by Paul O’Brien
With CIVIL WAR finally behind us, and WORLD WAR HULK not yet underway, Marvel have space for a little breather between major crossovers. But that doesn’t mean it’s a quiet month. The death of Captain America continues to rack up the sales, with the FALLEN SON tie-in issues. And new titles include AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE, NOVA, LONERS, OMEGA FLIGHT and SPIDER-MAN/FANTASTIC FOUR. There’s also the first book from the new Marvel Illustrated imprint. And Joss Whedon takes over RUNAWAYS – what happens when you put a big name writer on a smaller comic?
The Spider-Man books are still benefitting from the “Back in Black” branding, and a huge chunk of the Marvel line is proudly displaying an “Initiative” banner. It’s not technically a crossover, but it’s helping sales anyway. ICV2 estimates that, remarkably, Civil War and Initiative titles accounted for 13% of the periodicals sold in the direct market, and 22% of the graphic novels.
As usual, Marvel were the top publisher in the direct market, beating DC by 41% to 34% in dollar share, and 38% to 34% in unit share. It’s a slightly closer month than usual, but then Marvel is missing a lot of big titles, and it doesn’t have a major crossover on at the moment. DC had the WORLD WAR III event, effectively shipping eight issues of 52. Allowing for that, Marvel still had an impressive margin over their rivals.
Thanks as always to Milton Griepp and ICV2 for permission to use their figures for these calculations.
1,3. FALLEN SON: DEATH OF CAPTAIN AMERICA 04/07 Wolverine - 157,291 04/07 Avengers - 140,782 (-10.5%)
Officially a series of one-shots, but in reality a five-issue miniseries, FALLEN SON features various characters reacting to the death of Captain America. Marvel clearly regard this as a major project in its own right, since they’ve paired Jeph Loeb with some of their biggest artists. And thus far, it’s a huge hit. The second issue drop is very modest, and the sales are enormous.
Unfortunately, CAPTAIN AMERICA itself didn’t ship in April. That might jeopardise the momentum from Cap’s death, but with the tie-in books selling like this, Marvel are unlikely to be losing much sleep over that possibility.
4. DARK TOWER: THE GUNSLINGER BORN 02/07 Gunslinger Born #1 of 7 - 202,208 03/07 Gunslinger Born #2 of 7 - 141,567 (-30.0%) 04/07 Gunslinger Born #3 of 7 - 132,481 ( -6.4%)
The Stephen King adaptation continues to sell in vast quantities. On the strength of a second printing with a new variant cover by Joe Quesada, issue #1 picks up a further 18,067 sales. Issue #2, relying on more conventional re-orders, gets another 5,229. As usual, those have been added into the numbers above – and even after that sales boost, the drop for issue #3 is small.
This book is a huge success by direct market standards, and it ought to do well in the bookstores too. Plenty to be happy about here.
6. AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE 04/07 Initiative #1 - 127,798
Originally solicited as a miniseries, AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE was turned into an ongoing title before the first issue hit the shelves. With orders like this, you can see why. It’s not quite up there with last month’s MIGHTY AVENGERS #1, but it’s not far off either, especially when you consider the lower-profile creative team and the focus on new characters.
This makes three ongoing monthly Avengers titles – four if you count MARVEL ADVENTURES: AVENGERS and five if you count ULTIMATES. They’re about to be joined by another, AVENGERS CLASSIC, which will revive the old CLASSIC X-MEN format by reprinting sixties comics with new back-up strips. The Avengers have seen a massive expansion over the last few years and have by now unequivocally supplanted the X-Men as Marvel’s top brand. The question now is how long they can keep up this remarkable level of success.
7. NEW AVENGERS
04/01 Avengers #41 - 62,532
04/02 Avengers #53 - 53,828
04/03 Avengers #66 - 58,312
04/04 Avengers #81 - 54,987
04/05 New Avengers #5 - 162,412
=====
04/06 New Avengers #18 - 121,550 ( -1.1%)
05/06 New Avengers #19 - 125,223 ( +3.0%)
06/06 New Avengers #20 - 125,600 ( +0.3%)
06/06 New Avengers #21 - 154,911 ( +23.4%)
07/06 New Avengers #22 - 143,391 ( -7.4%)
08/06 New Avengers #23 - 155,550 ( +8.5%)
09/06 ---
10/06 New Avengers #24 - 136,811 ( -12.0%)
11/06 New Avengers #25 - 136,504 ( -0.2%)
12/06 New Avengers #26 - 122,670 ( -10.1%)
01/06 ---
02/07 New Avengers #27 - 132,109 ( +7.7%)
03/07 New Avengers #28 - 119,514 ( -9.5%)
04/07 New Avengers #29 - 125,378 ( +4.9%)
6 mnth ( -8.4%)
1 year ( +3.1%)
2 year ( -22.8%)
3 year (+128.0%)
4 year (+115.0%)
Another Initiative book, bouncing back from last month’s dip.
In one of the stranger pieces of re-order activity we’ve seen on the charts, this month’s number 294 comic, with sales of 1,446, is the variant cover edition of NEW AVENGERS #10. Yes, #10. From 2005. Perhaps somebody found a lost crate.
8. MIGHTY AVENGERS 03/07 Mighty Avengers #1 - 156,400 04/07 Mighty Avengers #2 - 121,365 (-22.4%)
Another Initiative book, of course. Issue #1 picks up re-orders of 15,112 on the strength of a second printing with a new variant cover. Allowing for that, the second issue drop is very healthy, and bodes well for the future of this title.
9. WOLVERINE
04/01 Wolverine #163 - 67,457
04/02 Wolverine #175 - 75,528
04/03 Wolverine #189 - 61,282
04/04 Wolverine #13 - 71,060
04/05 Wolverine #27 - 101,228
=====
04/06 Wolverine #41 - 70,965 ( -8.6%)
05/06 Wolverine #42 - 112,209 (+58.1%)
06/06 Wolverine #43 - 116,540 ( +3.9%)
07/06 Wolverine #44 - 111,478 ( -4.3%)
08/06 Wolverine #45 - 110,662 ( -0.7%)
09/06 Wolverine #46 - 107,865 ( -2.5%)
10/06 Wolverine #47 - 106,201 ( -1.5%)
11/06 Wolverine #48 - 99,991 ( -5.8%)
12/06 Wolverine #49 - 78,807 (-21.2%)
01/07 Wolverine #50 - 117,160 (+48.7%)
02/07 Wolverine #51 - 99,636 (-15.0%)
03/07 Wolverine #52 - 97,111 ( -2.5%)
04/07 Wolverine #53 - 98,441 ( +1.4%)
6 mnth ( -7.3%)
1 year (+38.7%)
2 year ( -2.8%)
3 year (+38.5%)
4 year (+60.6%)
Not an Initiative book, and not a crossover either – but it does have a variant cover. Jeph Loeb and Simone Bianchi’s run on WOLVERINE seems to have found its level. Issue #52 picks up re-orders of 1,835; this is the sort of re-order activity that often wouldn’t make the chart at all, but it’s a quiet month.
From here, thanks in large part to 52 and its four tie-ins, there’s a massive jump down the chart before we hit the next Marvel book…
22. UNCANNY X-MEN
04/01 Uncanny X-Men #393 - 97,780
04/02 Uncanny X-Men #405 - 93,909
04/03 Uncanny X-Men #421 - 86,503
04/04 Uncanny X-Men #442 - 86,975
04/05 Uncanny X-Men #458 - 85,299
=====
04/06 Uncanny X-Men #472 - 79,157 ( +1.1%)
05/06 Uncanny X-Men #473 - 79,335 ( +0.2%)
06/06 Uncanny X-Men #474 - 78,140 ( -1.5%)
07/06 Uncanny X-Men #475 - 106,037 (+35.7%)
07/06 Uncanny X-Men #476 - 92,154 (-13.1%)
08/06 Uncanny X-Men #477 - 89,225 ( -3.2%)
09/06 Uncanny X-Men #478 - 89,850 ( +0.7%)
10/06 Uncanny X-Men #479 - 89,052 ( -0.9%)
11/06 Uncanny X-Men #480 - 88,584 ( -0.5%)
12/06 Uncanny X-Men #481 - 85,995 ( -2.9%)
01/07 Uncanny X-Men #482 - 83,860 ( -2.5%)
02/07 Uncanny X-Men #483 - 83,009 ( -1.0%)
03/07 Uncanny X-Men #484 - 82,043 ( -1.2%)
04/07 Uncanny X-Men #485 - 81,764 ( -0.3%)
6 mnth ( -8.2%)
1 year ( +3.3%)
2 year ( -4.1%)
3 year ( -6.0%)
4 year ( -5.5%)
Ed Brubaker and Billy Tan’s year-long “Rise and Fall of the Shi’ar Empire” storyline reaches its penultimate issue, and it’s still a couple of thousand up on the inherited sales. Still, it’s been a long time since the X-Men titles failed to make the top twenty. The X-books have gone a bit cold lately, and they really need a kick from the upcoming “Endangered Species” crossover.
23. X-MEN
04/01 X-Men #113 - 95,696
04/02 New X-Men #125 - 104,185
04/03 New X-Men #130 - 96,981
04/04 New X-Men #155 - 100,088
04/05 X-Men #169 - 82,793
=====
04/06 X-Men #185 - 78,815 ( -0.8%)
05/06 X-Men #186 - 79,536 ( +0.9%)
06/06 X-Men #187 - 77,918 ( -2.0%)
07/06 X-Men #188 - 95,487 (+22.5%)
07/06 X-Men #189 - 85,157 (-10.8%)
08/06 X-Men #190 - 83,436 ( -2.0%)
09/06 X-Men #191 - 82,048 ( -1.7%)
10/06 X-Men #192 - 81,816 ( -0.3%)
11/06 X-Men #193 - 80,102 ( -2.1%)
12/06 X-Men #194 - 78,114 ( -2.5%)
01/07 X-Men #195 - 76,900 ( -1.6%)
02/07 X-Men #196 - 75,707 ( -1.6%)
03/07 X-Men #197 - 75,184 ( -0.7%)
04/07 X-Men #198 - 74,841 ( -0.5%)
6 mnth ( -8.5%)
1 year ( -5.0%)
2 year ( -9.6%)
3 year (-25.2%)
4 year (-22.8%)
The other regular X-Men title is in slow decline, and now some way below the sales inherited from the previous creative team.
