by Paul O’Brien
This month, the slow build to AVENGERS VS X-MEN begins with the AVENGERS: X-SANCTION miniseries; and DEFENDERS is relaunched. Both are wisely given a pretty clear run, without other Marvel launches competing for space.
Elsewhere, the X-Men, Hulk and Fantastic Four relaunches continue to bed down. And down at the bottom end of the chart, the cancellations continue to mount up.
Normal service is resumed, kind of, as Marvel had the largest share of the north American direct market, albeit by a fairly narrow margin – 39% to 38% in units, 34.4% to 33.7% in dollars. But bear in mind, this was a five-week month where DC more or less sat out week five.
Thanks as always to ICV2.com for permission to use these figures.
5. AVENGERS: X-SANCTION 12/11 #1 of 4 - 93,380
Marvel have made it very clear that this is an Important Book which contains the build-up to a crossover that will dominate two major franchises for half of 2012. So it’s no great surprise to see it as Marvel’s top seller of the month.
As you’d expect, this high-priority book is supported by a horde of variant covers. In addition to 1:15, 1:25, 1:100 and 1:200 variants, there are also two different retailer-specific covers. That’s a gimmick that has worked well for Marvel in the past, though there surely has to be a risk of overuse if the company isn’t careful.
7. DEFENDERS 12/11 #1 - 85,969
The other big launch of the month, and again, Marvel are supporting it heavily. For one thing, this has multiple variant covers (1:10, 1:25, 1:50 and 1:200). But more to the point, it was overshipped by 50%.
Judging from the sales figures on earlier overshipping promotions, Diamond appears to count the extra copies towards the chart – a curious policy, given that outright freebies are excluded, but there it is. Stripping out the 50% uplift, we can estimate the actual orders at 57,313. That’s marginally lower than the first issue of VENOM. (It’s also marginally lower than the first issue of WOLVERINE: THE BEST THERE IS, but since that book continued to bleed readers throughout its run, it’s not a very useful comparison.)
Still, this is the Defenders, a franchise which comes round again every few years and has usually struggled. I’d say 57K initial orders is a pretty respectable debut.
As for the broader issues of overshipping, in theory it’s not a bad idea. The logic is that if you have more copies on the shelves then you have a greater chance to reach readers. Whether it works in practice is another matter. After all, if retailers really thought they could sell those extra copies, they’d have ordered them in the first place. But that involves the retailers taking a risk, and if Marvel have more confidence than they do, this sort of promotion may make sense.
12. UNCANNY X-MEN
12/06 #481 - 85,995
12/07 #493 - 102,114
12/08 #505 - 82,271
12/09 #519 - 67,043
=====
12/10 #531 - 55,770 ( -3.9%)
01/11 #532 - 54,071 ( -3.0%)
02/11 #533 - 53,834 ( -0.4%)
03/11 #534 - 55,731 ( +3.5%)
04/11 #.1 - 53,473 ( -4.1%)
04/11 #535 - 56,795 ( +6.2%)
04/11 #536 - 53,502 ( -5.8%)
05/11 #537 - 53,716 ( +0.4%)
06/11 #538 - 53,319 ( -0.7%)
06/11 #539 - 54,284 ( +1.8%)
07/11 #540 - 57,206 ( +5.4%)
07/11 #541 - 55,856 ( -2.4%)
08/11 #542 - 54,840 ( -1.8%)
09/11 #543 - 58,326 ( +6.4%)
10/11 #544 - 60,212 ( +3.2%)
11/11 #1 - 109,911 (+82.5%)
11/11 #2 - 72,485 (-34.1%)
12/11 #3 - 64,112 (-11.6%)
6 mnth (+18.1%)
1 year (+15.0%)
2 year ( -4.4%)
3 year (-22.1%)
4 year (-37.2%)
5 year (-25.4%)
No variant cover this month, so the settling-down process may be slightly exaggerated. The book is still miles ahead of pre-relaunch numbers, but it’s evidently some way from finding its level just yet.
13. AVENGING SPIDER-MAN 11/11 #1 - 112,153 12/11 #2 - 60,682 (-45.9%)
The first issue had four variants, and this had one. Still a big drop, though.
15. WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN 10/11 #1 - 99,611 11/11 #2 - 83,356 (-16.3%) 12/11 #3 - 58,438 (-29.9%)
Issue #1 picks up 3,756 re-orders to chart at number 282. Those are included in the number above.
As with UNCANNY, this is the first issue without a variant cover, which may be exaggerating the drops. But it’s a bigger drop than I’d have expected.
17. AVENGERS
11/10 #7 - 89,758 (+22.5%)
12/10 #8 - 67,056 (-25.3%)
01/11 #9 - 64,867 ( -3.3%)
02/11 #10 - 63,924 ( -1.5%)
03/11 #11 - 66,618 ( +4.2%)
04/11 #12 - 63,441 ( -4.8%)
04/11 #.1 - 60,455 ( -4.7%)
05/11 #13 - 68,086 (+12.6%)
06/11 #14 - 64,057 ( -5.9%)
07/11 #15 - 62,580 (-17.9%)
08/11 #16 - 60,295 ( -3.7%)
09/11 #17 - 61,492 ( +2.0%)
10/11 #18 - 58,897 ( -4.2%)
11/11 #19 - 56,620 ( -3.9%)
12/11 #20 - 57,145 ( +0.9%)
6 mnth (-10.8%)
1 year (-36.3%)
Variant cover, explaining the very slight increase.
18,21. UNCANNY X-FORCE
12/08 #10 - 58,801
12/09 #22 - 51,859
=====
12/10 #3 - 55,520 (-1.8%)
01/11 #4 - 51,381 (-7.5%)
02/11 #5 - 51,470 (+0.2%)
03/11 #.1 - 50,732 (-1.4%)
03/11 #6 - 51,248 (-1.0%)
04/11 #7 - 54,292 (+5.9%)
04/11 #8 - 50,908 (-6.2%)
05/11 #9 - 51,726 (+1.6%)
05/11 #10 - 50,676 (-2.0%)
06/11 #11 - 53,199 (+5.0%)
07/11 #12 - 55,413 (+4.2%)
08/11 #13 - 53,904 (-2.7%)
08/11 #14 - 50,770 (-5.8%)
09/11 #15 - 53,771 (+5.9%)
10/11 #16 - 52,398 (-2.6%)
11/11 #17 - 50,974 (-2.7%)
12/11 #18 - 54,274 (+6.5%)
12/11 #19 - 55,333 (+2.0%)
6 mnth (+4.0%)
1 year (-0.3%)
2 year (+6.7%)
3 year (-5.9%)
Issue #18 has one variant, issue #19 has two, so a degree of increase is to be expected. But given that variant covers often have a rather muted effect, it could also be that there’s real interest in the climax of the well-received “Dark Angel Saga”. More generally, X-FORCE seems to be selling steadily in the low 50K range – an impressive performance in the current market.
20,22. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
12/06 ---
12/07 #545 - 124,481
12/08 #581 - 68,905
12/09 #616 - 58,856
=====
12/10 #650 - 58,909 ( +6.1%)
01/11 #651 - 56,749 ( -3.7%)
01/11 #652 - 52,050 ( -8.3%)
02/11 #653 - 53,103 ( +2.0%)
02/11 #654 - 53,882 ( +1.5%)
02/11 #.1 - 55,283 ( +2.6%)
02/11 #655 - 53,366 ( -3.5%)
03/11 #656 - 59,626 ( +11.7%)
03/11 #657 - 58,704 ( -1.5%)
04/11 #658 - 61,687 ( +5.1%)
04/11 #659 - 58,258 ( -5.6%)
05/11 #660 - 58,249 ( -0.0%)
05/11 #661 - 59,087 ( +1.4%)
05/11 #662 - 55,883 ( -5.4%)
06/11 #663 - 57,040 ( +2.1%)
06/11 #664 - 54,808 ( -3.9%)
07/11 #665 - 56,948 ( +3.9%)
07/11 #666 - 135,568 (+138.1%)
08/11 #667 - 71,235 ( -47.5%)
08/11 #668 - 57,533 ( -19.2%)
09/11 #669 - 71,944 ( +25.0%)
09/11 #670 - 57,959 ( -19.4%)
10/11 #671 - 59,426 ( +2.5%)
10/11 #672 - 57,860 ( -2.6%)
11/11 #673 - 57,159 ( -1.2%)
11/11 #674 - 57,723 ( +1.0%)
12/11 #675 - 54,652 ( -5.3%)
12/11 #676 - 54,001 ( -1.2%)
6 mnth ( -1.5%)
1 year ( -8.3%)
2 year ( -8.2%)
3 year ( -21.6%)
4 year ( -56.6%)
5 year ( --- )
No variants this month, so we’re back to gentle drifting down. But the book was lower than this at the start of the year. Overall, it still looks pretty stable.
25. NEW AVENGERS
12/06 #26 - 122,670
12/07 #37 - 105,545
12/08 #48 - 93,908
12/09 #60 - 72,790
=====
12/10 #7 - 67,840 ( +1.7%)
01/11 #8 - 61,169 ( -9.8%)
02/11 #9 - 60,914 ( -0.4%)
03/11 #10 - 59,929 ( -1.6%)
04/11 #11 - 61,778 ( +3.1%)
05/11 #12 - 60,328 ( -2.3%)
06/11 #13 - 57,682 ( -4.4%)
07/11 #14 - 58,306 ( +1.1%)
08/11 #15 - 56,035 ( -3.9%)
09/11 #16 - 57,959 ( +3.4%)
09/11 #.1 - 51,506 (-11.1%)
10/11 #17 - 55,732 ( +8.2%)
11/11 #18 - 54,454 ( -2.3%)
12/11 #19 - 52,915 ( -2.8%)
6 mnth ( -8.3%)
1 year (-22.0%)
2 year (-27.3%)
3 year (-43.7%)
4 year (-49.9%)
5 year (-56.9%)
Second straight month without a variant. The downward trend on this book is pretty evident.
29. FANTASTIC FOUR
12/06 #541 - 84,895
12/07 #552 - 51,320
12/08 #562 - 54,062
12/09 #574 - 38,431
=====
12/10 #586 - 42,829 ( +3.0%)
01/11 #587 - 144,173 (+236.6%)
02/11 #588 - 68,153 ( -52.7%)
03/11 #1 - 121,172 ( +77.8%)
04/11 #2 - 72,897 ( -39.8%)
05/11 #3 - 66,885 ( -8.2%)
05/11 #4 - 60,571 ( -9.4%)
06/11 #5 - 58,925 ( -2.7%)
07/11 #6 - 55,601 ( -5.6%)
07/11 #7 - 54,022 ( -2.8%)
08/11 #8 - 51,917 ( -0.2%)
09/11 #9 - 53,091 ( +2.3%)
10/11 #10 - 49,642 ( -6.5%)
10/11 #11 - 48,433 ( -2.4%)
11/11 #600 - 73,809 ( +52.4%)
12/11 #601 - 51,080 ( -30.8%)
6 mnth ( -13.3%)
1 year ( +19.3%)
2 year ( +32.9%)
3 year ( -5.5%)
4 year ( -0.5%)
5 year ( -39.8%)
Pretty much straight back to previous sales levels after the renumbering last month. Of course, the book is still holding on to the sales it gained from the March relaunch.
30. ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN
12/06 #103 - 76,251
12/07 #117 - 60,361
12/08 #129 - 51,071
12/09 #5 - 45,849
=====
12/10 #151 - 33,707 ( -16.9%)
01/11 #152 - 33,481 ( -1.0%)
02/11 #153 - 43,986 ( +31.4%)
02/11 #154 - 43,209 ( -1.8%)
03/11 #155 - 44,067 ( +2.0%)
03/11 #156 - 44,920 ( +1.9%)
04/11 #157 - 50,896 ( +13.3%)
05/11 #158 - 47,941 ( -5.8%)
06/11 #159 - 51,766 ( +8.0%)
06/11 #160 - 166,944 (+222.5%)
07/11 #1 of 6 - 49,084 ( -70.6%)
07/11 #2 of 6 - 45,371 ( -7.6%)
07/11 #3 of 6 - 44,492 ( -1.9%)
08/11 #4 of 6 - 96,815 (+117.6%)
08/11 #5 of 6 - 41,336 ( -57.3%)
08/11 #6 of 6 - 39,190 ( -5.2%)
09/11 #1 - 95,483 (+143.6%)
09/11 #2 - 58,672 ( -38.6%)
10/11 #3 - 52,521 ( -10.5%)
11/11 #4 - 51,558 ( -1.8%)
12/11 #5 - 48,308 ( -6.3%)
6 mnth ( -6.7%)
1 year ( +43.3%)
2 year ( +5.4%)
3 year ( -5.4%)
4 year ( -20.0%)
5 year ( -36.6%)
Back on a downward slide, but the book is still a good 15K up as a result of the Death of Spider-Man arc and the relaunch.
31,32. CAPTAIN AMERICA
12/06 ---
12/07 #33 - 78,279
12/08 #45 - 71,186
12/09 R#5 - 91,790
=====
12/10 #613 - 42,871 ( -9.4%)
01/11 #614 - 42,119 ( -1.8%)
02/11 #615 - 41,935 ( -0.4%)
03/11 #.1 - 43,117 ( +2.8%)
03/11 #616 - 44,394 ( +3.0%)
04/11 #617 - 45,400 ( +2.3%)
05/11 #618 - 44,748 ( -1.4%)
06/11 #619 - 44,796 ( +0.1%)
07/11 #1 - 96,926 (+116.4%)
08/11 #2 - 54,384 ( -43.9%)
09/11 #3 - 54,413 ( +0.1%)
10/11 ---
11/11 #4 - 54,157 ( -0.5%)
12/11 #5 - 47,333 ( -12.6%)
12/11 #6 - 47,753 ( +0.9%)
6 mnth ( +6.6%)
1 year ( +11.4%)
2 year ( -48.0%)
3 year ( -32.9%)
4 year ( -39.0%)
5 year ( --- )
Issue #6 has a variant cover, hence the slight increase. Rather odd, jerky sales here, but there seems to be a general trend back towards the pre-relaunch sales levels.
33. INCREDIBLE HULK
12/06 #101 - 47,927
12/07 #112 - 77,119
12/08 #9 - 87,786
12/09 #605 - 43,964
=====
12/10 #618 - 34,868 ( -1.5%)
12/10 #619 - 32,657 ( -6.3%)
01/11 #620 - 30,992 ( -5.1%)
01/11 #621 - 30,957 ( -0.1%)
02/11 #622 - 30,404 ( -1.8%)
02/11 #623 - 30,140 ( -0.9%)
03/11 #624 - 32,066 ( +6.4%)
03/11 #625 - 29,792 ( -7.1%)
04/11 #626 - 29,782 ( -0.0%)
04/11 #627 - 30,788 ( +3.3%)
05/11 #628 - 28,822 ( -6.4%)
05/11 #629 - 28,103 ( -2.5%)
06/11 #630 - 28,028 ( -0.3%)
06/11 #631 - 27,456 ( -2.0%)
07/11 #632 - 28,518 ( +3.9%)
07/11 #633 - 27,216 ( -4.6%)
08/11 #634 - 27,310 ( +0.3%)
08/11 #635 - 38,223 ( +40.0%)
09/11 ---
10/11 #1 - 106,472 (+178.6%)
11/11 #2 - 80,143 ( -24.7%)
12/11 #3 - 46,446 ( -42.0%)
6 mnth ( +69.2%)
1 year ( +33.2%)
2 year ( +5.6%)
3 year ( -47.1%)
4 year ( -39.8%)
5 year ( -3.1%)
Issue #2 was also overshipped by 50%, so the actual orders would have been closer to 53,429, bringing out a much more reasonable 13% drop – especially when you bear in mind that there’s no variant cover this month. Considering that the HULK titles were both selling below 30K before this relaunch, the numbers aren’t bad.
But it does beg the question of how much benefit Marvel are getting from these overshipping promotions. It certainly doesn’t seem to have inspired retailers to up their orders here.
34. KICK-ASS 2 [Icon] 12/10 --- 01/11 --- 02/11 --- 03/11 #2 of 7 - 62,235 (-19.1%) 04/11 --- 05/11 --- 06/11 --- 07/11 --- 08/11 #3 of 7 - 54,270 (-12.8%) 09/11 #4 of 7 - 51,014 ( -6.0%) 10/11 --- 11/11 #5 of 7 - 53,937 ( +5.7%) 12/11 #6 of 7 - 45,390 (-15.8%)
Issue #5 had two variant covers; this has one. That suggests the underlying drop may be speeding up, but sales remain very healthy, especially by Icon standards.
36. FF
03/11 #1 - 121,172 (+77.8%)
04/11 #2 - 72,897 (-39.8%)
05/11 #3 - 66,885 ( -8.2%)
05/11 #4 - 60,571 ( -9.4%)
06/11 #5 - 58,925 ( -2.7%)
07/11 #6 - 55,601 ( -5.6%)
07/11 #7 - 54,022 ( -2.8%)
08/11 #8 - 51,917 ( -0.2%)
09/11 #9 - 53,091 ( +2.3%)
10/11 #10 - 49,642 ( -6.5%)
10/11 #11 - 48,433 ( -2.4%)
11/11 #12 - 49,449 ( +2.1%)
12/11 #13 - 44,970 ( -9.1%)
6 mnth (-23.7%)
Bearing in mind that this is essentially a new title attempting to inherit an audience from FANTASTIC FOUR, it’s not done too badly.
44. X-MEN
12/10 #6 - 53,005 ( -6.4%)
01/11 #7 - 64,615 (+21.9%)
02/11 #8 - 49,522 (-23.4%)
03/11 #9 - 51,179 ( +3.3%)
04/11 #10 - 50,553 ( -1.2%)
05/11 #11 - 46,519 ( -8.0%)
06/11 #12 - 45,786 ( -1.6%)
06/11 #13 - 44,665 ( -2.4%)
07/11 #14 - 45,150 ( +1.1%)
07/11 #15 - 43,038 ( -4.7%)
08/11 #.1 - 38,078 (-11.5%)
08/11 #16 - 43,161 (+13.3%)
09/11 #17 - 43,200 ( +0.1%)
09/11 #18 - 42,066 ( -2.6%)
10/11 #19 - 40,906 ( -2.8%)
11/11 #20 - 43,515 ( +6.4%)
11/11 #21 - 39,919 ( -8.3%)
12/11 #22 - 39,121 ( -2.0%)
6 mnth (-12.4%)
1 year (-26.2%)
Ignore the variant on issue #20, and this seems to be on a slow but steady decline.
45. DAREDEVIL
12/06 #92 - 48,035
12/07 #103 - 43,874
12/08 #114 - 44,351
12/09 #502 - 38,680
=====
12/10 #512 - 40,317 ( -7.1%)
01/11 #1 of 4 - 34,310 ( -14.9%)
02/11 #2 of 4 - 29,108 ( -15.2%)
03/11 #3 of 4 - 27,231 ( -6.4%)
04/11 ---
05/11 #4 of 4 - 26,179 ( -3.9%)
06/11 ---
07/11 #1 - 64,866 (+147.8%)
08/11 #2 - 40,990 ( -36.8%)
09/11 #3 - 39,477 ( -3.7%)
09/11 #4 - 40,311 ( +2.1%)
10/11 #5 - 39,413 ( -2.2%)
11/11 #6 - 38,302 ( -2.8%)
12/11 #7 - 38,824 ( +1.4%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year ( -3.7%)
2 year ( +0.4%)
3 year ( -12.5%)
4 year ( -11.5%)
5 year ( -19.2%)
This has a 1:50 variant, but it doesn’t appear to have had much of an impact. Sales on DAREDEVIL have been weirdly consistent since issue #3 regardless of variant covers.
47. SECRET AVENGERS
12/10 #8 - 54,048 ( -9.9%)
01/11 #9 - 50,748 ( -6.1%)
02/11 #10 - 49,717 ( -2.0%)
03/11 #11 - 51,353 ( +3.3%)
04/11 #12 - 50,641 (-13.9%)
04/11 #.1 - 46,161 ( -8.8%)
05/11 #13 - 51,936 (+12.5%)
06/11 #14 - 49,898 ( -3.9%)
07/11 #15 - 46,712 ( -6.4%)
08/11 #16 - 46,317 ( -0.8%)
09/11 #17 - 44,890 ( -3.1%)
10/11 #18 - 43,280 ( -3.6%)
11/11 #19 - 41,191 ( -4.8%)
12/11 #20 - 38,202 ( -7.3%)
6 mnth (-23.4%)
1 year (-29.3%)
First issue in a while to lack a variant cover.
48. MIGHTY THOR
12/06 ---
12/07 #5 - 101,551
12/08 #12 - 73,784
12/09 #605 - 55,242
=====
12/10 #618 - 45,142 ( -8.2%)
01/11 #619 - 42,899 ( -5.0%)
02/11 #620 - 42,106 ( -1.8%)
03/11 #.1 - 41,605 ( -1.2%)
03/11 #621 - 42,104 ( +1.2%)
04/11 #1 - 82,071 (+94.9%)
05/11 #2 - 50,473 (-38.5%)
06/11 #3 - 48,114 ( -4.7%)
07/11 #4 - 44,586 ( -7.3%)
08/11 #5 - 44,594 ( +0.0%)
09/11 #6 - 45,231 ( +1.4%)
10/11 #7 - 44,017 ( -2.7%)
11/11 #8 - 40,703 ( -7.5%)
12/11 #9 - 38,000 ( -6.6%)
6 mnth (-21.0%)
1 year (-15.8%)
2 year (-31.2%)
3 year (-48.5%)
4 year (-62.6%)
5 year ( --- )
Settling back into a steady decline, from the look of it.
