Marvel month-to-month sales: July 2008

By Paul O’Brien

UNCANNY X-MEN celebrates five hundred issues, while SECRET INVASION enters a fourth month, with a range of crossover titles in tow. Marvel tend to save their major launches until after the crossovers have finished, but there’s a handful of new minis, as well as the debut of Warren Ellis and Simone Bianchi on ASTONISHING X-MEN.

As usual, Marvel were by far the biggest publisher in the North American direct market, beating DC in unit share by 48% to 35%, and in dollar share by 49% to 33%. But then, FINAL CRISIS was on a skip month, so what do you expect?

Before we get into the figures, it’s worth noting that July was actually an unusually good month for lower-selling comics. The number 300 book, INCREDIBLE HERCULES #117, charted on re-orders of 4,256. That compares to a mere 2,549 for June’s number 300 title, VIX #1.

This means that more re-orders than usual will be missing the charts. For example, DARK TOWER: LONG ROAD HOME #2 and SKY DOLL #1 both charted in June with re-orders that wouldn’t have made the cut-off in July.

But an even more striking illustration is that two original Marvel titles – MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR #38 and MARVEL ILLUSTRATED: THREE MUSKETEERS #2 – have missed the top 300 altogether. (Given the sales of the previous issue, MARVEL ILLUSTRATED: MOBY DICK #6 would almost certainly have suffered the same fate, but it was rescheduled to the first week of August.) Marvel’s newsstand reprint titles often miss the charts, but for original Marvel comics – even under these imprints – this is highly unusual. Obviously, we’ll have to see whether this is a blip or a trend.

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

1.  SECRET INVASION
04/08  Secret Invasion #1 of 8 - 272,195
05/08  Secret Invasion #2 of 8 - 191,024  (-29.8%)
06/08  Secret Invasion #3 of 8 - 175,735  ( -8.0%)
07/08  Secret Invasion #4 of 8 - 175,469  ( -0.0%)

With DC’s FINAL CRISIS skipping July, Marvel take the top four places, and SECRET INVASION comfortably leads the field. The rate of decline has dropped to virtually zero, which is an extremely impressive result. The directors’ cut of issue #1 also hits the stores, charting at number 129 with estimated further sales of 17,746. As always, those numbers have been added in to the totals above.

And this is as good a place as any to note that June’s SECRET INVASION: WHO DO YOU TRUST anthology one-shot is also picking up re-orders. A sketch variant shows up at number 251 with orders of 6,109, while a second printing with its own variant cover shifts 5,188 coies to reach number 278. That’s a hefty 11,297 in combined re-orders, bringing total estimated sales to 72,295.

2.  UNCANNY X-MEN
07/03  Uncanny X-Men #428 -  93,546
07/04  Uncanny X-Men #446 -  96,961
07/05  Uncanny X-Men #462 -  91,125
07/06  Uncanny X-Men #476 -  88,775
=====
07/07  Uncanny X-Men #488 -  86,747  ( +6.5%)
08/07  Uncanny X-Men #489 -  88,068  ( +1.5%)
09/07  Uncanny X-Men #490 -  87,592  ( -0.5%)
10/07  Uncanny X-Men #491 -  85,638  ( -2.2%)
11/07  Uncanny X-Men #492 - 111,160  (+29.8%)
12/07  Uncanny X-Men #493 - 109,176  ( -1.8%)
01/08  Uncanny X-Men #494 - 105,520  ( -3.3%)
02/08  Uncanny X-Men #495 -  96,183  ( -8.8%)
03/08  Uncanny X-Men #496 -  89,054  ( -7.4%)
04/08  Uncanny X-Men #497 -  93,369  ( +4.8%)
05/08  Uncanny X-Men #498 -  82,090  (-12.1%)
06/08  Uncanny X-Men #499 -  81,100  ( -1.2%)
07/08  Uncanny X-Men #500 - 151,955  (+87.4%)
                             6 mnth  (+44.0%)
                             1 year  (+75.2%)
                             2 year  (+71.2%)
                             3 year  (+66.8%)
                             4 year  (+56.7%)
                             5 year  (+62.4%)

UNCANNY X-MEN becomes one of the handful of Marvel titles to reach issue #500, albeit that there’s a bunch of early-seventies reprints contributing to that numbers. Anyway, round numbers always sell, as do variant covers. But this issue is also the starting point for the X-Men’s new direction, with the team relocating to become the local superheroes of San Francisco.

Add all these features together, and you get a huge sales boost, giving UNCANNY its highest direct market sales since at least issue #423 (which was a virtual giveaway, and as such wasn’t eligible for the charts, but conceivably might have got up this high).

Anniversary spikes tend to vanish immediately, but the scale of this jump suggests an underlying strong start for the book’s new direction.

3.  ASTONISHING X-MEN
07/04  Astonishing X-Men #3  - 129,362
07/05  Astonishing X-Men #11 - 127,768
07/06  --
=====
07/07  ---
08/07  Astonishing X-Men #22 - 117,321  ( -2.6%)
09/07  ---
10/07  ---
11/07  Astonishing X-Men #23 - 112,920  ( -3.8%)
12/07  ---
01/08  Astonishing X-Men #24 - 107,631  ( -4.7%)
02/08  ---
03/08  ---
04/08  ---
05/08  Giant-Size Ast. #1    - 105,508  ( -2.0%)
06/08  ---
07/08  Astonishing X-Men #25 - 110,724  ( +4.9%)
                                6 mnth  ( +2.9%)
                                1 year  (  --- )
                                2 year  (  --- )
                                3 year  (-13.3%)
                                4 year  (-14.4%)

This is the first issue by Warren Ellis and Simone Bianchi, and it’s also a “Manifest Destiny” book – an all-purpose label which Marvel are applying to anything involving mutants in San Francisco. Oh, and there’s a variant cover.

I’d call this a very good number. Despite the lacklustre promotion of RUNAWAYS, Marvel had successfully sold the notion of Joss Whedon writing the X-Men as an event, and ASTONISHING was a book created specially to accomodate it. Any incoming creative team would have an uphill struggle to establish the same level of buzz. However, sales are holding up fine.

I rather suspect that retailers have ordered this as a quasi-first issue and that we’ll see a second-issue drop in August. Even so, there’s every reason to be pleased with this figure. And if I’m wrong, and the ASTONISHING brand has simply rolled on oblivious to a change in creative team, then Marvel should be dancing in the streets.

4.  NEW AVENGERS
07/03  ---
07/04  Avengers #500    - 105,617
07/05  New Avengers #7  - 158,693
07/06  New Avengers #22 - 124,617
=====
07/07  New Avengers #32 - 122,991  (-28.8%)
08/07  New Avengers #33 - 117,906  ( -4.1%)
09/07  New Avengers #34 - 112,815  ( -4.3%)
10/07  New Avengers #35 - 111,481  ( -1.2%)
11/07  New Avengers #36 - 107,715  ( -3.4%)
12/07  New Avengers #37 - 105,545  ( -2.0%)
01/08  ---
02/08  New Avengers #38 - 104,140  ( -1.3%)
03/08  New Avengers #39 - 103,046  ( -1.1%)
04/08  New Avengers #40 - 117,201  (+13.7%)
05/08  New Avengers #41 - 109,185  ( -6.8%)
06/08  New Avengers #42 - 108,495  ( -0.6%)
07/08  New Avengers #43 - 108,751  ( +0.2%)
                           6 mnth  (  --- )
                           1 year  (-11.6%)
                           2 year  (-12.7%)
                           3 year  (-31.5%)
                           4 year  ( +3.0%)
                           5 year  (  --- )


6.  MIGHTY AVENGERS
07/07  Mighty Avengers #4  - 107,768  ( -6.6%)
08/07  ---
09/07  ---
10/07  Mighty Avengers #5  -  99,544  ( -7.6%)
11/07  ---
12/07  Mighty Avengers #6  -  90,709  ( -8.9%)
01/08  Mighty Avengers #7  -  92,739  ( +2.2%)
01/08  Mighty Avengers #8  -  84,459  ( -8.9%)
02/08  Mighty Avengers #9  -  83,466  ( -1.2%)
03/08  Mighty Avengers #10 -  82,149  ( -1.6%)
03/08  Mighty Avengers #11 -  82,253  ( +0.1%)
04/08  Mighty Avengers #12 -  97,239  (+18.2%)
05/08  Mighty Avengers #13 - 102,266  ( +5.2%)
05/08  Mighty Avengers #14 -  95,281  ( -6.8%)
06/08  Mighty Avengers #15 -  94,014  ( -1.3%)
07/08  Mighty Avengers #16 -  96,252  ( +2.4%)
                              6 mnth  (+14.0%)
                              1 year  (-10.7%)

Both Avengers titles are still running SECRET INVASION crossovers, and the numbers are actually nudging slightly upwards. That suggests a strong sell-through, and a generally good performance for the crossover and the franchise.

HULK
01/08  Hulk #1 - 139,931
02/08  Hulk #2 - 101,598  (-27.4%)
03/08  ---
04/08  Hulk #3 - 100,167  ( -1.4%)
05/08  ---
06/08  Hulk #4 - 101,927  ( +1.8%)
07/08  ---

Didn’t ship in July, but issue #4 charts at number 172 with a whacking 11,327 extra sales. That turns the book into a marginal climber, and cements its status as a huge hit.

A collected edition of issues #1-3 charts at number 221, with sales of 7,822.

