By Paul O’Brien
Lots going on this month. The Dark Reign books are mounting up, the War of Kings crossover has begun, and Obama is back. There are also a lot of new releases, with the first issues of SECRET WARRIORS, ASTONISHING TALES and AGENTS OF ATLAS, as well as the relaunched BLACK PANTHER.
As usual, Marvel had the largest share of the North American direct market by a comfortable margin, beating DC by 48% to 28% in unit share, and 45% to 27% in dollar terms.
Thanks as always to Milton Griepp and ICV2.com for permission to use these figures.
1,16,17,18. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
02/04 Amazing Spider-Man #504 - 84,064
02/05 Amazing Spider-Man #517 - 78,584
02/06 Amazing Spider-Man #529 - 90,414
02/07 Amazing Spider-Man #538 - 142,956
=====
02/08 Amazing Spider-Man #549 - 101,112 ( +3.2%)
02/08 Amazing Spider-Man #550 - 90,874 (-10.1%)
02/08 Amazing Spider-Man #551 - 88,084 ( -3.1%)
03/08 Amazing Spider-Man #552 - 89,835 ( +2.0%)
03/08 Amazing Spider-Man #553 - 82,648 ( -8.0%)
03/08 Amazing Spider-Man #554 - 81,072 ( -1.9%)
04/08 Amazing Spider-Man #555 - 86,902 ( +7.2%)
04/08 Amazing Spider-Man #556 - 78,458 ( -9.7%)
04/08 Amazing Spider-Man #557 - 77,057 ( -1.8%)
05/08 Amazing Spider-Man #558 - 76,966 ( -0.1%)
05/08 Amazing Spider-Man #559 - 74,206 ( -3.6%)
05/08 Amazing Spider-Man #560 - 74,012 ( -0.3%)
06/08 Amazing Spider-Man #561 - 72,372 ( -2.2%)
06/08 Amazing Spider-Man #562 - 71,409 ( -1.3%)
06/08 Amazing Spider-Man #563 - 70,792 ( -0.9%)
07/08 Amazing Spider-Man #564 - 68,882 ( -2.7%)
07/08 Amazing Spider-Man #565 - 69,182 ( +0.4%)
07/08 Amazing Spider-Man #566 - 68,912 ( -0.4%)
08/08 Amazing Spider-Man #567 - 68,130 ( -1.1%)
08/08 Amazing Spider-Man #568 - 105,324 (+54.6%)
08/08 Amazing Spider-Man #569 - 86,432 (-17.9%)
09/08 Amazing Spider-Man #570 - 89,516 ( +3.6%)
09/08 Amazing Spider-Man #571 - 80,178 (-10.4%)
09/08 Amazing Spider-Man #572 - 80,220 ( +0.1%)
10/08 Amazing Spider-Man #573 - 82,550 ( +2.9%)
10/08 Amazing Spider-Man #574 - 69,069 (-16.3%)
10/08 Amazing Spider-Man #575 - 68,913 ( -0.2%)
11/08 Amazing Spider-Man #576 - 68,956 ( +0.1%)
11/08 Amazing Spider-Man #577 - 76,625 (+11.1%)
11/08 Amazing Spider-Man #578 - 66,564 (-13.1%)
12/08 Amazing Spider-Man #579 - 69,784 ( +4.8%)
12/08 Amazing Spider-Man #580 - 62,979 ( -9.8%)
12/08 Amazing Spider-Man #581 - 68,905 ( +9.4%)
01/09 Amazing Spider-Man #582 - 59,932 (-13.0%)
01/09 Amazing Spider-Man #583 - 501,758 (+737.2%)
01/09 Amazing Spider-Man #584 - 63,754 (-87.3%)
02/09 Amazing Spider-Man #585 - 60,286 ( -5.4%)
02/09 Amazing Spider-Man #586 - 59,521 ( -1.3%)
02/09 Amazing Spider-Man #587 - 60,118 ( +1.0%)
6 mnth (-30.4%)
1 year (-40.5%)
2 year (-57.9%)
3 year (-33.5%)
4 year (-23.5%)
5 year (-28.5%)
The Obama phenomenon continues. Issue #583 was the top-selling book for the second month running, with the fourth and fifth printings shifting 148,805 copies. That takes the total estimated sales to over half a million.
None of this has any discernible effect on the book’s regular sales. Variant covers never do, of course, but then this isn’t a typical variant cover. A case can be made that when you’re bringing in 450,000 extra readers, you’d hope for some of them to come back. As it is, the “Character Assassination” storyline continues to hover around the 60K mark.
Incidentally, I had the sales for issues #582 and #584 reversed last month – so there was actually an uptick for the first issue of the storyline, albeit not much of one.
3. NEW AVENGERS
02/04 Avengers #78 - 58,798
02/05 New Avengers #3 - 148,973
02/06 New Avengers #16 - 121,492
02/07 New Avengers #27 - 130,531
=====
02/08 New Avengers #38 - 104,140 ( -1.3%)
03/08 New Avengers #39 - 103,046 ( -1.1%)
04/08 New Avengers #40 - 117,201 (+13.7%)
05/08 New Avengers #41 - 109,185 ( -6.8%)
06/08 New Avengers #42 - 108,495 ( -0.6%)
07/08 New Avengers #43 - 108,751 ( +0.2%)
08/08 New Avengers #44 - 106,385 ( -2.2%)
09/08 New Avengers #45 - 103,326 ( -2.9%)
10/08 New Avengers #46 - 99,513 ( -3.7%)
11/08 ---
12/08 New Avengers #47 - 95,703 ( -3.8%)
12/08 New Avengers #48 - 95,688 ( -0.0%)
01/09 New Avengers #49 - 90,040 ( -5.9%)
02/09 New Avengers #50 - 106,831 (+18.6%)
6 mnth ( +0.4%)
1 year ( +2.6%)
2 year (-18.2%)
3 year (-12.1%)
4 year (-28.3%)
5 year (+81.7%)
This is a Dark Reign crossover, and it’ll set you back five dollars. Yes, now that regular titles cost four dollars, special issues have to be even more expensive. There’s a variant cover by Andy Kubert, but chances are the main reason for the sales jump is the anniversary number.
4. THOR
02/04 Thor #74 - 30,538
=====
02/08 Thor #6 - 98,315 ( -3.2%)
03/08 Thor #7 - 97,491 ( -0.8%)
04/08 Thor #8 - 91,981 ( -5.7%)
05/08 Thor #9 - 87,101 ( -5.3%)
06/08 ---
07/08 Thor #10 - 83,784 ( -3.8%)
08/08 ---
09/08 ---
10/08 Thor #11 - 78,673 ( -6.1%)
11/08 ---
12/08 Thor #12 - 73,784 ( -6.2%)
01/09 ---
02/09 Thor #600 - 96,718 ( +31.1%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year ( -1.6%)
2 year ( --- )
3 year ( --- )
4 year ( --- )
5 year (+216.7%)
Another anniversary issue, as THOR adds up all its previous volumes and decides that it’s reached 600 issues. It’s a slightly dubious claim, since they’re counting all 502 issues of the original series, even though Thor’s strip didn’t begin until issue #83.
Anyway, it’s got a big round number, and two variant covers (and another five dollar price tag, but to be fair, it also had a lot of extra material). Chances are sales will be back to their previous level fairly quickly.
5. DARK AVENGERS 01/09 Dark Avengers #1 - 130,309 02/09 Dark Avengers #2 - 93,553 (-28.2%)
Issue #1 picks up re-orders of 11,730 which, as always, are counted in the number above. The second issue drop is on the steep side, but overall sales remain impressive for the fourth monthly Avengers title.
6. HULK
02/04 Incredible Hulk #67 - 47,632
02/05 Incredible Hulk #78 - 44,721
02/06 Incredible Hulk #92 - 39,224
02/07 Incredible Hulk #103 - 46,690
=====
02/08 Hulk #2 - 101,598 (-27.4%)
03/08 ---
04/08 Hulk #3 - 100,167 ( -1.4%)
05/08 ---
06/08 Hulk #4 - 101,927 ( +1.8%)
07/08 ---
08/08 Hulk #5 - 102,105 ( +0.2%)
09/08 Hulk #6 - 117,807 (+15.4%)
10/08 Hulk #7 - 110,261 ( -6.4%)
11/08 Hulk #8 - 90,776 (-17.7%)
12/08 Hulk #9 - 87,786 ( -3.3%)
01/09 ---
02/09 Hulk #10 - 77,217 (-12.0%)
6 mnth (-24.4%)
1 year (-24.0%)
2 year (+65.4%)
3 year (+96.9%)
4 year (+72.7%)
5 year (+62.1%)
A surprisingly big drop this month. HULK was looking very steady for the first few issues, but it’s belatedly started shedding readers.
7,8. MIGHTY AVENGERS
02/08 Mighty Avengers #9 - 83,466 ( -1.2%)
03/08 Mighty Avengers #10 - 82,149 ( -1.6%)
03/08 Mighty Avengers #11 - 82,253 ( +0.1%)
04/08 Mighty Avengers #12 - 97,239 (+18.2%)
05/08 Mighty Avengers #13 - 102,266 ( +5.2%)
05/08 Mighty Avengers #14 - 95,281 ( -6.8%)
06/08 Mighty Avengers #15 - 94,014 ( -1.3%)
07/08 Mighty Avengers #16 - 96,252 ( +2.4%)
08/08 Mighty Avengers #17 - 92,950 ( -3.4%)
09/08 Mighty Avengers #18 - 90,799 ( -2.3%)
10/08 Mighty Avengers #19 - 87,258 ( -3.9%)
11/08 ---
12/08 Mighty Avengers #20 - 86,085 ( -1.3%)
01/09 ---
02/09 Mighty Avengers #21 - 76,247 (-11.4%)
02/09 Mighty Avengers #22 - 72,865 ( -4.4%)
6 mnth (-21.6%)
1 year (-12.7%)
Two more “Dark Reign” tie-in issues. Issue #21 was due out in January, but there was a printing error with the first batch, hence its slippage to February. It’s also the first issue by the new creative team of Dan Slott and Khoi Pham, but the previous issue was a “Secret Invasion” tie-in, which presumably contributes to the drop as well.
WOLVERINE 02/04 Wolverine #11 - 69,686 02/05 Wolverine #25 - 83,180 02/06 Wolverine #39 - 72,248 02/07 Wolverine #51 - 97,181 ===== 02/08 Wolverine #62 - 69,698 (+14.5%) 03/08 Wolverine #63 - 64,475 ( -7.5%) 04/08 Wolverine #64 - 64,871 ( +0.0%) 05/08 Wolverine #65 - 62,451 ( -3.7%) 06/08 Wolverine #66 - 112,469 (+80.1%) 07/08 Wolverine #67 - 96,651 (-14.1%) 08/08 Wolverine #68 - 92,182 ( -4.6%) 09/08 --- 10/08 --- 11/08 Wolverine #69 - 88,910 ( -3.5%) 12/08 Wolverine #70 - 89,217 ( +0.3%) 01/09 --- 02/09 ---
Issue #71 finally came out in March, but in the meantime, the second printing of issue #70 makes the charts at number 268, adding a further 3,761 to sales. They’re added in above.
