #6 - 12,523 (-1.2%)
07/2011: -
08/2011: The Road of Kings #7 - 11,955 (-4.5%)
09/2011: The Road of Kings #8 - 11,621 (-2.8%)
10/2011: The Road of Kings #9 - 11,546 (-0.6%)
11/2011: The Road of Kings #10 - 11,331 (-1.9%)
12/2011: The Road of Kings #11 - 10,958 (-3.2%)

All the last few months that I’ve been predicting a new relaunch, I’d forgotten that Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan are relaunching an adjective-less Conan title in February. There’s also a new King Conan title starting next month.

169. Star Wars Knight Errant (Dark Horse)

12/2010: Knight Errant Aflame #3 - 13,963
====

01/2010: Knight Errant Aflame #4 - 13,101 (-6.2%)
02/2011: Knight Errant Aflame #5 - 12,803 (-2.3%)
08/2011: Star Wars Knight Errant Deluge #1 - 15,448 (+12%)
09/2011: Star Wars Knight Errant Deluge #2 - 12,767 (-17.3%)
10/2011: Star Wars Knight Errant Deluge #3 - 11,937 (-6.5%)
11/2011: Star Wars Knight Errant Deluge #4 - 11,407 (-4.4%)
12/2011: Star Wars Knight Errant Deluge #5 - 10,805 (-5.3%)

Probably the last series with these characters for the foreseeable future.

171. BPRD (Dark Horse)

12/2006: -
12/2007: Killing Ground #5 (of 5) - 15,113
12/2008: War on Frogs #2 - 15,273
12/2009: War on Frogs #4 (of 4) - 12,904
12/2010: Hell on Earth: New World #5 - 11,528 

====

01/2011: Hell on Earth: Gods #1 - 12,820 (+11.2%)
02/2011: Hell on Earth: Gods #2 - 11,585 (-9.6%)
03/2011: Hell on Earth: Gods #3 - 11,565 (-0.2%)
04/2011: Dead Remembered #1 - 12,825 (+10.9%)
05/2011: Dead Remembered #2 - 11,714 (-8.7%)
06/2011: Dead Remembered #3 - 11,418 (-2.5%)
07/2011: Hell on Earth: Monsters #1 - 12,623 (+10.6%)
08/2011: Hell on Earth: Monsters #2 - 11,221 (-11.2%)
09/2011: Hell on Earth: Russia #1 - 11,634 (+3.7%)
10/2011: Hell on Earth: Russia #2 - 11,093 (-4.6%)
11/2011: Hell on Earth: Russia #3 - 10,800 (-2.6%)
12/2011: Hell on Earth: Russia #4 - 10,517 (-2.6%)

Standard attrition, but again a new low.

175. GI Joe (IDW)

12/2006: America’s Elite #18 (Devil’s Due) - 16,710
12/2007: America’s Elite #30 (Devil’s Due) - 14,587
12/2008: -
12/2009: GI Joe #12 – 14,824
12/2010: GI Joe #25 - 10,641
====

01/2011: -
02/2011: GI Joe #26 - 10,323 (-3.0%)
02/2011: GI Joe #27 - 10,102 (-2.1%)
03/2011: GI Joe Infestation #1 - 13,438 (+33.0%)
03/2011: GI Joe Infestation #2 - 12,427 (-7.5%)
04/2011: GI Joe Vol 2 #0 - 12,353 (-5.9%)
05/2011: GI Joe Vol 2 #1 - 13,703 (+10.9%)
06/2011: GI Joe Vol 2 #2 - 11,640 (-15.1%)
07/2011: GI Joe Vol 2 #3 - 11,377 (-2.3%)
08/2011: GI Joe Vol 2 #4 - 10,824 (-4.9%)
09/2011: GI Joe Vol 2 #5 - 10,371 (-4.2%)
10/2011: GI Joe Vol 2 #6 - 10,241 (-1.5%)
11/2011: GI Joe Vol 2 #7 - 9,686 (-5.4%)
12/2011: GI Joe Vol 2 #8 - 10,059 (+3.9%)

A bit of a jump this month, as the Cobra Civil war ends with a new Cobra Commander named. This issue had a special scratch off cover which revealed his or her identity, although as the answer is in the book I’m not sure how many people will actually scratch it off…

176. Danger Girl Army of Darkness (Dynamite)

04/2011: Danger Girl Army of Darkness #1 - 14,869
05/2011: -
06/2011: Danger Girl Army  of Darkness #2 - 12,417 (-16.5%)
07/2011: -
08/2011: -
09/2011: Danger Girl Army  of Darkness #3 - 11,169 (-10.1%)
10/2011: -
11/2011: -
12/2011: Danger Girl Army of Darkness #4 - 10,015 (-10.3%)

Not bad figures overall for this sort of crossover, I’d think Dynamite would be quite happy.

177. Kevin Smith's Bionic Man (Dynamite) 

08/2011: Kevin Smith's Bionic Man #1 - 17,187
09/2011: Kevin Smith's Bionic Man #2 - 12,343 (-28.2%)
10/2011: Kevin Smith's Bionic Man #3 - 11,229 (-9.0%)
11/2011: Kevin Smith's Bionic Man #4 - 10,746 (-4.3%)
12/2011: Kevin Smith's Bionic Man #5 - 9,825 (-8.6%)

This on the other hand is starting to lose sales quite seriously.

179. True Blood (IDW)

12/2010: True Blood #6 - 21,297 [25,556] 

====

01/2011: -
02/2011: True Blood: Tainted Love #1 - 19,824 (-22.4%)
03/2011: True Blood: Tainted Love #2 - 16,639 (-16.1%)
04/2011: True Blood: Tainted Love #3 - 15,899 (-4.4%)
05/2011: True Blood: Tainted Love #4 - 13,617 (-14.4%)
06/2011: True Blood: Tainted Love #5 - 5,607 [15,437]  (+13.4%)
07/2011: True Blood: Tainted Love #6 - 11,709 (-24.1%)
08/2011: -
09/2011: True Blood French Quarter #1 - 12,277 (+4.9%)
09/2011: True Blood French Quarter #2 - 10,605 (-13.6%)
10/2011: -
11/2011: True Blood French Quarter #3 - 10,118 (-4.6%)
12/2011: True Blood French Quarter #4 - 9,637 (-4.8%)

You would think that bookstore sales of the collections must be quite strong, as the comic sales are falling fast.

180. Ghostbusters Ongoing (IDW)

03/2011: Ghostbusters Infestation #1 - 11,616 (+91.2%)
03/2011: Ghostbusters Infestation #2 - 10,445 (-10.1%)
02-08/2011: -
09/2011: Ghostbuster Ongoing #1 - 16,716 (+60.0%)
10/2011: Ghostbuster Ongoing #2 - 9,514 (-43.1%)
11/2011: Ghostbuster Ongoing #3 - 9,268 (-2.6%)
12/2011: Ghostbuster Ongoing #4 - 9,558 (+3.1%)

A slight jump up, which is very encouraging for the future of this title.

183. Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters (IDW)

03/2011: Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #1 - 58,879 [69,662]
04/2011: Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #2 - 14,492 (-79.2%)
05/2011: Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #3 - 14,588 (+0.7%)
06/2011: Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #4 - 7,570 [14,890] (+2.1%)
07/2011: Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #5 - 13,750 (-7.7%)
08/2011: Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #6 - 12,524 (-8.9%)
09/2011: Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #7 - 11,141 (-12.4%)
10/2011: Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #8 - 10,637 (-4.5%)
11/2011: Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #9 - 9,879 (-7.1%)
12/2011: Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #10 - 9,294 (-5.9%)

Another one dropping fast, with no sign of stabilizing anytime soon.

185. Artifacts (Image)

12/2010: Artifacts #4 - 11,415
====

01/2011: Artifacts #5 - 11,788 (+3.3%)
02/2011: -
03/2011: Artifacts #6 - 10,910 (-7.4%)
04/2011: -
05/2011: Artifacts #7 - 10,667 (-2.2%)
06/2011: Artifacts #8 - 10,343 (-3.0%)
07/2011: -
08/2011: Artifacts #9 - 10,942 (+5.7%)
09/2011: Artifacts #10 - 9,215 (-15.8%)
10/2011: -
11/2011: Artifacts #11 - 9,445 (+2.5%)
12/2011: Artifacts #12 - 9,142 (-3.2%)

The penultimate part of the story, although the book will be continuing as a sort of Top Cow team-up book, it would appear.

186. Hellraiser (Boom!) 

03/2011: Hellraiser #1 - 13,850
04/2011: -
05/2011: Hellraiser #2 - 10,366 (-25.2%)
06/2011: -
07/2011: Hellraiser #3 - 9,974 (-3.8%)
08/2011: Hellraiser #4 - 11,096 (+11.2%)
09/2011: Hellraiser #5 - 10,303 (-7.1%)
10/2011: Hellraiser #6 - 9,715 (-5.7%)
11/2011: Hellraiser #7 - 9,263 (-4.7%)
12/2011: Hellraiser #8 - 9,059 (-2.2%)

Possibly starting to level out a bit.

188. Stitched (Avatar)

10/2011: Stitched #1 - 10,949
11/2011: -
12/2011: Stitched #2 - 8,829 (-19.4%)

Not too bad a second issue drop for Garth Ennis’ new mini-series.

190. GI Joe Real American Hero (IDW)

12/2010: Real American Hero #161 - 11,125
====

01/2011: Real American Hero #162 - 10,516 (-5.5%)
02/2011: Real American Hero #163 - 10,262 (-2.4%)
03/2011: Real American Hero #164 - 10,386 (+1.2%)
04/2011: Real American Hero #165 - 10,218 (-1.6%)
05/2011: Real American Hero #166 - 10,117 (-1.0%)
06/2011: Real American Hero #167 - 10,118 (+0.0%)
07/2011: Real American Hero #168 - 9,943 (-1.7%)
08/2011: Real American Hero #169 - 9,670 (-2.7%)
09/2011: Real American Hero #170 - 9,542 (-1.3%)
10/2011: Real American Hero #171 - 9,686 (+1.5%)
11/2011: Real American Hero #172 - 9,316 (-3.8%)
12/2011: Real American Hero #173 - 8,632 (-7.3%)

Ouch, the drops are starting to accelerate.

191. Irredeemable (Boom) 

12/2009: Irredeemable #9 - 13,515
12/2010: Irredeemable #20 - 10,406 

====

01/2011: Irredeemable #21 - 10,247 (-1.5%)
02/2011: Irredeemable #22 - 10,025 (-2.2%)
03/2011: Irredeemable #23 - 9,983 (-0.4%)
04/2011: Irredeemable #24 - 10,274 (+2.9%)
05/2011: Irredeemable #25 - 10,082 (-1.9%)
06/2011: Irredeemable #26 - 9,784 (-3.0%)
07/2011: Irredeemable #27 - 9,577 (-2.1%)
08/2011: Irredeemable #28 - 8,820 (-7.9%)
09/2011: Irredeemable #29 - 8,582 (-2.7%)
10/2011: Irredeemable #30 - 8,419 (-1.9%)
11/2011: Irredeemable #31 - 8,229 (-2.3%)
12/2011: Irredeemable #32 - 8,612 (+4.7%)

A jump up for the beginning of the crossover with Incorruptible, which I would guess is the Incorruptible readers who normally buy Irredeemable in trades. I can’t imagine there’s many who read Incorruptible and not this.

192. Godzilla Legends (IDW)

11/2011: Godzilla Legends #1 - 10,330
12/2011: Godzilla Legends #2 - 8,465 (-18.1%)

Drawn by the wonderful Simon Gane, and the second issue drop isn’t too bad.

193. Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie)

12/2006: Sonic #170 - 6,927
12/2007: Sonic #183 - 6,806
12/2008: Sonic #195 - 6,963
12/2009: Sonic #207 - 8,198
12/2010: Sonic #220 - 7,618 

====

01/2011: -
02/2011: Sonic #221 - 7,592 (-0.3%)
03/2011: Sonic #222 - 7,781 (+2.5%)
03/2011: Sonic #223 - 7,719 (-0.8%)
04/2011: -
05/2011: Sonic #224 - 8,023 (+3.9%)
06/2011: Sonic #225 - 11,980 (+49.3%)
06/2011: Sonic #226 - 9,228 (-23.0%)
07/2011: -
08/2011: Sonic #227 - 9,419 (+2.1%)
08/2011: Sonic #228 - 9,444 (+0.3%)
09/2011: -
10/2011: Sonic #229 - 9,768 (+3.3%)
11/2011: Sonic #230 - 10,372 (+6.2%)
11/2011: Sonic #231 - 8,646 (-16.6%)
12/2011: Sonic #232 - 8,447 (-2.3%)

Starting to drop back down, but still a fair bit above where it was at the beginning of the year.

194. Snake Eyes Ongoing (IDW)

12/2009: GI Joe Origins #10 - 12,295
12/2010: GI Joe Origins #22 - 8,597 

====

01/2011: GI Joe Origins #23 - 8,136 (-5.4%)
02/2011: -
03/2011: -
04/2011: -
05/2011: Snake Eyes #1 - 12,197 (+49.9%)
06/2011: Snake Eyes #2 - 10,246 (-16.0%)
07/2011: Snake Eyes #3 - 10,001 (-2.4%)
08/2011: Snake Eyes #4 - 9,288 (-7.1%)
08/2011: Snake Eyes #5 - 9,141 (-1.6%)
092011: -
10/2011: Snake Eyes #6 - 9,073 (-0.7%)
11/2011: Snake Eyes #7 - 8,692 (-4.2%)
12/2011: Snake Eyes #8 - 8,446 (-2.8%)

Still in decline.

195. Locke & Key (IDW)

12/2009: Crown of Shadows #2 - 7,707
12/2010: -

====

01/2011: Keys to the Kingdom #4 - 6,634 (-8.2%)
02/2011: -
03/2011: Keys to the Kingdom #5 - 6,879 (+3.7%)
04/2011: Keys to the Kingdom #6 - 6,769 (-1.6%)
05/2011: -
06/2011: -
07/2011: Clockworks #1 - 10,764 (+59.0%)
08/2011: Clockworks #2 - 7,686 (-28.6%)
09/2011: -
10/2011: -
11/2011: Guide to Known Keys One-Shot - 8,529
12/2011: Clockworks #3 - 8,438 (+9.8%)

Well above the last issue, which would suggest that some of the sales for that issue slipped into the following month. This has been the best selling mini-series yet.

196. Cobra Ongoing (IDW)

12/2010: GI Joe Cobra II #11 - 8,008 

====

01/2011: GI Joe Cobra II #12 - 7,613 (-4.9%)
02/2011: GI Joe Cobra II #13 - 7,436 (-2.3%)
03/2011: -
04/2011: -
05/2011: Cobra #1 - 11,949 (+60.7%)
06/2011: Cobra #2 - 10,128 (-15.2%)
07/2011: Cobra #3 - 7,740 (-23.6%)
08/2011: -
09/2011: Cobra #4 - 9,391 (+21.3%)
09/2011: Cobra #5 - 9,068 (-3.4%)
10/2011: Cobra #6 - 8,927 (-1.6%)
11/2011: Cobra #7 - 7,177 (-19.6%)
12/2011: Cobra #8 - 8,381 (+16.8%)

As with Locke & Key, it would seem that some of last month’s sales slipped into this month, but not enough to show on the charts.

197, 293. Crossed (Avatar)

12/2009: Crossed #8 - 12,757
12/2010: Crossed Family Values #6 - 9,908 

====

01/2011: -
02/2011: Crossed Family Values #7 - 10,217 (+3.1%)
02/2011: Crossed Psychopath #1 - 10,182 (-0.3%)
03/2011: -
04/2011: -
05/2011: Crossed Psychopath #2 - 9,692 (-4.8%)
06/2011: Crossed Psychopath #3 - 9,655 (-0.4%)
07/2011: Crossed Psychopath #4 - 9,897 (+2.5%
08-10/2011: -
11/2011: Crossed Psychopath #5 - 9,524 (-3.8%)
12/2011: Crossed Psychopath #6 - 8,331 (-12.5%)
12/2011: Crossed Badlands Opening Salvo - 3,287

The penultimate issue of the series drops quite badly, and it shipped in the first week of the month so it’s not likely that this one lost sales to the following month.

198. Severed (Image) 

08/2011: Severed #1 - 10,573 (14,411)
09/2011: Severed #2 - 9,280 (-12.2%)
10/2011: Severed #3 - 9,240 (-0.4%)
11/2011: Severed #4 - 8,716 (-5.7%)
12/2011: Severed #5 - 8,303 (-4.7%)

This really hasn’t done too badly, only about a 20% drop since the first issue, but I’m still a little surprised it isn’t doing better considering Scott Snyder’s current profile.

 199. Green Hornet (Dynamite)

12/2010: Green Hornet #11 - 14,771 

====

01/2011: Green Hornet #12 - 13,913 (-5.8%)
02/2011: Green Hornet #13 - 12,503 (-10.1%)
03/2011: Green Hornet #14 - 11,485 (-8.1%)
04/2011: Green Hornet #15 - 10,708 (-6.8%)
05/2011: -
06/2011: Green Hornet #16 - 10,396 (-2.9%)
07/2011: Green Hornet #17 - 9,708 (-6.6%)
08/2011: -
09/2011: Green Hornet #18 - 9,279 (-4.4%)
10/2011: -
11/2011: Green Hornet #19 - 8,799 (-5.2%)
12/2011: Green Hornet #20 - 8,297 (-5.7%)

Dropping fast, but Dynamite seem to have quite low thresholds, so it’s probably got some time yet.

200. Baltimore (Dark Horse)

12/2010: Baltimore Plague Ships #5 - 9,142 

====

08/2011: Baltimore Curse Bells #1 - 10,797 (+18.1%)
09/2011: Baltimore Curse Bells #2 - 8,988 (-16.8%)
10/2011: Baltimore Curse Bells #3 - 8,716 (-3.0%)
11/2011: Baltimore Curse Bells #4 - 8,567 (-1.7%)
12/2011: Baltimore Curse Bells #5 - 8,105 (-5.4%)

The last issue for the moment, it wouldn’t surprise me if this turned up in Dark Horse Presents next.

201. Kirby Genesis Captain Victory (Dynamite)

11/2011: Captain Victory #1 - 10,438
12/2011: Captain Victory #2 - 8,095 (-22.4%)

220. Kirby Genesis Silver Star (Dynamite)

11/2011: Kirby Genesis Silver Star #1 - 9,400
12/2011: Kirby Genesis Silver Star #2 - 7,169 (-23.7%)

Both Kirby Genesis spin-offs suffer fairly average second issue drops.

202, 212. Red Sonja (Dynamite) 

12/2006: Red Sonja #17 - 23,552
12/2007: Red Sonja #28 - 18,922
12/2008: Red Sonja #40 - 13,516
12/2009: -
12/2010: -

====

01/2011: Red Sonja #54 - 8,826 (-2.6%)
02/2011: -
03/2011: Red Sonja #55 - 8,729 (-1.1%)
04/2011: -
05/2011: Red Sonja #56 - 8,319 (-4.7%)
06/2011: -
07/2011: -
08/2011: Red Sonja #57 - 7,888 (-5.2%)
09/2011: -
10/2011: -
11/2011: Red Sonja #58 - 7,876 (-0.2%)
11/2011: Red Sonja #59 - 7,759 (-1.5%)
12/2011: Red Sonja #60 - 8,052 (+3.8%)
12/2011: Red Sonja #61 - 7,464 (-7.3%)

Still very late, another two issues this month, the five year anniversary issue gets a bump and a double-sized issue, but drops straight back down.

203. Dark Horse Presents (Dark Horse)

04/2011: Dark Horse Presents #1 - 15,107
05/2011: -
06/2011: Dark Horse Presents #2 - 11,315 (-25.1%)
07/2011: -
08/2011: Dark Horse Presents #3 - 8,931 (-21.1%)
09/2011: Dark Horse Presents #4 - 8,366 (-6.3%)
10/2011: Dark Horse Presents #5 - 7,539 (-9.9%)
11/2011: Dark Horse Presents #6 - 7,017 (-6.9%)
12/2011: Dark Horse Presents #7 - 7,849 (+11.9%)

A decent increase as Hellboy pays a visit to the anthology title for a short story, written and drawn by Mike Mignola.

204.  The Guild (Dark Horse) 

12/2010: Vork #1 - 12,105
====

01/2011: -
02/2011: -
03/2011: Tink #1 - 9,904 (-18.2%)
04/2011: -
05/2011: -
06/2011: Bladezz #1 - 9,490 (-4.2%)
07/2011: -
08/2011: -
09/2011: - Clara #1 - 8,420 (-11.3%)
10/2011: -
11/2011: -
12/2011: Zaboo #1 - 7,762 (-7.8%)

The last of the Guild one-shots.

205. Joe Hill's The Cape (IDW)

12/2010: The Cape - 6,564
01/2011: -
02/2011: -
03/2011: -
04/2011: -
05/2011: -
06/2011: -
07/2011: The Cape #1 - 9,469 (+44.3%)
08/2011: -
09/2011: -
10/2011:The Cape #2 - 8,330 (-12.0%)
11/2011: -
12/2011: The Cape #3 - 7,704 (-7.5%)

Still dropping, but only one more issue to go.

209. Dungeons and Dragons Drizzt (IDW)

08/2011: Dungeons & Dragons Drizzt #1 - 9,855
09/2011: Dungeons & Dragons Drizzt #2 - 8,328 (-15.5%)
10/2011: -
11/2011: Dungeons & Dragons Drizzt #3 - 8,264 (-0.8%)
12/2011: Dungeons & Dragons Drizzt #4 - 7,632 (-7.6%)

210. Dungeons and Dragons (IDW)

12/2010: Dungeons and Dragons #2 - 11,623
====

01/2011: Dungeons and Dragons #3 - 10,112 (-13.0%)
02/2011: Dungeons and Dragons #4 - 9,761 (-3.5%)
03/2011: -
04/2011: Dungeons and Dragons #5 - 9,833 (+0.7%)
04/2011: Dungeons and Dragons #6 - 9,520 (-3.2%)
05/2011: Dungeons and Dragons #7 - 9,427 (-1.0%)
06/2011: Dungeons and Dragons #8 - 9,226 (-2.1%)
07/2011: -
08/2011: Dungeons and Dragons #9 - 8,987 (-2.6%)
08/2011: Dungeons and Dragons #10 - 8,545 (-4.9%)
09/2011: Dungeons and Dragons #11 - 8,441 (-1.2%)
10/2011: Dungeons and Dragons #12 - 8,274 (-2.0%)
11/2011: Dungeons and Dragons #13 - 7,902 (-4.5%)
12/2011: Dungeons and Dragons #14 - 7,585 (-4.0%)

The two books are now selling within 50 copies of each other.

213. Dark Shadows (Dynamite)

11/2011: Dark Shadows #1 - 9,090
12/2011: Dark Shadows #2 - 7,407 (-18.5%)

A standard second issue drop.

214, 245, 275. Grimm Fairy Tales (Zenescope)

12/2007: Grimm Fairy Tales #25 - 8,500
12/2008: Grimm Fairy Tales #33 - 9,590
12/2009: Grimm Fairy Tales #43 - 10,246
12/2010: Grimm Fairy Tales #54 - 7,886 

====

01/2011: -
02/2011: Grimm Fairy Tales #55 - 8,897 (+12.8%)
03/2011: Grimm Fairy Tales #56 - 8,701 (-2.2%)
03/2011: Grimm Fairy Tales #57 - 7,096 (-18.4%)
04/2011: Grimm Fairy Tales #58 - 7,198 (+1.4%)
05/2011: Grimm Fairy Tales #59 - 8,356 (+16.1%)
06/2011: Grimm Fairy Tales #60 - 8,143 (-2.5%)
07/2011: Grimm Fairy Tales #61 - 7,777 (-4.5%)
08/2011: Grimm Fairy Tales #62 - 6,452 (-17%)
08/2011: Grimm Fairy Tales #63 - 8,086 (+25.3%)
09/2011: Grimm Fairy Tales #64 - 8,183 (+1.2%)
10/2011: GFT Halloween Special 2011 - 6,428 (-21.4%)
11/2011: Grimm Fairy Tales #65 - 6,389 (-0.6%)
12/2011: Grimm Fairy Tales #66 - 7,366 (+15.3%)
12/2011: Giant-Size Gft 2011 Holiday Ed - 5,592 (-24.1%)
12/2011: GFT Sinbad Special - 3,978

A return to the cheesecake covers bring a rise in sales, although two specials this month don’t fare that well.

215. Spongebob Comics (Bongo)

02/2011: Spongebob Comics #1 - 11,814
03/2011: -
04/2011: Spongebob Comics #2 – 8,930 (-24.4%)
05/2011: -
06/2011: Spongebob Comics #3 - 8,514 (-4.7%)
07/2011: -
08/2011: Spongebob Comics #4 - 7,889 (-7.3%)
09/2011: -
10/2011: Spongebob Comics #5 - 7,874 (-0.2%)
11/2011: -
12/2011: Spongebob Comics #6 - 7,334 (-6.9%)

Dropping again after last month’s flattening out.

216. The Strange Talent of Luther Strode (Image)

10/2011: The Strange Talent of Luther Strode  #1 - 8,338
11/2011: The Strange Talent of Luther Strode  #2 - 6,161 (-26.1%)
12/2011: The Strange Talent of Luther Strode  #3 - 7,312 (+18.7%)

As expected a big increase as sales catch up to orders on this enormously fun book.

217. Lady Death (Avatar)

12/2010: Lady Death #0 - 15,665

====

01/2011: Lady Death #1 - 14,023 (-10.5%)
02/2011: Lady Death #2 - 11,033 (-21.3%)
03/2011: Lady Death #3 - 10,801 (-2.1%)
04/2011: Lady Death #4 - 10,391 (-3.8%)
05/2011: Lady Death #5 - 9,656 (-7.1%)
06/2011: Lady Death #6 - 9,563 (-1.0%)
07/2011: Lady Death #7 - 8,945 (-6.4%)
08/2011: Lady Death #8 - 8,681 (-3.0%)
09/2011: Lady Death #9 - 8,127 (-6.4%)
09/2011: Lady Death Origins Annual #1 - 6,331 (-22.1%)
10/2011: Lady Death #10 - 7,997 (+26.3%)
11/2011: Lady Death #11 - 7,596 (-5.0%)
12/2011: Lady Death #12 - 7,288 (-4.1%)

Possibly maybe starting to level out, although I wouldn’t bet on it.

219. Doctor Who Ongoing (IDW)

12/2009: Doctor Who #6 - 7,448
12/2010: -

====

01/2011: Doctor Who Vol. 2 #1 - 8,843 (+42.7%)
02/2011: -
03/2011: Doctor Who Vol. 2 #2 - 7,461 (-15.6%)
03/2011: Doctor Who Vol. 2 #3 - 7,523 (+0.8%)
04/2011: Doctor Who Vol. 2 #4 - 7,477 (-0.6%)
05/2011: Doctor Who Vol. 2 #5 - 7,498 (+0.3%)
06/2011: Doctor Who Vol. 2 #6 - 7,580 (-1.1%)
07/2011: Doctor Who Vol. 2 #7 - 7,356 (-3.0%)
08/2011: Doctor Who Vol. 2 #8 - 7,480 (+1.7%)
08/2010: Doctor Who Annual 2011 - 6,453 (-13.7%)
09/2011: Doctor Who Vol. 2 #9 - 7,324 (+13.5%)
10/2011: Doctor Who Vol. 2 #10 - 7,481 (+2.1%)
11/2011: Doctor Who Vol. 2 #11 - 7,319 (-2.2%)
12/2011: Doctor Who Vol. 2 #12 - 7,200 (-1.6%)

Really pretty stable over the last year.

