DC Comics Month-to-Month Sales: July 2012

by Marc-Oliver Frisch

As retailers keep slashing their orders on Before Watchmen and the replacement “New 52” titles, DC’s overall figures decline again in July. That, in itself, is not surprising, however, and the company is still doing quite well. I see no reason to disagree with anything prominent retailer Brian Hibbs said in his recent look at “New 52” numbers. With regard to DC’s overall performance, Hibbs makes some of the same points that I’ve been making here in the months since the relaunch, and as far as his own store is concerned, his observations seem to match the market climate. “The reboot was a remarkable success,” Hibbs says, and: “There hardly could have been a better result.” I agree, all things (such as the stifled potential of the comic-book format and the stifling way the major publishers are set up now, structurally) considered.

But it’s also worth remembering that what we talk about now when we talk about comic-book sales that are “doing quite well” and a relaunch that’s “a remarkable success,” and note that “there hardly could have been a better result,” are the kinds of sales figures we used to see more regularly five years ago, when the DC Universe imprint was publishing fewer comic books than it is now. (From 2007 through 2009, the average number of published DC Universe titles was 52. From 2010 through August 2011, it went up to 57. Since the relaunch in September 2011, it’s been an average 63 DC Universe titles per month. “Keeping it at 52“? Not very much, Dan DiDio.)

As the last few months’ worth of figures have shown, retailers are still catching up with quickly dropping sales on the “New 52” books. This trend continued in July. There are 16 “New 52” titles selling fewer than 20,000 units this month. In April, just before six of the initial ones were axed, it was 17, and one of the ones that replaced them in May has already dropped below 15,000 units with its third issue. And the novelty of “more Watchmen comics,” which is masking much of these trends right now, is unlikely to work for a second time; it didn’t even work much for a second month, from the look of things.

We’re also talking about a line still boosted to a huge degree by gimmicks that are bloating whatever actual demand there is in the market, much, much more so than used to be the case five years back. In July 2007, a total of 7 out of the 46 DC Universe titles published that month had variant-cover editions: four 1:10 variants, two 50/50 variants and one extra-priced “3D” edition. In July 2012, on the other hand, 21 out of the 62 published DC Universe titles come with a total of 25 variants — and there’s just one 1:10 variant among the bunch; the rest are supposedly rarer 1:25 and 1:100 variants and one 1:200 variant. Plus, there were 9 so-called “Combo Pack” editions in July 2012. Officially, DC publishes those to give readers access to digital comics, but in practice, the publisher has admitted that customers treat the “Combo Pack” editions as just another variety of collectible, without bothering to redeem the code.

In other words, measured against the total number of titles published, variant editions have gone from 15% (7 in 46) in July 2007 to 55% (34 in 62) in July 2012. And bear in mind that the variants of 2012 require retailers to order many more units than the variants of 2007 did.

Is this really what a healthy publishing strategy looks like?

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

A procedural note pertaining to the “New 52” and Before Watchmen titles: Earth-2, Worlds’ Finest, The Ravagers, Dial H and G.I. Combat, as well as all the Before Watchmen books, were made returnable by DC. (Under specific conditions, as usual, and those conditions are not equal for all titles.) This means their numbers, as they determine the chart rankings and index information, were reduced by Diamond Comic Distributors by a token percentage to compensate for any books retailers might — in theory — end up returning. In the case of the first wave of “New 52” titles, that figure was 10%, or close enough to it not to raise any red flags when the returnability period ended for those titles. So I’m running with that again. We won’t really know for sure if the same figure applies again this time around until the returnability period ends and we get to see the actual figures. So at worst, we’ll end up with a different kind of wrong than the one supplied by Diamond; at best, we’ll end up with more accurate figures. So far, it seems to be working out, but try to keep that in mind.

—–

278 - SCOOBY DOO: WHERE ARE YOU? (Johnny DC)
07/2007: Scooby Doo #122 -- 4,424
07/2008: Scooby Doo #134 -- 4,286
07/2009: Scooby Doo #146 -- 4,110
07/2010: Scooby Doo #158 -- 4,147
---------------------------------
07/2011: SD:WAY? #11     -- 4,791 (+ 0.4%)
08/2011: SD:WAY? #12     -- 4,686 (- 2.2%)
09/2011: SD:WAY? #13     -- 4,701 (+ 0.3%)
10/2011: SD:WAY? #14     -- ?
11/2011: SD:WAY? #15     -- 4,701
12/2011: SD:WAY? #16     -- 4,627 (- 1.6%)
01/2012: SD:WAY? #17     -- 4,533 (- 2.0%)
02/2012: SD:WAY? #18     -- 4,655 (+ 2.7%)
03/2012: SD:WAY? #19     -- 4,677 (+ 0.5%)
04/2012: SD:WAY? #20     -- 4,752 (+ 1.6%)
05/2012: SD:WAY? #21     -- 5,269 (+10.9%)
06/2012: SD:WAY? #22     -- 4,968 (- 5.7%)
07/2012: SD:WAY? #23     -- 4,934 (- 0.7%)
----------------
6 months: + 8.9%
1 year  : + 3.0%
2 years : +19.0%
5 years : +11.5%

Scooby-Doo is, at this stage, the longest-running title from DC’s “Johnny DC” imprint, which mostly consists of comic-book titles adapting Warner Brothers animated shows.

I’ve never included these titles in my DC statistics, because many of them have been so low-selling for so long that they obviously can’t be held to the same standards as the DC Universe or even the Vertigo books. I’ve presumed they must be selling somewhere outside the direct market — newsstands, mainstream retail chains, bookstore magazine racks — to be able to sustain those low numbers, but who knows if that’s actually true. After all, that’s what people kept saying about WildStorm’s licensed titles for the imprint’s last couple of years’ worth of existence, and look what happened.

At any rate, it’s remarkable how steady Scooby-Doo sales have been, in the long view. It hasn’t just been consistently selling between 4,000 and 5,000 units for years and years, but it’s also up in all the longer-term comparisons right now. I don’t know how significant, precisely, these sales are for these books, but it’s worth pointing out that somebody is doing something right here.

—–

275 - DOMINIQUE LAVEAU: VOODOO CHILD (Vertigo)
03/2012: Dominique Laveau #1  -- 12,800
04/2012: Dominique Laveau #2  --  8,302 (-35.1%)
05/2012: Dominique Laveau #3  --  6,873 (-17.2%)
06/2012: Dominique Laveau #4  --  5,752 (-16.3%)
07/2012: Dominique Laveau #5  --  5,054 (-12.1%)

This was meant to be an ongoing title, but a couple of months in, DC decided to pull the plug at issue #7. So far, so predictable: It’s not surprising that a book with no big-name creators or characters attached doesn’t fly.

The worrying parts, for Vertigo, are (a) that they judged this wrong enough to develop the book as an ongoing title in the first place, only to see it crash and burn immediately, and (b) that sales of the debut issue were just about 3,000 units below those for Saucer Country #1, the new ongoing Vertigo title by critically acclaimed creators Paul Cornell and Ryan Kelly.

A few years ago, common wisdom had it that Vertigo titles didn’t “need” good periodical sales, because collection sales were supposed to be awesome. Once Northlanders — by Brian Wood, one of the most established and critically acclaimed independent creators in the market — ended up being cancelled, however, that’s another myth debunked. “It has a very loyal fanbase but the trade sales just aren’t cutting the mustard,” Wood wrote about a year back.

Are some Vertigo bookshelf editions selling well? Undoubtedly. But it’s mostly the bookshelf editions of the titles that are doing (relatively) well as periodicals, anyway, and other than American Vampire and Fables, that’s not much — those franchises aside, the only recent Vertigo ongoing series that registers at all on the Bookscan charts is The Unwritten. Otherwise, there’s a lot of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and Brian K. Vaughan.

—–

227 - NIGHT FORCE
03/2012: Night Force #1 of 6 -- 13,174
04/2012: Night Force #2 of 6 --  9,698 (-26.4%)
05/2012: Night Force #3 of 6 --  8,458 (-12.8%)
06/2012: Night Force #4 of 7 --  7,768 (- 8.2%)
07/2012: Night Force #5 of 7 --  7,222 (- 7.0%)

These numbers are abysmal for a DC Universe miniseries, particularly since the creative team — Marv Wolfman and Tom Mandrake — are not exactly blank slates. (That’s not a typo, by the way. Night Force changed from a six-issue mini to a seven-issue mini with the solicitation for issue #4.)

The $1-million question: Why have Marvel and DC actively been shaping a market that emphatically has no place for titles like this one, only to keep publishing them anyway? Shouldn’t it be dawning on anyone in charge at these companies that there’s a contradiction, at least?

—–

223 - YOUNG JUSTICE (Johnny DC)
07/2011: Young Justice #6  --  8,642 (- 3.9%)
08/2011: Young Justice #7  --  8,062 (- 6.7%)
09/2011: Young Justice #8  --  7,930 (- 1.6%)
10/2011: Young Justice #9  --  7,737 (- 2.4%)
11/2011: Young Justice #10 --  7,650 (- 1.1%)
12/2011: Young Justice #11 --  7,221 (- 5.6%)
01/2012: Young Justice #12 --  7,288 (+ 0.9%)
02/2012: Young Justice #13 --  7,237 (- 0.7%)
03/2012: Young Justice #14 --  7,241 (+ 0.1%)
04/2012: Young Justice #15 --  7,273 (+ 0.4%)
05/2012: Young Justice #16 --  7,466 (+ 2.7%)
06/2012: Young Justice #17 --  7,459 (- 0.1%)
07/2012: Young Justice #18 --  7,458 (- 0.0%)
----------------
6 months: + 2.3%
1 year  : -13.7%

Another Johnny DC book. Young Justice is the de facto replacement for Tiny Titans, which, in turn, was the replacement for Teen Titans Go!, though there was some overlap in both instances. So, ultimately, this book has been running since 2003. Not bad.

—–

221 - SWEET TOOTH (Vertigo)
07/2010: Sweet Tooth #11 --  9,478
----------------------------------
07/2011: Sweet Tooth #23 --  8,018 (- 2.8%)
08/2011: Sweet Tooth #24 --  7,948 (- 0.9%)
09/2011: Sweet Tooth #25 --  7,896 (- 0.7%)
10/2011: Sweet Tooth #26 --  7,963 (+ 0.9%)
11/2011: Sweet Tooth #27 --  7,923 (- 0.5%)
12/2011: Sweet Tooth #28 --  7,699 (- 2.8%)
01/2012: Sweet Tooth #29 --  8,128 (+ 5.6%)
02/2012: Sweet Tooth #30 --  7,584 (- 6.7%)
03/2012: Sweet Tooth #31 --  7,541 (- 0.6%)
04/2012: Sweet Tooth #32 --  7,534 (- 0.1%)
05/2012: Sweet Tooth #33 --  7,631 (+ 1.3%)
06/2012: Sweet Tooth #34 --  7,689 (+ 0.8%)
07/2012: Sweet Tooth #35 --  7,558 (- 1.7%)
----------------
6 months: - 7.0%
1 year  : - 5.7%
2 years : -20.3%

Ending with issue #40. Sales seem fairly consistent, but it’s clear that DC has been completely unable (or unwilling?) to leverage creator Jeff Lemire’s critical acclaim and commercial success on Animal Man into better numbers on his other books.

