by Paul O’Brien 
With FEAR ITSELF wrapping up, Marvel had several major releases in November – the POINT ONE one-shot, the relaunches of UNCANNY X-MEN and FANTASTIC FOUR, and the first issue of new ongoing title AVENGING SPIDER-MAN.
We’ve also got the epilogue of FEAR ITSELF, the start of BATTLE SCARS, and a bunch of other “Regenesis” tie-ins from the X-books.
Marvel found itself behind DC for the third straight month in November, though the gap is growing closer. DC led by 40% to 38% in unit share, and 35% to 33% in dollars. And of course, it should be remembered that DC’s extra sales don’t appear to have come at Marvel’s expense; if DC’s relaunch has brought any new or lapsed readers into the market, then in theory, that’s good for other publishers too – it brings them into everyone’s potential market.
Thanks as always to ICV2.com for permission to use these figures.
5. POINT ONE 11/11 One-shot - 113,352
Marvel’s top selling comic of the month! Or is it? This book was massively overshipped, with retailers receiving twice the number of copies they’d actually ordered, at no extra cost. Those copies are presumably included in this number – that certainly appears to be Diamond’s standard practice, given the odd sales spikes that we’ve seen when this strategy has been used before.
If that’s the case, then the actual orders of this book would be 56,676 – which would have placed the book at number 29 between AMAZING SPIDER-MAN and AVENGERS. Considering the solicitation (“You CANNOT miss this. Catch a tease of the biggest change to the Marvel Universe in over 35 years!”) that number would surely have been disappointing, even allowing for the six dollar price tag. The wisdom of pricing a teaser book that high must also be open to question.
6. AVENGING SPIDER-MAN 11/11 #1 - 112,153
This, on the other hand, IS a good number, even allowing for the four variant covers. It’s Marvel’s second biggest launch of 2011, after FF #1 (which managed 122K).
Considering that the book was sold largely on the name of artist Joe Madureira, it seems reasonable to credit a lot of these sales to him – and also to wonder what will happen with the book’s second arc, which he isn’t drawing.
7,16. UNCANNY X-MEN
11/06 #480 - 88,584
11/07 #492 - 102,511
11/08 #504 - 77,773
11/09 #517 - 69,557
=====
11/10 #530 - 58,006 ( -6.8%)
12/10 #531 - 55,770 ( -3.9%)
01/11 #532 - 54,071 ( -3.0%)
02/11 #533 - 53,834 ( -0.4%)
03/11 #534 - 55,731 ( +3.5%)
04/11 #.1 - 53,473 ( -4.1%)
04/11 #535 - 56,795 ( +6.2%)
04/11 #536 - 53,502 ( -5.8%)
05/11 #537 - 53,716 ( +0.4%)
06/11 #538 - 53,319 ( -0.7%)
06/11 #539 - 54,284 ( +1.8%)
07/11 #540 - 57,206 ( +5.4%)
07/11 #541 - 55,856 ( -2.4%)
08/11 #542 - 54,840 ( -1.8%)
09/11 #543 - 58,326 ( +6.4%)
10/11 #544 - 60,212 ( +3.2%)
11/11 #1 - 109,911 (+82.5%)
11/11 #2 - 72,485 (-34.1%)
6 mnth (+34.9%)
1 year (+25.0%)
2 year ( +4.2%)
3 year ( -6.8%)
4 year (-29.3%)
5 year (-18.2%)
This is a pretty good number as well. It comfortably beats the first month sales of WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN in October (estimated at 96K), and like AVENGING, it’s at the top end of Marvel’s launches for the last year. Perhaps this is partly a reflection of UNCANNY’s continuing status as the flagship X-book, though my impression was that this and W&TXM were being promoted as more or less equal in the revamped line.
Issue #2 drops back to 72K, but that’s still a significant improvement from previous sales. The last time the book hit that level was during the “Second Coming” crossover in mid-2010.
10. WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN 10/11 #1 - 95,855 11/11 #2 - 83,356 (-13.0%)
Considering that the first issue had more variant covers, that’s a very modest drop. A promising sign.
11. INCREDIBLE HULK
11/06 #100 - 84,169
11/07 #111 - 101,536
11/08 #8 - 90,776
11/09 #604 - 40,652
=====
11/10 #616 - 35,296 ( -4.0%)
11/10 #617 - 34,340 ( -2.7%)
12/10 #618 - 34,868 ( -1.5%)
12/10 #619 - 32,657 ( -6.3%)
01/11 #620 - 30,992 ( -5.1%)
01/11 #621 - 30,957 ( -0.1%)
02/11 #622 - 30,404 ( -1.8%)
02/11 #623 - 30,140 ( -0.9%)
03/11 #624 - 32,066 ( +6.4%)
03/11 #625 - 29,792 ( -7.1%)
04/11 #626 - 29,782 ( -0.0%)
04/11 #627 - 30,788 ( +3.3%)
05/11 #628 - 28,822 ( -6.4%)
05/11 #629 - 28,103 ( -2.5%)
06/11 #630 - 28,028 ( -0.3%)
06/11 #631 - 27,456 ( -2.0%)
07/11 #632 - 28,518 ( +3.9%)
07/11 #633 - 27,216 ( -4.6%)
08/11 #634 - 27,310 ( +0.3%)
08/11 #635 - 38,223 ( +40.0%)
09/11 ---
10/11 #1 - 106,472 (+178.6%)
11/11 #2 - 80,143 ( -24.7%)
6 mnth (+185.2%)
1 year (+127.1%)
2 year ( +97.1%)
3 year ( -11.7%)
4 year ( -21.1%)
5 year ( -4.8%)
That’s a bigger drop, but still perfectly acceptable when you bear in mind the reduced number of variants. Predecessor title INCREDIBLE HULKS had dropped to 28K by the end of its run, and HULK is currently around the 25K mark, so these numbers represent a massive improvement. Neither of the Hulk titles have hit this number since mid-2009.
15. FANTASTIC FOUR
11/06 ---
11/07 #551 - 58,617
11/08 #561 - 61,331
11/09 #573 - 39,433
=====
11/10 #585 - 41,568 ( -7.8%)
12/10 #586 - 42,829 ( +3.0%)
01/11 #587 - 144,173 (+236.6%)
02/11 #588 - 68,153 ( -52.7%)
03/11 #1 - 121,172 ( +77.8%)
04/11 #2 - 72,897 ( -39.8%)
05/11 #3 - 66,885 ( -8.2%)
05/11 #4 - 60,571 ( -9.4%)
06/11 #5 - 58,925 ( -2.7%)
07/11 #6 - 55,601 ( -5.6%)
07/11 #7 - 54,022 ( -2.8%)
08/11 #8 - 51,917 ( -0.2%)
09/11 #9 - 53,091 ( +2.3%)
10/11 #10 - 49,642 ( -6.5%)
10/11 #11 - 48,433 ( -2.4%)
11/11 #600 - 73,809 ( +52.4%)
6 mnth ( +21.9%)
1 year ( +77.6%)
2 year ( +87.2%)
3 year ( +20.3%)
4 year ( +25.9%)
5 year ( --- )
FANTASTIC FOUR returns to its regular numbering with issue #600 (the eleven issues of FF being counted towards that total). This is an eight dollar book, which will have done a lot of Marvel’s dollar share showing this month – but with 96 pages of new story, that’s good value. Marvel produce trade paperbacks with less content than this. The direction of the title seems to be a success.
FF continues as a separate title with issue #12, which we’ll come to a little later.
22,25,31. FEAR ITSELF 04/11 #1 of 7 - 135,746 05/11 #2 of 7 - 105,359 (-22.4%) 06/11 #3 of 7 - 99,501 ( -5.6%) 07/11 #4 of 7 - 93,435 ( -6.1%) 08/11 #5 of 7 - 90,914 ( -2.7%) 09/11 #6 of 7 - 93,032 ( +2.3%) 10/11 #7 of 7 - 95,599 ( +2.8%) 11/11 #7.1 - 60,562 (-36.6%) 11/11 #7.2 - 58,006 ( -4.2%) 11/11 #7.3 - 54,903 ( -5.3%)
There’s a big drop between the regular series and this month’s three epilogue issues, but that was only to be expected. The real question is how these books would have done if they’d simply been promoted as spin-off one-shots in the vein of previous crossovers. And given the generally anaemic sales on FEAR ITSELF tie-ins, I suspect branding the books in this way was probably a smart move on balance.
26,63. FEAR ITSELF: THE FEARLESS 10/11 #1 of 12 - 59,464 11/11 #2 of 12 - 57,794 ( -2.8%) 11/11 #3 of 12 - 36,044 (-37.6%)
Now this is downright odd. THE FEARLESS shipped two issues in November, with issue #2 holding up surprisingly well against the first month sales, and issue #3 dropping like a stone.
That’s particularly curious when you bear in mind that issue #1 had four variant covers, and issue #2 only had one. That alone would normally be enough to generate a bigger second issue drop than this – making this look like a de facto climb. And for that to be followed by a nigh-40% plunge is quite bizarre.
Here’s my theory, though “theory” is very much the operative word.
While issue #1 had more variant covers, they were all on 1:100 incentive ratios. Issue #2, on the other hand, had a single variant cover, but on a 1:25 variant. It’s possible that, given the weak sales on FEAR ITSELF spin-off minis, many retailers weren’t prepared to bite at the 1:100 ratios, but were willing to up their orders for a 1:25 cover.
What’s more, issues #1-2 shipped only two weeks apart. So by the time retailers knew how well issue #1 was moving, it was too late to alter their orders on issue #2 – but not on issue #3, because of its later Final Order Cut-off date. The heavy slashing of orders on issue #3, rather suggest that issue #1 has proved to be a bit of a shelf warmer.
That’s my theory, at any rate. The comments section is just below if you have a better idea.
