By Paul O’Brien

It’s a quiet October. SECRET INVASION continues into its seventh month. Just think, when the crossover began, Hillary Clinton was still campaigning for President…

The biggest new title of the month was ASTONISHING X-MEN: GHOST BOXES, and there’s also the “Original Sin” crossover between X-MEN: LEGACY and WOLVERINE: ORIGINS. And, er, that’s pretty much it – there are some new miniseries further down the charts, but otherwise, it’s a month of business as usual.

Unsurprisingly, Marvel’s huge market share in September was a blip. DC shipped their major titles in October, so the market shares are back to more normal levels. Marvel led DC by 45% to 33% in unit share, and 39% to 32% in dollar share.

The bottom end of the chart is unusually strong this month. The number 300 book – UNCLE SCROOGE #380 – has estimated sales of 4,230. That means some of Marvel’s lower-selling titles missed the charts entirely: ODYSSEY #2, THREE MUSKETEERS #5, MARVEL ADVENTURES HULK #16, MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR #41 and HULK CHRONICLES #4. Bear in mind, also, that we’ll be missing any re-orders below that point.

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

1.  SECRET INVASION
04/08  Secret Invasion #1 of 8 - 272,195
05/08  Secret Invasion #2 of 8 - 197,685  (-27.4%)
06/08  Secret Invasion #3 of 8 - 186,533  ( -5.6%)
07/08  Secret Invasion #4 of 8 - 175,469  ( -5.9%)
08/08  Secret Invasion #5 of 8 - 165,958  ( -5.4%)
09/09  Secret Invasion #6 of 8 - 169,440  ( +2.1%)
10/09  Secret Invasion #7 of 8 - 154,675  ( -8.7%)
                                  6 mnth  (-43.2%)

Still holding up well as the lynchpin of Marvel’s superhero books. Last month’s rise was a blip because of the Baltimore Con Variant making the charts, but the general trend is a steady drift downwards. For an eight-issue mini, that’s fine.

3.  HULK
10/03  Incredible Hulk #62  -  55,530
10/04  ---
10/05  Incredible Hulk #87  -  42,454
10/06  Incredible Hulk #99  -  47,878
=====
10/07  ---
11/07  Incredible Hulk #111 - 101,536  (  +4.9%)
12/07  Incredible Hulk #112 -  77,119  ( -24.0%)
01/08  Hulk #1              - 139,931
02/08  Hulk #2              - 101,598  ( -27.4%)
03/08  ---
04/08  Hulk #3              - 100,167  (  -1.4%)
05/08  ---
06/08  Hulk #4              - 101,927  (  +1.8%)
07/08  ---
08/08  Hulk #5              - 102,105  (  +0.2%)
09/08  Hulk #6              - 117,807  ( +15.4%)
10/08  Hulk #7              - 110,261  (  -6.4%)
                               6 mnth  ( +10.1%)
                               1 year  (  +8.6%)
                               2 year  (+130.3%)
                               3 year  (+159.7%)
                               4 year  (   --- )
                               5 year  ( +98.6%)

The relaunched HULK is Marvel’s top-selling ongoing title, though it’s been a close-run thing with NEW AVENGERS over the last few months. This time round, HULK has the second of two Michael Turner variant covers. That’s probably enough to account for the difference – but then NEW AVENGERS is in the middle of a crossover and HULK isn’t, s you can argue it both ways…

5.  NEW AVENGERS
10/03  Avengers #70     -  58,878
10/04  ---
10/05  New Avengers #12 - 127,949
10/06  New Avengers #24 - 136,811
=====
10/07  New Avengers #35 - 111,481  ( -1.2%)
11/07  New Avengers #36 - 107,715  ( -3.4%)
12/07  New Avengers #37 - 105,545  ( -2.0%)
01/08  ---
02/08  New Avengers #38 - 104,140  ( -1.3%)
03/08  New Avengers #39 - 103,046  ( -1.1%)
04/08  New Avengers #40 - 117,201  (+13.7%)
05/08  New Avengers #41 - 109,185  ( -6.8%)
06/08  New Avengers #42 - 108,495  ( -0.6%)
07/08  New Avengers #43 - 108,751  ( +0.2%)
08/08  New Avengers #44 - 106,385  ( -2.2%)
09/08  New Avengers #45 - 103,326  ( -2.9%)
10/08  New Avengers #46 -  99,513  ( -3.7%)
                           6 mnth  (-15.1%)
                           1 year  (-10.7%)
                           2 year  (-27.3%)
                           3 year  (-22.2%)
                           4 year  (  --- )
                           5 year  (+69.0%)

6.  MIGHTY AVENGERS
10/07  Mighty Avengers #5  -  99,544  ( -7.6%)
11/07  ---
12/07  Mighty Avengers #6  -  90,709  ( -8.9%)
01/08  Mighty Avengers #7  -  92,739  ( +2.2%)
01/08  Mighty Avengers #8  -  84,459  ( -8.9%)
02/08  Mighty Avengers #9  -  83,466  ( -1.2%)
03/08  Mighty Avengers #10 -  82,149  ( -1.6%)
03/08  Mighty Avengers #11 -  82,253  ( +0.1%)
04/08  Mighty Avengers #12 -  97,239  (+18.2%)
05/08  Mighty Avengers #13 - 102,266  ( +5.2%)
05/08  Mighty Avengers #14 -  95,281  ( -6.8%)
06/08  Mighty Avengers #15 -  94,014  ( -1.3%)
07/08  Mighty Avengers #16 -  96,252  ( +2.4%)
08/08  Mighty Avengers #17 -  92,950  ( -3.4%)
09/08  Mighty Avengers #18 -  90,799  ( -2.3%)
10/08  Mighty Avengers #19 -  87,258  ( -3.9%)
                              6 mnth  (-10.3%)
                              1 year  (-12.3%)

Both AVENGERS titles are still running SECRET INVASION tie-ins. To be honest, these aren’t really Avengers stories at all, but flashbacks explaining the background to the crossover. It’s interesting to note that NEW AVENGERS maintains its comfortable sales lead over MIGHTY even in these circumstances, when there’s frankly no logical reason for readers to treat the books differently.

7.  ASTONISHING X-MEN
10/04  ---
10/05  ---
10/06  ---
=====
10/07  ---
11/07  Astonishing X-Men #23 - 112,920  ( -3.8%)
12/07  ---
01/08  Astonishing X-Men #24 - 107,631  ( -4.7%)
02/08  ---
03/08  ---
04/08  ---
05/08  Giant-Size Ast. #1    - 105,508  ( -2.0%)
06/08  ---
07/08  Astonishing X-Men #25 - 121,974  (+15.6%)
08/08  Astonishing X-Men #26 -  94,244  (-22.7%)
09/08  ---
10/08  Astonishing X-Men #27 -  86,770  ( -7.9%)
                                6 mnth  (  --- )
                                1 year  (  --- )
                                2 year  (  --- )
                                3 year  (  --- )
                                4 year  (  --- )

This is the third issue by the new creative team of Warren Ellis and Simone Bianchi, and the drop is on the high side. But it was never realistic to think that ASTONISHING would sustain the sales from the Whedon/Cassaday run, so chances are this is just an adjustment as retailers figure out the book’s new level.

8,17,18.  AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
10/03  Amazing Spider-Man #500 - 148,928
10/04  Amazing Spider-Man #513 -  89,615
10/05  Amazing Spider-Man #525 -  79,520
10/06  ---
=====
10/07  ---
11/07  ---
12/07  Amazing Spider-Man #545 - 129,085  (-18.9%)
01/08  Amazing Spider-Man #546 - 127,958  ( -0.9%)
01/08  Amazing Spider-Man #547 - 101,213  (-20.9%)
01/08  Amazing Spider-Man #548 -  97,959  ( -3.2%)
02/08  Amazing Spider-Man #549 - 101,112  ( +3.2%)
02/08  Amazing Spider-Man #550 -  90,874  (-10.1%)
02/08  Amazing Spider-Man #551 -  88,084  ( -3.1%)
03/08  Amazing Spider-Man #552 -  89,835  ( +2.0%)
03/08  Amazing Spider-Man #553 -  82,648  ( -8.0%)
03/08  Amazing Spider-Man #554 -  81,072  ( -1.9%)
04/08  Amazing Spider-Man #555 -  86,902  ( +7.2%)
04/08  Amazing Spider-Man #556 -  78,458  ( -9.7%)
04/08  Amazing Spider-Man #557 -  77,057  ( -1.8%)
05/08  Amazing Spider-Man #558 -  76,966  ( -0.1%)
05/08  Amazing Spider-Man #559 -  74,206  ( -3.6%)
05/08  Amazing Spider-Man #560 -  74,012  ( -0.3%)
06/08  Amazing Spider-Man #561 -  72,372  ( -2.2%)
06/08  Amazing Spider-Man #562 -  71,409  ( -1.3%)
06/08  Amazing Spider-Man #563 -  70,792  ( -0.9%)
07/08  Amazing Spider-Man #564 -  68,882  ( -2.7%)
07/08  Amazing Spider-Man #565 -  69,182  ( +0.4%)
07/08  Amazing Spider-Man #566 -  68,912  ( -0.4%)
08/08  Amazing Spider-Man #567 -  68,130  ( -1.1%)
08/08  Amazing Spider-Man #568 - 105,324  (+54.6%)
08/08  Amazing Spider-Man #569 -  86,432  (-17.9%)
09/08  Amazing Spider-Man #570 -  89,516  ( +3.6%)
09/08  Amazing Spider-Man #571 -  80,178  (-10.4%)
09/08  Amazing Spider-Man #572 -  80,220  ( +0.1%)
10/08  Amazing Spider-Man #573 -  82,550  ( +2.9%)
10/08  Amazing Spider-Man #574 -  69,069  (-16.3%)
10/08  Amazing Spider-Man #575 -  68,913  ( -0.2%)
                                  6 mnth  (-10.6%)
                                  1 year  (  --- )
                                  2 year  (  --- )
                                  3 year  (-13.3%)
                                  4 year  (-23.1%)
                                  5 year  (-53.7%)

Lots going on here. The “New Ways To Die” story arc is racking up extra sales with re-orders and second printings. Issue #569 adds another 8,482; issue #570 gets another 7,037; issue #571 adds 6,496; and issue #572 shifts a further 4,646 copies. As usual, those are included in the numbers above.

That’s a total of 26,661 in reorders alone this month – not bad.

Issue #573 is the final part of “New Ways To Die”, and it’s also the Stephen Colbert issue. Oh, and it’s got two variant covers: one with zombies, one with Colbert. It sees a reasonable bump in first-month sales.

After that, we’re back to regular stories, and back to regular sales. But judging from July sales, the revamped AMAZING seems to have found its level at a comfortable 69K.

9,256.  UNCANNY X-MEN
10/03  Uncanny X-Men #414 -  83,699
10/04  Uncanny X-Men #432 -  92,472
10/05  Uncanny X-Men #450 - 101,506
10/06  Uncanny X-Men #479 -  89,052
=====
10/07  Uncanny X-Men #491 -  85,638  ( -2.2%)
11/07  Uncanny X-Men #492 - 111,160  (+29.8%)
12/07  Uncanny X-Men #493 - 109,176  ( -1.8%)
01/08  Uncanny X-Men #494 - 105,520  ( -3.3%)
02/08  Uncanny X-Men #495 -  96,183  ( -8.8%)
03/08  Uncanny X-Men #496 -  89,054  ( -7.4%)
04/08  Uncanny X-Men #497 -  93,369  ( +4.8%)
05/08  Uncanny X-Men #498 -  82,090  (-12.1%)
06/08  Uncanny X-Men #499 -  81,100  ( -1.2%)
07/08  Uncanny X-Men #500 - 160,876  (+98.4%)
08/08  Uncanny X-Men #501 -  85,398  (-46.9%)
09/08  Uncanny X-Men #502 -  82,883  ( -2.9%)
10/08  Uncanny X-Men #503 -  87,196  ( +5.2%)
                             6 mnth  ( -6.6%)
                             1 year  ( -1.8%)
                             2 year  ( -2.1%)
                             3 year  (-14.1%)
                             4 year  ( -5.7%)
                             5 year  ( +4.2%)

The bump here is thanks to the Diamond sketch variant, listed separately at number 256 (because it has a lower price point), with sales of 6,122. The regular edition, at number 9, sold 81,074, which is a drop of 2.2% from September – business as usual.

