by Paul O’Brien

There’s a lot to talk about this month, as Marvel’s publishing schedule steps up a gear. July saw the launch of the much-hyped REBORN miniseries, the 600th issues of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN and INCREDIBLE HULK, the climax of ULTIMATUM, a crossover between DARK AVENGERS and UNCANNY X-MEN, and a second ongoing DEADPOOL title… plus the ongoing Dark Reign event and a bunch of other minis.

You won’t be surprised to hear that, once again, Marvel had the largest share of the North American direct market. This month, they beat DC by 43% to 34% in unit share, and 37% to 30% in dollars.

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

1,9. CAPTAIN AMERICA
07/04  Captain America #29  -  40,221
07/05  ---
07/06  Captain America #20  -  47,357
07/07  Captain America #28  -  89,721
=====
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%)
03/09  Captain America #48  -  62,108  (  -1.2%)
04/09  Captain America #49  -  63,874  (  +2.8%)
05/09  Captain America #50  -  72,708  ( +13.8%)
06/09  Captain America #600 - 123,152  ( +69.4%)
07/09  Captain America #601 -  87,844  ( -28.7%)
07/09  Reborn #1 of 5       - 193,142  (+119.9%)
                               6 mnth  (+163.9%)
                               1 year  (+143.5%)
                               2 year  (+115.3%)
                               3 year  (+307.8%)
                               4 year  (   --- )
                               5 year  (+380.2%)

Two issues this month. CAPTAIN AMERICA #601 is something of a red herring – it’s essentially a fill-in story with art by Gene Colan, set during World War II. Of course, it also meant that there was an issue of CAPTAIN AMERICA in the July solicitations, which initially tried to create some mystery about what REBORN was.

As it turns out, REBORN is indeed the long-expected return of Steve Rogers, and the regular CAPTAIN AMERICA title will go on hiatus for the duration of the five-issue miniseries before returning with issue #602 later in the year. That effectively makes REBORN issues #601A-601E, and so I’m counting them as part of the regular title.

REBORN was always going to be a big seller, particularly given Marvel’s promise of mainstream media coverage. It wasn’t guaranteed to top the charts, though, because July also saw the release of BLACKEST NIGHT #1, DC’s latest crossover. As it turns out, they’re fairly close. REBORN was about 16,000 ahead. Intriguingly, though, Diamond’s chart lists BLACKEST NIGHT at number 1 in the dollar rankings – despite both books costing the same. I can only assume that this is because the extra sales generated by incentive variants (order ten, get one free) count for the unit sales, but not the dollar chart. Anyhow, it suggests that the two projects were closer together than the sales figures might first suggest.

Issue #601 has three covers; REBORN #1 has five (six, if you count a Dynamic Forces version), including 1:25 and 1:75 variants. Oh, and issue #600 also picks up a further 10,865 in sales. As usual, they’re added in above.

4,19. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
07/04  Amazing Spider-Man #510 -  84,750
07/05  Amazing Spider-Man #522 -  73,130
07/06  Amazing Spider-Man #534 - 113,522
07/07  Amazing Spider-Man #542 - 105,715
=====
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 - 525,050 (+776.1%)
01/09  Amazing Spider-Man #584 -  63,754  (-87.9%)
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%)
03/09  Amazing Spider-Man #588 -  61,334  ( +2.0%)
03/09  Amazing Spider-Man #589 -  58,832  ( -4.1%)
04/09  Amazing Spider-Man #590 -  66,415  (+12.9%)
04/09  Amazing Spider-Man #591 -  60,508  ( -8.9%)
04/09  Amazing Spider-Man #592 -  65,940  ( +9.0%)
05/09  Amazing Spider-Man #593 -  58,363  (-11.5%)
05/09  Amazing Spider-Man #594 -  58,464  ( +0.2%)
05/09  Amazing Spider-Man #595 -  71,837  (+22.9%)
06/09  Amazing Spider-Man #596 -  63,525  (-11.6%)
06/09  Amazing Spider-Man #597 -  61,646  ( -3.0%)
06/09  Amazing Spider-Man #598 -  61,585  ( -0.0%)
07/09  Amazing Spider-Man #599 -  72,412  (+17.6%)
07/09  Amazing Spider-Man #600 - 116,857  (+61.4%)
                                  6 mnth  (+83.3%)
                                  1 year  (+69.6%)
                                  2 year  (+10.5%)
                                  3 year  ( +2.9%)
                                  4 year  (+59.8%)
                                  5 year  (+37.9%)

Just two issues this month, with Annual #36 standing in for the third book. Issue #599 continues a Dark Reign crossover storyline, with a 1:20 variant; issue #600 has a total of five covers, including 1:15 and 1:25 variants.

As you’d expect, sales shoot up for the six hundredth issue. The anniversary number is doubtless a big draw in its own right. Which makes me doubt the long-term wisdom of things like HULK #600… but we’ll come to that in a bit.

7. DARK AVENGERS
01/09  Dark Avengers #1 - 139,239
02/09  Dark Avengers #2 - 102,277  (-26.5%)
03/09  Dark Avengers #3 - 101,978  ( -0.3%)
04/09  Dark Avengers #4 -  99,694  ( -2.2%)
05/09  ---
06/09  Dark Avengers #5 -  95,746  ( -4.0%)
06/09  Dark Avengers #6 -  93,634  ( -2.2%)
07/09  Dark Avengers #7 -  94,189  ( +0.6%)

This is part of “Utopia”, a crossover with UNCANNY X-MEN. There’s also a 1:20 variant, compared to a mere 1:15 on the previous issue. Nonetheless, the sales boost is anaemic. That’s perhaps to be expected; DARK AVENGERS outsells UNCANNY by a substantial margin, and it’s far and away the bigger partner in this particular crossover. We’ve seen before that the Avengers titles rarely benefit much from participating in crossovers, presumably because readers are buying them already.

8.  HULK
07/04  Incredible Hulk #74  -  43,383
07/05  Incredible Hulk #83  -  55,940
07/06  Incredible Hulk #96  -  49,209
07/07  Incredible Hulk #108 - 105,036
=====
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%)
03/09  ---
04/09  Hulk #11             -  82,726  (  +7.1%)
05/09  Hulk #12             -  73,105  ( -11.6%)
06/09  ---
07/09  Incredible Hulk #600 -  92,343  ( +26.3%)
                               6 mnth  (   --- )
                               1 year  (  -9.6%)
                               2 year  ( -12.1%)
                               3 year  ( +87.7%)
                               4 year  ( +65.1%)
                               5 year  (+112.9%)

Right, now this gets complicated.

First of all, this isn’t the six hundredth issue of INCREDIBLE HULK, however you measure it. In theory, they’re trying to return to the numbering of INCREDIBLE HULK vol 2, which ran for 474 issues. To that, they’ve added the 112 issues of INCREDIBLE HULK vol 3 (before it became INCREDIBLE HERCULES) plus the first twelve issues of Jeph Loeb’s HULK.

Which makes 598. So the next issue ought to be #599, not #600. They got the maths wrong.

And it gets better – because for August, Marvel solicited both HULK #13 and INCREDIBLE HULK #601. So apparently INCREDIBLE HULK #600 is the first issue of a new title which also doubles as HULK #12A. And that means the numbering of the new series is based on including issues of two completely other titles which are still being published.

So even if they’d got the maths right, this would still be perhaps the most artificial “anniversary” issue in history. And of course, on one level, that’s trivial. But anniversary issues generally sell rather well, because they’ve got an aura of significance about them. If you make a complete joke of them, as Marvel are doing with INCREDIBLE HULK, then in the long run that’ll undermine their drawing power.

There are three covers, including a 1:25 variant. Perhaps surprisingly, the sales jump still leaves the book below the levels of late 2008.

10. ULTIMATUM
11/08  Ultimatum #1 of 5 - 117,803
12/08  Ultimatum #2 of 5 -  97,138  (-17.5%)
01/09  ---
02/09  ---
03/09  Ultimatum #3 of 5 -  83,266  (-14.3%)
04/09  ---
05/09  ---
06/09  Ultimatum #4 of 5 -  87,339  ( +4.9%)
07/09  Ultimatum #5 of 5 -  86,748  ( -0.7%)
                            6 mnth  (  --- )

Unusually, the much-maligned ULTIMATUM has seen its sales bounce back slightly over the final two issues. It’s worth noting, though, that issue #5 had even more variant covers than the previous issues (a total of five, including 1:25, 1:50 and 1:75 variants) – so the “real” drop would probably have been bigger than you see here.

ULTIMATUM is a deck-clearing exercise for the Ultimate imprint, setting up August’s relaunch. The real test will be how well the relaunched titles do – has ULTIMATUM managed to draw interest back to the books, or will it actually drive away wavering readers by offering them a jumping off point?

11. NEW AVENGERS
07/04  Avengers #500    - 105,617
07/05  New Avengers #7  - 158,693
07/06  New Avengers #22 - 124,617
07/07  New Avengers #32 - 122,991 
=====
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 -  94,291  ( -1.5%)
02/09  New Avengers #50 - 106,831  (+13.3%)
03/09  New Avengers #51 -  95,340  (-10.8%)
04/09  New Avengers #52 -  93,975  ( -1.4%)
05/09  New Avengers #53 -  94,367  ( +0.4%)
06/09  New Avengers #54 -  93,878  ( -0.5%)
07/09  New Avengers #55 -  84,745  ( -9.7%)
                           6 mnth  (-10.1%)
                           1 year  (-22.1%)
                           2 year  (-31.1%)
                           3 year  (-32.0%)
                           4 year  (-46.6%)
                           5 year  (-19.8%)

Issue #54 picks up re-orders of 5,811, thanks in part to a second printing which brings the total number of covers to three. This month, in contrast, we have no variants at all – and as you’d expect, the sales drop back.

