September was business as usual for DC Comics’ periodical sales, as… oh, wait.
The “New 52” project, a relaunch of its complete superhero line via 52 #1 issues, made September 2011 a record-breaking month for DC Comics — and a joyously eventful one for the people watching their sales. It’s not often that publishers attempt something on this scale, unfortunately, so it’s nice not to come up with 52 different ways of expressing that sales have mostly been going down, for a change. It’s a little bit like that myth about Eskimos and the words they have for snow.
Anyway: The average DC comic book sold an estimated 57,224 units in September, the average DC Universe comic book a whopping 67,411 units. That’s more than double what it was in August for both, as well as more than in any previous month since sole distributor Diamond started releasing information on actual sales to specialty retailers in March 2003. The month that comes closest is May 2006, when DC’s line-wide “One Year Later” initiative kicked off, with 44,554 (DC total) and 59,505 (DC Universe) units, respectively.
And, while we’re breaking records: May 2006 was also the only previous time when the total dollar value of DC’s periodical comic books exceeded 10 million, with an estimated $10,157,965. In September 2011, the amount was $10.9 million for DC total and $10.5 million for the DC Universe line, which never broke the 10-million mark on its own before. (Average cover prices were about the same, by the way: $3.05 for DC total and $3.04 for DC Universe in 2006, and vice versa in 2011.)
In terms of the estimated total number of copies shifted, it’s a closer shave, but September 2011 still wins versus the previous record month, which, again, was May 2006. That month, the publisher sold an estimated 3.4 million books total, 3.0 million of which DC Universe comic books. In September 2011, it was 3.6 million DC comic books, of which 3.4 were DC Universe titles.
Incidentally, as you may guess from reading the introduction, we’ll be coming back to the year 2006 a few more times in the comparisons below. For now, let’s just say September was a really good month for DC and the DC Universe line in particular.
DC’s Vertigo imprint didn’t set any records in September, meanwhile, but dropped below the 10K mark again for the first time since November 2010.
A procedural note: The fact that 41 of the “New 52” titles below are listed with higher numbers than over at ICv2.com is not an error. It’s because Diamond only reported 90% of their sales on the chart, to compensate for the fact that they were made returnable by DC if retailers met a specific sales quota. Since Diamond’s way of accounting for the incentive seems fairly arbitrary, I’ve re-added the missing 10% for those books to get a more accurate picture. Just keep in mind that those numbers probably wouldn’t have been as high if retailers weren’t required to meet a certain threshold to qualify for returnability. It’s just one more gimmick that publishers use — the other 11 “New 52” titles were promoted through variant-cover editions and special discounts, for instance, and Marvel uses its own share of sales-boosting incentives.
Finally, a special thanks to John Jackson Miller for pointing out that Diamond indeed only took off 10% for returnability in September, as opposed to 20%, as they did in previous cases. If you’re interested in comic-book sales, by the way, check out Miller’s Web site, <em>The Comics Chronicles</em> — it’s an essential resource for anyone dealing with these numbers, stuffed with sales data and context going back decades.
See below for the details, and please consider the small print at the end of the column. Thanks to Milton Griepp and ICv2.com for the permission to use their figures. An overview of ICv2.com‘s estimates can be found here.
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1 - BATMAN 09/2006: Batman #657 -- 91,357 [ 96,127] 09/2007: Batman #669 -- 73,471 09/2008: -- 09/2009: Batman #690 -- 77,001 ------------------------------- 09/2010: Batman #703 -- 77,033 (+ 4.9%) 10/2010: -- 11/2010: Batman #704 -- 65,212 (- 15.4%) 12/2010: Batman #705 -- 63,262 (- 3.0%) 01/2011: Batman #706 -- 60,231 (- 4.8%) 02/2011: Batman #707 -- 58,803 (- 2.4%) 03/2011: Batman #708 -- 58,594 (- 0.4%) 04/2011: Batman #709 -- 56,578 (- 3.4%) 05/2011: Batman #710 -- 55,086 (- 2.6%) 06/2011: Batman #711 -- 53,113 (- 3.6%) 07/2011: Batman #712 -- 51,385 (- 3.3%) 08/2011: Batman #713 -- 51,760 (+ 0.7%) 09/2011: Batman #1 -- 188,420 (+264.0%) ----------------- 6 months: +221.6% 1 year : +144.6% 2 years : +144.7% 5 years : +106.3%
Perhaps surprisingly, Grant Morrison’s Action Comics did not take the top spot in the chart, but Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s Batman relaunch. Even more surprisingly, it also beats last August’s Justice League #1 by about 3,000 units.
In retrospect, it makes sense, though, given the recent success of the property in film and videogames, the good reception of Scott Snyder’s American Vampire and Detective Comics and, maybe, Greg Capullo’s draw as a major artist of the 1990s who hasn’t done any work for DC, to date.
According to ICv2.com‘s estimates, these are the highest first-month sales for Batman since September 2003, when Batman #619, the conclusion of Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee’s “Hush” storyline, sold an estimated 233,775 units. (The total count for that issue, including all reorders that made the chart in subsequent months, ended up being 308,945.) If you look at other titles published since March 2003, 188K is still very good, but nowhere near record-breaking. See last month’s column for a run-down of the best-selling comics of the period covered by our current estimates.
So, ultimately, the September numbers further support the notion that, rather than to kick-start the direct market by bringing in huge crowds of people that have never set foot in a comics store before, DC mobilized the full potential of the market as it stands, in a way that hasn’t been managed since 2006. Which is still a great success, of course, given the economic situation and the sales erosion of the last couple of years.
By the way: Batman #1 was promoted with a 1:25 variant-cover edition and a 1:200 variant-cover edition, as were Justice League #1, Action Comics #1, Green Lantern #1 and Flash #1. The special discount mentioned in the introduction, which also required retailers to meet a certain quota, applies to Batwoman #1, Green Lantern: New Guardians #1, Stormwatch #1, Swamp Thing #1, Teen Titans #1 and Wonder Woman #1, meanwhile. I’ll just mention them here, so keep in mind that these promotional initiatives are likely to have affected the numbers of those books. Whether it affected them more than the thresholds for returnability reflected the other 41 titles or less so, we have no way of knowing.
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2 - ACTION COMICS 09/2006: Action Comics #843 -- 56,084 09/2007: -- 09/2008: Action Comics #869 -- 49,597 09/2009: Action Comics #881 -- 36,183 -------------------------------------- 09/2010: Action Comics #893 -- 33,948 (- 6.7%) 10/2010: Action Comics #894 -- 42,291 (+ 24.6%) 11/2010: Action Comics #895 -- 33,089 (- 21.8%) 12/2010: Action Comics #896 -- 32,357 (- 2.2%) 01/2011: Action Comics #897 -- 32,134 (- 0.7%) 02/2011: Action Comics #898 -- 31,935 (- 0.6%) 03/2011: Action Comics #899 -- 31,808 (- 0.4%) 04/2011: Action Comics #900 -- 60,152 (+ 89.1%) [73,004] 05/2011: Action Comics #901 -- 44,143 (- 26.6%) 06/2011: Action Comics #902 -- 41,960 (- 5.0%) 07/2011: Action Comics #903 -- 40,205 (- 4.2%) 08/2011: Action Comics #904 -- 39,323 (- 2.2%) 09/2011: Action Comics #1 -- 182,748 (+364.7%) ----------------- 6 months: +474.5% 1 year : +438.3% 2 years : +405.1% 5 years : +225.9%
Grant Morrison and Rags Morales reinvent Superman with the book’s highest recorded sales since Diamond started reporting actual numbers in March 2003. The issue that held the record until now was Action Comics #844, the start of the Johns/Donner/Kubert run, which had estimated first-month numbers of 78,869 in October 2006.
It’s not unusual for Morrison’s major projects to hit 100K+ sales levels, of course, but a book that shifts 180K in its first month is a record even for him, in the period covered by these estimates. So far, the closest he came was with 52 #1, which moved an estimated 176,214 units in May 2006, and All Star Superman #1, which sold 170,802 copies in November 2005.
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3 - GREEN LANTERN 09/2006: Green Lantern #13 -- 78,101 09/2007: Green Lantern #23 -- 79,084 [82,168] 09/2008: Green Lantern #34 -- 63,825 09/2009: Green Lantern #46 -- 103,666 -------------------------------------- 09/2010: Green Lantern #57 -- 85,179 (+ 1.2%) 10/2010: Green Lantern #58 -- 81,626 (- 4.2%) 11/2010: Green Lantern #59 -- 76,173 (- 6.7%) 12/2010: Green Lantern #60 -- 76,360 (+ 0.3%) 12/2010: Green Lantern #61 -- 72,203 (- 5.4%) 01/2011: -- 02/2011: Green Lantern #62 -- 71,517 (- 1.0%) 03/2011: Green Lantern #63 -- 75,632 (+ 5.8%) 03/2011: Green Lantern #64 -- 76,898 (+ 1.7%) 04/2011: Green Lantern #65 -- 75,780 (- 1.5%) 05/2011: Green Lantern #66 -- 75,371 (- 0.5%) 06/2011: -- 07/2011: Green Lantern #67 -- 74,521 (- 1.1%) 08/2011: -- 09/2011: Green Lantern #1 -- 141,682 (+90.1%) ----------------- 6 months: + 85.8% 1 year : + 66.3% 2 years : + 36.7% 5 years : + 81.4%
Green Lantern and its spin-off titles were already doing perfectly well before the relaunch, so it’s only natural that the increases aren’t entirely as explosive here as in some other cases.
Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke’s new debut issue is the best-selling one since Green Lantern #1 from May 2005, also written by Johns, which sold an estimated 168,353 in its first month and has recorded total sales of 180,483.
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4 - THE FLASH 09/2006: Flash: FMA #4 -- 66,663 09/2007: Flash #232 -- 56,969 09/2008: Flash #244 -- 29,180 09/2009: -- ----------------------------------- 09/2010: Flash #5 -- 62,063 (- 4.3%) 10/2010: -- 11/2010: Flash #6 -- 57,673 (- 7.1%) 12/2010: Flash #7 -- 56,304 (- 2.4%) 12/2010: Flash #8 -- 53,975 (- 4.1%) 01/2011: -- 02/2011: Flash #9 -- 55,980 (+ 3.7%) 03/2011: -- 04/2011: Flash #10 -- 54,953 (- 1.8%) 04/2011: Flash #11 -- 54,633 (- 0.6%) 05/2011: Flash #12 -- 54,914 (+ 0.5%) 06/2011: -- 07/2011: -- 08/2011: -- 09/2010: Flash #1 -- 129,260 (+135.4%) ----------------- 6 months: n.a. 1 year : +108.3% 2 years : n.a. 5 years : + 93.9%
The creative team of Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato turn in the second record-breaking launch of the month.
