By Paul O’Brien
Once again, CIVIL WAR is the dominant theme for November, as the mega-crossover sprawls into its seventh month. This should have been the last one, but thanks to the delays, there’s a while to go yet. However, we do get two new ongoing titles this month – PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL, which was delayed by the CIVIL WAR rescheduling, and IRON FIST. There’s also a motley selection of new miniseries, among them Rob Liefeld’s ONSLAUGHT REBORN, J Michael Straczynsk’s BULLET POINTS, and the WHITE TIGER series co-written by Tamora Pierce.

Marvel thrashed DC in terms of market share – 48% to 39% by units, and 48% to 38% in dollars. Not even remotely close.

Thanks as always to Milton Griepp and ICV2 for permission to use their figures for these calculations.

1.  CIVIL WAR
05/06  #1 (of 7) - 357,601
06/06  #2 (of 7) - 339,527  ( -5.1%)
07/06  #3 (of 7) - 330,304  ( -2.7%)
08/06  ---
09/06  #4 (of 7) - 280,508  (-15.1%)
10/06  ---
11/06  #5 (of 7) - 272,603  ( -2.8%)
                    6 mnth  (-23.8%)

The lynchpin series for the big event continues, and once again there’s a variant cover. Thanks in part to more variants, re-orders are still coming in for issues #2 (3,246) and #3 (21,276), all of which are included above. No re-orders for issue #4, though, which is slightly odd, and does lend some weight to the theory that these re-orders are largely driven by variants.

But issue #4 did pick up some re-orders last month. Its first month orders were 272,573, so in that sense, this issue is marginally up. This is pretty much consistent with what we’ve seen on ULTIMATES, where even more protracted delays don’t seem to have made the slightest difference to sales.

Having said that, it’s always worth remembering that this is an order chart, not a sell-through chart. Several prominent retailers have reported huge drops in actual sales for issue #5, with around 20% of readers dropping the book. This is very strange behaviour and, of course, we have no way of knowing whether it’s simply a quirk of these stores. Lateness doesn’t usually have that effect, so there would be two possible explanations: either CIVIL WAR sales are more sensitive to delay because it’s a crossover event, or it’s a backlash against the actual content, perhaps the bait-and-switch tactics played with Thor’s return.

And even if 20% of readers did desert this book, of course, it would still be vastly outperforming the rest of the market.

Meanwhile, last month’s CIVIL WAR: CHOOSING SIDES one-shot picks up 7,454 re-orders, and charts again at number 217. That brings its total sales to 82,065.

3.  NEW AVENGERS
11/01  #48  -  59,021
11/02  #60  -  54,700
11/03  #73  -  58,177
11/04  #503 - 105,761
======
11/05  #13  - 126,148  (  -3.0%)
12/05  #14  - 126,583  (  +0.3%)
01/06  #15  - 124,143  (  -1.9%)
02/06  #16  - 124,256  (  +0.1%)
03/06  #17  - 122,847  (  -1.1%)
04/06  #18  - 121,550  (  -1.1%)
05/06  #19  - 125,223  (  +3.0%)
06/06  #20  - 125,600  (  +0.3%)
06/06  #21  - 154,911  ( +23.4%)
07/06  #22  - 143,391  (  -7.4%)
08/06  #23  - 155,550  (  +8.5%)
09/06  ---
10/06  #24  - 136,811  ( -12.0%)
11/06  #25  - 136,504  (  -0.2%)
               6 mnth  (  +9.0%)
               1 year  (  +8.2%)
               2 year  ( +29.1%)
               3 year  (+134.6%)

The fifth CIVIL WAR tie-in issue. Sales seem to be settling back down, but there’s a clear boost from the crossover nonetheless.

4.  AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
11/01  #37  -  87,112
11/02  #47  -  95,883
11/03  #501 -  94,558
11/04  #514 -  87,121
======
11/05  #526 -  90,343  ( -1.5%)
12/05  #527 -  89,922  ( -0.5%)
01/06  #528 -  97,807  ( -8.8%)
02/06  #529 - 132,329  (+35.3%)
03/06  #530 - 101,226  (-23.5%)
04/06  #531 -  96,213  ( -5.0%)
05/06  #532 - 119,083  (+23.8%)
06/06  #533 - 137,926  (+15.8%)
07/06  #534 - 125,553  ( -9.0%)
08/06  ----
09/06  #535 - 122,968  ( -2.1%)
10/06  ----
11/06  #536 - 118,833  ( -3.4%)
               6 mnth  ( -0.2%)
               1 year  (+31.5%)
               2 year  (+36.4%)
               3 year  (+25.7%)

Another CIVIL WAR tie-in issue, and again the series is drifting down as the storyline continues, while remaining comfortably ahead of normal. This book, incidentally, is a great illustration of the wider implications of CIVIL WAR’s delay. Whatever effect there may have been on sales of CIVIL WAR itself, Marvel have now lost two months’ worth of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN sales altogether, which would normally have netted them something in the region of 180-200K. This is costing money.

5.  ASTONISHING X-MEN
11/04  #6  - 134,840
======
11/05  ---
12/05  ---
01/06  ---
02/06  #13 - 148,244  (+10.1%)
03/06  ---
04/06  #14 - 124,129  (-16.3%)
05/06  ---
06/06  #15 - 119,991  ( -3.3%)
07/06  ---
08/06  #16 - 121,897  ( +1.6%)
09/06  #17 - 124,026  ( +1.7%)
10/06  ---
11/06  #18 - 118,285  ( -4.6%)
              6 mnth  ( -4.7%)
              1 year  (  --- )
              2 year  (-12.3%)

The last issue had a variant cover, so it’s probably safe to say that this is the book’s natural level. Despite an erratic schedule, ASTONISHING continues to pull in the readers.

9.  PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL
11/06  #1 - 102,727

Outselling its parent title by more than three to one, PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL is of course a CIVIL WAR tie-in. Mind you, the same could have been said about HEROES FOR HIRE #1, which had orders of around 84K. In part, the Punisher is more of a draw; in part, this book has the advantage of being more important to the crossover storyline. On any view, though, it’s a huge number for the writer, indie darling Matt Fraction. Fraction also co-writes this month’s other new ongoing title, IRON FIST, and we’ll come to that later.

12. CIVIL WAR: FRONT LINE
06/06  #1 (of 11) - 145,271
06/06  #2 (of 11) - 132,858  ( -8.5%)
07/06  #3 (of 11) - 128,164  ( -3.5%)
07/06  #4 (of 11) - 111,868  (-12.7%)
08/06  #5 (of 11) - 111,435  ( -0.4%)
09/06  #6 (of 11) - 108,436  ( -2.7%)
10/06  #7 (of 11) - 106,588  ( -1.7%)
11/06  #8 (of 11) - 100,869  ( -5.4%)

Drifting down, as you’d expect from a miniseries, but overall the numbers remain very impressive. Eight issues in, the book is still over the 100K mark.

13. WOLVERINE
11/01  #170 -  73,398
11/02  #183 -  66,346
11/03  #7   -  78,734
11/04  #22  -  81,841
======
11/05  #36  -  94,355  (+28.1%)
12/05  #37  -  73,866  (-21.7%)
01/06  #38  -  73,815  ( -0.0%)
02/06  #39  -  75,285  ( +2.0%)
03/06  #40  -  77,627  ( +3.1%)
04/06  #41  -  70,965  ( -8.6%)
05/06  #42  - 112,209  (+58.1%)
06/06  #43  - 116,540  ( +3.9%)
07/06  #44  - 111,478  ( -4.3%)
08/06  #45  - 110,662  ( -0.7%)
09/06  #46  - 107,865  ( -2.5%)
10/06  #47  - 106,201  ( -1.5%)
11/06  #48  -  99,991  ( -5.8%)
               6 mnth  (-10.9%)
               1 year  ( +6.0%)
               2 year  (+22.2%)
               3 year  (+27.0%)

This is an epilogue to the six-part CIVIL WAR storyline that preceded it, and the retailers don’t seem quite sure how to order it. They should have even more fun guessing numbers for issue #49, an outright fill-in by a little-known creative team.

This seems a convenient point to mention the WOLVERINE POSTER MAGAZINE, which charts at number 242 with orders of 5,859.

