by Marc-Oliver Frisch

Many of DC Comics’ ongoing problems throughout 2007 persisted in November. With Justice League of America, Justice Society of America and Green Lantern, the publisher’s three best-selling titles on the October chart all failed to come out. The year-long, weekly Countdown to Final Crisis, dragging along a deluge of spin-off titles and producing another major commercial dud with the debut of the Salvation Run limited series, continues to underwhelm as the “spine” of the DC Universe line. And, once again, the most favorable thing you can say about the majority of periodicals released under the publisher’s Vertigo and WildStorm imprints is that they exist.

Still, there also are some glimmers of hope for DC on the November charts. Most notably, the “Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul” crossover running through four Batman-related books shows signs of being a hit with retailers. And, despite the failing WildStorm Universe line, November was actually a great month for the WildStorm imprint, thanks to the release of the highly successful Heroes and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier hardcover books. Even in terms of periodicals, WildStorm seems to have landed a rare hit in November, though, with the debut of the videogame adaptation World of WarCraft.

In other news, November saw the launch of Batman and the Outsiders – delayed from October due to a last-minute, wholesale creative team exchange – as well as the arrival of new creative teams on Wonder Woman and Supergirl. The number of periodicals released by DC was a little lower than in October, but remained higher than in any other previous month since the beginning of the available direct market charts. The publisher’s average periodical sales kept going down, meanwhile, with a slight increase for Vertigo (thanks to an issue of Y: The Last Man) and a significant increase for WildStorm. See below for the details.

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.

—–

9 - ALL STAR BATMAN & ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER
07/2005: All Star Batman #1 -- 261,046 [306,976]
09/2005: All Star Batman #2 -- 178,592 [184,962]
12/2005: All Star Batman #3 -- 162,993 [166,218]
05/2006: All Star Batman #4 -- 160,401
--------------------------------------
11/2006: --
12/2006: --
01/2007: --
02/2007: --
03/2007: --
04/2007: --
05/2007: All Star Batman #5 -- 114,302 (-28.7%)
06/2007: --
07/2007: All Star Batman #6 -- 105,991 (- 7.3%)
08/2007: --
09/2007: All Star Batman #7 -- 100,582 (- 5.1%)
10/2007: --
11/2007: All Star Batman #8 --  97,037 (- 3.5%)
----------------
6 months: -15.1%
1 year  :  n.a.
2 years :  n.a.

The book has found its level, more or less – probably thanks to the bimonthly schedule of the last six months. As usual, there was a 1-for-10 variant cover edition.

On the one hand, sales of 97k aren’t bad for a Batman book. For a Batman book by Frank Miller and Jim Lee, it’s rather underwhelming, however. Looking at the title’s history, in any event, it’s quite clear that All Star Batman has been doing a very poor job of keeping its audience around.


—–
12 – ALL STAR SUPERMAN
11/2005: All Star Superman #1 — 170,802 [176,658]
—————————————–
11/2006: —
12/2006: —
01/2007: All Star Superman #6 — 98,802 (-10.0%)
02/2007: —
03/2007: —
04/2007: All Star Superman #7 — 92,295 (- 6.7%)
05/2007: —
06/2007: —
07/2007: All Star Superman #8 — 83,329 (- 9.7%)
08/2007: —
09/2007: —
10/2007: —
11/2007: All Star Superman #9 — 78,706 (- 5.6%)
—————-
6 months: n.a.
1 year : n.a.
2 years : -53.9%

The trends for All Star Superman have been a little more erratic than those for its sister title above, but the numbers appear to be bottoming out here, as well.

Overall, the All Star line’s performance seems to be stabilizing, but it’s still far from impressive.

—–
13 – BATMAN
11/2001: Batman #597 — 40,682*
11/2002: Batman #609 — 95,065*
11/2003: Batman #621 — 96,784 [100,754]
11/2004: Batman #634 — 63,769
11/2005: Batman #647 — 69,718
——————————-
11/2006: Batman #658 — 94,349 (+ 3.3%)
11/2006: Batman #659 — 90,651 (- 3.9%)
12/2006: Batman #660 — 76,967 (-15.1%)
12/2006: Batman #661 — 75,512 (- 1.9%)
01/2007: Batman #662 — 72,499 (- 4.0%)
02/2007: Batman #663 — 83,167 (+14.7%)
03/2007: Batman #664 — 80,497 (- 3.2%) [82,107]
04/2007: —
05/2007: Batman #665 — 80,122 (- 0.5%)
06/2007: —
07/2007: Batman #666 — 83,781 (+ 4.6%)
08/2007: Batman #667 — 78,578 (- 6.2%) [82,418]
08/2007: Batman #668 — 76,962 (- 2.1%)
09/2007: Batman #669 — 73,471 (- 4.5%)
10/2007: Batman #670 — 76,890 (+ 4.7%) [79,799]
11/2007: Batman #671 — 76,764 (- 0.2%)
—————-
6 months: -15.4%
1 year : -17.0%
2 years : +10.1%

Sales are holding level for the book’s first proper part of “The Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul,” so it seems the modest increase for the prelude issue in October is as much mileage as Batman is going to get out of the crossover. That is, perhaps, a little disappointing. To be fair, though, issue #670 came with a variant cover edition, and it sold another 2,909 units in November.

That said, however disappointing the Batman numbers may or may not be for DC, I’m confident they got over it rather quickly. The crossover is shaping up to be doing wonders for the secondary Batman titles, after all – see Detective Comics, Robin and Nightwing below. I’d say they can put this one down in the “success” column.

—–
14/15/17/18 – COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS
05/2007: Countdown #51 — 91,083
05/2007: Countdown #50 — 83,752 (- 8.1%) [85,564]
05/2007: Countdown #49 — 81,484 (- 2.7%) [83,188]
05/2007: Countdown #48 — 79,810 (- 2.1%) [81,828]
06/2007: Countdown #47 — 77,504 (- 2.9%)
06/2007: Countdown #46 — 76,362 (- 1.5%)
06/2007: Countdown #45 — 74,918 (- 1.9%)
06/2007: Countdown #44 — 73,971 (- 1.3%)
07/2007: Countdown #43 — 73,912 (- 0.1%)
07/2007: Countdown #42 — 73,116 (- 1.1%)
07/2007: Countdown #41 — 72,621 (- 0.7%)
07/2007: Countdown #40 — 72,102 (- 0.7%)
08/2007: Countdown #39 — 88,021 (+22.1%)
08/2007: Countdown #38 — 87,260 (- 0.9%)
08/2007: Countdown #37 — 86,405 (- 1.0%)
08/2007: Countdown #36 — 85,536 (- 1.0%)
08/2007: Countdown #35 — 84,350 (- 1.4%)
09/2007: Countdown #34 — 82,537 (- 2.2%)
09/2007: Countdown #33 — 81,744 (- 1.0%)
09/2007: Countdown #32 — 81,097 (- 0.8%)
09/2007: Countdown #31 — 80,127 (- 1.2%)
10/2007: Countdown #30 — 78,222 (- 2.4%)
10/2007: Countdown #29 — 77,755 (- 0.6%)
10/2007: Countdown #28 — 77,003 (- 1.0%)
10/2007: Countdown #27 — 76,401 (- 0.8%)
10/2007: Countdown to FC #26 — 75,514 (- 1.2%)
11/2007: Countdown to FC #25 — 74,668 (- 1.1%)
11/2007: Countdown to FC #24 — 74,047 (- 0.8%)
11/2007: Countdown to FC #23 — 73,241 (- 1.1%)
11/2007: Countdown to FC #22 — 72,765 (- 0.7%)
—————-
6 months: -12.3%

And then, at the other end of the spectrum, there’s Countdown to Final Crisis. Maintaining its slow standard decline, the book keeps selling at a comfortable level upwards of 70k. If it weren’t for the fact that it also has to deliver as a brand, this would be perfectly fine.

But so far, though, Countdown has utterly failed as the so-called “spine” of the linewide mega-crossover it was meant to be, and this didn’t change in November. In recent interviews, the publisher has admitted as much, conceding that the target audience prefers the more limited nature of the “Sinestro Corps War” crossover to the sprawling “Countdown” event.

The numbers certainly bear that out. The debut issue of Salvation Run – one of the publisher’s major announcements at San Diego and the best-selling of the nine Countdown spin-off books in November – barely managed to pass 40,000 units. Plainly, that’s not remotely satisfying.

—–
25/54 – BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS
11/2003: Outsiders #6 — 48,160
12/2003: Outsiders #7 — 47,052
11/2004: —
11/2005: Outsiders #30 — 44,682
————————————
11/2006: Outsiders #42 — 35,598 (- 2.9%)
12/2006: Outsiders #43 — 34,243 (- 3.8%)
01/2007: Outsiders #44 — 34,437 (+ 0.6%)
02/2007: Outsiders #45 — 32,976 (- 4.2%)
03/2007: Outsiders #46 — 32,577 (- 1.2%)
04/2007: —
05/2007: Outsiders #47 — 33,267 (+ 2.1%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: +55.6%
1 year : +45.5%
2 years : +15.9%

Batman and the Outsiders #1 was initially meant to come out in October. Unusually, someone at DC made the last-minute decision to replace the entire creative team of the new book once the first two issues had already been solicited. Imagine a whole lot of work going down the drain. More unusually still, the book’s schedule appears back on track as of issue #2.

The sales of the first two issues are sending rather mixed signals. While the boost for the debut issue is quite impressive, so is the subsequent second-issue drop. There was a variant cover edition of issue #1 which likely contributed to that, but still. At this rate, unless the numbers are going to bottom out quickly, they’ll soon be back where they were before the relaunch. Surely that’s not what they had in mind when they commissioned it.

—–
26 – DETECTIVE COMICS
11/2001: Detective Comics #764 — 37,712*
11/2002: Detective Comics #776 — 39,528*
11/2003: Detective Comics #788 — 37,543
11/2004: Detective Comics #800 — 52,399
11/2005: Detective Comics #813 — 38,338
—————————————-
11/2006: Detective Comics #825 — 58,940 (- 5.6%)
12/2006: Detective Comics #826 — 59,657 (+ 1.2%)
12/2006: Detective Comics #827 — 55,031 (- 7.8%)
01/2007: —
02/2007: Detective Comics #828 — 55,206 (+ 0.3%)
03/2007: Detective Comics #829 — 52,943 (- 4.1%)
03/2007: Detective Comics #830 — 52,395 (- 1.0%)
04/2007: Detective Comics #831 — 56,284 (+ 7.4%)
05/2007: Detective Comics #832 — 51,727 (- 8.1%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: +16.5%
1 year : + 2.3%
2 years : +57.2%

“The Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul” crossover results in a respectable sales increase.

—–
29 – GREEN LANTERN CORPS
11/2005: —
——————————————
11/2006: Green Lantern Corps #6 — 41,089 (- 5.6%)
12/2006: Green Lantern Corps #7 — 38,737 (- 5.7%)
01/2007: Green Lantern Corps #8 — 36,924 (- 4.7%)
02/2007: Green Lantern Corps #9 — 34,897 (- 5.5%)
03/2007: Green Lantern Corps #10 — 34,227 (- 1.9%)
04/2007: Green Lantern Corps #11 — 33,506 (- 2.1%)
05/2007: Green Lantern Corps #12 — 33,267 (- 0.7%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: +67.9%
1 year : +35.9%
2 years : n.a.

The November issue was originally solicited as an epilogue to the “Sinestro Corps War” crossover – but that was before the storyline turned out to be more successful than DC expected, and before the big final part in Green Lantern #25 was pushed back to December. Consequently, Green Lantern Corps #18 became “Part 10” instead, and it got a new Adam Kubert cover.

The numbers begin to drop back towards their usual level. I suspect that this is mostly due to retailers ordering it as an epilogue issue, but it’s also worth noting that writer Dave Gibbons was replaced by Peter J. Tomasi in November. Quite possibly, there’s going to be some reorder activity for the issue on the December chart, due to the content change.

The “Sinestro Corps War” spin-off title Tales of the Sinestro Corps also missed its November shipping date, for the record.

