by Paul O’Brien
The AVENGERS VS X-MEN crossover continued in May, while NEW MUTANTS and JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY had their own little private event with “Exiled”. There’s also the launch of the new FURY MAX title, the weekly mini HULK SMASH AVENGERS, more flogging of the undead horse with MARVEL ZOMBIES DESTROY!, and the return of Icon’s TAKIO.
As usual, Marvel had the largest share of the North American direct market, though by a smaller than usual margin – they led DC by 39% to 37% in unit share, and 35% to 33% in dollar terms.
Thanks as always to ICV2.com for permission to use these figures.
1,2. AVENGERS VS X-MEN 03/12 #0 of 12 - 156,270 04/12 #1 of 12 - 246,624 (+57.8%) 04/12 #2 of 12 - 181,973 (-26.2%) 05/12 #3 of 12 - 175,695 ( -3.4%) 05/12 #4 of 12 - 178,330 ( +1.5%)
It’s a hit, and a big one. Earlier issues continue to pick up reorders – issue #0 adds 9,372, issue #1 adds 16,462, and issue #2 adds a mighty 23,323. As usual, those numbers are added in to the totals shown above.
That means that in terms of first month sales, the book has actually increased its audience two issues running. Ignore the re-orders, and issue #3 would be showing a remarkable 10.7% rise. That’s highly unusual for any miniseries, even a major event, and it says that there’s a real demand for this that exceeded retailer expectations.
As we’ll see below, the tie-in issues also continue to perform well. An interesting question is how far Marvel have benefitted from the decision to scale back the tie-ins this time. It might feel like there are tons, but in fact there’s only one miniseries, and the crossover doesn’t extend to any of the Avengers’ solo titles, or to X-MEN, ASTONISHING X-MEN or WOLVERINE. They could have gone a lot further.
I have a pet theory that if you make your crossovers too big, readers just decide that they’ll never be able to read the whole thing, so they just cherry pick the books they really want. Pitch it a bit smaller, and you may actually get more readers picking up extra titles in order to get the whole thing. It’s a thought, anyway.
6. AVX: VS 04/12 #1 of 6 - 111,913 05/12 #2 of 6 - 98,819 (-11.7%)
Issue #1 picks up reorders of 8,477, which are included above. Without those reorders, the month-to-month drop would be a mere 4.5% – an incredibly small drop for any title. Even with the reorders factored in, the drop is modest.
14. UNCANNY X-MEN
05/07 #486 - 81,965
05/08 #498 - 82,090
05/09 #510 - 75,139
05/10 #524 - 77,056
=====
05/11 #537 - 53,716 ( +0.4%)
06/11 #538 - 53,319 ( -0.7%)
06/11 #539 - 54,284 ( +1.8%)
07/11 #540 - 57,206 ( +5.4%)
07/11 #541 - 55,856 ( -2.4%)
08/11 #542 - 54,840 ( -1.8%)
09/11 #543 - 58,326 ( +6.4%)
10/11 #544 - 60,212 ( +3.2%)
11/11 #1 - 109,911 (+82.5%)
11/11 #2 - 72,485 (-34.1%)
12/11 #3 - 64,112 (-11.6%)
01/12 #4 - 63,175 ( -1.5%)
01/12 #5 - 63,477 ( +0.5%)
02/12 #6 - 59,834 ( -5.7%)
02/12 #7 - 59,200 ( -1.1%)
03/12 #8 - 57,568 ( -2.8%)
03/12 #9 - 56,976 ( -1.0%)
04/12 #10 - 56,906 ( -0.1%)
04/12 #11 - 75,109 (+32.0%)
05/12 #12 - 69,265 ( -7.8%)
6 mnth ( -4.4%)
1 year (+28.9%)
2 year (-10.1%)
3 year ( -7.8%)
4 year (-15.6%)
5 year (-15.5%)
All that being said, you will note that Marvel’s highest-selling ongoing book isn’t in the top ten, ranking behind the three AVX issues and ten DC titles. Still, those ten titles include the first issues of BATMAN INCORPORATED and EARTH 2, as well as the BATMAN ANNUAL, so it’s not a typical month.
UNCANNY X-MEN is (naturally) part of the crossover. April’s issue #11 picks up reorders of 5,234, so the first-month sales are actually holding up very well.
15. AVENGERS
05/10 #1 - 163,867
=====
05/11 #13 - 68,086 (+12.6%)
06/11 #14 - 64,057 ( -5.9%)
07/11 #15 - 62,580 (-17.9%)
08/11 #16 - 60,295 ( -3.7%)
09/11 #17 - 61,492 ( +2.0%)
10/11 #18 - 58,897 ( -4.2%)
11/11 #19 - 56,620 ( -3.9%)
12/11 #20 - 57,145 ( +0.9%)
01/12 #21 - 54,803 ( -4.1%)
02/12 #22 - 52,683 ( -3.9%)
02/12 #23 - 52,222 ( -0.9%)
03/12 #24 - 52,242 ( +0.0%)
03/12 #.1 - 52,164 ( -0.1%)
04/12 #25 - 65,664 (+25.9%)
05/12 #26 - 67,744 ( +3.2%)
6 mnth (+19.6%)
1 year ( -0.5%)
2 year (-58.7%)
Second month of the AvX tie-in arc, and sales continue to grow.
16,18. WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN
10/11 #1 - 99,611
11/11 #2 - 83,356 (-16.3%)
12/11 #3 - 58,438 (-29.9%)
01/12 #4 - 59,530 ( +1.9%)
02/12 #5 - 55,788 ( -6.3%)
02/12 #6 - 55,341 ( -0.8%)
03/12 #7 - 54,559 ( -1.4%)
04/12 #8 - 53,757 ( -1.5%)
04/12 #9 - 64,984 (+20.9%)
05/12 #10 - 63,650 ( -2.1%)
05/12 #11 - 64,936 ( +2.0%)
6 mnth (-22.1%)
A similar pattern here; it’s the second month of the crossover arc, and while sales aren’t up, they’re virtually unchanged from the initial surge.
17. NEW AVENGERS
05/07 #30 - 126,425
05/08 #41 - 109,185
05/09 #53 - 94,367
05/10 Finale - 76,918
=====
05/11 #12 - 60,328 ( -2.3%)
06/11 #13 - 57,682 ( -4.4%)
07/11 #14 - 58,306 ( +1.1%)
08/11 #15 - 56,035 ( -3.9%)
09/11 #16 - 57,959 ( +3.4%)
09/11 #.1 - 51,506 (-11.1%)
10/11 #17 - 55,732 ( +8.2%)
11/11 #18 - 54,454 ( -2.3%)
12/11 #19 - 52,915 ( -2.8%)
01/12 #20 - 52,910 ( -0.0%)
02/12 #21 - 54,105 ( +2.3%)
02/12 #22 - 51,235 ( -5.3%)
03/12 #23 - 51,697 ( +0.9%)
04/12 #24 - 64,533 (+24.8%)
04/12 #25 - 61,950 ( -4.0%)
05/12 #26 - 64,326 ( +3.8%)
6 mnth (+18.1%)
1 year ( +6.6%)
2 year (-16.4%)
3 year (-31.8%)
4 year (-41.1%)
5 year (-49.1%)
More of the crossover. You know the drill by now.
