By Matthew Murray
Buffy returned to its usual position of top selling “indie” book this month, but its the last issue before it goes on hiatus for a few months.
“Hellboy in Mexico Or, A Drunken Blur” was technically the highest selling number one of the month, though I’m not sure if they bothered putting a number on it. Below that you have “Kevin Smith’s Kato” from Dynamite (plus another Green Hornet title further down the charts), “Star Wars Invasion: Rescue” from Dark Horse, and “Mysteary Society” from IDW as the top new launches.
Dark horse had a 3.16% unit share and a 4.45% dollar share, Image had a 3.14% unit share and a 4.26% dollar share, while IDW had a 2.95% unit share and a 3.79% dollar share.
I’ve listed every “indie” title in the top 200, every title from Image, Darkhorse, and IDW (ie. “the front of Previews”), and a selection of others.
Thanks to icv2.com and Milton Griepp for permission to use these numbers, which are estimates, and can be found here
36. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Dark Horse) 05/2007: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #3 - 106,634 05/2008: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #14 - 82,069 05/2009: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #25 - 58,740 ===== 06/2009: BTVS Tales of the Vampires one shot- 45,568 (-22.4) 07/2009: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #26 - 55,393 (+21.6%) 08/2009: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #27 - 53,403 (-3.6%) 09/2009: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #28 - 52,303 (-2.1%) 10/2009: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #29 - 50,236 (-4.0%) 11/2009: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #30 - 49,155 (-2.2%) 12/2009: BTVS Willow One Shot - 45,136 (-8.2%) 01/2010: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #31 - 47,013 (+4.2%) 02/2010: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #32 - 47,975 (+2.0) 03/2010: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #33 - 46,568 (-2.9%) 04/2010: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #34 - 45,909 (-1.4%) 05/2010: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #35 - 45,446(-1.1%) 6 month (-7.5%) 1 year (-22.6%) 2 year (-44.6%) 3 year (-57.4%)
After this issue Buffy is taking a break until September when Joss Whedon and Georges Jeanty return to write the finale of season eight (to be followed by season nine of course). Considering they knew this was coming, I’m pretty surprised that this large a break is necessary. There’s at least one one shot in there somewhere, but it still surprises me.
78. Kevin Smith’s Green Hornet (Dynamite) 03/2010: Kevin Smith’s Green Hornet #1 - 54,122 03/2010: Kevin Smith’s Green Hornet #2 - 32,866 (-39.3%) [36,004] 04/2010: Kevin Smith’s Green Hornet #3 - 29,552 (-17.9%) 05/2010: Kevin Smith's Green Hornet #4 - 26,292 (-11.0%)
Another big drop this month, but there are still six covers here, which is inflating the number somewhat.
84. The Walking Dead (Image) 04/2008: The Walking Dead #49 - 23,102 05/2009: The Walking Dead #61 - 23,902 ===== 06/2009: The Walking Dead #62 - 23,910 (0%) 07/2009: The Walking Dead #63 - 24,001 (+0.3%) 08/2009: The Walking Dead #64 - 24,393 (+1.6%) 09/2009: The Walking Dead #65 - 24,892 (+2.0%) 10/2009: The Walking Dead #66 - 24,944 (+0.2%) 11/2009: The Walking Dead #67 - 24,666 (-1.1%) 12/2009: The Walking Dead #68 - 24,230 (-1.8%) 01/2010: The Walking Dead #69 - 23,695 (-2.2) 02/2010: The Walking Dead #70 - 23,999 (+1.3%) 03/2010: - 04/2010: The Walking Dead #71 - 24,567 (+2.4%) 05/2010: The Walking Dead #72 - 25,182 (+2.5%) 6 month (+2.1%) 1 year (+5.4%) 2 year (+9.0%)
Highest numbers yet for this series. It looks like it’ll be the best selling non Marvel/DC title next month. Meanwhile the volume 5 hardcover is the number four best selling trade this month selling 3,878 copies. (Volume one in trade paperback sells another 2,303, bringing it’s total to something insane.)
89. Hellboy (Dark Horse) 05/2007: Darkness Calls #1 (of 5) - 32,321 05/2008: - 05/2009: - ===== 06/2009: - 07/2009: - 08/2009: The Wild Hunt #5 (of 8 ) - 20,375 (-6.3%) 09/2009: The Wild Hunt #6 (of 8 ) - 20,146 (-1.1) 10/2009: The Wild Hunt #7 (of 8 ) - 19,414 (-3.6%) 11/2009: The Wild Hunt #8 (of 8 ) - 18,942 (-2.4%) 12/2009: Bride of Hell One Shot - 20,761 (+9.6%) 01/2010: - 02/2010: - 03/2010: - 04/2010: - 05/2010: Hellboy in Mexico Or, A Drunken Blur - 22,569 (+8.7%) 6 month (+19.1%) 1 year (n.a.) 2 year (n.a.) 3 year (-30.2%)
Sales are up over the latter half of the last series and the previous one shot, but still down from a couple of years ago.
95. The Boys (Dynamite) 05/2007: The Boys #7 - 31,616 05/2008: The Boys #18 - 27,951 05/2009: The Boys #30 - 28,365 ===== 06/2009: The Boys #31 - 25,460 (-10.0%) 07/2009: The Boys #32 - 25,231 (-0.8%) 08/2009: The Boys #33 - 24,684 (-2.1%) 09/2009: The Boys #34 - 24,502 (-0.7%) 10/2009: The Boys #35 - 24,841 (+1.4%) 11/2009: The Boys #36 - 23,471 (-5.5%) 12/2009: The Boys #37 - 24,025 (+2.4%) 01/2010: The Boys #38 - 22,203 (-7.6%) 02/2010: The Boys #39 - 21,905 (-1.3%) 03/2010: The Boys #40 - 22,022 (+0.5%) 04/2010: The Boys #41 - 21,552 (-2.1%) 05/2010: The Boys #42 - 21,479 (-0.3%) 6 month (-8.5%) 1 year (-24.3%) 2 year (-23.2%) 3 year (-32.1%)
Stable this month, I’m curious as to whether Darick Robertson going off the title will have any major effect on sales.
102. Haunt (Image)
10/2009: Haunt #1 - 50,078
11/2009: Haunt #2 - 28,254 (-43.6%)
12/2009: Haunt #3 - 28,390 (+0.5%)
01/2010: Haunt #4 - 26,420 (-6.9%)
02/2010: Haunt #5 - 22,454 (-15.0%)
03/2010: Haunt #6 - 20,489 (-8.8%)
04/2010: -
05/2010: Haunt #7 - 20,005 (-2.4%)
6 month (-29.2%)
That’s a pretty standard drop, so it looks like Haunt is finding its level, and its quite a good one! Meanwhile Image United has disappeared due to Todd McFarlane not drawing his bits.
103. Star Wars Legacy (Dark Horse) 05/2007: Star Wars Legacy #11 - 33,138 05/2008: Star Wars Legacy #23 - 30,355 05/2009: Star Wars Legacy #36 - 24,166 ===== 06/2009: Star Wars Legacy #37 - 23,704 (-1.9%) 07/2009: Star Wars Legacy #38 - 23,162 (-2.3%) 08/2009: Star Wars Legacy #39 - 22,888 (-1.2%) 09/2009: Star Wars Legacy #40 - 22,555 (-1.5%) 10/2009: Star Wars Legacy #41 - 22,109 (-2.0%) 11/2009: Star Wars Legacy #42 - 21,659 (-2.0%) 12/2009: Star Wars Legacy #43 - 20,983 (-3.1%) 01/2010: Star Wars Legacy #44 - 20,341 (-3.1%) 02/2010: Star Wars Legacy #45 - 20,100 (-1.2%) 03/2010: Star Wars Legacy #46 - 19,790 (-1.5%) 04/2010: Star Wars Legacy #47 - 20,022 (+1.2%) 05/2010: Star Wars Legacy #48 - 19,954 (-0.3%) 6 month (-7.8%) 1 year (-17.4%) 2 year (-34.3%) 3 year (-39.8%)
Quite stable with only two issues left.
