by Marc-Oliver Frisch

So, did the financial meltdown have an effect on the periodical comics market in September? Probably not. DC Comics’ periodical business did take a massive hit, mind you, but that had more to do with Final Crisis than with the financial crisis. DC’s big blockbuster event failed to come out in September, and so did spin-off titles Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds and Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge. Batman, Justice League of America and Justice Society of America didn’t make it out, either, meaning that none of the publisher’s four top-selling titles on the August chart came out in September. The fact that DC’s average sales crashed to their lowest level in years didn’t come as a great surprise, consequently.

Also contributing to the weakness of the company’s September output were low debut sales of the election tie-in limited series DC Universe: Decisions and the ongoing monthly Secret Six by Gail Simone. That aside, though, there were actually some rather encouraging signs in the DC Universe line’s September performance Thanks to a couple of new launches at WildStorm and two issues of Fables at Vertigo, meanwhile, the average periodical numbers of both jumped back above 11,000 for the first time in months. And, of course, September was another successful month for DC as far as the Graphic Novel chart is concerned: Perennial favorites Watchmen and Kingdom Come ranked high, as did the latest collection of Vertigo’s 100 Bullets.

Before we head into the Top 300, some corrections are in order this month. The chart of WildStorm’s average numbers was a mess: The correct average for August 2008 is not 10,560, but 10,064, first up. Second, the year-on-year comparison wasn’t accurate, either, because I accidentally compared the August 2008 figure with the July 2007 figure. My apologies for the mix-up.

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.

—–

4 - ALL STAR BATMAN & ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER
09/2005: All Star Batman #2 -- 178,592 [184,962]
09/2006: --
---------------------------------------
09/2007: All Star Batman #7  -- 100,582 (- 5.1%)
10/2007: --
11/2007: All Star Batman #8  --  97,037 (- 3.5%)
12/2007: --
01/2008: --
02/2008: All Star Batman #9  --  93,766 (- 3.4%)
03/2008: --
04/2008: --
05/2008: --
06/2008: --
07/2008: --
08/2008: --
09/2008: All Star Batman #10 --  94,057 (+ 0.3%)
----------------
6 months:  n.a.
1 year  : - 6.5%
2 years :  n.a.
15 - ALL STAR SUPERMAN
09/2006: --
-----------------------------------------
09/2007: --
10/2007: --
11/2007: All Star Superman #9  --  78,706 (- 5.6%)
12/2007: --
01/2008: --
02/2008: --
03/2008: All Star Superman #10 --  73,574 (- 6.5%)
04/2008: --
05/2008: All Star Superman #11 --  70,355 (- 4.4%)
06/2008: --
07/2008: --
08/2008: --
09/2008: All Star Superman #12 --  70,423 (+ 0.1%)
----------------
6 months: - 4.3%
1 year  :  n.a.
2 years :  n.a.

Luckily for DC, both All Star series were on hand in September to cushion the blow resulting from the absence of all the company’s major titles somewhat.

Whether or not the brief controversy caused by the botched first print run of All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder #10 had any effect on the book’s numbers, we won’t be able to tell for certain until the next issue comes out. My guess is that it did, but it’s not impossible that the numbers are simply bottoming out, either. As usual, All Star Batman sales were supported through a 1-for-10 variant-cover edition, which means that retailers had to order 10 copies of the regular edition for every copy of the variant edition.

Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s run on All Star Superman ended with issue #12, meanwhile. While the book’s numbers have been quite good for a Superman book compared to the other ones out there, they still seem underwhelming for a creative team of this caliber. Even when it debuted with estimated sales of 170K back in November 2005, the book came up short against other sales juggernauts of the time, and the numbers have gone steadily downhill from there. On the other hand, of course, All Star Superman has reaped rave reviews and awards across the board, and the collected editions will probably still be significant sellers long after anybody remembers potboilers like Secret Invasion, so I doubt anybody’s been losing sleep over these numbers.

DC seem to be doing the sensible thing and shut down the series. Even ignoring that the All Star line doesn’t seem to have been terribly well-thought-out from the start, neither its numbers nor its strength as a brand right now suggest that it would be a good idea to continue the book. Whatever resources it would take to establish a new creative team are probably better spent on a new series that isn’t tainted by the spotty release history and the conceptual murkiness of the All Star label.

—–

16 - DETECTIVE COMICS

09/2001: Detective Comics #762 -- 37,975*

09/2002: Detective Comics #774 -- 41,637*

09/2003: Detective Comics #786 -- 37,778

09/2004: Detective Comics #798 -- 48,782

09/2005: Detective Comics #811 -- 38,772

09/2006: Detective Comics #823 -- 64,215

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

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%)

07/2008: Detective Comics #846 -- 72,417 (+48.0%)

08/2008: Detective Comics #847 -- 71,134 (- 1.8%)

09/2008: Detective Comics #848 -- 68,306 (- 4.0%)

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

6 months: +38.2%

1 year  : +38.1%

2 years : + 6.4%

5 years : +80.8%

While Batman #680 didn’t show up in September, the “Batman RIP” tie-in storylines continue with great success in Detective Comics, Nightwing and Batman and the Outsiders.

—–

21 - GREEN LANTERN

09/2001: Green Lantern #142 --  33,594*

09/2002: Green Lantern #154 --  38,523*

09/2003: Green Lantern #169 --  33,149

09/2004: Green Lantern #181 --  41,531 [46,196] 

09/2005: --

09/2006: Green Lantern #13  --  78,101

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

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%)

07/2008: Green Lantern #33  --  63,814 (- 1.6%)

08/2008: --

09/2008: Green Lantern #34  --  63,825 (+ 0.0%)

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

6 months: - 5.2%

1 year  : -19.3%

2 years : -18.3%

5 years : +92.5%

The upcoming crossover was name-checked in the previews for this issue, perhaps contributing to the minuscule increase. Since 2008’s issue #23 was in the middle of the popular “Sinestro Corps War” arc, the year-to-year drop looks much steeper than it really is.

—–

28 - FINAL CRISIS: REVELATIONS

08/2008: Revelations #1 of 5 -- 58,434

09/2008: Revelations #2 of 5 -- 54,706 (-6.4%)

A pattern emerges. After disappointingly low debut sales, all the various Final Crisis titles seem to be bottoming out remarkably quickly. Final Crisis proper and Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge had second-issue drops of a meager 12.9% each, and Final Crisis: Revelations is down to half of that. That’s remarkably good news for DC: It suggests that their failure indeed lies in the way they publicized the story rather than in the comics themselves.

Like all the other Final Crisis books to date, Final Crisis: Revelations #2 sales were boosted through a 50/50 variant-cover edition. Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #1, Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1 and Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge #2 each made the chart again in September with reorders of 5,608, 3,525 and 3,190, respectively, suggesting that there’s been more demand than retailers anticipated for those as well.

—–

30/32/33/35 - TRINITY

06/2008: Trinity #1  -- 88,044 

06/2008: Trinity #2  -- 79,495 (- 9.7%)

06/2008: Trinity #3  -- 76,224 (- 4.1%)

06/2008: Trinity #4  -- 73,448 (- 3.6%)

07/2008: Trinity #5  -- 68,351 (- 6.9%)

07/2008: Trinity #6  -- 66,624 (- 2.5%)

07/2008: Trinity #7  -- 65,509 (- 1.7%)

07/2008: Trinity #8  -- 64,220 (- 2.0%)

07/2008: Trinity #9  -- 62,252 (- 3.1%)

08/2008: Trinity #10 -- 60,249 (- 3.2%)

08/2008: Trinity #11 -- 59,356 (- 1.5%)

08/2008: Trinity #12 -- 58,151 (- 2.0%)

08/2008: Trinity #13 -- 57,284 (- 1.5%)

09/2008: Trinity #14 -- 53,736 (- 6.2%)

09/2008: Trinity #15 -- 53,101 (- 1.2%)

09/2008: Trinity #16 -- 52,316 (- 1.5%)

09/2008: Trinity #17 -- 51,318 (- 1.9%)

As expected, Diamond stopped marking Trinity with two asterisks in September, signaling that retailers can no longer return unsold issues of the book to DC. Consequently, Diamond are no longer knocking a token percentage of Trinity sales off on their chart to compensate for the potential returns.

What that exact percentage is, now, we don’t know, strictly speaking. But just like with 52 and Countdown before, if we assume that it’s 20%, then the chart of Trinity sales falls magically into place and makes sense, so let’s go out on a limb and assume it is 20%.

What’s different here than for Countdown or 52, however, is the slightly stiffer drop between the last returnable issue and the first one that wasn’t returnable. In the former two cases, we just saw the usual slow decline continue; with Trinity, retailers seemingly were a little more eager to slash orders now that they have to bear the full risk.

The drop isn’t drastic, of course, but it’s worth mentioning. Overall, the book continues a slow, steady decline. The equivalent of four (or sometimes five) monthly titles selling above 50,000 units isn’t bad, of course, but as far as weekly books are concerned, the shine seems to be off, at least.

—–

31 - NIGHTWING

09/2001: Nightwing #61  -- 34,840*

09/2002: Nightwing #73  -- 32,083*

09/2003: Nightwing #85  -- 29,292

09/2004: Nightwing #97  -- 44,038 [44,961]

09/2005: Nightwing #112 -- 36,238

09/2006: Nightwing #124 -- 38,251

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

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%)

07/2008: Nightwing #146 -- 29,494 (+ 0.2%)

08/2008: Nightwing #147 -- 56,300 (+90.9%)

09/2008: Nightwing #148 -- 53,210 (- 5.5%)

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

6 months: +75.9%

1 year  : +81.9%

2 years : +39.1%

5 years : +30.6%

“Batman RIP” is keeping Nightwing sales far above their usual level.

