by Matthew Murray

IDW’s new Godzilla series grabbed the top spot this month, knocking The Walking Dead from their throne after only one month. Meanwhile Dark Horse released a Dollhouse comic based on the Joss Whedon series of the same name, Dynamite launched a Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris comic with a “Risqué Nude Art” variant cover, and Boom! launched a Hellraiser comic.

Image had 5.45% of the dollar share and 5.09% of the unit share, IDW had 5.03% of the dollar share and 4.14% of the unit share, Dark Horse had 4.27% of the dollar share and 2.86% of the unit share, Dynamite had 3.02% of the dollar share and 2.74% of the unit share, and Boom! had 2.09% of the dollar share and 1.66% of the unit share.

This month I’ve listed every “indie” (ie. non Marvel/DC) book in the top 300.

As always thanks to icv2.com and Milton Griepp for permission to use these numbers, which are estimates, and can be found here.

16. Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters (IDW)
03/2011: Godzilla Kingdom of Monsters #1 - 58,879

IDW offered one of the most ridiculous alternative cover offers ever for this book. If a store ordered 500 copies then they got a personalized cover of the store being crushed. Seventy five retailers took IDW up on this, leading to there being over eighty different covers! (You can see most of them here.) It was apparently IDW’s biggest print run on a comic ever, though Angel: After the Fall #1 did eventually ship more copies once you include the reprints.

Still, it was a massive success for IDW, and already other companies have offered similar variant cover deals.

42, 51. The Walking Dead (Image) 
03/2006: The Walking Dead #26 - 19,385
03/2007: The Walking Dead #36 - 21,291
03/2008: The Walking Dead #47 - 22,612
03/2009: The Walking Dead #59 - 23,257
03/2010: -
====
04/2010: The Walking Dead #71 - 24,567 (+2.4%)
05/2010: The Walking Dead #72 - 25,182 (+2.5%)
06/2010: The Walking Dead #73 - 25,645 (+1.8%)
07/2010: The Walking Dead #74 - 25,468 (-0.7%)
07/2010: The Walking Dead #75 - 28,667 [33,079] (+29.9%)
08/2010: The Walking Dead #76 - 26,553 (-19.7%)
09/2010: The Walking Dead #77 - 27,448 (+3.4%)
10/2010: The Walking Dead #78 - 27,947 (+1.8%)
11/2010: The Walking Dead #79 - 28,971 (+3.7%)
12/2010: -
01/2011: The Walking Dead #80 - 29,526 (+1.9%)
02/2011: The Walking Dead #81 - 30,750  (+4.1%)
03/2011: The Walking Dead #82 - 31,174 (+1.4%)
03/2011: The Walking Dead #83 - 33,686 (+8.1%)
                               6 month (+22.7%)
                               1 year (n.a.)
                               2 year (+44.8%)
                               3 year (+48.9%)
                               4 year (+58.2%)
                               5 year (+73.8%)

Two issues, both going up in sales! Nothing can stop this book, and the buzz about the current story arc is possibly the reason for the bigger boost for issue 83.

Volume one of the collections sold another 2,685 copies this month, bringing it’s total to approximate a billion copies.

105. Dollhouse Epitaphs (Dark Horse)
03/2011: Dollhouse Epitaphs Oneshot - 19,836

The latest Joss Whedon TV show to be adapted in comics. A miniseries launches in July.

Of note, none of Dark Horse’s Gold Key titles shipped this month.

108. The Boys (Dynamite)
03/2008: The Boys #16 - 27,886
03/2009: The Boys #28 – 26,328
03/2010: The Boys #40 - 22,022
=====
04/2010: The Boys #41 - 21,552 (-2.1%)
05/2010: The Boys #42 - 21,479 (-0.3%)
06/2010: The Boys #43 - 21,390 (-0.4%)
07/2010: The Boys #44 - 21,270 (-0.6%)
08/2010: The Boys #45 - 21,041 (-1.1%)
09/2010: The Boys #46 - 20,789 (-1.2%)
10/2010: The Boys #47 - 20,198 (-2.8%)
11/2010: The Boys #48 - 20,004 (-1.0%)
12/2010: The Boys #49 - 19,582 (-2.1%)
01/2011: The Boys #50 - 19,293 (-1.5%)
02/2011: The Boys #51 - 18,728  (-2.9%)
03/2011: The Boys #52 - 18,955 (+1.2%)
                               6 month (-8.8%)
                               1 year (-13.9%)
                               2 year (-28.0%)
                               3 year (-32.0%)

The beginning of a new arc brings a slight increase.

112. Warlord of Mars Dejah Thoris (Dynamite)
03/2011: Dejah Thoris #1 – 18,432

Eight covers, including the “Risqué Nude Art” variant that caused some heated discussion here a few months ago.

114. Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Lost Command (Dark Horse)
01/2011: Darth Vader & Lost Command #1 - 18,654
02/2011: Darth Vader & Lost Command #2 - 17,115 (-8.3%)
03/2011: Darth Vader & Lost Command #3 - 18,368 (+7.3%)

Five issue miniseries.

118. Star Wars Legacy (Dark Horse)
03/2007: Star Wars Legacy #9 - 33,084
03/2008: Star Wars Legacy #21 - 30,228
03/2009: Star Wars Legacy #34 - 25,304
03/2010: Star Wars Legacy #46 - 19,790
=====
04/2010: Star Wars Legacy #47 - 20,022 (+1.2%)
05/2010: Star Wars Legacy #48 - 19,954 (-0.3%)
06/2010: Star Wars Legacy #49 - 19,911 (-0.2%)
07/2010: -
08/2010: Star Wars Legacy #50 - 20,666 (+3.8%)
09/2010: -
10/2010: -
11/2010: -
12/2010: Star Wars Legacy: War #1 - 19,785 (-4.3%)
01/2011: Star Wars Legacy: War #2 - 17,847 (-9.8%)
02/2011: Star Wars Legacy: War #3 - 17,697 (-0.8%)
03/2011: Star Wars Legacy: War #4 - 18,058 (+2.0%)
                               6 month (n.a.)
                               1 year (-8.8%)
                               2 year (-28.6%)
                               3 year (-40.3%)
                               4 year (-45.5%)

This six issue miniseries seems to mark the end of the Legacy story.

131. True Blood (IDW) 
07/2010: True Blood #1 - 30,296 [38,062]
08/2010: True Blood #2 - 26,419 [37,218] (-2.2%)
09/2010: True Blood #3 - 24,254 [34,898] (-6.2%)
10/2010: True Blood #4 - 32,964 (-5.5%)
11/2010: True Blood #5 - 22,154 [26,361] (-20.0%)
12/2010: True Blood #6 - 21,297 [25,556] (-3.1%)
01/2011: -
02/2011: True Blood: Tainted Love #1 – 19,824 (-22.4%)
03/2011: True Blood: Tainted Love #2 - 16,639 (-16.1%)
				6 month (-52.3%)

This second miniseries hasn’t attracted the interest the first one did.

133. Invincible (Image)
03/2006: Invincible #29 - 12,698
03/2007: -
03/2008: Invincible #49 - 14,378
03/2009: Invincible #60 - 15,777
03/2010: -
=====
04/2010: Invincible Returns #1 - 19,933 (+33.3%)
04/2010: Invincible #71 - 18,996 (-4.7%)
05/2010: -
06/2010: Invincible #72 - 15,689 (-17.4%)
06/2010: Invincible #73 - 15,340 (-2.2%)
07/2010: -
08/2010: Invincible #74 - 15,735 (+2.6%)
09/2010: -
10/2010: -
11/2010: Invincible #75 - 17,029 (+8.2%)
12/2010: Invincible #76 - 15,577 (-8.5%)
01/2011: -
02/2011: Invincible #77 - 15,515 (-0.4%)
03/2011: Invincible #78 - 15,808 (+1.9%)
                6 month (n.a.)
                1 year (n.a.)
                2 year (+0.2%)
                3 year (+9.9%)
                4 year (n.a.)
                5 year (+24.5%)

A small increase for this series, but it hasn’t had the consistent growth The Walking Dead has. Still, even staying stable for two years is an accomplishment in the current market.