105. Kevin Smith's Kato (Dynamite) 05/2010: Kevin Smith's Kato #1 – 19,720
Another Green Hornet title. Despite his name being there, Kevin Smith doesn’t seem to have anything to do with this.
108. Spawn (Image) 05/2006: Spawn #156 - 27,017 05/2007: Spawn #167 - 24,277 05/2008: Spawn #178 - 20,046 05/2009: - ===== 06/2009: Spawn #192 - 19,796 (0%) 07/2009: Spawn #193 - 20,293 (+2.5%) 07/2009: Spawn #194 - 18,916 (-6.8%) 08/2009: - 09/2009: - 10/2009: Spawn #195 - 18,475 (-2.3%) 11/2009: - 12/2009: - 01/2010: - 02/2010: - 03/2010: Spawn #196 - 18,893 (+2.3) 04/2010: - 05/2010: Spawn #197 - 18,361 (-2.8%) 6 month (n.a.) 1 year (n.a.) 2 year (-8.4%) 3 year (-24.4%) 4 year (-32.0%)
Incredibly behind schedule.
109. Star Wars Invasion (Dark Horse) 07/2009: Invasion #1 (of 5) - 24,548 08/2009: Invasion #2 (of 5) - 21,004 (-14.4%) 09/2009: Invasion #3 (of 5) - 19,798 (-5.7%) 10/2009: Invasion #0 - 19,714 (-0.4%) 10/2009: Invasion #4 - 19,138 (-2.9%) 11/2009: Invasion #5 - 18,315 (-4.3%) 12/2009: - 01/2010: - 02/2010: - 03/2010: - 04/2010: - 05/2010: Star Wars Invasion: Rescue #1 - 17,911(-2.2%)
Judging from the upcoming solicitations it looks like Dark Horse has decided for series of miniseries for their Star Wars titles. It hasn’t really helped here.
111. Mystery Society (IDW) 05/2010: Mystery Society #1 - 17,630
New series from Steve Niles, with Ashley Wood doing covers and involved somehow or other. I’m not sure how many covers it has.
112. Angel (IDW) 05/2006: Illyria one shot - 11,805 05/2007: - 05/2008: After the Fall #8 - 45,430 05/2009: Angel #21 - 28,633 ===== 06/2009: Angel #22 - 27,496 (-4.0%) 07/2009: Angel: After the Fall – Epilogue #23 - 24,003 (-12.7%) 08/2009: Angel #24 - 22,795 (-5.0%) 09/2009: Angel #25 - 23,815 (+4.5%) 10/2009: Angel #26 - 22,886 (-3.9%) 11/2009: Angel #27 - 20,731 (-9.4%) 12/2009: Angel #28 - 21,301 (+2.7%) 12/2009: Angel Annual #1 - 16,616 (-22.0%) 01/2010: Angel #29 - 20,280 (+22.5%) 02/2010: Angel #30 - 11,044 [19,394] (-4.4%) 03/2010: Angel #31 - 18,538 (-4.4%) 04/2010: Angel #32 - 17,942 (-3.2%) 05/2010: Angel #33 - 17,521 (-2.3%) 6 month (-15.5%) 1 year (-38.8%) 2 year (-61.4%) 3 year (n.a.) 4 year (+48.4)
Standard drop.
117. Green Hornet Strikes (Dynamite) 01/2010: Green Hornet Strikes #1 - 15,626
More Green Hornet.
128. Green Hornet Year One (Dynamite) 03/2010: Green Hornet Year One #1 - 21,330 04/2010: Green Hornet Year One #2 - 16,355 (-23.3%) 05/2010: Green Hornet Year One #3 - 13,954 (-14.7%)
This is kind of insane.
132. The Guild (Dark Horse) 03/2010: The Guild #1 - 15,292 04/2010: The Guild #2 - 12,642 (-17.3%) 05/2010: The Guild #3 - 12,972 (+2.6%)
And up with the final issue! I’m sure Dark Horse wishes this was longer than three issues, but if the creators want to do more I’m sure Dark Horse will be happy to publish them.
135. Irredeemable (Boom) 05/2009: Irredeemable #2 - 9,962 (-24.6%) ===== 06/2009: Irredeemable #3 - 12,838 (+28.9%) 07/2009: Irredeemable #4 - 13,623 (+6.1%) 08/2009: Irredeemable #5 - ??? (???) 09/2009: Irredeemable #6 - 14,128 (+3.7%) 10/2009: Irredeemable #7 - 14,282 (+1.1%) 11/2009: Irredeemable #8 - 13,688 (-4.2%) 12/2009: Irredeemable #9 - 13,515 (-1.3%) 01/2010: Irredeemable #10 - 13,106 (-3.0%) 02/2010: Irredeemable #11 - 12,912 (-1.5%) 03/2010: Irredeemable #12 - 13,058 (+1.1%) 04/2010: Irredeemable Special #1 - 12,411 (-5.0%) 05/2010: Irredeemable #13 - 12,784 (+3.0) 6 month (-6.6%) 1 year (+28.3%)
Up from the special, but down slightly from the last normal issue. Still doing quite well overall though.
136. GI Joe (IDW) 04/2005: GI Joe #43 (Devil’s Due) - 21,038 05/2006: America’s Elite #11 (Devil’s Due) - 18,148 05/2007: America’s Elite #23 (Devil’s Due) - 15,039 05/2008: America’s Elite #35 (Devil’s Due) - 16,298 05/2009: GI Joe #5 - 21,968 ===== 06/2009: GI Joe #6 - 20,809 (-5.3%) 07/2009: GI Joe #7 - 20,319 (-2.4%) 08/2009: GI Joe #8 - 18,750 (-7.7%) 09/2009: GI Joe #9 - 17,436 (-7.0%) 10/2009: GI Joe #10 - 16,264 (-6.7%) 11/2009: GI Joe #11 - 15,527 (-4.5%) 12/2009: GI Joe #12 - 14,824 (-4.5%) 12/2009: GI Joe #13 - 15,759 (+6.3%) 01/2010: GI Joe #14 - 14,030 (-11.0%) 02/2010: - 03/2010: GI Joe #15 - 13,607 (-3.0%) 03/2010: GI Joe #16 - 13,288 (-2.3%) 04/2010: GI Joe #17 - 13,129 (-1.2%) 05/2010: GI Joe #18 - 12,776 (-2.7%) 6 month (-17.7%) 1 year (-41.8%) 2 year (-21.6%) 3 year (-15.0%) 4 year (-29.6%) 5 year (-39.3%)
Standard drop.
