Image Comics Month-to Month Sales: October 2015 – It’s Only a Paper Moon

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.

Image shipped only 55 comics in October, compared to 73 in September. Not sure if this was a conscious decision to stay out of the way of the Marvel relaunch, or just the way the scheduling fell.

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.)

---

 

23 - PAPER GIRLS ($2.99)
10/2015: Paper Girls #1 -- 75,585

The second straight debut for a Brian K. Vaughan series in the 70K range, about 3K shy of what the first issue of We Stand On Guard did. This will likely also drop down into the 40K range in a few issues, but that’s still fantastically good for a creator-owned Image book. Vaughan & Cliff Chiang have clearly struck paper gold, as the book has also received great reviews and also good awareness outside of the usual Wednesday comics crowd (I’ve had more people who are casual comics readers ask me about this book than anything I can remember in recent memory this side of Sandman: Overture or Saga), so look for strong sales for the eventual trade collections as well.

—

26 - THE WALKING DEAD ($2.99)
10/2005: The Walking Dead #22  --  17,623
10/2010: The Walking Dead #78  --  27,947 
10/2011: The Walking Dead #89  --  31,351
10/2011: The Walking Dead #90  --  31,778
10/2012: The Walking Dead #103 --  74,378 
10/2013: The Walking Dead #115 -- 310,854 [329,127]
-----------------------------------------
10/2014: The Walking Dead #132 -- 326,334 (+367.5%) 
10/2014: The Walking Dead #133 --  69,561 (- 78.7%) 
11/2014: The Walking Dead #134 --  68,093 (-  2.1%) 
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%) 
-----------------
6 months: +  0.8%
1 year  : - 66.1%
2 years : - 79.6%
5 years : +139.9%
10 years: +280.5%

TWD falls back down to its natural sales level.

—

42 - I HATE FAIRYLAND ($3.50)
10/2015: I Hate Fairyland #1 -- 50,318

Scottie Young debuts his adult-oriented series at Image, and based on these first issue sales it looks like it was a good decision.

—

53 - 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%)

Following a standard new series sales curve. Still very good sales for Image-land.

—

83 - TOKYO GHOST ($2.99)
09/2015: Tokyo Ghost #1 -- 39,682 
10/2015: Tokyo Ghost #2 -- 27,688 (- 30.2%)

A typical second issue drop.

—

99, 260 - BLACK MAGICK ($3.99/$5.99)
10/2015: Black Magick #1 -- 28,429

Includes 5,681 copies of the magazine-sized variant.

New series from Greg Rucka & Nicola Scott, which I would have guessed would have debuted a good deal higher. (Rucka’s Lazarus debuted at 48K.) We’ll see how things shake out in the coming months.

—

110 - EAST OF WEST ($3.50)
10/2013: --
-----------------------------------
10/2014: -- 
11/2014: -- 
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%) 
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  :    n.a.
2 years :    n.a.

Exhibiting standard attrition, despite the sporadic schedule.

—

114 - THE WICKED + THE DIVINE ($3.50)
10/2014: Wicked + Divine #5  -- 25,424 (-  1.0%) 
11/2014: --
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 #13 -- 20,706 (+  2.7%) 
10/2015: Wicked + Divine #14 -- 20,154 (-  2.7%) 
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  : - 20.7%

Still holding pretty darn steady.

—

121, 177 - SEX CRIMINALS ($3.50/$4.69)
10/2014: Sex Criminals #8  -- 23,938 (-  1.8%) 
11/2014: --
12/2014: Sex Criminals #9  -- 22,597 (-  5.6%) 
01/2015: Sex Criminals #10 -- 22,067 (-  2.3%) 
02/2015: -- 
03/2015: --
04/2015: --
05/2015: --
06/2015: -- 
07/2015: Sex Criminals #11 -- 35,234 (+ 82.5%) [40,283]
08/2015: -- 
09/2015: Sex Criminals #12 -- 33,005 (- 18.1%) 
10/2015: Sex Criminals #13 -- 29,368 (- 11.0%) 
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  : + 22.7%

Combined sales for the regular and XXX variants.

—

127 - THE FADE OUT ($3.50)
10/2014: Fade Out #2  -- 30,577 (- 11.2%) 
11/2014: Fade Out #3  -- 27,042 (- 11.6%)
12/2014: -- 
01/2015: Fade Out #4  -- 23,902 (- 11.6%) 
02/2015: -- 
03/2015: --
04/2015: Fade Out #5  -- 22,303 (-  6.7%)
05/2015: Fade Out #6  -- 20,678 (-  7.3%)
06/2015: Fade Out #7  -- 20,191 (-  2.4%) 
07/2015: -- 
08/2015: Fade Out #8  -- 19,416 (-  3.9%) 
09/2015: Fade Out #9  -- 18,201 (-  6.2%) 
10/2015: Fade Out #10 -- 17,582 (-  3.4%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 21.2%
1 year  : - 42.5%

Concluding with issue #12.