9. UNCANNY X-MEN
02/04 Uncanny X-Men #439 - 86,259
02/05 Uncanny X-Men #455 - 88,920
02/06 Uncanny X-Men #469 - 79,039
02/07 Uncanny X-Men #483 - 83,009
=====
02/08 Uncanny X-Men #495 - 96,183 ( -8.8%)
03/08 Uncanny X-Men #496 - 89,054 ( -7.4%)
04/08 Uncanny X-Men #497 - 93,369 ( +4.8%)
05/08 Uncanny X-Men #498 - 82,090 (-12.1%)
06/08 Uncanny X-Men #499 - 81,100 ( -1.2%)
07/08 Uncanny X-Men #500 - 160,876 (+98.4%)
08/08 Uncanny X-Men #501 - 85,398 (-46.9%)
09/08 Uncanny X-Men #502 - 82,883 ( -2.9%)
10/08 Uncanny X-Men #503 - 87,196 ( +5.2%)
11/08 Uncanny X-Men #504 - 77,773 (-10.8%)
12/08 Uncanny X-Men #505 - 82,271 ( +5.8%)
01/09 ---
02/09 Uncanny X-Men #506 - 71,684 (-12.9%)
6 mnth (-16.1%)
1 year (-25.5%)
2 year (-13.6%)
3 year ( -9.3%)
4 year (-19.4%)
5 year (-16.9%)
Issue #505 had a variant cover, which exaggerates this month’s drop. But filter out the variants, and the book currently seems to be losing 5,000 readers every couple of issues.
14. CAPTAIN AMERICA
02/04 Captain America #23 - 39,695
02/05 Captain America #3 - 48,104
02/06 Captain America #14 - 44,041
02/07 ---
=====
02/08 Captain America #35 - 86,038 (-43.7%)
03/08 Captain America #36 - 81,378 ( -5.4%)
04/08 Captain America #37 - 80,635 ( -0.9%)
05/08 Captain America #38 - 79,350 ( -1.6%)
06/08 Captain America #39 - 79,387 ( +0.0%)
07/08 Captain America #40 - 79,317 ( -0.0%)
08/08 Captain America #41 - 85,035 ( +7.2%)
09/08 Captain America #42 - 75,574 (-11.1%)
10/08 Captain America #43 - 72,405 ( -4.2%)
11/08 Captain America #44 - 75,493 ( +4.3%)
12/08 Captain America #45 - 71,186 ( -5.7%)
01/09 Captain America #46 - 73,184 ( +2.8%)
02/09 Captain America #47 - 62,850 (-14.1%)
6 mnth (-26.1%)
1 year (-27.0%)
2 year ( --- )
3 year (+42.7%)
4 year (+30.7%)
5 year (+58.3%)
The drop is because the last few issues all had variant covers. You have to go back to October to find one that didn’t, so months of accumulated decline now catch up with us.
19. SECRET WARRIORS 02/09 Secret Warriors #1 - 57,704
This is a new team book featuring the team of newly created characters who were hanging around with Nick Fury during SECRET INVASION. Launching a new team book is always a challenge, but Marvel have done a good job of keeping Fury on the margins and building him up as a major player in absence, which has probably helped. I’d say this was a good number for the first issue.
20. X-MEN: LEGACY
02/04 New X-Men #153 - 113,879
02/05 X-Men #167 - 84,155
02/06 X-Men #182 - 78,653
02/07 X-Men #196 - 75,707
=====
02/08 X-Men: Legacy #208 - 88,132 (-16.0%)
03/08 X-Men: Legacy #209 - 82,243 ( -6.7%)
04/08 X-Men: Legacy #210 - 77,441 ( -5.8%)
05/08 X-Men: Legacy #211 - 79,818 ( +3.1%)
05/08 X-Men: Legacy #212 - 74,033 ( -7.2%)
06/08 X-Men: Legacy #213 - 71,893 ( -2.9%)
07/08 X-Men: Legacy #214 - 69,863 ( -2.8%)
08/08 X-Men: Legacy #215 - 68,047 ( -2.6%)
09/08 X-Men: Legacy #216 - 66,434 ( -2.4%)
10/08 X-Men: Legacy #217 - 65,888 ( -0.8%)
11/08 X-Men: Legacy #218 - 63,512 ( -3.6%)
12/08 X-Men: Legacy #219 - 60,587 ( -4.6%)
01/09 X-Men: Legacy #220 - 59,286 ( -2.1%)
02/09 X-Men: Legacy #221 - 56,517 ( -4.7%)
6 mnth (-16.9%)
1 year (-35.9%)
2 year (-25.3%)
3 year (-28.1%)
4 year (-32.8%)
5 year (-50.4%)
Still losing sales. It’s a worse month than usual, but more important is the consistent downhill trend. The LEGACY branding apparently ends in June, so some sort of direction change is on the way.
21. INVINCIBLE IRON MAN
02/04 Iron Man #77 - 29,748
02/05 ---
02/06 ---
02/07 Iron Man #15 - 60,662
02/08 Iron Man #26 - 36,607
=====
05/08 Invincible Iron Man #1 - 120,657
06/08 Invincible Iron Man #2 - 76,001 (-37.0%)
07/08 Invincible Iron Man #3 - 66,430 (-12.6%)
08/08 Invincible Iron Man #4 - 58,154 (-12.5%)
09/08 Invincible Iron Man #5 - 60,444 ( +3.9%)
10/08 Invincible Iron Man #6 - 53,332 (-11.8%)
11/08 Invincible Iron Man #7 - 49,356 ( -7.5%)
12/08 Invincible Iron Man #8 - 56,708 (+14.9%)
01/09 Invincible Iron Man #9 - 52,364 ( -7.7%)
02/09 Invincible Iron Man #10 - 51,649 ( -1.4%)
6 mnth (-11.2%)
1 year (+41.1%)
2 year (-14.9%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year ( --- )
5 year (+73.6%)
A Dark Reign tie-in issue. Issue #9 sold a further 3,141 copies in February thanks to a second printing, so the first month sales are actually up by a couple of thousand.
22. X-FORCE
02/08 X-Force #1 - 116,467
03/08 X-Force #2 - 88,650 (-23.9%)
04/08 X-Force #3 - 85,750 ( -3.3%)
05/08 X-Force #4 - 84,792 ( -1.1%)
06/08 ---
07/08 X-Force #5 - 76,978 ( -9.2%)
08/08 X-Force #6 - 69,010 (-10.4%)
09/08 X-Force #7 - 64,911 ( -5.9%)
10/08 X-Force #8 - 59,745 ( -8.0%)
11/08 X-Force #9 - 57,241 ( -4.2%)
12/08 X-Force #10 - 58,801 ( +2.7%)
01/09 X-Force #11 - 51,817 (-11.9%)
02/09 X-Force #12 - 51,449 ( -0.7%)
6 mnth (-25.4%)
1 year (-55.8%)
Holding steady, which goes against the trend for this book. We’ve seen before, though, that these can be blips. Wait till next month to see if the book has definitely levelled out.
23. ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN
02/04 Ult. Spider-Man #53 - 92,540
02/05 Ult. Spider-Man #72 - 86,685
02/06 Ult. Spider-Man #90 - 71,470
02/07 Ult. Spider-Man #105 - 74,376
=====
02/08 Ult. Spider-Man #119 - 58,045 ( -1.3%)
03/08 Ult. Spider-Man #120 - 57,728 ( -0.5%)
04/08 Ult. Spider-Man #121 - 56,633 ( -1.9%)
05/08 Ult. Spider-Man #122 - 55,759 ( -1.5%)
06/08 Ult. Spider-Man #123 - 57,187 ( +2.6%)
07/08 Ult. Spider-Man #124 - 55,262 ( -3.4%)
08/08 Ult. Spider-Man #125 - 54,746 ( -0.9%)
09/08 Ult. Spider-Man #126 - 54,604 ( -0.3%)
10/08 Ult. Spider-Man #127 - 52,584 ( -3.7%)
11/08 Ult. Spider-Man #128 - 52,187 ( -0.8%)
12/08 Ult. Spider-Man #129 - 51,071 ( -2.1%)
01/09 Ult. Spider-Man #130 - 49,637 ( -2.8%)
02/09 Ult. Spider-Man #131 - 49,565 ( -0.1%)
6 mnth ( -9.5%)
1 year (-14.6%)
2 year (-33.4%)
3 year (-30.6%)
4 year (-42.8%)
5 year (-46.4%)
This is an ULTIMATUM tie-in, but just like the other participating books, the crossover doesn’t seem to be making a blind bit of difference. A relaunch as ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN is imminent.
24. FANTASTIC FOUR
02/04 Fantastic Four #510 - 49,129
02/05 Fantastic Four #523 - 46,276
02/06 Fantastic Four #534 - 44,573
02/07 ---
=====
02/08 Fantastic Four #554 - 98,111 (+103.0%)
03/08 Fantastic Four #555 - 67,416 ( -31.3%)
04/08 Fantastic Four #556 - 65,013 ( -3.6%)
05/08 Fantastic Four #557 - 62,736 ( -3.5%)
06/08 Fantastic Four #558 - 61,003 ( -2.8%)
07/08 ---
08/08 Fantastic Four #559 - 59,791 ( -2.0%)
09/08 Fantastic Four #560 - 58,258 ( -2.6%)
10/08 ---
11/08 Fantastic Four #561 - 61,331 ( +5.3%)
12/08 Fantastic Four #562 - 54,062 ( -11.9%)
01/09 Fantastic Four #563 - 52,747 ( -2.4%)
02/09 Fantastic Four #564 - 49,520 ( -6.1%)
6 mnth ( -17.2%)
1 year ( -49.5%)
2 year ( --- )
3 year ( +11.1%)
4 year ( +7.0%)
5 year ( +0.8%)
A Christmas issue, two months late. Sales are really slumping on this book over the last few months.
26. AVENGERS/INVADERS
05/08 Avngrs/Invaders #1 of 12 - 108,136
06/08 Avngrs/Invaders #2 of 12 - 83,012 (-23.2%)
07/08 Avngrs/Invaders #3 of 12 - 75,161 ( -9.5%)
08/08 Avngrs/Invaders #4 of 12 - 69,010 ( -8.2%)
09/08 ---
10/08 Avngrs/Invaders #5 of 12 - 63,757 ( -7.6%)
11/08 Avngrs/Invaders #6 of 12 - 56,224 (-11.8%)
12/08 Avngrs/Invaders #7 of 12 - 52,193 ( -7.2%)
01/09 ---
02/09 Avngrs/Invaders #8 of 12 - 48,319 ( -7.4%)
6 mnth (-30.0%)
Still dropping rather fast, which is a bit disappointing at this stage. But as I’ve said before, it’s really something of an achievement that the book has made it this far up the charts in the first place; the Invaders are not a particularly huge draw, and the market for Avengers books is somewhat swamped.
KICK-ASS [Icon] 02/08 Kick-Ass #1 - 82,886 03/08 --- 04/08 Kick-Ass #2 - 64,706 (-21.9%) 05/08 --- 06/08 Kick-Ass #3 - 65,427 ( +1.1%) 07/08 --- 08/08 Kick-Ass #4 - 60,703 ( -7.2%) 09/08 --- 10/08 --- 11/08 --- 12/08 Kick-Ass #5 - 52,142 (-14.3%) 01/09 --- 02/09 ---
Yet more reprints add 3,728 copies of issue #1, 3,759 of issue #2, 3,866 of issue #3, and 3,887 of issue #4.
27. DARK TOWER
02/07 Gunslinger Born #1 of 7 - 175,214
=====
02/08 ---
03/08 Long Road Home #1 of 5 - 133,101
04/08 Long Road Home #2 of 5 - 106,023 (-20.3%)
05/08 Long Road Home #3 of 5 - 87,631 (-17.3%)
06/08 Long Road Home #4 of 5 - 79,270 ( -9.5%)
07/08 Long Road Home #5 of 5 - 74,981 ( -5.4%)
08/08 ---
09/08 Treachery #1 of 6 - 82,541 (+10.1%)
10/08 Treachery #2 of 6 - 65,732 (-20.4%)
11/08 Treachery #3 of 6 - 58,279 (-11.3%)
12/08 Treachery #4 of 6 - 53,735 ( -7.8%)
01/09 Treachery #5 of 6 - 50,683 ( -5.7%)
02/09 Treachery #6 of 6 - 48,127 ( -4.9%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year ( --- )
2 year (-72.5%)
This isn’t too bad if you think of TREACHERY as a self-contained miniseries. But if DARK TOWER is viewed as an ongoing title divided into minis, then the sales aren’t looking too great. Of course, the obvious caveat applies: these books ought to do better than average as collections.