25. FANTASTIC FOUR
04/01 Fantastic Four #42 - 48,996
04/02 Fantastic Four #54 - 44,808
04/03 Fantastic Four #68 - 51,405
04/04 Fantastic Four #512 - 52,953
04/05 Fantastic Four #525 - 45,561
=====
04/06 Fantastic Four #537 - 79,576 ( -0.1%)
05/06 ---
06/06 Fantastic Four #538 - 92,624 (+16.4%)
07/06 ---
08/06 Fantastic Four #539 - 89,676 ( -3.2%)
09/06 ----
10/06 Fantastic Four #540 - 88,933 ( -0.8%)
11/06 ----
12/06 Fantastic Four #541 - 84,895 ( -4.5%)
01/07 Fantastic Four #542 - 84,338 ( -0.7%)
02/07 ---
03/07 Fantastic Four #543 - 78,823 ( -6.5%)
03/07 Fantastic Four #544 - 76,711 ( -2.7%)
04/07 Fantastic Four #545 - 74,700 ( -2.6%)
6 mnth (-16.0%)
1 year ( -6.1%)
2 year (+64.0%)
3 year (+41.1%)
4 year (+45.3%)
Back to the Initiative, and FANTASTIC FOUR is still seeing the benefits of tying in with the wider Marvel Universe. Issue #544 picks up re-orders of 2,831; allowing for that, this month’s issue actually sees a very slight rise in sales. So far, so good for the new roster.
26. ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN
04/01 Ult. Spider-Man #8 - 78,028
04/02 Ult. Spider-Man #21 - 84,485
04/03 Ult. Spider-Man #39 - 103,531
04/04 Ult. Spider-Man #56 - 91,585
04/05 Ult. Spider-Man #75 - 83,940
=====
04/06 Ult. Spider-Man #93 - 72,831 ( +0.8%)
05/06 Ult. Spider-Man #94 - 74,051 ( +1.7%)
05/06 Ult. Spider-Man #95 - 73,564 ( -0.7%)
06/06 Ult. Spider-Man #96 - 73,472 ( -0.1%)
07/06 Ult. Spider-Man #97 - 76,612 ( +4.3%)
08/06 Ult. Spider-Man #98 - 77,304 ( +0.9%)
08/06 Ult. Spider-Man #99 - 76,075 ( -1.6%)
09/06 Ult. Spider-Man #100 - 119,194 (+56.7%)
10/06 Ult. Spider-Man #101 - 78,963 (-33.8%)
11/06 Ult. Spider-Man #102 - 77,121 ( -2.3%)
12/06 Ult. Spider-Man #103 - 76,251 ( -1.1%)
01/07 Ult. Spider-Man #104 - 108,082 (+41.7%)
02/07 Ult. Spider-Man #105 - 74,376 (-31.2%)
03/07 Ult. Spider-Man #106 - 73,832 ( -1.3%)
03/07 Ult. Spider-Man #107 - 72,818 ( -1.4%)
04/07 Ult. Spider-Man #108 - 72,713 ( -0.1%)
6 mnth ( -7.9%)
1 year ( -0.2%)
2 year (-13.4%)
3 year (-20.6%)
4 year (-29.8%)
The highest placed book from the Ultimate imprint, holding virtually level from last month. If ULTIMATES 2 had come out, then going by its historical sales, it would probably have made the lower end of the top 10 – the sales standards for big events have been raised significantly since ULTIMATES began. As it is, the Ultimate imprint finds itself languishing some way down the charts, and while that’s partly because of DC’s eight issues of 52, it does illustrate that there’s a sense of ennui hanging over this imprint.
28. WOLVERINE: ORIGINS
04/06 Origins #1 - 182,672
05/06 Origins #2 - 131,522 (-28.0%)
06/06 Origins #3 - 116,058 (-11.8%)
07/06 Origins #4 - 110,830 ( -4.5%)
08/06 Origins #5 - 120,448 ( +8.7%)
09/06 Origins #6 - 101,013 (-16.1%)
10/06 Origins #7 - 103,273 ( +2.2%)
11/06 Origins #8 - 91,585 (-11.3%)
12/06 Origins #9 - 84,733 ( -7.5%)
01/07 Origins #10 - 97,881 (+15.5%)
02/07 Origins #11 - 78,901 (-19.4%)
03/07 Origins #12 - 74,750 ( -5.3%)
04/07 Origins #13 - 70,963 ( -5.1%)
6 mnth (-31.3%)
1 year (-61.2%)
WOLVERINE: ORIGINS celebrates its first anniversary, with a rather nasty 61% year-on-year drop. Of course, most new titles shed a ton of readers in the early issues before settling down, but ORIGINS is still bleeding at a rate of 5% a month. It started out with such high sales that it can afford to keep doing this for quite a while to come, but it’s still a bad trend.
By way of comparison, MOON KNIGHT also celebrated its first anniversary in April, with an initial year-on-year drop of 40%.
29. MARVEL ZOMBIES/ARMY OF DARKNESS
04/06 Marvel Zombies #5 of 5 - 64,156 ( +6.2%)
05/06 ---
06/06 ---
07/06 ---
08/06 ---
09/06 ---
10/06 ---
11/06 ---
12/06 ---
01/07 ---
02/07 ---
03/07 Army of Darkness #1 of 5 - 76,875 (+19.8%)
04/07 Army of Darkness #2 of 5 - 69,432 ( -9.7%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year ( +8.2%)
Actually outselling the tail end of the first MARVEL ZOMBIES series, so Marvel and their co-publishers Dynamite have plenty to smile about. In another example of oddball re-ordering, 2005’s MARVEL ZOMBIES #1 sold another 1,396 copies, and issue #2 shifted 1,469. MARVEL ZOMBIES was always notable for picking up astounding levels of re-orders, but this is just getting silly. Appropriately enough, the book just won’t stay dead.
30. MOON KNIGHT
04/06 Moon Knight #1 - 114,533
05/06 Moon Knight #2 - 77,552 (-32.3%)
06/06 Moon Knight #3 - 72,206 ( -6.9%)
07/06 --
08/06 Moon Knight #4 - 67,802 ( -6.1%)
09/06 Moon Knight #5 - 64,736 ( -4.5%)
10/06 --
11/06 Moon Knight #6 - 74,017 (+14.3%)
12/06 --
01/07 Moon Knight #7 - 76,921 ( +3.9%)
02/07 --
03/07 Moon Knight #8 - 77,390 ( +0.6%)
04/07 Moon Knight #9 - 69,196 (-10.6%)
6 mnth ( -6.5%)
1 year (-39.6%)
Dropping back to its normal range after some peripheral CIVIL WAR tie-ins, which didn’t really distract from the regular story. A year into its run, although decidedly behind schedule, MOON KNIGHT is still selling unexpectedly well for a book about a C-list hero.
31. THUNDERBOLTS
04/01 Thunderbolts #51 - 34,746
04/02 Thunderbolts #63 - 29,042
04/03 Thunderbolts #78 - 21,806
04/05 New Thunderbolts #7 - 28,722
=====
04/06 Thunderbolts #101 - 24,170 ( -9.8%)
05/06 Thunderbolts #102 - 23,741 ( -1.8%)
06/06 Thunderbolts #103 - 60,823 (+156.2%)
07/06 Thunderbolts #104 - 63,850 ( +5.0%)
08/06 Thunderbolts #105 - 61,467 ( -3.7%)
09/06 Thunderbolts #106 - 31,527 ( -48.7%)
10/06 Thunderbolts #107 - 29,624 ( -6.0%)
11/06 Thunderbolts #108 - 27,890 ( -5.9%)
12/06 Thunderbolts #109 - 27,300 ( -2.1%)
01/07 Thunderbolts #110 - 73,557 (+169.4%)
02/07 Thunderbolts #111 - 62,791 ( -14.6%)
03/07 Thunderbolts #112 - 61,395 ( -2.2%)
04/07 Thunderbolts #113 - 65,092 ( +6.0%)
6 mnth (+119.7%)
1 year (+169.3%)
2 year (+126.7%)
3 year ( ---- )
4 year (+198.5%)
Still enjoying the benefits of its Initiative relaunch under Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato. The sales increase is unlikely to be due to the solicitation, which merely promised an appearance by the Steel Spider. So, perhaps the book is gaining momentum, or perhaps this month’s variant cover artist is more popular than last month’s.
32. ULTIMATE X-MEN
04/01 Ultimate X-Men #5 - 101,270
04/02 Ultimate X-Men #17 - 95,887
04/03 Ultimate X-Men #32 - 90,484
04/04 Ultimate X-Men #44 - 96,264
04/05 Ultimate X-Men #58 - 82,606
=====
04/06 Ultimate X-Men #69 - 73,188 ( +0.6%)
05/06 Ultimate X-Men #70 - 72,235 ( -1.3%)
06/06 Ultimate X-Men #71 - 71,314 ( -1.3%)
07/06 Ultimate X-Men #72 - 70,593 ( -1.0%)
08/06 Ultimate X-Men #73 - 70,153 ( -0.6%)
09/06 Ultimate X-Men #74 - 68,874 ( -1.8%)
10/06 Ultimate X-Men #75 - 73,837 ( +7.2%)
11/06 Ultimate X-Men #76 - 69,054 ( -6.5%)
12/06 Ultimate X-Men #77 - 67,338 ( -2.5%)
01/07 Ultimate X-Men #78 - 66,409 ( -1.4%)
02/07 Ultimate X-Men #79 - 64,363 ( -3.1%)
03/07 Ultimate X-Men #80 - 63,037 ( -2.1%)
04/07 Ultimate X-Men #81 - 62,926 ( -0.2%)
6 mnth (-14.5%)
1 year (-14.0%)
2 year (-23.8%)
3 year (-34.6%)
4 year (-30.5%)
Slowly descending into the mid-table.
36. IRON MAN
04/01 Iron Man #41 - 36,482
04/02 Iron Man #53 - 37,636
04/03 Iron Man #67 - 32,479
04/04 Iron Man #79 - 29,138
04/05 Iron Man #3 - 51,390
=====
04/06 Iron Man #7 - 49,404 ( +22.7%)
05/06 Iron Man #8 - 38,860 ( -21.3%)
06/06 Iron Man #9 - 37,650 ( -3.1%)
07/06 Iron Man #10 - 38,102 ( +1.2%)
08/06 Iron Man #11 - 37,279 ( -2.2%)
09/06 Iron Man #12 - 36,278 ( -2.7%)
10/06 ---
11/06 Iron Man #13 - 76,800 (+111.7%)
12/06 Iron Man #14 - 73,388 ( -4.4%)
01/07 ---
02/07 Iron Man #15 - 72,394 ( -1.4%)
03/07 ---
04/07 Iron Man #16 - 59,470 ( -17.9%)
6 mnth ( -22.6%)
1 year ( +20.4%)
2 year ( +15.7%)
3 year (+104.1%)
4 year ( +83.1%)
Now that the CIVIL WAR crossover is out of the way, IRON MAN has to find its level again. Issue #15 picks up re-orders of 9,985, on the strength of a second printing. Taking that into account, this month’s drop looks much more modest, and the book still has good chances of settling down with much-increased sales, reflecting the character’s prominence in the post-CW Marvel Universe.