15. WOLVERINE: ORIGINS
04/06  #1 - 182,672
05/06  #2 - 131,522  (-28.0%)
06/06  #3 - 116,058  (-11.8%)
07/06  #4 - 110,830  ( -4.5%)
08/06  #5 - 120,448  ( +8.7%)
09/06  #6 - 101,013  (-16.1%)
10/06  #7 - 103,273  ( +2.2%)
11/06  #8 -  91,585  (-11.3%)
             6 mnth  (-30.4%)

Hmm. There was a variant cover last month, and when you factor that into account, the downward slope makes a little more sense. Unfortunately, WOLVERINE: ORIGINS has been cluttered with variant covers that make its sales rather difficult to decipher. But it does now seem to be dropping noticeably, with the variants merely obscuring a clear downward trend. There was no variant cover on issue #6, and since then, the book has shed 10,000 readers. That’s not great, at this stage. On the other hand, they’re still very high numbers overall.

17. UNCANNY X-MEN
11/01  #400 - 125,044
11/02  #415 -  83,581
11/03  #433 -  90,764
11/04  #452 -  92,051
======
11/05  #466 -  82,825  ( -1.7%)
12/05  #467 -  81,282  ( -1.9%)
01/06  #468 -  79,808  ( -1.8%)
02/06  #469 -  79,039  ( -1.0%)
03/06  #470 -  79,389  ( +0.4%)
03/06  #471 -  78,286  ( -1.4%)
04/06  #472 -  79,157  ( +1.1%)
05/06  #473 -  79,335  ( +0.2%)
06/06  #474 -  78,140  ( -1.5%)
07/06  #475 - 106,037  (+35.7%)
07/06  #476 -  92,154  (-13.1%)
08/06  #477 -  89,225  ( -3.2%)
09/06  #478 -  89,850  ( +0.7%)
10/06  #479 -  89,052  ( -0.9%)
11/06  #480 -  88,584  ( -0.5%)
               6 mnth  (+11.7%)
               1 year  ( +7.0%)
               2 year  ( -3.8%)
               3 year  ( -2.4%)

Rock solid, as readers seem to be committing to Ed Brubaker’s twelve-month Shi’ar Empire storyline.

18. INCREDIBLE HULK
11/01  #34  - 38,811
11/02  #47  - 49,852
11/03  #63  - 53,357
11/04  ---
======
11/05  #88  - 41,141  (  -3.1%)
11/05  #89  - 39,635  (  -3.7%)
12/05  #90  - 36,924  (  -6.8%)
01/06  #91  - 35,980  (  -2.6%)
02/06  #92  - 53,661  ( +49.1%)
03/06  #93  - 47,437  ( -11.6%)
04/06  #94  - 47,966  (  +1.1%)
05/06  #95  - 49,089  (  +2.3%)
06/06  ---
07/06  #96  - 49,209  (  +0.2%)
08/06  #97  - 48,893  (  -0.6%)
09/06  #98  - 52,987  (  +8.4%)
10/06  #99  - 47,878  (  -9.6%)
11/06  #100 - 84,169  ( +75.8%)
              6 mnth  ( +71.5%)
              1 year  (+104.6%)
              2 year  (   --- )
              3 year  ( +57.7%)

A variant cover and an anniversary issue, although it’s still surprising to see such a big jump this far into “Planet Hulk.” Even so, I’m fairly confident that this will be the usual one-off spike and that we’ll be back to normal levels in one or two months.

20. X-MEN
11/01  #120 - 116,782
11/02  #134 -  97,023
11/03  #149 - 102,591
11/04  #164 -  88,620
======
11/05  #177 -  78,405  ( +5.1%)
11/05  #178 -  76,195  ( -2.8%)
12/05  #179 -  77,189  ( +1.3%)
12/05  #180 -  75,559  ( -2.1%)
01/06  #181 -  74,094  ( -1.9%)
02/06  #182 -  78,653  ( +6.2%)
02/06  #183 -  79,477  ( +1.0%)
03/06  #184 -  79,480  ( +0.0%)
04/06  #185 -  78,815  ( -0.8%)
05/06  #186 -  79,536  ( +0.9%)
06/06  #187 -  77,918  ( -2.0%)
07/06  #188 -  95,487  (+22.5%)
07/06  #189 -  85,157  (-10.8%)
08/06  #190 -  83,436  ( -2.0%)
09/06  #191 -  82,048  ( -1.7%)
10/06  #192 -  81,816  ( -0.3%)
11/06  #193 -  80,102  ( -2.1%)
               6 mnth  ( +0.7%)
               1 year  ( +2.2%)
               2 year  ( -9.6%)
               3 year  (-21.9%)

Not quite as solid as UNCANNY X-MEN, but Mike Carey is still clearly up on the previous creative team.

21. CAPTAIN AMERICA
11/01  #49 - 35,418
11/02  #7  - 60,689
11/03  #20 - 41,143
11/04  #1  - 67,225
======
11/05  #12 - 45,038  ( -0.3%)
12/05  #13 - 44,954  ( -0.2%)
01/05  ---
02/06  #14 - 44,041  ( -0.2%)
02/06  #15 - 43,350  ( -1.6%)
03/06  #16 - 44,717  ( +3.2%)
04/06  #17 - 45,541  ( +1.8%)
05/06  #18 - 46,740  ( +2.6%)
06/06  #19 - 47,315  ( +1.2%)
07/06  #20 - 47,357  ( +0.1%)
08/06  ---
09/06  #21 - 49,050  ( +3.6%)
09/06  #22 - 86,875  (+77.1%)
10/06  #23 - 81,323  ( -6.4%)
11/06  #24 - 79,885  ( -1.8%)
             6 mnth  (+70.9%)
             1 year  (+77.4%)
             2 year  (+18.8%)
             3 year  (+94.2%)

Another CIVIL WAR tie-in, this one in its third month.

22. ONSLAUGHT REBORN
11/06  #1 (of 5) - 79,102

Celebrating ten fabulous years since the mid-1990s. Obviously, the idea of bringing in Rob Liefeld to do a tribute to Heroes Reborn is dripping with irony, since Marvel kicked Liefeld off the original project halfway through.

Anyway, there’s a variant cover on this, and the debut number is pretty good. Recent experience, though, suggests that Liefeld minis tend to start well but flare out quickly. We’ll see whether he same applies here.

There’s a Marvel Milestones reprint of ONSLAUGHT: MARVEL UNIVERSE at number 236, with orders of 6,340.

23. ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN
11/01  #15  -  80,278
11/02  #31  -  91,082
11/03  #49  -  96,707
11/04  #69  -  90,010
======
11/05  #85  -  74,264  ( -0.5%)
11/05  #86  -  76,864  ( +3.5%)
12/05  #87  -  74,537  ( -3.0%)
12/05  #88  -  74,213  ( -0.4%)
01/06  #89  -  71,935  ( -3.1%)
02/06  #90  -  71,470  ( -0.6%)
03/06  #91  -  74,028  ( +3.6%)
03/06  #92  -  72,269  ( -2.4%)
04/06  #93  -  72,831  ( +0.8%)
05/06  #94  -  74,051  ( +1.7%)
05/06  #95  -  73,564  ( -0.7%)
06/06  #96  -  73,472  ( -0.1%)
07/06  #97  -  76,612  ( +4.3%)
08/06  #98  -  77,304  ( +0.9%)
08/06  #99  -  76,075  ( -1.6%)
09/06  #100 - 119,194  (+56.7%)
10/06  #101 -  78,963  (-33.8%)
11/06  #102 -  77,121  ( -2.3%)
               6 mnth  ( +4.8%)
               1 year  ( +3.8%)
               2 year  (-14.3%)
               3 year  (-20.3%)

Surprisingly, the Ultimate Clone Saga really does seem to have upped the sales on this book. We’re now entering the home straight for Bendis and Bagley’s run.