134. Vampirella (Dynamite) 
11/2010: Vampirella #1 - 29,215
12/2010: -
01/2011: Vampirella #2 - 17,531 (-40.0%)
02/2011: Vampirella #3 - 16,366 (-6.6%)
03/2011: Vampirella #4 - 15,765 (-3.7%)

Settling down.

136, 138. Spawn (Image) 
03/2006: Spawn #154 - 26,966
03/2007: Spawn #165 - 24,519
03/2008: Spawn #176 - 21,104
03/2009: Spawn #190 - 21,548
03/2010: Spawn #196 - 18,893
 =====
04/2010: -
05/2010: Spawn #197 - 18,361 (-2.8%)
06/2010: -
07/2010: Spawn #198 - 17,985 (-2.0%)
08/2010: -
09/2010: Spawn #199 - 18,076 (+0.5%)
10/2010: -
11/2010: -
12/2010: -
01/2011: Spawn #200 - 65,448 (+262.1%)
01/2011: Spawn #201 - 18,458 (-71.8%)
02/2011: Spawn #202 - 18,335 (-0.7%)
02/2011: Spawn #203 - 15,572 (-15.1%)
03/2011: Spawn #204 - 15,591 (+0.1%)
03/2011: Spawn #205 - 15,320 (-1.7%)
                                6 month (-15.2%)
                                1 year (-18.9%)
                                2 year (-28.9%)
                                3 year (-27.4%)
                                4 year (-37.5%)
                                5 year (-43.2%)

Two more issues this month, and already we have more issues of Spawn out this year than in 2010 (four issues shipped last year). These are historical lows for the title.

143. Haunt (Image) 
03/2010: Haunt #6 - 20,489
=====
04/2010: -
05/2010: Haunt #7 - 20,005 (-2.4%)
06/2010: -
07/2010: Haunt #8 - 19,242 (-3.8%)
08/2010: -
09/2010: Haunt #9 - 17,894 (-7.0%)
10/2010: Haunt #10 - 17,309 (-3.3%)
11/2010: Haunt #11 - 16,658 (-3.8%)
12/2010: Haunt #12 - 16,175 (-2.9%)
01/2011: -
02/2011: Haunt #13 - 15,413 (-4.7%)
03/2011: Haunt #14 - 14,700 (-4.6%)
                               6 month (-17.8%)
                               1 year (-28.3%)

Those drops aren’t that great, but the book is still one of Image’s top sellers.

147. Jennifer Blood (Dynamite)
02/2011: Jennifer Blood #1 – 17,413
03/2011: Jennifer Blood #2 - 14,180 (-18.6%)

Lower than average second issue drop for this six issue miniseries by Garth Ennis .

148. Warlord of Mars (Dynamite) 
10/2010: Warlord of Mars #1 - 36,927
11/2010: Warlord of Mars #2 - 16,991 (-54.4%)
12/2010: Warlord of Mars #3 - 14,710 (-13.4%)
01/2011: -
02/2011: Warlord of Mars #4 - 14,780 (+0.5%)
03/2011: Warlord of Mars #5 - 14,110 (-4.5%)

This drop looks worse than it is, since the last issue showed a small increase in sales (presumably due to advance reorders).

150. Hellraiser (Boom!)
03/2011: Hellraiser #1 - 13,850

Three different covers. The lead story is co-written by Clive Barker and the backup is written by Larry Wachowski, though I don’t know if it’s original or a reprint.

154, 166, 172, 184. Infestation (IDW) 
01/2011: Infestation #1 - 16,743
02/2011: Transformers Infestation #1 - 12,961 (-22.6%)
02/2011: Transformers Infestation #2 - 11,969 (-7.7%)
02/2011: Star Trek Infestation #1 - 12,090
02/2011: Star Trek Infestation #2 - 10,906 (-9.8%)
03/2011: GI Joe Infestation #1 - 13,438
03/2011: GI Joe Infestation #2 - 12,427 (-7.5%)
03/2011: Ghostbusters Infestation #1 - 11,616
03/2011: Ghostbusters Infestation #2 - 10,445 (-10.1%)

The zombie “crossover” continues, and IDW’s plan of shipping both issues of each miniseries is definitely paying off as the second issues have quite small drops. I do wonder if there’s enough interest for the Ghostbusters ongoing IDW is launching later this year.

157. Conan (Dark Horse) 
03/2006: Conan #26 - 31,573
03/2007: Conan #38 - 25,236
03/2008: -
03/2009: The Cimmerian #9 – 20,555
03/2010: The Cimmerian #19 - 18,131
=====
04/2010: The Cimmerian #20 - 16,393 (-9.6%)
05/2010: -
06/2010: The Cimmerian #21 - 16,421 (+0.2%)
07/2010: The Cimmerian #22 - 16,240 (-1.1%)
08/2010: -
09/2010: The Cimmerian #23 - 15,837 (-2.5%)
10/2010: The Cimmerian #24 - 15,490 (-2.2%)
11/2010: The Cimmerian #25 - 15,421 (-0.4%)
12/2010: The Road of Kings #1 - 16,099 (+4.4%)
01/2011: The Road of Kings #2 - 13,385 (-16.9%)
02/2011: -
03/2011: The Road of Kings #3 - 13,193 (-1.4%)
                6 month (-16.7%)
                1 year (-27.2%)
                2 year (-35.8%)
                3 year (n.a.)
                4 year (-47.7%)
                5 year (-58.2%)

That’s a pretty good drop, but sales aren’t great compared to the last series.

158. Angel (IDW)
03/2006: Old Friends #4 - 13,479
03/2007: Auld Lang Syne #5 - 6,351
03/2008: After the Fall #5 - 49,558
03/2009: Angel #19 - 31,767
03/2010: Angel #31 - 18,538
=====
04/2010: Angel #32 - 17,942 (-3.2%)
05/2010: Angel #33 - 17,521 (-2.3%)
06/2010: Angel #34 - 17,467 (-0.3%)
07/2010: Angel #35 - 16,664 (-4.6%)
08/2010: Angel #36 - 16,016 (-3.9%)
09/2010: Angel #37 - 15,865 (-0.9%)
10/2010: Angel #38 - 15,115 (-4.7%)
11/2010: Angel #39 - 14,449 (-4.4%)
12/2010: Angel #40 - 14,182 (-1.8%)
01/2011: Angel #41 - 13,566 (-4.3%)
02/2011: Angel #42 - 13,136  (-3.2%)
03/2011: Angel #43 – 13,032 (-0.8%)
                               6 month (-17.9%)
                               1 year (-29.7%)
                               2 year (-59.0%)
                               3 year (-73.7%)
                               4 year (+105.2%)
                               5 year (-3.3%)

One issue left! Dark Horse’s new title “Angel and Faith” is due to launch in August.

164. King Conan (Dark Horse)
02/2011: Scarlet Citadel #1 - 13,935
03/2011: Scarlet Citadel #2 - 12,472 (-10.5%)

This miniseries by the creative team behind the Conan the Cimmerian has a good second issue drop.

169. Chew (Image) 
03/2010: Chew #9 - 12,866
=====
04/2010: Chew #10 - 13,335 (+3.6%)
05/2010: -
06/2010: Chew #11 - 13,204 (-1.0%)
07/2010: Chew #12 - 13,011 (-1.5%)
08/2010: Chew #13 - 12,756 (-2.0%)
09/2010: Chew #14 - 12,993 (+1.9%)
10/2010: -
11/2010: Chew #15 - 13,047 (+0.4%)
12/2010: Chew #16 - 12,473 (-4.4%)
01/2011: -
02/2011: -
03/2011: Chew #17 – 12,165 (-2.5%)
                6 month (-6.4%)
                1 year (-5.4%)

Running late, standard decline.

173. BPRD (Dark Horse)
03/2007: Garden of Souls #1 - 16,598
03/2008: 1946 #3 - 16,246
03/2009: Black Goddess #3 (of 5) – 15,045
03/2010: King of Fear #3 - 12,874
=====
04/2010: King of Fear #4 - 12,480 (-3.1%)
05/2010: King of Fear #5 - 12,519 (+0.3%)
06/2010: Abe Sapien: Abysmal Plain #1 - 13,010 (+3.9%)
07/2010: Abe Sapien: Abysmal Plain #2 - 11,805 (-9.3%)
08/2010: Hell on Earth: New World #1 - 13,563 (+14.9%)
09/2010: Hell on Earth: New World #2 - 12,717 (-6.2%)
10/2010: Hell on Earth: New World #3 - 12,402 (-2.5%)
11/2010: Hell on Earth: New World #4 - 11,882 (-4.2%)
12/2010: Hell on Earth: New World #5 - 11,528 (-3.0%)
01/2011: Hell on Earth: Gods #1 - 12,820 (+11.2%)
02/2011: Hell on Earth: Gods #2 - 11,585 (-9.6%)
03/2011: Hell on Earth: Gods #3 - 11,565 (-0.2%)
                6 month (-9.1%)
                1 year (-10.2%)
                2 year (-23.1%)
                3 year (-28.8%)
                4 year (-30.3%)

Stable.