221. Memorial (IDW)

12/2011: Memorial #1 - 7,100

An okay start for the new fantasy series from Vertigo writer Chris Roberson.

222. Incorruptible (Boom)

12/2009: Incorruptible #1 - 15,710
12/2010: Incorruptible #13 - 8,701 

====

01/2011: Incorruptible #14 - 8,512 (-2.2%)
02/2011: Incorruptible #15 - 8,252 (-3.1%)
03/2011: Incorruptible #16 - 8,108 (-1.7%)
04/2011: Incorruptible #17 - 8,257 (+1.8%)
05/2011: Incorruptible #18 - 8,044 (-2.6%)
06/2011: Incorruptible #19 - 7,804 (-3.0%)
07/2011: Incorruptible #20 - 7,584 (-2.8%)
08/2011: Incorruptible #21 - 7,015 (-7.5%)
09/2011: Incorruptible #22 - 6,669 (-4.9%)
10/2011: Incorruptible #23 - 6,466 (-3.0%)
11/2011: Incorruptible #24 - 6,406 (-0.9%)
11/2011: Incorruptible #25 - 7,099 (+10.8%)

A big jump for the beginning of the crossover with Irredeemable.

223. Mega Man (Archie) 

05/2011: Mega Man #1 - 12,586
06/2011: Mega Man #2 - 7,713 (-38.7%)
07/2011: Mega Man #3 - 4,845 (-37.2%)
08/2011: Mega Man #4 - 8,900 (+83%)
09/2011: Mega Man #5 - 8,741 (-1.8%)
10/2011: Mega Man #6 - 7,474 (-14.5%)
11/2011: Mega Man #7 - 7,500 (+0.3%)
12/2011: Mega Man #8 - 7,092 (-5.4%)

Still struggling to find its level.

225, 226, 235. Hack Slash (Image)

12/2006: Hack Slash Slice Hard - 4,987
12/2007: -
12/2008: Hack Slash #18 (Devil’s Due) - 6,141
12/2009: -
12/2010: -

====

01/2011: Hack Slash: Me Without You - 7,496 (+27.3%)
02/2011: Hack Slash #1 - 10,553 (+40.8%)
03/2011: Hack Slash #2 - 8,483 (-19.6%)
04/2011: Hack Slash #3 - 8,554 (+0.8%)
05/2011: Hack Slash #4 - 8,449 (-1.2%)
06/2011: Hack Slash #5 - 8,666 (+2.6%)
07/2011: Hack Slash #6 - 8,201 (-5.4%)
08/2011: -
09/2011: Hack Slash #7 - 7,967 (-2.9%)
09/2011: Hack Slash #8 - 7,737 (-2.9%)
10/2011: -
11/2011: Hack Slash #9 - 7,907 (+2.2%)
12/2011: Hack Slash #10 - 7,033 (-11.0%)
12/2011: Hack Slash #11 - 6,974 (-0.8%)
12/2011: Hack Slash Annual 2011 - 6,637 (-4.8%)

Three issues this month, but all quite a way down on sales.

227. Mass Effect Invasion (Dark Horse)

01/2011: Evolution #1 – 8,944
02/2011: Evolution #2 - 7,825 (-12.5%)
03/2011: Evolution #3 - 7,675 (-1.9%)
04/2011: Evolution #4 - 7,815 (+1.8%)
05-09/2011: -
10/2011: Mass Effect Invasion #1 - 8,607 (+10.1%)
11/2011: Mass Effect Invasion #2 - 7,876 (-8.5%)
12/2011: Mass Effect Invasion #3 - 6,941 (-11.9%)

A slightly surprising drop, considering this book actually leads straight into the new game. It’ll be out in trade with the game though.

228. Sonic Universe (Archie) 

12/2009: Sonic Universe #11 - 6,697
12/2010: Sonic Universe #23 - 6,480 

====

01/2011: Sonic Universe #24 - 6,228 (-3.9%)
02/2011: Sonic Universe #25 - 6,464 (+3.8%)
03/2011: Sonic Universe #26 - 6,571 (+1.7%)
04/2011: Sonic Universe #27 - 6,636 (+1.0%)
05/2011: Sonic Universe #28 - 6,722 (+1.3%)
06/2011: Sonic Universe #29 - 6,917 (+2.9%)
07/2011: Sonic Universe #30 - 6,892 (-0.4%)
08/2011: Sonic Universe #31 - 7,038 (+2.1%)
09/2011: Sonic Universe #32 - 7,027 (-0.1%)
10/2011: Sonic Universe #33 - 7,244 (+3.1%)
11/2011: Sonic Universe #34 - 7,117 (-1.8%)
12/2011: Sonic Universe #35 - 6,912 (-2.9%)

Pretty stable.

170, 229. Vampirella (Dynamite)

12/2010: -

====

01/2011: Vampirella #2 - 17,531 (-40.0%)
02/2011: Vampirella #3 - 16,366 (-6.6%)
03/2011: Vampirella #4 - 15,765 (-3.7%)
04/2011: -
05/2011: Vampirella #5 - 14,702 (-6.7%)
06/2011: Vampirella #6 - 13,649 (-7.2%)
06/2011: Vampirella #7 - 13,645 (-0.0%)
07/2011: Vampirella #8 - 13,019 (-4.6%)
08/2011: Vampirella #9 - 12,459 (-4.3%)
09/2011: -
10/2011: Vampirella #10 - 11,581 (-7.0%)
10/2011: Vampirella #11 - 10,644 (-8.1%)
11/2011: -
12/2011: Vampirella #12 - 10,726 (+1.0%)
12/2011: Vampirella Annual #1 - 6,835 (-36.3%)

A slight increase for the series, while the annual lags behind a bit.

230. Fathom (Aspen)

06/2011: Fathom Primer #1 - 8,508
06/2011: Fathom Vol 4 #0 - 8,317 (-2.2%)
07/2011: Fathom Vol 4 #1 - 9,289 (+11.7%)
08/2011: -
09/2011: Fathom Vol 4 #2 - 7,579 (-18.4%)
10-11/2011: -
12/2011: Fathom Vol 4 #3 - 6,816 (-10.1%)

Dropping like a rock.

231. Simpsons Comics (Bongo)

12/2009: Simpsons Comics #161 - 7,414
12/2010: Simpsons Comics #173 - 7,065
====

01/2011: Simpsons Comics #174 - 6,776 (-4.1%)
02/2011: Simpsons Comics #175 - 6,896 (+1.8%)
03/2011: Simpsons Comics #176 - 6,874 (-0.3%)
04/2011: Simpsons Comics #177 - 6,837 (-0.5%)
05/2011: Simpsons Comics #178 - 6,991 (+2.2%)
06/2011: Simpsons Comics #179 - 6,913 (-1.1%)
07/2011: Simpsons Comics #180 - 6,705 (-3.0%)
08/2011: Simpsons Comics #181 - 6,796 (+1.3%)
09/2011: Simpsons Comics #182 - 6,808 (+0.2%)
10/2011: Simpsons Comics #183 - 6,893 (+1.2%)
11/2011: Simpsons Comics #184 - 6,853 (-0.6%)
12/2011: Simpsons Comics #185 - 6,796 (-0.8%)
12/2011: Simpsons Super Spectacular #14 - 4,481

Stable.

236. Orchid (Dark Horse)

10/2011: Orchid #1 -18,942
11/2011: Orchid #2 -7,868 (-58.5%)
12/2011: Orchid #3 -6,448 (-18.0%)

This isn’t finding a level at all, it’s not looking very good really.

237. Witch Doctor (Image)

06/2011: Witch Doctor #1 - 12,592
07/2011: Witch Doctor #2 - 7,410 (-41.2%)
08/2011: -
09/2011: Witch Doctor #3 - 7,659 (+3.4%)
10/2011: -
11/2011: Witch Doctor #4 - 7,651 (-0.1%)
12/2011: Witch Doctor Resuscitation One-Shot - 6,343 (-17.1%)

They almost certainly should have done this one-shot as a fifth issue, that drop off is awful. The first trade charts at a very respectable 25, with sales of 1,973.

238. Grimm Fairy Tales: Myths & Legends (Zenescope)

01/2011: Myths & Legends #1 - 12,679
02/2011: -
03/2011: Myths and Legends #2 - 8,018 (-36.8%)
03/2011: Myths and Legends #3 - 7,858 (-2.0%)
04/2011: -
05/2011: Myths and Legends #4 - 9,224 (+17.4%)
06/2011: Myths and Legends #5 - 7,612 (-17.5%)
07/2011: Myths and Legends #6 - 6,215 (-18.4%)
07/2011: Myths and Legends #7 - 6,215 (0.0%)
08/2011: -
09/2011: -
10/2011: Myths and Legends #8 - 6,983 (+12.4%)
11/2011: Myths and Legends #9 - 6,757 (-3.2%)
12/2011: Myths and Legends #10 - 6,242 (-7.6%)

Quite a big drop, but this is probably still okay by Zenescope standards.

240. Planet of the Apes (Boom!)

04/2011: Planet of the Apes #1 - 9,333
05/2011: Planet of the Apes #2 - 7,369 (-21.0%)
06/2011: Planet of the Apes #3 - 7,804 (+5.9%)
07/2011: Planet of the Apes #4 - 6,907 (-11.5%)
08/2011: Planet of the Apes #5 - 8,386 (+21.4%)
09/2011: Planet of the Apes #6 - 6,890 (-17.8%)
10/2011: Planet of the Apes #7 - 6,889 (0.0%)
11/2011: Planet of the Apes #8 - 6,607 (-4.1%)
12/2011: Planet of the Apes #9 - 6,110 (-7.5%)

247. Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes (Boom!)

11/2011: Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes #1 - 6,850
12/2011: Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes #2 - 5,473 (-20.1%)

The drops accelerate on the main book, while Betrayal has a fairly normal drop-off for a second issue, despite very good reviews.

241. Sergio Aragones Funnies (Bongo)

07/2011: Sergio Aragones Funnies #1 - 9,419
08/2011: Sergio Aragones Funnies #2 - 7,439 (-21.0%)
09/2011: Sergio Aragones Funnies #3 - 6,859 (-7.8%)
10/2011: Sergio Aragones Funnies #4 - 6,482 (-5.5%)
11/2011: Sergio Aragones Funnies #5 - 6,334 (-2.2%)
12/2011: Sergio Aragones Funnies #6 - 6,025 (-4.9%)

Not really stabilizing, I hope this gets some time to do so.

243. Darkness (Image)

12/2007: Darkness #1 - 24,048
12/2008: Darkness #72 - 12,843
12/2009: -
12/2010: Darkness #87 - 6,960

====

01/2011: Darkness #88 - 6,842 (-1.7%)
01/2011: Darkness #89 - 6,544 (-4.4%)
02/2011: -
03/2011: Darkness #90 - 6,482 (-0.9%)
04/2011: -
05/2011: -
06/2011: Darkness #91 - 6,207 (-4.2%)
07/2011: Darkness #92 - 5,971 (-3.8%)
08/2011: -
09/2011: Darkness #93 - 5,856 (-1.9%)
10/2011: Darkness #94 - 5,632 (-3.8%)
11/2011: Darkness #95 - 5,500 (-2.3%)
12/2011: Darkness #96 - 5,939 (+8.0%)

A nice increase, as the book heads towards #100 and David Hine coming onboard as writer.

248. Grimm Fairy Tales The Library (Zenescope)

09/2011: Grimm Fairy Tales The Library #1 - 6,255
10/2011: Grimm Fairy Tales The Library #2 - 5,679 (-9.2%)
11/2011: -
12/2011: Grimm Fairy Tales The Library #3 - 5,328 (-6.2%)

The drops slow a little.

249. PC Cast House of Night (Dark Horse)

11/2011: PC Cast House of Night #1 - 13,860
12/2011: PC Cast House of Night #2 - 5,315 (-61.6%)

That’s an awful drop, and it shipped in the middle of the month so that’s most of the sales.

250. Bart Simpson Comics (Bongo)

12/2010: Bart Simpson Comics #57 - 5,622 

====

01/2011: -
02/2011: Bart Simpson Comics #58 - 5,478 (-2.6%)
03/2011: -
04/2011: Bart Simpson Comics #59 - 5,490 (+2.2%)
05/2011: -
06/2011: Bart Simpson Comics #60 - 5,589 (+1.8%)
07/2011: Bart Simpson Comics #61 - 5,502 (-1.6%)
08/2011: Bart Simpson Comics #62 - 5,462 (-0.7%)
09/2011: Bart Simpson Comics #63 - 5,475 (+0.2%)
10/2011: Bart Simpson Comics #64 - 5,451 (-0.4%)
11/2011: Bart Simpson Comics #65 - 5,402 (-0.9%)
12/2011: Bart Simpson Comics #66 - 5,303 (-1.8%)

Stable.

253. The Activity (Image)

12/2011: The Activity #1 - 5,269

A new spy book, with an unknown creative team, so this isn’t too bad I guess.

254. Magdalena (Image)

12/2010: -

====

01/2011: -
02/2011: Magdalena #5 - 6,538 (-8.8%)
03/2011: -
04/2011: -
05/2011: Magdalena #6 - 6,325 (-3.3%)
06/2011: Magdalena #7 - 6,968 (+10.2%)
07/2011: -
08/2010: -
09/2011: Magdalena #8 - 6,551 (-6.0%)
10/2011: Magdalena #9 - 5,664 (-13.5%)
11/2011: -
12/2011: Magdalena #10 - 5,226 (-7.7%)

I think this has been cancelled with issue 12.

255. 30 Days of Night (IDW)

05/2011: Night Again #1 - 8,472
06/2011: Night Again #2 - 7,055 (-16.7%)
07/2011: Night Again #3 - 5,730 (-18.8%)
08/2011: Night Again #4 - 5,157 (-10.0%)
09/2011: -
10/2011: 30 Days of Night Ongoing #1 - 8,326 (+61.5%)
11/2011: 30 Days of Night Ongoing #2 - 6,429 (-22.8%)
12/2011: 30 Days of Night Ongoing #3 - 5,092 (-20.8%)

This has now dropped below the level the last series ended on, which is a bit criminal for a Sam Kieth comic.

256. Elric: The Balance Lost (Boom!)

07/2011: The Balance Lost #1 - 9,893
08/2011: The Balance Lost #2 - 6,643 (-32.8%)
09/2011: The Balance Lost #3 - 6,345 (-4.4%)
10/2011: The Balance Lost #4 - 5,758 (-9.3%)
11/2011: The Balance Lost #5 - 5,409 (-6.1%)
12/2011: The Balance Lost #6 - 4,928 (-8.9%)

Showing no sign of settling down.

257. Savage Dragon (Image)

12/2010: Savage Dragon #167 - 4,790 

====

01/2011: Savage Dragon #168 - 4,880 (+1.9%)
02/2011: Savage Dragon #169 - 4,786 (-1.9%)
03/2011: Savage Dragon #170 - 4,853 (+1.4%)
04/2011: -
05/2011: -
06/2011: Savage Dragon #171 - 4,888 (+0.7%)
07/2011: -
08/2011: Savage Dragon #172 - 4,717 (-3.5%)
08/2011: Savage Dragon #173 - 4,712 (-0.1%)
09/2011:
10/2011: Savage Dragon #174 - ???? (???)
11/2011: Savage Dragon #175 - 4,986 (???)
11/2011: Savage Dragon #176 - 4,583 (-8.1%)
12/2011: Savage Dragon #177 - 4,923 (+7.4%)

Finishing the year selling better than the start, a cheeky Osama Bin Laden cover spears to have brought some extra sales.

259. Cold War (IDW)

12/2010: Next Men #1 - 13,204

====

01/2011: Next Men #2 - 8,882 (-32.7%)
02/2011: Next Men #3 - 8,568 (-3.5%)
03/2011: Next Men #4 - 8,395 (-2.0%)
04/2011: Next Men #5 - 8,525 (+1.5%)
05/2011: Next Men #6 - 8,387 (-1.6%)
06/2011: Next Men #7 - 8,090 (-3.5%)
07/2011: Next Men #8 - 7,817 (-3.4%)
08/2011: Next Men #9 - 7,651 (-2.1%)
09/2011: -
10/2011: Cold War #1 - 7,934
11/2011: Cold War #2 - 5,881 (-25.9%)
12/2011: Cold War #3 - 4,708 (-20.0%)

I would think those are the lowest sales Byrne’s ever had for a book he created all by himself.

261. 68 (Sixty Eight) (Image)

04/2011: 68 #1 - 6,149
05/2011: 68 #2 - 5,553 (-9.7%)
06/2011: -
07/2011: -
08/2011: - 68 #3 - 5,954 (+7.2%)
09/2011: -
10/2011: -
11/2011:  Hardship One-Shot - 5,051 (-15.2%)
12/2011: Jungle Jim One Shot - 4,627 (-8.4%)

Looks like the shine is off this book.

263. Kull (Dark Horse)

12/2010: The Hate Witch #2 - 6,745 (-24.2%)

====

01/2011: The Hate Witch #3 - 6,290 (-6.7%)
02/2011: The Hate Witch #4 - 6,018 (-4.3%)
03-09/2011: -
10/2011: The Cat & The Skull #1 - 6,249 (+3.8%)
11/2011: The Cat & The Skull #2 - 5,186 (-17.0%)
12/2011: The Cat & The Skull #3 - 4,610 (-11.1%)

I believe Dark Horse are resting the title again after the next issue.

267. HP Lovecraft The Dunwich Horror (IDW)

10/2011: Dunwich Horror #1 - 5,802
11/2011: Dunwich Horror #2 - 4,906 (-15.4%)
12/2011: Dunwich Horror #3 - 4,445 (-9.4%)

Not great sales, but this will probably do well as a collection.

 269. Rachel Rising (Abstract) 

12/2010: Echo #26 - 8,722 (+0.3%)

====

01/2011: Echo #27 - 6,675 (-23.5%)
02/2011: Echo #28 - 7,995 (+19.8%)
03/2011: Echo #29 - 8,016 (+0.3%)
04/2011: -
05/2011: -
06/2011: Echo #30 - 8,340 (+4.0%)
07/2011: -
08/2011: Rachel Rising #1 - 10,989 (+31.8%)
09/2011: Rachel Rising #2 - 8,189 (-25.5%)
10/2011: -
11/2011: Rachel Rising #3 - 8,872 (+8.3%)
12/2011: Rachel Rising #4 - 4,331 (-51.2%)

Okay, well this is definitely a glitch. It’s not even on Diamond’s shipping list till January, so some copies must have gotten out early. Hopefully they’ll show up on next month’s chart.

270. Warehouse 13 (Dynamite)

08/2011: Warehouse 13 #1 - 5,380
09/2011: -
10/2011: Warehouse 13 #2 - ???? (???)
11/2011: -
12/2011: Warehouse 13 #3 - 4,280 (???)

It missed the chart last month (and there are a lot of these from here on), but overall seems to be holding out relatively well from the first issue.

271. Veronica (Archie)

12/2010: Veronica #204 - ???? (???)

====

01/2011: -
02/2011: -
03/2011: Veronica #205 - ???? (???)
04/2011: -
05/2011: Veronica #206 - ???? (???)
06/2011: Veronica #207 - 5,913 (???)
07/2011: -
08/2011: Veronica #208 (Veronica presents Kevin Kellar #2 - 5,981 (+1.1%)
09/2011: -
10/2011: Veronica #209 (Veronica presents Kevin Kellar #3 - ???? (???)
11/2011: -
12/2011: Veronica #210 (Veronica presents Kevin Kellar #3 - 4,228 (???)

Archie’s first gay lead character seems to have increased sales, watch out for a huge spike when he features in Archie’s first gay wedding issue in a couple of months time.

274. The Theater #1

10/2011: The Theater #1 - 5,469
11/2011: The Theater #2 - 4,374 (-20.0%)
12/2011: The Theater #3 - 3,984 (-8.9%)

An okay third issue drop.

277. Zorro Rides Again (Dynamite)

03/2011: Death of Zorro #1 - 9,220
04/2011: Death of Zorro #2 - 7,309 (-20.7%)
05/2011: Death of Zorro #3 - 7,187 (-1.7%)
06/2011: Death of Zorro #4 - 6,634 (-7.7%)
07/2011: -
08/2011: Zorro Rides Again #1 - 6,569 (-1.0%)
08/2011: Zorro Rides Again #2 - 5,740 (-12.6%)
09/2011: Zorro Rides Again #3 - 5,274 (-8.1%)
10/2011: Zorro Rides Again #4 - ???? (???)
11/2011: Zorro Rides Again #5 - ???? (???)
12/2011: Zorro Rides Again #6 - 3,908 (???)

There’s another six issues of this to come, heaven knows how low sales will be by then.

279. War Goddess (Avatar)

08/2011: War Goddess #0 - 8,427
08/2011: War Goddess #1 - 5,789 (-31.3%)
09/2011: War Goddess #2 - ???? (???)
10/2011: War Goddess #3 - ???? (???)
11/2011: -
12/2011: War Goddess #4 - 3,842 (???)

This seems to have gone bi-monthly, and I suspect it hasn’t got much future.

280. Last of The Greats (Image)

10/2011: Last of The Greats #1 - 7,338
11/2011: Last of The Greats #2 - ???? (???)
12/2011: Last of The Greats #3 - 3,840 (???)

It’s dropped almost half it’s sales, probably a bit disappointing.

281. Atomic Robo (Red 5)

12/2010: Deadly Art of Science #2 - 3,880 (-11.0%)

====

01/2011: -
02/2011: Deadly Art of Science #3 - 3,791 (-2.3%)
02/2011: Deadly Art of Science #4 - 3,653 (-3.6%)
03/2011: -
04/2011: -
05/2011: Deadly Art of Science #5 - 3,666 (+0.4%)
06/2011: -
07/2011: -
08/2011: -
09/2011: Ghost of Station X #1 - 4,456 (+21.5%)
10/2011: Ghost of Station X #2 - ???? (???)
11/2011: Ghost of Station X #3 - ???? (???)
12/2011: Ghost of Station X #4 - 3,821 (???)

Although it’s mssed the chart the last couple of months it would appear that Atomic Robo is selling better than ever this series.

283. Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time (Dynamite)

12/2010: Eye of the World #7 - 4,680 (-11.9%)

====

01/2011: -
02/2011: Eye of the World #8 - 4,499 (-3.9%)
03/2011: -
04/2011: Eye of the World #9 - 4,469 (-0.7%)
05/2011: Eye of the World #10 - 4,276 (-4.3%)
06/2011: -
07/2011: Eye of the World #11 - 4,288 (+0.3%)
08/2011: -
09/2011: Eye of the World #12 - 4,212 (-1.8%)
09/2011: Eye of the World #13 - 3,973 (-5.7%)
10/2011: Eye of the World #14 - ???? (???)
10/2011: Eye of the World #15 - ???? (???)
11/2011: Eye of the World #16 - ???? (???)
11/2011: Eye of the World #17 - ???? (???)
12/2011: Eye of the World #18 - 3,702 (???)

Although this has also missed the charts in the last couple of months, sales seem very stable.

284. Shonen Jump (Viz)

12/2010: Shonen Jump January 2011 - ???? (???)

====

01/2011: Shonen Jump February 2011 - 2,809 (???)
02/2011: Shonen Jump March 2011 - 4,148 (+47.7%)
03/2011: Shonen Jump April 2011 #100 - ???? (???)
04/2011: Shonen Jump May 2011 - ???? (???)
05/2011: Shonen Jump June July 2011- 3,034 (???)
06/2011: Shonen Jump August 2011 - ???? (???)
07/2011: -
08/2011: Shonen Jump September 2011 - ???? (???)
09/2011: Shonen Jump October/ November 2011 - ???? (???)
10/2011: Shonen Jump December 2011 - ???? (???)
11/2011: -
12/2011: Shonen Jump January 2012 - 3,690 (???)

This has been cancelled as of the March 2012 issue, it would appear the much vaunted 200,000 subscribers have mostly vanished. It’s taking several of the more popular series into an online iteration.

285. The Occultist (Dark Horse)

11/2011: The Occultist #1 - 5,701
12/2011: The Occultist #2 - 3,645 (-36.1%)

Sort of predictable, this didn’t get a lot of promotion and is rather forgettable.

286. Key of Z (Boom!)

10/2011: Key of Z #1 - ???? (???)
11/2011: Key of Z #2 - ???? (???)
12/2011: Key of Z #3 - 3,636 (???)

Despite the impenetrability of writer Claudio Sanchez’s Coheed & Cambria tie-in comics, this was a really good zombie book, with some excellent artwork. It probably would have done better a few years ago, but hopefully will do well when collected.

287. Pigs (Image)

09/2011: Pigs #1 - 7,546
10/2011: Pigs #2 - ???? (???)
11/2011: Pigs #3 - ???? (???)
12/2011: Pigs #4 - 3,587 (???)

This isn’t doing too well at all, but to frank it’s a bit disappointing.

288. Blue Estate (Image)

04/2011: Blue Estate #1 – 5,926
05/2011: Blue Estate #2 – 5,694 (-3.9%)
06/2011: Blue Estate #3 – 5,323 (-6.5%)
07/2011: Blue Estate #4 – 4,950 (-7.0%)
07/2011: Blue Estate #5 – 4,514 (-8.8%)
08/2011: -
09/2011: -
10/2011: Blue Estate #6 – ???? (???)
11/2011: Blue Estate #7 – ???? (???)
12/2011: Blue Estate #8 – 3,538 (???)

I thought this was a miniseries, but it seems to keep going. Sadly Butcher Baker Righteous Maker, which launched at the same time, seems to have dropped off the map.

289. Monocyte (IDW)

11/2011: Monocyte #1 - ???? (???)
12/2011: Monocyte #2 - 3,508 (???)

A weird painted horror series that seems to be quite hard to read.

290. Extinction Seed (GG Studio)

10/2011 - Extinction Seed #0 - ????
11/2011: -
12/2011: Extinction Seed #1 - 3,473 (???)

This was brilliant - GG Studio had huge ads in the back of Extinction Seed #0, saying “Issue #1, Guaranted to Ship in November”, spelt exactly that way. And then it shipped in December.

291. Hawken (IDW)

11/2011: Hawken #1 - 4,941
12/2011: Hawken #2 - 3,360 (-32.0%)

Quite a bad second issue drop, but this was always going to be a niche project.

294. Samurai’s Blood (Image)

06/2011: Samurai’s Blood #1 - 7,312
07/2011: Samurai’s Blood #2 - 4,007 (-45.2%)
08/2011: Samurai’s Blood #3 - ???? (???)
09/2011: Samurai’s Blood #4 -3,412 (???)
10/2011: Samurai’s Blood #5 -???? (???)
11/2011: -
12/2011: Samurai’s Blood #6 - 3,206 (???)

Seems to be holding up okay at this level, even if it does seem to regularly miss the chart.

296. 7 Warriors (Boom)

11/2011: 7 Warriors #1 - 4,710
12/2011: 7 Warriors #2 - 3,191 (-32.2%)

Another pretty bad drop, but this is a reprint of a French comic, so probably pretty cheap to publish.