—–

34/37 - TITANS

09/2001: Titans #33     -- 26,196*

09/2002: Titans #45     -- 22,176*

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

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%)

07/2008: --

08/2008: --

09/2008: Titans #4      -- 51,755 (- 5.1%)

09/2008: Titans #5      -- 49,959 (- 3.5%)

Returning from its hiatus, Titans returns to bottom out – although it seems that it’s doing so much more slowly now. Bearing in mind that the second-issue drop is in part due to a variant-cover edition of issue #1, the book was doing unusually well when DC decided to retool it. While it’s too early to suggest they’ve killed the momentum, it seems fair to say they’ve hurt it, at least.

—–

36 - SUPERMAN/BATMAN

09/2003: Superman/Batman #2  -- 104,474 [115,840]

09/2004: Superman/Batman #12 -- 139,516 [173,643]

09/2005: Superman/Batman #22 -- 103,245

09/2006: --

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

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%)

07/2008: Superman/Batman #50 --  61,321 (+16.6%)

08/2008: Superman/Batman #51 --  51,701 (-15.7%)

09/2008: Superman/Batman #52 --  50,000 (- 3.3%)

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

6 months:  n.a.

1 year  : -12.9%

2 years :  n.a.

5 years : -52.1%

The numbers are back in a slow downward slide.

—–

38 - BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS

08/2003: Outsiders #3  -- 45,079

09/2004: Outsiders #15 -- 42,186

09/2004: Outsiders #16 -- 41,374

09/2005: Outsiders #28 -- 44,222

09/2006: Outsiders #40 -- 38,626

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

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

10/2007: --

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

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

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

01/2008: --

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

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

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

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

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

07/2008: Batsiders #9  -- 34,401 (- 0.7%)

08/2008: Batsiders #10 -- 33,645 (- 2.2%)

09/2008: Batsiders #11 -- 49,945 (+48.5%)

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

6 months: +35.7%

1 year  : +30.7%

2 years : +29.3%

5 years : +10.8%

Like the other secondary Batman titles, Batman and the Outsiders gets a good-sized boost by joining “Batman RIP.” After issue #14, the book goes away for two months, presumably because the regular writer left in a huff.

—-

39 - ACTION COMICS

09/2001: Action Comics #783 -- 37,336*

09/2002: Action Comics #795 -- 33,635*

09/2003: Action Comics #807 -- 30,858

09/2004: Action Comics #819 -- 42,385

09/2005: Action Comics #831 -- 55,288

09/2006: Action Comics #843 -- 56,084

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

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%) [53,198]

07/2008: Action Comics #867 -- 49,363 (- 1.6%)

08/2008: Action Comics #868 -- 49,556 (+ 0.4%)

09/2008: Action Comics #869 -- 49,597 (+ 0.1%)

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

6 months:  n.a.

1 year  :  n.a.

2 years : -11.6%

5 years : +60.7%
43 - SUPERMAN

09/2001: Superman #174 --  41,912*

09/2002: Superman #186 --  37,198*

09/2003: Superman #197 --  33,430

09/2004: Superman #209 -- 116,827 [118,289]

09/2005: Superman #221 --  69,065

09/2006: Superman #656 --  64,288

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

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%)

07/2008: Superman #678 --  47,670 (-12.8%)

08/2008: Superman #679 --  46,615 (- 2.2%)

09/2008: Superman #680 --  46,585 (- 0.1%)

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

6 months: +11.7%

1 year  : - 4.2%

2 years : -27.5%

5 years : +39.4%

The “Brainiac” arc continues to yield rock-solid numbers for Action Comics, while Superman numbers are also stabilizing four issues into writer James Robinson’s run. That’s very good news, certainly. If the “New Krypton” crossover starting in October is half as successful for the Superman line as “Sinestro Corps War” was for the Green Lantern books, the franchise will be off to a good start in 2009.

A second printing of issue #866 sold another 3,040 units in September, meanwhile.

—–

48 - GREEN LANTERN CORPS

09/2006: Green Lantern Corps #4  -- 46,619

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

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%)

07/2008: Green Lantern Corps #26 -- 46,098 (- 2.8%)

08/2008: Green Lantern Corps #27 -- 46,045 (- 0.1%)

09/2008: Green Lantern Corps #28 -- 44,939 (- 2.4%)

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

6 months: - 3.9%

1 year  :   n.a.

2 years : - 3.6%

The book continues a gentle decline. The next big storyline is just around the corner.

—–

56 - TEEN TITANS

09/2003: Teen Titans #3  -- 66,626

09/2004: Teen Titans #15 -- 63,136

09/2004: Teen Titans #16 -- 64,177 [66,695]

09/2005: --

09/2006: Teen Titans #39 -- 65,969

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

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%)

07/2008: Teen Titans #61 -- 44,666 (- 0.8%)

08/2008: Teen Titans #62 -- 43,258 (- 3.2%)

09/2008: Teen Titans #63 -- 41,790 (- 3.4%)

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

6 months: -14.9%

1 year  : -27.8%

2 years : -36.7%

5 years : -37.3%
64 - WONDER WOMAN

09/2001: Wonder Woman #174 --  29,917*

09/2001: Wonder Woman #185 --  24,235*

09/2003: Wonder Woman #196 --  27,539

09/2004: Wonder Woman #208 --  26,628

09/2005: --

09/2006: --

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

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%)

07/2008: Wonder Woman #22  --  36,514 (- 1.5%)

08/2008: Wonder Woman #23  --  35,562 (- 2.6%)

09/2008: Wonder Woman #24  --  34,583 (- 2.8%)

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

6 months: -15.2%

1 year  :  n.a.

2 years :  n.a.

5 years : +25.6%

Neither Teen Titans nor Wonder Woman are close to finding a solid foothold. And while Wonder Woman can at least claim to be still doing reasonably well in the long-term comparisons, Teen Titans emphatically can’t.

——

71 - ROBIN

09/2001: Robin #94  -- 26,457*

09/2002: Robin #106 -- 25,996*

09/2003: Robin #118 -- 21,811

09/2004: Robin #130 -- 45,406 [47,113]

09/2005: Robin #142 -- 28,822

09/2006: Robin #154 -- 34,387

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

09/2007: Robin #166 -- 24,877 (-  2.1%)

10/2007: Robin #167 -- 24,625 (-  1.0%)

11/2007: Robin #168 -- 50,672 (+105.8%) [57,442]

12/2007: Robin #169 -- 48,665 (-  4.0%) [51,441]

01/2008: Robin #170 -- 30,048 (- 38.3%)

02/2008: Robin #171 -- 27,781 (-  7.6%)

03/2008: Robin #172 -- 26,912 (-  3.1%)

04/2008: Robin #173 -- 26,357 (-  2.1%)

05/2008: Robin #174 -- 26,209 (-  0.6%)

06/2008: --

07/2008: Robin #175 -- 53,880 (+105.6%)

08/2008: Robin #176 -- 54,912 (+  1.9%)

08/2008: Robin #177 -- 31,346 (- 42.9%)

09/2008: Robin #178 -- 32,234 (+  2.8%)

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

6 months: + 19.8%

1 year  : + 29.6%

2 years : -  6.3%

5 years : + 47.8%

The book’s “Batman RIP” tie-in arc ended with issue #176, but Robin is still much better off than it was before the crossover, and it’s going up again. Retailers have faith in DC’s promise that the new storyline will have a major impact, it appears.

—–

73 - BOOSTER GOLD

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%)

07/2008: BGold #1,000,000 -- 34,431 (- 0.0%)

08/2008: Booster Gold #11 -- 32,900 (- 4.5%)

08/2008: Booster Gold #12 -- 32,049 (- 2.6%)

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

6 months: -11.3%

1 year  : -32.0%

Booster Gold has to keep biding its time for another two months before new writer Dan Jurgens takes over. So far, it’s still selling at a perfectly good level.

—–

74 - SECRET SIX

05/2006: Secret Six #1 of 6 -- 54,961 [57,425]

07/2006: Secret Six #2 of 6 -- 47,346

08/2006: Secret Six #3 of 6 -- 44,507

09/2006: Secret Six #4 of 6 -- 40,782

10/2006: Secret Six #5 of 6 -- 36,628

12/2006: Secret Six #6 of 6 -- 35,513

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

09/2008: Secret Six #1      -- 31,673 (-10.8%)

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

2 years : -22.3%

Ouch. You don’t even need to compare these numbers with the 2006 miniseries to get the impression that something went horribly wrong here. This isn’t a very promising start for the new ongoing series by Gail Simone and Nicola Scott at all. Whatever buzz for more Secret Six stories there was, it seems DC missed the boat on it quite spectacularly.

—–

78 - THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD

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%)

07/2008: The Brave and the Bold #15 -- 32,688 (- 4.9%)

08/2008: The Brave and the Bold #16 -- 31,522 (- 3.6%)

09/2008: The Brave and the Bold #17 -- 29,857 (- 5.3%)

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

6 months: -20.9%

1 year  :   n.a.