174. Green Hornet (Dynamite) 
03/2010: Kevin Smith’s Green Hornet #1 - 54,122
=====
04/2010: Kevin Smith’s Green Hornet #3 - 29,552 (-17.9%)
05/2010: Kevin Smith's Green Hornet #4 - 26,292 (-11.0%)
06/2010: Kevin Smith's Green Hornet #5 - 23,841 (-9.3%)
07/2010: Kevin Smith's Green Hornet #6 - 22,024 (-7.6%)
08/2010: -
09/2010: Kevin Smith’s Green Hornet #7 - 20,880 (-5.2%)
09/2010: Kevin Smith’s Green Hornet Annual #1 - 14,564 (-30.2%)
10/2010: Kevin Smith’s Green Hornet #8 - 19,442 (+33.5%)
11/2010: Kevin Smith’s Green Hornet #9 - 17,894 (-8.0%)
11/2010: Kevin Smith’s Green Hornet #10 - 17,753 (-0.8%)
12/2010: Green Hornet #11 - 14,771 (-16.8%)
01/2011: Green Hornet #12 - 13,913 (-5.8%)
02/2011: Green Hornet #13 - 12,503 (-10.1%)
03/2011: Green Hornet #14 - 11,485 (-8.1%)
		6 month (-35.8%)
		1 year (-78.8%)

Still losing over 1000 copies a month. Nick Barrucci, CEO of Dynamite, recently said that “we put out too much Green Hornet product”. Apparently (at least some of) the collections did really well.

177. Alan Moore Neonomicon (Avatar) 
01/2010: Neonomicon Hornbook - 7,117
02/2010: -
03/2010: -
04/2010: -
05/2010: -
06/2010: -
07/2010: Neonomicon #1 - 12,432 (+74.7%)
08/2010: -
09/2010: -
10/2010: Neonomicon #2 - 11,340 (-8.8%)
11/2010: -
12/2010: Neonomicon #3 - 11,147 (-1.7%)
01/2011: -
02/2011: -
03/2011: Neonomicon #4 - 11,179 (+0.3%)

As Alan Moore apparently wrote this miniseries years ago I guess artist problems are the reason it’s been so late in shipping.

178. Artifacts (Image) 
07/2010: Artifacts #1 - 18,711
08/2010: -
09/2010: Artifacts #2 - 13,147 (-29.7%)
10/2010: -
11/2010: Artifacts #3 - 11,844 (-9.9%)
12/2010: Artifacts #4 - 11,415 (-3.6%)
01/2011: Artifacts #5 - 11,788 (+3.3%)
02/2011: -
03/2011: Artifacts #6 - 10,910 (-7.4%)

This Top Cow event miniseries is about where it would have been without the increase for the previous issue.

180. Morning Glories (Image) 
08/2010: Morning Glories #1 - 8,687 [14,104]
09/2010: Morning Glories #2 - 8,265 (-41.4%)
10/2010: Morning Glories #3 - 11,258 (+36.2%)
11/2010: Morning Glories #4 - 11,292 (+0.3%)
12/2010: Morning Glories #5 - 11,193 (-0.9%)
01/2011: Morning Glories #6 - 10,795 (-3.6%)
02/2011: Morning Glories #7 - 11,037 (+2.2%)
03/2011: Morning Glories #8 - 10,809 (-2.1%)
				6 month (+30.8%)

Standard drop. The collection sold another 2,534 copies this month, bringing the total to 7,597.

181. Lady Death (Avatar)
12/2010: Lady Death #0 - 15,665
01/2011: Lady Death #1 - 14,023 (-10.5%)
02/2011: Lady Death #2 - 11,033 (-21.3%)
03/2011: Lady Death #3 - 10,801 (-2.1%)

Standard drop.

185. GI Joe Real American Hero (IDW)
07/2010: Real American Hero #156 - 15,795
08/2010: Real American Hero #157 - 14,263 (-9.7%)
09/2010: Real American Hero #158 - 13,197 (-7.5%)
10/2010: Real American Hero #159 - 12,309 (-6.7%)
11/2010: Real American Hero #160 - 11,544 (-6.2%)
12/2010: Real American Hero #161 - 11,125 (-3.6%)
01/2011: Real American Hero #162 - 10,516 (-5.5%)
02/2011: Real American Hero #163 - 10,262 (-2.4%)
03/2011: Real American Hero #164 - 10,386 (+1.2%)
			6 month (-21.3%)

There’s no apparent reason for this increase, so I guess the storyline has proved popular.

191. Transformers Ongoing (IDW)
03/2009: All Hail Megatron #8 - 11,731
03/2010: Transformers Ongoing #5 - 11,994
=====
04/2010: Transformers Ongoing #6 - 12,171 (+1.5%)
05/2010: Transformers Ongoing #7 - 11,932 (-2.0%)
06/2010: Transformers Ongoing #8 - 12,360 (+3.6%)
07/2010: Transformers Ongoing #9 - 12,369 (+0.1%)
08/2010: Transformers Ongoing #10 - 11,951 (-3.4%)
09/2010: Transformers Ongoing #11 - 11,582 (-3.1%)
10/2010: Transformers Ongoing #12 - 11,166 (-3.6%)
11/2010: Transformers Ongoing #13 - 10,998 (-1.5%)
12/2010: Transformers Ongoing #14 - 10,573 (-3.9%)
01/2011: Transformers Ongoing #15 - 10,159 (-3.9%)
02/2011: Transformers Ongoing #16 - 10,265 (+1.0%)
03/2011: Transformers Ongoing #17 - 10,094 (-1.7%)
                               6 month (-12.8%)
                               1 year (-15.8%)
                               2 year (-14.0%)

Standard drop.

193. Irredeemable (Boom)      
03/2010: Irredeemable #12 - 13,058
=====
04/2010: Irredeemable Special #1 - 12,411 (-5.0%)
05/2010: Irredeemable #13 - 12,784 (+3.0)
06/2010: Irredeemable #14 - 12,608 (-1.4%)
07/2010: Irredeemable #15 - 12,442 (-1.3%)
08/2010: Irredeemable #16 - 12,106 (-2.7%)
09/2010: Irredeemable #17 - 11,818 (-2.4%)
10/2010: Irredeemable #18 - 11,398 (-3.6%)
11/2010: Irredeemable #19 - 11,102 (-2.6%)
12/2010: Irredeemable #20 - 10,406 (-6.3%)
01/2011: Irredeemable #21 - 10,247 (-1.5%)
02/2011: Irredeemable #22 - 10,025 (-2.2%)
03/2011: Irredeemable #23 - 9,983 (-0.4%)
                               6 month (-15.5%)
                               1 year (-23.5%)

Stable.

195. The Guild (Dark Horse)
03/2010: The Guild #1 - 15,292
=====
04/2010: The Guild #2 - 12,642 (-17.3%)
05/2010: The Guild #3 - 12,972 (+2.6%)
06/2010: -
07/2010: -
08/2010: -
09/2010: -
10/2010: -
11/2010: -
12/2010: Vork #1 - 12,105 (-6.7%)
01/2011: -
02/2011: -
03/2011: Tink #1 - 9,904 (-18.2%)
			1 year (-35.2%)

I guess Vork is the more popular character. This is possibly the first time in comics that a balding man has outsold a scantily clad female.

198. Witchfinder (Dark Horse)
02/2011: Lost & Gone Forever #1 – 11,404
03/2011: Lost & Gone Forever #2 - 9,701 (-14.9%)

The final issue of the previous miniseries came out in November 2009, and had first month sales of 10,926 copies. However, collected sales should be pretty good for this Hellboy spinoff.