7.  WOLVERINE
07/03  Wolverine #3  -  90,717
07/04  Wolverine #17 -  66,589
07/05  Wolverine #30 -  76,651
07/06  Wolverine #44 - 105,220
=====
07/07  Wolverine #55 - 130,707  (+36.0%)
08/07  Wolverine #56 -  73,368  (-43.9%)
09/07  Wolverine #57 -  74,588  ( +1.7%)
10/07  Wolverine #58 -  83,810  (+12.4%)
11/07  Wolverine #59 -  65,725  (-21.6%)
12/07  Wolverine #60 -  63,194  ( -3.9%)
01/08  Wolverine #61 -  60,857  ( -3.7%)
02/08  Wolverine #62 -  69,698  (+14.5%)
03/08  Wolverine #63 -  64,475  ( -7.5%)
04/08  Wolverine #64 -  64,871  ( +0.0%)
05/08  Wolverine #65 -  62,451  ( -3.7%)
06/08  Wolverine #66 - 105,167  (+68.4%)
07/08  Wolverine #67 -  89,062  (-15.3%)
                        6 mnth  (+46.3%)
                        1 year  (-31.9%)
                        2 year  (-15.4%)
                        3 year  (+16.2%)
                        4 year  (+33.7%)
                        5 year  ( -1.8%)

This is the second part of Mark Millar and Steve McNiven’s “Old Man Logan” arc. Issue #66 goes to a second printing, with a variant cover, and picks up re-orders of 7,141 – as usual, added to the figures above.

Now, last month I jumped the gun by suggesting that the underwhelming sales on Millar’s FANTASTIC FOUR were a blip. But I think by now we can make that statement with more confidence. Millar’s second issue of FF sold an estimated 67K and dropped out of the top twenty. This book is clearly doing substantially better.

10. THOR
07/03  Thor #66 -  33,557
07/04  Thor #82 -  36,094
07/05  ---
07/06  ---
=====
07/07  Thor #1  - 202,798
08/07  Thor #2  - 122,951  ( -39.4%)
09/07  Thor #3  - 109,964  ( -10.6%)
10/07  ---
11/07  Thor #4  - 112,307  (  +2.1%)
12/07  Thor #5  - 101,551  (  -9.6%)
01/08  ---
02/08  Thor #6  -  98,315  (  -3.2%)
03/08  Thor #7  -  97,491  (  -0.8%)
04/08  Thor #8  -  91,981  (  -5.7%)
05/08  Thor #9  -  87,101  (  -5.3%)
06/08  ---
07/08  Thor #10 -  83,784  (  -3.8%)
                   6 mnth  (   --- )
                   1 year  ( -58.7%)
                   2 year  (   --- )
                   3 year  (   --- )
                   4 year  (+132.0%)
                   5 year  (+149.7%)

Perhaps still shedding sales a tiny bit faster than you’d like to see after ten issues, but you’ve got to keep these things in perspective: THOR is still selling more twice as many copies as it did in its previous incarnation.

11. ULTIMATE ORIGINS
06/08  Ultimate Origins #1 of 5 - 136,418
07/08  Ultimate Origins #2 of 5 -  80,389 (-41.1%)

A huge drop for the second issue, but to be honest, this is more where I expected the series to be in the first place. I suspect issue #1 is the blip here, and that things will run relatively smoothly from here on.

12. CAPTAIN AMERICA
07/03  Captain America #15 -  45,520
07/04  Captain America #29 -  40,221
07/05  ---
07/06  Captain America #20 -  47,357
=====
07/07  Captain America #28 -  89,721  (  -9.5%)
08/07  Captain America #29 -  83,781  (  -6.6%)
09/07  Captain America #30 -  79,554  (  -5.0%)
10/07  Captain America #31 -  77,131  (  -3.0%)
11/07  Captain America #32 -  73,310  (  -5.0%)
12/07  Captain America #33 -  78,279  (  +6.8%)
01/08  Captain America #34 - 152,739  ( +95.1%)
02/08  Captain America #35 -  86,038  ( -43.7%)
03/08  Captain America #36 -  81,378  (  -5.4%)
04/08  Captain America #37 -  80,635  (  -0.9%)
05/08  Captain America #38 -  79,350  (  -1.6%)
06/08  Captain America #39 -  79,387  (  +0.0%)
07/08  Captain America #40 -  79,317  (  -0.0%)
                              6 mnth  ( -48.1%)
                              1 year  ( -11.6%)
                              2 year  ( +67.5%)
                              3 year  (   --- )
                              4 year  ( +97.2%)
                              5 year  ( +74.2%)

Rock solid over the last few months. The death storyline continues to deliver a sustained success that most books would envy.

14. AVENGERS/INVADERS
05/08  Avngrs/Invaders #1 of 12 - 108,136
06/08  Avngrs/Invaders #2 of 12 -  83,012 (-23.2%)
07/08  Avngrs/Invaders #3 of 12 -  75,161 ( -9.5%)

Levelling out, although there’s a way to go yet. These are still better numbers than I would have expected for an AVENGERS/INVADERS series.

15. DARK TOWER
07/07  Gunslinger Born #6 of 7 - 128,336  ( -2.8%)
08/07  Gunslinger Born #7 of 7 - 124,609  ( -2.9%)
09/07  ---
10/07  ---
11/07  ---
12/07  ---
01/08  ---
02/08  ---
03/08  Long Road Home #1 of 5  - 123,839  ( -0.6%)
04/08  Long Road Home #2 of 5  - 106,023  (-14.4%)
05/08  Long Road Home #3 of 5  -  87,631  (-17.3%)
06/08  Long Road Home #4 of 5  -  79,270  ( -9.5%)
07/08  Long Road Home #5 of 5  -  74,981  ( -5.4%)
                                  6 mnth  (  --- )
                                  1 year  (-41.6%)

Fairly standard miniseries decline. This clearly hasn’t received the Event reception of GUNSLINGER BORN, but it’s still done very well for an adaptation, especially when you consider the healthy sales it ought to deliver in trade paperback form. There are more Stephen King adaptations to follow, as Marvel understandably see this as a seam worth mining.

17. X-FORCE
02/08  X-Force #1 - 116,467
03/08  X-Force #2 -  88,650  (-23.9%)
04/08  X-Force #3 -  85,750  ( -3.3%)
05/08  X-Force #4 -  84,792  ( -1.1%)
06/08  ---
07/08  X-Force #5 -  72,818
  (-14.1%)

Mixed signals here. Issue #4 picks up re-orders of 4,617, but even if you leave those out of account, the rate of decline is increasing. However, issue #5 did go to a second printing, so we can expect this number to rise.

19. X-MEN: LEGACY
07/03  New X-Men #143     -  99,850
07/04  X-Men #159         -  93,164
07/05  X-Men #173         -  77,154
07/06  X-Men #189         -  89,268
=====
07/07  X-Men #201         -  86,278  ( -45.0%)
08/07  X-Men #202         -  86,521  (  +0.3%)
09/07  X-Men #203         -  85,652  (  -1.0%)
10/07  X-Men #204         -  83,456  (  -2.6%)
11/07  X-Men #205         - 101,401  ( +21.5%)
12/07  X-Men #206         - 104,815  (  +3.4%)
01/08  X-Men #207         - 104,793  (  -0.0%)
02/08  X-Men: Legacy #208 -  88,132  ( -16.0%)
03/08  X-Men: Legacy #209 -  82,243  (  -6.7%)
04/08  X-Men: Legacy #210 -  77,441  (  -5.8%)
05/08  X-Men: Legacy #211 -  79,818  (  +3.1%)
05/08  X-Men: Legacy #212 -  74,033  (  -7.2%)
06/08  X-Men: Legacy #213 -  71,893  (  -2.9%)
07/08  X-Men: Legacy #214 -  69,863  (  -2.8%)
                             6 mnth  ( -33.3%)
                             1 year  ( -19.0%)
                             2 year  ( -21.7%)
                             3 year  (  -9.4%)
                             4 year  ( -25.0%)
                             5 year  ( -30.0%)

Still losing readers, and no longer in the same ballpark as its two sister titles. The book’s new direction doesn’t seem to be catching on.

20,21,22. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
07/03  Amazing Spider-Man #55  -  95,467
07/04  Amazing Spider-Man #510 -  84,750
07/05  Amazing Spider-Man #522 -  73,130
07/06  Amazing Spider-Man #534 - 113,522
=====
07/07  Amazing Spider-Man #542 - 105,715  ( -2.4%)
08/07  Amazing Spider-Man #543 - 106,485  ( +0.7%)
09/07  Amazing Spider-Man #544 - 159,104  (+49.4%)
10/07  ---
11/07  ---
12/07  Amazing Spider-Man #545 - 129,085  (-18.9%)
01/08  Amazing Spider-Man #546 - 127,958  ( -0.9%)
01/08  Amazing Spider-Man #547 - 101,213  (-20.9%)
01/08  Amazing Spider-Man #548 -  97,959  ( -3.2%)
02/08  Amazing Spider-Man #549 - 101,112  ( +3.2%)
02/08  Amazing Spider-Man #550 -  90,874  (-10.1%)
02/08  Amazing Spider-Man #551 -  88,084  ( -3.1%)
03/08  Amazing Spider-Man #552 -  89,835  ( +2.0%)
03/08  Amazing Spider-Man #553 -  82,648  ( -8.0%)
03/08  Amazing Spider-Man #554 -  81,072  ( -1.9%)
04/08  Amazing Spider-Man #555 -  86,902  ( +7.2%)
04/08  Amazing Spider-Man #556 -  78,458  ( -9.7%)
04/08  Amazing Spider-Man #557 -  77,057  ( -1.8%)
05/08  Amazing Spider-Man #558 -  76,966  ( -0.1%)
05/08  Amazing Spider-Man #559 -  74,206  ( -3.6%)
05/08  Amazing Spider-Man #560 -  74,012  ( -0.3%)
06/08  Amazing Spider-Man #561 -  72,372  ( -2.2%)
06/08  Amazing Spider-Man #562 -  71,409  ( -1.3%)
06/08  Amazing Spider-Man #563 -  70,792  ( -0.9%)
07/08  Amazing Spider-Man #564 -  68,882  ( -2.7%)
07/08  Amazing Spider-Man #565 -  69,182  ( +0.4%)
07/08  Amazing Spider-Man #566 -  68,912  ( -0.4%)
                                  6 mnth  (-29.7%)
                                  1 year  (-34.8%)
                                  2 year  (-39.3%)
                                  3 year  ( -5.8%)
                                  4 year  (-18.7%)
                                  5 year  (-27.8%)

The decline seems to be levelling out, although it’s too early to say for certain. July provides the first six-month comparison since “Brand New Day” began. I’ve taken that comparison with issue #548 (the third January issue) since it’s likely to be more meaningful than looking at the first issue spike.