25. IRON MAN
11/01  #48 - 36,016
11/02  #61 - 34,765
11/03  #74 - 32,016
11/04  #1  - 68,992
======
11/05  ---
12/05  ---
01/06  #5  - 45,243  (  -6.5%)
02/06  ---
03/06  #6  - 40,264  ( -11.0%)
04/06  #7  - 49,404  ( +22.7%)
05/06  #8  - 38,860  ( -21.3%)
06/06  #9  - 37,650  (  -3.1%)
07/06  #10 - 38,102  (  +1.2%)
08/06  #11 - 37,279  (  -2.2%)
09/06  #12 - 36,278  (  -2.7%)
10/06  ---
11/06  #13 - 76,800  (+111.7%)
             6 mnth  ( +97.6%)
             1 year  (   --- )
             2 year  ( +11.3%)
             3 year  (+139.9%)

IRON MAN finally catches up with CIVIL WAR and is rewarded with a huge jump. In fact, this is comfortably the highest selling issue of the series so far. Interestingly, even though Iron Man is one of the lead characters in CIVIL WAR, and the book has aggressively repositioned him as a major player in the Marvel Universe, until now the sales of his solo title have been completely unaffected. In other words, there’s a lot of interest in the story, but it doesn’t yet appear to have translated into interest in Iron Man as a character. Marvel face an interesting challenge in trying to capitalise on the sales of this crossover – something which traditionally is very hard to pull off.

26. ULTIMATE POWER
10/06  #1 (of 9) - 102,687
11/06  #2 (of 9) -  74,753  (-27.2%)

At the steep end of the range for a second issue drop, but in fairness, there was a variant cover on issue #1.

27. MOON KNIGHT
04/06  #1 - 114,533
05/06  #2 -  77,552  (-32.3%)
06/06  #3 -  72,206  ( -6.9%)
07/06  ---
08/06  #4 -  67,802  ( -6.1%)
09/06  #5 -  64,736  ( -4.5%)
10/06  ---
11/06  #6 -  74,017  (+14.3%)
             6 mnth  ( -4.6%)

Variant cover. That said, even without that gimmick, this book seems to be at around the 60K mark at this point, and that’s an extremely good number for a MOON KNIGHT series promoted principally on the strength of its creative team. Marvel have every reason to be delighted with this.

29. CIVIL WAR: YOUNG AVENGERS & RUNAWAYS
07/06  #1 (of 4) - 91,297
08/06  #2 (of 4) - 81,176  (-11.1%)
09/06  #3 (of 4) - 77,139  ( -5.0%)
10/06  ---
11/06  #4 (of 4) - 71,762  ( -7.0%)

Standard miniseries numbers.

31. ULTIMATE X-MEN
11/01  #12 - 100,668
11/02  #25 -  89,390
11/03  #39 - 105,737
11/04  #53 -  92,133
======
11/05  #65 -  74,264  ( -1.1%)
12/05  ---
01/06  #66 -  73,720  ( -0.7%)
02/06  #67 -  72,700  ( -1.4%)
03/06  #68 -  72,765  ( +0.1%)
04/06  #69 -  73,188  ( +0.6%)
05/06  #70 -  72,235  ( -1.3%)
06/06  #71 -  71,314  ( -1.3%)
07/06  #72 -  70,593  ( -1.0%)
08/06  #73 -  70,153  ( -0.6%)
09/06  #74 -  68,874  ( -1.8%)
10/06  #75 -  73,837  ( +7.2%)
11/06  #76 -  69,054  ( -6.5%)
              6 mnth  ( -4.4%)
              1 year  ( -7.0%)
              2 year  (-25.0%)
              3 year  (-34.7%)

Back to the normal range after last month’s anniversary blip.

33. ETERNALS
06/06  #1 (of 6) - 110,269
07/06  #2 (of 6) -  79,086  (-28.3%)
08/06  #3 (of 6) -  73,997  ( -6.4%)
09/06  #4 (of 6) -  66,556  (-10.1%)
10/06  --
11/06  #5 (of 6) -  66,356  ( -0.3%)

Pretty much level. The unusually erratic downward curve on this title may be because every issue has had a variant cover, some of which are presumably more desirable than others. If you set aside your expectations that Neil Gaiman should be delivering mega-numbers, it’s a very solid performance for an ETERNALS miniseries.

40. ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR
11/04  #13 -  96,820
======
11/05  #25 -  70,032  ( -0.7%)
12/05  #26 -  69,689  ( -0.5%)
01/06  ---
02/06  #27 -  67,922  ( -2.5%)
03/06  #28 -  67,480  ( -0.7%)
04/06  #29 -  67,554  ( +0.1%)
05/06  #30 - 103,837  (+53.7%)
06/06  ---
07/06  #31 -  84,460  (-18.7%)
08/06  #32 -  80,730  ( -4.4%)
08/06  #33 -  65,191  (-19.2%)
09/06  #34 -  63,447  ( -2.7%)
10/06  #35 -  61,270  ( -3.4%)
11/06  #36 -  57,779  ( -5.7%)
              6 mnth  (-44.4%)
              1 year  (-17.5%)
              2 year  (-40.3%)

Oh dear. A fairly steady book in the first half of the year, ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR has gone into very noticeable decline over the last three or four issues. This more or less coincidence with a change of creative team, and the obvious inference is that Mike Carey’s homage to the Forever People isn’t connecting.

42. X-MEN: PHOENIX - WARSONG
09/06  #1 (of 5) - 73,503
10/06  #2 (of 5) - 54,727  (-25.5%)
11/06  #3 (of 5) - 50,222  ( -8.2%)

Fairly standard levelling out.

43. SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN
11/04  #8  - 68,290
======
11/05  #20 - 73,262  ( -2.9%)
12/05  #21 - 76,763  ( +4.8%)
01/06  #22 - 74,923  ( -2.4%)
02/06  #23 - 59,051  (-21.2%)
03/06  #24 - 53,910  ( -8.7%)
04/06  #25 - 51,992  ( -3.6%)
05/06  #26 - 52,496  ( +1.0%)
06/06  #27 - 50,721  ( -3.4%)
07/06  #28 - 58,532  (+15.4%)
08/06  #29 - 55,420  ( -5.3%)
09/06  #30 - 54,467  ( -1.7%)
10/06  #31 - 51,587  ( -5.3%)
11/06  #32 - 50,222  ( -2.6%)
             6 mnth  ( -4.3%)
             1 year  (-31.4%)
             2 year  (-26.5%)

The modest gain from Spider-Man’s unmasking has worn off, leaving a nagging question as to whether the long-term benefits from that stunt will be enough to justify the headaches it’s bound to cause.

44. DAREDEVIL
11/01  #27 - 49,490
11/02  #39 - 55,832
11/03  #54 - 57,557
11/04  #67 - 51,347
======
11/05  #79 - 44,250  ( -1.8%)
12/05  #80 - 43,309  ( -2.1%)
01/06  #81 - 44,252  ( +2.2%)
02/06  #82 - 53,058  (+19.9%)
03/06  #83 - 46,804  (-11.8%)
04/06  #84 - 47,123  ( +0.7%)
05/06  #85 - 47,899  ( +1.6%)
06/06  #86 - 48,280  ( +0.8%)
07/06  #87 - 51,989  ( +7.7%)
08/06  #88 - 50,554  ( -2.8%)
09/06  #89 - 55,481  ( +9.7%)
10/06  #90 - 50,500  ( -9.0%)
11/06  #91 - 49,335  ( -2.3%)
             6 mnth  ( +3.0%)
             1 year  (+11.5%)
             2 year  ( -3.9%)
             3 year  (-14.3%)

Very solid, at least once you factor out the variant cover blips.

45. GHOST RIDER
11/05  #3 (of 6) -  62,914  (-12.0%)
12/05  #4 (of 6) -  59,678  ( -5.1%)
01/06  #5 (of 6) -  56,958  ( -4.6%)
02/06  #6 (of 6) -  55,802  ( -2.0%)
03/06  ---
04/06  ---
05/06  ---
06/06  ---
07/06         #1 -  98,826  (+77.1%)
08/06         #2 -  61,793  (-37.5%)
09/06         #3 -  54,029  (-12.6%)
10/06         #4 -  50,925  ( -5.7%)
11/06         #5 -  47,929  ( -5.9%)
                    6 mnth  (  --- )
                    1 year  (-23.8%)

Dropping a shade faster than is comfortable by issue #5, but at this stage, not too bad.

