Thanks to a successful performance of the four-part World War III blockbuster series, DC Comics’ overall and average periodical sales in the direct market received a much-needed boost in April. World War III ended up in the Top 20 in its entirety, suggesting that retailers treated the book as four extra issues of the series it grew out of, the weekly 52. Two other high-profile launches in the publisher’s April line-up yielded mixed results: The crossover storyline “The Lightning Saga” significantly increased sales on Justice Society of America, but didn’t seem to have much of an effect on Justice League of America numbers. Amazons Attack, the publisher’s latest “big event” miniseries and one of the two main pillars of DC’s mainstream line for the foreseeable future, debuted with decent but underwhelming sales, increasing the pressure on May’s Countdown to deliver.
Late books continue to be another major problem at DC. Batman, Green Lantern, SHAZAM: The Monster Society of Evil, Superman Confidential, Checkmate, Hawkgirl, Y: The Last Man, 100 Bullets and Deadman were all solicited for April, but failed to ship. A Doctor Fate series, originally solicited to debut in April as well, has been canceled and is apparently being retooled into a flip-book title. The schedule of Action Comics keeps generating question marks even after multiple revisions, and last-minute creative team and content changes across the line continue to be the norm. All told, the publisher’s line-up through summer 2007 looks like a construction site without a building plan right now. At DC’s Vertigo and WildStorm sub-labels, in the meantime, overall and average periodical sales were in decline again in April. See below for the details.
Thanks to Milton Griepp and ICv2.com for the permission to use their figures. An overview of ICv2.com’s estimates can be found here.
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2/5 - JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 04/2001: JLA #53 -- 68,603* 04/2002: JLA #65 -- 61,929* 04/2003: JLA #80 -- 60,141 04/2004: JLA #96 -- 70,377 [ 71,546] 04/2004: JLA #97 -- 68,170 [ 70,446] 04/2005: JLA #113 -- 64,002 -------------------------------------- 07/2006: Justice League #0 -- 162,378 (+118.4%) [169,199] 08/2006: Justice League #1 -- 212,581 (+ 30.9%) [246,891] 09/2006: Justice League #2 -- 143,412 (- 32.5%) [154,923] 10/2006: -- 11/2006: Justice League #3 -- 140,939 (- 1.7%) [143,310] 12/2006: Justice League #4 -- 136,709 (- 3.0%) [139,123] 12/2006: Justice League #5 -- 132,460 (- 3.1%) [133,924] 01/2007: -- 02/2007: -- 03/2006: Justice League #6 -- 130,099 (- 1.8%) [131,754] 04/2006: Justice League #7 -- 154,984 (+ 19.1%) 04/2006: Justice League #8 -- 130,365 (- 15.9%) ----------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : n.a. 2 years : +103.7%
Thanks to a hefty sales increase, DC’s best-selling title was only beaten by Marvel’s Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America in April. Justice League of America #7 was touted as a major issue, introducing a new team roster and featuring several format gimmicks, including a foldout four-page splash, three different cover editions (instead of the usual two; one out of the three was a 1-in-10 variant) and a higher page count and cover price. Even taking all those factors into consideration, however, a 24K boost is still quite impressive.
Issue #8 was the first part of a crossover with Justice Society of America, which, unusually, wasn’t advertised on the cover of either title. Surprisingly, the crossover didn’t increase sales from the book’s usual level around 130,000 units. There were two different cover editions, as usual, one of them a 1-in-10 variant. A third printing of issue #1 sold 8,538 units in April, while issue #6 sold another 1,655 copies. Despite the lack of an increase from the crossover, April was another successful month for the publisher’s only remaining title regularly selling beyond the 100,000 unit mark, all told.
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10 - JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA 04/2001: JSA #21 -- 39,299* 04/2002: JSA #35 -- 41,399* 04/2003: JSA #47 -- 42,187 04/2004: JSA #60 -- 42,824 04/2005: JSA #72 -- 43,472 --------------------------------------- 04/2006: JSA #84 -- 53,245 (+ 2.4%) 05/2006: JSA #85 -- 52,620 (- 1.2%) 06/2006: JSA #86 -- 50,338 (- 4.3%) 07/2006: JSA #87 -- 49,583 (- 1.5%) 08/2006: -- 09/2006: -- 10/2006: -- 11/2006: -- 12/2006: Justice Society #1 -- 102,990 (+107.7%) [108,140] 01/2007: Justice Society #2 -- 86,180 (- 16.3%) [ 92,459] 02/2007: Justice Society #3 -- 84,356 (- 2.1%) [ 86,014] 03/2007: Justice Society #4 -- 84,449 (+ 0.1%) [ 86,475] 04/2007: Justice Society #5 -- 98,069 (+ 16.1%) ----------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : + 84.2% 2 years : +125.6%
Unlike Justice League of America, the book sees a very handsome boost from the crossover. These are great numbers. (As usual, there was a 1-in-10 variant cover edition.)
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11/16/18/19 - 52 05/2006: 52 Week 1 -- 140,971 [143,611] 05/2006: 52 Week 2 -- 128,393 (- 8.9%) [130,704] 05/2006: 52 Week 3 -- 123,982 (- 3.4%) [126,913] 05/2006: 52 Week 4 -- 121,440 (- 2.1%) [125,297] 06/2006: 52 Week 5 -- 111,895 (- 7.9%) 06/2006: 52 Week 6 -- 110,028 (- 1.7%) [111,732] 06/2006: 52 Week 7 -- 110,188 (+ 0.2%) [112,618] 06/2006: 52 Week 8 -- 105,107 (- 4.6%) [108,775] 07/2006: 52 Week 9 -- 102,142 (- 2.8%) 07/2006: 52 Week 10 -- 100,779 (- 1.3%) 07/2006: 52 Week 11 -- 122,016 (+21.1%) [123,724] 07/2006: 52 Week 12 -- 98,667 (-19.1%) [102,362] 08/2006: 52 Week 13 -- 119,507 (+21.1%) 08/2006: 52 Week 14 -- 118,259 (- 1.4%) 08/2006: 52 Week 15 -- 119,411 (+ 1.0%) 08/2006: 52 Week 16 -- 117,472 (- 1.6%) [118,624] 08/2006: 52 Week 17 -- 116,637 (- 0.7%) [118,775] 09/2006: 52 Week 18 -- 111,830 (- 4.1%) 09/2006: 52 Week 19 -- 111,611 (- 0.2%) 09/2006: 52 Week 20 -- 111,099 (- 0.5%) 09/2006: 52 Week 21 -- 110,350 (- 0.7%) [111,986] 10/2006: 52 Week 22 -- 108,624 (- 1.6%) 10/2006: 52 Week 23 -- 107,962 (- 0.6%) 10/2006: 52 Week 24 -- 107,413 (- 0.5%) 10/2006: 52 Week 25 -- 106,332 (- 1.0%) 11/2006: 52 Week 26 -- 104,614 (- 1.6%) 11/2006: 52 Week 27 -- 104,265 (- 0.3%) 11/2006: 52 Week 28 -- 103,529 (- 0.7%) 11/2006: 52 Week 29 -- 102,699 (- 0.8%) 11/2006: 52 Week 30 -- 102,576 (- 0.1%) 12/2006: 52 Week 31 -- 100,596 (- 1.9%) 12/2006: 52 Week 32 -- 99,634 (- 1.0%) 12/2006: 52 Week 33 -- 99,441 (- 0.2%) 12/2006: 52 Week 34 -- 98,379 (- 1.1%) 01/2007: 52 Week 35 -- 105,095 (+ 6.8%) 01/2007: 52 Week 36 -- 96,815 (- 7.9%) 01/2007: 52 Week 37 -- 96,612 (- 0.2%) 01/2007: 52 Week 38 -- 95,945 (- 6.9%) 01/2007: 52 Week 39 -- 94,865 (- 1.1%) [ 96,545] 02/2007: 52 Week 40 -- 94,694 (- 0.2%) 02/2007: 52 Week 41 -- 94,486 (- 0.2%) 02/2007: 52 Week 42 -- 94,220 (- 0.3%) 02/2007: 52 Week 43 -- 93,505 (- 0.8%) 03/2007: 52 Week 44 -- 94,246 (+ 0.8%) 03/2007: 52 Week 45 -- 94,085 (- 0.2%) 03/2007: 52 Week 46 -- 93,513 (- 0.6%) 03/2007: 52 Week 47 -- 92,676 (- 0.9%) [ 94,151] 04/2007: 52 Week 48 -- 94,715 (+ 2.2%) 04/2007: 52 Week 49 -- 94,681 (- 0.0%) 04/2007: 52 Week 50 -- 97,073 (+ 2.5%) 04/2007: 52 Week 51 -- 94,934 (- 2.2%) ---------------- 6 months: -11.4%
Sales were nudged slightly upwards again in April; as for whether the nudging was due to the impending finale or the anniversary issue or the World War III event spun off of Week 50 or all of the above — well, take your pick. Either way, it’s safe to say that 52 is maintaining significantly higher numbers than anyone predicted right through to its final issue. There’s no doubt that the weekly follow-up series Countdown, which launched in May, will bring in equally high or higher numbers early on. Keeping them that way is another matter entirely, of course, and I’m rather skeptical about DC’s capability to repeat the success of 52. Also, unlike 52, Countdown won’t be largely self-contained, but will instead spawn tie-in issues across the line, which adds another dimension of expectations it will have to live up to.
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13/14/15/17 - WORLD WAR III 04/2007: Part 1: Call to Arms -- 95,452 04/2007: Part 2: The Valiant -- 95,199 (-0.3%) 04/2007: Part 3: Hell Is for Heroes -- 94,788 (-0.4%) 04/2007: Part 4: United We Stand -- 95,171 (+0.4%)
By all accounts, World War III was assembled rather spontaneously as a means to tie up a bunch of plot threads left hanging from last year’s “One Year Later” stunt. (Originally, 52 was meant to deal with those, but somewhere along the way, the writers changed their mind and did something else instead.) Given that — unlike with 52 — there are no big name creators involved in World War III, this is a great performance. There’s obviously a lot of interest in what happened in the “missing year” of the DC Universe. DC can certainly be perfectly happy with these numbers, but they’re probably sorry they weren’t able to use that interest to the advantage of their ongoing titles, many of which have been floundering over the past year.
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20 - JUSTICE 04/2006: Justice #5 of 12 -- 110,157 (- 0.3%) [126,706] 05/2006: -- 06/2006: Justice #6 of 12 -- 110,188 (+ 0.0%) 07/2006: -- 08/2006: Justice #7 of 12 -- 106,866 (- 3.0%) [108,821] 09/2006: -- 10/2006: Justice #8 of 12 -- 103,829 (- 2.8%) 11/2006: -- 12/2006: Justice #9 of 12 -- 98,887 (- 4.8%) 01/2007: -- 02/2007: Justice #10 of 12 -- 94,960 (- 4.0%) [ 96,473] 03/2007: -- 04/2007: Justice #11 of 12 -- 94,000 (- 1.0%) ---------------- 6 months: -94.7% 1 year : -14.7%
The book is holding up nicely. With Justice, another surprise hit is drawing to a close. It’s going to be hard to replace.
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21 - ALL STAR SUPERMAN 04/2006: -- 05/2006: -- 06/2006: All Star Superman #4 -- 111,420 (+ 0.8%) 07/2006: -- 08/2006: All Star Superman #5 -- 109,746 (- 1.5%) 09/2006: -- 10/2006: -- 11/2006: -- 12/2006: -- 01/2007: All Star Superman #6 -- 98,802 (-10.0%) 02/2007: -- 03/2007: -- 04/2007: All Star Superman #7 -- 92,295 (- 6.7%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : n.a.
All Star Superman sales continue to drop. In fairness, it’s still the best-selling title starring the character by far. But then, the bar for sales in the direct market has been raised significantly in the last few years, at least as far as the upper end of the chart is concerned. While the All Star titles, as a line of books, have lacked a clear mission statement from the beginning, the one point they were driving home has always been that they’re essentially the publisher’s best shot: their top-flight characters presented in an accessible fashion by their top-flight creators. Bearing this in mind, a Superman comic by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely which doesn’t manage to crack the Top 20 can’t exactly be rated as a success.
At this stage, plainly, the line looks like a disaster. DC have been incapable of shipping the books most of the time; new titles were announced ages ago but failed to materialize; and, perhaps most significantly, the publisher chose to point the spotlights elsewhere and focus on promoting sprawling crossover events steeped in decades worth of backstory immediately, instead of using the All Star concept of self-contained, easily accessible titles as a role model for the rest of its line, as Marvel successfully did with their Ultimate line seven years ago. As a result, the All Star titles garner respectable sales and trigger the occasional rave review or outrage whenever they happen to come out. But they seem to be forgotten immediately after, carrying no impact whatsoever on the rest of DC’s line-up. In retrospect, the publisher seems to have abandoned the All Star line before it was even launched.
By the way, All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder #5 shipped in May 2007, a full year after the previous issue. Apparently, the two All Star books are now on bi-monthly schedules, alternating through August at least. Not that there couldn’t have been plenty of time over the past year to accrue enough material for this goal to appear realistic, mind you. But given the track record of both the publisher in general and this line-up of titles and creators in particular, it still seems like a highly optimistic schedule. Who knows, though; maybe we’re in for a surprise.
And now, we’ll have to jump down 20,000 units to get to the next DC title in line. In case you were wondering, the two titles selling in-between All Star Superman‘s No. 21 and Superman/Batman‘s No. 24 on the April chart are Marvel’s Uncanny X-Men and X-Men, which sold an estimated 81,764 and 74,841 copies, respectively. For whatever reason, the range between 75K and 90K wasn’t very popular in April.
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24/27 - SUPERMAN/BATMAN 04/2004: Superman/Batman #9 -- 145,072 [156,539] 04/2005: Superman/Batman #18 -- 115,305 04/2005: Superman/Batman #19 -- 114,258 [150,464] --------------------------------------- 04/2006: -- 05/2006: Superman/Batman #25 -- 103,702 (+ 2.4%) [110,845] 05/2006: Superman/Batman #26 -- 118,821 (+14.6%) [130,077] 06/2006: Superman/Batman #27 -- 95,717 (-19.4%) 07/2006: Superman/Batman #28 -- 92,603 (- 3.2%) 08/2006: Superman/Batman #29 -- 90,665 (- 2.1%) 09/2006: -- 10/2006: -- 11/2006: Superman/Batman #30 -- 84,008 (- 7.3%) 12/2006: Superman/Batman #31 -- 81,716 (- 2.7%) 01/2007: -- 02/2007: -- 03/2007: Superman/Batman #32 -- 77,905 (- 4.7%) 04/2007: Superman/Batman #33 -- 74,807 (- 4.0%) 04/2007: Superman/Batman #34 -- 71,278 (- 4.7%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : n.a. 2 years : -36.4%
The book still isn’t back on its feet following writer Jeph Loeb’s departure back in May 2006. Issue #34 was the beginning of a new storyline with art by Pat Lee, but judging from the ongoing sales decline, Lee’s name isn’t quite the draw it used to be. Presumably in a move to get a grip on the book’s erratic schedule, the new arc will be handed over to a guest writer halfway through, before another creative team takes over with issue #37, in an arc promoted by variant cover editions — nothing unusual, certainly, but in this case, it does look a bit desperate.
