by Frans van der Strack
[Before our new DC analyst takes over with the January figures, here is a fill-in column, written by a close friend of Marc-Oliver Frisch and specially selected by him for the task.]
The month of December was dripping with excitement at DC Comics, as the publisher’s comic-book line shivered on the brink of a new year of bold opportunities and potential tours de force. DC’s œuvre held strong and even grew slightly in total unit sales versus November, as the publisher thrust into an already booming direct market with stiff opposition its new DC Universe title JUSTICE LEAGUE 3000.
The Vertigo imprint, alas, which added DEAD BOY DETECTIVES to its arousing line-up in December, continued its refractory period in-between new issues of THE SANDMAN, the second and next of which shall find release no sooner than February.
With gratitude, I acknowledge Mr. Milton Griepp at ICv2.com, as well as my predecessor, Mr. Mark Olivier-Frisch. The countless numbers and calculations that follow were used with their kind permission.
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3 - BATMAN 12/2003: Batman #622 -- 91,899 [94,045] 12/2008: Batman #682 -- 93,469 12/2009: Batman #694 -- 65,908 12/2010: Batman #705 -- 63,262 12/2011: Batman #4 -- 133,781 [144,777] ------------------------------- 12/2012: Batman #15 -- 151,568 (- 5.1%) 01/2013: Batman #16 -- 145,923 (- 3.7%) 02/2013: Batman #17 -- 150,684 (+ 3.3%) 03/2013: Batman #18 -- 137,893 (- 8.5%) 04/2013: Batman #19 -- 132,147 (- 4.2%) 05/2013: Batman #20 -- 129,039 (- 2.4%) 06/2013: Batman #21 -- 142,088 (+ 10.1%) [156,845] 07/2013: Batman #22 -- 132,047 (- 7.1%) 08/2013: Batman #23 -- 128,230 (- 2.9%) 09/2013: #23.1: Jkr -- 151,351 (+ 18.0%) 09/2013: #23.2: Rdlr -- 140,065 (- 7.5%) 09/2013: #23.3: Pngn -- 120,026 (- 14.3%) 09/2013: #23.4: Bane -- 124,382 (+ 3.6%) 10/2013: Batman #24 -- 124,652 (+ 0.2%) 11/2013: Batman #25 -- 125,602 (+ 0.8%) 12/2013: Batman #26 -- 119,443 (- 4.9%) ----------------- 6 months: - 15.9% 1 year : - 21.2% 2 years : - 10.7% 5 years : + 27.8% 10 years: + 30.0%
To the surprise of nary a person, it is none other than the Caped Crusader who led DC’s pantheon of heroes into the next year, once again towering at the top of the publisher’s sundry achievements while in the capable hands of Mr. Scott Snyder, star writer, and Mr. Greg Capullo, artist extraordinaire. As the acclaimed “Zero Year” storyline — chronicling the year before the first year in the Dark Detective’s fabled career — continues, I would be amiss not to mention that this is the lowest number yet for the relaunched BATMAN title, but surely, this can only be a temporary development.
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4 - FOREVER EVIL 09/2013: Forever Evil #1 of 7 -- 139,976 10/2013: Forever Evil #2 of 7 -- 112,944 (-19.3%) 11/2013: Forever Evil #3 of 7 -- 105,755 (- 6.4%) 12/2013: Forever Evil #4 of 7 -- 99,351 (- 6.1%)
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41 - FOREVER EVIL: ARKHAM WAR 10/2013: Arkham War #1 of 6 -- 52,004 11/2013: Arkham War #2 of 6 -- 44,133 (-15.1%) 12/2013: Arkham War #3 of 6 -- 39,919 (- 9.6%)
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73 - FOREVER EVIL: ROGUES' REBELLION 10/2013: Rogues' Rebellion #1 of 6 -- 36,545 11/2013: Rogues' Rebellion #2 of 6 -- 30,317 (-17.04%) 11/2013: Rogues' Rebellion #3 of 6 -- 27,363 (- 9.7%)
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94 - FOREVER EVIL: A.R.G.U.S. 10/2013: A.R.G.U.S. #1 of 6 -- 32,146 11/2013: A.R.G.U.S. #2 of 6 -- 25,071 (-22.0%) 12/2013: A.R.G.U.S. #3 of 6 -- 22,758 (- 9.2%)
The four miniseries celebrating DC’s latest crossover achievement continued in December, the proud and sturdy flagship among them being, of course, FOREVER EVIL itself, another triumph by the writer, Mr. Geoff Johns, and the artist, Mr. David Finch, who have contributed so many of the publisher’s recent success stories. The three spin-off efforts are somehwat less cheerfully received by the company’s valiant acolytes, naturally, but such is the nature of the game.
One does wonder, though, at the impropriety of the title, when in fact this shebang shall conclude no later than March! (j/k)
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5 - SUPERMAN UNCHAINED 06/2013: Superman Unchained #1 -- 256,792 [271,721] 07/2013: Superman Unchained #2 -- 165,754 (-35.5%) 08/2013: Superman Unchained #3 -- 136,319 (-17.8%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: -- 11/2013: Superman Unchained #4 -- 110,611 (-18.9%) 12/2013: Superman Unchained #5 -- 96,322 (-12.9%) ---------------- 6 months: -62.5%
And can you guess who might be at the steering wheel of THIS crown jewel in DC’s December line-up, dear readers? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Perish the thought: It’s that Scott Snyder fella again, this time in cahoots with none other than Mr. Jim Lee, former patron saint of the late, great WildStorm imprint!
Now, it goes without saying that the Man of Steel appears to be taking quite a breather there after soaring so high with his first UNCHAINED outing. But with news arriving of the title’s impending conclusion in April, no doubt it will be back up there atop of the Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc., Top 300 chart, faster than a speeding bullet!
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7 - HARLEY QUINN 11/2013: Harley Quinn #0 -- 114,212 12/2013: Harley Quinn #1 -- 92,153 (-19.3%)
The Clown Princess of Prime, in her own, scintillating new ongoing DC Comics series, no less?! Quick, somebody fetch the Dynamic Duo! (j/k)
All kidding aside, who would have thought we might find this title in such a lofty position on the Diamond comic-book sales chart, a mere six months ago? (And just imagine how boisterous it could be if our good Dr. Quinzel, in her newfound popularity, were to meet a certain Mr. Wade Wilson in a little tête-à-tête among suicidal prankster assassins, in the not-too-distant future? Hint, hint!)
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8/6 - JUSTICE LEAGUE 12/2003: JLA #91 -- 58,981 12/2008: Justice League #27 -- 75,803 12/2009: Justice League #40 -- 68,672 12/2010: JL of America #52 -- 48,501 12/2011: Justice League #4 -- 149,314 [152,340] --------------------------------------- 12/2012: Justice League #15 -- 115,074 (+ 1.8%) 01/2013: Justice League #16 -- 117,719 (+ 2.3%) 02/2013: Justice League #17 -- 105,304 (- 10.6%) 03/2013: Justice League #18 -- 102,494 (- 2.7%) 04/2013: Justice League #19 -- 100,943 (- 1.5%) 05/2013: Justice League #20 -- 97,676 (- 3.2%) 06/2013: Justice League #21 -- 94,054 (- 3.7%) 07/2013: Justice League #22 -- 110,194 (+ 17.2%) [124,026] 08/2013: Justice League #23 -- 103,936 (- 6.4%) 09/2013: #23.1: Darkseid -- 111,142 (+ 6.9%) 09/2013: #23.2: Lobo -- 79,244 (- 28.7%) 09/2013: #23.3: Dial E -- 64,119 (- 19.1%) 09/2013: #23.4: Secret Socty -- 78,014 (+ 21.7%) 10/2013: Justice League #24 -- 98,491 (+ 26.3%) 11/2013: -- 12/2013: Justice League #25 -- 94,004 (- 4.6%) 12/2013: Justice League #26 -- 90,592 (- 3.6%) ----------------- 6 months: - 1.9% 1 year : - 19.8% 2 years : - 38.2% 5 years : + 21.8% 10 years: + 56.5%
And look who’s storming the December 2013 Top 10 with not one, but two issues: It’s the World’s Greatest Heroes — steered, once again, by Mr. Geoff Johns, along with his inimitable once-and-future partner in crime, the one and only Mr. Ivan Reis. There has been a downward trend that needs acknowledging, true enough, and in all fairness, it also should be added that these two episodes were both part of the “Forever Evil” storyline, thus likely enjoying some heightened degree of interest among the comic-book cognoscenti of America. But, given the surprise awaiting readers in the latest issue, a swift return to the title’s former glory should not be ruled out too soon.
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12 - BATMAN/SUPERMAN 12/2003: Superman/Batman #4 -- 102,725 [116,361] 12/2003: Superman/Batman #5 -- 96,420 [115,082] 12/2008: Superman/Batman #54 -- 45,968 12/2009: Superman/Batman #67 -- 49,650 12/2010: Superman/Batman #79 -- 30,586 --------------------------------------- 06/2013: Batman/Superman #1 -- 143,457 [151,054] 07/2013: Batman/Superman #2 -- 92,558 (-35.5%) [ 97,961] 08/2013: Batman/Superman #3 -- 87,337 (- 5.6%) 09/2013: #3.1: Doomsday -- 92,290 (+ 5.7%) 10/2013: Batman/Superman #4 -- 82,990 (-10.1%) 11/2013: Batman/Superman #5 -- 77,198 (- 7.0%) 12/2013: Batman/Superman #6 -- 68,857 (-10.8%) ----------------- 6 months: - 52.0% 5 years : + 49.8% 10 years: - 30.9%
As we know, it is a sad fact of life that not all the comic-book titles can be Top-10 comic-book titles all of the time, and so we now begin the long trek down into the vapid nether regions of the Top 300 chart.
If this novel BATMAN/SUPERMAN iteration of the erstwhile SUPERMAN/BATMAN revival of the great WORLD’S FINEST tradition were to be found in the animal kingdom, it would surely be a pair of mighty swans with broken wings. But worry not, dear DC Comics aficionado — the hapless buggers might yet catch their fall before making a splash on the New Jersey Turnpike.
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16 - JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 02/2013: JL of America #1 -- 307,734 [326,959] 03/2013: JL of America #2 -- 91,734 (-70.2%) 04/2013: -- 05/2013: JL of America #3 -- 83,283 (- 9.2%) 05/2013: JL of America #4 -- 77,856 (- 6.5%) 06/2013: JL of America #5 -- 71,793 (- 7.8%) 07/2013: JL of America #6 -- 86,192 (+20.1%) [91,344] 08/2013: JL of America #7 -- 93,777 (+ 8.8%) 09/2013: #7.1: Deadshot -- 66,815 (-28.8%) 09/2013: #7.2: Killer Frost -- 62,706 (- 6.2%) 09/2013: #7.3: Shadow Thief -- 60,397 (- 3.7%) 09/2013: #7.4: Black Adam -- 74,875 (+24.0%) 10/2013: JL of America #8 -- 77,305 (+ 3.3%) 11/2013: JL of America #9 -- 71,008 (- 8.2%) 12/2013: JL of America #10 -- 65,678 (- 7.5%) ----------------- 6 months: - 8.5%
Not entirely as wretched is the descent of this endeavor launched into the world of comic books with great fanfare by — wouldja believe it? — Mr. Geoff Johns and Mr. David Finch in February.
