Marvel Month-to-Month Sales: October 2006

by Paul O’Brien
The CIVIL WAR crossover continued to sprawl across the Marvel line in October, but with the core book running late and other titles having to wait for it, there were several big names missing from the shelves. But every cloud has a silver lining, and with CIVIL WAR absent, some of Marvel’s other new launches had a clearer run. ULTIMATE POWER makes its debut, along with the latest version of ANT-MAN. The Max imprint continues its revival. The much-lauded CRIMINAL debuts under the Icon imprint. And the Dabel Brothers join the Marvel family, with their flagship title ANITA BLAKE.

Thanks in part to those new books, Marvel once again beat DC comfortably, despite missing some of their major books. In dollar share, Marvel take it by 37.8% to 34.2%. In unit share, it’s 42.7% to 37.3%. Closer than last month, but still a satisfying win.

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

1.  NEW AVENGERS
10/01  #47  -  58,771
10/02  #59  -  53,772
10/03  #70  -  58,878
10/04  ---
======
10/05  #12  - 130,110  (  -3.0%)
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%)
               6 mnth  ( +12.6%)
               1 year  (  +5.2%)
               2 year  (  ---- )
               3 year  (+132.4%)

With CIVIL WAR absent, NEW AVENGERS takes the top spot with its fourth crossover issue. In fact, issue #25 was solicited for October, but the book is running a month late, presumably because it’s waiting for the core title to catch up. This issue is focussed on the Sentry, one of the less marketable Avengers, which might explain why the sales drop back a bit. Even so, it’s comfortably ahead of the title’s normal range, which is pretty impressive to start with.

A second printing of issue #21 sells 12,286 copies to chart at number 138. As usual, the numbers are added in above.

5.  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%)

The B-title continues to hold up extremely well, and piles on the re-orders. In October, Marvel managed to shift another 14,565 copies of issue #2, 13,710 copies of issue #3, and 3,147 copies of issue #6. That’s over 30K in re-orders alone, more than some new titles manage.

7.  WOLVERINE
10/01  #169 -  71,314
10/02  #182 -  65,937
10/03  #6   -  82,074
10/04  #20  - 116,831
======
10/05  #34  -  75,664  ( -3.6%)
10/05  #35  -  73,684  ( -2.6%)
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%)
               6 mnth  (+49.7%)
               1 year  (+40.4%)
               2 year  ( -9.1%)
               3 year  (+29.4%)

The final part of a six-issue CIVIL WAR crossover arc which has done very nicely indeed, thanks. After this, it’s a couple of months of transition while we wait for the new creative team and the fiftieth issue.

9.  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%)
             6 mnth  (-43.5%)

There’s a variant cover this month, although it hasn’t made a tremendous amount of difference. ORIGINS continues to sell very impressively for a spin-off book, and once CIVIL WAR is out of the way, it’ll be interesting to see whether it can regain its lead over the parent title.

10.  ULTIMATE POWER
10/06  #1 (of 9) - 102,687

The first part of a crossover between the Ultimate universe and the J Michael Straczynski version of the Squadon Supreme. It makes a certain amount of sense – after all, they’re kind of the Ultimate Squadron Supreme. A huge debut number shows that there’s a lot of interest in this – it outsells all of the regular Ultimate books, and it would have beaten ULTIMATES as well.

11.  UNCANNY X-MEN
10/01  #399 - 110,158
10/02  #414 -  83,699
10/03  #432 -  92,472
10/04  #451 -  97,498
======
10/05  #465 -  84,271  ( -1.9%)
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%)
               6 mnth  (+12.5%)
               1 year  ( +5.7%)
               2 year  ( -8.7%)
               3 year  ( -3.7%)

Ed Brubaker’s run has found its level at around 89K, which is comfortably up on the previous creative team. The new direction is evidently a success.

