by Paul O’Brien
July is Spider-Man month, with the launch of SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN and the relaunch of AVENGING SPIDER-MAN as SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN TEAM-UP. We’ve also got the launch of AVENGERS A.I. and the miniseries HUNGER, both spinning out of AGE OF ULTRON.
For once, DC had the largest dollar share of the North American direct market, leading Marvel by 32.5% to 32.3%. In units, Marvel edge it by 36% to 34%. Either way, a much closer month than usual, with DC placing some high-selling books at the very top of the chart.
Thanks as always to ICV2.com for permission to use these figures.
3. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
07/08 Guardians v2 #3 - 33,986
07/09 Guardians v2 #16 - 26,605
=====
02/13 Guardians #0.1 - 80,344
03/13 Guardians v3 #1 - 217,993 (+171.3%)
04/13 Guardians v3 #2 - 88,184 ( -59.5%)
05/13 ---
06/13 Guardians v3 #3 - 75,633 ( -14.2%)
06/13 Guardians v3 #4 - 71,575 ( -5.4%)
07/13 Guardians v3 #5 - 110,372 ( +54.2%)
4 year (+314.9%)
5 year (+224.8%)
As if you needed to be told, this is the issue with Angela, co-written by her creator Neil Gaiman. Plainly, Marvel have succeeded in selling this as a big deal. There’s a raft of variant covers on this issue as well, but it seems reasonable to assume that the Gaiman connection and the curiosity factor are the main drivers here.
8,9. SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN
07/03 Amaz. v2 #55 - 95,467
07/08 Amazing #566 - 68,912
07/09 Amazing #599 - 72,412
07/10 Amazing #636 - 56,011
07/11 Amazing #665 - 56,948
=====
07/12 Amazing #689 - 59,859 ( -0.9%)
07/12 Amazing #690 - 58,976 ( -1.5%)
08/12 Amazing #691 - 60,767 ( +3.0%)
08/12 Amazing #692 - 91,071 ( +49.9%)
09/12 Amazing #693 - 59,772 ( -34.4%)
09/12 Amazing #694 - 58,461 ( -2.2%)
10/12 Amazing #695 - 58,185 ( -0.5%)
10/12 Amazing #696 - 57,950 ( -0.4%)
11/12 Amazing #697 - 59,872 ( +3.3%)
11/12 Amazing #698 - 87,537 ( +46.2%)
12/12 Amazing #699 - 80,048 ( -8.6%)
12/12 Amazing #.1 - 71,344 ( -10.9%)
12/12 Amazing #700 - 273,305 (+283.1%)
01/13 Superior #1 - 209,944 ( -23.2%)
01/13 Superior #2 - 118,104 ( -43.7%)
02/13 Superior #3 - 101,811 ( -13.8%)
02/13 Superior #4 - 95,892 ( -5.8%)
03/13 Superior #5 - 94,224 ( -1.7%)
03/13 Superior #6 - 86,614 ( -8.1%)
03/13 S. S-M #6AU - 85,807 ( -0.9%)
04/13 Superior #7 - 87,945 ( +2.5%)
04/13 Superior #8 - 85,671 ( -2.6%)
05/13 Superior #9 - 93,656 ( +9.3%)
05/13 Superior #10 - 85,346 ( -8.9%)
06/13 Superior #11 - 84,219 ( -1.3%)
06/13 Superior #12 - 82,338 ( -2.2%)
07/13 Superior #13 - 81,678 ( -0.8%)
07/13 Superior #14 - 80,839 ( -1.0%)
6 mnth ( -31.6%)
1 year ( +35.0%)
2 year ( +42.0%)
3 year ( +44.3%)
4 year ( +11.6%)
5 year ( +17.3%)
10 year ( -15.3%)
July was promoted as “Superior Spider-Month”, but that’s mainly reflected in the relaunch of one spin-off title, the launch of another, and the beginning of a Carnage mini. The core title continues much as usual – there’s the typical steady erosion, but sales remain strong by the standards of recent years.
10. SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN TEAM-UP
07/12 Avenging Spider-Man #9 - 37,134 ( -6.8%)
08/12 Avenging Spider-Man #10 - 34,537 ( -7.0%)
08/12 Avenging Spider-Man #11 - 33,808 ( -2.1%)
09/12 Avenging Spider-Man #12 - 35,462 ( +4.9%)
10/12 Avenging Spider-Man #13 - 32,908 ( -7.2%)
11/12 Avenging Spider-Man #14 - 30,102 ( -8.5%)
12/12 Avenging Spider-Man #15 - 28,240 ( -6.2%)
12/12 Avenging Spider-Man #.1 - 41,504 ( +47.0%)
01/13 Avenging Spider-Man #16 - 29,032 ( -30.1%)
02/13 Avenging Spider-Man #17 - 30,783 ( +6.0%)
03/13 Avenging Spider-Man #18 - 31,657 ( +2.8%)
04/13 Avenging Spider-Man #19 - 28,740 ( -9.2%)
05/13 Avenging Spider-Man #20 - 27,609 ( -3.9%)
05/13 Avenging Spider-Man #21 - 27,251 ( -1.3%)
06/13 Avenging Spider-Man #22 - 26,799 ( -1.7%)
07/13 Superior Team-Up #1 - 76,959 (+187.2%)
6 mnth (+165.1%)
1 year (+107.2%)
This is really just a belated rebranding of AVENGING SPIDER-MAN to reflect the change in Spider-Man’s status, naturally backed up by three variant covers. Renumberings are always good at attracting attention, and so sales spike accordingly. Obviously there’ll be a second issue drop, but I’ll be surprised if the book doesn’t hold on to a fair chunk of these extra readers for a little while to come.
11. ALL-NEW X-MEN
11/12 All-New X-Men #1 - 181,693
11/12 All-New X-Men #2 - 100,983 (-44.4%)
12/12 All-New X-Men #3 - 90,161 (-10.7%)
12/12 All-New X-Men #4 - 90,946 ( +0.9%)
01/13 All-New X-Men #5 - 86,301 ( -5.1%)
01/13 All-New X-Men #6 - 85,403 ( -1.0%)
02/13 All-New X-Men #7 - 85,234 ( -0.2%)
03/13 All-New X-Men #8 - 90,990 ( +6.8%)
03/13 All-New X-Men #9 - 81,692 (-10.2%)
04/13 All-New X-Men #10 - 84,760 ( +3.8%)
05/13 All-New X-Men #11 - 80,582 ( -4.9%)
06/13 All-New X-Men #12 - 82,178 ( +2.0%)
06/13 All-New X-Men #13 - 77,656 ( -5.5%)
07/13 All-New X-Men #14 - 74,848 ( -3.6%)
6 mnth (-12.4%)
It’s shedding readers, but the “Battle for the Atom” crossovers, starting with issue #16, ought to help.
13,17. AVENGERS
07/10 Avengers v4 #3 - 87,410
07/11 Avengers v4 #15 - 62,580
=====
07/12 Avengers v4 #28 - 63,169 ( -8.3%)
08/12 Avengers v4 #29 - 61,653 ( -2.4%)
09/12 Avengers v4 #30 - 58,609 ( -4.9%)
10/12 Avengers v4 #31 - 62,495 ( +6.6%)
10/12 Avengers v4 #32 - 56,204 ( -10.1%)
11/12 Avengers v4 #33 - 53,336 ( -5.1%)
11/12 Avengers v4 #34 - 57,315 ( +7.5%)
12/12 Avengers v5 #1 - 192,952 (+236.7%)
12/12 Avengers v5 #2 - 99,028 ( -48.7%)
01/13 Avengers v5 #3 - 92,165 ( -6.9%)
01/13 Avengers v5 #4 - 83,088 ( -9.8%)
02/13 Avengers v5 #5 - 82,452 ( -0.8%)
02/13 Avengers v5 #6 - 84,868 ( +2.9%)
03/13 Avengers v5 #7 - 78,278 ( -7.8%)
03/13 Avengers v5 #8 - 82,691 ( +5.6%)
04/13 Avengers v5 #9 - 77,780 ( -5.9%)
04/13 Avengers v5 #10 - 78,905 ( +1.4%)
05/13 Avengers v5 #11 - 70,687 ( -10.4%)
05/13 Avengers v5 #12 - 74,978 ( +6.1%)
06/13 Avengers v5 #13 - 68,624 ( -8.5%)
06/13 Avengers v5 #14 - 74,846 ( +9.1%)
07/13 Avengers v5 #15 - 68,472 ( -8.5%)
07/13 Avengers v5 #16 - 72,842 ( +6.4%)
6 mnth ( -12.3%)
1 year ( +15.3%)
2 year ( +16.4%)
10 year ( -16.7%)
Two issues this month. There’s no variant cover on issue #15, which posts sales remarkably similar to the similarly variant-free #13. That’s a good sign, and the series should also be helped by its role as a core title in the upcoming INFINITY crossover.
14. HUNGER 07/13 Hunger #1 of 4 - 70,835
Galactus arrives in the Ultimate Universe, and the Ultimate imprint gets its highest sales in quite a while. Mind you, it was initially solicited as AGE OF ULTRON #10 U.C., which must have helped.
15,19. UNCANNY X-MEN
07/03 Uncanny X-Men #428 - 93,546
07/08 Uncanny X-Men #500 - 151,955
07/09 Uncanny X-Men #513 - 83,399
07/10 Uncanny X-Men #526 - 66,723
07/11 Uncanny X-Men #541 - 55,856
=====
07/12 Uncanny X-Men v2 #15 - 66,114 ( -2.5%)
07/12 Uncanny X-Men v2 #16 - 63,835 ( -3.4%)
08/12 Uncanny X-Men v2 #17 - 61,095 ( -4.3%)
09/12 Uncanny X-Men v2 #18 - 59,794 ( -2.1%)
10/12 Uncanny X-Men v2 #19 - 59,283 ( -0.9%)
10/12 Uncanny X-Men v2 #20 - 65,981 ( +11.3%)
11/12 ---
12/12 ---
01/13 ---
02/13 Uncanny X-Men v3 #1 - 177,463 (+169.0%)
02/13 Uncanny X-Men v3 #2 - 94,615 ( -46.7%)
03/13 Uncanny X-Men v3 #3 - 85,775 ( -9.3%)
04/13 Uncanny X-Men v3 #4 - 80,047 ( -6.7%)
04/13 Uncanny X-Men v3 #5 - 78,919 ( -1.4%)
05/13 Uncanny X-Men v3 #6 - 73,621 ( -6.7%)
06/13 Uncanny X-Men v3 #7 - 73,719 ( +0.1%)
07/13 Uncanny X-Men v3 #8 - 70,274 ( -4.7%)
07/13 Uncanny X-Men v3 #9 - 67,338 ( -4.2%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year ( +5.5%)
2 year ( +20.6%)
3 year ( +0.9%)
4 year ( -20.0%)
5 year ( -55.7%)
10 year ( -28.0%)
The June issue had a variant cover, but the two July issues don’t (unless you count the San Diego variant on issue #8, but I’m figuring that’s not going to have much impact on these numbers). Given that, this seems to be shedding readers a little faster than one might hope to see. But again, the “Battle of the Atom” crossover is around the corner.