WOLVERINE
10/03  Wolverine #6  -  82,074
10/04  Wolverine #20 - 116,831
10/05  Wolverine #34 -  75,664
10/06  Wolverine #47 - 106,201
=====
10/07  Wolverine #58 -  83,810  (+12.4%)
11/07  Wolverine #59 -  65,725  (-21.6%)
12/07  Wolverine #60 -  63,194  ( -3.9%)
01/08  Wolverine #61 -  60,857  ( -3.7%)
02/08  Wolverine #62 -  69,698  (+14.5%)
03/08  Wolverine #63 -  64,475  ( -7.5%)
04/08  Wolverine #64 -  64,871  ( +0.0%)
05/08  Wolverine #65 -  62,451  ( -3.7%)
06/08  Wolverine #66 - 112,469  (+80.1%)
07/08  Wolverine #67 -  96,651  (-14.1%)
08/08  Wolverine #68 -  92,182  ( -4.6%)
09/08  ---
10/08  ---

Running late, but issue #68 picks up another 5,914 sales with a second printing.

11. THOR
10/03  Thor #69 -  32,991
10/04  Thor #85 -  49,368
10/05  ---
10/06  ---
=====
10/07  ---
11/07  Thor #4  - 112,307  (  +2.1%)
12/07  Thor #5  - 101,551  (  -9.6%)
01/08  ---
02/08  Thor #6  -  98,315  (  -3.2%)
03/08  Thor #7  -  97,491  (  -0.8%)
04/08  Thor #8  -  91,981  (  -5.7%)
05/08  Thor #9  -  87,101  (  -5.3%)
06/08  ---
07/08  Thor #10 -  83,784  (  -3.8%)
08/08  ---
09/08  ---
10/08  Thor #11 -  78,673  (  -6.1%)
                   6 mnth  ( -14.5%)
                   1 year  (   --- )
                   2 year  (   --- )
                   3 year  (   --- )
                   4 year  ( +59.4%)
                   5 year  (+138.5%)

Boy, this has spiralled off schedule, hasn’t it? But we’ve seen before that delays, in themselves, rarely make much difference to sales. THOR was dropping at about this rate in April and May, so it looks more likely that the title is still looking for its level. After all, it remains miles ahead of its typical level.

14. CAPTAIN AMERICA
10/03  Captain America #19 -  42,356
10/04  Captain America #32 -  37,309
10/05  Captain America #11 -  45,162
10/06  Captain America #23 -  81,323
=====
10/07  Captain America #31 -  77,131  ( -3.0%)
11/07  Captain America #32 -  73,310  ( -5.0%)
12/07  Captain America #33 -  78,279  ( +6.8%)
01/08  Captain America #34 - 152,739  (+95.1%)
02/08  Captain America #35 -  86,038  (-43.7%)
03/08  Captain America #36 -  81,378  ( -5.4%)
04/08  Captain America #37 -  80,635  ( -0.9%)
05/08  Captain America #38 -  79,350  ( -1.6%)
06/08  Captain America #39 -  79,387  ( +0.0%)
07/08  Captain America #40 -  79,317  ( -0.0%)
08/08  Captain America #41 -  85,035  ( +7.2%)
09/08  Captain America #42 -  75,574  (-11.1%)
10/08  Captain America #43 -  72,405  ( -4.2%)
                              6 mnth  (-10.2%)
                              1 year  ( -6.1%)
                              2 year  (-11.0%)
                              3 year  (+60.3%)
                              4 year  (+94.1%)
                              5 year  (+70.9%)

Drifting down again, but CAPTAIN AMERICA has developed an odd habit of spiking periodically, simply for big moments in the story arc. Overall, this storyline remains a massive hit: over a year and a half after Cap died, his book is still achieving almost twice the sales of previous years.

16. ASTONISHING X-MEN: GHOST BOXES
10/08  Ghost Boxes #1 of 2 - 69,609

There’s been a lot of talk recently about rising cover prices, but few products from any publisher have been quite as indefensible as ASTONISHING X-MEN: GHOST BOXES. It’s priced at $3.99, and was originally solicited as having 48 pages, but when it reached the shops, it turned out to contain only sixteen pages of actual story – half of which had already been released online as a preview. It was padded out to standard length with adverts and a reprint of the script.

Not unreasonably, this has generated a bit of criticism. Of course, all that comes too late to affect the sales on issue #1, but it’ll be interesting to see how readers change their orders for the second issue.

19. X-MEN: LEGACY
10/03  New X-Men #147     - 105,647
10/04  X-Men #163         -  88,615
10/05  X-Men #176         -  74,635
10/06  X-Men #192         -  81,816
=====
10/07  X-Men #204         -  83,456  ( -2.6%)
11/07  X-Men #205         - 101,401  (+21.5%)
12/07  X-Men #206         - 104,815  ( +3.4%)
01/08  X-Men #207         - 104,793  ( -0.0%)
02/08  X-Men: Legacy #208 -  88,132  (-16.0%)
03/08  X-Men: Legacy #209 -  82,243  ( -6.7%)
04/08  X-Men: Legacy #210 -  77,441  ( -5.8%)
05/08  X-Men: Legacy #211 -  79,818  ( +3.1%)
05/08  X-Men: Legacy #212 -  74,033  ( -7.2%)
06/08  X-Men: Legacy #213 -  71,893  ( -2.9%)
07/08  X-Men: Legacy #214 -  69,863  ( -2.8%)
08/08  X-Men: Legacy #215 -  68,047  ( -2.6%)
09/08  X-Men: Legacy #216 -  66,434  ( -2.4%)
10/08  X-Men: Legacy #217 -  65,888  ( -0.8%)
                             6 mnth  (-14.9%)
                             1 year  (-21.1%)
                             2 year  (-19.5%)
                             3 year  (-11.7%)
                             4 year  (-25.6%)
                             5 year  (-37.6%)

This is part two of “Original Sin”, a crossover with WOLVERINE: ORIGINS. It has no discernible impact on sales, but that’s hardly surprising. LEGACY is by far the bigger title of the two, and most of ORIGINS’ readers are probably buying it already.

21. DARK TOWER
10/07  ---
11/07  ---
12/07  ---
01/08  ---
02/08  ---
03/08  Long Road Home #1 of 5 - 126,783  ( +1.7%)
04/08  Long Road Home #2 of 5 - 106,023  (-16.4%)
05/08  Long Road Home #3 of 5 -  87,631  (-17.3%)
06/08  Long Road Home #4 of 5 -  79,270  ( -9.5%)
07/08  Long Road Home #5 of 5 -  74,981  ( -5.4%)
08/08  ---
09/08  Treachery #1 of 6      -  82,541  (+10.1%)
10/08  Treachery #2 of 6      -  65,732  (-20.4%)
                                 6 mnth  (-38.0%)
                                 1 year  (  --- )


22. THE STAND: CAPTAIN TRIPS
09/08  Captain Trips #1 of 5 - 82,671
10/08  Captain Trips #2 of 5 - 64,443  (-22.0%)

Diminishing returns for the Steven King adaptations, but they’re still doing very well for non-superhero comics in the direct market. And, of course, they can be expected to perform unusually well in trade paperback format.

24. MARVEL ZOMBIES 3
10/07  Marvel Zombies 2 #1 of 5 - 92,587
11/07  Marvel Zombies 2 #2 of 5 - 76,157  (-17.7%)
12/07  Marvel Zombies 2 #3 of 5 - 63,216  (-17.0%)
01/08  Marvel Zombies 2 #4 of 5 - 60,677  ( -4.0%)
02/08  Marvel Zombies 2 #5 of 5 - 57,036  ( -6.0%)
03/08  ---
04/08  ---
05/08  ---
06/08  ---
07/08  ---
08/08  ---
09/08  ---
10/08  Marvel Zombies 3 #1 of 4 - 64,194  (+12.5%)
                                  6 mnth  (  --- )
                                  1 year  (-30.7%)

Here we go again. And it’s another case of diminishing returns, but MARVEL ZOMBIES is still easily performing strongly enough to justify one more go.

25. AVENGERS/INVADERS
05/08  Avngrs/Invaders #1 of 12 - 108,136
06/08  Avngrs/Invaders #2 of 12 -  83,012 (-23.2%)
07/08  Avngrs/Invaders #3 of 12 -  75,161 ( -9.5%)
08/08  Avngrs/Invaders #4 of 12 -  69,010 ( -8.2%)
09/08  ---
10/08  Avngrs/Invaders #5 of 12 -  63,757 ( -7.6%)

Dropping off more quickly than I’d have expected this far into the series.

27. AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE
10/07  ---
11/07  Initiative #7 -  66,455  (-10.4%)
12/07  Initiative #8 -  58,126  (-12.5%)
01/08  Initiative #9 -  55,270  ( -4.9%)
02/08  ---
03/08  Initiative #10 - 54,422  ( -1.5%)
04/08  Initiative #11 - 52,877  ( -2.8%)
04/08  Initiative #12 - 52,343  ( -1.0%)
05/08  Initiative #13 - 56,818  ( +8.5%)
06/08  Initiative #14 - 62,236  ( +9.5%)
07/08  Initiative #15 - 63,634  ( +2.2%)
08/08  Initiative #16 - 60,381  ( -5.1%)
09/08  Initiative #17 - 59,037  ( -2.2%)
10/08  Initiative #18 - 61,159  ( +3.6%)
                        6 mnth  (+16.8%)
                        1 year  (  --- )

Like the preceding issues, this is a SECRET INVASION tie-in. It’s also got a zombie variant cover, which doesn’t seem to make much difference – perhaps people have finally got bored of that gag.

28. ULTIMATE ORIGINS
06/08  Ultimate Origins #1 of 5 - 136,418
07/08  Ultimate Origins #2 of 5 -  83,849 (-38.5%)
08/08  Ultimate Origins #3 of 5 -  71,513 (-14.7%)
09/08  Ultimate Origins #4 of 5 -  64,952 ( -9.2%)
10/08  Ultimate Origins #5 of 5 -  61,045 ( -6.0%)

Not a particuarly inspiring performance for a series which was supposed to be hugely important to the Ultimate universe. But the question now is how well ULTIMATUM performs.

29. X-FORCE
02/08  X-Force #1 - 116,467
03/08  X-Force #2 -  88,650  (-23.9%)
04/08  X-Force #3 -  85,750  ( -3.3%)
05/08  X-Force #4 -  84,792  ( -1.1%)
06/08  ---
07/08  X-Force #5 -  76,978  ( -9.2%)
08/08  X-Force #6 -  69,010  (-10.4%)
09/08  X-Force #7 -  64,911  ( -5.9%)
10/08  X-Force #8 -  59,745  ( -8.0%)
                     6 mnth  (-30.3%)

Not looking too healthy. By this point the drops should be closer to 2%.

It’s worth noting that Marvel launched three new X-books after the “Messiah Complex” crossover: X-FORCE, CABLE and YOUNG X-MEN. This is the best seller, but it’s also dropping more quickly than the others – and none of them has levelled out in the way you’d hope for.

