by Paul O’Brien
The big launch for July is the new ongoing X-MEN series, which duly makes its debut at the top of the chart. Also this month, as the X-books’ “Second Coming” crossover ends, the Daredevil-centred SHADOWLAND event begins. The Young Avengers return in AVENGERS: THE CHILDREN’S CRUSADE. And from the Icon imprint, there’s the debut issue of Brian Bendis and Alex Maleev’s SCARLET.
Needless to say, Marvel were once again the top company in the direct market, leading DC by 43% to 35% in terms of unit share, and 39% to 32% in dollars.
Thanks as always to ICV2.com for permission to use these figures.
1. X-MEN 07/10 X-Men #1 - 140,332
And here we go again.
This is the third X-MEN #1, the other two being published in 1963 and 1991, to launch the titles presently called UNCANNY X-MEN and X-MEN LEGACY. Theoretically it becomes the fourth ongoing X-Men title, the other one being ASTONISHING X-MEN – although that book seems to be drifting off into some sort of miniseries format.
Last month, the prequel issue DEATH OF DRACULA made number 114 on the charts, with underwhelming estimated orders of 16,464 – not an altogether encouraging sign. But things are back on course this month, as the first issue is easily Marvel’s biggest seller of the month. Less than the recent AVENGERS #1, more than NEW AVENGERS.
This issue has seven covers, including 1:25, 1:50 and 1:75 incentive variants. Marvel were certainly keen to make sure this one worked. But so far, so good.
Since the DEATH OF DRACULA one-shot is essential to the plot, and almost nobody seems to have bought it, I would imagine that the inevitable second printing is likely to do unusually well.
4. AVENGERS 05/10 Avengers #1 - 170,682 06/10 Avengers #2 - 98,788 (-42.1%) 07/10 Avengers #3 - 87,410 (-11.5%)
Levelling out nicely, particularly when you bear in mind that they’re also cutting back on the variant covers each month. Issue #1 picks up reorders of 6,815 – as always, they’re included above.
7. NEW AVENGERS
07/05 New Avengers #7 - 158,693
07/06 New Avengers #22 - 124,617
07/07 New Avengers #32 - 122,991
07/08 New Avengers #43 - 108,751
=====
07/09 New Avengers #55 - 84,745 ( -9.7%)
08/09 New Avengers #56 - 89,996 ( +6.2%)
09/09 New Avengers #57 - 85,598 ( -4.9%)
10/09 New Avengers #58 - 76,656 (-10.4%)
11/09 New Avengers #59 - 74,379 ( -3.0%)
12/09 New Avengers #60 - 72,790 ( -2.1%)
01/10 New Avengers #61 - 78,202 ( +7.4%)
02/10 New Avengers #62 - 76,405 ( -2.3%)
03/10 New Avengers #63 - 76,145 ( -0.3%)
04/10 New Avengers #64 - 75,430 ( -0.9%)
04/10 ---
05/10 Finale - 82,152 ( +8.9%)
06/10 New Avengers #1 - 129,084 (+67.8%)
07/10 New Avengers #2 - 83,397 (-35.4%)
6 mnth ( +6.6%)
1 year ( -1.6%)
2 year (-23.3%)
3 year (-32.2%)
4 year (-33.1%)
5 year (-47.4%)
Much as you’d expect for the second issue drop. That said, by the time sales settle down, I’d expect that NEW AVENGERS will be back in its familiar sales range – not that they’ll be complaining too much about that.
10. SECRET AVENGERS 05/10 Secret Avengers #1 - 110,681 06/10 Secret Avengers #2 - 77,933 (-30.0%) 07/10 Secret Avengers #3 - 72,293 ( -7.2%)
The third Avengers title is also levelling out nicely, and hangs on to its place in the top ten for a third month. Issue #1 picks up reorders of 3,931.
11,19,20. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
07/05 Amazing Spider-Man #522 - 73,130
07/06 Amazing Spider-Man #534 - 113,522
07/07 Amazing Spider-Man #542 - 105,715
07/08 Amazing Spider-Man #566 - 68,912
=====
07/09 Amazing Spider-Man #599 - 72,412 (+17.6%)
07/09 Amazing Spider-Man #600 - 116,857 (+61.4%)
08/09 Amazing Spider-Man #601 - 74,279 (-36.4%)
08/09 Amazing Spider-Man #602 - 71,532 ( -3.7%)
08/09 Amazing Spider-Man #603 - 71,051 ( -0.7%)
09/09 Amazing Spider-Man #604 - 63,435 (-10.7%)
09/09 Amazing Spider-Man #605 - 62,831 ( -1.0%)
09/09 Amazing Spider-Man #606 - 70,177 (+11.7%)
09/09 Amazing Spider-Man #607 - 62,570 (-10.8%)
10/09 Amazing Spider-Man #608 - 72,035 (+15.1%)
10/09 Amazing Spider-Man #609 - 61,176 (-15.1%)
11/09 Amazing Spider-Man #610 - 61,170 ( -0.0%)
11/09 Amazing Spider-Man #611 - 64,514 ( +5.5%)
11/09 Amazing Spider-Man #612 - 68,459 ( +6.1%)
11/09 Amazing Spider-Man #613 - 64,499 ( -5.8%)
12/09 Amazing Spider-Man #614 - 59,696 ( -7.4%)
12/09 Amazing Spider-Man #615 - 63,738 ( +6.8%)
12/09 Amazing Spider-Man #616 - 58,856 ( -7.7%)
01/10 Amazing Spider-Man #617 - 76,730 (+30.4%)
01/10 Amazing Spider-Man #618 - 61,969 (-19.2%)
01/10 Amazing Spider-Man #619 - 56,837 ( -8.3%)
02/10 Amazing Spider-Man #620 - 59,860 ( +5.3%)
02/10 Amazing Spider-Man #621 - 55,350 ( -7.5%)
02/10 Amazing Spider-Man #622 - 53,929 ( -2.6%)
03/10 Amazing Spider-Man #623 - 66,064 (+22.5%)
03/10 Amazing Spider-Man #624 - 60,213 ( -8.9%)
03/10 Amazing Spider-Man #625 - 54,179 (-10.0%)
03/10 Amazing Spider-Man #626 - 53,868 ( -0.6%)
03/10 Amazing Spider-Man #627 - 54,206 ( +0.6%)
04/10 Amazing Spider-Man #628 - 57,797 ( +6.6%)
04/10 Amazing Spider-Man #629 - 53,560 ( -7.3%)
05/10 Amazing Spider-Man #630 - 57,969 ( +8.2%)
05/10 Amazing Spider-Man #631 - 57,239 ( -1.3%)
05/10 Amazing Spider-Man #632 - 56,723 ( -0.9%)
06/10 Amazing Spider-Man #633 - 57,670 ( +1.7%)
06/10 Amazing Spider-Man #634 - 61,736 ( +7.1%)
06/10 Amazing Spider-Man #635 - 56,146 ( -9.1%)
07/10 Amazing Spider-Man #636 - 56,011 ( -0.2%)
07/10 Amazing Spider-Man #637 - 56,031 ( +0.0%)
07/10 Amazing Spider-Man #638 - 68,271 (+21.8%)
6 mnth (+20.1%)
1 year ( -5.7%)
2 year ( -0.9%)
3 year (-35.4%)
4 year (-39.9%)
5 year ( -6.6%)
The three July issues comprise the last two chapters of “Grim Hunt”, and the first part of “O.M.I.T.” – the story which finally explained what happened in revised continuity instead of Peter and Mary Jane getting married. All three of these issues have variants, so the sales boost most likely is because of the perception that “O.M.I.T.” is an important story, and the relative rarity of Joe Quesada contributing to a story.
13. UNCANNY X-MEN
07/05 Uncanny X-Men #462 - 91,125
07/06 Uncanny X-Men #476 - 88,775
07/07 Uncanny X-Men #488 - 86,747
07/08 Uncanny X-Men #500 - 151,955
=====
07/09 Uncanny X-Men #513 - 87,582 (+14.8%)
08/09 Uncanny X-Men #514 - 90,316 ( +3.1%)
09/09 Uncanny X-Men #515 - 73,585 (-18.5%)
10/09 Uncanny X-Men #516 - 73,916 ( +0.4%)
11/09 Uncanny X-Men #517 - 69,557 ( -5.9%)
12/09 Uncanny X-Men #518 - 68,572 ( -1.4%)
12/09 Uncanny X-Men #519 - 67,043 ( -2.2%)
01/10 Uncanny X-Men #520 - 65,758 ( -1.9%)
02/10 Uncanny X-Men #521 - 67,049 ( +2.0%)
03/10 Uncanny X-Men #522 - 67,996 ( +1.4%)
04/10 Uncanny X-Men #523 - 78,999 (+16.2%)
05/10 Uncanny X-Men #524 - 77,056 ( -2.5%)
06/10 Uncanny X-Men #525 - 76,068 ( -1.3%)
07/10 Uncanny X-Men #526 - 66,723 (-12.3%)
6 mnth ( +1.5%)
1 year (-23.8%)
2 year ( -5.6%)
3 year (-23.1%)
4 year (-24.8%)
5 year (-26.8%)
Returning to its normal range now that the “Second Coming” crossover is over (along with its accompanying variant covers). UNCANNY seems to be hovering steadily in the 65-67K range for its baseline.
14. X-MEN: SECOND COMING 03/10 Second Coming #1 of 2 - 73,003 04/10 --- 05/10 --- 06/10 --- 07/10 Second Coming #2 of 2 - 65,863 (-9.7%)
The conclusion of the “Second Coming” crossover – a few thousand short of the sales that UNCANNY was getting during the crossover, but ahead of some of the other participating titles.
