By Paul O’Brien
Perhaps it’s a side effect of the decision to trim the line, but Marvel seem to have gone back to the days when each month had a small number of new launches that they could focus on properly. This month’s sole new title is SCARLET SPIDER, and the only major new miniseries is WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN: ALPHA & OMEGA. There’s also WOLVERINE #300, and the second issue of the AvX lead-in mini AVENGERS: X-SANCTION.
DC’s resurgence continued in January, as once again Marvel faced a fight to be the top publisher in the direct market. In terms of market share, it’s really too close to call; DC led in units, by 40% to 38%, while Marvel led in dollars, by 36% to 34%. On the other hand, DC swept the top ten with the fifth issues of their regular titles – some of which are selling in a different league from anything in Marvel’s range. It’s been a long time since AQUAMAN was outselling the entire Marvel line.
Thanks as always to ICV2.com for permission to use these figures.
11,12. UNCANNY X-MEN
01/07 #482 - 83,860
01/08 #494 - 105,520
01/09 ---
01/10 #520 - 65,758
=====
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%)
01/12 #4 - 63,175 ( -1.5%)
01/12 #5 - 63,477 ( +0.5%)
6 month (+13.6%)
1 year (+17.4%)
2 year ( -3.5%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year (-39.8%)
5 year (-24.3%)
Two issues this month, and the good news is that sales seem to be levelling out very quickly after the relaunch. Issue #5 has one of this month’s Venom variant covers, but on the whole, they don’t seem to have much impact. Considering that UNCANNY was stuck in the 53K range a year ago, Marvel ought to be happy with this – particularly given that the X-Men are so central to the 2012 schedule.
13. WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN 10/11 #1 - 99,611 11/11 #2 - 83,356 (-16.3%) 12/11 #3 - 58,438 (-29.9%) 01/12 #4 - 59,530 ( +1.9%)
A similar story, except there’s no variant on this issue – sales appear to have simply gone back up a touch. Overall, a pretty good result for the two core X-Men titles coming out of the relaunch.
14. WOLVERINE
01/07 #50 - 115,621
01/08 #61 - 60,857
01/09 ---
01/10 #9 - 31,678
=====
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%)
01/12 #300 - 58,681 (+57.1%)
6 mnth (+39.4%)
1 year (+25.1%)
2 year (+85.2%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year ( -3.6%)
5 year (-49.2%)
WOLVERINE reverts to its original numbering – well, technically, the numbering of the original ongoing series, but you get the idea. There are also variant covers on this, with 1:25 and 1:50 incentives. Naturally, this results in a big increase in sales. As a rule, renumbering stunts haven’t had lasting effects lately, but we’ll see how it turns out.
15. AVENGERS: X-SANCTION 12/11 #1 of 4 - 96,550 01/12 #2 of 4 - 58,578 (-39.3%)
Issue #1 charts again with re-orders of 3,170, and as always they’re including in the number above. Bit of a steep drop for the second issue, and considering how heavily it’s been promoted, it’s a little surprising to see the book coming in this far down the chart.
17,20. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
01/07 #537 - 114,802
01/08 #548 - 97,959
01/09 #584 - 59,932
01/10 #619 - 56,837
=====
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%)
01/12 #677 - 57,186 ( +5.9%)
01/12 #678 - 54,252 ( -5.1%)
6 mnth ( -4.7%)
1 year ( -4.4%)
2 year ( -4.5%)
3 year ( -9.5%)
4 year ( -44.6%)
5 year ( -52.7%)
Now this is interesting. Issue #678 has a 1:50 Venom variant cover, but it seems to have had a minimal impact on sales – compare the variant-free issue #676. In contrast, what HAS moved the needle is issue #677’s two-issue crossover with this month’s DAREDEVIL. That issue also has a 1:25 variant cover of its own, but in the circumstances, I’m crediting the crossover.
18. AVENGERS
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%)
01/12 #21 - 54,803 ( -4.1%)
6 mnth (-12.4%)
1 year (-15.5%)
This month’s issue has a Venom variant, but it really doesn’t seem to have had any impact at all.
21. SCARLET SPIDER 01/12 #1 - 53,410
Not bad, considering it’s an ongoing series starring Kaine, a villain mainly associated with the long-gone Spider-Clone saga. For comparison, the first issue of DEFENDERS, without its 50% overship, would have been at 57K.
22. NEW AVENGERS
01/07 ---
01/08 ---
01/09 #49 - 90,040
01/10 #61 - 78,202
=====
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%)
01/12 #20 - 52,910 ( -0.0%)
6 mnth ( -9.3%)
1 year (-13.5%)
2 year (-32.3%)
3 year (-41.2%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year ( --- )
Venom variant. Flying off the shelves, those are.
23. AVENGING SPIDER-MAN 11/11 #1 - 112,153 12/11 #2 - 60,682 (-45.9%) 01/12 #3 - 52,371 (-13.7%)
That’s a fairly steep drop for a third issue, but then the parent title AMAZING SPIDER-MAN isn’t a million miles away from this number, so we’re still in the territory of reasonable corrections.
27. UNCANNY X-FORCE
01/09 #11 - 51,817
01/10 #23 - 50,848
=====
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%)
01/12 #.1 - 50,399 (-8.9%)
01/12 #20 - 51,054 (+1.3%)
6 mnth (-7.9%)
1 year (-0.6%)
2 year (+0.4%)
3 year (-1.5%)
The Point One issue (actually trailing the upcoming AGE OF APOCALYPSE series) comes in only slightly behind the book’s regular sales. X-FORCE has now been hovering around the 50-51K range for years now, making it one of Marvel’s most consistent sellers.
30. ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN
01/07 #104 - 108,082
01/08 #118 - 58,800
01/09 #130 - 49,637
01/10 #6 - 43,622
=====
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%)
01/12 #6 - 49,840 ( +3.2%)
6 mnth ( +12.0%)
1 year ( +48.9%)
2 year ( +14.3%)
3 year ( +0.4%)
4 year ( -15.2%)
5 year ( -53.9%)
Unusually for an Ultimate title, this has a 1:25 variant cover. It’s also the first issue to come polybagged with a digital code, which might have persuaded some retailers to up their orders.
Once again, ULTIMATE COMICS FALLOUT #4 charts, landing at number 170 after shipping a further 9,125 copies. This is presumably a case of stock-dumping, rather than retailers suddenly reordering a comic that shipped in August, so I haven’t added it to the figures above.
31. DEADPOOL
01/09 #6 - 46,549
01/10 ---
=====
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%)
01/12 #49 - 24,783* ( -2.7%)
01/12 #.1 - 24,783* ( --- )
6 mnth ( -9.2%)
1 year (-15.0%)
2 year ( --- )
3 year (-46.8%)
Diamond have mistakenly combined the sales of issues #49 and #49.1, listing them together with number 31 placing. In the absence of any more specific figures, I’ve simply divided the total number in half. As you can see, it fits pretty neatly.
33. CAPTAIN AMERICA
01/07 ---
01/08 #34 - 127,626
01/09 #46 - 73,184
01/10 R#6 - 84,844
=====
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%)
01/12 #7 - 46,954 ( -1.7%)
6 mnth ( -51.6%)
1 year ( -11.5%)
2 year ( -44.7%)
3 year ( -35.8%)
4 year ( -63.2%)
5 year ( --- )
Looks to have settled back down to its previous (very consistent) sales, following the recent relaunch.
34. AVENGERS ANNUAL 01/12 #1 - 46,244
This is the concluding part of the story that began in NEW AVENGERS ANNUAL #1 way back in September. That issue sold 49,770, so this isn’t far off.
35. INCREDIBLE HULK
01/07 #91 - 35,980
01/08 #102 - 46,965
01/09 #1 - 134,002
01/10 #606 - 44,855
=====
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%)
01/12 #4 - 45,876 ( -1.2%)
6 mnth ( +68.6%)
1 year ( +48.0%)
2 year ( +2.3%)
3 year ( -65.8%)
4 year ( -2.3%)
5 year ( +27.5%)
The first sign of levelling out – and at a level far ahead of the previous run.
36. FANTASTIC FOUR
01/07 #542 - 84,338
01/08 #553 - 48,332
01/09 #563 - 52,747
01/10 #575 - 41,284
=====
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%)
01/12 #602 - 45,131 ( -11.6%)
6 mnth ( -16.5%)
1 year ( -68.7%)
2 year ( +9.3%)
3 year ( -14.4%)
4 year ( -6.6%)
5 year ( -46.5%)
Back on its previous sales patterns after the renumbering.
38. DAREDEVIL
01/07 #93 - 47,124
01/08 #104 - 42,773
01/09 #115 - 40,214
01/10 #504 - 37,135
=====
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%)
01/12 #8 - 43,494 ( +12.0%)
6 mnth ( -32.9%)
1 year ( +26.8%)
2 year ( +17.1%)
3 year ( +8.2%)
4 year ( +1.7%)
5 year ( -7.7%)
Crossover with AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. This seems to have been a winner for both titles.
39. FF
03/11 #1 - 121,172
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%)
01/12 #14 - 42,609 ( -5.3%)
6 mnth (-21.1%)
Still to find its level as a separate title. (After all, those first eleven issues are basically FANTASTIC FOUR.)
41. WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN: ALPHA & OMEGA 01/12 #1 of 5 - 40,340
Some way adrift of the parent title, but also ahead of three ongoing X-Men titles, and miles above the other X-Men minis. On the whole, I’d call that a good number.
43. DEFENDERS 12/11 #1 - 85,969 01/12 #2 - 38,935 (-54.7%)
Remember, the first issue sales were exaggerated by a 50% overship. That implies that the actual orders were in the region of 57,313, with an actual drop of 32%. Which still isn’t that great, to be honest.
This also raises another question about how effective Marvel’s overship programme has been. The idea, presumably, is that you get more copies on the shelves, more people buy them, and then more people come back for the next issue, which they actually pay for. It’s a loss leader. But that only works if retailers increase their orders for the next issue as well. And so far, that doesn’t seem to be happening.
Logically, retailers aren’t going to significantly increase their orders for future issues just because they’ve been sent some extra copies. After all, if they were confident that they could sell those extra copies, they’d presumably have ordered them in the first place.
Perhaps, for this device to work, it’s not enough to overship just one issue; maybe, like DC, you need to push a new book for several months in order to get it off the blocks.
44. X-MEN
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%)
01/12 #23 - 38,719 ( -1.0%)
6 mnth (-10.0%)
1 year (-40.1%)
Gentle decline. There’s a Venom variant, but, well…
46,54. SECRET AVENGERS
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%)
01/12 #21 - 38,082 ( -0.3%)
01/12 #.1 - 35,320 ( -7.3%)
6 mnth (-24.4%)
1 year (-30.4%)
As usual, the Point One issue comes in a little behind the regular issues.
