Marvel Month-to-Month Sales: December 2013http://ift.tt/1gBlXhi

Avengers_Vol_5_24.NOW.jpg

By Paul O’Brien

[Editor’s Note: As noted this is Paul’s last column for now. He’s been an incredible collaborator and commentator, and I think we all owe him a big round of applause! And yes I know these are late — we’ll have the new guys in place VERY shortly! Thanks again, Paul.]

And so the end of an era is upon us. No, I do not speak of the latest cancellation of DEFENDERS, nor even of the final OZ miniseries. As Heidi explained a little while back, this will be my final sales column, after over a decade of writing these things. Good luck to whoever takes over for this; I’ll be reading with interest, and with a sense of relief that I didn’t have to do the number crunching.

So. One last time!

December sees a barrage of Inhumanity tie-ins, all building to the launch of the new series that’s since been delayed. We also have the start of ORIGIN II, and the first of the Marvel Now Wave 2 titles.

As per usual, Marvel had the largest share of the North American direct market, leading DC by 37% to 31% in unit terms, and 35% to 28% in dollars.

Thanks as always to ICV2.com for permission to use these figures.

1.  ORIGIN II
12/13  Origin II #1 of 5 - 131,724

Books set in the past and with no direct impact on present day continuity generally seem to be a tough sell. But ORIGIN II is the top seller of the month, presumably because Marvel have successfully portrayed it as an event – in the sense of a book fans will be talking about.

It helps, of course, that the book has seven covers, one of which is a “Collector’s Edition Acetate Cover”, no doubt a tremendous boost to the title’s popularity with plastic fetishists. But 131K is similar territory to the launch of FEAR ITSELF – very good for an origin sequel.

2.  AVENGERS
12/03  Avengers v3 #75 -  57,814
12/10  Avengers v4 #8  -  67,056
12/11  Avengers v4 #20 -  57,145
=====
12/12  Avengers v5 #1  - 192,952  (+236.7%)
12/12  Avengers v5 #2  -  99,028  ( -48.7%)
01/13  Avengers v5 #3  -  92,165  (  -6.9%)
01/13  Avengers v5 #4  -  83,088  (  -9.8%)
02/13  Avengers v5 #5  -  82,452  (  -0.8%)
02/13  Avengers v5 #6  -  84,868  (  +2.9%)
03/13  Avengers v5 #7  -  78,278  (  -7.8%)
03/13  Avengers v5 #8  -  82,691  (  +5.6%)
04/13  Avengers v5 #9  -  77,780  (  -5.9%)
04/13  Avengers v5 #10 -  78,905  (  +1.4%)
05/13  Avengers v5 #11 -  70,687  ( -10.4%)
05/13  Avengers v5 #12 -  74,978  (  +6.1%)
06/13  Avengers v5 #13 -  68,624  (  -8.5%)
06/13  Avengers v5 #14 -  74,846  (  +9.1%)
07/13  Avengers v5 #15 -  68,472  (  -8.5%)
07/13  Avengers v5 #16 -  72,842  (  +6.4%)
08/13  Avengers v5 #17 -  68,962  (  -5.3%)
08/13  Avengers v5 #18 -  74,697  (  +8.3%)
09/13  Avengers v5 #19 -  92,489  ( +23.8%)
09/13  Avengers v5 #20 -  74,388  ( -19.6%)
10/13  Avengers v5 #21 -  71,751  (  -3.5%)
10/13  Avengers v5 #22 -  70,735  (  -1.4%)
11/13  Avengers v5 #23 -  66,501  (  -6.0%)
12/13  Avngrs. #24.NOW - 127,466  ( +91.7%)
                          6 mnth  ( +70.3%)
                          1 year  ( +28.7%)
                          2 year  (+123.1%)
                          3 year  ( +95.9%)
                         10 year  (+120.5%)

The first book of Marvel NOW wave 2, or whatever we’re calling it. It’s a mixture of new launches and existing titles whose jumping on points are being promoted as “.NOW issues”.

Back in the 90s, Marvel employed teams of sinister printing technologists to devise new and demented forms of novelty cover. Today, in 2014, Marvel employes teams of sinister numerologists to uncover strange and mysterious numbers previously unknown to science, such as 24.NOW, 35.INH, 62.CRIKEY, and 109.STOAT. Few dare venture into these maniacs’ lair, though the dark sounds of muffled screams lead many to speculate on horrific experiments where innocent number lines are cynically mutilated in an attempt to prove that the number after anything can be 1.

Some of these terrifying unnumbers have now been released into the community. Beware. Do not arrange them in mystically provocative patterns. Do not attempt to count them without the guidance of a qualified alchemist. Do not think directly at them. If you do, you too could go the way of Marvel’s solicitation writers, who produce copy like “AVENGERS #24.NOW = AVENGERS #1 IN ALL-NEW MARVEL NOW!”, presumably following that up by curling up in a ball and whimpering at the death of syntax.

On the bright side, they’ll certainly make it a lot easier for my successor to tell at a glance which issues were crossovers, so thanks for that.

But let no one say that I was not even-handed to the last…

AVENGERS #24.NOW is essentially would, until recently, have been called a Point One issue. I always thought the Point One issues made a degree of sense as heavily promoted jumping on points, but the reality was that they never seemed to sell – if anything, all available evidence was that they actually tended to lose readers. Perhaps the error was to present them as self-contained stories, rather than first chapters – certainly many of the early Point One books were basically fill-ins.

So maybe these .NOW issues will turn out to be the same idea done right. It’s certainly worked here on AVENGERS. Time will tell how it does on other titles.

9.  INHUMANITY
12/13  One-shot - 77,519

The start of a collection of one-shots and tie-in issues leading in to what was at this point intended to be Matt Fraction’s INHUMAN. As the book has now been retooled and delayed, there’s an obvious risk of it losing whatever momentum this storyline would otherwise have produced for it.

10,11. SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN
12/03  Amazing #502 -  90,484
12/08  Amazing #581 -  68,905
12/09  Amazing #616 -  58,856
12/10  Amazing #650 -  55,996
12/11  Amazing #675 -  54,652
=====
12/12  Amazing #699 -  80,048  (  -8.6%)
12/12  Amazing #.1  -  71,344  ( -10.9%)
12/12  Amazing #700 - 273,305  (+283.1%)
01/13  Superior #1  - 209,944  ( -23.2%)
01/13  Superior #2  - 118,104  ( -43.7%)
02/13  Superior #3  - 101,811  ( -13.8%)
02/13  Superior #4  -  95,892  (  -5.8%)
03/13  Superior #5  -  94,224  (  -1.7%)
03/13  Superior #6  -  86,614  (  -8.1%)
03/13  S. S-M #6AU  -  85,807  (  -0.9%)
04/13  Superior #7  -  87,945  (  +2.5%)
04/13  Superior #8  -  85,671  (  -2.6%)
05/13  Superior #9  -  93,656  (  +9.3%)
05/13  Superior #10 -  85,346  (  -8.9%)
06/13  Superior #11 -  84,219  (  -1.3%)
06/13  Superior #12 -  82,338  (  -2.2%)
07/13  Superior #13 -  81,678  (  -0.8%)
07/13  Superior #14 -  80,839  (  -1.0%)
08/13  Superior #15 -  78,636  (  -2.7%)
08/13  Superior #16 -  78,087  (  -0.7%)
09/13  Superior #17 -  89,118  ( +14.1%)
09/13  Superior #18 -  80,178  ( -10.0%)
10/13  Superior #19 -  83,671  (  +4.4%)
10/13  Superior #20 -  85,309  (  +2.0%)
11/13  Superior #21 -  74,940  ( -12.2%)
11/13  Superior #22 -  81,250  (  +8.4%)
12/13  Superior #23 -  77,105  (  -5.1%)
12/13  Superior #24 -  76,131  (  -1.3%)
                       6 mnth  (  -7.5%)
                       1 year  (  -4.9%)
                       2 year  ( +39.3%)
                       3 year  ( +36.0%)
                       4 year  ( +29.4%)
                       5 year  ( +10.5%)
                      10 year  ( -15.9%)

There are variants on all of issues #22-24, so here we have our first case of standard attrition for the month! The book reverts to its original AMAZING SPIDER-MAN title in April, after what has to be judged a pretty successful year with Otto as the lead character.

13. ALL-NEW X-MEN
12/12  All-New X-Men #3  -  90,161  (-10.7%)
12/12  All-New X-Men #4  -  90,946  ( +0.9%)
01/13  All-New X-Men #5  -  86,301  ( -5.1%)
01/13  All-New X-Men #6  -  85,403  ( -1.0%)
02/13  All-New X-Men #7  -  85,234  ( -0.2%)
03/13  All-New X-Men #8  -  90,990  ( +6.8%)
03/13  All-New X-Men #9  -  81,692  (-10.2%)
04/13  All-New X-Men #10 -  84,760  ( +3.8%)
05/13  All-New X-Men #11 -  80,582  ( -4.9%)
06/13  All-New X-Men #12 -  82,178  ( +2.0%)
06/13  All-New X-Men #13 -  77,656  ( -5.5%)
07/13  All-New X-Men #14 -  74,848  ( -3.6%)
08/13  All-New X-Men #15 -  73,035  ( -2.4%)
09/13  All-New X-Men #16 -  84,218  (+15.3%)
10/13  All-New X-Men #17 -  82,843  ( -1.6%)
11/13  All-New X-Men #18 -  82,365  ( -0.6%)
11/13  All-New X-Men #19 -  71,044  (-13.7%)
12/13  All-New X-Men #20 -  68,189  ( -4.0%)
                            6 mnth  (-12.2%)
                            1 year  (-24.4%)

Issues #16-17 were the “Battle of the Atom” crossover, and issue #18 had multiple variants, so when you screen those out, it’s really a case of the standard gentle decline. There’s a .NOW issue in January, leading into a crossover with GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY.