—–

218 - I, ZOMBIE (Vertigo)
07/2010: I, Zombie #3  -- 16,898
--------------------------------
06/2011: I, Zombie #14 -- 10,320 (- 2.3%)
07/2011: I, Zombie #15 -- 10,006 (- 3.0%)
08/2011: I, Zombie #16 --  9,568 (- 4.4%)
09/2011: I, Zombie #17 --  9,316 (- 2.6%)
10/2011: I, Zombie #18 --  9,237 (- 0.9%)
11/2011: I, Zombie #19 --  8,999 (- 2.6%)
12/2011: I, Zombie #20 --  8,805 (- 2.2%)
01/2012: I, Zombie #21 --  8,514 (- 3.3%)
02/2012: I, Zombie #22 --  8,344 (- 2.0%)
03/2012: I, Zombie #23 --  8,219 (- 1.5%)
04/2012: I, Zombie #24 --  8,032 (- 2.3%)
05/2012: I, Zombie #25 --  7,974 (- 0.7%)
06/2012: I, Zombie #26 --  7,914 (- 0.8%)
07/2012: I, Zombie #27 --  7,714 (- 2.5%)
----------------
6 months: - 9.4%
1 year  : -25.3%

Cancelled with issue #28. Writer Chris Roberson has elected to leave DC over ethical concerns and publish his future projects elsewhere. Looking at these figures, it doesn’t look like DC has much to offer to him, anyway.

—–

215 - GREEN LANTERN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (Johnny DC)
11/2011: GL: TAS #0 -- 13,569
-----------------------------
04/2012: GL: TAS #1 -- 12,791
05/2012: GL: TAS #2 --  9,615 (-24.8%)
06/2012: GL: TAS #3 --  8,716 (- 9.4%)
07/2012: GL: TAS #4 --  7,790 (-10.6%)

Yet another Johnny DC title.

—–

192 - THE NEW DEADWARDIANS (Vertigo)
03/2012: New Deadwardians #1 of 8 -- 14,530
04/2012: New Deadwardians #2 of 8 -- 10,229 (-29.6%)
05/2012: New Deadwardians #3 of 8 --  9,594 (- 6.2%)
06/2012: New Deadwardians #4 of 8 --  9,124 (- 4.9%)
07/2012: New Deadwardians #5 of 8 --  8,784 (- 3.7%)

By recent standards, these are not terrible sales for a random Vertigo miniseries.

—–

179 - SUPERMAN FAMILY ADVENTURES (Johnny DC)
05/2012: Superman Family Adventures #1  -- 13,303
06/2012: Superman Family Adventures #2  -- 10,137 (-23.8%)
07/2012: Superman Family Adventures #3  --  9,246 (- 8.8%)

The most recent and — so far — highest-selling Johnny DC title. There hasn’t been one focusing on Superman in a while.

—–

178 - HELLBLAZER (Vertigo)
07/2007: Hellblazer #234 -- 13,112
07/2008: Hellblazer #246 -- 12,088
07/2009: Hellblazer #257 -- 10,762
07/2010: Hellblazer #269 -- 10,048
----------------------------------
07/2011: Hellblazer #281 --  9,225 (-1.1%)
08/2011: Hellblazer #282 --  9,372 (+1.5%)
09/2011: Hellblazer #283 --  9,597 (+2.4%)
10/2011: Hellblazer #284 --  9,608 (+0.1%)
11/2011: Hellblazer #285 --  9,500 (-1.1%)
12/2011: Hellblazer #286 --  9,404 (-1.0%)
01/2012: Hellblazer #287 --  9,368 (-0.4%)
02/2012: Hellblazer #288 --  9,553 (+2.0%)
03/2012: Hellblazer #289 --  9,363 (-2.0%)
04/2012: Hellblazer #290 --  9,472 (+1.2%)
05/2012: Hellblazer #291 --  9,426 (-0.5%)
06/2012: Hellblazer #292 --  9,533 (+1.1%)
07/2012: Hellblazer #293 --  9,247 (-3.0%)
----------------
6 months: - 1.3%
1 year  : + 0.2%
2 years : - 8.0%
5 years : -29.5%

Hellblazer is the lowest-selling ongoing Vertigo title that isn’t officially ending yet. The book is said to be doing disproportionally well in the U.K., but that may just be another myth. While sales are relatively steady, it’s also obvious that they will continue to decline, slowly but steadily, and given DC’s more aggressive management, someone may soon decide that these figures don’t cut it anymore. One possible route would be to relaunch it as a “New 52” title.

—–

176 - SAUCER COUNTRY (Vertigo)
03/2012: Saucer Country #1  -- 15,684
04/2012: Saucer Country #2  -- 11,263 (-28.2%)
05/2012: Saucer Country #3  -- 10,656 (- 5.4%)
06/2012: Saucer Country #4  --  9,959 (- 6.5%)
07/2012: Saucer Country #5  --  9,470 (- 4.9%)

These numbers don’t suggest that Saucer Country has much of a future, obviously. If sales level out around 9,000 units, we might end up with another Sweet Tooth or I, Zombie at best.

—–

175 - THE UNWRITTEN (Vertigo)
07/2009: The Unwritten #3  -- 17,028
07/2010: The Unwritten #15 -- 13,023
------------------------------------
07/2011: The Unwritten #27 -- 10,787 (- 1.8%)
08/2011: The Unwritten #28 -- 10,731 (- 0.5%)
09/2011: The Unwritten #29 -- 10,511 (- 2.1%)
10/2011: The Unwritten #30 -- 10,481 (- 0.3%)
11/2011: The Unwritten #31 -- 10,434 (- 0.5%)
11/2011: The Unwritten #.5 -- 10,183 (- 2.4%)
12/2011: The Unwritten #32 -- 10,073 (- 1.1%)
12/2011: The Unwritten #.5 --  9,759 (- 3.1%)
01/2012: The Unwritten #33 --  9,888 (+ 1.3%)
01/2012: The Unwritten #.5 --  9,483 (- 4.1%)
02/2012: The Unwritten #34 --  9,789 (+ 3.2%)
02/2012: The Unwritten #.5 --  9,595 (- 2.0%)
03/2012: The Unwritten #35 --  9,675 (+ 0.8%)
03/2012: The Unwritten #.5 --  9,529 (- 1.5%)
04/2012: The Unwritten #36 --  9,678 (+ 1.6%)
05/2012: The Unwritten #37 --  9,549 (- 1.3%)
06/2012: The Unwritten #38 --  9,494 (- 0.6%)
07/2012: The Unwritten #39 --  9,478 (- 0.2%)
----------------
6 months: - 2.1%
1 year  : -12.1%
2 years : -27.2%

Comparatively steady numbers. As mentioned above, The Unwritten is the only current Vertigo ongoing series other than Fables and American Vampire that registers on the Bookscan charts. This may leave it with a little more rope than other Vertigo titles in this area.

—–

167 - CAPTAIN ATOM
09/2011: Captain Atom #1  -- 44,110          [51,314]
10/2011: Captain Atom #2  -- 38,309 (-13.2%)
11/2011: Captain Atom #3  -- 26,829 (-30.0%)
12/2011: Captain Atom #4  -- 19,908 (-25.8%)
01/2012: Captain Atom #5  -- 17,437 (-12.4%)
02/2012: Captain Atom #6  -- 15,220 (-12.7%)
03/2012: Captain Atom #7  -- 13,738 (- 9.7%)
04/2012: Captain Atom #8  -- 13,001 (- 5.4%)
05/2012: Captain Atom #9  -- 12,264 (- 5.7%)
06/2012: Captain Atom #10 -- 11,546 (- 5.9%)
07/2012: Captain Atom #11 -- 11,041 (- 4.4%)
----------------
6 months: -36.7%

Cancelled in September, along with three other “New 52” titles, Voodoo, Resurrection Man and Justice League International. That makes for a total of 10 axed “New 52” books, less than a year in. And there are 13 more which are already selling fewer than 20,000 units per month each.

—–

163 - SPACEMAN (Vertigo)
10/2011: Spaceman #1 of 9 -- 22,355
11/2011: Spaceman #2 of 9 -- 14,962 (-33.1%)
12/2011: Spaceman #3 of 9 -- 13,492 (- 9.8%)
01/2012: --
02/2012: Spaceman #4 of 9 -- 13,394 (- 0.7%)
03/2012: Spaceman #5 of 9 -- 12,884 (- 3.8%)
04/2012: Spaceman #6 of 9 -- 12,727 (- 1.2%)
05/2012: --
06/2012: Spaceman #7 of 9 -- 12,125 (- 4.7%)
07/2012: Spaceman #8 of 9 -- 11,561 (- 4.7%)
----------------
6 months:  n.a.

It looks like Spaceman will wrap up in the double digits, at least. That’s a lot more than most Vertigo titles can claim.

—–

160 - VOODOO
09/2011: Voodoo #1  -- 40,301          [47,112]
10/2011: Voodoo #2  -- 34,690 (-13.9%)
11/2011: Voodoo #3  -- 25,067 (-27.7%)
12/2011: Voodoo #4  -- 20,703 (-17.4%)
01/2012: Voodoo #5  -- 17,683 (-14.6%)
02/2012: Voodoo #6  -- 16,422 (- 7.1%)
03/2012: Voodoo #7  -- 15,097 (- 8.1%)
04/2012: Voodoo #8  -- 14,589 (- 3.4%)
05/2012: Voodoo #9  -- 13,762 (- 5.7%)
06/2012: Voodoo #10 -- 12,928 (- 6.1%)
07/2012: Voodoo #11 -- 12,120 (- 6.3%)
----------------
6 months: -31.5%

Cancelled in September.

—–

156 - GRIFTER
09/2011: Grifter #1  -- 41,222          [50,959]
10/2011: Grifter #2  -- 39,900 (- 3.2%)
11/2011: Grifter #3  -- 29,802 (-25.3%)
12/2011: Grifter #4  -- 22,486 (-24.6%)
01/2012: Grifter #5  -- 20,060 (-10.8%)
02/2012: Grifter #6  -- 18,057 (-10.0%)
03/2012: Grifter #7  -- 16,559 (- 8.3%)
04/2012: Grifter #8  -- 15,686 (- 5.3%)
05/2012: Grifter #9  -- 15,228 (- 2.9%)
06/2012: Grifter #10 -- 14,258 (- 6.4%)
07/2012: Grifter #11 -- 13,382 (- 6.1%)
----------------
6 months: -33.3%

Grifter is the lowest-selling “New 52” title that hasn’t been axed yet — at least officially — as I’m writing this.

Also, Grifter is one of the three titles Rob Liefeld commenced working on with their May issues (the other two being Deathstroke, which he also draws, and The Savage Hawkman), and which Liefeld claims all went up in sales as a result. Obviously, this claim is highly suspect, looking at these figures.

To be fair, I should point out that Liefeld rejects my numbers, on the grounds that, for 41 of the “New 52” titles that were returnable from September 2011 through April 2012, I’m not using ICv2.com‘s “official” estimates, but chose to compensate for the token 10% Diamond seems to have subtracted from those figures for their charts to account for the fact that DC made them returnable.