16. UNCANNY AVENGERS
10/12 Uncanny Avengers #1 - 303,722
11/12 Uncanny Avengers #2 - 114,257 (-62.4%)
12/12 ---
01/13 Uncanny Avengers #3 - 92,165 (-19.3%)
02/13 Uncanny Avengers #4 - 87,539 ( -5.0%)
03/13 Uncanny Avengers #5 - 84,382 ( -3.6%)
04/13 Uncanny Avengers #6 - 80,863 ( -4.2%)
04/13 Uncanny Avengers #7 - 77,027 ( -4.7%)
05/13 Uncanny Avengers #8 - 75,655 ( -1.8%)
05/13 Uncanny Av. #8AU - 72,514 ( -4.2%)
06/13 Uncanny Avengers #9 - 71,842 ( -0.9%)
07/13 Uncanny Avengers #10 - 68,768 ( -4.3%)
6 mnth (-25.4%)
Continuing its slide – the relatively shallow drop on the June issue looks to be a blip.
18. AVENGERS A.I. 07/13 Avengers A.I. #1 - 68,130
Yet another ongoing Avengers series, launched on the back of AGE OF ULTRON. (For those losing track, the other Marvel Universe Avengers titles are AVENGERS, NEW AVENGERS, SECRET AVENGERS, UNCANNY AVENGERS, AVENGERS ASSEMBLE, AVENGERS ARENA and YOUNG AVENGERS. Some of these, you will not, are only rather tenuously Avengers titles at all, but that’s how Marvel has chosen to brand them.)
By Marvel Now standards, 68K is solid but far from spectacular. We’re in similar territory to YOUNG AVENGERS (71K) and AVENGERS ARENA (65K). If you’re viewing this as a junior Avengers title, that’s not bad; on the other hand, viewed as the only ongoing title coming out of AGE OF ULTRON, you might have hoped for a little better.
20. X-MEN
07/10 X-Men v3 #1 - 140,332
07/11 X-Men v3 #15 - 43,038
=====
07/12 X-Men v3 #32 - 35,091 ( -2.0%)
08/12 X-Men v3 #33 - 33,695 ( -4.0%)
08/12 X-Men v3 #34 - 33,354 ( -1.0%)
09/12 X-Men v3 #35 - 32,049 ( -3.9%)
09/12 X-Men v3 #36 - 31,996 ( -0.2%)
10/12 X-Men v3 #37 - 31,611 ( -1.2%)
11/12 X-Men v3 #38 - 30,289 ( -4.2%)
12/12 X-Men v3 #39 - 29,326 ( -3.2%)
01/13 X-Men v3 #40 - 28,515 ( -2.8%)
02/13 X-Men v3 #41 - 32,488 ( +13.9%)
03/13 ---
04/13 ---
05/13 X-Men v4 #1 - 183,297 (+464.2%)
06/13 X-Men v4 #2 - 73,542 ( -59.9%)
07/13 X-Men v4 #3 - 65,270 ( -11.2%)
6 mnth (+128.9%)
1 year ( +86.0%)
2 year ( +51.7%)
3 year ( -53.5%)
This latest version of X-MEN certainly didn’t hold on to those opening month sales for long, but then it was never going to. It’s yet to find its level, but for the moment it’s still delivering more than double the sales of the previous volume (by the same writer). The upcoming “Battle of the Atom” crossover should help it.
24. SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN 07/13 Superior Foes of Spider-Man #1 - 61,413
An ongoing title about the Sinister Six. This is a quirky comedy title (and a very good one, thus far), so nobody will be expecting it to deliver juggernaut sales. Given that, the book’s off to a reasonably decent start, admittedly with the help of multiple variant covers. It gives the book plenty of leeway in which to find its level.
25. NEW AVENGERS
07/08 New Avengers #43 - 108,751
07/09 New Avengers #55 - 84,745
07/10 New Avengers v2 #2 - 83,397
07/11 New Avengers v2 #14 - 58,306
=====
07/12 New Avengers v2 #28 - 62,739 ( -3.4%)
08/12 New Avengers v2 #29 - 59,441 ( -5.3%)
09/12 New Avengers v2 #30 - 56,742 ( -4.5%)
10/12 New Avengers v2 #31 - 53,456 ( -5.8%)
11/12 New Avengers v2 #32 - 52,784 ( -1.3%)
11/12 New Avengers v2 #33 - 50,045 ( -5.2%)
11/12 New Avengers v2 #34 - 53,862 ( +7.6%)
12/12 ---
01/13 New Avengers v3 #1 - 116,280 (+115.9%)
01/13 New Avengers v3 #2 - 79,433 ( -31.7%)
02/13 New Avengers v3 #3 - 72,110 ( -9.2%)
03/13 New Avengers v3 #4 - 65,150 ( -9.7%)
04/13 New Avengers v3 #5 - 63,423 ( -2.7%)
05/13 New Avengers v3 #6 - 59,362 ( -6.4%)
06/13 New Avengers v3 #7 - 60,138 ( +1.3%)
07/13 New Avengers v3 #8 - 58,044 ( -3.5%)
6 mnth ( -26.9%)
1 year ( -7.5%)
2 year ( -0.4%)
3 year ( -30.4%)
4 year ( -31.5%)
5 year ( -46.6%)
Issue #7 had a variant cover, so the better comparison is with issue #6. On that basis, the erosion is pretty modest. NEW AVENGERS is a core title in the upcoming INFINITY crossover, so it should see gains then.
27. THANOS RISING 04/13 Thanos Rising #1 of 5 - 114,720 05/13 Thanos Rising #2 of 5 - 67,262 (-41.4%) 06/13 Thanos Rising #3 of 5 - 58,825 (-12.5%) 07/13 Thanos Rising #4 of 5 - 57,460 ( -2.3%)
Levelling out nicely.
29. DEADPOOL KILLS DEADPOOL 08/12 Kills The MU #1 of 4 - 31,359 08/12 Kills The MU #2 of 4 - 28,908 ( -7.8%) 08/12 Kills the MU #3 of 4 - 28,450 ( -1.6%) 08/12 Kills the MU #4 of 4 - 28,458 ( +0.0%) ===== 01/13 Killustrated #1 of 4 - 41,980 02/13 Killustrated #2 of 4 - 35,846 (-14.6%) 03/13 Killustrated #3 of 4 - 35,275 ( -1.6%) 04/13 Killustrated #4 of 4 - 34,703 ( -1.6%) ===== 07/13 Deadpool Kills #1 of 4 - 53,066 (+52.9%)
The third part of the “Deadpool Killology” trilogy of miniseries, which has actually gained sales with each arc. This issue even comes in 6K ahead of the core title.
34. SUPERIOR CARNAGE 07/13 Superior Carnage #1 of 5 - 48,053
The last “Superior Spider-Month” title. The branding looks to have worked here – this is a much higher number than Marvel would have achieved by simply sticking a random Carnage miniseries out there.
36. DEADPOOL
07/09 Deadpool v3 #12 - 58,807
07/10 Deadpool v3 #25 - 36,828
07/11 Deadpool v3 #40 - 27,303
=====
07/12 Deadpool v3 #57 - 29,155 ( -1.2%)
07/12 Deadpool v3 #58 - 28,706 ( -1.5%)
08/12 Deadpool v3 #59 - 28,507 ( -0.7%)
09/12 Deadpool v3 #60 - 28,548 ( +0.1%)
09/12 Deadpool v3 #61 - 28,351 ( -0.7%)
10/12 Deadpool v3 #62 - 28,897 ( +1.9%)
10/12 Deadpool v3 #63 - 29,049 ( +0.5%)
11/12 Deadpool v4 #1 - 127,977 (+340.6%)
11/12 Deadpool v4 #2 - 76,445 ( -40.3%)
12/12 Deadpool v4 #3 - 64,591 ( -15.5%)
01/13 Deadpool v4 #4 - 57,061 ( -11.7%)
02/13 Deadpool v4 #5 - 57,312 ( +0.4%)
03/13 Deadpool v4 #6 - 57,095 ( -0.4%)
04/13 Deadpool v4 #7 - 57,016 ( -0.1%)
04/13 Deadpool v4 #8 - 52,851 ( -7.3%)
05/13 Deadpool v4 #9 - 51,296 ( -2.9%)
05/13 Deadpool v4 #10 - 50,461 ( -1.6%)
06/13 Deadpool v4 #11 - 54,110 ( +7.2%)
06/13 Deadpool v4 #12 - 48,315 ( -10.7%)
07/13 Deadpool v4 #13 - 47,006 ( -2.7%)
6 mnth ( -17.6%)
1 year ( +61.2%)
2 year ( +72.2%)
3 year ( +27.6%)
4 year ( -19.6%)
Sliding a bit, but nothing to be concerned about here. It’s supporting a spin-off mini that sells in comparable numbers, after all.
37. THOR: GOD OF THUNDER
07/03 Thor v2 #66 - 33,777
07/08 Thor v3 #10 - 83,784
07/09 ---
07/10 Thor #612 - 53,373
07/11 Thor v4 #4 - 44,586
=====
07/12 Thor v4 #17 - 30,879 ( -2.9%)
08/12 Thor v4 #18 - 35,392 ( +14.6%)
09/12 Thor v4 #19 - 30,289 ( -14.4%)
09/12 Thor v4 #20 - 30,172 ( -0.4%)
10/12 Thor v4 #21 - 34,550 ( +14.5%)
10/12 Thor v4 #22 - 35,328 ( +2.3%)
11/12 Thor v5 #1 - 110,443 (+212.6%)
11/12 Thor v5 #2 - 65,533 ( -40.7%)
12/12 Thor v5 #3 - 55,547 ( -15.2%)
01/13 Thor v5 #4 - 50,478 ( -9.1%)
02/13 Thor v5 #5 - 51,861 ( +2.7%)
03/13 Thor v5 #6 - 50,481 ( -2.7%)
04/13 Thor v5 #7 - 51,526 ( +2.1%)
05/13 Thor v5 #8 - 48,622 ( -5.6%)
06/13 Thor v5 #9 - 49,125 ( +1.0%)
07/13 Thor v5 #10 - 46,204 ( -5.9%)
6 mnth ( -8.5%)
1 year ( +49.6%)
2 year ( +3.6%)
3 year ( -13.4%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year ( -44.9%)
10 year ( +36.8%)
The June issue had a variant cover, so the month to month decline is slightly exaggerated here.
39,40. INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK
07/03 Incredible v3 #57 - 64,959
07/08 ---
07/09 Incredible Hulk #600 - 92,343
07/10 ---
07/11 Incredible Hulks #632 - 28,518
=====
07/12 Incredible v4 #11 - 36,743 ( -3.6%)
08/12 Incredible v4 #12 - 36,860 ( +0.3%)
09/12 Incredible v4 #13 - 33,858 ( -8.1%)
09/12 Incredible v4 #14 - 33,887 ( +0.1%)
10/12 Incredible v4 #15 - 36,091 ( +6.5%)
11/12 Indestructible #1 - 118,200 (+227.5%)
12/12 Indestructible #2 - 63,653 ( -46.1%)
01/13 Indestructible #3 - 59,431 ( -6.6%)
02/13 Indestructible #4 - 56,214 ( -5.4%)
03/13 Indestructible #5 - 54,967 ( -2.2%)
04/13 Indestructible #6 - 55,470 ( +0.9%)
05/13 Indestructible #7 - 49,956 ( -9.9%)
05/13 Indestructible #8 - 48,866 ( -2.2%)
06/13 Indestructible #9 - 49,427 ( +1.1%)
07/13 Indestructible #10 - 45,531 ( -7.9%)
07/13 Indestructible #11 - 45,241 ( -0.6%)
6 mnth ( -23.9%)
1 year ( +23.1%)
2 year ( +58.6%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year ( -51.0%)
5 year ( --- )
10 year ( -30.4%)
Two issues this month. There’s a variant cover on issue #11, which appears to have just cancelled out the normal issue-to-issue drop. For those keeping track, the other issues to date that didn’t have nay variant covers were #7-8.
44. WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN
07/12 Wolverine/X-Men #13 - 62,689 ( -3.3%)
07/12 Wolverine/X-Men #14 - 61,029 ( -2.6%)
08/12 Wolverine/X-Men #15 - 58,441 ( -4.2%)
09/12 Wolverine/X-Men #16 - 55,857 ( -4.4%)
09/12 Wolverine/X-Men #17 - 54,768 ( -1.9%)
10/12 Wolverine/X-Men #18 - 52,331 ( -4.4%)
10/12 Wolverine/X-Men #19 - 50,008 ( -4.4%)
11/12 Wolverine/X-Men #20 - 48,432 ( -3.2%)
11/12 Wolverine/X-Men #21 - 48,244 ( -0.4%)
12/12 Wolverine/X-Men #22 - 45,658 ( -5.4%)
01/13 Wolverine/X-Men #23 - 43,963 ( -3.7%)
01/13 Wolverine/X-Men #24 - 44,716 ( +1.7%)
02/13 Wolverine/X-Men #25 - 45,057 ( +0.8%)
03/13 Wolverine/X-Men #26 - 42,019 ( -6.7%)
03/13 Wolverine/X-Men #27 - 41,960 ( -0.1%)
04/13 Wolv & X-Men #27AU - 47,055 (+12.1%)
04/13 Wolverine/X-Men #28 - 42,718 ( -9.2%)
05/13 Wolverine/X-Men #29 - 40,451 ( -5.3%)
05/13 Wolverine/X-Men #30 - 40,019 ( -1.1%)
06/13 Wolverine/X-Men #31 - 41,661 ( +4.1%)
06/13 Wolverine/X-Men #32 - 39,790 ( -4.5%)
07/13 Wolverine/X-Men #33 - 42,269 ( +6.2%)
6 mnth ( -3.9%)
1 year (-32.6%)
There’s a variant cover on this issue, though it seems to have been an unusually effective one, scoring higher orders than the similarly endowed issue #31. Still, this is the middle chapter of a storyline, so it’s hard to see any other reason for the bounce.
49. SAVAGE WOLVERINE
01/13 Savage Wolverine #1 - 102,530
02/13 Savage Wolverine #2 - 58,254 (-43.2%)
03/13 Savage Wolverine #3 - 50,310 (-13.6%)
04/13 Savage Wolverine #4 - 45,933 ( -8.7%)
05/13 Savage Wolverine #5 - 42,328 ( -7.8%)
06/13 Savage Wolverine #6 - 59,410 (+40.4%)
07/13 Savage Wolverine #7 - 40,946 (-31.1%)
6 mnth (-60.1%)
Straight back to the book’s typical range after the multiple variants on the previous issue. Interestingly, this book – which is the one with rotating creative teams doing self-contained story arcs – is coming in above WOLVERINE, which is the one with the ongoing stories.
50. HAWKEYE
08/12 Hawkeye v4 #1 - 48,346
09/12 Hawkeye v4 #2 - 33,563 (-30.6%)
10/12 Hawkeye v4 #3 - 35,403 ( +5.5%)
11/12 Hawkeye v4 #4 - 34,208 ( -3.4%)
12/12 Hawkeye v4 #5 - 34,385 ( +0.5%)
12/12 Hawkeye v4 #6 - 33,440 ( -2.7%)
01/13 Hawkeye v4 #7 - 37,000 (+10.6%)
02/13 Hawkeye v4 #8 - 36,898 ( -0.3%)
03/13 ---
04/13 Hawkeye v4 #9 - 39,678 ( +7.5%)
05/13 Hawkeye v4 #10 - 42,090 ( +6.1%)
06/13 Hawkeye v4 #11 - 40,510 ( -3.8%)
07/13 Hawkeye v4 #12 - 40,837 ( +0.8%)
6 mnth (+10.4%)
Only a marginal climb this month, but hey, it’s climbing. Almost nobody do that. HAWKEYE bucks the trend by sheer force of acclaim.
51. CAPTAIN AMERICA
07/03 Captain America v3 #15 - 45,520
07/08 Captain America v6 #40 - 79,317
07/09 Reborn #1 - 193,142
07/10 ---
07/11 Captain America #v7 #1 - 96,926
=====
07/12 Captain America v7 #14 - 36,812 ( -6.7%)
07/12 Captain America v7 #15 - 36,433 ( -1.0%)
08/12 Captain America v7 #16 - 35,155 ( -3.5%)
09/12 Captain America v7 #17 - 34,279 ( -2.5%)
10/12 Captain America v7 #18 - 38,318 ( +11.8%)
10/12 Captain America v7 #19 - 40,205 ( +4.9%)
11/12 Captain America v8 #1 - 123,667 (+207.6%)
12/12 Captain America v8 #2 - 64,377 ( -47.9%)
01/13 Captain America v8 #3 - 59,836 ( -7.1%)
02/13 Captain America v8 #4 - 53,112 ( -11.2%)
03/13 Captain America v8 #5 - 49,186 ( -7.4%)
04/13 Captain America v8 #6 - 47,802 ( -2.8%)
05/13 Captain America v8 #7 - 44,024 ( -7.9%)
06/13 Captain America v8 #8 - 43,791 ( -0.5%)
07/13 Captain America v8 #9 - 40,796 ( -6.8%)
6 mnth ( -31.8%)
1 year ( +10.8%)
2 year ( -57.9%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year ( -78.9%)
5 year ( -48.6%)
10 year ( -10.4%)
This is the second issue of the series without a variant cover – the other was issue #7. So the issue-to-issue drop looks bigger than it is. But the comparison with issue #7 shows that this book is still shedding readers at quite a rate.
53,58. WOLVERINE
07/03 Wolverine v3 #3 - 90,717
07/08 Wolverine v3 #67 - 89,062
07/09 ---
07/10 W: Weapon X #15 - 29,555
07/11 Wolverine v4 #12 - 42,110
=====
07/12 Wolverine #309 - 33,148 ( -5.7%)
07/12 Wolverine #310 - 60,880 ( +83.7%)
08/12 Wolverine #311 - 42,404 ( -30.3%)
08/12 Wolverine #312 - 41,030 ( -3.2%)
09/12 Wolverine #313 - 39,262 ( -4.3%)
10/12 Wolverine #314 - 34,504 ( -12.1%)
10/12 Wolverine #315 - 38,557 ( +11.7%)
11/12 Wolverine #316 - 32,208 ( -16.5%)
12/12 Wolverine #317 - 34,367 ( +6.7%)
01/13 ---
02/13 ---
03/13 Wolverine v5 #1 - 117,669 (+242.4%)
04/13 Wolverine v5 #2 - 57,165 ( -51.4%)
05/13 Wolverine v5 #3 - 49,629 ( -13.2%)
06/13 Wolverine v5 #4 - 46,784 ( -5.7%)
06/13 Wolverine v5 #5 - 43,694 ( -6.6%)
07/13 Wolverine v5 #6 - 40,593 ( -7.1%)
07/13 Wolverine v5 #7 - 38,605 ( -4.9%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year ( +16.5%)
2 year ( -8.3%)
3 year ( +30.6%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year ( -56.7%)
10 year ( -57.4%)
Two issues this month, and they're the first of this volume not feature a variant cover. So the drop on issue #6 is to be expected, but the one on issue #7 is a little more surprising.
54,55. IRON MAN
07/03 Iron Man v3 #70 - 32,208
07/08 Iron Man v5 #3 - 63,043
07/09 Iron Man v5 #15 - 50,554
07/10 Iron Man v5 #28 - 48,690
07/11 Iron Man #506 - 41,052
=====
07/12 Iron Man #520 - 32,765 ( +0.8%)
07/12 Iron Man #521 - 32,172 ( -1.8%)
08/12 Iron Man #522 - 31,464 ( -2.2%)
08/12 Iron Man #523 - 31,568 ( +0.3%)
09/12 Iron Man #524 - 30,976 ( -1.9%)
09/12 Iron Man #525 - 30,885 ( -0.3%)
10/12 Iron Man #526 - 35,934 ( +16.3%)
10/12 Iron Man #527 - 36,981 ( +2.9%)
11/12 Iron Man v6 #1 - 116,529 (+215.1%)
11/12 Iron Man v6 #2 - 72,902 ( -37.4%)
12/12 Iron Man v6 #3 - 59,041 ( -19.0%)
12/12 Iron Man v6 #4 - 56,708 ( -4.0%)
01/13 Iron Man v6 #5 - 50,899 ( -10.2%)
02/13 Iron Man v6 #6 - 46,206 ( -9.2%)
03/13 Iron Man v6 #7 - 44,040 ( -4.7%)
04/13 Iron Man v6 #8 - 43,974 ( -0.1%)
05/13 Iron Man v6 #9 - 78,006 ( +77.4%)
05/13 Iron Man v6 #10 - 45,424 ( -41.8%)
06/13 Iron Man v6 #11 - 44,409 ( -2.2%)
07/13 Iron Man v6 #12 - 40,405 ( -9.0%)
07/13 Iron Man v6 #13 - 39,534 ( -2.2%)
6 mnth ( -22.3%)
1 year ( +20.7%)
2 year ( -3.7%)
3 year ( -18.8%)
4 year ( -21.8%)
5 year ( -37.3%)
10 year ( +22.7%)
Two issues this month. Again, there were variants on the May and June issues, so the drop on issue #12 is exaggerated.
59,61. UNCANNY X-FORCE
07/08 X-Force v3 #5 - 72,818
07/09 X-Force v3 #17 - 61,104
07/10 X-Force v3 #28 - 61,680
07/11 X-Force v4 #12 - 55,413
=====
07/12 X-Force v4 #27 - 46,325 ( -2.5%)
07/12 X-Force v4 #28 - 46,367 ( +0.1%)
08/12 X-Force v4 #29 - 45,159 ( -2.6%)
08/12 X-Force v4 #30 - 44,918 ( -0.5%)
09/12 X-Force v4 #31 - 44,061 ( -1.9%)
10/12 X-Force v4 #32 - 44,055 ( -0.0%)
11/12 X-Force v4 #33 - 43,589 ( -1.1%)
11/12 X-Force v4 #34 - 43,710 ( +0.3%)
12/12 X-Force v4 #35 - 47,736 ( +9.2%)
01/13 X-Force v5 #1 - 86,187 (+80.5%)
02/13 X-Force v5 #2 - 56,713 (-34.2%)
03/13 X-Force v5 #3 - 51,721 ( -8.8%)
04/13 ---
05/13 X-Force v5 #4 - 47,727 ( -7.7%)
05/13 X-Force v5 #5 - 45,674 ( -4.3%)
06/13 X-Force v5 #6 - 42,496 ( -7.0%)
06/13 X-Force v5 #7 - 40,380 ( -5.0%)
07/13 X-Force v5 #8 - 37,781 ( -6.4%)
07/13 X-Force v5 #9 - 36,978 ( -2.1%)
6 mnth (-57.1%)
1 year (-20.2%)
2 year (-33.3%)
3 year (-40.0%)
4 year (-39.5%)
5 year (-49.2%)
The variant covers stopped with issue #6, so we can see there’s still quite a slide going on here. Of course, as I’ve said before, UNCANNY X-FORCE did inherit the sales of a more established creative team.
60. HAWKEYE ANNUAL 07/13 Annual #1 - 37,509
Very close to the sales of the parent title, another sign of audience loyalty.
