by Paul O’Brien
With Marvel refocussing on more issues of fewer titles, and with the next wave of new titles presumably not due until after AVENGERS VS X-MEN, it’s a pretty quiet month for new titles. The main new launch is WINTER SOLDIER, there’s the much-delayed return of THE TWELVE… and that’s pretty much it.
Normal service is resumed, as Marvel had the largest share of the direct market, leading DC by 39% to 35% in unit share, and 36% to 29% in dollars. Bear in mind, though, that February was a five week month and DC didn’t take advantage of that extra week to ship further material.
Thanks as always to ICV2.com for permission to use these figures.
11,12. UNCANNY X-MEN
02/07 #483 - 83,009
02/08 #495 - 90,410
02/09 #506 - 71,684
02/10 #521 - 67,049
=====
02/11 #533 - 53,834 ( -0.4%)
03/11 #534 - 55,731 ( +3.5%)
04/11 #.1 - 53,473 ( -4.1%)
04/11 #535 - 56,795 ( +6.2%)
04/11 #536 - 53,502 ( -5.8%)
05/11 #537 - 53,716 ( +0.4%)
06/11 #538 - 53,319 ( -0.7%)
06/11 #539 - 54,284 ( +1.8%)
07/11 #540 - 57,206 ( +5.4%)
07/11 #541 - 55,856 ( -2.4%)
08/11 #542 - 54,840 ( -1.8%)
09/11 #543 - 58,326 ( +6.4%)
10/11 #544 - 60,212 ( +3.2%)
11/11 #1 - 109,911 (+82.5%)
11/11 #2 - 72,485 (-34.1%)
12/11 #3 - 64,112 (-11.6%)
01/12 #4 - 63,175 ( -1.5%)
01/12 #5 - 63,477 ( +0.5%)
02/12 #6 - 59,834 ( -5.7%)
02/12 #7 - 59,200 ( -1.1%)
6 mnth ( +8.0%)
1 year (+10.0%)
2 year (-11.7%)
3 year (-17.4%)
4 year (-34.5%)
5 year (-28.7%)
Once again, UNCANNY X-MEN is Marvel’s top selling title for the month; once again, it ships two issues; and once again, neither of them makes the top 10. Sales are down a bit, following what seems to be a common pattern where retailers order both issues at similar levels even though they’re cutting orders month on month. The upcoming AVENGERS VS X-MEN crossover should help.
13,14. WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN 10/11 #1 - 99,611 11/11 #2 - 83,356 (-16.3%) 12/11 #3 - 58,438 (-29.9%) 01/12 #4 - 59,530 ( +1.9%) 02/12 #5 - 55,788 ( -6.3%) 02/12 #6 - 55,341 ( -0.8%)
Similar points here, really. The drop from January’s issue #4 to February’s issue #5 is probably more significant that the drop between issues #5-6. But it’s Marvel’s second-biggest title and the upcoming crossover can only help.
16,23. NEW AVENGERS
02/07 #27 - 130,531
02/08 #38 - 104,140
02/09 #50 - 106,831
02/10 #62 - 76,405
=====
01/11 #8 - 61,169 ( -9.8%)
02/11 #9 - 60,914 ( -0.4%)
03/11 #10 - 59,929 ( -1.6%)
04/11 #11 - 61,778 ( +3.1%)
05/11 #12 - 60,328 ( -2.3%)
06/11 #13 - 57,682 ( -4.4%)
07/11 #14 - 58,306 ( +1.1%)
08/11 #15 - 56,035 ( -3.9%)
09/11 #16 - 57,959 ( +3.4%)
09/11 #.1 - 51,506 (-11.1%)
10/11 #17 - 55,732 ( +8.2%)
11/11 #18 - 54,454 ( -2.3%)
12/11 #19 - 52,915 ( -2.8%)
01/12 #20 - 52,910 ( -0.0%)
02/12 #21 - 54,105 ( +2.3%)
02/12 #22 - 51,235 ( -5.3%)
6 mnth ( -8.6%)
1 year (-16.2%)
2 year (-32.9%)
3 year (-52.0%)
4 year (-50.8%)
5 year (-60.7%)
Two issues this month, and issue #21 has a variant cover. The overall trend remains steady.
17. AVENGERS: X-SANCTION 12/11 #1 of 4 - 96,550 01/12 #2 of 4 - 58,578 (-39.3%) 02/12 #3 of 4 - 53,730 ( -8.3%)
Solid numbers but not as spectacular as you’d have expected from something so heavily hyped.
19,21. AVENGERS
02/11 #10 - 63,924 ( -1.5%)
03/11 #11 - 66,618 ( +4.2%)
04/11 #12 - 63,441 ( -4.8%)
04/11 #.1 - 60,455 ( -4.7%)
05/11 #13 - 68,086 (+12.6%)
06/11 #14 - 64,057 ( -5.9%)
07/11 #15 - 62,580 (-17.9%)
08/11 #16 - 60,295 ( -3.7%)
09/11 #17 - 61,492 ( +2.0%)
10/11 #18 - 58,897 ( -4.2%)
11/11 #19 - 56,620 ( -3.9%)
12/11 #20 - 57,145 ( +0.9%)
01/12 #21 - 54,803 ( -4.1%)
02/12 #22 - 52,683 ( -3.9%)
02/12 #23 - 52,222 ( -0.9%)
6 mnth (-13.4%)
1 year (-18.3%)
The December and January issues had variant covers so the drop for February may be slightly exaggerated.
20,22,26. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
02/07 #538 - 142,956
02/08 #551 - 88,084
02/09 #587 - 60,118
02/10 #622 - 53,929
=====
02/11 #653 - 53,103 ( +2.0%)
02/11 #654 - 53,882 ( +1.5%)
02/11 #.1 - 55,283 ( +2.6%)
02/11 #655 - 53,366 ( -3.5%)
03/11 #656 - 59,626 ( +11.7%)
03/11 #657 - 58,704 ( -1.5%)
04/11 #658 - 61,687 ( +5.1%)
04/11 #659 - 58,258 ( -5.6%)
05/11 #660 - 58,249 ( -0.0%)
05/11 #661 - 59,087 ( +1.4%)
05/11 #662 - 55,883 ( -5.4%)
06/11 #663 - 57,040 ( +2.1%)
06/11 #664 - 54,808 ( -3.9%)
07/11 #665 - 56,948 ( +3.9%)
07/11 #666 - 135,568 (+138.1%)
08/11 #667 - 71,235 ( -47.5%)
08/11 #668 - 57,533 ( -19.2%)
09/11 #669 - 71,944 ( +25.0%)
09/11 #670 - 57,959 ( -19.4%)
10/11 #671 - 59,426 ( +2.5%)
10/11 #672 - 57,860 ( -2.6%)
11/11 #673 - 57,159 ( -1.2%)
11/11 #674 - 57,723 ( +1.0%)
12/11 #675 - 54,652 ( -5.3%)
12/11 #676 - 54,001 ( -1.2%)
01/12 #677 - 57,186 ( +5.9%)
01/12 #678 - 54,252 ( -5.1%)
02/12 #679 - 52,564 ( -3.1%)
02/12 #.1 - 50,624 ( -3.7%)
02/12 #680 - 51,872 ( +2.5%)
6 mnth ( -9.8%)
1 year ( -2.3%)
2 year ( -3.8%)
3 year ( -13.7%)
4 year ( -41.1%)
5 year ( -63.7%)
Three issues this month, thanks to a Point One issue (which, as usual trails in a bit behind the regular issues). It’s one of the book’s lower selling months, but AMAZING does tend to wander up and down from story to story, and the next major storyline is upcoming.
24,39. WINTER SOLDIER 02/12 #1 - 50,932 02/12 #2 - 41,164 (-19.2%)
This month’s only new ongoing title, shipping two issues, and naturally fortified with variant covers. The second-issue drop is pretty reasonable, and a 51K launch figure puts the book in very similar territory to last year’s CAPTAIN AMERICA & BUCKY (which launched with 51,187).
25,28. UNCANNY X-FORCE
02/08 #1 - 105,149
02/09 #12 - 51,449
02/10 #24 - 49,790
=====
02/11 #5 - 51,470 ( +0.2%)
03/11 #.1 - 50,732 ( -1.4%)
03/11 #6 - 51,248 ( -1.0%)
04/11 #7 - 54,292 ( +5.9%)
04/11 #8 - 50,908 ( -6.2%)
05/11 #9 - 51,726 ( +1.6%)
05/11 #10 - 50,676 ( -2.0%)
06/11 #11 - 53,199 ( +5.0%)
07/11 #12 - 55,413 ( +4.2%)
08/11 #13 - 53,904 ( -2.7%)
08/11 #14 - 50,770 ( -5.8%)
09/11 #15 - 53,771 ( +5.9%)
10/11 #16 - 52,398 ( -2.6%)
11/11 #17 - 50,974 ( -2.7%)
12/11 #18 - 54,274 ( +6.5%)
12/11 #19 - 55,333 ( +2.0%)
01/12 #.1 - 50,399 ( -8.9%)
01/12 #20 - 51,054 ( +1.3%)
02/12 #21 - 50,654 ( -0.8%)
02/12 #22 - 49,665 ( -2.0%)
6 mnth ( -2.2%)
1 year ( -3.5%)
2 year ( -0.3%)
3 year ( -3.5%)
4 year ( -52.8%)
Holding fairly steady.
