Incredible_Hulk_1_2011.jpg
by Paul O’Brien

Welcome to month two of Bizarro World! This was quite a busy month for Marvel, with the “Fear Itself” crossover continuing, the relaunch of INCREDIBLE HULK, and the first issue of new title WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN.

But once again, the big story in October was the continued success of the DCU relaunch. DC’s lead over Marvel in September may have been narrow, but in October it was massive. Helped by hefty re-orders on virtually the entire September DCU line, DC led Marvel by 42% to 29% in dollars and a remarkable 51% to 30% in units. That market share is partly due to massive reorders on DC’s September line. It seems reasonable to assume that this won’t be a regular event, and that the gap won’t be quite so large in future. But the possibility that Marvel might have to readjust to life as the number two publisher cannot be ruled out.

Not that it’s doom and gloom by any means. DC’s sales are up, but not at Marvel’s expense. If the DC relaunch has brought new readers into stores, or old readers back, then in theory Marvel should be able to take advantage of that too. On the other hand, it also makes it rather harder for Marvel to argue that its books are losing sales because it’s a tough market. DC has just proved that declining sales are not inevitable.

Thanks as always to ICV2.com for permission to use these figures.

7.  INCREDIBLE HULK
10/06  #99  -  47,878
10/07  ---
10/08  #7   - 110,261
10/09  #603 -  49,126
=====
10/10  #614 -  39,572  (  -1.2%)
10/10  #615 -  36,750  (  -7.1%)
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%)
               6 mnth  (+245.8%)
               1 year  (+169.1%)
               2 year  (+116.7%)
               3 year  (  -3.4%)
               4 year  (   --- )
               5 year  (+122.4%)

DC sweeps the top six – and, in fact, takes all but three slots in the top 20. Heading up the month for Marvel is the latest relaunch of INCREDIBLE HULK, this time by Jason Aaron and Marc Silvestri. There are numerous variant cover on this, but even so, the sales increase is impressive.

The last time HULK was relaunched, in January 2008, the first month sales were estimated at 134K. This is some way down from that, but then the market has dropped in the last three to four years.

8.  WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN
10/11  #1 - 95,855

Alongside UNCANNY X-MEN, this is one of the flagship X-Men tiles in the post-Schism relaunch. It’s not replacing any other book, though, so Marvel are now publishing five ongoing X-Men titles – the other three being X-MEN, ASTONISHING X-MEN and X-MEN LEGACY. If you count ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN, that’s six.

Whether the market will support quite so many variations on the same property must be open to debate. But the way Marvel are going with both this and the Avengers franchise, we’ll have a pretty clear answer in a year or so.

Sales of 96K place this around 40K ahead of regular sales on UNCANNY X-MEN, which is good. On the other hand, it’s also way down from July 2010’s X-MEN #1 (you know, the one with the vampires), which had estimated sales of 140K – but it’s also got several fewer variant covers, with lower incentive ratios, which would account for some of that difference.

9.  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%)

Slight sales increases on the last two issues are a good sign – minis don’t generally rebound during their run. This is, of course, not the end of the series, because of the late addition of issues #7.1, #7.2 and #7.3. It’ll be interesting to see whether retailers take the bait and order those as full-blown issues of the series; other FEAR ITSELF tie-ins haven’t done spectacularly.

22. UNCANNY X-MEN
10/06  #479 - 89,052
10/07  #491 - 85,638
10/08  #503 - 87,196
10/09  #516 - 73,916
=====
10/10  #529 - 62,256  ( -0.3%)
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%)
              6 mnth  (+12.5%)
              1 year  ( -3.3%)
              2 year  (-18.5%)
              3 year  (-30.9%)
              4 year  (-29.7%)
              5 year  (-32.4%)

It’s a big drop before we reach the next Marvel title. Just to put this in perspective, UNCANNY X-MEN is just below NIGHTWING and RED LANTERNS on the chart – and bear in mind, they’re labouring under a 10% deduction for retainability.

This is the “final issue” (for certain values of “final”) before the relaunch next month. Sales are picking up, as they did on the later issues of SCHISM itself, so there’s clearly some interest here.

24. FEAR ITSELF: THE FEARLESS
10/11  #1 of 12 - 59,464

The maxiseries sequel to FEAR ITSELF, bolstered by four variant covers.

25,28. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
10/06  ---
10/07  ---
10/08  #575 -  68,913
10/09  #609 -  61,176
=====
10/10  #645 -  56,709  (  -2.7%)
10/10  #646 -  58,125  (  +2.5%)
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%)
               6 mnth  (  +9.9%)
               1 year  (  +2.0%)
               2 year  (  -5.4%)
               3 year  ( -16.0%)
               4 year  (   --- )
               5 year  (   --- )

The “Spider-Island” storyline continues into its fourth month, with sales continuing to hover around the 58K range.

26. AVENGERS
10/10  #6  - 73,258  (-11.1%)
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%)
             6 mnth  ( -7.2%)
             1 year  (-19.6%)

It’s a mark of how much DC has shaken up the chart that the Avengers franchise is no longer placing any titles in the top 25. This has a 1:50 “50th anniversary” variant cover, but the previous issue had two variants with higher incentives.

31. X-MEN: REGENESIS
10/11  One-shot - 55,787

A one-shot in which the various X-Men characters pick their new titles, basically. Sales are slightly ahead of SCHISM and slightly behind UNCANNY, which seems reasonable enough.