46,55. FANTASTIC FOUR: THE END
11/06  #1 (of 6) - 54,213
11/06  #2 (of 6) - 38,928  (-28.2%)

The rough cut edition of issue #1 is listed separately at number 194 with orders of 9,822, but I’ve included it in the figures above. This is Alan Davis’ take on the last days of the Fantastic Four, and allowing for the boost to issue #1, it’s a good solid start.

47. FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN
11/05  #2  -  82,988  (-17.4%)
12/05  #3  -  81,309  ( -2.0%)
01/06  #4  -  78,672  ( -3.2%)
02/06  ---
03/06  #5  -  59,900  (-23.9%)
03/06  #6  -  58,853  ( -1.7%)
04/06  #7  -  55,381  ( -5.9%)
05/06  #8  -  53,910  ( -2.7%)
06/06  #9  -  50,177  ( -6.9%)
07/06  #10 -  48,902  ( -2.5%)
08/06  #11 -  50,995  ( +4.3%)
09/06  #12 -  48,063  ( -5.7%)
10/06  #13 -  46,293  ( -3.7%)
11/06  #14 -  43,476  ( -6.1%)
              6 mnth  (-19.4%)
              1 year  (-47.6%)

Dropping, and quite fast, too. This would be a disappointing number at the best of times; with the level of attention on Spider-Man at the moment, it’s genuinely unexpected to see the sort of drops that we’ve had over the last two months.

48. X-FACTOR
12/05  #1  - 64,861
12/05  #2  - 52,705  (-18.7%)
01/06  ---
02/06  #3  - 48,307  ( -8.3%)
03/06  #4  - 48,183  ( -0.3%)
03/06  #5  - 46,490  ( -3.5%)
04/06  #6  - 45,220  ( -2.7%)
05/06  #7  - 44,315  ( -2.0%)
06/06  #8  - 76,150  (+71.8%)
07/06  #9  - 68,799  ( -9.7%)
08/06  #10 - 44,603  (-35.2%)
09/06  #11 - 43,431  ( -2.6%)
10/06  #12 - 42,909  ( -1.2%)
11/06  #13 - 42,844  ( -0.2%)
             6 mnth  ( -3.3%)

This, on the other hand, seems to have found its level. X-FACTOR clings close to the 43K mark for the third month in a row.

49. SQUADRON SUPREME
11/03  #4  - 71,620
11/04  #13 - 57,768
=====
03/06  #1  - 61,625  (+21.8%)
04/06  #2  - 51,197  (-16.9%)
05/06  #3  - 49,205  ( -3.9%)
06/06  #4  - 48,035  ( -1.8%)
07/06  #5  - 46,029  ( -4.2%)
08/06  #6  - 44,564  ( -3.2%)
09/06  ---
10/06  ---
11/06  #7  - 41,966  ( -5.8%)
             6 mnth  (-14.7%)
             1 year  (  --- )
             2 year  (-27.4%)
             3 year  (-41.4%)

SQUADRON returns from its hiatus and resumes dropping as though nothing had happened. Considering that this book has now been running for over three years, the sort of drops we’ve seen over the last few issues should be ringing alarm bells.

50. BLACK PANTHER
11/01  #38 - 19,597
11/02  #51 - 19,051
======
11/05  #10 - 31,987  ( -20.4%)
12/05  #11 - 29,327  (  -8.3%)
01/06  #12 - 27,933  (  -4.7%)
02/06  #13 - 26,054  (  -6.7%)
03/06  #14 - 28,809  ( +10.6%)
04/06  #15 - 28,361  (  -1.6%)
05/06  #16 - 28,091  (  -1.0%)
06/06  #17 - 27,993  (  -0.3%)
07/06  #18 - 69,912  (+149.7%)
08/06  #19 - 28,372  ( -59.4%)
09/06  #20 - 26,585  (  -6.3%)
10/06  #21 - 34,257  ( +28.9%)
11/06  #22 - 41,268  ( +20.5%)
             6 mnth  ( +46.9%)
             1 year  ( +29.0%)

Another CIVIL WAR crossover. Last month’s issue #21 was, bizarrely, an unadvertised crossover issue. A second printing charts at number 207 with 8,180 orders, and they’re added into the figures above. Meanwhile, issue #22 was properly solicited and jumps even further up the charts. With more crossover issues to come, the book should stay up for a few months to come – but whether it’ll hold onto the extra sales beyond that is another matter.

52. ULTIMATE VISION
11/06  #0 - 40,004

This is a reprint of the six Vision back-up strips that appeared in the Ultimate books to trail the ULTIMATE EXTINCTION miniseries. Considering that it’s a reprint book, the sales are remarkably good, which bodes well for the ULTIMATE VISION miniseries proper.

54. ANNIHILATION
08/06  #1 (of 6) - 61,006
09/06  #2 (of 6) - 44,537  (-27.0%)
10/06  #3 (of 6) - 41,292  ( -7.3%)
11/06  #4 (of 6) - 39,645  ( -4.0%)

Holding up nicely, bearing in mind the mostly C-list cast.

56. IMMORTAL IRON FIST
11/06  #1 - 38,579

Every month there seems to be at least one new title that sticks out a completely spurious “Sold out at Diamond” press release, as if this were some sort of achievement. The reality, of course is that the print run is only fixed after the orders come in, and so anything can sell out at Diamond if the overprint is kept small enough. Frankly, if you’re a Marvel Universe superhero title, debuting in the 30Ks is not great, because you tend to fall sharply over the next couple of issues, and then you’re in trouble. The last IRON FIST solo title, launched in March 2004, started off with 34K, and got axed with issue #6. Obviously this is a few thousand higher, but it’s still not brilliant.

57. HEROES FOR HIRE
08/06  #1 - 84,006
09/06  #2 - 66,949  (-20.3%)
10/06  #3 - 60,770  ( -9.2%)
11/06  #4 - 38,070  (-37.4%)

The first three issues of this title were CIVIL WAR tie-ins, so this is the first time we get to find out how the book does on its own. Of course, there’s a lot of guesswork here for the retailers, so it’ll be a few months before we can know where the book settles down. But if it ends up in this range, then that’s really not so bad. The DAUGHTERS OF THE DRAGON miniseries which preceded this title debuted at 17K and fell to 11K by the end of the run, so if the CIVIL WAR tie-in launch leaves this book in the high 30K range, that’ll be a vast improvement.

58. NEW X-MEN
11/03  #7  - 38,830
11/04  --- 
======
11/05  #20 - 59,466  (+42.6%)
12/05  #21 - 43,473  (-26.9%)
01/06  #22 - 42,923  ( -1.3%)
02/06  #23 - 41,463  ( -3.4%)
03/06  #24 - 42,044  ( +1.4%)
04/06  #25 - 40,176  ( -4.4%)
05/06  #26 - 40,073  ( -0.3%)
06/06  #27 - 39,785  ( -0.7%)
07/06  #28 - 39,771  ( -0.0%)
08/06  #29 - 40,303  ( +1.3%)
09/06  #30 - 39,658  ( -1.6%)
10/06  #31 - 39,175  ( -1.2%)
11/06  #32 - 37,919  ( -3.2%)
             6 mnth  ( -5.4%)
             1 year  (-36.2%)
             2 year  (  --- )

A minor drop, but noticeable in the context of a book which has been so solid until now.

59. MS MARVEL
03/06  #1 - 73,407
04/06  #2 - 46,204  (-37.1%)
05/06  #3 - 43,048  ( -6.8%)
06/06  #4 - 40,627  ( -5.6%)
07/06  #5 - 38,874  ( -4.3%)
08/06  #6 - 68,330  (+75.8%)
09/06  #7 - 64,973  ( -4.9%)
10/06  #8 - 62,893  ( -3.2%)
11/06  #9 - 37,881  (-39.8%)
            6 mnth  (-12.0%)

Straight back to normal after CIVIL WAR ends.

64,76. AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES II
11/06  #1 (of 8) - 35,032
11/06  #2 (of 8) - 31,871  (-9.0%)

Joe Casey returns with a second miniseries about the early days of the Avengers. The first series started at 47K and dropped to 30K by the end of its run, so there’s a definite case of diminishing returns here.