The merry band of arbiters struggling on its pages to ascertain some grip on the icy slopes of the sequential-arts market subsequent to Mr. Finch’s and Mr. Johns’s respective departures includes, but is not limited to Mr. Brett Booth, Mr. Jeff Lemire, Mr. Doug Mahnke, Mr. Matt Kindt, Mr. Sami Basri, Ms. Carmen Carnero, Mr. Sterling Gates, Mr. Derliz Santacruz, Mr. Tom DeFalco, Mr. Chad Hardin, Mr. Edgar Salazar, Mr. Thomas Derenick and Mr. Eddy Barrows. One can only hope their provisions will last them until the autogiro arrives to lift them out of their slippery predicament! (j/k)
All monkey business aside: The struggle ends in April.
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23 - JUSTICE LEAGUE 3000 12/2013: Justice League 3000 #1 -- 57,726
Once ejaculated prematurely into the public eye, the announcement of a new title set in the far-flung future usually reserved for the fan-favorite Legion of Super-Heroes was somewhat marred by the subsequent involuntary ejection of pencil wizard Mr. Kevin Maguire, occasioning a delay of several months ostensibly allowing for adjustments in the tone of the periodical, which, so it would appear, had hitherto been misjudged by the DC Comics editorial offices. But Mr. Giffen, one of the co-authors, expressed giddy relief when one Mr. Howard Porter was enlisted in Mr. Maguire’s stead. Should this new comic-book effort by Messrs. Giffen, DeMatteis and Porter be half as much of a roller-coaster ride for the readers as it was for poor Mr. Maguire, the sales figures can be expected to rocket skyward any moment now.
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27 - DETECTIVE COMICS 12/2003: Detective Comics #789 -- 36,456 12/2008: Detective Comics #851 -- 64,961 12/2009: Detective Comics #860 -- 52,295 12/2010: Detective Comics #872 -- 37,961 [39,758] 12/2011: Detective Comics #4 -- 99,366 ----------------------------------------- 12/2012: Detective Comics #15 -- 106,395 (+ 42.7%) 01/2013: Detective Comics #16 -- 92,300 (- 13.3%) 02/2013: Detective Comics #17 -- 85,824 (- 7.0%) 03/2013: Detective Comics #18 -- 76,237 (- 11.2%) 04/2013: Detective Comics #19 -- 77,922 (+ 2.2%) 05/2013: Detective Comics #20 -- 78,252 (+ 0.4%) 06/2013: Detective Comics #21 -- 65,200 (- 16.7%) 07/2013: Detective Comics #22 -- 63,949 (- 1.9%) 08/2013: Detective Comics #23 -- 61,448 (- 3.9%) 09/2013: #23.1: Poison Ivy -- 78,522 (+ 27.8%) 09/2013: #23.2: Harley Quinn -- 89,636 (+ 14.2%) 09/2013: #23.3: Scarecrow -- 73,043 (- 18.5%) 09/2013: #23.4: Man-Bat -- 68,110 (- 6.8%) 10/2013: Detective Comics #24 -- 59,310 (- 12.9%) 11/2013: Detective Comics #25 -- 64,392 (+ 8.6%) 12/2013: Detective Comics #26 -- 56,538 (- 12.2%) ----------------- 6 months: - 13.3% 1 year : - 46.9% 2 years : - 43.1% 5 years : - 13.0% 10 years: + 55.1%
And speaking of involuntary ejection, I feel obliged to make mention of Mr. John Layman, who in the interim elected to part ways with DC Comics amicably, but cited lacklustre commercial realities as the cause for his eviction from the pages of DETECTIVE COMICS. There is some truth to that, it cannot be denied. However, I must also urge you to inspect the magazine’s performance in yonder years, when it scarcely addressed two score thousand eager readers. Given the continually interrupted state of affairs DETECTIVE COMICS must endure thanks to the dire and repetitious necessity of the crossover, which, time and time again, tugs at the tenderly woven strands of its yarns, I should judge it imprudent to attribute its recent condition to any one soul.
In any case, the Dark Knight Detective is heading for a reprise of his very first outing, as DETECTIVE COMICS #27 approaches.
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31 - GREEN LANTERN 12/2003: Green Lantern #172 -- 31,080 12/2008: Green Lantern #36 -- 64,755 [74,005] 12/2009: Green Lantern #49 -- 97,285 12/2010: Green Lantern #60 -- 76,360 12/2010: Green Lantern #61 -- 72,203 12/2011: Green Lantern #4 -- 104,199 -------------------------------------- 12/2012: Green Lantern #15 -- 74,363 (- 5.3%) 01/2013: Green Lantern #16 -- 72,884 (- 2.0%) 02/2013: Green Lantern #17 -- 71,060 (- 2.5%) 03/2013: Green Lantern #18 -- 69,801 (- 1.8%) 04/2013: Green Lantern #19 -- 71,018 (+ 1.7%) 05/2013: Green Lantern #20 -- 67,414 (- 5.1%) 06/2013: Green Lantern #21 -- 71,870 (+ 6.6%) 07/2013: Green Lantern #22 -- 62,415 (-13.2%) 08/2013: Green Lantern #23 -- 59,176 (- 5.2%) 09/2013: #23.1: Relic -- 66,495 (+12.4%) 09/2013: #23.2: Mongul -- 63,731 (- 4.2%) 09/2013: #23.3: Black Hand -- 62,753 (- 1.5%) 09/2013: #23.4: Sinestro -- 70,893 (+13.0%) 10/2013: Green Lantern #24 -- 57,109 (-19.4%) 11/2013: Green Lantern #25 -- 54,322 (- 4.9%) 12/2013: Green Lantern #26 -- 51,420 (- 5.3%) ----------------- 6 months: - 28.5% 1 year : - 30.9% 2 years : - 50.7% 5 years : - 20.6% 10 years: + 65.4%
Marooned by its anterior benefitor of nigh onto nine years, the kind Mr. Johns, GREEN LANTERN is tumbling towards its previous dire state of existence like a chicken with its head cut off or, more aptly perhaps in Mr. Johns’s case, an impermanently revived zombie chicken finally succumbing to the irresistible pull of oblivion.
In brightest day, in blackest night, no ill-advised personnel turnover shall escape my sight! (j/k)
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32 - SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN 10/2013: Superman/Wonder Woman #1 -- 94,859 11/2013: Superman/Wonder Woman #2 -- 60,185 (-36.6%) 12/2013: Superman/Wonder Woman #3 -- 51,357 (-14.7%)
Riding on the Man of Steel’s impervious coattails, this lovely Amazon from Paradise Island was briefly in a position to once more breathe the rarefied air reserved for 50,000-units-and-up publications, but now might soon be relegated to those dank domains of the Diamond Distributor chart usually the dwelling place of glorified sidekicks, feckless Johnny-come-latelies and second-rate spin-off deadbeats.
Such is the fate of a prominent DC Comics female.
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33 - DAMIAN: SON OF BATMAN 10/2013: Son of Batman #1 of 4 -- 63,453 11/2013: Son of Batman #2 of 4 -- 51,840 (-18.3%) 12/2013: Son of Batman #3 of 4 -- 47,389 (- 8.6%)
Apropos of nothing: Damian the Perforated, the latest manifestation of the comic connoissoir’s peculiar variety of thanatophilia.
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36 - BATMAN AND TWO-FACE 12/2009: -- 12/2010: Batman and Robin #18 -- 68,814 12/2011: Batman and Robin #4 -- 76,000 ---------------------------------------- 12/2012: Batman and Robin #15 -- 89,878 (+19.0%) 01/2013: Batman and Robin #16 -- 81,494 (- 9.3%) 02/2013: Batman and Robin #17 -- 60,988 (-25.2%) 03/2013: Batman and Robin #18 -- 69,614 (+14.1%) [76,575] 04/2013: and Red Robin #19 -- 89,182 (+28.1%) 05/2013: and Red Hood #20 -- 65,222 (-26.9%) 06/2013: and Batgirl #21 -- 60,601 (- 7.1%) 07/2013: and Catwoman #22 -- 57,808 (- 4.6%) 08/2013: and Nightwing #23 -- 55,707 (- 3.6%) 09/2013: #23.1: Two-Face -- 77,073 (+38.4%) 09/2013: #23.2: Court of Owls -- 75,546 (- 2.0%) 09/2013: #23.3: Ra's al Ghul -- 73,746 (- 2.4%) 09/2013: #23.4: Killer Croc -- 69,428 (- 5.9%) 10/2013: and Two-Face #24 -- 52,060 (-25.0%) 11/2013: and Carrie K. #25 -- 53,374 (+ 2.5%) 12/2013: and Two-Face #26 -- 46,611 (-12.7%) ---------------- 6 months: -23.1% 1 year : -48.1% 2 years : -38.7%
Might I humbly suggest this sorry stratagem has finally run its course? Forsooth, it carries on and on, if you can believe it, regardless of all the formerly faithful fleeing in fright from this forlorn fling at fastening them further to this fiction’s fortunes.
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40 - BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT 12/2010: Dark Knight #1 -- 89,985 [92,791] 12/2011: Dark Knight #4 -- 78,689 ----------------------------------- 12/2012: Dark Knight #15 -- 60,569 (- 3.6%) 01/2013: Dark Knight #16 -- 58,258 (- 3.8%) 02/2013: Dark Knight #17 -- 55,990 (- 3.9%) 03/2013: Dark Knight #18 -- 54,269 (- 3.1%) 04/2013: Dark Knight #19 -- 52,644 (- 3.0%) 05/2013: Dark Knight #20 -- 50,423 (- 4.2%) 06/2013: Dark Knight #21 -- 48,612 (- 3.6%) 07/2013: Dark Knight #22 -- 47,096 (- 3.1%) 08/2013: Dark Knight #23 -- 45,584 (- 3.2%) 09/2013: #23.1: Vtrlqust -- 57,363 (+ 25.8%) 09/2013: #23.2: MrFreeze -- 57,349 (- 0.0%) 09/2013: #23.3: Clayface -- 55,084 (- 4.0%) 09/2013: #23.4: JkrsDgtr -- 64,952 (+ 17.9%) [86,016] 10/2013: Dark Knight #24 -- 43,382 (- 33.2%) 11/2013: Dark Knight #25 -- 41,634 (- 4.0%) 12/2013: Dark Knight #26 -- 39,980 (- 4.0%) ----------------- 6 months: - 17.8% 1 year : - 34.0% 2 years : - 49.2%
The Dark Knight, about to meet with the King of Atlantis, far beneath the waves. Methinks a can of shark deterrent might be just what the doctor ordered! (j/k)
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44 - AQUAMAN 12/2003: Aquaman #13 -- 22,414 12/2011: Aquaman #4 -- 64,961 ------------------------------ 12/2012: Aquaman #15 -- 75,947 (+41.5%) 01/2013: Aquaman #16 -- 62,153 (-18.2%) 02/2013: Aquaman #17 -- 58,578 (- 5.8%) 03/2013: Aquaman #18 -- 53,337 (- 9.0%) 04/2013: -- 05/2013: Aquaman #19 -- 53,415 (+ 0.2%) 05/2013: Aquaman #20 -- 49,697 (- 7.0%) 06/2013: Aquaman #21 -- 46,832 (- 5.8%) 07/2013: Aquaman #22 -- 45,653 (- 2.5%) 08/2013: Aquaman #23 -- 44,140 (- 3.3%) 09/2013: #23.1: BMta -- 58,207 (+31.9%) 09/2013: #23.2: OMtr -- 53,679 (- 7.8%) 10/2013: Aquaman #24 -- 42,248 (-21.3%) 11/2013: Aquaman #25 -- 41,264 (- 2.3%) 12/2013: Aquaman #26 -- 38,841 (- 5.9%) ----------------- 6 months: - 17.1% 1 year : - 48.9% 2 years : - 40.2% 10 years: + 73.3%
But the Lord of the Seven Seas skedaddles, heading, it appears, for the darkest depths of the Ocean in a kinky bout of undersea hide and seek!
