DC COMICS MONTH-TO-MONTH SALES: JUNE 2006

[The Beat is proud to present the continued Month-To-Month sales by Marc Oliver Frisch. The June sales for Marvel, compiled by Paul OBrien, can be found here.]

DC COMICS MONTH-TO-MONTH SALES: JUNE 2006
by Marc-Oliver Frisch

DC Comics’ major releases in June 2006 were the one-shot DCU: Brave New World, which introduces a number of upcoming series for the price of one dollar, as well as the debut issues of the relaunched titles Wonder Woman and Flash: The Fastest Man Alive, while Green Lantern Corps returned as an ongoing series and a number of prequels, co-written by the film’s director, tied in with Superman Returns. The publisher’s WildStorm imprint, meanwhile, took another stab at fantasy and science fiction, respectively, with new ongoing titles Claw the Unconquered and Manifest Eternity. For the second consecutive month, there were no new series launches via DC’s Vertigo label.

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.

—–

Disclaimers

The numbers below are estimates for actual 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” actual numbers, but they are consistent from month to month, so the trends they show should be accurate.

If additional copies of an issue appeared on the chart after the issue’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.

The 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.

—–

(2) DCU: BRAVE NEW WORLD
06/2006: DCU: Brave New World #1 — 140,844

What this book consists of, essentially, are trailers for the upcoming DC Universe titles Martian Manhunter, OMAC, Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters, The Creeper, The All-New Atom and The Trials of SHAZAM!, produced by the respective series’ creative teams. It’s 80 pages, all told, for the cover price of $ 1.00.

The comparison which offers itself — it’s even brought up in the book’s solicitation copy, for that matter –, is with Countdown to Infinite Crisis #1, another 80-page, 100-cent one-shot, with which the publisher introduced its then upcoming big event, “Infinite Crisis,” in April 2005. Countdown to Infinite Crisis ended up selling an estimated 199,704 in its first month, and an estimated total of 253,802 units including re-orders and subsequent printings.

Now, while DCU: Brave New World obviously doesn’t seem to have attracted quite that level of interest, the comparison isn’t entirely fair, of course. For one thing, the titles Brave New World introduces feature C- and D-list characters. For another, more significantly, it’s not the launch pad for a sprawling, line-spanning major story.

So, all things considered, these numbers are still pretty good.

(4) WONDER WOMAN
06/2003: Wonder Woman #193 — 25,598
06/2004: Wonder Woman #205 — 29,233
————————————-
06/2005: Wonder Woman #217 — 30,022 (- 5.0%) — [31,687]
07/2005: Wonder Woman #218 — 34,366 (+ 14.5%)
07/2005: Wonder Woman #219 — 53,460 (+ 55.6%) — [92,164]
08/2005: Wonder Woman #220 — 38,370 (- 28.2%) — [51,212]
09/2005: —
10/2005: Wonder Woman #221 — 52,894 (+ 37.9%)
10/2005: Wonder Woman #222 — 47,065 (- 11.0%) — [49,101]
11/2005: Wonder Woman #223 — 49,332 (+ 4.8%)
12/2005: Wonder Woman #224 — 47,224 (- 4.3%)
01/2006: Wonder Woman #225 — 42,661 (- 9.7%)
02/2006: Wonder Woman #226 — 45,682 (+ 7.1%)
03/2006: —
04/2006: —
05/2006: —
06/2006: Wonder Woman #1 — 132,580 (+190.2%)
—————–
6 months: +180.8%
1 year : +341.6%
2 years : +353.5%

The relaunch by writer Allan Heinberg and artist Terry Dodson turns out to be a spectacular success. There was a variant edition with a cover drawn by Adam Kubert, which no doubt helped sales; but that’s the case with most high-profile launches these days, of course.

This bodes extremely well for the similar relaunches the publisher has currently in the pipeline, such as Justice League of America and Justice Society of America.

(7) FLASH: THE FASTEST MAN ALIVE
06/2003: Flash #199 — 32,458
06/2004: Flash #211 — 45,740
—————————————————
06/2005: Flash #223 — 48,013 (+ 1.0%) — [49,583]
07/2005: Flash #224 — 48,062 (+ 0.1%)
08/2005: Flash #225 — 50,242 (+ 4.5%) — [52,386]
09/2005: Flash #226 — 45,252 (- 9.9%)
10/2005: Flash #227 — 46,666 (+ 3.1%)
11/2005: Flash #228 — 45,861 (- 1.7%)
12/2005: Flash #229 — 41,459 (- 9.6%)
01/2006: Flash #230 — 40,571 (- 2.1%) — [42,392]
02/2006: —
03/2006: —
04/2006: —
05/2006: —
06/2006: Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #1 — 120,404 (+196.8%)
—————–
6 months: +190.4%
1 year : +150.8%
2 years : +163.2%

Another obvious winner, as far as relaunches go.

In contrast to Wonder Woman, whose creative team have separately enjoyed some success at the competition with Young Avengers and Marvel Knights Spider-Man in the recent past, Flash: The Fastest Man Alive is quite a different beast, however. It’s by screenwriters Paul DeMeo and Danny Bilson, who are promoted by DC on the strength of having created the Flash TV show that ran for one season in 1990 and 1991; and artist Ken Lashley, who has been working in the comics industry for quite some time, but whose name you don’t expect to set the charts on fire all on its own, either. (And again, for the record: There’s a variant edition with cover artwork by Andy Kubert and Joe Kubert.)

That the book still manages to shift an impressive 120,000+ copies with its debut issue neatly illustrates the overall strength of the publisher’s current line-up, and it once again emphasizes the shift which has been occurring in the direct market over the last couple of years: away from creators and towards plots and “events” as the main selling points. The big reason why Flash is such a best seller this month, plainly, is not who’s doing it, but rather that the “Infinite Crisis” event has considerably boosted interest in the relaunch.

(By the way, this is not meant as a slight against the involved creators. I think the same principle holds true for Wonder Woman, 52 or Infinite Crisis as well, for instance. It’s just less visible there, because the creators behind those titles have recent track records on best-selling books.)

(11/13/15/16) 52
05/2006: 52 Week 1 — 140,971 — [143,611]
05/2006: 52 Week 2 — 128,393 (-8.9%) — [130,704]
05/2006: 52 Week 3 — 123,982 (-3.4%) — [126,913]
05/2006: 52 Week 4 — 121,440 (-2.1%) — [125,297]
06/2006: 52 Week 5 — 111,895 (-7.9%)
06/2006: 52 Week 6 — 110,028 (-1.7%)
06/2006: 52 Week 7 — 110,188 (+0.2%)
06/2006: 52 Week 8 — 105,107 (-4.6%)

The drops decrease fairly quickly.

The same disclaimers as in May apply: The first twelve issues of 52 are returnable, and the sales figures may not reflect genuine demand for the series for another eight to twelve issues, because retailers may require that time to adjust their orders accordingly.

That said, the fact that all four May issues made the chart again in June, selling between 2,311 and 3,857 additional units, suggests that there won’t be any drastic downward adjustments. For now, 52 looks like a very successful book.

(12) ALL-STAR SUPERMAN
11/2005: All-Star Superman #1 — 170,802 — [176,658]
12/2005: —
01/2006: All-Star Superman #2 — 124,328 (-27.2%) — [129,616]
02/2006: —
03/2006: All-Star Superman #3 — 110,585 (-11.1%) — [116,599]
04/2006: —
05/2006: —
06/2006: All-Star Superman #4 — 111,420 (+ 0.8%)
—————-
6 months: n.a.

Sales have found their level, apparently.

These aren’t bad numbers by any stretch, naturally. Nonetheless, they’re not as spectacular as DC might have hoped, given that All-Star Superman is meant to represent their best shot at one of their two flagship characters and is currently the star of a major Hollywood movie.

Issue #3 sold another 1,553 copies in June.

(14) JUSTICE
08/2005: Justice #1 (of 12) — 190,424 — [223,878]
09/2005: —
10/2005: Justice #2 (of 12) — 125,115 (-34.3%) — [143,781]
11/2005: —
12/2005: Justice #3 (of 12) — 113,369 (- 9.4%) — [120,943]
01/2006: —
02/2006: Justice #4 (of 12) — 110,488 (- 2.5%) — [125,006]
03/2006: —
04/2006: Justice #5 (of 12) — 110,157 (- 0.3%) — [120,369]
05/2006: —
06/2006: Justice #6 (of 12) — 110,188 (+ 0.0%)
—————
6 months: -2.8%

Justice remains in the orbit of 110K for the third month in a row, which is a remarkably solid performance.

It should be pointed out again that the initial drop with issue #2 owed much of its harshness to the fact that Justice #1 was the only issue so far to ship with a variant cover edition. So, overall, the title is a rock-solid seller.

Justice #4 and #5 made the chart again in June, selling 1,653 and 1,714 units, respectively.

(21) SUPERMAN/BATMAN
06/2003: —
06/2004: —
—————————————
06/2005: Superman/Batman #20 — 114,099 (- 0.1%)
07/2005: Superman/Batman #21 — 108,341 (- 5.1%)
08/2005: —
09/2005: Superman/Batman #22 — 103,245 (- 4.7%)
10/2005: —
11/2005: —
12/2005: Superman/Batman #23 — 102,248 (- 1.0%) — [103,726]
01/2006: —
02/2006: —
03/2006: Superman/Batman #24 — 101,315 (- 0.9%) — [103,757]
04/2006: —
05/2006: Superman/Batman #25 — 103,702 (+ 2.4%)
05/2006: Superman/Batman #26 — 118,821 (+14.6%) — [130,077]
06/2006: Superman/Batman #27 — 95,717 (-19.4%)
—————-
6 months: – 6.4%
1 year : -16.1%
2 years : n.a.

New series writer Mark Verheiden takes over, with artist Kevin Maguire stepping in until new regular penciler Ethan van Sciver arrives with issue #28.

Not surprisingly, the numbers took a considerable step down the chart in June, following the departure of high-profile creators Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness with issue #25 and the subsequent “jam” issue #26, which was produced by a roster of superstar creators including Jim Lee, Michael Turner, John Cassaday and Joe Madureira. (The latter issue, incidentally, sold another 11,256 units in June.)

Given that Verheiden — even with the help of several “Infinite Crisis” tie-ins — never managed to crack 72K in terms of estimated first-month sales during his recent tenure on Superman, 95,717 copies are still a very respectable number, however. Then again, Superman/Batman #27 co-starred Power Girl, a character whose re-introduction in JSA: Classified enjoyed surprisingly high sales last year, so that might well be another significant factor in the book’s sales. We’ll find out in the next few months.