49. X-MEN LEGACY
12/06 #194 - 78,114
12/07 #206 - 97,871
12/08 #219 - 60,587
12/09 #230 - 49,776
=====
12/10 #243 - 41,797 ( -4.5%)
01/11 #244 - 40,193 ( -3.8%)
02/11 #245 - 57,203 (+42.3%)
03/11 #246 - 47,893 (-16.3%)
04/11 #247 - 51,970 ( +8.5%)
05/11 #248 - 46,083 (-11.3%)
05/11 #249 - 45,063 ( -2.2%)
06/11 #250 - 45,070 ( +0.0%)
06/11 #251 - 43,479 ( -3.5%)
07/11 #252 - 41,365 ( -4.9%)
08/11 #253 - 40,466 ( -2.2%)
08/11 #254 - 39,896 ( -1.4%)
09/11 #255 - 39,284 ( -1.5%)
09/11 #256 - 38,680 ( -1.5%)
10/11 #257 - 38,070 ( -1.6%)
11/11 #258 - 38,334 ( +0.7%)
11/11 #259 - 41,967 ( +9.5%)
12/11 #260 - 37,946 ( -9.6%)
6 mnth (-12.7%)
1 year ( -9.2%)
2 year (-23.8%)
3 year (-37.4%)
4 year (-61.2%)
5 year (-51.4%)
The final issue of Mike Carey’s run. Christos Gage and David Baldeon take over in January.
50. CARNAGE, U.S.A. 12/11 #1 of 5 - 37,620
The last CARNAGE mini opened at 47K, so there’s a degree of diminishing returns here.
51. WOLVERINE
12/06 #49 - 78,807
12/07 #60 - 63,194
12/08 #70 - 98,915
12/09 #8 - 33,470
=====
12/10 #4 - 52,812 ( +2.3%)
01/11 #5 - 46,920 (-11.2%)
02/11 #.1 - 44,332 ( -5.5%)
02/11 #6 - 45,932 ( +3.6%)
03/11 #7 - 47,337 ( +3.1%)
04/11 #8 - 47,010 ( -0.7%)
05/11 #9 - 44,635 ( -5.1%)
06/11 #10 - 42,677 ( -4.4%)
06/11 #11 - 41,813 ( -2.0%)
07/11 #12 - 42,110 ( +0.7%)
08/11 #13 - 39,296 ( -0.7%)
08/11 #14 - 38,869 ( -0.1%)
09/11 #15 - 37,951 ( -2.4%)
09/11 #16 - 37,796 ( -0.4%)
10/11 #17 - 39,405 ( +4.3%)
11/11 #18 - 40,170 ( +1.9%)
11/11 #19 - 37,997 ( -5.4%)
12/11 #20 - 37,360 ( -1.7%)
6 mnth (-10.6%)
1 year (-29.3%)
2 year (+11.6%)
3 year (-62.2%)
4 year (-40.9%)
5 year (-52.6%)
Seems to be fairly steady when variants are left aside. The book renumbers to #300 in January.
52,56. ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN
12/06 #77 - 67,338
12/07 #88 - 51,633
12/08 #99 - 44,360
12/09 ---
=====
12/10 ---
01/11 ---
02/11 ---
03/11 #4 - 37,631 (-15.6%)
04/11 ---
05/11 ---
06/11 #5 - 34,730 ( -7.7%)
07/11 ---
08/11 ---
09/11 #1 - 67,625 (+94.7%)
10/11 #2 - 44,399 (-34.3%)
11/11 #3 - 39,657 (-10.7%)
12/11 #4 - 37,115 ( -6.4%)
12/11 #5 - 35,153 ( -5.3%)
6 mnth ( +1.2%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( --- )
3 year (-20.8%)
4 year (-31.9%)
5 year (-47.8%)
56. ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES
12/06 ---
12/07 #1 of 5 - 131,401
12/08 ---
12/09 ---
=====
12/10 ---
01/11 ---
02/11 #5 of 5 - 38,663 ( -9.8%)
02/11 #1 of 6 - 49,360 (+47.5%)
03/11 #2 of 6 - 44,116 (-10.6%)
04/11 #3 of 6 - 43,822 ( -0.7%)
05/11 #4 of 6 - 43,707 ( -0.3%)
06/11 #5 of 6 - 42,803 ( -2.1%)
07/11 #6 of 6 - 42,760 ( -0.1%)
08/11 #1 - 58,522 (+36.9%)
09/11 #2 - 42,728 (-27.0%)
10/11 #3 - 40,792 ( -4.5%)
11/11 #4 - 39,342 ( -3.6%)
12/11 #5 - 36,396 ( -7.5%)
6 mnth (-15.0%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( --- )
3 year ( --- )
4 year (-72.3%)
5 year ( --- )
While ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN has done alright from the relaunch, its sister titles both have yet to find their level.
55. INVINCIBLE IRON MAN
12/06 #14 - 73,388
12/07 #24 - 38,834
12/08 #8 - 56,708
12/09 #21 - 49,986
=====
12/10 #33 - 41,890 ( +2.2%)
01/11 #500 - 54,186 (+29.4%)
02/11 #.1 - 42,191 (-22.1%)
02/11 #501 - 41,517 ( -1.6%)
03/11 #502 - 43,899 ( +5.7%)
04/11 #503 - 45,314 ( +3.2%)
05/11 #504 - 44,791 ( -1.2%)
06/11 #505 - 42,327 ( -5.5%)
07/11 #506 - 41,052 ( -3.0%)
08/11 #507 - 40,082 ( -2.4%)
09/11 #508 - 41,295 ( +3.0%)
10/11 #509 - 38,721 ( -6.2%)
11/11 #510 - 38,118 ( -1.6%)
12/11 #511 - 35,402 ( -7.1%)
6 mnth (-16.4%)
1 year (-15.5%)
2 year (-29.2%)
3 year (-37.6%)
4 year ( -8.8%)
5 year (-51.8%)
No variant this month, but there’s clearly an underlying decline in place as well.
59,67. FEAR ITSELF: THE FEARLESS 10/11 #1 of 12 - 59,464 11/11 #2 of 12 - 57,794 ( -2.8%) 11/11 #3 of 12 - 36,044 (-37.6%) 12/11 #4 of 12 - 31,491 (-12.6%) 12/11 #5 of 12 - 29,343 ( -6.8%)
It’s levelling out slowly, but with seven issues to go, this could drop to awkward levels by the end of its run.
60. ASTONISHING X-MEN
12/06 #19 - 124,033
12/07 ---
12/08 ---
12/09 #33 - 57,592
=====
12/10 ---
01/11 ---
02/11 #36 - 44,326 (-12.2%)
03/11 ---
04/11 ---
05/11 #37 - 38,513 (-13.1%)
05/11 #38 - 37,580 ( -2.4%)
06/11 #39 - 37,127 ( -1.2%)
07/11 #40 - 35,593 ( -4.1%)
08/11 #41 - 33,470 ( -6.0%)
09/11 #42 - 32,700 ( -2.3%)
10/11 #43 - 32,620 ( -0.2%)
11/11 #44 - 32,729 ( +0.3%)
12/11 #45 - 31,392 ( -4.1%)
6 mnth (-15.4%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year (-45.5%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year ( --- )
5 year (-74.7%)
Very slow decline, but nothing too alarming over the last few months.
65. AVENGERS: THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADE 11/10 #3 of 9 - 35,410 ( -0.2%) 12/10 --- 01/11 #4 of 9 - 31,977 ( -9.7%) 02/11 --- 03/11 --- 04/11 #5 of 9 - 31,945 ( -0.1%) 05/11 --- 06/11 #6 of 9 - 30,467 ( -4.6%) 07/11 --- 08/11 --- 09/11 #7 of 9 - 30,247 ( -0.7%) 10/11 --- 11/11 --- 12/11 #8 of 9 - 29,601 ( -2.1%)
Considering the slow schedule, this has been reasonably steady over the course of the year.
66,68. VENOM
03/11 #1 - 58,936
04/11 #2 - 41,006 (-30.4%)
05/11 #3 - 40,634 ( -0.9%)
06/11 #4 - 38,946 ( -4.2%)
07/11 #5 - 35,102 ( -9.9%)
08/11 #6 - 35,033 ( -0.2%)
09/11 #7 - 33,130 ( -5.4%)
10/11 #8 - 32,266 ( -2.6%)
11/11 #9 - 32,506 ( +0.7%)
12/11 #10 - 29,465 ( -9.4%)
12/11 #11 - 28,658 ( -2.7%)
6 mnth (-26.4%)
Dropping slowly, but consistently.
69. CAPTAIN AMERICA AND BUCKY 07/11 #620 - 51,187 08/11 #621 - 36,069 (-29.5%) 09/11 #622 - 34,096 ( -5.5%) 10/11 #623 - 32,041 ( -6.0%) 11/11 #624 - 30,472 ( -4.9%) 12/11 #625 - 28,652 ( -6.0%)
Still to find its level. The book is being converted into a Captain America team-up title with rotating story arcs.
71,73. DEADPOOL
12/08 #5 - 46,856
12/09 #18 - 45,914
=====
12/10 #30 - 30,488 ( -2.7%)
01/11 #31 - 29,167 ( -4.3%)
01/11 #32 - 29,144 ( -0.1%)
02/11 #33 - 28,649 ( -1.7%)
03/11 #.1 - 28,979 ( +1.2%)
03/11 #34 - 30,299 ( +4.6%)
04/11 #35 - 28,517 ( -5.9%)
04/11 #36 - 28,173 ( -1.2%)
05/11 #37 - 28,002 ( -0.6%)
06/11 #38 - 27,809 ( -0.7%)
06/11 #39 - 28,400 ( +2.1%)
07/11 #40 - 27,303 ( -3.9%)
08/11 #41 - 26,766 ( -2.0%)
08/11 #42 - 26,794 ( +0.1%)
09/11 #43 - 26,643 ( -0.6%)
10/11 #44 - 26,678 ( +0.1%)
10/11 #45 - 27,552 ( +3.3%)
11/11 #46 - 26,260 ( -4.7%)
12/11 #47 - 25,910 ( -1.3%)
12/11 #48 - 25,458 ( -1.7%)
6 mnth (-10.4%)
1 year (-16.5%)
2 year (-44.6%)
3 year (-45.7%)
Extremely slow decline. Marvel are giving issue #50 a big push with house ads.
72. NEW MUTANTS
12/09 #8 - 32,240
=====
12/10 #20 - 24,416 ( -4.0%)
01/11 #21 - 23,773 ( -2.6%)
02/11 #22 - 41,236 (+73.5%)
03/11 #23 - 37,659 ( -8.7%)
04/11 #24 - 38,701 ( +2.8%)
05/11 #25 - 34,724 (-10.3%)
06/11 #26 - 27,848 (-19.7%)
07/11 #27 - 27,963 ( +0.4%)
07/11 #28 - 26,130 ( -6.6%)
08/11 #29 - 27,205 ( -4.1%)
08/11 #30 - 26,678 ( -1.9%)
09/11 #31 - 25,672 ( -3.8%)
10/11 #32 - 25,364 ( -1.2%)
11/11 #33 - 28,665 (+13.0%)
11/11 #34 - 25,847 ( -9.8%)
12/11 #35 - 25,564 ( -1.1%)
6 mnth ( -8.2%)
1 year ( +4.7%)
2 year (-20.7%)
Another book which has been very solid if you set the variant covers aside – consistently in the 25K area since September.
