by Xavier Lancel
Welcome to a new analysis of the Marvel sales. Reminder: I’m french, that’s why I’m talking funny. Please address your complaints to my we-know-how-to-make-good-jokes-at-awards-ceremonies country.
Reminder: those sales are estimates, sales to comics shops situed in North America. American comics do get sold somewhere else in their original floppy edition. Keep also in mind that it’s not because a copy is sold to a shop that it’s sold to a customer. This would be way too easy. Digital sales are not taken into account.
Titles keep sliding down the charts, be they relaunches or original daring new launches. Some of them could probably have done better if they were not surrounded by so many other Marvel books!. In these conditions, it’s no surprise to see Marvel taking the axe and claiming its first victim : Black Knight, ending at #5. Several others are waiting fevershly in the queue for their turn to come. I was thinking that Marvel would lower its cancellation sales limit, seeing as floppy sales have been going down, making it harder for a series not to fall under the feared 20K. It seems Marvel has not, as Black Knight was axed before falling below 20K. On another story, we left our counter of the Marvel relaunches last month at W=2 (2 Win) F=7 (7 Fail). Let’s proceed from here !
DARTH VADER TP VOL.1: 16,624 [+3,830] 152p, $20, cents per page: 13.2 Average +% TPB Sales issues #1-6: +13.2%This first collection of the Darth Vader series is, of course, a juggernaut in TPB sales for Marvel. It sold 10,143 in its first month of release, then +2,651 last month, and with 3830 sales stays as the best selling TPB this month. So that’s confirmed: the Star Wars franchise is not only a single issue blockbuster for marvel, but a TPB one as well!
1- SECRET WARS LTD 05/15 Secret Wars Ltd #1 - 544,342 05/15 Secret Wars Ltd #2 - 231,560 (-57.5%) 06/15 Secret Wars Ltd #3 - 224,067 (- 3.2%) 07/15 Secret Wars Ltd #4 - 221,041 (- 1.4%) 08/15 Secret Wars Ltd #5 – 204,416 (- 7.5%) 09/15 --- 10/15 Secret Wars Ltd #6 - 192,244 (- 6.0%) 11/15 Secret Wars Ltd #7 - 177,019 (- 7.9%) 12/15 Secret Wars Ltd #8 - 169,667 (- 4.2%)
It should jump up a little with its final issue. Great numbers overall.
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3- 9- 204-STAR WARS 01/15 Star Wars #1 - 1,070,137 [+10,070] 02/15 Star Wars #2 - 212,089 (-80.0%) 03/15 Star Wars #3 - 175,579 (-17.2%) 04/15 Star Wars #4 - 203,817 (+16.1%) 05/15 Star Wars #5 - 146,850 (-27.9%) 06/15 Star Wars #6 - 152,652 (+ 4.0%) 07/15 Star Wars #7 - 160,000 (+ 1.0%) 08/15 Star Wars #8 - 145,066 (- 9.3%) 09/15 Star Wars #9 - 135,817 (- 6.4%) 10/15 Star Wars#10 - 134,613 (- 0.9%) 11/15 Star Wars#11 - 126,780 (- 5.8%) 11/15 Star Wars#12 - 123,133 (- 2.9%) 12/15 Star Wars#13 - 139,918 (+ 13.6%) (Vader Down) 12/15 Star Wars Annual #1 - 89,635 Since issue #2: -34.0% TPB VOL.1: 27,195 [+3,372] Average +%TPB sales issues 1-6: +15.5%
That’s proof that there is always room for improvement. It would be very interesting to know who those extra 16K readers to the crossover are: people who never bought a Star Wars Marvel title? Crossovers freaks? People who read only the Darth Vader title and not the Star Wars one?
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6- GUARDIANS OF INFINITY($5) 12/15 Guardians of Infinity - 121,407
This new series will apparently mix the casts of the new and the old Guardians of the Galaxy. The purpose here is to have an ongoing series able to survive, as it proved way more difficult to make people read stories starring the old cast, compared to stories starring the new one. Taking that into account, 120k is a very nice debut : surviving 12 issues would be huge.
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7- 10- 242- DARTH VADER 02/15 Darth Vader #1 - 304,373 [+7,844] 02/15 Darth Vader #2 - 125,466 (-58.8%) 03/15 Darth Vader #3 - 126,278 (+ 0.6%) 04/15 Darth Vader #4 - 136,451 (+ 8.1%) 05/15 Darth Vader #5 - 113,025 (-17.2%) 06/15 Darth Vader #6 - 107,739 (- 4.7%) 07/15 Darth Vader #7 - 114,349 (+ 6.1%) 08/15 Darth Vader #8 - 98,994 (-13.4%) 09/15 Darth Vader #9 - 100,235 (+ 1.3%) 10/15 Darth Vader#10- 94,372 (- 5.8%) 10/15 Darth Vader#11- 92,866 (- 1.6%) 11/15 Darth Vader#12- 90,077 (- 3.0%) 11/15 Darth Vader#13- 113,448 (+25.9%) (Vader Down) 12/15 Darth Vader#14- 97,457 (-14,1%) (Vader Down) 12/15 Darth Vader Annual #1 - 86,478 Since issue #2: -22.3%
The effect of the Vader Down crossover is fading down way too quickly. Are Star Wars readers not used to the principle of crossovers? Perhaps Marvel should be careful not to weaken the goose that lays the golden egg with this kind of trick. Very good numbers for the Annual, very close to the last « normal » issue sales level. Weirdly, Marvel advertised it as « a perfect jumping-on point ». Isn’t that supposed to be the role of .1 issues, and not of annuals (not that .1s make great jumping on issues, either)? That’s confusing.
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12- 43-DAREDEVIL 02/14 Daredevil v3 #36 – 31,494 ( -1.8%) 03/14 Daredevil v4 #1 - 76,006 (141.3%) 04/14 Daredevil v4 #2 - 42,811 (-11.7%) ... 09/15 Daredevil v4 #18 - 29,945 (+ 0.1%) --- --- 12/15 Daredevil #1 - 84,500 12/15 Daredevil #2 - 49,758 (-41.1%)
Here begins a totally new take on Daredevil. The first question is: will it be as critically successfull as the Mark Waid & Chris Samnee run, and as consistent sales-wise? The second question is: will the TV show bring in more readers (not a lot of hope on this one, as it has so far never been the case at Marvel)? We’ll have to wait to see what the future holds for the new Charles Soule and Ron Garney team.