For some strange reason, LONG ROAD HOME #1 picks up re-orders of 6,318, despite having come out in March 2008. This might be a case of Marvel dumping stock on the market.
29. AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE
02/08 ---
03/08 Initiative #10 - 54,422 ( -1.5%)
04/08 Initiative #11 - 52,877 ( -2.8%)
04/08 Initiative #12 - 52,343 ( -1.0%)
05/08 Initiative #13 - 56,818 ( +8.5%)
06/08 Initiative #14 - 62,236 ( +9.5%)
07/08 Initiative #15 - 63,634 ( +2.2%)
08/08 Initiative #16 - 60,381 ( -5.1%)
09/08 Initiative #17 - 59,037 ( -2.2%)
10/08 Initiative #18 - 61,159 ( +3.6%)
11/08 ---
12/08 Initiative #19 - 52,558 (-14.1%)
12/08 Initiative #20 - 51,230 ( -2.5%)
01/09 Initiative #21 - 47,734 ( -6.8%)
02/09 Initiative #22 - 46,932 ( -1.7%)
6 mnth (-22.3%)
1 year ( --- )
Another Dark Reign tie-in, though it doesn’t seem to be making much difference.
30. BLACK PANTHER
02/05 Black Panther #1 - 50,490
02/06 Black Panther #13 - 26,054
02/07 Black Panther #25 - 56,479
=====
02/08 Black Panther #34 - 23,395 ( -9.7%)
03/08 Black Panther #35 - 21,332 ( -8.9%)
04/08 ---
05/08 Black Panther #36 - 20,841 ( -2.3%)
06/08 Black Panther #37 - 19,989 ( -4.1%)
07/08 Black Panther #38 - 19,459 ( -2.7%)
07/08 Black Panther #39 - 37,546 (+92.9%)
08/08 Black Panther #40 - 33,583 (-10.6%)
09/08 Black Panther #41 - 33,620 ( +0.1%)
10/08 ---
11/08 ---
12/08 ---
01/09 ---
02/09 Black Panther #1 - 46,699 (+38.9%)
6 mnth (+39.1%)
1 year (+99.6%)
2 year (-17.3%)
3 year (+79.2%)
4 year ( -7.5%)
The much-hyped relaunch of BLACK PANTHER, trailed with plenty of house ads, see the expected jump in sales. But BLACK PANTHER has done better than this in the past – this number is roughly on a par with its CIVIL WAR tie-ins from a couple of years ago. This opening arc is a Dark Reign tie-in, incidentally.
The pattern with this book, under Reginald Hudlin’s authorship, seems to be that it does quite well so long as it’s tying in to major crossovers, but struggles a bit when left to its own devices. I’m not convinced it’ll be any different this time, but you never know.
31. THUNDERBOLTS
02/04 ---
02/05 New Thunderbolts #5 - 29,377
02/06 New Thunderbolts #18 - 23,735
02/07 Thunderbolts #111 - 62,791
=====
02/08 ---
03/08 Thunderbolts #119 - 40,173 ( -8.0%)
04/08 ---
05/08 Thunderbolts #120 - 38,330 ( -4.6%)
06/08 Thunderbolts #121 - 37,693 ( -1.7%)
07/08 Thunderbolts #122 - 47,170 (+25.1%)
08/08 Thunderbolts #123 - 45,403 ( -3.7%)
09/08 Thunderbolts #124 - 43,429 ( -4.3%)
10/08 Thunderbolts #125 - 41,358 ( -4.8%)
11/08 Thunderbolts #126 - 34,640 (-16.2%)
12/08 Thunderbolts #127 - 36,378 ( +5.0%)
01/09 Thunderbolts #128 - 45,745 (+25.7%)
02/09 Thunderbolts #129 - 45,401 ( -0.7%)
6 mnth ( -0.0%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year (-27.7%)
3 year (+91.3%)
4 year (+54.5%)
5 year ( --- )
Another Dark Reign tie-in, and this one is seeing the benefits. Perhaps readers are starting to become more discriminating when it comes to minor tie-in books, and recognise THUNDERBOLTS as more closely connected to the event. There’s also a variant cover, but I doubt that would account for the scale of the sales rise.
Issue #128 picks up re-orders of 6,526, another sign of genuine interest.
32. WOLVERINE: ORIGINS
02/07 Origins #11 - 78,901
=====
02/08 Origins #22 - 50,324 ( -3.1%)
03/08 Origins #23 - 49,633 ( -1.4%)
04/08 Origins #24 - 49,299 ( -0.7%)
05/08 Origins #25 - 52,907 ( +5.9%)
06/08 Origins #26 - 48,059 ( -9.2%)
07/08 Origins #27 - 47,540 ( -1.1%)
08/08 ---
09/08 Origins #28 - 49,950 ( +5.1%)
10/08 Origins #29 - 58,841 (+17.8%)
11/08 Origins #30 - 50,359 (-14.4%)
12/08 Origins #31 - 45,043 (-10.6%)
01/09 Origins #32 - 44,697 ( -0.8%)
02/09 Origins #33 - 44,935 ( +0.5%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year (-10.7%)
2 year (-43.0%)
Dark Reign tie-in. Not so much effect on this one.
34. DEADPOOL 09/08 Deadpool #1 - 75,058 09/08 Deadpool #2 - 65,400 (-12.9%) 10/08 Deadpool #3 - 61,833 ( -5.5%) 11/08 Deadpool #4 - 49,577 (-19.8%) 12/08 Deadpool #5 - 46,856 ( -5.5%) 01/09 Deadpool #6 - 46,549 ( -0.7%) 02/09 Deadpool #7 - 44,082 ( -5.3%)
Continuing a Dark Reign tie-in arc. This book is doing surprisingly well so far; Deadpool hasn’t been a major draw in quite some time.
37. ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR
02/04 Ult. Fantastic Four #3 - 109,801
02/05 ---
02/06 Ult. Fantastic Four #27 - 67,922
02/07 Ult. Fantastic Four #39 - 52,104
=====
02/08 Ult. Fantastic Four #51 - 38,804 (-12.1%)
03/08 Ult. Fantastic Four #52 - 38,146 ( -1.7%)
04/08 Ult. Fantastic Four #53 - 37,461 ( -1.8%)
05/08 Ult. Fantastic Four #54 - 37,556 ( +0.3%)
06/08 Ult. Fantastic Four #55 - 35,731 ( -4.9%)
07/08 Ult. Fantastic Four #56 - 35,082 ( -1.8%)
08/08 Ult. Fantastic Four #57 - 33,863 ( -3.5%)
09/08 ---
10/08 ---
11/08 Ult. Fantastic Four #58 - 34,995 ( +3.3%)
12/08 Ult. Fantastic Four #59 - 34,013 ( -2.8%)
01/09 ---
02/09 Ult. Fantastic Four #60 - 37,267 ( +9.6%)
6 mnth (+10.1%)
1 year ( -4.0%)
2 year (-28.5%)
3 year (-45.1%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year (-66.1%)
Axed as part of the Ultimate relaunch, although there’s still a couple of epilogue issues to wrap it up.
38. X-INFERNUS 12/08 X-Infernus #1 of 4 - 51,556 01/09 X-Infernus #2 of 4 - 37,693 (-26.9%) 02/09 X-Infernus #3 of 4 - 36,747 ( -2.5%)
Levelling off quickly. This is doing well for an X-Men spin-off mini.
39. PUNISHER
02/07 War Journal #4 - 52,961
=====
02/08 War Journal #16 - 32,508 ( -9.2%)
03/08 War Journal #17 - 31,227 ( -3.9%)
04/08 War Journal #18 - 29,565 ( -5.3%)
05/08 War Journal #19 - 29,906 ( +1.2%)
06/08 War Journal #20 - 27,288 ( -8.8%)
07/08 War Journal #21 - 26,299 ( -3.6%)
08/08 War Journal #22 - 25,555 ( -2.8%)
09/08 War Journal #23 - 27,384 ( +7.2%)
10/08 War Journal #24 - 31,785 ( +16.1%)
11/08 War Journal #25 - 29,982 ( -5.7%)
12/08 War Journal #26 - 22,423 ( -25.2%)
01/09 Punisher #1 - 49,222 (+119.5%)
02/09 Punisher #2 - 36,526 ( -25.8%)
6 mnth ( +42.9%)
1 year ( +12.4%)
2 year ( -31.0%)
Continuing the Dark Reign tie-in arc. Issue #1 picks up re-orders of 5,346. The second issue drop is on the steep side, but they’re doing alright so far.
48. WAR MACHINE 12/08 War Machine #1 - 54,396 01/09 War Machine #2 - 37,097 (-31.8%) 02/09 War Machine #3 - 33,818 ( -8.8%)
Another Dark Reign book. Issue #1 picks up another 3,007 in re-orders. Sales seem to be levelling out at an acceptable level.
52. X-MEN: KINGBREAKER 12/08 Kingbreaker #1 of 4 - 36,387 01/09 Kingbreaker #2 of 4 - 32,186 (-11.5%) 02/09 Kingbreaker #3 of 4 - 32,475 ( +0.9%)
Holding steady, and even showing a very slight increase in sales – something of an achievement in itself.
54. X-FACTOR
02/06 X-Factor #3 - 48,307
02/07 X-Factor #16 - 38,240
=====
02/08 X-Factor #28 - 61,173 (-24.8%)
03/08 X-Factor #29 - 54,832 (-10.4%)
04/08 X-Factor #30 - 51,447 ( -6.2%)
05/08 X-Factor #31 - 48,231 ( -6.3%)
06/08 X-Factor #32 - 45,104 ( -6.5%)
07/08 X-Factor #33 - 53,088 (+17.7%)
08/08 X-Factor #34 - 50,416 ( -5.0%)
09/08 X-Factor #35 - 44,481 (-11.8%)
10/08 X-Factor #36 - 38,552 (-13.3%)
11/08 X-Factor #37 - 35,754 ( -7.3%)
12/08 X-Factor #38 - 34,425 ( -3.7%)
01/09 X-Factor #39 - 32,796 ( -4.7%)
02/09 X-Factor #40 - 31,943 ( -2.6%)
6 mnth (-36.6%)
1 year (-47.8%)
2 year (-16.5%)
3 year (-33.9%)
Drifting ever downwards, it seems. Of course, the first half of 2008 saw a sustained boost from the “Messiah Complex” crossover, but that’s worn off, and the book still isn’t levelling out.
55. CABLE
03/08 Cable #1 - 68,073
04/08 Cable #2 - 59,877 (-12.0%)
05/08 Cable #3 - 54,760 ( -8.5%)
06/08 Cable #4 - 49,996 ( -8.7%)
07/08 Cable #5 - 46,429 ( -7.1%)
08/08 Cable #6 - 45,050 ( -3.0%)
09/08 ---
10/08 Cable #7 - 43,358 ( -3.8%)
11/08 Cable #8 - 37,315 (-13.9%)
12/08 Cable #9 - 34,527 ( -7.5%)
01/09 Cable #10 - 33,319 ( -3.5%)
02/09 Cable #11 - 31,817 ( -4.5%)
6 mnth (-29.4%)
Falling fast, but the upcoming “Messiah War” crossover with X-FORCE should help.
57. X-MEN VS HULK 02/09 X-Men vs Hulk #1 - 31,013
This is a random X-Men/Hulk story, backed up with a reprint of the final issue of the X-Men’s Silver Age series (and not “a classic Claremont tale” as per the original solicitations). It doesn’t have the advertised artist either. Still, not a bad number for that sort of thing.
