As you may have heard, DC had this relaunch thing going on in September, ending several months of deck-clearing and water-treading in the company’s superhero line. The kick-off came in the last week of August, with the release of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee’s Justice League #1, which — to nobody’s surprise — leads the August charts by quite a margin. To gauge what this means in the broader context of the comic-book direct market, though, we’ll have to go back a few years.
See below for the details, and please consider the small print at the end of the column. 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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1/29/160 - JUSTICE LEAGUE 08/2006: JL of America #1 -- 212,581 [251,266] 08/2007: JL of America #12 -- 131,420 [137,181] 08/2008: JL of America #24 -- 81,451 08/2009: JL of America #36 -- 57,549 -------------------------------------- 08/2010: JL of America #48 -- 60,733 (+ 0.6%) 09/2010: JL of America #49 -- 57,616 (- 5.1%) 10/2010: JL of America #50 -- 59,686 (+ 3.6%) 11/2010: JL of America #51 -- 50,887 (- 14.7%) 12/2010: JL of America #52 -- 48,501 (- 4.7%) 01/2011: JL of America #53 -- 47,093 (- 2.9%) 02/2011: JL of America #54 -- 46,269 (- 1.8%) 03/2011: JL of America #55 -- 50,533 (+ 9.2%) 04/2011: JL of America #56 -- 47,179 (- 6.6%) 05/2011: JL of America #57 -- 46,729 (- 1.0%) 06/2011: JL of America #58 -- 45,442 (- 2.8%) 07/2011: JL of America #59 -- 43,545 (- 4.2%) 08/2011: JL of America #60 -- 42,587 (- 2.2%) 08/2011: Justice League #1 -- 185,776 (+336.2%) ----------------- 6 months: +146.8% 1 year : + 88.0% 2 years : + 98.4% 5 years : - 46.3%
Included in the numbers above are an estimated 14,432 units of a so-called “Combo Pack” edition that came with an access code to the book’s digital version and retailed for $ 4.99, as opposed to the $ 3.99 of the regular edition, and charted at No. 160.
Another thing that’s worth noting here is that Justice League #1 didn’t actually result in an increase of average comic-book sales for DC in August — both the DC Universe and the overall DC figure went down by a few notches and remained firmly in their established ranges. Once the rest of DC’s line follows suit, that’s likely to change, of course.
With that out of the way: Is Justice League #1 the biggest thing since sliced bread?
Well, as the five-year comparison happens to show, handily, the first-month sales aren’t even close to setting any sort of record, for starters. Even if you only look at this particular title, and even if you just consider the context of the last five years, there’s Justice League of America #1, from August 2006, which sold an estimated 212,581 units in its first month.
And that’s not the only book released in this period whose first-month sales outnumber those of the new Justice League #1. There are also Captain America: Reborn #1 (July 2009, estimated first-month sales of 193,142), the “Obama” issue of Amazing Spider-Man (January 2009, 352,953) and Secret Invasion #1 (April 2008, 250,263) — plus five others that came out since August 2006. So, overall, Justice League #1 ranks No. 10, as far as the comic books with the best first-month sales of the last five years are concerned.
But that’s only one part of the relevant context here, of course. Another is that Justice League #1 is the best-selling comic book since Captain America: Reborn #1 came out in July 2009, in terms of first-month sales. Runners-up: Avengers #1 (May 2010, 163,867), Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #160 (June 2011, 159,355) and Blackest Night #2 (August 2009, 146,092). And, overall, there have only been 41 comic books with estimated first-month sales above 100,000 in the last two years, only 7 of which (in a word: SEVEN!) came out in the last 12 months. As a point of comparison: Between March 2003 (which is the earliest comparable ICv2.com estimate we have) and July 2006 alone — a period of less than three and a half years — 103 comic books with estimated first-month sales of 100,000 and up were released by DC Comics alone — not counting all the ones from Marvel and other publishers.
In this context, it’s not hard to believe DC — or retailers, for that matter — when they say that the demand for Justice League #1 exceeded their wildest expectations. For the industry as it’s developed over the last couple of years, it’s quite a success, relatively speaking. The farther you go back beyond the last two years, however — and you don’t actually have to go back that far — the clearer it becomes that this isn’t remotely close to being game-changer territory. Bluntly, these are not numbers that suggest that the comic-book direct market is suddenly going to be brimming again with all-new customers eager to spend money.
Now, if this doesn’t come as a great surprise to you, I tend to agree: There’s ample reason to be skeptical, as far as visions of another sustained upswing for comic books sold in specialty stores are concerned. If you take the stance that DC’s digital initiative was the real game-changer here — which I think makes a lot of sense — then more or less stable direct-market figures in the wake of the relaunch would arguably have to rate as a success, as long as digital sales get a significant jolt from this in the long term.
Either way, it’s going to be an interesting couple of years for the industry, from here on.
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2/4 - FLASHPOINT 05/2011: Flashpoint #1 of 5 -- 86,981 [95,845] 06/2011: Flashpoint #2 of 5 -- 87,505 (+0.6%) [92,482] 07/2011: Flashpoint #3 of 5 -- 86,007 (-1.7%) 08/2011: Flashpoint #4 of 5 -- 86,216 (+0.2%) 08/2011: Flashpoint #5 of 5 -- 94,547 (+9.7%)
The final issue of the miniseries that ushers in the relaunch profits from its release date — Justice League #1 and Flashpoint #5 were the only DC comic books released on August 31.
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8 - WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERNS: AFTERMATH 07/2011: WotGL: Aftermath #1 of 2 -- 61,166 08/2011: WotGL: Aftermath #2 of 2 -- 57,707 (-5.7%)
Barely a drop-off. Good numbers for this type of book.
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15 - BATMAN, INC. 11/2010: Batman, Inc. #1 -- 95,587 12/2010: Batman, Inc. #2 -- 71,544 (-25.2%) [72,957] 01/2011: -- 02/2011: -- 03/2011: Batman, Inc. #3 -- 66,772 (- 6.7%) 03/2011: Batman, Inc. #4 -- 65,315 (- 2.2%) 04/2011: Batman, Inc. #5 -- 62,204 (- 4.8%) 05/2011: Batman, Inc. #6 -- 60,480 (- 2.8%) 06/2011: Batman, Inc. #7 -- 56,108 (- 7.2%) 07/2011: -- 08/2011: Batman, Inc. #8 -- 53,481 (- 4.7%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a.
Aaand cancelled. Originally, this was supposed to be 12 issues, then cut to 10, and now there’s a big, triple-sized one-shot special on the schedule for December to wrap up Grant Morrison’s Batman epic. Sales have suffered quite a bit in recent months.
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16 - GREEN LANTERN CORPS 08/2006: Green Lantern Corps #3 -- 51,485 08/2007: Green Lantern Corps #15 -- 51,572 [57,751] 08/2008: Green Lantern Corps #27 -- 46,045 08/2009: Green Lantern Corps #39 -- 84,241 ------------------------------------------ 08/2010: Green Lantern Corps #51 -- 67,124 (+ 0.1%) 09/2010: Green Lantern Corps #52 -- 63,577 (- 5.3%) 10/2010: Green Lantern Corps #53 -- 60,808 (- 4.4%) 11/2010: Green Lantern Corps #54 -- 57,448 (- 5.5%) 12/2010: Green Lantern Corps #55 -- 54,387 (- 5.3%) 01/2011: Green Lantern Corps #56 -- 53,646 (- 1.4%) 02/2011: Green Lantern Corps #57 -- 52,770 (- 1.6%) 03/2011: Green Lantern Corps #58 -- 60,100 (+13.9%) 04/2011: Green Lantern Corps #59 -- 60,162 (+ 0.1%) 05/2011: Green Lantern Corps #60 -- 60,964 (+ 1.3%) 06/2011: -- 07/2011: Green Lantern Corps #61 -- 60,836 (- 0.2%) 07/2011: Green Lantern Corps #62 -- 57,928 (- 4.8%) 08/2011: Green Lantern Corps #63 -- 53,372 (- 7.9%) ---------------- 6 months: + 1.1% 1 year : -20.5% 2 years : -36.4% 5 years : + 3.7%
Dropping back to its normal level, to be relaunched.
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17 - BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT 12/2010: Dark Knight #1 -- 89,985 [92,791] 01/2011: -- 02/2011: -- 03/2011: Dark Knight #2 -- 71,108 (-21.0%) 04/2011: -- 05/2011: -- 06/2011: -- 07/2011: Dark Knight #3 -- 62,792 (-11.7%) 07/2011: Dark Knight #4 -- 57,333 (- 8.7%) 08/2011: Dark Knight #5 -- 52,908 (- 7.7%) ----------------- 6 months: n.a.
Another recently launched Batman book that ends up being cut short by a few issues — and is losing readers by the truckload. Which isn’t surprising, either. After all, it’s a David Finch vehicle, as in David Finch, Him Who Draws Comic Books. Of the five issues that came out, only the first three have art by Finch, and all of them were horribly late, so people were probably a wee bit disappointed.
Nonetheless, it’s part of the relaunch.
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18 - BATMAN AND ROBIN 08/2009: Batman and Robin #3 -- 110,594 ---------------------------------------- 08/2010: -- 09/2010: Batman and Robin #14 -- 82,894 (- 3.4%) 10/2010: Batman and Robin #15 -- 80,173 (- 3.3%) 11/2010: Batman and Robin #16 -- 80,343 (+ 0.2%) 11/2010: Batman and Robin #17 -- 70,600 (-12.1%) 12/2010: Batman and Robin #18 -- 68,814 (- 2.5%) 01/2011: Batman and Robin #19 -- 61,785 (-10.2%) 02/2011: Batman and Robin #20 -- 60,642 (- 1.9%) 03/2011: Batman and Robin #21 -- 59,818 (- 1.4%) 04/2011: Batman and Robin #22 -- 59,076 (- 1.2%) 05/2011: Batman and Robin #23 -- 57,525 (- 2.6%) 06/2011: Batman and Robin #24 -- 54,984 (- 4.4%) 07/2011: Batman and Robin #25 -- 55,172 (+ 0.3%) 08/2011: Batman and Robin #26 -- 52,704 (- 4.5%) ---------------- 6 months: -13.1% 1 year : n.a. 2 years : -52.4%
20 - BATMAN 08/2006: Batman #656 -- 95,982 [99,024] 08/2007: Batman #667 -- 78,578 [82,418] 08/2007: Batman #668 -- 76,962 08/2008: Batman #679 -- 103,588 08/2009: Batman #689 -- 78,392 ------------------------------- 08/2010: Batman #702 -- 73,414 (- 3.9%) 09/2010: Batman #703 -- 77,033 (+ 4.9%) 10/2010: -- 11/2010: Batman #704 -- 65,212 (-15.4%) 12/2010: Batman #705 -- 63,262 (- 3.0%) 01/2011: Batman #706 -- 60,231 (- 4.8%) 02/2011: Batman #707 -- 58,803 (- 2.4%) 03/2011: Batman #708 -- 58,594 (- 0.4%) 04/2011: Batman #709 -- 56,578 (- 3.4%) 05/2011: Batman #710 -- 55,086 (- 2.6%) 06/2011: Batman #711 -- 53,113 (- 3.6%) 07/2011: Batman #712 -- 51,385 (- 3.3%) 08/2011: Batman #713 -- 51,760 (+ 0.7%) ---------------- 6 months: -12.0% 1 year : -29.5% 2 years : -34.0% 5 years : -46.1%
Two Batman books, to be relaunched by new creative teams.
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27 - GREEN LANTERN: EMERALD WARRIORS 08/2010: Emerald Warriors #1 -- 68,332 09/2010: Emerald Warriors #2 -- 56,289 (-17.6%) 10/2010: Emerald Warriors #3 -- 50,490 (-10.3%) 11/2010: Emerald Warriors #4 -- 46,319 (- 8.3%) 12/2010: Emerald Warriors #5 -- 44,077 (- 4.8%) 01/2011: Emerald Warriors #6 -- 43,471 (- 1.4%) 02/2011: Emerald Warriors #7 -- 44,828 (+ 3.1%) 03/2011: Emerald Warriors #8 -- 51,322 (+14.5%) [54,110] 04/2011: Emerald Warriors #9 -- 51,784 (+ 0.5%) 05/2011: Emerald Warriors #10 -- 52,971 (+ 2.3%) 06/2011: Emerald Warriors #11 -- 53,927 (+ 1.8%) 07/2011: Emerald Warriors #12 -- 48,087 (-10.8%) 08/2011: Emerald Warriors #13 -- 44,228 (- 8.0%) ---------------- 6 months: - 1.3% 1 year : -35.3%
Cancelled. The book has done very well for the tertiary Green Lantern title, however, so it’s not surprising that DC is replacing it with not one but two new Green Lantern spin-off books in September.
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34 - FLASHPOINT: BATMAN: KNIGHT OF VENGEANCE 06/2011: Batman #1 of 3 -- 45,129 [48,671] 07/2011: Batman #2 of 3 -- 40,760 (-9.7%) 08/2011: Batman #3 of 3 -- 40,275 (-1.2%)
Still the best-selling Flashpoint spin-off, and still generally excellent numbers for a miniseries, too.
