by Marc-Oliver Frisch

DC Comics placed six of its releases in the Top 10 in December, including two issues of Justice League of America, three issues of the weekly 52 and the debut of new ongoing series Justice Society of America, by writer Geoff Johns and artist Dale Eaglesham. The publisher’s output rate, which had seen a drastic 25% increase in November, was only marginally down from 88 titles to 85 (not counting magazines and cartoon adaptations). At the same time, however, a whole range of major DC titles again failed to appear in December, including three quarters of the company’s Superman line with All Star Superman, Action Comics and Superman, as well as Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Authority, Astro City: The Dark Age and Deathblow.

Notable December releases from DC Comics were the debut of the ongoing Batman Confidential, by Andy Diggle and Whilce Portacio; the return of the eponymous Will Eisner creation in Darwyn Cooke’s The Spirit; the launch of WildStorm’s Welcome to Tranquility, by Gail Simone and Neil Googe; another horror film adaptation with Friday the 13th; Vertigo’s latest stab at their favorite franchise with the limited series Sandman Mystery Theatre: Sleep of Reason; the DCU: Infinite Christmas Special; and the final issue of Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s controversial butchery of superheroes, The Boys, which was recently canceled on short notice due to content issues.

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.

—–

1/2 - JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA
12/2003: JLA #91            --  58,981 
12/2004: JLA #109           --  63,791 
--------------------------------------
12/2005: JLA #123           --  76,899 (-  4.9%)
01/2006: JLA #124           --  74,069 (-  3.7%)
02/2006: JLA #125           --  74,341 (+  0.4%)
03/2006: --
04/2006: --
05/2006: --
06/2006: --
07/2006: Justice League #0  -- 162,378 (+118.4%) [169,199]
08/2006: Justice League #1  -- 212,581 (+ 30.9%) [238,353]
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%)
12/2006: Justice League #5  -- 132,460 (-  3.1%)
-----------------
6 months:  n.a.
1 year  : + 75.0%
2 years : +111.0%

The JLA relaunch continues to be highly successful, claiming the two top spots of the December chart as it catches up with its schedule. There’s a slight decline setting in, but it’s nothing to worry about. As usual, the sales of both issues were boosted through variant cover editions.

Shipping in the last week of December, issue #5 was, reportedly, one of several DC Comics titles held up on the West Coast due to logistical problems and didn’t reach stores until January in those parts.

Somewhat surprisingly, though, none of the DC titles in question display any especially abnormal sales. This is particularly odd because Marvel’s Exiles #89, which was involved in the same delay and operates on a much lower sales level than most of the involved DC books, apparently ended up being short of a whopping 10,000 units as a result, which makes up about a third of its sales. (See Paul O’Brien’s column on Marvel sales for the details.)

This leaves three possibilities. One, for some reason or other, DC’s books were not affected remotely to the same degree as Exiles. Two, the Diamond chart somehow factored in the missing DC units, but not those of Exiles. Or three, Exiles numbers dropped for some other, completely unrelated reason. Either way, there’s clearly a missing factor here. If anyone knows what’s going on, I’d be delighted to know.

—–

6 - JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA

12/2003: JSA #55             --  43,009

12/2004: JSA #68             --  45,198

---------------------------------------

12/2005: JSA #80             --  50,862 (-  3.6%)

01/2006: JSA #81             --  50,078 (-  1.5%)

02/2006: JSA #82             --  54,234 (+  8.3%)

03/2006: JSA #83             --  51,991 (-  4.1%) [58,624]

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%)

-----------------

6 months: +104.6%

1 year  : +102.5%

2 years : +127.9%

The relaunch by writer Geoff Johns and artist Dale Eaglesham more than doubles the numbers of the title’s previous incarnation. There was, of course, a variant cover edition, one of which stores could order for every ten copies of the regular edition.

Retailers don’t seem to have ordered the book quite as ecstatically as they did the debut issues of the relaunched Flash: The Fastest Man Alive and Wonder Woman last year, which sold in the 120 and 130K ranges, respectively. But given that the creators are the same who worked on JSA up to issue #81, it’s still an impressive boost.

The more significant question, naturally, is how lasting the increase will be.

—–

8/9/10/12 - 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%)

----------------

6 months: - 9.0%

The book drops below 100K in terms of the estimates. But those are always slightly on the low side and just refer to the North American market, so it’s probably safe to say that actual sales still cracked 100,000 through December.

In any event, 52 continues to be a rock-solid performer and one of DC’s few consistent sales juggernauts.

—–

11 - JUSTICE

12/2005: Justice #3  of 12 -- 113,369 (- 9.4%) [120,943]

01/2006: --

02/2006: Justice #4  of 12 -- 110,488 (- 2.5%) [125,006]

03/2006: --

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%)

----------------

6 months: -10.3%

1 year  : -12.8%

The bi-monthly Justice is another DC title ostensibly affected by the transportation problems on the West Coast in the last week of December. The drop-off is actually slightly larger than usual here, but taken on its own terms, it certainly wouldn’t give reason to suspect that something went awry. The book is still doing perfectly well.

—–

18 - SUPERMAN/BATMAN

12/2003: Superman/Batman #4  -- 102,725

12/2003: Superman/Batman #5  --  96,420

12/2004: Superman/Batman #15 -- 119,926

12/2004: Superman/Batman #16 -- 115,657

---------------------------------------

12/2005: Superman/Batman #23 -- 102,248 (- 1.0%) [103,726]

01/2006: --

02/2006: --

03/2006: Superman/Batman #24 -- 101,315 (- 0.9%) [103,757]

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%)

----------------

6 months: -14.6%

1 year  : -20.1%

2 years : -30.6%

Another title which supposedly didn’t reach the West Coast until January, but doesn’t let it on in the slightest. On the contrary: he book’s decline is slowing down again, with sales settling down around 80K.

While that’s considerably better than most of the two protagonists’ solo titles, it’s worth mentioning that this is still a far cry from the numbers Superman/Batman shifted under writer Jeph Loeb.

—–

21/23 - BATMAN

12/2003: Batman #622 --  91,899

12/2004: Batman #635 --  60,898

-------------------------------

12/2005: Batman #648 --  63,151 (- 9.4%) [ 64,760]

01/2005: Batman #649 --  62,379 (- 1.2%) [ 64,645]

02/2005: Batman #650 --  66,447 (+ 6.5%) [ 74,355]

03/2005: Batman #651 --  69,805 (+ 5.1%) [ 79,616]

04/2006: Batman #652 --  72,889 (+ 4.4%) [ 82,438]

05/2006: Batman #653 --  77,257 (+ 6.0%) [ 78,435]

06/2006: Batman #654 --  76,525 (- 1.0%) [ 78,671]

07/2006: Batman #655 -- 113,567 (+48.4%) [123,903]

08/2006: Batman #656 --  95,982 (-15.5%) [ 99,024]

09/2006: Batman #657 --  91,357 (- 4.8%) [ 96,127]

10/2006: --

11/2006: Batman #658 --  94,349 (+ 3.3%)

11/2006: Batman #659 --  90,651 (- 3.9%)

12/2006: Batman #660 --  76,967 (-15.1%)

12/2006: Batman #661 --  75,512 (- 1.9%)

----------------

6 months: - 0.4%

1 year  : +20.7%

2 years : +25.2%

The harsh December drop-off is a reaction to the book’s filler storyline by writer John Ostrander and artist Tom Mandrake, which was originally solicited to start in issue #660 — before DC changed their minds and moved it up by one month, presumably to accomodate the regular creative team.

In the short term, the decision to run fill-in stories no doubt has its charms; as a separate limited series or as a part of Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, the Ostrander/Mandrake arc would likely have sold below 30K per issue. From that perspective, these numbers are clearly fantastic.

On the other hand, there are the long-term numbers of Batman to worry about. In that regard, I’m rather skeptical whether DC is doing itself any great services by interrupting their high-profile team’s run in this fashion. Plainly, it’s rather unlikely for the numbers to just pop back all the way to their former strength once the regular creators return. (Writer Grant Morrison is back with issue #663, artist Andy Kubert rejoins him with the subsequent issue.)

Oh, and issue #661 was another one supposedly affected by the West Coast incident. Again there’s no visible effect on the numbers, and it’s actually no different with the rest of the DC titles on Diamond’s list of affected books. For the sake of completeness, they are Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #7, Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #25, The Boys #6, Guy Gardner: Collateral Damage #2, Jack of Fables #6, JSA: Classified #20 and Wetworks #4. It doesn’t seem to matter, so let’s leave it at that.

—–

27 - BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL

12/2006: Batman Confidential #1  -- 61,119

The new Batman title with rotating creative teams, launching with a six-parter by writer Andy Diggle and artist Whilce Portacio, essentially replaces the long-running Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, which ends in January.