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45 - NIGHTWING 12/2003: Nightwing #88 -- 28,976 12/2008: Nightwing #151 -- 35,210 12/2011: Nightwing #4 -- 57,409 --------------------------------- 12/2012: Nightwing #15 -- 74,407 (+46.7%) 01/2013: Nightwing #16 -- 69,643 (- 6.4%) 02/2013: Nightwing #17 -- 62,107 (-10.8%) 03/2013: Nightwing #18 -- 48,223 (-22.4%) [53,978] 04/2013: Nightwing #19 -- 46,978 (- 2.6%) 05/2013: Nightwing #20 -- 45,038 (- 4.1%) 06/2013: Nightwing #21 -- 43,353 (- 3.7%) 07/2013: Nightwing #22 -- 42,073 (- 3.0%) 08/2013: Nightwing #23 -- 40,522 (- 3.7%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Nightwing #24 -- 39,853 (- 1.7%) 11/2013: Nightwing #25 -- 44,039 (+10.5%) 12/2013: Nightwing #26 -- 38,452 (-12.7%) ----------------- 6 months: - 11.3% 1 year : - 48.3% 2 years : - 33.0% 5 years : + 9.2% 10 years: + 32.7%
Remember those godforsaken deadbeat sidekicks?
I rest my case. It ends in April.
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46 - ACTION COMICS 12/2003: Action Comics #810 -- 29,509 12/2008: Action Comics #872 -- 57,175 12/2009: Action Comics #884 -- 31,873 12/2010: Action Comics #896 -- 32,357 12/2011: Action Comics #4 -- 112,839 -------------------------------------- 12/2012: Action Comics #15 -- 61,298 (- 4.7%) 01/2013: Action Comics #16 -- 58,645 (- 4.3%) 02/2013: Action Comics #17 -- 57,189 (- 2.5%) 03/2013: Action Comics #18 -- 61,879 (+ 8.2%) 04/2013: Action Comics #19 -- 52,007 (- 16.0%) 05/2013: Action Comics #20 -- 48,324 (- 7.1%) 06/2013: Action Comics #21 -- 46,475 (- 3.8%) 07/2013: Action Comics #22 -- 44,861 (- 3.5%) 08/2013: Action Comics #23 -- 42,603 (- 5.0%) 09/2013: #23.1: Cyborg Smn -- 69,796 (+ 63.8%) 09/2013: #23.2: Zod -- 69,356 (- 0.6%) 09/2013: #23.3: Lex Luthor -- 67,621 (- 2.5%) 09/2013: #23.4: Metallo -- 51,807 (- 23.4%) 10/2013: Action Comics #24 -- 39,620 (- 23.5%) 11/2013: Action Comics #25 -- 46,550 (+ 17.5%) 12/2013: Action Comics #26 -- 37,489 (- 19.5%) ----------------- 6 months: - 19.3% 1 year : - 38.8% 2 years : - 66.8% 5 years : - 34.4% 10 years: + 27.0%
Q: Whatever happened to the Man of Tomorrow? (A: He left to work on sundry other projects.)
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47 - EARTH 2 12/2012: Earth 2 #7 -- 54,409 (- 6.6%) 01/2013: Earth 2 #8 -- 50,860 (- 6.5%) 02/2013: Earth 2 #9 -- 48,208 (- 5.2%) 03/2013: Earth 2 #10 -- 46,213 (- 4.1%) 04/2013: Earth 2 #11 -- 45,468 (- 1.6%) 05/2013: Earth 2 #12 -- 43,983 (- 3.3%) 06/2013: Earth 2 #13 -- 42,916 (- 2.4%) 07/2013: Earth 2 #14 -- 42,022 (- 2.1%) 08/2013: Earth 2 #15 -- 40,845 (- 2.8%) 09/2013: #15.1: Desd -- 51,850 (+26.9%) 09/2013: #15.2: SlGr -- 52,369 (+ 1.0%) 10/2013: Earth 2 #16 -- 38,389 (-26.7%) 11/2013: Earth 2 #17 -- 39,846 (+ 3.8%) 12/2013: Earth 2 #18 -- 37,130 (- 6.8%) ---------------- 6 months: -13.5% 1 year : -31.8%
With most publications, one can safely assume the Earth will keep spinning once they vanish from the schedule. This is an exception.
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48 - SUPERMAN 12/2003: Superman #200 -- 47,346 [51,745] 12/2008: Superman #683 -- 55,287 12/2009: Superman #695 -- 32,482 12/2010: Superman #706 -- 43,027 12/2011: Superman #4 -- 76,532 --------------------------------- 12/2012: Superman #15 -- 51,225 (- 2.6%) 01/2013: Superman #16 -- 50,621 (- 1.2%) 02/2013: -- 03/2013: Superman #17 -- 49,666 (- 1.9%) 03/2013: Superman #18 -- 48,236 (- 2.9%) 04/2013: Superman #19 -- 48,598 (+ 0.8%) 05/2013: Superman #20 -- 45,458 (- 6.5%) 06/2013: Superman #21 -- 44,285 (- 2.6%) 07/2013: Superman #22 -- 42,961 (- 3.0%) 08/2013: Superman #23 -- 42,155 (- 1.9%) 09/2013: #23.1: Bzarro -- 59,589 (+ 41.4%) 09/2013: #23.2: Brniac -- 58,197 (- 2.3%) 09/2013: #23.3: H'el -- 55,069 (- 5.4%) 09/2013: #23.4: Prsite -- 59,811 (+ 8.6%) 10/2013: Superman #24 -- 39,580 (- 33.8%) 11/2013: Superman #25 -- 39,295 (- 0.1%) 12/2013: Superman #26 -- 36,877 (- 6.2%) ----------------- 6 months: - 16.7% 1 year : - 28.0% 2 years : - 51.8% 5 years : - 33.3% 10 years: - 22.1%
He who supposedly stands for Truth, Justice and the American Way finds himself squiggling down the sales charts not unlike a wounded animal. Is it a dying bird? A plummeting plane? I dare you to believe this man can fly, dear DC Comics customer. A sorry spectacle is unfolding before our eyes. Who is responsible for this?
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49 - FLASH 12/2003: Flash #205 -- 34,931 [35,626] 12/2008: Flash #247 -- 26,498 12/2009: -- 12/2010: Flash #7 -- 56,304 12/2010: Flash #8 -- 53,975 12/2011: Flash #4 -- 77,336 ----------------------------------- 12/2012: Flash #15 -- 45,925 (- 4.4%) 01/2013: Flash #16 -- 44,093 (- 4.0%) 02/2013: Flash #17 -- 42,936 (- 2.6%) 03/2013: Flash #18 -- 41,659 (- 3.0%) 04/2013: Flash #19 -- 42,079 (+ 1.0%) 05/2013: Flash #20 -- 39,667 (- 5.7%) 06/2013: Flash #21 -- 38,848 (- 2.1%) 07/2013: Flash #22 -- 38,993 (+ 0.4%) 08/2013: Flash #23 -- 38,860 (- 0.3%) 09/2013: #23.1: Grodd -- 52,901 (+ 36.1%) 09/2013: #23.2: RvrsFlsh -- 53,359 (+ 0.9%) 09/2013: #23.3: Rogues -- 51,072 (- 4.3%) 10/2013: Flash #24 -- 38,190 (- 25.2%) 11/2013: Flash #25 -- 41,838 (+ 10.0%) 12/2013: Flash #26 -- 36,601 (- 12.5%) ----------------- 6 months: - 5.8% 1 year : - 20.3% 2 years : - 52.7% 5 years : + 38.1% 10 years: + 4.8%
Fickle and fleeting is fortune’s embrace.
Once justly lauded as one of the more pleasurable specimens among the newly incited DC Comics publications of the 2011 refurbishing effort, the Fastest Man Alive appears on his last legs — AGAIN!
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50 - JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK 12/2011: Justice League Dark #4 -- 44,750 ------------------------------------------- 12/2012: Justice League Dark #15 -- 27,712 (- 4.3%) 01/2013: Justice League Dark #16 -- 26,902 (- 2.9%) 02/2013: Justice League Dark #17 -- 25,841 (- 3.9%) 03/2013: Justice League Dark #18 -- 25,664 (- 0.7%) 04/2013: Justice League Dark #19 -- 25,407 (- 1.0%) 05/2013: Justice League Dark #20 -- 24,693 (- 2.8%) 06/2013: Justice League Dark #21 -- 24,663 (- 0.1%) 07/2013: Justice League Dark #22 -- 68,294 (+176.9%) [76,570] 08/2013: Justice League Dark #23 -- 71,157 (+ 4.2%) 09/2013: #23.1: Creeper -- 46,326 (- 34.9%) 09/2013: #23.2: Eclipso -- 45,138 (- 2.6%) 10/2013: Justice League Dark #24 -- 45,401 (+ 0.6%) 11/2013: Justice League Dark #25 -- 38,760 (- 14.6%) 12/2013: Justice League Dark #26 -- 36,353 (- 6.2%) ----------------- 6 months: + 57.0% 1 year : + 33.8% 2 years : - 25.0%
A witlessly titled magazine with endearingly passable results.
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53 - BATGIRL 12/2003: Batgirl #47 -- 26,485 12/2008: Batgirl #6 of 6 -- 20,750 12/2009: Batgirl #5 -- 32,482 12/2010: Batgirl #16 -- 25,225 12/2011: Batgirl #4 -- 59,972 ---------------------------------- 12/2012: Batgirl #15 -- 75,341 (- 2.8%) 01/2013: Batgirl #16 -- 72,470 (- 3.8%) 02/2013: Batgirl #17 -- 65,751 (- 9.6%) 03/2013: Batgirl #18 -- 51,677 (- 21.4%) 04/2013: Batgirl #19 -- 45,939 (- 11.1%) 05/2013: Batgirl #20 -- 42,600 (- 7.3%) 06/2013: Batgirl #21 -- 40,252 (- 5.5%) 07/2013: Batgirl #22 -- 39,218 (- 2.6%) 08/2013: Batgirl #23 -- 37,707 (- 3.9%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Batgirl #24 -- 36,666 (- 2.8%) 11/2013: Batgirl #25 -- 40,752 (+ 11.1%) 12/2013: Batgirl #26 -- 34,885 (- 14.4%) ----------------- 6 months: - 13.3% 1 year : - 53.7% 2 years : - 41.8% 5 years : + 68.1% 10 years: + 31.7%
Behold: the proud leader of a snakebit bunch of DC Comics heroines prominent enough to star in their very own publications.