32. NEW AVENGERS
10/06  #24 - 136,811
10/07  #35 - 111,481
10/08  #46 -  99,513
10/09  #58 -  76,656
=====
10/10  #5  -  73,409  ( -5.3%)
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%)
              6 mnth  ( -9.8%)
              1 year  (-24.1%)
              2 year  (-27.3%)
              3 year  (-44.0%)
              4 year  (-50.0%)
              5 year  (-59.3%)

Another 50th anniversary variant, but again, it had two variants last month. (And a Point One, which obscures matters further.)

34. X-MEN: SCHISM
07/11  #1 of 5 - 66,118
07/11  #2 of 5 - 52,498  (-20.6%)
08/11  #3 of 5 - 54,168  ( +3.2%)
09/11  #4 of 5 - 52,509  ( -3.1%)
10/11  #5 of 5 - 55,081  ( +4.9%)

As already noted, when minis rebound and start going up again, it’s usually a good sign for interest in the storyline.

37. ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN
10/06  #101    -  78,963
10/07  #115    -  74,310
10/08  #127    -  52,584
10/09  #3      -  52,813
=====
10/10  #15     -  34,657  (  -3.1%)
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%)
                  6 mnth  (  +3.2%)
                  1 year  ( +51.5%)
                  2 year  (  -0.6%)
                  3 year  (  -0.1%)
                  4 year  ( -29.3%)
                  5 year  ( -33.5%)

Lots of reorder activity on this title. Issue #1 adds another 8,246 copies; issue #2 adds 6,103; and ULTIMATE FALLOUT #4 gets another 8,679. So in terms of first month sales, issue #3 actually held steady. Marvel titles tend not to generate much reorder activity these days (at least not in quantities that makes the top 300), so this stands out as an exception.

That said, we’re still talking about a book which was outsold by RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS. It really does seem to be a case of Marvel and DC being in parallel universes this month.

38. UNCANNY X-FORCE
10/08  #8  - 59,745
10/09  #20 - 48,921
=====
10/10  #1  - 99,194  (+166.1%)
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%)
             6 mnth  (  +2.9%)
             1 year  ( -47.2%)
             2 year  (  +7.1%)
             3 year  ( -12.3%)

Hovering steadily. This is another book with a 50th anniversary variant cover, incidentally, but these days the variant cover stunts seem to make only a marginal difference to sales.

40,41. FF
10/06  #540 -  88,933
10/07  #550 -  57,906
10/08  ---
10/09  #572 -  41,939
=====
10/10  #584 -  45,066  (  -2.6%)
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%)
               6 mnth  ( -33.6%)
               1 year  (  +7.5%)
               2 year  ( +15.5%)
               3 year  (   --- )
               4 year  ( -16.4%)
               5 year  ( -45.5%)

Gently drifting down. A relaunch as FANTASTIC FOUR #600 is around the corner.

46. ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN
10/06  #75 - 73,837
10/07  #87 - 63,028
10/08  ---
10/09  ---
=====
10/10  ---
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%)
             6 mnth  (  --- )
             1 year  (  --- )
             2 year  (  --- )
             3 year  (  --- )
             4 year  (-29.6%)
             5 year  (-39.9%)

Issue #1 picks up reorders of 5,545 (included in the above, as usual), so the second issue drop isn’t as steep as it first seems.

47. MIGHTY THOR
10/06  ---
10/07  ---
10/08  #11  - 78,673
10/09  ---
=====
10/10  #616 - 51,051  ( -3.5%)
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%)
              6 mnth  (-46.4%)
              1 year  (-13.8%)
              2 year  (  --- )
              3 year  (-44.1%)
              4 year  (  --- )
              5 year  (  --- )

We’re basically back where we were before the relaunch, except with sales raised a couple of thousand by variant covers.

48. SECRET AVENGERS
10/10  #6  -  68,617  ( -1.3%)
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%)
              6 mnth  (-14.5%)
              1 year  (-36.9%)

This seems to have settled into a steady decline.

51. X-MEN
10/10  #4  - 63,772  ( -4.2%)
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%)
             6 mnth  (-19.1%)
             1 year  (-35.9%)

Another book gently drifting down, with the frequent variant covers (including this month’s) usually making little difference.

52. ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES
10/06  ---
10/07  ---
10/08  ---
10/09  ---
=====
10/10  #4 of 5 - 42,876  (-10.4%)
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%)
                 6 mnth  ( -6.9%)
                 1 year  ( -4.9%)
                 2 year  (  --- )
                 3 year  (  --- )
                 4 year  (  --- )
                 5 year  (  --- )

And we’re back to pre-relaunch levels already. That’s a little disappointing.

55. DAREDEVIL
10/06  #90     - 50,500
10/07  #101    - 47,189
10/08  #112    - 46,202
10/09  #501    - 45,181
=====
10/10  #511    - 43,167  (  -3.5%)
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%)
                 6 mnth  (   --- )
                 1 year  (  -8.7%)
                 2 year  ( -12.8%)
                 3 year  ( -14.7%)
                 4 year  ( -16.5%)
                 5 year  ( -22.0%)

Issues #4 and #5 both have variant covers, which probably explains the slight bump, but the book seems to be levelling out nicely enough.

56. WOLVERINE
10/06  #47  - 106,201
10/07  #58  -  83,810
10/08  ---
10/09  #6   -  38,446
=====
10/10  #2   -  63,210  (-39.5%)
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%)
               6 mnth  (-16.2%)
               1 year  (-37.7%)
               2 year  ( +2.5%)
               3 year  (  --- )
               4 year  (-53.0%)
               5 year  (-62.9%)

A slight increase this month, presumably because it’s billed as a “Regenesis” issue.