27,29. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
11/06 #536 - 118,833
11/07 ---
11/08 #578 - 66,564
11/09 #610 - 61,170
=====
11/10 #647 - 55,819 ( -4.0%)
11/10 #648 - 79,714 ( +42.8%)
11/10 #649 - 55,515 ( -30.4%)
12/10 #650 - 58,909 ( +6.1%)
01/11 #651 - 56,749 ( -3.7%)
01/11 #652 - 52,050 ( -8.3%)
02/11 #653 - 53,103 ( +2.0%)
02/11 #654 - 53,882 ( +1.5%)
02/11 #.1 - 55,283 ( +2.6%)
02/11 #655 - 53,366 ( -3.5%)
03/11 #656 - 59,626 ( +11.7%)
03/11 #657 - 58,704 ( -1.5%)
04/11 #658 - 61,687 ( +5.1%)
04/11 #659 - 58,258 ( -5.6%)
05/11 #660 - 58,249 ( -0.0%)
05/11 #661 - 59,087 ( +1.4%)
05/11 #662 - 55,883 ( -5.4%)
06/11 #663 - 57,040 ( +2.1%)
06/11 #664 - 54,808 ( -3.9%)
07/11 #665 - 56,948 ( +3.9%)
07/11 #666 - 135,568 (+138.1%)
08/11 #667 - 71,235 ( -47.5%)
08/11 #668 - 57,533 ( -19.2%)
09/11 #669 - 71,944 ( +25.0%)
09/11 #670 - 57,959 ( -19.4%)
10/11 #671 - 59,426 ( +2.5%)
10/11 #672 - 57,860 ( -2.6%)
11/11 #673 - 57,159 ( -1.2%)
11/11 #674 - 57,723 ( +1.0%)
6 mnth ( +3.3%)
1 year ( +3.4%)
2 year ( -5.6%)
3 year ( -13.3%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year ( -51.4%)
Issue #673 is an epilogue to the Spider-Island crossover; issue #674 has a variant cover, which is presumably cancelling out the post-event drop. Either that, or the book has simply upped its sales a bit as a result of the Spider-Island storyline.
30. AVENGERS
11/10 #7 - 89,758 (+22.5%)
12/10 #8 - 67,056 (-25.3%)
01/11 #9 - 64,867 ( -3.3%)
02/11 #10 - 63,924 ( -1.5%)
03/11 #11 - 66,618 ( +4.2%)
04/11 #12 - 63,441 ( -4.8%)
04/11 #.1 - 60,455 ( -4.7%)
05/11 #13 - 68,086 (+12.6%)
06/11 #14 - 64,057 ( -5.9%)
07/11 #15 - 62,580 (-17.9%)
08/11 #16 - 60,295 ( -3.7%)
09/11 #17 - 61,492 ( +2.0%)
10/11 #18 - 58,897 ( -4.2%)
11/11 #19 - 56,620 ( -3.9%)
6 mnth (-16.8%)
1 year (-36.9%)
This is probably a delayed drop from the end of the FEAR ITSELF crossover. That arc ended in September, but the October issue had a 1:50 variant that should have mitigated the drop.
33. NEW AVENGERS
11/06 #25 - 136,504
11/07 #36 - 107,715
11/08 ---
11/09 #59 - 74,379
=====
11/10 #6 - 66,724 ( -9.1%)
12/10 #7 - 67,840 ( +1.7%)
01/11 #8 - 61,169 ( -9.8%)
02/11 #9 - 60,914 ( -0.4%)
03/11 #10 - 59,929 ( -1.6%)
04/11 #11 - 61,778 ( +3.1%)
05/11 #12 - 60,328 ( -2.3%)
06/11 #13 - 57,682 ( -4.4%)
07/11 #14 - 58,306 ( +1.1%)
08/11 #15 - 56,035 ( -3.9%)
09/11 #16 - 57,959 ( +3.4%)
09/11 #.1 - 51,506 (-11.1%)
10/11 #17 - 55,732 ( +8.2%)
11/11 #18 - 54,454 ( -2.3%)
6 mnth ( -9.7%)
1 year (-18.4%)
2 year (-26.8%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year (-49.4%)
5 year (-60.1%)
Similar deal here.
34. CAPTAIN AMERICA
11/06 #24 - 79,885
11/07 #32 - 73,310
11/08 #44 - 75,493
11/09 Re#4 - 96,571
=====
11/10 #612 - 47,343 ( -3.0%)
12/10 #613 - 42,871 ( -9.4%)
01/11 #614 - 42,119 ( -1.8%)
02/11 #615 - 41,935 ( -0.4%)
03/11 #.1 - 43,117 ( +2.8%)
03/11 #616 - 44,394 ( +3.0%)
04/11 #617 - 45,400 ( +2.3%)
05/11 #618 - 44,748 ( -1.4%)
06/11 #619 - 44,796 ( +0.1%)
07/11 #1 - 96,926 (+116.4%)
08/11 #2 - 54,384 ( -43.9%)
09/11 #3 - 54,413 ( +0.1%)
10/11 ---
11/11 #4 - 54,157 ( -0.5%)
6 mnth ( +21.0%)
1 year ( +14.4%)
2 year ( -43.9%)
3 year ( -28.3%)
4 year ( -26.1%)
5 year ( -32.2%)
This seems to be holding pretty steady after the relaunch, albeit that variant covers slightly obscure the picture.
35. KICK-ASS 2 [Icon] 11/10 --- 12/10 --- 01/11 --- 02/11 --- 03/11 #2 of 7 - 62,235 (-19.1%) 04/11 --- 05/11 --- 06/11 --- 07/11 --- 08/11 #3 of 7 - 54,270 (-12.8%) 09/11 #4 of 7 - 51,014 ( -6.0%) 10/11 --- 11/11 #5 of 7 - 53,937 ( +5.7%)
The sales increase is likely because this one has two variant covers – the previous issue didn’t have any.
37. ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN
11/06 #102 - 77,121
11/07 #116 - 61,534
11/08 #128 - 52,187
11/09 #4 - 49,106
=====
11/10 #150 - 40,553 ( +17.0%)
12/10 #151 - 33,707 ( -16.9%)
01/11 #152 - 33,481 ( -1.0%)
02/11 #153 - 43,986 ( +31.4%)
02/11 #154 - 43,209 ( -1.8%)
03/11 #155 - 44,067 ( +2.0%)
03/11 #156 - 44,920 ( +1.9%)
04/11 #157 - 50,896 ( +13.3%)
05/11 #158 - 47,941 ( -5.8%)
06/11 #159 - 51,766 ( +8.0%)
06/11 #160 - 166,944 (+222.5%)
07/11 #1 of 6 - 49,084 ( -70.6%)
07/11 #2 of 6 - 45,371 ( -7.6%)
07/11 #3 of 6 - 44,492 ( -1.9%)
08/11 #4 of 6 - 96,815 (+117.6%)
08/11 #5 of 6 - 41,336 ( -57.3%)
08/11 #6 of 6 - 39,190 ( -5.2%)
09/11 #1 - 95,483 (+143.6%)
09/11 #2 - 58,672 ( -38.6%)
10/11 #3 - 52,521 ( -10.5%)
11/11 #4 - 51,558 ( -1.8%)
6 mnth ( +7.5%)
1 year ( +27.1%)
2 year ( +5.0%)
3 year ( -1.2%)
4 year ( -16.2%)
5 year ( -33.1%)
This seems to be levelling out. If so, that’s a great sign, because the book was in the 33K range before the “Death of Spider-Man” arc began. If it can settle down in the high 40Ks, Marvel can count this direction as a success.
38. UNCANNY X-FORCE
11/08 #9 - 57,241
11/09 #21 - 53,967
=====
11/10 #2 - 56,518 ( -43.0%)
12/10 #3 - 55,520 ( -1.8%)
01/11 #4 - 51,381 ( -7.5%)
02/11 #5 - 51,470 ( +0.2%)
03/11 #.1 - 50,732 ( -1.4%)
03/11 #6 - 51,248 ( -1.0%)
04/11 #7 - 54,292 ( +5.9%)
04/11 #8 - 50,908 ( -6.2%)
05/11 #9 - 51,726 ( +1.6%)
05/11 #10 - 50,676 ( -2.0%)
06/11 #11 - 53,199 ( +5.0%)
07/11 #12 - 55,413 ( +4.2%)
08/11 #13 - 53,904 ( -2.7%)
08/11 #14 - 50,770 ( -5.8%)
09/11 #15 - 53,771 ( +5.9%)
10/11 #16 - 52,398 ( -2.6%)
11/11 #17 - 50,974 ( -2.7%)
6 mnth ( +0.6%)
1 year ( -9.8%)
2 year ( -5.5%)
3 year ( -10.9%)
This is a much better number than it might first appear. Issues #15 and #16 had variant covers to boost their sales. A straight comparison with issue #14 – the last issue without a variant cover – shows that sales are actually very slightly up, bucking the trend of an industry where most books experience steady erosion. And that is presumably a sign of satisfied customers.
39. FF
03/11 #1 - 121,172 ( +77.8%)
04/11 #2 - 72,897 ( -39.8%)
05/11 #3 - 66,885 ( -8.2%)
05/11 #4 - 60,571 ( -9.4%)
06/11 #5 - 58,925 ( -2.7%)
07/11 #6 - 55,601 ( -5.6%)
07/11 #7 - 54,022 ( -2.8%)
08/11 #8 - 51,917 ( -0.2%)
09/11 #9 - 53,091 ( +2.3%)
10/11 #10 - 49,642 ( -6.5%)
10/11 #11 - 48,433 ( -2.4%)
11/11 #12 - 49,449 ( +2.1%)
6 mnth ( -18.4%)
While this is effectively the first issue of a new series, Marvel seem to be counting the last eleven issues as part of both titles, so I’ll follow suit. FF does indeed inherit the sales of the previous title (slightly boosted by a variant cover).
What usually happens with this launch technique is that the “continuing” title ultimately fails to hold on to its inherited readership – and the Fantastic Four have a poor track record for sustaining spin-off books even in healthy markets. But having Jonathan Hickman write both books may well make a difference.
