by Marc-Oliver Frisch
Usually, DC Comics releases around 70 new comic books in a given month, not counting reprints, magazines and titles published through its Johnny DC imprint. In November 2006, the number rose to 88, due to a slew of late-shipping issues from past months and new series launches overlapping with the final issues of a number of failed titles. As a result of the 25% increase in the publisher’s output, there are some drastic shifts in the month’s Top 300, as the additional books pushed everything else down the chart, leaving room in the Top 100 for a measly four books not from Marvel or DC, all of them by Dark Horse Comics.
That aside, DC’s November line-up was fairly low-key, in terms of new launches. Notable releases were the first issues of new ongoing title Superman Confidential and limited series Guy Gardner: Collateral Damage and Connor Hawke: Dragon’s Blood, as well as the one-shot special Batman/The Spirit in its mainstream superhero line; the debut of the Vertigo imprint’s latest monthly addition, Crossing Midnight; and, from WildStorm, the launch of limited series Astro City: The Dark Age/Book Two and Red Menace, ongoing WildStorm Universe titles The Midnighter and StormWatch: PHD and the film adaptation Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
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.
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2 - JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 11/2003: JLA #90 -- 60,093 11/2004: JLA #108 -- 63,355 -------------------------------------- 11/2005: JLA #122 -- 80,866 (+ 2.5%) 12/2005: JLA #123 -- 76,899 (- 4.9%) 01/2006: JLA #124 -- 74,069 (- 3.7%) 02/2006: JLA #125 -- 74,341 (+ 0.4%) 03/2006: -- 04/2006: -- 05/2006: -- 06/2006: -- 07/2006: Justice League #0 -- 162,378 (+118.4%) [169,199] 08/2006: Justice League #1 -- 212,581 (+ 30.9%) [238,353] 09/2006: Justice League #2 -- 143,412 (- 32.5%) [154,923] 10/2006: -- 11/2006: Justice League #3 -- 140,939 (- 1.7%) ----------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : + 74.3% 2 years : +122.5%
Three issues in, writer Brad Meltzer and artist Ed Benes’ Justice League of America already seems to have found its sales niche, and it’s a very comfortable one. The book was promoted with a variant cover scheme (retailers had to order ten copies of the regular edition to buy one with a variant cover), but so were previous issues, so that’s not a relevant factor here.
Issue #1 sold another 3,500 units in November, meanwhile, issue #2 another 3,595. These are very good sales, all told. The book appears to be connecting with its target audience.
6/7/8/10/11 - 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%) [111,732] 06/2006: 52 Week 7 -- 110,188 (+ 0.2%) [112,618] 06/2006: 52 Week 8 -- 105,107 (- 4.6%) [108,775] 07/2006: 52 Week 9 -- 102,142 (- 2.8%) 07/2006: 52 Week 10 -- 100,779 (- 1.3%) 07/2006: 52 Week 11 -- 122,016 (+21.1%) [123,724] 07/2006: 52 Week 12 -- 98,667 (-19.1%) [102,362] 08/2006: 52 Week 13 -- 119,507 (+21.1%) 08/2006: 52 Week 14 -- 118,259 (- 1.4%) 08/2006: 52 Week 15 -- 119,411 (+ 1.0%) 08/2006: 52 Week 16 -- 117,472 (- 1.6%) [118,624] 08/2006: 52 Week 17 -- 116,637 (- 0.7%) [118,775] 09/2006: 52 Week 18 -- 111,830 (- 4.1%) 09/2006: 52 Week 19 -- 111,611 (- 0.2%) 09/2006: 52 Week 20 -- 111,099 (- 0.5%) 09/2006: 52 Week 21 -- 110,350 (- 0.7%) [111,986] 10/2006: 52 Week 22 -- 108,624 (- 1.6%) 10/2006: 52 Week 23 -- 107,962 (- 0.6%) 10/2006: 52 Week 24 -- 107,413 (- 0.5%) 10/2006: 52 Week 25 -- 106,332 (- 1.0%) 11/2006: 52 Week 26 -- 104,614 (- 1.6%) 11/2006: 52 Week 27 -- 104,265 (- 0.3%) 11/2006: 52 Week 28 -- 103,529 (- 0.7%) 11/2006: 52 Week 29 -- 102,699 (- 0.8%) 11/2006: 52 Week 30 -- 102,576 (- 0.1%) ---------------- 6 months: -19.6%
There were five Wednesdays in November, so, like back in August, there were five issues of the weekly 52, instead of the usual four. While sales continue to be in a very gentle decline, the book has shifted upwards of 100K with each of its 30 issues so far, which is impressive by any standard.
Marvel’s Civil War may be more spectacular in terms of sheer numbers, but then again, it’s a seven-issue series which never comes out. The most significant success in the direct market in 2006, clearly, is 52. Don’t be surprised if both major publishers attempt to match it with similar projects in 2007.
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14/16 - BATMAN 11/2003: Batman #621 -- 96,784 11/2004: Batman #634 -- 63,769 ------------------------------- 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%) [ 78,671] 07/2006: Batman #655 -- 113,567 (+48.4%) [123,903] 08/2006: Batman #656 -- 95,982 (-15.5%) [ 99,024] 09/2006: Batman #657 -- 91,357 (- 4.8%) [ 96,127] 10/2006: -- 11/2006: Batman #658 -- 94,349 (+ 3.3%) 11/2006: Batman #659 -- 90,651 (- 3.9%) ---------------- 6 months: +19.7% 1 year : +32.7% 2 years : +45.1%
Like Green Lantern, Teen Titans, Blue Beetle, Aquaman and American Virgin, Batman shipped twice in November, having missed its release date in the previous month.
The increase for issue #658, the final part of writer Grant Morrison and artist Andy Kubert’s first storyline, suggests that the creative team is catching on with the audience. Issue #659 was originally meant to be by Morrison and Kubert as well, but that story has now been resolicited for February 2007’s issue #663, with a new artist attached. In the meantime, the four-part fill-in story by writer John Ostrander and artist Tom Mandrake, initially set to begin in December with issue #660, was moved up to issue #659.
Since the switch was made well after issue #659 became available for pre-order (meaning, by the way, that it’s returnable), it’s too early to tell whether the drop for the issue is due to the absence of the high-profile regular creative team or just part of the usual decline. At any rate, I question the wisdom of fill-ins in this day and age — particularly if the fill-in creators aren’t in the same ballpark as the regulars, in terms of sales power.
Granted, the Ostrander/Mandrake arc is likely to profit greatly from it. But for the series itself, fill-in arcs tend to be harmful to sales in the long run. Plainly, the numbers will drop for the fill-in arc, and it can’t be taken for granted that they’ll just pop back to form once the regular creators return.
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19 - SUPERMAN/BATMAN 11/2003: -- 11/2004: Superman/Batman #13 -- 157,949 11/2004: Superman/Batman #14 -- 121,831 --------------------------------------- 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%) [110,845] 05/2006: Superman/Batman #26 -- 118,821 (+14.6%) [130,077] 06/2006: Superman/Batman #27 -- 95,717 (-19.4%) 07/2006: Superman/Batman #28 -- 92,603 (- 3.2%) 08/2006: Superman/Batman #29 -- 90,665 (- 2.1%) 09/2006: -- 10/2006: -- 11/2006: Superman/Batman #30 -- 84,008 (- 7.3%) ---------------- 6 months: -24.5% 1 year : n.a. 2 years : -40.0%
The harsh drop comes in the middle of a storyline, which is never a good sign. Six months after writer Jeph Loeb’s departure, the numbers still haven’t stabilized, and it seems the audience is suddenly much less forgiving when it comes to delays as well.
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24 - WONDER WOMAN 11/2003: Wonder Woman #198 -- 28,977 11/2004: Wonder Woman #210 -- 25,699 ------------------------------------- 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%) [139,562] 07/2006: -- 08/2006: Wonder Woman #2 -- 84,618 (- 36.2%) [ 87,276] 09/2006: -- 10/2006: -- 11/2006: Wonder Woman #3 -- 76,998 (- 9.0%) ----------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : + 56.1% 2 years : +199.6%
Issue #3 was initially meant to be out back in August, before DC changed their mind and announced that Wonder Woman was now on a bi-monthly schedule. When Wonder Woman #3 finally came out in November, three months, rather than two, had passed since the previous issue, of course, but let’s not split hairs.
While the relaunched title’s sales were impressive early on, half of them are gone already, which may be the sort of thing DC editor Dan Didio means when he calls the target audience a fickle lot in interviews. The current writer will be replaced with issue #6, meanwhile, suggesting that someone at DC is less than happy with the situation.
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28/30 - GREEN LANTERN 11/2003: Green Lantern #171 -- 32,374 11/2004: GL Rebirth #2 of 6 -- 86,273 -------------------------------------- 11/2005: Green Lantern #5 -- 92,348 (- 4.7%) 12/2005: Green Lantern #6 -- 88,437 (- 4.2%) 01/2006: Green Lantern #7 -- 84,723 (- 4.2%) 02/2006: Green Lantern #8 -- 89,252 (+ 5.4%) 02/2006: Green Lantern #9 -- 86,554 (- 3.0%) [ 89,974] 03/2006: Green Lantern #10 -- 79,745 (- 7.9%) [ 87,143] 04/2006: -- 05/2006: Green Lantern #11 -- 78,926 (- 1.0%) 06/2006: -- 07/2006: Green Lantern #12 -- 80,292 (+ 1.7%) 08/2006: -- 09/2006: Green Lantern #13 -- 78,101 (- 2.7%) 10/2006: -- 11/2006: Green Lantern #14 -- 72,894 (- 6.7%) 11/2006: Green Lantern #15 -- 70,148 (- 3.8%) ---------------- 6 months: - 9.4% 1 year : -22.6% 2 years : -17.1%
Sales keep declining, possibly due to fickleness.