25,26. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
05/07 #540 - 119,662
05/08 #560 - 74,012
05/09 #593 - 58,363
05/10 #632 - 56,723
=====
05/11 #660 - 58,249 ( -0.0%)
05/11 #661 - 59,087 ( +1.4%)
05/11 #662 - 55,883 ( -5.4%)
06/11 #663 - 57,040 ( +2.1%)
06/11 #664 - 54,808 ( -3.9%)
07/11 #665 - 56,948 ( +3.9%)
07/11 #666 - 135,568 (+138.1%)
08/11 #667 - 71,235 ( -47.5%)
08/11 #668 - 57,533 ( -19.2%)
09/11 #669 - 71,944 ( +25.0%)
09/11 #670 - 57,959 ( -19.4%)
10/11 #671 - 59,426 ( +2.5%)
10/11 #672 - 57,860 ( -2.6%)
11/11 #673 - 57,159 ( -1.2%)
11/11 #674 - 57,723 ( +1.0%)
12/11 #675 - 54,652 ( -5.3%)
12/11 #676 - 54,001 ( -1.2%)
01/12 #677 - 57,186 ( +5.9%)
01/12 #678 - 54,252 ( -5.1%)
02/12 #679 - 52,564 ( -3.1%)
02/12 #.1 - 50,624 ( -3.7%)
02/12 #680 - 51,872 ( +2.5%)
03/12 #681 - 52,143 ( +0.5%)
03/12 #682 - 57,143 ( +9.6%)
04/12 #683 - 59,153 ( +3.5%)
04/12 #684 - 57,454 ( -2.9%)
05/12 #685 - 58,121 ( +1.2%)
05/12 #686 - 58,337 ( +0.4%)
6 mnth ( +1.1%)
1 year ( +0.2%)
2 year ( +2.8%)
3 year ( -0.0%)
4 year ( -21.2%)
5 year ( -51.2%)
The highest placed title not connected with AVX. This continues the “Ends of the Earth” storyline that began in issue #682. Sales remain significantly up from the book’s usual level in the low 50K range. This arc is working.
27. ASTONISHING X-MEN
05/07 #21 - 120,495
05/08 GS1 - 105,508
05/09 ---
05/10 ---
=====
05/11 #37 - 38,513 (-13.1%)
05/11 #38 - 37,580 ( -2.4%)
06/11 #39 - 37,127 ( -1.2%)
07/11 #40 - 35,593 ( -4.1%)
08/11 #41 - 33,470 ( -6.0%)
09/11 #42 - 32,700 ( -2.3%)
10/11 #43 - 32,620 ( -0.2%)
11/11 #44 - 32,729 ( +0.3%)
12/11 #45 - 31,392 ( -4.1%)
01/12 #46 - 31,134 ( -0.8%)
02/12 #47 - 30,490 ( -2.1%)
03/12 #48 - 34,182 (+12.1%)
04/12 #49 - 31,291 ( -8.5%)
05/12 #50 - 57,931 (+85.1%)
6 mnth (+77.0%)
1 year (+50.4%)
2 year ( --- )
3 year ( --- )
4 year (-45.1%)
5 year (-51.9%)
Sales on ASTONISHING X-MEN haven’t been this high since September 2009. It’s not part of the AVENGERS VS X-MEN crossover; instead, it’s the heavily-promoted gay wedding storyline, which began in issue #48, and has the proposal this issue. The wedding is in issue #51, and no doubt the sales surge will continue.
29. X-FORCE
05/08 #4 - 80,175
05/09 #15 - 58,340
05/10 #27 - 62,509
=====
05/11 #9 - 51,726 ( +1.6%)
05/11 #10 - 50,676 ( -2.0%)
06/11 #11 - 53,199 ( +5.0%)
07/11 #12 - 55,413 ( +4.2%)
08/11 #13 - 53,904 ( -2.7%)
08/11 #14 - 50,770 ( -5.8%)
09/11 #15 - 53,771 ( +5.9%)
10/11 #16 - 52,398 ( -2.6%)
11/11 #17 - 50,974 ( -2.7%)
12/11 #18 - 54,274 ( +6.5%)
12/11 #19 - 55,333 ( +2.0%)
01/12 #.1 - 50,399 ( -8.9%)
01/12 #20 - 51,054 ( +1.3%)
02/12 #21 - 50,654 ( -0.8%)
02/12 #22 - 49,665 ( -2.0%)
03/12 #23 - 48,867 ( -1.6%)
04/12 #24 - 50,667 ( +3.7%)
05/12 #25 - 50,851 ( +0.4%)
6 mnth ( -0.2%)
1 year ( -1.7%)
2 year (-18.7%)
3 year (-12.8%)
4 year (-36.6%)
A very solid seller, outperforming several of the regular X-Men titles even in the midst of the AVX crossover.
32. SECRET AVENGERS
05/10 #1 - 106,750
=====
05/11 #13 - 51,936 (+12.5%)
06/11 #14 - 49,898 ( -3.9%)
07/11 #15 - 46,712 ( -6.4%)
08/11 #16 - 46,317 ( -0.8%)
09/11 #17 - 44,890 ( -3.1%)
10/11 #18 - 43,280 ( -3.6%)
11/11 #19 - 41,191 ( -4.8%)
12/11 #20 - 38,202 ( -7.3%)
01/12 #21 - 38,082 ( -0.3%)
01/12 #.1 - 35,320 ( -7.3%)
02/12 #22 - 39,337 (+11.4%)
02/12 #23 - 37,140 ( -5.6%)
03/12 #24 - 38,359 ( +3.3%)
04/12 #25 - 38,466 ( +0.3%)
04/12 #26 - 54,854 (+42.6%)
05/12 #27 - 49,851 ( -9.1%)
6 mnth (+21.0%)
1 year ( -4.0%)
2 year (-53.3%)
Back to AVX, and issue #26 picks up re-orders of 5,012. First-month sales are actually marginally up.
37,42. X-MEN LEGACY
05/07 #199 - 75,996
05/08 #212 - 74,033
05/09 #224 - 54,008
05/10 #236 - 64,850
=====
05/11 #248 - 46,083 (-11.3%)
05/11 #249 - 45,063 ( -2.2%)
06/11 #250 - 45,070 ( +0.0%)
06/11 #251 - 43,479 ( -3.5%)
07/11 #252 - 41,365 ( -4.9%)
08/11 #253 - 40,466 ( -2.2%)
08/11 #254 - 39,896 ( -1.4%)
09/11 #255 - 39,284 ( -1.5%)
09/11 #256 - 38,680 ( -1.5%)
10/11 #257 - 38,070 ( -1.6%)
11/11 #258 - 38,334 ( +0.7%)
11/11 #259 - 41,967 ( +9.5%)
12/11 #260 - 37,946 ( -9.6%)
01/12 #.1 - 37,160 ( -2.1%)
01/12 #261 - 37,577 ( +1.1%)
02/12 #262 - 36,461 ( -3.0%)
03/12 #263 - 35,999 ( -1.3%)
03/12 #264 - 35,953 ( -0.1%)
04/12 #265 - 35,712 ( -0.7%)
05/12 #266 - 43,199 (+21.0%)
05/12 #267 - 46,279 ( +7.1%)
6 mnth (+10.3%)
1 year ( +0.4%)
2 year (-28.6%)
3 year (-14.3%)
4 year (-37.5%)
5 year (-39.1%)
X-MEN LEGACY joins the crossover a month late, and immediately sees a sales surge. Granted, it’s a surge that mainly just cancels out the book’s decline of the previous year – but it’s still a big climb from last month.
41. AVENGERS ASSEMBLE 03/12 #1 - 100,883 04/12 #2 - 53,024 (-47.4%) 05/12 #3 - 43,886 (-17.2%)
The one Avengers title to skip the crossover is kind of getting lost in the shuffle now that the movie tie-in angle is behind us. The theory here, of course, was supposed to be that this would be the standalone book for new readers brought in by the movie. I wonder whether this may have backfired; movies never seem to have much impact on sales beyond the first month, and the promotion implicitly says that this is the Avengers title you can safely skip.
44. ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN
05/07 #109 - 72,478
05/08 #122 - 55,759
05/09 #132 - 50,144
05/10 #10 - 39,690
=====
05/11 #158 - 47,941 ( -5.8%)
06/11 #159 - 51,766 ( +8.0%)
06/11 #160 - 166,944 (+222.5%)
07/11 #1 of 6 - 49,084 ( -70.6%)
07/11 #2 of 6 - 45,371 ( -7.6%)
07/11 #3 of 6 - 44,492 ( -1.9%)
08/11 #4 of 6 - 96,815 (+117.6%)
08/11 #5 of 6 - 41,336 ( -57.3%)
08/11 #6 of 6 - 39,190 ( -5.2%)
09/11 #1 - 95,483 (+143.6%)
09/11 #2 - 58,672 ( -38.6%)
10/11 #3 - 52,521 ( -10.5%)
11/11 #4 - 51,558 ( -1.8%)
12/11 #5 - 48,308 ( -6.3%)
01/12 #6 - 49,840 ( +3.2%)
02/12 #7 - 45,266 ( -9.2%)
03/12 #8 - 46,290 ( +2.3%)
04/12 #9 - 43,724 ( -5.5%)
05/12 #10 - 42,356 ( -3.1%)
6 mnth ( -17.8%)
1 year ( -11.6%)
2 year ( +6.7%)
3 year ( -15.5%)
4 year ( -24.0%)
5 year ( -41.6%)
At long last, we reach a book on the (usually) standard downward drift. ULTIMATE COMICS FALLOUT #4 is listed as having re-orders of 5,791, but since it came out months ago, that’s more likely to be Marvel dumping stock, and I haven’t included those copies in the numbers above.
45,59. INCREDIBLE HULK
05/07 #106 - 110,192
05/08 ---
05/09 ---
05/10 #609 - 46,670
=====
05/11 #628 - 28,822 ( -6.4%)
05/11 #629 - 28,103 ( -2.5%)
06/11 #630 - 28,028 ( -0.3%)
06/11 #631 - 27,456 ( -2.0%)
07/11 #632 - 28,518 ( +3.9%)
07/11 #633 - 27,216 ( -4.6%)
08/11 #634 - 27,310 ( +0.3%)
08/11 #635 - 38,223 ( +40.0%)
09/11 ---
10/11 #1 - 106,472 (+178.6%)
11/11 #2 - 80,143 ( -24.7%)
12/11 #3 - 46,446 ( -42.0%)
01/12 #4 - 45,876 ( -1.2%)
02/12 #5 - 42,760 ( -6.8%)
03/12 #6 - 40,522 ( -5.2%)
04/12 #7 - 42,135 ( +4.0%)
05/12 #7.1 - 38,472 ( -8.7%)
05/12 #8 - 42,076 ( +9.4%)
6 mnth ( -47.5%)
1 year ( +46.0%)
2 year ( -9.8%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year ( --- )
5 year ( -61.8%)
The Point One issue tails in some way behind the regular issues, as per usual. On the whole, the book seems to be hovering in the low 40K range.
46. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL 05/12 #39 - 41,879
About 17K behind the main title, but considering that it’s an old-fashion stand-alone one-shot by a guest creative team, I’d say it’s a surprisingly high number.
49,51. FANTASTIC FOUR
05/07 #546 - 72,173
05/08 #557 - 62,736
05/09 #566 - 46,653
05/10 #579 - 38,415
=====
05/11 #3 - 66,885 ( -8.2%)
05/11 #4 - 60,571 ( -9.4%)
06/11 #5 - 58,925 ( -2.7%)
07/11 #6 - 55,601 ( -5.6%)
07/11 #7 - 54,022 ( -2.8%)
08/11 #8 - 51,917 ( -0.2%)
09/11 #9 - 53,091 ( +2.3%)
10/11 #10 - 49,642 ( -6.5%)
10/11 #11 - 48,433 ( -2.4%)
11/11 #600 - 73,809 (+52.4%)
12/11 #601 - 51,080 (-30.8%)
01/12 #602 - 45,131 (-11.6%)
02/12 #603 - 42,419 ( -6.0%)
03/12 #604 - 42,126 ( -0.7%)
04/12 #605 - 42,372 ( +0.6%)
05/12 #.1 - 39,475 ( -6.8%)
05/12 #606 - 39,914 ( +1.1%)
6 mnth (-45.9%)
1 year (-40.3%)
2 year ( +3.9%)
3 year (-14.4%)
4 year (-36.4%)
5 year (-44.7%)
Another Point One, and the same deal applies. There’s a notable drop from issues #605 to #606, but that’s partly explained by the fact that #605 had a variant cover and #604 was an extra-size special.
53,55. DAREDEVIL
05/07 #97 - 47,200
05/08 #107 - 40,418
05/09 ---
05/10 ---
=====
05/11 #4 of 4 - 26,179 ( -3.9%)
06/11 ---
07/11 #1 - 64,866 (+147.8%)
08/11 #2 - 40,990 ( -36.8%)
09/11 #3 - 39,477 ( -3.7%)
09/11 #4 - 40,311 ( +2.1%)
10/11 #5 - 39,413 ( -2.2%)
11/11 #6 - 38,302 ( -2.8%)
12/11 #7 - 38,824 ( +1.4%)
01/12 #8 - 43,494 ( +12.0%)
02/12 #9 - 37,891 ( -12.9%)
03/12 #10 - 38,137 ( +0.6%)
04/12 #.1 - 38,463 ( +0.9%)
04/12 #11 - 46,111 ( +19.9%)
05/12 #12 - 39,231 ( -14.9%)
05/12 #13 - 39,056 ( -0.4%)
6 mnth ( +2.0%)
1 year ( +49.2%)
2 year ( --- )
3 year ( --- )
4 year ( -3.4%)
5 year ( -17.3%)
Back to regular sales after last month’s “Omega Effect” crossover. It’s nice to see that, blips aside, the book has been sitting comfortably in the 37K-40K range since issue #3 – sometimes quality really does draw an audience.
56,58. CAPTAIN AMERICA
05/07 #26 - 126,449
05/08 #38 - 79,350
05/09 #50 - 66,928
05/10 ---
=====
05/11 #618 - 44,748 ( -1.4%)
06/11 #619 - 44,796 ( +0.1%)
07/11 #1 - 96,926 (+116.4%)
08/11 #2 - 54,384 ( -43.9%)
09/11 #3 - 54,413 ( +0.1%)
10/11 ---
11/11 #4 - 54,157 ( -0.5%)
12/11 #5 - 47,333 ( -12.6%)
12/11 #6 - 47,753 ( +0.9%)
01/12 #7 - 46,954 ( -1.7%)
02/12 #8 - 43,487 ( -7.4%)
03/12 #9 - 41,631 ( -4.3%)
04/12 #10 - 41,474 ( -0.4%)
05/12 #11 - 39,012 ( -5.9%)
05/12 #12 - 38,800 ( -0.5%)
6 mnth ( -28.4%)
1 year ( -13.3%)
2 year ( --- )
3 year ( -42.0%)
4 year ( -51.1%)
5 year ( -69.3%)
Standard drift.
60. AVENGING SPIDER-MAN
11/11 #1 - 112,153
12/11 #2 - 60,682 (-45.9%)
01/12 #3 - 52,371 (-13.7%)
02/12 #4 - 45,622 (-12.9%)
03/12 #5 - 40,877 (-10.4%)
04/12 #6 - 47,430 (+16.0%)
05/12 #7 - 38,012 (-19.9%)
6 mnth (-66.1%)
Back to regular sales after last month’s “Omega Effect” crossover. Issue #2 is shown with re-orders of 5,584, but since that’s the middle chapter of a three-part story that came out last Christmas, I’m assuming Marvel are just dumping stock, and so the numbers aren’t added in above.