78. MOON KNIGHT
12/06 ---
12/07 ---
12/08 #25 - 23,283
12/09 #4 - 21,483
=====
12/10 ---
01/11 ---
02/11 ---
03/11 ---
04/11 ---
05/11 #1 - 49,018 (+167.6%)
06/11 #2 - 35,333 ( -27.9%)
07/11 #3 - 33,781 ( -4.4%)
08/11 #4 - 30,237 ( -10.5%)
09/11 #5 - 28,423 ( -6.0%)
10/11 #6 - 27,493 ( -3.3%)
11/11 #7 - 27,062 ( -1.6%)
12/11 #8 - 24,626 ( -9.0%)
6 mnth ( -30.3%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( +14.6%)
3 year ( +5.8%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year ( --- )
79. JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY
04/11 #622 - 43,925
05/11 #623 - 39,003 (-11.2%)
06/11 #624 - 35,834 ( -8.1%)
07/11 #625 - 33,781 ( -5.7%)
08/11 #626 - 31,549 ( -6.6%)
08/11 #.1 - 27,877 (-11.6%)
09/11 #627 - 29,678 ( +6.5%)
09/11 #628 - 28,843 ( -2.8%)
10/11 #629 - 28,054 ( -2.7%)
10/11 #630 - 27,701 ( -1.3%)
11/11 #631 - 27,161 ( -1.9%)
12/11 #632 - 24,159 (-11.0%)
6 mnth (-32.6%)
81. PUNISHER
12/06 ---
12/07 #14 - 38,471
12/08 #26 - 22,243
12/09 #12 - 24,985
=====
12/10 #2 of 5 - 16,608 ( -17.1%)
01/11 #3 of 5 - 15,298 ( -7.9%)
02/11 #4 of 5 - 14,861 ( -2.9%)
03/11 #5 of 5 - 14,468 ( -2.6%)
04/11 ---
05/11 ---
06/11 ---
07/11 ---
08/11 #1 - 44,725 (+209.1%)
08/11 #2 - 42,459 ( -5.1%)
09/11 #3 - 26,802 ( -36.9%)
10/11 #4 - 25,847 ( -3.6%)
11/11 #5 - 25,399 ( -1.7%)
12/11 #6 - 23,971 ( -5.6%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year ( +44.3%)
2 year ( -4.1%)
3 year ( +7.8%)
4 year ( -37.7%)
5 year ( --- )
All three had variant covers last month, presumably distorting the decline.
83,84. X-FACTOR
12/06 #14 - 40,208
12/07 #26 - 74,699
12/08 #38 - 34,425
12/09 #200 - 36,577
=====
12/10 #212 - 26,443 ( -0.7%)
01/11 #213 - 25,403 ( -3.9%)
01/11 #214 - 25,117 ( -1.1%)
02/11 #215 - 25,298 ( +0.7%)
03/11 #216 - 25,256 ( -0.2%)
03/11 #217 - 25,125 ( -0.5%)
04/11 #218 - 24,826 ( -1.2%)
05/11 #219 - 24,766 ( -0.2%)
06/11 #220 - 24,926 ( +0.6%)
06/11 #221 - 24,502 ( -1.7%)
07/11 #222 - 24,794 ( +1.2%)
08/11 #223 - 23,854 ( -3.8%)
08/11 #224 - 23,681 ( -0.7%)
09/11 #.1 - 23,220 ( -1.9%)
09/11 #225 - 23,507 ( +1.2%)
10/11 #226 - 23,569 ( +0.3%)
11/11 #227 - 23,742 ( +0.7%)
12/11 #228 - 23,461 ( -1.2%)
12/11 #229 - 23,667 ( +0.9%)
6 mnth ( -3.4%)
1 year (-10.5%)
2 year (-35.3%)
3 year (-31.3%)
4 year (-68.3%)
5 year (-41.1%)
Another book that has found its level; this is about as consistent as Marvel titles get.
85,88. HULK
12/08 #9 - 87,786
12/09 #18 - 53,222
=====
12/10 #28 - 34,755 (-10.2%)
01/11 ---
02/11 #29 - 33,375 ( -4.0%)
02/11 #30 - 32,907 ( -1.4%)
03/11 #.1 - 32,163 ( -2.3%)
03/11 #31 - 31,368 ( -2.5%)
04/11 #32 - 30,652 ( -2.3%)
05/11 #33 - 32,273 ( +5.3%)
06/11 #34 - 29,391 ( -8.9%)
06/11 #35 - 28,539 ( -2.9%)
07/11 #36 - 28,651 ( +0.4%)
07/11 #37 - 30,318 ( +5.8%)
08/11 #38 - 29,059 ( -4.2%)
08/11 #39 - 26,895 ( -7.4%)
09/11 #40 - 26,591 ( -1.1%)
09/11 #41 - 26,084 ( -1.9%)
10/11 #42 - 27,025 ( +3.6%)
10/11 #43 - 25,514 ( -5.6%)
11/11 #44 - 24,596 ( -3.6%)
12/11 #45 - 23,273 ( -5.4%)
12/11 #46 - 22,974 ( -1.3%)
6 mnth (-19.5%)
1 year (-33.9%)
2 year (-56.8%)
3 year (-73.8%)
Still on a gentle decline.
89. AVENGERS ACADEMY
12/10 #7 - 27,774 ( +6.9%)
01/11 #8 - 24,014 (-13.5%)
02/11 #9 - 23,709 ( -1.3%)
03/11 #10 - 23,708 ( -0.0%)
03/11 #11 - 23,636 ( -0.3%)
04/11 #12 - 23,578 ( -0.2%)
05/11 #13 - 24,840 ( +5.4%)
05/11 #14 - 23,537 ( -5.2%)
06/11 #.1 - 23,499 ( -0.2%)
06/11 #15 - 26,378 (+12.3%)
07/11 #16 - 25,379 ( -3.8%)
08/11 #17 - 24,898 ( -1.9%)
08/11 #18 - 24,538 ( -1.4%)
09/11 #19 - 23,928 ( -2.5%)
10/11 #20 - 23,412 ( -2.2%)
11/11 #21 - 22,713 ( -3.0%)
11/11 #22 - 22,531 ( -0.8%)
12/11 #23 - 22,422 ( -0.5%)
6 mnth (-15.0%)
1 year (-19.3%)
Very small drops over the last couple of months, but the book has been holding steady in the 23K range for most of the year.
91,96. X-23
12/10 #4 - 29,703 ( -4.9%)
01/11 #5 - 27,855 ( -6.2%)
02/11 #6 - 27,156 ( -2.5%)
03/11 #7 - 27,510 ( +1.3%)
03/11 #8 - 27,745 ( +0.9%)
04/11 #9 - 28,562 ( +2.9%)
05/11 #10 - 26,157 ( -8.4%)
06/11 #11 - 25,985 ( -0.7%)
07/11 #12 - 24,605 ( -5.3%)
08/11 #13 - 23,976 ( -2.6%)
09/11 #14 - 23,727 ( -1.0%)
10/11 #15 - 24,043 ( +1.3%)
11/11 #16 - 22,737 ( -5.4%)
11/11 #17 - 22,780 ( +0.2%)
12/11 #18 - 21,999 ( -3.4%)
12/11 #19 - 21,348 ( -3.0%)
6 mnth (-17.8%)
1 year (-28.1%)
Cancelled with issue #21.
93. BATTLE SCARS 11/11 #1 of 6 - 32,222 12/11 #2 of 6 - 21,702 (-32.6%)
Pretty much disappearing off the radar, despite Marvel’s attempts to launch it off the back of FEAR ITSELF.
97. THUNDERBOLTS
12/06 #109 - 27,300
12/07 ---
12/08 #127 - 36,378
12/09 #139 - 29,957
=====
12/10 #151 - 27,943 (-11.9%)
01/11 #152 - 26,515 ( -5.1%)
02/11 #153 - 26,098 ( -1.6%)
03/11 #154 - 25,455 ( -2.5%)
03/11 #155 - 26,710 ( +4.9%)
04/11 #156 - 25,117 ( -6.0%)
05/11 #157 - 25,063 ( -0.2%)
06/11 #158 - 28,422 (+13.4%)
06/11 #159 - 27,463 ( -3.4%)
07/11 #160 - 27,810 ( +1.3%)
08/11 #161 - 26,439 ( -4.9%)
08/11 #162 - 25,990 ( -1.7%)
09/11 #163 - 24,199 ( -6.9%)
09/11 #.1 - 22,596 ( -6.6%)
10/11 #164 - 23,712 ( +4.9%)
11/11 #165 - 22,536 ( -5.0%)
11/11 #166 - 22,680 ( +0.6%)
12/11 #167 - 21,167 ( -6.7%)
6 mnth (-22.9%)
1 year (-24.2%)
2 year (-29.3%)
3 year (-41.8%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year (-22.5%)
Very gradual erosion.
For some reason, number 98 is ULTIMATE COMICS FALLOUT #4, with 20,877 – presumably a case of Marvel offloading stock. Issue #1 of the same mini appears at 182, with 9,392.
105. MAGNETO: NOT A HERO 11/11 #1 of 4 - 21,543 12/11 #2 of 4 - 19,262 (-10.6%)
You can see why Marvel are moving away from minis when they aren’t tied to big events; the audience just doesn’t seem interested in supporting them.
106. GENERATION HOPE
12/10 #2 - 38,984 ( +4.2%)
01/11 #3 - 24,094 (-38.2%)
02/11 #4 - 22,170 ( -8.0%)
03/11 #5 - 21,290 ( -4.0%)
04/11 #6 - 20,376 ( -4.3%)
05/11 #7 - 20,375 ( -0.0%)
06/11 #8 - 18,883 ( -7.3%)
07/11 #9 - 18,135 ( -4.0%)
08/11 #10 - 29,245 (+61.3%)
09/11 #11 - 20,243 (-30.8%)
10/11 #12 - 18,424 ( -9.0%)
11/11 #13 - 21,317 (+15.7%)
12/11 #14 - 19,234 ( -9.8%)
6 mnth ( +1.9%)
1 year (-50.7%)
So, no huge increase from the Regenesis relaunch. It goes without saying that a question mark has to hang over the book’s long term future – because we’re about to descend into the cancelled titles. Abandon publication, all ye who enter here.
111. S.H.I.E.L.D.
12/10 #5 - 27,133 (-16.5%)
01/11 ---
02/11 #6 - 26,190 ( -3.5%)
03/11 ---
04/11 #∞ - 22,260 (-15.0%)
05/11 ---
06/11 #1 - 28,718 (+29.0%)
07/11 ---
08/11 #2 - 22,877 (-20.3%)
09/11 ---
10/11 #3 - 21,060 ( -7.9%)
11/11 ---
12/11 #4 - 18,475 (-12.3%)
6 mnth (-35.7%)
1 year (-31.9%)
Final issue.
112. ALPHA FLIGHT
05/11 #.1 - 25,775
06/11 #1 - 46,851 (+81.8%)
07/11 #2 - 26,862 (-42.7%)
08/11 #3 - 24,872 ( -7.4%)
09/11 #4 - 23,242 ( -6.6%)
10/11 #5 - 20,731 (-10.8%)
11/11 #6 - 19,316 ( -6.8%)
12/11 #7 - 18,416 ( -4.7%)
6 mnth (-60.7%)
Cancelled with issue #8.
