By Paul O’Brien

The big new launch for December was ULTIMATES 3, returning after a seven month hiatus with the new creative team of Jeph Loeb and Joe Madureira. And thanks to the magic of delays, December, also saw AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #545, the concluding part of “One More Day.” Otherwise, it’s a relatively quiet month. “Messiah Complex” continued to boost the X-books, and ULTIMATE IRON MAN returned for its second miniseries.

Once again, Marvel took the top spot in the direct market by a comfortable margin. They beat DC by 39% to 33% in dollar share, and 43% to 37% in units. DC’s one-off lead from a few months back seems to have been a blip.

Thanks as always to Milton Griepp and ICV2 for permission to use their figures for these calculations.

1.  ULTIMATES
12/02  Ultimates #9        - 101,811
12/03  Ultimates #12       - 104,572
12/04  Ultimates 2 #1      - 146,271
12/05  Ultimates 2 #9      -  94,493
=====
12/06  ---
01/07  ---
02/07  ---
03/07  ---
04/07  ---
05/07  Ultimates 2 #13     - 105,745  ( +6.2%)
06/07  ---
07/07  ---
08/07  ---
09/07  ---
10/07  ---
11/07  ---
12/07  Ultimates 3 #1 of 5 - 131,401  (+24.3%)
                              6 mnth  (  --- )
                              1 year  (  --- )
                              2 year  (+39.1%)
                              3 year  (-10.2%)
                              4 year  (-25.7%)

You won’t be surprised to hear that the two big titles charted at numbers 1 and 2. And naturally, ULTIMATES gets a healthy boost for its new series. It’s not quite as good as ULTIMATES 2 #1 from December 2004, but 130K is a fine number by any standards.

The interesting question is whether it can sustain those sales. In its favour, ULTIMATES has big name creators, and a large inherited audience. On the other hand, ULTIMATES has previously been sold more on the strength of Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch (and their style) than on the characters as such, and the new book is quite different. And, let’s be honest, the reviews haven’t exactly been stellar.

I suspect sales will hold up pretty well for the duration of this five-issue miniseries, but I’m not so sure what will happen after that. Much depends on how well Marvel can build interest for the upcoming “Ultimatum” event, which is clearly intended to revitalise the flagging Ultimate imprint, and has to be seen as something of a make-or-break story.

2.  AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
12/01  Amazing Spider-Man #38  -  88,666
12/02  Amazing Spider-Man #48  -  93,867
12/03  Amazing Spider-Man #502 -  90,484
12/04  Amazing Spider-Man #515 -  82,840
12/05  Amazing Spider-Man #527 -  79,261
=====
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 - 155,980  ( +7.3%)
04/07  ---
05/07  Amazing Spider-Man #540 - 119,662  (-23.3%)
06/07  Amazing Spider-Man #541 - 108,284  ( -9.5%)
07/07  Amazing Spider-Man #542 - 105,715  ( -2.4%)
08/07  Amazing Spider-Man #543 - 106,485  ( +0.7%)
09/07  Amazing Spider-Man #544 - 150,788  (+41.6%)
10/07  ---
11/07  ---
12/07  Amazing Spider-Man #545 - 124,481  (-20.8%)
                                  6 mnth  (+15.0%)
                                  1 year  (  --- )
                                  2 year  (+57.1%)
                                  3 year  (+50.3%)
                                  4 year  (+37.6%)

Well, now.

This is the final part of “One More Day”, the story which erases Spider-Man’s marriage and revamps his continuity through a confusing mixture of Satanic time travel and universe-wide memory-wiping. To say that the story has met with a hostile reception would be putting it mildly. Even by the standards of the internet, such a unanimously scathing response is unusual.

The sales provide a mixed picture. “One More Day” was originally conceived as a weekly storyline, but ended up coming out monthly. Chapter 1 appeared in AMAZING #544 and, counting re-orders, it managed 150,788. Chapter 2, in FRIENDLY #24, dropped to 110,405. Then, in November, SENSATIONAL #41 managed 100,300, topped up this month by 4,791 re-orders, for a total of 105,091.

Obviously, 125K is a very good number by the standards of most titles. But after all the hype, and given the nature of the event, can you really judge this book by normal standards? Surely Marvel were expecting something really big. In reality, issue #545 sells in the same range as the CIVIL WAR tie-in issues from late 2006, and it’s noticeably down on the first-month sales of issue #539, the first part of “Back in Black.” Relative to what Marvel could legitimately have hoped for, I would consider the sales a little underwhelming.

Where do we go from here? There are basically two possibilities. One is that the readers accept “Brand New Day” on its own terms, enjoy the stories, are attracted by the big name artists, and make the thrice-monthly AMAZING a success, despite their disdain for OMD. The other possibility is that the anti-reboot hostility infects the audience’s attitude to BMD, and readers reject this Spider-Man as a continuation of the character they’ve been reading. After all, this was where the Clone Saga ran into trouble.

The reboot is a high risk strategy, and I suspect that after the initial burst of excitement, the new AMAZING will settle down at a significantly lower number. But let’s not forget the bigger picture. Between September 2006 and August 2007, the three Spider-Man titles sold a combined total of 2,284,676 copies in the North American direct market. If the new AMAZING achieves its target of 36 issues a year, it can match that total with a relatively modest audience of 63,463.

Now, stranger things have happened, but I really can’t imagine the audience dropping off by quite that much. I think Marvel are going to end up better off from this affair, unlikely as that may seem when you hear the screaming.

3.  NEW AVENGERS
12/01  Avengers #49     -  57,715
12/02  Avengers #62     -  55,145
12/03  Avengers #75     -  57,814
12/04  New Avengers #1  - 240,724
12/05  New Avengers #14 - 124,300
=====
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%)
05/07  New Avengers #30 - 126,425  ( +0.8%)
06/07  New Avengers #31 - 160,911  (+27.3%)
07/07  New Avengers #32 - 122,991  (-23.6%)
08/07  New Avengers #33 - 117,906  ( -4.1%)
09/07  New Avengers #34 - 112,815  ( -4.3%)
10/07  New Avengers #35 - 111,481  ( -1.2%)
11/07  New Avengers #36 - 107,715  ( -3.4%)
12/07  New Avengers #37 - 105,545  ( -2.0%)
                           6 mnth  (-34.4%)
                           1 year  (-14.0%)
                           2 year  (-15.1%)
                           3 year  (-56.2%)
                           4 year  (+82.6%)

Settling into a slow decline.

4.  UNCANNY X-MEN
12/01  Uncanny X-Men #401 - 105,646
12/02  Uncanny X-Men #416 -  88,276
12/03  Uncanny X-Men #434 -  90,318
12/04  Uncanny X-Men #453 -  89,952
12/05  Uncanny X-Men #467 -  81,282
=====
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%)
05/07  Uncanny X-Men #486 -  81,965  ( +0.2%)
06/07  Uncanny X-Men #487 -  81,481  ( -0.6%)
07/07  Uncanny X-Men #488 -  86,747  ( +6.5%)
08/07  Uncanny X-Men #489 -  88,068  ( +1.5%)
09/07  Uncanny X-Men #490 -  87,592  ( -0.5%)
10/07  Uncanny X-Men #491 -  85,638  ( -2.2%)
11/07  Uncanny X-Men #492 - 111,160  (+29.8%)
12/07  Uncanny X-Men #493 - 102,114  ( -8.1%)
                             6 mnth  (+25.3%)
                             1 year  (+18.7%)
                             2 year  (+25.6%)
                             3 year  (+13.5%)
                             4 year  (+13.1%)

The second month of the “Messiah Complex” crossover. Issue #492 picks up re-orders of 8,649 which, as usual, are included in the number above. So, in reality, the first month sales are holding steady. This is a successful event, particularly coming after a fairly quite couple of years for the X-books.

The X-MEN: MESSIAH COMPLEX lead-in one-shot, which came out in October, charts on re-orders for a second month. This time, it adds another 3,552 for a cumulative total of 125,128.

5.  THOR
12/01  Thor #44 -  36,070
12/02  Thor #57 -  35,286
12/03  Thor #72 -  31,953
=====
07/07  Thor #1  - 202,798
08/07  Thor #2  - 122,951  ( -39.4%)
09/07  Thor #3  - 109,964  ( -10.6%)
10/07  ---
11/07  Thor #4  - 112,307  (  +2.1%)
12/07  Thor #5  - 101,551  (  -9.6%)
                   4 year  (+217.8%)

Issue #4 picks up re-orders of 5,766. After the scary initial drop, the decline has been much more measured. The book has yet to find its level, but it’s selling in a different league from its previous incarnation, and that’s going to remain the case for the foreseeable future. This month’s 10% drop has to be seen against a background of continuing re-order activity, which has turned last month’s number into a spike.