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37 - DETECTIVE COMICS 08/2006: Detective Comics #822 -- 66,372 08/2007: Detective Comics #835 -- 50,479 08/2008: Detective Comics #847 -- 71,134 08/2009: Detective Comics #856 -- 58,859 ----------------------------------------- 08/2010: Detective Comics #868 -- 38,682 (- 4.2%) 09/2010: Detective Comics #869 -- 37,394 (- 3.3%) 10/2010: Detective Comics #870 -- 35,674 (- 4.6%) 11/2010: Detective Comics #871 -- 36,941 (+ 3.6%) 12/2010: Detective Comics #872 -- 37,961 (+ 2.8%) [39,758] 01/2011: Detective Comics #873 -- 38,417 (+ 1.2%) 02/2011: Detective Comics #874 -- 39,106 (+ 1.8%) 03/2011: Detective Comics #875 -- 40,047 (+ 2.4%) 04/2011: Detective Comics #876 -- 40,133 (+ 0.2%) 05/2011: Detective Comics #877 -- 39,609 (- 1.3%) 06/2011: Detective Comics #878 -- 39,152 (- 1.2%) 07/2011: Detective Comics #879 -- 39,185 (+ 0.1%) 07/2011: Detective Comics #880 -- 38,585 (- 1.5%) 08/2011: Detective Comics #881 -- 39,729 (+ 3.0%) ----------------- 6 months: + 1.6% 1 year : + 2.7% 2 years : - 32.5% 5 years : - 40.1%
38 - ACTION COMICS 08/2006: Action Comics #842 -- 57,964 08/2007: Action Comics #853 -- 49,694 08/2007: Action Comics #854 -- 48,455 08/2007: Action Comics #855 -- 55,536 08/2008: Action Comics #868 -- 49,556 08/2009: Action Comics #880 -- 37,588 ------------------------------------- 08/2010: Action Comics #892 -- 36,401 (+ 3.0%) 09/2010: Action Comics #893 -- 33,948 (- 6.7%) 10/2010: Action Comics #894 -- 42,291 (+24.6%) 11/2010: Action Comics #895 -- 33,089 (-21.8%) 12/2010: Action Comics #896 -- 32,357 (- 2.2%) 01/2011: Action Comics #897 -- 32,134 (- 0.7%) 02/2011: Action Comics #898 -- 31,935 (- 0.6%) 03/2011: Action Comics #899 -- 31,808 (- 0.4%) 04/2011: Action Comics #900 -- 60,152 (+89.1%) [73,004] 05/2011: Action Comics #901 -- 44,143 (-26.6%) 06/2011: Action Comics #902 -- 41,960 (- 5.0%) 07/2011: Action Comics #903 -- 40,205 (- 4.2%) 08/2011: Action Comics #904 -- 39,323 (- 2.2%) ----------------- 6 months: + 23.1% 1 year : + 8.0% 2 years : + 4.6% 5 years : - 32.2%
DC’s two longest-running periodical comic-book titles, about to be relaunched by new creative teams.
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44 - BRIGHTEST DAY AFTERMATH: THE SEARCH 06/2011: The Search #1 of 3 -- 51,928 07/2011: The Search #2 of 3 -- 41,257 (-20.6%) 08/2011: The Search #3 of 3 -- 37,509 (- 9.1%)
A post-event mini with relatively solid figures.
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46 - SUPERMAN 08/2006: Superman #655 -- 66,976 08/2007: Superman #666 -- 53,566 08/2008: Superman #679 -- 46,615 08/2009: Superman #691 -- 39,106 --------------------------------- 08/2010: Superman #702 -- 50,023 (- 8.2%) 09/2010: -- 10/2010: Superman #703 -- 50,460 (+ 0.9%) 10/2010: Superman #704 -- 46,741 (- 7.4%) 11/2010: Superman #705 -- 46,261 (- 1.0%) 12/2010: Superman #706 -- 43,027 (- 7.0%) 01/2011: Superman #707 -- 41,843 (- 2.8%) 02/2011: Superman #708 -- 40,639 (- 2.9%) 03/2011: Superman #709 -- 39,846 (- 2.0%) 04/2011: Superman #710 -- 39,644 (- 0.5%) 05/2011: Superman #711 -- 38,471 (- 3.0%) 06/2011: Superman #712 -- 37,362 (- 2.9%) 07/2011: Superman #713 -- 36,646 (- 1.9%) 08/2011: Superman #714 -- 35,919 (- 2.0%) ----------------- 6 months: - 11.6% 1 year : - 28.2% 2 years : - 8.2% 5 years : - 46.4%
To be relaunched with a new creative team.
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52 - FLASHPOINT: ABIN SUR THE GREEN LANTERN 06/2011: Abin Sur #1 of 3 -- 41,612 07/2011: Abin Sur #2 of 3 -- 34,698 (-16.6%) 08/2011: Abin Sur #3 of 3 -- 31,820 (- 8.3%)
54 - FLASHPOINT: PROJECT SUPERMAN 06/2011: Project Superman #1 of 3 -- 38,045 07/2011: Project Superman #2 of 3 -- 31,017 (-18.5%) 08/2011: Project Superman #3 of 3 -- 30,565 (- 1.5%)
57 - FLASHPOINT: WONDER WOMAN AND THE FURIES 06/2011: Wonder Woman #1 of 3 -- 36,365 07/2011: Wonder Woman #2 of 3 -- 30,484 (-16.2%) 08/2011: Wonder Woman #3 of 3 -- 29,492 (- 3.3%)
58 - FLASHPOINT: EMPEROR AQUAMAN 06/2011: Emperor Aquaman #1 of 3 -- 36,297 07/2011: Emperor Aquaman #2 of 3 -- 30,288 (-16.6%) 08/2011: Emperor Aquaman #3 of 3 -- 29,491 (- 2.6%)
Flashpoint glut, part one.
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60 - WONDER WOMAN 08/2006: Wonder Woman #2 -- 84,618 [87,276] 08/2007: Wonder Woman #12 -- 50,880 08/2008: Wonder Woman #23 -- 35,562 08/2009: Wonder Woman #35 -- 29,657 ------------------------------------- 08/2010: Wonder Woman #602 -- 38,012 (- 4.2%) 09/2010: Wonder Woman #603 -- 38,852 (+ 2.2%) 10/2010: Wonder Woman #604 -- 37,405 (- 3.7%) 11/2010: -- 12/2010: Wonder Woman #605 -- 35,495 (- 5.1%) 01/2011: Wonder Woman #606 -- 33,601 (- 5.3%) 02/2011: Wonder Woman #607 -- 33,053 (- 1.6%) 03/2011: Wonder Woman #608 -- 32,540 (- 1.6%) 03/2011: Wonder Woman #609 -- 31,421 (- 3.4%) 04/2011: Wonder Woman #610 -- 31,002 (- 1.3%) 05/2011: -- 06/2011: Wonder Woman #611 -- 30,874 (- 0.4%) 06/2011: Wonder Woman #612 -- 30,690 (- 0.6%) 07/2011: Wonder Woman #613 -- 29,720 (- 3.2%) 08/2011: Wonder Woman #614 -- 29,223 (- 1.7%) ----------------- 6 months: - 11.6% 1 year : - 23.1% 2 years : - 1.5% 5 years : - 65.5%
To be relaunched with new creators.
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62 - FLASHPOINT: HAL JORDAN 06/2011: Hal Jordan #1 of 3 -- 39,404 07/2011: Hal Jordan #2 of 3 -- 31,329 (-20.5%) 08/2011: Hal Jordan #3 of 3 -- 28,911 (- 7.7%)
It started out as one of the better-selling Flashpoint minis, but didn’t finish as one.
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63/65 - BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY 05/2011: Arkham City #1 of 5 -- 36,597 06/2011: Arkham City #2 of 5 -- 31,141 (-14.9%) 06/2011: Arkham City #3 of 5 -- 28,443 (- 8.7%) 07/2011: -- 08/2011: Arkham City #4 of 5 -- 28,573 (+ 0.5%) 08/2011: Arkham City #5 of 5 -- 28,042 (- 1.9%)
A video-game adaptation.
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64 - BOOSTER GOLD 08/2007: Booster Gold #1 -- 53,689 [57,811] 08/2008: Booster Gold #11 -- 32,900 08/2009: Booster Gold #23 -- 22,108 ----------------------------------- 08/2010: Booster Gold #35 -- 19,104 (- 2.5%) 09/2010: Booster Gold #36 -- 18,504 (- 3.1%) 10/2010: Booster Gold #37 -- 17,806 (- 3.8%) 11/2010: Booster Gold #38 -- 17,276 (- 3.0%) 12/2010: Booster Gold #39 -- 16,686 (- 3.4%) 01/2011: Booster Gold #40 -- 16,324 (- 2.2%) 02/2011: Booster Gold #41 -- 15,864 (- 2.8%) 03/2011: Booster Gold #42 -- 16,093 (+ 1.4%) 04/2011: Booster Gold #43 -- 16,018 (- 0.5%) 05/2011: Booster Gold #44 -- 23,332 (+ 45.7%) 06/2011: Booster Gold #45 -- 26,183 (+ 12.2%) 07/2011: Booster Gold #46 -- 28,397 (+ 8.5%) 08/2011: Booster Gold #47 -- 28,295 (- 0.4%) ---------------- 6 months: +78.4% 1 year : +48.1% 2 years : +28.0%
Cancelled.
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67 - FLASHPOINT: THE WORLD OF FLASHPOINT 06/2011: World of Flashpoint #1 of 3 -- 36,358 07/2011: World of Flashpoint #2 of 3 -- 29,552 (-18.7%) 08/2011: World of Flashpoint #3 of 3 -- 27,743 (- 6.1%)
More Flashpoint stuff winding down.
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68/98 - TEEN TITANS 08/2006: Teen Titans #38 -- 69,232 08/2007: Teen Titans #50 -- 69,620 08/2008: Teen Titans #62 -- 43,258 08/2009: Teen Titans #74 -- 30,380 ----------------------------------- 08/2010: Teen Titans #86 -- 24,971 (+ 3.0%) 09/2010: Teen Titans #87 -- 23,259 (- 6.9%) 10/2010: Teen Titans #88 -- 27,637 (+18.8%) 11/2010: Teen Titans #89 -- 26,444 (- 4.3%) 12/2010: Teen Titans #90 -- 25,997 (- 1.7%) 01/2011: Teen Titans #91 -- 25,443 (- 2.1%) 02/2011: Teen Titans #92 -- 26,170 (+ 2.9%) 03/2011: Teen Titans #93 -- 24,957 (- 4.6%) 04/2011: Teen Titans #94 -- 25,187 (+ 0.9%) 05/2011: Teen Titans #95 -- 24,738 (- 1.8%) 06/2011: Teen Titans #96 -- 23,849 (- 3.6%) 07/2011: Teen Titans #97 -- 23,138 (- 3.0%) 07/2011: Teen Titans #98 -- 23,095 (- 0.2%) 08/2011: Teen Titans #99 -- 23,756 (+ 2.9%) 08/2011: Teen Titans #100 -- 27,459 (+15.6%) ---------------- 6 months: - 2.2% 1 year : + 2.6% 2 years : -15.7% 5 years : -63.0%
To be relaunched by new creators.
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72 - RED ROBIN 08/2006: Robin #153 -- 36,608 08/2007: Robin #165 -- 25,397 08/2008: Robin #176 -- 54,912 08/2008: Robin #177 -- 31,346 08/2009: Red Robin #3 -- 50,329 -------------------------------- 08/2010: Red Robin #15 -- 34,709 (- 2.7%) 09/2010: Red Robin #16 -- 33,753 (- 2.8%) 10/2010: -- 11/2010: Red Robin #17 -- 31,825 (- 5.7%) 12/2010: Red Robin #18 -- 30,873 (- 3.0%) 01/2011: Red Robin #19 -- 30,547 (- 1.1%) 02/2011: Red Robin #20 -- 30,149 (- 1.3%) 03/2011: Red Robin #21 -- 29,652 (- 1.7%) 04/2011: Red Robin #22 -- 31,786 (+ 7.2%) 05/2011: Red Robin #23 -- 29,097 (- 8.5%) 06/2011: Red Robin #24 -- 28,367 (- 2.5%) 07/2011: Red Robin #25 -- 27,390 (- 3.4%) 08/2011: Red Robin #26 -- 26,939 (- 1.7%) ----------------- 6 months: - 10.7% 1 year : - 22.4% 2 years : - 46.5% 5 years : - 26.4%
Cancelled, somewhat surprisingly.
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77/86 - BATMAN: GATES OF GOTHAM 05/2011: Gates of Gotham #1 of 6 -- 32,432 06/2011: Gates of Gotham #2 of 6 -- 27,777 (-14.4%) 07/2011: Gates of Gotham #3 of 5 -- 25,995 (- 6.4%) 08/2011: Gates of Gotham #4 of 5 -- 26,533 (+ 2.1%) 08/2011: Gates of Gotham #5 of 5 -- 25,376 (- 4.4%)
Solid numbers for a miniseries, probably thanks to Scott Snyder’s name in the credits.