(25) GREEN LANTERN CORPS
09/2005: Green Lantern Corps: Recharge #1 (of 5) — 80,718 — [84,497]
10/2005: Green Lantern Corps: Recharge #2 (of 5) — 68,925 (-14.6%) — [71,414]
11/2005: —
12/2005: Green Lantern Corps: Recharge #3 (of 5) — 64,490 (- 6.4%) — [65,669]
01/2006: Green Lantern Corps: Recharge #4 (of 5) — 59,952 (- 7.0%) — [61,540]
02/2006: —
03/2006: Green Lantern Corps: Recharge #5 (of 5) — 60,123 (+ 0.3%)
04/2006: —
05/2006: —
06/2006: Green Lantern Corps #1 — 76,686 (+27.6%)
—————-
6 months: +18.9%

The new ongoing Green Lantern spin-off is written by Dave Gibbons and drawn by Patrick Gleason — the same creative team responsible for the Recharge limited series, with the notable difference that co-writer Geoff Johns is absent from the ongoing book. Also, it’s well worth saying that no sales-distorting variant cover editions were released for any of the issues listed above.

But hold on. While there may not be any variant covers involved, the publisher made use of a rather different gimmick to give sales a shot in the arm, this time around: For every fifty copies ordered of Green Lantern Corps #1, retailers were given the opportunity to buy, at a price of $ 6.00 per bag, a set of fifty plastic “Green Lantern Promotional Rings” to give away for free along with copies of the comic.

So, as great as the numbers are looking for now, the incentive likely inflated them. To which degree, we’ll find out when the estimates for issue #2 come in.

(26) BATMAN
06/2003: Batman #616 — 141,736
06/2004: Batman #629 — 72,020
——————————-
06/2005: Batman #641 — 67,208 (+ 0.9%) — [ 70,748]
07/2005: Batman #642 — 65,435 (- 2.6%)
08/2005: Batman #643 — 66,396 (+ 1.5%)
08/2005: Batman #644 — 65,128 (- 1.9%)
09/2005: Batman #645 — 65,984 (+ 1.3%) — [ 67,712]
10/2005: Batman #646 — 69,975 (+ 6.1%)
11/2005: Batman #647 — 69,718 (- 0.4%)
12/2005: Batman #648 — 63,151 (- 9.4%) — [ 64,760]
01/2005: Batman #649 — 62,379 (- 1.2%) — [ 64,645]
02/2005: Batman #650 — 66,447 (+ 6.5%) — [ 74,355]
03/2005: Batman #651 — 69,805 (+ 5.1%) — [ 79,616]
04/2006: Batman #652 — 72,889 (+ 4.4%) — [ 82,438]
05/2006: Batman #653 — 77,257 (+ 6.0%) — [ 78,435]
06/2006: Batman #654 — 76,525 (- 1.0%)
—————-
6 months: +21.2%
1 year : +13.9%
2 years : + 6.3%

(30) SUPERMAN
06/2003: Superman #194 — 33,563
06/2004: Superman #206 — 162,095
———————————
06/2005: Superman #218 — 61,515 (- 5.8%)
07/2005: Superman #219 — 71,036 (+ 15.5%) — [ 84,145]
08/2005: Superman #220 — 61,264 (- 13.8%)
09/2005: Superman #221 — 69,065 (+ 12.7%)
10/2005: Superman #222 — 67,638 (- 2.1%)
11/2005: Superman #223 — 69,739 (+ 3.1%)
12/2005: Superman #224 — 63,719 (- 8.6%) — [ 65,300]
01/2006: Superman #225 — 61,768 (- 3.1%)
02/2006: Superman #226 — 63,982 (+ 3.6%)
03/2006: Superman #650 — 65,603 (+ 2.5%) — [ 77,783]
04/2006: Superman #651 — 73,355 (+ 11.8%)
05/2006: Superman #652 — 70,458 (- 4.0%)
06/2006: Superman #653 — 69,079 (- 2.0%)
—————-
6 months: + 8.4%
1 year : +12.3%
2 years : -57.4%

(32) DETECTIVE COMICS
06/2003: Detective Comics #783 — 37,603
06/2004: Detective Comics #795 — 34,649
—————————————-
06/2005: Detective Comics #807 — 38,497 (- 0.9%)
07/2005: Detective Comics #808 — 37,952 (- 1.4%)
08/2005: Detective Comics #809 — 49,087 (+29.3%)
08/2005: Detective Comics #810 — 48,270 (- 1.7%)
09/2005: Detective Comics #811 — 38,772 (-19.7%)
10/2005: Detective Comics #812 — 39,270 (+ 1.3%)
11/2005: Detective Comics #813 — 38,338 (- 2.4%)
12/2005: Detective Comics #814 — 37,145 (- 3.1%)
01/2006: Detective Comics #815 — 35,569 (- 4.2%)
02/2006: Detective Comics #816 — 35,410 (- 0.5%)
03/2006: Detective Comics #817 — 62,245 (+75.8%) — [70,241]
04/2006: Detective Comics #818 — 60,440 (- 2.9%) — [68,189]
05/2006: Detective Comics #819 — 65,800 (+ 8.9%)
06/2006: Detective Comics #820 — 65,988 (+ 0.3%)
—————-
6 months: +77.7%
1 year : +71.4%
2 years : +90.5%

(33) ACTION COMICS
06/2003: Action Comics #804 — 31,494
06/2004: Action Comics #816 — 47,065
————————————-
06/2005: Action Comics #828 — 43,000 (- 2.3%)
07/2005: Action Comics #829 — 62,994 (+46.5%) — [76,896]
08/2005: Action Comics #830 — 48,469 (-23,1%)
09/2005: Action Comics #831 — 55,288 (+14.1%)
10/2005: Action Comics #832 — 47,968 (-13.2%)
11/2005: Action Comics #833 — 44,613 (- 7.0%)
12/2005: Action Comics #834 — 42,425 (- 4.9%)
01/2006: Action Comics #835 — 41,114 (- 3.1%)
02/2006: Action Comics #836 — 51,722 (+25.8%) — [55,331]
03/2006: Action Comics #837 — 55,816 (+ 7.9%) — [69,652]
04/2006: —
05/2006: Action Comics #838 — 62,702 (+12.3%)
05/2006: Action Comics #839 — 61,898 (- 1.3%) — [64,278]
06/2006: Action Comics #840 — 61,786 (- 0.2%)
—————-
6 months: +45.6%
1 year : +43.7%
2 years : +31.3%

The core Superman and Batman titles each concluded their respective eight-part crossovers — Batman and Detective Comics by writer James Robinson and artists Leonard Kirk and Don Kramer, Superman and Action Comics written by Geoff Johns and Kurt Busiek, with art by Pete Woods — in June, all with rock-solid numbers. May’s Action Comics #839 and Batman #653 sold an additional 2,380 and 1,178 units, respectively.

Given that the crossovers essentially bridged the gap between March’s “One Year Later” event and the arrival of a new creative team for each title in July, sales have been more than decent for the last four months.

(36) ION
04/2006: Ion #1 (of 12) — 66,453 — [74,727]
05/2006: Ion #2 (of 12) — 55,532 (-16.4%) — [57,415]
06/2006: Ion #3 (of 12) — 51,739 (- 6.8%)

These are average drops for a maxi-series.

To be fair, though, Ion is still selling at a perfectly decent level — it’s always worth remembering that Green Lantern itself, of which this is a spin-off, used to sell around 35,000 units a month when it featured the title character of Ion.

May’s Ion #2 made the chart again and sold another 1,883 copies, meanwhile.

(38) JSA
06/2003: JSA #49 — 43,740
06/2004: JSA #62 — 42,665
————————–
06/2005: JSA #74 — 51,609 (+ 0.6%)
07/2005: JSA #75 — 55,410 (+ 7.4%)
08/2005: JSA #76 — 51,928 (- 6.3%)
09/2005: JSA #77 — 53,216 (+ 2.5%)
10/2005: JSA #78 — 54,070 (+ 1.6%)
11/2005: JSA #79 — 52,783 (- 2.4%)
12/2005: JSA #80 — 50,862 (- 3.6%)
01/2006: JSA #81 — 50,078 (- 1.5%)
02/2006: JSA #82 — 54,234 (+ 8.3%)
03/2006: JSA #83 — 51,991 (- 4.1%) — [58,624]
04/2006: JSA #84 — 53,245 (+ 2.4%)
05/2006: JSA #85 — 52,620 (- 1.2%)
06/2006: JSA #86 — 50,338 (- 4.3%)
—————-
6 months: – 1.0%
1 year : – 2.5%
2 years : +18.0%

The numbers keep dropping, but remain at a decent level, as the long-term comparisons show. The book ends with July’s issue #87, to be relaunched as Justice Society of America down the road.

(44) NIGHTWING
06/2003: Nightwing #82 — 29,552
06/2004: Nightwing #94 — 30,194
———————————
06/2005: Nightwing #109 — 36,601 (- 1.1%)
07/2005: Nightwing #110 — 38,175 (+ 4.3%)
08/2005: Nightwing #111 — 36,146 (- 5.3%)
09/2005: Nightwing #112 — 36,238 (+ 0.3%)
10/2005: Nightwing #113 — 39,837 (+ 9.9%)
11/2005: Nightwing #114 — 36,421 (- 8.6%)
12/2005: Nightwing #115 — 35,674 (- 2.1%)
01/2006: Nightwing #116 — 35,113 (- 1.6%) — [37,851]
02/2006: Nightwing #117 — 35,489 (+ 1.1%)
03/2006: Nightwing #118 — 42,525 (+19.8%) — [51,775]
04/2006: Nightwing #119 — 46,336 (+ 9.0%)
05/2006: Nightwing #120 — 46,076 (- 0.6%)
06/2006: Nightwing #121 — 44,974 (- 2.4%)
—————-
6 months: +26.1%
1 year : +22.9%
2 years : +49.0%

Despite the consistently good numbers since the “One Year Later” stunt, the recently arrived creative team won’t stick around past issue #124, apparently.

(45) OUTSIDERS
06/2003: Outsiders #1 — 47,666
06/2004: Outsiders #13 — 43,313
——————————–
05/2005: Outsiders #24 — 51,313 (+26.3%) — [54,734]
06/2005: Outsiders #25 — 52,187 (+ 1.7%) — [55,884]
07/2005: Outsiders #26 — 43,226 (-17.2%)
08/2005: Outsiders #27 — 44,021 (+ 1.8%)
09/2005: Outsiders #28 — 44,222 (+ 0.5%)
10/2005: Outsiders #29 — 47,611 (+ 7.7%)
11/2005: Outsiders #30 — 44,682 (- 6.2%)
12/2005: Outsiders #31 — 46,555 (+ 4.2%)
01/2006: Outsiders #32 — 44,027 (- 5.4%)
02/2006: Outsiders #33 — 43,270 (- 1.7%)
03/2006: Outsiders #34 — 47,286 (+ 9.3%) — [51,527]
04/2006: Outsiders #35 — 45,774 (- 3.2%)
05/2006: Outsiders #36 — 45,705 (- 0.2%)
06/2006: Outsiders #37 — 44,109 (- 3.5%)
—————-
6 months: – 5.3%
1 year : -14.0%
2 years : + 1.8%

Declining. These sales are at the lower end of the book’s usual spectrum, but there’s nothing to worry about yet.