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13-24- AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 04/14 Amazing v3 #1 - 532,586 ( 293.1%)[23,871] 05/14 Amazing v3 #2 - 123,945 ( -76.7%) ... 04/15 Amazing v3 #17 - 99,964 ( +8.3%) 05/15 Amazing v3 #18 - 88,338 (-11.6%) ... 10/15 Amazing Spider-Man #1 - 245,873 10/15 Amazing Spider-Man #2 - 111,322 (-54.7%) 11/15 Amazing Spider-Man #3 - 93,848 (-15.7%) 12/15 Amazing Spider-Man #4 - 82,066 (-22.6%) 12/15 Amazing Spider-Man #1.1 - 66,092 Since #2: -26.3%
This title was doing better before its relaunch. Nicely done, Marvel! Meanwhile , the .1 numeration is being used to sell a mini-series by the guest team of Jose Molina & Simone Bianchi, with weaker but still very impressive sales. People who still believe that .1 issue are perfect jumping on point will have to update their software.
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14- 33-ALL NEW X-MEN 11/12 All-New X-Men #2 - 100,983 ... 01/14 All-New #22.NOW - 76,565 (+21.8%) ... 08/14 All-New X-Men #30 - 54,882 ( -6.7%) 08/14 All-New X-Men #31 - 58,535 ( 6.7%) 09/14 All-New X-Men #32 - 54,654 ( -6.6%) 10/14 All-New X-Men #33 - 60,032 ( 9.8%) 11/14 --- 12/14 All-New X-Men #34 - 57,569 ( -4.1%) 01/15 All-New X-Men #35 - 51,823 (-10.0%) 02/15 All-New X-Men #36 - 49,464 ( -4.6%) 02/15 All-New X-Men #38 - 58,037 (+17.3%) B. Vortex 03/15 All-New X-Men #37 - 48,140 (-17.1%) 03/15 All-New X-Men #39 - 58,490 (+ 0.8%) B. vortex 04/15 All-New X-Men #40 - 57,797 (- 1.2%) --- 06/15 All-New X-Men #41 - 48,937 (-15.3%) 12/15 All New X-Men #1 - 81,342 12/15 All New X-Men #2 - 56,168 (-30.9%)
The design of those All New X-Men (can you still be All New when you have been relaunched?) is quite catchy : a modern take on the good old X-Factor costumes. This doesn’t change the fact that this relaunch is a Fail.
Relaunch Counter : W=2 F= 8 .
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15- 20- 27- DEADPOOL ($5) 11/12 Deadpool #2 - 76,445 ... 03/14 Deadpool #25 - 48,775 (+ 18.6%)(Now) ... 10/14 Deadpool #36 - 46,600 (+ 7.0%)(Axis) ... 03/15 Deadpool #44 - 39,716 (- 11.5%) 04/15 Deadpool #45 - 96.897 (+144.0%) 11/15 Deadpool #1 - 261,805 [+81,240] 11/15 Deadpool #2 - 92,008 (-64.9%) 12/15 Deadpool #3 - 72,357 (-21.4%) 12/15 Deadpool #4 - 63,149 (-22.7%) Since issue #2 : - 31.4 %
Last month debut sales were already impressive, they are now incredible, with the reorder activity of #1, even if the total is not that surprising seeing the current popularity of the character and the fact that he has a movie adaptation soon coming out. Of course, things cooled down quickly but we are still 50% up compared to the floppy sales level of the last volume.
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16- GWENPOOL SPECIAL ($6) 12/15 Gwenpool Special #1 - 80,768
The bad part: variant covers are now so important that they can dictate the launch of a new series. Gwenpool, a character who only appeared on a Chris Bachalo variant cover, will start in a new ongoing series in April 2016. Meanwhile, here is this expensive special, selling like crazy. The good part: remember when comics plots were written based on a cover? Nothing really new under the sun here, so stop being so negative and nostalgic!
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19- TOTALLY AWESOME HULK ($5) 12/15 Totally Awesome Hulk #1 - 74,471
Follows the “let’s-put-a-different-person-under-a-familiar-name” trend (Falcon under Captain America, Sif under Thor). We’ll have to wait a few months to see where this one is going.
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21- MIGHTY THOR 12/12 Thor v5 #1 - 110,443 ... 02/14 Thor #19.Now– 42.034 ( 10.1%) ... 09/14 Thor v5 #25 – 53,047 ( 38.4%) 10/14 Thor v6 #1 – 150,862 ( 184.4%) 11/14 Thor v6 #2 – 89,131 ( -40.9%) 12/14 Thor v6 #3 – 72,563 ( -18.6%) 01/15 Thor v6 #4 - 69,497 ( -4.2%) 02/15 Thor v6 #5 - 69,513 ( +0.0%) 03/15 Thor v6 #6 - 70,569 ( +1.5%) 04/15 Thor v6 #7 - 71,372 ( +1.1%) 05/15 Thor v6 #8 - 86,222 (+20.1%) ... 11/15 Mighty Thor #1 - 112,053 12/15 Mighty Thor #2 - 70,331 (-37.2%)
That was to be expected. The relaunch had no effect at all. Now, let’s just hope it has not damaged the previously quite regular sales of this title. F+1,
Relaunch Counter W=2 F=9
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23- ALL NEW ALL DIFFERENT AVENGERS ($5) 11/15 ANAD Avengers #1 - 128,570 12/15 ANAD Avengers #2 - 67,154 (-47.8%)
Clearly, after X-Men, the Avengers franchise has lost its #1 appeal.
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25- SPIDEY
12/15 Spidey #1 - 65,503
Excellent sales for this out-of-continuity all-ages title which, promoted differently, would be lost in the 6-8K area like its predecessors were.
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28- 75-ALL NEW INHUMANS ($5)
12/15 All New Inhumans #1 - 58,123
12/15 All New Inhumans #2 - 34,471 (-40.7%)
If those Inhumans are all new, the sales level they are heading for is all old territory for them.
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29- SCARLET WITCH
2/15 Scarlet Witch #1 - 57,835
Magic is the new trend at Marvel!
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30- INVINCIBLE IRON MAN 03/14 Ir. Man #23.NOW - 43,912 ( 51.3%) ... 06/14 Iron Man v6 #28 - 28,027 ( -0.9%) 11/14 Sup. Iron Man #1 - 83,994 ( 199.7%) 11/14 Sup. Iron Man #2 - 42,621 ( -49.3%) 12/14 Sup. Iron Man #3 - 38,806 ( -9.0%) 01/15 Sup. Iron Man #4 – 38,515 ( -0,7%) 02/15 Sup. Iron Man #5 – 35,094 ( -8.9%) 03/15 Sup. Iron Man #6 – 37,113 ( +5.8%) 04/15 Sup. Iron Man #7 – 34,440 ( -7.2%) 05/15 Sup. Iron Man #8 – 32,006 ( -7.3%) 06/15 Sup. Iron Man #9 – 33,989 ( +6.2%) ... 10/15 Invincible Iron Man #1 - 279,514 10/15 Invincible Iron Man #2 - 66,664 (-76.2%) 11/15 Invincible Iron Man #3 - 59,069 (-11.4%) 12/15 Invincible Iron Man #4 - 57,639 (- 2.4%) Since issue #2: -13.5%
Beginning to settle down quickly and nicely. That’s a huge improvement over the previous volume sales level!