The numbers are promising for this sort of thing; the book sold more than twice as many units than its predecessor currently does, and it’s actually slightly ahead of its sister title, Superman Confidential, as well. And like with the latter, there’s no variant cover edition which might have artificially bloated sales.

Of course, there’s also a lesson to be learned from the similar JLA: Classified and JSA: Classified titles, which both started out with stellar sales, but soon began to drop down the charts. For now, though, the numbers look fine.

—–

28 - TEEN TITANS

12/2003: Teen Titans #6  -- 69,255

12/2004: Teen Titans #19 -- 62,585

----------------------------------

12/2005: Teen Titans #30 -- 67,155 (- 3.5%)

01/2006: Teen Titans #31 -- 65,223 (- 2.9%)

02/2006: Teen Titans #32 -- 69,131 (+ 6.0%)

03/2006: Teen Titans #33 -- 67,208 (- 2.8%)

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%)

----------------

6 months:   n.a.

1 year  : -10.4%

2 years : - 3.9%

The book keeps up a slow but noticeable decline, and has now dropped to its lowest sales level to date. A new major storyline begins in issue #43, and something tells me that DC want it to catch on.

—–

29/33 - SUPERGIRL

12/2005: --

01/2006: --

02/2006: Supergirl #4  -- 104,734 (+ 4.8%)

02/2006: Supergirl #5  -- 103,108 (- 1.0%) [104,930]

03/2006: --

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%)

----------------

6 months:   n.a.

1 year  :   n.a.

The book’s schedule remains a mess; issue #12, originally slated for a November release, finally made it out in December, but with a different creative team and story than originally solicited. The sales decline continues to be worrying, in the meantime.

—–

30/35 - DETECTIVE COMICS

12/2003: Detective Comics #789 -- 36,456

12/2004: Detective Comics #801 -- 42,775

----------------------------------------

12/2005: Detective Comics #814 -- 37,145 (- 3.1%)

01/2006: Detective Comics #815 -- 35,569 (- 4.2%)

02/2006: Detective Comics #816 -- 35,410 (- 0.5%)

03/2006: Detective Comics #817 -- 62,245 (+75.8%) [70,241]

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%)

----------------

6 months: -13.1%

1 year  : +54.4%

2 years : +34.1%

After November’s fill-in issue, regular writer Paul Dini’s return in December results in a slight increase, immediately followed by a bit of a nose-dive. Overall, however, sales are still 20K ahead of the level they were prior to March 2006’s “One Year Later” stunt, so there’s no reason to be overly worried yet.

It may also be worth mentioning that, quite unusually, issue #827 actually wasn’t meant to be out until January, but ended up shipping a week early.

—–

37 - FLASH: THE FASTEST MAN ALIVE

12/2003: Flash #205     --  34,931

12/2004: --  

----------------------------------

12/2005: Flash #229     --  41,459 (-  9.6%)

01/2006: Flash #230     --  40,571 (-  2.1%) [42,392]

02/2006: --

03/2006: --

04/2006: --

05/2006: --

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%)

----------------

6 months: -55.5%

1 year  : +29.3%

2 years :   n.a.

Sales are still dropping like a stone. This is probably the most spectacular failure we’ve seen in the direct market in recent years, in terms of relaunches. DC seem to be terribly embarrassed by it; instead of following the handbook and trying to downplay and sugar-coat the book’s abysmal performance, they don’t even dare to mention it in their state-of-the-union interviews.

—–

45 - SUPERMAN CONFIDENTIAL

11/2006: Superman Confidential #1  -- 60,157

12/2006: Superman Confidential #2  -- 46,765 (-22.3%)

That’s an average drop-off.

—–

50 - GREEN LANTERN CORPS

12/2005: GLC: Recharge #3 of 5   -- 64,490 (- 6.4%) [65,669]

01/2006: GLC: Recharge #4 of 5   -- 59,952 (- 7.0%) [61,540]

02/2006: --

03/2006: GLC: Recharge #5 of 5   -- 60,123 (+ 0.3%)

04/2006: --

05/2006: --

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%)

----------------

6 months: -49.5%

1 year  : -39.9%

The book, one of a host of Infinite Crisis spin-offs, keeps bleeding readers.

Interestingly, Marvel recently back-pedaled on a couple of projects originally announced as ongoing titles spinning out of their Civil War event series, which are now going to see the light of day as limited series instead. Perhaps the awareness that the market can only support so much is finally setting in, at least at one of the two major direct market caterers.

—–

53 - 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%)

Sales appear to have found their level. The book is doing perfectly well.

—–

55 - ION

04/2006: Ion #1  of 12 -- 66,453          [74,727]

05/2006: Ion #2  of 12 -- 55,532 (-16.4%) [57,415]

06/2006: Ion #3  of 12 -- 51,739 (- 6.8%)

07/2006: Ion #4  of 12 -- 49,981 (- 3.4%)

08/2006: Ion #5  of 12 -- 45,764 (- 8.4%)

09/2006: Ion #6  of 12 -- 41,832 (- 8.6%)

10/2006: Ion #7  of 12 -- 38,795 (- 7.3%)

11/2006: Ion #8  of 12 -- 36,541 (- 5.8%)

12/2006: Ion #9  of 12 -- 35,566 (- 2.7%)

----------------

6 months: -31.3%

A standard drop. Sales are bottoming out again.

—–

56 - SECRET SIX

05/2006: Secret Six #1 of 6 -- 54,961          [57,425]

06/2006: --

07/2006: Secret Six #2 of 6 -- 47,346 (-13.9%)

08/2006: Secret Six #3 of 6 -- 44,507 (- 6.0%)

09/2006: Secret Six #4 of 6 -- 40,782 (- 8.4%)

10/2006: Secret Six #5 of 6 -- 36,628 (-10.2%)

11/2006: --

12/2006: Secret Six #6 of 6 -- 35,513 (- 3.0%)

----------------

6 months:  n.a.

Concluding with an average drop.

—–

57 - NIGHTWING

12/2003: Nightwing #88  -- 28,976

12/2004: Nightwing #100 -- 40,022

---------------------------------

12/2005: Nightwing #115 -- 35,674 (- 2.1%)

01/2006: Nightwing #116 -- 35,113 (- 1.6%) [37,851]

02/2006: Nightwing #117 -- 35,489 (+ 1.1%)

03/2006: Nightwing #118 -- 42,525 (+19.8%) [51,775]

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%)

----------------

6 months: -22.4%

1 year  : - 2.2%

2 years : -12.8%

Declining. The additional sales from “One Year Later” are gone now.

—–

58 - THE SPIRIT

11/2006: Batman/The Spirit -- 35,541         [39,666]

12/2006: The Spirit #1     -- 34,558 (-2.8%)

Writer/artist Darwyn Cooke takes over the Eisner creation for an ongoing series.

Surprisingly, there’s virtually no drop-off from November’s introductory crossover special, which, after all, had the sales draw of Batman and writer Jeph Loeb in its favor. These are good, solid numbers for a book that doesn’t do superheroes, especially in the absence of any variant cover gimmickry and the like.

Batman/The Spirit picked up a respectable 4,125 units in re-orders, meanwhile.

—–

60 - OUTSIDERS

12/2003: Outsiders #7  -- 47,052

12/2004: Outsiders #18 -- 40,601

--------------------------------

12/2005: Outsiders #31 -- 46,555 (+ 4.2%)

01/2006: Outsiders #32 -- 44,027 (- 5.4%)

02/2006: Outsiders #33 -- 43,270 (- 1.7%)

03/2006: Outsiders #34 -- 47,286 (+ 9.3%) [51,527]

04/2006: Outsiders #35 -- 45,774 (- 3.2%)

05/2006: Outsiders #36 -- 45,705 (- 0.2%)

06/2006: Outsiders #37 -- 44,109 (- 3.5%)

07/2006: Outsiders #38 -- 41,974 (- 4.8%)

08/2006: Outsiders #39 -- 40,524 (- 3.5%)

09/2006: Outsiders #40 -- 38,626 (- 4.7%)

10/2006: Outsiders #41 -- 36,672 (- 5.1%)

11/2006: Outsiders #42 -- 35,598 (- 2.9%)

12/2006: Outsiders #43 -- 34,243 (- 3.8%)

----------------

6 months: -22.4%

1 year  : -26.5%

2 years : -15.7%

The book keeps losing more than 1,000 units per month. That’s not good, obviously.

—–

61 - SUPERGIRL AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES

12/2003: Legion #28           -- 25,042

12/2004: Legion of SH #1      -- 50,691

---------------------------------------

12/2005: --

01/2006: Legion of SH #13     -- 32,730 (-  2.4%)

02/2006: Legion of SH #14     -- 32,513 (-  0.7%)

02/2006: Legion of SH #15     -- 31,649 (-  2.7%)

03/2006: Supergirl & LoSH #16 -- 47,426 (+ 49.9%) [54,788]

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%)

----------------

6 months: -24.2%

1 year  :   n.a.