So, for the record, here are some of the April-to-May changes you would end up with if you just take Diamond and ICv2.com‘s figures at face value, like Liefeld says I should have:

CAPTAIN ATOM
04/2012: Captain Atom #8  -- 11,701 (-5.4%)
05/2012: Captain Atom #9  -- 12,264 (+4.8%)

VOODOO
04/2012: Voodoo #8  -- 13,130 (-3.4%)
05/2012: Voodoo #9  -- 13,762 (+4.8%)

GRIFTER
04/2012: Grifter #8  -- 14,117 (-5.3%)
05/2012: Grifter #9  -- 15,228 (+7.9%)

DC UNVERSE PRESENTS
04/2012: DCU Presents #8 -- 14,909 (-7.1%)
05/2012: DCU Presents #9 -- 15,776 (+5.8%)

THE SAVAGE HAWKMAN
04/2012: Savage Hawkman #8 -- 16,470 (-5.8%)
05/2012: Savage Hawkman #9 -- 17,626 (+7.0%)

FRANKENSTEIN
04/2012: Frankenstein #8 -- 16,158 (-5.0%)
05/2012: Frankenstein #9 -- 17,266 (+6.9%)

DEMON KNIGHTS
04/2012: Demon Knights #8 -- 19,012 (-4.0%)
05/2012: Demon Knights #9 -- 20,196 (+6.2%)

THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES
04/2012: LoSH #8 -- 19,311 (-2.0%)
05/2012: LoSH #9 -- 20,854 (+8.0%)

As far as I’m aware, Rob Liefeld did not take over co-writing Captain Atom, Voodoo, DC Universe Presents, Frankenstein, Demon Knights or The Legion of Super-Heroes in May. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

Going by those figures, not just Hawkman and Grifter, which were co-written by Liefeld starting in May, went up that month, but also a whole bunch of other titles, some of which increased in sales even more, even though there is no readily apparent reason for it.

If you think that’s very likely to have happened, be my guest. It still wouldn’t make Liefeld’s name seem like a big sales draw, however: Even if Liefeld were right and my numbers were wrong, his name still would have been about as much of a sales-booster as a random issue of Captain Atom.

I’m confident that my numbers are the more accurate ones, though. The one book that did see a slight sales increase thanks to his arrival in May was Deathstroke, according to my figures — see below. And I think this makes a lot of sense, since that’s the one he was also drawing.

Just to get things straight.

—–

154 - DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS
09/2011: DCU Presents #1  -- 45,701          [53,103]
10/2011: DCU Presents #2  -- 41,584 (- 9.0%)
11/2011: DCU Presents #3  -- 31,019 (-25.4%)
12/2011: DCU Presents #4  -- 24,398 (-21.4%)
01/2012: DCU Presents #5  -- 22,048 (- 9.6%)
02/2012: DCU Presents #6  -- 20,188 (- 8.4%)
03/2012: DCU Presents #7  -- 17,830 (-11.7%)
04/2012: DCU Presents #8  -- 16,566 (- 7.1%)
05/2012: DCU Presents #9  -- 15,776 (- 4.8%)
06/2012: DCU Presents #10 -- 14,310 (- 9.3%)
07/2012: DCU Presents #11 -- 13,619 (- 4.8%)
----------------
6 months: -38.2%

The conclusion of a three-parter that started in May. Retailers haven’t been impressed with the book, and the only reason it’s still going is probably that DC doesn’t want to be seen cancelling batches of poorly selling “New 52” titles all the time. After all, they’re already rolling out Phantom Stranger and G.I. Combat comics as replacements, so we’re scraping the bottom of the barrel already. Before Watchmen: Dollar Bill probably isn’t that far off.

—–

151 - BLUE BEETLE
07/2007: Blue Beetle #17 -- 16,128
07/2008: Blue Beetle #28 -- 13,620
----------------------------------
09/2011: Blue Beetle #1  -- 44,448          [52,288]
10/2011: Blue Beetle #2  -- 39,396 (-11.4%)
11/2011: Blue Beetle #3  -- 27,612 (-29.9%)
12/2011: Blue Beetle #4  -- 21,408 (-22.5%)
01/2012: Blue Beetle #5  -- 19,042 (-11.1%)
02/2012: Blue Beetle #6  -- 17,034 (-10.6%)
03/2012: Blue Beetle #7  -- 15,780 (- 7.4%)
04/2012: Blue Beetle #8  -- 15,180 (- 3.8%)
05/2012: Blue Beetle #9  -- 16,607 (+ 9.4%)
06/2012: Blue Beetle #10 -- 14,413 (-13.2%)
07/2012: Blue Beetle #11 -- 13,923 (- 3.4%)
-----------------
6 months: - 26.9%
5 years : - 13.7%

Another “New 52” book that’s in decline.

—–

150 - THE SHADE
10/2011: Shade #1  of 12 -- 30,648
11/2011: Shade #2  of 12 -- 21,431 (-30.1%)
12/2011: Shade #3  of 12 -- 18,922 (-11.7%)
01/2012: Shade #4  of 12 -- 17,512 (- 7.5%)
02/2012: Shade #5  of 12 -- 16,255 (- 7.2%)
03/2012: Shade #6  of 12 -- 16,005 (- 1.5%)
04/2012: Shade #7  of 12 -- 15,499 (- 3.2%)
05/2012: Shade #8  of 12 -- 15,051 (- 2.9%)
06/2012: Shade #9  of 12 -- 14,818 (- 1.6%)
07/2012: Shade #10 of 12 -- 14,257 (- 3.8%)
----------------
6 months: -18.6%

If you’re keeping count, this is the 20th DC title on the chart in July, and we still haven’t cracked 15K. The Shade is the DC Universe title that’s being promoted with 1:10 variant editions — you know, the ones they used before the 1:25, 1:100 and 1:200 ones became necessary to sell comics to retailers in the American direct market.

—–

157 - G.I. COMBAT
05/2012: G.I. Combat #1  -- 33,740
06/2012: G.I. Combat #2  -- 19,002 (-43.7%)
07/2012: G.I. Combat #3  -- 14,359 (-24.4%)

This book essentially replaced Men of War in May. Men of War #3 sold an estimated 23,770 units in November 2011.

—–

149 - AMERICAN VAMPIRE: LORD OF NIGHTMARES (Vertigo)
06/2012: Lord of Nightmares #1 of 5  -- 15,858
07/2012: Lord of Nightmares #2 of 5  -- 14,412 (-9.1%)

Vertigo has found another reasonably reliable franchise in American Vampire. In 2012, 14,000 units are enough.

The creative team are Scott Snyder and Dustin Nguyen. The latter once left a fairly progressive but very, very low-selling DC/WildStorm comic-book title called Wildcats Version 3.0 in 2003, because he was getting too popular for that sort of thing. His final issue on it only sold a measly 15,437 units, after all.

—–

147 - PUNK ROCK JESUS (Vertigo)
07/2012: Punk Rock Jesus #1 of 5 -- 14,571

This is a black-and-white title with no interior advertisements by Sean Gordon Murphy. Numbers are downright spectacular, by Vertigo standards.

—–

146 - RESURRECTION MAN
09/2011: Resurrection Man #1  -- 41,740          [50,230]
10/2011: Resurrection Man #2  -- 38,560 (- 7.6%)
11/2011: Resurrection Man #3  -- 29,480 (-23.6%)
12/2011: Resurrection Man #4  -- 23,060 (-21.8%)
01/2012: Resurrection Man #5  -- 20,750 (-10.0%)
02/2012: Resurrection Man #6  -- 18,569 (-10.5%)
03/2012: Resurrection Man #7  -- 17,176 (- 7.5%)
04/2012: Resurrection Man #8  -- 16,664 (- 3.0%)
05/2012: Resurrection Man #9  -- 18,018 (+ 8.1%)
06/2012: Resurrection Man #10 -- 15,481 (-14.1%)
07/2012: Resurrection Man #11 -- 14,715 (- 5.0%)
----------------
6 months: -29.1%

Axed in September.

—–

145 - THE FURY OF FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MEN
09/2011: Firestorm #1  -- 51,537          [62,076]
10/2011: Firestorm #2  -- 43,990 (-14.6%)
11/2011: Firestorm #3  -- 31,654 (-28.0%)
12/2011: Firestorm #4  -- 25,610 (-19.1%)
01/2012: Firestorm #5  -- 21,329 (-16.7%)
02/2012: Firestorm #6  -- 19,162 (-10.2%)
03/2012: Firestorm #7  -- 17,786 (- 7.2%)
04/2012: Firestorm #8  -- 17,076 (- 4.0%)
05/2012: Firestorm #9  -- 17,240 (+ 1.0%)
06/2012: Firestorm #10 -- 15,789 (- 8.4%)
07/2012: Firestorm #11 -- 14,931 (- 5.4%)
----------------
6 months: -30.0%

Not axed in September, but the writing is on the wall.

—–

142 - AMERICAN VAMPIRE (Vertigo)
07/2010: American Vampire #5  -- 24,857
---------------------------------------
07/2011: American Vampire #17 -- 15,565 (- 0.9%)
08/2011: American Vampire #18 -- 15,423 (- 0.9%)
09/2011: American Vampire #19 -- 15,288 (- 0.9%)
10/2011: --
11/2011: American Vampire #20 -- 15,685 (+ 2.6%)
12/2011: American Vampire #21 -- 15,026 (- 4.2%)
12/2011: American Vampire #22 -- 14,759 (- 1.8%)
01/2012: American Vampire #23 -- 14,240 (- 3.5%)
02/2012: American Vampire #24 -- 14,278 (+ 0.3%)
03/2012: American Vampire #25 -- 14,598 (+ 2.2%)
04/2012: American Vampire #26 -- 14,493 (- 0.7%)
05/2012: American Vampire #27 -- 14,420 (- 0.5%)
06/2012: American Vampire #28 -- 15,573 (+ 8.0%)
07/2012: American Vampire #29 -- 15,324 (- 1.6%)
----------------
6 months: + 7.6%
1 year  : - 1.6%
2 years : -38.4%

This is the number-25 DC title on the chart, and it finally takes us past that 15K mark.

—–

141 - THE SAVAGE HAWKMAN
09/2011: Savage Hawkman #1  -- 55,954          [63,959]
10/2011: Savage Hawkman #2  -- 47,763 (-14.6%)
11/2011: Savage Hawkman #3  -- 35,177 (-26.4%)
12/2011: Savage Hawkman #4  -- 28,263 (-19.7%)
01/2012: Savage Hawkman #5  -- 23,967 (-15.2%)
02/2012: Savage Hawkman #6  -- 21,316 (-11.1%)
03/2012: Savage Hawkman #7  -- 19,433 (- 8.8%)
04/2012: Savage Hawkman #8  -- 18,300 (- 5.8%)
05/2012: Savage Hawkman #9  -- 17,626 (- 3.7%)
06/2012: Savage Hawkman #10 -- 16,417 (- 6.9%)
07/2012: Savage Hawkman #11 -- 15,460 (- 5.8%)
----------------
6 months: -35.5%

Another title co-written by Rob Liefeld, sliding down the charts in decline.

—–

140 - FRANKENSTEIN: AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E.
09/2011: Frankenstein #1          -- 41,551          [50,817]
10/2011: Frankenstein #2          -- 40,423 (- 2.7%)
11/2011: Frankenstein #3          -- 31,869 (-21.2%)
12/2011: Frankenstein #4          -- 24,812 (-22.1%)
01/2012: Frankenstein #5          -- 22,737 (- 8.4%)
02/2012: Frankenstein #6          -- 20,463 (-10.0%)
03/2012: Frankenstein #7          -- 18,891 (- 7.7%)
04/2012: Frankenstein #8          -- 17,953 (- 5.0%)
05/2012: Frankenstein #9          -- 17,266 (- 3.8%)
06/2012: Frankenstein #10         -- 16,377 (- 5.2%)
07/2012: Frankenstein #11         -- 15,635 (- 4.5%)
----------------
6 months: -31.2%

Not levelled out yet.

