by Paul O’Brien

Have you been suffering from withdrawal symptoms ever since CIVIL WAR ended? Well, good news, because WORLD WAR HULK kicked off in May, leading into another few months of crossovers. On top of that, the Spider-Man books are still running “Back in Black” stories, while the “Initiative” banners continue to sprawl across Marvel’s line.

It was a quiet month for new titles, though, with one new ongoing series in the shape of MARVEL ADVENTURES IRON MAN. There were also three new miniseries – SILVER SURFER: REQUIEM, SPIDER-MAN: FAIRY TALES and the first Marvel Illustrated series, LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

But a shortage of big new titles doesn’t prevent Marvel from dominating the direct market once again – perhaps because, for once, almost all Marvel’s books shipped. The biggest title to miss shipping was SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN, which nobody will lose any sleep over. With all their big sellers hitting the shelves, Marvel slaughtered DC, with a margin of 47% to 31% in unit share, and 43% to 28% in dollar share.

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

1.  FALLEN SON: DEATH OF CAPTAIN AMERICA
04/07        Wolverine - 162,106
04/07         Avengers - 146,655  ( -9.5%)
05/07  Captain America - 170,027  (+15.9%)

The death of Captain America continues to rack up the sales, and Marvel’s decision to load this title with big name artists seems to have been justified. The “Wolverine” issue picks up re-orders of 4,815, while “Avengers” gets another 5,873. As usual, both of those figures have been included in the number above.

May’s issue was billed as featuring “Captain America.” It actually has Hawkeye in the costume, and he hands it back at the end. But interest in the storyline, and apparently the belief that this might be a major issue, sees a big increase – unusually for the third issue of a miniseries, this is the highest selling issue to date.

The Spider-Man and Iron Man issues, by David Finch and John Cassaday, were also solicited for May, but didn’t come out.

2.  DARK TOWER: THE GUNSLINGER BORN
02/07  Gunslinger Born #1 of 7 - 208,594
03/07  Gunslinger Born #2 of 7 - 160,139  (-23.2%)
04/07  Gunslinger Born #3 of 7 - 138,242  (-13.7%)
05/07  Gunslinger Born #4 of 7 - 131,753  ( -4.7%)

Another book that’s still piling on the re-orders. Issue #1 adds another 6,386, issue #2 gets 18,572 (thanks to a variant on the second printing) and issue #3 gets 5,761. And all this for a book that ought to do better than normal in the bookstore market, too.

The observation has been made in various quarters that this book doesn’t seem to be discussed much online. Arguably that’s a very good sign indeed, because it implies that the series is selling in big numbers to an audience other than the usual direct market customers – in which case it’s a massive success.

4.  CAPTAIN AMERICA
05/01  Captain America #43 -  36,700
05/02  Captain America #2  -  67,348
05/03  Captain America #13 -  49,279
05/04  Captain America #26 -  37,558
05/05  Captain America #6  -  46,368
=====
05/06  Captain America #18 -  46,740  (  +2.6%)
06/06  Captain America #19 -  47,315  (  +1.2%)
07/06  Captain America #20 -  47,357  (  +0.1%)
08/06  ---
09/06  Captain America #21 -  49,050  (  +3.6%)
09/06  Captain America #22 -  88,276  ( +80.0%)
10/06  Captain America #23 -  81,323  (  -7.9%)
11/06  Captain America #24 -  82,348  (  +1.3%)
12/06  ---
01/07  ---
02/07  ---
03/07  Captain America #25 - 317,753  (+285.9%)
04/07  ---
05/07  Captain America #26 - 126,449  ( -60.2%)
                              6 mnth  ( +53.6%)
                              1 year  (+170.5%)
                              2 year  (+172.7%)
                              3 year  (+236.7%)
                              4 year  (+156.6%)

They should shoot this guy more often. Naturally, sales drop back substantially after the enormous media hype of issue #25. But by this book’s standards, they’re still astronomical. The story is an undeniable hit.

Issue #25 is still picking up re-orders, with another 6,538 copies reaching the stores in May.

5.  NEW AVENGERS
05/01  Avengers #42     -  63,326
05/02  Avengers #54     -  52,874
05/03  Avengers #67     -  58,097
05/04  Avengers #82     -  55,711
05/05  ---
=====
05/06  New Avengers #19 - 125,223  (  +3.0%)
06/06  New Avengers #20 - 125,600  (  +0.3%)
06/06  New Avengers #21 - 154,911  ( +23.4%)
07/06  New Avengers #22 - 143,391  (  -7.4%)
08/06  New Avengers #23 - 155,550  (  +8.5%)
09/06  ---
10/06  New Avengers #24 - 136,811  ( -12.0%)
11/06  New Avengers #25 - 136,504  (  -0.2%)
12/06  New Avengers #26 - 122,670  ( -10.1%)
01/06  ---
02/07  New Avengers #27 - 132,109  (  +7.7%)
03/07  New Avengers #28 - 119,514  (  -9.5%)
04/07  New Avengers #29 - 125,378  (  +4.9%)
05/07  New Avengers #30 - 126,425  (  +0.8%)
                           6 mnth  (  -7.4%)
                           1 year  (  +1.0%)
                           2 year  (   --- )
                           3 year  (+126.9%)
                           4 year  (+117.6%)

The first Initiative book of the month, nudging slightly upwards. This seems to be NEW AVENGERS’ standard range, when it isn’t participating in a major event.

The June sales should be interesting, since Marvel bent over backwards to tell retailers that it was a huge issue. How many people took the bait?

6.  ASTONISHING X-MEN
05/04  Astonishing X-Men #1  - 209,389
05/05  Astonishing X-Men #10 - 134,986
=====
05/06  ---
06/06  Astonishing X-Men #15 - 119,991  ( -3.3%)
07/06  ---
08/06  Astonishing X-Men #16 - 121,897  ( +1.6%)
09/06  Astonishing X-Men #17 - 124,026  ( +1.7%)
10/06  ---
11/06  Astonishing X-Men #18 - 118,285  ( -4.6%)
12/06  Astonishing X-Men #19 - 124,033  ( +4.9%)
01/07  ---
02/07  Astonishing X-Men #20 - 119,736  ( -3.5%)
03/07  ---
04/07  ---
05/07  Astonishing X-Men #21 - 120,495  ( +0.6%)
                                6 mnth  ( +1.9%)
                                1 year  ( +0.4%)
                                2 year  (-10.7%)
                                3 year  (-42.5%)

ASTONISHING X-MEN celebrates its third birthday. In that time, it’s managed to put out fewer than two years’ worth of issues. But sales remain gratifyingly high, so Marvel won’t be too concerned about that.

7.  AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
05/01  Amazing Spider-Man #31  -  68,937
05/02  Amazing Spider-Man #41  -  97,947
05/03  Amazing Spider-Man #53  -  95,777
05/04  Amazing Spider-Man #507 -  81,944
05/05  Amazing Spider-Man #520 -  76,143
=====
05/06  Amazing Spider-Man #532 - 119,083  (+23.8%)
06/06  Amazing Spider-Man #533 - 137,926  (+15.8%)
07/06  Amazing Spider-Man #534 - 125,553  ( -9.0%)
08/06  ----
09/06  Amazing Spider-Man #535 - 122,968  ( -2.1%)
10/06  ----
11/06  Amazing Spider-Man #536 - 121,003  ( -1.6%)
12/06  ---
01/07  Amazing Spider-Man #537 - 123,160  ( +1.8%)
02/07  Amazing Spider-Man #538 - 145,435  (+18.1%)
03/07  Amazing Spider-Man #539 - 155,980  ( +7.3%)
04/07  ---
05/07  Amazing Spider-Man #540 - 119,662  (-23.3%)
                                  6 mnth  ( -1.1%)
                                  1 year  ( +0.5%)
                                  2 year  (+57.2%)
                                  3 year  (+46.0%)
                                  4 year  (+24.9%)

This is the second part of “Back in Black”, originally solicited for March. It’s worth remembering that issue #539’s sales are boosted by variant covers and re-orders. (In fact, it picks up a further 3,357 this month.) Issue #539 sold 137,730 in its first month, and that makes the curve look a little more reasonable. Still, it’s a faster drop than I would have expected.

Marvel have recently announced a drastic revamp of the Spider-Man line, which will see the cancellation of SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN and FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN, and the expansion of AMAZING to three issues per month. Superficially, this doesn’t change anything. There will still be just as many Spider-Man comics, but they’ll all have the AMAZING SPIDER-MAN logo on them.

But there’s a massive sales disparity between AMAZING and its sister titles, which sell 50-60K. In other words, roughly 50,000 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN readers don’t bother with the other two Spider-Man books, and only bought nine Spider-Man comics last year. Now Marvel want them to buy thirty-six. Will they play ball?

Bear in mind that in order for this to be a success, the new AMAZING only needs to sell more per month across its three issues than the current AMAZING, FRIENDLY and SENSATIONAL titles combined. In other words, Marvel can afford to lose thousands of existing AMAZING SPIDER-MAN readers and still make a profit from this change. It’ll be an interesting one to watch.

8.  MIGHTY AVENGERS
03/07  Mighty Avengers #1 - 156,400
04/07  Mighty Avengers #2 - 124,209  (-20.6%)
05/07  Mighty Avengers #3 - 115,440  ( -7.1%)

Back to the Initiative, and issue #2 picks up re-orders of 2,844. This is levelling out at about the level you’d expect.

10.  WORLD WAR HULK
05/07  Prologue - 111,153

11. INCREDIBLE HULK
05/01  Incredible Hulk #28  -  35,185
05/02  Incredible Hulk #40  -  45,115
05/03  Incredible Hulk #54  -  61,426
05/04  Incredible Hulk #72  -  45,385
05/05  Incredible Hulk #81  -  43,822
=====
05/06  Incredible Hulk #95  -  49,089  (  +2.3%)
06/06  ---
07/06  Incredible Hulk #96  -  49,209  (  +0.2%)
08/06  Incredible Hulk #97  -  48,893  (  -0.6%)
09/06  Incredible Hulk #98  -  52,987  (  +8.4%)
10/06  Incredible Hulk #99  -  47,878  (  -9.6%)
11/06  Incredible Hulk #100 -  84,169  ( +75.8%)
12/06  Incredible Hulk #101 -  47,927  ( -43.1%)
01/07  Incredible Hulk #102 -  46,965  (  -2.0%)
02/07  Incredible Hulk #103 -  46,690  (  -0.6%)
03/07  Incredible Hulk #104 -  47,823  (  +2.4%)
04/07  Incredible Hulk #105 -  53,256  ( +11.4%)
05/07  Incredible Hulk #106 - 110,192  (+106.9%)
                               6 mnth  ( +30.9%)
                               1 year  (+124.5%)
                               2 year  (+151.5%)
                               3 year  (+142.8%)
                               4 year  ( +79.4%)

Issue #106 is, of course, the first WORLD WAR HULK tie-in issue. If you thought that event fatigue was setting in – well, evidently the retailers don’t agree. This is a massive increase in sales for INCREDIBLE HULK which has to be attributable to the crossover, and the WORLD WAR HULK PROLOGUE issue also sells in huge quantities. It’s not quite another CIVIL WAR, but it’s in the same ballpark. So far, this looks like another huge hit.