33. AVENGING SPIDER-MAN 11/11 #1 - 112,153 12/11 #2 - 60,682 (-45.9%) 01/12 #3 - 52,371 (-13.7%) 02/12 #4 - 45,622 (-12.9%)
This is starting to have a whiff of freefall about it, but bear in mind that Marvel have also been dialling back the variant covers and incentives over the course of these four issues. Assuming those covers were making a difference in the first place, that ought to mean that the drops here are being exaggerated.
34. ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN
02/07 #105 - 74,376
02/08 #119 - 58,045
02/09 #131 - 49,565
02/10 #7 - 42,176
=====
02/11 #153 - 43,986 ( +31.4%)
02/11 #154 - 43,209 ( -1.8%)
03/11 #155 - 44,067 ( +2.0%)
03/11 #156 - 44,920 ( +1.9%)
04/11 #157 - 50,896 ( +13.3%)
05/11 #158 - 47,941 ( -5.8%)
06/11 #159 - 51,766 ( +8.0%)
06/11 #160 - 166,944 (+222.5%)
07/11 #1 of 6 - 49,084 ( -70.6%)
07/11 #2 of 6 - 45,371 ( -7.6%)
07/11 #3 of 6 - 44,492 ( -1.9%)
08/11 #4 of 6 - 96,815 (+117.6%)
08/11 #5 of 6 - 41,336 ( -57.3%)
08/11 #6 of 6 - 39,190 ( -5.2%)
09/11 #1 - 95,483 (+143.6%)
09/11 #2 - 58,672 ( -38.6%)
10/11 #3 - 52,521 ( -10.5%)
11/11 #4 - 51,558 ( -1.8%)
12/11 #5 - 48,308 ( -6.3%)
01/12 #6 - 49,840 ( +3.2%)
02/12 #7 - 45,266 ( -9.2%)
6 mnth ( +15.5%)
1 year ( +2.9%)
2 year ( +7.3%)
3 year ( -8.7%)
4 year ( -22.0%)
5 year ( -39.1%)
Last issue had a variant cover, hence the drop. The book is still seeing some benefit from the recent relaunch.
35. CAPTAIN AMERICA
02/07 ---
02/08 #35 - 86,038
02/09 #47 - 62,850
02/10 #603 - 63,568
=====
02/11 #615 - 41,935 ( -0.4%)
03/11 #.1 - 43,117 ( +2.8%)
03/11 #616 - 44,394 ( +3.0%)
04/11 #617 - 45,400 ( +2.3%)
05/11 #618 - 44,748 ( -1.4%)
06/11 #619 - 44,796 ( +0.1%)
07/11 #1 - 96,926 (+116.4%)
08/11 #2 - 54,384 ( -43.9%)
09/11 #3 - 54,413 ( +0.1%)
10/11 ---
11/11 #4 - 54,157 ( -0.5%)
12/11 #5 - 47,333 ( -12.6%)
12/11 #6 - 47,753 ( +0.9%)
01/12 #7 - 46,954 ( -1.7%)
02/12 #8 - 43,487 ( -7.4%)
6 mnth ( -20.0%)
1 year ( +3.7%)
2 year ( -31.6%)
3 year ( -30.8%)
4 year ( -49.5%)
5 year ( --- )
The previous two issues both had variant covers, hence the sharper than usual drop.
36. INCREDIBLE HULK
02/07 #103 - 46,690
02/08 #2 - 93,725
02/09 #10 - 77,217
02/10 #607 - 45,870
=====
02/11 #622 - 30,404 ( -1.8%)
02/11 #623 - 30,140 ( -0.9%)
03/11 #624 - 32,066 ( +6.4%)
03/11 #625 - 29,792 ( -7.1%)
04/11 #626 - 29,782 ( -0.0%)
04/11 #627 - 30,788 ( +3.3%)
05/11 #628 - 28,822 ( -6.4%)
05/11 #629 - 28,103 ( -2.5%)
06/11 #630 - 28,028 ( -0.3%)
06/11 #631 - 27,456 ( -2.0%)
07/11 #632 - 28,518 ( +3.9%)
07/11 #633 - 27,216 ( -4.6%)
08/11 #634 - 27,310 ( +0.3%)
08/11 #635 - 38,223 ( +40.0%)
09/11 ---
10/11 #1 - 106,472 (+178.6%)
11/11 #2 - 80,143 ( -24.7%)
12/11 #3 - 46,446 ( -42.0%)
01/12 #4 - 45,876 ( -1.2%)
02/12 #5 - 42,760 ( -6.8%)
6 mnth ( +11.9%)
1 year ( +40.6%)
2 year ( -6.8%)
3 year ( -44.6%)
4 year ( -54.4%)
5 year ( -8.4%)
Another book coming off a variant cover on the previous issue. Sales remain way up from the relaunch.
37. FANTASTIC FOUR
02/07 ---
02/08 #554 - 92,654
02/09 #564 - 49,520
02/10 #576 - 37,526
=====
02/11 #588 - 68,153 (-52.7%)
03/11 #1 - 121,172 (+77.8%)
04/11 #2 - 72,897 (-39.8%)
05/11 #3 - 66,885 ( -8.2%)
05/11 #4 - 60,571 ( -9.4%)
06/11 #5 - 58,925 ( -2.7%)
07/11 #6 - 55,601 ( -5.6%)
07/11 #7 - 54,022 ( -2.8%)
08/11 #8 - 51,917 ( -0.2%)
09/11 #9 - 53,091 ( +2.3%)
10/11 #10 - 49,642 ( -6.5%)
10/11 #11 - 48,433 ( -2.4%)
11/11 #600 - 73,809 (+52.4%)
12/11 #601 - 51,080 (-30.8%)
01/12 #602 - 45,131 (-11.6%)
02/12 #603 - 42,419 ( -6.0%)
6 mnth (-18.3%)
1 year (-37.8%)
2 year (+13.0%)
3 year (-14.3%)
4 year (-54.2%)
5 year ( --- )
We’ve now returned to the trend that was underway before the renumbering.
40. FF
03/11 #1 - 121,172
04/11 #2 - 72,897 (-39.8%)
05/11 #3 - 66,885 ( -8.2%)
05/11 #4 - 60,571 ( -9.4%)
06/11 #5 - 58,925 ( -2.7%)
07/11 #6 - 55,601 ( -5.6%)
07/11 #7 - 54,022 ( -2.8%)
08/11 #8 - 51,917 ( -0.2%)
09/11 #9 - 53,091 ( +2.3%)
10/11 #10 - 49,642 ( -6.5%)
10/11 #11 - 48,433 ( -2.4%)
11/11 #12 - 49,449 ( +2.1%)
12/11 #13 - 44,970 ( -9.1%)
01/12 #14 - 42,609 ( -5.3%)
02/12 #15 - 40,583 ( -4.8%)
6 mnth (-21.8%)
Still finding its level after being spun off into a separate own title. But it’s also respectably close to the parent title, which is impressive considering that FANTASTIC FOUR hasn’t got a track record of sustaining spin-off titles.
41,46. SECRET AVENGERS
02/11 #10 - 49,717 ( -2.0%)
03/11 #11 - 51,353 ( +3.3%)
04/11 #12 - 50,641 (-13.9%)
04/11 #.1 - 46,161 ( -8.8%)
05/11 #13 - 51,936 (+12.5%)
06/11 #14 - 49,898 ( -3.9%)
07/11 #15 - 46,712 ( -6.4%)
08/11 #16 - 46,317 ( -0.8%)
09/11 #17 - 44,890 ( -3.1%)
10/11 #18 - 43,280 ( -3.6%)
11/11 #19 - 41,191 ( -4.8%)
12/11 #20 - 38,202 ( -7.3%)
01/12 #21 - 38,082 ( -0.3%)
01/12 #.1 - 35,320 ( -7.3%)
02/12 #22 - 39,337 (+11.4%)
02/12 #23 - 37,140 ( -5.6%)
6 mnth (-19.8%)
1 year (-25.3%)
Issue #22 has a variant cover. The previous issue was a Point One, but factor that out and the book’s looking pretty stable.
43. WOLVERINE
02/07 #51 - 97,181
02/08 #62 - 64,197
02/09 ---
02/10 #10 - 30,132
=====
02/11 #.1 - 44,332 ( -5.5%)
02/11 #6 - 45,932 ( +3.6%)
03/11 #7 - 47,337 ( +3.1%)
04/11 #8 - 47,010 ( -0.7%)
05/11 #9 - 44,635 ( -5.1%)
06/11 #10 - 42,677 ( -4.4%)
06/11 #11 - 41,813 ( -2.0%)
07/11 #12 - 42,110 ( +0.7%)
08/11 #13 - 39,296 ( -0.7%)
08/11 #14 - 38,869 ( -0.1%)
09/11 #15 - 37,951 ( -2.4%)
09/11 #16 - 37,796 ( -0.4%)
10/11 #17 - 39,405 ( +4.3%)
11/11 #18 - 40,170 ( +1.9%)
11/11 #19 - 37,997 ( -5.4%)
12/11 #20 - 37,360 ( -1.7%)
01/12 #300 - 58,681 (+57.1%)
02/12 #301 - 38,891 (-33.7%)
6 mnth ( +0.1%)
1 year (-12.3%)
2 year (+29.1%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year (-39.4%)
5 year (-60.0%)
Straight back to previous sales levels following the renumbering, which is pretty much par for the course.