Knights of the Dinner Table (Kenzer Co)

12/2010: Knights of the Dinner Table #169 - ???? (???)

====

01/2011: Knights of the Dinner Table #170 - 1,623 (???)
02/2011: Knights of the Dinner Table #171 - 3,436 (+111.7%)
03/2011: Knights of the Dinner Table #172 - ???? (???)
04/2011: Knights of the Dinner Table #173 - 3,408
05/2011: Knights of the Dinner Table #174 - ???? (???)
06/2011: Knights of the Dinner Table #175 - ???? (???)
07/2011: Knights of the Dinner Table #176 - ???? (???)
08/2011: Knights of the Dinner Table #177 - ???? (???)
09/2011: Knights of the Dinner Table #178 - ???? (???)
10/2011: Knights of the Dinner Table #179 - ???? (???)
11/2011: Knights of the Dinner Table #180 - ???? (???)
12/2011: Knights of the Dinner Table #181 - 3,181 (???)

Obviously it’s very difficult to say anything much about the sales, but Jolly Blackburn’s RPG comic/ magazine has been going for a very long time now, so you’ve got to give him props.

298. Thought Bubble Anthology (Image)

12/2011: Thought Bubble Anthology #1 - 3,177

Produced to tie-in with the Leeds, UK convention Thought Bubble, this is a Wednesday Comics style anthology in that format, with creators such as Antony Johnson and Charlie Adlard joining some slightly more amateur local creators.

299. Blood Red Dragon (Image)

10/2011: Blood Red Dragon #0 - ????
11/2011: Blood Red Dragon #1 - 4,367 (???)
12/2011: Blood Red Dragon #2 - 3,127 (???)

This only has a print run of 5,000 copies, but doesn’t even seem to be selling that.

300. Near Death (Image)

09/2011: Near Death #1 - 5,922
10/2011: Near Death #2 - ???? (???)
11/2011: Near Death #3 - ???? (???)
12/2011: Near Death #4 - 3,105 (???)

I don’t really know anything about this series other than it’s written by Jay Faerber. Not doing too well though.

======

All figures on this chart are estimates for comics sold by Diamond to direct market retailers. They include reorders that shipped in the same month. Books shipping in the first week of a month will have more time for reorders to appear than ones shipping in the last week of the month, when reorders will slip to the following month.

by Marc-Oliver Frisch

Sales of the “New 52″ books show no sign of stabilization, four issues into DC’s big relaunch. The average “New 52″ title dropped by 17.4% in December, versus 19.6% in November and 5.2% in October.

The only “New 52″ titles with single-digit drops in December are Aquaman (6.0%), Teen Titans (9.6%) and Batman: The Dark Knight (9.7%). The three “New 52″ titles with the biggest fourth-issue drops are Static Shock (28.2%), Mister Terrific (29.0%) and Men of War (30.0%). Overall, there are 18 “New 52″ titles with drops in excess of 20% in December, down from 22 in November. The lack of re-orders on the chart also suggests that the sheen is off the “New 52.” Whereas 51 of the debut issues made the chart again in October, only two of the second issues charted again in November. In December, none of the third issues made the chart again.

The average drop-off in first-month sales since issue #1 for the “New 52″ books is 36.4%, as of December. The three titles with the smallest overall drop-off are Animal Man (7.4%), Detective Comics (13.5%) and Nightwing (17.6%). The three titles with the largest overall drop-off are Blackhawks (58.0%), Mister Terrific (56.7%) and Men of War (55.6%). Only 7 of the “New 52″ titles display an overall drop-off of less than 20%, while 9 of them have already lost more than 50% of their debut first-month sales.

As you may have heard, Hawk & Dove, O.M.A.C., Mister Terrific, Static Shock, Blackhawks and Men of War are getting the axe at issue #8 and are to be replaced with six other titles in May. With the exception of Hawk & Dove, which still narrowly outsells Captain Atom, those are the six lowest-selling “New 52″ titles in December, so they would seem to be logical choices. Ignoring Captain Atom, which dropped below that mark in December but remains ongoing for the time being, it appears that 20K is the new baseline expectation for DC Universe titles.

The thing is, there’s a quite substantial number of “New 52″ books that aren’t doing much better than the ones that are being cancelled. In November, 12 of the “New 52″ were selling below the 30K mark. In December, it’s 22. And out of the 16 of those that have not been cancelled, 9 are already selling below 25K.

Nor are the six post-”New 52″ DC Universe launches doing any better. The best-selling one of them, The Huntress, sold an estimated 25,215 copies in December. Only two more managed to crack 20K. The latest, The Ray, launched with estimated sales of 17,779 in December. If it weren’t a four-issue miniseries to begin with, the book would be dead on arrival, by DC’s new standards.

So it’s odd for DC to readjust their baseline expectations at this early stage of the relaunch. The way things look right now, their overall numbers may be back to pre-”New 52″ levels in a few months. The average DC Universe book has dropped by almost 30K since September and remains ahead of its June level by fewer than 11K, at this stage (see below for the statistics). It’s possible that DC’s plan to apply the “New 52″ brand to six new titles in May 2012 will get people to pay attention once again, but I wouldn’t bet on it. It looks more like any new titles will have to succeed or fail on their own merits, the same as before the “New 52″ relaunch.

In other news, it appears that the lower-selling among the “New 52″ books are also the ones with the largest drops. (The one notable exception is All Star Western, which displayed the 5th-lowest drop in December, despite being the No. 31 “New 52″ title on the chart.) A possible explanation for this phenomenon may be that the conditions for DC’s retailer incentives (see below), which are continuing through April, are favoring higher-selling titles. After all, the more copies of a given title you can sell to begin with, the lower the risk involved in meeting the thresholds required to qualify for variant covers, discounts or returnability. (And, yes, even returnable books come with risks for retailers. DC charges a fee for each returned unit, and the process of returning them also requires time and man-power.)

Consequently, the incentives probably aren’t as much of a distorting factor as Marvel’s lead percussionist Tom Brevoort makes them out to be, at this stage. By the time DC drops the incentives, I don’t expect many retailers will be left using them, anyway.

As usual, please consider the small print at the end of the column. Thanks to Milton Griepp and ICv2.com for the permission to use their figures. An overview of ICv2.com’s estimates can be found here.

And, once again, two procedural notes on the “New 52.”

One: The fact that 41 of the “New 52″ titles below are listed with higher numbers than over at ICv2.com is not an error. It’s because Diamond only reported 90% of their sales on the chart, to compensate for the fact that they were made returnable by DC if retailers met a specific quota. Since Diamond’s way of accounting for the incentive seems fairly arbitrary, I’ve re-added the missing 10% for those books to get a more accurate picture. Just keep in mind that those numbers probably wouldn’t have been as high if retailers weren’t required to meet a certain threshold to qualify for returnability. It’s just one more gimmick that publishers use. (As another result of this, don’t be surprised if the chart positions are all over the place, by the way.)

Two: Of the 11 remaining “New 52″ books, Batman, Justice League, Action Comics, Green Lantern and Flash have been promoted with multiple variant-cover editions, including 1:200 ones, that are likely to have boosted sales, as well. Special discounts, which also required retailers to meet a certain unit threshold, apply to Batwoman, Green Lantern: New Guardians, Stormwatch, Swamp Thing, Teen Titans and Wonder Woman, meanwhile. I’ll just mention those here, so keep in mind that these promotional initiatives are likely to have affected the numbers of those books. Whether it affected them more than the thresholds for returnability affected the other 41 titles, or less so, we have no way of knowing.

—–

1 - JUSTICE LEAGUE
12/2006: Justice League #4   -- 136,709 [139,123]
12/2006: Justice League #5   -- 132,460 [133,924]
12/2007: Justice League #15  -- 100,234
12/2007: Justice League #16  --  95,557
12/2008: Justice League #27  --  75,803
12/2009: Justice League #40  --  68,672
---------------------------------------
12/2010: JL of America #52   --  48,501 (-  4.7%)
01/2011: JL of America #53   --  47,093 (-  2.9%)
02/2011: JL of America #54   --  46,269 (-  1.8%)
03/2011: JL of America #55   --  50,533 (+  9.2%)
04/2011: JL of America #56   --  47,179 (-  6.6%)
05/2011: JL of America #57   --  46,729 (-  1.0%)
06/2011: JL of America #58   --  45,442 (-  2.8%)
07/2011: JL of America #59   --  43,545 (-  4.2%)
08/2011: JL of America #60   --  42,587 (-  2.2%)
08/2011: Justice League #1   -- 185,776 (+336.2%) [255,556]
09/2011: --
10/2011: Justice League #2   -- 196,569 (+  5.8%)
11/2011: Justice League #3   -- 168,679 (- 14.2%)
12/2011: Justice League #4   -- 149,314 (- 11.5%)
-----------------
6 months: +228.6%
1 year  : +207.9%
2 years : +117.4%
5 years : + 10.9%

The flagship title of the “New 52″ loses almost 20K, but still remains ahead of the next book on the chart by more than 15K. As the five-year comparison shows, Justice League also still outsells its previous incarnation. The 7,068 units of the $4.99 Combo Pack edition that charted at No. 224 are included in the December number.
—–

2 - BATMAN
12/2006: Batman #660 --  76,967
12/2006: Batman #661 --  75,512
12/2007: Batman #672 --  71,189
12/2008: Batman #682 --  93,469
12/2009: Batman #694 --  65,908
-------------------------------
12/2010: Batman #705 --  63,262 (-  3.0%)
01/2011: Batman #706 --  60,231 (-  4.8%)
02/2011: Batman #707 --  58,803 (-  2.4%)
03/2011: Batman #708 --  58,594 (-  0.4%)
04/2011: Batman #709 --  56,578 (-  3.4%)
05/2011: Batman #710 --  55,086 (-  2.6%)
06/2011: Batman #711 --  53,113 (-  3.6%)
07/2011: Batman #712 --  51,385 (-  3.3%)
08/2011: Batman #713 --  51,760 (+  0.7%)
09/2011: Batman #1   -- 188,420 (+264.0%) [211,520]
10/2011: Batman #2   -- 172,428 (-  8.5%) [177,721]
11/2011: Batman #3   -- 150,984 (- 12.4%)
12/2011: Batman #4   -- 133,781 (- 11.4%)
-----------------
6 months: +151.9%
1 year  : +111.5%
2 years : +103.0%
5 years : + 75.5%

Likewise, Batman loses close to 20,000 units, but stays above Action Comics by more than 15,000. Writer Scott Snyder is one of the big winners of the “New 52″ relaunch, which DC is exploiting by making his book the launch pad of a big crossover.
—–

3 - ACTION COMICS
12/2006: --
12/2007: Action Comics #860 --  56,254
12/2008: Action Comics #872 --  57,175
12/2009: Action Comics #884 --  31,873
--------------------------------------
12/2010: Action Comics #896 --  32,357 (-  2.2%)
01/2011: Action Comics #897 --  32,134 (-  0.7%)
02/2011: Action Comics #898 --  31,935 (-  0.6%)
03/2011: Action Comics #899 --  31,808 (-  0.4%)
04/2011: Action Comics #900 --  60,152 (+ 89.1%) [ 73,004]
05/2011: Action Comics #901 --  44,143 (- 26.6%)
06/2011: Action Comics #902 --  41,960 (-  5.0%)
07/2011: Action Comics #903 --  40,205 (-  4.2%)
08/2011: Action Comics #904 --  39,323 (-  2.2%)
09/2011: Action Comics #1   -- 182,748 (+364.7%) [200,947]
10/2011: Action Comics #2   -- 153,855 (- 15.8%)
11/2011: Action Comics #3   -- 134,875 (- 12.3%)
12/2011: Action Comics #4   -- 112,839 (- 16.3%)
-----------------
6 months: +168.9%
1 year  : +248.7%
2 years : +254.0%
5 years :  n.a.

Action Comics is the 3rd-best-selling “New 52″ book overall, but displays the biggest percentage drop among the 17 top-selling “New 52″ titles in December. The lack of a consistent art team may be hampering the book’s performance.
—–

4 - GREEN LANTERN
12/2006: --
12/2007: Green Lantern #25  --  90,545
12/2007: Green Lantern #26  --  69,986
12/2008: Green Lantern #36  --  64,755 [ 74,005]
12/2009: Green Lantern #49  --  97,285
--------------------------------------
12/2010: Green Lantern #60  --  76,360 (+ 0.3%)
12/2010: Green Lantern #61  --  72,203 (- 5.4%)
01/2011: --
02/2011: Green Lantern #62  --  71,517 (- 1.0%)
03/2011: Green Lantern #63  --  75,632 (+ 5.8%)
03/2011: Green Lantern #64  --  76,898 (+ 1.7%)
04/2011: Green Lantern #65  --  75,780 (- 1.5%)
05/2011: Green Lantern #66  --  75,371 (- 0.5%)
06/2011: --
07/2011: Green Lantern #67  --  74,521 (- 1.1%)
08/2011: --
09/2011: Green Lantern #1   -- 141,682 (+90.1%) [169,159]
10/2011: Green Lantern #2   -- 142,344 (+ 0.5%)
11/2011: Green Lantern #3   -- 122,644 (-13.8%)
12/2011: Green Lantern #4   -- 104,199 (-15.0%)
-----------------
6 months:  n.a.
1 year  : + 40.3%
2 years : +  7.1%
5 years :  n.a.

Quickly dropping back towards its previous level. Given that the Green Lantern franchise was in rock-solid shape before the relaunch and the creative team remains the same, though, an increase of 20K versus July is still more than decent.
—–

6 - DETECTIVE COMICS
12/2006: Detective Comics #826 --  59,657
12/2006: Detective Comics #827 --  55,031
12/2007: Detective Comics #839 --  62,297 [65,773]
12/2008: Detective Comics #851 --  64,961
12/2009: Detective Comics #860 --  52,295
-----------------------------------------
12/2010: Detective Comics #872 --  37,961 (+  2.8%) [ 39,758]
01/2011: Detective Comics #873 --  38,417 (+  1.2%)
02/2011: Detective Comics #874 --  39,106 (+  1.8%)
03/2011: Detective Comics #875 --  40,047 (+  2.4%)
04/2011: Detective Comics #876 --  40,133 (+  0.2%)
05/2011: Detective Comics #877 --  39,609 (-  1.3%)
06/2011: Detective Comics #878 --  39,152 (-  1.2%)
07/2011: Detective Comics #879 --  39,185 (+  0.1%)
07/2011: Detective Comics #880 --  38,585 (-  1.5%)
08/2011: Detective Comics #881 --  39,729 (+  3.0%)
09/2011: Detective Comics #1   -- 114,880 (+189.2%) [154,427]
10/2011: Detective Comics #2   -- 123,099 (+  7.2%)
11/2011: Detective Comics #3   -- 111,197 (-  9.7%)
12/2011: Detective Comics #4   --  99,366 (- 10.6%)
-----------------
6 months: +153.8%
1 year  : +161.8%
2 years : + 90.0%
5 years : + 73.3%

Dropping below 100K. But Detective Comics still massively outsells both its pre-relaunch version and writer/artist Tony Daniel’s pre-”New 52″ stint on Batman. It’s another book that’s profiting considerably from the relaunch. The first issue went into its fourth printing and sold another 4,024 units in re-orders, meanwhile — it’s the only DC title that made the chart again in December.
—–

9 - BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT
12/2010: Dark Knight #1  --  89,985           [ 92,791]
01/2011: --
02/2011: --
03/2011: Dark Knight #2  --  71,108 (- 21.0%)
04/2011: --
05/2011: --
06/2011: --
07/2011: Dark Knight #3  --  62,792 (- 11.7%)
07/2011: Dark Knight #4  --  57,333 (-  8.7%)
08/2011: Dark Knight #5  --  52,908 (-  7.7%)
09/2011: Dark Knight #1  -- 109,321 (+106.6%) [128,689]
10/2011: Dark Knight #2  -- 100,494 (-  8.1%)
11/2011: Dark Knight #3  --  87,133 (- 13.3%)
12/2011: Dark Knight #4  --  78,689 (-  9.7%)
-----------------
6 months:  n.a.
1 year  : - 12.6%

The David Finch vehicle is, along with Green Arrow, among the first two “New 52″ titles with a negative 12-month comparison.

Then again, the comparison is with issue #1 of the book’s previous run, in this case, which was also by Finch. Compared with issue #4 of that series, the “New 52″ version still wins by more than 20K units, so it’s another title that’s profited quite noticeably from the relaunch.
—–

8 - THE FLASH
12/2006: Flash: FMA #7   --  53,600
12/2007: Flash #235      --  43,788
12/2008: Flash #247      --  26,498
12/2009: --
-----------------------------------
12/2010: Flash #7        --  56,304 (-  2.4%)
12/2010: Flash #8        --  53,975 (-  4.1%)
01/2011: --
02/2011: Flash #9        --  55,980 (+  3.7%)
03/2011: --
04/2011: Flash #10       --  54,953 (-  1.8%)
04/2011: Flash #11       --  54,633 (-  0.6%)
05/2011: Flash #12       --  54,914 (+  0.5%)
06/2011: --
07/2011: --
08/2011: --
09/2011: Flash #1        -- 129,260 (+135.4%) [147,818]
10/2011: Flash #2        -- 114,137 (- 11.7%)
11/2011: Flash #3        --  90,417 (- 20.8%)
12/2011: Flash #4        --  77,336 (- 14.5%)
-----------------
6 months:  n.a.
1 year  : + 40.3%
2 years :  n.a.
5 years : + 44.3%

The last Flash #4 sold an estimated 64,832 units in July 2010, with the same art team and with superstar writer Geoff Johns at the wheel. So, once again, the relaunch is paying off. On the downside, the book’s overall drop-off since September has been a steep 40.2%.
—–

10 - SUPERMAN
12/2006: --
12/2007: Superman #671 --  45,290
12/2008: Superman #683 --  55,287
12/2009: Superman #695 --  32,482
---------------------------------
12/2010: Superman #706 --  43,027 (-  7.0%)
01/2011: Superman #707 --  41,843 (-  2.8%)
02/2011: Superman #708 --  40,639 (-  2.9%)
03/2011: Superman #709 --  39,846 (-  2.0%)
04/2011: Superman #710 --  39,644 (-  0.5%)
05/2011: Superman #711 --  38,471 (-  3.0%)
06/2011: Superman #712 --  37,362 (-  2.9%)
07/2011: Superman #713 --  36,646 (-  1.9%)
08/2011: Superman #714 --  35,919 (-  2.0%)
09/2011: Superman #1   -- 131,529 (+266.2%) [150,128]
10/2011: Superman #2   -- 104,703 (- 20.4%)
11/2011: Superman #3   --  86,386 (- 17.5%)
12/2011: Superman #4   --  76,532 (- 11.4%)
-----------------
6 months: +104.8%
1 year  : + 77.9%
2 years : +135.6%
5 years :  n.a.

The secondary Superman title remains way ahead of its previous incarnation, and the numbers appear to be levelling out. Like Flash, though, Superman isn’t doing well in terms of overall drop-off: It lost 41.8% since issue #1, in first-month sales.
—–

11 - BATMAN AND ROBIN
12/2009: --
----------------------------------------
12/2010: Batman and Robin #18 --  68,814 (- 2.5%)
01/2011: Batman and Robin #19 --  61,785 (-10.2%)
02/2011: Batman and Robin #20 --  60,642 (- 1.9%)
03/2011: Batman and Robin #21 --  59,818 (- 1.4%)
04/2011: Batman and Robin #22 --  59,076 (- 1.2%)
05/2011: Batman and Robin #23 --  57,525 (- 2.6%)
06/2011: Batman and Robin #24 --  54,984 (- 4.4%)
07/2011: Batman and Robin #25 --  55,172 (+ 0.3%)
08/2011: Batman and Robin #26 --  52,704 (- 4.5%)
09/2011: Batman and Robin #1  --  94,713 (+79.7%) [116,053]
10/2011: Batman and Robin #2  --  98,807 (+ 4.3%)
11/2011: Batman and Robin #3  --  86,309 (-12.7%)
12/2011: Batman and Robin #4  --  76,000 (-11.9%)
----------------
6 months: +38.2%
1 year  : +10.4%
2 years :  n.a.

Another book that’s not quite levelling out, but still handsomely outsells its pre-relaunch incarnation.
—–

14 - AQUAMAN
09/2011: Aquaman #1  -- 80,302          [108,545]
10/2011: Aquaman #2  -- 79,156 (- 1.4%) [ 83,626]
11/2011: Aquaman #3  -- 69,137 (-12.7%)
12/2011: Aquaman #4  -- 64,961 (- 6.0%)

Aquaman was the “New 52″ title with the smallest fourth-issue drop in December. These are fantastic numbers for a B-list book, obviously. To a degree, this was to be expected, given that it’s by the creative team of Blackest Night. Still, the mild overall drop-off suggests that Johns and Reis are connecting with the audience.
—–

23 - BATGIRL
12/2008: Batgirl #6 of 6 -- 20,750
12/2009: Batgirl #5      -- 32,482
----------------------------------
12/2010: Batgirl #16     -- 25,225 (-  2.3%)
01/2011: Batgirl #17     -- 25,189 (-  0.1%)
02/2011: Batgirl #18     -- 24,390 (-  3.2%)
03/2011: Batgirl #19     -- 24,821 (+  1.8%)
04/2011: Batgirl #20     -- 24,310 (-  2.1%)
05/2011: Batgirl #21     -- 24,043 (-  1.1%)
06/2011: Batgirl #22     -- 23,323 (-  3.0%)
07/2011: Batgirl #23     -- 22,619 (-  3.0%)
08/2011: Batgirl #24     -- 22,695 (+  0.3%)
09/2011: Batgirl #1      -- 90,543 (+299.0%) [107,055]
10/2011: Batgirl #2      -- 83,586 (-  7.7%)
11/2011: Batgirl #3      -- 69,971 (- 16.3%)
12/2011: Batgirl #4      -- 59,972 (- 14.3%)
-----------------
6 months: +157.1%
1 year  : +137.8%
2 years : + 84.6%

Another title that hasn’t found its level yet. Batgirl is still moving more than twice as many units as its pre-”New 52″ version, though.
—–

16 - WONDER WOMAN
12/2006: --
12/2007: Wonder Woman #15  --  44,628
12/2008: Wonder Woman #27  --  32,322
12/2009: Wonder Woman #39  --  26,152
-------------------------------------
12/2010: Wonder Woman #605 --  35,495 (-  5.1%)
01/2011: Wonder Woman #606 --  33,601 (-  5.3%)
02/2011: Wonder Woman #607 --  33,053 (-  1.6%)
03/2011: Wonder Woman #608 --  32,540 (-  1.6%)
03/2011: Wonder Woman #609 --  31,421 (-  3.4%)
04/2011: Wonder Woman #610 --  31,002 (-  1.3%)
05/2011: --
06/2011: Wonder Woman #611 --  30,874 (-  0.4%)
06/2011: Wonder Woman #612 --  30,690 (-  0.6%)
07/2011: Wonder Woman #613 --  29,720 (-  3.2%)
08/2011: Wonder Woman #614 --  29,223 (-  1.7%)
09/2011: Wonder Woman #1   --  76,214 (+160.8%) [95,902]
10/2011: Wonder Woman #2   --  79,060 (+  3.7%)
11/2011: Wonder Woman #3   --  65,621 (- 17.0%)
12/2011: Wonder Woman #4   --  57,675 (- 12.1%)
-----------------
6 months: + 87.4%
1 year  : + 62.5%
2 years : +120.5%
5 years :  n.a.

Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang’s Wonder Woman relaunch is one of the more acclaimed “New 52″ titles. Maybe the critical reception is contributing to the relatively mild drop-off. In terms of absolute numbers, the book still performing solidly, as well, historically, even if the relaunch didn’t exactly send sales through the roof.
—–

27 - NIGHTWING
12/2006: Nightwing #127 -- 34,889
12/2007: Nightwing #139 -- 49,291 [52,607]
12/2008: Nightwing #151 -- 35,210
---------------------------------
09/2011: Nightwing #1   -- 69,686         [87,561]
10/2011: Nightwing #2   -- 73,054 ( +4.8%)
11/2011: Nightwing #3   -- 64,098 (-12.3%)
12/2011: Nightwing #4   -- 57,409 (-10.4%)
-----------------
5 years : + 64.6%

The book with the 3rd-smallest overall drop-off among the “New 52″ titles, as of December. Readers like what they find here, evidently.
—–

28 - GREEN LANTERN CORPS
12/2006: Green Lantern Corps #7  -- 38,737
12/2007: Green Lantern Corps #19 -- 50,516
12/2008: Green Lantern Corps #31 -- 44,033
12/2009: Green Lantern Corps #43 -- 77,774
------------------------------------------
12/2010: Green Lantern Corps #55 -- 54,387 (- 5.3%)
01/2011: Green Lantern Corps #56 -- 53,646 (- 1.4%)
02/2011: Green Lantern Corps #57 -- 52,770 (- 1.6%)
03/2011: Green Lantern Corps #58 -- 60,100 (+13.9%)
04/2011: Green Lantern Corps #59 -- 60,162 (+ 0.1%)
05/2011: Green Lantern Corps #60 -- 60,964 (+ 1.3%)
06/2011: --
07/2011: Green Lantern Corps #61 -- 60,836 (- 0.2%)
07/2011: Green Lantern Corps #62 -- 57,928 (- 4.8%)
08/2011: Green Lantern Corps #63 -- 53,372 (- 7.9%)
09/2011: Green Lantern Corps #1  -- 83,077 (+55.7%) [94,800]
10/2011: Green Lantern Corps #2  -- 78,501 (- 5.5%)
11/2011: Green Lantern Corps #3  -- 65,393 (-16.7%)
12/2011: Green Lantern Corps #4  -- 57,180 (-12.6%)
----------------
6 months:  n.a.
1 year  : + 5.1%
2 years : -26.5%
5 years : +47.6%

The book is back at pre-relaunch levels. Given that it was a perfectly good level to begin with, though, that’s not a problem, per se. On the other hand, it doesn’t look like Green Lantern Corps is done dropping yet.
—–

19 - TEEN TITANS
12/2006: Teen Titans #42  -- 60,165
12/2007: Teen Titans #54  -- 53,790
12/2008: Teen Titans #66  -- 36,808
12/2009: Teen Titans #78  -- 43,400
-----------------------------------
12/2010: Teen Titans #90  -- 25,997 (-  1.7%)
01/2011: Teen Titans #91  -- 25,443 (-  2.1%)
02/2011: Teen Titans #92  -- 26,170 (+  2.9%)
03/2011: Teen Titans #93  -- 24,957 (-  4.6%)
04/2011: Teen Titans #94  -- 25,187 (+  0.9%)
05/2011: Teen Titans #95  -- 24,738 (-  1.8%)
06/2011: Teen Titans #96  -- 23,849 (-  3.6%)
07/2011: Teen Titans #97  -- 23,138 (-  3.0%)
07/2011: Teen Titans #98  -- 23,095 (-  0.2%)
08/2011: Teen Titans #99  -- 23,756 (+  2.9%)
08/2011: Teen Titans #100 -- 27,459 (+ 15.6%)
09/2011: Teen Titans #1   -- 73,675 (+168.3%) [89,056]
10/2011: Teen Titans #2   -- 72,107 (-  2.1%)
11/2011: Teen Titans #3   -- 60,758 (- 15.7%)
12/2011: Teen Titans #4   -- 54,929 (-  9.6%)
-----------------
6 months: +130.3%
1 year  : +111.3%
2 years : + 26.6%
5 years : -  8.7%

Teen Titans is the “New 52″ book with the 2nd-smallest drop in December.
—–

24 - GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS
12/2010: Emerald Warriors #5  -- 44,077 (- 4.8%)
01/2011: Emerald Warriors #6  -- 43,471 (- 1.4%)
02/2011: Emerald Warriors #7  -- 44,828 (+ 3.1%)
03/2011: Emerald Warriors #8  -- 51,322 (+14.5%) [54,110]
04/2011: Emerald Warriors #9  -- 51,784 (+ 0.5%)
05/2011: Emerald Warriors #10 -- 52,971 (+ 2.3%)
06/2011: Emerald Warriors #11 -- 53,927 (+ 1.8%)
07/2011: Emerald Warriors #12 -- 48,087 (-10.8%)
08/2011: Emerald Warriors #13 -- 44,228 (- 8.0%)
09/2011: New Guardians #1     -- 84,033 (+90.0%) [96,596]
10/2011: New Guardians #2     -- 71,713 (-14.7%)
11/2011: New Guardians #3     -- 59,774 (-16.7%)
12/2011: New Guardians #4     -- 53,305 (-10.8%)
----------------
6 months: - 1.2%
1 year  : +20.9%

Another Green Lantern spin-off whose numbers are already back in pre-”New 52″ territory, four issues in. The relaunch didn’t accomplish a whole lot here.
—–

26 - BATWOMAN
09/2011: Batwoman #1  --  72,228 (+64.6%) [87,952]
10/2011: Batwoman #2  --  74,392 (+ 3.0%)
11/2011: Batwoman #3  --  61,997 (-16.7%)
12/2011: Batwoman #4  --  52,757 (-14.9%)

35 - RED LANTERNS
09/2011: Red Lanterns #1  -- 73,940          [89,170]
10/2011: Red Lanterns #2  -- 74,163 (+ 0.3%)
11/2011: Red Lanterns #3  -- 60,823 (-18.0%)
12/2011: Red Lanterns #4  -- 50,271 (-17.4%)

These two spin-off titles are holding up relatively well, ranking at No. 14 and No. 20 among the “New 52″ in terms of overall drop-off, respectively. They’re not yet levelling out in a meaningful way, though.
—–

39 - CATWOMAN
12/2006: Catwoman #62 -- 22,305
12/2007: Catwoman #74 -- 18,623
-------------------------------
09/2011: Catwoman #1  -- 59,633          [75,566]
10/2011: Catwoman #2  -- 63,573 (+ 6.6%)
11/2011: Catwoman #3  -- 52,196 (-17.9%)
12/2011: Catwoman #4  -- 45,581 (-12.7%)
-----------------
5 years : +104.4%

Catwoman is No. 9, as far as overall drop-off is concerned, and No. 15 in terms of its issue #4 drop. Encouraging signs, particularly given that sales are still fairly high, historically.
—–

40 - JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK
09/2011: Justice League Dark #1   -- 69,840          [81,955]
10/2011: Justice League Dark #2   -- 63,392 (- 9.2%)
11/2011: Justice League Dark #3   -- 51,674 (-18.5%)
12/2011: Justice League Dark #4   -- 44,750 (-13.4%)

An average performer in the context of the “New 52.”
—–

37 - SWAMP THING
09/2011: Swamp Thing #1  -- 54,757          [73,683]
10/2011: Swamp Thing #2  -- 58,634 (+ 7.1%)
11/2011: Swamp Thing #3  -- 52,300 (-10.8%)
12/2011: Swamp Thing #4  -- 44,660 (-14.6%)

Scott Snyder and Yanick Paquette’s Swamp Thing revamp is doing comparatively well, displaying the fourth-smallest overall drop-off since issue #1. Then again, the drops are increasing, so the picture is mixed.
—–

41 - RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS
09/2011: Red Hood #1  -- 56,112          [70,244]
10/2011: Red Hood #2  -- 59,382 (+ 5.8%)
11/2011: Red Hood #3  -- 50,140 (-15.6%)
12/2011: Red Hood #4  -- 44,278 (-11.7%)

42 - SUPERGIRL
12/2006: Supergirl #12 --  59,819
12/2006: Supergirl #13 --  56,648
12/2007: Supergirl #24 --  37,922
12/2008: Supergirl #36 --  45,491
12/2009: Supergirl #48 --  28,176
---------------------------------
12/2010: Supergirl #59 --  22,606 (- 11.0%)
01/2011: Supergirl #60 --  22,568 (-  0.2%)
02/2011: Supergirl #61 --  22,048 (-  2.3%)
03/2011: Supergirl #62 --  21,786 (-  1.2%)
04/2011: Supergirl #63 --  21,598 (-  0.9%)
05/2011: Supergirl #64 --  21,411 (-  0.9%)
06/2011: Supergirl #65 --  20,985 (-  2.0%)
07/2011: Supergirl #66 --  20,001 (-  4.7%)
08/2011: Supergirl #67 --  19,764 (-  1.2%)
09/2011: Supergirl #1  --  60,058 (+203.9%) [74,218]
10/2011: Supergirl #2  --  61,388 (+  2.2%)
11/2011: Supergirl #3  --  50,784 (- 17.3%)
12/2011: Supergirl #4  --  44,180 (- 13.0%)
-----------------
6 months: +110.5%
1 year  : + 95.4%
2 years : + 56.8%
5 years : - 24.1%

Two relatively good performers, all things considered.
—–

43 - JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL
09/2011: Justice League International #1  -- 67,866          [78,869]
10/2011: Justice League International #2  -- 66,100 (- 2.6%)
11/2011: Justice League International #3  -- 54,413 (-17.7%)
12/2011: Justice League International #4  -- 44,062 (-19.0%)

Mediocre sales, and the decline is accelerating.
—–

38 - BATMAN INCORPORATED: LEVIATHAN STRIKES
11/2010: Batman, Inc. #1  --  95,587
12/2010: Batman, Inc. #2  --  71,544 (-25.2%) [72,957]
03/2011: Batman, Inc. #3  --  66,772 (- 6.7%)
03/2011: Batman, Inc. #4  --  65,315 (- 2.2%)
04/2011: Batman, Inc. #5  --  62,204 (- 4.8%)
05/2011: Batman, Inc. #6  --  60,480 (- 2.8%)
06/2011: Batman, Inc. #7  --  56,108 (- 7.2%)
08/2011: Batman, Inc. #8  --  53,481 (- 4.7%)
------------------------------------
12/2011: Lev Strikes #1   --  43,048 (-19.5%)
----------------
6 months: -23.3%
1 year  : -39.8%

The wrap-up to the first volume of Grant Morrison’s Batman, Inc. is a $6.99 paperback (or “prestige format” title, as they used to call it), so the 10K drop isn’t as dire as it looks. Still, I’m curious where sales will pick up when the book returns in May. It’s probably going to hinge on whether DC can convince the audience that Morrison’s long-term Batman arc is still relevant in the relaunched DC Universe.
—–

46 - ANIMAL MAN
09/2011: Animal Man #1     -- 46,051          [65,229]
10/2011: Animal Man #2     -- 53,432 (+16.0%)
11/2011: Animal Man #3     -- 49,184 (- 8.0%)
12/2011: Animal Man #4     -- 42,630 (-13.3%)

Jeff Lemire and Travel Foreman are producing the “New 52″ title with the smallest overall drop-off since issue #1 in terms of first-month sales, by a wide margin. Animal Man dropped a mere 7.4% in its first four months, and by fewer than 4,000 units. That’s a remarkable performance by any standard. On the downside, once again, the drops are increasing, small as they may be compared to the rest of the line.
—–

54 - SUPERBOY
12/2010: Superboy #2  --  31,761 (- 20.0%)
01/2011: Superboy #3  --  29,550 (-  7.0%)
02/2011: Superboy #4  --  27,448 (-  7.1%)
03/2011: Superboy #5  --  27,215 (-  0.9%)
04/2011: Superboy #6  --  30,490 (+ 12.0%)
05/2011: Superboy #7  --  24,622 (- 19.3%)
06/2011: Superboy #8  --  23,037 (-  6.4%)
07/2011: Superboy #9  --  22,102 (-  4.1%)
08/2011: Superboy #10 --  20,563 (-  7.0%)
08/2011: Superboy #11 --  20,317 (-  1.2%)
09/2011: Superboy #1  --  55,608 (+173.7%) [69,283]
10/2011: Superboy #2  --  57,424 (+  3.3%)
11/2011: Superboy #3  --  47,442 (- 17.4%)
12/2011: Superboy #4  --  40,002 (- 15.7%)
-----------------
6 months: + 73.6%
1 year  : + 26.0%

No sign yet that sales are levelling out, though they remain way ahead of the previous run.
—–

57 - GREEN ARROW
12/2006: Green Arrow #69  -- 32,234
12/2007: Arrow/Canary #3  -- 40,321
12/2008: Arrow/Canary #15 -- 24,526
12/2009: Arrow&Canary #27 -- 16,904
-----------------------------------
11/2010: Green Arrow #6   -- 39,575 (-  6.2%)
12/2010: Green Arrow #7   -- 36,835 (-  6.9%)
01/2011: Green Arrow #8   -- 35,307 (-  4.2%)
02/2011: Green Arrow #9   -- 33,922 (-  3.9%)
03/2011: Green Arrow #10  -- 33,085 (-  2.5%)
04/2011: Green Arrow #11  -- 32,669 (-  1.3%)
05/2011: Green Arrow #12  -- 31,742 (-  2.8%)
06/2011: Green Arrow #13  -- 27,552 (- 13.2%)
07/2011: Green Arrow #14  -- 25,568 (-  7.2%)
08/2011: Green Arrow #15  -- 23,883 (-  6.6%)
09/2011: Green Arrow #1   -- 61,680 (+158.3%) [72,359]
10/2011: Green Arrow #2   -- 58,708 (-  4.8%)
11/2011: Green Arrow #3   -- 46,899 (- 20.1%)
12/2011: Green Arrow #4   -- 37,116 (- 20.9%)
-----------------
6 months: + 34.7%
1 year  : -  6.2%
2 years : +119.6%
5 years : + 15.2%

As you may guess from looking at the drops to date, Green Arrow isn’t doing all that well. It’s one of the first two “New 52″ titles to display a negative 12-month comparison, and unlike Batman: The Dark Knight, it doesn’t have a good excuse. The last Green Arrow #4, also written by J.T. Krul and published in September 2010, sold an estimated 44,220 units, so the “New 52″ relaunch isn’t very sustaining by comparison.

Nor, for that matter, does it look like the book is finding its level anytime soon. The new creative team taking over with issue #7 have their work cut out for them.
—–

62 - SUICIDE SQUAD
12/2007: Raise the Flag #1 of 8 -- 18,025
-----------------------------------------
09/2011: Suicide Squad #1       -- 49,979          [61,815]
10/2011: Suicide Squad #2       -- 49,570 (- 0.8%)
11/2011: Suicide Squad #3       -- 40,827 (-17.6%)
12/2011: Suicide Squad #4       -- 34,550 (-15.4%)

Suicide Squad is No. 18 among the “New 52″ in terms of overall drop-off and No. 23 in terms of December drop-off, and it’s the 28th-best-selling “New 52″ title on the December chart. Not a stellar performance, but not bad for a C-list concept without established creators or top-rung characters, certainly.
—–

63 - BIRDS OF PREY
12/2006: Birds of Prey #101 -- 29,825
12/2007: Birds of Prey #113 -- 24,717
12/2008: Birds of Prey #125 -- 20,161
-------------------------------------
12/2010: Birds of Prey #7   -- 33,114 (-  3.9%)
01/2011: Birds of Prey #8   -- 31,616 (-  4.5%)
02/2011: Birds of Prey #9   -- 30,641 (-  3.1%)
03/2011: Birds of Prey #10  -- 30,777 (+  0.4%)
04/2011: Birds of Prey #11  -- 30,270 (-  1.7%)
05/2011: Birds of Prey #12  -- 29,690 (-  1.9%)
06/2011: Birds of Prey #13  -- 28,992 (-  2.4%)
07/2011: Birds of Prey #14  -- 27,102 (-  6.5%)
08/2011: Birds of Prey #15  -- 26,043 (-  3.9%)
09/2011: Birds of Prey #1   -- 56,073 (+115.3%) [66,423]
10/2011: Birds of Prey #2   -- 53,156 (-  5.2%)
11/2011: Birds of Prey #3   -- 40,891 (- 23.1%)
12/2011: Birds of Prey #4   -- 34,460 (- 15.7%)
-----------------
6 months: + 18.7%
1 year  : +  4.1%
5 years : + 15.5%

Well, at least the December drop was smaller. Overall, though, the drop-off so far is bigger than average for Birds of Prey. And the last issue #4 sold an estimated 46,149 units in August 2010, so this isn’t impressive by any stretch.
—–

64 - STORMWATCH
12/2006: StormWatch: PHD #2   -- 21,605
12/2007: --
12/2008: StormWatch: PHD #17  --  6,468
---------------------------------------
09/2011: Stormwatch #1        -- 46,397          [57,287]
10/2011: Stormwatch #2        -- 47,520 (+ 2.4%)
11/2011: Stormwatch #3        -- 39,262 (-17.4%)
12/2011: Stormwatch #4        -- 30,987 (-21.1%)
-----------------
5 years : + 43.4%

The best-selling of the three former WildStorm Universe titles remains massively ahead of its previous incarnations, at least. Compared to the other “New 52″ books, sales and drop-off are average, though. And it’s nowhere near having found its level.

And that’s the last DC title selling above 30K in December.
—–

70 - ALL STAR WESTERN
12/2006: Jonah Hex #14 -- 18,295
12/2007: Jonah Hex #26 -- 14,088
12/2008: Jonah Hex #38 -- 12,132
12/2009: Jonah Hex #50 -- 15,131
--------------------------------
12/2010: Jonah Hex #62 -- 10,899 (+  1.0%)
01/2011: Jonah Hex #63 -- 10,752 (-  1.4%)
02/2011: Jonah Hex #64 -- 10,255 (-  4.6%)
03/2011: Jonah Hex #65 -- 10,353 (+  1.0%)
04/2011: Jonah Hex #66 -- 10,335 (-  0.2%)
05/2011: Jonah Hex #67 -- 10,288 (-  0.5%)
06/2011: Jonah Hex #68 -- 10,224 (-  0.6%)
07/2011: Jonah Hex #69 -- 10,521 (+  2.9%)
08/2011: Jonah Hex #70 -- 10,369 (-  1.5%)
09/2011: ASW #1        -- 43,681 (+321.3%) [54,992]
10/2011: ASW #2        -- 39,857 (-  8.8%)
11/2011: ASW #3        -- 32,776 (- 17.8%)
12/2011: ASW #4        -- 29,349 (- 10.5%)
-----------------
6 months: +187.1%
1 year  : +169.3%
2 years : + 94.0%
5 years : + 60.4%

All Star Western may not be a good seller in absolute numbers, but it displays an unusually small overall drop-off, as well as the 5th-smallest December drop. That’s impressive, particularly if you consider that sales are still almost three times what they were in August.
—–

74 - THE SAVAGE HAWKMAN
12/2006: Hawkgirl #59       -- 18,141
-------------------------------------
09/2011: Savage Hawkman #1  -- 55,954          [63,959]
10/2011: Savage Hawkman #2  -- 47,763 (-14.6%)
11/2011: Savage Hawkman #3  -- 35,177 (-26.4%)
12/2011: Savage Hawkman #4  -- 28,263 (-19.7%)
-----------------
5 years : + 55.8%

With an overall drop-off of 49.5% since issue #1, Hawkman is one of the least successful “New 52″ books. Rob Liefeld, to the rescue?
—–

75 - DEMON KNIGHTS
09/2011: Demon Knights #1  -- 41,602          [52,329]
10/2011: Demon Knights #2  -- 42,230 (+ 1.5%)
11/2011: Demon Knights #3  -- 34,681 (-17.9%)
12/2011: Demon Knights #4  -- 28,109 (-19.0%)

Not levelling out.
—–

77 - THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES
12/2006: SLoSH #25            -- 33,288
12/2007: LoSH #37             -- 45,803
12/2008: LoSH #49             -- 22,180
---------------------------------------
12/2010: LoSH #8              -- 25,063 (-  5.2%)
01/2011: LoSH #9              -- 24,230 (-  3.3%)
02/2011: LoSH #10             -- 23,738 (-  2.0%)
03/2011: LoSH #11             -- 23,667 (-  0.3%)
04/2011: LoSH #12             -- 23,419 (-  1.1%)
05/2011: LoSH #13             -- 23,105 (-  1.3%)
06/2011: LoSH #14             -- 22,600 (-  2.2%)
07/2011: LoSH #15             -- 21,788 (-  3.6%)
08/2011: LoSH #16             -- 21,373 (-  1.9%)
09/2011: LoSH #1              -- 50,402 (+135.8%) [58,325]
10/2011: LoSH #2              -- 47,227 (-  6.3%)
11/2011: LoSH #3              -- 34,979 (- 25.9%)
12/2011: LoSH #4              -- 27,832 (- 20.4%)
-----------------
6 months: + 23.2%
1 year  : + 11.1%
5 years : - 16.4%

Sales are back at pre-”New 52″ levels. In August 2010, the last Legion of Super-Heroes #4, also written by Paul Levitz, sold an estimated 34,239 units, so, once again, the relaunch fails to have a lasting effect on sales.
—–

80 - BATWING
09/2011: Batwing #1  -- 45,980          [53,721]
10/2011: Batwing #2  -- 42,750 (- 7.0%)
11/2011: Batwing #3  -- 35,110 (-17.9%)
12/2011: Batwing #4  -- 26,726 (-23.9%)

82 - DEATHSTROKE
09/2011: Deathstroke #1  -- 47,028          [56,820]
10/2011: Deathstroke #2  -- 44,647 (- 5.1%)
11/2011: Deathstroke #3  -- 33,754 (-24.4%)
12/2011: Deathstroke #4  -- 26,367 (-21.9%)

These drops are not encouraging, obviously.
—–

87 - THE FURY OF FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MEN
12/2006: Firestorm #32 -- 15,255
--------------------------------
09/2011: Firestorm #1  -- 51,537          [62,076]
10/2011: Firestorm #2  -- 43,990 (-14.6%)
11/2011: Firestorm #3  -- 31,654 (-28.0%)
12/2011: Firestorm #4  -- 25,610 (-19.1%)
-----------------
5 years : + 67.9%

Firestorm is one of nine “New 52″ books that have lost more than half of their September sales — and six of those have already been axed.

If the trends on display so far continue for another couple of months, the “New 52″ titles below this point — nine books, not counting the ones DC already cancelled — will be in cancellation territory, basically.
—–

76 - THE HUNTRESS
10/2011: Huntress #1 of 6 -- 36,099
11/2011: Huntress #2 of 6 -- 28,377 (-21.4%)
12/2011: Huntress #3 of 6 -- 25,215 (-11.1%)

Levelling out after the stiff second-issue drop.
—–

90 - FRANKENSTEIN: AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E.
09/2011: Frankenstein #1          -- 41,551          [50,817]
10/2011: Frankenstein #2          -- 40,423 (- 2.7%)
11/2011: Frankenstein #3          -- 31,869 (-21.2%)
11/2011: Frankenstein #4          -- 24,812 (-22.1%)

92 - DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS
09/2011: DCU Presents #1  -- 45,701          [53,103]
10/2011: DCU Presents #2  -- 41,584 (- 9.0%)
11/2011: DCU Presents #3  -- 31,019 (-25.4%)
12/2011: DCU Presents #4  -- 24,398 (-21.4%)

94 - LEGION LOST
09/2011: Legion Lost #1  -- 46,362          [54,588]
10/2011: Legion Lost #2  -- 42,650 (- 8.0%)
11/2011: Legion Lost #3  -- 31,226 (-26.8%)
12/2011: Legion Lost #4  -- 24,020 (-23.1%)

Three more “New 52″ titles with no indication that the numbers may be stabilizing anytime soon.
—–

86 - BATMAN: ODYSSEY VOL. 2
07/2010: Batman: Odyssey #1  of 6  -- 61,827
08/2010: Batman: Odyssey #2  of 6  -- 47,675 (-22.9%)
09/2010: Batman: Odyssey #3  of 6  -- 40,046 (-16.0%)
10/2010: Batman: Odyssey #4  of 12 -- 35,307 (-11.8%)
11/2010: Batman: Odyssey #5  of 13 -- 31,386 (-11.1%)
02/2011: Batman: Odyssey #6  of 13 -- 29,093 (- 7.3%)
--------------------------------------------
10/2011: Odyssey Vol. 2 #1  of 7   -- 30,410 (+ 4.5%)
11/2011: Odyssey Vol. 2 #2  of 7   -- 24,271 (-20.2%)
12/2011: Odyssey Vol. 2 #3  of 7   -- 23,089 (- 4.9%)
----------------
1 year  : n.a.

This Neal Adams vehicle is levelling out nicely after the harsh initial drop.
—–

99 - RESURRECTION MAN
09/2011: Resurrection Man #1  -- 41,740          [50,230]
10/2011: Resurrection Man #2  -- 38,560 (- 7.6%)
11/2011: Resurrection Man #3  -- 29,480 (-23.6%)
12/2011: Resurrection Man #4  -- 23,060 (-21.8%)

100 - GRIFTER
09/2011: Grifter #1  -- 41,222          [50,959]
10/2011: Grifter #2  -- 39,900 (- 3.2%)
11/2011: Grifter #3  -- 29,802 (-25.3%)
12/2011: Grifter #4  -- 22,486 (-24.6%)

Two more “New 52″ titles that aren’t levelling out.
—–

103 - I, VAMPIRE
09/2011: I, Vampire #1  -- 39,683          [46,993]
10/2011: I, Vampire #2  -- 34,599 (-12.8%)
11/2011: I, Vampire #3  -- 26,070 (-24.7%)
11/2011: I, Vampire #4  -- 21,601 (-17.1%)

104 - BLUE BEETLE
12/2006: Blue Beetle #10 -- 21,358
12/2007: Blue Beetle #22 -- 15,256
12/2008: Blue Beetle #34 -- 11,020
----------------------------------
09/2011: Blue Beetle #1  -- 44,448          [52,288]
10/2011: Blue Beetle #2  -- 39,396 (-11.4%)
11/2011: Blue Beetle #3  -- 27,612 (-29.9%)
12/2011: Blue Beetle #4  -- 21,408 (-22.5%)
-----------------
5 years : +  0.2%

110 - VOODOO
09/2011: Voodoo #1  -- 40,301          [47,112]
10/2011: Voodoo #2  -- 34,690 (-13.9%)
11/2011: Voodoo #3  -- 25,067 (-27.7%)
12/2011: Voodoo #4  -- 20,703 (-17.4%)

For Voodoo, Blue Beetle and I, Vampire, at least the drops are getting smaller. Blue Beetle is another one of the titles that have already lost more than 50% of their sales since September, however, and the other two aren’t far behind.
—–

101 - LEGION: SECRET ORIGIN
10/2011: Secret Origin #1 of 6 -- 38,248
11/2011: Secret Origin #2 of 6 -- 22,435 (-41.3%)
12/2011: Secret Origin #3 of 6 -- 20,033 (-10.7%)

Levelling out, now that the harsh initial drop is out ouf the way.
—–

114 - HAWK & DOVE
09/2011: Hawk & Dove #1  -- 42,294          [47,999]
10/2011: Hawk & Dove #2  -- 36,068 (-14.7%)
11/2011: Hawk & Dove #3  -- 27,464 (-23.9%)
12/2011: Hawk & Dove #4  -- 20,016 (-27.1%)

Horrible sales all around, and axed with issue #8. Bluntly, these figures don’t suggest that Rob Liefeld is the guy to call if you want to save a low-selling book from cancellation. Or maybe the assignment is to keep them afloat until issue #12, leading to another round of replacements in September? Blind speculation, obviously.
—–

115 - CAPTAIN ATOM
09/2011: Captain Atom #1  -- 44,110          [51,314]
10/2011: Captain Atom #2  -- 38,309 (-13.2%)
11/2011: Captain Atom #3  -- 26,829 (-30.0%)
12/2011: Captain Atom #4  -- 19,908 (-25.8%)

This one’s not cancelled yet, despite the No. 4 most horrible overall drop-off, the No. 6 most horrible December drop and being narrowly outsold by a book that was just axed. The writing is on the wall.
—–

107 - PENGUIN: PAIN AND PREJUDICE
10/2011: Penguin #1 of 5 -- 26,380
11/2011: Penguin #2 of 5 -- 21,021 (-20.3%)
12/2011: Penguin #3 of 5 -- 19,131 (- 9.0%)

108 - THE SHADE
10/2011: Shade #1  of 12 -- 30,648
11/2011: Shade #2  of 12 -- 21,431 (-30.1%)
12/2011: Shade #3  of 12 -- 18,922 (-11.7%)

Two DC Universe miniseries with mediocre sales.
—–

126 - O.M.A.C.
09/2011: O.M.A.C. #1  -- 37,312          [42,871]
10/2011: O.M.A.C. #2  -- 32,704 (-12.4%)
11/2011: O.M.A.C. #3  -- 25,080 (-23.3%)
12/2011: O.M.A.C. #4  -- 18,371 (-26.8%)

127 - MISTER TERRIFIC
09/2011: Mister Terrific #1  -- 41,450          [48,352]
10/2011: Mister Terrific #2  -- 35,963 (-13.2%)
11/2011: Mister Terrific #3  -- 25,282 (-29.7%)
12/2011: Mister Terrific #4  -- 17,963 (-29.0%)

Two “New 52″ titkes axed with issue #8.
—–

117 - THE RAY
12/2011: The Ray #1 of 4 -- 17,779

A new DC Universe mini with abysmal figures.
—–

120 - FABLES (Vertigo)
12/2006: Fables #56  -- 25,892
12/2007: Fables #68  -- 24,574
12/2008: Fables #79  -- 22,769
12/2009: Fables #91  -- 20,450
------------------------------
12/2010: Fables #100 -- 23,014 (+17.1%)
01/2011: Fables #101 -- 19,183 (-16.7%)
02/2011: Fables #102 -- 19,215 (+ 0.2%)
03/2011: Fables #103 -- 18,910 (- 1.6%)
04/2011: Fables #104 -- 18,811 (- 0.5%)
05/2011: Fables #105 -- 18,749 (- 0.3%)
06/2011: Fables #106 -- 18,505 (- 1.3%)
07/2011: Fables #107 -- 18,523 (+ 0.1%)
08/2011: Fables #108 -- 18,390 (- 0.7%)
09/2011: Fables #109 -- 18,072 (- 1.7%)
10/2011: Fables #110 -- 18,109 (+ 0.2%)
11/2011: Fables #111 -- 17,687 (- 2.3%)
12/2011: Fables #112 -- 17,602 (- 0.5%)
----------------
6 months: - 4.9%
1 year  : -23.5%
2 years : -13.9%
5 years : -32.0%

Vertigo’s top-selling periodical franchise is about to spawn a new ongoing title. The mothership had a reasonably stable year, meanwhile, if you ignore the bump for issue #100 in December 2010.
—–

131 - STATIC SHOCK
06/2011: Special #1 of 1  --  9,976
-----------------------------------
09/2011: Static Shock #1  -- 37,782 (+278.7%) [43,046]
10/2011: Static Shock #2  -- 32,360 (- 14.4%)
11/2011: Static Shock #3  -- 24,374 (- 24.7%)
12/2011: Static Shock #4  -- 17,514 (- 28.2%)

135 - BLACKHAWKS
09/2011: Blackhawks #1  -- 40,014          [46,435]
10/2011: Blackhawks #2  -- 31,704 (-20.8%)
11/2011: Blackhawks #3  -- 22,349 (-29.5%)
12/2011: Blackhawks #4  -- 16,810 (-24.8%)

139 - MEN OF WAR
09/2011: Men of War #1  -- 37,488
10/2011: Men of War #2  -- 31,446 (-16.1%)
11/2011: Men of War #3  -- 23,770 (-24.4%)
12/2011: Men of War #4  -- 16,641 (-30.0%)

Three “New 52″ titles, cancelled at issue #8 each.