30. WOLVERINE: ORIGINS
10/06  Origins #7  - 103,273
=====
10/07  Origins #18 -  60,050  ( -3.5%)
11/07  Origins #19 -  55,999  ( -6.7%)
12/07  Origins #20 -  53,548  ( -4.4%)
01/08  Origins #21 -  51,919  ( -3.0%)
02/08  Origins #22 -  50,324  ( -3.1%)
03/08  Origins #23 -  49,633  ( -1.4%)
04/08  Origins #24 -  49,299  ( -0.7%)
05/08  Origins #25 -  52,907  ( +5.9%)
06/08  Origins #26 -  48,059  ( -9.2%)
07/08  Origins #27 -  47,540  ( -1.1%)
08/08  ---
09/08  Origins #28 -  46,557  ( -2.1%)
10/08  Origins #29 -  58,841  (+26.4%)
                      6 mnth  (+19.4%)
                      1 year  ( -2.0%)
                      2 year  (-43.0%)

Big jump, for two reasons. First, this issue is part of the “Original Sin” crossover with X-MEN: LEGACY. Second, it’s got a zombie variant.

31. DEADPOOL
09/08  Deadpool #1 - 75,058
09/08  Deadpool #2 - 65,400  (-12.9%)
10/08  Deadpool #3 - 58,560  (-10.5%)

Another SECRET INVASION tie-in issue, with a variant cover by Ian Churchill. Meanwhile, issue #1 picks up another 7,640 in sales thanks to a second printing (with a zombie cover), and issue #2 sees an extra 5,550 reorders. That means the third issue drop is actually quite modest.

We’ve seen before that books launched during major crossovers can start with high numbers, only to plummet once the crossover finishes – just look at HEROES FOR HIRE. In this case, though, a sensible comparison is CAPTAIN BRITAIN & MI-13, which debuted during SECRET INVASION at around 43K and then hovered in the high 30Ks for the rest of the crossover. DEADPOOL is clearly doing much better than that, so these numbers can’t just be due to the crossover.

33. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL
10/08  Annual #1 - 57,479

About 10K behind the parent title – pretty good for an annual.

KICK-ASS  [Icon]
02/08  Kick-Ass #1 - 79,158
03/08  ---
04/08  Kick-Ass #2 - 60,947  (-23.0%)
05/08  ---
06/08  Kick-Ass #3 - 61,561  ( +1.0%)
07/08  ---
08/08  Kick-Ass #4 - 56,816  ( -7.7%)
09/08  ---
10/08  ---

Running late, but the earlier issues continue to rack up re-orders, thanks to further printings with variant covers. Issue #1 adds 5,841; issue #2 gets 6,351; issue #3 gets 4,906; and for issue #4, it’s 5,654. That’s an estimated 22,752 copies in a month when the book didn’t even come out – and the back issues are continuing to sell for a remarkably long time. This is a hit.

36. X-MEN: ORIGINAL SIN
10/08  Original Sin - 54,891

Part 1 of the LEGACY/ORIGINS crossover, which surprisingly sells below either title. It’s actually an essential part of the plot, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see reorders on this in November.

38. SECRET INVASION: THOR
08/08  Thor #1 of 3 - 70,263
09/08  Thor #2 of 3 - 58,921  (-16.1%)
10/08  Thor #3 of 3 - 53,737  ( -8.8%)

Eminently respectable.

40. INVINCIBLE IRON MAN
05/08  Invincible Iron Man #1 - 120,657
06/08  Invincible Iron Man #2 -  76,001  (-37.0%)
07/08  Invincible Iron Man #3 -  66,430  (-12.6%)
08/08  Invincible Iron Man #4 -  58,154  (-12.5%)
09/08  Invincible Iron Man #5 -  60,444  ( +3.9%)
10/08  Invincible Iron Man #6 -  53,332  (-11.8%)

Last month was a blip due to a variant cover, so the monthly drop is exaggerated. Allowing for that, it looks like INVINCIBLE IRON MAN could be levelling out at around the 50K mark.

42. ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN
10/03  Ult. Spider-Man #47  - 99,662
10/04  Ult. Spider-Man #67  - 95,071
10/05  Ult. Spider-Man #84  - 74,670
10/06  Ult. Spider-Man #101 - 78,963
=====
10/07  Ult. Spider-Man #115 - 74,310  (+11.4%)
11/07  Ult. Spider-Man #116 - 61,534  (-17.2%)
12/07  Ult. Spider-Man #117 - 60,361  ( -1.9%)
01/08  Ult. Spider-Man #118 - 58,800  ( -2.6%)
02/08  Ult. Spider-Man #119 - 58,045  ( -1.3%)
03/08  Ult. Spider-Man #120 - 57,728  ( -0.5%)
04/08  Ult. Spider-Man #121 - 56,633  ( -1.9%)
05/08  Ult. Spider-Man #122 - 55,759  ( -1.5%)
06/08  Ult. Spider-Man #123 - 57,187  ( +2.6%)
07/08  Ult. Spider-Man #124 - 55,262  ( -3.4%)
08/08  Ult. Spider-Man #125 - 54,746  ( -0.9%)
09/08  Ult. Spider-Man #126 - 54,604  ( -0.3%)
10/08  Ult. Spider-Man #127 - 52,584  ( -3.7%)
                              6 mnth  ( -7.1%)
                              1 year  (-29.2%)
                              2 year  (-33.4%)
                              3 year  (-29.6%)
                              4 year  (-44.7%)
                              5 year  (-47.2%)

Drifting down, but ULTIMATUM is just around the corner.

43. SECRET INVASION: X-MEN
08/08  X-Men #1 of 4 - 68,388
09/08  X-Men #2 of 4 - 57,561  (-15.8%)
10/08  X-Men #3 of 4 - 51,565  (-10.4%)

Another respectable performance from a throwaway miniseries.

45. ULTIMATE CAPTAIN AMERICA ANNUAL
10/08  Annual #1 - 50,058

50. ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL
10/08  Annual #3 - 47,771

This is interesting. The Spider-Man annual is only a few thousand behind its parent title – not bad going. But the Captain America annual is miles behind the typical sales of its parent title, ULTIMATES – even though it continues a major storyline. This could be a sign of readers losing interest after the poorly-received ULTIMATES 3 miniseries, but chances are that Marvel simply cost themselves sales by not calling it an ULTIMATES ANNUAL.

55. DAREDEVIL
10/03  Daredevil #53  - 58,620
10/04  Daredevil #66  - 53,138
10/05  Daredevil #78  - 45,071
10/06  Daredevil #90  - 50,500
=====
10/07  Daredevil #101 - 47,189  (-39.6%)
11/07  Daredevil #102 - 45,030  ( -4.6%)
12/07  Daredevil #103 - 43,874  ( -2.6%)
01/08  Daredevil #104 - 42,773  ( -2.5%)
02/08  Daredevil #105 - 42,098  ( -1.6%)
03/08  Daredevil #106 - 41,537  ( -1.3%)
04/08  ---
05/08  Daredevil #107 - 40,418  ( -2.7%)
06/08  Daredevil #108 - 39,557  ( -2.1%)
07/08  Daredevil #109 - 39,258  ( -0.8%)
08/08  Daredevil #110 - 43,362  (+10.5%)
09/08  Daredevil #111 - 46,305  ( +6.8%)
10/08  Daredevil #112 - 46,202  ( -0.2%)
                        6 mnth  (  --- )
                        1 year  ( -2.1%)
                        2 year  ( -8.5%)
                        3 year  ( +2.5%)
                        4 year  (-13.1%)
                        5 year  (-21.2%)

Another zombie variant cover. But there was a variant last month too, hence the steady sales.

57. SECRET INVASION: INHUMANS
08/08  Inhumans #1 of 4 - 54,944
09/08  Inhumans #2 of 4 - 45,895  (-16.5%)
10/08  Inhumans #3 of 4 - 44,320  ( -3.4%)

More tie-ins…

58. SKAAR, SON OF HULK
06/08  Skaar, Son of Hulk #1 - 91,279
07/08  Skaar, Son of Hulk #2 - 56,984  (-37.6%)
08/08  Skaar, Son of Hulk #3 - 50,841  (-10.8%)
09/08  ---
10/08  Skaar, Son of Hulk #4 - 44,310  (-12.8%)

Uh-oh. A 13% drop for issue #4 is bad at the best of times. But this issue has a zombie variant, which should have boosted sales, if anything. This one is looking dodgy.

59. CABLE
03/08  Cable #1 - 68,073
04/08  Cable #2 - 59,877  (-12.0%)
05/08  Cable #3 - 54,760  ( -8.5%)
06/08  Cable #4 - 49,996  ( -8.7%)
07/08  Cable #5 - 46,429  ( -7.1%)
08/08  Cable #6 - 45,050  ( -3.0%)
09/08  ---
10/08  Cable #7 - 43,358  ( -3.8%)
                  6 mnth  (-27.6%)

Still dropping, although it’s levelled out somewhat over the last couple of months.

60. INCREDIBLE HERCULES
01/08  Hercules #113 -  73,533  ( -4.6%)
02/08  Hercules #114 -  52,200  (-29.0%)
03/08  Hercules #115 -  49,336  ( -5.5%)
04/08  Hercules #116 -  44,575  ( -9.7%)
05/08  Hercules #117 -  57,264  (+28.5%)
06/08  Hercules #118 -  52,975  ( -7.5%)
07/08  Hercules #119 -  52,598  ( -0.7%)
08/08  Hercules #120 -  51,100  ( -2.8%)
09/08  Hercules #121 -  47,363  ( -7.3%)
10/08  Hercules #122 -  42,876  ( -9.5%)
                        6 mnth  ( -3.8%)

Not necessarily as bad as it looks. Issue #120 was the tail end of a SECRET INVASION crossover arc; issue #121 had a variant cover; issue #122 is just a regular issue. We’ll have to wait for next month to get a real sense of where the book is going now.

61. SECRET INVASION: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
08/08  SI: ASM #1 of 3 - 56,663
09/08  SI: ASM #2 of 3 - 46,803  (-17.4%)
10/08  SI: ASM #3 of 3 - 42,252  ( -9.7%)

Surprising to see this selling below the INHUMANS mini, surely?

62. THOR: TRUTH OF HISTORY
10/08  Truth of History - 42,138

A one-shot by Alan Davis. THOR’s spin-offs have been doing rather well since his recent relaunch.

63. IRON MAN: DIRECTOR OF SHIELD
10/03  Iron Man #73 - 34,132
10/04  Iron Man #89 - 33,483
10/05  ---
10/06  ---
=====
10/07  Iron Man #23 - 42,608  ( -8.7%)
11/07  ---
12/07  Iron Man #24 - 38,834  ( -8.9%)
01/08  Iron Man #25 - 38,072  ( -2.0%)
02/08  Iron Man #26 - 36,607  ( -3.8%)
03/08  Iron Man #27 - 36,011  ( -1.6%)
04/08  Iron Man #28 - 35,754  ( -0.7%)
05/08  Iron Man #29 - 36,415  ( +1.8%)
06/08  Iron Man #30 - 35,384  ( -2.8%)
07/08  Iron Man #31 - 35,352  ( -0.0%)
08/08  Iron Man #32 - 34,257  ( -3.1%)
09/08  Iron Man #33 - 43,887  (+28.1%)
10/08  Iron Man #34 - 42,023  ( -4.2%)
                      6 mnth  (+17.5%)
                      1 year  ( -1.4%)
                      2 year  (  --- )
                      3 year  (  --- )
                      4 year  (+25.5%)
                      5 year  (+23.1%)

SECRET INVASION tie-in. The book is cancelled in November – in effect, it’s been relaunched as INVINCIBLE IRON MAN, with a few month’s overlap.

64. THUNDERBOLTS
10/05  New T'bolts #13   - 29,250
10/06  Thunderbolts #107 - 29,624
=====
10/07  Thunderbolts #117 - 47,151  (-10.2%)
11/07  ---
12/07  ---
01/08  Thunderbolts #118 - 43,645  ( -7.4%)
02/08  ---
03/08  Thunderbolts #119 - 40,173  ( -8.0%)
04/08  ---
05/08  Thunderbolts #120 - 38,330  ( -4.6%)
06/08  Thunderbolts #121 - 37,693  ( -1.7%)
07/08  Thunderbolts #122 - 47,170  (+25.1%)
08/08  Thunderbolts #123 - 45,403  ( -3.7%)
09/08  Thunderbolts #124 - 43,429  ( -4.3%)
10/08  Thunderbolts #125 - 41,358  ( -4.8%)
                           6 mnth  (  --- )
                           1 year  (-12.3%)
                           2 year  (+39.6%)
                           3 year  (+41.4%)

SECRET INVASION tie-in arc. A little surprising to see it shedding readers like this over the course of the story.