—–
30 – ACTION COMICS
11/2001: Action Comics #785 — 38,188*
11/2002: Action Comics #797 — 31,238*
11/2003: Action Comics #809 — 29,819
11/2004: Action Comics #821 — 38,880
11/2005: Action Comics #833 — 44,613
————————————-
11/2006: Action Comics #845 — 66,742 (-15.4%) [71,135]
12/2006: —
01/2007: —
02/2007: Action Comics #846 — 64,554 (- 3.3%) [66,349]
03/2007: Action Comics #847 — 64,679 (+ 0.2%)
04/2007: Action Comics #848 — 62,216 (- 3.8%)
05/2007: Action Comics #849 — 53,610 (-13.8%)
05/2007: Action Comics #850 — 56,166 (+ 4.8%)
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%)
11/2007: Action Comics #859 — 54,572 (- 0.0%)
—————-
6 months: – 0.6%
1 year : -18.2%
2 years : -22.3%

Sales remain flat for the second chapter of the “Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes” arc. That’s a good sign.

The entire storyline is being promoted with 1-for-10 variant cover editions.

—–
31 – TEEN TITANS
11/2003: Teen Titans #5 — 68,078 [71,313]
11/2004: Teen Titans #18 — 61,537 [65,142]
11/2005: Teen Titans #29 — 69,558
———————————-
11/2006: Teen Titans #40 — 64,176 (- 2.7%)
11/2006: Teen Titans #41 — 61,714 (- 3.8%)
12/2006: Teen Titans #42 — 60,165 (- 2.5%)
01/2007: Teen Titans #43 — 60,290 (+ 0.2%) [62,560]
02/2007: —
03/2007: Teen Titans #44 — 61,572 (+ 2.1%)
04/2007: Teen Titans #45 — 61,051 (- 0.9%)
05/2007: Teen Titans #46 — 61,478 (+ 0.7%)
05/2007: Teen Titans #47 — 63,673 (+ 3.6%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: -13.1%
1 year : -13.6%
2 years : -21.8%

The numbers are bottoming out again, significantly below the 60k mark. The departure of writer Geoff Johns back in May has visibly hurt Teen Titans sales.

—–
32/33 – SUPERMAN/BATMAN
11/2003: —
11/2004: Superman/Batman #13 — 157,949
11/2004: Superman/Batman #14 — 121,831 [127,527]
11/2005: —
—————————————
11/2006: Superman/Batman #30 — 84,008 (- 7.3%)
12/2006: Superman/Batman #31 — 81,716 (- 2.7%)
01/2007: —
02/2007: —
03/2007: Superman/Batman #32 — 77,905 (- 4.7%)
04/2007: Superman/Batman #33 — 74,807 (- 4.0%)
04/2007: Superman/Batman #34 — 71,278 (- 4.7%)
05/2007: Superman/Batman #35 — 68,160 (- 4.4%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: -20.9%
1 year : -35.8%
2 years : n.a.

The book seems to have settled into a standard sales decline. Issue #42, the conclusion to a six-parter by Alan Burnett and Dustin Nguyen, was touted as a Countdown tie-in in the solicitation copy. Issue #43 was a standalone story by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning and Mike McKone.

—–
35 – WONDER WOMAN
11/2001: Wonder Woman #176 — 30,865*
11/2002: Wonder Woman #187 — 24,013*
11/2003: Wonder Woman #198 — 28,977
11/2004: Wonder Woman #210 — 25,699
11/2005: Wonder Woman #223 — 49,332
————————————-
11/2006: Wonder Woman #3 — 76,998 (- 9.0%)
12/2006: —
01/2007: —
02/2007: Wonder Woman #4 — 69,860 (- 9.3%)
03/2007: Wonder Woman #5 — 64,414 (- 7.8%)
03/2007: Wonder Woman #6 — 62,458 (- 3.0%)
04/2007: Wonder Woman #7 — 60,168 (- 3.7%)
04/2007: Wonder Woman #8 — 58,772 (- 2.3%)
05/2007: Wonder Woman #9 — 58,561 (- 0.4%)
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%)
—————–
6 months: – 9.3%
1 year : – 31.1%
2 years : + 7.6%

Initially solicited to take over Wonder Woman with October’s issue #13, new writer Gail Simone finally made her debut on the series in November.

The sales boost seems solid at first glance, but a substantial chunk of it is probably due to the 1-for-10 variant cover edition. Still, if the numbers could be stabilized around 50k, that would be a more than decent level for the book, historically. Whether that’s a realistic outlook, we’re going to find out next month.

—–
36 – ROBIN
11/2001: Robin #96 — 26,911*
11/2002: Robin #108 — 24,356*
11/2003: Robin #120 — 22,067
11/2004: Robin #132 — 35,927
11/2005: Robin #144 — 32,314
—————————–
11/2006: Robin #156 — 31,682 (- 3.9%)
12/2006: Robin #157 — 30,556 (- 3.6%)
01/2007: Robin #158 — 29,464 (- 3.6%)
02/2007: Robin #159 — 28,210 (- 4.3%)
03/2007: Robin #160 — 27,659 (- 2.0%)
04/2007: Robin #161 — 27,180 (- 1.7%)
05/2007: Robin #162 — 26,801 (- 1.4%)
06/2007: Robin #163 — 26,284 (- 1.9%)
07/2007: Robin #164 — 25,955 (- 1.3%)
08/2007: Robin #165 — 25,397 (- 2.2%)
09/2007: Robin #166 — 24,877 (- 2.1%)
10/2007: Robin #167 — 24,625 (- 1.0%)
11/2007: Robin #168 — 50,672 (+105.8%)
—————-
6 months: +89.1%
1 year : +59.9%
2 years : +56.8%

The “Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul” crossover more than doubles the usual Robin sales. It’s working.

—–
38 – TEEN TITANS EAST SPECIAL
11/2007: Teen Titans East Special #1 — 49,735

With this $ 3.99 special DC are presumably testing the waters for their upcoming Teen Titans spin-off title. Based on these numbers, which aren’t too far below those of the regular title, I’d say it’s well worth a try.

—–
40 – SUPERMAN
11/2001: Superman #176 — 41,182*
11/2002: Superman #188 — 33,758*
11/2003: Superman #199 — 33,429
11/2004: Superman #211 — 106,469 [110,683]
11/2005: Superman #223 — 69,739
———————————
11/2006: Superman #657 — 62,327 (- 3.1%)
12/2006: —
01/2007: Superman #658 — 60,682 (- 2.6%)
02/2007: Superman #659 — 58,258 (- 4.0%)
03/2007: Superman #660 — 57,169 (- 1.9%)
04/2007: Superman #661 — 55,738 (- 2.5%)
05/2007: Superman #662 — 55,236 (- 0.9%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: -12.3%
1 year : -22.3%
2 years : -30.6%

I’ve got no idea why the numbers are going up here, to be perfectly frank, particularly since DC once again changed the content after the issue had already been solicited. Originally, Superman #670 was to be part 2 of the “Third Kryptonian” arc, but since the conclusion to the “Camelot Falls” storyline ended up being pushed back (see Superman Annual #13 below for more on that), it turned out to be part 3 instead. Either way, there’s no readily apparent reason why sales would be going up at this point, so perhaps the increase is a fluke.

—–
43 – NIGHTWING
11/2001: Nightwing #63 — 34,543*
11/2002: Nightwing #75 — 31,352*
11/2003: Nightwing #87 — 29,674
11/2004: Nightwing #99 — 33,708
11/2005: Nightwing #114 — 36,421
———————————
11/2006: Nightwing #126 — 36,145 (- 6.0%)
12/2006: Nightwing #127 — 34,889 (- 3.5%)
01/2007: Nightwing #128 — 33,930 (- 2.8%)
02/2007: Nightwing #129 — 32,651 (- 3.8%)
03/2007: Nightwing #130 — 31,788 (- 2.6%)
04/2007: Nightwing #131 — 31,530 (- 0.8%)
05/2007: Nightwing #132 — 30,807 (- 2.3%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: +51.8%
1 year : +29.4%
2 years : +28.4%

Another title provided with a big whopping sales increase by the “Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul” crossover.

—–
44 – FLASH
11/2001: Flash #180 — 26,708*
11/2002: Flash #192 — 28,805*
11/2003: Flash #204 — 35,423
11/2004: Flash #216 — 43,618 [49,350]
11/2005: Flash #228 — 45,861
———————————-
11/2006: Flash: FMA #6 — 56,789 (- 7.8%)
12/2006: Flash: FMA #7 — 53,600 (- 5.6%)
01/2007: Flash: FMA #8 — 50,967 (- 4.9%)
02/2007: Flash: FMA #9 — 47,214 (- 7.4%)
03/2007: Flash: FMA #10 — 46,133 (- 2.3%)
04/2007: Flash: FMA #11 — 46,963 (+ 1.8%)
05/2007: Flash: FMA #12 — 47,809 (+ 1.8%)
06/2007: Flash: FMA #13 — 76,860 (+ 60.8%) [82,767]
07/2007: All Flash #1 — 78,955 (+ 2.7%)
08/2007: Flash #231 — 72,898 (- 7.7%)
09/2007: Flash #232 — 56,969 (- 21.9%)
10/2007: Flash #233 — 51,152 (- 10.2%)
11/2007: Flash #234 — 46,435 (- 9.2%)
—————-
6 months: – 2.9%
1 year : -18.2%
2 years : + 1.3%

Well, this isn’t working at all, is it?

There really shouldn’t be that much of a drop at this stage. Four issues into the relaunch, sales are already back where they were six months ago. This is the second Flash revamp in as many years that’s shaping up to be a massive failure.

On top of everything, writer Mark Waid, who served as a figurehead for the relaunch, is apparently leaving the book for good after issue #236. Expect the numbers to get ugly soon.

—–
45 – THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD
02/2007: The Brave and the Bold #1 — 92,091 [98,266]
03/2007: The Brave and the Bold #2 — 64,357 (-30.1%) [67,143]
04/2007: The Brave and the Bold #3 — 59,211 (- 8.0%)
05/2007: —
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%)
—————-
6 months: n.a.

Another title written by Waid that should have bottomed out by now. Curiously, The Brave and the Bold seems to be a rather well-received book, if the internet feedback is any indication, but it’s still losing readers by the truckload.

In theory, this shouldn’t come as a big surprise, given that random team-up books have never fared particularly well in the past ten to twenty years. But this one has Waid and artist George Pérez in its corner, is generall well-reviewed and actually launched with pretty impressive numbers, so it’s odd to see it taking such a nose-dive.

—–
46 – SUPERGIRL
11/2001: Supergirl #64 — 21,126*
11/2002: Supergirl #76 — 19,735*
11/2005: Supergirl #3 — 99,990 [101,910]
———————————
11/2006: Supergirl #11 — 62,544 (- 7.2%)
12/2006: Supergirl #12 — 59,819 (- 4.4%)
12/2006: Supergirl #13 — 56,648 (- 5.3%)
01/2007: —
02/2007: Supergirl #14 — 52,977 (- 6.5%)
03/2007: Supergirl #15 — 51,083 (- 3.6%)
04/2007: Supergirl #16 — 51,641 (+ 1.1%)
05/2007: Supergirl #17 — 50,429 (- 2.4%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: – 9.9%
1 year : -27.3%
2 years : -54.5%

A new creative team took over in November. Given that issue #23 was also promoted with a 1-for-10 variant cover edition, though, it’s too early to tell how much of the sales increase reflects genuine demand.

—–
48 – WORLD OF WARCRAFT (WildStorm)
11/2007: World of Warcraft #1 — 44,508

The videogame adaptation looks like a rare hit for WildStorm – it’s their highest-selling series periodical since the WorldStorm revamp in October 2006. Of course, their books have been in the nasty habit of entering a nose-dive immediately after launch lately, especially if – as in this case – multiple variant cover editions exist. Still, this is a surprisingly good start.