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32 - ACTION COMICS 11/2003: Action Comics #809 -- 29,819 11/2004: Action Comics #821 -- 38,880 ------------------------------------- 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%) [63,676] 07/2006: Action Comics #841 -- 58,657 (- 5.1%) 08/2006: Action Comics #842 -- 57,964 (- 1.2%) 09/2006: Action Comics #843 -- 56,084 (- 3.2%) 10/2006: Action Comics #844 -- 78,869 (+40.6%) [82,935] 11/2006: Action Comics #845 -- 66,742 (-15.4%) ---------------- 6 months: + 7.1% 1 year : +49.6% 2 years : +71.7%
Issue #844, the debut of the new high-profile creative team of writers Geoff Johns and Richard Donner and artist Adam Kubert, made the chart again in November, selling an additional 4,066 copies.
Given the popularity of the creators and the amount of publicity devoted to the book, the numbers still fall way short of expectations, however, and the drop for November’s issue #845 doesn’t serve to amend the impression.
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34/37 - TEEN TITANS 11/2003: Teen Titans #5 -- 68,078 11/2004: Teen Titans #18 -- 61,537 ---------------------------------- 11/2005: Teen Titans #29 -- 69,558 (+ 4.5%) 12/2005: Teen Titans #30 -- 67,155 (- 3.5%) 01/2006: Teen Titans #31 -- 65,223 (- 2.9%) 02/2006: Teen Titans #32 -- 69,131 (+ 6.0%) 03/2006: Teen Titans #33 -- 67,208 (- 2.8%) 04/2006: Teen Titans #34 -- 82,503 (+22.8%) [90,051] 05/2006: Teen Titans #35 -- 72,954 (-11.6%) 05/2006: Teen Titans #36 -- 71,486 (- 2.0%) 06/2006: -- 07/2006: Teen Titans #37 -- 71,263 (- 0.3%) 08/2006: Teen Titans #38 -- 69,232 (- 2.9%) 09/2006: Teen Titans #39 -- 65,969 (- 4.7%) 10/2006: -- 11/2006: Teen Titans #40 -- 64,176 (- 2.7%) 11/2006: Teen Titans #41 -- 61,714 (- 3.8%) ---------------- 6 months: -12.8% 1 year : - 9.5% 2 years : + 2.3%
Sales keep declining. January’s issue #43 takes the book in a new direction, which does not seem like the worst idea, at this stage.
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35 - SUPERGIRL 11/2005: Supergirl #3 -- 99,990 (- 1.7%) [101,910] 12/2005: -- 01/2006: -- 02/2006: Supergirl #4 -- 104,734 (+ 4.8%) 02/2006: Supergirl #5 -- 103,108 (- 1.0%) [104,930] 03/2006: -- 04/2006: -- 05/2006: Supergirl #6 -- 102,860 (- 0.2%) 06/2006: -- 07/2006: Supergirl #7 -- 85,175 (-17.2%) 07/2006: Supergirl #8 -- 76,942 (- 9.7%) 08/2006: Supergirl #9 -- 74,252 (- 3.5%) 09/2006: Supergirl #10 -- 67,358 (- 9.3%) 10/2006: -- 11/2006: Supergirl #11 -- 62,544 (- 7.2%) ---------------- 6 months: -39.2% 1 year : -37.5%
The book keeps shedding units at a very unhealthy rate.
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36 -- SUPERMAN 11/2003: Superman #199 -- 33,429 11/2004: Superman #211 -- 106,469 --------------------------------- 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%) 07/2006: Superman #654 -- 69,526 (+ 0.7%) 08/2006: Superman #655 -- 66,976 (- 3.7%) 09/2006: Superman #656 -- 64,288 (- 4.0%) 10/2006: -- 09/2006: Superman #657 -- 62,327 (- 3.1%) ---------------- 6 months: -11.5% 1 year : -10.6% 2 years : -41.5%
Another Superman title with disappointing numbers despite a new high-profile creative team.
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38 - SUPERMAN CONFIDENTIAL 11/2006: Superman Confidential #1 -- 60,157
The book’s stated objective is to tell “stories from key moments in the history of Superman” from alternating creative teams. First up is a six-parter by writer Darwyn Cooke and artist Tim Sale.
Given that Superman Confidential is not set in the present, and that it doesn’t rely on variant cover schemes or other gimmicks, 60K is a solid number.
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39 - DETECTIVE COMICS 11/2003: Detective Comics #788 -- 37,543 11/2004: Detective Comics #800 -- 52,399 ---------------------------------------- 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%) 07/2006: Detective Comics #821 -- 67,345 (+ 2.1%) 08/2006: Detective Comics #822 -- 66,372 (- 1.5%) 09/2006: Detective Comics #823 -- 64,215 (- 3.3%) 10/2006: Detective Comics #824 -- 62,431 (- 2.8%) 11/2006: Detective Comics #825 -- 58,940 (- 5.6%) ---------------- 6 months: -10.4% 1 year : +53.7% 2 years : +12.5%
The November issue was a fill-in, which may or may not be the reason for the larger-than-usual drop. Overall, Detective Comics continues to profit greatly from March’s “One Year Later” stunt, which puts it in contrast with most other participating titles.
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41 - FLASH: THE FASTEST MAN ALIVE 11/2003: Flash #204 -- 35,423 11/2004: Flash #216 -- 43,618 ---------------------------------- 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: FMA #1 -- 120,404 (+196.8%) [126,741] 07/2006: Flash: FMA #2 -- 77,487 (- 35.6%) [ 82,501] 08/2006: Flash: FMA #3 -- 70,633 (- 8.9%) [ 72,067] 09/2006: Flash: FMA #4 -- 66,663 (- 5.6%) 10/2006: Flash: FMA #5 -- 61,576 (- 7.6%) 11/2006: Flash: FMA #6 -- 56,789 (- 7.8%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : +23.8% 2 years : +30.2%
Sales keep dropping at an embarrassing rate. As far as relaunches go, Flash is a failure.
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51 - GREEN LANTERN CORPS 11/2005: -- 12/2005: GLC: Recharge #3 of 5 -- 64,490 (- 6.4%) [65,669] 01/2006: GLC: Recharge #4 of 5 -- 59,952 (- 7.0%) [61,540] 02/2006: -- 03/2006: GLC: Recharge #5 of 5 -- 60,123 (+ 0.3%) 04/2006: -- 05/2006: -- 06/2006: Green Lantern Corps #1 -- 76,686 (+27.6%) 07/2006: Green Lantern Corps #2 -- 56,886 (-25.8%) 08/2006: Green Lantern Corps #3 -- 51,485 (- 9.5%) 09/2006: Green Lantern Corps #4 -- 46,619 (- 9.5%) 10/2006: Green Lantern Corps #5 -- 43,546 (- 6.6%) 11/2006: Green Lantern Corps #6 -- 41,089 (- 5.6%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : n.a.
The numbers are still declining much faster than they should at this point.
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53 - THE MIDNIGHTER (WildStorm) 11/2006: The Midnighter #1 -- 39,796
The Midnighter, The Authority’s more brutal, more cynical and more homosexual version of Batman, gets his own ongoing title in November, courtesy of writer Garth Ennis and artist Chris Sprouse.
As with all of the new WildStorm Universe launches, the numbers look alright on the surface. But once you realize that they’ve been terribly bloated through variant cover schemes (retailers were able to buy one limited edition for every 10 copies of the regular book, and another for every 50 copies of it) and will continue to be so until issue #4, that puts things in perspective.
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60 - 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%) 07/2006: Ion #4 of 12 -- 49,981 (- 3.4%) 08/2006: Ion #5 of 12 -- 45,764 (- 8.4%) 09/2006: Ion #6 of 12 -- 41,832 (- 8.6%) 10/2006: Ion #7 of 12 -- 38,795 (- 7.3%) 11/2006: Ion #8 of 12 -- 36,541 (- 5.8%) ---------------- 6 months: -34.2%
Another title whose sales are dropping way too fast.
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61 - NIGHTWING 11/2003: Nightwing #87 -- 29,674 11/2004: Nightwing #99 -- 33,708 --------------------------------- 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%) 07/2006: Nightwing #122 -- 42,542 (- 5.4%) 08/2006: Nightwing #123 -- 40,111 (- 5.7%) 09/2006: Nightwing #124 -- 38,251 (- 4.6%) 10/2006: Nightwing #125 -- 38,470 (+ 0.6%) 11/2006: Nightwing #126 -- 36,145 (- 6.0%) ---------------- 6 months: -21.6% 1 year : - 0.8% 2 years : + 7.2%
After a short breather for the creative change in October, the book’s hefty decline continues.
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62 - OUTSIDERS 11/2003: Outsiders #6 -- 48,160 11/2004: -- -------------------------------- 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%) 07/2006: Outsiders #38 -- 41,974 (- 4.8%) 08/2006: Outsiders #39 -- 40,524 (- 3.5%) 09/2006: Outsiders #40 -- 38,626 (- 4.7%) 10/2006: Outsiders #41 -- 36,672 (- 5.1%) 11/2006: Outsiders #42 -- 35,598 (- 2.9%) ---------------- 6 months: -22.1% 1 year : -20.3% 2 years : n.a.
