by Marc-Oliver FrischThe big DC Comics release in February was… ah, nothing. The biggest news across the publisher’s various imprints were a new creative team on The Spirit, an Astro City special and a new Johnny DC title. Although DC’s average periodical sales recovered slightly from their gigantic January slump, the company’s DC Universe line is basically holding its breath until April’s DC Universe: Zero one-shot kicks off the new event season. At Vertigo, similarly, three new ongoing series are in the pipeline from March through June. And at WildStorm, the WildStorm Universe line is in the process of another revamp until July, while more licensed and creator-owned titles are on the way.
In other words, DC Comics’ entire periodical business is in the middle of a major transitional phase right now, and it’s going to take another six months to get a reasonably good idea where things are heading. See below for the details, and please mind the disclaimers 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.
—–
6 - ALL STAR BATMAN & ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER 02/2006: -- --------------------------------------- 02/2007: -- 03/2007: -- 04/2007: -- 05/2007: All Star Batman #5 -- 114,302 (-28.7%) 06/2007: -- 07/2007: All Star Batman #6 -- 105,991 (- 7.3%) 08/2007: -- 09/2007: All Star Batman #7 -- 100,582 (- 5.1%) 10/2007: -- 11/2007: All Star Batman #8 -- 97,037 (- 3.5%) 12/2007: -- 01/2008: -- 02/2008: All Star Batman #9 -- 93,766 (- 3.4%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : n.a. 2 years : n.a.
The book’s first arc concluded in February, after a measly two-and-a-half years. While All Star Batman seems to have settled into a more moderate decline since returning from its hiatus in July, it’s still not exactly what you’d call a stable performer. Given that it’s a Batman comic by Frank Miller and Jim Lee, in any event, these sales are quite disappointing. The fact that it’s still DC’s top-selling title says more about the current weakness of their overall line than about the book’s own merits.
As always, All Star Batman sales were supported with a 1-for-10 variant cover edition, which means that retailers had to buy ten copies of the regular edition to be able to buy one variant comic.
—–
—–
11 - JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 02/2002: JLA #63 -- 61,121* 02/2003: JLA #78 -- 60,183* 02/2004: JLA #93 -- 57,461 02/2005: JLA #111 -- 64,540 02/2006: JLA #125 -- 74,341 -------------------------------------- 02/2007: -- 03/2007: Justice League #6 -- 130,099 (- 1.8%) [131,754] 04/2007: Justice League #7 -- 154,984 (+19.1%) 04/2007: Justice League #8 -- 130,365 (-15.9%) 05/2007: Justice League #9 -- 129,285 (- 0.8%) 06/2007: Justice League #10 -- 129,265 (- 0.0%) 07/2007: Justice League #11 -- 122,823 (- 5.0%) 08/2007: Justice League #12 -- 131,420 (+ 7.0%) [137,181] 09/2007: Justice League #13 -- 119,471 (- 9.1%) [124,006] 10/2007: Justice League #14 -- 101,763 (-14.8%) 11/2007: -- 12/2007: Justice League #15 -- 100,234 (- 1.5%) 12/2007: Justice League #16 -- 95,557 (- 4.7%) 01/2008: Justice League #17 -- 94,712 (- 0.9%) 02/2008: Justice League #18 -- 89,803 (- 5.2%) ---------------- 6 months: -31.7% 1 year : n.a. 2 years : +20.8%
Justice League of America numbers are slipping again, which suggests that retailers haven’t quite found the right level yet for their orders six months after the departure of superstar writer Brad Meltzer. Historically, these are still very good sales for the book, but DC might want it to bottom out soon.
—–
16/18 - JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA 02/2002: JSA #33 -- 39,647* 02/2003: JSA #45 -- 40,143* 02/2004: JSA #58 -- 44,756 02/2005: JSA #70 -- 42,864 02/2006: JSA #82 -- 54,234 --------------------------------------- 02/2007: Justice Society #3 -- 84,356 (- 2.1%) [ 86,014] 03/2007: Justice Society #4 -- 84,449 (+ 0.1%) [ 86,475] 04/2007: Justice Society #5 -- 98,069 (+ 16.1%) [102,275] 05/2007: Justice Society #6 -- 96,900 (- 1.2%) [ 99,784] 06/2007: -- 07/2007: Justice Society #7 -- 88,883 (- 8.3%) 08/2007: Justice Society #8 -- 87,606 (- 1.4%) 09/2007: Justice Society #9 -- 84,117 (- 4.0%) 10/2007: Justice Society #10 -- 99,424 (+ 18.2%) 11/2007: -- 12/2007: Justice Society #11 -- 89,613 (- 9.9%) 01/2008: -- 02/2008: Justice Society #12 -- 84,162 (- 6.1%) 02/2008: Justice Society #13 -- 82,702 (- 1.7%) ---------------- 6 months: - 4.8% 1 year : - 1.1% 2 years : +53.8%
When the “Thy Kingdom Come” arc co-written by Alex Ross began in October, it brought quite a boost to Justice Society of America sales, but it now seems that retailers overestimated demand for the story. Evidently, the follow-up to 1996’s popular Kingdom Come series isn’t quite the sales draw it was expected to be.
The drop between the two February issues (#12 was late from January) suggests that the book has found its level again, however, and it’s still doing very well. As usual, the book was supported with 1-for-10 variant cover editions.
—–
19/21/22/23 - COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS 05/2007: Countdown #51 -- 91,083 05/2007: Countdown #50 -- 83,752 (- 8.1%) [85,564] 05/2007: Countdown #49 -- 81,484 (- 2.7%) [83,188] 05/2007: Countdown #48 -- 79,810 (- 2.1%) [81,828] 06/2007: Countdown #47 -- 77,504 (- 2.9%) 06/2007: Countdown #46 -- 76,362 (- 1.5%) 06/2007: Countdown #45 -- 74,918 (- 1.9%) 06/2007: Countdown #44 -- 73,971 (- 1.3%) 07/2007: Countdown #43 -- 73,912 (- 0.1%) 07/2007: Countdown #42 -- 73,116 (- 1.1%) 07/2007: Countdown #41 -- 72,621 (- 0.7%) 07/2007: Countdown #40 -- 72,102 (- 0.7%) 08/2007: Countdown #39 -- 88,021 (+22.1%) 08/2007: Countdown #38 -- 87,260 (- 0.9%) 08/2007: Countdown #37 -- 86,405 (- 1.0%) 08/2007: Countdown #36 -- 85,536 (- 1.0%) 08/2007: Countdown #35 -- 84,350 (- 1.4%) 09/2007: Countdown #34 -- 82,537 (- 2.2%) 09/2007: Countdown #33 -- 81,744 (- 1.0%) 09/2007: Countdown #32 -- 81,097 (- 0.8%) 09/2007: Countdown #31 -- 80,127 (- 1.2%) 10/2007: Countdown #30 -- 78,222 (- 2.4%) 10/2007: Countdown #29 -- 77,755 (- 0.6%) 10/2007: Countdown #28 -- 77,003 (- 1.0%) 10/2007: Countdown #27 -- 76,401 (- 0.8%) 10/2007: Countdown to FC #26 -- 75,514 (- 1.2%) 11/2007: Countdown to FC #25 -- 74,668 (- 1.1%) 11/2007: Countdown to FC #24 -- 74,047 (- 0.8%) 11/2007: Countdown to FC #23 -- 73,241 (- 1.1%) 11/2007: Countdown to FC #22 -- 72,765 (- 0.7%) 12/2007: Countdown to FC #21 -- 71,524 (- 1.7%) 12/2007: Countdown to FC #20 -- 71,331 (- 0.3%) 12/2007: Countdown to FC #19 -- 70,805 (- 0.7%) 12/2007: Countdown to FC #18 -- 70,619 (- 0.3%) 01/2008: Countdown to FC #17 -- 69,587 (- 1.5%) 01/2008: Countdown to FC #16 -- 69,629 (+ 0.1%) 01/2008: Countdown to FC #15 -- 69,504 (- 0.2%) 01/2008: Countdown to FC #14 -- 68,770 (- 1.1%) 01/2008: Countdown to FC #13 -- 68,099 (- 1.0%) 02/2008: Countdown to FC #12 -- 68,249 (+ 0.2%) 02/2008: Countdown to FC #11 -- 67,833 (- 0.6%) 02/2008: Countdown to FC #10 -- 67,792 (- 0.1%) 02/2008: Countdown to FC #9 -- 67,383 (- 0.6%) ---------------- 6 months: -21.4%
These numbers continue to be remarkably stable. If DC hadn’t hyped the book as a major event and produced a dozen spin-off titles, Countdown to Final Crisis would have to be considered a big success.
—–
20 - BATMAN 02/2002: Batman #600 -- 53,153* 02/2003: Batman #612 -- 125,095* 02/2004: Batman #624 -- 84,081 02/2005: Batman #637 -- 58,034 [60,246] 02/2006: Batman #650 -- 66,447 ------------------------------- 02/2007: Batman #663 -- 83,167 (+14.7%) 03/2007: Batman #664 -- 80,497 (- 3.2%) [82,107] 04/2007: -- 05/2007: Batman #665 -- 80,122 (- 0.5%) 06/2007: -- 07/2007: Batman #666 -- 83,781 (+ 4.6%) 08/2007: Batman #667 -- 78,578 (- 6.2%) [82,418] 08/2007: Batman #668 -- 76,962 (- 2.1%) 09/2007: Batman #669 -- 73,471 (- 4.5%) 10/2007: Batman #670 -- 76,890 (+ 4.7%) [86,049] 11/2007: Batman #671 -- 76,764 (- 0.2%) [80,440] 12/2007: Batman #672 -- 71,189 (- 7.3%) 01/2008: Batman #673 -- 69,234 (- 2.8%) 02/2008: Batman #674 -- 68,208 (- 1.5%) ---------------- 6 months: -12.3% 1 year : -18.0% 2 years : + 2.7%
Sales seem to have found their level at last. Batman #675 is apparently a month late, meanwhile.
—–
28 - ACTION COMICS 02/2002: Action Comics #788 -- 34,353* 02/2003: Action Comics #800 -- 40,318* 02/2004: Action Comics #812 -- 51,466 [70,458] 02/2005: Action Comics #824 -- 37,432 02/2006: Action Comics #836 -- 51,722 [55,331] ------------------------------------- 02/2007: Action Comics #846 -- 64,554 (- 3.3%) [66,349] 03/2007: Action Comics #847 -- 64,679 (+ 0.2%) 04/2007: Action Comics #848 -- 62,216 (- 3.8%) 05/2007: Action Comics #849 -- 53,610 (-13.8%) 05/2007: Action Comics #850 -- 56,166 (+ 4.8%) 06/2007: -- 07/2007: Action Comics #851 -- 76,500 (+36.2%) 07/2007: Action Comics #852 -- 50,294 (-34.3%) 08/2007: Action Comics #853 -- 49,694 (- 1.2%) 08/2007: Action Comics #854 -- 48,455 (- 2.5%) 08/2007: Action Comics #855 -- 55,536 (+14.6%) 09/2007: -- 10/2007: Action Comics #856 -- 53,815 (- 3.1%) 10/2007: Action Comics #857 -- 51,401 (- 4.5%) 10/2007: Action Comics #858 -- 54,596 (+ 6.2%) [59,031] 11/2007: Action Comics #859 -- 54,572 (- 0.0%) 12/2007: Action Comics #860 -- 56,254 (+ 3.1%) 01/2008: Action Comics #861 -- 56,093 (- 0.3%) 02/2008: Action Comics #862 -- 55,658 (- 0.8%) ---------------- 6 months: + 8.7% 1 year : -13.8% 2 years : + 7.6%
The “Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes” arc drawn by Gary Frank continues with rock-solid numbers.
But wait, wasn’t there meant to be something else in February? Right: Action Comics Annual #11, the conclusion of the “Last Son” arc drawn by Adam Kubert which should have been out about a year ago. True to form, the book has been pushed back another nine weeks and is now scheduled for April 23, according to the publisher’s website.
—–
31 - SUPERMAN/BATMAN 02/2004: Superman/Batman #6 -- 99,930 [109,952] 02/2005: Superman/Batman #17 -- 116,637 [118,126] 02/2006: -- --------------------------------------- 02/2007: -- 03/2007: Superman/Batman #32 -- 77,905 (- 4.7%) 04/2007: Superman/Batman #33 -- 74,807 (- 4.0%) 04/2007: Superman/Batman #34 -- 71,278 (- 4.7%) 05/2007: Superman/Batman #35 -- 68,160 (- 4.4%) 06/2007: Superman/Batman #36 -- 65,866 (- 3.4%) 06/2007: Superman/Batman #37 -- 72,635 (+10.3%) 07/2007: Superman/Batman #38 -- 67,695 (- 6.8%) 08/2007: Superman/Batman #39 -- 59,622 (-11.9%) 09/2007: Superman/Batman #40 -- 57,410 (- 3.7%) 10/2007: Superman/Batman #41 -- 54,928 (- 4.3%) 11/2007: Superman/Batman #42 -- 54,341 (- 1.1%) 11/2007: Superman/Batman #43 -- 53,489 (- 1.6%) 12/2007: Superman/Batman #44 -- 53,057 (- 0.8%) 01/2008: Superman/Batman #45 -- 52,119 (- 1.8%) 02/2008: Superman/Batman #46 -- 52,009 (- 0.2%) ---------------- 6 months: -12.8% 1 year : n.a. 2 years : n.a.
Well, at least the numbers have stabilized over the last half year. To be fair upwards of 50,000 units is still a very decent place for a book telling team-up stories which are inconsequential to the title characters’ status quo.
—–
32 - DETECTIVE COMICS 02/2002: Detective Comics #767 -- 42,650* 02/2003: Detective Comics #779 -- 37,616* 02/2004: Detective Comics #791 -- 34,995 02/2005: Detective Comics #803 -- 40,014 02/2006: Detective Comics #816 -- 35,410 ---------------------------------------- 02/2007: Detective Comics #828 -- 55,206 (+ 0.3%) 03/2007: Detective Comics #829 -- 52,943 (- 4.1%) 03/2007: Detective Comics #830 -- 52,395 (- 1.0%) 04/2007: Detective Comics #831 -- 56,284 (+ 7.4%) 05/2007: Detective Comics #832 -- 51,727 (- 8.1%) 06/2007: Detective Comics #833 -- 54,104 (+ 4.6%) 07/2007: Detective Comics #834 -- 53,461 (- 1.2%) 08/2007: Detective Comics #835 -- 50,479 (- 5.6%) 09/2007: Detective Comics #836 -- 49,475 (- 2.0%) 10/2007: Detective Comics #837 -- 51,363 (+ 3.8%) 11/2007: Detective Comics #838 -- 60,267 (+17.3%) [65,293] 12/2007: Detective Comics #839 -- 62,297 (+ 3.4%) [65,773] 01/2008: Detective Comics #840 -- 51,579 (-17.2%) 02/2008: Detective Comics #841 -- 50,535 (- 2.0%) ---------------- 6 months: + 0.1% 1 year : - 8.5% 2 years : +42.7%
With the boost from the “Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul” crossover gone, Detective Comics is back in a standard decline. It’s still selling at a rather high level historically, as the long-term comparisons show.