(46) SUPERGIRL AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES
06/2003: Legion #21 — 22,749
06/2004: Legion #34 — 23,903
———————————————-
06/2005: Legion of Super-Heroes #7 — 39,155 (- 4.4%)
07/2005: Legion of Super-Heroes #8 — 37,272 (- 4.8%)
08/2005: Legion of Super-Heroes #9 — 35,834 (- 3.9%)
09/2005: Legion of Super-Heroes #10 — 34,833 (- 2.8%)
10/2005: Legion of Super-Heroes #11 — 34,113 (- 2.1%)
11/2005: Legion of Super-Heroes #12 — 33,541 (- 1.7%)
12/2005: —
01/2006: Legion of Super-Heroes #13 — 32,730 (- 2.4%)
02/2006: Legion of Super-Heroes #14 — 32,513 (- 0.7%)
02/2006: Legion of Super-Heroes #15 — 31,649 (- 2.7%)
03/2006: Supergirl & the Legion #16 — 47,426 (+ 49.9%) — [54,788]
04/2006: Supergirl & the Legion #17 — 44,827 (- 5.5%) — [47,724]
05/2006: Supergirl & the Legion #18 — 45,520 (+ 1.6%)
06/2006: Supergirl & the Legion #19 — 43,918 (- 3.5%)
—————-
6 months: n.a.
1 year : +12.2%
2 years : +83.7%

The book’s numbers see another downward adjustment, but remain very, very comfortably ahead of pre-“One Year Later” levels.

(47) CRISIS AFTERMATH: SPECTRE
05/2006: Crisis Aftermath: Spectre #1 (of 3) — 55,772
06/2006: Crisis Aftermath: Spectre #2 (of 3) — 43,436 (-22.1%)

(49) CRISIS AFTERMATH: THE BATTLE FOR BLÜDHAVEN
04/2006: Crisis Aftermath: The Battle for Blüdhaven #1 (of 6) — 56,518 — [61,864]
04/2006: Crisis Aftermath: The Battle for Blüdhaven #2 (of 6) — 52,035 (- 7.9%)
05/2006: Crisis Aftermath: The Battle for Blüdhaven #3 (of 6) — 49,692 (- 4.5%)
05/2006: Crisis Aftermath: The Battle for Blüdhaven #4 (of 6) — 48,834 (- 1.7%)
06/2006: Crisis Aftermath: The Battle for Blüdhaven #5 (of 6) — 42,219 (-13.6%)

(53) SHADOWPACT
05/2006: Shadowpact #1 — 50,279
06/2006: Shadowpact #2 — 39,969 (-20.5%)

These three Infinite Crisis spin-offs all face some rather harsh drops, particularly The Battle for Blüdhaven.

Combined with the absence of re-orders for any of the May issues on the June chart, this suggests that there’s not a lot of enthusiasm for these books, and that reailers may have overestimated demand from the get-go.

(54) ROBIN
06/2003: Robin #115 — 22,054
06/2004: Robin #127 — 40,749
—————————–
06/2005: Robin #139 — 29,645 (- 1.0%)
07/2005: Robin #140 — 28,909 (- 2.5%)
08/2005: Robin #141 — 28,564 (- 1.2%)
09/2005: Robin #142 — 28,822 (+ 0.9%)
10/2005: Robin #143 — 34,141 (+18.5%)
11/2005: Robin #144 — 32,314 (- 5.4%)
12/2005: Robin #145 — 28,532 (-11.7%)
01/2006: Robin #146 — 29,499 (+ 3.4%) — [31,851]
02/2006: Robin #147 — 32,120 (+ 8.9%)
03/2006: Robin #148 — 36,717 (+14.3%) — [42,442]
04/2006: Robin #149 — 37,173 (+ 1.2%)
05/2006: Robin #150 — 41,417 (+11.4%)
06/2006: Robin #151 — 38,921 (- 6.0%)
—————-
6 months: +36.4%
1 year : +31.3%
2 years : – 4.5%

Most of the token sales increase for May’s “anniversary” issue disappears, as usual. Allowing for that, however, Robin is still on a climb compared to its sales in April, which is a very good sign.

(55) BLUE BEETLE
03/2006: Blue Beetle #1 — 50,678 — [69,752]
04/2006: Blue Beetle #2 — 43,770 (-13.6%) — [50,190]
05/2006: Blue Beetle #3 — 41,711 (- 4.7%)
06/2006: Blue Beetle #4 — 38,622 (- 7.4%)

This drop is rather disappointing, on the other hand, following the book’s promising performance during the previous three months.

(57) GREEN ARROW
06/2003: Green Arrow #27 — 47,113
06/2004: Green Arrow #39 — 33,324
———————————-
06/2005: Green Arrow #51 — 31,346 (-10.2%)
07/2005: Green Arrow #52 — 35,656 (+13.8%)
08/2005: Green Arrow #53 — 32,474 (- 8.9%)
09/2005: Green Arrow #54 — 34,331 (+ 5.7%)
10/2005: Green Arrow #55 — 32,804 (- 4.5%)
11/2005: Green Arrow #56 — 32,670 (- 0.4%)
12/2005: Green Arrow #57 — 31,778 (- 2.7%)
01/2006: Green Arrow #58 — 30,990 (- 2.5%)
02/2006: Green Arrow #59 — 31,250 (+ 0.8%)
03/2006: Green Arrow #60 — 37,946 (+21.4%) — [43,045]
04/2006: Green Arrow #61 — 35,993 (- 5.2%) — [40,621]
05/2006: Green Arrow #62 — 39,185 (+ 8.9%)
06/2006: Green Arrow #63 — 37,803 (- 3.5%)
—————-
6 months: +19.0%
1 year : +20.6%
2 years : +13.4%

The numbers are still respectably ahead of pre-“One Year Later” levels.

(59) CHECKMATE
04/2006: Checkmate #1 — 49,156 — [55,375]
05/2006: Checkmate #2 — 41,773 (-15.5%)
06/2006: Checkmate #3 — 37,551 (-10.1%)

There’s another Infinite Crisis spin-off which is dropping rather more quickly than they might have liked.

Considering that they’ve still got a whole bunch more of those spin-offs in the pipeline for the next few months (see DCU: Brave New World), DC have to be worried by this trend.

(62) JSA: CLASSIFIED
07/2005: JSA: Classified #1 — 58,296 — [86,498]
08/2005: JSA: Classified #2 — 46,039 (-21.0%) — [67,358]
09/2005: JSA: Classified #3 — 54,932 (+19.3%) — [63,922]
10/2005: JSA: Classified #4 — 55,903 (+ 1.8%) — [63,579]
11/2005: JSA: Classified #5 — 47,380 (-15.3%)
12/2005: JSA: Classified #6 — 45,317 (- 4.4%)
01/2006: JSA: Classified #7 — 42,857 (- 5.4%)
02/2006: JSA: Classified #8 — 39,656 (- 7.5%)
02/2006: JSA: Classified #9 — 39,104 (- 1.4%)
03/2006: JSA: Classified #10 — 41,332 (+ 5.7%)
04/2006: JSA: Classified #11 — 37,815 (- 8.5%)
05/2006: JSA: Classified #12 — 37,446 (- 1.0%)
06/2006: JSA: Classified #13 — 36,066 (- 3.7%)
—————-
6 months: -33.7%

The book is continuing its downward slide.

(66/68) JLA: CLASSIFIED
06/2005: JLA: Classified #8 — 43,504 (- 5.0%)
06/2005: JLA: Classified #9 — 42,798 (- 1.6%)
07/2005: JLA: Classified #10 — 45,039 (+ 5.2%) — [47,814]
08/2005: JLA: Classified #11 — 43,582 (- 3.2%) — [46,056]
09/2005: JLA: Classified #12 — 43,714 (+ 0.3%)
10/2005: JLA: Classified #13 — 43,832 (+ 0.3%)
11/2005: JLA: Classified #14 — 43,469 (- 0.8%)
12/2005: JLA: Classified #15 — 41,951 (- 3.5%)
01/2006: JLA: Classified #16 — 39,336 (- 6.2%)
02/2006: JLA: Classified #17 — 38,014 (- 3.4%)
03/2006: JLA: Classified #18 — 35,873 (- 5.6%)
03/2006: JLA: Classified #19 — 35,300 (- 1.6%)
04/2006: JLA: Classified #20 — 34,039 (- 3.6%)
05/2006: JLA: Classified #21 — 33,800 (- 0.7%)
06/2006: JLA: Classified #22 — 34,023 (+ 0.7%)
06/2006: JLA: Classified #23 — 33,564 (- 1.4%)
—————-
6 months: -19.5%
1 year : -21.7%

As Steve Englehart and Tom Derenick start their bi-weekly four-issue arc, it appears JLA: Classified is settling into an orbit around 33K.

Taking sales of the similarly structured Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight as a point of reference (see below), it’s a perfectly acceptable level for this sort of thing.

(67) BIRDS OF PREY
06/2003: Birds of Prey #56 — 26,802
06/2004: Birds of Prey #68 — 32,034
————————————
06/2005: Birds of Prey #83 — 38,067 (+27.5%)
07/2005: Birds of Prey #84 — 29,982 (-21.2%)
08/2005: Birds of Prey #85 — 32,076 (+ 7.0%)
09/2005: Birds of Prey #86 — 31,270 (- 2.5%)
10/2005: Birds of Prey #87 — 32,084 (+ 2.6%)
11/2005: Birds of Prey #88 — 32,823 (+ 2.3%)
12/2005: Birds of Prey #89 — 30,653 (- 6.6%)
01/2006: Birds of Prey #90 — 30,460 (- 0.6%)
02/2006: Birds of Prey #91 — 29,835 (- 2.1%)
03/2006: Birds of Prey #92 — 36,808 (+23.4%)
04/2006: Birds of Prey #93 — 34,404 (- 6.5%)
05/2006: Birds of Prey #94 — 34,905 (+ 1.5%)
06/2006: Birds of Prey #95 — 33,954 (- 2.7%)
—————-
6 months: +10.8%
1 year : -10.8%
2 years : + 6.0%

Sales are heading back towards the usual level.

(72/75/76/81) SUPERMAN RETURNS PREQUEL
06/2006: Superman Returns Prequel #1 (of 4): Krypton to Earth — 32,936
06/2006: Superman Returns Prequel #2 (of 4): Ma Kent — 30,074 (- 8.7%)
06/2006: Superman Returns Prequel #3 (of 4): Lex Luthor — 30,908 (+ 2.8%)
06/2006: Superman Returns Prequel #4 (of 4): Lois Lane — 26,493 (-14.3%)

These books, retailing at $ 3.99 each, are based on a story outline by Superman Returns director Bryan Singer and screenwriters Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris.

Why there’s a comparatively harsh drop for poor Lois Lane I don’t know, but overall it’s a decent performance for this sort of thing.