I’m not going to bother repeating everything I said about this book last month – the comments thread will be every bit as passionate and acrimonious whatever I write. Suffice to say that the although the new AMAZING has clearly not been a runaway success by any stretch of the imagination, its combined sales still compare quite decently with the previous three books.

For example, this month’s three issues achieved combined sales of 206,976. Go back a year to July 2007, and you find AMAZING #542 selling 105,715, SENSATIONAL #39 selling 55,346, and FRIENDLY #22 selling 46,465. That’s a combined total of 207,526, bringing out a fall in cumulative sales of – brace yourself, now – 550 copies. Or 0.3%, if you prefer.

Now, admittedly, that’s equal sales from a narrower base. It’s a fairly safe assumption that the same 69,000 people bought all three July issues of AMAZING. Under the old system, at least one of the books had an audience of over 105,000 (even if almost half of them ignored the other two titles). So in that sense, at least, the direct market audience has declined sharply. Spider-Man’s reach is down significantly. But if we’re talking total sales? Not a massive difference, frankly.

Oh, and for completeness, editor Tom Brevoort has also mentioned that subscriptions are up enormously. (“I could float the book on my subscribers alone at this point”, he told CBR.) This is apparently due to a promotion back when “Brand New Day” started, when subscriptions were offered at a discounted price. Now, logically, that can’t account for the continuing falls in sales – but it’s a point worth bearing in mind.

25. AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE
07/07  Initiative #4 -  94,773  ( +2.6%)
08/07  Initiative #5 -  86,536  ( -8.7%)
09/07  Initiative #6 -  74,184  (-14.3%)
10/07  ---
11/07  Initiative #7 -  66,455  (-10.4%)
12/07  Initiative #8 -  58,126  (-12.5%)
01/08  Initiative #9 -  55,270  ( -4.9%)
02/08  ---
03/08  Initiative #10 - 54,422  ( -1.5%)
04/08  Initiative #11 - 52,877  ( -2.8%)
04/08  Initiative #12 - 52,343  ( -1.0%)
05/08  Initiative #13 - 56,818  ( +8.5%)
06/08  Initiative #14 - 62,236  ( +9.5%)
07/08  Initiative #15 - 63,634  ( +2.2%)
                        6 mnth  (+15.1%)
                        1 year  (-32.9%)

This is a SECRET INVASION tie-in arc, continuing to gain sales.

26. INVINCIBLE IRON MAN
05/08  Invincible Iron Man #1 - 120,657
06/08  Invincible Iron Man #2 -  76,001  (-37.0%)
07/08  Invincible Iron Man #3 -  63,043  (-17.0%)

Issue #2 picks up re-orders of 6,990, which are added into the numbers above. So the real third issue drop is actually a lot more modest. At this point, it looks like the first issue saw inflated sales thanks to the movie, but the title still seems fairly healthy. The existing IRON MAN title, which is being relaunched as a War Machine book after SECRET INVASION, usually sells in the mid-30K range. By that standard, this is a strong relaunch.

30. SKAAR, SON OF HULK
06/08  Skaar, Son of Hulk #1 - 87,498
07/08  Skaar, Son of Hulk #2 - 56,984  (-34.9%)

Another book with mixed signals. Issue #1 picks up re-orders of 13,800, but even allowing for that, there’s a steep second issue drop. Even so, considering that this is a fantasy comic with no established characters, set way off in the far reaches of the Marvel Universe, it’s doing a lot better than I would have predicted.

KICK-ASS  [Icon]
02/08  Kick-Ass #1 - 73,317
03/08  ---
04/08  Kick-Ass #2 - 54,596  (-25.5%)
05/08  ---
06/08  Kick-Ass #3 - 56,655  ( +3.8%)
07/08  ---

Skip month – issue #4 doesn’t come out until August. But the second printing of issue #3 racks up re-orders of 5,759, turning that issue into a slight climber. Millar should be very happy indeed with the performance of this title.

31. SECRET INVASION: FRONT LINE
07/08  Front Line #1 of 5 - 56,313

A definite case of diminishing returns for this franchise. CIVIL WAR: FRONT LINE sold over the 100K mark for most of its run. WORLD WAR HULK: FRONT LINE launched with 84K. And now SECRET INVASION: FRONT LINE picks up at 56K. Mind you, it’s still quite a good number when you consider that this is basically a B-movie horror story starring Ben Urich.

32. CAPTAIN AMERICA: WHITE
07/08  Captain America: White #0 - 56,253

A prologue for the upcoming miniseries, including a Bucky origin story. Perhaps a little ambitiously priced at four dollars, but it bodes well for sales of the series proper.

33. ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN
07/03  Ult. Spider-Man #43  - 101,316
07/04  Ult. Spider-Man #62  -  98,963
07/05  Ult. Spider-Man #80  -  76,906
07/06  Ult. Spider-Man #97  -  76,612
=====
07/07  Ult. Spider-Man #111 -  75,487  ( +2.5%)
08/07  Ult. Spider-Man #112 -  76,523  ( +1.4%)
09/07  Ult. Spider-Man #113 -  67,476  (-11.8%)
09/07  Ult. Spider-Man #114 -  66,682  ( -1.2%)
10/07  Ult. Spider-Man #115 -  74,310  (+11.4%)
11/07  Ult. Spider-Man #116 -  61,534  (-17.2%)
12/07  Ult. Spider-Man #117 -  60,361  ( -1.9%)
01/08  Ult. Spider-Man #118 -  58,800  ( -2.6%)
02/08  Ult. Spider-Man #119 -  58,045  ( -1.3%)
03/08  Ult. Spider-Man #120 -  57,728  ( -0.5%)
04/08  Ult. Spider-Man #121 -  56,633  ( -1.9%)
05/08  Ult. Spider-Man #122 -  55,759  ( -1.5%)
06/08  Ult. Spider-Man #123 -  57,187  ( +2.6%)
07/08  Ult. Spider-Man #124 -  55,262  ( -3.4%)
                               6 mnth  ( -6.0%)
                               1 year  (-26.8%)
                               2 year  (-27.9%)
                               3 year  (-28.1%)
                               4 year  (-44.2%)
                               5 year  (-45.5%)

Still hovering in the mid-50K range, but at least ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN has more or less levelled out after shedding 20,000 in sales earlier in the year.

37. X-FACTOR
07/06  X-Factor #9  - 68,799
=====
07/07  X-Factor #21 - 50,227  (+35.4%)
08/07  X-Factor #22 - 52,627  ( +4.8%)
09/07  X-Factor #23 - 53,311  ( +1.3%)
10/07  X-Factor #24 - 52,085  ( -2.3%)
11/07  X-Factor #25 - 79,066  (+51.8%)
12/07  X-Factor #26 - 84,219  ( +6.5%)
01/08  X-Factor #27 - 81,350  ( -3.4%)
02/08  X-Factor #28 - 61,173  (-24.8%)
03/08  X-Factor #29 - 54,832  (-10.4%)
04/08  X-Factor #30 - 51,447  ( -6.2%)
05/08  X-Factor #31 - 48,231  ( -6.3%)
06/08  X-Factor #32 - 45,104  ( -6.5%)
07/08  X-Factor #33 - 53,088  (+17.7%)
                      6 mnth  (-34.7%)
                      1 year  ( +5.7%)
                      2 year  (-22.8%)

This is a simultaneous tie-in with SECRET INVASION and crossover with Peter David’s other book, SHE-HULK. But it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the overwhelming majority of extra sales are thanks to the little green men from outer space.

38. INCREDIBLE HERCULES
07/03  Incredible Hulk #57  -  64,959
07/04  Incredible Hulk #74  -  43,383
07/05  Incredible Hulk #83  -  55,940
07/06  Incredible Hulk #96  -  49,209
=====
07/07  Incredible Hulk #108 - 107,714  ( -7.1%)
08/07  Incredible Hulk #109 - 104,322  ( -3.1%)
09/07  Incredible Hulk #110 -  96,835  ( -7.2%)
10/07  ---
11/07  Incredible Hulk #111 - 101,536  ( +4.9%)
12/07  Incredible Hulk #112 -  77,119  (-24.0%)
01/08  Hercules #113        -  73,533  ( -4.6%)
02/08  Hercules #114        -  52,200  (-29.0%)
03/08  Hercules #115        -  49,336  ( -5.5%)
04/08  Hercules #116        -  44,575  ( -9.7%)
05/08  Hercules #117        -  57,264  (+28.5%)
06/08  Hercules #118        -  52,975  ( -7.5%)
07/08  Hercules #119        -  52,598  ( -0.7%)
                               6 mnth  (-28.5%)
                               1 year  (-51.2%)
                               2 year  ( +6.9%)
                               3 year  ( -6.0%)
                               4 year  (+21.2%)
                               5 year  (-19.0%)

This is the third part of a SECRET INVASION tie-in, which has been selling steadily. May’s issue #117 picks up re-orders of 4,256.

42. SECRET INVASION: FANTASTIC FOUR
05/08  Fantastic Four #1 of 3 - 60,689
06/08  Fantastic Four #2 of 3 - 51,434  (-15.2%)
07/08  Fantastic Four #3 of 3 - 48,131  ( -6.4%)

Standard miniseries numbers. The regular title missing shipping in July.