61,64. X-MEN
05/11 #11 - 46,519 ( -8.0%)
06/11 #12 - 45,786 ( -1.6%)
06/11 #13 - 44,665 ( -2.4%)
07/11 #14 - 45,150 ( +1.1%)
07/11 #15 - 43,038 ( -4.7%)
08/11 #.1 - 38,078 (-11.5%)
08/11 #16 - 43,161 (+13.3%)
09/11 #17 - 43,200 ( +0.1%)
09/11 #18 - 42,066 ( -2.6%)
10/11 #19 - 40,906 ( -2.8%)
11/11 #20 - 43,515 ( +6.4%)
11/11 #21 - 39,919 ( -8.3%)
12/11 #22 - 39,121 ( -2.0%)
01/12 #23 - 38,719 ( -1.0%)
02/12 #24 - 36,906 ( -4.7%)
02/12 #25 - 36,488 ( -1.1%)
03/12 #26 - 35,833 ( -1.8%)
04/12 #27 - 36,843 ( +2.8%)
05/12 #28 - 35,838 ( -2.7%)
05/12 #29 - 35,483 ( -1.0%)
6 mnth (-11.1%)
1 year (-23.7%)
Standard sales, though the book’s been very steady since February.
66,70. WOLVERINE
05/07 #54 - 96,082
05/08 #65 - 62,451
05/09 #2 - 59,192
05/10 #13 - 29,773
=====
05/11 #9 - 44,635 ( -5.1%)
06/11 #10 - 42,677 ( -4.4%)
06/11 #11 - 41,813 ( -2.0%)
07/11 #12 - 42,110 ( +0.7%)
08/11 #13 - 39,296 ( -0.7%)
08/11 #14 - 38,869 ( -0.1%)
09/11 #15 - 37,951 ( -2.4%)
09/11 #16 - 37,796 ( -0.4%)
10/11 #17 - 39,405 ( +4.3%)
11/11 #18 - 40,170 ( +1.9%)
11/11 #19 - 37,997 ( -5.4%)
12/11 #20 - 37,360 ( -1.7%)
01/12 #300 - 58,681 (+57.1%)
02/12 #301 - 38,891 (-33.7%)
03/12 #302 - 37,213 ( -4.3%)
03/12 #303 - 36,368 ( -2.3%)
04/12 #304 - 37,836 ( +4.0%)
04/12 #305 - 37,440 ( -1.0%)
05/12 #306 - 34,873 ( -6.9%)
05/12 #307 - 34,485 ( -1.1%)
6 mnth ( -9.2%)
1 year (-22.7%)
2 year (+15.8%)
3 year (-41.7%)
4 year (-44.8%)
5 year (-64.1%)
No variant covers this month, so it’s understandable that sales are slightly lower.
69. FF
05/11 #3 - 66,885 ( -8.2%)
05/11 #4 - 60,571 ( -9.4%)
06/11 #5 - 58,925 ( -2.7%)
07/11 #6 - 55,601 ( -5.6%)
07/11 #7 - 54,022 ( -2.8%)
08/11 #8 - 51,917 ( -0.2%)
09/11 #9 - 53,091 ( +2.3%)
10/11 #10 - 49,642 ( -6.5%)
10/11 #11 - 48,433 ( -2.4%)
11/11 #12 - 49,449 ( +2.1%)
12/11 #13 - 44,970 ( -9.1%)
01/12 #14 - 42,609 ( -5.3%)
02/12 #15 - 40,583 ( -4.8%)
03/12 #16 - 37,152 ( -8.5%)
04/12 #17 - 37,325 ( +0.5%)
05/12 #18 - 34,555 ( -7.4%)
6 mnth (-30.1%)
1 year (-48.3%)
Continuing its general drift. The April issue had a variant cover.
73. THOR
05/07 ---
05/08 #9 - 87,101
05/09 ---
05/10 #610 - 61,779
=====
05/11 #2 - 50,473 (-38.5%)
06/11 #3 - 48,114 ( -4.7%)
07/11 #4 - 44,586 ( -7.3%)
08/11 #5 - 44,594 ( +0.0%)
09/11 #6 - 45,231 ( +1.4%)
10/11 #7 - 44,017 ( -2.7%)
11/11 #8 - 40,703 ( -7.5%)
12/11 #9 - 38,000 ( -6.6%)
01/12 #10 - 37,577 ( -1.1%)
02/12 #11 - 35,066 ( -6.7%)
03/12 #12 - 33,967 ( -3.1%)
04/12 #.1 - 33,533 ( -1.3%)
04/12 #13 - 34,500 ( +2.9%)
05/12 #14 - 32,550 ( -5.7%)
6 mnth (-20.0%)
1 year (-35.5%)
2 year (-47.3%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year (-62.6%)
5 year ( --- )
Again, the April issue had a variant cover; generally, it’s a steady but slow drift.
74. AGE OF APOCALYPSE 03/12 #1 - 56,426 04/12 #2 - 39,263 (-30.4%) 05/12 #3 - 32,085 (-18.3%)
Mmm, that’s dropping quite fast for a third issue. Still, it’s got some leeway to level out.
76,78. IRON MAN
05/07 #17 - 63,328
05/08 #1 - 105,864
05/09 #13 - 51,311
05/10 #26 - 53,625
=====
05/11 #504 - 44,791 ( -1.2%)
06/11 #505 - 42,327 ( -5.5%)
07/11 #506 - 41,052 ( -3.0%)
08/11 #507 - 40,082 ( -2.4%)
09/11 #508 - 41,295 ( +3.0%)
10/11 #509 - 38,721 ( -6.2%)
11/11 #510 - 38,118 ( -1.6%)
12/11 #511 - 35,402 ( -7.1%)
01/12 #512 - 35,159 ( -0.7%)
02/12 #513 - 32,748 ( -6.9%)
03/12 #514 - 31,424 ( -4.0%)
04/12 #515 - 32,409 ( +3.1%)
05/12 #516 - 31,374 ( -3.2%)
05/12 #517 - 31,536 ( +0.5%)
6 mnth (-17.3%)
1 year (-29.6%)
2 year (-41.2%)
3 year (-38.5%)
4 year (-70.2%)
5 year (-50.2%)
A marginal uptick on this month’s second issue, for no readily apparent reason; issue #515 had a variant, so overall the book has been holding steady since March.
79,80. ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES
05/07 #13 - 105,745
05/08 ---
05/09 ---
05/10 ---
=====
05/11 #4 of 6 - 43,707 ( -0.3%)
06/11 #5 of 6 - 42,803 ( -2.1%)
07/11 #6 of 6 - 42,760 ( -0.1%)
08/11 #1 - 58,522 (+36.9%)
09/11 #2 - 42,728 (-27.0%)
10/11 #3 - 40,792 ( -4.5%)
11/11 #4 - 39,342 ( -3.6%)
12/11 #5 - 36,396 ( -7.5%)
01/12 #6 - 34,865 ( -4.2%)
02/12 #7 - 33,863 ( -2.9%)
03/12 #8 - 32,222 ( -4.8%)
04/12 #9 - 31,336 ( -2.7%)
05/12 #10 - 31,257 ( -0.3%)
05/12 #11 - 31,344 ( +0.3%)
6 mnth (-20.3%)
1 year (-28.3%)
2 year ( --- )
3 year ( --- )
4 year ( --- )
5 year (-70.4%)
Slightly up with issue #11, and again there’s no obvious reason for it. The book seems steady right now.