57. INVINCIBLE IRON MAN
10/06  ---
10/07  #23  - 42,608
10/08  #6   - 53,332
10/09  #19  - 47,178
=====
10/10  #31  - 45,507  ( -3.7%)
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%)
              6 mnth  (-14.5%)
              1 year  (-14.9%)
              2 year  (-17.9%)
              3 year  (-27.4%)
              4 year  ( -9.1%)
              5 year  (  --- )

The concluding part of the “Fear Itself” tie-in arc that started back in issue #503.

61. X-MEN LEGACY
10/06  #192 -  81,816
10/07  #204 -  83,456
10/08  #217 -  65,888
10/09  #228 -  52,855
=====
10/10  #241 -  48,133  ( -5.6%)
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%)
               6 mnth  (-26.6%)
               1 year  (-20.9%)
               2 year  (-28.0%)
               3 year  (-42.2%)
               4 year  (-54.4%)
               5 year  (-53.5%)

Holding steady. A new creative team is coming on with “Regenesis”.

72. ASTONISHING X-MEN
10/06  ---
10/07  ---
10/08  #27 -  86,770
10/09  #31 -  67,064
=====
10/10  ---
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%)
              6 mnth  (  --- )
              1 year  (  --- )
              2 year  (-51.4%)
              3 year  (-62.4%)
              4 year  (  --- )
              5 year  (  --- )

Well, at least it’s level. But again, let’s put this in perspective: ASTONISHING X-MEN is now being outsold (even after the 10% discount for retainability) by GRIFTER, RESURRECTION MAN and ALL STAR WESTERN. Would you have bet on that six months ago?

74,123. AVENGERS 1959
10/11  #1 of 5 - 32,418
10/11  #2 of 5 - 18,989  (-41.4%)

A Howard Chaykin miniseries spinning out of a recent NEW AVENGERS arc. The second issue drop is so enormous that I’m going to assume there was probably an overshipping stunt here.

76. 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%)
            6 mnth  (-21.3%)

Part three of a Spider-Island tie-in arc. Sales seem to be basically solid.

77. 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%)

Yet to find its level, but to be honest, it’s doing very well for a book not set in present day continuity.

89,90. 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%)
              6 mnth  (-36.9%)

For those keeping track of how all this squares up against DC, we have now passed VOODOO, I VAMPIRE, STATIC SHOCK, BLACKHAWKS, and the reorders of AQUAMAN #1. (You see what I mean about parallel universes.)

Believe it or not, the final part of the “Fear Itself” tie-in arc that’s been running since April. Sales seem to be close to levelling out, which is something.

91,95. DEADPOOL
10/08  #3  - 61,833
10/09  #16 - 46,288
=====
10/10  #28 - 34,828  ( -4.3%)
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%)
             6 mnth  ( -2.2%)
             1 year  (-20.9%)
             2 year  (-40.5%)
             3 year  (-55.5%)

Extremely solid sales here. Issue #45 has the 50th anniversary variant.

92. MOON KNIGHT
10/06  ---
10/07  #13     - 44,082
10/08  #23     - 25,216
10/09  #2      - 26,493
=====
10/10  #3 of 3 - 18,318  (  -9.8%)
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%)
                 6 mnth  (   --- )
                 1 year  ( +50.1%)
                 2 year  (  +3.8%)
                 3 year  (  +9.0%)
                 4 year  ( -37.6%)
                 5 year  (   --- )

Levelling out, which is something.

94,101. HULK
10/08  #7  - 110,261
10/09  #16 -  56,811
=====
10/10  #26 -  42,934  ( -8.2%)
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%)
              6 mnth  (-16.8%)
              1 year  (-40.6%)
              2 year  (-55.1%)
              3 year  (-76.9%)

Issue #42 is the 50th anniversary variant cover, hence the small bump.

97,100. SUPERIOR  [Icon]
10/10  #1 of 7 - 40,842
11/10  #2 of 7 - 34,688  (-15.1%)
12/10  #3 of 7 - 31,952  ( -7.9%)
01/11  #4 of 7 - 32,031  ( +0.2%)
02/11  ---
03/11  ---
04/11  ---
05/11  ---
06/11  ---
07/11  ---
08/11  ---
09/11  ---
10/11  #5 of 7 - 26,361  (-17.7%)
10/11  #6 of 7 - 25,707  ( -2.5%)

The nine month delay has evidently damaged sales a bit, but these are still fine numbers for a creator-owned title.

99. PUNISHER
10/07  #12     - 66,548
10/08  #24     - 31,785
10/09  #10     - 27,167
=====
10/10  ---
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%)
                 6 mnth  (   --- )
                 1 year  (   --- )
                 2 year  (  -4.9%)
                 3 year  ( -18.7%)
                 4 year  ( -61.2%)

Some very odd numbers on these opening issues; it seems to be levelling out, but with drops as wonky as this, who really knows?

102. NEW MUTANTS
10/09  #6  - 34,967
=====
10/10  #18 - 27,027  (-14.7%)
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%)
             6 mnth  (-34.5%)
             1 year  ( -6.2%)
             2 year  (-27.5%)

The concluding part of a Fear Itself tie-in arc. The November issue is a Regenesis tie-in.

103. 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%)

After the steep initial drop, this looks a little more comfortable.