17,35. X-FORCE
07/08 X-Force #5 - 72,818
=====
07/09 X-Force #17 - 61,104 ( +3.9%)
08/09 X-Force #18 - 56,421 ( -7.7%)
09/09 X-Force #19 - 49,817 (-11.7%)
10/09 X-Force #20 - 48,921 ( -1.8%)
11/09 X-Force #21 - 53,967 (+10.3%)
12/09 X-Force #22 - 51,859 ( -3.9%)
01/10 X-Force #23 - 50,848 ( -1.9%)
02/10 X-Force #24 - 49,790 ( -2.1%)
03/10 X-Force #25 - 49,910 ( +0.2%)
04/10 X-Force #26 - 67,512 (+35.3%)
05/10 X-Force #27 - 62,509 ( -7.4%)
06/10 ---
07/10 X-Force #28 - 61,680 ( -1.3%)
07/10 Sex and Violence #1 of 3 - 41,426 (-32.8%)
6 mnth (-18.5%)
1 year (-32.2%)
2 year (-43.1%)
X-FORCE #28 is the final issue of the series, and a “Second Coming” title. The book is relaunched in the autumn as UNCANNY X-FORCE, but in the meantime, to bridge the gap, we have the SEX AND VIOLENCE miniseries. It’s down significantly on the parent title’s regular sales, but that’s usually the way with these things.
21. SHADOWLAND 07/10 Shadowland #1 of 5 - 54,911
The lynchpin miniseries for Marvel’s next crossover. In fact, it’s primarily a DAREDEVIL storyline which has grown arms and legs. Most of the participating titles are actually minis created for the purpose, though MOON KNIGHT and THUNDERBOLTS will also be chipping in.
Since parent title DAREDEVIL usually sells around 37K, this is a strong start.
23. THOR
07/05 ---
07/06 ---
07/07 Thor #1 - 165,325
07/08 Thor #10 - 83,784
=====
07/09 ---
08/09 ---
09/09 Thor #603 - 65,265 ( -6.2%)
10/09 ---
11/09 Finale - 53,566 ( -17.9%)
12/09 Thor #604 - 61,608 ( +15.0%)
12/09 Thor #605 - 55,242 ( -10.3%)
01/10 Thor #606 - 55,353 ( +0.2%)
02/10 Thor #607 - 66,973 ( +21.0%)
03/10 Thor #608 - 62,012 ( -7.4%)
04/10 Thor #609 - 64,522 ( +4.0%)
05/10 Thor #610 - 61,779 ( -4.3%)
06/10 Thor #611 - 56,443 ( -8.6%)
07/10 Thor #612 - 53,373 ( -5.4%)
6 mnth ( -3.6%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( -36.2%)
3 year ( -67.7%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year ( --- )
Tailing off somewhat over the last couple of months, but then the book is in a sort of limbo awaiting the delayed start of Matt Fraction’s run.
24. X-MEN LEGACY
07/05 X-Men #173 - 77,154
07/06 X-Men #189 - 89,268
07/07 X-Men #201 - 86,278
07/08 X-Men Legacy #214 - 69,863
=====
07/09 X-Men Legacy #226 - 59,298 ( +1.6%)
08/09 X-Men Legacy #227 - 63,316 ( +6.8%)
09/09 ---
10/09 X-Men Legacy #228 - 52,855 (-16.5%)
11/09 X-Men Legacy #229 - 50,789 ( -3.9%)
12/09 X-Men Legacy #230 - 49,776 ( -2.0%)
12/09 X-Men Legacy #231 - 50,929 ( +2.3%)
01/10 X-Men Legacy #232 - 49,200 ( -3.4%)
02/10 X-Men Legacy #233 - 51,344 ( +4.4%)
03/10 X-Men Legacy #234 - 48,217 ( -6.1%)
04/10 X-Men Legacy #235 - 65,302 (+35.4%)
05/10 X-Men Legacy #236 - 69,731 ( +6.8%)
06/10 X-Men Legacy #237 - 65,578 ( -6.0%)
07/10 X-Men Legacy #238 - 53,313 (-18.7%)
6 mnth ( +8.4%)
1 year (-10.1%)
2 year (-23.7%)
3 year (-38.2%)
4 year (-40.3%)
5 year (-30.9%)
X-MEN LEGACY returns to its normal stories, after the three-issue “Second Coming” crossover. The book usually hovers around the 49-50K mark, so it seems to have held on to some of the readers from the crossover, at least this month.
25. STEVE ROGERS: SUPER-SOLDIER 07/10 Steve Rogers #1 of 4 - 52,727
Miniseries about the guy who used to be Captain America, but isn’t any more. Although this series hasn’t been pushed as a big event along the lines of REBORN, it is by regular CAPTAIN AMERICA writer Ed Brubaker. CAPTAIN AMERICA itself is on a skip month, but last month’s issue had estimated orders of 52,989 – so evidently retailers figure the vast majority of those readers will be picking up the miniseries too.
27. INVINCIBLE IRON MAN
07/05 ---
07/06 Iron Man #10 - 38,102
07/07 Iron Man #20 - 72,831
07/08 Invincible Iron Man #3 - 63,043
=====
07/09 Invincible Iron Man #15 - 50,554 ( -5.0%)
08/09 Invincible Iron Man #16 - 53,782 ( +6.4%)
09/09 Invincible Iron Man #17 - 47,182 (-12.3%)
09/09 Invincible Iron Man #18 - 48,039 ( +1.8%)
10/09 Invincible Iron Man #19 - 47,178 ( -1.8%)
11/09 Invincible Iron Man #20 - 61,667 (+30.7%)
12/09 Invincible Iron Man #21 - 49,986 (-18.9%)
01/10 Invincible Iron Man #22 - 49,130 ( -1.7%)
02/10 Invincible Iron Man #23 - 50,027 ( +1.8%)
03/10 Invincible Iron Man #24 - 49,239 ( -1.6%)
04/10 Invincible Iron Man #25 - 73,694 (+49.7%)
05/10 Invincible Iron Man #26 - 53,625 (-27.2%)
06/10 Invincible Iron Man #27 - 52,268 ( -2.5%)
07/10 Invincible Iron Man #28 - 48,690 ( -6.8%)
6 mnth ( -0.9%)
1 year ( -3.7%)
2 year (-22.8%)
3 year (-33.1%)
4 year (+27.8%)
5 year ( --- )
No variant cover this month, so the sales are down somewhat. Overall, though, the book looks to be very stable – without the benefit of variants and gimmicks, it consistently does 47-48K.
28. ULTIMATE COMICS NEW ULTIMATES
07/05 Ultimates #7 - 99,134
07/06 ---
07/07 ---
07/08 ---
07/09 ---
=====
03/10 New Ultimates #1 of 5 - 71,279
04/10 ---
05/10 New Ultimates #2 of 5 - 53,323 (-25.2%)
06/10 ---
07/10 New Ultimates #3 of 5 - 47,840 (-10.3%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( --- )
3 year ( --- )
4 year ( --- )
5 year (-51.7%)
29. ULTIMATE COMICS AVENGERS
08/09 U.C. Avengers #1 - 99,701
09/09 U.C. Avengers #2 - 68,597 (-31.2%)
10/09 U.C. Avengers #3 - 62,716 ( -8.6%)
11/09 U.C. Avengers #4 - 59,023 ( -5.9%)
12/09 ---
01/10 ---
02/10 ---
03/10 U.C. Avengers #5 - 58,098 ( -1.6%)
04/10 U.C. Avengers #6 - 53,438 ( -8.0%)
04/10 U.C. Avengers 2 #1 of 6 - 64,811 (+21.3%)
05/10 U.C. Avengers 2 #2 of 6 - 52,939 (-18.3%)
06/10 U.C. Avengers 2 #3 of 6 - 50,797 ( -4.0%)
06/10 U.C. Avengers 2 #4 of 6 - 49,606 ( -2.3%)
07/10 U.C. Avengers 2 #5 of 6 - 46,886 ( -5.5%)
6 mnth ( --- )
NEW ULTIMATES is levelling out, ULTIMATE COMICS AVENGERS still seems to be on the slide. Of course, most titles would kill for these sales. But Marvel must surely be disappointed that these two books, with the benefit of a high profile relaunch and big name creative teams, are only just making the top 30.
30. UNCANNY X-MEN: THE HEROIC AGE 07/10 One-shot - 44,658
An epilogue to “Second Coming” and a transition into the next storyline – this is basically UNCANNY #525A. It’s 20,000 astray of the parent title, though, which is more than I’d have expected.
33. DARK WOLVERINE
07/09 Dark Wolverine #76 - 74,017 ( -8.4%)
08/09 Dark Wolverine #77 - 68,593 ( -7.3%)
09/09 Dark Wolverine #78 - 60,702 (-11.5%)
10/09 Dark Wolverine #79 - 60,076 ( -1.0%)
11/09 Dark Wolverine #80 - 52,394 (-12.8%)
12/09 Dark Wolverine #81 - 48,102 ( -8.2%)
01/10 Dark Wolverine #82 - 54,838 (+14.0%)
02/10 Dark Wolverine #83 - 53,958 ( -1.6%)
03/10 Dark Wolverine #84 - 49,469 ( -8.3%)
04/10 Dark Wolverine #85 - 47,527 ( -3.9%)
05/10 Dark Wolverine #86 - 46,315 ( -2.6%)
06/10 Dark Wolverine #87 - 43,087 ( -7.0%)
07/10 Dark Wolverine #88 - 42,522 ( -1.3%)
6 mnth (-22.5%)
1 year (-42.6%)
This is the first part of a two-month crossover with FRANKEN-CASTLE. There’s no discernible effect on sales, but that’s often the case for the higher-selling book in this situation.
34. AVENGERS: THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADE 07/10 Children's Crusade #1 of 9 - 41,808
The long-awaited (in every sense of the word) continuation of Allan Heinberg’s YOUNG AVENGERS series, although for some reason the team name hasn’t been used in the title. Marvel have lost an incredible amount of momentum with this book thanks to the interruption in its publishing schedule, and the return ends up being overshadowed by a horde of other Avengers titles, but the sales aren’t too bad.