To date, the best-selling recorded issues of Flash were the previous relaunch debuts of the last few years: The Flash #1 (April 2010, 100,903 units), The Flash: Rebirth #1 (April 2009, 102,429), All Flash #1 (July 2007, 98,694) and Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #1 (June 2006, 120,404).
The new relaunch beats all of those quite handsomely and puts the Flash next to Batman, Superman and Green Lantern, as far as DC’s most popular comics properties are concerned. The rest of the Top 10 is filled out with another Superman book and three more Batman titles.
Considering that Geoff Johns — maybe the most popular Flash creator of the last 10 years and certainly one of the three most popular writers in superhero comics right now — is nowhere in sight here, that’s quite a good number for the “New 52” relaunch.
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5 - SUPERMAN 09/2006: Superman #656 -- 64,288 09/2007: Superman #667 -- 48,608 09/2008: Superman #680 -- 46,585 09/2009: Superman #692 -- 37,695 --------------------------------- 09/2010: -- 10/2010: Superman #703 -- 50,460 (+ 0.9%) 10/2010: Superman #704 -- 46,741 (- 7.4%) 11/2010: Superman #705 -- 46,261 (- 1.0%) 12/2010: Superman #706 -- 43,027 (- 7.0%) 01/2011: Superman #707 -- 41,843 (- 2.8%) 02/2011: Superman #708 -- 40,639 (- 2.9%) 03/2011: Superman #709 -- 39,846 (- 2.0%) 04/2011: Superman #710 -- 39,644 (- 0.5%) 05/2011: Superman #711 -- 38,471 (- 3.0%) 06/2011: Superman #712 -- 37,362 (- 2.9%) 07/2011: Superman #713 -- 36,646 (- 1.9%) 08/2011: Superman #714 -- 35,919 (- 2.0%) 09/2011: Superman #1 -- 131,529 (+266.2%) ----------------- 6 months: +230.1% 1 year : n.a. 2 years : +248.9% 5 years : +104.6%
It’s been a while since Superman sold this well — issues #204 through #207, to be specific, which sold between 231,411 and 138,984 units in their first calendar months in 2004 (there was a numbering change in-between, before you ask). Those were the first four issues of the Jeph Loeb/Jim Lee run, though, so I’d say George Pérez and Jesús Merino are off to a good start.
But of course — and this goes for most of the books below as well — it’s premature to draw conclusions on the performance of individual books, at this juncture. We’ll have to wait another few months until sales to retailers reflect what’s really going on out there with any given series, presumably.
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6 - DETECTIVE COMICS 09/2006: Detective Comics #823 -- 64,215 09/2007: Detective Comics #836 -- 49,475 09/2008: Detective Comics #848 -- 68,306 09/2009: Detective Comics #857 -- 57,063 ----------------------------------------- 09/2010: Detective Comics #869 -- 37,394 (- 3.3%) 10/2010: Detective Comics #870 -- 35,674 (- 4.6%) 11/2010: Detective Comics #871 -- 36,941 (+ 3.6%) 12/2010: Detective Comics #872 -- 37,961 (+ 2.8%) [39,758] 01/2011: Detective Comics #873 -- 38,417 (+ 1.2%) 02/2011: Detective Comics #874 -- 39,106 (+ 1.8%) 03/2011: Detective Comics #875 -- 40,047 (+ 2.4%) 04/2011: Detective Comics #876 -- 40,133 (+ 0.2%) 05/2011: Detective Comics #877 -- 39,609 (- 1.3%) 06/2011: Detective Comics #878 -- 39,152 (- 1.2%) 07/2011: Detective Comics #879 -- 39,185 (+ 0.1%) 07/2011: Detective Comics #880 -- 38,585 (- 1.5%) 08/2011: Detective Comics #881 -- 39,729 (+ 3.0%) 09/2011: Detective Comics #1 -- 114,880 (+189.2%) ----------------- 6 months: +186.9% 1 year : +207.2% 2 years : +101.3% 5 years : + 78.9%
Tony Daniel, who’d been steering Batman for the last couple of years, takes over the character’s original title with the book’s highest sales to date. The previous record holder was issue #853, the second part of Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert’s “Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?” story, which sold 104,107 copies in April 2009.
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7 - BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT 12/2010: Dark Knight #1 -- 89,985 [92,791] 01/2011: -- 02/2011: -- 03/2011: Dark Knight #2 -- 71,108 (- 21.0%) 04/2011: -- 05/2011: -- 06/2011: -- 07/2011: Dark Knight #3 -- 62,792 (- 11.7%) 07/2011: Dark Knight #4 -- 57,333 (- 8.7%) 08/2011: Dark Knight #5 -- 52,908 (- 7.7%) 09/2011: Dark Knight #1 -- 109,321 (+106.6%) ----------------- 6 months: + 53.7%
David Finch and his last-minute co-writer Paul Jenkins beat the debut of the book’s last incarnation.
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10 - BATMAN AND ROBIN 09/2009: Batman and Robin #4 -- 106,925 ---------------------------------------- 09/2010: Batman and Robin #14 -- 82,894 (- 3.4%) 10/2010: Batman and Robin #15 -- 80,173 (- 3.3%) 11/2010: Batman and Robin #16 -- 80,343 (+ 0.2%) 11/2010: Batman and Robin #17 -- 70,600 (-12.1%) 12/2010: Batman and Robin #18 -- 68,814 (- 2.5%) 01/2011: Batman and Robin #19 -- 61,785 (-10.2%) 02/2011: Batman and Robin #20 -- 60,642 (- 1.9%) 03/2011: Batman and Robin #21 -- 59,818 (- 1.4%) 04/2011: Batman and Robin #22 -- 59,076 (- 1.2%) 05/2011: Batman and Robin #23 -- 57,525 (- 2.6%) 06/2011: Batman and Robin #24 -- 54,984 (- 4.4%) 07/2011: Batman and Robin #25 -- 55,172 (+ 0.3%) 08/2011: Batman and Robin #26 -- 52,704 (- 4.5%) 09/2011: Batman and Robin #1 -- 94,713 (+79.7%) ---------------- 6 months: +58.3% 1 year : +14.3% 2 years : -11.4%
Well, it’s the highest sales for Batman and Robin since issue #6 from November 2009. So no record-breaking here.
Still, it’s worth noting that all four Batman titles (and both Superman ones) made the Top 10. So if there was any question whether retailers were going to gravitate towards known quantities when placing their orders, this should settle it.
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11 - GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS 09/2010: Emerald Warriors #2 -- 56,289 (-17.6%) 10/2010: Emerald Warriors #3 -- 50,490 (-10.3%) 11/2010: Emerald Warriors #4 -- 46,319 (- 8.3%) 12/2010: Emerald Warriors #5 -- 44,077 (- 4.8%) 01/2011: Emerald Warriors #6 -- 43,471 (- 1.4%) 02/2011: Emerald Warriors #7 -- 44,828 (+ 3.1%) 03/2011: Emerald Warriors #8 -- 51,322 (+14.5%) [54,110] 04/2011: Emerald Warriors #9 -- 51,784 (+ 0.5%) 05/2011: Emerald Warriors #10 -- 52,971 (+ 2.3%) 06/2011: Emerald Warriors #11 -- 53,927 (+ 1.8%) 07/2011: Emerald Warriors #12 -- 48,087 (-10.8%) 08/2011: Emerald Warriors #13 -- 44,228 (- 8.0%) 09/2011: New Guardians #1 -- 84,033 (+90.0%) ---------------- 6 months: +63.7% 1 year : +49.3%
This one’s by the creative team that did Green Lantern Corps until August. The book’s predecessor Emerald Warriors debuted with first-month sales of 68,332 in August 2010, so this is a very good number.
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12 - BATGIRL 09/2008: Batgirl #3 of 6 -- 24,932 09/2009: Batgirl #2 -- 40,626 ---------------------------------- 09/2010: Batgirl #14 -- 26,861 (- 1.4%) 10/2010: -- 11/2010: Batgirl #15 -- 25,827 (- 3.9%) 12/2010: Batgirl #16 -- 25,225 (- 2.3%) 01/2011: Batgirl #17 -- 25,189 (- 0.1%) 02/2011: Batgirl #18 -- 24,390 (- 3.2%) 03/2011: Batgirl #19 -- 24,821 (+ 1.8%) 04/2011: Batgirl #20 -- 24,310 (- 2.1%) 05/2011: Batgirl #21 -- 24,043 (- 1.1%) 06/2011: Batgirl #22 -- 23,323 (- 3.0%) 07/2011: Batgirl #23 -- 22,619 (- 3.0%) 08/2011: Batgirl #24 -- 22,695 (+ 0.3%) 09/2011: Batgirl #1 -- 90,543 (+299.0%) ----------------- 6 months: +264.8% 1 year : +237.1% 2 years : +122.9%
The combination of writer Gail Simone and getting the Barbara Gordon character back in the leading role seems to have convinced retailers to order way, way more copies of Batgirl than in any previous recorded month. The last relaunch sold an estimated 51,724 units with its debut issue in August 2009.
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13 - WONDER WOMAN 09/2006: -- 09/2007: -- 09/2008: Wonder Woman #24 -- 34,583 09/2009: Wonder Woman #36 -- 28,806 ------------------------------------- 09/2010: Wonder Woman #603 -- 38,852 (+ 2.2%) 10/2010: Wonder Woman #604 -- 37,405 (- 3.7%) 11/2010: -- 12/2010: Wonder Woman #605 -- 35,495 (- 5.1%) 01/2011: Wonder Woman #606 -- 33,601 (- 5.3%) 02/2011: Wonder Woman #607 -- 33,053 (- 1.6%) 03/2011: Wonder Woman #608 -- 32,540 (- 1.6%) 03/2011: Wonder Woman #609 -- 31,421 (- 3.4%) 04/2011: Wonder Woman #610 -- 31,002 (- 1.3%) 05/2011: -- 06/2011: Wonder Woman #611 -- 30,874 (- 0.4%) 06/2011: Wonder Woman #612 -- 30,690 (- 0.6%) 07/2011: Wonder Woman #613 -- 29,720 (- 3.2%) 08/2011: Wonder Woman #614 -- 29,223 (- 1.7%) 09/2011: Wonder Woman #1 -- 76,214 (+160.8%) ----------------- 6 months: +138.3% 1 year : + 96.2% 2 years : +164.6% 5 years : n.a.
Measured against the pre-publication hype Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang’s Wonder Woman relaunch received, this number isn’t all that impressive — and certainly not measured against DC’s treatment of the character as one of the company’s “big three” heroes along with Superman and Batman.
In the context of estimates recorded since March 2003, for that matter, the new debut is only the fourth-best-selling Wonder Woman book. The top three spots are taken by the first three issues of the 2006 relaunch, which sold between 132,580 and 76,998 units.
So, clearly, it’s still the guys who are wearing the pants at DC.