Despite selling fewer than 20K, these books also each lost more than 50% of their debut sales, and they show some of the worst December drops. It’s not hard to see why DC pulled the plug here.
—–

136/140 - AMERICAN VAMPIRE (Vertigo)
12/2010: American Vampire #9  -- 19,019 (- 4.2%)
12/2010: American Vampire #10 -- 17,761 (- 6.6%)
01/2011: American Vampire #11 -- 16,969 (- 4.5%)
02/2011: American Vampire #12 -- 16,522 (- 2.6%)
03/2011: American Vampire #13 -- 17,269 (+ 4.5%)
04/2011: American Vampire #14 -- 16,168 (- 6.4%)
05/2011: American Vampire #15 -- 15,876 (- 1.8%)
06/2011: American Vampire #16 -- 15,705 (- 1.1%)
07/2011: American Vampire #17 -- 15,565 (- 0.9%)
08/2011: American Vampire #18 -- 15,423 (- 0.9%)
09/2011: American Vampire #19 -- 15,288 (- 0.9%)
10/2011: --
11/2011: American Vampire #20 -- 15,685 (+ 2.6%)
12/2011: American Vampire #21 -- 15,026 (- 4.2%)
12/2011: American Vampire #22 -- 14,759 (- 1.8%)
----------------
6 months: - 5.2%
1 year  : -21.7%

Standard attrition.
—–

149 - SPACEMAN (Vertigo)
10/2011: Spaceman #1 of 9 -- 22,355
11/2011: Spaceman #2 of 9 -- 14,962 (-33.1%)
12/2011: Spaceman #3 of 9 -- 13,492 (- 9.8%)

Levelling out, following the stiff second-issue drop resulting from the loss-leader $1.00 price point of issue #1.
—–

150/152 - DC UNIVERSE ONLINE: LEGENDS
02/2011: DCU Online: Legends #1  -- 36,517
02/2011: DCU Online: Legends #2  -- 28,953 (-20.7%)
03/2011: DCU Online: Legends #3  -- 24,824 (-14.3%)
03/2011: DCU Online: Legends #4  -- 23,001 (- 7.3%)
04/2011: DCU Online: Legends #5  -- 21,427 (- 6.8%)
04/2011: DCU Online: Legends #6  -- 20,461 (- 4.5%)
05/2011: DCU Online: Legends #7  -- 20,064 (- 1.9%)
05/2011: DCU Online: Legends #8  -- 19,471 (- 3.0%)
06/2011: DCU Online: Legends #9  -- 18,759 (- 3.7%)
06/2011: DCU Online: Legends #10 -- 18,178 (- 3.1%)
07/2011: DCU Online: Legends #11 -- 17,509 (- 3.7%)
07/2011: DCU Online: Legends #12 -- 17,223 (- 1.6%)
08/2011: DCU Online: Legends #13 -- 16,540 (- 4.0%)
08/2011: DCU Online: Legends #14 -- 16,018 (- 3.2%)
09/2011: --
10/2011: DCU Online: Legends #15 -- 15,460 (- 3.5%)
10/2011: DCU Online: Legends #16 -- 15,238 (- 1.4%)
11/2011: DCU Online: Legends #17 -- 14,226 (- 6.6%)
11/2011: DCU Online: Legends #18 -- 13,955 (- 1.9%)
12/2011: DCU Online: Legends #19 -- 13,350 (- 4.3%)
12/2011: DCU Online: Legends #20 -- 13,219 (- 1.0%)
----------------
6 months: -28.1%

The video-game adaptation continues a slow decline. It’s a 26-issue maxiseries, evidently.
—–

161 - T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS
12/2010: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #2  -- 11,227 (-30.4%)
01/2011: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #3  -- 10,602 (- 5.6%)
02/2011: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #4  -- 10,124 (- 4.5%)
03/2011: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #5  --  9,934 (- 1.9%)
04/2011: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #6  --  9,680 (- 2.6%)
05/2011: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #7  --  9,453 (- 2.4%)
06/2011: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #8  --  8,954 (- 5.3%)
07/2011: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #9  --  8,710 (- 2.7%)
08/2011: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #10 --  8,453 (- 3.0%)
09/2011: --
10/2011: --
11/2011: Vol. 2 #1 of 6            -- 14,794 (+75.0%)
12/2011: Vol. 2 #2 of 6            -- 12,015 (-18.8%)
----------------
6 months: +34.2%
1 year  : + 7.0%

On the plus side, the second issue outsells last year’s #2.
—–

174/178 - THE UNWRITTEN (Vertigo)
12/2009: The Unwritten #8  -- 14,257
------------------------------------
12/2010: The Unwritten #20 -- 11,684 (- 2.9%)
01/2011: The Unwritten #21 -- 11,443 (- 2.1%)
02/2011: The Unwritten #22 -- 11,371 (- 0.6%)
03/2011: The Unwritten #23 -- 11,319 (- 0.5%)
04/2011: The Unwritten #24 -- 11,028 (- 2.6%)
05/2011: The Unwritten #25 -- 11,137 (+ 1.0%)
06/2011: The Unwritten #26 -- 10,979 (- 1.4%)
07/2011: The Unwritten #27 -- 10,787 (- 1.8%)
08/2011: The Unwritten #28 -- 10,731 (- 0.5%)
09/2011: The Unwritten #29 -- 10,511 (- 2.1%)
10/2011: The Unwritten #30 -- 10,481 (- 0.3%)
11/2011: The Unwritten #31 -- 10,434 (- 0.5%)
11/2011: The Unwritten #.5 -- 10,183 (- 2.4%)
12/2011: The Unwritten #32 -- 10,073 (- 1.1%)
12/2011: The Unwritten #.5 --  9,759 (- 3.1%)
----------------
6 months: - 9.7%
1 year  : -15.1%
2 years : -30.5%

Retailers don’t seem very enthusiastic about these #.5 issues.
—–

181 - HELLBLAZER (Vertigo)
12/2006: Hellblazer #227 -- 13,231
12/2007: Hellblazer #239 -- 12,344
12/2008: Hellblazer #250 -- 12,478
12/2009: Hellblazer #262 -- 10,334
----------------------------------
12/2010: Hellblazer #274 --  9,342 (-3.1%)
01/2011: Hellblazer #275 --  9,507 (+1.8%)
02/2011: Hellblazer #276 --  9,466 (-0.4%)
03/2011: Hellblazer #277 --  9,525 (+0.6%)
04/2011: Hellblazer #278 --  9,417 (-1.1%)
05/2011: Hellblazer #279 --  9,454 (+0.4%)
06/2011: Hellblazer #280 --  9,329 (-1.3%)
07/2011: Hellblazer #281 --  9,225 (-1.1%)
08/2011: Hellblazer #282 --  9,372 (+1.5%)
09/2011: Hellblazer #283 --  9,597 (+2.4%)
10/2011: Hellblazer #284 --  9,608 (+0.1%)
11/2011: Hellblazer #285 --  9,500 (-1.1%)
12/2011: Hellblazer #286 --  9,404 (-1.0%)
----------------
6 months: + 0.8%
1 year  : + 0.7%
2 years : - 9.0%
5 years : -28.9%

184 - HELLBLAZER ANNUAL (Vertigo)
12/2011: Hellblazer Annual #1 -- 9,289

Standard attrition, and the Annual sells very close to the mother title. Relatively solid numbers overall.
—–

187 - MY GREATEST ADVENTURE
01/2011: Weird Worlds #1 of 6 -- 14,964
02/2011: Weird Worlds #2 of 6 -- 11,587 (- 22.6%)
03/2011: Weird Worlds #3 of 6 -- 10,470 (-  9.6%)
04/2011: Weird Worlds #4 of 6 --  9,665 (-  7.7%)
05/2011: Weird Worlds #5 of 6 --  9,043 (-  6.4%)
06/2011: Weird Worlds #6 of 6 --  8,536 (-  5.6%)
---------------------------------------
10/2011: MGA #1 of 6          -- 17,222 (+101.8%)
11/2011: MGA #2 of 6          -- 11,782 (- 31.6%)
12/2011: MGA #3 of 6          --  8,858 (- 24.8%)
----------------
6 months: + 3.8%

Crashing. Seems like retailers were way too optimistic on the first two issues.
—–

189 - I, ZOMBIE (Vertigo)
12/2010: I, Zombie #8  -- 12,038 (- 6.0%)
01/2011: I, Zombie #9  -- 11,536 (- 4.2%)
02/2011: I, Zombie #10 -- 11,182 (- 3.1%)
03/2011: I, Zombie #11 -- 10,874 (- 2.8%)
04/2011: I, Zombie #12 -- 10,727 (- 1.4%)
05/2011: I, Zombie #13 -- 10,567 (- 1.5%)
06/2011: I, Zombie #14 -- 10,320 (- 2.3%)
07/2011: I, Zombie #15 -- 10,006 (- 3.0%)
08/2011: I, Zombie #16 --  9,568 (- 4.4%)
09/2011: I, Zombie #17 --  9,316 (- 2.6%)
10/2011: I, Zombie #18 --  9,237 (- 0.9%)
11/2011: I, Zombie #19 --  8,999 (- 2.6%)
12/2011: I, Zombie #20 --  8,805 (- 2.2%)
----------------
6 months: -14.7%
1 year  : -26.9%

206 - SWEET TOOTH (Vertigo)
12/2009: Sweet Tooth #4  --  9,817
----------------------------------
12/2010: Sweet Tooth #16 --  8,602 (- 1.7%)
01/2011: Sweet Tooth #17 --  8,522 (- 0.9%)
02/2011: Sweet Tooth #18 --  8,466 (- 0.7%)
03/2011: Sweet Tooth #19 --  8,532 (+ 0.8%)
04/2011: Sweet Tooth #20 --  8,361 (- 2.0%)
05/2011: Sweet Tooth #21 --  8,360 (- 0.0%)
06/2011: Sweet Tooth #22 --  8,252 (- 1.3%)
07/2011: Sweet Tooth #23 --  8,018 (- 2.8%)
08/2011: Sweet Tooth #24 --  7,948 (- 0.9%)
09/2011: Sweet Tooth #25 --  7,896 (- 0.7%)
10/2011: Sweet Tooth #26 --  7,963 (+ 0.9%)
11/2011: Sweet Tooth #27 --  7,923 (- 0.5%)
12/2011: Sweet Tooth #28 --  7,699 (- 2.8%)
----------------
6 months: - 6.7%
1 year  : -10.5%
2 years : -21.6%

Standard attrition for the two lowest-selling Vertigo books that don’t yet have an official end date.
—–

208 - TINY TITANS (Johnny DC)
12/2008: Tiny Titans #11 --  9,085
12/2009: Tiny Titans #23 --  8,017
----------------------------------
12/2010: Tiny Titans #35 --  7,515 (- 2.6%)
01/2011: Tiny Titans #36 --  7,480 (- 0.5%)
02/2011: Tiny Titans #37 --  7,426 (- 0.7%)
03/2011: Tiny Titans #38 --  7,372 (- 0.7%)
04/2011: Tiny Titans #39 --  7,445 (+ 1.0%)
05/2011: Tiny Titans #40 --  7,847 (+ 5.4%)
06/2011: Tiny Titans #41 --  7,811 (- 0.5%)
07/2011: Tiny Titans #42 --  7,664 (- 1.9%)
08/2011: Tiny Titans #43 --  7,534 (- 1.7%)
09/2011: Tiny Titans #44 --  7,619 (+ 1.1%)
10/2011: Tiny Titans #45 --  7,836 (+ 2.9%)
11/2011: Tiny Titans #46 --  7,748 (- 1.1%)
12/2011: Tiny Titans #47 --  7,689 (- 0.8%)
----------------
6 months: - 1.6%
1 year  : + 2.3%
2 years : - 4.1%

218 - YOUNG JUSTICE (Johnny DC)
01/2011: Young Justice #0  --  9,412
02/2011: Young Justice #1  -- 10,777 (+14.5%)
03/2011: Young Justice #2  --  9,612 (-10.8%)
04/2011: Young Justice #3  --  9,407 (- 2.1%)
05/2011: Young Justice #4  --  9,729 (+ 3.4%)
06/2011: Young Justice #5  --  8,988 (- 7.6%)
07/2011: Young Justice #6  --  8,642 (- 3.9%)
08/2011: Young Justice #7  --  8,062 (- 6.7%)
09/2011: Young Justice #8  --  7,930 (- 1.6%)
10/2011: Young Justice #9  --  7,737 (- 2.4%)
11/2011: Young Justice #10 --  7,650 (- 1.1%)
12/2011: Young Justice #11 --  7,221 (- 5.6%)
----------------
6 months: -19.7%

233 - THE ALL-NEW BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD (Johnny DC)
12/2006: Batman Strikes! #28   --  7,427
12/2007: Batman Strikes! #40   --  6,492
12/2009: Brave & Bold #12      --  6,342
----------------------------------------
12/2010: All-New BBB #2        --  6,688 (- 20.5%)
01/2011: All-New BBB #3        --  6,557 (-  2.0%)
02/2011: All-New BBB #4        --  6,561 (+  0.1%)
03/2011: All-New BBB #5        --  6,463 (-  1.5%)
04/2011: All-New BBB #6        --  6,324 (-  2.1%)
05/2011: All-New BBB #7        --  6,869 (+  8.6%)
06/2011: All-New BBB #8        --  6,645 (-  3.3%)
07/2011: All-New BBB #9        --  6,404 (-  3.6%)
08/2011: All-New BBB #10       --  6,351 (-  0.8%)
09/2011: All-New BBB #11       --  6,410 (+  0.9%)
10/2011: All-New BBB #12       --  6,771 (+  5.6%)
11/2011: All-New BBB #13       --  7,143 (+  5.5%)
12/2011: All-New BBB #14       --  6,724 (-  5.9%)
----------------
6 months: + 1.2%
1 year  : + 0.5%
2 years : + 6.0%
5 years : - 9.5%

Three Johnny DC titles. See small print.
—–

234 - SUPERNATURAL
10/2011: Supernatrl #1 of 6 --  8,896
11/2011: Supernatrl #2 of 6 --  7,506 (-15.6%)
12/2011: Supernatrl #3 of 6 --  6,638 (-11.6%)

A TV-show adaptation, well below the radar.
—–

239/295 - DC COMICS PRESENTS
12/2011: Elseworlds 80-Page Giant #1 -- 6,115
12/2011: Batman: Urban Legends #1    -- 3,195

Two more reprint books.
—–

242 - DMZ (Vertigo)
12/2006: DMZ #14 -- 13,731
12/2007: DMZ #26 -- 11,027
12/2008: DMZ #37 --  8,823
12/2009: DMZ #48 --  6,977
--------------------------
12/2010: DMZ #60 --  6,023 (-0.4%)
01/2011: DMZ #61 --  5,855 (-2.8%)
02/2011: DMZ #62 --  5,781 (-1.3%)
03/2011: DMZ #63 --  5,877 (+1.7%)
04/2011: DMZ #64 --  5,851 (-0.4%)
05/2011: DMZ #65 --  5,865 (+0.2%)
06/2011: DMZ #66 --  5,825 (-0.7%)
07/2011: DMZ #67 --  5,720 (-1.8%)
08/2011: DMZ #68 --  5,668 (-0.9%)
09/2011: DMZ #69 --  5,544 (-2.2%)
10/2011: DMZ #70 --  5,610 (+1.2%)
11/2011: DMZ #71 --  5,579 (-0.6%)
12/2011: DMZ #72 --  5,990 (+7.4%)
----------------
6 months: + 2.8%
1 year  : - 0.6%
2 years : -14.2%
5 years : -56.4%

Concluding its run after six years. A few years back, Brian Wood comics used to be comparatively solid performers at Vertigo, both as periodicals and as paperback collections, but this doesn’t seem to be true anymore. Nor, for that matter, does it look like there’s much of anything at Vertigo that may get to issue #72, at this stage.
—–

260 - SCOOBY DOO: WHERE ARE YOU? (Johnny DC)
12/2006: Scooby Doo #115 -- 4,364
12/2007: Scooby Doo #127 -- 4,293
12/2008: Scooby Doo #139 -- ?
12/2009: Scooby Doo #151 -- 3,906
---------------------------------
12/2010: SD:WAY? #4      -- 4,802 (- 1.2%)
01/2011: SD:WAY? #5      -- 4,540 (- 5.5%)
02/2011: SD:WAY? #6      -- 4,456 (- 1.9%)
03/2011: SD:WAY? #7      -- 4,522 (+ 1.5%)
04/2011: SD:WAY? #8      -- 4,599 (+ 1.7%)
05/2011: SD:WAY? #9      -- 4,838 (+ 5.2%)
06/2011: SD:WAY? #10     -- 4,774 (- 1.3%)
07/2011: SD:WAY? #11     -- 4,791 (+ 0.4%)
08/2011: SD:WAY? #12     -- 4,686 (- 2.2%)
09/2011: SD:WAY? #13     -- 4,701 (+ 0.3%)
10/2011: SD:WAY? #14     -- ?
11/2011: SD:WAY? #15     -- 4,701
12/2011: SD:WAY? #16     -- 4,627 (- 1.6%)
----------------
6 months: - 3.1%
1 year  : - 3.6%
2 years : +18.5%
5 years : + 6.0%

Another Johnny DC book.
—–

265 - UNCHARTED
11/2011: Uncharted #1 of 6 -- 6,171
12/2011: Uncharted #2 of 6 -- 4,532 (-26.6%)

268 - GEARS OF WAR
12/2009: --
12/2010: GoW #3  -- 12,095
--------------------------
12/2010: GoW #15 --  4,709 (- 9.5%)
01/2011: --
02/2011: --
03/2011: GoW #16 --  4,719 (+ 0.2%)
04/2011: --
05/2011: --
06/2011: GoW #17 --  4,652 (- 1.4%)
07/2011: GoW #18 --  4,327 (- 7.0%)
08/2011: GoW #19 --  ?
09/2011: --
10/2011: GoW #20 --  ?
11/2011: --
12/2011: GoW #21 --  4,374
----------------
6 months: - 6.0%
1 year  : - 7.1%
2 years : -63.8%

Two more video-game adaptations.

Another one, End of Nations #2, also shipped in December, but failed to make the chart. As always, for the purposes of the average-sales statistics below, I’m assuming it sold as many units as the No. 300 title on the chart, which was 3,105 in December.
—–

"NEW 52" #4 CHANGES
- 6.0%: Aquaman
- 9.6%: Teen Titans
- 9.7%: Batman: The Dark Knight
------
-10.4%: Nightwing
-10.5%: All Star Western
-10.6%: Detective Comics
-10.8%: New Guardians
-11.4%: Batman
-11.4%: Superman
-11.5%: Justice League
-11.7%: Red Hood
-11.9%: Batman and Robin
-12.1%: Wonder Woman
-12.6%: GL Corps
-12.7%: Catwoman
-13.0%: Supergirl
-13.3%: Animal Man
-13.4%: JLD
-14.3%: Batgirl
-14.5%: Flash
-14.6%: Swamp Thing
-14.9%: Batwoman
------
-15.0%: Green Lantern
-15.4%: Suicide Squad
-15.7%: Birds of Prey
-15.7%: Superboy
-16.3%: Action Comics
-17.1%: I, Vampire
-17.4%: Red Lanterns
-17.4%: Voodoo
-19.0%: Demon Knights
-19.0%: JLI
-19.1%: Firestorm
-19.7%: Hawkman
------
-20.4%: LoSH
-20.9%: Green Arrow
-21.1%: Stormwatch
-21.4%: DCU Presents
-21.8%: Resurrection Man
-21.9%: Deathstroke
-22.1%: Frankenstein
-22.5%: Blue Beetle
-23.1%: Legion Lost
-23.9%: Batwing
-24.6%: Grifter
-24.8%: Blackhawks
-25.8%: Captain Atom
-26.8%: OMAC
-27.1%: Hawk & Dove
-28.2%: Static Shock
-29.0%: Mister Terrific
-30.0%: Men of War

—–

6-MONTH COMPARISONS
+228.6%: JLA
+187.1%: All Star Western
+168.9%: Action Comics
+157.1%: Batgirl
+153.8%: Detective Comics
+151.9%: Batman
+130.3%: Teen Titans
+110.5%: Supergirl
+104.8%: Superman
+ 87.4%: Wonder Woman
+ 73.6%: Superboy
+ 38.2%: Batman and Robin
+ 34.7%: Green Arrow
+ 34.2%: THUNDER Agents
+ 23.2%: LoSH
+ 18.7%: Birds of Prey
+  3.8%: My Greatest Adventure
+  2.8%: DMZ
+  1.2%: All-New BBB
+  0.8%: Hellblazer
-  1.2%: New Guardians
-  1.6%: Tiny Titans
-  3.1%: Scooby-Doo
-  4.9%: Fables
-  5.2%: American Vampire
-  6.0%: GoW
-  6.7%: Sweet Tooth
-  9.7%: Unwritten
- 14.7%: I, Zombie
- 19.7%: Young Justice
- 23.3%: Batman, Inc.
- 28.1%: DCU Online

—–

1-YEAR COMPARISONS
+248.7%: Action Comics
+207.9%: JLA
+169.3%: All Star Western
+161.8%: Detective Comics
+137.8%: Batgirl
+111.5%: Batman
+111.3%: Teen Titans
+ 95.4%: Supergirl
+ 77.9%: Superman
+ 62.5%: Wonder Woman
+ 40.3%: Flash
+ 40.3%: Green Lantern
+ 26.0%: Superboy
+ 20.9%: New Guardians
+ 11.1%: LoSH
+ 10.4%: Batman and Robin
+  7.0%: THUNDER Agents
+  5.1%: GL Corps
+  2.3%: Birds of Prey
+  0.7%: Hellblazer
+  0.5%: All-New BBB
-  0.6%: DMZ
-  3.6%: Scooby-Doo
-  6.2%: Green Arrow
-  7.1%: GoW
- 10.5%: Sweet Tooth
- 12.6%: Batman: The Dark Knight
- 15.1%: Unwritten
- 21.7%: American Vampire
- 23.5%: Fables
- 26.9%: I, Zombie
- 39.8%: Batman, Inc.

—–

2-YEAR COMPARISONS
+254.0%: Action Comics
+135.6%: Superman
+120.5%: Wonder Woman
+119.6%: Green Arrow
+117.4%: JLA
+103.0%: Batman
+ 94.0%: All Star Western
+ 90.0%: Detective Comics
+ 84.6%: Batgirl
+ 56.8%: Supergirl
+ 26.6%: Teen Titans
+  7.1%: Green Lantern
+  6.0%: All-New BBB
-  4.1%: Tiny Titans
-  9.0%: Hellblazer
- 13.9%: Fables
- 14.2%: DMZ
- 21.6%: Sweet Tooth
- 26.5%: GL Corps
- 30.5%: Unwritten

—–

5-YEAR COMPARISONS
+104.4%: Catwoman
+ 75.5%: Batman
+ 73.3%: Detective Comics
+ 67.9%: Firestorm
+ 64.6%: Nightwing
+ 60.4%: All Star Western
+ 55.8%: Hawkman
+ 47.6%: GL Corps
+ 44.3%: Flash
+ 43.4%: Stormwatch
+ 15.5%: Birds of Prey
+ 15.2%: Green Arrow
+ 10.9%: JLA
+  6.0%: Scooby-Doo
+  0.2%: Blue Beetle
-  8.7%: Teen Titans
-  9.5%: All-New BBB
- 16.4%: LoSH
- 24.1%: Supergirl
- 28.9%: Hellblazer
- 32.0%: Fables
- 56.4%: DMZ

—–
Average Periodical Sales (not counting reprints, reorders shipping after the initial month of release, Johnny DC titles and magazines)

DC COMICS
12/2006: 34,418
12/2007: 33,138
12/2008: 26,793**
12/2009: 25,904**
---------------
12/2010: 23,869 (-  6.4%)**
01/2011: 21,922 (-  8.2%)**
02/2011: 23,252 (+  6.1%)**
03/2011: 23,976 (+  3.1%)**
04/2011: 25,651 (+  7.0%)
05/2011: 24,561 (-  4.3%)**
06/2011: 25,814 (+  5.1%)**
07/2011: 26,138 (+  1.3%)**
08/2011: 25,632 (-  1.9%)**
09/2011: 57,224 (+123.3%)
10/2011: 51,280 (- 10.4%)**
11/2011: 41,414 (- 19.2%)**
12/2011: 35,397 (- 14.5%)**
-----------------
6 months: + 37.1%
1 year  : + 48.3%
2 years : + 36.7%
5 years : +  2.8%

DC UNIVERSE
12/2006: 44,641
12/2007: 40,074
12/2008: 35,050
12/2009: 35,473**
---------------
12/2010: 30,870 (-  9.7%)
01/2011: 24,321 (- 21.2%)**
02/2011: 25,887 (+  6.4%)**
03/2011: 26,720 (+  3.2%)**
04/2011: 29,126 (+  9.0%)
05/2011: 27,745 (-  4.7%)**
06/2011: 28,673 (+  3.4%)**
07/2011: 28,586 (-  0.3%)**
08/2011: 27,761 (-  2.9%)**
09/2011: 67,411 (+142.8%)
10/2011: 59,146 (- 12.3%)**
11/2011: 46,670 (- 21.1%)**
12/2011: 39,390 (- 15.6%)**
-----------------
6 months: + 37.4%
1 year  : + 27.6%
2 years : + 11.0%
5 years : - 11.8%

VERTIGO
12/2006: 13,834
12/2007: 11,035
12/2008: 11,603
12/2009: 10,583
---------------
12/2010: 11,193 (+23.9%)
01/2011: 10,145 (- 9.4%)
02/2011: 10,295 (+ 1.5%)
03/2011: 10,450 (+ 1.5%)
04/2011: 10,014 (- 4.2%)
05/2011: 10,668 (+ 6.5%)
06/2011: 10,415 (- 2.4%)
07/2011: 10,784 (+ 3.5%)
08/2011: 10,147 (- 5.9%)
09/2011:  9,995 (- 1.5%)
10/2011: 10,643 (+ 6.5%)
11/2011: 10,355 (- 2.7%)
12/2011: 11,082 (+ 7.0%)
-----------------
6 months: +  6.4%
1 year  : -  1.0%
2 years : +  4.7%
5 years : - 19.9%

—–
Disclaimers, et cetera

The numbers above are estimates for comic-book sales in the North American direct market, as calculated by ICv2.com according to the chart and index information provided by Diamond Comic Distributors.