40. DAREDEVIL
07/05 Daredevil #75 - 47,800
07/06 Daredevil #87 - 49,436
07/07 ---
07/08 Daredevil #109 - 39,258
=====
07/09 ---
08/09 Daredevil #500 - 73,486 (+77.5%)
09/09 ---
10/09 Daredevil #501 - 45,181 (-38.5%)
11/09 Daredevil #502 - 40,354 (-10.7%)
12/09 Daredevil #503 - 38,680 ( -4.1%)
01/10 Daredevil #504 - 37,135 ( -4.0%)
02/10 Daredevil #505 - 38,693 ( +4.2%)
03/10 ---
04/10 Daredevil #506 - 37,467 ( -3.2%)
05/10 ---
06/10 Daredevil #507 - 34,744 ( -7.3%)
07/10 Daredevil #508 - 38,438 (+10.6%)
6 mnth ( +3.5%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( -2.1%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year (-22.2%)
5 year (-19.6%)
A “Shadowland” tie-in (obviously), and sales do indeed climb a few thousand, to roughly the level that the book tends to achieve with variant covers. Unusually, it’s quite some way behind the SHADOWLAND miniseries itself, even though it’s the parent title – but at least the promotion is bringing new readers in for the climax of this long-running storyline.
41. AVENGERS ACADEMY
07/07 Initiative #4 - 94,773
07/08 Initiative #15 - 63,634
=====
07/09 Initiative #26 - 38,215 ( -4.7%)
08/09 Initiative #27 - 39,014 ( +2.1%)
09/09 Initiative #28 - 33,855 (-13.2%)
10/09 Initiative #29 - 31,412 ( -7.2%)
11/09 Initiative #30 - 28,688 ( -8.7%)
12/09 Initiative #31 - 32,291 (+12.6%)
01/10 Initiative #32 - 36,127 (+11.9%)
02/10 Initiative #33 - 39,968 (+10.6%)
03/10 Initiative #34 - 38,616 ( -3.4%)
04/10 ---
05/10 Initiative #35 - 38,158 ( -1.2%)
06/10 Avengers Academy #1 - 45,890 (+20.3%)
07/10 Avengers Academy #2 - 38,061 (-17.1%)
6 mnth ( +5.4%)
1 year ( -0.4%)
2 year (-40.2%)
3 year (-59.8%)
Standard second-issue drop. It may look as though we’re back where we were before, but bear in mind that the last few issues of AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE were SIEGE tie-ins, and the book actually bottomed out at 29K last November.
42. ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN
07/05 Ult. Spider-Man #80 - 76,906
07/06 Ult. Spider-Man #97 - 76,612
07/07 Ult. Spider-Man #111 - 75,487
07/08 Ult. Spider-Man #124 - 55,262
=====
07/09 USM: Requiem #2 of 2 - 41,374 ( -8.0%)
08/09 U.C. Spider-Man #1 - 86,008 (+107.9%)
09/09 U.C. Spider-Man #2 - 57,477 ( -33.2%)
10/09 U.C. Spider-Man #3 - 52,813 ( -8.1%)
11/09 U.C. Spider-Man #4 - 49,106 ( -7.0%)
12/09 U.C. Spider-Man #5 - 45,849 ( -6.6%)
01/10 U.C. Spider-Man #6 - 43,622 ( -4.9%)
02/10 U.C. Spider-Man #7 - 42,176 ( -3.3%)
03/10 U.C. Spider-Man #8 - 40,967 ( -2.9%)
04/10 U.C. Spider-Man #9 - 39,955 ( -2.5%)
05/10 U.C. Spider-Man #10 - 39,690 ( -0.7%)
06/10 U.C. Spider-Man #11 - 39,149 ( -1.4%)
07/10 U.C. Spider-Man #12 - 37,879 ( -3.2%)
6 mnth ( -13.2%)
1 year ( -8.4%)
2 year ( -31.5%)
3 year ( -49.8%)
4 year ( -50.6%)
5 year ( -36.4%)
Still sliding, albeit slowly. The book is apparently returning to its original numbering with the upcoming issue #150.
43. DEADPOOL
07/09 Deadpool #12 - 58,807 ( +6.3%)
08/09 Deadpool #13 - 55,442 ( -5.7%)
08/09 Deadpool #14 - 50,263 ( -9.3%)
09/09 Deadpool #15 - 50,479 ( +0.4%)
10/09 Deadpool #16 - 46,288 ( -8.3%)
11/09 Deadpool #17 - 46,765 ( +1.0%)
12/09 Deadpool #18 - 45,914 ( -1.8%)
01/10 ---
02/10 Deadpool #19 - 44,580 ( -2.9%)
02/10 Deadpool #20 - 43,347 ( -2.8%)
03/10 Deadpool #21 - 42,062 ( -3.0%)
04/10 Deadpool #22 - 43,061 ( +2.4%)
05/10 Deadpool #23 - 42,761 ( -0.7%)
06/10 Deadpool #24 - 38,663 ( -9.6%)
07/10 Deadpool #25 - 36,828 ( -4.7%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year (-37.4%)
Definitely slipping, and by more than you’d expect for a book which is two years into its run. That said, the intermittent variant covers may have the effect of making it harder for retailers to judge the book’s baseline sales.
44. WOLVERINE: ORIGINS
07/06 Origins #4 - 110,830
07/07 ---
07/08 Origins #27 - 47,540
=====
07/09 Origins #38 - 47,211 ( +5.1%)
08/09 Origins #39 - 44,968 ( -4.8%)
09/09 Origins #40 - 42,724 ( -5.0%)
10/09 Origins #41 - 39,453 ( -7.7%)
11/09 Origins #42 - 37,903 ( -3.9%)
12/09 Origins #43 - 36,528 ( -3.6%)
01/10 Origins #44 - 35,154 ( -3.8%)
02/10 ---
03/10 Origins #45 - 37,055 ( +5.4%)
03/10 Origins #46 - 34,004 ( -8.2%)
04/10 Origins #47 - 36,075 ( +6.1%)
05/10 Origins #48 - 35,999 ( -0.2%)
06/10 Origins #49 - 34,695 ( -3.6%)
07/10 Origins #50 - 36,401 ( +4.9%)
6 mnth ( +3.5%)
1 year (-23.4%)
2 year ( --- )
3 year (-67.2%)
Cancelled – the book’s multi-year storyline has been completed.
47. FANTASTIC FOUR
07/05 Fantastic Four #529 - 52,963
07/06 ---
07/07 ---
07/08 ---
=====
07/09 Fantastic Four #568 - 45,828 ( -0.9%)
07/09 Fantastic Four #569 - 44,710 ( -2.4%)
08/09 Fantastic Four #570 - 62,401 (+39.6%)
09/09 Fantastic Four #571 - 47,468 (-23.4%)
10/09 Fantastic Four #572 - 41,939 (-11.6%)
11/09 Fantastic Four #573 - 39,433 ( -6.0%)
12/09 Fantastic Four #574 - 38,431 ( -2.5%)
01/10 Fantastic Four #575 - 41,284 ( +7.4%)
02/10 Fantastic Four #576 - 37,526 ( -9.1%)
03/10 Fantastic Four #577 - 35,791 ( -4.6%)
04/10 Fantastic Four #578 - 37,940 ( +6.0%)
05/10 Fantastic Four #579 - 38,415 ( +1.3%)
06/10 Fantastic Four #580 - 36,582 ( -4.8%)
07/10 Fantastic Four #581 - 35,505 ( -2.9%)
6 mnth (-14.0%)
1 year (-22.5%)
2 year ( --- )
3 year ( --- )
4 year ( --- )
5 year (-33.0%)
Still hovering around the 35K mark.
48. NEW MUTANTS
07/09 New Mutants #3 - 42,961 ( -0.6%)
08/09 New Mutants #4 - 38,558 (-10.2%)
09/09 New Mutants #5 - 31,502 (-18.3%)
10/09 New Mutants #6 - 34,967 (+11.0%)
11/09 New Mutants #7 - 33,328 ( -4.7%)
12/09 New Mutants #8 - 32,240 ( -3.3%)
01/10 New Mutants #9 - 30,572 ( -5.2%)
02/10 New Mutants #10 - 30,807 ( +0.8%)
03/10 New Mutants #11 - 36,629 (+18.9%)
04/10 New Mutants #12 - 49,591 (+35.4%)
05/10 New Mutants #13 - 54,169 ( +9.2%)
06/10 New Mutants #14 - 53,926 ( -0.4%)
07/10 New Mutants #15 - 35,426 (-34.3%)
6 mnth (+15.9%)
1 year (-17.5%)
Another X-book returning to its own stories after completing the “Second Coming” crossover from issues #12-14. Once again, there seems to be some lasting benefit here – instead of returning to the book’s previous baseline of 31K, we’re closer to the sales of issue #11 (which was a SIEGE crossover).
51. ASTONISHING SPIDER-MAN/WOLVERINE 05/10 #1 of 5 - 56,518 06/10 --- 07/10 #2 of 5 - 34,704 (-38.6%)
An unusually steep second issue drop, even allowing for the fact that the first issue had a variant cover. (I’m surprised, actually, because it’s a good book.)
53. X-MEN: HELLBOUND 05/10 Hellbound #1 of 3 - 33,345 06/10 Hellbound #2 of 3 - 33,691 (+1.0%) 07/10 Hellbound #3 of 3 - 33,783 (+0.3%)
This miniseries was a peripheral “Second Coming” tie-in. Very unusually, it’s actually increased its sales slightly from issue to issue – clearly a success.
54. ULTIMATE COMICS MYSTERY 07/10 Mystery #1 of 4 - 33,676
Another mini from the Ultimate imprint. There’s a variant cover. For comparison, the last Ultimate mini – ULTIMATE COMICS ENEMY – opened at 39K and ended up at 28K.