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57 - GREEN LANTERN CORPS 12/2008: Green Lantern Corps #31 -- 44,033 12/2009: Green Lantern Corps #43 -- 77,774 12/2010: Green Lantern Corps #55 -- 54,387 12/2011: Green Lantern Corps #4 -- 57,180 ------------------------------------------ 12/2012: Green Lantern Corps #15 -- 47,841 (- 3.5%) 01/2013: Green Lantern Corps #16 -- 45,387 (- 5.1%) 02/2013: Green Lantern Corps #17 -- 44,497 (- 2.0%) 03/2013: Green Lantern Corps #18 -- 44,215 (- 0.6%) 04/2013: Green Lantern Corps #19 -- 43,903 (- 0.8%) 05/2013: Green Lantern Corps #20 -- 43,026 (- 2.0%) 06/2013: Green Lantern Corps #21 -- 45,423 (+ 5.6%) 07/2013: Green Lantern Corps #22 -- 42,194 (- 7.1%) 08/2013: Green Lantern Corps #23 -- 36,229 (-14.1%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Green Lantern Corps #24 -- 37,312 (+ 3.0%) 11/2013: Green Lantern Corps #25 -- 38,369 (+ 2.8%) 12/2013: Green Lantern Corps #26 -- 32,797 (-14.5%) ---------------- 6 months: -27.8% 1 year : -31.5% 2 years : -42.6% 5 years : -25.5%
We are bearing witness, my dear fellow DC acolytes, to the decline and decay of a once magnificent franchise. Woe.
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57 - WONDER WOMAN 12/2003: Wonder Woman #199 -- 29,224 12/2008: Wonder Woman #27 -- 32,322 12/2009: Wonder Woman #39 -- 26,152 12/2010: Wonder Woman #605 -- 35,495 12/2011: Wonder Woman #4 -- 57,675 ------------------------------------- 12/2012: Wonder Woman #15 -- 41,641 (- 1.8%) 01/2013: Wonder Woman #16 -- 40,105 (- 3.7%) 02/2013: Wonder Woman #17 -- 39,110 (- 2.5%) 03/2013: Wonder Woman #18 -- 38,406 (- 1.8%) 04/2013: Wonder Woman #19 -- 46,492 (+ 21.1%) 05/2013: Wonder Woman #20 -- 37,132 (- 20.1%) 06/2013: Wonder Woman #21 -- 35,999 (- 3.1%) 07/2013: Wonder Woman #22 -- 35,539 (- 1.3%) 08/2013: Wonder Woman #23 -- 34,747 (- 2.2%) 09/2013: #23.1: Cheetah -- 49,297 (+ 41.9%) 09/2013: #23.2: First Born -- 44,154 (- 10.4%) 10/2013: Wonder Woman #24 -- 34,308 (- 22.3%) 11/2013: Wonder Woman #25 -- 33,532 (- 2.3%) 12/2013: Wonder Woman #26 -- 32,773 (- 2.3%) ----------------- 6 months: - 9.0% 1 year : - 21.3% 2 years : - 43.2% 5 years : + 1.4% 10 years: + 12.1%
Slip, slip, slippity-slip, slippity-slip, dip, doobah.
The allure of this steadfast Amazon princess, it would seem, is, at times, as unseeable as her aeroplane.
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64 - BATMAN BLACK & WHITE 09/2013: Batman B&W #1 of 6 -- 65,018 10/2013: Batman B&W #2 of 6 -- 37,523 (-42.3%) 11/2013: Batman B&W #3 of 6 -- 33,370 (-11.6%) 12/2013: Batman B&W #4 of 6 -- 30,577 (- 8.4%)
What once begun as a resplendent act of defiance against the four-colour tyranny now seems woefully whimper-bound.
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65 - GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS 12/2010: Emerald Warriors #5 -- 44,077 12/2011: New Guardians #4 -- 53,305 --------------------------------------- 12/2012: New Guardians #15 -- 45,136 (- 4.1%) 01/2013: New Guardians #16 -- 43,770 (- 3.0%) 02/2013: New Guardians #17 -- 42,285 (- 3.4%) 03/2013: New Guardians #18 -- 42,028 (- 0.6%) 04/2013: New Guardians #19 -- 41,481 (- 1.3%) 05/2013: New Guardians #20 -- 40,569 (- 2.2%) 06/2013: New Guardians #21 -- 42,290 (+ 4.2%) 07/2013: New Guardians #22 -- 40,788 (- 3.6%) 08/2013: New Guardians #23 -- 34,473 (-15.5%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: New Guardians #24 -- 35,417 (+ 2.7%) 11/2013: New Guardians #25 -- 32,069 (- 9.5%) 12/2013: New Guardians #26 -- 30,489 (- 4.9%) ---------------- 6 months: -27.9% 1 year : -32.5% 2 years : -42.8%
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
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67 - TEEN TITANS 12/2003: Teen Titans #6 -- 69,255 [73,096] 12/2008: Teen Titans #66 -- 36,808 12/2009: Teen Titans #78 -- 43,400 12/2010: Teen Titans #90 -- 25,997 12/2011: Teen Titans #4 -- 54,929 ----------------------------------- 12/2012: Teen Titans #15 -- 68,707 (+ 72.9%) 01/2013: Teen Titans #16 -- 63,726 (- 7.3%) 02/2013: Teen Titans #17 -- 39,186 (- 38.5%) 03/2013: Teen Titans #18 -- 42,055 (+ 7.3%) 04/2013: Teen Titans #19 -- 39,532 (- 6.0%) 05/2013: Teen Titans #20 -- 36,391 (- 8.0%) 06/2013: Teen Titans #21 -- 34,710 (- 4.6%) 07/2013: Teen Titans #22 -- 33,062 (- 4.8%) 08/2013: Teen Titans #23 -- 31,742 (- 4.0%) 09/2013: #23.1: Trigon -- 48,974 (+ 54.3%) 09/2013: #23.2: Dthstroke -- 49,920 (+ 1.9%) 10/2013: Teen Titans #24 -- 34,536 (- 30.8%) 11/2013: Teen Titans #25 -- 32,395 (- 6.2%) 12/2013: Teen Titans #26 -- 29,149 (- 10.0%) ----------------- 6 months: - 16.0% 1 year : - 57.6% 2 years : - 46.9% 5 years : - 20.8% 10 years: - 57.9%
It ends in April.
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75 - CATWOMAN 12/2003: Catwoman #26 -- 24,601 12/2011: Catwoman #4 -- 45,581 ------------------------------- 12/2012: Catwoman #15 -- 35,020 (-45.0%) 01/2013: Catwoman #16 -- 33,915 (- 3.2%) 02/2013: Catwoman #17 -- 30,194 (-11.0%) 03/2013: Catwoman #18 -- 33,220 (+10.0%) 04/2013: Catwoman #19 -- 28,058 (-15.5%) 05/2013: Catwoman #20 -- 26,886 (- 4.2%) 06/2013: Catwoman #21 -- 25,611 (- 4.7%) 07/2013: Catwoman #22 -- 24,737 (- 3.4%) 08/2013: Catwoman #23 -- 24,262 (- 1.9%) [32,158] 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Catwoman #24 -- 35,134 (+44.8%) 11/2013: Catwoman #25 -- 29,471 (-16.1%) 12/2013: Catwoman #26 -- 26,482 (-10.1%) ----------------- 6 months: + 3.4% 1 year : - 24.4% 2 years : - 41.9% 10 years: + 7.7%
At a juncture in history whereupon the most coveted sights in the world are random images of cats and of women, the producers of DC Entertainment are consistently failing to establish their very own Catwoman as a marketable property. Incroyable!
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76 - RED LANTERNS 12/2011: Red Lanterns #4 -- 50,271 ----------------------------------- 12/2012: Red Lanterns #15 -- 39,071 (- 4.2%) 01/2013: Red Lanterns #16 -- 38,223 (- 2.2%) 02/2013: Red Lanterns #17 -- 35,839 (- 6.2%) 03/2013: Red Lanterns #18 -- 35,203 (- 1.8%) 04/2013: Red Lanterns #19 -- 34,673 (- 1.5%) 05/2013: Red Lanterns #20 -- 33,923 (- 2.2%) 06/2013: Red Lanterns #21 -- 37,312 (+10.0%) 07/2013: Red Lanterns #22 -- 35,236 (- 5.6%) 08/2013: Red Lanterns #23 -- 29,623 (-15.9%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Red Lanterns #24 -- 30,771 (+ 3.9%) 11/2013: Red Lanterns #25 -- 27,786 (- 9.7%) 12/2013: Red Lanterns #26 -- 26,242 (- 5.6%) ---------------- 6 months: -29.7% 1 year : -32.8% 2 years : -47.8%
The affectionate indifference and charming imbecility on display in the episodes drafted by Mr. Peter Milligan early on have given way to a rather more common mélange of mediocrity.
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80 - RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS 12/2011: Red Hood #4 -- 44,278 ------------------------------- 12/2012: Red Hood #15 -- 64,103 (+70.0%) 01/2013: Red Hood #16 -- 59,621 (- 7.0%) 02/2013: Red Hood #17 -- 53,076 (-11.0%) 03/2013: Red Hood #18 -- 37,731 (-28.9%) [42,901] 04/2013: Red Hood #19 -- 36,630 (- 2.9%) 05/2013: Red Hood #20 -- 35,542 (- 3.0%) 06/2013: Red Hood #21 -- 32,416 (- 8.8%) 07/2013: Red Hood #22 -- 30,534 (- 5.8%) 08/2013: Red Hood #23 -- 28,821 (- 5.6%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Red Hood #24 -- 27,128 (- 5.9%) 11/2013: Red Hood #25 -- 30,632 (+12.9%) 12/2013: Red Hood #26 -- 25,382 (-17.1%) ---------------- 6 months: -21.7% 1 year : -60.4% 2 years : -42.7%
Fill its belly with stones, push it down the well.
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81 - SUICIDE SQUAD 12/2011: Suicide Squad #4 -- 34,550 ----------------------------------------- 12/2012: Suicide Squad #15 -- 57,132 (- 10.3%) 01/2013: Suicide Squad #16 -- 27,061 (- 52.6%) 02/2013: Suicide Squad #17 -- 26,370 (- 2.6%) 03/2013: Suicide Squad #18 -- 25,232 (- 4.3%) 04/2013: Suicide Squad #19 -- 24,300 (- 3.7%) 05/2013: Suicide Squad #20 -- 23,537 (- 3.1%) 06/2013: Suicide Squad #21 -- 22,907 (- 2.7%) 07/2013: Suicide Squad #22 -- 22,447 (- 2.0%) 08/2013: Suicide Squad #23 -- 22,166 (- 1.3%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Suicide Squad #24 -- 27,762 (+ 25.3%) 11/2013: Suicide Squad #25 -- 27,067 (- 2.5%) 12/2013: Suicide Squad #26 -- 25,346 (- 6.4%) ----------------- 6 months: + 10.7% 1 year : - 55.6% 2 years : - 26.6%
It ends in April.
