by Marc-Oliver Frisch

In June, DC Comics’ periodical business was mostly defined by all the things that didn’t happen. Final Crisis #2 didn’t seize the top spot. The new weekly Trinity, DC’s big launch of the month, didn’t make the Top 10. The third chapter of “Batman RIP” didn’t show up in stores as scheduled; neither did All Star Batman, Reign in Hell, The Legion of Super-Heroes, Robin, Blue Beetle, Fables, The Exterminators or Northlanders. At Vertigo, the launch of the new monthly Madame Xanadu didn’t much affect average periodical sales. And at WildStorm, average periodical sales didn’t increase from May’s historical low. See below for the details, and please mind the disclaimers 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.

—–

3 - FINAL CRISIS
05/2008: Final Crisis #1 of 7 -- 144,826          [151,704]
06/2008: Final Crisis #2 of 7 -- 126,082 (-12.9%)

The bad news first: There’s no sign that the poor performance of Final Crisis in comparison with other blockbuster comics is due to an accounting glitch or because retailers massively misjudged demand when they placed their orders. So far, the numbers we see appear to be an accurate reflection of the book’s reception in the market place.

On the other hand, the second-issue drop in June is relatively small, particularly for a book selling above 100K. Marvel’s Secret Invasion, by comparison, saw a 27.1% drop for its second issue in May, shedding almost 70,000 units, as opposed to the 20,000 copies Final Crisis lost between its first two issues. Final Crisis #1 also made the chart again in June, selling an additional 6,878 copies.

Neither of these things suggests that retailers are rushing to make some significant course correction here, mind you, and Final Crisis sales are still in a different league from those of Secret Invasion. But the modest drop and the reorders may be a hint that the audience is slowly coming around to the book, after all.

Like the debut issue, Final Crisis #2 was promoted with a 50/50 variant-cover edition.

Batman #678, the third chapter of the much-hyped “Batman RIP” arc missed its June shipping date, meanwhile, and didn’t come out until July. The first two parts of the story both made the chart again in June, however, selling an additional 11,809 and 7,959 units, respectively. That’s quite significant, and it suggests that “Batman RIP” is a hit.


—–

9 - JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA

06/2001: JLA #55            --  70,637*

06/2002: JLA #67            --  59,684* 

06/2003: JLA #82            --  58,480

06/2004: JLA #100           --  75,434 [78,140]

06/2005: JLA #115           --  95,375

--------------------------------------

06/2007: Justice League #10 -- 129,265 (- 0.0%)

07/2007: Justice League #11 -- 122,823 (- 5.0%)

08/2007: Justice League #12 -- 131,420 (+ 7.0%) [137,181]

09/2007: Justice League #13 -- 119,471 (- 9.1%) [124,006]

10/2007: Justice League #14 -- 101,763 (-14.8%)

11/2007: --

12/2007: Justice League #15 -- 100,234 (- 1.5%)

12/2007: Justice League #16 --  95,557 (- 4.7%)

01/2008: Justice League #17 --  94,712 (- 0.9%)

02/2008: Justice League #18 --  89,803 (- 5.2%)

03/2008: Justice League #19 --  87,482 (- 2.6%)

04/2008: Justice League #20 --  85,807 (- 1.9%)

05/2008: Justice League #21 --  90,035 (+ 4.9%)

06/2008: Justice League #22 --  85,013 (- 5.6%)

----------------

6 months: -13.2%

1 year  : -34.2%

2 years :  n.a.

5 years : +45.4%

Sales are back to normal after May’s Final Crisis tie-in.

—–

15 - JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA

06/2001: JSA #25              -- 41,305*

06/2002: JSA #37              -- 42,488*

06/2003: JSA #49              -- 43,740

06/2004: JSA #62              -- 42,665

06/2005: JSA #74              -- 51,609

06/2006: JSA #86              -- 50,338

---------------------------------------

06/2007: --

07/2007: Justice Society #7  --  88,883 (-  8.3%)

08/2007: Justice Society #8  --  87,606 (-  1.4%)

09/2007: Justice Society #9  --  84,117 (-  4.0%)

10/2007: Justice Society #10 --  99,424 (+ 18.2%)

11/2007: --

12/2007: Justice Society #11 --  89,613 (-  9.9%)

01/2008: --

02/2008: Justice Society #12 --  84,162 (-  6.1%)

02/2008: Justice Society #13 --  82,702 (-  1.7%)

03/2008: --

04/2008: Justice Society #14 --  80,507 (-  2.7%)

05/2008: Justice Society #15 --  78,311 (-  2.7%)

06/2008: Justice Society #16 --  77,328 (-  1.3%)

----------------

6 months: -13.7%

1 year  :   n.a.

2 years : +53.6%

5 years : +76.8%

The numbers are bottoming out, it seems. That would be splendid news, of course, given that the series is still considerably up on its previous incarnation. As usual, there was a 1-for-10 variant-cover edition.

—–

21/24/28/29 - TRINITY

06/2008: Trinity #1  -- 70,435 

06/2008: Trinity #2  -- 63,596 (- 9.7%)

06/2008: Trinity #3  -- 60,979 (- 4.1%)

06/2008: Trinity #4  -- 58,758 (- 3.6%)

Trinity, by Kurt Busiek, Mark Bagley and friends, is DC’s third weekly 52-issue series, after 52 and Countdown. On the surface, now, the numbers don’t amount to much – the book is not even in the Top 20, after all. But hold on: According to Diamond, Trinity sales are being “calculated at a reduced level to account for possible returns.”

What this means in plain English is that the June, July and August issues of Trinity appear lower on the chart than they should. Because, contrary to the usual practice, DC chose to accomodate retailers by making those issues returnable, provided a specific quantity was met in the orders; after all, retailers basically have to gauge orders for twelve issues before the first one is out, in the case of a weekly. By how much the numbers are reduced, Diamond aren’t saying, but the patterns of 52 and Countdown – to which the same practice of returnability and reduced calculation was applied – strongly suggest that it’s 20%. If the same goes for Trinity, it should get an according “bump” on the chart come September.

Allowing for the reduction, the estimates for the first four issues of Trinity should be between 88,000 and 73,000 units. And that’s not so bad, actually. With those numbers, Trinity #1 would have been DC’s second-bestselling periodical in June, and the rest would all have made the Top 20. Compared to both 52 and Countdown, Trinity sales represent another significant step down, of course; 52 sold more than twice as many units of its first issue, and even Countdown shifted a good 20% more. Considering the lackluster reception of virtually all of DC’s major titles over the last two years, though, that doesn’t come as a great surprise.

If Trinity follows the same drop-off pattern as the two previous titles, however, which seems to be the case judging from the first four issues, DC should still end up with the equivalent of four monthly books performing in the area of 50-60K once the dust has settled. Given that Trinity is being sold on its own strength and without any ambitions at being the locomotive for the entire DC Universe line, I’d say that’s alright.

On a side note, I’ve now gone and adjusted the average DC Comics and DC Universe sales for May through July 2006 and for May through July 2007 to reflect the reduced Diamond calculations for the first three months worth of 52 and Countdown. The average DC Comics and DC Universe sales for June 2008 below also reflect the extrapolated 100% of Trinity sales, rather than the 80% reported by Diamond. (In the process, I’ve discovered that last year’s Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #13, All Flash #1 and The Flash #231 apparently underwent the same procedure, so I’ve adjusted the numbers of those books as well.)

—–

23 - GREEN LANTERN

06/2001: Green Lantern #139 --  34,176*

06/2002: Green Lantern #151 --  38,308*

06/2003: Green Lantern #166 --  35,973

06/2004: Green Lantern #178 --  33,662 [ 35,933]

06/2005: Green Lantern #2   -- 117,816 [120,636]

06/2006: --

--------------------------------------

06/2007: --

07/2007: Green Lantern #21  --  81,929 (+35.3%) [93,052]

08/2007: Green Lantern #22  --  77,916 (- 4.9%) [82,980]

09/2007: Green Lantern #23  --  79,084 (+ 1.5%) [82,168]

10/2007: Green Lantern #24  --  78,650 (- 0.6%)

11/2007: --

12/2007: Green Lantern #25  --  90,545 (+15.1%)

12/2007: Green Lantern #26  --  69,986 (-22.7%)

01/2008: Green Lantern #27  --  67,600 (- 3.4%)

02/2008: --

03/2008: Green Lantern #28  --  68,073 (+ 0.7%)

03/2008: Green Lantern #29  --  66,536 (- 2.3%)

04/2008: Green Lantern #30  --  65,347 (- 1.9%)

05/2008: Green Lantern #31  --  65,874 (+ 0.8%)

06/2008: Green Lantern #32  --  64,839 (- 1.6%)

----------------

6 months: -19.2%

1 year  :   n.a.

2 years :   n.a.

5 years : +80.2%

Sales are back in a slow decline. Another major storyline and a Final Crisis tie-in are around the corner.

—–

31 - SUPERMAN

06/2001: Superman #171 --  48,314*

06/2002: Superman #183 --  37,926*

06/2003: Superman #194 --  33,563

06/2004: Superman #206 -- 162,095

06/2005: Superman #218 --  61,515

06/2006: Superman #653 --  69,079

---------------------------------

06/2007: Superman #663 --  53,384 (- 3.4%)

07/2007: Superman #664 --  52,313 (- 2.0%)

07/2007: Superman #665 --  51,936 (- 0.7%)

08/2007: Superman #666 --  53,566 (+ 3.1%)

09/2007: Superman #667 --  48,608 (- 9.3%)

10/2007: Superman #668 --  47,948 (- 1.4%)

10/2007: Superman #669 --  47,271 (- 1.4%)

11/2007: Superman #670 --  48,407 (+ 2.4%)

12/2007: Superman #671 --  45,290 (- 6.4%)

01/2008: Superman #672 --  44,656 (- 1.4%)

02/2008: Superman #673 --  41,580 (- 6.9%)

03/2008: Superman #674 --  41,715 (+ 0.3%)

04/2008: Superman #675 --  54,855 (+31.5%)

05/2008: Superman #676 --  45,644 (-16.8%)

06/2008: Superman #677 --  54,634 (+19.7%)

----------------

6 months: +20.6%

1 year  : + 2.3%

2 years : -20.9%

5 years : +62.8%

New series writer James Robinson gets a nice boost for his first issue. Considering that (a) a good portion of the increase is due to a 1-for-10 variant-cover edition and (b) it still only barely compensates for the book’s decline over the past year, “nice” is as far as I’ll go, though.

—–

32 - TITANS

06/2001: Titans #30     -- 28,440*

06/2002: Titans #42     -- 23,334*

---------------------------------

11/2007: TTE Special #1 -- 49,735

12/2007: --

01/2008: --

02/2008: --

03/2008: --

04/2008: Titans #1      -- 75,584 (+52.0%)

05/2008: Titans #2      -- 57,358 (-24.1%)

06/2008: Titans #3      -- 54,512 (- 5.0%)

----------------

6 months: + 9.6%

The numbers of Titans continue to find their level remarkably fast, considering that only the debut issue was supported with a 1-for-10 variant-cover edition. It seems retailers’ faith in the book is being rewarded.

Still, someone’s decided that a sudden course correction is required. The solicitation copy for #5 has been scrapped, apparently along with the content initially meant for the issue. The fourth issue missed its July release date, meanwhile.

Given that Titans is the most successful ongoing-series launch DC have had in over a year, it would be somewhat tragic if it went off the rails due to shoot-from-the-hip meddling.

—–

34 - SUPERMAN/BATMAN

06/2004: --

06/2005: Superman/Batman #20 -- 114,099

06/2006: Superman/Batman #27 --  95,717

---------------------------------------

06/2007: Superman/Batman #36 --  65,866 (- 3.4%)

06/2007: Superman/Batman #37 --  72,635 (+10.3%)

07/2007: Superman/Batman #38 --  67,695 (- 6.8%)

08/2007: Superman/Batman #39 --  59,622 (-11.9%)

09/2007: Superman/Batman #40 --  57,410 (- 3.7%)

10/2007: Superman/Batman #41 --  54,928 (- 4.3%)

11/2007: Superman/Batman #42 --  54,341 (- 1.1%)

11/2007: Superman/Batman #43 --  53,489 (- 1.6%)

12/2007: Superman/Batman #44 --  53,057 (- 0.8%)

01/2008: Superman/Batman #45 --  52,119 (- 1.8%)

02/2008: Superman/Batman #46 --  52,009 (- 0.2%)

03/2008: --

04/2008: Superman/Batman #47 --  52,557 (+ 1.1%)

05/2008: Superman/Batman #48 --  52,845 (+ 0.6%)

06/2008: Superman/Batman #49 --  52,579 (- 0.5%)

----------------

6 months: - 0.9%

1 year  : -24.1%

2 years : -45.1%

Superman/Batman numbers have stabilized around 52K. That’s a far cry from the book’s beginnings, but given that its storylines are peripheral while the publisher’s focus continues to be on the big, universe-altering stuff, it’s still a good number. If the series had dropped to The Brave and the Bold or Batman Confidential levels, I wouldn’t have been surprised.