(77) CATWOMAN
06/2003: Catwoman #20 — 23,231
06/2004: Catwoman #32 — 24,040
——————————-
06/2005: Catwoman #44 — 21,574 (+ 3.6%)
07/2005: Catwoman #45 — 20,848 (- 3.4%)
08/2005: Catwoman #46 — 20,702 (- 0.7%) — [21,718]
09/2005: Catwoman #47 — 20,699 (- 0.0%)
10/2005: Catwoman #48 — 21,104 (+ 2.0%)
11/2005: Catwoman #49 — 21,257 (+ 0.7%)
12/2005: Catwoman #50 — 24,136 (+13.5%) — [26,170]
01/2006: Catwoman #51 — 22,681 (- 6.0%)
02/2006: Catwoman #52 — 21,954 (- 3.2%)
03/2006: Catwoman #53 — 28,473 (+29.7%) — [34,428]
04/2006: Catwoman #54 — 28,922 (+ 1.6%)
05/2006: Catwoman #55 — 30,184 (+ 4.4%)
06/2006: Catwoman #56 — 28,942 (- 4.1%)
—————-
6 months: +19.9%
1 year : +34.2%
2 years : +20.4%

Still way ahead of pre-“One Year Later” levels.

(78) BATMAN: SECRETS
03/2006: Batman: Secrets #1 (of 5) — 38,316
04/2006: Batman: Secrets #2 (of 5) — 31,867 (-16.8%)
05/2006: Batman: Secrets #3 (of 5) — 30,856 (- 3.2%)
06/2006: Batman: Secrets #4 (of 5) — 28,881 (- 6.4%)

Comparatively steep drops for a limited series.

(80) HAWKGIRL
06/2003: Hawkman #16 — 29,481
06/2004: Hawkman #29 — 27,296
——————————-
06/2005: Hawkman #41 — 21,238 (+ 6.7%)
07/2005: Hawkman #42 — 21,365 (+ 0.6%)
08/2005: Hawkman #43 — 22,010 (+ 3.0%)
09/2005: Hawkman #44 — 22,560 (+ 2.5%)
10/2005: Hawkman #45 — 23,379 (+ 3.6%)
11/2005: Hawkman #46 — 25,329 (+ 8.3%)
12/2005: Hawkman #47 — 24,736 (- 2.3%)
01/2006: Hawkman #48 — 24,259 (- 1.9%)
02/2006: Hawkman #49 — 25,031 (+ 3.2%)
03/2006: Hawkgirl #50 — 34,728 (+38.7%) — [38,135]
04/2006: Hawkgirl #51 — 30,657 (-11.7%)
05/2006: Hawkgirl #52 — 29,898 (- 2.5%)
06/2006: Hawkgirl #53 — 27,786 (- 7.1%)
—————-
6 months: +12.3%
1 year : +30.8%
2 years : + 1.8%

Most of the bump from March is gone, and the numbers are still dropping.

A rather disappointing performance, compared to the other titles which took part in “One Year Later.”

(84) FABLES (Vertigo)
06/2003: Fables #14 — 25,229
06/2004: Fables #26 — 25,553
—————————–
06/2005: Fables #38 — 24,813 (+1.4%)
07/2005: Fables #39 — 24,617 (-0.8%)
08/2005: Fables #40 — 24,952 (+1.4%)
09/2005: Fables #41 — 25,001 (+0.2%)
10/2005: Fables #42 — 24,953 (-0.2%)
11/2005: Fables #43 — 24,659 (-1.2%)
12/2005: Fables #44 — 24,515 (-0.6%)
01/2006: Fables #45 — 24,297 (-0.9%)
02/2006: Fables #46 — 24,134 (-0.7%)
03/2006: Fables #47 — 24,278 (+0.6%)
04/2006: Fables #48 — 24,476 (+0.8%)
05/2006: Fables #49 — 24,444 (-0.1%)
06/2006: Fables #50 — 26,210 (+7.2%)
—————
6 months: +6.9%
1 year : +5.6%
2 years : +2.6%

An obligatory increase for the “anniversary” issue.

(85) Y: THE LAST MAN (Vertigo)
06/2003: Y: The Last Man #12 — 25,966
06/2004: Y: The Last Man #23 — 26,662
————————————–
06/2005: Y: The Last Man #34 — 26,756 (-0.5%)
07/2005: Y: The Last Man #35 — 26,449 (-1.2%)
08/2005: Y: The Last Man #36 — 26,558 (+0.4%)
09/2005: Y: The Last Man #37 — 26,638 (+0.3%)
10/2005: Y: The Last Man #38 — 26,535 (-0.4%)
11/2005: Y: The Last Man #39 — 26,395 (-0.5%)
12/2005: Y: The Last Man #40 — 26,006 (-1.5%)
01/2006: Y: The Last Man #41 — 25,931 (-0.3%)
02/2006: Y: The Last Man #42 — 25,775 (-0.6%)
03/2006: Y: The Last Man #43 — 25,877 (+0.4%)
04/2006: Y: The Last Man #44 — 25,985 (+0.4%)
05/2006: Y: The Last Man #45 — 25,866 (-0.5%)
06/2006: Y: The Last Man #46 — 25,881 (+0.1%)
—————
6 months: -0.5%
1 year : -3.3%
2 years : -2.9%

Perfectly solid and consistent numbers, as usual.

(89) BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT
06/2003: Legends of the Dark Knight #168 — 26,009
06/2004: Legends of the Dark Knight #180 — 24,753
————————————————–
06/2005: Legends of the Dark Knight #192 — 26,211 (+ 1.1%)
07/2005: Legends of the Dark Knight #193 — 25,755 (- 1.7%)
08/2005: Legends of the Dark Knight #194 — 25,290 (- 1.8%)
09/2005: Legends of the Dark Knight #195 — 25,206 (- 0.3%)
10/2005: Legends of the Dark Knight #196 — 24,932 (- 1.1%)
11/2005: Legends of the Dark Knight #197 — 24,478 (- 1.8%)
12/2005: Legends of the Dark Knight #198 — 24,010 (- 1.9%)
01/2006: Legends of the Dark Knight #199 — 23,461 (- 2.3%)
02/2006: Legends of the Dark Knight #200 — 28,984 (+23.5%)
03/2006: Legends of the Dark Knight #201 — 24,516 (-15.4%)
03/2006: Legends of the Dark Knight #202 — 23,810 (- 2.9%)
04/2006: Legends of the Dark Knight #203 — 24,775 (+ 4.1%)
04/2006: Legends of the Dark Knight #204 — 24,155 (- 2.5%)
05/2006: Legends of the Dark Knight #205 — 24,421 (+ 1.1%)
05/2006: Legends of the Dark Knight #206 — 24,228 (- 0.8%)
06/2006: Legends of the Dark Knight #207 — 24,457 (+ 1.0%)
—————
6 months: +1.9%
1 year : -6.7%
2 years : -1.2%

Ditto.

(94) FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MAN
06/2004: Firestorm #2 — 35,398
————————————————-
06/2005: Firestorm #14 — 18,375 (- 2.8%)
07/2005: Firestorm #15 — 17,687 (- 3.7%)
08/2005: Firestorm #16 — 17,688 (+ 0.0%)
09/2005: Firestorm #17 — 22,553 (+27.5%)
10/2005: Firestorm #18 — 23,246 (+ 3.1%)
11/2005: Firestorm #19 — 22,979 (- 1.2%)
12/2005: Firestorm #20 — 23,473 (+ 2.2%)
01/2006: Firestorm #21 — 22,500 (- 4.2%)
02/2006: Firestorm #22 — 21,104 (- 6.2%)
03/2006: Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #23 — 25,109 (+19.0%)
04/2006: Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #24 — 23,704 (- 5.6%)
05/2006: Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #25 — 23,301 (- 1.7%)
06/2006: Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #26 — 21,833 (- 6.3%)
—————-
6 months: – 7.0%
1 year : +18.8%
2 years : -38.3%

Declining, but still ahead of what it used to shift prior to “Infinite Crisis.”

(96) JONAH HEX
11/2005: Jonah Hex #1 — 33,771
12/2005: Jonah Hex #2 — 26,227 (-22.3%)
01/2006: Jonah Hex #3 — 24,671 (- 5.9%)
02/2006: Jonah Hex #4 — 23,569 (- 4.5%)
03/2006: Jonah Hex #5 — 23,496 (- 0.3%)
04/2006: Jonah Hex #6 — 22,763 (- 3.1%)
05/2006: Jonah Hex #7 — 21,910 (- 3.8%)
06/2006: Jonah Hex #8 — 21,006 (- 4.1%)
—————-
6 months: -19.9%

The decline accelerates.

(98) EX MACHINA SPECIAL (WildStorm)
04/2006: Ex Machina Special #1 (of 2) — 21,356
05/2006: —
06/2006: Ex Machina Special #2 (of 2) — 20,677 (-3.2%)

Outselling the mother title, if only narrowly, with both issues now.

Which, really, is quite unexpected for a spin-off; perhaps readers who usually follow Ex Machina via the paperback collections made an exception here. If that’s the case, of course, they’re going to be exasperated to find out that Ex Machina Special will be collected in Ex Machina, Vol. 4: March to War this October.

(100) CAPTAIN ATOM: ARMAGEDDON (WildStorm)
10/2005: Captain Atom: Armageddon #1 (of 9) — 40,662
11/2005: Captain Atom: Armageddon #2 (of 9) — 26,402 (-35.1%)
12/2005: Captain Atom: Armageddon #3 (of 9) — 23,480 (-11.1%)
01/2006: Captain Atom: Armageddon #4 (of 9) — 21,327 (- 9.2%)
02/2006: Captain Atom: Armageddon #5 (of 9) — 20,532 (- 3.7%)
03/2006: Captain Atom: Armageddon #6 (of 9) — 20,195 (- 1.6%)
04/2006: Captain Atom: Armageddon #7 (of 9) — 19,942 (- 1.3%)
05/2006: Captain Atom: Armageddon #8 (of 9) — 19,755 (- 0.9%)
06/2006: Captain Atom: Armageddon #9 (of 9) — 20,279 (+ 2.7%)
—————-
6 months: -12.9%

Concluding with perfectly good numbers.

The slight increase for the final issue may be owed to Jim Lee drawing a few pages — a fact the publisher shared not in the solicitations, but in a press release handed out shortly before the issue shipped.

(101) EX MACHINA (WildStorm)
06/2004: Ex Machina #1 — 28,549
———————————
06/2005: Ex Machina #12 — 22,004 (+ 0.5%)
07/2005: Ex Machina #13 — 21,666 (- 1.5%)
08/2005: Ex Machina #14 — 21,134 (- 2.5%)
09/2005: —
10/2005: Ex Machina #15 — 21,748 (+ 2.9%)
11/2005: Ex Machina #16 — 21,250 (- 2.3%)
12/2005: —
01/2006: Ex Machina #17 — 21,196 (- 0.3%)
02/2006: —
03/2006: Ex Machina #18 — 21,081 (- 0.5%)
04/2006: Ex Machina #19 — 20,358 (- 3.4%)
05/2006: Ex Machina #20 — 20,589 (+ 1.1%)
06/2006: Ex Machina #21 — 20,195 (- 1.9%)
—————-
6 months: n.a.
1 year : – 8.2%
2 years : -29.3%

Continuing a slow decline.