46,53. X-MEN
11/10 #5 - 56,651 (-11.2%)
12/10 #6 - 53,005 ( -6.4%)
01/11 #7 - 64,615 (+21.9%)
02/11 #8 - 49,522 (-23.4%)
03/11 #9 - 51,179 ( +3.3%)
04/11 #10 - 50,553 ( -1.2%)
05/11 #11 - 46,519 ( -8.0%)
06/11 #12 - 45,786 ( -1.6%)
06/11 #13 - 44,665 ( -2.4%)
07/11 #14 - 45,150 ( +1.1%)
07/11 #15 - 43,038 ( -4.7%)
08/11 #.1 - 38,078 (-11.5%)
08/11 #16 - 43,161 (+13.3%)
09/11 #17 - 43,200 ( +0.1%)
09/11 #18 - 42,066 ( -2.6%)
10/11 #19 - 40,906 ( -2.8%)
11/11 #20 - 43,515 ( +6.4%)
11/11 #21 - 39,919 ( -8.3%)
6 mnth (-14.2%)
1 year (-29.5%)
Two issues this month. Issue #20 is the “Regenesis” variant cover, but issue #21 sees sales going straight back to normal. Since X-MEN isn’t really affected by Regenesis (it’s still doing the same team-up stories as before), that’s perhaps not surprising.
49,57. X-MEN LEGACY
11/06 #193 - 80,102
11/07 #205 - 101,401
11/08 #218 - 63,512
11/09 #229 - 50,789
=====
11/10 #242 - 43,750 ( -9.1%)
12/10 #243 - 41,797 ( -4.5%)
01/11 #244 - 40,193 ( -3.8%)
02/11 #245 - 57,203 (+42.3%)
03/11 #246 - 47,893 (-16.3%)
04/11 #247 - 51,970 ( +8.5%)
05/11 #248 - 46,083 (-11.3%)
05/11 #249 - 45,063 ( -2.2%)
06/11 #250 - 45,070 ( +0.0%)
06/11 #251 - 43,479 ( -3.5%)
07/11 #252 - 41,365 ( -4.9%)
08/11 #253 - 40,466 ( -2.2%)
08/11 #254 - 39,896 ( -1.4%)
09/11 #255 - 39,284 ( -1.5%)
09/11 #256 - 38,680 ( -1.5%)
10/11 #257 - 38,070 ( -1.6%)
11/11 #258 - 38,334 ( +0.7%)
11/11 #259 - 41,967 ( +9.5%)
6 mnth ( -6.9%)
1 year ( -4.1%)
2 year (-17.4%)
3 year (-33.9%)
4 year (-58.6%)
5 year (-47.6%)
Issue #258 is the final chapter of “Five Miles South of the Universe”, though it seems to have seen a slight uptick for no apparent reason. Issue #259 is a belated tie-in to Schism and has two variant covers. However, issues #259-260 are primarily the wrap-up of Mike Carey’s run, and this book is getting its real Regenesis push with issue #260.1, so it remains to be seen how much benefit it’ll get.
50. SECRET AVENGERS
11/10 #7 - 59,999 (-12.6%)
12/10 #8 - 54,048 ( -9.9%)
01/11 #9 - 50,748 ( -6.1%)
02/11 #10 - 49,717 ( -2.0%)
03/11 #11 - 51,353 ( +3.3%)
04/11 #12 - 50,641 (-13.9%)
04/11 #.1 - 46,161 ( -8.8%)
05/11 #13 - 51,936 (+12.5%)
06/11 #14 - 49,898 ( -3.9%)
07/11 #15 - 46,712 ( -6.4%)
08/11 #16 - 46,317 ( -0.8%)
09/11 #17 - 44,890 ( -3.1%)
10/11 #18 - 43,280 ( -3.6%)
11/11 #19 - 41,191 ( -4.8%)
6 mnth (-20.7%)
1 year (-31.3%)
Continuing the book’s downward drift.
51. MIGHTY THOR
11/06 ---
11/07 #4 - 106,541
11/08 ---
11/09 Fin. - 53,566
=====
11/10 #617 - 49,165 ( -3.7%)
12/10 #618 - 45,142 ( -8.2%)
01/11 #619 - 42,899 ( -5.0%)
02/11 #620 - 42,106 ( -1.8%)
03/11 #.1 - 41,605 ( -1.2%)
03/11 #621 - 42,104 ( +1.2%)
04/11 #1 - 82,071 (+94.9%)
05/11 #2 - 50,473 (-38.5%)
06/11 #3 - 48,114 ( -4.7%)
07/11 #4 - 44,586 ( -7.3%)
08/11 #5 - 44,594 ( +0.0%)
09/11 #6 - 45,231 ( +1.4%)
10/11 #7 - 44,017 ( -2.7%)
11/11 #8 - 40,703 ( -7.5%)
6 mnth (-19.4%)
1 year (-17.2%)
2 year (-24.0%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year (-61.8%)
5 year ( --- )
The last three issues have had variant covers, hence the slightly exaggerated drop on this issue. Nonetheless, given the change since issue #4, there does seem to be an underlying slide.
52,60. WOLVERINE
11/06 #48 - 99,991
11/07 #59 - 65,725
11/08 #69 - 93,914
11/09 #7 - 36,108
=====
11/10 #3 - 51,600 (-18.4%)
12/10 #4 - 52,812 ( +2.3%)
01/11 #5 - 46,920 (-11.2%)
02/11 #.1 - 44,332 ( -5.5%)
02/11 #6 - 45,932 ( +3.6%)
03/11 #7 - 47,337 ( +3.1%)
04/11 #8 - 47,010 ( -0.7%)
05/11 #9 - 44,635 ( -5.1%)
06/11 #10 - 42,677 ( -4.4%)
06/11 #11 - 41,813 ( -2.0%)
07/11 #12 - 42,110 ( +0.7%)
08/11 #13 - 39,296 ( -0.7%)
08/11 #14 - 38,869 ( -0.1%)
09/11 #15 - 37,951 ( -2.4%)
09/11 #16 - 37,796 ( -0.4%)
10/11 #17 - 39,405 ( +4.3%)
11/11 #18 - 40,170 ( +1.9%)
11/11 #19 - 37,997 ( -5.4%)
6 mnth (-14.9%)
1 year (-26.4%)
2 year ( +5.2%)
3 year (-59.5%)
4 year (-42.2%)
5 year (-62.0%)
Issue #18 has a variant cover. A renumbering to issue #300 is imminent, followed by what is evidently going to be a heavily promoted storyline by Jeph Loeb and Simone Bianchi.
54. ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN
11/06 #76 - 69,054
11/07 ---
11/08 #98 - 46,446
11/09 ---
=====
11/10 ---
12/10 ---
01/11 ---
02/11 ---
03/11 #4 - 37,631 (-15.6%)
04/11 ---
05/11 ---
06/11 #5 - 34,730 ( -7.7%)
07/11 ---
08/11 ---
09/11 #1 - 67,625 (+94.7%)
10/11 #2 - 44,399 (-34.3%)
11/11 #3 - 39,657 (-10.7%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( --- )
3 year (-14.6%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year (-42.6%)
Issue #1 had several variant covers, so the second issue drop was naturally high. The drop on issue #3, on the other hand, is a bit higher than you might have hoped for.
55. ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES
11/06 ---
11/07 ---
11/08 ---
11/09 ---
=====
11/10 ---
12/10 ---
01/11 ---
02/11 #5 of 5 - 38,663 ( -9.8%)
02/11 #1 of 6 - 49,360 (+47.5%)
03/11 #2 of 6 - 44,116 (-10.6%)
04/11 #3 of 6 - 43,822 ( -0.7%)
05/11 #4 of 6 - 43,707 ( -0.3%)
06/11 #5 of 6 - 42,803 ( -2.1%)
07/11 #6 of 6 - 42,760 ( -0.1%)
08/11 #1 - 58,522 (+36.9%)
09/11 #2 - 42,728 (-27.0%)
10/11 #3 - 40,792 ( -4.5%)
11/11 #4 - 39,342 ( -3.6%)
6 mnth (-10.0%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( --- )
3 year ( --- )
4 year ( --- )
5 year ( --- )
ULTIMATES ships an issue in November for the first time since 2002.
58. DAREDEVIL
11/06 #91 - 49,335
11/07 #102 - 45,030
11/08 #113 - 41,200
11/09 #502 - 40,354
=====
11/10 ---
12/10 #512 - 40,317 ( -7.1%)
01/11 #1 of 4 - 34,310 ( -14.9%)
02/11 #2 of 4 - 29,108 ( -15.2%)
03/11 #3 of 4 - 27,231 ( -6.4%)
04/11 ---
05/11 #4 of 4 - 26,179 ( -3.9%)
06/11 ---
07/11 #1 - 64,866 (+147.8%)
08/11 #2 - 40,990 ( -36.8%)
09/11 #3 - 39,477 ( -3.7%)
09/11 #4 - 40,311 ( +2.1%)
10/11 #5 - 39,413 ( -2.2%)
11/11 #6 - 38,302 ( -2.8%)
6 mnth ( +46.3%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( -5.1%)
3 year ( -7.0%)
4 year ( -14.9%)
5 year ( -22.4%)
Issues #4-5 have variant covers, so this actually looks to be extremely solid.
59. INVINCIBLE IRON MAN
11/06 #13 - 76,800
11/07 ---
11/08 #7 - 49,356
11/09 #20 - 55,160
=====
11/10 #32 - 40,978 (-10.0%)
12/10 #33 - 41,890 ( +2.2%)
01/11 #500 - 54,186 (+29.4%)
02/11 #.1 - 42,191 (-22.1%)
02/11 #501 - 41,517 ( -1.6%)
03/11 #502 - 43,899 ( +5.7%)
04/11 #503 - 45,314 ( +3.2%)
05/11 #504 - 44,791 ( -1.2%)
06/11 #505 - 42,327 ( -5.5%)
07/11 #506 - 41,052 ( -3.0%)
08/11 #507 - 40,082 ( -2.4%)
09/11 #508 - 41,295 ( +3.0%)
10/11 #509 - 38,721 ( -6.2%)
11/11 #510 - 38,118 ( -1.6%)
6 mnth (-14.9%)
1 year ( -7.0%)
2 year (-30.9%)
3 year (-22.8%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year (-50.4%)
Variant cover, but it’s also coming off the FEAR ITSELF crossover arc, which seems to more or less cancel out.