137. BPRD (Dark Horse) 05/2006: Universal Machine #2 (of 5) - 16,510 05/2007: Garden of Souls #3 (of 5) - 15,968 05/2008: 1946 #5 (of 5) - 15,941 05/2009: Black Goddess #5 (of 5) - 14,357 ===== 06/2009: War on Frogs #3 (of 4) - 13,828 (-3.7%) 07/2009: 1947 #1 (of 5) - 15,845 (+14.6%) 08/2009: 1947 #2 (of 5) - 14,893 (-6.0%) 09/2009: 1947 #3 (of 5) - 14,810 (-0.6%) 10/2009: 1947 #4 (of 5) - 14,505 (-2.0%) 11/2009: 1947 #5 (of 5) - 13,977 (-3.6%) 12/2009: War on Frogs #4 (of 4) - 12,904 (-7.7%) 01/2010: King of Fear #1 - 14,081 (+9.1%) 02/2010: King of Fear #2 - 13,123 (-6.8%) 03/2010: King of Fear #3 - 12,874 (-1.9%) 04/2010: King of Fear #4 - 12,480 (-3.1%) 05/2010: King of Fear #5 - 12,519 (+0.3%) 6 month (-10.4%) 1 year (-12.8%) 2 year (-21.5%) 3 year (-21.6%) 4 year (-24.2%)
The final issue of the long, multi-year story line sees a small increase. There’s a break for a couple of months and we get an Abe Sapien miniseries instead.
142. Transformers Ongoing (IDW) 05/2009: All Hail Megatron #11 - 12,292 ===== 06/2009: All Hail Megatron #12 - 12,124 (-1.4%) 07/2009: All Hail Megatron #13 - 11,892 (-1.9%) 08/2009: All Hail Megatron #14 - 11,736 (-1.3%) 09/2009: All Hail Megatron #15 - 11,634 (-0.9%) 10/2009: All Hail Megatron #16 - 11,281 (-3.0%) 11/2009: Transformers Ongoing #1 - 15,220 (+34.9%) 12/2009: Transformers Ongoing #2 - 12,516 (-17.8%) 01/2010: Transformers Ongoing #3 - 12,609 (+0.7%) 02/2010: Transformers Ongoing #4 - 12,221 (-3.1%) 03/2010: Transformers Ongoing #5 - 11,994 (-1.9%) 04/2010: Transformers Ongoing #6 - 12,171 (+1.5%) 05/2010: Transformers Ongoing #7 - 11,932 (-2.0%) 6 month (-21.6%) 1 year (-2.9%)
Below where the Megatron series was at this point.
145. Incorruptible (Boom) 12/2009: Incorruptible #1 - 15,710 01/2010: Incorruptible #2 - 12,635 (-19.6%) 02/2010: Incorruptible #3 - 11,860 (-6.1%) 03/2010: Incorruptible #4 - 11,749 (-0.9%) 04/2010: Incorruptible #5 - 3,642 [11,542] (-1.8%) 05/2010: Incorruptible #6 - 11,517 (-0.2%)
Another 7,900 of issue 5 show up at number 181, and the drop is so small it is could actually an increase as those 7,900 would include any reorders of issue 5 sent out in May as well. The collection of the first arc is the number 11 best selling trade this month selling 3,202 copies.
149. Aliens vs. Predator (Dark Horse) 01/2010: Three World War #1 - 15,218 02/2010: Three World War #2 - 11,875 (-22.0%) 03/2010: - 04/2010: Three World War #3 - 11,498 (-3.2%) 05/2010: Three World War #4 - 11,112 (-3.4%)
Standard drop.
150. GI Joe Hearts and Minds (IDW) 05/2010: Hearts and Minds #1 - 11,039
Written by Max Brooks, the writer of World War Z.
151. Fathom Blue Descent (Aspen) 05/2010: Blue Descent #0 - 10,731
I’ll save the puns for when there are more issues out.
152. GI Joe Origins (IDW) 05/2009: - ===== 06/2009: GI Joe Origins #4 - 18,378 (-0.8%) 07/2009: GI Joe Origins #5 - 17,822 (-3.0%) 08/2009: GI Joe Origins #6 - 15,898 (-10.8%) 09/2009: GI Joe Origins #7 - 14,753 (-7.2%) 10/2009: GI Joe Origins #8 - 14,961 (+1.4%) 11/2009: GI Joe Origins #9 - 12,955 (-13.4%) 12/2009: GI Joe Origins #10 - 12,295 (-5.1%) 01/2010: GI Joe Origins #11 - 11,726 (-4.6%) 02/2010: GI Joe Origins #12 - 12,312 (+5.0%) 03/2010: GI Joe Origins #13 - 11,043 (-10.3%) 04/2010: GI Joe Origins #14 - 10,811 (-2.1%) 05/2010: GI Joe Origins #15 - 10,650 (-1.5%) 6 month (-17.8%) 1 year (n.a.)
Fairly standard drop.
153. Witchblade (Image) 05/2005: Witchblade #85 - 15,980 05/2006: Witchblade #98 - 14,192 05/2007: Witchblade #106 - 14,774 05/2008: - 05/2009: Witchblade #127 - 15,065 ===== 05/2009: Annual 2009 - 12,154 (-19.3%) 06/2009: Witchblade Darkness Angelus Blood on the Sands - 10,106 (-16.9%) 07/2009: Witchblade #128 - 13,427 (+32.9%) 08/2009: Witchblade #129 - 13,324 (-0.8%) 09/2009: Witchblade #130 - 15,387 (+15.5%) 10/2009: Witchblade #131 - 20,999 (+36.5%) 11/2009: Witchblade #132 - 13,207 (-37.1%) 12/2009: Witchblade #133 - 12,811 (-3.0%) 01/2010: Witchblade #134 - 12,416 (-3.1%) 02/2010: - 03/2010: Witchblade #135 - 11,935 (-3.9%) 04/2010: - 05/2010: Witchblade #136 - 10,649 (-10.8%) 6 month (-19.4%) 1 year (-29.3%) 2 year (n.a.) 3 year (-27.9%) 4 year (-25.0%)
Fairly big drop for no apparent reason. I’m guessing they didn’t get delivered on time.
156. Project Superpowers (Dynamite) 05/2008: Project Superpowers #3 (of 7) - 36,884 05/2009: - ===== 06/2009: Chapter Two #0 - 31,828 07/2009: Chapter Two #1 - 22,282 (-30.0%) 08/2009: Chapter Two #2 - 17,377 (-22.0%) 09/2009: Chapter Two #3 - 15,717 (-9.6%) 10/2009: - 11/2009: Chapter Two #4 - 14,980 (-3.2%) 12/2009: Chapter Two #5 - 12,794 (-14.6%) 01/2010: Chapter Two #6 - 11,923 (-6.8%) 02/2010: Chapter Two #7 - 21,688 (+81.9%) 03/2010: - 04/2010: Chapter Two #8 - 10,724 (-50.6%) 05/2010: Chapter Two #9 - 10,132 (-5.5%) 6 month (-32.4) 1 year (n.a.) 2 year (-72.5%)
Overshipping random issues appears to have absolutely no effect.
167. Transformers Ironhide (IDW) 05/2010: Ironhide #1 - 9,019
Robots hitting stuff.
168. Darkness Darkchylde Witchblade (Image) 05/2010: Kingdom of Pain oneshot - 8,927
Scantily clad females hit each other.