ICv2.com’s estimates are somewhat lower than the actual numbers, but they are consistent from month to month, so the trends they show are fairly accurate. Since it’s a “month-to-month” column, the comments, unless otherwise noted, are on the most recent month.

Bear in mind that the figures measure sales to retailers, not customers. Also, these numbers do not include sales to bookstores, newsstands, other mass-market retail chains or the United Kingdom. Re-orders are included, so long as they either reached stores in a book’s initial calendar month of release or were strong enough to make the chart again in a subsequent month.

If additional copies of an issue did appear on the chart after a book’s initial calendar month of release, you can see the total number of copies sold in parenthesis behind those issues (e.g. “[36,599]“). Should more than one issue have shipped in a month which is relevant for one of the long-term comparisons, the average between them will be used.

Titles released under the Johnny DC imprint and magazines, such as Mad, mostly sell through channels other than the direct market, so direct-market sales don’t tell us much about their performance. For most Vertigo titles, collection sales tend to be a significant factor, so the numbers for those books should be taken with a grain of salt as well. To learn (a little) more about Vertigo’s collection sales, go right here.

** Two asterisks after a given month in the average charts mean that one or more periodical release did not make the Top 300 chart in that month. In those cases, it’s assumed that said releases sold as many units as the No. 300 comic on the chart for that month for the purposes of the chart, although its actual sales are likely to be less than that.

For a more lyrical approach to discussing sales figures that covers all the essentials in a more condensed, less tedious fashion, finally, go right here.

—–
Marc-Oliver Frisch writes about comics at his weblog and at Comicgate. You can also follow him on Twitter.

by Paul O’Brien

This month, the slow build to AVENGERS VS X-MEN begins with the AVENGERS: X-SANCTION miniseries; and DEFENDERS is relaunched. Both are wisely given a pretty clear run, without other Marvel launches competing for space.

Elsewhere, the X-Men, Hulk and Fantastic Four relaunches continue to bed down. And down at the bottom end of the chart, the cancellations continue to mount up.

Normal service is resumed, kind of, as Marvel had the largest share of the north American direct market, albeit by a fairly narrow margin – 39% to 38% in units, 34.4% to 33.7% in dollars. But bear in mind, this was a five-week month where DC more or less sat out week five.

Thanks as always to ICV2.com for permission to use these figures.

5. AVENGERS: X-SANCTION
12/11  #1 of 4 - 93,380

Marvel have made it very clear that this is an Important Book which contains the build-up to a crossover that will dominate two major franchises for half of 2012. So it’s no great surprise to see it as Marvel’s top seller of the month.

As you’d expect, this high-priority book is supported by a horde of variant covers. In addition to 1:15, 1:25, 1:100 and 1:200 variants, there are also two different retailer-specific covers. That’s a gimmick that has worked well for Marvel in the past, though there surely has to be a risk of overuse if the company isn’t careful.

7. DEFENDERS
12/11  #1 - 85,969

The other big launch of the month, and again, Marvel are supporting it heavily. For one thing, this has multiple variant covers (1:10, 1:25, 1:50 and 1:200). But more to the point, it was overshipped by 50%.

Judging from the sales figures on earlier overshipping promotions, Diamond appears to count the extra copies towards the chart – a curious policy, given that outright freebies are excluded, but there it is. Stripping out the 50% uplift, we can estimate the actual orders at 57,313. That’s marginally lower than the first issue of VENOM. (It’s also marginally lower than the first issue of WOLVERINE: THE BEST THERE IS, but since that book continued to bleed readers throughout its run, it’s not a very useful comparison.)

Still, this is the Defenders, a franchise which comes round again every few years and has usually struggled. I’d say 57K initial orders is a pretty respectable debut.

As for the broader issues of overshipping, in theory it’s not a bad idea. The logic is that if you have more copies on the shelves then you have a greater chance to reach readers. Whether it works in practice is another matter. After all, if retailers really thought they could sell those extra copies, they’d have ordered them in the first place. But that involves the retailers taking a risk, and if Marvel have more confidence than they do, this sort of promotion may make sense.

12. UNCANNY X-MEN
12/06  #481 -  85,995
12/07  #493 - 102,114
12/08  #505 -  82,271
12/09  #519 -  67,043
=====
12/10  #531 -  55,770  ( -3.9%)
01/11  #532 -  54,071  ( -3.0%)
02/11  #533 -  53,834  ( -0.4%)
03/11  #534 -  55,731  ( +3.5%)
04/11  #.1  -  53,473  ( -4.1%)
04/11  #535 -  56,795  ( +6.2%)
04/11  #536 -  53,502  ( -5.8%)
05/11  #537 -  53,716  ( +0.4%)
06/11  #538 -  53,319  ( -0.7%)
06/11  #539 -  54,284  ( +1.8%)
07/11  #540 -  57,206  ( +5.4%)
07/11  #541 -  55,856  ( -2.4%)
08/11  #542 -  54,840  ( -1.8%)
09/11  #543 -  58,326  ( +6.4%)
10/11  #544 -  60,212  ( +3.2%)
11/11  #1   - 109,911  (+82.5%)
11/11  #2   -  72,485  (-34.1%)
12/11  #3   -  64,112  (-11.6%)
               6 mnth  (+18.1%)
               1 year  (+15.0%)
               2 year  ( -4.4%)
               3 year  (-22.1%)
               4 year  (-37.2%)
               5 year  (-25.4%)

No variant cover this month, so the settling-down process may be slightly exaggerated. The book is still miles ahead of pre-relaunch numbers, but it’s evidently some way from finding its level just yet.

13. AVENGING SPIDER-MAN
11/11  #1 - 112,153
12/11  #2 -  60,682  (-45.9%)

The first issue had four variants, and this had one. Still a big drop, though.

15. WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN
10/11  #1 - 99,611
11/11  #2 - 83,356  (-16.3%)
12/11  #3 - 58,438  (-29.9%)

Issue #1 picks up 3,756 re-orders to chart at number 282. Those are included in the number above.

As with UNCANNY, this is the first issue without a variant cover, which may be exaggerating the drops. But it’s a bigger drop than I’d have expected.

17. AVENGERS
11/10  #7  - 89,758  (+22.5%)
12/10  #8  - 67,056  (-25.3%)
01/11  #9  - 64,867  ( -3.3%)
02/11  #10 - 63,924  ( -1.5%)
03/11  #11 - 66,618  ( +4.2%)
04/11  #12 - 63,441  ( -4.8%)
04/11  #.1 - 60,455  ( -4.7%)
05/11  #13 - 68,086  (+12.6%)
06/11  #14 - 64,057  ( -5.9%)
07/11  #15 - 62,580  (-17.9%)
08/11  #16 - 60,295  ( -3.7%)
09/11  #17 - 61,492  ( +2.0%)
10/11  #18 - 58,897  ( -4.2%)
11/11  #19 - 56,620  ( -3.9%)
12/11  #20 - 57,145  ( +0.9%)
             6 mnth  (-10.8%)
             1 year  (-36.3%)

Variant cover, explaining the very slight increase.

18,21. UNCANNY X-FORCE
12/08  #10 - 58,801
12/09  #22 - 51,859
=====
12/10  #3  - 55,520  (-1.8%)
01/11  #4  - 51,381  (-7.5%)
02/11  #5  - 51,470  (+0.2%)
03/11  #.1 - 50,732  (-1.4%)
03/11  #6  - 51,248  (-1.0%)
04/11  #7  - 54,292  (+5.9%)
04/11  #8  - 50,908  (-6.2%)
05/11  #9  - 51,726  (+1.6%)
05/11  #10 - 50,676  (-2.0%)
06/11  #11 - 53,199  (+5.0%)
07/11  #12 - 55,413  (+4.2%)
08/11  #13 - 53,904  (-2.7%)
08/11  #14 - 50,770  (-5.8%)
09/11  #15 - 53,771  (+5.9%)
10/11  #16 - 52,398  (-2.6%)
11/11  #17 - 50,974  (-2.7%)
12/11  #18 - 54,274  (+6.5%)
12/11  #19 - 55,333  (+2.0%)
             6 mnth  (+4.0%)
             1 year  (-0.3%)
             2 year  (+6.7%)
             3 year  (-5.9%)

Issue #18 has one variant, issue #19 has two, so a degree of increase is to be expected. But given that variant covers often have a rather muted effect, it could also be that there’s real interest in the climax of the well-received “Dark Angel Saga”. More generally, X-FORCE seems to be selling steadily in the low 50K range – an impressive performance in the current market.

20,22. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
12/06  ---
12/07  #545 - 124,481
12/08  #581 -  68,905
12/09  #616 -  58,856
=====
12/10  #650 -  58,909  (  +6.1%)
01/11  #651 -  56,749  (  -3.7%)
01/11  #652 -  52,050  (  -8.3%)
02/11  #653 -  53,103  (  +2.0%)
02/11  #654 -  53,882  (  +1.5%)
02/11  #.1  -  55,283  (  +2.6%)
02/11  #655 -  53,366  (  -3.5%)
03/11  #656 -  59,626  ( +11.7%)
03/11  #657 -  58,704  (  -1.5%)
04/11  #658 -  61,687  (  +5.1%)
04/11  #659 -  58,258  (  -5.6%)
05/11  #660 -  58,249  (  -0.0%)
05/11  #661 -  59,087  (  +1.4%)
05/11  #662 -  55,883  (  -5.4%)
06/11  #663 -  57,040  (  +2.1%)
06/11  #664 -  54,808  (  -3.9%)
07/11  #665 -  56,948  (  +3.9%)
07/11  #666 - 135,568  (+138.1%)
08/11  #667 -  71,235  ( -47.5%)
08/11  #668 -  57,533  ( -19.2%)
09/11  #669 -  71,944  ( +25.0%)
09/11  #670 -  57,959  ( -19.4%)
10/11  #671 -  59,426  (  +2.5%)
10/11  #672 -  57,860  (  -2.6%)
11/11  #673 -  57,159  (  -1.2%)
11/11  #674 -  57,723  (  +1.0%)
12/11  #675 -  54,652  (  -5.3%)
12/11  #676 -  54,001  (  -1.2%)
               6 mnth  (  -1.5%)
               1 year  (  -8.3%)
               2 year  (  -8.2%)
               3 year  ( -21.6%)
               4 year  ( -56.6%)
               5 year  (   --- )

No variants this month, so we’re back to gentle drifting down. But the book was lower than this at the start of the year. Overall, it still looks pretty stable.

25. NEW AVENGERS
12/06  #26 - 122,670
12/07  #37 - 105,545
12/08  #48 -  93,908
12/09  #60 -  72,790
=====
12/10  #7  -  67,840  ( +1.7%)
01/11  #8  -  61,169  ( -9.8%)
02/11  #9  -  60,914  ( -0.4%)
03/11  #10 -  59,929  ( -1.6%)
04/11  #11 -  61,778  ( +3.1%)
05/11  #12 -  60,328  ( -2.3%)
06/11  #13 -  57,682  ( -4.4%)
07/11  #14 -  58,306  ( +1.1%)
08/11  #15 -  56,035  ( -3.9%)
09/11  #16 -  57,959  ( +3.4%)
09/11  #.1 -  51,506  (-11.1%)
10/11  #17 -  55,732  ( +8.2%)
11/11  #18 -  54,454  ( -2.3%)
12/11  #19 -  52,915  ( -2.8%)
              6 mnth  ( -8.3%)
              1 year  (-22.0%)
              2 year  (-27.3%)
              3 year  (-43.7%)
              4 year  (-49.9%)
              5 year  (-56.9%)

Second straight month without a variant. The downward trend on this book is pretty evident.

29. FANTASTIC FOUR
12/06  #541 -  84,895
12/07  #552 -  51,320
12/08  #562 -  54,062
12/09  #574 -  38,431
=====
12/10  #586 -  42,829  (  +3.0%)
01/11  #587 - 144,173  (+236.6%)
02/11  #588 -  68,153  ( -52.7%)
03/11  #1   - 121,172  ( +77.8%)
04/11  #2   -  72,897  ( -39.8%)
05/11  #3   -  66,885  (  -8.2%)
05/11  #4   -  60,571  (  -9.4%)
06/11  #5   -  58,925  (  -2.7%)
07/11  #6   -  55,601  (  -5.6%)
07/11  #7   -  54,022  (  -2.8%)
08/11  #8   -  51,917  (  -0.2%)
09/11  #9   -  53,091  (  +2.3%)
10/11  #10  -  49,642  (  -6.5%)
10/11  #11  -  48,433  (  -2.4%)
11/11  #600 -  73,809  ( +52.4%)
12/11  #601 -  51,080  ( -30.8%)
               6 mnth  ( -13.3%)
               1 year  ( +19.3%)
               2 year  ( +32.9%)
               3 year  (  -5.5%)
               4 year  (  -0.5%)
               5 year  ( -39.8%)

Pretty much straight back to previous sales levels after the renumbering last month. Of course, the book is still holding on to the sales it gained from the March relaunch.

30. ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN
12/06  #103    -  76,251
12/07  #117    -  60,361
12/08  #129    -  51,071
12/09  #5      -  45,849
=====
12/10  #151    -  33,707  ( -16.9%)
01/11  #152    -  33,481  (  -1.0%)
02/11  #153    -  43,986  ( +31.4%)
02/11  #154    -  43,209  (  -1.8%)
03/11  #155    -  44,067  (  +2.0%)
03/11  #156    -  44,920  (  +1.9%)
04/11  #157    -  50,896  ( +13.3%)
05/11  #158    -  47,941  (  -5.8%)
06/11  #159    -  51,766  (  +8.0%)
06/11  #160    - 166,944  (+222.5%)
07/11  #1 of 6 -  49,084  ( -70.6%)
07/11  #2 of 6 -  45,371  (  -7.6%)
07/11  #3 of 6 -  44,492  (  -1.9%)
08/11  #4 of 6 -  96,815  (+117.6%)
08/11  #5 of 6 -  41,336  ( -57.3%)
08/11  #6 of 6 -  39,190  (  -5.2%)
09/11  #1      -  95,483  (+143.6%)
09/11  #2      -  58,672  ( -38.6%)
10/11  #3      -  52,521  ( -10.5%)
11/11  #4      -  51,558  (  -1.8%)
12/11  #5      -  48,308  (  -6.3%)
                  6 mnth  (  -6.7%)
                  1 year  ( +43.3%)
                  2 year  (  +5.4%)
                  3 year  (  -5.4%)
                  4 year  ( -20.0%)
                  5 year  ( -36.6%)

Back on a downward slide, but the book is still a good 15K up as a result of the Death of Spider-Man arc and the relaunch.

31,32. CAPTAIN AMERICA
12/06  ---
12/07  #33  - 78,279
12/08  #45  - 71,186
12/09  R#5  - 91,790
=====
12/10  #613 - 42,871  (  -9.4%)
01/11  #614 - 42,119  (  -1.8%)
02/11  #615 - 41,935  (  -0.4%)
03/11  #.1  - 43,117  (  +2.8%)
03/11  #616 - 44,394  (  +3.0%)
04/11  #617 - 45,400  (  +2.3%)
05/11  #618 - 44,748  (  -1.4%)
06/11  #619 - 44,796  (  +0.1%)
07/11  #1   - 96,926  (+116.4%)
08/11  #2   - 54,384  ( -43.9%)
09/11  #3   - 54,413  (  +0.1%)
10/11  ---
11/11  #4   - 54,157  (  -0.5%)
12/11  #5   - 47,333  ( -12.6%)
12/11  #6   - 47,753  (  +0.9%)
              6 mnth  (  +6.6%)
              1 year  ( +11.4%)
              2 year  ( -48.0%)
              3 year  ( -32.9%)
              4 year  ( -39.0%)
              5 year  (   --- )

Issue #6 has a variant cover, hence the slight increase. Rather odd, jerky sales here, but there seems to be a general trend back towards the pre-relaunch sales levels.

33. INCREDIBLE HULK
12/06  #101 -  47,927
12/07  #112 -  77,119
12/08  #9   -  87,786
12/09  #605 -  43,964
=====
12/10  #618 -  34,868  (  -1.5%)
12/10  #619 -  32,657  (  -6.3%)
01/11  #620 -  30,992  (  -5.1%)
01/11  #621 -  30,957  (  -0.1%)
02/11  #622 -  30,404  (  -1.8%)
02/11  #623 -  30,140  (  -0.9%)
03/11  #624 -  32,066  (  +6.4%)
03/11  #625 -  29,792  (  -7.1%)
04/11  #626 -  29,782  (  -0.0%)
04/11  #627 -  30,788  (  +3.3%)
05/11  #628 -  28,822  (  -6.4%)
05/11  #629 -  28,103  (  -2.5%)
06/11  #630 -  28,028  (  -0.3%)
06/11  #631 -  27,456  (  -2.0%)
07/11  #632 -  28,518  (  +3.9%)
07/11  #633 -  27,216  (  -4.6%)
08/11  #634 -  27,310  (  +0.3%)
08/11  #635 -  38,223  ( +40.0%)
09/11  ---
10/11  #1   - 106,472  (+178.6%)
11/11  #2   -  80,143  ( -24.7%)
12/11  #3   -  46,446  ( -42.0%)
               6 mnth  ( +69.2%)
               1 year  ( +33.2%)
               2 year  (  +5.6%)
               3 year  ( -47.1%)
               4 year  ( -39.8%)
               5 year  (  -3.1%)

Issue #2 was also overshipped by 50%, so the actual orders would have been closer to 53,429, bringing out a much more reasonable 13% drop – especially when you bear in mind that there’s no variant cover this month. Considering that the HULK titles were both selling below 30K before this relaunch, the numbers aren’t bad.

But it does beg the question of how much benefit Marvel are getting from these overshipping promotions. It certainly doesn’t seem to have inspired retailers to up their orders here.

34. KICK-ASS 2  [Icon]
12/10  ---
01/11  ---
02/11  ---
03/11  #2 of 7 - 62,235  (-19.1%)
04/11  ---
05/11  ---
06/11  ---
07/11  ---
08/11  #3 of 7 - 54,270  (-12.8%)
09/11  #4 of 7 - 51,014  ( -6.0%)
10/11  ---
11/11  #5 of 7 - 53,937  ( +5.7%)
12/11  #6 of 7 - 45,390  (-15.8%)

Issue #5 had two variant covers; this has one. That suggests the underlying drop may be speeding up, but sales remain very healthy, especially by Icon standards.

36. FF
03/11  #1  - 121,172  (+77.8%)
04/11  #2  -  72,897  (-39.8%)
05/11  #3  -  66,885  ( -8.2%)
05/11  #4  -  60,571  ( -9.4%)
06/11  #5  -  58,925  ( -2.7%)
07/11  #6  -  55,601  ( -5.6%)
07/11  #7  -  54,022  ( -2.8%)
08/11  #8  -  51,917  ( -0.2%)
09/11  #9  -  53,091  ( +2.3%)
10/11  #10 -  49,642  ( -6.5%)
10/11  #11 -  48,433  ( -2.4%)
11/11  #12 -  49,449  ( +2.1%)
12/11  #13 -  44,970  ( -9.1%)
              6 mnth  (-23.7%)

Bearing in mind that this is essentially a new title attempting to inherit an audience from FANTASTIC FOUR, it’s not done too badly.

44. X-MEN
12/10  #6  - 53,005  ( -6.4%)
01/11  #7  - 64,615  (+21.9%)
02/11  #8  - 49,522  (-23.4%)
03/11  #9  - 51,179  ( +3.3%)
04/11  #10 - 50,553  ( -1.2%)
05/11  #11 - 46,519  ( -8.0%)
06/11  #12 - 45,786  ( -1.6%)
06/11  #13 - 44,665  ( -2.4%)
07/11  #14 - 45,150  ( +1.1%)
07/11  #15 - 43,038  ( -4.7%)
08/11  #.1 - 38,078  (-11.5%)
08/11  #16 - 43,161  (+13.3%)
09/11  #17 - 43,200  ( +0.1%)
09/11  #18 - 42,066  ( -2.6%)
10/11  #19 - 40,906  ( -2.8%)
11/11  #20 - 43,515  ( +6.4%)
11/11  #21 - 39,919  ( -8.3%)
12/11  #22 - 39,121  ( -2.0%)
             6 mnth  (-12.4%)
             1 year  (-26.2%)

Ignore the variant on issue #20, and this seems to be on a slow but steady decline.

45. DAREDEVIL
12/06  #92     - 48,035
12/07  #103    - 43,874
12/08  #114    - 44,351
12/09  #502    - 38,680
=====
12/10  #512    - 40,317  (  -7.1%)
01/11  #1 of 4 - 34,310  ( -14.9%)
02/11  #2 of 4 - 29,108  ( -15.2%)
03/11  #3 of 4 - 27,231  (  -6.4%)
04/11  ---
05/11  #4 of 4 - 26,179  (  -3.9%)
06/11  ---
07/11  #1      - 64,866  (+147.8%)
08/11  #2      - 40,990  ( -36.8%)
09/11  #3      - 39,477  (  -3.7%)
09/11  #4      - 40,311  (  +2.1%)
10/11  #5      - 39,413  (  -2.2%)
11/11  #6      - 38,302  (  -2.8%)
12/11  #7      - 38,824  (  +1.4%)
                 6 mnth  (   --- )
                 1 year  (  -3.7%)
                 2 year  (  +0.4%)
                 3 year  ( -12.5%)
                 4 year  ( -11.5%)
                 5 year  ( -19.2%)

This has a 1:50 variant, but it doesn’t appear to have had much of an impact. Sales on DAREDEVIL have been weirdly consistent since issue #3 regardless of variant covers.

47. SECRET AVENGERS
12/10  #8  -  54,048  ( -9.9%)
01/11  #9  -  50,748  ( -6.1%)
02/11  #10 -  49,717  ( -2.0%)
03/11  #11 -  51,353  ( +3.3%)
04/11  #12 -  50,641  (-13.9%)
04/11  #.1 -  46,161  ( -8.8%)
05/11  #13 -  51,936  (+12.5%)
06/11  #14 -  49,898  ( -3.9%)
07/11  #15 -  46,712  ( -6.4%)
08/11  #16 -  46,317  ( -0.8%)
09/11  #17 -  44,890  ( -3.1%)
10/11  #18 -  43,280  ( -3.6%)
11/11  #19 -  41,191  ( -4.8%)
12/11  #20 -  38,202  ( -7.3%)
              6 mnth  (-23.4%)
              1 year  (-29.3%)

First issue in a while to lack a variant cover.

48. MIGHTY THOR
12/06  ---
12/07  #5   - 101,551
12/08  #12  -  73,784
12/09  #605 -  55,242
=====
12/10  #618 -  45,142  ( -8.2%)
01/11  #619 -  42,899  ( -5.0%)
02/11  #620 -  42,106  ( -1.8%)
03/11  #.1  -  41,605  ( -1.2%)
03/11  #621 -  42,104  ( +1.2%)
04/11  #1   -  82,071  (+94.9%)
05/11  #2   -  50,473  (-38.5%)
06/11  #3   -  48,114  ( -4.7%)
07/11  #4   -  44,586  ( -7.3%)
08/11  #5   -  44,594  ( +0.0%)
09/11  #6   -  45,231  ( +1.4%)
10/11  #7   -  44,017  ( -2.7%)
11/11  #8   -  40,703  ( -7.5%)
12/11  #9   -  38,000  ( -6.6%)
               6 mnth  (-21.0%)
               1 year  (-15.8%)
               2 year  (-31.2%)
               3 year  (-48.5%)
               4 year  (-62.6%)
               5 year  (  --- )

Settling back into a steady decline, from the look of it.

49. X-MEN LEGACY
12/06  #194 - 78,114
12/07  #206 - 97,871
12/08  #219 - 60,587
12/09  #230 - 49,776
=====
12/10  #243 - 41,797  ( -4.5%)
01/11  #244 - 40,193  ( -3.8%)
02/11  #245 - 57,203  (+42.3%)
03/11  #246 - 47,893  (-16.3%)
04/11  #247 - 51,970  ( +8.5%)
05/11  #248 - 46,083  (-11.3%)
05/11  #249 - 45,063  ( -2.2%)
06/11  #250 - 45,070  ( +0.0%)
06/11  #251 - 43,479  ( -3.5%)
07/11  #252 - 41,365  ( -4.9%)
08/11  #253 - 40,466  ( -2.2%)
08/11  #254 - 39,896  ( -1.4%)
09/11  #255 - 39,284  ( -1.5%)
09/11  #256 - 38,680  ( -1.5%)
10/11  #257 - 38,070  ( -1.6%)
11/11  #258 - 38,334  ( +0.7%)
11/11  #259 - 41,967  ( +9.5%)
12/11  #260 - 37,946  ( -9.6%)
              6 mnth  (-12.7%)
              1 year  ( -9.2%)
              2 year  (-23.8%)
              3 year  (-37.4%)
              4 year  (-61.2%)
              5 year  (-51.4%)

The final issue of Mike Carey’s run. Christos Gage and David Baldeon take over in January.

50. CARNAGE, U.S.A.
12/11  #1 of 5 - 37,620

The last CARNAGE mini opened at 47K, so there’s a degree of diminishing returns here.

51. WOLVERINE
12/06  #49 - 78,807
12/07  #60 - 63,194
12/08  #70 - 98,915
12/09  #8  - 33,470
=====
12/10  #4  - 52,812  ( +2.3%)
01/11  #5  - 46,920  (-11.2%)
02/11  #.1 - 44,332  ( -5.5%)
02/11  #6  - 45,932  ( +3.6%)
03/11  #7  - 47,337  ( +3.1%)
04/11  #8  - 47,010  ( -0.7%)
05/11  #9  - 44,635  ( -5.1%)
06/11  #10 - 42,677  ( -4.4%)
06/11  #11 - 41,813  ( -2.0%)
07/11  #12 - 42,110  ( +0.7%)
08/11  #13 - 39,296  ( -0.7%)
08/11  #14 - 38,869  ( -0.1%)
09/11  #15 - 37,951  ( -2.4%)
09/11  #16 - 37,796  ( -0.4%)
10/11  #17 - 39,405  ( +4.3%)
11/11  #18 - 40,170  ( +1.9%)
11/11  #19 - 37,997  ( -5.4%)
12/11  #20 - 37,360  ( -1.7%)
             6 mnth  (-10.6%)
             1 year  (-29.3%)
             2 year  (+11.6%)
             3 year  (-62.2%)
             4 year  (-40.9%)
             5 year  (-52.6%)

Seems to be fairly steady when variants are left aside. The book renumbers to #300 in January.