—-

37 - ACTION COMICS

06/2001: Action Comics #780 -- 42,722*

06/2002: Action Comics #792 -- 32,623*

06/2003: Action Comics #804 -- 31,494

06/2004: Action Comics #816 -- 47,065

06/2005: Action Comics #828 -- 43,000

06/2006: Action Comics #840 -- 61,786 [63,676]

-------------------------------------

06/2007: --

07/2007: Action Comics #851 -- 76,500 (+36.2%)

07/2007: Action Comics #852 -- 50,294 (-34.3%)

08/2007: Action Comics #853 -- 49,694 (- 1.2%)

08/2007: Action Comics #854 -- 48,455 (- 2.5%)

08/2007: Action Comics #855 -- 55,536 (+14.6%)

09/2007: --

10/2007: Action Comics #856 -- 53,815 (- 3.1%)

10/2007: Action Comics #857 -- 51,401 (- 4.5%)

10/2007: Action Comics #858 -- 54,596 (+ 6.2%) [59,031]

11/2007: Action Comics #859 -- 54,572 (- 0.0%)

12/2007: Action Comics #860 -- 56,254 (+ 3.1%)

01/2008: Action Comics #861 -- 56,093 (- 0.3%)

02/2008: Action Comics #862 -- 55,658 (- 0.8%)

03/2008: --

04/2008: Action Comics #863 -- 56,882 (+ 2.2%)

04/2008: Action Comics #864 -- 48,438 (-14.9%)

05/2008: Action Comics #865 -- 46,764 (- 3.5%)

06/2008: Action Comics #866 -- 50,158 (+ 7.3%)

----------------

6 months: -10.8%

1 year  :   n.a.

2 years : -18.8%

5 years : +59.3%

A new storyline and – more significantly, I suspect – the return of artist Gary Frank result in a solid increase, even without the support of a variant-cover edition this time around. Frank’s name seems to be quite a sales draw.

—–

40 - DETECTIVE COMICS

06/2001: Detective Comics #759 -- 40,224*

06/2002: Detective Comics #771 -- 48,768*

06/2003: Detective Comics #783 -- 37,603

06/2004: Detective Comics #795 -- 34,649

06/2005: Detective Comics #807 -- 38,497

06/2006: Detective Comics #820 -- 65,988

----------------------------------------

06/2007: Detective Comics #833 -- 54,104 (+ 4.6%)

07/2007: Detective Comics #834 -- 53,461 (- 1.2%)

08/2007: Detective Comics #835 -- 50,479 (- 5.6%)

09/2007: Detective Comics #836 -- 49,475 (- 2.0%)

10/2007: Detective Comics #837 -- 51,363 (+ 3.8%)

11/2007: Detective Comics #838 -- 60,267 (+17.3%) [65,293]

12/2007: Detective Comics #839 -- 62,297 (+ 3.4%) [65,773]

01/2008: Detective Comics #840 -- 51,579 (-17.2%)

02/2008: Detective Comics #841 -- 50,535 (- 2.0%)

03/2008: Detective Comics #842 -- 49,425 (- 2.2%)

04/2008: Detective Comics #843 -- 48,431 (- 2.0%)

05/2008: Detective Comics #844 -- 48,394 (- 0.1%)

06/2008: Detective Comics #845 -- 48,920 (+ 1.2%)

----------------

6 months: -21.5%

1 year  : - 9.6%

2 years : -25.9%

5 years : +30.1%

A sales increase for no readily apparent reason is always a good sign, no matter how slight.

—–

44 - GREEN LANTERN CORPS

06/2006: Green Lantern Corps #1  -- 76,686

------------------------------------------

06/2007: Green Lantern Corps #13 -- 32,792 (- 1.4%)

07/2007: Green Lantern Corps #14 -- 45,393 (+38.4%) [61,493]

08/2007: Green Lantern Corps #15 -- 51,572 (+13.2%) [57,751]

09/2007: --

10/2007: Green Lantern Corps #16 -- 60,862 (+18.0%)

10/2007: Green Lantern Corps #17 -- 59,223 (- 2.7%)

11/2007: Green Lantern Corps #18 -- 55,838 (- 5.7%) [59,049]

12/2007: Green Lantern Corps #19 -- 50,516 (- 9.5%)

01/2008: Green Lantern Corps #20 -- 44,607 (-11.7%) [48,577]

02/2008: Green Lantern Corps #21 -- 47,582 (+ 6.7%)

03/2008: Green Lantern Corps #22 -- 46,736 (- 1.8%)

04/2008: Green Lantern Corps #23 -- 46,780 (+ 0.1%)

05/2008: Green Lantern Corps #24 -- 46,948 (+ 0.4%)

06/2008: Green Lantern Corps #25 -- 47,399 (+ 1.0%)

----------------

6 months: - 6.2%

1 year  : +44.5%

2 years : -38.2%

The current arc picks up sales for the third month in a row. Great numbers.

—–

49 - TEEN TITANS

06/2001: Young Justice #34 -- 25,026*

06/2002: Young Justice #46 -- 24,080*

06/2004: Teen Titans #12   -- 66,424

06/2005: Teen Titans #25   -- 70,542 [72,721]

06/2006: --

------------------------------------

06/2007: Teen Titans #48   -- 60,786 (- 4.5%)

07/2007: Teen Titans #49   -- 59,258 (- 2.5%)

08/2007: Teen Titans #50   -- 69,620 (+17.5%)

09/2007: Teen Titans #51   -- 57,851 (-16.9%)

10/2007: Teen Titans #52   -- 55,176 (- 4.6%)

11/2007: Teen Titans #53   -- 54,387 (- 1.4%)

12/2007: Teen Titans #54   -- 53,790 (- 1.1%)

01/2008: Teen Titans #55   -- 52,376 (- 2.6%)

02/2008: Teen Titans #56   -- 50,283 (- 4.0%)

03/2008: Teen Titans #57   -- 49,109 (- 2.3%)

04/2008: Teen Titans #58   -- 47,357 (- 3.6%)

05/2008: Teen Titans #59   -- 46,306 (- 2.2%)

06/2008: Teen Titans #60   -- 45,036 (- 2.7%)

----------------

6 months: -16.3%

1 year  : -25.9%

2 years :   n.a.

It doesn’t look like the Terror Titans arc has been able to capture the audience’s imagination, but they still get their own miniseries in October.

—–

57 - WONDER WOMAN

06/2001: Wonder Woman #171 --  31,074*

06/2002: Wonder Woman #182 --  25,225*

06/2003: Wonder Woman #193 --  25,598

06/2004: Wonder Woman #205 --  29,233

06/2005: Wonder Woman #217 --  30,022 [ 31,687]

06/2006: Wonder Woman #1   -- 132,580 [139,562]

-------------------------------------

06/2007: Wonder Woman #10  --  54,472 (- 7.0%)

07/2007: Wonder Woman #11  --  52,983 (- 2.7%)

08/2007: Wonder Woman #12  --  50,880 (- 4.0%)

09/2007: --

10/2007: Wonder Woman #13  --  48,385 (- 4.9%)

11/2007: Wonder Woman #14  --  53,090 (+ 9.7%)

12/2007: Wonder Woman #15  --  44,628 (-15.9%)

01/2008: Wonder Woman #16  --  42,897 (- 3.9%)

02/2008: Wonder Woman #17  --  41,948 (- 2.2%)

03/2008: Wonder Woman #18  --  40,771 (- 2.8%)

04/2008: Wonder Woman #19  --  39,489 (- 3.1%)

05/2008: Wonder Woman #20  --  38,116 (- 3.5%)

06/2008: Wonder Woman #21  --  37,086 (- 2.7%)

----------------

6 months: -16.9%

1 year  : -31.9%

2 years : -72.0%

5 years : +44.9%

Another 1,000 readers vanish. As the two-year comparison demonstrates, retailers were ridiculously optimistic about the current Wonder Woman series when it was launched. In retrospect, I’m not sure where those 100,000 extra readers were meant to come from. What’s clear now, though, is that that those initial orders overshot the mark quite spectacularly.

—–

60 - BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS

06/2003: Outsiders #1      -- 47,666 [51,698]

06/2004: Outsiders #13     -- 43,313

06/2005: Outsiders #25     -- 52,187 [55,884]

06/2006: Outsiders #37     -- 44,109

------------------------------------

06/2007: Outsiders #48     -- 32,966 (- 0.9%)

07/2007: Outsiders #49     -- 33,110 (+ 0.4%)

08/2007: FoaK #1 of 5      -- 36,565 (+10.4%)

08/2007: FoaK #2 of 5      -- 35,087 (- 4.0%)

08/2007: FoaK #3 of 5      -- 34,702 (- 1.1%)

08/2007: FoaK #4 of 5      -- 34,125 (- 1.7%)

08/2007: FoaK #5 of 5      -- 33,694 (- 1.3%)

09/2007: Outsiders #50     -- 38,212 (+13.4%)

10/2007: --

11/2007: Bat Outsiders #1  -- 60,690 (+58.8%)

11/2007: Bat Outsiders #2  -- 42,827 (-29.4%)

12/2007: Bat Outsiders #3  -- 40,371 (- 5.7%)

01/2008: --

02/2008: Bat Outsiders #4  -- 37,903 (- 6.1%)

03/2008: Bat Outsiders #5  -- 36,797 (- 2.9%)

04/2008: Bat Outsiders #6  -- 36,551 (- 0.7%)

05/2008: Bat Outsiders #7  -- 35,071 (- 4.1%)

06/2008: Bat Outsiders #8  -- 34,640 (- 1.2%)

----------------

6 months: -14.2%

1 year  : + 5.1%

2 years : -21.5%

5 years : -27.3%

The numbers are levelling out, as the book is heading for another creative shake-up – the third in less than a year.

—–

61 - BOOSTER GOLD

08/2007: Booster Gold #1  -- 53,689          [57,811]

09/2007: Booster Gold #2  -- 47,102 (-12.3%)

10/2007: Booster Gold #3  -- 39,374 (-16.4%)

11/2007: Booster Gold #4  -- 37,683 (- 4.3%)

12/2007: Booster Gold #5  -- 38,228 (+ 1.5%)

01/2008: Booster Gold #6  -- 36,292 (- 5.1%)

02/2008: Booster Gold #0  -- 37,808 (+ 4.2%)

03/2008: Booster Gold #7  -- 36,140 (- 4.4%)

04/2008: Booster Gold #8  -- 35,982 (- 0.4%)

05/2008: Booster Gold #9  -- 35,030 (- 2.7%)

06/2008: Booster Gold #10 -- 34,435 (- 1.7%)

----------------

6 months: - 9.9%

Booster Gold sales are levelling out well above 30K.

—–

62 - THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD

06/2007: The Brave and the Bold #4  -- 55,597 (- 6.1%)

07/2007: The Brave and the Bold #5  -- 54,047 (- 2.8%)

08/2007: The Brave and the Bold #6  -- 52,011 (- 3.8%)

09/2007: --

10/2007: The Brave and the Bold #7  -- 48,693 (- 6.4%)

11/2007: The Brave and the Bold #8  -- 45,629 (- 6.3%)

12/2007: The Brave and the Bold #9  -- 43,475 (- 4.7%)

01/2008: --

02/2008: The Brave and the Bold #10 -- 39,124 (-10.0%)

03/2008: The Brave and the Bold #11 -- 37,751 (- 3.5%)

04/2008: The Brave and the Bold #12 -- 37,739 (- 0.0%)

05/2008: The Brave and the Bold #13 -- 35,814 (- 5.1%)

06/2008: The Brave and the Bold #14 -- 34,361 (- 4.1%)

----------------

6 months: -21.0%

1 year  : -38.2%

There’s still no sign of The Brave and the Bold finding its level.

—–

67 - THE FLASH

06/2001: Flash #175     --  27,052*

06/2002: Flash #187     --  28,724*

06/2003: Flash #199     --  32,458 [ 35,493]

06/2004: Flash #211     --  45,740 [ 46,927]

06/2005: Flash #223     --  48,013 [ 49,583]

06/2006: Flash: FMA #1  -- 120,404 [126,741]

----------------------------------

06/2007: Flash: FMA #13 --  96,075 (+101.0%) [101,982]

07/2007: All Flash #1   --  98,694 (+  2.7%)

08/2007: Flash #231     --  91,123 (-  7.7%)

09/2007: Flash #232     --  56,969 (- 37.5%)

10/2007: Flash #233     --  51,152 (- 10.2%)

11/2007: Flash #234     --  46,435 (-  9.2%)

12/2007: Flash #235     --  43,788 (-  5.7%)

01/2008: Flash #236     --  41,464 (-  5.3%)

02/2008: Flash #237     --  37,719 (-  9.0%)

03/2008: Flash #238     --  35,606 (-  5.6%)

04/2008: Flash #239     --  33,741 (-  5.2%)

05/2008: Flash #240     --  31,944 (-  5.3%)

06/2008: Flash #241     --  30,810 (-  3.6%)

----------------

6 months: -29.6%

1 year  : -67.9%

2 years : -74.4%

5 years : - 5.1%

Retailers still can’t slash their orders fast enough to catch up with the book’s decline. In what seems like a last-ditch effort to salvage the property, DC are apparently looking to exchange the title character again, which would be the third time since June 2006. Given that it won’t happen until January 2009, however, the next six months worth of The Flash sales are bound to be ugly.

As I’ve mentioned in the comments on Trinity, I’ve adjusted the numbers of last year’s Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #13, All Flash #1 and The Flash #231. Similar to the first three months worth of 52, Countdown and Trinity, those books had been made returnable by DC provided retailers ordered a specific amount of copies, which is why Diamond apparently reduced their numbers by 20% on the chart.

As a result, the increase for the book’s last revamp – as well as the subsequent free-fall – looks all the more impressive, and suggests that a truckload of those issues were indeed returned by retailers.