2 years : -34.3%

It’s settling into a standard decline again. The “One Year Later” sales boost is largely gone here, as well.

—–

64 - GREEN ARROW

12/2003: Green Arrow #33 -- 36,934

12/2004: Green Arrow #45 -- 30,997

----------------------------------

12/2005: Green Arrow #57 -- 31,778 (- 2.7%)

01/2006: Green Arrow #58 -- 30,990 (- 2.5%)

02/2006: Green Arrow #59 -- 31,250 (+ 0.8%)

03/2006: Green Arrow #60 -- 37,946 (+21.4%) [43,045]

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%)

----------------

6 months: -14.7%

1 year  : + 1.4%

2 years : + 4.0%

The December issue had appearanaces by Batman and the Red Hood. Sometimes, guest appearances still have an effect.

—–

70 - ROBIN

12/2003: Robin #121 -- 30,483

12/2004: Robin #133 -- 35,406  

-----------------------------

12/2005: Robin #145 -- 28,532 (-11.7%)

01/2006: Robin #146 -- 29,499 (+ 3.4%) [31,851]

02/2006: Robin #147 -- 32,120 (+ 8.9%)

03/2006: Robin #148 -- 36,717 (+14.3%) [42,442]

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%)

----------------

6 months: -21.5%

1 year  : + 7.1%

2 years : -13.7%

Historically, this is still within the book’s usual range, but the steep decline is worrying.

—–

71 - THE MIDNIGHTER (WildStorm)

11/2006: The Midnighter #1  -- 39,796

12/2006: The Midnighter #2  -- 30,464 (-23.5%)

With the relaunch of The Authority missing in action, The Midnighter was the best-selling WildStorm title in December.

Bearing in mind that sales are still boosted through variant cover editions, these numbers aren’t enthusiastic, but quite alright.

—–

72 - GEN13 (WildStorm)

12/2003: Gen13 #16 -- 12,406

----------------------------

10/2006: Gen13 #1  -- 47,535

11/2006: Gen13 #2  -- 33,494 (-29.5%)

12/2006: Gen13 #3  -- 30,233 (- 9.7%)

An average drop-off.

—–

75 - BIRDS OF PREY

12/2003: Birds of Prey #63  -- 30,529

12/2004: Birds of Prey #77  -- 30,303

-------------------------------------

12/2005: Birds of Prey #89  -- 30,653 (- 6.6%)

01/2006: Birds of Prey #90  -- 30,460 (- 0.6%)

02/2006: Birds of Prey #91  -- 29,835 (- 2.1%)

03/2006: Birds of Prey #92  -- 36,808 (+23.4%)

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%)

----------------

6 months: -12.2%

1 year  : - 2.7%

2 years : - 1.6%

Easy come, easy go. Following the book’s makeover in issue #100, sales promptly drop to the lowest level in over a year. That’s no reason to panic, but it’s certainly not an encouraging sign, either.

—–

81 - THE BOYS (WildStorm)

08/2006: The Boys #1  -- 31,636          [36,173]

08/2006: The Boys #2  -- 26,165 (-17.3%) [32,075]

09/2006: --

10/2006: The Boys #3  -- 26,415 (+ 1.0%)

10/2006: The Boys #4  -- 24,848 (- 5.9%) [28,452]

11/2006: The Boys #5  -- 26,842 (+ 8.0%)

12/2006: The Boys #6  -- 27,039 (+ 0.7%)

Sales continue to climb, slowly but surely. It’s a hit!

Well, it’s also canceled. Shortly before the release of issue #7, DC decided to axe the book, effective immediately, apparently over content-related concerns.

—–

83 - FABLES (Vertigo)

12/2003: Fables #20 -- 25,640

12/2004: Fables #32 -- 24,889

-----------------------------

12/2005: Fables #44 -- 24,515 (-0.6%)

01/2006: Fables #45 -- 24,297 (-0.9%)

02/2006: Fables #46 -- 24,134 (-0.7%)

03/2006: Fables #47 -- 24,278 (+0.6%)

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%)

---------------

6 months: -1.2%

1 year  : +5.6%

2 years : +4.0%

Another steady climber. Fables has always been one of the publisher’s most consistent performers, but through various promotional initiatives and spin-off titles, Vertigo have recently managed to renew interest in the title.

—–

86 - MARTIAN MANHUNTER

08/2006: Martian Manhunter #1 of 8 -- 41,263

09/2006: Martian Manhunter #2 of 8 -- 32,624 (-20.9%)

10/2006: Martian Manhunter #3 of 8 -- 29,286 (-10.2%)

11/2006: Martian Manhunter #4 of 8 -- 27,390 (- 6.5%)

12/2006: Martian Manhunter #5 of 8 -- 25,522 (- 6.8%)

That’s a lukewarm performance.

—–

87 - Y: THE LAST MAN (Vertigo)

12/2003: Y: The Last Man #17 -- 26,697

12/2004: Y: The Last Man #29 -- 26,765

--------------------------------------

12/2005: Y: The Last Man #40 -- 26,006 (-1.5%)

01/2006: Y: The Last Man #41 -- 25,931 (-0.3%)

02/2006: Y: The Last Man #42 -- 25,775 (-0.6%)

03/2006: Y: The Last Man #43 -- 25,877 (+0.4%)

04/2006: Y: The Last Man #44 -- 25,985 (+0.4%)

05/2006: Y: The Last Man #45 -- 25,866 (-0.5%)

06/2006: Y: The Last Man #46 -- 25,881 (+0.1%)

07/2006: Y: The Last Man #47 -- 25,791 (-0.4%)

08/2006: Y: The Last Man #48 -- 25,829 (+0.2%)

09/2006: Y: The Last Man #49 -- 25,690 (-0.5%)

10/2006: Y: The Last Man #50 -- 26,802 (+4.3%)

11/2006: Y: The Last Man #51 -- 25,606 (-4.5%)

12/2006: Y: The Last Man #52 -- 25,422 (-0.7%)

---------------

6 months: -1.8%

1 year  : -2.3%

2 years : -5.0%

Standard attrition.

—–

90 - JSA: CLASSIFIED

12/2005: JSA: Classified #6  -- 45,317 (- 4.4%)

01/2006: JSA: Classified #7  -- 42,857 (- 5.4%)

02/2006: JSA: Classified #8  -- 39,656 (- 7.5%)

02/2006: JSA: Classified #9  -- 39,104 (- 1.4%)

03/2006: JSA: Classified #10 -- 41,332 (+ 5.7%)

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%)

----------------

6 months: -31.5%

1 year  : -45.5%

Declining.

—–

93 - DCU: INFINITE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

12/2006: DCU: Infinite Christmas Special -- 24,368

Not bad for an 80-page, $ 4.99 special. The “Infinite” part probably helped.

—–

94 - WELCOME TO TRANQUILITY (WildStorm)

12/2006: Welcome to Tranquility #1  -- 24,352

The only new WildStorm Universe title to feature original characters and concepts comes from writer Gail Simone and artist Neil Googe.

Sales aren’t bad, at first glance, but they have been boosted through variant cover editions, and the second-issue drops we’ve seen for the other titles in the line have been stiff. Let’s see where it ends up a few months down the road.

—–

95 - 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%)

----------------

6 months: -40.2%

The first in line of a whole number of DC Universe titles which were launched with promising numbers in the aftermath of the company’s Infinite Crisis series, but proceeded to drop alarmingly from there.

—–

96 - MANHUNTER

12/2004: Manhunter #5  -- 15,352

--------------------------------

12/2005: Manhunter #17 -- 13,615 (- 4.5%)

01/2006: Manhunter #18 -- 13,212 (- 3.0%)

02/2006: Manhunter #19 -- 12,970 (- 1.8%)

03/2006: Manhunter #20 -- 16,090 (+24.1%)

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%)

----------------

6 months: +52.9%

1 year  : +74.6%

2 years : +54.8%

Well, the attempt to increase sales clearly worked, but Manhunter has been canceled anyway, as of issue #30. A novel approach, certainly.

(In fairness, it’s possible that DC have recognized the potential of the characters and creators and may now be looking to employ them to greater effect elsewhere. After all, the sales spike, encouraging as it may be, is unlikely to last forever.)

—–

97 - JLA: CLASSIFIED

12/2004: JLA: Classified #2  -- 66,147

--------------------------------------

12/2005: JLA: Classified #15 -- 41,951 (- 3.5%)

01/2006: JLA: Classified #16 -- 39,336 (- 6.2%)

02/2006: JLA: Classified #17 -- 38,014 (- 3.4%)

03/2006: JLA: Classified #18 -- 35,873 (- 5.6%)

03/2006: JLA: Classified #19 -- 35,300 (- 1.6%)

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%)

----------------

6 months: -30.0%

1 year  : -43.6%

2 years : -64.3%

Declining.

