by Paul O’Brien
Quite the busy month, July. FEAR ITSELF is still rumbling onwards, but it’s now joined by two other events – the “Spider-Island” crossover, and X-MEN: SCHISM. And there are relaunches of DAREDEVIL, GHOST RIDER and CAPTAIN AMERICA (which spawns a spin-off into the bargain).
Oh, and now that the FEAR ITSELF crossover arcs are firmly underway, this seems a good month to ask: is it really having much of an impact on sales of the tie-in books?
As per usual, Marvel had the largest share of the North American direct market, leading DC by 44% to 35% in unit share, and 39% to 31% in dollars.
Thanks as always to ICV2.com for permission to use these figures.
1,16. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
07/06 #534 - 113,522
07/07 #542 - 105,715
07/08 #566 - 68,912
07/09 #599 - 72,412
=====
07/10 #636 - 56,011 ( -0.2%)
07/10 #637 - 56,031 ( +0.0%)
07/10 #638 - 68,271 ( +21.8%)
08/10 #639 - 67,086 ( -1.7%)
08/10 #640 - 73,656 ( +9.8%)
09/10 #641 - 68,345 ( -7.2%)
09/10 #642 - 60,115 ( -12.0%)
09/10 #643 - 61,855 ( +2.9%)
09/10 #644 - 58,310 ( -5.7%)
10/10 #645 - 56,709 ( -2.7%)
10/10 #646 - 58,125 ( +2.5%)
11/10 #647 - 55,819 ( -4.0%)
11/10 #648 - 79,714 ( +42.8%)
11/10 #649 - 55,515 ( -30.4%)
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%)
6 mnth (+160.5%)
1 year (+142.0%)
2 year ( +87.2%)
3 year ( +96.7%)
4 year ( +28.2%)
5 year ( +19.4%)
Issue #666 begins the “Spider-Island” crossover, and sales are through the roof. Of course, there were some unusual promotional offers with this book (such as personalised covers with photos of each comic store), and we can be fairly sure that it won’t sustain these sales. But by any standards, 136K is a great number for the start of a crossover – FEAR ITSELF #1 only sold 129K in its first month. At least some of that surely has to be credited to interest in the storyline.
2. CAPTAIN AMERICA
07/06 #20 - 47,357
07/07 #28 - 89,721
07/08 #40 - 79,317
07/09 #1 - 193,142
=====
07/10 ---
08/10 #608 - 51,362 ( -3.1%)
08/10 #609 - 52,834 ( +2.9%)
09/10 #610 - 47,986 ( -9.2%)
10/10 #611 - 48,788 ( +1.7%)
11/10 #612 - 47,343 ( -3.0%)
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%)
6 mnth (+130.1%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( -49.8%)
3 year ( +22.2%)
4 year ( +8.0%)
5 year (+104.7%)
This is basically an arbitrary renumbering to tie in with the movie, and history suggests the bump won’t last very long – compare THOR, which was pointlessly renumbered in similar circumstances. This issue also has five variant covers, which would have boosted sales in themselves.
The previous numbering has been taken over by spin-off title CAPTAIN AMERICA & BUCKY, which we’ll come to later.
3. FEAR ITSELF 04/11 #1 of 7 - 135,746 05/11 #2 of 7 - 105,359 (-22.4%) 06/11 #3 of 7 - 99,501 ( -5.6%) 07/11 #4 of 7 - 93,435 ( -6.1%)
Still picking up reorders. Issue #2 gets a further 3,667 sales, and issue #3 adds 3,880. Those numbers are added to the total above. Obviously, if you disregard the reorders on earlier issues, sales on this core title have been very solid.
6. DAREDEVIL
07/06 #87 - 79,436
07/07 ---
07/08 #109 - 39,258
07/09 ---
=====
07/10 #508 - 41,943 (+20.7%)
08/10 #509 - 41,577 ( -0.9%)
09/10 #510 - 44,728 ( +7.6%)
10/10 #511 - 43,167 ( -3.5%)
11/10 ---
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%)
6 mnth ( +89.1%)
1 year ( +54.7%)
2 year ( --- )
3 year ( +65.2%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year ( -18.3%)
A slightly less arbitrary renumbering, since this is at least the debut of a new creative team with a sweeping change of tone. Ignore the sales on the recent miniseries, which retailers seem to have treated as dispensable; the fairer comparison is with the Shadowland issues in the second half of 2010. Even with a crossover behind them, they were selling just over 40K. While sales will have been boosted by the four variant covers, this is a strong debut for the new creative team.
8. AVENGERS
07/10 #3 - 87,410 (-11.5%)
08/10 #4 - 87,333 ( -0.1%)
09/10 #5 - 82,411 ( -5.6%)
10/10 #6 - 73,258 (-11.1%)
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%)
6 mnth ( -3.5%)
1 year (-28.4%)
Third part of a FEAR ITSELF tie-in arc, which hasn’t exactly had an earth-shaking effect on sales. As I’ve said in previous months, this isn’t especially unusual for the higher selling Marvel titles; they’ve never seen that much gain from the crossovers, presumably because the event audiences are buying them already.
It’s more striking that we’re seeing the same pattern on the other tie-in books further down the chart. The impact gets more noticeable the further down we go – but not by much. Which kind of begs the question: how much did Marvel actually gain from making FEAR ITSELF into a line-wide crossover?
11,28. X-MEN: SCHISM 07/11 #1 of 5 - 58,326 07/11 #2 of 5 - 45,152 (-22.6%)
This is the lead-in to a relaunch of the X-Men titles. 58K isn’t too bad – that’s around 5K more than UNCANNY normally does. But 45K is on the low side for a tentpole miniseries. That’s below X-FORCE and at about the level of X-MEN.
Granted, LEGACY does 41K and ASTONISHING only 35K. That’s the reality of the X-Men’s appeal these days. This is Marvel’s third-tier event, after FEAR ITSELF and “Spider-Island”. And what really matters is how well the relaunch does; if this series generates a buzz for the relaunch, it will have done its job.
But a book that’s supposed to be reshaping the X-Men titles really ought to be selling at least the same numbers as UNCANNY. This is a bit disappointing.
12. NEW AVENGERS
07/06 #22 - 124,617
07/07 #32 - 122,991
07/08 #43 - 108,751
07/09 #55 - 84,745
=====
07/10 #2 - 83,397 (-35.4%)
08/10 #3 - 81,354 ( -2.4%)
09/10 #4 - 77,479 ( -4.7%)
10/10 #5 - 73,409 ( -5.3%)
11/10 #6 - 66,724 ( -9.1%)
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%)
6 mnth ( -4.7%)
1 year (-30.1%)
2 year (-31.2%)
3 year (-46.4%)
4 year (-52.6%)
5 year (-53.2%)
The first part of the FEAR ITSELF crossover arc. Sales are slightly up.