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84 - GREEN ARROW 12/2003: Green Arrow #33 -- 36,934 12/2008: Arrow/Canary #15 -- 24,526 12/2009: Arrow&Canary #27 -- 16,904 11/2010: Green Arrow #6 -- 39,575 12/2011: Green Arrow #4 -- 37,116 ----------------------------------- 12/2012: Green Arrow #15 -- 20,672 (- 5.3%) 01/2013: Green Arrow #16 -- 19,888 (- 3.8%) 02/2013: Green Arrow #17 -- 36,043 (+ 81.2%) 03/2013: Green Arrow #18 -- 28,080 (- 22.1%) 04/2013: Green Arrow #19 -- 29,922 (+ 6.6%) 05/2013: Green Arrow #20 -- 27,541 (- 8.0%) 06/2013: Green Arrow #21 -- 26,924 (- 2.2%) 07/2013: Green Arrow #22 -- 26,172 (- 2.8%) 08/2013: Green Arrow #23 -- 25,449 (- 2.8%) 09/2013: #23.1: CtVertigo -- 43,234 (+ 69.9%) 10/2013: Green Arrow #24 -- 24,620 (- 43.1%) 11/2013: Green Arrow #25 -- 29,591 (+ 20.2%) 12/2013: Green Arrow #26 -- 24,687 (- 16.6%) ----------------- 6 months: - 8.3% 1 year : + 19.4% 2 years : - 33.5% 5 years : + 0.7% 10 years: - 33.2%
The Emerald Archer is proving remarkably resilient to the gravitational pull, no doubt thanks to the capable hands of Mr. Jeff Lemire.
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85 - BATMAN '66 (Digital-First) 07/2013: Batman '66 #1 -- 50,430 08/2013: Batman '66 #2 -- 37,113 (-26.4%) 09/2013: Batman '66 #3 -- 32,954 (-11.2%) 10/2013: Batman '66 #4 -- 30,099 (- 8.7%) 11/2013: Batman '66 #5 -- 26,785 (-11.0%) 12/2013: Batman '66 #6 -- 24,374 (- 9.0%)
How quaint.
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89 - BATWOMAN 12/2011: Batwoman #4 -- 52,757 -------------------------------- 12/2012: Batwoman #15 -- 34,964 (- 3.9%) 01/2013: Batwoman #16 -- 34,103 (- 2.5%) 02/2013: Batwoman #17 -- 32,041 (- 6.1%) 03/2013: Batwoman #18 -- 31,381 (- 2.1%) 04/2013: Batwoman #19 -- 31,538 (+ 0.5%) 05/2013: Batwoman #20 -- 29,698 (- 5.8%) 06/2013: Batwoman #21 -- 28,173 (- 5.1%) 07/2013: Batwoman #22 -- 27,400 (- 2.7%) 08/2013: Batwoman #23 -- 26,223 (- 4.3%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Batwoman #24 -- 25,609 (- 2.3%) 11/2013: Batwoman #25 -- 25,987 (+ 1.5%) 12/2013: Batwoman #26 -- 23,311 (-10.3%) ---------------- 6 months: -17.3% 1 year : -33.3% 2 years : -55.8%
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97 - SUPERGIRL 12/2008: Supergirl #36 -- 45,491 12/2009: Supergirl #48 -- 28,176 12/2010: Supergirl #59 -- 22,606 12/2011: Supergirl #4 -- 44,180 --------------------------------- 12/2012: Supergirl #15 -- 30,814 (- 1.5%) 01/2013: Supergirl #16 -- 30,350 (- 1.5%) 02/2013: Supergirl #17 -- 30,146 (- 0.7%) 03/2013: Supergirl #18 -- 28,051 (- 7.0%) 04/2013: Supergirl #19 -- 29,558 (+ 5.4%) 05/2013: Supergirl #20 -- 27,509 (- 6.9%) 06/2013: Supergirl #21 -- 25,856 (- 6.0%) 07/2013: Supergirl #22 -- 25,514 (- 1.3%) 08/2013: Supergirl #23 -- 24,747 (- 3.0%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Supergirl #24 -- 23,321 (- 5.8%) 11/2013: Supergirl #25 -- 25,377 (+ 8.8%) 12/2013: Supergirl #26 -- 22,646 (- 10.8%) ----------------- 6 months: - 10.8% 1 year : - 26.5% 2 years : - 48.7% 5 years : - 50.2%
How many rejected second-rate heroines does it take, I wonder?
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100 - CONSTANTINE 12/2003: Hellblazer #191 -- 15,283 12/2008: Hellblazer #250 -- 12,478 12/2009: Hellblazer #262 -- 10,334 12/2010: Hellblazer #274 -- 9,342 12/2011: Hellblazer #286 -- 9,404 ---------------------------------- 12/2012: Hellblazer #298 -- 9,132 (- 0.2%) 01/2013: Hellblazer #299 -- 9,329 (+ 2.2%) 02/2013: Hellblazer #300 -- 12,522 (+ 34.2%) 03/2013: Constantine #1 -- 37,564 (+200.0%) 04/2013: Constantine #2 -- 30,789 (- 18.0%) 05/2013: Constantine #3 -- 29,106 (- 5.5%) 06/2013: Constantine #4 -- 26,417 (- 9.2%) 07/2013: Constantine #5 -- 30,664 (+ 16.1%) [35,027] 08/2013: Constantine #6 -- 25,174 (- 17.9%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Constantine #7 -- 22,954 (- 8.8%) 11/2013: Constantine #8 -- 20,981 (- 8.6%) 12/2013: Constantine #9 -- 22,403 (+ 6.8%) ----------------- 6 months: - 15.2% 1 year : +145.3% 2 years : +138.2% 5 years : + 79.5% 10 years: + 46.6%
Participation in the prolonged scheme dubbed “Forever Evil” barely disguises the malaise which afflicts this refurbished undertaking.
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103 - INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US (Digital-First) 01/2013: Injustice #1 -- 20,733 [35,438] 02/2013: Injustice #2 -- 17,068 (-17.7%) [29,096] 03/2013: Injustice #3 -- 18,608 (+ 9.0%) [24,469] 04/2013: Injustice #4 -- 21,669 (+16.5%) [26,739] 05/2013: Injustice #5 -- 25,215 (+16.4%) 06/2013: Injustice #6 -- 26,011 (+ 3.2%) 07/2013: Injustice #7 -- 25,731 (- 1.1%) 08/2013: Injustice #8 -- 25,223 (- 2.0%) 09/2013: Injustice #9 -- 24,333 (- 3.5%) 10/2013: Injustice #10 -- 24,788 (+ 1.9%) 11/2013: Injustice #11 -- 22,704 (- 8.4%) 12/2013: Injustice #12 -- 21,871 (- 3.7%) ---------------- 6 months: -15.9%
It ends, but rises anew in February.
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107 - DC UNIVERSE VS. MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE 09/2013: DCU vs. MotU #1 of 6 -- 35,269 10/2013: DCU vs. MotU #2 of 6 -- 23,037 (-34.7%) 11/2013: -- 12/2013: DCU vs. MotU #3 of 6 -- 21,325 (- 7.4%)
When these two great universes of men in tights, barbarians and monstrosities, which have spawned generations of happy childhood memories, do battle, it is time for the sales analyst to step aside and let the heart rejoice in this fabulous world of imagination.
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109 - WORLDS' FINEST 12/2012: Worlds' Finest #7 -- 32,010 (- 6.8%) 01/2013: Worlds' Finest #8 -- 30,399 (- 5.0%) 02/2013: Worlds' Finest #9 -- 28,332 (- 6.8%) 03/2013: Worlds' Finest #10 -- 28,469 (+ 0.5%) 04/2013: Worlds' Finest #11 -- 27,453 (- 3.6%) 05/2013: Worlds' Finest #12 -- 27,073 (- 1.4%) 06/2013: Worlds' Finest #13 -- 25,815 (- 4.7%) 07/2013: Worlds' Finest #14 -- 25,143 (- 2.6%) 08/2013: Worlds' Finest #15 -- 24,159 (- 3.9%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Worlds' Finest #16 -- 22,987 (- 4.9%) 11/2013: Worlds' Finest #17 -- 21,920 (- 4.6%) 12/2013: Worlds' Finest #18 -- 21,039 (- 4.0%) ----------------- 6 months: - 18.5% 1 year : - 34.3%
Do you, like I, recognize a hint of incongruity between the title’s lofty aspirations and the magazine’s present location on the Diamond Distributor chart, dear fellow DCitizens?
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114 - TRINITY OF SIN: PANDORA 07/2013: Pandora #1 -- 35,106 [41,678] 07/2013: Pandora #2 -- 32,170 (- 8.4%) 08/2013: Pandora #3 -- 34,563 (+ 7.4%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Pandora #4 -- 25,708 (-25.6%) 11/2013: Pandora #5 -- 21,267 (-17.3%) 12/2013: Pandora #6 -- 20,563 (- 3.3%)
For how much longer will boxes of PANDORA be opened by comic-book salesmen? I cannot help but wonder.
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115 - SWAMP THING 12/2011: Swamp Thing #4 -- 44,660 ---------------------------------- 12/2012: Swamp Thing #15 -- 33,916 (-19.3%) 01/2013: Swamp Thing #16 -- 32,262 (- 4.9%) 02/2013: Swamp Thing #17 -- 31,497 (- 2.4%) 03/2013: Swamp Thing #18 -- 30,716 (- 2.5%) 04/2013: Swamp Thing #19 -- 29,254 (- 4.8%) 05/2013: Swamp Thing #20 -- 27,338 (- 6.6%) 06/2013: Swamp Thing #21 -- 25,186 (- 7.9%) 07/2013: Swamp Thing #22 -- 23,885 (- 5.2%) 08/2013: Swamp Thing #23 -- 22,695 (- 5.0%) 09/2013: #23.1: Arcane -- 40,390 (+78.0%) 10/2013: Swamp Thing #24 -- 21,724 (-46.2%) 11/2013: Swamp Thing #25 -- 21,141 (- 2.7%) 12/2013: Swamp Thing #26 -- 20,247 (- 4.2%) ---------------- 6 months: -19.6% 1 year : -40.3% 2 years : -54.7%
No safe foothold in these muddy waters.
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117 - TRILLIUM (Vertigo) 08/2013: Trillium #1 of 8 -- 30,712 09/2013: Trillium #2 of 8 -- 24,482 (-20.3%) 10/2013: Trillium #3 of 8 -- 23,037 (- 5.9%) 11/2013: Trillium #4 of 8 -- 20,914 (- 9.2%) 12/2013: Trillium #5 of 8 -- 20,035 (- 4.2%)
The good Mr. Lemire leads Vertigo into a bright new year.
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120 - DEAD BOY DETECTIVES (Vertigo) 12/2013: Dead Boy Detectives #1 -- 21,694
Irritatingly, the eclectic entrepreneurs of the Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc., operation insist on the questionable and elusive reduction we, dear readers, have encountered so often when dealing with returnable goods on the sales chart. As an inevitable consequence of this persistent maleficium, sales analysts are forced to make decisions: To tweak, or not to tweak? I tweak, just so you know, dear reader, but do not vouch as to the accuracy of the tweaking.