13. ULTIMATES
05/02  Ultimates #5    - 102,524
05/03  Ultimates #10   - 105,546
05/04  ---
05/05  Ultimates 2 #6  - 102,026
=====
05/06  ---
06/06  Ultimates 2 #11 -  96,751  (+2.0%)
07/06  ---
08/06  ---
09/06  Ultimates 2 #12 -  99,538  (+2.9%)
10/06  ---
11/06  ---
12/06  ---
01/07  ---
02/07  ---
03/07  ---
04/07  ---
05/07  Ultimates 2 #13 - 105,745  (+6.2%)
                          6 mnth  ( --- )
                          1 year  (+9.3%)
                          2 year  (+3.6%)
                          3 year  ( --- )
                          4 year  (+0.2%)

Just to remind us one last time that ridiculous delays don’t affect sales, ULTIMATES 2 goes up for the third issue in a row as it finally comes to an end.

ULTIMATES 3 is in the pipeline, but hasn’t been scheduled yet. Effectively that means that ULTIMATES is now on indefinite hiatus – although since it almost never shipped in the first place, it doesn’t make much difference.

14. AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE
04/07  Initiative #1 - 127,798
05/07  Initiative #2 - 103,189  (-19.3%)

A fairly standard second issue drop, and still over 100,000 – pretty good for a series mainly featuring new characters.

17. WOLVERINE
05/01  Wolverine #164 -  67,936
05/02  Wolverine #176 -  69,061
05/03  Wolverine #1   - 158,787
05/04  Wolverine #15  -  68,728
05/05  Wolverine #28  -  80,961
=====
05/06  Wolverine #42  - 112,209  (+58.1%)
06/06  Wolverine #43  - 116,540  ( +3.9%)
07/06  Wolverine #44  - 111,478  ( -4.3%)
08/06  Wolverine #45  - 110,662  ( -0.7%)
09/06  Wolverine #46  - 107,865  ( -2.5%)
10/06  Wolverine #47  - 106,201  ( -1.5%)
11/06  Wolverine #48  -  99,991  ( -5.8%)
12/06  Wolverine #49  -  78,807  (-21.2%)
01/07  Wolverine #50  - 117,160  (+48.7%)
02/07  Wolverine #51  -  99,636  (-15.0%)
03/07  Wolverine #52  -  97,111  ( -2.5%)
04/07  Wolverine #53  -  98,441  ( +1.4%)
05/07  Wolverine #54  -  96,082  ( -2.4%)
                         6 mnth  ( -3.9%)
                         1 year  (-14.4%)
                         2 year  (+18.7%)
                         3 year  (+39.8%)
                         4 year  (-39.5%)

Jeph Loeb and Simone Bianchi’s storyline is still holding up fairly well.

18. NEW AVENGERS: ILLUMINATI
12/06  Illuminati #1 of 5 - 106,381
01/07  ---
02/07  Illuminati #2 of 5 -  92,881  (-12.7%)
03/07  ---
04/07  ---
05/07  Illuminati #3 of 5 -  92,821  ( -0.0%)

Virtually unchanged from issue #2, which is a very good sign. SECRET HISTORY, the reprint of issues #1-2, sells another 3,077 copies, bringing its total to 22,681.

21. UNCANNY X-MEN
05/01  Uncanny X-Men #394 - 127,211
05/02  Uncanny X-Men #406 -  91,356
05/03  Uncanny X-Men #424 -  94,638
05/04  Uncanny X-Men #444 - 112,129
05/05  Uncanny X-Men #459 -  83,547
=====
05/06  Uncanny X-Men #473 -  79,335  ( +0.2%)
06/06  Uncanny X-Men #474 -  78,140  ( -1.5%)
07/06  Uncanny X-Men #475 - 106,037  (+35.7%)
07/06  Uncanny X-Men #476 -  92,154  (-13.1%)
08/06  Uncanny X-Men #477 -  89,225  ( -3.2%)
09/06  Uncanny X-Men #478 -  89,850  ( +0.7%)
10/06  Uncanny X-Men #479 -  89,052  ( -0.9%)
11/06  Uncanny X-Men #480 -  88,584  ( -0.5%)
12/06  Uncanny X-Men #481 -  85,995  ( -2.9%)
01/07  Uncanny X-Men #482 -  83,860  ( -2.5%)
02/07  Uncanny X-Men #483 -  83,009  ( -1.0%)
03/07  Uncanny X-Men #484 -  82,043  ( -1.2%)
04/07  Uncanny X-Men #485 -  81,764  ( -0.3%)
05/07  Uncanny X-Men #486 -  81,965  ( +0.2%)
                             6 mnth  ( -7.5%)
                             1 year  ( +3.3%)
                             2 year  ( -1.9%)
                             3 year  (-26.9%)
                             4 year  (-13.4%)

A very slight bump for the final part of Ed Brubaker and Billy Tan’s twelve-issue epic “The Rise and Fall of the Shi’ar Empire.”

23.  MARVEL ZOMBIES
05/07  Dead Days - 81,324

A 48-page one-shot by Robert Kirkman and Sean Phillips telling the origin story of the Marvel Zombies universe. The joke shows no sign of wearing thin.

26. X-MEN
05/01  New X-Men #114 - 135,394
05/02  New X-Men #126 - 103,189
05/03  New X-Men #141 -  95,805
05/04  X-Men #157     - 107,185
05/05  X-Men #170     -  81,048
=====
05/06  X-Men #186     -  79,536  ( +0.9%)
06/06  X-Men #187     -  77,918  ( -2.0%)
07/06  X-Men #188     -  95,487  (+22.5%)
07/06  X-Men #189     -  85,157  (-10.8%)
08/06  X-Men #190     -  83,436  ( -2.0%)
09/06  X-Men #191     -  82,048  ( -1.7%)
10/06  X-Men #192     -  81,816  ( -0.3%)
11/06  X-Men #193     -  80,102  ( -2.1%)
12/06  X-Men #194     -  78,114  ( -2.5%)
01/07  X-Men #195     -  76,900  ( -1.6%)
02/07  X-Men #196     -  75,707  ( -1.6%)
03/07  X-Men #197     -  75,184  ( -0.7%)
04/07  X-Men #198     -  74,841  ( -0.5%)
05/07  X-Men #199     -  75,996  ( +1.5%)
                         6 mnth  ( -5.1%)
                         1 year  ( -4.5%)
                         2 year  ( -6.2%)
                         3 year  (-29.1%)
                         4 year  (-20.7%)

Pretty much dead level over the last few months. The X-books are gearing up for an autumn crossover, after being in the background for quite some time.

27. PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL
11/06  Punisher War Journal #1 - 102,727
12/06  --
01/07  Punisher War Journal #2 -  96,112  ( -6.4%)
01/07  Punisher War Journal #3 -  70,143  (-27.0%)
02/07  Punisher War Journal #4 -  52,961  (-24.5%)
03/07  Punisher War Journal #5 -  50,190  ( -5.2%)
04/07  Punisher War Journal #6 -  53,498  ( +6.6%)
05/07  Punisher War Journal #7 -  72,871  (+36.2%)
                                  6 mnth  (-29.1%)

Hmm. There’s a variant cover here showing the Punisher in a modified Captain America costume, but that’s a heck of a sales boost just for a variant cover by the regular artist. The solicitation is perfectly accurate, and the costume does show up in the interior, but from the size of that jump, I wonder whether people were expecting a more direct tie-in to the Captain America story.

28. ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN
05/01  Ult. Spider-Man #9   -  79,201
05/02  Ult. Spider-Man #22  -  90,905
05/03  Ult. Spider-Man #40  - 104,480
05/04  Ult. Spider-Man #58  -  90,963
05/05  Ult. Spider-Man #77  -  81,034
=====
05/06  Ult. Spider-Man #94  -  74,051  ( +1.7%)
05/06  Ult. Spider-Man #95  -  73,564  ( -0.7%)
06/06  Ult. Spider-Man #96  -  73,472  ( -0.1%)
07/06  Ult. Spider-Man #97  -  76,612  ( +4.3%)
08/06  Ult. Spider-Man #98  -  77,304  ( +0.9%)
08/06  Ult. Spider-Man #99  -  76,075  ( -1.6%)
09/06  Ult. Spider-Man #100 - 119,194  (+56.7%)
10/06  Ult. Spider-Man #101 -  78,963  (-33.8%)
11/06  Ult. Spider-Man #102 -  77,121  ( -2.3%)
12/06  Ult. Spider-Man #103 -  76,251  ( -1.1%)
01/07  Ult. Spider-Man #104 - 108,082  (+41.7%)
02/07  Ult. Spider-Man #105 -  74,376  (-31.2%)
03/07  Ult. Spider-Man #106 -  73,832  ( -1.3%)
03/07  Ult. Spider-Man #107 -  72,818  ( -1.4%)
04/07  Ult. Spider-Man #108 -  72,713  ( -0.1%)
05/07  Ult. Spider-Man #109 -  72,478  ( -0.3%)
                               6 mnth  ( -6.0%)
                               1 year  ( -2.1%)
                               2 year  (-10.6%)
                               3 year  (-20.3%)
                               4 year  (-30.6%)

This book seems to have found its level again.

29. FANTASTIC FOUR
05/01  Fantastic Four #43  - 50,311
05/02  Fantastic Four #55  - 43,563
05/03  Fantastic Four #69  - 52,103
05/04  Fantastic Four #513 - 50,936
05/05  Fantastic Four #527 - 67,433
=====
05/06  ---
06/06  Fantastic Four #538 - 92,624  (+16.4%)
07/06  ---
08/06  Fantastic Four #539 - 89,676  ( -3.2%)
09/06  ----
10/06  Fantastic Four #540 - 88,933  ( -0.8%)
11/06  ----
12/06  Fantastic Four #541 - 84,895  ( -4.5%)
01/07  Fantastic Four #542 - 84,338  ( -0.7%)
02/07  ---
03/07  Fantastic Four #543 - 78,823  ( -6.5%)
03/07  Fantastic Four #544 - 85,677  ( +8.7%)
04/07  Fantastic Four #545 - 77,576  ( -9.5%)
05/07  Fantastic Four #546 - 72,182  ( -7.0%)
                             6 mnth  (-15.0%)
                             1 year  (+22.1%)
                             2 year  ( +7.0%)
                             3 year  (+41.7%)
                             4 year  (+38.5%)

Another book mounting up the re-orders. Issue #545 adds another 8,966, while issue #545 gets 2,876. Allowing for that, this month’s drop is actually quite modest, and the book seems to be keeping up the momentum as it comes out of CIVIL WAR.