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14 - GREEN LANTERN CORPS 09/2006: Green Lantern Corps #4 -- 46,619 09/2007: -- 09/2008: Green Lantern Corps #28 -- 44,939 09/2009: Green Lantern Corps #40 -- 83,112 ------------------------------------------ 09/2010: Green Lantern Corps #52 -- 63,577 (- 5.3%) 10/2010: Green Lantern Corps #53 -- 60,808 (- 4.4%) 11/2010: Green Lantern Corps #54 -- 57,448 (- 5.5%) 12/2010: Green Lantern Corps #55 -- 54,387 (- 5.3%) 01/2011: Green Lantern Corps #56 -- 53,646 (- 1.4%) 02/2011: Green Lantern Corps #57 -- 52,770 (- 1.6%) 03/2011: Green Lantern Corps #58 -- 60,100 (+13.9%) 04/2011: Green Lantern Corps #59 -- 60,162 (+ 0.1%) 05/2011: Green Lantern Corps #60 -- 60,964 (+ 1.3%) 06/2011: -- 07/2011: Green Lantern Corps #61 -- 60,836 (- 0.2%) 07/2011: Green Lantern Corps #62 -- 57,928 (- 4.8%) 08/2011: Green Lantern Corps #63 -- 53,372 (- 7.9%) 09/2011: Green Lantern Corps #1 -- 83,077 (+55.7%) ---------------- 6 months: +38.2% 1 year : +30.7% 2 years : - 0.0% 5 years : +78.2%
As I say above, the Green Lantern franchise was already doing very well, so the fact that the relaunch only gets Green Lantern Corps numbers back to the level of the Blackest Night tie-in issues from two years ago isn’t necessarily a surprise. It’s still a big number for a Green Lantern spin-off.
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15 - TEEN TITANS 09/2006: Teen Titans #39 -- 65,969 09/2007: Teen Titans #51 -- 57,851 09/2008: Teen Titans #63 -- 41,790 09/2009: Teen Titans #75 -- 32,808 ----------------------------------- 09/2010: Teen Titans #87 -- 23,259 (- 6.9%) 10/2010: Teen Titans #88 -- 27,637 (+ 18.8%) 11/2010: Teen Titans #89 -- 26,444 (- 4.3%) 12/2010: Teen Titans #90 -- 25,997 (- 1.7%) 01/2011: Teen Titans #91 -- 25,443 (- 2.1%) 02/2011: Teen Titans #92 -- 26,170 (+ 2.9%) 03/2011: Teen Titans #93 -- 24,957 (- 4.6%) 04/2011: Teen Titans #94 -- 25,187 (+ 0.9%) 05/2011: Teen Titans #95 -- 24,738 (- 1.8%) 06/2011: Teen Titans #96 -- 23,849 (- 3.6%) 07/2011: Teen Titans #97 -- 23,138 (- 3.0%) 07/2011: Teen Titans #98 -- 23,095 (- 0.2%) 08/2011: Teen Titans #99 -- 23,756 (+ 2.9%) 08/2011: Teen Titans #100 -- 27,459 (+ 15.6%) 09/2011: Teen Titans #1 -- 73,675 (+168.3%) ----------------- 6 months: +195.2% 1 year : +216.8% 2 years : +124.6% 5 years : + 11.7%
Scott Lobdell and Brett Booth restore Teen Titans sales to the glory days of, ah, 2006.
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16 - AQUAMAN 09/2011: Aquaman #1 -- 80,302
That’s a great number for Aquaman, certainly, even considering the book is by the creative team of Blackest Night.
The last Aquaman title ran for 39 issues from 2002 through 2006. Between #4 (the first one covered by current estimates) and #39, its numbers dropped from 36,908 to 18,326 units. The debut issue had initial orders of 45,112, which would presumably place its actual first-month sales around the 50K mark.
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17 - BATWOMAN 11/2010: Batwoman #0 -- 43,891 -------------------------------- 09/2011: Batwoman #1 -- 72,228 (+64.6%)
The first issue of the Rucka/Williams “Batgirl” stint in Detective Comics sold an estimated 72,808 units in June 2009, so it seems clear what retailers used as a reference point for the new series.
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19 - RED LANTERNS 09/2011: Red Lanterns #1 -- 73,940
The latest Green Lantern spin-off is the fourth book in the franchise, if you’re keeping count, so sales of 70K+ are rather good.
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20 - JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK 06/2011: FP: Secret Seven #1 of 3 -- 33,069 07/2011: FP: Secret Seven #2 of 3 -- 25,745 (- 22.2%) 08/2011: FP: Secret Seven #3 of 3 -- 23,747 (- 7.8%) 09/2011: Justice League Dark #1 -- 69,840 (+194.1%)
Peter Milligan and Mikel Janin do a Vertigo-styled Justice League spin-off.
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21 - NIGHTWING 09/2006: Nightwing #124 -- 38,251 09/2007: Nightwing #136 -- 29,256 09/2008: Nightwing #148 -- 53,210 --------------------------------- 09/2011: Nightwing #1 -- 69,686 ----------------- 5 years : + 82.2%
These are the book’s highest sales by about 20,000 units in the batch of estimates dating back to 2003. Evidently, Nightwing’s stint as Batman convinced retailers to up their orders for the relaunch.
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24 - JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL 09/2011: Justice League International #1 -- 67,866
The lower-selling of the two Justice League spin-off books by about 2,000 copies.
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28 - GREEN ARROW 09/2006: Green Arrow #66 -- 33,793 09/2007: Year One #5 of 6 -- 31,504 09/2008: Arrow/Canary #12 -- 27,896 09/2009: Arrow&Canary #24 -- 18,780 ----------------------------------- 09/2010: Green Arrow #4 -- 44,220 (- 4.5%) 10/2010: Green Arrow #5 -- 42,188 (- 4.6%) 11/2010: Green Arrow #6 -- 39,575 (- 6.2%) 12/2010: Green Arrow #7 -- 36,835 (- 6.9%) 01/2011: Green Arrow #8 -- 35,307 (- 4.2%) 02/2011: Green Arrow #9 -- 33,922 (- 3.9%) 03/2011: Green Arrow #10 -- 33,085 (- 2.5%) 04/2011: Green Arrow #11 -- 32,669 (- 1.3%) 05/2011: Green Arrow #12 -- 31,742 (- 2.8%) 06/2011: Green Arrow #13 -- 27,552 (- 13.2%) 07/2011: Green Arrow #14 -- 25,568 (- 7.2%) 08/2011: Green Arrow #15 -- 23,883 (- 6.6%) 09/2011: Green Arrow #1 -- 61,680 (+158.3%) ----------------- 6 months: + 86.7% 1 year : + 39.5% 2 years : +228.4% 5 years : + 82.5%
The July 2007 relaunch sold an estimated 52,183 units, the June 2010 one managed 54,400, and now the book hits 61,680, its highest sales in the period since March 2003. Diminishing returns don’t seem to be an issue for Green Arrow. Maybe they should do a relaunch.
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24 - SWAMP THING 09/2011: Swamp Thing #1 -- 54,757
Scott Snyder and Yanick Paquette return the character to the DC Universe proper. The last Swamp Thing title at Vertigo launched with an estimated 33,382 units in March 2004 and was cancelled in August 2006, with sales of 7,448 for the final issue, #29.
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31 - SUPERGIRL 09/2006: Supergirl #10 -- 67,358 09/2007: Supergirl #21 -- 44,656 09/2008: Supergirl #33 -- 27,609 09/2009: Supergirl #45 -- 32,240 --------------------------------- 09/2010: Supergirl #56 -- 25,034 (- 3.3%) 10/2010: Supergirl #57 -- 23,842 (- 4.8%) 11/2010: Supergirl #58 -- 25,412 (+ 6.6%) 12/2010: Supergirl #59 -- 22,606 (- 11.0%) 01/2011: Supergirl #60 -- 22,568 (- 0.2%) 02/2011: Supergirl #61 -- 22,048 (- 2.3%) 03/2011: Supergirl #62 -- 21,786 (- 1.2%) 04/2011: Supergirl #63 -- 21,598 (- 0.9%) 05/2011: Supergirl #64 -- 21,411 (- 0.9%) 06/2011: Supergirl #65 -- 20,985 (- 2.0%) 07/2011: Supergirl #66 -- 20,001 (- 4.7%) 08/2011: Supergirl #67 -- 19,764 (- 1.2%) 09/2011: Supergirl #1 -- 60,058 (+203.9%) ----------------- 6 months: +175.7% 1 year : +139.9% 2 years : + 86.3% 5 years : - 10.8%
That’s the best Supergirl sales since issue #11, released in November 2006.
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33 - CATWOMAN 09/2006: Catwoman #59 -- 25,324 09/2007: Catwoman #71 -- 19,492 ------------------------------- 09/2011: Catwoman #1 -- 59,633 ----------------- 5 years : +135.5%
Catwoman gets another record-setting number for the period covered by the current set of estimates, by more than 20,000 units.
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39 - RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS 09/2011: Red Hood #1 -- 56,112
Another Scott Lobdell-written title, this time a team book starring former Robin Jason Todd in a threesome with Starfire and some dude that shoots arrows.
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40 - BIRDS OF PREY 09/2006: Birds of Prey #98 -- 32,715 09/2007: Birds of Prey #110 -- 27,148 09/2008: Birds of Prey #122 -- 21,318 ------------------------------------- 09/2010: Birds of Prey #5 -- 40,146 (- 13.0%) 10/2010: -- 11/2010: Birds of Prey #6 -- 34,440 (- 14.2%) 12/2010: Birds of Prey #7 -- 33,114 (- 3.9%) 01/2011: Birds of Prey #8 -- 31,616 (- 4.5%) 02/2011: Birds of Prey #9 -- 30,641 (- 3.1%) 03/2011: Birds of Prey #10 -- 30,777 (+ 0.4%) 04/2011: Birds of Prey #11 -- 30,270 (- 1.7%) 05/2011: Birds of Prey #12 -- 29,690 (- 1.9%) 06/2011: Birds of Prey #13 -- 28,992 (- 2.4%) 07/2011: Birds of Prey #14 -- 27,102 (- 6.5%) 08/2011: Birds of Prey #15 -- 26,043 (- 3.9%) 09/2011: Birds of Prey #1 -- 56,073 (+115.3%) ----------------- 6 months: + 82.1% 1 year : + 39.7% 5 years : + 71.4%
Even though fan-favorite writer Gail Simone isn’t helming the series, it beats the May 2010 relaunch by about 6,000 units.
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41 - THE SAVAGE HAWKMAN 09/2006: Hawkgirl #56 -- 21,560 ------------------------------------- 09/2011: Savage Hawkman #1 -- 55,954 ----------------- 5 years : +159.5%
The last series was launched in 2002, renamed Hawkgirl in 2006 and cancelled with estimated sales below 15K in 2007.