172. Grimm Fairy Tales (Zenescope) 05/2007: Grimm Fairy Tales #14 - 6,298 05/2008: 05/2009: Grimm Fairy Tales #38 - 9,077 ===== 06/2009: Grimm Fairy Tales #39 - 10,099 (+11.3%) 07/2009: Grimm Fairy Tales #40 - 9,616 (-4.8%) 08/2009: Grimm Fairy Tales #41 - 10,600 (+10.2%) 09/2009: - 10/2009: Grimm Fairy Tales #42 - 9,070 (-14.4%) 11/2009: - 12/2009: Grimm Fairy Tales #43 - 10,246 (+13.0%) 01/2010: - 02/2010: - 03/2010: Grimm Fairy Tales #44 - 8,824 (-13.9%) 03/2010: Grimm Fairy Tales #45 - 8,916 (+1.0%) 04/2010: Grimm Fairy Tales #46 - 8,694 (-2.5%) 05/2010: Grimm Fairy Tales Annual Las Vegas - 8,462 (-2.7%) 6 month (n.a.) 1 year (-6.8%) 2 year (n.a.) 3 year (+34.3%)
Scantily clad females doing something. It says something about the industry that when I googled this to try and find some information about it almost every link on the first page were to illegal downloads of the comic.
173. Grimm Fairy Tales Inferno (Zenescope) 05/2010: Inferno #1 - 8,170
Ditto.
174. Creepy Comics (Dark Horse) 07/2009: Creepy #1 - 13,669 08/2009: - 09/2009: - 10/2009: - 11/2009: Creepy Comics #2 - 9,248 (-32.3%) 12/2009: - 01/2009: - 02/2009: - 03/2009: - 04/2009: - 05/2010: Creepy Comics #3 - 8,165 (-11.7%)
Apparently this is supposed to be quarterly.
175. Tarot Witch of the Black Rose (Broadsword)
05/2005: Tarot #32 - 10,442
05/2006: Tarot #38 - 9,557
05/2007: Tarot #44 - 9,398
05/2008: Tarot #50 - 10,074
05/2009: Tarot #56 - 8,693
=====
06/2009: -
07/2009: Tarot #57 - 8,705 (+0.1%)
08/2009: -
09/2009: Tarot #58 - 8,502 (-2.3%)
10/2009: -
11/2009: Tarot #59 - 8,356 (-1.7%)
12/2009: -
01/2010: Tarot #60 - 8,241 (-1.4%)
02/2010: -
03/2010: Tarot #61 - 8,096 (-1.8%)
04/2010: -
05/2010: Tarot #62 - 8,131 (+0.4%)
6 month (-2.7%)
1 year (-6.5%)
2 year (-19.3%)
3 year (-13.5%)
4 year (-14.9%)
5 year (-22.1%)
Scantily clad females hit each other part two.
176. GI Joe Operation Hiss (IDW) 02/2010: Operation Hiss #1 - 10,140 03/2010: Operation Hiss #2 - 8,818 (-13.0%) 04/2010: Operation Hiss #3 - 8,581 (-2.7%) 05/2010: Operation Hiss #4 - 8,118 (-5.4%)
Movie sequel.
177. Transformers Last Stand of the Wreckers (IDW) 01/2010: Last Stand of the Wreckers #1 - 8,862 02/2010: Last Stand of the Wreckers #2 – 5,744 (-35.2%) 03/2010: Last Stand of the Wreckers #3 – 7,855 (+36.8%) 04/2010: Last Stand of the Wreckers #4 - 8,133 (+3.5%) 05/2010: Last Stand of the Wreckers #5 - 8,105 (-0.3%)
Tiny drop this month for a very successful miniseries overall. Can anyone tell me why the numbers stayed so steady?
182. Angel Barbary Coast (IDW) 04/2010: Barbary Coast #1 - 8,335 05/2010: Barbary Coast #2 - 7,844 (-5.9%)
Very small drop off here as well. It has been getting better reviews than the main book.
185. Pilot Season (Image)
05/2008: Twilight Guardian - 5,959
05/2009: -
=====
10/2009: Declassified - 7,672
11/2009: -
12/2009: Murderer #1 - 8,454 (+10.2%)
01/2010: Demonic #1 - 8,353 (-1.2%)
02/2010: -
03/2010: -
04/2010: -
05/2010: Stealth #1 - 7,676 (-8.1%)
6 month (n.a.)
1 year (n.a.)
2 year (+28.8%)
I forgot these were coming out/thought I’d missed them on the charts. Newest vaguely named one shot from Robert Kirkman and Top Cow. Of the four previous winners of the last two Pilot Seasons a grand total of one four issue mini series has come out. I’m not sure if anything will come from these at all.
186, 202. Sam & Twitch (Image) 05/2005: Casefiles #16 - 5,684 ===== 05/2010: Sam & Twitch: Writer #1 - 7,667 05/2010: Sam & Twitch: Writer #2 - 6,775 (-11.6%) 5 year (+19.2%)
Four issue mini shipping biweekly.
187. The Sword (Image) 05/2008: The Sword #8 - 9,229 05/2009: The Sword #17 - 8,081 ===== 06/2009: - 07/2009: The Sword #18 - 8,165 (+1.0%) 08/2009: - 09/2009: The Sword #19 - 8,116 (-0.6%) 10/2009: - 11/2009: - 12/2009: The Sword #20 - 7,887 (-2.8%) 01/2010: The Sword #21 - 7,522 (-4.6%) 02/2010: - 03/2010: The Sword #22 – 7,294 (-3.0%) 03/2010: The Sword #23 - 7,115 (-2.5%) 04/2010: - 05/2010: The Sword #24 - 7,631(+7.3%) 6 month (n.a.) 1 year (-5.6%) 2 year (-17.3%)
Final, extra large, issue costing $4.99. I wonder who those people that buy the final issue without reading all the previous ones are.
189. Terminator (Dark Horse) 03/2010: Terminator #1 - 10,601 04/2010: Terminator #2 - 8,101 (-23.6%) 05/2010: Terminator #3 - 7,520 (-7.2%)
Final issue. There’s at least one more miniseries coming.
190. Transformers Nefarious (IDW) 03/2010: Nefarious #1 - 8,810 04/2010: Nefarious #2 - 8,002 (-9.2%) 05/2010: Nefarious #3 - 7,354 (-8.1%)
Not the best drop.
191. The Black Terror (Dynamite)
05/2009: The Black Terror #4 - 16,058
=====
06/2009: -
07/2009: -
08/2009: -
09/2009: -
10/2009: -
11/2009: The Black Terror #5 - 12,048 (-25.0)
12/2009: The Black Terror #6 - 9,545 (-20.8%)
01/2010: The Black Terror #7 - 8,705 (-8.8%)
02/2010: The Black Terror #8 - 7,991 (-8.2%)
03/2010: The Black Terror #9 – 7,668 (-4.0%)
04/2010: -
05/2010: The Black Terror #10 - 7,352 (-4.1%)
6 month (-39.0%)
1 year (-54.2%)
Not that terrible a drop compared to earlier.
194. Simpsons Comics (Bongo) 05/2005: Simpsons Comics #106 - 11,909 05/2006: Simpsons Comics #118 - 10,700 05/2007: Simpsons Comics #130 - 9,478 05/2008: Simpsons Comics #142 - 9,045 05/2009: Simpsons Comics #154 - 7,546 ===== 06/2009: Simpsons Comics #155 - 8,011 (+6.2%) 07/2009: Simpsons Comics #156 - 7,774 (-3.0%) 08/2009: Simpsons Comics #157 - 7,565 (-2.7%) 09/2009: Simpsons Comics #158 - 7,782 (+2.9%) 10/2009: Simpsons Comics #159 - 7,645 (-1.8%) 11/2009: Simpsons Comics #160 - 7,618 (-0.4%) 12/2009: Simpsons Comics #161 - 7,414 (-2.7%) 01/2010: Simpsons Comics #162 - 7,227 (-2.5%) 02/2010: Simpsons Comics #163 - 7,507 (+3.9%) 03/2010: Simpsons Comics #164 - 7,351 (-2.1%) 04/2010: Simpsons Comics #165 - 7,228 (-1.7%) 05/2010: Simpsons Comics #166 - 7,161 (-0.9%) 6 month (-6.0%) 1 year (-5.1%) 2 year (-20.8%) 3 year (-24.4%) 4 year (-33.1%) 5 year (-40.0%)
Fairly stable. Sells well over seas.