104. X-23
10/10  #2  - 35,280  (-27.2%)
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%)
             6 mnth  (-15.8%)
             1 year  (-31.9%)

This hasn’t been solicited for February, and the general assumption is that it’s been cancelled with issue #20. At time of writing, Marvel have yet to confirm the cancellation, but they haven’t exactly been racing to deny it either.

This is one of a wave of cancellations that emerged in the February solicitations. They obviously beg the question of what will happen to the other Marvel Universe titles below this level, when their current shorelines end.

105. THUNDERBOLTS
10/06  #107 - 29,624
10/07  #117 - 47,151
10/08  #125 - 41,358
10/09  #137 - 32,409
=====
10/10  #149 - 30,580  ( -5.0%)
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%)
              6 mnth  ( -5.6%)
              1 year  (-22.5%)
              2 year  (-26.8%)
              3 year  (-42.7%)
              4 year  (-49.7%)
              5 year  (-20.0%)

Slightly down from the regular September issue, so if you disregard the Point One book, the general downward trend continues.

106. X-FACTOR
10/06  #12  - 42,909
10/07  #24  - 52,005
10/08  #36  - 38,552
10/09  #50  - 30,138
=====
10/10  #210 - 27,548  ( -7.0%)
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%)
              6 mnth  ( -5.1%)
              1 year  (-14.4%)
              2 year  (-21.8%)
              3 year  (-38.9%)
              4 year  (-54.7%)
              5 year  (-45.1%)

Continuing to hold steady in the 23K range. This is about as consistent as a Marvel title gets.

107. AVENGERS ACADEMY
10/10  #5  - 31,272  ( +0.2%)
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%)
             6 mnth  ( -0.7%)
             1 year  (-25.1%)

Though this is close. Issue #20 concludes a six-part Fear Itself tie-in arc.

Both X-FACTOR and AVENGERS ACADEMY have consistency in their favour, though it’s not like X-23 was exactly plummeting.

112. S.H.I.E.L.D.
10/10  #4 - 32,495  ( -2.5%)
11/10  ---
12/10  #5 - 27,133  (-16.5%)
01/11  ---
02/11  #6 - 26,190  ( -3.5%)
03/11  ---
04/11  #° - 22,260  (-15.0%)
05/11  ---
06/11  #1 - 28,718  (+29.0%)
07/11  ---
08/11  #2 - 22,877  (-20.3%)
09/11  ---
10/11  #3 - 21,060  ( -7.9%)
            6 mnth  ( -5.4%)
            1 year  (-35.2%)

Still slipping. I’d be surprised if this was renewed for a further arc.

113. 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%)

Cancelled in January.

115. ALPHA FLIGHT
05/11  #.1     - 25,775
06/11  #1 of 8 - 46,851  (+81.8%)
07/11  #2 of 8 - 26,862  (-42.7%)
08/11  #3 of 8 - 24,872  ( -7.4%)
09/11  #4 of 8 - 23,242  ( -6.6%)
10/11  #5 of 8 - 20,731  (-10.8%)

The book which was notoriously expanded from an eight issue mini to an ongoing, then cancelled at issue #8 anyway. Editor-in-chief Axel Alonso has attributed this to “new budgetary mandates [which] forced us to rethink the strategy.” In fairness, ALPHA FLIGHT sales are also falling faster than the books around it. But it goes without saying that ALPHA FLIGHT’s cancellation is a worrying sign for the Marvel Universe titles further down the chart. (The non-MU titles, of course, are largely aimed at a different market.)

116,118. DAKEN: DARK WOLVERINE
10/09  #79 - 60,076
=====
10/10  #2  - 38,660  (-22.9%)
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%)
             6 mnth  (-27.7%)
             1 year  (-49.6%)
             2 year  (-67.6%)

Cancelled, though no issue has been given – presumably it’ll be at the conclusion of the arc that starts in February.

122. 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%)
                 6 mnth  (-20.9%)

Back on its usual pattern, following the bump for the first issue of the second mini.

127. AVENGERS: SOLO
10/11  #1 of 5 - 18,427

Despite the title, this appears to be essentially a Hawkeye mini with an Avengers Academy back-up strip. The second issue of AVENGERS: 1959 sold in roughly similar quantities, all of which rather suggests that retailers don’t believe the Avengers brand is going to attract readers to minis in great numbers.

128. 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%)
             6 mnth  ( -9.6%)

Back to normal sales after the Schism tie-in. This is the lowest-selling Marvel Universe title that hasn’t yet been cancelled, but oncoming writer James Asmus says he’s been told that the book is safe through to issue #17.

129. BLACK PANTHER
10/06  #21     - 26,077
10/07  #31     - 33,673
10/08  ---
10/09  #9      - 20,346
=====
10/10  #1 of 4 - 16,973  ( -31.6%)
10/10  #2 of 4 - 12,960  ( -23.6%)
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%)
                 6 mnth  ( -21.1%)
                 1 year  (  +7.5%)
                 2 year  ( -10.3%)
                 3 year  (   --- )
                 4 year  ( -45.8%)
                 5 year  ( -30.0%)

Cancelled with issue #529.

133. PUNISHERMAX  [Max]
10/06  #39 - 33,962
10/07  #51 - 33,771
10/08  #63 - 25,933
10/09  #75 - 22,210
=====
10/10  ---
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%)
             6 mnth  ( -6.4%)
             1 year  (  --- )
             2 year  (-21.0%)
             3 year  (-32.4%)
             4 year  (-48.1%)
             5 year  (-48.4%)

Cancelled with issue #22, though this does seem to coincide with the natural ending of Jason Aaron’s storyline.