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79 - SUPERMAN/BATMAN 08/2006: Superman/Batman #29 -- 90,665 08/2007: Superman/Batman #39 -- 59,622 08/2008: Superman/Batman #51 -- 51,701 08/2009: Superman/Batman #63 -- 37,467 --------------------------------------- 08/2010: Superman/Batman #75 -- 34,324 (+11.3%) 09/2010: Superman/Batman #76 -- 32,003 (- 6.8%) 10/2010: Superman/Batman #77 -- 31,741 (- 0.8%) 11/2010: Superman/Batman #78 -- 31,337 (- 1.3%) 12/2010: Superman/Batman #79 -- 30,586 (- 2.4%) 01/2011: Superman/Batman #80 -- 30,363 (- 0.7%) 02/2011: Superman/Batman #81 -- 29,567 (- 2.6%) 03/2011: Superman/Batman #82 -- 28,913 (- 2.2%) 04/2011: Superman/Batman #83 -- 28,403 (- 1.8%) 05/2011: Superman/Batman #84 -- 27,991 (- 1.5%) 06/2011: Superman/Batman #85 -- 27,581 (- 1.5%) 07/2011: Superman/Batman #86 -- 26,530 (- 3.8%) 08/2011: Superman/Batman #87 -- 26,425 (- 0.4%) ---------------- 6 months: -10.6% 1 year : -23.0% 2 years : -29.5% 5 years : -70.9%
Cancelled, after overstaying its welcome by about five years.
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80 - BIRDS OF PREY 08/2006: Birds of Prey #97 -- 31,578 08/2007: Birds of Prey #109 -- 28,268 08/2008: Birds of Prey #121 -- 22,406 ------------------------------------- 08/2010: Birds of Prey #4 -- 46,149 (+ 6.3%) 09/2010: Birds of Prey #5 -- 40,146 (- 13.0%) 10/2010: -- 11/2010: Birds of Prey #6 -- 34,440 (- 14.2%) 12/2010: Birds of Prey #7 -- 33,114 (- 3.9%) 01/2011: Birds of Prey #8 -- 31,616 (- 4.5%) 02/2011: Birds of Prey #9 -- 30,641 (- 3.1%) 03/2011: Birds of Prey #10 -- 30,777 (+ 0.4%) 04/2011: Birds of Prey #11 -- 30,270 (- 1.7%) 05/2011: Birds of Prey #12 -- 29,690 (- 1.9%) 06/2011: Birds of Prey #13 -- 28,992 (- 2.4%) 07/2011: Birds of Prey #14 -- 27,102 (- 6.5%) 08/2011: Birds of Prey #15 -- 26,043 (- 3.9%) ----------------- 6 months: - 15.0% 1 year : - 43.6% 5 years : - 17.5%
Relaunched by a new creative team, lord knows why. The last two issues were by fill-in creators, hence the steep drop-off.
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81 - FLASHPOINT: DEADMAN AND THE FLYING GRAYSONS 06/2011: Deadman #1 of 3 -- 32,950 07/2011: Deadman #2 of 3 -- 26,177 (-20.6%) 08/2011: Deadman #3 of 3 -- 25,991 (- 0.7%)
83 - FLASHPOINT: KID FLASH LOST 06/2011: Kid Flash Lost #1 of 3 -- 34,148 07/2011: Kid Flash Lost #2 of 3 -- 27,450 (-19.6%) 08/2011: Kid Flash Lost #3 of 3 -- 25,978 (- 5.4%)
More Flashpoint stuff winding down.
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84 - SUPERMAN BEYOND 08/2011: Superman Beyond #0 -- 25,793
A Batman Beyond spin-off with good numbers for this type of fringe book.
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85 - JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA 08/2007: Justice Society #8 -- 87,606 08/2008: Justice Society #18 -- 73,485 08/2009: Justice Society #30 -- 49,416 --------------------------------------- 08/2010: Justice Society #42 -- 48,420 (- 0.9%) 09/2010: Justice Society #43 -- 36,576 (- 24.5%) 10/2010: Justice Society #44 -- 35,483 (- 3.0%) 11/2010: Justice Society #45 -- 33,582 (- 5.4%) 12/2010: Justice Society #46 -- 31,497 (- 6.2%) 01/2011: Justice Society #47 -- 30,071 (- 4.5%) 02/2011: Justice Society #48 -- 29,139 (- 3.1%) 03/2011: Justice Society #49 -- 28,634 (- 1.7%) 04/2011: Justice Society #50 -- 32,251 (+ 12.6%) 05/2011: Justice Society #51 -- 28,256 (- 12.4%) 06/2011: Justice Society #52 -- 27,195 (- 3.8%) 07/2011: Justice Society #53 -- 26,516 (- 2.5%) 08/2011: Justice Society #54 -- 25,584 (- 3.5%) ---------------- 6 months: -12.2% 1 year : -47.2% 2 years : -48.2%
Cancelled.
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88 - FLASHPOINT: CITIZEN COLD 06/2011: Citizen Cold #1 of 3 -- 32,969 07/2011: Citizen Cold #2 of 3 -- 26,354 (-20.1%) 08/2011: Citizen Cold #3 of 3 -- 25,009 (- 5.1%)
91 - FLASHPOINT: DEATHSTROKE AND THE RAVAGER 06/2011: Deathstroke #1 of 3 -- 32,188 07/2011: Deathstroke #2 of 3 -- 25,584 (-20.5%) 08/2011: Deathstroke #3 of 3 -- 24,634 (- 3.7%)
94 - FLASHPOINT: LOIS LANE AND THE RESISTANCE 06/2011: Lois Lane #1 of 3 -- 31,325 07/2011: Lois Lane #2 of 3 -- 24,970 (-20.3%) 08/2011: Lois Lane #3 of 3 -- 24,060 (- 3.6%)
Another bunch of Flashpoint minis.
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96 - GREEN ARROW 08/2006: Green Arrow #65 -- 35,705 08/2007: Year One #3 of 6 -- 32,971 08/2007: Year One #4 of 6 -- 31,885 08/2008: Arrow/Canary #11 -- 28,694 08/2009: Arrow&Canary #23 -- 19,452 ----------------------------------- 08/2010: Green Arrow #3 -- 46,308 (+ 5.0%) 09/2010: Green Arrow #4 -- 44,220 (- 4.5%) 10/2010: Green Arrow #5 -- 42,188 (- 4.6%) 11/2010: Green Arrow #6 -- 39,575 (- 6.2%) 12/2010: Green Arrow #7 -- 36,835 (- 6.9%) 01/2011: Green Arrow #8 -- 35,307 (- 4.2%) 02/2011: Green Arrow #9 -- 33,922 (- 3.9%) 03/2011: Green Arrow #10 -- 33,085 (- 2.5%) 04/2011: Green Arrow #11 -- 32,669 (- 1.3%) 05/2011: Green Arrow #12 -- 31,742 (- 2.8%) 06/2011: Green Arrow #13 -- 27,552 (- 13.2%) 07/2011: Green Arrow #14 -- 25,568 (- 7.2%) 08/2011: Green Arrow #15 -- 23,883 (- 6.6%) ----------------- 6 months: - 29.6% 1 year : - 48.4% 2 years : + 22.8% 5 years : - 45.5%
To be relaunched. This is another title where the regular creative team jumped ship early, and sales respond accordingly.
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99 - FLASHPOINT: SECRET SEVEN 06/2011: Secret Seven #1 of 3 -- 33,069 07/2011: Secret Seven #2 of 3 -- 25,745 (-22.2%) 08/2011: Secret Seven #3 of 3 -- 23,747 (- 7.8%)
101 - FLASHPOINT: FRANKENSTEIN AND THE CREATURES OF THE UNKNOWN 06/2011: Frankenstein #1 of 3 -- 30,508 07/2011: Frankenstein #2 of 3 -- 23,900 (-21.7%) 08/2011: Frankenstein #3 of 3 -- 23,131 (- 3.2%)
102 - FLASHPOINT: LEGION OF DOOM 06/2011: Legion #1 of 3 -- 31,244 07/2011: Legion #2 of 3 -- 24,288 (-22.3%) 08/2011: Legion #3 of 3 -- 23,088 (- 4.9%)
More Flashpoint stuff, still.
—–
106 - BATGIRL 08/2008: Batgirl #2 of 6 -- 27,710 08/2009: Batgirl #1 -- 51,724 ---------------------------------- 08/2010: Batgirl #13 -- 27,247 (- 2.7%) 09/2010: Batgirl #14 -- 26,861 (- 1.4%) 10/2010: -- 11/2010: Batgirl #15 -- 25,827 (- 3.9%) 12/2010: Batgirl #16 -- 25,225 (- 2.3%) 01/2011: Batgirl #17 -- 25,189 (- 0.1%) 02/2011: Batgirl #18 -- 24,390 (- 3.2%) 03/2011: Batgirl #19 -- 24,821 (+ 1.8%) 04/2011: Batgirl #20 -- 24,310 (- 2.1%) 05/2011: Batgirl #21 -- 24,043 (- 1.1%) 06/2011: Batgirl #22 -- 23,323 (- 3.0%) 07/2011: Batgirl #23 -- 22,619 (- 3.0%) 08/2011: Batgirl #24 -- 22,695 (+ 0.3%) ---------------- 6 months: - 7.0% 1 year : -16.7% 2 years : -56.1%
To be relaunched by a new creative team.
—–
107 - FLASHPOINT: THE OUTSIDER 06/2011: The Outsider #1 of 3 -- 30,030 07/2011: The Outsider #2 of 3 -- 22,945 (-26.9%) 08/2011: The Outsider #3 of 3 -- 21,839 (- 4.8%)
The final Flashpoint book on the chart!
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108 - BATMAN BEYOND 08/2010: Batman Beyond #3 of 6 -- 31,469 (+ 0.2%) 09/2010: Batman Beyond #4 of 6 -- 31,368 (- 0.3%) 10/2010: Batman Beyond #5 of 6 -- 30,121 (- 4.0%) 11/2010: Batman Beyond #6 of 6 -- 28,485 (- 5.4%) 12/2010: -- 01/2011: Batman Beyond #1 -- 35,880 (+26.0%) 02/2011: Batman Beyond #2 -- 28,956 (-19.3%) 03/2011: Batman Beyond #3 -- 28,295 (- 2.3%) 04/2011: Batman Beyond #4 -- 26,722 (- 5.6%) 05/2011: Batman Beyond #5 -- 25,413 (- 4.9%) 06/2011: Batman Beyond #6 -- 24,524 (- 3.5%) 07/2011: Batman Beyond #7 -- 22,945 (- 6.4%) 08/2011: Batman Beyond #8 -- 21,838 (- 4.8%) ---------------- 6 months: -24.6% 1 year : -30.6%
Cancelled.
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110 - BATMAN 80-PAGE GIANT 08/2011: Batman 80-Page Giant 2011 #1 -- 21,681
Solid numbers for this kind of out-of-continuity book.
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111 - THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES 08/2006: Supergirl & LoSH #21 -- 39,852 08/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #33 -- 29,315 08/2008: LoSH #45 -- 25,783 --------------------------------------- 08/2010: LoSH #4 -- 34,239 (- 5.8%) 09/2010: LoSH #5 -- 32,417 (- 5.3%) 10/2010: LoSH #6 -- 30,246 (- 6.7%) 11/2010: LoSH #7 -- 26,439 (-12.6%) 12/2010: LoSH #8 -- 25,063 (- 5.2%) 01/2011: LoSH #9 -- 24,230 (- 3.3%) 02/2011: LoSH #10 -- 23,738 (- 2.0%) 03/2011: LoSH #11 -- 23,667 (- 0.3%) 04/2011: LoSH #12 -- 23,419 (- 1.1%) 05/2011: LoSH #13 -- 23,105 (- 1.3%) 06/2011: LoSH #14 -- 22,600 (- 2.2%) 07/2011: LoSH #15 -- 21,788 (- 3.6%) 08/2011: LoSH #16 -- 21,373 (- 1.9%) ----------------- 6 months: - 10.0% 1 year : - 37.6% 5 years : - 46.4%
To be relaunched by the same writer, sales be damned.
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113/116 - SUPERBOY 11/2010: Superboy #1 -- 39,701 12/2010: Superboy #2 -- 31,761 (-20.0%) 01/2011: Superboy #3 -- 29,550 (- 7.0%) 02/2011: Superboy #4 -- 27,448 (- 7.1%) 03/2011: Superboy #5 -- 27,215 (- 0.9%) 04/2011: Superboy #6 -- 30,490 (+12.0%) 05/2011: Superboy #7 -- 24,622 (-19.3%) 06/2011: Superboy #8 -- 23,037 (- 6.4%) 07/2011: Superboy #9 -- 22,102 (- 4.1%) 08/2011: Superboy #10 -- 20,563 (- 7.0%) 08/2011: Superboy #11 -- 20,317 (- 1.2%) ---------------- 6 months: -25.5%
Relaunched by different creators.
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117 - GOTHAM CITY SIRENS 08/2009: GC Sirens #3 -- 36,772 -------------------------------- 08/2010: GC Sirens #15 -- 24,589 (- 2.9%) 09/2010: GC Sirens #16 -- 23,821 (- 3.1%) 10/2010: -- 11/2010: GC Sirens #17 -- 22,107 (- 7.2%) 12/2010: GC Sirens #18 -- 21,344 (- 3.5%) 01/2011: -- 02/2011: GC Sirens #19 -- 21,631 (+ 1.4%) 02/2011: GC Sirens #20 -- 20,822 (- 3.7%) 03/2011: GC Sirens #21 -- 20,807 (- 0.1%) 04/2011: GC Sirens #22 -- 24,438 (+17.5%) 05/2011: GC Sirens #23 -- 21,488 (-12.1%) 06/2011: GC Sirens #24 -- 21,288 (- 0.9%) 07/2011: GC Sirens #25 -- 20,780 (- 2.4%) 08/2011: GC Sirens #26 -- 20,216 (- 2.7%) ---------------- 6 months: - 4.8% 1 year : -17.8% 2 years : -45.0%
Cancelled.