15,18,20,21,22. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
12/13  Amazing Spider-Man #700.1 - 65,775
12/13  Amazing Spider-Man #700.2 - 61,233
12/13  Amazing Spider-Man #700.3 - 60,513
12/13  Amazing Spider-Man #700.4 - 59,142
12/13  Amazing Spider-Man #700.5 - 59,083

A seemingly random “special celebration” of Peter Parker, featuring such things as a fill-in story by David Morrell. All a bit odd, and I suspect some retailers may have bought into this as being a bigger deal than it actually was, perhaps because the issue #700.1 solicitation could be read as suggesting the character’s actual return.

17. UNCANNY X-MEN
12/03  Uncanny X-Men #434   -  90,318
12/08  Uncanny X-Men #505   -  82,271
12/09  Uncanny X-Men #519   -  67,043
12/10  Uncanny X-Men #531   -  55,770
12/11  Uncanny X-Men v2 #3  -  64,112
=====
02/13  Uncanny X-Men v3 #1  - 177,463  (+169.0%)
02/13  Uncanny X-Men v3 #2  -  94,615  ( -46.7%)
03/13  Uncanny X-Men v3 #3  -  85,775  (  -9.3%)
04/13  Uncanny X-Men v3 #4  -  80,047  (  -6.7%)
04/13  Uncanny X-Men v3 #5  -  78,919  (  -1.4%)
05/13  Uncanny X-Men v3 #6  -  73,621  (  -6.7%)
06/13  Uncanny X-Men v3 #7  -  73,719  (  +0.1%)
07/13  Uncanny X-Men v3 #8  -  70,274  (  -4.7%)
07/13  Uncanny X-Men v3 #9  -  67,338  (  -4.2%)
08/13  Uncanny X-Men v3 #10 -  70,903  (  +5.3%)
08/13  Uncanny X-Men v3 #11 -  65,700  (  -7.3%)
09/13  Uncanny X-Men v3 #12 -  76,790  ( +16.9%)
10/13  Uncanny X-Men v3 #13 -  75,202  (  -2.1%)
11/13  Uncanny X-Men v3 #14 -  65,655  ( -12.7%)
12/13  Uncanny #15.INH      -  62,692  (  -4.5%)
                               6 mnth  ( -15.0%)
                               1 year  (   --- )
                               2 year  (  -2.2%)
                               3 year  ( -12.4%)
                               4 year  (  -6.5%)
                               5 year  ( -23.8%)
                              10 year  ( -30.6%)

An Inhumanity tie-in (obviously), with seemingly no effect on sales. That said, the previous issue had a variant cover, and the two before that were “Battle of the Atom” tie-ins, so it’s not entirely easy to guess where the sales would otherwise have been.

19. AMAZING X-MEN
12/08  ---
12/09  Astonishing X-Men #33 -  57,592
12/10  ---
12/11  Astonishing X-Men #45 -  31,392
=====
12/12  Astonishing X-Men #57 -  26,263  (  -4.8%)
01/13  Astonishing X-Men #58 -  25,159  (  -4.2%)
02/13  Astonishing X-Men #59 -  24,195  (  -3.8%)
03/13  Astonishing X-Men #60 -  27,683  ( +14.4%)
04/13  Astonishing X-Men #61 -  27,090  (  -2.1%)
05/13  Astonishing X-Men #62 -  24,121  ( -11.0%)
06/13  Astonishing X-Men #63 -  23,326  (  -3.3%)
07/13  Astonishing X-Men #64 -  22,649  (  -2.9%)
08/13  Astonishing X-Men #65 -  22,010  (  -2.8%)
08/13  Astonishing X-Men #66 -  21,757  (  -1.1%)
09/13  Astonishing X-Men #67 -  21,044  (  -3.3%)
10/13  Astonishing X-Men #68 -  21,023  (  -0.0%)
11/13  Amazing X-Men v2 #1   - 112,337  (+434.4%)
12/13  Amazing X-Men v2 #2   -  60,870  ( -45.8%)
                                6 mnth  (+161.0%)
                                1 year  (+131.8%)
                                2 year  ( +93.9%)
                                3 year  (   --- )
                                4 year  (  +5.7%)
                                5 year  (   --- )

A swift second issue drop, but that was always to be expected given that ALL-NEW and UNCANNY are the flagship X-Men titles right now, so AMAZING was hardly likely to outsell them. The sales are still a vast improvement on ASTONISHING.

24,28. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
12/08  Guardians v2 #8  -  31,564
12/09  Guardians v2 #21 -  22,271
=====
02/13  Guardians #0.1   -  80,344
03/13  Guardians v3 #1  - 217,993  (+171.3%)
04/13  Guardians v3 #2  -  88,184  ( -59.5%)
05/13  ---
06/13  Guardians v3 #3  -  75,633  ( -14.2%)
06/13  Guardians v3 #4  -  71,575  (  -5.4%)
07/13  Guardians v3 #5  - 110,372  ( +54.2%)
08/13  ---
09/13  Guardians v3 #6  -  69,030  ( -37.5%)
10/13  Guardians v3 #7  -  68,647  (  -0.6%)
10/13  Guardians v3 #8  -  63,494  (  -7.5%)
11/13  ---
12/13  Guardians v3 #9  -  57,665  (  -9.2%)
12/13  Guardians v3 #10 -  53,527  (  -7.2%)
                           6 mnth  ( -25.2%)
                           1 year  (   --- )
                           2 year  (   --- )
                           3 year  (   --- )
                           4 year  (+140.3%)
                           5 year  ( +69.6%)

Hmm. Issue #9, which slipped from November, is an INFINITY tie-in. That might lead you to expect a drop for issue #10 – but it’s not like the tie-in did much for sales to start with. Honestly, this seems to be bleeding a bit. But it’s about to do a crossover with the higher-selling ALL-NEW X-MEN, which has to help.

25. UNCANNY AVENGERS
12/12  ---
01/13  Uncanny Avengers #3  - 92,165  (-19.3%)
02/13  Uncanny Avengers #4  - 87,539  ( -5.0%)
03/13  Uncanny Avengers #5  - 84,382  ( -3.6%)
04/13  Uncanny Avengers #6  - 80,863  ( -4.2%)
04/13  Uncanny Avengers #7  - 77,027  ( -4.7%)
05/13  Uncanny Avengers #8  - 75,655  ( -1.8%)
05/13  Uncanny Av. #8AU     - 72,514  ( -4.2%)
06/13  Uncanny Avengers #9  - 71,842  ( -0.9%)
07/13  Uncanny Avengers #10 - 68,768  ( -4.3%)
08/13  Uncanny Avengers #11 - 65,447  ( -4.8%)
09/13  Uncanny Avengers #12 - 73,357  (+12.1%)
10/13  Uncanny Avengers #13 - 60,597  (-17.4%)
11/13  Uncanny Avengers #14 - 60,750  ( +0.3%)
12/13  Uncanny Avengers #15 - 57,035  ( -6.1%)
                              6 mnth  (-20.6%)
                              1 year  (  --- )

Standard erosion.

26. NEW AVENGERS
12/08  New Avengers #48    -  93,908
12/09  New Avengers #60    -  72,790
12/10  New Avengers v2 #7  -  67,840
12/11  New Avengers v2 #19 -  52,915
=====
12/12  ---
01/13  New Avengers v3 #1  - 116,280  (+115.9%)
01/13  New Avengers v3 #2  -  79,433  ( -31.7%)
02/13  New Avengers v3 #3  -  72,110  (  -9.2%)
03/13  New Avengers v3 #4  -  65,150  (  -9.7%)
04/13  New Avengers v3 #5  -  63,423  (  -2.7%)
05/13  New Avengers v3 #6  -  59,362  (  -6.4%)
06/13  New Avengers v3 #7  -  60,138  (  +1.3%)
07/13  New Avengers v3 #8  -  58,044  (  -3.5%)
08/13  New Avengers v3 #9  -  60,534  (  +4.3%)
09/13  New Avengers v3 #10 -  60,682  (  +0.2%)
10/13  New Avengers v3 #11 -  63,231  (  +4.2%)
11/13  New Avengers v3 #12 -  58,807  (  -7.0%)
12/13  N Avengers #13.INH  -  56,624  (  -3.7%)
                              6 mnth  (  -5.8%)
                              1 year  (   --- )
                              2 year  (  +7.0%)
                              3 year  ( -16.5%)
                              4 year  ( -22.2%)
                              5 year  ( -39.7%)

This is another INHUMANITY tie-in, but as it comes straight after four INFINITY tie-ins, you wouldn’t really expect sales to climb.