—–

139 - I, VAMPIRE
09/2011: I, Vampire #1  -- 39,683          [46,993]
10/2011: I, Vampire #2  -- 34,599 (-12.8%)
11/2011: I, Vampire #3  -- 26,070 (-24.7%)
12/2011: I, Vampire #4  -- 21,601 (-17.1%)
01/2012: I, Vampire #5  -- 18,816 (-12.9%)
02/2012: I, Vampire #6  -- 18,153 (- 3.5%)
03/2012: I, Vampire #7  -- 18,440 (+ 1.6%)
04/2012: I, Vampire #8  -- 18,717 (+ 1.5%)
05/2012: I, Vampire #9  -- 17,175 (- 8.2%)
06/2012: I, Vampire #10 -- 16,517 (- 3.8%)
07/2012: I, Vampire #11 -- 15,734 (- 4.7%)
----------------
6 months: -16.4%

Not levelled out yet.

—–

128 - LEGION LOST
09/2011: Legion Lost #1  -- 46,362          [54,588]
10/2011: Legion Lost #2  -- 42,650 (- 8.0%)
11/2011: Legion Lost #3  -- 31,226 (-26.8%)
12/2011: Legion Lost #4  -- 24,020 (-23.1%)
01/2012: Legion Lost #5  -- 21,549 (-10.3%)
02/2012: Legion Lost #6  -- 19,447 (- 9.8%)
03/2012: Legion Lost #7  -- 18,214 (- 6.3%)
04/2012: Legion Lost #8  -- 17,984 (- 1.3%)
05/2012: Legion Lost #9  -- 23,794 (+32.3%)
06/2012: Legion Lost #10 -- 17,581 (-26.1%)
07/2012: Legion Lost #11 -- 17,037 (- 3.1%)
----------------
6 months: -20.9%

Levelling out? Hard to tell.

—–

127 - DEATHSTROKE
09/2011: Deathstroke #1  -- 47,028          [56,820]
10/2011: Deathstroke #2  -- 44,647 (- 5.1%)
11/2011: Deathstroke #3  -- 33,754 (-24.4%)
12/2011: Deathstroke #4  -- 26,367 (-21.9%)
01/2012: Deathstroke #5  -- 23,872 (- 9.5%)
02/2012: Deathstroke #6  -- 21,306 (-10.8%)
03/2012: Deathstroke #7  -- 19,744 (- 7.3%)
04/2012: Deathstroke #8  -- 18,834 (- 4.6%)
05/2012: Deathstroke #9  -- 20,878 (+10.9%)
06/2012: Deathstroke #10 -- 19,722 (- 5.5%)
07/2012: Deathstroke #11 -- 17,107 (-13.3%)
-----------------
6 months: - 28.3%

This is the flagship Rob Liefeld title.

There’s no returnability compensation involved here in June or July, or anything like that, in case you were wondering. Also, the book came out in the second week of July, so even if few hundred copies fell off a truck in Nebraska, Diamond should have had enough time to ship them to retailers before it would have made a difference on the chart.

It’s not like the book was setting the charts on fire to begin with, but maybe retailers overestimated Liefeld’s appeal when they ordered the first two issues of his run.

—–

126 - FABLES (Vertigo)
07/2007: Fables #63  -- 25,603
07/2008: Fables #74  -- 24,166
07/2009: Fables #86  -- 22,447
07/2010: --
------------------------------
07/2011: Fables #107 -- 18,523 (+ 0.1%)
08/2011: Fables #108 -- 18,390 (- 0.7%)
09/2011: Fables #109 -- 18,072 (- 1.7%)
10/2011: Fables #110 -- 18,109 (+ 0.2%)
11/2011: Fables #111 -- 17,687 (- 2.3%)
12/2011: Fables #112 -- 17,602 (- 0.5%)
01/2012: Fables #113 -- 17,588 (- 0.1%)
02/2012: Fables #114 -- 17,374 (- 1.2%)
03/2012: Fables #115 -- 17,384 (+ 0.1%)
04/2012: Fables #116 -- 17,543 (+ 0.9%)
05/2012: Fables #117 -- 17,484 (- 0.3%)
06/2012: Fables #118 -- 18,566 (+ 6.2%)
07/2012: Fables #119 -- 17,110 (- 7.8%)
----------------
6 months: - 2.7%
1 year  : - 7.6%
2 years :   n.a.
5 years : -33.2%

Last month’s mystery boost disappears again.

—–

121 - NATIONAL COMICS
07/2012: Eternity #1 -- 17,587

Jeff Lemire and Cully Hamner launch a new series of one-shot character revamps. It’s an interesting format, but judging from these numbers, it would have needed a lot more promotion to stand a chance in the current market. National Comics looks like another book that’s dead on arrival. (In fact, it’s missing from the November solicitations. Did they pull the plug already, or will the book be back in December?)

—–

118 - DEMON KNIGHTS
09/2011: Demon Knights #1  -- 41,602          [52,329]
10/2011: Demon Knights #2  -- 42,230 (+ 1.5%)
11/2011: Demon Knights #3  -- 34,681 (-17.9%)
12/2011: Demon Knights #4  -- 28,109 (-19.0%)
01/2012: Demon Knights #5  -- 25,823 (- 8.1%)
02/2012: Demon Knights #6  -- 23,476 (- 9.1%)
03/2012: Demon Knights #7  -- 22,000 (- 6.3%)
04/2012: Demon Knights #8  -- 21,124 (- 4.0%)
05/2012: Demon Knights #9  -- 20,196 (- 4.4%)
06/2012: Demon Knights #10 -- 19,005 (- 5.9%)
07/2012: Demon Knights #11 -- 18,201 (- 4.2%)
----------------
6 months: -29.5%

Not levelled out yet.

—–

113 - THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES
07/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #32 -- 29,826
07/2008: LoSH #43             -- 27,531
07/2008: LoSH #44             -- 29,954
07/2010: LoSH #3              -- 36,360
---------------------------------------
07/2011: LoSH #15             -- 21,788 (-  3.6%)
08/2011: LoSH #16             -- 21,373 (-  1.9%)
09/2011: LoSH #1              -- 50,402 (+135.8%) [58,325]
10/2011: LoSH #2              -- 47,227 (-  6.3%)
11/2011: LoSH #3              -- 34,979 (- 25.9%)
12/2011: LoSH #4              -- 27,832 (- 20.4%)
01/2012: LoSH #5              -- 25,624 (-  7.9%)
02/2012: LoSH #6              -- 23,428 (-  8.6%)
03/2012: LoSH #7              -- 21,894 (-  6.6%)
04/2012: LoSH #8              -- 21,457 (-  2.0%)
05/2012: LoSH #9              -- 20,854 (-  2.8%)
06/2012: LoSH #10             -- 19,963 (-  4.3%)
07/2012: LoSH #11             -- 19,421 (-  2.7%)
-----------------
6 months: - 24.2%
1 year  : - 10.9%
2 years : - 46.6%
5 years : - 34.9%

Levelling out, evidently.

—–

112 - STORMWATCH
07/2007: Stormwatch: PHD #9   -- 11,419
07/2008: --
07/2009: Stormwatch: PHD #22  --  5,090
---------------------------------------
09/2011: Stormwatch #1        -- 46,397          [57,287]
10/2011: Stormwatch #2        -- 47,520 (+ 2.4%)
11/2011: Stormwatch #3        -- 39,262 (-17.4%)
12/2011: Stormwatch #4        -- 30,987 (-21.1%)
01/2012: Stormwatch #5        -- 29,112 (- 6.1%)
02/2012: Stormwatch #6        -- 26,076 (-10.4%)
03/2012: Stormwatch #7        -- 24,384 (- 6.5%)
04/2012: Stormwatch #8        -- 23,212 (- 4.8%)
05/2012: Stormwatch #9        -- 22,448 (- 3.3%)
06/2012: Stormwatch #10       -- 20,592 (- 8.3%)
07/2012: Stormwatch #11       -- 19,678 (- 4.4%)
-----------------
6 months: - 32.4%
5 years : + 72.3%

Not levelled out yet.

—–

108 - BATWING
09/2011: Batwing #1  -- 45,980          [53,721]
10/2011: Batwing #2  -- 42,750 (- 7.0%)
11/2011: Batwing #3  -- 35,110 (-17.9%)
12/2011: Batwing #4  -- 26,726 (-23.9%)
01/2012: Batwing #5  -- 24,036 (-10.1%)
02/2012: Batwing #6  -- 21,643 (-10.0%)
03/2012: Batwing #7  -- 21,058 (- 2.7%)
04/2012: Batwing #8  -- 20,373 (- 3.3%)
05/2012: Batwing #9  -- 35,731 (+75.4%)
06/2012: Batwing #10 -- 20,724 (-42.0%)
07/2012: Batwing #11 -- 20,047 (- 3.3%)
-----------------
6 months: - 16.6%

This is DC title number 36 on the July chart, out of 75, and we’re now crossing the 20K border.

Batwing doesn’t look like it’s levelled out, either.

—–

107 - FAIREST (Vertigo)
03/2012: Fairest #1  -- 31,769
04/2012: Fairest #2  -- 22,997 (-27.6%)
05/2012: Fairest #3  -- 22,329 (- 2.9%)
06/2012: Fairest #4  -- 21,156 (- 5.3%)
07/2012: Fairest #5  -- 20,371 (- 3.7%)

Fairest is still Vertigo’s best-selling ongoing title, but once Bill Willingham and Phil Jimenez are moving on after issue #6, it’s unlikely to sustain this level of sales.

—–

103 - SMALLVILLE SEASON 11
05/2012: Smallville S11 #1  -- 27,004
06/2012: Smallville S11 #2  -- 22,468 (-16.8%)
07/2012: Smallville S11 #3  -- 20,864 (- 7.1%)

—–

101 - BATMAN: ARKHAM UNHINGED
04/2012: Arkham Unhinged #1 -- 31,170
05/2012: Arkham Unhinged #2 -- 25,215 (-19.1%)
06/2012: Arkham Unhinged #3 -- 23,322 (- 7.5%)
07/2012: Arkham Unhinged #4 -- 21,809 (- 6.5%)

—–

96 - BATMAN BEYOND UNLIMITED
07/2011: Batman Beyond #7      -- 22,945 (- 6.4%)
08/2011: Batman Beyond #8      -- 21,838 (- 4.8%)
----------------------------------------
02/2012: Unlimited #1          -- 26,589 (+21.8%) [30,683]
03/2012: Unlimited #2          -- 23,570 (-11.4%)
04/2012: Unlimited #3          -- 24,196 (+ 2.7%)
05/2012: Unlimited #4          -- 24,356 (+ 0.7%)
06/2012: Unlimited #5          -- 24,058 (- 1.2%)
07/2012: Unlimited #6          -- 22,555 (- 6.3%)
----------------
1 year  : - 1.7%

Three titles adapting Batman and Superman stories from other media. The solicitation texts for July don’t mention it, but I think these are essentially all collections of material that was first released digitally by DC.

And not only does that not seem to hurt them as a package, but sales are great, actually, despite the larger drops in July. DC seems to agree, given that there are several more of these books coming out in the next few months.