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33 - ACTION COMICS 04/2001: Action Comics #778 -- 34,959* 04/2002: Action Comics #790 -- 34,008* 04/2003: Action Comics #802 -- 32,126 04/2004: Action Comics #814 -- 56,714 04/2005: Action Comics #826 -- 54,769 [58,294] ------------------------------------- 04/2006: -- 05/2006: Action Comics #838 -- 62,702 (+12.3%) 05/2006: Action Comics #839 -- 61,898 (- 1.3%) [64,278] 06/2006: Action Comics #840 -- 61,786 (- 0.2%) [63,676] 07/2006: Action Comics #841 -- 58,657 (- 5.1%) 08/2006: Action Comics #842 -- 57,964 (- 1.2%) 09/2006: Action Comics #843 -- 56,084 (- 3.2%) 10/2006: Action Comics #844 -- 78,869 (+40.6%) [88,290] 11/2006: Action Comics #845 -- 66,742 (-15.4%) [71,135] 12/2006: -- 01/2007: -- 02/2007: Action Comics #846 -- 64,554 (- 3.3%) [66,349] 03/2007: Action Comics #847 -- 64,679 (+ 0.2%) 04/2007: Action Comics #848 -- 62,216 (- 3.8%) ---------------- 6 months: -21.1% 1 year : n.a. 2 years : +13.6%
Another month, another fill-in issue of Action Comics. “Last Son,” the much-hyped story by Geoff Johns, Richard Donner and Adam Kubert, we recall, is hopelessly late and will therefore be released in bits and pieces, not being finished until next year’s Action Comics Annual #11. Hence, among other steps, the fourth chapter of “Last Son” first solicited to appear in issue #847, has been pushed back first to issue #848, then to June’s issue #851, followed by another string of fill-ins before normal service was going to resume with issue #855 in August. That, at least, was the result of multiple schedule revisions; it wasn’t an ideal solution, but at least it seemed DC had chosen — and managed — to get the book back on schedule. All’s well that ends well, right?
But hold on: As per DC’s website, Action Comics #851 is no longer supposed to come out in June. It’s been pushed back to July. So, despite the multiple revisions made to the book’s schedule over the last few months, it now looks like there will be two issues of Action Comics in May, none in June, two in July and three in August. Unless, of course, they decide to revise their plans one more time. If nothing else, this fiasco certainly illustrates why they’re not expecting Kubert to be able to finish the story until sometime in 2008.
Now, please let me be clear about something. Adam Kubert has never been a particularly speedy artist, but he’s also never gone off the rails quite as spectacularly as in this case. There may be a perfectly good reason for the delays, either personal or due to the unusual requirements of the story at hand, such as — I could imagine — the 3-D section stunt. It happens. The reason why I’m flagging up the book’s schedule and the publisher’s latest revisions thereof every month isn’t that I want to mock the creators. It’s that DC’s way of dealing with the problem — a problem which isn’t by any means new, or restricted to this title — has long since passed the point where it’s started to look unprofessional and downright ridiculous.
DC have taken their time, but they’ve made it clear by now that it’s their priority to get their titles out, even if storylines will be interrupted or left unfinished for the time being. Unfortunately, they still don’t quite seem to have a handle on the situation, if the incessant schedule and content revisions are any indication. At this stage, plainly, they owe it to the retailers counting on them to produce books as solicited to come forward and explain what on earth is going on. They owe it to their creators and to themselves, for that matter, unless they enjoy looking like a bunch of incompetents and slackers. Simply pushing back a story one more time and soliciting one more fill-in without official comment won’t do anymore. If there’s a good reason for the book’s woes, the time has come to share it, or people will draw their own conclusions.
Back to the numbers.
The reason why there still was no significant drop-off for the fill-ins as of April is not shell shock on the retailers’ part. It’s because DC decided, following the content changes, to first cancel all orders on Action Comics #848 — initially promoted through various gimmicks which likely increased orders — and then match them to those on Action Comics #846. In other words: Retailers, unless they made use of the so-called “final order cut-off date” and adjusted their orders, automatically “ordered” as many units of the filler issue #848 as they had ordered of issue #846, which featured the popular story and creators. Theoretically, there’s no harm, since issue #848 is to be made returnable due to all the changes. Still, it’s a questionable practice, since there’s plainly no way for the demand to remain the same, and DC are well aware of that. And either way, somebody will have to pay for the shipping of the unsold units; traditionally — and feel free to correct me if I’m wrong — that’s the retailers.
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34 - TEEN TITANS 04/2004: Teen Titans #10 -- 68,359 04/2005: Teen Titans #23 -- 66,802 [68,675] ---------------------------------- 04/2006: Teen Titans #34 -- 82,503 (+22.8%) [90,051] 05/2006: Teen Titans #35 -- 72,954 (-11.6%) 05/2006: Teen Titans #36 -- 71,486 (- 2.0%) 06/2006: -- 07/2006: Teen Titans #37 -- 71,263 (- 0.3%) 08/2006: Teen Titans #38 -- 69,232 (- 2.9%) 09/2006: Teen Titans #39 -- 65,969 (- 4.7%) 10/2006: -- 11/2006: Teen Titans #40 -- 64,176 (- 2.7%) 11/2006: Teen Titans #41 -- 61,714 (- 3.8%) 12/2006: Teen Titans #42 -- 60,165 (- 2.5%) 01/2007: Teen Titans #43 -- 60,290 (+ 0.2%) [62,560] 02/2007: -- 03/2007: Teen Titans #44 -- 61,572 (+ 2.1%) 04/2007: Teen Titans #45 -- 61,051 (- 0.9%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : -26.0% 2 years : - 8.6%
Sales are sticking to 61K. A new regular creative team was supposed to take over with issue #47, but DC have since changed their plans and replaced the replacements, so the initial replacements will only provide a fill-in arc until the replacement replacements take over in issue #50. Keeping track of creative changes at DC is exhausting.
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35/38 - WONDER WOMAN 04/2001: Wonder Woman #169 -- 26,588* 04/2002: Wonder Woman #180 -- 26,903* 04/2003: Wonder Woman #191 -- 25,833 04/2004: Wonder Woman #203 -- 30,418 04/2005: Wonder Woman #215 -- 28,977 [ 30,436] ------------------------------------- 06/2006: Wonder Woman #1 -- 132,580 (+190.2%) [139,562] 07/2006: -- 08/2006: Wonder Woman #2 -- 84,618 (- 36.2%) [ 87,276] 09/2006: -- 10/2006: -- 11/2006: Wonder Woman #3 -- 76,998 (- 9.0%) 12/2006: -- 01/2007: -- 02/2007: Wonder Woman #4 -- 69,860 (- 9.3%) 03/2007: Wonder Woman #5 -- 64,414 (- 7.8%) 03/2007: Wonder Woman #6 -- 62,458 (- 3.0%) 04/2007: Wonder Woman #7 -- 60,168 (- 3.7%) 04/2007: Wonder Woman #8 -- 58,772 (- 2.3%) ----------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : n.a. 2 years : +105.2%
The numbers appear to be stabilizing at last. It’s hard to tell, though, since issue #8 was promoted as a crossover with Amazons Attack.
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37 - THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD 02/2007: The Brave and the Bold #1 -- 92,091 [98,266] 03/2007: The Brave and the Bold #2 -- 64,357 (-30.1%) [67,143] 04/2007: The Brave and the Bold #3 -- 59,211 (- 8.0%)
The book is finding its level quickly now, while issues #2 and #1 made the chart again in April, selling another 2,786 and 1,756 units, respectively. It’s not the top seller the debut issue seemed to suggest, but The Brave and the Bold seems to be settling into a very comfortable niche upwards of 50K.
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41 - DETECTIVE COMICS 04/2001: Detective Comics #757 -- 38,409* 04/2002: Detective Comics #769 -- 48,459* 04/2003: Detective Comics #781 -- 38,236 04/2004: Detective Comics #793 -- 34,800 04/2005: Detective Comics #805 -- 39,077 ---------------------------------------- 04/2006: Detective Comics #818 -- 60,440 (- 2.9%) [68,189] 05/2006: Detective Comics #819 -- 65,800 (+ 8.9%) 06/2006: Detective Comics #820 -- 65,988 (+ 0.3%) 07/2006: Detective Comics #821 -- 67,345 (+ 2.1%) 08/2006: Detective Comics #822 -- 66,372 (- 1.5%) 09/2006: Detective Comics #823 -- 64,215 (- 3.3%) 10/2006: Detective Comics #824 -- 62,431 (- 2.8%) 11/2006: Detective Comics #825 -- 58,940 (- 5.6%) 12/2006: Detective Comics #826 -- 59,657 (+ 1.2%) 12/2006: Detective Comics #827 -- 55,031 (- 7.8%) 01/2007: -- 02/2007: Detective Comics #828 -- 55,206 (+ 0.3%) 03/2007: Detective Comics #829 -- 52,943 (- 4.1%) 03/2007: Detective Comics #830 -- 52,395 (- 1.0%) 04/2007: Detective Comics #831 -- 56,284 (+ 7.4%) ---------------- 6 months: - 9.9% 1 year : - 6.9% 2 years : +44.0%
Unusually, the numbers not only rebound completely after March’s fill-in two-parter, but even outsell the regular creative team’s last couple of issues. It certainly seems people like the book. Unfortunately, May’s issue #832 was a fill-in as well, and another has been solicited for issues #835-836.
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43 - SUPERMAN 04/2001: Superman #169 -- 38,718* 04/2002: Superman #181 -- 37,883* 04/2003: Superman #192 -- 34,638 04/2004: Superman #204 -- 231,411 [244,120] 04/2005: Superman #215 -- 112,593 [116,198] --------------------------------- 04/2006: Superman #651 -- 73,355 (+ 11.8%) 05/2006: Superman #652 -- 70,458 (- 4.0%) 06/2006: Superman #653 -- 69,079 (- 2.0%) 07/2006: Superman #654 -- 69,526 (+ 0.7%) 08/2006: Superman #655 -- 66,976 (- 3.7%) 09/2006: Superman #656 -- 64,288 (- 4.0%) 10/2006: -- 11/2006: Superman #657 -- 62,327 (- 3.1%) 12/2006: -- 01/2007: Superman #658 -- 60,682 (- 2.6%) 02/2007: Superman #659 -- 58,258 (- 4.0%) 03/2007: Superman #660 -- 57,169 (- 1.9%) 04/2007: Superman #661 -- 55,738 (- 2.5%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : -24.0% 2 years : -50.5%
And another Superman title biding its time with fill-ins while sales are slowly declining. Originally solicited for February as the the beginning of a new arc by writer Kurt Busiek and artist Carlos Pacheco, issue #661 now contains a different story by different artists — albeit one also written by Busiek. The story initially solicited for the issue was released in May, as issue #662. Some confusion remains, however: Although the new Busiek/Pacheco arc has been described as a five-part storyline, issues #665-666, according to their solicitation copy, apparently contain one-shot stories drawn by other artists, leaving it unclear if or when DC intend to publish the two remaining chapters of the story in this case.
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44 - AMAZONS ATTACK 04/2007: Amazons Attack #1 of 6 -- 55,445
DC heavily pushed writer Will Pfeifer and artist Pete Woods’ Amazons Attack limited series, calling it “the first major comics event of 2007,” invoking connections to Infinite Crisis and assuring the audience that it was “a story that will have devastating ramifications both in the present and all the way into 2008.” Well, not that 55K is a bad number for a Wonder Woman spin-off without superstar creators attached. But it’s more than a little bit disappointing as far as supposed blockbuster stories are concerned. With numerous tie-ins across the publisher’s line coming up, this doesn’t bode well for DC’s plans. Unless there’s been a significant misjudgment on the retailers’ part here, it seems the weight of their whole mainstream line of titles now rests on Countdown.
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47 - SUPERGIRL 04/2001: Supergirl #57 -- 20,228* 04/2002: Supergirl #69 -- 19,246* --------------------------------- 04/2006: -- 05/2006: Supergirl #6 -- 102,860 (- 0.2%) 06/2006: -- 07/2006: Supergirl #7 -- 85,175 (-17.2%) 07/2006: Supergirl #8 -- 76,942 (- 9.7%) 08/2006: Supergirl #9 -- 74,252 (- 3.5%) 09/2006: Supergirl #10 -- 67,358 (- 9.3%) 10/2006: -- 11/2006: Supergirl #11 -- 62,544 (- 7.2%) 12/2006: Supergirl #12 -- 59,819 (- 4.4%) 12/2006: Supergirl #13 -- 56,648 (- 5.3%) 01/2007: -- 02/2007: Supergirl #14 -- 52,977 (- 6.5%) 03/2007: Supergirl #15 -- 51,083 (- 3.6%) 04/2007: Supergirl #16 -- 51,641 (+ 1.1%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : n.a.
Issue #16 was solicited as a resolution to major plot points and featured the arrival of a new artist, so perhaps that explains the slight increase. However, if you’re looking for stability you won’t find it just yet: The creative team is going to be exchanged once again with issue #20, which will also tie in with Amazons Attack. Anyway, Supergirl is no longer the sales juggernaut it was under writer Jeph Loeb, but it’s still selling decently enouth, and at least sales are no longer in a free-fall.
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49 - FLASH: THE FASTEST MAN ALIVE 04/2001: Flash #173 -- 26,828* 04/2002: Flash #185 -- 27,320* 04/2003: Flash #197 -- 30,886 04/2004: Flash #209 -- 47,543 [ 51,233] 04/2005: Flash #221 -- 46,471 [ 47,704] ---------------------------------- 06/2006: Flash: FMA #1 -- 120,404 (+196.8%) [126,741] 07/2006: Flash: FMA #2 -- 77,487 (- 35.6%) [ 82,501] 08/2006: Flash: FMA #3 -- 70,633 (- 8.9%) [ 72,067] 09/2006: Flash: FMA #4 -- 66,663 (- 5.6%) 10/2006: Flash: FMA #5 -- 61,576 (- 7.6%) 11/2006: Flash: FMA #6 -- 56,789 (- 7.8%) 12/2006: Flash: FMA #7 -- 53,600 (- 5.6%) 01/2007: Flash: FMA #8 -- 50,967 (- 4.9%) 02/2007: Flash: FMA #9 -- 47,214 (- 7.4%) 03/2007: Flash: FMA #10 -- 46,133 (- 2.3%) 04/2007: Flash: FMA #11 -- 46,963 (+ 1.8%) ---------------- 6 months: -23.7% 1 year : n.a. 2 years : + 1.1%
Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #11 was initially solicited without any variant cover editions and with art by Ron Adrian. As so often lately, however, DC subsequently changed their minds, announcing that new regular artist Tony S. Daniel was beginning his run an issue earlier than planned, and shipping the book with a 50/50 variant cover edition.