195. Red Sonja Wrath of the Gods (Dynamite) 02/2010: Wrath of the Gods #1 - 8,941 03/2010: Wrath of the Gods #2 - 8,155 (-8.8%) 04/2010: Wrath of the Gods #3 - 7,626 (-6.5%) 05/2010: Wrath of the Gods #4 - 7,150 (-6.2%)
The regular series didn’t ship this month.
199. Choker (Image) 02/2010: Choker #1 - 8,735 03/2010: Choker #2 - 7,160 (-18.0%) 04/2010: - 05/2010: Choker #3 - 6,945 (-3.0%)
Fairly standard drop.
200. Amory Wars (Boom) 05/2010: Keeping Secrets of Earth 3 #1 - 6,909
Comic by the guy from Coheed and Cambria. Just try and understand the wikipedia page about this stuff.
204. Doctor Who Ongoing (IDW) 07/2009: Doctor Who #1 - 10,949 08/2009: Doctor Who #2 - 8,908 (-18.6%) 09/2009: Doctor Who #3 - 8,711 (-2.2%) 10/2009: Doctor Who #4 - 8,354 (-4.1%) 11/2009: Doctor Who #5 - 7,958 (-4.7%) 12/2009: Doctor Who #6 - 7,448 (-6.4%) 01/2010: Doctor Who #7 - 7,239 (-2.8%) 02/2010: Doctor Who #8 - 7,014 (-3.1%) 03/2010: Doctor Who #9 - 6,991 (-0.3%) 04/2010: Doctor Who #10 - 6,784 (-3.0%) 05/2010: Doctor Who #11 - 6,743 (-0.6%)
Small drop this month.
207. Terry Moore’s Echo (Abstract) 05/2008: Echo #3 - 14,210 05/2009: Echo #12 - 11,093 ===== 06/2009: - 07/2009: Echo #13 - 10,783 (-2.8%) 08/2009: Echo #14 - 10,663 (-1.1%) 09/2009: Echo #15 - 10,529 (-1.3%) 10/2009: - 11/2009: Echo #16 - 10,234 (-2.8) 12/2009: Echo #17 - 10,282 (+0.5%) 01/2010: Echo #18 - 10,137 (-1.4%) 01/2010: Echo #19 - 4,978 [9,787] (-3.5%) 02/2010: - 03/2010: Echo #20 - 9,378 (-4.2%) 04/2010: - 05/2010: Echo #21 - 6,611 (-29.5%)
Presumably copies got delayed somewhere.
208. Whatever Happened to Baron Von Shock? (Image) 05/2010: Whatever Happened to Baron Von Shock? #1 - 6,534
Rob Zombie comic.
211. Star Trek McCoy (IDW) 04/2010: McCoy #1 - 7,292 05/2010: McCoy #2 - 6,450 (-11.5%)
That’s a pretty good second issue drop.
217. Shadowhawk (Image) 05/2005: Shadowhawk #1 - 9,416 ===== 05/2010: Shadowhawk #1 - 6,345 5 year (-32.6%)
How many Shadowhawk #1’s have there been?
224. Astounding Wolf-Man (Image)
05/2008: Wolf-Man #6 - 9,086
05/2009: Wolf-Man #16 - 7,721
=====
06/2009: -
07/2009: Wolf-Man #17 - 7,724 (0.0%)
08/2009: Wolf-Man #18 - 7,411 (-4.0%)
09/2009: -
10/2009: Wolf-Man #19 - 7,271 (-1.9%)
11/2009: -
12/2009: Wolf-Man #20 - 6,897 (-5.1%)
01/2010: -
02/2010: Wolf-Man #21 - 6,565 (-4.8%)
03/2010: -
04/2010: Wolf-Man #22 - 6,239 (-5.0%)
05/2010: Wolf-Man #23 - 6,160 (-1.3%)
6 month (n.a.)
1 year (-20.2%)
2 year (-32.2%)
Only one issue left.
237. Broken Trinity (Image) 02/2010: Pandora’s Box #1 - 6,698 03/2010: - 04/2010: - 05/2010: Pandora's Box #2 - 5,628 (-16.0%)
A smaller than average second issue drop considering the fairly large gap between issues.
238. Star Trek Captain's Log Harriman (IDW) 05/2010: Harriman #1 - 5,610
One shot.
242. Darkstalkers (Udon) 02/2010: Night Warriors #1 - 5,941 03/2010: - 04/2010: - 05/2010: Night Warriors #2 - 5,445 (-8.3%)
That’s a good second issue drop.
243. Battlefields (Dynamite)
05/2009: Tankies #2 - 7,043
=====
06/2009: -
07/2009: Tankies #3 - 6,834 (-3.0%)
08/2009: -
09/2009: -
10/2009: -
11/2009: -
12/2009: Happy Valley #1 - 7,193 (+5.3%)
01/2010: Happy Valley #2 - 6,038 (-16.1%)
02/2010: Happy Valley #3 - 5,840 (-3.3%)
03/2010: Battlefields #4 - 5,805 (-0.6%)
04/2010: Battlefields #5 - 5,582 (-3.8%)
05/2010: Battlefields #6 - 5,444 (-2.4%)
6 months (n.a.)
1 year (-22.7%)
End of the second story.
244. Savage Dragon (Image)
05/2006: Savage Dragon #126 - 6,891
05/2007: -
05/2008: -
05/2009: Savage Dragon #148 - 6,051
=====
06/2009: Savage Dragon #149 - 6,060 (+0.2%)
07/2009: Savage Dragon #150 - 6,619 (+9.2%)
08/2009: Savage Dragon #151 - 6,034 (-8.8%)
09/2009: Savage Dragon #152 - 5,993 (-0.7%)
10/2009: Savage Dragon #153 - 6,571 (+9.6%)
11/2009: Savage Dragon #154 - 5,885 (-10.4%)
12/2009: Savage Dragon #155 - 5,736 (-2.5%)
01/2010: Savage Dragon #156 - 6,152 (+7.3%)
02/2010: Savage Dragon #157 - 5,617 (-8.7%)
03/2010: Savage Dragon #158 - 5,578 (-0.7%)
04/2010: Savage Dragon #159 - 5,359 (-3.9%)
05/2010: Savage Dragon #160 - 5,411 (+1.0%)
6 month (-8.0%)
1 year (-10.6%)
2 year (n.a.)
3 year (n.a.)
4 year (-21.5%)
Dragon War conclusion.
253. Star Trek (IDW) 02/2010: Movie Adaptation #1 - 6,436 03/2010: Movie Adaptation #2 - 5,622 (-12.6%) 04/2010: Movie Adaptation #3 - 5,256 (-6.5%) 05/2010: Movie Adaptation #4 - 4,993 (-5.0%)
Still confusing me by its existence.