—–
34 - TEEN TITANS 02/2002: Young Justice #42 -- 24,838* 02/2003: Young Justice #54 -- 22,342* 02/2004: Teen Titans #8 -- 68,190 02/2005: Teen Titans #21 -- 66,861 [68,751] 02/2006: Teen Titans #32 -- 69,131 ------------------------------------ 02/2007: -- 03/2007: Teen Titans #44 -- 61,572 (+ 2.1%) 04/2007: Teen Titans #45 -- 61,051 (- 0.9%) 05/2007: Teen Titans #46 -- 61,478 (+ 0.7%) 05/2007: Teen Titans #47 -- 63,673 (+ 3.6%) 06/2007: Teen Titans #48 -- 60,786 (- 4.5%) 07/2007: Teen Titans #49 -- 59,258 (- 2.5%) 08/2007: Teen Titans #50 -- 69,620 (+17.5%) 09/2007: Teen Titans #51 -- 57,851 (-16.9%) 10/2007: Teen Titans #52 -- 55,176 (- 4.6%) 11/2007: Teen Titans #53 -- 54,387 (- 1.4%) 12/2007: Teen Titans #54 -- 53,790 (- 1.1%) 01/2008: Teen Titans #55 -- 52,376 (- 2.6%) 02/2008: Teen Titans #56 -- 50,283 (- 4.0%) ---------------- 6 months: -27.8% 1 year : n.a. 2 years : -27.3%
Sean McKeever’s Teen Titans doesn’t seem to catch on – retailers are still slashing their orders too fast for comfort.
This doesn’t stop DC from launching a ton of spin-off titles, however. In addition to Teen Titans: Year One and the new Johnny DC book Tiny Titans, we’re getting the miniseries DC Special: Raven and DC Special: Cyborg, as well as the new ongoing series Titans in the next few months.
Now, a year or two ago, an attempt to branch out would have made perfect sense. Right now, though, the sudden explosion of the franchise smacks of overkill, given that the core book has shed a whopping 10,000 units since writer Geoff Johns left back in May.
—–
39 - GREEN LANTERN CORPS 02/2006: -- ------------------------------------------ 02/2007: Green Lantern Corps #9 -- 34,897 (- 5.5%) 03/2007: Green Lantern Corps #10 -- 34,227 (- 1.9%) 04/2007: Green Lantern Corps #11 -- 33,506 (- 2.1%) 05/2007: Green Lantern Corps #12 -- 33,267 (- 0.7%) 06/2007: Green Lantern Corps #13 -- 32,792 (- 1.4%) 07/2007: Green Lantern Corps #14 -- 45,393 (+38.4%) [61,493] 08/2007: Green Lantern Corps #15 -- 51,572 (+13.2%) [57,751] 09/2007: -- 10/2007: Green Lantern Corps #16 -- 60,862 (+18.0%) 10/2007: Green Lantern Corps #17 -- 59,223 (- 2.7%) 11/2007: Green Lantern Corps #18 -- 55,838 (- 5.7%) [59,049] 12/2007: Green Lantern Corps #19 -- 50,516 (- 9.5%) 01/2008: Green Lantern Corps #20 -- 44,607 (-11.7%) [48,577] 02/2008: Green Lantern Corps #21 -- 47,582 (+ 6.7%) ---------------- 6 months: - 7.7% 1 year : +36.4% 2 years : n.a.
That’s a pretty clear course correction. Evidently, retailers underestimated the post-“Sinestro Corps War” sales of Green Lantern Corps, if the 4,000 extra units of issue #20 sold in February are any indication. Beginning with #21, the book is tying in with the Alpha Lanterns storyline over in the mother title. These are pretty good numbers all around.
Green Lantern proper was a week late and missed its February shipping date, meanwhile.
—–
42 - WONDER WOMAN 02/2002: Wonder Woman #179 -- 27,916* 02/2003: Wonder Woman #189 -- 26,320* 02/2004: Wonder Woman #201 -- 29,210 02/2005: Wonder Woman #213 -- 24,728 02/2006: Wonder Woman #226 -- 45,682 ------------------------------------- 02/2007: Wonder Woman #4 -- 69,860 (- 9.3%) 03/2007: Wonder Woman #5 -- 64,414 (- 7.8%) 03/2007: Wonder Woman #6 -- 62,458 (- 3.0%) 04/2007: Wonder Woman #7 -- 60,168 (- 3.7%) 04/2007: Wonder Woman #8 -- 58,772 (- 2.3%) 05/2007: Wonder Woman #9 -- 58,561 (- 0.4%) 06/2007: Wonder Woman #10 -- 54,472 (- 7.0%) 07/2007: Wonder Woman #11 -- 52,983 (- 2.7%) 08/2007: Wonder Woman #12 -- 50,880 (- 4.0%) 09/2007: -- 10/2007: Wonder Woman #13 -- 48,385 (- 4.9%) 11/2007: Wonder Woman #14 -- 53,090 (+ 9.7%) 12/2007: Wonder Woman #15 -- 44,628 (-15.9%) 01/2008: Wonder Woman #16 -- 42,897 (- 3.9%) 02/2008: Wonder Woman #17 -- 41,948 (- 2.2%) ----------------- 6 months: - 17.6% 1 year : - 40.0% 2 years : - 8.2%
Wonder Woman sales are bottoming out again at long last, it appears.
—–
43 - SUPERMAN 02/2002: Superman #179 -- 38,073* 02/2003: Superman #190 -- 31,937* 02/2004: Superman #202 -- 50,449 [66,640] 02/2005: Superman #213 -- 101,258 02/2006: Superman #226 -- 63,982 --------------------------------- 02/2007: Superman #659 -- 58,258 (- 4.0%) 03/2007: Superman #660 -- 57,169 (- 1.9%) 04/2007: Superman #661 -- 55,738 (- 2.5%) 05/2007: Superman #662 -- 55,236 (- 0.9%) 06/2007: Superman #663 -- 53,384 (- 3.4%) 07/2007: Superman #664 -- 52,313 (- 2.0%) 07/2007: Superman #665 -- 51,936 (- 0.7%) 08/2007: Superman #666 -- 53,566 (+ 3.1%) 09/2007: Superman #667 -- 48,608 (- 9.3%) 10/2007: Superman #668 -- 47,948 (- 1.4%) 10/2007: Superman #669 -- 47,271 (- 1.4%) 11/2007: Superman #670 -- 48,407 (+ 2.4%) 12/2007: Superman #671 -- 45,290 (- 6.4%) 01/2008: Superman #672 -- 44,656 (- 1.4%) 02/2008: Superman #673 -- 41,580 (- 6.9%) ---------------- 6 months: -22.4% 1 year : -28.6% 2 years : -35.0%
Well, ouch. The drop comes in the middle of a storyline, so, as with the increase for issue #670, I’m not sure what to make of it. What’s clear, though, is that something’s not working here: Superman has lost more than 10,000 units in the last six months, and almost 20,000 over the past year.
—–
44 - THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD 02/2007: The Brave and the Bold #1 -- 92,091 [98,266] 03/2007: The Brave and the Bold #2 -- 64,357 (-30.1%) [67,143] 04/2007: The Brave and the Bold #3 -- 59,211 (- 8.0%) 05/2007: -- 06/2007: The Brave and the Bold #4 -- 55,597 (- 6.1%) 07/2007: The Brave and the Bold #5 -- 54,047 (- 2.8%) 08/2007: The Brave and the Bold #6 -- 52,011 (- 3.8%) 09/2007: -- 10/2007: The Brave and the Bold #7 -- 48,693 (- 6.4%) 11/2007: The Brave and the Bold #8 -- 45,629 (- 6.3%) 12/2007: The Brave and the Bold #9 -- 43,475 (- 4.7%) 01/2008: -- 02/2008: The Brave and the Bold #10 -- 39,124 (-10.0%) ---------------- 6 months: -24.8% 1 year : -57.5%
Ouch again. This book is tanking spectacularly. The Brave and the Bold #10 was the last issue drawn by George Pérez, apparently, so the numbers are unlikely to improve.
To be honest, you can’t blame DC for giving an artist of Pérez’s caliber something else to draw. For whatever reason, people are dropping this book like it was the plague. The year-on-year performance is a disaster by any standard.
—–
46 - BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS 02/2004: Outsiders #9 -- 43,428 02/2005: Outsiders #20 -- 39,051 02/2005: Outsiders #21 -- 40,032 [42,077] 02/2006: Outsiders #33 -- 43,270 ------------------------------------ 02/2007: Outsiders #45 -- 32,976 (- 4.2%) 03/2007: Outsiders #46 -- 32,577 (- 1.2%) 04/2007: -- 05/2007: Outsiders #47 -- 33,267 (+ 2.1%) 06/2007: Outsiders #48 -- 32,966 (- 0.9%) 07/2007: Outsiders #49 -- 33,110 (+ 0.4%) 08/2007: FoaK #1 of 5 -- 36,565 (+10.4%) 08/2007: FoaK #2 of 5 -- 35,087 (- 4.0%) 08/2007: FoaK #3 of 5 -- 34,702 (- 1.1%) 08/2007: FoaK #4 of 5 -- 34,125 (- 1.7%) 08/2007: FoaK #5 of 5 -- 33,694 (- 1.3%) 09/2007: Outsiders #50 -- 38,212 (+13.4%) 10/2007: -- 11/2007: Bat Outsiders #1 -- 60,690 (+58.8%) 11/2007: Bat Outsiders #2 -- 42,827 (-29.4%) 12/2007: Bat Outsiders #3 -- 40,371 (- 5.7%) 01/2008: -- 02/2008: Bat Outsiders #4 -- 37,903 (- 6.1%) ---------------- 6 months: + 8.8% 1 year : +14.9% 2 years : -12.4%
Another six-percent drop, at this stage, is not the hallmark of an enthusiastic response. To be fair, sales remain up on the regular level of Outsiders by a few thousand units. Still, as far as relaunches go, the book doesn’t look very good commercially.
—–
47 - BOOSTER GOLD 08/2007: Booster Gold #1 -- 53,689 [57,811] 09/2007: Booster Gold #2 -- 47,102 (-12.3%) 10/2007: Booster Gold #3 -- 39,374 (-16.4%) 11/2007: Booster Gold #4 -- 37,683 (- 4.3%) 12/2007: Booster Gold #5 -- 38,228 (+ 1.5%) 01/2008: Booster Gold #6 -- 36,292 (- 5.1%) 02/2008: Booster Gold #0 -- 37,808 (+ 4.2%) ---------------- 6 months: -29.6%
In case you’re scratching your head, Booster Gold #0 is part of a linewide DC Universe publishing event called “Zero Hour,” which happened… well, back in 1994. As a special gimmick, the numbering of the company’s superhero titles was turned to zero on the occasion. It’s too good a gimmick to pass up for a book about a time-traveling superhero, obviously.
And, quite amazingly, the gimmick still works in 2008, resulting in a neat little sales increase. Reportedly, Booster Gold #1,000,000 is already in the works.
—–
48 - THE FLASH 02/2002: Flash #183 -- 26,045* 02/2003: Flash #195 -- 27,258* 02/2004: Flash #207 -- 41,982 [46,626] 02/2005: Flash #219 -- 44,071 [46,188] ---------------------------------- 02/2007: Flash: FMA #9 -- 47,214 (- 7.4%) 03/2007: Flash: FMA #10 -- 46,133 (- 2.3%) 04/2007: Flash: FMA #11 -- 46,963 (+ 1.8%) 05/2007: Flash: FMA #12 -- 47,809 (+ 1.8%) 06/2007: Flash: FMA #13 -- 76,860 (+ 60.8%) [82,767] 07/2007: All Flash #1 -- 78,955 (+ 2.7%) 08/2007: Flash #231 -- 72,898 (- 7.7%) 09/2007: Flash #232 -- 56,969 (- 21.9%) 10/2007: Flash #233 -- 51,152 (- 10.2%) 11/2007: Flash #234 -- 46,435 (- 9.2%) 12/2007: Flash #235 -- 43,788 (- 5.7%) 01/2008: Flash #236 -- 41,464 (- 5.3%) 02/2008: Flash #237 -- 37,719 (- 9.0%) ---------------- 6 months: -48.3% 1 year : -20.1% 2 years : n.a.
The February issue was a fill-in, so the gigantic drop doesn’t come as a great surprise. If the new creative team’s arrival in March can’t turn around or at least stop the trend – and I’d say their chances are rather slim – it’ll be interesting to see how DC are going to deal with The Flash.
There’s always the Thor option, of course: Let the property rest for a year or two, take the time to figure out what you want to do with it, and then do a big, focused relaunch. Considering that The Flash has been revamped twice in the last two years and both revamps have been miserable failures, that wouldn’t seem like the worst approach right now, to be frank.
—–
49 - GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY 02/2002: Green Arrow #13 -- 73,218* 02/2003: Green Arrow #21 -- 51,739* 02/2004: Green Arrow #35 -- 35,507 02/2005: Green Arrow #47 -- 31,553 02/2006: Green Arrow #59 -- 31,250 ----------------------------------- 02/2007: Green Arrow #71 -- 31,470 (- 1.0%) 03/2007: Green Arrow #72 -- 31,144 (- 1.0%) 04/2007: Green Arrow #73 -- 30,652 (- 1.6%) 05/2007: Green Arrow #74 -- 30,751 (+ 0.3%) 06/2007: Green Arrow #75 -- 35,022 (+13.9%) 07/2007: Year One #1 of 6 -- 37,090 (+ 5.9%) 07/2007: Year One #2 of 6 -- 32,222 (-13.1%) [34,962] 08/2007: Year One #3 of 6 -- 32,971 (+ 2.3%) 08/2007: Year One #4 of 6 -- 31,885 (- 3.3%) 09/2007: Year One #5 of 6 -- 31,504 (- 1.2%) 10/2007: Year One #6 of 6 -- 30,943 (- 1.8%) 10/2007: Arrow/Canary #1 -- 52,183 (+68.6%) 11/2007: Arrow/Canary #2 -- 42,827 (-17.9%) 12/2007: Arrow/Canary #3 -- 40,321 (- 5.9%) 01/2008: Arrow/Canary #4 -- 35,039 (-13.1%) 02/2008: Arrow/Canary #5 -- 36,662 (+ 4.6%) ---------------- 6 months: +13.1% 1 year : +16.5% 2 years : +17.3%
There was another 1-for-10 variant cover edition of issue #5, oddly, resulting in a slight increase. Quite why they used the gimmick for issues #1 through #3 and #5 but not for #4, your guess is as good as mine. It nicely illustrates the effect on sales, at any rate, so lets not look a gift horse in the mouth.
Overall, Green Arrow/Black Canary doesn’t seem to be very successful, either, as far as relaunches go. Issue #5 was the last one promoted with a variant cover edition, so there’s likely going to be another big drop in March.
—–
51 - TEEN TITANS: YEAR ONE 01/2008: Teen Titans: Year One #1 of 6 -- 43,057 02/2008: Teen Titans: Year One #2 of 6 -- 35,761 (-17.0%)
That’s a standard second-issue drop for a miniseries.
—–
53 - SUPERGIRL 02/2002: Supergirl #67 -- 19,497* 02/2003: Supergirl #79 -- 23,931* 02/2006: Supergirl #4 -- 104,734 02/2006: Supergirl #5 -- 103,108 [104,930] --------------------------------- 02/2007: Supergirl #14 -- 52,977 (- 6.5%) 03/2007: Supergirl #15 -- 51,083 (- 3.6%) 04/2007: Supergirl #16 -- 51,641 (+ 1.1%) 05/2007: Supergirl #17 -- 50,429 (- 2.4%) 06/2007: Supergirl #18 -- 50,279 (- 0.3%) 07/2007: Supergirl #19 -- 48,576 (- 3.4%) 08/2007: Supergirl #20 -- 46,862 (- 3.5%) 09/2007: Supergirl #21 -- 44,656 (- 4.7%) 10/2007: Supergirl #22 -- 41,758 (- 6.5%) 11/2007: Supergirl #23 -- 45,460 (+ 8.9%) 12/2007: Supergirl #24 -- 37,922 (-16.6%) 01/2008: Supergirl #25 -- 36,459 (- 3.9%) 02/2008: Supergirl #26 -- 34,186 (- 6.2%) ---------------- 6 months: -27.1% 1 year : -35.5% 2 years : -66.9%
Another 2,000 units gone. Supergirl keeps shredding units by the shipload.