By the way, don’t be surprised if the book’s sales increase drastically for issues #13 through #15: In a rather unusual move, DC are offering retailers to make the issue fully returnable if they order twice as many copies of these issues as they did of #10. In a similar promotional effort, DC recently offered to make all orders for the June-shipping debut issue of The Highwaymen, a new WildStorm limited series, fully returnable, provided retailers double their initial orders for the book. While those incentives can’t help but look a bit desperate, they’re certainly an interesting experiment. If nothing else, full returnability is a good demonstration of confidence in the material. Whether or not the artificial sales boosts will have any longer-term effect on sales, I suppose we’re about to find out.
Either way, it seems pretty clear that DC have recognized that there are fundamental problems with Flash at present, and that they’ll have to go beyond their usual bag of tricks to fix them, in terms of content as well as sales incentives.
—–
60 - BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL 12/2006: Batman Confidential #1 -- 61,119 01/2007: Batman Confidential #2 -- 47,451 (-22.4%) 02/2007: Batman Confidential #3 -- 41,109 (-13.4%) 03/2007: Batman Confidential #4 -- 38,735 (- 5.8%) 04/2007: Batman Confidential #5 -- 36,219 (- 6.5%)
The numbers aren’t bottoming out yet, which is a bad sign for the book’s long-term performance. The schedule of its sister title Superman Confidential, meanwhile, is in flux. The book missed its shipping date in April and now apparently won’t return until July.
—–
62 - NIGHTWING ANNUAL 04/2007: Nightwing Annual #2 -- 35,346
It’s telling for the current state of DC’s mainstream line that an annual containing a story about what happened to the protagonist “one year ago” outsells the regular title.
—–
64 - GREEN LANTERN CORPS 06/2006: Green Lantern Corps #1 -- 76,686 (+27.6%) 07/2006: Green Lantern Corps #2 -- 56,886 (-25.8%) 08/2006: Green Lantern Corps #3 -- 51,485 (- 9.5%) 09/2006: Green Lantern Corps #4 -- 46,619 (- 9.5%) 10/2006: Green Lantern Corps #5 -- 43,546 (- 6.6%) 11/2006: Green Lantern Corps #6 -- 41,089 (- 5.6%) 12/2006: Green Lantern Corps #7 -- 38,737 (- 5.7%) 01/2007: Green Lantern Corps #8 -- 36,924 (- 4.7%) 02/2007: Green Lantern Corps #9 -- 34,897 (- 5.5%) 03/2007: Green Lantern Corps #10 -- 34,227 (- 1.9%) 03/2007: Green Lantern Corps #11 -- 33,506 (- 2.1%) ---------------- 6 months: -23.1%
The book is settling into a slow decline. A crossover with the main title is on the horizon.
—–
68 - TRIALS OF SHAZAM 08/2006: Trials of SHAZAM #1 of 12 -- 50,621 [53,471] 09/2006: Trials of SHAZAM #2 of 12 -- 41,156 (-18.7%) [43,853] 10/2006: Trials of SHAZAM #3 of 12 -- 38,395 (- 6.7%) 11/2006: -- 12/2006: Trials of SHAZAM #4 of 12 -- 38,029 (- 1.0%) 01/2007: -- 02/2007: Trials of SHAZAM #5 of 12 -- 34,614 (- 9.0%) 03/2007: -- 04/2007: Trials of SHAZAM #6 of 12 -- 32,875 (- 5.0%) ---------------- 6 months: -14.4%
Declining. They’re expecting the book to come out monthly again starting in June.
—–
70 - NIGHTWING 04/2001: Nightwing #56 -- 35,348* 04/2002: Nightwing #68 -- 43,068* 04/2003: Nightwing #80 -- 29,508 04/2004: Nightwing #92 -- 29,555 04/2005: Nightwing #107 -- 38,061 --------------------------------- 04/2006: Nightwing #119 -- 46,336 (+ 9.0%) 05/2006: Nightwing #120 -- 46,076 (- 0.6%) 06/2006: Nightwing #121 -- 44,974 (- 2.4%) 07/2006: Nightwing #122 -- 42,542 (- 5.4%) 08/2006: Nightwing #123 -- 40,111 (- 5.7%) 09/2006: Nightwing #124 -- 38,251 (- 4.6%) 10/2006: Nightwing #125 -- 38,470 (+ 0.6%) 11/2006: Nightwing #126 -- 36,145 (- 6.0%) 12/2006: Nightwing #127 -- 34,889 (- 3.5%) 01/2007: Nightwing #128 -- 33,930 (- 2.8%) 02/2007: Nightwing #129 -- 32,651 (- 3.8%) 03/2007: Nightwing #130 -- 31,788 (- 2.6%) 04/2007: Nightwing #131 -- 31,530 (- 0.8%) ---------------- 6 months: -18.0% 1 year : -32.0% 2 years : -17.2%
It seems to be finding its level around 30K.
—–
71/72 - SUPERGIRL AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES 04/2001: Legion Worlds #1 -- 21,955* 04/2002: Legion #7 -- 25,113* 04/2003: Legion #19 -- 23,214 04/2004: Legion #32 -- 24,608 04/2005: Legion of SH #5 -- 41,664 --------------------------------------- 04/2006: Supergirl & LoSH #17 -- 44,827 (- 5.5%) [47,724] 05/2006: Supergirl & LoSH #18 -- 45,520 (+ 1.6%) 06/2006: Supergirl & LoSH #19 -- 43,918 (- 3.5%) 07/2006: Supergirl & LoSH #20 -- 41,679 (- 5.1%) 08/2006: Supergirl & LoSH #21 -- 39,852 (- 4.4%) 09/2006: Supergirl & LoSH #22 -- 36,735 (- 7.8%) 10/2006: Supergirl & LoSH #23 -- 41,554 (+ 13.1%) 11/2006: Supergirl & LoSH #24 -- 33,985 (- 18.2%) 12/2006: Supergirl & LoSH #25 -- 33,288 (- 2.1%) 01/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #26 -- 32,342 (- 2.8%) 02/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #27 -- 31,387 (- 3.0%) 03/2007: -- 04/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #28 -- 31,525 (+ 0.4%) 04/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #29 -- 30,906 (- 2.0%) ---------------- 6 months: -24.9% 1 year : -30.4% 2 years : -25.1%
Another title that appears to be under construction. Contrary to the solicitations, issue #29 was a hasty fill-in, and the regular creative team of writer Mark Waid and artist Barry Kitson have ended their run with issue #30, six months earlier than anticipated, due to the latter signing an exclusive contract with Marvel. Sales seem to be bottoming out around the 30,000 unit mark, at any rate.
—–
74 - OUTSIDERS ANNUAL 04/2007: Outsiders Annual #1 -- 30,742
Another special filling gaps left by “One Year Later,” selling slightly below the mother title (which was on hiatus in April, by the way). The numbers are perfectly alright for this sort of thing.
—–
76 - GREEN ARROW 04/2001: Green Arrow #3 -- 64,356* 04/2002: Green Arrow #14 -- 70,639* 04/2003: Green Arrow #23 -- 55,280 04/2003: Green Arrow #24 -- 53,565 04/2004: Green Arrow #37 -- 34,124 04/2005: Green Arrow #49 -- 31,403 ---------------------------------- 04/2006: Green Arrow #61 -- 35,993 (- 5.2%) [40,621] 05/2006: Green Arrow #62 -- 39,185 (+ 8.9%) 06/2006: Green Arrow #63 -- 37,803 (- 3.5%) 07/2006: Green Arrow #64 -- 36,148 (- 4.4%) 08/2006: Green Arrow #65 -- 35,705 (- 1.2%) 09/2006: Green Arrow #66 -- 33,793 (- 5.4%) 10/2006: Green Arrow #67 -- 32,583 (- 3.6%) 11/2006: Green Arrow #68 -- 32,135 (- 1.4%) 12/2006: Green Arrow #69 -- 32,234 (+ 0.3%) 01/2007: Green Arrow #70 -- 31,798 (- 1.4%) 02/2007: Green Arrow #71 -- 31,470 (- 1.0%) 03/2007: Green Arrow #72 -- 31,144 (- 1.0%) 04/2007: Green Arrow #73 -- 30,652 (- 1.6%) ---------------- 6 months: - 5.9% 1 year : -14.8% 2 years : - 2.4%
The book is in a very slow decline. It’s been one of DC’s more stable performers lately, but it’s nonetheless canceled with issue #75, to be replaced with a “Year One” limited series.
—–
79 - BIRDS OF PREY 04/2001: Birds of Prey #30 -- 24,179* 04/2002: Birds of Prey #42 -- 26,360* 04/2003: Birds of Prey #54 -- 23,521 04/2004: Birds of Prey #66 -- 31,525 04/2005: Birds of Prey #81 -- 29,832 ------------------------------------- 04/2006: Birds of Prey #93 -- 34,404 (- 6.5%) 05/2006: Birds of Prey #94 -- 34,905 (+ 1.5%) 06/2006: Birds of Prey #95 -- 33,954 (- 2.7%) 07/2006: Birds of Prey #96 -- 32,219 (- 5.1%) 08/2006: Birds of Prey #97 -- 31,578 (- 2.0%) 09/2006: Birds of Prey #98 -- 32,715 (+ 3.6%) 10/2006: Birds of Prey #99 -- 30,385 (- 7.1%) 11/2006: Birds of Prey #100 -- 34,607 (+13.9%) 12/2006: Birds of Prey #101 -- 29,825 (-13.8%) 01/2007: Birds of Prey #102 -- 29,043 (- 2.6%) 02/2007: Birds of Prey #103 -- 28,327 (- 2.5%) 03/2007: Birds of Prey #104 -- 28,464 (+ 0.5%) 04/2007: Birds of Prey #105 -- 28,328 (- 0.5%) ---------------- 6 months: - 6.8% 1 year : -17.7% 2 years : - 5.0%
Sticking to 28K. A creative team change is around the corner.
—–
81 - ROBIN 04/2001: Robin #89 -- 26,576* 04/2002: Robin #101 -- 29,841* 04/2003: Robin #113 -- 22,663 04/2004: Robin #125 -- 32,923 [35,591] 04/2005: Robin #137 -- 30,798 ----------------------------- 04/2006: Robin #149 -- 37,173 (+ 1.2%) 05/2006: Robin #150 -- 41,417 (+11.4%) 06/2006: Robin #151 -- 38,921 (- 6.0%) 07/2006: Robin #152 -- 37,466 (- 3.7%) 08/2006: Robin #153 -- 36,608 (- 2.3%) 09/2006: Robin #154 -- 34,387 (- 6.1%) 10/2006: Robin #155 -- 32,951 (- 4.2%) 11/2006: Robin #156 -- 31,682 (- 3.9%) 12/2006: Robin #157 -- 30,556 (- 3.6%) 01/2007: Robin #158 -- 29,464 (- 3.6%) 02/2007: Robin #159 -- 28,210 (- 4.3%) 03/2007: Robin #160 -- 27,659 (- 2.0%) 04/2007: Robin #161 -- 27,180 (- 1.7%) ---------------- 6 months: -17.5% 1 year : -26.9% 2 years : -11.8%
The numbers are settling into a standard decline.
—–
83 - FABLES (Vertigo) 04/2003: Fables #12 -- 24,929 04/2004: Fables #24 -- 25,464 04/2005: Fables #36 -- 24,975 ----------------------------- 04/2006: Fables #48 -- 24,476 (+0.8%) 05/2006: Fables #49 -- 24,444 (-0.1%) 06/2006: Fables #50 -- 26,210 (+7.2%) 07/2006: Fables #51 -- 25,087 (-4.3%) 08/2006: Fables #52 -- 25,378 (+1.2%) 09/2006: Fables #53 -- 25,388 (+0.0%) 10/2006: Fables #54 -- 25,534 (+0.6%) 11/2006: Fables #55 -- 25,635 (+0.4%) 12/2006: Fables #56 -- 25,892 (+1.0%) 01/2007: Fables #57 -- 25,744 (-0.6%) 02/2007: -- 03/2007: Fables #58 -- 26,065 (+1.3%) 03/2007: Fables #59 -- 25,815 (-1.0%) 04/2007: Fables #60 -- 26,048 (+0.9%) --------------- 6 months: +2.0% 1 year : +6.4% 2 years : +4.3%
Sales are sticking to 26K. Vertigo could use more titles like Fables, especially given that Y: The Last Man — which missed its April release date and is now on a bi-monthly schedule — is going to end very soon.
—–
87 - THE SPIRIT 11/2006: Batman/The Spirit -- 35,541 [39,666] 12/2006: The Spirit #1 -- 34,558 (- 2.8%) [36,900] 01/2007: The Spirit #2 -- 27,245 (-21.2%) 02/2007: The Spirit #3 -- 25,516 (- 6.4%) 03/2007: The Spirit #4 -- 24,383 (- 4.4%) 04/2007: The Spirit #5 -- 23,887 (- 2.0%)
The book continues to bottom out very nicely. These numbers aren’t spectacular, of course, but they’re perfectly alright for this type of thing.
—–
91 - ASTRO CITY: THE DARK AGE (WildStorm) 04/2001: -- 04/2002: -- 04/2003: Local Heroes #2 of 5 -- 35,786 04/2004: -- 04/2005: -- ---------------------------------------------- 06/2005: The Dark Age/Book 1 #1 of 4 -- 32,690 (+ 5.6%) 07/2005: The Dark Age/Book 1 #2 of 4 -- 29,721 (- 9.1%) 08/2005: The Dark Age/Book 1 #3 of 4 -- 28,152 (- 5.3%) 09/2005: -- 10/2005: The Dark Age/Book 1 #4 of 4 -- 27,367 (- 2.8%) ---------------------------------------------- 11/2006: The Dark Age/Book 2 #1 of 4 -- 26,993 (- 1.4%) 12/2006: -- 01/2007: -- 02/2007: The Dark Age/Book 2 #2 of 4 -- 23,412 (-13.3%) 03/2007: -- 04/2007: The Dark Age/Book 2 #3 of 4 -- 22,727 (- 2.9%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : n.a. 2 years : n.a.