13. UNCANNY X-MEN
07/04  Uncanny X-Men #446 -  96,961
07/05  Uncanny X-Men #462 -  91,125
07/06  Uncanny X-Men #476 -  88,775
07/07  Uncanny X-Men #488 -  86,747
=====
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%)
03/09  Uncanny X-Men #507 -  77,957  ( +8.8%)
04/09  Uncanny X-Men #508 -  76,442  ( -1.9%)
04/09  Uncanny X-Men #509 -  69,185  ( -9.5%)
05/09  Uncanny X-Men #510 -  75,139  ( +8.6%)
06/09  Uncanny X-Men #511 -  71,148  ( -5.3%)
06/09  Uncanny X-Men #512 -  76,283  ( +7.2%)
07/09  Uncanny X-Men #513 -  83,399  ( +9.3%)
                             6 mnth  (  --- )
                             1 year  (-48.2%)
                             2 year  ( -3.9%)
                             3 year  ( -6.1%)
                             4 year  ( -8.5%)
                             5 year  (-14.0%)

UNCANNY enters the “Utopia” crossover with the better-selling DARK AVENGERS, and sees the expected sales boost. This issue also has a 1:20 variant, compared to a 1:10 variant in June.

18. DARK WOLVERINE
07/04  Wolverine #17      -  66,589
07/05  Wolverine #30      -  76,651
07/06  Wolverine #44      - 105,220
07/07  Wolverine #55      - 130,707
=====
07/08  Wolverine #67      - 101,889  (-13.3%)
08/08  Wolverine #68      -  97,325  ( -4.5%)
09/08  ---
10/08  ---
11/08  Wolverine #69      -  93,914  ( -3.5%)
12/08  Wolverine #70      -  98,915  ( +5.3%)
01/09  ---
02/09  ---
03/09  Wolverine #71      -  91,229  ( -7.8%)
04/09  ---
05/09  Wolverine #72      -  91,333  ( +0.1%)
05/09  Wolverine #73      -  83,324  ( -8.8%)
06/09  Wolverine #74      -  66,186  (-20.6%)
06/09  Dark Wolverine #75 -  80,780  (+22.0%)
07/09  Dark Wolverine #76 -  74,017  ( -8.4%)
                             6 mnth  (  --- )
                             1 year  (-27.4%)
                             2 year  (-43.4%)
                             3 year  (-29.7%)
                             4 year  ( -3.4%)
                             5 year  (+11.2%)

Dropping off noticeably, despite having three covers – the regular edition, a 1:15 Young Guns incentive, and a 1:10 fifties variant.

But it all depends how you look at it. If you view this as a WOLVERINE arc, it’s not doing especially well by the standards of recent years, but nor is it a disaster. On the other hand, if it’s the soft launch of a new Daken ongoing series, similar to the HERCULES launch a year ago, then it’s off to a very good start.

Issue #72, the final part of “Old Man Logan”, re-appears on the chart with a further 4,258 copies. That’s presumably due to the second printing, which hit stores on 1 July.

20,28. DARK X-MEN: THE BEGINNING
07/09  Dark X-Men #1 of 3 - 69,052
07/09  Dark X-Men #2 of 3 - 57,255  (-17.1%)

Another “Utopia” tie-in, and making a pretty good impression for a satellite X-book. Issue #1 has a 1:10 sixties variant, so the underlying second issue drop is probably quite modest.

22. MIGHTY AVENGERS
07/07  Mighty Avengers #4  - 107,768 
=====
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%)
03/09  Mighty Avengers #23 -  71,333  ( -2.1%)
04/09  Mighty Avengers #24 -  68,231  ( -4.3%)
05/09  ---
06/09  Mighty Avengers #25 -  65,010  ( -4.7%)
06/09  Mighty Avengers #26 -  63,178  ( -2.8%)
07/09  Mighty Avengers #27 -  64,680  ( +2.4%)
                              6 mnth  (  --- )
                              1 year  (-32.8%)
                              2 year  (-40.0%)

There’s a 1:10 fifties variant on this issue, which probably accounts for the slight increase.

24. X-FORCE
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%)
03/09  X-Force #13 - 51,797  ( +0.7%)
04/09  X-Force #14 - 62,674  (+21.0%)
05/09  X-Force #15 - 58,340  ( -6.9%)
06/09  X-Force #16 - 58,818  ( +0.8%)
07/09  X-Force #17 - 61,104  ( +3.9%)
                     6 mnth  (+17.9%)
                     1 year  (-20.6%)

Interesting. This has a 1:15 variant cover, but it also sees the book return to regular storylines following the three-month “Messiah War” crossover with CABLE. Normally sales would return to regular levels at this point, but X-FORCE seems to be holding on to the extra sales unusually well.

25. X-MEN: LEGACY
07/04  X-Men #159         -  93,164
07/05  X-Men #173         -  77,154
07/06  X-Men #189         -  89,268
07/07  X-Men #201         -  86,278
=====
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%)
03/09  X-Men: Legacy #222 -  55,606  ( -1.6%)
04/09  X-Men: Legacy #223 -  71,935  (+29.4%)
05/09  X-Men: Legacy #224 -  54,008  (-24.9%)
06/09  X-Men: Legacy #225 -  58,374  ( +8.1%)
07/09  X-Men: Legacy #226 -  59,298  ( +1.6%)
                             6 mnth  ( +0.0%)
                             1 year  (-15.1%)
                             2 year  (-31.3%)
                             3 year  (-33.6%)
                             4 year  (-23.1%)
                             5 year  (-36.4%)

The sales increase in June was due to a variant cover. There’s no variant this month (though a second printing came out in August), but issue #226 does begin a two-issue tie-in to the “Utopia” crossover, which evidently helps sales significantly.

27. 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%)
03/09  Deadpool #8  - 53,109  (+20.5%)
04/09  Deadpool #9  - 54,556  ( +2.7%)
05/09  Deadpool #10 - 56,123  ( +2.9%)
06/09  Deadpool #11 - 52,285  ( -6.8%)
07/09  Deadpool #12 - 58,807  (+12.5%)
                      6 mnth  (+26.3%)

30. DEADPOOL: MERC WITH A MOUTH
07/09  Merc With A Mouth #1 - 55,679

Both of these books have 1:10 variant covers. Spin-off title MERC WITH A MOUTH makes a very solid debut, only a few thousand behind the parent book. Marvel evidently think the market can bear even more Deadpool products, though, as even more spin-offs are on the way. The November solicitations even list something called DEADPOOL TEAM-UP #899, explicitly described as “a third on-going series” – although at time of writing, nobody online seems entirely sure of how seriously to take that.

Regardless, what’s undeniably true is that Deadpool’s spin-off projects are selling an awful lot better than spin-offs from supposedly higher-profile titles. Even the DEADPOOL: SUICIDE KINGS miniseries, four issues in, is outselling DARK REIGN: SINISTER SPIDER-MAN, which is a DARK AVENGERS spin-off. How long this will continue if Marvel insist on carpetbombing the market with Deadpool comics is another matter, but there’s certainly more demand at the moment than you might expect.

34. INVINCIBLE IRON MAN
07/04  Iron Man #86            - 34,520
07/05  ---
07/06  Iron Man #10            - 38,102
07/07  Iron Man #20            - 72,831
=====
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 - 56,381  ( +7.7%)
03/09  Invincible Iron Man #11 - 52,165  ( -7.5%)
04/09  Invincible Iron Man #12 - 51,774  ( -0.7%)
05/09  Invincible Iron Man #13 - 51,311  ( -0.9%)
06/09  Invincible Iron Man #14 - 53,229  ( +3.7%)
07/09  Invincible Iron Man #15 - 50,554  ( -5.0%)
                                 6 mnth  ( -3.5%)
                                 1 year  (-23.9%)
                                 2 year  (-30.6%)
                                 3 year  (+32.7%)
                                 4 year  (  --- )
                                 5 year  (+46.4%)

Continuing a Dark Reign tie-in arc. Last month’s jump was due to a Marc Silvestri variant cover.

35. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL
07/09  Annual #36 - 49,963

The third issue of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN for this month, reverting to traditional numbering. It tails in quite some way behind the main title, which tends to suggest that there’s still not that much appetite for Spider-Man spin-offs.

37. WOLVERINE: ORIGINS
07/06  Origins #4  - 110,830
07/07  ---
=====
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%)
03/09  Origins #34 -  45,579  ( +1.4%)
04/09  Origins #35 -  44,976  ( -1.3%)
05/09  Origins #36 -  45,451  ( +1.1%)
06/09  Origins #37 -  44,930  ( -1.1%)
07/09  Origins #38 -  47,211  ( +5.1%)
                      6 mnth  ( +5.6%)
                      1 year  ( -0.7%)
                      2 year  (  --- )
                      3 year  (-57.4%)

The jump is probably due to a 1:10 1940s variant.

