by David Carter

Greetings, sales charts fans! It’s time once again to look at Image Comics’s sales figures.

Just a reminder that I’m not doing this as a permanent gig; just filling in until Heidi finds someone to take on the indy month-to-month chart.

Please refer to July’s column for a preamble and explanation as to why sales standards for Image books are likely to be different than those for DC or Marvel.

latest (1)

Image shipped 67 comics in December, compared to 62 in November, 55 in October and 73 in September. Of those 67 comics, 22 did not place in Diamond’s Top 300, and another 15 placed below the 10K mark.

Warning: The commentary below may contain reasoned analysis, speculation (unfounded and otherwise), opinion, and/or snark. Those looking for a more straightforward analysis are directed to John Jackson Miller’s excellent Comichron analysis, posted earlier this month over at Comichron!

Please consider the fine 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.

(Note that the percentage comparisons are done with total orders including reorder activity, as opposed to initial orders as was the practice of this column under the previous administration.)


 

26 - THE WALKING DEAD ($2.99)
12/2005: --
12/2010: -- 
12/2011: The Walking Dead #92  --  31,496
12/2012: The Walking Dead #105 --  57,781 
12/2013: The Walking Dead #118 --  68,020
-----------------------------------------
12/2014: The Walking Dead #135 --  67,361 (-  1.1%) 
01/2015: The Walking Dead #136 --  66,097 (-  1.9%) 
02/2015: The Walking Dead #137 --  65,620 (-  0.7%) 
03/2015: The Walking Dead #138 --  66,778 (+  1.8%)
03/2015: The Walking Dead #139 --  67,349 (+  0.9%)
04/2015: The Walking Dead #140 --  66,553 (-  1.2%)
05/2015: The Walking Dead #141 --  68,931 (+  3.6%)
06/2015: The Walking Dead #142 --  68,221 (-  1.0%) 
06/2015: The Walking Dead #143 --  67,989 (-  0.3%) 
07/2015: The Walking Dead #144 --  79,496 (+ 16.9%) 
08/2015: The Walking Dead #145 --  82,792 (+  4.1%) 
09/2015: The Walking Dead #146 --  69,006 (- 16.7%) 
10/2015: The Walking Dead #147 --  67,056 (-  2.8%) 
11/2015: The Walking Dead #148 --  65,526 (-  2.3%) 
12/2015: The Walking Dead #149 --  65,406 (-  0.2%) 
-----------------
6 months: -  4.0%
1 year  : -  2.9%
2 years : -  3.8%
5 years :    n.a.
10 years:    n.a.

Once again The Walking Dead is Image’s top-selling book of the month. It is also the highest charting $2.99 book for December. In fact, the first non-Image $2.99 book is Batman & Robin Eternal at #57.

41 - SAGA ($2.99)
12/2012: Saga #8  -- 42,324  [48,965] 
12/2013: Saga #17 -- 53,264
---------------------------
12/2014: -- 
01/2015: -- 
02/2015: Saga #25 -- 55,972 (+  0.8%) 
03/2015: Saga #26 -- 54,892 (-  1.9%)
04/2015: Saga #27 -- 54,897 (+  0.0%)
05/2015: Saga #28 -- 55,239 (+  0.6%)
06/2015: Saga #29 -- 55,131 (-  0.2%) 
07/2015: Saga #30 -- 60,937 (+ 10.5%) 
08/2015: -- 
09/2015: -- 
10/2015: -- 
11/2015: Saga #31 -- 53,980 (- 11.4%) 
12/2015: Saga #32 -- 51,850 (-  3.9%) 
-----------------
6 months: -  6.0%
1 year  :    n.a.
2 years : -  2.7%

It looks like Saga has hit its peek in individual issue sales, at least for the time being. Nothing to worry about though, as these are excellent numbers and the collection sales are still quite strong.

53 - PAPER GIRLS ($2.99)
10/2015: Paper Girls #1  -- 75,585 
11/2015: Paper Girls #2  -- 46,274 (- 38.8%) 
12/2015: Paper Girls #3  -- 43,737 (-  5.5%)

Settling in quite nicely with a lower-than-normal percentage drop for its third issue. For comparison, the third issue of Saga sold about 39K.

72 - WE STAND ON GUARD ($2.99)
07/2015: We Stand On Guard #1 of 6 -- 78,690 
08/2015: We Stand On Guard #2 of 6 -- 51,848 (- 34.1%) 
09/2015: We Stand On Guard #3 of 6 -- 44,050 (- 15.0%) 
10/2015: We Stand On Guard #4 of 6 -- 40,197 (-  8.7%) 
11/2015: We Stand On Guard #5 of 6 -- 37,227 (-  7.4%) 
12/2015: We Stand On Guard #6 of 6 -- 34,177 (-  5.5%)

FInal issue. Never really quite found its footing, but still sold well over its run. I’ll be interested to see what sort of numbers the collections put up, especially over the long term (it’s first being released as a ‘deluxe’ hardcover, with a trade paperback to follow presumably at some point).