12. FANTASTIC FOUR
10/01  #48  - 48,616
10/02  #62  - 51,805
10/03  #505 - 52,850
10/04  #519 - 47,969
=====
10/05  ---
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%)
              6 mnth  (+11.8%)
              1 year  (+86.2%)
              2 year  (+85.4%)
              3 year  (+68.3%)

FANTASTIC FOUR makes an increasingly rare appearance on the shelves with another CIVIL WAR tie-in – and in fairness, it can blame the lateness of the core book for these delays. Sales on the crossover arc are holding up well, and the book is in a different league to its normal range in the mid-40Ks.

13. CIVIL WAR: X-MEN
07/06  #1 (of 4) - 114,905
08/06  #2 (of 4) - 100,772  (-12.3%)
09/06  #3 (of 4) -  94,466  ( -6.3%)
10/06  #4 (of 4) -  88,689  ( -6.1%)

The X-Men’s extremely tenuous contribution to the crossover wraps up, and issue #3 scrapes onto the bottom of the chart at number 300 with 1,492 re-orders. Great numbers, but it really does verge on abuse of the CIVIL WAR brand. This is a sequel to X-MEN: THE 198, which debuted with 68,698 and dropped to 48,139 by its final issue. CIVIL WAR: X-MEN has handily beaten those numbers, and it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that it did so on the strength of its virtually non-existent crossover elements. Then again, sales have held up fairly well by miniseries standards, so perhaps people who were drawn in by the hype stuck around regardless.

16. X-MEN
10/01  #119 - 115,828
10/02  #133 -  98,092
10/03  #147 - 105,647
10/04  #163 -  88,615
======
10/05  #176 -  74,635  ( -2.5%)
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%)
               6 mnth  ( +3.8%)
               1 year  ( +9.6%)
               2 year  ( -7.7%)
               3 year  (-22.6%)

Still levelling out from the recent creative team change. This book is only a couple of thousand ahead of the previous range, so it’s not a clear winner like UNCANNY. But the creative change certainly hasn’t done any harm.

17. CAPTAIN AMERICA
10/01  #48 - 35,257
10/02  #6  - 60,895
10/03  #19 - 42,356
10/04  #32 - 37,309
======
10/05  #11 - 45,162  ( -14.2%)
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%)
             6 mnth  ( +78.6%)
             1 year  ( +80.1%)
             2 year  (+118.0%)
             3 year  ( +92.0%)

A CIVIL WAR crossover arc, as if you hadn’t guessed. Issue #22 picks up 4,645 in re-orders. Allowing for that, it’s actually almost level with last month’s initial orders.

18. ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN
10/01  #14  -  78,436
10/02  #28  -  92,099
10/03  #47  -  99,662
10/04  #66  -  95,917
======
10/05  #84  -  74,670  ( -1.2%)
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%)
               6 mnth  ( +8.4%)
               1 year  ( +5.7%)
               2 year  (-17.7%)
               3 year  (-20.8%)

Dropping back to the normal range after last month’s anniversary issue, although there’s still a slight retention. Issue #100 picks up re-orders of 2,997.

20. CIVIL WAR: CHOOSING SIDES
10/06  Choosing Sides - 74,611

This is the first in a set of CIVIL WAR filler projects, rushed onto the shelves to plug the gaps while the main series is running late. Basically, it’s a series of trailer stories for THUNDERBOLTS, ANT-MAN, IRON FIST and OMEGA FLIGHT, with a Howard the Duck story thrown in for good measure. It’s somewhat similar to DC’s ultra-cheap BRAVE NEW WORLD one-shot, and some readers have complained that Marvel should have priced it in the same way. But then, the BRAVE NEW WORLD books haven’t done all that well, so it’s not like DC got much return on their money with that idea. Marvel, in contrast, sell their trailer book for four dollars, and still make the top twenty. Hard to argue with, really.

21. ULTIMATE X-MEN
10/01  #11 -  99,329
10/02  #23 -  90,053
10/03  #38 - 108,112
10/04  #52 -  93,833
======
10/05  #64 -  75,118  ( +0.5%)
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%)
              6 mnth  ( +0.9%)
              1 year  ( -1.7%)
              2 year  (-21.3%)
              3 year  (-31.7%)

The debut of Ultimate Cable, but since the character isn’t the sales draw he used to be, I expect the main reason for the jump is the 75th issue anniversary. Marvel chucked in a back-up strip and upped the page count to mark the occasion.