—–

98 - MYSTERY IN SPACE

09/2006: Mystery in Space #1 of 8 -- 46,610

10/2006: Mystery in Space #2 of 8 -- 28,781 (-38.3%)

11/2006: Mystery in Space #3 of 8 -- 25,804 (-10.3%)

12/2006: Mystery in Space #4 of 8 -- 23,575 (- 8.6%)

These drops are awful, obviously.

—–

100 - CHECKMATE

04/2006: Checkmate #1  -- 49,156          [55,375]

05/2006: Checkmate #2  -- 41,773 (-15.5%)

06/2006: Checkmate #3  -- 37,551 (-10.1%)

07/2006: Checkmate #4  -- 34,661 (- 7.7%)

08/2006: Checkmate #5  -- 31,252 (- 9.8%)

09/2006: Checkmate #6  -- 28,887 (- 7.6%)

10/2006: Checkmate #7  -- 26,302 (- 9.0%)

11/2006: Checkmate #8  -- 24,899 (- 5.3%)

12/2006: Checkmate #9  -- 23,436 (- 5.9%)

----------------

6 months: -37.6%

Another Infinite Crisis spin-off with horrible numbers.

—–

101 - UNCLE SAM & THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS

07/2006: Uncle Sam & FF #1 of 8 -- 40,736

08/2006: Uncle Sam & FF #2 of 8 -- 31,616 (-22.4%) [32,758]

09/2006: Uncle Sam & FF #3 of 8 -- 28,430 (-10.1%)

10/2006: Uncle Sam & FF #4 of 8 -- 26,527 (- 6.7%)

11/2006: Uncle Sam & FF #5 of 8 -- 25,144 (- 5.2%)

12/2006: Uncle Sam & FF #6 of 8 -- 23,321 (- 7.3%)

These numbers aren’t encouraging, either.

—–

102 - 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%)

Sales are bottoming out. The consistent neighborhood of 20K would have to be rated as a success for the book, looking at the imprint’s track record in recent years.

—–

104 - BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT

12/2003: Batman: LotDK #174 -- 24,794

12/2004: Batman: LotDK #186 -- 27,812

-------------------------------------

12/2005: Batman: LotDK #198 -- 24,010 (- 1.9%)

01/2006: Batman: LotDK #199 -- 23,461 (- 2.3%)

02/2006: Batman: LotDK #200 -- 28,984 (+23.5%)

03/2006: Batman: LotDK #201 -- 24,516 (-15.4%)

03/2006: Batman: LotDK #202 -- 23,810 (- 2.9%)

04/2006: Batman: LotDK #203 -- 24,775 (+ 4.1%)

04/2006: Batman: LotDK #204 -- 24,155 (- 2.5%)

05/2006: Batman: LotDK #205 -- 24,421 (+ 1.1%)

05/2006: Batman: LotDK #206 -- 24,228 (- 0.8%)

06/2006: Batman: LotDK #207 -- 24,457 (+ 1.0%)

07/2006: Batman: LotDK #208 -- 23,974 (- 2.0%)

08/2006: Batman: LotDK #209 -- 24,101 (+ 0.5%)

09/2006: Batman: LotDK #210 -- 24,182 (+ 0.3%)

10/2006: Batman: LotDK #211 -- 24,236 (+ 0.2%)

11/2006: Batman: LotDK #212 -- 23,342 (- 3.7%)

12/2006: Batman: LotDK #213 -- 22,898 (- 1.9%)

----------------

6 months: - 6.4%

1 year  : - 4.6%

2 years : -17.7%

Canceled with issue #214.

—–

105 - 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%)

A disaster. The environment for the various Infinite Crisis spin-offs hasn’t been ideal to begin with, and The All-New Atom additionally has to cope with the lack of a consistent art team.

—–

106 - BATMAN: THE MAD MONK

12/2005: Batman: Monster Men #2 of 6 -- 29,138 (-19.5%)

01/2006: Batman: Monster Men #3 of 6 -- 27,135 (- 6.9%)

02/2006: Batman: Monster Men #4 of 6 -- 26,320 (- 3.0%)

03/2006: Batman: Monster Men #5 of 6 -- 25,960 (- 1.4%)

04/2006: Batman: Monster Men #6 of 6 -- 25,650 (- 1.2%)

05/2006: --

06/2006: --

07/2006: --

08/2006: Batman: Mad Monk #1 of 6    -- 29,169 (+13.7%)

09/2006: Batman: Mad Monk #2 of 6    -- 25,516 (-12.5%)

10/2006: Batman: Mad Monk #3 of 6    -- 24,298 (- 4.8%)

11/2006: Batman: Mad Monk #4 of 6    -- 23,616 (- 2.8%)

12/2006: Batman: Mad Monk #5 of 6    -- 22,397 (- 5.2%)

----------------

6 months:  n.a.

1 year  : -23.3%

Average limited series drops.

—–

107 - CATWOMAN

12/2003: Catwoman #26 -- 24,601

12/2004: Catwoman #38 -- 25,108

-------------------------------

12/2005: Catwoman #50 -- 24,136 (+13.5%) [26,170]

01/2006: Catwoman #51 -- 22,681 (- 6.0%)

02/2006: Catwoman #52 -- 21,954 (- 3.2%)

03/2006: Catwoman #53 -- 28,473 (+29.7%) [34,428]

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%)

----------------

6 months: -22.9%

1 year  : - 7.6%

2 years : -11.2%

The boost from “One Year Later” has disappeared, and Catwoman continues to be in a steep decline.

—–

110 - GUY GARDNER: COLLATERAL DAMAGE

11/2006: Guy Gardner: Collateral Damage #1 of 2 -- 27,239

12/2006: Guy Gardner: Collateral Damage #2 of 2 -- 22,190 (-18.5%)

An average drop. Overall, for a high-priced presige-format limited series starring a C-list character like Guy Gardner, this book has done remarkably well.

—–

111 - OMAC

07/2006: OMAC #1 of 8 -- 54,092

08/2006: OMAC #2 of 8 -- 42,011 (-22.3%)

09/2006: OMAC #3 of 8 -- 32,578 (-22.5%)

10/2006: OMAC #4 of 8 -- 26,745 (-17.9%)

11/2006: OMAC #5 of 8 -- 23,691 (-11.4%)

12/2006: OMAC #6 of 8 -- 21,705 (- 8.4%)

Another Infinite Crisis spin-off with embarrassing numbers.

—–

112 - STORMWATCH: PHD (WildStorm)

12/2003: SW: Team Achilles #18 -- 10,964

----------------------------------------

11/2006: StormWatch: PHD #1    -- 29,975

12/2006: StormWatch: PHD #2    -- 21,605 (-27.9%)

It’s an average drop-off for a second issue. For any title starting with numbers below 30K, that’s worrying these days, of course.

—–

115 - BLUE BEETLE

03/2006: Blue Beetle #1  -- 50,678          [69,752]

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%)

----------------

6 months: -44.7%

You know the drill. It’s an Infinite Crisis spin-off, and its sales are persistently abysmal.

—–

117 - AQUAMAN: SWORD OF ATLANTIS

12/2003: Aquaman #13      -- 22,414

12/2004: Aquaman #25      -- 21,107

-----------------------------------

12/2005: Aquaman #37      -- 19,640 (+  9.0%)

01/2006: Aquaman #38      -- 18,321 (-  6.7%)

02/2006: Aquaman #39      -- 18,326 (+  0.0%)

03/2006: Aquaman: SoA #40 -- 37,611 (+105.2%) -- [46,401]

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%)

----------------

6 months:   n.a.

1 year  : + 7.9%

2 years : + 0.4%

Sales are leveling out over here, but given that writer Kurt Busiek is on his way out and the upcoming creative team has virtually no sales draw in the direct market, the future doesn’t look rosy.

—–

118 - 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%)

A discouraging drop-off.

—–

120 - 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%)

This one is bottoming out nicely, on the other hand. Selling upwards of 20K after six issues is very promising for a Vertigo title.

—–

125 - EX MACHINA (WildStorm)

12/2004: Ex Machina #7  -- 23,172

---------------------------------

12/2005: --

01/2006: Ex Machina #17 -- 21,196 (- 0.3%)

02/2006: --

03/2006: Ex Machina #18 -- 21,081 (- 0.5%)

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%)

----------------

6 months: - 4.8%

1 year  :   n.a. 

2 years : -17.0%

Sales are in a slow decline as the book passes its halfway mark.