—

128 - SOUTHERN BASTARDS ($3.50)
10/2014: Southern Bastards #5  -- 21,932 (-  1.7%) 
11/2014: --
12/2014: Southern Bastards #6  -- 18,637 (- 15.0%) 
01/2015: -- 
02/2015: Southern Bastards #7  -- 17,523 (-  6.0%) 
03/2015: --
04/2015: Southern Bastards #8  -- 17,473 (-  0.3%)
05/2015: --
06/2015: Southern Bastards #9  -- 18,327 (+  4.9%) 
07/2015: Southern Bastards #10 -- 25,741 (+ 40.5%) 
08/2015: --
09/2015: --
10/2015: Southern Bastards #11 -- 17,306 (- 32.8%) 
-----------------
6 months: -  1.0%
1 year  : - 21.1%

No variant cover this time out. Looks like 17K is SB’s natural sales level.

—

130 - PLUTONA ($2.99)
09/2015: Plutona #1 of 5 -- 25,690 
10/2015: Plutona #2 of 5 -- 16,656 (- 35.2%)

Within the range of an expected second issue drop.

—

142 - SAINTS ($2.99)
10/2015: Saints #1 -- 15,871

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.)

New series from radio personality & playwright Sean Lewis and artist Benjamin Lackey.

—

135 - LOW ($3.50)
10/2014: Low #4  -- 23,530 (- 12.0%)  
11/2014: --
12/2014: Low #5  -- 21,584 (-  8.3%) 
01/2015: -- 
02/2015: Low #6  -- 19,832 (-  8.1%) 
03/2015: --
04/2015: -- 
05/2015: --
06/2015: Low #7  -- 24,317 (+ 22.6%) 
07/2015: Low #8  -- 16,169 (- 33.5%) 
08/2015: Low #9  -- 15,717 (-  2.8%) 
09/2015: --
08/2015: Low #10 -- 15,351 (-  2.3%) 
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  : - 34.8%

Standard attrition.

—

137 - SPAWN ($2.99)
10/2005: Spawn #150      -- 40,126
10/2010: -- 
10/2011: Spawn #212      -- 13,483 
10/2012: Spawn #224      -- 17,759  
10/2013: Spawn #236      -- 13,368 
----------------------------------
10/2014: Spawn #247      -- 12,023 (-  9.9%) 
11/2014: Spawn #248      -- 11,934 (-  0.7%) 
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%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 12.5%
1 year  : + 27.0%
2 years : + 14.2%
5 years :    n.a.
10 years: - 62.0%

Adds a few copies to stay above the 15K line.

—

148 - AXCEND ($3.50)
10/2015: Axcend #1 -- 15,197

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.)

New series from Shane Davis. This seems to be the level at which retailers order new Image series that they really have no idea how it will sell.

—

149 - 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%)

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 third issue drop.

—

154 - INVINCIBLE ($2.99)
10/2005: --
10/2010: -- 
10/2011: Invincible #83  -- 15,249
10/2012: Invincible #96  -- 14,052 
10/2013: Invincible #106 -- 13,961
----------------------------------
10/2014: -- 
11/2014: Invincible #115 -- 13,277 (-  4.6%) 
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%) 
-----------------
6 months: -  2.3%
1 year  :    n.a.
2 years : -  5.6%
5 years :    n.a.
10 years:    n.a.

Bounces back above the 13K line. Overall rock solid sales.

—

161 - CODENAME BABOUSKA: CONCLAVE OF DEATH ($3.99)
10/2015: Conclave of Death #1 -- 12,290

New series with a complex title from Anthony Johnston & Shari Chankhamma.

—

167 - SWITCH ($3.99)
10/2015: Switch #1 -- 11,442

Stjepan Sejic brings his Webcomic to print.

—

176 - MANIFEST DESTINY ($2.99)
10/2014: Manifest Destiny #11 -- 13,620 (-  4.8%) 
11/2014: --
12/2014: Manifest Destiny #12 -- 12,987 (-  4.6%) 
01/2015: -- 
02/2015: Manifest Destiny #13 -- 17,891 (+ 37.8%) 
03/2015: --
04/2015: Manifest Destiny #14 -- 11,716 (- 34.5%)
05/2015: --
06/2015: Manifest Destiny #15 -- 11,389 (-  2.8%) 
07/2015: -- 
08/2015: Manifest Destiny #16 -- 10,986 (-  3.5%) 
09/2015: Manifest Destiny #17 -- 10,748 (-  2.2%) 
10/2015: Manifest Destiny #18 -- 10,503 (-  2.3%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 10.4%
1 year  : - 22.9%

So far no further issues have been solicited.