65. ASTONISHING X-MEN
11/06 #18 - 118,285
11/07 #23 - 112,920
11/08 ---
11/09 #32 - 62,154
=====
11/10 ---
12/10 ---
01/11 ---
02/11 #36 - 44,326 (-12.2%)
03/11 ---
04/11 ---
05/11 #37 - 38,513 (-13.1%)
05/11 #38 - 37,580 ( -2.4%)
06/11 #39 - 37,127 ( -1.2%)
07/11 #40 - 35,593 ( -4.1%)
08/11 #41 - 33,470 ( -6.0%)
09/11 #42 - 32,700 ( -2.3%)
10/11 #43 - 32,620 ( -0.2%)
11/11 #44 - 32,729 ( +0.3%)
6 mnth (-12.9%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year (-47.3%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year (-71.0%)
5 year (-72.3%)
First part of an arc by Greg Pak and Mike McKone, which is the book’s Regenesis tie-in (well, in the sense that it’s the storyline being promoted in the Regenesis advertising – as with X-MEN, the actual story is more or less self-contained).
66. VENOM
03/11 #1 - 58,936
04/11 #2 - 41,006 (-30.4%)
05/11 #3 - 40,634 ( -0.9%)
06/11 #4 - 38,946 ( -4.2%)
07/11 #5 - 35,102 ( -9.9%)
08/11 #6 - 35,033 ( -0.2%)
09/11 #7 - 33,130 ( -5.4%)
10/11 #8 - 32,266 ( -2.6%)
11/11 #9 - 32,506 ( +0.7%)
6 mnth (-20.0%)
Fourth part of a Spider-Island tie-in arc, and it’s also got a variant cover.
67. BATTLE SCARS 11/11 #1 of 6 - 32,222
The solicitation hints at this book being important, without quite explaining why. (“The post-Fear Itself Marvel Universe begins here! Who is Army Ranger Marcus Jones, and how could he tear the Marvel Universe apart?”) Retailers seem to have erred on the side of caution.
73. CAPTAIN AMERICA AND BUCKY 07/11 #620 - 51,187 08/11 #621 - 36,069 (-29.5%) 09/11 #622 - 34,096 ( -5.5%) 10/11 #623 - 32,041 ( -6.0%) 11/11 #624 - 30,472 ( -4.9%)
Drifting down.
77,87. NEW MUTANTS
11/09 #7 - 33,328
=====
11/10 #19 - 25,440 ( -5.9%)
12/10 #20 - 24,416 ( -4.0%)
01/11 #21 - 23,773 ( -2.6%)
02/11 #22 - 41,236 (+73.5%)
03/11 #23 - 37,659 ( -8.7%)
04/11 #24 - 38,701 ( +2.8%)
05/11 #25 - 34,724 (-10.3%)
06/11 #26 - 27,848 (-19.7%)
07/11 #27 - 27,963 ( +0.4%)
07/11 #28 - 26,130 ( -6.6%)
08/11 #29 - 27,205 ( -4.1%)
08/11 #30 - 26,678 ( -1.9%)
09/11 #31 - 25,672 ( -3.8%)
10/11 #32 - 25,364 ( -1.2%)
11/11 #33 - 28,665 (+13.0%)
11/11 #34 - 25,847 ( -9.8%)
6 mnth (-25.6%)
1 year ( +1.6%)
2 year (-22.4%)
Issue #33 is the Regenesis variant, but again, the orders on issue #34 suggest that the event is having little impact on the sales of the X-books that aren’t directly affected by the story.
82. JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY
04/11 #622 - 43,925
05/11 #623 - 39,003 (-11.2%)
06/11 #624 - 35,834 ( -8.1%)
07/11 #625 - 33,781 ( -5.7%)
08/11 #626 - 31,549 ( -6.6%)
08/11 #.1 - 27,877 (-11.6%)
09/11 #627 - 29,678 ( +6.5%)
09/11 #628 - 28,843 ( -2.8%)
10/11 #629 - 28,054 ( -2.7%)
10/11 #630 - 27,701 ( -1.3%)
11/11 #631 - 27,161 ( -1.9%)
6 mnth (-30.4%)
This is the first issue not to be a FEAR ITSELF tie-in, but it has a variant cover, which may be cancelling that out. Of course, given that FEAR ITSELF hasn’t been much of a draw on tie-in books, it’s quite possible that JOURNEY’s sales haven’t been greatly inflated by the crossover to start with.
83. MOON KNIGHT
11/06 #6 - 74,017
11/07 ---
11/08 #24 - 23,947
11/09 #3 - 23,359
=====
11/10 ---
12/10 ---
01/11 ---
02/11 ---
03/11 ---
04/11 ---
05/11 #1 - 49,018 (+167.6%)
06/11 #2 - 35,333 ( -27.9%)
07/11 #3 - 33,781 ( -4.4%)
08/11 #4 - 30,237 ( -10.5%)
09/11 #5 - 28,423 ( -6.0%)
10/11 #6 - 27,493 ( -3.3%)
11/11 #7 - 27,062 ( -1.6%)
6 mnth ( -44.8%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( +15.9%)
3 year ( +13.0%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year ( -63.4%)
This has a variant cover, so there’s probably a steeper underlying drop.
86. DEADPOOL
11/08 #4 - 49,577
11/09 #17 - 46,765
=====
11/10 #29 - 31,350 (-10.0%)
12/10 #30 - 30,488 ( -2.7%)
01/11 #31 - 29,167 ( -4.3%)
01/11 #32 - 29,144 ( -0.1%)
02/11 #33 - 28,649 ( -1.7%)
03/11 #.1 - 28,979 ( +1.2%)
03/11 #34 - 30,299 ( +4.6%)
04/11 #35 - 28,517 ( -5.9%)
04/11 #36 - 28,173 ( -1.2%)
05/11 #37 - 28,002 ( -0.6%)
06/11 #38 - 27,809 ( -0.7%)
06/11 #39 - 28,400 ( +2.1%)
07/11 #40 - 27,303 ( -3.9%)
08/11 #41 - 26,766 ( -2.0%)
08/11 #42 - 26,794 ( +0.1%)
09/11 #43 - 26,643 ( -0.6%)
10/11 #44 - 26,678 ( +0.1%)
10/11 #45 - 27,552 ( +3.3%)
11/11 #46 - 26,260 ( -4.7%)
6 mnth ( -6.2%)
1 year (-16.2%)
2 year (-43.8%)
3 year (-47.0%)
Issue #45 has a variant cover. Otherwise, it’s all looking very consistent.
88. PUNISHER
11/06 #1 - 102,727
11/07 #13 - 41,783
11/08 #25 - 29,982
11/09 #11 - 24,900
=====
11/10 #1 of 5 - 20,028 ( -0.0%)
12/10 #2 of 5 - 16,608 ( -17.1%)
01/11 #3 of 5 - 15,298 ( -7.9%)
02/11 #4 of 5 - 14,861 ( -2.9%)
03/11 #5 of 5 - 14,468 ( -2.6%)
04/11 ---
05/11 ---
06/11 ---
07/11 ---
08/11 #1 - 44,725 (+209.1%)
08/11 #2 - 42,459 ( -5.1%)
09/11 #3 - 26,802 ( -36.9%)
10/11 #4 - 25,847 ( -3.6%)
11/11 #5 - 25,399 ( -1.7%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year ( +26.8%)
2 year ( +2.0%)
3 year ( -15.3%)
4 year ( -39.2%)
5 year ( -75.3%)
This issue has a variant cover, so it may not be levelling out quite as well as it appears.
91. HULK
11/08 #8 - 90,776
11/09 #17 - 52,653
=====
11/10 #27 - 38,691 ( -9.9%)
12/10 #28 - 34,755 (-10.2%)
01/11 ---
02/11 #29 - 33,375 ( -4.0%)
02/11 #30 - 32,907 ( -1.4%)
03/11 #.1 - 32,163 ( -2.3%)
03/11 #31 - 31,368 ( -2.5%)
04/11 #32 - 30,652 ( -2.3%)
05/11 #33 - 32,273 ( +5.3%)
06/11 #34 - 29,391 ( -8.9%)
06/11 #35 - 28,539 ( -2.9%)
07/11 #36 - 28,651 ( +0.4%)
07/11 #37 - 30,318 ( +5.8%)
08/11 #38 - 29,059 ( -4.2%)
08/11 #39 - 26,895 ( -7.4%)
09/11 #40 - 26,591 ( -1.1%)
09/11 #41 - 26,084 ( -1.9%)
10/11 #42 - 27,025 ( +3.6%)
10/11 #43 - 25,514 ( -5.6%)
11/11 #44 - 24,596 ( -3.6%)
6 mnth (-23.8%)
1 year (-36.4%)
2 year (-53.3%)
3 year (-72.9%)
Gentle decline.
94. X-FACTOR
11/06 #13 - 42,844
11/07 #25 - 79,066
11/08 #37 - 35,754
11/09 ---
=====
11/10 #211 - 26,632 ( -3.3%)
12/10 #212 - 26,443 ( -0.7%)
01/11 #213 - 25,403 ( -3.9%)
01/11 #214 - 25,117 ( -1.1%)
02/11 #215 - 25,298 ( +0.7%)
03/11 #216 - 25,256 ( -0.2%)
03/11 #217 - 25,125 ( -0.5%)
04/11 #218 - 24,826 ( -1.2%)
05/11 #219 - 24,766 ( -0.2%)
06/11 #220 - 24,926 ( +0.6%)
06/11 #221 - 24,502 ( -1.7%)
07/11 #222 - 24,794 ( +1.2%)
08/11 #223 - 23,854 ( -3.8%)
08/11 #224 - 23,681 ( -0.7%)
09/11 #.1 - 23,220 ( -1.9%)
09/11 #225 - 23,507 ( +1.2%)
10/11 #226 - 23,569 ( +0.3%)
11/11 #227 - 23,742 ( +0.7%)
6 mnth ( -4.1%)
1 year (-10.9%)
2 year ( --- )
3 year (-33.6%)
4 year (-70.0%)
5 year (-44.6%)
The general trend on this book is an extremely slow drift down, but it’s now risen for two straight issues. Not by much, but it’s up.