—–

127 - JONAH HEX

12/2005: Jonah Hex #2  -- 26,227 (-22.3%)

01/2006: Jonah Hex #3  -- 24,671 (- 5.9%)

02/2006: Jonah Hex #4  -- 23,569 (- 4.5%)

03/2006: Jonah Hex #5  -- 23,496 (- 0.3%)

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%)

----------------

6 months: -12.9%

1 year  : -30.2%

The numbers are back where they were in October.

—–

128 - 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%)

A harsh second-issue drop for a limited series.

—–

130 - HAWKGIRL

12/2003: Hawkman #22  -- 26,779

12/2004: Hawkman #35  -- 21,357

-------------------------------

12/2005: Hawkman #47  -- 24,736 (- 2.3%)

01/2006: Hawkman #48  -- 24,259 (- 1.9%)

02/2006: Hawkman #49  -- 25,031 (+ 3.2%)

03/2006: Hawkgirl #50 -- 34,728 (+38.7%) [38,135]

04/2006: Hawkgirl #51 -- 30,657 (-11.7%)

05/2006: Hawkgirl #52 -- 29,898 (- 2.5%)

06/2006: Hawkgirl #53 -- 27,786 (- 7.1%)

07/2006: Hawkgirl #54 -- 25,201 (- 9.3%)

08/2006: Hawkgirl #55 -- 23,880 (- 5.2%)

09/2006: Hawkgirl #56 -- 21,560 (- 9.7%)

10/2006: Hawkgirl #57 -- 19,909 (- 7.7%)

11/2006: Hawkgirl #58 -- 18,634 (- 6.4%)

12/2006: Hawkgirl #59 -- 18,141 (- 2.7%)

----------------

6 months: -34.7%

1 year  : -26.7%

2 years : -15.1%

The December issue was the first part of a crossover with JSA: Classified. Perhaps that’s the reason why sales are finally leveling out again after the hideous nose-dive since March.

Either way, Hawkgirl is now the lowest-selling ongoing DC Universe titles which hasn’t officially been canceled yet, so the air is getting thin.

—–

SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE: SLEEP OF REASON (Vertigo)

12/2006: Sleep of Reason #1 of 5 -- 17,472

In the absence of enticing alternatives, Vertigo continue to milk their Sandman franchise with a new limited series by writer John Ney Rieber and artist Eric Nguyen. The numbers are not spectacular, but at least they can reasonably expect the material to earn money once it’s been collected.

—–

136 - THE CREEPER

08/2006: The Creeper #1 of 6 -- 31,530

09/2006: The Creeper #2 of 6 -- 24,274 (-23.0%)

10/2006: The Creeper #3 of 6 -- 21,133 (-12.9%)

11/2006: The Creeper #4 of 6 -- 18,492 (-12.5%)

12/2006: The Creeper #5 of 6 -- 16,964 (- 8.3%)

Another Infinite Crisis spin-off with unimpressive numbers.

—–

141 - FRIDAY THE 13TH (WildStorm)

12/2006: Friday the 13th #1  -- 15,801

Writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray and artist Adam Archer adapt yet another horror film franchise as an ongoing comics series.

The numbers, predictably modest as they are, are boosted through a variant cover edition. Presumably, this is another project which has a better chance at finding its audience in bookstores.

—–

142 - FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MAN

12/2004: Firestorm #8      -- 21,077

------------------------------------

12/2005: Firestorm #20     -- 23,473 (+ 2.2%)

01/2006: Firestorm #21     -- 22,500 (- 4.2%)

02/2006: Firestorm #22     -- 21,104 (- 6.2%)

03/2006: Firestorm: NM #23 -- 25,109 (+19.0%)

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%)

----------------

6 months: -30.1%

1 year  : -35.0%

2 years : -27.6%

The book is on hiatus in January, returns with a new writer in February and is canceled with April’s issue #35.

146 - DESOLATION JONES (WildStorm)

12/2005: --

01/2006: Desolation Jones #5  -- 17,160 (- 2.6%)

02/2006: --

03/2006: --

04/2006: Desolation Jones #6  -- 17,369 (+ 1.2%)

05/2006: --

06/2006: --

07/2006: --

08/2006: --

09/2006: --

10/2006: Desolation Jones #7  -- 16,245 (- 6.5%)

11/2006: --

12/2006: Desolation Jones #8  -- 14,778 (- 9.0%)

----------------

6 months:  n.a.

1 year  :  n.a.

The departure of the original artist and the massive delays are hurting the book’s sales significantly, it appears. Past issue #9, slated to ship in February, no further issues have been solicited to date, and an announcement regarding its future is forthcoming, according to the writer.

—–

148 - RED MENACE (WildStorm)

11/2006: Red Menace #1 of 6 -- 21,389

12/2006: Red Menace #2 of 6 -- 14,501 (-32.2%)

That’s a horrible drop-off for a limited series selling at this level, and, not unusually, it comes despite the continued presence of sales-boosting variant cover editions.

—–

150 - OMEGA MEN

10/2006: Omega Men #1 of 6 -- 23,536

11/2006: Omega Men #2 of 6 -- 17,379 (-26.2%)

12/2006: Omega Men #3 of 6 -- 14,046 (-19.2%)

Sales are predictably awful.

—–

151 - DMZ (Vertigo)

12/2005: DMZ #2  -- 14,840 (-20.7%)

01/2006: DMZ #3  -- 14,503 (- 2.3%)

02/2006: DMZ #4  -- 14,778 (+ 1.9%)

03/2006: DMZ #5  -- 14,952 (+ 1.2%)

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%)

----------------

6 months: - 8.5%

1 year  : - 7.5%

Settling into a decline again.

—–

154 - HELLBLAZER (Vertigo)

12/2003: Hellblazer #191 -- 15,283

12/2004: Hellblazer #203 -- 15,304

----------------------------------

12/2005: Hellblazer #215 -- 14,405 (- 2.5%)

01/2006: Hellblazer #216 -- 14,590 (+ 1.3%)

02/2006: Hellblazer #217 -- 14,306 (- 2.0%)

03/2006: Hellblazer #218 -- 14,129 (- 1.2%)

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%)

----------------

6 months: - 5.3%

1 year  : - 8.2%

2 years : -13.6%

Standard attrition.

—–

155 - 100 BULLETS (Vertigo)

12/2003: 100 Bullets #48 -- 16,946

12/2004: 100 Bullets #56 -- 15,590

----------------------------------

12/2005: 100 Bullets #67 -- 14,165 (- 1.8%)

01/2006: 100 Bullets #68 -- 13,879 (- 2.0%)

02/2006: 100 Bullets #69 -- 13,708 (- 1.2%)

03/2006: 100 Bullets #70 -- 13,591 (- 0.9%)

04/2006: 100 Bullets #71 -- 13,514 (- 0.6%)

05/2006: 100 Bullets #72 -- 13,489 (- 0.2%)

06/2006: 100 Bullets #73 -- 13,407 (- 0.6%)

07/2006: 100 Bullets #74 -- 13,265 (- 1.1%)

08/2006: 100 Bullets #75 -- 13,322 (+ 0.4%)

09/2006: 100 Bullets #76 -- 13,082 (- 1.8%)

10/2006: 100 Bullets #77 -- 13,054 (- 0.2%)

11/2006: 100 Bullets #78 -- 12,954 (- 0.8%)

12/2006: 100 Bullets #79 -- 12,907 (- 0.4%)

----------------

6 months: - 3.7%

1 year  : - 8.9%

2 years : -17.2%

It’s sticking to the 13K area.

—–

163 - LOVELESS (Vertigo)

12/2005: Loveless #3  -- 16,280 (- 7.9%) [17,584]

01/2006: --

02/2006: Loveless #4  -- 16,765 (+ 3.0%)

03/2006: Loveless #5  -- 16,704 (- 0.4%)

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%)

----------------

6 months: -23.1%

1 year  : -29.5%

Declining.

—–

164 - A MAN CALLED KEV (WildStorm)

12/2005: Authority: Kevin #5 of 5 -- 14,664 (- 3.4%)

01/2006: --

02/2006: --

03/2006: --

04/2006: --

05/2006: --

06/2006: --

07/2006: A Man Called Kev #1 of 5 -- 15,547 (+ 6.8%)

08/2006: A Man Called Kev #2 of 5 -- 13,370 (-14.0%)

09/2006: A Man Called Kev #3 of 5 -- 12,132 (- 9.3%)

10/2006: --

11/2006: A Man Called Kev #4 of 5 -- 11,482 (- 5.4%)

12/2006: A Man Called Kev #5 of 5 -- 11,330 (- 1.3%)

----------------

6 months:   n.a.

1 year  : -22.7%

Average numbers for this sort of thing.

—–

168/190 - 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%)

Well, no matter whether or not they’re looking to repackage this one for bookstores, someone’s going to have to pull the plug soon if the decline continues in this fashion. The large drop is due to the fact that issue #4 was the first without a variant cover edition, in fairness, but these numbers are still dreadful.