58. INCREDIBLE HERCULES
02/08 Hercules #114 - 52,200 (-29.0%)
03/08 Hercules #115 - 49,336 ( -5.5%)
04/08 Hercules #116 - 44,575 ( -9.7%)
05/08 Hercules #117 - 57,264 (+28.5%)
06/08 Hercules #118 - 52,975 ( -7.5%)
07/08 Hercules #119 - 52,598 ( -0.7%)
08/08 Hercules #120 - 51,100 ( -2.8%)
09/08 Hercules #121 - 47,363 ( -7.3%)
10/08 Hercules #122 - 42,876 ( -9.5%)
11/08 Hercules #123 - 35,780 (-16.6%)
12/08 Hercules #124 - 36,855 ( +3.0%)
01/09 Hercules #125 - 31,888 (-13.5%)
02/09 Hercules #126 - 31,000 ( -2.8%)
6 mnth (-39.3%)
1 year (-40.6%)
A double-sized special, which presumably accounts for the sales levelling out.
59. AGENTS OF ATLAS 02/09 Agents of Atlas #1 - 30,261
A belated ongoing title following on the 2006 miniseries, which didn’t sell especially well, but got great reviews. The mini launched with 19K, falling to 12K by the end of its run, so a 30K debut is a definite improvement. It’s still on the low side for the first issue of an ongoing Marvel Universe title (particularly as this is also a Dark Reign tie-in), but the book evidently has support.
61. SKAAR, SON OF HULK
06/08 Skaar, Son of Hulk #1 - 91,279
07/08 Skaar, Son of Hulk #2 - 56,984 (-37.6%)
08/08 Skaar, Son of Hulk #3 - 50,841 (-10.8%)
09/08 ---
10/08 Skaar, Son of Hulk #4 - 44,310 (-12.8%)
11/08 Skaar, Son of Hulk #5 - 34,779 (-21.5%)
12/08 Skaar, Son of Hulk #6 - 34,593 ( -0.5%)
01/09 Skaar, Son of Hulk #7 - 31,096 (-10.1%)
02/09 Skaar, Son of Hulk #8 - 28,771 ( -7.5%)
6 mnth (-43.4%)
Still in freefall.
62. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
05/08 Guardians o/Galaxy #1 - 36,293
06/08 Guardians o/Galaxy #2 - 32,967 ( -9.2%)
07/08 Guardians o/Galaxy #3 - 33,986 ( +3.1%)
08/08 Guardians o/Galaxy #4 - 40,285 (+18.5%)
09/08 Guardians o/Galaxy #5 - 42,104 ( +4.5%)
10/08 Guardians o/Galaxy #6 - 36,546 (-13.2%)
11/08 Guardians o/Galaxy #7 - 30,516 (-16.5%)
12/08 Guardians o/Galaxy #8 - 31,564 ( +3.4%)
01/09 Guardians o/Galaxy #9 - 28,502 ( -9.7%)
02/09 Guardians o/Galaxy #10 - 27,648 ( -3.0%)
6 mnth (-31.4%)
Dropping, but the upcoming WAR OF KINGS crossover should give it a boost.
63. WOLVERINE: MANIFEST DESTINY 10/08 Manifest Destiny #1 of 4 - 40,142 11/08 --- 12/08 Manifest Destiny #2 of 4 - 33,574 (-16.4%) 12/08 Manifest Destiny #3 of 4 - 29,237 (-12.9%) 01/09 --- 02/09 Manifest Destiny #4 of 4 - 27,094 ( -7.3%)
Not very good numbers, but I don’t think the X-books are capable of supporting this sort of spin-off any more.
64. X-MEN NOIR 12/08 X-Men Noir #1 of 4 - 36,474 01/09 X-Men Noir #2 of 4 - 28,604 (-21.6%) 02/09 X-Men Noir #3 of 4 - 27,054 ( -5.4%)
Levelling off nicely.
65. ASTONISHING TALES 02/09 Astonishing Tales #1 - 27,030
A new anthology title, featuring material first published on Marvel’s Digital Comics Unlimited subscription service. Not a fantastic debut, but not bad for an anthology – and bear in mind there’s a whole other income stream for this one.
67. MS MARVEL
02/07 Ms Marvel #12 - 30,763
=====
02/08 Ms Marvel #24 - 24,139 ( -0.5%)
03/08 Ms Marvel #25 - 40,993 (+69.8%)
04/08 Ms Marvel #26 - 42,277 ( +3.1%)
05/08 Ms Marvel #27 - 41,131 ( -2.7%)
06/08 Ms Marvel #28 - 42,194 ( +2.6%)
07/08 Ms Marvel #29 - 41,231 ( -2.3%)
08/08 ---
09/08 Ms Marvel #30 - 40,041 ( -2.9%)
09/08 Ms Marvel #31 - 32,145 (-19.7%)
10/08 Ms Marvel #32 - 25,892 (-19.5%)
11/08 Ms Marvel #33 - 23,980 ( -7.4%)
12/08 Ms Marvel #34 - 29,770 (+24.1%)
01/09 Ms Marvel #35 - 26,824 (-10.0%)
02/09 Ms Marvel #36 - 25,864 ( -3.6%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year ( +7.1%)
2 year (-15.9%)
A Dark Reign tie-in, but it doesn’t seem to make much difference.
68. SPIDER-MAN NOIR 12/08 Spider-Man Noir #1 of 4 - 31,985 01/09 Spider-Man Noir #2 of 4 - 26,228 (-18.0%) 02/09 Spider-Man Noir #3 of 4 - 25,601 ( -2.4%)
Again, levelling out nicely.
69. YOUNG X-MEN
04/08 Young X-Men #1 - 71,593
05/08 Young X-Men #2 - 51,267 (-28.4%)
06/08 Young X-Men #3 - 45,227 (-11.8%)
07/08 Young X-Men #4 - 41,341 ( -8.6%)
08/08 Young X-Men #5 - 38,379 ( -7.2%)
09/08 Young X-Men #6 - 38,176 ( -0.5%)
10/08 Young X-Men #7 - 36,483 ( -4.4%)
11/08 Young X-Men #8 - 30,237 (-17.1%)
12/08 Young X-Men #9 - 30,508 ( +0.9%)
01/09 Young X-Men #10 - 26,933 (-11.7%)
02/09 Young X-Men #11 - 25,601 ( -4.9%)
6 mnth (-33.3%)
Axed with issue #12.
70. WAR OF KINGS: DARKHAWK 02/09 Darkhawk #1 of 2 - 25,585
Nineties nostalgia is upon us, it seems. This is a convenient point to note that SECRET INVASION: WAR OF KINGS charts at number 261 with its second printing, adding 3,925 sales for a total of 51,404.
72. NOVA
02/08 ---
03/08 Nova #11 - 28,162 ( -4.2%)
04/08 Nova #12 - 28,185 ( +0.1%)
05/08 Nova #13 - 28,144 ( -0.1%)
06/08 Nova #14 - 28,892 ( +2.7%)
07/08 Nova #15 - 28,592 ( -1.0%)
08/08 Nova #16 - 38,338 (+34.1%)
09/08 Nova #17 - 37,015 ( -3.5%)
10/08 Nova #18 - 38,417 ( +3.8%)
11/08 Nova #19 - 28,306 (-26.3%)
12/08 Nova #20 - 29,405 ( +3.9%)
01/09 Nova #21 - 25,647 (-12.8%)
02/09 Nova #22 - 25,065 ( -2.3%)
6 mnth (-34.6%)
1 year ( --- )
Another book that should get a boost from “War of Kings” imminently. Meanwhile, sales hold steady this month.
79. IMMORTAL IRON FIST
02/07 Immortal Iron Fist #3 - 35,654
=====
02/08 ---
03/08 Immortal Iron Fist #13 - 32,047 ( -1.8%)
04/08 Immortal Iron Fist #14 - 30,881 ( -3.6%)
05/08 Immortal Iron Fist #15 - 30,334 ( -1.8%)
06/08 Immortal Iron Fist #16 - 29,822 ( -1.7%)
07/08 Immortal Iron Fist #17 - 32,839 (+10.1%)
08/08 Immortal Iron Fist #18 - 27,430 (-16.5%)
09/08 ---
10/08 Immortal Iron Fist #19 - 25,861 ( -5.7%)
11/08 ---
12/08 Immortal Iron Fist #20 - 24,966 ( -3.5%)
12/08 Immortal Iron Fist #21 - 24,134 ( -3.3%)
01/09 ---
02/09 Immortal Iron Fist #22 - 23,259 ( -3.6%)
6 mnth (-15.2%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year (-34.8%)
The June solicitations originally billed this series as ending with issue #27, but that was retracted almost immediately. Even so, it tends to suggest that somebody was at least thinking about it.
80. X-MEN ORIGINS: SABRETOOTH 02/09 Sabretooth - 23,002
Another of the periodic origin stories, which never seem to do particularly good numbers.
81. INCOGNITO [Icon] 12/08 Incognito #1 - 27,958 01/09 --- 02/09 Incognito #2 - 22,962 (-17.9%)
Ah, now this is interesting. At first glance, this looks like a typical second-issue drop. But issue #1 has been racking up re-orders for two months. This time, it piles on another 5,289 – and for books at this level, that’s a significant number.
The initial sales for issue #1 were only 19,283. So if you leave re-orders out of account, the first month sales are actually up 19%. You don’t see that often.
84. X-MEN: TIMES AND LIFE OF LUCAS BISHOP 02/09 Bishop #1 of 3 - 22,275
A spin-off from CABLE, which doesn’t really have the momentum to support this kind of project.
85. PUNISHER: FRANK CASTLE [Max]
02/04 Punisher #3 - 46,396
02/05 Punisher #17 - 38,714
02/06 Punisher #30 - 34,293
02/07 Punisher #44 - 32,951
=====
02/08 ---
03/08 Punisher #55 - 31,276 ( -1.2%)
04/08 Punisher #56 - 30,796 ( -1.5%)
05/08 Punisher #57 - 30,528 ( -0.9%)
06/08 Punisher #58 - 29,802 ( -2.4%)
07/08 Punisher #59 - 30,064 ( +0.9%)
08/08 Punisher #60 - 30,683 ( +2.1%)
08/08 Punisher #61 - 28,373 ( -7.5%)
09/08 Punisher #62 - 26,906 ( -5.2%)
10/08 Punisher #63 - 25,933 ( -3.6%)
11/08 Punisher #64 - 24,660 ( -4.9%)
12/08 Punisher #65 - 23,881 ( -3.2%)
01/09 Frank Castle #66 - 22,806 ( -4.5%)
02/09 Frank Castle #67 - 22,267 ( -2.4%)
6 mnth (-21.5%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year (-32.4%)
3 year (-35.1%)
4 year (-42.5%)
5 year (-52.0%)
Still sliding.
91. MOON KNIGHT
02/07 ---
=====
02/08 Moon Knight #15 - 31,553 ( -8.7%)
03/08 Moon Knight #16 - 29,546 ( -6.4%)
04/08 Moon Knight #17 - 27,808 ( -5.9%)
05/08 Moon Knight #18 - 26,626 ( -4.3%)
06/08 Moon Knight #19 - 25,820 ( -3.0%)
07/08 Moon Knight #20 - 28,773 (+11.4%)
08/08 Moon Knight #21 - 30,900 ( +7.4%)
09/08 Moon Knight #22 - 26,380 (-14.6%)
10/08 Moon Knight #23 - 25,216 ( -4.4%)
11/08 Moon Knight #24 - 23,947 ( -5.0%)
12/08 Moon Knight #25 - 23,283 ( -2.8%)
01/09 Moon Knight #26 - 21,796 ( -6.4%)
02/09 Moon Knight #27 - 21,413 ( -1.8%)
6 mnth (-45.4%)
1 year (-32.1%)
2 year ( --- )
92. GHOST RIDER
02/07 Ghost Rider #8 - 48,736
=====
02/08 Ghost Rider #20 - 27,958 ( -2.1%)
03/08 Ghost Rider #21 - 26,526 ( -5.1%)
04/08 Ghost Rider #22 - 25,866 ( -2.5%)
05/08 Ghost Rider #23 - 25,099 ( -3.0%)
06/08 Ghost Rider #24 - 24,494 ( -2.4%)
07/08 Ghost Rider #25 - 24,546 ( +0.2%)
08/08 Ghost Rider #26 - 27,026 (+10.1%)
09/08 Ghost Rider #27 - 23,402 (-13.4%)
10/08 Ghost Rider #28 - 26,993 (+15.3%)
11/08 Ghost Rider #29 - 24,205 (-10.3%)
12/08 Ghost Rider #30 - 25,508 ( +5.4%)
01/09 Ghost Rider #31 - 22,421 (-12.1%)
02/09 Ghost Rider #32 - 21,351 ( -4.8%)
6 mnth (-21.0%)
1 year (-23.6%)
2 year (-56.2%)
A couple of books seemingly stuck in a steady decline. They still have a little leeway, though.