(103) BATMAN: JOURNEY INTO KNIGHT
08/2005: Batman: Journey Into Knight #1 (of 12) — 39,565
09/2005: Batman: Journey Into Knight #2 (of 12) — 30,900 (-21.9%)
10/2005: Batman: Journey Into Knight #3 (of 12) — 28,214 (- 8.7%)
11/2005: Batman: Journey Into Knight #4 (of 12) — 26,876 (- 4.7%)
12/2005: Batman: Journey Into Knight #5 (of 12) — 23,227 (-13.6%)
01/2006: Batman: Journey Into Knight #6 (of 12) — 21,670 (- 6.7%)
02/2006: Batman: Journey Into Knight #7 (of 12) — 20,698 (- 4.5%)
03/2006: Batman: Journey Into Knight #8 (of 12) — 19,978 (- 3.5%)
04/2006: —
05/2006: Batman: Journey Into Knight #9 (of 12) — 19,608 (- 1.9%)
06/2006: Batman: Journey Into Knight #10 (of 12) — 19,537 (- 0.4%)
—————-
6 months: -15.9%

Bottoming out.

(104) RED SONJA/CLAW: DEVIL’S HANDS (WildStorm)
03/2006: Red Sonja/Claw: Devil’s Hands #1 (of 4) — 33,241
04/2006: Red Sonja/Claw: Devil’s Hands #2 (of 4) — 28,266 (-15.0%)
05/2006: Red Sonja/Claw: Devil’s Hands #3 (of 4) — 21,887 (-22.6%)
06/2006: Red Sonja/Claw: Devil’s Hands #4 (of 4) — 19,445 (-11.2%)

The variant Jim Lee cover edition released of every issue doesn’t prevent sales from tanking horribly.

(105) SGT. ROCK: THE PROPHECY
01/2006: Sgt. Rock: The Prophecy #1 (of 6) — 32,793 — [35,557]
02/2006: Sgt. Rock: The Prophecy #2 (of 6) — 24,333 (-25.8%)
03/2006: Sgt. Rock: The Prophecy #3 (of 6) — 23,510 (- 3.4%)
04/2006: Sgt. Rock: The Prophecy #4 (of 6) — 21,838 (- 7.1%)
05/2006: Sgt. Rock: The Prophecy #5 (of 6) — 20,543 (- 5.9%)
06/2006: Sgt. Rock: The Prophecy #6 (of 6) — 19,177 (- 6.7%)

The first issue was released in three different cover editions, hence the big initial drop. Other than that, these have been perfectly good numbers, considering it’s a sixties nostalgia war comic.

(109) MAN-BAT
04/2006: Man-Bat #1 (of 5) — 27,137
05/2006: Man-Bat #2 (of 5) — 22,273 (-17.9%)
06/2006: Man-Bat #3 (of 5) — 18,282 (-17.9%)

Erm, in a way it’s consistent, I guess. These numbers aren’t encouraging, obviously.

(117) WARLORD
02/2006: Warlord #1 — 27,443
03/2006: Warlord #2 — 21,570 (-21.4%)
04/2006: Warlord #3 — 19,993 (- 7.3%)
05/2006: Warlord #4 — 18,480 (- 7.6%)
06/2006: Warlord #5 — 16,070 (-13.0%)

Another book which finds itself in a free-fall after debuting with perfectly good numbers. This is closer to the level of sales you’d have expected from the low-profile revamp of a seventies science fiction title, at any rate.

(119) MANHUNTER
06/2005: Manhunter #11 — 14,040 (+ 2.2%)
07/2005: Manhunter #12 — 13,591 (- 3.2%)
08/2005: Manhunter #13 — 22,110 (+62.7%)
09/2005: Manhunter #14 — 17,162 (-22.4%)
10/2005: Manhunter #15 — 14,345 (-16.4%)
11/2005: Manhunter #16 — 14,257 (- 0.6%)
12/2005: Manhunter #17 — 13,615 (- 4.5%)
01/2006: Manhunter #18 — 13,212 (- 3.0%)
02/2006: Manhunter #19 — 12,970 (- 1.8%)
03/2006: Manhunter #20 — 16,090 (+24.1%)
04/2006: Manhunter #21 — 14,950 (- 7.1%)
05/2006: Manhunter #22 — 15,668 (+ 4.8%)
06/2006: Manhunter #23 — 15,542 (- 0.8%)
—————-
6 months: +14.2%
1 year : +10.7%

Leveling out, it appears.

(121) DMZ (Vertigo)
11/2005: DMZ #1 — 18,705
12/2005: DMZ #2 — 14,840 (-20.7%)
01/2006: DMZ #3 — 14,503 (- 2.3%)
02/2006: DMZ #4 — 14,778 (+ 1.9%)
03/2006: DMZ #5 — 14,952 (+ 1.2%)
04/2006: DMZ #6 — 15,212 (+ 1.7%)
05/2006: DMZ #7 — 15,026 (- 1.2%)
06/2006: DMZ #8 — 14,999 (- 0.2%)
—————
6 months: +1.1%

Stabilizing around 15,000.

These aren’t stellar numbers, but it’s worth mentioning that they’re still the best Vertigo has to offer currently, aside from Fables and Y: The Last Man.

(122) LOVELESS (Vertigo)
10/2005: Loveless #1 — 22,483
11/2005: Loveless #2 — 17,667 (-21.4%)
12/2005: Loveless #3 — 16,280 (- 7.9%) — [17,584]
01/2006: —
02/2006: Loveless #4 — 16,765 (+ 3.0%)
03/2006: Loveless #5 — 16,704 (- 0.4%)
04/2006: Loveless #6 — 16,823 (+ 0.7%)
05/2006: Loveless #7 — 15,961 (- 5.1%)
06/2006: Loveless #8 — 14,915 (- 6.6%)
—————
6 months: -8.4%

These sales don’t look good at all, on the other hand.

(123) CLAW THE UNCONQUERED (WildStorm)
06/2006: Claw the Unconquered #1 — 14,785

After Skye Runner, another foray into the fantasy genre is met with indifference and tanks right out of the gate. Unlike Skye Runner, though, Claw the Unconquered was meant to be ongoing. I’m skeptical.

(124) BITE CLUB: VAMPIRE CRIME UNIT (Vertigo)
06/2004: Bite Club #3 (of 6) — 20,000
———————————————————-
04/2006: Bite Club: Vampire Crime Unit #1 (of 6) — 17,195
05/2006: Bite Club: Vampire Crime Unit #2 (of 6) — 15,652 (-9.0%)
06/2006: Bite Club: Vampire Crime Unit #3 (of 6) — 14,777 (-5.6%)
—————-
2 years : -26.1%

Average limited series drops.

(127) SOLO
06/2005: Solo #5 — 14,262 (+ 5.1%)
07/2005: —
08/2005: Solo #6 — 11,752 (-17.6%)
09/2005: —
10/2005: Solo #7 — 14,961 (+27.3%) — [17,108]
11/2005: —
12/2005: Solo #8 — 15,264 (+ 2.0%)
01/2006: —
02/2006: Solo #9 — 12,020 (-21.3%)
03/2006: —
04/2006: Solo #10 — 11,414 (- 5.0%)
05/2006: —
06/2006: Solo #11 — 14,119 (+23.7%)
—————-
6 months: – 7.5%
1 year : – 1.0%

The Sergio Aragonés issue gets a decent boost. It’s too little, too late, however; Solo is canceled with issue #12.

(128) AMERICAN VIRGIN (Vertigo)
03/2006: American Virgin #1 — 19,455
04/2006: American Virgin #2 — 15,780 (-18.9%)
05/2006: American Virgin #3 — 14,764 (- 6.4%)
06/2006: American Virgin #4 — 14,081 (- 4.6%)

Average drops.

(129) HELLBLAZER (Vertigo)
06/2003: Hellblazer #185 — 16,555
06/2004: Hellblazer #197 — 15,045
———————————-
06/2005: Hellblazer #209 — 15,149 (- 1.8%)
07/2005: Hellblazer #210 — 14,801 (- 2.3%)
08/2005: Hellblazer #211 — 14,727 (- 0.5%)
09/2005: Hellblazer #212 — 14,714 (- 0.1%)
10/2005: Hellblazer #213 — 14,688 (- 0.2%)
11/2005: Hellblazer #214 — 14,766 (+ 0.5%)
12/2005: Hellblazer #215 — 14,405 (- 2.5%)
01/2006: Hellblazer #216 — 14,590 (+ 1.3%)
02/2006: Hellblazer #217 — 14,306 (- 2.0%)
03/2006: Hellblazer #218 — 14,129 (- 1.2%)
04/2006: Hellblazer #219 — 14,206 (+ 0.6%)
05/2006: Hellblazer #220 — 14,161 (- 0.3%)
06/2006: Hellblazer #221 — 13,973 (- 1.3%)
—————
6 months: -3.0%
1 year : -7.8%
2 years : -7.1%

Standard decline.

(130) 100 BULLETS (Vertigo)
06/2003: 100 Bullets #45 — 17,207
06/2004: 100 Bullets #50 — 18,452
———————————-
06/2005: —
07/2005: 100 Bullets #62 — 14,867 (- 0.4%)
08/2005: 100 Bullets #63 — 14,793 (- 0.5%)
09/2005: 100 Bullets #64 — 14,708 (- 0.6%)
10/2005: 100 Bullets #65 — 14,744 (+ 0.3%)
11/2005: 100 Bullets #66 — 14,425 (- 2.2%)
12/2005: 100 Bullets #67 — 14,165 (- 1.8%)
01/2006: 100 Bullets #68 — 13,879 (- 2.0%)
02/2006: 100 Bullets #69 — 13,708 (- 1.2%)
03/2006: 100 Bullets #70 — 13,591 (- 0.9%)
04/2006: 100 Bullets #71 — 13,514 (- 0.6%)
05/2006: 100 Bullets #72 — 13,489 (- 0.2%)
06/2006: 100 Bullets #73 — 13,407 (- 0.6%)
—————-
6 months: – 5.4%
1 year : n.a.
2 years : -27.3%

Standard attrition.