7.  X-MEN
12/01  New X-Men #121 - 112,227
12/02  New X-Men #135 -  96,154
12/03  New X-Men #150 - 110,591
12/04  X-Men #165     -  86,633
12/05  X-Men #180     -  74,386
=====
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%)
05/07  X-Men #199     -  75,996  (  +1.5%)
06/07  X-Men #200     - 156,787  (+106.3%)
07/07  X-Men #201     -  86,278  ( -45.0%)
08/07  X-Men #202     -  86,521  (  +0.3%)
09/07  X-Men #203     -  85,652  (  -1.0%)
10/07  X-Men #204     -  83,456  (  -2.6%)
11/07  X-Men #205     - 101,401  ( +21.5%)
12/07  X-Men #206     -  97,871  (  -3.5%)
                         6 mnth  ( -37.6%)
                         1 year  ( +25.3%)
                         2 year  ( +31.6%)
                         3 year  ( +13.0%)
                         4 year  ( -11.5%)

“Messiah Complex” again. Issue #205 picks up re-orders of 2,314. After the crossover, the book is being relaunched in February as X-MEN: LEGACY.

9.  MIGHTY AVENGERS
03/07  Mighty Avengers #1 - 156,400
04/07  Mighty Avengers #2 - 124,209  (-20.6%)
05/07  Mighty Avengers #3 - 115,440  ( -7.1%)
06/07  ---
07/07  Mighty Avengers #4 - 107,768  ( -6.6%)
08/07  ---
09/07  ---
10/07  Mighty Avengers #5 -  99,544  ( -7.6%)
11/07  ---
12/07  Mighty Avengers #6 -  90,709  ( -8.9%)
                             6 mnth  (  --- )

At this stage in the title’s life, these are uncomfortably large drops. A massive 15K gap has now emerged between NEW and MIGHTY, which makes this book decisively the B-title. At the very least, some fine tuning is needed here.

13. CAPTAIN AMERICA
12/01  Captain America #50 -  40,010
12/02  Captain America #7  -  57,410
12/03  Captain America #21 -  43,018
12/04  ---
12/05  Captain America #13 -  44,945
=====
12/06  ---
01/07  ---
02/07  ---
03/07  Captain America #25 - 344,270  (+318.1%)
04/07  ---
05/07  Captain America #26 - 129,365  ( -62.4%)
06/07  Captain America #27 -  99,108  ( -23.4%)
07/07  Captain America #28 -  89,721  (  -9.5%)
08/07  Captain America #29 -  83,781  (  -6.6%)
09/07  Captain America #30 -  79,554  (  -5.0%)
10/07  Captain America #31 -  77,131  (  -3.0%)
11/07  Captain America #32 -  73,310  (  -5.0%)
12/07  Captain America #33 -  78,279  (  +6.8%)
                              6 mnth  ( -21.0%)
                              1 year  (   --- )
                              2 year  ( +74.2%)
                              3 year  (   --- )
                              4 year  ( +82.0%)

An unexpected jump. There’s no variant cover here, but the issue did have a vague solicitation kind-of-sort-of promising something big. No doubt the book will see another spike with the actual debut of the new Captain America in issue #34.


14. INCREDIBLE HULK
12/01  Incredible Hulk #35  -  34,446
12/02  Incredible Hulk #48  -  48,668
12/03  Incredible Hulk #64  -  51,960
12/04  ---
12/05  Incredible Hulk #90  -  36,924
=====
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%)
05/07  Incredible Hulk #106 - 119,735  (+124.8%)
06/07  Incredible Hulk #107 - 115,912  (  -3.2%)
07/07  Incredible Hulk #108 - 107,714  (  -7.1%)
08/07  Incredible Hulk #109 - 104,322  (  -3.1%)
09/07  Incredible Hulk #110 -  96,835  (  -7.2%)
10/07  ---
11/07  Incredible Hulk #111 - 101,536  (  +4.9%)
12/07  Incredible Hulk #112 -  77,119  ( -24.0%)
                               6 mnth  ( -32.4%)
                               1 year  ( +60.9%)
                               2 year  (+108.9%)
                               3 year  (   --- )
                               4 year  ( +48.4%)

This is effectively the first issue of the book’s new direction as INCREDIBLE HERCULES, although the title doesn’t officially change until next month, and the solicitation merely featured the dreaded “Classified” notice. The drop is only to be expected, because the book is coming off the WORLD WAR HULK crossover. Sales are still way up from “Planet Hulk” levels, which in turn were up from the book’s previous sales, so I’d say this is a fine number.

Whether it will hold up next month with an actual HERCULES comic… well, it’s a risky strategy. But HULK has been moving in that direction for several months now – the title character was virtually absent during WORLD WAR HULK – so they’ve certainly done everything possible to sell the idea.

15. NEW X-MEN
12/04  New X-Men #7   - 43,024
12/05  New X-Men #21  - 43,473
=====
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%)
05/07  New X-Men #38  - 38,915  ( +2.6%)
06/07  New X-Men #39  - 39,258  ( +0.9%)
07/07  New X-Men #40  - 49,515  (+26.1%)
08/07  New X-Men #41  - 52,950  ( +6.9%)
09/07  New X-Men #42  - 52,730  ( -0.4%)
10/07  New X-Men #43  - 49,558  ( -6.0%)
11/07  New X-Men #44  - 78,362  (+58.1%)
12/07  New X-Men #45  - 75,880  ( -3.2%)
                        6 mnth  (+93.3%)
                        1 year  (+99.3%)
                        2 year  (+74.5%)
                        3 year  (+76.4%)

Back to “Messiah Complex.” Again, the re-orders are pouring in, as issue #44 picks up another 7,532 copies. That’s an increase of over 10% from the first month sales.

As part of the post-crossover revamp of the X-books, NEW X-MEN is cancelled with issue #46. It’s being replaced by YOUNG X-MEN, a book which continues Marvel’s curious Adjective Recycling Program.

16. X-FACTOR
12/05  X-Factor #2  - 44,951
=====
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%)
05/07  X-Factor #19 - 37,898  (  +0.1%)
06/07  X-Factor #20 - 37,105  (  -2.1%)
07/07  X-Factor #21 - 50,227  ( +35.4%)
08/07  X-Factor #22 - 52,627  (  +4.8%)
09/07  X-Factor #23 - 53,311  (  +1.3%)
10/07  X-Factor #24 - 52,085  (  -2.3%)
11/07  X-Factor #25 - 79,066  ( +51.8%)
12/07  X-Factor #26 - 74,699  (  -5.5%)
                      6 mnth  (+101.3%)
                      1 year  ( +85.8%)
                      2 year  ( +66.2%)

The fourth and final “Messiah Complex” title picks up a whopping 8,635 re-orders for last month’s issue. The book is now at double its normal sales level.

17. WORLD WAR HULK: AFTERSMASH
12/07  Aftersmash - 73,844

The epilogue to WORLD WAR HULK. The prologue issue sold 111,153 back in May, so this is a slightly disappointing number. Perhaps it would have helped to bill it more explicitly as part of the same series.

24. MARVEL ZOMBIES 2
10/07  Marvel Zombies 2 #1 of 5 - 92,587
11/07  Marvel Zombies 2 #2 of 5 - 76,157  (-17.7%)
12/07  Marvel Zombies 2 #3 of 5 - 63,216  (-17.0%)

Issue #2 picks up re-orders of 3,446. Still, sales are dropping off quite steeply on this series. The numbers are still more than respectable, but I suspect this joke will have finally run its course by the time the series concludes.

25. WOLVERINE
12/01  Wolverine #171 -  72,909
12/02  Wolverine #184 -  64,620
12/03  Wolverine #9   -  74,659
12/04  Wolverine #23  -  80,678
12/05  Wolverine #37  -  70,716
=====
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%)
05/07  Wolverine #54  -  96,082  ( -2.4%)
06/07  ---
07/07  Wolverine #55  - 130,707  (+36.0%)
08/07  Wolverine #56  -  73,368  (-43.9%)
09/07  Wolverine #57  -  74,588  ( +1.7%)
10/07  Wolverine #58  -  83,810  (+12.4%)
11/07  Wolverine #59  -  65,725  (-21.6%)
12/07  Wolverine #60  -  63,194  ( -3.9%)
                         6 mnth  (  --- )
                         1 year  (-19.8%)
                         2 year  (-10.6%)
                         3 year  (-21.7%)
                         4 year  (-15.4%)

The “Logan Dies” storyline isn’t doing wonders for sales. However, there’s a new creative team just around the corner.

27. ULTIMATE IRON MAN II
12/05  Ultimate Iron Man #5 of 5    - 63,252
=====
12/07  Ultimate Iron Man II #1 of 4 - 61,087

Remember this? The second series debuts only slightly below the first, and that’s usually a good sign for a sequel.

28. ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN
12/01  Ult. Spider-Man #16  -  80,875
12/02  Ult. Spider-Man #33  -  99,404
12/03  Ult. Spider-Man #50  - 109,819
12/04  Ult. Spider-Man #70  -  88,960
12/05  Ult. Spider-Man #88  -  72,984
=====
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%)
05/07  Ult. Spider-Man #109 -  72,478  ( -0.3%)
06/07  Ult. Spider-Man #110 -  73,646  ( +1.6%)
07/07  Ult. Spider-Man #111 -  75,487  ( +2.5%)
08/07  Ult. Spider-Man #112 -  76,523  ( +1.4%)
09/07  Ult. Spider-Man #113 -  67,476  (-11.8%)
09/07  Ult. Spider-Man #114 -  66,682  ( -1.2%)
10/07  Ult. Spider-Man #115 -  74,310  (+11.4%)
11/07  Ult. Spider-Man #116 -  61,534  (-17.2%)
12/07  Ult. Spider-Man #117 -  60,361  ( -1.9%)
                               6 mnth  (-18.0%)
                               1 year  (-20.8%)
                               2 year  (-17.3%)
                               3 year  (-32.1%)
                               4 year  (-45.0%)

Levelling out, but that drop over the last few months remains worrying.