39,40. FANTASTIC FOUR
07/04  Fantastic Four #516 - 48,580
07/05  Fantastic Four #529 - 52,963
07/06  ---
07/07  ---
=====
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%)
03/09  Fantastic Four #565 - 48,378  ( -2.3%)
04/09  ---
05/09  Fantastic Four #566 - 46,653  ( -3.6%)
06/09  Fantastic Four #567 - 46,225  ( -0.9%)
07/09  Fantastic Four #568 - 45,828  ( -0.9%)
07/09  Fantastic Four #569 - 44,710  ( -2.4%)
                             6 mnth  (-15.2%)
                             1 year  (  --- )
                             2 year  (  --- )
                             3 year  (  --- )
                             4 year  (-15.6%)
                             5 year  ( -8.0%)

These are the last two issues of Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch’s run – technically. In fact, the series ends with fill-in creators helping out, presumably so that Marvel can get this book over with and move Millar and Hitch onto other projects. That’s understandable, because for some reason FANTASTIC FOUR never caught fire in the way that their other books have. Nonetheless, the contrast with the indulgence shown to ULTIMATES is marked.

42. NEW MUTANTS
05/09  New Mutants #1 - 60,972
06/09  New Mutants #2 - 43,230  (-29.1%)
07/09  New Mutants #3 - 42,961  ( -0.6%)

Three covers here, including 1:10 and 1:15 variants – so it’s too early to tell whether the book is really levelling out in the way that it appears.

44. WAR OF KINGS
03/09  War of Kings #1 of 6 - 58,709
04/09  War of Kings #2 of 6 - 50,631  (-13.8%)
05/09  War of Kings #3 of 6 - 45,560  (-10.0%)
06/09  War of Kings #4 of 6 - 43,376  ( -4.8%)
07/09  War of Kings #5 of 6 - 42,163  ( -2.8%)

Holding up very nicely. The audience for “cosmic” stories remains reassuringly steady.

45. SECRET WARRIORS
02/09  Secret Warriors #1 - 62,764
03/09  Secret Warriors #2 - 48,086  (-23.4%)
04/09  Secret Warriors #3 - 50,126  ( +4.2%)
05/09  Secret Warriors #4 - 42,781  (-14.7%)
06/09  Secret Warriors #5 - 40,849  ( -4.5%)
07/09  Secret Warriors #6 - 41,749  ( +2.2%)

There’s a 1:10 1970s variant on this, which probably explains the slight upturn.

46. ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN
07/04  Ult. Spider-Man #62  -  98,963
07/05  Ult. Spider-Man #80  -  76,906
07/06  Ult. Spider-Man #97  -  76,612
07/07  Ult. Spider-Man #111 -  75,487
=====
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%)
03/09  ---
04/09  ---
05/09  Ult. Spider-Man #132 -  50,144  ( +1.2%)
06/09  Ult. Spider-Man #133 -  57,364  (+14.4%)06/09  USM: Requiem #1 of 2 -  44,988  (-21.6%)
07/09  USM: Requiem #2 of 2 -  41,374  ( -8.0%)
                               6 mnth  (-16.6%)
                               1 year  (-25.1%)
                               2 year  (-45.2%)
                               3 year  (-46.0%)
                               4 year  (-46.2%)
                               5 year  (-58.2%)

Mixed signals here. ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN finally started to see some gains from the “Ultimatum” crossover in its last couple of months. But the REQUIEM miniseries, which is also linked to the crossover, which is by the regular creative team, and which forms part of the ongoing story, tails in some way behind the book’s normal levels. This could be a case of readers jumping off (or rather, retailers betting on them doing so), or it could simply be a case of retailers always cutting their orders for anything that’s presented as a side project.

47. THUNDERBOLTS
07/04  ---
07/05  New Thunderbolts #10 - 25,978
07/06  Thunderbolts #104    - 54,092
07/07  ---
=====
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%)
03/09  Thunderbolts #130    - 52,264  (+15.1%)
04/09  Thunderbolts #131    - 49,155  ( -5.9%)
05/09  Thunderbolts #132    - 43,911  (-10.7%)
06/09  Thunderbolts #133    - 39,479  (-10.1%)
07/09  Thunderbolts #134    - 40,885  ( +3.6%)
                              6 mnth  (-10.6%)
                              1 year  (-13.3%)
                              2 year  (  --- )
                              3 year  (-24.4%)
                              4 year  (+57.4%)
                              5 year  (  --- )

The slight increase is likely due to a 1:10 1930s variant.

49. CABLE
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%)
03/09  Cable #12 - 32,407  ( +1.9%)
04/09  Cable #13 - 47,638  (+47.0%)
05/09  Cable #14 - 52,245  ( +9.7%)
06/09  Cable #15 - 49,912  ( -4.5%)
07/09  Cable #16 - 39,646  (-20.6%)
                   6 mnth  (+19.0%)
                   1 year  (-14.6%)

Interesting. CABLE also returns to its regular stories after the three-month “Messiah War” crossover, and it too sees a very significant boost from the event – up some 7K from previous levels. Is this a rare example of a crossover which has delivered a lasting gain to both titles?

53. DEADPOOL: SUICIDE KINGS
04/09  Suicide Kings #1 of 5 - 43,200
05/09  Suicide Kings #2 of 5 - 35,478  (-17.9%)
06/09  Suicide Kings #3 of 5 - 36,086  ( +1.7%)
07/09  Suicide Kings #4 of 5 - 38,590  ( +6.9%)

No gimmicks here – SUICIDE KINGS actually seems to be gaining sales over the course of the miniseries. This is why we’re getting so many Deadpool projects. Issue #1 picks up reorders of 4,780.

56. AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE
07/07  Initiative #4 -  94,773
=====
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%)
03/09  ---
04/09  Initiative #23 - 45,146  ( -3.8%)
05/09  Initiative #24 - 42,510  ( -5.8%)
06/09  Initiative #25 - 40,101  ( -5.7%)
07/09  Initiative #26 - 38,215  ( -4.7%)
                        6 mnth  (-19.9%)
                        1 year  (-39.9%)
                        2 year  (-59.7%)

Continuing a steady decline.

57. DARK TOWER
07/07  Gunslinger Born #6 of 7 - 128,336 
=====
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  ( -5.0%)
03/09  ---
04/09  Sorcerer #1             -  39,210  (-18.5%)
05/09  Fall of Gilead #1 of 6  -  43,580  (+11.1%)
06/09  Fall of Gilead #2 of 6  -  39,978  ( -8.3%)
07/09  Fall of Gilead #3 of 6  -  36,982  ( -7.5%)
                                  6 mnth  (-27.0%)
                                  1 year  (-50.7%)
                                  2 year  (-71.1%)

60. THE STAND: AMERICAN NIGHTMARES
09/08  Captain Trips #1 of 5 - 82,671
10/08  Captain Trips #2 of 5 - 64,443  (-22.0%)
11/08  Captain Trips #3 of 5 - 55,076  (-14.5%)
12/08  Captain Trips #4 of 5 - 49,211  (-10.6%)
01/09  Captain Trips #5 of 5 - 46,702  ( -5.1%)
02/09  ---
03/09  Nightmares #1 of 5    - 47,473  ( +1.7%)
04/09  Nightmares #2 of 5    - 38,909  (-18.0%)
05/09  Nightmares #3 of 5    - 36,364  ( -6.5%)
06/09  ---
07/09  Nightmares #4 of 5    - 34,292  ( -5.7%)
                               6 mnth  (-26.6%)

The Stephen King adaptations continue to shed readers – despite both titles featuring 1:25 and 1:75 variants.

62. PUNISHER
07/07 War Journal #9   - 56,854
=====
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     - 40,928  ( -16.9%)
03/09  Punisher #3     - 37,570  (  -8.2%)
04/09  Punisher #4     - 36,995  (  -1.5%)
05/09  Punisher #5     - 35,621  (  -3.7%)
06/09  Punisher #6     - 32,982  (  -7.4%)
07/09  Punisher #7     - 31,227  (  -5.3%)
                         6 mnth  ( -36.6%)
                         1 year  ( +18.7%)
                         2 year  ( -45.1%)

Still finding its level after the relaunch at the start of the year, but comfortably ahead of previous sales nonetheless.

63. X-FACTOR
07/06  X-Factor #9  - 68,799
07/07  X-Factor #21 - 50,227 
=====
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%)
03/09  X-Factor #41 - 31,888  ( -0.2%)
04/09  X-Factor #42 - 32,000  ( +0.4%)
05/09  X-Factor #43 - 31,543  ( -1.4%)
06/09  X-Factor #44 - 31,552  ( +0.0%)
06/09  X-Factor #45 - 31,109  ( -1.4%)
07/09  X-Factor #46 - 31,213  ( +0.3%)
                      6 mnth  ( -4.8%)
                      1 year  (-41.2%)
                      2 year  (-37.9%)
                      3 year  (-54.6%)

Rock solid sales throughout the year.

64. MARVEL ZOMBIES
10/08  Marvel Zombies 3 #1 of 4 - 67,999
11/08  Marvel Zombies 3 #2 of 4 - 47,253  (-30.5%)
12/08  Marvel Zombies 3 #3 of 4 - 41,837  (-11.5%)
01/09  Marvel Zombies 3 #4 of 4 - 38,805  ( -7.2%)
02/09  ---
03/09  ---
04/09  Marvel Zombies 4 #1 of 4 - 42,891  (+10.5%)
05/09  Marvel Zombies 4 #2 of 4 - 35,926  (-16.2%)
06/09  Marvel Zombies 4 #3 of 4 - 36,010  ( +0.2%)
07/09  Marvel Zombies 4 #4 of 4 - 31,173  (-13.4%)
                                  6 mnth  (-19.7%)

Diminishing returns have clearly set in with the MARVEL ZOMBIES franchise, but it’s still doing well enough to merit yet more sequels.