81. SCARLET SPIDER 01/12 #1 - 53,410 02/12 #2 - 33,794 (-36.7%) 03/12 #3 - 32,616 ( -3.5%) 04/12 #4 - 33,097 ( +1.5%) 05/12 #5 - 30,932 ( -6.5%)
The April issue had a variant, so the general trend is a bit more steady than it appears.
82. WINTER SOLDIER 02/12 #1 - 50,932 02/12 #2 - 41,164 (-19.2%) 03/12 #3 - 34,923 (-15.2%) 04/12 #4 - 33,519 ( -4.0%) 05/12 #5 - 30,646 ( -8.6%)
Same deal here; a variant in April explains the erratic drops.
84,92. VENOM
05/11 #3 - 40,634 ( -0.9%)
06/11 #4 - 38,946 ( -4.2%)
07/11 #5 - 35,102 ( -9.9%)
08/11 #6 - 35,033 ( -0.2%)
09/11 #7 - 33,130 ( -5.4%)
10/11 #8 - 32,266 ( -2.6%)
11/11 #9 - 32,506 ( +0.7%)
12/11 #10 - 29,465 ( -9.4%)
12/11 #11 - 28,658 ( -2.7%)
01/12 #12 - 28,728 ( +0.2%)
02/12 #13 - 33,174 (+15.5%)
02/12 #.1 - 27,520 (-17.0%)
02/12 #.2 - 27,155 ( -1.3%)
02/12 #.3 - 26,969 ( -0.7%)
02/12 #.4 - 27,135 ( +0.6%)
03/12 #14 - 28,926 ( +6.6%)
04/12 #15 - 28,858 ( -0.2%)
04/12 #16 - 28,440 ( -1.4%)
05/12 #17 - 30,157 ( +6.0%)
05/12 #18 - 28,309 ( -6.1%)
6 mnth (-12.9%)
1 year (-30.3%)
Two issues this month, and issue #17 has a variant cover. That aside, sales have been pretty steady since the start of the year.
85,88. DEADPOOL
05/09 #10 - 56,123
05/10 #23 - 42,761
=====
05/11 #37 - 28,002 ( -0.6%)
06/11 #38 - 27,809 ( -0.7%)
06/11 #39 - 28,400 ( +2.1%)
07/11 #40 - 27,303 ( -3.9%)
08/11 #41 - 26,766 ( -2.0%)
08/11 #42 - 26,794 ( +0.1%)
09/11 #43 - 26,643 ( -0.6%)
10/11 #44 - 26,678 ( +0.1%)
10/11 #45 - 27,552 ( +3.3%)
11/11 #46 - 26,260 ( -4.7%)
12/11 #47 - 25,910 ( -1.3%)
12/11 #48 - 25,458 ( -1.7%)
01/12 #49 - 24,783* ( -2.7%)
01/12 #.1 - 24,783* ( --- )
02/12 #50 - 40,695 (+64.2%)
02/12 #51 - 27,458 (-32.5%)
03/12 #52 - 27,990 ( +1.9%)
04/12 #53 - 29,334 ( +4.8%)
05/12 #54 - 29,644 ( +1.1%)
05/12 #55 - 29,022 ( -2.1%)
6 mnth (-10.5%)
1 year ( -3.6%)
2 year (-32.1%)
3 year (-48.3%)
The current storyline seems to be working – sales are consistently up ever since issue #50.
86,87. AVENGERS ACADEMY
05/11 #13 - 24,840 ( +5.4%)
05/11 #14 - 23,537 ( -5.2%)
06/11 #.1 - 23,499 ( -0.2%)
06/11 #15 - 26,378 (+12.3%)
07/11 #16 - 25,379 ( -3.8%)
08/11 #17 - 24,898 ( -1.9%)
08/11 #18 - 24,538 ( -1.4%)
09/11 #19 - 23,928 ( -2.5%)
10/11 #20 - 23,412 ( -2.2%)
11/11 #21 - 22,713 ( -3.0%)
11/11 #22 - 22,531 ( -0.8%)
12/11 #23 - 22,422 ( -0.5%)
01/12 #24 - 21,857 ( -2.5%)
02/12 #25 - 21,963 ( +0.5%)
02/12 #26 - 21,633 ( -1.5%)
03/12 #27 - 21,830 ( +0.9%)
04/12 #28 - 22,333 ( +2.3%)
05/12 #29 - 29,460 (+31.9%)
05/12 #30 - 29,213 ( -0.8%)
6 mnth (+29.7%)
1 year (+17.6%)
Another book joins the AVX crossover, and while it’s on the periphery of the event, it’s still a huge sales boost for the title.
89,90. ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN
05/07 #82 - 62,063
05/08 #94 - 49,779
05/09 ---
05/10 ---
=====
05/11 ---
06/11 #5 - 34,730 ( -7.7%)
07/11 ---
08/11 ---
09/11 #1 - 67,625 (+94.7%)
10/11 #2 - 44,399 (-34.3%)
11/11 #3 - 39,657 (-10.7%)
12/11 #4 - 37,115 ( -6.4%)
12/11 #5 - 35,153 ( -5.3%)
01/12 #6 - 33,975 ( -3.4%)
02/12 #7 - 32,353 ( -4.8%)
02/12 #8 - 30,822 ( -4.7%)
03/12 #9 - 30,080 ( -2.4%)
04/12 #10 - 29,743 ( -1.1%)
05/12 #11 - 28,711 ( -3.5%)
05/12 #12 - 28,839 ( +0.4%)
6 mnth (-27.3%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( --- )
3 year ( --- )
4 year (-42.1%)
5 year (-53.5%)
Another slight uptick for no apparent reason, which seems like a good sign.
91. WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN: ALPHA & OMEGA 01/12 #1 of 5 - 40,340 02/12 #2 of 5 - 34,286 (-15.0%) 03/12 #3 of 5 - 31,456 ( -8.3%) 04/12 #4 of 5 - 30,069 ( -4.4%) 05/12 #5 of 5 - 28,609 ( -4.9%)
Comparatively speaking, a good number for an X-Men miniseries – though you can see Marvel’s point that just shipping the same story as extra issues of the regular title would have done even better.
93. SECRET SERVICE [Icon] 04/12 #1 of 7 - 39,505 05/12 #2 of 7 - 28,265 (-28.5%)
Reasonable enough for a second issue drop.
95. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: ENDS OF THE EARTH 05/12 One-shot - 27,347
This is a tie-in to the current AMAZING SPIDER-MAN arc, in which Union Jack and Big Hero Six fight other parts of Dr Octopus’ scheme. It was always going to be one for the completists.
97. SUPERCROOKS [Icon] 03/12 #1 of 4 - 50,434 04/12 #2 of 4 - 29,402 (-41.7%) 05/12 #3 of 4 - 26,969 ( -8.3%)
Levelling out nicely.
99. DEFENDERS 12/11 #1 - 85,969 01/12 #2 - 38,935 (-54.7%) 02/12 #3 - 33,548 (-13.8%) 03/12 #4 - 29,789 (-11.2%) 04/12 #5 - 27,893 ( -6.4%) 05/12 #6 - 25,518 ( -8.5%)
The numbers clearly aren’t great. But this is the first issue without a variant cover, so the drop ought to be exaggerated.