256. Archie (Archie)
05/2005: Archie #557 - 2,739
05/2006: -
05/2007: -
05/2008: -
05/2009: Archie #597 - 2,563
=====
06/2009: -
07/2009: -
08/2009: Archie #600 - 54,170 [58,408] (+2,178.9%)
09/2009: Archie #601 - 37,871 (-35.2%)
10/2009: Archie #602 - 28,211 (-25.5%)
11/2009: Archie #603 - 25,799 (-8.5%)
12/2009: Archie #604 - 25,058 (-2.9%)
01/2010: Archie #605 - 24,803 (-1.0%)
02/2010: Archie #606 - 15,127 (-39.0%)
03/2010: Archie #607 - 5,013 (-66.9%)
04/2010: Archie #608 - 5,224 (+4.2%)
05/2010: Archie #609 - 4,848 (-7.2%)
6 month (-81.2%)
1 year (+89.2%)
2 year (n.a.)
3 year (n.a.)
4 year (n.a.)
5 year (+77.0%)
Looks like the $2.99 price point is here to stay. Interesting that they waited until after their big storyline to up the price.
258. Wolfskin (Avatar)
05/2006: Wolfskin #1 - 9,804
=====
04/2010: Hundredth Dream #1 - 5,322
05/2010: Hundredth Dream #2 - 4,788 (-10.0%)
4 year (-51.2%)
Warren Ellis writes barbarians.
265. Bram Stoker's Death Ship (IDW) 05/2010: Death Ship #1 - 4,452
I think this is some sort of Dracula comic. The solicitations say it’s and “untold tale” so it doesn’t actually seem to be an adaptation of anything.
268. Muppet Show (Boom!)
05/2009: -
=====
06/2009: Muppet Show #3 (of 4) - 7,210 (+9.9%)
07/2009: Muppet Show #4 (of 4) - 6,273 (-13.0%)
07/2009: Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson #1 (of 4) - 7,027 (+12.0%)
08/2009: Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson #2 (of 4) - 5,952 (-15.3%)
09/2009: Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson #3 (of 4) - 5,444 (-8.5%)
10/2009: -
11/2009: Treasure of Peg Leg Wilson #4 (of 4) - 4,822 (-11.4)
12/2009: Muppet Show #0 - 6,120 (+26.9%)
01/2010: Muppet Show #1 - 6,155 (+0.6%)
02/2010: Muppet Show #2 - 4,965 (-19.3%)
03/2010: Muppet Show #3 - 4,557 (-8.2%)
04/2010: Muppet Show #4 - 4,320 (-5.2%)
05/2010: Muppet Show #5 - 4,316 (-0.0%)
6 month (-10.5%)
1 year (n.a.)
Stable. Now the best selling of Boom’s Disney comics in the direct market. This one’s not drawn by Langrige. I can’t seem to track down the information to say if it was solicited that way.
269. Incredibles (Boom!)
05/2009: Family Matters #2 (of 4) - 8,041
=====
06/2009: Family Matters #3 (of 4) - 8,169 (+1.6%)
07/2009: Family Matters #4 (of 4) - 8,199 (+0.4%)
08/2009: Incredibles #0 - 9,407 (+14.7%)
09/2009: -
10/2009: Incredibles #1 - 9,471 (+0.7%)
11/2009: Incredibles #2 - 7,383 (-22.0%)
12/2010: Incredibles #3 - 6,849 (-7.2%)
01/2010: Incredibles #4 - 6,149 (-10.2%)
02/2010: Incredibles #5 - 5,502 (-10.5%)
03/2010: Incredibles #6 - 5,230 (-4.9%)
03/2010: Incredibles #7 - 4,025 (-23.0%)
04/2010: Incredibles #8 - 4,582 (+13.8%)
05/2010: Incredibles #9 - 4,288 (-6.4%)
6 month (-41.9%)
1 year (-46.7%)
Bigger than average drop percentage wise, the raw numbers aren’t as bad.
271. 7 Pyschopaths (Boom) 05/2010: 7 Psychopaths #1 - 4,163
World War II comic drawn by Sean Phillips.
277. Atomic Robo (Red 5)
05/2009: Shadow from Beyond Time #1 - 4,234
=====
06/2009: Shadow from Beyond Time #2 - 4,533 (+7.1%)
07/2009: Shadow from Beyond Time #3 - 4,210 (-7.1%)
08/2009: Shadow from Beyond Time #4 - 4,241 (+0.7%)
09/2009: Shadow from Beyond Time #5 - 4,225 (-0.4%)
10/2009: -
11/2009: -
12/2009: -
01/2010: -
02/2010: Revenge of the Vampire Dimension #1 - 4,372 (+3.5%)
03/2010: -
04/2010: Revenge of the Vampire Dimension #2 - 4,093 (-6.4%)
05/2010: Revenge of the Vampire Dimension #3 - 3,840 (-6.2%)
6 month (n.a.)
1 year (-9.3%)
Not the best drop percentage wise, but the actual number drop isn’t that bad.
278. Fraggle Rock (Archaia) 04/2010: Fraggle Rock #1 - 6,571 05/2010: Fraggle Rock #2 - 3,779 (-42.5%)
Bigger than normal second issue drop. Some copies might have shipped late.
279. Kill Shakespeare (IDW) 04/2010: Kill Shakespeare #1 - 5,447 05/2010: Kill Shakespeare #2 - 3,703 (-32.0%)
Fairly average second issue drop.
281. Uncle Scrooge (Boom)
05/2005: Uncle Scrooge #342 (Gemstone) - 5,078
05/2006: Uncle Scrooge #354 (Gemstone) - 4,875
05/2007: Uncle Scrooge #366 (Gemstone) – 4,311
05/2008: Uncle Scrooge #375 (Gemstone) - 4,329
05/2009: -
=====
10/2009: Uncle Scrooge #384 - 5,835
11/2009: Uncle Scrooge #385 - 5,232 (-10.3%)
12/2009: Uncle Scrooge #386 - 4,946 (-5.5%)
01/2010: Uncle Scrooge #387 - 4,604 (-6.9%)
02/2010: Uncle Scrooge #388 - 4,311 (-6.3%)
03/2010: Uncle Scrooge #389 - 3,906 (-9.4%)
04/2010: Uncle Scrooge #390 - 3,747 (-4.1%)
05/2010: Uncle Scrooge #391 - 3,677 (-1.9%)
6 months (-29.7%)
1 year (n.a.)
2 year (-15.1%)
3 year (-14.7%)
4 year (-24.6%)
5 year (-27.6%)
I’m not sure how useful the multi year comparisons are, as the Gemstone editions cost over twice as much but weren’t available on newsstands.
282. Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories (Boom)
05/2005: Comics and Stories #657 (Gemstone) - 3,965
05/2006: Comics and Stories #669 (Gemstone) - 3,755
05/2007: Comics and Stories #681 (Gemstone) - 3,662
05/2008: Comics and Stories #690 (Gemstone) - 3,942
05/2009: -
=====
10/2009: Comics and Stories #699 - 6,679
11/2009: Comics and Stories #700 - 5,634 (-15.6%)
12/2009: Comics and Stories #701 - 4,885 (-13.3%)
01/2010: Comics and Stories #702 - 4,567 (-6.5%)
02/2010: Comics and Stories #703 - 4,233 (-7.3%)
03/2010: Comics and Stories #704 - 3,917 (-7.5%)
04/2010: Comics and Stories #705 - 3,497 (-10.7%)
05/2010: Comics and Stories #706 - 3,655 (+4.5%)
6 months (n.a.)
1 year (n.a.)
2 year (-7.3%)
3 year (-0.2%)
4 year (-2.7%)
5 year (-7.8%)
Ditto.
284. Chimichanga (Exploding Albatross) 12/2009: Chimichanga #1 - 9,111 01/2010: - 02/2010: - 03/2010: - 04/2010: - 05/2010: Chimichanga #2 - 3,608 (-60.4%)
I’m guessing a bunch of copies got lost somewhere.