This one appears to be losing steam, on the other hand. Astro City sales are finding their level quickly now, but they’re not as stable as they used to be — perhaps the erratic schedule is taking its toll, after all.
Overall, WildStorm sales took a hit again in April, and the reasons aren’t hard to identify. The imprint’s two flagship titles, Wildcats and The Authority, continue to be absent and off the schedule, the potentially stable performer Desolation Jones is in production limbo as well, and The Boys, which turned out to be that rare and much-needed hit, was canceled due to content concerns. Among those titles which still do come out, few are commercially successful; WildStorm’s current line of horror film adaptations was dead on arrival, similarly to their previous attempts at fantasy and science fiction comics. And of the rest of the relaunched WildStorm Universe books, only The Midnighter and Gen13 seem destined for an extended life span.
In the past, at least there were books like Astro City or Ex Machina (or Planetary, for that matter) — strong, self-contained performers which could be counted on to shift between 20,000 and 30,000 units whenever they shipped. But now Ex Machina has slipped well below 20K, and it seems Astro City won’t be far behind. Plainly, WildStorm is struggling badly right now, and from an outside perspective, it’s getting increasingly difficult to justify its existence as an imprint. At this point, it doesn’t do anything the publisher’s DC Universe or Vertigo lines wouldn’t be able to handle, in terms of content, and the numbers don’t suggest that “WildStorm” is a brand that’s desperately needed in the year 2007.
—–
92 - JLA: CLASSIFIED 04/2005: JLA: Classified #6 -- 48,086 -------------------------------------- 04/2006: JLA: Classified #20 -- 34,039 (- 3.6%) 05/2006: JLA: Classified #21 -- 33,800 (- 0.7%) 06/2006: JLA: Classified #22 -- 34,023 (+ 0.7%) 06/2006: JLA: Classified #23 -- 33,564 (- 1.4%) 07/2006: JLA: Classified #24 -- 31,697 (- 5.6%) 07/2006: JLA: Classified #25 -- 30,709 (- 3.1%) 08/2006: JLA: Classified #26 -- 27,816 (- 9.4%) 09/2006: JLA: Classified #27 -- 27,754 (- 0.2%) 10/2006: JLA: Classified #28 -- 26,003 (- 6.3%) 11/2006: JLA: Classified #29 -- 24,785 (- 4.7%) 12/2006: JLA: Classified #30 -- 23,644 (- 4.6%) 01/2007: JLA: Classified #31 -- 22,939 (- 3.0%) 01/2007: JLA: Classified #32 -- 23,091 (+ 0.7%) 01/2007: JLA: Classified #33 -- 22,504 (- 2.5%) 02/2007: JLA: Classified #34 -- 22,347 (- 0.7%) 02/2007: JLA: Classified #35 -- 21,998 (- 1.6%) 03/2007: JLA: Classified #36 -- 21,799 (- 0.9%) 04/2007: JLA: Classified #37 -- 22,350 (+ 2.5%) ---------------- 6 months: -14.1% 1 year : -34.3% 2 years : -53.5%
93 - JSA: CLASSIFIED 04/2006: JSA: Classified #11 -- 37,815 (- 8.5%) 05/2006: JSA: Classified #12 -- 37,446 (- 1.0%) 06/2006: JSA: Classified #13 -- 36,066 (- 3.7%) 07/2006: JSA: Classified #14 -- 33,832 (- 6.2%) 08/2006: JSA: Classified #15 -- 32,308 (- 4.5%) 08/2006: JSA: Classified #16 -- 32,173 (- 0.4%) 09/2006: JSA: Classified #17 -- 30,340 (- 5.7%) 10/2006: JSA: Classified #18 -- 26,783 (-11.7%) 11/2006: JSA: Classified #19 -- 25,663 (- 4.2%) 12/2006: JSA: Classified #20 -- 24,722 (- 3.7%) 01/2007: JSA: Classified #21 -- 24,476 (- 1.0%) 01/2007: JSA: Classified #22 -- 23,830 (- 2.6%) 02/2007: JSA: Classified #23 -- 22,730 (- 4.6%) 03/2007: JSA: Classified #24 -- 22,113 (- 2.7%) 04/2007: JSA: Classified #25 -- 22,052 (- 0.3%) ---------------- 6 months: -17.7% 1 year : -41.7%
JLA: Classified #37 was the first chapter of the Peter Milligan arc that’s been in the works forever, while JSA: Classified #25 was a one-shot story. The numbers seem to be stabilizing, but it’s hard to tell, given the rotating creative teams.
—–
97 - SHADOWPACT 05/2006: Shadowpact #1 -- 50,279 06/2006: Shadowpact #2 -- 39,969 (-20.5%) 07/2006: Shadowpact #3 -- 36,341 (- 9.1%) 08/2006: Shadowpact #4 -- 33,383 (- 8.1%) 09/2006: Shadowpact #5 -- 29,983 (-10.2%) 09/2006: Shadowpact #6 -- 27,276 (- 9.0%) 10/2006: -- 11/2006: Shadowpact #7 -- 25,701 (- 5.8%) 12/2006: Shadowpact #8 -- 23,898 (- 7.0%) 01/2007: Shadowpact #9 -- 22,866 (- 4.3%) 02/2007: Shadowpact #10 -- 21,823 (- 4.6%) 03/2007: Shadowpact #11 -- 21,114 (- 3.3%) 04/2007: Shadowpact #12 -- 20,746 (- 1.7%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a.
Another title which finally seems to have found its level.
—–
101 - THE MIDNIGHTER (WildStorm) 11/2006: The Midnighter #1 -- 39,796 12/2006: The Midnighter #2 -- 30,464 (-23.5%) 01/2007: The Midnighter #3 -- 27,564 (- 9.5%) 02/2007: The Midnighter #4 -- 24,792 (-10.1%) 03/2007: The Midnighter #5 -- 21,452 (-13.5%) 04/2007: The Midnighter #6 -- 20,561 (- 4.2%)
Sales are finally showing signs of bottoming out. Of course, that’s pretty much moot now: Writer Garth Ennis left the book after issue #6, and the next few months will see a string of fill-ins, until a new writer takes over with issue #10.
—–
102 - GEN13 (WildStorm) 04/2001: Gen13 #64 -- 20,100* 04/2002: Gen13 #76 -- 16,210* 04/2003: Gen13 #8 -- 17,227 ---------------------------- 10/2006: Gen13 #1 -- 47,535 11/2006: Gen13 #2 -- 33,494 (-29.5%) 12/2006: Gen13 #3 -- 30,233 (- 9.7%) 01/2007: Gen13 #4 -- 27,615 (- 8.7%) 02/2007: Gen13 #5 -- 22,422 (-18.8%) 03/2007: Gen13 #6 -- 21,356 (- 4.8%) 04/2007: Gen13 #7 -- 20,555 (- 3.8%) ---------------- 6 months: -56.8%
That’s a hideous six-month drop-off, but the numbers continue to bottom out. Sales upwards of 20K are very healthy for a WildStorm title without superstar creators, so unless Gen13 resumes its nosedive, it should be fine.
—–
104 - JACK OF FABLES (Vertigo) 07/2006: Jack of Fables #1 -- 27,097 08/2006: Jack of Fables #2 -- 23,554 (-13.1%) 09/2006: Jack of Fables #3 -- 22,373 (- 5.0%) 10/2006: Jack of Fables #4 -- 21,614 (- 3.4%) 11/2006: Jack of Fables #5 -- 21,191 (- 2.0%) 12/2006: Jack of Fables #6 -- 20,950 (- 1.1%) 01/2007: Jack of Fables #7 -- 20,314 (- 3.0%) 02/2007: Jack of Fables #8 -- 20,060 (- 1.3%) 03/2007: -- 02/2007: Jack of Fables #9 -- 20,273 (+ 1.1%) ---------------- 6 months: - 6.2%
The book is holding on to the 20K marker. Great numbers.
—–
107 - CATWOMAN 04/2001: Catwoman #93 -- 23,566* 04/2002: Catwoman #6 -- 31,895* 04/2003: Catwoman #18 -- 23,199 04/2004: Catwoman #30 -- 24,286 04/2005: Catwoman #42 -- 21,029 ------------------------------- 04/2006: Catwoman #54 -- 28,922 (+ 1.6%) 05/2006: Catwoman #55 -- 30,184 (+ 4.4%) 06/2006: Catwoman #56 -- 28,942 (- 4.1%) 07/2006: Catwoman #57 -- 27,302 (- 5.7%) 08/2006: Catwoman #58 -- 26,568 (- 1.0%) 09/2006: Catwoman #59 -- 25,324 (- 4.7%) 10/2006: Catwoman #60 -- 24,117 (- 4.8%) 11/2006: Catwoman #61 -- 23,182 (- 3.9%) 12/2006: Catwoman #62 -- 22,305 (- 3.8%) 01/2007: Catwoman #63 -- 21,597 (- 3.2%) 02/2007: Catwoman #64 -- 20,767 (- 3.8%) 03/2007: Catwoman #65 -- 20,237 (- 2.6%) 04/2007: Catwoman #66 -- 19,896 (- 1.7%) ---------------- 6 months: -17.5% 1 year : -31.2% 2 years : - 5.4%
The numbers keep sliding downwards, slowly but surely. Tie-ins with Amazons Attack and Countdown are coming up.
—–
112 - EX MACHINA (WildStorm) 04/2005: Ex Machina #10 -- 22,101 --------------------------------- 04/2006: Ex Machina #19 -- 20,358 (- 3.4%) 05/2006: Ex Machina #20 -- 20,589 (+ 1.1%) 06/2006: Ex Machina #21 -- 20,195 (- 1.9%) 07/2006: -- 08/2006: Ex Machina #22 -- 20,079 (- 0.6%) 09/2006: Ex Machina #23 -- 20,135 (+ 0.3%) 10/2006: -- 11/2006: Ex Machina #24 -- 19,813 (- 1.6%) 12/2006: Ex Machina #25 -- 19,234 (- 2.9%) 01/2007: Ex Machina #26 -- 18,567 (- 3.5%) 02/2007: -- 03/2007: -- 01/2007: Ex Machina #27 -- 18,242 (- 1.8%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : -10.4% 2 years : -17.5%
Another title on a slow downslide.
—–
118 - AQUAMAN: SWORD OF ATLANTIS 04/2003: Aquaman #5 -- 34,684 04/2004: Aquaman #17 -- 25,691 04/2005: Aquaman #29 -- 19,046 ----------------------------------- 04/2006: Aquaman: SoA #41 -- 37,567 (- 0.1%) 05/2006: Aquaman: SoA #42 -- 32,610 (- 13.2%) 06/2006: -- 07/2006: Aquaman: SoA #43 -- 30,584 (- 6.2%) 08/2006: -- 09/2006: Aquaman: SoA #44 -- 28,001 (- 8.5%) 10/2006: -- 11/2006: Aquaman: SoA #45 -- 23,540 (- 15.9%) 11/2006: Aquaman: SoA #46 -- 21,974 (- 6.7%) 12/2006: Aquaman: SoA #47 -- 21,197 (- 3.5%) 01/2007: Aquaman: SoA #48 -- 19,459 (- 8.2%) 02/2007: Aquaman: SoA #49 -- 17,939 (- 7.8%) 03/2007: Aquaman: SoA #50 -- 18,997 (+ 5.9%) 04/2007: Aquaman: SoA #51 -- 17,499 (- 7.9%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : -53.4% 2 years : - 8.1%
There goes the boost from issue #50.
—–
119 - TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED 10/2006: Tales of the Unexpected #1 of 8 -- 35,486 11/2006: Tales of the Unexpected #2 of 8 -- 24,219 (-31.8%) 12/2006: Tales of the Unexpected #3 of 8 -- 21,166 (-12.6%) 01/2007: Tales of the Unexpected #4 of 8 -- 19,872 (- 6.1%) 02/2007: Tales of the Unexpected #5 of 8 -- 18,355 (- 7.6%) 03/2007: Tales of the Unexpected #6 of 8 -- 17,709 (- 3.5%) 04/2007: Tales of the Unexpected #7 of 8 -- 17,403 (- 1.7%) ---------------- 6 months: -51.0%
The six-month drop-off isn’t pretty, but that’s mostly due to the inflated sales of issue #1, which was promoted with a limited variant cover edition. Overall, for this type of book, Tales of the Unexpected is selling decently enough.
—–
120 - BLUE BEETLE 04/2006: Blue Beetle #2 -- 43,770 (-13.6%) [50,190] 05/2006: Blue Beetle #3 -- 41,711 (- 4.7%) 06/2006: Blue Beetle #4 -- 38,622 (- 7.4%) 07/2006: Blue Beetle #5 -- 35,490 (- 8.1%) 08/2006: Blue Beetle #6 -- 33,181 (- 6.5%) 09/2006: Blue Beetle #7 -- 29,079 (-12.4%) 10/2006: -- 11/2006: Blue Beetle #8 -- 25,861 (-11.1%) 11/2006: Blue Beetle #9 -- 23,785 (- 8.0%) 12/2006: Blue Beetle #10 -- 21,358 (-10.2%) 01/2007: Blue Beetle #11 -- 19,865 (- 7.0%) 02/2007: Blue Beetle #12 -- 18,555 (- 6.6%) 03/2007: Blue Beetle #13 -- 17,653 (- 4.9%) 04/2007: Blue Beetle #14 -- 17,167 (- 2.8%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : -60.8%
Sales are finally hitting rock bottom, it seems — note the infernal year-on-year comparison. Crossovers with Teen Titans and with DC’s new magic bullet, Countdown, are in the pipeline.
—–
122 - DANGER GIRL: BODY SHOTS (WildStorm) 04/2007: Danger Girl: Body Shots #1 of 4 -- 17,122
Given that Danger Girl co-creator and superstar artist J. Scott Campbell is nowhere in sight (he’s busy working on Wildsiderz, I reckon), that’s not a bad number.
—–
123 - JONAH HEX 04/2006: Jonah Hex #6 -- 22,763 (- 3.1%) 05/2006: Jonah Hex #7 -- 21,910 (- 3.8%) 06/2006: Jonah Hex #8 -- 21,006 (- 4.1%) 07/2006: Jonah Hex #9 -- 20,385 (- 3.0%) 08/2006: Jonah Hex #10 -- 19,772 (- 3.0%) 09/2006: Jonah Hex #11 -- 18,957 (- 4.1%) 10/2006: Jonah Hex #12 -- 18,299 (- 3.5%) 11/2006: Jonah Hex #13 -- 18,747 (+ 2.5%) 12/2006: Jonah Hex #14 -- 18,295 (- 2.4%) 01/2007: Jonah Hex #15 -- 17,987 (- 1.7%) 02/2007: Jonah Hex #16 -- 17,490 (- 2.8%) 03/2007: Jonah Hex #17 -- 17,081 (- 2.3%) 04/2007: Jonah Hex #16 -- 16,880 (- 1.2%) ---------------- 6 months: - 7.8% 1 year : -25.9%
Slowly declining.