43. ULTIMATE X-MEN
07/03  Ultimate X-Men #35 - 109,687
07/04  Ultimate X-Men #49 -  93,572
07/05  Ultimate X-Men #61 -  87,094
07/06  Ultimate X-Men #72 -  70,593
=====
07/07  Ultimate X-Men #84 -  59,929  ( +0.4%)
08/07  Ultimate X-Men #85 -  57,660  ( -3.8%)
09/07  Ultimate X-Men #86 -  55,346  ( -4.0%)
10/07  Ultimate X-Men #87 -  63,028  (+13.9%)
11/07  ---
12/07  Ultimate X-Men #88 -  51,633  (-18.1%)
12/07  Ultimate X-Men #89 -  50,516  ( -2.2%)
01/08  Ultimate X-Men #90 -  49,634  ( -1.7%)
02/08  Ultimate X-Men #91 -  49,062  ( -1.2%)
03/08  Ultimate X-Men #92 -  49,015  ( -0.0%)
04/08  Ultimate X-Men #93 -  49,107  ( +0.2%)
05/08  Ultimate X-Men #94 -  49,779  ( +1.4%)
06/08  Ultimate X-Men #95 -  48,137  ( -3.3%)
07/08  Ultimate X-Men #96 -  48,011  ( -0.3%)
                             6 mnth  ( -3.3%)
                             1 year  (-19.9%)
                             2 year  (-32.0%)
                             3 year  (-44.9%)
                             4 year  (-48.7%)
                             5 year  (-56.2%)

Another book which seems to have more or less settled down after a sharp drop.

45. WOLVERINE: ORIGINS
07/06  Origins #4  - 110,830
=====
07/07  ---
08/07  Origins #16 -  69,781  ( +6.4%)
09/07  Origins #17 -  62,235  (-10.8%)
10/07  Origins #18 -  60,050  ( -3.5%)
11/07  Origins #19 -  55,999  ( -6.7%)
12/07  Origins #20 -  53,548  ( -4.4%)
01/08  Origins #21 -  51,919  ( -3.0%)
02/08  Origins #22 -  50,324  ( -3.1%)
03/08  Origins #23 -  49,633  ( -1.4%)
04/08  Origins #24 -  49,299  ( -0.7%)
05/08  Origins #25 -  52,907  ( +5.9%)
06/08  Origins #26 -  48,059  ( -9.2%)
07/08  Origins #27 -  47,540  ( -1.1%)
                      6 mnth  ( -8.4%)
                      1 year  (  --- )
                      2 year  (-57.1%)

Leave aside the blip from issue #25, and here’s another book which has been pretty steady of late. A crossover with the better-selling X-MEN: LEGACY is coming up.

46. THUNDERBOLTS
07/03  Thunderbolts #81     - 17,211
07/04  ---
07/05  New Thunderbolts #10 - 25,978
07/06  Thunderbolts #104    - 54,092
=====
07/07  ---
08/07  Thunderbolts #116    - 52,503  ( -19.1%)
09/07  ---
10/07  Thunderbolts #117    - 47,151  ( -10.2%)
11/07  ---
12/07  ---
01/08  Thunderbolts #118    - 43,645  (  -7.4%)
02/08  ---
03/08  Thunderbolts #119    - 40,173  (  -8.0%)
04/08  ---
05/08  Thunderbolts #120    - 38,330  (  -4.6%)
06/08  Thunderbolts #121    - 37,693  (  -1.7%)
07/08  Thunderbolts #122    - 47,170  ( +25.1%)
                              6 mnth  (  +8.1%)
                              1 year  (   --- )
                              2 year  ( -12.8%)
                              3 year  ( +81.6%)
                              4 year  (   --- )
                              5 year  (+174.1%)

Another SECRET INVASION tie-in, experiencing a gratifyingly large jump in sales.

47. CABLE
03/08  Cable #1 - 68,073
04/08  Cable #2 - 59,877  (-12.0%)
05/08  Cable #3 - 54,760  ( -8.5%)
06/08  Cable #4 - 49,996  ( -8.7%)
07/08  Cable #5 - 46,429  ( -7.1%)

Five issues in, continued drops of 7% a month should be the cause of slight concern. However, CABLE has been off in a jaunt around future timelines, so issue #6, guest starring the regular X-Men, might give it a boost.

50. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN EXTRA
07/08  Amazing Spider-Man Extra - 44,456

Basically this year’s Spider-Man annual, tailing in some way behind the lead title.

52. YOUNG X-MEN
04/08  Young X-Men #1 - 71,593
05/08  Young X-Men #2 - 51,267  (-28.4%)
06/08  Young X-Men #3 - 45,227  (-11.8%)
07/08  Young X-Men #4 - 41,341  ( -8.6%)

The drops are getting smaller, but they’re still more than I’d be entirely comfortable with at this stage. When it wasn’t being boosted by crossovers, the predecessor title NEW X-MEN sold very consistently at 37K. At this rate, it’s not going to be long before YOUNG X-MEN drops below that benchmark.

53. MS MARVEL
07/06  Ms Marvel #5  - 38,874
=====
07/07  Ms Marvel #17 - 38,003  ( -5.1%)
08/07  Ms Marvel #18 - 34,818  ( -8.4%)
09/07  Ms Marvel #19 - 32,371  ( -7.0%)
10/07  Ms Marvel #20 - 37,930  (+17.2%)
11/07  Ms Marvel #21 - 26,484  (-30.2%)
12/07  Ms Marvel #22 - 25,450  ( -3.9%)
01/08  Ms Marvel #23 - 24,260  ( -4.7%)
02/08  Ms Marvel #24 - 24,139  ( -0.5%)
03/08  Ms Marvel #25 - 40,993  (+69.8%)
04/08  Ms Marvel #26 - 42,277  ( +3.1%)
05/08  Ms Marvel #27 - 41,131  ( -2.7%)
06/08  Ms Marvel #28 - 42,194  ( +2.6%)
07/08  Ms Marvel #29 - 41,231  ( -2.3%)
                       6 mnth  (+70.0%)
                       1 year  ( +8.5%)
                       2 year  ( +6.1%)

Another SECRET INVASION tie-in, with this arc selling miles above the book’s usual level.

54. DAREDEVIL
07/03  Daredevil #49  - 60,165
07/04  Daredevil #62  - 52,935
07/05  Daredevil #75  - 47,800
07/06  Daredevil #87  - 49,436
=====
07/07  ---
08/07  Daredevil #99  - 47,386  ( +1.2%)
09/07  Daredevil #100 - 78,143  (+64.9%)
10/07  Daredevil #101 - 47,189  (-39.6%)
11/07  Daredevil #102 - 45,030  ( -4.6%)
12/07  Daredevil #103 - 43,874  ( -2.6%)
01/08  Daredevil #104 - 42,773  ( -2.5%)
02/08  Daredevil #105 - 42,098  ( -1.6%)
03/08  Daredevil #106 - 41,537  ( -1.3%)
04/08  ---
05/08  Daredevil #107 - 40,418  ( -2.7%)
06/08  Daredevil #108 - 39,557  ( -2.1%)
07/08  Daredevil #109 - 39,258  ( -0.8%)
                        6 mnth  ( -8.2%)
                        1 year  (  --- )
                        2 year  (-20.6%)
                        3 year  (-17.9%)
                        4 year  (-25.8%)
                        5 year  (-34.7%)

Very slight decline, but nothing to worry about.

56. MARVEL 1985
05/08  Marvel 1985 #1 of 6 - 61,126
06/08  Marvel 1985 #2 of 6 - 40,134  (-34.3%)
07/08  Marvel 1985 #3 of 6 - 38,677  ( -3.6%)

Issue #1 picks up re-orders of 5,989. Things have almost levelled out with issue #3 – a good performance.

57. SKRULLS
07/08  Skrulls - 36,447

More SECRET INVASION, this time with a HANDBOOK spin-off focussing on, well, Skrulls. It’s done as a dossier compiled by the Skrulls themselves, which is why I haven’t treated it as an issue of the regular title.

58. CAPTAIN BRITAIN & MI-13
05/08  Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #1 - 43,281
06/08  Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #2 - 37,986  (-12.2%)
07/08  Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #3 - 36,945  ( -2.7%)

And more SECRET INVASION. So far so good for this well-received title, but we’ve seen before that titles launched during a crossover can struggle to hold onto their sales afterwards: see HEROES FOR HIRE and PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL for examples.

61. SHE-HULK
07/04  She-Hulk #5  - 25,788
07/05  ---
07/06  She-Hulk #9  - 29,902
=====
07/07  ---
08/07  She-Hulk #20 - 25,582  ( -2.1%)
09/07  She-Hulk #21 - 27,221  ( +6.4%)
10/07  She-Hulk #22 - 35,568  (+30.7%)
11/07  She-Hulk #23 - 24,956  (-29.8%)
12/07  She-Hulk #24 - 23,585  ( -5.5%)
01/08  She-Hulk #25 - 23,283  ( -1.3%)
02/08  She-Hulk #26 - 22,181  ( -4.7%)
03/08  She-Hulk #27 - 21,421  ( -3.4%)
04/08  She-Hulk #28 - 20,843  ( -2.7%)
05/08  She-Hulk #29 - 20,678  ( -0.8%)
06/08  She-Hulk #30 - 21,016  ( +1.6%)
07/08  She-Hulk #31 - 36,053  (+71.6%)
                      6 mnth  (+54.8%)
                      1 year  (  --- )
                      2 year  (+20.6%)
                      3 year  (  --- )
                      4 year  (+39.8%)

Simultaneous crossover with both SECRET INVASION and X-FACTOR, hence the enormous jump.

62. SQUADRON SUPREME
07/04  Supreme Power #11   - 63,007
07/05  ---
07/06  Squadron Supreme #5 - 46,029
07/07  ---
=====
07/08  Squadron Supreme #1 - 35,583
                             6 mnth  (  --- )
                             1 year  (  --- )
                             2 year  (  --- )
                             3 year  (-22.7%)
                             4 year  (  --- )
                             5 year  (-43.5%)

This is the SUPREME POWER version of the Squadron Supreme, now going into its third series. Volume one launched in August 2003 with sales of 96,161 and lasted eighteen issues, during which it dropped to 50K. Volume two launched in March 2006 with 61,625, and dropped to 42K by issue #7, when it abruptly ended despite two more issues having been solicited. That was followed by the ULTIMATE POWER miniseries, which ran horribly late, but was still selling 54K when it petered out last December.

So, after all that, the book relaunches at 35K – its lowest sales to date. This is, shall we say, somewhat discouraging.