39. OMEGA FLIGHT
04/04 Alpha Flight #2 - 36,551
=====
04/07 Omega Flight #1 of 5 - 58,153
3 year (+59.1%)
Now, this surprises me. OMEGA FLIGHT was originally announced as an ongoing title, but it was cut back to a five-issue miniseries before it was even solicited. In fact, 58K is the sort of number that would have been thoroughly respectable for the first issue of an ongoing title. Perhaps Marvel have underestimated the demand here.
40. SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN
04/04 Marvel Knights S-M #1 - 137,314
04/05 Marvel Knights S-M #13 - 60,542
=====
04/06 Sensational S-M #25 - 51,992
05/06 Sensational S-M #26 - 52,496 ( +1.0%)
06/06 Sensational S-M #27 - 50,721 ( -3.4%)
07/06 Sensational S-M #28 - 58,532 (+15.4%)
08/06 Sensational S-M #29 - 55,420 ( -5.3%)
09/06 Sensational S-M #30 - 54,467 ( -1.7%)
10/06 Sensational S-M #31 - 51,587 ( -5.3%)
11/06 Sensational S-M #32 - 50,222 ( -2.6%)
12/06 Sensational S-M #33 - 48,443 ( -3.5%)
01/07 Sensational S-M #34 - 47,008 ( -3.0%)
02/07 Sensational S-M #35 - 69,543 (+47.9%)
03/07 Sensational S-M #36 - 58,559 (-15.8%)
04/07 Sensational S-M #37 - 57,528 ( -1.8%)
6 mnth (+11.5%)
1 year (+10.6%)
2 year ( -5.0%)
3 year (-58.1%)
“Back in Black” is still delivering impressive numbers. Issue #35 picks up another 10,120 sales thanks to a second printing with a new variant cover, while issue #36 has re-orders of 2,420. Without those re-orders, this month’s sales would actually have gone up. All happy news.
42. RUNAWAYS
04/03 Runaways #1 - 25,833
04/04 Runaways #14 - 19,363
04/05 Runaways #3 - 29,264
=====
04/06 Runaways #15 - 24,046 ( -2.0%)
05/06 Runaways #16 - 23,842 ( -0.8%)
06/06 Runaways #17 - 23,654 ( -0.8%)
07/06 Runaways #18 - 24,678 ( +4.3%)
08/06 Runaways #19 - 25,042 ( +1.5%)
09/06 Runaways #20 - 23,561 ( -5.9%)
10/06 Runaways #21 - 25,553 ( +8.5%)
11/06 Runaways #22 - 25,908 ( +1.4%)
12/06 ---
01/07 Runaways #23 - 25,346 ( -2.2%)
02/07 Runaways #24 - 25,216 ( -0.5%)
03/07 ---
04/07 Runaways #25 - 56,250 (+123.1%)
6 mnth (+120.1%)
1 year (+133.9%)
2 year ( +92.2%)
3 year (+190.5%)
4 year (+117.7%)
Joss Whedon takes over, and sales more than double. I might have hoped for them to go a little higher, to be honest. But then, RUNAWAYS isn’t one of Marvel’s bigger properties, and they haven’t promoted Whedon’s run as a huge event in the same way that they did when he took over the X-Men.
It’s still a very satisfying number for a book that has traditionally sold in the mid-20K range. And in a climate where it’s notoriously difficult to launch a new superhero title, let’s take a moment to note that RUNAWAYS celebrated its fourth birthday in April – a feat few modern books achieve.
45. PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL 11/06 Punisher War Journal #1 - 102,727 12/06 -- 01/07 Punisher War Journal #2 - 96,112 ( -6.4%) 01/07 Punisher War Journal #3 - 70,143 (-27.0%) 02/07 Punisher War Journal #4 - 52,961 (-24.5%) 03/07 Punisher War Journal #5 - 50,190 ( -5.2%) 04/07 Punisher War Journal #6 - 53,498 ( +6.6%)
An interesting sales boost, possibly brought about because Marvel hinted that this storyline had something to do with the death of Captain America. And indeed it does, at least thematically, but the book really delivers precisely what was solicited: the Punisher fighting the new Hatemonger on the Mexican border. I’ll be interested to see where the sales go from here on this title.
46. INCREDIBLE HULK
04/01 Incredible Hulk #27 - 33,608
04/02 Incredible Hulk #39 - 44,517
04/03 Incredible Hulk #53 - 57,837
04/04 Incredible Hulk #71 - 46,837
04/05 Incredible Hulk #80 - 48,404
=====
04/06 Incredible Hulk #94 - 47,966 ( +1.1%)
05/06 Incredible Hulk #95 - 49,089 ( +2.3%)
06/06 ---
07/06 Incredible Hulk #96 - 49,209 ( +0.2%)
08/06 Incredible Hulk #97 - 48,893 ( -0.6%)
09/06 Incredible Hulk #98 - 52,987 ( +8.4%)
10/06 Incredible Hulk #99 - 47,878 ( -9.6%)
11/06 Incredible Hulk #100 - 84,169 (+75.8%)
12/06 Incredible Hulk #101 - 47,927 (-43.1%)
01/07 Incredible Hulk #102 - 46,965 ( -2.0%)
02/07 Incredible Hulk #103 - 46,690 ( -0.6%)
03/07 Incredible Hulk #104 - 47,823 ( +2.4%)
04/07 Incredible Hulk #105 - 53,256 (+11.4%)
6 mnth (+11.2%)
1 year (+11.0%)
2 year (+10.0%)
3 year (+13.7%)
4 year ( -7.9%)
The final chapter of “Planet Hulk”, but also solicited as the “launching pad” for WORLD WAR HULK. That sales jump suggests that retailers are looking forward to the next crossover already.
48. FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN
04/06 F.N. Spider-Man #7 - 55,381 ( -5.9%)
05/06 F.N. Spider-Man #8 - 53,910 ( -2.7%)
06/06 F.N. Spider-Man #9 - 50,177 ( -6.9%)
07/06 F.N. Spider-Man #10 - 48,902 ( -2.5%)
08/06 F.N. Spider-Man #11 - 50,995 ( +4.3%)
09/06 F.N. Spider-Man #12 - 48,063 ( -5.7%)
10/06 F.N. Spider-Man #13 - 46,293 ( -3.7%)
11/06 F.N. Spider-Man #14 - 43,476 ( -6.1%)
12/06 F.N. Spider-Man #15 - 42,147 ( -3.1%)
01/07 F.N. Spider-Man #16 - 41,832 ( -0.7%)
02/07 F.N. Spider-Man #17 - 62,278 (+48.9%)
03/07 F.N. Spider-Man #18 - 50,665 (-18.6%)
04/07 F.N. Spider-Man #19 - 50,307 ( -0.7%)
6 mnth ( +8.7%)
1 year ( -9.2%)
Another Spider-Man book benefitting from “Back in Black.” A second printing of issue #17 sells 9,484 extra copies.
51. DAREDEVIL
04/01 Daredevil #16 - 59,291
04/02 Daredevil #32 - 47,576
04/03 Daredevil #46 - 60,517
04/04 Daredevil #59 - 54,398
04/05 Daredevil #72 - 48,803
=====
04/06 Daredevil #84 - 47,123 ( +0.7%)
05/06 Daredevil #85 - 47,899 ( +1.6%)
06/06 Daredevil #86 - 48,280 ( +0.8%)
07/06 Daredevil #87 - 51,989 ( +7.7%)
08/06 Daredevil #88 - 50,554 ( -2.8%)
09/06 Daredevil #89 - 55,481 ( +9.7%)
10/06 Daredevil #90 - 50,500 ( -9.0%)
11/06 Daredevil #91 - 49,335 ( -2.3%)
12/06 Daredevil #92 - 48,035 ( -2.6%)
01/07 Daredevil #93 - 47,124 ( -1.9%)
02/07 Daredevil #94 - 46,773 ( -0.7%)
03/07 Daredevil #95 - 46,455 ( -0.7%)
04/07 Daredevil #96 - 46,198 ( -0.6%)
6 mnth ( -8.5%)
1 year ( -2.0%)
2 year ( -5.3%)
3 year (-15.1%)
4 year (-23.7%)
Very solid over the last few months.
52. GHOST RIDER
07/06 Ghost Rider #1 - 98,826 (+77.1%)
08/06 Ghost Rider #2 - 61,793 (-37.5%)
09/06 Ghost Rider #3 - 54,029 (-12.6%)
10/06 Ghost Rider #4 - 50,925 ( -5.7%)
11/06 Ghost Rider #5 - 47,929 ( -5.9%)
12/06 Ghost Rider #6 - 46,673 ( -2.6%)
01/07 Ghost Rider #7 - 43,557 ( -6.7%)
02/07 Ghost Rider #8 - 48,736 (+11.9%)
03/07 Ghost Rider #9 - 48,041 ( -1.4%)
04/07 Ghost Rider #10 - 43,986 ( -8.4%)
6 mnth (-13.6%)
Returning to its normal level after two issues which were rather tenuously solicited as CIVIL WAR tie-ins. Ironically, this is actually a continuation of the same story. But it’s not solicited as a crossover, so sales go back where they came from.
On the plus side, the book finds itself marginally up on its pre-CIVIL WAR sales, so perhaps it’s found its level.
53. NOVA
04/06 Ann: Nova #1 of 4 - 42,458
05/06 Ann: Nova #2 of 4 - 39,602 ( -6.7%)
06/06 Ann: Nova #3 of 4 - 36,663 ( -7.4%)
07/06 Ann: Nova #4 of 4 - 35,194 ( -4.0%)
08/06 ---
09/06 ---
10/06 ---
11/06 ---
12/06 ---
01/07 ---
02/07 ---
03/07 ---
04/07 Nova #1 - 42,917 (+21.9%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year ( +1.1%)
The ongoing NOVA series launches with sales marginally higher than ANNIHILATION: NOVA last year. It’s a perfectly decent start, and with an Initiative tie-in and another ANNIHILATION crossover around the corner, the book will get plenty of opportunities to grab readers – although the risk is that it gets so smothered in crossovers that it loses its own identity.