101. EXILED
05/12 One-shot - 24,686
102,105. NEW MUTANTS
05/09 #1 - 60,972
05/10 #13 - 49,583
=====
05/11 #25 - 34,724 (-10.3%)
06/11 #26 - 27,848 (-19.7%)
07/11 #27 - 27,963 ( +0.4%)
07/11 #28 - 26,130 ( -6.6%)
08/11 #29 - 27,205 ( -4.1%)
08/11 #30 - 26,678 ( -1.9%)
09/11 #31 - 25,672 ( -3.8%)
10/11 #32 - 25,364 ( -1.2%)
11/11 #33 - 28,665 (+13.0%)
11/11 #34 - 25,847 ( -9.8%)
12/11 #35 - 25,564 ( -1.1%)
01/12 #36 - 23,891 ( -6.5%)
02/12 #37 - 23,262 ( -2.6%)
02/12 #38 - 22,656 ( -2.6%)
03/12 #39 - 21,508 ( -5.1%)
04/12 #40 - 21,343 ( -0.8%)
04/12 #41 - 21,012 ( -1.6%)
05/12 #42 - 24,572 (+16.9%)
05/12 #43 - 24,160 ( -1.7%)
6 mnth ( -6.5%)
1 year (-30.4%)
2 year (-51.3%)
3 year (-60.4%)
103,110. JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY
05/11 #623 - 39,003 (-11.2%)
06/11 #624 - 35,834 ( -8.1%)
07/11 #625 - 33,781 ( -5.7%)
08/11 #626 - 31,549 ( -6.6%)
08/11 #.1 - 27,877 (-11.6%)
09/11 #627 - 29,678 ( +6.5%)
09/11 #628 - 28,843 ( -2.8%)
10/11 #629 - 28,054 ( -2.7%)
10/11 #630 - 27,701 ( -1.3%)
11/11 #631 - 27,161 ( -1.9%)
12/11 #632 - 24,159 (-11.0%)
01/12 #633 - 23,869 ( -1.2%)
02/12 #634 - 22,323 ( -6.5%)
03/12 #635 - 21,617 ( -3.2%)
04/12 #636 - 21,148 ( -2.2%)
05/12 #637 - 24,378 (+15.3%)
05/12 #638 - 23,766 ( -2.5%)
6 mnth (-12.5%)
1 year (-39.1%)
A one-month, five-issue crossover between NEW MUTANTS and JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY – two issues of each title, plus a prologue one-shot. Both titles get the usual boost.
106,107. X-FACTOR
05/07 #19 - 37,898
05/08 #31 - 48,231
05/09 #43 - 31,543
05/10 #205 - 41,745
=====
05/11 #219 - 24,766 ( -0.2%)
06/11 #220 - 24,926 ( +0.6%)
06/11 #221 - 24,502 ( -1.7%)
07/11 #222 - 24,794 ( +1.2%)
08/11 #223 - 23,854 ( -3.8%)
08/11 #224 - 23,681 ( -0.7%)
09/11 #.1 - 23,220 ( -1.9%)
09/11 #225 - 23,507 ( +1.2%)
10/11 #226 - 23,569 ( +0.3%)
11/11 #227 - 23,742 ( +0.7%)
12/11 #228 - 23,461 ( -1.2%)
12/11 #229 - 23,667 ( +0.9%)
01/12 #230 - 25,707 ( +8.6%)
02/12 #231 - 24,362 ( -5.2%)
02/12 #232 - 24,173 ( -0.8%)
03/12 #233 - 23,840 ( -1.4%)
04/12 #234 - 23,821 ( -0.1%)
05/12 #235 - 24,051 ( +1.0%)
05/12 #236 - 24,031 ( -0.1%)
6 mnth ( +1.2%)
1 year ( -3.0%)
2 year (-42.4%)
3 year (-23.8%)
4 year (-50.2%)
5 year (-36.6%)
Marginally up from April, but the main story is that X-FACTOR sales just don’t budge from that very narrow range it’s been in all year.
109,113. CAPTAIN AMERICA ANDÉ
07/11 #620 - 51,187
08/11 #621 - 36,069 (-29.5%)
09/11 #622 - 34,096 ( -5.5%)
10/11 #623 - 32,041 ( -6.0%)
11/11 #624 - 30,472 ( -4.9%)
12/11 #625 - 28,652 ( -6.0%)
01/12 #626 - 27,632 ( -3.6%)
02/12 #627 - 26,276 ( -4.9%)
03/12 #628 - 24,881 ( -5.3%)
04/12 #629 - 24,750 ( -0.5%)
05/12 #630 - 23,774 ( -3.9%)
05/12 #631 - 22,684 ( -4.6%)
6 mnth (-25.6%)
Still losing sales, and I’m not convinced a rotating team-up format is going to change that.
112. PUNISHER
05/07 #7 - 75,360
05/08 #19 - 29,906
05/09 ---
05/10 ---
=====
05/11 ---
06/11 ---
07/11 ---
08/11 #1 - 44,725 (+209.1%)
08/11 #2 - 42,459 ( -5.1%)
09/11 #3 - 26,802 ( -36.9%)
10/11 #4 - 25,847 ( -3.6%)
11/11 #5 - 25,399 ( -1.7%)
12/11 #6 - 23,971 ( -5.6%)
01/12 #7 - 22,908 ( -4.4%)
02/12 #8 - 22,488 ( -1.8%)
03/12 #9 - 22,318 ( -0.8%)
04/12 #10 - 32,412 ( +45.2%)
05/12 #11 - 23,303 ( -28.1%)
6 mnth ( -8.3%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( --- )
3 year ( --- )
4 year ( -22.1%)
5 year ( -69.1%)
Back to regular sales after the “Omega Effect” crossover. There’s a very slight residual gain.
117,120. HULK
05/09 #12 - 73,105
05/10 #22 - 49,618
=====
05/11 #33 - 32,273 ( +5.3%)
06/11 #34 - 29,391 ( -8.9%)
06/11 #35 - 28,539 ( -2.9%)
07/11 #36 - 28,651 ( +0.4%)
07/11 #37 - 30,318 ( +5.8%)
08/11 #38 - 29,059 ( -4.2%)
08/11 #39 - 26,895 ( -7.4%)
09/11 #40 - 26,591 ( -1.1%)
09/11 #41 - 26,084 ( -1.9%)
10/11 #42 - 27,025 ( +3.6%)
10/11 #43 - 25,514 ( -5.6%)
11/11 #44 - 24,596 ( -3.6%)
12/11 #45 - 23,273 ( -5.4%)
12/11 #46 - 22,974 ( -1.3%)
01/12 #47 - 22,720 ( -1.1%)
02/12 #48 - 21,751 ( -4.3%)
03/12 #49 - 21,510 ( -1.1%)
04/12 #50 - 34,437 (+60.1%)
05/12 #51 - 22,085 (-35.9%)
05/12 #52 - 21,882 ( -0.9%)
6 mnth (-11.0%)
1 year (-32.2%)
2 year (-55.9%)
3 year (-70.1%)
Similar story here – it’s a swift return to normal sales after April’s anniversary issue.
124,130. FURY MAX [Max] 05/12 #1 - 20,620 05/12 #2 - 19,021 (-7.8%)
A new series from the Max imprint, originally solicited as a mini, but now apparently upgraded to full ongoing status. The Max imprint presumably operates by different rules from the rest of the line – either that or Garth Ennis’s stories are known to do well in other channels.