30. X-MEN
12/10  X-Men v3 #6  -  53,005
12/11  X-Men v3 #22 -  39,121
=====
12/12  X-Men v3 #39 -  29,326  (  -3.2%)
01/13  X-Men v3 #40 -  28,515  (  -2.8%)
02/13  X-Men v3 #41 -  32,488  ( +13.9%)
03/13  ---
04/13  ---
05/13  X-Men v4 #1  - 183,297  (+464.2%)
06/13  X-Men v4 #2  -  73,542  ( -59.9%)
07/13  X-Men v4 #3  -  65,270  ( -11.2%)
08/13  X-Men v4 #4  -  64,010  (  -1.9%)
09/13  X-Men v4 #5  -  73,357  ( +14.6%)
10/13  X-Men v4 #6  -  71,990  (  -1.9%)
11/13  X-Men v4 #7  -  56,968  ( -20.9%)
12/13  X-Men v4 #8  -  53,201  (  -6.6%)
                       6 mnth  ( -27.7%)
                       1 year  ( +81.4%)
                       2 year  ( +36.0%)
                       3 year  (  +0.4%)

Back on a fairly steady slide after the two month interruption of “Battle of the Atom”. But again, way ahead of the sales that it was getting before the relaunch last May.

34. AVENGERS ANNUAL
12/13  Annual #1 - 47,349

A Christmas story by a guest creative team, so not a bad number in that light.

37,38. DEADPOOL
12/08  Deadpool v3 #5  -  46,856
12/09  Deadpool v3 #18 -  45,914
12/10  Deadpool v3 #30 -  30,488
12/11  Deadpool v3 #47 -  25,910
=====
12/12  Deadpool v4 #3  -  64,591  ( -15.5%)
01/13  Deadpool v4 #4  -  57,061  ( -11.7%)
02/13  Deadpool v4 #5  -  57,312  (  +0.4%)
03/13  Deadpool v4 #6  -  57,095  (  -0.4%)
04/13  Deadpool v4 #7  -  57,016  (  -0.1%)
04/13  Deadpool v4 #8  -  52,851  (  -7.3%)
05/13  Deadpool v4 #9  -  51,296  (  -2.9%)
05/13  Deadpool v4 #10 -  50,461  (  -1.6%)
06/13  Deadpool v4 #11 -  54,110  (  +7.2%)
06/13  Deadpool v4 #12 -  48,315  ( -10.7%)
07/13  Deadpool v4 #13 -  47,006  (  -2.7%)
08/13  Deadpool v4 #14 -  45,870  (  -2.4%)
08/13  Deadpool v4 #15 -  46,169  (  +0.7%)
09/13  Deadpool v4 #16 -  45,675  (  -1.1%)
09/13  Deadpool v4 #17 -  45,348  (  -0.7%)
10/13  Deadpool v4 #18 -  47,096  (  +3.9%)
11/13  Deadpool v4 #19 -  44,184  (  -6.2%)
12/13  Deadpool v4 #20 -  43,653  (  -1.2%)
12/13  Deadpool v4 #21 -  43,066  (  -1.3%)
                          6 mnth  ( -10.9%)
                          1 year  ( -33.3%)
                          2 year  ( +66.2%)
                          3 year  ( +41.3%)
                          4 year  (  -6.2%)
                          5 year  (  -8.1%)

More standard erosion.

42. THOR: GOD OF THUNDER
12/03  Thor v2 #72 -  31,953
12/08  Thor v3 #12 -  73,784
12/09  Thor #605   -  55,242
12/10  Thor #618   -  45,142
12/11  Thor v4 #9  -  38,000
=====
12/12  Thor v5 #3  -  55,547  (-15.2%)
01/13  Thor v5 #4  -  50,478  ( -9.1%)
02/13  Thor v5 #5  -  51,861  ( +2.7%)
03/13  Thor v5 #6  -  50,481  ( -2.7%)
04/13  Thor v5 #7  -  51,526  ( +2.1%)
05/13  Thor v5 #8  -  48,622  ( -5.6%)
06/13  Thor v5 #9  -  49,125  ( +1.0%)
07/13  Thor v5 #10 -  46,204  ( -5.9%)
08/13  Thor v5 #11 -  45,397  ( -1.7%)
08/13  Thor v5 #12 -  44,865  ( -1.2%)
09/13  Thor v5 #13 -  48,007  ( +7.0%)
10/13  Thor v5 #14 -  46,008  ( -4.2%)
11/13  Thor v5 #15 -  41,259  (-10.3%)
12/13  Thor v5 #16 -  39,597  ( -4.0%)
                      6 mnth  (-19.4%)
                      1 year  (-28.7%)
                      2 year  ( +4.2%)
                      3 year  (-12.3%)
                      4 year  (-28.3%)
                      5 year  (-46.3%)
                     10 year  (+23.9%)

Issues #13 and #14 both had variant covers; screen those out and you’ve got a fairly steady drift down.

43. WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN
12/11  Wolverine/X-Men #3  - 58,438
=====
12/12  Wolverine/X-Men #22 - 45,658  ( -5.4%)
01/13  Wolverine/X-Men #23 - 43,963  ( -3.7%)
01/13  Wolverine/X-Men #24 - 44,716  ( +1.7%)
02/13  Wolverine/X-Men #25 - 45,057  ( +0.8%)
03/13  Wolverine/X-Men #26 - 42,019  ( -6.7%)
03/13  Wolverine/X-Men #27 - 41,960  ( -0.1%)
04/13  Wolv & X-Men #27AU  - 47,055  (+12.1%)
04/13  Wolverine/X-Men #28 - 42,718  ( -9.2%)
05/13  Wolverine/X-Men #29 - 40,451  ( -5.3%)
05/13  Wolverine/X-Men #30 - 40,019  ( -1.1%)
06/13  Wolverine/X-Men #31 - 41,661  ( +4.1%)
06/13  Wolverine/X-Men #32 - 39,790  ( -4.5%)
07/13  Wolverine/X-Men #33 - 42,269  ( +6.2%)
08/13  Wolverine/X-Men #34 - 38,473  ( -9.0%)
08/13  Wolverine/X-Men #35 - 38,046  ( -1.1%)
09/13  Wolverine/X-Men #36 - 59,684  (+56.9%)
10/13  Wolverine/X-Men #37 - 57,434  ( -3.8%)
11/13  Wolverine/X-Men #38 - 39,098  (-31.9%)
12/13  Wolverine/X-Men #39 - 39,063  ( -0.1%)
                             6 mnth  ( -1.9%)
                             1 year  (-14.4%)
                             2 year  (-33.2%)

Relaunching after issue #42.

51. MIGHTY AVENGERS
09/13  Mighty Avengers v2 #1 - 101,921
10/13  Mighty Avengers v2 #2 -  54,862  (-46.2%)
11/13  Mighty Avengers v2 #3 -  42,210  (-23.1%)
12/13  Mighty Avengers v2 #4 -  35,740  (-15.3%)

An INHUMANITY tie-in, coming straight after three INFINITY tie-ins. That makes it hard to tell whether this is a steep decline or just a correction moving to weaker crossover. A lot of the decline here is really due to the artificial inflation of sales on issue #1, but it certainly hasn’t been holding on to those sales brilliantly.

52. INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK
12/03  Incredible v3 #64     -  51,960
12/08  Hulk v2 #9            -  87,786
12/09  Incredible Hulk #605  -  43,964
12/10  Incredible Hulks #618 -  34,868
12/11  Incredible v4 #3      -  46,446
=====
12/12  Indestructible #2     -  63,653  ( -46.1%)
01/13  Indestructible #3     -  59,431  (  -6.6%)
02/13  Indestructible #4     -  56,214  (  -5.4%)
03/13  Indestructible #5     -  54,967  (  -2.2%)
04/13  Indestructible #6     -  55,470  (  +0.9%)
05/13  Indestructible #7     -  49,956  (  -9.9%)
05/13  Indestructible #8     -  48,866  (  -2.2%)
06/13  Indestructible #9     -  49,427  (  +1.1%)
07/13  Indestructible #10    -  45,531  (  -7.9%)
07/13  Indestructible #11    -  45,241  (  -0.6%)
08/13  Indestructible #12    -  43,673  (  -3.5%)
09/13  Indestructible #13    -  41,805  (  -4.3%)
10/13  Indestructible #14    -  40,963  (  -2.0%)
11/13  Indestructible #15    -  37,025  (  -9.6%)
11/13  Indestructible #16    -  35,871  (  -3.1%)
12/13  Hulk #17.INH          -  35,679  (  -0.5%)
                                6 mnth  ( -27.8%)
                                1 year  ( -43.9%)
                                2 year  ( -23.2%)
                                3 year  (  +2.3%)
                                4 year  ( -18.8%)
                                5 year  ( -59.4%)
                               10 year  ( -31.3%)

Another INHUMANITY tie-in – and again, no discernible impact. The book relaunches after issue #20.