—–

90 - ALL STAR WESTERN
07/2007: Jonah Hex #21 -- 15,734
07/2008: Jonah Hex #33 -- 14,281
07/2009: Jonah Hex #45 -- 12,588
07/2010: Jonah Hex #57 -- 12,318
--------------------------------
07/2011: Jonah Hex #69 -- 10,521 (+  2.9%)
08/2011: Jonah Hex #70 -- 10,369 (-  1.5%)
09/2011: ASW #1        -- 43,681 (+321.3%) [54,992]
10/2011: ASW #2        -- 39,857 (-  8.8%)
11/2011: ASW #3        -- 32,776 (- 17.8%)
12/2011: ASW #4        -- 29,349 (- 10.5%)
01/2012: ASW #5        -- 27,206 (-  7.3%)
02/2012: ASW #6        -- 26,170 (-  3.8%)
03/2012: ASW #7        -- 25,349 (-  3.1%)
04/2012: ASW #8        -- 25,040 (-  1.2%)
05/2012: ASW #9        -- 31,413 (+ 25.5%)
06/2012: ASW #10       -- 25,334 (- 19.4%)
07/2012: ASW #11       -- 23,572 (-  7.0%)
-----------------
6 months: - 13.4%
1 year  : +124.1%
2 years : + 91.4%
5 years : + 49.8%

Not levelled out yet.

In fairness, All Star Western is still selling more than twice as well as Jonah Hex was this time last year, even though it’s essentially the same book.

—–

89 - GREEN ARROW
07/2007: Year One #1 of 6 -- 37,090
07/2007: Year One #2 of 6 -- 32,222 [34,962]
07/2008: Arrow/Canary #10 -- 29,604
07/2009: Arrow&Canary #22 -- 20,571
07/2010: Green Arrow #2   -- 44,118
-----------------------------------
07/2011: Green Arrow #14  -- 25,568 (-  7.2%)
08/2011: Green Arrow #15  -- 23,883 (-  6.6%)
09/2011: Green Arrow #1   -- 61,680 (+158.3%) [72,359]
10/2011: Green Arrow #2   -- 58,708 (-  4.8%)
11/2011: Green Arrow #3   -- 46,899 (- 20.1%)
12/2011: Green Arrow #4   -- 37,116 (- 20.9%)
01/2012: Green Arrow #5   -- 33,593 (-  9.5%)
02/2012: Green Arrow #6   -- 30,097 (- 10.4%)
03/2012: Green Arrow #7   -- 29,004 (-  3.6%)
04/2012: Green Arrow #8   -- 27,433 (-  5.4%)
05/2012: Green Arrow #9   -- 26,966 (-  1.7%)
06/2012: Green Arrow #10  -- 25,769 (-  4.4%)
07/2012: Green Arrow #11  -- 24,646 (-  4.4%)
-----------------
6 months: - 26.6%
1 year  : -  3.6%
2 years : - 44.1%
5 years : - 28.9%

Not levelled out yet.

—–

98 - RAVAGERS
05/2012: Ravagers #1  -- 44,230
06/2012: Ravagers #2  -- 31,128 (-29.6%)
07/2012: Ravagers #3  -- 24,963 (-19.8%)

—–

92 - DIAL H
05/2012: Dial H #1  -- 45,308
06/2012: Dial H #2  -- 30,618 (-32.4%)
07/2012: Dial H #3  -- 26,109 (-14.7%)

Two more replacement “New 52” titles, crashing and burning right out of the gate.

—–

84 - BIRDS OF PREY
07/2007: Birds of Prey #108 -- 28,025
07/2008: Birds of Prey #120 -- 21,572
07/2010: Birds of Prey #3   -- 43,420
-------------------------------------
07/2011: Birds of Prey #14  -- 27,102 (-  6.5%)
08/2011: Birds of Prey #15  -- 26,043 (-  3.9%)
09/2011: Birds of Prey #1   -- 56,073 (+115.3%) [66,423]
10/2011: Birds of Prey #2   -- 53,156 (-  5.2%)
11/2011: Birds of Prey #3   -- 40,891 (- 23.1%)
12/2011: Birds of Prey #4   -- 34,460 (- 15.7%)
01/2012: Birds of Prey #5   -- 31,700 (-  8.0%)
02/2012: Birds of Prey #6   -- 30,376 (-  4.2%)
03/2012: Birds of Prey #7   -- 29,196 (-  3.9%)
04/2012: Birds of Prey #8   -- 28,661 (-  1.8%)
05/2012: Birds of Prey #9   -- 41,521 (+ 44.9%)
06/2012: Birds of Prey #10  -- 28,457 (- 31.5%)
07/2012: Birds of Prey #11  -- 27,389 (-  3.8%)
-----------------
6 months: - 13.6%
1 year  : +  1.1%
2 years : - 36.9%
5 years : -  2.3%

Not levelled out yet.

—–

82 - HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE
07/2012: He-Man #1  -- 27,665

Before Watchmen was just the beginning of a revival of great, underrated 1980s properties at DC.

—–

76 - SUPERBOY
07/2011: Superboy #9  --  22,102 (-  4.1%)
08/2011: Superboy #10 --  20,563 (-  7.0%)
08/2011: Superboy #11 --  20,317 (-  1.2%)
09/2011: Superboy #1  --  55,608 (+173.7%) [69,283]
10/2011: Superboy #2  --  57,424 (+  3.3%)
11/2011: Superboy #3  --  47,442 (- 17.4%)
12/2011: Superboy #4  --  40,002 (- 15.7%)
01/2012: Superboy #5  --  37,419 (-  6.5%)
02/2012: Superboy #6  --  34,520 (-  7.8%)
03/2012: Superboy #7  --  33,050 (-  4.3%)
04/2012: Superboy #8  --  31,900 (-  3.5%)
05/2012: Superboy #9  --  34,838 (+  9.2%)
06/2012: Superboy #10 --  31,358 (- 10.0%)
07/2012: Superboy #11 --  29,677 (-  5.4%)
-----------------
6 months: - 20.7%
1 year  : + 34.3%

Not levelled out yet.

—–

75 - JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL
09/2011: Justice League International #1  -- 67,866          [78,869]
10/2011: Justice League International #2  -- 66,100 (- 2.6%)
11/2011: Justice League International #3  -- 54,413 (-17.7%)
12/2011: Justice League International #4  -- 44,062 (-19.0%)
01/2012: Justice League International #5  -- 41,147 (- 6.6%)
02/2012: Justice League International #6  -- 37,534 (- 8.8%)
03/2012: Justice League International #7  -- 35,274 (- 6.0%)
04/2012: Justice League International #8  -- 33,773 (- 4.3%)
05/2012: Justice League International #9  -- 32,558 (- 3.6%)
06/2012: Justice League International #10 -- 31,015 (- 4.7%)
07/2012: Justice League International #11 -- 29,802 (- 3.9%)
-----------------
6 months: - 27.6%

Axed with issue #12.

—–

74 - SUICIDE SQUAD
09/2011: Suicide Squad #1       -- 49,979          [61,815]
10/2011: Suicide Squad #2       -- 49,570 (- 0.8%)
11/2011: Suicide Squad #3       -- 40,827 (-17.6%)
12/2011: Suicide Squad #4       -- 34,550 (-15.4%)
01/2012: Suicide Squad #5       -- 32,726 (- 5.3%)
02/2012: Suicide Squad #6       -- 30,834 (- 5.8%)
03/2012: Suicide Squad #7       -- 32,908 (+ 6.7%)
04/2012: Suicide Squad #8       -- 32,789 (- 0.4%)
05/2012: Suicide Squad #9       -- 32,581 (- 0.6%)
06/2012: Suicide Squad #10      -- 31,576 (- 3.1%)
07/2012: Suicide Squad #11      -- 29,809 (- 5.6%)
-----------------
6 months: -  8.9%

Not levelled out yet.

—–

67 - JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK
09/2011: Justice League Dark #1   -- 69,840          [81,955]
10/2011: Justice League Dark #2   -- 63,392 (- 9.2%)
11/2011: Justice League Dark #3   -- 51,674 (-18.5%)
12/2011: Justice League Dark #4   -- 44,750 (-13.4%)
01/2012: Justice League Dark #5   -- 40,996 (- 8.4%)
02/2012: Justice League Dark #6   -- 38,360 (- 6.4%)
03/2012: Justice League Dark #7   -- 36,089 (- 5.9%)
04/2012: Justice League Dark #8   -- 35,022 (- 3.0%)
05/2012: Justice League Dark #9   -- 34,649 (- 1.1%)
06/2012: Justice League Dark #10  -- 33,238 (- 4.1%)
07/2012: Justice League Dark #11  -- 31,792 (- 4.4%)
-----------------
6 months: - 22.5%

We’re at title number 50 for DC, the first of 30 DC titles to sell more than 30K in July.

Also: not levelled out yet.

—–

66 - SUPERGIRL
07/2007: Supergirl #19 --  48,576
07/2008: Supergirl #31 --  28,813
07/2009: Supergirl #43 --  32,849
07/2010: Supergirl #54 --  26,941
---------------------------------
07/2011: Supergirl #66 --  20,001 (-  4.7%)
08/2011: Supergirl #67 --  19,764 (-  1.2%)
09/2011: Supergirl #1  --  60,058 (+203.9%) [74,218]
10/2011: Supergirl #2  --  61,388 (+  2.2%)
11/2011: Supergirl #3  --  50,784 (- 17.3%)
12/2011: Supergirl #4  --  44,180 (- 13.0%)
01/2012: Supergirl #5  --  41,446 (-  6.2%)
02/2012: Supergirl #6  --  38,719 (-  6.6%)
03/2012: Supergirl #7  --  37,041 (-  4.3%)
04/2012: Supergirl #8  --  36,042 (-  2.7%)
05/2012: Supergirl #9  --  35,129 (-  2.5%)
06/2012: Supergirl #10 --  33,309 (-  5.2%)
07/2012: Supergirl #11 --  31,879 (-  4.3%)
-----------------
6 months: - 23.1%
1 year  : + 59.4%
2 years : + 18.3%
5 years : - 34.4%

Not levelled out yet.

—–

60 - ANIMAL MAN
09/2011: Animal Man #1     -- 46,051          [65,229]
10/2011: Animal Man #2     -- 53,432 (+16.0%)
11/2011: Animal Man #3     -- 49,184 (- 8.0%)
12/2011: Animal Man #4     -- 42,630 (-13.3%)
01/2012: Animal Man #5     -- 40,573 (- 4.8%)
02/2012: Animal Man #6     -- 38,504 (- 5.1%)
03/2012: Animal Man #7     -- 36,860 (- 4.3%)
04/2012: Animal Man #8     -- 36,369 (- 1.3%)
05/2012: Animal Man #9     -- 35,699 (- 1.8%)
06/2012: Animal Man #10    -- 34,992 (- 2.0%)
07/2012: Animal Man #11    -- 33,909 (- 3.1%)
-----------------
6 months: - 16.4%

Not levelled out yet.