56. X-FACTOR
07/06 X-Factor #9 - 68,799
07/07 X-Factor #21 - 50,227
07/08 X-Factor #33 - 53,088
=====
07/09 X-Factor #46 - 31,213 ( +0.3%)
08/09 X-Factor #47 - 33,052 ( +5.9%)
09/09 X-Factor #48 - 30,305 ( -8.3%)
09/09 X-Factor #49 - 29,934 ( -1.2%)
10/09 X-Factor #50 - 30,138 ( +0.7%)
11/09 ---
12/09 X-Factor #200 - 36,577 (+21.4%)
01/10 X-Factor #201 - 29,732 (-18.7%)
02/10 X-Factor #202 - 30,981 ( +4.2%)
03/10 X-Factor #203 - 28,924 ( -6.6%)
04/10 X-Factor #204 - 40,534 (+40.1%)
05/10 X-Factor #205 - 41,745 ( +3.0%)
06/10 X-Factor #206 - 40,981 ( -1.8%)
07/10 X-Factor #207 - 32,082 (-21.7%)
6 mnth ( +7.9%)
1 year ( +2.8%)
2 year (-39.6%)
3 year (-36.1%)
4 year (-53.4%)
Another X-book returning to normal stories now that the “Second Coming” crossover is complete. Once again, X-FACTOR (which was only a peripheral player in the crossover) seems have held on to some of the boost.
57. SCARLET [Icon] 07/10 Scarlet #1 - 32,015
A new ongoing series from Brian Bendis and Alex Maleev, and it’s a strong start. The most recent relaunch of POWERS, in November 2009, managed 20K, so this is substantially up. It’s not up there with KICK-ASS, which managed 48K in its first month, but then that was in February 2008. For Icon, this is a very good number. There are two variant covers.
58. THANOS IMPERATIVE 05/10 Ignition - 29,716 06/10 Thanos Imperative #1 of 6 - 34,285 (+13.4%) 07/10 Thanos Imperative #2 of 6 - 31,888 ( -7.0%)
A fairly small second issue drop – always a promising sign.
59. X-MEN ORIGINS 07/09 --- 08/09 --- 09/09 --- 10/09 --- 11/09 Iceman - 19,004 (-32.2%) 12/09 -- 01/10 Cyclops - 19,049 ( +0.2%) 02/10 --- 03/10 Nightcrawler - 19,818 ( +4.0%) 04/10 --- 05/10 Emma Frost - 20,093 ( +1.4%) 06/10 --- 07/10 Deadpool - 31,522 (+56.9%)
Interesting. The sales on the individual Deadpool titles seem to be tailing off a bit, but a one-shot recounting his origin story evidently still has much more drawing power than the typical X-MEN ORIGINS one-shot.
61. THUNDERBOLTS
07/05 New Thunderbolts #10 - 25,978
07/06 Thunderbolts #104 - 54,092
07/07 ---
07/08 Thunderbolts #122 - 47,170
=====
07/09 Thunderbolts #134 - 40,885 ( +3.6%)
08/09 ---
09/09 Thunderbolts #135 - 39,961 ( -2.3%)
09/09 Thunderbolts #136 - 34,031 (-14.8%)
10/09 Thunderbolts #137 - 32,409 ( -4.8%)
11/09 Thunderbolts #138 - 31,238 ( -3.6%)
12/09 Thunderbolts #139 - 29,957 ( -4.1%)
01/10 Thunderbolts #140 - 28,644 ( -4.4%)
02/10 Thunderbolts #141 - 33,948 (+18.5%)
03/10 Thunderbolts #142 - 34,132 ( +0.5%)
04/10 Thunderbolts #143 - 35,656 ( +4.5%)
05/10 Thunderbolts #144 - 33,276 ( -6.7%)
06/10 Thunderbolts #145 - 31,999 ( -3.8%)
07/10 Thunderbolts #146 - 31,501 ( -1.6%)
6 mnth (+10.0%)
1 year (-23.0%)
2 year (-33.2%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year (-41.8%)
5 year (+21.3%)
Holding steady. THUNDERBOLTS seems have found its level at around the 30K mark.
66. WOLVERINE: WEAPON X
07/05 Wolverine #30 - 76,651
07/06 Wolverine #44 - 105,220
07/07 Wolverine #55 - 130,707
07/08 Wolverine #67 - 89,062
=====
07/09 ---
08/09 Weapon X #4 - 49,284 ( -3.5%)
09/09 Weapon X #5 - 40,975 (-16.9%)
10/09 Weapon X #6 - 38,446 ( -6.2%)
11/09 Weapon X #7 - 36,108 ( -6.1%)
12/09 Weapon X #8 - 33,470 ( -7.3%)
01/10 Weapon X #9 - 31,678 ( -5.4%)
02/10 Weapon X #10 - 30,132 ( -4.9%)
03/10 Weapon X #11 - 29,799 ( -1.1%)
04/10 Weapon X #12 - 30,050 ( +0.8%)
05/10 Weapon X #13 - 29,773 ( -0.9%)
06/10 Weapon X #14 - 30,035 ( +0.9%)
07/10 Weapon X #15 - 29,555 ( -1.6%)
6 mnth ( -6.7%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year (-66.8%)
3 year (-77.4%)
4 year (-71.9%)
5 year (-61.4%)
WEAPON X has now been hovering at around the 30K for the last six months.
67. X-WOMEN 07/10 One-shot - 29,032
An X-Men story by Chris Claremont and Milo Manara. The story itself isn’t of any particular significant. The main selling point here is Minara’s art, and it does indeed do much better than the typical random X-Men one-shot.
69. FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL 07/10 Annual #32 - 28,464
Around 7K behind the parent title, which isn’t bad for an annual.
70. DEADPOOL: MERC WITH A MOUTH
07/09 Merc With A Mouth #1 - 59,628
08/09 Merc With A Mouth #2 - 51,147 (-14.2%)
09/09 Merc With A Mouth #3 - 43,855 (-14.3%)
10/09 Merc With A Mouth #4 - 40,154 ( -8.4%)
11/09 Merc With A Mouth #5 - 37,781 ( -5.9%)
12/09 Merc With A Mouth #6 - 37,051 ( -1.9%)
01/10 Merc With A Mouth #7 - 40,568 ( +9.5%)
02/10 Merc With A Mouth #8 - 34,281 (-15.5%)
03/10 Merc With A Mouth #9 - 33,405 ( -2.6%)
04/10 Merc With A Mouth #10 - 33,803 ( +1.2%)
05/10 Merc With A Mouth #11 - 30,677 ( -9.2%)
06/10 Merc With A Mouth #12 - 30,572 ( -0.3%)
07/10 Merc With a Mouth #13 - 28,454 ( -6.9%)
6 mnth (-29.9%)
1 year (-52.3%)
Final issue. Marvel may be kicking themselves over that one, because it’s 4K ahead of DEADPOOL CORPS and 6K up on DEADPOOL TEAM-UP. Creatively, of course, you can make a case that, of the second-tier Deadpool titles, this is the one which doesn’t have a distinctive premise of its own. Nonetheless, if you’re going to cut one of the Deadpool books, this is an odd one to have chosen.
73,79. WORLD WAR HULKS: WOLVERINE VS CAPTAIN AMERICA 07/10 #1 of 2 - 26,928 07/10 #2 of 2 - 25,588 (-5.0%) 75,82. WORLD WAR HULKS: SPIDER-MAN VS THOR 07/10 #1 of 2 - 26,928 07/10 #2 of 2 - 25,295 (-6.1%)
With both Hulk titles on a skip month, we get these two minis instead. To state the blindingly obvious, they’re quite some way adrift of the regular Hulk titles (HULK is around the 50K mark, INCREDIBLE HULK at around 46K).
83. FRANKEN-CASTLE
07/07 War Journal #9 - 56,854
07/08 War Journal #21 - 26,299
=====
07/09 Punisher #7 - 31,227 ( -5.3%)
08/09 Punisher #8 - 33,057 ( +5.9%)
09/09 Punisher #9 - 28,424 (-14.1%)
10/09 Punisher #10 - 27,167 ( -4.4%)
11/09 Punisher #11 - 24,900 ( -8.3%)
12/09 Punisher #12 - 24,985 ( +0.3%)
01/10 Punisher #13 - 23,734 ( -5.0%)
02/10 Punisher #14 - 23,455 ( -1.8%)
03/10 Punisher #15 - 22,285 ( -5.0%)
04/10 Punisher #16 - 23,047 ( +3.4%)
05/10 ---
06/10 Franken-Castle #17 - 22,378 ( -2.9%)
06/10 Franken-Castle #18 - 19,605 (-12.4%)
07/10 Franken-Castle #19 - 24,947 (+27.2%)
6 mnth ( +5.1%)
1 year (-20.1%)
2 year ( -5.1%)
3 year (-56.1%)
This is a crossover with DARK WOLVERINE, and while it hasn’t made much difference for Daken’s title, it delivers a hefty sales boost to the lower-selling book.
84. WOMEN OF MARVEL ONE-SHOTS 03/10 X-23 - 27,328 03/10 She-Hulk - 15,583 03/10 Sif - 18,092 04/10 Firestar - 13,462 05/10 Dazzler - 16,320 05/10 Rescue - 15,711 06/10 Namora - 14,079 07/10 Lady Deadpool - 24,910
Once again, something Deadpool-related seems to have more drawing power than the rest of the pack. (In case you don’t know, Lady Deadpool is a character from DEADPOOL CORPS – she’s Deadpool’s female counterpart from a parallel Earth.)
87. DEADPOOL CORPS 03/10 Prelude #1 of 5 - 37,011 03/10 Prelude #2 of 5 - 32,024 (-13.5%) 03/10 Prelude #3 of 5 - 31,065 ( -3.0%) 03/10 Prelude #4 of 5 - 30,254 ( -2.6%) 03/10 Prelude #5 of 5 - 29,037 ( -4.0%) 04/10 Deadpool Corps #1 - 39,466 (+35.9%) 05/10 Deadpool Corps #2 - 28,236 (-28.5%) 06/10 Deadpool Corps #3 - 26,251 ( -7.0%) 07/10 Deadpool Corps #4 - 24,476 ( -6.8%)
Sliding a little faster than you’d like, four issues in.