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31- DEADPOOL AND CABLE SPLIT SECOND
12/15 Deadpool & Cable Split Second #1 - 57,198
A little weak, when you take into account the popularity of Deadpool and the amazing debut of the new volume of his series.
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32- DOCTOR STRANGE 10/15 Doctor Strange #1 – 145,456 11/15 Doctor Strange #2 - 65,091 (-55.3%) 12/15 Doctor Strange #3 - 57,135 (-12.2%) Since issue #2 : -12.2 %
The floor is probably still way down for the good old Doctor, nothing surprising here.
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34- 45-EXTRAORDINARY X-MEN 11/15 Extraordinary X-Men #1 - 133,716 11/15 Extraordinary X-Men #2 - 64,595 (-51.7%) 12/15 Extraordinary X-Men #3 - 56,100 (-13.2%) 12/15 Extraordinary X-Men #4 - 49,079 (-12.5%) Since issue #2 : -24.0 %
A very ordinary sales trajectory. Nothing to worry about yet.
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36- SPIDER-GWEN 02/15 Spider-Gwen #1 - 278,575 03/15 Spider-Gwen #2 - 107,070 (-61.6%) 04/15 spider-Gwen #3 - 102,234 (- 4.5%) 05/15 Spider-Gwen #4 - 86,586 (-15.3%) 06/15 Spider-Gwen #5 - 67,697 (-21.8%) 07/15 --- 08/15 --- 09/15 --- 10/15 Spider-Gwen #1 - 197,103 11/15 Spider-Gwen #2 - 62,209 (-68.4%) 12/15 Spider-Gwen #3 - 54,844 (-11.8%) Since issue #2 : - 11.8 % SPIDER-GWEN VOL.0: 5,157 Average +% TPB sales issues 1-5: +6.0%
Here is the proof that you can sell 130K extra copies with absolutely no effect on a title sales trajectory. It is probably right where it was heading to without this early renumbering.
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37- GUARDIANS OF GALAXY 03/13 Guardians of Galaxy #1- 211,312 … 04/15 Guardians v3 #26 - 54,124 (-12.4%) 05/15 Guardians v3 #27 - 49,308 (- 8.9%) 07/15 Guardians of Knowhere Ltd #1 - 81,902 ... 09/15 Guardians of Knowhere Ltd #4 - 39,523 (-22.4%) 10/15 Guardians of Galaxy #1 - 118,342 11/15 Guardians of Galaxy #2 - 51,690 (-56.3%) 12/15 Guardians of Galaxy #3 - 53,627 (+3.7%) Since issue #2 : + 3.7 % GUARDIANS OTG VOL.4 HC: 2,241
It’s bouncing back! But not enough to make this relaunch a success.
38- UNCANNY AVENGERS 03/14 U Avengers #18.NOW - 63,516 ( 19.4%) ... 10/14 Uncanny Avengers #25 – 53,263 ( 7.7%) 10/14 Aven & X-Men Axis #1 – 138,966 (180.9%) ... 12/14 Aven & X-Men Axis #9 – 69,518 ( 0.1%) 01/15 Uncanny Avengers v2 #1 – 74,849 02/15 Uncanny Avengers v2 #2 – 51,339 (-31.4%) --- 04/15 Uncanny Avengers v2 #3 – 50,595 (-1.4%) 05/15 Uncanny Avengers v2 #4 – 46,682 (-7.7%) 06/15 Uncanny Avengers v2 #5 – 43,417 (-7.0%) 10/15 Uncanny Avengers #1 - 105,234 11/15 Uncanny Avengers #2 - 55,008 (-47.3%) 12/15 Uncanny Avengers #3 - 53,216 (- 3.3%) Since issue #2 : - 3.3 %
Following almost the same pattern than before. Still on probation concerning its relaunch counter result.
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39-CHEWBACCA LTD 10/15 Chewbacca #1 - 122,952 10/15 Chewbacca #2 - 74,311 (-39.5%) 11/15 Chewbacca #3 - 64,672 (-13.0%) 11/15 Chewbacca #4 - 58,051 (-10.2%) 12/15 Chewbacca #5 - 53,119 (- 8.5%)
Modern pattern for a mini-series at Marvel, but with good sales of course.
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42- ALL NEW WOLVERINE 01/14 Wolverine v5 #13 - 31,164 ( -3.4%) 02/14 Wolverine v6 #1 - 88,923 (185.3%) 02/14 Wolverine v6 #2 - 47,339 (-46.8%) ... 08/14 Wolverine v6 #12 - 50,570 ( 2.8%) 09/14 Death of Wolv #1 – 261,975 09/14 Death of Wolv #2 - 129,999 (-50.4%) 10/14 Death of Wolv #3 – 141,567 ( 8.9%) 10/14 Death of Wolv #4 - 165,582 ( 17.0%) 11/15 AN Wolverine #1 - 119,786 11/15 AN Wolverine #2 - 55,634 (-53.6%) 12/15 AN Wolverine #3 - 50,990 (- 8.3%) Since issue #2 : - 8.3%
That’s a nice cushioned fall compared to way too many other titles.
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46- 98-SQUADRON SUPREME
12/15 Squadron Supreme #1 - 48,247
12/15 Squadron Supreme #2 - 27,643 (-42.7%)
It will have to stop falling right now to have a small chance for survival.
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48- MS MARVEL 02/14 Ms. Marvel #1 - 50,286 ( --- ) 03/14 Ms. Marvel #2 - 38,357 (-23.7%) ... 02/15 Ms. Marvel #12 – 29,054 ( -2.7%) 03/15 Ms. Marvel #13 – 32,425 (+11.6%) 04/15 Ms. Marvel #14 – 32,058 (- 1.1%) 05/15 Ms. Marvel #15 – 32,185 (+ 0.4%) 06/15 Ms. Marvel #16 – 32,855 (+ 2.1%) 07/15 --- 08/15 Ms. Marvel #17 – 31,567 (- 3.9%) 09/15 Ms. Marvel #18 - 33,761 (+7.0%) 11/15 Ms Marvel #1 - 79,222 12/15 Ms Marvel #2 - 46,610 (-41.2%)
That’s a nice improvement over the previous floppy sales level of this TPB juggernaut, and better than its previous volume #2 sales level ! I will not wait any longer and make it a win !