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120 - SUPERGIRL 08/2006: Supergirl #9 -- 74,252 08/2007: Supergirl #20 -- 46,862 08/2008: Supergirl #32 -- 28,114 08/2009: Supergirl #44 -- 33,819 --------------------------------- 08/2010: Supergirl #55 -- 25,891 (- 3.9%) 09/2010: Supergirl #56 -- 25,034 (- 3.3%) 10/2010: Supergirl #57 -- 23,842 (- 4.8%) 11/2010: Supergirl #58 -- 25,412 (+ 6.6%) 12/2010: Supergirl #59 -- 22,606 (-11.0%) 01/2011: Supergirl #60 -- 22,568 (- 0.2%) 02/2011: Supergirl #61 -- 22,048 (- 2.3%) 03/2011: Supergirl #62 -- 21,786 (- 1.2%) 04/2011: Supergirl #63 -- 21,598 (- 0.9%) 05/2011: Supergirl #64 -- 21,411 (- 0.9%) 06/2011: Supergirl #65 -- 20,985 (- 2.0%) 07/2011: Supergirl #66 -- 20,001 (- 4.7%) 08/2011: Supergirl #67 -- 19,764 (- 1.2%) ---------------- 6 months: -10.4% 1 year : -23.7% 2 years : -41.6% 5 years : -73.4%
Relaunched by a new creative team.
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123 - ADVENTURE COMICS 08/2009: Adventure Comics #1 -- 56,706 ---------------------------------------- 08/2010: Adventure Comics #517 -- 28,966 (- 6.3%) 09/2010: Adventure Comics #518 -- 27,028 (- 6.7%) 10/2010: Adventure Comics #519 -- 25,346 (- 6.2%) 11/2010: Adventure Comics #520 -- 24,540 (- 3.2%) 12/2010: Adventure Comics #521 -- 23,787 (- 6.9%) 01/2011: Adventure Comics #522 -- 22,821 (- 4.1%) 02/2011: Adventure Comics #523 -- 23,127 (+ 1.3%) 03/2011: Adventure Comics #524 -- 22,836 (- 1.3%) 04/2011: Adventure Comics #525 -- 22,946 (+ 0.5%) 05/2011: Adventure Comics #526 -- 22,271 (- 2.9%) 06/2011: Adventure Comics #527 -- 21,211 (- 4.8%) 07/2011: Adventure Comics #528 -- 20,111 (- 5.2%) 08/2011: Adventure Comics #529 -- 19,227 (- 4.4%) ---------------- 6 months: -16.9% 1 year : -33.6% 2 years : -66.1%
124 - SECRET SIX 08/2009: Secret Six #12 -- 24,161 ------------------------------------- 08/2010: Secret Six #24 -- 21,177 (- 1.8%) 09/2010: Secret Six #25 -- 20,775 (- 1.9%) 10/2010: Secret Six #26 -- 20,377 (- 1.9%) 11/2010: Secret Six #27 -- 19,963 (- 2.0%) 12/2010: Secret Six #28 -- 19,587 (- 1.9%) 01/2011: Secret Six #29 -- 20,327 (+ 3.8%) 02/2011: Secret Six #30 -- 19,763 (- 2.8%) 03/2011: Secret Six #31 -- 19,822 (+ 0.3%) 04/2011: Secret Six #32 -- 19,714 (- 0.6%) 05/2011: Secret Six #33 -- 19,733 (+ 0.1%) 06/2011: Secret Six #34 -- 19,562 (- 0.9%) 07/2011: Secret Six #35 -- 19,283 (- 1.4%) 08/2011: Secret Six #36 -- 19,104 (- 0.9%) ---------------- 6 months: - 3.3% 1 year : - 9.8% 2 years : -20.9%
Two more books that get the axe, which is a bit puzzling in the latter case, at least. On the one hand, it’s arguably understandable that almost none of the DC Universe books that sell below 20K will be back in September. Then again, if Jonah Hex sales and reception were deemed a good basis for a relaunch, that would have to have been (almost) twice as true of Secret Six.
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125 - GREEN LANTERN MOVIE PREQUELS 06/2011: Hal Jordan -- 29,245 06/2011: Kilowog -- 25,496 06/2011: Abin Sur -- 24,890 06/2011: Tomar Re -- 24,811 08/2011: Sinestro -- 18,918
The final one of the movie tie-in one-shots finally arrived in stores in August. Good luck to retailers trying to sell it, which would surely have been enough of a struggle when the movie was actually coming out.
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129 - FABLES (Vertigo) 08/2006: Fables #52 -- 25,378 08/2007: Fables #64 -- 25,498 08/2008: -- 08/2009: Fables #87 -- 21,876 ------------------------------ 08/2010: Fables #97 -- 19,625 (- 1.1%) 09/2010: Fables #98 -- 19,594 (- 0.2%) 10/2010: Fables #99 -- 19,656 (+ 0.3%) 11/2010: -- 12/2010: Fables #100 -- 23,014 (+17.1%) 01/2011: Fables #101 -- 19,183 (-16.7%) 02/2011: Fables #102 -- 19,215 (+ 0.2%) 03/2011: Fables #103 -- 18,910 (- 1.6%) 04/2011: Fables #104 -- 18,811 (- 0.5%) 05/2011: Fables #105 -- 18,749 (- 0.3%) 06/2011: Fables #106 -- 18,505 (- 1.3%) 07/2011: Fables #107 -- 18,523 (+ 0.1%) 08/2011: Fables #108 -- 18,390 (- 0.7%) ---------------- 6 months: - 4.3% 1 year : - 6.3% 2 years : -15.9% 5 years : -27.5%
The best-selling Vertigo title remains relatively stable above 18K. So far, no replacements are in sight for the four ongoing Vertigo series that are about to end, and it’s been awfully quiet around Vertigo on the periodical front.
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131 - TITANS 08/2008: -- 08/2009: Titans #16 -- 31,408 --------------------------------- 08/2010: Titans #26 -- 32,800 (+ 4.1%) 09/2010: Titans #27 -- 28,438 (-13.3%) 10/2010: Titans #28 -- 27,430 (- 3.6%) 11/2010: Titans #29 -- 24,138 (-12.0%) 12/2010: Titans #30 -- 22,483 (- 6.9%) 01/2011: Titans #31 -- 21,749 (- 3.3%) 02/2011: Titans #32 -- 20,949 (- 3.7%) 03/2011: Titans #33 -- 20,723 (- 1.1%) 04/2011: Titans #34 -- 20,590 (- 0.6%) 05/2011: Titans #35 -- 20,553 (- 0.2%) 06/2011: Titans #36 -- 19,780 (- 3.8%) 07/2011: Titans #37 -- 18,613 (- 5.9%) 08/2011: Titans #38 -- 18,035 (- 3.1%) ---------------- 6 months: -13.9% 1 year : -45.0% 2 years : -42.6%
135 - ZATANNA 08/2010: Zatanna #4 -- 27,203 (- 2.1%) 09/2010: Zatanna #5 -- 25,393 (- 6.7%) 10/2010: Zatanna #6 -- 23,427 (- 7.7%) 11/2010: Zatanna #7 -- 20,671 (-11.8%) 12/2010: Zatanna #8 -- 19,321 (- 6.5%) 01/2011: Zatanna #9 -- 18,482 (- 4.3%) 02/2011: -- 03/2011: Zatanna #10 -- 18,645 (+ 0.9%) 03/2011: Zatanna #11 -- 18,431 (- 1.2%) 04/2011: Zatanna #12 -- 18,432 (+ 0.0%) 05/2011: Zatanna #13 -- 18,259 (- 0.9%) 06/2011: Zatanna #14 -- 17,856 (- 2.2%) 07/2011: Zatanna #15 -- 17,583 (- 1.5%) 08/2011: Zatanna #16 -- 17,076 (- 2.9%) ---------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : -37.2%
Two more cancelled DC Universe books.
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140/147 - DC UNIVERSE ONLINE: LEGENDS 02/2011: DCU Online: Legends #1 -- 36,517 02/2011: DCU Online: Legends #2 -- 28,953 (-20.7%) 03/2011: DCU Online: Legends #3 -- 24,824 (-14.3%) 03/2011: DCU Online: Legends #4 -- 23,001 (- 7.3%) 04/2011: DCU Online: Legends #5 -- 21,427 (- 6.8%) 04/2011: DCU Online: Legends #6 -- 20,461 (- 4.5%) 05/2011: DCU Online: Legends #7 -- 20,064 (- 1.9%) 05/2011: DCU Online: Legends #8 -- 19,471 (- 3.0%) 06/2011: DCU Online: Legends #9 -- 18,759 (- 3.7%) 06/2011: DCU Online: Legends #10 -- 18,178 (- 3.1%) 07/2011: DCU Online: Legends #11 -- 17,509 (- 3.7%) 07/2011: DCU Online: Legends #12 -- 17,223 (- 1.6%) 08/2011: DCU Online: Legends #13 -- 16,540 (- 4.0%) 08/2011: DCU Online: Legends #14 -- 16,018 (- 3.2%) ---------------- 6 months: -50.3%
This one’s a video-game adaptation, but it’s technically a DC Universe title. It’ll skip September, presumably in order not to divert attention from the “New 52” relaunch.
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141 - POWER GIRL 08/2009: Power Girl #4 -- 32,140 --------------------------------- 08/2010: Power Girl #15 -- 19,091 (- 3.3%) 09/2010: Power Girl #16 -- 18,404 (- 3.6%) 10/2010: Power Girl #17 -- 17,847 (- 3.0%) 11/2010: Power Girl #18 -- 17,300 (- 3.1%) 12/2010: Power Girl #19 -- 16,763 (- 3.1%) 01/2011: Power Girl #20 -- 16,823 (+ 0.4%) 02/2011: Power Girl #21 -- 16,940 (+ 0.7%) 03/2011: Power Girl #22 -- 17,232 (+ 1.7%) 04/2011: Power Girl #23 -- 17,071 (- 0.9%) 05/2011: Power Girl #24 -- 17,208 (+ 0.8%) 06/2011: Power Girl #25 -- 17,251 (+ 0.3%) 07/2011: Power Girl #26 -- 16,490 (- 4.4%) 08/2011: Power Girl #27 -- 16,491 (+ 0.0%) ---------------- 6 months: - 2.7% 1 year : -13.6% 2 years : -48.7%
Axed. Another somewhat odd decision, given the comparatively stable sales.
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151 - AMERICAN VAMPIRE (Vertigo) 08/2010: -- 09/2010: American Vampire #6 -- 23,349 (- 6.1%) 10/2010: American Vampire #7 -- 21,910 (- 6.2%) 11/2010: American Vampire #8 -- 19,850 (- 9.4%) 12/2010: American Vampire #9 -- 19,019 (- 4.2%) 12/2010: American Vampire #10 -- 17,761 (- 6.6%) 01/2011: American Vampire #11 -- 16,969 (- 4.5%) 02/2011: American Vampire #12 -- 16,522 (- 2.6%) 03/2011: American Vampire #13 -- 17,269 (+ 4.5%) 04/2011: American Vampire #14 -- 16,168 (- 6.4%) 05/2011: American Vampire #15 -- 15,876 (- 1.8%) 06/2011: American Vampire #16 -- 15,705 (- 1.1%) 07/2011: American Vampire #17 -- 15,565 (- 0.9%) 08/2011: American Vampire #18 -- 15,423 (- 0.9%) ---------------- 6 months: - 6.7% 1 year : n.a.
157 - AMERICAN VAMPIRE: SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST (Vertigo) 06/2011: Survival #1 of 5 -- 17,160 07/2011: Survival #2 of 5 -- 14,590 (-15.0%) 08/2011: Survival #3 of 5 -- 14,696 (+ 0.7%)
The Scott Snyder vehicle is establishing itself as Vertigo’s second-most important franchise, in terms of periodicals.
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DC RETROACTIVE: THE 70S 07/2011: Batman -- 14,340 07/2011: The Flash -- 12,098 07/2011: Wonder Woman -- 11,462 07/2011: Green Lantern -- 13,587 07/2011: JLA -- 12,582 07/2011: Superman -- 12,264
171/180/185/193/198/202 - DC RETROACTIVE: THE 80S 08/2011: Batman -- 12,534 08/2011: The Flash -- 10,446 08/2011: Wonder Woman -- 10,079 08/2011: Green Lantern -- 11,398 08/2011: JLA -- 10,583 08/2011: Superman -- 11,072
179/183/195/208/210/214 - DC RETROACTIVE: THE 90S 08/2011: Batman -- 11,609 08/2011: The Flash -- 9,512 08/2011: Wonder Woman -- 9,290 08/2011: Green Lantern -- 10,527 08/2011: JLA -- 11,205 08/2011: Superman -- 9,443
All 18 of the Retroactive books, including the ones from July. Sales are nothing to write home about, obviously, but that was to be expected.