64,68. DAREDEVIL
07/03 Daredevil v2 #49 - 60,165
07/08 Daredevil v2 #109 - 39,258
07/09 ---
07/10 Daredevil #508 - 38,438
07/11 Daredevil v3 #1 - 64,866
=====
07/12 Daredevil v3 #15 - 38,469 (-12.3%)
08/12 Daredevil v3 #16 - 37,804 ( -1.7%)
08/12 Daredevil v3 #17 - 38,149 ( +0.9%)
09/12 Daredevil v3 #18 - 37,185 ( -2.5%)
10/12 Daredevil v3 #19 - 37,228 ( +0.1%)
11/12 Daredevil v3 #20 - 36,515 ( -1.9%)
12/12 Daredevil v3 #21 - 35,848 ( -1.8%)
01/13 Daredevil v3 #22 - 36,102 ( +0.7%)
02/13 Daredevil v3 #23 - 37,170 ( +3.0%)
03/13 Daredevil v3 #24 - 37,231 ( +0.2%)
04/13 Daredevil v3 #25 - 39,678 ( +6.6%)
05/13 Daredevil v3 #26 - 39,788 ( +0.3%)
06/13 Daredevil v3 #27 - 35,834 ( -9.9%)
07/13 Daredevil v3 #28 - 35,364 ( -1.3%)
07/13 Daredevil v3 #29 - 34,915 ( -1.3%)
6 mnth ( -3.3%)
1 year ( -9.2%)
2 year (-46.2%)
3 year ( -9.2%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year (-11.1%)
10 year (-42.0%)
There’s a bit of erosion going on here, but nothing to worry about.
69. CABLE & X-FORCE
12/12 Cable & X-Force #1 - 90,334
12/12 Cable & X-Force #2 - 57,719 (-36.1%)
01/13 Cable & X-Force #3 - 51,761 (-10.3%)
02/13 Cable & X-Force #4 - 46,104 (-10.9%)
03/13 Cable & X-Force #5 - 44,680 ( -3.1%)
03/13 Cable & X-Force #6 - 42,896 ( -4.0%)
04/13 Cable & X-Force #7 - 41,500 ( -3.3%)
05/13 Cable & X-Force #8 - 39,041 ( -5.9%)
06/13 Cable & X-Force #9 - 38,414 ( -1.6%)
06/13 Cable & X-Force #10 - 36,104 ( -6.0%)
07/13 Cable & X-Force #11 - 34,240 ( -5.2%)
6 mnth (-33.8%)
A bit more rapid here, though. The variant covers stopped with issue #9, so the underlying sales are starting to emerge.
70. NOVA
07/07 Nova v4 #4 - 40,173
07/08 Nova v4 #15 - 28,593
07/09 Nova v4 #27 - 25,677
=====
02/13 Nova v5 #1 - 80,857
03/13 Nova v5 #2 - 46,725 (-42.2%)
04/13 Nova v5 #3 - 40,548 (-13.2%)
05/13 Nova v5 #4 - 38,151 ( -5.9%)
06/13 Nova v5 #5 - 36,545 ( -4.2%)
07/13 Nova v5 #6 - 34,234 ( -6.3%)
3 year (+33.3%)
4 year (+19.7%)
5 year (-14.8%)
This is the first issue by Zeb Wells and Paco Medina, and the first issue without a variant cover, so it was always going to drop. In that context, the number’s better than it may initially appear. An INFINITY tie-in begins with issue #8.
72. FANTASTIC FOUR
07/03 Fantastic Four #500 - 49,800
07/08 ---
07/09 Fantastic Four #568 - 45,828
07/10 Fantastic Four #581 - 35,505
07/11 FF #6 - 55,601
=====
07/12 Fantastic Four #608 - 37,776 ( -6.6%)
08/12 Fantastic Four #609 - 36,496 ( -3.4%)
09/12 Fantastic Four #610 - 35,388 ( -3.0%)
10/12 Fantastic Four #611 - 45,322 ( +28.1%)
11/12 Fantastic Four v5 #1 - 114,532 (+152.7%)
12/12 Fantastic Four v5 #2 - 58,421 ( -49.0%)
01/13 Fantastic Four v5 #3 - 50,555 ( -13.5%)
02/13 Fantastic Four v5 #4 - 44,999 ( -11.0%)
03/13 Fantastic Four v5 #5 - 42,590 ( -5.4%)
03/13 Fantastic Four #5AU - 45,756 ( +7.4%)
04/13 Fantastic Four v5 #6 - 41,291 ( -4.8%)
04/13 Fantastic Four v5 #7 - 39,314 ( -4.8%)
05/13 Fantastic Four v5 #8 - 37,309 ( -5.1%)
06/13 Fantastic Four v5 #9 - 37,071 ( -0.6%)
07/13 Fantastic Four v5 #10 - 34,018 ( -8.2%)
6 mnth ( -32.7%)
1 year ( -9.9%)
2 year ( -38.8%)
3 year ( -4.2%)
4 year ( -25.8%)
5 year ( --- )
10 year ( -31.7%)
FANTASTIC FOUR joins the list of Marvel Now relaunches to have dropped below inherited sales levels. The uneven drops are due to a variant cover on the June issue, but the overall slide is still quite significant for a book this far into its run.
It’s not hard to see why this book, and its sister title FF, are the ones that writer Matt Fraction is going to give up to make room on his schedule for other titles; not only does HAWKEYE have the look of more personal work, it’s actually selling better anyway.
73. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: TOMORROW'S AVENGERS 07/13 Tomorrow's Avengers - 33,549
A collection of the four stories that were previously released as Infinite comics. It’s a big number for a digital-first comic, but then GUARDIANS is hot right now.
74. ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN
07/03 Spider-Man #43 - 101,316
07/08 Spider-Man #124 - 55,262
07/09 Requiem #2 - 41,374
07/10 Spider-Man v2 #12 - 37,879
07/11 Fallout #2 - 45,371
=====
07/12 Spider-Man v3 #12 - 42,050 ( -1.2%)
08/12 Spider-Man v3 #13 - 42,642 ( +1.4%)
09/12 Spider-Man v3 #14 - 40,960 ( -3.9%)
09/12 Spider-Man v3 #15 - 40,435 ( -1.3%)
10/12 Spider-Man v3 #16 - 39,679 ( -1.9%)
10/12 Spider-Man v3 #.1 - 38,321 ( -3.4%)
11/12 Spider-Man v3 #17 - 38,481 ( +0.4%)
12/12 Spider-Man v3 #18 - 36,944 ( -4.0%)
01/13 Spider-Man v3 #19 - 36,017 ( -2.5%)
02/13 Spider-Man v3 #20 - 35,461 ( -1.5%)
03/13 Spider-Man v3 #21 - 35,284 ( -0.5%)
04/13 Spider-Man v3 #22 - 34,918 ( -1.0%)
05/13 Spider-Man v3 #23 - 35,581 ( +1.9%)
06/13 Spider-Man v3 #24 - 34,011 ( -4.4%)
07/13 Spider-Man v3 #25 - 33,271 ( -2.2%)
6 mnth ( -7.6%)
1 year (-20.9%)
2 year (-26.7%)
3 year (-12.2%)
4 year (-19.6%)
5 year (-39.8%)
10 year (-67.2%)
There’s a gentle decline here, but if this book is viewed in isolation, it plainly has nothing to worry about. Of course, speculation is rife as to the future of the Ultimate line, given the low sales of the other titles and the fact that Marvel’s just announced a crossover called CATACLYSM. That speculation inevitably carries over to this book in some form, but given its sales, I would be very surprised if it didn’t continue.
81,91,96,97. WHAT IF? AVX 07/13 What If? AVX #1 of 4 - 30,422 07/13 What If? AVX #2 of 4 - 27,395 (-10.0%) 07/13 What If? AVX #3 of 4 - 25,958 ( -5.2%) 07/13 What If? AVX #4 of 4 - 25,843 ( -0.4%)
Weekly miniseries with an alternate take on the AVENGERS VS X-MEN crossover.
83,92. FF
07/11 FF #6 - 55,601
=====
07/12 FF #20 - 31,652 ( -7.6%)
08/12 FF #21 - 30,220 ( -4.5%)
09/12 FF #22 - 29,847 ( -1.2%)
10/12 FF #23 - 30,844 ( +3.3%)
11/12 FF v2 #1 - 80,701 (+161.6%)
12/12 FF v2 #2 - 46,096 ( -42.9%)
01/13 FF v2 #3 - 41,108 ( -10.8%)
02/13 FF v2 #4 - 35,815 ( -12.9%)
03/13 FF v2 #5 - 34,601 ( -3.4%)
04/13 FF v2 #6 - 32,937 ( -4.8%)
05/13 FF v2 #7 - 30,960 ( -6.0%)
05/13 FF v2 #8 - 30,061 ( -2.9%)
06/13 ---
07/13 FF v2 #9 - 29,180 ( -2.9%)
07/13 FF v2 #10 - 27,304 ( -6.4%)
6 mnth ( -33.6%)
1 year ( -13.7%)
2 year ( -50.9%)
Two issues this month, after issue #9 slipped from June. Issues #1-6 and #8 all had variants, though they don’t appear to have had much impact towards the end. Plainly, this one isn’t holding up too well. See further the comments above re FANTASTIC FOUR.
84,86. THUNDERBOLTS
07/03 Thunderbolts #81 - 17,211
07/08 Thunderbolts #122 - 47,170
07/09 Thunderbolts #134 - 40,885
07/10 Thunderbolts #146 - 31,501
07/11 Thunderbolts #160 - 27,810
07/12 Dark Avengers #178 - 28,572
=====
12/12 Thunderbolts v2 #1 - 83,396
12/12 Thunderbolts v2 #2 - 50,897 (-39.0%)
01/13 Thunderbolts v2 #3 - 44,272 (-13.0%)
02/13 Thunderbolts v2 #4 - 43,287 ( -2.2%)
02/13 Thunderbolts v2 #5 - 41,663 ( -3.8%)
03/13 Thunderbolts v2 #6 - 39,293 ( -5.7%)
03/13 Thunderbolts v2 #7 - 38,553 ( -1.9%)
04/13 Thunderbolts v2 #8 - 36,979 ( -4.1%)
05/13 Thunderbolts v2 #9 - 32,855 (-11.2%)
06/13 Thunderbolts v2 #10 - 32,682 ( -0.5%)
06/13 Thunderbolts v2 #11 - 30,618 ( -6.3%)
07/13 Thunderbolts v2 #12 - 29,081 ( -5.0%)
07/13 Thunderbolts v2 #13 - 28,528 ( -1.9%)
6 mnth (-35.6%)
1 year ( -0.2%)
2 year ( +2.6%)
3 year ( -9.4%)
4 year (-30.2%)
5 year (-39.5%)
10 year (+65.7%)
No variants this month. It looks at first glance as if it’s levelling out, but it’s not uncommon for books to have the larger drop on the first issue of the month.