—–

169 - 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%)

Awful numbers, but not unexpected.

—–

170 - DEADMAN (Vertigo)

08/2006: Deadman #1  -- 21,980

09/2006: Deadman #2  -- 15,494 (-29.5%)

10/2006: Deadman #3  -- 12,936 (-16.5%)

11/2006: Deadman #4  -- 11,294 (-12.7%)

12/2006: Deadman #5  -- 10,113 (-10.5%)

Another sales disaster.

—–

173 - JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED (Johnny DC)

12/2003: JL Adventures #26 -- 12,627

12/2004: JL Unlimited #4   -- 13,787

------------------------------------

12/2005: JL Unlimited #16  -- 10,774 (+ 1.4%)

01/2006: JL Unlimited #17  -- 10,199 (- 5.3%)

02/2006: JL Unlimited #18  -- 10,206 (+ 0.1%)

03/2006: JL Unlimited #19  -- 10,534 (+ 3.2%)

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 (  n.a.)

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%)

----------------

6 months: - 6.9%

1 year  : - 9.9%

2 years : -29.6%

A Johnny DC title. See disclaimers.

—–

174 - TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (WildStorm)

11/2006: Texas Chainsaw Massacre #1  -- 15,605

12/2006: Texas Chainsaw Massacre #2  --  9,706 (-37.8%)

See Nightmare on Elm Street.

—–

176 - THE EXTERMINATORS (Vertigo)

01/2006: The Exterminators #1  -- 16,187

02/2006: The Exterminators #2  -- 12,459 (-23.0%)

03/2006: The Exterminators #3  -- 11,678 (- 6.3%)

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%)

----------------

6 months: -12.4%

Declining.

—–

177 - TEEN TITANS GO (Johnny DC)

12/2003: Teen Titans Go #2  -- 21,679

12/2004: Teen Titans Go #14 -- 14,963

-------------------------------------

12/2005: Teen Titans Go #26 -- 11,790 (- 6.4%)

01/2006: Teen Titans Go #27 -- 11,609 (- 1.5%)

02/2006: Teen Titans Go #28 -- 11,568 (- 0.4%)

03/2006: Teen Titans Go #29 -- 11,260 (- 2.7%)

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%)

----------------

6 months: -11.2%

1 year  : -19.2%

2 years : -36.3%

Johnny DC.

—–

180 - WILDSTORM FINE ART SPOTLIGHT (WildStorm)

12/2006: WildStorm FA Spotlight: Jim Lee -- 9,074

The solicitation promised a collection of Jim Lee art. The numbers aren’t bad for this sort of thing.

—–

182 - CROSSING MIDNIGHT (Vertigo)

11/2006: Crossing Midnight #1  -- 12,756

12/2006: Crossing Midnight #2  --  8,982 (-29.6%)

As harsh as it sounds, it’s going to take a small miracle for this title to be “ongoing” in any meaningful way.

—–

187 - THE OTHER SIDE (Vertigo)

10/2006: The Other Side #1 of 5 -- 12,336

11/2006: The Other Side #2 of 5 --  9,359 (-24.1%)

12/2006: The Other Side #3 of 5 --  8,436 (- 9.9%)

A stiff drop-off.

—–

188 - TESTAMENT (Vertigo)

12/2005: Testament #1  -- 16,893          [18,166]

01/2006: Testament #2  -- 13,518 (-20.0%)

02/2006: Testament #3  -- 12,831 (- 5.1%)

03/2006: Testament #4  -- 13,074 (+ 1.9%)

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%)

----------------

6 months: -29.3%

1 year  : -50.8%

Dropping. April’s issue #13 is the beginning of a new arc, so apparently there’s still some rope left.

—–

193 - BATMAN STRIKES! (Johnny DC)

12/2003: Batman Adventures #9  -- 12,884

12/2004: Batman Strikes! #4    -- 13,257

----------------------------------------

12/2005: Batman Strikes! #16   --  8,462 (- 4.3%)

01/2006: Batman Strikes! #17   --  8,172 (- 3.4%)

02/2006: Batman Strikes! #18   --  8,626 (+ 5.6%)

03/2006: Batman Strikes! #19   --  8,244 (- 4.4%)

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%)

----------------

6 months: - 8.4%

1 year  : -12.2%

2 years : -44.0%

Johnny DC.

—–

203 - AMERICAN SPLENDOR (Vertigo)

09/2006: American Splendor #1 of 4 -- 11,529

10/2006: American Splendor #2 of 4 --  9,202 (-20.2%)

11/2006: American Splendor #3 of 4 --  7,737 (-15.9%)

12/2006: American Splendor #4 of 4 --  7,104 (- 8.2%)

Awful numbers in the direct market, with considerably better prospects in bookstores, I’d imagine.

—–

209 - THE NEXT

07/2006: The Next #1 of 6 -- 22,713

08/2006: The Next #2 of 6 -- 15,875 (-30.1%)

09/2006: The Next #3 of 6 -- 10,570 (-33.4%)

10/2006: The Next #4 of 6 --  8,054 (-23.8%)

11/2006: The Next #5 of 6 --  6,991 (-13.2%)

12/2006: The Next #6 of 6 --  6,519 (- 6.8%)

Meet the new writer of Aquaman.

—–

216 - ROKKIN (WildStorm)

07/2006: Rokkin #1 -- 10,846

08/2006: Rokkin #2 --  8,389 (-22.7%)

09/2006: Rokkin #3 --  6,852 (-18.3%)

10/2006: Rokkin #4 --  6,449 (- 5.9%)

11/2006: Rokkin #5 --  6,236 (- 3.3%)

12/2006: Rokkin #6 --  5,926 (- 5.0%)

Canceled.

—–

220 - KRYPTO THE SUPERDOG (Johnny DC)

09/2006: Krypto the Superdog #1 of 6 -- 10,369

10/2006: Krypto the Superdog #2 of 6 --  7,023 (-32.3%)

11/2006: Krypto the Superdog #3 of 6 --  6,019 (-14.3%)

11/2006: Krypto the Superdog #4 of 6 --  5,519 (- 8.3%)

—–

244 - SCOOBY DOO (Johnny DC)

12/2003: Scooby Doo #79  -- 5,716

12/2004: Scooby Doo #91  -- 5,201

---------------------------------

12/2005: Scooby Doo #103 -- 4,490 (- 2.1%)

01/2006: Scooby Doo #104 -- 4,454 (- 0.8%)

02/2006: Scooby Doo #105 -- 4,326 (- 2.9%)

03/2006: Scooby Doo #106 -- 4,419 (+ 2.2%)

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%)

----------------

6 months: - 1.3%

1 year  : - 2.8%

2 years : -16.1%

—–

268 - LOONEY TUNES (Johnny DC)

12/2003: Looney Tunes #109 -- 3,465

12/2004: Looney Tunes #121 -- 3,088

-----------------------------------

12/2005: Looney Tunes #133 -- 2,633 (- 4.2%)

01/2006: Looney Tunes #134 -- 2,601 (- 1.2%)

02/2006: Looney Tunes #135 -- 2,631 (+ 1.2%)

03/2006: Looney Tunes #136 -- 2,792 (+ 6.1%)

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

----------------

6 months: + 1.4%

1 year  : + 3.8%

2 years : -11.5%

—–

298 - CARTOON NETWORK BLOCK PARTY (Johnny DC)

12/2003: Cartoon Cartoons #25 -- 2,500

12/2004: CN Block Party #4    -- 2,393

--------------------------------------

12/2005: CN Block Party #16   -- 1,781 (+ 1.4%)

01/2006: CN Block Party #17   -- 1,797 (+ 0.9%)

02/2006: CN Block Party #18   -- 1,728 (- 3.8%)

03/2006: CN Block Party #19   -- ?????

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

----------------

6 months: - 7.1%

1 year  : - 0.2%

2 years : -25.7%

And four more Johnny DC titles.