—–
59 - THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES 02/2002: Legion #5 -- 24,232* 02/2003: Legion #17 -- 23,005* 02/2004: Legion #30 -- 25,014 02/2005: Legion of SH #3 -- 39,951 [44,824] 02/2006: Legion of SH #14 -- 32,513 02/2006: Legion of SH #15 -- 31,649 --------------------------------------- 02/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #27 -- 31,387 (- 3.0%) 03/2007: -- 04/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #28 -- 31,525 (+ 0.4%) 04/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #29 -- 30,906 (- 2.0%) 05/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #30 -- 30,767 (- 0.5%) 06/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #31 -- 30,385 (- 1.2%) 07/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #32 -- 29,826 (- 1.8%) 08/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #33 -- 29,315 (- 1.7%) 09/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #34 -- 28,294 (- 3.5%) 10/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #35 -- 27,370 (- 3.3%) 11/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #36 -- 26,814 (- 2.0%) 12/2007: Legion of SH #37 -- 45,803 (+70.8%) 01/2008: Legion of SH #38 -- 33,045 (-27.9%) 02/2008: Legion of SH #39 -- 31,123 (- 5.8%) ---------------- 6 months: + 6.2% 1 year : - 0.8% 2 years : - 3.0%
Legion of Super-Heroes sales are bottoming out again. The book’s numbers under the new creative team are still slightly ahead of the previous level, granted. Nevertheless, it seems that retailers went rather overboard with their enthusiasm for writer Jim Shooter’s arrival.
—–
60 - NIGHTWING 02/2002: Nightwing #66 -- 37,925* 02/2003: Nightwing #78 -- 28,809* 02/2004: Nightwing #90 -- 28,688 02/2005: Nightwing #103 -- 36,921 02/2005: Nightwing #104 -- 36,411 02/2006: Nightwing #117 -- 35,489 --------------------------------- 02/2007: Nightwing #129 -- 32,651 (- 3.8%) 03/2007: Nightwing #130 -- 31,788 (- 2.6%) 04/2007: Nightwing #131 -- 31,530 (- 0.8%) 05/2007: Nightwing #132 -- 30,807 (- 2.3%) 06/2007: Nightwing #133 -- 30,623 (- 0.6%) 07/2007: Nightwing #134 -- 30,228 (- 1.3%) 08/2007: Nightwing #135 -- 29,923 (- 1.0%) 09/2007: Nightwing #136 -- 29,256 (- 2.2%) 10/2007: Nightwing #137 -- 28,363 (- 3.1%) 11/2007: Nightwing #138 -- 46,757 (+64.9%) [52,282] 12/2007: Nightwing #139 -- 49,291 (+ 5.4%) [52,607] 01/2008: Nightwing #140 -- 32,305 (-34.5%) 02/2008: Nightwing #141 -- 30,980 (- 4.1%) ---------------- 6 months: + 3.5% 1 year : - 5.1% 2 years : -12.7%
The numbers continue to drop back towards their usual level.
—–
63 - DEATH OF THE NEW GODS 10/2007: Death of the New Gods #1 of 8 -- 46,670 10/2007: Death of the New Gods #2 of 8 -- 35,681 (-23.6%) 11/2007: Death of the New Gods #3 of 8 -- 32,655 (- 8.5%) 12/2007: Death of the New Gods #4 of 8 -- 31,914 (- 2.3%) 01/2008: Death of the New Gods #5 of 8 -- 30,996 (- 2.9%) 02/2008: Death of the New Gods #6 of 8 -- 30,482 (- 1.7%)
Sales have found their level, apparently. Death of the New Gods remains the highest-selling of the Countdown to Infinite Crisis spin-offs.
Speaking of which, Countdown to Adventure, Countdown to Mystery and Countdown Presents: Lord Havok and the Extremists all missed their shipping dates in February.
—–
66 - WORLD OF WARCRAFT (WildStorm) 11/2007: World of WarCraft #1 -- 44,508 [49,271] 12/2007: World of WarCraft #2 -- 32,740 (-34.9%) [36,340] 01/2008: World of WarCraft #3 -- 31,183 (- 4.8%) 02/2008: World of WarCraft #4 -- 28,982 (- 7.1%)
The drop is rather larger than you’d hope for, at this stage, but overall World of WarCraft is still doing very well. The videogame adaptation remains the WildStorm imprint’s top-selling book.
The surprisingly high periodical sales of titles like this one, The Umbrella Academy, The Dark Tower or Buffy the Vampire Slayer are good news for the direct market: They suggest that there’s a considerable influx of new readers from a variety of other entertainment media.
—–
72 - ROBIN 02/2002: Robin #99 -- 31,924* 02/2003: Robin #111 -- 22,517* 02/2004: Robin #123 -- 26,494 02/2005: Robin #135 -- 32,331 02/2006: Robin #147 -- 32,120 ----------------------------- 02/2007: Robin #159 -- 28,210 (- 4.3%) 03/2007: Robin #160 -- 27,659 (- 2.0%) 04/2007: Robin #161 -- 27,180 (- 1.7%) 05/2007: Robin #162 -- 26,801 (- 1.4%) 06/2007: Robin #163 -- 26,284 (- 1.9%) 07/2007: Robin #164 -- 25,955 (- 1.3%) 08/2007: Robin #165 -- 25,397 (- 2.2%) 09/2007: Robin #166 -- 24,877 (- 2.1%) 10/2007: Robin #167 -- 24,625 (- 1.0%) 11/2007: Robin #168 -- 50,672 (+105.8%) [57,442] 12/2007: Robin #169 -- 48,665 (- 4.0%) [51,441] 01/2008: Robin #170 -- 30,048 (- 38.3%) 02/2008: Robin #171 -- 27,781 (- 7.6%) ---------------- 6 months: + 9.4% 1 year : - 1.5% 2 years : -13.5%
Robin sales keep dropping back to their pre-“Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul” level.
—–
75/79 - BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL 02/2007: Batman Confidential #3 -- 41,109 (-13.4%) 03/2007: Batman Confidential #4 -- 38,735 (- 5.8%) 04/2007: Batman Confidential #5 -- 36,219 (- 6.5%) 05/2007: -- 06/2007: Batman Confidential #6 -- 33,480 (- 7.6%) 07/2007: Batman Confidential #7 -- 32,272 (- 3.6%) 08/2007: Batman Confidential #8 -- 30,077 (- 6.8%) 09/2007: Batman Confidential #9 -- 28,845 (- 4.1%) 10/2007: Batman Confidential #10 -- 28,724 (- 0.5%) 11/2007: Batman Confidential #11 -- 27,397 (- 4.6%) 12/2007: -- 01/2008: -- 02/2008: Batman Confidential #12 -- 27,208 (- 0.7%) 02/2008: Batman Confidential #13 -- 25,735 (- 5.4%) ---------------- 6 months: -12.0% 1 year : -35.6%
As usual for titles with no regular creative team telling stories which, as per the book’s premise, are inconsequential to the feature characters’ status quo, sales keep declining quite briskly.
—–
78 - SALVATION RUN 11/2007: Salvation Run #1 of 7 -- 40,531 12/2007: Salvation Run #2 of 7 -- 28,938 (-28.6%) 01/2008: Salvation Run #3 of 7 -- 26,828 (- 7.3%) 02/2008: Salvation Run #4 of 7 -- 25,899 (- 3.5%)
The book has settled into an average limited series decline. Bearing in mind that Salvation Run was one of the publisher’s big announcements last summer, the level it’s selling at is more than a little embarrassing, really.
—–
84/87 - FABLES (Vertigo) 02/2003: Fables #10 -- 22,705* 02/2004: Fables #22 -- 25,317 02/2005: Fables #34 -- 24,322 02/2006: Fables #46 -- 24,134 ----------------------------- 02/2007: -- 03/2007: Fables #58 -- 26,065 (+1.3%) 03/2007: Fables #59 -- 25,815 (-1.0%) 04/2007: Fables #60 -- 26,048 (+0.9%) 05/2007: Fables #61 -- 26,056 (+0.0%) 06/2007: Fables #62 -- 25,726 (-1.3%) 07/2007: Fables #63 -- 25,603 (-0.5%) 08/2007: Fables #64 -- 25,498 (-0.4%) 09/2007: Fables #65 -- 25,311 (-0.7%) 10/2007: Fables #66 -- 25,016 (-1.2%) 11/2007: Fables #67 -- 24,841 (-0.7%) 12/2007: Fables #68 -- 24,574 (-1.1%) 01/2008: -- 02/2008: Fables #69 -- 24,337 (-1.0%) 02/2008: Fables #70 -- 23,975 (-1.5%) --------------- 6 months: - 5.3% 1 year : n.a. 2 years : + 0.1%
After missing its January release date, Fables shipped twice in February. Incidentally, that’s the only reason why the average Vertigo single issue still sold above 10,000 units now that Y: The Last Man has concluded.
Through June, the new ongoing series Young Liars, House of Mystery and Madame Xanadu are in the Vertigo pipeline, as well as another American Splendor miniseries.
—–
86 - GOTHAM UNDERGROUND 10/2007: Gotham Underground #1 of 9 -- 31,003 11/2007: Gotham Underground #2 of 9 -- 26,537 (-14.4%) 12/2007: Gotham Underground #3 of 9 -- 25,386 (- 4.3%) 01/2008: Gotham Underground #4 of 9 -- 24,737 (- 2.6%) 02/2008: Gotham Underground #5 of 9 -- 24,098 (- 2.6%)
To be fair, Gotham Underground is doing perfectly well for a series about the Gotham City underworld. But it’s also a Countdown spin-off, of course.
—–
91 - BIRDS OF PREY 02/2002: Birds of Prey #40 -- 30,164* 02/2003: Birds of Prey #52 -- 24,406* 02/2004: Birds of Prey #64 -- 29,731 02/2005: Birds of Prey #79 -- 29,510 02/2006: Birds of Prey #91 -- 29,835 ------------------------------------- 02/2007: Birds of Prey #103 -- 28,327 (- 2.5%) 03/2007: Birds of Prey #104 -- 28,464 (+ 0.5%) 04/2007: Birds of Prey #105 -- 28,328 (- 0.5%) 05/2007: Birds of Prey #106 -- 28,363 (+ 0.1%) 06/2007: Birds of Prey #107 -- 28,632 (+ 1.0%) 07/2007: Birds of Prey #108 -- 28,025 (- 2.1%) 08/2007: Birds of Prey #109 -- 28,268 (+ 0.9%) 09/2007: Birds of Prey #110 -- 27,148 (- 4.0%) 10/2007: Birds of Prey #111 -- 26,400 (- 2.8%) 11/2007: Birds of Prey #112 -- 25,117 (- 4.9%) 12/2007: Birds of Prey #113 -- 24,717 (- 1.6%) 01/2008: Birds of Prey #114 -- 24,211 (- 2.1%) 02/2008: Birds of Prey #115 -- 23,157 (- 4.4%) ---------------- 6 months: -18.1% 1 year : -18.3% 2 years : -22.4%
Birds of Prey maintains a stiff decline. Yet another supposedly regular creative team waits around the corner, meanwhile.
—–
99 - SUPERMAN CONFIDENTIAL 02/2007: -- 03/2007: Superman Confidential #4 -- 36,779 (-11.1%) 04/2007: -- 05/2007: -- 06/2007: -- 07/2007: Superman Confidential #5 -- 35,180 (- 4.4%) 08/2007: -- 09/2007: Superman Confidential #6 -- 31,152 (-11.5%) 10/2007: Superman Confidential #7 -- 29,228 (- 6.2%) 10/2007: Superman Confidential #8 -- 26,535 (- 9.2%) 11/2007: Superman Confidential #9 -- 24,841 (- 6.4%) 12/2007: Superman Confidential #10 -- 23,172 (- 6.7%) 01/2008: Superman Confidential #11 -- 22,556 (- 2.7%) 02/2008: Superman Confidential #12 -- 21,015 (- 6.8%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : n.a.
The book is dropping off the map. See comments on Batman Confidential.
—–
105 - CATWOMAN 02/2002: Catwoman #4 -- 34,656* 02/2003: Catwoman #16 -- 23,393* 02/2004: Catwoman #28 -- 23,955 02/2005: Catwoman #40 -- 23,103 02/2006: Catwoman #52 -- 21,954 ------------------------------- 02/2007: Catwoman #64 -- 20,767 (- 3.8%) 03/2007: Catwoman #65 -- 20,237 (- 2.6%) 04/2007: Catwoman #66 -- 19,896 (- 1.7%) 05/2007: Catwoman #67 -- 19,926 (+ 0.2%) 06/2007: Catwoman #68 -- 20,132 (+ 1.0%) 07/2007: Catwoman #69 -- 19,387 (- 3.7%) 08/2007: Catwoman #70 -- 20,518 (+ 5.8%) 09/2007: Catwoman #71 -- 19,492 (- 5.0%) 10/2007: Catwoman #72 -- 19,473 (- 0.1%) 11/2007: Catwoman #73 -- 18,815 (- 3.4%) 12/2007: Catwoman #74 -- 18,623 (- 1.0%) 01/2008: Catwoman #75 -- 21,580 (+15.9%) 02/2008: Catwoman #76 -- 18,798 (-12.9%) ---------------- 6 months: - 8.4% 1 year : - 9.5% 2 years : -14.4%
The desultory increase for January’s ostensible “anniversary” number has disappeared again, as usual.
—–
106/110 - JLA: CLASSIFIED 02/2005: JLA: Classified #4 -- 53,606 02/2006: JLA: Classified #17 -- 38,014 -------------------------------------- 02/2007: JLA: Classified #34 -- 22,347 (- 0.7%) 02/2007: JLA: Classified #35 -- 21,998 (- 1.6%) 03/2007: JLA: Classified #36 -- 21,799 (- 0.9%) 04/2007: JLA: Classified #37 -- 22,350 (+ 2.5%) 05/2007: JLA: Classified #38 -- 21,961 (- 1.7%) 06/2007: JLA: Classified #39 -- 21,728 (- 1.1%) 07/2007: JLA: Classified #40 -- 21,473 (- 1.2%) 08/2007: JLA: Classified #41 -- 21,134 (- 1.6%) 09/2007: JLA: Classified #42 -- 20,014 (- 5.3%) 09/2007: JLA: Classified #43 -- 19,742 (- 1.4%) 10/2007: JLA: Classified #44 -- 19,217 (- 2.7%) 10/2007: JLA: Classified #45 -- 18,818 (- 2.1%) 11/2007: JLA: Classified #46 -- 18,078 (- 3.9%) 11/2007: JLA: Classified #47 -- 17,832 (- 1.4%) 12/2007: JLA: Classified #48 -- 17,391 (- 2.5%) 12/2007: JLA: Classified #49 -- 17,114 (- 1.6%) 01/2008: JLA: Classified #50 -- 19,773 (+15.5%) 01/2008: JLA: Classified #51 -- 18,852 (- 4.7%) 02/2008: JLA: Classified #52 -- 18,662 (- 1.0%) 02/2008: JLA: Classified #53 -- 17,986 (- 3.6%) ---------------- 6 months: -13.3% 1 year : -17.4% 2 years : -51.8%
Cancelled with issue #54.
—–
109 - ASTRO CITY: BEAUTIE (WildStorm) 08/2004: Astro City Special #1 -- 27,982 07/2006: Astro City: Samaritan -- 24,394 ----------------------------------------- 02/2008: Astro City: Beautie #1 -- 18,232 (-25.3%)
That’s quite a drop since the last Astro City one-shot special. On the other hand, these are still good numbers for a creator-owned title, and they’re certainly good numbers compared to the bulk of WildStorm’s output.