67. BLACK PANTHER
07/05  Black Panther #6  - 35,256
07/06  Black Panther #18 - 69,912
07/07  Black Panther #29 - 55,027
=====
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  - 52,991  (+57.6%)
03/09  Black Panther #2  - 33,755  (-36.3%)
04/09  Black Panther #3  - 33,356  ( -1.2%)
05/09  Black Panther #4  - 30,984  ( -7.1%)
06/09  Black Panther #5  - 29,762  ( -3.9%)
07/09  Black Panther #6  - 29,727  ( -0.1%)
                           6 mnth  (  --- )
                           1 year  (+52.8%)
                           2 year  (-46.0%)
                           3 year  (-57.5%)
                           4 year  (-15.7%)

There’s a 1:10 variant on this issue, so chances are the underlying trend was a slightly steeper drop.

68. DARK REIGN: SINISTER SPIDER-MAN
06/09  Spider-Man #1 of 4 - 40,887
07/09  Spider-Man #2 of 4 - 29,711  (-27.3%)

Huge second-issue drop, even for a miniseries. These solo stories for the Dark Avengers don’t seem to be performing especially well.

69. SON OF HULK
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%)
03/09  Skaar, Son of Hulk #9  - 27,137  ( -5.7%)
04/09  Skaar, Son of Hulk #10 - 27,317  ( +0.7%)
05/09  ---
06/09  Skaar, Son of Hulk #11 - 28,633  ( +4.8%)
06/09  Skaar, Son of Hulk #12 - 35,920  (+25.4%)
07/09  Son of Hulk #13        - 29,195  (-18.7%)
                                6 mnth  ( -6.1%)
                                1 year  (-48.8%)

A change of title and a change of creative team, with Paul Jenkins and Dan Panosian taking over. The sales on issue #12 were a blip linked to the “Planet Skaar” storyline (plus, it had four variant covers). This issue just has a 1:10 1930s variant, so overall the book is simply returning to its normal sales levels.

70. INCREDIBLE HERCULES
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%)
03/09  Hercules #127 - 31,890  ( +2.9%)
04/09  Hercules #128 - 33,739  ( +5.8%)
05/09  Hercules #129 - 28,995  (-14.1%)
06/09  Hercules #130 - 27,872  ( -3.9%)
07/09  Hercules #131 - 29,188  ( +4.7%)
                       6 mnth  ( -8.5%)
                       1 year  (-44.5%)

Another 1:10 decade variant, explaining the slight increase.

71,72. X-MEN FOREVER
06/09  X-Men Forever #1 - 36,213
06/09  X-Men Forever #2 - 31,767  (-12.3%)
07/09  X-Men Forever #3 - 28,651  ( -9.8%)
07/09  X-Men Forever #4 - 28,645  ( -0.0%)

Issue #4 is another 1:10 decade variant, so in reality the decline continues. Nonetheless, so far X-MEN FOREVER is selling in perfectly respectable numbers for an out-of-continuity series.

73. DARK REIGN: HAWKEYE
04/09  Hawkeye #1 of 5 - 41,056
05/09  Hawkeye #2 of 5 - 30,581  (-25.5%)
06/09  Hawkeye #3 of 5 - 28,902  ( -5.5%)
07/09  Hawkeye #4 of 5 - 27,215  ( -5.8%)

Another DARK AVENGERS solo title, doing reasonaly well.

74,79. MS MARVEL
07/06  Ms Marvel #5  - 38,874
07/07  Ms Marvel #17 - 38,003
=====
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%)
03/09  Ms Marvel #37 - 25,053  ( -3.1%)
04/09  Ms Marvel #38 - 27,535  (+10.0%)
05/09  Ms Marvel #39 - 24,757  (-10.1%)
06/09  Ms Marvel #40 - 25,216  ( +1.9%)
07/09  Ms Marvel #41 - 27,187  ( +7.8%)
07/09  Ms Marvel #42 - 25,103  ( -7.7%)
                       6 mnth  ( -6.4%)
                       1 year  (-39.1%)
                       2 year  (-33.9%)
                       3 year  (-35.4%)

Two issues this month, both part of the Dark Reign storyline. Issue #41 also has a 1:10 sixties variant, hence the jump.

75. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
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%)
03/09  Guardians o/Galaxy #11 - 27,415  ( -0.8%)
03/09  Guardians o/Galaxy #12 - 26,764  ( -2.4%)
04/09  Guardians o/Galaxy #13 - 27,107  ( +1.3%)
05/09  Guardians o/Galaxy #14 - 27,130  ( +0.1%)
06/09  Guardians o/Galaxy #15 - 26,808  ( -1.2%)
07/09  Guardians o/Galaxy #16 - 26,605  ( -0.8%)
                                6 mnth  ( -6.7%)
                                1 year  (-21.7%)


76. NOVA
07/07  Nova #4  - 40,173
=====
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%)
03/09  Nova #23 - 26,413  ( +5.4%)
04/09  Nova #24 - 26,240  ( -0.7%)
05/09  Nova #25 - 26,172  ( -0.3%)
06/09  Nova #26 - 28,107  ( +7.4%)
07/09  Nova #27 - 25,677  ( -8.6%)
                  6 mnth  ( +0.1%)
                  1 year  (-10.2%)
                  2 year  (-36.1%)

Two more cosmic titles, both with extremely steady sales (once you filter out the variant covers).

83. DARK REIGN: YOUNG AVENGERS
05/09  Young Avengers #1 of 5 - 32,266
06/09  Young Avengers #2 of 5 - 26,974  (-16.4%)
07/09  Young Avengers #3 of 5 - 24,237  (-10.1%)

Another of the minor Dark Reign tie-in series, performing much as you’d expect.

86. INCOGNITO [Icon]
12/08  Incognito #1 - 27,958
01/09  ---
02/09  Incognito #2 - 22,962  (-17.9%)
03/09  ---
04/09  Incognito #3 - 24,280  ( +5.7%)
05/09  ---
06/09  Incognito #4 - 23,584  ( -2.9%)
07/09  Incognito #5 - 23,311  ( -1.2%)
                      6 mnth  (  --- )

After the inevitable second-issue drop-off, INCOGNITO sales have been very steady indeed.

87. WAR OF KINGS: WARRIORS
07/09  Warriors #1 of 2 - 23,275

Stories about Blastaar and Gladiator. Once again, the cosmic audience isn’t huge, but it’s reliable.

88,103. AGENTS OF ATLAS
02/09  Agents of Atlas #1 - 34,449
03/09  Agents of Atlas #2 - 26,783  (-22.3%)
04/09  Agents of Atlas #3 - 29,748  (+11.1%)
05/09  Agents of Atlas #4 - 25,377  (-14.7%)
05/09  Agents of Atlas #5 - 25,207  ( -0.7%)
06/09  Agents of Atlas #6 - 22,579  (-10.4%)
07/09  Agents of Atlas #7 - 23,217  ( +2.8%)
07/09  Agents of Atlas #8 - 20,540  (-11.5%)

Two issues this month; the bounce for issue #7 will be due to the 1970s decade variant.

The series ends with issue #11, to become a back-up strip in INCREDIBLE HERCULES. However, Marvel apparently have an eye on a relaunch down the line – the plan is to build up an audience and give it another go.

90. DARK REIGN: FANTASTIC FOUR
03/09  Fantastic Four #1 of 5 - 48,061
04/09  Fantastic Four #2 of 5 - 31,497  (-34.5%)
05/09  Fantastic Four #3 of 5 - 26,536  (-15.8%)
06/09  Fantastic Four #4 of 5 - 24,598  ( -7.3%)
07/09  Fantastic Four #5 of 5 - 23,017  ( -6.4%)

FANTASTIC FOUR spin-offs never seem to do particularly well, and this is no exception.

94. WAR OF KINGS: ASCENSION
04/09  Ascension #1 of 4 - 34,540
05/09  Ascension #2 of 4 - 25,993  (-24.7%)
06/09  Ascension #3 of 4 - 23,680  ( -8.9%)
07/09  Ascension #4 of 4 - 22,342  ( -5.7%)

Not bad at all, for a Darkhawk miniseries. Although not well enough to launch an ongoing title, it seems.

96. IMMORTAL WEAPONS
07/07  Immortal Iron Fist #7    - 35,842
=====
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%)
03/09  Immortal Iron Fist #23   - 22,691  ( -2.4%)
03/09  Immortal Iron Fist #24   - 22,326  ( -1.6%)
04/09  Immortal Iron Fist #25   - 22,309  ( -0.0%)
05/09  Immortal Iron Fist #26   - 21,864  ( -2.0%)
06/09  Immortal Iron Fist #27   - 27,376  (+25.2%)
07/09  Immortal Weapons #1 of 5 - 22,151  (-18.7%)
                                  6 mnth  (  --- )
                                  1 year  (-32.5%)
                                  2 year  (-38.2%)

IRON FIST is on hiatus, and in its place we have IMMORTAL WEAPONS, a miniseries about Iron Fist’s counterparts in other magical cities (with an Iron Fist back-up strip to boot). The first issue sells roughly what you’d have expected from IRON FIST #28, but chances are that we’ll see a second issue drop in August.