85. SECRET AVENGERS
07/10 Secret Avengers #3 - 72,293
07/11 Secret Avengers #15 - 46,712
=====
07/12 Secret Avengers #29 - 41,653 ( -19.2%)
08/12 Secret Avengers #30 - 38,243 ( -8.2%)
09/12 Secret Avengers #31 - 35,987 ( -5.9%)
10/12 Secret Avengers #32 - 35,346 ( -1.8%)
10/12 Secret Avengers #33 - 34,260 ( -3.1%)
11/12 Secret Avengers #34 - 32,146 ( -6.2%)
12/12 Secret Avengers #35 - 30,755 ( -4.3%)
01/13 Secret Avengers #36 - 29,330 ( -4.6%)
01/13 Secret Avengers #37 - 32,139 ( +9.6%)
02/13 Secret Avengers v2 #1 - 85,267 (+196.4%)
03/13 Secret Avengers v2 #2 - 46,419 ( -45.6%)
04/13 Secret Avengers v2 #3 - 38,676 ( -16.7%)
05/13 Secret Avengers v2 #4 - 33,428 ( -13.6%)
06/13 Secret Avengers v2 #5 - 31,437 ( -6.0%)
07/13 Secret Avengers v2 #6 - 28,908 ( -8.0%)
6 mnth ( -10.1%)
1 year ( -30.6%)
2 year ( -38.1%)
3 year ( -60.0%)
This is the first issue without a variant cover, which obviously doesn’t help – but it’s plain that this relaunch hasn’t held onto its audience at all well.
86,88. YOUNG AVENGERS
01/13 Young Avengers v2 #1 - 76,144
02/13 Young Avengers v2 #2 - 43,559 (-42.8%)
03/13 Young Avengers v2 #3 - 38,469 (-11.7%)
04/13 Young Avengers v2 #4 - 34,378 (-10.6%)
05/13 Young Avengers v2 #5 - 32,159 ( -6.5%)
06/13 Young Avengers v2 #6 - 30,822 ( -4.2%)
07/13 Young Avengers v2 #7 - 28,596 ( -7.2%)
07/13 Young Avengers v2 #8 - 27,844 ( -2.6%)
6 mnth (-63.4%)
Two issues this month, and again, these are the first two issues without variant covers, which means that the drop on issue #7 is likely exaggerated.
94. AVENGERS ASSEMBLE
06/12 Avengers Assemble #4 - 43,022 ( -2.0%)
07/12 Avengers Assemble #5 - 38,951 ( -9.5%)
08/12 Avengers Assemble #6 - 36,131 ( -7.2%)
09/12 Avengers Assemble #7 - 36,259 ( +0.4%)
10/12 Avengers Assemble #8 - 36,453 ( +0.5%)
11/12 Avengers Assemble #9 - 42,088 (+15.5%)
12/12 Avengers Assemble #10 - 34,035 (-19.1%)
01/13 Avengers Assemble #11 - 31,027 ( -8.8%)
02/13 Avengers Assemble #12 - 29,475 ( -5.0%)
03/13 Avengers Assemble #13 - 28,432 ( -3.6%)
04/13 Av. Assemble #14AU - 35,985 (+26.6%)
05/13 Av. Assemble #15AU - 33,183 ( -7.8%)
06/13 Avengers Assemble #16 - 27,497 (-17.1%)
07/13 Avengers Assemble #17 - 26,640 ( -3.1%)
6 mnth (-14.1%)
1 year (-38.1%)
Issues #16 and #17 are part of the “Enemy Within” crossover with CAPTAIN MARVEl, which inevitably had rather less impact than the preceding “Age of Ultron” tie-in. Next up is an “Infinity” tie-in, as this title now seems to be in permacrossover.
102. A+X
07/12 Versus #4 of 6 - 86,526 ( -8.5%)
08/12 Versus #5 of 6 - 78,380 ( -9.4%)
09/12 ---
10/12 Versus #6 of 6 - 75,298 ( -3.9%)
10/12 A+X #1 - 105,420 (+40.0%)
11/12 A+X #2 - 64,606 (-38.7%)
12/12 A+X #3 - 56,700 (-12.2%)
01/13 A+X #4 - 48,091 (-15.2%)
02/13 ---
03/13 A+X #5 - 37,250 (-22.5%)
03/13 A+X #6 - 34,434 ( -7.6%)
04/13 A+X #7 - 31,183 ( -9.4%)
05/13 A+X #8 - 26,967 (-13.5%)
06/13 A+X #9 - 25,803 ( -4.3%)
07/13 A+X #10 - 24,371 ( -5.5%)
6 mnth (-49.3%)
1 year (-71.8%)
Bleeding readers, but Marvel aren’t giving up just yet; instead, the book is being retooled, with a serial running in the first half of the book.
104. AVENGERS ARENA
12/12 Avengers Arena #1 - 64,626
12/12 Avengers Arena #2 - 43,014 (-33.4%)
01/13 Avengers Arena #3 - 38,461 (-10.6%)
02/13 Avengers Arena #4 - 33,611 (-12.6%)
02/13 Avengers Arena #5 - 32,548 ( -3.2%)
03/13 Avengers Arena #6 - 31,617 ( -2.9%)
04/13 Avengers Arena #7 - 29,784 ( -5.8%)
04/13 Avengers Arena #8 - 27,900 ( -6.3%)
05/13 Avengers Arena #9 - 26,873 ( -3.7%)
06/13 Avengers Arena #10 - 25,277 ( -5.9%)
06/13 Avengers Arena #11 - 24,487 ( -3.1%)
07/13 Avengers Arena #12 - 23,969 ( -2.1%)
6 mnth (-37.7%)
Ends with issue #18. Although that’s unsurprising given the sales, the premise of the series always made clear that this couldn’t be an open-ended title, and it does indeed seem to be reaching its natural wrap-up point. The best case scenario for this title was always going to lead to a relaunch somewhere around here, which could well still be on its way.
106,113. X-MEN LEGACY
07/03 New X-Men #143 - 99,850
07/08 X-Men Legacy #214 - 69,863
07/09 X-Men Legacy #226 - 59,298
07/10 X-Men Legacy #238 - 53,313
07/11 X-Men Legacy #252 - 41,365
=====
07/12 X-Men Legacy #270 - 44,914 ( -4.3%)
08/12 X-Men Legacy #271 - 37,206 ( -17.2%)
08/12 X-Men Legacy #272 - 37,120 ( -0.2%)
09/12 X-Men Legacy #273 - 36,020 ( -3.0%)
09/12 X-Men Legacy #274 - 35,168 ( -2.4%)
10/12 X-Men Legacy #275 - 38,726 ( +10.1%)
11/12 X-Men Legacy v2 #1 - 87,081 (+124.9%)
11/12 X-Men Legacy v2 #2 - 58,037 ( -33.4%)
12/12 X-Men Legacy v2 #3 - 45,407 ( -21.8%)
01/13 X-Men Legacy v2 #4 - 37,673 ( -17.0%)
01/13 X-Men Legacy v2 #5 - 34,823 ( -7.6%)
02/13 X-Men Legacy v2 #6 - 31,074 ( -10.8%)
03/13 X-Men Legacy v2 #7 - 29,231 ( -5.9%)
03/13 X-Men Legacy v2 #8 - 28,174 ( -3.6%)
04/13 X-Men Legacy v2 #9 - 28,405 ( +0.8%)
05/13 X-Men Legacy v2 #10 - 25,911 ( -8.8%)
05/13 X-Men Legacy v2 #11 - 25,048 ( -3.3%)
06/13 X-Men Legacy v2 #12 - 23,996 ( -4.2%)
07/13 X-Men Legacy v2 #13 - 23,146 ( -3.5%)
07/13 X-Men Legacy v2 #14 - 22,119 ( -4.4%)
6 mnth ( -36.5%)
1 year ( -50.8%)
2 year ( -46.5%)
3 year ( -58.5%)
4 year ( -62.7%)
5 year ( -68.3%)
10 year ( -77.8%)
Still eroding, and there’s no real sign of it levelling out. It’s about to get into dangerous territory.
108. ASTONISHING X-MEN
07/08 Astonishing X-Men #25 - 110,724
07/09 ---
07/10 ---
07/11 Astonishing X-Men #40 - 35,593
=====
07/12 Astonishing X-Men #52 - 35,766 (-56.7%)
08/12 Astonishing X-Men #53 - 32,268 ( -9.8%)
09/12 Astonishing X-Men #54 - 30,225 ( -6.3%)
10/12 Astonishing X-Men #55 - 29,060 ( -3.9%)
11/12 Astonishing X-Men #56 - 27,583 ( -5.1%)
12/12 Astonishing X-Men #57 - 26,263 ( -4.8%)
01/13 Astonishing X-Men #58 - 25,159 ( -4.2%)
02/13 Astonishing X-Men #59 - 24,195 ( -3.8%)
03/13 Astonishing X-Men #60 - 27,683 (+14.4%)
04/13 Astonishing X-Men #61 - 27,090 ( -2.1%)
05/13 Astonishing X-Men #62 - 24,121 (-11.0%)
06/13 Astonishing X-Men #63 - 23,326 ( -3.3%)
07/13 Astonishing X-Men #64 - 22,649 ( -2.9%)
6 mnth (-10.0%)
1 year (-36.7%)
2 year (-36.4%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year ( --- )
5 year (-79.5%)
Cancelled with issue #68, to be replaced by AMAZING X-MEN.
109. SCARLET SPIDER
07/12 Scarlet Spider #7 - 29,140 ( -5.1%)
08/12 Scarlet Spider #8 - 27,690 ( -5.0%)
09/12 Scarlet Spider #9 - 27,140 ( -2.0%)
10/12 Scarlet Spider #10 - 31,786 (+17.1%)
11/12 Scarlet Spider #11 - 32,287 ( +1.6%)
12/12 Scarlet Spider #12 - 26,652 (-17.5%)
12/12 Scarlet Spider #.1 - 25,771 ( -3.3%)
01/13 Scarlet Spider #13 - 25,919 ( +0.6%)
02/13 Scarlet Spider #14 - 24,388 ( -5.9%)
03/13 Scarlet Spider #15 - 23,682 ( -2.9%)
04/13 Scarlet Spider #16 - 24,207 ( +2.2%)
05/13 Scarlet Spider #17 - 24,288 ( +0.3%)
06/13 Scarlet Spider #18 - 22,766 ( -6.3%)
07/13 Scarlet Spider #19 - 22,499 ( -1.2%)
6 mnth (-13.2%)
1 year (-22.8%)
Very gentle sliding. Issues #16-17 had variant covers, so the underlying trend’s actually fairly stable.
112. DAREDEVIL: DARK NIGHTS 10/12 End of Days #1 of 8 - 40,911 11/12 End of Days #2 of 8 - 32,072 (-21.6%) 12/12 End of Days #3 of 8 - 29,273 ( -8.7%) 01/13 End of Days #4 of 8 - 27,770 ( -5.1%) 02/13 End of Days #5 of 8 - 26,777 ( -3.6%) 03/13 End of Days #6 of 8 - 26,316 ( -1.7%) 04/13 End of Days #7 of 8 - 25,577 ( -2.8%) 05/13 --- 06/13 End of Days #8 of 8 - 26,239 ( +2.6%) 06/13 Dark Nights #1 of 8 - 25,736 ( -1.9%) 07/13 Dark Nights #2 of 8 - 22,322 (-13.3%)
Standard second issue drop.