286, 289. Muppet Show Fairy Tales (Boom!)
05/2009: Robin Hood #1 (of 4) - 4,793
=====
06/2009: -
07/2009: Robin Hood #2 (of 4) - 5,646 (-17.8%)
08/2009: Robin Hood #3 (of 4) - 5,647 (+0%)
09/2009: Robin Hood #4 (of 4) - 5,612 (-0.6%)
09/2009: Peter Pan #1 - 6,356 (+13.3%)
10/2009: Peter Pan #2 - 5,199 (-18.2%)
11/2009: Peter Pan #3 - 4,762 (-8.4%)
12/2009: -
01/2010: Peter Pan #4 - 4,235 (-11.1%)
02/2010: King Arthur #1 - 4,248 (+0.3%)
02/2010: King Arthur #2 - 3,684 (-13.3%)
03/2010: King Arthur #3 - ????
04/2010: -
05/2010: King Arthur #4 - 3,308 (???)
05/2010: Snow White #1 - 3,521 (+6.4%)
6 month (-26.1%)
1 year (-26.5%)
Slight increase for the new number one, but there are definitely diminishing returns here.
287. James Patterson's Witch & Wizard (IDW) 05/2010: Battle for Shadowland #1 - 3,481
Surprisingly this doesn’t seem to be an adaptation, but an original spin-off.
288. Light (Image) 04/2010: Light #1 - 5,100 05/2010: Light #2 - 3,323 (-34.8%)
Five issue series with art by Brett Weldele doing the art.
292. Tank Girl
05/2008: Visions of Booga #1 (IDW) - 6,713
05/2009: -
=====
11/2009: Skid Marks #1 (Titan) - 4,902
12/2009: Nuggets (Image) - 5,803 (+18.4%)
01/2010: Skid Marks #2 (Titan) - 3,805 (-34.4%)
02/2010: Skid Marks #3 (Titan) - 3,253 (-14.5%)
03/2010: Royal Escape #1 (IDW) - 3,957 (+21.6%)
04/2010: Dirty Helmets (Image) - 4,303 (+8.7%)
04/2010: Royal Escape #2 (IDW) - 3,387 (-21.3%)
05/2010: Royal Escape #3 (IDW) - 3,227 (-4.7%)
6 month (-34.2%)
1 year (n.a.)
2 year (-51.9%)
Just the one comic this month.
293. Wall-E (Boom) 11/2009: Wall-E #0 - 7,410 12/2009: Wall-E #1 - 5,946 (-20.0%) 01/2010: Wall-E #2 - 4,581 (-23.0%) 02/2010: Wall-E #3 - 4,175 (-8.9%) 03/2010: Wall-E #4 - 3,736 (-10.5%) 04/2010: Wall-E #5 - 3,328 (-10.9%) 05/2010: Wall-E #6 - 3,214 (-3.4%)
Standard drop.
295. Zombies vs. Robots Aventure (IDW) 02/2010: ZVR: Aventure #1 - 2,390 03/2010: ZVR: Aventure #2 - ???? 04/2010: ZVR: Aventure #3 - 3,276 (???) 05/2010: ZVR: Aventure #4 - 3,152 (-3.8%)
Standard drop.
296. Orc Stain (Image) 01/2010: Orc Stain #1 - 4,476 02/2010: - 03/2010: Orc Stain #2 - ???? 04/2010: - 05/2010: Orc Stain #3 - 3,151 (???)
King City might never make the chart, but I’m glad to see Orc Stain back on here (even if I haven’t managed to find a copy of this issue yet). It sees like it’s going to run until issue twelve or so at least. More people should be reading those two books.
297. Cold Space (Boom!) 04/2010: Cold Space #1 - 5,431 05/2010: Cold Space #2 - 3,138 (-42.2%)
Co-written (and starring) Samuel L. Jackson.
299. Donald Duck and Friends (Boom)
05/2005: Donald Duck and Friends #328 (Gemstone) - 4,545
05/2006: Donald Duck and Friends #340 (Gemstone) - 4,504
=====
11/2009: Donald Duck and Friends #347 - 5,462
12/2009: Donald Duck and Friends #348 - 4,571 (-16.3%)
01/2010: Donald Duck and Friends #349 - 4,502 (-1.5%)
01/2010: Donald Duck and Friends #350 - 3,924 (-12.8%)
02/2010: Donald Duck and Friends #351 - 3,801 (-3.1%)
03/2010: Donald Duck and Friends #352 - ????
04/2010: Donald Duck and Friends #353 - 3,107
05/2010: Donald Duck and Friends #354 - 3,074 (-1.1%)
6 month (n.a.)
1 year (n.a.)
2 year (n.a.)
3 year (n.a.)
4 year (-3.2%)
5 year (-3.2%)
The multiyear comparisons are more accurate here as the Gemstone editions cost about the same. Lowest non-Marvel/DC book this month.
==========
Just a reminder, all numbers on this chart are estimates for comics sold by Diamond to the direct market. They include reorders that shipped in the same month. Books shipping in the first week of a month will have more time for reorders to appear than ones shipping in the last week of the month, when reorders will slip to the following month. These numbers don’t include sales through Diamond UK. They are low.
Matthew Murray really likes (vegetarian) cooking and zines and comics. Now if only he could somehow combine them.
36. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Dark Horse)
After this issue Buffy is taking a break until September when Joss Whedon and Georges Jeanty return to write the finale of season eight (to be followed by season nine of course). Considering they knew this was coming, I’m pretty surprised that this large a break is necessary. There’s at least one one shot in there somewhere, but it still surprises me.
To give Jeanty time to draw both climactic arcs, perhaps? That’s my guess, but I’m surprised at the length of the break, too.
177. Transformers Last Stand of the Wreckers (IDW)
Tiny drop this month for a very successful miniseries overall. Can anyone tell me why the numbers stayed so steady?
As I hear it, this mini was basically a TransFormers fanfoy’s dream–a well-told story about obscure characters. So presumably anyone who was moved to pick it up in the first place stuck around for the end.
253. Star Trek (IDW)
Still confusing me by its existence.
Purely because the Movie Prequel was a massive bestseller on iPhones, I expect, so the low direct market sales on this adaptation would be next to meaningless for IDW.
Re: Walking Dead
Volume one in trade paperback sells another 2,303, bringing it’s total to something insane.
Really? That many? haha…
I’m sure it’d be time-consuming, but I’d love to see someone go through the ICV2 graphic novel charts and figure out just how many copies Walking Dead v. 1 has sold. It really must be something insane.
287. James Patterson’s Witch & Wizard (IDW) – Surprisingly this doesn’t seem to be an adaptation, but an original spin-off.
As the writer for this mini, I can confirm your observation that this is an all-new story. It fits neatly between book 1 and 2 of the YA series. And, I suspect, it’ll do quite well once the hardcover collection hits the bookstore market, since that’s the venue for Patterson fans.
Also, I will second your recommendation of Orc Stain. A truly original, fresh take on the fantasy genre. And just so damn pretty to look at. Highly recommended.
These are always my favorite articles published by the Beat. I wonder why they took longer to come out this month.
Great job Matthew, thanks!!!
its frightening how the sales on the majority of these titles are falling like rocks. I’m curious to see how many of them will be around a year from now…
Casey, I can’t comment on the others, but mine took longer to write because I’ve been traveling around Europe for the past month. Expect a similar delay next month as I haven’t even looked at the numbers yet.