96 - I HATE FAIRYLAND ($3.50)
10/2015: I Hate Fairyland #1 -- 50,318 
11/2015: I Hate Fairyland #2 -- 31,626 (- 37.1%) 
12/2015: I Hate Fairyland #3 -- 27,843 (- 12.0%)

A typical third issue percentage drop for Skottie Young’s series. Will likely settle in to the low-20K range, which is good sales for an Image series.

112 - TOKYO GHOST ($3.99)
09/2015: Tokyo Ghost #1 -- 39,682 
10/2015: Tokyo Ghost #2 -- 27,688 (- 30.2%) 
11/2015: Tokyo Ghost #3 -- 25,198 (-  9.0%) 
12/2015: Tokyo Ghost #4 -- 24,133 (-  4.2%)

Also looks to settle in to the low-20K range.

130 - MONSTRESS ($3.99)
11/2015: Monstress #1 -- 33,045 
12/2015: Monstress #2 -- 23,367 (- 29.3%)

Returnable, so the figures have been adjusted up 10% from what was reported by Diamond/ICv2. (For an explanation why this is done for returnable items, please see the fine print at the end of this post.)

A typical second issue drop.

116 - OUTCAST BY KIRKMAN & AZACETA ($2.99)
12/2014: Outcast #6  -- 36,354 (-  9.0%) 
01/2015: -- 
02/2015: -- 
03/2015: Outcast #7  -- 38,077 (+  4.7%)
04/2015: Outcast #8  -- 36,188 (-  5.0%)
05/2015: Outcast #9  -- 28,961 (- 20.0%)
06/2015: -- 
07/2015: Outcast #10 -- 28,012 (-  3.3%) 
08/2015: Outcast #11 -- 27,087 (-  3.3%) 
09/2015: Outcast #12 -- 26,115 (-  3.6%) 
10/2015: -- 
11/2015: Outcast #13 -- 24,051 (-  7.9%) 
12/2015: Outcast #14 -- 23,319 (-  3.0%) 
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  : - 35.9%

121 - HUCK ($3.50)
11/2015: Huck #1 -- 35,299 
12/2015: Huck #2 -- 22,937 (- 35.0%)

A typical second issue drop.

132 - DESCENDER ($2.99)
03/2015: Descender #1  -- 61,910           [69,011]
04/2015: Descender #2  -- 43,946 (- 36.3%)
05/2015: Descender #3  -- 29,717 (- 32.4%)
06/2015: Descender #4  -- 27,163 (-  8.6%) 
07/2015: Descender #5  -- 26,039 (-  4.1%) 
08/2015: Descender #6  -- 24,615 (-  5.5%) 
09/2015: -- 
10/2015: -- 
11/2015: Descender #7  -- 23,684 (-  3.8%) 
12/2015: Descender #8  -- 20,999 (- 11.3%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 22.7%

Yow, that’s a bit of a large percentage drop at this stage in the game. Not that there’s any cause for worry, as 20K is perfectly good in Image-land. Plus, you know, there’s the movie deal.

137 - THE GODDAMNED ($3.99)
11/2015: The Goddamned #1 -- 33,809 
12/2015: The Goddamned #2 -- 20,415 (-39.6%)

Just a bit on the high side for a second issue drop. A crime story set in Biblical times was always going to be a bit of a tough sell, so if this ends up settling in around 15K that would be pretty good.

147 - SYMMETRY ($3.99)
12/2015: Symmetry #1 -- 19,274

Returnable, so the figures have been adjusted up 10% from what was reported by Diamond/ICv2. (For an explanation why this is done for returnable items, please see the fine print at the end of this post.)

Not very many debuts for Image in December. This is a Top Cow series by Matt Hawkins & Raffaele Ienco.

139, 140 - EAST OF WEST ($3.50)
12/2013: East of West #8  -- 31,059
-----------------------------------
12/2014: East of West #16 -- 35,920 (+ 40.4%) 
01/2015: -- 
02/2015: East of West #17 -- 23,482 (- 34.6%) 
03/2015: East of West #18 -- 23,080 (-  1.7%)
04/2015: --
05/2015: East of West #19 -- 22,482 (-  2.6%)
06/2015: -- 
07/2015: -- 
08/2015: East of West #20 -- 21,778 (-  3.1%) 
09/2015: -- 
10/2015: East of West #21 -- 21,075 (-  3.2%) 
11/2015: -- 
12/2015: East of West #22 -- 19,867 (-  5.7%) 
12/2015: East of West #23 -- 19,184 (-  3.4%) 
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  : - 45.6%
2 years : - 37.1%

Down from its peak, but these are good numbers for an Image series in its third year.