63. IRON MAN: DIRECTOR OF SHIELD
07/03  Iron Man #70 - 32,208
07/04  Iron Man #86 - 34,520
07/05  ---
07/06  Iron Man #10 - 38,102
=====
07/07  Iron Man #20 - 72,831  (-13.1%)
08/07  Iron Man #21 - 49,548  (-32.0%)
09/07  Iron Man #22 - 46,691  ( -5.8%)
10/07  Iron Man #23 - 42,608  ( -8.7%)
11/07  ---
12/07  Iron Man #24 - 38,834  ( -8.9%)
01/08  Iron Man #25 - 38,072  ( -2.0%)
02/08  Iron Man #26 - 36,607  ( -3.8%)
03/08  Iron Man #27 - 36,011  ( -1.6%)
04/08  Iron Man #28 - 35,754  ( -0.7%)
05/08  Iron Man #29 - 36,415  ( +1.8%)
06/08  Iron Man #30 - 35,384  ( -2.8%)
07/08  Iron Man #31 - 35,352  ( -0.0%)
                      6 mnth  ( -7.1%)
                      1 year  (-51.5%)
                      2 year  ( -7.2%)
                      3 year  (  --- )
                      4 year  ( +2.4%)
                      5 year  (+10.0%)

Blissfully unaffected by the movie, and not yet invited to join in the crossovers. The book is about to be relaunched as a War Machine title – it’s basically being kept around for a few months to make INVINCIBLE IRON MAN look like a completely new title rather than a renumbering.

64. ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR
07/04  Ult. Fantastic Four #9  - 92,923
07/05  Ult. Fantastic Four #21 - 91,321
07/06  Ult. Fantastic Four #31 - 84,460
=====
07/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #44 - 50,796  ( -1.3%)
08/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #45 - 48,779  ( -4.0%)
09/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #46 - 46,647  ( -4.4%)
10/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #47 - 45,015  ( -3.5%)
11/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #48 - 43,080  ( -4.3%)
12/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #49 - 40,656  ( -5.6%)
01/08  Ult. Fantastic Four #50 - 44,144  ( +8.6%)
02/08  Ult. Fantastic Four #51 - 38,804  (-12.1%)
03/08  Ult. Fantastic Four #52 - 38,146  ( -1.7%)
04/08  Ult. Fantastic Four #53 - 37,461  ( -1.8%)
05/08  Ult. Fantastic Four #54 - 37,556  ( +0.3%)
06/08  Ult. Fantastic Four #55 - 35,731  ( -4.9%)
07/08  Ult. Fantastic Four #56 - 35,082  ( -1.8%)
                                 6 mnth  (-20.5%)
                                 1 year  (-30.9%)
                                 2 year  (-58.5%)
                                 3 year  (-61.6%)
                                 4 year  (-62.2%)

Fairly level this month, but the general trend remains worrying.

119,68. BLACK PANTHER
07/05  Black Panther #6  - 35,256
07/06  Black Panther #18 - 69,912
=====
07/07  Black Panther #29 - 55,027  (-11.0%)
08/07  Black Panther #30 - 48,478  (-11.9%)
09/07  ---
10/07  Black Panther #31 - 33,673  (-30.5%)
11/07  Black Panther #32 - 28,426  (-15.6%)
12/07  Black Panther #33 - 25,906  ( -8.9%)
01/08  ---
02/08  Black Panther #34 - 23,395  ( -9.7%)
03/08  Black Panther #35 - 21,332  ( -8.9%)
04/08  ---
05/08  Black Panther #36 - 20,841  ( -2.3%)
06/08  Black Panther #37 - 19,989  ( -4.1%)
07/08  Black Panther #38 - 19,459  ( -2.7%)
07/08  Black Panther #39 - 33,900  (+72.2%)
                           6 mnth  (  --- )
                           1 year  (-38.4%)
                           2 year  (-51.5%)
                           3 year  ( -3.8%)

Two issues this month, as the book tries to catch up with its schedule. Issue #39 is a SECRET INVASION tie-in, and sales duly shoot up. We’ve seen this many times with BLACK PANTHER – it does will in crossovers, and then it generally drops back to its usual range again afterwards.

70. NEW WARRIORS
07/07  New Warriors #2  - 45,820  (-19.3%)
08/07  New Warriors #3  - 42,660  ( -6.9%)
09/07  New Warriors #4  - 39,998  ( -6.2%)
10/07  New Warriors #5  - 36,937  ( -7.7%)
11/07  ---
12/07  New Warriors #6  - 32,982  (-10.7%)
12/07  New Warriors #7  - 30,177  ( -8.5%)
01/08  New Warriors #8  - 28,926  ( -4.1%)
02/08  New Warriors #9  - 25,694  (-11.2%)
03/08  New Warriors #10 - 23,887  ( -7.0%)
04/08  New Warriors #11 - 22,636  ( -5.2%)
05/08  New Warriors #12 - 21,808  ( -3.7%)
06/08  New Warriors #13 - 20,992  ( -3.7%)
07/08  New Warriors #14 - 33,209  (+58.2%)
                          6 mnth  (+14.8%)
                          1 year  (-27.5%)

Another SECRET INVASION tie-in. Again, the boost is likely to prove transitory.

71. IMMORTAL IRON FIST
07/07  Immortal Iron Fist #7  - 35,842  ( -2.4%)
08/07  Immortal Iron Fist #8  - 35,449  ( -1.1%)
09/07  Immortal Iron Fist #9  - 34,282  ( -3.3%)
10/07  ---
11/07  Immortal Iron Fist #10 - 41,368  (+20.7%)
12/07  Immortal Iron Fist #11 - 32,975  (-20.3%)
01/08  Immortal Iron Fist #12 - 32,623  ( -1.1%)
02/08  ---
03/08  Immortal Iron Fist #13 - 32,047  ( -1.8%)
04/08  Immortal Iron Fist #14 - 30,881  ( -3.6%)
05/08  Immortal Iron Fist #15 - 30,334  ( -1.8%)
06/08  Immortal Iron Fist #16 - 29,822  ( -1.7%)
07/08  Immortal Iron Fist #17 - 32,839  (+10.1%)
                                6 mnth  ( +0.7%)
                                1 year  ( -8.4%)

Variant cover.

74. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
05/08  Guardians of the Galaxy #1 - 36,293
06/08  Guardians of the Galaxy #2 - 32,967 (-9.2%)
07/08  Guardians of the Galaxy #3 - 31,707 (-3.8%)

Levelling out quite quickly. Marvel’s cosmic books seem to have developed a fairly stable core audience.

79. ETERNALS
06/08  Eternals #1 - 41,680
07/08  Eternals #2 - 30,395  (-27.1%)

Well, that’s on the steep side, to put it mildly. It could level out quickly, but I suspect this book is going to be a tough sale – the Gaiman miniseries was a while ago, and there’s not much of a built-in audience for the characters.

82. PUNISHER  [Max]
07/03  Punisher #29 - 38,849
07/04  Punisher #9  - 46,882
07/05  Punisher #23 - 37,376
07/06  Punisher #35 - 34,116
=====
07/07  Punisher #49 - 34,317  ( +1.5%)
08/07  Punisher #50 - 36,457  ( +6.2%)
09/07  ---
10/07  Punisher #51 - 33,771  ( -7.4%)
11/07  Punisher #52 - 32,909  ( -2.6%)
12/07  Punisher #53 - 31,772  ( -3.5%)
01/08  Punisher #54 - 31,654  ( -0.4%)
02/08  ---
03/08  Punisher #55 - 31,276  ( -1.2%)
04/08  Punisher #56 - 30,796  ( -1.5%)
05/08  Punisher #57 - 30,528  ( -0.9%)
06/08  Punisher #58 - 29,802  ( -2.4%)
07/08  Punisher #59 - 30,064  ( +0.9%)
                      6 mnth  ( -5.0%)
                      1 year  (-12.4%)
                      2 year  (-11.9%)
                      3 year  (-19.6%)
                      4 year  (-35.9%)
                      5 year  (-22.6%)

Solid as usual.

85. X-MEN: ODD MEN OUT
07/08  Odd Men Out - 29,524

This is a collection of two unpublished stories with art by Dave Cockrum (from the look of it, unused fill-in stories). One for art collectors, really, and in that light the sales figures are fine.

87. DARK TOWER: END WORLD ALMANAC
07/08  Almanac - 29,263

It’s a guide to the DARK TOWER world, presumably aimed at the comics audience. Slightly surprised this didn’t do better, to be honest.

92. MOON KNIGHT
07/06  ---
=====
07/07  ---
08/07  ---
09/07  Moon Knight #12 - 47,521  (-18.5%)
10/07  Moon Knight #13 - 44,082  ( -7.2%)
11/07  ---
12/07  ---
01/08  Moon Knight #14 - 34,569  (-21.6%)
02/08  Moon Knight #15 - 31,553  ( -8.7%)
03/08  Moon Knight #16 - 29,546  ( -6.4%)
04/08  Moon Knight #17 - 27,808  ( -5.9%)
05/08  Moon Knight #18 - 26,626  ( -4.3%)
06/08  Moon Knight #19 - 25,820  ( -3.0%)
07/08  Moon Knight #20 - 28,773  (+11.4%)
                         6 mnth  (-16.8%)
                         1 year  (  --- )
                         2 year  (  --- )

Variant cover.

93. NOVA
07/07  Nova #4 -  40,173  (-10.7%)
08/07  Nova #5 -  39,543  ( -1.6%)
09/07  Nova #6 -  36,978  ( -6.5%)
10/07  Nova #7 -  34,876  ( -5.7%)
11/07  Nova #8 -  32,110  ( -7.9%)
12/07  Nova #9 -  30,469  ( -5.1%)
01/08  Nova #10 - 29,397  ( -3.5%)
02/08  ---
03/08  Nova #11 - 28,162  ( -4.2%)
04/08  Nova #12 - 28,185  ( +0.1%)
05/08  Nova #13 - 28,144  ( -0.1%)
06/08  Nova #14 - 28,892  ( +2.7%)
07/08  Nova #15 - 28,592  ( -1.0%)
                  6 mnth  ( -2.7%)
                  1 year  (-28.8%)

Incredibly consistent sales – NOVA hasn’t budged from the 28K range all year. That’s a loyal audience.

97. PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL
07/07  War Journal #9  - 56,854  ( -7.4%)
08/07  War Journal #10 - 51,303  ( -9.8%)
09/07  War Journal #11 - 47,220  ( -8.0%)
10/07  War Journal #12 - 66,548  (+40.9%)
11/07  War Journal #13 - 41,783  (-37.2%)
12/07  War Journal #14 - 38,471  ( -7.9%)
01/08  War Journal #15 - 35,815  ( -6.9%)
02/08  War Journal #16 - 32,508  ( -9.2%)
03/08  War Journal #17 - 31,227  ( -3.9%)
04/08  War Journal #18 - 29,565  ( -5.3%)
05/08  War Journal #19 - 29,906  ( +1.2%)
06/08  War Journal #20 - 27,288  ( -8.8%)
07/08  War Journal #21 - 26,299  ( -3.6%)
                         6 mnth  (-26.6%)
                         1 year  (-53.7%)

Still dropping, but at least it’s levelling out somewhat.

99. GHOST RIDER
07/06  Ghost Rider #1  - 98,826
=====
07/07  Ghost Rider #13 - 64,092  (-10.2%)
08/07  Ghost Rider #14 - 41,121  (-35.8%)
09/07  Ghost Rider #15 - 38,220  ( -7.1%)
10/07  Ghost Rider #16 - 34,335  (-10.2%)
11/07  Ghost Rider #17 - 31,581  ( -8.0%)
12/07  Ghost Rider #18 - 30,540  ( -3.3%)
01/08  Ghost Rider #19 - 28,566  ( -6.5%)
02/08  Ghost Rider #20 - 27,958  ( -2.1%)
03/08  Ghost Rider #21 - 26,526  ( -5.1%)
04/08  Ghost Rider #22 - 25,866  ( -2.5%)
05/08  Ghost Rider #23 - 25,099  ( -3.0%)
06/08  Ghost Rider #24 - 24,494  ( -2.4%)
07/08  Ghost Rider #25 - 24,546  ( +0.2%)
                         6 mnth  (-14.1%)
                         1 year  (-61.7%)
                         2 year  (-75.2%)

Another book which seems to be on the verge of finding its level. But the trend is still downward, and a single upwards month doesn’t necessarily mean anything.

100. NEW EXILES
07/03  Exiles #29    - 40,696
07/04  Exiles #49    - 37,184
07/05  Exiles #66    - 34,092
07/06  Exiles #84    - 32,866
=====
07/07  Exiles #96    - 30,245  ( -1.2%)
08/07  Exiles #97    - 29,092  ( -3.8%)
09/07  Exiles #98    - 28,308  ( -2.7%)
10/07  Exiles #99    - 27,776  ( -1.9%)
11/07  ---
12/07  Exiles #100   - 33,416  (+20.3%)
01/08  New Exiles #1 - 47,618  (+42.5%)
02/08  New Exiles #2 - 34,454  (-27.6%)
03/08  New Exiles #3 - 30,480  (-11.5%)
04/08  New Exiles #4 - 29,231  ( -4.1%)
04/08  New Exiles #5 - 28,505  ( -2.5%)
05/08  New Exiles #6 - 27,533  ( -3.4%)
06/08  New Exiles #7 - 25,742  ( -6.5%)
07/08  New Exiles #8 - 24,436  ( -5.1%)
                       6 mnth  (-48.7%)
                       1 year  (-19.2%)
                       2 year  (-25.6%)
                       3 year  (-28.3%)
                       4 year  (-34.3%)
                       5 year  (-40.0%)

NEW EXILES is now below pre-relaunch levels and dropping faster than ever. This hasn’t worked.

106. GENEXT
05/08  GeNext #1 of 5 - 33,685
06/08  GeNext #2 of 5 - 25,345  (-24.8%)
07/08  GeNext #3 of 5 - 21,782  (-14.1%)

The other Chris Claremont book, which suggests that retailers think they’ve got the measure of his audience base these days.

109. IRON MAN: LEGACY OF DOOM
04/08  Legacy of Doom #1 of 4 - 31,622
05/08  Legacy of Doom #2 of 4 - 23,377  (-26.1%)
06/08  Legacy of Doom #3 of 4 - 22,117  ( -5.4%)
07/08  Legacy of Doom #4 of 4 - 21,562  ( -2.5%)

Modest sales, but probably enough to justify its existence as a bone thrown to older fans with a nostalgia for 1980s Iron Man comics.

114. FANTASTIC FOUR: TRUE STORY
07/08  True Story #1 of 4 - 19,929

An underpromoted miniseries by a creative team who are still relatively little known in America. 20K seems to be about the best Marvel can expect these days, for titles of this sort. See below for further examples.

115. THE LAST DEFENDERS
03/08  Last Defenders #1 of 6 - 33,065
04/08  Last Defenders #2 of 6 - 25,731  (-22.2%)
05/08  Last Defenders #3 of 6 - 23,387  ( -9.1%)
06/08  Last Defenders #4 of 6 - 21,544  ( -7.9%)
07/08  Last Defenders #5 of 6 - 19,919  ( -7.5%)

Steep drops throughout the run of this miniseries, which seems to have just confused people.

118. PATSY WALKER, HELLCAT
07/08  Patsy Walker, Hellcat #1 of 5 - 19,679

Another not-great start, for a very off-kilter miniseries. This is probably going to end up with dire sales, but something of a cult following.

123. POWERS  [Icon]
07/03  ---
07/04  Powers #1  - 40,387
07/05  ---
07/06  Powers #19 - 23,156
=====
07/07  ---
08/07  Powers #25 - 21,349  ( +1.9%)
09/07  ---
10/07  Powers #26 - 20,541  ( -3.8%)
11/07  Powers #27 - 19,843  ( -3.4%)
12/07  ---
01/08  ---
02/08  ---
03/08  Powers #28 - 19,256  ( -3.0%)
04/08  ---
05/08  ---
06/08  ---
07/08  Powers #29 - 18,908  ( -1.8%)
                    6 mnth  (  --- )
                    1 year  (  --- )
                    2 year  (-18.3%)
                    3 year  (  --- )
                    4 year  (-53.2%)
                    5 year  (  --- )

No, your eyes do not deceive you – that’s two issues in a period of eight months. Doesn’t seem to make much difference to sales, though.

124. WOLVERINE: FIRST CLASS
03/08  Wolverine: First Class #1 - 35,695
04/08  Wolverine: First Class #2 - 25,610 (-28.3%)
05/08  Wolverine: First Class #3 - 22,430 (-12.4%)
06/08  Wolverine: First Class #4 - 20,199 ( -9.9%)
07/08  Wolverine: First Class #5 - 18,788 ( -7.0%)

Still dropping. I suspect retailers are trying to figure this one out: do they order it as a Marvel Universe title, or an all-ages book, or somewhere in between?

130. NEWUNIVERSAL 1959
07/08  newuniversal 1959 - 17,406

A one-shot, set in the past, and by a different creative team. 17K’s actually pretty good, in the circumstances. The core miniseries – NEWUNIVERSAL: SHOCKFRONT – missed shipping in July.

131. SPIDER-MAN: WITH GREAT POWER
01/08  With Great Power #1 of 5 - 32,201
02/08  With Great Power #2 of 5 - 24,800  (-23.0%)
03/08  With Great Power #3 of 5 - 22,029  (-11.2%)
04/08  ---
05/08  ---
06/08  With Great Power #4 of 5 - 18,448  (-16.3%)
07/08  With Great Power #5 of 5 - 17,356  ( -5.9%)
                                  6 mnth  (-46.1%)

Spider-Man spin-offs haven’t done particularly well in years, and this is another underwhelming number.

132. TRUE BELIEVERS
07/08  True Believers #1 of 5 - 17,155

One of those “shove it out there and see what happens” minis, about a bunch of superpowered vigilante journalists running a sort of Marvel Universe equivalent of the Drudge Report. Doesn’t seem to have attracted much attention, but part of the strategy with these books seems to be to get some positive buzz around the characters to support trade releases and sequels. In other words, don’t look at this and say “Why haven’t they promoted it?” Arguably, releasing the miniseries IS the promotion – for the trade.

141. AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL
07/03  Spider-Girl #62         - 23,104
07/04  Spider-Girl #76         - 22,157
07/05  Spider-Girl #88         - 18,983
07/06  Spider-Girl #100        - 22,691
=====
07/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #10 - 19,094  ( -0.3%)
08/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #11 - 18,725  ( -1.9%)
09/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #12 - 18,676  ( -0.3%)
10/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #13 - 26,558  (+42.2%)
11/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #14 - 17,410  (-34.4%)
12/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #15 - 17,164  ( -1.4%)
01/08  Amazing Spider-Girl #16 - 16,422  ( -4.3%)
02/08  Amazing Spider-Girl #17 - 16,193  ( -1.4%)
03/08  Amazing Spider-Girl #18 - 15,910  ( -1.7%)
04/08  Amazing Spider-Girl #19 - 15,970  ( +0.4%)
05/08  Amazing Spider-Girl #20 - 15,646  ( -2.0%)
06/08  Amazing Spider-Girl #21 - 15,659  ( +0.0%)
07/08  Amazing Spider-Girl #22 - 15,373  ( -1.8%)
                                 6 mnth  ( -6.4%)
                                 1 year  (-19.5%)
                                 2 year  (-32.3%)
                                 3 year  (-19.0%)
                                 4 year  (-30.6%)
                                 5 year  (-33.5%)

Business as usual for SPIDER-GIRL, which continues to hover in the 15K range.

202,253. UNIVERSAL WAR ONE  [Soleil]
07/08  Universal War One #1 of 3 - 15,032

This is another imported mini from Soleil, issued in two different formats which Diamond have unhelpfully listed separately. The figure above is the total. It’s a six dollar book, so this is a perfectly decent number.

