November was more of the same for DC, basically, with the “Forever Evil” and “Zero Year” crossovers rolling on, along with a couple of smaller ones. Oh, and Harley Quinn debuted.
See below for the details and, as usual, please consider the small print at the end of the column. Thanks to Milton Griepp and ICv2.com for the permission to use their figures. An overview of ICv2.com‘s estimates can be found here.
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293 - GREEN TEAM 05/2013: Green Team #1 -- 27,775 06/2013: Green Team #2 -- 14,328 (-48.4%) 07/2013: Green Team #3 -- 11,220 (-21.7%) 08/2013: Green Team #4 -- 8,493 (-24.3%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Green Team #5 -- ? 11/2013: Green Team #6 -- 5,286 ---------------- 6 months: -81.0%
Cancelled with issue #8.
For all its effectiveness as a system that gets product to people who already know they want it, the comic-book direct market remains a toxic environment for untested properties and creators who haven’t been able to cultivate a large following.
Increasingly, though, we’re seeing a split on that. Image, over the last few years, has become something like an HBO for genre comics, in terms of the hits it’s produced — new properties from popular Marvel and DC creators, but also books like Chew or Peter Panzerfaust, which have been able to succeed completely on their own merits.
It will be interesting to see where this trend leads, and how DC and Marvel will respond to it.
(Corrections Department: The book actually shipped in October, too, but missed the chart. I’ve adjusted the averages accordingly.)
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284 - TOM STRONG AND THE PLANET OF PERIL (Vertigo) 06/2010: Robots of Doom #1 of 6 -- 10,552 07/2010: Robots of Doom #2 of 6 -- 7,655 08/2010: Robots of Doom #3 of 6 -- 6,989 09/2010: Robots of Doom #4 of 6 -- 6,661 10/2010: Robots of Doom #5 of 6 -- 6,271 11/2010: Robots of Doom #6 of 6 -- 5,995 ------------------------------------------ 07/2013: Planet of Peril #1 of 6 -- 10,492 08/2013: Planet of Peril #2 of 6 -- 7,593 (-27.6%) 09/2013: Planet of Peril #3 of 6 -- 6,746 (-11.2%) 10/2013: Planet of Peril #4 of 6 -- ? 11/2013: Planet of Peril #5 of 6 -- 5,688
Another book that missed the chart last month.
Are Peter Hogan and Chris Sprouse still on good terms with Alan Moore? It’s getting hard to keep track. People must have very strange and complicated feelings steering a Moore comic, these days.
At any rate, the move from the now defunct WildStorm to Vertigo hasn’t affected the numbers in any way.
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230 - 100 BULLETS: BROTHER LONO (Vertigo) 11/2003: -- 11/2008: 100 Bullets #97 -- 10,580 --------------------------------------- 06/2013: Brother Lono #1 of 8 -- 17,489 07/2013: Brother Lono #2 of 8 -- 11,984 (-31.5%) 08/2013: Brother Lono #3 of 8 -- 10,051 (-16.1%) 09/2013: Brother Lono #4 of 8 -- 8,891 (-11.5%) 10/2013: Brother Lono #5 of 8 -- 8,591 (- 3.4%) 11/2013: Brother Lono #6 of 8 -- 7,954 (- 7.4%) ---------------- 5 years : -24.8% 10 years: n.a.
Harsh sales for a 100 Bullets sequel. I wonder how an Image title by Azzarello and Risso would do.
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229 - THE MOVEMENT 05/2013: The Movement #1 -- 29,246 06/2013: The Movement #2 -- 18,001 (-38.5%) 07/2013: The Movement #3 -- 14,524 (-19.3%) 08/2013: The Movement #4 -- 11,095 (-23.6%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: The Movement #5 -- 9,110 (-17.9%) 11/2013: The Movement #6 -- 7,957 (-12.7%) ---------------- 6 months: -72.8%
Still officially ongoing as I’m writing this.
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220/214/206/169 - ESSENTIALS 11/2013: Y: The Last Man #1 -- 8,446 11/2013: Fables #1 -- 8,752 11/2013: Green Lantern #1 -- 9,233 11/2013: Justice League #1 -- 12,561
A bunch of DC Universe and Vertigo evergreens, freshly reprinted.
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218 - KATANA 02/2013: Katana #1 -- 27,021 03/2013: Katana #2 -- 19,247 (-28.8%) 04/2013: Katana #3 -- 16,157 (-16.1%) 05/2013: Katana #4 -- 14,804 (- 8.4%) 06/2013: Katana #5 -- 12,998 (-12.2%) 07/2013: Katana #6 -- 11,346 (-12.7%) 08/2013: Katana #7 -- 10,386 (- 8.5%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Katana #8 -- 9,392 (- 9.6%) 11/2013: Katana #9 -- 8,542 (- 9.1%) ---------------- 6 months: -42.3%
Cancelled with issue #10.
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204 - BEWARE THE BATMAN (All-Ages) 11/2003: Batman Adventures #8 -- 12,930 11/2009: Brave & Bold #11 -- 6,438 11/2010: All-New BBB #1 -- 8,408 11/2011: All-New BBB #13 -- 7,143 ---------------------------------------- 10/2013: Beware the Batman #1 -- 19,830 10/2013: Beware the Batman #2 -- 10,368 (-47.7%) ----------------- 2 years : + 45.2% 10 years: - 19.8%
Quite a big drop, but the book sold unexpectedly well to begin with for an All-Ages title. This is more what you’d expect.
(Beware the Batman was made returnable by DC and had its numbers reduced on the chart by Diamond, before I re-adjusted them for the column. The same applies to Hinterkind and Coffin Hill. At best, figures will be more accurate as a result; at worst, they’ll be a different kind of wrong from what Diamond provides. Either way, take these with a grain of salt.)
(Corrections Department: I’d blanked on the All-New Batman: The Brave and the Bold iteration of the series last month, in the long-term comparisons.)
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203 - JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA'S VIBE 02/2013: Vibe #1 -- 27,051 03/2013: Vibe #2 -- 19,092 (-29.4%) 04/2013: Vibe #3 -- 16,972 (-11.1%) 05/2013: Vibe #4 -- 14,970 (-11.8%) 06/2013: Vibe #5 -- 13,706 (- 8.4%) 07/2013: Vibe #6 -- 12,241 (-10.7%) 08/2013: Vibe #7 -- 11,184 (- 8.6%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Vibe #8 -- 10,139 (- 9.3%) 11/2013: Vibe #9 -- 9,387 (- 7.4%) ---------------- 6 months: -37.3%
Cancelled with issue #10.
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194 - STORMWATCH 11/2003: -- 11/2008: StormWatch: PHD #16 -- 6,824 11/2009: StormWatch: PHD #24 -- 4,598 11/2011: Stormwatch #3 -- 39,262 --------------------------------------- 11/2012: Stormwatch #14 -- 16,559 (- 6.0%) 12/2012: Stormwatch #15 -- 15,437 (- 6.8%) 01/2013: Stormwatch #16 -- 14,411 (- 6.7%) 02/2013: Stormwatch #17 -- 13,657 (- 5.2%) 03/2013: Stormwatch #18 -- 13,255 (- 2.9%) 04/2013: Stormwatch #19 -- 13,626 (+ 2.8%) 05/2013: Stormwatch #20 -- 13,049 (- 4.2%) 06/2013: Stormwatch #21 -- 12,277 (- 5.9%) 07/2013: Stormwatch #22 -- 11,792 (- 4.0%) 08/2013: Stormwatch #23 -- 10,969 (- 7.0%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Stormwatch #24 -- 10,067 (- 8.2%) 11/2013: Stormwatch #25 -- 9,881 (- 1.9%) ----------------- 6 months: - 24.3% 1 year : - 40.3% 2 years : - 74.8% 5 years : + 44.8% 10 years: n.a.
Cancelled with issue #30.
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186 - FBP: FEDERAL BUREAU OF PHYSICS (Vertigo) 07/2013: Collider #1 -- 17,336 08/2013: FBP #2 -- 14,068 (-18.9%) 09/2013: FBP #3 -- 13,977 (- 0.7%) 10/2013: FBP #4 -- 11,600 (-17.0%) 11/2013: FBP #5 -- 10,391 (-10.4%)
The book was off to a good start, but these numbers are discouraging.
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182 - BATMAN: ARKHAM UNHINGED (Digital-First) 11/2012: Arkham Unhinged #8 -- 18,393 (- 7.5%) 12/2012: Arkham Unhinged #9 -- 17,220 (- 6.4%) 01/2013: Arkham Unhinged #10 -- 16,113 (- 6.4%) 02/2013: Arkham Unhinged #11 -- 15,703 (- 2.6%) 03/2013: Arkham Unhinged #12 -- 15,067 (- 4.1%) 04/2013: Arkham Unhinged #13 -- 14,702 (- 2.4%) 05/2013: Arkham Unhinged #14 -- 14,048 (- 4.5%) 06/2013: Arkham Unhinged #15 -- 13,729 (- 2.3%) 07/2013: Arkham Unhinged #16 -- 13,046 (- 5.0%) 08/2013: Arkham Unhinged #17 -- 13,360 (+ 2.4%) 09/2013: Arkham Unhinged #18 -- 12,984 (- 2.8%) 10/2013: Arkham Unhinged #19 -- 11,879 (- 8.5%) 11/2013: Arkham Unhinged #20 -- 11,204 (- 5.7%) ---------------- 6 months: -20.3% 1 year : -39.1%
Cancelled with issue #20.
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172 - BATMAN: LI'L GOTHAM (Digital-First) 04/2013: Li'l Gotham #1 -- 27,591 05/2013: Li'l Gotham #2 -- 18,573 (-32.7%) 06/2013: Li'l Gotham #3 -- 18,578 (+ 0.0%) 07/2013: Li'l Gotham #4 -- 21,646 (+16.5%) 08/2013: Li'l Gotham #5 -- 14,696 (-32.1%) 09/2013: Li'l Gotham #6 -- 13,654 (- 7.1%) 10/2013: Li'l Gotham #7 -- 12,919 (- 5.4%) 11/2013: Li'l Gotham #8 -- 12,054 (- 6.7%) ---------------- 6 months: -35.1%
Sliding down the charts.