131. THUNDERBOLTS
05/07 #114 - 66,309
05/08 #120 - 38,330
05/09 #132 - 43,911
05/10 #144 - 33,276
=====
05/11 #157 - 25,063 ( -0.2%)
06/11 #158 - 28,422 (+13.4%)
06/11 #159 - 27,463 ( -3.4%)
07/11 #160 - 27,810 ( +1.3%)
08/11 #161 - 26,439 ( -4.9%)
08/11 #162 - 25,990 ( -1.7%)
09/11 #163 - 24,199 ( -6.9%)
09/11 #.1 - 22,596 ( -6.6%)
10/11 #164 - 23,712 ( +4.9%)
11/11 #165 - 22,536 ( -5.0%)
11/11 #166 - 22,680 ( +0.6%)
12/11 #167 - 21,167 ( -6.7%)
01/12 #168 - 20,585 ( -2.7%)
01/12 #169 - 20,316 ( -1.3%)
02/12 #170 - 19,505 ( -4.0%)
03/12 #171 - 19,073 ( -2.2%)
04/12 #172 - 19,203 ( +0.7%)
04/12 #173 - 19,017 ( -1.0%)
05/12 #174 - 18,792 ( -1.2%)
6 mnth (-17.1%)
1 year (-25.0%)
2 year (-43.5%)
3 year (-57.2%)
4 year (-51.0%)
5 year (-71.7%)
Relaunches as DARK AVENGERS in June.
140,151,153,158,162. HULK SMASH AVENGERS 05/12 #1 of 5 - 17,434 05/12 #2 of 5 - 15,342 (-12.0%) 05/12 #3 of 5 - 15,750 ( +2.7%) 05/12 #4 of 5 - 14,625 ( -7.1%) 05/12 #5 of 5 - 14,387 ( -1.6%)
One of those weekly minis that you have to assume somebody in the Marvel offices was passionate about, since it was clearly going to struggle for attention in the midst of an Avengers crossover event. And yes, issue #3 did sell better than issue #2.
148,155. MARVEL ZOMBIES DESTROY! 05/12 #1 of 5 - 16,375 05/12 #2 of 5 - 15,072 (-8.0%)
Surely the bubble has finally burst on this franchise now?
160. MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS: THE AVENGERS INITIATIVE 05/12 One-shot - 14,440 165,171. AVENGERS: BLACK WIDOW STRIKES 05/12 #1 of 3 - 13,682 05/12 #2 of 3 - 12,404 (-9.3%)
Movie prequels.
170. POWERS [Icon] 02/12 #8 - 13,561 03/12 #9 - 12,792 (-5.7%) 04/12 --- 05/12 #10 - 12,484 (-2.4%)
Heading for another relaunch. (I’d list earlier months and years as usual but, such is the book’s erratic shipping schedule, there aren’t any. POWERS hasn’t come out in May within the last five years, and issue #7 shipped way back in March 2011.)
189. TAKIO [Icon] 05/12 #1 - 9,793
The follow-up to last year’s all-ages graphic novel; it’s probably a safe assumption that creators Brian Bendis and Michael Oeming are not relying on the direct market for this project.
235. ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN 04/12 #1 - 10,886 05/12 #2 - 7,581 (-30.4%)
That’s a big second issue drop but it’s still ahead of the previous all-ages books (which were doing below 5,000). The same goes for sister title AVENGERS: EARTH’S MIGHTIEST HEROES.
238,241. DOROTHY AND THE WIZARD IN OZ
05/09 #6 of 8 - 15,774
05/10 #6 of 8 - 12,366
=====
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%)
03/12 ---
04/12 ---
05/12 #6 of 8 - 7,475 ( -0.4%)
05/12 #7 of 8 - 7,391 ( -1.1%)
6 mnth (-11.8%)
1 year (-15.6%)
2 year (-40.2%)
3 year (-53.1%)
252. AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES
04/12 #1 - 12,874
05/12 #2 - 6,733 (-47.7%)
261. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: PARALLEL LIVES
05/12 One-shot - 6,304
This is a reprint of a story originally published in the MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL series.
291. JOHN CARTER: GODS OF MARS 09/11 #1 of 5 - 19,173 10/11 #2 of 5 - 6,742 ( -64.8%) 11/11 #3 of 5 - 5,845 ( -13.3%) 12/11 #4 of 5 - 5,281 ( -9.6%) 01/12 #5 of 5 - 4,998 ( -5.4%) 02/12 --- 03/12 #1 of 5 - 11,896 (+138.0%) 04/12 #2 of 5 - 5,254 ( -55.8%) 05/12 #3 of 5 - 5,180 ( -1.4%)
And TOY STORY failed to make the top 300, implying estimated orders below 4,817.
6 month comparisons =================== +77.0% - Astonishing X-Men +29.7% - Avengers Academy +21.0% - Secret Avengers +19.6% - Avengers +18.1% - New Avengers +10.3% - X-Men Legacy + 2.0% - Daredevil + 1.2% - X-Factor + 1.1% - Amazing Spider-Man - 0.2% - X-Force - 4.4% - Uncanny X-Men - 6.5% - New Mutants - 8.3% - Punisher - 9.2% - Wolverine -10.5% - Deadpool -11.0% - Hulk -11.1% - X-Men -11.8% - Oz -12.5% - Journey into Mystery -12.9% - Venom -17.1% - Thunderbolts -17.3% - Iron Man -17.8% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man -20.0% - Thor -20.3% - Ultimates -22.1% - Wolverine and the X-Men -25.6% - Captain America And... -27.3% - Ultimate Comics X-Men -28.4% - Captain America -30.1% - FF -45.9% - Fantastic Four -47.5% - Incredible Hulk -66.1% - Avenging Spider-Man 1 year comparisons ================== +50.4% - Astonishing X-Men +49.2% - Daredevil +46.0% - Incredible Hulk +28.9% - Uncanny X-Men +17.6% - Avengers Academy + 6.6% - New Avengers + 0.4% - X-Men Legacy + 0.2% - Amazing Spider-Man - 0.5% - Avengers - 1.7% - X-Force - 3.0% - X-Factor - 3.6% - Deadpool - 4.0% - Secret Avengers -11.6% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man -13.3% - Captain America -15.6% - Oz -22.7% - Wolverine -23.7% - X-Men -25.0% - Thunderbolts -28.3% - Ultimates -29.6% - Iron Man -30.3% - Venom -30.4% - New Mutants -32.2% - Hulk -35.5% - Thor -39.1% - Journey into Mystery -40.3% - Fantastic Four -48.3% - FF 2 year comparisons ================== +15.8% - Wolverine + 6.7% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man + 3.9% - Fantastic Four + 2.8% - Amazing Spider-Man - 9.8% - Incredible Hulk -10.1% - Uncanny X-Men -16.4% - New Avengers -18.7% - X-Force -28.6% - X-Men Legacy -32.1% - Deadpool -40.2% - Oz -41.2% - Iron Man -42.4% - X-Factor -43.5% - Thunderbolts -47.3% - Thor -51.3% - New Mutants -53.3% - Secret Avengers -55.9% - Hulk -58.7% - Avengers 3 year comparisons ================== - 0.0% - Amazing Spider-Man - 7.8% - Uncanny X-Men -12.8% - X-Force -14.3% - X-Men Legacy -14.4% - Fantastic Four -15.5% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man -23.8% - X-Factor -31.8% - New Avengers -38.5% - Iron Man -41.7% - Wolverine -42.0% - Captain America -48.3% - Deadpool -53.1% - Oz -57.2% - Thunderbolts -60.4% - New Mutants -70.1% - Hulk 4 year comparisons ================== - 3.4% - Daredevil -15.6% - Uncanny X-Men -21.2% - Amazing Spider-Man -22.1% - Punisher -24.0% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man -36.4% - Fantastic Four -36.6% - X-Force -37.5% - X-Men Legacy -41.1% - New Avengers -42.1% - Ultimate Comics X-Men -44.8% - Wolverine -45.1% - Astonishing X-Men -50.2% - X-Factor -51.0% - Thunderbolts -51.1% - Captain America -62.6% - Thor -70.2% - Iron Man 5 year comparisons ================== -15.5% - Uncanny X-Men -17.3% - Daredevil -36.6% - X-Factor -39.1% - X-Men Legacy -41.6% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man -44.7% - Fantastic Four -49.1% - New Avengers -50.2% - Iron Man -51.2% - Amazing Spider-Man -51.9% - Astonishing X-Men -53.5% - Ultimate Comics X-Men -61.8% - Incredible Hulk -64.1% - Wolverine -69.1% - Punisher -69.3% - Captain America -70.4% - Ultimates -71.7% - Thunderbolts
Anybody who subscribes to any titles directly from Marvel will have noticed that Midtown Comics is now handling Marvel’s subscriptions for them; I can’t help but wonder if that means subscription comics will start being included in Diamond’s numbers.