Really liked 7 Psychopaths#1–with awesome Sean Phillips artwork.
Check it out, people!
Jason, the sales estimates just posted on CBR lists “Total Reported Est Sales” for the first Walking Dead TPB at 109,063. And I imagine there have been months where it didn’t chart but still sold some copies.
Not bad for a little B/W book.
I realize that these are just the Direct Market numbers (and only for the U.S. — not sure if these include sales to Canada as well) — but I’m really baffled by how some of these titles can exist at the levels we are seeing.
You say Irredeemable is doing fairly well when its most recent sales are under 13K.
Terry Moore’s Echo is hovering around 10K
And Eric Larson’s Savage Dragon is under 6K.
With a $3.99 title (such as Irredeemable), I can see decent return on that.
Echo is priced at $3.50 and in black & white, so there is probably some fair return on that.
But how exactly does Eric Larson continue to eat when his title is selling about 5500 copies a month??
I don’t know what the actual return to the publishers from Diamond is on titles. I’m under the impression it is somewhere in the neighborhood of 45% (I know it is different for different publishers). A publisher like BOOM! Studios is going to have a lot more overhead than Terry Moore’s Abstract Studios. BOOM! might have more overhead than Image. I don’t know for sure.
But assuming for a moment the 45% number is within a reasonable ballpark, this is what we get (rough estimates with rounding).
Irredeemable (12,750 x 3.99 x 45%) is close to $23K. After paying for printing and overhead (editors, marketing, etc.), what is left for the actual creative team?
Echo (10,000 x 3.50 x 45%) is close to $16K. After paying for printing (and marketing), the rest goes to Terry Moore and company.
Savage Dragon (5,500 x 3.50 x 45%) is close to $8,660. After paying for printing and whatever Image fees there are, the rest is for Eric Larson (no wonder he is coloring the book himself now — he can’t afford someone else to do it).
I’m really just trying to figure out what a reasonable sales number is for an independent title. How many copies of a comic need to be sold through a typical independent publishers such that the creators involved can actually afford to put food on the table. I ask not because I have any interest in how much money these creators are making, but because I want to know when to start being concerned that a title isn’t doing well enough for the creator to continue with it. Too many titles that I like end up on the cancellation pile because of weak sales.
For the Big Two, it appears the breakpoint is around 22K because once titles fall below that, they typically seem to end up getting canceled (Vertigo and Wildstorm notwithstanding).
Good questions Hutch — I’ve wondered the same thing. I’ve really been enjoying some of Dynamite’s books (Project Superpowers, Buck Rogers, Lone Ranger), but the sales seem exceptionally low, all things considered. So I’ve been curious as to what’s actually required for a book by an indie to remain profitable, because as you note, the Big 2 pull the plug a lot sooner.
If anyone cares to comment/explain this further, I wish they would.
Hutch, the low sales on Savage Dragon depress me more than pretty much anything else on this list, because I’ve been reading it monthly for about 13 years at this point and it remains one of my absolute favorite books. I should note, too, that he’s not coloring himself, so he’s scraping by even while paying colorist Nikos Koutsis and letterer Tom Orzechowski. His forum at the Image messageboards has a fairly large, dedicated European contingent, so I can only hope that sales in Europe offset the low sales in America.
But seriously, people! BUY SAVAGE DRAGON! It’s great!
Even more amazing to me is the books that scrape by even lower than that, though. Fred Perry has been writing, drawing, lettering, and coloring Gold Digger, month-in-and-month-out, for almost 20 years and the book only rarely scrapes the bottom of the top 300, selling less than 3000 copies a month by the iCV2 figures. That he can continue to do that for this many years is….kind of mindblowing, really.
Oh, and Niels, thanks for the info! $1 million worth of Walking Dead v. 1s out there. WOW.
“Savage Dragon (5,500 x 3.50 x 45%) is close to $8,660. After paying for printing and whatever Image fees there are, the rest is for Eric Larson (no wonder he is coloring the book himself now — he can’t afford someone else to do it).”
Nikos Koutsis is still coloring Savage Dragon last I checked. Larsen tried doing everything (coloring and lettering) for awhile a few years back, but stopped when the schedule got thrown off. I think Pat Olliffe has done a few issues too.
I have no idea what he’s making, but I know the founders made a lot in the early days, and instead of starting a big studio like a lot of the founders, he pretty much stayed a one man show.
Well, I know what I get paid for my scripts at IDW, and have a rough idea of how much the artists get paid, and having self-published in the past I also have a rough idea of the printing costs. So yes, I’m amazed and confounded as to how the indie publishers (even the big ones like IDW) make enough money to cover their overhead, staff, etc.
Joe: I think you mean Steve Olliff. Pat Olliffe is the penciller who used to draw Spider-Girl, and is now doing “Peter Parker” with Bob Gale.
Just a quick note knowing I’m late to this party, but I’ve got all the indy titles sales published in june up here http://www.renderwrx.net/apps/blog/
If you care to stop by and take a look, please do!I’ll be doing this every month, not as elaborately as the charts are done here, but anyway stop by next month and take a look.
I realize the from early 2004 through mid 2008 that Eric Larson held the position of Publisher at Image, so I’m sure he was drawing a salary for that work. But after stepping down in mid-2008, I don’t know if he has a specific staff position with Image and thus a weekly (or bi-weekly) paycheck for any administrative work he would be doing. That would certainly supplement whatever income he is gettting from the Savage Dragon.
I knew he had taken over the coloring duties on SD for a while but I didn’t realize he had gone back to having someone else do that.
Jason – Hopefully you are correct that SD sells well in Europe. That would certainly help to explain things. As far as Fred Perry goes, my guess would be that he likely does (graphic design) work outside of AP to help pay the bills. Or perhaps his stuff sells well in Europe too.
I’m mystified by the Savage Dragon numbers too, since the book seems as well-done as ever, the storyline is just as engrossing (although maybe some readers are turned off by Dragon’s current split personality quandry?), and it’s coming out on a more regular schedule than any other book on the market.
My sense from his various comments over the years is that Larsen can afford to live on the investment income from his profits from the 1990’s, and the current Savage Dragon book just has to break even. I could be wrong about that, though. I certainly hope that he has other sources of income, like overseas sales, or TPB sales, or licensing, or something.
Interesting, but not surprising, to hear that McFarlane is the stuck gear in the engine of the Image United project. It was amazing that they thought they could pull off a monthly schedule for six issues of that, given all the people involved. Anybody have a link to more details?
I think I’m the only person in Orlando buying King City. I really appreciate the amount of detail and background jokes in the art. However the story is something a 14 year old boy would write so I guess I can’t be too surprised it hasn’t caught on..
I am surprised 7 Psychopaths didn’t even crack 5,000. I debated whether to pick it up or not and finally decided to wait until all 3 issues were out. It has odd pacing as they hadn’t even begun their mission yet by the end of the 2nd issue.
Also surprised that T&A comics like Grimm Fairy Tales and Tarot Rose or whatever it’s called seem to sell on average in the 8ks. Yet Scalped struggles to stay above 6,500. Bloody hell.
“279. Kill Shakespeare (IDW)
04/2010: Kill Shakespeare #1 – 5,447
05/2010: Kill Shakespeare #2 – 3,703 (-32.0%)
Fairly average second issue drop.”
Haha, I hope that’s not a fairly average drop! Maybe when you’re selling 50k copies but at this level that seems like a wretched drop.
Is G.I. Joe Hearts and Minds any good? Not a G.I. Joe fan but it sounds kind of interesting.