44. DAREDEVIL
02/07 #94 - 46,773
02/08 #105 - 42,098
02/09 ---
02/10 #505 - 38,693
=====
02/11 #2 of 4 - 29,108 ( -15.2%)
03/11 #3 of 4 - 27,231 ( -6.4%)
04/11 ---
05/11 #4 of 4 - 26,179 ( -3.9%)
06/11 ---
07/11 #1 - 64,866 (+147.8%)
08/11 #2 - 40,990 ( -36.8%)
09/11 #3 - 39,477 ( -3.7%)
09/11 #4 - 40,311 ( +2.1%)
10/11 #5 - 39,413 ( -2.2%)
11/11 #6 - 38,302 ( -2.8%)
12/11 #7 - 38,824 ( +1.4%)
01/12 #8 - 43,494 ( +12.0%)
02/12 #9 - 37,891 ( -12.9%)
6 mnth ( -7.6%)
1 year ( +30.2%)
2 year ( -2.1%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year ( -10.0%)
5 year ( -19.0%)
Back to regular sales after last month’s crossover.
47,48. X-MEN
02/11 #8 - 49,522 (-23.4%)
03/11 #9 - 51,179 ( +3.3%)
04/11 #10 - 50,553 ( -1.2%)
05/11 #11 - 46,519 ( -8.0%)
06/11 #12 - 45,786 ( -1.6%)
06/11 #13 - 44,665 ( -2.4%)
07/11 #14 - 45,150 ( +1.1%)
07/11 #15 - 43,038 ( -4.7%)
08/11 #.1 - 38,078 (-11.5%)
08/11 #16 - 43,161 (+13.3%)
09/11 #17 - 43,200 ( +0.1%)
09/11 #18 - 42,066 ( -2.6%)
10/11 #19 - 40,906 ( -2.8%)
11/11 #20 - 43,515 ( +6.4%)
11/11 #21 - 39,919 ( -8.3%)
12/11 #22 - 39,121 ( -2.0%)
01/12 #23 - 38,719 ( -1.0%)
02/12 #24 - 36,906 ( -4.7%)
02/12 #25 - 36,488 ( -1.1%)
6 mnth (-15.5%)
1 year (-26.3%)
Again, the previous month’s issue had a variant cover, so the January to February drop is slightly exaggerated.
49. X-MEN LEGACY
02/07 #196 - 75,707
02/08 #208 - 88,132
02/09 #221 - 56,517
02/10 #233 - 51,344
=====
02/11 #245 - 57,203 (+42.3%)
03/11 #246 - 47,893 (-16.3%)
04/11 #247 - 51,970 ( +8.5%)
05/11 #248 - 46,083 (-11.3%)
05/11 #249 - 45,063 ( -2.2%)
06/11 #250 - 45,070 ( +0.0%)
06/11 #251 - 43,479 ( -3.5%)
07/11 #252 - 41,365 ( -4.9%)
08/11 #253 - 40,466 ( -2.2%)
08/11 #254 - 39,896 ( -1.4%)
09/11 #255 - 39,284 ( -1.5%)
09/11 #256 - 38,680 ( -1.5%)
10/11 #257 - 38,070 ( -1.6%)
11/11 #258 - 38,334 ( +0.7%)
11/11 #259 - 41,967 ( +9.5%)
12/11 #260 - 37,946 ( -9.6%)
01/12 #.1 - 37,160 ( -2.1%)
01/12 #261 - 37,577 ( +1.1%)
02/12 #262 - 36,461 ( -3.0%)
6 mnth ( -8.6%)
1 year (-36.3%)
2 year (-29.0%)
3 year (-35.5%)
4 year (-58.6%)
5 year (-51.8%)
Considering that issue #261 had a variant, these are very steady sales.
50,73. DEADPOOL
02/09 #7 - 44,082
02/10 #19 - 44,580
=====
02/11 #33 - 28,649 ( -1.7%)
03/11 #.1 - 28,979 ( +1.2%)
03/11 #34 - 30,299 ( +4.6%)
04/11 #35 - 28,517 ( -5.9%)
04/11 #36 - 28,173 ( -1.2%)
05/11 #37 - 28,002 ( -0.6%)
06/11 #38 - 27,809 ( -0.7%)
06/11 #39 - 28,400 ( +2.1%)
07/11 #40 - 27,303 ( -3.9%)
08/11 #41 - 26,766 ( -2.0%)
08/11 #42 - 26,794 ( +0.1%)
09/11 #43 - 26,643 ( -0.6%)
10/11 #44 - 26,678 ( +0.1%)
10/11 #45 - 27,552 ( +3.3%)
11/11 #46 - 26,260 ( -4.7%)
12/11 #47 - 25,910 ( -1.3%)
12/11 #48 - 25,458 ( -1.7%)
01/12 #49 - 24,783* ( -2.7%)
01/12 #.1 - 24,783* ( --- )
02/12 #50 - 36,392 (+46.8%)
02/12 #51 - 27,458 (-24.5%)
6 mnth ( +2.5%)
1 year ( -4.2%)
2 year (-38.4%)
3 year (-37.7%)
You’ll recall that January’s two issues were mistakenly combined on the chart, so I divided the figure in half as a best guess. Issue #50 is an anniversary issue with two variants and was fairly heavily promoted; as usual, sales quickly return to normal with issue #51.
52. MIGHTY THOR
02/07 ---
02/08 #6 - 98,315
02/09 #600 - 96,718
02/10 #607 - 66,973
=====
02/11 #620 - 42,106 ( -1.8%)
03/11 #.1 - 41,605 ( -1.2%)
03/11 #621 - 42,104 ( +1.2%)
04/11 #1 - 82,071 (+94.9%)
05/11 #2 - 50,473 (-38.5%)
06/11 #3 - 48,114 ( -4.7%)
07/11 #4 - 44,586 ( -7.3%)
08/11 #5 - 44,594 ( +0.0%)
09/11 #6 - 45,231 ( +1.4%)
10/11 #7 - 44,017 ( -2.7%)
11/11 #8 - 40,703 ( -7.5%)
12/11 #9 - 38,000 ( -6.6%)
01/12 #10 - 37,577 ( -1.1%)
02/12 #11 - 35,066 ( -6.7%)
6 mnth (-21.4%)
1 year (-16.7%)
2 year (-47.6%)
3 year (-63.7%)
4 year (-64.3%)
5 year ( --- )
Continuing its gentle decline. Again, there was a variant cover last month which presumably makes this month’s drop appear a little steeper.
56. WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN: ALPHA & OMEGA 01/12 #1 of 5 - 40,340 02/12 #2 of 5 - 34,286 (-15.0%)
That’s a fairly reasonable drop.
57. ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES
02/07 ---
02/08 #3 of 5 - 97,210
02/09 ---
02/10 ---
=====
02/11 #5 of 5 - 38,663 ( -9.8%)
02/11 #1 of 6 - 49,360 (+47.5%)
03/11 #2 of 6 - 44,116 (-10.6%)
04/11 #3 of 6 - 43,822 ( -0.7%)
05/11 #4 of 6 - 43,707 ( -0.3%)
06/11 #5 of 6 - 42,803 ( -2.1%)
07/11 #6 of 6 - 42,760 ( -0.1%)
08/11 #1 - 58,522 (+36.9%)
09/11 #2 - 42,728 (-27.0%)
10/11 #3 - 40,792 ( -4.5%)
11/11 #4 - 39,342 ( -3.6%)
12/11 #5 - 36,396 ( -7.5%)
01/12 #6 - 34,865 ( -4.2%)
02/12 #7 - 33,863 ( -2.9%)
6 mnth (-42.1%)
1 year (-12.4%)
2 year ( --- )
3 year ( --- )
4 year (-65.2%)
5 year ( --- )
Seems to be levelling out slowly.
58. SCARLET SPIDER 01/12 #1 - 53,410 02/12 #2 - 33,794 (-36.7%)
The first issue had multiple variants, so a steep drop on issue #2 was always to be expected. The bigger question is what happens on the March chart.
60. DEFENDERS 12/11 #1 - 85,969 01/12 #2 - 38,935 (-54.7%) 02/12 #3 - 33,548 (-13.8%)
Another book which is scaling back the variant covers as it goes on – issue #1 had 1:10, 1:25, 1:50 and 1:200 covers, issue #2 had 1:25 and 1:50s as well as the “I am a Defender” variant, and issue #3 just had a 1:25 plus the “I am a Defender”. The effect of scaling back those variants should presumably be magnifying the book’s underlying drop – it remains to be seen where the title will actually end up once the initial promotional push wears off.