201. Witchblade (Image) 
03/2006: Witchblade #96 - 14,505
03/2007: Witchblade #104 - 14,208
03/2008: Witchblade #116 - 21,095
03/2009: Witchblade #125 – 17,206
03/2010: Witchblade #135 - 11,935
=====
04/2010: -
05/2010: Witchblade #136 - 10,649 (-10.8%)
06/2010: -
07/2010: -
08/2010: Witchblade #137 - 10,696 (+0.4%)
08/2010: Witchblade Due Process One Shot - 8,255 (-22.8%)
09/2010: Witchblade #138 - 10,521 (+27.5%)
10/2010: -
11/2010: Witchblade #139 - 10,113 (-3.9%)
12/2010: Witchblade #140 - 11,172 (+10.5%)
01/2011: Witchblade #141 - 9,768 (-12.6%)
02/2011: Witchblade #142 - 9,803 (+0.4%)
03/2011: Witchblade #143 - 9,394 (-4.2%)
                        6 month (-10.7%)
                        1 year (-21.3%)
                        2 year (-45.4%)
                        3 year (-55.5%)
                        4 year (-33.9)
                        5 year (-35.2%)

About where it would have been without the increase last month.

204. Death of Zorro (Dynamite)
03/2011: Death of Zorro #1 - 9,220

This is also a crossover with the Lone Ranger.

205. Guarding the Globe (Image) 
08/2010: Guarding the Globe #1 - 15,013
09/2010: -
10/2010: Guarding the Globe #2 - 10,972 (-26.9%)
11/2010: -
12/2010: -
01/2011: Guarding the Globe #3 - 9,097 (-17.1%)
02/2011: -
03/2011: Guarding the Globe #4 – 9,102 (+0.1%)

Six issue Invincible spinoff co-written by Robert Kirkman that I would have expected to do a bit better. Still, it has stabilized.

206. Axe Cop (Dark Horse)
03/2011: Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth #1 - 8,897

Three issue spinoff miniseries of the webcomic written by a six year old.

208. Captain Swing and the Electrical Pirates of Cindery Island (Avatar)
02/2010: Captain Swing #1 - 10,167
03/2010: -
04/2010: -
05/2010: -
06/2010: Captain Swing #2 - 9,063 (-10.9%)
07/2010: -
08/2010: -
09/2010: -
10/2010: -
11/2010: -
12/2010: -
01/2011: -
02/2011: -
03/2011: Captain Swing #3 - 8,849 (-2.4%)

Warren Ellis comic that is running late. Shipping books this randomly can’t help readers to come back for the next issue. (Remember, the numbers on this chart are sales to retailers, not to customers.) Also, Ellis recently announced he was going to cut back on his comic writing to concentrate on novels, so we’ll see if that effects books like this.

210. Red Sonja (Dynamite) 
03/2006: Red Sonja #8 - 34,700
03/2007: Red Sonja #20 - 21,275
03/2008: Red Sonja #31 - 16,543
03/2009: Red Sonja #42 - 12,508
03/2010: -
=====
04/2010: -
05/2010: -
06/2010: Red Sonja #50 - 13,017 (+13.3%)
06/2010: Red Sonja Annual #3 - 8,098 (-37.8%)
07/2010: -
08/2010: -
09/2010: Red Sonja #51 - 9,994 (+23.4%)
10/2010: Red Sonja #52 - 9,529 (-4.7%)
11/2010: Red Sonja #53 - 9,060 (-4.9%)
12/2010: -
01/2011: Red Sonja #54 - 8,826 (-2.6%)
02/2011: -
03/2011: Red Sonja #55 - 8,729 (-1.1%)
                        6 month (-12.7%)
                        1 year (n.a.)
                        2 year (-30.2%)
                        3 year (-47.2%)
                        4 year (-59.0%)
                        5 year (-74.8%)

Pretty stable.

211, 240. Grimm Fairy Tales (Zenescope) 
03/2006: Grimm Fairy Tales #4 - 5,410
03/2007: Grimm Fairy Tales #13 - 6,190
03/2008: Grimm Fairy Tales #25 - 9,732
03/2009: Grimm Fairy Tales #36 - 9,198
03/2010: Grimm Fairy Tales #44 - 8,824
=====
03/2010: Grimm Fairy Tales #45 - 8,916 (+1.0%)
04/2010: Grimm Fairy Tales #46 - 8,694 (-2.5%)
05/2010: Grimm Fairy Tales Annual Las Vegas - 8,462 (-2.7%)
06/2010: Grimm Fairy Tales #47 - 8,721 (+3.2%)
06/2010: Grimm Fairy Tales #48 - 10,011 (+14.8%)
07/2010: Grimm Fairy Tales #49 - 9,594 (-4.2%)
08/2010: -
09/2010: Grimm Fairy Tales #50 - 13,931 (+45.2%)
10/2010: Grimm Fairy Tales #51 - 8,343 (-40.1%)
11/2010: -
12/2010: Grimm Fairy Tales #52 - 7,903 (-5.3)
12/2010: Grimm Fairy Tales #53 - 9,146 (+15.7%)
12/2010: Grimm Fairy Tales #54 - 7,886 (-13.8%)
01/2011: -
02/2011: Grimm Fairy Tales #55 – 8,897 (+12.8%)
03/2011: Grimm Fairy Tales #56 – 8,701 (-2.2%)
03/2011: Grimm Fairy Tales #57 - 7,096 (-18.4%)
                6 month (-49.1%)
                1 year (-19.6%)
                2 year (-22.9%)
                3 year (-27.1%)
                4 year (+14.6%)
                5 year (+31.2%)

Two issues, guess which one has the variant cover!

213. Hack Slash (Image) 
03/2006: Hack Slash Trailers (Devil’s Due) - 4,614
03/2007: Hack Slash vs. Chucky - 6,110
03/2008: Hack Slash #10 (Devil’s Due) - 5,817
03/2009: Hack Slash #21 (Devil’s Due) - 5,553
03/2010: Hack Slash #30 (Devil’s Due) - 5,647
=====
04/2010: Hack Slash #31 (Devil’s Due) - 5,566 (-1.4%)
04/2010: Hack Slash #32 (Devil’s Due) - 5,344 (-4.0%)
05/2010: -
06/2010: Hack Slash My First Maniac #1 - 9,270 (+66.5%)
07/2010: Hack Slash My First Maniac #2 - 7,803 (-15.8%)
08/2010: Hack Slash My First Maniac #3 - 7,881 (+1.0%)
09/2010: Hack Slash My First Maniac #4 - 8,177 (+3.8%)
10/2010: Hack Slash Annual 2010 - 8,149 (-0.3%)
11/2010: Hack Slash Trailers Part 2 - 5,887 (-27.8%)
12/2010: -
01/2011: Hack Slash: Me Without You - 7,496 (+27.3%)
02/2011: Hack Slash #1 - 10,553 (+40.8%)
03/2011: Hack Slash #2 - 8,483 (-19.6%)
                        6 month (+3.7%)
                        1 year (+50.2%)
                        2 year (+52.8%)
                        3 year (+45.8%)
                        4 year (+38.8%)
                        5 year (+83.9%)

Still greatly benefiting from the move to Image.

214. Next Men (IDW)
12/2010: Next Men #1 - 13,204
01/2011: Next Men #2 - 8,882 (-32.7%)
02/2011: Next Men #3 - 8,568 (-3.5%)
03/2011: Next Men #4 - 8,395 (-2.0%)

According to posts made by John Byrne on his forum sales went up for issues three and four. This isn’t reflected here, but could be true based either on advanced reorders which didn’t ship, or orders outside of North America. It’s currently set to run nine issues.

215. Transformers Heart of Darkness (IDW)
03/2011: Heart of Darkness #1 - 8,309

Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning.

217. Incorruptible (Boom) 
03/2010: Incorruptible #4 - 11,749
======
04/2010: Incorruptible #5 - 3,642 [11,542] (-1.8%)
05/2010: Incorruptible #6 - 11,517 (-0.2%)
06/2010: Incorruptible #7 - 11,091 (-3.7%)
07/2010: Incorruptible #8 - 10,947 (-1.3%)
08/2010: -
09/2010: Incorruptible #9 - 10,646 (-2.7%)
10/2010: Incorruptible #10 - 10,314 (-3.1%)
10/2010: Incorruptible #11 - 9,844 (-4.6%)
11/2010: Incorruptible #12 - 9,403 (-4.5%)
12/2010: Incorruptible #13 - 8,701 (-7.5%)
01/2011: Incorruptible #14 - 8,512 (-2.2%)
02/2011: Incorruptible #15 - 8,252 (-3.1%)
03/2011: Incorruptible #16 - 8,108 (-1.7%)
                6 month (-23.8%)
                1 year (-31.0%)

Standard drop.