54. MS MARVEL
04/06 Ms Marvel #2 - 46,204 (-37.1%)
05/06 Ms Marvel #3 - 43,048 ( -6.8%)
06/06 Ms Marvel #4 - 40,627 ( -5.6%)
07/06 Ms Marvel #5 - 38,874 ( -4.3%)
08/06 Ms Marvel #6 - 68,330 (+75.8%)
09/06 Ms Marvel #7 - 64,973 ( -4.9%)
10/06 Ms Marvel #8 - 62,893 ( -3.2%)
11/06 Ms Marvel #9 - 37,881 (-39.8%)
12/06 Ms Marvel #10 - 34,350 ( -9.3%)
01/07 Ms Marvel #11 - 32,298 ( -6.0%)
02/07 Ms Marvel #12 - 30,763 ( -4.8%)
03/07 Ms Marvel #13 - 40,836 (+32.7%)
04/07 Ms Marvel #14 - 42,877 ( +5.0%)
6 mnth (-31.8%)
1 year ( -7.2%)
Apparently gaining momentum on the strength of its Initiative tie-ins (and, perhaps, the character’s lead role in MIGHTY AVENGERS). A good sign, in any event.
55. X-23: TARGET X
04/05 X-23 #5 of 6 - 54,613
=====
12/06 Target X #1 of 6 - 58,125
01/07 Target X #2 of 6 - 44,000 (-24.3%)
02/07 Target X #3 of 6 - 42,132 ( -4.2%)
03/07 Target X #4 of 6 - 41,858 ( -0.7%)
04/07 Target X #5 of 6 - 41,701 ( -0.4%)
2 year (-23.6%)
A very steady performance from this miniseries after the initial drop-off.
56. NEW X-MEN
04/04 New Mutants #11 - 34,148
04/05 New X-Men #12 - 35,779
=====
04/06 New X-Men #25 - 40,176 ( -4.4%)
05/06 New X-Men #26 - 40,073 ( -0.3%)
06/06 New X-Men #27 - 39,785 ( -0.7%)
07/06 New X-Men #28 - 39,771 ( -0.0%)
08/06 New X-Men #29 - 40,303 ( +1.3%)
09/06 New X-Men #30 - 39,658 ( -1.6%)
10/06 New X-Men #31 - 39,175 ( -1.2%)
11/06 New X-Men #32 - 37,919 ( -3.2%)
12/06 New X-Men #33 - 38,076 ( +0.4%)
01/07 New X-Men #34 - 37,272 ( -2.1%)
02/07 New X-Men #35 - 37,142 ( -0.3%)
03/07 New X-Men #36 - 37,004 ( -0.4%)
04/07 New X-Men #37 - 37,935 ( +2.5%)
6 mnth ( -3.2%)
1 year ( -5.6%)
2 year ( +6.0%)
3 year (+11.1%)
The prelude to “Quest for Magik”, which was trailed with house ads. It gets a modest increase. Overall, the book is still selling consistently in the high 30K range.
57. X-FACTOR
04/06 X-Factor #6 - 45,220 ( -2.7%)
05/06 X-Factor #7 - 44,315 ( -2.0%)
06/06 X-Factor #8 - 76,150 (+71.8%)
07/06 X-Factor #9 - 68,799 ( -9.7%)
08/06 X-Factor #10 - 44,603 (-35.2%)
09/06 X-Factor #11 - 43,431 ( -2.6%)
10/06 X-Factor #12 - 42,909 ( -1.2%)
11/06 X-Factor #13 - 42,844 ( -0.2%)
12/06 X-Factor #14 - 40,208 ( -6.2%)
01/07 X-Factor #15 - 38,693 ( -3.8%)
02/07 X-Factor #16 - 38,240 ( -1.2%)
03/07 X-Factor #17 - 38,067 ( -0.4%)
04/07 X-Factor #18 - 37,851 ( -0.6%)
6 mnth (-11.8%)
1 year (-16.3%)
Very slow decline, but nothing too alarming.
58. GHOST RIDER: TRAIL OF TEARS 02/07 Trail of Tears #1 of 6 - 49,260 03/07 Trail of Tears #2 of 6 - 40,200 (-18.4%) 04/07 Trail of Tears #3 of 6 - 37,271 ( -7.3%)
Levelling out in standard fashion.
59. IMMORTAL IRON FIST
04/04 Iron Fist #2 - 28,432
=====
11/06 Immortal Iron Fist #1 - 60,079
12/06 Immortal Iron Fist #2 - 40,617 (-32.4%)
01/07 ---
02/07 Immortal Iron Fist #3 - 35,654 (-12.2%)
03/07 ---
04/07 Immortal Iron Fist #4 - 37,159 ( +4.2%)
3 year (+30.7%)
This seems to have turned into a bimonthly title. But it’s not doing the sales any harm – IRON FIST is turning around and starting to claw its way back up the charts, with a ton of good reviews under its belt.
61. SILENT WAR 01/07 Silent War #1 of 6 - 44,079 02/07 Silent War #2 of 6 - 37,899 (-14.0%) 03/07 Silent War #3 of 6 - 36,151 ( -4.6%) 04/07 Silent War #4 of 6 - 36,162 ( +0.0%)
Almost dead level with last month. People don’t seem to be talking about SILENT WAR much, but it’s still doing fine in sales terms.
63. ANNIHILATION: HERALDS OF GALACTUS 02/07 Terrax & Stardust - 35,548 03/07 --- 04/07 Silver Surfer & Firelord - 35,313 (-0.7%)
The second HERALDS OF GALACTUS one-shot sells almost the same as the first one, despite having the bigger name characters. Arguably, this is a sign that the ANNIHILATION brand is continuing to drive sales, which is good news for the upcoming sequel.
65. PUNISHER [Max]
04/02 Punisher #11 - 44,956
04/03 Punisher #24 - 40,503
04/04 Punisher #5 - 34,234
04/05 Punisher #19 - 38,753
=====
04/06 Punisher #32 - 34,076 ( -1.2%)
05/06 Punisher #33 - 34,480 ( +1.2%)
06/06 Punisher #34 - 34,161 ( -0.9%)
07/06 Punisher #35 - 34,116 ( -0.1%)
08/06 Punisher #36 - 34,227 ( +0.3%)
09/06 Punisher #37 - 34,250 ( +0.1%)
09/06 Punisher #38 - 33,839 ( -1.2%)
10/06 Punisher #39 - 33,962 ( +0.4%)
11/06 Punisher #40 - 33,579 ( -1.1%)
11/06 Punisher #41 - 33,164 ( -1.2%)
12/06 Punisher #42 - 33,003 ( -0.5%)
01/07 Punisher #43 - 33,023 ( +0.0%)
02/07 Punisher #44 - 32,951 ( -0.2%)
03/07 Punisher #45 - 33,245 ( +0.9%)
04/07 Punisher #46 - 33,427 ( +0.5%)
6 mnth ( -1.6%)
1 year ( -1.9%)
2 year (-13.7%)
3 year ( -2.4%)
4 year (-17.5%)
One of Marvel’s most consistent titles.
66. NEWUNIVERSAL 12/06 newuniversal #1 - 43,163 01/07 newuniversal #2 - 49,565 (+14.8%) 02/07 newuniversal #3 - 36,535 (-26.3%) 03/07 newuniversal #4 - 34,743 ( -4.9%) 04/07 newuniversal #5 - 33,230 ( -4.4%)
Still looking for its level. The book is going on hiatus after issue #6, apparently in order to let the creative team get a head start on the next arc.
67. SPIDER-MAN & FANTASTIC FOUR 04/07 Spider-Man/FF #1 of 4 - 32,909
An old-school miniseries for old-school readers, and it’s off to a perfectly decent start considering the sort of book it is.
73. ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER [DBPro]
10/06 Anita Blake #1 of 12 - 53,277
11/06 Anita Blake #2 of 12 - 39,450 (-26.0%)
12/06 Anita Blake #3 of 12 - 36,091 ( -8.5%)
01/07 Anita Blake #4 of 12 - 32,363 (-10.3%)
02/07 ---
03/07 Anita Blake #5 of 12 - 31,136 ( -3.8%)
04/07 Anita Blake #6 of 12 - 30,759 ( -1.2%)
6 mnth (-42.3%)
Levelling out. The initial burst of excitement seems to have faded away, but this is still doing very well for a DBPro title.
75. EXILES
04/02 Exiles #12 - 38,766
04/03 Exiles #25 - 36,414
04/04 Exiles #45 - 37,878
04/05 Exiles #62 - 33,965
=====
04/06 Exiles #79 - 34,119 ( +1.8%)
05/06 Exiles #80 - 34,039 ( -0.2%)
05/06 Exiles #81 - 33,908 ( -0.4%)
06/06 Exiles #82 - 33,342 ( -1.7%)
06/06 Exiles #83 - 33,143 ( -0.6%)
07/06 Exiles #84 - 32,866 ( -0.8%)
08/06 Exiles #85 - 33,978 ( +3.4%)
09/06 Exiles #86 - 33,080 ( -2.6%)
10/06 Exiles #87 - 31,946 ( -3.4%)
11/06 Exiles #88 - 30,928 ( -3.2%)
12/06 Exiles #89 - 36,880 (+19.2%)
01/07 Exiles #90 - 31,595 (-14.3%)
02/07 Exiles #91 - 31,712 ( +0.4%)
03/07 Exiles #92 - 30,296 ( -4.5%)
04/07 Exiles #93 - 30,697 ( +1.3%)
6 mnth ( -3.9%)
1 year (-10.0%)
2 year ( -9.6%)
3 year (-19.0%)
4 year (-15.7%)
77,78. NEW EXCALIBUR
04/06 New Excalibur #6 - 40,687 ( -6.5%)
05/06 New Excalibur #7 - 38,744 ( -4.8%)
06/06 New Excalibur #8 - 37,428 ( -3.4%)
07/06 New Excalibur #9 - 36,466 ( -2.6%)
08/06 New Excalibur #10 - 36,108 ( -1.0%)
09/06 New Excalibur #11 - 34,104 ( -5.6%)
10/06 New Excalibur #12 - 33,082 ( -3.0%)
11/06 New Excalibur #13 - 32,173 ( -2.7%)
12/06 New Excalibur #14 - 31,318 ( -2.7%)
01/07 New Excalibur #15 - 30,827 ( -1.6%)
02/07 New Excalibur #16 - 30,356 ( -1.5%)
02/07 New Excalibur #17 - 30,073 ( -0.9%)
03/07 ---
04/07 New Excalibur #18 - 29,617 ( -1.5%)
05/07 New Excalibur #19 - 29,014 ( -2.0%)
6 mnth (-12.3%)
1 year (-28.7%)
The two Chris Claremont titles cling tightly together, which gives a reasonable indication of the size of his audience at the moment.