52,56. ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN
12/06  #77 - 67,338
12/07  #88 - 51,633
12/08  #99 - 44,360
12/09  ---
=====
12/10  ---
01/11  ---
02/11  ---
03/11  #4  - 37,631  (-15.6%)
04/11  ---
05/11  ---
06/11  #5  - 34,730  ( -7.7%)
07/11  ---
08/11  ---
09/11  #1  - 67,625  (+94.7%)
10/11  #2  - 44,399  (-34.3%)
11/11  #3  - 39,657  (-10.7%)
12/11  #4  - 37,115  ( -6.4%)
12/11  #5  - 35,153  ( -5.3%)
             6 mnth  ( +1.2%)
             1 year  (  --- )
             2 year  (  --- )
             3 year  (-20.8%)
             4 year  (-31.9%)
             5 year  (-47.8%)

56. ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES
12/06  ---
12/07  #1 of 5 - 131,401
12/08  ---
12/09  ---
=====
12/10  ---
01/11  ---
02/11  #5 of 5 -  38,663  ( -9.8%)
02/11  #1 of 6 -  49,360  (+47.5%)
03/11  #2 of 6 -  44,116  (-10.6%)
04/11  #3 of 6 -  43,822  ( -0.7%)
05/11  #4 of 6 -  43,707  ( -0.3%)
06/11  #5 of 6 -  42,803  ( -2.1%)
07/11  #6 of 6 -  42,760  ( -0.1%)
08/11  #1      -  58,522  (+36.9%)
09/11  #2      -  42,728  (-27.0%)
10/11  #3      -  40,792  ( -4.5%)
11/11  #4      -  39,342  ( -3.6%)
12/11  #5      -  36,396  ( -7.5%)
                  6 mnth  (-15.0%)
                  1 year  (  --- )
                  2 year  (  --- )
                  3 year  (  --- )
                  4 year  (-72.3%)
                  5 year  (  --- )

While ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN has done alright from the relaunch, its sister titles both have yet to find their level.

55. INVINCIBLE IRON MAN
12/06  #14  - 73,388
12/07  #24  - 38,834
12/08  #8   - 56,708
12/09  #21  - 49,986
=====
12/10  #33  - 41,890  ( +2.2%)
01/11  #500 - 54,186  (+29.4%)
02/11  #.1  - 42,191  (-22.1%)
02/11  #501 - 41,517  ( -1.6%)
03/11  #502 - 43,899  ( +5.7%)
04/11  #503 - 45,314  ( +3.2%)
05/11  #504 - 44,791  ( -1.2%)
06/11  #505 - 42,327  ( -5.5%)
07/11  #506 - 41,052  ( -3.0%)
08/11  #507 - 40,082  ( -2.4%)
09/11  #508 - 41,295  ( +3.0%)
10/11  #509 - 38,721  ( -6.2%)
11/11  #510 - 38,118  ( -1.6%)
12/11  #511 - 35,402  ( -7.1%)
              6 mnth  (-16.4%)
              1 year  (-15.5%)
              2 year  (-29.2%)
              3 year  (-37.6%)
              4 year  ( -8.8%)
              5 year  (-51.8%)

No variant this month, but there’s clearly an underlying decline in place as well.

59,67. FEAR ITSELF: THE FEARLESS
10/11  #1 of 12 - 59,464
11/11  #2 of 12 - 57,794  ( -2.8%)
11/11  #3 of 12 - 36,044  (-37.6%)
12/11  #4 of 12 - 31,491  (-12.6%)
12/11  #5 of 12 - 29,343  ( -6.8%)

It’s levelling out slowly, but with seven issues to go, this could drop to awkward levels by the end of its run.

60. ASTONISHING X-MEN
12/06  #19 - 124,033
12/07  ---
12/08  ---
12/09  #33 -  57,592
=====
12/10  ---
01/11  ---
02/11  #36 -  44,326  (-12.2%)
03/11  ---
04/11  ---
05/11  #37 -  38,513  (-13.1%)
05/11  #38 -  37,580  ( -2.4%)
06/11  #39 -  37,127  ( -1.2%)
07/11  #40 -  35,593  ( -4.1%)
08/11  #41 -  33,470  ( -6.0%)
09/11  #42 -  32,700  ( -2.3%)
10/11  #43 -  32,620  ( -0.2%)
11/11  #44 -  32,729  ( +0.3%)
12/11  #45 -  31,392  ( -4.1%)
              6 mnth  (-15.4%)
              1 year  (  --- )
              2 year  (-45.5%)
              3 year  (  --- )
              4 year  (  --- )
              5 year  (-74.7%)

Very slow decline, but nothing too alarming over the last few months.

65. AVENGERS: THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADE
11/10  #3 of 9 - 35,410  ( -0.2%)
12/10  ---
01/11  #4 of 9 - 31,977  ( -9.7%)
02/11  ---
03/11  ---
04/11  #5 of 9 - 31,945  ( -0.1%)
05/11  ---
06/11  #6 of 9 - 30,467  ( -4.6%)
07/11  ---
08/11  ---
09/11  #7 of 9 - 30,247  ( -0.7%)
10/11  ---
11/11  ---
12/11  #8 of 9 - 29,601  ( -2.1%)

Considering the slow schedule, this has been reasonably steady over the course of the year.

66,68. VENOM
03/11  #1  - 58,936
04/11  #2  - 41,006  (-30.4%)
05/11  #3  - 40,634  ( -0.9%)
06/11  #4  - 38,946  ( -4.2%)
07/11  #5  - 35,102  ( -9.9%)
08/11  #6  - 35,033  ( -0.2%)
09/11  #7  - 33,130  ( -5.4%)
10/11  #8  - 32,266  ( -2.6%)
11/11  #9  - 32,506  ( +0.7%)
12/11  #10 - 29,465  ( -9.4%)
12/11  #11 - 28,658  ( -2.7%)
             6 mnth  (-26.4%)

Dropping slowly, but consistently.

69. CAPTAIN AMERICA AND BUCKY
07/11  #620 - 51,187
08/11  #621 - 36,069  (-29.5%)
09/11  #622 - 34,096  ( -5.5%)
10/11  #623 - 32,041  ( -6.0%)
11/11  #624 - 30,472  ( -4.9%)
12/11  #625 - 28,652  ( -6.0%)

Still to find its level. The book is being converted into a Captain America team-up title with rotating story arcs.

71,73. DEADPOOL
12/08  #5  - 46,856
12/09  #18 - 45,914
=====
12/10  #30 - 30,488  ( -2.7%)
01/11  #31 - 29,167  ( -4.3%)
01/11  #32 - 29,144  ( -0.1%)
02/11  #33 - 28,649  ( -1.7%)
03/11  #.1 - 28,979  ( +1.2%)
03/11  #34 - 30,299  ( +4.6%)
04/11  #35 - 28,517  ( -5.9%)
04/11  #36 - 28,173  ( -1.2%)
05/11  #37 - 28,002  ( -0.6%)
06/11  #38 - 27,809  ( -0.7%)
06/11  #39 - 28,400  ( +2.1%)
07/11  #40 - 27,303  ( -3.9%)
08/11  #41 - 26,766  ( -2.0%)
08/11  #42 - 26,794  ( +0.1%)
09/11  #43 - 26,643  ( -0.6%)
10/11  #44 - 26,678  ( +0.1%)
10/11  #45 - 27,552  ( +3.3%)
11/11  #46 - 26,260  ( -4.7%)
12/11  #47 - 25,910  ( -1.3%)
12/11  #48 - 25,458  ( -1.7%)
             6 mnth  (-10.4%)
             1 year  (-16.5%)
             2 year  (-44.6%)
             3 year  (-45.7%)

Extremely slow decline. Marvel are giving issue #50 a big push with house ads.

72. NEW MUTANTS
12/09  #8  - 32,240
=====
12/10  #20 - 24,416  ( -4.0%)
01/11  #21 - 23,773  ( -2.6%)
02/11  #22 - 41,236  (+73.5%)
03/11  #23 - 37,659  ( -8.7%)
04/11  #24 - 38,701  ( +2.8%)
05/11  #25 - 34,724  (-10.3%)
06/11  #26 - 27,848  (-19.7%)
07/11  #27 - 27,963  ( +0.4%)
07/11  #28 - 26,130  ( -6.6%)
08/11  #29 - 27,205  ( -4.1%)
08/11  #30 - 26,678  ( -1.9%)
09/11  #31 - 25,672  ( -3.8%)
10/11  #32 - 25,364  ( -1.2%)
11/11  #33 - 28,665  (+13.0%)
11/11  #34 - 25,847  ( -9.8%)
12/11  #35 - 25,564  ( -1.1%)
             6 mnth  ( -8.2%)
             1 year  ( +4.7%)
             2 year  (-20.7%)

Another book which has been very solid if you set the variant covers aside – consistently in the 25K area since September.

78. MOON KNIGHT
12/06  ---
12/07  ---
12/08  #25 - 23,283
12/09  #4  - 21,483
=====
12/10  ---
01/11  ---
02/11  ---
03/11  ---
04/11  ---
05/11  #1  - 49,018  (+167.6%)
06/11  #2  - 35,333  ( -27.9%)
07/11  #3  - 33,781  (  -4.4%)
08/11  #4  - 30,237  ( -10.5%)
09/11  #5  - 28,423  (  -6.0%)
10/11  #6  - 27,493  (  -3.3%)
11/11  #7  - 27,062  (  -1.6%)
12/11  #8  - 24,626  (  -9.0%)
             6 mnth  ( -30.3%)
             1 year  (   --- )
             2 year  ( +14.6%)
             3 year  (  +5.8%)
             4 year  (   --- )
             5 year  (   --- )

79. JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY
04/11  #622 - 43,925
05/11  #623 - 39,003  (-11.2%)
06/11  #624 - 35,834  ( -8.1%)
07/11  #625 - 33,781  ( -5.7%)
08/11  #626 - 31,549  ( -6.6%)
08/11  #.1  - 27,877  (-11.6%)
09/11  #627 - 29,678  ( +6.5%)
09/11  #628 - 28,843  ( -2.8%)
10/11  #629 - 28,054  ( -2.7%)
10/11  #630 - 27,701  ( -1.3%)
11/11  #631 - 27,161  ( -1.9%)
12/11  #632 - 24,159  (-11.0%)
              6 mnth  (-32.6%)

81. PUNISHER
12/06  ---
12/07  #14     - 38,471
12/08  #26     - 22,243
12/09  #12     - 24,985
=====
12/10  #2 of 5 - 16,608  ( -17.1%)
01/11  #3 of 5 - 15,298  (  -7.9%)
02/11  #4 of 5 - 14,861  (  -2.9%)
03/11  #5 of 5 - 14,468  (  -2.6%)
04/11  ---
05/11  ---
06/11  ---
07/11  ---
08/11  #1      - 44,725  (+209.1%)
08/11  #2      - 42,459  (  -5.1%)
09/11  #3      - 26,802  ( -36.9%)
10/11  #4      - 25,847  (  -3.6%)
11/11  #5      - 25,399  (  -1.7%)
12/11  #6      - 23,971  (  -5.6%)
                 6 mnth  (   --- )
                 1 year  ( +44.3%)
                 2 year  (  -4.1%)
                 3 year  (  +7.8%)
                 4 year  ( -37.7%)
                 5 year  (   --- )

All three had variant covers last month, presumably distorting the decline.

83,84. X-FACTOR
12/06  #14  - 40,208
12/07  #26  - 74,699
12/08  #38  - 34,425
12/09  #200 - 36,577
=====
12/10  #212 - 26,443  ( -0.7%)
01/11  #213 - 25,403  ( -3.9%)
01/11  #214 - 25,117  ( -1.1%)
02/11  #215 - 25,298  ( +0.7%)
03/11  #216 - 25,256  ( -0.2%)
03/11  #217 - 25,125  ( -0.5%)
04/11  #218 - 24,826  ( -1.2%)
05/11  #219 - 24,766  ( -0.2%)
06/11  #220 - 24,926  ( +0.6%)
06/11  #221 - 24,502  ( -1.7%)
07/11  #222 - 24,794  ( +1.2%)
08/11  #223 - 23,854  ( -3.8%)
08/11  #224 - 23,681  ( -0.7%)
09/11  #.1  - 23,220  ( -1.9%)
09/11  #225 - 23,507  ( +1.2%)
10/11  #226 - 23,569  ( +0.3%)
11/11  #227 - 23,742  ( +0.7%)
12/11  #228 - 23,461  ( -1.2%)
12/11  #229 - 23,667  ( +0.9%)
              6 mnth  ( -3.4%)
              1 year  (-10.5%)
              2 year  (-35.3%)
              3 year  (-31.3%)
              4 year  (-68.3%)
              5 year  (-41.1%)

Another book that has found its level; this is about as consistent as Marvel titles get.

85,88. HULK
12/08  #9  - 87,786
12/09  #18 - 53,222
=====
12/10  #28 - 34,755  (-10.2%)
01/11  ---
02/11  #29 - 33,375  ( -4.0%)
02/11  #30 - 32,907  ( -1.4%)
03/11  #.1 - 32,163  ( -2.3%)
03/11  #31 - 31,368  ( -2.5%)
04/11  #32 - 30,652  ( -2.3%)
05/11  #33 - 32,273  ( +5.3%)
06/11  #34 - 29,391  ( -8.9%)
06/11  #35 - 28,539  ( -2.9%)
07/11  #36 - 28,651  ( +0.4%)
07/11  #37 - 30,318  ( +5.8%)
08/11  #38 - 29,059  ( -4.2%)
08/11  #39 - 26,895  ( -7.4%)
09/11  #40 - 26,591  ( -1.1%)
09/11  #41 - 26,084  ( -1.9%)
10/11  #42 - 27,025  ( +3.6%)
10/11  #43 - 25,514  ( -5.6%)
11/11  #44 - 24,596  ( -3.6%)
12/11  #45 - 23,273  ( -5.4%)
12/11  #46 - 22,974  ( -1.3%)
             6 mnth  (-19.5%)
             1 year  (-33.9%)
             2 year  (-56.8%)
             3 year  (-73.8%)

Still on a gentle decline.

89. AVENGERS ACADEMY
12/10  #7  - 27,774  ( +6.9%)
01/11  #8  - 24,014  (-13.5%)
02/11  #9  - 23,709  ( -1.3%)
03/11  #10 - 23,708  ( -0.0%)
03/11  #11 - 23,636  ( -0.3%)
04/11  #12 - 23,578  ( -0.2%)
05/11  #13 - 24,840  ( +5.4%)
05/11  #14 - 23,537  ( -5.2%)
06/11  #.1 - 23,499  ( -0.2%)
06/11  #15 - 26,378  (+12.3%)
07/11  #16 - 25,379  ( -3.8%)
08/11  #17 - 24,898  ( -1.9%)
08/11  #18 - 24,538  ( -1.4%)
09/11  #19 - 23,928  ( -2.5%)
10/11  #20 - 23,412  ( -2.2%)
11/11  #21 - 22,713  ( -3.0%)
11/11  #22 - 22,531  ( -0.8%)
12/11  #23 - 22,422  ( -0.5%)
             6 mnth  (-15.0%)
             1 year  (-19.3%)

Very small drops over the last couple of months, but the book has been holding steady in the 23K range for most of the year.

91,96. X-23
12/10  #4  - 29,703  ( -4.9%)
01/11  #5  - 27,855  ( -6.2%)
02/11  #6  - 27,156  ( -2.5%)
03/11  #7  - 27,510  ( +1.3%)
03/11  #8  - 27,745  ( +0.9%)
04/11  #9  - 28,562  ( +2.9%)
05/11  #10 - 26,157  ( -8.4%)
06/11  #11 - 25,985  ( -0.7%)
07/11  #12 - 24,605  ( -5.3%)
08/11  #13 - 23,976  ( -2.6%)
09/11  #14 - 23,727  ( -1.0%)
10/11  #15 - 24,043  ( +1.3%)
11/11  #16 - 22,737  ( -5.4%)
11/11  #17 - 22,780  ( +0.2%)
12/11  #18 - 21,999  ( -3.4%)
12/11  #19 - 21,348  ( -3.0%)
             6 mnth  (-17.8%)
             1 year  (-28.1%)

Cancelled with issue #21.

93. BATTLE SCARS
11/11  #1 of 6 - 32,222
12/11  #2 of 6 - 21,702  (-32.6%)

Pretty much disappearing off the radar, despite Marvel’s attempts to launch it off the back of FEAR ITSELF.

97. THUNDERBOLTS
12/06  #109 - 27,300
12/07  ---
12/08  #127 - 36,378
12/09  #139 - 29,957
=====
12/10  #151 - 27,943  (-11.9%)
01/11  #152 - 26,515  ( -5.1%)
02/11  #153 - 26,098  ( -1.6%)
03/11  #154 - 25,455  ( -2.5%)
03/11  #155 - 26,710  ( +4.9%)
04/11  #156 - 25,117  ( -6.0%)
05/11  #157 - 25,063  ( -0.2%)
06/11  #158 - 28,422  (+13.4%)
06/11  #159 - 27,463  ( -3.4%)
07/11  #160 - 27,810  ( +1.3%)
08/11  #161 - 26,439  ( -4.9%)
08/11  #162 - 25,990  ( -1.7%)
09/11  #163 - 24,199  ( -6.9%)
09/11  #.1  - 22,596  ( -6.6%)
10/11  #164 - 23,712  ( +4.9%)
11/11  #165 - 22,536  ( -5.0%)
11/11  #166 - 22,680  ( +0.6%)
12/11  #167 - 21,167  ( -6.7%)
              6 mnth  (-22.9%)
              1 year  (-24.2%)
              2 year  (-29.3%)
              3 year  (-41.8%)
              4 year  (  --- )
              5 year  (-22.5%)

Very gradual erosion.

For some reason, number 98 is ULTIMATE COMICS FALLOUT #4, with 20,877 – presumably a case of Marvel offloading stock. Issue #1 of the same mini appears at 182, with 9,392.

105. MAGNETO: NOT A HERO
11/11  #1 of 4 - 21,543
12/11  #2 of 4 - 19,262  (-10.6%)

You can see why Marvel are moving away from minis when they aren’t tied to big events; the audience just doesn’t seem interested in supporting them.

106. GENERATION HOPE
12/10  #2  - 38,984  ( +4.2%)
01/11  #3  - 24,094  (-38.2%)
02/11  #4  - 22,170  ( -8.0%)
03/11  #5  - 21,290  ( -4.0%)
04/11  #6  - 20,376  ( -4.3%)
05/11  #7  - 20,375  ( -0.0%)
06/11  #8  - 18,883  ( -7.3%)
07/11  #9  - 18,135  ( -4.0%)
08/11  #10 - 29,245  (+61.3%)
09/11  #11 - 20,243  (-30.8%)
10/11  #12 - 18,424  ( -9.0%)
11/11  #13 - 21,317  (+15.7%)
12/11  #14 - 19,234  ( -9.8%)
             6 mnth  ( +1.9%)
             1 year  (-50.7%)

So, no huge increase from the Regenesis relaunch. It goes without saying that a question mark has to hang over the book’s long term future – because we’re about to descend into the cancelled titles. Abandon publication, all ye who enter here.

111. S.H.I.E.L.D.
12/10  #5 - 27,133  (-16.5%)
01/11  ---
02/11  #6 - 26,190  ( -3.5%)
03/11  ---
04/11  #∞ - 22,260  (-15.0%)
05/11  ---
06/11  #1 - 28,718  (+29.0%)
07/11  ---
08/11  #2 - 22,877  (-20.3%)
09/11  ---
10/11  #3 - 21,060  ( -7.9%)
11/11  ---
12/11  #4 - 18,475  (-12.3%)
            6 mnth  (-35.7%)
            1 year  (-31.9%)

Final issue.

112. ALPHA FLIGHT
05/11  #.1 - 25,775
06/11  #1  - 46,851  (+81.8%)
07/11  #2  - 26,862  (-42.7%)
08/11  #3  - 24,872  ( -7.4%)
09/11  #4  - 23,242  ( -6.6%)
10/11  #5  - 20,731  (-10.8%)
11/11  #6  - 19,316  ( -6.8%)
12/11  #7  - 18,416  ( -4.7%)
             6 mnth  (-60.7%)

Cancelled with issue #8.

116. DAKEN: DARK WOLVERINE
12/09  #81 - 48,102
=====
12/10  #4  - 30,726  ( -6.0%)
01/11  ---
02/11  #5  - 28,833  ( -6.2%)
03/11  #6  - 27,486  ( -4.7%)
03/11  #7  - 27,224  ( -1.0%)
04/11  #8  - 26,925  ( -1.1%)
05/11  #9  - 26,294  ( -2.3%)
05/11  #.1 - 24,599  ( -6.4%)
06/11  #10 - 24,724  ( +0.5%)
07/11  #11 - 23,207  ( -6.1%)
08/11  #12 - 21,734  ( -6.3%)
08/11  #13 - 21,302  ( -2.0%)
09/11  #14 - 20,460  ( -4.0%)
10/11  #15 - 19,759  ( -3.4%)
10/11  #16 - 19,472  ( -1.5%)
11/11  #17 - 18,794  ( -3.5%)
12/11  #18 - 17,806  ( -5.3%)
             6 mnth  (-28.0%)
             1 year  (-42.0%)
             2 year  (-63.0%)

Cancelled with issue #23.

118. WOLVERINE: THE BEST THERE IS
12/10  #1  - 57,348
01/11  #2  - 33,469  (-41.6%)
02/11  #3  - 27,790  (-17.0%)
03/11  #4  - 25,226  ( -9.2%)
04/11  #5  - 24,771  ( -1.8%)
05/11  #6  - 22,695  ( -8.4%)
06/11  #7  - 22,001  ( -3.1%)
07/11  #8  - 20,393  ( -7.3%)
08/11  #9  - 19,476  ( -4.5%)
09/11  #10 - 18,781  ( -3.6%)
10/11  ---
11/11  #11 - 18,094  ( -3.7%)
12/11  #12 - 17,772  ( -1.8%)
             6 mnth  (-19.2%)
             1 year  (-69.0%)

Final issue.

119. ANNIHILATORS: EARTHFALL
03/11  #1 of 4 - 26,543
04/11  #2 of 4 - 24,117  ( -9.1%)
05/11  #3 of 4 - 23,145  ( -4.0%)
06/11  #4 of 4 - 21,604  ( -6.7%)
07/11  ---
08/11  ---
09/11  #1 of 4 - 22,259  ( +3.0%)
10/11  #2 of 4 - 19,068  (-14.3%)
11/11  #3 of 4 - 18,379  ( -3.6%)
12/11  #4 of 4 - 17,612  ( -4.2%)

121. X-CLUB
12/11  #1 of 5 - 17,552

This is an X-Men mini. The solicitations have quietly cut it back from five issues to four in mid-run.

123. PUNISHERMAX  [Max]
12/06  #42 - 33,003
12/07  #53 - 31,772
12/08  #65 - 23,881
12/09  #2  - 23,110
=====
12/10  ---
01/11  ---
02/11  #10 - 19,236  (-10.3%)
03/11  #11 - 19,243  ( +0.0%)
04/11  #12 - 18,740  ( -2.6%)
05/11  #13 - 18,448  ( -1.6%)
06/11  #14 - 17,965  ( -2.6%)
07/11  #15 - 17,706  ( -1.4%)
08/11  #16 - 17,625  ( -0.5%)
09/11  #17 - 17,540  ( -0.5%)
10/11  #18 - 17,541  ( +0.0%)
11/11  #19 - 17,473  ( -0.4%)
12/11  #20 - 17,191  ( -1.6%)
             6 mnth  ( -4.3%)
             1 year  (  --- )
             2 year  (-25.6%)
             3 year  (-28.0%)
             4 year  (-45.9%)
             5 year  (-47.9%)

Cancelled with issue #22, though Jason Aaron says the story was ending anyway, and the content of the book makes that appear very plausible.

125. GHOST RIDER
06/11  #.1 - 24,830
07/11  #1  - 41,308  (+66.4%)
08/11  #2  - 24,440  (-40.8%)
09/11  #3  - 22,180  ( -9.2%)
10/11  #4  - 21,012  ( -5.3%)
11/11  #5  - 18,664  (-11.2%)
11/11  #6  - 18,297  ( -2.0%)
12/11  #7  - 16,846  ( -7.9%)
             6 mnth  (-32.2%)

Cancelled with issue #9.

133. VILLAINS FOR HIRE
12/10  #1      - 32,936
01/11  #2      - 23,013  (-30.1%)
02/11  #3      - 22,401  ( -2.7%)
03/11  #4      - 21,827  ( -2.6%)
04/11  #5      - 21,815  ( -0.0%)
05/11  #6      - 20,057  ( -8.1%)
05/11  #7      - 18,671  ( -6.9%)
06/11  #8      - 18,029  ( -3.4%)
07/11  #9      - 19,676  ( +9.1%)
08/11  #10     - 18,374  ( -6.6%)
09/11  #11     - 17,550  ( -4.5%)
09/11  #12     - 15,698  (-10.6%)
10/11  S-I     - 15,079  ( -3.9%)
11/11  #.1     - 15,281  ( +1.3%)
12/11  #1 of 4 - 15,519  ( +1.6%)
                 6 mnth  (-13.9%)
                 1 year  (-52.9%)

The miniseries replacing HEROES FOR HIRE. It’s been cut back from five issues to four.

134. DARK TOWER: WAY STATION
12/07  ---
12/08  Treachery #4      - 53,735
12/09  Jericho Hill #1   - 30,756
=====
12/10  Little Sisters #1 - 19,807  ( -7.1%)
01/11  #2 of 5           - 18,589  ( -6.1%)
02/11  #3 of 5           - 17,748  ( -4.5%)
03/11  #4 of 5           - 17,490  ( -1.5%)
04/11  #5 of 5           - 17,283  ( -1.2%)
05/11  ---
06/11  Tull #1 of 5      - 17,667  ( +2.2%)
07/11  #2 of 5           - 16,888  ( -4.4%)
08/11  #3 of 5           - 16,337  ( -3.3%)
09/11  #4 of 5           - 15,788  ( -3.4%)
10/11  #5 of 5           - 15,613  ( -1.1%)
11/11  ---
12/11  Way Station #1    - 15,367  ( -1.6%)
                           6 mnth  (-13.0%)
                           1 year  (-22.4%)
                           2 year  (-50.0%)
                           3 year  (-71.4%)
                           4 year  (  --- )

Novel adaptation. Not necessarily aimed at the direct market audience to the same extent as the other books around it.

137,141. BLACK PANTHER
12/06  #23     - 54,762
12/07  #33     - 25,906
12/08  ---
12/09  #11     - 17,989
=====
12/10  #4 of 4 -  9,145  ( -11.7%)
12/10  #513    - 33,124  (+262.2%)
01/11  #514    - 27,474  ( -17.1%)
02/11  #515    - 24,556  ( -10.6%)
03/11  #516    - 23,987  (  -2.3%)
04/11  #517    - 23,120  (  -3.6%)
05/11  #518    - 20,906  (  -9.6%)
06/11  #519    - 19,883  (  -4.9%)
06/11  #520    - 19,400  (  -2.4%)
07/11  #521    - 22,163  ( +14.2%)
08/11  #522    - 20,342  (  -8.2%)
09/11  #523    - 18,798  (  -7.6%)
09/11  #.1     - 16,592  ( -11.7%)
10/11  #524    - 18,248  ( +10.0%)
11/11  #525    - 16,295  ( -10.7%)
12/11  #526    - 15,015  (  -7.9%)
12/11  #527    - 14,677  (  -2.3%)
                 6 mnth  ( -24.3%)
                 1 year  ( +60.5%)
                 2 year  ( -18.4%)
                 3 year  (   --- )
                 4 year  ( -43.3%)
                 5 year  ( -73.2%)

Cancelled with issue #529.

146. AVENGERS 1959
10/11  #1 of 5 - 32,418
10/11  #2 of 5 - 18,989  (-41.4%)
11/11  #3 of 5 - 16,629  (-12.4%)
12/11  #4 of 5 - 13,935  (-16.2%)

Pretty dreadful numbers, but Marvel must have known it was a niche project when they commissioned it.