67. WOLVERINE: MANIFEST DESTINY
10/08  Manifest Destiny #1 of 4 - 40,142

69. X-MEN: MANIFEST DESTINY
09/08  Manifest Destiny #1 of 5 - 49,262
10/08  Manifest Destiny #2 of 5 - 39,633  (-19.5%)

Stories about mutants moving to San Francisco. Neither book is really setting the chart alight.

70. X-FACTOR
10/06  X-Factor #12 - 42,909
=====
10/07  X-Factor #24 - 52,085  ( -2.3%)
11/07  X-Factor #25 - 79,066  (+51.8%)
12/07  X-Factor #26 - 84,219  ( +6.5%)
01/08  X-Factor #27 - 81,350  ( -3.4%)
02/08  X-Factor #28 - 61,173  (-24.8%)
03/08  X-Factor #29 - 54,832  (-10.4%)
04/08  X-Factor #30 - 51,447  ( -6.2%)
05/08  X-Factor #31 - 48,231  ( -6.3%)
06/08  X-Factor #32 - 45,104  ( -6.5%)
07/08  X-Factor #33 - 53,088  (+17.7%)
08/08  X-Factor #34 - 50,416  ( -5.0%)
09/08  X-Factor #35 - 44,481  (-11.8%)
10/08  X-Factor #36 - 38,552  (-13.3%)
                      6 mnth  (-25.1%)
                      1 year  (-26.0%)
                      2 year  (-10.2%)

Same deal as HERCULES. Issue #34 was a SECRET INVASION tie-in, issue #35 had a variant cover. So again, we’ll have to wait for next month to see where this book is heading.

71. NOVA
10/07  Nova #7 -  34,876  ( -5.7%)
11/07  Nova #8 -  32,110  ( -7.9%)
12/07  Nova #9 -  30,469  ( -5.1%)
01/08  Nova #10 - 29,397  ( -3.5%)
02/08  ---
03/08  Nova #11 - 28,162  ( -4.2%)
04/08  Nova #12 - 28,185  ( +0.1%)
05/08  Nova #13 - 28,144  ( -0.1%)
06/08  Nova #14 - 28,892  ( +2.7%)
07/08  Nova #15 - 28,592  ( -1.0%)
08/08  Nova #16 - 38,338  (+34.1%)
09/08  Nova #17 - 37,015  ( -3.5%)
10/08  Nova #18 - 38,417  ( +3.8%)
                  6 mnth  (+36.3%)
                  1 year  (+10.2%)

Continuing the SECRET INVASION tie-in arc. The boost is thanks to a zombie variant.

72. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
05/08  Guardians o/the Galaxy #1 - 36,293
06/08  Guardians o/the Galaxy #2 - 32,967 ( -9.2%)
07/08  Guardians o/the Galaxy #3 - 33,986 ( +3.1%)
08/08  Guardians o/the Galaxy #4 - 40,285 (+18.5%)
09/08  Guardians o/the Galaxy #5 - 42,104 ( +4.5%)
10/08  Guardians o/the Galaxy #6 - 36,546 (-13.2%)

Secret Invasion crossover. Again, last month’s issue had a variant cover, hence the odd numbers.

73. YOUNG X-MEN
04/08  Young X-Men #1 - 71,593
05/08  Young X-Men #2 - 51,267  (-28.4%)
06/08  Young X-Men #3 - 45,227  (-11.8%)
07/08  Young X-Men #4 - 41,341  ( -8.6%)
08/08  Young X-Men #5 - 38,379  ( -7.2%)
09/08  Young X-Men #6 - 38,176  ( -0.5%)
10/08  Young X-Men #7 - 36,483  ( -4.4%)
                        6 mnth  (-49.0%)

Last month had a monkey variant, this month it’s a zombie variant. Despite that, sales keep dropping, which is not at all encouraging.

74. SECRET INVASION: FRONT LINE
07/08  Front Line #1 of 5 - 56,313
08/08  Front Line #2 of 5 - 45,796  (-18.7%)
09/08  Front Line #3 of 5 - 40,307  (-12.0%)
10/08  Front Line #4 of 5 - 35,558  (-11.8%)

Probably the end of the road for this concept.

79. PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL
10/07  War Journal #12 - 66,548  (+40.9%)
11/07  War Journal #13 - 41,783  (-37.2%)
12/07  War Journal #14 - 38,471  ( -7.9%)
01/08  War Journal #15 - 35,815  ( -6.9%)
02/08  War Journal #16 - 32,508  ( -9.2%)
03/08  War Journal #17 - 31,227  ( -3.9%)
04/08  War Journal #18 - 29,565  ( -5.3%)
05/08  War Journal #19 - 29,906  ( +1.2%)
06/08  War Journal #20 - 27,288  ( -8.8%)
07/08  War Journal #21 - 26,299  ( -3.6%)
08/08  War Journal #22 - 25,555  ( -2.8%)
09/08  War Journal #23 - 27,384  ( +7.2%)
10/08  War Journal #24 - 31,785  (+16.1%)
                         6 mnth  ( +7.5%)
                         1 year  (-52.2%)

Another SECRET INVASION tie-in. The book is being relaunched in January.

80. CAPTAIN AMERICA: THEATER OF WAR
10/08  Operation: Zero Point - 31,702

A Steve Rogers one-shot. Middling sales at best.

81. MARVEL 1985
05/08  Marvel 1985 #1 of 6 - 61,126
06/08  Marvel 1985 #2 of 6 - 40,134  (-34.3%)
07/08  Marvel 1985 #3 of 6 - 38,677  ( -3.6%)
08/08  Marvel 1985 #4 of 6 - 36,339  ( -6.0%)
09/08  Marvel 1985 #5 of 6 - 33,586  ( -7.6%)
10/08  Marvel 1985 #6 of 6 - 31,411  ( -6.5%)

Drifting off the radar.

82. X-MEN: WORLDS APART
10/08  Worlds Apart #1 of 4 - 31,234

This is a Storm miniseries, and it continues the trend of underperformance by X-minis.

87. CIVIL WAR: HOUSE OF M
09/08  House of M #1 of 5 - 35,082
10/08  House of M #2 of 5 - 29,498  (-15.9%)

Not a CIVIL WAR book at all, but the back story of how Magneto took power in the HOUSE OF M universe. It’s terribly late to be doing this sort of story, and the sales probably reflect that.

90. VENOM: DARK ORIGIN
08/08  Dark Origin #1 of 5 - 44,336
09/08  Dark Origin #2 of 5 - 34,078  (-23.1%)
10/08  Dark Origin #3 of 5 - 28,719  (-15.7%)

An unspectacular performance.

95. HULK: MONSTER SIZE SPECIAL
10/08  Special #1 - 28,043

A largely unnoticed Hulk one-shot; the current success of the parent title doesn’t seem to be making much difference to spin-off books.

96. CAPTAIN BRITAIN & MI-13
05/08  Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #1 - 43,281
06/08  Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #2 - 37,986  (-12.2%)
07/08  Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #3 - 39,100  ( +2.9%)
08/08  Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #4 - 36,826  ( -5.8%)
09/08  Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #5 - 32,999  (-10.4%)
10/08  Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #6 - 28,033  (-15.0%)

Once again, last issue had a monkey variant, and this issue has a zombie variant. Given that, the continuing drops are cause for concern.

100. X-MEN: MAGNETO - TESTAMENT
09/08  Testament #1 of 5 - 34,863
10/08  Testament #2 of 5 - 27,472  (-21.2%)

About what you’d expect these days for an X-Men origin mini under the Marvel Knights imprint.

102. GHOST RIDER
10/06  Ghost Rider #4  - 50,925
=====
10/07  Ghost Rider #16 - 34,335  (-10.2%)
11/07  Ghost Rider #17 - 31,581  ( -8.0%)
12/07  Ghost Rider #18 - 30,540  ( -3.3%)
01/08  Ghost Rider #19 - 28,566  ( -6.5%)
02/08  Ghost Rider #20 - 27,958  ( -2.1%)
03/08  Ghost Rider #21 - 26,526  ( -5.1%)
04/08  Ghost Rider #22 - 25,866  ( -2.5%)
05/08  Ghost Rider #23 - 25,099  ( -3.0%)
06/08  Ghost Rider #24 - 24,494  ( -2.4%)
07/08  Ghost Rider #25 - 24,546  ( +0.2%)
08/08  Ghost Rider #26 - 27,026  (+10.1%)
09/08  Ghost Rider #27 - 23,402  (-13.4%)
10/08  Ghost Rider #28 - 26,993  (+15.3%)
                         6 mnth  ( -4.4%)
                         1 year  (-21.4%)
                         2 year  (-47.0%)

Two covers by Marc Silvestri explain the boost.

105. TWELVE
12/07  Twelve #0 of 12 - 20,218
01/08  Twelve #1 of 12 - 40,199  (+98.8%)
02/08  Twelve #2 of 12 - 32,403  (-19.4%)
03/08  Twelve #3 of 12 - 32,729  ( +1.0%)
04/08  Twelve #4 of 12 - 29,729  ( -9.2%)
05/08  Twelve #5 of 12 - 29,876  ( +0.5%)
06/08  Twelve #6 of 12 - 29,303  ( -1.9%)
07/08  ---
08/08  Twelve #7 of 12 - 27,585  ( -5.9%)
09/08  ---
10/08  Twelve #8 of 12 - 25,985  ( -5.8%)
                         6 mnth  (-12.6%)

Seems to be settling into a steady decline.

106. PUNISHER  [Max]
10/03  Punisher #33 - 42,130
10/04  Punisher #12 - 42,702
10/05  Punisher #26 - 36,450
10/06  Punisher #39 - 33,962
=====
10/07  Punisher #51 - 33,771  ( -7.4%)
11/07  Punisher #52 - 32,909  ( -2.6%)
12/07  Punisher #53 - 31,772  ( -3.5%)
01/08  Punisher #54 - 31,654  ( -0.4%)
02/08  ---
03/08  Punisher #55 - 31,276  ( -1.2%)
04/08  Punisher #56 - 30,796  ( -1.5%)
05/08  Punisher #57 - 30,528  ( -0.9%)
06/08  Punisher #58 - 29,802  ( -2.4%)
07/08  Punisher #59 - 30,064  ( +0.9%)
08/08  Punisher #60 - 30,683  ( +2.1%)
08/08  Punisher #61 - 28,373  ( -7.5%)
09/08  Punisher #62 - 26,906  ( -5.2%)
10/08  Punisher #63 - 25,933  ( -3.6%)
                      6 mnth  (-15.8%)
                      1 year  (-23.2%)
                      2 year  (-23.6%)
                      3 year  (-28.9%)
                      4 year  (-39.3%)
                      5 year  (-38.4%)

As you’d expect, the book is in decline now that Garth Ennis has moved on.

107. MS MARVEL
10/06  Ms Marvel #8  - 62,893
=====
10/07  Ms Marvel #20 - 37,930  (+17.2%)
11/07  Ms Marvel #21 - 26,484  (-30.2%)
12/07  Ms Marvel #22 - 25,450  ( -3.9%)
01/08  Ms Marvel #23 - 24,260  ( -4.7%)
02/08  Ms Marvel #24 - 24,139  ( -0.5%)
03/08  Ms Marvel #25 - 40,993  (+69.8%)
04/08  Ms Marvel #26 - 42,277  ( +3.1%)
05/08  Ms Marvel #27 - 41,131  ( -2.7%)
06/08  Ms Marvel #28 - 42,194  ( +2.6%)
07/08  Ms Marvel #29 - 41,231  ( -2.3%)
08/08  ---
09/08  Ms Marvel #30 - 40,041  ( -2.9%)
09/08  Ms Marvel #31 - 32,145  (-19.7%)
10/08  Ms Marvel #32 - 25,892  (-19.5%)
                       6 mnth  (-38.8%)
                       1 year  (-31.7%)
                       2 year  (-58.8%)

Steep drops, but the book is actually just returning to its pre-SECRET INVASION levels.