47,50. X-MEN LEGACY
01/07 #195 - 76,900
01/08 #207 - 104,793
01/09 #220 - 59,286
01/10 #232 - 49,200
=====
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%)
01/12 #.1 - 37,160 ( -2.1%)
01/12 #261 - 37,577 ( +1.1%)
6 mnth ( -9.2%)
1 year ( -6.5%)
2 year (-23.6%)
3 year (-36.6%)
4 year (-64.1%)
5 year (-51.1%)
The chart lists this month’s first issue as #260, but that’s an error – that book was on the December chart. Instead, we’ve got the first two issues by new writer Christos Gage, which hold pretty steady from the inherited sales.
48. MIGHTY THOR
01/07 ---
01/08 ---
01/09 ---
01/10 #606 - 55,353
=====
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%)
01/12 #10 - 37,577 ( -1.1%)
6 mnth (-15.7%)
1 year (-12.4%)
2 year (-32.1%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year ( --- )
5 year ( --- )
55. INVINCIBLE IRON MAN
01/07 ---
01/08 #25 - 38,072
01/09 #9 - 49,223
01/10 #22 - 49,130
=====
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%)
01/12 #512 - 35,159 ( -0.7%)
6 mnth (-14.4%)
1 year (-35.1%)
2 year (-28.4%)
3 year (-28.6%)
4 year ( -7.7%)
5 year ( --- )
Two titles on the usual gentle drift down.
56. ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES
01/07 ---
01/08 #2 of 5 - 105,070
01/09 ---
01/10 ---
=====
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%)
01/12 #6 - 34,865 ( -4.2%)
6 mnth (-18.5%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( --- )
3 year ( --- )
4 year (-66.8%)
5 year ( --- )
57. ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN
01/07 #78 - 66,409
01/08 #90 - 49,634
01/09 ---
01/10 ---
=====
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%)
01/12 #6 - 33,975 ( -3.4%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( --- )
3 year ( --- )
4 year (-31.5%)
5 year (-48.8%)
The secondary Ultimate books continue to hold close together.
60. ASTONISHING X-MEN
01/07 ---
01/08 #24 - 107,631
01/09 #28 - 72,610
01/10 ---
=====
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%)
01/12 #46 - 31,134 ( -0.8%)
6 mnth (-12.5%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( --- )
3 year (-57.1%)
4 year (-71.1%)
5 year ( --- )
Another book in a very slow decline.
61. CARNAGE, U.S.A. 12/11 #1 of 5 - 37,620 01/12 #2 of 5 - 30,378 (-19.3%)
Decent numbers for a miniseries, and perhaps surprisingly coming in slightly ahead of…
66. 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%)
01/12 #12 - 28,728 ( +0.2%)
6 mnth (-18.2%)
The slight uptick in sales might be something to do with the Venom covers, I guess.
68. CAPTAIN AMERICA AND…
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%)
01/12 #626 - 27,632 ( -3.6%)
6 mnth (-46.0%)
Still to find its level.
69,70. 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%) 01/12 #6 of 12 - 26,700 ( -9.0%) 01/12 #7 of 12 - 26,167 ( -2.0%)
Still shedding a chunk of its audience each month. You’d normally hope for a mini to level out, this far into the run.
71. X-FACTOR
01/07 #15 - 38,693
01/08 #27 - 81,350
01/09 #39 - 32,796
01/10 #201 - 29,732
=====
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%)
01/12 #230 - 25,707 ( +8.6%)
6 mnth ( +3.7%)
1 year ( +1.2%)
2 year (-23.6%)
3 year (-21.6%)
4 year (-68.4%)
5 year (-33.6%)
This has a Regenesis variant cover, which presumably accounts for the slight sales bump.
74. NEW MUTANTS
01/10 #9 - 30,572
=====
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%)
01/12 #36 - 23,891 ( -6.5%)
6 mnth ( -8.6%)
1 year ( +0.5%)
2 year (-21.9%)
Seems to be on a downward slide at the moment. But in fairness, it’s still up from January 2011 (the issue immediately before the Age of X crossover), so it’s not doing so badly.
75. 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%)
01/12 #633 - 23,869 ( -1.2%)
6 mnth (-29.3%)
More gentle drift.
77. SUPERIOR [Icon] 01/11 #4 of 7 - 32,031 ( +0.2%) 02/11 --- 03/11 --- 04/11 --- 05/11 --- 06/11 --- 07/11 --- 08/11 --- 09/11 --- 10/11 #5 of 7 - 26,361 (-17.7%) 10/11 #6 of 7 - 25,707 ( -2.5%) 11/11 --- 12/11 --- 01/12 #7 of 7 - 23,387 ( -9.0%)
I suspect the delays have done a bit of damage to this title. 9% drops on the final issue of a mini are a little unusual.
80. PUNISHER
01/07 #3 - 70,143
01/08 #15 - 35,815
01/09 #1 - 43,876
01/10 #13 - 23,734
=====
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%)
01/12 #7 - 22,908 ( -4.4%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year ( +49.7%)
2 year ( -3.5%)
3 year ( -47.8%)
4 year ( -36.0%)
5 year ( -67.3%)
Still to find its level.
81. MOON KNIGHT
01/07 #7 - 76,921
01/08 #14 - 34,569
01/09 #26 - 21,796
01/10 ---
=====
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%)
01/12 #9 - 22,872 ( -7.1%)
6 mnth ( -32.3%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( --- )
3 year ( +4.9%)
4 year ( -33.8%)
5 year ( -70.3%)
The current creative team leave with issue #12, and it looks as though the book is ending – but that doesn’t necessarily rule out another relaunch.