142 - THE WICKED + THE DIVINE ($3.50)
12/2014: Wicked + Divine #6  -- 22,159 (- 12.8%) 
01/2015: Wicked + Divine #7  -- 20,893 (-  5.7%) 
02/2015: Wicked + Divine #8  -- 20,515 (-  1.8%) 
03/2015: Wicked + Divine #9  -- 20,360 (-  0.8%)
04/2015: --
05/2015: Wicked + Divine #10 -- 20,562 (+  1.0%)
06/2015: Wicked + Divine #11 -- 20,579 (+  0.1%) 
07/2015: Wicked + Divine #12 -- 20,335 (-  1.2%) 
08/2015: Wicked + Divine #13 -- 20,161 (-  1.2%) 
09/2015: Wicked + Divine #14 -- 20,706 (+  2.7%) 
10/2015: Wicked + Divine #15 -- 20,154 (-  2.7%) 
11/2015: Wicked + Divine #16 -- 19,360 (-  3.9%) 
12/2015: Wicked + Divine #17 -- 18,479 (-  4.6%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 10.2%
1 year  : - 16.6%

End of the third story arc. Will take a few months off before resuming in April.

152 - SPAWN ($2.99)
12/2005: Spawn #151      -- 28,860
12/2010: -- 
12/2011: Spawn #214      -- 13,017 
12/2012: --  
12/2013: Spawn #238      -- 12,459 
----------------------------------
12/2014: Spawn #249      -- 12,121 (+  1.6%) 
01/2015: -- 
02/2015: Spawn #250      -- 60,357 (+398.0%)
03/2015: Resurrection #1 -- 29,787 (- 50.6%)
04/2015: Spawn #251      -- 17,443 (- 71.1%)
05/2015: Spawn #252      -- 15,904 (-  8.8%)
06/2015: Spawn #253      -- 15,993 (+  0.6%) 
07/2015: Spawn #254      -- 15,421 (-  3.6%) 
08/2015: Spawn #255      -- 15,717 (+  1.9%) 
09/2015: Spawn #256      -- 15,087 (-  4.0%) 
10/2015: Spawn #257      -- 15,266 (+  1.2%) 
11/2015: Spawn #258      -- 15,163 (-  0.7%) 
12/2015: Spawn #259      -- 16,906 (+ 11.5%) 
-----------------
6 months: +  5.7%
1 year  : + 39.5%
2 years : + 35.7%
5 years :    n.a.
10 years: - 41.4%

Image’s longest-running title gets a boost from an adult coloring book variant cover.

156 - NAMELESS ($2.99)
02/2015: Nameless #1 of 6 -- 43,785 
03/2015: Nameless #2 of 6 -- 27,364 (- 37.5%) 
04/2015: Nameless #3 of 6 -- 24,266 (- 11.3%) 
05/2015: -- 
06/2015: Nameless #4 of 6 -- 21,071 (- 11.8%) 
07/2015: -- 
08/2015: -- 
09/2015: Nameless #5 of 6 -- 19,071 (- 10.8%)
10/2015: -- 
11/2015: -- 
12/2015: Nameless #6 of 6 -- 15,894 (- 16.7%)
-----------------
6 months: - 24.6%

Ran into some scheduling problems there at the end, which may have contributed to the declining sales.

159 - JUPITER'S CIRCLE ($3.50)
12/2013: --
--------------------------------------
12/2014: -- 
01/2015: Jupiter's Legacy #5 -- 29,055 (- 21.3%) 
02/2015: -- 
03/2015: --
04/2015: Jupiter's Circle #1 -- 32,542 (+ 12.0%)
05/2015: Jupiter's Circle #2 -- 24,499 (- 24.7%)
06/2015: Jupiter's Circle #3 -- 21,287 (- 13.1%) 
07/2015: Jupiter's Circle #4 -- 19,522 (-  8.3%) 
08/2015: Jupiter's Circle #5 -- 18,889 (-  3.2%) 
09/2015: Jupiter's Circle #6 -- 18,732 (-  0.8%) 
10/2015: --
11/2015: Jupiter's Crc v2 #1 -- 18,175 (-  3.0%)
12/2015: Jupiter's Crc v2 #2 -- 15,719 (- 13.5%)
-----------------
6 months: - 26.2%
1 year  :    n.a.
2 years :    n.a.

Starting over with a new #1 did Jupiter’s Circle absolutely no favors.