135. FEAR ITSELF: THE HOME FRONT
04/11  #1 of 7 - 32,601
05/11  #2 of 7 - 28,605  (-12.3%)
06/11  #3 of 7 - 25,738  (-10.0%)
07/11  #4 of 7 - 22,058  (-14.3%)
08/11  #5 of 7 - 19,956  ( -9.5%)
09/11  #6 of 7 - 18,123  ( -9.2%)
10/11  #7 of 7 - 17,339  ( -4.3%)

Levelling out slightly as it goes on, but still not a particularly great performance considering that this was one of the major tie-ins to FEAR ITSELF proper.

137. LEGION OF MONSTERS
10/11  #1 of 4 - 16,785

Not an obviously commercial release, and quite possibly the sort of thing Marvel will be doing less of in future, if recent behaviour is anything to go by.

138. FEAR ITSELF: HULK VS DRACULA
09/11  #1 of 3 - 19,373
09/11  #2 of 3 - 17,681  (-8.7%)
10/11  #3 of 3 - 16,740  (-5.3%)

I gather something vaguely important happens in this, but it seems to have got completely lost in the deluge of Fear Itself tie-ins.

142. DEADPOOL MAX  [Max]
10/10  #1  - 29,176
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%)
             6 mnth  ( -6.7%)
             1 year  (-45.6%)

A very slight increase for the beginning of the new arc. Sales are basically steady.

145. DARK TOWER: BATTLE OF TULL
10/07  ---
10/08  Treachery #2 of 6 - 65,732
10/09  ---
=====
10/10  ---
11/10  ---
12/10  Little Sisters #1 - 19,807  ( -7.1%)
01/11  #2 of 5           - 18,589  ( -6.1%)
02/11  #3 of 5           - 17,748  ( -4.5%)
03/11  #4 of 5           - 17,490  ( -1.5%)
04/11  #5 of 5           - 17,283  ( -1.2%)
05/11  ---
06/11  Tull #1 of 5      - 17,667  ( +2.2%)
07/11  #2 of 5           - 16,888  ( -4.4%)
08/11  #3 of 5           - 16,337  ( -3.3%)
09/11  #4 of 5           - 15,788  ( -3.4%)
10/11  #5 of 5           - 15,613  ( -1.1%)
                           6 mnth  ( -9.7%)
                           1 year  (  --- )
                           2 year  (  --- )
                           3 year  (-76.2%)
                           4 year  (  --- )

147. JOHN CARTER OF MARS: WORLD OF MARS
10/11  #1 of 5 - 15,550

Two adaptations; in theory, at least, these books should have higher sales through other channels.

153. HEROES 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%)
             6 mnth  (-30.9%)

This month’s issue is a Spider-Island tie-in; after that, we’re into something called VILLAINS FOR HIRE, which has at least been promoted with house ads. However, the February solicitations have the length of the mini dropping from six issues to four, which tends to suggest that it’s the end of the road.

154. SPIDER-ISLAND: CLOAK & DAGGER
08/11  #1 of 3 - 20,348
09/11  #2 of 3 - 16,129  (-20.7%)
10/11  #3 of 3 - 14,929  ( -7.4%)

156. FEAR ITSELF: YOUTH IN REVOLT
05/11  #1 of 6 - 24,709
06/11  #2 of 6 - 20,376  (-17.5%)
07/11  #3 of 6 - 18,735  ( -8.1%)
08/11  #4 of 6 - 16,478  (-12.0%)
09/11  #5 of 6 - 15,347  ( -6.9%)
10/11  #6 of 6 - 14,493  ( -5.6%)

158. SPIDER-ISLAND: THE AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL
11/10  #1      - 23,926
12/10  #2      - 21,606  ( -9.7%)
01/11  ---
02/11  #3      - 15,302  (-29.2%)
02/11  #4      - 14,804  ( -3.3%)
03/11  #5      - 13,757  ( -7.1%)
04/11  #6      - 13,235  ( -3.8%)
05/11  #7      - 12,563  ( -5.1%)
06/11  ---
07/11  #8      - 11,996  ( -4.5%)
08/11  #1 of 3 - 18,394  (+53.3%)
09/11  #2 of 3 - 15,311  (-16.8%)
10/11  #3 of 3 - 14,248  ( -6.9%)
                 6 mnth  ( +7.7%)

More assorted crossover tie-ins. SPIDER-GIRL reaches the end of the line here.

164. 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%)

Modest sales, but this origin miniseries is not being pitched as a particularly commercial project.

168. THE STAND: NIGHT HAS COME
10/10  #4 of 5           - 17,186  ( -6.4%)
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%)
                           6 mnth  (  --- )
                           1 year  (-21.9%)

171. HERC
10/08  #122     - 42,876
10/09  #136     - 26,447
=====
10/10  Chaos #1 - 34,509  (+101.4%)
10/10  #2 of 5  - 29,375  ( -14.9%)
11/10  #3 of 5  - 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%)
                  6 mnth  ( -66.0%)
                  1 year  ( -61.8%)
                  2 year  ( -50.1%)
                  3 year  ( -69.2%)

Cancelled with issue #10.

172. SPIDER-ISLAND: DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU
08/11  #1 of 3 - 15,907
09/11  #2 of 3 - 13,446  (-15.5%)
10/11  #3 of 3 - 12,920  ( -3.9%)

179. 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%)

Joe Casey’s odd Teen Brigade series in the margins of the Marvel Universe is quite good, but it’s also very much a book with niche appeal.