This, you must know, is an offspring of THE SANDMAN.
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122 - ANIMAL MAN 12/2011: Animal Man #4 -- 42,630 ------------------------------------ 12/2012: Animal Man #15 -- 32,013 (- 4.5%) 01/2013: Animal Man #16 -- 30,322 (- 5.3%) 02/2013: Animal Man #17 -- 29,425 (- 3.0%) 03/2013: Animal Man #18 -- 28,711 (- 2.4%) 04/2013: Animal Man #19 -- 27,562 (- 4.0%) 05/2013: Animal Man #20 -- 25,807 (- 6.4%) 06/2013: Animal Man #21 -- 23,862 (- 7.5%) 07/2013: Animal Man #22 -- 22,974 (- 3.7%) 08/2013: Animal Man #23 -- 21,634 (- 5.8%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Animal Man #24 -- 20,554 (- 5.0%) 11/2013: Animal Man #25 -- 19,710 (- 4.1%) 12/2013: Animal Man #26 -- 18,823 (- 4.5%) ---------------- 6 months: -21.1% 1 year : -41.2% 2 years : -55.9%
It ends in March.
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123 - TRINITY OF SIN: PHANTOM STRANGER 12/2012: Phantom Stranger #3 -- 23,378 (- 6.4%) 01/2013: Phantom Stranger #4 -- 19,903 (-14.9%) 02/2013: Phantom Stranger #5 -- 18,032 (- 9.4%) 03/2013: Phantom Stranger #6 -- 17,375 (- 3.6%) 04/2013: Phantom Stranger #7 -- 17,326 (- 0.3%) 05/2013: Phantom Stranger #8 -- 16,269 (- 6.1%) 06/2013: ToS: PS #9 -- 17,241 (+ 6.0%) 07/2013: ToS: PS #10 -- 20,636 (+19.7%) 08/2013: ToS: PS #11 -- 26,986 (+30.8%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: ToS: PS #12 -- 19,732 (-26.9%) 11/2013: ToS: PS #13 -- 17,779 (- 9.9%) 12/2013: ToS: PS #14 -- 18,649 (+ 4.9%) ---------------- 6 months: + 8.2% 1 year : -20.2%
It crosses over.
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127 - SUPERBOY 12/2010: Superboy #2 -- 31,761 12/2011: Superboy #4 -- 40,002 -------------------------------- 12/2012: Superboy #15 -- 27,619 (- 1.4%) 01/2013: Superboy #16 -- 27,110 (- 1.8%) 02/2013: Superboy #17 -- 26,762 (- 1.3%) 03/2013: Superboy #18 -- 24,455 (- 8.6%) 04/2013: Superboy #19 -- 24,211 (- 1.0%) 05/2013: Superboy #20 -- 22,508 (- 7.0%) 06/2013: Superboy #21 -- 20,952 (- 6.9%) 07/2013: Superboy #22 -- 19,984 (- 4.6%) 08/2013: Superboy #23 -- 20,235 (+ 1.3%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Superboy #24 -- 18,341 (- 9.4%) 11/2013: Superboy #25 -- 21,449 (+ 17.0%) 12/2013: Superboy #26 -- 17,690 (- 17.5%) ----------------- 6 months: - 15.6% 1 year : - 36.0% 2 years : - 55.8%
How many rejected second-rate heroes does it take, I wonder?
* * *
128 - BIRDS OF PREY 12/2003: Birds of Prey #62 -- 30,529 12/2008: Birds of Prey #125 -- 20,161 12/2010: Birds of Prey #7 -- 33,114 12/2011: Birds of Prey #4 -- 34,460 ------------------------------------- 12/2012: Birds of Prey #15 -- 24,026 (- 3.5%) 01/2013: Birds of Prey #16 -- 23,182 (- 3.5%) 02/2013: Birds of Prey #17 -- 22,112 (- 4.6%) 03/2013: Birds of Prey #18 -- 21,957 (- 0.7%) 04/2013: Birds of Prey #19 -- 21,707 (- 1.1%) 05/2013: Birds of Prey #20 -- 21,126 (- 2.7%) 06/2013: Birds of Prey #21 -- 20,767 (- 1.7%) 07/2013: Birds of Prey #22 -- 20,209 (- 2.7%) 08/2013: Birds of Prey #23 -- 19,364 (- 4.2%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Birds of Prey #24 -- 18,382 (- 5.1%) 11/2013: Birds of Prey #25 -- 22,751 (+ 23.8%) 12/2013: Birds of Prey #26 -- 17,497 (- 23.1%) ----------------- 6 months: - 15.8% 1 year : - 27.2% 2 years : - 49.2% 5 years : - 13.2% 10 years: - 42.7%
Once imagined by the tremendous Mr. Chuck Dixon as an outlet for the unique adventures of an inspiring wheelchair-bound heroine, which the equally prodigious Ms. Gail Simone further refined into one of the loveliest periodicals of the superhero variety, the BIRDS OF PREY magazine has since been reduced to a dull existence as yet another spin-off, spin-out and spin-away publication.
* * *
131 - TALON 12/2012: Talon #3 -- 35,034 (-15.1%) 01/2013: Talon #4 -- 30,909 (-11.8%) 02/2013: Talon #5 -- 28,003 (- 9.4%) 03/2013: Talon #6 -- 25,440 (- 9.2%) 04/2013: Talon #7 -- 24,045 (- 5.5%) 05/2013: Talon #8 -- 22,710 (- 5.6%) 06/2013: Talon #9 -- 21,755 (- 4.2%) 07/2013: Talon #10 -- 20,296 (- 6.7%) 08/2013: Talon #11 -- 19,449 (- 4.2%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Talon #12 -- 18,218 (- 6.3%) 11/2013: Talon #13 -- 17,218 (- 5.5%) 12/2013: Talon #14 -- 16,373 (- 4.9%) ---------------- 6 months: -24.7% 1 year : -53.3%
It ends in March.
* * *
133 - BATMAN BEYOND UNIVERSE (Digital-First) 12/2012: Unlimited #11 -- 18,089 (- 4.8%) 01/2013: Unlimited #12 -- 17,446 (- 3.6%) 02/2013: Unlimited #13 -- 17,025 (- 2.4%) 03/2013: Unlimited #14 -- 16,456 (- 3.3%) 04/2013: Unlimited #15 -- 16,283 (- 1.1%) 05/2013: Unlimited #16 -- 15,822 (- 2.8%) 06/2013: Unlimited #17 -- 15,464 (- 2.3%) 07/2013: Unlimited #18 -- 15,275 (- 1.2%) 08/2013: Universe #1 -- 23,358 (+52.9%) 09/2013: Universe #2 -- 18,332 (-21.5%) 10/2013: Universe #3 -- 17,658 (- 3.7%) 11/2013: Universe #4 -- 16,889 (- 4.4%) 12/2013: Universe #5 -- 15,857 (- 6.1%) ---------------- 6 months: + 2.5% 1 year : -12.3%
What happens on-line, stays on-line.
* * *
139 - ASTRO CITY (Vertigo) 06/2013: Astro City #1 -- 27,700 07/2013: Astro City #2 -- 20,193 (-27.1%) 08/2013: Astro City #3 -- 18,802 (- 6.9%) 09/2013: Astro City #4 -- 17,641 (- 6.2%) 10/2013: Astro City #5 -- 16,927 (- 4.1%) 11/2013: Astro City #6 -- 16,031 (- 5.3%) 12/2013: Astro City #7 -- 15,360 (- 4.2%) ---------------- 6 months: -44.6%
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
* * *
140 - LARFLEEZE 06/2013: Larfleeze #1 -- 36,638 07/2013: Larfleeze #2 -- 30,221 (-17.5%) 08/2013: Larfleeze #3 -- 21,955 (-27.4%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Larfleeze #4 -- 18,061 (-17.7%) 11/2013: Larfleeze #5 -- 16,157 (-10.5%) 12/2013: Larfleeze #6 -- 15,081 (- 6.7%) ---------------- 6 months: -58.8%
Desperate times, desperate measures.
* * *
143 - HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE 12/2012: He-Man #5 of 6 -- 16,858 (- 3.7%) 01/2013: He-Man #6 of 6 -- 16,441 (- 2.5%) 02/2013: -- 03/2013: -- 04/2013: He-Man #1 -- 25,254 (+53.6%) 05/2013: He-Man #2 -- 19,410 (-23.1%) 06/2013: He-Man #3 -- 18,277 (- 5.8%) 07/2013: He-Man #4 -- 18,101 (- 1.0%) 08/2013: He-Man #5 -- 16,898 (- 6.7%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: He-Man #6 -- 16,294 (- 3.6%) 10/2013: He-Man #7 -- 16,059 (- 1.4%) 11/2013: He-Man #8 -- 15,154 (- 5.6%) 12/2013: He-Man #9 -- 14,465 (- 4.6%) ---------------- 6 months: -20.9% 1 year : -14.2%
What happens in Eternia, stays in Eternia.
* * *
145 - FABLES (Vertigo) 12/2003: Fables #20 -- 25,640 12/2008: Fables #79 -- 22,769 12/2009: Fables #91 -- 20,450 12/2010: Fables #100 -- 23,014 12/2011: Fables #112 -- 17,602 ------------------------------ 12/2012: Fables #124 -- 16,018 (- 1.3%) 01/2013: Fables #125 -- 15,983 (- 0.2%) 02/2013: Fables #126 -- 15,480 (- 3.2%) 03/2013: Fables #127 -- 15,529 (+ 0.3%) 04/2013: Fables #128 -- 15,606 (+ 0.5%) 05/2013: Fables #129 -- 15,380 (- 1.5%) 06/2013: Fables #130 -- 15,129 (- 1.6%) 07/2013: Fables #131 -- 15,109 (- 0.1%) 08/2013: Fables #132 -- 14,893 (- 1.4%) 09/2013: Fables #133 -- 14,639 (- 1.7%) 10/2013: Fables #134 -- 14,575 (- 0.4%) 11/2013: Fables #135 -- 14,383 (- 1.3%) 12/2013: Fables #136 -- 14,220 (- 1.1%) ---------------- 6 months: - 6.0% 1 year : -11.2% 2 years : -19.2% 5 years : -37.6% 10 years: -44.5%
It ends in 2015.
* * *
151 - ALL STAR WESTERN 12/2008: Jonah Hex #38 -- 12,132 12/2009: Jonah Hex #50 -- 15,131 12/2010: Jonah Hex #62 -- 10,899 12/2011: ASW #4 -- 29,349 -------------------------------- 12/2012: ASW #15 -- 19,190 (- 4.9%) 01/2013: ASW #16 -- 18,254 (- 4.9%) 02/2013: ASW #17 -- 17,398 (- 4.7%) 03/2013: ASW #18 -- 16,897 (- 2.9%) 04/2013: ASW #19 -- 16,838 (- 0.4%) 05/2013: ASW #20 -- 16,184 (- 3.9%) 06/2013: ASW #21 -- 15,788 (- 2.5%) 07/2013: ASW #22 -- 15,376 (- 2.6%) 08/2013: ASW #23 -- 15,276 (- 0.7%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: ASW #24 -- 14,378 (- 5.9%) 11/2013: ASW #25 -- 13,937 (- 3.1%) 12/2013: ASW #26 -- 13,440 (- 3.6%) ----------------- 6 months: - 14.9% 1 year : - 30.0% 2 years : - 54.2% 5 years : + 10.8%
What happens in the West, stays in the West.