Marv Wolfman and Phil Winslade begin the first of two interim storylines. Not unexpectedly, sales take another hit now that the draw of Mark Waid’s name no longer applies.

I remain baffled DC are still holding on to their plan of handing this book over to superstar-status writer J. Michael Straczynski next year without even relaunching it.

—–

79 - DC UNIVERSE: DECISIONS

09/2008: Decisions #1 of 4 -- 29,713

The cake for the most ham-fisted attempt at topicality this month goes to DC Universe: Decisions, a four-issue series created for the express purpose of having several long-standing DC characters spill out their political leanings, because, um… well, because it happens to be an election year, apparently.

This is very uncharacteristic for DC, who usually shy away from anything that might cause any offense at all to anyone in their mainstream line of comics; in other words, they usually leave this sort of thing to Marvel. Perhaps that explains why they’re so clumsy at it, too. This being DC and not Marvel, for instance, the presidential candidates in the book are not called Obama and McCain, but are entirely made-up. Which undercuts whatever attention they were hoping to grab with a stunt like this one in the first place, of course, and makes you wonder what the point of the exercise is meant to be.

Looking at the numbers, retailers seem to agree. While I didn’t expect the book to set the charts on fire, mind you, I didn’t quite expect it to tank so horribly, either.

—–

82 - THE FLASH

09/2001: Flash #178     --  26,640*

09/2002: Flash #190     --  29,423*

09/2003: Flash #202     --  34,599

09/2004: Flash #214     --  44,124 [46,894]

09/2005: Flash #226     --  45,252

09/2006: Flash: FMA #4  --  66,663

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

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%)

07/2008: Flash #242     --  30,325 (-  1.6%)

08/2008: Flash #243     --  29,647 (-  2.2%)

09/2008: Flash #244     --  29,180 (-  1.6%)

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

6 months: -18.1%

1 year  : -48.8%

2 years : -56.2%

5 years : -15.7%

The decline is continuing to slow down. No new issue of The Flash has been solicited past December, so it seems they’re putting the book on ice in order not to distract anyone from the upcoming revamp.

—–

85 - GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY

09/2001: Green Arrow #8   -- 80,054*

09/2002: Green Arrow #17  -- 56,645*

09/2003: Green Arrow #30  -- 40,443

09/2004: Green Arrow #42  -- 31,714

09/2005: Green Arrow #54  -- 34,331

09/2006: Green Arrow #66  -- 33,793

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

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%)

07/2008: Arrow/Canary #10 -- 29,604 (- 2.4%)

08/2008: Arrow/Canary #11 -- 28,694 (- 3.1%)

09/2008: Arrow/Canary #12 -- 27,896 (- 2.8%)

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

6 months: -14.5%

1 year  : -11.5%

2 years : -17.5%

5 years : -31.0%

The numbers keep declining, slowly but steadily. A new writer is taking over in December.

—–

86 - SUPERGIRL

09/2001: Supergirl #62 --  21,339*

09/2002: Supergirl #74 --  18,915*

09/2005: Supergirl #2  -- 101,681

09/2006: Supergirl #10 --  67,358

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

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%)

07/2008: Supergirl #31 --  28,813 (- 2.5%)

08/2008: Supergirl #32 --  28,114 (- 2.4%)

09/2008: Supergirl #33 --  27,609 (- 1.8%)

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

6 months: -15.3%

1 year  : -38.2%

2 years : -59.0%

The book was treading water with a fill-in issue in September. A new creative team and the “New Krypton” crossover are just around the corner.

—–

96/102 - FABLES (Vertigo)

09/2002: Fables #5  -- 19,355*

09/2003: Fables #17 -- 25,856

09/2004: Fables #29 -- 25,025

09/2005: Fables #41 -- 25,001

09/2006: Fables #53 -- 25,388

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

09/2007: Fables #65 -- 25,311 (-0.7%)

10/2007: Fables #66 -- 25,016 (-1.2%)

11/2007: Fables #67 -- 24,841 (-0.7%)

12/2007: Fables #68 -- 24,574 (-1.1%)

01/2008: --

02/2008: Fables #69 -- 24,337 (-1.0%)

02/2008: Fables #70 -- 23,975 (-1.5%)

03/2008: Fables #71 -- 24,006 (+0.1%)

04/2008: Fables #72 -- 23,853 (-0.6%)

05/2008: Fables #73 -- 23,785 (-0.3%)

06/2008: --

07/2008: Fables #74 -- 24,166 (+1.6%)

06/2008: --

09/2008: Fables #75 -- 25,266 (+4.6%)

09/2008: Fables #76 -- 23,914 (-5.4%)

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

6 months: + 2.4%

1 year  : - 2.9%

2 years : - 3.1%

5 years : - 4.9%

The $ 4.99 “anniversary” issue #75 gets Fables a neat little bump – and also a temporary one, as usual.

—–

98 - THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES

09/2001: Legion Worlds #6     -- 20,129*

09/2002: Legion #12           -- 25,355*

09/2003: Legion #24           -- 22,653

09/2004: --

09/2005: Legion of SH #10     -- 34,833

09/2006: Supergirl & LoSH #22 -- 36,735

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

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%)

12/2007: Legion of SH #37     -- 45,803 (+70.8%)

01/2008: Legion of SH #38     -- 33,045 (-27.9%)

02/2008: Legion of SH #39     -- 31,123 (- 5.8%)

03/2008: Legion of SH #40     -- 30,377 (- 2.4%)

04/2008: Legion of SH #41     -- 28,939 (- 4.7%)

05/2008: Legion of SH #42     -- 27,940 (- 3.5%)

06/2008: --

07/2008: Legion of SH #43     -- 27,531 (- 1.5%)

07/2008: Legion of SH #44     -- 29,954 (+ 8.8%)

08/2008: Legion of SH #45     -- 25,783 (-13.9%)

09/2008: Legion of SH #46     -- 24,959 (- 3.2%)

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

6 months: -17.8%

1 year  : -11.8%

2 years : -32.1%

5 years : +10.2%

Cancelled with issue #50.

—–

99 - BATGIRL

09/2003: Batgirl #20     -- 34,608*

09/2003: Batgirl #32     -- 34,398*

09/2003: Batgirl #44     -- 27,796

09/2004: Batgirl #56     -- 39,493 [42,088]

09/2005: Batgirl #68     -- 27,199

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

07/2008: Batgirl #1 of 6 -- 34,411

08/2008: Batgirl #2 of 6 -- 27,710 (-19.5%)

09/2008: Batgirl #3 of 6 -- 24,932 (-10.0%)

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

5 years : -10.3%

That’s a pretty stiff third-issue drop for a miniseries.

—–

100 - BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL

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%)

07/2008: Batman Confidential #19 -- 25,037 (+ 0.6%)

08/2008: Batman Confidential #20 -- 24,654 (- 1.5%)

09/2008: Batman Confidential #21 -- 24,515 (- 0.6%)

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

6 months: - 1.2%

1 year  : -15.0%

The Batgirl arc by Fabian Nicieza and Kevin Maguire has stabilized Batman Confidential sales. Given that another story by another creative team entirely starts in issue #22, that probably won’t last long, of course.

—–

111 - BIRDS OF PREY

09/2001: Birds of Prey #35  -- 23,045*

09/2002: Birds of Prey #47  -- 28,063*

09/2003: Birds of Prey #59  -- 29,292

09/2004: Birds of Prey #73  -- 32,070

09/2004: Birds of Prey #74  -- 31,835

09/2005: Birds of Prey #86  -- 31,270

09/2006: Birds of Prey #98  -- 32,715

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

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%)

07/2008: Birds of Prey #120 -- 21,572 (- 0.1%)

08/2008: Birds of Prey #121 -- 22,406 (+ 3.9%)

09/2008: Birds of Prey #122 -- 21,318 (- 4.9%)

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

6 months: - 5.8%

1 year  : -21.5%

2 years : -34.8%

5 years : -27.2%

The increase from August vanishes again, but overall, Birds of Prey has still been remarkably solid over the last three months.

—–

112 - WORLD OF WARCRAFT: ASHBRINGER (WildStorm)

09/2008: Ashbringer #1 of 4 -- 21,086

These numbers are a far cry from the sales of World of WarCraft #1, but they’re still at the top end of the spectrum as far as WildStorm’s licensed properties are concerned. And World of WarCraft seems to be doing reasonably well on the Graphic Novel chart, for that matter, so this is a perfectly good number, all told.

There was a 1-for-10 variant-cover edition to boost the numbers.

—–

117 - RANN/THANAGAR: HOLY WAR

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

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

07/2008: Holy War #3 of 8 -- 23,955 (- 9.4%)

08/2008: Holy War #4 of 8 -- 21,836 (- 8.9%)

09/2008: Holy War #5 of 8 -- 20,294 (- 7.1%)
118 - 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%)

07/2008: Gotham After Midnight #3  of 12 -- 22,663 (- 6.6%)

08/2008: Gotham After Midnight #4  of 12 -- 20,863 (- 7.9%)

09/2008: Gotham After Midnight #5  of 12 -- 19,747 (- 5.4%)
119 - 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%)

07/2008: Dreamwar #4 of 6 -- 21,392 (- 9.2%)

08/2008: Dreamwar #5 of 6 -- 20,459 (- 4.4%)

09/2008: Dreamwar #6 of 6 -- 19,392 (- 5.2%)

These three limited series with no bearing on the monthly DC Universe continuity are continuing to drop out of sight – not surprisingly, given that the direct-market audience has been trained to pay attention to the big stuff.