116. DAKEN: DARK WOLVERINE
12/09 #81 - 48,102
=====
12/10 #4 - 30,726 ( -6.0%)
01/11 ---
02/11 #5 - 28,833 ( -6.2%)
03/11 #6 - 27,486 ( -4.7%)
03/11 #7 - 27,224 ( -1.0%)
04/11 #8 - 26,925 ( -1.1%)
05/11 #9 - 26,294 ( -2.3%)
05/11 #.1 - 24,599 ( -6.4%)
06/11 #10 - 24,724 ( +0.5%)
07/11 #11 - 23,207 ( -6.1%)
08/11 #12 - 21,734 ( -6.3%)
08/11 #13 - 21,302 ( -2.0%)
09/11 #14 - 20,460 ( -4.0%)
10/11 #15 - 19,759 ( -3.4%)
10/11 #16 - 19,472 ( -1.5%)
11/11 #17 - 18,794 ( -3.5%)
12/11 #18 - 17,806 ( -5.3%)
6 mnth (-28.0%)
1 year (-42.0%)
2 year (-63.0%)
Cancelled with issue #23.
118. WOLVERINE: THE BEST THERE IS
12/10 #1 - 57,348
01/11 #2 - 33,469 (-41.6%)
02/11 #3 - 27,790 (-17.0%)
03/11 #4 - 25,226 ( -9.2%)
04/11 #5 - 24,771 ( -1.8%)
05/11 #6 - 22,695 ( -8.4%)
06/11 #7 - 22,001 ( -3.1%)
07/11 #8 - 20,393 ( -7.3%)
08/11 #9 - 19,476 ( -4.5%)
09/11 #10 - 18,781 ( -3.6%)
10/11 ---
11/11 #11 - 18,094 ( -3.7%)
12/11 #12 - 17,772 ( -1.8%)
6 mnth (-19.2%)
1 year (-69.0%)
Final issue.
119. ANNIHILATORS: EARTHFALL 03/11 #1 of 4 - 26,543 04/11 #2 of 4 - 24,117 ( -9.1%) 05/11 #3 of 4 - 23,145 ( -4.0%) 06/11 #4 of 4 - 21,604 ( -6.7%) 07/11 --- 08/11 --- 09/11 #1 of 4 - 22,259 ( +3.0%) 10/11 #2 of 4 - 19,068 (-14.3%) 11/11 #3 of 4 - 18,379 ( -3.6%) 12/11 #4 of 4 - 17,612 ( -4.2%) 121. X-CLUB 12/11 #1 of 5 - 17,552
This is an X-Men mini. The solicitations have quietly cut it back from five issues to four in mid-run.
123. PUNISHERMAX [Max]
12/06 #42 - 33,003
12/07 #53 - 31,772
12/08 #65 - 23,881
12/09 #2 - 23,110
=====
12/10 ---
01/11 ---
02/11 #10 - 19,236 (-10.3%)
03/11 #11 - 19,243 ( +0.0%)
04/11 #12 - 18,740 ( -2.6%)
05/11 #13 - 18,448 ( -1.6%)
06/11 #14 - 17,965 ( -2.6%)
07/11 #15 - 17,706 ( -1.4%)
08/11 #16 - 17,625 ( -0.5%)
09/11 #17 - 17,540 ( -0.5%)
10/11 #18 - 17,541 ( +0.0%)
11/11 #19 - 17,473 ( -0.4%)
12/11 #20 - 17,191 ( -1.6%)
6 mnth ( -4.3%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year (-25.6%)
3 year (-28.0%)
4 year (-45.9%)
5 year (-47.9%)
Cancelled with issue #22, though Jason Aaron says the story was ending anyway, and the content of the book makes that appear very plausible.
125. GHOST RIDER
06/11 #.1 - 24,830
07/11 #1 - 41,308 (+66.4%)
08/11 #2 - 24,440 (-40.8%)
09/11 #3 - 22,180 ( -9.2%)
10/11 #4 - 21,012 ( -5.3%)
11/11 #5 - 18,664 (-11.2%)
11/11 #6 - 18,297 ( -2.0%)
12/11 #7 - 16,846 ( -7.9%)
6 mnth (-32.2%)
Cancelled with issue #9.
133. VILLAINS FOR HIRE
12/10 #1 - 32,936
01/11 #2 - 23,013 (-30.1%)
02/11 #3 - 22,401 ( -2.7%)
03/11 #4 - 21,827 ( -2.6%)
04/11 #5 - 21,815 ( -0.0%)
05/11 #6 - 20,057 ( -8.1%)
05/11 #7 - 18,671 ( -6.9%)
06/11 #8 - 18,029 ( -3.4%)
07/11 #9 - 19,676 ( +9.1%)
08/11 #10 - 18,374 ( -6.6%)
09/11 #11 - 17,550 ( -4.5%)
09/11 #12 - 15,698 (-10.6%)
10/11 S-I - 15,079 ( -3.9%)
11/11 #.1 - 15,281 ( +1.3%)
12/11 #1 of 4 - 15,519 ( +1.6%)
6 mnth (-13.9%)
1 year (-52.9%)
The miniseries replacing HEROES FOR HIRE. It’s been cut back from five issues to four.
134. DARK TOWER: WAY STATION
12/07 ---
12/08 Treachery #4 - 53,735
12/09 Jericho Hill #1 - 30,756
=====
12/10 Little Sisters #1 - 19,807 ( -7.1%)
01/11 #2 of 5 - 18,589 ( -6.1%)
02/11 #3 of 5 - 17,748 ( -4.5%)
03/11 #4 of 5 - 17,490 ( -1.5%)
04/11 #5 of 5 - 17,283 ( -1.2%)
05/11 ---
06/11 Tull #1 of 5 - 17,667 ( +2.2%)
07/11 #2 of 5 - 16,888 ( -4.4%)
08/11 #3 of 5 - 16,337 ( -3.3%)
09/11 #4 of 5 - 15,788 ( -3.4%)
10/11 #5 of 5 - 15,613 ( -1.1%)
11/11 ---
12/11 Way Station #1 - 15,367 ( -1.6%)
6 mnth (-13.0%)
1 year (-22.4%)
2 year (-50.0%)
3 year (-71.4%)
4 year ( --- )
Novel adaptation. Not necessarily aimed at the direct market audience to the same extent as the other books around it.
137,141. BLACK PANTHER
12/06 #23 - 54,762
12/07 #33 - 25,906
12/08 ---
12/09 #11 - 17,989
=====
12/10 #4 of 4 - 9,145 ( -11.7%)
12/10 #513 - 33,124 (+262.2%)
01/11 #514 - 27,474 ( -17.1%)
02/11 #515 - 24,556 ( -10.6%)
03/11 #516 - 23,987 ( -2.3%)
04/11 #517 - 23,120 ( -3.6%)
05/11 #518 - 20,906 ( -9.6%)
06/11 #519 - 19,883 ( -4.9%)
06/11 #520 - 19,400 ( -2.4%)
07/11 #521 - 22,163 ( +14.2%)
08/11 #522 - 20,342 ( -8.2%)
09/11 #523 - 18,798 ( -7.6%)
09/11 #.1 - 16,592 ( -11.7%)
10/11 #524 - 18,248 ( +10.0%)
11/11 #525 - 16,295 ( -10.7%)
12/11 #526 - 15,015 ( -7.9%)
12/11 #527 - 14,677 ( -2.3%)
6 mnth ( -24.3%)
1 year ( +60.5%)
2 year ( -18.4%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year ( -43.3%)
5 year ( -73.2%)
Cancelled with issue #529.
146. AVENGERS 1959 10/11 #1 of 5 - 32,418 10/11 #2 of 5 - 18,989 (-41.4%) 11/11 #3 of 5 - 16,629 (-12.4%) 12/11 #4 of 5 - 13,935 (-16.2%)
Pretty dreadful numbers, but Marvel must have known it was a niche project when they commissioned it.
151,159. IRON MAN 2.0
02/11 #1 - 31,380
02/11 #2 - 24,600 (-21.6%)
03/11 #3 - 20,905 (-15.0%)
04/11 #4 - 20,342 ( -2.7%)
05/11 #5 - 20,320 ( -0.1%)
06/11 #6 - 19,798 ( -2.6%)
07/11 #7 - 20,390 ( +3.0%)
08/11 #.1 - 16,984 (-16.7%)
08/11 #8 - 16,455 ( -3.1%)
09/11 #9 - 15,600 ( -5.2%)
10/11 ---
11/11 #10 - 13,910 (-10.8%)
12/11 #11 - 13,255 ( -4.7%)
12/11 #12 - 12,513 ( -5.6%)
6 mnth (-36.8%)
Final issue.
153. DEADPOOL MAX X-MAS SPECIAL
12/11 One-shot - 13,176
154. DEADPOOL MAX [Max]
12/10 #3 - 20,990 (-10.2%)
01/11 #4 - 19,238 ( -8.3%)
02/11 #5 - 18,221 ( -5.3%)
03/11 #6 - 17,528 ( -3.8%)
04/11 #7 - 17,005 ( -3.0%)
05/11 #8 - 16,428 ( -3.4%)
06/11 #9 - 15,802 ( -3.8%)
07/11 #10 - 15,067 ( -4.7%)
08/11 #11 - 14,626 ( -2.9%)
09/11 #12 - 14,507 ( -0.8%)
10/11 #1 - 15,865 ( +9.4%)
11/11 #2 - 14,171 (-10.7%)
12/11 #3 - 13,070 ( -7.8%)
6 mnth (-17.3%)
1 year (-37.7%)
Cancelled with issue #6.
158. THE STAND: NIGHT HAS COME
12/08 Captain Trips #4 - 49,211
12/09 Soul Survivors #3 - 24,308
=====
12/10 ---
01/11 ---
02/11 No Man's Land #1 - 16,094 ( -3.9%)
03/11 #2 of 5 - 15,332 ( -4.7%)
03/11 #3 of 5 - 14,768 ( -3.7%)
04/11 ---
05/11 #4 of 5 - 14,696 ( -0.5%)
06/11 #5 of 5 - 14,480 ( -1.5%)
07/11 ---
08/11 Night #1 of 6 - 14,510 ( -0.2%)
09/11 #2 of 6 - 13,723 ( -5.4%)
10/11 #3 of 6 - 13,423 ( -2.2%)
11/11 #4 of 6 - 12,803 ( -4.6%)
12/11 #5 of 6 - 12,583 ( -1.7%)
6 mnth (-13.1%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year (-48.2%)
3 year (-74.4%)
Ends in January (having completed the adaptation).
163. AVENGERS: SOLO 10/11 #1 of 5 - 18,427 11/11 #2 of 5 - 13,747 (-25.4%) 12/11 #3 of 5 - 11,530 (-16.1%) 166. THOR: DEVIANTS SAGA 11/11 #1 of 5 - 13,660 12/11 #2 of 5 - 11,273 (-17.5%) 172. VENGEANCE 07/11 #1 of 6 - 25,873 08/11 #2 of 6 - 16,895 (-34.7%) 09/11 #3 of 6 - 13,446 (-20.4%) 10/11 #4 of 6 - 11,948 (-11.1%) 11/11 #5 of 6 - 10,931 ( -8.5%) 12/11 #6 of 6 - 10,422 ( -4.7%)
Hangovers from a previous commissioning policy, one suspects.