(136) BLOOD OF THE DEMON
06/2005: Blood of the Demon #4 — 16,311 (-10.1%)
07/2005: Blood of the Demon #5 — 16,581 (+ 1.7%)
08/2005: Blood of the Demon #6 — 17,416 (+ 5.0%)
09/2005: Blood of the Demon #7 — 19,248 (+10.5%)
10/2005: Blood of the Demon #8 — 14,457 (-24.9%)
11/2005: Blood of the Demon #9 — 13,971 (- 3.4%)
12/2005: Blood of the Demon #10 — 12,813 (- 8.3%)
01/2006: Blood of the Demon #11 — 11,883 (- 7.3%)
02/2006: Blood of the Demon #12 — 11,362 (- 4.4%)
03/2006: Blood of the Demon #13 — 14,087 (+24.0%)
04/2006: Blood of the Demon #14 — 13,091 (- 7.1%)
05/2006: Blood of the Demon #15 — 13,327 (+ 1.8%)
06/2006: Blood of the Demon #16 — 12,665 (- 5.0%)
—————-
6 months: – 1.2%
1 year : -22.4%

Canceled with issue #17.

(138) TESTAMENT (Vertigo)
12/2005: Testament #1 — 16,893 — [18,166]
01/2006: Testament #2 — 13,518 (-20.0%)
02/2006: Testament #3 — 12,831 (- 5.1%)
03/2006: Testament #4 — 13,074 (+ 1.9%)
04/2006: Testament #5 — 12,770 (- 2.3%)
05/2006: Testament #6 — 12,361 (- 3.2%)
06/2006: Testament #7 — 11,770 (- 4.8%)
—————-
6 months: -30.3%

Still losing readers at an unhealthy rate.

(139) MANIFEST ETERNITY (WildStorm)
06/2006: Manifest Eternity #1 — 11,387

A new, supposedly ongoing science fiction title by Scott Lobdell and Dustin Nguyen.

Given the creators’ track record, these are surprisingly awful sales. Manifest Eternity probably won’t be long for this world.

(142) LUCIFER (Vertigo)
06/2003: Lucifer #39 — 13,692
06/2004: Lucifer #51 — 13,136
——————————
06/2005: Lucifer #63 — 11,694 (-11.7%)
07/2005: Lucifer #64 — 11,418 (- 2.4%)
08/2005: Lucifer #65 — 11,347 (- 0.6%)
09/2005: Lucifer #66 — 11,725 (+ 3.3%)
10/2005: Lucifer #67 — 11,168 (- 4.8%)
11/2005: Lucifer #68 — 11,036 (- 1.2%)
12/2005: Lucifer #69 — 10,881 (- 1.4%)
01/2006: Lucifer #70 — 10,779 (- 0.9%)
02/2006: Lucifer #71 — 10,578 (- 1.9%)
03/2006: Lucifer #72 — 10,436 (- 1.3%)
04/2006: Lucifer #73 — 10,409 (- 0.3%)
05/2006: Lucifer #74 — 10,399 (- 0.1%)
06/2006: Lucifer #75 — 11,012 (+ 5.9%)
—————-
6 months: + 1.2%
1 year : – 5.8%
2 years : -16.2%

Concluding with a slight increase, and putting the Sandman franchise to rest for the time being, where monthly titles are concerned.

It’s served Vertigo well, certainly, but sales have suggested that it’s probably time to give it a rest for a while now.

(143) THE EXTERMINATORS (Vertigo)
01/2006: The Exterminators #1 — 16,187
02/2006: The Exterminators #2 — 12,459 (-23.0%)
03/2006: The Exterminators #3 — 11,678 (- 6.3%)
04/2006: The Exterminators #4 — 11,342 (- 2.9%)
05/2006: The Exterminators #5 — 10,978 (- 3.2%)
06/2006: The Exterminators #6 — 11,004 (+ 0.2%)

Stabilizing. Given the amazing degree of patience they’ve shown with Swamp Thing (see below), perhaps there’s still hope.

(165) TEEN TITANS GO (Johnny DC)
06/2004: Teen Titans Go #8 — 14,879
————————————-
06/2005: Teen Titans Go #20 — 14,114 (- 1.6%)
07/2005: Teen Titans Go #21 — 13,440 (- 4.8%)
08/2005: Teen Titans Go #22 — 13,166 (- 2.0%)
09/2005: Teen Titans Go #23 — 12,933 (- 1.8%)
10/2005: Teen Titans Go #24 — 12,994 (+ 0.5%)
11/2005: Teen Titans Go #25 — 12,598 (- 3.1%)
12/2005: Teen Titans Go #26 — 11,790 (- 6.4%)
01/2006: Teen Titans Go #27 — 11,609 (- 1.5%)
02/2006: Teen Titans Go #28 — 11,568 (- 0.4%)
03/2006: Teen Titans Go #29 — 11,260 (- 2.7%)
04/2006: Teen Titans Go #30 — 11,225 (- 0.3%)
05/2006: Teen Titans Go #31 — 11,140 (- 0.8%)
06/2006: Teen Titans Go #32 — 10,736 (- 3.6%)
—————-
6 months: – 8.9%
1 year : -23.9%

(147) JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED (Johnny DC)
06/2003: Justice League Adventures #20 — 14,060
06/2004: Justice League Adventures #32 — 12,128
————————————————
06/2005: Justice League Unlimited #10 — 11,634 (- 2.0%)
07/2005: Justice League Unlimited #11 — 11,340 (- 2.5%)
08/2005: Justice League Unlimited #12 — 11,181 (- 1.4%)
09/2005: Justice League Unlimited #13 — 10,914 (- 2.4%)
10/2005: Justice League Unlimited #14 — 10,706 (- 1.9%)
11/2005: Justice League Unlimited #15 — 10,625 (- 0.8%)
12/2005: Justice League Unlimited #16 — 10,774 (+ 1.4%)
01/2006: Justice League Unlimited #17 — 10,199 (- 5.3%)
02/2006: Justice League Unlimited #18 — 10,206 (+ 0.1%)
03/2006: Justice League Unlimited #19 — 10,534 (+ 3.2%)
04/2006: Justice League Unlimited #20 — 10,620 (+ 0.8%)
05/2006: Justice League Unlimited #21 — 10,430 (- 1.8%)
06/2006: Justice League Unlimited #22 — 10,430 ( n.a.)
—————-
6 months: – 3.2%
1 year : -10.5%
2 years : -14.0%

See disclaimers regarding the Johnny DC titles.

(157) THE AMERICAN WAY (WildStorm)
02/2006: The American Way #1 (of 8) — 15,216
03/2006: The American Way #2 (of 8) — 11,937 (-21.6%)
04/2006: The American Way #3 (of 8) — 10,503 (-12.0%)
05/2006: The American Way #4 (of 8) — 9,580 (- 8.8%)
06/2006: The American Way #5 (of 8) — 8,831 (- 7.8%)

Disastrous numbers.

(159) BATMAN STRIKES! (Johnny DC)
06/2003: Batman Adventures #3 — 15,534
06/2004: Batman Adventures #15 — 12,042
—————————————-
06/2005: Batman Strikes! #10 — 10,048 (- 3.2%)
07/2005: Batman Strikes! #11 — 9,796 (- 2.5%)
08/2005: Batman Strikes! #12 — 9,528 (- 2.7%)
09/2005: Batman Strikes! #13 — 9,284 (- 2.6%)
10/2005: Batman Strikes! #14 — 8,950 (- 3.6%)
11/2005: Batman Strikes! #15 — 8,840 (- 1.2%)
12/2005: Batman Strikes! #16 — 8,462 (- 4.3%)
01/2006: Batman Strikes! #17 — 8,172 (- 3.4%)
02/2006: Batman Strikes! #18 — 8,626 (+ 5.6%)
03/2006: Batman Strikes! #19 — 8,244 (- 4.4%)
04/2006: Batman Strikes! #20 — 8,331 (+ 1.1%)
05/2006: Batman Strikes! #21 — 8,467 (+ 1.6%)
06/2006: Batman Strikes! #22 — 8,104 (- 4.3%)
—————-
6 months: – 4.2%
1 year : -19.4%
2 years : -32.7%

(160) HARD TIME: SEASON TWO
06/2004: Hard Time #5 — 9,910
——————————————-
12/2005: Hard Time: Season Two #1 — 11,658 (+49.6%)
01/2006: Hard Time: Season Two #2 — 9,625 (-17.4%)
02/2006: Hard Time: Season Two #3 — 8,997 (- 6.5%)
03/2006: Hard Time: Season Two #4 — 8,635 (- 4.0%)
04/2006: Hard Time: Season Two #5 — 8,331 (- 3.5%)
05/2006: Hard Time: Season Two #6 — 8,104 (- 2.7%)
06/2006: Hard Time: Season Two #7 — 8,043 (- 0.8%)
—————-
6 months: -31.0%
2 years : -18.8%

Canceled.

(162) ELRIC: MAKING OF A SORCERER
09/2004: Elric: Making of a Sorcerer #1 (of 4) — 14,126
10/2004: —
11/2004: —
12/2004: Elric: Making of a Sorcerer #2 (of 4) — 10,207 (-27.7%)
——————————————————–
06/2006: Elric: Making of a Sorcerer #3 (of 4) — 8,027 (-21.4%)

It’s hard to tell whether the book’s abysmal performance is connected with the 18-month delay, at this stage.

This is probably going to sell better in bookstores, to be fair, but it’s still a thoroughly disappointing performance for a book by Michael Moorcock and Walter Simonson.

(164) SWAMP THING (Vertigo)
06/2004: Swamp Thing #4 — 23,010
———————————-
06/2005: Swamp Thing #16 — 10,962 (- 5.0%)
07/2005: Swamp Thing #17 — 10,345 (- 5.6%)
08/2005: Swamp Thing #18 — 10,112 (- 2.3%)
09/2005: Swamp Thing #19 — 9,726 (- 3.8%)
10/2005: Swamp Thing #20 — 10,209 (+ 5.0%)
11/2005: Swamp Thing #21 — 9,203 (- 9.9%)
12/2005: Swamp Thing #22 — 8,892 (- 3.7%)
01/2006: Swamp Thing #23 — 8,527 (- 4.1%)
02/2006: Swamp Thing #24 — 8,379 (- 1.7%)
03/2006: Swamp Thing #25 — 8,076 (- 3.6%)
04/2006: Swamp Thing #26 — 7,959 (- 1.5%)
05/2006: Swamp Thing #27 — 7,795 (- 2.1%)
06/2006: Swamp Thing #28 — 7,553 (- 3.1%)
—————-
6 months: -15.1%
1 year : -31.1%
2 years : -67.2%

Canceled with issue #29.

(190) THUNDERBOLT JAXON (WildStorm)
02/2006: Thunderbolt Jaxon #1 (of 5) — 11,475
03/2006: Thunderbolt Jaxon #2 (of 5) — 8,726 (-24.0%)
04/2006: Thunderbolt Jaxon #3 (of 5) — 6,239 (-28.5%)
05/2006: Thunderbolt Jaxon #4 (of 5) — 5,408 (-13.3%)
06/2006: Thunderbolt Jaxon #5 (of 5) — 4,852 (-10.3%)

Awful sales.