108. IMMORTAL IRON FIST
10/07  ---
11/07  Immortal Iron Fist #10 - 41,368  (+20.7%)
12/07  Immortal Iron Fist #11 - 32,975  (-20.3%)
01/08  Immortal Iron Fist #12 - 32,623  ( -1.1%)
02/08  ---
03/08  Immortal Iron Fist #13 - 32,047  ( -1.8%)
04/08  Immortal Iron Fist #14 - 30,881  ( -3.6%)
05/08  Immortal Iron Fist #15 - 30,334  ( -1.8%)
06/08  Immortal Iron Fist #16 - 29,822  ( -1.7%)
07/08  Immortal Iron Fist #17 - 32,839  (+10.1%)
08/08  Immortal Iron Fist #18 - 27,430  (-16.5%)
09/08  ---
10/08  Immortal Iron Fist #19 - 25,861  ( -5.7%)
                                6 mnth  (-16.3%)
                                1 year  (  --- )

Shedding readers rather too quickly, considering how far down the chart it is.

109. RUNAWAYS
10/03  Runaways #7  - 21,721
10/04  ---
10/05  Runaways #9  - 26,800
10/06  Runaways #21 - 25,553
=====
10/07  Runaways #28 - 47,760  (+15.8%)
11/07  ---
12/07  ---
01/08  ---
02/08  Runaways #29 - 33,210  (-30.5%)
03/08  ---
04/08  ---
05/08  ---
06/08  Runaways #30 - 31,353  ( -5.6%)
07/08  ---
08/08  Runaways #1  - 33,252  ( +6.1%)
09/08  Runaways #2  - 27,958  (-15.9%)
10/08  Runaways #3  - 25,757  ( -7.9%)
                      6 mnth  (  --- )
                      1 year  (-46.1%)
                      2 year  ( +0.8%)
                      3 year  ( -3.9%)
                      4 year  (  --- )
                      5 year  (+18.6%)

Still finding its level with the new creative team. RUNAWAYS has been lower than this in the past.

110. ENDERS GAME: BATTLE SCHOOL
10/08  Battle School #1 of 5 - 25,424

A surprisingly high appearance for this Orson Scott Card adaptation. I’d have expected to see it down with the other sci-fi and fantasy books, which really play to a different audience.

111. MOON KNIGHT
10/06  ---
=====
10/07  Moon Knight #13 - 44,082  ( -7.2%)
11/07  ---
12/07  ---
01/08  Moon Knight #14 - 34,569  (-21.6%)
02/08  Moon Knight #15 - 31,553  ( -8.7%)
03/08  Moon Knight #16 - 29,546  ( -6.4%)
04/08  Moon Knight #17 - 27,808  ( -5.9%)
05/08  Moon Knight #18 - 26,626  ( -4.3%)
06/08  Moon Knight #19 - 25,820  ( -3.0%)
07/08  Moon Knight #20 - 28,773  (+11.4%)
08/08  Moon Knight #21 - 30,900  ( +7.4%)
09/08  Moon Knight #22 - 26,380  (-14.6%)
10/08  Moon Knight #23 - 25,216  ( -4.4%)
                         6 mnth  ( -9.3%)
                         1 year  (-42.8%)

Steady decline.

114,128. MARVEL APES
09/08  Marvel Apes #1 of 4 - 33,682
09/08  Marvel Apes #2 of 4 - 29,884  (-11.3%)
10/08  Marvel Apes #3 of 4 - 24,509  (-18.0%)
10/08  Marvel Apes #4 of 4 - 21,443  (-12.6%)

Well, it’s not another MARVEL ZOMBIES franchise, but no harm done.

120. ETERNALS
06/08  Eternals #1 - 41,680
07/08  Eternals #2 - 30,395  (-27.1%)
08/08  Eternals #3 - 25,555  (-15.9%)
09/08  Eternals #4 - 23,176  ( -9.3%)
10/08  Eternals #5 - 23,418  ( -1.0%)

Another book which is still being boosted by variant covers. It’s surely got to be trouble, because only just below it is…

122. SHE-HULK
10/04  She-Hulk #8  - 24,929
10/05  She-Hulk #1  - 37,220
10/06  ---
=====
10/07  She-Hulk #22 - 35,568  (+30.7%)
11/07  She-Hulk #23 - 24,956  (-29.8%)
12/07  She-Hulk #24 - 23,585  ( -5.5%)
01/08  She-Hulk #25 - 23,283  ( -1.3%)
02/08  She-Hulk #26 - 22,181  ( -4.7%)
03/08  She-Hulk #27 - 21,421  ( -3.4%)
04/08  She-Hulk #28 - 20,843  ( -2.7%)
05/08  She-Hulk #29 - 20,678  ( -0.8%)
06/08  She-Hulk #30 - 21,016  ( +1.6%)
07/08  She-Hulk #31 - 39,079  (+85.9%)
08/08  She-Hulk #32 - 38,069  ( -2.6%)
09/08  She-Hulk #33 - 32,862  (-13.7%)
10/08  She-Hulk #34 - 22,763  (-30.7%)
                      6 mnth  ( +9.2%)
                      1 year  (-36.0%)
                      2 year  (  --- )
                      3 year  (-38.8%)
                      4 year  ( -8.7%)

Cancelled with issue #38.

123. ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER
10/07  First Death #2 of 2     - 36,035  ( -6.7%)
11/07  ---
12/07  ---
01/08  Guilty Pls. #7 of 12    - 27,874  (-22.6%)
02/08  Guilty Pls. #8 of 12    - 27,358  ( -1.9%)
03/08  Guilty Pls. #9 of 12    - 26,324  ( -3.8%)
04/08  Guilty Pls. #10 of 12   - 21,462  (-18.5%)
05/08  Guilty Pls. #11 of 12   - 20,627  ( -3.9%)
06/08  Guilty Pls. #12 of 12   - 19,866  ( -3.7%)
07/08  ---
08/08  ---
09/08  ---
10/08  Laughing Corpse #1 of 5 - 22,493  (+13.2%)
                                 6 mnth  ( +4.8%)
                                 1 year  (-37.6%)

As usual with these things, there’s a boost for the new miniseries, but diminished returns are clearly apparent.

124. SQUADRON SUPREME
07/08  Squadron Supreme #1 - 35,583
08/08  Squadron Supreme #2 - 28,052  (-21.2%)
09/08  Squadron Supreme #3 - 27,131  ( -3.3%)
10/08  Squadron Supreme #4 - 22,430  (-17.3%)

Deeply unhealthy.

125. GHOST RIDER: DANNY KETCH
10/08  Danny Ketch #1 of 5 - 22,119

Only a few thousand behind the parent title, but it’s surprising that Marvel thought GHOST RIDER was doing well enough to justify a spin-off miniseries.

127,131. NEW EXILES
10/03  Exiles #35     - 40,730
10/04  Exiles #53     - 35,323
10/05  Exiles #71     - 41,131
10/06  Exiles #87     - 31,946
=====
10/07  Exiles #99     - 27,776  ( -1.9%)
11/07  ---
12/07  Exiles #100    - 33,416  (+20.3%)
01/08  New Exiles #1  - 47,618  (+42.5%)
02/08  New Exiles #2  - 34,454  (-27.6%)
03/08  New Exiles #3  - 30,480  (-11.5%)
04/08  New Exiles #4  - 29,231  ( -4.1%)
04/08  New Exiles #5  - 28,505  ( -2.5%)
05/08  New Exiles #6  - 27,533  ( -3.4%)
06/08  New Exiles #7  - 25,742  ( -6.5%)
07/08  New Exiles #8  - 24,436  ( -5.1%)
08/08  New Exiles #9  - 22,986  ( -5.9%)
08/08  New Exiles #10 - 23,048  ( +0.3%)
09/08  New Exiles #11 - 22,630  ( -1.8%)
10/08  New Exiles #12 - 21,682  ( -4.2%)
10/08  New Exiles #13 - 21,058  ( -2.9%)
                        6 mnth  (-26.1%)
                        1 year  (-24.2%)
                        2 year  (-34.1%)
                        3 year  (-48.8%)
                        4 year  (-40.4%)
                        5 year  (-48.3%)

Cancelled with issue #18.

132. SUB-MARINER: THE DEPTHS
09/08  Depths #1 of 5 - 27,275
10/08  Depths #2 of 5 - 20,653  (-24.3%)

Looks set to vanish into the lower reaches of the charts.

136. AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL
10/03  Spider-Girl #65         - 22,561
10/04  Spider-Girl #79         - 21,893
10/05  Spider-Girl #91         - 18,159
10/06  Amazing Spider-Girl #1  - 47,304
=====
10/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #13 - 26,558  (+42.2%)
11/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #14 - 17,410  (-34.4%)
12/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #15 - 17,164  ( -1.4%)
01/08  Amazing Spider-Girl #16 - 16,422  ( -4.3%)
02/08  Amazing Spider-Girl #17 - 16,193  ( -1.4%)
03/08  Amazing Spider-Girl #18 - 15,910  ( -1.7%)
04/08  Amazing Spider-Girl #19 - 15,970  ( +0.4%)
05/08  Amazing Spider-Girl #20 - 15,646  ( -2.0%)
06/08  Amazing Spider-Girl #21 - 15,659  ( +0.0%)
07/08  Amazing Spider-Girl #22 - 15,373  ( -1.8%)
08/08  Amazing Spider-Girl #23 - 15,155  ( -1.4%)
09/08  Amazing Spider-Girl #24 - 14,966  ( -1.2%)
10/08  Amazing Spider-Girl #25 - 18,782  (+25.5%)
                                 6 mnth  (+17.6%)
                                 1 year  (-29.3%)
                                 2 year  (-60.3%)
                                 3 year  ( -3.4%)
                                 4 year  (-14.2%)
                                 5 year  (-16.8%)

Zombie variant. The book is cancelled with issue #30.

137. NEW WARRIORS
10/07  New Warriors #5  - 36,937  ( -7.7%)
11/07  ---
12/07  New Warriors #6  - 32,982  (-10.7%)
12/07  New Warriors #7  - 30,177  ( -8.5%)
01/08  New Warriors #8  - 28,926  ( -4.1%)
02/08  New Warriors #9  - 25,694  (-11.2%)
03/08  New Warriors #10 - 23,887  ( -7.0%)
04/08  New Warriors #11 - 22,636  ( -5.2%)
05/08  New Warriors #12 - 21,808  ( -3.7%)
06/08  New Warriors #13 - 20,992  ( -3.7%)
07/08  New Warriors #14 - 33,209  (+58.2%)
08/08  New Warriors #15 - 30,683  ( -7.6%)
09/08  New Warriors #16 - 20,335  (-33.7%)
10/08  New Warriors #17 - 18,689  ( -8.1%)
                          6 mnth  (-17.4%)
                          1 year  (-49.4%)

Cancelled with issue #20.

143. NYX: NO WAY HOME
08/08  No Way Home #1 of 6 - 29,927
09/08  No Way Home #2 of 6 - 20,471  (-31.6%)
10/08  No Way Home #3 of 6 - 16,495  (-19.4%)

Not much sign of interest in this long-dormant property.

152. CRIMINAL  [Icon]
10/07  ---
11/07  Criminal #10 - 14,539  ( -1.6%)
12/07  ---
01/08  ---
02/08  Criminal #1  - 18,655  (+28.3%)
03/08  ---
04/08  Criminal #2  - 15,885  (-14.8%)
05/08  ---
06/08  Criminal #3  - 15,840  ( -0.3%)
07/08  ---
08/08  Criminal #4  - 15,621  ( -1.4%)
09/08  Criminal #5  - 15,615  ( -0.0%)
10/08  Criminal #6  - 15,134  ( -3.1%)
                      6 mnth  ( -4.7%)
                      1 year  (  --- )

A very solid performer – always a good sign for an Icon book.