29,74. WHAT IF?
10/07  Planet Hulk  - 46,151
11/07  Annihilation - 29,715
12/07  Civil War    - 58,944
12/07  X-Men        - 32,476

As you’d expect, the CIVIL WAR issue is the biggest seller of the lot. The X-Men story is a spin-off from the “Fall and Rise of the Shi’ar Empire” storyline, and puts in a rather more modest performance.

30. AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE
04/07  Initiative #1 - 127,798
05/07  Initiative #2 - 103,189  (-19.3%)
06/07  Initiative #3 -  92,339  (-10.5%)
07/07  Initiative #4 -  94,773  ( +2.6%)
08/07  Initiative #5 -  86,536  ( -8.7%)
09/07  Initiative #6 -  74,184  (-14.3%)
10/07  ---
11/07  Initiative #7 -  66,455  (-10.4%)
12/07  Initiative #8 -  58,126  (-12.5%)
                        6 mnth  (-37.1%)

31. AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE ANNUAL
12/07  Annual #1 - 57,620

The monthly series continues to bleed readers at a terrifying rate. On the bright side, for what it’s worth, the Annual manages to sells quite close to the core title. Normally they lag further behind.

But realistically, this is a book with serious problems. This is the third straight issue to drop by more than 10%, and there’s no sign yet of the book levelling out. It literally cannot carry on like this.

34. ULTIMATE POWER
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  ---
05/07  Ultimate Power #5 of 9 - 62,784  ( -1.6%)
06/07  ---
07/07  Ultimate Power #6 of 9 - 61,361  ( -2.3%)
08/07  ---
09/07  Ultimate Power #7 of 9 - 57,998  ( -5.5%)
10/07  Ultimate Power #8 of 9 - 54,845  ( -5.4%)
11/07  ---
12/07  Ultimate Power #9 of 9 - 54,082  ( -1.4%)
                                6 mnth  (-11.9%)
                                1 year  (-22.9%)

Levelling out at the end. I’d say this series has badly underperformed against expectations, though. It was meant to be a bigger event, but the Ultimate imprint isn’t at its peak, and SUPREME POWER has vanished from sight.

37. WOLVERINE: ORIGINS
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%)
05/07  Origins #14 -  68,953  ( -2.8%)
06/07  Origins #15 -  65,558  ( -4.9%)
07/07  ---
08/07  Origins #16 -  69,781  ( +6.4%)
09/07  Origins #17 -  62,235  (-10.8%)
10/07  Origins #18 -  60,050  ( -3.5%)
11/07  Origins #19 -  55,999  ( -6.7%)
12/07  Origins #20 -  53,548  ( -4.4%)
                      6 mnth  (-18.3%)
                      1 year  (-36.8%)

Still shedding readers a little too quickly for comfort, I’d say. There’s no sign of this book levelling out, and if it seriously intends to tell a five year storyline, it needs to put on the brakes sooner rather than later.

38,42. ULTIMATE X-MEN
12/01  Ultimate X-Men #13 - 100,442
12/02  Ultimate X-Men #26 -  87,893
12/03  Ultimate X-Men #40 - 104,443
12/04  ---
12/05  ---
=====
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%)
05/07  Ultimate X-Men #82 -  62,063  ( -1.4%)
06/07  Ultimate X-Men #83 -  59,677  ( -3.8%)
07/07  Ultimate X-Men #84 -  59,929  ( +0.4%)
08/07  Ultimate X-Men #85 -  57,660  ( -3.8%)
09/07  Ultimate X-Men #86 -  55,346  ( -4.0%)
10/07  Ultimate X-Men #87 -  63,028  (+13.9%)
11/07  ---
12/07  Ultimate X-Men #88 -  51,633  (-18.1%)
12/07  Ultimate X-Men #89 -  50,516  ( -2.2%)
                             6 mnth  (-15.4%)
                             1 year  (-25.0%)
                             2 year  (  --- )
                             3 year  (  --- )
                             4 year  (-51.6%)

Drifting around in the mid-table. At this stage, ULTIMATE X-MEN is really depending on “Ultimatum” to give it a boost.

40. FANTASTIC FOUR
12/01  Fantastic Four #50  - 52,471
12/02  Fantastic Four #64  - 50,211
12/03  Fantastic Four #508 - 50,333
12/04  Fantastic Four #521 - 47,634
12/05  Fantastic Four #533 - 46,751
=====
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 - 85,677  ( +8.7%)
04/07  Fantastic Four #545 - 77,576  ( -9.5%)
05/07  Fantastic Four #546 - 72,182  ( -7.0%)
06/07  Fantastic Four #547 - 69,610  ( -3.6%)
07/07  ---
08/07  Fantastic Four #548 - 65,695  ( -5.6%)
08/07  Fantastic Four #549 - 61,770  ( -6.0%)
09/07  ---
10/07  Fantastic Four #550 - 57,906  ( -6.3%)
11/07  Fantastic Four #551 - 58,617  ( +1.2%)
12/07  Fantastic Four #552 - 51,320  (-12.4%)
                             6 mnth  (-26.3%)
                             1 year  (-39.5%)
                             2 year  ( +9.8%)
                             3 year  ( +7.7%)
                             4 year  ( +2.0%)

We’ve seen over the last couple of months that a lot of “Initiative” books have been crashing sharply back to their normal levels, now that the cover banners have disappeared. And it’s still going. FANTASTIC FOUR doesn’t need to worry – it has a top-flight new creative team around the corner, in the form of Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch. Still, the continued drops on the “Initiative” books, whose sales remained high for so long, are striking.

47. WORLD WAR HULK AFTERSMASH: WARBOUND
12/07  Warbound #1 of 5 - 49,142

Spin-off series about the “Planet Hulk” supporting cast. A perfectly respectable debut.

49. CAPTAIN AMERICA: CHOSEN
09/07  Chosen #1 of 6 - 74,010
09/07  Chosen #2 of 6 - 59,776  (-19.2%)
10/07  Chosen #3 of 6 - 53,168  (-11.1%)
11/07  Chosen #4 of 6 - 48,507  ( -8.8%)
12/07  Chosen #5 of 6 - 45,867  ( -5.4%)

Fairly typical miniseries numbers.

54. DAREDEVIL
12/01  Daredevil #28  - 49,733
12/02  Daredevil #40  - 54,292
12/03  Daredevil #55  - 53,660
12/04  Daredevil #68  - 50,491
12/05  Daredevil #80  - 43,309
=====
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%)
05/07  Daredevil #97  - 47,200  ( +2.2%)
06/07  Daredevil #98  - 46,816  ( -0.8%)
07/07  ---
08/07  Daredevil #99  - 47,386  ( +1.2%)
09/07  Daredevil #100 - 78,143  (+64.9%)
10/07  Daredevil #101 - 47,189  (-39.6%)
11/07  Daredevil #102 - 45,030  ( -4.6%)
12/07  Daredevil #103 - 43,874  ( -2.6%)
                        6 mnth  ( -6.3%)
                        1 year  ( -8.7%)
                        2 year  ( +1.3%)
                        3 year  (-13.1%)
                        4 year  (-18.2%)

Dropping off a bit over the last couple of months, compared with very stable sales earlier in the year.

57. GIANT-SIZE AVENGERS
12/07  Special #1 - 42,407

A bit underwhelming for an original Avengers story. But then again, it doesn’t feature the regular creators.

58. ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR
12/03  Ult. Fantastic Four #1  - 173,441
12/04  Ult. Fantastic Four #14 -  77,931
12/05  Ult. Fantastic Four #26 -  68,323
=====
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  ---
05/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #41 -  49,916  ( -1.1%)
05/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #42 -  52,840  ( +5.9%)
06/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #43 -  51,453  ( -2.6%)
07/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #44 -  50,796  ( -1.3%)
08/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #45 -  48,779  ( -4.0%)
09/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #46 -  46,647  ( -4.4%)
10/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #47 -  45,015  ( -3.5%)
11/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #48 -  43,080  ( -4.3%)
12/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #49 -  40,656  ( -5.6%)
                                  6 mnth  (-21.0%)
                                  1 year  (-26.1%)
                                  2 year  (-40.5%)
                                  3 year  (-47.8%)
                                  4 year  (-76.6%)

Stuck in a seemingly endless decline, and presumably hoping for “Ultimatum” to turn things around.