97. MARVEL DIVAS
07/09  Marvel Divas #1 of 4 - 21,616

This is the “Sex in the City in the Marvel Universe” miniseries that drew some ire from the blogosphere over J Scott Campbell’s T&A cover.

As it turns out, it ends up with roughly similar sales to BETA RAY BILL: GODHUNTER, ALL-NEW SAVAGE SHE-HULK, DARK REIGN: ZODIAC, FANTASTIC FORCE or SKRULL KILL KREW, give or take a few hundred. Basically, it’s the standard number for a Marvel Universe miniseries featuring characters with no following.

All of which tends to suggest that the much-debated cover actually made little difference one way or the other.

99. DARK REIGN: HOOD
05/09  Hood #1 of 5 - 29,857
06/09  Hood #2 of 5 - 24,076  (-19.4%)
07/09  Hood #3 of 5 - 21,162  (-12.1%)

That’s a fairly steep drop for the third issue of a miniseries.

100. PUNISHER: FRANK CASTLE  [Max]
07/04  Punisher #9      - 46,882
07/05  Punisher #23     - 37,376
07/06  Punisher #35     - 34,116
07/07  Punisher #49     - 34,317
=====
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%)
03/09  Frank Castle #68 - 22,255  ( -0.0%)
04/09  Frank Castle #69 - 21,843  ( -1.9%)
05/09  Frank Castle #70 - 21,864  ( +0.1%)
06/09  Frank Castle #71 - 21,319  ( -2.5%)
07/09  Frank Castle #72 - 21,049  ( -1.3%)
                          6 mnth  ( -7.7%)
                          1 year  (-30.0%)
                          2 year  (-38.7%)
                          3 year  (-38.3%)
                          4 year  (-43.7%)
                          5 year  (-55.1%)

Extremely solid. The book is due to be relaunched in November with Jason Aaron as the new writer.

102. EXILES
07/04  Exiles #49     - 37,184
07/05  Exiles #66     - 34,092
07/06  Exiles #84     - 32,866
07/07  Exiles #96     - 30,245
=====
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%)
03/09  ---
04/09  Exiles #1      - 31,136  (+73.7%)
05/09  Exiles #2      - 22,148  (-28.9%)
06/09  Exiles #3      - 21,654  ( -2.2%)
07/09  Exiles #4      - 20,548  ( -5.1%)
                        6 mnth  (+11.8%)
                        1 year  (-15.9%)
                        2 year  (-32.1%)
                        3 year  (-37.5%)
                        4 year  (-39.7%)
                        5 year  (-44.7%)

Axed with issue #6.

107. WOLVERINE NOIR
04/09  Wolverine Noir #1 of 4 - 32,112
05/09  Wolverine Noir #2 of 4 - 25,792  (-19.7%)
06/09  Wolverine Noir #3 of 4 - 22,547  (-12.6%)
07/09  Wolverine Noir #4 of 4 - 20,159  (-10.6%)

Marvel are evidently happy with the sales of the NOIR books, as they’re launching even more of them.

109. DARK REIGN: MISTER NEGATIVE
06/09  Mr Negative #1 of 3 - 25,760
07/09  Mr Negative #2 of 3 - 19,544  (-24.1%)

The obscure tail-end of the Dark Reign tie-ins.

113. UNCANNY X-MEN: FIRST CLASS
07/07  First Class #2     - 22,269 
=====
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%)
03/09  Finals #2 of 4     - 11,533  (-26.7%)
04/09  Finals #3 of 4     - 10,870  ( -5.7%)
05/09  Finals #4 of 4     - 10,579  ( -2.7%)
06/09  Giant-Size Special - 12,614  (+19.2%)
07/09  Uncanny #1 of 8    - 18,363  (+45.6%)
                            6 mnth  (  --- )
                            1 year  (+32.4%)
                            2 year  (-17.5%)

FIRST CLASS gets the expected boost for a new miniseries, featuring the 1975 X-Men.

114. ALL-NEW SAVAGE SHE-HULK
04/09  She-Hulk #1 of 4 - 23,220
05/09  She-Hulk #2 of 4 - 20,194  (-13.0%)
06/09  She-Hulk #3 of 4 - 20,520  ( +1.6%)
07/09  She-Hulk #4 of 4 - 18,284  (-10.9%)

Not bad for a character with no established audience. After this, the series continues as a back-up feature in INCREDIBLE HULK.

115. DARK REIGN: GOBLIN LEGACY
07/09  Goblin Legacy - 18,256

Basically a reprint of two issues of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, with a new framing sequence. A decent number for that sort of book.

117. BETA RAY BILL: GODHUNTER
06/09  Godhunter #1 of 3 - 21,273
07/09  Godhunter #2 of 3 - 17,561  (-17.4%)

Standard numbers for the obscure end of the Marvel Universe.

121. DAREDEVIL NOIR
04/09  Daredevil Noir #1 of 4 - 24,673
05/09  Daredevil Noir #2 of 4 - 20,555  (-16.7%)
06/09  Daredevil Noir #3 of 4 - 18,458  (-10.2%)
07/09  Daredevil Noir #4 of 4 - 16,606  (-10.0%)

The Noir books aren’t huge sellers, but they keep coming. Perhaps Marvel have an eye on a trade paperback market, though it seems unlikely.

122. CAPTAIN BRITAIN & MI-13
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%)
03/09  Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #11 - 17,757  (-13.9%)
04/09  Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #12 - 19,992  (+12.6%)
05/09  Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #13 - 17,947  (-10.2%)
06/09  Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #14 - 17,761  ( -1.0%)
07/09  Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #15 - 16,556  ( -6.8%)
                                  6 mnth  (-10.4%)
                                  1 year  (-57.7%)

Cancelled.

123. DARK REIGN: LETHAL LEGION
06/09  Lethal Legion #1 of 3 - 23,430
07/09  Lethal Legion #2 of 3 - 16,529  (-29.5%)

The very obscure end of the Marvel Universe. The Dark Reign brand doesn’t seem to be particularly effective at shifting books like these.

125. RUNAWAYS
07/04  ---
07/05  Runaways #6  - 27,365
07/06  Runaways #18 - 24,678
07/07  Runaways #27 - 41,254
=====
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%)
03/09  Runaways #8  - 19,000  ( -3.5%)
04/09  Runaways #9  - 19,851  ( +4.5%)
05/09  Runaways #10 - 17,523  (-11.7%)
06/09  Runaways #11 - 16,988  ( -3.1%)
07/09  Runaways #12 - 16,323  ( -3.9%)
                      6 mnth  (-20.2%)
                      1 year  (  --- )
                      2 year  (-60.4%)
                      3 year  (-33.9%)
                      4 year  (-40.4%)
                      5 year  (  --- )

Still hanging in there, but surely the book can’t remain at these levels forever?

128. HALO: HELLJUMPER
07/09  Helljumper #1 of 5 - 15,809

Another HALO miniseries. Considering that HALO: UPRISING #1 sold 57K in August 2007, the bloom is definitely off this rose.

Place your bets now on when the series will actually finish. My money’s on May 2011.

131. 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%)
03/09  Wizard of Oz #4 of 8 - 16,159  ( +3.1%)
04/09  
Wizard of Oz #5 of 8 - 16,110  ( -0.3%)
05/09  Wizard of Oz #6 of 8 - 15,774  ( -2.1%)
06/09  Wizard of Oz #7 of 8 - 15,473  ( -1.9%)
07/09  Wizard of Oz #8 of 8 - 15,487  ( +0.1%)
                              6 mnth  (-12.0%)

Incredibly consistent sales, and remarkably high for a novel adaptation. By the standards of its genre, this is a hit. Naturally enough, a sequel is on the way.

139. TIMESTORM 2009/2099
04/09  Timestorm #1 of 4 - 19,973
05/09  Timestorm #2 of 4 - 16,190  (-18.9%)
06/09  Spider-Man        - 16,874  ( +4.2%)
06/09  X-Men             - 16,646  ( -1.4%)
07/09  Timestorm #3 of 4 - 14,435  (-13.3%)

There doesn’t seem to be much appetite for a revival of the 2099 imprint.

144. USA COMICS
07/09  70th Anniversary Special - 13,733

155. ALL SELECT COMICS
07/09  70th Anniversary Special - 13,000

Two more commemorative one-shots. It goes without saying that these were always going to have fairly small audiences.



157. SKRULL KILL KREW
04/09  Skrull Kill Krew #1 of 5 - 22,234
05/09  Skrull Kill Krew #2 of 5 - 15,795  (-29.0%)
06/09  ---
07/09  Skrull Kill Krew #3 of 5 - 12,904  (-18.3%)

These are frankly diabolical numbers for a series set in the mainstream Marvel Universe.

161. WOLVERINE: FIRST CLASS
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%)
03/09  First Class #13 - 12,430  ( -0.0%)
04/09  First Class #14 - 13,695  (+10.2%)
05/09  First Class #15 - 12,221  (-10.8%)
06/09  First Class #16 - 11,623  ( -4.9%)
07/09  First Class #17 - 12,441  ( +7.0%)
                         6 mnth  ( -3.1%)
                         1 year  (-33.8%)

There’s no apparent reason for this slight increase, except perhaps a cover by Cameron Stewart.