218, 221. Grimm Fairy Tales: Myths & Legends (Zenescope)
01/2011: Myths & Legends #1 - 12,679
02/2011: -
03/2011: Myths and Legends #2 - 8,018 (-36.8%)
03/2011: Myths and Legends #3 - 7,858 (-2.0%)

Two issues this month. Not a great drop for the second issue, and a standard one for the third.

219. Terry Moore’s Echo (Abstract)
03/2009: Echo #10 - 11,253
03/2010: Echo #20 - 9,378
=====
04/2010: -
05/2010: Echo #21 - 6,611 (-29.5%)
06/2010: Echo #22 - 9,277 (+40.3%)
07/2010: Echo #23 - 8,998 (-3.0%)
08/2010: Echo #24 - 4,486 (-50.1%)
09/2010: -
10/2010: Echo #25 - 8,694 (+93.8%)
11/2010: -
12/2010: Echo #26 - 8,722 (+0.3%)
01/2011: Echo #27 - 6,675 (-23.5%)
02/2011: Echo #28 - 7,995 (+19.8%)
03/2011: Echo #29 - 8,016 (+0.3%)
		6 month (n.a.)
		1 year (-14.5%)
		2 year (-28.8%)

This series is ending with issue 30, and then Terry Moore is launching a new ongoing horror series called Rachel Rising in July.

220. Carbon Grey (Image)
03/2011: Carbon Grey #1 - 7,973

Three issue miniseries. Though it was solicited as “arc one”, so there might be more depending on how well this sells.

222, 225. Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie)
03/2006: Sonic # 160 - 7,588
03/2007: Sonic #173 - 6,907
03/2008: Sonic #186 - 6,880
03/2009: Sonic #198 - 7,237
03/2010: Sonic #210 - 7,925
=====
03/2010: Sonic #211 - 7,786 (-1.8%)
04/2010: Sonic #212 - 7,973 (+2.4%)
05/2010: -
06/2010: Sonic #213 - 7,893 (-1.0%)
06/2010: Sonic #214 - 7,936 (+0.5%)
07/2010: -
08/2010: Sonic #215 - 6,494 (-18.2%)
08/2010: Sonic #216 - 7,976 (+22.8%)
09/2010: Sonic #217 - 8,061 (+1.1%)
10/2010: Sonic #218 - 7,889 (-2.1%)
11/2010: Sonic #219 - 7,770 (-1.5%)
12/2010: Sonic #220 - 7,618 (-2.0%)
01/2011: -
02/2011: Sonic #221 - 7,592 (-0.3%)
03/2011: Sonic #222 - 7,781 (+2.5%)
03/2011: Sonic #223 - 7,719 (-0.8%)
                        6 month (-4.2%)
                        1 year (-2.6%)
                        2 year (+6.7%)
                        3 year (+12.2%)
                        4 year (+11.8%)
                        5 year (+1.7%)

Two issues this month. Apparently some sort of soft reboot is happening starting issue #226.

223. Spike (IDW) 
06/2010: Spike The Devil You Know #1 - 12,057
07/2010: Spike The Devil You Know #2 - 10,145 (-15.9%)
08/2010: -
09/2010: Spike The Devil You Know #3 - 9,060 (-12.8%)
09/2010: Spike The Devil You Know #4 - 8,593 (-5.2%)
10/2010: Spike #1 - 12,044 (+40.2%)
11/2010: Spike #2 - 9,262 (-23.1%)
12/2010: Spike #3 - 8,611 ( -7.0%)
01/2010: Spike #4 - 8,135 (-5.5%)
02/2011: Spike #5 - 7,992 (-1.8%)
03/2011: Spike #6 - 7,750 (-3.0%)
                        6 month (-9.8%)

Ending at issue eight when the license goes back to Dark Horse.

226. Mass Effect (Dark Horse) 
01/2011: Evolution #1 – 8,944
02/2011: Evolution #2 - 7,825 (-12.5%)
03/2011: Evolution #3 - 7,675 (-1.9%)

Video game adaptation.

227. Last Phantom (Dynamite)
08/2010: Last Phantom #1 - 12,887
09/2010: -
10/2010: Last Phantom #2 - 9,859 (-23.5%)
11/2010: Last Phantom #3 - 9,157 (-7.1%)
12/2010:-
01/2011: -
02/2011: Last Phantom #4 - 8,543 (-6.7%)
03/2011: Last Phantom #5 - 7,643 (-10.5%)

Huge drop. There are five covers.

228. Butcher Baker Righteous Maker (Image)
03/2011: Butcher Baker #1 - 7,637

New superhero comic by Joe Casey and Mike Huddleston.

229. Green Hornet Year One (Dynamite)
03/2010: Green Hornet Year One #1 - 21,330
=====
04/2010: Green Hornet Year One #2 - 16,355 (-23.3%)
05/2010: Green Hornet Year One #3 - 13,954 (-14.7%)
06/2010: -
07/2010: Green Hornet Year One #4 - 12,524 (-10.2%)
08/2010: -
09/2010: Green Hornet Year One #5 - 11,208 (-10.5%)
10/2010: Green Hornet Year One #6 - 10,647 (-5.0%)
11/2010: -
12/2010: Green Hornet Year One #7 - 9,455 (-11.2%)
01/2011: -
02/2011: Green Hornet Year One #8 - 8,503 (-10.1%)
03/2011: Green Hornet Year One #9 - 7,620 (-10.4%)
		6 month (-32.0%)
		1 year (-64.3%)

More huge drops for a Green Hornet title! Matt Wagner is off the book at issue 12, but apparently there are plans for a “year two” series.

231. Queen Sonja (Dynamite) 
03/2010: Queen Sonja #5 - 10,393
=====
04/2010: Queen Sonja #6 - 9,800 (-5.7%)
05/2010: -
06/2010: Queen Sonja #7 - 9,879 (+0.8%)
07/2010: Queen Sonja #8 - 9,438 (-4.5%)
08/2010: -
09/2010: Queen Sonja #9 - 9,176 (-2.7)
09/2010: Queen Sonja #10 - 8,975 (-2.2%)
10/2010: -
11/2010: Queen Sonja #11 - 8,502 (-5.3%)
12/2010: Queen Sonja #12 - 8,231 (-3.2%)
01/2011: Queen Sonja #13 - 7,889 (-4.2%)
02/2011: Queen Sonja #14 - 7,636 (-3.2%)
03/2011: Queen Sonja #15 - 7,539 (-1.3%)
                        6 Month (-17.8%)
                        1 year (-27.5%)

Standard drop.

232, 234. Doctor Who Ongoing (IDW) 
03/2010: Doctor Who #9 - 6,991
=====
04/2010: Doctor Who #10 - 6,784 (-3.0%)
05/2010: Doctor Who #11 - 6,743 (-0.6%)
06/2010: Doctor Who #12 - 6,754 (+0.2%)
07/2010: Doctor Who #13 - 6,636 (-0.0%)
07/2010: Doctor Who Annual 2010 - 5,828 (-12.2%)
08/2010: Doctor Who #14 - 6,492 (+11.4%)
09/2010: Doctor Who #15 - 6,620 (+2.0%)
10/2010: Doctor Who #16 - 6,198 (-6.4%)
11/2010: -
12/2010: -
01/2011: Doctor Who #1 - 8,843 (+42.7%)
02/2011: -
03/2011: Doctor Who #2 - 7,461 (-15.6%)
03/2011: Doctor Who #3 - 7,523 (+0.8%)
                        6 month (+13.6%)
                        1 year (+7.6%)

Two issues this month, and the small increase for issue three is a good sign, especially as the second issue drop wasn’t that bad.