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191 - THE UNWRITTEN (Vertigo) 08/2009: The Unwritten #4 -- 16,336 ------------------------------------ 08/2010: The Unwritten #16 -- 12,778 (- 1.9%) 09/2010: The Unwritten #17 -- 12,796 (+ 0.2%) 10/2010: The Unwritten #18 -- 12,273 (- 4.1%) 11/2010: The Unwritten #19 -- 12,036 (- 1.9%) 12/2010: The Unwritten #20 -- 11,684 (- 2.9%) 01/2011: The Unwritten #21 -- 11,443 (- 2.1%) 02/2011: The Unwritten #22 -- 11,371 (- 0.6%) 03/2011: The Unwritten #23 -- 11,319 (- 0.5%) 04/2011: The Unwritten #24 -- 11,028 (- 2.6%) 05/2011: The Unwritten #25 -- 11,137 (+ 1.0%) 06/2011: The Unwritten #26 -- 10,979 (- 1.4%) 07/2011: The Unwritten #27 -- 10,787 (- 1.8%) 08/2011: The Unwritten #28 -- 10,731 (- 0.5%) ---------------- 6 months: - 5.6% 1 year : -16.0% 2 years : -34.3%
As of August, the final Vertigo book north of 10,000 units.
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199 - JONAH HEX 08/2006: Jonah Hex #10 -- 19,772 08/2007: Jonah Hex #22 -- 15,362 08/2008: Jonah Hex #34 -- 12,969 08/2009: Jonah Hex #46 -- 12,466 -------------------------------- 08/2010: Jonah Hex #58 -- 11,775 (- 4.4%) 09/2010: Jonah Hex #59 -- 11,444 (- 2.8%) 10/2010: Jonah Hex #60 -- 11,141 (- 2.7%) 11/2010: Jonah Hex #61 -- 10,796 (- 3.1%) 12/2010: Jonah Hex #62 -- 10,899 (+ 1.0%) 01/2011: Jonah Hex #63 -- 10,752 (- 1.4%) 02/2011: Jonah Hex #64 -- 10,255 (- 4.6%) 03/2011: Jonah Hex #65 -- 10,353 (+ 1.0%) 04/2011: Jonah Hex #66 -- 10,335 (- 0.2%) 05/2011: Jonah Hex #67 -- 10,288 (- 0.5%) 06/2011: Jonah Hex #68 -- 10,224 (- 0.6%) 07/2011: Jonah Hex #69 -- 10,521 (+ 2.9%) 08/2011: Jonah Hex #70 -- 10,369 (- 1.5%) ---------------- 6 months: + 1.1% 1 year : -11.9% 2 years : -16.8% 5 years : -47.6%
To be relaunched.
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207 - I, ZOMBIE (Vertigo) 08/2010: I, Zombie #4 -- 15,772 (- 6.7%) 09/2010: I, Zombie #5 -- 14,839 (- 5.9%) 10/2010: I, Zombie #6 -- 13,782 (- 7.1%) 11/2010: I, Zombie #7 -- 12,800 (- 7.1%) 12/2010: I, Zombie #8 -- 12,038 (- 6.0%) 01/2011: I, Zombie #9 -- 11,536 (- 4.2%) 02/2011: I, Zombie #10 -- 11,182 (- 3.1%) 03/2011: I, Zombie #11 -- 10,874 (- 2.8%) 04/2011: I, Zombie #12 -- 10,727 (- 1.4%) 05/2011: I, Zombie #13 -- 10,567 (- 1.5%) 06/2011: I, Zombie #14 -- 10,320 (- 2.3%) 07/2011: I, Zombie #15 -- 10,006 (- 3.0%) 08/2011: I, Zombie #16 -- 9,568 (- 4.4%) ---------------- 6 months: -14.4% 1 year : -39.3%
The decline has been accelerating for the last four months.
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212 - HELLBLAZER (Vertigo) 08/2006: Hellblazer #223 -- 13,956 08/2007: Hellblazer #234 -- 13,214 08/2007: Hellblazer #235 -- 13,153 08/2008: -- 08/2009: Hellblazer #258 -- 10,665 ---------------------------------- 08/2010: Hellblazer #270 -- 9,928 (-1.2%) 09/2010: Hellblazer #271 -- 9,851 (-0.8%) 10/2010: Hellblazer #272 -- 9,650 (-2.0%) 11/2010: Hellblazer #273 -- 9,645 (-0.1%) 12/2010: Hellblazer #274 -- 9,342 (-3.1%) 01/2011: Hellblazer #275 -- 9,507 (+1.8%) 02/2011: Hellblazer #276 -- 9,466 (-0.4%) 03/2011: Hellblazer #277 -- 9,525 (+0.6%) 04/2011: Hellblazer #278 -- 9,417 (-1.1%) 05/2011: Hellblazer #279 -- 9,454 (+0.4%) 06/2011: Hellblazer #280 -- 9,329 (-1.3%) 07/2011: Hellblazer #281 -- 9,225 (-1.1%) 08/2011: Hellblazer #282 -- 9,372 (+1.5%) ---------------- 6 months: - 1.0% 1 year : - 5.6% 2 years : -12.1% 5 years : -32.9%
Rock-solid overall, but the needle still points ever so slightly down.
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226 - T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS 11/2010: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1 -- 16,122 12/2010: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #2 -- 11,227 (-30.4%) 01/2011: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #3 -- 10,602 (- 5.6%) 02/2011: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #4 -- 10,124 (- 4.5%) 03/2011: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #5 -- 9,934 (- 1.9%) 04/2011: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #6 -- 9,680 (- 2.6%) 05/2011: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #7 -- 9,453 (- 2.4%) 06/2011: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #8 -- 8,954 (- 5.3%) 07/2011: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #9 -- 8,710 (- 2.7%) 08/2011: T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #10 -- 8,453 (- 3.0%) ---------------- 6 months: -16.5%
Axed, although there’ll be a follow-up mini.
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231 - YOUNG JUSTICE (Johnny DC) 01/2011: Young Justice #0 -- 9,412 02/2011: Young Justice #1 -- 10,777 (+14.5%) 03/2011: Young Justice #2 -- 9,612 (-10.8%) 04/2011: Young Justice #3 -- 9,407 (- 2.1%) 05/2011: Young Justice #4 -- 9,729 (+ 3.4%) 06/2011: Young Justice #5 -- 8,988 (- 7.6%) 07/2011: Young Justice #6 -- 8,642 (- 3.9%) 08/2011: Young Justice #7 -- 8,062 (- 6.7%) ---------------- 6 months: -25.2%
A Johnny DC title. See disclaimers below.
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232 - SWEET TOOTH (Vertigo) 08/2010: Sweet Tooth #12 -- 9,246 (- 2.5%) 09/2010: Sweet Tooth #13 -- 9,097 (- 1.6%) 10/2010: Sweet Tooth #14 -- 8,933 (- 1.8%) 11/2010: Sweet Tooth #15 -- 8,750 (- 2.1%) 12/2010: Sweet Tooth #16 -- 8,602 (- 1.7%) 01/2011: Sweet Tooth #17 -- 8,522 (- 0.9%) 02/2011: Sweet Tooth #18 -- 8,466 (- 0.7%) 03/2011: Sweet Tooth #19 -- 8,532 (+ 0.8%) 04/2011: Sweet Tooth #20 -- 8,361 (- 2.0%) 05/2011: Sweet Tooth #21 -- 8,360 (- 0.0%) 06/2011: Sweet Tooth #22 -- 8,252 (- 1.3%) 07/2011: Sweet Tooth #23 -- 8,018 (- 2.8%) 08/2011: Sweet Tooth #24 -- 7,948 (- 0.9%) ---------------- 6 months: - 6.1% 1 year : -14.0%
The lowest-selling ongoing Vertigo title that hasn’t been cancelled.
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239 - TINY TITANS (Johnny DC) 08/2008: Tiny Titans #7 -- 10,234 08/2009: Tiny Titans #19 -- 8,432 ---------------------------------- 08/2010: Tiny Titans #31 -- 7,987 (- 0.6%) 09/2010: Tiny Titans #32 -- 8,073 (+ 1.1%) 10/2010: Tiny Titans #33 -- 8,045 (- 0.4%) 11/2010: Tiny Titans #34 -- 7,713 (- 4.1%) 12/2010: Tiny Titans #35 -- 7,515 (- 2.6%) 01/2011: Tiny Titans #36 -- 7,480 (- 0.5%) 02/2011: Tiny Titans #37 -- 7,426 (- 0.7%) 03/2011: Tiny Titans #38 -- 7,372 (- 0.7%) 04/2011: Tiny Titans #39 -- 7,445 (+ 1.0%) 05/2011: Tiny Titans #40 -- 7,847 (+ 5.4%) 06/2011: Tiny Titans #41 -- 7,811 (- 0.5%) 07/2011: Tiny Titans #42 -- 7,664 (- 1.9%) 08/2011: Tiny Titans #43 -- 7,534 (- 1.7%) ---------------- 6 months: + 1.5% 1 year : + 5.7% 2 years : -10.7%
A Johnny DC book, see disclaimers.
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246 - THE SPIRIT 08/2007: The Spirit #9 -- 20,841 08/2008: The Spirit #20 -- 12,358 08/2009: The Spirit #32 -- 7,670 --------------------------------- 08/2010: The Spirit #5 -- 11,015 (- 7.6%) 09/2010: The Spirit #6 -- 10,083 (- 8.5%) 10/2010: The Spirit #7 -- 9,233 (- 8.4%) 11/2010: The Spirit #8 -- 8,706 (- 5.7%) 12/2010: The Spirit #9 -- 8,297 (- 4.7%) 01/2011: The Spirit #10 -- 7,830 (- 5.6%) 02/2011: The Spirit #11 -- 7,417 (- 5.3%) 03/2011: The Spirit #12 -- 7,342 (- 1.0%) 04/2011: The Spirit #13 -- 7,041 (- 4.1%) 05/2011: The Spirit #14 -- 6,911 (- 1.9%) 06/2011: The Spirit #15 -- 6,693 (- 3.2%) 07/2011: The Spirit #16 -- 6,461 (- 3.5%) 08/2011: The Spirit #17 -- 7,032 (+ 8.8%) ----------------- 6 months: - 5.2% 1 year : - 36.2% 2 years : - 8.3%
Axed.
—–
248 - NORTHLANDERS (Vertigo) 08/2008: Northlanders #9 -- 11,063 08/2009: -- ----------------------------------- 08/2010: Northlanders #31 -- 7,376 (- 0.6%) 09/2010: Northlanders #32 -- 7,321 (- 0.8%) 10/2010: Northlanders #33 -- 7,169 (- 2.1%) 11/2010: Northlanders #34 -- 7,018 (- 2.1%) 12/2010: Northlanders #35 -- 7,061 (+ 0.6%) 01/2011: Northlanders #36 -- 6,806 (- 3.6%) 02/2011: Northlanders #37 -- 7,006 (+ 2.9%) 03/2011: Northlanders #38 -- 7,020 (+ 0.2%) 04/2011: Northlanders #39 -- 6,983 (- 0.5%) 05/2011: Northlanders #40 -- 7,055 (+ 1.0%) 06/2011: Northlanders #41 -- 6,954 (- 1.4%) 07/2011: Northlanders #42 -- 6,989 (+ 0.5%) 08/2011: Northlanders #43 -- 6,901 (- 1.3%) ---------------- 6 months: - 1.5% 1 year : - 6.4% 2 years : n.a.
Relatively stable over the last year, but still ending with issue #50. Not a good omen for Vertigo overall, of course.
—–
255 - XOMBI 03/2011: Xombi #1 -- 12,035 04/2011: Xombi #2 -- 8,345 (-30.7%) 05/2011: Xombi #3 -- 7,977 (- 4.4%) 06/2011: Xombi #4 -- 7,500 (- 6.0%) 07/2011: Xombi #5 -- 7,246 (- 3.4%) 08/2011: Xombi #6 -- 6,669 (- 8.0%)
Cancelled.
—–
260 - HOUSE OF MYSTERY (Vertigo) 08/2008: House of Mystery #4 -- 17,569 08/2009: House of Mystery #16 -- 11,572 --------------------------------------- 08/2010: House of Mystery #28 -- 8,238 (- 2.9%) 09/2010: House of Mystery #29 -- 8,087 (- 1.8%) 10/2010: House of Mystery #30 -- 7,913 (- 2.2%) 11/2010: House of Mystery #31 -- 7,610 (- 3.8%) 12/2010: House of Mystery #32 -- 7,348 (- 3.4%) 01/2011: House of Mystery #33 -- 7,227 (- 1.7%) 02/2011: House of Mystery #34 -- 7,092 (- 1.9%) 03/2011: House of Mystery #35 -- 7,170 (+ 1.1%) 04/2011: House of Mystery #36 -- 7,096 (- 1.0%) 05/2011: House of Mystery #37 -- 6,909 (- 2.6%) 06/2011: House of Mystery #38 -- 6,763 (- 2.1%) 07/2011: House of Mystery #39 -- 6,627 (- 2.0%) 08/2011: House of Mystery #40 -- 6,512 (- 1.7%) ---------------- 6 months: - 8.2% 1 year : -21.0% 2 years : -43.7%
Cancelled with issue #42.