Sales keep declining. It’s been a rough six months for Outsiders.
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63 - BATMAN/THE SPIRIT 11/2006: Batman/The Spirit -- 35,541
The $ 4.99 one-shot special written and drawn by Darwyn Cooke (with text by Jeph Loeb) is meant to prepare the audience for the upcoming The Spirit by Cooke.
The numbers are good for this sort of thing, especially given the high cover price. Both “Batman” and “Jeph Loeb” are factors not present for the ongoing Spirit series starting in December, though, so whether there’s sufficient interest in that book remains to be seen.
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65 - BIRDS OF PREY 11/2003: Birds of Prey #61 -- 30,768 11/2004: Birds of Prey #76 -- 31,126 ------------------------------------- 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%) 07/2006: Birds of Prey #96 -- 32,219 (- 5.1%) 08/2006: Birds of Prey #97 -- 31,578 (- 2.0%) 09/2006: Birds of Prey #98 -- 32,715 (+ 3.6%) 10/2006: Birds of Prey #99 -- 30,385 (- 7.1%) 11/2006: Birds of Prey #100 -- 34,607 (+13.9%) ---------------- 6 months: - 0.9% 1 year : + 5.4% 2 years : +11.2%
As usual, the anniversary issue sees a modest bump. Reactions to the cast’s makeover have been mixed, however.
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68 - SUPERGIRL AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES 11/2003: Legion #26 -- 26,635 11/2003: Legion #27 -- 25,667 11/2004: -- --------------------------------------- 11/2005: Legion of SH #12 -- 33,541 (- 1.7%) 12/2005: -- 01/2006: Legion of SH #13 -- 32,730 (- 2.4%) 02/2006: Legion of SH #14 -- 32,513 (- 0.7%) 02/2006: Legion of SH #15 -- 31,649 (- 2.7%) 03/2006: Supergirl & LoSH #16 -- 47,426 (+ 49.9%) [54,788] 04/2006: Supergirl & LoSH #17 -- 44,827 (- 5.5%) [47,724] 05/2006: Supergirl & LoSH #18 -- 45,520 (+ 1.6%) 06/2006: Supergirl & LoSH #19 -- 43,918 (- 3.5%) 07/2006: Supergirl & LoSH #20 -- 41,679 (- 5.1%) 08/2006: Supergirl & LoSH #21 -- 39,852 (- 4.4%) 09/2006: Supergirl & LoSH #22 -- 36,735 (- 7.8%) 10/2006: Supergirl & LoSH #23 -- 41,554 (+ 13.1%) 11/2006: Supergirl & LoSH #24 -- 33,985 (- 18.2%) ---------------- 6 months: -25.3% 1 year : + 1.3% 2 years : n.a.
Crashing back to reality after a variant cover scheme distorted the book’s October sales. The numbers are almost back where they were prior to March’s “One Year Later” spectacle now, and the decline doesn’t look like it’s going to stop any time soon.
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71 - GEN13 (WildStorm) 11/2003: Gen13 #5 -- 13,143 ---------------------------- 10/2006: Gen13 #1 -- 47,535 11/2006: Gen13 #2 -- 33,494 (-29.5%)
That’s on the steep end for a second-issue drop, and sales are still inflated due to a variant cover scheme.
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75 - GREEN ARROW 11/2003: Green Arrow #32 -- 38,385 11/2004: Green Arrow #44 -- 32,159 ---------------------------------- 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%) 07/2006: Green Arrow #64 -- 36,148 (- 4.4%) 08/2006: Green Arrow #65 -- 35,705 (- 1.2%) 09/2006: Green Arrow #66 -- 33,793 (- 5.4%) 10/2006: Green Arrow #67 -- 32,583 (- 3.6%) 11/2006: Green Arrow #68 -- 32,135 (- 1.4%) ---------------- 6 months: -18.0% 1 year : - 1.6% 2 years : - 0.1%
Sales are bottoming out again.
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77 - ROBIN 11/2003: Robin #120 -- 22,067 11/2004: Robin #132 -- 35,927 ----------------------------- 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%) 07/2006: Robin #152 -- 37,466 (- 3.7%) 08/2006: Robin #153 -- 36,608 (- 2.3%) 09/2006: Robin #154 -- 34,387 (- 6.1%) 10/2006: Robin #155 -- 32,951 (- 4.2%) 11/2006: Robin #156 -- 31,682 (- 3.9%) ---------------- 6 months: -23.5% 1 year : - 2.0% 2 years : -11.8%
Declining. Sales are still well within the book’s usual spectrum, however.
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83 - STORMWATCH: PHD (WildStorm) 11/2003: SW: Team Achilles #17 -- 11,343 ---------------------------------------- 11/2006: StormWatch: PHD #1 -- 29,975
Writer Christos N. Gage and artist Doug Mahnke relaunch another old WildStorm property. It’s the fourth StormWatch series, for those keeping count. The last one, StormWatch: Team Achilles, debuted in July 2002 with an estimated 27,723 units. Back then, mind you, Diamond Comic Distributors provided data on initial orders only, meaning that actual sales were probably around 30K.
Consequently, the new attempt is not an improvement, and its numbers have been artificially increased through 1-for-10 and 1-for-50 variant cover schemes, to boot. Online reactions to StormWatch: PHD have been lukewarm as well, so it’s another shaky launch for WildStorm, all told.
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91 - MARTIAN MANHUNTER 08/2006: Martian Manhunter #1 of 8 -- 41,263 09/2006: Martian Manhunter #2 of 8 -- 32,624 (-20.9%) 10/2006: Martian Manhunter #3 of 8 -- 29,286 (-10.2%) 11/2006: Martian Manhunter #4 of 8 -- 27,390 (- 6.5%)
The book is finding its level, but it’s not in any hurry.
—–
92 - GUY GARDNER: COLLATERAL DAMAGE 11/2006: Guy Gardner: Collateral Damage #1 of 2 -- 27,239
Writer and artist Howard Chaykin gets to manage a Green Lantern spin-off character in his own $ 5.99 prestige format series. The numbers are fantastic for this sort of thing.
—–
93 - ASTRO CITY: THE DARK AGE (WildStorm) 11/2003: -- 11/2004: -- ---------------------------------------------- 06/2005: The Dark Age/Book 1 #1 of 4 -- 32,690 (+5.6%) 07/2005: The Dark Age/Book 1 #2 of 4 -- 29,721 (-9.1%) 08/2005: The Dark Age/Book 1 #3 of 4 -- 28,152 (-5.3%) 09/2005: -- 10/2005: The Dark Age/Book 1 #4 of 4 -- 27,367 (-2.8%) ---------------------------------------------- 11/2006: The Dark Age/Book 2 #1 of 4 -- 26,993 (-1.4%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : n.a. 2 years : n.a.
Kurt Busiek’s Astro City: The Dark Age returns thirteen months after the final issue of Book One, and picks up right where it left off in terms of sales. While there’s a clear decline, the book is still doing perfectly alright for a creator-owned property in the direct market.
—–
94 - THE BOYS (WildStorm) 08/2006: The Boys #1 -- 31,636 [36,173] 08/2006: The Boys #2 -- 26,165 (-17.3%) [32,075] 09/2006: -- 10/2006: The Boys #3 -- 26,415 (+ 1.0%) 10/2006: The Boys #4 -- 24,848 (- 5.9%) [28,452] 11/2006: The Boys #5 -- 26,842 (+ 8.0%)
Sales buck the trend and go up significantly, while the previous issue made the chart again in November with an additional 3,604 units.
The Boys looks like a hit, something WildStorm or DC in general don’t exactly have in spades right now.
—–
97/116 - 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%) 07/2006: Blue Beetle #5 -- 35,490 (- 8.1%) 08/2006: Blue Beetle #6 -- 33,181 (- 6.5%) 09/2006: Blue Beetle #7 -- 29,079 (-12.4%) 10/2006: -- 11/2006: Blue Beetle #8 -- 25,861 (-11.1%) 11/2006: Blue Beetle #9 -- 23,785 (- 8.0%) ---------------- 6 months: -40.5%
These numbers are utterly disastrous, on the other hand. The more established members of the creative team, co-writer Keith Giffen and artist Cully Hamner, are jumping ship in early 2007, so things are unlikely to get better.
—–
98 - MYSTERY IN SPACE 09/2006: Mystery in Space #1 of 8 -- 46,610 10/2006: Mystery in Space #2 of 8 -- 28,781 (-38.3%) 11/2006: Mystery in Space #3 of 8 -- 25,804 (-10.3%)
These drops aren’t encouraging, but overall, sales could be worse for this type of material.
—–
99 - SHADOWPACT 05/2006: Shadowpact #1 -- 50,279 06/2006: Shadowpact #2 -- 39,969 (-20.5%) 07/2006: Shadowpact #3 -- 36,341 (- 9.1%) 08/2006: Shadowpact #4 -- 33,383 (- 8.1%) 09/2006: Shadowpact #5 -- 29,983 (-10.2%) 09/2006: Shadowpact #6 -- 27,276 (- 9.0%) 10/2006: -- 11/2006: Shadowpact #7 -- 25,701 (- 5.8%) ---------------- 6 months: -48.9%
Another new title quickly dropping off the world.