—–

120 - 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%)

07/2008: World of WarCraft #9  -- 22,203 (- 4.8%)

08/2008: World of WarCraft #10 -- 20,883 (- 6.0%)

09/2008: World of WarCraft #11 -- 19,331 (- 7.4%)

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

6 months: -28.8%

The book’s sales keep plummeting like there’s no tomorrow.

—–

121 - 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%)

07/2008: Tangent #5 of 12 -- 21,061 (- 3.0%)

08/2008: Tangent #6 of 12 -- 20,314 (- 3.6%)

09/2008: Tangent #7 of 12 -- 19,269 (- 5.1%)

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

6 months: -40.5%
123 - ADAM STRANGE SPECIAL

09/2008: Adam Strange Special #1 -- 18,750
126 - REIGN IN HELL

07/2008: Reign in Hell #1 of 8 -- 29,003

08/2008: Reign in Hell #2 of 8 -- 20,459 (-29.5%)

09/2008: Reign in Hell #3 of 8 -- 17,964 (-12.2%)

Three more scarcely promoted out-of-continuity exercises with poor numbers. Quite why they are throwing these out there by the truckload to fend for themselves while two major crossover events are going on is mystifying. Beyond diluting their overall line and decreasing each book’s chance at finding an audience, what’s the point?

—–

130 - HOUSE OF MYSTERY (Vertigo)

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

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

06/2008: House of Mystery #3  -- 18,407 (- 5.5%)

07/2008: House of Mystery #4  -- 17,569 (- 4.6%)

08/2008: House of Mystery #5  -- 16,721 (- 4.8%)

Not bottoming out quite yet, but still comfortably ahead of the pack.

—–

133 - FRINGE (WildStorm)

09/2008: Fringe #1 of 6 -- 15,929

Another adaptation of a TV show with mediocre numbers. The book is late from August, while issue #2 has been pushed back to January, so apparently there are some production issues.

—–

135 - JACK OF FABLES (Vertigo)

09/2006: Jack of Fables #3  -- 22,373

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

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%)

05/2008: --

06/2008: Jack of Fables #23 -- 16,144 (- 1.0%)

07/2008: --

08/2008: Jack of Fables #24 -- 15,953 (- 1.2%)

08/2008: Jack of Fables #25 -- 15,642 (- 2.0%)

09/2008: Jack of Fables #26 -- 15,471 (- 1.1%)

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

6 months: - 6.8%

1 year  : -17.4%

2 years : -30.9%
137 - EX MACHINA (WildStorm)

09/2004: Ex Machina #4  -- 22,845 [24,279]

09/2005: --

09/2006: Ex Machina #23 -- 20,135

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

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%)

07/2008: --

08/2008: --

09/2008: Ex Machina #38 -- 14,973 (+ 0.4%)

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

6 months: - 3.4%

1 year  : -12.8%

2 years : -25.6%

As always, Jack of Fables and Ex Machina are two of Vertigo and WildStorm’s more reliable performers.

—–

144 - THE AUTHORITY (WildStorm)

09/2001: The Authority #26    -- 40,173*

09/2003: The Authority v2 #5  -- 28,801

09/2005: --

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

09/2007: --

10/2007: Prime #1 of 6        -- 21,992 (-44.9%)

11/2007: Prime #2 of 6        -- 17,717 (-19.4%)

12/2007: Prime #3 of 6        -- 16,623 (- 6.2%)

01/2008: Prime #4 of 6        -- 15,058 (- 9.4%)

02/2008: Prime #5 of 6        -- 14,099 (- 6.4%)

03/2008: Prime #6 of 6        -- 13,369 (- 5.2%)

04/2008: --

05/2008: --

06/2008: --

07/2008: --

08/2008: The Authority v4 #1  -- 15,735 (+17.7%)

09/2008: The Authority v4 #2  -- 14,324 (- 9.0%)

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

6 months: + 7.1%

1 year  :   n.a.

5 years : -50.3%
148 - WILDCATS: WORLD'S END (WildStorm)

09/2001: Volume 2 #27    -- 15,972*

09/2002: Version 3.0 #2  -- 22,124*

09/2003: Version 3.0 #14 -- 14,471

09/2005: Nemesis #1 of 9 -- 19,663

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

07/2008: World's End #1  -- 16,895 (-79.5%)

08/2008: World's End #2  -- 13,311 (-21.2%)

09/2008: World's End #3  -- 13,559 (+ 1.9%)

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

6 months:  n.a.

1 year  :  n.a.

5 years : - 6.3%

Look, it stirs.

The Authority sees an unexpectedly small second-issue drop, while Wildcats even gets a slight increase with issue #3. Suffice it to say, that’s excellent news for WildStorm. It’s going to take a lot more than this to justify the existence of the WildStorm Universe books in the long-term, but still. It’s a start.

—–

150 - AMBUSH BUG: YEAR NONE

07/2008: Ambush Bug: Year None #1 of 6 -- 19,088

08/2008: Ambush Bug: Year None #2 of 6 -- 14,627 (-23.4%)

09/2008: Ambush Bug: Year None #3 of 6 -- 13,477 (- 7.8%)

Levelling out. This is perfectly alright for a spoof series full of inside jokes.

—–

152 - JONAH HEX

09/2006: Jonah Hex #11 -- 18,957

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

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%)

07/2008: Jonah Hex #33 -- 14,281 (+10.1%)

08/2008: Jonah Hex #34 -- 12,969 (- 9.2%)

09/2008: Jonah Hex #35 -- 13,231 (+ 2.0%)

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

6 months: - 1.6%

1 year  : -12.7%

2 years : -30.2%

Guest art by J.H. Williams III gets the book another small rise.

—–

153 - GREATEST HITS (Vertigo)

09/2008: Greatest Hits #1 of 6 -- 13,142

Greatest Hits is doing The Beatles as superheroes, basically. Sales are what you get these days for random new Vertigo books – it’s got pretty much the same debut sales as Air and Young Liars.

There was a 1-for-10 variant-cover edition to promote the series.

—–

159 - BILLY BATSON AND THE MAGIC OF SHAZAM (Johnny DC)

07/2008: Billy Batson #1  -- 20,340

08/2008: --

09/2008: Billy Batson #2  -- 12,363 (-39.2%)

A Johnny DC title. See disclaimers.

—–

160 - MADAME XANADU (Vertigo)

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

07/2008: Madame Xanadu #2  -- 16,655 (-24.6%)

08/2008: Madame Xanadu #3  -- 13,052 (- 3.3%)

09/2008: Madame Xanadu #4  -- 12,329 (- 5.5%)

Madame Xanadu hasn’t quite found its level, it seems, but it’s still doing pretty well by Vertigo’s current standards.

—–

161 - BLUE BEETLE

09/2006: Blue Beetle #7  -- 29,079

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

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%)

12/2007: Blue Beetle #22 -- 15,256 (- 2.5%)

01/2008: Blue Beetle #23 -- 14,961 (- 1.9%)

02/2008: Blue Beetle #24 -- 14,378 (- 3.9%)

03/2008: Blue Beetle #25 -- 14,304 (- 0.5%)

04/2008: Blue Beetle #26 -- 14,285 (- 0.1%)

05/2008: Blue Beetle #27 -- 13,802 (- 3.4%)

06/2008: -- 

07/2008: Blue Beetle #28 -- 13,620 (- 1.3%)

07/2008: Blue Beetle #29 -- 13,310 (- 2.3%)

08/2008: Blue Beetle #30 -- 12,669 (- 4.8%)

09/2008: Blue Beetle #31 -- 12,302 (- 2.9%)

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

6 months: -14.0%

1 year  : -21.8%

2 years : -57.7%

Declining rather swiftly. Blue Beetle has been getting a lot of leeway from DC, but surely this can’t go on forever.

—–

162 - CHECKMATE

09/2006: Checkmate #6  -- 28,887

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

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%)

07/2008: Checkmate #28 -- 13,921 (- 4.9%)

08/2008: Checkmate #29 -- 13,000 (- 6.6%)

09/2008: Checkmate #30 -- 12,295 (- 5.4%)

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

6 months: -23.9%

1 year  : -34.4%

2 years : -57.4%

Cancelled with issue #31.

—–

163 - MANHUNTER

09/2004: Manhunter #2  -- 20,281

09/2005: Manhunter #14 -- 17,162

09/2006: --

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

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%)

07/2008: Manhunter #32 -- 13,740 (-12.5%)

08/2008: Manhunter #33 -- 12,700 (- 7.6%)

09/2008: Manhunter #34 -- 12,234 (- 3.7%)

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

6 months:  n.a.

1 year  :  n.a.

2 years :  n.a.

Cancelled with issue #38.

—–

164 - DC SPECIAL: CYBORG

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

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

07/2008: Cyborg #3 of 5 -- 13,490 (- 9.8%)

08/2008: Cyborg #4 of 5 -- 13,011 (- 3.6%)

09/2008: Cyborg #5 of 6 -- 12,227 (- 6.0%)

Terrible sales. Nonetheless, they for some reason decided to extend the book by one issue.