54. CAPTAIN AMERICA
12/03  Captain America v3 #21 - 43,018
12/08  Captain America v6 #45 - 71,186
12/09  Reborn #5              - 91,790
12/10  Captain America #613   - 42,871
12/11  Captain America v7 #5  - 47,333
=====
12/12  Captain America v8 #2  - 64,377  ( -47.9%)
01/13  Captain America v8 #3  - 59,836  (  -7.1%)
02/13  Captain America v8 #4  - 53,112  ( -11.2%)
03/13  Captain America v8 #5  - 49,186  (  -7.4%)
04/13  Captain America v8 #6  - 47,802  (  -2.8%)
05/13  Captain America v8 #7  - 44,024  (  -7.9%)
06/13  Captain America v8 #8  - 43,791  (  -0.5%)
07/13  Captain America v8 #9  - 40,796  (  -6.8%)
08/13  Captain America v8 #10 - 39,356  (  -3.5%)
09/13  Captain America v8 #11 - 38,521  (  -2.1%)
10/13  Captain America v8 #12 - 38,684  (  +0.4%)
11/13  Captain America v8 #13 - 36,147  (  -6.6%)
12/13  Captain America v8 #14 - 34,532  (  -4.5%)
                                6 mnth  ( -21.1%)
                                1 year  ( -46.4%)
                                2 year  ( -27.0%)
                                3 year  ( -19.5%)
                                4 year  ( -62.4%)
                                5 year  ( -51.5%)
                               10 year  ( -19.7%)

More standard drift. There’s a .NOW jumping on point with issue #16.

55. CATACLYSM
07/13  Hunger #1 of 4    - 70,835
08/13  Hunger #2 of 4    - 44,929  (-36.6%)
09/13  ---
10/13  Hunger #3 of 4    - 39,915  (-11.2%)
10/13  Hunger #4 of 4    - 36,775  ( -7.9%)
10/13  Cataclysm #0.1    - 37,589  ( +2.2%)
11/13  Cataclysm #1 of 5 - 42,109  (+12.0%)
12/13  Cataclysm #2 of 5 - 33,348  (-20.8%)

The latest attempt to relaunch the Ultimate imprint is not exactly selling in event quantities – which hardly bodes well for the ongoing titles that are to follow. The Ultimate imprint is well on its way to becoming Marvel’s Wildstorm – something that keeps getting rebooted with diminishing returns until the publisher finally concedes defeat.

59. IRON MAN
12/03  Iron Man v3 #75 -  31,889
12/08  Iron Man v5 #8  -  56,708
12/09  Iron Man v5 #21 -  49,986
12/10  Iron Man v5 #33 -  41,890
12/11  Iron Man #511   -  35,402
=====
12/12  Iron Man v6 #3  -  59,041  ( -19.0%)
12/12  Iron Man v6 #4  -  56,708  (  -4.0%)
01/13  Iron Man v6 #5  -  50,899  ( -10.2%)
02/13  Iron Man v6 #6  -  46,206  (  -9.2%)
03/13  Iron Man v6 #7  -  44,040  (  -4.7%)
04/13  Iron Man v6 #8  -  43,974  (  -0.1%)
05/13  Iron Man v6 #9  -  78,006  ( +77.4%)
05/13  Iron Man v6 #10 -  45,424  ( -41.8%)
06/13  Iron Man v6 #11 -  44,409  (  -2.2%)
07/13  Iron Man v6 #12 -  40,405  (  -9.0%)
07/13  Iron Man v6 #13 -  39,534  (  -2.2%)
08/13  Iron Man v6 #14 -  38,137  (  -3.5%)
09/13  Iron Man v6 #15 -  36,346  (  -4.7%)
10/13  Iron Man v6 #16 -  35,924  (  -1.2%)
10/13  Iron Man v6 #17 -  39,047  (  +8.7%)
11/13  Iron Man v6 #18 -  36,135  (  -7.5%)
12/13  Iron Man v6 #19 -  32,537  ( -10.0%)
                          6 mnth  ( -26.7%)
                          1 year  ( -44.9%)
                          2 year  (  -8.1%)
                          3 year  ( -22.3%)
                          4 year  ( -34.9%)
                          5 year  ( -42.6%)
                         10 year  (  +2.0%)

There’s a .NOW issue with #23. In the meantime, we seem to be back on the usual pattern, after two issues with variant covers.

60. DAREDEVIL
12/03  Daredevil v2 #55  - 53,660
12/08  Daredevil v2 #114 - 44,351
12/09  Daredevil #502    - 38,680
12/10  Daredevil #512    - 40,317
12/11  Daredevil v3 #7   - 38,824
=====
12/12  Daredevil v3 #21  - 35,848  ( -1.8%)
01/13  Daredevil v3 #22  - 36,102  ( +0.7%)
02/13  Daredevil v3 #23  - 37,170  ( +3.0%)
03/13  Daredevil v3 #24  - 37,231  ( +0.2%)
04/13  Daredevil v3 #25  - 39,678  ( +6.6%)
05/13  Daredevil v3 #26  - 39,788  ( +0.3%)
06/13  Daredevil v3 #27  - 35,834  ( -9.9%)
07/13  Daredevil v3 #28  - 35,364  ( -1.3%)
07/13  Daredevil v3 #29  - 34,915  ( -1.3%)
08/13  Daredevil v3 #30  - 35,240  ( +0.9%)
09/13  Daredevil v3 #31  - 36,666  ( +4.0%)
10/13  Daredevil v3 #32  - 34,957  ( -4.7%)
11/13  Daredevil v3 #33  - 32,966  ( -5.7%)
12/13  Daredevil v3 #34  - 32,331  ( -1.9%)
                           6 mnth  ( -9.8%)
                           1 year  ( -9.8%)
                           2 year  (-16.7%)
                           3 year  (-19.8%)
                           4 year  (-16.4%)
                           5 year  (-27.1%)
                          10 year  (-39.7%)

Heading for a relaunch after issue #36.

61. WOLVERINE
12/03  Wolverine v3 #9  -  74,659
12/08  Wolverine v3 #70 -  98,915
12/09  W: Weapon X #8   -  33,470
12/10  Wolverine v4 #4  -  52,812
12/11  Wolverine v4 #20 -  37,360
=====
12/12  Wolverine #317   -  34,367  (  +6.7%)
01/13  ---
02/13  ---
03/13  Wolverine v5 #1  - 117,669  (+242.4%)
04/13  Wolverine v5 #2  -  57,165  ( -51.4%)
05/13  Wolverine v5 #3  -  49,629  ( -13.2%)
06/13  Wolverine v5 #4  -  46,784  (  -5.7%)
06/13  Wolverine v5 #5  -  43,694  (  -6.6%)
07/13  Wolverine v5 #6  -  40,593  (  -7.1%)
07/13  Wolverine v5 #7  -  38,605  (  -4.9%)
08/13  Wolverine v5 #8  -  39,830  (  -3.2%)
09/13  Wolverine v5 #9  -  35,920  (  -9.8%)
10/13  Wolverine v5 #10 -  34,651  (  -3.5%)
11/13  Wolverine v5 #11 -  35,394  (  +2.1%)
12/13  Wolverine v5 #12 -  32,274  (  -8.8%)
                           6 mnth  ( -26.1%)
                           1 year  (  -6.1%)
                           2 year  ( -13.6%)
                           3 year  ( -38.9%)
                           4 year  (  -3.6%)
                           5 year  ( -67.4%)
                          10 year  ( -56.8%)

Relaunching after issue #13, which seems odder than most, since while most of Marvel’s #1s do at least represent a fresh start, this one is really coming at a turning point in a long-term storyline. Sales haven’t held up desperately well here, which might have something to do with it.

63. INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK ANNUAL
12/13  Annual #1 - 30,846

Only a few thousand behind the parent title, which isn’t bad.

66. CATACLYSM: ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN
12/03  Spider-Man #50    - 109,819
12/08  Spider-Man #129   -  51,071
12/09  Spider-Man v2 #5  -  45,849
12/10  Spider-Man #151   -  33,707
12/11  Spider-Man v3 #5  -  48,303
=====
12/12  Spider-Man v3 #18 -  36,944  ( -4.0%)
01/13  Spider-Man v3 #19 -  36,017  ( -2.5%)
02/13  Spider-Man v3 #20 -  35,461  ( -1.5%)
03/13  Spider-Man v3 #21 -  35,284  ( -0.5%)
04/13  Spider-Man v3 #22 -  34,918  ( -1.0%)
05/13  Spider-Man v3 #23 -  35,581  ( +1.9%)
06/13  Spider-Man v3 #24 -  34,011  ( -4.4%)
07/13  Spider-Man v3 #25 -  33,271  ( -2.2%)
08/13  Spider-Man v3 #26 -  32,932  ( -1.0%)
09/13  Spider-Man v3 #27 -  32,200  ( -2.2%)
10/13  Spider-Man v3 #28 -  31,462  ( -2.3%)
11/13  Cataclysm #1 of 3 -  36,541  (+16.1%)
12/13  Cataclysm #2 of 3 -  30,293  (-17.1%)
                            6 mnth  (-10.9%)
                            1 year  (-18.0%)
                            2 year  (-37.3%)
                            3 year  (-10.1%)
                            4 year  (-33.9%)
                            5 year  (-40.7%)
                           10 year  (-72.4%)

Yet another relaunch beckons.

68. NOVA
12/08  Nova v4 #20 - 29,405
12/09  Nova v4 #32 - 22,202
=====
02/13  Nova v5 #1  - 80,857
03/13  Nova v5 #2  - 46,725  (-42.2%)
04/13  Nova v5 #3  - 40,548  (-13.2%)
05/13  Nova v5 #4  - 38,151  ( -5.9%)
06/13  Nova v5 #5  - 36,545  ( -4.2%)
07/13  Nova v5 #6  - 34,234  ( -6.3%)
08/13  Nova v5 #7  - 31,937  ( -6.7%)
09/13  Nova v5 #8  - 37,767  (+18.3%)
10/13  Nova v5 #9  - 32,323  (-14.4%)
11/13  Nova v5 #10 - 32,716  ( +1.2%)
12/13  Nova v5 #11 - 27,982  (-14.5%)
                     6 mnth  (-23.4%)
                     4 year  (+26.0%)
                     5 year  ( -4.8%)

Coming off two INFINITY tie-ins and a “100th issue anniversary” special, a drop was to be expected this month.