—–
112 - CRIME BIBLE: THE FIVE LESSONS OF BLOOD 10/2007: Crime Bible #1 of 5 -- 23,354 11/2007: Crime Bible #2 of 5 -- 19,498 (-16.5%) 12/2007: Crime Bible #3 of 5 -- 18,886 (- 3.1%) 01/2008: Crime Bible #4 of 5 -- 18,139 (- 4.0%) 02/2008: Crime Bible #5 of 5 -- 17,304 (- 4.6%)
Crime Bible went through an average limited series decline, despite the awful title and the ugly, barely intelligible cover art. If they’d just called the book 52 Aftermath: The Question, for instance, I’m sure they could have shifted a few units more.
—–
113 - THE SPIRIT 02/2007: The Spirit #3 -- 25,516 (- 6.4%) 03/2007: The Spirit #4 -- 24,383 (- 4.4%) 04/2007: The Spirit #5 -- 23,887 (- 2.0%) 05/2007: The Spirit #6 -- 23,708 (- 0.8%) 06/2007: The Spirit #7 -- 22,621 (- 4.6%) 07/2007: The Spirit #8 -- 21,984 (- 2.8%) 08/2007: The Spirit #9 -- 20,841 (- 5.2%) 09/2007: The Spirit #10 -- 19,962 (- 4.2%) 10/2007: -- 11/2007: The Spirit #11 -- 18,892 (- 5.4%) 12/2007: -- 01/2008: The Spirit #12 -- 18,894 (+ 0.0%) 01/2008: The Spirit #13 -- 17,475 (- 7.5%) 02/2008: The Spirit #14 -- 17,277 (- 1.1%) ---------------- 6 months: -17.1% 1 year : -32.3%
The arrival of the new creative team of writers Sergio Aragonés and Mark Evanier and artist Mike Ploog doesn’t seem to have much of an effect on The Spirit sales.
—–
114 - FREDDY VS. JASON VS. ASH (WildStorm) 11/2007: Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash #1 of 6 -- 23,306 [27,515] 11/2007: Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash #2 of 6 -- 15,291 (-34.4%) 12/2007: Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash #3 of 6 -- 15,348 (+ 0.4%) 01/2008: Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash #4 of 6 -- 17,170 (+11.9%) 02/2008: Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash #5 of 6 -- 17,120 (- 0.3%)
Sales remain unusually solid with the book’s penultimate issue. Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash is another licensed title which outsells all of WildStorm’s company-owned properties.
—–
116 - JACK OF FABLES (Vertigo) 02/2007: Jack of Fables #8 -- 20,060 (- 1.3%) 03/2007: -- 04/2007: Jack of Fables #9 -- 20,273 (+ 1.1%) 05/2007: Jack of Fables #10 -- 19,982 (- 1.4%) 06/2007: Jack of Fables #11 -- 19,797 (- 0.9%) 06/2007: Jack of Fables #12 -- 19,337 (- 2.3%) 07/2007: -- 08/2007: Jack of Fables #13 -- 19,187 (- 0.8%) 09/2007: Jack of Fables #14 -- 18,728 (- 2.4%) 10/2007: Jack of Fables #15 -- 18,329 (- 2.1%) 10/2007: Jack of Fables #16 -- 17,743 (- 3.2%) 11/2007: Jack of Fables #17 -- 17,456 (- 1.6%) 12/2007: Jack of Fables #18 -- 17,242 (- 1.2%) 01/2008: Jack of Fables #19 -- 16,886 (- 2.1%) 02/2008: Jack of Fables #20 -- 16,650 (- 1.4%) ---------------- 6 months: -13.2% 1 year : -17.0%
Maintaining a slow decline.
—–
117 - CHECKMATE 02/2007: Checkmate #11 -- 20,659 (- 6.2%) 03/2007: Checkmate #12 -- 20,116 (- 2.6%) 04/2007: -- 05/2007: Checkmate #13 -- 22,554 (+12.1%) 05/2007: Checkmate #14 -- 22,074 (- 2.1%) 06/2007: Checkmate #15 -- 22,015 (- 0.3%) 07/2007: Checkmate #16 -- 20,225 (- 8.1%) 08/2007: Checkmate #17 -- 19,841 (- 1.9%) 09/2007: Checkmate #18 -- 18,742 (- 5.5%) 10/2007: Checkmate #19 -- 18,096 (- 3.5%) 11/2007: Checkmate #20 -- 17,663 (- 2.4%) 12/2007: Checkmate #21 -- 17,363 (- 1.7%) 01/2008: Checkmate #22 -- 17,087 (- 1.6%) 02/2008: Checkmate #23 -- 16,595 (- 2.9%) ---------------- 6 months: -16.4% 1 year : -19.7%
The numbers keep declining. A new creative team takes over with issue #26.
—–
118 - JSA: CLASSIFIED 02/2006: JSA: Classified #8 -- 39,656 02/2006: JSA: Classified #9 -- 39,104 -------------------------------------- 02/2007: JSA: Classified #23 -- 22,730 (- 4.6%) 03/2007: JSA: Classified #24 -- 22,113 (- 2.7%) 04/2007: JSA: Classified #25 -- 22,052 (- 0.3%) 05/2007: JSA: Classified #26 -- 21,569 (- 2.2%) 06/2007: JSA: Classified #27 -- 21,295 (- 1.3%) 07/2007: JSA: Classified #28 -- 20,736 (- 2.6%) 08/2007: JSA: Classified #29 -- 20,195 (- 2.6%) 09/2007: JSA: Classified #30 -- 19,382 (- 4.0%) 10/2007: JSA: Classified #31 -- 18,585 (- 4.1%) 11/2007: JSA: Classified #32 -- 17,756 (- 4.5%) 12/2007: JSA: Classified #33 -- 17,413 (- 1.9%) 01/2008: JSA: Classified #34 -- 16,852 (- 3.2%) 02/2008: JSA: Classified #35 -- 16,561 (- 1.7%) ---------------- 6 months: -18.0% 1 year : -27.1% 2 years : -58.0%
Cancelled with issue #39, unless they change their mind again.
—–
122 - SUICIDE SQUAD: RAISE THE FLAG 02/2002: Suicide Squad #6 -- 17,142* ----------------------------------------- 09/2007: Raise the Flag #1 of 8 -- 29,506 10/2007: Raise the Flag #2 of 8 -- 22,774 (-22.8%) 11/2007: Raise the Flag #3 of 8 -- 19,774 (-13.2%) 12/2007: Raise the Flag #4 of 8 -- 18,025 (- 8.9%) 01/2008: Raise the Flag #5 of 8 -- 17,094 (- 5.2%) 02/2008: Raise the Flag #6 of 8 -- 16,152 (- 5.5%)
124 - WONDER GIRL 09/2007: Wonder Girl #1 of 6 -- 33,517 10/2007: Wonder Girl #2 of 6 -- 24,407 (-27.2%) 11/2007: Wonder Girl #3 of 6 -- 19,774 (-19.0%) 12/2007: Wonder Girl #4 of 6 -- 18,146 (- 8.2%) 01/2008: Wonder Girl #5 of 6 -- 16,741 (- 7.7%) 02/2008: Wonder Girl #6 of 6 -- 15,892 (- 5.1%)
These two limited series are firmly under the radar.
—–
125 - EX MACHINA (WildStorm) 02/2005: Ex Machina #8 -- 22,169 02/2006: -- --------------------------------- 02/2007: -- 03/2007: -- 04/2007: Ex Machina #27 -- 18,242 (- 1.8%) 05/2007: Ex Machina #28 -- 18,164 (- 0.4%) 06/2007: Ex Machina #29 -- 17,719 (- 2.5%) 07/2007: -- 08/2007: -- 09/2007: Ex Machina #30 -- 17,163 (- 3.1%) 10/2007: Ex Machina #31 -- 16,772 (- 2.3%) 11/2007: Ex Machina #32 -- 16,328 (- 2.7%) 12/2007: Ex Machina #33 -- 16,067 (- 1.6%) 01/2008: -- 02/2008: Ex Machina #34 -- 15,579 (- 3.0%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : n.a. 2 years : n.a.
Periodical sales of the other long-running creator-owned property at WildStorm also keep eroding.
—–
127 - METAL MEN 08/2007: Metal Men #1 of 8 -- 30,454 09/2007: Metal Men #2 of 8 -- 23,658 (-22.3%) 10/2007: Metal Men #3 of 8 -- 20,571 (-13.1%) 11/2007: Metal Men #4 of 8 -- 18,707 (- 9.1%) 12/2007: -- 01/2008: Metal Men #5 of 8 -- 16,152 (-13.7%) 02/2008: Metal Men #6 of 8 -- 15,374 (- 4.8%) ---------------- 6 months: -49.5%
These are horrible numbers, obviously. Rather surprisingly, though, DC have solicited a hardcover edition of the book, so someone there must really like it.
—–
128 - SIMON DARK 10/2007: Simon Dark #1 -- 24,256 11/2007: Simon Dark #2 -- 18,492 (-23.8%) 12/2007: Simon Dark #3 -- 17,391 (- 6.0%) 01/2008: Simon Dark #4 -- 16,242 (- 6.6%) 02/2008: Simon Dark #5 -- 15,360 (- 5.4%)
131 - SHADOWPACT 02/2007: Shadowpact #10 -- 21,823 (- 4.6%) 03/2007: Shadowpact #11 -- 21,114 (- 3.3%) 04/2007: Shadowpact #12 -- 20,746 (- 1.7%) 05/2007: Shadowpact #13 -- 20,335 (- 2.0%) 06/2007: Shadowpact #14 -- 19,899 (- 2.1%) 07/2007: Shadowpact #15 -- 19,689 (- 1.2%) 08/2007: Shadowpact #16 -- 19,410 (- 1.4%) 09/2007: Shadowpact #17 -- 18,382 (- 5.3%) 10/2007: Shadowpact #18 -- 17,818 (- 3.1%) 11/2007: Shadowpact #19 -- 17,103 (- 4.0%) 12/2007: Shadowpact #20 -- 16,459 (- 3.8%) 01/2008: Shadowpact #21 -- 16,014 (- 2.7%) 02/2008: Shadowpact #22 -- 15,292 (- 4.5%) ---------------- 6 months: -21.2% 1 year : -29.9%
Two ongoing DC books with less than impressive sales. Shadowpact is cancelled with issue #25.
—–
132 - TINY TITANS (Johnny DC) 02/2008: Tiny Titans #1 -- 15,238
There’s an overlap of a few months, but Tiny Titans effectively replaces Teen Titans Go! at the publisher’s Johnny DC imprint. See disclaimers.
—–
133 - NORTHLANDERS (Vertigo) 12/2007: Northlanders #1 -- 19,805 01/2008: Northlanders #2 -- 15,945 (-19.5%) 02/2008: Northlanders #3 -- 14,699 (- 7.8%)
That’s a fairly average third-issue drop. The next few issues are going to be the litmus test for the book’s long-term prospects in the periodical market.
The first three issues of Northlanders were promoted with 1-for-10 variant cover editions, but series writer Brian Wood has suggested that Diamond Comic Distributors – contrary to their usual practice – haven’t included the sales of these editions in their numbers.
Either way, we should have a good idea of the book’s performance once the March numbers are released.
—–
136 - BLUE BEETLE 02/2007: Blue Beetle #12 -- 18,555 (- 6.6%) 03/2007: Blue Beetle #13 -- 17,653 (- 4.9%) 04/2007: Blue Beetle #14 -- 17,167 (- 2.8%) 05/2007: Blue Beetle #15 -- 16,906 (- 1.5%) 06/2007: Blue Beetle #16 -- 17,016 (+ 0.7%) 07/2007: Blue Beetle #17 -- 16,128 (- 5.2%) 08/2007: Blue Beetle #18 -- 19,140 (+18.7%) 09/2007: Blue Beetle #19 -- 15,737 (-17.8%) 10/2007: Blue Beetle #20 -- 27,611 (+75.5%) 11/2007: Blue Beetle #21 -- 15,645 (-43.3%) 12/2007: Blue Beetle #22 -- 15,256 (- 2.5%) 01/2008: Blue Beetle #23 -- 14,961 (- 1.9%) 01/2008: Blue Beetle #24 -- 14,378 (- 3.9%) ---------------- 6 months: -24.9% 1 year : -22.5%
Blue Beetle sales keep declining. It should be said that the six-month comparison looks harsher than it is, though, because the August issue was a crossover with Teen Titans.
—–
139 - UNCLE SAM & THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS 02/2007: -- 03/2007: Uncle Sam & FF #8 of 8 -- 22,507 04/2007: -- 05/2007: -- 06/2007: -- 07/2007: -- 08/2007: -- 09/2007: Uncle Sam & FF #1 of 8 -- 23,731 (+ 5.4%) 10/2007: Uncle Sam & FF #2 of 8 -- 19,006 (-19.9%) 11/2007: Uncle Sam & FF #3 of 8 -- 17,157 (- 9.7%) 12/2007: Uncle Sam & FF #4 of 8 -- 15,832 (- 7.7%) 01/2008: Uncle Sam & FF #5 of 8 -- 14,989 (- 5.3%) 02/2008: Uncle Sam & FF #6 of 8 -- 14,126 (- 5.8%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : n.a.
That’s a standard miniseries performance.
—–
142 - THE AUTHORITY: PRIME (WildStorm) 02/2004: CdE: Authority #4 -- 28,705 02/2005: Revolution #5 of 12 -- 20,683 --------------------------------------- 02/2007: -- 03/2007: The Authority v3 #2 -- 39,886 (-31.4%) 04/2007: -- 05/2007: -- 06/2007: -- 07/2007: -- 08/2007: -- 09/2007: -- 10/2007: Prime #1 of 6 -- 21,992 (-44.9%) 11/2007: Prime #2 of 6 -- 17,717 (-19.4%) 12/2007: Prime #3 of 6 -- 16,623 (- 6.2%) 01/2008: Prime #4 of 6 -- 15,058 (- 9.4%) 02/2008: Prime #5 of 6 -- 14,099 (- 6.4%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : n.a. 2 years : n.a.
The top-selling WildStorm Universe title is now selling below 15,000. If there’s any point to keep the line around, at this stage, I don’t see it – it doesn’t offer anything the market doesn’t already have in spades from Marvel or DC proper, and the numbers clearly reflect that.
—–
144 - JONAH HEX 02/2006: Jonah Hex #4 -- 23,569 -------------------------------- 02/2007: Jonah Hex #16 -- 17,490 (- 2.8%) 03/2007: Jonah Hex #17 -- 17,081 (- 2.3%) 04/2007: Jonah Hex #18 -- 16,880 (- 1.2%) 05/2007: Jonah Hex #19 -- 16,473 (- 2.4%) 06/2007: Jonah Hex #20 -- 16,150 (- 2.0%) 07/2007: Jonah Hex #21 -- 15,734 (- 2.6%) 08/2007: Jonah Hex #22 -- 15,362 (- 2.4%) 09/2007: Jonah Hex #23 -- 15,157 (- 1.4%) 10/2007: Jonah Hex #24 -- 14,749 (- 2.7%) 11/2007: Jonah Hex #25 -- 14,577 (- 1.2%) 12/2007: Jonah Hex #26 -- 14,088 (- 3.5%) 01/2008: Jonah Hex #27 -- 13,881 (- 1.5%) 02/2008: Jonah Hex #28 -- 13,614 (- 1.9%) ---------------- 6 months: -11.4% 1 year : -22.2% 2 years : -42.2%
Jonah Hex continues its slow but steady decline.