—–

166 - HELLBLAZER (Vertigo)

09/2001: Hellblazer #166 -- 18,061*

09/2002: Hellblazer #177 -- 18,557*

09/2003: Hellblazer #188 -- 15,897

09/2004: Hellblazer #200 -- 16,342 [17,636]

09/2005: Hellblazer #212 -- 14,714

09/2006: Hellblazer #224 -- 13,704

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

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%)

07/2008: Hellblazer #246 -- 12,088 (+1.6%)

08/2008: --

09/2008: Hellblazer #247 -- 11,851 (-2.0%)

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

6 months: - 0.6%

1 year  : - 8.4%

2 years : -13.5%

5 years : -25.5%

Guest writer Jason Aaron is gone, and so’s most of the slight increase he brought to Hellblazer.

—–

168 - THE SPIRIT

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%)

07/2008: The Spirit #19    -- 12,709 (- 4.1%)

08/2008: The Spirit #20    -- 12,358 (- 2.8%)

09/2008: The Spirit #21    -- 11,551 (- 6.5%)

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

6 months: -28.0%

1 year  : -42.1%

Dropping way too fast.

—–

169 - EL DIABLO

09/2008: El Diablo #1 of 6 -- 11,510

A western book by Jai Nitz and Phil Hester. Tough times, obviously.

—–

171 - 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%)

07/2008: Simon Dark #10 -- 12,038 (- 3.8%)

08/2008: Simon Dark #11 -- 11,529 (- 4.2%)

09/2008: Simon Dark #12 -- 10,895 (- 5.5%)

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

6 months: -25.8%

Another DC Universe title that’s been getting a lot of rope without any visible rewards so far.

—–

173 - NORTHLANDERS (Vertigo)

12/2007: Northlanders #1  -- 19,805

01/2008: Northlanders #2  -- 15,945 (-19.5%)

02/2008: Northlanders #3  -- 14,699 (- 7.8%)

03/2008: Northlanders #4  -- 12,851 (-12.6%)

04/2008: Northlanders #5  -- 12,278 (- 4.5%)

05/2008: Northlanders #6  -- 12,009 (- 2.2%)

06/2008: --

07/2008: Northlanders #7  -- 11,918 (- 0.8%)

07/2008: Northlanders #8  -- 11,477 (- 3.7%)

08/2008: Northlanders #9  -- 11,063 (- 3.6%)

09/2008: Northlanders #10 -- 10,738 (- 2.9%)

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

6 months: -16.4%

Continuing its slow downward slide. The first collection came out in October, so we’ll probably have a better idea how Northlanders is doing compared to other Vertigo books next month.

—–

174 - 100 BULLETS (Vertigo)

09/2001: 100 Bullets #28 -- 17,076*

09/2002: 100 Bullets #39 -- 16,962*

09/2003: --

09/2004: 100 Bullets #53 -- 16,413

09/2005: 100 Bullets #64 -- 14,708

09/2006: 100 Bullets #76 -- 13,082

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

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%)

07/2008: 100 Bullets #93 -- 10,796 (- 0.0%)

08/2008: 100 Bullets #94 -- 10,721 (- 0.7%)

09/2008: 100 Bullets #95 -- 10,669 (- 0.5%)

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

6 months: - 1.9%

1 year  : -10.3%

2 years : -18.5%

5 years :   n.a.

Sales have been rock-solid over the last six months. The twelfth collection came out in September with estimated first-month sales of 6,988 in the direct market. That’s a little down from Vol. 11, but still higher than the previous ones recorded by Diamond – or the collection numbers of any other current Vertigo series except Fables, for that matter.

—–

177 - GEN13 (WildStorm)

09/2001: Gen13 #69 -- 19,792*

09/2002: Gen13 #1  -- 30,723*

09/2003: Gen13 #13 -- 14,003

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

09/2007: Gen13 #12 -- 16,112 (- 5.0%)

10/2007: Gen13 #13 -- 15,539 (- 3.6%)

11/2007: Gen13 #14 -- 14,831 (- 4.6%)

12/2007: Gen13 #15 -- 14,330 (- 3.4%)

01/2008: Gen13 #16 -- 13,618 (- 5.0%)

02/2008: Gen13 #17 -- 12,844 (- 5.7%)

03/2008: Gen13 #18 -- 12,396 (- 3.5%)

04/2008: Gen13 #19 -- 11,887 (- 4.1%)

05/2008: Gen13 #20 -- 11,429 (- 3.9%)

06/2008: --

07/2008: --

08/2008: Gen13 #21 -- 11,074 (- 3.1%)

09/2008: Gen13 #22 -- 10,533 (- 4.9%)

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

6 months: -15.0%

1 year  : -34.6%

5 years : -24.8%

Not all WildStorm Universe titles are showing signs of recovery. In a way, maybe that’s fortunate for WildStorm, because it probably means that people are paying attention to concepts and creators rather than to just follow a line. Maybe they should take the hint and get rid of the “Universe” part.

—–

181 - 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%)

07/2008: Tiny Titans #6  -- 10,636 (- 2.5%)

08/2008: Tiny Titans #7  -- 10,234 (- 3.8%)

09/2008: Tiny Titans #8  --  9,795 (- 4.3%)

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

6 months: -14.3%

A Johnny DC book. See disclaimers.

—–

185 - SUPERNATURAL: RISING SON (WildStorm)

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%)

07/2008: Rising Son #4 of 6 -- 10,676 (- 5.3%)

08/2008: Rising Son #5 of 6 -- 10,110 (- 5.3%)

09/2008: Rising Son #6 of 6 --  9,590 (- 5.1%)

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

1 year  : -26.4%

These haven’t been stellar numbers by any stretch, but compared to other recent licensed titles like Chuck or Friday the 13th they look wildly successful.

—–

188 - 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%)

07/2008: The War That Time Forgot #3  of 8  -- 11,407 (-14.2%)

08/2008: The War That Time Forgot #4  of 8  --  9,965 (-12.6%)

09/2008: The War That Time Forgot #5  of 12 --  9,153 (- 8.2%)

Crashing and burning.

—–

194 - AIR (Vertigo)

08/2008: Air #1  -- 11,094

09/2008: Air #2  --  8,777 (-20.9%)

That’s an average second-issue drop for an ongoing series. Diamond are still marking Air with two asterisks, which likely means they’ve reduced the book’s numbers by 20% for the chart to compensate for a special retailer incentive. So, in reality, sales of Air #2 are probably around 11K.

—–

199 - TOR

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

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

07/2008: Tor #3 of 6 --  9,504 (-14.3%)

08/2008: Tor #4 of 6 --  8,598 (- 9.5%)

09/2008: Tor #5 of 6 --  7,992 (- 7.1%)

This one’s geared towards the book market, more likely than not.

—–

204 - STORMWATCH: PHD (WildStorm)

09/2002: StormWatch: TA #3   -- 19,477*

09/2003: StormWatch: TA #15  -- 12,110

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

09/2007: StormWatch: PHD #11 -- 10,440 (- 6.0%)

10/2007: StormWatch: PHD #12 -- 10,011 (- 4.1%)

11/2007: --

12/2007: --

01/2008: --

02/2008: --

03/2008: --

04/2008: --

05/2008: --

06/2008: --

07/2008: --

08/2008: StormWatch: PHD #13 --  8,650 (-13.6%)

09/2008: StormWatch: PHD #14 --  7,883 (- 8.9%)

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

6 months:  n.a.

1 year  : -24.5%

5 years : -34.9%

Another WildStorm Universe book in terminal decline.

—–

205 - HELLBLAZER PRESENTS CHAS: THE KNOWLEDGE (Vertigo)

07/2008: Chas #1 of 5 -- 10,465

08/2008: Chas #2 of 5 --  8,608 (-17.5%)

08/2008: Chas #3 of 5 --  7,862 (- 8.7%)

Another book that probably won’t bring in any money until it’s been collected.

—–

208 - 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%)

07/2008: Young Liars #5  --  8,172 (- 4.9%)

08/2008: Young Liars #6  --  7,862 (- 3.8%)

09/2008: Young Liars #7  --  7,520 (- 4.4%)

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

6 months: -42.9%

Sliding downwards. The first collection won’t be out until December.

—–

216 - SCALPED (Vertigo)

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%)

07/2008: Scalped #19 --  7,221 (+ 2.9%)

08/2008: Scalped #20 --  7,034 (- 2.6%)

09/2008: Scalped #21 --  7,029 (- 0.1%)

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

6 months: + 0.4%

1 year  : - 8.5%

Scalped has been fiercely clinging on to 7K for almost a year now. I’m really curious about the first-month numbers of the third collection that came out in October.

—–

220 - 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%)

07/2008: Super Friends #5  --  7,141 (-11.2%)

08/2008: Super Friends #6  --  6,671 (- 6.6%)

09/2008: Super Friends #7  --  6,428 (- 3.6%)

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

6 months: -48.8%

Two Johnny DC titles. See disclaimers.

—–

222 - BATMAN STRIKES! (Johnny DC)

09/2001: Gotham Adventures #42 -- 12,088*

09/2002: Gotham Adventures #54 -- 12,318*

09/2003: Batman Adventures #6  -- 13,512

09/2004: Batman Strikes! #1    -- 22,397 [23,348]

09/2005: Batman Strikes! #13   --  9,284

09/2006: Batman Strikes! #25   --  7,765

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

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%)

07/2008: Batman Strikes! #47   --  7,711 (+ 8.3%)

08/2008: Batman Strikes! #48   --  6,702 (-13.1%)

09/2008: Batman Strikes! #49   --  6,387 (- 4.7%)

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

6 months: - 2.4%

1 year  : - 6.5%

2 years : -17.8%

5 years : -52.7%

A Johnny DC title. See disclaimers.