165 - BLACK MAGICK ($3.99)
10/2015: Black Magick #1 -- 28,429 
11/2015: Black Magick #2 -- 17,686 (- 37.8%) 
12/2015: Black Magick #3 -- 15,070 (- 14.8%)
169 - BLACK SCIENCE ($3.99)
12/2013: Black Science #2  -- 20,151 
------------------------------------
12/2014: Black Science #11 -- 19,688 (-  6.8%) 
01/2015: -- 
02/2015: -- 
03/2015: Black Science #12 -- 26,112 (+ 32.6%)
04/2015: Black Science #13 -- 17,876 (- 31.5%) 
05/2015: Black Science #14 -- 17,090 (-  4.4%)
06/2015: Black Science #15 -- 17,932 (+  4.9%) 
07/2015: Black Science #16 -- 18,298 (+  2.0%) 
08/2015: -- 
09/2015: -- 
10/2015: -- 
11/2015: Black Science #17 -- 15,094 (- 17.5%) 
12/2015: Black Science #18 -- 14,465 (-  4.2%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 19.3%
1 year  : - 26.5%
2 years : - 28.2%

I am amused by the fact that not only does Image have series named Black Magick and Black Science, but they sell within a few hundred copies of each other.

172 - PLUTONA ($2.99)
09/2015: Plutona #1 of 5 -- 25,690 
10/2015: Plutona #2 of 5 -- 16,656 (- 35.2%)
11/2015: -- 
12/2015: Plutona #3 of 5 -- 13,948 (- 16.3%)

Still doing well at the midpoint of the miniseries.

176 - LAZARUS ($3.50)
12/2013: Lazarus #5  -- 22,695
-------------------------------
12/2014: -- 
01/2015: Lazarus #14 -- 15,896 (-  1.2%) 
02/2015: Lazarus #15 -- 15,237 (-  4.1%) 
03/2015: --
04/2015: Lazarus #16 -- 15,138 (-  0.6%)
05/2015: --
06/2015: Lazarus #17 -- 14,980 (-  1.0%) 
07/2015: Lazarus #18 -- 14,563 (-  2.8%) 
08/2015: --
09/2015: Lazarus #19 -- 14,506 (-  0.4%) 
10/2015: --
11/2015: Lazarus #20 -- 14,218 (-  2.0%) 
12/2015: Lazarus #21 -- 13,390 (-  5.8%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 10.6%
1 year  :    n.a.
2 years : - 41.0%

Last issue before a several month hiatus.

179 - TREES ($2.99)
12/2014: -- 
01/2015: Trees #8  -- 18,012 (-  6.6%) 
02/2015: -- 
03/2015: --
04/2015: --
05/2015: Trees #9  -- 15,821 (- 12.2%)
06/2015: Trees #10 -- 14,913 (-  5.7%) 
07/2015: Trees #11 -- 14,273 (-  4.3%) 
08/2015: Trees #12 -- 13,569 (-  4.9%) 
09/2015: --
10/2015: --
11/2015: --
12/2015: Trees #13 -- 12,728 (-  6.2%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 14.7%
1 year  :    n.a.

180 - RAT QUEENS ($3.99)
12/2013: --
---------------------------------
12/2014: -- 
01/2015: Braga Spec #1  -- 15,017 (+  2.0%) 
02/2015: -- 
03/2015: Rat Queens #9  -- 14,425 (-  2.0%)
04/2015: Rat Queens #10 -- 14,228 (-  1.4%) 
05/2015: --
06/2015: -- 
07/2015: -- 
08/2015: Rat Queens #11 -- 14,271 (+  0.3%) 
09/2015: Rat Queens #12 -- 13,615 (-  4.6%) 
10/2015: -- 
11/2015: Rat Queens #13 -- 13,075 (-  4.0%) 
12/2015: Rat Queens #14 -- 12,468 (-  4.6%) 
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  :    n.a.
2 years :    n.a.

181 - INVINCIBLE ($2.99)
12/2005: --
12/2010: Invincible #76  -- 15,577 
12/2011: Invincible #86  -- 14,457
12/2012: Invincible #98  -- 16,139 
12/2012: Invincible #99  -- 15,566 
12/2013: Invincible #107 -- 13,268
----------------------------------
12/2014: -- 
01/2015: Invincible #116 -- 13,125 (-  1.1%) 
02/2015: Invincible #117 -- 12,627 (-  3.8%) 
03/2015: Invincible #118 -- ??????
04/2015: Invincible #119 -- 13,492
05/2015: Invincible #120 -- 13,191 (-  2.2%)
06/2015: -- 
07/2015: Invincible #121 -- 13,075 (-  0.9%) 
08/2015: Invincible #122 -- 13,001 (-  0.6%) 
09/2015: Invincible #123 -- 12,758 (-  1.9%) 
10/2015: Invincible #124 -- 13,186 (+  3.4%) 
11/2015: Invincible #125 -- 12,561 (-  4.7%) 
12/2015: Invincible #126 -- 12,436 (-  1.0%) 
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  :    n.a.
2 years : -  6.3%
5 years : - 20.2%
10 years:    n.a.