15,17. UNCANNY X-MEN
07/06 #476 - 88,775
07/07 #488 - 86,747
07/08 #500 - 151,955
07/09 #513 - 83,399
=====
07/10 #526 - 66,723 (-12.3%)
08/10 #527 - 69,052 ( +3.5%)
09/10 #528 - 62,415 ( -9.6%)
10/10 #529 - 62,256 ( -0.3%)
11/10 #530 - 58,006 ( -6.8%)
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%)
6 mnth ( +3.3%)
1 year (-16.3%)
2 year (-33.0%)
3 year (-63.2%)
4 year (-35.6%)
5 year (-37.1%)
These two issues are the start of a FEAR ITSELF crossover arc. It boosts sales by a couple of thousand.
18,21. FF
07/06 ---
07/07 ---
07/08 ---
07/09 #568 - 45,828
=====
07/10 #581 - 35,505 ( -2.9%)
08/10 #582 - 34,617 ( -2.5%)
09/10 #583 - 46,267 ( +33.7%)
10/10 #584 - 45,066 ( -2.6%)
11/10 #585 - 41,568 ( -7.8%)
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%)
6 mnth ( -62.5%)
1 year ( +52.2%)
2 year ( +17.9%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year ( --- )
5 year ( --- )
Drifting down, but that’s to be expected. There’s another relaunch just around the corner when we reach issue #600.
19. UNCANNY X-FORCE
07/08 #5 - 72,818
07/09 #17 - 61,104
=====
07/10 #28 - 61,680 ( -1.3%)
07/10 Sex #1 - 41,426 ( -32.8%)
08/10 #2 of 3 - 38,480 ( -7.1%)
09/10 #3 of 3 - 37,283 ( -3.1%)
10/10 #1 - 99,194 (+166.1%)
11/10 #2 - 56,518 ( -43.0%)
12/10 #3 - 55,520 ( -1.8%)
01/11 #4 - 51,381 ( -7.5%)
02/11 #5 - 51,470 ( +0.2%)
03/11 #5.1 - 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%)
6 mnth ( +7.8%)
1 year ( -10.2%)
2 year ( -9.3%)
3 year ( -23.9%)
Up for the second month running. It seems there’s still some interest in the Age of Apocalypse, which this storyline is revisiting.
23. CAPTAIN AMERICA AND BUCKY 07/11 #620 - 51,187
The numbering continues from last month’s CAPTAIN AMERICA, but in practice this is the launch of a new spin-off book – a technique Marvel have used several times in the last few years, and will be using again with FANTASTIC FOUR shortly. To be fair, it does still seem to give the new book some inherited momentum, however irrationally.
Orders of 51K is respectable territory for a first issue anyway, and books launched in this way tend not to drop as fast in their second month. This has a fair shot.
24,27,31. ULTIMATE FALLOUT
07/06 #97 - 76,612
07/07 #111 - 75,487
07/08 #124 - 55,262
07/09 #2 of 2 - 41,374
=====
07/10 #12 - 37,879 ( -3.2%)
08/10 #13 - 36,946 ( -2.5%)
09/10 #14 - 35,776 ( -3.7%)
10/10 #15 - 34,657 ( -3.1%)
11/10 #150 - 40,553 ( +17.0%)
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%)
6 mnth ( +32.9%)
1 year ( +17.5%)
2 year ( +7.5%)
3 year ( -19.5%)
4 year ( -41.1%)
5 year ( -41.9%)
The first three issues of ULTIMATE FALLOUT all ship in the same month, and sales return to “Death of Spider-Man” levels. But then this is a transition mini; no doubt they’ll get another huge boost for the debut of the replacement Spider-Man, and a third for the launch of the new ongoing title.
ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #160 picks up healthy reorders of 7,589, which are included in the number above.
26. SECRET AVENGERS
07/10 #3 - 72,293 ( -7.2%)
08/10 #4 - 74,655 ( +3.3%)
09/10 #5 - 69,546 ( -6.8%)
10/10 #6 - 68,617 ( -1.3%)
11/10 #7 - 59,999 (-12.6%)
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%)
6 mnth ( -8.0%)
1 year (-35.4%)
This is a FEAR ITSELF tie-in, not that you’d know just from looking at the sales.
29,33. X-MEN
07/10 #1 - 143,167
08/10 #2 - 71,464 (-50.1%)
09/10 #3 - 66,549 ( -6.9%)
10/10 #4 - 63,772 ( -4.2%)
11/10 #5 - 56,651 (-11.2%)
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%)
6 mnth (-33.4%)
1 year (-69.9%)
Hovering around the mid-40K range. Issue #14 has an additional variant compared to the others around it.
30. MIGHTY THOR
07/06 ---
07/07 #1 - 165,325
07/08 #10 - 83,784
07/09 ---
=====
07/10 #612 - 53,373 ( -5.4%)
08/10 #613 - 51,076 ( -4.3%)
09/10 #614 - 53,505 ( +4.8%)
09/10 #615 - 52,896 ( -1.2%)
10/10 #616 - 51,051 ( -3.5%)
11/10 #617 - 49,165 ( -3.7%)
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%)
6 mnth ( +3.9%)
1 year (-16.5%)
2 year ( --- )
3 year (-46.8%)
4 year (-73.0%)
5 year ( --- )
Still dropping back to regular sales levels after the arbitrary renumbering in April. In fairness, the reduction in the number of variant covers will also be playing a part here, so the rate of decline is being exaggerated.
34. ULTIMATE AVENGERS VS NEW ULTIMATES
07/10 Vol 2 #5 - 46,886 ( -5.5%)
08/10 Vol 2 #6 - 46,358 (-11.3%)
08/10 Vol 3 #1 - 53,870 (+16.2%)
09/10 Vol 3 #2 - 43,119 (-20.0%)
10/10 Vol 3 #3 - 38,529 (-10.6%)
11/10 Vol 3 #4 - 36,777 ( -4.5%)
12/10 Vol 3 #5 - 34,483 ( -6.2%)
01/11 Vol 3 #6 - 33,454 ( -3.0%)
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%)
6 mnth (+27.8%)
1 year ( -8.8%)
A pretty decent run for this mini, which wraps up comfortably ahead of the previous arc.
35. WOLVERINE
07/06 #44 - 105,220
07/07 #55 - 130,707
07/08 #67 - 89,062
07/09 ---
=====
07/10 #15 - 29,555 ( -1.6%)
08/10 #16 - 29,424 ( -0.4%)
09/10 #1 - 104,414 (+254.9%)
10/10 #2 - 63,210 ( -39.5%)
11/10 #3 - 51,600 ( -18.4%)
12/10 #4 - 52,812 ( +2.3%)
01/11 #5 - 46,920 ( -11.2%)
02/11 #5.1 - 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%)
6 mnth ( -10.3%)
1 year ( +42.5%)
2 year ( --- )
3 year ( -52.7%)
4 year ( -67.8%)
5 year ( -60.0%)
This issue has a variant cover, which presumably accounts for the very slight increase.