207. OZ
12/08 #1 of 8 - 25,116
12/09 #2 of 8 - 15,783
=====
12/10 #2 of 8 - 10,419 (-21.2%)
01/11 #3 of 8 - 9,386 ( -9.9%)
02/11 #4 of 8 - 9,159 ( -2.4%)
03/11 ---
04/11 #5 of 8 - 8,797 ( -4.0%)
05/11 #6 of 8 - 8,753 ( -0.5%)
06/11 #7 of 8 - 8,672 ( -0.9%)
07/11 #8 of 8 - 8,216 ( -5.3%)
08/11 ---
09/11 #1 of 8 - 10,648 (+29.6%)
10/11 #2 of 8 - 8,504 (-20.1%)
11/11 #3 of 8 - 8,381 ( -1.4%)
12/11 #4 of 8 - 7,694 ( -8.2%)
6 mnth (-11.3%)
1 year (-26.2%)
2 year (-51.3%)
3 year (-69.4%)
Presumably not aimed at the direct market to the same extent as the other titles here.
211. LEGION OF MONSTERS 10/11 #1 of 4 - 16,785 11/11 #2 of 4 - 8,601 (-48.8%) 12/11 #3 of 4 - 7,502 (-12.8%)
Truly horrid sales, unfortunately.
232. MARVEL HOLIDAY SPECIAL 2011 12/11 One-shot - 6,787
This is a reprint of material that was available for free in digital form, presumably for those who desperately want a physical copy for their collection, or just shun electricity as the work of the devil. Given that, the sales are reasonable enough.
244. ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER
12/06 G. Pleasures #3 - 36,091
12/07 ---
12/08 L. Corpse #3 - 15,665
12/09 Executioner #2 - 10,454
=====
12/10 ---
01/11 Ingenue #1 of 5 - 7,763 ( -4.7%)
02/11 #2 of 5 - 7,352 ( -5.3%)
03/11 ---
04/11 #3 of 5 - 7,018 ( -4.5%)
04/11 ---
05/11 ---
06/11 #4 of 5 - 6,893 ( -1.8%)
07/11 ---
08/11 #5 of 5 - 6,712 ( -2.6%)
09/11 Scoundrel #1 of 5 - 6,650 ( -0.9%)
10/11 ---
11/11 #2 of 5 - 6,302 ( -5.2%)
12/11 #3 of 5 - 5,914 ( -6.2%)
6 mnth (-14.2%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year (-43.4%)
3 year (-62.2%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year (-83.6%)
Novel adaptation.
246. SIX GUNS 11/11 #1 of 5 - 9,262 11/11 #2 of 5 - 8,031 (-13.3%) 12/11 #3 of 5 - 5,727 (-28.7%)
The modern-day western mini. Sales are frankly dreadful, but again, it’s hard to see what else Marvel could sensibly have expected from a project of this sort, with no real promotion behind it.
251. JOHN CARTER OF MARS: WORLD OF MARS 10/11 #1 of 4 - 15,550 11/11 #2 of 4 - 6,288 (-59.6%) 12/11 #3 of 4 - 5,294 (-15.8%) 252. JOHN CARTER: A PRINCESS OF MARS 09/11 #1 of 5 - 19,173 10/11 #2 of 5 - 6,742 (-64.8%) 11/11 #3 of 5 - 5,845 (-13.3%) 12/11 #4 of 5 - 5,281 ( -9.6%)
Both presumably intended mainly to capitalise on the film when it comes out in March.
258. OFFICIAL HANDBOOK
11/10 Heroic Age: Villains - 9,294 ( +86.3%)
12/10 A to Z Update #5 of 5 - 4,808 ( -48.3%)
12/10 Heroic Age: X-Men - 13,789 (+186.8%)
01/11 Blockbusters - 5,354 ( -61.2%)
02/11 ---
03/11 ---
04/11 Thor - 9,251 ( +72.8%)
05/11 X-Men - 8,228 ( -11.1%)
06/11 Captain America - 6,311 ( -23.3%)
07/11 ---
08/11 Fellowship of Fear - 10,448 ( +65.6%)
09/11 FF - 6,761 ( -35.3%)
10/11 Vampires - 5,220 ( -22.8%)
11/11 History o/t MU - 7,284 ( +39.5%)
12/11 Defenders - 4,736 ( -35.0%)
6 mnth ( -25.0%)
1 year ( -49.0%)
No further issues of the HANDBOOK have been solicited, but the creators say one is in the pipeline, and they’re also producing update pages for the trade paperback version of the collections.
262. DEFENDERS: COMING OF THE DEFENDERS 12/11 One-shot - 4,627
Reprint of MARVEL FEATURE #1-3, the first Defenders story – so about what you’d expect.
264. SPIDER-MAN [Marvel Adventures]
12/06 #22 - 6,396
12/07 #34 - 6,115
12/08 #46 - 4,851
12/09 #58 - 4,352
=====
12/10 #9 - 5,116 ( -2.9%)
01/11 #10 - 4,816 ( -5.9%)
02/11 #11 - 4,923 ( +2.2%)
03/11 #12 - 4,965 ( +0.9%)
04/11 #13 - 5,083 ( +2.4%)
05/11 #14 - 5,220 ( +2.7%)
06/11 #15 - 5,052 ( -3.2%)
07/11 #16 - 4,708 ( -6.8%)
08/11 #17 - 4,675 ( -0.7%)
09/11 #18 - 4,673 ( -0.0%)
10/11 #19 - ?,??? ( ??? )
11/11 #20 - 5,363 ( ??? )
12/11 #21 - 4,549 ( -15.2%)
6 mnth ( -10.0%)
1 year ( -11.1%)
2 year ( +4.3%)
3 year ( -6.2%)
4 year ( -25.6%)
5 year ( -28.9%)
Cancelled with issue #23.
278. FORMIC WARS: SILENT STRIKE 12/11 #1 of 5 - 3,888
Presumably these novel adaptations are selling somewhere or other, but it isn’t the direct market.
292. SUPER HEROES [Marvel Adventures]
12/10 #9 - ?,??? ( ??? )
01/11 #10 - 3,386 ( ??? )
02/11 #11 - 3,134 ( -7.4%)
03/11 #12 - ?,??? ( ??? )
04/11 #13 - 3,355 ( ??? )
05/11 #14 - 3,610 ( +7.6%)
06/11 #15 - ?,??? ( ??? )
07/11 #16 - ?,??? ( ??? )
08/11 #17 - ?,??? ( ??? )
09/11 #18 - ?,??? ( ??? )
10/11 #19 - ?,??? ( ??? )
11/11 #20 - ?,??? ( ??? )
12/11 #21 - 3,329 ( ??? )
6 mnth ( ??? )
1 year ( ??? )
Cancelled with issue #23, but making a rare appearance at the bottom end of the top 300 before it goes.
Missing the top 300, with estimated orders below 3,105: OFFICIAL INDEX TO THE MARVEL UNIVERSE, NORTHANGER ABBEY, and MUPPETS PRESENTS: TREASURE OF PEG-LEG WILSON.
6 month comparisons =================== +69.2% - Incredible Hulk +18.1% - Uncanny X-Men + 6.6% - Captain America + 4.0% - X-Force + 1.9% - Generation Hope + 1.2% - Ultimate Comics X-Men - 1.5% - Amazing Spider-Man - 3.4% - X-Factor - 4.3% - PunisherMax - 6.7% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man - 8.2% - New Mutants - 8.3% - New Avengers -10.0% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures] -10.4% - Deadpool -10.6% - Wolverine -10.8% - Avengers -11.3% - Oz -12.4% - X-Men -12.7% - X-Men Legacy -13.0% - Dark Tower -13.1% - The Stand -13.3% - Fantastic Four -13.9% - Heroes for Hire -14.2% - Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter -15.0% - Ultimates -15.0% - Avengers Academy -15.4% - Astonishing X-Men -16.4% - Iron Man -17.3% - Deadpool Max -17.8% - X-23 -19.2% - Wolverine: The Best There Is -19.5% - Hulk -21.0% - Thor -22.9% - Thunderbolts -23.4% - Secret Avengers -23.7% - FF -24.3% - Black Panther -25.0% - Official Handbook -26.4% - Venom -28.0% - Daken -30.3% - Moon Knight -32.2% - Ghost Rider -32.6% - Journey into Mystery -35.7% - S.H.I.E.L.D. -36.8% - Iron Man 2.0 -60.7% - Alpha Flight 1 year comparisons ================== +60.5% - Black Panther +44.3% - Punisher +43.3% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man +33.2% - Incredible Hulk +19.3% - Fantastic Four +15.0% - Uncanny X-Men +11.4% - Captain America + 4.7% - New Mutants - 0.3% - X-Force - 3.7% - Daredevil - 8.3% - Amazing Spider-Man - 9.2% - X-Men Legacy -10.5% - X-Factor -11.1% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures] -15.5% - Iron Man -15.8% - Thor -16.5% - Deadpool -19.3% - Avengers Academy -22.0% - New Avengers -22.4% - Dark Tower -24.2% - Thunderbolts -26.2% - X-Men -26.2% - Oz -28.1% - X-23 -29.3% - Secret Avengers -29.3% - Wolverine -31.9% - S.H.I.E.L.D. -33.9% - Hulk -36.3% - Avengers -37.7% - Deadpool Max -42.0% - Daken -49.0% - Official Handbook -50.7% - Generation Hope -52.9% - Heroes for Hire -69.0% - Wolverine: The Best There Is 2 year comparisons ================== +32.9% - Fantastic Four +14.6% - Moon Knight +11.6% - Wolverine + 6.7% - X-Force + 5.6% - Incredible Hulk + 5.4% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man + 4.3% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures] + 0.4% - Daredevil - 4.1% - Punisher - 4.4% - Uncanny X-Men - 8.2% - Amazing Spider-Man -18.4% - Black Panther -20.7% - New Mutants -23.8% - X-Men Legacy -25.6% - PunisherMax -27.3% - New Avengers -29.2% - Iron Man -29.3% - Thunderbolts -31.2% - Thor -35.3% - X-Factor -43.4% - Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter -44.6% - Deadpool -45.5% - Astonishing X-Men -48.0% - Captain America -48.2% - The Stand -50.0% - Dark Tower -51.3% - Oz -56.8% - Hulk -63.0% - Daken 3 year comparisons ================== + 7.8% - Punisher + 5.8% - Moon Knight - 5.4% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man - 5.5% - Fantastic Four - 5.9% - X-Force - 6.2% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures] -12.5% - Daredevil -20.8% - Ultimate Comics X-Men -21.6% - Amazing Spider-Man -22.1% - Uncanny X-Men -28.0% - PunisherMax -31.3% - X-Factor -32.9% - Captain America -37.4% - X-Men Legacy -37.6% - Iron Man -41.8% - Thunderbolts -43.7% - New Avengers -45.7% - Deadpool -47.1% - Captain America -48.5% - Thor -62.2% - Wolverine -62.2% - Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter -69.4% - Oz -71.4% - Dark Tower -73.8% - Hulk -74.4% - The Stand 4 year comparisons ================== - 0.5% - Fantastic Four - 8.8% - Iron Man -11.5% - Daredevil -20.0% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man -25.6% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures] -31.9% - Ultimate Comics X-Men -37.2% - Uncanny X-Men -37.7% - Punisher -39.0% - Captain America -39.8% - Incredible Hulk -40.9% - Wolverine -43.3% - Black Panther -45.9% - PunisherMax -49.9% - New Avengers -56.6% - Amazing Spider-Man -61.2% - X-Men Legacy -62.6% - Thor -68.3% - X-Factor -72.3% - Ultimates 5 year comparisons ================== - 3.1% - Incredible Hulk -19.2% - Daredevil -22.5% - Thunderbolts -25.4% - Uncanny X-Men -28.9% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures] -36.6% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man -39.8% - Fantastic Four -41.1% - X-Factor -47.8% - Ultimate Comics X-Men -47.9% - PunisherMax -51.4% - X-Men Legacy -51.8% - Iron Man -52.6% - Wolverine -56.9% - New Avengers -73.2% - Black Panther -74.7% - Astonishing X-Men -83.6% - Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter
I bought the holiday special because:
* I did not know it existed online (and good luck finding it on Marvel’s website).