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167 - HINTERKIND (Vertigo) 10/2013: Hinterkind #1 -- 23,516 11/2013: Hinterkind #2 -- 13,994 (-40.5%)
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162 - COFFIN HILL (Vertigo) 10/2013: Coffin Hill #1 -- 24,129 11/2013: Coffin Hill #2 -- 14,472 (-40.0)
That initial boost the recent Vertigo books received si losing steam quickly. Also, retailers still seem unable to distinguish between these two titles, for no other reason than because they happen to be two Vertigo series that launched in the same month. That’s bad news, because it suggests that there’s no distinct audience for either of them. (Both were still returnable in November, see above.)
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161 - SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP (All-Ages) 11/2013: Scooby-Doo Team-Up #1 -- 13,036
A new All-Ages title.
Scooby-Doo rarely makes the charts, but someone at DC must be happy with it for some reason. This isn’t a stellar start, though.
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160 - ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN (Digital-First) 11/2003: Adventures of Superman #622 -- 27,254 ---------------------------------------------- 05/2013: Adventures of Superman #1 -- 30,992 06/2013: Adventures of Superman #2 -- 22,407 (-27.7%) 07/2013: Adventures of Superman #3 -- 19,453 (-13.2%) 08/2013: Adventures of Superman #4 -- 17,370 (-10.7%) 09/2013: Adventures of Superman #5 -- 16,011 (- 7.8%) 10/2013: Adventures of Superman #6 -- 14,484 (- 9.5%) 11/2013: Adventures of Superman #7 -- 13,140 (- 9.3%) ---------------- 6 months: -57.6% 10 years: -51.8%
Another Digital-First book sliding down the charts rather quickly.
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157 - SMALLVILLE SEASON 11 (Digital-First) 11/2012: Smallville S11 #7 -- 19,104 (- 2.8%) 12/2012: Smallville S11 #8 -- 18,633 (- 2.5%) 01/2013: Smallville S11 #9 -- 17,845 (- 4.2%) 02/2013: Smallville S11 #10 -- 17,024 (- 4.6%) 03/2013: Smallville S11 #11 -- 16,502 (- 3.1%) 04/2013: Smallville S11 #12 -- 15,930 (- 3.5%) 05/2013: Smallville S11 #13 -- 15,442 (- 3.1%) 06/2013: Smallville S11 #14 -- 15,097 (- 2.2%) 07/2013: Smallville S11 #15 -- 14,930 (- 1.1%) 08/2013: Smallville S11 #16 -- 14,640 (- 1.9%) 09/2013: Smallville S11 #17 -- 14,153 (- 3.3%) 10/2013: Smallville S11 #18 -- 13,794 (- 2.5%) 11/2013: Smallville S11 #19 -- 13,286 (- 3.7%) ---------------- 6 months: -14.0% 1 year : -30.5%
Cancelled with issue #19.
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153 - ALL STAR WESTERN 11/2008: Jonah Hex #37 -- 12,537 11/2009: Jonah Hex #49 -- 11,146 11/2010: Jonah Hex #61 -- 10,796 11/2011: ASW #3 -- 32,776 -------------------------------- 11/2012: ASW #14 -- 20,186 (- 6.0%) 12/2012: ASW #15 -- 19,190 (- 4.9%) 01/2013: ASW #16 -- 18,254 (- 4.9%) 02/2013: ASW #17 -- 17,398 (- 4.7%) 03/2013: ASW #18 -- 16,897 (- 2.9%) 04/2013: ASW #19 -- 16,838 (- 0.4%) 05/2013: ASW #20 -- 16,184 (- 3.9%) 06/2013: ASW #21 -- 15,788 (- 2.5%) 07/2013: ASW #22 -- 15,376 (- 2.6%) 08/2013: ASW #23 -- 15,276 (- 0.7%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: ASW #24 -- 14,378 (- 5.9%) 11/2013: ASW #25 -- 13,937 (- 3.1%) ----------------- 6 months: - 13.9% 1 year : - 31.0% 2 years : - 57.5% 5 years : + 11.2%
Slowly drifting down, but still ahead of its pre-“New 52” numbers.
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149 - FABLES (Vertigo) 11/2003: Fables #19 -- 25,948 11/2008: Fables #78 -- 23,345 11/2009: Fables #90 -- 20,882 11/2010: -- 11/2011: Fables #111 -- 17,687 ------------------------------ 11/2012: Fables #123 -- 16,229 (- 1.7%) 12/2012: Fables #124 -- 16,018 (- 1.3%) 01/2013: Fables #125 -- 15,983 (- 0.2%) 02/2013: Fables #126 -- 15,480 (- 3.2%) 03/2013: Fables #127 -- 15,529 (+ 0.3%) 04/2013: Fables #128 -- 15,606 (+ 0.5%) 05/2013: Fables #129 -- 15,380 (- 1.5%) 06/2013: Fables #130 -- 15,129 (- 1.6%) 07/2013: Fables #131 -- 15,109 (- 0.1%) 08/2013: Fables #132 -- 14,893 (- 1.4%) 09/2013: Fables #133 -- 14,639 (- 1.7%) 10/2013: Fables #134 -- 14,575 (- 0.4%) 11/2013: Fables #135 -- 14,383 (- 1.3%) ---------------- 6 months: - 6.5% 1 year : -11.4% 2 years : -18.7% 5 years : -38.4% 10 years: -44.6%
Standard attrition.
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139 - HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE 11/2012: He-Man #4 of 6 -- 17,499 (- 4.2%) 12/2012: He-Man #5 of 6 -- 16,858 (- 3.7%) 01/2013: He-Man #6 of 6 -- 16,441 (- 2.5%) 02/2013: -- 03/2013: -- 04/2013: He-Man #1 -- 25,254 (+53.6%) 05/2013: He-Man #2 -- 19,410 (-23.1%) 06/2013: He-Man #3 -- 18,277 (- 5.8%) 07/2013: He-Man #4 -- 18,101 (- 1.0%) 08/2013: He-Man #5 -- 16,898 (- 6.7%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: He-Man #6 -- 16,294 (- 3.6%) 10/2013: He-Man #7 -- 16,059 (- 1.4%) 11/2013: He-Man #8 -- 15,154 (- 5.6%) ---------------- 6 months: -21.9% 1 year : -13.4%
The book hasn’t found its level, but it’s still doing relatively well for a licensed title.
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135 - ASTRO CITY (Vertigo) 11/2003: -- 11/2008: -- 11/2011: -- --------------------------------------- 06/2013: Astro City #1 -- 27,700 07/2013: Astro City #2 -- 20,193 (-27.1%) 08/2013: Astro City #3 -- 18,802 (- 6.9%) 09/2013: Astro City #4 -- 17,641 (- 6.2%) 10/2013: Astro City #5 -- 16,927 (- 4.1%) 11/2013: Astro City #6 -- 16,031 (- 5.3%) ----------------- 5 years : n.a. 10 years: n.a.
Drifting down. Another book that makes me wonder how it might be doing at Image.
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132 - LARFLEEZE 06/2013: Larfleeze #1 -- 36,638 07/2013: Larfleeze #2 -- 30,221 (-17.5%) 08/2013: Larfleeze #3 -- 21,955 (-27.4%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Larfleeze #4 -- 18,061 (-17.7%) 11/2013: Larfleeze #5 -- 16,157 (-10.5%)
No more variant-cover editions, plastic rings or crossovers to sugar-coat the numbers.
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131 - BATWING 11/2011: Batwing #3 -- 35,110 ------------------------------ 11/2012: Batwing #14 -- 15,967 (- 7.0%) 12/2012: Batwing #15 -- 14,674 (- 8.1%) 01/2013: Batwing #16 -- 13,427 (- 8.5%) 02/2013: Batwing #17 -- 12,595 (- 6.2%) 03/2013: Batwing #18 -- 12,084 (- 4.1%) 04/2013: Batwing #19 -- 13,570 (+12.3%) 05/2013: Batwing #20 -- 13,302 (- 2.0%) 06/2013: Batwing #21 -- 12,437 (- 6.5%) 07/2013: Batwing #22 -- 12,062 (- 3.0%) 08/2013: Batwing #23 -- 11,584 (- 4.0%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Batwing #24 -- 11,114 (- 4.1%) 11/2013: Batwing #25 -- 16,207 (+45.8%) ---------------- 6 months: +21.8% 1 year : + 1.5% 2 years : -53.8%
Part of the “Zero Year” crossover, if you didn’t guess it right away.
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128 - BATMAN BEYOND UNIVERSE (Digital-First) 11/2012: Unlimited #10 -- 19,004 (- 4.4%) 12/2012: Unlimited #11 -- 18,089 (- 4.8%) 01/2013: Unlimited #12 -- 17,446 (- 3.6%) 02/2013: Unlimited #13 -- 17,025 (- 2.4%) 03/2013: Unlimited #14 -- 16,456 (- 3.3%) 04/2013: Unlimited #15 -- 16,283 (- 1.1%) 05/2013: Unlimited #16 -- 15,822 (- 2.8%) 06/2013: Unlimited #17 -- 15,464 (- 2.3%) 07/2013: Unlimited #18 -- 15,275 (- 1.2%) 08/2013: Universe #1 -- 23,358 (+52.9%) 09/2013: Universe #2 -- 18,332 (-21.5%) 10/2013: Universe #3 -- 17,658 (- 3.7%) 11/2013: Universe #4 -- 16,889 (- 4.4%) ---------------- 6 months: + 6.7% 1 year : -11.1%
Drifting down.
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123 - TALON 11/2012: Talon #2 -- 41,250 (-26.0%) 12/2012: Talon #3 -- 35,034 (-15.1%) 01/2013: Talon #4 -- 30,909 (-11.8%) 02/2013: Talon #5 -- 28,003 (- 9.4%) 03/2013: Talon #6 -- 25,440 (- 9.2%) 04/2013: Talon #7 -- 24,045 (- 5.5%) 05/2013: Talon #8 -- 22,710 (- 5.6%) 06/2013: Talon #9 -- 21,755 (- 4.2%) 07/2013: Talon #10 -- 20,296 (- 6.7%) 08/2013: Talon #11 -- 19,449 (- 4.2%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Talon #12 -- 18,218 (- 6.3%) 11/2013: Talon #13 -- 17,218 (- 5.5%) ---------------- 6 months: -24.2% 1 year : -58.3%
Cancelled with issue #17.