—–
126 - THE ALL-NEW ATOM 07/2006: The All-New Atom #1 -- 49,969 08/2006: The All-New Atom #2 -- 38,239 (-23.5%) 09/2006: The All-New Atom #3 -- 33,254 (-13.0%) 10/2006: The All-New Atom #4 -- 28,450 (-14.5%) 11/2006: The All-New Atom #5 -- 25,569 (-10.1%) 12/2006: The All-New Atom #6 -- 22,852 (-10.6%) 01/2007: The All-New Atom #7 -- 20,996 (- 8.1%) 02/2007: The All-New Atom #8 -- 19,004 (- 9.5%) 03/2007: The All-New Atom #9 -- 17,572 (- 7.5%) 04/2007: The All-New Atom #10 -- 16,739 (- 4.4%) ---------------- 6 months: -41.2%
The numbers are finally starting to bottom out. They still aren’t looking hopeful, mind you, and The All-New Atom is now the lowest-selling ongoing DC Universe title which hasn’t been canceled yet. So, you guessed it, it’s another job for Countdown. A tie-in is coming up in August.
—–
127 - GRIFTER & MIDNIGHTER (WildStorm) 03/2007: Grifter & Midnighter #1 of 6 -- 20,156 04/2007: Grifter & Midnighter #2 of 6 -- 16,531 (-18.0%)
That’s an average drop-off.
—–
128 - MANHUNTER 04/2005: Manhunter #9 -- 13,603 -------------------------------- 04/2006: Manhunter #21 -- 14,950 (- 7.1%) 05/2006: Manhunter #22 -- 15,668 (+ 4.8%) 06/2006: Manhunter #23 -- 15,542 (- 0.8%) 07/2006: Manhunter #24 -- 14,650 (- 5.7%) 08/2006: Manhunter #25 -- 15,175 (+ 3.6%) 09/2006: -- 10/2006: -- 11/2006: -- 12/2006: Manhunter #26 -- 23,767 (+56.6%) 01/2007: Manhunter #27 -- 17,842 (-24.9%) 02/2007: Manhunter #28 -- 17,182 (- 3.4%) 03/2007: Manhunter #29 -- 17,234 (+ 0.3%) 04/2007: Manhunter #30 -- 16,373 (- 5.0%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : + 9.5% 2 years : +20.4%
The book is back on hiatus. I take it Manhunter is still meant to return at some point (it seems awfully hard to keep track of these things, though, so feel free to correct me), but the DC website insists that issue #30 was the last one, and no further issues have been solicited to date. Judging from the book’s numbers, an extended life seems comparatively generous, at any rate, but there you go.
—–
136 - FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MAN 04/2005: Firestorm #12 -- 18,984 ------------------------------------ 04/2006: Firestorm: NM #24 -- 23,704 (- 5.6%) 05/2006: Firestorm: NM #25 -- 23,301 (- 1.7%) 06/2006: Firestorm: NM #26 -- 21,833 (- 6.3%) 07/2006: Firestorm: NM #27 -- 19,772 (- 9.4%) 08/2006: Firestorm: NM #28 -- 18,716 (- 5.3%) 09/2006: Firestorm: NM #29 -- 17,449 (- 6.8%) 10/2006: Firestorm: NM #30 -- 16,494 (- 5.5%) 11/2006: Firestorm: NM #31 -- 16,068 (- 2.6%) 12/2006: Firestorm: NM #32 -- 15,255 (- 5.1%) 01/2007: -- 02/2007: Firestorm: NM #33 -- 14,571 (- 4.5%) 03/2007: Firestorm: NM #34 -- 14,192 (- 2.6%) 04/2007: Firestorm: NM #35 -- 14,274 (+ 0.6%) ---------------- 6 months: -13.5% 1 year : -39.8% 2 years : -24.8%
Canceled.
—–
137 - WETWORKS (WildStorm) 09/2006: Wetworks #1 -- 43,824 10/2006: Wetworks #2 -- 28,181 (-35.7%) 11/2006: Wetworks #3 -- 24,493 (-13.1%) 12/2006: Wetworks #4 -- 23,267 (- 5.0%) 01/2007: Wetworks #5 -- 18,313 (-21.3%) 02/2007: Wetworks #6 -- 16,359 (-10.7%) 03/2007: Wetworks #7 -- 14,852 (- 9.2%) 04/2007: Wetworks #8 -- 14,189 (- 4.5%) ---------------- 6 months: -49.7%
The numbers are bottoming out, while a new creative team is set to take over with issue #10.
—–
139 - THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES IN THE 31ST CENTURY (Johnny DC) 04/2007: The LoSH in the 31st Century #1 -- 13,519
It’s a Johnny DC title, so the usual disclaimers apply — these books are aimed more at newsstands and mass chain stores than at the direct market. Even by those standards, this isn’t a very good debut number, though. When Teen Titans Go! debuted in 2003, it sold about 30,000 units in the direct market, while Justice League Unlimited and The Batman Strikes! managed at least around 22K each. For some reason, DC’s cartoon adaptations have been losing a lot of traction in this market in the last few years, despite an overall improvement of the market situation.
—–
143 - CONNOR HAWKE: DRAGON'S BLOOD 11/2006: Connor Hawke #1 of 6 -- 23,191 12/2006: Connor Hawke #2 of 6 -- 18,195 (-21.5%) 01/2007: Connor Hawke #3 of 6 -- 16,175 (-11.1%) 02/2007: Connor Hawke #4 of 6 -- 14,413 (-10.9%) 03/2007: Connor Hawke #5 of 6 -- 13,580 (- 5.8%) 04/2007: Connor Hawke #6 of 6 -- 13,148 (- 3.2%)
Awful numbers. This book is completely off the radar.
—–
144 - HELLBLAZER (Vertigo) 04/2001: Hellblazer #161 -- 17,860* 04/2002: Hellblazer #173 -- 18,596* 04/2003: Hellblazer #183 -- 16,905 04/2004: Hellblazer #195 -- 14,887 04/2005: Hellblazer #207 -- 15,368 ---------------------------------- 04/2006: Hellblazer #219 -- 14,206 (+ 0.6%) 05/2006: Hellblazer #220 -- 14,161 (- 0.3%) 06/2006: Hellblazer #221 -- 13,973 (- 1.3%) 07/2006: Hellblazer #222 -- 13,912 (- 0.4%) 08/2006: Hellblazer #223 -- 13,956 (+ 0.3%) 09/2006: Hellblazer #224 -- 13,704 (- 1.8%) 10/2006: Hellblazer #225 -- 13,629 (- 0.6%) 11/2006: Hellblazer #226 -- 13,388 (- 1.8%) 12/2006: Hellblazer #227 -- 13,231 (- 1.2%) 01/2007: Hellblazer #228 -- 12,956 (- 2.1%) 02/2007: Hellblazer #229 -- 13,032 (+ 0.6%) 03/2007: Hellblazer #230 -- 13,210 (+ 1.4%) 04/2007: Hellblazer #231 -- 13,142 (- 0.5%) ---------------- 6 months: - 3.6% 1 year : - 7.5% 2 years : -14.5%
Sales have been rock-solid over the last six months.
—–
145 - DMZ (Vertigo) 04/2006: DMZ #6 -- 15,212 (+ 1.7%) 05/2006: DMZ #7 -- 15,026 (- 1.2%) 06/2006: DMZ #8 -- 14,999 (- 0.2%) 07/2006: DMZ #9 -- 14,786 (- 1.4%) 08/2006: DMZ #10 -- 14,704 (- 0.6%) 09/2006: DMZ #11 -- 14,562 (- 1.0%) 10/2006: DMZ #12 -- 14,640 (+ 0.5%) 11/2006: DMZ #13 -- 14,228 (- 2.8%) 12/2006: DMZ #14 -- 13,731 (- 3.5%) 01/2007: DMZ #15 -- 13,340 (- 2.9%) 02/2007: DMZ #16 -- 13,199 (- 1.1%) 03/2007: DMZ #17 -- 13,081 (- 0.9%) 04/2007: DMZ #18 -- 13,120 (+ 0.3%) ---------------- 6 months: -10.4% 1 year : -13.8%
The numbers are stabilizing again, but DMZ has lost some ground over the last six months.
—–
146 - STORMWATCH: PHD (WildStorm) 04/2003: Stormwatch: TA #10 -- 14,241 04/2004: Stormwatch: TA #21 -- 10,922 ---------------------------------------- 11/2006: StormWatch: PHD #1 -- 29,975 12/2006: StormWatch: PHD #2 -- 21,605 (-27.9%) 01/2007: StormWatch: PHD #3 -- 18,371 (-15.0%) 02/2007: StormWatch: PHD #4 -- 15,893 (-13.5%) 03/2007: StormWatch: PHD #5 -- 13,475 (-15.2%) 04/2007: StormWatch: PHD #6 -- 13,109 (- 2.7%)
Bottoming out quickly now, it appears. As long as the numbers remain above 12,000, the book shouldn’t be in any immediate trouble.
—–
153 - ARMY@LOVE (Vertigo) 03/2007: Army@Love #1 -- 14,578 04/2007: Army@Love #2 -- 11,195 (-23.2%)
An average second-issue drop.
—–
157 - WELCOME TO TRANQUILITY (WildStorm) 12/2006: Welcome to Tranquility #1 -- 24,352 01/2007: Welcome to Tranquility #2 -- 15,087 (-38.1%) 02/2007: Welcome to Tranquility #3 -- 12,334 (-18.3%) 03/2007: Welcome to Tranquility #4 -- 11,423 (- 7.4%) 04/2007: Welcome to Tranquility #5 -- 10,407 (- 8.9%)
Well, sales aren’t bottoming out yet. Hold on, though: As with all the recent WildStorm Universe launches, issue #5 was the first without a variant cover edition. So that’s actually a rather decent drop. Unfortunately, the numbers still don’t look particularly hopeful.
—–
158 - LOVELESS (Vertigo) 04/2006: Loveless #6 -- 16,823 (+ 0.7%) 05/2006: Loveless #7 -- 15,961 (- 5.1%) 06/2006: Loveless #8 -- 14,915 (- 6.6%) 07/2006: Loveless #9 -- 14,434 (- 3.2%) 08/2006: Loveless #10 -- 13,860 (- 4.0%) 09/2006: Loveless #11 -- 13,256 (- 4.4%) 10/2006: Loveless #12 -- 12,617 (- 4.8%) 11/2006: Loveless #13 -- 11,945 (- 5.3%) 12/2006: Loveless #14 -- 11,476 (- 3.9%) 01/2007: -- 02/2007: Loveless #15 -- 11,103 (- 3.3%) 03/2007: Loveless #16 -- 10,787 (- 2.9%) 04/2007: Loveless #17 -- 10,334 (- 4.2%) ---------------- 6 months: -18.1% 1 year : -38.6%
Dropping.
—–
160 - SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE: SLEEP OF REASON (Vertigo) 12/2006: Sleep of Reason #1 of 5 -- 17,472 01/2007: Sleep of Reason #2 of 5 -- 12,687 (-27.4%) 02/2007: Sleep of Reason #3 of 5 -- 11,618 (- 8.4%) 03/2007: Sleep of Reason #4 of 5 -- 10,610 (- 8.7%) 04/2007: Sleep of Reason #5 of 5 -- 10,035 (- 5.4%)
It’s been a steep drop-off, but at least the book finishes above 10K.
—–
165 - JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED (Johnny DC) 04/2002: JL Adventures #6 -- 18,417* 04/2003: JL Adventures #18 -- 14,241 04/2004: JL Adventures #30 -- 12,194 04/2005: JL Unlimited #8 -- 12,145 ------------------------------------ 04/2006: JL Unlimited #20 -- 10,620 (+ 0.8%) 05/2006: JL Unlimited #21 -- 10,430 (- 1.8%) 06/2006: JL Unlimited #22 -- 10,430 ( 0.0%) 07/2006: JL Unlimited #23 -- 10,255 (- 1.7%) 08/2006: JL Unlimited #24 -- 10,117 (- 1.4%) 09/2006: JL Unlimited #25 -- 9,985 (- 1.3%) 10/2006: JL Unlimited #26 -- 9,696 (- 2.9%) 11/2006: JL Unlimited #27 -- 9,690 (- 0.1%) 12/2006: JL Unlimited #28 -- 9,713 (+ 0.2%) 01/2007: JL Unlimited #29 -- 9,273 (- 4.5%) 02/2007: JL Unlimited #30 -- 9,123 (- 1.6%) 03/2007: JL Unlimited #31 -- 9,072 (- 0.6%) 04/2007: JL Unlimited #32 -- 9,326 (+ 2.8%) ---------------- 6 months: - 3.8% 1 year : -12.2% 2 years : -23.2%
A Johnny DC book.
—–
167 - SCALPED (Vertigo) 01/2007: Scalped #1 -- 13,644 02/2007: Scalped #2 -- 10,005 (-26.7%) 03/2007: Scalped #3 -- 9,531 (- 4.7%) 04/2007: Scalped #4 -- 9,163 (- 3.9%)
Bottoming out.
—–
168 - TEEN TITANS GO (Johnny DC) 04/2004: Teen Titans Go #6 -- 14,612 04/2005: Teen Titans Go #18 -- 14,152 ------------------------------------- 04/2006: Teen Titans Go #30 -- 11,225 (- 0.3%) 05/2006: Teen Titans Go #31 -- 11,140 (- 0.8%) 06/2006: Teen Titans Go #32 -- 10,736 (- 3.6%) 07/2006: Teen Titans Go #33 -- 10,516 (- 2.1%) 08/2006: Teen Titans Go #34 -- 10,328 (- 1.8%) 09/2006: Teen Titans Go #35 -- 9,940 (- 3.8%) 10/2006: Teen Titans Go #36 -- 10,214 (+ 2.8%) 11/2006: Teen Titans Go #37 -- 9,642 (- 5.6%) 12/2006: Teen Titans Go #38 -- 9,529 (- 1.2%) 01/2007: Teen Titans Go #39 -- 9,425 (- 1.1%) 02/2007: Teen Titans Go #40 -- 9,132 (- 3.1%) 03/2007: Teen Titans Go #41 -- 8,895 (- 2.6%) 04/2007: Teen Titans Go #42 -- 9,050 (+ 1.7%) ---------------- 6 months: -11.4% 1 year : -19.4% 2 years : -36.1%
Johnny DC.