Relaunch Counter : W=3 F= 9
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49- PATSY WALKER HELLCAT 12/15 Patsy Walker Hellcat #1 - 46,198
It received very good reviews. Let’s hope it will help.
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54- UNCANNY INHUMANS 04/14 Inhuman #1 - 58,309 05/14 Inhuman #2 - 41,810 ( -28.3%) 08/14 Inhuman #3 - 37,159 ( -11.1%) 08/14 Inhuman #4 - 34,215 ( -7.9%) 09/14 Inhuman #5 - 32,719 ( -4.4%) 09/14 Inhuman #6 - 30,761 ( -6.0%) 10/14 Inhuman #7 - 29,903 ( -2.8%) 11/14 Inhuman #8 - 50,766 ( -15.0%) 12/14 Inhuman #9 - 25,962 ( -48.9%) 12/14 Inhuman #10- 25,445 ( -2.0%) 01/15 Inhuman #11- 24,410 (- 4.1%) 02/15 Inhuman #12- 24,689 (+ 1.1%) 03/15 Inhuman #13- 25,510 (+ 3.3%) 04/15 Inhuman #14- 26,194 (+ 2.7%) 04/15 Uncanny Inhumans #0 - 67.017 ... 10/15 Uncanny Inhumans #1 - 90,528 11/15 Uncanny Inhumans #2 - 41,321 (-54.4%) 12/15 Uncanny Inhumans #3 - 43,036 (+ 4.2%) Since issue #2 : +4.2 %
If it manage to stick over 30K and, let’s be a fool, 40K, then this one will be a winner.
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55- DEADPOOL TRES PUNTO UNO Ltd
12/15 Deadpool Tres Punto Uno Ltd #1 - 42,615
I propose « Deadpool quatre point un » as the name of his next mini-series. It will star Deadpool giving awards at the Angouleme Festival.
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59-KANAN THE LAST PADAWAN 04/15 Kanan TLP #1 - 113,158 05/15 Kanan TLP #2 - 64,960 (-42.6%) 06/15 Kanan TLP #3 - 56,370 (-13.2%) 07/15 Kanan TLP #4 - 52,260 (- 7.3%) 08/15 Kanan TLP #5 - 46,351 (-11.3%) 09/15 Kanan TLP #6 - 45,402 (- 2.0%) 10/15 Kanan TLP #7 - 44,127 (- 2.8%) 11/15 Kanan TLP #8 - 42,824 (- 3.0%) 12/15 Kanan TLP #9 - 40,938 (- 4.4%) Since issue #2: -37.0%
3 more issues to go. Shame for the next Star Wars title who will dare to fall under the 40K limit !
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64- RED WOLF
12/15 Red Wolf #1 - 39,288
The controversy did not really help this one, in the end.
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33- SILK 02/15 Silk #1 - 86,263 03/15 Silk #2 - 69,369 (-19.6%) 04/15 Silk #3 - 58.755 (-15.3%) 05/15 Silk #4 - 44,316 (-24.6%) 06/15 Silk #5 - 38,798 (-12.5%) 07/15 --- 08/15 Silk #6 - 34,368 (-10.7%) 09/15 Silk #7 - 36,477 (+ 6.1%) 10/15 --- 11/15 Silk #1 - 57,140 12/15 Silk #2 – 38,356 (- 32.9%)
Almost already back to where it was. Another useless relaunch.
Relaunch Counter : W=3 F=10
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66- ULTIMATES 11/15 Ultimates #1 - 61,406 12/15 Ultimates #2 - 37,055 (- 39.7%)
Seeing how low the previous volume fell, it’s hard to think this one can do worse.
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67- NEW AVENGERS 01/13 New Avengers v3 # 1 - 116,280 ... 03/14 N Avengers #16.NOW - 48,731 ( 0.0%) ... 12/14 New Avengers v3 #28 - 39,855 ( -1.4%) 01/15 New Avengers v3 #29 - 41,116 (+3.1%) (SW prelude) 02/15 New Avengers v3 #30 - 42,827 (+4.2%) (SW prelude) 03/15 New Avengers v3 #31 - 44,444 (+3.8%) (SW prelude) 03/15 New Avengers v3 #32 - 40,583 (-8.7%) (SW prelude) 04/15 New Avengers v3 #33 - 55.437 (+36.6%) (Sw prelude) END 10/15 New Avengers #1 - 71,243 10/15 New Avengers #2 - 50,455 (-29.8%) 11/15 New Avengers #3 - 41,630 (-17.5%) 12/15 New Avengers #4 - 36,669 (-11.9%) Since issue #2 : - 27.3 %
It reached where the previous volume should have been whithout its crossover issues.
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68- VISION 11/15 Vision #1 - 42,119 12/15 Vision #2 - 36,107 (-14.3%)
It managed to lose very few buyers, which is an excellent sign. Let’s hope it’s not a glitch./p>
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69- ULTIMATE END LTD 05/15 Ultimate End Ltd #1 of 5 – 75,525 06/15 Ultimate End Ltd #2 of 5– 49,157 (-34.9%) 07/15 Ultimate End Ltd #3 of 5– 42,577 (-13.4%) 08/15 Ultimate End Ltd #4 of 5- 44,948 (+5.6%) 09/15 --- 10/15 --- 11/15 --- 12/15 Ultimate End Ltd #5 of 5 - 35,926 (-20.1%)
4 months late ! Marvel is lucky so many people remembered they wanted it, or that at least, retailers think they would.
71- ALL NEW HAWKEYE 03/15 All New Hawkeye #1 - 66,608 04/15 All New Hawkeye #2 - 42,730 (-35.8%) 05/15 All New Hawkeye #3 - 38,087 (-10.9%) 06/15 --- 07/15 All New Hawkeye #4 - 31,661 (-16.9%) 08/15 --- 09/15 All New Hawkeye #5 - 31,141 (- 1.6%) 10/15 --- 11/15 All New Hawkeye #1 - 68,933 12/15 All New Hawkeye #2 - 35,363 (-48.7%) HAWKEYE TPB VOL.5: 4,109 Average +%TPB sales issues 1-5: +13.0%
Well, that was quick. It’s not a good month for Hawkeye : its relaunch did not bring in extra readers and its new TPB sales are not appearing for its second month of release in the TOP 300.