36. X-MEN LEGACY
07/06 #189 - 89,268
07/07 #201 - 86,278
07/08 #214 - 69,863
07/09 #226 - 59,298
=====
07/10 #238 - 53,313 (-18.7%)
08/10 #239 - 53,236 ( -0.1%)
09/10 #240 - 50,984 ( -4.2%)
10/10 #241 - 48,133 ( -5.6%)
11/10 #242 - 43,750 ( -9.1%)
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%)
6 mnth ( +2.9%)
1 year (-22.4%)
2 year (-30.2%)
3 year (-40.8%)
4 year (-52.1%)
5 year (-53.7%)
Drifting back down to previous levels after the “Age of X” crossover. It’s still slightly ahead of the previous number, though.
37. GHOST RIDER 06/11 #.1 - 24,830 07/11 #1 - 41,308 (+66.4%)
As with last month’s ALPHA FLIGHT, the first issue proper does much better than the lead-in Point One issue. Sales of 41K are alright for a debut in the current market, as long as they hold up, but it’s not spectacular. HERC started with 39K, for example.
39. INVINCIBLE IRON MAN
07/06 #10 - 38,102
07/07 #20 - 72,831
07/08 #3 - 63,043
07/09 #15 - 50,554
=====
07/10 #28 - 48,690 ( -6.8%)
08/10 #29 - 49,012 ( +0.7%)
09/10 #30 - 47,238 ( -3.6%)
10/10 #31 - 45,507 ( -3.7%)
11/10 #32 - 40,978 (-10.0%)
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%)
6 mnth (-24.2%)
1 year (-15.7%)
2 year (-18.8%)
3 year (-34.9%)
4 year (-43.6%)
5 year ( +7.7%)
Fourth part of a FEAR ITSELF tie-in arc.
42. FEAR ITSELF: UNCANNY X-FORCE 07/11 #1 of 3 - 39,605
Quite some distance behind the regular title, which does around 50K. That’s often the way with crossover-themed spin-off books, though.
46. ASTONISHING X-MEN
07/06 ---
07/07 ---
07/08 #25 - 110,724
07/09 ---
=====
07/10 ---
08/10 #35 - 50,441 (-12.1%)
09/10 ---
10/10 ---
11/10 ---
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%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( --- )
3 year (-67.9%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year ( --- )
Well, at least ASTONISHING X-MEN has finally got the hang of existing on a regular basis.
47. 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%)
No variant this month, so the drop is exaggerated. Down at number 290, with orders of 3,829, is a book by the name of VENOM: FLASHPOINT (oh Marvel, you cards), which reprints issue #1 and the lead-ins from AMAZING SPIDER-MAN.
49. 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%)
Still finding its level; these spin-off titles can be tricky to judge. This opening arc is a FEAR ITSELF tie-in.
50. MOON KNIGHT
07/06 ---
07/07 ---
07/08 #20 - 28,773
07/09 ---
=====
07/10 #10 - 19,143 ( +2.4%)
08/10 #1 of 3 - 28,196 ( +47.3%)
09/10 #2 of 3 - 20,307 ( -28.0%)
10/10 #3 of 3 - 18,318 ( -9.8%)
11/10 ---
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%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year ( +76.5%)
2 year ( --- )
3 year ( +17.4%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year ( --- )
Levelling out very quickly, which is a good sign.
54. FEAR ITSELF: WOLVERINE 07/11 #1 of 3 - 30,584
Again, about 10K behind the main title – but at least it’s ahead of the other Wolverine spin-off books.
56,61. HULK
07/09 ---
=====
07/10 ---
08/10 #24 - 48,903 ( -3.6%)
09/10 #25 - 46,784 ( -4.3%)
10/10 #26 - 42,934 ( -8.2%)
11/10 #27 - 38,691 ( -9.9%)
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%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( --- )
Issue #37 begins the FEAR ITSELF crossover. Sales are up by about 1,500, but it’s hardly spectacular.
58. FEAR ITSELF: FF 07/11 One-shot - 30,165
About 25K behind the parent title, which is an awfully long way. The Fantastic Four have always struggled to support a spin-off book – though that hasn’t dissuaded Marvel from doing another one.
62,70. INCREDIBLE HULKS
07/06 #96 - 49,209
07/07 #108 - 105,036
07/08 ---
07/09 #600 - 92,343
=====
07/10 ---
08/10 #611 - 44,982 ( -3.2%)
09/10 #612 - 42,956 ( -4.5%)
09/10 #613 - 40,063 ( -6.7%)
10/10 #614 - 39,572 ( -1.2%)
10/10 #615 - 36,750 ( -7.1%)
11/10 #616 - 35,296 ( -4.0%)
11/10 #617 - 34,340 ( -2.7%)
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%)
6 mnth (-12.1%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year (-70.5%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year (-74.1%)
5 year (-44.7%)
Headed for a relaunch (which also drops back to a monthly schedule, so there’s a veiled cancellation in here).
64,77. NEW MUTANTS
07/09 #3 - 42,961
=====
07/10 #15 - 35,426 (-34.3%)
08/10 #16 - 31,989 ( -9.7%)
09/10 #17 - 31,684 ( -1.0%)
10/10 #18 - 27,027 (-14.7%)
11/10 #19 - 25,440 ( -5.9%)
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%)
6 mnth ( +9.9%)
1 year (-26.2%)
2 year (-39.2%)
Nice steady sales. The FEAR ITSELF tie-in doesn’t start till next month, if you’re wondering.
65. THUNDERBOLTS
07/06 #104 - 54,092
07/07 ---
07/08 #122 - 47,170
07/09 #134 - 40,885
=====
07/10 #146 - 31,501 ( -1.6%)
08/10 #147 - 31,252 ( -0.8%)
09/10 #148 - 32,190 ( +3.0%)
10/10 #149 - 30,580 ( -5.0%)
11/10 #150 - 31,704 ( +3.7%)
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%)
6 mnth ( +4.9%)
1 year (-11.7%)
2 year (-32.0%)
3 year (-41.0%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year (-48.6%)
Continuing the FEAR ITSELF tie-in arc which began in issue #158.
66. FEAR ITSELF: SPIDER-MAN 05/11 #1 of 3 - 34,551 06/11 #2 of 3 - 30,238 (-12.5%) 07/11 #3 of 3 - 27,499 ( -9.1%)
That’s around half the sales the regular title normally gets.
69. DEADPOOL
07/09 #12 - 58,807
=====
07/10 #25 - 36,828 ( -4.7%)
08/10 #26 - 35,595 ( -3.3%)
09/10 #27 - 36,404 ( +2.3%)
10/10 #28 - 34,828 ( -4.3%)
11/10 #29 - 31,350 (-10.0%)
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%)
6 mnth ( -6.3%)
1 year (-25.9%)
2 year (-53.6%)
Holding steady around 27-28K.