69,72. PUNISHER [Max]
11/01  #6  - 63,029
11/02  #19 - 46,335
11/03  #36 - 39,217
11/04  #13 - 42,088
======
11/05  #27 - 36,072  ( -1.0%)
12/05  #28 - 35,535  ( -1.5%)
01/06  #29 - 34,708  ( -2.3%)
02/06  #30 - 34,293  ( -1.2%)
03/06  #31 - 34,505  ( +0.6%)
04/06  #32 - 34,076  ( -1.2%)
05/06  #33 - 34,480  ( +1.2%)
06/06  #34 - 34,161  ( -0.9%)
07/06  #35 - 34,116  ( -0.1%)
08/06  #36 - 34,227  ( +0.3%)
09/06  #37 - 34,250  ( +0.1%)
09/06  #38 - 33,839  ( -1.2%)
10/06  #39 - 33,962  ( +0.4%)
11/06  #40 - 33,579  ( -1.1%)
11/06  #41 - 33,164  ( -1.2%)
             6 mnth  ( -3.8%)
             1 year  ( -8.1%)
             2 year  (-21.2%)
             3 year  (-15.4%)

Solid as ever.

70. BULLET POINTS
11/06  #1 (of 5) - 33,503

Hmm. On the one hand, alternate reality books generally don’t do especially well. On the other hand, it’s been heavily promoted and it’s by J Michael Straczynski, who’s supposed to be one of Marvel’s star talents. I’d call this a disappointing number.

74. NEW EXCALIBUR
11/05  #1  - 58,333
12/05  #2  - 48,816  (-16.3%)
01/06  #3  - 47,196  ( -3.3%)
02/06  #4  - 45,071  ( -4.5%)
03/06  #5  - 43,523  ( -3.4%)
04/06  #6  - 40,687  ( -6.5%)
05/06  #7  - 38,744  ( -4.8%)
06/06  #8  - 37,428  ( -3.4%)
07/06  #9  - 36,466  ( -2.6%)
08/06  #10 - 36,108  ( -1.0%)
09/06  #11 - 34,104  ( -5.6%)
10/06  #12 - 33,082  ( -3.0%)
11/06  #13 - 32,173  ( -2.7%)
             6 mnth  (-17.0%)
             1 year  (-44.8%)

Still in decline, as the fill-in issues mount up. Chris Claremont’s return is just around the corner, though. If it’s going to level out, that’ll be the point.

78,79,82. WHAT IF?
11/06     Enemy of the State - 31,211
11/06              The Other - 31,060
11/06  Avengers Disassembled - 30,635

The first of a batch of WHAT IF? one-shots spread over two months, this time focussing on major storylines from the last couple of years. Something similar was done last December, when Wolverine’s issue managed 29,953, and all the others were between 22-25K. A definitive improvement in sales, then, although the reviews haven’t been dazzling.

80. EXILES
11/01  #6  - 42,220
11/02  #19 - 37,608
11/03  #37 - 40,272
11/04  #54 - 34,180
======
11/05  #72 - 34,329  (-16.5%)
11/05  #73 - 34,008  ( -0.9%)
12/05  #74 - 33,881  ( -0.4%)
01/06  #75 - 33,485  ( -1.2%)
01/06  #76 - 32,843  ( -1.9%)
02/06  #77 - 32,998  ( +0.5%)
03/06  #78 - 33,506  ( +1.5%)
04/06  #79 - 34,119  ( +1.8%)
05/06  #80 - 34,039  ( -0.2%)
05/06  #81 - 33,908  ( -0.4%)
06/06  #82 - 33,342  ( -1.7%)
06/06  #83 - 33,143  ( -0.6%)
07/06  #84 - 32,866  ( -0.8%)
08/06  #85 - 33,978  ( +3.4%)
09/06  #86 - 33,080  ( -2.6%)
10/06  #87 - 31,946  ( -3.4%)
11/06  #88 - 30,928  ( -3.2%)
             6 mnth  ( -8.8%)
             1 year  ( -9.9%)
             2 year  ( -9.5%)
             3 year  (-23.2%)

Another example of a normally solid book which has started slipping in the last couple of months.

81. X-MEN: FIRST CLASS
09/06  #1 (of 8) - 39,859
10/06  #2 (of 8) - 33,688  (-15.5%)
11/06  #3 (of 8) - 30,805  ( -8.6%)

A little stiff for the third issue drop, but nothing too unexpected.

84. DOCTOR STRANGE: OATH
10/06  #1 (of 5) - 40,280
11/06  #2 (of 5) - 29,824  (-26.0%)

This looks like an awfully steep drop for the second issue, but then there was a variant cover on issue #1. On that basis, then, it’s not quite so bad.

85. CABLE & DEADPOOL
11/04  #9  - 27,612
======
11/05  #22 - 23,746  (  -5.1%)
12/05  #23 - 23,296  (  -1.9%)
01/06  #24 - 23,542  (  +1.1%)
02/06  #25 - 22,918  (  -2.7%)
03/06  #26 - 25,584  ( +11.6%)
04/06  #27 - 26,153  (  +2.2%)
05/06  #28 - 25,665  (  -1.9%)
06/06  #29 - 25,368  (  -1.2%)
07/06  #30 - 59,333  (+133.9%)
08/06  #31 - 59,804  (  +0.8%)
09/06  #32 - 60,177  (  +0.6%)
10/06  #33 - 30,741  ( -48.9%)
11/06  #34 - 29,144  (  -5.2%)
             6 mnth  ( +13.6%)
             1 year  ( +22.7%)
             2 year  (  +5.5%)

Still comfortably up on its pre-crossover sales – somehow, with this book and THUNDERBOLTS, Fabian Nicieza is bucking the usual rule that crossover boosts evaporate immediately.

86. DAREDEVIL: FATHER
04/04  #1 (of 6) - 69,487
05/04  ---
06/04  ---
07/04  ---
08/04  ---
09/04  ---
10/04  ---
11/04  ---
12/04  ---
01/05  ---
02/05  ---
03/05  ---
04/05  ---
05/05  ---
06/05  ---
06/05  ---
08/05  #2 (of 6) - 39,745  (-42.8%)
09/05  #3 (of 6) - 37,571  ( -5.5%)
10/05  ---
11/05  #4 (of 6) - 33,562  (-10.7%)
12/05  #5 (of 6) - 30,249  ( -9.9%)
01/06  ---
02/06  ---
03/06  ---
04/06  ---
05/06  ---
06/06  ---
07/06  ---
08/06  ---
09/06  ---
10/06  ---
11/06  #6 (of 6) - 28,833  ( -4.7%)
                   6 mnth  (  --- )
                   1 year  (-14.1%)

In related news, hell freezes over. Of course, we shouldn’t be too hard on Joe Quesada, because it’s all too easy for a busy professional to underestimate the amount of time required for a six-issue miniseries by two years or so. These things happen.

88. AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL
11/01  #40  - 23,897
11/02  #53  - 24,907
11/03  #66  - 21,864
11/04  #80  - 21,146
=====
11/05  #92  - 17,597  (  -3.1%)
12/05  #93  - 17,057  (  -3.1%)
01/06  #94  - 17,148  (  +0.5%)
02/06  #95  - 16,778  (  -2.2%)
03/06  #96  - 16,739  (  -0.2%)
04/06  #97  - 17,508  (  +4.6%)
05/06  #98  - 17,738  (  +1.3%)
06/06  #99  - 17,915  (  +1.0%)
07/06  #100 - 22,691  ( +26.7%)
08/06  ----
09/06  ----
10/06  #1   - 47,304  (+108.5%)
11/06  #2   - 28,135  ( -40.5%)
              6 mnth  ( +58.6%)
              1 year  ( +59.9%)
              2 year  ( +33.1%)
              3 year  ( +28.7%)

Another drop which looks worse than it is, because there was a variant cover last month. SPIDER-GIRL does well enough outside the direct market that it isn’t really dependent on monthly sales, but Marvel will be pleased to see that they’ve added over 10K to the usual number.

89. ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER [Dabel Bros]
10/06  #1 (of 12) - 42,468
11/06  #2 (of 12) - 28,031  (-34.0%)

A rare example of a meaningful sell-out at Diamond, issue #1 picks up a massive 14,218 in re-orders. Retailers can be forgiven for underestimating this one, because DBPro titles are not generally notable for their monthly sales. Interestingly, the first month orders for issue #2 are much the same as for issue #1, so there might be yet more re-orders to come here.