82. HULK
01/08 #1 - 134,002
01/09 ---
01/10 #19 - 54,266
=====
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%)
01/12 #47 - 22,720 ( -1.1%)
6 mnth (-26.1%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year (-58.1%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year (-83.0%)
83. AVENGERS ACADEMY
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%)
01/12 #24 - 21,857 ( -2.5%)
6 mnth (-13.9%)
1 year ( -9.0%)
Two more books with very, very slow downward slides.
87. X-23
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%)
01/12 #20 - 20,730 ( -2.9%)
6 mnth (-15.7%)
1 year (-25.6%)
Cancelled with issue #21.
89,92. THUNDERBOLTS
01/07 #110 - 64,996
01/08 #118 - 43,645
01/09 #128 - 39,219
01/10 #140 - 28,644
=====
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%)
01/12 #168 - 20,585 ( -2.7%)
01/12 #169 - 20,316 ( -1.3%)
6 mnth (-26.9%)
1 year (-23.4%)
2 year (-29.1%)
3 year (-48.2%)
4 year (-53.5%)
5 year (-68.7%)
Still in decline. Given that the book was pretty stable up until Fear Itself, it could be that the subsequent new direction for the title isn’t clicking.
95. BRILLIANT [Icon] 09/11 #1 - 28,951 10/11 --- 11/11 --- 12/11 --- 01/12 #2 - 19,319 (-33.3%)
Unusually big drop for a second issue. The four month wait may be to blame; readers do seem to be a little less tolerant of this sort of thing than they used to be.
And from here on, it’s cancellation city.
98. GENERATION HOPE
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%)
01/12 #15 - 18,878 ( -1.9%)
6 mnth ( +4.1%)
1 year (-21.6%)
Cancelled with issue #17.
99. MAGNETO: NOT A HERO 11/11 #1 of 4 - 21,543 12/11 #2 of 4 - 19,262 (-10.6%) 01/12 #3 of 4 - 18,804 ( -2.4%)
Levelling out, but not spectacular numbers.
103. 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%)
01/12 #8 - 18,408 ( -0.0%)
6 mnth (-31.5%)
Final issues.
104. BATTLE SCARS 11/11 #1 of 6 - 32,222 12/11 #2 of 6 - 21,702 (-32.6%) 01/12 #3 of 6 - 18,102 (-16.6%)
Plummetting off the radar.
109. PUNISHERMAX [Max]
01/07 #43 - 33,023
01/08 #54 - 31,654
01/09 #66 - 22,806
01/10 #3 - 22,887
=====
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%)
01/12 #21 - 17,267 ( +0.4%)
6 mnth ( -2.5%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year (-24.6%)
3 year (-24.3%)
4 year (-45.5%)
5 year (-47.7%)
Cancelled with issue #22, which certainly reads like it was the planned end point of Jason Aaron’s story.
110,113. DAKEN: DARK WOLVERINE
01/10 #82 - 52,015
=====
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%)
01/12 #19 - 17,253 ( -3.1%)
01/12 #20 - 16,728 ( -3.0%)
6 mnth (-27.9%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year (-67.8%)
Cancelled with issue #23.
123. DARK TOWER: WAY STATION
01/08 ---
01/09 Treachery #5 - 50,683
01/10 ---
=====
01/11 Little Sisters #2 - 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%)
01/12 #2 of 5 - 14,827 ( -3.5%)
6 mnth (-12.2%)
1 year (-20.2%)
2 year ( --- )
3 year (-70.7%)
4 year ( --- )
Very slowly shedding readers.
124. 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%)
01/12 #8 - 14,637 (-13.1%)
6 mnth (-64.6%)
Cancelled with issue #9.
128. BLACK PANTHER
01/07 #24 - 57,709
01/08 ---
01/09 ---
01/10 #12 - 17,881
=====
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%)
01/12 #528 - 14,221 ( -3.1%)
6 mnth (-35.8%)
1 year (-48.2%)
2 year (-20.5%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year ( --- )
5 year (-75.4%)
Cancelled with issue #529.
129. X-CLUB 12/11 #1 of 5 - 17,552 01/12 #2 of 5 - 14,219 (-19.0%)
The X-office may have been pushing their luck with this one.
134. 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%) 01/12 #5 of 5 - 12,955 ( -7.0%)
The first issue had an overship, but even allowing for that, this hasn’t really held up very well over the course of its run.
135. VILLAINS FOR HIRE
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%)
01/12 #2 of 4 - 12,851 (-17.2%)
6 mnth (-34.7%)
1 year (-44.2%)
Cancelled at the end of this mini.
139. DEADPOOL MAX [Max]
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%)
01/12 #4 - 12,639 ( -3.3%)
6 mnth (-16.1%)
1 year (-34.3%)
Cancelled with issue 6.
142. THE STAND: NIGHT HAS COME
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%)
01/12 #6 of 6 - 12,298 ( -2.3%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year ( --- )
Final issue – this completes the adaptation.
153. 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%) 01/12 #4 of 5 - 10,922 ( -5.3%) 158. THOR: DEVIANTS SAGA 11/11 #1 of 5 - 13,660 12/11 #2 of 5 - 11,273 (-17.5%) 01/12 #3 of 5 - 10,623 ( -5.8%)
Hangovers from an earlier commissioning regime.
201. HALO: FALL OF REACH - INVASION
01/11 ---
02/11 #4 of 4 - 8,437 ( -1.5%)
03/11 ---
04/11 #1 of 4 - 8,313 ( -1.5%)
05/11 ---
06/11 ---
07/11 #2 of 4 - 7,825 ( -5.9%)
08/11 ---
09/11 #3 of 4 - 7,321 ( -6.4%)
10/11 #4 of 4 - 7,142 ( -2.4%)
11/11 ---
12/11 ---
01/12 #1 of 4 - 7,155 ( +0.2%)
6 mnth ( -8.6%)
1 year ( --- )
A very, very slight increase for the start of the new mini.