72. ALPHA FLIGHT 05/11 #.1 - 25,775 06/11 #1 of 8 - 46,851 (+81.8%) 07/11 #2 of 8 - 26,862 (-42.7%)
Ouch. So the first issue sales were an anomaly, then.
79. VENGEANCE 07/11 #1 of 6 - 25,873
Joe Casey revamps the Teen Brigade. (Honest.) This is not an obviously commercial project, so I expect people will be happy enough with this number.
83. AVENGERS ACADEMY
07/10 #2 - 38,061 (-17.1%)
08/10 #3 - 35,629 ( -6.4%)
09/10 #4 - 31,212 (-12.4%)
10/10 #5 - 31,272 ( +0.2%)
11/10 #6 - 25,977 (-16.9%)
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%)
6 mnth ( +5.7%)
1 year (-33.3%)
Second month of a FEAR ITSELF tie-in.
85. X-FACTOR
07/07 #21 - 50,227
07/08 #33 - 53,088
07/09 #46 - 31,213
=====
07/10 #207 - 32,082 (-21.7%)
08/10 #208 - 30,095 ( -6.2%)
09/10 #209 - 29,626 ( -1.6%)
10/10 #210 - 27,548 ( -7.0%)
11/10 #211 - 26,632 ( -3.3%)
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%)
6 mnth ( -1.3%)
1 year (-22.7%)
2 year (-20.6%)
3 year (-53.3%)
4 year (-50.6%)
Extremely solid sales. There’s a variant cover on this issue, but it’s hardly making much difference.
86. X-23
09/10 #1 - 48,481
10/10 #2 - 35,280 (-27.2%)
11/10 #3 - 31,224 (-11.5%)
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%)
6 mnth (-11.7%)
Drifting gently down.
87. FEAR ITSELF: DEADPOOL 06/11 #1 of 3 - 28,227 07/11 #2 of 3 - 24,543 (-13.1%)
Only a couple of thousand behind the parent title. That’s about as good as it could get.
90. DAKEN: DARK WOLVERINE
07/09 #76 - 74,017
=====
07/10 #88 - 42,522 ( -1.3%)
08/10 #89 - 41,409 ( -2.6%)
08/10 #90 - 39,815 ( -3.8%)
09/10 #1 - 48,819 (+22.6%)
10/10 #2 - 38,660 (-22.9%)
11/10 #3 - 32,679 (-15.5%)
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%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year (-45.4%)
2 year (-68.6%)
Resuming its slow downwards trend.
95. SECRET WARRIORS
07/09 #6 - 41,749
=====
07/10 ---
08/10 #18 - 27,415 ( -2.1%)
08/10 #19 - 26,902 ( -1.9%)
09/10 #20 - 25,947 ( -3.5%)
10/10 #21 - 24,748 ( -4.6%)
11/10 #22 - 24,059 ( -2.8%)
12/10 #23 - 23,078 ( -4.1%)
01/11 ---
02/11 #24 - 22,704 ( -1.6%)
02/11 #25 - 22,691 ( -0.1%)
04/11 #26 - 22,394 ( -1.3%)
05/11 #27 - 22,104 ( -1.3%)
06/11 ---
07/11 #28 - 22,688 ( +2.6%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year ( --- )
2 year (-45.7%)
Final issue, apparently because the book has completed its planned storyline.
97. BLACK PANTHER: THE MAN WITHOUT FEAR
07/06 #18 - 69,912
07/07 #29 - 55,027
07/08 #38 - 19,459
07/09 #6 - 29,727
=====
07/10 ---
08/10 #6 of 6 - 24,797 ( -4.8%)
09/10 ---
10/10 #1 of 4 - 16,973 ( -31.6%)
10/10 #2 of 4 - 12,960 ( -23.6%)
11/10 #3 of 4 - 10,356 ( -20.1%)
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%)
6 mnth ( -19.3%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( -25.4%)
3 year ( +13.9%)
4 year ( -59.7%)
5 year ( -68.3%)
This is the start of a FEAR ITSELF crossover, and sales are up by a few thousand – which is fairly significant at this level.
99. FEAR ITSELF: THE HOME FRONT 04/11 #1 of 7 - 32,601 05/11 #2 of 7 - 28,605 (-12.3%) 06/11 #3 of 7 - 25,738 (-10.0%) 07/11 #4 of 7 - 22,058 (-14.3%) 102. FEAR ITSELF: THE WORTHY 07/11 One-shot - 20,780
For the completists…
104. 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%)
6 mnth (-39.1%)
There was a variant cover in June, so this month’s drop is exaggerated. But this still doesn’t look too healthy.
105. 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%)
Third month of a FEAR ITSELF tie-in.
108. RED SKULL 07/11 #1 of 5 - 19,973
An origin miniseries, though it’s more of a companion piece to the MAGNETO: TESTAMENT series from a couple of years ago. Again, nobody is pretending that this is a particularly commercial offering, and I’m sure Marvel will be happy enough with 20K.
109. HEROES 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%)
6 mnth (-14.5%)
The start of a FEAR ITSELF tie-in arc.
111. WOLVERINE & DEADPOOL: DECOY 07/11 One-shot - 19,025
A reprint from the Marvel’s digital service.
112. FEAR ITSELF: YOUTH IN REVOLT
05/11 #1 of 6 - 24,709
06/11 #2 of 6 - 20,376 (-17.5%)
07/11 #3 of 6 - 18,735 ( -8.1%)
115. FEAR ITSELF: THE DEEP
06/11 #1 of 4 - 23,467
07/11 #2 of 4 - 18,433 (-21.5%)
116. MARVEL UNIVERSE VS WOLVERINE
06/11 #1 of 4 - 21,155
07/11 #2 of 4 - 18,209 (-13.9%)
117. GENERATION HOPE
11/10 #1 - 37,398
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%)
6 mnth (-24.7%)
Still sliding. Some sort of relaunch appears to be in the works, as part of the X-Men revamp.
121. FEAR ITSELF: FEARSOME FOUR
06/11 #1 of 4 - 22,418
07/11 #2 of 4 - 17,765 (-20.8%)
122. PUNISHERMAX [Max]
07/06 #35 - 34,116
07/07 #49 - 34,317
07/08 #59 - 30,064
07/09 #72 - 21,049
=====
07/10 #9 - 21,453 ( -2.7%)
08/10 ---
09/10 ---
10/10 ---
11/10 ---
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%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year (-17.5%)
2 year (-15.9%)
3 year (-41.1%)
4 year (-48.4%)
5 year (-48.1%)
Continuing its steady slide.