* It had four stories, all holiday related, which generally tend to be worthwhile. (Spidey, Wolverine, Nick Fury, Ben Grimm)
* It was a holiday issue I found on a newsstand in Penn Station, and seemed a good impulse buy.
Brutal numbers. Except for Daredevil and Fantastic Four, their mid-list is pretty much dead and buried and nothing below them seems to last either.
With all the cancellations and reductions in mini-series and less mainstream projects, I am struck by the lack of diversity in titles and genres. If a character or team hasn’t been the subject of a movie recently, there doesn’t seem to be much room for them in the publishing schedule.
Is Hickman’s SHIELD really cancelled?
Generation Hope is not in the new Marvel solicitations, and the writer has confirmed that it is cancelled.
Not much to be giddy about in those numbers, but I must confess that I greatly enjoy the X-Men drifting back to the top of the franchise heap.
And I’m thrilled at New Mutants’s stability–stability is valuable in this market, which makes me optimistic about the book.
Yeah Generation Hope as well as Moon Knight are confirmed cancelled :(
Brrr, and with their sales, there’s no way thunderbolts and the red hulk book will be around next christmas either.
94K for the main event-frontrunner…..brr……
Still, at least DCs sales look worse *shadenfreude*
“As for the broader issues of overshipping, in theory it’s not a bad idea. The logic is that if you have more copies on the shelves then you have a greater chance to reach readers. Whether it works in practice is another matter. After all, if retailers really thought they could sell those extra copies, they’d have ordered them in the first place. But that involves the retailers taking a risk, and if Marvel have more confidence than they do, this sort of promotion may make sense.”
I’m curious whether the overshipping is actually profitable. My local comic shop is now selling the Marvel Point One issue for $1.00. How much of a return on investment does a company get when they overship a $5.99 book?
“But bear in mind, this was a five-week month where DC more or less sat out week five.”
I keep seeing this mentioned in pretty much every sales analysis of December, but it’s not true: there were only 4 Wednesdays in December, the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th. And DC sure shipped plenty on the 28th: http://www.previewsworld.com/Archive/GetFile/1/1/71/994/122811.txt
SHIELD canceled? Say it ain’t so. I haven’t seen a solicit for #5 yet, but there’s usually a 2- (sometimes 3-)month delay between issues anyway…
Was the Defenders book a cold launch? I didn’t see any lead up to it anywhere but I don’t read much of the Avengers books. If so then that reminds me of the recently cancelled Alpha Flight and Heroes for Hire series in that they’re both teams that had successful on-goings quite a while back but everything since has met with mediocre (at best) responses. I wouldn’t think a new series like that will do well without some momentum beforehand.
Personally I’m a little surprised by Sanction doing so well. I shouldn’t be I guess but it just didn’t sound very interesting to me. Was I wrong?
Why are the Ultimates and Ultimate X-Men books dropping so quickly? Are folks just not liking what they’re reading?
Its nice to see books like X-Force and Daredevil remain stable. And I think I know why.
BECAUSE THEY’RE DAMN GOOD!!! :-)
Legion Of Monsters was awesome.
At least 5,701 people got as cool of a reading experiance as I did.
PeterCSM730: Defenders was launched out of Fear Itself, and had a preview in Point One.
What I found really surprising is how much double-shipping Marvel has been doing. People have just started talking about it like it’s a new thing, but look at how many extra issues they shipped during 2011: 20 issues of Hulk, 19 of Incredible Hulk(s) and Deadpool, 18 of X-Factor, 17 each of Uncanny X-Men, Uncanny X-Force, X-Men, X-Men: Legacy, Wolverine, Avengers Academy and Thunderbolts, and even 15 issues of loooow selling titles like X-23, Daken and Black Panther. And pretty much every ongoing I didn’t just list had at least one bonus “Point One” issue. That’s an unreal amount of extra issues for what are supposed to be “monthly” books.
@Wonderer: “Still, at least DCs sales look worse *shadenfreude*”
I had to look up ‘shadenfreude’ haha. Are DC’s numbers really worse? That’s depressing giving the energy generated by their relaunch.
@Snikt Snakt: ‘Its nice to see books like X-Force and Daredevil remain stable. And I think I know why. BECAUSE THEY’RE DAMN GOOD!!! :-)’
@Rikk Odinson: ‘Legion Of Monsters was awesome. At least 5,701 people got as cool of a reading experiance as I did.’
Damn right!
I agree with Jason Green about being surprised by the amount of Marvel overshipping. They seem to focus on the monthly sales battle vs DC, which seems to be misplaced priorities since winning a sales battle based on sending out unwanted books means absolutely nothing.
I feel like a preview in a Point One issue isn’t enough to launch a series off of. I read Fear Itself but clearly the upcoming Defenders book didn’t make any impression at all on my little mind!
F4 is the only Marvel I currently buy, but its fresh, funny, and original. Bobillo, the new artist, has lovely linework & fresh layouts that’s worth your time.
And because someone always has to say this, so this month it’s my turn – remember that DC ships about 1/3 fewer titles than Marvel, most of their titles are $2.99 vs Marvel’s majority at $3.99 & so far DC doesn’t seem to be overshipping. It’s not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison. But it’s always fun to argue about.
I can’t find any confirmation anywhere that S.H.I.E.L.D. is cancelled before its intended finish two issues off. Dustin Weaver’s blog (http://dustinweaver.blogspot.com/) mentions nothing of cancellation, but he does mention a recent nasty medical scare that may be delaying solicitation on the next two issues.
Actually, and I invite you to google the march and april 2012 solicitations from DC and marvel to confirm, their output is more or less equal.
From this month, I give you John Mayo’s overview from cbr that shows 85 titles for DC, 89 for marvel, in decembers datastream.
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=36346
Marvel has been culling minis like crazy lately.
Their mature / icon books are expiring and there are few if any (bar temporary minis) replacing them. The stand ends in january. The twelve series is only temporary, kick ass 2 is ending and will continue outside marvel. Anita blake is rumored to have been silently dropped and seems to have vanished from all solicitations.
As to ongoings, as shown above, titles dying like flies, even missing Generation Hope and Moon Knight ending. I think there are around 35-40 ongoings from marvel in april, in contrast to the 52 from DC.
So that marvel ships a shitload more isn’t really true. That the quality of lots of marvel books is shit though, that I wont deny. :(
Hickman had these tweets yesterday about SHIELD:
“Also, for those asking, SHIELD is not in any way cancelled, it’s just late because my marvel scheduled has been shuffled. 5 and 6 soon.”
“Oh, AND… it’s in no way Dustin Weaver’s fault. All me.”
“121. X-CLUB
12/11 #1 of 5 – 17,552
This is an X-Men mini. The solicitations have quietly cut it back from five issues to four in mid-run.”
FYI, the April 2012 Marvel solicitations include X-Club #5. I guess it got resurrected.
@Peter–No, you’re not wrong. Sanction has been pretty ho-hum so far.
What really PISSED ME OFF this month wad Marvel shipping Captain America #5 & #6, as well as Capt. And Bucky #625 on the SAME FREAKING DAY! The Captain Amerca #7 just a week or two later! That’s just begging people to drop the book!
Yeah, I’ve been with Brubaker Cap since the beginning and went ahead and checked out Alan Davis’s first issue, but it was about as decompressed as the first relaunch arc, so when #7 showed up two weeks later, I set it back on the rack with a heavy heart. Would be much more forgiving of that three-in-one-month malarkey if the books were $3.
And not cool on the S.H.I.E.L.D. cancellation scare. That hurt my tummy.
People complaining about getting too much of what they want is one of the many things that makes selling comics a hard job.
@John Warren: Haha, thanks!
I did the same thing with the Cap books and stopped buying them with issue 7. I’m surprised Marvel is trying to turn Cap & Bucky into an on-going, especially a team up type book.
Paul, I see there’s a DONATE NOW button linking to Paypal on the right but I don’t know the email attached to it (for a heidi macdonald)and wanted to make sure it was for this site.
Wasn’t WATX #2 also overshipped to retailers?
Peter, Heidi runs this joint. When you see an article attributed to The Beat, I think it’s usually her.
I’ve been liking your posts in this thread. I’ve wanted to respond, but people have beaten me to it! I think the main thing that launched the Defenders out of Fear Itself was the big ebon creature that was in one of the epilogues. That is the thing they are fighting in the first arc. I am not a big Matt Fraction fan, so I would not have picked up Defenders myself. It was given to me for free (which is how my LCS always responds to overshipping) and I won’t continue with it.
I have been away from the X-universe since the early ’90s, and I decided to give things a shot with the relaunch. I’m so into it that I have even gone back and reread my Dark Phoenix trade and am thinking of cracking open my dusty old X-Men longbox. Wolverine and the X-Men is really good, Uncanny X-Force is just plain excellent. Uncanny X-Men is my least favorite of the three I’m reading, but I plan to stick with it for now. Funny thing is, I scoffed at Avengers vs. X-Men when it was announced, but now Marvel has me back on the hook for it. I think they’re doing a good job of reintegrating the mutants into the mainstream MU.
But, I won’t buy Sanction. It looks like mindless fights, and I got enough of that from Loeb’s Hulk.
Regarding Generation Hope, the column was submitted before the April solicitations came out.
As for SHIELD, the book sells in the same range as cancelled titles; it hasn’t been solicited beyond December; Marvel have a long track record of quietly cancelling titles in that way; and I could find no indication of its continued existence on Marvel’s own website or anywhere else.
In fact, the book’s page on Marvel’s website is headed “SHIELD (2011)” – http://marvel.com/comic_books/series/13744/shield_2011. Ongoing titles are normally given the date range “(2011-present)” and so forth. So are minis that straddle two years. I suppose it could be an automatically generated date range, but then they still have an entry for SHIELD (2010-present) for the previous mini. (Yes, really.)
Now, given all that, what conclusion am I supposed to draw, other than that it’s been cancelled?
Marvel really should not be making it this difficult to find out whether their titles still exist or not. I’m not a mind reader.
Little depressing that all the Marvel titles I buy (X-Factor, Thunderbolts and Punisher)are hovering between the 20-30k mark. Every month I’m worried that I’ll hear some bad news! But on the bright side? … I haven’t yet!! :) And they are all great reads!
And with all this overshipping, why the hell hasn’t my tight arse shop given me any freebies? …. Thats why these gimmicks don’t work, some shops just don’t know how to market their products. I mean, the shops I go to don’t even do ‘deals’ – like half price issues on the double shipped titles? If they did that I would of picked up Hulk AND Defenders.