30. WOLVERINE: ORIGINS
05/06  Origins #2  - 131,522  (-28.0%)
06/06  Origins #3  - 116,058  (-11.8%)
07/06  Origins #4  - 110,830  ( -4.5%)
08/06  Origins #5  - 120,448  ( +8.7%)
09/06  Origins #6  - 101,013  (-16.1%)
10/06  Origins #7  - 103,273  ( +2.2%)
11/06  Origins #8  -  91,585  (-11.3%)
12/06  Origins #9  -  84,733  ( -7.5%)
01/07  Origins #10 -  97,881  (+15.5%)
02/07  Origins #11 -  78,901  (-19.4%)
03/07  Origins #12 -  74,750  ( -5.3%)
04/07  Origins #13 -  70,963  ( -5.1%)
05/07  Origins #14 -  68,953  ( -2.8%)
                      6 mnth  (-24.7%)
                      1 year  (-47.6%)

Levelling out slightly.

32. MARVEL ZOMBIES/ARMY OF DARKNESS
03/07  Army of Darkness #1 of 5 - 94,894
04/07  Army of Darkness #2 of 5 - 69,432  (-26.8%)
05/07  Army of Darkness #3 of 5 - 67,062  ( -3.4%)

A second printing of issue #1 also hits the shelves, with yet another variant cover. It adds another 18,019 to the total, as the undead franchise ploughs on. A very small drop for the third issue, too.

33. THUNDERBOLTS
05/01  Thunderbolts #52    - 35,282
05/02  Thunderbolts #64    - 28,596
05/03  Thunderbolts #79    - 19,755
05/04  ---
05/05  New Thunderbolts #8 - 27,769
=====
05/06  Thunderbolts #102   - 23,741  (  -1.8%)
06/06  Thunderbolts #103   - 60,823  (+156.2%)
07/06  Thunderbolts #104   - 63,850  (  +5.0%)
08/06  Thunderbolts #105   - 61,467  (  -3.7%)
09/06  Thunderbolts #106   - 31,527  ( -48.7%)
10/06  Thunderbolts #107   - 29,624  (  -6.0%)
11/06  Thunderbolts #108   - 27,890  (  -5.9%)
12/06  Thunderbolts #109   - 27,300  (  -2.1%)
01/07  Thunderbolts #110   - 73,557  (+169.4%)
02/07  Thunderbolts #111   - 62,791  ( -14.6%)
03/07  Thunderbolts #112   - 61,395  (  -2.2%)
04/07  Thunderbolts #113   - 65,092  (  +6.0%)
05/07  Thunderbolts #114   - 66,309  (  +1.9%)
                             6 mnth  (+137.8%)
                             1 year  (+179.3%)
                             2 year  (+138.8%)
                             3 year  (   --- )
                             4 year  (+235.7%)

Continuing to gain sales over the last couple of months, which suggests that Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato’s drastic revamp of the book has struck a chord beyond the initial burst of hype.

35. IRON MAN
05/01  Iron Man #42 - 37,101
05/02  Iron Man #55 - 40,859
05/03  Iron Man #68 - 33,213
05/04  Iron Man #81 - 28,232
05/05  ---
=====
05/06  Iron Man #8  - 38,860  ( -21.3%)
06/06  Iron Man #9  - 37,650  (  -3.1%)
07/06  Iron Man #10 - 38,102  (  +1.2%)
08/06  Iron Man #11 - 37,279  (  -2.2%)
09/06  Iron Man #12 - 36,278  (  -2.7%)
10/06  ---
11/06  Iron Man #13 - 76,800  (+111.7%)
12/06  Iron Man #14 - 73,388  (  -4.4%)
01/07  ---
02/07  Iron Man #15 - 72,394  (  -1.4%)
03/07  --- 
04/07  Iron Man #16 - 59,470  ( -17.9%)
05/07  Iron Man #17 - 63,328  (  +6.5%)
                      6 mnth  ( -17.5%)
                      1 year  ( +63.0%)
                      2 year  (   --- )
                      3 year  (+124.3%)
                      4 year  ( +90.7%)

This is one of the books solicited with a “Classified Information” tag, and seems to have attracted attention on the strength of that. IRON MAN continues to perform far above its traditional sales range. The character’s recent treatment may have been controversial, but it’s undoubtedly boosted interest in his title.

36. ULTIMATE POWER
10/06  Ultimate Power #1 of 9 - 113,823
11/06  Ultimate Power #2 of 9 -  76,654  (-32.7%)
12/06  Ultimate Power #3 of 9 -  70,148  ( -8.5%)
01/07  ---
02/07  ---
03/07  Ultimate Power #4 of 9 -  63,818  ( -9.0%)
04/07  ---
05/07  Ultimate Power #5 of 9 -  62,784  ( -1.6%)
                                 6 mnth  (-18.1%)

Levelling out, but these are disappointing numbers for a series that was clearly intended as an event.

38. ULTIMATE X-MEN
05/01  Ultimate X-Men #6  - 99,990
05/02  Ultimate X-Men #18 - 94,143
05/03  Ultimate X-Men #33 - 93,125
05/04  Ultimate X-Men #45 - 96,698
05/05  Ultimate X-Men #59 - 81,321
=====
05/06  Ultimate X-Men #70 - 72,235  ( -1.3%)
06/06  Ultimate X-Men #71 - 71,314  ( -1.3%)
07/06  Ultimate X-Men #72 - 70,593  ( -1.0%)
08/06  Ultimate X-Men #73 - 70,153  ( -0.6%)
09/06  Ultimate X-Men #74 - 68,874  ( -1.8%)
10/06  Ultimate X-Men #75 - 73,837  ( +7.2%)
11/06  Ultimate X-Men #76 - 69,054  ( -6.5%)
12/06  Ultimate X-Men #77 - 67,338  ( -2.5%)
01/07  Ultimate X-Men #78 - 66,409  ( -1.4%)
02/07  Ultimate X-Men #79 - 64,363  ( -3.1%)
03/07  Ultimate X-Men #80 - 63,037  ( -2.1%)
04/07  Ultimate X-Men #81 - 62,926  ( -0.2%)
05/07  Ultimate X-Men #82 - 62,063  ( -1.4%)
                            6 mnth  (-10.1%)
                            1 year  (-14.1%)
                            2 year  (-23.7%)
                            3 year  (-35.8%)
                            4 year  (-33.4%)

Fairly steady in the last couple of months, but you only have to check back to the earlier years to see that this book has been shedding readers for ages now, with no obvious end in sight.

42. OMEGA FLIGHT
05/04  Alpha Flight #3      - 32,684
=====
04/07  Omega Flight #1 of 5 - 71,205
05/07  Omega Flight #2 of 5 - 57,239  (-19.6%)
                              3 year  (+75.1%)

A second printing of issue #1 hits the shelves with a variant cover, and adds 13,052 to the total. Without those re-orders, the second issue drop would have been miniscule. This book is doing unexpectedly well, and at this stage, the signs look promising for it to become an ongoing title after all.

43. MOON KNIGHT
05/06  Moon Knight #2  -  77,552  (-32.3%)
06/06  Moon Knight #3  -  72,206  ( -6.9%)
07/06  --
08/06  Moon Knight #4  -  67,802  ( -6.1%)
09/06  Moon Knight #5  -  64,736  ( -4.5%)
10/06  --
11/06  Moon Knight #6  -  74,017  (+14.3%)
12/06  --
01/07  Moon Knight #7  -  76,921  ( +3.9%)
02/07  --
03/07  Moon Knight #8  -  77,390  ( +0.6%)
04/07  Moon Knight #9  -  69,196  (-10.6%)
05/07  Moon Knight #10 -  56,734  (-18.0%)
                          6 mnth  (-23.4%)
                          1 year  (-26.8%)

Ouch. That’s a very big drop. This is part four of a storyline, and there’s no obvious reason for it to drop so heavily. The book’s CIVIL WAR crossover ended with issue #8, so apparently retailers have spent the last two months trying to work out the book’s natural level. And last month, from the look of it, they missed badly. Regardless, this is the first obvious stumble for this series.

47. SILVER SURFER: REQUIEM  [Marvel Knights]
05/04  Silver Surfer #9 - 24,142
=====
05/07  Requiem #1 of 4  - 53,009
                          3 year  (+119.6%)

This month’s biggest new series is a Marvel Knights miniseries from J Michael Straczynski. The timing is obviously intended to tie in with the new Fantastic Four movie, and it gets a very respectable debut number.

48,52. ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR
05/04  ---
05/05  Ult. Fantastic Four #18 -  71,478
=====
05/06  Ult. Fantastic Four #30 - 103,837  (+53.7%)
06/06  ---
07/06  Ult. Fantastic Four #31 -  84,460  (-18.7%)
08/06  Ult. Fantastic Four #32 -  80,730  ( -4.4%)
08/06  Ult. Fantastic Four #33 -  65,191  (-19.2%)
09/06  Ult. Fantastic Four #34 -  63,447  ( -2.7%)
10/06  Ult. Fantastic Four #35 -  61,270  ( -3.4%)
11/06  Ult. Fantastic Four #36 -  57,779  ( -5.7%)
12/06  Ult. Fantastic Four #37 -  55,047  ( -4.7%)
01/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #38 -  52,859  ( -4.0%)
02/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #39 -  52,104  ( -1.4%)
03/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #40 -  50,488  ( -3.1%)
04/07  ---
05/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #41 -  49,916  ( -1.1%)
05/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #42 -  52,840  ( +5.9%)
                                  6 mnth  ( -8.5%)
                                  1 year  (-49.1%)
                                  2 year  (-26.1%)
                                  3 year  (  --- )

Finally some good news for this title as it bounces up a few thousand. But the overall trend for the last year still isn’t pretty.

49. BLACK PANTHER
05/01  Black Panther #32 - 20,226
05/02  Black Panther #44 - 19,571
05/03  Black Panther #59 - 16,383
05/04  ---
05/05  Black Panther #4  - 40,804
=====
05/06  Black Panther #16 - 28,091  (  -1.0%)
06/06  Black Panther #17 - 27,993  (  -0.3%)
07/06  Black Panther #18 - 69,912  (+149.7%)
08/06  Black Panther #19 - 28,372  ( -59.4%)
09/06  Black Panther #20 - 26,585  (  -6.3%)
10/06  Black Panther #21 - 34,257  ( +28.9%)
11/06  Black Panther #22 - 47,556  ( +38.8%)
12/06  Black Panther #23 - 54,762  ( +15.2%)
01/07  Black Panther #24 - 59,971  (  +9.5%)
02/07  Black Panther #25 - 56,479  (  -5.8%)
03/07  Black Panther #26 - 51,385  (  -9.0%)
04/07  ---
05/07  Black Panther #27 - 52,552  (  +2.3%)
                           6 mnth  ( +10.5%)
                           1 year  ( +87.1%)
                           2 year  ( +28.8%)
                           3 year  (   --- )
                           4 year  (+220.8%)

Back to the Initiative, and BLACK PANTHER continues to benefit from its high-profile tie-up with FANTASTIC FOUR.

53. FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN
05/06  F.N. Spider-Man #8  - 53,910  ( -2.7%)
06/06  F.N. Spider-Man #9  - 50,177  ( -6.9%)
07/06  F.N. Spider-Man #10 - 48,902  ( -2.5%)
08/06  F.N. Spider-Man #11 - 50,995  ( +4.3%)
09/06  F.N. Spider-Man #12 - 48,063  ( -5.7%)
10/06  F.N. Spider-Man #13 - 46,293  ( -3.7%)
11/06  F.N. Spider-Man #14 - 43,476  ( -6.1%)
12/06  F.N. Spider-Man #15 - 42,147  ( -3.1%)
01/07  F.N. Spider-Man #16 - 41,832  ( -0.7%)
02/07  F.N. Spider-Man #17 - 62,278  (+48.9%)
03/07  F.N. Spider-Man #18 - 50,665  (-18.6%)
04/07  F.N. Spider-Man #19 - 50,307  ( -0.7%)
05/07  F.N. Spider-Man #20 - 49,908  ( -0.8%)
                             6 mnth  (+14.8%)
                             1 year  ( -7.4%)

Cancelled with issue #24.

54,62. SPIDER-MAN ANNUALS
05/07  Sensational Spider-Man #1    - 48,474
05/07  Friendly Neighborhood S-M #1 - 41,944

The SENSATIONAL annual is a “Back in Black” tie-in, while FRIENDLY’s is a Sandman origin story. That probably accounts for the sales difference.

57. DAREDEVIL
05/01  Daredevil #18 - 58,866
05/02  Daredevil #33 - 47,227
05/03  Daredevil #47 - 61,368
05/04  Daredevil #60 - 54,012
05/05  Daredevil #73 - 48,681
=====
05/06  Daredevil #85 - 47,899  ( +1.6%)
06/06  Daredevil #86 - 48,280  ( +0.8%)
07/06  Daredevil #87 - 51,989  ( +7.7%)
08/06  Daredevil #88 - 50,554  ( -2.8%)
09/06  Daredevil #89 - 55,481  ( +9.7%)
10/06  Daredevil #90 - 50,500  ( -9.0%)
11/06  Daredevil #91 - 49,335  ( -2.3%)
12/06  Daredevil #92 - 48,035  ( -2.6%)
01/07  Daredevil #93 - 47,124  ( -1.9%)
02/07  Daredevil #94 - 46,773  ( -0.7%)
03/07  Daredevil #95 - 46,455  ( -0.7%)
04/07  Daredevil #96 - 46,198  ( -0.6%)
05/07  Daredevil #97 - 47,200  ( +2.2%)
                       6 mnth  ( -4.3%)
                       1 year  (-14.6%)
                       2 year  ( -3.0%)
                       3 year  (-12.6%)
                       4 year  (-23.1%)

Pretty solid over the last few months.

58. RUNAWAYS
05/03  Runaways #2  - 23,328
05/04  Runaways #15 - 19,306
05/05  Runaways #4  - 28,968
=====
05/06  Runaways #16 - 23,842  (  -0.8%)
06/06  Runaways #17 - 23,654  (  -0.8%)
07/06  Runaways #18 - 24,678  (  +4.3%)
08/06  Runaways #19 - 25,042  (  +1.5%)
09/06  Runaways #20 - 23,561  (  -5.9%)
10/06  Runaways #21 - 25,553  (  +8.5%)
11/06  Runaways #22 - 25,908  (  +1.4%)
12/06  ---
01/07  Runaways #23 - 25,346  (  -2.2%)
02/07  Runaways #24 - 25,216  (  -0.5%)
03/07  ---
04/07  Runaways #25 - 56,250  (+123.1%)
05/07  Runaways #26 - 46,134  ( -18.0%)
                      6 mnth  ( +78.1%)
                      1 year  ( +93.5%)
                      2 year  ( +59.3%)
                      3 year  (+139.0%)
                      4 year  ( +97.8%)

A fairly standard drop-off after Joss Whedon’s debut issue. RUNAWAYS is still way up from its previous sales levels.

59. NOVA
05/06  Ann: Nova #2 of 4 - 39,602  ( -6.7%)
06/06  Ann: Nova #3 of 4 - 36,663  ( -7.4%)
07/06  Ann: Nova #4 of 4 - 35,194  ( -4.0%)
08/06  ---
09/06  ---
10/06  ---
11/06  ---
12/06  ---
01/07  ---
02/07  ---
03/07  ---
04/07  Nova #1           - 42,917  (+21.9%)
05/07  Nova #2           - 44,532  ( +3.8%)
                           6 mnth  (  --- )
                           1 year  (+12.4%)

Yes, sales are actually up for the second issue – almost unheard of. The likely explanation is that issue #2 is an Initiative crossover, but still, it can’t hurt.

60. GHOST RIDER
07/06  Ghost Rider #1  - 98,826  (+77.1%)
08/06  Ghost Rider #2  - 61,793  (-37.5%)
09/06  Ghost Rider #3  - 54,029  (-12.6%)
10/06  Ghost Rider #4  - 50,925  ( -5.7%)
11/06  Ghost Rider #5  - 47,929  ( -5.9%)
12/06  Ghost Rider #6  - 46,673  ( -2.6%)
01/07  Ghost Rider #7  - 43,557  ( -6.7%)
02/07  Ghost Rider #8  - 48,736  (+11.9%)
03/07  Ghost Rider #9  - 48,041  ( -1.4%)
04/07  Ghost Rider #10 - 43,986  ( -8.4%)
05/07  Ghost Rider #11 - 43,626  ( -0.8%)
                         6 mnth  ( -9.0%)

A very small drop this month. When you leave the CIVIL WAR tie-ins out of the picture, the book seems to have found its level at around 43,000.

61. MS MARVEL
05/06  Ms Marvel #3  - 43,048  ( -6.8%)
06/06  Ms Marvel #4  - 40,627  ( -5.6%)
07/06  Ms Marvel #5  - 38,874  ( -4.3%)
08/06  Ms Marvel #6  - 68,330  (+75.8%)
09/06  Ms Marvel #7  - 64,973  ( -4.9%)
10/06  Ms Marvel #8  - 62,893  ( -3.2%)
11/06  Ms Marvel #9  - 37,881  (-39.8%)
12/06  Ms Marvel #10 - 34,350  ( -9.3%)
01/07  Ms Marvel #11 - 32,298  ( -6.0%)
02/07  Ms Marvel #12 - 30,763  ( -4.8%)
03/07  Ms Marvel #13 - 40,836  (+32.7%)
04/07  Ms Marvel #14 - 42,877  ( +5.0%)
05/07  Ms Marvel #15 - 42,849  ( -0.0%)
                       6 mnth  (+13.1%)
                       1 year  ( -0.5%)

Virtually no change from last month, as MS MARVEL continues to see benefits from her Initiative tie-in.

63. SHE-HULK
05/04  She-Hulk #3  - 29,662
05/05  ---
=====
05/06  She-Hulk #7  - 26,561  (  -0.3%)
05/06  She-Hulk #8  - 58,053  (+118.6%)
06/06  ---
07/06  She-Hulk #9  - 29,902  ( -48.5%)
08/06  She-Hulk #10 - 28,555  (  -4.5%)
08/06  She-Hulk #11 - 27,393  (  -4.1%)
09/06  She-Hulk #12 - 26,448  (  -3.4%)
10/06  ---
11/06  She-Hulk #13 - 26,267  (  -0.7%)
12/06  She-Hulk #14 - 24,552  (  -6.5%)
01/07  She-Hulk #15 - 27,600  ( +12.4%)
02/07  She-Hulk #16 - 27,961  (  +1.3%)
03/07  ---
04/07  She-Hulk #17 - 27,669  (  -1.0%)
05/07  She-Hulk #18 - 41,800  ( +51.4%)
                      6 mnth  ( +59.1%)
                      1 year  ( +57.4%)
                      2 year  (   --- )
                      3 year  ( +40.9%)

Another “Classified Information” solicit, but it’s also a lead-in to WORLD WAR HULK and an Initiative book. Sales are understandably boosted. SHE-HULK ought to do well from the upcoming crossover.

64. X-23: TARGET X
05/05  X-23 #6 of 6     - 51,693
=====
12/06  Target X #1 of 6 - 58,125
01/07  Target X #2 of 6 - 44,000  (-24.3%)
02/07  Target X #3 of 6 - 42,132  ( -4.2%)
03/07  Target X #4 of 6 - 41,858  ( -0.7%)
04/07  Target X #5 of 6 - 41,701  ( -0.4%)
05/07  Target X #6 of 6 - 41,559  ( -0.3%)
                          2 year  (-19.6%)

Incredibly stable sales on this miniseries, which continues to outsell its parent title.

65. NEW X-MEN
05/03  New Mutants #1 - 57,016
05/04  New X-Men #1   - 76,416
05/05  New X-Men #13  - 35,033
=====
05/06  New X-Men #26  - 40,073  ( -0.3%)
06/06  New X-Men #27  - 39,785  ( -0.7%)
07/06  New X-Men #28  - 39,771  ( -0.0%)
08/06  New X-Men #29  - 40,303  ( +1.3%)
09/06  New X-Men #30  - 39,658  ( -1.6%)
10/06  New X-Men #31  - 39,175  ( -1.2%)
11/06  New X-Men #32  - 37,919  ( -3.2%)
12/06  New X-Men #33  - 38,076  ( +0.4%)
01/07  New X-Men #34  - 37,272  ( -2.1%)
02/07  New X-Men #35  - 37,142  ( -0.3%)
03/07  New X-Men #36  - 37,004  ( -0.4%)
04/07  New X-Men #37  - 37,935  ( +2.5%)
05/07  New X-Men #38  - 38,915  ( +2.6%)
                        6 mnth  ( +2.6%)
                        1 year  ( -2.9%)
                        2 year  (+11.1%)
                        3 year  (-49.1%)
                        4 year  (-31.7%)

Small gains over the last couple of months, and the book was fairly steady to start with.

66. X-FACTOR
05/06  X-Factor #7  - 44,315  ( -2.0%)
06/06  X-Factor #8  - 76,150  (+71.8%)
07/06  X-Factor #9  - 68,799  ( -9.7%)
08/06  X-Factor #10 - 44,603  (-35.2%)
09/06  X-Factor #11 - 43,431  ( -2.6%)
10/06  X-Factor #12 - 42,909  ( -1.2%)
11/06  X-Factor #13 - 42,844  ( -0.2%)
12/06  X-Factor #14 - 40,208  ( -6.2%)
01/07  X-Factor #15 - 38,693  ( -3.8%)
02/07  X-Factor #16 - 38,240  ( -1.2%)
03/07  X-Factor #17 - 38,067  ( -0.4%)
04/07  X-Factor #18 - 37,851  ( -0.6%)
05/07  X-Factor #19 - 37,898  ( +0.1%)
                      6 mnth  (-11.5%)
                      1 year  (-14.5%)

A slight upwards nudge, but the overall downward trend is still a little uncomfortable. X-FACTOR is participating in the autumn X-books crossover, which should give it a leg up.