154. AGE OF THE SENTRY
09/08  Age of the Sentry #1 of 6 - 21,981
10/08  Age of the Sentry #2 of 6 - 15,103 (-31.3%)

All his exposure in the AVENGERS titles doesn’t seem to have translated into much interest in the Sentry’s solo mini – but then these Silver Age pastiches are not to everyone’s taste.

156. WOLVERINE: FIRST CLASS
03/08  Wolverine: First Class #1 - 35,695
04/08  Wolverine: First Class #2 - 25,610 (-28.3%)
05/08  Wolverine: First Class #3 - 22,430 (-12.4%)
06/08  Wolverine: First Class #4 - 20,199 ( -9.9%)
07/08  Wolverine: First Class #5 - 18,788 ( -7.0%)
08/08  Wolverine: First Class #6 - 19,443 ( +3.5%)
09/08  Wolverine: First Class #7 - 16,168 (-16.8%)
10/08  Wolverine: First Class #8 - 14,936 ( -7.6%)
                                   6 mnth (-41.7%)

Ploughing downhill, but in many ways it’s more surprising that the book started off so far ahead of the other all-ages titles.

165. X-MEN: FIRST CLASS
10/07  First Class #5     - 18,134  ( -5.0%)
11/07  First Class #6     - 17,050  ( -6.0%)
12/07  First Class #7     - 16,195  ( -5.0%)
01/08  First Class #8     - 15,986  ( -1.3%)
02/08  First Class #9     - 15,320  ( -4.2%)
03/08  First Class #10    - 14,907  ( -2.7%)
04/08  First Class #11    - 14,896  ( -0.0%)
05/08  First Class #12    - 14,566  ( -2.2%)
06/08  First Class #13    - 14,157  ( -2.8%)
07/08  First Class #14    - 13,870  ( -2.0%)
08/08  First Class #15    - 13,249  ( -4.5%)
09/08  First Class #16    - 12,842  ( -3.1%)
10/08  Giant-Size Special - 13,263  ( +3.3%)
                            6 mnth  (-11.0%)
                            1 year  (-26.9%)

Retailers seem to have treated this as more or less a regular issue. Up next is a miniseries, apparently to round off the title.

189. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN FAMILY
08/08  Spider-Man Family #1 - 13,549
09/08  ---
10/08  Spider-Man Family #2 - 10,560  (-22.1%)

The recent relaunch, intended to tie the book more closely to the parent book, hasn’t transformed its fortunes.

207. SAMURAI LEGEND  [Soleil]
09/08  Samurai Legend #1 of 4 - 12,425
10/08  Samurai Legend #2 of 4 -  9,126  (-26.6%)

Pretty good for a Soleil title. Bear in mind that these reprints have $5.99 price tags, so they bring in more money than their chart placing would suggest.

208. SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE
08/08  Season 2 #1 of 5 - 14,409
09/08  Season 2 #2 of 5 - 11,639  (-19.2%)
10/08  Season 2 #3 of 5 -  9,053  (-22.2%)

Not holding up very well, clearly.

211. TRUE BELIEVERS
07/08  True Believers #1 of 5 - 17,155
08/08  True Believers #2 of 5 - 12,845  (-25.1%)
09/08  True Believers #3 of 5 - 10,806  (-15.9%)
10/08  True Believers #4 of 5 -  8,929  (-17.4%)

217. BIG HERO 6
09/08  Big Hero 6 #1 of 5 - 13,026
10/08  Big Hero 6 #2 of 5 -  8,409  (-35.4%)

Two underpromoted miniseries with little-known (or unknown) characters, doing about as well as you’d expect in the current climate.

219. DEAD OF NIGHT: DEVIL-SLAYER  [Max]
09/08  Devil-Slayer #1 of 4 - 10,212
10/08  Devil-Slayer #2 of 4 -  8,263  (-19.1%)

231. FOOLKILLER  [Max]
10/07  Foolkiller #1 of 5   - 19,706
11/07  Foolkiller #2 of 5   - 13,779  (-30.1%)
12/07  Foolkiller #3 of 5   - 12,892  ( -6.4%)
01/08  ---
02/08  ---
03/08  Foolkiller #4 of 5   - 11,353  (-11.9%)
04/08  ---
05/08  Foolkiller #5 of 5   -  9,697  (-14.6%)
06/08  ---
07/08  White Angels #1 of 5 - 10,165  ( +4.8%)
08/08  White Angels #2 of 5 -  8,608  (-15.3%)
09/08  White Angels #3 of 5 -  7,958  ( -7.6%)
10/08  
White Angels #4 of 5 -  7,432  ( -6.6%)
                              6 mnth  (  --- )
                              1 year  (-62.3%)

The Max imprint still isn’t doing very well in the direct market, but presumably Marvel have faith in this material selling somewhere. Nestling between these two, at number 223, is MARCH ON ULTIMATUM SAGA, a bunch of promotional items sold in bundles of 25. Marvel shifted an estimated 8,139 of them (a total of 203,475, if you prefer).

243. MARVEL SPOTLIGHT
10/06  Onslaught Reborn     -  4,557
=====
10/07  Marvel Zombies       - 16,697  (+47.8%)
11/07  ---
12/07  One More Day         - 12,807  (-23.3%)
12/07  Messiah Complex      - 13,462  ( +5.1%)
01/08  Ultimates 3          -  9,354  (-30.5%)
02/08  ---
03/08  L Hamilton/G Martin
  -  4,656  (-50.2%)
04/08  Iron Man Movie       -  8,124  (+74.5%)
05/08  Hulk Movie           -  7,680  ( -5.5%)
06/08  Secret Invasion      - 14,206  (+85.0%)
07/08  Uncanny X-Men #500   -  8,763  (-38.3%)
08/08  Brand New Day        -  6,257  (-28.6%)
09/08  Marvel Knights       -  5,936  ( -5.1%)
10/08  Ultimatum            -  6,819  (+14.9%)
                              6 mnth  (-16.1%)
                              1 year  (-59.2%)
                              2 year  (+49.6%)

Up, but not hugely up.

273. POWER PACK  [All ages]
10/07  Fantastic Four #4 of 4 - 5,152  ( -4.6%)
11/07  Iron Man #1 of 4       - 5,527  ( +7.3%)
12/07  Iron Man #2 of 4       - 4,855  (-12.2%)
01/08  Iron Man #3 of 4       - 4,445  ( -8.4%)
02/08  Iron Man #4 of 4       - 4,256  ( -4.3%)
03/08  Day One #1 of 4        - 8,298  (+95.0%)
04/08  Day One #2 of 4        - 4,830  (-41.8%)
05/08  Day One #3 of 4        - 4,696  ( -2.8%)
06/08  Day One #4 of 4        - 4,491  ( -4.4%)
07/08  Skrulls #1 of 4        - 7,141  (+59.0%)
08/08  Skrulls #2 of 4        - 6,246  (-12.5%)
09/08  
Skrulls #3 of 4        - 5,663  ( -9.3%)
10/08  Skrulls #4 of 4        - 5,291  ( -6.6%)
                               6 mnth  ( +9.5%)
                               1 year  ( +2.7%)

Not an official SECRET INVASION tie-in (it’s not in continuity), but the Skrull arc still seems to have done better than most.

275. MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN  [All ages]
10/05  M.A. Spider-Man #8  - 7,088
10/06  M.A. Spider-Man #20 - 6,131
=====
10/07  M.A. Spider-Man #32 - 6,355  ( -5.5%)
11/07  M.A. Spider-Man #33 - 6,126  ( -3.6%)
12/07  M.A. Spider-Man #34 - 6,115  ( -0.2%)
01/08  M.A. Spider-Man #35 - 6,065  ( -0.8%)
02/08  M.A. Spider-Man #36 - 5,893  ( -2.8%)
03/08  M.A. Spider-Man #37 - 5,877  ( -0.3%)
04/08  M.A. Spider-Man #38 - 5,833  ( -0.7%)
05/08  M.A. Spider-Man #39 - 5,816  ( -0.3%)
06/08  M.A. Spider-Man #40 - 5,954  ( +2.4%)
07/08  M.A. Spider-Man #41 - 5,859  ( -1.6%)
08/08  M.A. Spider-Man #42 - 5,718  ( -2.4%)
09/08  M.A. Spider-Man #43 - 5,505  ( -3.7%)
10/08  M.A. Spider-Man #44 - 5,155  ( -6.4%)
                            6 mnth  (-11.6%)
                            1 year  (-18.9%)
                            2 year  (-15.9%)
                            3 year  (-27.3%)

286. MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS  [All ages]
10/06  M.A. Avengers #6  - 7,879
=====
10/07  M.A. Avengers #17 - 6,423  ( -6.5%)
11/07  M.A. Avengers #18 - 6,141  ( -4.4%)
12/07  M.A. Avengers #19 - 6,115  ( -0.4%)
01/08  M.A. Avengers #20 - 5,670  ( -7.3%)
02/08  M.A. Avengers #21 - 5,607  ( -1.1%)
03/08  M.A. Avengers #22 - 5,575  ( -0.6%)
04/08  M.A. Avengers #23 - 5,556  ( -0.3%)
05/08  M.A. Avengers #24 - 5,358  ( -3.6%)
06/08  M.A. Avengers #25 - 5,327  ( -0.6%)
07/08  M.A. Avengers #26 - 5,418  ( +1.7%)
08/08  M.A. Avengers #27 - 5,200  ( -4.0%)
09/08  M.A. Avengers #28 - 4,966  ( -4.5%)
10/08  M.A. Avengers #29 - 4,844  ( -2.5%)
                          6 mnth  (-12.8%)
                          1 year  (-24.6%)
                          2 year  (-38.5%)

295. MARVEL ADVENTURES SUPER HEROES
07/08  M.A. Super Heroes #1 - 11,968
08/08  M.A. Super Heroes #2 -  5,956  (-50.2%)
09/08  M.A. Super Heroes #3 -  4,857  (-18.5%)
10/08  M.A. Super Heroes #4 -  4,542  ( -6.5%)

The only three Marvel Adventures titles to make the chart in October. Below this point… well, somewhere outside the top 300 are MARVEL ILLUSTRATED: ODYSSEY, MARVEL ADVENTURES: HULK, MARVEL ADVENTURES: FANTASTIC FOUR, MARVEL ILLUSTRATED: THREE MUSKETEERS and HULK CHRONICLES, all with estimated sales somewhere below 4,230.