128. HERC
07/08 #119 - 52,598
07/09 #131 - 29,188
=====
07/10 Prince #3 - 15,667 ( -8.2%)
08/10 #4 of 4 - 17,137 ( +9.4%)
09/10 ---
10/10 Chaos #1 - 34,509 (+101.4%)
10/10 #2 of 5 - 29,375 ( -14.9%)
11/10 #3 of 5 - 28,630 ( -2.5%)
12/10 #4 of 5 - 26,313 ( -8.1%)
01/11 #5 of 5 - 24,694 ( -6.2%)
02/11 ---
03/11 ---
04/11 #1 - 38,774 ( +57.0%)
05/11 #2 - 17,385 ( -55.2%)
05/11 #3 - 18,755 ( +7.9%)
06/11 #4 - 18,106 ( -3.5%)
07/11 #5 - 17,113 ( -5.5%)
6 mnth ( -30.7%)
1 year ( +9.2%)
2 year ( -41.4%)
3 year ( -67.5%)
Part 3 of a “Fear Itself” tie-in arc – to be followed immediately by a Spider-Island tie-in, so Marvel are certainly trying to help the book.
129. DARK TOWER: BATTLE OF TULL
07/07 Gun'r Born #6 - 128,336
07/08 Long Road Home #5 - 74,981
07/09 Fall of Gilead #3 - 36,982
=====
07/10 Gunslinger #3 - 22,744 ( -5.3%)
08/10 #4 of 5 - 21,820 ( -4.1%)
09/10 #5 of 5 - 21,323 ( -2.3%)
10/10 ---
11/10 ---
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%)
6 mnth ( -9.2%)
1 year (-25.7%)
2 year (-54.3%)
3 year (-77.5%)
4 year (-86.8%)
Back on the familiar gentle drift downhill.
130. WOLVERINE & BLACK CAT: CLAWS 2 07/11 #1 of 3 - 16,571
This is a curious one. CLAWS ran from August to October 2006, so this sequel comes almost five years after the original (despite the plot picking up almost immediately afterwards, which makes me wonder how long it’s been in the pipeline). The first mini launched with orders of around 40K, dropping to 27K, so there’s a huge drop-off in interest here.
133. ASTONISHING THOR 11/10 #1 of 5 - 29,202 12/10 --- 01/11 #2 of 5 - 19,642 (-32.7%) 02/11 --- 03/11 #3 of 5 - 17,698 ( -9.9%) 04/11 --- 05/11 #4 of 5 - 17,008 ( -3.9%) 06/11 --- 07/11 #5 of 5 - 16,228 ( -4.6%)
With ASTONISHING CAPTAIN AMERICA having been deferred to a later date, this appears to be the end of the Astonishing minis for now. The branding hasn’t really worked, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Marvel take the opportunity for a rethink.
139. DEADPOOL MAX [Max]
10/10 #1 - 29,176
11/10 #2 - 23,382 (-19.9%)
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%)
6 mnth (-21.7%)
On a fairly consistent slide, but it’s getting a second year.
141. THOR: HEAVEN AND EARTH 07/11 #1 of 4 - 14,774
Coming after the glut of Thor product earlier in the year, it’s hardly surprising that there’s little demand for yet another miniseries.
144. IRON AGE 06/11 Alpha - 21,671 06/11 #1 of 3 - 19,135 (-11.7%) 07/11 #2 of 3 - 14,426 (-24.6%)
That’s probably a delayed second-issue drop, although it’s still on the steep side.
150. CRIMINAL: LAST OF THE INNOCENT [Icon] 06/11 #1 of 4 - 14,849 07/11 #2 of 4 - 13,453 (-9.4%)
Fairly modest drop for a second issue. CRIMINAL has a loyal core audience.
157. CAPTAIN AMERICA CORPS 06/11 #1 of 5 - 22,050 07/11 #2 of 5 - 12,305 (-44.2%)
That’s such an enormous drop that I can only assume Marvel did something to inflate the sales on the first issue.
160. SPIDER-GIRL 11/10 #1 - 23,926 12/10 #2 - 21,606 ( -9.7%) 01/11 --- 02/11 #3 - 15,302 (-29.2%) 02/11 #4 - 14,804 ( -3.3%) 03/11 #5 - 13,757 ( -7.1%) 04/11 #6 - 13,235 ( -3.8%) 05/11 #7 - 12,563 ( -5.1%) 06/11 --- 07/11 #8 - 11,996 ( -4.5%)
Cancelled, though there’s a “Spider-Island” tie-in mini to follow.
From here on down, it’s minis, all-ages books and the odd licensed title. (Bear in mind that the some of these books, particularly the non-MU titles, are quite likely to be doing better outside the direct market.)
164. SUPREME POWER 06/11 #1 of 4 - 15,251 07/11 #2 of 4 - 11,450 (-24.9%) 170. MYSTERY MEN 06/11 #1 of 5 - 16,657 06/11 #2 of 5 - 12,993 (-22.0%) 07/11 #3 of 5 - 10,433 (-19.7%) 173. SKAAR: KING OF THE SAVAGE LAND 04/11 #1 of 5 - 18,002 04/11 #2 of 5 - 14,915 (-17.1%) 05/11 #3 of 5 - 12,661 (-15.1%) 06/11 #4 of 5 - 11,090 (-12.4%) 07/11 #5 of 5 - 10,128 ( -8.7%) 174. ALL WINNERS SQUAD: BAND OF HEROES 06/11 #1 of 8 - 11,836 07/11 #2 of 8 - 10,121 (-14.5%) 193. CAP AND THOR! AVENGERS 07/11 One-shot - 8,926
This is a movie tie-in, presumably not aimed at the direct market.
188. MARVEL ZOMBIES CHRISTMAS CAROL 06/11 #1 of 5 - 13,231 06/11 #2 of 5 - 12,164 ( -8.1%) 07/11 #3 of 5 - 9,379 (-22.9%)
Delayed second-issue drop. Still, with sales like this, the joke must surely have run its course.