—–
100 - JSA: CLASSIFIED 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%) 07/2006: JSA: Classified #14 -- 33,832 (- 6.2%) 08/2006: JSA: Classified #15 -- 32,308 (- 4.5%) 08/2006: JSA: Classified #16 -- 32,173 (- 0.4%) 09/2006: JSA: Classified #17 -- 30,340 (- 5.7%) 10/2006: JSA: Classified #18 -- 26,783 (-11.7%) 11/2006: JSA: Classified #19 -- 25,663 (- 4.2%) ---------------- 6 months: -31.5% 1 year : -45.8%
Declining.
—–
102 - FABLES (Vertigo) 11/2003: Fables #19 -- 25,948 11/2004: Fables #31 -- 25,061 ----------------------------- 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%) 07/2006: Fables #51 -- 25,087 (-4.3%) 08/2006: Fables #52 -- 25,378 (+1.2%) 09/2006: Fables #53 -- 25,388 (+0.0%) 10/2006: Fables #54 -- 25,534 (+0.6%) 11/2006: Fables #55 -- 25,635 (+0.4%) --------------- 6 months: +4.9% 1 year : +4.0% 2 years : +2.3%
The book is keeping up a gentle climb.
—–
103 - Y: THE LAST MAN (Vertigo) 11/2003: Y: The Last Man #16 -- 27,448 11/2004: Y: The Last Man #28 -- 26,770 -------------------------------------- 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%) 07/2006: Y: The Last Man #47 -- 25,791 (-0.4%) 08/2006: Y: The Last Man #48 -- 25,829 (+0.2%) 09/2006: Y: The Last Man #49 -- 25,690 (-0.5%) 10/2006: Y: The Last Man #50 -- 26,802 (+4.3%) 11/2006: Y: The Last Man #51 -- 25,606 (-4.5%) --------------- 6 months: -1.0% 1 year : -3.0% 2 years : -4.4%
Returning to its usual level after the anniversary issue, as expected.
—–
104 - THE ALL-NEW ATOM 07/2006: The All-New Atom #1 -- 49,969 08/2006: The All-New Atom #2 -- 38,239 (-23.5%) 09/2006: The All-New Atom #3 -- 33,254 (-13.0%) 10/2006: The All-New Atom #4 -- 28,450 (-14.5%) 11/2006: The All-New Atom #5 -- 25,569 (-10.1%)
Another commercial disaster.
—–
105 - UNCLE SAM & THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS 07/2006: Uncle Sam & FF #1 of 8 -- 40,736 08/2006: Uncle Sam & FF #2 of 8 -- 31,616 (-22.4%) [32,758] 09/2006: Uncle Sam & FF #3 of 8 -- 28,430 (-10.1%) 10/2006: Uncle Sam & FF #4 of 8 -- 26,527 (- 6.7%) 11/2006: Uncle Sam & FF #5 of 8 -- 25,144 (- 5.2%)
Sales are bottoming out. It’s still an acceptable level for a miniseries about fourth-stringer characters, if you ignore that it was one of the titles promoted with the low-priced loss-leader DCU: Brave New World.
—–
108 - 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%) 07/2006: Checkmate #4 -- 34,661 (- 7.7%) 08/2006: Checkmate #5 -- 31,252 (- 9.8%) 09/2006: Checkmate #6 -- 28,887 (- 7.6%) 10/2006: Checkmate #7 -- 26,302 (- 9.0%) 11/2006: Checkmate #8 -- 24,899 (- 5.3%) ---------------- 6 months: -40.4%
Awful numbers.
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109 - JLA: CLASSIFIED 11/2004: JLA: Classified #1 -- 88,747 -------------------------------------- 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%) 07/2006: JLA: Classified #24 -- 31,697 (- 5.6%) 07/2006: JLA: Classified #25 -- 30,709 (- 3.1%) 08/2006: JLA: Classified #26 -- 27,816 (- 9.4%) 09/2006: JLA: Classified #27 -- 27,754 (- 0.2%) 10/2006: JLA: Classified #28 -- 26,003 (- 6.3%) 11/2006: JLA: Classified #29 -- 24,785 (- 4.7%) ---------------- 6 months: -26.7% 1 year : -43.0% 2 years : -72.1%
Declining.
—–
112 - WETWORKS (WildStorm) 09/2006: Wetworks #1 -- 43,824 10/2006: Wetworks #2 -- 28,181 (-35.7%) 11/2006: Wetworks #3 -- 24,493 (-13.1%)
The performance of the first of the new WildStorm Universe titles remains underwhelming, despite variant cover editions.
—–
113 - TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED 10/2006: Tales of the Unexpected #1 of 8 -- 35,486 11/2006: Tales of the Unexpected #2 of 8 -- 24,219 (-31.8%)
The drop-off looks harsher than it really is: Issue #1 was promoted with a variant cover scheme, while issue #2 wasn’t. Overall, these numbers are still perfectly alright for an oddball book like this one.
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117 - OMAC 07/2006: OMAC #1 of 8 -- 54,092 08/2006: OMAC #2 of 8 -- 42,011 (-22.3%) 09/2006: OMAC #3 of 8 -- 32,578 (-22.5%) 10/2006: OMAC #4 of 8 -- 26,745 (-17.9%) 11/2006: OMAC #5 of 8 -- 23,691 (-11.4%)
This one keeps sinking like a stone.
—–
118 - BATMAN: THE MAD MONK 11/2005: Batman: Monster Men #1 of 6 -- 36,177 12/2005: Batman: Monster Men #2 of 6 -- 29,138 (-19.5%) 01/2006: Batman: Monster Men #3 of 6 -- 27,135 (- 6.9%) 02/2006: Batman: Monster Men #4 of 6 -- 26,320 (- 3.0%) 03/2006: Batman: Monster Men #5 of 6 -- 25,960 (- 1.4%) 04/2006: Batman: Monster Men #6 of 6 -- 25,650 (- 1.2%) 05/2006: -- 06/2006: -- 07/2006: -- 08/2006: Batman: Mad Monk #1 of 6 -- 29,169 (+13.7%) 09/2006: Batman: Mad Monk #2 of 6 -- 25,516 (-12.5%) 10/2006: Batman: Mad Monk #3 of 6 -- 24,298 (- 4.8%) 11/2006: Batman: Mad Monk #4 of 6 -- 23,616 (- 2.8%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : -34.7%
The numbers are leveling out nicely.
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119/129 - AQUAMAN: SWORD OF ATLANTIS 11/2003: Aquaman #12 -- 23,993 11/2004: Aquaman #24 -- 21,605 ----------------------------------- 11/2005: Aquaman #36 -- 18,022 (- 20.4%) 12/2005: Aquaman #37 -- 19,640 (+ 9.0%) 01/2006: Aquaman #38 -- 18,321 (- 6.7%) 02/2006: Aquaman #39 -- 18,326 (+ 0.0%) 03/2006: Aquaman: SoA #40 -- 37,611 (+105.2%) -- [46,401] 04/2006: Aquaman: SoA #41 -- 37,567 (- 0.1%) 05/2006: Aquaman: SoA #42 -- 32,610 (- 13.2%) 06/2006: -- 07/2006: Aquaman: SoA #43 -- 30,584 (- 6.2%) 08/2006: -- 09/2006: Aquaman: SoA #44 -- 28,001 (- 8.5%) 10/2006: -- 11/2006: Aquaman: SoA #45 -- 23,540 (- 15.9%) 11/2006: Aquaman: SoA #46 -- 21,974 (- 6.7%) ---------------- 6 months: -30.2% 1 year : +26.4% 2 years : + 5.3%
Another book which, obviously, hasn’t been able to hold on to the sales increase from March’s “One Year Later” stunt at all. Current writer Kurt Busiek will leave for greener pastures after a mere ten issues, so a new creative team is left with the unenviable task of taking over Aquaman in March 2007.
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120 - BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT 11/2003: Batman: LotDK #173 -- 25,406 11/2004: Batman: LotDK #185 -- 28,741 ------------------------------------- 11/2005: Batman: LotDK #197 -- 24,478 (- 1.8%) 12/2005: Batman: LotDK #198 -- 24,010 (- 1.9%) 01/2006: Batman: LotDK #199 -- 23,461 (- 2.3%) 02/2006: Batman: LotDK #200 -- 28,984 (+23.5%) 03/2006: Batman: LotDK #201 -- 24,516 (-15.4%) 03/2006: Batman: LotDK #202 -- 23,810 (- 2.9%) 04/2006: Batman: LotDK #203 -- 24,775 (+ 4.1%) 04/2006: Batman: LotDK #204 -- 24,155 (- 2.5%) 05/2006: Batman: LotDK #205 -- 24,421 (+ 1.1%) 05/2006: Batman: LotDK #206 -- 24,228 (- 0.8%) 06/2006: Batman: LotDK #207 -- 24,457 (+ 1.0%) 07/2006: Batman: LotDK #208 -- 23,974 (- 2.0%) 08/2006: Batman: LotDK #209 -- 24,101 (+ 0.5%) 09/2006: Batman: LotDK #210 -- 24,182 (+ 0.3%) 10/2006: Batman: LotDK #211 -- 24,236 (+ 0.2%) 11/2006: Batman: LotDK #212 -- 23,342 (- 3.7%) ---------------- 6 months: - 4.0% 1 year : - 4.6% 2 years : -18.8%
Well, that’s interesting. For the duration of the arc by writer Bruce Jones and artist Ariel Olivetti, Legends of the Dark Knight was on a modest climb; now that they’ve moved on, it’s back in decline. They must have done something right. The book is canceled with issue #214, at any rate.