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42 - SUPERBOY 11/2010: Superboy #1 -- 39,701 12/2010: Superboy #2 -- 31,761 (- 20.0%) 01/2011: Superboy #3 -- 29,550 (- 7.0%) 02/2011: Superboy #4 -- 27,448 (- 7.1%) 03/2011: Superboy #5 -- 27,215 (- 0.9%) 04/2011: Superboy #6 -- 30,490 (+ 12.0%) 05/2011: Superboy #7 -- 24,622 (- 19.3%) 06/2011: Superboy #8 -- 23,037 (- 6.4%) 07/2011: Superboy #9 -- 22,102 (- 4.1%) 08/2011: Superboy #10 -- 20,563 (- 7.0%) 08/2011: Superboy #11 -- 20,317 (- 1.2%) 09/2011: Superboy #1 -- 55,608 (+173.7%) ----------------- 6 months: +104.3%
Completing the Scott Lobdell renaissance at DC, the new Superboy beats the last revamp — which happened less than a year ago — by about 16,000 copies.
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44 - JUSTICE LEAGUE 09/2006: Justice League #2 -- 143,412 [158,480] 09/2007: Justice League #13 -- 119,471 [124,006] 09/2008: -- 09/2009: Justice League #37 -- 55,478 -------------------------------------- 09/2010: JL of America #49 -- 57,616 (- 5.1%) 10/2010: JL of America #50 -- 59,686 (+ 3.6%) 11/2010: JL of America #51 -- 50,887 (- 14.7%) 12/2010: JL of America #52 -- 48,501 (- 4.7%) 01/2011: JL of America #53 -- 47,093 (- 2.9%) 02/2011: JL of America #54 -- 46,269 (- 1.8%) 03/2011: JL of America #55 -- 50,533 (+ 9.2%) 04/2011: JL of America #56 -- 47,179 (- 6.6%) 05/2011: JL of America #57 -- 46,729 (- 1.0%) 06/2011: JL of America #58 -- 45,442 (- 2.8%) 07/2011: JL of America #59 -- 43,545 (- 4.2%) 08/2011: JL of America #60 -- 42,587 (- 2.2%) 08/2011: Justice League #1 -- 185,776 (+336.2%) [232,426] 09/2011: -- ----------------- 6 months: n/a 1 year : n/a 2 years : n/a 5 years : n/a
Justice League #2 didn’t come out until October, but a lot of reorders for the debut issue showed up on the chart in September — and beat 24 of the “New 52” debut issues, incidentally.
The book shifted another 46,650 units, which puts its total numbers past 200K and in the same ball park as those of the 2006 relaunch by Brad Meltzer and Ed Benes.
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45 - STORMWATCH 09/2007: StormWatch: PHD #11 -- 10,440 09/2008: StormWatch: PHD #14 -- 7,883 09/2009: StormWatch: PHD #23 -- 4,840 --------------------------------------- 09/2011: Stormwatch #1 -- 46,397 ----------------- 2 years : +858.6%
Paul Cornell’s Stormwatch relaunch is the best-selling of the three former WildStorm titles that are part of the “New 52” initiative.
It’s the most spectacular two-year comparison of the pack, certainly, but given the pitiable state of the WildStorm Universe line when DC pulled the plug, that’s not all that surprising.
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46 - THE FURY OF FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MEN 09/2006: Firestorm #29 -- 17,449 -------------------------------- 09/2011: Firestorm #1 -- 51,537 ----------------- 5 years : +195.4%
Co-writers Ethan Van Sciver and Gail Simone relaunch another C-list DC character.
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47 - THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES 09/2006: Supergirl & LoSH #22 -- 36,735 09/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #34 -- 28,294 09/2008: LoSH #46 -- 24,959 --------------------------------------- 09/2010: LoSH #5 -- 32,417 (- 5.3%) 10/2010: LoSH #6 -- 30,246 (- 6.7%) 11/2010: LoSH #7 -- 26,439 (- 12.6%) 12/2010: LoSH #8 -- 25,063 (- 5.2%) 01/2011: LoSH #9 -- 24,230 (- 3.3%) 02/2011: LoSH #10 -- 23,738 (- 2.0%) 03/2011: LoSH #11 -- 23,667 (- 0.3%) 04/2011: LoSH #12 -- 23,419 (- 1.1%) 05/2011: LoSH #13 -- 23,105 (- 1.3%) 06/2011: LoSH #14 -- 22,600 (- 2.2%) 07/2011: LoSH #15 -- 21,788 (- 3.6%) 08/2011: LoSH #16 -- 21,373 (- 1.9%) 09/2011: LoSH #1 -- 50,402 (+135.8%) ----------------- 6 months: +113.0% 1 year : + 55.5% 5 years : + 37.2%
The 2010 relaunch, helmed by Paul Levitz, sold 44,415 units in its first month, Jim Shooter’s return to the book in 2007 managed 45,803, the first “One Year Later” issue sold 47,426 units in 2006, and the Mark Waid/Barry Kitson version launched in 2004, finally, shifted an estimated 50,691 units with its debut issue.
The “New 52” series, once again helmed by Levitz, comes in at pretty much the exact same number as that latter comic.
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49 - SUICIDE SQUAD 09/2007: Raise the Flag #1 of 8 -- 29,506 ----------------------------------------- 09/2011: Suicide Squad #1 -- 49,979
54 - DEATHSTROKE 09/2011: Deathstroke #1 -- 47,028
These were virtual unknowns for retailers, and they’re very similar types of books, so it makes sense that sales are similar.
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56 - LEGION LOST 09/2011: Legion Lost #1 -- 46,362
Replacing Adventure Comics as the resident Legion spin-off.
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57 - ANIMAL MAN 09/2009: Last Days #5 of 6 -- 11,791 ------------------------------------ 09/2011: Animal Man #1 -- 46,051 ----------------- 2 years : +290.6%
Jeff Lemire and Travel Foreman bring back another former Vertigo property. The two-year comparison is with the Last Days of Animal Man miniseries, the last Animal Man title proper ran from 1988 through 1995.
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58 - BATWING 09/2011: Batwing #1 -- 45,980
Spinning out of Grant Morrison’s Batman stories.
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60 - DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS 09/2011: DCU Presents #1 -- 45,701
Paul Jenkins and Bernard Chang kick off the book with a Deadman arc.
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62 - BLUE BEETLE 09/2006: Blue Beetle #7 -- 29,079 09/2007: Blue Beetle #19 -- 15,737 09/2008: Blue Beetle #31 -- 12,302 ---------------------------------- 09/2011: Blue Beetle #1 -- 44,448 ----------------- 5 years : + 52.9%
The last Blue Beetle series, which ran for 36 issues from 2006 through 2009, debuted with estimated sales of 50,678 in its first month and went on to sell 69,752 total.
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63 - CAPTAIN ATOM 09/2011: Captain Atom #1 -- 44,110
There was a nine-issue Captain Atom miniseries (as part of a WildStorm Universe publishing event) that launched with estimated sales of 40,662 in October 2005 and was down to 20,279 by its final issue.
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65 - ALL STAR WESTERN 09/2006: Jonah Hex #11 -- 18,957 09/2007: Jonah Hex #23 -- 15,157 09/2008: Jonah Hex #35 -- 13,231 09/2009: Jonah Hex #47 -- 12,231 -------------------------------- 09/2010: Jonah Hex #59 -- 11,444 (- 2.8%) 10/2010: Jonah Hex #60 -- 11,141 (- 2.7%) 11/2010: Jonah Hex #61 -- 10,796 (- 3.1%) 12/2010: Jonah Hex #62 -- 10,899 (+ 1.0%) 01/2011: Jonah Hex #63 -- 10,752 (- 1.4%) 02/2011: Jonah Hex #64 -- 10,255 (- 4.6%) 03/2011: Jonah Hex #65 -- 10,353 (+ 1.0%) 04/2011: Jonah Hex #66 -- 10,335 (- 0.2%) 05/2011: Jonah Hex #67 -- 10,288 (- 0.5%) 06/2011: Jonah Hex #68 -- 10,224 (- 0.6%) 07/2011: Jonah Hex #69 -- 10,521 (+ 2.9%) 08/2011: Jonah Hex #70 -- 10,369 (- 1.5%) 09/2011: ASW #1 -- 43,681 (+321.3%) ----------------- 6 months: +321.9% 1 year : +281.7% 2 years : +257.1% 5 years : +130.4%
Well, All Star Western is, pretty much, just a straight relaunch of Jonah Hex with a different title, so I’d say this is a huge vote of confidence from retailers.
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68 - HAWK & DOVE 09/2011: Hawk & Dove #1 -- 42,294
I’m somewhat surprised this didn’t do better, to be honest.
Say what you will about Rob Liefeld’s art, but it used to sell a lot of books. Given the nostalgia factor of his return to these characters, I certainly didn’t expect the book to land in the lowest-selling quarter of the relaunch.
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71 - RESURRECTION MAN 09/2011: Resurrection Man #1 -- 41,740
72 - DEMON KNIGHTS 09/2011: Demon Knights #1 -- 41,602
73 - FRANKENSTEIN: AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E. 06/2011: FP: Frankenstein #1 of 3 -- 30,508 07/2011: FP: Frankenstein #2 of 3 -- 23,900 (-21.7%) 08/2011: FP: Frankenstein #3 of 3 -- 23,131 (- 3.2%) 09/2011: Frankenstein #1 -- 41,551 (+79.6%)
Co-writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning relaunch one of the weirder DC Universe titles of the 1990s (the original ran for 28 issues in 1997 and 1998), Paul Cornell does a series set in the Dark Ages of the DC Universe and indie creator Jeff Lemire follows up his Flashpoint tie-in miniseries with an ongoing title.
What these three titles have in common is that they’re set on the dark fringes of the relaunched superhero line and don’t have much of a recent sales history. That may explain why they’re right next to each other on the chart.
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74 - MISTER TERRIFIC 09/2011: Mister Terrific #1 -- 41,450
75 - GRIFTER 09/2011: Grifter #1 -- 41,222
76 - VOODOO 09/2011: Voodoo #1 -- 40,301
77 - BLACKHAWKS 09/2011: Blackhawks #1 -- 40,014
78 - I, VAMPIRE 09/2011: I, Vampire #1 -- 39,683
80 - STATIC SHOCK 06/2011: Special #1 of 1 -- 9,976 ----------------------------------- 09/2011: Static Shock #1 -- 37,782 (+278.7%)
81 - MEN OF WAR 09/2011: Men of War #1 -- 37,488
82 - O.M.A.C. 09/2011: O.M.A.C. #1 -- 37,312
And the same picture here, for this bunch of direct-market odd ducks — war, sci-fi, vampires, two former WildStorm Universe titles, a Milestone Media property, a first-time solo book starring a D-stringer and a Jack Kirby pastiche.
These were virtual unknowns for retailers: None of the eight lowest-selling “New 52” titles have any recent sales history that retailers could have relied on for their orders. They’re practically new introductions to the direct market. So, ultimately, it’s not surprising to see that they’re grouped together like this, and at the bottom end of the “New 52”.