95. ULTIMATE COMICS HAWKEYE 08/11 #1 of 4 - 37,451 09/11 #2 of 4 - 25,551 (-31.8%) 10/11 #3 of 4 - 24,762 ( -3.1%) 11/11 #4 of 4 - 23,562 ( -4.8%)
Fairly standard miniseries performance.
98.100. X-23
11/10 #3 - 31,224 (-11.5%)
12/10 #4 - 29,703 ( -4.9%)
01/11 #5 - 27,855 ( -6.2%)
02/11 #6 - 27,156 ( -2.5%)
03/11 #7 - 27,510 ( +1.3%)
03/11 #8 - 27,745 ( +0.9%)
04/11 #9 - 28,562 ( +2.9%)
05/11 #10 - 26,157 ( -8.4%)
06/11 #11 - 25,985 ( -0.7%)
07/11 #12 - 24,605 ( -5.3%)
08/11 #13 - 23,976 ( -2.6%)
09/11 #14 - 23,727 ( -1.0%)
10/11 #15 - 24,043 ( +1.3%)
11/11 #16 - 22,737 ( -5.4%)
11/11 #17 - 22,780 ( +0.2%)
6 mnth (-12.9%)
1 year (-27.0%)
Cancelled with issue #20. This book is some way above the other canceled titles, and with the storm of cancellations apparently over for now, it appears to be an outlier. It’s worth noting that Marvel have axed the entire Wolverine line except for WOLVERINE itself, so perhaps this one was part of a more strategic rethink.
101,107. AVENGERS ACADEMY
11/10 #6 - 25,977 (-16.9%)
12/10 #7 - 27,774 ( +6.9%)
01/11 #8 - 24,014 (-13.5%)
02/11 #9 - 23,709 ( -1.3%)
03/11 #10 - 23,708 ( -0.0%)
03/11 #11 - 23,636 ( -0.3%)
04/11 #12 - 23,578 ( -0.2%)
05/11 #13 - 24,840 ( +5.4%)
05/11 #14 - 23,537 ( -5.2%)
06/11 #.1 - 23,499 ( -0.2%)
06/11 #15 - 26,378 (+12.3%)
07/11 #16 - 25,379 ( -3.8%)
08/11 #17 - 24,898 ( -1.9%)
08/11 #18 - 24,538 ( -1.4%)
09/11 #19 - 23,928 ( -2.5%)
10/11 #20 - 23,412 ( -2.2%)
11/11 #21 - 22,713 ( -3.0%)
11/11 #22 - 22,531 ( -0.8%)
6 mnth ( -4.3%)
1 year (-13.3%)
Very slight decline, but not too bad on the whole.
102,106. THUNDERBOLTS
11/06 #108 - 27,890
11/07 ---
11/08 #126 - 34,640
11/09 #138 - 31,238
=====
11/10 #150 - 31,704 ( +3.7%)
12/10 #151 - 27,943 (-11.9%)
01/11 #152 - 26,515 ( -5.1%)
02/11 #153 - 26,098 ( -1.6%)
03/11 #154 - 25,455 ( -2.5%)
03/11 #155 - 26,710 ( +4.9%)
04/11 #156 - 25,117 ( -6.0%)
05/11 #157 - 25,063 ( -0.2%)
06/11 #158 - 28,422 (+13.4%)
06/11 #159 - 27,463 ( -3.4%)
07/11 #160 - 27,810 ( +1.3%)
08/11 #161 - 26,439 ( -4.9%)
08/11 #162 - 25,990 ( -1.7%)
09/11 #163 - 24,199 ( -6.9%)
09/11 #.1 - 22,596 ( -6.6%)
10/11 #164 - 23,712 ( +4.9%)
11/11 #165 - 22,536 ( -5.0%)
11/11 #166 - 22,680 ( +0.6%)
6 mnth ( -9.5%)
1 year (-28.5%)
2 year (-27.4%)
3 year (-34.5%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year (-18.7%)
Issue #166 has a variant cover, which probably accounts for the slight increase.
110. MAGNETO: NOT A HERO 11/11 #1 of 4 - 21,543
Not a great number, considering the promotion being given to the X-Men books at the moment – this is slightly below the first issue of the current ANNIHILATOR mini.
Marvel seem to be moving away from this sort of miniseries, in favour of increasing the publishing schedule of the core title. We’ll see how that works out for them; the theory seems to be that readers see these books as “inessential”, but I suspect a more accurate analysis is that readers simply don’t want to read that many X-Men comics, and naturally they skip the ones that appear skippable. If that’s correct, then Marvel are essentially trying to sell readers comics that they don’t especially want to buy, and that doesn’t seem like a very sustainable model.
113. GENERATION HOPE
11/10 #1 - 37,398
12/10 #2 - 38,984 ( +4.2%)
01/11 #3 - 24,094 (-38.2%)
02/11 #4 - 22,170 ( -8.0%)
03/11 #5 - 21,290 ( -4.0%)
04/11 #6 - 20,376 ( -4.3%)
05/11 #7 - 20,375 ( -0.0%)
06/11 #8 - 18,883 ( -7.3%)
07/11 #9 - 18,135 ( -4.0%)
08/11 #10 - 29,245 (+61.3%)
09/11 #11 - 20,243 (-30.8%)
10/11 #12 - 18,424 ( -9.0%)
11/11 #13 - 21,317 (+15.7%)
6 mnth ( +4.6%)
1 year (-43.0%)
This issue has a Regenesis variant cover, but we’ve already seen from X-MEN and ASTONISHING that this is unlikely in itself to carry over to the next issue. The series is, of course, safe through to the end of the storyline that begins with this issue; beyond that, it’s plainly in some danger unless it can turn things around.
This is also the first issue by new creative team James Asmus and Ibraim Roberson; the original solicitation rather boldly tried to hype up the arrival of a new creative team without actually naming them, which might have been an attempt to build mystery. Look, it’s the season of goodwill.
And now, brace yourself, as we enter the killing fields.
116. ALPHA FLIGHT
05/11 #.1 - 25,775
06/11 #1 - 46,851 (+81.8%)
07/11 #2 - 26,862 (-42.7%)
08/11 #3 - 24,872 ( -7.4%)
09/11 #4 - 23,242 ( -6.6%)
10/11 #5 - 20,731 (-10.8%)
11/11 #6 - 19,316 ( -6.8%)
6 mnth (-25.1%)
Cancelled with issue #8.
118. DAKEN: DARK WOLVERINE
11/09 #80 - 52,394
=====
11/10 #3 - 32,679 (-15.5%)
12/10 #4 - 30,726 ( -6.0%)
01/11 ---
02/11 #5 - 28,833 ( -6.2%)
03/11 #6 - 27,486 ( -4.7%)
03/11 #7 - 27,224 ( -1.0%)
04/11 #8 - 26,925 ( -1.1%)
05/11 #9 - 26,294 ( -2.3%)
05/11 #.1 - 24,599 ( -6.4%)
06/11 #10 - 24,724 ( +0.5%)
07/11 #11 - 23,207 ( -6.1%)
08/11 #12 - 21,734 ( -6.3%)
08/11 #13 - 21,302 ( -2.0%)
09/11 #14 - 20,460 ( -4.0%)
10/11 #15 - 19,759 ( -3.4%)
10/11 #16 - 19,472 ( -1.5%)
11/11 #17 - 18,794 ( -3.5%)
6 mnth (-28.5%)
1 year (-42.5%)
2 year (-64.1%)
Cancelled at some point in the near future, once it completes its current storyline.
119,121. GHOST RIDER 06/11 #.1 - 24,830 07/11 #1 - 41,308 (+66.4%) 08/11 #2 - 24,440 (-40.8%) 09/11 #3 - 22,180 ( -9.2%) 10/11 #4 - 21,012 ( -5.3%) 11/11 #5 - 18,664 (-11.2%) 11/11 #6 - 18,297 ( -2.0%)
Cancelled with issue #8.
120. ANNIHILATORS: EARTHFALL 03/11 #1 of 4 - 26,543 04/11 #2 of 4 - 24,117 ( -9.1%) 05/11 #3 of 4 - 23,145 ( -4.0%) 06/11 #4 of 4 - 21,604 ( -6.7%) 07/11 --- 08/11 --- 09/11 #1 of 4 - 22,259 ( +3.0%) 10/11 #2 of 4 - 19,068 (-14.3%) 11/11 #3 of 4 - 18,379 ( -3.6%)
Drifting down, as is usual for sequel minis.
123. WOLVERINE: THE BEST THERE IS
12/10 #1 - 57,348
01/11 #2 - 33,469 (-41.6%)
02/11 #3 - 27,790 (-17.0%)
03/11 #4 - 25,226 ( -9.2%)
04/11 #5 - 24,771 ( -1.8%)
05/11 #6 - 22,695 ( -8.4%)
06/11 #7 - 22,001 ( -3.1%)
07/11 #8 - 20,393 ( -7.3%)
08/11 #9 - 19,476 ( -4.5%)
09/11 #10 - 18,781 ( -3.6%)
10/11 ---
11/11 #11 - 18,094 ( -3.7%)
6 mnth (-20.3%)
Cancelled with issue #12.
126. PUNISHERMAX [Max]
11/06 #41 - 33,164
11/07 #52 - 32,909
11/08 #64 - 24,660
11/09 #1 - 29,119
=====
11/10 ---
12/10 ---
01/11 ---
02/11 #10 - 19,236 (-10.3%)
03/11 #11 - 19,243 ( +0.0%)
04/11 #12 - 18,740 ( -2.6%)
05/11 #13 - 18,448 ( -1.6%)
06/11 #14 - 17,965 ( -2.6%)
07/11 #15 - 17,706 ( -1.4%)
08/11 #16 - 17,625 ( -0.5%)
09/11 #17 - 17,540 ( -0.5%)
10/11 #18 - 17,541 ( +0.0%)
11/11 #19 - 17,473 ( -0.4%)
6 mnth ( -5.3%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year (-40.0%)
3 year (-24.7%)
4 year (-46.9%)
5 year (-47.3%)
Cancelled with issue #22.
129. AVENGERS 1959 10/11 #1 of 5 - 32,418 10/11 #2 of 5 - 18,989 (-41.4%) 11/11 #3 of 5 - 16,629 (-12.4%)
Well, it’s a bit of a niche product. I suspect this is the sort of miniseries Marvel won’t be doing so much of next year, the way their publishing strategy seems to be going.