—–
145 - THE ALL-NEW ATOM 02/2007: The All-New Atom #8 -- 19,004 (- 9.5%) 03/2007: The All-New Atom #9 -- 17,572 (- 7.5%) 04/2007: The All-New Atom #10 -- 16,739 (- 4.4%) 05/2007: The All-New Atom #11 -- 16,193 (- 3.3%) 06/2007: The All-New Atom #12 -- 16,848 (+ 4.1%) 07/2007: The All-New Atom #13 -- 16,982 (+ 0.8%) 08/2007: The All-New Atom #14 -- 17,894 (+ 5.4%) 09/2007: The All-New Atom #15 -- 17,266 (- 3.5%) 10/2007: The All-New Atom #16 -- 16,013 (- 7.3%) 11/2007: The All-New Atom #17 -- 15,529 (- 3.0%) 12/2007: The All-New Atom #18 -- 14,701 (- 5.3%) 01/2008: The All-New Atom #19 -- 13,861 (- 5.7%) 02/2008: The All-New Atom #20 -- 13,560 (- 2.2%) ---------------- 6 months: -24.2% 1 year : -28.7%
Sales keep declining.
—–
147 - GEN13 (WildStorm) 02/2002: Gen13 #74 -- 16,621* 02/2003: Gen13 #6 -- 18,251* ---------------------------- 02/2007: Gen13 #5 -- 22,422 (-18.8%) 03/2007: Gen13 #6 -- 21,356 (- 4.8%) 04/2007: Gen13 #7 -- 20,555 (- 3.8%) 05/2007: Gen13 #8 -- 19,638 (- 4.5%) 06/2007: Gen13 #9 -- 18,644 (- 5.1%) 07/2007: Gen13 #10 -- 17,720 (- 5.0%) 08/2007: Gen13 #11 -- 16,955 (- 4.3%) 09/2007: Gen13 #12 -- 16,112 (- 5.0%) 10/2007: Gen13 #13 -- 15,539 (- 3.6%) 11/2007: Gen13 #14 -- 14,831 (- 4.6%) 12/2007: Gen13 #15 -- 14,330 (- 3.4%) 01/2008: Gen13 #16 -- 13,618 (- 5.0%) 02/2008: Gen13 #17 -- 12,844 (- 5.7%) ---------------- 6 months: -24.3% 1 year : -42.7%
Gen13 is suspiciously absent from the publisher’s solicitations for June. Maybe it’s just taking a month off after writer Simon Oliver’s run concludes with issue #20, but I wouldn’t bet the farm on it.
—–
151 - INFINITY INC. 09/2007: Infinity Inc. #1 -- 33,400 10/2007: Infinity Inc. #2 -- 24,158 (-27.7%) 11/2007: Infinity Inc. #3 -- 18,776 (-22.3%) 12/2007: Infinity Inc. #4 -- 15,861 (-15.5%) 01/2008: Infinity Inc. #5 -- 13,951 (-12.0%) 02/2008: Infinity Inc. #6 -- 12,523 (-10.2%)
Six issues in, Infinity Inc. is still in the double-digit drops. If the book makes it past issue #12, I’ll be surprised.
Not unusually, for a Peter Milligan comic, the series is probably a little too off-kilter for the direct market – rather than the superhero team book as which it’s being sold, Infinity Inc. reads more like a comic about a bunch of young people in group therapy who also happen to have superhuman abilities.
—–
152 - HELLBLAZER (Vertigo) 02/2002: Hellblazer #171 -- 18,093* 02/2003: Hellblazer #181 -- 16,825* 02/2004: Hellblazer #193 -- 15,000 02/2005: Hellblazer #205 -- 15,158 02/2006: Hellblazer #217 -- 14,306 ---------------------------------- 02/2007: Hellblazer #229 -- 13,032 (+0.6%) 03/2007: Hellblazer #230 -- 13,210 (+1.4%) 04/2007: Hellblazer #231 -- 13,142 (-0.5%) 05/2007: Hellblazer #232 -- 13,164 (+0.2%) 06/2007: Hellblazer #233 -- 13,201 (+0.3%) 07/2007: Hellblazer #234 -- 13,112 (-0.7%) 08/2007: Hellblazer #234 -- 13,214 (+0.8%) 08/2007: Hellblazer #235 -- 13,153 (-0.5%) 09/2007: Hellblazer #236 -- 12,938 (-1.6%) 10/2007: Hellblazer #237 -- 12,703 (-1.8%) 11/2007: Hellblazer #238 -- 12,536 (-1.3%) 12/2007: Hellblazer #239 -- 12,344 (-1.5%) 01/2008: Hellblazer #240 -- 12,213 (-1.1%) 02/2008: Hellblazer #241 -- 11,998 (-1.8%) ---------------- 6 months: - 9.0% 1 year : - 7.9% 2 years : -16.1%
Standard attrition.
—–
156 - THE MIDNIGHTER (WildStorm) 02/2007: The Midnighter #4 -- 24,792 (-10.1%) 03/2007: The Midnighter #5 -- 21,452 (-13.5%) 04/2007: The Midnighter #6 -- 20,561 (- 4.2%) 05/2007: The Midnighter #7 -- 19,910 (- 3.2%) 06/2007: The Midnighter #8 -- 18,076 (- 9.2%) 07/2007: The Midnighter #9 -- 16,656 (- 7.9%) 08/2007: The Midnighter #10 -- 15,654 (- 6.0%) 09/2007: The Midnighter #11 -- 14,349 (- 8.3%) 10/2007: The Midnighter #12 -- 13,741 (- 4.2%) 11/2007: The Midnighter #13 -- 12,996 (- 5.4%) 12/2007: The Midnighter #14 -- 12,358 (- 4.9%) 01/2008: The Midnighter #15 -- 11,929 (- 3.5%) 02/2008: The Midnighter #16 -- 11,309 (- 5.2%) ---------------- 6 months: -27.8% 1 year : -54.4%
Cancelled with issue #20.
—–
158 - 100 BULLETS (Vertigo) 02/2002: 100 Bullets #33 -- 16,844* 02/2003: 100 Bullets #42 -- 16,613* 02/2004: -- 02/2005: 100 Bullets #58 -- 14,926 02/2006: 100 Bullets #69 -- 13,708 ---------------------------------- 02/2007: 100 Bullets #81 -- 12,458 (- 1.5%) 03/2007: 100 Bullets #82 -- 12,260 (- 1.6%) 04/2007: -- 05/2007: 100 Bullets #83 -- 12,475 (+ 1.8%) 06/2007: 100 Bullets #84 -- 12,148 (- 2.6%) 07/2007: -- 08/2007: -- 09/2007: 100 Bullets #85 -- 11,888 (- 2.1%) 10/2007: -- 11/2007: 100 Bullets #86 -- 11,599 (- 2.4%) 12/2007: -- 01/2008: 100 Bullets #87 -- 11,244 (- 3.1%) 02/2008: 100 Bullets #88 -- 11,077 (- 1.5%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : -11.1% 2 years : -19.2%
161 - DMZ (Vertigo) 02/2006: DMZ #4 -- 14,778 -------------------------- 02/2007: DMZ #16 -- 13,199 (-1.1%) 03/2007: DMZ #17 -- 13,081 (-0.9%) 04/2007: DMZ #18 -- 13,120 (+0.3%) 05/2007: DMZ #19 -- 13,116 (-0.0%) 06/2007: DMZ #20 -- 12,704 (-3.1%) 07/2007: DMZ #21 -- 12,433 (-2.1%) 08/2007: DMZ #22 -- 12,175 (-2.1%) 09/2007: DMZ #23 -- 11,858 (-2.6%) 10/2007: DMZ #24 -- 11,583 (-2.3%) 11/2007: DMZ #25 -- 11,277 (-2.6%) 12/2007: DMZ #26 -- 11,027 (-2.2%) 01/2008: DMZ #27 -- 10,662 (-3.3%) 02/2008: DMZ #28 -- 10,463 (-1.9%) ---------------- 6 months: -14.1% 1 year : -20.7% 2 years : -29.2%
The two Vertigo books maintain a slow, steady decline. First-month collection sales have been increasing for both titles, however, and suggest that 100 Bullets and DMZ are the top-selling current Vertigo series in that market, outside of the Fables franchise.
—–
164 - BAT LASH 12/2007: Bat Lash #1 of 6 -- 18,324 01/2008: Bat Lash #2 of 6 -- 12,428 (-32.2%) 02/2008: Bat Lash #3 of 6 -- 10,102 (-18.7%)
These are horrible sales, even for a Western.
—–
167 - COUNTDOWN SPECIAL 80-PAGE GIANT 10/2007: The Flash -- 16,381 11/2007: Jimmy Olsen -- 12,106 (-26.1%) 12/2007: The Atom #1 of 2 -- 9,404 (-22.3%) 12/2007: The Atom #2 of 2 -- 9,005 (- 4.2%) 01/2008: The New Gods -- 10,157 (+12.8%) 02/2008: OMAC -- 9,447 (- 7.0%)
These $ 4.99 reprint books keep selling nicely.
—–
168 - WILDSTORM: REVELATIONS (WildStorm) 01/2008: Revelations #1 of 6 -- 11,694 01/2008: Revelations #2 of 6 -- 10,877 (- 7.0%) 02/2008: Revelations #3 of 6 -- 9,406 (-13.5%) 02/2008: Revelations #4 of 6 -- 9,181 (- 2.4%)
The twice-monthly WildStorm Universe revamp was hit by a delayed second-issue drop in February. It doesn’t make much of a difference, however – people evidently couldn’t care less about the WildStorm Universe as a fictional world.
—–
185 - JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED (Johnny DC) 02/2002: JL Adventures #4 -- 19,571* 02/2003: JL Adventures #16 -- 14,298* 02/2004: JL Adventures #28 -- 12,343 02/2005: JL Unlimited #6 -- 12,205 02/2006: JL Unlimited #18 -- 10,206 ------------------------------------ 02/2007: JL Unlimited #30 -- 9,123 (- 1.6%) 03/2007: JL Unlimited #31 -- 9,072 (- 0.6%) 04/2007: JL Unlimited #32 -- 9,326 (+ 2.8%) 05/2007: JL Unlimited #33 -- 9,230 (- 1.0%) 06/2007: JL Unlimited #34 -- 9,328 (+ 1.1%) 07/2007: JL Unlimited #35 -- 8,998 (- 3.5%) 08/2007: JL Unlimited #36 -- 9,043 (+ 0.5%) 09/2007: JL Unlimited #37 -- 8,706 (- 3.7%) 10/2007: JL Unlimited #38 -- 8,461 (- 2.8%) 11/2007: JL Unlimited #39 -- 8,367 (- 1.1%) 12/2007: JL Unlimited #40 -- 8,272 (- 1.1%) 01/2008: JL Unlimited #41 -- 8,308 (+ 0.4%) 02/2008: JL Unlimited #42 -- 8,144 (- 2.0%) ---------------- 6 months: - 9.9% 1 year : -10.7% 2 years : -20.2%
A Johnny DC book. See disclaimers.
—–
187 - FRIDAY THE 13TH: BAD LAND (WildStorm) 02/2007: Friday the 13th #3 -- 8,965 (- 6.2%) 03/2007: Friday the 13th #4 -- 8,637 (- 3.7%) 04/2007: Friday the 13th #5 -- 8,724 (+ 1.0%) 05/2007: Friday the 13th #6 -- 8,605 (- 1.4%) 06/2007: -- 07/2007: Pamela's Tale #1 of 2 -- 8,420 (- 2.2%) 08/2007: Pamela's Tale #2 of 2 -- 7,635 (- 9.3%) 09/2007: Summer Vacation #1 of 2 -- 7,839 (+ 2.7%) 10/2007: Summer Vacation #2 of 2 -- 7,431 (- 5.2%) 11/2007: -- 12/2007: -- 01/2008: Bad Land #1 of 2 -- 8,128 (+ 9.4%) 02/2008: Bad Land #2 of 2 -- 7,708 (- 5.2%) ---------------- 6 months: + 1.0% 1 year : -14.0%
Sales remain within the book’s usual range. They’re probably hoping that it’s going to do better in the collection market, but I’m skeptical.
—–
190 - TEEN TITANS GO (Johnny DC) 02/2004: Teen Titans Go #4 -- 16,085 02/2005: Teen Titans Go #16 -- 13,980 02/2006: Teen Titans Go #28 -- 11,568 ------------------------------------- 02/2007: Teen Titans Go #40 -- 9,132 (- 3.1%) 03/2007: Teen Titans Go #41 -- 8,895 (- 2.6%) 04/2007: Teen Titans Go #42 -- 9,050 (+ 1.7%) 05/2007: Teen Titans Go #43 -- 8,918 (- 1.5%) 06/2007: Teen Titans Go #44 -- 8,738 (- 2.0%) 07/2007: Teen Titans Go #45 -- 8,554 (- 2.1%) 08/2007: Teen Titans Go #46 -- 8,427 (- 1.5%) 09/2007: Teen Titans Go #47 -- 8,229 (- 2.4%) 10/2007: Teen Titans Go #48 -- 7,927 (- 3.7%) 11/2007: Teen Titans Go #49 -- 7,699 (- 2.9%) 12/2007: Teen Titans Go #50 -- 7,966 (+ 3.5%) 01/2008: Teen Titans Go #51 -- 7,602 (- 4.6%) 02/2008: Teen Titans Go #52 -- 7,496 (- 1.4%) ---------------- 6 months: -11.1% 1 year : -17.9% 2 years : -35.2%
Another Johnny DC book. See disclaimers.
—–
193 - LOVELESS (Vertigo) 02/2006: Loveless #4 -- 16,765 ------------------------------- 02/2007: Loveless #15 -- 11,103 (- 3.3%) 03/2007: Loveless #16 -- 10,787 (- 2.9%) 04/2007: Loveless #17 -- 10,334 (- 4.2%) 05/2007: -- 06/2007: Loveless #18 -- 9,906 (- 4.1%) 07/2007: -- 08/2007: Loveless #19 -- 8,851 (-10.7%) 09/2007: -- 10/2007: Loveless #20 -- 8,243 (- 6.9%) 11/2007: -- 12/2007: Loveless #21 -- 7,809 (- 5.3%) 01/2008: -- 02/2008: Loveless #22 -- 7,210 (- 7.7%) ---------------- 6 months: -18.5% 1 year : -35.1% 2 years : -57.0%
Given that the book is written by Brian Azzarello, I’d presume Loveless was doing well in the graphic novel market, but unfortunately there’s no evidence for that; first-month sales of its collected editions are in the same area as those of the cancelled The Exterminators, and, like the bulk of Vertigo’s books, it’s nowhere to be seen in the recently leaked numbers for the the book market.
Theoretically, mind you, Loveless collections could be selling reasonably well without registering on any of the available charts. They certainly have to be, if the book wants to stick around: Its periodical sales are still in a free-fall, with no end in sight.
—–
194 - DEATHBLOW (WildStorm) 02/2007: -- 03/2007: Deathblow #4 -- 15,842 (-15.8%) 04/2007: -- 05/2007: Deathblow #5 -- 12,547 (-20.8%) 06/2007: -- 07/2007: Deathblow #6 -- 10,582 (-15.7%) 08/2007: -- 09/2007: Deathblow #7 -- 9,287 (-12.2%) 10/2007: -- 11/2007: Deathblow #8 -- 8,229 (-11.4%) 12/2007: -- 01/2008: -- 02/2008: Deathblow #9 -- 7,182 (-12.7%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : n.a.
Cancelled. These numbers speak for themselves.
—–
198 - SCALPED (Vertigo) 02/2007: Scalped #2 -- 10,005 (-26.7%) 03/2007: Scalped #3 -- 9,531 (- 4.7%) 04/2007: Scalped #4 -- 9,163 (- 3.9%) 05/2007: Scalped #5 -- 9,022 (- 1.5%) 06/2007: Scalped #6 -- 8,689 (- 3.7%) 07/2007: Scalped #7 -- 8,303 (- 4.4%) 08/2007: Scalped #8 -- 7,942 (- 4.4%) 09/2007: Scalped #9 -- 7,678 (- 3.3%) 10/2007: Scalped #10 -- 7,536 (- 1.9%) 11/2007: Scalped #11 -- 7,323 (- 2.8%) 12/2007: Scalped #12 -- 7,048 (- 3.8%) 01/2008: Scalped #13 -- 6,993 (- 0.8%) 02/2008: Scalped #14 -- 6,903 (- 1.3%) ---------------- 6 months: -13.1% 1 year : -31.0%
Scalped is another anomaly. According to series writer Jason Aaron, the book is doing well in the collection market. But again, that’s not reflected in any of the available sales figures. The first-month sales of the second Scalped collection, for instance, display a 14% drop compared to those of the first one, which also places it below the latest collection of The Exterminators.