—–

224 - STORMING PARADISE (WildStorm)

07/2008: Storming Paradise #1 of 6 -- 9,965

08/2008: Storming Paradise #2 of 6 -- 7,282 (-26.9%)

09/2008: Storming Paradise #3 of 6 -- 6,113 (-16.1%)

Horrible numbers.

—–

227 - THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES IN THE 31ST CENTURY (Johnny DC)

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%)

07/2008: The LoSH in the 31st Century #16 --  6,289 (- 4.2%)

08/2008: The LoSH in the 31st Century #17 --  5,925 (- 5.8%)

09/2008: The LoSH in the 31st Century #18 --  5,765 (- 2.7%)

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

6 months: - 8.9%

1 year  : -21.7%

A Johnny DC title. See disclaimers.

—–

230 - CHUCK (WildStorm)

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

07/2008: Chuck #2 of 6 --  7,411 (-29.5%)

08/2008: Chuck #3 of 6 --  6,267 (-15.4%)

09/2008: Chuck #4 of 6 --  5,710 (- 8.9%)
231 - ARMY@LOVE: THE ART OF WAR (Vertigo)

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%)

12/2007: Army@Love #10 --  6,364 (- 3.8%)

01/2008: Army@Love #11 --  6,023 (- 5.4%)

02/2008: Army@Love #12 --  5,777 (- 4.1%)

03/2008: --

04/2008: --

05/2008: --

06/2008: --

07/2008: --

08/2008: AoW #1 of 6   --  6,692 (+15.8%)

09/2008: AoW #2 of 6   --  5,669 (-15.3%)

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

6 months:  n.a.

1 year  : -22.5%
244 - 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%)

07/2008: The Vinyl Underground #10 --  5,238 (- 3.8%)

08/2008: The Vinyl Underground #11 --  5,107 (- 2.5%)

09/2008: The Vinyl Underground #12 --  4,973 (- 2.6%)

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

6 months: -17.6%

Three more Vertigo and WildStorm books with abysmal sales. The Vinyl Underground is cancelled with issue #12.

—–

257 - SCOOBY DOO (Johnny DC)

09/2001: Scooby Doo #52  -- 5,492*

09/2002: Scooby Doo #64  -- 6,628*

09/2003: Scooby Doo #76  -- 5,938

09/2004: Scooby Doo #88  -- 5,571

09/2005: Scooby Doo #100 -- 5,239

09/2006: Scooby Doo #112 -- 4,385

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

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%)

07/2008: Scooby Doo #134 -- 4,286 (- 4.8%)

08/2008: Scooby Doo #135 -- 4,226 (- 1.4%)

09/2008: Scooby Doo #136 -- 4,283 (+ 1.4%)

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

6 months: - 4.0%

1 year  : - 2.7%

2 years : - 2.3%

5 years : -27.9%

And another Johnny DC book. See disclaimers.

—–

268 - THE UN-MEN (Vertigo)

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%)

07/2008: The Un-Men #12 --  ?

08/2008: --

09/2008: The Un-Men #13 --  3,846

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

6 months: -19.2%

1 year  : -56.1%

Cancelled.

—–

278 - FAMILY DYNAMIC (Johnny DC)

08/2008: Family Dynamic #1 of 6  -- 5,086

09/2008: Family Dynamic #2 of 3  -- 3,456 (-32.1%)

That’s a horrible second-issue drop. Usually, that doesn’t say much for Johnny DC books, but in this case it’s notable because Family Dynamic apparently wasn’t created to be part of the Johnny DC line. And either way, it does seem to be problem in this case, because the series’ length was cut from six issues to three.

All told, it seems Family Dynamic ended up with the worst of two worlds – it has to live with the stigma of being a Johnny DC book without getting any of the benefits, evidently.

—–

281 - 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%)

07/2008: Beyond Tomorrow #3 of 6 -- ?

08/2008: Beyond Tomorrow #4 of 6 -- 3,491

09/2008: Beyond Tomorrow #5 of 6 -- 3,340 (- 4.3%)

Another WildStorm title – creator-owned, in this case – with disastrous numbers.

—–

REORDERS:

234:  5,608 -- Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds #1

277:  3,525 -- Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1

287:  3,190 -- Final Crisis: Rogues' Revenge #2

292:  3,040 -- Action Comics #866 (2nd)

—–

6-MONTH COMPARISONS

+ 75.9%: Nightwing

+ 38.2%: Detective Comics

+ 35.7%: Outsiders

+ 19.8%: Robin

+ 11.7%: Superman

+  7.1%: The Authority

+  2.4%: Fables

+  0.4%: Scalped

-  0.6%: Hellblazer

-  1.2%: Batman Confidential

-  1.6%: Jonah Hex

-  1.9%: 100 Bullets

-  2.4%: Batman Strikes

-  3.4%: Ex Machina

-  3.9%: GL Corps

-  4.0%: Scooby Doo

-  4.3%: All Star Superman

-  5.2%: Green Lantern

-  5.8%: Birds of Prey

-  6.8%: Jack of Fables

-  8.9%: LoSH 31

- 11.3%: Booster Gold

- 14.0%: Blue Beetle

- 14.3%: Tiny Titans

- 14.5%: Green Arrow

- 14.9%: Teen Titans

- 15.0%: Gen13

- 15.2%: Wonder Woman

- 15.3%: Supergirl

- 16.4%: Northlanders

- 17.6%: Vinyl Underground

- 17.8%: Legion

- 18.1%: Flash

- 19.2%: Un-Men

- 20.9%: Brave & Bold

- 23.9%: Checkmate

- 25.8%: Simon Dark

- 28.0%: Spirit

- 28.8%: World of WarCraft

- 40.5%: Tangent

- 42.9%: Young Liars

- 48.8%: Super Friends

—–

1-YEAR COMPARISONS

+ 81.9%: Nightwing

+ 38.1%: Detective Comics

+ 30.7%: Outsiders

+ 29.6%: Robin

-  2.7%: Scooby Doo

-  2.9%: Fables

-  4.2%: Superman

-  6.5%: All Star Batman

-  6.5%: Batman Strikes

-  8.4%: Hellblazer

-  8.5%: Scalped

- 10.3%: 100 Bullets

- 11.5%: Green Arrow

- 11.8%: Legion

- 12.7%: Jonah Hex

- 12.8%: Ex Machina

- 12.9%: Superman/Batman

- 15.0%: Batman Confidential

- 17.4%: Jack of Fables

- 19.3%: Green Lantern

- 21.5%: Birds of Prey

- 21.7%: LoSH 31

- 21.8%: Blue Beetle

- 22.5%: Army@Love

- 24.5%: StormWatch

- 26.4%: Supernatural

- 27.8%: Teen Titans

- 32.0%: Booster Gold

- 34.4%: Checkmate

- 34.6%: Gen13

- 38.2%: Supergirl

- 42.1%: Spirit

- 48.8%: Flash

- 56.1%: Un-Men

—–

2-YEAR COMPARISONS

+ 39.1%: Nightwing

+ 29.3%: Outsiders

+  6.4%: Detective Comics

-  2.3%: Scooby Doo

-  3.1%: Fables

-  3.6%: GL Corps

-  6.3%: Robin

- 11.6%: Action Comics

- 13.5%: Hellblazer

- 17.5%: Green Arrow

- 17.8%: Batman Strikes

- 18.3%: Green Lantern

- 18.5%: 100 Bullets

- 22.3%: Secret Six

- 25.6%: Ex Machina

- 27.5%: Superman

- 30.2%: Jonah Hex

- 30.9%: Jack of Fables

- 32.1%: Legion

- 34.8%: Birds of Prey

- 36.7%: Teen Titans

- 56.2%: Flash

- 57.4%: Checkmate

- 57.7%: Blue Beetle

- 59.0%: Supergirl

—–

5-YEAR COMPARISONS

+ 92.5%: Green Lantern

+ 80.8%: Detective Comics

+ 60.7%: Action Comics

+ 47.8%: Robin

+ 39.4%: Superman

+ 30.6%: Nightwing

+ 25.6%: Wonder Woman

+ 10.8%: Outsiders

+ 10.2%: Legion

-  4.9%: Fables

-  6.3%: Wildcats

- 10.3%: Batgirl

- 15.7%: Flash

- 24.8%: Gen13

- 25.5%: Hellblazer

- 27.2%: Birds of Prey

- 27.9%: Scooby Doo

- 31.0%: Green Arrow

- 34.9%: StormWatch

- 37.3%: Teen Titans

- 50.3%: The Authority

- 52.1%: Superman/Batman

- 52.7%: Batman Strikes

—–

Average Sales per Title

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

DC COMICS

09/2003: 28,511

09/2004: 31,690

09/2005: 34,972

09/2006: 34,920

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

09/2007: 32,332 (- 7.9%)

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: 27,367 (+ 1.1%)

07/2008: 27,436 (+ 0.3%)

08/2008: 29,678 (+ 8.2%)

09/2008: 25,562 (-13.9%)

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

6 months: - 3.3%

1 year  : -20.9%

2 years : -26.8%

3 years : -26.9%

4 years : -19.3%

5 years : -10.3%
DC UNIVERSE

09/2003: 32,934

09/2004: 36,445

09/2005: 44,823

09/2006: 46,329

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

09/2007: 42,894 (- 8.8%)