22. 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%)
            6 mnth  (+36.1%)

The concluding part of her Civil War tie-in, still miles above the book’s normal range. Next month, we find out how much she held on to.

25. ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR
10/04  ---
======
10/05  #24 -  70,549  ( -1.3%)
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%)
              6 mnth  ( -9.3%)
              1 year  (-13.2%)

Definitely dropping. This book seems to be in a long-term decline.

26. HEROES FOR HIRE
08/06  #1 - 84,006
09/06  #2 - 66,949  (-20.3%)
10/06  #3 - 60,770  ( -9.2%)

Another CIVIL WAR crossover. We’ve yet to see how this book will do on its own, but it’s certainly had plenty of help to get an audience. Issue #1 picks up 9,639 re-orders, and issue #2 gets 2,953.

28. GIANT-SIZE WOLVERINE
10/06  #1 - 55,426

Basically a slightly arty Hallowe’en special. A good solid number.

29. X-MEN: PHOENIX - WARSONG
09/06  #1 (of 5) - 73,503
10/06  #2 (of 5) - 54,727  (-25.5%)

Bit of a stiff drop for issue #2, and there’s a common theme with the X-Men miniseries – this one turns out to have very, very little Phoenix content. It’s actually an origin story for the Stepford Cuckoos. It’ll be interesting to keep an eye on this one, to see whether people drift away when they realise what it is. Issue #1 picks up re-orders of 1,779.

30. SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN
10/04  #7  - 69,918
======
10/05  #19 - 75,461  (+58.4%)
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%)
             6 mnth  ( -0.8%)
             1 year  (-31.6%)
             2 year  (-26.2%)

Back in decline, with the benefit from Spider-Man’s unmasking proving very shortlived indeed.

31. GHOST RIDER
10/05  #2 (of 6) -  71,473  (-40.2%)
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%)
                    6 mnth  (  --- )
                    1 year  (-28.7%)

Levelling out, but not there yet.

32. DAREDEVIL
10/01  #26 - 52,719
10/02  #38 - 53,252
10/03  #53 - 58,620
10/04  #66 - 53,138
======
10/05  #78 - 45,071  ( -1.9%)
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%)
             6 mnth  ( +7.2%)
             1 year  (+12.0%)
             2 year  ( -5.0%)
             3 year  (-13.9%)

Back to normal after last month’s variant cover. A very solid performer.

33. INCREDIBLE HULK
10/01  #33 - 31,529
10/02  #46 - 50,267
10/03  #62 - 55,530
10/04  ---
======
10/05  #87 - 42,454  (-19.9%)
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%)
             6 mnth  ( -0.2%)
             1 year  (+12.8%)
             2 year  (  --- )
             3 year  (-13.8%)

And the same applies here – back to normal after a variant cover. The year-long “Planet Hulk” story is performing solidly, although it’s nothing out of the ordinary for this title.

35. AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL
10/01  #39  - 23,514
10/02  #52  - 24,907
10/03  #65  - 22,561
10/04  #79  - 21,893
=====
10/05  #91  - 18,159  (  -1.0%)
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%)
              6 mnth  (+170.2%)
              1 year  (+160.5%)
              2 year  (+116.1%)
              3 year  (+109.7%)

And people wonder why companies keep relaunching titles from issue #1. SPIDER-GIRL returns from the brink of cancellation yet again, this time with a shiny new issue #1 and a massive increase in sales. Bet they’re kicking themselves for not doing this two years ago. There’s a variant cover as well, but it’s fair to say that most of this will be a legitimate increase. The question is where it settles down, but it’s certainly got a fair chance to find a bigger audience this time. And of course, SPIDER-GIRL reportedly performs well in digests, which reduces the pressure on it the direct market.