69. CABLE & X-FORCE
12/12  Cable & X-Force #1  - 90,334
12/12  Cable & X-Force #2  - 57,719  (-36.1%)
01/13  Cable & X-Force #3  - 51,761  (-10.3%)
02/13  Cable & X-Force #4  - 46,104  (-10.9%)
03/13  Cable & X-Force #5  - 44,680  ( -3.1%)
03/13  Cable & X-Force #6  - 42,896  ( -4.0%)
04/13  Cable & X-Force #7  - 41,500  ( -3.3%)
05/13  Cable & X-Force #8  - 39,041  ( -5.9%)
06/13  Cable & X-Force #9  - 38,414  ( -1.6%)
06/13  Cable & X-Force #10 - 36,104  ( -6.0%)
07/13  Cable & X-Force #11 - 34,240  ( -5.2%)
08/13  Cable & X-Force #12 - 33,127  ( -3.3%)
08/13  Cable & X-Force #13 - 32,104  ( -3.1%)
09/13  Cable & X-Force #14 - 31,053  ( -3.3%)
10/13  Cable & X-Force #15 - 30,658  ( -1.3%)
11/13  Cable & X-Force #16 - 28,564  ( -6.8%)
12/13  Cable & X-Force #17 - 27,712  ( -3.0%)
                             6 mnth  (-23.2%)
                             1 year  (-52.0%)

Cancelled with issue #19, after which the two (unrelated) X-Force titles appear to be merging for a single relaunch.

70. FANTASTIC FOUR
12/03  Fantastic Four #508   -  50,333
12/08  Fantastic Four #562   -  54,062
12/09  Fantastic Four #574   -  38,431
12/10  Fantastic Four #586   -  42,829
12/11  Fantastic Four #601   -  51,080
=====
12/12  Fantastic Four v5 #2  -  58,421  ( -49.0%)
01/13  Fantastic Four v5 #3  -  50,555  ( -13.5%)
02/13  Fantastic Four v5 #4  -  44,999  ( -11.0%)
03/13  Fantastic Four v5 #5  -  42,590  (  -5.4%)
03/13  Fantastic Four #5AU   -  45,756  (  +7.4%)
04/13  Fantastic Four v5 #6  -  41,291  (  -4.8%)
04/13  Fantastic Four v5 #7  -  39,314  (  -4.8%)
05/13  Fantastic Four v5 #8  -  37,309  (  -5.1%)
06/13  Fantastic Four v5 #9  -  37,071  (  -0.6%)
07/13  Fantastic Four v5 #10 -  34,018  (  -8.2%)
08/13  Fantastic Four v5 #11 -  32,665  (  -4.0%)
09/13  Fantastic Four v5 #12 -  31,426  (  -3.8%)
10/13  Fantastic Four v5 #13 -  31,561  (  +0.4%)
11/13  Fantastic Four v5 #14 -  28,679  (  -9.1%)
12/13  Fantastic Four v5 #15 -  27,610  (  -3.7%)
                                6 mnth  ( -25.5%)
                                1 year  ( -52.7%)
                                2 year  ( -45.9%)
                                3 year  ( -35.5%)
                                4 year  ( -28.2%)
                                5 year  ( -48.9%)
                               10 year  ( -45.1%)

Relaunching after issue #16.

71. UNCANNY X-FORCE
12/08  X-Force v3 #10 - 58,801
12/09  X-Force v3 #22 - 51,859
12/10  X-Force v4 #3  - 55,520
12/11  X-Force v4 #18 - 54,274
=====
12/12  X-Force v4 #35 - 47,736  ( +9.2%)
01/13  X-Force v5 #1  - 86,187  (+80.5%)
02/13  X-Force v5 #2  - 56,713  (-34.2%)
03/13  X-Force v5 #3  - 51,721  ( -8.8%)
04/13  ---
05/13  X-Force v5 #4  - 47,727  ( -7.7%)
05/13  X-Force v5 #5  - 45,674  ( -4.3%)
06/13  X-Force v5 #6  - 42,496  ( -7.0%)
06/13  X-Force v5 #7  - 40,380  ( -5.0%)
07/13  X-Force v5 #8  - 37,781  ( -6.4%)
07/13  X-Force v5 #9  - 36,978  ( -2.1%)
08/13  X-Force v5 #10 - 35,329  ( -4.5%)
09/13  X-Force v5 #11 - 36,186  ( +2.4%)
10/13  X-Force v5 #12 - 32,559  (-10.0%)
10/13  X-Force v5 #13 - 30,567  ( -6.1%)
11/13  X-Force v5 #14 - 28,885  ( -5.5%)
12/13  X-Force v5 #15 - 27,567  ( -4.6%)
                        6 mnth  (-35.1%)
                        1 year  (-42.3%)
                        2 year  (-49.2%)
                        3 year  (-50.3%)
                        4 year  (-46.8%)
                        5 year  (-53.1%)

Cancelled after issue #17; see CABLE AND X-FORCE above.

72. SAVAGE WOLVERINE
01/13  Savage Wolverine #1  - 102,530
02/13  Savage Wolverine #2  -  58,254  (-43.2%)
03/13  Savage Wolverine #3  -  50,310  (-13.6%)
04/13  Savage Wolverine #4  -  45,933  ( -8.7%)
05/13  Savage Wolverine #5  -  42,328  ( -7.8%)
06/13  Savage Wolverine #6  -  59,410  (+40.4%)
07/13  Savage Wolverine #7  -  40,946  (-31.1%)
08/13  ---
09/13  Savage Wolverine #8  -  38,208  ( -6.7%)
10/13  Savage Wolverine #9  -  36,451  ( -4.6%)
10/13  Savage Wolverine #10 -  33,627  ( -7.7%)
11/13  Savage Wolverine #11 -  30,338  ( -9.8%)
11/13  Savage Wolverine #12 -  29,739  ( -2.0%)
12/13  Savage Wolverine #13 -  27,490  ( -7.6%)
                               6 mnth  (-53.7%)

Losing readers at quite a rate. I remain unconvinced that the market is up for supporting two Wolverine titles at the moment.

77. INHUMANITY: THE AWAKENING
12/13  Awakening #1 of 2 - 25,582

This is a tie-in featuring characters from Avengers Academy and the Jean Grey School, so it was never exactly being promoted as a core INHUMANITY title. Nonetheless, the likes of INFINITY HEIST #1 got 32K, so it’s hard to see this as a massive vote of confidence in INHUMANITY.

79,86. SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN TEAM-UP
12/11  Avenging #2         - 60,682
=====
12/12  Avenging #15        - 28,240  (  -6.2%)
12/12  Avenging #.1        - 41,504  ( +47.0%)
01/13  Avenging #16        - 29,032  ( -30.1%)
02/13  Avenging #17        - 30,783  (  +6.0%)
03/13  Avenging #18        - 31,657  (  +2.8%)
04/13  Avenging #19        - 28,740  (  -9.2%)
05/13  Avenging #20        - 27,609  (  -3.9%)
05/13  Avenging #21        - 27,251  (  -1.3%)
06/13  Avenging #22        - 26,799  (  -1.7%)
07/13  Superior Team-Up #1 - 76,959  (+187.2%)
08/13  Superior Team-Up #2 - 41,155  ( -46.5%)
09/13  Superior Team-Up #3 - 37,363  (  -9.2%)
10/13  Superior Team-Up #4 - 36,296  (  -3.6%)
10/13  Superior Team-Up #5 - 30,424  ( -16.2%)
11/13  Superior Team-Up #6 - 27,189  ( -10.6%)
12/13  Sup. Team-up #7.NOW - 25,514  (  -6.2%)
12/13  Superior Team-Up #8 - 24,296  (  -4.8%)
                             6 mnth  (  -9.3%)
                             1 year  ( -14.0%)
                             2 year  ( -60.0%)

The second .NOW book, which – unlike AVENGERS – seems to have had zero impact on sales. Of course, that issue could be sensibly promoted as a fresh start after INFINITY; on a team-up book like this, the whole notion of a jumping on point is only very marginally applicable.

