by Paul O’Brien
The AVENGERS VS X-MEN crossover continued to dominate Marvel’s schedule in June, but the month also saw another high profile release – the SPIDER-MEN miniseries, in which the original Spider-Man meets the new Ultimate Universe version of the character. The Icon imprint also launches a HIT-GIRL miniseries. And other than that, it’s a pretty quiet month for new releases, as often tends to be the case in the height of major crossovers.
Despite the sales boost from the summer crossover, it was a very close month in terms of market share in the North American direct market, with DC leading Marvel in unit terms by 38.2% to 37.8%, but Marvel leading in retail share by 33.8% to 33.0%. Effectively a tie, then. DC’s performance can be attributed in large part to all four BEFORE WATCHMEN titles landing in the top 10 with estimated sales of over 100K each.
Thanks as always to ICV2.com for allowing us to use these figures.
1,2. AVENGERS VS X-MEN 03/12 #0 of 12 - 161,320 04/12 #1 of 12 - 253,938 (+57.4%) 04/12 #2 of 12 - 188,738 (-25.7%) 05/12 #3 of 12 - 179,521 ( -4.9%) 05/12 #4 of 12 - 182,255 ( +1.5%) 06/12 #5 of 12 - 190,705 ( +4.6%) 06/12 #6 of 12 - 186,555 ( -2.2%)
AVENGERS VS X-MEN continues to pile on the reorders. Deep breathÉ issue #0 adds 5,050, issue #1 adds 7,314, issue #2 adds 6,765, issue #3 adds 3,826, and issue #4 adds 3,925. All of those are added into the numbers above. Even allowing for those re-orders, June’s issue #5 still sees sales climb even further, giving the book its second-highest sales so far – presumably because the issue was billed as the end of act 1, with the Phoenix finally arriving. The series is a big hit.
9,20. SPIDER-MEN 06/12 #1 of 5 - 94,548 06/12 #2 of 5 - 68,283 (-27.8%)
Two issues in the first month, and a relatively hefty drop between them. That’s probably attributable to the first issue having one of those variant covers which is customised for each comic shop, a gimmick that still seems to get a response from retailers.
10. AVX: VS 04/12 #1 of 6 - 111,913 05/12 #2 of 6 - 98,819 (-11.7%) 06/12 #3 of 6 - 94,528 ( -4.3%)
Elbowed down the chart by the BEFORE WATCHMEN titles, the AVX secondary title nonetheless continues to sell in big quantities, outperforming all of Marvel’s regular books once again. When the crossover’s B-title (which openly promotes the fact that it contains nothing of importance to the plot whatsoever) is doing this well, something is clearly working.
12. ASTONISHING X-MEN
06/07 ---
06/08 ---
06/09 #30 - 64,408
06/10 #34 - 57,363
=====
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%)
02/12 #47 - 30,490 ( -2.1%)
03/12 #48 - 34,182 ( +12.1%)
04/12 #49 - 31,291 ( -8.5%)
05/12 #50 - 61,866 ( +97.7%)
06/12 #51 - 82,654 ( +33.6%)
6 mnth (+163.3%)
1 year (+122.6%)
2 year ( +44.1%)
3 year ( +28.3%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year ( --- )
This is the gay wedding issue, following on from last month’s proposal, and sales are through the roof. Issue #50 picks up reorders of 3,935, which are added in above. Obviously, I wouldn’t put money on these sales being sustained in future – Northstar can’t get married every month – but it certainly shows Marvel were right to calculate that the cultural tipping point has arrived where the upside from doing a gay marriage story far outweighs any backlash that it might generate.
17,21. UNCANNY X-MEN
06/07 #487 - 81,471
06/08 #499 - 81,100
06/09 #511 - 71,148
06/10 #525 - 76,068
=====
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%)
02/12 #6 - 59,834 ( -5.7%)
02/12 #7 - 59,200 ( -1.1%)
03/12 #8 - 57,568 ( -2.8%)
03/12 #9 - 56,976 ( -1.0%)
04/12 #10 - 56,906 ( -0.1%)
04/12 #11 - 75,109 (+32.0%)
05/12 #12 - 69,265 ( -7.8%)
06/12 #13 - 70,521 ( +1.8%)
06/12 #14 - 67,793 ( -3.9%)
6 mnth ( +5.7%)
1 year (+27.1%)
2 year (-10.9%)
3 year ( -4.7%)
4 year (-16.4%)
5 year (-16.8%)
Back with the regular high-sellers, UNCANNY continues to see gains from the AVX crossover, even though its actual role in the storyline is relatively peripheral. The series ends with issue #20, being replaced by ALL-NEW X-MEN as part of the Marvel Now relaunch.