163. GENEXT UNITED
05/09  GeNext United #1 of 5 - 17,766
06/09  GeNext United #2 of 5 - 14,091  (-20.7%)
07/09  GeNext United #3 of 5 - 12,347  (-12.4%)

An out-of-continuity sequel to Chris Claremont’s X-MEN: THE END trilogy, evidently with limited appeal.

166. ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER
07/07  First Death #1 of 2     - 33,982
=====
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%)
03/09  ---
04/09  Necromancer #1 of 5     - 15,308  ( +8.6%)
05/09  ---
06/09  Necromancer #2 of 5     - 12,907  (-15.7%)
07/09  Necromancer #3 of 5     - 12,143  ( -5.9%)
                                 6 mnth  (-15.8%)
                                 1 year  (  --- )
                                 2 year  (-64.3%)

Still dropping. Of course, with these adaptations, there’s always the possibility of unusually high sales in the collected format.

167. DESTROYER  [Max]
04/09  Destroyer #1 of 5 - 19,395
05/09  Destroyer #2 of 5 - 14,087  (-27.4%)
06/09  Destroyer #3 of 5 - 12,633  (-10.3%)
07/09  Destroyer #4 of 5 - 12,110  ( -4.2%)

Fairly typical numbers for a Max miniseries.

172. LOCKJAW AND THE PET AVENGERS
05/09  Pet Avengers #1 of 4 - 17,638
06/09  Pet Avengers #2 of 4 - 12,317  (-30.2%)
07/09  Pet Avengers #3 of 4 - 11,739  ( -4.7%)

Perhaps a bit too geeky a concept.

179. ASTONISHING TALES
02/09  Astonishing Tales #1 - 27,030
03/09  Astonishing Tales #2 - 17,758  (-34.3%)
04/09  Astonishing Tales #3 - 15,862  (-10.7%)
05/09  Astonishing Tales #4 - 13,268  (-16.4%)
06/09  Astonishing Tales #5 - 11,859  (-10.6%)
07/09  Astonishing Tales #6 - 11,032  ( -7.0%)

Cancelled.

186. THOR: TALES OF ASGARD BY LEE AND KIRBY
05/09  Tales of Asgard #1 of 6 - 13,488
06/09  Tales of Asgard #2 of 6 - 11,022  (-18.3%)
07/09  Tales of Asgard #3 of 6 - 10,618  ( -3.7%)

That’s a pretty good number for a Silver Age reprint book.

193. THOR/HERCULES: ENCYCLOPAEDIA MYTHOLOGICA
07/09  Encyclopaedia Mythologica - 9,892

On the low side for Marvel’s HANDBOOK one-shots.

198. KID COLT
07/09  Kid Colt #1 - 9,500

This is the print edition of a story which originally appeared on Marvel’s website, so the actual audience is bigger than this. (Although sales of 11K weren’t enough to keep ASTONISHING TALES, another digital reprint title, around.)

210. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN FAMILY
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%)
03/09  ---
04/09  Spider-Man Family #5 -  8,051  (+10.5%)
05/09  Spider-Man Family #6 -  8,061  ( +0.1%)
06/09  Spider-Man Family #7 -  8,130  ( +0.9%)
07/09  Spider-Man Family #8 -  8,481  ( +4.3%)
                              6 mnth  (  --- )

Axed, although it’s effectively being relaunched in October as WEB OF SPIDER-MAN.

235. IRON MAN: ARMORED ADVENTURES
07/09  Armored Adventures - 7,385

This is a one-shot tying in to a new cartoon, uninspiringly solicited with a creative team of writer TBA and artist TBA. With promotion like that, it should count itself lucky to sell this many copies. (There’s a variant cover by Skottie Young, which may have helped.)

236. TERROR INC.: APOCALYPSE SOON  [Max]
05/09  Apocalypse Soon #1 of 4 - 10,252
05/09  Apocalypse Soon #2 of 4 -  9,301  ( -9.3%)
06/09  Apocalypse Soon #3 of 4 -  7,501  (-19.4%)
07/09  Apocalypse Soon #4 of 4 -  7,349  ( -2.0%)

Another low-selling Max miniseries; Marvel are evidently content with the imprint delivering this sort of audience.

264. MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN  [All ages]
07/05  M.A. Spider-Man #5  - 8,075
07/06  M.A. Spider-Man #17 - 6,133
07/07  M.A. Spider-Man #29 - 7,071
=====
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%)
03/09  M.A. Spider-Man #49 - 4,640  ( +0.4%)
04/09  M.A. Spider-Man #50 - 4,780  ( +3.0%)
05/09  M.A. Spider-Man #51 - 4,557  ( -4.7%)
06/09  M.A. Spider-Man #52 - 4,612  ( +1.2%)
07/09  M.A. Spider-Man #53 - 5,710  (+23.8%)
                            6 mnth  (+24.3%)
                            1 year  ( -2.5%)
                            2 year  (-19.2%)
                            3 year  ( -6.9%)
                            4 year  (-29.3%)

270. MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS  [All ages]
07/06  M.A. Avengers #3  - 9,006
07/07  ---
=====
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%)
03/09  M.A. Avengers #34 - 4,379  ( +1.2%)
04/09  M.A. Avengers #35 - 3,914  (-10.6%)
05/09  M.A. Avengers #36 - 4,238  ( +8.3%)
06/09  M.A. Avengers #37 - 4,612  ( +8.8%)
07/09  M.A. Avengers #38 - 5,339  (+15.8%)
                          6 mnth  (+23.5%)
                          1 year  ( -1.5%)
                          2 year  (  --- )
                          3 year  (-40.7%)

All three Marvel Adventures titles saw big increases this month, perhaps on the strength of new creative teams and some house ads pushing the Skottie Young cover on SPIDER-MAN. A good month for the imprint, anyhow.

275. SCOURGE OF GODS: FALL  [Soleil]
07/09  Fall #1 of 3 - 5,021

A European reprint. Given that, and the higher price tag, the economics are completely different from everything around it.

276. FRANKLIN RICHARDS
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%)
03/09  ---
04/09  April Fools            - 4,667  ( -9.8%)
05/09  ---
06/09  ---
07/09  Schools Out            - 5,010  ( +7.3%)
                               6 mnth  (  --- )
                               1 year  (  --- )

Hovering around the usual area, but it’s good to see the book going up.

282. PRIDE & PREJUDICE
04/09  Pride & Prejudice #1 of 5 - 7,530
05/09  Pride & Prejudice #2 of 5 - 4,686  (-37.8%)
06/09  Pride & Prejudice #3 of 5 - 4,659  ( -0.6%)
07/09  Pride & Prejudice #4 of 5 - 4,608  ( -1.1%)

Very solid, after the first issue.

284. OFFICIAL INDEX TO THE MARVEL UNIVERSE
01/09  Index #1 - 9,852
02/09  Index #2 - 7,278  (-26.1%)
03/09  Index #3 - 6,331  (-13.0%)
04/09  Index #4 - 5,517  (-12.9%)
05/09  Index #5 - 4,913  (-10.9%)
06/09  Index #6 - 4,743  ( -3.5%)
07/09  Index #7 - 4,518  ( -4.7%)

Well, it’s an incredibly niche product, and that’s really the bottom line.

286. 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%)
03/09  M.A. Super Heroes #9 -  3,716  ( -6.9%)
04/09  M.A. Super Heroes #10 - 3,699  ( -0.5%)
05/09  M.A. Super Heroes #11 - 3,474  ( -6.1%)
06/09  M.A. Super Heroes #12 - 3,508  ( +1.0%)
07/09  M.A. Super Heroes #13 - 4,439  (+26.5%)
                              6 mnth  ( +7.2%)
                              1 year  (-62.9%)


298. RIFTWAR  [Soleil]
06/09  Riftwar #1 of 5 - 7,051
07/09  Riftwar #2 of 5 - 4,090  (-42.0%)

And finally, TROJAN WAR #3 failed to make the charts, with estimates saled somewhere below 4,062 copies.