—–

58 - CATWOMAN
07/2007: Catwoman #69 -- 19,387
07/2008: Catwoman #81 -- 17,766
-------------------------------
09/2011: Catwoman #1  -- 59,633          [75,566]
10/2011: Catwoman #2  -- 63,573 (+ 6.6%)
11/2011: Catwoman #3  -- 52,196 (-17.9%)
12/2011: Catwoman #4  -- 45,581 (-12.7%)
01/2012: Catwoman #5  -- 44,034 (- 3.4%)
02/2012: Catwoman #6  -- 41,447 (- 5.9%)
03/2012: Catwoman #7  -- 39,608 (- 4.4%)
04/2012: Catwoman #8  -- 38,711 (- 2.3%)
05/2012: Catwoman #9  -- 49,726 (+28.5%)
06/2012: Catwoman #10 -- 37,158 (-25.3%)
07/2012: Catwoman #11 -- 35,551 (- 4.3%)
-----------------
6 months: - 19.3%
5 years : + 83.4%

Not levelled out yet.

—-

56 - RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS
09/2011: Red Hood #1  -- 56,112          [70,244]
10/2011: Red Hood #2  -- 59,382 (+ 5.8%)
11/2011: Red Hood #3  -- 50,140 (-15.6%)
12/2011: Red Hood #4  -- 44,278 (-11.7%)
01/2012: Red Hood #5  -- 42,560 (- 3.9%)
02/2012: Red Hood #6  -- 39,898 (- 6.3%)
03/2012: Red Hood #7  -- 38,630 (- 3.2%)
04/2012: Red Hood #8  -- 37,974 (- 1.7%)
05/2012: Red Hood #9  -- 54,220 (+42.8%)
06/2012: Red Hood #10 -- 37,044 (-31.7%)
07/2012: Red Hood #11 -- 35,820 (- 3.3%)
-----------------
6 months: - 15.8%

Not levelled out yet.

—–

55 - SWAMP THING
09/2011: Swamp Thing #1  -- 54,757          [73,683]
10/2011: Swamp Thing #2  -- 58,634 (+ 7.1%)
11/2011: Swamp Thing #3  -- 52,300 (-10.8%)
12/2011: Swamp Thing #4  -- 44,660 (-14.6%)
01/2012: Swamp Thing #5  -- 43,806 (- 1.9%)
02/2012: Swamp Thing #6  -- 41,235 (- 5.9%)
03/2012: Swamp Thing #7  -- 40,268 (- 2.4%)
04/2012: Swamp Thing #8  -- 39,431 (- 2.1%)
05/2012: Swamp Thing #9  -- 39,385 (- 0.1%)
06/2012: Swamp Thing #10 -- 37,383 (- 5.1%)
07/2012: Swamp Thing #11 -- 36,257 (- 3.0%)
----------------
6 months: -17.2%

Not levelled out yet.

—–

53 - RED LANTERNS
09/2011: Red Lanterns #1  -- 73,940          [89,170]
10/2011: Red Lanterns #2  -- 74,163 (+ 0.3%)
11/2011: Red Lanterns #3  -- 60,823 (-18.0%)
12/2011: Red Lanterns #4  -- 50,271 (-17.4%)
01/2012: Red Lanterns #5  -- 46,992 (- 6.5%)
02/2012: Red Lanterns #6  -- 43,450 (- 7.5%)
03/2012: Red Lanterns #7  -- 41,628 (- 4.2%)
04/2012: Red Lanterns #8  -- 40,189 (- 3.5%)
05/2012: Red Lanterns #9  -- 39,215 (- 2.4%)
06/2012: Red Lanterns #10 -- 38,005 (- 3.1%)
07/2012: Red Lanterns #11 -- 36,462 (- 4.1%)
----------------
6 months: -22.4%

Not levelled out yet.

—–

45 - BATWOMAN
09/2011: Batwoman #1  --  72,228 (+64.6%) [87,952]
10/2011: Batwoman #2  --  74,392 (+ 3.0%)
11/2011: Batwoman #3  --  61,997 (-16.7%)
12/2011: Batwoman #4  --  52,757 (-14.9%)
01/2012: Batwoman #5  --  51,924 (- 1.6%)
02/2012: Batwoman #6  --  49,227 (- 5.2%)
03/2012: Batwoman #7  --  46,874 (- 4.8%)
04/2012: Batwoman #8  --  45,341 (- 3.3%)
05/2012: Batwoman #9  --  43,942 (- 3.1%)
06/2012: Batwoman #10 --  41,014 (- 6.7%)
07/2012: Batwoman #11 --  38,980 (- 5.0%)
----------------
6 months: -24.9%

Not levelled out yet.

—–

39 - GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS
07/2011: Emerald Warriors #12 -- 48,087 (-10.8%)
08/2011: Emerald Warriors #13 -- 44,228 (- 8.0%)
09/2011: New Guardians #1     -- 84,033 (+90.0%) [96,596]
10/2011: New Guardians #2     -- 71,713 (-14.7%)
11/2011: New Guardians #3     -- 59,774 (-16.7%)
12/2011: New Guardians #4     -- 53,305 (-10.8%)
01/2012: New Guardians #5     -- 52,305 (- 1.9%)
02/2012: New Guardians #6     -- 50,319 (- 3.8%)
03/2012: New Guardians #7     -- 48,422 (- 3.8%)
04/2012: New Guardians #8     -- 47,320 (- 2.3%)
05/2012: New Guardians #9     -- 46,237 (- 2.3%)
06/2012: New Guardians #10    -- 44,404 (- 4.0%)
07/2012: New Guardians #11    -- 42,929 (- 3.3%)
----------------
6 months: -17.9%
1 year  : -10.7%

Not levelled out yet.

—–

38 - GREEN LANTERN CORPS
07/2007: Green Lantern Corps #14 -- 45,393 [61,493]
07/2008: Green Lantern Corps #26 -- 46,098
07/2009: Green Lantern Corps #38 -- 82,415
07/2010: Green Lantern Corps #50 -- 67,035
------------------------------------------
07/2011: Green Lantern Corps #61 -- 60,836 (- 0.2%)
07/2011: Green Lantern Corps #62 -- 57,928 (- 4.8%)
08/2011: Green Lantern Corps #63 -- 53,372 (- 7.9%)
09/2011: Green Lantern Corps #1  -- 83,077 (+55.7%) [94,800]
10/2011: Green Lantern Corps #2  -- 78,501 (- 5.5%)
11/2011: Green Lantern Corps #3  -- 65,393 (-16.7%)
12/2011: Green Lantern Corps #4  -- 57,180 (-12.6%)
01/2012: Green Lantern Corps #5  -- 54,088 (- 5.4%)
02/2012: Green Lantern Corps #6  -- 51,168 (- 5.4%)
03/2012: Green Lantern Corps #7  -- 48,692 (- 4.8%)
04/2012: Green Lantern Corps #8  -- 47,584 (- 2.3%)
05/2012: Green Lantern Corps #9  -- 46,336 (- 2.6%)
06/2012: Green Lantern Corps #10 -- 44,615 (- 3.7%)
07/2012: Green Lantern Corps #11 -- 42,996 (- 3.6%)
----------------
6 months: -20.5%
1 year  : -29.3%
2 years : -35.9%
5 years : - 5.3%

Not levelled out yet.

—–

36 - BATGIRL
07/2008: Batgirl #1 of 6 -- 34,411
07/2010: Batgirl #12     -- 28,011
----------------------------------
07/2011: Batgirl #23     -- 22,619 (-  3.0%)
08/2011: Batgirl #24     -- 22,695 (+  0.3%)
09/2011: Batgirl #1      -- 90,543 (+299.0%) [107,055]
10/2011: Batgirl #2      -- 83,586 (-  7.7%)
11/2011: Batgirl #3      -- 69,971 (- 16.3%)
12/2011: Batgirl #4      -- 59,972 (- 14.3%)
01/2012: Batgirl #5      -- 57,030 (-  4.9%)
02/2012: Batgirl #6      -- 53,151 (-  6.8%)
03/2012: Batgirl #7      -- 50,761 (-  4.5%)
04/2012: Batgirl #8      -- 48,878 (-  3.7%)
05/2012: Batgirl #9      -- 58,710 (+ 20.1%)
06/2012: Batgirl #10     -- 47,050 (- 19.9%)
07/2012: Batgirl #11     -- 45,004 (-  4.4%)
-----------------
6 months: - 21.1%
1 year  : + 99.0%
2 years : + 60.7%

Not levelled out yet.

—–

34 - TEEN TITANS
07/2007: Teen Titans #49  -- 59,258
07/2008: Teen Titans #61  -- 44,666
07/2009: Teen Titans #73  -- 30,990
07/2010: Teen Titans #85  -- 24,248
-----------------------------------
07/2011: Teen Titans #97  -- 23,138 (-  3.0%)
07/2011: Teen Titans #98  -- 23,095 (-  0.2%)
08/2011: Teen Titans #99  -- 23,756 (+  2.9%)
08/2011: Teen Titans #100 -- 27,459 (+ 15.6%)
09/2011: Teen Titans #1   -- 73,675 (+168.3%) [89,056]
10/2011: Teen Titans #2   -- 72,107 (-  2.1%)
11/2011: Teen Titans #3   -- 60,758 (- 15.7%)
12/2011: Teen Titans #4   -- 54,929 (-  9.6%)
01/2012: Teen Titans #5   -- 54,606 (-  0.6%)
02/2012: Teen Titans #6   -- 53,123 (-  2.7%)
03/2012: Teen Titans #7   -- 51,402 (-  3.2%)
04/2012: Teen Titans #8   -- 50,814 (-  1.1%)
05/2012: Teen Titans #9   -- 50,261 (-  1.1%)
06/2012: Teen Titans #10  -- 47,491 (-  5.5%)
07/2012: Teen Titans #11  -- 45,367 (-  4.5%)
-----------------
6 months: - 16.9%
1 year  : + 96.3%
2 years : + 87.1%
5 years : - 23.4%

Not levelled out yet.

—–

43 - WORLDS' FINEST
04/2012: Worlds' Finest #1  -- 69,531
05/2012: Worlds' Finest #2  -- 51,510 (-25.9%)
06/2012: Worlds' Finest #3  -- 45,514 (-11.6%)

Fairly average sales behavior here. With a little luck, the book may be finding its level around the 40K mark.

—–

33 - WONDER WOMAN
07/2007: Wonder Woman #11  --  52,983
07/2008: Wonder Woman #22  --  36,514
07/2009: Wonder Woman #34  --  30,131
07/2010: Wonder Woman #601 --  39,672
-------------------------------------
07/2011: Wonder Woman #613 --  29,720 (-  3.2%)
08/2011: Wonder Woman #614 --  29,223 (-  1.7%)
09/2011: Wonder Woman #1   --  76,214 (+160.8%) [95,902]
10/2011: Wonder Woman #2   --  79,060 (+  3.7%)
11/2011: Wonder Woman #3   --  65,621 (- 17.0%)
12/2011: Wonder Woman #4   --  57,675 (- 12.1%)
01/2012: Wonder Woman #5   --  57,626 (-  0.1%)
02/2012: Wonder Woman #6   --  54,190 (-  6.0%)
03/2012: Wonder Woman #7   --  51,314 (-  5.3%)
04/2012: Wonder Woman #8   --  50,450 (-  1.7%)
05/2012: Wonder Woman #9   --  48,750 (-  3.4%)
06/2012: Wonder Woman #10  --  47,229 (-  3.1%)
07/2012: Wonder Woman #11  --  45,669 (-  3.3%)
-----------------
6 months: - 20.8%
1 year  : + 53.7%
2 years : + 15.1%
5 years : - 13.8%

Not levelled out yet.