Issue #0 also shipped in October, charting at number 70 with orders of 27,239. It’s basically a recap book rather than a proper issue, so I haven’t included it in the table.

36. FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN
10/05  #1  - 100,430
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%)
              6 mnth  (-16.4%)
              1 year  (-53.9%)

Another secondary Spider-Man title seeing very little benefit from the unmasking stunt.

38. 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%)
             6 mnth  ( -5.1%)

Slow but noticeable decline.

41. 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%)

Levelling out, and continuing to perform impressively when you consider its mainly C- and D-list cast.

42. DOCTOR STRANGE: OATH
10/06  #1 (of 5) - 40,280

Brian Vaughan and Marcos Martin take a crack at this problematic long-running Marvel character who, somewhat like Nick Fury, has carved out a role as a mainstay of the universe while struggling to find an audience as a solo character. This is a very promising start for the series.

43. NEW X-MEN
10/03  #5  - 41,301
10/04  #6  - 45,647
======
10/05  #19 - 41,691  ( -3.7%)
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%)
             6 mnth  ( -2.5%)
             1 year  ( -6.0%)
             2 year  (-14.2%)
             3 year  ( -5.1%)

52. PUNISHER [Max]
10/01  #5  - 64,226
10/02  #18 - 44,263
10/03  #34 - 41,441
10/04  #12 - 42,702
======
10/05  #26 - 36,450  ( -1.9%)
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%)
             6 mnth  ( -0.3%)
             1 year  ( -6.8%)
             2 year  (-20.5%)
             3 year  (-18.0%)

Two rock solid books, each hovering within a very narrow range.

53. X-MEN: FIRST CLASS
09/06  #1 (of 8) - 39,859
10/06  #2 (of 8) - 33,688  (-15.5%)

A fairly normal second issue drop. Overall, this is doing surprisingly well for a miniseries set in the Silver Age – it’s beating some of the regular X-books with its second issue, which is unexpected.

54. 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%)
             6 mnth  (-18.7%)

Still falling, but in fairness, it’s stuck with an extended run of fill-in stories while it waits for regular writer Chris Claremont to recover from illness.

58. EXILES
10/01  #5  - 42,659
10/02  #18 - 37,808
10/03  #35 - 40,730
10/04  #53 - 35,323
======
10/05  #71 - 41,131  ( -3.1%)
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%)
             6 mnth  ( -6.4%)
             1 year  (-22.3%)
             2 year  ( -9.6%)
             3 year  (-21.6%)

Another solid book, although it’s having a slightly sub-par month.

59. CABLE & DEADPOOL
10/04  #8  - 28,986
======
10/05  #21 - 25,030  (  +0.2%)
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%)
             6 mnth  ( +17.5%)
             1 year  ( +22.8%)
             2 year  (  +6.1%)

Now here’s something unusual – CABLE & DEADPOOL returns to its regular stories after three CIVIL WAR crossover issues, and actually holds on to a chunk of its audience gain. Okay, most of the extra readers left as soon as the crossover finished. But an improvement from 25K to 30K is worth having. The book must have done something to hook the readers – most of the crossover titles have just gone straight back to normal afterwards.

Issue #32 picks up 2,385 in re-orders.

61. THUNDERBOLTS
10/01  #57  - 31,172
10/02  #73  - 27,372
======
10/05  #13  - 29,250  ( +12.9%)
10/05  #14  - 27,864  (  -4.7%)
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%)
              6 mnth  ( +22.6%)
              1 year  (  +1.3%)

Hmm. Another CIVIL WAR tie-in book which returns to normal and holds on to a big chunk of the audience, jumping from 23K to 29K. The common factor with these two books is writer Fabian Nicieza – does he have a knack for holding on to crossover audiences? If so, it’s arguably somewhat ironic that Marvel are giving the book an overhaul and a relaunch with Warren Ellis at the helm. Then again, chances are Marvel will still end up with a higher selling book by taking this route, so it probably makes sense at the end of the day. Issue #104, now in its second printing, picks up 9,758 extra sales.

62. IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN
10/06  #1 - 29,499

Not a good start for an ongoing title. But then, it’s Ant-Man – really, what did they expect?

67. ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER [Dabel Bros]
10/06  #1 (of 12) - 28,250

Now here’s something different – a Dabel Brothers book. Having picked up the entire DBPro publishing operation, complete with its collection of licensed characters, Marvel seems to be making a serious bid for the fantasy market. Considering that the company has often been criticised for its reluctance to look beyond superheroes, this is a major strategic shift.

This means I get to write about DBPro’s sales figures, which should be fun, because I know nothing about fantasy. Then again, it may not matter, because historically DBPro haven’t done much business on this chart. As we’ll see later, historically they’ve sold very, very low numbers in the single issue format. Four-figure sales are about the norm. So chances are they’ll end up being another imprint, like the all-ages books, where I give you the numbers and then point out that they don’t mean anything because the real sales are going on elsewhere.

But then again, ANITA BLAKE #1 has shifted over 28K. That’s an awful lot of comics by DBPro standards, and certainly a non-trivial quantity in the direct market. Perhaps their hook-up with Marvel will change their fortunes in this sector.

ANITA BLAKE is licensed from a series of novels by Laurell K Hamilton, and this maxiseries is an adaptation of the first volume, GUILTY PLEASURES. Hamilton’s series is currently up to fourteen novels, with a fifteenth due in 2007, so there’s plenty of material here.

Incidentally, this book got the dreaded “Sold out at Diamond” press release, which is one of my pet hates. As I’ve explained many times before, selling out at Diamond is not much of an achievement because you set the print run after you get the orders. So normally, selling out at Diamond says more about the size of overprint than the quantity of orders. After all, we’re talking about a book that reached the dizzy heights of number 67. But then again, with ANITA BLAKE vastly outselling the normal DBPro range, this may be one where they really did eat up a sensible overprint. Look out for potentially big re-orders in November when the second printing hits the shelves.

This issue also has a variant cover. It’s perhaps the least interesting thing about it, but I thought I’d better mention it anyway.

71. CLAWS
08/06  #1 (of 3) - 39,967
09/06  #2 (of 3) - 31,546  (-21.1%)
10/06  #3 (of 3) - 27,214  (-13.7%)

A bit steep for a miniseries drop, but still respectable overall.

72. BLADE
09/06  #1 - 37,394
10/06  #2 - 27,170  (-27.3%)

Issue #1 has re-orders of 1,555, but that doesn’t change the fact that this is a very steep drop, and it’s already awfully low for the second issue of an ongoing series. So far, this looks like it’s going to go the same way as every BLADE revival – down, and quickly.

73. HELLSTORM, SON OF SATAN [Max]
10/06  #1 (of 5) - 27,045

The Max imprint continues its new lease of life with this Daimon Hellstrom miniseries. With a minor lead character and no particularly well known creators, it’s doing about as well as can be expected.

78. MARVEL 1602: FANTASTICK FOUR
09/06  #1 (of 5) - 31,784
10/06  #2 (of 5) - 26,702  (-16.0%)

Surely it’s time to draw a line under this concept. Are there really that many completist Neil Gaiman fans in the bookstores?

83. BLACK PANTHER
10/01  #37 - 19,192
10/02  #50 - 19,424
======
10/05  #9  - 40,173  ( -13.1%)
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 - 26,077  (  -1.9%)
             6 mnth  (  -8.1%)
             1 year  ( -35.1%)

Well, it’s levelled out, I’ll give it that. But this is a very odd issue. Per the solicitation, it features the Black Panther and Storm visiting Atlantis. The solicitation, and the cover art, also promise the Black Panther fighting the Sub-Mariner. The actual story features nothing of the sort – instead, it turns out to be an unheralded CIVIL WAR crossover, leading into an upcoming CIVIL WAR tie-in arc which this book is only able to accommodate because the core miniseries is running so late.

Ever get the feeling they’re making this stuff up as they go along?