—–
264 - SCALPED (Vertigo) 08/2007: Scalped #8 -- 7,942 08/2008: Scalped #20 -- 7,034 08/2009: Scalped #31 -- 6,916 ------------------------------ 08/2010: Scalped #40 -- 6,593 (- 1.3%) 09/2010: -- 10/2010: Scalped #41 -- 6,623 (+ 0.5%) 10/2010: Scalped #42 -- 6,476 (- 2.2%) 11/2010: Scalped #43 -- 6,324 (- 2.4%) 12/2010: Scalped #44 -- 6,192 (- 2.1%) 01/2011: Scalped #45 -- 6,187 (- 0.1%) 02/2011: Scalped #46 -- 6,179 (- 0.1%) 03/2011: Scalped #47 -- 6,222 (+ 0.7%) 04/2011: Scalped #48 -- 6,272 (+ 0.8%) 05/2011: -- 06/2011: Scalped #49 -- 6,333 (+ 1.0%) 06/2011: Scalped #50 -- 6,471 (+ 2.2%) 07/2011: -- 08/2011: Scalped #51 -- 6,409 (- 1.0%) ---------------- 6 months: + 3.7% 1 year : - 2.8% 2 years : - 7.3%
Another low-selling but steady performer. Ends with issue #60.
—–
266 - THE ALL-NEW BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD (Johnny DC) 08/2006: Batman Strikes! #24 -- 8,139 08/2007: Batman Strikes! #36 -- 7,511 08/2008: Batman Strikes! #48 -- 6,702 08/2009: Brave & Bold #8 -- 7,153 ---------------------------------------- 08/2010: Brave & Bold #20 -- 6,244 (- 3.8%) 09/2010: Brave & Bold #21 -- 6,345 (+ 1.6%) 10/2010: Brave & Bold #22 -- 6,044 (- 4.7%) 11/2010: All-New BBB #1 -- 8,408 (+ 39.1%) 12/2010: All-New BBB #2 -- 6,688 (- 20.5%) 01/2011: All-New BBB #3 -- 6,557 (- 2.0%) 02/2011: All-New BBB #4 -- 6,561 (+ 0.1%) 03/2011: All-New BBB #5 -- 6,463 (- 1.5%) 04/2011: All-New BBB #6 -- 6,324 (- 2.1%) 05/2011: All-New BBB #7 -- 6,869 (+ 8.6%) 06/2011: All-New BBB #8 -- 6,645 (- 3.3%) 07/2011: All-New BBB #9 -- 6,404 (- 3.6%) 08/2011: All-New BBB #10 -- 6,351 (- 0.8%) ---------------- 6 months: - 3.2% 1 year : + 1.7% 2 years : -11.2% 5 years : -22.0%
Another Johnny DC book.
—–
267 - DOC SAVAGE 08/2010: Doc Savage #5 -- 13,125 (-10.2%) 09/2010: Doc Savage #6 -- 11,838 (- 9.8%) 10/2010: Doc Savage #7 -- 10,050 (-15.1%) 11/2010: Doc Savage #8 -- 9,257 (- 7.9%) 12/2010: Doc Savage #9 -- 8,681 (- 6.2%) 01/2011: Doc Savage #10 -- 8,407 (- 3.2%) 02/2011: Doc Savage #11 -- 7,972 (- 5.2%) 03/2011: Doc Savage #12 -- 7,747 (- 2.8%) 04/2011: Doc Savage #13 -- 7,426 (- 4.1%) 05/2011: Doc Savage #14 -- 7,201 (- 3.0%) 06/2011: Doc Savage #15 -- 6,902 (- 4.2%) 07/2011: Doc Savage #16 -- 6,613 (- 4.2%) 08/2011: Doc Savage #17 -- 6,312 (- 4.6%) ---------------- 6 months: -20.8% 1 year : -51.9%
Cancelled.
—–
280 - DMZ (Vertigo) 08/2006: DMZ #10 -- 14,704 08/2007: DMZ #22 -- 12,175 08/2008: DMZ #34 -- 9,561 08/2009: DMZ #44 -- 7,654 -------------------------- 08/2010: DMZ #56 -- 6,524 (-0.9%) 09/2010: DMZ #57 -- 6,333 (-2.9%) 10/2010: DMZ #58 -- 6,198 (-2.1%) 11/2010: DMZ #59 -- 6,046 (-2.5%) 12/2010: DMZ #60 -- 6,023 (-0.4%) 01/2011: DMZ #61 -- 5,855 (-2.8%) 02/2011: DMZ #62 -- 5,781 (-1.3%) 03/2011: DMZ #63 -- 5,877 (+1.7%) 04/2011: DMZ #64 -- 5,851 (-0.4%) 05/2011: DMZ #65 -- 5,865 (+0.2%) 06/2011: DMZ #66 -- 5,825 (-0.7%) 07/2011: DMZ #67 -- 5,720 (-1.8%) 08/2011: DMZ #68 -- 5,668 (-0.9%) ---------------- 6 months: - 2.0% 1 year : -13.1% 2 years : -26.0% 5 years : -61.5%
Ending with issue #72.
—–
297 - SCOOBY DOO: WHERE ARE YOU? (Johnny DC) 08/2006: Scooby Doo #111 -- 4,492 08/2007: Scooby Doo #123 -- 4,641 08/2008: Scooby Doo #135 -- 4,226 08/2009: Scooby Doo #147 -- 4,111 --------------------------------- 08/2010: Scooby Doo #159 -- 4,092 (- 1.3%) 09/2010: SD:WAY? #1 -- 6,186 (+51.2%) 10/2010: SD:WAY? #2 -- 4,926 (-20.4%) 11/2010: SD:WAY? #3 -- 4,861 (- 1.3%) 12/2010: SD:WAY? #4 -- 4,802 (- 1.2%) 01/2011: SD:WAY? #5 -- 4,540 (- 5.5%) 02/2011: SD:WAY? #6 -- 4,456 (- 1.9%) 03/2011: SD:WAY? #7 -- 4,522 (+ 1.5%) 04/2011: SD:WAY? #8 -- 4,599 (+ 1.7%) 05/2011: SD:WAY? #9 -- 4,838 (+ 5.2%) 06/2011: SD:WAY? #10 -- 4,774 (- 1.3%) 07/2011: SD:WAY? #11 -- 4,791 (+ 0.4%) 08/2011: SD:WAY? #12 -- 4,686 (- 2.2%) ---------------- 6 months: + 5.2% 1 year : +14.5% 2 years : +14.0% 5 years : + 4.3%
A Johnny DC title, see small print.
The video-game adaptations Driver #1 and Gears of War #19 both failed to make the chart. For the purposes of the average charts below, I’m assuming they sold as many units as the No. 300 item on the chart.
—–
6-MONTH COMPARISONS +146.8%: JLA + 78.4%: Booster Gold + 23.1%: Action Comics + 5.2%: Scooby-Doo + 3.7%: Scalped + 1.6%: Detective Comics + 1.5%: Tiny Titans + 1.1%: GL Corps + 1.1%: Jonah Hex - 1.0%: Hellblazer - 1.3%: Emerald Warriors - 1.5%: Northlanders - 2.0%: DMZ - 2.2%: Teen Titans - 2.7%: Power Girl - 3.2%: All-New BBB - 3.3%: Secret Six - 4.3%: Fables - 4.8%: GC Sirens - 5.2%: Spirit - 5.6%: Unwritten - 6.1%: Sweet Tooth - 6.7%: American Vampire - 7.0%: Batgirl - 8.2%: House of Mystery - 10.0%: LoSH - 10.4%: Supergirl - 10.6%: Superman/Batman - 10.7%: Red Robin - 11.6%: Superman - 11.6%: Wonder Woman - 12.0%: Batman - 12.2%: JSA - 13.1%: Batman and Robin - 13.9%: Titans - 14.4%: I, Zombie - 15.0%: Birds of Prey - 16.5%: THUNDER Agents - 16.9%: Adventure Comics - 20.8%: Doc Savage - 24.6%: Batman Beyond - 25.2%: Young Justice - 25.5%: Superboy - 29.6%: Green Arrow - 50.3%: DCU Online
—–
1-YEAR COMPARISONS + 88.0%: JLA + 48.1%: Booster Gold + 14.5%: Scooby-Doo + 8.0%: Action Comics + 5.7%: Tiny Titans + 2.7%: Detective Comics + 2.6%: Teen Titans + 1.7%: All-New BBB - 2.8%: Scalped - 5.6%: Hellblazer - 6.3%: Fables - 6.4%: Northlanders - 6.7%: American Vampire - 9.8%: Secret Six - 11.9%: Jonah Hex - 13.1%: DMZ - 13.6%: Power Girl - 14.0%: Sweet Tooth - 16.0%: Unwritten - 16.7%: Batgirl - 17.8%: GC Sirens - 20.5%: GL Corps - 21.0%: House of Mystery - 22.4%: Red Robin - 23.0%: Superman/Batman - 23.1%: Wonder Woman - 23.7%: Supergirl - 24.6%: Batman Beyond - 28.2%: Superman - 29.5%: Batman - 33.6%: Adventure Comics - 35.3%: Emerald Warriors - 36.2%: Spirit - 37.2%: Zatanna - 37.6%: LoSH - 39.3%: I, Zombie - 43.6%: Birds of Prey - 45.0%: Titans - 47.2%: JSA - 48.4%: Green Arrow - 51.9%: Doc Savage
—–
2-YEAR COMPARISONS + 98.4%: JLA + 28.0%: Booster Gold + 22.8%: Green Arrow + 14.0%: Scooby-Doo + 4.6%: Action Comics - 1.5%: Wonder Woman - 7.3%: Scalped - 8.2%: Superman - 8.3%: Spirit - 10.7%: Tiny Titans - 11.2%: All-New BBB - 12.1%: Hellblazer - 15.7%: Teen Titans - 15.9%: Fables - 16.8%: Jonah Hex - 20.9%: Secret Six - 26.0%: DMZ - 29.5%: Superman/Batman - 32.5%: Detective Comics - 34.0%: Batman - 34.3%: Unwritten - 36.4%: GL Corps - 41.6%: Supergirl - 42.6%: Titans - 43.7%: House of Mystery - 45.0%: GC Sirens - 46.5%: Red Robin - 48.2%: JSA - 48.7%: Power Girl - 52.4%: Batman and Robin - 56.1%: Batgirl - 66.1%: Adventure Comics
—–
5-YEAR COMPARISONS + 4.3%: Scooby-Doo + 3.7%: GL Corps - 17.5%: Birds of Prey - 22.0%: All-New BBB - 26.4%: Red Robin - 27.5%: Fables - 32.2%: Action Comics - 32.9%: Hellblazer - 40.1%: Detective Comics - 45.5%: Green Arrow - 46.1%: Batman - 46.3%: JLA - 46.4%: LoSH - 46.4%: Superman - 47.6%: Jonah Hex - 61.5%: DMZ - 63.0%: Teen Titans - 65.5%: Wonder Woman - 70.9%: Superman/Batman - 73.4%: Supergirl
—–
Average Periodical Sales
(not counting reprints, reorders shipping after the initial month of release, Johnny DC titles and magazines)
DC COMICS 08/2006: 42,497 08/2007: 35,107 08/2008: 29,678 08/2009: 29,977 --------------- 08/2010: 23,331 (- 9.7%)** 09/2010: 23,212 (- 0.5%)** 10/2010: 23,756 (- 2.3%)** 11/2010: 25,497 (+ 7.3%)** 12/2010: 23,869 (- 6.4%)** 01/2011: 21,922 (- 8.2%)** 02/2011: 23,252 (+ 6.1%)** 03/2011: 23,976 (+ 3.1%)** 04/2011: 25,651 (+ 7.0%) 05/2011: 24,561 (- 4.3%)** 06/2011: 25,814 (+ 5.1%)** 07/2011: 26,138 (+ 1.3%)** 08/2011: 25,632 (- 1.9%)** ---------------- 6 months: +10.2% 1 year : + 9.9% 2 years : -14.5% 5 years : -39.7%
DC UNIVERSE 08/2006: 54,382 08/2007: 47,049 08/2008: 38,502 08/2009: 37,300 --------------- 08/2010: 33,411 (- 5.5%) 09/2010: 32,042 (- 4.1%) 10/2010: 32,832 (+ 2.5%) 11/2010: 34,180 (+ 4.1%) 12/2010: 30,870 (- 9.7%) 01/2011: 24,321 (-21.2%)** 02/2011: 25,887 (+ 6.4%)** 03/2011: 26,720 (+ 3.2%)** 04/2011: 29,126 (+ 9.0%) 05/2011: 27,745 (- 4.7%)** 06/2011: 28,673 (+ 3.4%)** 07/2011: 28,586 (- 0.3%)** 08/2011: 27,761 (- 2.9%)** ---------------- 6 months: + 7.2% 1 year : -16.9% 2 years : -25.6% 5 years : -49.0%
VERTIGO 08/2006: 16,107 08/2007: 10,817 08/2008: 10,979 08/2009: 11,369 --------------- 08/2010: 9,094 (- 4.4%) 09/2010: 11,622 (+27.8%) 10/2010: 9,546 (-17.9%) 11/2010: 9,034 (- 5.4%) 12/2010: 11,193 (+23.9%) 01/2011: 10,145 (- 9.4%) 02/2011: 10,295 (+ 1.5%) 03/2011: 10,450 (+ 1.5%) 04/2011: 10,014 (- 4.2%) 05/2011: 10,668 (+ 6.5%) 06/2011: 10,415 (- 2.4%) 07/2011: 10,784 (+ 3.5%) 08/2011: 10,147 (- 5.9%) ---------------- 6 months: - 1.4% 1 year : +11.6% 2 years : -10.8% 5 years : -37.0%
—–
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 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.