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: 35,800 (+ 1.6%)

07/2008: 35,553 (- 0.7%)

08/2008: 38,502 (+ 8.3%)

09/2008: 33,591 (-13.0%)

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

6 months: + 1.3%

1 year  : -21.7%

2 years : -27.5%

3 years : -25.1%

4 years : - 7.8%

5 years : + 2.0%
VERTIGO

09/2003: 17,084

09/2004: 17,046

09/2005: 14,287

09/2006: 15,399

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

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%)

07/2008: 10,821 (+ 3.2%)

08/2008: 10,979 (+ 1.5%)

09/2008: 11,748 (+ 7.0%)

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

6 months: +12.1%

1 year  : - 0.5%

2 years : -23.7%

3 years : -17.8%

4 years : -31.1%

5 years : -31.2%
WILDSTORM

09/2003: 19,744

09/2004: 16,541

09/2005: 13,707

09/2006: 13,285

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

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%)

07/2008:  9,875 (+ 0.7%)

08/2008: 10,064 (+ 1.9%)

09/2008: 11,864 (+17.9%)

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

6 months: - 7.6%

1 year  : + 4.3%

2 years : -10.7%

3 years : -13.5%

4 years : -28.3%

5 years : -39.9%

—–

OTHER PUBLISHERS

11 - BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (Dark Horse Comics)

09/2001: Buffy #37 --  16,172*

09/2002: Buffy #49 --  16,028*

09/2003: Buffy #61 --  14,424

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

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%)

07/2008: Buffy #16 --  82,031 (+ 2.0%)

08/2008: Buffy #17 --  79,307 (- 3.3%)

09/2008: Buffy #18 --  77,589 (- 2.2%)

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

6 months: - 12.8%

1 year  : - 19.6% 

5 years : +437.9%
53 - ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL (IDW)

09/2001: Angel #1 of 4          -- 18,020*

09/2005: The Curse #4 of 5      -- 14,055

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

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%)

07/2008: After the Fall #10     -- 43,024 (-  8.6%) [45,510]

08/2008: After the Fall #11     -- 44,905 (+  4.4%)

09/2008: After the Fall #12     -- 43,019 (-  4.2%)

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

6 months: - 13.2%
75 - SPIKE: AFTER THE FALL (IDW)

07/2008: Spike: After the Fall #1 of 4 -- 36,874

08/2008: Spike: After the Fall #2 of 4 -- 33,635 (-8.8%)

09/2008: Spike: After the Fall #3 of 4 -- 31,059 (-7.7%)

Joss Whedon creations continue to dominate the non-Marvel, non-DC periodical market for the third consecutive month. All of these books were supported through variant-cover editions.

—–

81 - STAR WARS: LEGACY (Dark Horse Comics)

09/2006: Star Wars: Legacy #3  -- 34,268

09/2006: Star Wars: Legacy #4  -- 34,362

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

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%)

07/2008: Star Wars: Legacy #26 -- 29,123 (-1.4%)

08/2008: Star Wars: Legacy #27 -- 28,549 (-2.0%)

09/2008: Star Wars: Legacy #28 -- 29,331 (+2.7%)

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

6 months: - 3.0%

1 year  : - 6.1%

2 years : -14.5%

The “Vector” crossover brings a slight increase.

—–

83 - 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%)

07/2008: Project: Superpowers #5 of 7 -- 30,555 (- 7.8%)

08/2008: --

09/2008: Project: Superpowers #6 of 7 -- 29,153 (- 4.6%)

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

6 months:  n.a.

On the one hand, the book’s decline doesn’t really suggest an enthusiastic response. Then again, it’s still a perfectly good level for an unproven property. There was a variant-cover edition.

—–

90 - THE BOYS (Dynamite Entertainment)

09/2007: --

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

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%)

07/2008: The Boys #20 -- 27,571 (- 0.0%)

08/2008: The Boys #21 -- 27,523 (- 0.2%)

09/2008: The Boys #22 -- 27,104 (- 1.5%)

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

6 months: - 2.8%

1 year  : -15.5%

2 years :   n.a.

Continuing a very slow decline.

—–

93 - STAR WARS: CLONE WARS (Dark Horse Comics)

09/2008: Clone Wars #1 of 6 -- 26,598

A new miniseries to tie in with the… um, whatever it is it’s tying in with. I’ve lost track.

Perfectly good numbers, at any rate.

—–

97 - CONAN (Dark Horse Comics)

09/2004: Conan #8      -- 46,339

09/2005: Conan #20     -- 34,899

09/2006: Conan #32     -- 29,070

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

09/2007: --

10/2007: Conan #44     -- 23,632 (- 0.9%)

10/2007: Conan #45     -- 23,504 (- 0.5%)

11/2007: Conan #46     -- 22,937 (- 2.4%)

12/2007: Conan #47     -- 22,140 (- 3.5%)

01/2008: Conan #48     -- 21,850 (- 1.3%)

02/2008: Conan #49     -- 21,690 (- 0.7%)

03/2008: --

04/2008: --

05/2008: Conan #50     -- 22,542 (+ 3.9%)

06/2008: Cimmerian #0  -- ?

07/2008: Cimmerian #1  -- 31,296 (+38.8%)

08/2008: Cimmerian #2  -- 25,762 (-17.7%)

09/2008: Cimmerian #3  -- 25,102 (- 2.6%)

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

6 months:  n.a.

1 year  :  n.a.

2 years : -13.7%

Conan the Cimmerian seems to be bottoming out a few thousand copies above its previous incarnation.

—–

101 - HELLBOY: THE CROOKED MAN (Dark Horse Comics)

07/2008: Crooked Man #1 of 3    -- 29,083 (+19.7%)

08/2008: Crooked Man #2 of 3    -- 25,555 (-12.1%)

09/2008: Crooked Man #3 of 3    -- 24,419 (- 4.5%)

Rock-solid numbers.

—–

103 - THE WALKING DEAD (Image Comics)

09/2004: Walking Dead #10 -- 13,720

09/2004: Walking Dead #11 -- 13,556

09/2005: --

09/2006: Walking Dead #31 -- 21,368

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

09/2007: Walking Dead #42 -- 23,107 (+ 1.9%)

10/2007: Walking Dead #43 -- 22,737 (- 1.6%)

11/2007: Walking Dead #43 -- 22,569 (- 0.7%)

12/2007: Walking Dead #45 -- 22,674 (+ 0.5%)

01/2008: --

02/2008: Walking Dead #46 -- 22,870 (+ 0.9%)

03/2008: Walking Dead #47 -- 22,612 (- 1.1%)

04/2008: Walking Dead #48 -- 22,465 (- 0.7%)

05/2008: Walking Dead #49 -- 23,102 (+ 2.8%)

06/2008: --

07/2008: Walking Dead #50 -- 27,691 (+19.9%)

08/2008: Walking Dead #51 -- 23,121 (-16.5%)

09/2008: Walking Dead #52 -- 23,627 (+ 2.2%)

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

6 months: +  4.5%

1 year  : +  2.3%

2 years : + 10.6%

Back in a climb.

—–

109 - WAR HEROES (Image Comics)

07/2008: War Heroes #1 of 6 -- 30,645

08/2008: --

09/2008: War Heroes #2 of 6 -- 22,411 (-26.9%)

That’s a stiff drop for a miniseries.

—–

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. The interesting thing about DC’s “Decisions” is the almost complete lack of press coverage. While IDW was getting lots of press over their two biographies, and even Papercutz scored a little controversy with it’s “Sarah Palin” variant cover, there has been almost no general interest in DC’s storyline. Shocking, considering how easy a headline would be.

    For a VERY interesting story, check out this!
    http://ncronline3.org/drupal/?q=node/2141

  2. I think it’s interesting that DC’s “Decisions” didn’t start until September so presumably, if it’s on time, it won’t wrap until over a month after the election is over.

  3. With few exceptions (such as Green Arrow), superheroes are often blank slates or rorschach images that fans project their own personal politics and world views upon. Superman is alternately a died-in-the-wool liberal and true-blue-conservative depending upon which fan you talk to…and I think it’s best to keep it that way. I think that’s why droves of fans ignored the series, knowing that some of their favorite characters would be presented as little more than caricatures of whatever politics they were arbitrarily assigned to.

  4. Personally, I think fans avoided DECISIONS because no one wanted to read a Judd Winick series after his terrible work on TITANS and GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY. Especially a series that gives him an opportunity to get up on his soapbox.

  5. That’s a sucko title, too. It sounds like a television movie starring Bruce Springsteen’s ex-wife.

    Hey, regarding the introductory graph, was there any reason to suspect that the financial crisis would have an effect on comics sales figure given that these were from orders like two months old? I’m confused.

  6. I’m glad to see all of Fabian Nicieza’s titles are either gaining or holding pretty steady. He’s a really talented hand and he’s been waiting a long time to get to play in the DCU and he’s very good at writing to what the fanbase wants while still telling interesting stories with a broad appeal. I hope DC is taking notice and keeps giving him work.

  7. As part of my ongoing campaign to try to be mostly positive and not negative on the internet, and only talk about books that I really like….

    Blue Beetle is totally amazing. The 4th trade is one of the most exciting action packed comics I’ve read in years. And the series is maintaining the quality.

    Buy the trades immediately. You will thank yourself for it.