204. 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%) 01/12 #4 of 4 - 6,865 ( -8.5%) 234. 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%) 01/12 #4 of 5 - 5,159 (-10.0%)
More hangovers from the previous regime.
235. 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%) 01/12 #5 of 5 - 4,998 ( -5.4%) 239. 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%) 01/12 #4 of 4 - 4,829 ( -8.8%)
Presumably not targeted at the direct market.
247. SPIDER-MAN [Marvel Adventures]
01/07 #11 - 6,107
01/08 #23 - 6,271
01/09 #35 - 6,065
01/10 #59 - 4,315
=====
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%)
01/12 #22 - 4,635 ( +1.9%)
6 mnth ( -1.6%)
1 year ( -3.8%)
2 year ( +7.4%)
3 year (-23.6%)
4 year (-26.1%)
5 year (-24.1%)
Cancelled with issue #23.
266. GHOST RIDER: CYCLE OF VENGEANCE 01/12 One-shot - 3,776 268. DEFENDERS: TOURNAMENT OF HEROES 01/12 One-shot - 3,633
Two reprint one-shots, selling about what you’d expect.
272. FORMIC WARS: SILENT STRIKE 12/11 #1 of 5 - 3,888 01/12 #2 of 5 - 3,507 (-9.8%)
Novel adaptation, presumably not aimed at the direct market.
284. STRIKEFORCE: MORITURI 01/12 We Who Are About To Die - 3,167
Another reprint, this time trailing a trade paperback collection.
286. SUPER HEROES [Marvel Adventures]
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 - 3,329 ( ??? )
10/11 #19 - ?,??? ( ??? )
11/11 #20 - ?,??? ( ??? )
12/11 #21 - ?,??? ( ??? )
01/12 #22 - 3,052 ( ??? )
6 mnth ( ??? )
1 year (-9.9%)
Cancelled with issue #23.
And the following titles didn’t make the top 300: MARVEL INDEX, NORTHANGER ABBEY, and the Cars one-shot ROUTE 66 DASH.
6 month comparisons =================== +68.6% - Incredible Hulk +38.4% - Wolverine +13.6% - Uncanny X-Men +12.0% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man + 4.1% - Generation Hope + 3.7% - X-Factor - 1.6% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures] - 2.5% - PunisherMax - 4.7% - Amazing Spider-Man - 7.9% - X-Force - 8.6% - New Mutants - 8.6% - Halo - 9.2% - X-Men Legacy - 9.2% - Deadpool - 9.3% - New Avengers -10.0% - X-Men -12.2% - Dark Tower -12.4% - Avengers -12.5% - Astonishing X-Men -13.9% - Avengers Academy -14.4% - Iron Man -15.7% - Thor -15.7% - X-23 -16.1% - Deadpool Max -16.5% - Fantastic Four -18.2% - Venom -18.5% - Ultimates -21.1% - FF -24.4% - Secret Avengers -26.1% - Hulk -26.9% - Thunderbolts -27.9% - Daken: Dark Wolverine -29.3% - Journey into Mystery -32.3% - Moon Knight -32.9% - Daredevil -34.7% - Heroes/Villains for Hire -35.8% - Black Panther -46.0% - Captain America and... -51.6% - Captain America -64.6% - Ghost Rider 1 year comparisons ================== +49.7% - Punisher +48.9% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man +48.0% - Incredible Hulk +26.8% - Daredevil +25.1% - Wolverine +17.4% - Uncanny X-Men + 1.2% - X-Factor + 0.5% - New Mutants - 0.6% - X-Force - 3.8% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures] - 4.4% - Amazing Spider-Man - 6.5% - X-Men Legacy - 9.0% - Avengers Academy - 9.9% - Super Heroes -11.5% - Captain America -12.4% - Thor -13.5% - New Avengers -15.0% - Deadpool -15.5% - Avengers -20.2% - Dark Tower -21.6% - Generation Hope -23.4% - Thunderbolts -25.6% - X-23 -30.4% - Secret Avengers -31.5% - Alpha Flight -34.3% - Deadpool Max -35.1% - Iron Man -40.1% - X-Men -44.2% - Heroes/Villains for Hire -48.2% - Black Panther -68.7% - Fantastic Four 2 year comparisons ================== +85.2% - Wolverine +17.1% - Daredevil +14.3% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man + 9.3% - Fantastic Four + 7.4% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures] + 2.3% - Incredible Hulk + 0.4% - X-Force - 3.5% - Uncanny X-Men - 3.5% - Punisher - 4.5% - Amazing Spider-Man -20.5% - Black Panther -21.9% - New Mutants -23.6% - X-Men Legacy -23.6% - X-Factor -24.6% - PunisherMax -28.4% - Iron Man -29.1% - Thunderbolts -32.1% - Thor -32.3% - New Avengers -44.7% - Captain America -58.1% - Hulk -67.8% - Daken: Dark Wolverine 3 year comparisons ================== + 8.2% - Daredevil + 4.9% - Moon Knight + 0.4% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man - 1.5% - X-Force - 9.5% - Amazing Spider-Man -14.4% - Fantastic Four -21.6% - X-Factor -23.6% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures] -24.3% - PunisherMax -28.6% - Iron Man -35.8% - Captain America -36.6% - X-Men Legacy -41.2% - New Avengers -46.8% - Deadpool -47.8% - Punisher -48.2% - Thunderbolts -57.1% - Astonishing X-Men -65.8% - Incredible Hulk -70.7% - Dark Tower 4 year comparisons ================== + 1.7% - Daredevil - 2.3% - Incredible Hulk - 3.6% - Wolverine - 6.6% - Fantastic Four - 7.7% - Iron Man -15.2% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man -26.1% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures] -31.5% - Ultimate Comics X-Men -33.8% - Moon Knight -36.0% - Punisher -39.8% - Uncanny X-Men -44.6% - Amazing Spider-Man -45.5% - PunisherMax -53.5% - Thunderbolts -63.2% - Captain America -64.1% - X-Men Legacy -66.8% - Ultimates -68.4% - X-Factor -71.1% - Astonishing X-Men 5 year comparisons ================== +27.5% - Incredible Hulk - 7.7% - Daredevil -24.1% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures] -24.3% - Uncanny X-Men -33.6% - X-Factor -46.5% - Fantastic Four -47.7% - PunisherMax -48.8% - Ultimate Comics X-Men -49.2% - Wolverine -51.1% - X-Men Legacy -52.7% - Amazing Spider-Man -53.9% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man -67.3% - Punisher -68.7% - Thunderbolts -70.3% - Moon Knight -75.4% - Black Panther -83.0% - Hulk
“It’s been a long time since AQUAMAN was outselling the entire Marvel line.”
