Diamond has posted the March sales charts, and it was another big month for Marvel, while DC and Dark Horse had equal numbers of books in the top ten, thanks to BUFFY SEASON 8 #1’s astonishing numbers. Newsarama has this to say.
Paul O’Brien had his own take:
The March 2007 direct market sales are out, and it’s another drubbing for DC. Oh dear. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #1 made the top ten (at number 9), prompting Newsarama to observe that it “may be the first non-Marvel title to finish in the Top Ten in several years.” Or, you know, you could go and look it up. Actually, I believe they’re right – there hasn’t been a non-Marvel/DC book in the DM top ten since 2003, when retro licensed properties enjoyed a short-lived fad.
We did our own quick and dirty little calculation of the top ten sales #’s. These are rough but the magnitude is about right.
QtyRank RetailRank Index Description Price VEN
1 1 360.9 CAPTAIN AMERICA #25 CW* $3.99 MAR 291,246
2 3 175.52 MIGHTY AVENGERS #1 $3.99 MAR 141,645
3 6 171.1 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #539* $2.99 MAR 138,078
4 2 171.01 CIVIL WAR INITIATIVE* $4.99 MAR 138,005
5 4 169.37 DARK TOWER GUNSLINGER BORN #2 (Of 7)* $3.99 MAR 136,682
6 5 161.62 JUSTICE LEAGUE O/AMERICA #6* $3.50 DC 130,427
7 7 148.47 NEW AVENGERS #28 $2.99 MAR 119,815
8 8 139.66 CIVIL WAR CONFESSION $2.99 MAR 112,706
9 9 136.55 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #1* $2.99 DAR 110,196
10 11 118.36 WOLVERINE #52* $2.99 MAR 95,517
Here’s the Top Ten GN’s, with another strong showing for Dark Horse.
Qty Rank Retail Rank Index Title Price Ven
1 1 10.84 300 HC $30.00 DAR
2 30 7.81 NARUTO VOL 13 TP $7.95 VIZ
3 9 7.60 EX MACHINA VOL 5 SMOKE SMOKE TP (MR) $12.99 DC
4 3 6.53 SPIDER-MAN BIRTH O/VENOM TP $29.99 MAR
5 12 6.31 NEW AVENGERS VOL 4 COLLECTIVE TP $14.99 MAR
6 18 6.03 STAR WARS BOBA FETT VOL 1 TP MAN W/MISSION $12.95 DAR
7 42 5.81 DEATH NOTE VOL 10 TP $7.99 VIZ
8 10 5.63 ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR VOL 7 GOD WAR TP $16.99 MAR
9 7 5.28 FAFHRD & GRAY MOUSER TP $19.95 DAR
10 39 5.12 WARCRAFT VOL 3 GN (Of 3) $9.99 TK
And remember, pre-CIVIL WAR, CAPTAIN AMERICA was doing a little under 50K. They should kill him more often.
DC lost more market share? This is definitely not good.
Oddly, the only comic on that list I bought was from DC. Truly, I am out of touch with the movers and shakers.
(I meant on the comic list. On the tpb list the only one I bought was the Fafrd & Grey Mouser reprint.)
Wow, nearly 300,000 copies.
Nice to see what a little hype, a variant cover, and a 2nd printing will do.
I agree with Paul, they should kill him more often. Yow.
The sales crash with issue #26 might beat Black Panther’s post wedding issue though. :D
I’d like to know what the initial orders were on Cap #25. Considering all the ruckus, that’d be interesting information. We’d also have a clearer sight on exactly how many issues Wizard secured before everyone else caught on (since it seems logical that a lot of stores bumped their orders initially for the anniversary number alone, let’s say 80k total instead of the usual 50k, which is being generous probably, but I’m thinking about the usual 30k jump on any CW-related issue). So if initial sales were like over 200k already, we know *someone* knew more than the rest.
Also, sell-through of this particular issue would also be interesting. How many stores ordered it frantically only to be left with a bunch of copies? It’s all good for Marvel, of course, without a doubt, but for the industry as a whole, it just makes a lot of people, fans included, look like dorks. Or, at least, the orders for #26 probably will. This *should* be a best-selling book. Here’s really hoping that Captain America, without Steve Rogers, will actually end up selling more than 50k for some time to come. I wouldn’t be surprised if it were less though, since I can see a lot of people bailing instead of sticking around for the no doubt enjoyable ride (third time’s a charm? or is it fourth?)
To answer Peter’s question, the comic shop I manage only sold about 60% of our copies. By the time the reprint was out, interest had really waned. I do expect to eventually move those extra copies, though. I don’t forsee this winding up in the discount bin. :D
It’s interesting that DC is getting drubbed so soundly, despite the fact that the actual DC sales numbers aren’t really that bad. Marvel’s just been knocking it out of the park (commercially, at least).
I’ve got my money on DC and Marvel completely reversing positions within the next, say, year; whenever Marvel can’t logically milk the Civil War cow anymore and DC jumps in with another blockbuster Event.
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