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121 - TRINITY OF SIN: PHANTOM STRANGER 11/2012: Phantom Stranger #2 -- 24,979 (-25.1%) 12/2012: Phantom Stranger #3 -- 23,378 (- 6.4%) 01/2013: Phantom Stranger #4 -- 19,903 (-14.9%) 02/2013: Phantom Stranger #5 -- 18,032 (- 9.4%) 03/2013: Phantom Stranger #6 -- 17,375 (- 3.6%) 04/2013: Phantom Stranger #7 -- 17,326 (- 0.3%) 05/2013: Phantom Stranger #8 -- 16,269 (- 6.1%) 06/2013: ToS: PS #9 -- 17,241 (+ 6.0%) 07/2013: ToS: PS #10 -- 20,636 (+19.7%) 08/2013: ToS: PS #11 -- 26,986 (+30.8%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: ToS: PS #12 -- 19,732 (-26.9%) 11/2013: ToS: PS #13 -- 17,779 (- 9.9%) ---------------- 6 months: + 9.3% 1 year : -28.8%
The crossover lingers in the title, but retailers are having none of it.
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113 - ANIMAL MAN 11/2011: Animal Man #3 -- 49,184 ------------------------------------ 11/2012: Animal Man #14 -- 33,503 (- 2.3%) 12/2012: Animal Man #15 -- 32,013 (- 4.5%) 01/2013: Animal Man #16 -- 30,322 (- 5.3%) 02/2013: Animal Man #17 -- 29,425 (- 3.0%) 03/2013: Animal Man #18 -- 28,711 (- 2.4%) 04/2013: Animal Man #19 -- 27,562 (- 4.0%) 05/2013: Animal Man #20 -- 25,807 (- 6.4%) 06/2013: Animal Man #21 -- 23,862 (- 7.5%) 07/2013: Animal Man #22 -- 22,974 (- 3.7%) 08/2013: Animal Man #23 -- 21,634 (- 5.8%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Animal Man #24 -- 20,554 (- 5.0%) 11/2013: Animal Man #25 -- 19,710 (- 4.1%) ---------------- 6 months: -23.6% 1 year : -41.2% 2 years : -59.9%
Ending with issue #29. Not a bad run for an Animal Man title, actually, but then again, given the creative team and the initial buzz, it’s clear from looking at these numbers that something went very wrong along the way. They had a hit here, and then they botched it.
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107 - TRILLIUM (Vertigo) 08/2013: Trillium #1 of 8 -- 30,712 09/2013: Trillium #2 of 8 -- 24,482 (-20.3%) 10/2013: Trillium #3 of 8 -- 23,037 (- 5.9%) 11/2013: Trillium #4 of 8 -- 20,914 (- 9.2%)
Jeff Lemire’s new Vertigo book, meanwhile, now outsells his signature DC Universe title.
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106 - CONSTANTINE 11/2003: Hellblazer #190 -- 15,602 11/2008: Hellblazer #249 -- 11,445 11/2009: Hellblazer #261 -- 10,553 11/2010: Hellblazer #273 -- 9,645 11/2011: Hellblazer #285 -- 9,500 ---------------------------------- 11/2012: Hellblazer #297 -- 9,146 (- 1.2%) 12/2012: Hellblazer #298 -- 9,132 (- 0.2%) 01/2013: Hellblazer #299 -- 9,329 (+ 2.2%) 02/2013: Hellblazer #300 -- 12,522 (+ 34.2%) 03/2013: Constantine #1 -- 37,564 (+200.0%) 04/2013: Constantine #2 -- 30,789 (- 18.0%) 05/2013: Constantine #3 -- 29,106 (- 5.5%) 06/2013: Constantine #4 -- 26,417 (- 9.2%) 07/2013: Constantine #5 -- 30,664 (+ 16.1%) [35,027] 08/2013: Constantine #6 -- 25,174 (- 17.9%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Constantine #7 -- 22,954 (- 8.8%) 11/2013: Constantine #8 -- 20,981 (- 8.6%) ----------------- 6 months: - 27.9% 1 year : +129.4% 2 years : +120.9% 5 years : + 83.3% 10 years: + 34.5%
That the book keeps declining like this is not unexpected, given the fumbled relaunch. More relevant question: When will it stop?
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105 - SWAMP THING 11/2011: Swamp Thing #3 -- 52,300 ---------------------------------- 11/2012: Swamp Thing #14 -- 42,036 (+16.5%) 12/2012: Swamp Thing #15 -- 33,916 (-19.3%) 01/2013: Swamp Thing #16 -- 32,262 (- 4.9%) 02/2013: Swamp Thing #17 -- 31,497 (- 2.4%) 03/2013: Swamp Thing #18 -- 30,716 (- 2.5%) 04/2013: Swamp Thing #19 -- 29,254 (- 4.8%) 05/2013: Swamp Thing #20 -- 27,338 (- 6.6%) 06/2013: Swamp Thing #21 -- 25,186 (- 7.9%) 07/2013: Swamp Thing #22 -- 23,885 (- 5.2%) 08/2013: Swamp Thing #23 -- 22,695 (- 5.0%) 09/2013: #23.1: Arcane -- 40,390 (+78.0%) 10/2013: Swamp Thing #24 -- 21,724 (-46.2%) 11/2013: Swamp Thing #25 -- 21,141 (- 2.7%) ---------------- 6 months: -22.7% 1 year : -49.7% 2 years : -59.6%
Levelling out above 20K, it seems. Not bad, given that Scott Snyder has moved on.
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104 - TRINITY OF SIN: PANDORA 07/2013: Pandora #1 -- 35,106 [41,678] 07/2013: Pandora #2 -- 32,170 (- 8.4%) 08/2013: Pandora #3 -- 34,563 (+ 7.4%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Pandora #4 -- 25,708 (-25.6%) 11/2013: Pandora #5 -- 21,267 (-17.3%)
Another crossover title that keeps crashing now that the crossover is, uh, over.
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103 - SUPERBOY 11/2011: Superboy #3 -- 47,442 -------------------------------- 11/2012: Superboy #14 -- 28,017 (+ 8.9%) 12/2012: Superboy #15 -- 27,619 (- 1.4%) 01/2013: Superboy #16 -- 27,110 (- 1.8%) 02/2013: Superboy #17 -- 26,762 (- 1.3%) 03/2013: Superboy #18 -- 24,455 (- 8.6%) 04/2013: Superboy #19 -- 24,211 (- 1.0%) 05/2013: Superboy #20 -- 22,508 (- 7.0%) 06/2013: Superboy #21 -- 20,952 (- 6.9%) 07/2013: Superboy #22 -- 19,984 (- 4.6%) 08/2013: Superboy #23 -- 20,235 (+ 1.3%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Superboy #24 -- 18,341 (- 9.4%) 11/2013: Superboy #25 -- 21,449 (+ 17.0%) ----------------- 6 months: - 4.7% 1 year : - 23.4% 2 years : - 54.8%
Crossover.
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101 - INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US ANNUAL (Digital-First) 11/2013: Injustice Annual #1 -- 21,764
Very close to the mother title. Not bad sales.
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99 - WORLDS' FINEST 11/2012: Worlds' Finest #6 -- 34,338 (- 4.5%) 12/2012: Worlds' Finest #7 -- 32,010 (- 6.8%) 01/2013: Worlds' Finest #8 -- 30,399 (- 5.0%) 02/2013: Worlds' Finest #9 -- 28,332 (- 6.8%) 03/2013: Worlds' Finest #10 -- 28,469 (+ 0.5%) 04/2013: Worlds' Finest #11 -- 27,453 (- 3.6%) 05/2013: Worlds' Finest #12 -- 27,073 (- 1.4%) 06/2013: Worlds' Finest #13 -- 25,815 (- 4.7%) 07/2013: Worlds' Finest #14 -- 25,143 (- 2.6%) 08/2013: Worlds' Finest #15 -- 24,159 (- 3.9%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Worlds' Finest #16 -- 22,987 (- 4.9%) 11/2013: Worlds' Finest #17 -- 21,920 (- 4.6%) ----------------- 6 months: - 19.0% 1 year : - 36.2%
Drifting down.
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98 - INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US (Digital-First) 01/2013: Injustice #1 -- 20,733 [35,438] 02/2013: Injustice #2 -- 17,068 (-17.7%) [29,096] 03/2013: Injustice #3 -- 18,608 (+ 9.0%) [24,469] 04/2013: Injustice #4 -- 21,669 (+16.5%) [26,739] 05/2013: Injustice #5 -- 25,215 (+16.4%) 06/2013: Injustice #6 -- 26,011 (+ 3.2%) 07/2013: Injustice #7 -- 25,731 (- 1.1%) 08/2013: Injustice #8 -- 25,223 (- 2.0%) 09/2013: Injustice #9 -- 24,333 (- 3.5%) 10/2013: Injustice #10 -- 24,788 (+ 1.9%) 11/2013: Injustice #11 -- 22,704 (- 8.4%) ---------------- 6 months: -10.0%
To be relaunched after issue #12.
—–
96 - BIRDS OF PREY 11/2003: Birds of Prey #61 -- 30,768 11/2008: Birds of Prey #124 -- 20,959 11/2010: Birds of Prey #6 -- 34,440 11/2011: Birds of Prey #3 -- 40,891 ------------------------------------- 11/2012: Birds of Prey #14 -- 24,904 (- 3.7%) 12/2012: Birds of Prey #15 -- 24,026 (- 3.5%) 01/2013: Birds of Prey #16 -- 23,182 (- 3.5%) 02/2013: Birds of Prey #17 -- 22,112 (- 4.6%) 03/2013: Birds of Prey #18 -- 21,957 (- 0.7%) 04/2013: Birds of Prey #19 -- 21,707 (- 1.1%) 05/2013: Birds of Prey #20 -- 21,126 (- 2.7%) 06/2013: Birds of Prey #21 -- 20,767 (- 1.7%) 07/2013: Birds of Prey #22 -- 20,209 (- 2.7%) 08/2013: Birds of Prey #23 -- 19,364 (- 4.2%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Birds of Prey #24 -- 18,382 (- 5.1%) 11/2013: Birds of Prey #25 -- 22,751 (+ 23.8%) ----------------- 6 months: + 7.7% 1 year : - 8.7% 2 years : - 44.4% 5 years : + 8.6% 10 years: - 26.1%
Crossover.
—–
90 - FOREVER EVIL: A.R.G.U.S. 10/2013: A.R.G.U.S. #1 of 6 -- 32,146 11/2013: A.R.G.U.S. #2 of 6 -- 25,071 (-22.0%)
The second-issue drop is on the stiff side for a miniseries.