Invincible is back to its regular slow but (mostly) steady erosion.

185 - THE VIOLENT ($2.99)
12/2015: The Violent #1 -- 11,751

New crime series from Ed Brisson & Adam Gorham. Allegedly ongoing, but these aren’t very good numbers for a debut issue, and unless it bucks the normal trends it may not go on for very long.

188 - THE BEAUTY ($3.50)
08/2015: The Beauty #1  -- 25,245
09/2015: The Beauty #2  -- 17,337 (- 31.3%)
10/2015: The Beauty #3  -- 14,935 (- 13.9%)
11/2015: The Beauty #4  -- 13,369 (- 10.5%)
12/2015: The Beauty #5  -- 11,514 (- 13.9%)

This is the first issue of The Beauty that wasn’t returnable.

190 - PRETTY DEADLY ($3.50)
12/2013: Pretty Deadly #3  -- 23,187
------------------------------------
12/2014: -- 
01/2015: -- 
02/2015: -- 
03/2015: --
04/2015: --
05/2015: --
06/2015: -- 
07/2015: -- 
08/2015: -- 
09/2015: -- 
10/2015: --
11/2015: Pretty Deadly #6  -- 15,494 (- 19.4%)
12/2015: Pretty Deadly #7  -- 11,277 (- 27.2%)
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  :    n.a.
2 years : - 51.4%

Oh, that’s a bad drop; retailers seem to have treated issue #7 as if it was a second issue.

192 - AUTUMNLANDS ($2.99)
12/2014: Autumnlands T&C #2 -- 36,599 (- 11.1%)
01/2015: Autumnlands T&C #3 -- 22,190 (- 39.4%) 
02/2015: Autumnlands T&C #4 -- 17,700 (- 20.2%) 
03/2015: Autumnlands T&C #5 -- 16,054 (-  9.3%)
04/2015: --
05/2015: --
06/2015: Autumnlands T&C #6 -- 15,321 (-  4.6%) 
07/2015: -- 
08/2015: -- 
09/2015: -- 
10/2015: -- 
11/2015: Autumnlands #7     -- 12,227 (- 20.2%) 
12/2015: Autumnlands #8     -- 11,104 (-  9.2%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 27.5%
1 year  : - 69.7%

193 - DEADLY CLASS ($3.99)
12/2014: -- 
01/2015: Deadly Class #10 -- 13,552 (-  4.2%) 
02/2015: Deadly Class #11 -- 12,805 (-  5.5%) 
03/2015: --
04/2015: Deadly Class #12 -- 13,780 (+  7.6%)
05/2015: Deadly Class #13 -- 12,299 (- 10.7%)
06/2015: -- 
07/2015: Deadly Class #14 -- 11,798 (-  4.1%) 
08/2015: Deadly Class #15 -- 11,779 (-  0.2%) 
09/2015: Deadly Class #16 -- 11,394 (-  3.3%) 
10/2015: --
11/2015: --
12/2015: Deadly Class #17 -- 11,035 (-  3.2%) 
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  :    n.a.

196 - BIRTHRIGHT ($2.99)
12/2014: Birthright #3  -- 14,247 (- 22.9%) 
01/2015: Birthright #4  -- 13,506 (-  5.2%) 
02/2015: Birthright #5  -- 13,218 (-  2.1%) 
03/2015: --
04/2015: Birthright #6  -- 14,081 (+  6.5%)
05/2015: Birthright #7  -- 12,561 (- 10.8%)
06/2015: Birthright #8  -- 12,058 (-  4.0%) 
07/2015: Birthright #9  -- 11,496 (-  4.7%) 
08/2015: Birthright #10 -- 11,072 (-  3.7%) 
09/2015: --
10/2015: --
11/2015: Birthright #11 -- 10,989 (-  0.7%) 
12/2015: Birthright #12 -- 10,633 (-  3.2%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 11.8%
1 year  : - 25.4%

232 - CITIZEN JACK ($3.99)
11/2015: Citizen Jack #1 -- 16,605 
12/2015: Citizen Jack #2 --  9,242 (- 44.3%)

Returnable, so the figures have been adjusted up 10% from what was reported by Diamond/ICv2. (For an explanation why this is done for returnable items, please see the fine print at the end of this post.)

A larger than normal second issue percentage drop. Not a good sign.