143. ANGEL: REVELATIONS
05/08  Revelations #1 of 5 - 22,328
06/08  Revelations #2 of 5 - 15,351  (-31.2%)
07/08  Revelations #3 of 5 - 14,842  ( -3.3%)

Mercifully, the huge second issue drop isn’t replicated this month. Still a very low number for an X-book, though.

150. X-MEN: FIRST CLASS
07/07  First Class #2  - 22,269  (-15.6%)
08/07  First Class #3  - 20,495  ( -8.0%)
09/07  First Class #4  - 19,088  ( -6.9%)
10/07  First Class #5  - 18,134  ( -5.0%)
11/07  First Class #6  - 17,050  ( -6.0%)
12/07  First Class #7  - 16,195  ( -5.0%)
01/08  First Class #8  - 15,986  ( -1.3%)
02/08  First Class #9  - 15,320  ( -4.2%)
03/08  First Class #10 - 14,907  ( -2.7%)
04/08  First Class #11 - 14,896  ( -0.0%)
05/08  First Class #12 - 14,566  ( -2.2%)
06/08  First Class #13 - 14,157  ( -2.8%)
07/08  First Class #14 - 13,870  ( -2.0%)
                         6 mnth  (-13.2%)
                         1 year  (-37.7%)

Straddling the middle ground between the Marvel Universe and the all-ages line, with sales to match.

161. MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS
09/07  Marvel Comics Prs. #1  - 38,337
10/07  Marvel Comics Prs. #2  - 26,573  (-30.7%)
11/07  Marvel Comics Prs. #3  - 23,444  (-11.8%)
12/07  Marvel Comics Prs. #4  - 19,890  (-15.2%)
01/08  Marvel Comics Prs. #5  - 17,426  (-12.4%)
02/08  Marvel Comics Prs. #6  - 16,188  ( -7.1%)
03/08  Marvel Comics Prs. #7  - 15,015  ( -7.2%)
04/08  Marvel Comics Prs. #8  - 13,630  ( -9.2%)
05/08  Marvel Comics Prs. #9  - 13,670  ( +0.3%)
06/08  Marvel Comics Prs. #10 - 12,900  ( -5.6%)
07/08  Marvel Comics Prs. #11 - 12,168  ( -5.7%)
                                6 mnth  (-30.2%)

Axed with issue #12.

164. MARVEL ADVENTURES SUPER HEROES  [All ages]
07/08  M.A. Super Heroes #1 - 11,968

Another Marvel Adventures title, replacing MARVEL ADVENTURES IRON MAN with a sort of all-purpose Marvel Team-Up series. This is fairly standard for a Marvel Adventures launch.

173. SKY DOLL [Soleil]
05/08  Sky Doll #1 of 3 - 15,628
06/08  Sky Doll #2 of 3 - 11,208  (-28.3%)
07/08  Sky Doll #3 of 3 - 11,317  ( +1.0%)

Modest sales, but solid ones. And it’s an expensive book. Not too bad as a first step into the US market.

175. HAUNT OF HORROR  [Max]
06/08  Lovecraft #1 of 3 - 13,605
07/08  Lovecraft #2 of 3 - 11,247  (-17.3%)


176. WAR IS HELL [Max]
03/08  Phantom Eagle #1 of 5 - 20,373
04/08  Phantom Eagle #2 of 5 - 13,993  (-31.3%)
05/08  Phantom Eagle #3 of 5 - 12,488  (-10.8%)
06/08  Phantom Eagle #4 of 5 - 11,765  ( -5.8%)
07/08  Phantom Eagle #5 of 5 - 11,036  ( -6.2%)

The Max imprint doesn’t do great business in the direct market, but Marvel are sticking with it. Either they’re in it for the long haul, or these stories are doing better in trade.

178. AMERICAN DREAM
05/08  American Dream #1 of 5 - 15,259
05/08  American Dream #2 of 5 - 13,150  (-13.8%)
06/08  American Dream #3 of 5 - 11,540  (-12.2%)
06/08  American Dream #4 of 5 - 11,031  ( -4.4%)
07/08  American Dream #5 of 6 - 10,686  ( -3.1%)

A SPIDER-GIRL spin-off. The very fact that a 15K book is getting a spin-off illustrates that it’s not dependent on direct market sales.

184. FOOLKILLER  [Max]
10/07  Foolkiller #1 of 5   - 19,706
11/07  Foolkiller #2 of 5   - 13,779  (-30.1%)
12/07  Foolkiller #3 of 5   - 12,892  ( -6.4%)
01/08  ---
02/08  ---
03/08  Foolkiller #4 of 5   - 11,353  (-11.9%)
04/08  ---
05/08  Foolkiller #5 of 5   -  9,697  (-14.6%)
06/08  ---
07/08  White Angels #1 of 5 - 10,165  ( +4.8%)
                              6 mnth  (  --- )

A surprising commission; the first miniseries didn’t do at all well in the direct market, and it’s surely too early to tell whether the trade paperback was a success. Still, somebody evidently has faith in this property, for whatever reason.

204. MARVEL SPOTLIGHT
07/06  R Kirkman / G Land   -  3,963
=====
07/07  ---
08/07  World War Hulk       - 22,534  ( -28.4%)
08/07  Halo                 -  9,782  ( -56.6%)
09/07  Thor                 - 11,300  ( +15.5%)
10/07  Marvel Zombies       - 16,697  ( +47.8%)
11/07  ---
12/07  One More Day         - 12,807  ( -23.3%)
12/07  Messiah Complex      - 13,462  (  +5.1%)
01/08  Ultimates 3          -  9,354  ( -30.5%)
02/08  ---
03/08  L Hamilton/G Martin
  -  4,656  ( -50.2%)
04/08  Iron Man Movie       -  8,124  ( +74.5%)
05/08  Hulk Movie           -  7,680  (  -5.5%)
06/08  Secret Invasion      - 14,206  ( +85.0%)
07/08  Uncanny X-Men #500   -  8,763  ( -38.3%)
                              6 mnth  (  -6.3%)
                              1 year  (   --- )
                              2 year  (+121.1%)

Erratic as ever.

Number 218 is the promotional sketchbook for the adapation of Stephen King’s STAND, selling 7,952 bundles of 25 (for a total of 198,800). These are effectively promo items of the sort that Diamond used to omit from the chart, but for some reason it’s apparently different when you sell them in bundles.

225. OMEGA THE UNKNOWN
10/07  Omega t/Unknown #1 of 10  - 19,322
11/07  Omega t/Unknown #2 of 10  - 13,986 (-27.6%)
12/07  Omega t/Unknown #3 of 10  - 11,518 (-17.6%)
01/08  Omega t/Unknown #4 of 10  - 10,164 (-11.8%)
02/08  Omega t/Unknown #5 of 10  -  9,147 (-10.0%)
03/08  Omega t/Unknown #6 of 10  -  8,595 ( -6.0%)
04/08  Omega t/Unknown #7 of 10  -  8,302 ( -3.4%)
05/08  Omega t/Unknown #8 of 10  -  7,894 ( -4.9%)
06/08  Omega t/Unknown #9 of 10  -  7,724 ( -2.2%)
07/08  Omega t/Unknown #10 of 10 -  7,591 ( -1.7%)
                                  6 mnth  (-25.3%)

OMEGA now moves on to its natural home in trade paperback format.

233. POWER PACK  [All ages]
07/06  Avengers #4 of 4       - 5,849
=====
07/07  Fantastic Four #1 of 4 - 6,577  (+20.8%)
08/07  Fantastic Four #2 of 4 - 5,749  (-12.6%)
09/07  Fantastic Four #3 of 4 - 5,400  ( -6.1%)
10/07  Fantastic Four #4 of 4 - 5,152  ( -4.6%)
11/07  Iron Man #1 of 4       - 5,527  ( +7.3%)
12/07  Iron Man #2 of 4       - 4,855  (-12.2%)
01/08  Iron Man #3 of 4       - 4,445  ( -8.4%)
02/08  Iron Man #4 of 4       - 4,256  ( -4.3%)
03/08  Day One #1 of 4        - 8,298  (+95.0%)
04/08  Day One #2 of 4        - 4,830  (-41.8%)
05/08  Day One #3 of 4        - 4,696  ( -2.8%)
06/08  Day One #4 of 4        - 4,491  ( -4.4%)
07/08  Skrulls #1 of 4        - 7,141  (+59.0%)
                               6 mnth  (+60.7%)
                               1 year  ( +8.6%)
                               2 year  (+22.1%)

Not technically a SECRET INVASION crossover – POWER PACK is out of continuity. But that’s not stopping the book from joining the bandwagon. Actually, it doesn’t seem to make much difference to sales; the first issue of the DAY ONE origin series did slightly better.