121,125. VENOM
07/11 Venom v2 #5 - 35,102
=====
07/12 Venom v2 #20 - 26,941 ( -6.1%)
07/12 Venom v2 #21 - 26,534 ( -1.5%)
08/12 Venom v2 #22 - 26,734 ( +0.8%)
08/12 Venom v2 #23 - 26,854 ( +0.4%)
09/12 Venom v2 #24 - 30,080 (+12.0%)
09/12 Venom v2 #25 - 25,242 (-16.1%)
10/12 Venom v2 #26 - 31,711 (+25.6%)
11/12 Venom v2 #27 - 31,118 ( -1.9%)
11/12 Venom v2 #.1 - 25,727 (-17.3%)
12/12 Venom v2 #28 - 25,573 ( -0.6%)
01/13 Venom v2 #29 - 24,644 ( -3.6%)
01/13 Venom v2 #30 - 24,551 ( -0.4%)
02/13 Venom v2 #31 - 23,441 ( -4.5%)
03/13 Venom v2 #32 - 22,521 ( -3.9%)
04/13 Venom v2 #33 - 22,327 ( -0.9%)
04/13 Venom v2 #34 - 22,120 ( -0.9%)
05/13 Venom v2 #35 - 21,591 ( -2.4%)
06/13 Venom v2 #36 - 21,288 ( -1.4%)
07/13 Venom v2 #37 - 20,872 ( -2.0%)
07/13 Venom v2 #38 - 20,325 ( -2.6%)
6 mnth (-17.2%)
1 year (-24.6%)
Cancelled with issue #42.
124. DEXTER 07/13 Dexter #1 of 5 - 20,540
Originally announced for February, and finally making it out.
129. X-FACTOR
07/08 X-Factor v3 #33 - 53,088
07/09 X-Factor v3 #46 - 31,213
07/10 X-Factor #207 - 32,082
07/11 X-Factor #222 - 24,794
=====
07/12 X-Factor #239 - 23,506 ( -0.4%)
07/12 X-Factor #240 - 23,223 ( -1.2%)
08/12 X-Factor #241 - 22,943 ( -1.2%)
08/12 X-Factor #242 - 22,782 ( -0.7%)
09/12 X-Factor #243 - 22,118 ( -2.9%)
09/12 X-Factor #244 - 22,193 ( +0.3%)
10/12 X-Factor #245 - 22,364 ( +0.8%)
11/12 X-Factor #246 - 22,165 ( -0.9%)
11/12 X-Factor #247 - 22,005 ( -0.7%)
12/12 X-Factor #248 - 21,664 ( -1.5%)
12/12 X-Factor #249 - 21,211 ( -2.1%)
01/13 X-Factor #250 - 22,521 ( +6.2%)
02/13 X-Factor #251 - 21,096 ( -6.3%)
02/13 X-Factor #252 - 20,929 ( -0.8%)
03/13 X-Factor #253 - 20,835 ( -0.4%)
04/13 X-Factor #254 - 20,579 ( -1.2%)
05/13 X-Factor #255 - 20,442 ( -0.7%)
05/13 X-Factor #256 - 20,602 ( +0.8%)
06/13 X-Factor #257 - 20,264 ( -1.6%)
06/13 X-Factor #258 - 20,154 ( -0.5%)
07/13 X-Factor #259 - 20,065 ( -0.4%)
6 mnth (-10.9%)
1 year (-14.6%)
2 year (-19.1%)
3 year (-37.5%)
4 year (-35.7%)
5 year (-62.2%)
Cancelled with issue #262.
130,132. ULTIMATES
07/03 Ultimates #11 - 103,192
07/08 ---
07/09 ---
07/10 New Ultimates #3 - 47,840
07/11 UA v New Ult #6 - 42,760
=====
07/12 Ultimates v5 #13 - 32,380 ( +5.0%)
08/12 Ultimates v5 #14 - 30,311 ( -6.4%)
09/12 Ultimates v5 #15 - 30,382 ( +0.2%)
09/12 Ultimates v5 #16 - 30,533 ( +0.5%)
10/12 Ultimates v5 #17 - 29,382 ( -3.8%)
11/12 Ultimates v5 #18 - 29,072 ( -1.1%)
12/12 Ultimates v5 #.1 - 27,659 ( -4.9%)
12/12 Ultimates v5 #19 - 26,971 ( -2.5%)
01/13 Ultimates v5 #20 - 25,613 ( -5.0%)
02/13 Ultimates v5 #21 - 23,811 ( -7.0%)
03/13 Ultimates v5 #22 - 23,442 ( -1.5%)
04/13 Ultimates v5 #23 - 22,778 ( -2.8%)
05/13 Ultimates v5 #24 - 21,429 ( -5.9%)
06/13 Ultimates v5 #25 - 21,636 ( +1.0%)
06/13 Ultimates v5 #26 - 20,785 ( -3.9%)
07/13 Ultimates v5 #27 - 20,024 ( -3.7%)
07/13 Ultimates v5 #28 - 19,859 ( -0.8%)
6 mnth (-22.5%)
1 year (-38.7%)
2 year (-53.6%)
3 year (-58.5%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year ( --- )
10 year (-80.8%)
134. ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN
07/03 X-Men #35 - 109,687
07/08 X-Men #96 - 48,011
=====
07/12 X-Men v2 #14 - 29,879 ( +2.5%)
08/12 X-Men v2 #15 - 27,847 ( -6.8%)
09/12 X-Men v2 #16 - 27,066 ( -2.8%)
10/12 X-Men v2 #17 - 26,503 ( -2.1%)
10/12 X-Men v2 #18 - 26,322 ( -0.7%)
11/12 X-Men v2 #.1 - 25,425 ( -3.4%)
11/12 X-Men v2 #19 - 25,419 ( -0.0%)
12/12 X-Men v2 #20 - 24,789 ( -2.5%)
01/13 X-Men v2 #21 - 23,479 ( -5.3%)
02/13 X-Men v2 #22 - 22,456 ( -4.4%)
02/13 X-Men v2 #23 - 22,197 ( -1.2%)
03/13 X-Men v2 #24 - 21,862 ( -1.5%)
04/13 X-Men v2 #25 - 21,139 ( -3.3%)
05/13 X-Men v2 #26 - 20,330 ( -3.8%)
06/13 X-Men v2 #27 - 19,298 ( -5.1%)
06/13 X-Men v2 #28 - 19,421 ( +0.6%)
07/13 X-Men v2 #29 - 19,381 ( -0.2%)
6 mnth (-17.5%)
1 year (-35.1%)
4 year (-59.6%)
10 year (-82.3%)
Both are replaced with CATACLYSM minis in November. Plainly, with sales like this, neither book would be viable in its present form; the only real question is whether to go for another relaunch, or call it a day.
135. CAPTAIN MARVEL
07/08 Ms Marvel v2 #29 - 41,231
07/09 Ms Marvel v2 #42 - 25,103
=====
07/12 Captain Marvel v6 #1 - 41,582
08/12 Captain Marvel v6 #2 - 28,434 (-31.6%)
08/12 Captain Marvel v6 #3 - 27,649 ( -2.8%)
09/12 Captain Marvel v6 #4 - 24,799 (-10.3%)
10/12 Captain Marvel v6 #5 - 28,619 (+15.4%)
10/12 Captain Marvel v6 #6 - 23,103 (-19.3%)
11/12 Captain Marvel v6 #7 - 21,744 ( -5.9%)
12/12 Captain Marvel v6 #8 - 19,970 ( -8.2%)
01/13 Captain Marvel v6 #9 - 19,151 ( -4.1%)
02/13 Captain Marvel v6 #10 - 18,359 ( -4.1%)
03/13 Captain Marvel v6 #11 - 17,743 ( -3.4%)
04/13 Captain Marvel v6 #12 - 18,344 ( +3.4%)
05/13 Enemy Within - 34,205 (+86.5%)
06/13 Captain Marvel v6 #13 - 19,673 (-42.5%)
07/13 Captain Marvel v6 #14 - 19,320 ( -1.8%)
6 mnth ( +0.9%)
1 year (-53.5%)
4 year (-23.0%)
5 year (-53.1%)
The second part of the “Enemy Within” crossover with AVENGERS ASSEMBLE, which has had remarkably little impact on sales. CAPTAIN MARVEl is not solicited for November, but again, there’s been no announcement of any cancellation and Marvel seem to be hinting at some kind of relaunch.
140,142. FEARLESS DEFENDERS
07/08 Last Dfndrs #5 - 19,919
=====
07/12 Defenders v4 #8 - 22,504 ( -4.5%)
08/12 Defenders v4 #9 - 21,500 ( -4.5%)
09/12 Defenders v4 #10 - 20,220 ( -6.0%)
10/12 Defenders v4 #11 - 19,361 ( -4.2%)
11/12 Defenders v4 #12 - 18,588 ( -4.0%)
12/12 ---
01/13 ---
02/13 Defenders v5 #1 - 53,688 (+188.8%)
03/13 Defenders v5 #2 - 28,244 ( -47.4%)
04/13 Defenders v5 #3 - 23,514 ( -16.7%)
05/13 Defenders v5 #4 - 20,657 ( -12.2%)
05/13 Defenders #4AU - 24,984 ( +20.9%)
06/13 Defenders v5 #5 - 20,168 ( -19.3%)
07/13 Defenders v5 #6 - 17,752 ( -12.0%)
07/13 Defenders v5 #7 - 17,411 ( -1.9%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year ( -22.6%)
5 year ( -12.6%)
FEARLESS DEFENDERS does appear in the November solicitations, but it doesn’t take a genius to see that something is going to have to give here, sooner rather than later.
143. GAMBIT
08/12 Gambit v5 #1 - 40,418
08/12 Gambit v5 #2 - 32,336 (-20.0%)
09/12 Gambit v5 #3 - 28,530 (-11.8%)
10/12 Gambit v5 #4 - 27,828 ( -2.5%)
11/12 Gambit v5 #5 - 26,723 ( -4.0%)
11/12 Gambit v5 #6 - 25,522 ( -4.5%)
12/12 Gambit v5 #7 - 23,978 ( -6.0%)
01/13 Gambit v5 #8 - 22,396 ( -6.6%)
02/13 Gambit v5 #9 - 20,851 ( -6.9%)
03/13 Gambit v5 #10 - 20,187 ( -3.2%)
04/13 Gambit v5 #11 - 19,355 ( -4.1%)
05/13 Gambit v5 #12 - 19,106 ( -1.3%)
05/13 Gambit v5 #13 - 18,854 ( -1.3%)
06/13 Gambit v5 #14 - 18,027 ( -4.4%)
07/13 Gambit v5 #15 - 17,291 ( -4.1%)
6 mnth (-22.8%)144. WOLVERINE MAX
10/12 Wolverine: Max #1 - 37,509
11/12 Wolverine: Max #2 - 27,217 (-27.4%)
12/12 ---
01/13 Wolverine: Max #3 - 24,058 (-11.6%)
02/13 Wolverine: Max #4 - 22,072 ( -8.3%)
03/13 Wolverine: Max #5 - 20,479 ( -7.2%)
04/13 Wolverine: Max #6 - 19,316 ( -5.7%)
05/13 Wolverine: Max #7 - 18,239 ( -5.6%)
06/13 Wolverine: Max #8 - 17,247 ( -5.4%)
07/13 Wolverine: Max #9 - 16,931 ( -1.8%)
6 mnth (-29.6%)
Marvel appear to have lower expectations of titles from the Max imprint. The drop this month is a lot smaller as well, though it’s too early to say whether that’s really a sign of the book finally levelling out.
152. JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY
07/11 J/into Mystery #625 - 33,781
=====
07/12 J/into Mystery #641 - 19,850 ( -4.2%)
08/12 J/into Mystery #642 - 22,336 (+12.5%)
09/12 J/into Mystery #643 - 21,109 ( -5.5%)
09/12 J/into Mystery #644 - 20,588 ( -2.5%)
10/12 J/into Mystery #645 - 20,705 ( +0.6%)
11/12 J/into Mystery #646 - 22,898 (+10.6%)
12/12 J/into Mystery #647 - 22,514 ( -1.7%)
01/13 J/into Mystery #648 - 20,887 ( -7.2%)
02/13 J/into Mystery #649 - 20,064 ( -3.9%)
03/13 J/into Mystery #650 - 19,007 ( -5.3%)
04/13 J/into Mystery #651 - 17,443 ( -8.2%)
05/13 J/into Mystery #652 - 16,873 ( -3.3%)
06/13 J/into Mystery #653 - 16,343 ( -3.1%)
07/13 J/into Mystery #654 - 15,580 ( -4.7%)
6 mnth (-25.4%)
1 year (-21.5%)
2 year (-53.9%)
Cancelled with issue #655.
155. WOLVERINE: IN THE FLESH 07/13 One-shot - 15,257
A one-shot written by celebrity chef Chris Cosentino, in which Wolverine teams up with celebrity chef Chris Cosentino. It’s quite something.
If this sounds like a comic from the days when Marvel was swamping the bottom end of the chart with throwaway minis and one-shots, well, that’s because it is – the book was originally announced in April 2011, but for some reason has only made it out now.
172. EMERALD CITY OF OZ
07/09 #8 of 8 - 15,487
07/10 #8 of 8 - 12,152
07/11 #8 of 8 - 8,216
=====
07/12 ---
08/12 ---
09/12 #1 of 8 - 12,620 (+73.9%)
10/12 #2 of 6 - 7,930 (-37.2%)
11/12 #3 of 6 - 7,619 ( -3.9%)
12/12 ---
01/13 #4 of 6 - 7,314 ( -4.0%)
02/13 #5 of 6 - 6,944 ( -5.1%)
03/13 #6 of 6 - 7,006 ( +0.9%)
04/13 ---
05/13 ---
06/13 ---
07/13 #1 of 5 - 13,701 (+95.6%)
6 mnth (+87.3%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year (+66.7%)
3 year (+12.7%)
4 year (-11.5%)
The standard bump for a first issue. OZ seems to get more benefit from this than other books that have used the series-of-minis structure.
175. SCARLET [Icon]
07/10 Scarlet #1 - 34,938
09/10 Scarlet #2 - 27,312 (-21.8%)
11/10 Scarlet #3 - 24,986 ( -8.5%)
01/11 Scarlet #4 - 22,011 (-11.9%)
07/11 Scarlet #5 - 20,473 ( -7.0%)
02/13 Scarlet #6 - 16,528 (-19.3%)
07/13 Scarlet #7 - 13,250 (-19.8%)
2 year (-35.3%)
3 year (-62.1%)
Two issues in two years may be asking too much even of the traditionally tolerant direct market readership.
181. RED SHE-HULK
07/09 ---
07/10 ---
07/11 Hulk #36 - 28,651
=====
07/12 Hulk #55 - 22,141 ( +0.3%)
08/12 Hulk #56 - 21,558 ( -2.6%)
08/12 Hulk #57 - 21,553 ( -0.0%)
09/12 ---
10/12 Red She-Hulk #58 - 31,136 (+44.5%)
11/12 Red She-Hulk #59 - 20,668 (-33.6%)
12/12 Red She-Hulk #60 - 20,798 ( +0.6%)
01/13 Red She-Hulk #61 - 18,815 ( -9.5%)
02/13 Red She-Hulk #62 - 17,766 ( -5.6%)
03/13 Red She-Hulk #63 - 15,941 (-10.3%)
04/13 Red She-Hulk #64 - 15,055 ( -5.6%)
05/13 Red She-Hulk #65 - 14,044 ( -6.7%)
06/13 Red She-Hulk #66 - 13,403 ( -4.6%)
07/13 Red She-Hulk #67 - 12,560 ( -6.3%)
6 mnth (-33.2%)
1 year (-43.3%)
2 year (-56.2%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year ( --- )
Final issue.
182. MORBIUS: THE LIVING VAMPIRE
01/13 Morbius v2 #1 - 43,883
02/13 Morbius v2 #2 - 25,735 (-41.4%)
03/13 Morbius v2 #3 - 20,262 (-21.3%)
04/13 Morbius v2 #4 - 17,544 (-13.4%)
05/13 Morbius v2 #5 - 15,042 (-14.3%)
06/13 Morbius v2 #6 - 14,584 ( -3.0%)
07/13 Morbius v2 #7 - 12,485 (-14.4%)
6 mnth (-71.5%)
Cancelled with issue #9.
197. THOR: DARK WORLD PRELUDE
06/13 Dark World Prelude #1 of 2 – 12,528
07/13 Dark World Prelude #2 of 2 – 11,286 (-9.9%)
Movie tie-in. These books aren’t really aimed at direct market readers.
203. POWERS: THE BUREAU [Icon]
07/03 ---
07/08 Powers v2 #29 - 18,908
07/09 ---
07/10 ---
07/11 ---
=====
07/12 ---
08/12 Powers v3 #11 - 11,939 ( -4.4%)
09/12 ---
10/12 ---
11/12 ---
12/12 ---
01/13 ---
02/13 Bureau #1 - 14,698 (+23.1%)
03/13 Bureau #2 - 12,966 (-11.8%)
03/13 Bureau #3 - 11,705 ( -9.7%)
04/13 ---
05/13 Bureau #4 - 11,441 ( -2.3%)
06/13 Bureau #5 - 11,092 ( -3.1%)
07/13 Bureau #6 - 10,883 ( -1.9%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( --- )
3 year ( --- )
4 year ( --- )
5 year (-42.4%)
10 year ( --- )
Continuing a steady erosion. Of course, this is an Icon book, so the normal rules don’t apply.
And missing the chart this month, MARVEL UNIVERSE ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #16, MARVEL UNIVERSE AVENGERS #16, and the reprint book BLACK BOLT: SOMETHING INHUMAN THIS WAY COMES, all with estimated orders of below 5,317.
6 month comparisons =================== +165.1% - Superior Spider-Man Team-Up +128.9% - X-Men + 87.3% - Oz + 10.4% - Hawkeye + 0.9% - Captain Marvel - 3.3% - Daredevil - 3.9% - Wolverine and the X-Men - 7.6% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man - 8.5% - Thor - 10.0% - Astonishing X-Men - 10.1% - Secret Avengers - 10.4% - X-Factor - 12.3% - Avengers - 12.4% - All-New X-Men - 13.2% - Scarlet Spider - 14.1% - Avengers Assemble - 17.2% - Venom - 17.5% - Ultimate Comics X-Men - 17.6% - Deadpool - 22.3% - Iron Man - 22.5% - Ultimates - 22.8% - Gambit - 23.9% - Hulk - 25.4% - Uncanny Avengers - 25.4% - Journey into Mystery - 26.9% - New Avengers - 29.6% - Wolverine Max - 31.6% - Superior Spider-Man - 31.8% - Captain America - 32.7% - Fantastic Four - 33.2% - Red She-Hulk - 33.6% - FF - 33.8% - Cable & X-Force - 35.6% - Thunderbolts - 36.5% - X-Men Legacy - 37.7% - Avengers Arena - 49.3% - A+X - 57.1% - Uncanny X-Force - 60.1% - Savage Wolverine - 63.4% - Young Avengers - 71.5% - Morbius 1 year comparisons ================== +107.2% - Superior Spider-Man Team-Up + 86.0% - X-Men + 61.2% - Deadpool + 49.6% - Thor + 35.0% - Superior Spider-Man + 23.1% - Hulk + 20.7% - Iron Man + 16.5% - Wolverine + 15.3% - Avengers + 10.8% - Captain America + 5.5% - Uncanny X-Men - 0.2% - Thunderbolts - 7.5% - New Avengers - 9.2% - Daredevil - 9.9% - Fantastic Four - 13.7% - FF - 14.6% - X-Factor - 20.2% - Uncanny X-Force - 20.9% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man - 21.5% - Journey into Mystery - 22.6% - Defenders - 22.8% - Scarlet Spider - 24.6% - Venom - 30.6% - Secret Avengers - 32.6% - Wolverine and the X-Men - 35.1% - Ultimate Comics X-Men - 36.7% - Astonishing X-Men - 38.1% - Avengers Assemble - 38.7% - Ultimates - 43.3% - Red She-Hulk - 50.8% - X-Men Legacy - 53.5% - Captain Marvel - 71.8% - A+X 2 year comparisons ================== + 72.2% - Deadpool + 66.7% - Oz + 58.6% - Hulk + 51.7% - X-Men + 42.0% - Superior Spider-Man + 20.6% - Uncanny X-Men + 16.4% - Avengers + 3.6% - Thor + 2.6% - Thunderbolts - 0.4% - New Avengers - 3.7% - Iron Man - 8.3% - Wolverine - 19.1% - X-Factor - 26.7% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man - 33.3% - Uncanny X-Force - 35.3% - Scarlet - 36.4% - Astonishing X-Men - 38.1% - Secret Avengers - 38.8% - Fantastic Four - 46.2% - Daredevil - 46.5% - X-Men Legacy - 50.9% - FF - 53.6% - Ultimates - 53.9% - Journey into Mystery - 56.2% - Red She-Hulk - 57.9% - Captain America 3 year comparisons ================== + 44.3% - Superior Spider-Man + 33.3% - Nova + 30.6% - Wolverine + 27.6% - Deadpool + 12.7% - Oz + 0.9% - Uncanny X-Men - 4.2% - Fantastic Four - 9.2% - Daredevil - 9.4% - Thunderbolts - 12.2% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man - 13.4% - Thor - 18.8% - Iron Man - 30.4% - New Avengers - 37.5% - X-Factor - 40.0% - Uncanny X-Force - 53.5% - X-Men - 58.5% - X-Men Legacy - 58.5% - Ultimates - 60.0% - Secret Avengers - 62.1% - Scarlet 4 year comparisons ================== +314.9% - Guardians of the Galaxy + 19.7% - Nova + 11.6% - Superior Spider-Man - 11.5% - Oz - 19.6% - Deadpool - 19.6% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man - 20.0% - Uncanny X-Men - 21.8% - Iron Man - 23.0% - Captain Marvel - 25.8% - Fantastic Four - 30.2% - Thunderbolts - 31.5% - New Avengers - 35.7% - X-Factor - 39.5% - Uncanny X-Force - 51.0% - Hulk - 59.6% - Ultimate Comics X-Men - 62.7% - X-Men Legacy - 78.9% - Captain America 5 year comparisons ================== +224.8% - Guardians of the Galaxy + 17.3% - Superior Spider-Man - 11.1% - Daredevil - 12.6% - Defenders - 14.8% - Nova - 37.3% - Iron Man - 39.5% - Thunderbolts - 39.8% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man - 42.4% - Powers - 44.9% - Thor - 46.6% - New Avengers - 48.6% - Captain America - 49.2% - Uncanny X-Force - 53.1% - Captain Marvel - 55.7% - Uncanny X-Men - 56.7% - Wolverine - 62.2% - X-Factor - 68.3% - X-Men Legacy - 79.5% - Astonishing X-Men 10 year comparisons =================== + 65.7% - Thunderbolts + 36.8% - Thor + 22.7% - Iron Man - 10.4% - Captain America - 15.3% - Superior Spider-Man - 16.7% - Avengers - 28.0% - Uncanny X-Men - 30.4% - Hulk - 31.7% - Fantastic Four - 42.0% - Daredevil - 49.2% - Uncanny X-Force - 57.4% - Wolverine - 67.2% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man - 77.8% - X-Men Legacy - 80.8% - Ultimates - 82.3% - Ultimate Comics X-Men
The text is going off the edge of the col
Some formatting problems…many descriptions just trail off…
Gaiman didn’t co-write GoTG. He consulted on it only. Surely Marvel promoting it at first as Gaiman co-writing it had a lot to do with the sales.