82. THUNDERBOLTS
12/08  Thunderbolts #127   - 36,378
12/09  Thunderbolts #139   - 29,957
12/10  Thunderbolts #151   - 27,943
12/11  Thunderbolts #167   - 21,167
=====
01/13  Thunderbolts v2 #3  - 44,272  (-13.0%)
02/13  Thunderbolts v2 #4  - 43,287  ( -2.2%)
02/13  Thunderbolts v2 #5  - 41,663  ( -3.8%)
03/13  Thunderbolts v2 #6  - 39,293  ( -5.7%)
03/13  Thunderbolts v2 #7  - 38,553  ( -1.9%)
04/13  Thunderbolts v2 #8  - 36,979  ( -4.1%)
05/13  Thunderbolts v2 #9  - 32,855  (-11.2%)
06/13  Thunderbolts v2 #10 - 32,682  ( -0.5%)
06/13  Thunderbolts v2 #11 - 30,618  ( -6.3%)
07/13  Thunderbolts v2 #12 - 29,081  ( -5.0%)
07/13  Thunderbolts v2 #13 - 28,528  ( -1.9%)
08/13  Thunderbolts v2 #14 - 30,620  ( +7.3%)
09/13  Thunderbolts v2 #15 - 29,703  ( -3.0%)
10/13  Thunderbolts v2 #16 - 29,334  ( -1.2%)
10/13  Thunderbolts v2 #17 - 28,324  ( -3.4%)
11/13  Thunderbolts v2 #18 - 26,502  ( -6.4%)
12/13  Thunderbolts v2 #19 - 24,959  ( -5.8%)
                             6 mnth  (-18.5%)
                             1 year  (-43.6%)
                             2 year  (+17.9%)
                             3 year  (-10.7%)
                             4 year  (-16.7%)
                             5 year  (-31.4%)

Issues #14-18 were INFINITY tie-ins, but there’s little discernible change as the book returns to normal this month. January will have a .NOW issue.

83. CATACLYSM: ULTIMATES
12/08  ---
12/09  ---
12/10  ---
12/11  Ultimates v5 #5  -  36,396
=====
12/12  Ultimates v5 #.1 -  27,659  ( -4.9%)
12/12  Ultimates v5 #19 -  26,971  ( -2.5%)
01/13  Ultimates v5 #20 -  25,613  ( -5.0%)
02/13  Ultimates v5 #21 -  23,811  ( -7.0%)
03/13  Ultimates v5 #22 -  23,442  ( -1.5%)
04/13  Ultimates v5 #23 -  22,778  ( -2.8%)
05/13  Ultimates v5 #24 -  21,429  ( -5.9%)
06/13  Ultimates v5 #25 -  21,636  ( +1.0%)
06/13  Ultimates v5 #26 -  20,785  ( -3.9%)
07/13  Ultimates v5 #27 -  20,024  ( -3.7%)
07/13  Ultimates v5 #28 -  19,859  ( -0.8%)
08/13  Ultimates v5 #29 -  19,657  ( -1.0%)
09/13  Ultimates v5 #30 -  19,420  ( -1.2%)
10/13  ---
11/13  Cataclysm #1 of 3 - 28,422  (+46.4%)
12/13  Cataclysm #2 of 3 - 24,819  (-12.7%)
                           6 mnth  (+19.4%)
                           1 year  (-10.3%)
                           2 year  (-31.8%)
                           3 year  (  --- )
                           4 year  (  --- )
                           5 year  (  --- )

Relaunching again in the new year. This thing should be on a bungee rope.

87. AVENGERS ASSEMBLE
11/12  Avengers Assemble #9  -  42,088  (+15.5%)
12/12  Avengers Assemble #10 -  34,035  (-19.1%)
01/13  Avengers Assemble #11 -  31,027  ( -8.8%)
02/13  Avengers Assemble #12 -  29,475  ( -5.0%)
03/13  Avengers Assemble #13 -  28,432  ( -3.6%)
04/13  Av. Assemble #14AU    -  35,985  (+26.6%)
05/13  Av. Assemble #15AU    -  33,183  ( -7.8%)
06/13  Avengers Assemble #16 -  27,497  (-17.1%)
07/13  Avengers Assemble #17 -  26,640  ( -3.1%)
08/13  Avengers Assemble #18 -  30,597  (+14.9%)
09/13  Avengers Assemble #19 -  29,564  ( -3.4%)
10/13  Avengers Assemble #20 -  28,886  ( -2.3%)
11/13  Avengers Assemble #21 -  24,831  (-14.0%)
12/13  Av. Assemble #22.INH  -  24,168  ( -2.7%)
                                6 mnth  (-12.1%)
                                1 year  (-42.6%)

Cancelled with issue #25. With the exception of issue #21, this book has been in permanent tie-in mode since issue #14.

88,90. SECRET AVENGERS
12/10  Secret Avengers #8     - 54,048
12/11  Secret Avengers #20    - 38,202
=====
12/12  Secret Avengers #35    - 30,755  (  -4.3%)
01/13  Secret Avengers #36    - 29,330  (  -4.6%)
01/13  Secret Avengers #37    - 32,139  (  +9.6%)
02/13  Secret Avengers v2 #1  - 85,267  (+196.4%)
03/13  Secret Avengers v2 #2  - 46,419  ( -45.6%)
04/13  Secret Avengers v2 #3  - 38,676  ( -16.7%)
05/13  Secret Avengers v2 #4  - 33,428  ( -13.6%)
06/13  Secret Avengers v2 #5  - 31,437  (  -6.0%)
07/13  Secret Avengers v2 #6  - 28,908  (  -8.0%)
08/13  Secret Avengers v2 #7  - 27,222  (  -5.8%)
08/13  Secret Avengers v2 #8  - 26,150  (  -3.9%)
09/13  Secret Avengers v2 #9  - 24,870  (  -4.9%)
10/13  Secret Avengers v2 #10 - 29,134  ( +17.1%)
11/13  Secret Avengers v2 #11 - 25,326  ( -13.1%)
12/13  Secret Avengers v2 #12 - 23,863  (  -5.8%)
12/13  Secret Avengers v2 #13 - 23,172  (  -2.9%)
                                6 mnth  ( -26.3%)
                                1 year  ( -24.7%)
                                2 year  ( -39.3%)
                                3 year  ( -57.1%)

Relaunching after issue #16.

91,96. YOUNG AVENGERS
01/13  Young Avengers v2 #1  - 76,144
02/13  Young Avengers v2 #2  - 43,559  (-42.8%)
03/13  Young Avengers v2 #3  - 38,469  (-11.7%)
04/13  Young Avengers v2 #4  - 34,378  (-10.6%)
05/13  Young Avengers v2 #5  - 32,159  ( -6.5%)
06/13  Young Avengers v2 #6  - 30,822  ( -4.2%)
07/13  Young Avengers v2 #7  - 28,596  ( -7.2%)
07/13  Young Avengers v2 #8  - 27,844  ( -2.6%)
08/13  Young Avengers v2 #9  - 26,720  ( -4.0%)
09/13  Young Avengers v2 #10 - 25,874  ( -3.2%)
10/13  Young Avengers v2 #11 - 25,754  ( -0.5%)
11/13  Young Avengers v2 #12 - 23,790  ( -7.6%)
12/13  Young Avengers v2 #13 - 23,019  ( -3.2%)
12/13  Young Avengers v2 #14 - 22,692  ( -1.4%)
                               6 mnth  (-26.4%)

Cancelled with issue #15, with the conclusion of the current storyline. Obviously, you can never rule out a relaunch.

93. MARVEL KNIGHTS: SPIDER-MAN
10/13  MK Spider-Man v2 #1 of 5 - 38,379
11/13  MK Spider-Man v2 #2 of 5 - 26,581  (-30.7%)
12/13  MK Spider-Man v2 #3 of 5 - 22,878  (-13.9%)

98. MARVEL KNIGHTS: X-MEN
11/13  X-Men #1 of 5 - 30,214
12/13  X-Men #2 of 5 - 22,549  (-25.4%)

Neither is selling brilliantly, but these are books intended primarily as showcases for indie creators. That said, there’s an obvious drop off between the first issues of SPIDER-MAN in October and X-MEN in November, and this month’s HULK does lower still, so the revival of this imprint doesn’t seem to be setting the world alight.

99. CATACLYSM: ULTIMATE X-MEN
12/03  X-Men #40         - 104,443
12/08  X-Men #99         -  44,360
12/09  ---
12/10  ---
12/11  X-Men v2 #4       -  37,115
=====
12/12  X-Men v2 #20      -  24,789  ( -2.5%)
01/13  X-Men v2 #21      -  23,479  ( -5.3%)
02/13  X-Men v2 #22      -  22,456  ( -4.4%)
02/13  X-Men v2 #23      -  22,197  ( -1.2%)
03/13  X-Men v2 #24      -  21,862  ( -1.5%)
04/13  X-Men v2 #25      -  21,139  ( -3.3%)
05/13  X-Men v2 #26      -  20,330  ( -3.8%)
06/13  X-Men v2 #27      -  19,298  ( -5.1%)
06/13  X-Men v2 #28      -  19,421  ( +0.6%)
07/13  X-Men v2 #29      -  19,381  ( -0.2%)
08/13  X-Men v2 #30      -  18,634  ( -3.9%)
09/13  X-Men v2 #31      -  18,220  ( -2.2%)
10/13  X-Men v2 #32      -  17,921  ( -1.6%)
10/13  X-Men v2 #33      -  17,719  ( -1.1%)
11/13  Cataclysm #1 of 3 -  26,328  (+48.6%)
12/13  Cataclysm #2 of 3 -  22,508  (-14.5%)
                            6 mnth  (+15.9%)
                            1 year  ( -9.2%)
                            2 year  (-39.4%)
                            3 year  (  --- )
                            4 year  (  --- )
                            5 year  (-49.3%)
                           10 year  (-78.4%)

Cancelled after the end of this mini – the third book of the relaunched line will be an FF series.

101. MARVEL KNIGHTS: HULK
12/13  Hulk #1 of 4 - 22,169

See above re the other Marvel Knights minis.