—–
123 - CONNOR HAWKE: DRAGON'S BLOOD 11/2006: Connor Hawke #1 of 6 -- 23,191
The book, written by Chuck Dixon and drawn by Derec Donovan, is a Green Arrow spin-off. Sales are unimpressive, but that’s hardly surprising.
—–
124 - CATWOMAN 11/2003: Catwoman #25 -- 26,345 11/2004: Catwoman #37 -- 26,107 ------------------------------- 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%) 07/2006: Catwoman #57 -- 27,302 (- 5.7%) 08/2006: Catwoman #58 -- 26,568 (- 1.0%) 09/2006: Catwoman #59 -- 25,324 (- 4.7%) 10/2006: Catwoman #60 -- 24,117 (- 4.8%) 11/2006: Catwoman #61 -- 23,182 (- 3.9%) ---------------- 6 months: -23.2% 1 year : + 9.1% 2 years : -11.2%
Declining.
—–
126 - DEATHBLOW (WildStorm) 10/2006: Deathblow #1 -- 34,056 11/2006: Deathblow #2 -- 22,880 (-32.8%)
A stiff second issue drop, but that’s not unexpected. The book was, and continues to be, promoted with the help of variant cover schemes, like the other new WildStorm Universe titles.
—–
131 - RED MENACE (WildStorm) 11/2006: Red Menace #1 of 6 -- 21,389
The limited series by writers Danny Bilson, Paul DiMeo and Adam Brody (the former two gentlemen TV writers, the latter an actor) and artist Jerry Ordway imagines what the communist witchhunt of the 1950s would have been like with superheroes around. Sales aren’t bad, but there was an obligatory 1-for-10 variant cover edition which may have motivated retailers to order more copies than they might otherwise have.
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134 - JACK OF FABLES (Vertigo) 07/2006: Jack of Fables #1 -- 27,097 08/2006: Jack of Fables #2 -- 23,554 (-13.1%) 09/2006: Jack of Fables #3 -- 22,373 (- 5.0%) 10/2006: Jack of Fables #4 -- 21,614 (- 3.4%) 11/2006: Jack of Fables #5 -- 21,191 (- 2.0%)
This one is sticking to the 21K mark, apparently, establishing itself as one of Vertigo’s flagship titles alongside Y: The Last Man and Fables.
—–
141 - EX MACHINA (WildStorm) 11/2004: Ex Machina #6 -- 23,531 --------------------------------- 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%) 07/2006: -- 08/2006: Ex Machina #22 -- 20,079 (- 0.6%) 09/2006: Ex Machina #23 -- 20,135 (+ 0.3%) 10/2006: -- 11/2006: Ex Machina #24 -- 19,813 (- 1.6%) ---------------- 6 months: - 3.8% 1 year : - 6.8% 2 years : -15.8%
Continuing a gentle decline.
—–
144 - 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%) 07/2006: Jonah Hex #9 -- 20,385 (- 3.0%) 08/2006: Jonah Hex #10 -- 19,772 (- 3.0%) 09/2006: Jonah Hex #11 -- 18,957 (- 4.1%) 10/2006: Jonah Hex #12 -- 18,299 (- 3.5%) 11/2006: Jonah Hex #13 -- 18,747 (+ 2.5%) ---------------- 6 months: -14.4% 1 year : -44.5%
Artist Jordi Bernet takes over for a three-issue arc, resulting in a slight increase.
—–
145 - HAWKGIRL 11/2003: Hawkman #21 -- 27,642 11/2004: Hawkman #34 -- 21,975 ------------------------------- 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%) 07/2006: Hawkgirl #54 -- 25,201 (- 9.3%) 08/2006: Hawkgirl #55 -- 23,880 (- 5.2%) 09/2006: Hawkgirl #56 -- 21,560 (- 9.7%) 10/2006: Hawkgirl #57 -- 19,909 (- 7.7%) 11/2006: Hawkgirl #58 -- 18,634 (- 6.4%) ---------------- 6 months: -37.7% 1 year : -26.4% 2 years : -15.2%
The numbers keep dropping to new lows for the title, with no end in sight. Unless there’s a trend reversal soon, it can’t be long now before someone pulls the plug.
—–
146 - THE CREEPER 08/2006: The Creeper #1 of 6 -- 31,530 09/2006: The Creeper #2 of 6 -- 24,274 (-23.0%) 10/2006: The Creeper #3 of 6 -- 21,133 (-12.9%) 11/2006: The Creeper #4 of 6 -- 18,492 (-12.5%)
Still shedding readers by the boatload.
—–
150 - OMEGA MEN 10/2006: Omega Men #1 of 6 -- 23,536 11/2006: Omega Men #2 of 6 -- 17,379 (-26.2%)
The low-profile project sees a predictably hefty second-issue drop.
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154 - FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MAN 11/2004: Firestorm #7 -- 22,109 ------------------------------------ 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: NM #23 -- 25,109 (+19.0%) 04/2006: Firestorm: NM #24 -- 23,704 (- 5.6%) 05/2006: Firestorm: NM #25 -- 23,301 (- 1.7%) 06/2006: Firestorm: NM #26 -- 21,833 (- 6.3%) 07/2006: Firestorm: NM #27 -- 19,772 (- 9.4%) 08/2006: Firestorm: NM #28 -- 18,716 (- 5.3%) 09/2006: Firestorm: NM #29 -- 17,449 (- 6.8%) 10/2006: Firestorm: NM #30 -- 16,494 (- 5.5%) 11/2006: Firestorm: NM #31 -- 16,068 (- 2.6%) ---------------- 6 months: -26.4% 1 year : -30.1% 2 years : -27.3%
The numbers appear to be bottoming out again.
—–
155 - TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (WildStorm) 11/2006: Texas Chainsaw Massacre #1 -- 15,605
Writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning and artist Wesley Craig adapt another horror film franchise for WildStorm, with humble results. There was, of course, a variant cover edition of the issue.
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157 - 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%) 07/2006: DMZ #9 -- 14,786 (- 1.4%) 08/2006: DMZ #10 -- 14,704 (- 0.6%) 09/2006: DMZ #11 -- 14,562 (- 1.0%) 10/2006: DMZ #12 -- 14,640 (+ 0.5%) 11/2006: DMZ #13 -- 14,228 (- 2.8%) ---------------- 6 months: - 5.3% 1 year : -23.9%
Sales are back in a gentle decline, but apart from Jack of Fables, DMZ remains the commercially most promising of the recently launched Vertigo titles, as far as monthly issues are concerned.
—–
163 - HELLBLAZER (Vertigo) 11/2003: Hellblazer #190 -- 15,602 11/2004: Hellblazer #202 -- 15,254 ---------------------------------- 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%) 07/2006: Hellblazer #222 -- 13,912 (- 0.4%) 08/2006: Hellblazer #223 -- 13,956 (+ 0.3%) 09/2006: Hellblazer #224 -- 13,704 (- 1.8%) 10/2006: Hellblazer #225 -- 13,629 (- 0.6%) 11/2006: Hellblazer #226 -- 13,388 (- 1.8%) ---------------- 6 months: - 5.5% 1 year : - 9.3% 2 years : -12.2%
Slowly declining.
—–
166 - 100 BULLETS (Vertigo) 11/2003: -- 11/2004: 100 Bullets #55 -- 15,929 ---------------------------------- 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%) 07/2006: 100 Bullets #74 -- 13,265 (- 1.1%) 08/2006: 100 Bullets #75 -- 13,322 (+ 0.4%) 09/2006: 100 Bullets #76 -- 13,082 (- 1.8%) 10/2006: 100 Bullets #77 -- 13,054 (- 0.2%) 11/2006: 100 Bullets #78 -- 12,954 (- 0.8%) ---------------- 6 months: - 4.0% 1 year : -10.2% 2 years : -18.7%
Standard attrition.
—–
168 - CROSSING MIDNIGHT (Vertigo) 11/2006: Crossing Midnight #1 -- 12,756
This new series by writer Mike Carey and artist Jim Fern, plainly, looks dead on arrival. It’s an abysmal debut even by the imprint’s more lenient standards, and a harsh disappointment given the critical acclaim Carey received for his previous Vertigo work. Barring a minor miracle, Crossing Midnight won’t be around for long.
—–
174 - NINJA SCROLL (WildStorm) 09/2006: Ninja Scroll #1 -- 16,819 10/2006: -- 11/2006: Ninja Scroll #2 -- 12,143 (-27.8%)
A dire second-issue drop, despite a variant cover edition.
—–
176 - LOVELESS (Vertigo) 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%) 07/2006: Loveless #9 -- 14,434 (- 3.2%) 08/2006: Loveless #10 -- 13,860 (- 4.0%) 09/2006: Loveless #11 -- 13,256 (- 4.4%) 10/2006: Loveless #12 -- 12,617 (- 4.8%) 11/2006: Loveless #13 -- 11,945 (- 5.3%) ---------------- 6 months: -25.2% 1 year : -32.4%
Dropping at an unhealthy rate.