Anyway, the bizarre decision to ship a major CIVIL WAR tie-in issue without telling anyone, something lifted straight from the INFINITE CRISIS playbook, has naturally resulted in a sell-out. There’s a second printing coming, and look for big re-orders on this issue.

85. CRIMINAL [Icon]
10/06  #1 - 25,978

Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ creator-owned crime book makes a strong debut for this sort of title. Icon is basically a vehicle for creators under exclusive deals to pursue pet projects within Marvel, and so the success or failure of this book probably isn’t of great concern to the company. Still, it never hurts to have a well-received comic in your catalogue, and the creators should be very pleased with this start.

87. RUNAWAYS
10/03  #7  - 21,721
10/04  ---
======
10/05  #9  - 26,800  ( -0.6%)
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%)
             6 mnth  ( +6.3%)
             1 year  ( -4.7%)
             2 year  (  --- )
             3 year  (+17.6%)

Following the cancellations of NEXTWAVE and MARVEL TEAM-UP, this is now the lowest-selling Marvel Universe ongoing title. But incoming writer Joss Whedon will catapult it up the charts, so it has nothing to worry about.

95. 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%)

Levelling out nicely.

97. POWERS  [Icon]
10/01  #15 - 26,830
10/02  ---
10/03  #34 - 26,285
10/04  #5  - 32,504
=====
10/05  #13 - 26,535  (-12.4%)
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%)
             6 mnth  ( -5.0%)
             1 year  (-13.5%)
             2 year  (-29.4%)
             3 year  (-12.7%)

Drifting way off schedule, but nonetheless it may be levelling out slightly.

98. 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%)
            6 mnth  (-16.4%)

Axed with issue #12.

99,114. STAN LEE MEETS...
09/06  Spider-Man - 26,859
10/06  Dr Strange - 22,138
10/06       Thing - 17,780

Dr Strange is more popular than the Thing? That’s a little unexpected.

104. UNION JACK
09/06  #1 (of 4) - 25,333
10/06  #2 (of 4) - 20,871  (-17.6%)

Fairly standard second issue drop.

107. ZOMBIE  [Max]
09/06  #1 (of 4) - 26,621
10/06  #2 (of 4) - 19,772  (-25.7%)

Rather steeper drop, but the Max horror titles may not be relying on the direct market too heavily.

111. OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE
10/04  Wolverine 2004 - 32,553
======
10/05          Horror - 15,849  (-15.2%)
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%)
                        6 mnth  (-12.8%)
                        1 year  (+18.4%)
                        2 year  (-42.3%)

Extremely slow decline.

117. MARVEL TEAM-UP
10/05  #13 - 21,048  ( -0.9%)
11/05  #14 - 26,200  (+24.5%)
12/05  #15 - 20,000  (-23.7%)
01/06  #16 - 19,955  ( -0.2%)
02/06  #17 - 19,422  ( -2.7%)
03/06  #18 - 18,944  ( -2.5%)
04/06  #19 - 19,891  ( +5.0%)
05/06  #20 - 18,843  ( -5.3%)
06/06  #21 - 18,397  ( -2.4%)
07/06  #22 - 17,944  ( -2.5%)
08/06  #23 - 17,709  ( -1.3%)
09/06  #24 - 16,737  ( -5.5%)
10/06  #25 - 17,306  ( +3.4%)
             6 mnth  (-13.0%)
             1 year  (-17.8%)

Axed with this issue.

133. 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%)

Well received, but selling very badly. And a book about 1950s heroes is unlikely to do much better ouside the direct market.

143. MAX SAMPLER  [Max]
10/06  Max Sampler - 10,863

Well, it’s a sampler for the Max imprint, obviously. With a one dollar price tag, they must surely have been hoping for higher orders than this.

164. 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%)

As usual, the all-ages books do most of their business outside the direct market, so these figures are fairly academic. Strictly speaking they’re not an imprint (SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE is listed separately in the solicitations), but I’m marking them as such for the sake of convenience.