—–
88 - SUPERGIRL 11/2008: Supergirl #35 -- 45,518 11/2009: Supergirl #47 -- 29,159 11/2010: Supergirl #58 -- 25,412 11/2011: Supergirl #3 -- 50,784 --------------------------------- 11/2012: Supergirl #14 -- 31,270 (+ 6.2%) 12/2012: Supergirl #15 -- 30,814 (- 1.5%) 01/2013: Supergirl #16 -- 30,350 (- 1.5%) 02/2013: Supergirl #17 -- 30,146 (- 0.7%) 03/2013: Supergirl #18 -- 28,051 (- 7.0%) 04/2013: Supergirl #19 -- 29,558 (+ 5.4%) 05/2013: Supergirl #20 -- 27,509 (- 6.9%) 06/2013: Supergirl #21 -- 25,856 (- 6.0%) 07/2013: Supergirl #22 -- 25,514 (- 1.3%) 08/2013: Supergirl #23 -- 24,747 (- 3.0%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Supergirl #24 -- 23,321 (- 5.8%) 11/2013: Supergirl #25 -- 25,377 (+ 8.8%) ----------------- 6 months: - 7.8% 1 year : - 18.9% 2 years : - 50.0% 5 years : - 44.3%
Crossover.
—–
87 - BATWOMAN 11/2011: Batwoman #3 -- 61,997 -------------------------------- 11/2012: Batwoman #14 -- 36,395 (- 2.5%) 12/2012: Batwoman #15 -- 34,964 (- 3.9%) 01/2013: Batwoman #16 -- 34,103 (- 2.5%) 02/2013: Batwoman #17 -- 32,041 (- 6.1%) 03/2013: Batwoman #18 -- 31,381 (- 2.1%) 04/2013: Batwoman #19 -- 31,538 (+ 0.5%) 05/2013: Batwoman #20 -- 29,698 (- 5.8%) 06/2013: Batwoman #21 -- 28,173 (- 5.1%) 07/2013: Batwoman #22 -- 27,400 (- 2.7%) 08/2013: Batwoman #23 -- 26,223 (- 4.3%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Batwoman #24 -- 25,609 (- 2.3%) 11/2013: Batwoman #25 -- 25,987 (+ 1.5%) ---------------- 6 months: -12.5% 1 year : -28.6% 2 years : -58.1%
Crossover, but not advertised in the solicitations due to short-notice creative shuffle.
—–
83 - BATMAN '66 (Digital-First) 07/2013: Batman '66 #1 -- 50,430 08/2013: Batman '66 #2 -- 37,113 (-26.4%) 09/2013: Batman '66 #3 -- 32,954 (-11.2%) 10/2013: Batman '66 #4 -- 30,099 (- 8.7%) 11/2013: Batman '66 #5 -- 26,785 (-11.0%)
Crashing down the charts, but still doing fairly well for a Digital-First book.
—–
82 - SUICIDE SQUAD 11/2011: Suicide Squad #3 -- 40,827 ----------------------------------------- 11/2012: Suicide Squad #14 -- 63,691 (+130.4%) [69,185] 12/2012: Suicide Squad #15 -- 57,132 (- 10.3%) 01/2013: Suicide Squad #16 -- 27,061 (- 52.6%) 02/2013: Suicide Squad #17 -- 26,370 (- 2.6%) 03/2013: Suicide Squad #18 -- 25,232 (- 4.3%) 04/2013: Suicide Squad #19 -- 24,300 (- 3.7%) 05/2013: Suicide Squad #20 -- 23,537 (- 3.1%) 06/2013: Suicide Squad #21 -- 22,907 (- 2.7%) 07/2013: Suicide Squad #22 -- 22,447 (- 2.0%) 08/2013: Suicide Squad #23 -- 22,166 (- 1.3%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Suicide Squad #24 -- 27,762 (+ 25.3%) 11/2013: Suicide Squad #25 -- 27,067 (- 2.5%) ----------------- 6 months: + 15.0% 1 year : - 57.5% 2 years : - 33.7%
Crossover.
—–
80 - RED LANTERNS 11/2011: Red Lanterns #3 -- 60,823 ----------------------------------- 11/2012: Red Lanterns #14 -- 40,779 (- 4.7%) 12/2012: Red Lanterns #15 -- 39,071 (- 4.2%) 01/2013: Red Lanterns #16 -- 38,223 (- 2.2%) 02/2013: Red Lanterns #17 -- 35,839 (- 6.2%) 03/2013: Red Lanterns #18 -- 35,203 (- 1.8%) 04/2013: Red Lanterns #19 -- 34,673 (- 1.5%) 05/2013: Red Lanterns #20 -- 33,923 (- 2.2%) 06/2013: Red Lanterns #21 -- 37,312 (+10.0%) 07/2013: Red Lanterns #22 -- 35,236 (- 5.6%) 08/2013: Red Lanterns #23 -- 29,623 (-15.9%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Red Lanterns #24 -- 30,771 (+ 3.9%) 11/2013: Red Lanterns #25 -- 27,786 (- 9.7%) ---------------- 6 months: -18.1% 1 year : -31.9% 2 years : -54.3%
And this is what happens when a book is no longer part of a crossover.
—–
75 - CATWOMAN 11/2003: Catwoman #25 -- 26,345 11/2011: Catwoman #3 -- 52,196 ------------------------------- 11/2012: Catwoman #14 -- 63,653 (+58.6%) 12/2012: Catwoman #15 -- 35,020 (-45.0%) 01/2013: Catwoman #16 -- 33,915 (- 3.2%) 02/2013: Catwoman #17 -- 30,194 (-11.0%) 03/2013: Catwoman #18 -- 33,220 (+10.0%) 04/2013: Catwoman #19 -- 28,058 (-15.5%) 05/2013: Catwoman #20 -- 26,886 (- 4.2%) 06/2013: Catwoman #21 -- 25,611 (- 4.7%) 07/2013: Catwoman #22 -- 24,737 (- 3.4%) 08/2013: Catwoman #23 -- 24,262 (- 1.9%) [32,158] 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Catwoman #24 -- 35,134 (+44.8%) 11/2013: Catwoman #25 -- 29,471 (-16.1%) ----------------- 6 months: + 9.6% 1 year : - 53.7% 2 years : - 43.5% 10 years: + 11.9%
Crossover.
—–
74 - GREEN ARROW 11/2003: Green Arrow #32 -- 38,385 11/2008: Arrow/Canary #14 -- 25,599 11/2009: Arrow&Canary #26 -- 17,384 11/2010: Green Arrow #6 -- 39,575 11/2011: Green Arrow #3 -- 46,899 ----------------------------------- 11/2012: Green Arrow #14 -- 21,825 (- 1.1%) 12/2012: Green Arrow #15 -- 20,672 (- 5.3%) 01/2013: Green Arrow #16 -- 19,888 (- 3.8%) 02/2013: Green Arrow #17 -- 36,043 (+ 81.2%) 03/2013: Green Arrow #18 -- 28,080 (- 22.1%) 04/2013: Green Arrow #19 -- 29,922 (+ 6.6%) 05/2013: Green Arrow #20 -- 27,541 (- 8.0%) 06/2013: Green Arrow #21 -- 26,924 (- 2.2%) 07/2013: Green Arrow #22 -- 26,172 (- 2.8%) 08/2013: Green Arrow #23 -- 25,449 (- 2.8%) 09/2013: #23.1: CtVertigo -- 43,234 (+ 69.9%) 10/2013: Green Arrow #24 -- 24,620 (- 43.1%) 11/2013: Green Arrow #25 -- 29,591 (+ 20.2%) ----------------- 6 months: + 7.4% 1 year : + 35.6% 2 years : - 36.9% 5 years : + 15.6% 10 years: - 22.9%
Crossover.
—–
71 - FOREVER EVIL: ROGUES' REBELLION 10/2013: Rogues' Rebellion #1 of 6 -- 36,545 11/2013: Rogues' Rebellion #2 of 6 -- 30,317 (-17.04%)
Fairly standard miniseries drop.
—–
88 - THE WAKE (Vertigo) 05/2013: The Wake #1 of 10 -- 44,867 [50,188] 06/2013: The Wake #2 of 10 -- 32,562 (-27.4%) 07/2013: The Wake #3 of 10 -- 30,622 (- 6.0%) 08/2013: -- 09/2013: The Wake #4 of 10 -- 31,674 (+ 3.4%) 10/2013: -- 11/2013: The Wake #5 of 10 -- 30,463 (- 3.8%) ----------------- 6 months: - 32.0%
In the absence of The Sandman, this Snyder/Robinson vehicle remains the best-selling Vertigo title by quite a margin.
—-
68 - RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS 11/2011: Red Hood #3 -- 50,140 ------------------------------- 11/2012: Red Hood #14 -- 37,710 (+ 6.5%) 12/2012: Red Hood #15 -- 64,103 (+70.0%) 01/2013: Red Hood #16 -- 59,621 (- 7.0%) 02/2013: Red Hood #17 -- 53,076 (-11.0%) 03/2013: Red Hood #18 -- 37,731 (-28.9%) [42,901] 04/2013: Red Hood #19 -- 36,630 (- 2.9%) 05/2013: Red Hood #20 -- 35,542 (- 3.0%) 06/2013: Red Hood #21 -- 32,416 (- 8.8%) 07/2013: Red Hood #22 -- 30,534 (- 5.8%) 08/2013: Red Hood #23 -- 28,821 (- 5.6%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Red Hood #24 -- 27,128 (- 5.9%) 11/2013: Red Hood #25 -- 30,632 (+12.9%) ---------------- 6 months: -13.8% 1 year : -18.8% 2 years : -38.9%
Crossover.
—–
66 - GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS 11/2010: Emerald Warriors #4 -- 46,319 11/2011: New Guardians #3 -- 59,774 --------------------------------------- 11/2012: New Guardians #14 -- 47,062 (- 3.0%) 12/2012: New Guardians #15 -- 45,136 (- 4.1%) 01/2013: New Guardians #16 -- 43,770 (- 3.0%) 02/2013: New Guardians #17 -- 42,285 (- 3.4%) 03/2013: New Guardians #18 -- 42,028 (- 0.6%) 04/2013: New Guardians #19 -- 41,481 (- 1.3%) 05/2013: New Guardians #20 -- 40,569 (- 2.2%) 06/2013: New Guardians #21 -- 42,290 (+ 4.2%) 07/2013: New Guardians #22 -- 40,788 (- 3.6%) 08/2013: New Guardians #23 -- 34,473 (-15.5%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: New Guardians #24 -- 35,417 (+ 2.7%) 11/2013: New Guardians #25 -- 32,069 (- 9.5%) ---------------- 6 months: -21.0% 1 year : -31.9% 2 years : -46.4%
Coming out of a crossover.