—–

RE-ORDERS:

225 --  5,295: Action Comics #844

247 --  4,125: Batman/The Spirit

278 --  2,371: Justice League of America #3

296 --  1,986: Action Comics #845

—–

Average Sales per Title

(not counting reprints, re-orders shipping after the initial month of release, Johnny DC titles and magazines)

DC COMICS

12/2003: 25,156

12/2004: 30,589

---------------

12/2005: 36,147 (+ 9.6%)

01/2006: 33,019 (- 8.7%)

02/2006: 32,292 (- 2.2%)

03/2006: 36,077 (+11.7%)

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%)

----------------

6 months: -15.6%

1 year  : - 4.8%

2 years : +12.5%

3 years : +36.8%
DC UNIVERSE

12/2003: 29,263

12/2004: 36,925

---------------

12/2005: 44,993 (+ 6.3%)

01/2006: 40,118 (-10.3%)

02/2006: 40,823 (+ 1.8%)

03/2006: 44,854 (+ 9.9%)

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%)

----------------

6 months: -12.6%

1 year  : - 0.8%

2 years : +20.9%

3 years : +52.6%
VERTIGO

12/2003: 15,663

12/2004: 14,649

---------------

12/2005: 16,320 (+ 3.8%)

01/2006: 15,036 (- 7.9%)

02/2006: 15,026 (- 0.1%)

03/2006: 15,812 (+ 5.2%)

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%)

----------------

6 months: - 7.6%

1 year  : -15.2%

2 years : - 5.6%

3 years : -11.7%
WILDSTORM

12/2003: 18,359

12/2004: 15,693

---------------

12/2005: 15,068 (- 7.3%)

01/2006: 17,505 (+16.2%)

02/2006: 13,610 (-22.3%)

03/2006: 14,210 (+ 4.4%)

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%)

----------------

6 months: +14.8%

1 year  : +14.7%

2 years : +10.2%

3 years : - 5.8%

—–

6-MONTH COMPARISONS

+104.6%: Justice Society of America

+ 52.9%: Manhunter

+  1.4%: Looney Tunes

-  0.4%: Batman

-  1.2%: Fables

-  1.3%: Scooby-Doo

-  1.8%: Y: The Last Man

-  3.7%: 100 Bullets

-  4.8%: Ex Machina

-  5.3%: Hellblazer

-  6.4%: Batman: LotDK

-  6.9%: Justice League Unlimited

-  7.1%: Cartoon Network Block Party

-  8.4%: Batman Strikes

-  8.5%: DMZ

-  9.0%: 52

- 10.3%: Justice

- 11.2%: Teen Titans Go

- 12.2%: Birds of Prey

- 12.4%: The Exterminators

- 12.9%: Jonah Hex

- 13.1%: Detective Comics

- 14.6%: Superman/Batman

- 14.7%: Green Arrow

- 21.5%: Robin

- 22.4%: Nightwing

- 22.4%: Outsiders

- 22.9%: Catwoman

- 23.1%: Loveless

- 24.2%: Supergirl & LoSH

- 29.3%: Testament

- 30.0%: JLA: Classified

- 30.1%: Firestorm

- 31.3%: Ion

- 31.5%: JSA: Classified

- 34.7%: Hawkgirl

- 37.6%: Checkmate

- 40.2%: Shadowpact

- 44.7%: Blue Beetle

- 49.5%: Green Lantern Corps

- 55.5%: Flash

—–

1-YEAR COMPARISONS

+102.5%: Justice Society of America

+ 75.0%: Justice League of America

+ 74.6%: Manhunter

+ 54.4%: Detective Comics

+ 29.3%: Flash

+ 20.7%: Batman

+  7.9%: Aquaman

+  7.1%: Robin

+  5.6%: Fables

+  3.8%: Looney Tunes

+  1.4%: Green Arrow

-  0.2%: Cartoon Network Block Party

-  2.2%: Nightwing

-  2.3%: Y: The Last Man

-  2.7%: Birds of Prey

-  2.8%: Scooby-Doo

-  4.6%: Batman: LotDK

-  7.5%: DMZ

-  7.6%: Catwoman

-  8.2%: Hellblazer

-  8.9%: 100 Bullets

-  9.9%: Justice League Unlimited

- 10.4%: Teen Titans

- 12.2%: Batman Strikes

- 12.8%: Justice

- 19.2%: Teen Titans Go

- 20.1%: Superman/Batman

- 22.7%: A Man Called Kev

- 23.3%: Batman: Mad Monk

- 26.5%: Outsiders

- 26.7%: Hawkgirl

- 29.5%: Loveless

- 30.2%: Jonah Hex

- 35.0%: Firestorm

- 39.9%: Green Lantern Corps

- 43.6%: JLA: Classified

- 45.5%: JSA: Classified

- 50.8%: Testament

—–

2-YEAR COMPARISONS

+127.9%: Justice Society of America

+111.0%: Justice League of America

+ 54.8%: Manhunter

+ 34.1%: Detective Comics

+ 25.2%: Batman

+  4.0%: Fables

+  4.0%: Green Arrow

+  0.4%: Aquaman

-  1.6%: Birds of Prey

-  3.9%: Teen Titans

-  5.0%: Y: The Last Man

- 11.2%: Catwoman

- 11.5%: Looney Tunes

- 12.8%: Nightwing

- 13.6%: Hellblazer

- 13.7%: Robin

- 15.1%: Hawkgirl

- 15.7%: Outsiders

- 16.1%: Scooby-Doo

- 17.0%: Ex Machina

- 17.2%: 100 Bullets

- 17.7%: Batman: LotDK

- 25.7%: Cartoon Network Block Party

- 27.6%: Firestorm

- 29.6%: Justice League Unlimited

- 30.6%: Superman/Batman

- 34.3%: Supergirl & LoSH

- 36.3%: Teen Titans Go

- 44.0%: Batman Strikes

- 64.3%: JLA: Classified

—–

OTHER PUBLISHERS

65 – CYBERFORCE/X-MEN (Image/Top Cow)

12/2006: Cyberforce/X-Men #1 — 31,349

Considering that inter-company crossovers are hardly an event in themselves these days and mostly speak to hardcore completists, that number’s alright. Cover count: two.

—–

79 - CONAN (Dark Horse)

12/2004: Conan #11 -- 41,149

----------------------------

12/2005: Conan #23 -- 32,592 (- 3.2%)

01/2006: Conan #24 -- 31,907 (- 2.1%)

02/2006: Conan #25 -- 31,675 (- 0.7%)

03/2006: Conan #26 -- 31,573 (- 0.3%)

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%)

----------------

6 months: -15.4%

1 year  : -16.8%

2 years : -34.1%

With the new writer firmly in the driver’s seat, the book goes into a stiff decline. That’s not a good sign, obviously. Cover count: one.

—–

89 - SPAWN (Image/TMP)

12/2003: Spawn #131 -- 36,493

12/2004: Spawn #141 -- 29,469

-----------------------------

12/2005: Spawn #151 -- 28,860 (-28.1%)

01/2006: Spawn #152 -- 27,247 (- 5.6%)

02/2006: Spawn #153 -- 26,884 (- 1.3%)

03/2006: Spawn #154 -- 26,966 (+ 0.3%)

04/2006: Spawn #155 -- 26,728 (- 0.9%)

05/2006: Spawn #156 -- 27,017 (+ 1.1%)

06/2006: Spawn #157 -- 26,325 (- 2.6%)

07/2006: Spawn #158 -- 26,875 (+ 2.1%)

08/2006: Spawn #159 -- 26,232 (- 2.4%)

09/2006: Spawn #160 -- 25,580 (- 2.5%)

10/2006: Spawn #161 -- 25,840 (+ 1.0%)

11/2006: Spawn #162 -- 25,069 (- 3.0%)

12/2006: Spawn #163 -- 24,922 (- 0.6%)

----------------

6 months: - 5.3%

1 year  : -13.7%

2 years : -15.4%

Sales are bottoming out again. Cover count: one.

—–

92 - STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC (Dark Horse)

01/2006: Star Wars: KotOR #1  -- 23,486         [25,140]

02/2006: Star Wars: KotOR #2  -- 21,203 (-9.7%)

03/2006: Star Wars: KotOR #3  -- 21,346 (+0.7%)

04/2006: Star Wars: KotOR #4  -- 22,581 (+5.8%)

05/2006: Star Wars: KotOR #5  -- 23,223 (+2.8%)

06/2006: Star Wars: KotOR #6  -- 23,424 (+0.9%)

07/2006: Star Wars: KotOR #7  -- 23,531 (+0.5%)

08/2006: --

09/2006: Star Wars: KotOR #8  -- 24,374 (+3.6%)

10/2006: Star Wars: KotOR #9  -- 24,229 (-0.6%)

11/2006: Star Wars: KotOR #10 -- 24,021 (-0.9%)

12/2006: Star Wars: KotOR #11 -- 24,437 (+1.7%)

----------------

6 months: + 4.3%

The only Star Wars title to make the Top 100 in December is climbing again. Cover count: one.

—–

99 - RED SONJA (Dynamite)

12/2005: --

01/2006: Red Sonja #4  -- 41,856 (- 0.0%)

02/2006: Red Sonja #5  -- 38,798 (- 7.3%)

02/2006: Red Sonja #6  -- 35,031 (- 9.7%)

03/2006: Red Sonja #7  -- 34,560 (- 1.5%)

03/2006: Red Sonja #8  -- 34,700 (+ 0.4%)

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%)

----------------

6 months: -24.5%

1 year  :   n.a.

This one’s back in decline again after briefly stabilizing in November. Cover count: six.