93. X-MEN: MAGNETO - TESTAMENT 09/08 Testament #1 of 5 - 34,863 10/08 Testament #2 of 5 - 27,472 (-21.2%) 11/08 Testament #3 of 5 - 24,555 (-10.6%) 12/08 Testament #4 of 5 - 22,049 (-10.2%) 01/09 --- 02/09 Testament #5 of 5 - 21,345 ( -3.2%)
Magneto’s origin story, although it’s really a historical series about the Holocaust which downplays any fantasy elements. The sales are much as you’d expect for that kind of project.
97. MARVELS: EYE OF THE CAMERA 12/08 Marvels #1 of 6 - 37,976 12/08 Marvels #2 of 6 - 27,256 (-28.2%) 01/09 Marvels #3 of 6 - 25,087 ( -8.0%) 02/09 Marvels #4 of 6 - 20,909 (-16.7%)
A surprisingly steep drop for the fourth issue, which implies that retailers are correcting downwards.
98. CAPTAIN BRITAIN & MI-13
05/08 Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #1 - 43,281
06/08 Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #2 - 37,986 (-12.2%)
07/08 Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #3 - 39,100 ( +2.9%)
08/08 Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #4 - 36,826 ( -5.8%)
09/08 Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #5 - 32,999 (-10.4%)
10/08 Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #6 - 28,033 (-15.0%)
11/08 Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #7 - 22,189 (-20.8%)
12/08
Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #8 - 21,236 ( -4.3%)
01/09 Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #9 - 18,483 (-13.0%)
02/09 Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #10 - 20,627 (+11.6%)
6 mnth (-44.0%)
There’s no apparent reason for this jump, other than the start of a new storyline. Perhaps the good reviews are paying off.
101. RUNAWAYS
02/04 Runaways #11 - 19,978
02/05 Runaways #1 - 30,410
02/06 Runaways #13 - 24,313
02/07 Runaways #24 - 25,216
=====
02/08 Runaways #29 - 33,210 (-30.5%)
03/08 ---
04/08 ---
05/08 ---
06/08 Runaways #30 - 31,353 ( -5.6%)
07/08 ---
08/08 Runaways #1 - 33,252 ( +6.1%)
09/08 Runaways #2 - 27,958 (-15.9%)
10/08 Runaways #3 - 25,757 ( -7.9%)
11/08 Runaways #4 - 23,496 ( -8.8%)
12/08 Runaways #5 - 21,918 ( -6.7%)
01/09 Runaways #6 - 20,459 ( -6.7%)
02/09 Runaways #7 - 19,684 ( -3.8%)
6 mnth (-40.8%)
1 year (-40.7%)
2 year (-21.9%)
3 year (-19.0%)
4 year (-35.3%)
5 year ( -1.5%)
Not looking too healthy, but Marvel are sticking with it. It’s been said that RUNAWAYS does unusually well in collections, which would balance out its modest monthly sales. But just take a look at the fate of the books further down.
103. DARK REIGN FILES 02/09 Dark Reign Files - 19,106
A bunch of mini-profiles of assorted villains. The sales are about standard for a reference book.
106. SHE-HULK
02/05 She-Hulk #12 - 23,202
02/06 She-Hulk #5 - 27,183
02/07 She-Hulk #16 - 27,961
=====
02/08 She-Hulk #26 - 22,181 ( -4.7%)
03/08 She-Hulk #27 - 21,421 ( -3.4%)
04/08 She-Hulk #28 - 20,843 ( -2.7%)
05/08 She-Hulk #29 - 20,678 ( -0.8%)
06/08 She-Hulk #30 - 21,016 ( +1.6%)
07/08 She-Hulk #31 - 39,079 (+85.9%)
08/08 She-Hulk #32 - 38,069 ( -2.6%)
09/08 She-Hulk #33 - 32,862 (-13.7%)
10/08 She-Hulk #34 - 22,763 (-30.7%)
11/08 She-Hulk #35 - 20,940 ( -8.0%)
12/08 She-Hulk #36 - 19,815 ( -5.4%)
01/09 She-Hulk #37 - 18,243 ( -7.9%)
02/09 She-Hulk #37 - 18,086 ( -0.9%)
6 mnth (-52.5%)
1 year (-18.5%)
2 year (-35.3%)
3 year (-33.5%)
4 year (-22.0%)
Axed.
108. NEW EXILES
02/04 Exiles #42 - 37,147
02/05 Exiles #59 - 32,337
02/06 Exiles #77 - 32,998
02/07 Exiles #91 - 31,712
=====
02/08 New Exiles #2 - 34,454 (-27.6%)
03/08 New Exiles #3 - 30,480 (-11.5%)
04/08 New Exiles #4 - 29,231 ( -4.1%)
04/08 New Exiles #5 - 28,505 ( -2.5%)
05/08 New Exiles #6 - 27,533 ( -3.4%)
06/08 New Exiles #7 - 25,742 ( -6.5%)
07/08 New Exiles #8 - 24,436 ( -5.1%)
08/08 New Exiles #9 - 22,986 ( -5.9%)
08/08 New Exiles #10 - 23,048 ( +0.3%)
09/08 New Exiles #11 - 22,630 ( -1.8%)
10/08 New Exiles #12 - 21,682 ( -4.2%)
10/08 New Exiles #13 - 21,058 ( -2.9%)
11/08 New Exiles #14 - 20,493 ( -2.7%)
12/08 New Exiles #15 - 19,498 ( -4.9%)
12/08 New Exiles #16 - 19,227 ( -1.4%)
01/09 New Exiles #17 - 18,381 ( -4.4%)
02/09 New Exiles #18 - 17,925 ( -2.5%)
6 mnth (-22.2%)
1 year (-48.0%)
2 year (-43.5%)
3 year (-45.7%)
4 year (-44.6%)
5 year (-51.7%)
Axed, but it’s being relaunched immediately as EXILES.
110. SQUADRON SUPREME
07/08 Squadron Supreme #1 - 35,583
08/08 Squadron Supreme #2 - 28,052 (-21.2%)
09/08 Squadron Supreme #3 - 27,131 ( -3.3%)
10/08 Squadron Supreme #4 - 22,430 (-17.3%)
11/08 Squadron Supreme #5 - 19,822 (-11.6%)
12/08 Squadron Supreme #6 - 18,948 ( -4.5%)
01/09 Squadron Supreme #7 - 17,691 ( -6.6%)
02/09 Squadron Supreme #8 - 16,566 ( -6.4%)
6 mnth (-40.9%)
Axed with issue #12, per the most recent solicitations.
111. ETERNALS
06/08 Eternals #1 - 41,680
07/08 Eternals #2 - 30,395 (-27.1%)
08/08 Eternals #3 - 25,555 (-15.9%)
09/08 Eternals #4 - 23,176 ( -9.3%)
10/08 Eternals #5 - 23,418 ( -1.0%)
11/08 ---
12/08 Eternals #6 - 18,133 (-22.6%)
01/09 Eternals #7 - 17,495 ( -3.5%)
02/09 Eternals #8 - 16,264 ( -7.0%)
6 mnth (-36.4%)
Axed with issue #9.
115. X-MEN: FIRST CLASS
02/07 First Class #6 of 8 - 25,125
=====
02/08 First Class #9 - 15,320 ( -4.2%)
03/08 First Class #10 - 14,907 ( -2.7%)
04/08 First Class #11 - 14,896 ( -0.0%)
05/08 First Class #12 - 14,566 ( -2.2%)
06/08 First Class #13 - 14,157 ( -2.8%)
07/08 First Class #14 - 13,870 ( -2.0%)
08/08 First Class #15 - 13,249 ( -4.5%)
09/08 First Class #16 - 12,842 ( -3.1%)
10/08 Giant-Size Special - 13,263 ( +3.3%)
11/08 ---
12/08 ---
01/09 ---
02/09 Finals #1 of 4 - 15,736 (+18.6%)
6 mnth (+18.8%)
1 year ( +2.7%)
2 year (-37.4%)
The usual modest boost for a first issue.
116. WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ 12/08 Wizard of Oz #1 of 8 - 25,116 01/09 Wizard of Oz #2 of 8 - 17,608 (-29.9%) 02/09 Wizard of Oz #3 of 8 - 15,668 (-11.0%)
It’s doing very well for an adaptation. Issue #1 picks up another 4,581 sales, and issue #2 picks up 2,605.
117. GHOST RIDER: DANNY KETCH 10/08 Danny Ketch #1 of 5 - 22,119 11/08 Danny Ketch #2 of 5 - 18,259 (-17.5%) 12/08 Danny Ketch #3 of 5 - 17,142 ( -6.1%) 01/09 Danny Ketch #4 of 5 - 15,955 ( -6.9%) 02/09 Danny Ketch #5 of 5 - 15,377 ( -3.6%)
Actually very respectable, considering it’s a spin-off from GHOST RIDER.
119. NEW WARRIORS
02/08 New Warriors #9 - 25,694 (-11.2%)
03/08 New Warriors #10 - 23,887 ( -7.0%)
04/08 New Warriors #11 - 22,636 ( -5.2%)
05/08 New Warriors #12 - 21,808 ( -3.7%)
06/08 New Warriors #13 - 20,992 ( -3.7%)
07/08 New Warriors #14 - 33,209 (+58.2%)
08/08 New Warriors #15 - 30,683 ( -7.6%)
09/08 New Warriors #16 - 20,335 (-33.7%)
10/08 New Warriors #17 - 18,689 ( -8.1%)
11/08 New Warriors #18 - 17,385 ( -7.0%)
12/08 New Warriors #19 - 15,824 ( -9.0%)
01/09 ---
02/09 New Warriors #20 - 15,084 ( -4.7%)
6 mnth (-50.8%)
1 year (-41.3%)
Axed.
120,130. ULTIMATE WOLVERINE VS HULK 02/09 Ult. Wolverine vs Hulk #1 - 14,921 02/09 Ult. Wolverine vs Hulk #2 - 13,686
Reprints of the first two issues of the long-forgotten fiasco. Next month, issue #3 will hit the charts, and we’ll find out whether all is forgiven. Given that the Ultimate imprint has lost a lot of steam over the past few years, I suspect the numbers could be underwhelming.
125. ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER
02/07 ---
=====
02/08 Guilty Pls. #8 of 12 - 27,358 ( -1.9%)
03/08 Guilty Pls. #9 of 12 - 26,324 ( -3.8%)
04/08 Guilty Pls. #10 of 12 - 21,462 (-18.5%)
05/08 Guilty Pls. #11 of 12 - 20,627 ( -3.9%)
06/08 Guilty Pls. #12 of 12 - 19,866 ( -3.7%)
07/08 ---
08/08 ---
09/08 ---
10/08 Laughing Corpse #1 of 5 - 22,493 (+13.2%)
11/08 Laughing Corpse #2 of 5 - 17,187 (-23.6%)
12/08 Laughing Corpse #3 of 5 - 15,665 ( -8.9%)
01/09 Laughing Corpse #4 of 5 - 14,422 ( -7.9%)
02/09 Laughing Corpse #5 of 5 - 14,095 ( -2.3%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year (-48.5%)
2 year ( --- )
Holding reasonably steady, but it’s noticeably below the previous miniseries.