102. FF
12/11  FF #13    - 44,970
=====
12/12  FF v2 #2  - 46,096  (-42.9%)
01/13  FF v2 #3  - 41,108  (-10.8%)
02/13  FF v2 #4  - 35,815  (-12.9%)
03/13  FF v2 #5  - 34,601  ( -3.4%)
04/13  FF v2 #6  - 32,937  ( -4.8%)
05/13  FF v2 #7  - 30,960  ( -6.0%)
05/13  FF v2 #8  - 30,061  ( -2.9%)
06/13  ---
07/13  FF v2 #9  - 29,180  ( -2.9%)
07/13  FF v2 #10 - 27,304  ( -6.4%)
08/13  FF v2 #11 - 26,243  ( -3.9%)
09/13  FF v2 #12 - 25,443  ( -3.0%)
10/13  FF v2 #13 - 23,997  ( -5.7%)
11/13  FF v2 #14 - 22,726  ( -5.3%)
12/13  FF v2 #15 - 22,034  ( -3.0%)
                   6 mnth  (  --- )
                   1 year  (-52.2%)
                   2 year  (-51.0%)

Cancelled with issue #16.

105. SCARLET SPIDER
12/12  Scarlet Spider #12 - 26,652  (-17.5%)
12/12  Scarlet Spider #.1 - 25,771  ( -3.3%)
01/13  Scarlet Spider #13 - 25,919  ( +0.6%)
02/13  Scarlet Spider #14 - 24,388  ( -5.9%)
03/13  Scarlet Spider #15 - 23,682  ( -2.9%)
04/13  Scarlet Spider #16 - 24,207  ( +2.2%)
05/13  Scarlet Spider #17 - 24,288  ( +0.3%)
06/13  Scarlet Spider #18 - 22,766  ( -6.3%)
07/13  Scarlet Spider #19 - 22,499  ( -1.2%)
08/13  Scarlet Spider #20 - 25,133  (+11.7%)
08/13  Scarlet Spider #21 - 23,830  ( -5.2%)
09/13  Scarlet Spider #22 - 22,631  ( -5.0%)
10/13  Scarlet Spider #23 - 22,246  ( -1.7%)
11/13  Scarlet Spider #24 - 21,562  ( -3.1%)
12/13  Scarlet Spider #25 - 21,627  ( +0.3%)
                            6 mnth  ( -5.0%)
                            1 year  (-18.9%)

Final issue.

106,112. SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN
07/13  Superior Foes #1 - 61,413
08/13  Superior Foes #2 - 34,300  (-44.1%)
09/13  Superior Foes #3 - 30,081  (-12.3%)
10/13  Superior Foes #4 - 26,884  (-10.6%)
11/13  Superior Foes #5 - 23,694  (-11.9%)
11/13  Superior Foes #6 - 21,367  ( -9.8%)
12/13  Superior Foes #7 - 20,858  ( -2.4%)

Still being solicited. Hang in there, little buddy!

111. CAPTAIN AMERICA: LIVING LEGEND
10/13  Living Legend #1 of 4 - 32,495
10/13  Living Legend #2 of 4 - 25,546  (-21.4%)
11/13  Living Legend #3 of 4 - 23,537  ( -7.9%)
12/13  Living Legend #4 of 4 - 20,938  (-11.0%)

113. THUNDERBOLTS ANNUAL
12/13  Annual #1 - 20,840

119. AVENGERS A.I.
07/13  Avengers A.I. #1 - 68,130
08/13  Avengers A.I. #2 - 37,079  (-45.6%)
09/13  Avengers A.I. #3 - 29,776  (-19.7%)
10/13  Avengers A.I. #4 - 25,770  (-13.5%)
10/13  Avengers A.I. #5 - 23,146  (-10.2%)
11/13  Avengers A.I. #6 - 20,037  (-13.4%)
12/13  Avengers A.I. #7 - 19,879  ( -0.8%)

Plainly not looking at all healthy, but it’s still being solicited.

124. A+X
12/12  A+X #3  - 56,700  (-12.2%)
01/13  A+X #4  - 48,091  (-15.2%)
02/13  ---
03/13  A+X #5  - 37,250  (-22.5%)
03/13  A+X #6  - 34,434  ( -7.6%)
04/13  A+X #7  - 31,183  ( -9.4%)
05/13  A+X #8  - 26,967  (-13.5%)
06/13  A+X #9  - 25,803  ( -4.3%)
07/13  A+X #10 - 24,371  ( -5.5%)
08/13  A+X #11 - 23,222  ( -4.7%)
09/13  A+X #12 - 21,282  ( -8.4%)
10/13  A+X #13 - 20,908  ( -1.8%)
11/13  A+X #14 - 19,318  ( -7.6%)
12/13  A+X #15 - 18,648  ( -3.5%)
                 6 mnth  (-27.7%)
                 1 year  (-67.1%)

Cancelled with issue #18.

125. X-MEN LEGACY
12/03  New X-Men #150     - 110,591
12/08  X-Men Legacy #219  -  60,587
12/09  X-Men Legacy #230  -  49,776
12/10  X-Men Legacy #243  -  41,797
12/11  X-Men Legacy #260  -  37,946
=====
12/12  X-Men Legacy v2 #3 -  45,407  (-21.8%)
01/13  X-Men Legacy v2 #4 -  37,673  (-17.0%)
01/13  X-Men Legacy v2 #5 -  34,823  ( -7.6%)
02/13  X-Men Legacy v2 #6 -  31,074  (-10.8%)
03/13  X-Men Legacy v2 #7 -  29,231  ( -5.9%)
03/13  X-Men Legacy v2 #8 -  28,174  ( -3.6%)
04/13  X-Men Legacy v2 #9 -  28,405  ( +0.8%)
05/13  X-Men Legacy v2 #10 - 25,911  ( -8.8%)
05/13  X-Men Legacy v2 #11 - 25,048  ( -3.3%)
06/13  X-Men Legacy v2 #12 - 23,996  ( -4.2%)
07/13  X-Men Legacy v2 #13 - 23,146  ( -3.5%)
07/13  X-Men Legacy v2 #14 - 22,119  ( -4.4%)
08/13  X-Men Legacy v2 #15 - 21,599  ( -2.4%)
09/13  X-Men Legacy v2 #16 - 20,995  ( -2.8%)
09/13  X-Men Legacy v2 #17 - 20,382  ( -2.9%)
10/13  X-Men Legacy v2 #18 - 19,767  ( -3.0%)
11/13  X-Men Legacy v2 #19 - 19,149  ( -3.1%)
11/13  X-Men Legacy v2 #20 - 18,754  ( -2.1%)
12/13  X-Men Legacy v2 #21 - 18,754  (  n/c )
                             6 mnth  (-21.8%)
                             1 year  (-58.7%)
                             2 year  (-50.6%)
                             3 year  (-55.1%)
                             4 year  (-62.3%)
                             5 year  (-69.0%)
                            10 year  (-83.0%)

Cancelled in March, when the current storyline wraps up.

132. DAREDEVIL: DARK NIGHTS
06/13  Dark Nights #1 of 8 - 40,911
07/13  Dark Nights #2 of 8 - 22,322  (-13.3%)
08/13  Dark Nights #3 of 8 - 20,659  ( -7.5%)
09/13  Dark Nights #4 of 8 - 19,364  ( -6.3%)
10/13  Dark Nights #5 of 8 - 18,163  ( -6.2%)
11/13  Dark Nights #6 of 8 - 17,032  ( -6.2%)
12/13  Dark Nights #7 of 8 - 15,996  ( -6.1%)

Drifting off the radar.

144. FEARLESS DEFENDERS
02/13  Defenders v5 #1  - 53,688  (+188.8%)
03/13  Defenders v5 #2  - 28,244  ( -47.4%)
04/13  Defenders v5 #3  - 23,514  ( -16.7%)
05/13  Defenders v5 #4  - 20,657  ( -12.2%)
05/13  Defenders #4AU   - 24,984  ( +20.9%)
06/13  Defenders v5 #5  - 20,168  ( -19.3%)
07/13  Defenders v5 #6  - 17,752  ( -12.0%)
07/13  Defenders v5 #7  - 17,411  (  -1.9%)
08/13  Defenders v5 #8  - 16,653  (  -4.4%)
09/13  Defenders v5 #9  - 15,841  (  -4.9%)
10/13  Defenders v5 #10 - 18,543  ( +17.1%)
11/13  Defenders v5 #11 - 16,030  ( -13.6%)
12/13  Defenders v5 #12 - 14,252  ( -11.1%)
                          6 mnth  ( -29.3%)

Final issue.

146. WOLVERINE MAX
12/12  ---
01/13  Wolverine: Max #3  - 24,058  (-11.6%)
02/13  Wolverine: Max #4  - 22,072  ( -8.3%)
03/13  Wolverine: Max #5  - 20,479  ( -7.2%)
04/13  Wolverine: Max #6  - 19,316  ( -5.7%)
05/13  Wolverine: Max #7  - 18,239  ( -5.6%)
06/13  Wolverine: Max #8  - 17,247  ( -5.4%)
07/13  Wolverine: Max #9  - 16,931  ( -1.8%)
08/13  Wolverine: Max #10 - 16,057  ( -5.2%)
09/13  Wolverine: Max #11 - 15,707  ( -2.2%)
10/13  Wolverine: Max #12 - 15,106  ( -3.8%)
11/13  Wolverine: Max #13 - 14,341  ( -5.1%)
12/13  Wolverine: Max #14 - 14,118  ( -1.6%)
                            6 mnth  (-18.1%)

Cancelled with issue #15.