62. IRON MAN
12/01  Iron Man #49 - 35,588
12/02  Iron Man #62 - 33,492
12/03  Iron Man #75 - 31,889
12/04  Iron Man #2  - 53,292
12/05  ---
=====
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%)
05/07  Iron Man #17 - 63,328  (  +6.5%)
06/07  Iron Man #18 - 56,474  ( -10.8%)
06/07  Iron Man #19 - 83,801  ( +48.4%)
07/07  Iron Man #20 - 72,831  ( -13.1%)
08/07  Iron Man #21 - 49,548  ( -32.0%)
09/07  Iron Man #22 - 46,691  (  -5.8%)
10/07  Iron Man #23 - 42,608  (  -8.7%)
11/07  ---
12/07  Iron Man #24 - 38,834  (  -8.9%)
                      6 mnth  ( -53.7%)
                      1 year  ( -47.1%)
                      2 year  (   --- )
                      3 year  ( -27.1%)
                      4 year  ( +21.8%)

Another book that’s gone into steep decline now that the “Initiative” days are behind us.

63. PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL
12/06  --
01/07  War Journal #2  -  96,112  ( -6.4%)
01/07  War Journal #3  -  70,143  (-27.0%)
02/07  War Journal #4  -  52,961  (-24.5%)
03/07  War Journal #5  -  50,190  ( -5.2%)
04/07  War Journal #6  -  53,498  ( +6.6%)
05/07  War Journal #7  -  75,360  (+40.9%)
06/07  War Journal #8  -  61,376  (-18.6%)
07/07  War Journal #9  -  56,854  ( -7.4%)
08/07  War Journal #10 -  51,303  ( -9.8%)
09/07  War Journal #11 -  47,220  ( -8.0%)
10/07  War Journal #12 -  66,548  (+40.9%)
11/07  War Journal #13 -  41,783  (-37.2%)
12/07  War Journal #14 -  38,471  ( -7.9%)
                          6 mnth  (-37.3%)
                          1 year  (-60.0%)

This isn’t looking too healthy either. WAR JOURNAL does well from crossovers and stunts, but the underlying trend is firmly downhill.

66,75. HOUSE OF M: AVENGERS
11/07  Avengers #1 of 5 - 47,525
12/07  Avengers #2 of 5 - 37,545  (-21.0%)
12/07  Avengers #3 of 5 - 32,412  (-13.7%)

Fairly standard second issue drop. Bit steep for issue #3, though.

67. WOLVERINE: FIREBREAK
12/07  Firebreak - 37,218

About what you’d expect from a random Wolverine one-shot without any particular selling point. It’s actually quite good, though.

68. CAPTAIN MARVEL
11/07  Captain Marvel #1 of 5 - 50,578
12/07  Captain Marvel #2 of 5 - 36,620  (-27.6%)

Issue #1 picks up re-orders of 6,884, which is quite substantial. Allowing for that, the second issue drop is quite reasonable.

69. X-MEN: EMPEROR VULCAN
09/07  Emperor Vulcan #1 of 5 - 48,990
10/07  Emperor Vulcan #2 of 5 - 42,022  (-14.2%)
11/07  Emperor Vulcan #3 of 5 - 37,699  (-10.3%)
12/07  Emperor Vulcan #4 of 5 - 35,203  ( -6.6%)

The sales are okay, if you look at this as a Starjammers miniseries rather than an X-Men book.

70. EXILES
12/01  Exiles #7   - 40,075
12/02  Exiles #20  - 36,796
12/03  Exiles #39  - 38,313
12/04  Exiles #55  - 33,744
12/05  Exiles #74  - 33,881
=====
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%)
05/07  Exiles #94  - 30,735  ( +0.1%)
06/07  Exiles #95  - 30,612  ( -0.4%)
07/07  Exiles #96  - 30,245  ( -1.2%)
08/07  Exiles #97  - 29,092  ( -3.8%)
09/07  Exiles #98  - 28,308  ( -2.7%)
10/07  Exiles #99  - 27,776  ( -1.9%)
11/07  ---
12/07  Exiles #100 - 33,416  (+20.3%)
                     6 mnth  ( +9.2%)
                     1 year  ( -9.4%)
                     2 year  ( -1.4%)
                     3 year  ( -1.0%)
                     4 year  (-12.8%)

Anniversary boost. January saw a relaunch as NEW EXILES, for no readily apparent reason. But it should provide another jump.

71,85. NEW WARRIORS
06/07  New Warriors #1 - 56,809
07/07  New Warriors #2 - 45,820  (-19.3%)
08/07  New Warriors #3 - 42,660  ( -6.9%)
09/07  New Warriors #4 - 39,998  ( -6.2%)
10/07  New Warriors #5 - 36,937  ( -7.7%)
11/07  ---
12/07  New Warriors #6 - 32,982  (-10.7%)
12/07  New Warriors #7 - 30,177  ( -8.5%)
                         6 mnth  (-46.9%)

Another title with serious problems. The last five issues have seen an average drop of 8%, with the most recent issues being above that average. Once again, this simply isn’t sustainable beyond the very short term. If NEW WARRIORS carries on losing sales at 8% per issue, it’ll drop below 20K within six months.

72. IMMORTAL IRON FIST
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%)
05/07  Immortal Iron Fist #5  - 36,856  ( -0.8%)
06/07  Immortal Iron Fist #6  - 36,731  ( -0.3%)
07/07  Immortal Iron Fist #7  - 35,842  ( -2.4%)
08/07  Immortal Iron Fist #8  - 35,449  ( -1.1%)
09/07  Immortal Iron Fist #9  - 34,282  ( -3.3%)
10/07  ---
11/07  Immortal Iron Fist #10 - 41,368  (+20.7%)
12/07  Immortal Iron Fist #11 - 32,975  (-20.3%)
                                6 mnth  (-10.2%)
                                1 year  (-18.8%)

Returning to normal levels after a variant cover spike. There’s a slow erosion, but the audience is basically solid, in comparison to some of the books around it.

78. PUNISHER  [Max]
12/01  Punisher #7  - 59,606
12/02  Punisher #20 - 43,514
12/03  Punisher #37 - 38,561
12/04  Punisher #15 - 40,357
12/05  Punisher #28 - 35,535
=====
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%)
05/07  Punisher #47 - 33,892  ( +1.4%)
06/07  Punisher #48 - 33,804  ( -0.3%)
07/07  Punisher #49 - 34,317  ( +1.5%)
08/07  Punisher #50 - 36,457  ( +6.2%)
09/07  ---
10/07  Punisher #51 - 33,771  ( -7.4%)
11/07  Punisher #52 - 32,909  ( -2.6%)
12/07  Punisher #53 - 31,772  ( -3.5%)
                      6 mnth  ( -6.0%)
                      1 year  ( -3.7%)
                      2 year  (-10.6%)
                      3 year  (-21.3%)
                      4 year  (-17.6%)

This used to be a rock solid title, but for some reason it’s gone into decline over the last few months. However, Garth Ennis’ run is now in the home straight.

79. ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST
11/07  Conquest #1 of 6 - 35,826
12/07  Conquest #2 of 6 - 31,743  (-11.4%)

A fairly small drop. Good sign.

81. SILVER SURFER: IN THY NAME
11/07  In Thy Name #1 of 4 - 39,917
12/07  In Thy Name #2 of 4 - 31,159  (-21.9%)

On the steep side, but still okay for a mini.

82. GHOST RIDER
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%)
05/07  Ghost Rider #11 - 43,626  ( -0.8%)
06/07  Ghost Rider #12 - 71,348  (+63.5%)
07/07  Ghost Rider #13 - 64,092  (-10.2%)
08/07  Ghost Rider #14 - 41,121  (-35.8%)
09/07  Ghost Rider #15 - 38,220  ( -7.1%)
10/07  Ghost Rider #16 - 34,335  (-10.2%)
11/07  Ghost Rider #17 - 31,581  ( -8.0%)
12/07  Ghost Rider #18 - 30,540  ( -3.3%)
                         6 mnth  (-57.2%)
                         1 year  (-34.6%)

Levelling out a bit, and it really needed to. However, we’ve seen this happen on individual issues before, so I’ll remain cautious for now.

83. NOVA
04/07  Nova #1 - 42,917  (+21.9%)
05/07  Nova #2 - 44,532  ( +3.8%)
06/07  Nova #3 - 45,004  ( +1.1%)
07/07  Nova #4 - 40,173  (-10.7%)
08/07  Nova #5 - 39,543  ( -1.6%)
09/07  Nova #6 - 36,978  ( -6.5%)
10/07  Nova #7 - 34,876  ( -5.7%)
11/07  Nova #8 - 32,110  ( -7.9%)
12/07  Nova #9 - 30,469  ( -5.1%)
                 6 mnth  (-32.3%)

Losing readers far too quickly for comfort. The drops should have levelled out by now, but there’s no real sign of it. Despite generally positive reviews, it’s hard to see NOVA sticking around in the long term if these numbers are anything to go by.

86. HULK VS. FIN FANG FOOM
12/07  Hulk vs Fin Fang Foom - 29,230

Oddball one-shot, doing as well as you could expect.

91,93. X-MEN: DIE BY THE SWORD
10/07  Die By The Sword #1 of 5 - 38,306
10/07  Die By The Sword #2 of 5 - 34,320  (-10.4%)
11/07  Die By The Sword #3 of 5 - 30,283  (-11.8%)

Not a desperately good performance for this miniseries. It’s not an X-Men story at all, by the way. It’s actually an Excalibur/Exiles team-up, serving as a lead-in to NEW EXILES.