  8. Torsten:

    “The interesting thing about DC’s “Decisions” is the almost complete lack of press coverage.”

    Well, with comics on Obama, McCain, Palin and Clinton out there from other publishers, I guess a hush, hush election tie-in with fake candidates in the DC Universe just didn’t seem to be very noteworthy to any mainstream news outlet.

    Tom:

    “Hey, regarding the introductory graph, was there any reason to suspect that the financial crisis would have an effect on comics sales figure given that these were from orders like two months old?”

    The financial crisis began to pop up on people’s radars in early September, so through final order cut-uff dates and reorder activity (or lack thereof, in this case), it’s not inconceivable that there might have been some early effects on the periodical direct market.

    But you’re entirely right that any major effects, if they do exist, are unlikely to reek their head until the numbers for October through January come in, with special attention on the December and January figures.

  9. “Three more scarcely promoted out-of-continuity exercises with poor numbers.”

    SUPERMAN’S REIGN, I get (sorta, I guess; that might change if the Tangent characters come back to the main DCU at the end, though), but how are the ADAM STRANGE SPECIAL and REIGN IN HELL ooc, exactly?

    In any event, that RiH figure is ugly as… well, sin.

  10. I’d expect DECISIONS to drop dramatically from there with #3 & 4 — anecdotally a lot of retailers have said ti was a sales turd. We went from 15 of #1, to 4 copies ordered of #4 (and I still have one left!)

    I don’t get your “out-of-continuity” statements — REIGN IN HELL had a “Sightings” logo even, meant to indicate a “key” continuity issue.

    -B

  11. Decisions wrapped up last week, didn’t it?

    As far as Flash goes, DC has already sent letters to subscribers saying that December’s Flash #247 is the last issue of the series… so yeah, they’re pushing it off the table to focus on Rebirth…which won’t start until at least April.

  12. “[H]ow are the ADAM STRANGE SPECIAL and REIGN IN HELL ooc, exactly?”

    I’m sure they’re considered part of the DC Universe and everything, but so far it seems they’re not affecting the week-to-week continuity of the major books, and I think that’s reflected in their sales.

    Now, as Brian says, the October issue of REIGN IN HELL was labeled with one of their “Sightings” banners and advertized as being significant in some way or other, so maybe that’s going to change.

  13. Lets see regarding B&B and BB especially Blue Beetle, they might be hoping to get some boost from the animated B&B making its debut November.

  14. For what it’s worth, I know these numbers are off considerably for Secret Six by quite a bit more than the usual quibbling amount creators gripe about here. We in fact nearly sold out (we may have sold out by now) over a month ago on good word of mouth on the number one issue based on lots of re-orders. I’ve got one store who says they re-ordered five times…obviously, that’s not typical (and I realize it’s a bit odd, as well), but we’ve been consistently selling re-orders. We’ll see next month, but I’m quite encouraged and expect a nice bump upwards, which is always delightful.

    Anyway, thanks for the crunching, just pointing out, as you already know, that the full story sometimes takes an extra month.

    Best,

    Gail

  15. “Personally, I think fans avoided DECISIONS because no one wanted to read a Judd Winick series after his terrible work on TITANS and GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY. Especially a series that gives him an opportunity to get up on his soapbox.”

    On the other hand, Power Girl votes Republican because of national security. That’s just funny, if for the wrong reasons. (Also Rick Leonardi’s art was kinda fun on the first issue, though I didn’t stick around for the third.)

  16. The October issue of Reign in Hell – and this is a spoiler if anyone reading the series hasn’t read it yet –
    featured the rather unexpected return to the DC Universe of Lobo, who was locked up in Hell. Dunno since when, as he played a fairly big role in 52, but it seemed a little odd to reintroduce what is essentially one of their sc-fi characters, in their magic crossover.

  17. It is a real f*&%ing shame that DC couldn’t make the All-Star line work. I really had high (naive) hopes that this was going to be something wonderful. There’s is a lot of great talent out there (duh) and I, for one, was really looking forward to the proposed All-Star Wonder Woman and the prospect of All-Star Green Lantern, Flash, et al.

    A shame. A real f*&%ing shame.

  18. I have mixed feelings about Final Cluster. On the one hand, it’s nice to see an “event” that does not muck up the rest of the line. On the other hand, what does it say aobut FC that none of the other major books (e.g., Superman, Batman, Justice League) make reference to it at all?

    Nice to see relatively good numbers on Billy Batson; hope Mike can keep up the schedule.

    LL

  19. I think the failure of the All Star line lies on the heads of the creators who can’t get books out in a timely manner. AS Superman suffered from its delays, AS Batman horribly delayed, and AS Wonder Woman apparently is cancelled due to the issues never being finished.

  20. “what does it say aobut FC that none of the other major books (e.g., Superman, Batman, Justice League) make reference to it at all?

    It says that the other major books take place before Final Crisis.

  21. Perhaps. We won’t know for sure until the series is over and we can see what effects it has, or was supposed to have. (And this being DC, they’re usually two entirely different things.)

    Personally, I think that if your book is going to be materially affected by Final Crisis, then it’s a mistake to ignore it altogether, because then the series is going to read very weirdly in isolation; you should probably be setting up the changes that are coming for your own story.

    But I can certainly see the other argument, which would be that you don’t want to clog up the whole line with months of crossover books and spread the story too thin.

  22. >you don’t want to clog up the whole line

    I understand balancing an “event” with a full line is diffucult; for example, Marvel’s Secret Invasion tie-ins are tedious and seemingly never-ending.

    However, Final Crisis does indeed read weirdly in isolation; how can the resolution believably have lasting affects on the DCU when none of the issues to date have had any affect at all?

    I understand the current Superman and Batman arcs can be explained to take place before FC; however, I’d argue that this is not the best marketing decision. For example, DC was able to build interest in Infinite Crisis by using books like Superman Batman to credibly build up to the main event. This built some reader interest and led to great word of mouth among fans.

    Hopefully, DC will get a creative boost out of FC that will translate into sustainable sales for the line in 2009.

    LL

  23. Gail: Fair enough, and thanks for the heads-up.

    For what it’s worth, I did check whether SECRET SIX came out in the last week of the month, because when you have unexpectedly low numbers, that’s usually the first indication that a truck got stuck in a blizzard somewhere and a substantial amount of copies weren’t delivered in time to make the chart. (Really. It happens every now and then.)

    However, the book actually came out in the first week of September, so that, at least, is unlikely to have happened in this case. Also, what it means is that any reorders shipped to stores in weeks 2, 3 and 4 of September should – theoretically, at least – be already included in the number.

    It’s still entirely possible (and likely, if there’s an unusually large gap between the real numbers and the estimate) that something went horribly wrong on the accounting front at Diamond, mind you, so, as you say, hopefully we’ll get a clearer picture next month.

  24. Yeah, I’ll be honest, it’s not something I am phenomenally good at parsing, but I know what they printed (which was considerably higher), and what they had left over a month ago (which was just a couple hundred), and that reorder activity was strong.

    I know you’re doing your best with the information you have, no worries.

    Best,

    Gail

  25. Well, the rule I’ve seen is that these figures (unless there’s higher-than-average non-USDM sales, which – with the best will in the world – didn’t seem [i]that[/i] likely for S6, as a DCU title without any A-Listers) represent somewhere in the region of 85% of actual orders. You’re saying that DC shipped quite a lot more than ~37.5k?

  26. I’m not even sure we sold at non-usdm locations. And we have it as selling more than 37.5, but I don’t know the exact numbers yet.

  27. LL DC announced they’re resoliciting Billy Batson #4 so take Kunkel’s ability to keep a schedule with a big grain of salt.

    I seriously expect him to be gone from the book after the opening arc or they’ll just make it bimonthly if that’s what it takes.

    Kunkel’s never been on time with his own creator owned stuff either.

  28. Yup, there’s always the Diamond UK sales, which are really quite significant. (After all, in population terms, the UK is bigger than California and Texas combined.)

  29. I’ll be interested in the numbers for the follow-up series for Project Superpowers. After a strong start the story was weighed down by the cast, and I’m not going to get the second volume barring spectacular reviews.

    It’s also nice to see Scalped numbers very solid, albeit low. I just bought the TPB (after getting the monthlies) and passed it off to non-comic book readers. I’ll be spreading that around as much as possible.

  30. I have to disagree with the idea that Decisions and Secret Six were major disappointments for DC. I just can’t figure how any book selling around 30K is a disappointment. I didn’t expect Decisions to do much over 30K really. And I guess I was the minority, but I enjoyed it.

    Secret Six on the other hand, really surprised me. Villians United and the Secret Six mini were both fabulous. I’m not sure what to say really about this new launch — the first issue was so much fun, that if this doesn’t garner readers, I don’t see how any book with C-level characters is ever going to grab them. It was a great start to the series, imho.

    I do think where Secret Six might be more successful than it appears is in grabbing readers that don’t do a lot of other DCU reading. But maybe I’m wrong on that.

  31. For what it’s worth, having moved to trades on SCALPED, SECRET SIX is literally the only DC title I’m buying regularly; the first three issues have all been excellent.

  32. Seconding the love for Secret Six, there’s been no quality drop from the previous two series, and the art is actually better than the last title. Maybe it should just be a continuing rather than a bunch of mini-series. it’s been great in all forms so far. The Infinite Crisis tie-in was the weakest reviewed, and I still thought that issue was okay.