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118 - FABLES (Vertigo) 09/2006: Fables #53 -- 25,388 09/2007: Fables #65 -- 25,311 09/2008: Fables #75 -- 25,266 09/2008: Fables #76 -- 23,914 09/2009: Fables #88 -- 21,508 ------------------------------ 09/2010: Fables #98 -- 19,594 (- 0.2%) 10/2010: Fables #99 -- 19,656 (+ 0.3%) 11/2010: -- 12/2010: Fables #100 -- 23,014 (+17.1%) 01/2011: Fables #101 -- 19,183 (-16.7%) 02/2011: Fables #102 -- 19,215 (+ 0.2%) 03/2011: Fables #103 -- 18,910 (- 1.6%) 04/2011: Fables #104 -- 18,811 (- 0.5%) 05/2011: Fables #105 -- 18,749 (- 0.3%) 06/2011: Fables #106 -- 18,505 (- 1.3%) 07/2011: Fables #107 -- 18,523 (+ 0.1%) 08/2011: Fables #108 -- 18,390 (- 0.7%) 09/2011: Fables #109 -- 18,072 (- 1.7%) ---------------- 6 months: - 4.4% 1 year : - 7.8% 2 years : -16.0% 5 years : -28.8%
Over at Vertigo, September was business as usual, meanwhile.
The publisher recently announced a couple of new ongoing titles, so it doesn’t look like they’re giving up on the idea quite yet, after all.
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137 - AMERICAN VAMPIRE (Vertigo) 09/2010: American Vampire #6 -- 23,349 (- 6.1%) 10/2010: American Vampire #7 -- 21,910 (- 6.2%) 11/2010: American Vampire #8 -- 19,850 (- 9.4%) 12/2010: American Vampire #9 -- 19,019 (- 4.2%) 12/2010: American Vampire #10 -- 17,761 (- 6.6%) 01/2011: American Vampire #11 -- 16,969 (- 4.5%) 02/2011: American Vampire #12 -- 16,522 (- 2.6%) 03/2011: American Vampire #13 -- 17,269 (+ 4.5%) 04/2011: American Vampire #14 -- 16,168 (- 6.4%) 05/2011: American Vampire #15 -- 15,876 (- 1.8%) 06/2011: American Vampire #16 -- 15,705 (- 1.1%) 07/2011: American Vampire #17 -- 15,565 (- 0.9%) 08/2011: American Vampire #18 -- 15,423 (- 0.9%) 09/2011: American Vampire #19 -- 15,288 (- 0.9%) ---------------- 6 months: -11.5% 1 year : -34.5%
146 - AMERICAN VAMPIRE: SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST (Vertigo) 06/2011: Survival #1 of 5 -- 17,160 07/2011: Survival #2 of 5 -- 14,590 (-15.0%) 08/2011: Survival #3 of 5 -- 14,696 (+ 0.7%) 09/2011: Survival #4 of 5 -- 14,204 (- 3.5%)
Pretty consistent numbers over here.
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177 - THE UNWRITTEN (Vertigo) 09/2009: The Unwritten #5 -- 16,011 ------------------------------------ 09/2010: The Unwritten #17 -- 12,796 (+ 0.2%) 10/2010: The Unwritten #18 -- 12,273 (- 4.1%) 11/2010: The Unwritten #19 -- 12,036 (- 1.9%) 12/2010: The Unwritten #20 -- 11,684 (- 2.9%) 01/2011: The Unwritten #21 -- 11,443 (- 2.1%) 02/2011: The Unwritten #22 -- 11,371 (- 0.6%) 03/2011: The Unwritten #23 -- 11,319 (- 0.5%) 04/2011: The Unwritten #24 -- 11,028 (- 2.6%) 05/2011: The Unwritten #25 -- 11,137 (+ 1.0%) 06/2011: The Unwritten #26 -- 10,979 (- 1.4%) 07/2011: The Unwritten #27 -- 10,787 (- 1.8%) 08/2011: The Unwritten #28 -- 10,731 (- 0.5%) 09/2011: The Unwritten #29 -- 10,511 (- 2.1%) ---------------- 6 months: - 7.1% 1 year : -17.9% 2 years : -34.4%
Standard attrition.
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183 - HELLBLAZER (Vertigo) 09/2006: Hellblazer #224 -- 13,704 09/2007: Hellblazer #236 -- 12,938 09/2008: Hellblazer #247 -- 11,851 09/2009: Hellblazer #259 -- 10,813 ---------------------------------- 09/2010: Hellblazer #271 -- 9,851 (-0.8%) 10/2010: Hellblazer #272 -- 9,650 (-2.0%) 11/2010: Hellblazer #273 -- 9,645 (-0.1%) 12/2010: Hellblazer #274 -- 9,342 (-3.1%) 01/2011: Hellblazer #275 -- 9,507 (+1.8%) 02/2011: Hellblazer #276 -- 9,466 (-0.4%) 03/2011: Hellblazer #277 -- 9,525 (+0.6%) 04/2011: Hellblazer #278 -- 9,417 (-1.1%) 05/2011: Hellblazer #279 -- 9,454 (+0.4%) 06/2011: Hellblazer #280 -- 9,329 (-1.3%) 07/2011: Hellblazer #281 -- 9,225 (-1.1%) 08/2011: Hellblazer #282 -- 9,372 (+1.5%) 09/2011: Hellblazer #283 -- 9,597 (+2.4%) ---------------- 6 months: + 0.8% 1 year : - 2.6% 2 years : -11.3% 5 years : -30.0%
Maybe the slight increase is due to John Constantine’s role in Justice League Dark.
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187 - I, ZOMBIE (Vertigo) 09/2010: I, Zombie #5 -- 14,839 (- 5.9%) 10/2010: I, Zombie #6 -- 13,782 (- 7.1%) 11/2010: I, Zombie #7 -- 12,800 (- 7.1%) 12/2010: I, Zombie #8 -- 12,038 (- 6.0%) 01/2011: I, Zombie #9 -- 11,536 (- 4.2%) 02/2011: I, Zombie #10 -- 11,182 (- 3.1%) 03/2011: I, Zombie #11 -- 10,874 (- 2.8%) 04/2011: I, Zombie #12 -- 10,727 (- 1.4%) 05/2011: I, Zombie #13 -- 10,567 (- 1.5%) 06/2011: I, Zombie #14 -- 10,320 (- 2.3%) 07/2011: I, Zombie #15 -- 10,006 (- 3.0%) 08/2011: I, Zombie #16 -- 9,568 (- 4.4%) 09/2011: I, Zombie #17 -- 9,316 (- 2.6%) ---------------- 6 months: -14.3% 1 year : -37.2%
Sliding down.
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210 - YOUNG JUSTICE (Johnny DC) 01/2011: Young Justice #0 -- 9,412 02/2011: Young Justice #1 -- 10,777 (+14.5%) 03/2011: Young Justice #2 -- 9,612 (-10.8%) 04/2011: Young Justice #3 -- 9,407 (- 2.1%) 05/2011: Young Justice #4 -- 9,729 (+ 3.4%) 06/2011: Young Justice #5 -- 8,988 (- 7.6%) 07/2011: Young Justice #6 -- 8,642 (- 3.9%) 08/2011: Young Justice #7 -- 8,062 (- 6.7%) 09/2011: Young Justice #8 -- 7,930 (- 1.6%) ---------------- 6 months: -17.5%
A Johnny DC title. See disclaimers below.
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212 - SWEET TOOTH (Vertigo) 09/2009: Sweet Tooth #1 -- 18,657 ---------------------------------- 09/2010: Sweet Tooth #13 -- 9,097 (- 1.6%) 10/2010: Sweet Tooth #14 -- 8,933 (- 1.8%) 11/2010: Sweet Tooth #15 -- 8,750 (- 2.1%) 12/2010: Sweet Tooth #16 -- 8,602 (- 1.7%) 01/2011: Sweet Tooth #17 -- 8,522 (- 0.9%) 02/2011: Sweet Tooth #18 -- 8,466 (- 0.7%) 03/2011: Sweet Tooth #19 -- 8,532 (+ 0.8%) 04/2011: Sweet Tooth #20 -- 8,361 (- 2.0%) 05/2011: Sweet Tooth #21 -- 8,360 (- 0.0%) 06/2011: Sweet Tooth #22 -- 8,252 (- 1.3%) 07/2011: Sweet Tooth #23 -- 8,018 (- 2.8%) 08/2011: Sweet Tooth #24 -- 7,948 (- 0.9%) 09/2011: Sweet Tooth #25 -- 7,896 (- 0.7%) ---------------- 6 months: - 7.5% 1 year : -13.2% 2 years : -57.7%
To be fair, that two-year comparison is with issue #1, which was a $ 1.00 promotional issue. Apart from that, the numbers have been relatively stable over the last year.
Still, Sweet Tooth remains the lowest-selling Vertigo title that doesn’t have an official ending date yet.
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216 - TINY TITANS (Johnny DC) 09/2008: Tiny Titans #8 -- 9,795 09/2009: Tiny Titans #20 -- 8,435 ---------------------------------- 09/2010: Tiny Titans #32 -- 8,073 (+ 1.1%) 10/2010: Tiny Titans #33 -- 8,045 (- 0.4%) 11/2010: Tiny Titans #34 -- 7,713 (- 4.1%) 12/2010: Tiny Titans #35 -- 7,515 (- 2.6%) 01/2011: Tiny Titans #36 -- 7,480 (- 0.5%) 02/2011: Tiny Titans #37 -- 7,426 (- 0.7%) 03/2011: Tiny Titans #38 -- 7,372 (- 0.7%) 04/2011: Tiny Titans #39 -- 7,445 (+ 1.0%) 05/2011: Tiny Titans #40 -- 7,847 (+ 5.4%) 06/2011: Tiny Titans #41 -- 7,811 (- 0.5%) 07/2011: Tiny Titans #42 -- 7,664 (- 1.9%) 08/2011: Tiny Titans #43 -- 7,534 (- 1.7%) 09/2011: Tiny Titans #44 -- 7,619 (+ 1.1%) ---------------- 6 months: + 3.4% 1 year : - 5.6% 2 years : - 9.7%
A Johnny DC book, see disclaimers.
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229 - NORTHLANDERS (Vertigo) 09/2008: Northlanders #10 -- 10,738 09/2009: Northlanders #20 -- 8,786 ----------------------------------- 09/2010: Northlanders #32 -- 7,321 (- 0.8%) 10/2010: Northlanders #33 -- 7,169 (- 2.1%) 11/2010: Northlanders #34 -- 7,018 (- 2.1%) 12/2010: Northlanders #35 -- 7,061 (+ 0.6%) 01/2011: Northlanders #36 -- 6,806 (- 3.6%) 02/2011: Northlanders #37 -- 7,006 (+ 2.9%) 03/2011: Northlanders #38 -- 7,020 (+ 0.2%) 04/2011: Northlanders #39 -- 6,983 (- 0.5%) 05/2011: Northlanders #40 -- 7,055 (+ 1.0%) 06/2011: Northlanders #41 -- 6,954 (- 1.4%) 07/2011: Northlanders #42 -- 6,989 (+ 0.5%) 08/2011: Northlanders #43 -- 6,901 (- 1.3%) 09/2011: Northlanders #44 -- 6,858 (- 0.6%) ---------------- 6 months: - 2.3% 1 year : - 6.3% 2 years : -21.9%
Cancelled with issue #50.