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 calendar 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 a book’s initial calendar 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 between them 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 most Vertigo 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. To learn (a little) more about Vertigo’s collection sales, go right here.
** Two asterisks after a given month in the average charts mean that one or more periodical release did not make the Top 300 chart in that month. In those cases, it’s assumed that said releases sold as many units as the No. 300 comic on the chart for that month for the purposes of the chart, although its actual sales are likely to be less than that.
For a more lyrical approach to discussing sales figures that covers all the essentials in a more condensed, less tedious fashion, finally, go right here.
—–
Marc-Oliver Frisch writes about comics at his weblog and at Comicgate. You can also follow him on Twitter.
It would be great to know how important the ad campaigns were in getting new and lapsed readers to buy comics. Continuing ads in some fashion might be necessary to keep the readership numbers from falling steadily — normal attrition — but how would DC go about advertising single issues of ongoing series? Or would it be better to devote ad dollars to book sales and use the usual promotions for single issues?
SRS
“79 – SUPERMAN/BATMAN
Cancelled, after overstaying its welcome by about five years.”
Ouch! That’s a bit harsh for a title performing quite nicely without a regular creative team since Jeph Loeb left at #26. It was still doing better than two-thirds of the rest of the pack.
We already know that Justice League #1 sold an extra 46,650 copies in September, rising the total to 232,426 copies. Also, there will also probably be more copies on the October chart, so it’ll get pretty close to that figure from JLofA #1 from 5 years ago.
@Synsidar: You can’t really advertise single issues unless there’s something particularly notable about them. In theory you could advertise an individual title, but realistically any ongoing advertising would probably be directed to the DC brand as a whole.
Can someone else take this column over that likes DC even a little bit?
Heh heh. Based on how bad that Fury of Firestorm, Superman, Action Comics, Suicide Squad and Captain Atom were, it’ll shock me if the drop off isn’t drastic and dramatic six months down the road. I Vampire was just kind of there and Aquaman was the only one of the “New 52” that I tried that was any kind of good.
“Ouch! That’s a bit harsh for a title performing quite nicely without a regular creative team since Jeph Loeb left at #26. It was still doing better than two-thirds of the rest of the pack.”
That says more about the fact that it’s arguably DC’s two most-recognized superhero licenses, rather than a book that ever showed much consistency of purpose.
Re Hellblazer:
“Rock-solid overall, but the needle still points ever so slightly down.”
That’s not a very appropriate comment given that the sales line above it shows a 1.5% INCREASE in sales.
“So far, no replacements are in sight for the four ongoing Vertigo series that are about to end, and it’s been awfully quiet around Vertigo on the periodical front.”
Besides Spaceman, which is apparently going to be a quasi-ongoing (series of mini-series), a ‘real’ new ongoing was announced three months ago when The Unexpected was solicited as featuring “a preview of Vertigo’s next smash-hit monthly series”. That said, for the foreseeable future, the number of Vertigo titles is apparently going to be a bit lower than it was in recent years. Presumably, the new management is a little less willing to let low-selling books run their course.
Just couldnt help yourself could you?
Cant wait to see what you do with next month’s massive sales jump. Im sure youll find some way to twist it so it looks negative.
Jesus, Selina. Control yourself.
This is going to sound awful, but as soon as these columns are posted, I get all giddy because I’m excited to read the anti-Marc comments to see how hateful, whiney, and/or crazy they are. It’s a shame; Marc’s columns are full with so much meaty analysis, and I’ll read the column over the next few days, but for now, the hate is too funny to not be read.
I know what Chris Hero means, sadly. Here’s an idea; why don’t one of you follow Ryan Higgins’ suggestion and write the commentary for this data yourselves. Post it up here for everyone to see how you put a happy face on years of dwindling sales and opaque publishing decisions.
RE: advertising single issues.
Back in the day, Marvel used to run commercials for G.I.Joe and Transformers. I realize they probably got a pile of cash from Hasbro to underwrite the costs, but that was how I knew when new issues were available.
On the other hand, it would be silly to advertise saying “run out and buy this issue, which is part 3 of 7 story arc, where nothing really happens because the writer loves decompressed story telling”.
please , i am begging you, please have someone who actually knows something about the industry do this column , it is frightening that people read this guys nonsense , and believe it makes any semblance of sense
i think a DC Fans boycott of the Beat is what is needed , until this joker is removed
You must be kidding.
Marc’s commentary is the only thing which makes it worth the time going over the DC numbers.
Like many, I’ve long since stopped reading Frisch’s moronic “analysis” and just skip to the comments.
THis is getting stupid. All of you po-faced hater morons writing mindless anti-Mark comments need to go out and get a life – his and Paul’s comments are the best things on the Beat and a highlight of the comic month.
Personally, I’ve found that it is possible to just accept a certain negative bias and roll with it. Anyway, complaining about the tone seems less interesting to me than actually pointing out factual errors or refutable claims. Speaking of which: in my earlier post I forgot to mention another announced new Vertigo ongoing, the Fables spinoff Fairest (announced in july). So two books to replace four that are ending, still looks like a downsizing for now.
Perhaps some of the commenters above would like to share with us the positive comments that they feel should have been made.
God, you can even make the best selling comic of 2011 seem like a failure! We all know your a ‘glass half empty’ kind of guy, but this is ludicrous. Comparing 2003 to 2011 sales is insane.
And this comment:
8 – WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERNS: AFTERMATH
07/2011: WotGL: Aftermath #1 of 2 — 61,166
08/2011: WotGL: Aftermath #2 of 2 — 57,707 (-5.7%)Barely a drop-off. Good numbers for this type of book.
Good numbers for this type of book? Its the 8th best selling title – Its a good number period. Every other book below it would kill to have these sales….
Batman Inc lost about 40% by issue 8? A pretty good result when you look at all the Avengers titles – which lost about 40% by issue 2! haha…
I don’t think Marc is anti-DC. I believe he’d put forth very similar opinions about Marvel were he writing that column, and they would be interpreted as anti-Marvel. Rather, Marc’s reflections belie the fact that he has no clue whatsoever about the business of running an enthusiast hobby, a periodical business, a convergent media company or anything which utilizes creative freelancers. Reading Marc’s opinions reminds me quite a bit of evening newscasters who are desperately trying to sound like experts on topics they can’t even pronounce.
“God, you can even make the best selling comic of 2011 seem like a failure! … Comparing 2003 to 2011 sales is insane.”
Erm, you do realize I’m highlighting the decline of 100K+ titles from 2003 through 2011 to further underline the relative SUCCESS of JUSTICE LEAGUE #1, right?
It’s a ticker-tape parade, yay!
Do you actually read what you write?
“Well, as the five-year comparison happens to show, handily, the first-month sales aren’t even close to setting any sort of record, for starters. Even if you only look at this particular title, and even if you just consider the context of the last five years, there’s Justice League of America #1, from August 2006, which sold an estimated 212,581 units in its first month.
And that’s not the only book released in this period whose first-month sales outnumber those of the new Justice League #1. There are also Captain America: Reborn #1 (July 2009, estimated first-month sales of 193,142), the “Obama” issue of Amazing Spider-Man (January 2009, 352,953) and Secret Invasion #1 (April 2008, 250,263) — plus five others that came out since August 2006. So, overall, Justice League #1 ranks No. 10, as far as the comic books with the best first-month sales of the last five years are concerned.”
Apart from that the last sentence, which still comes across as tacked on and a back handed compliment. The rest of those 2 paragraphs only points out the negative.
A ticker tape parade? How about mentioning what ranking its made from this years comics? What, number 1 you say? No, I didn’t read that in your article either, but some Marvel crossover from over 3 years ago beat it….
“How about mentioning what ranking its made from this years comics? What, number 1 you say? No, I didn’t read that in your article either,…”
Then you might want to brush up on your reading comprehension. Specifically, I direct you to the TWO VERY NEXT LINES beneath all the ones that you just quoted.
I mean, gee, I apologize for the hurt feelings and all, and I actually don’t mind being raked over the coals for stuff I write. But that said, I find it generally elevates the standard of the conversation if we maintain a workable degree of interest in the points we bother to respond to.
It’s interesting that two of the lowest-selling Flashpoint minis – Secret Six and Frankenstein–are also (so far) the only two minis that act as direct precursors and tie-ins to current New 52 books – Justice League Dark and Frankenstein. I wonder when people picking up those books will realize this and start looking for those minis. Otherwise, that Flashpoint event ended up being a big waste of time and money. They could have relaunched the universe without most of those minis.
And I don’t think I’m alone when I say that I’m glad Marc-Oliver tries to put these numbers in context. Remember that “analysis” generally amounts to “informed opinion,” nothing more, nothing less. If you don’t agree with that opinion, then The Beat are very gracious to offer a comments section for you to share your own, but if the best you can offer are complaints that you don’t like his analysis without any proof that you can do better, then really why are you bothering to comment at all?
Marc, I don’t think you have the percentages correct for the 6 month to 5 year periods for Justice League. I checked a couple others and they seem correct but Justice League is off.
@KET
“That says more about the fact that it’s arguably DC’s two most-recognized superhero licenses, rather than a book that ever showed much consistency of purpose.”
Hmm, isn’t it actually the purpose of the book to showcase stories with the two most-recognized superhero licenses? Yes, Superman/Batman didn’t have any impact on the DCU continuity/history (except for bringing back Supergirl), but is it a lesser book for that? I don’t think so. I enjoyed a lot the annuals written by Joe Kelly and they don’t have to relate to anything else. Not everything has to be in continuity. (I’m looking at you Roy Thomas!!!)
Pascal, I think he was saying that the title had no internal direction. I don’t want most books to have much connection to the universe they’re set in, but I do want every book to have a building plot and development of its characters.
J.S.:
“Marc, I don’t think you have the percentages correct for the 6 month to 5 year periods for Justice League.”
They’re correct — they just include the other issue that came out in August, as per the small print: “Should more than one issue have shipped in a month which is relevant for one of the long-term comparisons, the average between them will be used.”
I agree that spending money for ads about content would be wasteful. From the perspectives of the publisher and store owner, though, anything that gets a customer to come to the store is beneficial. Once he’s come inside to buy something, he might buy other things, too. DC could try to get readers to sign up for previews and special offers sent via e-mail. Directly connecting to consumers might hurt the comics-oriented Web sites which offer previews, but they’re oriented more toward fans.
SRS
My LCS is still waiting for the second printing of WONDER WOMAN #1 — a bunch of people besides me want it, the store owner said, so perhaps the favorable reactions had some effect.
SRS
Look, everyone who reads the Marvel and DC sales posts can clearly see that the DC analysis has a more negative tinge to it. If Frisch was writing about the Marvel numbers, he probably would bring an equally sour approach. So…
1. People should just accept it an move on.
2. Frisch and The Beat should stop trying to pretend there isn’t a difference here when it comes to analyzing sales at the Big 2 and stop acting as though people getting annoyed with it is some sort of unreasonable reaction.
Mike
Marc-Oliver Frisch’s commentary is the part of the month-to-month report I enjoy the most, followed closely by the Marc-Oliver Frisch is a Monster meme in the comments.
I say keep up the good work, Marc-Oliver, I always enjoy these analyses. I thought digging into the numbers over the last decade was really interesting. I think it proved that the New 52 is neither a blow-away success or a failing disappointment, but just a first big step toward righting the ship.
“Frisch and The Beat should stop trying to pretend there isn’t a difference here when it comes to analyzing sales at the Big 2 and stop acting as though people getting annoyed with it is some sort of unreasonable reaction.”
I’m not sure what you think anyone’s been ‘trying to pretend.’ I bring my writing style to the analysis. Paul brings his. They happen to be different, which is somewhat unsurprising given that Paul isn’t me and I’m not Paul. I’m not sure where you see the necessity for us to try and pretend anything, seeing as we are already two different people.
As Paul has pointed out elsewhere, these columns have existed well before The Beat has, in any of its inarnations. By my count, we’ve been doing this for at least seven years, at this stage — Paul probably a couple longer — and at some point Heidi approached us and we agreed to post the columns at her site.
If, after all this time, a bunch of people still insist on coming here to get annoyed every couple months because, each time, they realize anew that I still haven’t changed my approach and get mad at me for that, then they’re certainly entitled to, if that’s how they chose to spend their time on Earth.
But to be honest, my idea of what’s ‘reasonable’ is not broad enough to cover that. I’m terribly sorry if this breaks anybody’s heart, but I haven’t changed my critical, snarky and opinionated approach to this column in the last seven years, and I won’t be changing it tomorrow, either. Or next month. Or the month after that. Or next year. If that means people show up here to whine about nothing in particular every month, I think that’s kind of sad for them, but there’s nothing I can do about it.
If you’re interested in what I’m writing about, thanks for reading. If you think there’s anything in the column I got wrong, please call me on it. I think facts are important, and I’m sure I get my share of them wrong. If following my column somehow causes you grief or personally offends you or hurts your feelings, though, I strongly recommend that you stop, because it’s not going to change.
I think DC’s a big boy in the publishing industry who can take a little skepticism and critical scrutiny from a distance every now and then. If you can’t, by all means, don’t let the door hit you on your way out.
I have to agree, I come for Marc-Oliver’s sardonic commentary, I stay for the morbid fascination of seeing how many times and ways he can be insulted by the audience. Oscar Wilde meets Statler & Waldorf!