—

196 - FASTER THAN LIGHT ($2.99)
09/2015: Faster Than Light #1 -- 16,711 
10/2015: Faster Than Light #2 -- 10,098 (- 39.6%)

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 slightly higher than normal second issue drop.

—

189 - NAILBITER ($2.99)
10/2014: Nailbiter #6  -- 13,340 (- 10.8%) 
11/2014: Nailbiter #7  -- 12,361 (-  7.3%)
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%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 24.5%
1 year  : - 27.1%

—

191 - CHEW ($3.50)
10/2010: -- 
10/2011: Chew #21          -- 12,310
10/2012: Chew #29          -- 12,877 
10/2013: Chew #37          -- 12,214
-------------------------------
10/2014: -- 
11/2014: Chew #44          -- 10,526 (-  2.3%) 
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%) 
-----------------
6 months: -  0.6%
1 year  :    n.a.
2 years : - 21.0%
5 years :    n.a.

Back to its new sales level.

—

197 - 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%)

A typical third issue drop.

—

201 - COPPERHEAD ($3.50)
10/2014: Copperhead #2  -- 17,250 (- 28.9%) 
11/2014: Copperhead #3  -- 12,079 (- 30.0%)
12/2014: Copperhead #4  -- 11,241 (-  6.9%) 
01/2015: Copperhead #5  -- 10,752 (-  4.4%) 
02/2015: -- 
03/2015: --
04/2015: Copperhead #6  -- 10,148 (-  5.6%)
05/2015: Copperhead #7  --  9,679 (-  4.6%)
06/2015: Copperhead #8  --  9,504 (-  1.8%) 
07/2015: Copperhead #9  --  9,050 (-  4.8%) 
08/2015: -- 
09/2015: --
10/2015: Copperhead #10 --  8,662 (-  4.3%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 14.6%
1 year  : - 49.8%

So far no further issues have been solicited.

—

204 - WOLF ($3.50)
07/2015: Wolf #1  -- 18,864  
08/2015: Wolf #2  -- 12,898 (- 31.6%)  
09/2015: Wolf #3  -- 10,305 (- 20.1%)  
10/2015: Wolf #4  --  8,580 (- 16.7%)

The first issue that hasn’t been returnable.

—

214 - ODY-C ($3.99)
11/2014: ODY-C #1  -- 52,155  
12/2014: -- 
01/2015: ODY-C #2  -- 23,448 (- 55.0%) 
02/2015: ODY-C #3  -- 18,509 (- 21.1%) 
03/2015: --
04/2015: ODY-C #4  -- 14,086 (- 23.9%)
05/2015: ODY-C #5  -- 12,557 (- 10.9%)
06/2015: -- 
07/2015: -- 
08/2015: ODY-C #6  --  9,679 (- 22.9%) 
09/2015: ODY-C #7  --  8,882 (-  8.2%) 
10/2015: ODY-C #8  --  7,959 (- 10.4%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 43.5%

I don’t know how much longer this can keep dropping at this rate. Has been solicited through #10.

—

234 - FROM UNDER MOUNTAINS ($3.99)
09/2015: From Under Mountains #1 -- 13,112 
10/2015: From Under Mountains #2 --  7,599 (- 42.0%)

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.)

That’s a large and not encouraging second issue drop.

—

219 - 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%)

The first issue that hasn’t been returnable.

—

226 - SAVIOR ($2.99)
04/2015: Savior #1 of 8 -- 26,870 
05/2015: Savior #2 of 8 -- 13,625 (- 49.3%)
06/2015: Savior #3 of 8 -- 11,312 (- 17.0%) 
07/2015: Savior #4 of 8 --  9,559 (- 15.5%) 
08/2015: Savior #5 of 8 --  8,440 (- 11.7%) 
09/2015: Savior #6 of 8 --  7,891 (-  6.5%) 
10/2015: Savior #7 of 8 --  7,170 (-  9.1%)

—

229 - 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%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 25.1%

Has been solicited through #10.

—

230 - SPREAD ($3.50)
10/2014: -- 
11/2014: Spread #4  -- 13.288 (- 15.3%)
12/2014: -- 
01/2015: Spread #5  -- 11,115 (- 16.4%) 
02/2015: -- 
03/2015: Spread #6  -- 10,203 (-  8.2%)
04/2015: Spread #7  -- 10,955 (+  7.4%)
05/2015: --
06/2015: Spread #8  --  8,388 (- 23.4%) 
07/2015: -- 
08/2015: Spread #9  --  7,866 (-  6.2%) 
09/2015: Spread #10 --  7,372 (-  6.3%) 
10/2015: Spread #11 --  6,965 (-  5.5%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 36.4%
1 year  :    n.a.

End of the sec on story arc; a third story arc is scheduled to begin with issue #12 in January.