233. Tarot Witch of the Black Rose (Broadsword) 
03/2006: Tarot #37 - 9,815
03/2007: Tarot #43 - 9,314
03/2008: Tarot #49 - 9,282
03/2009: Tarot #55 – 8,568
03/2010: Tarot #61 - 8,096
=====
04/2010: -
05/2010: Tarot #62 - 8,131 (+0.4%)
06/2010: -
07/2010: Tarot #63 - 8,112 (-0.2%)
08/2010: -
09/2010: Tarot #64 - 8,016 (-1.2%)
10/2010: -
11/2010: Tarot #65 - 7,671 (-4.3%)
12/2010: -
01/2011: Tarot #66 - 7,530 (-1.8%)
02/2011: -
03/2011: Tarot #67 - 7,467 (-0.8%)
                        6 month (-6.8%)
                        1 year (-7.8%)
                        2 year (-12.9%)
                        3 year (-19.6%)
                        4 year (-19.8%)
                        5 year (-23.9%)

Business as usual.

238. Red Sonja Revenge of the Gods (Dynamite)
03/2011: Revenge of the Gods #1 - 7,215

About what you’d expect from a Red Sonja spinoff at this point.

242. Angel: Illyria (IDW)
11/2010: Illyria #1 - 8,509
12/2010: Illyria #2 - 7,515 (-11.7%)
01/2011: Illyria #3 - 7,114 (-5.3%)
02/2011: -
03/2011: Illyria #4 – 7,013 (-1.4%)

Final issue.

244. Locke & Key (IDW)
03/2008: Locke & Key #2 - 6,124
03/2009: Head Games #3 - 9,354
03/2010: Crown of Shadows #4 - 7,010
=====
04/2010: Crown of Shadows #5 - 6,818 (-2.7%)
05/2010: -
06/2010: -
07/2010: Crown of Shadows #6 - 6,931 (+1.7%)
08/2010: Keys to the Kingdom #1 - 9,429 (+36.0%)
09/2010: -
10/2010: Keys to the Kingdom #2 - 7,303 (-22.5%)
11/2010: Keys to the Kingdom #3 - 7,225 (-1.1%)
12/2010: -
01/2011: Keys to the Kingdom #4 - 6,634 (-8.2%)
02/2011: -
03/2011: Keys to the Kingdom #5 - 6,879 (+3.7%)
                                        6 month (n.a.)
                                        1 year (-1.9%)
                                        2 year (-26.5%)
                                        3 year (+12.3%)

Sales go up! I’m curious as to what (if any) effect the Free Comic Book Day issue will have on the next series. Apparently the pilot wasn’t picked up by Fox, so a TV show won’t be getting made (yet.)

245. Bomb Queen vs. Hack Slash (Image)
03/2011: Bomb Queen vs. Hack Slash oneshot - 6,874

The last Bomb Queen miniseries was selling in the mid 3000s, so this is a jump for that series. Also, this was originally intended as a Valentine’s day special, but didn’t make it out in time.

246. Simpsons Comics (Bongo)
03/2006: Simpsons Comics #116 - 10,862
03/2007: Simpsons Comics #128 - 9,555
03/2008: Simpsons Comics #149 - 9,139
03/2009: Simpsons Comics #152 - 7,669
03/2010: Simpsons Comics #164 - 7,351
=====
04/2010: Simpsons Comics #165 - 7,228 (-1.7%)
05/2010: Simpsons Comics #166 - 7,161 (-0.9%)
06/2010: Simpsons Comics #167 - 7,477 (+4.4%)
07/2010: Simpsons Comics #168 - 7,569 (+1.2%)
08/2010: Simpsons Comics #169 - 7,396 (-2.3%)
09/2010: Simpsons Comics #170 - 7,320 (-1.0%)
10/2010: Simpsons Comics #171 – 7,429 (+1.5%)
11/2010: Simpsons Comics #172 - 7,429 (0.0%)
12/2010: Simpsons Comics #173 - 7,065 (-4.9%)
01/2011: Simpsons Comics #174 - 6,776 (-4.1%)
02/2011: Simpsons Comics #175 - 6,896 (+1.8%)
03/2011: Simpsons Comics #176 - 6,874 (-0.3%)
                        6 month (-6.1%)
                        1 year (-6.5%)
                        2 year (-10.4%)
                        3 year (-24.8%)
                        4 year (-28.1%)
                        5 year (-36.7%)

Reprint sales in foreign countries are huge, making these sales fairly irrelevant. Average print runs of the reprints in the UK were 77,790 per issue last year. Yowza.

248. Caligula (Avatar)
03/2011: Caligula #1 - 6,712

Written by David Lapham.

250. Creepy Comics (Dark Horse) 
03/2009: -
=====
04/2009: -
05/2010: Creepy Comics #3 - 8,165 (-11.7%)
06/2010: -
07/2010: -
08/2010: -
09/2010: -
10/2010: Creepy Comics #4 - 7,356 (-9.9%)
11/2010: -
12/2010: -
01/2011: -
02/2011: -
03/2011: Creepy Comics #5 - 6,579 (-10.6%)

Occasional anthology.

251.Sonic Universe (Archie)
03/2009: Sonic Universe #2 - 6,397
03/2010: Sonic Universe #14 - 6,617
=====
04/2010: Sonic Universe #15 - 6,488 (-1.9%)
05/2010: Sonic Universe #16 - 6,406 (-1.3%)
06/2010: Sonic Universe #17 - 6,717 (+4.9%)
07/2010: Sonic Universe #18 - 6,843 (+1.9%)
08/2010: Sonic Universe #19 - 6,814 (-0.4%)
09/2010: Sonic Universe #20 - 6,747 (-1.0%)
10/2010: Sonic Universe #21 – 6,843 (+1.4%)
11/2010: Sonic Universe #22 - 6,641 (-3.0%)
12/2010: Sonic Universe #23 - 6,480 (-2.4%)
01/2011: Sonic Universe #24 - 6,228 (-3.9%)
02/2011: Sonic Universe #25 - 6,464 (+3.8%)
03/2011: Sonic Universe #26 - 6,571 (+1.7%)
                                6 month (-2.6%)
                                1 year (-0.7%)
                                2 year (+2.7%)

Second part of a storyline featuring Silver the Hedgehog (I have no idea).

253. Darkness (Image) 
03/2009: Darkness #76 - 11,257
03/2010: Darkness #83 - 7,834
=====
04/2010: Darkness #84 - 7,366 (-6.0%)
05/2010: -
06/2010: -
07/2010: Darkness #85 - 7,530 (+2.2%)
08/2010: -
09/2010: Darkness #86 - 7,242 (-3.8%)
10/2010: -
11/2010: -
12/2010: Darkness #87 - 6,960 (-3.9%)
01/2011: Darkness #88 - 6,842 (-1.7%)
01/2011: Darkness #89 - 6,544 (-4.4%)
02/2011: -
03/2011: Darkness #90 - 6,482 (-0.9%)
                        6 month (-10.5%)
                        1 year (-17.3%)
                        2 year (-42.4%)

A second Darkness video game is due out later this year.

255. Red Sonja Deluge (Dynamite)
03/2011: Deluge Oneshot - 6,274

About what you’d expect.

256. Futurama Comics (Bongo) 
03/2006: Futurama Comics #24 - 8,446
03/2007: Futurama Comics #30 - 7,639
03/2008: Futurama Comics #36 - 7,493
03/2009: Futurama Comics #42 - 6,484
03/2010: Futurama Comics #48 - 6,021
=====
04/2010: -
05/2010: Futurama Comics #49 - 6,071 (+0.8%)
06/2010: -
07/2010: Futurama Comics #50 - 6,315 (+4.0%)
08/2010: -
09/2010: Futurama Comics #51 - 6,224 (-1.4%)
10/2010: -
11/2010: Futurama Comics #52 - 6,390 (+2.7%)
12/2010: -
01/2011: Futurama Comics #53 - 6,098 (-4.6%)
02/2011: -
03/2011: Futurama Comics #54 - 6,228 (+2.1%)
                        6 month (+0.1%)
                        1 year (+3.4%)
                        2 year (-3.9%)
                        3 year (-16.9)
                        4 year (-18.5%)
                        5 year (-26.3%)

Presumably similar to The Simpsons in that foreign reprints and sales outside the direct market are more important. There doesn’t seem to be any reason for this increase. When’s the next season start?