67. IMMORTAL IRON FIST
05/04  Iron Fist #3          - 24,972
=====
11/06  Immortal Iron Fist #1 - 60,079
12/06  Immortal Iron Fist #2 - 40,617  (-32.4%)
01/07  ---
02/07  Immortal Iron Fist #3 - 35,654  (-12.2%)
03/07  ---
04/07  Immortal Iron Fist #4 - 37,159  ( +4.2%)
05/07  Immortal Iron Fist #5 - 36,856  ( -0.8%)
                               6 mnth  (-38.7%)
                               3 year  (+47.6%)

Finding its level remarkably quickly.

68. SILENT WAR
01/07  Silent War #1 of 6 - 44,079
02/07  Silent War #2 of 6 - 37,899  (-14.0%)
03/07  Silent War #3 of 6 - 36,151  ( -4.6%)
04/07  Silent War #4 of 6 - 36,162  ( +0.0%)
05/07  Silent War #5 of 6 - 35,903  ( -0.7%)

Another very steady seller, despite the series being widely overlooked.

69. GHOST RIDER: TRAIL OF TEARS
02/07  Trail of Tears #1 of 6 - 49,260
03/07  Trail of Tears #2 of 6 - 40,200  (-18.4%)
04/07  Trail of Tears #3 of 6 - 37,271  ( -7.3%)
05/07  Trail of Tears #4 of 6 - 35,414  ( -5.0%)

Standard miniseries decline.

70. PUNISHER  [Max]
05/02  Punisher #12 - 42,359
05/03  Punisher #26 - 40,140
05/04  Punisher #6  - 48,576
05/05  Punisher #21 - 37,998
=====
05/06  Punisher #33 - 34,480  ( +1.2%)
06/06  Punisher #34 - 34,161  ( -0.9%)
07/06  Punisher #35 - 34,116  ( -0.1%)
08/06  Punisher #36 - 34,227  ( +0.3%)
09/06  Punisher #37 - 34,250  ( +0.1%)
09/06  Punisher #38 - 33,839  ( -1.2%)
10/06  Punisher #39 - 33,962  ( +0.4%)
11/06  Punisher #40 - 33,579  ( -1.1%)
11/06  Punisher #41 - 33,164  ( -1.2%)
12/06  Punisher #42 - 33,003  ( -0.5%)
01/07  Punisher #43 - 33,023  ( +0.0%)
02/07  Punisher #44 - 32,951  ( -0.2%)
03/07  Punisher #45 - 33,245  ( +0.9%)
04/07  Punisher #46 - 33,427  ( +0.5%)
05/07  Punisher #47 - 33,892  ( +1.4%)
                      6 mnth  ( +2.2%)
                      1 year  ( -1.7%)
                      2 year  (-10.8%)
                      3 year  (-30.2%)
                      4 year  (-15.6%)

One of Marvel’s most stable performers.

76. NEWUNIVERSAL
12/06  newuniversal #1 - 43,163
01/07  newuniversal #2 - 49,565  (+14.8%)
02/07  newuniversal #3 - 36,535  (-26.3%)
03/07  newuniversal #4 - 34,743  ( -4.9%)
04/07  newuniversal #5 - 33,230  ( -4.4%)
05/07  newuniversal #6 - 31,945  ( -3.9%)

After surprising early sales, the book has settled into a more conventional decline. It’s going on hiatus after this issue, ostensibly to store up issues for the next story arc – although reassigning the artist to UNCANNY X-MEN suggests that it’s going to be a while before issue #7.

81. EXILES
05/02  Exiles #13 - 38,306
05/03  Exiles #27 - 37,204
05/04  Exiles #46 - 38,788
05/05  Exiles #64 - 34,033
=====
05/06  Exiles #80 - 34,039  ( -0.2%)
05/06  Exiles #81 - 33,908  ( -0.4%)
06/06  Exiles #82 - 33,342  ( -1.7%)
06/06  Exiles #83 - 33,143  ( -0.6%)
07/06  Exiles #84 - 32,866  ( -0.8%)
08/06  Exiles #85 - 33,978  ( +3.4%)
09/06  Exiles #86 - 33,080  ( -2.6%)
10/06  Exiles #87 - 31,946  ( -3.4%)
11/06  Exiles #88 - 30,928  ( -3.2%)
12/06  Exiles #89 - 36,880  (+19.2%)
01/07  Exiles #90 - 31,595  (-14.3%)
02/07  Exiles #91 - 31,712  ( +0.4%)
03/07  Exiles #92 - 30,296  ( -4.5%)
04/07  Exiles #93 - 30,697  ( +1.3%)
05/07  Exiles #94 - 30,735  ( +0.1%)
                    6 mnth  ( -0.6%)
                    1 year  ( -9.7%)
                    2 year  ( -9.7%)
                    3 year  (-20.8%)
                    4 year  (-17.4%)

84. NEW EXCALIBUR
05/06  New Excalibur #7  - 38,744  ( -4.8%)
06/06  New Excalibur #8  - 37,428  ( -3.4%)
07/06  New Excalibur #9  - 36,466  ( -2.6%)
08/06  New Excalibur #10 - 36,108  ( -1.0%)
09/06  New Excalibur #11 - 34,104  ( -5.6%)
10/06  New Excalibur #12 - 33,082  ( -3.0%)
11/06  New Excalibur #13 - 32,173  ( -2.7%)
12/06  New Excalibur #14 - 31,318  ( -2.7%)
01/07  New Excalibur #15 - 30,827  ( -1.6%)
02/07  New Excalibur #16 - 30,356  ( -1.5%)
02/07  New Excalibur #17 - 30,073  ( -0.9%)
03/07  ---
04/07  New Excalibur #18 - 29,617  ( -1.5%)
04/07  New Excalibur #19 - 29,014  ( -2.0%)
05/07  New Excalibur #20 - 28,796  ( -0.8%)
                           6 mnth  (-10.5%)
                           1 year  (-25.7%)

The two Chris Claremont titles are still clinging together, and holding steady.

86. SPIDER-MAN & FANTASTIC FOUR
04/07  Spider-Man/FF #1 of 4 - 32,909
05/07  Spider-Man/FF #2 of 4 - 27,025  (-17.9%)

A fairly standard second-issue drop.

88. CABLE & DEADPOOL
05/04  Cable & Deadpool #3  - 36,820
05/05  Cable & Deadpool #15 - 24,837
=====
05/06  Cable & Deadpool #28 - 25,665  (  -1.9%)
06/06  Cable & Deadpool #29 - 25,368  (  -1.2%)
07/06  Cable & Deadpool #30 - 59,333  (+133.9%)
08/06  Cable & Deadpool #31 - 59,804  (  +0.8%)
09/06  Cable & Deadpool #32 - 60,177  (  +0.6%)
10/06  Cable & Deadpool #33 - 30,741  ( -48.9%)
11/06  Cable & Deadpool #34 - 29,144  (  -5.2%)
12/06  Cable & Deadpool #35 - 27,785  (  -4.7%)
01/07  Cable & Deadpool #36 - 26,803  (  -3.5%)
02/07  Cable & Deadpool #37 - 26,588  (  -0.8%)
03/07  Cable & Deadpool #38 - 26,258  (  -1.2%)
04/07  Cable & Deadpool #39 - 26,110  (  -0.6%)
05/07  Cable & Deadpool #40 - 26,120  (  +0.0%)
                              6 mnth  ( -10.4%)
                              1 year  (  +1.8%)
                              2 year  (  +5.2%)
                              3 year  ( -29.1%)

Incredibly stable numbers, although one has to wonder why Marvel didn’t do more to advertise the fact that the present arc is a crossover with X-MEN.

97. X-MEN: FIRST CLASS
09/06  First Class #1 of 8 - 39,859
10/06  First Class #2 of 8 - 33,688  (-15.5%)
11/06  First Class #3 of 8 - 30,805  ( -8.6%)
12/06  First Class #4 of 8 - 28,455  ( -7.6%)
01/07  First Class #5 of 8 - 26,607  ( -6.5%)
02/07  First Class #6 of 8 - 25,125  ( -5.6%)
03/07  First Class #7 of 8 - 24,028  ( -4.4%)
04/07  First Class #8 of 8 - 23,420  ( -2.5%)
05/07  First Class Special - 23,556  ( +0.6%)
                             6 mnth  (-23.5%)

An anthology one-shot filling the gap between the miniseries and the ongoing title, which launches in June. Retailers seem to have treated it as issue #9.

100. ANNIHILATION SAGA
05/07  Annihilation Saga - 22,154

A recap of the Annihilation crossover, in preparation for the sequel. 22,000 copies of a recap book is a good result.

107, 133. OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE
05/04  X-Men 2004        - 39,380
05/05  Teams 2005        - 22,564
=====
05/06  A to Z #5  of 12  - 21,331  ( -0.9%)
06/06  A to Z #6  of 12  - 20,731  ( -2.8%)
07/06  A to Z #7  of 12  - 20,124  ( -2.9%)
08/06  A to Z #8  of 12  - 19,926  ( -1.0%)
09/06  A to Z #9  of 12  - 18,966  ( -4.8%)
10/06  A to Z #10 of 12  - 18,767  ( -1.0%)
11/06  A to Z #11 of 12  - 18,285  ( -2.6%)
12/06  A to Z #12 of 12  - 21,183  (+15.8%)
01/07  Update #1 of 4    - 17,182  (-18.9%)
02/07  ---
03/07  ---
04/07  Spider-Man: BIB   - 23,510  (+36.8%)
05/07  Update #2 of 4    - 16,633  (-29.3%)
05/07  Anita Blake       - 20,936  (+25.9%)
                           6 mnth  (+14.5%)
                           1 year  ( -1.6%)
                           2 year  ( -7.2%)
                           3 year  (-46.8%)

It’s perhaps open to question whether the ANITA BLAKE book is properly part of this series, since it’s not a Marvel Universe title. But it’s the same format and the same contributors, so it’ll do for me. The HANDBOOK’s sales continue to waver according to the subject matter for the month.

The twelve-issue ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER: GUILTY PLEASURES miniseries has gone on hiatus after issue #6, and returns in September. A completely different ANITA BLAKE miniseries, THE FIRST DEATH, starts in July. It’s an unusual approach to take with a successful series, to put it mildly.