130. BLACK PANTHER
11/06 #22 - 41,268
11/07 #32 - 28,426
11/08 ---
11/09 #10 - 19,147
=====
11/10 #3 of 4 - 10,356 ( -20.1%)
12/10 #4 of 4 - 9,145 ( -11.7%)
12/10 #513 - 33,124 (+262.2%)
01/11 #514 - 27,474 ( -17.1%)
02/11 #515 - 24,556 ( -10.6%)
03/11 #516 - 23,987 ( -2.3%)
04/11 #517 - 23,120 ( -3.6%)
05/11 #518 - 20,906 ( -9.6%)
06/11 #519 - 19,883 ( -4.9%)
06/11 #520 - 19,400 ( -2.4%)
07/11 #521 - 22,163 ( +14.2%)
08/11 #522 - 20,342 ( -8.2%)
09/11 #523 - 18,798 ( -7.6%)
09/11 #.1 - 16,592 ( -11.7%)
10/11 #524 - 18,248 ( +10.0%)
11/11 #525 - 16,295 ( -10.7%)
6 mnth ( -22.1%)
1 year ( +57.3%)
2 year ( -14.9%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year ( -42.7%)
5 year ( -60.5%)
Cancelled with issue #529.
133. VILLAINS FOR HIRE
12/10 #1 - 32,936
01/11 #2 - 23,013 (-30.1%)
02/11 #3 - 22,401 ( -2.7%)
03/11 #4 - 21,827 ( -2.6%)
04/11 #5 - 21,815 ( -0.0%)
05/11 #6 - 20,057 ( -8.1%)
05/11 #7 - 18,671 ( -6.9%)
06/11 #8 - 18,029 ( -3.4%)
07/11 #9 - 19,676 ( +9.1%)
08/11 #10 - 18,374 ( -6.6%)
09/11 #11 - 17,550 ( -4.5%)
09/11 #12 - 15,698 (-10.6%)
10/11 S-I - 15,079 ( -3.9%)
11/11 #.1 - 15,281 ( +1.3%)
6 mnth (-18.2%)
The lead-in issue to a mini, which replaces HEROES FOR HIRE on the schedule. Since that mini has had its run cut back, it seems a safe bet that HFH is cancelled.
134,139,143,147,148. AVENGERS ORIGINS 11/11 Thor - 15,180 11/11 Vision - 14,633 11/11 Ant-Man/Wasp - 14,004 11/11 Luke Cage - 13,831 11/11 Quicksilver/Scarlet Witch - 13,778
More of those inessential spin-offs that readers have figured out they don’t need to read. (Who says Marvel readers are completists?)
142. DEADPOOL MAX [Max]
11/10 #2 - 23,382 (-19.9%)
12/10 #3 - 20,990 (-10.2%)
01/11 #4 - 19,238 ( -8.3%)
02/11 #5 - 18,221 ( -5.3%)
03/11 #6 - 17,528 ( -3.8%)
04/11 #7 - 17,005 ( -3.0%)
05/11 #8 - 16,428 ( -3.4%)
06/11 #9 - 15,802 ( -3.8%)
07/11 #10 - 15,067 ( -4.7%)
08/11 #11 - 14,626 ( -2.9%)
09/11 #12 - 14,507 ( -0.8%)
10/11 #1 - 15,865 ( +9.4%)
11/11 #2 - 14,171 (-10.7%)
6 mnth (-13.7%)
1 year (-39.4%)
Presumably safe through to the end of its current storyline, but plainly it must be in danger beyond that point.
145. IRON MAN 2.0
02/11 #1 - 31,380
02/11 #2 - 24,600 (-21.6%)
03/11 #3 - 20,905 (-15.0%)
04/11 #4 - 20,342 ( -2.7%)
05/11 #5 - 20,320 ( -0.1%)
06/11 #6 - 19,798 ( -2.6%)
07/11 #7 - 20,390 ( +3.0%)
08/11 #.1 - 16,984 (-16.7%)
08/11 #8 - 16,455 ( -3.1%)
09/11 #9 - 15,600 ( -5.2%)
10/11 ---
11/11 #10 - 13,910 (-10.8%)
6 mnth (-31.5%)
Cancelled with issue #12.
149. AVENGERS: SOLO 10/11 #1 of 5 - 18,427 11/11 #2 of 5 - 13,747 (-25.4%) 151. THOR: DEVIANTS SAGA 11/11 #1 of 5 - 13,660 156. RED SKULL 07/11 #1 of 5 - 19,973 08/11 #2 of 5 - 16,166 (-19.1%) 09/11 #3 of 5 - 14,650 ( -9.4%) 10/11 #4 of 5 - 13,919 ( -5.0%) 11/11 #5 of 5 - 13,288 ( -4.5%)
More low-selling minis. Again, Marvel’s upcoming solicitations seem relatively light on this sort of thing.
158. THE STAND: NIGHT HAS COME
11/10 #5 of 5 - 16,751 ( -2.5%)
12/10 ---
01/11 ---
02/11 No Man's Land #1 - 16,094 ( -3.9%)
03/11 #2 of 5 - 15,332 ( -4.7%)
03/11 #3 of 5 - 14,768 ( -3.7%)
04/11 ---
05/11 #4 of 5 - 14,696 ( -0.5%)
06/11 #5 of 5 - 14,480 ( -1.5%)
07/11 ---
08/11 Night #1 of 6 - 14,510 ( -0.2%)
09/11 #2 of 6 - 13,723 ( -5.4%)
10/11 #3 of 6 - 13,423 ( -2.2%)
11/11 #4 of 6 - 12,803 ( -4.6%)
6 mnth (-12.9%)
1 year (-23.6%)
Also nearing the end of its run – this arc is the final part of the adaptation.
160. HERC
11/08 #123 - 35,780
11/09 #138 - 25,116
=====
11/10 Chaos #3 - 28,630 ( -2.5%)
12/10 #4 of 5 - 26,313 ( -8.1%)
01/11 #5 of 5 - 24,694 ( -6.2%)
02/11 ---
03/11 ---
04/11 #1 - 38,774 ( +57.0%)
05/11 #2 - 17,385 ( -55.2%)
05/11 #3 - 18,755 ( +7.9%)
06/11 #4 - 18,106 ( -3.5%)
07/11 #5 - 17,113 ( -5.5%)
08/11 #6 - 16,730 ( -2.2%)
08/11 #.1 - 13,990 ( -16.4%)
09/11 #7 - 15,152 ( +8.3%)
09/11 #8 - 14,813 ( -2.2%)
10/11 #9 - 13,190 ( -11.0%)
11/11 #10 - 12,372 ( -6.2%)
6 mnth ( -34.0%)
1 year ( -56.8%)
2 year ( -50.7%)
3 year ( -65.4%)
Cancelled.
168. VENGEANCE 07/11 #1 of 6 - 25,873 08/11 #2 of 6 - 16,895 (-34.7%) 09/11 #3 of 6 - 13,446 (-20.4%) 10/11 #4 of 6 - 11,948 (-11.1%) 11/11 #5 of 6 - 10,931 ( -8.5%)
Another low-selling mini, though one that was fairly clearly going for a cult audience.
192,210. SIX GUNS 11/11 #1 of 5 - 9,262 11/11 #2 of 5 - 8,031 (-13.3%)
Modern day western. Not much sign of interest here, unfortunately.
195. SHAME ITSELF 11/11 One-shot - 8,983
A parody issue loosely linked to FEAR ITSELF.
202. LEGION OF MONSTERS 10/11 #1 of 4 - 16,785 11/11 #2 of 4 - 8,601 (-48.8%)
This one’s going to look pretty ugly by the end of four issues, I fear.
206. OZ
11/09 #1 of 8 - 25,338
=====
11/10 #1 of 8 - 13,222 ( +8.8%)
12/10 #2 of 8 - 10,419 (-21.2%)
01/11 #3 of 8 - 9,386 ( -9.9%)
02/11 #4 of 8 - 9,159 ( -2.4%)
03/11 ---
04/11 #5 of 8 - 8,797 ( -4.0%)
05/11 #6 of 8 - 8,753 ( -0.5%)
06/11 #7 of 8 - 8,672 ( -0.9%)
07/11 #8 of 8 - 8,216 ( -5.3%)
08/11 ---
09/11 #1 of 8 - 10,648 (+29.6%)
10/11 #2 of 8 - 8,504 (-20.1%)
11/11 #3 of 8 - 8,381 ( -1.4%)
6 mnth ( -4.2%)
1 year (-36.6%)
2 year (-66.9%)
Holding pretty steady from last series, on the whole.
208. KAPOW! GUINNESS WORLD RECORD SPECIAL [Icon] 11/11 #1 - 8,252
This is a Superior one-shot produced in twelve hours as a jam book at Mark Millar’s Kapow convention, and released as a charity fundraiser for the Yorkhill Sick Children’s Hospital. The print run is limited to 10,000, the remaining copies doubtless going to UK retailers (whose orders don’t count for this chart).
227. OFFICIAL HANDBOOK
11/10 Heroic Age: Villains - 9,294 ( +86.3%)
12/10 A to Z Update #5 of 5 - 4,808 ( -48.3%)
12/10 Heroic Age: X-Men - 13,789 (+186.8%)
01/11 Blockbusters - 5,354 ( -61.2%)
02/11 ---
03/11 ---
04/11 Thor - 9,251 ( +72.8%)
05/11 X-Men - 8,228 ( -11.1%)
06/11 Captain America - 6,311 ( -23.3%)
07/11 ---
08/11 Fellowship of Fear - 10,448 ( +65.6%)
09/11 FF - 6,761 ( -35.3%)
10/11 Vampires - 5,220 ( -22.8%)
11/11 History o/t MU - 7,284 ( +39.5%)
6 mnth ( -11.5%)
1 year ( -21.6%)
This doesn’t really belong in the HANDBOOK listing – it’s more of a Marvel Saga type thing – but it’s the mostly text based continuity project for this month, so I’m including it.
The HANDBOOK hasn’t been solicited beyond December, but further issue are apparently in the works (and the writers are also producing update pages for the trade paperback collections).
249. ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER
11/06 Guilty #3 of 12 - 28,031
11/07 ---
11/08 Laughing #2 of 5 - 17,187
11/09 ---
=====
11/10 ---
12/10 ---
01/11 Ingenue #1 of 5 - 7,763 ( -4.7%)
02/11 #2 of 5 - 7,352 ( -5.3%)
03/11 ---
04/11 #3 of 5 - 7,018 ( -4.5%)
04/11 ---
05/11 ---
06/11 #4 of 5 - 6,893 ( -1.8%)
07/11 ---
08/11 #5 of 5 - 6,712 ( -2.6%)
09/11 Scoundrel #1 of 5 - 6,650 ( -0.9%)
10/11 ---
11/11 #2 of 5 - 6,302 ( -5.2%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( --- )
3 year (-63.3%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year (-77.5%)
Gentle decline.
251. JOHN CARTER OF MARS: WORLD OF MARS 10/11 #1 of 4 - 15,550 11/11 #2 of 4 - 6,288 (-59.6%)
Another drastic second-issue plunge for a JOHN CARTER mini, following in the footsteps of last month’s PRINCESS OF MARS.
258. MYSTIC [CrossGen] 08/11 #1 of 4 - 18,783 09/11 #2 of 4 - 7,105 (-62.2%) 10/11 #3 of 4 - 6,471 ( -8.9%) 11/11 #4 of 4 - 6,002 ( -7.2%)
Depressingly low sales for a beautiful comic.
260. JOHN CARTER: A PRINCESS OF MARS 09/11 #1 of 5 - 19,173 10/11 #2 of 5 - 6,742 (-64.8%) 11/11 #3 of 5 - 5,845 (-13.3%)
See above.
270. SPIDER-MAN [Marvel Adventures]
11/06 #9 - 6,637
11/07 #21 - 6,529
11/08 #33 - 6,126
11/09 #57 - 4,501
=====
11/10 #7 - 5,603 ( -3.0%)
11/10 #8 - 5,269 ( -6.0%)
12/10 #9 - 5,116 ( -2.9%)
01/11 #10 - 4,816 ( -5.9%)
02/11 #11 - 4,923 ( +2.2%)
03/11 #12 - 4,965 ( +0.9%)
04/11 #13 - 5,083 ( +2.4%)
05/11 #14 - 5,220 ( +2.7%)
06/11 #15 - 5,052 ( -3.2%)
07/11 #16 - 4,708 ( -6.8%)
08/11 #17 - 4,675 ( -0.7%)
09/11 #18 - 4,673 ( -0.0%)
10/11 #19 - ?,??? ( ??? )
11/11 #20 - 5,363 ( ??? )
6 mnth ( +2.7%)
1 year ( -4.3%)
2 year (+19.2%)
3 year (-12.5%)
4 year (-17.9%)
5 year (-19.2%)
Cancelled with issue #23.
299. I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA 11/11 One-shot - 4,334
A collection of variant covers.
Missing the top 300 in November: SUPER HEROES, which is cancelled with issue #23; OFFICIAL INDEX TO THE MARVEL UNIVERSE, which is cancelled after the end of its current run; the NORTHANGER ABBEY miniseries; and the Pixar CITY OF INCREDIBLES one-shot.
6 month comparisons =================== +185.2% - Incredible Hulk + 46.3% - Daredevil + 34.9% - Uncanny X-Men + 21.9% - Fantastic Four + 21.0% - Captain America + 7.5% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man + 4.6% - Generation Hope + 3.3% - Amazing Spider-Man + 2.7% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures] + 0.6% - X-Force - 4.1% - X-Factor - 4.2% - Oz - 4.3% - Avengers Academy - 5.3% - PunisherMax - 6.2% - Deadpool - 6.9% - X-Men Legacy - 9.5% - Thunderbolts - 9.7% - New Avengers - 10.0% - Ultimate Comics Ultimates - 11.5% - Official Handbook - 12.9% - Astonishing X-Men - 12.9% - X-23 - 12.9% - The Stand - 13.7% - Deadpool Max - 14.2% - X-Men - 14.9% - Wolverine - 14.9% - Iron Man - 16.8% - Avengers - 18.2% - Heroes For Hire - 18.4% - FF - 19.4% - Thor - 20.0% - Venom - 20.3% - Wolverine: The Best There Is - 20.7% - Secret Avengers - 22.1% - Black Panther - 23.8% - Hulk - 25.1% - Alpha Flight - 25.6% - New Mutants - 28.5% - Daken: Dark Wolverine - 30.4% - Journey into Mystery - 31.5% - Iron Man 2.0 - 34.0% - Herc - 44.8% - Moon Knight 1 year comparisons ================== +127.1% - Incredible Hulk + 77.6% - Fantastic Four + 57.3% - Black Panther + 27.1% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man + 26.8% - Punisher + 25.0% - Uncanny X-Men + 14.4% - Captain America + 3.4% - Amazing Spider-Man + 1.6% - New Mutants - 4.1% - X-Men Legacy - 4.3% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures] - 7.0% - Iron Man - 9.8% - X-Force - 10.9% - X-Factor - 13.3% - Avengers Academy - 16.2% - Deadpool - 17.2% - Thor - 18.4% - New Avengers - 21.6% - Official Handbook - 23.6% - The Stand - 26.4% - Wolverine - 27.0% - X-23 - 28.5% - Thunderbolts - 29.5% - X-Men - 31.3% - Secret Avengers - 36.4% - Hulk - 36.6% - Oz - 36.9% - Avengers - 39.4% - Deadpool Max - 42.5% - Daken: Dark Wolverine - 43.0% - Generation Hope - 56.8% - Herc 2 year comparisons ================== + 97.1% - Incredible Hulk + 87.2% - Fantastic Four + 19.2% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures] + 15.9% - Moon Knight + 5.2% - Wolverine + 5.0% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man + 4.2% - Uncanny X-Men + 2.0% - Punisher - 5.1% - Daredevil - 5.5% - X-Force - 5.6% - Amazing Spider-Man - 14.9% - Black Panther - 17.4% - X-Men Legacy - 22.4% - New Mutants - 24.0% - Thor - 26.8% - New Avengers - 27.4% - Thunderbolts - 30.9% - Iron Man - 40.0% - PunisherMax - 43.8% - Deadpool - 43.9% - Captain America - 47.3% - Astonishing X-Men - 50.7% - Herc - 53.3% - Hulk - 64.1% - Daken: Dark Wolverine - 66.9% - Oz 3 year comparisons ================== + 20.3% - Fantastic Four + 13.0% - Moon Knight - 1.2% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man - 6.8% - Uncanny X-Men - 7.0% - Daredevil - 10.9% - X-Force - 11.7% - Incredible Hulk - 12.5% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures] - 13.3% - Amazing Spider-Man - 14.6% - Ultimate Comics X-Men - 15.3% - Punisher - 22.8% - Iron Man - 24.7% - PunisherMax - 28.3% - Captain America - 33.6% - X-Factor - 33.9% - X-Men Legacy - 34.5% - Thunderbolts - 47.0% - Deadpool - 59.5% - Wolverine - 63.3% - Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter - 65.4% - Herc - 72.9% - Hulk 4 year comparisons ================== + 25.9% - Fantastic Four - 14.9% - Daredevil - 16.2% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man - 17.9% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures] - 21.1% - Incredible Hulk - 26.1% - Captain America - 29.3% - Uncanny X-Men - 39.2% - Punisher - 42.2% - Wolverine - 42.7% - Black Panther - 46.9% - PunisherMax - 49.4% - New Avengers - 58.6% - X-Men Legacy - 61.8% - Thor - 70.0% - X-Factor - 71.0% - Astonishing X-Men 5 year comparisons ================== - 4.8% - Incredible Hulk - 18.2% - Uncanny X-Men - 18.7% - Thunderbolts - 19.2% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures] - 22.4% - Daredevil - 32.2% - Captain America - 33.1% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man - 42.6% - Ultimate Comics X-Men - 44.6% - X-Factor - 47.3% - PunisherMax - 47.6% - X-Men Legacy - 50.4% - Iron Man - 51.4% - Amazing Spider-Man - 60.1% - New Avengers - 60.5% - Black Panther - 62.0% - Wolverine - 63.4% - Moon Knight - 72.3% - Astonishing X-Men - 75.3% - Punisher - 77.5% - Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter
The Point One issue also had free copies shipped for reorders of other, unrelated comics.
Fearless is biweekly, and we have to place initial orders for 2 issues at a time. By #3 we had a week’s sales of #1 to look at and determine numbers.
Our Ultimate Spider-Man sales are STILL growing slowly. Miles Morales has captured people’s hearts, it seems. Ditto Daredevil.
As a big fan of the X-Men line I find it interesting that it appears that Wolverine and the X-Men is selling better than Uncanny X-Men. It is still very early so we will have to see where thing stand in a few months but I was a bit surprised to see the numbers.
It’s also worth noting that within the next one-three months it looks like Marvel will likely catch and overtake DC without really doing anything new (other than double shipping some of their titles). It will be very interesting to see how the Avengers vs. X-Men book sells and what impact it has on the race for top selling publisher.
Paul, thanks for this column. I always look forward to reading it.
@ Brian Jacoby
I am not reading either book but it is great to hear that both Ultimate Spider-Man and Daredevil are actually selling more copies for you as the books go on. That seems to be an extreme rarity in the market of today.
Interesting :o
(I’m guessing the formatting-hitches at the bottom and around the 150. rank mark will clear up)
Guess I’ll be enjoying the Rulk book while I can :(
Oh and marvels march 2012 solicitations list Daken nr. 23 as the “Series Finale” (and X23 nr. 21 also as “Series Finale” while you write its cancelled at nr 20).
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/marvel-march-2012-solicitations-111219.html
Deadpool Max 2 is cancelled with issue #6 according to the new solicits.
“We’ll see how that works out for them; the theory seems to be that readers see these books as “inessential”, but I suspect a more accurate analysis is that readers simply don’t want to read that many X-Men comics, and naturally they skip the ones that appear skippable.”