—–
179 - NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (WildStorm) 10/2006: Nightmare on Elm Street #1 -- 18,736 11/2006: Nightmare on Elm Street #2 -- 11,709 (-37.5%)
That’s a horrible second-issue drop, obviously. In fairness, they might have cast an eye on the bookstore market with this sort of material, so perhaps the usual direct market rules don’t apply to books like this one or Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
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181 - A MAN CALLED KEV (WildStorm) 11/2005: Authority: Kevin #4 of 5 -- 15,178 (- 6.3%) 12/2005: Authority: Kevin #5 of 5 -- 14,664 (- 3.4%) 01/2006: -- 02/2006: -- 03/2006: -- 04/2006: -- 05/2006: -- 06/2006: -- 07/2006: A Man Called Kev #1 of 5 -- 15,547 (+ 6.8%) 08/2006: A Man Called Kev #2 of 5 -- 13,370 (-14.0%) 09/2006: A Man Called Kev #3 of 5 -- 12,132 (- 9.3%) 10/2006: -- 11/2006: A Man Called Kev #4 of 5 -- 11,482 (- 5.4%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : -24.4%
Regular limited series drops.
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182 - DEADMAN (Vertigo) 08/2006: Deadman #1 -- 21,980 09/2006: Deadman #2 -- 15,494 (-29.5%) 10/2006: Deadman #3 -- 12,936 (-16.5%) 11/2006: Deadman #4 -- 11,294 (-12.7%)
Another non-starter disappearing into oblivion after initially acceptable numbers.
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183 - 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%) 07/2006: American Virgin #5 -- 13,265 (- 5.8%) 08/2006: American Virgin #6 -- 12,487 (- 5.9%) 09/2006: American Virgin #7 -- 11,767 (- 5.8%) 10/2006: -- 11/2006: American Virgin #8 -- 11,275 (- 4.2%) 11/2006: American Virgin #9 -- 10,567 (- 6.3%) ---------------- 6 months: -26.0%
Declining.
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187 - 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%) 07/2006: Warlord #6 -- 14,786 (- 8.0%) 08/2006: Warlord #7 -- 13,553 (- 8.3%) 09/2006: Warlord #8 -- 12,361 (- 8.8%) 10/2006: Warlord #9 -- 11,244 (- 9.0%) 11/2006: Warlord #10 -- 10,539 (- 6.3%) ---------------- 6 months: -43.0%
Canceled.
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190 - 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%) 07/2006: The Exterminators #7 -- 10,743 (- 2.4%) 08/2006: The Exterminators #8 -- 10,299 (- 4.1%) 09/2006: The Exterminators #9 -- 10,177 (- 1.2%) 10/2006: The Exterminators #10 -- 9,970 (- 2.0%) 11/2006: The Exterminators #11 -- 9,973 (+ 0.0%) ---------------- 6 months: - 9.2%
Holding level as guest artist Mike Hawthorne steps in. Issue #13 begins a four-part storyline, so The Exterminators should be safe until #16 at least.
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195 - JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED (Johnny DC) 11/2003: JL Adventures #25 -- 13,105 11/2004: JL Unlimited #3 -- 15,451 ------------------------------------ 11/2005: JL Unlimited #15 -- 10,625 (- 0.8%) 12/2005: JL Unlimited #16 -- 10,774 (+ 1.4%) 01/2006: JL Unlimited #17 -- 10,199 (- 5.3%) 02/2006: JL Unlimited #18 -- 10,206 (+ 0.1%) 03/2006: JL Unlimited #19 -- 10,534 (+ 3.2%) 04/2006: JL Unlimited #20 -- 10,620 (+ 0.8%) 05/2006: JL Unlimited #21 -- 10,430 (- 1.8%) 06/2006: JL Unlimited #22 -- 10,430 ( n.a.) 07/2006: JL Unlimited #23 -- 10,255 (- 1.7%) 08/2006: JL Unlimited #24 -- 10,117 (- 1.4%) 09/2006: JL Unlimited #25 -- 9,985 (- 1.3%) 10/2006: JL Unlimited #26 -- 9,696 (- 2.9%) 11/2006: JL Unlimited #27 -- 9,690 (- 0.1%) ---------------- 6 months: - 7.1% 1 year : - 8.0% 2 years : -37.3%
196 - TEEN TITANS GO (Johnny DC) 11/2003: Teen Titans Go #1 -- 29,055 11/2004: Teen Titans Go #13 -- 15,279 ------------------------------------- 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%) 07/2006: Teen Titans Go #33 -- 10,516 (- 2.1%) 08/2006: Teen Titans Go #34 -- 10,328 (- 1.8%) 09/2006: Teen Titans Go #35 -- 9,940 (- 3.8%) 10/2006: Teen Titans Go #36 -- 10,214 (+ 2.8%) 11/2006: Teen Titans Go #37 -- 9,642 (- 5.6%) ---------------- 6 months: -13.5% 1 year : -23.5% 2 years : -36.9%
See disclaimers on the Johnny DC books.
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199 - THE OTHER SIDE (Vertigo) 10/2006: The Other Side #1 of 5 -- 12,336 11/2006: The Other Side #2 of 5 -- 9,359 (-24.1%)
A predictably awful second-issue drop.
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200 - BATTLER BRITTON (WildStorm) 07/2006: Battler Britton #1 of 5 -- 14,843 08/2006: Battler Britton #2 of 5 -- 12,631 (-14.9%) 09/2006: Battler Britton #3 of 5 -- 9,985 (-21.0%) 10/2006: Battler Britton #4 of 5 -- 9,234 (- 7.5%) 11/2006: Battler Britton #5 of 5 -- 8,888 (- 3.8%)
The drops for the two final issues could have been worse, I suppose, so there’s your silver lining.
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202 - 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%) 07/2006: Testament #8 -- 11,073 (- 5.9%) 08/2006: Testament #9 -- 10,462 (- 5.5%) 09/2006: Testament #10 -- 9,629 (- 8.0%) 10/2006: Testament #11 -- 9,059 (- 5.9%) 11/2006: Testament #12 -- 8,690 (- 4.1%) ---------------- 6 months: -29.7%
The publisher’s lowest-selling title (outside the Johnny DC books) which hasn’t been canceled yet keeps declining. Currently, Testament is solicited up to issue #16.
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203 - RUSH CITY 07/2006: Rush City #1 of 6 -- 13,083 08/2006: -- 09/2006: Rush City #2 of 6 -- 11,867 (- 9.3%) 10/2006: -- 11/2006: Rush City #3 of 6 -- 8,539 (-28.1%)
Sales of The Advertisement That Walks Like a Comic Book crash and burn, not unexpectedly.
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213 - AMERICAN SPLENDOR (Vertigo) 09/2006: American Splendor #1 of 4 -- 11,529 10/2006: American Splendor #2 of 4 -- 9,202 (-20.2%) 11/2006: American Splendor #3 of 4 -- 7,737 (-15.9%)
These are horrible sales, but the material may ultimately enjoy a more filling second life in bookstores.
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216 - BATMAN STRIKES! (Johnny DC) 11/2003: Batman Adventures #8 -- 12,930 11/2004: Batman Strikes! #3 -- 15,305 ---------------------------------------- 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%) 07/2006: Batman Strikes! #23 -- 8,154 (+ 0.6%) 08/2006: Batman Strikes! #24 -- 8,139 (- 0.2%) 09/2006: Batman Strikes! #25 -- 7,765 (- 4.6%) 10/2006: Batman Strikes! #26 -- 7,560 (- 2.6%) 11/2006: Batman Strikes! #27 -- 7,567 (+ 0.1%) ---------------- 6 months: -10.6% 1 year : -14.4% 2 years : -50.6%
Another Johnny DC book.
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228 - THE NEXT 07/2006: The Next #1 of 6 -- 22,713 08/2006: The Next #2 of 6 -- 15,875 (-30.1%) 09/2006: The Next #3 of 6 -- 10,570 (-33.4%) 10/2006: The Next #4 of 6 -- 8,054 (-23.8%) 11/2006: The Next #5 of 6 -- 6,991 (-13.2%)
A disastrous performance.
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237 - ROKKIN (WildStorm) 07/2006: Rokkin #1 -- 10,846 08/2006: Rokkin #2 -- 8,389 (-22.7%) 09/2006: Rokkin #3 -- 6,852 (-18.3%) 10/2006: Rokkin #4 -- 6,449 (- 5.9%) 11/2006: Rokkin #5 -- 6,236 (- 3.3%)
Canceled with issue #6.
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238 - CLAW THE UNCONQUERED (WildStorm) 06/2006: Claw the Unconquered #1 -- 14,785 07/2006: Claw the Unconquered #2 -- 11,470 (-22.4%) 08/2006: Claw the Unconquered #3 -- 9,320 (-18.8%) 09/2006: Claw the Unconquered #4 -- 7,628 (-18.2%) 10/2006: Claw the Unconquered #5 -- 6,643 (-12.9%) 11/2006: Claw the Unconquered #6 -- 6,218 (- 6.4%)
Canceled.
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239 - KRYPTO THE SUPERDOG (Johnny DC) 09/2006: Krypto the Superdog #1 of 6 -- 10,369 10/2006: Krypto the Superdog #2 of 6 -- 7,023 (-32.3%) 11/2006: Krypto the Superdog #3 of 6 -- 6,019 (-14.3%)
A Johnny DC title.
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260 - MANIFEST ETERNITY (WildStorm) 06/2006: Manifest Eternity #1 -- 11,387 07/2006: Manifest Eternity #2 -- 8,415 (-26.1%) 08/2006: Manifest Eternity #3 -- 6,690 (-20.5%) 09/2006: Manifest Eternity #4 -- 5,655 (-15.5%) 10/2006: Manifest Eternity #5 -- 5,213 (- 7.8%) 11/2006: Manifest Eternity #6 -- 4,831 (- 7.3%)
Canceled.
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269 - SCOOBY DOO (Johnny DC) 11/2003: Scooby Doo #78 -- 5,788 11/2004: Scooby Doo #90 -- 5,280 --------------------------------- 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%) 07/2006: Scooby Doo #110 -- 4,781 (+ 8.1%) 08/2006: Scooby Doo #111 -- 4,492 (- 6.1%) 09/2006: Scooby Doo #112 -- 4,385 (- 2.4%) 10/2006: Scooby Doo #113 -- 4,339 (- 1.1%) 11/2006: Scooby Doo #114 -- 4,387 (+ 1.1%) ---------------- 6 months: - 2.4% 1 year : - 4.4% 2 years : -16.9%
And another Johnny DC title.
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RE-ORDERS: 276 -- 4,066: Action Comics #844 285 -- 3,604: The Boys #4 286 -- 3,595: Justice League of America #2 293 -- 3,500: Justice League of America #1
Due to the higher volume of material published, the entry level for the Top 300 was a whopping estimated 3,170 units in November; usually, it’s somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000.
Consequently, the re-orders of many books from previous months which might have registered in a less crowded environment were pushed off the chart. Among those few which did make it, The Boys #4 is the only surprise.
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Average Sales per Title
(not counting reprints, re-orders shipping after the initial month of release, Johnny DC titles and magazines)
DC COMICS 11/2003: 25,397 11/2004: 31,940 --------------- 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%) 07/2006: 39,915 (- 2.1%) 08/2006: 42,497 (+ 6.5%) 09/2006: 34,920 (-17.8%) 10/2006: 33,406 (- 4.3%) 11/2006: 34,906 (+ 4.5%) ---------------- 6 months: -18.6% 1 year : + 5.9% 2 years : + 9.3% 3 years : +37.4%
DC UNIVERSE 11/2003: 28,712 11/2004: 40,291 --------------- 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%) 07/2006: 49,638 (- 2.8%) 08/2006: 54,382 (+10.0%) 09/2006: 46,329 (-14.8%) 10/2006: 42,581 (- 8.1%) 11/2006: 45,399 (+ 6.6%) ---------------- 6 months: -20.3% 1 year : + 7.2% 2 years : +12.7% 3 years : +58.1%
VERTIGO 11/2003: 18,008 11/2004: 15,239 --------------- 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%) 07/2006: 16,684 (+11.5%) 08/2006: 16,107 (- 3.5%) 09/2006: 15,399 (- 4.4%) 10/2006: 15,189 (- 1.4%) 11/2006: 13,773 (- 9.3%) ---------------- 6 months: - 9.8% 1 year : -12.4% 2 years : - 9.6% 3 years : -23.5%
WILDSTORM 11/2003: 15,803 11/2004: 16,628 --------------- 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%) 07/2006: 12,778 (-15.1%) 08/2006: 14,741 (+15.4%) 09/2006: 13,285 (- 9.9%) 10/2006: 25,747 (+93.8%) 11/2006: 18,987 (-26.3%) ---------------- 6 months: +49.1% 1 year : +16.8% 2 years : +14.2% 3 years : +20.2%
I’m writing this column in the final days of 2006, so let’s look at DC Comics’ current performance in the direct market. Although quite a number of DC titles have been unable to hold on to their audiences and taking nose-dives down the chart lately, the publisher’s November output profited from several additional upper-level sellers: Batman, Green Lantern and Teen Titans shipped twice, in order to get back on schedule; 52 had five issues out due to the additional Wednesday; and Superman/Batman, Wonder Woman, Supergirl and Superman were back after skipping October.
While this results in a slight increase in the average DC and DC Universe title’s sales in November, it can’t gloss over the fact that 52 and Justice League of America appear to be the only major successes in the publisher’s stable right now. Other recent relaunches, such as Wonder Woman and Flash: The Fastest Man Alive, are dropping down the chart at an alarming rate. New high-profile creative teams on Action Comics and Superman are commercial disappointments so far. The more successful creative changes on Detective Comics and Batman are interrupted through potentially damaging fill-ins. Writer Jeph Loeb’s departure in May has left former sales juggernauts Superman/Batman and Supergirl in a dramatic decline. The vast majority of books involved in March’s “One Year Later” stunt are sinking like stones. And the All-Star line of titles seems to have disappeared in publishing limbo.
It’s not surprising that DC Comics dignitaries are now openly doubting the merits of self-contained titles and are eager to reassure us that the “Infinite Crisis” and “One Year Later” events were just the first steps in a much, much larger plan. Oblivious to the notion of diminished returns, it seems the direct market is back to its old tricks, after all, chasing one short-lived sales spike after the next with increasing levels of desperation. (March’s Action Comics #848 will ship in two variants, a regular one and a more expensive “3-D” one, complete with a 3-D cover and 3-D glasses.)
At Vertigo, the monthly direct market sales continue to look bleak. While Fables and Y: The Last Man remain as strong as ever and the spin-off Jack of Fables appears to be successfully establishing itself as a much-needed third flagship, shifting upwards of 20K every month, there’s not much else. The long-running Hellblazer and 100 Bullets are gently drifting into oblivion, and of the various ongoing titles launched in the last year, only DMZ looks like it may have a chance at a prolonged existence at present. The latest wave of titles, including the miniseries American Splendor and The Other Side and the ongoing Crossing Midnight, are commercial non-starters right out of the gate. Of course, it should be added that bookstore sales play a much more significant role for Vertigo than they do for the DC Universe or WildStorm lines, so the imprint’s performance in the monthly Top 300 chart is not the whole story.
Over at WildStorm, the much-hyped revamp of the WildStorm Universe line, now in its third month, yields mixed results. Its commercial flagship titles Wildcats and The Authority have both abandoned their original schedules and are missing in action after only one issue each has seen the light of day, and the other books so far have launched with numbers ranging from decent to mediocre, mostly followed by harsh subsequent drops. The imprint’s recent forays into the fantasy and science fiction genres were quickly aborted due to abysmal sales and are currently petering out, while the attempt to adapt popular horror franchises is met with underwhelming results as well to date. Established properties like Ex Machina and Astro City continue to be reasonably solid sellers whenever they show up, but even those titles are past their commercial prime in terms of monthly issues. The only bright spot in WildStorm’s current line-up is Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s The Boys, which is bucking the trends and carving a niche between 25 and 30K.
Overall, 2006 has, without a doubt, been a very good year for DC Comics. The moratorium on line-wide events and gimmicks is broken, resulting in significant sales increases across the board. Now that the dust has settled, the numbers are back in decline, however, and it’s more than a little bit dubious if “bigger events,” “more events” or “more gimmicks” are any more of a viable long-term strategy than they were ten years ago.
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6-MONTH COMPARISONS + 19.7%: Batman + 7.1%: Action Comics + 4.9%: Fables - 0.9%: Birds of Prey - 1.0%: Y: The Last Man - 2.4%: Scooby-Doo - 3.8%: Ex Machina - 4.0%: Batman: LotDK - 4.0%: 100 Bullets - 5.3%: DMZ - 5.5%: Hellblazer - 7.1%: JL Unlimited - 9.2%: The Exterminators - 9.4%: Green Lantern - 10.4%: Detective Comics - 10.6%: Batman Strikes - 11.5%: Superman - 12.8%: Teen Titans - 13.5%: Teen Titans Go - 14.4%: Jonah Hex - 18.0%: Green Arrow - 19.6%: 52 - 21.6%: Nightwing - 22.1%: Outsiders - 23.2%: Catwoman - 23.5%: Robin - 24.5%: Superman/Batman - 25.2%: Loveless - 25.3%: Supergirl and the LoSH - 26.0%: American Virgin - 26.4%: Firestorm - 26.7%: JLA: Classified - 29.7%: Testament - 30.2%: Aquaman - 31.5%: JSA: Classified - 34.2%: Ion - 37.7%: Hawkgirl - 39.2%: Supergirl - 40.4%: Checkmate - 40.5%: Blue Beetle - 43.0%: Warlord - 48.9%: Shadowpact
1-YEAR COMPARISONS + 74.3%: Justice League of America + 56.1%: Wonder Woman + 53.7%: Detective Comics + 49.6%: Action Comics + 32.7%: Batman + 26.4%: Aquaman + 23.8%: Flash + 9.1%: Catwoman + 5.4%: Birds of Prey + 4.0%: Fables + 1.3%: Supergirl and the LoSH - 0.8%: Nightwing - 1.6%: Green Arrow - 2.0%: Robin - 3.0%: Y: The Last Man - 4.4%: Scooby-Doo - 4.6%: Batman: LotDK - 6.8%: Ex Machina - 8.0%: JL Unlimited - 9.3%: Hellblazer - 9.5%: Teen Titans - 10.2%: 100 Bullets - 10.6%: Superman - 14.4%: Batman Strikes - 20.3%: Outsiders - 22.6%: Green Lantern - 23.5%: Teen Titans Go - 23.9%: DMZ - 24.4%: A Man Called Kev - 26.4%: Hawkgirl - 30.1%: Firestorm - 32.4%: Loveless - 34.7%: Batman: Mad Monk - 37.5%: Supergirl - 43.0%: JLA: Classified - 44.5%: Jonah Hex - 45.8%: JSA: Classified
2-YEAR COMPARISONS +199.6%: Wonder Woman +122.5%: Justice League of America + 71.7%: Action Comics + 45.1%: Batman + 30.2%: Flash + 12.5%: Detective Comics + 11.2%: Birds of Prey + 7.2%: Nightwing + 5.3%: Aquaman + 2.3%: Fables + 2.3%: Teen Titans - 0.1%: Green Arrow - 4.4%: Y: The Last Man - 11.2%: Catwoman - 11.8%: Robin - 12.2%: Hellblazer - 15.2%: Hawkgirl - 15.8%: Ex Machina - 16.9%: Scooby-Doo - 17.1%: Green Lantern - 18.7%: 100 Bullets - 18.8%: Batman: LotDK - 27.3%: Firestorm - 36.9%: Teen Titans - 37.3%: JL Unlimited - 40.0%: Superman/Batman - 41.5%: Superman - 50.6%: Batman Strikes - 72.1%: JLA: Classified
OTHER PUBLISHERS
66 - STAR WARS: DARK TIMES (Dark Horse) 11/2006: Star Wars: Dark Times #1 of 5 -- 34,513
67/73 - STAR WARS: LEGACY (Dark Horse) 06/2006: Star Wars: Legacy #1 -- 34,758 [36,375] 07/2006: Star Wars: Legacy #2 -- 33,298 (-4.2%) 08/2006: -- 09/2006: Star Wars: Legacy #3 -- 34,268 (+2.9%) 09/2006: Star Wars: Legacy #4 -- 34,362 (+0.3%) 10/2006: -- 11/2006: Star Wars: Legacy #5 -- 34,362 ( n.a.) 11/2006: Star Wars: Legacy #6 -- 33,003 (-4.0%)
87 - CONAN (Dark Horse) 11/2004: Conan #10 -- 43,216 ---------------------------- 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%) 07/2006: Conan #30 -- 31,095 (- 3.0%) 08/2006: Conan #31 -- 30,887 (- 0.7%) 09/2006: Conan #32 -- 29,070 (- 5.9%) 10/2006: Conan #33 -- 29,137 (+ 0.2%) 11/2006: Conan #34 -- 28,144 (- 3.4%) ---------------- 6 months: -11.2% 1 year : -16.4% 2 years : n.a.
As mentioned in the introduction, Dark Horse Comics was the only other publisher besides Marvel and DC to place titles in the November 2006 direct market Top 100. Three of them were Star Wars books, the fourth and final one was the latest issue of Conan.
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106 - SPAWN (Image/TMP) 11/2003: Spawn #130 -- 37,030 11/2004: Spawn #140 -- 27,376 ----------------------------- 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%) 07/2006: Spawn #158 -- 26,875 (+ 2.1%) 08/2006: Spawn #159 -- 26,232 (- 2.4%) 09/2006: Spawn #160 -- 25,580 (- 2.5%) 10/2006: Spawn #161 -- 25,840 (+ 1.0%) 11/2006: Spawn #162 -- 25,069 (- 3.0%) ---------------- 6 months: - 7.2% 1 year : n.a. 2 years : - 8.4%
Comics history footnote: November 2006 was the month in which Spawn dropped out of the Top 100 for the first time. (Technically, I think it may have done so before once or twice, but that was due to large quantities of copies not reaching stores in time to qualify.)
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Disclaimers, et cetera
The numbers above are estimates for comic book sales to retailers in the North American direct market, as calculated by ICv2.com according to the chart and index information provided by Diamond Comic Distributors. ICv2.com’s estimates are traditionally known to be somewhat lower than the actual numbers, but they are consistent from month to month, so the trends they show are fairly accurate.
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.
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.
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Germany-based Marc-Oliver Frisch has a weblog and regularly contributes to German online magazine Comicgate.
[Wonder Woman’s] current writer will be replaced with issue #6, meanwhile, suggesting that someone at DC is less than happy with the situation
If I remember correctly, Allan Heinberg never committed to be on the title for more than 6 issues from the start. I found these comments from NYCC where he stated that, and I thought there was a confirmation that he’d only be the writer for the first arc, but I can’t find any reference for it now. Jodi Picoult was announced as the new writer fairly early, too (July 6, according to this article).
I also can’t help but wonder if the weak link in the WW chain was implicitly identified when it was announced that Picoult’s artist would be Drew Johnson in addition to the Dodsons.
DC is in need of a gigantic complete reboot. Start completely anew.
If they could have organised 52, they must be able to organise 12 uninterupted issues of their flagship titles. If you relaunch with big names, make sure you have the first story arc in the can! This is something DC with the deep pockets of Time/Warner is able to do, unlike it’s rival(s).
DC had a prime opportunity with OYL and the All-Star line and botched both of them; rather embarassingly so in the latter’s case. Coming out of Infinite Crisis, they went for quantity instead of quality, launching (and relaunching) a slew of ill-considered and/or terribly managed series that diluted the market and prevented all but a few from gaining any serious traction.
It’ll be at least another five years before they’re in a position to get away with another massive reboot. At this point, they need to cut their losses and focus on nurturing a handful of quality titles with creative teams that will stick around for at least a year; maybe fill the mid-list gap with mini-series and anthology titles.
Of course, considering the upcoming 3D issue of Action Comics, that’s not at all likely.
Guy has it right about another reboot in five years.
So… Anyone want to guess which “revisions” will be culled in the next 3 to 5 years?
My guess is we’ll lose the ‘Red Hood’ nonsense and there will be an extensive rework of Supergirl.
It’s very noticeable how a LOT of books have, in less than a year, dropped below half the numbers for #1. Most noticeably of course Flash and Wonder Woman, but also the third-tier titles like Blue Beetle, Mystery in Space et al. This is very heavy dropping. DC just isn’t holding on to audience well enough. They can establish decent levels for #1s by building up a lot of pre-interest, but they seem to have failed to realize that after the pre-hype, you still need to follow up and deliver the goods, an attractive story, to KEEP the sales.
I also strongly believe that 52 is cannibalizing other titles. Everybody’s all rah-rah, what a great success 52 is, but if it ends up cancelling half the publisher’s other books (exaggerating here), is it still so great that it sells 100k? People have a limited amount of money, and if they feel they must be reading 52, they’re going to have to be dropping some other titles. This may play a significant part in the heavy drops almost DC-wide in the latter half of the year.
>Guy has it right about another reboot in five years.
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>So… Anyone want to guess which “revisions” will be culled in the >next 3 to 5 years?
I say JasonStorm (firestorm) is gone within 6 months. C’mon only one ongoing DCU monthly is lower in sales (warlord, and that is on the cancelled list). DiDio should just say that he made a mistake POing Ronnie Raymond’s fan base and end the madness.
Seriously, a friend of mine left a copy of Firestorm on his dashboard, went into a gas station, when he left, his window was smashed and 10 copies of Firestorm were on his dash.
Big Events, crossovers, and multiple covers isn’t a long-term strategy. It’s a make-a-quick-buck-over-and-over-again strategy. Eventually, it will fail, because the old fans are gonna get sick of it, and the younger generations won’t care about comic books.
DC needs to stop flooding the market with so many books. One book for each team and character. That’s it. That includes Superman and Batman. No “prestige format” miniseries. Save the miniseries and one-shot specials for characters that does warrant ongoing series (read: anyone that sells below 20,000). No, don’t even give them miniseries – just occasional one-shots to placate their few fans.
DC should axe every monthly title that sells below 20,000. Period.
As each Vertigo and WildStorm title is cancelled, they should not be replaced. Just let those lines die out and focus on the DCU.
My guess is, when the bloodbath is over and the readers have settled, each of the remaining titles will see increases in readership.
For example, fans might not have wanted to buy 3.5 titles to follow Superman, but they would buy 1. The same with Batman. Readers that were following, say, “Testament” or “Firestorm: The Nuclear Man” would move to one of the higher-selling titles.
There’s at least a few times where I think a strong case can be made that you’ve editorialized where you don’t yet have numbers that can back you up. The Nightwing case comes to mind…two issues from the new creative team…first one saw a bump, second modest decline…without much opportunity for retailers to gauge fan interest in their shops. But for the most part, your observations are depressing and frightening, with no data-fueled basis of disagreeing.
>>I say JasonStorm (firestorm) is gone within 6 months. C’mon only one ongoing DCU monthly is lower in sales (warlord, and that is on the cancelled list). DiDio should just say that he made a mistake POing Ronnie Raymond’s fan base and end the madness.
I agree with Sami – 52’s eating the rest of DC’s line alive.
Otherwise, the Law of Diminishing Returns with reboots hit with Zero Hour, and seem to be more about creator ego, probably on DiDido’s part (c’mon, I refuse to believe that there were people clamouring for a frelling CREEPER reboot!)
I run the Legion Omnicom, which focuses entirely on the Legion of Super-Heroes in all its incarnations. I’ve taken the last ten *years* worth of sales for that title (including miniseries and reboots) and plotted it on my site. Even though sales are down on this particular title, they’re still higher than they have been in more than ten years.
(I’m confused as to why my link to this page hasn’t shown up as a trackback – am I supposed to do something manually?)
Mike I’ve never been able to figrue out trackbacks…call me stoopid.
Great data set however!
“DC needs to stop flooding the market with so many books. One book for each team and character. That’s it. That includes Superman and Batman.”
There hasn’t been one Batman or one Superman book in what, like 60 years. If I don’t like Grant Morrison’s Batman, it would be in DCs best interest, to give me another Batman book. Now, in terms of doing multiple mini-series, I might agree with you. Only the serious hobbyists are getting Mad Monk (My guess) and they probably have a budget. If they don’t get that, they’ll probably just be getting something else, and odds are good that it will be one of your books anyway.
So yeah, not just one book per character (a, no offense, purely fanboy notion) but no need to pile on a dozen at once.