by Paul O’Brien
The crossover season is now firmly underway, with the first proper month of AVENGERS VS X-MEN, and its assorted tie-ins, which are doing pretty well. There’s also the Omega Effect crossover between AVENGING SPIDER-MAN, DAREDEVIL and PUNISHER, all of which see big gains as a result. Further down the chart, Mark Millar launches another creator-owned book, SECRET SERVICE, through the Icon imprint; and the all-ages titles get another relaunch.
As you might expect, April was a good month for Marvel in terms of their market share. They led DC by 39% to 34% in units, and 35% to 30% in dollars.
Thanks as always to ICV2.com for permission to use these figures.
1. AVENGERS VS X-MEN 03/12 #0 of 12 - 146,898 04/12 #1 of 12 - 230,162 (+56.7%) 04/12 #2 of 12 - 158,650 (-31.1%)
Although issues #1-2 both went on sale in April, you’ll recall that issue #1 actually appeared on the March chart. That’s because it was shipped to retailers early in order to allow for a promotional launch, and the Diamond chart is based on wholesale figures, not consumer sales.
Sales of the first issue were boosted by heavy discounting, but presumably the sell-through to readers was pretty decent, as the book charts again in April with reorders of 26,981. The prologue issue #0 also reappears, with orders of 12,389. As usual, I’ve added those into the figures shown above.
Given all that, the second issue drop is actually pretty reasonable. And when you consider that Marvel’s last major event, FEAR ITSELF, only reached 136K with its first issue (and dipped below 100K by issue #3), it’s clear that this is a much bigger hit.
4. AVX: VERSUS 04/12 #1 of 6 - 103,436
While previous crossover events have spawned numerous tie-in minis, Marvel are taking a different approach this time. The awkwardly titled AVX: VERSUS is the only tie-in mini for AVENGERS VERSUS X-MEN. In itself, this probably isn’t so surprising; the tie-in minis for FEAR ITSELF performed poorly, with the supposedly important HOME FRONT mini debuting at a mere 33K. In this arena, at least, Marvel have learned the lesson: it’s a lot easier to generate interest in one book than in ten. The same philosophy presumably underpins the move towards axing low-selling books and replacing them with extra issues of existing titles.
In other ways, AVX: VERSUS is a rather odd book. Marvel have been at pains to stress that it consists entirely of extended versions of fight scenes from the main storyline (a point stressed on the front page of every issue). So far from billing this as a book that you need in order to follow the plot, Marvel are actively promoting it as a book with no plot whatsoever.
It’s an odd approach, but thus far it seems to be working. When your B-title is doing over 100K, that’s a success.
And now, it’s time to bring on the tie-in books!
9,20. UNCANNY X-MEN
04/07 #485 - 81,764
04/08 #497 - 93,369
04/09 #508 - 76,443
04/10 #523 - 74,090
=====
04/11 #.1 - 53,473 ( -4.1%)
04/11 #535 - 56,795 ( +6.2%)
04/11 #536 - 53,502 ( -5.8%)
05/11 #537 - 53,716 ( +0.4%)
06/11 #538 - 53,319 ( -0.7%)
06/11 #539 - 54,284 ( +1.8%)
07/11 #540 - 57,206 ( +5.4%)
07/11 #541 - 55,856 ( -2.4%)
08/11 #542 - 54,840 ( -1.8%)
09/11 #543 - 58,326 ( +6.4%)
10/11 #544 - 60,212 ( +3.2%)
11/11 #1 - 109,911 (+82.5%)
11/11 #2 - 72,485 (-34.1%)
12/11 #3 - 64,112 (-11.6%)
01/12 #4 - 63,175 ( -1.5%)
01/12 #5 - 63,477 ( +0.5%)
02/12 #6 - 59,834 ( -5.7%)
02/12 #7 - 59,200 ( -1.1%)
03/12 #8 - 57,568 ( -2.8%)
03/12 #9 - 56,976 ( -1.0%)
04/12 #10 - 56,906 ( -0.1%)
04/12 #11 - 69,875 (+22.8%)
6 mnth (+16.0%)
1 year (+30.7%)
2 year ( -5.7%)
3 year ( -8.6%)
4 year (-25.2%)
5 year (-14.5%)
10. AVENGERS
04/11 #12 - 63,441 ( -4.8%)
04/11 #.1 - 60,455 ( -4.7%)
05/11 #13 - 68,086 (+12.6%)
06/11 #14 - 64,057 ( -5.9%)
07/11 #15 - 62,580 (-17.9%)
08/11 #16 - 60,295 ( -3.7%)
09/11 #17 - 61,492 ( +2.0%)
10/11 #18 - 58,897 ( -4.2%)
11/11 #19 - 56,620 ( -3.9%)
12/11 #20 - 57,145 ( +0.9%)
01/12 #21 - 54,803 ( -4.1%)
02/12 #22 - 52,683 ( -3.9%)
02/12 #23 - 52,222 ( -0.9%)
03/12 #24 - 52,242 ( +0.0%)
03/12 #.1 - 52,164 ( -0.1%)
04/12 #25 - 65,664 (+25.9%)
6 mnth (+11.5%)
1 year ( +3.5%)
11,21. WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN
10/11 #1 - 99,611
11/11 #2 - 83,356 (-16.3%)
12/11 #3 - 58,438 (-29.9%)
01/12 #4 - 59,530 ( +1.9%)
02/12 #5 - 55,788 ( -6.3%)
02/12 #6 - 55,341 ( -0.8%)
03/12 #7 - 54,559 ( -1.4%)
04/12 #8 - 53,757 ( -1.5%)
04/12 #9 - 64,984 (+20.9%)
6 mnth (-34.8%)
12,15. NEW AVENGERS
04/07 #29 - 125,378
04/08 #40 - 110,470
04/09 #52 - 93,975
04/10 #64 - 75,430
=====
04/11 #11 - 61,778 ( +3.1%)
05/11 #12 - 60,328 ( -2.3%)
06/11 #13 - 57,682 ( -4.4%)
07/11 #14 - 58,306 ( +1.1%)
08/11 #15 - 56,035 ( -3.9%)
09/11 #16 - 57,959 ( +3.4%)
09/11 #.1 - 51,506 (-11.1%)
10/11 #17 - 55,732 ( +8.2%)
11/11 #18 - 54,454 ( -2.3%)
12/11 #19 - 52,915 ( -2.8%)
01/12 #20 - 52,910 ( -0.0%)
02/12 #21 - 54,105 ( +2.3%)
02/12 #22 - 51,235 ( -5.3%)
03/12 #23 - 51,697 ( +0.9%)
04/12 #24 - 64,533 (+24.8%)
04/12 #25 - 61,950 ( -4.0%)
6 mnth (+11.2%)
1 year ( +0.3%)
2 year (-17.9%)
3 year (-34.1%)
4 year (-43.9%)
5 year (-50.6%)
The crossover delivers more than 20% increases across the board for the main Avengers and X-Men titles. That’s particularly striking when you bear in mind that earlier events have tended to have a relatively muted effect on the Avengers titles. FEAR ITSELF a year ago had some impact, but nothing like this. Presumably that’s the result of drawing in the X-Men audience, while earlier event books have been focussed primarily on the Avengers.
18,19. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
04/07 ---
04/08 #557 - 77,057
04/09 #591 - 60,508
04/10 #629 - 53,560
=====
04/11 #658 - 61,687 ( +5.1%)
04/11 #659 - 58,258 ( -5.6%)
05/11 #660 - 58,249 ( -0.0%)
05/11 #661 - 59,087 ( +1.4%)
05/11 #662 - 55,883 ( -5.4%)
06/11 #663 - 57,040 ( +2.1%)
06/11 #664 - 54,808 ( -3.9%)
07/11 #665 - 56,948 ( +3.9%)
07/11 #666 - 135,568 (+138.1%)
08/11 #667 - 71,235 ( -47.5%)
08/11 #668 - 57,533 ( -19.2%)
09/11 #669 - 71,944 ( +25.0%)
09/11 #670 - 57,959 ( -19.4%)
10/11 #671 - 59,426 ( +2.5%)
10/11 #672 - 57,860 ( -2.6%)
11/11 #673 - 57,159 ( -1.2%)
11/11 #674 - 57,723 ( +1.0%)
12/11 #675 - 54,652 ( -5.3%)
12/11 #676 - 54,001 ( -1.2%)
01/12 #677 - 57,186 ( +5.9%)
01/12 #678 - 54,252 ( -5.1%)
02/12 #679 - 52,564 ( -3.1%)
02/12 #.1 - 50,624 ( -3.7%)
02/12 #680 - 51,872 ( +2.5%)
03/12 #681 - 52,143 ( +0.5%)
03/12 #682 - 57,143 ( +9.6%)
04/12 #683 - 59,153 ( +3.5%)
04/12 #684 - 57,454 ( -2.9%)
6 mnth ( -0.7%)
1 year ( -6.9%)
2 year ( +7.3%)
3 year ( -5.0%)
4 year ( -25.4%)
5 year ( --- )
AMAZING is an unusual title in that it actually seems to be able to drive sales for individual storylines simply by pushing them as a big deal. Very few books can do that.