—

233 - REVIVAL ($3.99)
10/2012: Revival #4  -- 15,251 
10/2013: -- 
------------------------------
10/2014: Revival #24 --  9,019 (-  4.3%) 
11/2014: Revival #25 --  9,535 (+  5.7%) 
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%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 11.1%
1 year  : - 23.3%
2 years :    n.a.

A slight reprieve.

—

240 - 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%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 23.8%

—

246 - STARVE ($3.50)
06/2015: Starve #1  -- 24,847  
07/2015: Starve #2  -- 10,646 (- 57.2%)  
08/2015: Starve #3  --  8,379 (- 21.3%)  
09/2015: Starve #4  --  7,050 (- 15.9%)  
09/2015: Starve #5  --  6,416 (-  9.0%)

—

251 - 8HOUSE ($2.99)
07/2015: #1 Arclight pt1  -- 16,335  
08/2015: #2 Arclight pt2  --  9,463 (- 42.1%)  
09/2015: #3 Kiem     pt1  --  8,245 (- 12.9%)  
10/2015: #4 Yorris   pt1  --  6,107 (- 25.9%)

The first issue that hasn’t been returnable.

The confusing numbering probably isn’t helping matters.

—

269 - EMPTY ZONE ($3.50)
06/2015: Empty Zone #1  -- 12,877  
07/2015: Empty Zone #2  --  7,385 (- 42.6%)  
08/2015: Empty Zone #3  --  6,759 (-  8.5%)  
09/2015: Empty Zone #4  --  5,668 (- 16.1%)  
10/2015: Empty Zone #5  --  5,301 (-  6.5%)

—

281 - SURFACE ($3.50)
03/2015: Surface #1  -- 21,742  
04/2015: Surface #2  --  8,038 (- 63.0%) 
05/2015: -- 
06/2015: Surface #3  --  5,557 (- 30.9%) 
07/2015: -- 
08/2015: -- 
09/2015: -- 
10/2015: Surface #4  --  4,940 (- 11.1%)

Not catching on. No further issues have been solicited, though the upcoming collection is labelled as Volume 1.

—

284 - CBLDF LIBERTY ANNUAL ($4.99)
10/2010: Annual 2010 --  8,294  
10/2011: Annual 2011 --  6,846 (- 17.5%) 
10/2012: Annual 2012 -- 13,306 (+ 94.4%) 
10/2013: Annual 2013 --  7,031 (- 47.2%) 
10/2014: Annual 2014 --  ????? (< 6,326) 
10/2015: Annual 2015 --  4,806 
-----------------
1 year  :   ?????
2 years : - 31.6%
5 years : - 42.1%

Y’all should be ashamed of yourselves. Support the CBLDF!

—

297 - DARK CORRIDOR ($3.99)
08/2015: Dark Corridor #1  -- 13,222
09/2015: Dark Corridor #2  --  7,163 (- 45.8%)
10/2015: Dark Corridor #3  --  4,777 (- 33.3%)

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 going well.

—

295 - HUMANS ($2.99)
11/2014: Humans #1  -- 17,274  
12/2014: Humans #2  --  7,132 (- 58.7%) 
01/2015: Humans #3  --  5,870 (- 17.7%)
02/2015: Humans #4  --  5,299 (-  9.7%) 
03/2015: --
04/2015: --
05/2015: --
06/2015: Humans #5  --  5,274 (-  0.5%) 
07/2015: Humans #6  --  ????? (< 5,446) 
08/2015: Humans #7  --  4,509  
09/2015: --
10/2015: Humans #8  --  4,365 (-  3.2%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 14.9%

Scheduled to end this series with #10, along with the promise of a return with a new series in 2016.

—

300 - SHUTTER ($3.99)
10/2014: -- 
11/2014: --
12/2014: Shutter #7  -- 10,669 (+ 42.3%) 
01/2015: Shutter #8  --  6,587 (- 38.3%) 
02/2015: Shutter #9  --  5,881 (- 16.4%) 
03/2015: Shutter #10 --  5,497 (- 10.7%)
04/2015: Shutter #11 --  ????? (< 6,352)
05/2015: Shutter #12 --  5,023 
06/2015: --
07/2015: Shutter #13 --  ????? (< 5,446)
08/2015: Shutter #14 --  5,160  
09/2015: Shutter #15 --  ????? (< 5,049)
10/2015: Shutter #16 --  4,248  
-----------------
6 months:   ?????
1 year  :    n.a.

Starting up a new story arc with #18 in February.

—

Image titles shipping but not making the Top 300 in October include: Astronauts in Trouble, The Covenant, The Fuse, IXth Generation, Minimum Wage, Reyn, Roche Limit, Savage Dragon, Tales of Honor, 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.

Image is not a normal comics publisher, and the typical metrics for sales success may not apply. For many 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.

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.

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 National Association of Community Health Centers, 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.