If Scalped collections are selling as well as Aaron suggests – which, as established above, is quite possible – I’d have expected the first-month numbers for the second collection to go up, like they did in the case of DMZ, or at least to stay even.
—–
200 - THE EXTERMINATORS (Vertigo) 02/2006: The Exterminators #2 -- 12,459 ---------------------------------------- 02/2007: The Exterminators #14 -- 8,965 (- 5.1%) 03/2007: The Exterminators #15 -- 8,839 (- 1.4%) 04/2007: The Exterminators #16 -- 8,758 (- 1.0%) 05/2007: The Exterminators #17 -- 8,813 (+ 0.6%) 06/2007: The Exterminators #18 -- 8,651 (- 1.8%) 07/2007: The Exterminators #19 -- 8,454 (- 2.3%) 08/2007: The Exterminators #20 -- 8,289 (- 2.0%) 09/2007: The Exterminators #21 -- 7,950 (- 4.1%) 10/2007: The Exterminators #22 -- 7,792 (- 2.0%) 11/2007: The Exterminators #23 -- 7,461 (- 4.3%) 12/2007: The Exterminators #24 -- 7,211 (- 3.4%) 01/2008: The Exterminators #25 -- 7,096 (- 1.6%) 02/2008: The Exterminators #26 -- 6,834 (- 3.7%) ---------------- 6 months: -17.6% 1 year : -23.8% 2 years : -45.2%
203 - AMERICAN VIRGIN (Vertigo) 02/2007: American Virgin #12 -- 9,215 (- 4.3%) 03/2007: -- 04/2007: American Virgin #13 -- 8,960 (- 2.8%) 05/2007: American Virgin #14 -- 8,805 (- 1.7%) 05/2007: American Virgin #15 -- 8,613 (- 2.2%) 06/2007: -- 07/2007: American Virgin #16 -- 8,403 (- 2.4%) 08/2007: American Virgin #17 -- 8,204 (- 2.4%) 08/2007: American Virgin #18 -- 7,727 (- 5.8%) 09/2007: American Virgin #19 -- 7,487 (- 3.1%) 10/2007: American Virgin #20 -- 7,228 (- 3.5%) 11/2007: American Virgin #21 -- 6,893 (- 4.6%) 12/2007: -- 01/2008: American Virgin #22 -- 6,903 (+ 0.2%) 02/2008: American Virgin #23 -- 6,698 (- 3.0%) ---------------- 6 months: -15.9% 1 year : -27.3%
American Virgin is axed, The Exterminators is cancelled with issue #30.
—–
203 - BATMAN STRIKES! (Johnny DC) 02/2002: Gotham Adventures #47 -- 11,848* 02/2003: Gotham Adventures #59 -- 11,421* 02/2004: Batman Adventures #11 -- 12,082 02/2005: Batman Strikes! #6 -- 11,102 02/2006: Batman Strikes! #18 -- 8,626 ---------------------------------------- 02/2007: Batman Strikes! #30 -- 7,335 (+ 0.1%) 03/2007: Batman Strikes! #31 -- 7,100 (- 3.2%) 04/2007: Batman Strikes! #32 -- 7,294 (+ 2.7%) 05/2007: Batman Strikes! #33 -- 7,235 (- 0.8%) 06/2007: Batman Strikes! #34 -- 7,115 (- 1.7%) 07/2007: Batman Strikes! #35 -- 7,222 (+ 1.5%) 08/2007: Batman Strikes! #36 -- 7,511 (+ 4.0%) 09/2007: Batman Strikes! #37 -- 6,833 (- 9.0%) 10/2007: Batman Strikes! #38 -- 6,664 (- 2.5%) 11/2007: Batman Strikes! #39 -- 6,464 (- 3.0%) 12/2007: Batman Strikes! #40 -- 6,492 (+ 0.4%) 01/2008: Batman Strikes! #41 -- 6,723 (+ 3.6%) 02/2008: Batman Strikes! #42 -- 6,623 (- 1.5%) ---------------- 6 months: -11.8% 1 year : - 9.7% 2 years : -23.2%
204 - THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES IN THE 31ST CENTURY (Johnny DC) 04/2007: The LoSH in the 31st Century #1 -- 13,519 05/2007: The LoSH in the 31st Century #2 -- 11,121 (-17.7%) 06/2007: The LoSH in the 31st Century #3 -- 9,252 (-16.8%) 07/2007: The LoSH in the 31st Century #4 -- 8,236 (-11.0%) 08/2007: The LoSH in the 31st Century #5 -- 7,681 (- 6.7%) 09/2007: The LoSH in the 31st Century #6 -- 7,362 (- 4.2%) 10/2007: The LoSH in the 31st Century #7 -- 7,010 (- 4.8%) 11/2007: The LoSH in the 31st Century #8 -- 6,886 (- 1.8%) 12/2007: The LoSH in the 31st Century #9 -- 6,777 (- 1.6%) 01/2008: The LoSH in the 31st Century #10 -- 6,674 (- 1.5%) 02/2008: The LoSH in the 31st Century #11 -- 6,568 (- 1.6%) ---------------- 6 months: -14.5%
Two more Johnny DC books. See disclaimers.
—–
205 - THE VINYL UNDERGROUND (Vertigo) 10/2007: The Vinyl Underground #1 -- 10,823 11/2007: The Vinyl Underground #2 -- 8,237 (-23.9%) 12/2007: The Vinyl Underground #3 -- 7,432 (- 9.8%) 01/2008: The Vinyl Underground #4 -- 6,854 (- 7.8%) 02/2008: The Vinyl Underground #5 -- 6,384 (- 6.9%)
208 - THE PROGRAMME (WildStorm) 07/2007: The Programme #1 of 12 -- 14,293 08/2007: The Programme #2 of 12 -- 9,412 (-34.2%) 09/2007: The Programme #3 of 12 -- 8,545 (- 9.2%) 10/2007: The Programme #4 of 12 -- 7,717 (- 9.7%) 11/2007: The Programme #5 of 12 -- 7,262 (- 5.9%) 12/2007: The Programme #6 of 12 -- 6,856 (- 5.6%) 01/2008: The Programme #7 of 12 -- 6,640 (- 3.2%) 02/2008: The Programme #8 of 12 -- 6,221 (- 6.3%) ---------------- 6 months: -33.9%
214 - ARMY@LOVE (Vertigo) 03/2007: Army@Love #1 -- 14,578 04/2007: Army@Love #2 -- 11,195 (-23.2%) 05/2007: Army@Love #3 -- 10,312 (- 7.9%) 06/2007: Army@Love #4 -- 9,089 (-11.9%) 07/2007: Army@Love #5 -- 8,386 (- 7.7%) 08/2007: Army@Love #6 -- 7,858 (- 6.3%) 09/2007: Army@Love #7 -- 7,310 (- 7.0%) 10/2007: Army@Love #8 -- 7,010 (- 4.1%) 11/2007: Army@Love #9 -- 6,617 (- 5.6%) 12/2007: Army@Love #10 -- 6,364 (- 3.8%) 01/2008: Army@Love #11 -- 6,023 (- 5.4%) 02/2008: Army@Love #12 -- 5,777 (- 4.1%) ---------------- 6 months: -26.5%
221 - CROSSING MIDNIGHT (Vertigo) 02/2007: Crossing Midnight #4 -- 7,568 (- 8.1%) 03/2007: Crossing Midnight #5 -- 7,196 (- 4.9%) 04/2007: Crossing Midnight #6 -- 7,036 (- 2.2%) 05/2007: Crossing Midnight #7 -- 6,866 (- 2.4%) 06/2007: Crossing Midnight #8 -- 6,612 (- 3.7%) 07/2007: Crossing Midnight #9 -- 6,351 (- 4.0%) 08/2007: Crossing Midnight #10 -- 6,142 (- 3.3%) 09/2007: Crossing Midnight #11 -- 5,870 (- 4.4%) 10/2007: Crossing Midnight #12 -- 5,754 (- 2.0%) 11/2007: Crossing Midnight #13 -- 5,519 (- 4.1%) 12/2007: Crossing Midnight #14 -- 5,467 (- 0.9%) 01/2008: Crossing Midnight #15 -- 5,255 (- 3.9%) 02/2008: Crossing Midnight #16 -- 5,348 (+ 1.8%) ---------------- 6 months: -12.9% 1 year : -29.3%
228 - THE UN-MEN (Vertigo) 08/2007: The Un-Men #1 -- 11,868 09/2007: The Un-Men #2 -- 8,758 (-26.2%) 10/2007: The Un-Men #3 -- 7,566 (-13.6%) 11/2007: The Un-Men #4 -- 6,678 (-11.7%) 12/2007: The Un-Men #5 -- 6,094 (- 8.8%) 01/2008: The Un-Men #6 -- 5,525 (- 9.3%) 02/2008: The Un-Men #7 -- 4,925 (-10.9%) ---------------- 6 months: -58.5%
And here’s the rest of the Vertigo and WildStorm books. Army@Love ended with issue #12, ostensibly with a view to being relaunched later on; given these sales, I’m rather skeptical, though. Crossing Midnight is cancelled with issue #19 – a second collection shipped in February, with first-month sales below 2,000 units.
This leaves The Vinyl Underground and The Un-Men, as far as ongoing titles are concerned. Obviously, things don’t look very encouraging at all for these two books.
—–
241 - SCOOBY DOO (Johnny DC) 02/2002: Scooby Doo #57 -- 5,406* 02/2003: Scooby Doo #69 -- 5,892* 02/2004: Scooby Doo #81 -- 5,297 02/2005: Scooby Doo #93 -- 4,747 02/2006: Scooby Doo #105 -- 4,326 --------------------------------- 02/2007: Scooby Doo #117 -- 4,275 (- 0.2%) 03/2007: Scooby Doo #118 -- 4,395 (+ 2.8%) 04/2007: Scooby Doo #119 -- 4,373 (- 0.5%) 05/2007: Scooby Doo #120 -- 4,343 (- 0.7%) 06/2007: Scooby Doo #121 -- 4,415 (+ 1.7%) 07/2007: Scooby Doo #122 -- 4,424 (+ 0.2%) 08/2007: Scooby Doo #123 -- 4,641 (+ 4.9%) 09/2007: Scooby Doo #124 -- 4,401 (- 5.2%) 10/2007: Scooby Doo #125 -- 4,407 (+ 0.1%) 11/2007: Scooby Doo #126 -- 4,237 (- 3.9%) 12/2007: Scooby Doo #127 -- 4,293 (+ 1.3%) 01/2008: Scooby Doo #128 -- 4,147 (- 3.4%) 02/2008: Scooby Doo #129 -- 4,161 (+ 0.4%) ---------------- 6 months: -10.3% 1 year : - 2.7% 2 years : - 3.8%
280 - LOONEY TUNES (Johnny DC) 02/2002: Looney Tunes #87 -- 3,115* 02/2003: Looney Tunes #99 -- 3,328* 02/2004: Looney Tunes #111 -- 3,220 02/2005: Looney Tunes #123 -- 2,838 02/2006: Looney Tunes #135 -- 2,631 ----------------------------------- 02/2007: Looney Tunes #147 -- 2,553 (- 1.4%) 03/2007: Looney Tunes #148 -- 2,705 (+ 6.0%) 04/2007: Looney Tunes #149 -- 2,640 (- 2.4%) 05/2007: Looney Tunes #150 -- 3,093 (+17.2%) 06/2007: Looney Tunes #151 -- 2,711 (-12.4%) 07/2007: Looney Tunes #152 -- 2,865 (+ 5.7%) 08/2007: Looney Tunes #153 -- 2,755 (- 3.8%) 09/2007: Looney Tunes #154 -- 2,740 (- 0.6%) 10/2007: Looney Tunes #155 -- ? 11/2007: Looney Tunes #156 -- ? 12/2007: Looney Tunes #157 -- 2,641 01/2008: Looney Tunes #158 -- 2,596 (- 1.7%) 02/2008: Looney Tunes #159 -- 2,606 (+ 0.4%) ---------------- 6 months: - 5.4% 1 year : + 2.1% 2 years : - 1.0%
Two more Johnny DC books. See disclaimers.