199. OZMA OF OZ
07/09 #8 of 8 - 15,487
=====
07/10 #8 of 8 - 12,152 ( -0.4%)
08/10 ---
09/10 ---
10/10 ---
11/10 #1 of 8 - 13,222 ( +8.8%)
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%)
6 mnth (-12.5%)
1 year (-32.4%)
2 year (-46.9%)
202. FROM THE MARVEL VAULT
02/11 Dr Strange - 11,248
03/11 ---
04/11 Thunderbolts - 9,001
05/11 ---
06/11 Hulk/Torch - 7,616
07/11 Defenders - 8,154
204. KA-ZAR
06/11 #1 of 5 - 12,805
07/11 #2 of 5 - 7,873 (-38.5%)
205. HALO: FALL OF REACH - COVENANT
07/09 Helljumper #1 - 15,809
=====
07/10 ---
08/10 ---
09/10 Boot Camp #1 - 10,715 (+26.0%)
10/10 #2 of 4 - 9,056 (-15.5%)
11/10 ---
12/10 #3 of 4 - 8,567 ( -5.4%)
01/11 ---
02/11 #4 of 4 - 8,437 ( -1.5%)
03/11 ---
04/11 Cov't #1 of 4 - 8,313 ( -1.5%)
05/11 ---
06/11 ---
07/11 #2 of 4 - 7,825 ( -5.9%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year ( --- )
2 year (-50.5%)
266. SPIDER-MAN [Marvel Adventures]
07/06 #17 - 6,133
07/07 #29 - 7,071
07/08 #41 - 5,859
07/09 #53 - 5,710
=====
07/10 #4 - 6,347 ( -11.8%)
08/10 #5 - 6,202 ( -2.3%)
09/10 #6 - 5,779 ( -6.8%)
10/10 ---
11/10 #7 - 5,603 ( -3.0%)
11/10 #8 - 5,269 ( -6.0%)
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%)
6 mnth ( -2.2%)
1 year ( -25.8%)
2 year ( -17.5%)
3 year ( -19.6%)
4 year ( -33.4%)
5 year ( -23.2%)
271. SPOTLIGHT
11/10 Curse of the Mutants - 5,962
12/10 ---
01/11 ---
02/11 ---
03/11 ---
04/11 Fear Itself - 7,275
05/11 Captain America - 4,518
05/11 X-Men - 4,395
06/11 ---
07/11 Spider-Island - 4,404
277. CARS 2 [Pixar]
06/11 #1 of 2 - 4,798
07/11 #2 of 2 - 4,108 (-14.4%)
And the following books didn’t make the top 300 in July: 15 LOVE #2, SPIDER-MAN: WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY #4, FORMIC WARS: BURNING EARTH #7, SUPER HEROES #16, EMMA #5, OFFICIAL INDEX TO THE MARVEL UNIVERSE #15, and the one-shot MEET THE MUPPETS.
6 month comparisons =================== +160.5% - Amazing Spider-Man +130.1% - Captain America + 89.1% - Daredevil + 32.9% - Ultimate Fallout/Spider-Man + 27.8% - Ultimate Avengers + 9.9% - New Mutants + 7.8% - X-Force + 5.7% - Avengers Academy + 4.9% - Thunderbolts + 3.9% - Thor + 3.3% - Uncanny X-Men + 2.9% - X-Men Legacy - 1.3% - X-Factor - 2.2% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures] - 3.5% - Avengers - 4.7% - New Avengers - 6.3% - Deadpool - 8.0% - Secret Avengers - 9.2% - Dark Tower - 10.3% - Wolverine - 11.7% - X-23 - 12.1% - Incredible Hulks - 12.5% - Oz - 14.5% - Heroes for Hire - 19.3% - Black Panther - 21.7% - Deadpool Max - 24.2% - Iron Man - 24.7% - Generation Hope - 30.7% - Herc - 33.4% - X-Men - 39.1% - Wolverine: The Best There Is - 51.5% - Heroes for Hire - 62.5% - FF 1 year comparisons ================== +142.0% - Amazing Spider-Man + 76.5% - Moon Knight + 54.7% - Daredevil + 52.2% - FF/Fantastic Four + 42.5% - Wolverine + 17.5% - Ultimate Fallout/Spider-Man + 9.2% - Herc - 8.8% - Ultimate Avengers - 10.2% - X-Force - 11.7% - Thunderbolts - 15.7% - Iron Man - 16.3% - Uncanny X-Men - 16.5% - Thor - 17.5% - PunisherMax - 22.4% - X-Men Legacy - 22.7% - X-Factor - 25.7% - Dark Tower - 25.8% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures] - 25.9% - Deadpool - 26.2% - New Mutants - 28.4% - Avengers - 30.1% - New Avengers - 32.4% - Oz - 33.3% - Avengers Academy - 35.4% - Secret Avengers - 45.4% - Daken - 69.9% - X-Men 2 year comparisons ================== + 87.2% - Amazing Spider-Man + 17.9% - FF/Fantastic Four + 7.5% - Ultimate Fallout/Spider-Man - 9.3% - X-Force - 15.9% - PunisherMax - 17.5% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures] - 18.8% - Iron Man - 20.6% - X-Factor - 25.4% - Black Panther - 30.2% - X-Men Legacy - 31.2% - New Avengers - 32.0% - Thunderbolts - 33.0% - Uncanny X-Men - 39.2% - New Mutants - 41.4% - Herc - 45.7% - Secret Warriors - 46.9% - Oz - 49.8% - Captain America - 50.5% - Halo - 53.6% - Deadpool - 54.3% - Dark Tower - 68.6% - Daken - 70.5% - Incredible Hulks 3 year comparisons ================== + 96.7% - Amazing Spider-Man + 65.2% - Daredevil + 22.2% - Captain America + 17.4% - Moon Knight + 13.9% - Black Panther - 19.5% - Ultimate Fallout/Spider-Man - 19.6% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures] - 23.9% - X-Force - 34.9% - Iron Man - 40.8% - X-Men Legacy - 41.0% - Thunderbolts - 41.1% - PunisherMax - 46.4% - New Avengers - 46.8% - Thor - 52.7% - Wolverine - 53.3% - X-Factor - 63.2% - Uncanny X-Men - 67.5% - Herc - 67.9% - Astonishing X-Men - 77.5% - Dark Tower 4 year comparisons ================== + 28.2% - Amazing Spider-Man + 8.0% - Captain America - 33.4% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures] - 35.6% - Uncanny X-Men - 41.1% - Ultimate Fallout/Spider-Man - 43.6% - Iron Man - 48.4% - PunisherMax - 50.6% - X-Factor - 52.1% - X-Men Legacy - 52.6% - New Avengers - 59.7% - Black Panther - 67.8% - Wolverine - 73.0% - Thor - 74.1% - Incredible Hulks - 86.8% - Dark Tower 5 year comparisons ================== +104.7% - Captain America + 19.4% - Amazing Spider-Man + 7.7% - Iron Man - 18.3% - Daredevil - 23.2% - Spider-Man [Marvel Adventures] - 37.1% - Uncanny X-Men - 41.9% - Ultimate Fallout/Spider-Man - 44.7% - Incredible Hulks - 48.1% - PunisherMax - 48.6% - Thunderbolts - 53.2% - New Avengers - 53.7% - X-Men Legacy - 60.0% - Wolverine - 68.3% - Black Panther
“But a book that’s supposed to be reshaping the X-Men titles really ought to be selling at least the same numbers as UNCANNY. This is a bit disappointing.”
Well, from the previews, I don’t get the sense there’s a lot of reshaping going on. The same stories that have been going on for the last seven years are to continue, with largely the same hive of people in charge and no particular flagship title or shift of creative emphasis in sight.
This seems like one of the more arbitrary and pointless renumbering stunts in recent memory. If they wanted to get people’s attention, they should have handed a flagship book to someone with a distinctive voice who hasn’t been absorbed into the Marvel hivemind.
Re: Captain America Corps
For every copy ordered of #1, retailers were given 1 free copy. Same with Herc #1, Mystic #1, and Sigil #1.
Spider-Island is a great idea, easy to hand-sell. (One of Spidey’s villains bio-engineers bed bugs so that bitten people acquire Spidey’s powers.)