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

+36.3% - Nova
+19.4% - Wolverine: Origins
+17.6% - Amazing Spider-Girl
+17.5% - Iron Man: Director of SHIELD
+16.8% - Avengers: The Initiative
+10.1% - Hulk
+ 9.5% - Power Pack
+ 9.2% - She-Hulk
+ 7.5% - Punisher War Journal
+ 4.8% - Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter
- 3.8% - Incredible Hercules
- 4.4% - Ghost Rider
- 4.7% - Criminal
- 6.6% - Uncanny X-Men
- 7.1% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 9.3% - Moon Knight
-10.2% - Captain America
-10.3% - Mighty Avengers
-10.6% - Amazing Spider-Man
-11.0% - X-Men: First Class
-11.6% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
-12.6% - Twelve
-12.8% - Marvel Adventures Avengers
-14.5% - Thor
-14.9% - X-Men: Legacy
-15.1% - New Avengers
-15.8% - Punisher
-16.1% - Marvel Spotlight
-16.3% - Immortal Iron Fist
-17.4% - New Warriors
-25.1% - X-Factor
-26.1% - New Exiles
-27.6% - Cable
-30.3% - X-Force
-38.0% - Dark Tower
-38.8% - Ms Marvel
-41.7% - Wolverine: First Class
-43.2% - Secret Invasion
-49.0% - Young X-Men


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

+10.2% - Nova
+ 8.6% - Hulk
+ 2.7% - Power Pack
- 1.4% - Iron Man: Director of SHIELD
- 1.8% - Uncanny X-Men
- 2.0% - Wolverine: Origins
- 2.1% - Daredevil
- 6.1% - Captain America
-10.7% - New Avengers
-12.3% - Thunderbolts
-12.3% - Mighty Avengers
-18.9% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
-21.1% - X-Men: Legacy
-21.4% - Ghost Rider
-23.2% - Punisher
-24.2% - New Exiles
-24.6% - Marvel Adventures Avengers
-26.0% - X-Factor
-26.9% - X-Men: First Class
-29.2% - Ultimate Spider-Man
-29.3% - Amazing Spider-Girl
-30.7% - Marvel Zombies
-31.7% - Ms Marvel
-36.0% - She-Hulk
-37.6% - Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter
-42.8% - Moon Knight
-46.1% - Runaways
-49.4% - New Warriors
-52.2% - Punisher War Journal
-59.2% - Marvel Spotlight
-62.3% - Foolkiller


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

+130.3% - Hulk
+ 49.6% - Marvel Spotlight
+ 39.6% - Thunderbolts
+  0.8% - Runaways
-  2.1% - Uncanny X-Men
-  8.5% - Daredevil
- 10.2% - X-Factor
- 11.0% - Captain America
- 15.9% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
- 19.5% - X-Men: Legacy
- 23.6% - Punisher
- 27.3% - New Avengers
- 33.4% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 34.1% - New Exiles
- 38.5% - Marvel Adventures Avengers
- 43.0% - Wolverine: Origins
- 47.0% - Ghost Rider
- 58.8% - Ms Marvel
- 60.3% - Amazing Spider-Girl


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

+159.7% - Hulk
+ 60.3% - Captain America
+ 41.4% - Thunderbolts
+  2.5% - Daredevil
-  3.4% - Amazing Spider-Girl
-  3.9% - Runaways
- 11.7% - X-Men: Legacy
- 13.3% - Amazing Spider-Man
- 14.1% - Uncanny X-Men
- 22.2% - New Avengers
- 27.3% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
- 28.9% - Punisher
- 29.6% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 38.8% - She-Hulk
- 48.8% - New Exiles


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

+94.1% - Captain America
+59.4% - Thor
+25.5% - Iron Man: Director of SHIELD
- 5.7% - Uncanny X-Men
- 8.7% - She-Hulk
-13.1% - Daredevil
-14.2% - Amazing Spider-Girl
-23.1% - Amazing Spider-Man
-25.6% - X-Men: Legacy
-39.3% - Punisher
-40.4% - New Exiles
-44.7% - Ultimate Spider-Man


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

+138.5% - Thor
+ 98.6% - Hulk
+ 70.9% - Captain America
+ 69.0% - New Avengers
+ 23.1% - Iron Man: Director of SHIELD
+ 18.6% - Runaways
+  4.2% - Uncanny X-Men
- 16.8% - Amazing Spider-Girl
- 21.2% - Daredevil
- 37.6% - X-Men: Legacy
- 38.4% - Punisher
- 47.2% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 48.3% - New Exiles
- 53.7% - Amazing Spider-Man

1 COMMENT

  1. I am curious how the upcoming price hikes on Hulk, New Avengers and Punisher MAX are going to affect sales.

  2. I keep hoping for good sense to prevail at Marvel, and that they’ll cut back on their output a little bit. I don’t remember Marvel ever putting out this much stuff, even in the 90s boom days. Just this past week, there were something like 7 X-Men-related miniseries, for example. A count of a month’s worth of Marvel Universe one-shots and limited series (including Ultimate stuff) is staggering.

    There are some books that I’m enjoying down around the cancellation level (or below it). I’ll miss some of the stuff that’s on the block, but the line is well overdue for some pruning. (Unfortunately, it seems like they’re just continuing with business as usual, launching yet more new series out of the end of Secret Invasion.)

  3. No, Ellis has been off the series for a few issues now. How much is theprice hike going to be Hulk, New Avengers, and Punisher? $3.50?

  4. Todd Says:

    “I am curious how the upcoming price hikes on Hulk, New Avengers and Punisher MAX are going to affect sales. ”

    The price hike is affecting NEW AVENGERS by at least one because I’m dropping the title after #50.

  5. Charles Skaggs wrote:
    “The price hike is affecting NEW AVENGERS by at least one because Iā€™m dropping the title after #50.”

    Well, before depart from the New Avengers, Marvel will get you with #49 being the new $3.99 and #50 priced at $4.99 (48pgs).

  6. 61. SECRET INVASION: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
    08/08 SI: ASM #1 of 3 – 56,663
    09/08 SI: ASM #2 of 3 – 46,803 (-17.4%)
    10/08 SI: ASM #3 of 3 – 42,252 ( -9.7%)Surprising to see this selling below the INHUMANS mini, surely?

    Not really…the series was originally marketed as “Secret Invasion: Brand New Day,” and Spider-Man wasn’t even in it. It was basically a Jackpot solo miniseries. I’m surprised the drops weren’t bigger, honestly.

    X-FACTOR: Same deal as HERCULES. Issue #34 was a SECRET INVASION tie-in, issue #35 had a variant cover. So again, weā€™ll have to wait for next month to see where this book is heading.

    The fact that it’s several thousand below any other issue in the last year can’t be a good thing. Sure, some of those were crossover issues (Secret Invasion, Messiah CompleX, Endangered Species) but not all.

    Also, why no info on past “Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane” series? It’s hard to really gauge its performance when you don’t know how it compares to earlier series. Just a guess, but I’d wager the higher numbers at the beginning were retailers assuming some of Terry Moore’s audience would follow him over to that book, and the big drops are just correcting those expectation. Hey, it got me to buy the book!

  7. Bit of a surprise to see New Avengers drop below 100,000 especially during an event too. Sign of the current climate I guess.

    These were October’s sales, right? If so you might want to get the page title changed, it might cause some confusion.

  8. A few quick points.

    1. The high sales on HULK are MAINLY due to the art,variant covers,and the mainstream media attention (mainly from newspapers) the Red Hulk has gotten which has resulted in getting speculators to buy the book (sometimes they buy multiple copies).

    2. The reason why NEW AVENGERS sells much better then both MA and A:I is because (a) NA is considered to be the MAIN/FLAGSHIP Avengers book and (b) the market is not strong enough to support more then 2 (even that is too much) monthly Avengers books. Hell, I predict that after (and MAYBE even with them) the gimmick issues of the upcoming DARK AVENGERS are stopped (if they are stopped) sales on that book will quickly start to drop.

    3. As I predicted several months ago, Ellis writing AXM was NOT enough to keep that book selling at the same level as Wheedon’s run. I said it before, and I’ll keep saying it until Marvel and SOME comic fans get it, Ellis is NOT as huge of a sales draw as SOME editors and SOME fans might believe. Remember, being “critically acclaim” DOES NOT always automatically translate into high sales.

    4. As I predicted several months ago, X-FORCE (AKA CLAW FORCE AKA X-CLAWS) wasn’t going to be the huge blockbuster hit that some people predicted. Wolverine (and Wolverine like characters) are over exposed and have been done to death over the last 20 years. Wolverine is no longer a major sales draw. This is why many of the recent spin off Wolverine books haven’t set the charts on fire sales wise.

    5. I predict that sales on DEADPOOL will drop off after the variant covers and SI crossovers ends, just like the sales of CABLE & DEADPOOL dropped off after the crossover tie in issues ended (only difference is that C&D didn’t have any variant covers).

    6. CAPTAIN AMERICA is still in gimmick mode, which is PARTLY why the book is selling as high as it is.

    7. Notice that despite putting top tier,fan favorite, and critically acclaimed writers on both UNCANNY X-MEN and X-MEN LEGACY, those 2 books are selling either around the same amount or far below Claremont’s much hated last run on UXM. Which proves once again that critical acclaim and popularity among SOME internet fans, DOES NOT always translate into high sales.

    8. I predict that the ULTIMATE line will soon be going the way of Marvel’s previous separate line of alternate universe line of books (2099,MC2,and New Universe). The whole “novelty” of the Ultimate Universe has worn off and the line is no longer as popular as it used to be, and MOST (NOT ALL) fans could care less about the Ultimate books. I also predict that the ULTIMATUM mini series will also under perform.

    9. As I predicted, CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI-13 isn’t doing that much better then NEW EXCALIBUR. Hopefully sales on this book will remain stable at around 28,000.

  9. I don’t understand why Mighty Avengers undersells New Avengers by so much, and why both of them trail Secret Invasion so much. They are essentially the same story.

  10. Wraith – captain america is in gimmick mode? Nearly 25 issues after the death of captain america? that seems unlikely (and sounds like someone who isn’t reading the book).

    -arch

  11. I love this stuff. Every month I look forward to seeing these numbers. Thanks Paul.

    I heard that Ghost Box 1 & 2 were returnable for misleading solicits. I wonder if my LCS will take back my #1.

    Put Brubaker on Punisher Max. That would boost sales; get him away from team books! Captain is my only consistent Marvel purchase right now. Iron Man is dropping quickly and Uncanny is the same. Fraction should have stuck with Iron Fist. Dang it!

    I’m dropping New Avengers and keeping Mighty, as long as it stays under $3 and Slott is writing it. Where are you Agents of Atlas? I have money waiting for you!

  12. In the current economic climate, Marvel is way past due for a line-slim.

    Here’s what I’d do, if I was put in charge tomorrow:

    1. SECRET INVASION
    Spit out the last issue then stop with the Big Events. Gone.

    3. HULK
    Keep.

    5. NEW AVENGERS
    Keep.

    6. MIGHTY AVENGERS
    Axe.

    7. ASTONISHING X-MEN
    Axe.

    8,17,18. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
    Undo “One More Day” / “Brand New Day” and reduce to 1 issue per month. Effectively, 2 titles axed.

    9,256. UNCANNY X-MEN
    Keep.

    WOLVERINE
    Keep.

    11. THOR
    Keep.

    14. CAPTAIN AMERICA
    Keep.

    16. ASTONISHING X-MEN: GHOST BOXES
    Spit out the last issue. Gone.

    19. X-MEN: LEGACY
    Axe.

    21. DARK TOWER
    Keep until the entire series is adapted then stop.

    22. THE STAND: CAPTAIN TRIPS
    Keep until the entire novel is adapted then stop.

    24. MARVEL ZOMBIES 3
    Spit out the last few issues as a giant-sized book then drop the concept. Gone.

    25. AVENGERS/INVADERS
    Spit out the last few issues as giant-sized books then stop doing maxiseries.

    27. AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE
    Axe.

    28. ULTIMATE ORIGINS
    I’d axe the entire Ultimate line.

    29. X-FORCE
    Axe.

    30. WOLVERINE: ORIGINS
    Axe.

    31. DEADPOOL
    Keep.

    33. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL
    I’d stop with the annuals.

    KICK-ASS [Icon]
    Keep.

    36. X-MEN: ORIGINAL SIN
    Spit out the rest and be done with it. Gone.

    38. SECRET INVASION: THOR
    Big Event tie-ins gone with Big Events.

    40. INVINCIBLE IRON MAN
    Keep.

    42. ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN
    Axe.

    43. SECRET INVASION: X-MEN
    Spit out the last issue. Gone.

    45. ULTIMATE CAPTAIN AMERICA ANNUAL
    50. ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL
    See above regarding the Ultimate line and annuals.

    55. DAREDEVIL
    Keep.

    57. SECRET INVASION: INHUMANS
    Spit out the last issue. Gone.

    58. SKAAR, SON OF HULK
    Keep.

    59. CABLE
    Keep.

    60. INCREDIBLE HERCULES
    Keep.

    61. SECRET INVASION: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
    Over.

    62. THOR: TRUTH OF HISTORY
    Over.

    63. IRON MAN: DIRECTOR OF SHIELD
    Let the axe fall.

    64. THUNDERBOLTS
    Keep.

    67. WOLVERINE: MANIFEST DESTINY
    69. X-MEN: MANIFEST DESTINY
    Spit out the rest in a giant-size issue. Gone.

    70. X-FACTOR
    Axe.

    71. NOVA
    Keep.

    72. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
    Keep.