* * *
157 - SMALLVILLE SEASON 11: ALIEN (Digital-First) 12/2012: Smallville S11 #8 -- 18,633 (- 2.5%) 01/2013: Smallville S11 #9 -- 17,845 (- 4.2%) 02/2013: Smallville S11 #10 -- 17,024 (- 4.6%) 03/2013: Smallville S11 #11 -- 16,502 (- 3.1%) 04/2013: Smallville S11 #12 -- 15,930 (- 3.5%) 05/2013: Smallville S11 #13 -- 15,442 (- 3.1%) 06/2013: Smallville S11 #14 -- 15,097 (- 2.2%) 07/2013: Smallville S11 #15 -- 14,930 (- 1.1%) 08/2013: Smallville S11 #16 -- 14,640 (- 1.9%) 09/2013: Smallville S11 #17 -- 14,153 (- 3.3%) 10/2013: Smallville S11 #18 -- 13,794 (- 2.5%) 11/2013: Smallville S11 #19 -- 13,286 (- 3.7%) 12/2013: Alien #1 of 4 -- 13,019 (- 2.0%) ---------------- 6 months: -13.8% 1 year : -30.1%
What happens on television, stays on television.
* * *
161 - FAIREST (Vertigo) 12/2012: Fairest #10 -- 16,919 (- 2.9%) 01/2013: Fairest #11 -- 16,498 (- 2.5%) 02/2013: Fairest #12 -- 16,141 (- 2.2%) 03/2013: Fairest #13 -- 15,693 (- 2.8%) 04/2013: Fairest #14 -- 15,269 (- 2.7%) 05/2013: Fairest #15 -- 14,959 (- 2.0%) 06/2013: Fairest #16 -- 14,289 (- 4.5%) 07/2013: Fairest #17 -- 13,915 (- 2.6%) 08/2013: Fairest #18 -- 13,511 (- 2.9%) 09/2013: Fairest #19 -- 13,278 (- 1.7%) 10/2013: Fairest #20 -- 13,008 (- 2.0%) 11/2013: -- 12/2013: Fairest #21 -- 12,718 (- 2.2%) ---------------- 6 months: -11.0% 1 year : -24.8%
It ends in 2015.
* * *
163 - TEEN TITANS GO (All-Ages) 12/2013: Teen Titans Go #1 -- 13,577
I tweak, but do not vouch.
* * *
165 - ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN (Digital-First) 05/2013: Adventures of Superman #1 -- 30,992 06/2013: Adventures of Superman #2 -- 22,407 (-27.7%) 07/2013: Adventures of Superman #3 -- 19,453 (-13.2%) 08/2013: Adventures of Superman #4 -- 17,370 (-10.7%) 09/2013: Adventures of Superman #5 -- 16,011 (- 7.8%) 10/2013: Adventures of Superman #6 -- 14,484 (- 9.5%) 11/2013: Adventures of Superman #7 -- 13,140 (- 9.3%) 12/2013: Adventures of Superman #8 -- 12,142 (- 7.5%) ---------------- 6 months: -45.8%
Salmon, it is said, swim upstream. Salmon this most assuredly is not, dear fellow DC Comics acolytes, unless we include the canned, metallic-tasting variety that comes with random fleshy bits of hapless dolphin folk. That one, you must know, rolls downhill.
* * *
173 - COFFIN HILL (Vertigo) 10/2013: Coffin Hill #1 -- 24,129 11/2013: Coffin Hill #2 -- 14,472 (-40.0%) 12/2013: Coffin Hill #3 -- 12,461 (-13.9%)
This new Vertigo magazine of mysteries swiftly approaches those dreaded spheres of the chart where even Vertigo magazines must be mindful not to slip, for each further step can spell certain doom.
* * *
175 - LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT 100 PAGE SUPER SPECTACULAR (Digital First) 12/2013: L. o. t. D. K. S. S. -- 11,091
Lest you were worried that the fine episodes of the eponymous on-line strip would not make it into the print format, here is a legend-sized slap of Caped Crusader for all those of you whose fingers, trees be damned, lust not for touch screens but for a voluptuous glossy-stock experience.
The sweet siren call of this Caxton edition was heeded by a pleasurable number of parchment devotees.
* * *
176 - BATMAN: LI'L GOTHAM (Digital-First) 04/2013: Li'l Gotham #1 -- 27,591 05/2013: Li'l Gotham #2 -- 18,573 (-32.7%) 06/2013: Li'l Gotham #3 -- 18,578 (+ 0.0%) 07/2013: Li'l Gotham #4 -- 21,646 (+16.5%) 08/2013: Li'l Gotham #5 -- 14,696 (-32.1%) 09/2013: Li'l Gotham #6 -- 13,654 (- 7.1%) 10/2013: Li'l Gotham #7 -- 12,919 (- 5.4%) 11/2013: Li'l Gotham #8 -- 12,054 (- 6.7%) 12/2013: Li'l Gotham #9 -- 11,078 (- 8.1%) ---------------- 6 months: -40.4%
What happens in Gotham, stays in Gotham.
* * *
179 - BATWING 12/2011: Batwing #4 -- 26,726 ------------------------------ 12/2012: Batwing #15 -- 14,674 (- 8.1%) 01/2013: Batwing #16 -- 13,427 (- 8.5%) 02/2013: Batwing #17 -- 12,595 (- 6.2%) 03/2013: Batwing #18 -- 12,084 (- 4.1%) 04/2013: Batwing #19 -- 13,570 (+12.3%) 05/2013: Batwing #20 -- 13,302 (- 2.0%) 06/2013: Batwing #21 -- 12,437 (- 6.5%) 07/2013: Batwing #22 -- 12,062 (- 3.0%) 08/2013: Batwing #23 -- 11,584 (- 4.0%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Batwing #24 -- 11,114 (- 4.1%) 11/2013: Batwing #25 -- 16,207 (+45.8%) 12/2013: Batwing #26 -- 10,753 (-33.7%) ---------------- 6 months: -13.5% 1 year : -26.7% 2 years : -59.8%
When I was but a wee lad, a bat crash-landed behind our house, damaging its wings beyond repair. The family cat ate it.
What a calamity.
* * *
183 - HINTERKIND (Vertigo) 10/2013: Hinterkind #1 -- 23,516 11/2013: Hinterkind #2 -- 13,994 (-40.5%) 12/2013: Hinterkind #3 -- 11,777 (-15.8%)
I believe “Hinterkind” is the German word for one child standing in the shadow of another, forever stunted and defined by its sibling’s superior achievements. I do not know in whose shadow HINTERKIND stands, but its swiftly decreasing unit sales give cause for disquietude.
* * *
195 - FBP: FEDERAL BUREAU OF PHYSICS (Vertigo) 07/2013: Collider #1 -- 17,336 08/2013: FBP #2 -- 14,068 (-18.9%) 09/2013: FBP #3 -- 13,977 (- 0.7%) 10/2013: FBP #4 -- 11,600 (-17.0%) 11/2013: FBP #5 -- 10,391 (-10.4%) 12/2013: FBP #6 -- 9,543 (- 8.2%)
I do not believe that FBP is a German word, but the good folks at DC Comics might want to double-check.
* * *
204 - STORMWATCH 12/2003: StormWatch: TA #18 -- 10,964 12/2008: StormWatch: PHD #17 -- 6,468 12/2011: Stormwatch #4 -- 30,987 --------------------------------------- 12/2012: Stormwatch #15 -- 15,437 (- 6.8%) 01/2013: Stormwatch #16 -- 14,411 (- 6.7%) 02/2013: Stormwatch #17 -- 13,657 (- 5.2%) 03/2013: Stormwatch #18 -- 13,255 (- 2.9%) 04/2013: Stormwatch #19 -- 13,626 (+ 2.8%) 05/2013: Stormwatch #20 -- 13,049 (- 4.2%) 06/2013: Stormwatch #21 -- 12,277 (- 5.9%) 07/2013: Stormwatch #22 -- 11,792 (- 4.0%) 08/2013: Stormwatch #23 -- 10,969 (- 7.0%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Stormwatch #24 -- 10,067 (- 8.2%) 11/2013: Stormwatch #25 -- 9,881 (- 1.9%) 12/2013: Stormwatch #26 -- 9,052 (- 8.4%) ----------------- 6 months: - 26.3% 1 year : - 41.4% 2 years : - 70.8% 5 years : + 40.0% 10 years: - 17.4%
It ends in April.
* * *
217 - JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA'S VIBE 02/2013: Vibe #1 -- 27,051 03/2013: Vibe #2 -- 19,092 (-29.4%) 04/2013: Vibe #3 -- 16,972 (-11.1%) 05/2013: Vibe #4 -- 14,970 (-11.8%) 06/2013: Vibe #5 -- 13,706 (- 8.4%) 07/2013: Vibe #6 -- 12,241 (-10.7%) 08/2013: Vibe #7 -- 11,184 (- 8.6%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Vibe #8 -- 10,139 (- 9.3%) 11/2013: Vibe #9 -- 9,387 (- 7.4%) 12/2013: Vibe #10 -- 8,489 (- 9.6%) ---------------- 6 months: -38.1%
It ends now.
* * *
232 - KATANA 02/2013: Katana #1 -- 27,021 03/2013: Katana #2 -- 19,247 (-28.8%) 04/2013: Katana #3 -- 16,157 (-16.1%) 05/2013: Katana #4 -- 14,804 (- 8.4%) 06/2013: Katana #5 -- 12,998 (-12.2%) 07/2013: Katana #6 -- 11,346 (-12.7%) 08/2013: Katana #7 -- 10,386 (- 8.5%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Katana #8 -- 9,392 (- 9.6%) 11/2013: Katana #9 -- 8,542 (- 9.1%) 12/2013: Katana #10 -- 7,856 (- 8.0%) ---------------- 6 months: -39.6%
It ends now.
* * *
233 - BEWARE THE BATMAN (All-Ages) 12/2003: Batman Adventures #9 -- 12,884 12/2009: Brave & Bold #12 -- 6,342 12/2010: All-New BBB #2 -- 6,688 12/2011: All-New BBB #14 -- 6,724 ---------------------------------------- 10/2013: Beware the Batman #1 -- 19,830 11/2013: Beware the Batman #2 -- 10,368 (-47.7%) 12/2013: Beware the Batman #3 -- 8,714 (-16.0%) ----------------- 2 years : + 29.6% 10 years: - 32.4%
What happens in the Batcave, stays in the Batcave.
* * *
250 - THE MOVEMENT 05/2013: The Movement #1 -- 29,246 06/2013: The Movement #2 -- 18,001 (-38.5%) 07/2013: The Movement #3 -- 14,524 (-19.3%) 08/2013: The Movement #4 -- 11,095 (-23.6%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: The Movement #5 -- 9,110 (-17.9%) 11/2013: The Movement #6 -- 7,957 (-12.7%) 12/2013: The Movement #7 -- 7,252 (- 8.9%) ---------------- 6 months: -59.7%
There is a movement here, ’tis true.