94, 101. THE ORDER
07/07  The Order #1 - 57,264
08/07  The Order #2 - 40,274  (-30.0%)
09/07  The Order #3 - 33,936  (-15.7%)
10/07  ---
11/07  The Order #4 - 29,746  (-12.3%)
12/07  The Order #5 - 26,311  (-11.5%)
12/07  The Order #6 - 24,446  ( -7.1%)

Cancelled with issue #10, for fairly obvious reasons. Although it’s starting to level out, it’s simply too little, too late.

And THE ORDER is not the lowest-selling Marvel Universe title of the month. Plainly, that’s not encouraging news for the books still to come. And there’s quite a few of them, which suggests there might be a clear-out on the horizon.

95. BLACK PANTHER
12/05  Black Panther #11 - 29,327
=====
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  ---
05/07  Black Panther #27 - 52,552  ( +2.3%)
06/07  Black Panther #28 - 61,808  (+17.6%)
07/07  Black Panther #29 - 55,027  (-11.0%)
08/07  Black Panther #30 - 48,478  (-11.9%)
09/07  ---
10/07  Black Panther #31 - 33,673  (-30.5%)
11/07  Black Panther #32 - 28,426  (-15.6%)
12/07  Black Panther #33 - 25,906  ( -8.9%)
                           6 mnth  (-58.1%)
                           1 year  (-52.7%)
                           2 year  (-11.7%)

A lot of Initiative books have gone into decline over the last few months, but BLACK PANTHER is in freefall. I would never have anticipated that sales would fall this fast. Given the fate of THE ORDER, this book must be in some danger.

96. MS MARVEL
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%)
05/07  Ms Marvel #15 - 42,849  ( -0.0%)
06/07  Ms Marvel #16 - 40,048  ( -6.5%)
07/07  Ms Marvel #17 - 38,003  ( -5.1%)
08/07  Ms Marvel #18 - 34,818  ( -8.4%)
09/07  Ms Marvel #19 - 32,371  ( -7.0%)
10/07  Ms Marvel #20 - 37,930  (+17.2%)
11/07  Ms Marvel #21 - 26,484  (-30.2%)
12/07  Ms Marvel #22 - 25,450  ( -3.9%)
                       6 mnth  (-36.5%)
                       1 year  (-25.9%)

A little more stable than the last two books, but still dropping, and still at a low level. Again, if they’re cancelling THE ORDER, this book surely can’t be safe.

98. OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE
12/04  Golden Age       - 17,356
12/05  Ultimate 2005    - 20,796
=====
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%)
05/07  Update #2 of 4   - 16,633  ( -29.3%)
05/07  Anita Blake      - 20,936  ( +25.9%)
06/07  Mystic Arcana    - 15,669  ( -25.2%)
06/07  Mighty Avengers  - 22,312  ( +42.4%)
07/07  Update #3 of 4   - 15,600  ( -30.1%)
08/07  World War Hulk   - 41,583  (+166.6%)
09/07  Marvel Zombies   - 47,090  ( +13.2%)
10/07  Update #4 of 4   - 14,328  ( -69.6%)
11/07  Atlas #1 of 2    - 16,857  ( +17.7%)
12/07  Messiah Complex  - 24,795  ( +47.1%)
                          6 mnth  ( +11.1%)
                          1 year  ( +17.1%)
                          2 year  ( +19.2%)
                          3 year  ( +42.9%)

Astoundingly, the Marvel Zombies issue from September – nothing more than a horror-themed issue in which the zombies had an entry – picks up re-orders of 11,426. This was anomalous enough to make me wonder whether it was an error, but my local store has re-ordered piles of the thing, so aparently it’s for real.

This month’s issue is an X-Men update (not specifically about Messiah Complex, despite the title), and it sells in the usual range for major characters.

103. CABLE & DEADPOOL
12/04  Cable & Deadpool #10 - 26,911
12/05  Cable & Deadpool #23 - 23,296
=====
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%)
05/07  Cable & Deadpool #40 - 26,120  ( +0.0%)
06/07  Cable & Deadpool #41 - 27,431  ( +5.0%)
06/07  Cable & Deadpool #42 - 27,203  ( -0.8%)
07/07  Cable & Deadpool #43 - 26,341  ( -3.2%)
08/07  Cable & Deadpool #44 - 25,944  ( -1.5%)
09/07  Cable & Deadpool #45 - 26,009  ( +0.3%)
10/07  Cable & Deadpool #46 - 32,108  (+23.4%)
11/07  Cable & Deadpool #47 - 24,388  (-24.0%)
12/07  Cable & Deadpool #48 - 23,884  ( -2.1%)
                              6 mnth  (-12.2%)
                              1 year  (-14.0%)
                              2 year  ( +2.5%)
                              3 year  (-11.2%)

Cancelled with issue #50, making way for new CABLE and DEADPOOL titles.

104. SHE-HULK
12/04  She-Hulk #10 - 23,848
12/05  She-Hulk #3  - 29,428
=====
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%)
05/07  She-Hulk #18 - 41,800  (+51.4%)
06/07  She-Hulk #19 - 26,127  (-37.5%)
07/07  ---
08/07  She-Hulk #20 - 25,582  ( -2.1%)
09/07  She-Hulk #21 - 27,221  ( +6.4%)
10/07  She-Hulk #22 - 35,568  (+30.7%)
11/07  She-Hulk #23 - 24,956  (-29.8%)
12/07  She-Hulk #24 - 23,585  ( -5.5%)
                      6 mnth  ( -9.7%)
                      1 year  ( -3.9%)
                      2 year  (-19.9%)
                      3 year  ( -1.1%)

Let’s be blunt. It’s below THE ORDER. It’s falling at a noticeable rate. It’s approaching the 20K mark. It’s in trouble.

106. FANTASTIC FOUR: ISLA DE LA MUERTE
12/07  Isla de la Muerte - 20,780

One of those occasional one-shots that Marvel publish without any particular promotion. The result is about what you’d expect.

109. SPIDER-MAN & RED SONJA
08/07  Spider-Man/Sonja #1 of 5 - 36,780
09/07  Spider-Man/Sonja #2 of 5 - 28,764  (-21.8%)
10/07  Spider-Man/Sonja #3 of 5 - 25,956  ( -9.8%)
11/07  Spider-Man/Sonja #4 of 5 - 22,968  (-11.5%)
12/07  Spider-Man/Sonja #5 of 5 - 21,862  ( -4.8%)

Rather underwhelming.

112. TWELVE
12/07  Twelve #0 - 20,218

Actually, not a bad number. Although this is numbered as a preview issue for J Michael Straczynski and Chris Weston’s TWELVE miniseries, it’s actually a bunch of Golden Age reprints with some promotional material and character sketches thrown in. For that, I’d say 20K is pretty respectable, and bodes well for interest in the series.

113. MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS
09/07  Marvel Comics Presents #1 - 38,337
10/07  Marvel Comics Presents #2 - 26,573 (-30.7%)
11/07  Marvel Comics Presents #3 - 23,444 (-11.8%)
12/07  Marvel Comics Presents #4 - 19,890 (-15.2%)

This is guaranteed to run for twelve issues, because of the serials that are already in progress. It’s hard to imagine it surviving beyond that.

126. AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL
12/01  Spider-Girl #41         - 23,573
12/02  Spider-Girl #54         - 24,389
12/03  Spider-Girl #67         - 21,403
12/04  Spider-Girl #81         - 20,419
12/05  Spider-Girl #93         - 17,057
=====
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%)
05/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #8  - 19,574  ( -2.6%)
06/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #9  - 19,142  ( -2.2%)
07/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #10 - 19,094  ( -0.3%)
08/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #11 - 18,725  ( -1.9%)
09/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #12 - 18,676  ( -0.3%)
10/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #13 - 26,558  (+42.2%)
11/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #14 - 17,410  (-34.4%)
12/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #15 - 17,164  ( -1.4%)
                                 6 mnth  (-10.3%)
                                 1 year  (-33.1%)
                                 2 year  ( +0.6%)
                                 3 year  (-15.9%)
                                 4 year  (-19.8%)

We’re definitely back where we were before the relaunch. However, the erosion has been very slow lately (once you factor out the variant cover spike for issue #13).

132. X-MEN: FIRST CLASS
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%)
05/07  First Class Special - 23,556  ( +0.6%)
06/07  First Class #1      - 26,370  (+11.9%)
07/07  First Class #2      - 22,269  (-15.6%)
08/07  First Class #3      - 20,495  ( -8.0%)
09/07  First Class #4      - 19,088  ( -6.9%)
10/07  First Class #5      - 18,134  ( -5.0%)
11/07  First Class #6      - 17,050  ( -6.0%)
12/07  First Class #7      - 16,195  ( -5.0%)
                             6 mnth  (-38.6%)
                             1 year  (-43.1%)

Here’s an oddity. Issue #6 already charted in November, with sales of 16,965. It now reappears for a second consecutive month with sales of 17,050. Obviously something’s not right here. It’s plainly inconceivable that FIRST CLASS #6 sold a total of 34,000 copies.