The title is currently in the second month of “Ends of the Earth”, and while sales seem to have peaked with issue #683, there’s nonetheless a very healthy increase from February’s sales.
22. AVENGERS ASSEMBLE 03/12 #1 - 100,883 04/12 #2 - 53,024 (-47.4%)
Even allowing for the deluge of variant covers on issue #1, that’s a big drop. AVENGERS ASSEMBLE is, of course, the book that’s intended to provide a way in for new readers attracted by the film, though quite how those hypothetical new readers are supposed to know that, I’m not entirely clear.
Given the huge success of the film, you would certainly think that there would be new readers to be captured. That said, both Marvel and DC have a dreadful track record for converting film success into anything more than a one-month sales boost, and I’d be surprised if things were any different here. (Personally, I’d have thought that audiences attracted by a one-off Avengers film were more likely to go and buy back catalogue collections than commit to a monthly series straight out the bat anyway.)
24. UNCANNY X-FORCE
04/08 #3 - 85,750
04/09 #14 - 57,308
04/10 #26 - 67,512
=====
04/11 #7 - 54,292 ( +5.9%)
04/11 #8 - 50,908 ( -6.2%)
05/11 #9 - 51,726 ( +1.6%)
05/11 #10 - 50,676 ( -2.0%)
06/11 #11 - 53,199 ( +5.0%)
07/11 #12 - 55,413 ( +4.2%)
08/11 #13 - 53,904 ( -2.7%)
08/11 #14 - 50,770 ( -5.8%)
09/11 #15 - 53,771 ( +5.9%)
10/11 #16 - 52,398 ( -2.6%)
11/11 #17 - 50,974 ( -2.7%)
12/11 #18 - 54,274 ( +6.5%)
12/11 #19 - 55,333 ( +2.0%)
01/12 #.1 - 50,399 ( -8.9%)
01/12 #20 - 51,054 ( +1.3%)
02/12 #21 - 50,654 ( -0.8%)
02/12 #22 - 49,665 ( -2.0%)
03/12 #23 - 48,867 ( -1.6%)
04/12 #24 - 50,667 ( +3.7%)
6 mnth ( -3.3%)
1 year ( -6.7%)
2 year (-25.0%)
3 year (-11.6%)
4 year (-40.9%)
There’s a variant cover on this issue, for the first time since issue #19, which presumably explains the slight uptick.
26,42. SECRET AVENGERS
04/11 #12 - 50,641 (-13.9%)
04/11 #.1 - 46,161 ( -8.8%)
05/11 #13 - 51,936 (+12.5%)
06/11 #14 - 49,898 ( -3.9%)
07/11 #15 - 46,712 ( -6.4%)
08/11 #16 - 46,317 ( -0.8%)
09/11 #17 - 44,890 ( -3.1%)
10/11 #18 - 43,280 ( -3.6%)
11/11 #19 - 41,191 ( -4.8%)
12/11 #20 - 38,202 ( -7.3%)
01/12 #21 - 38,082 ( -0.3%)
01/12 #.1 - 35,320 ( -7.3%)
02/12 #22 - 39,337 (+11.4%)
02/12 #23 - 37,140 ( -5.6%)
03/12 #24 - 38,359 ( +3.3%)
04/12 #25 - 38,466 ( +0.3%)
04/12 #26 - 49,842 (+29.6%)
6 mnth (+15.2%)
1 year ( -1.6%)
As I expected, the sales on issue #24 ended up being split between the March and April chart due to a distribution glitch. The book’s remaining 19,394 copies show up on the April chart, bringing its total to the 38,359 figure shown above. SECRET AVENGERS appears to be on something of an uptick going into the AVX crossover, which starts with issue #26. As usual with these crossovers, the lower-selling titles get a proportionately larger boost.
27. AVENGING SPIDER-MAN
11/11 #1 - 112,153
12/11 #2 - 60,682 (-45.9%)
01/12 #3 - 52,371 (-13.7%)
02/12 #4 - 45,622 (-12.9%)
03/12 #5 - 40,877 (-10.4%)
04/12 #6 - 47,430 (+16.0%)
30,43. DAREDEVIL
04/07 #96 - 46,198
04/08 ---
04/09 #118 - 44,982
04/10 #506 - 37,467
=====
04/11 ---
05/11 #4 of 4 - 26,179 ( -3.9%)
06/11 ---
07/11 #1 - 64,866 (+147.8%)
08/11 #2 - 40,990 ( -36.8%)
09/11 #3 - 39,477 ( -3.7%)
09/11 #4 - 40,311 ( +2.1%)
10/11 #5 - 39,413 ( -2.2%)
11/11 #6 - 38,302 ( -2.8%)
12/11 #7 - 38,824 ( +1.4%)
01/12 #8 - 43,494 ( +12.0%)
02/12 #9 - 37,891 ( -12.9%)
03/12 #10 - 38,137 ( +0.6%)
04/12 #.1 - 38,463 ( +0.9%)
04/12 #11 - 46,111 ( +19.9%)
6 mnth ( +17.0%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( +23.1%)
3 year ( +2.5%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year ( -0.2%)
These two books are part of the “Omega Effect” crossover, effectively a DAREDEVIL storyline which expands into issues of AVENGING SPIDER-MAN and PUNISHER. It has a genuine impact on the plot of PUNISHER. As for AVENGING SPIDER-MAN, I guess somebody just figured it was a relatively high-selling book that could help out with sales. And they were probably right. All three books have done well from this crossover, which suggests that retailers thought it really was bringing distinct audiences together.
PUNISHER tails in some way behind the other two, but that’s only to be expected given the relative sales. As we’ll see, it does experience a big sales boost.
34. ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN
04/07 #108 - 72,713
04/08 #121 - 56,633
04/09 ---
04/10 #9 - 39,955
=====
04/11 #157 - 50,896 ( +13.3%)
05/11 #158 - 47,941 ( -5.8%)
06/11 #159 - 51,766 ( +8.0%)
06/11 #160 - 166,944 (+222.5%)
07/11 #1 of 6 - 49,084 ( -70.6%)
07/11 #2 of 6 - 45,371 ( -7.6%)
07/11 #3 of 6 - 44,492 ( -1.9%)
08/11 #4 of 6 - 96,815 (+117.6%)
08/11 #5 of 6 - 41,336 ( -57.3%)
08/11 #6 of 6 - 39,190 ( -5.2%)
09/11 #1 - 95,483 (+143.6%)
09/11 #2 - 58,672 ( -38.6%)
10/11 #3 - 52,521 ( -10.5%)
11/11 #4 - 51,558 ( -1.8%)
12/11 #5 - 48,308 ( -6.3%)
01/12 #6 - 49,840 ( +3.2%)
02/12 #7 - 45,266 ( -9.2%)
03/12 #8 - 46,290 ( +2.3%)
04/12 #9 - 43,724 ( -5.5%)
6 mnth ( -16.7%)
1 year ( -14.1%)
2 year ( +9.4%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year ( -22.8%)
5 year ( -39.9%)
Business as usual, with the standard downward drift.