—–
52 – SUPERMAN ANNUAL
11/2007: Superman Annual #13 — 42,834

Originally, this issue was meant to contain the conclusion of the “Third Kryptonian” storyline from the mother title. But then the conclusion of the “Camelot Falls” arc, initially set to be published in Superman #668, was late, and so that’s what ended up in the Annual.

That said, I doubt the switch would have made much of a difference to the numbers. The Annual’s sales keep a perfectly average, polite distance of about 5,000 units to the mother title.

—–
53 – GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY
11/2001: Green Arrow #10 — 80,758*
11/2002: Green Arrow #19 — 54,767*
11/2003: Green Arrow #32 — 38,385
11/2004: Green Arrow #44 — 32,159
11/2005: Green Arrow #56 — 32,670
———————————–
11/2006: Green Arrow #68 — 32,135 (- 1.4%)
12/2006: Green Arrow #69 — 32,234 (+ 0.3%)
01/2007: Green Arrow #70 — 31,798 (- 1.4%)
02/2007: Green Arrow #71 — 31,470 (- 1.0%)
03/2007: Green Arrow #72 — 31,144 (- 1.0%)
04/2007: Green Arrow #73 — 30,652 (- 1.6%)
05/2007: Green Arrow #74 — 30,751 (+ 0.3%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: +39.3%
1 year : +33.3%
2 years : +31.1%

That’s an average second-issue drop. Sales remain comfortably ahead of the book’s pre-relaunch levels for the time being.

—–
57 – SALVATION RUN
11/2007: Salvation Run #1 of 7 — 40,531

This latest Countdown spin-off by writer Bill Willingham and artist Sean Chen was DC’s big launch for November, as well as one of the publisher’s major announcements at the San Diego comics convention. Suffice it to say, the fact that it just barely manages to crack the 40k mark – despite a 1-for-10 variant cover edition, one should add – is a huge disappointment.

Surprisingly, the solicitations no longer list Willingham as the book’s writer past issue #3, so it seems he’s got better things to do. You can’t blame him. In theory, a high-profile event title certainly seems like a sensible career choice for a critically acclaimed creator about to achieve a higher level of popularity in the direct market. But this one’s clearly a dud, so if that’s what they had in mind with Salvation Run, it may have backfired.

—–
60 – 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%)

Sales are finding their level rather quickly now. The big drop in October seems to have been a blip, after all. These are still perfectly good numbers for a third-stringer character like Booster Gold.

And now, a big, ugly lump of Countdown and 52 spin-offs that’s clotting up the 30k area of the chart.

—–
66 – DEATH OF THE NEW GODS
10/2007: Death of the New Gods #1 of 8 — 46,670
10/2007: Death of the New Gods #2 of 8 — 35,681 (-23.6%)
11/2007: Death of the New Gods #3 of 8 — 32,655 (- 8.5%)

67/71 – COUNTDOWN PRESENTS: THE SEARCH FOR RAY PALMER
09/2007: CPTSfRP: WildStorm #1 — 41,092
10/2007: CPTSfRP: Crime Society #1 — 36,456 (-11.3%)
11/2007: CPTSfRP: Red Rain #1 — 32,609 (-10.6%)
11/2007: CPTSfRP: Gotham by Gaslight #1 — 31,765 (- 2.6%)

72 – BLACK ADAM: THE DARK AGE
08/2007: Black Adam: The Dark Age #1 of 6 — 51,788
09/2007: Black Adam: The Dark Age #2 of 6 — 36,758 (-29.0%)
10/2007: Black Adam: The Dark Age #3 of 6 — 33,380 (- 9.2%)
11/2007: Black Adam: The Dark Age #4 of 6 — 31,588 (- 5.4%)

76 – 52 AFTERMATH: THE FOUR HORSEMEN
08/2007: The Four Horsemen #1 of 6 — 48,932
09/2007: The Four Horsemen #2 of 6 — 37,764 (-22.8%)
10/2007: The Four Horsemen #3 of 6 — 32,642 (-13.6%)
11/2007: The Four Horsemen #4 of 6 — 29,784 (- 8.8%)

81 – COUNTDOWN TO ADVENTURE
08/2007: Countdown to Adventure #1 of 8 — 42,883
09/2007: Countdown to Adventure #2 of 8 — 34,561 (-19.4%)
10/2007: Countdown to Adventure #3 of 8 — 31,018 (-10.3%)
11/2007: Countdown to Adventure #4 of 8 — 28,633 (- 7.7%)

86 – COUNTDOWN TO MYSTERY
09/2007: Countdown to Mystery #1 of 8 — 37,235
10/2007: Countdown to Mystery #2 of 8 — 29,664 (-20.3%)
11/2007: Countdown to Mystery #3 of 8 — 27,428 (- 7.5%)

The fact that all of these titles are clumping together on the chart – not to mention that most of them keep shedding readers like there’s no tomorrow – suggests that retailers don’t really know what to do with them.

On the one hand, these are all big event spin-offs, which guarantees a baseline demand by completist buyers – or so history tells us, at least. On the other hand, this is a whole lot of material to find room on the racks for, on top of a whole lot of other material out there connected to other – much better received – event storylines which are going on simultaneously.

So, all told, the result shouldn’t come as a big surprise. Retailers evidently can’t slash their orders fast enough to catch up with reality. Plainly, neither 52 nor Countdown work as brands, at this stage. There’s already much too much of both out there, and any further books are likely to just add to the clutter and end up in the same big whirlpool with the rest of the bunch – see Salvation Run.

—–
87 – BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL
12/2006: Batman Confidential #1 — 61,119
01/2007: Batman Confidential #2 — 47,451 (-22.4%)
02/2007: Batman Confidential #3 — 41,109 (-13.4%)
03/2007: Batman Confidential #4 — 38,735 (- 5.8%)
04/2007: Batman Confidential #5 — 36,219 (- 6.5%)
05/2007: —
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%)
—————-
6 months: n.a.

The numbers are back in decline.

—–
88 – SUPERGIRL AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES
11/2001: Legion #2 — 24,364*
11/2002: Legion #14 — 23,880*
11/2003: Legion #26 — 26,635
11/2003: Legion #27 — 25,667
11/2004: —
11/2005: Legion of SH #12 — 33,541
—————————————
11/2006: Supergirl & LoSH #24 — 33,985 (-18.2%)
12/2006: Supergirl & LoSH #25 — 33,288 (- 2.1%)
01/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #26 — 32,342 (- 2.8%)
02/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #27 — 31,387 (- 3.0%)
03/2007: —
04/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #28 — 31,525 (+ 0.4%)
04/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #29 — 30,906 (- 2.0%)
05/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #30 — 30,767 (- 0.5%)
06/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #31 — 30,385 (- 1.2%)
07/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #32 — 29,826 (- 1.8%)
08/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #33 — 29,315 (- 1.7%)
09/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #34 — 28,294 (- 3.5%)
10/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #35 — 27,370 (- 3.3%)
11/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #36 — 26,814 (- 2.0%)
—————-
6 months: -12.9%
1 year : -21.1%
2 years : -20.1%%

Bottoming out again. The book gets another title and creative team change with issue #37.

—–
89 – GOTHAM UNDERGROUND
10/2007: Gotham Underground #1 of 9 — 31,003
11/2007: Gotham Underground #2 of 9 — 26,537 (-14.4%)

The Countdown spin-off sees an average second-issue drop.

—–
91 – TRIALS OF SHAZAM
11/2006: —
12/2006: Trials of SHAZAM #4 of 12 — 38,029 (- 1.0%)
01/2007: —
02/2007: Trials of SHAZAM #5 of 12 — 34,614 (- 9.0%)
03/2007: —
04/2007: Trials of SHAZAM #6 of 12 — 32,875 (- 5.0%)
05/2007: —
06/2007: Trials of SHAZAM #7 of 12 — 31,056 (- 5.5%)
07/2007: —
08/2007: —
09/2007: Trials of SHAZAM #8 of 12 — 29,241 (- 5.8%)
10/2007: Trials of SHAZAM #9 of 12 — 27,490 (- 6.0%)
11/2007: Trials of SHAZAM #10 of 12 — 25,562 (- 7.0%)
—————-
6 months: n.a.
1 year : n.a.

Still declining sharply.

—–
92 – Y: THE LAST MAN (Vertigo)
11/2002: Y: The Last Man #5 — 17,207*
11/2003: Y: The Last Man #16 — 27,448
11/2004: Y: The Last Man #28 — 26,770
11/2005: Y: The Last Man #39 — 26,395
————————————–
11/2006: Y: The Last Man #51 — 25,606 (-4.5%)
12/2006: Y: The Last Man #52 — 25,422 (-0.7%)
01/2007: Y: The Last Man #53 — 25,375 (-0.2%)
02/2007: Y: The Last Man #54 — 25,374 (-0.0%)
03/2007: Y: The Last Man #55 — 25,300 (-0.3%)
04/2007: —
05/2007: Y: The Last Man #56 — 25,759 (+1.8%)
06/2007: —
07/2007: Y: The Last Man #57 — 25,436 (-1.3%)
08/2007: —
09/2007: Y: The Last Man #58 — 25,539 (+0.4%)
10/2007: —
11/2007: Y: The Last Man #59 — 25,409 (-0.5%)
—————
6 months: -1.4%
1 year : -0.8%
2 years : -3.7%

Holding level. The series concludes with January’s issue #60.

—–
94 – BIRDS OF PREY
11/2001: Birds of Prey #37 — 23,628*
11/2002: Birds of Prey #49 — 26,808*
11/2003: Birds of Prey #61 — 30,768
11/2004: Birds of Prey #76 — 31,126
11/2005: Birds of Prey #88 — 32,823
————————————-
11/2006: Birds of Prey #100 — 34,607 (+13.9%)
12/2006: Birds of Prey #101 — 29,825 (-13.8%)
01/2007: Birds of Prey #102 — 29,043 (- 2.6%)
02/2007: Birds of Prey #103 — 28,327 (- 2.5%)
03/2007: Birds of Prey #104 — 28,464 (+ 0.5%)
04/2007: Birds of Prey #105 — 28,328 (- 0.5%)
05/2007: Birds of Prey #106 — 28,363 (+ 0.1%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: -11.5%
1 year : -27.4%
2 years : -23.5%

The interim run ends with a stiff drop. A new regular writer takes over with issue #113.

—–
96 – FABLES (Vertigo)
11/2002: Fables #7 — 21,180*
11/2003: Fables #19 — 25,948
11/2004: Fables #31 — 25,061
11/2005: Fables #43 — 24,659
—————————–
11/2006: Fables #55 — 25,635 (+0.4%)
12/2006: Fables #56 — 25,892 (+1.0%)
01/2007: Fables #57 — 25,744 (-0.6%)
02/2007: —
03/2007: Fables #58 — 26,065 (+1.3%)
03/2007: Fables #59 — 25,815 (-1.0%)
04/2007: Fables #60 — 26,048 (+0.9%)
05/2007: Fables #61 — 26,056 (+0.0%)
06/2007: Fables #62 — 25,726 (-1.3%)
07/2007: Fables #63 — 25,603 (-0.5%)
08/2007: Fables #64 — 25,498 (-0.4%)
09/2007: Fables #65 — 25,311 (-0.7%)
10/2007: Fables #66 — 25,016 (-1.2%)
11/2007: Fables #67 — 24,841 (-0.7%)
—————
6 months: -4.7%
1 year : -3.1%
2 years : +0.7%

Standard attrition.

—–
97 – SUPERMAN CONFIDENTIAL
11/2006: Superman Confidential #1 — 60,157
12/2006: Superman Confidential #2 — 46,765 (-22.3%)
01/2007: Superman Confidential #3 — 41,346 (-11.6%)
02/2007: —
03/2007: Superman Confidential #4 — 36,779 (-11.1%)
04/2007: —
05/2007: —
06/2007: —
07/2007: Superman Confidential #5 — 35,180 (- 4.4%)
08/2007: —
09/2007: Superman Confidential #6 — 31,152 (-11.5%)
10/2007: Superman Confidential #7 — 29,228 (- 6.2%)
10/2007: Superman Confidential #8 — 26,535 (- 9.2%)
11/2007: Superman Confidential #9 — 24,841 (- 6.4%)
—————-
6 months: n.a.
1 year : -58.7%

Still shedding readers at an alarming rate.