With so many DC Universe titles selling at cancellation levels, there wasn’t anything good to say about the numbers.
From a business perspective, the success of the New 52 raises format questions. If a company has a niche product, then it exploits the niche as profitably as it can, or acquires products aimed at multiple niches. If it has products that have mass appeal, then it tries to reach the masses through various types of promotions and advertisements. If ad campaigns and publicity (e.g., media coverage of the New 52 #1 releases) can boost sales on #1 issues, but not subsequent issues, then it makes more sense to produce one-shot products which can be advertised. That’s simple to do with DVD releases, licensed clothing, and other products, harder to do with comics.
SRS
I love reading these columns. I thought in your last months thread you said you were going to stop, but I must have misread.
I love DC books more than Marvel, and I don’t care if you write negatively or not. I love to read the numbers and your description, thank you every month.
Thanks as always for doing this, Marc-Oliver. Always interesting, always insightful, always met with UNSPEAKABLE, SPUTTERING RAGE!!
They want us to think it’s all coincidence, but I’ve got Paul and Marc’s hidden lair bugged. This conversation is from only a few weeks ago:
Marc: I’m so bummed. How can I possibly write negative things about DC in September? They’re selling so many copies! Curse you, DiDio!
Paul: Don’t worry, Marc. Only a few commenters at The Beat have noticed our conspiracy, and no one listens to them. Our plans are working fine. I think that sales of less than 300K for any of the new 52 should be spun as a failure.
Marc: Thank you for giving me the courage to continue with our evil plan to destroy DC comics through negative assessments of its sales and market share! I don’t know what I would do without you, Paul.
“Perhaps some of the commenters above would like to share with us the positive comments that they feel should have been made.”
Absolutely. I would love for the haters to post their own alternative commentary on the entire list.
“I’m not sure what you think anyone’s been ‘trying to pretend.’”
Thanks for proving my point. The DC numbers get a snottier, more sarcastic analysis than the Marvel numbers. You’re certainly entitled to your style, but it is not unreasonable for people to be annoyed that the two biggest publishers get treated so differently.
Furthermore, just as you can write the sales analysis any way you want, people are equally free to come here and bitch about it as much as they want. If that annoys you, guess what? That’s exactly the way people feel when they read your same, tired, reflexive snark.
Here’s a suggestion for The Beat. Why not have Frisch switch and start analyzing the Marvel sales figures? We’re really not getting terribly deep or scholarly insights on either company’s sales so, while it would probably be a pain in the butt for the guys to exchange their respective sales histories, it’s not like Frisch couldn’t start giving Marvel’s numbers the exact same review he now does for DC. Since Frisch obviously has no particular affection for the publisher or the books he currently handles, why not switch? Even if it’s just a short term stunt to increase page views?
Mike
Keep up the great work, Marc-Oliver! Personally, I love your monthly analyses. Your posts and Paul’s Marvel analyses are the only reasons I ever visit The Beat. Don’t let the negative comments get you down.
“Thanks for proving my point.”
Really? Seems to me that he was DISPROVING your bizarre conspiracy theory.
“Here’s a suggestion for The Beat. Why not have Frisch switch and start analyzing the Marvel sales figures?”
Why should Paul O’Brien have to suffer through the inane fanboy ranting of the DC Comics Apologists Squad? It’s bad enough that Marc-Oliver already endures your cheap, rose-colored glasses commentary.
Listen, here’s the truth. Marc used to be known by a different name. That name was OJ Simpson.
@Mike – why can’t you just look at the sales numbers for each book, come to your own conclusions, and skip Marc’s comments if they bother you so much?
Listen, here’s the truth. Marc is really Amanda Knox.
“Why not have Frisch switch and start analyzing the Marvel sales figures?”
Because Frisch has no intention of doing so. End of discussion.
“Here’s a suggestion for The Beat. Why not have Frisch switch and start analyzing the Marvel sales figures?”
This has been suggested before, Paul and Marc weren’t interested.
@Mark–“I thought in your last months thread you said you were going to stop, but I must have misread.”
That was Matthew Murray talking about the Indie Comics Sales Chart.
@Marc and the Beat–Is it possible to copy and paste the comments section from month to month? It feels like it since I’ve been reading the same comments for the last year and seems like I will continue to do so. It would be less work for Marc and the commmenters every month to defend and hate on, respectively.
Can’t do that? Then perhaps we could comment on the SALES each month, rather than the article. Talk about the books themselves, what should and shouldn’t be selling. And the September one is the perfect jumping on point. I’ll start: “I can’t believe Red Hood and the Outlaws outsold Animal Man, one of the best reviewed books of the month!” “Grifter sucks, come on.” “You gotta buy DC Universe Presents, it’s pretty entertaining.”
“Absolutely. I would love for the haters to post their own alternative commentary on the entire list.”
I second this idea!
The haters may prove more entertaining in their delusionary comments…
Keep up the good work MO, I love this column!!!
I enjoy this column the way it is.
And as a historical comparison, in May 2007 the top 15 titles all sold over 100,000 copies. http://www.icv2.com/articles/home/10766.html
There are six titles over that number in September, the month in which DC had the biggest relaunch in comics history.
The market is getting smaller. Maybe instead of criticising Marc for his style, you should try to figure out why fewer people are buying comics.
MOF – Do we have an idea of how many variant covers there were? Mostly just curious about the upper books.
Was iZombie offered at a buck with the first issue? Seems like some of the other Vertigo books have been able to hold the audience slightly longer with that format which Spaceman is following.
Then again American Vampire was offered at $4 but with Stephen King attached so maybe it doesnt matter.
“Aaand cancelled. Originally, this was supposed to be 12 issues, then cut to 10, and now there’s a big, triple-sized one-shot special on the schedule for December to wrap up Grant Morrison’s Batman epic.”
And a 12 issue series running through 2012 called Batman: Leviathan.
“Then again, if Jonah Hex sales and reception were deemed a good basis for a relaunch, that would have to have been (almost) twice as true of Secret Six.”
Two completely different audiences. Hex (now All-Star Western) is a book that can be promoted to a non-comic reading audience – western fans. Secret Six is a book that’s only going to appeal to superhero comic fans, new or old.
Well, always funny to read more comments about the analyst than about the analysis, which should be the main subject of the comments…
For my part, while I do enjoy the analysis, I can understand those who feel there are two standards for analysing the Marvel figures vs the DC figures. I understand that both analysts have been doing these comments for years, each with their own style, and that’s perfectly fine.
But for someone who gets to The Beat the first time and sees an article titled “Marvel Comics month-to-month sales analysis”, and then a few days later an article titled “DC Comics month-to-month sales analysis”, it’s kind of hard not to expect similar styles for the two. You kind of expect them to be equally objective or unobjective, or equally positively or negatively biased, IMHO it’s kind of normal to take that for granted.
But the truth is that the two have very different standards for analysing, and a very different tone. They are not the same “product” being offered to the “customer”, even if at the first they look similar, and maybe to a certain point should be similar. What you get are two very different styles that just cannot be compared. Once you get that, everything’s fine, but it is a bit surprising at first.
All this being said, we are talking about comics here, and not the fate of the world, and I do find the passion of some comments to be a bit…I don’t know… extreme? in that regard. For my part, I will continue to read both Marvel and DC month-to-month sales articles, and try to comment the analysis and not the analysts. And thanks to both analysts for your work, it’s appreciated.
@Marc-Oliver: Is it pretty much official that Levitz is still on Legion as part of his deal to step down from his job as President of DC?
I like Marc´s work. If I want to read the party-line where everything is a success I just need to go to the other comic-sites. I hope he and Paul do this work for the forseeable future.
With the exception of anything Fables the Vertigo numbers are terrible. They are dying a slow death like Wildstorm did before them. If you lose 5 – 40% of your readership every year, it is only a matter of time when you have to cancel a publication. Unfortunatly you can´t order a successful creater-owned comic.
Thanks to MBunge and royd_9 for providing the voice of reason in a rather silly debate. Personally, I would certainly prefer to find the kind of well-informed and balanced comments that Paul provides in his column in the DC column as well, but apparently that’s not going to happen. Since I’m interested enough in the numbers I’ll keep reading this column and just accept the negative bias (and I do appreciate the work that’s being put into the column). It is indeed pointless to keep complaining about the negative tone. However, I still feel compelled to comment when I read something that is incorrect, not so much because I expect any kind of reaction from this column’s author, but to offer a counterpoint for others who might read the comments.
I definitely enjoy Marc-Oliver’s writing style and appreciate his efforts. My only ‘criticism’ is that the rankings for the DC Retroactive ’70s series seem to be missing (eg. the numbers before the ’80s and ’90s listings)’
Oh, and to those who criticize Marc-Oliver’s sense of humor: I strongly disagree, sometimes there’s pure comedy gold in this column, to wit:
“If you think there’s anything in the column I got wrong, please call me on it. I think facts are important, and I’m sure I get my share of them wrong.”
That’s just incredibly funny. Irony works best when it’s delivered with a straight face.
The only thing funnier than the DC apologists whinging in the comments every month is their complete inability to explain exactly how the commentary on the numbers in MOF’s reports is inaccurate.
I strongly doubt that, if Marc and Paul did surreptitiously switch places, anyone would notice. Their writing styles are remarkably similar. They’re writing about the business performance of two companies, one of whom has a larger market share than the other, and both of whom are selling less product than they did a few years ago, and MUCH less product than they did thirty years ago. The story is remarkably similar every month, yet both manage to write about it fairly insightfully and IMHO entertainingly.
Look, 90% of all comics have an entirely predictable performance. If it’s a A-list character with an A-list creative team, the book will sell 150K the first issue, 100K the second, and then settle into a gentle decline at about 70K, until the A-list team leaves, when it will go down to 50K. A B-list character with an A-list team will sell 70K the first issue, 50K the second, and then settle around 30K. Everyone else starts at 30K and drifts slowly downward. Non-superhero books and niche miniseries sell 15K the first month, then drift down to 10K.
Occasionally there are surprises, such as the recent success of Green Lantern or Deadpool. Once in a while there’s a fun indie book like The Walking Dead that actually adds readers. But usually it’s the same story, over and over again.
We all know this. There’s no point in reading these charts for the numbers; if there’s a pleasant surprise, it will be covered elsewhere. The ONLY reason to read these columns, rather than just looking at the numbers, is if you like the writing. If you don’t, please stop reading and do something else with your time.
@sam
That’s the best thing I’ve read yet. You summed up the sales trends, the analysis, everything perfectly.
To anyone who thinks these columns are even slightly negative, thank you for not disappointing. I look forward every month to how batshit insane you guys sound. The Marc-Oliver-is-a-Monster Meme is now my favorite thing on the web.
I really enjoy reading Marc’s sardonic commentary. Thanks for all of the hard work on this column, Marc! =)
To the complainers:
Commit to doing these analyses for free for the Beat for at least 12 months, and I’ll give a shit about your opinion.
If you’re not offering a better replacement for Marc’s column, then sit down and shut up. I’d rather have this column than nothing at all.
Oh my God! Marc cant handle getting critized for his obvious disdain for saying anything positive about DC and suckup readers are getting all bent out of shape because we arn’t kissing Marcs arse like they and want us gone? Unless Marc is so insecure hes creating identities in the comments ( a few of you suck ups sound like the same person – or maybe thats just because your all yes men).
Knowing it gets you all bent out of shape brings a smile to my face! :)
I love how the commentary here is about the author and not about the content, i.e. what DC’s sales numbers, which the column comments on, will be in the future. I don’t think the massive numbers will be sustained and will drop drastically. Let’s talk about actual column content and not the guy who writes the column for once.
It probably would have been a good idea for Marc Oliver to check the numbers of the following month that were already available when he hit “publish” on that piece.
The over 40,000 copies of JL that are indeed first month orders that just didn’t register in time for the August chart make his entire analysis of the book’s relative success a bit cringe worthy, and that could have easily been avoided. He should know after all these years of doing this column that a big book released in the final week of a month is likely to have some of its sales show up on the next month’s chart.
“Because Frisch has no intention of doing so. End of discussion.”
Why? Because you’re too much of a wussy to put up with the greater level of crap you’d get from Marvel fanboys for pointlessly snarking on their favorite company?
Mike
Another reason not to switch: Paul loves the X-men. The X-men are published by Marvel. I think Marc just loves the numbers, not the books. I find both columns equally useful.
The numbers are much more sincere, insightful and dramatic than most of the books published by either company in recent years.
I much prefer them.
Batman Incorporated is a good example of how lateness can hurt a book’s sales nowadays. Hopefully it will ship with some semblance of regularity after DC relaunches it next year.
Edward Douglas said ‘It’s interesting that two of the lowest-selling Flashpoint minis – Secret Six and Frankenstein–are also (so far) the only two minis that act as direct precursors and tie-ins to current New 52 books – Justice League Dark and Frankenstein.’
That’s a good point. I always thought of Secret Six as a kinda of Suicide Squad type book too, but that could just be because of Deadshot’s presence.
I agreed with MBunge about the angry commenters getting over it and Marc not being surprised when negative comments are left, but then MBunge had to go and request Marc and Paul switch and start calling Marc a ‘wussy’ and completely lost me. Anyway I’m glad this and Paul’s and Matthew’s columns come out every month and have their own flavors.
I know Justice League #1 was selling out everywhere but my comic shop still has three giant stacks of them.