(197) SCOOBY DOO (Johnny DC)
06/2003: Scooby Doo #73 — 5,925
06/2004: Scooby Doo #85 — 5,733
———————————
06/2005: Scooby Doo #97 — 4,819 (+ 2.1%)
07/2005: Scooby Doo #98 — 4,666 (- 3.2%)
08/2005: Scooby Doo #99 — 4,654 (- 0.3%)
09/2005: Scooby Doo #100 — 5,239 (+12.6%)
10/2005: Scooby Doo #101 — 4,604 (-12.1%)
11/2005: Scooby Doo #102 — 4,587 (- 0.4%)
12/2005: Scooby Doo #103 — 4,490 (- 2.1%)
01/2006: Scooby Doo #104 — 4,454 (- 0.8%)
02/2006: Scooby Doo #105 — 4,326 (- 2.9%)
03/2006: Scooby Doo #106 — 4,419 (+ 2.2%)
04/2006: Scooby Doo #107 — 4,359 (- 1.4%)
05/2006: Scooby Doo #108 — 4,496 (+ 3.1%)
06/2006: Scooby Doo #109 — 4,423 (- 1.6%)
—————-
6 months: – 1.5%
1 year : – 8.2%
2 years : -22.9%

(223) LOONEY TUNES (Johnny DC)
06/2003: Looney Tunes #103 — 3,543
06/2004: Looney Tunes #115 — 3,335
———————————–
06/2005: Looney Tunes #127 — 2,991 (+ 4.9%)
07/2005: Looney Tunes #128 — 2,722 (- 9.0%)
08/2005: Looney Tunes #129 — 2,736 (- 0.5%)
09/2005: Looney Tunes #130 — 2,659 (- 2.8%)
10/2005: Looney Tunes #131 — 2,673 (+ 0.5%)
11/2005: Looney Tunes #132 — 2,747 (+ 2.8%)
12/2005: Looney Tunes #133 — 2,633 (- 4.2%)
01/2006: Looney Tunes #134 — 2,601 (- 1.2%)
02/2006: Looney Tunes #135 — 2,631 (+ 1.2%)
03/2006: Looney Tunes #136 — 2,792 (+ 6.1%)
04/2006: Looney Tunes #137 — 2,558 (- 8.4%)
05/2006: Looney Tunes #138 — 2,774 (+ 8.4%)
06/2006: Looney Tunes #139 — 2,694 (- 2.9%)
—————-
6 months: + 2.3%
1 year : – 9.9%
2 years : -19.2%

(248) PRINCESS NATASHA (Johnny DC)
06/2006: Princess Natasha #1 (of 4) — 2,189

(253) CARTOON NETWORK BLOCK PARTY (Johnny DC)
06/2003: Cartoon Cartoons #19 — 2,594
06/2004: Cartoon Cartoons #31 — 2,377
————————————————-
06/2005: Cartoon Network Block Party #10 — ?????
07/2005: Cartoon Network Block Party #11 — 1,871
08/2005: Cartoon Network Block Party #12 — ?????
09/2005: Cartoon Network Block Party #13 — 1,887
10/2005: Cartoon Network Block Party #14 — 1,805 (- 4.4%)
11/2005: Cartoon Network Block Party #15 — 1,757 (- 2.7%)
12/2005: Cartoon Network Block Party #16 — 1,781 (+ 1.4%)
01/2006: Cartoon Network Block Party #17 — 1,797 (+ 0.9%)
02/2006: Cartoon Network Block Party #18 — 1,728 (- 3.8%)
03/2006: Cartoon Network Block Party #19 — ?????
04/2006: Cartoon Network Block Party #20 — 2,055
05/2006: Cartoon Network Block Party #21 — ?????
06/2006: Cartoon Network Block Party #22 — 1,913
—————-
6 months: + 7.4%
1 year : n.a.
2 years : -19.5%

(258) CARTOON NETWORK ACTION PACK (Johnny DC)
05/2006: Cartoon Network Action Pack #1 — ?????
06/2006: Cartoon Network Action Pack #2 — 1,844

And another bunch of Johnny DC titles. See disclaimers.

RE-ORDERS:
(140) 11,256 — Superman/Batman #26
(202) 3,857 — 52 Week 4
(219) 2,931 — 52 Week 3
(225) 2,640 — 52 Week 1
(235) 2,464 — Secret Six #1
(238) 2,380 — Action Comics #839
(240) 2,311 — 52 Week 2
(256) 1,883 — Ion #2
(266) 1,714 — Justice #5
(270) 1,653 — Justice #4
(273) 1,553 — All-Star Superman #3
(284) 1,423 — Infinite Crisis #6
(288) 1,393 — Infinite Crisis #4
(298) 1,178 — Batman #653

Just the usual suspects.

The most interesting part about DC’s June re-orders are the issues which didn’t make the chart again; see the Crisis Aftermath books, Shadowpact, Checkmate or Blue Beetle.

Average Sales Per Title
(not counting reprints, re-orders, Johnny DC titles and magazines)

DC COMICS
06/2003: 25,817
06/2004: 30,242
—————
06/2005: 32,001 (- 8.1%)
07/2005: 36,375 (+13.7%)
08/2005: 35,930 (- 1.2%)
09/2005: 34,972 (- 2.7%)
10/2005: 36,627 (+ 4.7%)
11/2005: 32,971 (-10.0%)
12/2005: 36,147 (+ 9.6%)
01/2006: 33,019 (- 8.7%)
02/2006: 32,292 (- 2.2%)
03/2006: 36,077 (+11.7%)
04/2006: 33,566 (- 7.0%)
05/2006: 42,860 (+27.7%)
06/2006: 40,778 (- 4.9%)
—————-
6 months: +12.8%
1 year : +27.4%
2 years : +34.8%
3 years : +58.0%

DC UNIVERSE
06/2003: 29,489
06/2004: 35,815
—————
06/2005: 39,888 (- 8.3%)
07/2005: 45,385 (+13.8%)
08/2005: 46,527 (+ 2.5%)
09/2005: 44,823 (- 3.7%)
10/2005: 47,021 (+ 4.9%)
11/2005: 42,342 (-10.0%)
12/2005: 44,993 (+ 6.3%)
01/2006: 40,118 (-10.3%)
02/2006: 40,823 (+ 1.8%)
03/2006: 44,854 (+ 9.9%)
04/2006: 45,129 (+ 0.6%)
05/2006: 56,982 (+26.3%)
06/2006: 51,088 (-10.3%)
—————-
6 months: +13.6%
1 year : +28.1%
2 years : +42.6%
3 years : +73.2%

May’s sales juggernauts Infinite Crisis, All-Star Batman and Supergirl were replaced by DCU: Brave New World, Wonder Woman, Flash: The Fastest Man Alive, All-Star Superman and Justice in June, while Green Lantern Corps stood in for the missing Green Lantern and Teen Titans. Also, Superman/Batman went from selling two issues selling in excess of 100,000 units in May to one issue selling just below 100,000 units in June. Apart from these shifts in the publisher’s schedule, the boost the “Infinite Crisis” and “One Year Later” events provided to their main line is slowly beginning to wear off.

On balance, this means that DC Comics’ average per-title sales are slightly down from May, but remain at a very high level, compared to those of recent months and years.

VERTIGO
06/2003: 16,414
06/2004: 17,378
—————
06/2005: 14,165 (- 2.5%)
07/2005: 16,641 (+17.5%)
08/2005: 13,652 (-18.0%)
09/2005: 14,287 (+ 4.7%)
10/2005: 16,009 (+12.1%)
11/2005: 15,730 (- 1.7%)
12/2005: 16,320 (+ 3.8%)
01/2006: 15,036 (- 7.9%)
02/2006: 15,026 (- 0.1%)
03/2006: 15,812 (+ 5.2%)
04/2006: 15,473 (- 2.1%)
05/2006: 15,266 (- 1.3%)
06/2006: 14,965 (- 2.0%)
—————-
6 months: – 8.3%
1 year : + 5.7%
2 years : -13.9%
3 years : – 8.8%

Vertigo’s average per-title sales nonetheless continue to decline.

WILDSTORM
06/2003: 21,954
06/2004: 18,189
—————
06/2005: 19,059 (+40.2%)
07/2005: 15,134 (-20.6%)
08/2005: 15,998 (+ 5.7%)
09/2005: 13,707 (-14.3%)
10/2005: 17,215 (+25.6%)
11/2005: 16,255 (- 5.6%)
12/2005: 15,068 (- 7.3%)
01/2006: 17,505 (+16.2%)
02/2006: 13,610 (-22.3%)
03/2006: 14,210 (+ 4.4%)
04/2006: 16,036 (+12.9%)
05/2006: 12,737 (-20.6%)
06/2006: 15,056 (+18.2%)
—————-
6 months: – 0.1%
1 year : -21.0%
2 years : -17.2%
3 years : -31.4%

The return of Ex Machina Special on one end of the WildStorm sales spectrum and the absence of Skye Runner on the other do wonders for that imprint’s average per-title numbers in June, meanwhile, despite the underwhelming debuts of Claw the Unconquered and Manifest Eternity.

That should all change in September, of course, when the revamp of the WildStorm Universe line commences with the debut issues of Wildcats and Wetworks.

6-MONTH COMPARISONS
+190.4%: Flash
+180.8%: Wonder Woman
+ 77.7%: Detective Comics
+ 45.6%: Action Comics
+ 36.4%: Robin
+ 26.1%: Nightwing
+ 21.2%: Batman
+ 19.9%: Catwoman
+ 19.0%: Green Arrow
+ 18.9%: Green Lantern Corps
+ 14.2%: Manhunter
+ 12.3%: Hawkgirl
+ 10.8%: Birds of Prey
+ 8.4%: Superman
+ 7.4%: Cartoon Network Block Party
+ 6.9%: Fables
+ 2.3%: Looney Tunes
+ 1.9%: Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight
+ 1.2%: Lucifer
+ 1.1%: DMZ
– 0.5%: Y: The Last Man
– 1.0%: JSA
– 1.2%: Blood of the Demon
– 1.5%: Scooby Doo
– 2.8%: Justice
– 3.0%: Hellblazer
– 3.2%: Justice League Unlimited
– 4.2%: Batman Strikes!
– 5.3%: Outsiders
– 5.4%: 100 Bullets
– 6.4%: Superman/Batman
– 7.0%: Firestorm
– 7.5%: Solo
– 8.4%: Loveless
– 8.9%: Teen Titans Go
– 12.9%: Captain Atom: Armageddon
– 15.1%: Swamp Thing
– 15.9%: Batman: Journey into Knight
– 19.5%: JLA: Classified
– 19.9%: Jonah Hex
– 30.3%: Testament
– 31.0%: Hard Time: Season Two
– 33.7%: JSA: Classified