—–
100 – COUNTDOWN PRESENTS: LORD HAVOK AND THE EXTREMISTS
10/2007: CP: Lord Havok #1 of 6 — 29,423
11/2007: CP: Lord Havok #2 of 6 — 24,196 (-17.8%)

Another Countdown spin-off with mediocre numbers.

—–
103/145 – FREDDY VS. JASON VS. ASH (WildStorm)
11/2007: Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash #1 of 6 — 23,306
11/2007: Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash #2 of 6 — 15,291 (-34.4%)

This is, by far, the most successful of WildStorm’s horror film adaptations to date. The stiff second-issue drop here is owed to the fact that there are two variant cover editions of issue #1, and none for issue #2. Overall, it’s still a decent sales level for this sort of thing.

—–
113 – WONDER GIRL
09/2007: Wonder Girl #1 of 6 — 33,517
10/2007: Wonder Girl #2 of 6 — 24,407 (-27.2%)
11/2007: Wonder Girl #3 of 6 — 19,774 (-19.0%)

114 – SUICIDE SQUAD: RAISE THE FLAG
11/2001: Suicide Squad #3 — 22,050*
—————————————–
09/2007: Raise the Flag #1 of 8 — 29,506
10/2007: Raise the Flag #2 of 8 — 22,774 (-22.8%)
11/2007: Raise the Flag #3 of 8 — 19,774 (-13.2%)

116 – CRIME BIBLE: THE FIVE LESSONS OF BLOOD
10/2007: Crime Bible #1 of 5 — 23,354
11/2007: Crime Bible #2 of 5 — 19,498 (-16.5%)

Three more spin-off limited series that are sinking without a trace.

—–
118 – THE SPIRIT
11/2006: Batman/The Spirit — 35,541 [39,666]
12/2006: The Spirit #1 — 34,558 (- 2.8%) [36,900]
01/2007: The Spirit #2 — 27,245 (-21.2%)
02/2007: The Spirit #3 — 25,516 (- 6.4%)
03/2007: The Spirit #4 — 24,383 (- 4.4%)
04/2007: The Spirit #5 — 23,887 (- 2.0%)
05/2007: The Spirit #6 — 23,708 (- 0.8%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: -20.3%
1 year : -46.9%

Sales are still declining too fast for comfort.

—–
119 – CATWOMAN
11/2001: Catwoman #1 — 46,040*
11/2002: Catwoman #13 — 25,620*
11/2003: Catwoman #25 — 26,345
11/2004: Catwoman #37 — 26,107
11/2005: Catwoman #49 — 21,257
——————————-
11/2006: Catwoman #61 — 23,182 (- 3.9%)
12/2006: Catwoman #62 — 22,305 (- 3.8%)
01/2007: Catwoman #63 — 21,597 (- 3.2%)
02/2007: Catwoman #64 — 20,767 (- 3.8%)
03/2007: Catwoman #65 — 20,237 (- 2.6%)
04/2007: Catwoman #66 — 19,896 (- 1.7%)
05/2007: Catwoman #67 — 19,926 (+ 0.2%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: – 5.6%
1 year : -18.8%
2 years : -11.5%

Back in decline.

—–
120 – 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%)

– METAL MEN
08/2007: Metal Men #1 of 8 — 30,454
09/2007: Metal Men #2 of 8 — 23,658 (-22.3%)
10/2007: Metal Men #3 of 8 — 20,571 (-13.1%)
11/2007: Metal Men #4 of 8 — 18,707 (- 9.1%)

122 – SIMON DARK
10/2007: Simon Dark #1 — 24,256
11/2007: Simon Dark #2 — 18,492 (-23.8%)

Another bunch of recently launched DC Universe books with abysmal numbers. Infinity Inc. and Simon Dark won’t be long for this world if the trend continues.

—–
124/126 – JLA: CLASSIFIED
11/2004: JLA: Classified #1 — 88,747
11/2005: JLA: Classified #14 — 43,469
————————————–
11/2006: JLA: Classified #29 — 24,785 (- 4.7%)
12/2006: JLA: Classified #30 — 23,644 (- 4.6%)
01/2007: JLA: Classified #31 — 22,939 (- 3.0%)
01/2007: JLA: Classified #32 — 23,091 (+ 0.7%)
01/2007: JLA: Classified #33 — 22,504 (- 2.5%)
02/2007: JLA: Classified #34 — 22,347 (- 0.7%)
02/2007: JLA: Classified #35 — 21,998 (- 1.6%)
03/2007: JLA: Classified #36 — 21,799 (- 0.9%)
04/2007: JLA: Classified #37 — 22,350 (+ 2.5%)
05/2007: JLA: Classified #38 — 21,961 (- 1.7%)
06/2007: JLA: Classified #39 — 21,728 (- 1.1%)
07/2007: JLA: Classified #40 — 21,473 (- 1.2%)
08/2007: JLA: Classified #41 — 21,134 (- 1.6%)
09/2007: JLA: Classified #42 — 20,014 (- 5.3%)
09/2007: JLA: Classified #43 — 19,742 (- 1.4%)
10/2007: JLA: Classified #44 — 19,217 (- 2.7%)
10/2007: JLA: Classified #45 — 18,818 (- 2.1%)
11/2007: JLA: Classified #46 — 18,078 (- 3.9%)
11/2007: JLA: Classified #47 — 17,832 (- 1.4%)
—————-
6 months: -18.2%
1 year : -27.6%
2 years : -58.7%

127 – JSA: CLASSIFIED
11/2005: JSA: Classified #5 — 47,380
————————————–
11/2006: JSA: Classified #19 — 25,663 (- 4.2%)
12/2006: JSA: Classified #20 — 24,722 (- 3.7%)
01/2007: JSA: Classified #21 — 24,476 (- 1.0%)
01/2007: JSA: Classified #22 — 23,830 (- 2.6%)
02/2007: JSA: Classified #23 — 22,730 (- 4.6%)
03/2007: JSA: Classified #24 — 22,113 (- 2.7%)
04/2007: JSA: Classified #25 — 22,052 (- 0.3%)
05/2007: JSA: Classified #26 — 21,569 (- 2.2%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: -17.7%
1 year : -30.8%
2 years : -62.5%

JLA: Classified is canceled with January’s issue #54. I doubt JSA: Classified will be far behind.

—–
128 – THE AUTHORITY: PRIME (WildStorm)
11/2001: The Authority v1 #28 — 40,804*
11/2002: —
11/2003: The Authority v2 #7 — 25,657
11/2004: Revolution #2 of 12 — 23,282
11/2005: —
—————————————
11/2006: —
12/2006: —
01/2007: —
02/2007: —
03/2007: The Authority v3 #2 — 39,886 (- 31.4%)
04/2007: —
05/2007: —
06/2007: —
07/2007: —
08/2007: —
09/2007: —
10/2007: Prime #1 of 6 — 21,992 (- 44.9%)
11/2007: Prime #2 of 6 — 17,717 (- 19.4%)
—————-
6 months: n.a.
1 year : n.a.
2 years : n.a.

That’s a stiff second-issue drop.

—–
130 – CHECKMATE
11/2006: Checkmate #8 — 24,899 (- 5.3%)
12/2006: Checkmate #9 — 23,436 (- 5.9%)
01/2007: Checkmate #10 — 22,032 (- 6.0%)
02/2007: Checkmate #11 — 20,659 (- 6.2%)
03/2007: Checkmate #12 — 20,116 (- 2.6%)
04/2007: —
05/2007: Checkmate #13 — 22,554 (+12.1%)
05/2007: Checkmate #14 — 22,074 (- 2.1%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: -20.8%
1 year : -29.1%

Declining.

—–
132 – JACK OF FABLES (Vertigo)
11/2006: Jack of Fables #5 — 21,191 (- 2.0%)
12/2006: Jack of Fables #6 — 20,950 (- 1.1%)
01/2007: Jack of Fables #7 — 20,314 (- 3.0%)
02/2007: Jack of Fables #8 — 20,060 (- 1.3%)
03/2007: —
04/2007: Jack of Fables #9 — 20,273 (+ 1.1%)
05/2007: Jack of Fables #10 — 19,982 (- 1.4%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: -12.6%
1 year : -17.6%

Slowly declining.

—–
134 – UNCLE SAM & THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS
07/2006: Uncle Sam & FF #1 of 8 — 40,736
08/2006: Uncle Sam & FF #2 of 8 — 31,616 (-22.4%) [32,758]
09/2006: Uncle Sam & FF #3 of 8 — 28,430 (-10.1%)
10/2006: Uncle Sam & FF #4 of 8 — 26,527 (- 6.7%)
11/2006: Uncle Sam & FF #5 of 8 — 25,144 (- 5.2%)
12/2006: Uncle Sam & FF #6 of 8 — 23,321 (- 7.3%)
01/2007: Uncle Sam & FF #7 of 8 — 22,460 (- 3.7%)
02/2007: —
03/2007: Uncle Sam & FF #8 of 8 — 22,507 (+ 0.2%)
—————————————–
09/2007: Uncle Sam & FF #1 of 8 — 23,731 (+ 5.4%)
10/2007: Uncle Sam & FF #2 of 8 — 19,006 (-19.9%)
11/2007: Uncle Sam & FF #3 of 8 — 17,157 (- 9.7%)
—————-
6 months: n.a.
1 year : -31.8%

That’s a rather harsh drop for the third issue of a limited series.

—–
– SHADOWPACT
11/2006: Shadowpact #7 — 25,701 (- 5.8%)
12/2006: Shadowpact #8 — 23,898 (- 7.0%)
01/2007: Shadowpact #9 — 22,866 (- 4.3%)
02/2007: Shadowpact #10 — 21,823 (- 4.6%)
03/2007: Shadowpact #11 — 21,114 (- 3.3%)
04/2007: Shadowpact #12 — 20,746 (- 1.7%)
05/2007: Shadowpact #13 — 20,335 (- 2.0%)
06/2007: Shadowpact #14 — 19,899 (- 2.1%)
07/2007: Shadowpact #15 — 19,689 (- 1.2%)
08/2007: Shadowpact #16 — 19,410 (- 1.4%)
09/2007: Shadowpact #17 — 18,382 (- 5.3%)
10/2007: Shadowpact #18 — 17,818 (- 3.1%)
11/2007: Shadowpact #19 — 17,103 (- 4.0%)
—————-
6 months: -15.9%
1 year : -33.5%

The book keeps bleeding readers.

—–
139 – EX MACHINA (WildStorm)
11/2004: Ex Machina #6 — 23,531
11/2005: Ex Machina #16 — 21,250
———————————
11/2006: Ex Machina #24 — 19,813 (- 1.6%)
12/2006: Ex Machina #25 — 19,234 (- 2.9%)
01/2007: Ex Machina #26 — 18,567 (- 3.5%)
02/2007: —
03/2007: —
04/2007: Ex Machina #27 — 18,242 (- 1.8%)
05/2007: Ex Machina #28 — 18,164 (- 0.4%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: -10.1%
1 year : -17.6%
2 years : -23.2%

Slowly declining. Collection sales seem to be fine, though, if first-month sales in the direct market are any indication.

—–
141 – BLUE BEETLE
11/2006: Blue Beetle #8 — 25,861 (-11.1%)
11/2006: Blue Beetle #9 — 23,785 (- 8.0%)
12/2006: Blue Beetle #10 — 21,358 (-10.2%)
01/2007: Blue Beetle #11 — 19,865 (- 7.0%)
02/2007: Blue Beetle #12 — 18,555 (- 6.6%)
03/2007: Blue Beetle #13 — 17,653 (- 4.9%)
04/2007: Blue Beetle #14 — 17,167 (- 2.8%)
05/2007: Blue Beetle #15 — 16,906 (- 1.5%)
06/2007: Blue Beetle #16 — 17,016 (+ 0.7%)
07/2007: Blue Beetle #17 — 16,128 (- 5.2%)
08/2007: Blue Beetle #18 — 19,140 (+18.7%)
09/2007: Blue Beetle #19 — 15,737 (-17.8%)
10/2007: Blue Beetle #20 — 27,611 (+75.5%)
11/2007: Blue Beetle #21 — 15,645 (-43.3%)
—————-
6 months: – 7.5%
1 year : -39.5%

The boost from the “Sinestro Corps War” crossover disappears again, as expected.