Relaunch Counter : W=3 F= 11
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73- CARNAGE 11/15 Carnage #1 - 69,773 11/15 Carnage #2 - 41,576 (-40.4%) 12/15 Carnage #3 - 34,852 (-16.2%) Since issue #2 : -16.2 %
Following the usual modern decline pattern at Marvel.
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76- 243-HOWARD THE DUCK ($5) 03/15 Howard the Duck #1 – 85,929 04/15 Howard the Duck #2 – 43,572 (-49.3%) 05/15 Howard the Duck #3 – 35,391 (-18.2%) 06/15 Howard the Duck #4 – 34,043 (- 3.8%) 07/15 --- 08/15 Howard the Duck #5 – 26,891 (-21.0%) 09/15 --- 10/15 --- 11/15 Howard The Duck #1 - 69,177 [+7,821] 12/15 Howard The Duck #2 - 33,578 (-51.5%)
On one duck leg, issue #1 reappeared thanks to nice reorder activity. One the other, we are already back to where the previous volume was. QWAK !
Relaunch Counter : W=3 F= 12
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77- SPIDER-MAN 2099 07/14 Spider-Man 2099 #1 - 90,690 ( --- ) 08/14 Spider-Man 2099 #2 - 47,512 (-47.6%) 09/14 Spider-Man 2099 #3 - 43,418 ( -8.6%) 10/14 Spider-Man 2099 #4 - 40,755 ( -6.1%) 10/14 Spider-Man 2099 #5 - 40,880 ( 0.3%) 11/14 Spider-Man 2099 #6 - 38,634 ( -5.5%) --- 01/15 Spider-Man 2099 #7 - 38,455 (-0.5%) 01/15 Spider-Man 2099 #8 - 37,484 (-2.5%) 02/15 Spider-Man 2099 #9 - 34,374 (-8.3%) 03/15 Spider-Man 2099 #10 - 33,528 (-2.5%) 04/15 Spider-Man 2099 #11 - 31,665 (-5.6%) 05/15 Spider-Man 2099 #12 - 28,916 (-8.7%) ... 10/15 Spider-Man 2099 #1 - 57,719 10/15 Spider-Man 2099 #2 - 40,701 (-29.5%) 11/15 Spider-Man 2099 #3 - 34,969 (-14.1%) 12/15 Spider-Man 2099 #4 - 32,464 (- 7.2%) Since issue #2: -20.2%
And another useless relaunch confirmed.
Relaunch Counter : W=3 F= 13
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79- VENOM SPACEKNIGHT 11/15 Venom Spaceknight #1 - 59,151 12/15 Venom Spaceknight #2 - 32,210 (-45.5%)
It’s almost a good cushioned fall from issue#1 ! This title could navigate for months in the quiet 20K to 30K area.
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80- WEB WARRIORS 11/15 Web Warriors #1 - 62,096 12/15 Web Warriors #2 - 31,614 (-49.1%)
Half of the buyers gone. That’s modernity for you.
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85- WEIRDWORLD 06/15 Weirdworld #1 - 48,688 07/15 Weirdworld #2 - 26,307 (-46.0%) 08/15 Weirdworld #3 - 23,784 (- 9.6%) 09/15 Weirdworld #4 - 22,206 (- 6.6%) 10/15 Weirdworld #5 - 18,996 (-14.5%) 11/15 --- 12/15 Weirdworld #1 - 30,288
That’s a really worrying debut. Could it fall back directly under 20K with next issue ?
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88-CAPTAIN AMERICA WHITE LTD 09/15 Captain America White Ltd#1 of 5 – 59,510 09/15 Captain America White Ltd#2 of 5 - 40,422 (-32.1%) 10/15 Captain America White Ltd#3 of 5 - 38,867 (- 3.8%) 11/15 Captain America White Ltd#4 of 5 - 32,858 (-15.5%) 12/15 Captain America White Ltd#5 of 5 - 29,600 (- 9.9%)
Perhaps not the event its long wait made us think it was, but pretty solid sales overall.
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89- CAPTAIN AMERICA SAM WILSON 02/14 Capt AmericaV7 #16.Now – 36,534 ( 9.3%) ... 09/14 Captain America v7 #24 – 33,517 ( 8.4%) 10/14 Captain America v7 #25 – 74,183 ( 121.3%) 11/14 Captain America v8 #1 –120,500 ( 62.4%) 12/14 Captain America v8 #2 – 50,077 ( -58.4%) 01/15 Captain America v8 #3 - 50,045 ( -0.1%) 02/15 Captain America v8 #4 - 41,222 (-17.6%) 03/15 Captain America v8 #5 - 38,871 (- 5.7%) 04/15 Captain America v8 #6 - 38,199 (- 1.7%) ... 10/15 Cap America S. Wilson #1 - 62,535 10/15 Cap America S. Wilson #2 - 40,224 (-35.7%) 11/15 Cap America S. Wilson #3 - 33,984 (-15.5%) 12/15 Cap America S. Wilson #4 - 29,512 (-13.2%)
I’m thinking of a Vertigo title : Crash and Burn.
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90- CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS 10/15 Contest of Champions #1 - 79,873 11/15 Contest of Champions #2 - 34,942 (-56.3%) 12/15 Contest of Champions #3 - 29,165 (-16.5%)
This one isn’t heading for success, either.
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94- STAR BRAND AND NIGHTMASK
12/15 Star Brand and Nightmask #1 - 27,969
Will it make it to issue#6 ? The bets are on !
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95- ASTONISHING ANT-MAN 01/15 Ant-Man #1 – 73,370 02/15 Ant-Man #2 – 40,192 (-45.2%) 03/15 Ant-Man #3 – 37,139 (- 7.6%) 04/15 Ant-Man #4 – 31,637 (-14.8%) 05/15 Ant-Man #5 – 83,095 (+162.7%) 06/15 Ant-Man Larger than Life #1- 28,797 07/15 Ant-Man Annual #1 – 24,223 08/15 Ant-Man Last Days - 35,594 (-57.2%) 09/15 --- 10/15 Astonishing Ant-Man #1 - 75,598 11/15 Astonishing Ant-Man #2 - 31,358 (-58.5%) 12/15 Astonishing Ant-Man #3 - 27,913 (-11.0%) Since issue#2 : - 11.0 % Average +% TPB sales #1-5 : +9.6% ANT-MAN TPB VOL.1: 3,870
Another proof that movie adaptations never never turn people into comics readers.