There’s a stark contrast between the crossover success of this title and the other DBPro titles for November. PTOLUS: CITY BY THE SPIRE #2 and RED PROPHET: TALES OF ALVIN MAKER #3 both appear on shipping lists for November but failed to reach the top 300, meaning that they sold fewer than 3,170 copies. Obviously, the direct market serial is not the primary format for DBPro books, but even that fact marks a striking departure for Marvel.

I’m not going to bother tracking the direct market sales of books like PTOLUS and RED PROPHET in future because, frankly, it’s meaningless – not only do they sell the vast majority of copies elsewhere, but they’re going to regularly miss the chart altogether at this rate. I’ll track the performance of those DBPro books that, like ANITA BLAKE, sell enough direct market copies to make it a worthwhile exercise.

90. THUNDERBOLTS
11/01  #58  - 31,097
11/02  #74  - 27,170
======
11/05  #15  - 25,245  (  -9.4%)
12/05  #16  - 25,084  (  -0.6%)
01/06  #17  - 23,417  (  -6.7%)
02/06  #18  - 23,735  (  +1.4%)
03/06  #100 - 26,798  ( +12.9%)
04/06  #101 - 24,170  (  -9.8%)
05/06  #102 - 23,741  (  -1.8%)
06/06  #103 - 60,823  (+156.2%)
07/06  #104 - 63,850  (  +5.0%)
08/06  #105 - 61,467  (  -3.7%)
09/06  #106 - 31,527  ( -48.7%)
10/06  #107 - 29,624  (  -6.0%)
11/06  #108 - 27,890  (  -5.9%)
              6 mnth  ( +17.5%)
              1 year  ( +10.5%)

Still up on pre-crossover numbers, but with a relaunch just around the corner. At number 230, CIVIL WAR: THUNDERBOLTS – SWIMMING WITH SHARKS is a reprint of the Civil War tie-in issues (#103-105), and it sells 6,897.

95. SHE-HULK
11/04  #9  - 23,869
======
11/05  #2  - 31,610  ( -15.1%)
12/05  #3  - 29,428  (  -6.9%)
01/06  #4  - 28,214  (  -4.1%)
02/06  #5  - 27,183  (  -3.7%)
03/06  #6  - 26,631  (  -2.0%)
04/06  ---
05/06  #7  - 26,561  (  -0.3%)
05/06  #8  - 58,053  (+118.6%)
06/06  ---
07/06  #9  - 29,902  ( -48.5%)
08/06  #10 - 28,555  (  -4.5%)
08/06  #11 - 27,393  (  -4.1%)
09/06  #12 - 26,448  (  -3.4%)
10/06  ---
11/06  #13 - 26,267  (  -0.7%)
             6 mnth  ( -62.5%)
             1 year  ( -16.9%)
             2 year  ( +10.0%)

Very solid.

96. RUNAWAYS
11/03  #8  - 20,896
11/04  ---
======
11/05  #10 - 25,761  ( -3.9%)
12/05  #11 - 25,260  ( -1.9%)
01/06  #12 - 24,989  ( -1.1%)
02/06  #13 - 24,313  ( -2.7%)
03/06  #14 - 24,536  ( +0.9%)
04/06  #15 - 24,046  ( -2.0%)
05/06  #16 - 23,842  ( -0.8%)
06/06  #17 - 23,654  ( -0.8%)
07/06  #18 - 24,678  ( +4.3%)
08/06  #19 - 25,042  ( +1.5%)
09/06  #20 - 23,561  ( -5.9%)
10/06  #21 - 25,553  ( +8.5%)
11/06  #22 - 25,908  ( +1.4%)
             6 mnth  ( +8.7%)
             1 year  ( +0.6%)
             2 year  (  --- )
             3 year  (+24.0%)

Edging up the charts, with the promise of a Joss Whedon run to come. Now established for over three years, and with a secure medium-term future ahead of it, RUNAWAYS has bucked the trends and successfully launched new characters into the Marvel Universe.

110. WHITE TIGER
11/06  #1 (of 6) - 24,663

Not desperately good sales, to be frank. This sort of debut usually heralds a drop into the mid-teens by the end of the run.

111,136. AVENGERS NEXT
11/06  #1 (of 5) - 24,521
11/06  #2 (of 5) - 20,842  (-15.0%)

Much the same could be said here, except that this is an MC2 title and shares a universe with SPIDER-GIRL. Presumably Marvel have an eye on that title’s wider audience.

114. PUNISHER X-MAS SPECIAL
11/06  One-shot - 24,050

Another Punisher one-shot for the completists. Perfectly fine numbers.

121. MARVEL 1602: FANTASTICK FOUR
09/06  #1 (of 5) - 31,784
10/06  #2 (of 5) - 26,702  (-16.0%)
11/06  #3 (of 5) - 23,295  (-12.8%)

Dropping awfully fast. This must surely be the last we’ll hear of the 1602 franchise for the foreseeable future.

122. IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN
10/06  #1 - 29,499
11/06  #2 - 23,191  (-21.4%)

125. BLADE
09/06  #1 - 37,394
10/06  #2 - 27,170  (-27.3%)
11/06  #3 - 23,144  (-14.8%)

Barring a rapid turnaround – which almost never happens – these new titles are in grave difficulties. At present, they’re on course to get axed within a year. In the past I’ve criticised Marvel for shoving out no-hoper new titles, but in fairness, you can see the logic with these two. ANT-MAN is a black comedy by Robert Kirkman, who had enough unexpected success with MARVEL ZOMBIES to merit some leeway for his oddball ideas. It was probably worth a try. BLADE, on the other hand, was clearly launched in an attempt at synergy with the short-lived TV series. Given that Marvel have made multiple attempts to relaunch Blade over the last few years, with invariable swift and painful failure, it’s probably now time to take the hint and accept that he doesn’t sell.

127. BEYOND!
07/06  #1 (of 6) - 35,728
08/06  #2 (of 6) - 28,727  (-19.6%)
09/06  #3 (of 6) - 25,096  (-12.6%)
10/06  #4 (of 6) - 23,792  ( -5.2%)
11/06  #5 (of 6) - 22,795  ( -4.2%)

Perfectly decent for a miniseries lacking in stars.

128. POWERS [Icon]
11/01  #16 - 27,281
11/02  #26 - 26,751
11/03  #35 - 26,141
11/04  #6  - 30,341
=====
11/05  #14 - 26,109  ( -1.6%)
12/05  #15 - 25,633  ( -1.8%)
01/06  ---
02/06  #16 - 24,924  ( -2.8%)
03/06  #17 - 24,139  ( -3.1%)
04/06  ---
05/06  #18 - 23,617  ( -2.2%)
06/06  ---
07/06  #19 - 23,156  ( -1.9%)
08/06  ---
09/06  ---
10/06  #20 - 22,943  ( -0.9%)
11/06  #21 - 22,134  ( -3.5%)
             6 mnth  ( -6.3%)
             1 year  (-15.2%)
             2 year  (-27.0%)
             3 year  (-15.3%)

Definitely in decline from earlier years, but still doing fine for a creator-owned title.

130. NEXTWAVE: AGENTS OF H.A.T.E.
01/06   #1 - 41,041
02/06  ---
03/06   #2 - 29,911  (-27.1%)
03/06   #3 - 27,126  ( -9.3%)
04/06   #4 - 26,728  ( -1.5%)
05/06   #5 - 30,818  (+15.3%)
06/06   #6 - 24,626  (-20.1%)
07/06  ---
08/06   #7 - 24,245  ( -1.5%)
09/06   #8 - 23,059  ( -4.9%)
10/06   #9 - 22,357  ( -3.0%)
11/06  #10 - 21,644  ( -3.2%)
             6 mnth  (-29.8%)

Axed with issue #12. This is, apparently, not what they want.

135. CRIMINAL [Icon]
10/06  #1 - 25,978
11/06  #2 - 21,115  (-18.7%)

A fairly standard second issue drop. For a creator-owned book on the Icon imprint, these are perfectly good numbers.