166. 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%)

Looking very much like a disaster, on the strength of these figures. Again, it’s difficult to imagine a Jack Kirby revival title doing much better outside the direct market. A cynic might observe that the problem with this book is that it can’t actually offer Jack Kirby. All it can really offer is a cover version of his ideas, produced by lesser creators – and you could say the same thing about half the superhero comics in America.

179. 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%)
             6 mnth  ( -8.1%)

184. MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN  [All ages]
10/05  #8  - 7,088  ( -1.5%)
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%)
            6 mnth  ( +2.7%)
            1 year  (-13.5%)


209. MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR  [All ages]
10/05  #5  - 5,969  ( -1.6%)
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%)
            6 mnth  ( +0.7%)
            1 year  (-23.7%)

More all ages books, and the numbers are academic.

210. 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%)
                          6 mnth  ( +37.7%)

Another book which does most of its business in the magazine market.

Number 228 is a Marvel Milestones book reprinting some 1970s monster stories, and it sells 3,334. And rounding out the chart, we have some oddities from the DBPro imprint…

275. PTOLUS: CITY BY THE SPIRE [Dabel Bros]
05/06  #1 (of 6) - < 2,774
06/06  ---
07/06  ---
08/06  ---
09/06  ---
10/06  #1 (of 6) -   1,873

One of DBPro's less glittering licences, this is an adaptation of a campaign setting for RPGs. They started running this miniseries back in May, shipped one issue, and then put it on hold while they sorted out their publishing operations. Now, Marvel have reprinted issue #1 as a prelude to finishing off the series. The reprint sells a whole 1,873 copies.

As for the original printing... well, as I say, DBPro wasn't really about the direct market singles. PTOLUS #1 came out in the last week of May, but it doesn't seem to be on the May charts. I can only assume that that's because it missed the Top 300 altogether, in which case it sold fewer than 2,774 copies.

292. RED PROPHET: TALES OF ALVIN MAKER [Dabel Bros]
03/06  #1   - 3,288
04/06  --
05/06  #2   - 3,137  (-4.6%)
06/06  --
07/06  --
08/06  --
09/06  --
10/06  #1-2 - 1,617

Another DBPro book in a similar position. RED PROPHET is an adaptation of an Orson Scott Card novel, and it shipped two issues before going on hiatus. The numbers above are for the two issues that made the charts. However, they're both labelled "Cover A" on the chart, and there's no sign of a "Cover B", so I can only assume it was listed separately and failed to chart. So in total they sold... something, but not very much.

Rather than reprint the issues separately, Marvel have put out a combined reprint of issues #1-2. It charts at number 292, selling 1,617. It's probably fair to assume that RED PROPHET and PTOLUS won't be making a big impact on the direct market singles chart, even with Marvel's backing.

Skip months
===========

CIVIL WAR
05/06  #1 (of 7) - 357,601
06/06  #2 (of 7) - 336,281  (-6.0%)
07/06  #3 (of 7) - 309,028  (-8.1%)
08/06  ---
09/06  #4 (of 7) - 280,508  (-9.2%)
10/06  ---

Still racking up the re-orders, even on a skip month. Issue #1 sells another 3,065, issue #2 shifts 3,877, and issue #4 adds a further 7,935.

ASTONISHING X-MEN
10/04  ---
======
10/05  ---
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  ---

Late. The book was supposed to be back on a monthly schedule after issue #16, but it's all gone wrong.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
10/01  #36  -  86,456
10/02  #46  -  98,001
10/03  #500 - 148,928
10/04  #513 -  89,615
======
10/05  #525 -  91,707  (+29.0%)
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  ----

Politely waiting for CIVIL WAR to catch up. Issue #535 sells another 5,912 in re-orders.

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  ---

To call it late is practically an understatement.

ULTIMATES
10/02  #9  - 102,829
10/03  ---
10/04  ---
======
10/05  ---
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  ---

Late. Issue #12 picks up re-orders of 2,279.

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  ---

Late. Issue #3 picks up 1,642 in re-orders.

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  ---

Late.

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  --

Late. Issue #4 sells 2,560 in re-orders.