36. FANTASTIC FOUR
04/07 #537 - 62,940
04/08 #545 - 74,700
04/09 #556 - 65,013
04/10 #578 - 37,940
=====
04/11 #2 - 72,897 ( -39.8%)
05/11 #3 - 66,885 ( -8.2%)
05/11 #4 - 60,571 ( -9.4%)
06/11 #5 - 58,925 ( -2.7%)
07/11 #6 - 55,601 ( -5.6%)
07/11 #7 - 54,022 ( -2.8%)
08/11 #8 - 51,917 ( -0.2%)
09/11 #9 - 53,091 ( +2.3%)
10/11 #10 - 49,642 ( -6.5%)
10/11 #11 - 48,433 ( -2.4%)
11/11 #600 - 73,809 ( +52.4%)
12/11 #601 - 51,080 ( -30.8%)
01/12 #602 - 45,131 ( -11.6%)
02/12 #603 - 42,419 ( -6.0%)
03/12 #604 - 42,126 ( -0.7%)
04/12 #605 - 42,372 ( +0.6%)
6 mnth ( -12.5%)
1 year ( -41.9%)
2 year ( +11.7%)
3 year ( -34.8%)
4 year ( -43.3%)
5 year ( -32.7%)
Very solid sales over the last few months – though it’s perhaps worth bearing in mind that #604 was an extra-sized issue, and #605 has a variant.
37. INCREDIBLE HULK
04/07 #105 - 53,256
04/08 #3 - 100,167
04/09 #11 - 82,726
04/10 ---
=====
04/11 #626 - 29,782 ( -0.0%)
04/11 #627 - 30,788 ( +3.3%)
05/11 #628 - 28,822 ( -6.4%)
05/11 #629 - 28,103 ( -2.5%)
06/11 #630 - 28,028 ( -0.3%)
06/11 #631 - 27,456 ( -2.0%)
07/11 #632 - 28,518 ( +3.9%)
07/11 #633 - 27,216 ( -4.6%)
08/11 #634 - 27,310 ( +0.3%)
08/11 #635 - 38,223 ( +40.0%)
09/11 ---
10/11 #1 - 106,472 (+178.6%)
11/11 #2 - 80,143 ( -24.7%)
12/11 #3 - 46,446 ( -42.0%)
01/12 #4 - 45,876 ( -1.2%)
02/12 #5 - 42,760 ( -6.8%)
03/12 #6 - 40,522 ( -5.2%)
04/12 #7 - 42,135 ( +4.0%)
6 mnth ( -60.4%)
1 year ( +41.5%)
2 year ( --- )
3 year ( -49.1%)
4 year ( -57.9%)
5 year ( -20.9%)
This has a variant cover, for the first time since issue #4.
38. CAPTAIN AMERICA
04/07 ---
04/08 #37 - 80,635
04/09 #49 - 63,874
04/10 #605 - 59,051
=====
04/11 #617 - 45,400 ( +2.3%)
05/11 #618 - 44,748 ( -1.4%)
06/11 #619 - 44,796 ( +0.1%)
07/11 #1 - 96,926 (+116.4%)
08/11 #2 - 54,384 ( -43.9%)
09/11 #3 - 54,413 ( +0.1%)
10/11 ---
11/11 #4 - 54,157 ( -0.5%)
12/11 #5 - 47,333 ( -12.6%)
12/11 #6 - 47,753 ( +0.9%)
01/12 #7 - 46,954 ( -1.7%)
02/12 #8 - 43,487 ( -7.4%)
03/12 #9 - 41,631 ( -4.3%)
04/12 #10 - 41,474 ( -0.4%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year ( -8.6%)
2 year ( -29.8%)
3 year ( -35.1%)
4 year ( -48.6%)
5 year ( --- )
Gentle decline, slightly mitigated by a variant cover.
40. SECRET SERVICE [Icon] 04/12 #1 of 7 - 39,505
Another very respectable debut for another Mark Millar creator-owned book. With his consistent ability to launch this sort of title at this sort of sales level, Millar almost seems to inhabit a parallel marketplace.
41. AGE OF APOCALYPSE 03/12 #1 - 56,426 04/12 #2 - 39,263 (-30.4%)
Bearing in mind that issue #1 had a promotional overship, that’s not a bad second-issue drop. It remains to be seen where the book will level out, of course.
44,45. WOLVERINE
04/07 #53 - 98,441
04/08 #64 - 64,871
04/09 ---
04/10 #12 - 30,050
=====
04/11 #8 - 47,010 ( -0.7%)
05/11 #9 - 44,635 ( -5.1%)
06/11 #10 - 42,677 ( -4.4%)
06/11 #11 - 41,813 ( -2.0%)
07/11 #12 - 42,110 ( +0.7%)
08/11 #13 - 39,296 ( -0.7%)
08/11 #14 - 38,869 ( -0.1%)
09/11 #15 - 37,951 ( -2.4%)
09/11 #16 - 37,796 ( -0.4%)
10/11 #17 - 39,405 ( +4.3%)
11/11 #18 - 40,170 ( +1.9%)
11/11 #19 - 37,997 ( -5.4%)
12/11 #20 - 37,360 ( -1.7%)
01/12 #300 - 58,681 (+57.1%)
02/12 #301 - 38,891 (-33.7%)
03/12 #302 - 37,213 ( -4.3%)
03/12 #303 - 36,368 ( -2.3%)
04/12 #304 - 37,836 ( +4.0%)
04/12 #305 - 37,440 ( -1.0%)
6 mnth ( -5.0%)
1 year (-20.4%)
2 year (+24.6%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year (-42.3%)
5 year (-62.0%)
This book is turning into a pretty consistent seller; screen out the major variants and anniversary issues and it’s been hovering at 37-39K since August. Granted, it’s consistent at a level far below the levels the book was managing only a few years ago, but at least it’s solid.
46. FF
04/11 #2 - 72,897 (-39.8%)
05/11 #3 - 66,885 ( -8.2%)
05/11 #4 - 60,571 ( -9.4%)
06/11 #5 - 58,925 ( -2.7%)
07/11 #6 - 55,601 ( -5.6%)
07/11 #7 - 54,022 ( -2.8%)
08/11 #8 - 51,917 ( -0.2%)
09/11 #9 - 53,091 ( +2.3%)
10/11 #10 - 49,642 ( -6.5%)
10/11 #11 - 48,433 ( -2.4%)
11/11 #12 - 49,449 ( +2.1%)
12/11 #13 - 44,970 ( -9.1%)
01/12 #14 - 42,609 ( -5.3%)
02/12 #15 - 40,583 ( -4.8%)
03/12 #16 - 37,152 ( -8.5%)
04/12 #17 - 37,325 ( +0.5%)
6 mnth (-22.9%)
1 year (-48.8%)
A slight uptick this month, though that may just reflect the fact that the March issue didn’t have a variant (in contrast to all the issues around it).
49. X-MEN
04/11 #10 - 50,553 ( -1.2%)
05/11 #11 - 46,519 ( -8.0%)
06/11 #12 - 45,786 ( -1.6%)
06/11 #13 - 44,665 ( -2.4%)
07/11 #14 - 45,150 ( +1.1%)
07/11 #15 - 43,038 ( -4.7%)
08/11 #.1 - 38,078 (-11.5%)
08/11 #16 - 43,161 (+13.3%)
09/11 #17 - 43,200 ( +0.1%)
09/11 #18 - 42,066 ( -2.6%)
10/11 #19 - 40,906 ( -2.8%)
11/11 #20 - 43,515 ( +6.4%)
11/11 #21 - 39,919 ( -8.3%)
12/11 #22 - 39,121 ( -2.0%)
01/12 #23 - 38,719 ( -1.0%)
02/12 #24 - 36,906 ( -4.7%)
02/12 #25 - 36,488 ( -1.1%)
03/12 #26 - 35,833 ( -1.8%)
04/12 #27 - 36,843 ( +2.8%)
6 mnth ( -9.9%)
1 year (-27.1%)
Variant cover.