—–
142 – THE ALL-NEW ATOM
11/2006: The All-New Atom #5 — 25,569 (-10.1%)
12/2006: The All-New Atom #6 — 22,852 (-10.6%)
01/2007: The All-New Atom #7 — 20,996 (- 8.1%)
02/2007: The All-New Atom #8 — 19,004 (- 9.5%)
03/2007: The All-New Atom #9 — 17,572 (- 7.5%)
04/2007: The All-New Atom #10 — 16,739 (- 4.4%)
05/2007: The All-New Atom #11 — 16,193 (- 3.3%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: – 4.1%
1 year : -39.3%

Declining.

—–
149 – GEN13 (WildStorm)
11/2001: Gen13 #71 — 18,108*
11/2002: Gen13 #3 — 21,323*
11/2003: Gen13 #15 — 13,143
—————————-
11/2006: Gen13 #2 — 33,494 (-29.5%)
12/2006: Gen13 #3 — 30,233 (- 9.7%)
01/2007: Gen13 #4 — 27,615 (- 8.7%)
02/2007: Gen13 #5 — 22,422 (-18.8%)
03/2007: Gen13 #6 — 21,356 (- 4.8%)
04/2007: Gen13 #7 — 20,555 (- 3.8%)
05/2007: Gen13 #8 — 19,638 (- 4.5%)
06/2007: Gen13 #9 — 18,644 (- 5.1%)
07/2007: Gen13 #10 — 17,720 (- 5.0%)
08/2007: Gen13 #11 — 16,955 (- 4.3%)
09/2007: Gen13 #12 — 16,112 (- 5.0%)
10/2007: Gen13 #13 — 15,539 (- 3.6%)
11/2007: Gen13 #14 — 14,831 (- 4.6%)
—————-
6 months: -24.5%
1 year : -55.7%

Declining.

—–
150/159 – METAMORPHO: YEAR ONE
10/2007: Metamorpho: Year One #1 of 6 — 20,699
10/2007: Metamorpho: Year One #2 of 6 — 18,502 (-10.6%)
11/2007: Metamorpho: Year One #3 of 6 — 14,593 (-21.1%)
11/2007: Metamorpho: Year One #4 of 6 — 13,764 (- 5.7%)

Horrible numbers.

—–
151 – JONAH HEX
11/2005: Jonah Hex #1 — 33,771
——————————–
11/2006: Jonah Hex #13 — 18,747 (+ 2.5%)
12/2006: Jonah Hex #14 — 18,295 (- 2.4%)
01/2007: Jonah Hex #15 — 17,987 (- 1.7%)
02/2007: Jonah Hex #16 — 17,490 (- 2.8%)
03/2007: Jonah Hex #17 — 17,081 (- 2.3%)
04/2007: Jonah Hex #18 — 16,880 (- 1.2%)
05/2007: Jonah Hex #19 — 16,473 (- 2.4%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: -11.5%
1 year : -22.2%
2 years : -56.8%

Slowly declining.

—–
155/181/183 – ARMAGEDDON (WildStorm)
10/2007: The Midnighter #1 — 15,569
11/2007: Welcome to Tranquility #1 — 10,371 (-33.4%)
11/2007: Wetworks #1 — 10,217 (- 1.5%)
11/2007: Gen13 #1 — 13,856 (+35.6%)

Nobody cares about the latest annual big WildStorm Universe revamp.

—–
166 – THE MIDNIGHTER (WildStorm)
11/2006: The Midnighter #1 — 39,796
12/2006: The Midnighter #2 — 30,464 (-23.5%)
01/2007: The Midnighter #3 — 27,564 (- 9.5%)
02/2007: The Midnighter #4 — 24,792 (-10.1%)
03/2007: The Midnighter #5 — 21,452 (-13.5%)
04/2007: The Midnighter #6 — 20,561 (- 4.2%)
05/2007: The Midnighter #7 — 19,910 (- 3.2%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: -34.7%
1 year : -67.3%

Dropping from sight.

—–
172 – HELLBLAZER (Vertigo)
11/2001: Hellblazer #168 — 18,217*
11/2002: Hellblazer #178 — 17,977*
11/2003: Hellblazer #190 — 15,602
11/2004: Hellblazer #202 — 15,254
11/2005: Hellblazer #214 — 14,766
———————————-
11/2006: Hellblazer #226 — 13,388 (- 1.8%)
12/2006: Hellblazer #227 — 13,231 (- 1.2%)
01/2007: Hellblazer #228 — 12,956 (- 2.1%)
02/2007: Hellblazer #229 — 13,032 (+ 0.6%)
03/2007: Hellblazer #230 — 13,210 (+ 1.4%)
04/2007: Hellblazer #231 — 13,142 (- 0.5%)
05/2007: Hellblazer #232 — 13,164 (+ 0.2%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: – 4.8%
1 year : – 6.4%
2 years : -15.1%

Slowly declining.

—–
172 – COUNTDOWN SPECIAL 80-PAGE GIANT
10/2007: The Flash — 16,381
11/2007: Jimmy Olsen — 12,106 (-26.1%)

176 – CAPTAIN CARROT AND THE FINAL ARK
10/2007: Captain Carrot #1 of 3 — 14,779
11/2007: Captain Carrot #2 of 3 — 11,614 (-21.4%)

Two more Countdown spin-off books. Remarkably, the reprint series is outselling Captain Carrot.

—–
177 – 100 BULLETS (Vertigo)
11/2001: 100 Bullets #30 — 17,233*
11/2002: 100 Bullets #40 — 17,121*
11/2003: —
11/2004: 100 Bullets #55 — 15,929
11/2005: 100 Bullets #66 — 14,425
———————————-
11/2006: 100 Bullets #78 — 12,954 (- 0.8%)
12/2006: 100 Bullets #79 — 12,907 (- 0.4%)
01/2007: 100 Bullets #80 — 12,651 (- 2.0%)
02/2007: 100 Bullets #81 — 12,458 (- 1.5%)
03/2007: 100 Bullets #82 — 12,260 (- 1.6%)
04/2007: —
05/2007: 100 Bullets #83 — 12,475 (+ 1.8%)
06/2007: 100 Bullets #84 — 12,148 (- 2.6%)
07/2007: —
08/2007: —
09/2007: 100 Bullets #85 — 11,888 (- 2.1%)
10/2007: —
11/2007: 100 Bullets #86 — 11,599 (- 2.4%)
—————-
6 months: – 7.0%
1 year : -10.5%
2 years : -19.6%

178 – DMZ (Vertigo)
11/2005: DMZ #1 — 18,705
————————–
11/2006: DMZ #13 — 14,228 (- 2.8%)
12/2006: DMZ #14 — 13,731 (- 3.5%)
01/2007: DMZ #15 — 13,340 (- 2.9%)
02/2007: DMZ #16 — 13,199 (- 1.1%)
03/2007: DMZ #17 — 13,081 (- 0.9%)
04/2007: DMZ #18 — 13,120 (+ 0.3%)
05/2007: DMZ #19 — 13,116 (- 0.0%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: -14.0%
1 year : -20.7%
2 years : -39.7%

Two more Vertigo titles in slow decline. First-month sales in the direct market suggest that they’re both doing very well as collections, though.

—–
190 – WETWORKS (WildStorm)
11/2006: Wetworks #3 — 24,493 (-13.1%)
12/2006: Wetworks #4 — 23,267 (- 5.0%)
01/2007: Wetworks #5 — 18,313 (-21.3%)
02/2007: Wetworks #6 — 16,359 (-10.7%)
03/2007: Wetworks #7 — 14,852 (- 9.2%)
04/2007: Wetworks #8 — 14,189 (- 4.5%)
05/2007: Wetworks #9 — 13,340 (- 6.0%)
06/2007: Wetworks #10 — 12,098 (- 9.3%)
07/2007: Wetworks #11 — 11,218 (- 7.3%)
08/2007: Wetworks #12 — 10,382 (- 7.5%)
09/2007: Wetworks #13 — 9,654 (- 7.0%)
10/2007: Wetworks #14 — 8,995 (- 6.8%)
11/2007: Wetworks #15 — 8,544 (- 5.0%)
—————-
6 months: -36.0%
1 year : -65.1%

Canceled, it appears. In fairness, though, there’s been no official announcement.

—–
192 – JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED (Johnny DC)
11/2002: JL Adventures #1 — 26,911*
11/2002: JL Adventures #13 — 14,659*
11/2003: JL Adventures #25 — 13,105
11/2004: JL Unlimited #3 — 15,451
11/2005: JL Unlimited #15 — 10,625
————————————
11/2006: JL Unlimited #27 — 9,690 (- 0.1%)
12/2006: JL Unlimited #28 — 9,713 (+ 0.2%)
01/2007: JL Unlimited #29 — 9,273 (- 4.5%)
02/2007: JL Unlimited #30 — 9,123 (- 1.6%)
03/2007: JL Unlimited #31 — 9,072 (- 0.6%)
04/2007: JL Unlimited #32 — 9,326 (+ 2.8%)
05/2007: JL Unlimited #33 — 9,230 (- 1.0%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: – 9.4%
1 year : -13.7%
2 years : -21.3%

A Johnny DC title. See disclaimers.

—–
196 – THE VINYL UNDERGROUND (Vertigo)
10/2007: The Vinyl Underground #1 — 10,823
11/2007: The Vinyl Underground #2 — 8,237 (-23.9%)

Not great sales, obviously.

—–
197 – DEATHBLOW (WildStorm)
11/2006: Deathblow #2 — 22,880 (-32.8%)
12/2006: —
01/2007: Deathblow #3 — 18,813 (-17.8%)
02/2007: —
03/2007: Deathblow #4 — 15,842 (-15.8%)
04/2007: —
05/2007: Deathblow #5 — 12,547 (-20.8%)
06/2007: —
07/2007: Deathblow #6 — 10,582 (-15.7%)
08/2007: —
09/2007: Deathblow #7 — 9,287 (-12.2%)
10/2007: —
11/2007: Deathblow #8 — 8,229 (-11.4%)
—————-
6 months: -34.4%
1 year : -64.0%

Canceled with issue #9.

—–
199 – WELCOME TO TRANQUILITY (WildStorm)
12/2006: Welcome to Tranquility #1 — 24,352
01/2007: Welcome to Tranquility #2 — 15,087 (-38.1%)
02/2007: Welcome to Tranquility #3 — 12,334 (-18.3%)
03/2007: Welcome to Tranquility #4 — 11,423 (- 7.4%)
04/2007: Welcome to Tranquility #5 — 10,407 (- 8.9%)
05/2007: Welcome to Tranquility #6 — 10,280 (- 1.2%)
06/2007: Welcome to Tranquility #7 — 9,858 (- 4.1%)
07/2007: Welcome to Tranquility #8 — 9,509 (- 3.5%)
08/2007: Welcome to Tranquility #9 — 9,135 (- 3.9%)
09/2007: Welcome to Tranquility #10 — 8,611 (- 5.7%)
10/2007: Welcome to Tranquility #11 — 8,439 (- 2.0%)
11/2007: Welcome to Tranquility #12 — 8,076 (- 4.3%)
—————-
6 months: -21.4%

This seems to have been the final issue, but the writer has insisted that the book isn’t canceled.