—–
REORDERS: 246: 3,970 -- Green Lantern Corps #20 (2nd) 260: 3,329 -- Y: The Last Man #60
—–
Average Sales per Title
(not counting reprints, reorders shipping after the initial month of release, Johnny DC titles and magazines)
DC COMICS 02/2004: 26,900 02/2005: 27,525 02/2006: 32,292 --------------- 02/2007: 31,051 (+ 4.5%) 03/2007: 32,398 (+ 4.3%) 04/2007: 39,134 (+20.8%) 05/2007: 34,489 (-11.9%) 06/2007: 32,437 (- 6.0%) 07/2007: 34,330 (+ 5.8%) 08/2007: 34,885 (+ 1.6%) 09/2007: 32,332 (- 7.3%) 10/2007: 31,489 (- 2.6%) 11/2007: 29,427 (- 6.6%) 12/2007: 33,138 (+12.6%) 01/2008: 27,033 (-18.4%) 02/2008: 27,652 (+ 2.3%) ---------------- 6 months: -20.7% 1 year : -11.0% 2 years : -14.4% 3 years : + 0.5% 4 years : + 2.8%
DC UNIVERSE 02/2004: 30,632 02/2005: 34,956 02/2006: 40,823 --------------- 02/2007: 39,976 (+ 4.4%) 03/2007: 42,634 (+ 6.7%) 04/2007: 52,768 (+23.8%) 05/2007: 47,294 (-10.4%) 06/2007: 45,380 (- 4.1%) 07/2007: 47,134 (+ 3.9%) 08/2007: 46,717 (- 0.9%) 09/2007: 42,894 (- 8.2%) 10/2007: 39,409 (- 8.1%) 11/2007: 37,257 (- 5.5%) 12/2007: 40,074 (+ 7.6%) 01/2008: 33,654 (-16.0%) 02/2008: 35,994 (+ 7.0%) ---------------- 6 months: -23.0% 1 year : -10.0% 2 years : -11.8% 3 years : + 3.0% 4 years : +17.5%
VERTIGO 02/2004: 14,808 02/2005: 13,451 02/2006: 15,026 --------------- 02/2007: 11,855 (-12.7%) 03/2007: 13,748 (+16.0%) 04/2007: 12,105 (-12.0%) 05/2007: 12,256 (+ 1.3%) 06/2007: 12,732 (+ 3.9%) 07/2007: 12,193 (- 4.2%) 08/2007: 10,817 (-11.3%) 09/2007: 11,806 (+ 9.1%) 10/2007: 10,678 (- 9.6%) 11/2007: 10,946 (+ 2.5%) 12/2007: 11,035 (+ 0.8%) 01/2008: 10,115 (- 8.3%) 02/2008: 10,885 (+ 7.6%) ---------------- 6 months: + 0.6% 1 year : - 8.2% 2 years : -27.6% 3 years : -19.3% 4 years : -26.5%
WILDSTORM 02/2004: 21,164 02/2005: 14,362 02/2006: 13,610 --------------- 02/2007: 14,105 (- 2.9%) 03/2007: 15,224 (+ 7.9%) 04/2007: 13,609 (-10.6%) 05/2007: 14,260 (+ 4.8%) 06/2007: 12,272 (-13.9%) 07/2007: 11,234 (- 8.5%) 08/2007: 10,744 (- 4.4%) 09/2007: 11,379 (+ 5.9%) 10/2007: 11,960 (+ 5.1%) 11/2007: 15,109 (+26.3%) 12/2007: 15,601 (+ 3.3%) 01/2008: 14,033 (-10.1%) 02/2008: 13,155 (- 6.3%) ---------------- 6 months: +22.4% 1 year : - 6.7% 2 years : - 3.3% 3 years : - 8.4% 4 years : -37.8%
—–
6-MONTH COMPARISONS + 13.1%: Green Arrow + 9.4%: Robin + 8.8%: Outsiders + 8.7%: Action Comics + 6.2%: LoSH + 3.5%: Nightwing + 1.0%: Friday the 13th + 0.1%: Detective Comics - 4.8%: JSA - 5.3%: Fables - 5.4%: Looney Tunes - 7.7%: Green Lantern Corps - 8.4%: Catwoman - 9.0%: Hellblazer - 9.9%: Justice League Unlimited - 10.3%: Scooby-Doo - 11.1%: Teen Titans Go - 11.4%: Jonah Hex - 11.8%: Batman Strikes - 12.0%: Batman Confidential - 12.3%: Batman - 12.8%: Superman/Batman - 12.9%: Crossing Midnight - 13.1%: Scalped - 13.2%: Jack of Fables - 13.3%: JLA: Classified - 14.1%: DMZ - 14.5%: LoSH in the 31th Century - 15.9%: American Virgin - 16.4%: Checkmate - 17.1%: The Spirit - 17.6%: Exterminators - 17.6%: Wonder Woman - 18.0%: JSA: Classified - 18.1%: Birds of Prey - 18.5%: Loveless - 21.2%: Shadowpact - 21.4%: Countdown - 22.4%: Superman - 24.2%: The All-New Atom - 24.3%: Gen13 - 24.8%: Brave and the Bold - 24.9%: Blue Beetle - 26.5%: Army@Love - 27.1%: Supergirl - 27.8%: Midnighter - 27.8%: Teen Titans - 29.6%: Booster Gold - 31.7%: JLA - 33.9%: The Programme - 48.3%: Flash - 49.5%: Metal Men - 58.5%: The Un-Men
—–
1-YEAR COMPARISONS + 36.4%: Green Lantern Corps + 16.5%: Green Arrow + 14.9%: Outsiders + 2.1%: Looney Tunes - 0.8%: LoSH - 1.1%: JSA - 1.5%: Robin - 2.7%: Scooby Doo - 5.1%: Nightwing - 7.9%: Hellblazer - 8.5%: Detective Comics - 9.5%: Catwoman - 9.7%: Batman Strikes - 10.7%: Justice League Unlimited - 11.1%: 100 Bullets - 13.8%: Action Comics - 14.0%: Friday the 13th - 17.0%: Jack of Fables - 17.4%: JLA: Classified - 17.9%: Teen Titans Go - 18.0%: Batman - 18.3%: Birds of Prey - 19.7%: Checkmate - 20.1%: Flash - 20.7%: DMZ - 22.2%: Jonah Hex - 22.5%: Blue Beetle - 23.8%: Exterminators - 27.1%: JSA: Classified - 27.3%: American Virgin - 28.6%: Superman - 28.7%: The All-New Atom - 29.3%: Crossing Midnight - 29.9%: Shadowpact - 31.0%: Scalped - 32.3%: The Spirit - 35.1%: Loveless - 35.5%: Supergirl - 35.6%: Batman Confidential - 40.0%: Wonder Woman - 42.7%: Gen13 - 54.4%: Midnighter - 57.5%: Brave and the Bold
—–
2-YEAR COMPARISONS + 53.8%: JSA + 42.7%: Detective Comics + 20.8%: JLA + 17.3%: Green Arrow + 7.6%: Action Comics + 2.7%: Batman + 0.1%: Fables - 1.0%: Looney Tunes - 3.0%: LoSH - 3.8%: Scooby-Doo - 8.2%: Wonder Woman - 12.4%: Outsiders - 12.7%: Nightwing - 13.5%: Robin - 14.4%: Catwoman - 16.1%: Hellblazer - 19.2%: 100 Bullets - 20.2%: Justice League Unlimited - 22.4%: Birds of Prey - 23.2%: Batman Strikes - 27.3%: Teen Titans - 29.2%: DMZ - 35.0%: Superman - 35.2%: Teen Titans Go - 42.2%: Jonah Hex - 45.2%: Exterminators - 51.8%: JLA: Classified - 57.0%: Loveless - 58.0%: JSA: Classified - 66.9%: Supergirl
—–
OTHER PUBLISHERS
14 - BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (Dark Horse Comics) 02/2002: Buffy #42 -- 15,287* 02/2003: Buffy #54 -- 15,036* ----------------------------- 03/2007: Buffy #1 -- 109,919 [158,437] 04/2007: Buffy #2 -- 96,409 (-12.3%) [132,378] 05/2007: Buffy #3 -- 106,634 (+10.6%) [125,078] 06/2007: Buffy #4 -- 102,430 (- 3.9%) [117,866] 07/2007: Buffy #5 -- 100,830 (- 2.0%) [109,322] 08/2007: -- 09/2007: Buffy #6 -- 96,556 (- 4.2%) [102,728] 10/2007: Buffy #7 -- 94,144 (- 2.4%) [ 97,142] 11/2007: Buffy #8 -- 91,595 (- 2.7%) [ 96,975] 12/2007: Buffy #9 -- 89,556 (- 2.2%) 01/2008: Buffy #10 -- 88,474 (- 1.2%) 02/2008: Buffy #11 -- 88,070 (- 0.5%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a.
The January and February issues were written by series creator Joss Whedon. If Buffy can maintain this sales level – and it certainly looks like the book is bottoming out around the 88k mark – it goes without saying that Dark Horse have every reason to be ecstatic about that.
As usual, there was a variant cover edition to boost the numbers.
—–
29 - PROJECT: SUPERPOWERS (Dynamite Entertainment) 02/2008: Project: Superpowers #1 of 6 -- 53,755
That’s quite a good start for the Alex Ross vehicle. It handsomely beats the debut of Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.’s Kick-Ass at Marvel’s Icon imprint, for instance. In fairness, Project: Superpowers comes with the usual assortment of variant cover editions, but that’s still a remarkable performance.
—–
37 - ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL (IDW) 02/2006: Old Friends #3 of 5 -- 13,057 ----------------------------------------- 02/2007: Auld Lang Syne #4 of 5 -- 6,371 (- 4.9%) 03/2007: Auld Lang Syne #5 of 5 -- 6,351 (- 0.3%) 04/2007: -- 05/2007: -- 06/2007: -- 07/2007: -- 08/2007: -- 09/2007: -- 10/2007: -- 11/2007: After the Fall #1 -- 47,563 (+648.9%) [65,293] 12/2007: After the Fall #2 -- 44,792 (- 5.8%) [56,396] 01/2008: After the Fall #3 -- 46,013 (+ 2.7%) 02/2008: After the Fall #4 -- 48,407 (+ 5.2%) ----------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : +659.8% 2 years : +270.7%
Buffy‘s little twin keeps climbing the charts.
—–
61/64 - STAR WARS: LEGACY (Dark Horse Comics) 02/2007: Star Wars: Legacy #8 -- 33,533 (-2.1%) 03/2007: Star Wars: Legacy #9 -- 33,084 (-1.3%) 03/2007: Star Wars: Legacy #10 -- 32,320 (-2.3%) 04/2007: -- 05/2007: Star Wars: Legacy #11 -- 33,138 (+2.5%) 05/2007: Star Wars: Legacy #12 -- 32,161 (-3.0%) 06/2007: Star Wars: Legacy #13 -- 32,149 (-0.0%) 07/2007: Star Wars: Legacy #14 -- 31,652 (-1.6%) 08/2007: Star Wars: Legacy #15 -- 31,539 (-0.4%) 09/2007: Star Wars: Legacy #16 -- 31,240 (-1.0%) 10/2007: -- 11/2007: Star Wars: Legacy #17 -- 31,197 (-0.1%) 12/2007: -- 01/2008: Star Wars: Legacy #18 -- 31,038 (-0.5%) 02/2008: Star Wars: Legacy #19 -- 30,953 (-0.3%) 02/2008: Star Wars: Legacy #20 -- 29,896 (-3.4%) ---------------- 6 months: - 3.5% 1 year : - 9.3%
The flagship of Dark Horse’s Star Wars line remains rock-solid. The three-percent drop for issue #20 is likely due to the fact that the book shipped in the last week of February, which means that no reorders are included in the number.
—–
67 - THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY: APOCALYPSE SUITE (Dark Horse Comics) 09/2007: Apocalypse Suite #1 of 6 -- 37,698 [48,514] 10/2007: Apocalypse Suite #2 of 6 -- 31,176 (-17.3%) [36,002] 11/2007: Apocalypse Suite #3 of 6 -- 29,508 (- 5.4%) [34,699] 12/2007: Apocalypse Suite #4 of 6 -- 28,703 (- 2.7%) [31,583] 01/2008: Apocalypse Suite #5 of 6 -- 29,736 (+ 3.6%) 02/2008: Apocalypse Suite #6 of 6 -- 28,879 (- 2.9%)
The first Umbrella Academy series concludes with very good numbers for a new property. According to Dark Horse, the book will be back in late 2008.
—–
69 - THE BOYS (Dynamite Entertainment) 02/2007: -- 03/2007: -- 04/2007: -- 05/2007: The Boys #7 -- 31,616 (+16.9%) [37,255] 06/2007: The Boys #8 -- 30,639 (- 3.1%) [32,868] 07/2007: -- 08/2007: The Boys #9 -- 32,570 (+ 6.3%) 09/2007: The Boys #10 -- 32,077 (- 1.5%) 10/2007: The Boys #11 -- 30,852 (- 3.8%) 11/2007: The Boys #12 -- 29,754 (- 3.6%) 12/2007: The Boys #13 -- 29,195 (- 1.9%) 01/2008: The Boys #14 -- 28,559 (- 2.2%) 02/2008: The Boys #15 -- 28,347 (- 0.7%) ---------------- 6 months: -13.0% 1 year : n.a.
The numbers are bottoming out in the 28k area, apparently.
—–
92 - STAR WARS: DARK TIMES (Dark Horse Comics) 02/2007: -- 03/2007: -- 04/2007: -- 05/2007: Star Wars: Dark Times #3 of 5 -- 29,501 (- 3.3%) 06/2007: -- 07/2007: Star Wars: Dark Times #4 of 5 -- 27,514 (- 6.7%) 08/2007: -- 09/2007: -- 10/2007: Star Wars: Dark Times #5 of 5 -- 26,573 (- 3.4%) 10/2007: Star Wars: Dark Times #6 -- 25,121 (- 5.5%) 11/2007: -- 12/2007: Star Wars: Dark Times #7 -- ? 01/2008: Star Wars: Dark Times #8 -- 23,353 02/2008: Star Wars: Dark Times #9 -- 23,047 (- 1.3%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : n.a.
Another franchise title with solid sales.
—–
93 - THE WALKING DEAD (Image Comics) 02/2004: -- 02/2005: Walking Dead #15 -- 15,454 02/2006: -- ----------------------------------- 02/2007: Walking Dead #35 -- 21,391 (+ 1.0%) 03/2007: Walking Dead #36 -- 21,291 (- 0.5%) 04/2007: Walking Dead #37 -- 21,737 (+ 2.1%) 05/2007: -- 06/2007: Walking Dead #38 -- 22,193 (+ 2.1%) 07/2007: Walking Dead #39 -- 22,487 (+ 1.3%) 08/2007: Walking Dead #40 -- 22,989 (+ 2.2%) 08/2007: Walking Dead #41 -- 22,681 (- 1.3%) 09/2007: Walking Dead #42 -- 23,107 (+ 1.9%) 10/2007: Walking Dead #43 -- 22,737 (- 1.6%) 11/2007: Walking Dead #43 -- 22,569 (- 0.7%) 12/2007: Walking Dead #45 -- 22,674 (+ 0.5%) 01/2008: -- 02/2008: Walking Dead #46 -- 22,870 (+ 0.9%) ----------------- 6 months: + 0.2% 1 year : + 6.9% 2 years : n.a.
The Walking Dead sales are back in a slow climb. It looks like the book has replaced Spawn as Image’s best-selling title.
—–
94 - SPAWN (Image Comics/TMP) 02/2002: Spawn #119 -- 42,767* 02/2003: Spawn #131 -- 36,703* 02/2004: Spawn #132 -- 36,071 02/2005: Spawn #143 -- 28,408 02/2006: Spawn #153 -- 26,884 ----------------------------- 02/2007: -- 03/2007: Spawn #165 -- 24,519 (- 0.1%) 03/2007: Spawn #166 -- 23,690 (- 3.4%) 04/2007: -- 05/2007: Spawn #167 -- 24,277 (+ 2.5%) 06/2007: Spawn #168 -- 24,152 (- 0.5%) 07/2007: Spawn #169 -- 24,037 (- 0.5%) 08/2007: Spawn #170 -- 23,712 (- 1.4%) 09/2007: Spawn #171 -- 23,768 (+ 0.2%) 10/2007: -- 11/2007: Spawn #172 -- 23,628 (- 0.6%) 12/2007: Spawn #173 -- 23,136 (- 2.1%) 01/2008: Spawn #174 -- 22,667 (- 2.0%) 02/2008: Spawn #175 -- 22,338 (- 1.5%) ---------------- 6 months: - 5.8% 1 year : n.a. 2 years : -16.9%
Slowly declining, as usual.
—–
96 - CONAN (Dark Horse Comics) 02/2004: Conan #1 -- 51,416 [92,547] 02/2005: Conan #13 -- 38,645 02/2006: Conan #25 -- 31,675 ---------------------------- 02/2007: Conan #37 -- 25,532 (- 2.7%) 03/2007: Conan #38 -- 25,236 (- 1.2%) 04/2007: Conan #39 -- 25,103 (- 0.5%) 05/2007: Conan #40 -- 24,982 (- 0.5%) 06/2007: Conan #41 -- 24,720 (- 1.1%) 07/2007: Conan #42 -- 24,288 (- 1.8%) 08/2007: Conan #43 -- 23,843 (- 1.8%) 09/2007: -- 10/2007: Conan #44 -- 23,632 (- 0.9%) 10/2007: Conan #45 -- 23,504 (- 0.5%) 11/2007: Conan #46 -- 22,937 (- 2.4%) 12/2007: Conan #47 -- 22,140 (- 3.5%) 01/2008: Conan #48 -- 21,850 (- 1.3%) 02/2008: Conan #49 -- 21,690 (- 0.7%) ---------------- 6 months: - 9.0% 1 year : -15.1% 2 years : -31.5%
Conan was back in the Top 100 after six months in February – not because it was doing particularly well, but rather because not much was happening at Marvel and DC. Conan ends with issue #50 and is relaunched in June.
—–
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 traditionally known to be 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. The estimates from March 2001 to February 2003 (marked with an asterisk) were for initial orders rather than actual sales, so they’re only roughly compatible with the subsequent figures.
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. Reorders are included, so long as they either reached stores in a book’s initial 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 the book’s initial 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 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 and some WildStorm 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.
—–
Germany-based Marc-Oliver Frisch has a weblog and regularly contributes to German online magazine Comicgate.
As the author says, the DC’s periodical business in in a transitional phase, and it’s quite apparent at Vertigo. Those Vertigo numbers look pretty bad and almost unanimously trend downward. It would not be surprising to see the imprint adopt a more traditional book publishing model in the next few years – hardcovers, followed by softcovers without publishing periodicals first.
I wonder when DC’s going to finally pull the lever on Wildstorm? The entire line could go away without so much as a collective blink from the market…why waste so much money keeping this thing staggering along?