126. ENDERS GAME: BATTLE SCHOOL 10/08 Battle School #1 of 5 - 25,424 11/08 Battle School #2 of 5 - 16,771 (-34.0%) 12/08 --- 01/09 --- 02/09 Battle School #3 of 5 - 14,022 (-16.4%)
Dropping like a stone, but to be honest, it was doing surprisingly well to start with.
129. AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL
02/04 Spider-Girl #70 - 20,541
02/05 Spider-Girl #83 - 20,382
02/06 Spider-Girl #95 - 16,778
02/07 Amazing Spider-Girl #5 - 21,391
=====
02/08 Amazing Spider-Girl #17 - 16,193 ( -1.4%)
03/08 Amazing Spider-Girl #18 - 15,910 ( -1.7%)
04/08 Amazing Spider-Girl #19 - 15,970 ( +0.4%)
05/08 Amazing Spider-Girl #20 - 15,646 ( -2.0%)
06/08 Amazing Spider-Girl #21 - 15,659 ( +0.0%)
07/08 Amazing Spider-Girl #22 - 15,373 ( -1.8%)
08/08 Amazing Spider-Girl #23 - 15,155 ( -1.4%)
09/08 Amazing Spider-Girl #24 - 14,966 ( -1.2%)10/08 Amazing Spider-Girl #25 - 18,782 (+25.5%)
11/08 Amazing Spider-Girl #26 - 14,389 (-23.4%)
12/08 Amazing Spider-Girl #27 - 15,376 ( +6.9%)
01/09 Amazing Spider-Girl #28 - 13,790 (-10.3%)
02/09 Amazing Spider-Girl #29 - 13,689 ( -0.7%)
6 mnth ( -9.7%)
1 year (-15.5%)
2 year (-36.0%)
3 year (-18.4%)
4 year (-32.8%)
5 year (-33.4%)
Axed with issue #30.
135. DR DOOM & THE MASTERS OF EVIL 01/09 Dr Doom/Masters #1 - 28,299 02/09 Dr Doom/Masters #2 - 12,946 (-54.3%)
If it’s meant to be a Marvel Universe title, that’s pretty much catastrophic. If it’s meant to be an all-ages book, it’s really not bad. Frankly, I’m not quite sure what it is.
138. WOLVERINE: FIRST CLASS
03/08 First Class #1 - 35,695
04/08 First Class #2 - 25,610 (-28.3%)
05/08 First Class #3 - 22,430 (-12.4%)
06/08 First Class #4 - 20,199 ( -9.9%)
07/08 First Class #5 - 18,788 ( -7.0%)
08/08 First Class #6 - 19,443 ( +3.5%)
09/08 First Class #7 - 16,168 (-16.8%)
10/08 First Class #8 - 14,936 ( -7.6%)
11/08 First Class #9 - 13,857 ( -7.2%)
12/08 First Class #10 - 13,441 ( -3.0%)
01/09 First Class #11 - 12,845 ( -4.4%)
02/09 First Class #12 - 12,403 ( -3.4%)
6 mnth (-36.2%)
Drifting down, but it’s an all-ages book, and Marvel seem to be fairly relaxed about their sales.
143. NYX: NO WAY HOME
08/08 No Way Home #1 of 6 - 29,927
09/08 No Way Home #2 of 6 - 20,471 (-31.6%)
10/08 No Way Home #3 of 6 - 16,495 (-19.4%)
11/08 ---
12/08 No Way Home #4 of 6 - 13,310 (-19.3%)
01/09 No Way Home #5 of 6 - 12,366 ( -7.1%)
02/09 No Way Home #6 of 6 - 11,595 ( -6.2%)
6 mnth (-61.3%)
Not much interest in this revival of the short-lived Joe Quesada series.
147. ENDERS SHADOW: BATTLE SCHOOL 12/08 Shadow #1 of 5 - 15,151 01/09 Shadow #2 of 5 - 12,736 (-15.9%) 02/09 Shadow #3 of 5 - 10,851 (-14.8%)
More what you’d expect from a sci-fi adaptation.
159. ADAM: LEGEND OF THE BLUE MARVEL
11/08 Adam #1 of 5 - 17,308
12/08 Adam #2 of 5 - 12,160 (-29.7%)
01/09 Adam #3 of 5 - 10,796 (-11.2%)
02/09 Adam #4 of 5 - 9,704 (-10.1%)
176. AGE OF THE SENTRY
09/08 Age of the Sentry #1 of 6 - 21,981
10/08 Age of the Sentry #2 of 6 - 15,103 (-31.3%)
11/08 Age of the Sentry #3 of 6 - 12,428 (-17.7%)
12/08 Age of the Sentry #4 of 6 - 9,777 (-21.3%)
01/09 ---
02/09 Age of the Sentry #5 of 6 - 8,418 (-13.9%)
182. MARVEL TV: GALACTUS - THE REAL STORY
02/09 Galactus - 8,029
186. PATSY WALKER, HELLCAT
07/08 Hellcat #1 of 5 - 19,679
08/08 Hellcat #2 of 5 - 12,814 (-34.9%)
09/08 Hellcat #3 of 5 - 12,213 ( -4.7%)
10/08 ---
11/08 ---
12/08 Hellcat #4 of 5 - 8,627 (-29.4%)
01/09 ---
02/09 Hellcat #5 of 5 - 7,938 ( -8.0%)
6 mnth (-38.1%)
Not much interest in any of these. The GALACTUS book, to be fair, is a reprint of material that was already on Marvel’s website.
190. DEAD OF NIGHT [Max] 01/09 Werewolf by Night #1 of 4 - 8,966 02/09 Werewolf by Night #2 of 4 - 7,599 (-15.2%)
Well, it’s a Max book. Presumably they must sell somewhere.
192. YOUNG GUNS SKETCHBOOK 2009 02/09 Bundle of 25 - 7,449
Basically a promotional item, but they get listed on the charts on a technicality.
194. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN FAMILY
02/07 Spider-Man Family #1 - 30,516
02/08 Spider-Man Family #7 - 8,587
=====
08/08 Spider-Man Family #1 - 13,549
09/08 ---
10/08 Spider-Man Family #2 - 10,560 (-22.1%)
11/08 ---
12/08 Spider-Man Family #3 - 7,711 (-27.0%)
01/09 ---
02/09 Spider-Man Family #4 - 7,289 ( -5.5%)
6 mnth (-46.2%)
1 year (-15.1%)
2 year (-76.1%)
Levelling out, but this surely isn’t what they hoped for when they relaunched the book to tie it more closely to AMAZING.
195. OFFICIAL INDEX TO THE MARVEL UNIVERSE 01/09 Index #1 - 9,852 02/09 Index #2 - 7,278 (-26.1%)
A niche product, by its nature.
214. MARVEL SPOTLIGHT
02/06 Whedon & Lark - 5,974
02/07 ---
=====
02/08 ---
03/08 L Hamilton/G Martin
- 4,656 (-50.2%)
04/08 Iron Man Movie - 8,124 (+74.5%)
05/08 Hulk Movie - 7,680 ( -5.5%)
06/08 Secret Invasion - 14,206 (+85.0%)
07/08 Uncanny X-Men #500 - 8,763 (-38.3%)
08/08 Brand New Day - 6,257 (-28.6%)
09/08 Marvel Knights - 5,936 ( -5.1%)
10/08 Ultimatum - 6,819 (+14.9%)
11/08 Punisher Movie - 4,342 (-36.3%)
12/08 S.I. Aftermath - 8,085 (+86.2%)
01/09 Dark Reign - 7,527 ( -6.9%)
02/09 War of Kings - 6,075 (-19.3%)
6 mnth ( -2.9%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( --- )
3 year ( +1.7%)
As usual, sales fluctuate depending on the subject matter.
229. SCOURGE OF GODS [Soleil] 01/09 Scourge of Gods #1 of 3 - 8,748 02/09 Scourge of Gods #2 of 3 - 5,301 (-39.4%)
Pretty much what we’ve come to expect from Soleil reprints.
231. FRANKLIN RICHARDS
02/08 ---
03/08 Spring Break! - 5,684 ( -0.8%)
04/08 ---
05/08 Not So Secret Invasion - 6,764 (+19.0%)
06/08 ---
07/08 ---
08/08 Summer Smackdown - 5,625 (-16.8%)
09/08 ---
10/08 ---
11/08 Sons of Geniuses - 5,314 ( -5.5%)
12/08 ---
01/09 ---
02/09 Dark Reigning Cats... - 5,176 ( -2.6%)
6 mnth ( -8.0%)
1 year ( --- )
Hovering fairly consistently around the 5K range.
235. MARVEL: YOUR UNIVERSE 02/09 Your Universe #1 - 4,826
This is a reprint anthology; it’s clearly not aimed at the direct market, but I’m sure Marvel will be happy to shift a few more copies.
And from here, it’s mostly the all ages books and the novel adaptations…
239. MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN [All ages]
02/06 M.A. Spider-Man #12 - 6,087
02/07 M.A. Spider-Man #24 - 6,678
=====
02/08 M.A. Spider-Man #36 - 5,893 ( -2.8%)
03/08 M.A. Spider-Man #37 - 5,877 ( -0.3%)
04/08 M.A. Spider-Man #38 - 5,833 ( -0.7%)
05/08 M.A. Spider-Man #39 - 5,816 ( -0.3%)
06/08 M.A. Spider-Man #40 - 5,954 ( +2.4%)
07/08 M.A. Spider-Man #41 - 5,859 ( -1.6%)
08/08 M.A. Spider-Man #42 - 5,718 ( -2.4%)
09/08 M.A. Spider-Man #43 - 5,505 ( -3.7%)
10/08 M.A. Spider-Man #44 - 5,155 ( -6.4%)
11/08 M.A. Spider-Man #45 - 5,003 ( -2.9%)
12/08 M.A. Spider-Man #46 - 4,851 ( -3.0%)
01/09 M.A. Spider-Man #47 - 4,592 ( -5.3%)
02/09 M.A. Spider-Man #48 - 4,622 ( +0.7%)
6 mnth (-19.2%)
1 year (-21.6%)
2 year (-30.8%)
3 year (-24.1%)
241. POWER PACK [All ages]
02/07 Spider-Man #4 of 4 - 5,605
=====
02/08 Iron Man #4 of 4 - 4,256 ( -4.3%)
03/08 Day One #1 of 4 - 8,298 (+95.0%)
04/08 Day One #2 of 4 - 4,830 (-41.8%)
05/08 Day One #3 of 4 - 4,696 ( -2.8%)
06/08 Day One #4 of 4 - 4,491 ( -4.4%)
07/08 Skrulls #1 of 4 - 7,141 (+59.0%)
08/08 Skrulls #2 of 4 - 6,246 (-12.5%)
09/08
Skrulls #3 of 4 - 5,663 ( -9.3%)
10/08 Skrulls #4 of 4 - 5,291 ( -6.6%)
11/08 Wolverine #1 of 4 - 5,984 (+13.1%)
12/08 Wolverine #2 of 4 - 5,150 (-13.9%)
01/09 Wolverine #3 of 4 - 4,817 ( -6.5%)
02/09 Wolverine #4 of 4 - 4,601 ( -4.5%)
6 mnth (-26.3%)
1 year ( +8.1%)
2 year (-17.9%)
This would seem to be the final POWER PACK miniseries, at least for the moment.
248. MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS [All ages]
02/07 M.A. Avengers #10 - 7,053
=====
02/08 M.A. Avengers #21 - 5,607 ( -1.1%)
03/08 M.A. Avengers #22 - 5,575 ( -0.6%)
04/08 M.A. Avengers #23 - 5,556 ( -0.3%)
05/08 M.A. Avengers #24 - 5,358 ( -3.6%)
06/08 M.A. Avengers #25 - 5,327 ( -0.6%)
07/08 M.A. Avengers #26 - 5,418 ( +1.7%)
08/08 M.A. Avengers #27 - 5,200 ( -4.0%)
09/08 M.A. Avengers #28 - 4,966 ( -4.5%)
10/08 M.A. Avengers #29 - 4,844 ( -2.5%)
11/08 M.A. Avengers #30 - 4,679 ( -3.4%)
12/08 M.A. Avengers #31 - ?,??? ( ??? )
01/09 M.A. Avengers #32 - 4,323 ( ??? )
02/09 M.A. Avengers #33 - 4,325 ( +0.0%)
6 mnth (-16.8%)
1 year (-22.9%)
2 year (-38.7%)
258. MARVEL ADVENTURES SUPER HEROES
07/08 M.A. Super Heroes #1 - 11,968
08/08 M.A. Super Heroes #2 - 5,956 (-50.2%)
09/08 M.A. Super Heroes #3 - 4,857 (-18.5%)
10/08 M.A. Super Heroes #4 - 4,542 ( -6.5%)
11/08 M.A. Super Heroes #5 - 4,233 ( -6.8%)
12/08 M.A. Super Heroes #6 - ?,??? ( ??? )
01/09 M.A. Super Heroes #7 - 4,141 ( ??? )
02/09 M.A. Super Heroes #8 - 3,993 ( -3.6%)
6 mnth (-33.0%)
262. YTHAQ: FORSAKEN WORLD
12/08 Forsaken World #1 of 3 - 7,795
01/09 Forsaken World #2 of 3 - 4,635 (-40.5%)
02/09 Forsaken World #3 of 3 - 3,921 (-15.4%)
278. LORDS OF AVALON: KNIGHTS OF DARKNESS
12/08 Knights #1 of 6 - 4,879
12/08 Knights #2 of 6 - ?,??? ( ??? )
01/09 Knights #3 of 6 - 3,640 ( ??? )
02/09 Knights #4 of 6 - 3,329 ( -8.5%)
281. MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR [All ages]
02/06 M.A. Fantastic Four #9 - 4,711
02/07 M.A. Fantastic Four #21 - 4,508
====
02/08 M.A. Fantastic Four #33 - 4,222 ( -1.7%)
03/08 M.A. Fantastic Four #34 - 4,176 ( -1.1%)
04/08 M.A. Fantastic Four #35 - 4,154 ( -0.5%)
05/08 M.A. Fantastic Four #36 - 4,054 ( -2.4%)
06/08 M.A. Fantastic Four #37 - 3,972 ( -2.0%)
07/08 M.A. Fantastic Four #38 - ?,??? ( ??? )
08/08 M.A. Fantastic Four #39 - 3,833 ( ??? )
09/08 M.A. Fantastic Four #40 - 3,716 ( -3.1%)
10/08 M.A. Fantastic Four #41 - ?,??? ( ??? )
11/08 M.A. Fantastic Four #42 - 3,523 ( ??? )
12/08 M.A. Fantastic Four #43 - ?,??? ( ??? )
01/09 M.A. Fantastic Four #44 - 3,219 ( ??? )
02/09 M.A. Fantastic Four #45 - 3,195 ( -0.7%)
6 mnth (-16.6%)
1 year (-24.3%)
2 year (-29.1%)
3 year (-32.2%)
283. ODYSSEY [Marvel Illustrated]
09/08 Odyssey #1 of 8 - 4,536
10/08 Odyssey #2 of 8 - ?,??? ( ??? )
11/08 Odyssey #3 of 8 - 3,631 ( ??? )
12/08 Odyssey #4 of 8 - ?,??? ( ??? )
01/09 Odyssey #5 of 8 - 3,175 ( ??? )
02/09 Odyssey #6 of 8 - 3,114 ( -1.9%)
292. KABUKI REFLECTIONS [Icon]
02/09 Reflections #12 - 2,812
One of David Mack’s occasional art book companions. Oh, and just in case you’re wondering, KIDNAPPED #4 missed the top 300.
6 month comparisons =================== +42.9% - Punisher +39.1% - Black Panther +18.8% - X-Men: First Class +10.1% - Ultimate Fantastic Four + 0.4% - New Avengers - 0.0% - Thunderbolts - 2.9% - Marvel Spotlight - 8.0% - Franklin Richards - 9.5% - Ultimate Spider-Man - 9.7% - Spider-Girl -11.2% - Iron Man -15.2% - Iron Fist -16.1% - Uncanny X-Men -16.8% - Marvel Adventures Avengers -16.9% - X-Men: Legacy -17.2% - Fantastic Four -19.2% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man -21.0% - Ghost Rider -21.5% - Punisher: Frank Castle -21.6% - Mighty Avengers -22.2% - New Exiles -22.3% - Avengers: The Initiative -24.4% - Hulk -25.4% - X-Force -26.1% - Captain America -26.3% - Power Pack -29.4% - Cable -30.0% - Avengers/Invaders -30.4% - Amazing Spider-Man -31.4% - Guardians of the Galaxy -33.0% - Marvel Adventures Super Heroes -33.3% - Young X-Men -34.6% - Nova -36.2% - Wolverine: First Class -36.4% - Eternals -36.6% - X-Factor -38.1% - Hellcat -39.3% - Hercules -40.8% - Runaways -40.9% - Squadron Supreme -43.4% - Skaar -44.0% - Captain America & MI-13 -45.4% - Moon Knight -46.2% - Spider-Man Family -50.8% - New Warriors -52.5% - She-Hulk -61.3% - NYX 1 year comparisons ================== +99.6% - Black Panther +41.1% - Iron Man +12.4% - Punisher + 8.1% - Power Pack + 7.1% - Ms Marvel + 2.7% - X-Men: First Class + 2.6% - New Avengers - 1.6% - Thor - 4.0% - Ultimate Fantastic Four -10.7% - Wolverine: Origins -12.7% - Mighty Avengers -14.6% - Ultimate Spider-Man -15.1% - Spider-Man Family -15.5% - Spider-Girl -18.5% - She-Hulk -21.6% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man -22.9% - Marvel Adventures Avengers -23.6% - Ghost Rider -24.0% - Hulk -24.3% - Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four -25.5% - Uncanny X-Men -27.0% - Captain America -32.1% - Moon Knight -35.9% - X-Men: Legacy -40.5% - Amazing Spider-Man -40.6% - Hercules -40.7% - Runaways -41.3% - New Warriors -47.8% - X-Factor -48.0% - New Exiles -48.5% - Anita Blake -49.5% - Fantastic Four -55.8% - X-Force 2 year comparisons ================== +65.4% - Hulk -13.6% - Uncanny X-Men -14.9% - Iron Man -15.9% - Ms Marvel -16.5% - X-Factor -17.3% - Black Panther -17.9% - Power Pack -18.2% - New Avengers -21.9% - Runaways -25.3% - X-Men: Legacy -27.7% - Thunderbolts -28.5% - Ultimate Fantastic Four -29.1% - Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four -30.8% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man -31.0% - Punisher -32.4% - Punisher: Frank Castle -33.4% - Ultimate Spider-Man -34.8% - Iron Fist -35.3% - She-Hulk -36.0% - Spider-Girl -37.4% - X-Men: First Class -38.7% - Marvel Adventures Avengers -43.0% - Wolverine: Origins -43.5% - New Exiles -56.2% - Ghost Rider -57.9% - Amazing Spider-Man -72.5% - Dark Tower -76.1% - Spider-Man Family 3 year comparisons ================== +96.9% - Hulk +91.3% - Thunderbolts +79.2% - Black Panther +42.7% - Captain America +11.1% - Fantastic Four + 1.7% - Marvel Spotlight - 9.3% - Uncanny X-Men -12.1% - New Avengers -18.4% - Spider-Girl -19.0% - Runaways -24.1% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man -28.1% - X-Men: Legacy -30.6% - Ultimate Spider-Man -32.2% - Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four -33.5% - Amazing Spider-Man -33.5% - She-Hulk -33.9% - X-Factor -35.1% - Punisher: Frank Castle -45.1% - Ultimate Fantastic Four -45.7% - New Exiles 4 year comparisons ================== +72.7% - Hulk +54.5% - Thunderbolts +30.7% - Captain America + 7.0% - Fantastic Four - 7.5% - Black Panther -19.4% - Uncanny X-Men -22.0% - She-Hulk -23.5% - Amazing Spider-Man -28.3% - New Avengers -32.8% - X-Men: Legacy -32.8% - Spider-Girl -35.3% - Runaways -42.5% - Punisher: Frank Castle -42.8% - Ultimate Spider-Man -44.6% - New Exiles 5 year comparisons ================== +216.7% - Thor + 81.7% - New Avengers + 73.6% - Iron Man + 62.1% - Hulk + 58.3% - Captain America + 0.8% - Fantastic Four - 1.5% - Runaways - 16.9% - Uncanny X-Men - 28.5% - Amazing Spider-Man - 33.4% - Spider-Girl - 46.4% - Ultimate Spider-Man - 50.4% - X-Men: Legacy - 51.7% - New Exiles - 52.0% - Punisher: Frank Castle - 66.1% - Ultimate Fantastic Four
Good to see Incognito is doing well. Also, interesting to see not everything is getting the obligatory Dark Reign bump.
HULK #10 was also the first issue priced at $3.99. I wonder if that has anything to do with the sudden drop in sales.
Also the THOR renumbering ignores the fact that the first THOR series was renamed JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY for the remainder of its run and ran for 20 or so issues before being cancelled and replaced with THOR Vol. 2.
The problems with Ms. Marvel and Black Panther aren’t the characters.
Both books have had the same writers for around 3 years and have had quite a few major x-overs but neither one can seem to build on them at all.
Instead of replacing T’Challa and Carol Danvers, maybe they should find folks that can write better stories.
Re: The Dr, Doom book:
“If it’s meant to be a Marvel Universe title, that’s pretty much catastrophic. If it’s meant to be an all-ages book, it’s really not bad. Frankly, I’m not quite sure what it is.”
My customers didn’t either. Neither my “Buy all Marvels except kids books” nor my “Buy all of Marvel’s kids books only” customers bought any of #1, so we FOCed the rest to zero copies.
Thanks for the number crunching. Looks like Marvel maintains the percentages of market share, but that the overall industry sales are down. Is there a total market index, where the different publishers provide numbers on sales and units? That would be an interesting month-to-month analysis too, just to see where the industry is headed as a whole.
The drop for Captain America was a shocker! I’m disappointed in the debut of Agents of Atlas. This is a great team book, on the outskirts of the Marvel universe, with excellent art, great characters, and a commanding story. It has a Planetary feel to it in that secret organizations are out there controlling politics. If you get the chance get the collected first series. Huge bang for your buck with a dense, intelligent plot.
That’s a shame about the Doom book.
It’s written by Paul Tobin, who does his fair share of MA books and it reads like one (meant as a plus).
Hopefully, it doesnt’ get prematurely shortened.
Paul O’Brien’s “magic number:” 63,463.
The highest-selling issue of Amazing Spider-Man to DEBUT in February: 60,286.
Excepting future variant covers and anniversary issues, 60K appears to have become the new high-water mark for this title.
I fully expect to see it sink below 50K by the end of the year.
Could Thunderbolts #128-129 be benefiting from the “Obama bump”? He’s featured largely in both issues.
I am now wanting Marvel to start consolidating titles. A year or two ago, I was okay with a little bloat, but somewhere in here Marvel just ate a case of ho ho’s and put us where we are today. It would be even better to get rid of bloat to help readers with the higher prices. I don’t need four Avengers titles, three X-men titles and all their little children running around.
And I think it might be time to knock ASM back down to once a month. Do that and watch its sales jump back up.
I would imagine at least part of the Hulk decline is due to blue balls over the identity of the Red Hulk. It’s been a year, and we still don’t know who the guy is.
Also, no one gives a crap about yet another Defenders reunion.
I hope that Marvel gets the same amount of criticism that DC inevitably would get if they were running a linewide event like Dark Reign that was having such little effect on sales. I guess we’ll know better when the spinoff mini numbers start coming in.