80. SHE-HULK
04/04 She-Hulk #2 - 30,779
04/05 ---
=====
04/06 ---
05/06 She-Hulk #7 - 26,561 ( -0.3%)
05/06 She-Hulk #8 - 58,053 (+118.6%)
06/06 ---
07/06 She-Hulk #9 - 29,902 ( -48.5%)
08/06 She-Hulk #10 - 28,555 ( -4.5%)
08/06 She-Hulk #11 - 27,393 ( -4.1%)
09/06 She-Hulk #12 - 26,448 ( -3.4%)
10/06 ---
11/06 She-Hulk #13 - 26,267 ( -0.7%)
12/06 She-Hulk #14 - 24,552 ( -6.5%)
01/07 She-Hulk #15 - 27,600 ( +12.4%)
02/07 She-Hulk #16 - 27,961 ( +1.3%)
03/07 ---
04/07 She-Hulk #17 - 27,669 ( -1.0%)
6 mnth ( +5.3%)
1 year ( +4.2%)
2 year ( --- )
3 year ( -10.1%)
Solicited as an Initiative title, and holding up nicely over the last few months.
82. CABLE & DEADPOOL
04/04 Cable & Deadpool #2 - 39,472
04/05 Cable & Deadpool #14 - 24,994
=====
04/06 Cable & Deadpool #27 - 26,153 ( +2.2%)
05/06 Cable & Deadpool #28 - 25,665 ( -1.9%)
06/06 Cable & Deadpool #29 - 25,368 ( -1.2%)
07/06 Cable & Deadpool #30 - 59,333 (+133.9%)
08/06 Cable & Deadpool #31 - 59,804 ( +0.8%)
09/06 Cable & Deadpool #32 - 60,177 ( +0.6%)
10/06 Cable & Deadpool #33 - 30,741 ( -48.9%)
11/06 Cable & Deadpool #34 - 29,144 ( -5.2%)
12/06 Cable & Deadpool #35 - 27,785 ( -4.7%)
01/07 Cable & Deadpool #36 - 26,803 ( -3.5%)
02/07 Cable & Deadpool #37 - 26,588 ( -0.8%)
03/07 Cable & Deadpool #38 - 26,258 ( -1.2%)
04/07 Cable & Deadpool #39 - 26,110 ( -0.6%)
6 mnth ( -15.1%)
1 year ( -0.2%)
2 year ( +4.5%)
3 year ( -33.9%)
Another book with remarkably consistent sales recently.
84. SQUADRON SUPREME: HYPERION VS NIGHTHAWK 01/07 Hyperion/N'hawk #1 of 4 - 33,922 02/07 Hyperion/N'hawk #2 of 4 - 29,366 (-13.4%) 03/07 Hyperion/N'hawk #3 of 4 - 27,482 ( -6.4%) 04/07 Hyperion/N'hawk #4 of 4 - 25,953 ( -5.6%)
The momentum of SQUADRON SUPREME seems to have evaporated, and the parent title appears to have vanished altogether. ULTIMATE POWER increasingly looks like a hangover from a bygone day when Marvel took this property seriously.
86. LONERS 04/07 Loners #1 of 6 - 24,377
As good as you could sensibly expect for a RUNAWAYS spin-off starring characters like Darkhawk and one of the Slingers.
89. OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE
04/05 Spider-Man 2005 - 25,530
=====
04/06 A to Z #4 of 12 - 21,531 ( -0.7%)
05/06 A to Z #5 of 12 - 21,331 ( -0.9%)
06/06 A to Z #6 of 12 - 20,731 ( -2.8%)
07/06 A to Z #7 of 12 - 20,124 ( -2.9%)
08/06 A to Z #8 of 12 - 19,926 ( -1.0%)
09/06 A to Z #9 of 12 - 18,966 ( -4.8%)
10/06 A to Z #10 of 12 - 18,767 ( -1.0%)
11/06 A to Z #11 of 12 - 18,285 ( -2.6%)
12/06 A to Z #12 of 12 - 21,183 (+15.8%)
01/07 Update #1 of 4 - 17,182 (-18.9%)
02/07 ---
03/07 ---
04/07 Spider-Man: BIB - 23,510 (+36.8%)
6 mnth (+25.3%)
1 year ( +9.2%)
2 year ( -7.9%)
Billed as a “Back in Black” book, it’s really just a Spider-Man update handbook. As you’d expect, the high profile character delivers a sales boost.
90. X-MEN: FIRST CLASS
09/06 First Class #1 of 8 - 39,859
10/06 First Class #2 of 8 - 33,688 (-15.5%)
11/06 First Class #3 of 8 - 30,805 ( -8.6%)
12/06 First Class #4 of 8 - 28,455 ( -7.6%)
01/07 First Class #5 of 8 - 26,607 ( -6.5%)
02/07 First Class #6 of 8 - 25,125 ( -5.6%)
03/07 First Class #7 of 8 - 24,028 ( -4.4%)
04/07 First Class #8 of 8 - 23,420 ( -2.5%)
6 mnth (-30.5%)
Unexpectedly good sales for a miniseries set in sixties continuity, and reportedly it’s also done well with the Marvel Adventures readership outside the direct market. Although this is the end of the intial miniseries, there was a one-shot in May, and an ongoing series begins in June.
95. HEROES FOR HIRE
08/06 Heroes for Hire #1 - 84,006
09/06 Heroes for Hire #2 - 66,949 (-20.3%)
10/06 Heroes for Hire #3 - 60,770 ( -9.2%)
11/06 Heroes for Hire #4 - 38,070 (-37.4%)
12/06 Heroes for Hire #5 - 31,318 (-17.7%)
01/07 Heroes for Hire #6 - 27,513 (-12.1%)
02/07 Heroes for Hire #7 - 24,476 (-11.0%)
03/07 Heroes for Hire #8 - 22,563 ( -7.8%)
04/07 Heroes for Hire #9 - 21,444 ( -5.0%)
6 mnth (-64.7%)
Still in decline. Marvel have just solicited issue #13, so evidently the book has survived into a second year – perhaps on the strength of its upcoming WORLD WAR HULK tie-ins. Frankly, I’m surprised by that decision, since these sales are little short of atrocious.
This raises, in passing, the controversial topic of the cover for issue #13. There seems to a common assumption, both among publishers and among their detractors, that T&A sells comics. I wonder whether that’s really true. HEROES FOR HIRE has been distinguished by prominent cheesecake art from day one, and just look at its sales. The bad girl genre is virtually dead. MIGHTY AVENGERS, with Frank Cho’s art, is doing no better than NEW AVENGERS with Leinil Francis Yu – in fact, it’s actually the lowest selling of the three Avengers titles, although not by much. And when did you ever see Greg Horn’s covers on a high-selling title?
If this sort of thing is genuinely so popular, why doesn’t it sell better? Could it be that in fact, the audience for T&A comics (or at least comics which are quite so blatant about it) is actually quite small, and that chasing them is a waste of time on commercial grounds alone?
96. POWERS [Icon]
04/01 Powers #11 - 24,977
04/02 Powers #20 - 27,333
04/03 Powers #30 - 26,690
04/04 ---
04/05 Powers #10 - 28,360
=====
04/06 ---
05/06 Powers #18 - 23,617 ( -2.2%)
06/06 ---
07/06 Powers #19 - 23,156 ( -1.9%)
08/06 ---
09/06 ---
10/06 Powers #20 - 22,943 ( -0.9%)
11/06 Powers #21 - 22,134 ( -3.5%)
12/06 ---
01/07 Powers #22 - 22,018 ( -0.5%)
02/07 Powers #23 - 21,939 ( -0.4%)
03/07 ---
04/07 Powers #24 - 20,960 ( -4.5%)
6 mnth ( -8.6%)
1 year (-11.3%)
2 year (-26.1%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year (-21.5%)
POWERS has become an erratic shipper of late, but the decline in sales over the last couple of years is plainly apparent.
100. SPIDER-MAN FAMILY 02/07 Spider-Man Family #1 - 30,516 03/07 --- 04/07 Spider-Man Family #2 - 20,679 (-32.2%)
Issue #1 picks up re-orders of 5,291 on the strength of a variant cover. Allowing for that, this is a reasonable second issue drop, but you have to wonder whether the market really needed another Spider-Man title.
105. PUNISHER PRESENTS BARRACUDA MAX [Max] 02/07 Barracuda #1 of 5 - 23,886 03/07 Barracuda #2 of 5 - 20,969 (-12.2%) 04/07 Barracuda #3 of 5 - 20,150 ( -3.9%)
Levelling out nicely.
106. AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL
04/01 Spider-Girl #33 - 23,995
04/02 Spider-Girl #46 - 23,781
04/03 Spider-Girl #59 - 23,199
04/04 Spider-Girl #72 - 21,742
04/05 Spider-Girl #85 - 19,682
=====
04/06 Spider-Girl #97 - 17,508 ( +4.6%)
05/06 Spider-Girl #98 - 17,738 ( +1.3%)
06/06 Spider-Girl #99 - 17,915 ( +1.0%)
07/06 Spider-Girl #100 - 22,691 ( +26.7%)
08/06 ----
09/06 ----
10/06 Amazing Spider-Girl #1 - 47,304 (+108.5%)
11/06 Amazing Spider-Girl #2 - 28,135 ( -40.5%)
12/06 Amazing Spider-Girl #3 - 25,645 ( -8.9%)
01/07 Amazing Spider-Girl #4 - 23,113 ( -9.9%)
02/07 Amazing Spider-Girl #5 - 21,391 ( -7.5%)
03/07 Amazing Spider-Girl #6 - 20,478 ( -4.3%)
04/07 Amazing Spider-Girl #7 - 20,093 ( -1.9%)
6 mnth ( -57.5%)
1 year ( +14.8%)
2 year ( +2.1%)
3 year ( -7.6%)
4 year ( -13.4%)
Levelling out, and at least it’s held onto a few thousand extra readers as a result of its relaunch.
109. AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES II 11/06 Avengers: EMH II #1 of 8 - 35,032 11/06 Avengers: EMH II #2 of 8 - 31,871 ( -9.0%) 12/06 Avengers: EMH II #3 of 8 - 27,015 (-15.2%) 12/06 Avengers: EMH II #4 of 8 - 25,622 ( -5.2%) 01/07 Avengers: EMH II #5 of 8 - 22,409 (-12.5%) 02/07 Avengers: EMH II #6 of 8 - 21,873 ( -2.4%) 03/07 Avengers: EMH II #7 of 8 - 20,511 ( -6.2%) 04/07 Avengers: EMH II #8 of 8 - 19,502 ( -4.9%)
Wrapping up at a reasonable level for a historical miniseries. Marvel are evidently happy, because Joe Casey has a similar project involving Iron Man coming up later in the year.