I’ve heard good thing about Daredevil (and I’m liking the idea that it is mostly self contained … and only $3!) But I can only find the first few issues HIGHER than cover price. And I ain’t paying that much for a series that will probably only last another year….
@PeterCSM730 regarding the ultimate titles – I’m hoping the decline is because people are sick of expensive, decompressed titles. $4 for part 1 of a 6 part story is bullshit … IMO.
$24 for 1 full story!! Come on kids, buy comics!…. They’re cheap!…… :(
I guess numbers on Daredevil aren’t excellent, but I would be surprised if it’s canceled any time soon. It’s at the top of critics’ lists, and it’s definitely a big part of the Spider-office’s push. Of course, if the bottom falls out, they won’t keep it around just for giggles. But, I think it’s pretty safe. I’m not a trade reader myself, but you might could catch up there.
Oh, yeah. Forgot to address that part of Peter’s post. I definitely dropped the two non-Spider Ultimates because I didn’t like what I was reading. Until then, I had almost every issue of every Ultimate title published. They’re saying, “Okay, we’re no longer retelling MU stories. We’re striking out on our own.” That’s fine, but I just don’t like what they’re coming up with. Ultimates is just weird, and I guess UXM just doesn’t sit well with my outlook.
“How much of a return on investment does a company get when they overship a $5.99 book?”
Depends how much it boosts sales on the projects being promoted. Presumably they see it as a loss leader.
I’m a HUGE Marvel fan. I grew up with my brother’s collection from the early to mid 70’s and became a Marvel Fanboy in the early 80’s when I started buying comics.
I buy 3 Marvel titles now (Captain America, Thunderbolts, Daredevil). The ridiculous way that they’ve had their crossovers have affected the line since House of M and the resulting “fallout”. The things that have happened in their comics make no sense to me anymore. Add to the fact that the big name comics are $3.99. As it was mentioned above, Captain America had 3 issues come out in 2 weeks. That’s $9.00 as opposed to $3.00 spent on one title in 2 weeks. I’m not necessarily hurting for money but I think of some people that have a really limited budget. They either had to pass on the extra issues or not buy something else that looked appealing to them. In doing that, Marvel showed no concern for the customer. And they wonder why sales are down…
How you can notice, Thunderbolts sales started to sink when the time travel arc with Mr. Hyde, Boomerang and Centurius started. Before it was kinda stable.
Wow, these numbers are kind of terrible. Marvel’s best selling ongoing title is only selling in the low 60,000s?
@Chadlee: I got the Marvel Point One issue for free at my store, but they always have a bunch of free comics there.
Also, from personal experience the novel adaptations seem to do quite well in being licensed to other countries. If Marvel gets a share of that money (which presumably they do) then it makes sense for them to keep publishing them.
“How you can notice, Thunderbolts sales started to sink when the time travel arc with Mr. Hyde, Boomerang and Centurius started. Before it was kinda stable.”
I’ve been loving the book since Ellis’ run, but I just dropped it b/c this storyline has been so awful, both story & art-wise. The multiple Fear Itself tie-in issues before that didn’t help any…
Bill, I get SO tired of people playing the “but you’re getting more of a great thing! Rejoice!” card. People have budgets. I might LOVE Daredevil, but it doesn’t mean Marvel should put out sixteen issues a month of Daredevil, because DUH, I couldn’t afford that. It’s all about budget. Not everyone has unlimited income to blow. I can’t figure out WHY fans and Marvel haven’t clued in on that one yet…
rant over. :)
“Marvel really should not be making it this difficult to find out whether their titles still exist or not. I’m not a mind reader.”
Marvel’s website is frankly pathetic. You can’t help but wonder if they’re not intentionally trying to discourage readers from browsing upcoming solicitations.
There’s obvious a risk with double-shipping that you’re selling the audience something they don’t want. Realistically, it leaves readers with a choice between buying the extra issues or dropping the book. And if the readers of (say) UNCANNY X-MEN were that desperate for more X-Men stories, why aren’t they buying the other X-books already on the market?
Because one X-book is not the same as every other X-book. Even one Kieron Gillen is not the same as any other Kieron Gillen, because I love his Uncanny X-Men but didn’t care at all about his Generation Hope.
There are books I like and books I don’t like, and fine, other people might hate the extra spending, but I’m happy with the extra issues.
“I get SO tired of people playing the “but you’re getting more of a great thing! Rejoice!” card.”
Yeah, it’s pretty silly.
I enjoy DAREDEVIL more than any other current superhero title, but issue #10 will be my final one. It’s a good book, but good books have never, to my knowledge, increased in quality when publishers started releasing more issues of them than the regular creators were able to produce. I’d rather have a DAREDEVIL that comes out once a month, or even once every two months, and is by Waid and Rivera, thank you very much.
For Marvel, that’s not doable, obviously, so they’ll lose me as a reader. I see no reason whatsoever why I should continue to support stories that are about to be watered down in quality AND cost me more money in the process. There are other, much better entertainment options for me out there, thankfully, and I’ll be spending my money on those instead.
Sorry guys, but if I’m hurting the industry by doing that, then I’m all for hurting the industry a lot more.
I’m happier when the best comics come out more often. I’d rather drop a mediocre book in favor of 2x/month of a book I love, like Daredevil or Wolverine and the X-Men.
Marc – if you’re enjoying Daredevil, isn’t it worth it to check out the first month or two of twice monthly issues to confirm whether or not the quality has suffered instead of assuming it will?
Khoi Pham is doing the art for the point one upcoming issue of Daredevil. Proof positive that the quality will suffer. Sorry, I hate ragging on creatives, but egads… just not a fan.
One thing is good about reading Uncanny X-Men, there’s virtually no way that double-shipping will cause the art quality to decline.
I didn’t know Daredevil was going biweekly. Other than Pham on the point one issue (why are they still doing point one issues?) who will the creative teams(s)? I agree with Marc-Oliver about possibly dropping the book if it’s not Marcos Martin or Paolo Rivera on art duties. They’re a very large reason for my enjoyment of a book I’ve traditionally met with limited interest. And I can’t recall a biweekly book I consistently enjoyed.
Thanks Ras! For me personally, the more Matt Fraction writes the less I’m liking his style. Originally I really liked his Iron Fist and Iron Man books but most of his output since I’ve found underwhelming. Which sucks. Too bad Marvel doesn’t have any other iron-themed titles..
“Wolverine and the X-Men is really good, Uncanny X-Force is just plain excellent. Uncanny X-Men is my least favorite of the three I’m reading..”
Agreed. The first two I find a lot of fun but Uncanny reads a bit dull to me. But to be fair I felt that way about the series before it relaunched too.
I read the first Ultimates issue, which I liked for the most part, but have fallen behind and haven’t read subsequent issues. But ‘weird’ doesn’t sound so good. The X-Men book I also didn’t mind but the $3.99 price definitely curbed my interest in it.
I wish my comic store gave away their overstocked comics for free! Well, they kind of do but it’s always several months later.
@chadlee: Marvel’s website is awful. Most every time I go on there I can’t find what I’m looking for and it’s usually something simple like a specific variant or an upcoming release.
I don’t think Daredevil is going bi-weekly. It’s just in the the April solicits there are two issues (including the pointless point one.) Also, unfortunately, Marcos Martin is leaving Daredevil for creator owned work. WHICH makes me nervous as to who his replacement will be. Paolo Rivera is AMAZING, but he can’t maintain a long-term monthly schedule. If Khoi Pham ends up being Marcos’ replacement, I’ll weep.
I’m kinda secretly hoping Iron Man keeps dropping. That’s mean, I know, but I dropped that book out of boredom ages ago. It’s past time for a creative change, I think.
Yeah, Pham does suck.
Joseph:
“Marc – if you’re enjoying Daredevil, isn’t it worth it to check out the first month or two of twice monthly issues to confirm whether or not the quality has suffered instead of assuming it will?”
No interest at all, since the solicitation to the Point One issue suggests that the plot of the first storyline will be resolved in the “Omega Effect” crossover. (I don’t even mind Koi Pham’s art, though he obviously isn’t Paolo Rivera.)
I already bought one extra issue with the $3.99 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN crossover, because Waid wrote it, and because I wanted to follow the story. That was already a stretch for me, because, quite frankly, there are some plot holes in the first six issues of DAREDEVIL that don’t particularly suggest what Waid needed were more scripts to write.
The Point One issue (which, let’s face it, they’re only publishing in the first place because otherwise the “Omega Effect” paperback would end up being too flimsy) and the crossover with PUNISHER and AVENGING SPIDER-MAN only confirm that this won’t be the book I signed up for any longer.
I have no need or desire to show Marvel or Waid support for these types of bullshit moves when there are plenty of GOOD comics made by people with integrity out there waiting to be read. So good riddance to bad rubbish, and all that.
Admittedly I’ve only read his Incredible Hercules stuff, but I’ve enjoyed Khoi Pham’s art.
Marvel needs to clean up its characters base. I buy both hilk titles and am a Hulk fan, but now it seems here is a new ‘HULK’ every month in the Mavel Universe. And how about you stop re-numbering every freaking book, it pisses off fans. I m on the verge of dropping Iron Man & FF and I am sure in about 12 issues when Daredevil renumbers to whatever it was at….and Wade leaves the book, it will suck again. The past run was so good…why relaunch it at all? It only started sucking when DD took over the Hand and became a bad guy. Really Marvel, you guys are losing your edge and it shows on many of your books. (Wolverine anyone remember when it was an aewsome book some 5 + years go???)
It’s sad: Thunderbolts is one of my favorite books going right now and it’s suffering. I also buy X-Factor and Daredevil: neither book is settin’ the woods on fire sales wise. I really did enjoy Legion of Monsters as well. It’s quirky and different, but without any promotion whatsoever, how does Marvel EXPECT the book to sell?
This is of course all pre AvX and you can assume the downtrending X-titles will get a boost from tieing into the event. Then again Fear Itself started strong and ended weak. Another temporary boost for AvX then and enough to stay ahead of declining DC. Unless they do another event reboot type of event. NOTHING WILL EVER BE THE SAME AGAIN
Here’s a question, do creators get paid for books ordered or books shipped (in the case of over-shipping)?
If they don’t get paid for the over-shipped books, then Marvel really doesn’t have a lot of cost in them.
Yikes. I just went through the Marvel chart and deleted all minis (including novel adaptations), maxis, and one-shots. I also made note of all of the canceled titles.
This oughta be a top-100 chart, since that’s all that seems to be safe at Marvel.
Or should I say top-90?
Seriously, though, cut back on the titles. Have ONE X-Men, ONE Avengers, ONE Spider-Man, ONE Hulk, etc. Then the lower-selling titles will pick up more readers. It’s not that hard.
I don’t think it’s that easy.
For example, I regularly buy a few X-titles. If Marvel only published one, I would still only get that one, and not any others that I have no real interest in.
I just caught up on my The Ultimates reading. I’m really enjoying it. Lots of science fiction elements and big idea that feel like progressing very naturally. The only complaint I really have, besides the cover price, is some of the covers are really bland.
Why do you think Marvel is giving Bendis a third Avengers title to write?
The problem with Ultimate titles is that they still read as directionless after Ultimatum. That series tanked any momentum, and none of the reboots have recaptured it. I’m sticking with Ultimate X still, because of Scarlet Witch.
Khoi Pham did okay on X-men Legacy before the creative change.