—–
169 - AMERICAN VIRGIN (Vertigo) 04/2006: American Virgin #2 -- 15,780 (-18.9%) 05/2006: American Virgin #3 -- 14,764 (- 6.4%) 06/2006: American Virgin #4 -- 14,081 (- 4.6%) 07/2006: American Virgin #5 -- 13,265 (- 5.8%) 08/2006: American Virgin #6 -- 12,487 (- 5.9%) 09/2006: American Virgin #7 -- 11,767 (- 5.8%) 10/2006: -- 11/2006: American Virgin #8 -- 11,275 (- 4.2%) 11/2006: American Virgin #9 -- 10,567 (- 6.3%) 12/2006: -- 01/2007: American Virgin #10 -- 10,331 (- 2.2%) 01/2007: American Virgin #11 -- 9,628 (- 6.8%) 02/2007: American Virgin #12 -- 9,215 (- 4.3%) 03/2007: -- 04/2007: American Virgin #13 -- 8,960 (- 2.8%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : -43.2%
Declining.
—–
170 - THE EXTERMINATORS (Vertigo) 04/2006: The Exterminators #4 -- 11,342 (- 2.9%) 05/2006: The Exterminators #5 -- 10,978 (- 3.2%) 06/2006: The Exterminators #6 -- 11,004 (+ 0.2%) 07/2006: The Exterminators #7 -- 10,743 (- 2.4%) 08/2006: The Exterminators #8 -- 10,299 (- 4.1%) 09/2006: The Exterminators #9 -- 10,177 (- 1.2%) 10/2006: The Exterminators #10 -- 9,970 (- 2.0%) 11/2006: The Exterminators #11 -- 9,973 (+ 0.0%) 12/2006: The Exterminators #12 -- 9,636 (- 3.4%) 01/2007: The Exterminators #13 -- 9,447 (- 2.0%) 02/2007: The Exterminators #14 -- 8,965 (- 5.1%) 03/2007: The Exterminators #15 -- 8,839 (- 1.4%) 04/2007: The Exterminators #16 -- 8,758 (- 1.0%) ---------------- 6 months: -12.2% 1 year : -22.8%
Standard attrition.
—–
171 - FRIDAY THE 13TH (WildStorm) 12/2006: Friday the 13th #1 -- 15,801 01/2007: Friday the 13th #2 -- 9,555 (-39.5%) 02/2007: Friday the 13th #3 -- 8,965 (- 6.2%) 03/2007: Friday the 13th #4 -- 8,637 (- 3.7%) 04/2007: Friday the 13th #5 -- 8,724 (+ 1.0%
Canceled with issue #6.
—–
173 - NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (WildStorm) 10/2006: Nightmare on Elm Street #1 -- 18,736 11/2006: Nightmare on Elm Street #2 -- 11,709 (-37.5%) 12/2006: Nightmare on Elm Street #3 -- 10,129 (-13.5%) 01/2007: Nightmare on Elm Street #4 -- 9,019 (-11.0%) 02/2007: Nightmare on Elm Street #5 -- 8,408 (- 6.8%) 03/2007: Nightmare on Elm Street #6 -- 8,050 (- 4.3%) 04/2007: Nightmare on Elm Street #7 -- 7,863 (- 2.3%)
—————-
6 months: -58.0%
Axed with issue #8.
—–
174 - RED MENACE (WildStorm) 11/2006: Red Menace #1 of 6 -- 21,389 12/2006: Red Menace #2 of 6 -- 14,501 (-32.2%) 01/2007: Red Menace #3 of 6 -- 10,295 (-29.0%) 02/2007: Red Menace #4 of 6 -- 8,550 (-17.0%) 03/2007: Red Menace #5 of 6 -- 7,993 (- 6.5%) 04/2007: Red Menace #6 of 6 -- 7,700 (- 3.7%)
Horrible numbers.
—–
177 - BATMAN STRIKES! (Johnny DC) 04/2001: Gotham Adventures #37 -- 12,523* 04/2002: Gotham Adventures #49 -- 12,142* 04/2003: Batman Adventures #1 -- 15,619 [16,700] 04/2004: Batman Adventures #13 -- 12,092 04/2005: Batman Strikes! #8 -- 10,368 ---------------------------------------- 04/2006: Batman Strikes! #20 -- 8,331 (+ 1.1%) 05/2006: Batman Strikes! #21 -- 8,467 (+ 1.6%) 06/2006: Batman Strikes! #22 -- 8,104 (- 4.3%) 07/2006: Batman Strikes! #23 -- 8,154 (+ 0.6%) 08/2006: Batman Strikes! #24 -- 8,139 (- 0.2%) 09/2006: Batman Strikes! #25 -- 7,765 (- 4.6%) 10/2006: Batman Strikes! #26 -- 7,560 (- 2.6%) 11/2006: Batman Strikes! #27 -- 7,567 (+ 0.1%) 12/2006: Batman Strikes! #28 -- 7,427 (- 1.9%) 01/2007: Batman Strikes! #29 -- 7,330 (- 1.3%) 02/2007: Batman Strikes! #30 -- 7,335 (+ 0.1%) 03/2007: Batman Strikes! #31 -- 7,100 (- 3.2%) 04/2007: Batman Strikes! #32 -- 7,294 (+ 2.7%) ---------------- 6 months: - 3.5% 1 year : -12.5% 2 years : -29.7%
Johnny DC.
—–
178 - TESTAMENT (Vertigo) 04/2006: Testament #5 -- 12,770 (- 2.3%) 05/2006: Testament #6 -- 12,361 (- 3.2%) 06/2006: Testament #7 -- 11,770 (- 4.8%) 07/2006: Testament #8 -- 11,073 (- 5.9%) 08/2006: Testament #9 -- 10,462 (- 5.5%) 09/2006: Testament #10 -- 9,629 (- 8.0%) 10/2006: Testament #11 -- 9,059 (- 5.9%) 11/2006: Testament #12 -- 8,690 (- 4.1%) 12/2006: Testament #13 -- 8,320 (- 4.3%) 01/2007: Testament #14 -- 7,960 (- 4.3%) 02/2007: Testament #15 -- 7,618 (- 4.3%) 03/2007: Testament #16 -- 7,422 (- 2.6%) 04/2007: Testament #17 -- 7,193 (- 3.1%) ---------------- 6 months: -20.6% 1 year : -43.7%
Declining.
—–
179 - TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (WildStorm) 11/2006: Texas Chainsaw Massacre #1 -- 15,605 12/2006: Texas Chainsaw Massacre #2 -- 9,706 (-37.8%) 01/2007: Texas Chainsaw Massacre #3 -- 8,229 (-15.2%) 02/2007: Texas Chainsaw Massacre #4 -- 7,651 (- 7.0%) 03/2007: Texas Chainsaw Massacre #5 -- 7,301 (- 4.6%) 04/2007: Texas Chainsaw Massacre #6 -- 7,171 (- 1.8%)
Canceled.
—–
181 - CROSSING MIDNIGHT (Vertigo) 11/2006: Crossing Midnight #1 -- 12,756 12/2006: Crossing Midnight #2 -- 8,982 (-29.6%) 01/2007: Crossing Midnight #3 -- 8,236 (- 8.3%) 02/2007: Crossing Midnight #4 -- 7,568 (- 8.1%) 03/2007: Crossing Midnight #5 -- 7,196 (- 4.9%) 04/2007: Crossing Midnight #6 -- 7,036 (- 2.2%)
It’s the lowest-selling Vertigo title. Deadman, which missed its shipping date in April, has been canceled with August’s issue #13. As of March, Deadman still outsold Testament and Crossing Midnight by a few hundred units, mind you, so the decision probably wasn’t made purely based on single-issue sales. Either way, I doubt there’s a lot of rope left for the two above-mentioned titles now.
—–
194 - RUSH CITY 07/2006: Rush City #1 of 6 -- 13,083 08/2006: -- 09/2006: Rush City #2 of 6 -- 11,867 (- 9.3%) 10/2006: -- 11/2006: Rush City #3 of 6 -- 8,539 (-28.1%) 12/2006: -- 01/2007: Rush City #4 of 6 -- 6,873 (-19.5%) 02/2007: Rush City #5 of 6 -- 6,055 (-11.9%) 03/2006: -- 04/2007: Rush City #6 of 6 -- 5,859 (- 3.2%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a.
Abysmal sales; about what you’d expect for a glorified General Motors advert you’re meant to pay money for.
—–
198 - NINJA SCROLL (WildStorm) 09/2006: Ninja Scroll #1 -- 16,819 10/2006: -- 11/2006: Ninja Scroll #2 -- 12,143 (-27.8%) 12/2006: Ninja Scroll #3 -- 10,468 (-13.8%) 12/2006: Ninja Scroll #4 -- 7,781 (-25.7%) 01/2007: Ninja Scroll #5 -- 6,895 (-11.4%) 02/2007: Ninja Scroll #6 -- 6,371 (- 7.6%) 03/2007: Ninja Scroll #7 -- 5,949 (- 6.6%) 04/2007: Ninja Scroll #8 -- 5,628 (- 5.4%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a.
Declining.
—–
222 - SCOOBY DOO (Johnny DC) 04/2001: Scooby Doo #47 -- 4,973* 04/2002: Scooby Doo #59 -- 5,746* 04/2003: Scooby Doo #71 -- 5,895 04/2004: Scooby Doo #83 -- 5,528 04/2005: Scooby Doo #95 -- 4,800 --------------------------------- 04/2006: Scooby Doo #107 -- 4,359 (- 1.4%) 05/2006: Scooby Doo #108 -- 4,496 (+ 3.1%) 06/2006: Scooby Doo #109 -- 4,423 (- 1.6%) 07/2006: Scooby Doo #110 -- 4,781 (+ 8.1%) 08/2006: Scooby Doo #111 -- 4,492 (- 6.1%) 09/2006: Scooby Doo #112 -- 4,385 (- 2.4%) 10/2006: Scooby Doo #113 -- 4,339 (- 1.1%) 11/2006: Scooby Doo #114 -- 4,387 (+ 1.1%) 12/2006: Scooby Doo #115 -- 4,364 (- 0.5%) 01/2007: Scooby Doo #116 -- 4,285 (- 1.8%) 02/2007: Scooby Doo #117 -- 4,275 (- 0.2%) 03/2007: Scooby Doo #118 -- 4,395 (+ 2.8%) 04/2007: Scooby Doo #119 -- 4,373 (- 0.5%) ---------------- 6 months: + 0.8% 1 year : + 0.3% 2 years : - 8.9%
251 - LOONEY TUNES (Johnny DC) 04/2001: Looney Tunes #77 -- 2,949* 04/2002: Looney Tunes #89 -- 3,216* 04/2003: Looney Tunes #101 -- 3,583 04/2004: Looney Tunes #113 -- 3,266 04/2005: Looney Tunes #125 -- 2,974 ----------------------------------- 04/2006: Looney Tunes #137 -- 2,558 (- 8.4%) 05/2006: Looney Tunes #138 -- 2,774 (+ 8.4%) 06/2006: Looney Tunes #139 -- 2,694 (- 2.9%) 07/2006: Looney Tunes #140 -- 2,680 (- 0.5%) 08/2006: Looney Tunes #141 -- 2,783 (+ 3.8%) 09/2006: Looney Tunes #142 -- 2,695 (- 3.2%) 10/2006: Looney Tunes #143 -- 2,741 (+ 1.7%) 11/2006: Looney Tunes #144 -- ????? 12/2006: Looney Tunes #145 -- 2,732 01/2007: Looney Tunes #146 -- 2,588 (- 5.3%) 02/2007: Looney Tunes #147 -- 2,553 (- 1.4%) 03/2007: Looney Tunes #148 -- 2,705 (+ 6.0%) 04/2007: Looney Tunes #149 -- 2,640 (- 2.4%) ---------------- 6 months: - 3.7% 1 year : + 3.2% 2 years : -11.2%
271 - CARTOON NETWORK BLOCK PARTY (Johnny DC) 04/2001: Cartoon Cartoons #4 -- 2,841* 04/2002: -- 04/2003: Cartoon Cartoons #17 -- 2,726 04/2004: Cartoon Cartoons #29 -- 2,348 04/2005: CN Block Party #8 -- 2,039 -------------------------------------- 04/2006: CN Block Party #20 -- 2,055 05/2006: CN Block Party #21 -- ????? 06/2006: CN Block Party #22 -- 1,913 07/2006: CN Block Party #23 -- 1,976 (+ 3.3%) 08/2006: CN Block Party #24 -- 1,920 (- 2.8%) 09/2006: CN Block Party #25 -- 1,918 (- 0.1%) 10/2006: CN Block Party #26 -- 1,879 (- 2.0%) 11/2006: CN Block Party #27 -- ????? 12/2006: CN Block Party #28 -- 1,778 01/2007: CN Block Party #29 -- ????? 02/2007: CN Block Party #30 -- 1,697 03/2007: CN Block Party #31 -- 1,892 (+11.5%) 04/2007: CN Block Party #32 -- 1,824 (- 3.6%) ---------------- 6 months: - 2.9% 1 year : -11.2% 2 years : -10.5%
275 - CARTOON NETWORK ACTION PACK (Johnny DC) 05/2006: CN Action Pack #1 -- ????? 06/2006: CN Action Pack #2 -- 1,844 07/2006: CN Action Pack #3 -- 1,908 (+3.5%) 08/2006: CN Action Pack #4 -- ????? 09/2006: CN Action Pack #5 -- 1,644 10/2006: CN Action Pack #6 -- 1,704 (+3.7%) 11/2006: CN Action Pack #7 -- ????? 12/2006: CN Action Pack #8 -- ????? 01/2007: CN Action Pack #9 -- ????? 02/2007: CN Action Pack #10 -- 1,564 03/2007: CN Action Pack #11 -- 1,666 (+6.5%) 04/2007: CN Action Pack #12 -- 1,734 (+4.1%) ---------------- 6 months: + 1.8%
And the rest of the Johnny DC books.