61,72,75,76,78. VENOM
03/11 #1 - 58,936
04/11 #2 - 41,006 (-30.4%)
05/11 #3 - 40,634 ( -0.9%)
06/11 #4 - 38,946 ( -4.2%)
07/11 #5 - 35,102 ( -9.9%)
08/11 #6 - 35,033 ( -0.2%)
09/11 #7 - 33,130 ( -5.4%)
10/11 #8 - 32,266 ( -2.6%)
11/11 #9 - 32,506 ( +0.7%)
12/11 #10 - 29,465 ( -9.4%)
12/11 #11 - 28,658 ( -2.7%)
01/12 #12 - 28,728 ( +0.2%)
02/12 #13 - 33,174 (+15.5%)
02/12 #.1 - 27,520 (-17.0%)
02/12 #.2 - 27,155 ( -1.3%)
02/12 #.3 - 26,969 ( -0.7%)
02/12 #.4 - 27,135 ( +0.6%)
6 mnth (-22.5%)
Five issues this month, with the book shipping weekly in a sort of self-contained crossover with guest stars X-23, Ghost Rider and Red Hulk. Two of those guest stars have recently had their books cancelled, which might explain why the story is appearing in this form.
62. INVINCIBLE IRON MAN
02/07 #15 - 60,662
02/08 #26 - 36,607
02/09 #10 - 51,649
02/10 #23 - 50,027
=====
02/11 #.1 - 42,191 (-22.1%)
02/11 #501 - 41,517 ( -1.6%)
03/11 #502 - 43,899 ( +5.7%)
04/11 #503 - 45,314 ( +3.2%)
05/11 #504 - 44,791 ( -1.2%)
06/11 #505 - 42,327 ( -5.5%)
07/11 #506 - 41,052 ( -3.0%)
08/11 #507 - 40,082 ( -2.4%)
09/11 #508 - 41,295 ( +3.0%)
10/11 #509 - 38,721 ( -6.2%)
11/11 #510 - 38,118 ( -1.6%)
12/11 #511 - 35,402 ( -7.1%)
01/12 #512 - 35,159 ( -0.7%)
02/12 #513 - 32,748 ( -6.9%)
6 mnth (-18.3%)
1 year (-22.4%)
2 year (-34.5%)
3 year (-36.6%)
4 year (-10.5%)
5 year (-46.0%)
Coming off a variant cover in January, so the downward trend is probably smoother than it looks. Nonetheless, this book has clearly been shedding readers over the last year or so.
64,66. ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN
02/11 ---
03/11 #4 - 37,631 (-15.6%)
04/11 ---
05/11 ---
06/11 #5 - 34,730 ( -7.7%)
07/11 ---
08/11 ---
09/11 #1 - 67,625 (+94.7%)
10/11 #2 - 44,399 (-34.3%)
11/11 #3 - 39,657 (-10.7%)
12/11 #4 - 37,115 ( -6.4%)
12/11 #5 - 35,153 ( -5.3%)
01/12 #6 - 33,975 ( -3.4%)
02/12 #7 - 32,353 ( -4.8%)
02/12 #8 - 30,822 ( -4.7%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year ( --- )
Issue #7 has a 1:25 variant cover, not that you’d know.
67. ASTONISHING X-MEN
02/07 #20 - 119,736
02/08 ---
02/09 ---
02/10 ---
=====
02/11 #36 - 44,326 (-12.2%)
03/11 ---
04/11 ---
05/11 #37 - 38,513 (-13.1%)
05/11 #38 - 37,580 ( -2.4%)
06/11 #39 - 37,127 ( -1.2%)
07/11 #40 - 35,593 ( -4.1%)
08/11 #41 - 33,470 ( -6.0%)
09/11 #42 - 32,700 ( -2.3%)
10/11 #43 - 32,620 ( -0.2%)
11/11 #44 - 32,729 ( +0.3%)
12/11 #45 - 31,392 ( -4.1%)
01/12 #46 - 31,134 ( -0.8%)
02/12 #47 - 30,490 ( -2.1%)
6 mnth ( -8.9%)
1 year (-31.2%)
2 year ( --- )
3 year ( --- )
4 year ( --- )
5 year (-74.5%)
Gentle downward drift.
70. CARNAGE, U.S.A. 12/11 #1 of 5 - 37,620 01/12 #2 of 5 - 30,378 (-19.3%) 02/12 #3 of 5 - 28,272 ( -6.9%)
Levelling out reasonably enough.
80. CAPTAIN AMERICA AND…
07/11 #620 - 51,187
08/11 #621 - 36,069 (-29.5%)
09/11 #622 - 34,096 ( -5.5%)
10/11 #623 - 32,041 ( -6.0%)
11/11 #624 - 30,472 ( -4.9%)
12/11 #625 - 28,652 ( -6.0%)
01/12 #626 - 27,632 ( -3.6%)
02/12 #627 - 26,276 ( -4.9%)
6 mnth (-27.2%)
Still drifting downward. A revamp as a Captain America team-up book is imminent.
82,83. FEAR ITSELF: THE FEARLESS 10/11 #1 of 12 - 59,464 11/11 #2 of 12 - 57,794 ( -2.8%) 11/11 #3 of 12 - 36,044 (-37.6%) 12/11 #4 of 12 - 31,491 (-12.6%) 12/11 #5 of 12 - 29,343 ( -6.8%) 01/12 #6 of 12 - 26,700 ( -9.0%) 01/12 #7 of 12 - 26,167 ( -2.0%) 02/12 #8 of 12 - 24,394 ( -6.8%) 02/12 #9 of 12 - 24,423 ( +0.1%)
The overall trend remains down, but for some reason issue #9 actually goes back up, if only marginally. I honestly have no idea why.
Issue #1 from last October re-appears on the chart at number 271, with an estimated 5,459 copies. This is presumably a case of Marvel dumping copies on the market, rather than a sudden resurgence of interest, and so I haven’t added them to the totals above.
84,85. X-FACTOR
02/07 #16 - 38,240
02/08 #28 - 56,572
02/09 #40 - 31,943
02/10 #202 - 30,981
=====
02/11 #215 - 25,298 ( +0.7%)
03/11 #216 - 25,256 ( -0.2%)
03/11 #217 - 25,125 ( -0.5%)
04/11 #218 - 24,826 ( -1.2%)
05/11 #219 - 24,766 ( -0.2%)
06/11 #220 - 24,926 ( +0.6%)
06/11 #221 - 24,502 ( -1.7%)
07/11 #222 - 24,794 ( +1.2%)
08/11 #223 - 23,854 ( -3.8%)
08/11 #224 - 23,681 ( -0.7%)
09/11 #.1 - 23,220 ( -1.9%)
09/11 #225 - 23,507 ( +1.2%)
10/11 #226 - 23,569 ( +0.3%)
11/11 #227 - 23,742 ( +0.7%)
12/11 #228 - 23,461 ( -1.2%)
12/11 #229 - 23,667 ( +0.9%)
01/12 #230 - 25,707 ( +8.6%)
02/12 #231 - 24,362 ( -5.2%)
02/12 #232 - 24,173 ( -0.8%)
6 mnth ( +2.1%)
1 year ( -4.4%)
2 year (-22.0%)
3 year (-24.3%)
4 year (-57.3%)
5 year (-36.8%)
88,89. NEW MUTANTS
02/10 #10 - 30,807
=====
02/11 #22 - 41,236 (+73.5%)
03/11 #23 - 37,659 ( -8.7%)
04/11 #24 - 38,701 ( +2.8%)
05/11 #25 - 34,724 (-10.3%)
06/11 #26 - 27,848 (-19.7%)
07/11 #27 - 27,963 ( +0.4%)
07/11 #28 - 26,130 ( -6.6%)
08/11 #29 - 27,205 ( -4.1%)
08/11 #30 - 26,678 ( -1.9%)
09/11 #31 - 25,672 ( -3.8%)
10/11 #32 - 25,364 ( -1.2%)
11/11 #33 - 28,665 (+13.0%)
11/11 #34 - 25,847 ( -9.8%)
12/11 #35 - 25,564 ( -1.1%)
01/12 #36 - 23,891 ( -6.5%)
02/12 #37 - 23,262 ( -2.6%)
02/12 #38 - 22,656 ( -2.6%)
6 mnth (-15.1%)
1 year (-45.1%)
2 year (-26.5%)
Two of the lower-tier X-books, both on the familiar slow drift down.
90. PUNISHER
02/07 #4 - 52,961
02/08 #16 - 32,508
02/09 #2 - 40,928
02/10 #14 - 23,455
=====
02/11 #4 of 5 - 14,861 ( -2.9%)
03/11 #5 of 5 - 14,468 ( -2.6%)
04/11 ---
05/11 ---
06/11 ---
07/11 ---
08/11 #1 - 44,725 (+209.1%)
08/11 #2 - 42,459 ( -5.1%)
09/11 #3 - 26,802 ( -36.9%)
10/11 #4 - 25,847 ( -3.6%)
11/11 #5 - 25,399 ( -1.7%)
12/11 #6 - 23,971 ( -5.6%)
01/12 #7 - 22,908 ( -4.4%)
02/12 #8 - 22,488 ( -1.8%)
6 mnth ( -47.0%)
1 year ( +51.3%)
2 year ( -4.1%)
3 year ( -45.1%)
4 year ( -30.8%)
5 year ( -57.5%)
Seems to be levelling out. The upcoming Omega Effect crossover may help.
91. JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY
04/11 #622 - 43,925
05/11 #623 - 39,003 (-11.2%)
06/11 #624 - 35,834 ( -8.1%)
07/11 #625 - 33,781 ( -5.7%)
08/11 #626 - 31,549 ( -6.6%)
08/11 #.1 - 27,877 (-11.6%)
09/11 #627 - 29,678 ( +6.5%)
09/11 #628 - 28,843 ( -2.8%)
10/11 #629 - 28,054 ( -2.7%)
10/11 #630 - 27,701 ( -1.3%)
11/11 #631 - 27,161 ( -1.9%)
12/11 #632 - 24,159 (-11.0%)
01/12 #633 - 23,869 ( -1.2%)
02/12 #634 - 22,323 ( -6.5%)
6 mnth (-29.2%)
Once again, the January issue had a variant cover, so the actual trend is probably smoother.
93. MOON KNIGHT
02/07 ---
02/08 #15 - 31,553
02/09 #27 - 21,413
02/10 #5 - 19,733
=====
02/11 ---
03/11 ---
04/11 ---
05/11 #1 - 49,018 (+167.6%)
06/11 #2 - 35,333 ( -27.9%)
07/11 #3 - 33,781 ( -4.4%)
08/11 #4 - 30,237 ( -10.5%)
09/11 #5 - 28,423 ( -6.0%)
10/11 #6 - 27,493 ( -3.3%)
11/11 #7 - 27,062 ( -1.6%)
12/11 #8 - 24,626 ( -9.0%)
01/12 #9 - 22,872 ( -7.1%)
02/12 #10 - 21,986 ( -3.9%)
6 mnth ( -27.3%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( +11.4%)
3 year ( +2.7%)
4 year ( -30.3%)
5 year ( --- )
Cancelled with issue #12.
94,96. AVENGERS ACADEMY
02/11 #9 - 23,709 ( -1.3%)
03/11 #10 - 23,708 ( -0.0%)
03/11 #11 - 23,636 ( -0.3%)
04/11 #12 - 23,578 ( -0.2%)
05/11 #13 - 24,840 ( +5.4%)
05/11 #14 - 23,537 ( -5.2%)
06/11 #.1 - 23,499 ( -0.2%)
06/11 #15 - 26,378 (+12.3%)
07/11 #16 - 25,379 ( -3.8%)
08/11 #17 - 24,898 ( -1.9%)
08/11 #18 - 24,538 ( -1.4%)
09/11 #19 - 23,928 ( -2.5%)
10/11 #20 - 23,412 ( -2.2%)
11/11 #21 - 22,713 ( -3.0%)
11/11 #22 - 22,531 ( -0.8%)
12/11 #23 - 22,422 ( -0.5%)
01/12 #24 - 21,857 ( -2.5%)
02/12 #25 - 21,963 ( +0.5%)
02/12 #26 - 21,633 ( -1.5%)
6 mnth (-11.8%)
1 year ( -8.8%)
Two issues this month, and sales seems to be levelling out a little.
95. HULK
02/08 #2 - 93,725
02/09 #10 - 77,217
02/10 #20 - 51,962
=====
02/11 #29 - 33,375 ( -4.0%)
02/11 #30 - 32,907 ( -1.4%)
03/11 #.1 - 32,163 ( -2.3%)
03/11 #31 - 31,368 ( -2.5%)
04/11 #32 - 30,652 ( -2.3%)
05/11 #33 - 32,273 ( +5.3%)
06/11 #34 - 29,391 ( -8.9%)
06/11 #35 - 28,539 ( -2.9%)
07/11 #36 - 28,651 ( +0.4%)
07/11 #37 - 30,318 ( +5.8%)
08/11 #38 - 29,059 ( -4.2%)
08/11 #39 - 26,895 ( -7.4%)
09/11 #40 - 26,591 ( -1.1%)
09/11 #41 - 26,084 ( -1.9%)
10/11 #42 - 27,025 ( +3.6%)
10/11 #43 - 25,514 ( -5.6%)
11/11 #44 - 24,596 ( -3.6%)
12/11 #45 - 23,273 ( -5.4%)
12/11 #46 - 22,974 ( -1.3%)
01/12 #47 - 22,720 ( -1.1%)
02/12 #48 - 21,751 ( -4.3%)
6 mnth (-19.1%)
1 year (-34.8%)
2 year (-58.1%)
3 year (-71.8%)
4 year (-76.8%)
More gentle drift. There’s something of a push coming up for issue #50.
101. THUNDERBOLTS
02/07 #111 - 62,791
02/08 ---
02/09 #129 - 45,401
02/10 #141 - 33,948 (+18.5%)
=====
02/11 #153 - 26,098 ( -1.6%)
03/11 #154 - 25,455 ( -2.5%)
03/11 #155 - 26,710 ( +4.9%)
04/11 #156 - 25,117 ( -6.0%)
05/11 #157 - 25,063 ( -0.2%)
06/11 #158 - 28,422 (+13.4%)
06/11 #159 - 27,463 ( -3.4%)
07/11 #160 - 27,810 ( +1.3%)
08/11 #161 - 26,439 ( -4.9%)
08/11 #162 - 25,990 ( -1.7%)
09/11 #163 - 24,199 ( -6.9%)
09/11 #.1 - 22,596 ( -6.6%)
10/11 #164 - 23,712 ( +4.9%)
11/11 #165 - 22,536 ( -5.0%)
11/11 #166 - 22,680 ( +0.6%)
12/11 #167 - 21,167 ( -6.7%)
01/12 #168 - 20,585 ( -2.7%)
01/12 #169 - 20,316 ( -1.3%)
02/12 #170 - 19,505 ( -4.0%)
6 mnth (-25.0%)
1 year (-25.3%)
2 year (-42.5%)
3 year (-57.0%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year (-68.9%)
Not great numbers, but it’s about to be relaunched as DARK AVENGERS, which is bound to help.
And from here on, we enter the cancelled titles wrapping up their runs, the low-selling minis that probably wouldn’t have been commissioned under Marvel’s current policies, and the adaptations. (X-23 and Ghost Rider both skipped February, presumably to allow further time for their wrap-up issue.) I’ll chip in where there’s something to add.
109. GENERATION HOPE
02/11 #4 - 22,170 ( -8.0%)
03/11 #5 - 21,290 ( -4.0%)
04/11 #6 - 20,376 ( -4.3%)
05/11 #7 - 20,375 ( -0.0%)
06/11 #8 - 18,883 ( -7.3%)
07/11 #9 - 18,135 ( -4.0%)
08/11 #10 - 29,245 (+61.3%)
09/11 #11 - 20,243 (-30.8%)
10/11 #12 - 18,424 ( -9.0%)
11/11 #13 - 21,317 (+15.7%)
12/11 #14 - 19,234 ( -9.8%)
01/12 #15 - 18,878 ( -1.9%)
02/12 #16 - 18,310 ( -3.0%)
6 mnth (-37.4%)
1 year (-17.4%)
Cancelled with issue #17.
114. MAGNETO: NOT A HERO 11/11 #1 of 4 - 21,543 12/11 #2 of 4 - 19,262 (-10.6%) 01/12 #3 of 4 - 18,804 ( -2.4%) 02/12 #4 of 4 - 17,852 ( -5.1%)
115. PUNISHERMAX [Max]
02/07 #44 - 32,951
02/08 ---
02/09 #67 - 22,267
02/10 #4 - 22,472
=====
02/11 #10 - 19,236 (-10.3%)
03/11 #11 - 19,243 ( +0.0%)
04/11 #12 - 18,740 ( -2.6%)
05/11 #13 - 18,448 ( -1.6%)
06/11 #14 - 17,965 ( -2.6%)
07/11 #15 - 17,706 ( -1.4%)
08/11 #16 - 17,625 ( -0.5%)
09/11 #17 - 17,540 ( -0.5%)
10/11 #18 - 17,541 ( +0.0%)
11/11 #19 - 17,473 ( -0.4%)
12/11 #20 - 17,191 ( -1.6%)
01/12 #21 - 17,267 ( +0.4%)
02/12 #22 - 17,738 ( -2.7%)
6 mnth ( +0.6%)
1 year ( -7.8%)
2 year (-21.1%)
3 year (-20.3%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year (-46.2%)
Final issue.
120. BATTLE SCARS
11/11 #1 of 6 - 32,222
12/11 #2 of 6 - 21,702 (-32.6%)
01/12 #3 of 6 - 18,102 (-16.6%)
02/12 #4 of 6 - 16,753 ( -7.5%)
123. DAKEN: DARK WOLVERINE
02/10 #83 - 53,958
=====
02/11 #5 - 28,833 ( -6.2%)
03/11 #6 - 27,486 ( -4.7%)
03/11 #7 - 27,224 ( -1.0%)
04/11 #8 - 26,925 ( -1.1%)
05/11 #9 - 26,294 ( -2.3%)
05/11 #.1 - 24,599 ( -6.4%)
06/11 #10 - 24,724 ( +0.5%)
07/11 #11 - 23,207 ( -6.1%)
08/11 #12 - 21,734 ( -6.3%)
08/11 #13 - 21,302 ( -2.0%)
09/11 #14 - 20,460 ( -4.0%)
10/11 #15 - 19,759 ( -3.4%)
10/11 #16 - 19,472 ( -1.5%)
11/11 #17 - 18,794 ( -3.5%)
12/11 #18 - 17,806 ( -5.3%)
01/12 #19 - 17,253 ( -3.1%)
01/12 #20 - 16,728 ( -3.0%)
02/12 #21 - 16,538 ( -1.1%)
6 mnth (-22.4%)
1 year (-42.6%)
2 year (-69.4%)
Cancelled with issue #23.