223 - NAILBITER ($2.99)
12/2014: Nailbiter #8  -- 12,096 (-  2.1%) 
01/2015: Nailbiter #9  -- 11,222 (-  7.2%) 
02/2015: Nailbiter #10 -- 10,889 (-  3.0%) 
03/2015: --
04/2015: Nailbiter #11 -- 12,868 (+ 18.2%)
05/2015: Nailbiter #12 -- 10,688 (- 16.9%)
06/2015: Nailbiter #13 -- 10,456 (-  2.2%) 
07/2015: Nailbiter #14 -- 10,130 (-  3.1%) 
08/2015: Nailbiter #15 --  9,934 (-  1.9%) 
09/2015: --
10/2015: Nailbiter #16 --  9,719 (-  2.2%) 
11/2015: Nailbiter #17 --  9,333 (-  4.0%) 
12/2015: Nailbiter #18 --  8,853 (-  5.1%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 15.3%
1 year  : - 26.8%

225 - CHEW ($3.50)
12/2010: Chew #16 -- 12,473
12/2011: Chew #22 -- 12,296
12/2012: -- 
12/2013: Chew #38 -- 12,068
------------------------------------
12/2014: Chew #45 -- 10,407 (-  1.1%) 
01/2015: -- 
02/2015: Chew #46 -- 15,073 (+ 44.8%) 
03/2015: Chew #47 --  9,785 (- 35.1%)
04/2015: Chew #48 --  9,707 (-  0.8%)
05/2015: Chew #49 --  9,583 (-  1.3%)
06/2015: -- 
07/2015: Chew #50 -- 10,679 (+ 11.4%) 
08/2015: -- 
09/2015: -- 
10/2015: Chew #51 --  9,652 (-  9.6%) 
11/2015: Chew #52 --  9,056 (-  6.2%) 
12/2015: Chew #53 --  8,829 (-  2.5%) 
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  : - 15.2%
2 years : - 26.8%
5 years : - 29.2%

226 - HEAD LOPPER ($5.99)
09/2015: Head Lopper #1 of 4 -- 11,337 
10/2015: --
11/2015: --
12/2015: Head Lopper #2 of 4 --  8,755 (- 22.8%)

This is an oversized quarterly comic, so the regular economics may not apply.

239 - BLACK JACK KETCHUM ($3.99)
12/2015: Black Jack Ketchum #1 of 4 -- 8,022

Not a great start for the supernatural western miniseries.

262 - WAYWARD ($3.50)
12/2014: Wayward #5  -- 10,009 (-  3.0%) 
01/2015: -- 
02/2015: -- 
03/2015: Wayward #6  -- 12,247 (+ 22.4%)
04/2015: Wayward #7  --  8,389 (- 31.5%)
05/2015: Wayward #8  --  8,073 (-  3.8%)
06/2015: Wayward #9  --  7,913 (-  2.0%) 
07/2015: Wayward #10 --  7,859 (-  0.7%) 
08/2015: -- 
09/2015: -- 
10/2015: -- 
11/2015: Wayward #11 --  8,024 (+  4.4%) 
12/2015: Wayward #12 --  7,015 (- 14.5%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 11.3%
1 year  : - 29.9%

270 - PHONOGRAM: THE IMMATERIAL GIRL ($3.99)
08/2015: Immaterial Girl #1 of 6 -- 15,856 (+516.2%)
09/2015: Immaterial Girl #2 of 6 -- 10,615 (- 33.1%)
10/2015: Immaterial Girl #3 of 6 --  9,012 (- 15.1%)
11/2015: Immaterial Girl #4 of 6 --  7,660 (- 15.0%)
12/2015: Immaterial Girl #5 of 6 --  6,777 (- 11.5%)

297 - FASTER THAN LIGHT ($2.99)
09/2015: Faster Than Light #1 -- 16,711 
10/2015: Faster Than Light #2 -- 10,098 (- 39.6%) 
11/2015: Faster Than Light #3 --  7,992 (- 20.9%) 
12/2015: Faster Than Light #4 --  6,530 (- 18.3%)

Returnable, so the figures have been adjusted up 10% from what was reported by Diamond/ICv2. (For an explanation why this is done for returnable items, please see the fine print at the end of this post.)

Not catching on.

279 - REVIVAL ($3.99)
12/2012: -- 
12/2013: Revival #16 -- 11,065 
------------------------------
12/2014: Revival #26 --  8,696 (-  8.8%)
01/2015: Revival #27 --  8,057 (-  7.3%) 
02/2015: -- 
03/2015: Revival #28 --  7,913 (-  1.8%)
04/2015: Revival #29 --  7,786 (-  1.6%)
05/2015: --
06/2015: Revival #30 --  7,545 (-  3.1%) 
07/2015: Revival #31 --  7,337 (-  2.8%) 
08/2015: Revival #32 --  7,019 (-  4.3%) 
09/2015: Revival #33 --  6,824 (-  2.8%) 
10/2015: Revival #34 --  6,921 (+  1.4%) 
11/2015: --
12/2015: Revival #35 --  6,510 (-  5.9%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 13.7%
1 year  : - 25.1%
2 years : - 41.2%

Starts a new story arc in issue #36.