—–
65 - TEEN TITANS 11/2003: Teen Titans #5 -- 68,078 [71,313] 11/2008: Teen Titans #65 -- 37,880 11/2009: Teen Titans #77 -- 46,239 11/2010: Teen Titans #89 -- 26,444 11/2011: Teen Titans #3 -- 60,758 ----------------------------------- 11/2012: Teen Titans #14 -- 39,745 (- 3.3%) 12/2012: Teen Titans #15 -- 68,707 (+ 72.9%) 01/2013: Teen Titans #16 -- 63,726 (- 7.3%) 02/2013: Teen Titans #17 -- 39,186 (- 38.5%) 03/2013: Teen Titans #18 -- 42,055 (+ 7.3%) 04/2013: Teen Titans #19 -- 39,532 (- 6.0%) 05/2013: Teen Titans #20 -- 36,391 (- 8.0%) 06/2013: Teen Titans #21 -- 34,710 (- 4.6%) 07/2013: Teen Titans #22 -- 33,062 (- 4.8%) 08/2013: Teen Titans #23 -- 31,742 (- 4.0%) 09/2013: #23.1: Trigon -- 48,974 (+ 54.3%) 09/2013: #23.2: Dthstroke -- 49,920 (+ 1.9%) 10/2013: Teen Titans #24 -- 34,536 (- 30.8%) 11/2013: Teen Titans #25 -- 32,395 (- 6.2%) ----------------- 6 months: - 11.0% 1 year : - 18.5% 2 years : - 46.7% 5 years : - 14.5% 10 years: - 52.4%
Cancelled with issue #30. Sales have been sliding down the charts, but DC obviously isn’t losing money here. Which probably means a high-profile relaunch of the property is in the pipeline.
—–
61 - BATMAN BLACK & WHITE 09/2013: Batman B&W #1 of 6 -- 65,018 10/2013: Batman B&W #2 of 6 -- 37,523 (-42.3%) 11/2013: Batman B&W #3 of 6 -- 33,370 (-11.6%)
Still falling fast, but still doing very well for this type of book. I wonder what motivated retailers to go overboard on the first issue.
—–
60 - WONDER WOMAN 11/2003: Wonder Woman #198 -- 28,977 11/2008: Wonder Woman #26 -- 33,277 11/2009: Wonder Woman #38 -- 26,265 11/2010: -- 11/2011: Wonder Woman #3 -- 65,621 ------------------------------------- 11/2012: Wonder Woman #14 -- 42,384 (- 3.1%) 12/2012: Wonder Woman #15 -- 41,641 (- 1.8%) 01/2013: Wonder Woman #16 -- 40,105 (- 3.7%) 02/2013: Wonder Woman #17 -- 39,110 (- 2.5%) 03/2013: Wonder Woman #18 -- 38,406 (- 1.8%) 04/2013: Wonder Woman #19 -- 46,492 (+ 21.1%) 05/2013: Wonder Woman #20 -- 37,132 (- 20.1%) 06/2013: Wonder Woman #21 -- 35,999 (- 3.1%) 07/2013: Wonder Woman #22 -- 35,539 (- 1.3%) 08/2013: Wonder Woman #23 -- 34,747 (- 2.2%) 09/2013: #23.1: Cheetah -- 49,297 (+ 41.9%) 09/2013: #23.2: First Born -- 44,154 (- 10.4%) 10/2013: Wonder Woman #24 -- 34,308 (- 22.3%) 11/2013: Wonder Woman #25 -- 33,532 (- 2.3%) ----------------- 6 months: - 9.7% 1 year : - 20.9% 2 years : - 48.9% 5 years : + 0.8% 10 years: + 15.7%
Standard attrition.
—–
49 - GREEN LANTERN CORPS 11/2008: Green Lantern Corps #30 -- 43,600 11/2009: Green Lantern Corps #42 -- 80,391 11/2010: Green Lantern Corps #54 -- 57,448 11/2011: Green Lantern Corps #3 -- 65,393 ------------------------------------------ 11/2012: Green Lantern Corps #14 -- 49,594 (- 2.3%) 12/2012: Green Lantern Corps #15 -- 47,841 (- 3.5%) 01/2013: Green Lantern Corps #16 -- 45,387 (- 5.1%) 02/2013: Green Lantern Corps #17 -- 44,497 (- 2.0%) 03/2013: Green Lantern Corps #18 -- 44,215 (- 0.6%) 04/2013: Green Lantern Corps #19 -- 43,903 (- 0.8%) 05/2013: Green Lantern Corps #20 -- 43,026 (- 2.0%) 06/2013: Green Lantern Corps #21 -- 45,423 (+ 5.6%) 07/2013: Green Lantern Corps #22 -- 42,194 (- 7.1%) 08/2013: Green Lantern Corps #23 -- 36,229 (-14.1%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Green Lantern Corps #24 -- 37,312 (+ 3.0%) 11/2013: Green Lantern Corps #25 -- 38,369 (+ 2.8%) ---------------- 6 months: -10.8% 1 year : -22.6% 2 years : -41.3% 5 years : -12.0%
Crossover.
—–
47 - JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK 11/2011: Justice League Dark #3 -- 51,674 ------------------------------------------- 11/2012: Justice League Dark #14 -- 28,966 (- 3.5%) 12/2012: Justice League Dark #15 -- 27,712 (- 4.3%) 01/2013: Justice League Dark #16 -- 26,902 (- 2.9%) 02/2013: Justice League Dark #17 -- 25,841 (- 3.9%) 03/2013: Justice League Dark #18 -- 25,664 (- 0.7%) 04/2013: Justice League Dark #19 -- 25,407 (- 1.0%) 05/2013: Justice League Dark #20 -- 24,693 (- 2.8%) 06/2013: Justice League Dark #21 -- 24,663 (- 0.1%) 07/2013: Justice League Dark #22 -- 68,294 (+176.9%) [76,570] 08/2013: Justice League Dark #23 -- 71,157 (+ 4.2%) 09/2013: #23.1: Creeper -- 46,326 (- 34.9%) 09/2013: #23.2: Eclipso -- 45,138 (- 2.6%) 10/2013: Justice League Dark #24 -- 45,401 (+ 0.6%) 11/2013: Justice League Dark #25 -- 38,760 (- 14.6%) ----------------- 6 months: + 57.0% 1 year : + 33.8% 2 years : - 25.0%
Crossover.
—–
44 - SUPERMAN 11/2003: Superman #199 -- 33,429 11/2008: Superman #682 -- 55,435 11/2009: Superman #694 -- 34,430 11/2010: Superman #705 -- 46,261 11/2011: Superman #3 -- 86,386 --------------------------------- 11/2012: Superman #14 -- 52,572 (+ 0.8%) 12/2012: Superman #15 -- 51,225 (- 2.6%) 01/2013: Superman #16 -- 50,621 (- 1.2%) 02/2013: -- 03/2013: Superman #17 -- 49,666 (- 1.9%) 03/2013: Superman #18 -- 48,236 (- 2.9%) 04/2013: Superman #19 -- 48,598 (+ 0.8%) 05/2013: Superman #20 -- 45,458 (- 6.5%) 06/2013: Superman #21 -- 44,285 (- 2.6%) 07/2013: Superman #22 -- 42,961 (- 3.0%) 08/2013: Superman #23 -- 42,155 (- 1.9%) 09/2013: #23.1: Bzarro -- 59,589 (+ 41.4%) 09/2013: #23.2: Brniac -- 58,197 (- 2.3%) 09/2013: #23.3: H'el -- 55,069 (- 5.4%) 09/2013: #23.4: Prsite -- 59,811 (+ 8.6%) 10/2013: Superman #24 -- 39,580 (- 33.8%) 11/2013: Superman #25 -- 39,295 (- 0.1%) ----------------- 6 months: - 13.6% 1 year : - 25.3% 2 years : - 54.5% 5 years : - 29.1% 10 years: + 17.6%
Crossover.
—–
43 - EARTH 2 11/2012: Earth 2 #6 -- 58,271 (- 4.8%) 12/2012: Earth 2 #7 -- 54,409 (- 6.6%) 01/2013: Earth 2 #8 -- 50,860 (- 6.5%) 02/2013: Earth 2 #9 -- 48,208 (- 5.2%) 03/2013: Earth 2 #10 -- 46,213 (- 4.1%) 04/2013: Earth 2 #11 -- 45,468 (- 1.6%) 05/2013: Earth 2 #12 -- 43,983 (- 3.3%) 06/2013: Earth 2 #13 -- 42,916 (- 2.4%) 07/2013: Earth 2 #14 -- 42,022 (- 2.1%) 08/2013: Earth 2 #15 -- 40,845 (- 2.8%) 09/2013: #15.1: Desd -- 51,850 (+26.9%) 09/2013: #15.2: SlGr -- 52,369 (+ 1.0%) 10/2013: Earth 2 #16 -- 38,389 (-26.7%) 11/2013: Earth 2 #17 -- 39,846 (+ 3.8%) ---------------- 6 months: - 9.4% 1 year : -31.6%
Cr… No, wait.
It’s a 1:100 variant that’s causing the slight increase here.
—–
41 - BATGIRL 11/2003: Batgirl #46 -- 27,167 11/2008: Batgirl #5 of 6 -- 21,595 11/2009: Batgirl #4 -- 34,697 11/2010: Batgirl #15 -- 25,827 11/2011: Batgirl #3 -- 69,971 ---------------------------------- 11/2012: Batgirl #14 -- 77,468 (+ 54.7%) 12/2012: Batgirl #15 -- 75,341 (- 2.8%) 01/2013: Batgirl #16 -- 72,470 (- 3.8%) 02/2013: Batgirl #17 -- 65,751 (- 9.6%) 03/2013: Batgirl #18 -- 51,677 (- 21.4%) 04/2013: Batgirl #19 -- 45,939 (- 11.1%) 05/2013: Batgirl #20 -- 42,600 (- 7.3%) 06/2013: Batgirl #21 -- 40,252 (- 5.5%) 07/2013: Batgirl #22 -- 39,218 (- 2.6%) 08/2013: Batgirl #23 -- 37,707 (- 3.9%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Batgirl #24 -- 36,666 (- 2.8%) 11/2013: Batgirl #25 -- 40,752 (+ 11.1%) ----------------- 6 months: - 4.3% 1 year : - 47.4% 2 years : - 41.8% 5 years : + 88.7% 10 years: + 50.0%
Crossover.