Number 185 is the 20th anniversary edition of X-MEN #1 (the Claremont/Lee version), with sales of 11,552.

207. CAPTAIN AMERICA CORPS
06/11  #1 of 5 - 22,050
07/11  #2 of 5 - 12,305  (-44.2%)
08/11  #3 of 5 - 11,394  ( -7.4%)
09/11  #4 of 5 - 10,424  ( -8.5%)
10/11  #5 of 5 -  9,981  ( -4.2%)

227. OZ
10/09  ---
=====
10/10  ---
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%)
                 6 mnth  ( -3.3%)
                 1 year  (  --- )
                 2 year  (  --- )


250. ALL WINNERS SQUAD: BAND OF HEROES
06/11  #1 of 8 - 11,836
07/11  #2 of 8 - 10,121  (-14.5%)
08/11  #3 of 8 -  8,766  (-13.4%)
09/11  #4 of 8 -  7,914  ( -9.7%)
10/11  #5 of 8 -  7,497  ( -5.3%)

Cancelled with issue #5. Granted, the sales are dreadful, but it’s been quite some time since Marvel guillotined a book in midstory.

Truncating a miniseries isn’t unknown. DC did it with THE GREAT TEN. But at least they rewrote it to complete the story; ALL WINNERS SQUAD ends on a cliffhanger, which Marvel appear to have no intention of resolving.

In the short term, this may well make economic sense. In the longer term, the risk is that readers become even less willing to support low-selling titles, because they no longer have faith that they’ll even get a complete story. It’s the sort of thing that you can get away with very occasionally, but if readers start seeing it as a precedent, you’ve got a problem.

260. HALO: FALL OF REACH - COVENANT
10/09  #4 of 5       - 10,784
=====
10/10  #2 of 4       -  9,056  (-15.5%)
11/10  ---
12/10  #3 of 4       -  8,567  ( -5.4%)
01/11  ---
02/11  #4 of 4       -  8,437  ( -1.5%)
03/11  ---
04/11  Cov't #1 of 4 -  8,313  ( -1.5%)
05/11  ---
06/11  ---
07/11  #2 of 4       -  7,825  ( -5.9%)
08/11  ---
09/11  #3 of 4       -  7,321  ( -6.4%)
10/11  #4 of 4       -  7,142  ( -2.4%)
                       6 mnth  (-14.1%)
                       1 year  (-21.1%)
                       2 year  (-33.8%)

270. JOHN CARTER: A PRINCESS OF MARS
09/11  #1 of 5 - 19,173
10/11  #2 of 5 -  6,742  (-64.8%)

273. CASANOVA: AVARITIA  [Icon]
10/10  Vol 1 #4 of 4 - 7,366  ( -3.3%)
11/10  ---
12/10  ---
01/11  Vol 2 #1 of 4 - 7,658  ( +4.0%)
02/11  Vol 2 #2 of 4 - 6,579  (-14.1%)
03/11  Vol 2 #3 of 4 - 6,152  ( -6.5%)
04/11  Vol 2 #4 of 4 - 5,808  ( -5.6%)
05/11  ---
06/11  ---
07/11  ---
08/11  ---
09/11  Vol 3 #1 of 4 - 7,059
10/11  Vol 3 #2 of 4 - 6,483  ( -8.2%)
                      6 mnth  (+11.6%)
                      1 year  (-12.0%)

275. 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%)

296. KA-ZAR
06/11  #1 of 5 - 12,805
07/11  #2 of 5 -  7,873  (-38.5%)
08/11  #3 of 5 -  6,475  (-17.8%)
09/11  #4 of 5 -  5,731  (-11.5%)
10/11  #5 of 5 -  5,352  ( -6.6%)

I’m fairly sure this is as close as a Marvel Universe miniseries has ever come to falling off the top 300 – though in fairness, there are 50 DC reorders pushing it down the chart.

299. OFFICIAL HANDBOOK
10/10  A to Z Update #4 of 5 -  4,990  ( -55.5%)
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%)
                               6 mnth  ( -43.6%)
                               1 year  (  +4.6%)

And the books which missed the top 300: the Marvel Adventures titles, SPIDER-MAN: WITH GREAT POWERÉ, the OFFICIAL MARVEL INDEX, a TOY STORY one-shot, and a compilation of X-MEN EVOLUTIONS variant covers.

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

+245.8% - Incredible Hulk
+ 12.5% - Uncanny X-Men
+ 11.6% - Casanova
+  9.9% - Amazing Spider-Man
+  7.7% - Spider-Girl
+  3.3% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man
+  2.9% - X-Force
-  0.7% - Avengers Academy
-  2.2% - Deadpool
-  3.3% - Oz
-  5.1% - X-Factor
-  5.4% - SHIELD
-  5.6% - Thunderbolts
-  6.4% - PunisherMax
-  6.7% - Deadpool Max
-  6.9% - Ultimates
-  7.2% - Avengers
-  9.6% - Generation Hope
-  9.7% - Dark Tower
-  9.8% - New Avengers
- 14.1% - Halo
- 14.5% - Secret Avengers
- 14.5% - Iron Man
- 15.8% - X-23
- 16.2% - Wolverine
- 16.8% - Hulk
- 19.1% - X-Men
- 20.9% - Annihilators
- 21.1% - Black Panther
- 21.3% - Venom
- 26.6% - X-Men Legacy
- 27.7% - Daken
- 30.9% - Heroes for Hire
- 33.6% - FF
- 34.5% - New Mutants
- 36.9% - Journey into Mystery
- 43.6% - Official Handbook
- 46.4% - Thor
- 66.0% - Herc