—–

68 - GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY

06/2001: Green Arrow #5   -- 82,338*

06/2002: Green Arrow #15  -- 67,554*

06/2003: Green Arrow #27  -- 47,113

06/2004: Green Arrow #39  -- 33,324

06/2005: Green Arrow #51  -- 31,346

06/2006: Green Arrow #63  -- 37,803

-----------------------------------

06/2007: Green Arrow #75  -- 35,022 (+13.9%)

07/2007: Year One #1 of 6 -- 37,090 (+ 5.9%)

07/2007: Year One #2 of 6 -- 32,222 (-13.1%) [34,962]

08/2007: Year One #3 of 6 -- 32,971 (+ 2.3%)

08/2007: Year One #4 of 6 -- 31,885 (- 3.3%)

09/2007: Year One #5 of 6 -- 31,504 (- 1.2%)

10/2007: Year One #6 of 6 -- 30,943 (- 1.8%)

10/2007: Arrow/Canary #1  -- 52,183 (+68.6%)

11/2007: Arrow/Canary #2  -- 42,827 (-17.9%)

12/2007: Arrow/Canary #3  -- 40,321 (- 5.9%)

01/2008: Arrow/Canary #4  -- 35,039 (-13.1%)

02/2008: Arrow/Canary #5  -- 36,662 (+ 4.6%)

03/2008: Arrow/Canary #6  -- 32,621 (-11.0%)

04/2008: Arrow/Canary #7  -- 32,033 (- 1.8%) 

05/2008: Arrow/Canary #8  -- 30,864 (- 3.7%)

06/2008: Arrow/Canary #9  -- 30,330 (- 1.7%)

----------------

6 months: -24.8%

1 year  : -13.4%

2 years : -19.8%

5 years : -35.6%

Sales are bottoming out around 30K.

—–

71 - SUPERGIRL

06/2001: Supergirl #59 --  24,562*

06/2002: Supergirl #71 --  19,086*

06/2006: --

---------------------------------

06/2007: Supergirl #18 --  50,279 (- 0.3%)

07/2007: Supergirl #19 --  48,576 (- 3.4%)

08/2007: Supergirl #20 --  46,862 (- 3.5%)

09/2007: Supergirl #21 --  44,656 (- 4.7%)

10/2007: Supergirl #22 --  41,758 (- 6.5%)

11/2007: Supergirl #23 --  45,460 (+ 8.9%)

12/2007: Supergirl #24 --  37,922 (-16.6%)

01/2008: Supergirl #25 --  36,459 (- 3.9%)

02/2008: Supergirl #26 --  34,186 (- 6.2%)

03/2008: Supergirl #27 --  32,596 (- 4.7%)

04/2008: Supergirl #28 --  31,379 (- 3.7%)

05/2008: Supergirl #29 --  30,192 (- 3.8%)

06/2008: Supergirl #30 --  29,553 (- 2.1%)

----------------

6 months: -22.1%

1 year  : -41.2%

2 years :   n.a.

Supergirl numbers also seem to be finding their level again, at long last.

—–

73 - NIGHTWING

06/2001: Nightwing #58  -- 36,226*

06/2002: Nightwing #70  -- 34,350*

06/2003: Nightwing #82  -- 29,552

06/2004: Nightwing #94  -- 30,155

06/2005: Nightwing #109 -- 36,601

06/2006: Nightwing #121 -- 44,974

---------------------------------

06/2007: Nightwing #133 -- 30,623 (- 0.6%)

07/2007: Nightwing #134 -- 30,228 (- 1.3%)

08/2007: Nightwing #135 -- 29,923 (- 1.0%)

09/2007: Nightwing #136 -- 29,256 (- 2.2%)

10/2007: Nightwing #137 -- 28,363 (- 3.1%)

11/2007: Nightwing #138 -- 46,757 (+64.9%) [52,282]

12/2007: Nightwing #139 -- 49,291 (+ 5.4%) [52,607]

01/2008: Nightwing #140 -- 32,305 (-34.5%)

02/2008: Nightwing #141 -- 30,980 (- 4.1%)

03/2008: Nightwing #142 -- 30,253 (- 2.4%)

04/2008: Nightwing #143 -- 29,914 (- 1.1%)

05/2008: Nightwing #144 -- 29,367 (- 1.8%)

06/2008: Nightwing #145 -- 29,435 (+ 0.2%)

----------------

6 months: -40.3%

1 year  : - 3.9%

2 years : -34.6%

5 years : - 0.4%

The numbers are holding level, which is always a good sign.

—–

75 - TEEN TITANS: YEAR ONE

01/2008: Teen Titans: Year One #1 of 6 -- 43,057

02/2008: Teen Titans: Year One #2 of 6 -- 35,761 (-17.0%)

03/2008: Teen Titans: Year One #3 of 6 -- 33,125 (- 7.4%)

04/2008: Teen Titans: Year One #4 of 6 -- 30,483 (- 8.0%)

05/2008: --

06/2008: Teen Titans: Year One #5 of 6 -- 29,073 (- 4.6%)

That’s an average decline for a limited series.

—–

78 - SALVATION RUN

11/2007: Salvation Run #1 of 7 -- 40,531

12/2007: Salvation Run #2 of 7 -- 28,938 (-28.6%)

01/2008: Salvation Run #3 of 7 -- 26,828 (- 7.3%)

02/2008: Salvation Run #4 of 7 -- 25,899 (- 3.5%)

03/2008: Salvation Run #5 of 7 -- 25,790 (- 0.4%)

04/2008: Salvation Run #6 of 7 -- 26,278 (+ 1.9%)

05/2008: --

06/2008: Salvation Run #7 of 7 -- 28,207 (+ 7.3%)

----------------

6 months: - 2.5%

There was a variant-cover edition for the final issue, hence the increase. Overall, Salvation Run performed decently after the big initial drop-off, but nowhere near the level it should have. DC touted it as a blockbuster title in last year’s convention season, and that didn’t quite work out.

—–

82 - RANN/THANAGAR: HOLY WAR

05/2008: Holy War #1 of 8 -- 37,179

06/2008: Holy War #2 of 8 -- 26,446 (-28.9%)

There was a variant-cover edition for issue #1 and not for #2, but the drop is still terrible. On the other hand, the book is now at the level you’d expect for another superheroes-in-space opera, at this stage.

—–

86 - BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL

06/2007: Batman Confidential #6  -- 33,480 (- 7.6%)

07/2007: Batman Confidential #7  -- 32,272 (- 3.6%)

08/2007: Batman Confidential #8  -- 30,077 (- 6.8%)

09/2007: Batman Confidential #9  -- 28,845 (- 4.1%)

10/2007: Batman Confidential #10 -- 28,724 (- 0.5%)

11/2007: Batman Confidential #11 -- 27,397 (- 4.6%)

12/2007: --

01/2008: --

02/2008: Batman Confidential #12 -- 27,208 (- 0.7%)

02/2008: Batman Confidential #13 -- 25,735 (- 5.4%)

03/2008: Batman Confidential #14 -- 25,330 (- 1.6%)

03/2008: Batman Confidential #15 -- 24,283 (- 4.1%)

04/2008: Batman Confidential #16 -- 24,038 (- 1.0%)

05/2008: Batman Confidential #17 -- 25,017 (+ 4.1%)

06/2008: Batman Confidential #18 -- 24,881 (- 0.5%)

----------------

6 months:   n.a.

1 year  : -25.7% 

The numbers are bottoming out at 25,000, at least for the current arc.

—–

87 - ROBIN/SPOILER SPECIAL

06/2008: Robin/Spoiler Special #1 -- 24,773

The numbers are slightly below those of Robin proper, which means that DC would probably have been better off releasing the story as part of the mother title. Presumably, though, they wanted to see whether the vocal Internet fanbase of the Spoiler character had any traction in the market. Based on the numbers, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Robin was on an unplanned skip month in June, meanwhile. In another puzzlingly hasty creative overthrow, writer Chuck Dixon, who only recently returned to the book, was summarily ousted again last month. The advertising copy for issues #175 (originally slated to ship in June) through #177 still credits him as the writer, mind you, so the change of heart must have come really sudden here, even compared to some of the other last-minute shake-ups we’ve seen recently.

—–

89 - BATMAN: GOTHAM AFTER MIDNIGHT

05/2008: Gotham After Midnight #1  of 12 -- 29,570

06/2008: Gotham After Midnight #2  of 12 -- 24,259 (-18.0%)

This drop is a bit on the stiff side for a limited series. That said, it puts the book in the same area as Batman Confidential, which seems about right. Overall, the times are getting tougher for stories which are completely detached from the major storylines.

—–

92 - DC/WILDSTORM: DREAMWAR

04/2008: Dreamwar #1 of 6 -- 34,794

05/2008: Dreamwar #2 of 6 -- 24,732 (-28.9%)

06/2008: Dreamwar #3 of 6 -- 23,555 (- 4.8%)

After the steep initial drop, which was due to a 1-for-10 variant-cover edition for issue #1, this one’s finding its level quickly.

—–

94 - WORLD OF WARCRAFT (WildStorm)

11/2007: World of WarCraft #1  -- 44,508          [49,271]

12/2007: World of WarCraft #2  -- 32,740 (-34.9%) [36,340]

01/2008: World of WarCraft #3  -- 31,183 (- 4.8%)

02/2008: World of WarCraft #4  -- 28,982 (- 7.1%)

03/2008: World of WarCraft #5  -- 27,159 (- 9.4%)

04/2008: World of WarCraft #6  -- 26,271 (- 3.3%)

05/2008: World of WarCraft #7  -- 24,589 (- 6.4%)

06/2008: World of WarCraft #8  -- 23,310 (- 5.2%)

----------------

6 months: -28.8%

World of WarCraft sales still aren’t finding their level in any meaningful way. As usual, there was a 50/50 variant-cover edition.

—–

96 - GOTHAM UNDERGROUND

10/2007: Gotham Underground #1 of 9 -- 31,003

11/2007: Gotham Underground #2 of 9 -- 26,537 (-14.4%)

12/2007: Gotham Underground #3 of 9 -- 25,386 (- 4.3%)

01/2008: Gotham Underground #4 of 9 -- 24,737 (- 2.6%)

02/2008: Gotham Underground #5 of 9 -- 24,098 (- 2.6%)

03/2008: Gotham Underground #6 of 9 -- 23,773 (- 1.4%)

04/2008: Gotham Underground #7 of 9 -- 23,525 (- 1.0%)

05/2008: Gotham Underground #8 of 9 -- 22,959 (- 2.4%)

06/2008: Gotham Underground #9 of 9 -- 22,772 (- 0.8%)

----------------

6 months: -10.3%

To be fair, Gotham Underground has done pretty well in retrospect. It was just hard to notice early on, because it was part of the Countdown spin-off glut.

—–

98 - MADAME XANADU (Vertigo)

06/2008: Madame Xanadu #1  -- 22,073

This isn’t quite up there with the debut sales of House of Mystery, but at least we’re beyond the 20K mark.

Madame Xanadu, like the aforementioned House of Mystery, is firmly on the beaten path for Vertigo, is written by an established creator with a solid following of his own and is being promoted with 1-for-10 variant-cover editions through its first two issues. Bearing all this in mind, these numbers could have been a lot better. And, as we’ve seen in the last couple of years, they also could have been a lot worse. So let’s wait and see where it ends up in a couple of months.

—–

100 - TANGENT: SUPERMAN'S REIGN

03/2008: Tangent #1 of 12 -- 32,378

04/2008: Tangent #2 of 12 -- 25,652 (-20.8%)

05/2008: Tangent #3 of 12 -- 22,858 (-14.2%)

06/2008: Tangent #4 of 12 -- 21,701 (- 5.1%)

The numbers are taking their time bottoming out.

—–

101 - BIRDS OF PREY

06/2001: Birds of Prey #32  -- 23,822*

06/2002: Birds of Prey #44  -- 26,965*

06/2003: Birds of Prey #56  -- 26,802

06/2004: Birds of Prey #68  -- 32,034

06/2005: Birds of Prey #83  -- 38,067

06/2006: Birds of Prey #95  -- 33,954

-------------------------------------

06/2007: Birds of Prey #107 -- 28,632 (+ 1.0%)

07/2007: Birds of Prey #108 -- 28,025 (- 2.1%)

08/2007: Birds of Prey #109 -- 28,268 (+ 0.9%)

09/2007: Birds of Prey #110 -- 27,148 (- 4.0%)

10/2007: Birds of Prey #111 -- 26,400 (- 2.8%)

11/2007: Birds of Prey #112 -- 25,117 (- 4.9%)

12/2007: Birds of Prey #113 -- 24,717 (- 1.6%)

01/2008: Birds of Prey #114 -- 24,211 (- 2.1%)

02/2008: Birds of Prey #115 -- 23,157 (- 4.4%)

03/2008: Birds of Prey #116 -- 22,627 (- 2.3%)

04/2008: Birds of Prey #117 -- 22,181 (- 2.0%)

05/2008: Birds of Prey #118 -- 21,941 (- 1.1%)

06/2008: Birds of Prey #119 -- 21,593 (- 1.6%)

----------------

6 months: -12.6%

1 year  : -24.6%

2 years : -36.4%

5 years : -19.4%

Sales keep declining, slowly but surely.