* * *
292 - TOM STRONG AND THE PLANET OF PERIL (Vertigo) 06/2010: Robots of Doom #1 of 6 -- 10,552 07/2010: Robots of Doom #2 of 6 -- 7,655 08/2010: Robots of Doom #3 of 6 -- 6,989 09/2010: Robots of Doom #4 of 6 -- 6,661 10/2010: Robots of Doom #5 of 6 -- 6,271 11/2010: Robots of Doom #6 of 6 -- 5,995 ------------------------------------------ 07/2013: Planet of Peril #1 of 6 -- 10,492 08/2013: Planet of Peril #2 of 6 -- 7,593 (-27.6%) 09/2013: Planet of Peril #3 of 6 -- 6,746 (-11.2%) 10/2013: Planet of Peril #4 of 6 -- ? 11/2013: Planet of Peril #5 of 6 -- 5,688 12/2013: Planet of Peril #6 of 6 -- 5,307 (- 6.7%)
What happens in Northanpton, stays in Northampton.
* * *
299/272/246/234 - ESSENTIALS 12/2013: 100 Bullets #1 -- 5,213 12/2013: American Vampire #1 -- 6,014 12/2013: Action Comics #1 -- 7,291 12/2013: Watchmen #1 -- 7,821
An admirable selection of encore editions of paradigm-shifting opuses, yours for a measly dollar. There can be no hesitation, if you do not yet own these masterworks of the American comic culture.
* * *
N/A - GREEN TEAM 05/2013: Green Team #1 -- 27,775 06/2013: Green Team #2 -- 14,328 (-48.4%) 07/2013: Green Team #3 -- 11,220 (-21.7%) 08/2013: Green Team #4 -- 8,493 (-24.3%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Green Team #5 -- ? 11/2013: Green Team #6 -- 5,286 12/2013: Green Team #7 -- ? ---------------- 6 months: -81.0%
It ends in January.
Interim columnist Frans van der Strack is the author of three self-published collections of nature poetry. He lives in the Flemish town of Herzele, Belgium, with his wife, his three dogs and some chickens. He has been an avid DC Comics fan since childhood.
That was… different.
Thank God he isn’t going to be the regular writer.
They got Mr. Scrabble from “The Last Boy Scout” to do this column.
As always an entertaining read, even under new snark! (I found about halfway thru I was “hearing” the commentary as read by Will Ferrel doing his James Lipton impersonation).
Well, I laughed.
That sucked. Any chance to get someone to do the column as objectively as the Marvel one? Or is that just not viable given the stable of writers here?
Genius. Stay on as the regular.
Not sure which is worse- the new 52, or this commentary?
Did I do meth and then read a comics column?
People are complaining? Seriously?
Pearls before swine!
This was inspired stuff… the “Catwoman” entry killed it, and the “Justice League 3000” entry had an actual coda.
Get this guy or gal a column, stat.
Just looking at the numbers, I feel somewhat certain that I’ll outlive the mainstream U.S. comics market.
Sad to see such low numbers on All-Star Western and Larfleeze. Two enjoyable titles. When Larfleeze started, I figured once sales got low enough, we’d start seeing the title involved in what seems to be monthly GL title crossovers. However, sems like that franchise has problems of its own.
And once again, more quality titles, some with decent sales figures, are cancelled, yet Batwing manages to survive yet another month. Does a member of the Batwing creative team have pics of a DC exec with a donkey?
This was the first sales column I read from start to finish in years. Bravo, sir.
Now let us never speak of this again.
Thanks for the numbers and analysis. I do miss having them shown in countdown from lowest to highest selling, somehow that really worked.
I guess Marc-Oliver had one more column in him after all. A thumbing of the nose towards everyone who had pointed out his relentless negative tone?
Yep, for a last one, Marc-Olivier really did great ! :)
You made me spit a mouthful of Whiskey Pig on my iPad when you called Fovever a Evil a “triumph.” Diabolical.
Ouch. (Both for the repeated jokes and the sales numbers)
Would love to have actual sales analysis instead of snarky comments.
Less words, more funny.
Sad to see how far the Green Lantern titles are falling. I can read why though. The current story lines are mostly boring, scattered and average. They tried to introduce a countdown with using the rings leading to death of the universe. The emotional well the rings get energy from can somehow run dry, cause umm I guess sentient beings run out of emotion? but really “because.”
The GL logic of the rings has always been iffy (even though Geoff did a good job will creating an internal logic to it all) but the new countdown would have made more sense to have something killing billions, leading to less emotion in the universe therefore causing the rings, trying to combat the threat, to use up more energy then is feeding back into the emotional well. Which in turns accelerates universal extinction. So the act of trying to save the universe is killing the universe. That could be fun read.
Instead its “using rings bad…um because there is a well and it runs dry.” Sure ring usage has been around for millions of DCU years but now…it really matter now … “because.” So yeah hard to take the series over arching threats seriously so the result is do not take any of the situations seriously so its just boring and average.
Which describes all the of the DCU right now (gives stink-eye to wasted potential of Forever Evil) and explains why so many titles are sinking to new lows. I am guessing this is the consequence of so much editorial chaos. Hard to plan long term when not even the editors can guess what they plan on doing from story arc to arc or even issue to issue. It really does read as random and confusing noise. Only some of the Batman titles seem to have any real plans and the result of that has been strong, consistent sales.
What is exactly “new low”? Many titles are having higher sales than they did 5-10 years ago. Even your mentioned Green Lantern is selling more than it did 10 years ago while titles like Red Lantern, orange lantern whose name I always forgot, New Guardians and upcoming Sinesto didn’t exist.
“Many titles are having higher sales than they did 5-10 years ago.” –HsssH
“Just looking at the numbers, I feel somewhat certain that I’ll outlive the mainstream U.S. comics market.” –Adam
Although I agree with HsssH that sales numbers are doing better for a lot of titles than a decade ago….and I believe they hover around this range for a couple more decades, I have to feel as Adam does that the market for comic books may not outlive me.
Reading some of the harsher comments here, I really think some people should show more respect to the nice staff here at The Beat working almost for free.
I’m a littlle suprised that the DC comics presents soft collection have been transferred since many months to the Paperback sales section.
Hunh. I always wondered what The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen would seem like after a debilitating stroke. Now I know. (j/k)
Looking forward to the one written in pirate-speak. :)
These DC numbers, outside of the Superman and Batman titles, are atrocious. How much more bloodletting is WB gonna allow before they shut the whole thing down?
I love watching the bleeding out of the awful nu52…
@Snikt Snakt – those numbers are still better than they were before the new52.
Mark me down for wanting an actual objective analysis. Where someone can point out where DC might be making errors without making it sound like DC is a bunch of assholes.
Wow — 7,252 copies of The Movement #7 — and there are 5 more issues to go? I will be curious to see if this drops off the chart entirely before issue #12.
And, I still can’t fathom why Birds of Prey is still pulling the numbers it is. Christy Marx has not done anything interesting (IMO) with that book and the cross-over with Gothtopia has pretty much killed my interest in the book.
“@Snikt Snakt – those numbers are still better than they were before the new52.”
Give it time, there’s nowhere those numbers can go but DOWN…
I’d pay $2.99 for this monthly assessment before I’d pay for most titles on this list. That,DC, is your main problem..
What’s next in the experiment? New52 Sandman Team-up? Rocket Red and the Red Brigade? World’s Finest: G’nort and L-Ron solicited with Giffen and McGuire and then sacking the team?
Silly but True
“I’d pay $2.99 for this monthly assessment before I’d pay for most titles on this list. That,DC, is your main problem..”
Agreed. DC’s pool of book I’m interested in is shallower than it’s ever been for me. And that’s including the late 90s.
“.. book I’m interested in is shallower than it’s ever been for me.”
Redundantly written but m concentration was on the gold medal curling match.
I find DC’s handling of Justice League of America baffling. They launched to strong numbers with an A-list creative team. The book seemed like a solid hit. Then, post Trinity War, they seemed to not know what to do with it. They completely abandoned most of the primary cast and storylines, swapped in a relatively unknown writer, then proceeded to tell what feels like an extended fill-in run starring two b-list characters (Martian Manhunter and Star Girl). Is it any wonder the sales have plummeted and they’re rebooting already? Seems like they had a winner on their hands – can’t help but wonder what they were thinking.
I would appreciate less wit (or “wit”) and more straight-forward and helpful commentary. I went through this list to see how my two DC favorites are doing, or were doing – Tom Strong and Astro City. I see the numbers but don’t have enough experience to look past the jokes, such as they are, and feel that I have a real handle on what the numbers mean. I’d like to know, and I thought this article, on this website, would at least make some educated guesses. I understand that there’s a lot of fluidity to such guesswork at the best of times, and that there are dynamics affecting publishing beyond the sales charts. Some of that is showing up in the comments…
Still, for the record, here are my questions. From these sales figures, is it likely that Tom Strong will merit a third miniseries? And is Astro City doing well enough to continue?
These numbers are remarkably close to pre-New 52 numbers. What’s the next sales trick to pop a bubble, Big 2?
If comments are the measure of a column, this reboot was a success.
@Snikt Snakt – yes, they pretty much always do. It’s the nature of the business. Reboots and jumping-on points are the only things keeping it alive.
just for the record- ²Hinterkind” sounds as ominous in german as “Backside Kid” would in English- But still better german than anything Nightcrawler ever said.
Agreed. DC’s pool of book I’m interested in is shallower than it’s ever been for me. And that’s including the late 90s.
————————————————————————————————
Funny, I could say the exact same thing about Marvel these days.
Shocking to see these DC numbers, most seem to be less than 30K and going down. Perhaps the New 52 has had its time.
I hope Hinterkind and Coffin Hill make it (excellent books), that Vertigo is operating a different model under Hank Kanalz. Esp as there’s a few Vertigo titles being adapted for TV which means they must care about the imprint. I hope Vertigo will survive.
It is sad statement that ‘survival’ is the word most used to discuss anything DC.
I just got over a case of Larfleez. Had to call in sick to work for a week.
The number of people taking pleasure for falling sales is sick.
Do you guys hang around graveyards and cheer when a new body is interred?
When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea.
@Skottie – Can’t speak for everyone else, but I’m not cheering falling sales. I am cheering for regime change at DC.
I want a healthy industry where a variety of content is available that appeals to multiple different age groups – not just one type of content. DC has, and can, do better. I’ve voted by sending all of my dollars elsewhere (IDW and Image for example), and I check these columns to see if others are doing the same.
That said, I hope the flowery commentary was a joke! I miss the snark and matter-of-fact commentary, that was fun.
You had me at “Fill it’s belly with stones, push it down the well”.
“I want a healthy industry”
No you don’t. You want an industry that caters to your specific tastes. Grow up and/or move on.
I enjoy the snark in the column. Potshots at DC are well-deserved. They earned a lot of publicity with the New 52 relaunch, but couldn’t deliver a decent product that capitalized on that publicity. They deserve the failure they’re earning every month.
I don’t want to see DC fail, but I must admit some satisfaction at watching the New 52 go down the drain.
Comments are closed.