51. X-MEN LEGACY
04/07 #198 - 74,841
04/08 #210 - 77,441
04/09 #223 - 71,935
04/10 #235 - 65,302
=====
04/11 #247 - 51,970 ( +8.5%)
05/11 #248 - 46,083 (-11.3%)
05/11 #249 - 45,063 ( -2.2%)
06/11 #250 - 45,070 ( +0.0%)
06/11 #251 - 43,479 ( -3.5%)
07/11 #252 - 41,365 ( -4.9%)
08/11 #253 - 40,466 ( -2.2%)
08/11 #254 - 39,896 ( -1.4%)
09/11 #255 - 39,284 ( -1.5%)
09/11 #256 - 38,680 ( -1.5%)
10/11 #257 - 38,070 ( -1.6%)
11/11 #258 - 38,334 ( +0.7%)
11/11 #259 - 41,967 ( +9.5%)
12/11 #260 - 37,946 ( -9.6%)
01/12 #.1 - 37,160 ( -2.1%)
01/12 #261 - 37,577 ( +1.1%)
02/12 #262 - 36,461 ( -3.0%)
03/12 #263 - 35,999 ( -1.3%)
03/12 #264 - 35,953 ( -0.1%)
04/12 #265 - 35,712 ( -0.7%)
6 mnth ( -6.2%)
1 year (-31.3%)
2 year (-45.3%)
3 year (-50.4%)
4 year (-53.9%)
5 year (-52.3%)
The usual very, very slow erosion. The book begins its AVENGERS VS X-MEN crossover arc in May.
53,56. MIGHTY THOR
04/07 ---
04/08 ---
04/09 #601 - 79,626
04/10 #609 - 64,522
=====
04/11 #1 - 82,071 (+94.9%)
05/11 #2 - 50,473 (-38.5%)
06/11 #3 - 48,114 ( -4.7%)
07/11 #4 - 44,586 ( -7.3%)
08/11 #5 - 44,594 ( +0.0%)
09/11 #6 - 45,231 ( +1.4%)
10/11 #7 - 44,017 ( -2.7%)
11/11 #8 - 40,703 ( -7.5%)
12/11 #9 - 38,000 ( -6.6%)
01/12 #10 - 37,577 ( -1.1%)
02/12 #11 - 35,066 ( -6.7%)
03/12 #12 - 33,967 ( -3.1%)
04/12 #.1 - 33,533 ( -1.3%)
04/12 #13 - 34,500 ( +2.9%)
6 mnth (-21.6%)
1 year (-58.0%)
2 year (-46.5%)
3 year (-56.7%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year ( --- )
The Point One issue seems to come in at the book’s normal levels, once account is taken of the downward trend. That’s at least an improvement from the lower numbers that Point Ones usually deliver. Marvel seem to have been a little more cautious of late with making sure that the Point One issues aren’t just random filler, and perhaps over time that’s starting to improve their image.
As for issue #13, it has a variant cover.
54. HULK
04/08 #3 - 100,167
04/09 #11 - 82,726
04/10 ---
=====
04/11 #32 - 30,652 ( -2.3%)
05/11 #33 - 32,273 ( +5.3%)
06/11 #34 - 29,391 ( -8.9%)
06/11 #35 - 28,539 ( -2.9%)
07/11 #36 - 28,651 ( +0.4%)
07/11 #37 - 30,318 ( +5.8%)
08/11 #38 - 29,059 ( -4.2%)
08/11 #39 - 26,895 ( -7.4%)
09/11 #40 - 26,591 ( -1.1%)
09/11 #41 - 26,084 ( -1.9%)
10/11 #42 - 27,025 ( +3.6%)
10/11 #43 - 25,514 ( -5.6%)
11/11 #44 - 24,596 ( -3.6%)
12/11 #45 - 23,273 ( -5.4%)
12/11 #46 - 22,974 ( -1.3%)
01/12 #47 - 22,720 ( -1.1%)
02/12 #48 - 21,751 ( -4.3%)
03/12 #49 - 21,510 ( -1.1%)
04/12 #50 - 34,437 (+60.1%)
6 mnth (+35.0%)
1 year (+12.3%)
2 year ( --- )
3 year (-58.4%)
4 year (-65.6%)
A double-size anniversary issue with multiple variants. The usual pattern is that these spikes don’t last.
57. WINTER SOLDIER 02/12 #1 - 50,932 02/12 #2 - 41,164 (-19.2%) 03/12 #3 - 34,923 (-15.2%) 04/12 #4 - 33,519 ( -4.0%) 58. SCARLET SPIDER 01/12 #1 - 53,410 02/12 #2 - 33,794 (-36.7%) 03/12 #3 - 32,616 ( -3.5%) 04/12 #4 - 33,097 ( +1.5%)
Two recent launches, both levelling out in the low 30K range. SCARLET SPIDER, in particular, seems to have found its level unusually quickly – a promising sign.
61. PUNISHER
04/07 #6 - 53,498
04/08 #18 - 29,565
04/09 #4 - 36,995
04/10 #16 - 23,047
=====
04/11 ---
05/11 ---
06/11 ---
07/11 ---
08/11 #1 - 44,725 (+209.1%)
08/11 #2 - 42,459 ( -5.1%)
09/11 #3 - 26,802 ( -36.9%)
10/11 #4 - 25,847 ( -3.6%)
11/11 #5 - 25,399 ( -1.7%)
12/11 #6 - 23,971 ( -5.6%)
01/12 #7 - 22,908 ( -4.4%)
02/12 #8 - 22,488 ( -1.8%)
03/12 #9 - 22,318 ( -0.8%)
04/12 #10 - 32,412 ( +45.2%)
6 mnth ( +25.4%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( +40.6%)
3 year ( -12.4%)
4 year ( +9.6%)
5 year ( -39.4%)
The third and final “Omega Effect” crossover book – some way behind the others but with a massive 45% sales boost nonetheless.
62. INVINCIBLE IRON MAN
04/07 #16 - 59,470
04/08 #28 - 35,754
04/09 #12 - 51,774
04/10 #25 - 73,694
=====
04/11 #503 - 45,314 ( +3.2%)
05/11 #504 - 44,791 ( -1.2%)
06/11 #505 - 42,327 ( -5.5%)
07/11 #506 - 41,052 ( -3.0%)
08/11 #507 - 40,082 ( -2.4%)
09/11 #508 - 41,295 ( +3.0%)
10/11 #509 - 38,721 ( -6.2%)
11/11 #510 - 38,118 ( -1.6%)
12/11 #511 - 35,402 ( -7.1%)
01/12 #512 - 35,159 ( -0.7%)
02/12 #513 - 32,748 ( -6.9%)
03/12 #514 - 31,424 ( -4.0%)
04/12 #515 - 32,409 ( +3.1%)
6 mnth (-16.3%)
1 year (-28.5%)
2 year (-56.0%)
3 year (-37.4%)
4 year ( -9.4%)
5 year (-45.5%)
Variant cover.
64. ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES
04/07 ---
04/08 ---
04/09 ---
04/10 ---
=====
04/11 #3 of 6 - 43,822 ( -0.7%)
05/11 #4 of 6 - 43,707 ( -0.3%)
06/11 #5 of 6 - 42,803 ( -2.1%)
07/11 #6 of 6 - 42,760 ( -0.1%)
08/11 #1 - 58,522 (+36.9%)
09/11 #2 - 42,728 (-27.0%)
10/11 #3 - 40,792 ( -4.5%)
11/11 #4 - 39,342 ( -3.6%)
12/11 #5 - 36,396 ( -7.5%)
01/12 #6 - 34,865 ( -4.2%)
02/12 #7 - 33,863 ( -2.9%)
03/12 #8 - 32,222 ( -4.8%)
04/12 #9 - 31,336 ( -2.7%)
6 mnth (-23.2%)
1 year (-28.5%)
2 year ( --- )
3 year ( --- )
4 year ( --- )
5 year ( --- )
The standard month-to-month decline continues.
65. ASTONISHING X-MEN
04/07 ---
04/08 ---
04/09 #29 - 67,774
04/10 ---
=====
04/11 ---
05/11 #37 - 38,513 (-13.1%)
05/11 #38 - 37,580 ( -2.4%)
06/11 #39 - 37,127 ( -1.2%)
07/11 #40 - 35,593 ( -4.1%)
08/11 #41 - 33,470 ( -6.0%)
09/11 #42 - 32,700 ( -2.3%)
10/11 #43 - 32,620 ( -0.2%)
11/11 #44 - 32,729 ( +0.3%)
12/11 #45 - 31,392 ( -4.1%)
01/12 #46 - 31,134 ( -0.8%)
02/12 #47 - 30,490 ( -2.1%)
03/12 #48 - 34,182 (+12.1%)
04/12 #49 - 31,291 ( -8.5%)
6 mnth ( -4.1%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( --- )
3 year (-53.8%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year ( --- )
Back to its regular sales levels, but they’re still looking pretty stable.
68. WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN: ALPHA & OMEGA 01/12 #1 of 5 - 40,340 02/12 #2 of 5 - 34,286 (-15.0%) 03/12 #3 of 5 - 31,456 ( -8.3%) 04/12 #4 of 5 - 30,069 ( -4.4%)
Miles adrift from the parent title, but still better than a lot of X-Men minis have done in recent years – compare X-CLUB below. Again, cutting back the range of spin-off product is likely to be working in favour of those that remain.
69. ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN
04/07 #81 - 62,926
04/08 #93 - 49,107
04/09 ---
04/10 #2 - 47,996
=====
04/11 ---
05/11 ---
06/11 #5 - 34,730 ( -7.7%)
07/11 ---
08/11 ---
09/11 #1 - 67,625 (+94.7%)
10/11 #2 - 44,399 (-34.3%)
11/11 #3 - 39,657 (-10.7%)
12/11 #4 - 37,115 ( -6.4%)
12/11 #5 - 35,153 ( -5.3%)
01/12 #6 - 33,975 ( -3.4%)
02/12 #7 - 32,353 ( -4.8%)
02/12 #8 - 30,822 ( -4.7%)
03/12 #9 - 30,080 ( -2.4%)
04/12 #10 - 29,743 ( -1.1%)
6 mnth (-33.0%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year (-38.0%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year (-39.4%)
5 year (-52.7%)
More gentle decline.
71. SUPERCROOKS [Icon] 03/12 #1 of 4 - 50,434 04/12 #2 of 4 - 29,402 (-41.7%)
Issue #1 picks up reorders of 15,761, which is pretty much astronomical for a book selling at this level. The second-issue drop has to be seen against that background.
72. DEADPOOL
04/09 #9 - 48,483
04/10 #22 - 43,061
=====
04/11 #35 - 28,517 ( -5.9%)
04/11 #36 - 28,173 ( -1.2%)
05/11 #37 - 28,002 ( -0.6%)
06/11 #38 - 27,809 ( -0.7%)
06/11 #39 - 28,400 ( +2.1%)
07/11 #40 - 27,303 ( -3.9%)
08/11 #41 - 26,766 ( -2.0%)
08/11 #42 - 26,794 ( +0.1%)
09/11 #43 - 26,643 ( -0.6%)
10/11 #44 - 26,678 ( +0.1%)
10/11 #45 - 27,552 ( +3.3%)
11/11 #46 - 26,260 ( -4.7%)
12/11 #47 - 25,910 ( -1.3%)
12/11 #48 - 25,458 ( -1.7%)
01/12 #49 - 24,783* ( -2.7%)
01/12 #.1 - 24,783* ( --- )
02/12 #50 - 40,695 (+64.2%)
02/12 #51 - 27,458 (-32.5%)
03/12 #52 - 27,990 ( +1.9%)
04/12 #53 - 29,334 ( +4.8%)
6 mnth ( +6.5%)
1 year ( +2.9%)
2 year (-31.9%)
3 year (-39.5%)
Now this is interesting. The “Dead” storyline that began in issue #50 got a promotional push to launch it but otherwise has been left to its own devices; no variant covers here. It seems to be gaining sales on its own momentum.
73,77. VENOM
04/11 #2 - 41,006 (-30.4%)
05/11 #3 - 40,634 ( -0.9%)
06/11 #4 - 38,946 ( -4.2%)
07/11 #5 - 35,102 ( -9.9%)
08/11 #6 - 35,033 ( -0.2%)
09/11 #7 - 33,130 ( -5.4%)
10/11 #8 - 32,266 ( -2.6%)
11/11 #9 - 32,506 ( +0.7%)
12/11 #10 - 29,465 ( -9.4%)
12/11 #11 - 28,658 ( -2.7%)
01/12 #12 - 28,728 ( +0.2%)
02/12 #13 - 33,174 (+15.5%)
02/12 #.1 - 27,520 (-17.0%)
02/12 #.2 - 27,155 ( -1.3%)
02/12 #.3 - 26,969 ( -0.7%)
02/12 #.4 - 27,135 ( +0.6%)
03/12 #14 - 28,926 ( +6.6%)
04/12 #15 - 28,858 ( -0.2%)
04/12 #16 - 28,440 ( -1.4%)
6 mnth (-11.9%)
1 year (-30.6%)
Nice solid sales here, as the book remains locked at around the 28K mark with its regular issues.
76. CARNAGE, U.S.A. 12/11 #1 of 5 - 37,620 01/12 #2 of 5 - 30,378 (-19.3%) 02/12 #3 of 5 - 28,272 ( -6.9%) 03/12 #4 of 5 - 28,707 ( +1.5%) 04/12 #5 of 5 - 28,652 ( -0.2%)
Another book that’s been very solid after the initial drop.
78. DEFENDERS 12/11 #1 - 85,969 01/12 #2 - 38,935 (-54.7%) 02/12 #3 - 33,548 (-13.8%) 03/12 #4 - 29,789 (-11.2%) 04/12 #5 - 27,893 ( -6.4%)
This, on the other hand, is losing readers rather more quickly than you’d like, five issues into its run. Not looking entirely healthy.
83. CAPTAIN AMERICA AND…
07/11 #620 - 51,187
08/11 #621 - 36,069 (-29.5%)
09/11 #622 - 34,096 ( -5.5%)
10/11 #623 - 32,041 ( -6.0%)
11/11 #624 - 30,472 ( -4.9%)
12/11 #625 - 28,652 ( -6.0%)
01/12 #626 - 27,632 ( -3.6%)
02/12 #627 - 26,276 ( -4.9%)
03/12 #628 - 24,881 ( -5.3%)
04/12 #629 - 24,750 ( -0.5%)
6 mnth (-22.8%)
Gentle downward drift.
86. X-FACTOR
04/07 #18 - 37,851
04/08 #30 - 51,447
04/09 #42 - 32,000
04/10 #204 - 40,534
=====
04/11 #218 - 24,826 ( -1.2%)
05/11 #219 - 24,766 ( -0.2%)
06/11 #220 - 24,926 ( +0.6%)
06/11 #221 - 24,502 ( -1.7%)
07/11 #222 - 24,794 ( +1.2%)
08/11 #223 - 23,854 ( -3.8%)
08/11 #224 - 23,681 ( -0.7%)
09/11 #.1 - 23,220 ( -1.9%)
09/11 #225 - 23,507 ( +1.2%)
10/11 #226 - 23,569 ( +0.3%)
11/11 #227 - 23,742 ( +0.7%)
12/11 #228 - 23,461 ( -1.2%)
12/11 #229 - 23,667 ( +0.9%)
01/12 #230 - 25,707 ( +8.6%)
02/12 #231 - 24,362 ( -5.2%)
02/12 #232 - 24,173 ( -0.8%)
03/12 #233 - 23,840 ( -1.4%)
04/12 #234 - 23,821 ( -0.1%)
6 mnth ( +1.1%)
1 year ( -4.0%)
2 year (-41.2%)
3 year (-25.6%)
4 year (-53.7%)
5 year (-37.1%)
Solid as ever. This is the sort of book that may actually benefit creatively from cranking up the shipping schedule, what with its large cast, self-contained stories, and long-term storylines.
88. FEAR ITSELF: THE FEARLESS 10/11 #1 of 12 - 59,464 11/11 #2 of 12 - 57,794 ( -2.8%) 11/11 #3 of 12 - 36,044 (-37.6%) 12/11 #4 of 12 - 31,491 (-12.6%) 12/11 #5 of 12 - 29,343 ( -6.8%) 01/12 #6 of 12 - 26,700 ( -9.0%) 01/12 #7 of 12 - 26,167 ( -2.0%) 02/12 #8 of 12 - 24,394 ( -6.8%) 02/12 #9 of 12 - 24,423 ( +0.1%) 03/12 #10 of 12 - 23,629 ( -3.3%) 03/12 #11 of 12 - 23,211 ( -1.8%) 04/12 #12 of 12 - 23,210 ( -0.0%)
And with that, 2011’s FEAR ITSELF crossover finally concludes.