Paul is a new father and has some sleep issues, hence the formatting problems. Cut him some slack!
The format problem is a result of not using p tags within the pre tag
Edit: outside the pre tag
Re: Nova
“In that context, the number’s better than it may initially appear. ”
Better as in selling less than the previous run? Huh?
Regarding FF, I only say this to be constructive,. Sometimes its not the talent on the book that’s the problem (low sales, writer leaving) , its the hook of the story concept. Throwing talented people together doesn’t always work even if its hard for their egos to accept (while in their minds they may blame that darn readership)
FF / Fantastic Four is a book with a rather glorious history to it even if its been tired out at its 40 plus yr mark. Jack Kirby and Stan Lee being part of that for over 100 issues bubbling with unprecedented creativity and brilliance, It science fiction and Fantasy with a structure and more familiarity to the comic pubic than something like say, Hawkeye (which I’m liking and funding). You turn into Batman 66 and youl get these results. Especially when you replace the characters and keep the name. And introduce some lame aliens-in- the family story and mock the characters. Then its a good time to get out of Dodge City…Just saying.
If AVENGERS #18 was any indication, the regular Avengers issues won’t be worth buying for someone who isn’t buying INFINITY. The issue read like a section of a jigsaw puzzle. And why hasn’t the kid with the Starbrand used it to wipe out the Builders already? Why wait?
On the brighter side, I enjoyed HAWKEYE ANNUAL #1 quite a lot. The story was lightweight, but entertaining. However, the best course to take with Kate Bishop would be to have her take a year or two off from superheroing and then check in to see what she’s been doing. Too bad that’s not feasible.
SRS
I can’t believe Young Avengers isn’t doing better.
Daredevil should be a top ten book.
I agree, the Hawkeye Annual was terrific, it was like Marvel does manga. So was the Pizza Dog issue, I’m not as interested in trades so I was happy to track those issues down. Whatever they are doing there, keep doing.
Infinity is a mess. I have read every issue of Avengers and I still am confused by it. I may actually just not buy any of it, get spoiled down the web on whatever is happening at the end of it that will change the Marvel Universe forever and then jump back in. Hawkeye, Hulk, Thor, Daredevil…can we have more of these please Marvel?
Biff
I love reading the comments of the sales charts and seeing what other Beat readers are buying and enjoying. Would love to see a Beat readers sales chart — maybe something done on Survey Monkey or elsewhere?
These figures are really quite appalling. Assuming retailers don’t over
Take for example Uncanny X-men a flagship title. Ignoring issue 1 due to variants/speculators and issue 2 which is probably retailers guess of what it will sell we can say about 90 000 people where willing to give it a try.
Yet 7 issues later and it’s already shed about 30% of the readers. People always right this off as standard attrition. I would argue there is something seriously wrong when you’re losing that many readers in a short space of time. And this seems to be repeated for most of the marvel now re-launches.
There seems to be a general acceptance in the comics world that this is just the way it is rather than any attempt to understand what it is that drives those readers away so quickly.
When you look at magazines/tv ratings they shed customers but they also gain them. And when they do shed them its usually over a longer period.
Walking Dead/hawkeye show it can be done.
I’m suffering from Avengers fatigue already and I’m not interested in a multiple part crossover into books I don’t read. Looks like it’s time for me to part company with this franchise.
Amen saipaman! Way too many X and Avengers titles, with more on its way. Mighty Avengers isnt even out yet. Seriously Marvel, what the heck? I`m fed up as well. While not terrible, the relaunch isn’t great…..and everyone in the Marvel Universe is an avenger.
And people have the nerve to say DC doesn’t try to diversify its title base. If I recall they attempted with various titles from iVampire to Green Team to Franenstein, etc. Sure alot have failed but at least they try something different occassionally. I know you will say way to many Bat titles and Justice Leagues, but nowhere near Marvel`s situation. They should focus on putting out more quality books like Hawkeye or improving main titles which arent great right now like Captain America or the FF.
I will be curious to see how far Fearless Defenders falls with the price increase for issue #8 (as that’s when I dropped it.) AFAIK, this is the first price increase by Marvel on a series mid-stream for no obvious reason and hopefully that experiment fails.
icv2 reported Black Bolt: Something Inhuman This Way Comes as a TPB and listed it with sales of 4,845.
The historical Captain America volume numbers don’t look right to me – wasn’t 2003 v4 and 2008 v5?
@AlanSmith I’m now waiting for a Walking Dead/Hawkeye crossover.
Three quick hits:
1. Venom cancelled with #42: Hey, these days, forty-two issues is considered a great run. Most titles these days don’t get anywhere near that, especially a title featuring a second-tier character.
2. Fearless Defenders going to $3.99: What exactly is Marvel thinking??? A title that, quite honestly, needs all the help it can get going in, and they do THIS? That’s like throwing a drowning man an anchor instead of a life jacket or floatation device.
3: Too many Avengers/X-Men books: I agree totally. However, it’s called “what the market will bear”, and apparently the oversaturation point hasn’t been reached—yet. For the record, I’m currently reading NO Avengers or X-titles.
@rob – So far as FD goes, it’s obvious the book’s not long for this world, so I’d imagine Marvel’s doing what they can to get every buck out of it until there are enough issues out for a second trade. Maybe they think the majority of readers still around a couple of issues into the second arc are likely to stick it out over a $1 increase.
Congratulations, Paul! May you have many colic-free days and nights! And don’t worry, I just knocked on the wooden arm of my chair to stave off any jinxes.
What did everybody think of Infinity #1? I haven’t read it yet but I’m not an Avengers or New Avengers buyer so I’m hesitant.
After seeing the increase I looked it up and the WatXM #33 variant was an Age of X one that connects to other variants. Also the formatting on the comments of the on-going Wolverine title is off but I could read the full comment by copy and pasting it. I thought Thor’s sales would be better. Maybe with the new arc there will be a bump. I’m not a Thor fan but, like Hickman on FF, this writer seems really able to bring out the traits of the character that are most interesting while leaving behind some of the more monotonous (to me anyway) ones.
Steve said “..this is the first price increase by Marvel on a series mid-stream for no obvious reason and hopefully that experiment fails.”
Agreed. Other reader comments I’d like to agree with are the ones about finding it interesting to see what others here are reading and X and Avenger title fatigue. Reminds of Deadpool and how the 50 titles he had simultaneously dropped all of his sales until the relaunch. I understand the logic behind it but when there are so many in such a short span it seems to hurt all the books in the long run. Well, as long a run it is until a new relaunch in six months or whatever.
Relaunches that only involve issue number restarts shouldn’t be considered new series, especially if the volume number changes. That’s giving too much weight to a transparent marketing gimmick. DAREDEVIL is just one example of a series that could easily have continuous numbering.
SRS
Captain America is sliding because the Dimension Z story has dragged out way way too long. It could have been told in four issues and been a great start point. I dropped it since even though the end is in site I can’t justify $3.99 for dragged out stories same with Iron Man. It started out with a great overal all story arc but the individual issues could be read as stand alone. Now though the space storyline has dragged out way too long as well when it could have been told in about 3-4 issues and moved on. High prices and bloated stories are what are killing the Marvel in addition to the everyone is an Avenger or a X-Men.
I’m reading only Uncanny Avengers and X-men (the one with the women) of those franchises, and I’m perfectly satisfied. Both have Rogue and (usually) Wolverine, and that’s enough for me apparently.
This will be old news to some, but it really needs to be said so that it can finally sink is:
Right now, next to Spider-Man, Deadpool is Marvel Comics’ most successful character. His main title is outselling, Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man. His two titles outsell Wolverine’s two titles by a wide margin. Deadpool is doing this even though the other titles have far more established (and “hotter”) creators on them and even though Deadpool doesn’t get much positive publicity in the main comics internet sites.
I’m not even a Deadpool fan (well, I think he can be fun in small doses), but I think this is really noteworthy.
I think the appeal of Deadpool is twofold. 1) It has a really good writing team putting out entertaining stories. 2) It’s a unique title. Wade is definitely his own type of character with a warped sense of humor.
I guess I’m in the minority that from day one I could never stand Deadpool. The only time I liked him was in the Punisher vs. Marvel Universe mini…
I’ve always liked the idea of Deadpool but hated the execution until the current incarnation which is great.
‘Fearless Defenders going to $3.99: What exactly is Marvel thinking??? ‘
Can’t help thinking this may soon be the only price. Most of the $3 titles seem to be heading for cancellation. How much longer will scarlett Spider last with its sales?
DC also seem to be gradually increasing the prices and even some of the image books have had price increases(abliet increased page counts).
“Can’t help thinking this may soon be the only price.”
I will not pay $3.99 for anything from Marvel or DC. I will fork that over for something from a smaller publisher if I like it, such as The Spider from Dynamite, but $3.99 is my limit there. If those books go to $4.50 or above, my days of buying new comics will pretty much come to a close. I’ll still buy old comics and got some good stuff from the few 20 cent boxes I found at Wizard World Chicago, but I doubt it can be a good sign for the industry when a hardcore, 30+ year, I-even-kept-buying-comics-during-the-mid-to-late-90s fan like me finally throws in the towel.
Mike
“There seems to be a general acceptance in the comics world that this is just the way it is rather than any attempt to understand what it is that drives those readers away so quickly.”
So you’re basically admitting that this is what generally happens with every book, and yet you’re still making the assumption that there’s an underlying reason why EVERY book is “driving away” readers rather than chalking it up to standard attrition.
What brainwork.
Relaunches that only involve issue number restarts shouldn’t be considered new series, especially if the volume number changes. That’s giving too much weight to a transparent marketing gimmick. DAREDEVIL is just one example of a series that could easily have continuous numbering.
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Normally I’d agree with you on that, but these days, the “rules of the game” has changed, so to speak. Relaunches are the norm now, no matter the reason given for them. Do I like it? Nope, but that’s the way things are done at Marvel and DC these days. Quite the opposite of the 1940s and 1950s where companies went out of their way to avoid #1s (mainly due to the mailing fees for a new title, plus retailers were afraid the no one would buy a #1 issue—if they only knew then….)
Avengers A.I. #3 was a nice, self-contained issue. It summarized the story so far, and was easy to understand upon turning the page.
Then the Vision enters the Diamond, and raises some very interesting and intriguing issues!
Is the series self-contained? I hope so… Secret Avengers used to be like that when it first started…
X-Men: Legacy is another self-contained series. The recent issue (#15) with his mother was a bit surreal… a bit like Morrison’s Doom Patrol? And those covers!!!
“There seems to be a general acceptance in the comics world that this is just the way it is rather than any attempt to understand what it is that drives those readers away so quickly.”
So you’re basically admitting that this is what generally happens with every book, and yet you’re still making the assumption that there’s an underlying reason why EVERY book is “driving away” readers rather than chalking it up to standard attrition.
What brainwork.
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My assumption is that the first few issues also attract speculators. People who are hoping the comic becomes popular and that the first few issues will make them a mint somewhere down the line, so the “drop off ” in readers isn’t actually about readers and would happen with every book. That being said I would imagine the actual number of readers would happen around issues 6-7. Of course this is just a guess but based off my own observations at the comic book stores in my area and who I’ve seen buying.
Does that sound reasonable?
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