140. WISDOM [Max]
11/06  #1 (of 6) - 20,021

This, on the other hand, is pretty much disastrous, especially considering that it’s an X-book. The numbers here will get very unpleasant by the end of the run. Artist Trevor Hairsine has been pulled from the project; whether that’s because of his usual lateness, or because Marvel looked at the sales and figured he could be doing something more valuable with his time, is a matter for speculation. Certainly, given his previous high-profile assignments, it’s unusual to see Hairsine showing up on a book this far down the charts. (Mind you, given his previous high-profile lateness, it’s equally unusual to see Hairsine showing up on any book at all.)

For comparison, HELLSTORM and ZOMBIE – two other recent miniseries from the Max imprint – debuted at around 27K. So this is really quite bad.

142. UNION JACK
09/06  #1 (of 4) - 25,333
10/06  #2 (of 4) - 20,871  (-17.6%)
11/06  #3 (of 4) - 18,841  ( -9.7%)

Disappearing off the radar.

147. OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE
11/04    Dead
 2004 - 25,131
=====
11/05        X-Men - 22,986  (+45.0%)
12/05    Ultimates - 20,795  ( -9.5%)
01/06   #1 (of 12) - 23,423  (+12.6%)
02/06   #2 (of 12) - 21,828  ( -6.8%)
03/06   #3 (of 12) - 21,681  ( -0.7%)
04/06   #4 (of 12) - 21,531  ( -0.7%)
05/06   #5 (of 12) - 21,331  ( -0.9%)
06/06   #6 (of 12) - 20,731  ( -2.8%)
07/06   #7 (of 12) - 20,124  ( -2.9%)
08/06   #8 (of 12) - 19,926  ( -1.0%)
09/06   #9 (of 12) - 18,966  ( -4.8%)
10/06  #10 (of 12) - 18,767  ( -1.0%)
11/06  #11 (of 12) - 18,285  ( -2.6%)
                     6 mnth  (-14.3%)
                     1 year  (-20.5%)
                     2 year  (-27.2%)

Gentle decline as the twelve-issue series continues.

149. HELLSTORM, SON OF SATAN [Max]
10/06  #1 (of 5) - 27,045
11/06  #2 (of 5) - 17,398  (-35.7%)

Another Max miniseries swandiving gracefully into oblivion.

151. STAN LEE MEETS...
09/06  Spider-Man - 26,859
10/06  Dr Strange - 22,138
10/06       Thing - 17,780
11/06     Dr Doom - 17,275

More curious one-shots.

153. ZOMBIE [Max]
09/06  #1 (of 4) - 26,621
10/06  #2 (of 4) - 19,772  (-25.7%)
11/06  #3 (of 4) - 16,605  (-16.0%)

Another less than successful Max book, but perhaps one with more realistic hopes of bookstore sales.

171. AGENTS OF ATLAS
08/06  #1 (of 6) - 19,292
09/06  #2 (of 6) - 14,416  (-25.3%)
10/06  #3 (of 6) - 12,929  (-10.3%)
11/06  #4 (of 6) - 12,388  ( -4.2%)

Levelling out, but the numbers aren’t good.

173. SPIDER-MAN FAMILY
11/06  Spider Clan - 12,143

Another batch of reprints with a bizarre lead story reinventing Spider-Man as a martial arts hero. Don’t ask. I can’t begin to imagine who’s supposed to be the target audience for this.

175. MARVEL LEGACY HANDBOOKS
02/06  1960s - 12,957
03/06  ---
04/06  ---
05/06  1970s - 14,161  (+9.3%)
06/06  ---
07/06  ---
08/06  ---
09/06  ---
10/06  ---
11/06  1980s - 12,096  (-14.6%)

More modestly-selling nostalgia.

209. FRANKLIN RICHARDS
11/06  Happy Franksgiving - 8,067

211. SPIDER-MAN & POWER PACK [All ages]
11/06  #1 (of 4) - 7,897

215. MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS [All ages]
05/06  #1 - 13,891
06/06  #2 -  9,359  (-32.7%)
07/06  #3 -  9,006  ( -3.8%)
08/06  #4 -  8,610  ( -4.4%)
09/06  #5 -  7,994  ( -7.2%)
10/06  #6 -  7,879  ( -1.4%)
11/06  #7 -  7,642  ( -3.0%)

As per usual, there’s not much point worrying about the sales of the all ages titles, which do most of their business elsewhere.

218. YOUNG GUNS RELOADED
11/06  Sketchbook - 7,406

Another promotional item pushing the 2006 incarnation of the Young Guns programme. Last time round, Marvel announced a bunch of artists they intended to push, and then soon forgot all about it. This time, they announced a bunch of artists they intended to push, and then immediately forgot all about it. Or at least, they’re keeping very quiet about it.

233. MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN [All ages]
11/05  #9  - 6,637  ( -6.4%)
12/05  #10 - 6,391  ( -3.7%)
01/06  #11 - 6,107  ( -4.4%)
02/06  #12 - 6,087  ( -0.3%)
03/06  #13 - 5,899  ( -3.1%)
04/06  #14 - 5,970  ( +1.2%)
05/06  #15 - 6,165  ( +3.3%)
06/06  #16 - 6,114  ( -0.8%)
07/06  #17 - 6,133  ( +0.3%)
08/06  #18 - 6,220  ( +1.4%)
09/06  #19 - 6,057  ( -2.6%)
10/06  #20 - 6,131  ( +1.2%)
11/06  #21 - 6,529  ( +6.5%)
            6 mnth  ( +5.9%)
            1 year  ( -1.6%)


234. SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE [All ages]
12/05  #1  - 11,171
01/06  #2  -  8,590  (-23.1%)
02/06  #3  -  7,648  (-11.0%)
03/06  #4  -  7,672  ( +0.3%)
04/06  #5  -  7,165  ( -6.6%)
05/06  #6  -  7,069  ( -1.3%)
06/06  #7  -  6,834  ( -3.3%)
07/06  #8  -  6,769  ( -1.0%)
08/06  #9  -  6,719  ( -0.7%)
09/06  #10 -  6,623  ( -1.4%)
10/06  #11 -  6,586  ( -0.6%)
11/06  #12 -  6,520  ( -1.0%)
             6 mnth  ( -7.8%)


241. MARVEL SPOTLIGHT
12/05  Cassaday/McKeever - 9,763
01/06       Ellis/Cheung - 6,843  ( -29.9%)
02/06        Whedon/Lark - 5,947  ( -13.1%)
03/06       Finch/Sacasa - 4,146  ( -30.3%)
04/06         Way/Coipel - 3,309  ( -20.2%)
05/06  ---
06/06     Millar/McNiven - 7,668  (+131.7%)
06/06     Gaiman/Larroca - 5,449  ( -28.9%)
07/06       Kirkman/Land - 3,963  ( -27.3%)
08/06       Brubaker/Tan - 3,580  (  -9.7%)
09/06          Lee/Kirby - 6,313  ( +76.3%)
10/06   Onslaught Reborn - 4,557  ( -27.8%)
11/06      Bendis/Bagley - 5,869  ( +28.8%)
                          6 mnth  ( -23.5%)

The ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN creative team prove to be one of this book’s bigger draws. Reportedly, though, it does most of its sales outside the direct market in the magazine racks.

263. MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR [All ages]
11/05  #6  - 5,522  ( -7.5%)
12/05  #7  - 5,058  ( -8.4%)
01/06  #8  - 4,834  ( -4.4%)
02/06  #9  - 4,711  ( -2.5%)
03/06  #10 - 4,663  ( -1.0%)
04/06  #11 - 4,526  ( -2.9%)
05/06  #12 - 4,836  ( +6.8%)
06/06  #13 - 4,752  ( -1.7%)
07/06  #14 - 4,668  ( -1.8%)
08/06  #15 - 4,569  ( -2.1%)
09/06  #16 - 4,687  ( +2.6%)
10/06  #17 - 4,557  ( -2.8%)
11/06  #18 - 4,614  ( +1.3%)
            6 mnth  ( -4.6%)
            1 year  (-16.4%)
Skip months
===========

ULTIMATE WOLVERINE VS HULK
12/05  #1 (of 6) - 115,492
01/06  ---
02/06  #2 (of 6) - 105,770  (-8.4%)
03/06  ---
04/06  ---
05/06  ---
06/06  ---
07/06  ---
08/06  ---
09/06  ---
10/06  ---
11/06  ---

Deep breath… Issue #3 was originally solicited for 19 April 2006, and has since been rescheduled for 17 May, 12 July, 9 August, 20 September, 25 October, 1 November and 27 December. Now, Marvel have finally cancelled the thing altogether. Allegedly it’s going to be resolicited at a later date, but quite honestly, I don’t believe a word of it.