If it didn’t happen in the late 90s, I believe we’re talking about half a century.
Mike
The Venom variants, if I’m not mistaken, were all 1:50 variants, which few stores would be able to hit these days with many Marvel books. I didn’t qualify for a single one, if that tells you how low my Marvel numbers are these days.
“31. DEADPOOL
Diamond have mistakenly combined the sales of issues #49 and #49.1, listing them together with number 31 placing.
47,50. X-MEN LEGACY
The chart lists this month’s first issue as #260, but that’s an error – that book was on the December chart.”
Is someone new doing the charts this month? I don’t remember there ever being one mistake like this before, let alone two. :)
Forgot to add, well done in spotting the mistakes, Paul!
>“It’s been a long time since AQUAMAN was outselling the entire Marvel line.”
Perhaps not since 1961, when Aquaman was featured in Adventure Comics?
Before the New 52 launch, the average sales of the #50 comic on the chart from either publisher was 37,500, give or take. (I’m not 100% sure on the standard deviation from that as I haven’t crunched the numbers yet.) This month, the #50 book sold 37,160. So, all the New 52 really did was keep the overall market the same. (And I don’t care who “wins” between Marvel and DC.)
At least in my store, Marvel’s double shipping is not working – and I think that’s reflected in most of the numbers here. Customers seem confused. In almost every case, again at least in my store, the double shipping has resulted in declining numbers for a title. And the slippage seems permanent – numbers do not rebound after a double ship. I can’t help but think that Marvel’s numbers would be better if they diversified a bit more and were not so focused on the movie related titles.
Dan
Dewey’s Comic City
Madison, NJ
These are the worst numbers since February of last year.
The cancelation zone starts within the top 100.
Yikes.
Dan Veltre:
“At least in my store, Marvel’s double shipping is not working – and I think that’s reflected in most of the numbers here.”
As a fan, I find it pretty off-putting. The only title I tolerate it on happily is X-Factor, but that book has never had a single artist stay on it long enough to make their absence a detriment. I buy that book for Peter David’s writing, and I’m more than happy to slap down money for more of it whenever possible.
Mark Moore: “The cancelation zone starts within the top 100. Yikes.”
Yeah, that’s pretty terrifying. And it’s not just one book, it’s three.
Paul, you’re getting a real kick out of those Venom variants. Moreso than Marvel’s accounting department, I think!
I’m glad to see Wolverine & The X-Men as Marvel’s second bestseller overall, but it should be ahead of Uncanny. It’s that good. And, I’m a little surprised there *wasn’t* an uptick for the Secret Avengers Point One issue, since it was the start of the Remender run. Unfortunately, his Uncanny X-Force magic isn’t yet at work on the title.
I know for me the issue I’m having, more so than the double shipping, is the $3.99 titles. When I’m dropping 33% more for a title I find I’m much quicker to drop it. Two issues I don’t totally love (or even one issue I dislike) leads to me dropping a title, whereas I’m more likely to give some leeway to a $2.99 book in a lull or mediocre issues.
I’m also MUCH less likely to take a chance on a new $3.99 title.
Are you paying attention Marc, on how reports should be written?
How many books double shipped on this list??? How can something that had started full swing in January be killing sales in that month.
I also find it a bit difficult to understand why a retailer (who actually understands business) would complain about double shipping. Marvel have trimmed down their line to create space for the double shipped books which are in many cases their most popular properties. If a retailer (whose job is to actually sell comics) has a problem with, he/she probably needs to find another business.
IMO, it seems some retailers are reallyy spoilt and cant sell anything non-event related. DCs nu52 and (AVX is said to have reached orders of over 200,000 already) just prove that point.
Perhaps we need a gross revenue figure and revenue decline based on cover price and estimated sales?
I’m thinking that would look pretty painful.
Gee, could it be that even the Zombies are tired of the price-gouging and endless relaunching of books at #1? Man… who woulda thought this day would ever come? FIrst the PC/Microsoft geeks are finally undone by the superiority of Apple products, and NOW DC, the superior company, is coming out on top?
Too bad it had to happen at exactly the same time that DC says F-you to all the old fans… soon DC will be exactly like Marvel. Certainly Jim has this in mind and Diane is giving him carte blanche to screw 75 years of proud history…
Ha ha ha!
A “Marc Oliver is a monster” comment followed by a retailer hate comment. God, I love these threads….