280 - SOUTHERN CROSS ($2.99)
03/2015: Southern Cross #1  -- 29,658 
04/2015: Southern Cross #2  -- 12,777 (- 56.9%)
05/2015: Southern Cross #3  --  9,871 (- 22.7%)
06/2015: Southern Cross #4  --  8,484 (- 14.1%)
07/2015: -- 
08/2015: -- 
09/2015: Southern Cross #5  --  7,288 (- 14.1%)
10/2015: -- 
11/2015: -- 
12/2015: Southern Cross #6  --  6,496 (- 10.9%)
-----------------
6 months: - 23.4%

No further issues have been solicited.

282 - RINGSIDE ($3.99)
11/2015: Ringside #1 -- 14,205 
12/2015: Ringside #1 --  6,447 (- 54.6%)

Ouch.

283 - ISLAND ($7.99)
07/2015: Island #1  -- 16,677  
08/2015: Island #2  -- 11,092 (- 33.5%)  
09/2015: Island #3  -- 10,083 (-  9.1%)  
10/2015: Island #4  --  7,553 (- 25.1%)  
11/2015: -- 
12/2015: Island #5  --  6,422 (- 15.0%)

285 - ROCKET GIRL ($3.99)
12/2013: Rocket Girl #3  -- 10,976
------------------------------------
12/2014: -- 
01/2015: -- 
02/2015: -- 
03/2015: --
04/2015: --
05/2015: Rocket Girl #6  --  8,519 (- 11.5%)
06/2015: -- 
07/2015: -- 
08/2015: -- 
09/2015: -- 
10/2015: --
11/2015: --
12/2015: Rocket Girl #7  --  6,347 (- 25.5%)
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  :    n.a.
2 years : - 42.2%

One of my favorite comics.

286 - RUMBLE ($3.50)
12/2014: Rumble #1  -- 24,780 
01/2015: Rumble #2  -- 14,580 (- 41.2%) 
02/2015: Rumble #3  -- 12,192 (- 16.4%) 
03/2015: Rumble #4  -- 10,138 (- 16.8%)
04/2015: Rumble #5  --  9,458 (-  6.7%)
05/2015: --
06/2015: -- 
07/2015: -- 
08/2015: Rumble #6  --  8,810 (-  6.9%) 
09/2015: Rumble #7  --  7,613 (- 13.6%) 
10/2015: Rumble #8  --  7,084 (-  6.9%) 
11/2015: Rumble #9  --  6,774 (-  4.4%) 
12/2015: Rumble #10 --  6,324 (-  6.6%) 
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  : - 74.5%

No further issues have been solicited.

288 - THEY'RE NOT LIKE US ($2.99)
12/2014: They're Not Like Us #1  -- 18,015          [24,920] 
01/2015: They're Not Like Us #2  -- 10,028 (- 59.8%) 
02/2015: They're Not Like Us #3  --  9,424 (-  6.0%) 
03/2015: They're Not Like Us #4  --  9,255 (-  1.8%)
04/2015: They're Not Like Us #5  --  8,903 (-  3.8%)
05/2015: They're Not Like Us #6  --  8,368 (-  6.0%)
06/2015: -- 
07/2015: -- 
08/2015: They're Not Like Us #7  --  7,599 (-  9.2%) 
09/2015: They're Not Like Us #8  --  6,988 (-  8.0%) 
10/2015: They're Not Like Us #9  --  6,780 (-  3.0%) 
11/2015: --
12/2015: They're Not Like Us #10 --  6,294 (-  7.2%) 
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  : - 74.7%

WIll run at least through #12.

Image titles shipping but not making the Top 300 in December include: Astronauts in Trouble, Axcend, Codename Baboushka: Conclave of Death, The Covenant, Dark Corridor, From Under Mountains, The Humans, Invisible Republic, IXth Generation, Where is Jake Ellis, Limbo, Morning Glories, No Mercy, Saints, Savage Dragon (2 issues), Sex, Sidekick, Stray Bullets: Sunshine & Roses, Tales of Honor: Bred to Kill, Tech Jacket, Tithe.

Note that this doesn’t necessarily mean that any of them are in danger of being cancelled; there are many reasons that the creators of these books may desire to keep them going.


The Fine Print (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 of physical comics 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. Keep in mind that sales for some titles may include incentives to acquire variants and not every unit sold is necessarily even intended to be sold to a customer.

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 brackets 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 which are returnable have their numbers artificially adjusted down by Diamond. To make up for that this column increases the reported numbers for those titles by 10%. Which is likely also wrong, but it’s a different and likely less wrong kind of wrong, and experience has shown that this leads to sales figures which are more consistent.