90. DARK TOWER: GUNSLINGER - JOURNEY BEGINS
07/07 Gunslinger Born #6 of 7 - 128,336
07/08 Long Road Home #5 of 5 - 74,981
=====
07/09 Fall of Gilead #3 of 6 - 36,982 ( -7.5%)
08/09 Fall of Gilead #4 of 6 - 35,607 ( -3.7%)
09/09 Fall of Gilead #5 of 6 - 34,522 ( -3.0%)
10/09 ---
11/09 Fall of Gilead #6 of 6 - 32,531 ( -5.8%)
12/09 Jericho Hill #1 of 5 - 30,756 ( -5.5%)
12/09 Jericho Hill #2 of 5 - 28,350 ( -7.8%)
01/10 ---
02/10 Jericho Hill #3 of 5 - 27,215 ( -4.0%)
03/10 Jericho Hill #4 of 5
04/10 Jericho Hill #5 of 5 - 25,896 ( -4.8%)
05/10 Gunslinger #1 of 5 - 26,275 ( +1.5%)
06/10 Gunslinger #2 of 5 - 24,024 ( -8.6%)
07/10 Gunslinger #3 of 5 - 22,744 ( -5.3%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year (-38.5%)
2 year (-69.7%)
3 year (-82.3%)
DARK TOWER continues to shed readers in serial form. But in theory the material ought to be well placed to find an audience outside the direct market in collected form.
92. DEADPOOL TEAM-UP
10/09 Deadpool #900 - 51,337
11/09 Deadpool Team-Up #899 - 39,584 (-22.9%)
12/09 Deadpool Team-Up #898 - 36,308 ( -8.3%)
01/10 Deadpool Team-Up #897 - 32,671 (-10.0%)
02/10 Deadpool Team-Up #896 - 30,119 ( -7.8%)
03/10 Deadpool Team-Up #895 - 28,573 ( -5.1%)
04/10 Deadpool Team-Up #894 - 28,835 ( +0.9%)
05/10 Deadpool Team-Up #893 - 26,578 ( -7.8%)
06/10 Deadpool Team-Up #892 - 23,697 (-10.8%)
07/10 Deadpool Team-Up #891 - 22,439 ( -5.3%)
6 mnth (-38.2%)
Again, you’d have hoped to see the book levelling out by this point, but there doesn’t seem to be any sign of it.
95. MARVEL ZOMBIES 5 04/10 Marvel Zombies 5 #1 of 5 - 26,318 04/10 Marvel Zombies 5 #2 of 5 - 26,319 ( -1.8%) 05/10 Marvel Zombies 5 #3 of 5 - 22,894 (-13.0%) 06/10 Marvel Zombies 5 #4 of 5 - 20,141 (-12.0%) 07/10 Marvel Zombies 5 #5 of 5 - 21,720 ( +7.8%)
Unusually, a miniseries which goes up in sales for the final issue. As near as I can make out, it’s probably due to variant covers.
97. PUNISHERMAX [Max]
07/05 Punisher #23 - 37,376
07/06 Punisher #35 - 34,116
07/07 Punisher #49 - 34,317
07/08 Punisher #59 - 30,064
=====
07/09 Frank Castle #72 - 21,049 ( -1.3%)
08/09 Frank Castle #73 - 20,375 ( -3.2%)
09/09 Frank Castle #74 - 20,259 ( -0.6%)
10/09 Frank Castle #75 - 22,210 ( +9.6%)
11/09 PunisherMax #1 - 29,119 (+31.1%)
12/09 PunisherMax #2 - 23,110 (-20.4%)
01/10 PunisherMax #3 - 22,887 ( -1.0%)
02/10 PunisherMax #4 - 22,472 ( -1.8%)
03/10 PunisherMax #5 - 22,435 ( -0.2%)
04/10 PunisherMax #6 - 22,246 ( -0.8%)
05/10 PunisherMax #7 - 22,198 ( -0.2%)
06/10 PunisherMax #8 - 22,053 ( -0.7%)
07/10 PunisherMax #9 - 21,453 ( -2.7%)
6 mnth ( -6.3%)
1 year ( +1.9%)
2 year (-28.6%)
3 year (-37.5%)
4 year (-37.1%)
5 year (-42.6%)
Dipping slightly, but PUNISHERMAX orders remain extremely steady.
98. AGE OF HEROES 05/10 Age of Heroes #1 of 4 - 33,573 06/10 Age of Heroes #2 of 4 - 25,354 (-24.5%) 07/10 Age of Heroes #3 of 4 - 21,307 (-16.0%)
Sales on the Marvel Universe anthology are dropping off, but that’s not unexpected.
100. HAWKEYE AND MOCKINGBIRD 06/10 Hawkeye & Mockingbird #1 - 27,552 07/10 Hawkeye & Mockingbird #2 - 20,531 (-25.5%)
Issue #1 had two variant covers, so in theory the second issue drop ought to be exaggerated. It’s not a very good number, but since Marvel have already started promoting a crossover with BLACK WIDOW which hasn’t even been solicited yet, it’s evidently sticking around for a little while.
103. IRON MAN LEGACY 04/10 Iron Man Legacy #1 - 48,956 05/10 Iron Man Legacy #2 - 29,175 (-40.4%) 06/10 Iron Man Legacy #3 - 23,340 (-20.0%) 07/10 Iron Man Legacy #4 - 20,142 (-13.7%)
The first three issues had variant covers, so once again, the drop this month ought to be exaggerated.
104,132. THOR: THE MIGHTY AVENGER 07/10 Mighty Avenger #1 - 20,076 07/10 Mighty Avenger #2 - 14,315 (-28.7%)
A new series by Roger Langridge revisiting the character’s early days. Two issues ship in the first month. If you view this as being akin to something like X-MEN: FIRST CLASS or Marvel’s all-ages books (which seems a fair comparison) then the orders are pretty good.
108. THE STAND
07/09 Nightmares #4 of 5 - 34,292 ( -5.7%)
08/09 Nightmares #5 of 5 - 31,506 ( -8.1%)
10/09 Soul Survivors #1 of 5 - 27,725 (-12.0%)
11/09 Soul Survivors #2 of 5 - 25,600 ( -7.7%)
12/09 Soul Survivors #3 of 5 - 24,308 ( -5.0%)
01/10 ---
02/10 Soul Survivors #4 of 5 - 22,804 ( -6.2%)
03/10 Soul Survivors #5 of 5 - 22,294 ( -2.2%)
04/10 ---
05/10 ---
06/10 Hardcases #1 of 5 - 20,802 ( -6.7%)
07/10 Hardcases #2 of 5 - 19,194 ( -7.7%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year (-44.0%)
As with DARK TOWER, monthly sales on THE STAND continue to drop off – but it may be doing better in other formats.
109. VENGEANCE OF THE MOON KNIGHT
07/06 ---
07/07 ---
07/08 Moon Knight #20 - 28773
=====
07/09 ---
08/09 ---
09/09 Moon Knight #1 - 35,706 (+81.3%)
10/09 Moon Knight #2 - 26,493 (-25.8%)
11/09 Moon Knight #3 - 23,359 (-11.8%)
12/09 Moon Knight #4 - 21,482 ( -8.0%)
01/10 ---
02/10 Moon Knight #5 - 19,733 ( -8.1%)
03/10 Moon Knight #6 - 19,094 ( -3.2%)
04/10 Moon Knight #7 - 20,718 ( +8.5%)
05/10 Moon Knight #8 - 20,597 ( -0.6%)
06/10 Moon Knight #9 - 18,695 ( -9.2%)
07/10 Moon Knight #10 - 19,143 ( +2.4%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year ( --- )
2 year (-33.5%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year ( --- )
Final issue. After this, there’s a SHADOWLAND: MOON KNIGHT miniseries, and that seems to be it.
111. BLACK WIDOW 04/10 Black Widow #1 - 32,807 05/10 Black Widow #2 - 23,384 (-28.7%) 06/10 Black Widow #3 - 19,892 (-14.9%) 07/10 Black Widow #4 - 18,665 ( -6.2%)
Dropping a bit too steeply for comfort, but Marvel aren’t giving up on this one; the promised crossover with HAWKEYE & MOCKINGBIRD guarantees that it’s sticking around for a while yet.
112. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN PRESENTS BLACK CAT 06/10 Black Cat #1 of 4 - 24,951 07/10 Black Cat #2 of 4 - 18,154 (-27.2%)
Issue #1 had a variant cover by J Scott Campbell, so the drop will be exaggerated.
114. MARVELMAN FAMILY'S FINEST 07/10 Marvelman Family's Finest #1 of 6 - 17,739
Silver Age reprints, with two variant covers. The audience for this sort of thing is, shall we say, a bit niche, and Marvel should probably be quite happy with the numbers here.
115. SPIDER-MAN/FANTASTIC FOUR 07/10 Spider-Man/Fantastic Four #1 of 4 - 17,324
A follow-up to 2008’s X-MEN/SPIDER-MAN miniseries by the same creative team of Christos Gage and Mario Alberti. The original series launched at 31K, so this is quite some way down.
117. AVENGERS: THE ORIGIN 04/10 Origin #1 of 5 - 24,457 05/10 Origin #2 of 5 - 22,108 ( -9.6%) 06/10 Origin #3 of 5 - 18,463 (-16.5%) 07/10 Origin #4 of 5 - 17,141 ( -7.2%)
Levelling out a bit, and not doing too badly for a miniseries revisiting the Silver Age.