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240 - THE ALL-NEW BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD (Johnny DC) 09/2006: Batman Strikes! #25 -- 7,765 09/2007: Batman Strikes! #37 -- 6,833 09/2008: Batman Strikes! #49 -- 6,387 09/2009: Brave & Bold #9 -- 7,064 ---------------------------------------- 09/2010: Brave & Bold #21 -- 6,345 (+ 1.6%) 10/2010: Brave & Bold #22 -- 6,044 (- 4.7%) 11/2010: All-New BBB #1 -- 8,408 (+ 39.1%) 12/2010: All-New BBB #2 -- 6,688 (- 20.5%) 01/2011: All-New BBB #3 -- 6,557 (- 2.0%) 02/2011: All-New BBB #4 -- 6,561 (+ 0.1%) 03/2011: All-New BBB #5 -- 6,463 (- 1.5%) 04/2011: All-New BBB #6 -- 6,324 (- 2.1%) 05/2011: All-New BBB #7 -- 6,869 (+ 8.6%) 06/2011: All-New BBB #8 -- 6,645 (- 3.3%) 07/2011: All-New BBB #9 -- 6,404 (- 3.6%) 08/2011: All-New BBB #10 -- 6,351 (- 0.8%) 09/2011: All-New BBB #11 -- 6,410 (+ 0.9%) ---------------- 6 months: - 0.8% 1 year : + 1.0% 2 years : - 9.3% 5 years : -17.5%
Another Johnny DC book.
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241 - HOUSE OF MYSTERY (Vertigo) 09/2008: House of Mystery #5 -- 16,721 09/2009: House of Mystery #17 -- 11,142 --------------------------------------- 09/2010: House of Mystery #29 -- 8,087 (- 1.8%) 10/2010: House of Mystery #30 -- 7,913 (- 2.2%) 11/2010: House of Mystery #31 -- 7,610 (- 3.8%) 12/2010: House of Mystery #32 -- 7,348 (- 3.4%) 01/2011: House of Mystery #33 -- 7,227 (- 1.7%) 02/2011: House of Mystery #34 -- 7,092 (- 1.9%) 03/2011: House of Mystery #35 -- 7,170 (+ 1.1%) 04/2011: House of Mystery #36 -- 7,096 (- 1.0%) 05/2011: House of Mystery #37 -- 6,909 (- 2.6%) 06/2011: House of Mystery #38 -- 6,763 (- 2.1%) 07/2011: House of Mystery #39 -- 6,627 (- 2.0%) 08/2011: House of Mystery #40 -- 6,512 (- 1.7%) 09/2011: House of Mystery #41 -- 6,387 (- 1.9%) ---------------- 6 months: -10.9% 1 year : -21.0% 2 years : -42.7%
Cancelled with issue #42.
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244 - SCALPED (Vertigo) 09/2007: Scalped #9 -- 7,678 09/2008: Scalped #21 -- 7,029 09/2009: -- ------------------------------ 09/2010: -- 10/2010: Scalped #41 -- 6,623 (+ 0.5%) 10/2010: Scalped #42 -- 6,476 (- 2.2%) 11/2010: Scalped #43 -- 6,324 (- 2.4%) 12/2010: Scalped #44 -- 6,192 (- 2.1%) 01/2011: Scalped #45 -- 6,187 (- 0.1%) 02/2011: Scalped #46 -- 6,179 (- 0.1%) 03/2011: Scalped #47 -- 6,222 (+ 0.7%) 04/2011: Scalped #48 -- 6,272 (+ 0.8%) 05/2011: -- 06/2011: Scalped #49 -- 6,333 (+ 1.0%) 06/2011: Scalped #50 -- 6,471 (+ 2.2%) 07/2011: -- 08/2011: Scalped #51 -- 6,409 (- 1.0%) 09/2011: Scalped #52 -- 6,270 (- 2.2%) ---------------- 6 months: + 0.8% 1 year : n.a. 2 years : n.a.
Ending with issue #60.
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254 - DMZ (Vertigo) 09/2006: DMZ #11 -- 14,562 09/2007: DMZ #23 -- 11,858 09/2008: -- 09/2009: DMZ #45 -- 7,589 -------------------------- 09/2010: DMZ #57 -- 6,333 (-2.9%) 10/2010: DMZ #58 -- 6,198 (-2.1%) 11/2010: DMZ #59 -- 6,046 (-2.5%) 12/2010: DMZ #60 -- 6,023 (-0.4%) 01/2011: DMZ #61 -- 5,855 (-2.8%) 02/2011: DMZ #62 -- 5,781 (-1.3%) 03/2011: DMZ #63 -- 5,877 (+1.7%) 04/2011: DMZ #64 -- 5,851 (-0.4%) 05/2011: DMZ #65 -- 5,865 (+0.2%) 06/2011: DMZ #66 -- 5,825 (-0.7%) 07/2011: DMZ #67 -- 5,720 (-1.8%) 08/2011: DMZ #68 -- 5,668 (-0.9%) 09/2011: DMZ #69 -- 5,544 (-2.2%) ---------------- 6 months: - 5.7% 1 year : -12.5% 2 years : -27.0% 5 years : -61.9%
Ending with issue #72.
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272 - SCOOBY DOO: WHERE ARE YOU? (Johnny DC) 09/2006: Scooby Doo #112 -- 4,385 09/2007: Scooby Doo #124 -- 4,401 09/2008: Scooby Doo #136 -- 4,283 09/2009: Scooby Doo #148 -- 4,103 --------------------------------- 09/2010: SD:WAY? #1 -- 6,186 (+51.2%) 10/2010: SD:WAY? #2 -- 4,926 (-20.4%) 11/2010: SD:WAY? #3 -- 4,861 (- 1.3%) 12/2010: SD:WAY? #4 -- 4,802 (- 1.2%) 01/2011: SD:WAY? #5 -- 4,540 (- 5.5%) 02/2011: SD:WAY? #6 -- 4,456 (- 1.9%) 03/2011: SD:WAY? #7 -- 4,522 (+ 1.5%) 04/2011: SD:WAY? #8 -- 4,599 (+ 1.7%) 05/2011: SD:WAY? #9 -- 4,838 (+ 5.2%) 06/2011: SD:WAY? #10 -- 4,774 (- 1.3%) 07/2011: SD:WAY? #11 -- 4,791 (+ 0.4%) 08/2011: SD:WAY? #12 -- 4,686 (- 2.2%) 09/2011: SD:WAY? #13 -- 4,701 (+ 0.3%) ---------------- 6 months: + 4.0% 1 year : -24.0% 2 years : +14.6% 5 years : + 7.2%
A Johnny DC title, see small print.
REORDERS: 266: 4,972 -- Flashpoint #5
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6-MONTH COMPARISONS +474.5%: Action Comics +321.9%: All Star Western +264.8%: Batgirl +230.1%: Superman +221.6%: Batman +195.2%: Teen Titans +186.9%: Detective Comics +175.7%: Supergirl +138.3%: Wonder Woman +113.0%: LoSH +104.3%: Superboy + 86.7%: Green Arrow + 85.8%: Green Lantern + 82.1%: Birds of Prey + 63.7%: New Guardians + 58.3%: Batman and Robin + 53.7%: Dark Knight + 38.2%: GL Corps + 4.0%: Scooby-Doo + 3.4%: Tiny Titans + 0.8%: Hellblazer + 0.8%: Scalped - 0.8%: All-New BBB - 2.3%: Northlanders - 4.4%: Fables - 5.7%: DMZ - 7.1%: Unwritten - 7.5%: Sweet Tooth - 10.9%: House of Mystery - 11.5%: American Vampire - 14.3%: I, Zombie - 17.5%: Young Justice
—–
1-YEAR COMPARISONS +438.3%: Action Comics +281.7%: All Star Western +237.1%: Batgirl +216.8%: Teen Titans +207.2%: Detective Comics +144.6%: Batman +139.9%: Supergirl +108.3%: Flash + 96.2%: Wonder Woman + 66.3%: Green Lantern + 55.5%: LoSH + 49.3%: New Guardians + 39.7%: Birds of Prey + 39.5%: Green Arrow + 30.7%: GL Corps + 14.3%: Batman and Robin + 1.0%: All-New BBB + 0.8%: Scalped - 2.6%: Hellblazer - 5.6%: Tiny Titans - 6.3%: Northlanders - 7.8%: Fables - 12.5%: DMZ - 13.2%: Sweet Tooth - 17.9%: Unwritten - 21.0%: House of Mystery - 24.0%: Scooby-Doo - 34.5%: American Vampire - 37.2%: I, Zombie
—–
2-YEAR COMPARISONS +858.6%: Stormwatch +405.1%: Action Comics +290.6%: Animal Man +257.1%: All Star Western +248.9%: Superman +228.4%: Green Arrow +164.6%: Wonder Woman +144.7%: Batman +124.6%: Teen Titans +122.9%: Batgirl +101.3%: Detective Comics + 86.3%: Supergirl + 36.7%: Green Lantern + 14.6%: Scooby-Doo - 0.0%: GL Corps - 9.3%: All-New BBB - 9.7%: Tiny Titans - 11.3%: Hellblazer - 11.4%: Batman and Robin - 16.0%: Fables - 21.9%: Northlanders - 27.0%: DMZ - 34.4%: Unwritten - 42.7%: House of Mystery - 57.7%: Sweet Tooth
—–
5-YEAR COMPARISONS +225.9%: Action Comics +195.4%: Firestorm +159.5%: Hawkman +135.5%: Catwoman +130.4%: All Star Western +106.3%: Batman +104.6%: Superman + 93.9%: Flash + 82.5%: Green Arrow + 82.2%: Nightwing + 81.4%: Green Lantern + 78.9%: Detective Comics + 78.2%: GL Corps + 71.4%: Birds of Prey + 52.9%: Blue Beetle + 37.2%: LoSH + 11.7%: Teen Titans + 7.2%: Scooby-Doo - 10.8%: Supergirl - 17.5%: All-New BBB - 28.8%: Fables - 30.0%: Hellblazer - 61.9%: DMZ
—–
Average Periodical Sales
(not counting reprints, reorders shipping after the initial month of release, Johnny DC titles and magazines)
DC COMICS 09/2006: 34,920 09/2007: 32,332 09/2008: 25,562 09/2009: 28,493** --------------- 09/2010: 23,212 (- 0.5%)** 10/2010: 23,756 (- 2.3%)** 11/2010: 25,497 (+ 7.3%)** 12/2010: 23,869 (- 6.4%)** 01/2011: 21,922 (- 8.2%)** 02/2011: 23,252 (+ 6.1%)** 03/2011: 23,976 (+ 3.1%)** 04/2011: 25,651 (+ 7.0%) 05/2011: 24,561 (- 4.3%)** 06/2011: 25,814 (+ 5.1%)** 07/2011: 26,138 (+ 1.3%)** 08/2011: 25,632 (- 1.9%)** 09/2011: 57,224 (+123.3%) ----------------- 6 months: +138.7% 1 year : +146.5% 2 years : +100.8% 5 years : + 63.9%
DC UNIVERSE 09/2006: 46,329 09/2007: 42,894 09/2008: 33,591 09/2009: 36,725** --------------- 09/2010: 32,042 (- 4.1%) 10/2010: 32,832 (+ 2.5%) 11/2010: 34,180 (+ 4.1%) 12/2010: 30,870 (- 9.7%) 01/2011: 24,321 (- 21.2%)** 02/2011: 25,887 (+ 6.4%)** 03/2011: 26,720 (+ 3.2%)** 04/2011: 29,126 (+ 9.0%) 05/2011: 27,745 (- 4.7%)** 06/2011: 28,673 (+ 3.4%)** 07/2011: 28,586 (- 0.3%)** 08/2011: 27,761 (- 2.9%)** 09/2011: 67,411 (+142.8%) ----------------- 6 months: +152.3% 1 year : +110.4% 2 years : + 83.6% 5 years : + 45.5%
VERTIGO 09/2006: 15,399 09/2007: 11,806 09/2008: 11,748 09/2009: 11,345 --------------- 09/2010: 11,622 (+27.8%) 10/2010: 9,546 (-17.9%) 11/2010: 9,034 (- 5.4%) 12/2010: 11,193 (+23.9%) 01/2011: 10,145 (- 9.4%) 02/2011: 10,295 (+ 1.5%) 03/2011: 10,450 (+ 1.5%) 04/2011: 10,014 (- 4.2%) 05/2011: 10,668 (+ 6.5%) 06/2011: 10,415 (- 2.4%) 07/2011: 10,784 (+ 3.5%) 08/2011: 10,147 (- 5.9%) 09/2011: 9,995 (- 1.5%) ---------------- 6 months: - 4.4% 1 year : -14.0% 2 years : -11.9% 5 years : -35.1%
—–
Disclaimers, et cetera
The numbers above are estimates for comic-book sales in the North American direct market, as calculated by ICv2.com according to the chart and index information provided by Diamond Comic Distributors.