258. Soulfire (Aspen)
03/2006: Soulfire #6 - 19,531
03/2007: -
03/2008: -
03/2009: Soulfire #8 - 11,522
03/2010: Soulfire Volume Two #3 - 6,928
=====
04/2010: Soulfire Volume Two #4 - 7,197 (+3.9%)
05/2010: Soulfire Volume Two #5 - 6,458 (-10.3%)
06/2010: Soulfire Volume Two #6 – 5,965  (-7.3%)
07/2010: -
08/2010: Soulfire Volume Two #7 - 5,969 (+0.0%)
09/2010: -
10/2010: Soulfire Volume Two #8 - 5,666 (-5.1%)
11/2010: -
12/2010: -
01/2011: Soulfire Volume Two #9 - 5,675 (+0.2%)
02/2011: -
03/2011: Soulfire Volume Three #0 - 6,213 (+9.5%)
                6 month (n.a.)
                1 year (-10.3%)
                2 year (-46.1%)
                3 year (n.a.)
                4 year (n.a.)
                5 year (-68.2%)

This is a $1.99 issue. Also, from what I can tell it did take them three years to get from issue 6 to issue 8. Am I wrong? Did I make a mistake somewhere?

259. Transformers Rising Storm (IDW)
02/2011: Rising Storm #1 – 6,911
03/2011: Rising Storm #2 - 6,184 (-10.5%)

Movie prequel.

260. Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Sun (IDW)
01/2011: Dark Sun #1 – 8,497
02/2011: Dark Sun #2 - 6,137 (-27.8%)
03/2011: Dark Sun #3 - 6,172 (-0.6%)

Five issue miniseries.

261, 265. Charmed (Zenescope) 
07/2010: Charmed #1 - 12,061
08/2010: -
09/2010: Charmed #2 - 8,464 (-29.8%)
10/2010: Charmed #3 - 7,524 (-11.1%)
11/2010: -
12/2010: Charmed #4 – 7,253 (-3.6%)
01/2011: Charmed #5 - 7,196 (-0.8%)
02/2011: Charmed #6 - 7,014 (-2.5%)
03/2011: Charmed #7 - 6,160 (-12.2%)
03/2011: Charmed #8 - 6,046 (-1.9%)
			6 month (-28.6%)

Two issues this month.

263. Stan Lee’s Soldier Zero (Boom!) 
10/2010: Soldier Zero #1 - 19,593
11/2010: Soldier Zero #2 - 11,180 (-42.9%)
12/2010: Soldier Zero #3 - 9,447 (-15.5%)
01/2011: Soldier Zero #4 - 7,492 (-20.7%)
02/2011: Solider Zero #5 - 6,612 (-11.7%)
03/2011: Soldier Zero #6 - 6,076 (-8.1%)

Not a good drop at this point.

268. Transformers 3 Movie Prequel (IDW)
02/2011: Foundation #1 – 6,985
03/2011: Foundation #2 - 5,972 (-14.5%)

Movie Prequel.

270, 277. Darkwing Duck (Boom!) 
06/2010: Darkwing Duck #1 - 6,300
07/2010: Darwking Duck #2 - 5,396 (-14.3%)
08/2010: Darkwing Duck #3 - 6,355 (+17.7%)
09/2010: Darkwing Duck #4 - 6,658 (+4.8%)
10/2010: Darkwing Duck #5 - 6,527 (-2.0%)
11/2010: Darkwing Duck #6 - 6,565 (+0.6%)
12/2010: Darkwing Duck #7 - 6,330 (-3.6%)
01/2011: Darkwing Duck #8 - 6,020 (-4.9%)
02/2011: Darkwing Duck #9 - 5,813 (-3.4%)
03/2011: Darkwing Duck #10 - 5,822 (+0.2%)
03/2011: Darkwing Duck Annual #1 - 5,444 (-6.5%)
                6 month (-18.2%)

The annual was $4.99, and comes pretty close to the normal sales, which is a good sign.

271. Night of the Living Dead (Avatar)
03/2011: Death Valley #1 - 5,800

Five issue miniseries.

272. Stan Lee’s Traveler (Boom!)
11/2010: Traveler #1 - 15,450
12/2010: Traveler #2 - 9,221 (-40.3%)
01/2011: Traveler #3 - 7,300 (-20.8%)
02/2011: Traveler #4 - 6,419 (-12.1%)
03/2011: Traveler #5 - 5,783 (-9.9%)

These drops are going to have to start getting smaller fast if this series is going to stick around.

273, 274, 278, 281, 283,  Walking Dead Weekly (Image) 
01/2011: Walking Dead #1 - 8,858
01/2011: Walking Dead #2 - 8,306 (-6.2%)
01/2011: Walking Dead #3 - 7,798 (-6.1%)
01/2011: Walking Dead #4 - 7,704 (-1.2%)
02/2011: Walking Dead #5 - 7,105 (-7.8%)
02/2011: Walking Dead #6 - 6,728 (-5.3%)
02/2011: Walking Dead #7 - 6,516 (-3.2%)
02/2011: Walking Dead #8 - 6,393 (-1.9%)
03/2011: Walking Dead #9 - 5,773 (-9.7%)
03/2011: Walking Dead #10 -5,614 (-2.8%)
03/2011: Walking Dead #11 - 5,325 (-5.2%)
03/2011: Walking Dead #12 - 5,359 (+0.6%)
03/2011: Walking Dead #13 - 5,261 (-1.8%)

Five more issues. I have no idea why issue 12 sold better than 11.

275, 289. Sherlock Holmes Year One (Dynamite)
02/2011: Sherlock Holmes #1 - 6,726
03/2011: Sherlock Holmes #2 - 5,561 (-17.3%)
03/2011: Sherlock Holmes #3 - 4,873 (-12.4%)

Two issues this month, and that’s not a great third issue drop.

276. Stan Lee’s Starborn (Boom!)
12/2010: Starborn #1 - 11,764
01/2011: Starborn #2 - 7,188 (-38.9%)
02/2011: Starborn #3 - 6,085 (-15.3%)
03/2011: Starborn #4 - 5,527 (-9.2%)

See the other Stan Lee titles.

282. Kato Origins (Dynamite) 
04/2010: Origins Way of the Ninja #1 - 13,172
05/2010: -
06/2010: Origins Way of the Ninja #2 - 10,668 (-19.0%)
07/2010: -
08/2010: Origins Way of the Ninja #3 - 8,689 (-18.5%)
09/2010: Origins Way of the Ninja #4 - 7,114 (-18.1%)
10/2010: -
11/2010: Origins Way of the Ninja #5 - 6,826 (-4.0%)
12/2010: -
01/2011: Origins Way of the Ninja #6 - 5,678 (-16.8%)
02/2011: Origins Way of the Ninja #7 - 5,304 (-6.6%)

Issue eleven is supposed to be the last one.

284. 100 Penny Press Editions (IDW) 
01/2011: Zombies vs Robots - 4,820
01/2011: Angel After the Fall #1 – 3,880
02/2011: Transformers Ongoing #1 - 4,247
02/2011: Kill Shakespeare #2 – 2,860
03/2011: GI Joe: A Real American Hero #1 - 5,082

One dollar issues.

285. Wulf (Ardden)
03/2011: Wulf #1 - 5,007 

The first of the Atlas Comics revivals, and nobody seems to care. This one is written by Steve Niles.

290. Halcyon (Image)
11/2010: Halcyon #1 - 8,895
12/2010: Halcyon #2 - 4,365 (-50.9%)
01/2011: Halcyon #3 - 4,815 (+10.3%)
02/2011: -
03/2011: Halcyon #4 - 4,872 (+1.2%)

Five issue miniseries from Marc Guggenheim.

291. Savage Dragon (Image)
03/2006: Savage Dragon #126 - 6,778
03/2007: -
03/2008: Savage Dragon #135 - 6,658
03/2009: -
03/2010: Savage Dragon #158 - 5,578
=====
04/2010: Savage Dragon #159 - 5,359 (-3.9%)
05/2010: Savage Dragon #160 - 5,411 (+1.0%)
06/2010: Savage Dragon #161 - 5,544 (+2.5%)
07/2010: Savage Dragon #162 - 5,494 (-0.9%)
08/2010: Savage Dragon #163 - 5,447 (-0.9%)
09/2010: Savage Dragon #164 - 5,312 (-2.5%)
10/2010: Savage Dragon #165 - 4,992 (-6.0%)
11/2010: Savage Dragon #166 - 4,943 (-1.0%)
12/2010: Savage Dragon #167 - 4,790 (-3.1%)
01/2011: Savage Dragon #168 - 4,880 (+1.9%)
02/2011: Savage Dragon #169 - 4,786 (-1.9%)
03/2011: Savage Dragon #170 - 4,853 (+1.4%)
                        6 month (-8.6%)
                        1 year (-13.0%)
                        2 year (n.a.)
                        3 year (-27.1%)
                        4 year (n.a.)
                        5 year (-28.4%)

Mighty Man returns! Could that explain the small increase?