118. MARVELMAN CLASSIC PRIMER 07/10 One-shot - 16,943
Basically an introduction to the character. Not too far behind MARVELMAN FAMILY’S FINEST, which seems fair enough – it’s probably the same people buying both.
121. WEB OF SPIDER-MAN
10/09 Web of Spider-Man #1 - 58,412
11/09 Web of Spider-Man #2 - 32,093 (-45.1%)
12/09 Web of Spider-Man #3 - 29,368 ( -8.5%)
01/10 Web of Spider-Man #4 - 24,424 (-16.8%)
02/10 Web of Spider-Man #5 - 24,296 ( -0.5%)
03/10 Web of Spider-Man #6 - 21,574 (-11.2%)
04/10 Web of Spider-Man #7 - 19,533 ( -9.5%)
05/10 Web of Spider-Man #8 - 19,623 ( +4.6%)
06/10 Web of Spider-Man #9 - 17,581 (-10.4%)
07/10 Web of Spider-Man #10 - 16,469 ( -6.3%)
6 mnth (-32.6%)
Cancelled with issue #12.
123. YOUNG ALLIES 06/10 Young Allies #1 - 20,858 07/10 Young Allies #2 - 16,209 (-22.3%)
Not looking healthy at all. This is very close to ATLAS’ orders, and that book’s ending with issue #5.
127. PRINCE OF POWER
07/08 Hercules #119 - 52,598
=====
07/09 Hercules #131 - 29,188 ( +4.7%)
08/09 Hercules #132 - 32,680 (+12.0%)
08/09 Hercules #133 - 27,491 (-15.9%)
09/09 Hercules #134 - 25,380 ( -7.7%)
09/09 Hercules #135 - 26,344 ( +3.8%)
10/09 Hercules #136 - 26,447 ( -0.4%)
10/09 Hercules #137 - 23,463 (-11.3%)
11/09 Hercules #138 - 25,116 ( +7.0%)
12/09 Hercules #139 - 23,591 ( -6.1%)
01/10 Hercules #140 - 23,244 ( -1.5%)
02/10 Hercules #141 - 24,539 ( +5.6%)
03/10 Fall/Avenger #1 of 2 - 23,036 ( -6.1%)
04/10 Fall/Avenger #2 of 2 - 20,215 (-12.2%)
05/10 Prince of Power #1 of 4 - 20,373 ( +0.8%)
06/10 Prince of Power #2 of 4 - 17,068 (-16.2%)
07/10 Prince of Power #3 of 4 - 15,667 ( -8.2%)
6 mnth (-32.6%)
1 year (-46.3%)
2 year (-70.2%)
Still dropping. After this, the story continues in the CHAOS WAR mini.
130. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN PRESENTS AMERICAN SON 05/10 American Son #1 of 4 - 20,375 06/10 American Son #2 of 4 - 15,450 (-24.2%) 07/10 American Son #3 of 4 - 14,458 ( -6.4%)
Levelling out quite well.
131. ATLAS
07/09 Agents of Atlas #7 - 23,217 ( +2.8%)
07/09 Agents of Atlas #8 - 20,540 (-11.5%)
08/09 Agents of Atlas #9 - 20,828 ( +1.4%)
09/09 Agents of Atlas #10 - 17,877 (-14.2%)
09/09 Agents of Atlas #11 - 17,529 ( -1.9%)
10/09 X-Men vs #1 of 2 - 32,743 (+86.8%)
11/09 X-Men vs #2 of 2 - 25,222 (-23.0%)
12/09 ---
01/10 Avengers vs #1 of 4 - 21,777 (-13.7%)
02/10 Avengers vs #2 of 4 - 17,998 (-17.4%)
03/10 Avengers vs #3 of 4 - 16,482 ( -8.4%)
04/10 Avengers vs #4 of 4 - 14,900 ( -9.6%)
05/10 Atlas #1 - 22,756 (+52.7%)
06/10 Atlas #2 - 16,130 (-29.1%)
07/10 Atlas #3 - 14,365 (-10.9%)
6 mnth (-34.0%)
1 year (-38.1%)
Cancelled with issue #5.
133. HIT-MONKEY 02/10 One-shot - 12,975 03/10 --- 04/10 --- 05/10 --- 06/10 --- 07/10 Hit-Monkey #1 of 3 - 14,154 (+9.1%)
Let’s say I don’t see this being a breakout hit.
134,135. X-MEN FOREVER
07/09 X-Men Forever #3 - 28,651 ( -9.8%)
07/09 X-Men Forever #4 - 28,645 ( -0.0%)
08/09 X-Men Forever #5 - 27,825 ( -2.9%)
08/09 X-Men Forever #6 - 24,875 (-10.6%)
09/09 X-Men Forever #7 - 24,115 ( -3.1%)
09/09 X-Men Forever #8 - 23,174 ( -3.9%)
10/09 X-Men Forever #9 - 21,926 ( -5.4%)
10/09 X-Men Forever #10 - 22,287 ( +1.6%)
11/09 X-Men Forever #11 - 20,130 ( -9.7%)
11/09 X-Men Forever #12 - 19,541 ( -2.9%)
12/09 X-Men Forever #13 - 18,870 ( -3.4%)
12/09 X-Men Forever #14 - 18,376 ( -2.6%)
01/10 X-Men Forever #15 - 17,665 ( -3.9%)
01/10 X-Men Forever #16 - 17,290 ( -2.1%)
02/10 X-Men Forever #17 - 17,873 ( +3.4%)
02/10 X-Men Forever #18 - 16,464 ( -7.9%)
03/10 X-Men Forever #19 - 16,183 ( -1.7%)
03/10 X-Men Forever #20 - 15,990 ( -1.2%)
04/10 X-Men Forever #21 - 15,530 ( -2.9%)
04/10 X-Men Forever #22 - 15,305 ( -1.4%)
05/10 X-Men Forever #23 - 15,045 ( -1.7%)
05/10 X-Men Forever #24 - 14,940 ( -0.7%)
06/10 Giant-Size #1 - 15,039 ( +0.7%)
06/10 X-Men Forever 2 #1 - 16,094 ( +7.0%)
06/10 X-Men Forever 2 #2 - 14,933 ( -7.2%)
07/10 X-Men Forever 2 #3 - 14,151 ( -5.2%)
07/10 X-Men Forever 2 #4 - 13,835 ( -2.2%)
6 mnth (-20.0%)
1 year (-51.7%)
Renumbering the book for the second year doesn’t seem to have made any difference at all, beyond the first issue. The book is firmly back on its previous track.
141. CAPTAIN AMERICA/BLACK PANTHER: FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS 04/10 Flags #1 of 4 - 20,274 05/10 Flags #2 of 4 - 15,480 (-23.6%) 06/10 Flags #3 of 4 - 14,264 ( -7.9%) 07/10 Flags #4 of 4 - 12,788 (-10.3%)
Actually not bad numbers, considering that this is a miniseries set during the Golden Age.
142. HERCULES: TWILIGHT OF A GOD 06/10 #1 of 4 - 16,302 07/10 #2 of 4 - 12,788 (-21.6%)
The sequel to Bob Layton’s 1980s Hercules-in-the-future stories. About what you’d expect for a book which is way out of continuity.
144. SPIDER-GIRL 05/10 Spider-Girl #1 of 4 - 17,025 06/10 Spider-Girl #2 of 4 - 13,775 (-19.1%) 07/10 Spider-Girl #3 of 4 - 12,542 ( -9.0%)
Respectable enough numbers. The feature seems to be winding down for good this time.
150. MARVELOUS LAND OF OZ
07/09 Wizard of Oz #8 of 8 - 15,487 ( +0.1%)
08/09 ---
09/09 ---
10/09 ---
11/09 Marvelous Land #1 of 8 - 25,338 (+63.6%)
12/09 Marvelous Land #2 of 8 - 15,783 (-37.7%)
01/10 Marvelous Land #3 of 8 - 14,216 (-10.0%)
02/10 Marvelous Land #4 of 8 - 13,364 ( -6.0%)
03/10 ---
04/10 Marvelous Land #5 of 8 - 12,922 ( -3.3%)
05/10 Marvelous Land #6 of 8 - 12,366 ( -4.3%)
06/10 Marvelous Land #7 of 8 - 12,200 ( -1.3%)
07/10 Marvelous Land #8 of 8 - 12,152 ( -0.4%)
6 mnth (-14.5%)
1 year (-21.5%)
Very solid over the last few months, and way ahead of the usual sales for Marvel’s novel adaptations.
154. X-FACTOR FOREVER 03/10 X-Factor Forever #1 of 5 - 18,550 04/10 X-Factor Forever #2 of 5 - 14,608 (-21.3%) 05/10 X-Factor Forever #3 of 5 - 12,794 (-12.4%) 06/10 X-Factor Forever #4 of 5 - 11,937 ( -6.7%) 07/10 X-Factor Forever #5 of 5 - 11,318 ( -5.2%)
The concluding part of this thematic sister book to X-MEN FOREVER, with Louise Simonson revisiting her 1980s run on X-FACTOR. Quite respectable sales.
160. CASANOVA [Icon] 07/10 Casanova #1 - 10,452
Matt Fraction brings his acclaimed creator-owned book to the Icon imprint. It’s starting off with a reprint of the original stories, so sales are likely to pick up when it gets to the new material and previous readers jump aboard.
161. PETER PARKER 03/10 Peter Parker #1 - 18,963 04/10 Peter Parker #2 - 14,647 (-22.8%) 05/10 Peter Parker #3 - 12,514 (-14.6%) 06/10 Peter Parker #4 - 11,335 ( -9.4%) 07/10 Peter Parker #5 - 10,405 ( -8.2%)
Final issue of the digital reprint series.
167. X-CAMPUS 06/10 X-Campus #1 of 4 - 14,867 07/10 X-Campus #2 of 4 - 9,913 (-33.3%)
Reprint of a European series loosely inspired by the X-Men characters – very much one for the completists.