At least some copies of issue #6 (such as mine) feature a massive printing error, where all the pages were stapled in the wrong order. It’s actually just about understandable that this slipped through, because on a casual skim, it reads like an uncharacteristic attempt at non-linear storytelling. Mind you, somebody should have spotted that the double-page adverts were broken up.

I’m just guessing here, but I’m assuming that Diamond had to re-ship corrected versions of the same issue, and this (together with a token number of re-orders) accounts for the same book appearing twice. I’ve gone with the higher number for historical purposes.

136. MARVEL HOLIDAY SPECIAL
12/07  Holiday Special - 15,647

The annual Christmas anthology. The number is marginally up from last year.

139. IRON MAN: ENTER THE MANDARIN
09/07  Enter t/Mandarin #1 of 6 - 26,912
10/07  Enter t/Mandarin #2 of 6 - 20,781  (-22.8%)
11/07  Enter t/Mandarin #3 of 6 - 17,686  (-14.9%)
12/07  Enter t/Mandarin #4 of 6 - 15,306  (-13.5%)

Drifting off the radar.

151, 153. MARVEL SPOTLIGHT
12/05  Cassaday & McKeever -  9,763
=====
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%)
05/07  Fantastic Four      -  8,261  ( -37.5%)
06/07  Captain America     - 31,483  (+281.1%)
07/07  ---
08/07  World War Hulk      - 22,534  ( -28.4%)
08/07  Halo                -  9,782  ( -56.6%)
09/07  Thor                - 11,300  ( +15.5%)
10/07  Marvel Zombies      - 16,697  ( +47.8%)
11/07  ---
12/07  One More Day        - 12,807  ( -23.3%)
12/07  Messiah Complex     - 13,462  (  +5.1%)
                             6 mnth  ( -57.2%)
                             1 year  ( +70.4%)
                             2 year  ( +37.9%)

The “One More Day” issue was delayed because of the story overrunning. Both of this month’s issues put in a fairly standard performance.

152. FOOLKILLER  [Max]
10/07  Foolkiller #1 of 5 - 19,706
11/07  Foolkiller #2 of 5 - 13,779  (-30.1%)
12/07  Foolkiller #3 of 5 - 12,892  ( -6.4%)

Levelling out after a steep initial drop.

158. TERROR, INC.  [Max]
08/07  Terror Inc. #1 of 5 - 18,025
09/07  Terror Inc. #2 of 5 - 14,496  (-19.6%)
10/07  Terror Inc. #3 of 5 - 13,365  ( -7.8%)
11/07  ---
12/07  Terror Inc. #4 of 5 - 12,045  ( -9.9%)

Fairly standard numbers for a Max miniseries.

162. ZOMBIE: SIMON GARTH  [Max]
11/07  Simon Garth #1 of 4 - 15,430
12/07  Simon Garth #2 of 4 - 11,675  (-24.3%)

Awfully low, but nothing that should come as a surprise for the Max imprint.

164. OMEGA THE UNKNOWN
10/07  Omega t/Unknown #1 of 10 - 19,322
11/07  Omega t/Unknown #2 of 10 - 13,986  (-27.6%)
12/07  Omega t/Unknown #3 of 10 - 11,518  (-17.6%)

A book clearly aimed at the trade paperback collection, so the uninspiring monthly sales aren’t really an issue.

165. HOWARD THE DUCK
10/07  Howard the Duck #1 of 4 - 26,182
11/07  Howard the Duck #2 of 4 - 13,203  (-49.6%)
12/07  Howard the Duck #3 of 4 - 11,476  (-13.1%)

This doesn’t suggest there’s much of a market for Howard the Duck stories (at least by creators who aren’t Steve Gerber). Shame, actually, because it’s a good series.

169. AVENGERS CLASSIC
06/07  Avengers Classic #1 - 29,319
07/07  Avengers Classic #2 - 20,954  (-28.5%)
08/07  Avengers Classic #3 - 18,817  (-10.2%)
09/07  Avengers Classic #4 - 15,392  (-18.2%)
10/07  Avengers Classic #5 - 13,599  (-11.6%)
11/07  Avengers Classic #6 - 12,213  (-10.2%)
12/07  Avengers Classic #7 - 11,162  ( -8.6%)

Presumably paying for itself through the back door, by spreading the cost of remastering a Marvel Masterworks volume.

179. SPIDER-MAN FAMILY
02/07  Spider-Man Family #1 - 30,516
03/07  ---
04/07  Spider-Man Family #2 - 20,679  (-32.2%)
05/07  ---
06/07  Spider-Man Family #3 - 16,853  (-18.5%)
07/07  ---
08/07  Spider-Man Family #4 - 14,253  (-15.4%)
09/07  ---
10/07  Spider-Man Family #5 - 11,771  (-17.4%)
11/07  ---
12/07  Spider-Man Family #6 -  9,860  (-16.2%)

Can this really be doing well on the newsstands? It doesn’t seem like a particularly mainstream-friendly title, but it’s hard to imagine what other reason Marvel might have to keeping it going.

187. KABUKI  [Icon]
11/06  ---
12/06  ---
01/07  Kabuki #8 - 9,961  ( -7.8%)
02/07  ---
03/07  ---
04/07  ---
05/07  ---
06/07  ---
07/07  ---
08/07  ---
09/07  ---
10/07  ---
11/07  ---
12/07  Kabuki #9 - 8,884  (-10.8%)
01/08  ---
02/08  ---

Around six months late. The Icon imprint is basically a self-publishing vehicle for creators under Marvel exclusive deals, allowing them to put out their side projects under the Marvel umbrella. So as long as David Mack thinks this is worth his while, Marvel aren’t too bothered about the sales.

192. THE ILIAD [Marvel Illustrated]
12/07  Iliad #1 of 8 - 8,393

Another adaptation of a classic. Obviously, these are intended mainly for bookstore audiences, so the direct market sales don’t matter much.

211. CIVIL WAR CHRONICLES
07/07  Civil War Chronicles #1 - 18,449
08/07  Civil War Chronicles #2 - 12,953  (-29.8%)
09/07  Civil War Chronicles #3 - 11,094  (-14.4%)
10/07  Civil War Chronicles #4 -  9,108  (-17.9%)
11/07  Civil War Chronicles #5 -  7,500  (-17.7%)
12/07  Civil War Chronicles #6 -  6,841  ( -8.8%)

Still doing incredibly well for a reprint series. Again, CHRONICLES wasn’t aimed primarily at the direct market.

And from here on, it’s all Marvel Illustrated, Marvel Adventures and the Dabel Brothers. As you surely know by now, these books are not aimed at the direct market, and they do most of their business elsewhere. So the numbers don’t mean a great deal. But if you care, here they are.

218. PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY [Marvel Illustrated]
12/07  Picture of Dorian Gray #1 of 6 - 6,279


222. MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN  [All ages]
12/05  M.A. Spider-Man #10 - 6,391
=====
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%)
05/07  M.A. Spider-Man #27 - 6,818  ( +5.2%)
06/07  M.A. Spider-Man #28 - 7,006  ( +2.8%)
07/07  M.A. Spider-Man #29 - 7,071  ( +0.9%)
08/07  M.A. Spider-Man #30 - 6,573  ( -7.0%)
09/07  M.A. Spider-Man #31 - 6,723  ( +2.3%)
10/07  M.A. Spider-Man #32 - 6,355  ( -5.5%)
11/07  M.A. Spider-Man #33 - 6,126  ( -3.6%)
12/07  M.A. Spider-Man #34 - 6,115  ( -0.2%)
                            6 mnth  (-12.7%)
                            1 year  ( -4.4%)
                            2 year  ( -4.3%)


226. MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS  [All ages]
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%)
05/07  M.A. Avengers #13 - 7,251  ( +2.2%)
06/07  M.A. Avengers #14 - 7,293  ( +0.6%)
07/07  ---
08/07  M.A. Avengers #15 - 6,950  ( -4.7%)
09/07  M.A. Avengers #16 - 6,870  ( -1.2%)
10/07  M.A. Avengers #17 - 6,423  ( -6.5%)
11/07  M.A. Avengers #18 - 6,141  ( -4.4%)
12/07  M.A. Avengers #19 - 6,115  ( -0.4%)
                           6 mnth (-16.2%)
                           1 year (-18.6%)


244. MARVEL ADVENTURES HULK [All ages]
07/07  M.A. Hulk #1 - 11,394
08/07  M.A. Hulk #2 -  7,142  (-37.3%)
09/07  M.A. Hulk #3 -  5,790  (-18.9%)
10/07  M.A. Hulk #4 -  5,588  ( -3.5%)
11/07  M.A. Hulk #5 -  4,990  (-10.7%)
12/07  M.A. Hulk #6 -  4,862  ( -2.6%)


245. POWER PACK  [All ages]
12/05  X-Men #3 of 4          - 8,380
=====
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%)
05/07  Hulk #3 of 4           - 5,593  ( -5.9%)
06/07  Hulk #4 of 4           - 5,443  ( -2.7%)
07/07  Fantastic Four #1 of 4 - 6,577  (+20.8%)
08/07  Fantastic Four #2 of 4 - 5,749  (-12.6%)
09/07  Fantastic Four #3 of 4 - 5,400  ( -6.1%)
10/07  Fantastic Four #4 of 4 - 5,152  ( -4.6%)
11/07  Iron Man #1 of 4       - 5,527  ( +7.3%)
12/07  Iron Man #2 of 4       - 4,855  (-12.2%)
                               6 mnth  (-10.8%)
                               1 year  (-23.5%)
                               2 year  (-42.1%)