—–
201 – TEEN TITANS GO (Johnny DC)
11/2003: Teen Titans Go #1 — 29,055 [30,847]
11/2004: Teen Titans Go #13 — 15,279
11/2005: Teen Titans Go #25 — 12,598
————————————-
11/2006: Teen Titans Go #37 — 9,642 (- 5.6%)
12/2006: Teen Titans Go #38 — 9,529 (- 1.2%)
01/2007: Teen Titans Go #39 — 9,425 (- 1.1%)
02/2007: Teen Titans Go #40 — 9,132 (- 3.1%)
03/2007: Teen Titans Go #41 — 8,895 (- 2.6%)
04/2007: Teen Titans Go #42 — 9,050 (+ 1.7%)
05/2007: Teen Titans Go #43 — 8,918 (- 1.5%)
06/2007: Teen Titans Go #44 — 8,738 (- 2.0%)
07/2007: Teen Titans Go #45 — 8,554 (- 2.1%)
08/2007: Teen Titans Go #46 — 8,427 (- 1.5%)
09/2007: Teen Titans Go #47 — 8,229 (- 2.4%)
10/2007: Teen Titans Go #48 — 7,927 (- 3.7%)
11/2007: Teen Titans Go #49 — 7,699 (- 2.9%)
—————-
6 months: -13.7%
1 year : -20.2%
2 years : -38.9%

Another Johnny DC book.

—–
204 – THE EXTERMINATORS (Vertigo)
11/2006: The Exterminators #11 — 9,973 (+ 0.0%)
12/2006: The Exterminators #12 — 9,636 (- 3.4%)
01/2007: The Exterminators #13 — 9,447 (- 2.0%)
02/2007: The Exterminators #14 — 8,965 (- 5.1%)
03/2007: The Exterminators #15 — 8,839 (- 1.4%)
04/2007: The Exterminators #16 — 8,758 (- 1.0%)
05/2007: The Exterminators #17 — 8,813 (+ 0.6%)
06/2007: The Exterminators #18 — 8,651 (- 1.8%)
07/2007: The Exterminators #19 — 8,454 (- 2.3%)
08/2007: The Exterminators #20 — 8,289 (- 2.0%)
09/2007: The Exterminators #21 — 7,950 (- 4.1%)
10/2007: The Exterminators #22 — 7,792 (- 2.0%)
11/2007: The Exterminators #23 — 7,461 (- 4.3%)
—————-
6 months: -15.3%
1 year : -25.2%

206 – SCALPED (Vertigo)
01/2007: Scalped #1 — 13,644
02/2007: Scalped #2 — 10,005 (-26.7%)
03/2007: Scalped #3 — 9,531 (- 4.7%)
04/2007: Scalped #4 — 9,163 (- 3.9%)
05/2007: Scalped #5 — 9,022 (- 1.5%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: -18.8%

Despite the awful periodical numbers, first-month collection sales in the direct market seem to be alright for both The Exterminators and Scalped, so they should be safe for the time being.

—–
207 – 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%)

Sinking like a stone.

—–
210 – AMERICAN VIRGIN (Vertigo)
11/2006: American Virgin #8 — 11,275 (- 4.2%)
11/2006: American Virgin #9 — 10,567 (- 6.3%)
12/2006: —
01/2007: American Virgin #10 — 10,331 (- 2.2%)
01/2007: American Virgin #11 — 9,628 (- 6.8%)
02/2007: American Virgin #12 — 9,215 (- 4.3%)
03/2007: —
04/2007: American Virgin #13 — 8,960 (- 2.8%)
05/2007: American Virgin #14 — 8,805 (- 1.7%)
05/2007: American Virgin #15 — 8,613 (- 2.2%)
06/2007: —
07/2007: American Virgin #16 — 8,403 (- 2.4%)
08/2007: American Virgin #17 — 8,204 (- 2.4%)
08/2007: American Virgin #18 — 7,727 (- 5.8%)
09/2007: American Virgin #19 — 7,487 (- 3.1%)
10/2007: American Virgin #20 — 7,228 (- 3.5%)
11/2007: American Virgin #21 — 6,893 (- 4.6%)
—————-
6 months: -20.9%
1 year : -36.9%

Canceled with issue #23.

—–
211 – THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES IN THE 31ST CENTURY (Johnny DC)
04/2007: The LoSH in the 31st Century #1 — 13,519
05/2007: The LoSH in the 31st Century #2 — 11,121 (-17.7%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: -38.1%

A Johnny DC book. See disclaimers.

—–
216 – FAKER (Vertigo)
07/2007: Faker #1 of 6 — 11,461
08/2007: Faker #2 of 6 — 8,735 (-23.8%)
09/2007: Faker #3 of 6 — 7,913 (- 9.4%)
10/2007: Faker #4 of 6 — 7,363 (- 7.0%)
11/2007: Faker #5 of 6 — 6,748 (- 8.4%)

217 – 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%)

Two more Vertigo books with horrible sales.

—–
218 – ARMY@LOVE (Vertigo)
03/2007: Army@Love #1 — 14,578
04/2007: Army@Love #2 — 11,195 (-23.2%)
05/2007: Army@Love #3 — 10,312 (- 7.9%)
06/2007: Army@Love #4 — 9,089 (-11.9%)
07/2007: Army@Love #5 — 8,386 (- 7.7%)
08/2007: Army@Love #6 — 7,858 (- 6.3%)
09/2007: Army@Love #7 — 7,310 (- 7.0%)
10/2007: Army@Love #8 — 7,010 (- 4.1%)
11/2007: Army@Love #9 — 6,617 (- 5.6%)
—————-
6 months: -35.8%

The official line is that book is ending with issue #12, with a view to being relaunched at a yet unspecified date.

—–
– BATMAN STRIKES! (Johnny DC)
11/2001: Gotham Adventures #44 — 11,875*
11/2002: Gotham Adventures #56 — 11,683*
11/2003: Batman Adventures #8 — 12,930
11/2004: Batman Strikes! #3 — 15,305
11/2005: Batman Strikes! #15 — 8,840
—————————————-
11/2006: Batman Strikes! #27 — 7,567 (+ 0.1%)
12/2006: Batman Strikes! #28 — 7,427 (- 1.9%)
01/2007: Batman Strikes! #29 — 7,330 (- 1.3%)
02/2007: Batman Strikes! #30 — 7,335 (+ 0.1%)
03/2007: Batman Strikes! #31 — 7,100 (- 3.2%)
04/2007: Batman Strikes! #32 — 7,294 (+ 2.7%)
05/2007: Batman Strikes! #33 — 7,235 (- 0.8%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: -10.7%
1 year : -14.6%
2 years : -26.9%

A Johnny DC book. See disclaimers.

—–
232 – TESTAMENT (Vertigo)
11/2006: Testament #12 — 8,690 (- 4.1%)
12/2006: Testament #13 — 8,320 (- 4.3%)
01/2007: Testament #14 — 7,960 (- 4.3%)
02/2007: Testament #15 — 7,618 (- 4.3%)
03/2007: Testament #16 — 7,422 (- 2.6%)
04/2007: Testament #17 — 7,193 (- 3.1%)
05/2007: Testament #18 — 6,963 (- 3.2%)
06/2007: —
07/2007: Testament #19 — 6,225 (-10.6%)
08/2007: —
09/2007: Testament #20 — 6,061 (- 2.6%)
10/2007: —
11/2007: Testament #21 — 5,596 (- 7.7%)
—————-
6 months: -19.6%
1 year : -35.6%

Canceled with issue #22.

—–
234 – CROSSING MIDNIGHT (Vertigo)
11/2006: Crossing Midnight #1 — 12,756
12/2006: Crossing Midnight #2 — 8,982 (-29.6%)
01/2007: Crossing Midnight #3 — 8,236 (- 8.3%)
02/2007: Crossing Midnight #4 — 7,568 (- 8.1%)
03/2007: Crossing Midnight #5 — 7,196 (- 4.9%)
04/2007: Crossing Midnight #6 — 7,036 (- 2.2%)
05/2007: Crossing Midnight #7 — 6,866 (- 2.4%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: -19.6%
1 year : -56.7%

According to the cover artist, the book has been canceled. So far, it’s been solicited up to issue #17.

—–
247 – WILDSTORM FINE ARTS SPOTLIGHT (WildStorm)
12/2006: Jim Lee — 9,074
01/2007: —
02/2007: —
03/2007: J. Scott Campbell — 8,130 (-10.4%)
04/2007: —
05/2007: —
06/2007: —
07/2007: —
08/2007: —
09/2007: —
10/2007: —
11/2007: The Authority — 4,828 (-40.6%)
—————-
6 months: n.a.

These sales say more about the current market value of The Authority than they do about WildStorm Fine Arts Spotlight.

—–
266 – SCOOBY DOO (Johnny DC)
11/2001: Scooby Doo #54 — 5,451*
11/2002: Scooby Doo #66 — 6,122*
11/2003: Scooby Doo #78 — 5,788
11/2004: Scooby Doo #90 — 5,280
11/2005: Scooby Doo #102 — 4,587
———————————
11/2006: Scooby Doo #114 — 4,387 (+ 1.1%)
12/2006: Scooby Doo #115 — 4,364 (- 0.5%)
01/2007: Scooby Doo #116 — 4,285 (- 1.8%)
02/2007: Scooby Doo #117 — 4,275 (- 0.2%)
03/2007: Scooby Doo #118 — 4,395 (+ 2.8%)
04/2007: Scooby Doo #119 — 4,373 (- 0.5%)
05/2007: Scooby Doo #120 — 4,343 (- 0.7%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: – 2.4%
1 year : – 3.4%
2 years : – 7.6%

Another Johnny DC book. See disclaimers.

—–
REORDERS:
277: 3,784 — DC Infinite Halloween Special #1
279: 3,677 — TotSCP: Superman Prime #1
296: 2,909 — Batman #670

—–

Average Sales per Title
(not counting reprints, reorders shipping after the initial month of release, Johnny DC titles and magazines)

DC COMICS
11/2003: 25,397
11/2004: 31,940
11/2005: 32,971
—————
11/2006: 34,906 (+ 4.5%)
12/2006: 34,418 (- 1.4%)
01/2007: 29,706 (-13.7%)
02/2007: 31,051 (+ 4.5%)
03/2007: 32,398 (+ 4.3%)
04/2007: 39,134 (+20.8%)
05/2007: 34,489 (-11.9%)
06/2007: 32,437 (- 6.0%)
07/2007: 34,330 (+ 5.8%)
08/2007: 34,885 (+ 1.6%)
09/2007: 32,332 (- 7.3%)
10/2007: 31,489 (- 2.6%)
11/2007: 29,427 (- 6.6%)
—————-
6 months: -14.7%
1 year : -15.7%
2 years : -10.8%
3 years : – 7.9%
4 years : +15.9%

DC UNIVERSE
11/2003: 28,712
11/2004: 40,291
11/2005: 42,342
—————
11/2006: 45,399 (+ 6.6%)
12/2006: 44,641 (- 1.7%)
01/2007: 38,302 (-14.2%)
02/2007: 39,976 (+ 4.4%)
03/2007: 42,634 (+ 6.7%)
04/2007: 52,768 (+23.8%)
05/2007: 47,294 (-10.4%)
06/2007: 45,380 (- 4.1%)
07/2007: 47,134 (+ 3.9%)
08/2007: 46,717 (- 0.9%)
09/2007: 42,894 (- 8.2%)
10/2007: 39,409 (- 8.1%)
11/2007: 37,257 (- 5.5%)
—————-
6 months: -21.2%
1 year : -17.9%
2 years : -12.0%
3 years : – 7.5%
4 years : +29.8%

VERTIGO
11/2003: 18,008
11/2004: 15,239
11/2005: 15,730
—————
11/2006: 13,773 (- 9.3%)
12/2006: 13,834 (+ 0.4%)
01/2007: 13,572 (- 1.9%)
02/2007: 11,855 (-12.7%)
03/2007: 13,748 (+16.0%)
04/2007: 12,105 (-12.0%)
05/2007: 12,256 (+ 1.3%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: -10.7%
1 year : -20.5%
2 years : -30.4%
3 years : -28.2%
4 years : -39.2%