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

+169.1% - Incredible Hulk
+ 51.5% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man
+ 50.1% - Moon Knight
+  7.5% - FF
+  7.5% - Black Panther
+  4.6% - Official Handbook
+  2.0% - Amazing Spider-Man
-  3.5% - Uncanny X-Men
-  4.9% - Ultimates
-  6.2% - New Mutants
-  8.7% - Daredevil
- 12.0% - Casanova
- 13.8% - Thor
- 14.4% - X-Factor
- 14.9% - Iron Man
- 19.6% - Avengers
- 20.9% - X-Men Legacy
- 20.9% - Deadpool
- 21.1% - Halo
- 21.9% - Stand
- 22.5% - Thunderbolts
- 24.1% - New Avengers
- 25.1% - Avengers Academy
- 31.9% - X-23
- 35.2% - SHIELD
- 35.9% - X-Men
- 36.9% - Secret Avengers
- 37.7% - Wolverine
- 40.6% - Hulk
- 45.6% - Deadpool Max
- 47.2% - X-Force
- 49.6% - Daken
- 61.8% - Herc


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

+116.7% - Incredible Hulk
+ 15.5% - FF
+  7.1% - X-Force
+  3.8% - Moon Knight
+  2.5% - Wolverine
-  0.6% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man
-  4.9% - Punisher
-  5.4% - Amazing Spider-Man
- 10.3% - Black Panther
- 12.8% - Daredevil
- 17.9% - Iron Man
- 18.5% - Uncanny X-Men
- 21.0% - PunisherMax
- 21.8% - X-Factor
- 26.8% - Thunderbolts
- 27.3% - New Avengers
- 27.5% - New Mutants
- 28.0% - X-Men Legacy
- 33.8% - Halo
- 40.5% - Deadpool
- 50.1% - Herc
- 51.4% - Astonishing X-Men
- 55.1% - Hulk
- 67.6% - Daken


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

+  9.0% - Moon Knight
-  0.1% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man
-  3.4% - Incredible Hulk
- 12.3% - X-Force
- 14.7% - Daredevil
- 16.0% - Amazing Spider-Man
- 18.7% - Punisher
- 27.4% - Iron Man
- 30.9% - Uncanny X-Men
- 32.4% - PunisherMax
- 38.9% - X-Factor
- 42.2% - X-Men Legacy
- 42.7% - Thunderbolts
- 44.0% - New Avengers
- 44.1% - Thor
- 55.5% - Deadpool
- 62.4% - Astonishing X-Men
- 69.2% - Herc
- 76.2% - Dark Tower
- 76.9% - Hulk


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

-  9.1% - Iron Man
- 16.4% - FF
- 16.5% - Daredevil
- 29.3% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man
- 29.6% - Ultimate Comics X-Men
- 29.7% - Uncanny X-Men
- 37.6% - Moon Knight
- 45.8% - Black Panther
- 48.1% - PunisherMax
- 49.7% - Thunderbolts
- 50.0% - New Avengers
- 53.0% - Wolverine
- 54.4% - X-Men Legacy
- 54.7% - X-Factor
- 61.2% - Punisher


5 year comparisons
==================

+122.4% - Incredible Hulk
- 20.0% - Thunderbolts
- 22.0% - Daredevil
- 30.0% - Black Panther
- 32.4% - Uncanny X-Men
- 33.5% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man
- 39.9% - Ultimate Comics X-Men
- 45.1% - X-Factor
- 45.5% - FF
- 48.4% - PunisherMax
- 53.5% - X-Men Legacy
- 59.3% - New Avengers
- 62.9% - Wolverine

27 COMMENTS

  1. I wonder how the push to eliminate the lower tier titles is going to affect the Icon line. Is Marvel going to have to shelve that and lose that extra bargaining chip they have for luring top talent to their stable.

  2. Double shipping will further erode the sales on second tier books. People will have to continue dropping titles they might otherwise have purchased, just so they’ll be able to pick up two issues of X-men, Avengers, Spiderman, etc. a month. February 2012 hits the double shipping hard.

  3. “though it’s not like X-23 was exactly plummeting.”

    That’s what I don’t get about that apparent cancellation. The book’s been steady as a rock lately (especially compared to Daken, which launched simultaneously and slightly higher and has relatively been plummeting, also like a rock).

    X-23 is in the Venom event in Feb, which looks like it might have been planned as a crossover before several of the participants had their books cancelled. X-23 the series could still continue or relaunch in some form or other the following month.

  4. >[X-23 has] been steady…

    Perhaps X-23 has higher production costs than comparable selling titles.

    LL

  5. You’ve got to figure all of these cancellations are prelude to some kind of major response to the new 52. Given Marvel’s track record, it will probably be something lame like Tsunami or the month of -1 issues, but they’re certainly up to something.

  6. Honestly, I think what they’re up to is Disney slashed their budget, they had to fire a bunch of people and slaughter (well, they’ve started the slaughter, I’m sure there will be more to come) their lower tier titles, and the new plan is less minis and risky (b-list character) titles, and to take the best sellers and simply double ship them (Axel has stated this is their 2012 plan, in part) to make up the money. Because if you’re already an Avengers fan, why would you NOT buy TWO issues of your favorite Avengers title each month? Well, that’s the Marvel mentality, anyway…

  7. If Marvel double ships every month in 2012, like they will in Feb, I’ll be dropping all their books faster than you can say “make mine DC/Image/Dark Horse/IDW”

  8. The last time Marvel put this much effort into chasing me away from comics, it was the nineties! I’m all misty and nostalgic just thinking about it!