110. IRON MAN: HYPERVELOCITY 01/07 Hypervelocity #1 of 6 - 28,630 02/07 Hypervelocity #2 of 6 - 22,522 (-21.3%) 03/07 Hypervelocity #3 of 6 - 20,020 (-11.1%) 04/07 Hypervelocity #4 of 6 - 18,855 ( -5.8%) 115. THUNDERBOLTS PRESENTS ZEMO: BORN BETTER 02/07 Zemo #1 of 4 - 22,680 03/07 Zemo #2 of 4 - 20,076 (-11.5%) 04/07 Zemo #3 of 4 - 17,960 (-10.5%)
Two low-profile miniseries disappearing off the radar.
116. LEGION OF MONSTERS 02/07 Werewolf by Night - 21,773 03/07 --- 04/07 Man-Thing - 17,915 (-17.7%)
This series of monster one-shots isn’t holding up terribly well, and it’s been plagued by delays.
117. BLADE
04/02 Blade #2 - 28,562
=====
09/06 Blade #1 - 37,394
10/06 Blade #2 - 27,170 ( -27.3%)
11/06 Blade #3 - 23,144 ( -14.8%)
12/06 Blade #4 - 21,043 ( -9.1%)
01/07 Blade #5 - 42,513 (+102.0%)
02/07 Blade #6 - 19,087 ( -55.1%)
03/07 Blade #7 - 18,426 ( -3.5%)
04/07 Blade #8 - 17,656 ( -4.2%)
6 mnth ( -35.0%)
Cancelled with issue #12. The one-year mark appears to be Marvel’s standard promise for a new ongoing series, which isn’t exactly good news for…
131. IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN
10/06 Irredeemable Ant-Man #1 - 29,499
11/06 Irredeemable Ant-Man #2 - 23,191 (-21.4%)
12/06 Irredeemable Ant-Man #3 - 19,580 (-15.6%)
01/07 Irredeemable Ant-Man #4 - 17,864 ( -8.8%)
02/07 Irredeemable Ant-Man #5 - 16,900 ( -5.4%)
03/07 Irredeemable Ant-Man #6 - 16,220 ( -4.0%)
04/07 Irredeemable Ant-Man #7 - 15,737 ( -3.0%)
6 mnth (-46.7%)
The lowest selling Marvel Universe title that hasn’t been cancelled yet. But Marvel have just solicited issue #11, and if the book gets to issue #13 on these sales, I’ll be amazed.
135. MARVEL ILLUSTRATED 04/07 The Jungle Book - 14,465
The first project from Marvel’s answer to CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED. The future output will be miniseries based on classic novels, but they’re starting off with a one-shot based on Rudyard Kipling’s “Jungle Book”. It goes without saying that a project like this is not aimed at the direct market superhero readers, so the debut sales are actually quite decent.
138. WHITE TIGER 11/06 White Tiger #1 of 6 - 24,663 12/06 White Tiger #2 of 6 - 19,042 (-22.3%) 01/07 White Tiger #3 of 6 - 15,986 (-16.0%) 02/07 White Tiger #4 of 6 - 14,554 ( -9.0%) 03/07 --- 04/07 White Tiger #5 of 6 - 13,621 ( -6.4%)
Another miniseries disappearing under the radar.
141. MARVEL SPOTLIGHT
04/06 Way/Coipel - 3,309 ( -20.2%)
05/06 ---
06/06 Millar/McNiven - 7,668 (+131.7%)
06/06 Gaiman/Larroca - 5,449 ( -28.9%)
07/06 Kirkman/Land - 3,963 ( -27.3%)
08/06 Brubaker/Tan - 3,580 ( -9.7%)
09/06 Lee/Kirby - 6,313 ( +76.3%)
10/06 Onslaught Reborn - 4,557 ( -27.8%)
11/06 Bendis/Bagley - 5,869 ( +28.8%)
12/06 ---
01/07 Ghost Rider - 7,902 ( +34.6%)
01/07 Dark Tower - 18,922 (+139.5%)
02/07 ---
03/07 Civil War Aftermath - 31,072 ( +64.2%)
04/07 Spider-Man - 13,210 ( -57.5%)
6 mnth (+189.9%)
1 year (+299.2%)
Sales on MARVEL SPOTLIGHT wander all over the place, but there’s no denying that the change of format away from creators and towards characters and events has seen a huge increase in its direct market presence.
155. WISDOM [Max] 11/06 Wisdom #1 of 6 - 20,021 12/06 -- 01/07 Wisdom #2 of 6 - 14,855 (-25.8%) 02/07 Wisdom #3 of 6 - 12,400 (-16.5%) 03/07 Wisdom #4 of 6 - 11,503 ( -7.2%) 04/07 Wisdom #5 of 6 - 10,773 ( -6.3%)
Tragically ignored, and actually quite good.
And for here on down, it’s all ages books, DBPro titles, and a couple of Spider-Man movie tie-ins. These are all products aimed at readers in the wider world, where the direct market sales are an afterthought – so let’s take a deep breath and get them all out of the way.
180. MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS [All ages]
05/06 M.A. Avengers #1 - 13,891
06/06 M.A. Avengers #2 - 9,359 (-32.7%)
07/06 M.A. Avengers #3 - 9,006 ( -3.8%)
08/06 M.A. Avengers #4 - 8,610 ( -4.4%)
09/06 M.A. Avengers #5 - 7,994 ( -7.2%)
10/06 M.A. Avengers #6 - 7,879 ( -1.4%)
11/06 M.A. Avengers #7 - 7,642 ( -3.0%)
12/06 M.A. Avengers #8 - 7,512 ( -1.7%)
01/07 M.A. Avengers #9 - 7,315 ( -2.6%)
02/07 M.A. Avengers #10 - 7,053 ( -3.6%)
03/07 M.A. Avengers #11 - 7,068 ( +0.2%)
04/07 M.A. Avengers #12 - 7,092 ( +0.3%)
6 mnth (-10.0%)
188. MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN [All ages]
04/05 M.A. Spider-Man #2 - 10,305
=====
04/06 M.A. Spider-Man #14 - 5,970 ( +1.2%)
05/06 M.A. Spider-Man #15 - 6,165 ( +3.3%)
06/06 M.A. Spider-Man #16 - 6,114 ( -0.8%)
07/06 M.A. Spider-Man #17 - 6,133 ( +0.3%)
08/06 M.A. Spider-Man #18 - 6,220 ( +1.4%)
09/06 M.A. Spider-Man #19 - 6,057 ( -2.6%)
10/06 M.A. Spider-Man #20 - 6,131 ( +1.2%)
11/06 M.A. Spider-Man #21 - 6,529 ( +6.5%)
12/06 M.A. Spider-Man #22 - 6,396 ( -2.0%)
01/07 M.A. Spider-Man #23 - 6,271 ( -2.0%)
02/07 M.A. Spider-Man #24 - 6,678 ( +6.5%)
03/07 M.A. Spider-Man #25 - 6,408 ( -4.0%)
04/07 M.A. Spider-Man #26 - 6,478 ( +1.1%)
6 mnth ( +5.7%)
1 year ( +8.5%)
2 year (-37.1%)
189. SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE [All ages]
04/05 Homecoming #2 of 4 - 10,536
=====
04/06 S-M Loves Mary Jane #5 - 7,165 ( -6.6%)
05/06 S-M Loves Mary Jane #6 - 7,069 ( -1.3%)
06/06 S-M Loves Mary Jane #7 - 6,834 ( -3.3%)
07/06 S-M Loves Mary Jane #8 - 6,769 ( -1.0%)
08/06 S-M Loves Mary Jane #9 - 6,719 ( -0.7%)
09/06 S-M Loves Mary Jane #10 - 6,623 ( -1.4%)
10/06 S-M Loves Mary Jane #11 - 6,586 ( -0.6%)
11/06 S-M Loves Mary Jane #12 - 6,520 ( -1.0%)
12/06 S-M Loves Mary Jane #13 - 6,311 ( -3.2%)
01/07 S-M Loves Mary Jane #14 - 6,329 ( +0.3%)
02/07 S-M Loves Mary Jane #15 - 6,121 ( -3.3%)
03/07 S-M Loves Mary Jane #16 - 6,279 ( +2.6%)
04/07 S-M Loves Mary Jane #17 - 6,332 ( +0.8%)
6 mnth ( -3.9%)
1 year (-11.6%)
2 year (-39.9%)
193. POWER PACK
04/05 Power Pack #1 of 4 - 14,221
=====
04/06 Avengers #1 of 4 - 7,857
05/06 Avengers #2 of 4 - 6,613 (-15.8%)
06/06 Avengers #3 of 4 - 6,137 ( -7.2%)
07/06 Avengers #4 of 4 - 5,849 ( -4.7%)
08/06 ---
09/06 ---
10/06 ---
11/06 Spider-Man #1 of 4 - 7,897 (+35.0%)
12/06 Spider-Man #2 of 4 - 6,350 (-19.6%)
01/07 Spider-Man #3 of 4 - 5,880 ( -7.4%)
02/07 Spider-Man #4 of 4 - 5,605 ( -4.7%)
03/07 Hulk #1 of 4 - 6,697 (+19.5%)
04/07 Hulk #2 of 4 - 5,944 (-11.2%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year (-24.3%)
2 year (-58.2%)
196,212. SPIDER-MAN TIE-INS
04/07 Poster Book - 5,696
04/07 Magazine - 4,649
206. ORSON SCOTT CARD'S WYRMS [DBPro]
02/07 Wyrms #1 of 6 - 6,246
03/07 Wyrms #2 of 6 - 5,401 (-13.5%)
04/07 Wyrms #3 of 6 - 4,902 ( -9.2%)
215. MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR [All ages]
04/06 M.A. Fantastic Four #11 - 4,526 ( -2.9%)
05/06 M.A. Fantastic Four #12 - 4,836 ( +6.8%)
06/06 M.A. Fantastic Four #13 - 4,752 ( -1.7%)
07/06 M.A. Fantastic Four #14 - 4,668 ( -1.8%)
08/06 M.A. Fantastic Four #15 - 4,569 ( -2.1%)
09/06 M.A. Fantastic Four #16 - 4,687 ( +2.6%)
10/06 M.A. Fantastic Four #17 - 4,557 ( -2.8%)
11/06 M.A. Fantastic Four #18 - 4,614 ( +1.3%)
12/06 M.A. Fantastic Four #19 - 4,533 ( -1.8%)
01/07 M.A. Fantastic Four #20 - 4,459 ( -1.6%)
02/07 M.A. Fantastic Four #21 - 4,508 ( +1.1%)
03/07 M.A. Fantastic Four #22 - 4,588 ( +1.8%)
04/07 M.A. Fantastic Four #23 - 4,604 ( +0.3%)
6 mnth ( +1.0%)
1 year ( +1.7%)
232. PTOLUS: CITY BY THE SPIRE [DBPro]
10/06 Ptolus: CBTS #1 of 6 - 1,873
11/05 Ptolus: CBTS #2 of 6 - < 3,170 ( ?.?%)
12/06 Ptolus: CBTS #3 of 6 - 5,796 ( +?.?%)
01/07 Ptolus: CBTS #4 of 6 - 4,379 ( -24.4%)
02/07 ---
03/07 Ptolus: CBTS #5 of 6 - 4,258 ( -2.8%)
04/07 Ptolus: CBTS #6 of 6 - 3,912 ( -8.1%)
6 mnth (+108.9%)
The all ages titles are showing slight gains in their direct market audience, as word is starting to spread among traditionally-minded readers that these books are really quite good. As for DBPro, they're still seeing benefits from their hook-up with Marvel, although their direct market sales remain a sideline.