149,158. LONGSHOT SAVES THE MARVEL UNIVERSE
11/13  Longshot #1 of 4 - 21,851
11/13  Longshot #2 of 4 - 16,113  (-26.3%)
12/13  Longshot #3 of 4 - 13,614  (-15.5%)
12/13  Longshot #4 of 4 - 12,854  ( -5.6%)

168. FANTOMEX MAX
10/13  Fantomex Max #1 of 4 - 19,259
11/13  Fantomex Max #2 of 4 - 14,171  (-26.4%)
12/13  Fantomex Max #3 of 4 - 12,064  (-14.9%)

Not good numbers for either of these, though the Max book will get more leeway given Marvel’s seemingly lower expectations of the line.

252. EMERALD CITY OF OZ
12/09  #2 of 8 - 15,783
12/10  #2 of 8 - 10,419
12/11  #4 of 8 -  7,694
=====
12/12  ---
01/13  #4 of 6 -  7,314  ( -4.0%)
02/13  #5 of 6 -  6,944  ( -5.1%)
03/13  #6 of 6 -  7,006  ( +0.9%)
04/13  ---
05/13  ---
06/13  ---
07/13  #1 of 5 - 13,701  (+95.6%)
08/13  #2 of 5 -  8,487  (-38.1%)
09/13  #3 of 5 -  7,847  ( -7.5%)
10/13  ---
11/13  #4 of 5 -  7,387  ( -5.9%)
12/13  #5 of 5 -  7,018  ( -5.0%)
                 6 mnth  (  --- )
                 1 year  (  --- )
                 2 year  ( -8.8%)
                 3 year  (-32.6%)
                 4 year  (-55.5%)

The final mini.

267. PAINKILLER JANE  [Icon]
11/13  Painkiller Jane #1 of 4 - 8,967
12/13  Painkiller Jane #2 of 4 - 6,196  (-30.9%)

Underwhelming sales, to put it politely.

277. CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER ADAPTATION
11/13  Adaptation #1 of 2 - 6,740
12/13  Adaptation #2 of 2 - 5,827  (-13.5%)

These adaptations aren’t aimed principally at the direct market. And nor are the all ages titles…

285. MARVEL UNIVERSE AVENGERS ASSEMBLE
12/12  MU Avengers #9  -  5,207  ( -3.4%)
01/13  MU Avengers #10 -  4,951  ( -4.9%)
02/13  MU Avengers #11 -  4,940  ( -0.2%)
03/13  MU Avengers #12 -  4,960  ( +0.4%)
04/13  MU Avengers #13 -  4,911  ( -1.0%)
05/13  MU Avengers #14 -  ?,???  (  ??? )
06/13  MU Avengers #15 -  4,744  (  ??? )
07/13  MU Avengers #16 -  ?,???  (  ??? )
08/13  MU Avengers #17 -  ?,???  (  ??? )
09/13  MU Avengers #18 -  ?,???  (  ??? )
10/13  MUA Assemble #1 - 14,713  (  ??? )
11/13  MUA Assemble #2 -  6,530  (-55.6%)
12/13  MUA Assemble #3 -  5,548  (-15.0%)
                         6 mnth  (+16.9%)
                         1 year  ( +6.5%)

Finally, two books missed the top 300 entirely – MARVEL UNIVERSE ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #21, and HULK: AGENTS OF S.M.A.S.H. #3.

And with that, I leave you with the usual rundown of comparisons. See you around.

6 month comparisons
===================

+161.0% - Amazing X-Men/Astonishing X-Men
+ 70.3% - Avengers
+ 19.4% - Ultimates
+ 16.9% - MU Avengers
+ 15.9% - Ultimate X-Men
-  1.9% - Wolverine and the X-Men
-  5.0% - Scarlet Spider
-  5.8% - New Avengers
-  7.5% - Superior Spider-Man
-  9.3% - Superior Spider-Man Team-Up
-  9.8% - Daredevil
- 10.9% - Deadpool
- 10.9% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 12.1% - Avengers Assemble
- 12.2% - All-New X-Men
- 15.0% - Uncanny X-Men
- 18.1% - Wolverine Max
- 18.5% - Thunderbolts
- 19.4% - Thor
- 20.6% - Uncanny Avengers
- 21.1% - Captain America
- 21.8% - X-Men Legacy
- 23.2% - Cable & X-Force
- 23.4% - Nova
- 25.2% - Guardians of the Galaxy
- 25.5% - Fantastic Four
- 26.1% - Wolverine
- 26.3% - Secret Avengers
- 26.4% - Young Avengers
- 26.7% - Iron Man
- 27.7% - X-Men
- 27.7% - A+X
- 27.8% - Hulk
- 29.3% - Defenders
- 35.1% - Uncanny X-Force
- 53.7% - Savage Wolverine


1 year comparisons
==================

+131.8% - Amazing X-Men/Astonishing X-Men
+ 81.4% - X-Men
+ 28.7% - Avengers
+  6.5% - MU Avengers
-  4.9% - Superior Spider-Man
-  6.1% - Wolverine
-  9.2% - Ultimate X-Men
-  9.8% - Daredevil
- 10.3% - Ultimates
- 14.0% - Superior Spider-Man Team-Up
- 14.4% - Wolverine and the X-Men
- 18.0% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 18.9% - Scarlet Spider
- 24.4% - All-New X-Men
- 24.7% - Secret Avengers
- 28.7% - Thor
- 33.3% - Deadpool
- 42.3% - Uncanny X-Force
- 42.6% - Avengers Assemble
- 43.6% - Thunderbolts
- 43.9% - Hulk
- 44.9% - Iron Man
- 46.4% - Captain America
- 52.0% - Cable & X-Force
- 52.2% - FF
- 52.7% - Fantastic Four
- 58.7% - X-Men Legacy
- 67.1% - A+X


2 year comparisons
==================

+123.1% - Avengers
+ 93.9% - Amazing X-Men/Astonishing X-Men
+ 66.2% - Deadpool
+ 39.3% - Superior Spider-Man
+ 36.0% - X-Men
+ 17.9% - Thunderbolts
+  7.0% - New Avengers
+  4.2% - Thor
-  2.2% - Uncanny X-Men
-  8.1% - Iron Man
-  8.8% - Oz
- 13.6% - Wolverine
- 16.7% - Daredevil
- 23.2% - Hulk
- 27.0% - Captain America
- 31.8% - Ultimates
- 33.2% - Wolverine and the X-Men
- 37.3% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 39.3% - Secret Avengers
- 39.4% - Ultimate X-Men
- 45.9% - Fantastic Four
- 49.2% - Uncanny X-Force
- 50.6% - X-Men Legacy
- 51.0% - FF
- 60.0% - Superior Spider-Man Team-Up


3 year comparisons
==================

+ 95.9% - Avengers
+ 41.3% - Deadpool
+ 36.0% - Superior Spider-Man
+  5.7% - Amazing X-Men/Astonishing X-Men
+  2.3% - Hulk
+  0.4% - X-Men
- 10.1% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 10.7% - Thunderbolts
- 12.3% - Thor
- 12.4% - Uncanny X-Men
- 16.5% - New Avengers
- 19.5% - Captain America
- 19.8% - Daredevil
- 22.3% - Iron Man
- 32.6% - Oz
- 35.5% - Fantastic Four
- 38.9% - Wolverine
- 50.3% - Uncanny X-Force
- 55.1% - X-Men Legacy
- 57.1% - Secret Avengers


4 year comparisons
==================

+140.3% - Guardians of the Galaxy
+ 29.4% - Superior Spider-Man
+ 26.0% - Nova
-  3.6% - Wolverine
-  6.2% - Deadpool
-  6.5% - Uncanny X-Men
- 16.4% - Daredevil
- 16.7% - Thunderbolts
- 18.8% - Hulk
- 22.2% - New Avengers
- 28.2% - Fantastic Four
- 28.3% - Thor
- 33.9% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 34.9% - Iron Man
- 46.8% - Uncanny X-Force
- 55.5% - Oz
- 62.3% - X-Men Legacy
- 62.4% - Captain America


5 year comparisons
==================

+ 69.6% - Guardians of the Galaxy
+ 10.5% - Superior Spider-Man
-  4.8% - Nova
-  8.1% - Deadpool
- 23.8% - Uncanny X-Men
- 27.1% - Daredevil
- 31.4% - Thunderbolts
- 39.7% - New Avengers
- 40.7% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 42.6% - Iron Man
- 46.3% - Thor
- 48.9% - Fantastic Four
- 49.3% - Ultimate X-Men
- 51.5% - Captain America
- 53.1% - Uncanny X-Force
- 59.4% - Hulk
- 67.4% - Wolverine
- 69.0% - X-Men Legacy


10 year comparisons
===================

+120.5% - Avengers
+ 23.9% - Thor
+  2.0% - Iron Man
- 15.9% - Superior Spider-Man
- 19.7% - Captain America
- 30.6% - Uncanny X-Men
- 31.3% - Hulk
- 39.7% - Daredevil
- 45.1% - Fantastic Four
- 56.8% - Wolverine
- 72.4% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 78.4% - Ultimate X-Men
- 83.0% - X-Men Legacy

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