1-YEAR COMPARISONS
+341.6%: Wonder Woman
+150.8%: Flash
+ 71.4%: Detective Comics
+ 43.7%: Action Comics
+ 34.2%: Catwoman
+ 31.3%: Robin
+ 30.8%: Hawkgirl
+ 22.9%: Nightwing
+ 20.6%: Green Arrow
+ 18.8%: Firestorm
+ 13.9%: Batman
+ 12.3%: Superman
+ 12.2%: Legion of Super-Heroes
+ 10.7%: Manhunter
+ 5.6%: Fables
– 1.0%: Solo
– 2.5%: JSA
– 3.3%: Y: The Last Man
– 5.8%: Lucifer
– 6.7%: Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight
– 7.8%: Hellblazer
– 8.2%: Ex Machina
– 8.2%: Scooby-Doo
– 9.9%: Looney Tunes
– 10.5%: Justice League Unlimited
– 10.8%: Birds of Prey
– 14.0%: Outsiders
– 16.1%: Superman/Batman
– 19.4%: Batman Strikes
– 21.7%: JLA: Classified
– 22.4%: Blood of the Demon
– 23.9%: Teen Titans Go
– 31.1%: Swamp Thing

2-YEAR COMPARISONS
+353.5%: Wonder Woman
+163.2%: Flash
+ 90.5%: Detective Comics
+ 83.7%: Legion
+ 49.0%: Nightwing
+ 31.3%: Action Comics
+ 20.4%: Catwoman
+ 18.0%: JSA
+ 13.4%: Green Arrow
+ 6.3%: Batman
+ 6.0%: Birds of Prey
+ 2.6%: Fables
+ 1.8%: Hawkgirl
+ 1.8%: Outsiders
– 1.2%: Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight
– 2.9%: Y: The Last Man
– 4.5%: Robin
– 7.1%: Hellblazer
– 14.0%: Justice League Unlimited
– 16.2%: Lucifer
– 18.8%: Hard Time
– 19.2%: Looney Tunes
– 19.5%: Cartoon Network Block Party
– 22.9%: Scooby-Doo
– 26.1%: Bite Club
– 27.3%: 100 Bullets
– 29.3%: Ex Machina
– 32.7%: Batman Strikes
– 38.3%: Firestorm
– 57.4%: Superman
– 67.2%: Swamp Thing

OTHER PUBLISHERS

(64) STAR WARS: LEGACY (Dark Horse)
06/2006: Star Wars: Legacy #1 — 34,758

(91) STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC (Dark Horse)
01/2006: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #1 — 23,486
02/2006: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #2 — 21,203 (-9.7%)
03/2006: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #3 — 21,346 (+0.7%)
04/2006: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #4 — 22,581 (+5.8%)
05/2006: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #5 — 23,223 (+2.8%)
06/2006: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #6 — 23,424 (+0.9%)

(92) STAR WARS: REBELLION (Dark Horse)
04/2006: Star Wars: Rebellion #1 — 26,954
05/2006: Star Wars: Rebellion #2 — 23,764 (-11.8%)
06/2006: Star Wars: Rebellion #3 — 23,256 (- 2.1%)

Star Wars: Legacy was promoted with a 25-cent #0 issue, but those “freebies” currently don’t show up on the Diamond chart, so its sales are anyone’s guess.

The regular book debuts with decent sales, at any rate, while Knights of the Old Republic and Rebellion remain rock-solid performers as well.

(73) CONAN (Dark Horse)
06/2004: Conan #5 — 51,307
—————————-
06/2005: Conan #17 — 37,032 (- 1.6%)
07/2005: Conan #18 — 36,323 (- 1.9%)
08/2005: Conan #19 — 35,455 (- 2.4%)
09/2005: Conan #20 — 34,899 (- 1.6%)
10/2005: Conan #21 — 34,232 (- 1.9%)
11/2005: Conan #22 — 33,653 (- 1.7%)
12/2005: Conan #23 — 32,592 (- 3.2%)
01/2006: Conan #24 — 31,907 (- 2.1%)
02/2006: Conan #25 — 31,675 (- 0.7%)
03/2006: Conan #26 — 31,573 (- 0.3%)
04/2006: Conan #27 — 31,710 (+ 0.4%)
05/2006: Conan #28 — 31,675 (- 0.1%)
06/2006: Conan #29 — 32,049 (+ 1.2%)
—————-
6 months: – 1.2%
1 year : -13.5%
2 years : -37.5%

(95) CONAN: BOOK OF THOTH (Dark Horse)
03/2006: Conan: Book of Thoth #1 (of 4) — 25,200
04/2006: Conan: Book of Thoth #2 (of 4) — 23,215 (-7.9%)
05/2006: Conan: Book of Thoth #3 (of 4) — 22,150 (-4.6%)
06/2006: Conan: Book of Thoth #4 (of 4) — 21,075 (-4.9%)

The main title sees a slight increase for the first part of an interim arc written by Mike Mignola. However, there was also a variant cover edition of this issue, so allowing for that, sales would probably be down from the Kurt Busiek run.

Book of Thoth continues to do perfectly good numbers, meanwhile.

(74) RED SONJA (Dynamic Forces)
07/2005: Red Sonja #1 — 80,603
08/2005: —
09/2005: Red Sonja #2 — 55,149 (-31.6%)
10/2005: —
11/2005: Red Sonja #3 — 41,866 (-24.1%)
12/2005: —
01/2006: Red Sonja #4 — 41,856 (- 0.0%)
02/2006: Red Sonja #5 — 38,798 (- 7.3%)
02/2006: Red Sonja #6 — 35,031 (- 9.7%)
03/2006: Red Sonja #7 — 34,560 (- 1.5%)
03/2006: Red Sonja #8 — 34,700 (+ 0.4%)
04/2006: Red Sonja #9 — 32,334 (- 6.8%)
05/2006: Red Sonja #10 — 32,479 (+ 0.5%)
06/2006: Red Sonja #11 — 31,176 (- 4.0%)
—————-
6 months: n.a.

Continuing to decline. Cover count: six.

(83) SPAWN (Image/TMP)
06/2003: —
06/2004: Spawn #135 — 35,203
—————————–
06/2005: Spawn #146 — 28,093 (- 0.2%)
06/2005: Spawn #147 — 27,495 (- 2.1%)
07/2005: —
08/2005: Spawn #148 — 27,548 (+ 0.2%)
09/2005: Spawn #149 — 26,790 (- 2.8%)
10/2005: Spawn #150 — 40,152 (+49.9%) — [42,529]
11/2005: —
12/2005: Spawn #151 — 28,860 (-28.1%)
01/2006: Spawn #152 — 27,247 (- 5.6%)
02/2006: Spawn #153 — 26,884 (- 1.3%)
03/2006: Spawn #154 — 26,966 (+ 0.3%)
04/2006: Spawn #155 — 26,728 (- 0.9%)
05/2006: Spawn #156 — 27,017 (+ 1.1%)
06/2006: Spawn #157 — 26,325 (- 2.6%)
—————-
6 months: – 8.8%
1 year : – 5.3%
2 years : -25.2%

Slowly drifting downward.

(102) THE WALKING DEAD (Image)
06/2004: Walking Dead #8 — 11,689
———————————–
06/2005: Walking Dead #19 — 17,225 (+10.8%)
07/2005: Walking Dead #20 — 16,915 (- 1.8%)
08/2005: Walking Dead #21 — 17,668 (+ 4.5%)
09/2005: —
10/2005: Walking Dead #22 — 17,634 (- 0.2%)
11/2005: Walking Dead #23 — 18,482 (+ 4.8%)
11/2005: Walking Dead #24 — 18,545 (+ 0.3%)
12/2005: —
01/2006: Walking Dead #25 — 19,337 (+ 4.3%)
02/2006: —
03/2006: Walking Dead #26 — 19,385 (+ 0.3%)
03/2006: Walking Dead #27 — 18,868 (- 2.7%)
04/2006: —
05/2006: —
06/2006: Walking Dead #28 — 19,537 (+ 2.2%)
—————–
6 months: n.a.
1 year : + 13.4%
2 years : + 67.1%

Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead is back on a climb and keeps knocking on the Top 100’s backdoor. In a less crowded month, it would have been in.

(133/134) INVINCIBLE (Image)
06/2003: —
06/2004: Invincible #13 — 6,539
———————————
06/2005: Invincible #23 — 11,452 (+15.0%)
07/2005: Invincible #24 — 11,818 (+ 3.2%)
08/2005: Invincible #25 — 12,031 (+ 1.8%)
09/2005: Invincible #26 — 11,574 (- 3.8%)
10/2005: —
11/2005: Invincible #27 — 11,775 (+ 1.7%)
12/2005: —
01/2006: —
02/2006: Invincible #28 — 12,147 (+ 3.2%)
03/2006: Invincible #29 — 12,698 (+ 4.5%)
03/2006: Invincible #30 — 12,300 (- 3.1%)
04/2006: Invincible #31 — 12,056 (- 2.0%)
05/2006: —
06/2006: Invincible #32 — 12,910 (+ 7.1%)
06/2006: Invincible #33 — 12,940 (+ 0.2%)
—————-
6 months: n.a.
1 year : +12.9%
2 years : +97.7%

Another perennial climber written by Kirkman.

(150) CASANOVA (Image)
06/2006: Casanova #1 — 9,749

This is an over-the-top spionage/science fiction book by Matt Fraction and Gabriel Bá. More importantly, it’s the first Image Comics title to imitate the format of Warren Ellis’ Fell: self-contained 16-page stories, plus supplemental material, at $ 1.99 per issue (the first issue of Casanova is double-sized, without additional charge).

Given that the creators aren’t established names in the direct market, that Casanova doesn’t do superheroes and that it’s not a full-color title, just under 10,000 units certainly qualifies as a success. So, does “the Fell format” work? It seems that way.

On another note, of course, I doubt Casanova would have done this well without Fell as a trailblazer.

(160) FALLEN ANGEL (IDW)
06/2004: Fallen Angel #12 — 10,486
———————————–
12/2005: Fallen Angel #1 — 12,176 (+18.4%)
01/2006: Fallen Angel #2 — 9,588 (-21.3%)
02/2006: —
03/2006: Fallen Angel #3 — 9,570 (- 0.2%)
03/2006: Fallen Angel #4 — 9,110 (- 4.8%)
04/2006: —
05/2006: Fallen Angel #5 — 9,155 (+ 0.5%)
06/2006: Fallen Angel #6 — 8,043 (-12.2%)
—————-
6 months: -33.9%
2 years : -23.3%

The beginning of a new arc sees a rather steep drop.

Of course, the Peter David vehicle’s economics are not the same now as during its tenure at DC Comics, and Fallen Angel is $ 3.99 now instead of $ 2.50, so it’s probably quite alright for the time being. For what it’s worth, the book is IDW’s third-best-selling title in June, after the lower-priced reprint Transformers: Generations #4 ($ 2.49; 12,986 units) and the Angel Spotlight: Wesley one-shot ($ 3.99; 9,673 units).

Germany-based Marc-Oliver Frisch has a weblog and regularly contributes to German online magazine Comicgate.