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

+163.9% - Captain America
+ 83.3% - Amazing Spider-Man
+ 26.3% - Deadpool
+ 24.3% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
+ 23.5% - Marvel Adventures Avengers
+ 19.0% - Cable
+ 17.9% - X-Force
+ 11.8% - Exiles
+  7.2% - Marvel Adventures Super Heroes
+  5.6% - Wolverine: Origins
+  0.1% - Nova
+  0.0% - X-Men: Legacy
-  3.1% - Wolverine: First Class
-  3.5% - Iron Man
-  4.8% - X-Factor
-  6.1% - Son of Hulk
-  6.4% - Ms Marvel
-  6.7% - Guardians of the Galaxy
-  7.7% - Punisher (Max)
-  8.5% - Hercules
- 10.1% - New Avengers
- 10.4% - Captain Britain & MI-13
- 10.6% - Thunderbolts
- 12.0% - Wizard of Oz
- 15.2% - Fantastic Four
- 15.8% - Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter
- 16.6% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 19.7% - Marvel Zombies
- 19.9% - Avengers: The Initiative
- 20.2% - Runaways
- 26.6% - The Stand
- 27.0% - Dark Tower
- 36.6% - Punisher (MU)


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

+143.5% - Captain America
+ 69.6% - Amazing Spider-Man
+ 52.8% - Black Panther
+ 32.4% - X-Men: First Class
+ 18.7% - Punisher (MU)
-  0.7% - Wolverine: Origins
-  1.5% - Marvel Adventures Avengers
-  2.5% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
-  9.6% - Hulk
- 10.2% - Nova
- 13.3% - Thunderbolts
- 14.6% - Cable
- 15.1% - X-Men: Legacy
- 15.9% - Exiles
- 20.6% - X-Force
- 21.7% - Guardians of the Galaxy
- 22.1% - New Avengers
- 23.9% - Iron Man
- 25.1% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 27.4% - Dark Wolverine
- 30.0% - Punisher (Max)
- 32.5% - Iron Fist / Immortal Weapons
- 32.8% - Mighty Avengers
- 33.8% - Wolverine: First Class
- 39.1% - Ms Marvel
- 39.9% - Avengers: The Initiative
- 41.2% - X-Factor 
- 44.5% - Hercules
- 48.2% - Uncanny X-Men
- 48.8% - Son of Hulk
- 50.7% - Dark Tower
- 57.7% - Captain Britain & MI-13
- 62.9% - Marvel Adventures Super Heroes


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

+115.3% - Captain America
+ 10.5% - Amazing Spider-Man
-  3.9% - Uncanny X-Men
- 12.1% - Hulk
- 17.5% - X-Men: First Class
- 19.2% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
- 30.6% - Iron Man
- 31.1% - New Avengers
- 31.3% - X-Men: Legacy
- 31.9% - X-Factor
- 32.1% - Exiles
- 33.9% - Ms Marvel
- 36.1% - Nova
- 38.2% - Iron Fist / Immortal Weapons
- 38.7% - Punisher (Max)
- 40.0% - Mighty Avengers
- 43.4% - Dark Wolverine
- 45.1% - Punisher
- 45.2% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 46.0% - Black Panther
- 59.7% - Avengers: The Initiative
- 60.4% - Runaways
- 64.3% - Anita Blake
- 71.1% - Dark Tower


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

+307.8% - Captain America
+ 87.7% - Hulk
+ 32.7% - Iron Man
+  2.9% - Amazing Spider-Man
-  6.1% - Uncanny X-Men
-  6.9% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
- 24.4% - Thunderbolts
- 29.7% - Dark Wolverine
- 32.0% - New Avengers
- 33.6% - X-Men: Legacy
- 33.9% - Runaways
- 35.4% - Ms Marvel
- 37.5% - Exiles
- 38.3% - Punisher (Max)
- 40.7% - Marvel Adventures Avengers
- 46.0% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 54.6% - X-Factor
- 57.4% - Wolverine: Origins
- 57.5% - Black Panther


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

+ 65.1% - Hulk
+ 59.8% - Amazing Spider-Man
+ 57.4% - Thunderbolts
-  3.4% - Dark Wolverine
-  8.5% - Uncanny X-Men
- 15.6% - Fantastic Four
- 15.7% - Black Panther
- 23.1% - X-Men: Legacy
- 29.3% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
- 39.7% - Exiles
- 40.4% - Runaways
- 43.7% - Punisher (Max)
- 46.2% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 46.6% - New Avengers


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

+380.2% - Captain America
+112.9% - Hulk
+ 46.4% - Iron Man
+ 37.9% - Amazing Spider-Man
+ 11.2% - Dark Wolverine
-  8.0% - Fantastic Four
- 14.0% - Uncanny X-Men
- 19.8% - New Avengers
- 36.4% - X-Men: Legacy
- 44.7% - Exiles
- 55.1% - Punisher (Max)
- 58.2% - Ultimate Spider-Man

1 COMMENT

  1. Re: Millar and Hitch’s F.F.:

    “…for some reason FANTASTIC FOUR never caught fire in the way that their other books have.”

    I think the reason is that Millar’s name power just doesn’t move books like it used to. As Hollywood deals and self-promotion became Millar’s full time job, the comic book stuff naturally took a back seat (think “Stan Lee 2.0”). Of course, Hitch’s glacial pace didn’t help matters, either.

    Or the fact that their actual F.F. stories were as dull as dishwater.

  2. I was wondering when we’d finally get to see this…the August sales estimates are due on iCV2 anyday now, aren’t they?

    Anyway, good analysis, as always, though digging through the variant covers to see trends is getting monotonous. Regarding the Dark Reign books, I’d be interested to see how their sales compare to similar post-Civil War spinoff books to see how the $3.99 price tag is affecting the performance of these miniseries. I know I, for one, am avoiding pretty much all of them just because i can’t afford them, but I’d be curious to see if that extra $1 an issue offsets the lower number of copies sold.

  3. It’s a shame that Dark Reign: Fantastic Four didn’t sell that well. One, because it was really good. Two, because for all intents and purposes it might as well have been the regular ongoing series since Jonathan Hickman is now the regular writer on FF, and the events of the Dark Reign series are what’s he’s building off of, and Millar’s run might as well have been out of continuity for all it accomplished.

  4. 1) Still odd that War of Kings has had little/no effect on NOVA and GOTG.

    2) Curious to see how WOK: WARRIORS sold compared to other comics that were originally published on Marvel.com and then sold as one-shot comics. 23K seems rather high, and I’m really surprised to see it sold almost as well as NOVA and GOTG.

    3) With MARVEL ZOMBIES 4’s fall, I’m not sure how this MARVEL ZOMBIES RETURN will do, especially considering that unlike the first 4, this is more a series of one-shots by different creators on all issues (and from what I’ve seen, the art style is wildly different than any MZ comics before). At least MERC WITH A MOUTH (featuring MZ Deadpool) is selling really well.

  5. This may be a very stupid question, but how did Amazing Spider-Man, Daredevil, and Hulk get to #600 before Fantastic Four? Wasn’t FF in existence as a comic before any of the other titles?

  6. “87. WAR OF KINGS: WARRIORS
    07/09 Warriors #1 of 2 – 23,275
    Stories about Blastaar and Gladiator. Once again, the cosmic audience isn’t huge, but it’s reliable.”

    I think I would consider sales of 23,275 copies for a book about Blastaar and Gladiator huge. All the more impressive when you compare it to the other stories originally released as digital comics. It even did better than Ascension.

    Speaking of Ascension, I wonder if the sales would have been any different if it was War of Kings: Darkhawk? I know he was prominent on every cover, but why didn’t they just use his name?

  7. “I know he was prominent on every cover, but why didn’t they just use his name?”

    Maybe a concern it would cause confusion with the “Dark Reign” books?

  8. Fantastic Four has been a monthly for most of its run.

    Amazing Spider-Man was shipped twice monthly (fortnightly for our British cousins) in the late 80s, and, of course, ships almost weekly now.

    The Hulk had a six-issue run, was cancelled because DC imposed a title limit on Marvel, and then re-appeared in Tales to Astonish. Like Thor and Captain America, Hulk took over the title in which he was featured and continued the numbering. Daredevil hit #500 recently. FF is around #562…

    Now, how they computed the numbering on Deadpool #900… I have no idea.

    As for the Hulk discrepancy… was #-1 added to the count?

  9. Expanding on what Torsten said, Incredible Hulk started its numbering with #102 (last issue of Tales to Astonish was 101).

  10. Joseph, I think Daredevil is in the 500s.

    ASM has been weekly for a few months now, which causes the numbers to add up faster.

    And while there’s lots of arguments over the hulk numbering, I believe Marvel is using the Tales to Astonish numbering, which was in print before FF.

    Hope this helps.

    Cheers,

    B

  11. If you total the various Millie titles, the recent “Models, Inc.” would probably be #500 or so…
    (And while Tom De Falco’s run on Spider-Girl is impressive, Millie still holds the record for a female title at Marvel: 207 issues over 28 years.)

    In a recent DC Nation column, it was announced that DC might renumber Wonder Woman #600 IF they receive enough postcards demanding it.

    Chronology:
    FF
    Hulk
    Spider-Man
    Thor
    Iron Man
    Avengers
    X-Men
    Daredevil

  12. You should be able to tell whether #-1 was included in the count by looking at all the postage stamp-sized covers included at the back of Hulk #600. There are 6 pages of 10×10 grids there, so they show exactly 600 comics.

  13. Chronology:
    FF
    Hulk
    Spider-Man…

    I learn something new every day. I’d always assumed Spidey was second and the Hulk was third….but he beat Spidey by a few months.

  14. I’m saddened by the cancelation of Agents of Atlas. I’ll get the collected trades of their back-up strip; I’m not interested in Hercules. It was cool to see Mighty Avengers relatively stabilized. I didn’t read Avengers back in the day, but Mighty Avengers seems to have the original’s spirit, pre-Bendis. I miss the “late books” section of the analysis. But thanks again Paul for crunchin’ numbers. As always, this is the article I look forward to every month.

  15. Quote “”REBORN was always going to be a big seller, particularly given Marvel’s promise of mainstream media coverage. It wasn’t guaranteed to top the charts, though, because July also saw the release of BLACKEST NIGHT #1, DC’s latest crossover. As it turns out, they’re fairly close. REBORN was about 16,000 ahead.Intriguingly, though, Diamond’s chart lists BLACKEST NIGHT at number 1 in the dollar rankings – despite both books costing the same. I can only assume that this is because the extra sales generated by incentive variants (order ten, get one free) count for the unit sales, but not the dollar chart. Anyhow, it suggests that the two projects were closer together than the sales figures might first suggest.”” End quote

    Or maybe they are taking into account discounts. I’ve heard that Reborn #1 had huge discounts offered to retailers…

  16. > I learn something new every day. I’d always assumed Spidey was second and the Hulk was third….but he beat Spidey by a few months.