—–
RE-ORDERS: 172 -- 8,538: Justice League of America #1 244 -- 2,786: The Brave and the Bold #2 265 -- 2,026: Justice Society of America #4 274 -- 1,756: The Brave and the Bold #1 278 -- 1,655: Justice League of America #6 281 -- 1,610: Batman #664 291 -- 1,475: 52 Week 47
—–
Average Sales per Title
(not counting reprints, re-orders shipping after the initial month of release, Johnny DC titles and magazines)
DC COMICS 04/2003: 25,804 04/2004: 31,332 04/2005: 30,053 --------------- 04/2006: 33,566 (- 7.0%) 05/2006: 42,860 (+27.7%) 06/2006: 40,778 (- 4.9%) 07/2006: 39,915 (- 2.1%) 08/2006: 42,497 (+ 6.5%) 09/2006: 34,920 (-17.8%) 10/2006: 33,406 (- 4.3%) 11/2006: 34,906 (+ 4.5%) 12/2006: 34,418 (- 1.4%) 01/2007: 29,706 (-13.7%) 02/2007: 31,051 (+ 4.5%) 03/2007: 32,398 (+ 4.3%) 04/2007: 39,134 (+20.8%) ---------------- 6 months: +17.2% 1 year : +16.6% 2 years : +30.2% 3 years : +24.9% 4 years : +51.7%
DC UNIVERSE 04/2003: 32,397 04/2004: 37,031 04/2005: 39,140 --------------- 04/2006: 45,129 (+ 0.6%) 05/2006: 56,982 (+26.3%) 06/2006: 51,088 (-10.3%) 07/2006: 49,638 (- 2.8%) 08/2006: 54,382 (+10.0%) 09/2006: 46,329 (-14.8%) 10/2006: 42,581 (- 8.1%) 11/2006: 45,399 (+ 6.6%) 12/2006: 44,641 (- 1.7%) 01/2007: 38,302 (-14.2%) 02/2007: 39,976 (+ 4.4%) 03/2007: 42,634 (+ 6.7%) 04/2007: 52,768 (+23.8%) ---------------- 6 months: +23.9% 1 year : +16.9% 2 years : +34.8% 3 years : +42.5% 4 years : +62.9%
VERTIGO 04/2003: 16,215 04/2004: 16,427 04/2005: 13,050 --------------- 04/2006: 15,473 (- 2.1%) 05/2006: 15,266 (- 1.3%) 06/2006: 14,965 (- 2.0%) 07/2006: 16,684 (+11.5%) 08/2006: 16,107 (- 3.5%) 09/2006: 15,399 (- 4.4%) 10/2006: 15,189 (- 1.4%) 11/2006: 13,773 (- 9.3%) 12/2006: 13,834 (+ 0.4%) 01/2007: 13,572 (- 1.9%) 02/2007: 11,855 (-12.7%) 03/2007: 13,748 (+16.0%) 04/2007: 12,105 (-12.0%) ---------------- 6 months: -20.3% 1 year : -21.8% 2 years : - 7.2% 3 years : -26.3% 4 years : -25.4%
WILDSTORM 04/2003: 15,933 04/2004: 16,866 04/2005: 12,846 --------------- 04/2006: 16,036 (+12.9%) 05/2006: 12,737 (-20.6%) 06/2006: 15,056 (+18.2%) 07/2006: 12,778 (-15.1%) 08/2006: 14,741 (+15.4%) 09/2006: 13,285 (- 9.9%) 10/2006: 25,747 (+93.8%) 11/2006: 18,987 (-26.3%) 12/2006: 17,288 (- 9.0%) 01/2007: 14,525 (-16.0%) 02/2007: 14,105 (- 2.9%) 03/2007: 15,224 (+ 7.9%) 04/2007: 13,609 (-10.6%) ---------------- 6 months: -47.1% 1 year : -15.1% 2 years : + 5.9% 3 years : -19.3% 4 years : -14.6%
—–
6-MONTH COMPARISONS + 2.0%: Fables + 1.8%: Cartoon Network Action Pack + 0.8%: Scooby-Doo - 2.9%: Cartoon Network Block Party - 3.5%: Batman Strikes - 3.6%: Hellblazer - 3.7%: Looney Tunes - 3.8%: Justice League Unlimited - 5.9%: Green Arrow - 6.2%: Jack of Fables - 6.8%: Birds of Prey - 7.8%: Jonah Hex - 9.5%: Justice - 9.9%: Detective Comics - 10.4%: DMZ - 11.4%: 52 - 11.4%: Teen Titans Go - 12.2%: The Exterminators - 13.5%: Firestorm - 14.1%: JLA: Classified - 14.4%: Trials of SHAZAM - 17.5%: Catwoman - 17.5%: Robin - 17.7%: JSA: Classified - 18.0%: Nightwing - 18.1%: Loveless - 20.6%: Testament - 21.1%: Action Comics - 23.1%: Green Lantern Corps - 23.7%: Flash - 24.9%: Supergirl and the Legion - 41.2%: The All-New Atom - 49.7%: Wetworks - 51.0%: Tales of the Unexpected - 56.8%: Gen13 - 58.0%: Nightmare on Elm Street
—–
1-YEAR COMPARISONS + 84.2%: Justice Society of America + 9.5%: Manhunter + 6.4%: Fables + 3.2%: Looney Tunes + 0.3%: Scooby-Doo - 6.9%: Detective Comics - 7.5%: Hellblazer - 10.4%: Ex Machina - 11.2%: Cartoon Network Block Party - 12.2%: Justice League Unlimited - 12.5%: Batman Strikes - 13.8%: DMZ - 14.7%: Justice - 14.8%: Green Arrow - 17.7%: Birds of Prey - 19.4%: Teen Titans Go - 22.8%: The Exterminators - 24.0%: Superman - 25.9%: Jonah Hex - 26.0%: Teen Titans - 26.9%: Robin - 30.4%: Supergirl and the Legion - 31.2%: Catwoman - 32.0%: Nightwing - 34.3%: JLA: Classified - 38.6%: Loveless - 39.8%: Firestorm - 41.7%: JSA: Classified - 43.2%: American Virgin - 43.7%: Testament - 53.4%: Aquaman - 60.8%: Blue Beetle
—–
2-YEAR COMPARISONS +125.6%: Justice Society of America +105.2%: Wonder Woman +103.7%: Justice League of America + 44.0%: Detective Comics + 20.4%: Manhunter + 13.6%: Action Comics + 4.3%: Fables + 1.1%: Flash - 2.4%: Green Arrow - 5.0%: Birds of Prey - 5.4%: Catwoman - 8.1%: Aquaman - 8.6%: Teen Titans - 8.9%: Scooby-Doo - 10.5%: Cartoon Network Block Party - 11.2%: Looney Tunes - 11.8%: Robin - 14.5%: Hellblazer - 17.2%: Nightwing - 17.5%: Ex Machina - 23.2%: Justice League Unlimited - 24.8%: Firestorm - 25.1%: Supergirl and the Legion - 29.7%: Batman Strikes - 36.1%: Teen Titans Go - 36.4%: Superman/Batman - 50.5%: Superman - 53.5%: JLA: Classified
—–
OTHER PUBLISHERS
12 - BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (Dark Horse) 04/2001: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #32 -- 16,970* 04/2002: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #44 -- 16,371* ------------------------------------------------ 03/2007: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #1 -- 109,919 [126,793] 04/2007: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #2 -- 96,409 (-12.3%)
That’s a rather smooth second-issue drop-off. Issue #1 made the chart again and sold another 16,874 units in April — about what the book’s previous run shifted in the first go five years back. Obviously, this is Dark Horse’s biggest hit in ages, in terms of monthly issues. If the book can maintain even half these numbers once Buffy creator Joss Whedon hands it over to other writers, it’ll still be a massive success.
—–
69 - FRANK FRAZETTA'S DEATH DEALER (Image) 04/2007: Frank Frazetta's Death Dealer #1 of 6 -- 32,352
Well, it’s been a while since Image had a surprise hit like this one in the direct market, as well. There were several variant cover editions of the book, but this is nonetheless a very respectable number for this sort of thing.
—–
85 - CONAN (Dark Horse) 04/2004: Conan #3 -- 48,588 [53,828] 04/2005: Conan #15 -- 38,086 ---------------------------- 04/2006: Conan #27 -- 31,710 (+ 0.4%) 05/2006: Conan #28 -- 31,675 (- 0.1%) 06/2006: Conan #29 -- 32,049 (+ 1.2%) 07/2006: Conan #30 -- 31,095 (- 3.0%) 08/2006: Conan #31 -- 30,887 (- 0.7%) 09/2006: Conan #32 -- 29,070 (- 5.9%) 10/2006: Conan #33 -- 29,137 (+ 0.2%) 11/2006: Conan #34 -- 28,144 (- 3.4%) 12/2006: Conan #35 -- 27,115 (- 3.7%) 01/2006: Conan #36 -- 26,245 (- 3.2%) 02/2006: Conan #37 -- 25,532 (- 2.7%) 03/2006: Conan #38 -- 25,236 (- 1.2%) 04/2006: Conan #39 -- 25,103 (- 0.5%) ---------------- 6 months: -13.9% 1 year : -20.8% 2 years : -34.1%
Sales are sticking to the 25K area.
—–
94 - THE WALKING DEAD (Image) 04/2004: Walking Dead #6 -- 7,726 [ 9,871] 04/2005: Walking Dead #17 -- 15,617 04/2005: Walking Dead #18 -- 15,542 ----------------------------------- 04/2006: -- 05/2006: -- 06/2006: Walking Dead #28 -- 19,537 (+ 2.2%) 07/2006: Walking Dead #29 -- 20,385 (+ 4.3%) 08/2006: Walking Dead #30 -- 20,540 (+ 0.8%) 09/2006: Walking Dead #31 -- 21,368 (+ 4.0%) 10/2006: -- 11/2006: Walking Dead #32 -- 21,191 (- 0.8%) 12/2006: Walking Dead #33 -- 21,235 (+ 0.2%) 01/2007: Walking Dead #34 -- 21,184 (- 0.2%) 02/2007: Walking Dead #35 -- 21,391 (+ 1.0%) 03/2007: Walking Dead #36 -- 21,291 (- 0.5%) 04/2007: Walking Dead #37 -- 21,737 (+ 2.1%) ----------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : n.a. 2 years : + 39.5%
The numbers are on a climb again, awarding The Walking Dead its highest chart position to date. This is the sort of performer Vertigo should be on the lookout for right now.
—–
99 - RED SONJA (Dynamite) 04/2006: Red Sonja #9 -- 32,334 (- 6.8%) 05/2006: Red Sonja #10 -- 32,479 (+ 0.5%) 06/2006: Red Sonja #11 -- 31,176 (- 4.0%) 07/2006: Red Sonja #12 -- 33,252 (+ 6.7%) 08/2006: Red Sonja #13 -- 28,996 (-12.8%) 09/2006: Red Sonja #14 -- 25,891 (-10.7%) 10/2006: Red Sonja #15 -- 25,303 (- 2.3%) 11/2006: Red Sonja #16 -- 25,644 (+ 1.4%) 12/2006: Red Sonja #17 -- 23,552 (- 8.2%) 01/2007: Red Sonja #18 -- 23,040 (- 2.2%) 02/2007: Red Sonja #19 -- 22,322 (- 3.1%) 03/2007: Red Sonja #20 -- 21,275 (- 4.7%) 04/2007: Red Sonja #21 -- 20,690 (- 2.8%) ---------------- 6 months: -18.2% 1 year : -36.0%
Declining. Cover count: six.
—–
103 - FELL (Image) 04/2006: -- 05/2006: Fell #5 -- 19,353 (+ 2.3%) 06/2006: -- 07/2006: -- 08/2006: Fell #6 -- 19,542 (+ 1.0%) 09/2006: -- 10/2006: -- 11/2006: -- 12/2006: -- 01/2007: -- 02/2007: Fell #7 -- 20,667 (+ 5.8%) 03/2007: -- 04/2007: Fell #8 -- 20,307 (- 1.7%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : n.a.
The book’s sales have peaked, for the time being, but Fell keeps doing very well.
—–
140 - INVINCIBLE (Image) 04/2004: Invincible #10 -- 5,598 04/2005: Invincible #22 -- 9,963 --------------------------------- 04/2006: Invincible #31 -- 12,056 (- 2.0%) 05/2006: -- 06/2006: Invincible #32 -- 12,910 (+ 7.1%) 06/2006: Invincible #33 -- 12,940 (+ 0.2%) 07/2006: -- 08/2006: Invincible #34 -- 13,610 (+ 5.2%) 09/2006: Invincible #35 -- 13,320 (- 2.1%) 10/2006: -- 11/2006: Invincible #36 -- 13,473 (+ 1.2%) 12/2006: Invincible #37 -- 13,523 (+ 0.4%) 01/2007: Invincible #38 -- 13,470 (- 0.4%) 02/2007: Invincible #39 -- 13,298 (- 1.3%) 03/2007: -- 04/2007: Invincible #40 -- 13,244 (- 0.4%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : + 9.9% 2 years : +32.9%
The numbers are no longer climbing, but remain rock-solid.
—–
Disclaimers, et cetera
The numbers above are estimates for comic book sales in the North American direct market, as calculated by ICv2.com according to the chart and index information provided by Diamond Comic Distributors. ICv2.com’s estimates are traditionally known to be somewhat lower than the actual numbers, but they are consistent from month to month, so the trends they show are fairly accurate. Since it’s a “month-to-month” column, the comments, unless otherwise noted, are on the most recent month. The estimates from March 2001 to February 2003 (marked with an asterisk) were for initial orders rather than actual sales, so they’re only roughly compatible with the subsequent figures.
Bear in mind that the figures measure sales to retailers, not customers. Also, these numbers do not include sales to bookstores, newsstands, other mass market retail chains or the United Kingdom. Re-orders are included, so long as they either reached stores in a book’s initial month of release or were strong enough to make the chart again in a subsequent month.
If additional copies of an issue did appear on the chart after the book’s initial month of release, you can see the total number of copies sold in parenthesis behind those issues (e.g. “[36,599]”). Should more than one issue have shipped in a month which is relevant for one of the long-term comparisons, the average will be used.
Titles released under the Johnny DC imprint and magazines, such as Mad, mostly sell through channels other than the direct market, so direct market sales don’t tell us much about their performance. For Vertigo and WildStorm titles, collection sales tend to be a significant factor, so the numbers for those books should be taken with a grain of salt as well.
—–
Germany-based Marc-Oliver Frisch has a weblog and regularly contributes to German online magazine Comicgate.
How is Jeff Smith’s Shazam late? I thought they were waiting for it to be entirely finished before they solicited it?
Good to see DC get its clocked cleaned over its obscenely late books.
Man, so many of these books are just off the tracks…you gotta wonder if they don’t end up using Countdown as a way to just completely sweep clean all the mess they made with some of the One Year Later mistakes (Flash, I’m looking at you…)
The anticipation I felt checking out this site for the last few days made me realize, once more, how much I enjoy reading your reports so let me say thank you for your time and effort.
> In retrospect, the publisher seems to have abandoned the All Star line before it was even launched.
Good point. Another indicator for this might be the fact that Justice, which was originally announced as All Star Justice League, was separate from the All Star line upon release.