—–

109 - HOUSE OF MYSTERY (Vertigo)

05/2008: House of Mystery #1  -- 27,492

06/2008: House of Mystery #2  -- 19,485 (-29.1%)

Sales of issue #1 were boosted by a 1-for-10 variant-cover edition, so the second-issue drop isn’t really as bad as it looks. Bearing this in mind, Vertigo can be reasonably happy with these numbers. They’re not quite setting the charts on fire, but they’re still the best they’ve had on a new ongoing title since Jack of Fables debuted.

That said, the book’s long-term prospects will be decided once temporary co-writer Bill Willingham leaves, of course.

—–

113 - CATWOMAN

06/2002: Catwoman #8  -- 29,769*

06/2003: Catwoman #20 -- 23,231

06/2004: Catwoman #32 -- 24,040

06/2005: Catwoman #44 -- 21,574

06/2006: Catwoman #56 -- 28,942

-------------------------------

06/2007: Catwoman #68 -- 20,132 (+ 1.0%)

07/2007: Catwoman #69 -- 19,387 (- 3.7%)

08/2007: Catwoman #70 -- 20,518 (+ 5.8%)

09/2007: Catwoman #71 -- 19,492 (- 5.0%)

10/2007: Catwoman #72 -- 19,473 (- 0.1%)

11/2007: Catwoman #73 -- 18,815 (- 3.4%)

12/2007: Catwoman #74 -- 18,623 (- 1.0%)

01/2008: Catwoman #75 -- 21,580 (+15.9%)

02/2008: Catwoman #76 -- 18,798 (-12.9%)

03/2008: Catwoman #77 -- 18,609 (- 1.0%)

04/2008: Catwoman #78 -- 18,553 (- 0.3%)

05/2008: Catwoman #79 -- 17,999 (- 3.0%)

06/2008: Catwoman #80 -- 17,797 (- 1.1%)

----------------

6 months: - 4.4%

1 year  : -11.6%

2 years : -38.5%

5 years : -23.4%

Cancelled with issue #82.

—–

117/121 - HUNTRESS: YEAR ONE

05/2008: Huntress: Year One #1 of 6 -- 21,279

05/2008: Huntress: Year One #2 of 6 -- 19,089 (-10.3%)

06/2008: Huntress: Year One #3 of 6 -- 16,589 (-13.1%)

06/2008: Huntress: Year One #4 of 6 -- 15,816 (- 4.7%)

This one ships twice a month, so, as usual, what’s normally the second-issue drop is split between issue #2 and #3.

—–

118 - JACK OF FABLES (Vertigo)

06/2007: Jack of Fables #11 -- 19,797 (- 0.9%)

06/2007: Jack of Fables #12 -- 19,337 (- 2.3%)

07/2007: --

08/2007: Jack of Fables #13 -- 19,187 (- 0.8%)

09/2007: Jack of Fables #14 -- 18,728 (- 2.4%)

10/2007: Jack of Fables #15 -- 18,329 (- 2.1%)

10/2007: Jack of Fables #16 -- 17,743 (- 3.2%)

11/2007: Jack of Fables #17 -- 17,456 (- 1.6%)

12/2007: Jack of Fables #18 -- 17,242 (- 1.2%)

01/2008: Jack of Fables #19 -- 16,886 (- 2.1%)

02/2008: Jack of Fables #20 -- 16,650 (- 1.4%)

03/2008: Jack of Fables #21 -- 16,597 (- 0.3%)

04/2008: Jack of Fables #22 -- 16,305 (- 1.8%)

05/2007: --

06/2007: Jack of Fables #23 -- 16,144 (- 1.0%)

----------------

6 months: - 6.4%

1 year  : -17.5%

Standard attrition.

—–

122 - MANHUNTER

06/2005: Manhunter #11 -- 14,040

06/2006: Manhunter #23 -- 15,542

--------------------------------

12/2006: Manhunter #26 -- 23,767 (+56.6%)

01/2007: Manhunter #27 -- 17,842 (-24.9%)

02/2007: Manhunter #28 -- 17,182 (- 3.4%)

03/2007: Manhunter #29 -- 17,234 (+ 0.3%)

04/2007: Manhunter #30 -- 16,373 (- 5.0%)

--------------------------------

06/2008: Manhunter #31 -- 15,694 (- 4.2%)

----------------

6 months:  n.a.

1 year  :  n.a.

2 years : + 1.0%

The book returns for another arc after a year-long hiatus. The last time Manhunter came out of hibernation, it ran with a plot thread from Identity Crisis, which resulted in a considerable sales spike. This time, there’s no such crossover, so the numbers pick up right where they left off.

—–

128 - BATMAN: DEATH MASK

04/2008: Batman: Death Mask #1 of 4 -- 20,217

05/2008: Batman: Death Mask #2 of 4 -- 15,901 (-21.4%)

06/2008: Batman: Death Mask #3 of 4 -- 15,102 (- 5.0%)

This one’s waiting for its spot on the bookshelf.

—–

129 - JSA: CLASSIFIED

06/2006: JSA: Classified #13 -- 36,066

--------------------------------------

06/2007: JSA: Classified #27 -- 21,295 (- 1.3%)

07/2007: JSA: Classified #28 -- 20,736 (- 2.6%)

08/2007: JSA: Classified #29 -- 20,195 (- 2.6%)

09/2007: JSA: Classified #30 -- 19,382 (- 4.0%)

10/2007: JSA: Classified #31 -- 18,585 (- 4.1%)

11/2007: JSA: Classified #32 -- 17,756 (- 4.5%)

12/2007: JSA: Classified #33 -- 17,413 (- 1.9%)

01/2008: JSA: Classified #34 -- 16,852 (- 3.2%)

02/2008: JSA: Classified #35 -- 16,561 (- 1.7%)

03/2008: JSA: Classified #36 -- 16,132 (- 2.6%)

04/2008: JSA: Classified #37 -- 15,736 (- 2.5%)

05/2008: JSA: Classified #38 -- 15,340 (- 2.5%)

06/2008: JSA: Classified #39 -- 14,994 (- 2.3%)

----------------

6 months: -13.9%

1 year  : -29.6%

2 years : -58.4%

Cancelled.

—–

130 - DC SPECIAL: CYBORG

05/2008: Cyborg #1 of 5 -- 18,783

06/2008: Cyborg #2 of 5 -- 14,960 (-20.4%)

That’s a bad drop for a miniseries.

—–

131 - EX MACHINA (WildStorm)

06/2004: Ex Machina #1  -- 28,549 [33,224]

06/2005: Ex Machina #12 -- 22,004

06/2006: Ex Machina #21 -- 20,195

---------------------------------

06/2007: Ex Machina #29 -- 17,719 (- 2.5%)

07/2007: --

08/2007: --

09/2007: Ex Machina #30 -- 17,163 (- 3.1%)

10/2007: Ex Machina #31 -- 16,772 (- 2.3%)

11/2007: Ex Machina #32 -- 16,328 (- 2.7%)

12/2007: Ex Machina #33 -- 16,067 (- 1.6%)

01/2008: --

02/2008: Ex Machina #34 -- 15,579 (- 3.0%)

03/2008: Ex Machina #35 -- 15,500 (- 0.5%)

04/2008: Ex Machina #36 -- 15,188 (- 2.0%)

05/2008: --

06/2008: Ex Machina #37 -- 14,921 (- 1.8%)

----------------

6 months: - 7.1%

1 year  : -15.8%

2 years : -26.1%

Ex Machina continues its gentle decline. First-month paperback collection sales in the direct market are among the better ones among DC’s current titles, meanwhile.

—–

135 - CHECKMATE

06/2006: Checkmate #3  -- 37,551

--------------------------------

06/2007: Checkmate #15 -- 22,015 (- 0.3%)

07/2007: Checkmate #16 -- 20,225 (- 8.1%)

08/2007: Checkmate #17 -- 19,841 (- 1.9%)

09/2007: Checkmate #18 -- 18,742 (- 5.5%)

10/2007: Checkmate #19 -- 18,096 (- 3.5%)

11/2007: Checkmate #20 -- 17,663 (- 2.4%)

12/2007: Checkmate #21 -- 17,363 (- 1.7%)

01/2008: Checkmate #22 -- 17,087 (- 1.6%)

02/2008: Checkmate #23 -- 16,595 (- 2.9%)

03/2008: Checkmate #24 -- 16,147 (- 2.7%)

04/2008: Checkmate #25 -- 15,857 (- 1.8%)

05/2008: Checkmate #26 -- 15,167 (- 4.4%)

06/2008: Checkmate #27 -- 14,642 (- 3.5%)

----------------

6 months: -15.7%

1 year  : -33.5%

2 years : -61.0%

Cancelled with issue #31.

—–

142 - THE WAR THAT TIME FORGOT

05/2008: The War That Time Forgot #1 of 8 -- 18,243

06/2008: The War That Time Forgot #2 of 8 -- 13,296 (-27.1%)

How long is this series supposed to run, exactly? The solicitation copy for the first two issues said it was an eight-issue limited series, and Diamond seem to agree. As of the solicitation copy for #3, it’s a twelve-issue series, however. And the DC website, finally, doesn’t list any definite length, which usually only happens with open-ended books. If The War That Time Forgot has been extended or turned into an ongoing series, at any rate, it probably wasn’t because of the numbers.

—–

144 - THE SPIRIT

06/2007: The Spirit #7     -- 22,621 (- 4.6%)

07/2007: The Spirit #8     -- 21,984 (- 2.8%)

08/2007: The Spirit #9     -- 20,841 (- 5.2%)

09/2007: The Spirit #10    -- 19,962 (- 4.2%)

10/2007: --

11/2007: The Spirit #11    -- 18,892 (- 5.4%)

12/2007: --

01/2008: The Spirit #12    -- 18,894 (+ 0.0%)

01/2008: The Spirit #13    -- 17,475 (- 7.5%)

02/2008: The Spirit #14    -- 17,277 (- 1.1%)

03/2008: The Spirit #15    -- 16,038 (- 7.2%)

04/2008: The Spirit #16    -- 14,697 (- 8.4%)

05/2008: The Spirit #17    -- 14,057 (- 4.4%)

06/2008: The Spirit #18    -- 13,257 (- 5.7%)

----------------

6 months:  n.a.

1 year  : -41.4%

These sales still aren’t encouraging, obviously.

—–

145 - JONAH HEX

06/2006: Jonah Hex #8  -- 21,006

--------------------------------

06/2007: Jonah Hex #20 -- 16,150 (- 2.0%)

07/2007: Jonah Hex #21 -- 15,734 (- 2.6%)

08/2007: Jonah Hex #22 -- 15,362 (- 2.4%)

09/2007: Jonah Hex #23 -- 15,157 (- 1.4%)

10/2007: Jonah Hex #24 -- 14,749 (- 2.7%)

11/2007: Jonah Hex #25 -- 14,577 (- 1.2%)

12/2007: Jonah Hex #26 -- 14,088 (- 3.5%)

01/2008: Jonah Hex #27 -- 13,881 (- 1.5%)

02/2008: Jonah Hex #28 -- 13,614 (- 1.9%)

03/2008: Jonah Hex #29 -- 13,439 (- 1.3%)

04/2008: Jonah Hex #30 -- 13,253 (- 1.4%)

05/2008: Jonah Hex #31 -- 13,140 (- 0.9%)

06/2008: Jonah Hex #32 -- 12,969 (- 1.3%)

----------------

6 months: - 7.9%

1 year  : -19.7%

2 years : -38.3%

Standard attrition. As always, it should be pointed out that first-month direct-market sales for Jonah Hex paperback collections are better than usual for DC Universe titles.

—–

147 - DC SPECIAL: RAVEN

03/2008: Raven #1 of 5 -- 24,535

04/2008: Raven #2 of 5 -- 17,962 (-26.8%)

05/2008: Raven #3 of 5 -- 14,403 (-19.8%)

06/2008: Raven #4 of 5 -- 12,592 (-12.6%)

Another miniseries starring a third-stringer character nobody was holding their breath for.

—–

148 - SIMON DARK

10/2007: Simon Dark #1  -- 24,256

11/2007: Simon Dark #2  -- 18,492 (-23.8%)

12/2007: Simon Dark #3  -- 17,391 (- 6.0%)

01/2008: Simon Dark #4  -- 16,242 (- 6.6%)

02/2008: Simon Dark #5  -- 15,360 (- 5.4%)

03/2008: Simon Dark #6  -- 14,684 (- 4.4%)

04/2008: Simon Dark #7  -- 13,936 (- 5.1%)

05/2008: Simon Dark #8  -- 13,222 (- 5.1%)

06/2008: Simon Dark #9  -- 12,514 (- 5.4%)

----------------

6 months: -28.0%

Simon Dark numbers remain in terminal decline.

—–

151 - HELLBLAZER (Vertigo)

06/2001: Hellblazer #163 -- 18,251*

06/2002: Hellblazer #175 -- 18,849*

06/2003: Hellblazer #185 -- 16,555

06/2004: Hellblazer #197 -- 15,045

06/2005: Hellblazer #209 -- 15,149

06/2006: Hellblazer #221 -- 13,973

----------------------------------

06/2007: Hellblazer #233 -- 13,201 (+0.3%)

07/2007: Hellblazer #234 -- 13,112 (-0.7%)

08/2007: Hellblazer #234 -- 13,214 (+0.8%)

08/2007: Hellblazer #235 -- 13,153 (-0.5%)

09/2007: Hellblazer #236 -- 12,938 (-1.6%)

10/2007: Hellblazer #237 -- 12,703 (-1.8%)

11/2007: Hellblazer #238 -- 12,536 (-1.3%)

12/2007: Hellblazer #239 -- 12,344 (-1.5%)

01/2008: Hellblazer #240 -- 12,213 (-1.1%)

02/2008: Hellblazer #241 -- 11,998 (-1.8%)

03/2008: Hellblazer #242 -- 11,916 (-0.7%)

04/2008: Hellblazer #243 -- 11,958 (+0.4%)

05/2008: Hellblazer #244 -- 11,826 (-1.1%)

06/2008: Hellblazer #245 -- 11,897 (+0.6%)

----------------

6 months: - 3.6%

1 year  : - 9.9%

2 years : -14.9%

5 years : -28.1%

Sales are holding level with the beginning of a two-parter by Scalped writer Jason Aaron.