    Hulk was cancelled *for* Amazing Spider-Man, IIRC. [Marvel could only publish eight titles a month under their distribution agreement, and they chopped Hulk at six because they felt it was underperforming.]

  17. And, honestly, skip this column in August and head straight to the September charts. That’s how far behind you’ve got now.

    [You can’t even blame Paul, he’s been on holiday since the end of August, per his blog…]

  18. Hulk #-1 is included in the count — you’ll find its cover in 600’s cover gallery between issues 454 and 455, which is where it was issued (all the Marvel titles took a month off from their regular numbering for July 1997’s #-1 issues, and then resumed normal numbering the next month). Still doesn’t seem to make much sense to count it to get to 600 (they didn’t for Spidey or Cap). Maybe once they published Wolverine out of sequence earlier this summer, all bets were off….

  19. A possible reason why sales of CABLE didn’t plummet back down to the pre crossover numbers, is because retailers were anticipating the possibility that some readers might stick with the book after the crossover.

  20. royd 9 said:

    “I can only assume that this is because the extra sales generated by incentive variants (order ten, get one free)”

    I thought it was order 10 and you can order 1 variant, not get 1 variant FREE. Anybody?

  21. Wraith – you could say that about ANY crossover, but retailer’s DEFAULT assumption, based on the figures, is that sales will plummet back to “normal” starting with the first post-crossover issue (apparently, they’d rather risk leaving potential sales on the table than risk being stuck with unsellable copies).

    There have been exceptions – Cable & Deadpool usually profited a bit from crossovers past the crossover itself, and X-Factor held onto a chunk of its’ Endangered Species/Messiah CompleX boost until Larry Stroman came along to piss it all away – but “EXCEPTION” is the operative word there.

  22. >Hulk was cancelled *for* Amazing Spider-Man, IIRC. [Marvel could only >publish eight titles a month under their distribution agreement, and they >chopped Hulk at six because they felt it was underperforming.]

    Incredible Hulk was cancelled after 6 issues to make room for Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandos.

  23. RE: The Dark Reign spinoffs not selling that well. Is anyone else starting to tire of the Dark Avengers and Norman Osborn in particular being EVERYWHERE? I’ll admit, I’ve been buying Dark Avengers out of curiousity, but I’m close to dropping it. I’m also considering dropping Thunderbolts due to Osborn overload.

    Honestly, the books I’m enjoying the most at Marvel right now are Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy. Daredevil is heading in a direction that I don’t care for, Captain America Reborn is already feeling like a letdown and most of the X-Men books, with the exception of New Mutants, are feeling really bland these days. It’s like all the characters individuality has been dumbed down to a boring level.

    I agree about Larry Stroman on X-Factor, man but that was some awful artwork!

  24. I’ll be interested to see how September and October’s sales play out, in the wake of the “rape that wasn’t” storyline.

  25. “I was wondering when we’d finally get to see this…the August sales estimates are due on iCV2 any day now, aren’t they?”

    The August numbers are up now on ICv2.com.

  26. It’s “Sex AND the City” not “Sex in the City” dag nabbit. It’s a series about New York City and the sex lives of the protagonists, not just about sex. Seems almost everybody misses that point.

  27. Just thought I’d note that 72 is the penultimate chapter of Old Man Logan, not the final one. Though it is the last chapter that will be appearing in the regular Wolverine title.

  28. The -1 issue was included for Hulk…which makes no sense, because it wasn’t included for Spider-Man or any other title which has had a renumbering.

    I honestly prefer to think of it this way: if you read the solicitations for May 2009, you’d have seen that Hulk #13 was originally scheduled to come out BEFORE Hulk #600. Had it gone in that order, Hulk #13 would have been the 599th issue. For some reason, they switched it, and #13 now came out after. For the sake of sanity, I tell myself that Hulk #13 is issue #599, published out-of-order and out-of-chronology.

  29. “I thought it was order 10 and you can order 1 variant, not get 1 variant FREE. Anybody? ”

    For Marvel (and DC, Dark Horse, Image, etc.), it’s order 10 (or 15 or 20 or 25 or 100, etc.) and then you can order the special variant for FREE… now, for a company like BOOM!, they actually make you pay for some of their variants after meeting the qty. minimum (and they actually charge you a higher price than the normal comic for that variant!).

  30. Do you think you guys could put something like (4 var) or something next to books when they have variants? Would make looking back at past months to see just how variants affected the sales. Great read, as always!

  31. And Dennis V, that is incorrect. We pay normal cover price, minus discount, for variants from Marvel and DC. I think IDW is the only company that gives it’s variants to retailers for free.

  32. “I honestly prefer to think of it this way: if you read the solicitations for May 2009, you’d have seen that Hulk #13 was originally scheduled to come out BEFORE Hulk #600. Had it gone in that order, Hulk #13 would have been the 599th issue. For some reason, they switched it, and #13 now came out after. For the sake of sanity, I tell myself that Hulk #13 is issue #599, published out-of-order and out-of-chronology.”

    The funny thing is, they keep soliciting for Hulk. The November solicits include Hulk #17 and Incredible Hulk #604. Crazy.

  33. Why do we need to include the -1 issue of Hulk?

    There were 101 issues of astonishing tales, 374 issues of incredible hulk, 112 issues of vol 2 before it switched to herc and 12 issues of Hulk.

    That’s 599?

    I mean it’s still stupid for the other reasons mentioned but the maths seems correct?

  34. Ah scrap that, the 373 issues does include the #-1. Weird.

    Maybe Marvel used the same site I did instead of checking their own stuff :)

  35. Ah scrap that, the 374 issues does include the #-1. Weird.

    Maybe Marvel used the same site I did instead of checking their own stuff :)

  36. I burnt out on crossovers quite a while back, so I buy GotG without getting any of the other War of Kings crossover titles. War of Kings just doesn’t interest me at all. Thankfully, despite some direct involvement, GotG has been fairly self-contained.

    Heck, I’m still reading Uncanny X-Men, but haven’t bothered with Dark Avengers, and they haven’t been self-contained. I just treat it as a lot of stuff happening off-panel between issues of Uncanny. (And to be blunt, I would have cut Uncanny before I picked up Dark Avengers. I don’t need another Marvel title.)

    As for Anita Blake, I guess its low sales means that Marvel will never get far enough into the series to deal with the format change that happened with the novels. Around ten books in, the novels switched from being supernatural detective stories to being cover-to-cover hard core porn. It seriously gets to the point that a book has no plot other than what is necessary to move Anita from explicitly detailed sex scene to sex scene.

  37. “For Marvel (and DC, Dark Horse, Image, etc.), it’s order 10 (or 15 or 20 or 25 or 100, etc.) and then you can order the special variant for FREE… now, for a company like BOOM!, they actually make you pay for some of their variants after meeting the qty. minimum (and they actually charge you a higher price than the normal comic for that variant!). ”

    That’s incorrect. IDW frequently offers free variants but otherwise most publishers, including Marvel, DC, Dark Horse and Image charge for their variants.

  38. >I think the reason is that Millar’s name power just doesn’t move books like it used to. As Hollywood deals and self-promotion became Millar’s full time job, the comic book stuff naturally took a back seat (think “Stan Lee 2.0″). Of course, Hitch’s glacial pace didn’t help matters, either.

    Given that there was not ONE spin-off that was halfway successful in the last couple of years and given that the main title only has so-so sales even with an A-talent creative team I think the FF are a really, really, REALLY dead franchise at the moment. They should go for the “Thor” routine – cancel the title, have the FF be lost in the Negative Zone and taken away from the MU, let the franchise rest for at least 2 years and then relaunch it, when enough people realized that they might miss those characters.

    >There doesn’t seem to be much appetite for a revival of the 2099 imprint.

    Could it be that most people were turned off when instead of the expected… I dunno… 2009 characters?… they were exposed to yet more Wolverine? I know at least I was despite Christopher Shy’s bad-ass cover for #1. And making it a reboot turned a lot of people of all well. Didn’t work the first time as well.

    >The -1 issue was included for Hulk…which makes no sense, because it wasn’t included for Spider-Man or any other title which has had a renumbering.

    This is Marvel. They made a big Broohaa, when FF reached #500 as the first series to do so, yet “Journey into Mystery” reached that number a few years earlier in 1997 or 1998.

  39. RE: The Hulk thing.

    If you look in the cover gallery in the back, I’m pretty sure they include the first issue of Herc. In fairness, it DID have the Hulk logo on the cover with Herc painted overtop. But in fairness, Tales to Astonish shouldn’t count.

    Oy.

  40. “There doesn’t seem to be much appetite for a revival of the 2099 imprint.”

    I would’ve been all over a 2099 revival.

    This wasn’t one. It just re-used the name. It was as much 2099 as The Order (before its renaming) was the Champions.

    I would love to see the further adventures of Miguel O’Hara, Skullfire, La Lunatica and the rest. Sign me up when that happens.

    If you’re gonna just create new characters, re-using the name carries no value. It’s the characters that matter, not the name.

    The interest for a 2099 revival is gauged by a revival of the *characters*, not a revival of the *name*.