168. GORILLA MAN 07/10 Gorilla Man #1 of 3 - 9,871
An ATLAS spin-off mini. The sales on this aren’t going to be pretty by the end of the run.
171. OFFICIAL HANDBOOK 02/10 A to Z Update #1 of 5 - 5,406 03/10 Deadpool Corps - 21,900 (+305.1%) 04/10 Iron Manual Mark 3 #1 - 9,456 ( -56.8%) 05/10 Avengers Assemble #1 - 15,113 ( +59.8%) 06/10 A to Z Update #2 of 5 - 5,312 ( -64.9%) 07/10 X-Men: Phoenix Force - 9,566 ( +80.1%)
Once again, HANDBOOK sales vary wildly depending upon the topic.
183. ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER
07/07 First Death #1 of 2 - 33,982
07/08 ---
=====
07/09 Necromancer #3 of 5 - 12,143 ( -5.9%)
08/09 Necromancer #4 of 5 - 11,597 ( -4.5%)
09/09 Necromancer #5 of 5 - 11,142 ( -3.9%)
10/09 Executioner #1 of 5 - 11,205 ( +0.6%)
11/09 ---
12/09 Executioner #2 of 5 - 10,454 ( -6.7%)
01/10 Executioner #3 of 5 - 9,958 ( -4.7%)
02/10 Executioner #4 of 5 - 9,626 ( -3.3%)
03/10 Executioner #5 of 5 - 9,454 ( -1.8%)
04/10 ---
05/10 Circus o/Damned #1 of 5 - 9,484 ( +0.3%)
06/10 Circus o/Damned #2 of 5 - 9,060 ( -4.5%)
07/10 Circus o/Damned #3 of 5 - 8,557 ( -5.6%)
6 mnth (-14.1%)
1 year (-29.5%)
2 year ( --- )
3 year (-74.8%)
Another series of novel adaptations with declining sales on monthly form – but once again, the collected editions may be doing better.
185. THANOS SOURCEBOOK 07/10 Thanos Sourcebook - 8,417
Profiles of the characters from THANOS IMPERATIVE. Miles behind the parent title, and basically selling in the numbers you’d expect from a cosmic-themed issue of the HANDBOOK.
186. IRON MAN NOIR 04/10 Iron Man Noir #1 of 4 - 10,904 05/10 Iron Man Noir #2 of 4 - 9,268 (-15.0%) 06/10 Iron Man Noir #3 of 4 - 8,913 ( -3.8%) 07/10 Iron Man Noir #4 of 4 - 8,321 ( -6.6%)
This seems to be the final “Marvel Noir” miniseries, though the upcoming DEADPOOL PULP is in a somewhat similar spirit.
188. CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE 1940S NEWSPAPER STRIP 06/10 1940s Strip #1 of 3 - 10,913 07/10 1940s Strip #2 of 3 - 8,282 (-24.1%)
These are digital reprints, so the total audience is bigger.
190. GIRL COMICS 03/10 Girl Comics #1 of 3 - 13,491 04/10 --- 05/10 Girl Comics #2 of 3 - 9,263 (-31.3%) 06/10 --- 07/10 Girl Comics #3 of 3 - 8,199 (-11.5%)
Modest sales, but it was never likely to be a big seller.
197. DARKSTAR AND THE WINTER GUARD 06/10 Darkstar #1 of 3 - 10,101 07/10 Darkstar #2 of 3 - 7,743 (-23.3%) 200. RAWHIDE KID 06/10 Rawhide Kid #1 of 4 - 9,993 07/10 Rawhide Kid #2 of 4 - 7,541 (-24.5%)
Not very good numbers, but you have to wonder who the target audience is for either of these books.
222. SPIDER-MAN [Marvel Adventures]
07/05 M.A. Spider-Man #5 - 8,075
07/06 M.A. Spider-Man #17 - 6,133
07/07 M.A. Spider-Man #29 - 7,071
07/08 M.A. Spider-Man #41 - 5,859
=====
07/09 M.A. Spider-Man #53 - 5,710 ( +23.8%)
08/09 M.A. Spider-Man #54 - 5,684 ( -0.5%)
09/09 M.A. Spider-Man #55 - 5,668 ( -0.3%)
10/09 M.A. Spider-Man #56 - 4,579 ( -19.2%)
11/09 M.A. Spider-Man #57 - 4,501 ( -1.7%)
12/09 M.A. Spider-Man #58 - 4,352 ( -3.3%)
01/10 M.A. Spider-Man #59 - 4,315 ( -0.9%)
02/10 M.A. Spider-Man #60 - 4,212 ( -2.4%)
03/10 M.A. Spider-Man #61 - 4,200 ( -2.8%)
04/10 Spider-Man #1 - 9,770 (+132.6%)
05/10 Spider-Man #2 - 7,709 ( -21.1%)
06/10 Spider-Man #3 - 7,200 ( -6.6%)
07/10 Spider-Man #4 - 6,347 ( -11.8%)
6 mnth ( +47.1%)
1 year ( +11.2%)
2 year ( +8.3%)
3 year ( -10.2%)
4 year ( -3.5%)
5 year ( -21.4%)
Still getting a noticeable benefit from the relaunch.
226,234. DRACULA 06/10 Dracula #1 of 4 - 7,960 06/10 Dracula #2 of 4 - 7,139 (-10.3%) 07/10 Dracula #3 of 4 - 5,946 (-16.7%) 07/10 Dracula #4 of 4 - 5,672 ( -4.6%)
This is a reprint book, so the numbers are perfectly reasonable.
And from here on, it’s mostly novel adaptations and “all ages” books…
233. ORSON SCOTT CARD'S ENDER IN EXILE
06/10 Ender in Exile #1 of 5 - 6,568
07/10 Ender in Exile #2 of 5 - 5,673 (-13.6%)
242. SUPER HERO SQUAD
09/09 Super Hero Squad #1 of 4 - 6,760
10/09 Super Hero Squad #2 of 4 - 4,496 ( -33.5%)
11/09 Super Hero Squad #3 of 4 - 4,384 ( -2.5%)
12/09 Super Hero Squad #4 of 4 - 4,132 ( -5.7%)
01/10 Super Hero Squad #1 - 9,709 (+135.0%)
02/10 Super Hero Squad #2 - 5,691 ( -41.4%)
03/10 Super Hero Squad #3 - 5,399 ( -5.1%)
04/10 Super Hero Squad #4 - 5,822 ( +7.8%)
05/10 Super Hero Squad #5 - 5,639 ( -3.1%)
06/10 Super Hero Squad #6 - 6,029 ( +6.9%)
07/10 Super Hero Squad #7 - 5,328 ( -11.6%)
6 mnth ( -45.1%)
247. PET AVENGERS UNLEASHED
07/09 Pet Avengers #3 of 4 - 11,739 ( -4.7%)
08/09 Pet Avengers #4 of 4 - 11,340 ( -3.4%)
09/09 ---
10/09 ---
11/09 ---
12/09 ---
01/10 ---
02/10 Tails o/Pet Avengers - 8,214 (-27.6%)
03/10 Unleashed #1 of 4 - 8,554 ( +4.1%)
04/10 Unleashed #2 of 4 - 6,767 (-20.9%)
05/10 Unleashed #3 of 4 - 6,339 ( -6.3%)
06/10 Unleashed #4 of 4 - 6,166 ( -2.7%)
07/10 Dogs of Summer - 5,142 (-16.6%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year (-56.2%)
264. THOR AND THE WARRIORS FOUR
04/10 Thor/Warriors Four #1 of 4 - 6,861
05/10 Thor/Warriors Four #2 of 4 - 5,651 (-17.6%)
06/10 Thor/Warriors Four #3 of 4 - 5,190 ( -8.2%)
07/10 Thor/Warriors Four #4 of 4 - 4,725 ( -9.0%)
266. PHILP K DICK'S ELECTRIC ANT
04/10 Electric Ant #1 of 5 - 8,869
05/10 Electric Ant #2 of 5 - 6,181 (-30.3%)
06/10 Electric Ant #3 of 5 - 5,238 (-15.3%)
07/10 Electric Ant #4 of 5 - 4,622 (-11.8%)
269. SUPER HEROES [Marvel Adventures]
07/08 M.A. Super Heroes #1 - 11,968
=====
07/09 M.A. Super Heroes #13 - 4,439 (+26.5%)
08/09 M.A. Super Heroes #14 - 4,355 ( -1.9%)
09/09 M.A. Super Heroes #15 - 4,268 ( -2.0%)
10/09 M.A. Super Heroes #16 - 3,250 (-23.9%)
11/09 M.A. Super Heroes #17 - 3,308 ( +1.8%)
12/09 M.A. Super Heroes #18 - ?,??? ( ??? )
01/10 M.A. Super Heroes #19 - 3,103 ( ??? )
02/10 M.A. Super Heroes #20 - 3,008 ( -3.1%)
03/10 M.A. Super Heroes #21 - ?,??? ( ??? )
04/10 Super Heroes #1 - 8,107 ( ??? )
05/10 Super Heroes #2 - 6,360 (-21.5%)
06/10 Super Heroes #3 - 5,678 (-10.7%)
07/10 Super Heroes #4 - 4,564 (-19.6%)
6 mnth (+47.1%)
1 year ( +2.8%)
2 year (-61.9%)
272. HER-OES
04/10 Her-oes #1 - 7,464
05/10 Her-oes #2 - 5,871 (-21.3%)
06/10 Her-oes #3 - 5,021 (-14.5%)
07/10 Her-oes #4 - 4,455 (-11.3%)
294. OFFICIAL INDEX TO THE MARVEL UNIVERSE
07/09 Index #7 - 4,518 ( -4.7%)
08/09 Index #8 - 4,263 ( -5.6%)
09/09 Index #9 - 4,144 ( -2.8%)
10/09 Index #10 - 3,980 ( -4.0%)
11/09 Index #11 - 3,739 ( -6.1%)
12/09 Index #12 - 3,689 ( -1.3%)
01/10 Index #13 - 3,248 (-12.0%)
02/10 Index #14 - 3,161 ( -2.7%)
03/10 ---
04/10 ---
05/10 Avengers #1 - 4,997 (+58.1%)
06/10 Avengers #2 - ?,??? ( -?.?%)
07/10 Avengers #3 - 3,776 ( ?.?%)
6 mnth (+16.2%)
1 year (-16.4%)
And finally, three Marvel books missed the top 300 in July – SENSE & SENSIBILITY #3 and IRON MAN: EXTREMIS DIRECTOR’S CUT #5-6 – with orders below the 3,675 needed to make the chart.