Skip months and re-orders ========================= CAPTAIN AMERICA 04/01 Captain America #42 - 36,754 04/02 Captain America #1 - 90,567 04/03 Captain America #12 - 51,804 04/04 Captain America #25 - 38,584 04/05 Captain America #5 - 46,010 ===== 04/06 Captain America #17 - 45,541 ( +1.8%) 05/06 Captain America #18 - 46,740 ( +2.6%) 06/06 Captain America #19 - 47,315 ( +1.2%) 07/06 Captain America #20 - 47,357 ( +0.1%) 08/06 --- 09/06 Captain America #21 - 49,050 ( +3.6%) 09/06 Captain America #22 - 88,276 ( +80.0%) 10/06 Captain America #23 - 81,323 ( -7.9%) 11/06 Captain America #24 - 82,348 ( +1.3%) 12/06 --- 01/07 --- 02/07 --- 03/07 Captain America #25 - 311,215 (+277.9%) 04/07 ---
Issue #22 picks up re-orders of 1,401, while the second printing of issue #25, complete with variant cover, sells 20,701. Issue #26 shipped in May.
CIVIL WAR 05/06 Civil War #1 of 7 - 361,516 06/06 Civil War #2 of 7 - 340,879 ( -5.7%) 07/06 Civil War #3 of 7 - 337,090 ( -1.1%) 08/06 --- 09/06 Civil War #4 of 7 - 291,024 (-13.7%) 10/06 --- 11/06 Civil War #5 of 7 - 283,883 ( -2.5%) 12/06 --- 01/07 Civil War #6 of 7 - 263,860 ( -7.1%) 02/07 Civil War #7 of 7 - 274,503 ( +4.0%)
Still picking up re-orders, amazingly. Another 1,790 for issue #7, and 1,435 for issue #3.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 04/01 Amazing Spider-Man #30 - 71,392 04/02 Amazing Spider-Man #40 - 99,273 04/03 Amazing Spider-Man #52 - 96,624 04/04 Amazing Spider-Man #506 - 83,152 04/05 Amazing Spider-Man #519 - 78,535 ===== 04/06 Amazing Spider-Man #531 - 96,213 ( -5.0%) 05/06 Amazing Spider-Man #532 - 119,083 (+23.8%) 06/06 Amazing Spider-Man #533 - 137,926 (+15.8%) 07/06 Amazing Spider-Man #534 - 125,553 ( -9.0%) 08/06 ---- 09/06 Amazing Spider-Man #535 - 122,968 ( -2.1%) 10/06 ---- 11/06 Amazing Spider-Man #536 - 121,003 ( -1.6%) 12/06 --- 01/07 Amazing Spider-Man #537 - 123,160 ( +1.8%) 02/07 Amazing Spider-Man #538 - 145,435 (+18.1%) 03/07 Amazing Spider-Man #539 - 152,623 ( +4.9%) 04/07 ---
Late. Issue #539 picks up re-orders of 14,893 on the strength of a second printing with a variant cover.
CIVIL WAR ONE-SHOTS 03/07 The Initiative - 141,316 03/07 The Confession - 128,446
A second printing of CONFESSION adds another 16,024 sales, while INITIATIVE gets 3,658 extra sales through conventional re-orders.
ASTONISHING X-MEN 04/06 Astonishing X-Men #14 - 124,129 (-16.3%) 05/06 --- 06/06 Astonishing X-Men #15 - 119,991 ( -3.3%) 07/06 --- 08/06 Astonishing X-Men #16 - 121,897 ( +1.6%) 09/06 Astonishing X-Men #17 - 124,026 ( +1.7%) 10/06 --- 11/06 Astonishing X-Men #18 - 118,285 ( -4.6%) 12/06 Astonishing X-Men #19 - 124,033 ( +4.9%) 01/07 --- 02/07 Astonishing X-Men #20 - 119,736 ( -3.5%) 03/07 --- 04/07 ---
Late.
ULTIMATES 04/04 Ultimates #4 - 103,153 04/05 Ultimates 2 #5 - 103,472 ===== 04/06 --- 05/06 --- 06/06 Ultimates 2 #11 - 96,751 ( +2.0%) 07/06 --- 08/06 --- 09/06 Ultimates 2 #12 - 99,538 ( +2.9%) 10/06 --- 11/06 --- 12/06 --- 01/07 --- 02/07 --- 03/07 --- 04/07 ---
Issue #13 finally shipped in May.
NEW AVENGERS: ILLUMINATI 12/06 Illuminati #1 of 5 - 106,381 01/07 --- 02/07 Illuminati #2 of 5 - 92,881 (-12.7%) 03/07 --- 04/07 ---
Running late. SECRET HISTORY, a reprint of issues #1-2, sells 19,604 copies to chart at number 108.
ULTIMATE POWER 10/06 Ultimate Power #1 of 9 - 113,823 11/06 Ultimate Power #2 of 9 - 76,654 (-32.7%) 12/06 Ultimate Power #3 of 9 - 70,148 ( -8.5%) 01/07 --- 02/07 --- 03/07 Ultimate Power #4 of 9 - 63,818 ( -9.0%) 04/07 ---
Issue #5 shipped in May.
ONSLAUGHT REBORN 11/06 Onslaught Reborn #1 of 5 - 82,642 12/06 Onslaught Reborn #2 of 5 - 55,111 (-33.3%) 01/07 --- 02/07 --- 03/07 Onslaught Reborn #3 of 5 - 52,420 ( -4.9%) 04/07 ---
Late. Issue #4 has been rescheduled for June.
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR 04/04 Ult. Fantastic Four #5 - 102,648 04/05 Ult. Fantastic Four #17 - 72,207 ===== 04/06 Ult. Fantastic Four #29 - 67,554 ( +0.1%) 05/06 Ult. Fantastic Four #30 - 103,837 (+53.7%) 06/06 --- 07/06 Ult. Fantastic Four #31 - 84,460 (-18.7%) 08/06 Ult. Fantastic Four #32 - 80,730 ( -4.4%) 08/06 Ult. Fantastic Four #33 - 65,191 (-19.2%) 09/06 Ult. Fantastic Four #34 - 63,447 ( -2.7%) 10/06 Ult. Fantastic Four #35 - 61,270 ( -3.4%) 11/06 Ult. Fantastic Four #36 - 57,779 ( -5.7%) 12/06 Ult. Fantastic Four #37 - 55,047 ( -4.7%) 01/07 Ult. Fantastic Four #38 - 52,859 ( -4.0%) 02/07 Ult. Fantastic Four #39 - 52,104 ( -1.4%) 03/07 Ult. Fantastic Four #40 - 50,488 ( -3.1%) 04/07 ---
Late, but only by slipping into the first week of May.
BLACK PANTHER 04/01 Black Panther #31 - 19,699 04/02 Black Panther #43 - 19,883 04/03 Black Panther #57 - 16,431 04/05 Black Panther #3 - 44,925 ===== 04/06 Black Panther #15 - 28,361 ( -1.6%) 05/06 Black Panther #16 - 28,091 ( -1.0%) 06/06 Black Panther #17 - 27,993 ( -0.3%) 07/06 Black Panther #18 - 69,912 (+149.7%) 08/06 Black Panther #19 - 28,372 ( -59.4%) 09/06 Black Panther #20 - 26,585 ( -6.3%) 10/06 Black Panther #21 - 34,257 ( +28.9%) 11/06 Black Panther #22 - 47,556 ( +38.8%) 12/06 Black Panther #23 - 54,762 ( +15.2%) 01/07 Black Panther #24 - 59,971 ( +9.5%) 02/07 Black Panther #25 - 56,479 ( -5.8%) 03/07 Black Panther #26 - 51,385 ( -9.0%) 04/07 ---
Late, but only slightly. Issue #26 picks up re-orders of 2,668.
ULTIMATE VISION 11/06 Ultimate Vision #0 of 5 - 40,004 12/06 Ultimate Vision #1 of 5 - 53,069 (+32.7%) 01/07 Ultimate Vision #2 of 5 - 40,288 (-24.1%) 02/07 --- 03/07 Ultimate Vision #3 of 5 - 33,455 (-17.0%) 04/07 ---
Late.
CRIMINAL [Icon] 10/06 Criminal #1 - 25,978 11/06 Criminal #2 - 21,115 (-18.7%) 12/06 Criminal #3 - 17,702 (-16.2%) 01/07 Criminal #4 - 16,827 ( -4.9%) 02/07 --- 03/07 Criminal #5 - 16,389 ( -2.6%) 04/07 ---
A skip month between arcs.
WONDER MAN 12/06 Wonder Man #1 of 5 - 22,282 01/07 Wonder Man #2 of 5 - 15,645 (-29.8%) 02/07 Wonder Man #3 of 5 - 12,009 (-23.2%) 03/07 Wonder Man #4 of 5 - 10,964 ( -8.7%) 04/07 ---
Late, but it shipped in early May.
KABUKI [Icon] 04/05 Kabuki #4 - 14,327 ===== 04/06 --- 05/06 --- 06/06 --- 07/06 --- 08/06 Kabuki #7 - 10,798 ( -4.9%) 09/06 --- 10/06 --- 11/06 --- 12/06 --- 01/07 Kabuki #8 - 9,961 ( -7.8%) 02/07 --- 03/07 --- 04/07 ---
Late, but rescheduled for May.
MAGICIAN: APPRENTICE [DBPro] 10/06 Apprentice #1-2 of 12 - 1,892 11/06 Apprentice #3 of 12 - 4,595 (+142.9%) 12/06 Apprentice #4 of 12 - 7,266 ( +58.1%) 01/07 Apprentice #5 of 12 - 7,206 ( -0.8%) 02/07 --- 03/07 Apprentice #6 of 12 - 6,818 ( -5.4%) 04/07 ---
Ditto.