293. Lenore (Titan)
03/2011: Lenore Volume 2 #2 - 4,760 (-44.8%)

Issue one came out in July 2009 with sales of 8,619

295. Usagi Yojimbo (Dark Horse)
03/2006: Usagi Yojimbo #92 - 5,836
03/2007: Usagi Yojimbo #101 - 5,836
03/2008: Usagi Yojimbo #111 - 5,590
03/2009: Usagi Yojimbo #119 - 5,142
03/2010: Usagi Yojimbo #127 - 4,893
=====
04/2010: Usagi Yojimbo #128 - 4,855 (-0.8%)
05/2010: -
06/2010: Usagi Yojimbo #129 - 4,863 (+0.2%)
07/2010: Usagi Yojimbo #130 - 4,848 (-0.3%)
08/2010: Usagi Yojimbo #131 - 3,583 (-26.1%)
09/2010: -
10/2010: Usagi Yojimbo #132 - 4,716 (+31.6%)
11/2010: Usagi Yojimbo #133 - 4,681 (-0.7%)
12/2010: Usagi Yojimbo #134 - 4,699 (+0.4%)
01/2011: -
02/2011: -
03/2011: Usagi Yojimbo #135 - 4,683 (-0.3%)
                6 month (n.a.)
                1 year (-4.3%)
                2 year (-8.9%)
                3 year (-16.2%)
                4 year (-19.8%)
                5 year (-19.8%)

Stable.

300. Grim Ghost (Ardden)
03/2011: Grim Ghost #1 - 4,499 

The other Atlas Comics relaunch. I don’t think anyone expected these to do much better.

==========

Just a reminder, all numbers on this chart are estimates for comics sold by Diamond to direct market retailers. They include reorders that shipped in the same month. Books shipping in the first week of a month will have more time for reorders to appear than ones shipping in the last week of the month, when reorders will slip to the following month. These numbers don’t include sales through Diamond UK (I don’t know if they include sales to Europe/Asia/etc.). They are frequently low.

Matthew Murray (usually) reviews minicomics and zines (almost) every day at 365 Zines a Year.

1 COMMENT

  1. I’m curious … from an analytical perspective, what is the difference between a “stable” Usagi Yojimbo, a “See the other Stan Lee titles,” at ~5,500 Starborn, and an Orc Stain that doesn’t crack the top 300?

    I enjoy all three titles, but am curious to understand the logic which might drive Boom! to cancel the Stan Lee titles while an Image published Orc Stain is apparently going to stick around for awhile. What drives these decisions? Is it the business model? Publishing philosophy? Title longevity (in the case of Usagi Yojimbo I assume)?

  2. Man, I LOVE watching Walking Dead numbers increase. Issue #83 was a very important change in direction for the series. We’ll see; I’m very nervous as to where Kirkman is taking the series. But I’m all sorts of on-board for the ride!

  3. With regard to Soulfire 6-8 taking so long, that was the last book that Michael Turner was working on as he was battling cancer and was unable to draw during those final 2 years, but they didn’t want to bring in a substitute artist as this book was special to Michael. Aspen finally started work on the book again the year following his death with a new artist, Joe Benitez. That was the cause of the long gap between issues.

  4. @ChristopherH My guess is that some of it comes down to profitability. The Stan Lee titles are likely a license (paying to use Stan’s name) and have multiple people working on each issue. Something like Usagi Yojimbo is pretty much a one-man show, so Stan Sakai isn’t splitting money with an inker, colorist and others.

    Plus, the Usagi Yojimbo books have a track record of selling well in collections. So Dark Horse knows it’s getting its money there.

  5. @ChristopherH: “…am curious to understand the logic which might drive Boom! to cancel the Stan Lee titles while an Image published Orc Stain is apparently going to stick around for awhile.”

    As Joe mentioned above, the different indy publishers have very different business models, so while a book may be a total liability to one, it could be a profitable book to another.

    Having said that, I can say with a high degree of confidence that pretty much any creator-owned book at Image will continue to be published as long as the creators are willing to do so, regardless of profitability. That’s because not only does Image not pay any up-front money/page rate, they charge an hefty administrative fee from the creators. When folks are paying you to publish their books, it’s about as close as you can come to zero risk as a publisher.

    By the way, I don’t mean to say that Image’s business model is somehow bad or exploitative. Only that it’s quite a bit different than other publishers, hence a direct comparison between them is the proverbial apples and oranges.

  6. Oh, and regarding this comment on the sales of The Guild one-shots: “This is possibly the first time in comics that a balding man has outsold a scantily clad female.”

    Funniest.
    Line.
    Ever.

  7. *03/2011: The Walking Dead #83 – 33,686 (+8.1%)*

    Is this the higher amount the single issues have made? I can see it beat #75 – what did #50 get? Amazing results!

    The hellraiser backup was a reprint. Boom! have also re-reprinted it in the Hellraiser Masterpieces Volume 1 as well. – The backup was to lure customers to buy it. – And where is issue #2 Boom!?!?

  8. Matt: I guess I was wrong! I hoped you liked the books.

    I just looked up Ardden and they’re still putting out books and planning an Atlas crossover. They’re a pretty small operation and I guess a website isn’t their first priority (which I think is a little short sighted, but I’m not running a comic company I guess).

    ChristopherH: The problem with the Stan Lee titles isn’t necessarily their sales this month, but their large drops. If they suddenly became stable and stopped losing ~10% of their orders every issue I’m sure they’d be around for a while. Though there are also probably additional costs with it being a book involving many creators.

    In the case of Usagi Yojimbo there are trade paperback sales, and Dark Horse may (I don’t know) be happy publishing the book as long as it breaks even (though from what I’ve heard it should be profitable). It’s one of the longest running comics in the industry (possibly the longest running indie title?), and has won numerous awards.

    As other people have said, the deal with Image is different than other companies.

    Gamecouch: The Hellraiser story was indeed a reprint.

    David Wohl: Thank you for the info. I had been aware that Michael Turner had cancer, but I had not been aware that it had affected his work so much. I hope he managed to complete the story arc he started.

    Dara: Thanks. : )

    James: It is the highest (first month) sales for The Walking Dead. Issue 50 sold 27,691 copies in the first month.

    Thanks for reading, everyone.

  9. Over 10k more copies of GODZILLA #1, according to the numbers just posted. With the second issue dropping below 15k. Big fall, but it’s probably still comfortably above where a Godzilla series would launched without the first issue gimmick.

  10. I would love it if Kirkman did some Walking Dead Spinoff mini series.
    – With each issue/series focusing on a different character.
    – or a ‘lost’ adventure of some of the dead characters.
    – or a pre zombie look at some of the main characters.
    And by different artists – don’t get me wrong, I don’t want Adlard going anywhere! But it’d be nice to see other peoples takes, AND get more Walking Dead! ;)

  11. @*James*

    There are three novels coming out starting in the fall dealing with various characters, such as the rise of the governor.

    Kirkman has stated often that he didnt want spin off comic series but I wonder if he is rethinking that at all. Especially since they now have the Survival Guide mini.

  12. @Joe @Dara @Matthew …

    Thanks for the knowledge. I suppose some of it ought to have been obvious (licensing costs, number of creators, etc.), but I appreciate your responses. I’ll miss Starborn if it is cancelled, but am glad Orc Stain will (hopefully) be around awhile.

  13. I was just looking at the Spawn numbers and that 200 issue jump and then subsequent drop is ridiculous. There’s always a bump or jump for anniversary issues but I wonder why retailers estimated there was such demand for the book? Especially considering the state it’s currently in sees it falling into record low-selling territory three issues later. Did the 200 issue move well on the shelves?