109. HEROES FOR HIRE
08/06  Heroes for Hire #1  - 84,006
09/06  Heroes for Hire #2  - 66,949  (-20.3%)
10/06  Heroes for Hire #3  - 60,770  ( -9.2%)
11/06  Heroes for Hire #4  - 38,070  (-37.4%)
12/06  Heroes for Hire #5  - 31,318  (-17.7%)
01/07  Heroes for Hire #6  - 27,513  (-12.1%)
02/07  Heroes for Hire #7  - 24,476  (-11.0%)
03/07  Heroes for Hire #8  - 22,563  ( -7.8%)
04/07  Heroes for Hire #9  - 21,444  ( -5.0%)
05/07  Heroes for Hire #10 - 20,503  ( -4.4%)
                             6 mnth  (-46.1%)

Deeply unimpressive numbers. With BLADE and ANT-MAN both axed at issue #12, this is now the lowest-selling Marvel Universe title that hasn’t been cancelled yet. Granted, it outsells BLADE by around 3,000 copies, but it’s lost that many readers in the last three months. A WORLD WAR HULK crossover should help in the short term, but beyond that, things look bleak for this book.

116. AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL
05/01  Spider-Girl #34        - 23,928
05/02  Spider-Girl #47        - 24,060
05/03  Spider-Girl #60        - 23,112
05/04  Spider-Girl #73        - 20,275
05/05  Spider-Girl #86        - 19,452
=====
05/06  Spider-Girl #98        - 17,738  (  +1.3%)
06/06  Spider-Girl #99        - 17,915  (  +1.0%)
07/06  Spider-Girl #100       - 22,691  ( +26.7%)
08/06  ----
09/06  ----
10/06  Amazing Spider-Girl #1 - 47,304  (+108.5%)
11/06  Amazing Spider-Girl #2 - 28,135  ( -40.5%)
12/06  Amazing Spider-Girl #3 - 25,645  (  -8.9%)
01/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #4 - 23,113  (  -9.9%)
02/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #5 - 21,391  (  -7.5%)
03/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #6 - 20,478  (  -4.3%)
04/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #7 - 20,093  (  -1.9%)
05/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #8 - 19,574  (  -2.6%)
                                6 mnth  ( -20.4%)
                                1 year  ( +10.4%)
                                2 year  (  +0.6%)
                                3 year  (  -3.5%)
                                4 year  ( -15.3%)

The book’s return to pre-relaunch numbers seems increasingly imminent.

118. PUNISHER PRESENTS BARRACUDA MAX [Max]
02/07  Barracuda #1 of 5 - 23,886
03/07  Barracuda #2 of 5 - 20,969  (-12.2%)
04/07  Barracuda #3 of 5 - 20,150  ( -3.9%)
05/07  Barracuda #4 of 5 - 19,422  ( -3.6%)

Respectable numbers for a Max miniseries.

119. LONERS
04/07  Loners #1 of 6 - 24,377
05/07  Loners #2 of 6 - 18,901  (-22.5%)

That, on the other hand, is a very steep second issue drop – but then, it’s a RUNAWAYS spin-off, which always seemed a bit optimistic.

121. IRON MAN: HYPERVELOCITY
01/07  Hypervelocity #1 of 6 - 28,630
02/07  Hypervelocity #2 of 6 - 22,522  (-21.3%)
03/07  Hypervelocity #3 of 6 - 20,020  (-11.1%)
04/07  Hypervelocity #4 of 6 - 18,855  ( -5.8%)
05/07  Hypervelocity #5 of 6 - 18,420  ( -2.3%)

125. THUNDERBOLTS PRESENTS ZEMO: BORN BETTER
02/07  Zemo #1 of 4 - 22,680
03/07  Zemo #2 of 4 - 20,076  (-11.5%)
04/07  Zemo #3 of 4 - 17,960  (-10.5%)
05/07  Zemo #4 of 4 - 17,402  ( -3.1%)

Two more miniseries disappearing under the radar.

126. SPIDER-MAN FAIRY TALES
05/07  Fairy Tales #1 of 4 - 17,362

A four-issue miniseries doing with Spider-Man what X-MEN FAIRY TALES did with the X-Men. Depending on your point of view, it’s either charming stuff, or a bizarrely arbitrary collision of two totally unrelated ideas. X-MEN FAIRY TALES wasn’t a massive seller, but Marvel have already commissioned a third miniseries with the Avengers – so presumably they see an audience for this material in the wider world.

130. BLADE
05/02  Blade #3 - 26,878
=====
09/06  Blade #1 - 37,394
10/06  Blade #2 - 27,170  ( -27.3%)
11/06  Blade #3 - 23,144  ( -14.8%)
12/06  Blade #4 - 21,043  (  -9.1%)
01/07  Blade #5 - 42,513  (+102.0%)
02/07  Blade #6 - 19,087  ( -55.1%)
03/07  Blade #7 - 18,426  (  -3.5%)
04/07  Blade #8 - 17,656  (  -4.2%)
05/07  Blade #9 - 16,946  (  -4.0%)
                  6 mnth  ( -26.8%)

Axed with issue #12.

141. CRIMINAL  [Icon]
10/06  Criminal #1 - 25,978
11/06  Criminal #2 - 21,115  (-18.7%)
12/06  Criminal #3 - 17,702  (-16.2%)
01/07  Criminal #4 - 16,827  ( -4.9%)
02/07  ---
03/07  Criminal #5 - 16,389  ( -2.6%)
04/07  ---
05/07  Criminal #6 - 15,720  ( -4.1%)
                     6 mnth  (-25.6%)

Returning from a skip month with the first issue of a new arc, although it doesn’t seem to affect sales.

142. IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN
10/06  Irredeemable Ant-Man #1 - 29,499
11/06  Irredeemable Ant-Man #2 - 23,191  (-21.4%)
12/06  Irredeemable Ant-Man #3 - 19,580  (-15.6%)
01/07  Irredeemable Ant-Man #4 - 17,864  ( -8.8%)
02/07  Irredeemable Ant-Man #5 - 16,900  ( -5.4%)
03/07  Irredeemable Ant-Man #6 - 16,220  ( -4.0%)
04/07  Irredeemable Ant-Man #7 - 15,737  ( -3.0%)
05/07  Irredeemable Ant-Man #8 - 15,592  ( -0.9%)
                                 6 mnth  (-32.8%)

Axed with issue #12.

162. MARVEL ADVENTURES IRON MAN  [All ages]
05/07  Marvel Adventures Iron Man #1 - 11,922

Another new title for the Marvel Adventures line, soon to be joined also by MARVEL ADVENTURES HULK. The major market for this material is outside the direct market, but 12,000 is a perfectly fine start for the book.

164. LAST OF THE MOHICANS  [Marvel Illustrated]
05/07  Last of the Mohicans #1 of 6 - 11,498

The first in a series of adaptations of classic novels, a format which always worked well for Classics Illustrated. Again, plainly this material is aimed at the bookstores, but the debut issue does well enough.

173. WONDER MAN
12/06  Wonder Man #1 of 5 - 22,282
01/07  Wonder Man #2 of 5 - 15,645  (-29.8%)
02/07  Wonder Man #3 of 5 - 12,009  (-23.2%)
03/07  Wonder Man #4 of 5 - 10,964  ( -8.7%)
04/07  ---
05/07  Wonder Man #5 of 5 - 10,280  ( -6.2%)

175. WISDOM  [Max]
11/06  Wisdom #1 of 6 - 20,021
12/06  --
01/07  Wisdom #2 of 6 - 14,855  (-25.8%)
02/07  Wisdom #3 of 6 - 12,400  (-16.5%)
03/07  Wisdom #4 of 6 - 11,503  ( -7.2%)
04/07  Wisdom #5 of 6 - 10,773  ( -6.3%)
05/07  Wisdom #6 of 6 - 10,095  ( -6.3%)
                        6 mnth  (-49.6%)

Two perfectly good miniseries with perfectly awful sales. Let’s just draw a discreet veil over them and move on.

195. MARVEL SPOTLIGHT
05/06  ---
06/06  Millar/McNiven      -  7,668  (+131.7%)
06/06  Gaiman/Larroca      -  5,449  ( -28.9%)
07/06  Kirkman/Land        -  3,963  ( -27.3%)
08/06  Brubaker/Tan        -  3,580  (  -9.7%)
09/06  Lee/Kirby           -  6,313  ( +76.3%)
10/06  Onslaught Reborn    -  4,557  ( -27.8%)
11/06  Bendis/Bagley       -  5,869  ( +28.8%)
12/06  ---
01/07  Ghost Rider         -  7,902  ( +34.6%)
01/07  Dark Tower          - 18,922  (+139.5%)
02/07  ---
03/07  Civil War Aftermath - 31,072  ( +64.2%)
04/07  Spider-Man          - 13,210  ( -57.5%)
05/07  Fantastic Four      -  8,261  ( -37.5%)
                             6 mnth  ( +40.8%)
                             1 year  (  +7.7%)

Sales are bouncing all over the place on this book.

And from here on, it’s the usual selection of titles that sell mainly outside the direct market – all ages books and DBPro titles. There’s not much to say about these individually, but note that the all ages books are still picking up readers, slowly but surely.

199. MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS  [All ages]
05/06  M.A. Avengers #1  - 13,891
06/06  M.A. Avengers #2  -  9,359  (-32.7%)
07/06  M.A. Avengers #3  -  9,006  ( -3.8%)
08/06  M.A. Avengers #4  -  8,610  ( -4.4%)
09/06  M.A. Avengers #5  -  7,994  ( -7.2%)
10/06  M.A. Avengers #6  -  7,879  ( -1.4%)
11/06  M.A. Avengers #7  -  7,642  ( -3.0%)
12/06  M.A. Avengers #8  -  7,512  ( -1.7%)
01/07  M.A. Avengers #9  -  7,315  ( -2.6%)
02/07  M.A. Avengers #10 -  7,053  ( -3.6%)
03/07  M.A. Avengers #11 -  7,068  ( +0.2%)
04/07  M.A. Avengers #12 -  7,092  ( +0.3%)
05/07  M.A. Avengers #13 -  7,251  ( +2.2%)
                           6 mnth  ( -5.1%)
                           1 year  (-47.8%)


208. MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN  [All ages]
05/05  M.A. Spider-Man #3  - 9,110
=====
05/06  M.A. Spider-Man #15 - 6,165  ( +3.3%)
06/06  M.A. Spider-Man #16 - 6,114  ( -0.8%)
07/06  M.A. Spider-Man #17 - 6,133  ( +0.3%)
08/06  M.A. Spider-Man #18 - 6,220  ( +1.4%)
09/06  M.A. Spider-Man #19 - 6,057  ( -2.6%)
10/06  M.A. Spider-Man #20 - 6,131  ( +1.2%)
11/06  M.A. Spider-Man #21 - 6,529  ( +6.5%)
12/06  M.A. Spider-Man #22 - 6,396  ( -2.0%)
01/07  M.A. Spider-Man #23 - 6,271  ( -2.0%)
02/07  M.A. Spider-Man #24 - 6,678  ( +6.5%)
03/07  M.A. Spider-Man #25 - 6,408  ( -4.0%)
04/07  M.A. Spider-Man #26 - 6,478  ( +1.1%)
05/07  M.A. Spider-Man #27 - 6,818  ( +5.2%)
                            6 mnth  ( +4.4%)
                            1 year  (+10.6%)
                            2 year  (-25.2%)


218. SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE  [All ages]
05/05  Homecoming #3 of 4      - 9,016
=====
05/06  S-M Loves Mary Jane #6  - 7,069  ( -1.3%)
06/06  S-M Loves Mary Jane #7  - 6,834  ( -3.3%)
07/06  S-M Loves Mary Jane #8  - 6,769  ( -1.0%)
08/06  S-M Loves Mary Jane #9  - 6,719  ( -0.7%)
09/06  S-M Loves Mary Jane #10 - 6,623  ( -1.4%)
10/06  S-M Loves Mary Jane #11 - 6,586  ( -0.6%)
11/06  S-M Loves Mary Jane #12 - 6,520  ( -1.0%)
12/06  S-M Loves Mary Jane #13 - 6,311  ( -3.2%)
01/07  S-M Loves Mary Jane #14 - 6,329  ( +0.3%)
02/07  S-M Loves Mary Jane #15 - 6,121  ( -3.3%)
03/07  S-M Loves Mary Jane #16 - 6,279  ( +2.6%)
04/07  S-M Loves Mary Jane #17 - 6,332  ( +0.8%)
05/07  S-M Loves Mary Jane #18 - 6,490  ( +2.5%)
                                6 mnth  ( -0.5%)
                                1 year  ( -8.2%)
                                2 year  (-28.0%)


221. MAGICIAN: APPRENTICE  [DBPro]
10/06  Apprentice #1-2 of 12 - 1,892
11/06  Apprentice #3   of 12 - 4,595  (+142.9%)
12/06  Apprentice #4   of 12 - 7,266  ( +58.1%)
01/07  Apprentice #5   of 12 - 7,206  (  -0.8%)
02/07  ---
03/07  Apprentice #6   of 12 - 6,818  (  -5.4%)
04/07  ---
05/07  Apprentice #7   of 12 - 6,193  (  -9.2%)
                              6 mnth  ( +34.8%)


229. POWER PACK
05/05  Power Pack #2 of 4 - 11,289
=====
05/06  Avengers #2 of 4   -  6,613  (-15.8%)
06/06  Avengers #3 of 4   -  6,137  ( -7.2%)
07/06  Avengers #4 of 4   -  5,849  ( -4.7%)
08/06  ---
09/06  ---
10/06  ---
11/06  Spider-Man #1 of 4 -  7,897  (+35.0%)
12/06  Spider-Man #2 of 4 -  6,350  (-19.6%)
01/07  Spider-Man #3 of 4 -  5,880  ( -7.4%)
02/07  Spider-Man #4 of 4 -  5,605  ( -4.7%)
03/07  Hulk #1 of 4       -  6,697  (+19.5%)
04/07  Hulk #2 of 4       -  5,944  (-11.2%)
05/07  Hulk #3 of 4       -  5,593  ( -5.9%)
                            6 mnth  (-29.2%)
                            1 year  (-15.4%)
                            2 year  (-50.5%)


238. MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR  [All ages]
05/05  M.A. Fantastic Four #0  - 9,723
=====
05/06  M.A. Fantastic Four #12 - 4,836  ( +6.8%)
06/06  M.A. Fantastic Four #13 - 4,752  ( -1.7%)
07/06  M.A. Fantastic Four #14 - 4,668  ( -1.8%)
08/06  M.A. Fantastic Four #15 - 4,569  ( -2.1%)
09/06  M.A. Fantastic Four #16 - 4,687  ( +2.6%)
10/06  M.A. Fantastic Four #17 - 4,557  ( -2.8%)
11/06  M.A. Fantastic Four #18 - 4,614  ( +1.3%)
12/06  M.A. Fantastic Four #19 - 4,533  ( -1.8%)
01/07  M.A. Fantastic Four #20 - 4,459  ( -1.6%)
02/07  M.A. Fantastic Four #21 - 4,508  ( +1.1%)
03/07  M.A. Fantastic Four #22 - 4,588  ( +1.8%)
04/07  M.A. Fantastic Four #23 - 4,604  ( +0.3%)
05/07  M.A. Fantastic Four #24 - 4,807  ( +4.4%)
                                6 mnth  ( +4.2%)
                                1 year  ( -0.6%)
                                2 year  (-50.6%)


244. ORSON SCOTT CARD'S WYRMS  [DBPro]
02/07  Wyrms #1 of 6 - 6,246
03/07  Wyrms #2 of 6 - 5,401  (-13.5%)
04/07  Wyrms #3 of 6 - 4,902  ( -9.2%)
05/07  Wyrms #4 of 6 - 4,567  ( -6.8%)


266. RED PROPHET: TALES OF ALVIN MAKER  [DBPro]
10/06  Alvin Maker #1-2 of 12 -   1,617
11/06  Alvin Maker #3   of 12 - < 3,170  (+<96.0%)
12/06  Alvin Maker #4   of 12 -   5,034  (+>58.8%)
01/07  Alvin Maker #5   of 12 -   4,480  ( -11.0%)
02/07  ---
03/07  Alvin Maker #6   of 12 -   4,009  ( -10.5%)
04/07  ---
05/07  Alvin Maker #7   of 12 -   3,678  (  -8.3%)
                                 6 mnth  (+>16.0%)


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


SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN
05/04  Marvel Knights S-M #2  - 99,320
05/05  Marvel Knights S-M #14 - 57,270
=====
05/06  Sensational S-M #26    - 52,496  ( +1.0%)
06/06  Sensational S-M #27    - 50,721  ( -3.4%)
07/06  Sensational S-M #28    - 58,532  (+15.4%)
08/06  Sensational S-M #29    - 55,420  ( -5.3%)
09/06  Sensational S-M #30    - 54,467  ( -1.7%)
10/06  Sensational S-M #31    - 51,587  ( -5.3%)
11/06  Sensational S-M #32    - 50,222  ( -2.6%)
12/06  Sensational S-M #33    - 48,443  ( -3.5%)
01/07  Sensational S-M #34    - 47,008  ( -3.0%)
02/07  Sensational S-M #35    - 69,543  (+47.9%)
03/07  Sensational S-M #36    - 58,559  (-15.8%)
04/07  Sensational S-M #37    - 57,528  ( -1.8%)
05/07  ---

Late, and cancelled with issue #41.

ONSLAUGHT REBORN
11/06  Onslaught Reborn #1 of 5 - 82,642
12/06  Onslaught Reborn #2 of 5 - 55,111  (-33.3%)
01/07  ---
02/07  ---
03/07  Onslaught Reborn #3 of 5 - 52,420  ( -4.9%)
04/07  ---
05/07  ---

Late, and currently rescheduled for July.

ULTIMATE VISION
11/06  Ultimate Vision #0 of 5 - 40,004
12/06  Ultimate Vision #1 of 5 - 53,069  (+32.7%)
01/07  Ultimate Vision #2 of 5 - 40,288  (-24.1%)
02/07  ---
03/07  Ultimate Vision #3 of 5 - 33,455  (-17.0%)
04/07  ---
05/07  ---

Late, and delayed to the last week of June.

POWERS  [Icon]
05/01  Powers #12 - 25,791
05/02  Powers #21 - 27,096
05/03  Powers #31 - 26,830
05/04  ---
05/05  ---
=====
05/06  Powers #18 - 23,617  ( -2.2%)
06/06  ---
07/06  Powers #19 - 23,156  ( -1.9%)
08/06  ---
09/06  ---
10/06  Powers #20 - 22,943  ( -0.9%)
11/06  Powers #21 - 22,134  ( -3.5%)
12/06  ---
01/07  Powers #22 - 22,018  ( -0.5%)
02/07  Powers #23 - 21,939  ( -0.4%)
03/07  ---
04/07  Powers #24 - 20,960  ( -4.5%)
05/07  ---

Late; issue #25 is delayed to July.

SPIDER-MAN FAMILY
02/07  Spider-Man Family #1 - 30,516
03/07  ---
04/07  Spider-Man Family #2 - 20,679  (-32.2%)
05/07  ---

Bimonthly.

WHITE TIGER
11/06  White Tiger #1 of 6 - 24,663
12/06  White Tiger #2 of 6 - 19,042  (-22.3%)
01/07  White Tiger #3 of 6 - 15,986  (-16.0%)
02/07  White Tiger #4 of 6 - 14,554  ( -9.0%)
03/07  ---
04/07  White Tiger #5 of 6 - 13,621  ( -6.4%)
05/07  ---

Late, rescheduled to June.

KABUKI  [Icon]
05/06  ---
06/06  ---
07/06  ---
08/06  Kabuki #7 - 10,798  ( -4.9%)
09/06  ---
10/06  ---
11/06  ---
12/06  ---
01/07  Kabuki #8 -  9,961  ( -7.8%)
02/07  ---
03/07  ---
04/07  ---
05/07  ---

Late, and currently rescheduled for July.

JACK KIRBY'S GALACTIC BOUNTY HUNTERS  [Icon]
07/06  Bounty Hunters #1 - 13,514
08/06  Bounty Hunters #2 -  9,301  (-31.2%)
09/06  ---
10/06  Bounty Hunters #3 -  7,716  (-17.0%)
11/06  ---
12/06  ---
01/07  Bounty Hunters #4 -  6,010  (-22.1%)
02/07  ---
03/07  Bounty Hunters #5 -  5,047  (-16.0%)
04/07  ---
05/07  ---

Late. Issue #6 is solicited for July.