—–
38 - AQUAMAN 11/2003: Aquaman #12 -- 23,993 11/2011: Aquaman #3 -- 69,137 ------------------------------ 11/2012: Aquaman #14 -- 53,664 (- 1.8%) 12/2012: Aquaman #15 -- 75,947 (+41.5%) 01/2013: Aquaman #16 -- 62,153 (-18.2%) 02/2013: Aquaman #17 -- 58,578 (- 5.8%) 03/2013: Aquaman #18 -- 53,337 (- 9.0%) 04/2013: -- 05/2013: Aquaman #19 -- 53,415 (+ 0.2%) 05/2013: Aquaman #20 -- 49,697 (- 7.0%) 06/2013: Aquaman #21 -- 46,832 (- 5.8%) 07/2013: Aquaman #22 -- 45,653 (- 2.5%) 08/2013: Aquaman #23 -- 44,140 (- 3.3%) 09/2013: #23.1: BMta -- 58,207 (+31.9%) 09/2013: #23.2: OMtr -- 53,679 (- 7.8%) 10/2013: Aquaman #24 -- 42,248 (-21.3%) 11/2013: Aquaman #25 -- 41,264 (- 2.3%) ----------------- 6 months: - 20.0% 1 year : - 23.1% 2 years : - 40.3% 10 years: + 72.0%
Geoff Johns’s final issue. Not a bad run, commercially, for an Aquaman book.
—–
37 - BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT 11/2011: Dark Knight #3 -- 87,133 ----------------------------------- 11/2012: Dark Knight #14 -- 62,792 (- 3.8%) 12/2012: Dark Knight #15 -- 60,569 (- 3.6%) 01/2013: Dark Knight #16 -- 58,258 (- 3.8%) 02/2013: Dark Knight #17 -- 55,990 (- 3.9%) 03/2013: Dark Knight #18 -- 54,269 (- 3.1%) 04/2013: Dark Knight #19 -- 52,644 (- 3.0%) 05/2013: Dark Knight #20 -- 50,423 (- 4.2%) 06/2013: Dark Knight #21 -- 48,612 (- 3.6%) 07/2013: Dark Knight #22 -- 47,096 (- 3.1%) 08/2013: Dark Knight #23 -- 45,584 (- 3.2%) 09/2013: #23.1: Vtrlqust -- 57,363 (+ 25.8%) 09/2013: #23.2: MrFreeze -- 57,349 (- 0.0%) 09/2013: #23.3: Clayface -- 55,084 (- 4.0%) 09/2013: #23.4: JkrsDgtr -- 64,952 (+ 17.9%) [86,016] 10/2013: Dark Knight #24 -- 43,382 (- 33.2%) 11/2013: Dark Knight #25 -- 41,634 (- 4.0%) ----------------- 6 months: - 17.4% 1 year : - 33.7% 2 years : - 52.2%
Slipping down.
—–
36 - FLASH 11/2003: Flash #204 -- 35,423 11/2008: Flash #246 -- 27,746 11/2009: Rebirth #5 of 6 -- 73,875 11/2010: Flash #6 -- 57,673 11/2011: Flash #3 -- 90,417 ----------------------------------- 11/2012: Flash #14 -- 48,012 (- 3.9%) 12/2012: Flash #15 -- 45,925 (- 4.4%) 01/2013: Flash #16 -- 44,093 (- 4.0%) 02/2013: Flash #17 -- 42,936 (- 2.6%) 03/2013: Flash #18 -- 41,659 (- 3.0%) 04/2013: Flash #19 -- 42,079 (+ 1.0%) 05/2013: Flash #20 -- 39,667 (- 5.7%) 06/2013: Flash #21 -- 38,848 (- 2.1%) 07/2013: Flash #22 -- 38,993 (+ 0.4%) 08/2013: Flash #23 -- 38,860 (- 0.3%) 09/2013: #23.1: Grodd -- 52,901 (+ 36.1%) 09/2013: #23.2: RvrsFlsh -- 53,359 (+ 0.9%) 09/2013: #23.3: Rogues -- 51,072 (- 4.3%) 10/2013: Flash #24 -- 38,190 (- 25.2%) 11/2013: Flash #25 -- 41,838 (+ 10.0%) ----------------- 6 months: + 5.5% 1 year : - 12.9% 2 years : - 53.7% 5 years : + 50.8% 10 years: + 18.1%
Crossover.
—–
32 - NIGHTWING 11/2003: Nightwing #87 -- 29,674 11/2008: Nightwing #150 -- 50,993 11/2011: Nightwing #3 -- 64,098 --------------------------------- 11/2012: Nightwing #14 -- 50,720 (+ 7.5%) 12/2012: Nightwing #15 -- 74,407 (+46.7%) 01/2013: Nightwing #16 -- 69,643 (- 6.4%) 02/2013: Nightwing #17 -- 62,107 (-10.8%) 03/2013: Nightwing #18 -- 48,223 (-22.4%) [53,978] 04/2013: Nightwing #19 -- 46,978 (- 2.6%) 05/2013: Nightwing #20 -- 45,038 (- 4.1%) 06/2013: Nightwing #21 -- 43,353 (- 3.7%) 07/2013: Nightwing #22 -- 42,073 (- 3.0%) 08/2013: Nightwing #23 -- 40,522 (- 3.7%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: Nightwing #24 -- 39,853 (- 1.7%) 11/2013: Nightwing #25 -- 44,039 (+10.5%) ----------------- 6 months: - 2.2% 1 year : - 13.1% 2 years : - 31.3% 5 years : - 13.6% 10 years: + 48.4%
Crossover.
—–
31 - FOREVER EVIL: ARKHAM WAR 10/2013: Arkham War #1 of 6 -- 52,004 11/2013: Arkham War #2 of 6 -- 44,133 (-15.1%)
Standard miniseries drop.
—–
29 - ACTION COMICS 11/2003: Action Comics #809 -- 29,819 11/2008: Action Comics #871 -- 58,547 11/2009: Action Comics #883 -- 33,386 11/2010: Action Comics #895 -- 33,089 11/2011: Action Comics #3 -- 134,875 -------------------------------------- 11/2012: Action Comics #14 -- 64,341 (- 4.3%) 12/2012: Action Comics #15 -- 61,298 (- 4.7%) 01/2013: Action Comics #16 -- 58,645 (- 4.3%) 02/2013: Action Comics #17 -- 57,189 (- 2.5%) 03/2013: Action Comics #18 -- 61,879 (+ 8.2%) 04/2013: Action Comics #19 -- 52,007 (- 16.0%) 05/2013: Action Comics #20 -- 48,324 (- 7.1%) 06/2013: Action Comics #21 -- 46,475 (- 3.8%) 07/2013: Action Comics #22 -- 44,861 (- 3.5%) 08/2013: Action Comics #23 -- 42,603 (- 5.0%) 09/2013: #23.1: Cyborg Smn -- 69,796 (+ 63.8%) 09/2013: #23.2: Zod -- 69,356 (- 0.6%) 09/2013: #23.3: Lex Luthor -- 67,621 (- 2.5%) 09/2013: #23.4: Metallo -- 51,807 (- 23.4%) 10/2013: Action Comics #24 -- 39,620 (- 23.5%) 11/2013: Action Comics #25 -- 46,550 (+ 17.5%) ----------------- 6 months: - 3.7% 1 year : - 27.7% 2 years : - 65.5% 5 years : - 20.5% 10 years: + 56.1%
Crossover.
—–
27 - DAMIAN: SON OF BATMAN 10/2013: Son of Batman #1 of 4 -- 63,453 11/2013: Son of Batman #2 of 4 -- 51,840 (-18.3%)
Great sales for what’s basically a nostalgic riff on an old Morrison/Kubert issue.
—–
26 - BATMAN AND CARRIE KELLEY 11/2009: Batman and Robin #6 -- 95,690 11/2010: Batman and Robin #16 -- 80,343 11/2010: Batman and Robin #17 -- 70,600 11/2011: Batman and Robin #3 -- 86,309 ---------------------------------------- 11/2012: Batman and Robin #14 -- 75,543 (+19.7%) 12/2012: Batman and Robin #15 -- 89,878 (+19.0%) 01/2013: Batman and Robin #16 -- 81,494 (- 9.3%) 02/2013: Batman and Robin #17 -- 60,988 (-25.2%) 03/2013: Batman and Robin #18 -- 69,614 (+14.1%) [76,575] 04/2013: and Red Robin #19 -- 89,182 (+28.1%) 05/2013: and Red Hood #20 -- 65,222 (-26.9%) 06/2013: and Batgirl #21 -- 60,601 (- 7.1%) 07/2013: and Catwoman #22 -- 57,808 (- 4.6%) 08/2013: and Nightwing #23 -- 55,707 (- 3.6%) 09/2013: #23.1: Two-Face -- 77,073 (+38.4%) 09/2013: #23.2: Court of Owls -- 75,546 (- 2.0%) 09/2013: #23.3: Ra's al Ghul -- 73,746 (- 2.4%) 09/2013: #23.4: Killer Croc -- 69,428 (- 5.9%) 10/2013: and Two-Face #24 -- 52,060 (-25.0%) 11/2013: and Carrie K. #25 -- 53,374 (+ 2.5%) ---------------- 6 months: -18.2% 1 year : -29.4% 2 years : -38.2%
The slight increase comes thanks to the introduction of the Carrie Kelley character from Dark Knight Returns into mainstream continuity. Between all the crossovers and variant covers, that’s almost an original gimmick.
So: How long before the Watchmen characters show up in the DC Universe, now that they’re just another DC property?
Tick, tock.