Please keep in mind that raw sales numbers do not tell us about how profitable a book is for a publisher or for the creators.

Above all, do not allow sales numbers to dictate your purchasing and enjoyment of a particular comic. If you enjoy reading a comic series then go right on buying and reading that comic, no matter what the sales figures say.

** Two asterisks after a given month in the average charts mean that one or more periodical release did not make the Top 300/400 chart in that month. In those cases, it’s assumed that said releases sold as many units as the No. 300/400 comic on the chart for that month for the purposes of the chart, although its actual sales are likely to be less than that.

Opinions expressed in this column are mine alone, and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer, Heidi MacDonald or anyone at The Comics Beat, the Merry Marvel Marching Society, or my former neighbor’s dog Miles.

The author of this column does weekly snapshots of Amazon comic sales charts at http://yetanothercomicsblog.blogspot.com/ and tweets about comics and related subjects on Twitter at @davereadscomics (PM me there is you need to contact me).

As always, we welcome your comments and corrections below. Please try to keep things civilized.

15 COMMENTS

  1. I actually think that you should STOP lowering Image “returnables” by 10%. Why? The “10% rule” was established for books like “52” that were “open to buy” returnable — that is, it is returnable, if a retailer buys 2 copies or 200,000 copies or any number on any side of those. Therefore, it was expected that a wide swath of retailers will qualify for said returns, and that returns could be “meaningful”.

    Image, conversely, heavily gates their returnable books — for the discount bracket that I am in (equivalent to my bracket for DC and Marvel sales), I need to order *40* copies in order to qualify for returnable orders. That’s a big number in today’s market for a lot of accounts. I only have about eight regular monthly Marvel and DC periodicals combined that sell 40 copies!

    If we assume 2500 retailers, 40 copies each would be 100k — CLEARLY this shows that the overwhelming majority of retailers aren’t qualifying for and/or participating in, Image’s returnable program — especially on something like CITIZEN JACK with sub 10k reported sales. I’ll be a little surprised if even 100 stores took Image up on the returnability with that sales number.

    Food for thought.

    -B

  2. Thanks, Brian. I had noticed over the past few months of doing these Image charts that the returnability was operating differently from Marvel/DC, but didn’t know why that was so or what the mechanism was that was operating behind it. Your information here explains a lot! I will likely revise how I handle the numbers for returnable Image titles on these charts going forward.

  3. More people need to be reading Black Magick! Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott, drawing her butt off for this book. I mean, the art. Have you seen the art? WOW. And it’s actually a great book, too!

  4. I think Southern Cross finished its first arc and will be back at some later date with a second? Though with those sales numbers it might not be back. Pity, since I rather enjoyed it; very much like those “we’re trapped on a spaceship and people are dying mysteriously” episodes of Doctor Who.

    I’m also enjoying Faster Than Light, although the story is pretty fragmented so far.

  5. The sales on BLACK SCIENCE, EAST OF WEST, and LAZARUS break my heart. So many people are missing out on (respectively) fun, epic, and intriguing storytelling.

  6. Just popping in to say that Head Lopper is, besides the fact that it is one well-done comics, is one hell of a good idea in its packaging and sales format. It’s one huge quaterly, you take a smuch time reading it than good old 70’s-80’s comics, you can change your mind if you don’t like it because you’re preorder isn’t yet confirmed once you are done reading it, and you don’t feel cheated because that’s a very nice cover price ($6).

  7. @Christopher: There used to be an indie comics monthly round-up, but the last one I see is March 2015.

    I imagine it’s tough enough putting together informed commentary for DC/Marvel/Image, let alone the plethora of smaller titles.

  8. The Violent is a fantastic comic. Same goes for Stray Bullets. And Savage Republic. Really a pity that the more (social-) realistic, complexly written titles don’t do as well as the crazy over-the-top-genre stuff. Maybe people assume they’re less entertaining?? Which is not true at all.

  9. “I actually think that you should STOP lowering Image “returnables” by 10%.”

    Isn’t it Diamond which is lowering the reported sales of returnable books, with Dave Carter and the others then raising them for these reports, on the assumption that Diamond is treating all returnables the same, with a 10% reduction? An assumption I’m not sure is justified, by the way. I think the only statement Diamond has ever made was that the reduction was 10% for one particular set of books (I think it was the New 52 launch, or maybe one of the weekly books), and it’s possible, if not likely, that they apply a different formula for different types of returnability, based on past ordering/returning patterns.

  10. As long as 8000 copies are sold, the creators at Image are making money, that’s how I look at the charts now. Under that number I feel bad for my favorite Image comics, like Rumble & They’re Not Like Us,

  11. I wish Blackacre was finished or at least the creator would let us know if he will ever come back to finish the story.

Comments are closed.