450,000 extra copies sold does not equal 450,000 new customers. Many of the customers at my LCS bought multiple copies, as I am sure happened at many other stores. Some even bought more than 10 to give to relatives and friends. And I, for one, didn’t expect to see too many new customers after the initial rush was over.
It’s never gonna be a one-to-one correlation. The deal is, the Obama cover got new customers in the door. Are 90% of them probably going to buy that and then disappear, only showing up when the next “mainstream buzz” comic shows up on CNN?
Yeah, probably.
But getting new folks in the stores is the first step. If one or two of them are former comic buyers whose interest get re-kindled by being in a good shop again, or a handful are intrigued by what comics have to offer, that’s still a win.
I know that one of the best customers at my shop came in because of the Death of Captain America story. And he’s definitely not the only one who came for the event, stayed for the comics.
Question for Paul O’Brien:
Do these numbers reflect what people bought or what retailers ordered?
If they’re based on retailer orders, and retailers were caught off guard by the success of the Obama issue of Spider-Man, why WOULD their be a bump on the OTHER issues of Spider-Man that they ordered at the same time?
They reflect what retailers ordered, but retailers could have placed re-orders for subsequent issues of Amazing.
“But getting new folks in the stores is the first step. ”
First step to what? keeping the medium in the superhero ghetto?
I’m no longer getting HULK (and the Punisher MAX title) because of its new $3.99 cover price… 22-page comics are just not worth $4 a crack!
As for Agents of Atlas #1’s 30,000+ number… probably a bit puffed up since it has a 1:15 variant… but still, I wish it the best since it’s a neat book.
“For some strange reason, LONG ROAD HOME #1 picks up re-orders of 6,318, despite having come out in March 2008. This might be a case of Marvel dumping stock on the market.”
Marvel gave the #1 free for every copy a dealer ordered from a certain list of sale books. So they really weren’t “sales” to dealers.
Keep up the good work! I really enjoy these columns!
“98. CAPTAIN BRITAIN & MI-13
02/09 Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #10 – 20,627 (+11.6%)
6 mnth (-44.0%)There’s no apparent reason for this jump, other than the start of a new storyline. Perhaps the good reviews are paying off.”
Marvel gave a free copy of #10 to my Diamond account. I am not sure if they gave one to every Marvel account though, which in my view explains the increase.
“135. DR DOOM & THE MASTERS OF EVIL
01/09 Dr Doom/Masters #1 – 28,299
02/09 Dr Doom/Masters #2 – 12,946 (-54.3%)If it’s meant to be a Marvel Universe title, that’s pretty much catastrophic. If it’s meant to be an all-ages book, it’s really not bad. Frankly, I’m not quite sure what it is.”
Marvel gave away free copies of #1 if you ordered over a certain threshold, which will explain the HUGE drop for issue #2. I took advantage of the freebies and gave it to many my subscribers. Nobody added #2 to their pull list.
The Marvel line is UNBELIEVABLY bloated. I haven’t counted, but I think they’re publishing more Marvel Universe books now than even at the peak of the 90s, and if you include limited series and one shots, it’s just a ridiculous number of books every month. The average quality is probably higher than the 90s, though, to be fair.
Still, I think they need to consolidate of their own accord before things implode on their own.
“Another anniversary issue, as THOR adds up all its previous volumes and decides that it’s reached 600 issues. It’s a slightly dubious claim, since they’re counting all 502 issues of the original series, even though Thor’s strip didn’t begin until issue #83.”
The same argument can be made about CAPTAIN AMERICA and HULK, two other titles that will hit their 600th issues in the coming months. Cap’s book started with issue #100 and Hulk’s, with #102; taking over the numbering of TALES OF SUSPENSE and TALES TO ASTONISH, respectively. And, just as THOR’s numbering ignored the return of JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY during Heroes Reborn, HULK’s numbering will ignore the current INCREDIBLE HERCULES title that hijacked the Hulk’s previous series.
The only forthcoming anniversary renumbering that is, actually, legit is DAREDEVIL. Volume 1 ran 380 issues, issue #500 will happen with, what would have been, the 120th issue of Volume 2.
When about half your publishing line up has lost 25% or more of its sales in the last 6 months, that’s a pretty good sign you’re putting out too many darn books.
Mike
Well, to get the full picture, you’d also have to take account of new titles replacing old ones, most of which would result in improved sales.
“Well, to get the full picture, you’d also have to take account of new titles replacing old ones, most of which would result in improved sales.”
I’m not sure I understand your point. Among the books you list as being published by Marvel continuously for the past 6 months, about half have lost 25% or more of their sales in that time. I’m not sure how the cancellation of even lower selling titles and their replacement, usually, by books that start out with higher sales but fall fairly quickly, absent any sales-boosting gimmicks, affects my contention at all.
Mike
Marvel launched Secret Warriors, Black Panther & Agents Of Atlas at $4 offsetting the price with “Director’s Cut” extras (read: unnecessary crap). That seems an odd move to take as pricing a #1 more expensively only gives people another reason not to pick it up and therefore not collect the rest of the series.
Plus the numbers on those titles are not all that great given they were all tie-ins. You could even argue that Secret Warriors could be considered disappointing given it had Bendis’ name on the cover, numerous in-house previews and they weren’t exactly new characters. Even though they dropped the ball on them during Secret Invasion, there was enough of a background there.
Those Incognito numbers are excellent though, hopefully they will continue throughout the series.
A few quick points.
1. It seems that the gimmicks are SLOWLY (but not completely) loosing their effectiveness to boost sales on books. It looks like fans,dealers,and speculators are finally realizing that these gimmick issues aren’t worth the paper they are printed on.
2. IIRC, Obama has been appearing in the last few issues of THUNDERBOLTS, which is why (along with taking part in the whole DARK REIGN crap) sales are still up on the book.
3. The low sales on the non gimmick issues of MS. MARVEL and BLACK PANTHER has nothing to do with the writers of those books (even though Hudlin’s BP book, IMO, is not very good), but has everything to do with the characters in those books not being able to sustain/carry their own ongoing solo titles.
4. Good word of mouth MIGHT be the reason why CB&MI-13 had a sales boost, but I could be wrong.
5. The reason sales on HULK are falling is because (a) MOST people don’t like the dumb “Hulk smash” version of the character and (b) the gimmicks (the hype behind Red Hulk and variant covers) are loosing their effectiveness to boost sales on the book.
6. Notice how putting a high profile popular and critically acclaimed writer on UNCANNY X-MEN hasn’t stopped sales from falling like a rock on that series. I guess all of those internet fans who said if you fired Claremont off the book and put a “hot” modern writer on the book sales would rise, were wrong. I predict that sales on the newly relaunched EXILES series will also continue to fall (after the initial sales boost for the first issue due to the variant cover).
71k?? That can’t be right. Has UXM ever been that low in its history?? Is this its lowest number ever?
Something’s definitely going wrong with HULK’s numbers too, and I’m sure anti-Loeb people will have lots to say about that.
Comments on Wraith’s points:
1. Which gimmicks are you talking about? I can’t remember much from Marvel lately that was all gimmick and no substance (like some of those awful glow in the dark die cut chromium books of the 90s). The biggest gimmick of them all, the Obama Spidey issue, actually had a pretty good lead story in it (though the Obama story was a bit dodgy).
2. Didn’t a new creative team take over Thunderbolts around the same time as the Dark Reign stuff started? That could also have something to do with the uptick in sales.
3. Agreed that Hudlin’s Black Panther book has absolutely no reason to exist. I hate that Storm’s gotten mixed up in that mess. Heck, I hate that the Panther’s gotten mixed up in that mess, which is a pale shadow of the work that Priest did on the book. Ms. Marvel is OK, but seems to have lost its direction. It seemed like the writer had a bit of a plan in the first year, but it’s careened from one status quo to another since.
5. I don’t know that it’s the dumb Hulk that’s turning people off so much as it’s the dumb writer and dumb stories that’s turning people off. That and, as somebody said earlier, “blue balls” over stringing out Red Hulk’s identity. (It was a dumb idea to start with, and whoever it ends up being will almost certainly be a letdown.)
6. Uncanny’s probably better under Fraction than it would be under Claremont at this point (and I say that as a guy that grew up worshipping Claremont’s X-Men work and still hold that stuff in the highest esteem), but I wish the book and the line as a whole were tightened up. If things were more focused, with more happening in each issue and with events working toward some coherent story point, it would be a lot better. (Yes, Claremont had danglers galore and kind of meandered at time, but the book almost always gave the impression of some kind of direction and momentum when he was writing it, even if you didn’t know exactly where it was going.)
“But getting new folks in the stores is the first step. ”
“First step to what? keeping the medium in the superhero ghetto?”
Getting the medium *out* of the superhero ghetto.
If there are 10,000 people regularly visiting comic shops, you’re not going to be able to float *any* genre book, including superheroes.
If there are 10,000,000 people regularly visiting comic shops, you’re going to be able to float almost any genre book, from sword and sorcery to spies to, yes, superheroes.
It’s in everybody’s benefit to get more people in the door.
It’s been, what, three or four YEARS since Claremont’s last issue of Uncanny X-Men (in which time he’s sunk Exiles – which was an entirely consistent seller beforehand, even under Chuck Austen – and a second Excalibur series, having sunk one immediately beforehand)?
Odd choice to blame Uncanny’s current travails on replacing him, therefore. Book’s crap, granted, but putting Claremont-as-he-is-now on it would go precisely no way towards improving that.
Jerry:
1. The gimmicks I’m talking about are 1 in 10 or 1 in 25 variant covers that are designed to boost sales on a book by trying to get dealers to order a certain amount of copies of a comic in order to get one variant cover. Then there are the huge event crossovers and the mainstream media grabbing stunts like the death of Captain America,Spidey revealing his secret ID,and Obama guest starring in the comics.
2. Trust me, the new creative team on T-bolts had nothing to do with the sales increase on that series. It’s all about Obama,variant covers,and DARK REIGN.
3. Yep, by marrying Storm and BP, Hudlin (with the blessing of the incompetent Hollywood star struck Marvel editorial regime) single handedly ruined both Storm and BP.
5. IMO, no matter who is writing the book, dumb Hulk is a one note boring character and has been played out 30 years ago.
6. My point is/was that just because you put a more popular and/or critically acclaimed writer on a book DOES NOT mean that falling sales on said book will either rise or stop falling.
I agree that the current policy of launching everything with a four dollar issue and padding out the book with un-advertised “extras” is utterly wrongheaded. I have virtually zero interest in sketchbook material, and while this week’s SHE-HULK #1 at least ran a somewhat interesting creator interview, it was achingly apparent how much they’d had to stretch the text to fill the space. All this does is reinforce the impression of being gouged.
>When about half your publishing line up has lost 25% or more of its sales in the last 6 months, that’s a pretty good sign you’re putting out too many darn books.
“Marvel launched Secret Warriors, Black Panther & Agents Of Atlas at $4 offsetting the price with “Director’s Cut” extras (read: unnecessary crap).”
I didn’t read the other two, but at least in the case of Agents of Atlas, this is untrue. There was no “Director’s Cut” material in Agents #1, just a backup story (although admittedly, one that guest-starred Wolverine). And it was pretty good, too.
I would really like to know the answer to my question if anyone knows it.
Is 71k an all-history low for Uncanny X-Men?
Yes Samy, 71,000 is the lowest UXM has ever sold in it’s publishing history since the book was brought back with the all new all different X-Men.
This is incorrect:
“Trust me, the new creative team on T-bolts had nothing to do with the sales increase on that series. It’s all about Obama,variant covers,and DARK REIGN.”
I’m buying it for Andy Diggle (and to a lesser extent Eric O’Grady), so it’s not “all” about gimmicks. I can’t be the only one.
No you’re not the only one, but you are one of the FEW who are buying T-bolts because of the current creative team.