—–
25 - GREEN LANTERN 11/2003: Green Lantern #171 -- 32,374 11/2008: -- 11/2009: Green Lantern #48 -- 100,371 11/2010: Green Lantern #59 -- 76,173 11/2011: Green Lantern #3 -- 122,644 -------------------------------------- 11/2012: Green Lantern #14 -- 78,499 (-14.5%) 12/2012: Green Lantern #15 -- 74,363 (- 5.3%) 01/2013: Green Lantern #16 -- 72,884 (- 2.0%) 02/2013: Green Lantern #17 -- 71,060 (- 2.5%) 03/2013: Green Lantern #18 -- 69,801 (- 1.8%) 04/2013: Green Lantern #19 -- 71,018 (+ 1.7%) 05/2013: Green Lantern #20 -- 67,414 (- 5.1%) 06/2013: Green Lantern #21 -- 71,870 (+ 6.6%) 07/2013: Green Lantern #22 -- 62,415 (-13.2%) 08/2013: Green Lantern #23 -- 59,176 (- 5.2%) 09/2013: #23.1: Relic -- 66,495 (+12.4%) 09/2013: #23.2: Mongul -- 63,731 (- 4.2%) 09/2013: #23.3: Black Hand -- 62,753 (- 1.5%) 09/2013: #23.4: Sinestro -- 70,893 (+13.0%) 10/2013: Green Lantern #24 -- 57,109 (-19.4%) 11/2013: Green Lantern #25 -- 54,322 (- 4.9%) ----------------- 6 months: - 19.4% 1 year : - 30.8% 2 years : - 55.7% 5 years : n.a. 10 years: + 67.8%
These are the lowest Green Lantern sales since September 2004, right before… well, right before Geoff Johns came along and relaunched the book. Geoff Johns left in May 2013.
—–
20 - SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN 10/2013: Superman/Wonder Woman #1 -- 94,859 11/2013: Superman/Wonder Woman #2 -- 60,185 (-36.6%)
Big second-issue drop, but still good sales for another team-up title.
—–
17 - DETECTIVE COMICS 11/2003: Detective Comics #788 -- 37,543 11/2008: Detective Comics #850 -- 64,196 11/2009: Detective Comics #859 -- 54,392 11/2010: Detective Comics #871 -- 36,941 11/2011: Detective Comics #3 -- 111,197 ----------------------------------------- 11/2012: Detective Comics #14 -- 74,560 (- 2.4%) 12/2012: Detective Comics #15 -- 106,395 (+ 42.7%) 01/2013: Detective Comics #16 -- 92,300 (- 13.3%) 02/2013: Detective Comics #17 -- 85,824 (- 7.0%) 03/2013: Detective Comics #18 -- 76,237 (- 11.2%) 04/2013: Detective Comics #19 -- 77,922 (+ 2.2%) 05/2013: Detective Comics #20 -- 78,252 (+ 0.4%) 06/2013: Detective Comics #21 -- 65,200 (- 16.7%) 07/2013: Detective Comics #22 -- 63,949 (- 1.9%) 08/2013: Detective Comics #23 -- 61,448 (- 3.9%) 09/2013: #23.1: Poison Ivy -- 78,522 (+ 27.8%) 09/2013: #23.2: Harley Quinn -- 89,636 (+ 14.2%) 09/2013: #23.3: Scarecrow -- 73,043 (- 18.5%) 09/2013: #23.4: Man-Bat -- 68,110 (- 6.8%) 10/2013: Detective Comics #24 -- 59,310 (- 12.9%) 11/2013: Detective Comics #25 -- 64,392 (+ 8.6%) ----------------- 6 months: - 17.7% 1 year : - 13.6% 2 years : - 42.1% 5 years : + 0.3% 10 years: + 71.5%
Crossover.
—–
12 - JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 11/2003: JLA #90 -- 60,093 11/2008: -- 11/2009: JL of America #39 -- 89,376 11/2010: JL of America #51 -- 50,887 --------------------------------------- 02/2013: JL of America #1 -- 307,734 [326,959] 03/2013: JL of America #2 -- 91,734 (-70.2%) 04/2013: -- 05/2013: JL of America #3 -- 83,283 (- 9.2%) 05/2013: JL of America #4 -- 77,856 (- 6.5%) 06/2013: JL of America #5 -- 71,793 (- 7.8%) 07/2013: JL of America #6 -- 86,192 (+20.1%) [91,344] 08/2013: JL of America #7 -- 93,777 (+ 8.8%) 09/2013: #7.1: Deadshot -- 66,815 (-28.8%) 09/2013: #7.2: Killer Frost -- 62,706 (- 6.2%) 09/2013: #7.3: Shadow Thief -- 60,397 (- 3.7%) 09/2013: #7.4: Black Adam -- 74,875 (+24.0%) 10/2013: JL of America #8 -- 77,305 (+ 3.3%) 11/2013: JL of America #9 -- 71,008 (- 8.2%) ----------------- 6 months: - 11.9% 5 years : n.a. 10 years: + 18.2%
Crossover.
—–
9 - BATMAN/SUPERMAN 11/2003: -- 11/2008: -- 11/2009: Superman/Batman #66 -- 52,143 11/2010: Superman/Batman #78 -- 31,337 --------------------------------------- 06/2013: Batman/Superman #1 -- 143,457 [151,054] 07/2013: Batman/Superman #2 -- 92,558 (-35.5%) [ 97,961] 08/2013: Batman/Superman #3 -- 87,337 (- 5.6%) 09/2013: #3.1: Doomsday -- 92,290 (+ 5.7%) 10/2013: Batman/Superman #4 -- 82,990 (-10.1%) 11/2013: Batman/Superman #5 -- 77,198 (- 7.0%) ----------------- 5 years : n.a. 10 years: n.a.
Slipping, but still doing very well.
—–
5 - FOREVER EVIL 09/2013: Forever Evil #1 of 7 -- 139,976 10/2013: Forever Evil #2 of 7 -- 112,944 (-19.3%) 11/2013: Forever Evil #3 of 7 -- 105,755 (- 6.4%)
The flagship miniseries for one of the company’s current crossovers remains a sales juggernaut, but looks like it’s dropping out of the 100K+ club soon.
—–
4 - SUPERMAN UNCHAINED 06/2013: Superman Unchained #1 -- 256,792 [271,721] 07/2013: Superman Unchained #2 -- 165,754 (-35.5%) 08/2013: Superman Unchained #3 -- 136,319 (-17.8%) 09/2013: -- 10/2013: -- 11/2013: Superman Unchained #4 -- 110,611 (-18.9%)
Snyder = Snyder
–> Capullo + Batman > Lee + Superman
—–
2 - HARLEY QUINN 11/2003: Harley Quinn #38 -- 14,305 ------------------------------------ 11/2013: Harley Quinn #0 -- 114,212 ----------------- 10 years: +698.4%
Quite a good debut number. Variants and charities are involved.
—–
1 - BATMAN 11/2003: Batman #621 -- 96,784 [100,754] 11/2008: Batman #681 -- 103,151 [114,657] 11/2009: Batman #693 -- 68,983 11/2010: Batman #704 -- 65,212 11/2011: Batman #3 -- 150,984 ------------------------------- 11/2012: Batman #14 -- 159,729 (+ 7.7%) 12/2012: Batman #15 -- 151,568 (- 5.1%) 01/2013: Batman #16 -- 145,923 (- 3.7%) 02/2013: Batman #17 -- 150,684 (+ 3.3%) 03/2013: Batman #18 -- 137,893 (- 8.5%) 04/2013: Batman #19 -- 132,147 (- 4.2%) 05/2013: Batman #20 -- 129,039 (- 2.4%) 06/2013: Batman #21 -- 142,088 (+ 10.1%) [156,845] 07/2013: Batman #22 -- 132,047 (- 7.1%) 08/2013: Batman #23 -- 128,230 (- 2.9%) 09/2013: #23.1: Jkr -- 151,351 (+ 18.0%) 09/2013: #23.2: Rdlr -- 140,065 (- 7.5%) 09/2013: #23.3: Pngn -- 120,026 (- 14.3%) 09/2013: #23.4: Bane -- 124,382 (+ 3.6%) 10/2013: Batman #24 -- 124,652 (+ 0.2%) 11/2013: Batman #25 -- 125,602 (+ 0.8%) ----------------- 6 months: - 2.7% 1 year : - 21.4% 2 years : - 16.8% 5 years : + 21.8% 10 years: + 29.8%
Snyder + Capullo + Batman
=
ー═┻┳︻▄ξ(✿ ❛‿❛)ξ▄︻┻┳═一
(Corrections Department: I quit. Goodbye.)
—–
Average Periodical Sales (not counting reprints, reorders shipping after the initial month of release, All-Ages titles and magazines)
DC COMICS 11/2003: 25,397 11/2008: 25,340 11/2009: 28,913** 11/2010: 25,497** 11/2011: 41,414** --------------- 11/2012: 33,872 (+ 3.0%) 12/2012: 34,272 (+ 1.2%) 01/2013: 31,759 (- 7.3%) 02/2013: 34,711 (+ 9.1%) 03/2013: 30,819 (- 11.2%)** 04/2013: 29,914 (- 2.9%) 05/2013: 31,412 (+ 5.0%) 06/2013: 34,517 (+ 9.9%) 07/2013: 34,402 (- 0.3%) 08/2013: 30,843 (- 10.4%) 09/2013: 54,892 (+ 78.0%) 10/2013: 31,928 (- 41.8%)** 11/2013: 32,664 (+ 2.3%) ----------------- 6 months: + 4.0% 1 year : - 3.6% 2 years : - 21.1% 5 years : + 28.9% 10 years: + 28.6%
DC UNIVERSE 11/2003: 28,712 11/2008: 33,096 11/2009: 38,488 11/2010: 34,180 11/2011: 46,670** --------------- 11/2012: 36,585 (+ 0.0%) 12/2012: 36,880 (+ 0.8%) 01/2013: 33,485 (- 9.2%) 02/2013: 36,838 (+ 10.0%) 03/2013: 32,294 (- 12.3%)** 04/2013: 31,426 (- 2.7%) 05/2013: 32,015 (+ 1.9%) 06/2013: 37,133 (+ 16.0%) 07/2013: 36,524 (- 1.6%) 08/2013: 33,583 (- 8.1%) 09/2013: 61,036 (+ 81.8%) 10/2013: 33,568 (- 45.0%)** 11/2013: 35,282 (+ 5.1%) ----------------- 6 months: + 10.2% 1 year : - 3.6% 2 years : - 24.4% 5 years : + 6.6% 10 years: + 22.9%
VERTIGO 11/2003: 18,008 11/2008: 11,936 11/2009: 11,036 11/2010: 9,034 11/2011: 10,355 --------------- 11/2012: 11,487 (- 0.1%) 12/2012: 11,771 (+ 2.5%) 01/2013: 10,764 (- 8.6%) 02/2013: 12,019 (+11.7%) 03/2013: 11,055 (- 8.0%) 04/2013: 11,467 (+ 3.7%) 05/2013: 20,860 (+81.9%) 06/2013: 17,368 (-16.7%) 07/2013: 16,099 (- 7.3%) 08/2013: 14,130 (-12.2%) 09/2013: 14,951 (+ 5.8%) 10/2013: 22,228 (+48.7%)** 11/2013: 13,958 (-37.2%) ----------------- 6 months: - 33.1% 1 year : + 21.5% 2 years : + 34.8% 5 years : + 16.9% 10 years: - 22.5%
—–
Disclaimers, et cetera
The numbers above are estimates for comic-book sales in the North American direct market, as calculated by ICv2.com according to the chart and index information provided by Diamond Comic Distributors.