—–

Disclaimers, et cetera

The numbers above are estimates for comic book sales to retailers 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.

If additional copies of an issue appeared on the chart after the issue’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.

—–

Germany-based Marc-Oliver Frisch has a weblog and regularly contributes to German online magazine Comicgate.

1 COMMENT

  1. Is it just me, or do the numbers on Vertigo look particularly grim? It seems that special event comics (just like “event TV”, in the words of Studio 60’s Jack Rudolph) seems to be the only things that move anything in the Direct Market these days. Or do the Vertigo products not work with readers? I’m actually genuinely interested there, since these drops:

    6 months: – 7.6%

    1 year : -15.2%

    2 years : – 5.6%

    3 years : -11.7%

    on that already low level should cause a bit of a concern. I know I would be concerned. And no, I am not being snarky at all, for further loss at Vertigo means even less product that isn’t fueled by crappy crossovers…

  2. Pretty depressing all around. 52 is eating the sales of the regular books.

    It’s fairly obvious though, that the current comic format is both a bad value and a bad way to tell stories in the 4-8 issue format that has become standard.

    If I was Paul Levitz, DC would ship one single comic each and every week. It would be an anthology, with a minimum of 6×22 pages of original content, plus reprints, letter columns, etc… Heck, you could call one of the 4 monthly books Action and another Detective and keep the numbering to placate the fanboys. These books would be printed on cheaper paper, more like a glossy mag, and the price point would be under $10.

    On the Vertigo side, I’d dump monthlies altogether, make the first chapter of each new series available free online (they already do this, they just need to start doing it BEFORE they release the first issue), and ship trades exclusively.

    Also, Marc – you are confusing the Sandmen.

  3. Marc-Oliver wrote:
    Surprisingly, there’s virtually no drop-off from November’s introductory crossover special, which, after all, had the sales draw of Batman and writer Jeph Loeb in its favor. These are good, solid numbers for a book that doesn’t do superheroes, especially in the absence of any variant cover gimmickry and the like. Batman/The Spirit picked up a respectable 4,125 units in re-orders, meanwhile.

    Also worthy of note is the fact that Batman/Spirit was priced at $4.99 US, while The Spirit #1 was $2.99 US.

  4. 209 – THE NEXT
    07/2006: The Next #1 of 6 — 22,713
    08/2006: The Next #2 of 6 — 15,875 (-30.1%)
    09/2006: The Next #3 of 6 — 10,570 (-33.4%)
    10/2006: The Next #4 of 6 — 8,054 (-23.8%)
    11/2006: The Next #5 of 6 — 6,991 (-13.2%)
    12/2006: The Next #6 of 6 — 6,519 (- 6.8%)

    Meet the new writer of Aquaman.
    —–
    Wow, that’s an unkind cut. The Next was not a standard, superhero comic book. It was science fiction. And strange.

    Let’s at least give the guy an issue or two.

  5. Bah, Busiek’s Aquaman is pearls before swine, like Baker’s Plastic Man before it. I’m glad there’s renewed interest in Fables. The book deserves it. Willingham’s DCU work with Shadowpact does not, however. It’s not nealry as bad, of course, as the newly-craptastic “X-Treme!! To the Maxx!! Ultimate!!” Martian Manhunter. Give me the Gerard Jones/Eduardo Barreto J’onn J’onzz any day.

  6. I’ve said it elsewhere, but I think DC is completely and absolutely missing the boat with Tad Williams, who is pretty much a best selling author with much more crossover appeal than let’s say Brad Meltzer, even if I’ve only read one or two of his works. They need to market him to his core audience, thousands and thousands of people who will likely buy anything with his name on it, so long as they know that it’s out there.

    From what I’ve seen, they absolutely don’t know that he did a DC book recently and that he’s going to be doing Aquaman.

    This is DC’s shot to bring a number of new readers into the market, though I haven’t the slightest how to reach them. Maybe that’d be a job for Williams himself, much like how JMS brought over a number of his preexisting fans to ASM and Rising Stars through letting them know on usenet.

  7. alan brown: “Also, Marc – you are confusing the Sandmen.”

    I think Vertigo may be hoping other people will, too.

    Andres: “I`d like to see numbers on Image and other publishers, too….”

    You are. This list (and the Marvel version) are both generated from the Diamond Top 300 sales estimates. The stuff down at the bottom of the post includes Spawn and Cyberforce/X-Men, which were the only comics from Image to break into the top 300 in December.

    Considering that the list provides us with DC’s CN Block Party #28 at #298 with 1,778 in sales to the direct market, I think you can figure out what that means for the other publishers.

  8. Actually, Edward, there are plenty more Image, Dark Horse and other publishers’ titles on the Top 300 list each month; Frisch limits his analysis of DC’s sales figures to a select few others each month. Click through to ICv2 to see how those other publishers’ titles fared.

  9. Interestingly, Marvel recently back-pedaled on a couple of projects originally announced as ongoing titles spinning out of their Civil War event series, which are now going to see the light of day as limited series instead. Perhaps the awareness that the market can only support so much is finally setting in, at least at one of the two major direct market caterers.
    huh? Isn’t it obvious that limited series are a better way to capitalize on the initial interest? You get people to buy out of a desire for completion right when they’ve finally seen enough issues to decide the quality is poor.
    In other words, yes, Marvel seems to be more in tune to the way the market works in this case but then again, DC was taking a couple of gambles post-IC (most notably 52) and unsurprisingly not all of them paid off.
    Still, as far as I could tell few of their experiments turned out worse than before (especially factoring in CivilWar-drain) which IMHO is a decent outcome for a shot at a new perennial seller or even a hit.

  10. What Month-by-Month Title-by-Title analyses like this miss is that an extra 100,000 copies of Batman Confidential #1 + Spirit #1 makes up for losses of 1,000 to 2,000 for each of a dozen or two dozen other titles. If you look at it overall

    You can have a perfectly satisfactory marketing scheme that involves every title losing a thousand readers a month, if a couple of new title pick up the extras. Your sales figures will look grim every month, but sales will keep going up.

    Is it just me, or do the numbers on Vertigo look particularly grim?

    Not unless you know how many titles they are publishing annually. The titles I read (Fables and Y) have been keeping their readers. If they are publishing more total titles, it would make more sense that the average would decline.

  11. As for sales by line.

    DC= Nothing to suprising here Dec. Sells alway’s decline at my shop and cotinue to sell at what ever levels they found in Dec. thru about Feb. then in March the sales go back up. Every DC fan at my shop picked up Justice League and Society in December. 52 is declining but not alarmingly.

    Wildstorm = Nothing to suprising here either the new horror line sales stunk at my shop and Wildstorm U titles have always been either average or below average except for Authority and Wildcats.

    Vertigo = This is a little suprising to me seeing as to how Deadman sells as well as some of the other titles as Fables or 100 Bullets(Both above average sellers) Other then that Crossing Midnight sells stunk Sandman Mystery Theatre: Sleep of Reason didn’t bring in strong sells either. Vertigo most generally does well at my shop but those two just didn’t go over well.

    Overall though I hope sells do better this year across the line.

  12. “huh? Isn’t it obvious that limited series are a better way to capitalize on the initial interest?”

    Arguably, yes. I think you can make a strong case that a low-selling but well-received miniseries like MADROX makes it easier to launch an ongoing title on the back of it, since it helps to build a buzz. On the other hand, it doesn’t seem to have done HEROES FOR HIRE any good – now that the crossover is behind it, the book is plunging down the charts. But then again, DOTD wasn’t an especially well-received miniseries, so maybe it doesn’t undermine the argument.

    But it remains the case that Marvel have back-pedalled at the last moment, so if they DID reason it this way, it’s a point that’s dawned on them very late in the day.

  13. Well, according to Marvel editor Tom Brevoort over at the Comic Book Resources message board, “OMEGA FLIGHT is a limited series because of the number of PROJECTS spinning out of CIVIL WAR, including most of what you’ve listed above and a few others. There’s only so much money in the marketplace, and only so many books the average reader’s wallet can absorb at any given time. And it’s far better to build a project as a limited from the get-go than to launch it as an ongoig and have it get cancelled 8 issues in because the reader interest and support simply isn’t there. This way, if the thing does sell well, we can do more.”

    So it seems to be both, really.

  14. “Actually, Edward, there are plenty more Image, Dark Horse and other publishers’ titles on the Top 300 list each month; Frisch limits his analysis of DC’s sales figures to a select few others each month.”

    Right. I’m only looking at the non-Marvel, non-DC books which made it into the Top 100 this month. The Top 300 has lots more of them, of course.

  15. umm…darned if i can quite work out what ‘in the absence of enticing alternatives’ means, in the context of vertigo in general. i’m not being defensive.

    ‘milk,’ i get. i think.