92. AVENGERS ACADEMY
04/11 #12 - 23,578 ( -0.2%)
05/11 #13 - 24,840 ( +5.4%)
05/11 #14 - 23,537 ( -5.2%)
06/11 #.1 - 23,499 ( -0.2%)
06/11 #15 - 26,378 (+12.3%)
07/11 #16 - 25,379 ( -3.8%)
08/11 #17 - 24,898 ( -1.9%)
08/11 #18 - 24,538 ( -1.4%)
09/11 #19 - 23,928 ( -2.5%)
10/11 #20 - 23,412 ( -2.2%)
11/11 #21 - 22,713 ( -3.0%)
11/11 #22 - 22,531 ( -0.8%)
12/11 #23 - 22,422 ( -0.5%)
01/12 #24 - 21,857 ( -2.5%)
02/12 #25 - 21,963 ( +0.5%)
02/12 #26 - 21,633 ( -1.5%)
03/12 #27 - 21,830 ( +0.9%)
04/12 #28 - 22,333 ( +2.3%)
6 mnth ( -4.6%)
1 year ( -5.3%)
The very slight uptick on issues #27-28 is presumably attributable to a guest appearance from the Runaways, since there’s no other apparent reason for it. An AVX tie-in arc begins next month.
93,96. NEW MUTANTS
04/10 #12 - 49,591
=====
04/11 #24 - 38,701 ( +2.8%)
05/11 #25 - 34,724 (-10.3%)
06/11 #26 - 27,848 (-19.7%)
07/11 #27 - 27,963 ( +0.4%)
07/11 #28 - 26,130 ( -6.6%)
08/11 #29 - 27,205 ( -4.1%)
08/11 #30 - 26,678 ( -1.9%)
09/11 #31 - 25,672 ( -3.8%)
10/11 #32 - 25,364 ( -1.2%)
11/11 #33 - 28,665 (+13.0%)
11/11 #34 - 25,847 ( -9.8%)
12/11 #35 - 25,564 ( -1.1%)
01/12 #36 - 23,891 ( -6.5%)
02/12 #37 - 23,262 ( -2.6%)
02/12 #38 - 22,656 ( -2.6%)
03/12 #39 - 21,508 ( -5.1%)
04/12 #40 - 21,343 ( -0.8%)
04/12 #41 - 21,012 ( -1.6%)
6 mnth (-17.2%)
1 year (-45.7%)
2 year (-57.6%)
Another book with very, very slow drift. NEW MUTANTS isn’t participating in AVENGERS VS X-MEN; instead, it’s doing its own crossover with JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY in May.
94. MOON KNIGHT
04/07 #9 - 69,196
04/08 #17 - 27,808
04/09 #29 - 22,689
04/10 #7 - 20,718
=====
04/11 ---
05/11 #1 - 49,018 (+167.6%)
06/11 #2 - 35,333 ( -27.9%)
07/11 #3 - 33,781 ( -4.4%)
08/11 #4 - 30,237 ( -10.5%)
09/11 #5 - 28,423 ( -6.0%)
10/11 #6 - 27,493 ( -3.3%)
11/11 #7 - 27,062 ( -1.6%)
12/11 #8 - 24,626 ( -9.0%)
01/12 #9 - 22,872 ( -7.1%)
02/12 #10 - 21,986 ( -3.9%)
03/12 #11 - 21,581 ( -1.8%)
04/12 #12 - 21,185 ( -1.8%)
6 mnth ( -22.9%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( +2.3%)
3 year ( -6.6%)
4 year ( -23.8%)
5 year ( -69.4%)
Cancelled. MOON KNIGHT had a high-profile (and thus presumably expensive) creative team, so the economics likely differ from the other books at this level.
95. JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY
04/11 #622 - 43,925
05/11 #623 - 39,003 (-11.2%)
06/11 #624 - 35,834 ( -8.1%)
07/11 #625 - 33,781 ( -5.7%)
08/11 #626 - 31,549 ( -6.6%)
08/11 #.1 - 27,877 (-11.6%)
09/11 #627 - 29,678 ( +6.5%)
09/11 #628 - 28,843 ( -2.8%)
10/11 #629 - 28,054 ( -2.7%)
10/11 #630 - 27,701 ( -1.3%)
11/11 #631 - 27,161 ( -1.9%)
12/11 #632 - 24,159 (-11.0%)
01/12 #633 - 23,869 ( -1.2%)
02/12 #634 - 22,323 ( -6.5%)
03/12 #635 - 21,617 ( -3.2%)
04/12 #636 - 21,148 ( -2.2%)
6 mnth (-23.7%)
1 year (-51.9%)
Going into a crossover with NEW MUTANTS next month. There’s a link-up with THOR after that. Marvel are certainly trying to draw some attention to the book (which is frequently excellent).
100,103. THUNDERBOLTS
04/07 #113 - 65,092
04/08 ---
04/09 #131 - 49,155
04/10 #143 - 35,656
=====
04/11 #156 - 25,117 ( -6.0%)
05/11 #157 - 25,063 ( -0.2%)
06/11 #158 - 28,422 (+13.4%)
06/11 #159 - 27,463 ( -3.4%)
07/11 #160 - 27,810 ( +1.3%)
08/11 #161 - 26,439 ( -4.9%)
08/11 #162 - 25,990 ( -1.7%)
09/11 #163 - 24,199 ( -6.9%)
09/11 #.1 - 22,596 ( -6.6%)
10/11 #164 - 23,712 ( +4.9%)
11/11 #165 - 22,536 ( -5.0%)
11/11 #166 - 22,680 ( +0.6%)
12/11 #167 - 21,167 ( -6.7%)
01/12 #168 - 20,585 ( -2.7%)
01/12 #169 - 20,316 ( -1.3%)
02/12 #170 - 19,505 ( -4.0%)
03/12 #171 - 19,073 ( -2.2%)
04/12 #172 - 19,203 ( +0.7%)
04/12 #173 - 19,017 ( -1.0%)
6 mnth (-19.8%)
1 year (-24.3%)
2 year (-46.7%)
3 year (-61.3%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year (-70.8%)
Heading for a relaunch as DARK AVENGERS with issue #175.
119. BRILLIANT [Icon] 09/11 #1 - 28,951 10/11 --- 11/11 --- 12/11 --- 01/12 #2 - 19,319 (-33.3%) 02/12 --- 03/12 --- 04/12 #3 - 16,026 (-17.0%)
Drifting off the radar, I think.
124. BATTLE SCARS 11/11 #1 of 6 - 32,222 12/11 #2 of 6 - 21,702 (-32.6%) 01/12 #3 of 6 - 18,102 (-16.6%) 02/12 #4 of 6 - 16,753 ( -7.5%) 03/12 #5 of 6 - 15,481 ( -7.6%) 04/12 #6 of 6 - 15,011 ( -3.0%)
Not exactly a big hit, but at least it stabilised. Apparently this book does actually have some lasting effects on other storylines (by revamping Nick Fury), so perhaps it’ll get some attention after the fact.
128,131. MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS PRELUDE 03/12 #1 of 4 - 19,829 03/12 #2 of 4 - 17,975 ( -9.3%) 04/12 #3 of 4 - 14,442 (-19.7%) 04/12 #4 of 4 - 14,070 ( -2.6%)
Move tie-in. These books never sell that well in the direct market.
133. DARK TOWER: WAY STATION
04/07 Gunslinger #3 - 149,168
04/08 Long Road Home #2 - 103,029
04/09 Sorcerer #1 - 39,210
04/10 Jericho Hill #5 - 25,896
=====
04/11 #5 of 5 - 17,283 ( -1.2%)
05/11 ---
06/11 Tull #1 of 5 - 17,667 ( +2.2%)
07/11 #2 of 5 - 16,888 ( -4.4%)
08/11 #3 of 5 - 16,337 ( -3.3%)
09/11 #4 of 5 - 15,788 ( -3.4%)
10/11 #5 of 5 - 15,613 ( -1.1%)
11/11 ---
12/11 Way Station #1 - 15,367 ( -1.6%)
01/12 #2 of 5 - 14,827 ( -3.5%)
02/12 #3 of 5 - 14,302 ( -3.5%)
03/12 #4 of 5 - 13,987 ( -2.2%)
04/12 #5 of 5 - 13,823 ( -1.2%)
6 mnth (-11.5%)
1 year (-20.0%)
2 year (-46.6%)
3 year (-64.7%)
4 year (-86.6%)
5 year (-90.7%)
Keeping its standard sales pattern.
140. AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES 04/12 #1 - 12,874
A new all-ages title, this time (logically enough) based on the animated version of the Avengers. It’s corporate synergy, but it makes a lot of sense.
141. TWELVE 12/07 #0 of 12 - 20,218 01/08 #1 of 12 - 40,199 (+98.8%) 04/08 #2 of 12 - 32,403 (-19.4%) 04/08 #3 of 12 - 32,729 ( +1.0%) 04/08 #4 of 12 - 29,729 ( -9.2%) 05/08 #5 of 12 - 29,876 ( +0.5%) 06/08 #6 of 12 - 29,303 ( -1.9%) 07/08 --- 08/08 #7 of 12 - 27,585 ( -5.9%) 09/08 --- 10/08 #8 of 12 - 25,985 ( -5.8%) --- 02/12 #9 of 12 - 13,915 (-46.4%) 02/12 #10 of 12 - 12,930 ( -7.1%) 03/12 #11 of 12 - 12,819 ( -0.9%) 04/12 #12 of 12 - 12,808 ( -0.0%)
At least now they can get that collected edition out.
154. X-CLUB 12/11 #1 of 5 - 17,552 01/12 #2 of 5 - 14,219 (-19.0%) 02/12 #3 of 5 - 12,911 ( -9.2%) 03/12 #4 of 5 - 11,979 ( -7.2%) 04/12 #5 of 5 - 11,551 ( -3.6%)
Pretty much under the radar.
159. ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN 04/12 #1 - 10,886
The other new all-ages book, also based on an animated series – and not to be confused with the other ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN, which is technically called ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN these days. Marvel is also soliciting the books under the MARVEL UNIVERSE banner, in reference to the universe in which they aren’t set. I cannot help but wonder whether all this is needlessly confusing.
Regardless, both of the new all-ages books launch with significantly increased sales compared to the titles they replaced – which normally hovered right at the bottom end of the top 300.
184. AVENGERS: THE COMING OF THE AVENGERS! 04/12 One-shot - 9,138
A reprint of AVENGERS #1. Decent number for that sort of book.
235. HALO: FALL OF REACH - INVASION
04/09 #4 of 4 - 25,812
04/10 ---
=====
04/11 #1 of 4 - 8,313 ( -1.5%)
05/11 ---
06/11 ---
07/11 #2 of 4 - 7,825 ( -5.9%)
08/11 ---
09/11 #3 of 4 - 7,321 ( -6.4%)
10/11 #4 of 4 - 7,142 ( -2.4%)
11/11 ---
12/11 ---
01/12 #1 of 4 - 7,155 ( +0.2%)
02/12 #2 of 4 - 6,446 ( -9.9%)
03/12 ---
04/12 #3 of 4 - 6,224 ( -3.4%)
6 mnth (-12.9%)
1 year (-25.1%)
2 year ( --- )
3 year (-75.9%)
236. CASANOVA: AVARITIA [Icon]
04/11 #4 of 4 - 5,808 ( -5.6%)
05/11 ---
06/11 ---
07/11 ---
08/11 ---
09/11 #1 of 4 - 7,059 (+21.5%)
10/11 #2 of 4 - 6,483 ( -8.2%)
11/11 ---
12/11 ---
01/12 ---
02/12 ---
03/12 ---
04/12 #3 of 4 - 6,159 ( -5.0%)
Standard declines for both of these erratically scheduled titles.
239. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: HOOKY 04/12 One-shot - 6,112
A reprint of MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL #22, originally published in 1986.
241. OFFICIAL HANDBOOK 04/11 Thor - 9,251 (+72.8%) 05/11 X-Men - 8,228 (-11.1%) 06/11 Captain America - 6,311 (-23.3%) 07/11 --- 08/11 Fellowship of Fear - 10,448 (+65.6%) 09/11 FF - 6,761 (-35.3%) 10/11 Vampires - 5,220 (-22.8%) 11/11 History o/t MU - 7,284 (+39.5%) 12/11 Defenders - 4,736 (-35.0%) 01/12 --- 02/12 --- 03/12 --- 04/12 Avengers - 6,071 (+28.2%)
Tie-in issue for the movie. No further issues have been solicited, so this would appear to be the end of the series. Bearing in mind that the HANDBOOK has been running almost continually since 2004, it’s had a run many actual comics would envy.
261. JOHN CARTER: GODS OF MARS 09/11 #1 of 5 - 19,173 10/11 #2 of 5 - 6,742 ( -64.8%) 11/11 #3 of 5 - 5,845 ( -13.3%) 12/11 #4 of 5 - 5,281 ( -9.6%) 01/12 #5 of 5 - 4,998 ( -5.4%) 02/12 --- 03/12 #1 of 5 - 11,896 (+138.0%) 04/12 #2 of 5 - 5,254 ( -55.8%) 264. TOY STORY 03/12 #1 of 4 - 6,564 04/12 #2 of 4 - 5,034 (-23.3%)
Adaptations. And one Marvel comic missed the charts in April: FORMIC WARS: SILENT STRIKE #5.
6 month comparisons =================== +35.0% - Hulk +25.4% - Punisher +17.0% - Daredevil +16.0% - Uncanny X-Men +15.2% - Secret Avengers +11.5% - Avengers +11.2% - New Avengers + 6.5% - Deadpool + 1.1% - X-Factor - 0.7% - Amazing Spider-Man - 3.3% - X-Force - 4.1% - Astonishing X-Men - 4.6% - Avengers Academy - 5.0% - Wolverine - 6.2% - X-Men Legacy - 9.9% - X-Men -11.9% - Venom -12.5% - Fantastic Four -12.9% - Halo -16.3% - Iron Man -16.7% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man -17.2% - New Mutants -19.8% - Thunderbolts -21.6% - Thor -22.8% - Captain America And... -22.9% - FF -22.9% - Moon Knight -23.2% - Ultimates -23.7% - Journey into Mystery -33.0% - Ultimate Comics X-Men -34.8% - Wolverine and the X-Men -60.4% - Incredible Hulk -90.7% - Dark Tower 1 year comparisons ================== +41.5% - Incredible Hulk +30.7% - Uncanny X-Men +12.3% - Hulk + 3.5% - Avengers + 2.9% - Deadpool + 0.3% - New Avengers - 1.6% - Secret Avengers - 4.0% - X-Factor - 5.3% - Avengers Academy - 6.7% - X-Force - 6.9% - Amazing Spider-Man - 8.6% - Captain America -14.1% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man -20.4% - Wolverine -24.3% - Thunderbolts -25.1% - Halo -27.1% - X-Men -28.5% - Iron Man -28.5% - Ultimates -30.6% - Venom -31.3% - X-Men Legacy -41.9% - Fantastic Four -45.7% - New Mutants -48.8% - FF -51.9% - Journey into Mystery -58.0% - Thor -86.6% - Dark Tower 2 year comparisons ================== +40.6% - Punisher +24.6% - Wolverine +23.1% - Daredevil +11.7% - Fantastic Four + 9.4% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man + 7.3% - Amazing Spider-Man + 2.3% - Moon Knight - 5.7% - Uncanny X-Men -17.9% - New Avengers -25.0% - X-Force -29.8% - Captain America -31.9% - Deadpool -38.0% - Ultimate Comics X-Men -41.2% - X-Factor -45.3% - X-Men Legacy -46.5% - Thor -46.6% - Dark Tower -46.7% - Thunderbolts -56.0% - Iron Man -57.6% - New Mutants 3 year comparisons ================== + 2.5% - Daredevil - 5.0% - Amazing Spider-Man - 6.6% - Moon Knight - 8.6% - Uncanny X-Men -11.6% - X-Force -12.4% - Punisher -25.6% - X-Factor -34.1% - New Avengers -34.8% - Fantastic Four -35.1% - Captain America -37.4% - Iron Man -39.5% - Deadpool -49.1% - Incredible Hulk -50.4% - X-Men Legacy -53.8% - Astonishing X-Men -56.7% - Thor -58.4% - Hulk -61.3% - Thunderbolts -64.7% - Dark Tower -75.9% - Halo 4 year comparisons ================== + 9.6% - Punisher - 9.4% - Iron Man -22.8% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man -23.8% - Moon Knight -25.2% - Uncanny X-Men -25.4% - Amazing Spider-Man -39.4% - Ultimate Comics X-Men -40.9% - X-Force -42.3% - Wolverine -43.3% - Fantastic Four -43.9% - New Avengers -48.6% - Captain America -53.7% - X-Factor -53.9% - X-Men Legacy -57.9% - Incredible Hulk -65.6% - Hulk -86.6% - Dark Tower 5 year comparisons ================== - 0.2% - Daredevil -14.5% - Uncanny X-Men -20.9% - Incredible Hulk -32.7% - Fantastic Four -37.1% - X-Factor -39.4% - Punisher -39.9% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man -45.5% - Iron Man -50.6% - New Avengers -52.3% - X-Men Legacy -52.7% - Ultimate Comics X-Men -62.0% - Wolverine -69.4% - Moon Knight -70.8% - Thunderbolts -90.7% - Dark Tower
Hey Paul,
Why no figures for X-Factor?