ICv2.com‘s estimates are somewhat lower than the actual numbers, but they are consistent from month to month, so the trends they show are fairly accurate. Since it’s a “month-to-month” column, the comments, unless otherwise noted, are on the most recent month.
Bear in mind that the figures measure sales to retailers, not customers. Also, these numbers do not include sales to bookstores, newsstands, other mass-market retail chains or the United Kingdom. Re-orders are included, so long as they either reached stores in a book’s initial calendar month of release or were strong enough to make the chart again in a subsequent month.
If additional copies of an issue did appear on the chart after a book’s initial calendar month of release, you can see the total number of copies sold in parenthesis behind those issues (e.g. “[36,599]”). Should more than one issue have shipped in a month which is relevant for one of the long-term comparisons, the average between them will be used.
Titles released under the All-Ages line and magazines, such as Mad, mostly sell through channels other than the direct market, so direct-market sales don’t tell us much about their performance. For most Vertigo titles, collection sales tend to be a significant factor, so the numbers for those books should be taken with a grain of salt as well. To learn (a little) more about Vertigo’s collection sales, go right here.
** Two asterisks after a given month in the average charts mean that one or more periodical release did not make the Top 300 chart in that month. In those cases, it’s assumed that said releases sold as many units as the No. 300 comic on the chart for that month for the purposes of the chart, although its actual sales are likely to be less than that.
For a more lyrical approach to discussing sales figures that covers all the essentials in a more condensed, less tedious fashion, finally, go right here.
—–
Marc-Oliver Frisch is no longer writing this column. He is leaving it here at The Beat. He would like to thank Heidi MacDonald for approaching him, way back when this was still a Usenet operation, and for electing to run every single one of these things since then, except the German one. He would further like to thank all of his readers and commentators, except John Layman. If you want to pay him with money and eternal gratitude (but mostly money) to write about comics, give him a call. If it has nothing to do with DC Comics, or sales figures, he might be interested. You can find him at his weblog and on Twitter.
“retailers still seem unable to distinguish between these two titles”
What?
“Marc-Oliver Frisch is no longer writing this column.”
I’m gonna miss these sales columns. Is someone else taking over from Marc-Oliver?
So long, and thanks for all the fish, Frisch. This column is far and away my favourite read on The Beat, month after month, and it will not be the same without you. Thank you for years of on-the-nose, often inflammatory commentary.
Not thanking me is bullshit. I’m the best reader/commentator of them all!
Good luck in all your future endeavors dude!
There is something wrong with what the company is doing when the primary Superman title (self named) is “selling” (ordered) under 40K.
And the name of that wrong is Scott Lobdell.
Seriously, DC should be able to sell Superman mostly on-par with Batman. It should probably be within about 20K in units moved. Batman shouldn’t be selling over 3 times as much.
(and yes, I know Superman Unchained is within that range, but that title is essentially a mini-series, not the primary monthly title)
Pity, but I think Marc-Oliver’s been suffering from battle fatigue for some time.
Damn, sorry to see him go. His column was actually entertaining to read. Going back to the dry avoid offending anyone approach makes for a dull column. Can’t help but wonder what the behind the scenes stuff was cause pretty sure the column was read by industry types and they tend to have thin skins so probably was causing The Beat access problems.
Any case thanks for the years of work, good luck on next endeavors.
Thanks for entertaining me all of these years. You will be very missed.
Wow, end of an era! I’ve been reading the month-to-months for a good 8 years now, I think…it’s going to be weird seeing the DC analysis done by someone else!
God dammit! This is the best reading about the Big 2 anywhere! I’m really going to miss this….
RE: Batman and Robin 25: “The slight increase comes thanks to the introduction of the Carrie Kelley character from Dark Knight Returns into mainstream continuity. Between all the crossovers and variant covers, that’s almost an original gimmick.”
Carrie Kelley was in a few of the earlier five stages of grief books 19, 20, and 22. Was this her first appearance as Robin or something?
Frisch is leaving this column? Dammit, Didio! Stop driving away all your writers!
The best reason to read the Beat is no more.
That blog post about Alan Moore’s latest interview/diatribe was a great read. Nice to see that Marc’s views on Moore and Morrison are more balanced than some previous DC sales columns made them seem.
About this last column, just one correction: issue #25 of the book formerly known as Batman and Robin ended up being published as Batman and Two-Face, which will remain the book’s title until issue #29. Carrie Kelley was nowhere to be seen in the issue, and she’s probably sitting out of the rest of the current arc, although her name in issue #25’s solicited title was probably the reason behind the sales bump.
Gonna miss Marc-Oliver Frisch on these. They really had their moments.
I’ve followed this column since Usenet – it’s a mighty big shame to lose my monthly dose of Frisch’s snark. I hope he finds another outlet for his contempt and bemusement toward popular culture.
I’m a long time, regular reader of the column and have enjoyed it a lot over the years. Thanks for all the effort (and I always appreciated that you found different themes for the columns from beers, to weird icons, to German to keep things fresh.) You’ve been a fun and entertaining writer and I’ll miss seeing it. All the best.
Rich
Hope the new writer, whomever he or she may be, can keep up the standards set by Mr. Frisch.
Some observations:
1. With the just-announced wave of cancellations, over half of the original 52 titles have been cancelled. Be honest now—after reading all 52 #1 issues in 2011 and then asked to list the titles that would still be alive today, would anyone in their right mind have listed Batwing among the survivors?
2. Batman: The Dark Knight. Nightwing. Teen Titans. Justice League America. Suicide Squad. Superman Unchained. Seems DC’s following Marvel’s lead in cancelling good selling books who’s current storylines had reached an end. You never can tell when a book’ll be cancelled anymore.
3. So glad that not only is All-Star Western still alive, but that they’re sending Jonah back to his proper time. Good storyline at the start, but really dragged towards the end.
4. The upcoming Secret Origins book sounds interesting, but as DC Universe Presents showed, anthologies aren’t usually strong sellers. Hope this one bucks the trend.
5. Lastly, is anyone else with me in saying that those “Channel 52” pages at the back of every DC book are a colossal waste of space and time? Please, DC, use those pages for letter columns, extra story, pin-ups, hell, even ads—but, PLEASE LOSE THOSE TWO PAGES OF GARBAGE!
Till next month…..
When did it get announced that Nightwing was getting cancelled?
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No! I’m really gonna miss this too. Thanks MOF!
Thanks for the kind words, everyone.
Let me dispel any suspicions of behind-the-scenes stuff: Heidi’s been a great editor all these years, and the only time she had serious words with me — and rightly so — was when I turned in a German-language column without talking to her first. (Cause that’s how I roll.)
The reason I’m leaving is, I gradually stopped paying attention to most of the ‘mainstream’ industry goings on over the last year or so, which increasingly made it a chore to get up to speed for the column (not to mention the calculations, which were never the fun part to begin with). So, as I took longer and longer to do it, I made up my mind over the holidays that it was time to quit.
It wouldn’t be a proper send-off if I didn’t bungle at least one thing, of course, so thanks for correcting the BATMAN AND TWO-FACE error.
I’m looking forward to both the interim guy and the new regular columnist. Thanks for reading, and for all your comments. (Even John!)
Your welcome Marc. Thanks for the good work and enetertainment.
Best wishes from Monaco!
just kidding ;-)
Bis später, Herr Frisch! Viel Spaß!
When did it get announced that Nightwing was getting cancelled?
———————————————————————————————-
Jason, I saw it in the DC April 2014 solicitations. Nightwing, Suicide Squad, Teen Titans, and Stormwatch are all being cancelled with their 30th issue. Superman Unchained with #9. Looks like they’re clearing room for a few new books. Except for Stormwatch, the books are being cancelled because their storylines came to an end, as opposed to weak sales.
Oh, I almost forget, Justice League of America is also gone in April, with #14 being the last—also for storyline reasons.
Soule’s Swamp Thing is amazing. By far DC’s best title I pick up. Way better than Snyder’s run in my opinion. I like his short arcs, but ongoing subplots. Saiz (and Pina on the annual) rock it on the art as well. Real detailed.
Lemire’s Animal Man is just one big continuing saga. I don’t think he knows how to end an issue without a ‘to be continued’. Even after Rotworld. I’m kind of glad it’s ending, even despite some minor highlights. Gonna skip his JL Unlimited, due to this and the price.
I’m going to miss MOF on this column. I generally really liked what he did.
“Not a bad run for an Animal Man title, actually, but then again, given the creative team and the initial buzz, it’s clear from looking at these numbers that something went very wrong along the way. They had a hit here, and then they botched it.”
It was called Rotworld. Animal Man fans had to deal with a tedious six-month build-up and then a tedious six-month crossover. Most of us hung on for as long as we could, because the first six or so issues of the title before all that were really good. But Lemire could only do so much once he was told to be a placeholder for another pointlessly violent and ranty Snyder event.
And I do agree with the commenter above about Swamp Thing. It’s been excellent under Soule.
I guess I should add that Animal Man has been much better over the last 10 months or so. But after Rotworld I think people just gave up and didn’t want to take a chance anymore.
So long and thanks for all the Frisch.
Goodbye Marc, reading this column was always fun and helped me not be angry at DC anymore, I hope you and DC are successful in your future endeavours.
Wow, I’m going to miss MOF. I hadn’t been reading all that long, but it’s always been a treat coming to this particular column every month (or so!). I think Frisch’s thinly-veiled utter cynicism regarding the (mainstream) industry and his seemingly taking it out on his DC month-to-month reporting made said reporting that much sweeter.
It’ll be interesting to see where the column goes from here.
Good luck, MOF!
Thank you for all your hard work, Marc! I’m another one who’s followed you since Usenet and it’ll be weird to suddenly be deprived of both you and Paul at the same time. But it must be a big relief to get this off your shoulders. All the best!!
Thank you for years of great reads MOF! I truly enjoyed reading this column over the years. It was for a lot the time even the highlight of my month. Thank you so much. :)
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