The end is near!
@Charles
I didnt see the retailer complaining. I saw him stating a fact and offering a suggestion on how things *may* improve in his store based on the publisher’s strategy.
If a publisher’s strategy isnt working at the retailer level, it isnt up to the retailer in isolation to sell the books. It should be a loop of communication.
Maybe if more retailers spoke up then Marvel would take notice and change their strategy.
Charles:
“How many books double shipped on this list??? How can something that had started full swing in January be killing sales in that month.”
Double-shipping hardly started in January…in the comment thread for last month’s Marvel sales, I flagged 14 books that shipped 15 or more issues during 2011. Double-shipping is hardly new, Marvel’s just being even more brazen with it.
I dont understand why Marvel is not changing its strategy….the constant #1 and renumbering and old lame storylines have run their course. At least DC took a chance and it paid off. Did the market really increase? Probably not alot, but DC is now #1 or at least tied with Marvel and even though many DC books are to get cancelled and replaced, it seems Marvel is in a tailspine, everything they own is in the toilet. I mean X-men selling in the 30-40k mark? Wow I would never have dreamed it possible. I am a fan boy since 1990 when X-Men rulled the charts for pretty much 10+ years. Look at Wolverine, what a joke…how many people have claws and adamathium now? It is supposed to be a rare metal and it seems you can get it at WalMart. Spider-man? Dont even get me started there…..(Clone anyone?)…or how about the 43 Hulks in the Marvel Universe now….and lets not forget Ghost Rider, Punisher, Moonknight; all these cool heroes with potential totally mishandled and rendered not interesting.ALl this at $3.99…way to go. I have cut all my Marvel titles now save Avengers and Daredevil. Lets see how long before I dump those as well. Way to go for DC though! Many f the New52 are are good books!
@Jason
I know its not new. My point is that we haven’t seen it have a big impact on sales, positive or negative. The assertion that double shipping is killing a title PERMANENTLY came across as unrealistic. Considering:
1. A good number of Marvel titles haven’t shipped twice.
2. These titles do not double ship all the time (unless we are counting Amazing Spider-man which has been on twice-thrice a month schedule for the last 3-4 years)
I’m also wondering why a retailer that can only sell 3-4 issues of X-23 will have a problem selling about 10-15 (multiplied by two) issues of Avengers or X-men or Spider-man considering that it will bring in more money.
@Otis
The DC 52 has been a resounding success and i don’t believe that DC will have any regrets about their actions long term. A lot of people that were picking up only Avengers and X-men have added (on average at my store) about 3-4 new DC titles.
I remember when Marvel “double shipped” (went to a fortnightly schedule) summer issues in 1988. They did this because they figured fans had more time on their hands to read comics.
I bought them, but then, that was only one title out of about ten Marvel titles I bought monthly.
I eventually kicked my Marvel habit when I had to postpone buying issues because of a limited budget. “The series isn’t that exciting… I’ll get it next week.” And then the next month’s issue came out, and I hadn’t bought the earlier issue, didn’t miss it, so I dropped it. My last regular Marvel title was McFarlane’s Spider-Man. The next Marvel titles I bought on a regular basis was “The Age of Apocalypse”.
If Marvel is shipping double, doesn’t that mean a trade-waiter will have that less time to wait for the trade? Do we see this with Amazing Spider-Man?
Was the Marvel Adventures line cancelled? Or is it headed for another reboot? Given that Abdo is reprinting the 1990s “Marvel Age” comics for the school library market, there is a need for more product aimed at younger readers. I hope Marvel is smart enough to keep Paul Tobin writing comics! Maybe even get Fred Van Lente to write some all-ages superhero stories!
I don’t think its the $4 price point as it is the awful quality of books Marvel is putting out lately, that is killing their sales.
Most fan boys I’ve talked to will buy a comic no matter the cost, as long as it seems worth the $$$…
The Marvel Adventures books are being replaced by titles tying in to Marvel’s animated shows – which, to be honest, seems like a fairly rational decision to me.
More generally, I wouldn’t expect Marvel to start talking about any big ideas for the direction of the line (if they even have one) until we get on to the hype for things that come AFTER Avengers/X-Men. And that’s months away.
To me, the problem with Marvel’s double-shipping policy is that it doesn’t appear to be applied strategically. Deciding to double-ship particular series at points that conincincide with the series storyline is great. X-Factor is a good example because Peter David seems particularly adept at ramping up the pace of his stories and using cliffhangers to make a reader really appreciate the double-shipping. But applying double-shipping across huge swaths of titles on the premise that they sell well now, so we’ll seel twice as much simply dilutes the brands. Readers won’t support as many different X-Men, Avengers, or Spidey titles if a lot of those titles are coming out more frequently. It’s why you have moderate eating your favorite foods; eat too much of it too often and pretty soon you don’t like it anymore. That goes double for line-wide, status-quo altering events.
I think the Venom variants would’ve done really well if the ratio had been lowered from 1:50. Some of them are pretty cool to look at and are very popular on Ebay. But 50:1 for most Marvel books is asking a lot.
Naveed said: “Look at Wolverine, what a joke…how many people have claws and adamathium now? It is supposed to be a rare metal and it seems you can get it at WalMart.”
I hate how common it is too. It takes away from Wolverines specialasticness. But that’s not why Wolverine’s sales are so low. I think they’re low because Romulus and Daken took over the majority of story lines and then Marvel secretly relaunched the main Wolvie title and didn’t call it Wolverine but did charge $4 for it. As if poor Logan didn’t have enough crap to deal with! I also find his story arcs seem to be a really depressing one followed by some over-the-top martial arts hijinks followed again by a really depressing one and then more over-the-top hijinks and so on.