WILDSTORM
11/2003: 15,803
11/2004: 16,628
11/2005: 16,255
—————
11/2006: 18,987 (-26.3%)
12/2006: 17,288 (- 9.0%)
01/2007: 14,525 (-16.0%)
02/2007: 14,105 (- 2.9%)
03/2007: 15,224 (+ 7.9%)
04/2007: 13,609 (-10.6%)
05/2007: 14,260 (+ 4.8%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: + 6.0%
1 year : -20.4%
2 years : – 7.1%
3 years : – 9.1%
4 years : – 4.4%

—–
6-MONTH COMPARISONS
+ 89.1%: Robin
+ 67.9%: Green Lantern Corps
+ 55.6%: Outsiders
+ 51.8%: Nightwing
+ 39.3%: Green Arrow/Black Canary
+ 16.5%: Detective Comics
– 0.6%: Action Comics
– 1.4%: Y: The Last Man
– 2.4%: Scooby Doo
– 2.9%: Flash
– 4.1%: The All-New Atom
– 4.7%: Fables
– 4.8%: Hellblazer
– 5.6%: Catwoman
– 7.0%: 100 Bullets
– 7.5%: Blue Beetle
– 9.3%: Wonder Woman
– 9.4%: Justice League Unlimited
– 9.9%: Supergirl
– 10.1%: Ex Machina
– 10.7%: Batman Strikes
– 11.5%: Birds of Prey
– 11.5%: Jonah Hex
– 12.3%: Countdown
– 12.3%: Superman
– 12.6%: Jack of Fables
– 12.9%: Legion of Super-Heroes
– 13.1%: Teen Titans
– 13.7%: Teen Titans Go
– 14.0%: DMZ
– 15.1%: All Star Batman
– 15.3%: The Exterminators
– 15.4%: Batman
– 15.9%: Shadowpact
– 18.2%: JLA: Classified
– 18.8%: Scalped
– 19.6%: Crossing Midnight
– 19.6%: Testament
– 20.3%: The Spirit
– 20.8%: Checkmate
– 20.9%: American Virgin
– 20.9%: Superman/Batman
– 21.4%: Welcome to Tranquility
– 24.5%: Gen13
– 34.4%: Deathblow
– 34.7%: The Midnighter
– 35.8%: Army@Love
– 36.0%: Wetworks
– 38.1%: The LoSH in the 31st Century

—–
1-YEAR COMPARISONS
+ 59.9%: Robin
+ 45.5%: Outsiders
+ 35.9%: Green Lantern Corps
+ 33.3%: Green Arrow/Black Canary
+ 29.4%: Nightwing
+ 2.3%: Detective Comics
– 0.8%: Y: The Last Man
– 3.1%: Fables
– 3.4%: Scooby Doo
– 6.4%: Hellblazer
– 10.5%: 100 Bullets
– 13.6%: Teen Titans
– 13.7%: Justice League Unlimited
– 14.6%: Batman Strikes
– 17.0%: Batman
– 17.6%: Ex Machina
– 17.6%: Jack of Fables
– 18.2%: Action Comics
– 18.2%: Flash
– 18.8%: Catwoman
– 20.2%: Teen Titans Go
– 20.7%: DMZ
– 21.1%: Legion of Super-Heroes
– 22.2%: Jonah Hex
– 22.3%: Superman
– 25.2%: The Exterminators
– 27.3%: Supergirl
– 27.4%: Birds of Prey
– 27.6%: JLA: Classified
– 29.1%: Checkmate
– 30.8%: JSA: Classified
– 31.1%: Wonder Woman
– 31.8%: Uncle Sam
– 33.5%: Shadowpact
– 35.6%: Testament
– 35.8%: Superman/Batman
– 36.9%: American Virgin
– 39.3%: The All-New Atom
– 39.5%: Blue Beetle
– 46.9%: The Spirit
– 55.7%: Gen13
– 56.7%: Crossing Midnight
– 58.7%: Superman Confidential
– 64.0%: Deathblow
– 65.1%: Wetworks
– 67.3%: The Midnighter

—–
2-YEAR COMPARISONS
+ 57.2%: Detective Comics
+ 56.8%: Robin
+ 31.1%: Green Arrow/Black Canary
+ 28.4%: Nightwing
+ 15.9%: Outsiders
+ 10.1%: Batman
+ 7.6%: Wonder Woman
+ 1.3%: Flash
+ 0.7%: Fables
– 3.7%: Y: The Last Man
– 7.6%: Scooby Doo
– 11.5%: Catwoman
– 15.1%: Hellblazer
– 19.6%: 100 Bullets
– 20.1%: Legion of Super-Heroes
– 21.8%: Teen Titans
– 22.3%: Action Comics
– 23.2%: Ex Machina
– 23.5%: Birds of Prey
– 26.9%: Batman Strikes
– 30.6%: Superman
– 38.9%: Teen Titans Go
– 39.7%: DMZ
– 53.9%: All Star Superman
– 54.5%: Supergirl
– 56.8%: Jonah Hex
– 58.7%: JLA: Classified
– 62.5%: JSA: Classified

—–
OTHER PUBLISHERS

10 – BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (Dark Horse Comics)
11/2001: Buffy #39 — 16,000*
11/2002: Buffy #51 — 16,028*
11/2003: Buffy #63 — 14,130
—————————–
03/2007: Buffy #1 — 109,919 [158,437]
04/2007: Buffy #2 — 96,409 (-12.3%) [132,378]
05/2007: Buffy #3 — 106,634 (+10.6%) [125,078]
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%) [ 99,910]
10/2007: Buffy #7 — 94,144 (- 2.4%)
11/2007: Buffy #8 — 91,595 (- 2.7%)
—————-
6 months: -14.1%

Sales remain strong three issues into the first arc not written by Buffy creator Joss Whedon himself. What’s also striking is that the first four issues all made the chart again in November, selling between 5,473 and 4,775 additional units. Given that a collection including those issues already came out back in mid-October, those are impressive reorder numbers.

As usual, there was a variant cover edition of Buffy #8.

—–
41 – ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL (IDW)
11/2001: Angel #3 of 4 — 15,130*
—————————————–
11/2006: Auld Lang Syne #1 of 5 — 8,057
12/2006: Auld Lang Syne #2 of 5 — 7,358 (- 8.7%)
01/2007: Auld Lang Syne #3 of 5 — 6,699 (- 9.0%)
02/2007: Auld Lang Syne #4 of 5 — 6,371 (- 4.9%)
03/2007: Auld Lang Syne #5 of 5 — 6,351 (- 0.3%)
04/2007: —
05/2007: —
06/2007: —
07/2007: —
08/2007: —
09/2007: —
10/2007: —
11/2007: After the Fall #1 — 47,563 (+648.9%)
—————–
6 months: n.a.
1 year : +490.3%

Similar to Dark Horse Comics’ Buffy the Vampire Slayer, IDW’s Buffy spin-off Angel: After the Fall is being promoted as the official continuation of the TV show. While series creator Whedon just “presents” this book, though, his name is featured prominantly on the cover, and – as with the last few Buffy issues – that seems to be enough.

The sales increase compared to previous Angel comics isn’t as massive as in the case of Buffy, but it’s still huge, obviously. The book is one of IDW’s biggest hits to date, in terms of direct market periodicals. (There were, as you may have expected, variant cover editions.)

If there’s a general lesson in these two projects, it’s that it’s not impossible to entice enough fans of a TV show into buying a spin-off comic to make the book a hit. Of course, the game is a bit rigged in this case, given the presumably considerable overlap between the fans of mainstream comics and fantasy shows in North America, as well as the fact that Whedon is a well-established name in both media. It still seems worth noting that fans are willing to buy the comics if you can convince them that the stories matter.

—–
74 – STAR WARS: LEGACY (Dark Horse Comics)
11/2006: Star Wars: Legacy #5 — 34,362 ( 0%)
11/2006: Star Wars: Legacy #6 — 33,003 (-4.0%)
12/2006: —
01/2007: Star Wars: Legacy #7 — 34,249 (+3.8%)
02/2007: Star Wars: Legacy #8 — 33,533 (-2.1%)
03/2007: Star Wars: Legacy #9 — 33,084 (-1.3%)
03/2007: Star Wars: Legacy #10 — 32,320 (-2.3%)
04/2007: —
05/2007: Star Wars: Legacy #11 — 33,138 (+2.5%)
05/2007: Star Wars: Legacy #12 — 32,161 (-3.0%)
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%)
—————-
6 months: – 4.5%
1 year : – 7.4%

Holding level. These are perfectly good numbers.

—–
77 – THE BOYS (Dynamite Entertainment)
11/2006: The Boys #5 — 26,842 (+ 8.0%)
12/2006: The Boys #6 — 27,039 (+ 0.7%) [35,173]
01/2007: —
02/2007: —
03/2007: —
04/2007: —
05/2007: The Boys #7 — 31,616 (+16.9%) [37,255]
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%)
10/2007: The Boys #12 — 29,754 (- 3.6%)
—————-
6 months: – 5.9%
1 year : +10.9%

Sales appear to be losing steam, but they’re still very high for this sort of thing.

—–
80 – THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY: APOCALYPSE SUITE (Dark Horse Comics)
09/2007: Apocalypse Suite #1 of 6 — 37,698 [48,514]
10/2007: Apocalypse Suite #2 of 6 — 31,176 (-17.3%)
11/2007: Apocalypse Suite #3 of 6 — 29,508 (- 5.4%)

The numbers are leveling out quickly.

—–
99 – HELLBOY: DARKNESS CALLS (Dark Horse Comics)
05/2007: Hellboy: Darkness Calls #1 of 6 — 32,321
05/2007: Hellboy: Darkness Calls #2 of 6 — 26,008 (-19.5%)
06/2007: Hellboy: Darkness Calls #3 of 6 — 25,553 (- 1.8%)
07/2007: Hellboy: Darkness Calls #4 of 6 — 25,210 (- 1.3%)
08/2007: Hellboy: Darkness Calls #5 of 6 — 24,743 (- 1.9%)
09/2007: —
10/2007: —
11/2007: Hellboy: Darkness Calls #6 of 6 — 24,303 (- 1.8%)
—————-
6 months: -16.7%

Solid sales. This one’s ultimately aimed at the book market, of course.

—–
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.

—–
Germany-based Marc-Oliver Frisch has a weblog and regularly contributes to German online magazine Comicgate.

40 COMMENTS

  1. I hear that Umbrella Academy is also being sold through Hot Topic retail outlets. Hot Topic does this every so often, apparently hand-picking a few titles that will appeal to their customer base. Anecdotally, I hear that this, along with retailers like Newbury Comics, are the top sellers for the random number reprints of single issues of Johnny The Homicidal Maniac that are periodically offered again. What I don’t know is if Hot Topic get their books through the direct market, and if their picking up Umbrella Academy would have any effect upon the ICv2 numbers.

  2. Wow this information is invaluable, any info complied like this on the collections? especially since many of the single issues are the material for collections. Some titles look like they will never be collected.

  3. The sales figures on Miller and Lee’s mean spirited All Star Batman & Robin The Boy Wonder don’t surprise me. Miller’s minimal story has savaged the characters and he seems to be using the book to work out some kind of grudge against the fans. (It proves that DC is open minded at least.) Which is a drag since the artwork for the book is fantastic. I stopped buying the book for the story after the second issue. It is clearly Jim Lee’s artwork that sells the book.

  4. Marc how many of these books do you actually read?

    Just curious because while I realize just looking at the numbers and your very cut to the chase “declining” comments I do wonder if you even are aware of what’s going on in the stories?

  5. I don’t think the fans care, Steve, as the book’s still an immense seller. It’s also bloody hilarious.

    And Evan, the content of the comics really don’t matter at all to the sales. We all know this. The numbers are mostly dependent on hype.

  6. Just keep in mind that the author’s commentary isn’t a critic of the contents of the book, or an attack on the creators or even DC.

    The commentary is simply a summation of the sales figures which represent the buying community’s collective opinion about each title. Sadly, those that DON”T buy a given book have more of an impact on the collective opinion than those that do buy a given book.