—–

153 - THE ALL-NEW ATOM

06/2007: The All-New Atom #12 -- 16,848 (+ 4.1%)

07/2007: The All-New Atom #13 -- 16,982 (+ 0.8%)

08/2007: The All-New Atom #14 -- 17,894 (+ 5.4%)

09/2007: The All-New Atom #15 -- 17,266 (- 3.5%)

10/2007: The All-New Atom #16 -- 16,013 (- 7.3%)

11/2007: The All-New Atom #17 -- 15,529 (- 3.0%)

12/2007: The All-New Atom #18 -- 14,701 (- 5.3%)

01/2008: The All-New Atom #19 -- 13,861 (- 5.7%)

02/2008: The All-New Atom #20 -- 13,560 (- 2.2%)

03/2008: The All-New Atom #21 -- 13,048 (- 3.8%)

04/2008: The All-New Atom #22 -- 12,577 (- 3.6%)

05/2008: The All-New Atom #23 -- 12,071 (- 4.0%)

06/2008: The All-New Atom #24 -- 11,775 (- 2.5%)

----------------

6 months: -19.9%

1 year  : -30.1%

Cancelled with issue #25.

—–

157 - SUPERNATURAL: RISING SON (WildStorm)

06/2007: Origins #2         -- 15,955 (-24.5%)

07/2007: Origins #3         -- 14,812 (- 7.2%)

08/2007: Origins #4         -- 13,915 (- 6.1%)

09/2007: Origins #5         -- 13,034 (- 6.3%)

10/2007: Origins #6         -- 12,350 (- 5.5%)

11/2007: --

12/2007: --

01/2008: --

02/2008: --

03/2008: --

04/2008: Rising Son #1 of 6 -- 16,013 (+29.7%)

05/2008: Rising Son #2 of 6 -- 11,846 (-26.0%)

06/2008: Rising Son #3 of 6 -- 11,276 (- 4.8%)

----------------

6 months:  n.a.

1 year  : -29.3%

The numbers are levelling out quickly here. (The first issue was promoted with a 1-for-10 variant-cover edition, we recall, so the second-issue drop wasn’t as large as it looks.)

—–

159 - TOR

05/2008: Tor #1 of 6 -- 15,147

06/2008: Tor #2 of 6 -- 11,100 (-26.7%)

That’s a large second-issue drop for a miniseries, particularly given that there were no variant cover editions or other sales-boosting gimmicks for issue #1. That said, Tor seems like another project created with an eye on a long-term presence the book market rather than something that’s geared to the monthly grind.

—–

162 - TINY TITANS (Johnny DC)

02/2008: Tiny Titans #1  -- 15,238

03/2008: Tiny Titans #2  -- 11,432 (-25.0%)

04/2008: Tiny Titans #3  -- 11,197 (- 2.1%)

05/2008: Tiny Titans #4  -- 10,369 (- 7.4%)

06/2008: Tiny Titans #5  -- 10,909 (+ 5.2%)

A Johnny DC book. See disclaimers.

—–

164 - 100 BULLETS (Vertigo)

06/2001: 100 Bullets #25 -- 16,250*

06/2002: 100 Bullets #37 -- 16,982*

06/2003: 100 Bullets #45 -- 17,207

06/2004: 100 Bullets #50 -- 18,452

06/2005: --

06/2006: 100 Bullets #73 -- 13,407

----------------------------------

06/2007: --

07/2007: 100 Bullets #84 -- 12,148 (- 2.6%)

08/2007: --

09/2007: 100 Bullets #85 -- 11,888 (- 2.1%)

10/2007: --

11/2007: 100 Bullets #86 -- 11,599 (- 2.4%)

12/2007: --

01/2008: 100 Bullets #87 -- 11,244 (- 3.1%)

02/2008: 100 Bullets #88 -- 11,077 (- 1.5%)

03/2008: 100 Bullets #89 -- 10,878 (- 1.8%)

04/2008: 100 Bullets #90 -- 10,856 (- 0.2%)

05/2008: 100 Bullets #91 -- 10,736 (- 1.1%)

06/2008: 100 Bullets #92 -- 10,797 (+ 0.6%)

----------------

6 months:  n.a.

1 year  :  n.a.

2 years : -19.5%

5 years : -37.3%

Holding level. First-month sales in the direct market suggest that 100 Bullets paperback collections are doing fairly well.

—–

167 - CHUCK (WildStorm)

06/2008: Chuck #1 of 6 -- 10,513

Chuck is another licensed property for WildStorm, adapting the TV show of the same title. Sales of the debut issue are closer to those of the horror film adaptations than to those of Supernatural, however, which is not good news. Like all of the recent licensed series, this is another project that seems to be vaguely aimed at the book market, in fairness, but so far, there’s been no tangible evidence that they’re shifting any significant quantities there.

—–

171 - THE MIDNIGHTER (WildStorm)

06/2007: The Midnighter #8  -- 18,076 (- 9.2%)

07/2007: The Midnighter #9  -- 16,656 (- 7.9%)

08/2007: The Midnighter #10 -- 15,654 (- 6.0%)

09/2007: The Midnighter #11 -- 14,349 (- 8.3%)

10/2007: The Midnighter #12 -- 13,741 (- 4.2%)

11/2007: The Midnighter #13 -- 12,996 (- 5.4%)

12/2007: The Midnighter #14 -- 12,358 (- 4.9%)

01/2008: The Midnighter #15 -- 11,929 (- 3.5%)

02/2008: The Midnighter #16 -- 11,309 (- 5.2%)

03/2008: The Midnighter #17 -- 10,854 (- 4.0%)

04/2008: The Midnighter #18 -- 10,457 (- 3.7%)

05/2008: The Midnighter #19 -- 10,125 (- 3.2%)

06/2008: The Midnighter #20 --  9,921 (- 2.0%)

----------------

6 months: -19.7%

1 year  : -45.1%

Cancelled.

—–

173 - DMZ (Vertigo)

06/2006: DMZ #8  -- 14,999

--------------------------

06/2007: DMZ #20 -- 12,704 (-3.1%)

07/2007: DMZ #21 -- 12,433 (-2.1%)

08/2007: DMZ #22 -- 12,175 (-2.1%)

09/2007: DMZ #23 -- 11,858 (-2.6%)

10/2007: DMZ #24 -- 11,583 (-2.3%)

11/2007: DMZ #25 -- 11,277 (-2.6%)

12/2007: DMZ #26 -- 11,027 (-2.2%)

01/2008: DMZ #27 -- 10,662 (-3.3%)

02/2008: DMZ #28 -- 10,463 (-1.9%)

03/2008: DMZ #29 -- 10,266 (-1.9%)

04/2008: DMZ #30 -- 10,038 (-2.2%)

05/2008: DMZ #31 --  9,911 (-1.3%)

06/2008: DMZ #32 --  9,760 (-1.5%)

----------------

6 months: -11.5%

1 year  : -23.2%

2 years : -34.9%

Declining slowly but steadily. The first-month paperback collection sales of DMZ in the direct market look perfectly healthy, however.

—–

175 - INFINITY INC.

09/2007: Infinity Inc. #1  -- 33,400

10/2007: Infinity Inc. #2  -- 24,158 (-27.7%)

11/2007: Infinity Inc. #3  -- 18,776 (-22.3%)

12/2007: Infinity Inc. #4  -- 15,861 (-15.5%)

01/2008: Infinity Inc. #5  -- 13,951 (-12.0%)

02/2008: Infinity Inc. #6  -- 12,523 (-10.2%)

03/2008: Infinity Inc. #7  -- 11,328 (- 9.5%)

04/2008: Infinity Inc. #8  -- 10,649 (- 6.0%)

05/2008: Infinity Inc. #9  --  9,993 (- 6.2%)

06/2008: Infinity Inc. #10 --  9,500 (- 4.9%)

----------------

6 months: -40.1%

Cancelled at issue #12.

—–

179 - LOST BOYS: REIGN OF FROGS (WildStorm)

05/2008: Reign of Frogs #1 of 4 -- 11,999

06/2008: Reign of Frogs #2 of 4 --  9,231 (-23.1%)

This one’s doing as well as you might expect. Which means not very well at all.

—–

184 - YOUNG LIARS (Vertigo)

03/2008: Young Liars #1  -- 13,177

04/2008: Young Liars #2  --  9,917 (-24.7%)

05/2008: Young Liars #3  --  8,954 (- 9.7%)

06/2008: Young Liars #4  --  8,590 (- 4.1%)

Sales are bottoming out.

—–

189 - JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED (Johnny DC)

06/2002: JL Adventures #8  -- 17,000*

06/2003: JL Adventures #20 -- 14,060

06/2004: JL Adventures #32 -- 12,128

06/2005: JL Unlimited #10  -- 11,634

06/2006: JL Unlimited #22  -- 10,430

------------------------------------

06/2007: JL Unlimited #34  --  9,328 (+ 1.1%)

07/2007: JL Unlimited #35  --  8,998 (- 3.5%)

08/2007: JL Unlimited #36  --  9,043 (+ 0.5%)

09/2007: JL Unlimited #37  --  8,706 (- 3.7%)

10/2007: JL Unlimited #38  --  8,461 (- 2.8%)

11/2007: JL Unlimited #39  --  8,367 (- 1.1%)

12/2007: JL Unlimited #40  --  8,272 (- 1.1%)

01/2008: JL Unlimited #41  --  8,308 (+ 0.4%)

02/2008: JL Unlimited #42  --  8,144 (- 2.0%)

03/2008: JL Unlimited #43  --  8,659 (+ 6.3%)

04/2008: JL Unlimited #44  --  8,515 (- 1.7%)

05/2008: JL Unlimited #45  --  8,139 (- 4.4%)

06/2008: JL Unlimited #46  --  8,434 (+ 3.6%)

----------------

6 months: + 2.0%

1 year  : - 9.6%

2 years : -19.1%

5 years : -40.0%
192 - SUPER FRIENDS (Johnny DC)

03/2008: Super Friends #1  -- 12,554

04/2008: Super Friends #2  --  8,935 (-28.8%)

05/2008: Super Friends #3  --  8,037 (-10.1%)

06/2008: Super Friends #4  --  8,038 (+ 0.0%)

Two Johnny DC titles. See disclaimers.

—–

194/206 - DC UNIVERSE SPECIAL

10/2007: The Flash        -- 16,381

11/2007: Jimmy Olsen      -- 12,106 (-26.1%)

12/2007: The Atom #1 of 2 --  9,404 (-22.3%)

12/2007: The Atom #2 of 2 --  9,005 (- 4.2%)

01/2008: The New Gods     -- 10,157 (+12.8%)

02/2008: OMAC             --  9,447 (- 7.0%)

03/2008: Eclipso          --  6,831 (-27.7%)

04/2008: Kamandi          --  7,156 (+ 4.8%)

05/2008: Justice League   -- 11,215 (+56.7%)

06/2008: Superman/Mogul   --  7,989 (-28.8%)

06/2008: Reign in Hell    --  6,917 (-13.4%)

----------------

6 months: -19.0%

The $ 4.99 reprint series had two entries in June. These are perfectly good numbers for this sort of thing.

—–

197/201 - THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST (WildStorm)

04/2008: The Number of the Beast #1 of 6 -- 12,734

04/2008: The Number of the Beast #2 of 6 -- 11,275 (-11.5%)

05/2008: The Number of the Beast #3 of 6 --  7,955 (-29.5%)

05/2008: The Number of the Beast #4 of 6 --  7,558 (- 5.0%)

06/2008: The Number of the Beast #5 of 8 --  7,543 (- 0.2%)

06/2008: The Number of the Beast #6 of 8 --  7,191 (- 4.7%)
200 - THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE AUTHORITY: JACK HAWKSMOOR (WildStorm)

03/2008: Jack Hawksmoor #1 of 6 -- 10,967

04/2008: Jack Hawksmoor #2 of 6 --  8,771 (-20.0%)

05/2008: Jack Hawksmoor #3 of 6 --  7,996 (- 8.8%)

06/2008: Jack Hawksmoor #4 of 6 --  7,299 (- 8.7%)

The WildStorm Universe keeps setting the charts on fire, only in the wrong direction. (The Number of the Beast was turned into an eight-issue series as of the solicitation copy for issues #5 and #6, in case you’re wondering about the listing.)