I know Jim Hanley’s Universe had it front-and-center, which makes it interesting to general comics buyers. (A variant cover with a comics shop?) Then you add the elevator pitch, and I think #2 might come close to 90K.
Too bad the general media isn’t promoting this in Manhattan… bed bugs are still part of the zeitgeist. It could be another “Obama”…
Digging Spider-Island, but I was an existing Amazing Spidey reader. I’m surprised that this is selling better than Fear Itself (though it’s better written than Fear, so I’m glad it’s doing well).
Sadly Captain America Corps is more of what I want from Marvel.
The “Marvel Zombie Christmas Carol” turned out to not have any of the titular Marvel Zombies in it. It’s a straight-up retelling of the Dickens book… with zombies! instead.
Many retailers didn’t see that it wasn’t a real “Marvel Zombies” title until #1 shipped, which was also after the FOC for #2. Expect more super-stiff drops. As the FOCs for later issues came, I just zeroed them out. None of my customers were interested.
When an event is so common as to have one per season, is it truly an “event”?
Alex getting philosophical up in here. I love it.
Yes it’s an event. By that same logic, would the Super Bowl or World Series not be an event? One per season is the definition of comics event.
People keep saying Marvel and DC should just tell great stories and promote those instead of having line-wide events that disrupt the events of other groups. Well, you got your wish — that’s exactly what Spider-Island is, and it’s selling great.
Thomas, are you serious?! With a prelude, an epilogue, a six-part storyline, 3 three issue mini-series, five one-shot specials, and three books the storyline crosses over into (Black Panther, Herc, and Venom) I’d say Spider Island is most certainly another event. Same thing happened with Daredevil: Shadowland. “Oh this isn’t an event, just a really bloated storyline! Come and get it!” ;)
Yup, while I liked the idea of “Spider Island” another “event” book that was going to spread so many tentacles out was what got me to drop ASM again after returning when the rotating writer stuff stopped.
I’ll wait for the (supposedly) unconnected “Avenging Spider-Man” book and see how that goes. I’m also dabbling in the new Moon Knight and Journey Into Mystery books, but not much else where Marvel is concerned.
It’s an eight part story in the main book, with some ancillary miniseries and oneshots which can be ignored. It’s not a 90’s style crossover in which you had to buy multiple different ongoing books to follow the story, and it’s not a House of M forward crossover in which the only events that matter happen in a miniseries and the main books are sidelined. It’s an Amazing Spider-Man story promoted like a crossover. What will make you happy?
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marvel-Vs-Dc/179502835453852
this is a page where you can post marvl vs dc battles
come check it out! =D
The artwork in CAPTAIN AMERICA CORPS is very good.
It has a John Bryne-Neal Adams-Sal Buscema-Dick Giordano vibe to it.
The colors are not murky.
However, the cover to issue #2 is probably dumbest looking cover in years, and probably contributed to the lower sales.
@Thomas – “What will make you happy?” For me, a good story that doesn’t (seem to) require me to buy other books to get the “whole” story. I’m not faulting them for it, it just gave me the excuse I needed to drop ASM again. I’m not bitter about it, I just didn’t want to get wrapped up in another big storyline across multiple books when I think it would better play out in ASM proper. No biggie.
For the record, I’ve bought every Flashpoint mini but that’s just because I’m a total DC “sucker” (fan) ;-)
Every month when I read this column, Marvel’s arbitrary numbering and endless relaunching just drives me nuts. By this point, they’ve cancelled and relaunched all their books so many times it’s comical. Just get to the endgame already: original numbering one month, followed by a new number one, followed by a return to the original numbering, followed by a new number one… you get the idea.
Marvel’s Astonishing imprint was so unsuccessful, Dan Didio must have had something to do with it.
Can someone get Paul to read the comment sections? A lot of books like Alpha Flight and Captain America Corps are double-shipped, for free, to retailers, hence the huge boost and drops we’re seeing. This has been brought up every column by someone, but it doesn’t seem like he knows it.
I really can’t fault anyone for being tired of zombies by this point, but Zombie Christmas Carol is actually quite good. The art is fantastic, and McCann is doing a great job with the story.
Those are some low Alpha Flight numbers – I just hope that Marvel don’t remove Eaglesham from the titles by issue 4 or 5 Because I’m buying it for his art – and Jimenez’s covers…. who now won’t be producing every cover :(
Great to see a slight increase for Thunderbolts. Great book. Parker is amazing!
I was able to get a copy of Spiderman #666 for free!! And while I haven’t finished reading it yet – its a fun read so far – Although the random RED ink is annoying as hell! haha…
*Also, when are the indie charts coming out? :)
Zombie Christmas Carol will probably do far better collected since:
1. That book will actually come out during the holiday period and not summertime.
2. Its aimed at the fans who have been reading the monster/classic lit mash up books and they’re in the bookstore market.
As for the Captain America Corps, I’m hoping it’ll still get collected cause the only reason I’d get it is because American Dream’s one of the cast members and I’ll always get books with the MC-2 characters.
The assorted Month-to-Month Sales comment sections have gotten so interesting lately that I read them FIRST before reading the article! LOL
How bad is it when some of the lower selling titles I never even knew EXISTED, much less knew were doing poorly…
The various ways of doing big stories in Marvel comics:
In the mid-‘70s, series had quarterly GIANT-SIZE issues, which a writer could use as extra space for ongoing storylines or for separate stories. In the later ‘70s, there were annuals. The ‘70s also had the B&W magazines, which ran adult stories long before there was a MAX line. In one issue of DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU, as I recall, Misty Knight and Colleen Wing were running down a street, topless.
The ‘80s had the annuals. Storylines might run through a group of annuals, but there wasn’t an editorially mandated strategy.
The ‘90s was when things began to get complicated, and events became productions. “The Crossing,” for example, took over AVENGERS, AVENGERS WEST COAST, FORCE WORKS, IRON MAN, and WAR MACHINE, and had one-shot issues besides.. Later, there was HEROES REBORN, HEROES REBORN: THE RETURN, etc.
The fans’ disgust at the idea of Tony Stark being turned into a teenager, “Teen Tony,” compares well to the reactions at the idea of a youthful Superman now.
From a writing standpoint, the ‘70s might have been the best period to work in, with the GIANT-SIZE issues or annuals available as needed and the B&W line available for adult stories — that is, assuming the magazine wasn’t canceled before a story was published. Sales weren’t wonderful.
SRS
I must say that I am very shocked at the success of Amazing Spider-Man #666. Other than the Obama issue when was the last regular ongoing Marvel book did these kind of numbers?
As shocked as I am by how well the above issue did I am nearly as shocked at how poorly Schism is doing. I’m tempted to lay the blame at the feet of Prelude to Schism but I believe that the pre-orders for Schism would have been in before the conclusion of Prelude. I realise that the x-books are not the strong seller that they once were but the books did fairly well with the Messiah Complex and Second Coming crossovers, I wonder why Schism is doing so much worse?