6 month comparisons =================== +47.1% - Spider-Man (Marvel Adventures) +47.1% - Super Heroes (Marvel Adventures) +20.1% - Amazing Spider-Man +16.2% - Official Index to the Marvel Universe +15.9% - New Mutants +10.0% - Thunderbolts + 8.4% - X-Men Legacy + 7.9% - X-Factor + 6.6% - New Avengers + 5.4% - Avengers Academy/Initiative + 5.1% - Franken-Castle/Punisher + 3.5% - Daredevil + 3.5% - Wolverine Origins + 1.5% - Uncanny X-Men - 0.9% - Invincible Iron Man - 3.6% - Thor - 6.3% - PunisherMax - 6.7% - Wolverine: Weapon X -13.2% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man -14.0% - Fantastic Four -14.1% - Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter -14.5% - Marvelous Land of Oz -18.5% - X-Force -20.0% - X-Men Forever -22.5% - Dark Wolverine -29.9% - Deadpool: Merc With A Mouth -32.6% - Web of Spider-Man -32.6% - Prince of Power/Hercules -34.0% - Atlas -38.2% - Deadpool Team-Up -45.1% - Super Hero Squad 1 year comparisons ================== +11.2% - Spider-Man (Marvel Adventures) + 2.8% - X-Factor + 2.8% - Super Heroes (Marvel Adventures) + 1.9% - PunisherMax - 0.4% - Avengers Academy/Initiative - 1.6% - New Avengers - 3.7% - Invincible Iron Man - 5.7% - Amazing Spider-Man - 8.4% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man -10.1% - X-Men Legacy -16.4% - Official Index to the Marvel Universe -17.5% - New Mutants -20.1% - Franken-Castle/Punisher -21.5% - Marvelous Land of Oz -22.5% - Fantastic Four -23.0% - Thunderbolts -23.4% - Wolverine Origins -23.8% - Uncanny X-Men -29.5% - Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter -32.2% - X-Force -37.4% - Deadpool -38.1% - Atlas -38.5% - Dark Tower -42.6% - Dark Wolverine -44.0% - Stand -46.3% - Prince of Power/Hercules -51.7% - X-Men Forever -52.3% - Deadpool: Merc With A Mouth -56.2% - Pet Avengers 2 year comparisons ================== + 8.3% - Spider-Man (Marvel Adventures) - 0.9% - Amazing Spider-Man - 2.1% - Daredevil - 5.1% - Franken-Castle/Punisher - 5.6% - Uncanny X-Men -22.8% - Invincible Iron Man -23.3% - New Avengers -23.7% - X-Men Legacy -28.6% - PunisherMax -31.5% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man -33.2% - Thunderbolts -33.5% - Moon Knight -36.2% - Thor -39.6% - X-Factor -40.2% - Avengers Academy -43.1% - X-Force -61.9% - Super Heroes (Marvel Adventures) -66.8% - Wolverine: Weapon X -69.7% - Dark Tower -70.2% - Prince of Power/Hercules 3 year comparisons ================== -10.2% - Spider-Man (Marvel Adventures) -23.1% - Uncanny X-Men -32.2% - New Avengers -33.1% - Invincible Iron Man -35.4% - Amazing Spider-Man -36.1% - X-Factor -37.5% - PunisherMax -38.2% - X-Men Legacy -49.8% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man -56.1% - Franken-Castle/Punisher -59.8% - Avengers Academy/Initiative -67.2% - Wolverine Origins -67.7% - Thor -74.8% - Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter -77.4% - Wolverine: Weapon X -82.3% - Dark Tower 4 year comparisons ================== +27.8% - Invincible Iron Man - 3.5% - Spider-Man (Marvel Adventures) -22.2% - Daredevil -24.8% - Uncanny X-Men -33.1% - New Avengers -37.1% - PunisherMax -39.9% - Amazing Spider-Man -40.3% - X-Men Legacy -41.8% - Thunderbolts -50.6% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man -53.4% - X-Factor -71.9% - Wolverine: Weapon X 5 year comparisons ================== +21.3% - Thunderbolts - 6.6% - Amazing Spider-Man -19.6% - Daredevil -21.4% - Spider-Man (Marvel Adventures) -26.8% - Uncanny X-Men -30.9% - X-Men Legacy -33.0% - Fantastic Four -36.4% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man -42.6% - PunisherMax -47.4% - New Avengers -51.7% - New Ultimates -61.4% - Wolverine: Weapon X
Is it time for the ‘Really Ultimate’ Universe?
That woudld probably be “UltiMAX Universe” actually. ;)
I say scrap the Ultimate Universe once Millar and Bendis wrap up their respective titles. It was solid for a good 8 years or so, which is a pretty respectable run. In a few years, give another up-and-coming crew of creators a chance to tell out-of-continuity stories with the big Marvel characters. There’s always gonna be a demand for stand-alone versions of the classics characters, to have ready for movie releases, outreach to non-traditional customers, etc.
The Fantastic Four Annual was what an annual is supposed to be: a self-contained story, well told, free of crossovers. Too bad Marvel hasn’t digitized it yet.
Marvelous Land of Oz #8 had a Shanower variant cover. (Again, another title worthy of digitization.)
I encourage people to check out Black Widow it is pretty good with nice art. I am also surprised with that the Fantastic Four are not doing that great, the stories are very different and refreshing. On the other hand, I agree with the posts above, the Ultimate Universe relaunch is a disaster. When will Marvel stop with relaunches and renumberings??? IT is so confusing and doesn’t help sales at all.
Looking at all these flagging numbers, I wonder who’s buying comics these days, because they don’t seem to be sticking around.
I really wonder who Marvel comics are aimed at. For example, the Thanos Imperative is aimed at people who’ve been reading Marvel’s cosmic event books for the last few years, who presumably enjoyed Marvel’s cosmic events during the ’90s . . . but is that a sizable “audience”? Is that who they’re targeting? Why does the book have to fit a niche? Why can’t it be trying to appeal to all comic book readers, and even non-comic book readers?
I just don’t see what the point is, and who’s the intended audience for this stuff, aside from people who’ve already been buying it for years. Clearly that audience is dwindling.
I will say this about “Astonishing Spiderman and Wolverine”–the comic store chain in my area over-ordered heavily on the first issue…they were offering free copies of Secret Avengers #1 to anyone who bought AS&W #1 which had come out a few weeks before, and eventually every store in the area had a big stack of them at the register for $0.75. That’s where I picked it up and found out that it’s one of the funnest comics I’ve read in a while. #3, much to my surprise, was the book I was most excited about today.
Renumbering Ultimate (Comics) Spider-man back to the old numbering is one of the stupidest/funniest things Marvel has ever done.
Thor: Mighty Avenger is NOT in continuity at all. The comparison with the First Class comics’ tone and target audience is right in line, however.
My orders for MarvelMan Family’s Finest went like this:
#1 3 copies ordered (sold 1)
#2 1 copy ordered (sold 0)
#3 1 copy ordered (sold 0)
#4 onward 0 copies ordered.
I’m interested to see how the chart looks next month.
Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine is indeed an incredibly fun series.
I know this is the July list, and not August, but those yearly comparisons at the end are brutal.
Paul, can you provide overall comparisons for the entire output of Marvel? 5-year comparisons are difficult when there are only 12 titles.
For Astonishing Spiderman/Wolverine, keep in mind that the bimonthly schedule also allows retailers to check their orders much more closely. Which means the second issue drop will more likely resemble the drop between issues 1 and 3 on most other books.
It’s still steeper than I’d like, but it’s a bimonthly mini about two of the most overexposed characters Marvel has right now. At $4 an issue, that’s a hard sell no matter how good it is.
“RJT says:
09/16/2010 at 12:03 am
I will say this about “Astonishing Spiderman and Wolverine”–the comic store chain in my area over-ordered heavily on the first issue…they were offering free copies of Secret Avengers #1 to anyone who bought AS&W #1 which had come out a few weeks before, and eventually every store in the area had a big stack of them at the register for $0.75.”
I wish my local store did that! I like Astonishing S&W too but I can see it not catching on very easily. The first issue is a bit obtuse, almost like a non-Batman Morrison idea.
Well, here we are. After the horrors of OMD/BND, and after falls in sales forced Marvel to give up all the “strategic ideas” behind that incredibly stupid choice (it suffices to read “Grim Hunt” to see that it sports tragedy, complex reference to continuity, “spider-heritage”, and almost anything else that JoeQ wanted to eliminate from the “new” Spidey), the same JoeQ takes the pencil again, to see if he manages to disgust what is left of the Spider-fans (scarcely one half of what they were before he directed his benevolent attention to the once leading Marvel character).
I hope DC hires Joe before he writes a new Spidey arc.
@Filippo. LOL! I won’t touch any Spider-Man solo project these days, thanks to the train wreck that has been made of the character.
Am I the only one who is surprised that the beginning of O.M.I.T. did not give Amazing Spider-Man a bigger bump? To be sure it did give the book a healthy boost but it is a long, long way short of the boost the book got with the One More Day arc. I thought that for sure the book would be in the top ten, even the top five and that it would nearly double the books usual sales numbers.
Behind the main books or not, those are some really great second-issue sales on those WORLD WAR HULK minis.