SQUADRON SUPREME
10/03  #3 - 77,123
10/04  ---
=====
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  ---

Late. Bit of a shame considering it has a major new miniseries to cross-promote with, really.

IRON MAN
10/01  #47 - 35,734
10/02  #60 - 35,422
10/03  #73 - 34,132
10/04  #89 - 33,483
======
10/05  ---
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  ---

Waiting for CIVIL WAR.

DAREDEVIL: FATHER
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  ---

Incredibly, this actually shipped in November.

SHE-HULK
10/04  #8  - 24,929
======
10/05  #1  - 37,220  ( +60.4%)
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  ---

Late, but not by much.

KABUKI  [Icon]
10/04  ---
=====
10/05  #5 - 11,420  (-20.3%)
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  ---

World of its own.

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

+170.2% - Spider-Girl
+ 78.6% - Captain America
+ 49.7% - Wolverine
+ 37.7% - Marvel Spotlight
+ 36.1% - Ms Marvel
+ 22.6% - Thunderbolts
+ 17.5% - Cable & Deadpool
+ 12.6% - New Avengers
+ 12.5% - Uncanny X-Men
+ 11.8% - Fantastic Four
+  8.4% - Ultimate Spider-Man
+  7.2% - Daredevil
+  6.3% - Runaways
+  3.8% - X-Men
+  2.7% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
+  0.9% - Ultimate X-Men
+  0.7% - Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four
-  0.2% - Hulk
-  0.3% - Punisher
-  0.8% - Sensational Spider-Man
-  2.5% - New X-Men
-  5.0% - Powers
-  5.1% - X-Factor
-  6.4% - Exiles
-  8.1% - Black Panther
-  8.1% - Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane
-  9.3% - Ultimate Fantastic Four
- 12.8% - Official Handbook
- 13.0% - Marvel Team-Up
- 16.4% - Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
- 16.4% - Nextwave
- 18.7% - New Excalibur
- 43.5% - Wolverine: Origins


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

+160.5% - Spider-Girl
+ 86.2% - Fantastic Four
+ 80.1% - Captain America
+ 40.4% - Wolverine
+ 22.8% - Cable & Deadpool
+ 18.4% - Official Handbook
+ 12.8% - Hulk
+ 12.0% - Daredevil
+  9.6% - X-Men
+  5.7% - Uncanny X-Men
+  5.7% - Ultimate Spider-Man
+  5.2% - New Avengers
+  1.3% - Thunderbolts
-  1.7% - Ultimate X-Men
-  4.7% - Runaways
-  6.0% - New X-Men
-  6.8% - Punisher
- 13.2% - Ultimate Fantastic Four
- 13.5% - Powers
- 13.5% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
- 17.8% - Marvel Team-Up
- 22.3% - Exiles
- 23.7% - Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four
- 28.7% - Ghost Rider
- 31.6% - Sensational Spider-Man
- 35.1% - Black Panther
- 53.9% - Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man


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

+118.0% - Captain America
+116.1% - Spider-Girl
+ 85.4% - Fantastic Four
+  6.1% - Cable & Deadpool
-  5.0% - Daredevil
-  7.7% - X-Men
-  8.7% - Uncanny X-Men
-  9.1% - Wolverine
-  9.6% - Exiles
- 14.2% - New X-Men
- 17.7% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 20.5% - Punisher
- 21.3% - Ultimate X-Men
- 26.2% - Sensational Spider-Man
- 29.4% - Powers
- 42.3% - Official Handbook


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

+132.4% - New Avengers
+109.7% - Spider-Girl
+ 92.0% - Captain America
+ 68.3% - Fantastic Four
+ 29.4% - Wolverine
+ 17.6% - Runaways
-  3.7% - Uncanny X-Men
-  5.1% - New X-Men
- 12.7% - Powers
- 13.8% - Hulk
- 13.9% - Daredevil
- 18.0% - Punisher
- 20.8% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 21.6% - Exiles
- 22.6% - X-Men
- 31.7% - Ultimate X-Men