    73. YOUNG X-MEN
    Axe.

    74. SECRET INVASION: FRONT LINE
    Gone when SI finishes.

    79. PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL
    Axe. No relaunch.

    80. CAPTAIN AMERICA: THEATER OF WAR
    Done.

    81. MARVEL 1985
    Done.

    82. X-MEN: WORLDS APART
    Spit out the rest in a giant-size issue. Gone.

    87. CIVIL WAR: HOUSE OF M
    Spit out the rest in a giant-size issue. Gone.

    90. VENOM: DARK ORIGIN
    Spit out the rest in a giant-size issue. Gone.

    95. HULK: MONSTER SIZE SPECIAL
    Done.

    96. CAPTAIN BRITAIN & MI-13
    Keep.

    100. X-MEN: MAGNETO – TESTAMENT
    Spit out the rest in a giant-size issue. Gone.

    102. GHOST RIDER
    Keep.

    105. TWELVE
    Spit out the rest in a giant-size issue. Gone.

    106. PUNISHER [Max]
    Keep.

    107. MS MARVEL
    Keep.

    108. IMMORTAL IRON FIST
    Keep.

    109. RUNAWAYS
    Keep.

    110. ENDERS GAME: BATTLE SCHOOL
    Spit out the rest in a giant-size issue. Gone.

    111. MOON KNIGHT
    Keep.

    114,128. MARVEL APES
    Done.

    120. ETERNALS
    Keep.

    122. SHE-HULK
    Keep.

    123. ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER
    Keep until the entire series is adapted then stop.

    124. SQUADRON SUPREME
    Keep.

    125. GHOST RIDER: DANNY KETCH
    Spit out the rest in a giant-size issue. Gone.

    127,131. NEW EXILES
    Let the axe fall.

    132. SUB-MARINER: THE DEPTHS
    Spit out the rest in a giant-size issue. Gone.

    136. AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL
    Keep.

    137. NEW WARRIORS
    Keep.

    143. NYX: NO WAY HOME
    Spit out the rest in a giant-size issue. Gone.

    152. CRIMINAL [Icon]
    Keep.

    154. AGE OF THE SENTRY
    Spit out the rest in a giant-size issue. Gone.

    156. WOLVERINE: FIRST CLASS
    Axe.

    165. X-MEN: FIRST CLASS
    Axe.

    189. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN FAMILY
    Axe.

    207. SAMURAI LEGEND [Soleil]
    Let finish normally.

    208. SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE
    Do a new miniseries every so often.

    211. TRUE BELIEVERS
    Spit out the last issue. Gone.

    217. BIG HERO 6
    Spit out the rest in a giant-size issue. Gone.

    219. DEAD OF NIGHT: DEVIL-SLAYER [Max]
    Spit out the rest in a giant-size issue. Gone.

    231. FOOLKILLER [Max]
    Spit out the last issue. Gone.

    243. MARVEL SPOTLIGHT
    Axe.

    273. POWER PACK [All ages]
    Axe.

    275. MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN [All ages]
    I’d axe the entire Marvel Adventures line.

    286. MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS [All ages]
    Axe.

    295. MARVEL ADVENTURES SUPER HEROES
    Axe.

    I’d also stop with the multiple covers completely.

    So here’s what Marvel’s line would look like under me:

    HULK
    NEW AVENGERS
    AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
    UNCANNY X-MEN
    WOLVERINE
    THOR
    CAPTAIN AMERICA
    DARK TOWER (for now)
    THE STAND: CAPTAIN TRIPS (for now)
    DEADPOOL
    KICK-ASS [Icon]
    INVINCIBLE IRON MAN
    DAREDEVIL
    SKAAR, SON OF HULK
    CABLE
    INCREDIBLE HERCULES
    THUNDERBOLTS
    NOVA
    GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
    CAPTAIN BRITAIN & MI-13
    GHOST RIDER
    PUNISHER [Max]
    MS MARVEL
    IMMORTAL IRON FIST
    RUNAWAYS
    MOON KNIGHT
    ETERNALS
    SHE-HULK
    ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER (for now)
    SQUADRON SUPREME
    AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL
    NEW WARRIORS
    CRIMINAL [Icon]
    SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE (occasionally)

    I think this would be a much more effective line, and each title would see growth in the long run. Thoughts?

  13. I love Wraith’s reply even though none of it is based on fact. Just for fun let’s reply to each one:

    1 – What mainstream attention are you talking about for Hulk. I’ve seen none. Could it be people just like a fun comic to break the tension of most every other title out there. That would make to much sense.

    2- New Avengers sells more because of the team, no more no less. People like Spidey and Wolverine believe or not.

    3- Get a job with Miss Cleo because I’m sure you were the only one to predict that Ellis could not sustain Whedon numbers on AXM. Bravo for you, groan.

    4- Another great prediction, you’re 2 for 2 at this point.

    5- I predict 80% of all comics will decrease in sales next month, including Deadpool. Maybe I should get a job with Miss Cleo.

    6- Captain America is “still in gimmick mode”. WTH does that even mean. I know Bucky had a much larger following than Steve Rogers so it couldn’t be that people are actually enjoying the story, nah that’s crazy talk.

    7- Way to state the obvious. Salt is white.

    8- Dear Marvel, no one likes the Ultimate line anymore so stop publishing them it doesn’t matter that they continually sell better than most of DC’s title, yeah Marvel cancel that line now.

    9- see 4/5 above 3 for 3.

    On another note was Paul in a bitter mood this month? I love that 1985 is “Drifting off the charts” when it is actually a completed series. Those numbers were not that bad Paul, I’ve seen you make nicer comments on worse drops, is there a Millar hate underlining that comment?

    R-

  14. “So hereā€™s what Marvelā€™s line would look like under me:

    HULK
    NEW AVENGERS
    AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
    UNCANNY X-MEN
    WOLVERINE
    THOR
    CAPTAIN AMERICA
    DARK TOWER (for now)
    THE STAND: CAPTAIN TRIPS (for now)
    DEADPOOL
    KICK-ASS [Icon]
    INVINCIBLE IRON MAN
    DAREDEVIL
    SKAAR, SON OF HULK
    CABLE
    INCREDIBLE HERCULES
    THUNDERBOLTS
    NOVA
    GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
    CAPTAIN BRITAIN & MI-13
    GHOST RIDER
    PUNISHER [Max]
    MS MARVEL
    IMMORTAL IRON FIST
    RUNAWAYS
    MOON KNIGHT
    ETERNALS
    SHE-HULK
    ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER (for now)
    SQUADRON SUPREME
    AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL
    NEW WARRIORS
    CRIMINAL [Icon]
    SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE (occasionally)

    I think this would be a much more effective line, and each title would see growth in the long run. Thoughts?”

    You’re fired.

  15. Paul,

    I disagree about the Enders Game sales being good. I think Marvel hopes the sales would be closer to the tremendous success of Dark Tower. I think they are bummed out.

  16. Mark Moore: I think that is a rather ingenious idea of yours to stop publishing the mini-series after all of their issues come out!

    Wraith: Your powers of prediction are stunning. Perhaps next you can predict that bunnies are cute, the sun will rise tomorrow, and that Joanie loves Chachi.

  17. Mark Moore: I think that is a rather ingenious idea of yours to stop publishing the mini-series after all of their issues come out!

    Wraith: Your powers of prediction are stunning. Perhaps next you can predict that bunnies are cute, the sun will rise tomorrow, and that Joanie loves Chachi.

  18. Mark Moore: I think that is a rather ingenious idea of yours to stop publishing the mini-series after all of their issues come out!

    Wraith: Your powers of prediction are stunning. Perhaps next you can predict that bunnies are cute, the sun will rise tomorrow, and that Joanie loves Chachi.

  19. bp, FYI, I have been reading (and enjoying) Bru’s CAPTAIN AMERICAN run since the first issue of that series relaunch. The whole “death” of Captain America and the new Captain America were both mainstream news media driven gimmicks to get both fans and speculators to pick up the book. And as the recent Marvel crossovers (and some of their follow up event stories) have proven, gimmicks can last a long time.

  20. Dude, Wraith’s post was a super long account of dozens of ‘predictions’ of rather obvious events laid out like they were cryptic mysteries that only HE could have come up with. You put it out there, you gotta take the flak you draw.

    Plus: Wraith and Mark can feel free to make fun of my dumb@$$ self for triple posting. What kind of internet novice still pull that lame crap?

  21. Maxwell, you don’t know how many times I have been told by people (most of them, message board posters) “that my predictions won’t come true” or that “I don’t know what I’m talking about”. So why you and some others see my predictions as being “obvious events”, many others couldn’t (and still can’t) see this stuff coming a mile away. My predictions have always been based on past trends and buying habits of fans.

  22. wraith-

    i don’t think i’ve ever seen evidence that gimmicks in comics can keep sails afloat for 20+ issues – at least not one gimmick. heck, Captain America hasn’t even been tying into secret invasion.

  23. Yeah, Cap is definitely beyond the gimmick phase. I’m not sure how much coverage you think is donated by the news media to comic books but I promise it’s not enough to keep a series running for two years.
    And I think Paul’s right about Enders Game. There’s no way Marvel was expecting those sales to even come close to the Stephen King spin-offs. They probably didn’t think the comics would do much of anything before it was collected as a trade.

  24. Mark, I don’t think Marvel could trim their line the way you suggest. It occurs to me they probably have a printng budget to fill, need to schedule to the maximum, and this is a long way of saying it’s all dollars and cents. While it’s not in my control to tell a publisher what to print, my wallet dictates what I purchase. On that list? 2 books.

    Cheers,

    B

    PS, Paul, sir, if I may ask, do you ever look at number for TPBs? I mean, I’m sure there’s not much variation in a month, but on a yearly basis, do you ever do a critique (sp)? Just curious…

    B

  25. Mark Moore –

    You want to
    “275. MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN [All ages]
    Iā€™d axe the entire Marvel Adventures line.”

    If you check out this story
    http://www.indignantonline.com/2008/12/03/marvel-comics-subscription-and-newsstand-sales-q1-and-q2-2006/

    Marvel Adventures Spider-Man sells over 31K copies by subscription. Almost 4x as much as Uncanny X-Men.

    Decisions to keep or not to keep are not based on just Direct Sales copies alone. If you factor in subscriptions, Marvel Adventures is likely a top 75 title!!!

    However, I do agree with your overall premise that the entire line could be culled somewhat.

  26. “10/08 Thunderbolts #125 – 41,358 ( -4.8%)
    6 mnth ( ā€” )
    1 year (-12.3%)
    2 year (+39.6%)
    3 year (+41.4%)

    [i]SECRET INVASION tie-in arc. A little surprising to see it shedding readers like this over the course of the story.[/i]”

    Re: The Thunderbolts slide during a Secret Invasion crossover:
    I don’t think you can discount the fact that it’s Gage/Devito and not Ellis/Deodato. That’s a star team vs. a set of Marvel’s go-to fill-in troupers. I wish people had noticed how great a job Gage did, but the numbers would have been much higher had Ellis stayed; he was the reason sales were up from Nicieza in the first place (the 2 year comparison).

  27. Shawn’s right about Thunderbolts, though I am surprised Secret Invasion didn’t do more for the series but maybe there will be a lot of reorders once Dark Reign starts. Personally, once Ellis was gone so was I. Gage did a decent job with some of the one-shots before becoming the regular writer but they paled compared to the then on-going series.

  28. Ellis run on T-bolts had variant covers and the INITIATIVE banner for half of his run which artificially boosted sales on his run. So I think you guys give way too much credit to Ellis for raising sales on the T-bolts.

  29. When an on-going book falls below 20,000 AXE it – plain and simple. and the concept of any book not having a gimmicky cover or not be involved in a crossover seems to have disappeared in fact gimmicky covers and big events are the new “normal” !!!!