    Four dollars is too much to pay for 1/6th of a story. Looks like the market is figuring that out faster than Marvel is.

    … Though I am taking joy from the fact that the Amazing Spider-Man (a good Spider-Man comic book) is outselling the Avengers (a bad Avengers comic book).

  9. Since I read and greatly enjoy Thunderbolts and Avengers Academy, I fully expect those books to be the next one’s on the chopping block…

  10. Moon Knight is my favorite character and Bendis is my least favorite writer so I assume MK will have a nice long run for me to not enjoy.
    Thank The Godz that Maleev is slow or I’d have to buy it twice a month!

  11. Isn’t it a little strange that the relaunch of The Incredible Hulk charted higher than Wolverine and the X-Men? Even with massive oversaturation surely the X-Men are still a bigger draw than the Hulk?

    I do wonder how long Wolverine and the X-Men and the “new” Uncanny X-Men will stay fairly high in the charts. In six months time will they both be back to where Uncanny was before the relaunch? If so I really think that Marvel need to re-evaluate the line and trim it back a bit. It may soon be at a point where books like Astonishing X-Men and X-Men are doing more harm than good.

  12. @blair…

    Despite being a Hulk fan and wanting the draw to be the actual Hulk, I think the main draw with the relaunch is Silvestri. I really wonder how much that interest will wane after Silvestri leaves with issue 3 (or 1-and-a-half, depending on how much he has actually drawn).

  13. Yes, there was an overshipping stunt with Avengers: 1959. I was given a free copy at the POS. Same with the first issues of Captain America and Bucky and Mystic, and a random issue of Herc (I think the one before the Spider Island tie).

  14. @Chris Hero

    Because he is the only comic character that I have every appearrance of and even though I’m bored as hell with the story by Bendis, it isn’t so bad that it’s unreadable.
    I buy most of my comics because of the characters, not the creative team so on occasion, I just have to put up with a crappy run. If it goes on too long, I’ll drop the book and then just pick it up out of the quarter bins later.

    I buy plenty of other comics that I enjoy quite a bit so having the one dud isn’t that big a deal. I just like to bitch about the book on the interwebz once in awhile.

  15. It’s interesting that Mavel’s strategy in the past was to wait for an artist, delaying the release of books despite the impact on the rest of the line. All of this was in order to preserve the shelf-life of the compiled trade.

    Now the double-shipping has taken over and you get varied art across a single story arc, and sometimes in the same issue. The only thing Marvel is doing right is that almost all of the books are self-contained at the moment.

    I did buckle and fork over $3.99 per issue to get caught up on Uncanny X-Force. This series is fantastic. It’s one of only 4 Marvel books I’m currently getting.

  16. The multi-artist also has to do with day-and-date digital. As I understand it, Marvel, Dc, etc have to have it to comixology and iTunes etc a week early (hence the Hulk 2 mis-happ) and they have strict guidelines and enforcement, unlike anything diamond or your LCS could impose.

  17. Re: ALL WINNERS SQUAD: BAND OF HEROES: “In the longer term, the risk is that readers become even less willing to support low-selling titles, because they no longer have faith that they’ll even get a complete story.”

    You’re right about that. I’m really pissed off about it being cancelled mid-series. That’ll teach me to try out any minis that are longer than four issues.

  18. “That’ll teach me to try out any minis that are longer than four issues.”

    It should teach publishers than minis probably shouldn’t be longer than 4 issues. Of course, that means it only produces about a 80 page trade.

    Mike

  19. I only buy 2 Marvel titles on a regular basis. But I would GLADLY buy (or continue to buy) 2 issues a month of both Thunderbolts and X-Factor! Hell, I’d buy an issue every week!!

    I hope Marvel have something other than cancelation in mind for these lower selling titles. I mean, come on, Thunderbolts hasn’t had a new #1 or an unrelated milestone issue (#200 for March?), so Marvel arn’t even trying here! ;)In the solicits it DOES look like they have something big planned, and I hope it bring in some major sales! Jeff Parker is an amazing writer!

  20. >FEAR ITSELF: THE FEARLESS #1 – 59,464

    Fearless #1 was double-shipped. Actual orders were approx 30,000.

    LL

  21. How will Marvel’s new cancellation level impact a book like Criminal that had sales ~14k for the last arc. The next series is slated to be 12 issues.

  22. This new (seeming) cancelation policy worries me. It’ll basically mean that anything selling at 24,000 copies or below will basically be a ghetto wasteland of novel adaptations, video game adaptations, all-ages titles, and low-selling minis that might or might not finish their run.

    And everything selling above 24,000 copies will be homogenized super-hero spandex crap ofthe X-, Spider-, and Avenger-variety.

  23. Yeah, the consistent double shipping is causing me to consider collecting a lot less comics. If the story remains great, as it is in Spider-Man, I’m willing to put up with it.

    Otherwise, it’s just a money-grabbing scheme, and Marvel shouldn’t be rewarded for it.

    As much as I favor Marvel over DC, the new DC comic stories have been pretty good in general. If Marvel doesn’t get back to focusing on the stories, rather than how to manipulate the customer into forking over more and more of their money, they will continue to get thrashed by DC, and deservedly so.

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