On a related note, has anyone….ever?…asked Jim Lee what he thinks about the Wildstorm imprint he started years ago disintegrating before his eyes? Or is he too busy working on All-Star Batman?
I’m not sure I’d say Superman/Batman are completely “inconsequential to the title characters’ status quo.” Sure, nothing that happens in that book has a major impact on the other monthly Superman or Batman titles, but DC’s put a lot out in terms of tying S/B to bigger events like 52 and Countdown as well as introducing core Superman/Batman ideas like a new kind of Kryptonite. I’d have to assume that a few readers are sticking around for those elements.
And I’m very interested to see if the addition of costumes and Pete Woods can help stave off the death of Infinity Inc. by a few months. It really is a pretty interesting read.
A black & White book about Zombies outselling Spawn,
who could have thought of that 10 years ago.
As for the Numbers of Green Lantern Corps, it shows clearly
that DC should have focused its efforts in this direction
instead of doing the pointless Amazons Attack series.
Wildstorm. R.I.P.
It’s was fun Times.
people evidently couldn’t care less about the WildStorm Universe as a fictional world.
I don’t think that’s true. If people couldn’t care less, the books wouldn’t have debuted as high as they did when the big line-wide relaunch happened. Speaking as a Wildstorm fan, I have been uniformly disappointed by every single title that came out. Either the relaunches failed to recognize what made the property appealing in the first place, or went off the rails into mediocrity shockingly quickly. I would love to read a good Gen 13 title, or a good WildCATs title. The problem is that Wildstorm isn’t publishing them.
I do agree that giving the line a break for a while and then attempting to bring it back would probably be the wisest move at this point….even as a big fan of the titles and the characters, I’m not buying Revelations, and after last month’s Gen 13 #18 I now have zero Wildstorm titles on my pull.
Thanks for the numbers. I love reading this stuff. Everyone should check out Scalped; it’s a great book.
That’s quite a good start for the Alex Ross vehicle. It handsomely beats the debut of Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.’s Kick-Ass at Marvel’s Icon imprint, for instance.
Now I’m only speaking for one small store in Indiana, but we sold down to 3 issues of #1 and completely out of #2 of KICK-ASS, while we have plenty of issue #0, 1, and 2 of PROJECT SUPERPOWERS. In fact, we only sold 3 copies (including the variant) out 25 of PS. I completely over estimated the demand for PS, while underestimating the demand for KICK-ASS, at least for issue #2. Just because a book was ORDERED high, doesn’t mean is SOLD high. But, again, small store in Indiana.
“The surprisingly high periodical sales of titles like this one, The Umbrella Academy, The Dark Tower or Buffy the Vampire Slayer are good news for the direct market: They suggest that there’s a considerable influx of new readers from a variety of other entertainment media.”
While I’m sure it’s partially true, I wonder what evidence there is for it (if any) and, given the way the market has existed for years, it seems doubtful it’s as large a number as suggested here. I wish Diamond or ComicsPRO would do a survey and try to figure out if there really is an influx of new readers in the DM, old lapsed readers returning, or simply current customers spending more income on more books making the increases. Given that the market is skewing older, I’d assume it’s current readers simply having more money as they age to spend on comics (most customers I see buying multiple books tend to be 35-45) as they are in a position in life to have more disposable income.
“I don’t think that’s true. If people couldn’t care less, the books wouldn’t have debuted as high as they did when the big line-wide relaunch happened.”
I’m not convinced that this had anything to do with the fact that it’s another sprawling superhero universe, though.
There still seems to be some moderate interest in some of the WildStorm Universe characters, granted. But that interest, at this stage, is little more than a hangover from the WSU books’ more successful days as a line of titles which were creator-driven, innovative and occasionally outrageous in their approach to superheroes. That aspect has been missing for years now, and what’s left is a bunch of derivative superhero properties on Earth-87.
Perhaps the sudden drop in Superman numbers coincides with the announcement that Kurt Busiek’s last issue would be #675? I suspect that was the first issue, post-announcements, where retailers could adjust numbers through FOC.
‘There still seems to be some moderate interest in some of the WildStorm Universe characters, granted. But that interest, at this stage, is little more than a hangover from the WSU books’ more successful days as a line of titles which were creator-driven, innovative and occasionally outrageous in their approach to superheroes. That aspect has been missing for years now, and what’s left is a bunch of derivative superhero properties on Earth-87. ‘
I disagree. I’ve never been a Wildstorm reader (aside from Planetary), but was attracted to the relaunches by the glimmer of coolness obvious in WildC.A.T.s and (especially) Gen13. Even my little sister is attracted to Gen13 comics on the shelf, but like me, she always puts them back when the story and artwork are uninteresting. Wildstorm’s properties have potential, but they’re poorly executed – targeted to the audience that reads Grant Morrison, not the one that reads Green Lantern – and certainly not to the mainstream.
Joe: In this context, it’s interesting to note Warren Ellis’s recent claim that when he returned to superheroes after only a few years’ break, he got a lot of e-mails from readers who had never heard of him before. Apparently the turnover of superhero readers in his absence had been a LOT faster than people normally assume, which could only happen if there was a fairly constant stream of new readers entering the direct market.
Thanks, Paul. I remember that quote now.
Again, I think it’s something that someone with a financial interest should be willing to spend a little money or time to figure out so we didn’t have to just go by anecdotes- or better yet, one of the many comics-interested college students looking for ideas for a term paper could look into it, especially one studying statistics and marketing.
One thing I have found irritating with Spirit and Jonah Hex in particular, is that the writer artist team sems to change month by month. One issue of Spirit that I preordered had a beautiful Jordi Bernet cover, Aragones writing and Ploog drawing the interior. I happily bought that issue, singing “la la la la”.
Then, according to my somewhat shaky recollection of a quick peruse of Previews, the next issue was to have Aragones writing, and someone else entirely drawing it., not Ploog Forget it.
Same with another sales plunger, Jonah Hex. Jordi Bernet draws an issue, I happily buy it, singing… ( well, you know the rest). Then, someone else draws it for a month or two, and I back off and save my $3.
Wait! There seems to be a pattern to my buying. So it’s MY fault that sales are dropping!!
DC really needs to do something about THE FLASH, because the first issue by Tom Peyer was another creative disappointment. If they had just lined up a talented creative team to directly pick up where Geoff Johns and Howard Porter left off, instead of going with the wasteful “Bart becomes The Flash” relaunch and the embarrassing “Wally’s family as The Incredibles” concept, the title probably wouldn’t be in this mess.
Personally, I’d suggest collapsing the upcoming THE FLASH: ROGUES REVENGE mini-series by Geoff Johns/Scott Kolins into the regular FLASH title, which would give the monthly series a boost and give DC a little time to find a solid replacement team for Tom Peyer and Freddie Williams II.
More than a third of all of our Buffy, Angel, Serenity, Dark Tower, and Umbrella Academy customers here were people that had never bought comics before.
We have managed to turn roughly 30% of those new customers into readers of other titles as well, with Runaways and Fables being the top titles they have added. While I’m not expecting many of them to start buying Amazing Spider-Man anytime soon, we’re doing what we can to maintain their interest in the medium.
I’m a big, BIG Flash fan. Flash has been a part of my comics-buying life since 1977.
And I’m beginning to think they should just hold off for a year or so. Publish Rogues’ Revenge without competition/distraction of a monthly Flash book. Give various proposals time and attention, and then launch Flash big, a la Rebirth.
Breaks my heart, but it might be best for the book.
But whatever they do, I’d appreciate it if they could do it without killing off my favorite characters.
Here’s my thoughts on Titans and the WSU:
In regards to the Titans books currently swamping the market, I am really starting to enjoy McKeever’s run on Teen Titans and I’ve also surprisingly enjoyed the Titans: Year One book, too. I’m not too thrilled about the upcoming Winnick Titans book, though (but not because it’s Winnick, just to be clear). I’ve heard the book described as being like the TV show “Friends” but with the original Titans. Ugh. I’m a big fan of the original line-up, but for some reason I just can’t seem to get excited about this book. I should be excited, but for some reason I’m not. What’s the purpose of bringing this line-up back in their own title? BTW, the ads for the book completely spoiled some of the Countdown related stories, like Starfire and her powers, Donna Troy making it out of Countdown, etc.
They’re great characters, but it seems like this has been done before (a few times). I think it’s time they graduate to the JLA or strike out on their own. Can they just leave Nightwing alone, please? He never really fit with the Outsiders IMHO.
What would be interesting is for these characters to team up and take a different direction in fighting crime, maybe. Not like the Outsiders, but maybe play it up like they are role models and what they do as a team has consequeces for the average person. Maybe they could strip it all down and become more of a community based crime fighting unit, like the guardian angels, but with powers. Or maybe I’m just high.
Anyhoo . . .
As for WSU, I’m intrested in what could be. I missed the Authority, StromWatch and all those books when they were popular in the 90’s, so I’d love to read something that has a different take on th superhero genre and is willing to push the limits (like The Boys). Sounds like it would be a good opportunity for some writers to take their frustrations out and really let loose with no holds barred, but in a really smart way. If they could execute on this, I would be buying WSU books.
I find it interesting that so many people (on the net, at least) complain about event fatigue while a title like Brave & the Bold, a stand alone old school superhero series with fan favorite creators, is performing so poorly. It’s one of the only DC titles I buy, partly because it has absolutely nothing to do with Crisis/Countdown (but mostly because I think it’s very well written and drawn). I’d hate to see it cancelled but it seems inevitable.
Wow.
Freddy vs Jason vs Ash (ASH, from the Evil Dead) outsells Blue Beetle.
There hasn’t been a new Freddy, Jason or Ash movie in what, over a decade and more people are buying THAT book than Blue Beetle.
To be honest, these numbers are depressing. More so because really, I love DC. I love their characters, I love most of their talent pool. Geoff Johns is always on his A-Game, George Perez, Grant Morrison, Mark Waid, Jerry Ordway, Jim Shooter, Marv Wolfman… the wealth is there so the question remains, What’s going on here?
I believe there’s a negative, toxic air around DC as a brand. People aren’t picking up books, they’re dropping them and the reason is clear: People are unhappy with the direction of the company line.
I give them credit for trying but let’s be honest, most of the things they’ve hyped within the last few years either didn’t live up to the hype or didn’t live at all (as in, didn’t deliver). Sales were good on Identity Crisis, Infinite Crisis but many left disappointed. One Year Later dead less than eight months later. WW Action and ASBR? Many say delays don’t kill sales and in special cases, maybe not but we’ve now seen otherwise for the rest of the unspecial majority. Most of this leaves a bad taste in most consumers mouths…
Speaking of bad taste, who can say they didn’t see the Flash disaster coming?
52 was a success but from there spun 52 new universes. 25 Years ago, it was felt 5 Earths were too much for audiences so they have this Crisis which consoldates them into one. Today, DC feels audiences are over that. But heck, why stop at 5? Why not 52 new earths? From there, a Countdown To (yes!) Final Crisis (so we can undo the mess we just created? Who knows…) which will be the ‘spine’ of the DCU.
Guys, if Countdown to Final Crisis is the ‘spine’ of the DCU, then sadly, the DCU needs a wheelchair.
Yes, it’s all been part of a grand plan from the very beginning (when, Identity Crisis? Infinite Crisis?) but if its proven that readers are upset when their book is delayed 6 months to see a story’s conclusion, who in their right mind would believe a reader’s attention can be held for 5-6 years to see a story reach its conclusion. Has DC’s line become Lost? The Sopranos?
The general direction affects the company line. But when the company line already suffers from a 3 year old toxic stink so bad, people aren’t buying the books no matter who is on it, that says there is a contagion in DC as a brand, a community and its infecting all DC homes in the neighborhood.
They may seriously want to reconsider their direction. They have a wonderful library of characters with amazing potential. If not for readers, then for the characters who deserve better.
Both the Teen Titans and Superman are by writers I like. Both of them are just plain boring unfortunately.
The Problem with readers not coming back after a stint away from comics is that when ever there’s relaunch of a title its a good place to stop at the last issue and start filling in back-issue holes in your collection. Remember in the 80’s you could jump onto title and slowly get involved. There’s no point in starting a comic with issue #14 because you feel you missed the boat already. This is a major problem with DC at the moment. Sales trend show that a relaunch loses its appeal after about 6-12 months and you’re back to your old sale numbers, while recking the run. Eg. WWoman. GArrow, JLA JSA, LOTHDK, etc……
Brian: “More than a third of all of our Buffy, Angel, Serenity, Dark Tower, and Umbrella Academy customers here were people that had never bought comics before.”
I’ve heard some anecdotal reports, but it never hurts to get more input from retailers. The unexpectedly high numbers of those books certainly suggest that the bulk of their audience aren’t traditional direct-market readers.
Two other factors which I think are worth considering are the turnover effect Paul mentions, as well as the return of lapsed direct-market readers via events like “Civil War” or “The Death of Captain America.” Overall, the direct market seems surprisingly healthy right now.
Marc,
Thanks for writing about the first-month sales on collections like Crossing Midnight v2 and Scalped v2. Those stats help me understand financial decisions. I’d like to see more of this, even with good sellers.
Mike: Click the link at the end of the disclaimers section, and ye shall receive.
What I would do, if I was in charge of DC right now, is slim the line the f*ck down by doing the following:
1) I’d axe both Confidential books. Let Superman and Batman’s pasts be told occasionally in Action and Detective (more on that below).
2) I’d axe both All-Star books. Elseworlds stuff will be limited to miniseries and 1-shots.
3) I’d let Countdown finish up, but I’d axe Final Crisis before it starts.
4) I’d refocus Action Comics and Detective Comics to tell 1-shot stories for Superman and Batman, respectively. Leave the multi-part stories to their named titles.
5) I’d axe Superman/Batman. Team-ups would be done in their solo titles.
6) I’d axe Green Lantern Corps and let the characters and plots be absorbed into the parent title.
7) I’d axe The Legion of Super-Heroes and enact a rule in the DCU that the future doesn’t exist. The present is far as the universe has gotten.
8) I’d absorb the WildStorm and Vertigo characters into the DCU and ditch the imprints.
9) I’d let all miniseries finish up and then not do any for around a year.
10) I’d allow a maximum of 1 issue per title per month. If an issue misses a month, no playing catch-up.
11) I’d keep all of the cancelations a secret and simply put a black banner on the top of the front cover of every axed DCU title with the word “BLOODBATH” (in red font, dripping red) on it, giving readers the impression that some kind of Big Event is going on (which it is; it’s called mass-cancelation).
12) I’d put out a 1-shot special in the month after all of the canceled titles are gone called “THE DUST SETTLES: BLOODBATH AFTERMATH”. It’s be an overview of the DCU as it currently stands, giving basic introductions to the characters. The dust would literally be starting to settle at that point, since readers would be looking for other titles to pick up, and we’d get to see which titles gain readers in the months ahead.
13) I’d wait a few months, then I’d axe every title (excluding Johnny DC) that fell below #100 on the monthly sales chart thereafter, giving the characters only occasional miniseries or 1-shots to keep their existing readers happy.
Right. Catwoman, Checkmate, Blue Beetle, Atom, Spirit, Jonah Hex and others…cancelled. Because god forbid, we can’t allow small groups of people to be happy. Everything has to be a high-selling book or it’s obviously unworthy of publication.
I also love how you’d totally wipe out Vertigo. Because clearly low sales mean low quality and a book that isn’t worthy of publication.
Sheesh.
Actually, look at the July solicits… Atom is cancelled. Blue Beetle and Jonah Hex are hanging on thanks to trade sales (even though their monthly sales are worse than the Atom). Not sure what the status of the Spirit, Checkmate, and Catwoman is.
Catwoman is cancelled, with the last issue shipping in July.
Spirit will surely make it until the movie comes out next year. And DC seems to love Blue Beetle… just put the character in Teen Titans. So peg Checkmate for the chopping block.