—–

202 - BATMAN STRIKES! (Johnny DC)

06/2001: Gotham Adventures #39 -- 12,605*

06/2002: Gotham Adventures #51 -- 12,433*

06/2003: Batman Adventures #3  -- 15,534

06/2004: Batman Adventures #15 -- 12,042

06/2005: Batman Strikes! #10   -- 10,048

06/2006: Batman Strikes! #22   --  8,104

----------------------------------------

06/2007: Batman Strikes! #34   --  7,115 (- 1.7%)

07/2007: Batman Strikes! #35   --  7,222 (+ 1.5%)

08/2007: Batman Strikes! #36   --  7,511 (+ 4.0%)

09/2007: Batman Strikes! #37   --  6,833 (- 9.0%)

10/2007: Batman Strikes! #38   --  6,664 (- 2.5%)

11/2007: Batman Strikes! #39   --  6,464 (- 3.0%)

12/2007: Batman Strikes! #40   --  6,492 (+ 0.4%)

01/2008: Batman Strikes! #41   --  6,723 (+ 3.6%)

02/2008: Batman Strikes! #42   --  6,623 (- 1.5%)

03/2008: Batman Strikes! #43   --  6,544 (- 1.2%)

04/2008: Batman Strikes! #44   --  7,541 (+15.2%)

05/2008: Batman Strikes! #45   --  6,611 (-12.3%)

06/2008: Batman Strikes! #46   --  7,118 (+ 7.7%)

----------------

6 months: + 9.6%

1 year  : + 0.0%

2 years : -12.2%

5 years : -54.2%

A Johnny DC title. See disclaimers.

—–

204 - SCALPED (Vertigo)

06/2007: Scalped #6  --  8,689 (- 3.7%)

07/2007: Scalped #7  --  8,303 (- 4.4%)

08/2007: Scalped #8  --  7,942 (- 4.4%)

09/2007: Scalped #9  --  7,678 (- 3.3%)

10/2007: Scalped #10 --  7,536 (- 1.9%)

11/2007: Scalped #11 --  7,323 (- 2.8%) 

12/2007: Scalped #12 --  7,048 (- 3.8%)

01/2008: Scalped #13 --  6,993 (- 0.8%)

02/2008: Scalped #14 --  6,903 (- 1.3%)

03/2008: Scalped #15 --  7,004 (+ 1.5%)

04/2008: Scalped #16 --  7,071 (+ 1.0%)

05/2008: Scalped #17 --  6,927 (- 2.0%)

06/2008: Scalped #18 --  7,020 (+ 1.3%)

----------------

6 months: - 0.4%

1 year  : -19.2%

Well, something’s happening here. Scalped has been hovering around the same area for the past six months, and it refuses to drop below the 7,000 mark. That’s not quite a big turnaround yet, but it’s reason enough to be cautiously optimistic, at least.

—–

210 - THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES IN THE 31ST CENTURY (Johnny DC)

06/2007: The LoSH in the 31st Century #3  --  9,252 (-16.8%)

07/2007: The LoSH in the 31st Century #4  --  8,236 (-11.0%)

08/2007: The LoSH in the 31st Century #5  --  7,681 (- 6.7%)

09/2007: The LoSH in the 31st Century #6  --  7,362 (- 4.2%)

10/2007: The LoSH in the 31st Century #7  --  7,010 (- 4.8%)

11/2007: The LoSH in the 31st Century #8  --  6,886 (- 1.8%)

12/2007: The LoSH in the 31st Century #9  --  6,777 (- 1.6%)

01/2008: The LoSH in the 31st Century #10 --  6,674 (- 1.5%)

02/2008: The LoSH in the 31st Century #11 --  6,568 (- 1.6%)

03/2008: The LoSH in the 31st Century #12 --  6,331 (- 3.6%)

04/2008: The LoSH in the 31st Century #13 --  6,331 (  0.0%)

05/2008: The LoSH in the 31st Century #14 --  6,203 (- 2.0%)

06/2008: The LoSH in the 31st Century #15 --  6,565 (+ 5.8%)

----------------

6 months: - 3.1%

1 year  : -29.0%

A Johnny DC title. See disclaimers.

—–

215 - TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: RAISING CAIN (WildStorm)

06/2007: TCM: Cut!                  --  6,920 (- 3.5%)

07/2007: TCM: About a Boy           --  7,205 (+ 4.1%)

08/2007: TCM: By Himself #1 of 2    --  6,380 (-11.5%)

09/2007: --

10/2007: --

11/2007: --

12/2007: --

01/2008: --

02/2008: --

03/2008: --

04/2008: --

05/2008: TCM: Raising Cain #1 of 3  --  7,242 (+13.5%)

06/2008: TCM: Raising Cain #2 of 3  --  6,296 (-13.1%)

----------------

6 months:  n.a.

1 year  : - 9.0%

Sales are what you’d expect.

—–

220 - AMERICAN SPLENDOR: SEASON TWO (Vertigo)

09/2006: American Splendor #1 of 4 -- 11,529

10/2006: American Splendor #2 of 4 --  9,202 (-20.2%)

11/2006: American Splendor #3 of 4 --  7,737 (-15.9%)

12/2006: American Splendor #4 of 4 --  7,104 (- 8.2%)

--------------------------------------------

04/2008: Season Two #1 of 4        --  7,469 (+ 5.1%)

05/2008: Season Two #2 of 4        --  6,142 (-17.8%)

06/2008: Season Two #3 of 4        --  5,729 (- 6.7%)

Bottoming out. American Splendor is another one with a reserved place on the bookshelf.

—–

225 - THE VINYL UNDERGROUND (Vertigo)

10/2007: The Vinyl Underground #1  -- 10,823

11/2007: The Vinyl Underground #2  --  8,237 (-23.9%)

12/2007: The Vinyl Underground #3  --  7,432 (- 9.8%)

01/2008: The Vinyl Underground #4  --  6,854 (- 7.8%)

02/2008: The Vinyl Underground #5  --  6,384 (- 6.9%)

03/2008: The Vinyl Underground #6  --  6,035 (- 5.5%)

04/2008: The Vinyl Underground #7  --  5,862 (- 2.9%)

05/2008: The Vinyl Underground #8  --  5,572 (- 5.0%)

06/2008: The Vinyl Underground #9  --  5,445 (- 2.3%)

----------------

6 months: -26.7%

Cancelled with issue #12.

—–

226 - THE PROGRAMME (WildStorm)

07/2007: The Programme #1  of 12 -- 14,293

08/2007: The Programme #2  of 12 --  9,412 (-34.2%)

09/2007: The Programme #3  of 12 --  8,545 (- 9.2%)

10/2007: The Programme #4  of 12 --  7,717 (- 9.7%)

11/2007: The Programme #5  of 12 --  7,262 (- 5.9%)

12/2007: The Programme #6  of 12 --  6,856 (- 5.6%)

01/2008: The Programme #7  of 12 --  6,640 (- 3.2%)

02/2008: The Programme #8  of 12 --  6,221 (- 6.3%)

03/2008: The Programme #9  of 12 --  6,020 (- 3.2%)

04/2008: The Programme #10 of 12 --  5,748 (- 4.5%)

05/2008: The Programme #11 of 12 --  5,582 (- 2.9%)

06/2008: The Programme #12 of 12 --  5,445 (- 2.5%)

----------------

6 months: -20.6%

The less said about these numbers, the better.

—–

242 - CROSSING MIDNIGHT (Vertigo)

06/2007: Crossing Midnight #8  --  6,612 (- 3.7%)

07/2007: Crossing Midnight #9  --  6,351 (- 4.0%)

08/2007: Crossing Midnight #10 --  6,142 (- 3.3%)

09/2007: Crossing Midnight #11 --  5,870 (- 4.4%)

10/2007: Crossing Midnight #12 --  5,754 (- 2.0%)

11/2007: Crossing Midnight #13 --  5,519 (- 4.1%)

12/2007: Crossing Midnight #14 --  5,467 (- 0.9%)

01/2008: Crossing Midnight #15 --  5,255 (- 3.9%)

02/2008: Crossing Midnight #16 --  5,348 (+ 1.8%)

03/2008: Crossing Midnight #17 --  5,051 (- 5.6%)

04/2008: --

05/2008: Crossing Midnight #18 --  5,032 (- 0.4%)

06/2008: Crossing Midnight #19 --  4,858 (- 3.5%)

----------------

6 months: -11.1%

1 year  : -26.5%

Cancelled. Depite an established, critically acclaimed writer good reviews, Crossing Midnight never found its legs commercially.

—–

246 - CASEY BLUE: BEYOND TOMORROW (WildStorm)

05/2008: Beyond Tomorrow #1 of 6 -- 6,264

06/2008: Beyond Tomorrow #2 of 6 -- 4,726 (-24.6%)

Terrible numbers, but not unexpected.

—–

250 - SCOOBY DOO (Johnny DC)

06/2001: Scooby Doo #49  -- 5,362*

06/2002: Scooby Doo #61  -- 6,448*

06/2003: Scooby Doo #73  -- 5,925

06/2004: Scooby Doo #85  -- 5,733

06/2005: Scooby Doo #97  -- 4,819

06/2006: Scooby Doo #109 -- 4,423

---------------------------------

06/2007: Scooby Doo #121 -- 4,415 (+ 1.7%)

07/2007: Scooby Doo #122 -- 4,424 (+ 0.2%)

08/2007: Scooby Doo #123 -- 4,641 (+ 4.9%)

09/2007: Scooby Doo #124 -- 4,401 (- 5.2%)

10/2007: Scooby Doo #125 -- 4,407 (+ 0.1%)

11/2007: Scooby Doo #126 -- 4,237 (- 3.9%)

12/2007: Scooby Doo #127 -- 4,293 (+ 1.3%)

01/2008: Scooby Doo #128 -- 4,147 (- 3.4%)

02/2008: Scooby Doo #129 -- 4,161 (+ 0.4%)

03/2008: Scooby Doo #130 -- 4,463 (+ 7.3%)

04/2008: Scooby Doo #131 -- 4,403 (- 1.3%)

05/2008: Scooby Doo #132 -- 4,309 (- 2.1%)

06/2008: Scooby Doo #133 -- 4,501 (+ 4.5%)

----------------

6 months: + 4.9%

1 year  : + 2.0%

2 years : + 1.8%

5 years : -24.0%

And another Johnny DC book. See disclaimers.

—–

257 - THE UN-MEN (Vertigo)

08/2007: The Un-Men #1  -- 11,868

09/2007: The Un-Men #2  --  8,758 (-26.2%)

10/2007: The Un-Men #3  --  7,566 (-13.6%)

11/2007: The Un-Men #4  --  6,678 (-11.7%)

12/2007: The Un-Men #5  --  6,094 (- 8.8%)

01/2008: The Un-Men #6  --  5,525 (- 9.3%)

02/2008: The Un-Men #7  --  4,925 (-10.9%)

03/2008: The Un-Men #8  --  4,760 (- 3.4%)

04/2008: The Un-Men #9  --  4,411 (- 7.3%)

05/2008: The Un-Men #10 --  4,227 (- 4.2%)

06/2008: The Un-Men #11 --  4,099 (- 3.0%)

----------------

6 months: -32.7%

Cancelled with issue #13.

—–

289 - LOONEY TUNES (Johnny DC)

06/2001: Looney Tunes #79  -- 3,119*

06/2002: Looney Tunes #91  -- 3,454*

06/2003: Looney Tunes #103 -- 3,543

06/2004: Looney Tunes #115 -- 3,335

06/2005: Looney Tunes #127 -- 2,991

06/2006: Looney Tunes #139 -- 2,694

-----------------------------------

06/2007: Looney Tunes #151 -- 2,711 (-12.4%)

07/2007: Looney Tunes #152 -- 2,865 (+ 5.7%)

08/2007: Looney Tunes #153 -- 2,755 (- 3.8%)

09/2007: Looney Tunes #154 -- 2,740 (- 0.6%)

10/2007: Looney Tunes #155 -- ?

11/2007: Looney Tunes #156 -- ?

12/2007: Looney Tunes #157 -- 2,641

01/2008: Looney Tunes #158 -- 2,596 (- 1.7%)

02/2008: Looney Tunes #159 -- 2,606 (+ 0.4%)

03/2008: Looney Tunes #160 -- 2,807 (+ 7.7%)

04/2008: Looney Tunes #161 -- ? 

05/2008: Looney Tunes #162 -- ? 

06/2008: Looney Tunes #163 -- 2,793

----------------

6 months: + 5.8%

1 year  : + 3.0%

2 years : + 3.7%

5 years : -21.2%

Johnny DC. See disclaimers.

—–

REORDERS:

152: 11,809 -- Batman #676

195:  7,959 -- Batman #677

207:  6,878 -- Final Crisis #1

—–

6-MONTH COMPARISONS

+ 20.6%: Superman

+  9.6%: Batman Strikes

+  9.6%: Titans

+  5.8%: Looney Tunes

+  4.9%: Scooby-Doo

+  2.0%: JL Unlimited

-  0.4%: Scalped

-  0.9%: Superman/Batman

-  2.5%: Salvation Run

-  3.1%: LoSH 31

-  3.6%: Hellblazer

-  4.4%: Catwoman

-  6.2%: GL Corps

-  6.4%: Jack of Fables

-  7.1%: Ex Machina

-  7.9%: Jonah Hex

-  9.9%: Booster Gold

- 10.3%: Gotham Underground

- 10.8%: Action Comics

- 11.1%: Crossing Midnight

- 11.5%: DMZ

- 12.6%: Birds of Prey

- 13.2%: JLA

- 13.7%: JSA

- 13.9%: JSA: Classified

- 14.2%: Outsiders

- 15.7%: Checkmate

- 16.3%: Teen Titans

- 16.9%: Wonder Woman

- 19.0%: DCU Special

- 19.2%: Green Lantern

- 19.7%: Midnighter

- 19.9%: Atom

- 20.6%: Programme

- 21.0%: Brave & Bold

- 21.5%: Detective Comics

- 22.1%: Supergirl

- 24.8%: Green Arrow

- 26.7%: Vinyl Underground

- 28.0%: Simon Dark

- 28.8%: WarCraft

- 29.6%: Flash

- 32.7%: Un-Men

- 40.1%: Infinity Inc.