135. DARK TOWER: WAY STATION
02/07 Gunslinger #1 - 175,214
02/08 ---
02/09 Treachery #6 - 48,127
02/10 Jericho Hill #3 - 27,215
=====
02/11 Little Sisters #3 - 17,748 ( -4.5%)
03/11 #4 of 5 - 17,490 ( -1.5%)
04/11 #5 of 5 - 17,283 ( -1.2%)
05/11 ---
06/11 Tull #1 of 5 - 17,667 ( +2.2%)
07/11 #2 of 5 - 16,888 ( -4.4%)
08/11 #3 of 5 - 16,337 ( -3.3%)
09/11 #4 of 5 - 15,788 ( -3.4%)
10/11 #5 of 5 - 15,613 ( -1.1%)
11/11 ---
12/11 Way Station #1 - 15,367 ( -1.6%)
01/12 #2 of 5 - 14,827 ( -3.5%)
02/12 #3 of 5 - 14,302 ( -3.5%)
6 mnth (-12.5%)
1 year (-19.4%)
2 year (-47.4%)
3 year (-70.3%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year (-91.8%)
139,147. TWELVE
12/07 #0 of 12 - 20,218
01/08 #1 of 12 - 40,199 (+98.8%)
02/08 #2 of 12 - 32,403 (-19.4%)
03/08 #3 of 12 - 32,729 ( +1.0%)
04/08 #4 of 12 - 29,729 ( -9.2%)
05/08 #5 of 12 - 29,876 ( +0.5%)
06/08 #6 of 12 - 29,303 ( -1.9%)
07/08 ---
08/08 #7 of 12 - 27,585 ( -5.9%)
09/08 ---
10/08 #8 of 12 - 25,985 ( -5.8%)
---
02/12 #9 of 12 - 13,915 (-46.4%)
02/12 #10 of 12 - 12,930 ( -7.1%)
Not often that a twelve-issue miniseries manages to rack up a four year comparison (down 60%, if you’re wondering), but THE TWELVE has gone spectacularly off the scheduling rails, with a three and a half year wait between issues #8 and #9.
142. POWERS [Icon] 02/12 #8 - 13,561 (-7.3%)
Along similar lines, this book hasn’t shipped since March 2011. And the issue before that came out in September 2010. Who says long-delayed books are a thing of the past?
143. BLACK PANTHER
02/07 #25 - 56,479
02/08 #34 - 23,395
02/09 #1 - 46,699
02/10 D#1 - 43,241
=====
02/11 #515 - 24,556 (-10.6%)
03/11 #516 - 23,987 ( -2.3%)
04/11 #517 - 23,120 ( -3.6%)
05/11 #518 - 20,906 ( -9.6%)
06/11 #519 - 19,883 ( -4.9%)
06/11 #520 - 19,400 ( -2.4%)
07/11 #521 - 22,163 (+14.2%)
08/11 #522 - 20,342 ( -8.2%)
09/11 #523 - 18,798 ( -7.6%)
09/11 #.1 - 16,592 (-11.7%)
10/11 #524 - 18,248 (+10.0%)
11/11 #525 - 16,295 (-10.7%)
12/11 #526 - 15,015 ( -7.9%)
12/11 #527 - 14,677 ( -2.3%)
01/12 #528 - 14,221 ( -3.1%)
02/12 #529 - 13,516 ( -5.0%)
6 mnth (-33.6%)
1 year (-45.0%)
2 year (-68.7%)
3 year (-71.1%)
4 year (-42.2%)
5 year (-76.1%)
Final issue.
148. X-CLUB
12/11 #1 of 5 - 17,552
01/12 #2 of 5 - 14,219 (-19.0%)
02/12 #3 of 5 - 12,911 ( -9.2%)
157. DEADPOOL MAX [Max]
02/11 #5 - 18,221 ( -5.3%)
03/11 #6 - 17,528 ( -3.8%)
04/11 #7 - 17,005 ( -3.0%)
05/11 #8 - 16,428 ( -3.4%)
06/11 #9 - 15,802 ( -3.8%)
07/11 #10 - 15,067 ( -4.7%)
08/11 #11 - 14,626 ( -2.9%)
09/11 #12 - 14,507 ( -0.8%)
10/11 #1 - 15,865 ( +9.4%)
11/11 #2 - 14,171 (-10.7%)
12/11 #3 - 13,070 ( -7.8%)
01/12 #4 - 12,639 ( -3.3%)
02/12 #5 - 11,982 ( -5.2%)
6 mnth (-18.1%)
1 year (-34.2%)
Cancelled with issue #6.
159. VILLAINS FOR HIRE
02/11 #3 - 22,401 ( -2.7%)
03/11 #4 - 21,827 ( -2.6%)
04/11 #5 - 21,815 ( -0.0%)
05/11 #6 - 20,057 ( -8.1%)
05/11 #7 - 18,671 ( -6.9%)
06/11 #8 - 18,029 ( -3.4%)
07/11 #9 - 19,676 ( +9.1%)
08/11 #10 - 18,374 ( -6.6%)
09/11 #11 - 17,550 ( -4.5%)
09/11 #12 - 15,698 (-10.6%)
10/11 S-I - 15,079 ( -3.9%)
11/11 #.1 - 15,281 ( +1.3%)
12/11 #1 of 4 - 15,519 ( +1.6%)
01/12 #2 of 4 - 12,851 (-17.2%)
02/12 #3 of 4 - 11,787 ( -8.3%)
6 mnth (-35.8%)
1 year (-47.4%)
175. AVENGERS: SOLO
10/11 #1 of 5 - 18,427
11/11 #2 of 5 - 13,747 (-25.4%)
12/11 #3 of 5 - 11,530 (-16.1%)
01/12 #4 of 5 - 10,922 ( -5.3%)
02/12 #5 of 5 - 10,509 ( -3.8%)
177. THOR: DEVIANTS SAGA
11/11 #1 of 5 - 13,660
12/11 #2 of 5 - 11,273 (-17.5%)
01/12 #3 of 5 - 10,623 ( -5.8%)
02/12 #4 of 5 - 9,928 ( -6.5%)
224. DOROTHY AND THE WIZARD IN OZ
02/09 #3 of 8 - 15,668
02/10 #4 of 8 - 13,364
=====
02/11 #4 of 8 - 9,159 ( -2.4%)
03/11 ---
04/11 #5 of 8 - 8,797 ( -4.0%)
05/11 #6 of 8 - 8,753 ( -0.5%)
06/11 #7 of 8 - 8,672 ( -0.9%)
07/11 #8 of 8 - 8,216 ( -5.3%)
08/11 ---
09/11 #1 of 8 - 10,648 (+29.6%)
10/11 #2 of 8 - 8,504 (-20.1%)
11/11 #3 of 8 - 8,381 ( -1.4%)
12/11 #4 of 8 - 7,694 ( -8.2%)
01/12 ---
02/12 #5 of 8 - 7,503 ( -2.5%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year (-18.1%)
2 year (-43.9%)
3 year (-52.1%)
247. HALO: FALL OF REACH - INVASION
02/10 #3 of 5 - 8,793
=====
02/11 #4 of 4 - 8,437 ( -1.5%)
03/11 ---
04/11 #1 of 4 - 8,313 ( -1.5%)
05/11 ---
06/11 ---
07/11 #2 of 4 - 7,825 ( -5.9%)
08/11 ---
09/11 #3 of 4 - 7,321 ( -6.4%)
10/11 #4 of 4 - 7,142 ( -2.4%)
11/11 ---
12/11 ---
01/12 #1 of 4 - 7,155 ( +0.2%)
02/12 #2 of 4 - 6,446 ( -9.9%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year (-23.6%)
2 year (-26.7%)
265. ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER
02/07 ---
02/08 Guilty #8 - 27,358
02/09 Laughing #5 - 14,095
02/10 Executioner #4 - 9,626
=====
02/11 Ingenue #2 of 5 - 7,352 ( -5.3%)
03/11 ---
04/11 #3 of 5 - 7,018 ( -4.5%)
04/11 ---
05/11 ---
06/11 #4 of 5 - 6,893 ( -1.8%)
07/11 ---
08/11 #5 of 5 - 6,712 ( -2.6%)
09/11 Scoundrel #1 of 5 - 6,650 ( -0.9%)
10/11 ---
11/11 #2 of 5 - 6,302 ( -5.2%)
12/11 #3 of 5 - 5,914 ( -6.2%)
01/12 ---
02/12 #4 of 5 - 5,871 ( -0.7%)
6 mnth (-12.6%)
1 year (-20.1%)
2 year (-39.0%)
3 year (-58.3%)
4 year (-78.5%)
5 year ( --- )
290. SIX GUNS
11/11 #1 of 5 - 9,262
11/11 #2 of 5 - 8,031 (-13.3%)
12/11 #3 of 5 - 5,727 (-28.7%)
01/12 #4 of 5 - 5,159 (-10.0%)
02/12 #5 of 5 - 4,667 ( -9.5%)
And failing to make the top 300 in February: Marvel Adventures SPIDER-MAN and SUPER HEROES, FORMIC WARS, MARVEL INDEX and NORTHANGER ABBEY.