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97- SPIDER-WOMAN 11/14 Spider-Woman #1 - 93,723 (Spider-Verse) 12/14 Spider-Woman #2 - 44,618 ( -52.4%)(Spider-Verse) 01/15 Spider-Woman #3 - 38,484 (-13.8%) (spider-Verse) 02/15 Spider-Woman #4 - 36,058 (- 6.3%) 03/15 Spider-Woman #5 - 40,068 (+11.1%) 04/15 Spider-Woman #6 - 32,041 (-20.0%) 05/15 Spider-Woman #7 - 29,567 (- 7.3%) 06/15 Spider-Woman #8 - 26,568 (-10.1%) 07/15 Spider-Woman #9 - 24,354 (- 8.3%) 08/15 Spider-Woman #10- 23,005 (- 5.5%) 09/15 --- 10/15 --- 11/15 Spider-Woman #1 - 53,885 12/15 Spider-Woman #2 - 27,801 (-48.4%)
At least this volume will be longer than the Brian Bendis / Alex Maleev one.
Relaunch Counter : W=3 F= 14.
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101- NOVA 02/14 Nova#13.Now – 26,147 ( 4.4%) 03/14 Nova v5 #14 – 23,459 ( -10.3%) ... 05/15 Nova v5 #31 – 18,129 ( -2.7%) 11/15 Nova #1 - 45,536 12/15 Nova #2 - 27,120 (-40.4%)
Still capable of gaining Marvel a scarce win in the relaunch department.
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102- STAR WARS VADER DOWN LTD ($5) 12/15 Vader Down Ltd #1 of 6 - 411,097 [+26,828]
You know you play in another category when your reorder activity match other books #2 total sales numbers..
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104- STAR-LORD 07/14 Star Lord #1 – 78,501 08/14 Star Lord #2 – 37,109 (-52.7%) 09/14 Star Lord #3 – 32,918 (-11.3%) 10/14 Star Lord #4 – 37,123 ( 12.8%) 11/14 Star Lord #5 – 36,905 ( -0.6%) 12/14 Star Lord #6 – 32,863 (-11.0%) 01/15 Star Lord #7 – 28,174 (-14.3%) 01/15 Star Lord #8 – 25,227 (-10.5%) 02/15 Star Lord #9 – 38,655 (+53.2%) B. Vortex 03/15 Star Lord#10 – 40,836 (+ 4.5%) B. Vortex 04/15 Star Lord#11 – 41,325 (+ 1.2%) B. Vortex 05/15 Star Lord#12 – 25,580 (-38.1%) --- 07/15 Star-Lord & Kitty Pride Ltd #1 - 44,760 08/15 Star-Lord & Kitty Pride Ltd #2 - 32,578 (-27.2%) 09/15 Star-Lord & Kitty Pride Ltd #3 - 31,012 (- 4.8%) 11/15 Star-Lord #1 - 47,104 12/15 Star-Lord #2 - 26,348 (-44.1%)
A confirmed failed relaunch.
Relaunch Counter : W=3 F=15
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108- UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL 01/15 Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1 - 41,693 02/15 Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #2 – 24,621 (-40.9%) 03/15 Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #3 – 26,586 ( +8.0%) 04/15 Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #4 – 20,987 (-21.1%) 05/15 Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #5 – 20,088 (- 4.3%) 06/15 Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #6 – 19,341 (- 3.7%) 07/15 Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #7 – 19,801 (+ 2.4%) 08/15 Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #8 - 19,134 (- 3.4%) 09/15 --- 10/15 Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1 - 43,155 11/15 Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #2 - 23,064 (-46.6%) 12/15 Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #3 - 25,350 (+ 9.9%) TPB VOL.1: 6,261 [+432] Average +%TPB sales issues 1-4: +25.4% TPB VOL.2 : 2,928 Average +%TPB sales issues 5-8: +6.6%
A light in the dark !
Relaunch Counter : W=4 F= 15
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117- ILLUMINATI 11/15 Illuminati #1 - 44,163 12/15 Illuminati #2 - 23,090 (-47.7%)
Will probably be retrograded to a mini-series.
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118- DRAX 11/15 Drax #1 - 49,601 12/15 Drax #2 - 23,054 (-53.5%)
Waiting for its cancellation announcement.
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123- BLACK KNIGHT 11/15 Black Knight #1 - 39,381 12/15 Black Knight #2 - 22,081 (-43.9%)
Cancelled with issue #5. Marvel will not wait for trades sales for those new series.
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125- MOON GIRL AND DEVIL DINOSAUR 11/15 Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #1 - 38,133 12/15 Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #2 - 21,715 (-43.1%)
With sales like this, why hasn’t this book been cancelled like Black Knight has been? Because this is a kind of all-ages book for Marvel, with the potential to be a TPB hit like Ms. Marvel or, more reasonably, like Squirrel Girl.
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133- ANGELA QUEEN OF HELL 12/14 Angela #1 - 61,398 01/15 Angela #2 - 36,992 (-39.8%) 02/15 Angela #3 - 31,096 (-15.9%) 03/15 Angela #4 - 25,529 (-17.9%) 04/15 Angela #5 - 23,551 (- 7.7%) 05/15 Angela #6 - 22,272 (- 5.4%) 06/15 1602 Witch Hunter Angela Ltd #1 – 37,996 07/15 1602 Witch Hunter Angela Ltd #2 – 26,481 (-30.3%) 08/15 --- 09/15 1602 Witch Hunter Angela Ltd #3 – 23,058 (-12.9%) 10/15 1602 Witch Hunter Angela Ltd #4 - 19,545 10/15 Angela Queen of Hel #1- 39,271 11/15 Angela Queen of Hel #2- 23,264 (-40.8%) 12/15 Angela Queen of Hel #3 - 20,958 (- 9.9%)
Angela, queen of low sales ?
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136- HERCULES 11/15 Hercules #1 - 44,512 12/15 Hercules #2 – 20,719 (-53.5%)
Probably waiting for his cancellation announcement. Dan Abnett currently has a higher profile at Marvel than Frank Tieri, so this one could be given slightly more rope.
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144- HOWLING COMMANDOS OF SHIELD 10/15 Howling Commandos of SHIELD #1 - 44,532 11/15 Howling Commandos of SHIELD #2 - 20,498 (-54.0%) 12/15 Howling Commandos of SHIELD #3 - 18,002 (- 8.3%) Since issue #2 : -8.3 %
Dead without knowing it yet.
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161- MIRACLEMAN ($5) 09/15 Miracleman #1 - 27,269 09/15 Miracleman #2 - 22,143 (-18.8%) 10/15 Miracleman #3 - 19,375 (-12.5%) 11/15 Miracleman #4 - 16,825 (-13.2%) 12/15 Miracleman #5 - 15,427 (- 8.3%)
Still doing perfectly ok for what it is.