247. MARVEL ADVENTURES IRON MAN  [All ages]
05/07  M.A. Iron Man #1 - 11,922
06/07  M.A. Iron Man #2 -  7,050  (-40.9%)
07/07  M.A. Iron Man #3 -  6,543  ( -7.2%)
08/07  M.A. Iron Man #4 -  5,911  ( -9.7%)
09/07  M.A. Iron Man #5 -  5,562  ( -5.9%)
10/07  M.A. Iron Man #6 -  5,130  ( -7.8%)
11/07  M.A. Iron Man #7 -  4,844  ( -5.6%)
12/07  M.A. Iron Man #8 -  4,656  ( -3.9%)


251. MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR  [All ages]
12/05  M.A. Fantastic Four #7  - 5,058
=====
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%)
05/07  M.A. Fantastic Four #24 - 4,807  ( +4.4%)
06/07  M.A. Fantastic Four #25 - 4,972  ( +3.4%)
07/07  M.A. Fantastic Four #26 - 5,370  ( +8.0%)
08/07  M.A. Fantastic Four #27 - 4,641  (-13.6%)
09/07  M.A. Fantastic Four #28 - 5,194  (+11.9%)
10/07  M.A. Fantastic Four #29 - 4,851  ( -6.6%)
11/07  M.A. Fantastic Four #30 - 4,460  ( -8.1%)
12/07  M.A. Fantastic Four #31 - 4,392  ( -1.5%)
                                6 mnth  (-11.7%)
                                1 year  ( -3.1%)
                                2 year  (-13.2%)


256. 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%)
05/07  Wyrms #4 of 6 - 4,567  ( -6.8%)
06/07  Wyrms #5 of 6 - 4,209  ( -7.8%)
07/07  ---
08/07  ---
09/07  ---
10/07  ---
11/07  ---
12/07  Wyrms #6 of 6 - 3,880  ( -7.8%)


259. MAN IN THE IRON MASK  [Marvel Illustrated]
07/07  Iron Mask #1 of 6 - 7,188
08/07  Iron Mask #2 of 6 - 5,526  (-23.1%)
09/07  Iron Mask #3 of 6 - 4,687  (-15.2%)
10/07  Iron Mask #4 of 6 - 4,159  (-11.3%)
11/07  Iron Mask #5 of 6 - 3,930  ( -5.5%)
12/07  Iron Mask #6 of 6 - 3,787  ( -3.6%)


284. RED PROPHET: TALES OF ALVIN MAKER  [DBPro]
12/06  Alvin Maker #4   of 12 - 5,034  (+>58.8%)
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  ---
05/07  Alvin Maker #7   of 12 - 3,678  (  -8.3%)
06/07  Alvin Maker #8   of 12 - 3,441  (  -6.4%)
07/07  Alvin Maker #9   of 12 - 3,184  (  -7.5%)
08/07  Alvin Maker #10  of 12 - 3,048  (  -4.3%)
09/07  ---
10/07  ---
11/07  ---
12/07  Alvin Maker #11  of 12 - 2,762  (  -9.4%)


293.  GIANT-SIZE SPIDER-MAN
12/07  Back in Black - 2,349

No, I’ve never heard of it either. Apparently, it’s a very low-price digest reprint, scraping onto the bottom of the singles chart. Several others were released in December and failed to make the top 300.

Skip months and re-orders
=========================

FALLEN SON: DEATH OF CAPTAIN AMERICA
04/07        Wolverine - 164,804
04/07         Avengers - 146,655  (-11.0%)
05/07  Captain America - 171,894  (+17.2%)
06/07       Spider-Man - 137,265  (-20.1%)
07/07         Iron Man - 165,216  (+20.4%)

Somebody has apparently found an old crate of FALLEN SON: IRON MAN issues down the back of a sofa, as it picks up 8,336 re-orders, five months after coming out.

ASTONISHING X-MEN
12/04  Astonishing X-Men #7  - 134,103
12/05  ---
=====
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  ---
05/07  Astonishing X-Men #21 - 120,495  ( +0.6%)
06/07  ---
07/07  ---
08/07  Astonishing X-Men #22 - 117,321  ( -2.6%)
09/07  ---
10/07  ---
11/07  Astonishing X-Men #23 - 112,920  ( -3.8%)
12/07  ---

Issue #24 shipped in January, but the finale in GIANT-SIZE #1 has slipped to April.

HALO: UPRISING
08/07  Uprising #1 of 4 - 71,812
09/07  ---
10/07  ---
11/07  Uprising #2 of 4 - 50,165  (-30.1%)
12/07  ---

Late. Issue #3 is now due in March.

RUNAWAYS
12/03  Runaways #9  - 20,429
12/04  ---
12/05  Runaways #11 - 25,260
=====
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%)
05/07  Runaways #26 - 46,134  ( -18.0%)
06/07  ---
07/07  Runaways #27 - 41,254  ( -10.6%)
08/07  ---
09/07  ---
10/07  Runaways #28 - 47,760  ( +15.8%)
11/07  ---
12/07  ---

Late. Issue #29 is due out in February.

THUNDERBOLTS
12/01  Thunderbolts #59     - 30,781
12/02  Thunderbolts #75     - 27,233
12/03  ---
12/04  New Thunderbolts #3  - 32,720
12/05  New Thunderbolts #16 - 25,084
=====
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%)
05/07  Thunderbolts #114    - 66,309  (  +1.9%)
06/07  Thunderbolts #115    - 64,876  (  -2.2%)
07/07  ---
08/07  Thunderbolts #116    - 52,503  ( -19.1%)
09/07  ---
10/07  Thunderbolts #117    - 47,151  ( -10.2%)
11/07  ---
12/07  ---

Late. Issue #118 came out in January, but issue #119 has slipped to March.

ONSLAUGHT REBORN
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  ---
05/07  ---
06/07  ---
07/07  Onslaught Reborn #4 of 5 - 45,946  (-12.4%)
08/07  ---
09/07  ---
10/07  ---
11/07  ---
12/07  ---

Shipped in January, at long last.

MOON KNIGHT
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%)
05/07  Moon Knight #10 - 56,734  (-18.0%)
06/07  Moon Knight #11 - 58,313  ( +2.8%)
07/07  ---
08/07  ---
09/07  Moon Knight #12 - 47,521  (-18.5%)
10/07  Moon Knight #13 - 44,082  ( -7.2%)
11/07  ---
12/07  ---

Hiatus. Issue #14 was solicited for January.

ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER  [DBPro]
12/06  Guilty Pls. #3 of 12 - 36,091  ( -8.5%)
01/07  Guilty Pls. #4 of 12 - 32,363  (-10.3%)
02/07  ---
03/07  Guilty Pls. #5 of 12 - 31,136  ( -3.8%)
04/07  Guilty Pls. #6 of 12 - 30,759  ( -1.2%)
05/07  ---
06/07  ---
07/07  First Death #1 of 2  - 38,631  (+25.6%)
08/07  ---
09/07  ---
10/07  First Death #2 of 2  - 36,035  ( -6.7%)
11/07  ---
12/07  ---

GUILTY PLEASURES resumed with issue #7 in January.

PENANCE: RELENTLESS
09/07  Relentless #1 of 5 - 30,454
10/07  Relentless #2 of 5 - 24,346  (-20.1%)
11/07  Relentless #3 of 5 - 22,461  ( -7.7%)
12/07  ---

Slipped to January.

POWERS  [Icon]
12/01  Powers #17 - 28,205
12/02  Powers #27 - 26,621
12/03  ---
12/04  Powers #7  - 30,687
12/05  Powers #15 - 25,633
=====
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%)
05/07  ---
06/07  ---
07/07  ---
08/07  Powers #25 - 21,349  ( +1.9%)
09/07  ---
10/07  Powers #26 - 20,541  ( -3.8%)
11/07  Powers #27 - 19,843  ( -3.4%)
12/07  ---

Slipped to February.

HEDGE KNIGHT 2: SWORN SWORD  [DBPro]
06/07  Sworn Sword #1 of 6 - 12,011
07/07  Sworn Sword #2 of 6 -  8,763  (-27.0%)
08/07  Sworn Sword #3 of 6 -  7,658  (-12.6%)
09/07  ---
10/07  ---
11/07  ---
12/07  ---

Delayed to January.

MAGICIAN: APPRENTICE  [DBPro]
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  ---
05/07  Apprentice #7   of 12 - 6,193  (  -9.2%)
06/07  Apprentice #8   of 12 - 5,941  (  -4.1%)
07/07  Apprentice #9   of 12 - 5,454  (  -8.2%)
08/07  ---
09/07  ---
10/07  Apprentice #10  of 12 - 5,190  (  -4.8%)
11/07  Apprentice #11  of 12 - 5,036  (  -3.0%)
12/07  ---

Delayed to January.