And from here on, it’s all-ages and reprints…

259. MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN  [All ages]
07/05  M.A. Spider-Man #5  - 8,075
07/06  M.A. Spider-Man #17 - 6,133
=====
07/07  M.A. Spider-Man #29 - 7,071  ( +0.9%)
08/07  M.A. Spider-Man #30 - 6,573  ( -7.0%)
09/07  M.A. Spider-Man #31 - 6,723  ( +2.3%)
10/07  M.A. Spider-Man #32 - 6,355  ( -5.5%)
11/07  M.A. Spider-Man #33 - 6,126  ( -3.6%)
12/07  M.A. Spider-Man #34 - 6,115  ( -0.2%)
01/08  M.A. Spider-Man #35 - 6,065  ( -0.8%)
02/08  M.A. Spider-Man #36 - 5,893  ( -2.8%)
03/08  M.A. Spider-Man #37 - 5,877  ( -0.3%)
04/08  M.A. Spider-Man #38 - 5,833  ( -0.7%)
05/08  M.A. Spider-Man #39 - 5,816  ( -0.3%)
06/08  M.A. Spider-Man #40 - 5,954  ( +2.4%)
07/08  M.A. Spider-Man #41 - 5,859  ( -1.6%)
                            6 mnth  ( -3.4%)
                            1 year  (-17.1%)
                            2 year  ( -4.5%)
                            3 year  (-27.4%)


269. MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS  [All ages]
07/06  M.A. Avengers #3  - 9,006
=====
07/07  ---
08/07  M.A. Avengers #15 - 6,950  ( -4.7%)
09/07  M.A. Avengers #16 - 6,870  ( -1.2%)
10/07  M.A. Avengers #17 - 6,423  ( -6.5%)
11/07  M.A. Avengers #18 - 6,141  ( -4.4%)
12/07  M.A. Avengers #19 - 6,115  ( -0.4%)
01/08  M.A. Avengers #20 - 5,670  ( -7.3%)
02/08  M.A. Avengers #21 - 5,607  ( -1.1%)
03/08  M.A. Avengers #22 - 5,575  ( -0.6%)
04/08  M.A. Avengers #23 - 5,556  ( -0.3%)
05/08  M.A. Avengers #24 - 5,358  ( -3.6%)
06/08  M.A. Avengers #25 - 5,327  ( -0.6%)
07/08  M.A. Avengers #26 - 5,418  ( +1.7%)
                          6 mnth  ( -4.4%)
                          1 year  (-22.0%)
                          2 year  (-39.8%)


271. HULK CHRONICLES
07/07  Civil War Chronicles #1  - 18,449
08/07  Civil War Chronicles #2  - 12,953  (-29.8%)
09/07  Civil War Chronicles #3  - 11,094  (-14.4%)
10/07  Civil War Chronicles #4  -  9,108  (-17.9%)
11/07  Civil War Chronicles #5  -  7,500  (-17.7%)
12/07  Civil War Chronicles #6  -  6,841  ( -8.8%)
01/08  Civil War Chronicles #7  -  6,127  (-10.4%)
02/08  Civil War Chronicles #8  -  5,811  ( -5.2%)
03/08  Civil War Chronicles #9  -  5,536  ( -4.7%)
04/08  Civil War Chronicles #10 -  5,350  ( -3.4%)
05/08  Civil War Chronicles #11 -  5,052  ( -5.6%)
06/08  Civil War Chronicles #12 -  5,073  ( +0.4%)
07/08  Hulk Chronicles #1       -  5,388  ( +6.2%)
                                  6 mnth  (-12.1%)
                                  1 year  (-70.8%)


280. THE ILIAD [Marvel Illustrated]
12/07  Iliad #1 of 8 - 8,393
01/08  Iliad #2 of 8 - 5,248  (-37.5%)
02/08  Iliad #3 of 8 - 5,150  ( -1.9%)
03/08  Iliad #4 of 8 - 5,200  ( +1.0%)
04/08  Iliad #5 of 8 - 5,257  ( +1.1%)
05/08  Iliad #6 of 8 - 5,195  ( -1.2%)
06/08  Iliad #7 of 8 - 5,122  ( -1.4%)
07/08  Iliad #8 of 8 - 5,067  ( -1.1%)
                      6 mnth  ( -3.4%)


283. MARVEL ADVENTURES HULK [All ages]
07/07  M.A. Hulk #1  - 11,394
08/07  M.A. Hulk #2  -  7,142  (-37.3%)
09/07  M.A. Hulk #3  -  5,790  (-18.9%)
10/07  M.A. Hulk #4  -  5,588  ( -3.5%)
11/07  M.A. Hulk #5  -  4,990  (-10.7%)
12/07  M.A. Hulk #6  -  4,862  ( -2.6%)
01/08  M.A. Hulk #7  -  4,653  ( -4.3%)
02/08  M.A. Hulk #8  -  4,533  ( -2.6%)
03/08  M.A. Hulk #9  -  4,394  ( -3.1%)
04/08  M.A. Hulk #10 -  4,645  ( +5.7%)
05/08  M.A. Hulk #11 -  4,686  ( +0.9%)
06/08  M.A. Hulk #12 -  4,716  ( +0.6%)
07/08  M.A. Hulk #13 -  5,037  ( +6.8%)
                       6 mnth  ( +8.3%)
                       1 year  (-55.8%)


289. LORDS OF AVALON: SWORD OF DARKNESS  [DBPro]
02/08  Sword of Darkness #1 of 6 - 14,284
03/08  Sword of Darkness #2 of 6 -  6,994 (-51.0%)
04/08  Sword of Darkness #3 of 6 -  6,161 (-11.9%)
05/08  Sword of Darkness #4 of 6 -  5,551 ( -9.9%)
06/08  Sword of Darkness #5 of 6 -  5,195 ( -6.4%)
07/08  Sword of Darkness #6 of 6 -  4,887 ( -5.9%)



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

+ 70.0% - Ms Marvel
+ 60.7% - Power Pack
+ 54.8% - She-Hulk
+ 46.3% - Wolverine
+ 44.0% - Uncanny X-Men
+ 15.1% - Avengers: The Initiative
+ 14.8% - New Warriors
+ 14.0% - Mighty Avengers
+  8.3% - Marvel Adventures Hulk
+  8.1% - Thunderbolts
+  2.9% - Astonishing X-Men
+  0.7% - Immortal Iron Fist
-  2.7% - Nova
-  3.3% - Ultimate X-Men
-  3.4% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
-  3.4% - Marvel Illustrated: The Iliad
-  4.4% - Marvel Adventures Avengers
-  5.0% - Punisher
-  6.0% - Ultimate Spider-Man
-  6.3% - Marvel Spotlight
-  6.4% - Amazing Spider-Girl
-  7.1% - Iron Man: Director of SHIELD
-  8.2% - Daredevil
-  8.4% - Wolverine: Origins
- 12.1% - Hulk Chronicles
- 13.2% - X-Men: First Class
- 14.1% - Ghost Rider
- 16.8% - Moon Knight
- 20.5% - Ultimate Fantastic Four
- 25.3% - Omega the Unknown
- 26.6% - Punisher War Journal
- 28.5% - Incredible Hercules
- 29.7% - Amazing Spider-Man
- 30.2% - Marvel Comics Presents
- 33.3% - X-Men: Legacy
- 34.7% - X-Factor
- 46.1% - Spider-Man: With Great Power
- 48.1% - Captain America
- 48.7% - New Exiles


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

+ 75.2% - Uncanny X-Men
+  8.6% - Power Pack
+  8.5% - Ms Marvel
+  5.7% - X-Factor
-  8.4% - Immortal Iron Fist
- 10.7% - Mighty Avengers
- 11.6% - New Avengers
- 11.6% - Captain America
- 12.4% - Punisher
- 17.1% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
- 19.0% - X-Men: Legacy
- 19.2% - New Exiles
- 19.5% - Amazing Spider-Girl
- 19.9% - Ultimate X-Men
- 22.0% - Marvel Adventures Avengers
- 26.8% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 27.5% - New Warriors
- 28.8% - Nova
- 30.9% - Ultimate Fantastic Four
- 31.9% - Wolverine
- 32.9% - Avengers: The Initiative
- 34.8% - Amazing Spider-Man
- 37.7% - X-Men: First Class
- 38.4% - Black Panther
- 41.6% - Dark Tower
- 51.2% - Incredible Hercules
- 51.5% - Iron Man
- 53.7% - Punisher War Journal
- 55.8% - Marvel Adventures Hulk
- 58.7% - Thor
- 61.7% - Ghost Rider
- 70.8% - Hulk Chronicles


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

+121.1% - Marvel Spotlight
+ 71.2% - Uncanny X-Men
+ 67.5% - Captain America
+ 22.1% - Power Pack
+ 20.6% - She-Hulk
+  6.9% - Incredible Hulk
+  6.1% - Ms Marvel
-  4.5% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
-  7.2% - Iron Man
- 11.9% - Punisher
- 12.7% - New Avengers
- 12.8% - Thunderbolts
- 15.4% - Wolverine
- 18.3% - Powers
- 20.6% - Daredevil
- 21.7% - X-Men: Legacy
- 22.8% - X-Factor
- 25.6% - New Exiles
- 27.9% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 32.0% - Ultimate X-Men
- 32.3% - Amazing Spider-Girl
- 39.3% - Amazing Spider-Man
- 39.8% - Marvel Adventures Avengers
- 51.5% - Black Panther
- 57.1% - Wolverine: Origins
- 58.5% - Ultimate Fantastic Four
- 75.2% - Ghost Rider


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

+ 81.6% - Thunderbolts
+ 66.8% - Uncanny X-Men
+ 16.2% - Wolverine
-  3.8% - Black Panther
-  5.8% - Amazing Spider-Man
-  6.0% - Incredible Hercules
-  9.4% - X-Men: Legacy
- 13.3% - Astonishing X-Men
- 17.9% - Daredevil
- 19.0% - Amazing Spider-Girl
- 19.6% - Punisher
- 22.7% - Squadron Supreme
- 27.4% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
- 28.1% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 28.3% - New Exiles
- 31.5% - New Avengers
- 44.9% - Ultimate X-Men
- 61.6% - Ultimate Fantastic Four


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

+132.0% - Thor
+ 97.2% - Captain America
+ 56.7% - Uncanny X-Men
+ 39.8% - She-Hulk
+ 33.7% - Wolverine
+ 21.2% - Incredible Hercules
+  3.0% - New Avengers
+  2.4% - Iron Man
- 14.4% - Astonishing X-Men
- 18.7% - Amazing Spider-Man
- 25.0% - X-Men: Legacy
- 25.8% - Daredevil
- 30.6% - Amazing Spider-Girl
- 34.3% - New Exiles
- 35.9% - Punisher
- 44.2% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 48.7% - Ultimate X-Men
- 53.2% - Powers
- 62.2% - Ultimate Fantastic Four


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

+174.1% - Thunderbolts
+149.7% - Thor
+ 74.2% - Captain America
+ 62.4% - Uncanny X-Men
+ 10.0% - Iron Man
-  1.8% - Wolverine
- 19.0% - Incredible Hercules
- 22.6% - Punisher
- 27.8% - Amazing Spider-Man
- 30.0% - X-Men: Legacy
- 33.5% - Amazing Spider-Girl
- 34.7% - Daredevil
- 40.0% - New Exiles
- 43.5% - Squadron Supreme
- 45.5% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 56.2% - Ultimate X-Men