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

+137.8% - Thunderbolts
+ 78.1% - Runaways
+ 59.1% - She-Hulk
+ 53.6% - Captain America
+ 40.8% - Marvel Spotlight
+ 34.8% - Magician: Apprentice
+ 30.9% - Incredible Hulk
+>16.0% - Red Prophet: Tales of Alvin Maker
+ 14.8% - Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
+ 14.5% - Official Handbook
+ 13.1% - Ms Marvel
+ 10.5% - Black Panther
+  4.4% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
+  4.2% - Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four
+  2.6% - New X-Men
+  2.2% - Punisher
+  1.9% - Astonishing X-Men
-  0.5% - Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane
-  0.6% - Exiles
-  1.1% - Amazing Spider-Man
-  3.9% - Wolverine
-  4.3% - Daredevil
-  5.1% - X-Men
-  5.1% - Marvel Adventures Avengers
-  6.0% - Ultimate Spider-Man
-  7.4% - New Avengers
-  7.5% - Uncanny X-Men
-  8.5% - Ultimate Fantastic Four
-  9.0% - Ghost Rider
- 10.1% - Ultimate X-Men
- 10.4% - Cable & Deadpool
- 10.5% - New Excalibur
- 11.5% - X-Factor
- 15.0% - Fantastic Four
- 17.5% - Iron Man
- 18.1% - Ultimate Power
- 20.4% - Amazing Spider-Girl
- 23.4% - Moon Knight
- 23.5% - X-Men: First Class
- 24.7% - Wolverine: Origins
- 25.6% - Criminal
- 26.8% - Blade
- 29.1% - Punisher War Journal
- 29.2% - Power Pack
- 32.8% - Irredeemable Ant-Man
- 38.7% - Immortal Iron Fist
- 46.1% - Heroes for Hire
- 49.6% - Wisdom


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

+179.3% - Thunderbolts
+170.5% - Captain America
+124.5% - Incredible Hulk
+ 93.5% - Runaways
+ 87.1% - Black Panther
+ 63.0% - Iron Man
+ 57.4% - She-Hulk
+ 22.1% - Fantastic Four
+ 12.4% - Nova
+ 10.6% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
+ 10.4% - Spider-Girl
+  9.3% - Ultimates 2
+  7.7% - Marvel Spotlight
+  3.3% - Uncanny X-Men
+  1.8% - Cable & Deadpool
+  1.0% - New Avengers
+  0.5% - Amazing Spider-Man
+  0.4% - Astonishing X-Men
-  0.5% - Ms Marvel
-  0.6% - Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four
-  1.6% - Official Handbook
-  1.7% - Punisher
-  2.1% - Ultimate Spider-Man
-  2.9% - New X-Men
-  4.5% - X-Men
-  7.4% - Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
-  8.2% - Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane
-  9.7% - Exiles
- 14.1% - Ultimate X-Men
- 14.4% - Wolverine
- 14.5% - X-Factor
- 14.6% - Daredevil
- 15.4% - Power Pack
- 25.7% - New Excalibur
- 26.8% - Moon Knight
- 47.6% - Wolverine: Origins
- 47.8% - Marvel Adventures Avengers
- 49.1% - Ultimate Fantastic Four


2 year comparisons
==================

+172.7% - Captain America
+151.5% - Incredible Hulk
+138.8% - Thunderbolts
+ 59.3% - Runaways
+ 57.2% - Amazing Spider-Man
+ 28.8% - Black Panther
+ 18.7% - Wolverine
+ 11.1% - New X-Men
+  7.0% - Fantastic Four
+  5.2% - Cable & Deadpool
+  3.6% - Ultimates 2
+  0.6% - Spider-Girl
-  1.9% - Uncanny X-Men
-  3.0% - Daredevil
-  6.2% - X-Men
-  7.2% - Official Handbook
-  9.7% - Exiles
- 10.6% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 10.7% - Astonishing X-Men
- 10.8% - Punisher
- 19.6% - X-23
- 23.7% - Ultimate X-Men
- 25.2% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
- 26.1% - Ultimate Fantastic Four
- 28.0% - Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane
- 50.5% - Power Pack
- 50.6% - Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four


3 year comparisons
==================

+236.7% - Captain America
+142.8% - Incredible Hulk
+139.0% - Runaways
+126.9% - New Avengers / Avengers
+124.3% - Iron Man
+119.6% - Silver Surfer
+ 75.1% - Omega Flight / Alpha Flight
+ 47.6% - Iron Fist
+ 46.0% - Amazing Spider-Man
+ 41.7% - Fantastic Four
+ 40.9% - She-Hulk
+ 39.8% - Wolverine
-  3.5% - Spider-Girl
- 12.6% - Daredevil
- 20.3% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 20.8% - Exiles
- 26.9% - Uncanny X-Men
- 29.1% - X-Men
- 29.1% - Cable & Deadpool
- 30.2% - Punisher
- 35.8% - Ultimate X-Men
- 42.5% - Astonishing X-Men
- 46.8% - Official Handbook
- 49.1% - New X-Men


4 year comparisons
==================

+235.7% - Thunderbolts
+220.8% - Black Panther
+156.6% - Captain America
+117.6% - New Avengers / Avengers
+ 97.8% - Runaways
+ 90.7% - Iron Man
+ 79.4% - Incredible Hulk
+ 38.5% - Fantastic Four
+ 24.9% - Amazing Spider-Man
+  0.2% - Ultimates
- 13.4% - Uncanny X-Men
- 15.3% - Spider-Girl
- 15.6% - Punisher
- 17.4% - Exiles
- 20.7% - X-Men
- 23.1% - Daredevil
- 30.6% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 31.7% - New X-Men / New Mutants
- 33.4% - Ultimate X-Men
- 39.5% - Wolverine

15 COMMENTS

  1. Hi, I have watched these figures for a long time now, and it just occurred to me that there is an additional level of analysis you could do if you were so inclined.

    First, look at month by month percent increase or decrease for Marvel as a whole (i.e., the change in total number of units sold divided by the previous month’s total number of units sold). Then run a statistical regression for the history of individual titles with the recent history of of Marvel as a whole.

    This would give you a “beta” for an individual title–in other words, it would show you whether it tends to change or swing more or less than the entire Marvel line.

    The reason that this would be interesting is that it would help differentiate between increases or decreases in a comics’ sales based on the popularity of that particular title as opposed to increases or decreases based on the popularity of the Marvel line. In other words, say Marvel runs a big, cross-line event that is successful. In theory, it should have a tendency to increase sales (or at least slow the decrease of sales) of most titles they publish. We could determine that by comparing the change in the individual title and the change in the line, and using the beta to come up with a theoretical change that we compare to the actual change. In that way, we could see if a specific title is getting the expected boost from a line-wide event.

    Likewise, making such a comparison each month of expected change versus actual change would show us if any title seems to be showing unusual growth or shrinkage that cannot be attributed to some line-wide change–and if so, you could speculate why. (Obviously the “why” is the most interesting question–and always the most speculative.)

    This business of regressions and betas is pure statistics, and specifically in this case it comes from stock trading, where returns on individual securities are compared to market-wide returns. (If you go to Reuters and look up a stock, it will give you its beta amongst the other information. Ford Motor Company’s beta is currently 1.92.) The same sort of basic statistical analysis done on stocks might be interesting if performed on Marvel (or DC) monthly sales.

  2. I’ve been watching these for a while, and I have to say that all the little gains that Marvel got this month, especially for titles not tied into anything, are really surprising and very different from the usual trend we see of line-wide steady bleeding for everything not a crossover.

  3. With all their big sellers hitting the shelves, Marvel slaughtered DC, with a margin of 47% to 31% in unit share, and 43% to 28% in dollar share.

    And yet, if Rich Johnston is to be believed, Dan Didio’s contract got renewed!?! Best thing Paul Levitz could do now is have Countdown‘s final issue end with Earth-2 Superman stepping out of the shower to the revelation that the past 20 years [real time] have all been a dream. Couple that with an announcement that Didio’s been fired and an immediate line-wide relaunch with all but Superman, Batman and Detective Comics restarting at #1, and you’ve got the kind of clean slate, hard reboot that will get media attention, pique reader interest — old and new — and give DC a shot at not just stopping the bleeding but pumping some life back into its superhero line.

    It’ll never happen, of course, but wouldn’t it be great to see them have the courage to attempt it?

  4. Come on Lenny, how can you spend all that time talking about it and not actually do it. I’d love to see the analysis.

  5. One could take the statistical market data one step further and create an electronic futures market for titles. Creators could influence the market, and fans could put their money where their mouth is!

    hmmm… would an ape riding a motorcycle through a roaring fire increase sales? #1 reboots with big name creators? Announced cancellations? missed ship dates? and what funny suit jackets would traders wear on the sales floor of the Comics Exchange?

  6. I found this interesting:

    03/07 M.A. Avengers #11 – 7,068 ( +0.2%)
    04/07 M.A. Avengers #12 – 7,092 ( +0.3%)
    05/07 M.A. Avengers #13 – 7,251 ( +2.2%)

    02/07 M.A. Spider-Man #24 – 6,678 ( +6.5%)
    03/07 M.A. Spider-Man #25 – 6,408 ( -4.0%)
    04/07 M.A. Spider-Man #26 – 6,478 ( +1.1%)
    05/07 M.A. Spider-Man #27 – 6,818 ( +5.2%)

    03/07 S-M Loves Mary Jane #16 – 6,279 ( +2.6%)
    04/07 S-M Loves Mary Jane #17 – 6,332 ( +0.8%)
    05/07 S-M Loves Mary Jane #18 – 6,490 ( +2.5%)

    02/07 M.A. Fantastic Four #21 – 4,508 ( +1.1%)
    03/07 M.A. Fantastic Four #22 – 4,588 ( +1.8%)
    04/07 M.A. Fantastic Four #23 – 4,604 ( +0.3%)
    05/07 M.A. Fantastic Four #24 – 4,807 ( +4.4%)

    I think it’s great that some kids comics are going up in sales, but I wonder why.

  7. The standard theory is that old-school superhero fans have figured out that these titles are actually quite good, and offering something closer to what they really want than the mainstream titles. It’s unlikely to be kids coming into the direct market specifically for these titles, bearing in mind that they’re targetted primarily at other distribution channels.

  8. Certainly that’s the case for me – I had no real interest in Marvel Adventures Avengers, picked up a couple of issues on a whim and have found it to be a very good old-style team book with a hefty dollop of humour mixed in. Jeff Parker is definitely one of the better writers at Marvel at the moment.

  9. Ian wrote: “Come on Lenny, how can you spend all that time talking about it and not actually do it.”

    I’m more of an idea man. I leave the actual number-crunching to others. (Actually it’s a time issue. However, since Paul already has the data, the marginal additional time to run the regressions would not be terribly onerous for him–not that I’m volunteering him to do even more work than he already does!)

    “One could take the statistical market data one step further and create an electronic futures market for titles.”

    Well, this wouldn’t really work because there is no underlying security. In other words, even if a future issue sells more than expected, there is no way for a speculator to make profits off of that (unlike, say, oil futures, where if you lock in a low price now for December light crude, and December light crude is actually quite expensive, you have profited).

    However, you are right that if regressions work as I describe above (and I am not convinced that they would), you would be able to determine better what causes sales of an individual comic to increase or decrease. It could, conceivably, be a really useful marketing tool. Indeed, flaming gorillas on motorcycles might be shown to positively affect sales in isolation from whatever is happening in the market for comics as a whole. Right now, editors just make guesses about this kind of thing; it’s time to bring science into these decisions, since as we know, art is greatly improved when artistic decisions are made using hard-core numeric marketing data, as opposed to such intangibles as talent, inspiration, or genius.

  10. Thanks, as always Paul. Wow, Marvel’s top 11 titles selling over 100,000 in a single month. When’s the last time that happened?

  11. The Marvel Adventures books are not just for kids and some cases better than the current marvel 616. It is good to see word of mouth is getting out on those books and seeing better direct market sales.

Comments are closed.