ICv2.com‘s estimates are somewhat lower than the actual numbers, but they are consistent from month to month, so the trends they show are fairly accurate. Since it’s a “month-to-month” column, the comments, unless otherwise noted, are on the most recent month.
Bear in mind that the figures measure sales to retailers, not customers. Also, these numbers do not include sales to bookstores, newsstands, other mass-market retail chains or the United Kingdom. Re-orders are included, so long as they either reached stores in a book’s initial calendar month of release or were strong enough to make the chart again in a subsequent month.
If additional copies of an issue did appear on the chart after a book’s initial calendar month of release, you can see the total number of copies sold in parenthesis behind those issues (e.g. “[36,599]”). Should more than one issue have shipped in a month which is relevant for one of the long-term comparisons, the average between them will be used.
Titles released under the Johnny DC imprint and magazines, such as Mad, mostly sell through channels other than the direct market, so direct-market sales don’t tell us much about their performance. For most Vertigo titles, collection sales tend to be a significant factor, so the numbers for those books should be taken with a grain of salt as well. To learn (a little) more about Vertigo’s collection sales, go right here.
** Two asterisks after a given month in the average charts mean that one or more periodical release did not make the Top 300 chart in that month. In those cases, it’s assumed that said releases sold as many units as the No. 300 comic on the chart for that month for the purposes of the chart, although its actual sales are likely to be less than that.
For a more lyrical approach to discussing sales figures that covers all the essentials in a more condensed, less tedious fashion, finally, go right here.
—–
Marc-Oliver Frisch writes about comics at his weblog and at Comicgate. You can also follow him on Twitter.
Batman, of course, did not beat Justice League by 3000 issues. A lot of those sales that put Justice League 1 high on the chart again this month likely weren’t even reorders, but initial orders that slipped into the next month as the book came out in the final week. Those jarringly silly comments take the fun out of these columns for me.
I’m really curious to see October’s numbers. Simply due to the reorders and second issues. I’m not sure about other shops, but my shop pretty much sold out of EVERYTHING if it wasn’t Superman, Batman, or Green Lantern on the first day, usually before closing. So a lot of the smaller titles, you couldn’t even pick up if they weren’t part of your pull list.
October hits, and they had copies of EVERYTHING #2 like crazy. Shops weren’t sure what to do with the #1’s, but went nuts after seeing the successes. So I wonder if the books will actually do better in October?
Come on Resurrection Man, you can make it! It’s a great book! :) (I’m REALLY curious to see DC’s February 2012 solicitations this month, as Didio had originally said titles would be given a six issue chance, then slash! if they didn’t do well. I’m curious to see if any of these new books don’t make the “second arc” cut. Hopefully DC will give them more time to grow fan bases.)
Oh, and Superman 204 was of course written by Azarello, not Loeb.
Personally, the4thpip, if it were me I’d just like to see the Justice League numbers as part of the September totals. It was crazy for DC to put the book out at the end of August, and really everyone just wants to see how the titles stacked up in September. I just see Justice League as a “September issue” even though it came out in August.
Nathan: But then we wouldn’t have gotten the gloating in last month’s column about how sales were lower than for the Meltzer relaunch (even though the September numbers were already available at ICv2 by the time the column got published and we knew better).
Oh and Nathan?
If you are curious about the October numbers, lookee here:
http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/21453.html
Well, the October numbers are out already, and 51 of September’s #1s charted again in the top 300 in October (Men of war being the only exception), with Aquaman, Green Lantern and Detective Comics #1 even making it to the top 100. So all of the above figures for the #1s will increase in next month’s analysis by at least 5,000 copies each (except, again, for Men of War) and some of them will even exceed 28,000 copies of reorders.
And oh yeah, all 52 #2s are in the top 100 too, with Men of War #2 ranking at #87 as the lowest of the bunch. JL#2 is the highest seller with estimated sales of 181k copies (just for the 3.99$ version, the 4.99$ combo pack adds even more copies to that).
“So, ultimately, the September numbers further support the notion that, rather than to kick-start the direct market by bringing in huge crowds of people that have never set foot in a comics store before, DC mobilized the full potential of the market as it stands”
Wow, fundamental disagreement here.
-B
Umm, I just really skimmed this, but I’d be curious to see what this looks like once all the returns are processed on these titles.
Just couldnt avoid the snark could you? Its just killing you that DC actually outsold Marvel isnt it?
Huh, so far the “Marc Oliver is a monster!” meme has been pretty underwhelming…until Alison came in! Woo! I’m sure the Hatorade will be flowing soon.
But I had the same observation of Nathan. When I stopped in for my Daredevil comic, the shelves were overflowing with #2s. It’s going to be really interesting to see the return numbers.
BTW – I went back and read the column. Scooby Doo is still killing it on the charts. So many increases month to month.
Excellent numbers from DC, Wish the lower tier titles were higher though, as that would mean interest in genre other than Superheroes.
I always appreciate you doing these, and I think you do a good job.
But damn dude. Still with the snark? I agree with Hibbs.
The overall sales for the industry grew a result of the New52. DC did not have this success by cannibalizing Marvel, Image, or DH.
The New52 literally brought new people into comic book stores, and you’re still pissing and moaning like a brat.
Accept, maybe, just this once, things might be a success. Grow up.
“It’s going to be really interesting to see the return numbers.”
Re: the #2 numbers already released…
Will the returns be factored into adjusted numbers at some point? Similar anecdotal evidence at my local shop–they couldn’t keep #1 issues in stock (thought they have lots of second/third printings now), but the #2 books aren’t moving off the rack.
I doubt they’ll actually return them since it’s a small shop and they don’t order tons of extras, but I imagine that a lot of shops will. I’m really curious how DC’s sales will level out after the initial relaunch (say, issues #4-6).
Frisch will never grow up. If anything, he’ll be even more pathetically petulant next time around.
You can’t look at these numbers and know what actually went on in September. These are PREORDER numbers from retailers placing orders months in advance with adjustments along the way. These are guestimates. Based on what retailers thought they might sell.
Which is why the October reorder numbers are even more important – because those tell more of a story about what happened IN September, not two months prior when retailers had to place orders. And considering most stores try and reorder more than they actually get, we still don’t have any clear idea on the numbers. A retailer could try and order 200 copies but only get their hands on 100.
We’ll never know the full count. Only DC does.
It will never cease to amaze me that people leave comments just to complain about Frisch’s perceived attitude. Do you guys purposefully go to bad restaurants just so you can bitch about the food to anyone who will listen?
You act like Frisch is personally insulting you and your family but then have no problem personally insulting him. And when he address them, he handles those insults with much more equanimity than they deserve.
IF YOU DON’T LIKE THIS COLUMN, YOU DON’T HAVE TO READ IT! Those of us who DO like it don’t care that you don’t like it. There are plenty of other places you can go to cheer on Team DC without have to endure any criticism of the company (and I think the criticism here is actually relatively mild).
And really, what has your complaining got you? The tone of the column hasn’t and isn’t going to change. Isn’t your head sore from banging it against that wall?
I realize it’s a fool’s dream to want complete rationality in an Internet comments section, but I’ve had it up to here with this nonsense.
The tone does not bother me much. The factual errors are an embarrassment to this site, though.
Wouldn’t it make more sense to compare the Stormwatch numbers with those of The Authority? The latest Stormwatch book had very little to do with the characters currently running around in the DC Stormwatch book.
@Nathan Aaron: “It was crazy for DC to put the book out at the end of August”—yep, it certainly didn’t work out well for them at all!!
@DanielT: i can read whatever i want and comment on whatever i want. as can you.
Personally, I’m super-impressed by how deep into the archives M-O dug to get us comparative numbers for the top selling issues of so many of these books. I don’t know what “factual errors” the4thpip could be talking about, because the only “facts” here are the numbers (the rest of the column is opinion/informed analysis), and the shear number of sales numbers he dug up here was downright heroic.
I pointed out the error about the creative team on Superman 204 above, as well treating the Justice League #1 issues from this months as purely reorders, which he should know better. But then he would have to admit that his gloating about this relaunch supposedly selling worse than Meltzer’s was totally off-base (especially since the second charting of issue one was known several days before he hit “publish” on that piece.) As Prittstift (what a sticky name!) pointed out, he compares Stormwatch to a book that has nothing in common but its title instead of the title it actually replaced on the schedule.
There will never be enough love in this column for DC. DC Comics is too beautiful for The Beat. The Beat doesn’t understand DC Comics. DC is too good for The Beat. Same, Marc-Oliver. Shame.