JACK KIRBY'S GALACTIC BOUNTY HUNTERS [Icon] 07/06 Bounty Hunters #1 - 13,514 08/06 Bounty Hunters #2 - 9,301 (-31.2%) 09/06 --- 10/06 Bounty Hunters #3 - 7,716 (-17.0%) 11/06 --- 12/06 --- 01/07 Bounty Hunters #4 - 6,010 (-22.1%) 02/07 --- 03/07 Bounty Hunters #5 - 5,047 (-16.0%) 04/07 ---
Issue #6 has been solicited for July.
RED PROPHET: TALES OF ALVIN MAKER [DBPro] 10/06 Alvin Maker #1-2 of 12 - 1,617 11/06 Alvin Maker #3 of 12 - < 3,170 ( ?.?%) 12/06 Alvin Maker #4 of 12 - 5,034 ( +?.?%) 01/07 Alvin Maker #5 of 12 - 4,480 (-11.0%) 02/07 --- 03/07 Alvin Maker #6 of 12 - 4,009 (-10.5%) 04/07 ---
Late; issue #7 is due in May.
6 month comparisons
===================+189.9% - Marvel Spotlight
+120.1% - Runaways
+119.7% - Thunderbolts
+108.9% - Ptolus: City by the Spire
+ 25.3% - Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
+ 11.5% - Sensational Spider-Man
+ 11.2% - Incredible Hulk
+ 8.7% - Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
+ 5.7% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
+ 5.3% - She-Hulk
+ 1.0% - Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four
- 1.6% - Punisher
- 3.2% - New X-Men
- 3.9% - Exiles
- 3.9% - Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane
- 6.5% - Moon Knight
- 7.3% - Wolverine
- 7.9% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 8.2% - Uncanny X-Men
- 8.4% - New Avengers
- 8.5% - X-Men
- 8.5% - Daredevil
- 8.6% - Powers
- 10.0% - Marvel Adventures Avengers
- 11.8% - X-Factor
- 12.3% - New Excalibur
- 13.6% - Ghost Rider
- 14.5% - Ultimate X-Men
- 15.1% - Cable & Deadpool
- 16.0% - Fantastic Four
- 22.6% - Iron Man
- 30.5% - X-Men: First Class
- 31.3% - Wolverine: Origins
- 31.8% - Ms Marvel
- 35.0% - Blade
- 42.3% - Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter
- 46.7% - Irredeemable Ant-Man
- 57.5% - Amazing Spider-Girl
- 64.7% - Heroes for Hire1 year comparisons
==================+299.2% - Marvel Spotlight
+169.3% - Thunderbolts
+133.9% - Runaways
+ 38.7% - Wolverine
+ 20.4% - Iron Man
+ 14.8% - Spider-Girl
+ 11.0% - Incredible Hulk
+ 10.6% - Sensational Spider-Man
+ 9.2% - Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
+ 8.5% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
+ 8.2% - Marvel Zombies
+ 4.2% - She-Hulk
+ 3.3% - Uncanny X-Men
+ 3.1% - New Avengers
+ 1.7% - Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four
+ 1.1% - Nova
- 0.2% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 0.2% - Cable & Deadpool
- 1.9% - Punisher
- 2.0% - Daredevil
- 5.0% - X-Men
- 5.6% - New X-Men
- 6.1% - Fantastic Four
- 7.2% - Ms Marvel
- 9.2% - Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
- 10.0% - Exiles
- 11.3% - Powers
- 11.6% - Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane
- 14.0% - Ultimate X-Men
- 16.3% - X-Factor
- 24.3% - Power Pack
- 28.7% - New Excalibur
- 39.6% - Moon Knight
- 61.2% - Wolverine: Origins2 year comparisons
==================+126.7% - Thunderbolts
+ 92.2% - Runaways
+ 64.0% - Fantastic Four
+ 15.7% - Iron Man
+ 10.0% - Incredible Hulk
+ 6.0% - New X-Men
+ 4.5% - Cable & Deadpool
+ 2.1% - Spider-Girl
- 2.8% - Wolverine
- 4.1% - Uncanny X-Men
- 5.0% - Sensational Spider-Man
- 5.3% - Daredevil
- 7.9% - Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
- 9.6% - X-Men
- 9.6% - Exiles
- 13.4% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 13.7% - Punisher
- 22.8% - New Avengers
- 23.6% - X-23
- 23.8% - Ultimate X-Men
- 26.1% - Powers
- 37.1% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
- 39.9% - Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane
- 58.2% - Power Pack3 year comparisons
==================+190.5% - Runaways
+128.0% - New Avengers / Avengers
+104.1% - Iron Man
+ 59.1% - Omega Flight / Alpha Flight
+ 41.1% - Fantastic Four
+ 38.5% - Wolverine
+ 30.7% - Iron Fist
+ 13.7% - Incredible Hulk
+ 11.1% - New X-Men
- 2.4% - Punisher
- 6.0% - Uncanny X-Men
- 7.6% - Spider-Girl
- 10.1% - She-Hulk
- 15.1% - Daredevil
- 19.0% - Exiles
- 20.6% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 25.2% - X-Men
- 33.9% - Cable & Deadpool
- 34.6% - Ultimate X-Men
- 58.1% - Sensational Spider-Man4 year comparisons
==================+198.5% - Thunderbolts
+117.7% - Runaways
+115.0% - New Avengers / Avengers
+ 83.1% - Iron Man
+ 60.6% - Wolverine
+ 45.3% - Fantastic Four
- 5.5% - Uncanny X-Men
- 7.9% - Incredible Hulk
- 13.4% - Spider-Girl
- 15.7% - Exiles
- 17.5% - Punisher
- 21.5% - Powers
- 22.8% - X-Men
- 23.7% - Daredevil
- 29.8% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 30.5% - Ultimate X-Men
As always thanks for this list, it’s my favortie reading on the interweb every month. (And the DC list of course)
By the by- The Marvel Adventures titles are slowly getting attention from normal DM readers.
I started picking up MA Avengers a few months ago and it’s probably my favorite Marvel book after Ennis’ Punisher.
I love these articles. It is what got me reading this blog. I am glad to see Iron Fist is surviving, that is such a cool original title. I hope more people give it a try.
I dropped out of reading superhero comics once I found Freak Brothers and Hate just when Image started and it seemed they were all turning to shit (or had several years before). I occasionally dipped my toe back in the water but was always so confused about jumping into the middle of a decades long continuity-obsessed story that I always gave up. Now that my son is approaching 6 he’s come to love comics and because of him I’ve been buying Marvel Adventures titles, Spider Man Loves Mary Jane, the Power Pack limited series and the new Jungle Book adaption. It’s great to have mainstream titles that not only can my child enjoy but I can too.
The Spidey & Friends toys and home accessories are marketed are marketed to toddlers. It’s amazing how so many small children are exposed to and learn a love for the iconic superhero characters but for so long it was hard to actually find decent reading material to go along with it.
As good as I think Marvel’s all ages efforts have been, I still see room for improvement: Why have they been so late doing a Marvel Adventures X-Men title? Instead, they put out an Avengers comic with the 2 most popular X-Men and Spider-Man- I can’t help but think they should have just called it something else like Marvel’s All-Stars or something. The Ultimate Alliance movies exposed the Avengers to a TON of kids and so if sort of defies explanation that they thought they needed to “boost” the Avengers line-up since there’s a ton of good characters to use without stealing from other potential publications. Perhaps even do a flip book with X-Men and Avengers as they do with Spider-Man and Fantastic Four (does anyone know if these are only outside the direct market? I don’t recall ever seeing the numbers of this list or seeing the book in a comic shop- I pick them up a video store when I see them).
Also, I think with the success of the Franklin Richards comics they should put out a Mini Marvels one-shot and see if it flies. Many of these have made my son chortle and I admit to finding them pretty charming. If a collection of these were marketed as Marvel joke books they could be a GIGANTIC success at Scholastic Book Fairs*.
*If anyone at Marvel reads this and uses it, I am available for hire
Hooray for Runaways! Hooray for the survival of a new title!
Does Mitchell Hundred count as a new superhero too? He survived…
Thanks for putting this together, Paul. I can’t say I like the creative direction of Marvel, but it’s good to see positive sales figures just the same.
“Why have they been so late doing a Marvel Adventures X-Men title?”
To all intents and purposes, that would be X-MEN: FIRST CLASS. At the very least, they don’t need both.
Thank you for these detailed analyses! I stopped buying Marvel comics for good back in the late 90’s or so – all I had left at that point was the Avengers, and Kurt Busiek + Triune + Triathalon was enough to make me say goodbye. I can see I was right in that decision, given what they did to one of my all time favorite heroes, Scarlet Witch. I feel kind of sad that the Avengers are now so popular at a time when I absolutely can’t stand to read any of their titles.
Anyway, last year I broke my Marvel boycott to buy Ms. Marvel, because Ms. Marvel is my other all-time favorite superhero (along with Storm – I have a thing for strong women). The comic is far from perfect, of course, but I’m still generally happy with such a strong character and for a comic which balances humor, personal life, and heroics without getting too bogged down in gimmicky plot twists or gory violence. I’m glad Marvel seems to be supporting the character and I hope her sales continue to be satisfactory.
FINALLY, people are starting to admit what I have been saying for a while, that the INITATIVE tie in is the reason why many Marvel books has had a sales increase.
OMT, the sales on both NEX and EXILES is NOT an indication of the size of CC’s audience. However, it is an indication of the audience for those two particular books. Remember, sales on EXILES have been hovering around the low 30,000 range way before CC came onto the book. Sales on NEX have been dropping before CC returned to the book. Does CC’s name sell books, of course not, but niether does Ellis,JMS,Brubaker,Carey, Loeb,Slott,or Millar. In MOST cases, it’s the hype,controversy,and the gimicks that ultimately sales a particular book.
In the latest Previews, the list of the Top 100 shows that 7 of the Top Ten titles had multiple covers. As Wraith says, gimmicks sell.
Joe, as Paul points out, X:Men First Class is essentially their Marvel Adventures book, and why it wasn’t published as such, I don’t know.
As for a Mini Marvels one shot, they did publish one a few years ago, which you may be able to find in some back issue bins. I think they put it out before their recent success with all ages titles, so I’d guess it didn’t do so well, even though it was excellent.
kelvingreen: They did a second Mini-Marvels one-shot (Spidey & the Mini-Marvels) a year after the first one. Then stopped doing MM stuff altogether for a couple of years until recently, when they started doing one-pagers based around the Marvel Adventures Avengers lineup.
Oh, and there was a Mini-Marvels Civil War parody (Civil Wards) running as backups in Spider-Man/Power Pack. And a five-pager in the WWH Prologue.
One expects they’re very near the point where they’ve got enough MM material for a digest now.
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