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162- 173-CAPTAIN AMERICA CIVIL WAR PRELUDE ($3) 12/15 Cap America Civil War Prelude #1 – 15,396 12/15 Cap America Civil War Prelude #2 - 13,634 (-11.4%)
A scarce 3$ Marvel product. Not sure it’s worth more…
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241- DARK TOWER DRAWING LADY OF SHADOWS LTD 03/15 Dark Tower D3HC Ltd #1 of 5 – 11,107 ... 07/15 Dark Tower D3HC Ltd #5 of 5 – 9,027 (- 2.4%) 08/15 --- 09/15 Dark Tower Lady of Shadows Ltd #1 of 5 – 9,918 10/15 Dark Tower Lady of Shadows Ltd #2 of 5 - 8,946 (- 9.8%) 11/15 Dark Tower Lady of Shadows Ltd #3 of 5 - 8,118 (- 9.3%) 12/15 Dark Tower Lady of Shadows Ltd #4 of 5 - 7,935 (- 2.3%)
This Dark Tower licence has been going on for years now in comics !
265- FIGMENT 2 LTD 09/15 Figment Ltd #1 - 20,551 10/15 Figment Ltd #2 - 13,517 (-34.2%) 11/15 Figment Ltd #3 - 11,103 (-17.9%) 12/15 Figment Ltd #4 - 6,937 (-37.5%)
A truck full of it never reached its destination ?
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291- MARVEL UNIVERSE GUARDIANS OF GALAXY 02/15 MU guardians of Galaxy #1 – 12,047 03/15 MU guardians of Galaxy #2 – 9,108 (-24.4%) 04/15 MU guardians of galaxy #3 of 4 - 8,406 (- 7.7%) 05/15 MU guardians of Galaxy #4 of 4 - 7,468 (-18.0%) 10/15 MU Guardians of Galaxy #1 - 11,751 11/15 MU Guardians of Galaxy #2 - 7,364 (-37.3%) 12/15 MU Guardians of Galaxy #3 - 6,159 (-16.4%)
This one could almost be our 16th relaunch fail !
Thanks for reading until the end! I hope to see you next time. Meanwhile, feel free to comment, express your rage or your love for French sarcasm! I’ll hug everyone, no matter what.
“That’s a nice improvement over the previous floppy sales level of this TPB juggernaut, and better than its previous volume #2 sales level ! I will not wait any longer and make it a win !”
Well, I guess you’ll change your mind with the sales of number 3 in january that seems to have fallen to the 32.000 mark. If the fall don’t stop quickly, it’ll end with really lower numbers than the previous volume.
Indeed, that was one of the biggest shock of January top300! And I indeed changed my mind and took back my W vote, you are absolutly right – I wrote it yesterday :p
Hey, another excessively negative piece. Must be another month.
Proably something I ate. It’s still struck. Wait for January, it’s even worse.
Eh, 4 win, 15 Fail, that’s probably better than what DC did or will do :p
I think the issue here is the premise that books that had < 1 years runs, ended just a few months ago,and relaunched with the same creative team, should magically do better or deemed failures if they fall back to their previous numbers.
Marvel could also be perfectly happy with that :: they just sold more comics, period, of everyone (and I mean all of them) of there books at least for a month or two.
@Brian – seems like a pretty reasonable barometer for determining failure.
@David – I don’t know why Marvel would be perfectly happy with that. They sold a a few copies of a lot of books. That’s a rather resource-intensive way to “win” the sales charts. Takes burning through a lot of talent, promoting a ton of low-selling books, pissing off retail partners, etc.
In before Dan Slott shows up to argue how Spider-man’s sales are actually a success by means of copious amounts of spin.
@Zach “Pissing off retail partners” (and fans too I should add), is probably the baddest part of it, true.
But as long as the same fans and retail partners are still buying number ones like crazy, they just have (we just have) what they (we) deserve.
Like Xavier said – most of those new books are back the way they were before the relaunch, but in the meantime they sold X times more comics with a new number one, and still some more with a new number two, and even a bit left on a new number three. And that means a lot lot lot more money and comics sold at the end, much much more than if they would have kept the numbering going on.
It’s still the same book, the same heroes, sometimes the same artists than before, but for at least for three months, it sold like pancakes.
I know you will say “in the long term”. But honestly, let’s stop fooling ourselves : in the long term there will be still Spider-Man, Avengers and Deadpool comics, whereas a number 334 or a new number 1. It’s just that the new number 1 sells way better than 334. For how long will it work ? That is the question, but for now it’s still working, and working really well.
Crossovers and variants seems more of a problem, really.
(oh, and like Xavier, I’m french too, so I hope my english is ok !)
It’s pretty obvious to me from reading these columns that most fans, in spite of what the world thinks, generally want the characters they’ve been used to for years. Sam Wilson as Cap is bombing badly. It’s actually a pretty decent read, but you’d never know it by the sales numbers. Cue the return of Steve Rogers to the role just in time for the movie in May.
If you take away what makes a character popular, it takes away readers who were drawn to what made the character popular in the first place. Superior Iron Man didn’t sell very well. I really think part of the reason was the altered outfit and Tony’s even more arrogant and overbearing than usual personality. I’d say that’s one reason that the all new, all PC Avengers crashed between the first and second issue. To most people, the Avengers are Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, etc., not Jane Foster Thor, Kid Nova and “Ms. Marvel”. Such a title might get critical acclaim, but that doesn’t always translate to sales. Same premise of movies and tv shows that don’t translate into box office and ratings. “Steve Jobs” is an example of a recent film that was almost universally acclaimed, but bombed at the box office.
Too bad really, that people don’t want to try new things. I think the Howling Commandos, Squadron Supreme and especially Red Wolf are all good reads. I don’t expect any of them to make it past issue 12 at this rate.
If Marvel and DC want to right their ships, they probably need to wise up and go back to the tried and true. It’s been worse at DC: when they did the reboot that gave us Emo Superman, Amazon rape culture Wonder Woman and the like, it looked like it would work at first, given the sales numbers. However, five years on it just doesn’t have the lasting appeal of the original versions. Perhaps Rebirth will start to fix that.
Jane Foster Thor and Ms Marvel are big hits
Thanks everyone for commenting.
Some few things:
– Brian: well, not magically because, as most issue#2 sales level show (more than #1, too much distorted), some new readers actually try those books. Not enought stick to make a difference and, worse than that, we can assume some took the opportunity of the relaunch to leave. I don’t know if any retailers can confirm that, but I suppose that retailers, when there is this kind of relaunch thing, have to be extra careful to have enought copies for theit previous faithfull readers of the book relaunched! they ceratinly don’t want those hard gained readers to be pissed off because they can’t have the next issue of their serie because tons of people bought it only to haave a n°1, a special variant ou because they are new readers, only here for a try! Those faithfull readers could drop the title if they missed one floppy, say “well, I’ll switch to the trades”, and actually never make the move.