> Plainly, WildStorm is struggling badly right now, and from an outside perspective, it’s getting increasingly difficult to justify its existence as an imprint. At this point, it doesn’t do anything the publisher’s DC Universe or Vertigo lines wouldn’t be able to handle, in terms of content, and the numbers don’t suggest that “WildStorm” is a brand that’s desperately needed in the year 2007.
But it’s a separate company, isn’t it? Does their contract enable DC to just abandon the brand? Besides, your Average Sales per Title show that it’s not doing that badly in the long term comparison. I think there is always going to be a niche for edgier superhero books.
> Deadman, which missed its shipping date in April, has been canceled with August’s issue #13. As of March, Deadman still outsold Testament and Crossing Midnight by a few hundred units, mind you, so the decision probably wasn’t made purely based on single-issue sales. Either way, I doubt there’s a lot of rope left for the two above-mentioned titles now.
Maybe those two will be saved for some time due to special considerations: Crossing Midnight is written by one of their most respected writers (Lucifer is still doing good TPB sales, isn’t it?) and Testament is something of a vanity project, as Rushkoff is a well-known non-fiction author who surely brings in some attention from civilians. I wouldn’t be surprised if American Virgin and Exterminators get cancelled first.
Speaking as a Vertigo fan, I’ve stopped worrying about cancellations and go into every new series with the expectation that it won’t last much longer than a year. Thus, I can only be pleasantly surprised by the occasional success. And though I enjoy many of Vertigo’s new titles of the last two years, most of these books have rather narrowly defined concepts that don’t exactly cry out to be explored over fifty or sixty issues. None of them seem to have the grand epic feel of Fables or Y. I hope the creative teams adopt this attitude, too, so they won’t be too disappointed when cancellation strikes.
I’m saddened by the sales of Crossing Midnight and think this is mostly due to there being no easy way to explain this book to people that would like it. I don’t think that every story, book, movie. etc can be summed up in a sound bite and that’s not a bad thing except when you’re trying to find an audience for that project. Hopefully sales of the Crossing Midnight trade will boost the profile of this title.
Also discouraging are the Ex Machina numbers. I’m going to guess that a large number of people may be switching to trades on this title (hopefully).
[quote]> Plainly, WildStorm is struggling badly right now, and from an outside perspective, it’s getting increasingly difficult to justify its existence as an imprint. At this point, it doesn’t do anything the publisher’s DC Universe or Vertigo lines wouldn’t be able to handle, in terms of content, and the numbers don’t suggest that “WildStorm” is a brand that’s desperately needed in the year 2007.
But it’s a separate company, isn’t it? Does their contract enable DC to just abandon the brand? Besides, your Average Sales per Title show that it’s not doing that badly in the long term comparison. I think there is always going to be a niche for edgier superhero books. [/quote]
I think the real reason DC wanted Wildstorm was for Jim Lee and some of his crew. Oh yeah, and “Astro City”!
Maybe a couple of things Wildstorm could explore as the “edgier superhero” imprint are the following:
1) Web-only comics.
Just take one or two titles and make them web-only. Explore the viability of moving superheroes to the web. Really work on making a user-friendly format and interface. Try new things. Try all-Flash comics. Be the place where everyone wants to go. And print tpb collections once there’s enough content.
2) European-style graphic novels.
I don’t visit the local comic stores as much as I used to. It’s easier for me to visit Border’s and Barnes and Noble nowadays. It’s through those stores that I found out about “Sleeper”, “American Way”, “Albion” and “Thunderbolt Jaxon”. Maybe Wildstorm could be the imprint that skips the pamphlet in favor of the graphic novel approach.
There’s a lot of neat stuff coming out of Wildstorm. Their stuff feels more modern, so their approach to selling books should reflect that, shouldn’t it?
Can anyone tell me if DC announced THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES IN THE 31ST CENTURY #1 would be a Free Comic Book Day book before the final order cutoff? If so, that could be why the orders came in so low…
How is Justice a “suprise hit”?
It’s Alex Ross!
Doing a full on All Star type league
I think the simplest expression of DC’s current situation is “they need to stop taking two steps back whenever they take a step forward.”
I agree with you on the All-Star line, if two books can be considered a ‘line’. I stopped, though, with the statement [quote] ‘a Superman comic by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely which doesn’t manage to crack the Top 20 can’t exactly be rated as a success [end quote]. First: it’s #21. Come on. Second: it’s #21 because of multiple issues of titles (Countdown, World War III, Justice League, Fallen Son). 8 extra issues of 4 titles. That makes All-Star Superman the 13th highest selling TITLE and DC’s 6th highest. (Yes weekly format, yes catch up month, yes they have separate order quantities, yes if you pool the multiple issues together,
I get all that. But if Justice shipped all 12 of its issues the same month, each issues order being similar, would anything be able to crack the top ten?). Third: in April it sold 20K more than Superman/Batman, and 30K more than Superman’s top-selling core title, Action Comics. It may not be what DC originally said, intended, or hoped, but it seems somewhat successful to me.
As for late books, they SHOULD get their clock cleaned as Mark Engblom suggested. But I don’t think DC cares. I believe it was Paul Levitz in a year-in-review interview in Comic Shop News who said that since sales don’t seem to be affected by lateness, DC wasn’t worried about it. Maybe now they’re starting to worry, but as long as we buy the late books, and we will, and the big crossovers DC is more fixed on than the regular books, and we will, it won’t change. I do like the listings of past years issues, like with the Flash, and seeing the issue numbers exactly 12 apart, as they should be. Memories…
I’m sure my time is up, but one more thing. How do you pick the books you list on here from other publishers? Is it their rank? Their hype? Dark Horse is there, but what about Hellboy and BPRD? They both shipped in April. They may not out sell Invincible (#140), I don’t know, but they have to beat Cartoon Network Block Party (#275).
Yeah, but he’s only half-drawing it and Jim Kruger is far from a big name. Also, its not in any sort of continuity.
I think everyone expected it to do well, but I think few expected it to be a chart topper.
DC shot themselves in the foot 20+ years ago when they started aiming MOST of their DCU titles at older teens and adults, which they continue to do to this day. That’s right, I said it. The reason MOST of the DCU superhero titles sell like crap, is because they continue to aim ALL (no longer MOST0 of their DCU superhero titles at the existing and shrinking older teen/adult readership and the mythical new older teen/adult readership. Hell, the “adult” content has gotten even MORE explicit over the last 5+ years.
And Marvel has been following DC’s bad/stupid example since Quesada became EIC, but at least they have a rating system and have been known to be a little more cautious/responsible when it comes to the content in their books.
Wraith said:
“And Marvel has been following DC’s bad/stupid example since Quesada became EIC, but at least they have a rating system and have been known to be a little more cautious/responsible when it comes to the content in their books.”
———-
Hentai Tentacles?
RE: Rush City
I think your giving ‘Rush City’ an unfair rub. True, the sales were awful, but it’s more than a car advertisement. I thought it was a fun, fast-paced series about a hired gun with a gadgety car. I don’t think the series ever mentioned it was a Pontiac Solstice. If Rush had said, “How great is my Pontiac Solstice” or guest-star Black Canary said, “This isn’t an ordinary Pontiac Solsitce, is it?”, then I’d agree with you, but it wasn’t that way at all. If featuring the car in the series makes it a glorified advert we’re expected to pay for, you may want to turn on your television or go to the movies sometime.
How great is it that GM thought they could reach their target market by producing a comic book? They must not know anything about how few people the industry actually reaches when compared to conventional advertising. Lots of folks scoffed at this almost naked marketing ploy, but I hope it’s a trend. It didn’t hurt comics or GM, and we got some fun Chuck Dixon stories in the bargain.
The optimist in me says “Maybe DC doesn’t really care about sales of monthlies anymore since trades and hardcovers are eventually going to dominate and generating occasional perrenial sellers is more important than temporarily boosting pamphlet sales.”
Then I take a look at the current solicitations, and nearly everthing is a tie-in to Countdown or Amazon’s Attack.
Anyway, DC deserves credit for sticking with good material that doesn’t sell well much longer than Marvel does. Unfortunately they don’t seem to be putting out that much good material at the moment.
friday the 13th was not cancelled. it was always a 6 issue mini series.
and what this list tells me is that people need to buy more jonah hex. there…i said it. lol.
jimmy
Thanks to Marc-Oliver and The Beat for doing these charts. They are a great read!
I cant beleave Manhunter sales sales have gone down again!! :( When DC bring it back its needs a new #1. Make it seem more accessible.
(I so cant spell right now) :P
Also, Jimmy I loved your Friday 13th series. Best of the lot !! Loved the 2 stoners and the gay twist :)
After Marc Andreyko does his 2 parter (can’t wait!!) you have to do another horror story!! I vote Nightmare on elm st!!
Heinz: “But it’s a separate company, isn’t it? Does their contract enable DC to just abandon the brand? ”
No, DC bought WildStorm outright several years ago. It’s a “separate company” in the sense that it still has a separate legal existence as a wholly owned subsidiary of DC, but it’s effectively under their control.
Jimmy Palmiotti: “friday the 13th was not cancelled. it was always a 6 issue mini series. ”
Erm… with the greatest respect, Jimmy, I think you must be mistaken. The book was solicited as an ongoing title, and on 13 March 2007, DC even went to the trouble of putting out a press release to announce that it was cancelled. (“FRIDAY THE 13TH comes to an end as an ongoing series with issue #6…” – http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=104993 ) At the very least, if it *was* always meant to be a miniseries, Marc can’t be faulted for assuming that DC are describing the book correctly.
“friday the 13th was not cancelled. it was always a 6 issue mini series.”
That’s not correct.
First up, the solicitations never indicated anything about a limited run, as they usually do in the case of limited series. The solicitation copy for issue #6 even states that it’s the book’s “first arc” which ends, without revealing that it’s actually the final issue.
Second, DC sent out a press release in March which announced the cancelation of the ongoing horror titles (and their continuation as specials and limited series). The press release reads: “FRIDAY THE 13TH comes to an end as an ongoing series with issue #6 (MAR070260), scheduled to arrive in stores on May 9.”
If it was always meant to be a limited series, as you suggest, DC certainly seem to have done their best to hide that fact from everyone.
“I think your giving ‘Rush City’ an unfair rub. True, the sales were awful, but it’s more than a car advertisement.”
TV commercials have creative merits as well, but that doesn’t change the fact they’re ads. The book was paid for by General Motors. That makes it an advertisement.
re: Rush City
Marc-Oliver said “The book was paid for by General Motors. That makes it an advertisement.”
So, by your logic, if Ford sponsors a commercial-free airing of ‘Schindler’s List’, then ‘Schindler’s List’ is an advertisement for Ford.
I never said ‘Rush City’ wasn’t an advetisement, I said it was “more than” an advertisement. My argument with you was your negative and dismissive tone of a book that could have been filled with crass commercialism and wasn’t at all.
The ‘Schindler’s List’ argument doesn’t work. Sponsoring an screening of a movie does not change ownership of the film. If Ford had produced the movie, which they never would have done, because it has nothing to do with cars and everything to do with crass sentimentality, than you would be correct.
You’re welcome to keep arguing with Marc, and your second statement has value (that the advertisement was “more than”) but seeing the use of the word logic and then a misuse of the term got stuck in my craw this morning.
“So, by your logic, if Ford sponsors a commercial-free airing of ‘Schindler’s List’, then ‘Schindler’s List’ is an advertisement for Ford.”
Erm, as far as I know, the Ford Motor Company did not approach Spielberg to make SCHINDLER’S LIST as a part of their promotional campaign for the Mondeo.
“I never said ‘Rush City’ wasn’t an advetisement, I said it was “more than” an advertisement.”
You seem to see an inherent contradiction between the notions of advertising and creative storytelling. Well, I don’t.
Quite possibly, RUSH CITY could be an inspired comic book with great storytelling. That doesn’t change the fact it’s an advert paid for by General Motors and made to promote a car, however.
I agree with Marc. It’s a comic book commissioned for the primary purpose of advertising a car by way of product-placement; therefore it’s an advert. Even if it’s an advert that happens to take the form of a good story, it’s still an advert. (And I wouldn’t know; I haven’t read it.)
I’m not remotely surprised that the book has failed. It featured no established or popular characters, it was a miniseries on the fringes of the DC Universe, and the only thing most people knew about it was that it had been commissioned as a product placement exercise. It’s hardly surprising that it didn’t sell very well. I can’t imagine why anyone ever thought it would, to be honest.
Bearing this in mind, a Superman comic by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely which doesn’t manage to crack the Top 20 can’t exactly be rated as a success.
No offense, but you have GOT to be kidding. If 90+ K in sales is really a “disaster,” the American comics industry must be wayyyyyyyy healthier than I’ve been hearing for, I dunno, like at least a decade. I’m sure DC would be quite pleased if more of their titles were to bomb in a similar fashion.
Save BLUE BEETLE! Lawsy!
Tucker :
I was using Marc’s “paid for by” as my example. Did GM produce
‘Rush City’? No, DC did. GM paid for it. Sorry about the craw-sticking. And thanks for your permission for me to continue arguing with Marc. You’re ever-so gracious. ‘Crass Sentimentalism’ would be a great name for an album.
Marc:
You misinterpreted me. I don’t see any contradiction between advertising and creative storytelling. They’re essential partners. I was warmed to read your statement – “Quite possibly, RUSH CITY could be an inspired comic book with great storytelling.” – because it’s leagues away from “a glorified advert you’re meant to pay money for” and was my whole point in posting originally. Thanks.
RUSH would have made a great free comic and I bet TONS of people would have read it- it would have been cool to see if comics could use the same free advertising model that network TV uses.
I also have to second Sphinx Magoo’s comment about Wildstorm moving to Euro format stuff. It would be neat experiment and I could easily Elephantmen fitting into it. Frankly, given Image’s back end deal (great for a break out hit but not so great for books needing a little more marketing support and creators seeking financial stability) I find it a little surprising that other companies (especially Vertigo and Wildstorm) aren’t “stealing” the top indy books from Image.
“They’re essential partners. I was warmed to read your statement – “Quite possibly, RUSH CITY could be an inspired comic book with great storytelling.” – because it’s leagues away from “a glorified advert you’re meant to pay money for” and was my whole point in posting originally.”
Well, EVERY book I comment on could, in theory, be a great, well-told comic (or, just as easily, a crappy, badly-told one, of course), so it seems moot to point it out each and every time. The more significant point, in this case, is that the book happens to be a glorified advert.
Dear DC:
I like Superman as a character. I am also a fan of Kurt Busiek and Geoff Johns as writers. Yet I am not buying any of the “monthly” Superman comics, because the scheduling is such a train wreck and I can’t make heads or tails out of what is coming out when. Please get your s*** together as I would like to give you my money. Thank you in advance.