—–

30 - NIGHTWING
07/2007: Nightwing #134 -- 30,228
07/2008: Nightwing #146 -- 29,494
---------------------------------
09/2011: Nightwing #1   -- 69,686          [87,561]
10/2011: Nightwing #2   -- 73,054 (+ 4.8%)
11/2011: Nightwing #3   -- 64,098 (-12.3%)
12/2011: Nightwing #4   -- 57,409 (-10.4%)
01/2012: Nightwing #5   -- 56,040 (- 2.4%)
02/2012: Nightwing #6   -- 53,036 (- 5.4%)
03/2012: Nightwing #7   -- 50,489 (- 4.8%)
04/2012: Nightwing #8   -- 52,063 (+ 3.1%) [61,711]
05/2012: Nightwing #9   -- 61,395 (+17.9%)
06/2012: Nightwing #10  -- 50,585 (-17.6%)
07/2012: Nightwing #11  -- 49,124 (- 2.9%)
-----------------
6 months: - 12.3%
5 years : + 62.5%

Nightwing may be finding its level. Historically, these are excellent figures for the book, obviously.

—–

29 - FLASH
07/2007: All Flash #1    --  98,694
07/2008: Flash #242      --  30,325
07/2009: --
07/2010: Flash #4        --  64,832
-----------------------------------
07/2011: --
08/2011: --
09/2011: Flash #1        -- 129,260 (+135.4%) [147,818]
10/2011: Flash #2        -- 114,137 (- 11.7%)
11/2011: Flash #3        --  90,417 (- 20.8%)
12/2011: Flash #4        --  77,336 (- 14.5%)
01/2012: Flash #5        --  71,611 (-  7.4%)
02/2012: Flash #6        --  68,061 (-  5.0%)
03/2012: Flash #7        --  64,975 (-  4.5%)
04/2012: Flash #8        --  63,702 (-  2.0%)
05/2012: Flash #9        --  62,807 (-  1.4%)
06/2012: Flash #10       --  55,681 (- 11.4%)
07/2012: Flash #11       --  53,674 (-  3.6%)
-----------------
6 months: - 25.1%
1 year  :   n.a.
2 years : - 17.2%
5 years : - 45.6%

Not levelled out yet.

—–

28 - SUPERMAN
07/2007: Superman #664 --  52,313
07/2007: Superman #665 --  51,936
07/2008: Superman #678 --  47,670
07/2009: Superman #690 --  39,472
07/2010: Superman #701 --  54,506
---------------------------------
07/2011: Superman #713 --  36,646 (-  1.9%)
08/2011: Superman #714 --  35,919 (-  2.0%)
09/2011: Superman #1   -- 131,529 (+266.2%) [150,128]
10/2011: Superman #2   -- 104,703 (- 20.4%)
11/2011: Superman #3   --  86,386 (- 17.5%)
12/2011: Superman #4   --  76,532 (- 11.4%)
01/2012: Superman #5   --  73,719 (-  3.7%)
02/2012: Superman #6   --  69,633 (-  5.5%)
03/2012: Superman #7   --  66,588 (-  4.4%)
04/2012: Superman #8   --  64,486 (-  3.2%)
05/2012: Superman #9   --  62,232 (-  3.5%)
06/2012: Superman #10  --  59,081 (-  5.1%)
07/2012: Superman #11  --  56,066 (-  5.1%)
-----------------
6 months: - 24.0%
1 year  : + 53.0%
2 years : +  2.9%
5 years : +  7.6%

Not levelled out yet.

—–

27 - AQUAMAN
09/2011: Aquaman #1  -- 80,302          [108,545]
10/2011: Aquaman #2  -- 79,156 (- 1.4%) [ 83,626]
11/2011: Aquaman #3  -- 69,137 (-12.7%)
12/2011: Aquaman #4  -- 64,961 (- 6.0%)
01/2012: Aquaman #5  -- 65,094 (+ 0.2%)
02/2012: Aquaman #6  -- 63,450 (- 2.5%)
03/2012: Aquaman #7  -- 62,345 (- 1.7%)
04/2012: Aquaman #8  -- 61,657 (- 1.1%)
05/2012: Aquaman #9  -- 60,527 (- 1.8%)
06/2012: Aquaman #10 -- 59,288 (- 2.1%)
07/2012: Aquaman #11 -- 57,675 (- 2.7%)
-----------------
6 months: - 11.4%

Slowly drifting down the charts, but still doing very well overall.

—–

15 - BATMAN AND ROBIN
07/2009: Batman and Robin #2  -- 117,986 [129,086]
07/2010: Batman and Robin #13 --  85,804
----------------------------------------
07/2011: Batman and Robin #25 --  55,172 (+ 0.3%)
08/2011: Batman and Robin #26 --  52,704 (- 4.5%)
09/2011: Batman and Robin #1  --  94,713 (+79.7%) [116,053]
10/2011: Batman and Robin #2  --  98,807 (+ 4.3%)
11/2011: Batman and Robin #3  --  86,309 (-12.7%)
12/2011: Batman and Robin #4  --  76,000 (-11.9%)
01/2012: Batman and Robin #5  --  72,786 (- 4.2%)
02/2012: Batman and Robin #6  --  70,103 (- 3.7%)
03/2012: Batman and Robin #7  --  68,010 (- 3.0%)
04/2012: Batman and Robin #8  --  66,659 (- 2.0%)
05/2012: Batman and Robin #9  --  75,967 (+14.0%)
06/2012: Batman and Robin #10 --  66,894 (-11.9%)
07/2012: Batman and Robin #11 --  65,043 (- 2.8%)
----------------
6 months: -10.6%
1 year  : +17.9%
2 years : -24.2%

The lowest-selling of the five core Batman titles looks like it may be finding its level.

—–

12 - BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT
07/2011: Dark Knight #3  --  62,792 (- 11.7%)
07/2011: Dark Knight #4  --  57,333 (-  8.7%)
08/2011: Dark Knight #5  --  52,908 (-  7.7%)
09/2011: Dark Knight #1  -- 109,321 (+106.6%) [128,689]
10/2011: Dark Knight #2  -- 100,494 (-  8.1%)
11/2011: Dark Knight #3  --  87,133 (- 13.3%)
12/2011: Dark Knight #4  --  78,689 (-  9.7%)
01/2012: Dark Knight #5  --  76,824 (-  2.4%)
02/2012: Dark Knight #6  --  77,140 (+  0.4%) [ 80,464]
03/2012: Dark Knight #7  --  75,297 (-  2.4%)
04/2012: Dark Knight #8  --  74,287 (-  1.3%)
05/2012: Dark Knight #9  --  82,169 (+ 10.6%)
06/2012: Dark Knight #10 --  71,671 (- 12.8%)
07/2012: Dark Knight #11 --  68,632 (-  4.2%)
-----------------
6 months: - 10.7%
1 year  : + 14.3%

Not levelled out yet.

—–

21 - BEFORE WATCHMEN: SILK SPECTRE
06/2012: Silk Spectre #1 of 6 -- 114,394
07/2012: Silk Spectre #2 of 6 --  68,403 (-40.2%)

—–

17 - BEFORE WATCHMEN: COMEDIAN
06/2012: Comedian #1 of 6 -- 115,713
06/2012: Comedian #2 of 6 --  70,762 (-38.9%)

They cut the 1:200 variants on these, so now it’s just the 1:25 variants. (The first issues had both versions, just to be clear.) Still, these are some hefty second-issue sales drops on these love letters to Alan Moore.

—–

13 - EARTH 2
05/2012: Earth 2 #1  -- 95,742          [102,490]
06/2012: Earth 2 #2  -- 75,936 (-20.7%) [ 84,740]
07/2012: Earth 2 #3  -- 74,892 (- 1.4%)

Thanks no doubt to the presence of a gay Green Lantern character, which received some press coverage, Earth 2 sales are looking pretty good, all of a sudden. The third-issue drop is tiny, and the first two issues made the chart again in July, selling another 6,748 and 8,804 units, respectively.

Let’s wait and see how much of this sudden flare of interest turns out to be genuine a few months down the road.

—–

10 - ACTION COMICS
07/2007: Action Comics #851 --  76,500
07/2007: Action Comics #852 --  50,294
07/2008: Action Comics #867 --  49,363
07/2009: Action Comics #879 --  38,324
07/2010: Action Comics #891 --  35,328
--------------------------------------
07/2011: Action Comics #903 --  40,205 (-  4.2%)
08/2011: Action Comics #904 --  39,323 (-  2.2%)
09/2011: Action Comics #1   -- 182,748 (+364.7%) [200,947]
10/2011: Action Comics #2   -- 153,855 (- 15.8%)
11/2011: Action Comics #3   -- 134,875 (- 12.3%)
12/2011: Action Comics #4   -- 112,839 (- 16.3%)
01/2012: Action Comics #5   -- 109,350 (-  3.1%)
02/2012: Action Comics #6   --  96,592 (- 11.7%)
03/2012: Action Comics #7   --  91,822 (-  4.9%)
04/2012: Action Comics #8   --  87,980 (-  4.2%)
05/2012: Action Comics #9   --  88,796 (+  0.9%)
06/2012: Action Comics #10  --  80,751 (-  9.1%)
07/2012: Action Comics #11  --  76,232 (-  5.6%)
-----------------
6 months: - 30.3%
1 year  : + 89.6%
2 years : +115.8%
5 years : + 20.3%

Still sliding down the chart. Grant Morrison is expecting to quit after issue #16, evidently, so the numbers are unlikely to improve.

—–

11 - BEFORE WATCHMEN: MINUTEMEN
06/2012: Minutemen #1 of 6 -- 119,463
07/2012: Minutemen #2 of 6 --  76,409 (-36.0%)

Another love letter to Alan Moore with a rather unflattering second-issue drop, though part of it is, once again, related to variant-cover fiddling.

—–

9 - GREEN LANTERN
07/2007: Green Lantern #21  --  81,929 [ 93,052]
07/2008: Green Lantern #33  --  63,814
07/2009: Green Lantern #43  -- 109,426 [117,314]
07/2009: Green Lantern #44  -- 105,063 [109,599]
07/2010: Green Lantern #56  --  84,164
--------------------------------------
07/2011: Green Lantern #67  --  74,521 (- 1.1%)
08/2011: --
09/2011: Green Lantern #1   -- 141,682 (+90.1%) [169,159]
10/2011: Green Lantern #2   -- 142,344 (+ 0.5%)
11/2011: Green Lantern #3   -- 122,644 (-13.8%)
12/2011: Green Lantern #4   -- 104,199 (-15.0%)
01/2012: Green Lantern #5   --  97,878 (- 6.0%)
02/2012: Green Lantern #6   --  94,087 (- 3.9%)
03/2012: Green Lantern #7   --  90,232 (- 4.1%)
04/2012: Green Lantern #8   --  88,335 (- 2.1%)
05/2012: Green Lantern #9   --  87,601 (- 0.8%)
06/2012: Green Lantern #10  --  80,615 (- 8.0%)
07/2012: Green Lantern #11  --  78,708 (- 2.4%)
-----------------
6 months: - 19.6%
1 year  : +  5.6%
2 years : -  6.5%
5 years : -  3.9%

Settling down, it seems. Still great numbers for a Green Lantern book, and well within the spectrum of the Geoff Johns era.