Bit of column A, bit of column B. I have some characters that I’ll follow and pick up minis for. What is “essential” to make a story interesting to me is that it makes an impact–not on the Marvel U, but on those characters I care about. If a random mini is by a creative team that has no connection to the ongoing books, odds are the story might never even be referenced. Extra issues of my ongoings by the regular writers sound good to me, though. There is an upper limit of money, but still.
“Drifting down, as is usual for sequel minis.”
Disappointing for the fairly steady Marvel Cosmic books, though.
I blame them going to Earth. I don’t like too much Earth in my Cosmic books. (And the Avengers are the new Wolverine in terms of countless guest spots. They now make me instantly care less about books.)
Yes, Marvel will catch and pass DC because they publish in the neighborhood of 85-90+ monthly titles a month while DC has cut their output down into the 60s.
Add to that, Marvel collects nearly all of those monthly titles into trades, so their TPB output further adds to the difference (in the DM at least).
DC appears to have decided to focus on a smaller core of books to rebuild their market presence while Marvel continues to throw as much *bleep* at the wall as they can in order to keep that revenue number up (even whille it has been eating at the profit number — though they do actually seem to be paying more attention to that particular number of late).
And Marvel charges $3.99 for their titles vs. DC’s $2.99, so that’s a substantial difference when comparing 90ish titles vs 60ish titles.
That said, I’m most surprised that the new Ultimate Spiderman is leveling off at numbers at /above where Ultimate Peter Parker once tread. I’m not a fan of Miles Morales but give them credit for maintaining interest (so far) in this new character.
Ultimate Spider-Man is just a quality book keeping people. The fake relaunch about two years ago didn’t really do anything for it, but it’s fitting that with a new Spider-Man, a new series was started so people know they can jump on. Looking through this chart, things don’t look too bright.
I suspect any ongoings selling less than Thunderbolts will get cancelled (and I hope Thunderbolts itself doesn’t get cancelled, I enjoyed what I’ve read of it).
I was thinking…it’s probably reasonable to assume due to DC’s current return-ability, retailers have extra funds available that would be tied up in non-returnable DC comics. So, I wonder if retailers are upping their orders on Marvel comics knowing they’ll get some money back from returning unsold DC comics?
And I don’t care who “wins” or “loses,” but I know some do. I’m just intrigued by how trends change based on patterns. It doesn’t really make sense Marvel numbers would rise at the exact same time as DC’s reboot if the theory is DC’s success is bringing new readers in. That theory would make sense if Marvel’s numbers would begin to rise a few months after DC’s rise. There has to be something else to explain Marvel’s slight sales spike.
—
Perhaps this is partly a reflection of UNCANNY’s continuing status as the flagship X-book, though my impression was that this and W&TXM were being promoted as more or less equal in the revamped line.
—
And W&TXM is by one of the architects, while the new UXM is not. Anecdotal, but I hadn’t read an X-Men book since the early ’90s, but I’m planning to stick with W&TXM. I haven’t even given UXM a chance (though I might try it before the first issues disappear from the shelves).
Don’t know if it’s helpful or not, but my LCS was selling Point One for $2.99. They even had pro signs (looked like they came from Marvel) promoting that fact.
As for Marcus Jones, my theory is that he is Marvel bringing the black Nick Fury to the MU. I haven’t read the series past issue one, but I had that suspicion, and I’ve seen others expressing it as well.
“And Marvel charges $3.99 for their titles vs. DC’s $2.99, so that’s a substantial difference when comparing 90ish titles vs 60ish titles.”
Marvel still has a good handfull of titles priced at $2.99.
And yes, Marvel’s ‘Point One’ was indeed double shipped for free.
Ghost Rider ends with 9, not 8, according to previews.
I just don’t understand how they can count FF as Fantastic Four but keep them both running with the current issue numbers. You either had 11 issues of FF and then Fantastic Four 600..or you had 11 issues of FF and Fantastic Four is only at 589
Let me clarify. I mean, they can’t have Fantastic Four 600 and keep FF running at the same numbering. That’s like taking Avenging Spider-man..running it for a year and then adding it to Amazing Spider-man number count.
Wolverine & the X-Men #2 and Incredible Hulk #2 both had overships as well. Part of me wonders if it is an attempt to manipulate the sales charts. Same with double shipping so many titles in February.
With Wolverine #1, I ordered a high number to take advantage of a special discount promotion and then they matched my #2s to this very high amount. With Inc Hulk #2 they added 50% to my order of #1, which would have been great, but I ordered the same number of #2 (to get a variant for a customer) as I did #1 and I don’t think I need 50% more #2 than #1.
I’m sorry to see them cancel the Marvel Adventures books. My son and I like reading them together. The DM sales haven’t changed so I wonder if something’s different in other markets or if those mysterious “other channels” never really existed.
Also, why stop at 23? The books have always been collected in batches of 4. SHouldn’t they print one more and have a final collection to sell?
“FEARLESS shipped two issues in November, with issue #2 holding up surprisingly well…”
FEARLESS #1 and #2 were both double-shipped; issue #3 was not.
LL
>INCREDIBLE HULK
>10/11 #1 – 106,472 (+178.6%)
>11/11 #2 – 80,143 ( -24.7%)
As Colin noted above Marvel overshipped #2 by 50%, so actual sales (to retailers) were approximately 53,428 copies. With Silvestri’s departure I expect sales will continue to plunge.
However, in less than a year Marvel likely will cancel RED HULK, combine the numbering, and announce INCREDIBLE HULK #700. (Unless they reboot the entire line as a result of A vs X.)
LL
Hey everyone, Paul did send me a corrected version of this, but in my pie-addled post-holiday state I posted the old one — the final version is up now.
Legion of Monsters — I would have bought it at $2.99, but I can’t figure out for the life of me why they priced it at $3.99
Hopefully, Avengers Academy will stick around. It’s really one of the best books Marvel is publishing. And it’s still $2.99
@ Chris Hero
I don’t speak for any retailer other than myself, but I don’t base my orders for anything from any company on what another company is doing. I order based on what I think I can sell.
@ Heidi
What were the changes from the original posting and the “corrected” posting?
The change is to the commentary on FEARLESS #2, to reflect the fact that it was over shipped. The rest is identical.
Regarding FEARLESS, I failed to point out in my earlier post that retailers’ orders INCREASED with #3 (since #1 and #2 were double shipped).
LL
Hey Paul/Editors.. looks like the ICV2.com link at the top is borked. FYI.
@Brian Jacoby
It’s more a question of a possible reason on my part, not a super strong theory I can defend with numbers and graphs. Also, you’ve always struck me as an atypical comic store owner in that you try to order what will sell, not what you personally like.
“I just don’t understand how they can count FF as Fantastic Four but keep them both running with the current issue numbers. You either had 11 issues of FF and then Fantastic Four 600..or you had 11 issues of FF and Fantastic Four is only at 589”
@Spike — It’s not the first time Marvel have done this. When the current, adjectiveless, HULK series started, it ran for 12 issues. INCREDIBLE HULK, then, returned with issue #600 and both series continued, in parallel, with the first 12 issues of HULK counting towards INCREDIBLE HULK’s numbering, as well as being it’s own, freestanding, series (of course Marvel still screwed it up and counted the #-1 towards the 600, the only title they did this for).
Of course, the grumpy old fan in me just wishes they’d leave the damn numbering alone.
“Considering the solicitation (“You CANNOT miss this. Catch a tease of the biggest change to the Marvel Universe in over 35 years!”) that number would surely have been disappointing, even allowing for the six dollar price tag. The wisdom of pricing a teaser book that high must also be open to question.”
I was actually surprised they sold as many as they did since it seems like a bunch of teasers plus the other reasons you stated. Marvel seems to have been doing a lot of vague “this-is-a-big-deal” solicitations lately. The comments this month are very interesting (especially about Marvel overshipping books). I also hope Daredevil and Ultimate Spider-man continue to climb and have no idea why Marvel thought $3.99 was a smart price to charge for a Legion of Monsters mini. The Annihilators mini does seem to be underachieving a bit. And I’m surprised Marvel cancelled Marvel Adventures Spider-Man since its sales have been consistently higher than the previous incarnation. Happy New Year!
Were the 2 John Carter mini series first issues double shipped for free like point one and the Crossgen titles? The decline on the 2nd issues seems to indicate they were.
Great to see X-Factor has 3 straight months on the increase!
>no idea why Marvel thought $3.99 was a smart price to charge for a Legion of Monsters mini.
Their marketing department probably projected (a) LoM was going to tank at any price, b) profits would be higher at $3.99, and (c) Marvel was (mostly) getting out of the mini-series part of the business, so they didn’t need to maintain their current pricing model.
Note that Marvel’s March 2010 solicitation includes ten AVENGERS comics and lacks any new super-hero mini-series (other than the AVENGERS-related ones).
LL
>Note that Marvel’s March 2010 solicitation
Sorry, I meant the 2012 solicitation.
LL
Re: Annihilators underperforming – I’m a fan of the cosmic Marvel stuff, but I generally go for ongoings (still sad about “Guardians of the Galaxy” going away, it was one of my favorite recent Marvels) or events (e.g. “Thanos Imperative”). These minis seem like a lack of commitment to me, and so I don’t commit to them. Also, I believe the first issue of the first Annihilators mini was $4.99 – that’s just a bridge too far. After I skipped that, skipping the Annihilators issues since was a fait accompli.
Interesting. I wish there was still an ongoing cosmic Marvel title too. And $4.99 is steep but it did have essentially two comics in it, which I enjoyed. Still, I bet that has something to do with the current mini’s sales.
“Their marketing department probably projected (a) LoM was going to tank at any price, b) profits would be higher at $3.99, and (c) Marvel was (mostly) getting out of the mini-series part of the business, so they didn’t need to maintain their current pricing model.”
I wonder why Marvel even bothered with the series in the first place.
“$4.99 is steep but it did have essentially two comics in it…”
Right, one of which (a Groot / Rocket Raccoon comedy bit) that I didn’t care about. So, for me, $4.99 for 20 pages – can’t do it.
I wonder how the lack of upcoming minis will affect the sales of the rest of the books.
I loved the Groot and Rocket Raccoon story. I doubt I would’ve bought the comic otherwise.