6 month comparisons =================== + 15.5% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man + 11.9% - Incredible Hulk + 8.0% - Uncanny X-Men + 2.5% - Deadpool + 2.1% - X-Factor + 0.6% - PunisherMax + 0.1% - Wolverine - 2.2% - X-Force - 7.6% - Daredevil - 8.6% - New Avengers - 8.6% - X-Men Legacy - 8.9% - Astonishing X-Men - 9.8% - Amazing Spider-Man - 11.8% - Avengers Academy - 12.5% - Dark Tower - 12.6% - Anita Blake - 13.4% - Avengers - 15.1% - New Mutants - 15.5% - X-Men - 18.1% - Deadpool Max - 18.3% - Fantastic Four - 18.3% - Iron Man - 19.1% - Hulk - 19.8% - Secret Avengers - 20.0% - Captain America - 21.4% - Thor - 21.8% - FF - 22.4% - Daken: Dark Wolverine - 22.5% - Venom - 25.0% - Thunderbolts - 27.2% - Captain America And… - 27.3% - Moon Knight - 29.2% - Journey into Mystery - 33.6% - Black Panther - 35.8% - Villains for Hire - 37.4% - Generation Hope - 42.1% - Ultimates - 47.0% - Punisher 1 year comparisons ================== + 51.3% - Punisher + 40.6% - Incredible Hulk + 30.2% - Daredevil + 10.0% - Uncanny X-Men + 3.7% - Captain America + 2.9% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man - 2.3% - Amazing Spider-Man - 3.5% - X-Force - 4.2% - Deadpool - 4.4% - X-Factor - 7.8% - PunisherMax - 8.8% - Avengers Academy - 12.3% - Wolverine - 12.4% - Ultimates - 16.2% - New Avengers - 16.7% - Thor - 17.4% - Generation Hope - 18.1% - Oz - 18.3% - Avengers - 19.4% - Dark Tower - 20.1% - Anita Blake - 22.4% - Iron Man - 23.6% - Halo - 25.3% - Secret Avengers - 25.3% - Thunderbolts - 26.3% - X-Men - 31.2% - Astonishing X-Men - 34.2% - Deadpool Max - 34.8% - Hulk - 36.3% - X-Men Legacy - 37.8% - Fantastic Four - 42.6% - Daken: Dark Wolverine - 45.0% - Black Panther - 45.1% - New Mutants - 47.4% - Villains for Hire 2 year comparisons ================== + 29.1% - Wolverine + 13.0% - Fantastic Four + 11.4% - Moon Knight + 7.3% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man - 0.3% - X-Force - 2.1% - Daredevil - 3.8% - Amazing Spider-Man - 4.1% - Punisher - 6.8% - Incredible Hulk - 11.7% - Uncanny X-Men - 21.1% - PunisherMax - 22.0% - X-Factor - 26.5% - New Mutants - 26.7% - Halo - 29.0% - X-Men Legacy - 31.6% - Captain America - 32.9% - New Avengers - 34.5% - Iron Man - 38.4% - Deadpool - 39.0% - Anita Blake - 42.5% - Thunderbolts - 43.9% - Oz - 47.4% - Dark Tower - 47.6% - Thor - 58.1% - Hulk - 68.7% - Black Panther - 69.4% - Daken: Dark Wolverine 3 year comparisons ================== + 2.7% - Moon Knight - 3.5% - X-Force - 8.7% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man - 13.7% - Amazing Spider-Man - 14.3% - Fantastic Four - 17.4% - Uncanny X-Men - 20.3% - PunisherMax - 24.3% - X-Factor - 30.8% - Captain America - 35.5% - X-Men Legacy - 36.6% - Iron Man - 37.7% - Deadpool - 44.6% - Incredible Hulk - 45.1% - Punisher - 52.0% - New Avengers - 52.1% - Oz - 57.0% - Thunderbolts - 58.3% - Anita Blake - 63.7% - Thor - 70.3% - Dark Tower - 71.1% - Black Panther - 71.8% - Hulk 4 year comparisons ================== - 10.0% - Daredevil - 10.5% - Iron Man - 22.0% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man - 30.3% - Moon Knight - 30.8% - Punisher - 34.5% - Uncanny X-Men - 39.4% - Wolverine - 41.1% - Amazing Spider-Man - 42.2% - Black Panther - 49.5% - Captain America - 50.8% - New Avengers - 52.8% - X-Force - 54.4% - Incredible Hulk - 54.2% - Fantastic Four - 57.3% - X-Factor - 58.6% - X-Men Legacy - 64.3% - Thor - 65.2% - Ultimates - 76.8% - Hulk - 78.5% - Anita Blake 5 year comparisons ================== - 8.4% - Incredible Hulk - 19.0% - Daredevil - 28.7% - Uncanny X-Men - 36.8% - X-Factor - 39.1% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man - 46.0% - Iron Man - 46.2% - PunisherMax - 51.8% - X-Men Legacy - 57.5% - Punisher - 60.0% - Wolverine - 60.7% - New Avengers - 63.7% - Amazing Spider-Man - 68.9% - Thunderbolts - 74.5% - Astonishing X-Men - 76.1% - Black Panther - 91.8% - Dark Tower
Actually, on Avenging Spider-Man, it shows that retailers ordered plenty, but consumer demand just wasn’t there.
Marvel is having a tough time gaining traction on anything right now, and DC has shown that print comics can still sell well.
I have thought for a while that the higher-ups at DC and Marvel have been lax on editorial because they thought that print was dying. However, DC showed that print can still sell. The reason it is struggling is because the content just isn’t appealing.
Avenging Spider-Man is just another example of content being made that the consumer just isn’t interested in.
I hate seeing Journey Into Mystery that far down the chart. What a phenomenal book.
Weird that Secret Avengers is so steady, now on its what, 4th creative team? In two years? Is it still even close to the original concept? Of course, Thunderbolts has been making endless variations of the basic theme work for 15 years, and I’ll be sticking around for Dark Avengers (mark 2), too.
@Shawn, this is the third creative team, and yeah, it’s still the same concept of Avengers taking on secret/underground/out of the way threats the world at large doesn’t know about.
They still make Powers? I did not know that. I remember reading a bunch way back when the series first launched and then losing track of it. It was a fun book, but hardly worth waiting a year between issues for.
The Oz books are really, really good. I buy them in HC when they’re released. I truly hope they can make the entire run.
>X-23 and Ghost Rider both skipped February, presumably to allow further time for their wrap-up issue.
No, X-23 was replaced with Venom#13.2, drawn by regular artist Sana Takeda – it even contained a “next: X-23#21” page. Ghost Rider was replaced with Venom#13.1 by regular creators Rob Williams & Lee Garbett and including a “next: Ghost Rider#9” page.
T-Bolts is getting relaunched as Dark Avengers? Kind of saddens me, hate to see the name tossed aside. It’s one of my favorite books going right now.
So where is Arrowshaft to regale us with his tales of how amazingly well Marvel is doing? Frankly, these sales figures suck. The first 14 titles Marvel charted were 40K or greater. Everything else was in the 30K range or less. That is abominable. No way to spin that positively. A company with Marvel’s library of characters and track record should be doing way better than what we are seeing here.
zombie are you just going to troll or offer up something other than blind praise and insult any one who has anything to offer.
Why not just stay on the unofficial dc message board where you only sing praise of the ndcu. It is rather sad that you feel the need to whine about anyone not brown nosing didio. Maybe you enjoy that but I do not enjoy the ndcu and I look at the ndcu sales and they are in decline to state anything else is being blind and just showing you enjoy trolling. Hope this made you happy son.
—
Weird that Secret Avengers is so steady, now on its what, 4th creative team? In two years? Is it still even close to the original concept?
—
I’m surprised it’s not doing better than it is, since the writer is Remender and his Uncanny X-Force is pretty well regarded. I thought his premiere .1 issue would have seen some increase.
For my money, his first arc is not living up to X-Force.
@Jeremy
Nope, this is the fourth creative team for Secret Avengers.
Ed Brubaker/Mike Deodato were around for the first twelve issues.
Nick Spencer/Scott Eaton handled issues 12.1-15.
Then it was Warren Ellis and six different artists for issues 16-21. I guess technically this is six different creative teams but it seems reasonable to qualify it as just one.
Now it is Rick Remender/Gabriel Hardman.
Regarding the slight bump on Fear Itself: Fearless #9 I thought it may have been due to X-Men fans coming aboard, as I did, but it was issue eight that started the X-Men involvement.
Which series had a longer gap: Twelve or Ultimate Hulk vs Wolverine?
Honestly with all the hype and the success of the movies and all the “names” on their titles, Marvel should be selling more comics. For me personally, it’s content. The stuff they’re producing now is for an audience that doesn’t include me. Of course, Marvel will spin it that their numbers are great and this is a renaissance of great comics for them.
Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk had a gap of three years and one month between #2 and #3, The Twelve breaks that record with three years and four months between #8 and #9! There should be some kind of celebration!
I think Marvel is actually a victim of their own previous mistakes, rather than ones they are currently making. They really have a bunch of VERY good books at the moment ( Daredevil, Aaron X-Men, Remender everything, Thunderbolts, Hickman FF), but the 3.99 pricetag and over reliance on crappy crossovers (Fear Itself was so pointless) have turned off a lot of fans.
“Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk had a gap of three years and one month between #2 and #3, The Twelve breaks that record with three years and four months between #8 and #9! There should be some kind of celebration!”
If memory serves, there was about a three year gap between issues #3 and #4 of SPIDER-MAN/BLACK CAT: THE EVIL THAT MEN DO, as well.
___
These numbers are just sad. When Marvel’s best seller can’t even move 60K, something’s wrong.
I’d forgotten that one. Another gap of three years and one month. :-)
Are there any other contenders for ‘unexpectedly longest limited series’? I thought of Daredevil: Father, but that just about managed to get six issues out inside three years…
I seem to recall only one issue of the four issue series, Iron Man: Viva Las Vegas, ever coming out. I believe it was written by director Jon Favreau…
I liked INVINCIBLE IRON MAN, but since the plot was taken hostage by FEAR ITSELF for the better part of a year, I don’t really care anymore.
Also, Larroca’s art’s been turning into self-parody, as far as the annoying, sloppy kick-you-out-of-the-story habit of using actors as models for his characters goes. You’d think a storyteller would devote some degree of thought to such aspects of their craft, but apparently not.
Add the fact that they reduced the content by two pages and upped the price by 25%, and you have to wonder why this rubbish is still selling as well as it does. It’s a shame, too, because Fraction and Larroca were a great creative team when they could still be bothered to give a fuck.
Thanks @Blair, I thought so. I’d count the Ellis run as all one “team” too, each issue was great in its own way!
Regarding Invincible Iron Man, I dropped it around issue 500 which I believe was around the time it went to $3.99. It’s probably being kind to the book to describe the pace as being glacial. I was strongly considering dropping it and when it went up an extra dollar in price that was all the incentive I needed to drop it. It wasn’t a terrible book but at times it felt like it took forever for anything to happen.
Larocca’s art is wearing thin on me too. The covers alone make me laugh out loud. This months made Iron Man look like a marionette fighting angry Go-Bots. And $3.99 is a lot to ask for that comic.
Marco Polo: “I think Marvel is actually a victim of their own previous mistakes, rather than ones they are currently making. They really have a bunch of VERY good books at the moment ( Daredevil, Aaron X-Men, Remender everything, Thunderbolts, Hickman FF)..”
I absolutely agree (except maybe for Thunderbolts only in that, much like X-Force, my enjoyment seems to go up and down depending on the arc).
“Two of the lower-tier X-books, both on the familiar slow drift down.”
X-Factor looks pretty steady from these numbers! That’s an impressive following David’s series has held onto.
I was excited for new The Twelve issues since I never though they’d happen but at this point most people probably lost the first eight issues.
I don’t know if I like the idea of the Thunderbolts becoming the Dark Avengers or not. I didn’t care for the original series but that was a different creative team. I’m not real sure what to expect but I don’t blame Marvel for making the change after the current direction caused the books sales to cascade.
And I’d like to say thanks Paul for continuing to do this chart. As soon as I see it listed I grab myself a drink and hunker down!
Gotta say that I am pleased Thunderbolts is only getting a name change – instead of a new creative team, or canceled! I really hope that naming it Dark Avengers brings with it some much needed sales! Although I’m surprised it didn’t get a new #1 as well. I’m guessing the next 6 months will either make or break the title!
>a Captain America team-up book is imminent.
I’d like to see “Captain America and the Invaders”.
I’ll echo the poster who said Marvel is having trouble gaining traction; at the rate DEFENDERS is crashing the book will be gone by #13. The art changes probably won’t help.
LL
Louis Lane: “I’ll echo the poster who said Marvel is having trouble gaining traction; at the rate DEFENDERS is crashing the book will be gone by #13. The art changes probably won’t help.”
I think Marvel may have killed that book with the $3.99 price. I like the Defenders and was tempted to give it a try but the price, combined with the writer, was enough to keep me away.
So Marvel cancels lower-selling titles, stops commissioning new minis, and double-ships better-selling titles, and overall sales go up.
It sounds too much like putting their eggs into fewer baskets.
Are the Wizard of Oz minis being wrapped up? Recent solicits for the final issue of this latest set make it sound like this is all we’re going to get (“final installment” is the wording they use), which would be VERY sad.
Mr. Aaron:
Ozma of Oz 0785142479 HC
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,787 in Books
#83 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Publishers > Marvel
(#82 = Avengers Volume 1 by Bendis
#84 = Spider-Man: The Fantastic Spider-Man)
The TP which ships in May:
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #214,679 in Books
Eric Shanower does read this blog, so perhaps he could confirm/deny/deflect news of any work on “The Road to Oz”. Might his illustrations actually appear in the Woodsman’s garden (ala Denslow)?
I suspect Marvel will continue publishing these books, as the Oz fans seem to enjoy them, and they sell well to libraries.
When I worked at the Lincoln Center Barnes & Noble, I was amazed how many copies we sold of his $40 trade paperback from IDW. (A single copy, spined on the shelf. No merchandising.)
>Marvel cancels lower-selling titles…and overall sales go up.
Canceling low-selling titles likely will increase Marvel’s profit margin in 2012; however, I’d like to see an analysis of their total periodical sales over the previous 24 months.
Ignoring “events”, Marvel’s per title circulation continues to erode. Their bestselling title in Feb 2011 was Avengers #10 at 63,924 copies. Their bestselling title in Feb 2012 was Uncanny X-Men #6 at 59,834 copies. (This is a decline of approximately 6%.)
Marvel’s recent steps may help stem the bleeding; however, they have not announced any initiatives that will reverese their long-term downward sales trend.
Which is why they’re pushing digital, of course, even at the expense of further alienating direct market retailers.
LL
I think it just reinforces that double shipping to keep up your bottom line at $3.99 a pop is bad long term business since the numbers keep dropping. You can only erode so far before $4.99 is needed to support the smaller base or remaining titles.
Did anybody on here read the first issue of AVX? What were your thoughts? I read the zero issue but didn’t pick up the first issue when I flipped through it and saw Cyclops blast Captain America. I always thought the Schism series would feel forced but it actually flowed very naturally but this book looked like it might be the opposite. Is there going to be an AVX AND an Avengers vs X-Men series plus lots of tie-ins?
Couldn’t care less about AvX. Completely burned by Fear Itself, I figured what chance does a bloated, multi-writer event have? Zero-point-zero. Marvel is such a disappointment.
There are so many comments above that have too much truth. The most important change is focusing the line on fewer titles. You have less creative teams that way, resulting in fewer opportunities to discover new talent. This leads to sales attrition, ultimately reducing readership levels, leaving Marvel with no choice but to increase the cover price. They are eating themselves to death. What a terrible business model.
>fewer titles. You have less creative teams
More issues per title also leads to less stable creative teams.
Marvel and DC need more artists like Doug Mahnke; he’s been turning out great work on Green Lantern for years.
No reason Marvel and DC should not able to find more like him. (I know Mark Bagley and John Byrne can do great work on a consistent monthly basis as well.)
LL
—
Did anybody on here read the first issue of AVX? What were your thoughts? I read the zero issue but didn’t pick up the first issue when I flipped through it and saw Cyclops blast Captain America. I always thought the Schism series would feel forced but it actually flowed very naturally but this book looked like it might be the opposite. Is there going to be an AVX AND an Avengers vs X-Men series plus lots of tie-ins?
—
I’m reading it. It’s pretty good so far. There will be the main AVX title, a Versus title that is basically plotless fights, and I think tie-ins are limited to the regular titles that will be affected by the crossover (Avengers, Uncanny X-Men, etc.).
Gotcha, thanks guys. Fear Itself burned me too, which only added to my skepticism.
I’m excited to see the Twelve back completely unchanged in quality, and answering all the dangling questions. I’m sorry interest in it has been squandered.
And I liked the first two AvX issues and have subbed the title.
Thanks Shawn! I haven’t been reading (but have been buying) the most recent issues of The Twelve as I’m waiting til they’re all out and then I’m going to go back and read the series in one swing. I’m glad to hear the quality is unchanged. I thought that bonus Twelve book the artist released on his own a year or so ago was pretty good too.
>DEFENDERS…it remains to be seen where the title will actually end up
Unfortunatley, issues #4 through #8 each have a different penciler; that can’t be good for sales. Perhaps the addition of Jamie McKelvie as regular penciler will help.
LL
“And failing to make the top 300 in February: Marvel Adventures SPIDER-MAN and SUPER HEROES, FORMIC WARS, MARVEL INDEX and NORTHANGER ABBEY.”
It’s a moot point, but Marvel Adventures SPIDER-MAN actually did make it into the top 300, it’s at #268.
@petercsm730, yes, Weston’s one-shot fit in pretty well with the “ongoing” (depsite that pesky 4 year gap) series! And it had 1940s Captain A!