—–

8 - DETECTIVE COMICS
07/2007: Detective Comics #834 --  53,461
07/2008: Detective Comics #846 --  72,417
07/2009: Detective Comics #855 --  61,205
07/2010: Detective Comics #867 --  40,371
-----------------------------------------
07/2011: Detective Comics #879 --  39,185 (+  0.1%)
07/2011: Detective Comics #880 --  38,585 (-  1.5%)
08/2011: Detective Comics #881 --  39,729 (+  3.0%)
09/2011: Detective Comics #1   -- 114,880 (+189.2%) [157,751]
10/2011: Detective Comics #2   -- 123,099 (+  7.2%)
11/2011: Detective Comics #3   -- 111,197 (-  9.7%)
12/2011: Detective Comics #4   --  99,366 (- 10.6%)
01/2012: Detective Comics #5   --  99,342 (-  0.0%)
02/2012: Detective Comics #6   --  94,415 (-  5.0%)
03/2012: Detective Comics #7   --  89,891 (-  4.8%)
04/2012: Detective Comics #8   --  87,675 (-  2.5%)
05/2012: Detective Comics #9   --  96,016 (+  9.5%)
06/2012: Detective Comics #10  --  83,317 (- 13.2%)
07/2012: Detective Comics #11  --  79,835 (-  4.2%)
-----------------
6 months: - 19.6%
1 year  : +105.3%
2 years : + 97.8%
5 years : + 49.3%

Not levelled out yet.

—–

6 - BEFORE WATCHMEN: OZYMANDIAS
07/2012: Ozymandias #1 of 6 -- 98,011

Yet another love letter to Alan Moore, promoted with 1:25 and 1:200 variants, so as to distribute the love more profusely.

You may note that the debut issue isn’t selling quite as well as the ones of the June Before Watchmen debuts.

—–

5 - JUSTICE LEAGUE
07/2007: Justice League #11  -- 122,823
07/2008: Justice League #23  --  82,953
07/2009: Justice League #35  --  58,915
07/2010: Justice League #47  --  60,368
---------------------------------------
07/2011: JL of America #59   --  43,545 (-  4.2%)
08/2011: JL of America #60   --  42,587 (-  2.2%)
08/2011: Justice League #1   -- 185,776 (+336.2%) [271,173]
09/2011: --
10/2011: Justice League #2   -- 196,569 (+  5.8%)
11/2011: Justice League #3   -- 168,679 (- 14.2%)
12/2011: Justice League #4   -- 149,314 (- 11.5%) [152,340]
01/2012: Justice League #5   -- 144,670 (-  3.1%) [148,117]
02/2012: Justice League #6   -- 140,819 (-  2.7%)
03/2012: Justice League #7   -- 136,436 (-  3.1%)
04/2012: Justice League #8   -- 133,240 (-  2.3%)
05/2012: Justice League #9   -- 131,332 (-  1.4%)
06/2012: Justice League #10  -- 130,502 (-  0.6%)
07/2012: Justice League #11  -- 123,971 (-  5.0%)
-----------------
6 months: - 14.3%
1 year  : +184.7%
2 years : +105.4%
5 years : +  0.9%

Losing steam, it seems. Given the media drum rolls for the hanky-panky issue #12, though, that’s probably a temporary issue.

—–

4 - BATMAN
07/2007: Batman #666 --  83,781
07/2008: Batman #678 -- 103,213
07/2009: Batman #688 --  83,040
07/2010: Batman #701 --  76,398
-------------------------------
07/2011: Batman #712 --  51,385 (-  3.3%)
08/2011: Batman #713 --  51,760 (+  0.7%)
09/2011: Batman #1   -- 188,420 (+264.0%) [223,299]
10/2011: Batman #2   -- 172,428 (-  8.5%) [177,721]
11/2011: Batman #3   -- 150,984 (- 12.4%)
12/2011: Batman #4   -- 133,781 (- 11.4%) [144,777]
01/2012: Batman #5   -- 135,145 (+  1.0%) [142,499]
02/2012: Batman #6   -- 128,459 (-  5.0%) [135,435]
03/2012: Batman #7   -- 131,091 (+  2.1%)
04/2012: Batman #8   -- 130,602 (-  0.4%) [136,218]
05/2012: Batman #9   -- 134,605 (+  3.1%)
06/2012: Batman #10  -- 130,265 (-  3.2%)
07/2012: Batman #11  -- 127,210 (-  2.4%)
-----------------
6 months: -  5.9%
1 year  : +147.6%
2 years : + 66.5%
5 years : + 51.8%

“I can assure you Batman doesn’t sell the way it does because it’s Batman. It sells that way because of me and Greg.”

—–

REORDERS:
191:  8,804 -- Earth 2 #2
235:  6,748 -- Earth 2 #1

—–

6-MONTH COMPARISONS
+  8.9%: Scooby-Doo
+  7.6%: American Vampire
+  2.3%: Young Justice
-  1.3%: Hellblazer
-  2.1%: Unwritten
-  2.7%: Fables
-  5.9%: Batman
-  7.0%: Sweet Tooth
-  8.9%: Suicide Squad
-  9.4%: I, Zombie
- 10.6%: Batman and Robin
- 10.7%: Dark Knight
- 11.4%: Aquaman
- 12.3%: Nightwing
- 13.4%: ASW
- 13.6%: BoP
- 14.3%: JLA
- 15.8%: Red Hood
- 16.4%: Animal Man
- 16.4%: I, Vampire
- 16.6%: Batwing
- 16.9%: Teen Titans
- 17.2%: Swamp Thing
- 17.9%: New Guardians
- 18.6%: Shade
- 19.3%: Catwoman
- 19.6%: Detective Comics
- 19.6%: Green Lantern
- 20.5%: GL Corps
- 20.7%: Superboy
- 20.8%: Wonder Woman
- 20.9%: Legion Lost
- 21.1%: Batgirl
- 22.4%: Red Lanterns
- 22.5%: JLD
- 23.1%: Supergirl
- 24.0%: Superman
- 24.2%: LoSH
- 24.9%: Batwoman
- 25.1%: Flash
- 26.6%: Green Arrow
- 26.9%: Blue Beetle
- 27.6%: JLI
- 28.3%: Deathstroke
- 29.1%: Resurrection Man
- 29.5%: Demon Knights
- 30.0%: Firestorm
- 30.3%: Action Comics
- 31.2%: Frankenstein
- 31.5%: Voodoo
- 32.4%: Stormwatch
- 33.3%: Grifter
- 35.5%: Hawkman
- 36.7%: Captain Atom
- 38.2%: DCU Presents

—–

1-YEAR COMPARISONS
+184.7%: JLA
+147.6%: Batman
+124.1%: ASW
+105.3%: Detective Comics
+ 99.0%: Batgirl
+ 96.3%: Teen Titans
+ 89.6%: Action Comics
+ 59.4%: Supergirl
+ 53.7%: Wonder Woman
+ 53.0%: Superman
+ 34.3%: Superboy
+ 17.9%: Batman and Robin
+ 14.3%: Dark Knight
+  5.6%: Green Lantern
+  3.0%: Scooby-Doo
+  1.1%: BoP
+  0.2%: Hellblazer
-  1.6%: American Vampire
-  1.7%: BB Unlimited
-  3.6%: Green Arrow
-  5.7%: Sweet Tooth
-  7.6%: Fables
- 10.7%: New Guardians
- 10.9%: LoSH
- 12.1%: Unwritten
- 13.7%: Young Justice
- 25.3%: I, Zombie
- 29.3%: GL Corps

—–

2-YEAR COMPARISONS
+115.8%: Action Comics
+105.4%: JLA
+ 97.8%: Detective Comics
+ 91.4%: ASW
+ 87.1%: Teen Titans
+ 66.5%: Batman
+ 60.7%: Batgirl
+ 19.0%: Scooby-Doo
+ 18.3%: Supergirl
+ 15.1%: Wonder Woman
+  2.9%: Superman
-  6.5%: Green Lantern
-  8.0%: Hellblazer
- 17.2%: Flash
- 20.3%: Sweet Tooth
- 24.2%: Batman and Robin
- 27.2%: Unwritten
- 35.9%: GL Corps
- 36.9%: BoP
- 38.4%: American Vampire
- 44.1%: Green Arrow
- 46.6%: LoSH

—–

5-YEAR COMPARISONS
+ 83.4%: Catwoman
+ 72.3%: Stormwatch
+ 62.5%: Nightwing
+ 51.8%: Batman
+ 49.8%: ASW
+ 49.3%: Detective Comics
+ 20.3%: Action Comics
+ 11.5%: Scooby-Doo
+  7.6%: Superman
+  0.9%: JLA
-  2.3%: BoP
-  3.9%: Green Lantern
-  5.3%: GL Corps
- 13.7%: Blue Beetle
- 13.8%: Wonder Woman
- 23.4%: Teen Titans
- 28.9%: Green Arrow
- 29.5%: Hellblazer
- 33.2%: Fables
- 34.4%: Supergirl
- 34.9%: LoSH
- 45.6%: Flash

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

DC COMICS
07/2007: 35,617
07/2008: 27,436
07/2009: 30,905**
07/2010: 25,841**
---------------
07/2011: 26,138 (+  1.3%)**
08/2011: 25,632 (-  1.9%)**
09/2011: 57,224 (+123.3%)
10/2011: 51,280 (- 10.4%)**
11/2011: 41,414 (- 19.2%)**
12/2011: 35,397 (- 14.5%)**
01/2012: 33,887 (-  4.3%)**
02/2012: 31,535 (-  6.9%)**
03/2012: 29,679 (-  5.9%)
04/2012: 31,319 (+  5.5%)
05/2012: 39,179 (+ 25.1%)
06/2012: 37,599 (-  4.0%)
07/2012: 33,837 (- 10.0%)
-----------------
6 months: -  0.2%
1 year  : + 29.5%
2 years : + 30.9%
5 years : -  5.0%

DC UNIVERSE
07/2007: 49,149
07/2008: 35,553
07/2009: 41,218
07/2010: 35,372
---------------
07/2011: 28,586 (-  0.3%)**
08/2011: 27,761 (-  2.9%)**
09/2011: 67,411 (+142.8%)
10/2011: 59,146 (- 12.3%)**
11/2011: 46,670 (- 21.1%)**
12/2011: 39,390 (- 15.6%)**
01/2012: 37,145 (-  5.7%)**
02/2012: 34,456 (-  7.2%)**
03/2012: 33,229 (-  3.6%)
04/2012: 35,264 (+  6.1%)
05/2012: 44,797 (+ 27.0%)
06/2012: 43,082 (-  3.8%)
07/2012: 38,502 (- 10.6%)
-----------------
6 months: +  3.7%
1 year  : + 34.7%
2 years : +  8.9%
5 years : - 21.7%

VERTIGO
07/2007: 12,193
07/2008: 10,821
07/2009: 11,055**
07/2010:  9,515
---------------
07/2011: 10,784 (+ 3.5%)
08/2011: 10,147 (- 5.9%)
09/2011:  9,995 (- 1.5%)
10/2011: 10,643 (+ 6.5%)
11/2011: 10,355 (- 2.7%)
12/2011: 11,082 (+ 7.0%)
01/2012:  9,995 (- 9.8%)
02/2012: 10,252 (+ 2.6%)
03/2012: 12,688 (+23.8%)
04/2012: 11,595 (- 8.6%)
05/2012: 11,102 (- 4.3%)
06/2012: 11,448 (+ 3.1%)
07/2012: 11,589 (+ 1.2%)
-----------------
6 months: + 16.0%
1 year  : +  7.5%
2 years : + 21.8%
5 years : -  5.0%

—–
Disclaimers, et cetera

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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