151,159. IRON MAN 2.0
02/11  #1  - 31,380
02/11  #2  - 24,600  (-21.6%)
03/11  #3  - 20,905  (-15.0%)
04/11  #4  - 20,342  ( -2.7%)
05/11  #5  - 20,320  ( -0.1%)
06/11  #6  - 19,798  ( -2.6%)
07/11  #7  - 20,390  ( +3.0%)
08/11  #.1 - 16,984  (-16.7%)
08/11  #8  - 16,455  ( -3.1%)
09/11  #9  - 15,600  ( -5.2%)
10/11  ---
11/11  #10 - 13,910  (-10.8%)
12/11  #11 - 13,255  ( -4.7%)
12/11  #12 - 12,513  ( -5.6%)
             6 mnth  (-36.8%)

Final issue.

153. DEADPOOL MAX X-MAS SPECIAL
12/11  One-shot - 13,176

154. DEADPOOL MAX  [Max]
12/10  #3  - 20,990  (-10.2%)
01/11  #4  - 19,238  ( -8.3%)
02/11  #5  - 18,221  ( -5.3%)
03/11  #6  - 17,528  ( -3.8%)
04/11  #7  - 17,005  ( -3.0%)
05/11  #8  - 16,428  ( -3.4%)
06/11  #9  - 15,802  ( -3.8%)
07/11  #10 - 15,067  ( -4.7%)
08/11  #11 - 14,626  ( -2.9%)
09/11  #12 - 14,507  ( -0.8%)
10/11  #1  - 15,865  ( +9.4%)
11/11  #2  - 14,171  (-10.7%)
12/11  #3  - 13,070  ( -7.8%)
             6 mnth  (-17.3%)
             1 year  (-37.7%)

Cancelled with issue #6.

158. THE STAND: NIGHT HAS COME
12/08  Captain Trips #4  - 49,211
12/09  Soul Survivors #3 - 24,308
=====
12/10  ---
01/11  ---
02/11  No Man's Land #1  - 16,094  ( -3.9%)
03/11  #2 of 5           - 15,332  ( -4.7%)
03/11  #3 of 5           - 14,768  ( -3.7%)
04/11  ---
05/11  #4 of 5           - 14,696  ( -0.5%)
06/11  #5 of 5           - 14,480  ( -1.5%)
07/11  ---
08/11  Night #1 of 6     - 14,510  ( -0.2%)
09/11  #2 of 6           - 13,723  ( -5.4%)
10/11  #3 of 6           - 13,423  ( -2.2%)
11/11  #4 of 6           - 12,803  ( -4.6%)
12/11  #5 of 6           - 12,583  ( -1.7%)
                           6 mnth  (-13.1%)
                           1 year  (  --- )
                           2 year  (-48.2%)
                           3 year  (-74.4%)

Ends in January (having completed the adaptation).

163. AVENGERS: SOLO
10/11  #1 of 5 - 18,427
11/11  #2 of 5 - 13,747  (-25.4%)
12/11  #3 of 5 - 11,530  (-16.1%)

166. THOR: DEVIANTS SAGA
11/11  #1 of 5 - 13,660
12/11  #2 of 5 - 11,273  (-17.5%)

172. VENGEANCE
07/11  #1 of 6 - 25,873
08/11  #2 of 6 - 16,895  (-34.7%)
09/11  #3 of 6 - 13,446  (-20.4%)
10/11  #4 of 6 - 11,948  (-11.1%)
11/11  #5 of 6 - 10,931  ( -8.5%)
12/11  #6 of 6 - 10,422  ( -4.7%)

Hangovers from a previous commissioning policy, one suspects.

207. OZ
12/08  #1 of 8 - 25,116
12/09  #2 of 8 - 15,783
=====
12/10  #2 of 8 - 10,419  (-21.2%)
01/11  #3 of 8 -  9,386  ( -9.9%)
02/11  #4 of 8 -  9,159  ( -2.4%)
03/11  ---
04/11  #5 of 8 -  8,797  ( -4.0%)
05/11  #6 of 8 -  8,753  ( -0.5%)
06/11  #7 of 8 -  8,672  ( -0.9%)
07/11  #8 of 8 -  8,216  ( -5.3%)
08/11  ---
09/11  #1 of 8 - 10,648  (+29.6%)
10/11  #2 of 8 -  8,504  (-20.1%)
11/11  #3 of 8 -  8,381  ( -1.4%)
12/11  #4 of 8 -  7,694  ( -8.2%)
                 6 mnth  (-11.3%)
                 1 year  (-26.2%)
                 2 year  (-51.3%)
                 3 year  (-69.4%)

Presumably not aimed at the direct market to the same extent as the other titles here.

211. LEGION OF MONSTERS
10/11  #1 of 4 - 16,785
11/11  #2 of 4 -  8,601  (-48.8%)
12/11  #3 of 4 -  7,502  (-12.8%)

Truly horrid sales, unfortunately.

232. MARVEL HOLIDAY SPECIAL 2011
12/11  One-shot - 6,787

This is a reprint of material that was available for free in digital form, presumably for those who desperately want a physical copy for their collection, or just shun electricity as the work of the devil. Given that, the sales are reasonable enough.

244. ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER
12/06  G. Pleasures #3   - 36,091
12/07  ---
12/08  L. Corpse #3      - 15,665
12/09  Executioner #2    - 10,454
=====
12/10  ---
01/11  Ingenue #1 of 5   -  7,763  ( -4.7%)
02/11  #2 of 5           -  7,352  ( -5.3%)
03/11  ---
04/11  #3 of 5           -  7,018  ( -4.5%)
04/11  ---
05/11  ---
06/11  #4 of 5           -  6,893  ( -1.8%)
07/11  ---
08/11  #5 of 5           -  6,712  ( -2.6%)
09/11  Scoundrel #1 of 5 -  6,650  ( -0.9%)
10/11  ---
11/11  #2 of 5           -  6,302  ( -5.2%)
12/11  #3 of 5           -  5,914  ( -6.2%)
                           6 mnth  (-14.2%)
                           1 year  (  --- )
                           2 year  (-43.4%)
                           3 year  (-62.2%)
                           4 year  (  --- )
                           5 year  (-83.6%)

Novel adaptation.

246. SIX GUNS
11/11  #1 of 5 - 9,262
11/11  #2 of 5 - 8,031  (-13.3%)
12/11  #3 of 5 - 5,727  (-28.7%)

The modern-day western mini. Sales are frankly dreadful, but again, it’s hard to see what else Marvel could sensibly have expected from a project of this sort, with no real promotion behind it.

251. JOHN CARTER OF MARS: WORLD OF MARS
10/11  #1 of 4 - 15,550
11/11  #2 of 4 -  6,288  (-59.6%)
12/11  #3 of 4 -  5,294  (-15.8%)

252. JOHN CARTER: A PRINCESS OF MARS
09/11  #1 of 5 - 19,173
10/11  #2 of 5 -  6,742  (-64.8%)
11/11  #3 of 5 -  5,845  (-13.3%)
12/11  #4 of 5 -  5,281  ( -9.6%)

Both presumably intended mainly to capitalise on the film when it comes out in March.

258. OFFICIAL HANDBOOK
11/10  Heroic Age: Villains  -  9,294  ( +86.3%)
12/10  A to Z Update #5 of 5 -  4,808  ( -48.3%)
12/10  Heroic Age: X-Men     - 13,789  (+186.8%)
01/11  Blockbusters          -  5,354  ( -61.2%)
02/11  ---
03/11  ---
04/11  Thor                  -  9,251  ( +72.8%)
05/11  X-Men                 -  8,228  ( -11.1%)
06/11  Captain America       -  6,311  ( -23.3%)
07/11  ---
08/11  Fellowship of Fear    - 10,448  ( +65.6%)
09/11  FF                    -  6,761  ( -35.3%)
10/11  Vampires              -  5,220  ( -22.8%)
11/11  History o/t MU        -  7,284  ( +39.5%)
12/11  Defenders             -  4,736  ( -35.0%)
                               6 mnth  ( -25.0%)
                               1 year  ( -49.0%)

No further issues of the HANDBOOK have been solicited, but the creators say one is in the pipeline, and they’re also producing update pages for the trade paperback version of the collections.

262. DEFENDERS: COMING OF THE DEFENDERS
12/11  One-shot - 4,627

Reprint of MARVEL FEATURE #1-3, the first Defenders story – so about what you’d expect.

264. SPIDER-MAN  [Marvel Adventures]
12/06  #22 - 6,396
12/07  #34 - 6,115
12/08  #46 - 4,851
12/09  #58 - 4,352
=====
12/10  #9  - 5,116  (  -2.9%)
01/11  #10 - 4,816  (  -5.9%)
02/11  #11 - 4,923  (  +2.2%)
03/11  #12 - 4,965  (  +0.9%)
04/11  #13 - 5,083  (  +2.4%)
05/11  #14 - 5,220  (  +2.7%)
06/11  #15 - 5,052  (  -3.2%)
07/11  #16 - 4,708  (  -6.8%)
08/11  #17 - 4,675  (  -0.7%)
09/11  #18 - 4,673  (  -0.0%)
10/11  #19 - ?,???  (   ??? )
11/11  #20 - 5,363  (   ??? )
12/11  #21 - 4,549  ( -15.2%)
            6 mnth  ( -10.0%)
            1 year  ( -11.1%)
            2 year  (  +4.3%)
            3 year  (  -6.2%)
            4 year  ( -25.6%)
            5 year  ( -28.9%)

Cancelled with issue #23.

278. FORMIC WARS: SILENT STRIKE
12/11  #1 of 5 - 3,888

Presumably these novel adaptations are selling somewhere or other, but it isn’t the direct market.

292. SUPER HEROES  [Marvel Adventures]
12/10  #9  - ?,???  (  ??? )
01/11  #10 - 3,386  (  ??? )
02/11  #11 - 3,134  ( -7.4%)
03/11  #12 - ?,???  (  ??? )
04/11  #13 - 3,355  (  ??? )
05/11  #14 - 3,610  ( +7.6%)
06/11  #15 - ?,???  (  ??? )
07/11  #16 - ?,???  (  ??? )
08/11  #17 - ?,???  (  ??? )
09/11  #18 - ?,???  (  ??? )
10/11  #19 - ?,???  (  ??? )
11/11  #20 - ?,???  (  ??? )
12/11  #21 - 3,329  (  ??? )
            6 mnth  (  ??? )
            1 year  (  ??? )

Cancelled with issue #23, but making a rare appearance at the bottom end of the top 300 before it goes.

Missing the top 300, with estimated orders below 3,105: OFFICIAL INDEX TO THE MARVEL UNIVERSE, NORTHANGER ABBEY, and MUPPETS PRESENTS: TREASURE OF PEG-LEG WILSON.

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

+69.2% - Incredible Hulk
+18.1% - Uncanny X-Men
+ 6.6% - Captain America
+ 4.0% - X-Force
+ 1.9% - Generation Hope
+ 1.2% - Ultimate Comics X-Men
- 1.5% - Amazing Spider-Man
- 3.4% - X-Factor
- 4.3% - PunisherMax
- 6.7% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man
- 8.2% - New Mutants
- 8.3% - New Avengers
-10.0% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures]
-10.4% - Deadpool
-10.6% - Wolverine
-10.8% - Avengers
-11.3% - Oz
-12.4% - X-Men
-12.7% - X-Men Legacy
-13.0% - Dark Tower
-13.1% - The Stand
-13.3% - Fantastic Four
-13.9% - Heroes for Hire
-14.2% - Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter
-15.0% - Ultimates
-15.0% - Avengers Academy
-15.4% - Astonishing X-Men
-16.4% - Iron Man
-17.3% - Deadpool Max
-17.8% - X-23
-19.2% - Wolverine: The Best There Is
-19.5% - Hulk
-21.0% - Thor
-22.9% - Thunderbolts
-23.4% - Secret Avengers
-23.7% - FF
-24.3% - Black Panther
-25.0% - Official Handbook
-26.4% - Venom
-28.0% - Daken
-30.3% - Moon Knight
-32.2% - Ghost Rider
-32.6% - Journey into Mystery
-35.7% - S.H.I.E.L.D.
-36.8% - Iron Man 2.0
-60.7% - Alpha Flight

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

+60.5% - Black Panther
+44.3% - Punisher
+43.3% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man
+33.2% - Incredible Hulk
+19.3% - Fantastic Four
+15.0% - Uncanny X-Men
+11.4% - Captain America
+ 4.7% - New Mutants
- 0.3% - X-Force
- 3.7% - Daredevil
- 8.3% - Amazing Spider-Man
- 9.2% - X-Men Legacy
-10.5% - X-Factor
-11.1% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures]
-15.5% - Iron Man
-15.8% - Thor
-16.5% - Deadpool
-19.3% - Avengers Academy
-22.0% - New Avengers
-22.4% - Dark Tower
-24.2% - Thunderbolts
-26.2% - X-Men
-26.2% - Oz
-28.1% - X-23
-29.3% - Secret Avengers
-29.3% - Wolverine
-31.9% - S.H.I.E.L.D.
-33.9% - Hulk
-36.3% - Avengers
-37.7% - Deadpool Max
-42.0% - Daken
-49.0% - Official Handbook
-50.7% - Generation Hope
-52.9% - Heroes for Hire
-69.0% - Wolverine: The Best There Is

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

+32.9% - Fantastic Four
+14.6% - Moon Knight
+11.6% - Wolverine
+ 6.7% - X-Force
+ 5.6% - Incredible Hulk
+ 5.4% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man
+ 4.3% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures]
+ 0.4% - Daredevil
- 4.1% - Punisher
- 4.4% - Uncanny X-Men
- 8.2% - Amazing Spider-Man
-18.4% - Black Panther
-20.7% - New Mutants
-23.8% - X-Men Legacy
-25.6% - PunisherMax
-27.3% - New Avengers
-29.2% - Iron Man
-29.3% - Thunderbolts
-31.2% - Thor
-35.3% - X-Factor
-43.4% - Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter
-44.6% - Deadpool
-45.5% - Astonishing X-Men
-48.0% - Captain America
-48.2% - The Stand
-50.0% - Dark Tower
-51.3% - Oz
-56.8% - Hulk
-63.0% - Daken

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

+ 7.8% - Punisher
+ 5.8% - Moon Knight
- 5.4% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man
- 5.5% - Fantastic Four
- 5.9% - X-Force
- 6.2% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures]
-12.5% - Daredevil
-20.8% - Ultimate Comics X-Men
-21.6% - Amazing Spider-Man
-22.1% - Uncanny X-Men
-28.0% - PunisherMax
-31.3% - X-Factor
-32.9% - Captain America
-37.4% - X-Men Legacy
-37.6% - Iron Man
-41.8% - Thunderbolts
-43.7% - New Avengers
-45.7% - Deadpool
-47.1% - Captain America
-48.5% - Thor
-62.2% - Wolverine
-62.2% - Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter
-69.4% - Oz
-71.4% - Dark Tower
-73.8% - Hulk
-74.4% - The Stand

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

- 0.5% - Fantastic Four
- 8.8% - Iron Man
-11.5% - Daredevil
-20.0% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man
-25.6% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures]
-31.9% - Ultimate Comics X-Men
-37.2% - Uncanny X-Men
-37.7% - Punisher
-39.0% - Captain America
-39.8% - Incredible Hulk
-40.9% - Wolverine
-43.3% - Black Panther
-45.9% - PunisherMax
-49.9% - New Avengers
-56.6% - Amazing Spider-Man
-61.2% - X-Men Legacy
-62.6% - Thor
-68.3% - X-Factor
-72.3% - Ultimates

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

- 3.1% - Incredible Hulk
-19.2% - Daredevil
-22.5% - Thunderbolts
-25.4% - Uncanny X-Men
-28.9% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures]
-36.6% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man
-39.8% - Fantastic Four
-41.1% - X-Factor
-47.8% - Ultimate Comics X-Men
-47.9% - PunisherMax
-51.4% - X-Men Legacy
-51.8% - Iron Man
-52.6% - Wolverine
-56.9% - New Avengers
-73.2% - Black Panther
-74.7% - Astonishing X-Men
-83.6% - Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter

.

When I worked on the front lines of retail, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was unofficially the end of our holiday sales period, which usually started the first weekend of November.  Of course, our clearance sale would continue on through the end of February, but this was the day we could finally relax and “get back to normal”.  (As well as take vacations, which usually were frozen during the Holiday shopping season.

So, here’s a snapshot of what’s selling over on Barnesandnoble.com .  For simplicity’s sake, I’m only listing those titles which chart above #1000 for all books on BN.com .  This is a snapshot taken at 3 PM today.  This is the order they were displayed, so rankings might be a bit disorganized.  I have no understanding how their algorithms work, I’m just reporting what I saw.  The dates after the title are when that particular edition was published.  Titles and authors link to BN.com .

#175

#265

#408

By Todd Allen

Over at Publisher’s Weekly, I was writing about how Marvel has trouble keeping their books in print and had some retailers tell me how Marvel’s sales suffer for it.  Now with Diamond’s 2011 year-end sales charts coming out, WOW, do things look odd.

Of course, a comic shop doesn’t have to order graphic novels from Diamond.  A lot of them are now ordering from book distributors like Baker & Taylor.  You’d see Hark! A Vagrant in Diamond’s top 500 books and Habibi much higher than #240 if all of the DM were buying their graphic novels through Diamond.

Marvel’s best selling title was Kick-Ass! at #49.  Yes, there were 48 graphic novels that sold better through Diamond than anything Marvel put out in 2011.  Does that startle you?  Here’s a list of Marvel’s Top 20 Sellers and their 2011 rank for Diamond:

What do we really have here?

Kick Ass - Marvel's Best Selling Graphic Novel?

An Icon title by Millar, followed by a 2010 release by Millar (that’s something of a one-off “What If” book), followed by a 2006 release also by Millar (and again a one-off, not part of a continuing series).  Then Castle, a licensed original graphic novel.  By now we’re down to #71 overall.  Then Nemesis, another Icon title by Millar.  Finally, Marvel’s 6th bestselling book, #87 overall is the first volume of Uncanny X-Force and we finally have a collection of an ongoing Marvel universe title  charting.

Contrast that with Marvel’s sales in monthly comics and it’s a stark difference.

What’s the composition of Marvel’s top 20 graphic novel titles?

Icon = 6
Licensed = 4
Marvel Universe = 10

Half of Marvel’s top 10 books aren’t in the Marvel Universe.  Of those 616 titles, 2 are Deadpool and 2 are Jonathon Hickman’s Fantastic Four run.  Did you have Deadpool pegged as one of Marvel’s most important graphic novel properties?  Me either, but it appears to be up there.

Similarly, the Ultimate comics line, which used to be a big seller, first charts all the way down at #21 for Marvel / #220 for Diamond with the second volume of Ultimate Comics Spider-Man.

Are the traditional book distributors moving a lot more Marvel books than I think they are?  How different are Marvel’s graphic novel readers from their monthly readers?  Is the prominence of the Icon titles in Marvel’s Diamond rankings indicative of a different reader demographic or indicative of the Icon books being kept in print, as opposed to Marvel’s tendency to let volumes fall out of availability?

I don’t have concrete answers to those questions (though I look forward to the annual leaking of the BookScan report and getting a better handle on Marvel’s bookstore fortunes).  All I know is, Marvel’s taking a back seat to all sorts of publishers, when it comes to graphic novels.  Dark Horse, DC, Dynamite, Image, Legendary, Oni and Top Shelf all had at least one title that sold better through Diamond than anything than Marvel.  That just seems a little odd.

Courtesy of Diamond, we’ve been posting their top sales charts for 2011 today (more are coming) — but one question keeps coming up. Diamond releases charts for both “Indie” publishers and “Small” publishers. What is the difference? When you see Random House — the world’s biggest publisher — on Diamond’s “Small” chart, it seems paradoxical. Well, Diamond has provided us with some definitions.

“Independent” means a non-premier publisher, so anything outside Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Image or IDW would be on these charts. These five publishers are all in the front of Diamond’s catalog and enjoy many other privileges.

“Small Press” is defined by Diamond as publishers outside the top-10 bestselling publishers over the previous six months. “By offering these breakdowns of the bestselling small press comics and graphic novels, a spotlight is shown on these publishers, affording them recognition for their strong sales in a crowded marketplace,” explained a Diamond spokesman.

If you noted the Top Ten publishers list we posted earlier, you’ll see that “Small” would include D&Q, Fantagraphics, Pantheon, Oni, Legendary…publishers who all had bestsellers in 2011. Comparing the top 500 to the top 250 chart is an interesting business.

.

Diamond has released its year-end figures for 2011 and Marvel eked out a win over DC despite the New 52 surge at the end of the year. Image was #3, with Dark Horse and IDW in a near-dead heat for #4 and #5. Dynamite was a clear #6

Although we’ll be posting the entire list in a page view, Diamond also released the top ten comics and GNs. DC won nine of the top comics spots, despite one Marvel appearance for the “Death of Ultimate Spider-Man” issue.

In the graphic novels, WALKING DEAD ruled the roost, although, predictably, Batman and Alan Moore made an appearance. Less predictably, so did Nick Spencer’s MORNING GLORIES collection.

Quantity Rank

Description

Price

Publisher

1

JUSTICE LEAGUE #1

$3.99

DC COMICS

2

BATMAN #1

$2.99

DC COMICS

3

ACTION COMICS #1

$3.99

DC COMICS

4

JUSTICE LEAGUE #2

$3.99

DC COMICS

5

BATMAN #2

$2.99

DC COMICS

6

ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #160

$3.99

MARVEL COMICS

7

GREEN LANTERN #1

$2.99

DC COMICS

8

JUSTICE LEAGUE #3

$3.99

DC COMICS

9

ACTION COMICS #2

$3.99

DC COMICS

10

DETECTIVE COMICS #1

$2.99

DC COMICS

2011 TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS

By Todd Allen

ICV2 has their December 2011 Diamond sales estimates up and the downward correction would appear to be continuing.

The big debating point here would be DC returnability.  IIRC, Diamond’s been adjusting the numbers to allow for returns (10%?), but relatively few people believe that retailers are returning that much, when taken across the industry.  So anything returnable is probably a little under-reported.

So how bad is the correction?  Justice League’s still #1 with an estimated 142K copies ordered, but only 3 other titles (Batman, Action and Green Lantern) are over 100K.  Detective #4 was reported at 89K as a returnable book, and since Detective #1 still charted in December (4K copies), I’m thinking there may not have been many returns on that and it will probably be in the mid-to-high 90s once the returns are over.

Marvel couldn’t manage a 100K seller, topping the charts with just under 86K for Defenders #1.  Marvel’s next highest book is Uncanny X-Men #3 with a hair over 64K copies.  Avenging Spider-Man went from 112K in November to 60.6K in December.  Incredible Hulk relaunched with 106K in November and is down to 46K in December.  Marvel’s best selling book that _hasn’t_ had a new #1 in the last 6 months?  Avengers #20 at 57K.  Marvel’s #5 title.

With DC, the drop from #3 to #4 is looking a bit more like the drop from #2 to #3.  Marvel… they’re living off relaunches and things are falling back down to Earth rapidly.

Back to the 52 soap opera – how low can it go?

Men of War #4 is estimated just shy of 15K with return adjustment.  Figure… 16.5K with 10% return reduction?  That’s… not great.

Fables sets the Vertigo pace with an estimated 17.6K.  How many of the new 52 are selling less than Fables and in Vertigo numbers range?

With Diamond’s return adjustment intact: Men of War, Blackhawks, Static Shock, Mister Terrific and OMAC.

Bumping the these numbers 10% to wipe out the return adjustment (unless these low sellers are getting returned at a higher rate than, say, Batgirl): Men of War, Blackhawks and Static Shock.

Ironically, I, Vampire is up at 19K — it’s the most Vertigo-esque of all the new 52 and it’s up at least 2K on Fables.

Best selling creator-owned book: Kick Ass 2 at 45K.

Best selling creator-owned  independent not written by Robert Kirkman: Lady Mechanika from Aspen with 21K. Very healthy numbers for creator-owned!

Number of indies over the 10K sales line: 31.

Shade watch: Down to just under 19K.

Eyeballing the bottom of the charts, it does seem like the indies are trending up, though a lot of activity in the 10K+ range is on licensed properties.  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, in particular, seems to have a new lease on life.

Over on the graphic novel side… well, if you heard if was kind of a slow month, think how much slower it would be without 21K-worth of a new Walking Dead volume, as Kirkman charts with 3 volumes of his franchise in the top 10.  Where would graphic novels be without Kirkman?  Much lower, that’s where.

Fables V. 16 comes in at #2 with 11K.  Sales drop of drastically from there, but Walking Dead and Fables are two of, if not _the_ two, largest tpb titles still in active production.

Marvel’s highest selling graphic novel isn’t really a Marvel book.  The latest volume of Criminal is technically an Icon book.  Criminal V. 6 outsells the X-Men: Schism hardcover 3.6K to 3K.

Official stats for December are now out from Diamond. Here’s the full publisher market share list:

And the rest of the charts:

Top 300 Comic Books — December 2011
Top 300 Graphic Novels — December 2011
Top 50 Indie Comics – December 2011
Top 50 Indie Graphic Novels – December 2011
Top 50 Small Graphic Novels — December 2011
Top 50 Small Comics — December 2011
Top 50 Manga – December 2011

Diamond’s initial December figures are out, and Marvel eked out a 1 point lead over DC in dollars and a 2 point lead in units in December — but they did it the hard way with a ground war fought one ship week at a time — DC basically sat out the fifth week and Marvel went for it. Of course they are also double shipping and so on. This is the war of the trenches.

Elsewhere, comics were up a tetch for the year, with GNs down 5% in dollars. And GNs have just had a massive slide — down 10% in units for the year. This seems to be one of the underreported sales stories of the year for us. In the department of no surprise, JL was the best selling comic and WALKING DEAD the best selling GN.

The Justice League encountered the dread lord Darkseid in Geoff Johns and Jim Lee’s Justice League #4 from DC Comics, continuing DC’s run atop the charts for its fifth straight month with December’s best-selling comic book, according to information provided by Diamond Comic Distributors, the world’s largest distributor of comics, graphic novels, and pop culture merchandise.Marvel Comics led the market in December, narrowly edging DC Entertainment in both the Retail Dollar (34.43% for Marvel vs. 33.74% for DC) and Unit Share (39.05% vs. 37.72%) categories. Sales in December, a four week month, declined from November, a five week month, with Comics falling by 14.45% and Graphic Novels by 21.17%. For sales on the year, Comics sales increased over 2010 by 1.16% while Graphic Novels sales declined by 5.01%.Rick Grimes and his band of survivors of the zombie apocalypse continue their struggle to find a home in Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard’s The Walking Dead Volume 15: We Find Ourselves, December’s best-selling Graphic Novel.Based on Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment’s best-selling new game, Batman: Arkham City, DC Direct’s Batman: Arkham City Series 1 Action Figures brought the game’s characters to life and gave the manufacturer the best-selling Toy product to specialty retailers in December.The Incredible Hulk joined the HeroClix campaign with the Marvel HeroClix: The Incredible Hulk Booster Brick from WizKids/NECA, December’s best-selling Games product to specialty retailers.

TOP COMIC BOOK PUBLISHERS

COMPARATIVE SALES STATISTICS

TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS

TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS