WD 155by David Carter

Greetings, sales charts fans! It’s time once again to look at Image Comics’s sales figures.

Just a reminder that I’m not doing this as a permanent gig; just filling in until Heidi finds someone to take on the indy month-to-month chart. Although that keeps looking less and less likely with each passing month, so y’all might be stuck with me for a while…

Please refer to July’s column for a preamble and explanation as to why sales standards for Image books are likely to be different than those for DC or Marvel.

Image shipped 55 comics in June, compared to only 41 comics in May, 51 comics in April, 52 comics in March, 50 comics in February, 56 comics in January, 67 comics in December, 62 in November, 55 in October and 73 in September. Of those 55 comics, 19 did not place in Diamond’s Top 300, and another 16 placed below the 10K mark.

Warning: The commentary below may contain reasoned analysis, speculation (unfounded and otherwise), opinion, and/or snark. Those looking for a more straightforward analysis are directed to John Jackson Miller’s excellent Comichron analysis, posted earlier this month right here at The Beat!!

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

(Note that the percentage comparisons are done with total orders including reorder activity, as opposed to initial orders.)


31 - THE WALKING DEAD ($2.99)
06/2006: The Walking Dead #28  --  20,119
06/2011: The Walking Dead #86  --  32,187 
06/2012: The Walking Dead #99  --  55,710  [62,182]
06/2013: The Walking Dead #111 --  74,857 
06/2014: The Walking Dead #128 --  74,326  [74,291]
-----------------------------------------
06/2015: The Walking Dead #142 --  68,221 (-  1.3%) [69,079]
06/2015: The Walking Dead #143 --  67,989 (+  0.4%) [69,325]
07/2015: The Walking Dead #144 --  79,496 (+ 15.2%) [79,882]
08/2015: The Walking Dead #145 --  82,792 (+  4.7%) [83,671]
09/2015: The Walking Dead #146 --  69,006 (- 16.6%) [69,799]
10/2015: The Walking Dead #147 --  67,056 (-  2.6%) [68,007]
11/2015: The Walking Dead #148 --  65,526 (-  2.3%) [66,446]
12/2015: The Walking Dead #149 --  65,406 (-  1.6%) 
01/2016: The Walking Dead #150 -- 156,166 (+138.8%) 
02/2016: The Walking Dead #151 --  67,381 (- 59.6%) 
03/2016: The Walking Dead #152 --  67,258 (-  0.2%) 
04/2016: The Walking Dead #153 --  67,358 (+  0.1%) 
05/2016: The Walking Dead #154 --  68,922 (+  2.3%) 
06/2016: The Walking Dead #155 --  71,755 (+  4.1%) 
-----------------
6 months: +  9.7%
1 year  : +  3.9%
2 years : -  3.4%
5 years : +122.9%
10 years: +256.7%

The Walking Dead falls from #13 to #31 on the chart, even though sales increase nearly 3K. That’s mainly due to DC’s Rebirth pushing a lot of titles up into the 80-100K+ range. So remember: sales chart position means nothing when it comes to an individual title’s sales performance.

Nothing particularly special about the last few issues (i.e. no variant covers or other trickery), so I guess we’re just seeing a rise in demand?

69 - PAPER GIRLS ($2.99)
10/2015: Paper Girls #1  -- 75,585           [80,620]
11/2015: Paper Girls #2  -- 46,274 (- 40.0%) [48,346]
12/2015: Paper Girls #3  -- 43,737 (-  9.5%) 
01/2016: Paper Girls #4  -- 38,290 (- 12.5%) 
02/2016: Paper Girls #5  -- 37,206 (-  2.8%) 
03/2016: -- 
04/2016: -- 
05/2016: -- 
06/2016: Paper Girls #6  -- 36,385 (-  2.2%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 16.8%

Paper Girls returns from its hiatus down a bit.

The first trade collection sold 10K to Diamond-NA accounts in its first month, and another 2K in its second month, then another 3K in its third month, and over 2K again this month. And those don’t even count sales in the general book market (which given BKV’s draw could be significant).

86 - JUPITER'S LEGACY ($3.99)
06/2013: Jupiter's Legacy #2 -- 48,217
06/2014: --
--------------------------------------
06/2015: Jupiter's Circle #3 -- 21,287 (- 13.1%) 
07/2015: Jupiter's Circle #4 -- 19,522 (-  8.3%) 
08/2015: Jupiter's Circle #5 -- 18,889 (-  3.2%) 
09/2015: Jupiter's Circle #6 -- 18,732 (-  0.8%) 
10/2015: --
11/2015: Jupiter's Crc v2 #1 -- 18,175 (-  3.0%)
12/2015: Jupiter's Crc v2 #2 -- 15,719 (- 13.5%)
01/2016: Jupiter's Crc v2 #3 -- 14,631 (-  6.9%)
02/2016: -- 
03/2016: Jupiter's Crc v2 #4 -- 13,726 (-  6.2%)
04/2016: Jupiter's Crc v2 #5 -- 13,418 (-  2.2%)
05/2016: Jupiter's Crc v2 #6 -- 11,177 (- 16.7%)
06/2016: Jupiter's Leg v2 #1 -- 28,409 (+154.2%)
-----------------
6 months: + 80.7%
1 year  : + 33.5%
2 years :    n.a.

The main title returns, along with artist Frank Quitely. It’s right in line with where the final issue of the previous Legacy series left off (29,367).

89 - I HATE FAIRYLAND ($3.50)
10/2015: I Hate Fairyland #1 -- 50,318           [53,492]
11/2015: I Hate Fairyland #2 -- 31,626 (- 38.2%) [33,054]
12/2015: I Hate Fairyland #3 -- 27,843 (- 15.8%) 
01/2016: I Hate Fairyland #4 -- 25,708 (-  7.7%) 
02/2016: I Hate Fairyland #5 -- 24,793 (-  3.6%) 
03/2016: -- 
04/2016: -- 
05/2016: -- 
06/2016: I Hate Fairyland #6 -- 26,095 (+  5.3%)

Another returning series, though this one sees a rise in sales. Also appearing this month was the I Hate Fairyland Coloring Book, with 3K in sales. The trade collection sold nearly 7K in its first month, then a bit over 1K again in May & June.

109 - DESCENDER ($2.99)
06/2015: Descender #4  -- 27,163 (- 10.2%) [29,046]
07/2015: Descender #5  -- 26,039 (- 10.4%) 
08/2015: Descender #6  -- 24,615 (-  5.5%) 
09/2015: -- 
10/2015: -- 
11/2015: Descender #7  -- 23,684 (-  3.8%) 
12/2015: Descender #8  -- 20,999 (- 11.3%) 
01/2015: Descender #9  -- 20,017 (-  4.7%) 
02/2015: Descender #10 -- 19,642 (-  3.4%) 
03/2015: Descender #11 -- 18,842 (-  2.6%) 
04/2016: -- 
05/2016: -- 
06/2015: Descender #12 -- 19,782 (+  5.0%) 
-----------------
6 months: -  5.8%
1 year  : - 31.9%

Also returns from hiatus with a bit of a rise.

121 - BITCH PLANET ($3.99)
06/2015: -- 
07/2015: -- 
08/2015: -- 
09/2015: Bitch Planet #5  -- 22,041 (+  2.2%)
10/2015: -- 
11/2015: -- 
12/2015: -- 
01/2016: Bitch Planet #6  -- 18,834 (- 14.6%)
02/2016: Bitch Planet #7  -- 17,721 (-  5.9%)
03/2016: -- 
04/2016: -- 
05/2016: -- 
06/2016: Bitch Planet #8  -- 18,158 (+  2.5%)
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  :    n.a.

Not so much returning from hiatus as just running late. Sales bounce up a few hundred though.

122 - EAST OF WEST ($3.50)
06/2013: East of West #3  -- 39,441
06/2014: East of West #12 -- 27,056
-----------------------------------
06/2015: -- 
07/2015: -- 
08/2015: East of West #20 -- 21,778 (-  3.1%) 
09/2015: -- 
10/2015: East of West #21 -- 21,075 (-  3.2%) 
11/2015: -- 
12/2015: East of West #22 -- 19,867 (-  5.7%) 
12/2015: East of West #23 -- 19,184 (-  3.4%) 
01/2016: East of West #24 -- 18,460 (-  3.8%) 
02/2016: --
03/2016: --
04/2016: East of West #25 -- 19,297 (+  4.5%) 
05/2016: East of West #26 -- 17,645 (-  8.6%) 
06/2016: East of West #27 -- 18,146 (+  2.8%) 
-----------------
6 months: -  7.1%
1 year  :    n.a.
2 years : - 32.9%

123 - THE GODDAMNED ($3.99)
11/2015: The Goddamned #1 -- 33,809           [34,703]
12/2015: The Goddamned #2 -- 20,415 (- 41.2%) 
01/2016: -- 
02/2015: The Goddamned #3 -- 17,421 (- 14.7%) 
03/2006: -- 
04/2006: -- 
05/2006: -- 
06/2015: The Goddamned #4 -- 18,071 (+  3.7%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 47.9%

Also just running late, also sees a slight sales rise.

125 - THE WICKED + THE DIVINE ($3.50)
06/2014: Wicked + Divine #1  -- 42,948  [52,250]
--------------------------------------
06/2015: Wicked + Divine #11 -- 20,579 (+  0.1%) 
07/2015: Wicked + Divine #12 -- 20,335 (-  1.2%) 
08/2015: Wicked + Divine #13 -- 20,161 (-  1.2%) 
09/2015: Wicked + Divine #14 -- 20,706 (+  2.7%) 
10/2015: Wicked + Divine #15 -- 20,154 (-  2.7%) 
11/2015: Wicked + Divine #16 -- 19,360 (-  3.9%) 
12/2015: Wicked + Divine #17 -- 18,479 (-  4.6%) 
01/2016: --
02/2016: --
03/2016: --
04/2016: Wicked + Divine #18 -- 17,722 (-  4.1%) 
05/2016: Wicked + Divine #19 -- 16,929 (-  4.4%) 
06/2016: Wicked + Divine #20 -- 17,831 (+  5.3%) 
-----------------
6 months: -  3.5%
1 year  : - 13.4%
2 years : - 65.9%

Gains another 900 copies.

149 - LAZARUS ($3.99)
06/2013: --
06/2014: --
------------------------------
06/2015: Lazarus #17 -- 14,980 (-  1.0%) 
07/2015: Lazarus #18 -- 14,563 (-  2.8%) 
08/2015: --
09/2015: Lazarus #19 -- 14,506 (-  0.4%) 
10/2015: --
11/2015: Lazarus #20 -- 14,218 (-  2.0%) 
12/2015: Lazarus #21 -- 13,390 (-  5.8%) 
01/2016: --
02/2016: --
03/2016: --
04/2016: -- 
05/2016: -- 
06/2006: Lazarus #22 -- 14,177 (+  5.9%)
-----------------
6 months: +  5.9%
1 year  : -  5.4%
2 years :    n.a.

Returns from a long(-ish) hiatus, and it also goes up a few hundred. Something is going on here…

145 - LOW ($3.99)
06/2015: Low #7  -- 24,317 (+ 22.6%) 
07/2015: Low #8  -- 16,169 (- 33.5%) 
08/2015: Low #9  -- 15,717 (-  2.8%) 
09/2015: --
10/2015: Low #10 -- 15,351 (-  2.3%) 
11/2015: -- 
12/2015: -- 
01/2016: -- 
02/2016: Low #11 -- 14,939 (-  2.7%) 
03/2016: Low #12 -- 14,494 (-  3.0%) 
04/2016: Low #13 -- 13,956 (-  3.7%) 
05/2016: -- 
06/2016: Low #14 -- 13,903 (-  0.4%) 
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  : - 42.8%

Here’s a title that actually drops, but only by 53 copies.

166 - INVINCIBLE ($2.99)
06/2006: Invincible #32  -- 12,910
06/2006: Invincible #33  -- 12,941
06/2011: Invincible #80  -- 15,563 
06/2012: Invincible #92  -- 14,553
06/2013: Invincible #103 -- 15,072 
06/2014: Invincible #112 -- 14,413
----------------------------------
06/2015: -- 
07/2015: Invincible #121 -- 13,075 (-  0.9%) 
08/2015: Invincible #122 -- 13,001 (-  0.6%) 
09/2015: Invincible #123 -- 12,758 (-  1.9%) 
10/2015: Invincible #124 -- 13,186 (+  3.4%) 
11/2015: Invincible #125 -- 12,561 (-  4.7%) 
12/2015: Invincible #126 -- 12,436 (-  1.0%) 
01/2016: --
02/2016: --
03/2016: --
04/2016: Invincible #127 -- 12,038 (-  3.2%) 
05/2016: Invincible #128 -- 11,982 (-  0.5%) 
06/2016: Invincible #129 -- 12,510 (+  4.4%) 
-----------------
6 months: +  0.6%
1 year  :    n.a.
2 years : - 13.2%
5 years : - 19.6%
10 years: -  3.2%

166 - PLUTONA ($2.99)
09/2015: Plutona #1 of 5 -- 25,690 
10/2015: Plutona #2 of 5 -- 16,656 (- 35.2%)
11/2015: -- 
12/2015: Plutona #3 of 5 -- 13,948 (- 16.3%)
01/2016: -- 
02/2016: Plutona #4 of 5 -- 11,862 (- 15.0%)
03/2016: --
04/2016: -- 
05/2016: -- 
06/2016: Plutona #5 of 5 -- 12,197 (+  2.8%)
-----------------
6 months: - 12.6%

Seriously, something strange is going on this month. There’s no obvious reason for the several-months-late final issue of a limited series to see a rise of a few hundred copies. (Nothing against Plutona; it’s just not the sort of thing that usually happens…)

181 - INJECTION ($2.99)
06/2015: Injection #2  -- 23,484 (- 43.6%) 
07/2015: Injection #3  -- 19,754 (- 15.9%) 
08/2015: Injection #4  -- 17,113 (- 13.4%) 
09/2015: Injection #5  -- 16,020 (-  6.4%) 
10/2015: -- 
11/2015: -- 
12/2015: -- 
01/2016: Injection #6  -- 13,153 (- 17.9%) 
02/2016: Injection #7  -- 12,459 (-  5.3%) 
03/2016: Injection #8  -- 11,855 (-  4.8%) 
04/2016: Injection #9  -- 11,433 (-  3.6%) 
05/2016: -- 
06/2016: Injection #10 -- 11,771 (+  3.0%) 
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  : - 49.9%

See what I mean?

184 - THE FIX ($3.99)
04/2016: The Fix #1  -- 14,959 
05/2016: The Fix #2  -- 10,433 (- 30.3%) 
06/2016: The Fix #3  -- 11,128 (+  6.7%)

And I don’t think these are phantom sales or an artifact of the way that ICV2 is calculating the sales estimates. A couple of months ago, after the orders for The Fix #3 had come in to the publisher, The Fix artist Steve Lieber remarked on Twitter that he was pleased to see that orders for the third issue had gone up from those for the second, which is generally unheard of these days (typically you’ll see orders for third issues going down 10-15%).

So employing baseless speculation (a hallmark of these columns!), what could be causing this? I’ll note that when doing this month’s DC column, I noticed that many of their lower-selling titles (i.e. not the Rebirth books, which is another thing entirely) so either slight increases or decreases that were smaller than would be expected. So this phenomenon may not be restricted to just the Image titles.

To me, the most obvious explanation would be a Rebirth halo effect, wherein some retailers saw the opportunity of lapsed readers coming in to their stores for DC’s Rebirth and therefore ordered just a couple more rack copies of many (non-DC) titles than they usually would.

Of course, it could just be a general market correction, with retailers determining that they’ve cut their purchasing just a bit too much and are increasing their orders a bit due to actual (as opposed to anticipated) demand. The next few months will tell if this is a new trend or just a momentary blip.

185 - DEADLY CLASS ($3.99)
06/2014: Deadly Class #6  -- 16,305
------------------------------------
06/2015: -- 
07/2015: Deadly Class #14 -- 11,798 (-  4.1%) 
08/2015: Deadly Class #15 -- 11,779 (-  0.2%) 
09/2015: Deadly Class #16 -- 11,394 (-  3.3%) 
10/2015: --
11/2015: --
12/2015: Deadly Class #17 -- 11,035 (-  3.2%) 
01/2016: Deadly Class #18 -- 10,485 (-  5.0%) 
02/2016: --
03/2016: Deadly Class #19 -- 10,440 (-  0.4%) 
04/2016: Deadly Class #20 -- 10,366 (-  0.7%) 
05/2016: -- 
06/2016: Deadly Class #21 -- 10,892 (+  5.1%) 
-----------------
6 months: -  1.3%
1 year  :    n.a.
2 years : - 33.2%

188 - RENATO JONES: THE ONE % ($3.50)
05/2016: One Percent #1  -- 14,857 
06/2016: One Percent #2  -- 10,565 (- 28.9%)

The first two issues already have multiple printings (a 2nd & 3rd for #1, and a 2nd for #2). So far the sales pattern is looking remarkably like that of The Fix.

189 - BLACK ROAD ($3.99)
04/2016: Black Road #1  -- 16,572 
05/2016: Black Road #2  -- 10,131 (- 38.9%) 
06/2016: Black Road #3  -- 10,484 (+  3.5%)

194 - AUTUMNLANDS ($2.99)
06/2015: Autumnlands T&C #6 -- 15,321 (-  4.6%) 
07/2015: -- 
08/2015: -- 
09/2015: -- 
10/2015: -- 
11/2015: Autumnlands #7     -- 12,227 (- 20.2%) 
12/2015: Autumnlands #8     -- 11,104 (-  9.2%) 
01/2016: -- 
02/2016: Autumnlands #9     -- 10,249 (-  7.7%) 
03/2016: -- 
04/2016: Autumnlands #10    --  9,751 (-  4.9%) 
05/2016: -- 
04/2016: Autumnlands #11    -- 10,140 (+  4.0%) 
-----------------
6 months: -  8.7%
1 year  : - 33.8%
195 - PRETTY DEADLY ($3.50)
06/2014: --
------------------------------------
06/2015: -- 
07/2015: -- 
08/2015: -- 
09/2015: -- 
10/2015: --
11/2015: Pretty Deadly #6  -- 15,494 (- 19.4%)
12/2015: Pretty Deadly #7  -- 11,277 (- 27.2%)
01/2016: -- 
02/2016: Pretty Deadly #8  -- 10,180 (-  9.7%)
03/2016: -- 
04/2016: Pretty Deadly #9  --  9,732 (-  4.4%)
05/2016: -- 
06/2016: Pretty Deadly #10 -- 10,119 (+  4.0%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 10.3%
1 year  :    n.a.
2 years :    n.a.

The mystery gain shoots a couple of titles back over the 10K line.

207 - THE BEAUTY ($3.99)
08/2015: The Beauty #1  -- 25,245
09/2015: The Beauty #2  -- 17,337 (- 31.3%)
10/2015: The Beauty #3  -- 14,935 (- 13.9%)
11/2015: The Beauty #4  -- 13,369 (- 10.5%)
12/2015: The Beauty #5  -- 11,514 (- 13.9%)
01/2016: The Beauty #6  -- 10,595 (-  8.0%)
02/2016: -- 
03/2016: -- 
04/2016: -- 
05/2016: The Beauty #7  --  9,178 (- 13.4%)
06/2016: The Beauty #8  --  9,577 (+  4.3%)
-----------------
6 months: - 16.8%

209 - MANIFEST DESTINY ($2.99)
06/2014: Manifest Destiny #7  -- 21,500
---------------------------------------
06/2015: Manifest Destiny #15 -- 11,389 (-  2.8%) 
07/2015: -- 
08/2015: Manifest Destiny #16 -- 10,986 (-  3.5%) 
09/2015: Manifest Destiny #17 -- 10,748 (-  2.2%) 
10/2015: Manifest Destiny #18 -- 10,503 (-  2.3%) 
11/2015: -- 
12/2015: -- 
01/2016: -- 
02/2016: -- 
03/2016: -- 
04/2016: -- 
05/2016: Manifest Destiny #19 --  9,900 (-  5.7%) 
06/2016: Manifest Destiny #20 --  9,399 (-  5.1%) 
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  : - 17.5%
2 years : - 56.3%

214 - SHE WOLF ($3.99)
06/2016: She Wolf #1  -- 9,124

New series from Rich Tommaso. HIs previous series, Dark Corridor, started at 13K.

217 - THE DISCIPLINE ($2.99)
03/2016: Discipline #1  -- 20,221
04/2016: Discipline #2  -- 10,288 (- 49.1%)
05/2016: Discipline #3  --  9,161 (- 11.0%)
06/2016: Discipline #4  --  9,017 (-  1.6%)

218 - BIRTHRIGHT ($2.99)
06/2015: Birthright #8  -- 12,058 (-  4.0%) 
07/2015: Birthright #9  -- 11,496 (-  4.7%) 
08/2015: Birthright #10 -- 11,072 (-  3.7%) 
09/2015: --
10/2015: --
11/2015: Birthright #11 -- 10,989 (-  0.7%) 
12/2015: Birthright #12 -- 10,633 (-  3.2%) 
01/2016: Birthright #13 --  9,931 (-  6.6%) 
02/2016: Birthright #14 --  9,519 (-  4.1%) 
03/2016: Birthright #15 --  9,344 (-  1.8%) 
04/2016: -- 
05/2016: -- 
06/2016: Birthright #16 --  9,015 (-  3.5%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 15.2%
1 year  : - 25.2%

223 - MIDNIGHT OF THE SOUL ($3.50)
06/2016: Midnight of the Soul #1 of 5 -- 8,478

New series from Howard Chaykin.

224 - NAILBITER ($2.99)
06/2014: Nailbiter #2  -- 15,193
--------------------------------
06/2015: Nailbiter #13 -- 10,456 (-  2.2%) 
07/2015: Nailbiter #14 -- 10,130 (-  3.1%) 
08/2015: Nailbiter #15 --  9,934 (-  1.9%) 
09/2015: --
10/2015: Nailbiter #16 --  9,719 (-  2.2%) 
11/2015: Nailbiter #17 --  9,333 (-  4.0%) 
12/2015: Nailbiter #18 --  8,853 (-  5.1%) 
01/2016: Nailbiter #19 --  8,464 (-  4.4%) 
02/2016: Nailbiter #20 --  8,368 (-  1.1%) 
03/2016: -- 
04/2016: -- 
05/2016: Nailbiter #21 --  8,196 (-  2.1%) 
06/2016: Nailbiter #22 --  8,477 (+  3.4%) 
-----------------
6 months: -  4.2%
1 year  : - 18.9%
2 years : - 44.2%

231 - RUMBLE ($3.50)
06/2015: -- 
07/2015: -- 
08/2015: Rumble #6  --  8,810 (-  6.9%) 
09/2015: Rumble #7  --  7,613 (- 13.6%) 
10/2015: Rumble #8  --  7,084 (-  6.9%) 
11/2015: Rumble #9  --  6,774 (-  4.4%) 
12/2015: Rumble #10 --  6,324 (-  6.6%) 
01/2016: --
02/2016: --
03/2016: --
04/2016: -- 
05/2016: -- 
06/2016: Rumble #11 --  8,139 (+ 28.7%) 
-----------------
6 months: + 28.7%
1 year  :    n.a.

I didn’t think this one was coming back, but it posts a sizable gain coming off of its several-month hiatus.

236 - HEAD LOPPER ($5.99)
09/2015: Head Lopper #1 of 4 -- 11,337 
10/2015: --
11/2015: --
12/2015: Head Lopper #2 of 4 --  8,755 (- 22.8%) 
01/2016: --
02/2016: --
03/2016: Head Lopper #3 of 4 --  7,494 (- 14.4%) 
04/2006: -- 
05/2006: -- 
06/2016: Head Lopper #4 of 4 --  7,928 (+  5.9%) 
-----------------
6 months: -  9.4%

242 - CRY HAVOC ($3.99)
01/2016: Cry Havoc #1 -- 20,677 
02/2016: Cry Havoc #2 --  9,692 (- 53.1%) 
03/2016: Cry Havoc #3 --  7,813 (- 19.4%) 
04/2016: Cry Havoc #4 --  7,771 (-  0.5%) 
05/2016: Cry Havoc #5 --  7,457 (-  4.0%) 
06/2016: Cry Havoc #6 --  7,571 (+  1.5%)

253 - THIEF OF THIEVES ($2.99)
06/2012: Thief of Thieves #5  -- 19,833 
06/2013: -- 
06/2014: --
---------------------------------------
06/2015: Thief of Thieves #29 --  6,884 (-  4.2%) 
07/2015: -- 
08/2015: Thief of Thieves #30 --  6,642 (-  3.5%) 
09/2015: Thief of Thieves #31 --  6,499 (-  2.2%) 
10/2015: --
11/2015: --
12/2015: --
01/2016: --
02/2016: --
03/2016: --
04/2016: -- 
05/2016: -- 
06/2016: Thief of Thieves #32 --  6,934 (+  6.7%) 
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  : +  0.7%
2 years :    n.a.

Returns after a rather lengthy hiatus.

254 - GRIZZLY SHARK ($3.99)
04/2016: Grizzly Shark #1 of 3 -- 10,221 
05/2016: Grizzly Shark #2 of 3 --  7,353 (- 28.1%) 
06/2016: Grizzly Shark #3 of 3 --  6,873 (-  6.5%)

257 - CASANOVA: ACEDIA ($3.99)
06/2015: -- 
07/2015: Casanova: Acedia #3 of 4 --  7,865 (- 23.7%) 
08/2015: -- 
09/2015: Casanova: Acedia #4 of 4 --  6,117 (- 22.2%) 
10/2015: --
11/2015: --
12/2015: --
01/2016: --
02/2016: --
03/2016: --
04/2016: -- 
05/2016: -- 
06/2016: Casanova: Acedia #5      --  6,802 (+  11.2%) 
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  :    n.a.

Surprise—it wasn’t a mini-series after all!

279 - NOWHERE MEN ($2.99)
06/2013: -- 
06/2014: --
----------------------------------
06/2015: -- 
07/2015: -- 
08/2015: -- 
09/2015: -- 
10/2015: -- 
11/2015: -- 
12/2015: -- 
01/2016: Nowhere Men #7  --  7,498 (- 41.0%) 
02/2016: Nowhere Men #8  --  6,317 (- 15.8%) 
03/2016: Nowhere Men #9  --  5,731 (-  9.3%) 
04/2016: -- 
05/2016: -- 
06/2016: Nowhere Men #10 --  6,307 (+ 10.1%) 
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  :    n.a.
2 years :    n.a.

284 - REVIVAL ($3.99)
06/2013: Revival #11 -- 13,536 
06/2014: Revival #21 --  9,808 
------------------------------
06/2015: Revival #30 --  7,545 (-  3.1%) 
07/2015: Revival #31 --  7,337 (-  2.8%) 
08/2015: Revival #32 --  7,019 (-  4.3%) 
09/2015: Revival #33 --  6,824 (-  2.8%) 
10/2015: Revival #34 --  6,921 (+  1.4%) 
11/2015: --
12/2015: Revival #35 --  6,510 (-  5.9%) 
01/2016: Revival #36 --  6,182 (-  5.0%) 
02/2016: --
03/2016: Revival #37 --  5,987 (-  3.2%) 
03/2016: Revival #38 --  5,826 (-  2.7%) 
04/2016: -- 
05/2016: Revival #39 --  5,826 (-  1.1%) 
06/2016: Revival #40 --  6,004 (+  4.2%) 
-----------------
6 months: -  7.8%
1 year  : - 20.4%
2 years : - 38.8%

292 - ISLAND ($7.99)
07/2015: Island #1  -- 16,677  
08/2015: Island #2  -- 11,092 (- 33.5%)  
09/2015: Island #3  -- 10,083 (-  9.1%)  
10/2015: Island #4  --  7,553 (- 25.1%)  
11/2015: -- 
12/2015: Island #5  --  6,422 (- 15.0%)  
01/2016: Island #6  --  5,764 (- 10.2%)  
02/2016: -- 
03/2016: -- 
04/2016: -- 
05/2016: Island #7  --  5,503 (-  4.5%)  
06/2016: Island #8  --  5,849 (+  6.3%)  
-----------------
6 months: -  8.9%

293 - WOLF ($3.50)
07/2015: Wolf #1  -- 18,864  
08/2015: Wolf #2  -- 12,898 (- 31.6%)  
09/2015: Wolf #3  -- 10,305 (- 20.1%)  
10/2015: Wolf #4  --  8,580 (- 16.7%)  
11/2015: -- 
12/2015: -- 
01/2016: Wolf #5  --  6,752 (- 21.3%)
02/2016: Wolf #6  --  6,098 (-  9.7%)
03/2016: -- 
04/2016: -- 
05/2016: Wolf #7  --  5,608 (-  8.0%)
06/2016: Wolf #8  --  5,838 (+  4.1%)
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.

Not to be confused with She Wolf…

Image titles shipping but not making the Top 300 in June include: Aloha Hawaiian Dick, Circuit Breaker, Drifter, Elephantmen, The Empty Zone, Faster Than Light, Invisible Republic, Pencil Head, Power Lines, Roche Limit, Saints, Savage Dragon, Sex, Shutter, Snowfall, Sons of the Devil, Starve, Stray Bullets, Think Tank: Creative Destruction.

Note that this doesn’t necessarily mean that any of them are in danger of being cancelled; there are many reasons that the creators of these books may desire to keep them going.


The Fine Print (Disclaimers, et cetera)

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

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

Bear in mind that the figures measure sales of physical comics to retailers, not customers. Also, these numbers do not include sales to bookstores, newsstands, other mass-market retail chains or the United Kingdom. Re-orders are included, so long as they either reached stores in a book’s initial calendar month of release or were strong enough to make the chart again in a subsequent month. Keep in mind that sales for some titles may include incentives to acquire variants and not every unit sold is necessarily even intended to be sold to a customer.

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

Titles which are returnable have their numbers artificially adjusted down by Diamond. To make up for that this column increases the reported numbers for those titles by 10%. Which is likely also wrong, but it’s a different and likely less wrong kind of wrong, and experience has shown that this leads to sales figures which are more consistent.

Please keep in mind that raw sales numbers do not tell us about how profitable a book is for a publisher or for the creators.

Above all, do not allow sales numbers to dictate your purchasing and enjoyment of a particular comic. If you enjoy reading a comic series then go right on buying and reading that comic, no matter what the sales figures say.

Opinions expressed in this column are mine alone, and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer, Heidi MacDonald or anyone at The Comics Beat, the Association for Professional Basketball Research, or my former neighbor’s dog Miles.

The author of this column does weekly snapshots of Amazon comic sales charts at http://yetanothercomicsblog.blogspot.com/ and tweets about comics and related subjects on Twitter at @davereadscomics (PM me there is you need to contact me).

As always, we welcome your comments and corrections below. Please try to keep things civilized.

2 COMMENTS

  1. You are correct, it is the Rebirth effect, we had to do re-orders on just about everything (and I mean nearly 80% of all titles). Simply , more traffic means more sales

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