I think some of you are just too touchy. I just read the comments (and enjoy them) but don’t take THAT much from them. I like these posts because I read the sales numbers on books to see how well they’re doing (or not doing.) That’s all. And then I beg people to buy more issues if a title I like is faltering.
But, kinda like how I realize dead characters will be back sooner than later, so I’ve stopped whining about it; I’ve also kinda gotten to the point that when I see a title failing, there’s really not much I can do. The industry is finicky, the companies are not willing to take chances, and fanboys will NEVER make a success of titles that don’t have the words Avengers/X-men/Spiderman/Superman/Batman/Green Lantern in them. So I just have to enjoy what I get, while I get it.
““So, ultimately, the September numbers further support the notion that, rather than to kick-start the direct market by bringing in huge crowds of people that have never set foot in a comics store before, DC mobilized the full potential of the market as it stands”
Wow, fundamental disagreement here.
-B”
I’m with Brian Hibbs on this. We opened over 50 new files since the relaunch, mostly for people who haven’t read comics in years, but more than a few for people that have NEVER read western comics at all.
These new customers have turned out to be fervent “Gotta come in on Wednesday” shoppers, and are much more willing than the average customer to try new titles, regardless of the publisher. They’re the ones responsible for Ultimate Spider-Man and Daredevil sales in my store being more than 3x their previous numbers. (Well, them and Bendis & Waid!) We had more non-DC sellouts in September than DC sellouts.
While there are definitely more sales of DC stuff to people who have been buying comics for years, the new influx of customers cannot be disregarded.
“Similar anecdotal evidence at my local shop–they couldn’t keep #1 issues in stock (thought they have lots of second/third printings now), but the #2 books aren’t moving off the rack.”
Around here it seems to vary from one comic to another – a lot of #2s have sold out from the local shops, despite having been ordered in big quantities, while others have left a lot unsold. Batwing #2 is literally overflowing from the shelves of my local Forbidden Planet, but that’s the only one of the 52 that they seem to have miscalculated all that much.
If history shows us anything….DC will screw this up somehow. Just give it time.
Aside from DanielT’s suck up trolling, I think we might finally be hitting a good equilibrium on these comment threads. Frisch is free to continue his pointless anti-DC attitude and commentors are free to just as pointlessly fire back. His whole “these numbers don’t really prove anything!” digression being a good example.
Mike
I always love and look forward to these. Thank you, sir.
One of the nice things about these sales figures columns is that they present hard numbers and trends, so people can honestly argue about what the numbers and trends mean, and do research to back up their arguments. The tone of the argument doesn’t necessarily affect its validity. In the case of DC, there’s abundant evidence that the marketing campaign brought new and lapsed readers into the stores, but the marketing was very general, not aimed at specific titles, so characters with more name recognition and longer publishing histories would have natural advantages over newer characters.
For really negative views of comics fans, people might read these two Newsarama pieces, which play up the “babyman” and other stereotypes, and don’t depict superhero comics fans as being intelligent. They’re more like kids who can’t decide what candy they want to eat, and eat sour candy and then complain about the taste. The quality of any given issue is a factor in readers’ reactions, but neither article mentions “quality.” If the comics professionals want readers who care about quality, then they should make that clear.
SRS
Thanks for the numbers and the column. One of my favorites on the entire web.
Glad to see this doing so well for DC.
Before the relaunch, I bought 3 DC books. Now I’m buying 8.
Plus 2 for my daughter and 1 for her best friend.
Thanks for always doing this every month. I appreciated that you were able to get the previous highest sales totals to compare to this month’s sales. It’s definitely interesting to see how this relaunch has done compared to others in the past. Thanks a lot.
“Aside from DanielT’s suck up trolling, I think we might finally be hitting a good equilibrium on these comment threads. Frisch is free to continue his pointless anti-DC attitude and commentors are free to just as pointlessly fire back. His whole “these numbers don’t really prove anything!” digression being a good example.
Mike”
So the ONE GUY defending Marc-Oliver is a suck up troll? Wow.
Did MO kick your dog, owe you $ or steal your girlfriend/wife? If not I don’t understand where this level of hate for him is coming from.
You and many others posting here really need to get a GRIP and realize…its only comic books.
>>>I’m with Brian Hibbs on this. We opened over 50 new files since the relaunch, mostly for people who haven’t read comics in years, but more than a few for people that have NEVER read western comics at all.
These new customers have turned out to be fervent “Gotta come in on Wednesday” shoppers, and are much more willing than the average customer to try new titles, regardless of the publisher. They’re the ones responsible for Ultimate Spider-Man and Daredevil sales in my store being more than 3x their previous numbers. (Well, them and Bendis & Waid!) We had more non-DC sellouts in September than DC sellouts.<<<<
Brian J.: that's great news. Maybe the best pull quote I've heard from this whole thing.
“Brian J.: that’s great news. Maybe the best pull quote I’ve heard from this whole thing.”
Wait until these new customers realize that most new comics tell only a smart part of a multi-part story arc, take 10 minutes to read (if that) and costs $3 – $4 a pop.
They’ll realize pdq some things aren’t worth it…
“So the ONE GUY defending Marc-Oliver is a suck up troll? Wow.
Did MO kick your dog, owe you $ or steal your girlfriend/wife? If not I don’t understand where this level of hate for him is coming from.”
Defending a blogger is not suck up trolling. Defending a blogger by saying “How dare you respond to him/her with anything than hearts and flowers! If you don’t like it, why don’t you go back to Russia or something!”…THAT is suck up trolling.
Mike
Er…”anything other than hearts and flowers”
Mike
“Defending a blogger is not suck up trolling. Defending a blogger by saying “How dare you respond to him/her with anything than hearts and flowers! If you don’t like it, why don’t you go back to Russia or something!”…THAT is suck up trolling.
Mike”
Sorry Mike, your own twisted, warped sense of reasoning/comprehension read all that somewhere in the OP.
You have issues, plain and simple, that you need to work on…
The Comment Wars of Marc-Oliver are really my favorite reading of the month!
Well, this is certainly different than usual.
I’m sad that “Supergirl” didn’t do better.
@The Beat
The comment wars are also my favorite thing to read every month. I feel bad because when this column goes up every month, I get giddy and start reading *just* the comments and then slowly go back and read the article itself.
Chris Hero: Can you imagine the giddy glee I get when the columns arrive in my email in-box? It’s like Christmas!
“The Comment Wars of Mark-Oliver”
*coughstillspelledwithaCcough*
Bah! Mark-Oliver with a C. Phooney on you! What do you have against having a name spelled PROPERLY. Your a biased prima donna!
By the way, I totally agree that DanielT is the troll in this thread.
It’s only a matter of time……
@DanielT:>>>IF YOU DON’T LIKE THIS COLUMN, YOU DON’T HAVE TO READ IT! Those of us who DO like it don’t care that you don’t like it.
If you don’t like the criticisms of MoF, you don’t have to read the comments. Sounds to me like you’re WAY more upset than those of us that tire of MoF’s dislike of DC.
>>>>Huh, so far the “Marc Oliver is a monster!” meme has been pretty underwhelming…until Alison came in! Woo! I’m sure the Hatorade will be flowing soon.
I guess it did…? But even MoF couldn’t realistically put up much snark against this kind of success. But hey, hang on to your azz in a couple months, when the numbers start REALLY diving… The MoF He-Man-DC Haters-Snark-O-Rama-Club will REALLY kick into overdrive!!
I find it hilarious that people consider Marc’s comments snarky. Paul has a waaaaaay snarkier sense of humor (not that that’s a bad thing).
Also, just because DC had a good month we should only focus on the positives? Seriously now, people.
“The MoF He-Man-DC Haters-Snark-O-Rama-Club”
I prefer “mof,” actually. I like how it kinda looks like the Batmobile if you squint.
>>I prefer “mof,” actually. I like how it kinda looks like the Batmobile if you squint.
omg I totally see it.
“By the way, I totally agree that DanielT is the troll in this thread.”
WOW, throwing your only defender under the bus like that. :-O
I see how it is now MO, you LIKE to get the DC-fans in a frenzy over your snarky comments.
I LOVE IT!!!! :-P LOL
I’m just wanting to know if the stories that Levitz is writing Legion as part of his severance package with DC are true.
Those are some amazing figures. Especially considering where comic sales have been in the last few years. Now while I agree that Marc comes off like a complete tool most of the time (I think he thinks he comes off as funny, but he doesn’t…. at all) I did enjoy the comparisons to previous issues sales, whether they were other launches or randon issues. So good job there.
Really looking forward to next month when we see all the 2nd and 3rd prints and the increases on the second issues in some instances.
the4thpip:
“The factual errors are an embarrassment to this site, though.”
You’re quite right about the Loeb/Azzarello slip, by the way. Apologies on that one.
What are all the other factual errors in the column, though? Please educate me.
Marc-Oliver Frisch don’t care. Marc-Oliver Frisch don’t give a shit. It just says what it wants.
Thanks for the numbers Marc. I love this column.
MOF: Wer lesen kann, ist klar im Vorteil.
“MOF: Wer lesen kann, ist klar im Vorteil.”
No, please assume that I’m an idiot and don’t know what you mean. (Because I don’t.)
You’ve mentioned errors. Which ones?
the4thpip you are not only a prime example of a mean troll that just gets his kicks from ripping someone elses job, you are also incapable of contributing anything to a discussion that might take place based on this column in a proper manner. I dare you to publish any kind of analysis on the net just for once, rather than crying out in this forum. Just for once..
On another note, mr. MoF thank you for the hard work. I do second the notion that this column is one of the best things I enjoy on the whole net each and every month [though I also don’t necessarily agree with the commentary all the time :) ]
Well, there’s no need for name-calling.
I have a very high opinion of my readers, so I’m very confident Pip isn’t just some whiny, bigmouthed loser and a list of the many factual errors he has detected in the column is actually forthcoming.
“They’ll realize pdq some things aren’t worth it”
Maybe they’ll realize pdf some things aren’t worth it, and go digital?
“I’m very confident Pip isn’t just some whiny, bigmouthed loser and a list of the many factual errors he has detected in the column is actually forthcoming.”
Two of the first three posts in the thread contain such factual errors.
And “whiny, bigmouthed loser”? Project much?
Mike
“Two of the first three posts in the thread contain such factual errors.”
A comparison of two numbers you don’t like doesn’t qualify as an “error,” I’m afraid — even if it makes you reeeally mad at me.
Meanwhile, Marvel makes zillions on movies and will have the dollar share back in 4-5 months once 3/5 of these titles die a quick death. The embarassing Green Lantern might be doing well in those $1 rentals at the supermarket, though.
Lads, relax. When you’re boasting about books like Grifter and Voodoo, you’re reaching. They’ll be at 12,000 orders by issue #8, if not sooner.
Once again “Snark-Oliver Frisch” ruins the internet with his free column.