David: oh, I’m pretty sure the people only reading sales and $ short term were very happy and proud. The purpose of the thing should be to established some long-term reader gain or push new things. It completly failed with the first and actually did quite a nice job with the second (a Red Wolf series would have sold way less without all this mega-relaunch promotion).
David Blot: Salut compagnon! You were out of disguise the moment you used “selling like pancakes”, like I used to. It’s “selling like hotcakes”. Now, why on Earth do we french people use this expression with pancakes instead of hotcakes, now, that’s a really interesting question! Someone is to blame for this.
Kentucky: actually, a lot of those new take on famous heroes are working: female Thor, Ms Marvel, New Wolverine, are sucess. And ANAD avengers is doing pretty well, way better than New avengers!
And a lot of those risky new series are actually selling ok, not enought to sustain an ongoing serie but selling probably way more than if it had beena mini-serie 3-4 years ago. But perhaps way too much new daring series sold at the same time, with very expensive cover prices and double shipping. I would have love to try many of them, but it’s just too damn expensive.
Oh, and even if I wasn’t impressed by the Azzarello /Cliff chiang New52 Wonder Woman, you can’t call take a rape culture Wonder Woman. That was the new52 Wonder Woman. Now, what they did with it with the new creative team, it’s rather new and can’t be blame on the new52 vision they had of it.
Azzarello/Chiang Wonder Woman was excellent.
Marvel did sell a lot of books. It’s unfortunate that the majority of them were for Star Wars and not from their own universe. Maybe that should be the takeaway from this for Marvel and especially DC, to get out of their own universes more. Or scoop up a major brand name…like Star Wars.
My favorite character is Captain America, and when he makes his return this spring, Nick Spencer will be the writer. I’ve tried to read Nick Spencer’s books over the years and they were either boring IMO (THUNDER Agents, Avengers World) or the characters didn’t seem familiar to me (Superior Foes of Spider-Man, Ant-Man). His Sam WIlson and Ant-Man books are ranked #89 and #95 so I don’t have a whole lot of confidence that his Captain America books are going to be enjoyable to me.
Eh, could be that i love his writing. I loved thunder agents and also liked superior foes, whithout noticing it was from the same writer. Thx Shawn, lost one, gained one, Nick ! :-P
“But perhaps way too much new daring series sold at the same time, with very expensive cover prices and double shipping.”
That and Marvel’s had its own talent exodus over the last decade…Millar, Brubaker, Ellis (the odd 6 issue stint notwithstanding), Kirkman, Fraction, Gillen (just Darth Vader, no MU), Hickman, Remender, Kot…that’s Image Greatest Hits right now.
Poor Black Knight, he barely had a chance. Maybe one day! the entire creative team was all wrong for this book. Plus when the whole first arc features the Uncanny Avengers (including stupid *ss Deadpool) you know you’re doomed. Ugh.
12/15 Weirdworld #1 – 30,288
This book is so freakin’ excellent! The art is gorgeous, the writing is hysterical and well done! I’m so surprised by this book! Someone needs to do some write-ups on this title before it’s doomed. I mean, anyone who enjoyed Journey Into Mystery’s recent return should most certainly enjoy this title as well! No main “superhero” character will probably kill it, but man, it’s one of the best new Marvel books being put out right now.
Everyone complains about relaunches and new #1’s. Everyone complains about event fatigue. Yet time and time again we see sales numbers like this for #1’s and event books, and the big two just laugh and run to the bank. It ain’t gonna end til the fanboys stop drinkin’ the kool-aid.
Tim, same with the artist exodus. Michael Lark, Steve Epting, Butch Guice, John Romita, Jr., etc. All of their kinda, sorta house style/realistic artists have gone on to Image or Valiant while Marvel tries to make us love thru Heaven or Hell the indie/manga/cartoony style that now permeates many of their titles.
@Nathan and Tim – very true. The talent exodus is huge, and made more severe by the remaining big names being put on Star Wars books.
Here are my answers to Xavier’s three questions regarding Daredevil:
1) “Will the title be as critically successful as Waid/Samnee?” No.
2) “Will the title be as consistent sales-wise as Waid/Samnee?” No.
3) “Will the TV show bring in more readers?” No. (Absolutely not.)
On a happier note — at least from Marvel’s perspective — is Ms Marvel:
Even though the latest sales figures (for #3) show Ms Marvel dropping right back down to its traditional sales level, even *those* sorts of numbers must count as a win, since the title is now being sold for $4/issue instead of $3 (with absolutely no additional content to justify the hike).
Marvel gets a few months of boosted sales…. I think they’d call that a win, especially considering they’re clobbering DC’s numbers. I also like that they’re taking chances on characters like Hercules. Looking forward to a Man Thing relaunch in the future.
I definitely miss the day when a comic would reach a decent issue number though.
Rand – As the Ms Marvel hasn’t stabilised yet with that #3, it lost 30% compared to #2, so it could easily continue to lose readers for a couple of month and end under the 20.000 mark. So it’s not sure that the new price will really help Marvel.
(another french reader here :-)
Guardians of Infinity almost has to fail. All three issues $4.99, for a niche title? Hell no. It’s not the creative team’s fault that Marvel is insisting on a backup for an extra dollar, but I’ve already walked away.
I stand by my contention that Lady Thor isn’t some rip-roaring success. Issue 2 of the relaunch has already dropped down to previous series levels.
Also, my problem with the rape-culture Amazons in the New 52 Wonder Woman is that it takes the character so far away from her original message of peace with violence only when necessary away. It goes away from the core that’s helped the character endure for around 70 years now.
I’m very happy to see that the sales for VISION remained quite balanced. True, financially, it’s not a mind-blowing success but critically, this series is the most amazing (pun much?) one that MARVEL has published in recent years. I hope you’re all giving it a shot.
As long as the stories are good, I don’t have any problem changing popular characters, even though I’m extremely attached to some (take Peter Parker for instance), I bear no ill regard to others: I love the new Ms. Marvel, Jane FosTHOR and though I don’t get the series, I’ve seen Captain America : Sam Wilson getting positive reviews. Funny how there’s another Captain America series titled ‘White’ (hehe).
Oh and I loved the WONDER WOMAN by Azzarello and Chiang! It was my first WW series and I’ll highly recommend it.
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