- 40.3%: Nightwing

—–

1-YEAR COMPARISONS

+ 44.5%: GL Corps

+  5.1%: Outsiders

+  3.0%: Looney Tunes

+  2.3%: Superman

+  2.0%: Scooby-Doo

+  0.0%: Batman Strikes

-  3.9%: Nightwing

-  9.0%: Texas Chainsaw Massacre

-  9.6%: Detective Comics

-  9.6%: JL Unlimited

-  9.9%: Hellblazer

- 11.6%: Catwoman

- 13.4%: Green Arrow

- 15.8%: Ex Machina

- 17.5%: Jack of Fables

- 19.2%: Scalped

- 19.7%: Jonah Hex

- 23.2%: DMZ

- 24.1%: Superman/Batman

- 24.6%: Birds of Prey

- 25.7%: Batman Confidential

- 25.9%: Teen Titans

- 26.5%: Crossing Midnight

- 29.0%: LoSH 31

- 29.3%: Supernatural

- 29.6%: JSA: Classified

- 30.1%: Atom

- 31.9%: Wonder Woman

- 33.5%: Checkmate

- 34.2%: JLA

- 38.2%: Brave & Bold

- 41.2%: Supergirl

- 41.4%: Spirit

- 45.1%: Midnighter

- 67.9%: Flash

—–

2-YEAR COMPARISONS

+ 53.6%: JSA

+  3.7%: Looney Tunes

+  1.8%: Scooby-Doo

+  1.0%: Manhunter

- 12.2%: Batman Strikes

- 14.9%: Hellblazer

- 18.8%: Action Comics

- 19.1%: JL Unlimited

- 19.5%: 100 Bullets

- 19.8%: Green Arrow

- 20.9%: Superman

- 21.5%: Outsiders

- 25.9%: Detective Comics

- 26.1%: Ex Machina

- 34.6%: Nightwing

- 34.9%: DMZ

- 36.4%: Birds of Prey

- 38.2%: GL Corps

- 38.3%: Jonah Hex

- 38.5%: Catwoman

- 45.1%: Superman/Batman

- 58.4%: JSA: Classified

- 61.0%: Checkmate

- 72.0%: Wonder Woman

- 74.4%: Flash

—–

5-YEAR COMPARISONS

+ 80.2%: Green Lantern

+ 76.8%: JSA

+ 62.8%: Superman

+ 59.3%: Action Comics

+ 45.4%: JLA

+ 44.9%: Wonder Woman

+ 30.1%: Detective Comics

-  0.4%: Nightwing

-  5.1%: Flash

- 19.4%: Birds of Prey

- 21.2%: Looney Tunes

- 23.4%: Catwoman

- 24.0%: Scooby-Doo

- 27.3%: Outsiders

- 28.1%: Hellblazer

- 35.6%: Green Arrow

- 37.3%: 100 Bullets

- 40.0%: JL Unlimited

- 54.2%: Batman Strikes

—–

Average Sales per Title

(not counting reprints, reorders shipping after the initial month of release, Johnny DC titles and magazines)

DC COMICS

06/2003: 25,817

06/2004: 30,242

06/2005: 32,001

06/2006: 42,339

---------------

06/2007: 34,017

07/2007: 35,617 (+ 4.7%)

08/2007: 34,885 (- 2.1%) 

09/2007: 32,332 (- 7.3%)

10/2007: 31,489 (- 2.6%)

11/2007: 29,427 (- 6.6%)

12/2007: 33,138 (+12.6%)

01/2008: 27,033 (-18.4%)

02/2008: 27,652 (+ 2.3%)

03/2008: 26,423 (- 4.5%)

04/2008: 28,051 (+ 6.1%)

05/2008: 27,075 (- 3.5%)

06/2008: 27,388 (+ 1.2%)

----------------

6 months: -17.4%

1 year  : -19.5%

2 years : -35.3%

3 years : -14.4%

4 years : - 9.4%

5 years : + 6.1%
DC UNIVERSE

06/2003: 29,489

06/2004: 35,815

06/2005: 39,888

06/2006: 53,274

---------------

06/2007: 47,986

07/2007: 49,149 (+ 2.4%)

08/2007: 46,717 (- 5.0%)

09/2007: 42,894 (- 8.2%)

10/2007: 39,409 (- 8.1%)

11/2007: 37,257 (- 5.5%)

12/2007: 40,074 (+ 7.6%)

01/2008: 33,654 (-16.0%)

02/2008: 35,994 (+ 7.0%)

03/2008: 33,151 (- 7.9%)

04/2008: 35,452 (+ 6.9%)

05/2008: 35,230 (- 0.6%)

06/2008: 35,831 (+ 1.7%)

----------------

6 months: -10.6%

1 year  : -25.3%

2 years : -32.7%

3 years : -10.2%

4 years : + 0.1%

5 years : +21.5%
VERTIGO

06/2003: 16,414

06/2004: 17,378

06/2005: 14,165

06/2006: 14,965

---------------

06/2007: 12,732 (+ 3.9%)

07/2007: 12,193 (- 4.2%)

08/2007: 10,817 (-11.3%)

09/2007: 11,806 (+ 9.1%)

10/2007: 10,678 (- 9.6%)

11/2007: 10,946 (+ 2.5%)

12/2007: 11,035 (+ 0.8%)

01/2008: 10,115 (- 8.3%)

02/2008: 10,885 (+ 7.6%)

03/2008: 10,484 (- 3.7%)

04/2008: 10,550 (+ 0.6%)

05/2008: 10,418 (- 1.3%)

06/2008: 10,491 (+ 0.7%)

----------------

6 months: - 4.9%

1 year  : -17.6%

2 years : -29.9%

3 years : -25.9%

4 years : -39.6%

5 years : -36.1%
WILDSTORM

06/2003: 21,954

06/2004: 18,189

06/2005: 19,059

06/2006: 15,056

---------------

06/2007: 12,272 (-13.9%)

07/2007: 11,234 (- 8.5%)

08/2007: 10,744 (- 4.4%)

09/2007: 11,379 (+ 5.9%)

10/2007: 11,960 (+ 5.1%)

11/2007: 15,109 (+26.3%)

12/2007: 15,601 (+ 3.3%)

01/2008: 14,033 (-10.1%)

02/2008: 13,155 (- 6.3%)

03/2008: 12,842 (- 2.4%)

04/2008: 12,156 (- 5.3%)

05/2008:  9,812 (-19.3%)

06/2008:  9,806 (- 0.1%)

----------------

6 months: -37.2%

1 year  : -20.1%

2 years : -34.9%

3 years : -48.6%

4 years : -46.1%

5 years : -55.3%

—–

OTHER PUBLISHERS

12 - BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (Dark Horse Comics)

06/2001: Buffy #34 --  16,817*

06/2002: Buffy #46 --  15,723*

06/2003: Buffy #58 --  14,698

-----------------------------

06/2007: Buffy #4  -- 102,430 (- 3.9%) [117,866]

07/2007: Buffy #5  -- 100,830 (- 2.0%) [109,322]

08/2007: --

09/2007: Buffy #6  --  96,556 (- 4.2%) [107,551]

10/2007: Buffy #7  --  94,144 (- 2.4%) [101,979]

11/2007: Buffy #8  --  91,595 (- 2.7%) [ 96,975]

12/2007: Buffy #9  --  89,556 (- 2.2%)

01/2008: Buffy #10 --  88,474 (- 1.2%)

02/2008: Buffy #11 --  88,070 (- 0.5%)

03/2008: Buffy #12 --  88,930 (+ 1.0%)

04/2008: Buffy #13 --  83,580 (- 6.0%)

05/2008: Buffy #14 --  82,069 (- 1.8%)

06/2008: Buffy #15 --  80,464 (- 2.0%)

-----------------

6 months: - 10.2%

1 year  : - 21.5%

5 years : +447.5%

The numbers continue a slow but steady decline. Nonetheless, Buffy remains the bestselling Top 300 title not by Marvel or DC by a wide margin.

As usual, there was a variant-cover edition.

—–

43/45 - ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL (IDW)

11/2007: After the Fall #1      -- 47,563 (+648.9%) [74,342]

12/2007: After the Fall #2      -- 44,792 (-  5.8%) [56,396]

01/2008: After the Fall #3      -- 46,013 (+  2.7%) [50,175]

02/2008: After the Fall #4      -- 48,407 (+  5.2%) [57,555]

03/2008: After the Fall #5      -- 49,558 (+  2.4%) 

04/2008: After the Fall #6      -- 46,645 (-  5.9%) [51,044]

05/2008: After the Fall #7      -- 45,430 (-  2.6%)

06/2008: After the Fall #8      -- 47,888 (+  5.4%)

06/2008: After the Fall #9      -- 47,081 (-  1.7%)

-----------------

6 months: + 6.0%

For the second Joss Whedon book, first-month sales have remained flat in the 45-50K area since it launched last November. Obviously, that’s pretty good.

Angel: After the Fall #10 is also on the June chart, with 3,366 units, despite the fact that it wasn’t officially out until the first week of July. As I’ve done before, I’m going to add those units to the book’s proper sales on the July chart.

As usual, there were multiple variant-cover editions for both issue #8 and #9, meanwhile.

—–

63 - PROJECT: SUPERPOWERS (Dynamite Entertainment)

02/2008: Project: Superpowers #1 of 6 -- 53,755

03/2008: --

04/2008: Project: Superpowers #2 of 7 -- 41,623 (-22.6%)

05/2008: Project: Superpowers #3 of 7 -- 36,884 (-11.4%)

06/2008: Project: Superpowers #4 of 7 -- 33,124 (-10.2%)

The book shouldn’t be dropping ten percent at this stage. Considering the variant-cover editions, the sales of Project: Superpowers look rather modest now, given the caliber of the creators involved.

—–

72 - STAR WARS: LEGACY (Dark Horse Comics)

06/2006: Star Wars: Legacy #1  -- 34,758 [36,375]

----------------------------------------

06/2007: Star Wars: Legacy #13 -- 32,149 (-0.0%)

07/2007: Star Wars: Legacy #14 -- 31,652 (-1.6%)

08/2007: Star Wars: Legacy #15 -- 31,539 (-0.4%)

09/2007: Star Wars: Legacy #16 -- 31,240 (-1.0%)

10/2007: -- 

11/2007: Star Wars: Legacy #17 -- 31,197 (-0.1%)

12/2007: -- 

01/2008: Star Wars: Legacy #18 -- 31,038 (-0.5%)

02/2008: Star Wars: Legacy #19 -- 30,953 (-0.3%)

02/2008: Star Wars: Legacy #20 -- 29,896 (-3.4%)

03/2008: Star Wars: Legacy #21 -- 30,228 (+1.1%)

04/2008: Star Wars: Legacy #22 -- 30,205 (-0.1%)

05/2008: Star Wars: Legacy #23 -- 30,355 (+0.5%)

05/2008: Star Wars: Legacy #24 -- 29,601 (-2.5%)

06/2008: Star Wars: Legacy #25 -- 29,548 (-0.2%)

----------------

6 months:  n.a.

1 year  : - 8.1%

2 years : -15.0%

Standard attrition.

—–

79 - THE BOYS (Dynamite Entertainment)

06/2007: The Boys #8  -- 30,639 (- 3.1%) [32,868]

07/2007: --

08/2007: The Boys #9  -- 32,570 (+ 6.3%)

09/2007: The Boys #10 -- 32,077 (- 1.5%)

10/2007: The Boys #11 -- 30,852 (- 3.8%)

11/2007: The Boys #12 -- 29,754 (- 3.6%)

12/2007: The Boys #13 -- 29,195 (- 1.9%)

01/2008: The Boys #14 -- 28,559 (- 2.2%)

02/2008: The Boys #15 -- 28,347 (- 0.7%)

03/2008: The Boys #16 -- 27,886 (- 1.6%)

04/2008: The Boys #17 -- 28,057 (+ 0.6%)

05/2008: The Boys #18 -- 27,951 (- 0.4%)

06/2008: The Boys #19 -- 27,576 (- 1.3%)

----------------

6 months: - 5.6%

1 year  : -10.0%

Slowly declining.

—–

91 - STAR WARS: DARK TIMES (Dark Horse Comics)

06/2007: --

07/2007: Star Wars: Dark Times #4 of 5 -- 27,514 (- 6.7%)

08/2007: --

09/2007: --

10/2007: Star Wars: Dark Times #5 of 5 -- 26,573 (- 3.4%)

10/2007: Star Wars: Dark Times #6      -- 25,121 (- 5.5%)

11/2007: --

12/2007: Star Wars: Dark Times #7      -- ?

01/2008: Star Wars: Dark Times #8      -- 23,353

02/2008: Star Wars: Dark Times #9      -- 23,047 (- 1.3%)

03/2008: --

04/2008: Star Wars: Dark Times #10     -- 21,989 (- 4.6%)

05/2008: Star Wars: Dark Times #11     -- 24,487 (+11.4%)

06/2008: Star Wars: Dark Times #12     -- 23,888 (- 2.5%)

----------------

6 months:  n.a.

1 year  :  n.a.