6 month comparisons
===================

+101.3% - X-Factor
+ 93.3% - New X-Men
+ 25.3% - Uncanny X-Men
+ 15.0% - Amazing Spider-Man
+ 11.1% - Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
+ 9.2% - Exiles
- 6.0% - Punisher
- 6.3% - Daredevil
- 9.7% - She-Hulk
- 10.2% - Immortal Iron Fist
- 10.3% - Amazing Spider-Girl
- 10.8% - Power Pack
- 11.7% - Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four
- 11.9% - Ultimate Power
- 12.2% - Cable & Deadpool
- 12.7% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
- 15.4% - Ultimate X-Men
- 16.2% - Marvel Adventures Avengers
- 18.0% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 18.3% - Wolverine: Origins
- 21.0% - Captain America
- 21.0% - Ultimate Fantastic Four
- 26.3% - Fantastic Four
- 32.3% - Nova
- 32.4% - Incredible Hulk
- 34.4% - New Avengers
- 36.5% - Ms. Marvel
- 37.1% - Avengers: The Initiative
- 37.3% - Punisher War Journal
- 37.6% - X-Men
- 38.6% - X-Men: First Class
- 46.9% - New Warriors
- 53.7% - Iron Man
- 57.2% - Ghost Rider
- 57.2% - Marvel Spotlight
- 58.1% - Black Panther

1 year comparisons
==================

+ 99.3% - New X-Men
+ 85.8% - X-Factor
+ 70.4% - Marvel Spotlight
+ 60.9% - Incredible Hulk
+ 25.3% - X-Men
+ 18.7% - Uncanny X-Men
+ 17.1% - Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
- 3.1% - Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four
- 3.7% - Punisher
- 3.9% - She-Hulk
- 4.4% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
- 8.7% - Daredevil
- 9.4% - Exiles
- 14.0% - New Avengers
- 14.0% - Cable & Deadpool
- 18.6% - Marvel Adventures Avengers
- 18.8% - Immortal Iron Fist
- 19.8% - Wolverine
- 20.8% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 22.9% - Ultimate Power
- 23.5% - Power Pack
- 25.0% - Ultimate X-Men
- 25.9% - Ms. Marvel
- 26.1% - Ultimate Fantastic Four
- 33.1% - Amazing Spider-Girl
- 34.6% - Ghost Rider
- 36.8% - Wolverine: Origins
- 39.5% - Fantastic Four
- 43.1% - X-Men: First Class
- 47.1% - Iron Man
- 52.7% - Black Panther
- 60.0% - Punisher War Journal

2 year comparison
=================

+108.9% - Incredible Hulk
+ 74.5% - New X-Men
+ 74.2% - Captain America
+ 66.2% - X-Factor
+ 57.1% - Amazing Spider-Man
+ 39.1% - Ultimates
+ 37.9% - Marvel Spotlight
+ 31.6% - X-Men
+ 25.6% - Uncanny X-Men
+ 19.2% - Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
+ 9.8% - Fantastic Four
+ 2.5% - Cable & Deadpool
+ 1.3% - Daredevil
+ 0.6% - Amazing Spider-Girl
- 1.4% - Exiles
- 4.3% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
- 10.6% - Wolverine
- 10.6% - Punisher
- 11.7% - Black Panther
- 13.2% - Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four
- 15.1% - New Avengers
- 17.3% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 19.9% - She-Hulk
- 40.5% - Ultimate Fantastic Four
- 42.1% - Power Pack

3 year comparison
=================

+ 76.4% - New X-Men
+ 50.3% - Amazing Spider-Man
+ 42.9% - Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
+ 13.5% - Uncanny X-Men
+ 13.0% - X-Men
+ 7.7% - Fantastic Four
- 1.0% - Exiles
- 1.1% - She-Hulk
- 10.2% - Ultimates
- 11.2% - Cable & Deadpool
- 13.1% - Daredevil
- 15.9% - Amazing Spider-Girl
- 21.3% - Punisher
- 21.7% - Wolverine
- 27.1% - Iron Man
- 32.1% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 47.8% - Ultimate Fantastic Four
- 56.2% - New Avengers

4 year comparison
=================

+217.8% - Thor
+ 82.6% - New Avengers
+ 82.0% - Captain America
+ 48.4% - Incredible Hulk
+ 37.6% - Amazing Spider-Man
+ 21.8% - Iron Man
+ 13.1% - Uncanny X-Men
+ 2.0% - Fantastic Four
- 11.5% - X-Men
- 12.8% - Exiles
- 15.4% - Wolverine
- 17.6% - Punisher
- 18.2% - Daredevil
- 19.8% - Amazing Spider-Girl
- 25.7% - Ultimates
- 45.0% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 51.6% - Ultimate X-Men
- 76.6% - Ultimate Fantastic Four

14 COMMENTS

  1. Re: Av, Init
    > The monthly series continues to bleed readers at a terrifying rate. On the bright side, for what it’s worth, the Annual manages to sells quite close to the core title. Normally they lag further behind.

    The Annual is a bannered Secret Invasion: Infiltration issue. The core title isn’t.

    RE: BP
    > A lot of Initiative books have gone into decline over the last few months, but BLACK PANTHER is in freefall. I would never have anticipated that sales would fall this fast. Given the fate of THE ORDER, this book must be in some danger.

    As I posted last month, this is just resuming the pre-Storm/CW/Initiative trend.

  2. > 57. GIANT-SIZE AVENGERS
    > 12/07 Special #1 – 42,407

    > A bit underwhelming for an original Avengers story. But then again, it
    > doesn’t feature the regular creators.

    From what I understand, Marvel were actually very pleased with the numbers on this one, given that it was a $5 dollar book and featured a whole bunch of us new-to-marvel writer types.

  3. I suspect a bunch of the MU books selling below The Order are hoping to ride the coattails of Secret Invasion for a while, so I wouldn’t cross them off the chart yet. (Ms. Marvel, for example, has already been advertised with a Skrully cover…)

  4. A couple notes speaking as a retailer:

    –ALL of our copies of X-Men: First Class #6 were misprinted, and subsequently replaced. Presuming everybody’s was misprinted, that would certainly, as Paul notes, account for the weird sales figure.

    –In December Diamond sent us piles of stuff we didn’t need or order (“as a bonus,” I’m told), random trades like Runaways Digest v.2 and fresh piles of that Marvel Zombies OHotMU, which I already had too many of. I shrugged and put them out on the rack, which I imagine is what happened at Paul’s store as well. There was no real “demand,” we were just given a whole bunch extra.

  5. How can Iron Fist be at #72? That book should be much higher. People who are not reading it are missing out on a great book.

  6. I agree. Iron Fist is THE book I am most excited about from Marvel. If you dig Planetary, you should check this out. It has got sci-fi, history, legacies, Marvel U backdrop and such a huge backstory that it could go on for years! Fold all of it up in Kung-Fu giftwrap and put a Fat Cobra bow on it, cause this book is the best. FAT COBRA, you wenches!

    Dan Slott is writing an incredible book over in Avengers: Init. Maybe he should just take over Marvel Comics Presents, fold Initiative in there, and let Slott write the Marvel Universe. And don’t forget to drop that $4 price point; it is killing everything it touches.

  7. “Somebody has apparently found an old crate of FALLEN SON: IRON MAN issues down the back of a sofa, as it picks up 8,336 re-orders, five months after coming out.”

    Could this be a variant cover? Jeph Loeb was at a local con over the weekend, and it seemed like every artist in attendance was given a copy with a white box for sketches, I think by ACTOR/HERO INITIATIVE as a fundraiser.

  8. I am *apalled* that Ultimates 3 is #1, and just plain upset to see Howard the Duck and Omega the Unknown charted below MARVEL BLOODY SPOTLIGHT. Jesus CHRIST.

  9. >293. GIANT-SIZE SPIDER-MAN
    >12/07 Back in Black – 2,349

    IIRC that was a magazine reprint and not a digest. They also did this with “X-Men: First Class” and two other titles.

    And yes, “X-Men: First Class #6” was re-shipped even without retailers complaining about damaged copies (at least we didn’t complain/notice ’cause apparently our copies were okay).

    And Marvel also shipped a sh!tload of “Fallen Son: Iron Man” as promotional copies to retailers.

  10. Apart from Marvel’s event-y books (the X-titles, Spider-Man, and Hulk), all their books appear to be somewhat lower, a lot lower, or a whole lot lower than they were either 6 months ago, 1 year ago, 2 years ago, 3 years ago, or 4 years ago.

    Two possibilities: people are finally getting tired of the ever-changing status-quo that remains unexplored before being changed yet again. Or just more and more people are waiting for the trade and therefore not supporting the single issues. It’s probably a mixture of both, and if the loss of sales in singles results in a bigger amount of sales in tpb’s, then no problem. But if it doesn’t, then despite the overall better picture (add all the books together and they do fine thanks to the regular new series with high numbers like Thor and Ultimates 3), they’re not managing to hang on to a large chunk of their audience.

    No doubt retailers will order LOTS of Secret Invasion though. They always do. But as the numbers show, in the end it’s hack-and-slash again, trying to keep up with reader apathy.

Comments are closed.