Keep an eye on the numbers in the next few months. Several titles may see some significant sales bumps.
All X-Men series continue to sell like gangbusters. In 3 months, All New X-Men biweekly. And then All Different X-Men.
The most ongoing X-titles at a single time at any point in the history of fictional mutantkind I believe.
Well hopefully once Marvel Now! happens, we can some of the Marvel screw ups (in my opinion) like the 2 Spider-men (Clones) and the 17 Hulks…..lets get back to basics. Anyone else want to see 1 Hulk you know the one that is dumb and that Banner cannot control due to his anger issues. Or how about an Iron Man that has to wear a suite instead of it coming out of his skin pores or his iPhone application iArmor! Until then, on we go with AvX! I agree with Jackie, I lost count on the number of X-titles….but hey,. DC is no better with about 15 Bat titles! Diversity folks! Thqats what we need!
Once DC has shot their wad on Before Watchmen, things are not looking so great on that market spread….. Unless After Watchmen?
@Jesse – you should of saved that comment for the DC sales charts – it was quite random for a Marvel chart….
I agree with Naveed regarding the Hulks – Parker is one of my favorite writers, but I just cant bring myself to read about a ‘Hulk’ that isn’t Bruce (and one that Loeb created). And don’t get me started on the handling of Betty…..
@James @Naveed
Personally I am enjoying both Parker’s (Red) Hulk and Yost’s Scarlet Spider. Those books at the corner of the Marvel Universe often tend to work better for me.
Personally I’m more likely to drop major books, which demand more investment in continuity to be fully enjoyed (i.e. other books, i.e. more money).
Books like (Red) Hulk, Scarlet Spider, Thunderbolts, Winter Soldier, Journey Into Mystery – all tend to do their own thing and to do it pretty well, IMO.
Interconnected books (Avengers and X-Men families) sell better because people following one is compelled to follow more, I suspect.
But this effectively seems to kill “solitary” books as the readers’ pockets are not bottomless.
Even classic characters suffer of that effect, albeit slightly less than the second stringer books.
Exiled did not give either JIM or NM much of a boost. All five issues are in a flat range. This suggests the same readers are reading both titles, and the readership was mostly maxed out. Marvel probably knew this. Their goal now seems to be to sell more comics to fewer readers, sort of a comics version of realpolitik where they’ve conceded growth in readership.
Compare Exiled to Age of X, for example, which gave NM a gigantic sales spike. Kind of strange, but other than the #1 issue and some crossovers, the best NM issues in terms of sales were the ones that weren’t part of the series.
Given that NM is lagging behind all other X-Men related titles in sales, I wonder if it will survive the don’t-call-it-a-reboot that’s coming. The fact that the artist Fernandez has been demoted to a horror title (that will probably sell half what a NM issue sells if they’re lucky) and there is absolutely nothing about DnA mentioned in the revamp (NM or otherwise), I think the end is near. With Marvel’s “cosmic” emphasis and DnA’s history of cosmic stories, it’s amazing how their names have not come up at all.
“Interconnected books (Avengers and X-Men families) sell better because people following one is compelled to follow more, I suspect.”
The X-Men are still my favorites, but it’s been a long time since I felt inclined (or financially able) to buy all the books–same effect as Paul mentioned for the number of tie-ins on events.
“and there is absolutely nothing about DnA mentioned in the revamp (NM or otherwise)”
Only a handful of books has even been talked about, so why would they have be mentioned?
That said, I’ve been trying to mentally prepare myself for the book to end at #50 for a while now. Considering sales, I’d say the only alternative is if a high-profile writer wants a stab at the characters and relaunches the book, so either way, DnA’s excellent run would come to an end.
I’m wondering a bit about the supposed “huge sales boosts”. Sure, percentage-wise on the previous sales it seems a lot, 30 percent and the like.
However, 170k people are interested in the event mini-series.
Yet consistently, the sales boosts in absolute numbers are between 7k-15k. Those boosts only seem big because the original numbers are already quite low.
That implies the effect of crossovers is actually minimal: out of those 170000 buyers, a certain amount is already buying Avengers Academy, but less than 10% tops is interested in reading Avengers Academy because of the crossover. You’d expect more interest, especially since the number of tie-ins is fairly limited this time.
The implication I see is that most people are able to add the parent maxi-series but very little else. As an event combining the only two real franchises Marvel has, that isn’t nearly as good as it would have been only a few years ago.
Considering that the salaries of those working on the books can only go in one direction, upwards, and that the last resort, crossover mania, is having significantly small returns on investment, you have to wonder when the first five dollar regular 20-page issue will hit the stands.
As I was going through my old Avengers comics, I was struck by the constant price hiking: in 3 years’ time, cover price went from 30 cents to 50 cents. Considering most books were 3 bucks two years ago, that extra dollar seems particularly unavoidable. Meaning we’ll really end up in ridiculous territory because our own wages can’t possibly be keeping up the same way.
Even collections continue to reprint less issues for more money (I believe some upcoming Uncanny one actually costs more than the single issues), it’s getting to a point where I’m only reading about comics rather than reading comics.
At the same time, it strikes me that a lot of Marvel’s titles have stopped shedding readers. With all the double-shipping, that is a remarkable result in its own right. I guess the current audience is satisfied with what it has. But can Marvel afford then to rock the boat too much?
This is the first place anywhere that I’ve read this. Can anyone confirm it? It seems like kind of a big deal.
Here are the quotes missing from the post above: “”.
Have a look here, Brian:
http://subscriptions.marvel.com/faq.asp
I haven’t seen any details anywhere other than on that page; this seems like a job for a comics journalist!
Looks like red Hulk ends in August with issue #57 and Incredible Hulk ends in October with issue #15.
It will be interested to see who takes the reins for the reboot(s) and how many Hulks there will be.
Marvel Now, is that a response to DC’s horrid relaunch? I’m glad that it seems that this isn’t a continuity reboot, but seeing pointless costume redesigns kind of loses me.
Brian Jacoby said:’ Here are the quotes missing from the post above: “”. ‘
Haha. Kudos. I love it.
What is Marvel Now? I heard a guy in the shop today talking about relaunches of certain titles but since Marvel seems to do that every couple of years anyway what’s different about this? Is Wolverine and The X-Men still going to be around?
Yes, that title seems to be safe (WatXM). Uncanny X-Men is a goner. They are replacing it with a Bendis-written book where the original X-Men come forward in time on a permanent basis. I don’t know if that means there are two of each original X-Man running around, but I doubt it.
Details are scarce, but they are basically cancelling most of the line and relaunching with new number ones and new creative teams. They are stressing that nothing is rebooted, but who knows what that will mean. I think it’ll mean me saving money, because I am, for example, not going to pick up the new Fantastic Four. Matt Fraction does absolutely nothing for me.
I am stunned at the success of AvX. I’ve heard that sales are picking up and very strong, despite the critic response to the story itself.
And congrats to X-Force #25 for charging $4.99 and maintaining sales numbers. That was my last issue for that series.