@Charles
“How many books double shipped on this list??? How can something that had started full swing in January be killing sales in that month.”
Well, I never said that the January doubling shipping was killing sales for a book from the month of January. Only that double shipping (which Jason Green pointed out elsewhere has been occurring for some time) – has had, at least in my store, as negative results. I’m concerned that Marvel’s overuse of double shipping may continue that trend. Double shipping can work in the right situation – but not to the extent Marvel is using it, imho.
Also @ Charles
“I also find it a bit difficult to understand why a retailer (who actually understands business) would complain about double shipping. Marvel have trimmed down their line to create space for the double shipped books which are in many cases their most popular properties. If a retailer (whose job is to actually sell comics) has a problem with, he/she probably needs to find another business.”
“IMO, it seems some retailers are reallyy spoilt and cant sell anything non-event related. DCs nu52 and (AVX is said to have reached orders of over 200,000 already) just prove that point.”
I’m happy that Marvel has trimmed down their line a bit too. And yes, my job is to sell comics – and I’ve been doing so for over 20 year, fairly successfully I’d like to think. However, my job is to sell more than just Marvel comics – I can’t hand sell every comic that comes in the store and it’s difficult to find the space double rack all the books I’d like to. So thanks for the career advice, but I think I’m ok for now. As to “actually understanding business,” may I ask what your background in selling is?
Honestly Charles, my only concern is for the continued health of this medium (and therefore my store). I’m trying to point out a problem that I see occurring – and really was only interested in what others thought. It wasn’t intended as a slam at Marvel. I have friends at Marvel. But at least in this case, I simply and honestly disagree with Marvel’s current publishing policy. I want nothing more than to sell a bucket load of their comics – and despite what you apparently think about my retailing skills – I already do. I just want to sell more….
Best-
Dan Veltre,
Dewey’s Comic City
Madison, NJ
What is Marvel’s answer for 2013? Brian Michael Bendis! Norman Osborn and the Dark X-Men Vs. Uncanny X-Men II!
@Dan Veltre: Nice post!
@Dan-
My apologies if i came across as being too abrasive and aggressive. I never meant to attack you personally. I also work in Retail comic sales (as i mentioned earlier).
I have witnessed instances when a book is double shipped that some people don’t immediately pick them up but in many instances, the books are picked up some weeks down the line by my loyal folks. However, I haven’t (as at yet)had any customer cut their order lists because of double shipping. Maybe long term it might have some effects but from what I’ve read, it doesn’t seem to be a policy that Marvel will implement long term. Personally, i prefer to have more issues of Secret Avengers than say Nova (i still have several of the original issues of Nova from 2008 in the bins unsold). As it stands there are too many comics out that are virtually no-sellers, as a businessmen (and not as a consumer) i would rather continue to order items that i have a better chance of selling (or could be returned like most of DCs new 52).
LMAO at NuMArvel! Maybe if they actually listened instead of acting like a bunch of pompous, arrogant know-it-alls, who treat the customers with nothing but contempt, this embarrassing display wouldn’t be the case.
I do like that a lot of the good books are going more than monthly. I think the problem remains that there are still too many crappy and/or redundant books. Loving Jason Aaron’s X-Men, and enjoying Chris Gage’s X-book, but it feature basically all the same characters. Why not just have one book that ships 2x a month with those characters, with a stable team of rotating artists? Ditto the metric ton of books featuring Captain America and Hawkeye.
@Naveed
So agreed. Marvel’s strayed from the heart of their characters. I mean, 2 She-Hulks… what was wrong with the 1st She-Hulk? And Wolverine’s in 4 team books plus his own. How can he be in danger in his book when he’s appearing alive and well elsewhere?
@Otis
“soon DC will be exactly like Marvel.”
How so, when DC saying hello to new fans, with their carte blanche approach, has increased sales for them? Their books were dwindling pre-New 52.
J
Another fine writeup.
Indeed the timetravel-thunderbolts-storyline isn’t my cup of tea – and by that I mean it’s bad much of the time.
Another thing is that DC has relaunched Suicide Squad with their new 52, which is basicly the same concept – and aside from a single issue so far I’ve enjoyed it more than thunderbolts of the latest year.
Kinda worried about the punisherbook – not doing too well so far, I can’t imagine having Greg Rucka on excluse just to write a 2.99 book selling at that level is turning a profit for Captain Perlmutter and I cant see it benefitting much from AvX – a storyline it of all things probably wont be relevantly involved in.
A slight irregularity: Wolverine and the Xmen 4 DID have a venom variant:
http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120107023332/marveldatabase/images/5/5d/Wolverine_%26_the_X-Men_Vol_1_4_Venom_Variant.jpg
Still, if the venom variants helped or not will be seen in a week or so when the February icv2 figures come out.
I don’t mind the double shipping on certain titles. I would love it if Thunderbolts came out twice a month. And X-Factor pretty much double ships every 2nd month, and again, I don’t mind that.
*Is it true X-Factor is going to 3.99 for 20 pgs of content??? Cause then I’ll have to cancel it.
Regarding the over-ship policy Marvel uses, my retailer does not pass the savings along. His extra Defenders #1 was not marked down, as I might have tried it out. Instead of overshipping a book, why not discount the issue instead? I’m doing very well by eliminating $3.99 books that have 20 pages. My wallet thanks me.
Part of Marvel’s problem could be that they have stopped shipping to local bookstores. They are only shipping to comic stores and Barnes & Noble and I think that this is wrong,but Marvel will not respond as to why they are doing this.