“Vector” isn’t as effective here as it was for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, for some reason.

—–

99 - STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC (Dark Horse Comics)

07/2007: Star Wars: KotOR #6  -- 23,424

---------------------------------------

06/2007: --

07/2007: Star Wars: KotOR #18 -- 22,713 (- 0.9%)

08/2007: Star Wars: KotOR #19 -- 22,396 (- 1.4%)

09/2007: Star Wars: KotOR #20 -- 21,836 (- 2.5%)

10/2007: Star Wars: KotOR #21 -- 21,879 (+ 0.2%)

11/2007: Star Wars: KotOR #22 -- 21,694 (- 0.9%)

11/2007: Star Wars: KotOR #23 -- 20,519 (- 5.4%)

12/2007: Star Wars: KotOR #24 -- 20,396 (- 0.6%)

01/2008: Star Wars: KotOR #25 -- 25,035 (+22.8%) [27,054]

02/2008: --

03/2008: Star Wars: KotOR #26 -- 23,467 (- 6.3%)

04/2008: Star Wars: KotOR #27 -- 24,287 (+ 3.5%)

05/2008: Star Wars: KotOR #28 -- 25,109 (+ 3.4%)

05/2008: Star Wars: KotOR #29 -- 22,043 (-12.2%)

06/2008: Star Wars: KotOR #30 -- 21,916 (- 0.6%)

----------------

6 months: + 7.5%

1 year  :   n.a.

2 years : - 6.4%

The numbers are back in their usual range now that “Vector” has moved on.

—–

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 traditionally known to be 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. The estimates from March 2001 to February 2003 (marked with an asterisk) were for initial orders rather than actual sales, so they’re only roughly compatible with the subsequent figures.

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. Reorders are included, so long as they either reached stores in a book’s initial 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 the book’s initial 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 will be used.

Titles released under the Johnny DC imprint 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 and some WildStorm 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.

—–

Germany-based Marc-Oliver Frisch has a weblog and regularly contributes to German online magazine Comicgate.

1 COMMENT

  1. Note how the first month sales on Y THE LAST MAN VOL 10 WHYS & WHEREFORES (14,730) and FABLES VOL 10 THE GOOD PRINCE (13,164) are higher than the sales on many of Vertigo’s ongoing series. It would be interesting to know how many people are tradewaiting vs. double-dipping.

    Also, was Vinyl Underground cancelled because no one was buying the pamphlets, or because no one was buying the paperbacks either? VINYL UNDERGROUND VOL 01 WATCHING THE DETECTIVES (2,466).

  2. So DC’s great big event comic is, at best, underperforming, its weekly comic is doing “not so bad, really,” and sales on most of its books are dropping rapidly. Whyever would those unwashed internet people dare to suggest there’s something wrong at the top of the company?

  3. Sinestro Corps War really did wonders for GLC. I’m glad – most space-based comics seem to struggle to keep readership up.

  4. “So DC’s great big event comic is, at best, underperforming, its weekly comic is doing “not so bad, really,” and sales on most of its books are dropping rapidly. Whyever would those unwashed internet people dare to suggest there’s something wrong at the top of the company? ”

    Is is what you got from reading the Marvel 2nd Q report and the SI and ASM sales? Is this what the unwashed internet people are saying?

    Also long has the company is making money and I have books I enjoy I do not see a problem no matter who the company is.

    Remember how the great unwashed 3 – 6 months ago said the WB needed to ask Marvel for help on making comic book films. It may be fun to look at the July trade sales and then look at the Trade sales for the months Iron Man and Hulk came out. Which was better for the bottom line the Jackson end Credit or the Watchman trailer. Think about it.

    To me they are doing something right.

  5. Let’s go Scalped! I feel like Kramer, galloping in place and beating my thigh with a rolled up piece of paper.

    Thanks again for the numbers and analysis. This column completes my month, every month.

  6. DC has 5 titles with higher sales than last year. Marvel has 3.

    NOBODY is setting sales records; indeed, sales are mostly down from last year.

    It’s the economy.

  7. I only read 2 of the Johnny DC titles, but they are good ones. My LCS can’t keep them in stock. Tiny Titans and Super Friends are great books for kids, and great for parents to read to their kids.

  8. “In retrospect, I’m not sure where those 100,000 extra readers were meant to come from. What’s clear now, though, is that that those initial orders overshot the mark quite spectacularly.”

    I can testify that the orders in the Phoenix area certainly matched demand on that issue. My old LCS sold out of an enormous shipment in less than an hour the morning it reached their shelves. Three reorders each sold out with equal speed. Other stores in the same regional chain were equally strapped for copies.

    Clearly, there was demand for the title in its original form. Had the book maintained its schedule and its creators at that point, I sincerely doubt we’d be talking about a book shedding ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND READERS in the span of twenty-four months. Had that first delay-marred run not been followed by a run by a creator who may well have been the worst ever to write an arc of the title in any of its modern incarnations, it seems unlikely that interest in the re-launch would have dissipated to its current levels. Had that second run not been followed by close tie-ins to an “event” that may well be the most widely-derided events of recent memory, it’s unlikely that sales numbers would have been eroded still more heavily.

    Whatever Simone does at this point won’t suffice to stanch the bleeding on the current run. Its goodwill is shot. Clearly, there’s a demand in the marketplace for a quality WW title, but DC will have to do something to rebuild trust that a) it IS putting out a quality product, b) that it will put out that quality product on time, and c) the project will hew a bit more closely to market expectations wrt a WW project. (That they’ve managed to do this well for this long — not that they’ve done particularly well by any stretch, but as well as they have — with a motif combining the Sekowsky run with the CBS TV series is nothing short of amazing.)

  9. Vector is “event” for all 4 Star Wars titles published by Dark Horse. It started in KotOR and will end in Legacy.

  10. “According to your chart, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: By Himself #2 never came out. Is this true?”

    Correct. It was a one-shot, apparently, despite Diamond listing it as a two-issue series. Oddly enough, I’ve also been unable to find it in last year’s solicitations.

  11. I’m hanging in for Jonah Hex. Eventually, though, as its sales figure descends into the single digits, I’ll be buying the only copy. Then, they’ll need to run their story ideas past me for my approval. Fortunately for them, I already happen to love their stories as they are:)

  12. A lot of those numbers are just calamitous. FLASH has fallen in a way that should embarass many.

    On the plus side, it seems that no matter how high up the better selling books can fall, DC can still (moreorless) afford to keep its low tier books around. SIMON DARK, JONAH HEX, MANHUNTER, even ATOM to some extent. And plenty of the Vertigo books. When they say they have faith in certain comics, they certainly do their best to keep them around longer than other big companies would.

  13. “When they say they have faith in certain comics, they certainly do their best to keep them around longer than other big companies would. ”

    But how much of that is commitment to a creative vision, and how much is it folks in editorial keeping their darlings around (ie, Blue Beetleborg, which is read by just about no one)?

  14. … or how much of it is that their costs are significantly lower on the repackaged trade editions and that the extra profits put those titles into profitability? We look exclusively at the North American direct market monthly floppy sales exclusively at our peril- the industry is much, much bigger than that. Foreign rights, merchandising, film options, etc. are all factored in to what keeps these series going. I really doubt a company would keep publishing an unprofitable book to make an editor happy.

    I personally wish the Big 2 would try more one-shots or anthologies. Throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks and THEN launch a new series. Plus, you need to allow new readers more places to jump in. Too many times fan buzz is slow to build and a comic is a few issues in before people hear they should check it out, Throw out a one-shot and then follow it up a couple months later with something else and see where the sales are.

  15. They have a name; They are magazines! Not ‘pamphlets’ not ‘floppies’, MAGAZINES. They have indica like magazines, they have postage rates like magazines, they have a format like magazines. If you are going to refer to them as something (when ‘comic book’ apparently isn’t enough) just call them magazines.

  16. Ian,

    I agree, but the masses are being trained by those who are considered “witty”.

    Also note that ‘the masses’ can be transformed (as can ‘assume’) into…’them asses’.

  17. “Another miniseries starring a third-stringer character nobody was holding their breath for.”

    Utter nonsense. Raven is a core cast member of DC’s biggest book of the 1980s, written by her original creator. This is like a Storm or Rogue LS written by Chris Claremont. The series has been repeatedly anticipated on various Titans forums since word got out of it years ago.

    What killed this book was not the character, nor the writer, who were *perfect*.

    What killed this book was the art. In 20+ years of reading, I have *NEVER* seen art this atrocious in a mainstream comic book. I took a chance and pulled this title despite the covers, hoping the interiors would be better, and I *cannot bring myself to read because my eyes bleed*. I’ve paid for the comic, it sits on my shelf, but I just can’t read it. It’s horrible.

    Everybody who stayed away because of the art was right. And the sales numbers serve DC right. Hopefully they’ll think twice before wasting a great character and a great writer on a horrible artist ever again.

  18. NORTHLANDERS didn’t not ship.

    #6 was out May 28, #7 was out July 2, #8 was out July 30. Printer snafu that pushed #7 back a week, is all.

    b

  19. “Utter nonsense. Raven is a core cast member of DC’s biggest book of the 1980s, written by her original creator. This is like a Storm or Rogue LS written by Chris Claremont. The series has been repeatedly anticipated on various Titans forums since word got out of it years ago.”

    A.) A Storm or Rogue miniseries by Chris Claremont would shift mid-chart numbers at best, because Claremont has aged terribly as a writer and everyone knows it.

    B.) Storm and Rogue are both far more popular than Raven and attached to a far stronger brand than Raven. Note the margin by which the main X-books outsell Titans.

    C.) No shit it was anticipated on Titans forums. That’s kinda to be expected. Was is anticipated anywhere else, though?

  20. “NORTHLANDERS didn’t not ship.”

    The exact phrasing I use is “didn’t show up in stores as scheduled,” which seems about right, given that it was a week late. If anyone took that to mean “didn’t ship at all,” I profusely apologize.

  21. While it’s true that the Economy has something to do with the decreases of the sales for the big two… I would like to offer up something else that has an impact as well. As you may know the numbers at the bottom of the charts have went up and down and as far as the top 300 chart goes this is where most of the movement has been coming from. (Mid to bottom levels) I can honestly say that at the 4 Local shops I visit and talk to the owners, that a lot of customers have switched their lists to include titles from smaller publishers instead of the big two. The reasons for this very, everything from to many crossover events, to many status changes(alot of people don’t like this), this list could go on and on. The point being these 4 shops now order a lot more of the smaller publishers titles then they ever did before. (You have to remember not every title shipped in a month makes these charts) I would also like to point out that if Marvel/ DC did more title specific events that were actually good sales to titles would probably go up to. Green Lantern has shown that. Hulk(Planet Hulk) has shown that. Batman has shown that and I’m sure other titles would to. Note the words here…. Actually done well (Art and Story) events. What’s going on in Justice Society lost my interest and got dropped for instance.

  22. “A.) A Storm or Rogue miniseries by Chris Claremont would shift mid-chart numbers at best, because Claremont has aged terribly as a writer and everyone knows it.”

    And this is definitely not mid-chart numbers. Raven sold AWFUL numbers.

    “C.) No shit it was anticipated on Titans forums. That’s kinda to be expected. Was is anticipated anywhere else, though? ”

    Why on earth would somebody go to a Batman forum and post, “Gee, I really want to see that Storm LS”? Makes no sense.

    I’ll give you B though; Titans have not been as popular in the last decade as the X-Men have been.

    Nonetheless, the sales would have been noticeably higher with a different artist.

    You would imagine a Raven LS written by Wolfman would mainly sell to the people who read NTT in the 1980s. Then why on earth go a completely opposite art style? This was just a colossal misjudgment. I don’t expect Perez, but an artist with a more classical style would have played to the strengths of this particular LS.

  23. > Why on earth would somebody go to a Batman forum and post, “Gee, I really want to see that Storm LS”? Makes no sense.

    1) He was speaking in general terms – not just the internet.
    2) There are general comics boards out there. Was there any excitement on them? [Such as comics boards attached to non-comics fora, and generic Marvel/DC/etc fora. If you hunt out a Titans-only board, you’re one step away from the hardcore fan.]

  24. “2) There are general comics boards out there. Was there any excitement on them?”

    That’s where I first heard about the book, actually.

  25. I like Raven. Even if I’d known about the Raven LS, I wouldn’t have put it on a pull list. Too iffy a prospect, particularly since Titans books range from good to bad. That Wolfman was involved wouldn’t have changed my mind, as I find him iffy as well.

    As it is, I did see it on the stand, I did flip through it, and I did put it right back on the stand. As Samy Merchi said, the art is terrible. The worst I’ve seen in a book in the last year. Worse than the wannabe-Flash animation style used in (kid team) New X-Men’s Limbo arc. While Samy’s comment about not being able to read it sounds like hyperbole, I can understand it. I stood there in the store trying to pick up the basics of the book, and I just couldn’t concentrate on it because of the art.

    As for the X-Men Claremont comparison, it really isn’t a fair comparison. As said, X-Men are more popular than Titans. Storm and Rogue are better known than Raven. And while Claremont’s name is enough to drive away some potential readers, he still has a dedicated fanbase that will buy anything that he releases regardless of quality or content. A Storm LS could still sell with Raven’s art, and a Rogue one might as well. To be perfectly honest, I’d knock a Raven school LS down to comparisons with someone like Jubilee. And while I happen to be one of the few that like Jubilee over Kitty Pryde, that isn’t a positive comparison for Raven.