    Here’s an example. I read and enjoy Shadowpact, mostly because it has that late 1970s, early 1980s Marvel team book “feel”. I know ONE other person that reads this title. It’s so sad to think that between the two of us, we’re just a little shy of 1/8000th of the book’s readership. Oh yeah, and we both read Hellblazer which makes me feel even worse….

  7. About Brave and the Bold – I think there are a few reasons for the precipitous drop:

    The first issue led off with the marquee team of Batman and Green Lantern on the cover, and followed with GL and Supergirl. Since issue 2, the biggest pairing has been either Batman and Legion or Wonder Woman and Power Girl; ie, marquee character paired with B-listers. The very element that makes the series so fun, the chance to see several different characters interact, is probably a big roadblock to sales to Joe Random Reader. It’s going to be even worse with issue 9, which has 3 separate pairings, the biggest of which is Hawkman and the Atom.

    If the series had kept with the Batman every month theme of the previous volume, it would probably be better off. I think that’s the only way to recoup the lost sales. Going with other famous pairings, like Green Lantern / Green Arrow, may also work for single issues.

  8. Really interesting analysis, Marc… thanks for doing all the hard work of compiling and analyzing this data. Definitely seems like most of the declining books are in line with the books that I’ve been dropping and sadly, there aren’t that many that I’m sticking with for much longer. I’m barely hanging on to Countdown as it is now and DC has released way too many sub-standard tie-in series, none of them really worth reading.

  9. Take a good look people. The less then impressive (and continuing shrinking) sales on DC (and Marvel) comics is what happens when publishers (a) use gimmicks/stunts to sell books (b) rely SOLELY on the names of popular and/or critically acclaimed creators to sell books (c) aim the over whelming majority of their superhero books at the existing (and shrinking) older teen and adult readership and (d) over saturate the market with multiple spin off titles featuring characters who already appear in numerous other titles.

    And count me in as one of the few fans who is currently enjoying SHADOWPACT.

  10. It’s possible that the blip in sales of Booster Gold aren’t from issue 3 dropping more than expected, but rather issue 2 being seen as a de facto Sinestro Corps crossover and getting a sales boost from that. (Issue 2 had Sinestro on the cover and featured both Sinestro and Guy Gardner prominently.)

  11. Thank you for mentioning collection sales in your commentaries on Vertigo periodical sales. I feel that this helps to give a more balanced assessment of how Vertigo is doing as an imprint. Too bad about Crossing Midnight, though I still maintain it is a good thing that a book this unique and original could last this long. In the past years we have seen much more traditional, “typical Vertigo” books go under after a run of similar length. Also interesting that two recent launches that have met very little critical acclaim are doing extremely bad even by current Vertigo periodical standards (Un-Men and Vinyl Underground). The lesson? Vertigo readers have good taste!

  12. I am not sure that the companies making major changes towards the kids market would work. A lot of kids read Manga over traditional formatted comics. I also think today’s kids are more savvy and open to comics that don’t talk down to them (aka Harry Potter). That is why the growth in comics today is in the Graphic Novel format. Kids seem to think that superhero comics aren’t rooted in their reality. I also hang around alot of kids and teenagers as an anime convention runner.

  13. I’m not really sure it bears mentioning that Ra’s Al Ghul is “working”…working to do what? To prop up the sales of peripheral titles for *one issue*? Does that really matter to DC? To anyone?

    Historically, we pretty much know that sales return back to pre-crossover levels in 99% of the cases.

    Marc, do you expect that Robin and Nightwing will be able to hold on to some of the crossover increase? Especially with creative team changes for both coming up?

    If not, what is it that is really working? A month’s blip and that’s all? I’d kind of wave that one off myself.

    I’m going to be very interested in next month’s numbers for GLC in comparison with Robin and Nightwing. All of them are concluding crossovers this month, and I think there’s actually a decent chance that GLC might be able to hold on to some of the War readership, whereas I’m not holding out much hope for Nightwing and Robin.

    I think GLC has a chance to retain some of the readership for two reasons: 1) the crossover has been fairly long and has kept people buying the lower-selling title for a decent length of time and 2) there’s another crossover in the horizon for 2009, so if people anticipate GL and GLC to be crossing over for that one too, they may hang in there with GLC until Blackest Night.

    I am hoping that if GLC manages to hold on to some of the readership, publishers might realize that pre-hyping another upcoming crossover while you’re coming out of one might be a successful tactic to keep reader interest piqued in the interim.

    But we’ll only know for sure next month. (Well, later this month.)

  14. Gosh, Bill, I disagree with you. The Miller/Lee Batman lost a bunch of fans in our comic book neighborhood once they got the drift of where the story was going. I haven’t heard from any one of them that finds it “hilarious” as much as they think that it’s just so totally off the mark that it hardly constitutes a Batman story at all. The only people who buy it now are the graphic arts enthusiasts. Personally, I think the fans actually DO care. It may be true that the numbers only reflect the hype. But I think that’s a little cynical. I think fans WILL buy good stories about characters that they care about and won’t buy them if they’re bad.

  15. Note to Sami Merchi: The Robin, Nightwing, and Detective Comics issues in December were still running the Ra’s crossover. We won’t know the post-crossover numbers on those titles until February, when the January sales charts come out.

  16. Tom 5, when I say that DC and Marvel should return to making all of their DCU and MU superhero comics both suitable for and appealing to kids/all ages I DO NOT mean that they should write down to their readers. I’m asking for DC and Marvel to cut out/leave out the cussing (goddamn,bitch,bastard,and ass),graphic on panel/screen full colored bloody violence,strong sexual innuendos and/or strongly implied sex,and talking heads for multiple issues. I want to see all ages comics done like PAD’s first run on the HULK,Fabian’s NEW WARRIORS,Defalco’s SPIDER-GIRL,Larry Hama’s G.I. JOE,and Byrne’s FF.

  17. Interesting statistic: The total comic book sales for DC, Wildstorm, and Veritgo on the charts is about 2.5 million, roughly one third (~830,000) of which comes from limited series (including Countdown, the Search for Ray Palmer series, and the Wildstorm crossover, not counting the Superman Annual or Teen Titans special).

    Later I think I’m going to do a little research into whether or not there’s a precedent for such a significant amount of DC’s sales being from limited series.

  18. In November of 2006 DC shipped about 3 million comics, roughly 930,000 of which were miniseries, representing about 30% of the total, basically equal to the current total.

    There are a couple ways of looking at this, though. November 2006 was a month with 5 Wednesdays, which meant five issues of 52 totaling sales of about 515,000. Subtract about 100,000 from the miniseries total for November and the percentage goes down to around 27%.

    Discount both 52 and Countdown entirely and miniseries sales from Nov 2006 are 16% of the total while miniseries sales from Nov 2007 are 24% of the total.

    I’d like to do the same comparison with the sales charts from 2005 but they seem to have mysteriously disappeared, so eh.

    Something to chew on, anyway.

  19. Sami Merchi – I would expect GLC to hold onto some sales boost, if only for the fact that Kyle Rayner is being added to the book as a main character, and should bring some built-in readership with him.

    As far as the impact of the Ra’s crossover, I don’t expect it to last, but a one or two month sales boost is still money in DC’s pockets. I wouldn’t say that was a major hit as a crossover, but it is at least a minor success.

  20. “[…] any info complied like this on the collections?”

    I’ve done a bit of that here:
    http://comiksdebris.blogspot.com/2007/11/collection-business.html

    “Marc how many of these books do you actually read?”

    Not many. Frankly, while promotional stunts (such as crossovers, variant cover editions and the like) or creative team changes tend to have noticeable effects on sales, the stories themselves rarely indicate anything beyond whether people like them or not – and for most books, they don’t even indicate that much, most of the time.

    If a book drops by two percent points for three months in a row, that doesn’t mean people don’t like the stories. It’s simply what books tend to do. So I’ll always at least skim the solicitation copy, but there are numerous factors more relevant to sales than plots or storytelling.

    “It’s possible that the blip in sales of Booster Gold aren’t from issue 3 dropping more than expected, but rather issue 2 being seen as a de facto Sinestro Corps crossover and getting a sales boost from that.”

    That explanation makes sense, I think.

    “I’m not really sure it bears mentioning that Ra’s Al Ghul is “working”…working to do what? To prop up the sales of peripheral titles for *one issue*? Does that really matter to DC? To anyone?”

    Well, but that’s what crossovers do, traditionally – they’re short-term sales boosters. I presume it matters to Marvel and DC, or they would stop doing it.

    “Marc, do you expect that Robin and Nightwing will be able to hold on to some of the crossover increase? Especially with creative team changes for both coming up?”

    I don’t think so, no. Unless there are some drastic, lasting effects on those titles from the crossover that we’re not privy to yet, I don’t see them retaining any of the additional sales.

    And, with all due respect to the new creative teams, I don’t think they’ll make much of a difference to sales, either. Perhaps ROBIN will stay slightly ahead of its previous level for an issue due to Chuck Dixon’s history with the character, but I don’t expect any significant trend reversals for either title.

  21. If you really want to be depressed by these sales numbers, consider that the Comic-Con website claims that 125,000 people attended, or participated in, the 2007 San Diego Comic-Con. That’s 28,000 more people than purchased the highest selling book on this month’s DC chart.

    And that’s 7.3 times the total sales for Shadowpact.

  22. Not much to quibble about with the analysis.

    I know it’s beyond the scope of the this column as a whole, but to me the biggest two sales success of DC for November weren’t even mentioned. The Heroes book and LOEG: Black Dossier. The success of those books compared to the periodical sales might have made for an interesting analysis.

  23. “I know it’s beyond the scope of the this column as a whole, but to me the biggest two sales success of DC for November weren’t even mentioned. The Heroes book and LOEG: Black Dossier.”

    *sob*

    Nobody ever reads the introduction. :)

  24. One line mentioning that Heroes and LOEG: Black Dossier were highly successful really seems incomplete considering how successful they were. Some numbers to put them in perspective might have helped.

  25. Well, you complained that they weren’t even mentioned. Which is wrong, since I acknowledged them in the introduction. Given that the column’s focus is on periodicals, I agree with your earlier statement that a closer analysis of those book sales would be beyond its scope.

    That said, to be frank, I don’t think you can get a lot of mileage out of them, since (a) we’ve got no idea how the books are doing outside the direct market, (b) we ultimately won’t even know total sales in the direct market, once they drop out of the Top 100, and (c) they’re one-shot releases rather than parts of a series, so there are no previous or subsequent volumes with which to compare their first-month sales.

    All those numbers tell us for certain is that both books are doing very, very well in the direct market. And I did that.

  26. # Mark Engblom Says:
    12/31/07 at 4:34 pm

    “Man….cloudy skies in DC land.”
    —–
    Yep, Mark, the sky is falling. DC is going bankrupt and will be out of business within a year. Then the whole market will crash. Editors will be jumping off high-rise buildings.

  27. Terry Moore Says:
    If you really want to be depressed by these sales numbers, consider that the Comic-Con website claims that 125,000 people attended, or participated in, the 2007 San Diego Comic-Con. That’s 28,000 more people than purchased the highest selling book on this month’s DC chart.

    And that’s 7.3 times the total sales for Shadowpact.

    Who goes to Comic-Con for comics?! Seriously.

  28. Unpopular Says:

    “Who goes to Comic-Con for comics?! Seriously.”

    I admit it. I’m going primarily so I can go out to the drive-in theater in Santee.

  29. “Despite the awful periodical numbers, first-month collection sales in the direct market seem to be alright for both The Exterminators and Scalped, so they should be safe for the time being.”

    Actually, Rich Johnston reports today in LITG that inker John Lucas confirmed (back in November on a podcast, if you can believe it) that EXTERMINATORS will be gone with #30.

  30. Marc, here’s a question:
    I just noticed today that Blue Beetle and the Superman titles have different advertisements than the rest of the DC Universe books: more kid-friendly; lots of Cartoon Network and video game ads. Does that mean these books could be doing good numbers on newsstands, bookstores, etc.? (do some convenience stores and groceries still sell comics?)

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