no. 86 – x-factor
“Solid as ever. This is the sort of book that may actually benefit creatively from cranking up the shipping schedule, what with its large cast, self-contained stories, and long-term storylines.”
That is so weird. I didn’t see it on my scan-through, so I searched for it… and got nothing. Still don’t find it using search… yet there it is.
Those five year comparisons are a little concerning …
I give up! The Incredible (Green) Hulk is done for me! It is just a terrible book….cant remember the Hulk this bad. The past few years were pretty good for Hulk, thank God the Red Hulk book is decent. Moon Knight is cancelled (Sniff…I liked it), Avengers vs X is ok….not too exciting,but better than Fear Itself, Spider-Man has a good story arc and then a lame one, inconsistent, …..
It is worrisome that Marvel is only 5% ahead of DC in Dollars (At an extra $1/book) with these kind of volumes on some of their books no? Lets see the DC & Indie figures and see how the market is really doing. (Imagine once the cross overs end how low the numbers will be)
Defenders is a complete and total failure. I was SO excited for this title…
Defenders lost me when I figured out there were five artists on five consecutive issues. I prefer consistent creative teams.
LL
Defenders is a complete and total failure imo also. I was also excited (especially for Red She-Hulk).
My excitement was eventually replaced with annoyed confusion, and then I dropped it with issue 5. I expected outside-the-box weird, but it got to a point where I just didn’t know what the hell was going on.
Wow, Fear Itself: the Fearless 11 and 12 were ordered within one copy of each other? I don’t think I’ve ever seen that happen.
That 5 year comparison is depressing.
“SCARLET SPIDER, in particular, seems to have found its level unusually quickly – a promising sign.”
So of course the artist is leaving the book.
Is just my idea or Fraction is bleeding readers?
It seems like his Thor and his Defenders are losing readers rapidly.
Wow, depressing–as of this list, two of my three favorite Marvel books (New Mutants and Journey into Mystery, the other being Uncanny X-Men) are the two lowest-selling Marvel Universe books not cancelled or rebooting. Any chance at all we can squeeze some extra sales out of a retitling to “X-Men: New Mutants”? I’ll even support another “New X-Men” if only we get to keep the team of characters.
“The awkwardly titled AVX: VERSUS”
Marvel can be TERRIBLE at titles, making things sound so similar that even I have almost bought the wrong thing more than once (and I defy you to find anyone who follows Marvel more closely).
How hard would it have been to call this book something like “AVX: FIGHT!”?
“(Personally, I’d have thought that audiences attracted by a one-off Avengers film were more likely to go and buy back catalogue collections than commit to a monthly series straight out the bat anyway.)”
As someone whose sister was a lapsed Marvel reader who is now a big Avengers fan, I can say: You are entirely correct. Marvel has especially been doing good business with their Avengers digital comic sales.
I was under the impression the AVX VS book was the 12 issue mini – what with all the ‘extended battles’. My bad. 3 issues a month for 6 month at $4 each for just the main series. $72 or $76 (with #0). Seems rather expensive to me! I’d hate to work see how much with all the tie ins – $300 easy I’d say!?! … Think I’d rather buy a new 50 inch LCD TV!
“Is just my idea or Fraction is bleeding readers?”
He writes two of my favorite Marvel titles of all time and I’ve dropped both during his tenure. Invincible Iron Man had more issues than I cared for with Tony Stark not wearing the armor and dropping Thor from his title so early (yes I realize it was short term) made me drop it quickly. Fear Itself made me give up crossovers at Marvel and I looked at Defenders #1 and walked away. I know Fraction has indie cred and a following and he’s a Marvel “Architect” but to me he’s just a boring superhero writer.
I just realized that I also dropped Uncanny X-Men during his run.
“I prefer consistent creative teams.” – Honestly, in todays “I demand my titles on a timely schedule” this isn’t going to happen anymore. And it’s a shame. I always prefer quality over quantity, and would more than willingly wait out a late book. But that’s not what people wanted, so this is what they get. Inconsistent “fill-in” creative teams.
you people should totally try defenders out. it’s being a very intriguing and dense read so far, and the art is also very good.
i understand how rotating artists may be seen as a downside, but the ones filling in for terry dodson share a very similar taste between each other and besides from #4 on every issue is pretty much self-contained.
@Mr. Kayak I’m glad you are enjoying the title.
I just took a look at the first issue and I thought that Dodson’s art wasn’t as good as other works I’ve seen from him (like Wonder Woman with Heinberg). I also thought that the dialogs were kind of weird and that it had something to do with the fact that Fraction said he would be using his own version of the “marvel Style” instead of writing full scripts like he used to (or does in other titles).
I liked Defenders and will complete the first arc but will trade-wait on the digital issues.
Digital-wait? Bit-wait?
“No further issues have been solicited, so this would appear to be the end of the series. Bearing in mind that the HANDBOOK has been running almost continually since 2004, it’s had a run many actual comics would envy.”
Yep. Jeph York (who’s part of Marvel’s Collected Editions/Official Index/Handbook team) just confirmed this the other day when I interviewed him. (plug, plug)
Thanks for doing this every month, Paul! I always enjoy your commentary.
@esteban
actually i’m not a huge fan of dodson’s work, even though i recognize he’s a very talented artist. just not my cup of tea, i guess. he’s soon going to leave his place to jaime mckelvie, though, who i think is a better fit for the mood of the book.
i have to say the first three issues of defenders are the ones i liked the less, especially the first one, which is kinda odd if you think about it.
the issue that really sold this book for me was the fourth, the one about dr. strange. i’d suggest one who wanted to sample defenders to go and try that one.
I gave Defenders a try, it didn’t do much for me. The art was cool, but Dodson never stays on a book for long/always needs a fill-in artist. Cool group of characters but the writing was meh.
A vs. X continues to steamroll along around here. Issue 3 sold out at both my LCS, I had to wait over two weeks to get a second print of it. It’s boosting tie in book sales as well: I missed the second Wolverine and the X-Men tie-in issue and that title has never sold out before.
On a different note, I can see why New Mutants sales are tanking. Taking Magik, Cannonball and Karma out of the book has helped lose the unique feeling it had. Lame storyline fare such as Magma dating Mephisto(gahh) have me wavering on the edge of dropping it. I was thinking of picking up the Red Hulk book as a replacement if I do: thumbed through the latest issue at the shop this week and it looked kind of interesting.
How come Avengers Assemble wasn’t a give-away with every movie ticket? What a waste of an opportunity!
Simply amazing that AVX is successful. I’m stunned, although the reviews have been mixed. I assumed multiple writers & artists on a rehashed thread from 30 years ago, along with an editorial forcing of plot devices, surely would have sunk.
Interesting that Brilliant is having a hard time coming out, given that Bagley is one of the fastest in the business.
And lastly I learned my lesson with JMS.
“How come Avengers Assemble wasn’t a give-away with every movie ticket? What a waste of an opportunity!”
Micah, its b/c the general public could care LESS about reading comic books, they just want to see the movies featuring them…
It is due to ONLY the two AVX minis that this month’s sales are not lower than February of 2011’s. That should be cause for concern.
seems like red Hulk is missing from the August solicts….