ULTIMATES
11/02  #10 - 98,164
11/03  ---
11/04  ---
======
11/05  ---
12/05  #9  - 94,493  ( -1.5%)
01/06  ---
02/06  ---
03/06  #10 - 94,900  ( +0.4%)
04/06  ---
05/06  ---
06/06  #11 - 96,751  ( +2.0%)
07/06  ---
08/06  ---
09/06  #12 - 99,538  ( +2.9%)
10/06  ---
11/06  ---

Late. Issue #13 is now due in the last week of January.

FANTASTIC FOUR
11/01  #49  - 49,111
11/02  #63  - 50,945
11/03  #506 - 51,721
11/04  #520 - 51,685
=====
11/05  #532 - 47,771  ( -4.0%)
12/05  #533 - 46,751  ( -2.1%)
01/05  ---
02/06  #534 - 44,573  ( -4.7%)
02/06  #535 - 43,124  ( -3.3%)
03/06  #536 - 79,680  (+84.8%)
04/06  #537 - 79,576  ( -0.1%)
05/06  ---
06/06  #538 - 92,624  (+16.4%)
07/06  ---
08/06  #539 - 89,676  ( -3.2%)
09/06  ----
10/06  #540 - 88,933  ( -0.8%)
11/06  ----

Late, due to the knock-on effects of CIVIL WAR delays.

KABUKI [Icon]
11/05  ---
12/05  ---
01/06  ---
02/06  #6 - 11,349  ( -0.6%)
03/06  ---
04/06  ---
05/06  ---
06/06  ---
07/06  ---
08/06  #7 - 10,798  ( -4.9%)
09/06  ---
10/06  ---
11/06  ---

Late. Issue #8 was solicited for October, and it’s now due for 17 January 2007.

JACK KIRBY'S GALACTIC BOUNTY HUNTERS [Icon]
07/06  #1 - 13,514
08/06  #2 -  9,301  (-31.2%)
09/06  ---
10/06  #3 -  7,716  (-17.0%)
11/06  ---

Late.

6 month changes
===============

+97.6% - Iron Man
+71.5% - Hulk
+70.9% - Captain America
+58.6% - Spider-Girl
+46.9% - Black Panther
+17.5% - Thunderbolts
+13.6% - Cable & Deadpool
+11.7% - Uncanny X-Men
+ 9.0% - New Avengers
+ 8.7% - Runaways
+ 5.9% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
+ 4.8% - Ultimate Spider-Man
+ 3.0% - Daredevil
+ 0.7% - X-Men
- 0.2% - Amazing Spider-Man
- 3.3% - X-Factor
- 3.8% - Punisher
- 4.3% - Sensational Spider-Man
- 4.4% - Ultimate X-Men
- 4.6% - Moon Knight
- 4.6% - Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four
- 4.7% - Astonishing X-Men
- 5.4% - New X-Men
- 6.3% - Powers
- 7.8% - Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane
- 8.8% - Exiles
-10.9% - Wolverine
-12.0% - Ms Marvel
-14.3% - Official Handbook
-14.7% - Squadron Supreme
-17.0% - New Excalibur
-19.4% - Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
-23.5% - Marvel Spotlight
-29.8% - Nextwave
-30.4% - Wolverine: Origins
-44.4% - Ultimate Fantastic Four
-62.5% - She-Hulk


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

+104.6% - Hulk
+ 77.4% - Captain America
+ 59.9% - Spider-Girl
+ 31.5% - Amazing Spider-Man
+ 29.0% - Black Panther
+ 22.7% - Cable & Deadpool
+ 11.5% - Daredevil
+ 10.5% - Thunderbolts
+  8.2% - New Avengers
+  7.0% - Uncanny X-Men
+  6.0% - Wolverine
+  3.8% - Ultimate Spider-Man
+  2.2% - X-Men
+  0.6% - Runaways
-  1.6% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
-  7.0% - Ultimate X-Men
-  8.1% - Punisher
-  9.9% - Exiles
- 14.1% - Daredevil: Father
- 15.2% - Powers
- 16.4% - Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four
- 16.9% - She-Hulk
- 17.5% - Ultimate Fantastic Four
- 20.5% - Official Handbook
- 23.8% - Ghost Rider
- 31.4% - Sensational Spider-Man
- 36.2% - New X-Men
- 44.8% - New Excalibur
- 47.6% - Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man


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

+36.4% - Amazing Spider-Man
+33.1% - Spider-Girl
+29.1% - New Avengers
+22.2% - Wolverine
+18.8% - Captain America
+11.3% - Iron Man
+10.0% - She-Hulk
+ 5.5% - Cable & Deadpool
- 3.8% - Uncanny X-Men
- 3.9% - Daredevil
- 9.5% - Exiles
- 9.6% - X-Men
-12.3% - Astonishing X-Men
-14.3% - Ultimate Spider-Man
-21.2% - Punisher
-25.0% - Ultimate X-Men
-26.5% - Sensational Spider-Man
-27.0% - Powers
-27.2% - Official Handbook
-27.4% - Squadron Supreme
-40.3% - Ultimate Fantastic Four


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

+139.9% - Iron Man
+134.6% - New Avengers
+ 94.2% - Captain America
+ 57.7% - Hulk
+ 28.7% - Spider-Girl
+ 27.0% - Wolverine
+ 25.7% - Amazing Spider-Man
+ 24.0% - Runaways
-  2.4% - Uncanny X-Men
- 14.3% - Daredevil
- 15.3% - Powers
- 15.4% - Punisher
- 20.3% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 21.9% - X-Men
- 23.2% - Exiles
- 34.7% - Ultimate X-Men
- 41.4% - Squadron Supreme

1 COMMENT

  1. ULTIMATES
    Late. Issue #13 is now due in the last week of January.
    —–

    Actually, it’s been rescheduled for mid-March.

  2. POB> 171. AGENTS OF ATLAS
    POB> Levelling out, but the numbers aren’t good.

    Well, there is that sequel think Kirk mentioned @ Newsarama…

    POB> 173. SPIDER-MAN FAMILY
    POB> 11/06 Spider Clan – 12,143
    POB> Another batch of reprints with a bizarre lead story reinventing Spider-Man as a martial arts hero. Don’t ask. I can’t begin to imagine who’s supposed to be the target audience for this.

    Isn’t this a second sequel to one of the original Marvel Mangaverse one-shots (after the Legend of the Spider-Clan mini)? How did they sell?

    JD> Actually, it’s been rescheduled for mid-March.

    HUH?

    When they announced Hitch had finally finished – http://forum.newsarama.com/printthread.php?t=93867 (and think what it means that they actually felt the need to announce this) – a couple of weeks back, they said the end of January. And it doesn’t take three months to ink & colour (especially since you’d think they could have been doing so as Hitch finished each page) an issue.

  3. Didn’t Millar promise to throw himself into the sun or something if ULTIMATES #13 wasn’t on store shelves by the end of 2006?

  4. > 84. DOCTOR STRANGE: OATH
    > 10/06 #1 (of 5) – 40,280
    > 11/06 #2 (of 5) – 29,824 (-26.0%)This looks like an awfully steep drop > for the second issue, but then there was a variant cover on issue #1. On > that basis, then, it’s not quite so bad.

    See… but the variant was a freebee based on the # of Civil War copies ordered. And last month, when I asked you whether that was included in the numbers, you said “no”. So which is it?

    –chasdom

  5. Ah, good point. Okay… it depends which webpage version of the chart you’re looking at, but at least one of them (on CBR) does list two separate order codes for DR STRANGE #1 on the October charts, in which case the second order code must be the variant cover.

  6. Rob Liefeld wasn’t kicked off of Heroes Reborn. Marvel had just gone thru a major management change, and the new regime didn’t like Rob’s & Jim’s contracts as they thought it was paying them too much and giving them too much creative power. They told both Rob & Jim that they had to renegotiate their contracts if they wanted to stay on the books — the new contracts would be for much less money, and much less control. Rob opted out, Jim stayed and took on Rob’s books.