On Vengeance, this may be an error but issue #5 solicited for November is listed at $2.99 while the first four issues were all $3.99. I thought it was odd that a book like Vengeance with limited commercial appeal would be priced at $3.99 but it is even odder to see the price go down in the middle of the run. I can not ever recall a mini series going down in price during its run.
Heat without flames? Schism might mean something to people who are really into the characters, like soap opera fans are, but it’s mostly a change in attitudes.
A much bigger change would be to separate the mutants by having some evolve further while others stay the same, or to make them unable to tolerate each other’s presence. Really change the status quo. As long as the good mutants oppose evil mutants, the good mutants’ differences amount to bickering.
SRS
Based on these numbers, and early pre-order numbers for the first month of the new “52”, DC should absolutely dominate the top 20, certainly the top 10, for September and possibly October/November as well. It’ll be interesting to see how long Marvel will be content to have DC win market/dollar share while they wait for the numbers to settle.
@Drew Hart – Seriously man, you don’t need to read anything other than ASM if you don’t want to, the other books are just tie-ins, not essential to the story. You’d be spiteing yourself by dropping it, it really is the best it’s been in years.
Dear Jesus: Please cancel all the X-Books except for X-Force, Uncanny and X-Factor.
@Chris Rice – Thanks for the info! I’m sure curiosity will get the better of me at some point and good word of mouth about storylines is always a help in getting me to pick something up, or give something else a 2nd (or 3rd) look.
@Chris Rice: While most of the Spider-Island tie-ins seem to be just other stories taking place against the same background (as is usual with Marvel’s crossovers these days), the VENOM issues are arguably important to the plot.
Sigh, the Venom issues are one of the few tie ins I passed on.
Too bad the general media isn’t promoting this in Manhattan… bed bugs are still part of the zeitgeist. It could be another “Obama”…
I woulda bought a copy if it had a Phil Jiminez drawing of a bed bug giving Spider-Man a thumbs-up.
Blair, Amazing #666 did well because of the whole comics shop connection. Whatever the deal was (honestly I don’t know) the comic shop could have a photo of the shop/shoppers, kids, etc. put on the cover of ASM #666. AND they got an ad on the back cover promoting the store. That’s why the numbers are huge, not due to the storyline (necessarily.)
Unfortunately, gimmicks still sell like hotcakes. Marvel (and their fans) prove this point over and point, whether or not we wish it were true…
According to a couple of sources about 100-150 stores participated in the Spider-Man cover promo. Apparently you had to order 500 of the store variant and 150% of the stores normal amount. So even the low number of inflated sales is 50k and the potential is somewhere near 75k. Maybe Diamond accounted for these somehow.
—
For every copy ordered of #1, retailers were given 1 free copy. Same with Herc #1, Mystic #1, and Sigil #1.
—
Well, that explains why I got a free Herc and Mystic handed to me. The latest Walking Dead Weekly must have done the same, because I got a free one of those, too. Also, a free Captain America and Bucky. It’s a good strategy, but I won’t continue with any of the books.
@ Nathan Aaaron and brandon
Ah, thank you for the information. I remember Amazing Spider-Man received a fairly heavy boost with the first Anti-Venom story but nothing like what happened with issue #666. I mistakenly thought that the massive increase was due mostly to interest in the story but I could not fathom that big of an increase.
Sounds like there are going to be an extraordinary number of that issue in quarter bins, probably for the next few years.
>the other books are just tie-ins, not essential to the story.
Branding books like “Master of Kung Fu” or “Cloak and Dagger” with the “Spider-Island” logo/title makes me sad; it’s unfortunate these characters cannot carry a mini-series on their own. On the other hand, if this tactic allows Marvel to get some B-List characters back into print, that’s a good thing.
LL
I was actually planning on getting the Cloack & Dagger mini, until I realized it was a ‘Spider Island’ tie-in. That’s the very reason I DIDN’T get it.
And it doesn’t surprise me that the Fear Itself label isn’t helping Secret Avengers. Trading in Brubaker & Deodato’s compactly versitile stories and art for the the overly preachy one-and-done stories Nick Spencer has been doing (with equally mundane art) has set the book’s quality back a few notches. Not really familiar with Spencer’s other stuff, but his Secret Avengers issues (including the .1 issue) have been pretty run-of-the-mill mediocrity. An entire issue devoted to Black Widow arguing with a reporter about why we should feel sorry for super heroes? Really?
>An entire issue devoted to Black Widow arguing with a reporter about why we should feel sorry for super heroes? Really?
I’m glad DC is ramping up the action in their relaunch. “Talking head” super-hero comics are dull.
LL
“Branding books like “Master of Kung Fu” or “Cloak and Dagger” with the “Spider-Island” logo/title makes me sad”
Had the same reaction. I’d buy a Shang-Chi book or a Cloak & Dagger book, but didn’t even consider getting them as event tie-ins. I’ve fallen for that trick enough times already.
My cranky, typically event-phobic comics review columnist absolutely loved Cloak & Dagger.
http://www.playbackstl.com/rude-chapbooks/10891-rude-chapbooks-081511–cloak-and-dagger-ayes-only
“Damn…this debut does indeed rock. Predictably, [Nick] Spencer contributes a smart script smoothly incorporating not only ‘event’ nonsense, but also adroit dual monologues, in dialogue and voice-over alike, and much sly humor. [Emma] Ríos, for her part, continues to establish herself as one of the mainstream’s top new talents; when, in an afterword, senior editor Stephen Wacker likens ‘her lush, beautiful work’ to that of the late, great Gene Colan, he’s not flacking. Recommended!”
Fear itself and Flashpoint were both very disapointing. They are probably the lamest of events in the past decade. Looking forward to DC 52, hopefully a breath of fresh air in a saturate industry.
What’s depressing is that the more unsophisticated completionist comic swallowers will only buy new, off-the-beaten-path stuff if its plastered with Big Event tie-in banners. Some of that stuff is good, but enough of it is crap that it keeps away…
…actual comic connoisseur’s, who (when buying mainstream comics at all) prefer quality creators and stories. This is why really decent books like X-Men Legacy or Avengers Academy keep getting dragged into crossovers. The fact that they’re really well written has zero impact on whether the less discerning fanboys purchase them.
Marvel will always make more money churning out an umpteenth Wolverine or Deadpool mini or on-going than they will trying to convince people to buy more of Peter David’s X-Factor.
‘ “Branding books like “Master of Kung Fu” or “Cloak and Dagger” with the “Spider-Island” logo/title makes me sad”
Had the same reaction. I’d buy a Shang-Chi book or a Cloak & Dagger book, but didn’t even consider getting them as event tie-ins. I’ve fallen for that trick enough times already. ‘
Agreed. I felt the same way when they launched Namor with a Curse of Vampires storyline.