18. AVENGERS
06/10 #2 - 98,788
=====
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%)
02/12 #22 - 52,683 ( -3.9%)
02/12 #23 - 52,222 ( -0.9%)
03/12 #24 - 52,242 ( +0.0%)
03/12 #.1 - 52,164 ( -0.1%)
04/12 #25 - 65,664 (+25.9%)
05/12 #26 - 67,744 ( +3.2%)
06/12 #27 - 68,885 ( +1.7%)
6 mnth (+20.5%)
1 year ( +7.5%)
2 year (-30.3%)
The second month of AVX tie-in stories sees sales continue to grow, another sign of real momentum in the event.
23. NEW AVENGERS
06/07 #31 - 160,911
06/08 #42 - 108,495
06/09 #54 - 93,878
06/10 #1 - 129,084
=====
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%)
02/12 #21 - 54,105 ( +2.3%)
02/12 #22 - 51,235 ( -5.3%)
03/12 #23 - 51,697 ( +0.9%)
04/12 #24 - 64,533 (+24.8%)
04/12 #25 - 61,950 ( -4.0%)
05/12 #26 - 64,326 ( +3.8%)
06/12 #27 - 64,927 ( +0.9%)
6 mnth (+22.7%)
1 year (+12.6%)
2 year (-49.7%)
3 year (-30.8%)
4 year (-40.2%)
5 year (-59.7%)
A similar deal here, as NEW AVENGERS’ sales have returned to, and slightly exceeded, the level set by the first tie-in issue in April.
24. 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%)
02/12 #5 - 55,788 ( -6.3%)
02/12 #6 - 55,341 ( -0.8%)
03/12 #7 - 54,559 ( -1.4%)
04/12 #8 - 53,757 ( -1.5%)
04/12 #9 - 64,984 (+20.9%)
05/12 #10 - 63,650 ( -2.1%)
05/12 #11 - 64,936 ( +2.0%)
06/12 #12 - 64,838 ( -0.2%)
6 mnth (+11.0%)
Pretty much solid at the 64-65K range ever since the crossover began.
25,27. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
06/07 #541 - 108,284
06/08 #563 - 70,792
06/09 #596 - 63,525
06/10 #635 - 56,146
=====
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%)
02/12 #679 - 52,564 ( -3.1%)
02/12 #.1 - 50,624 ( -3.7%)
02/12 #680 - 51,872 ( +2.5%)
03/12 #681 - 52,143 ( +0.5%)
03/12 #682 - 57,143 ( +9.6%)
04/12 #683 - 59,153 ( +3.5%)
04/12 #684 - 57,454 ( -2.9%)
05/12 #685 - 58,121 ( +1.2%)
05/12 #686 - 58,337 ( +0.4%)
06/12 #687 - 62,680 ( +7.4%)
06/12 #688 - 60,409 ( -3.6%)
6 mnth ( +11.9%)
1 year ( +5.9%)
2 year ( +7.6%)
3 year ( -4.9%)
4 year ( -14.7%)
5 year ( -44.2%)
Issue #687 is the final part of “Ends of the Earth” and comes with 2 variants. Issue #688, which actually outsells most of that storyline, presumably benefits from starting a Lizard story intended to tie in with the film.
26. HIT-GIRL [Icon] 06/12 #1 of 5 - 60,409
Once again, Mark Millar gets sales on his creator-owned books that most creators would kill for. The previous series, KICK-ASS 2, debuted in October 2010 with sales of 65,279, so while there’s some erosion here, it’s really quite limited.
32. SECRET AVENGERS
06/10 #2 - 77,933
=====
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%)
02/12 #22 - 39,337 (+11.4%)
02/12 #23 - 37,140 ( -5.6%)
03/12 #24 - 38,359 ( +3.3%)
04/12 #25 - 38,466 ( +0.3%)
04/12 #26 - 54,854 (+42.6%)
05/12 #27 - 49,851 ( -9.1%)
06/12 #28 - 51,572 ( +3.5%)
6 mnth (+35.0%)
1 year ( +3.4%)
2 year (-33.8%)
Another AVX tie-in. Once again, it’s way ahead of regular sales and actually increasing month to month.
34,39. X-MEN LEGACY
06/07 #200 - 136,672
06/08 #213 - 71,893
06/09 #225 - 58,374
06/10 #237 - 65,578
=====
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%)
02/12 #262 - 36,461 ( -3.0%)
03/12 #263 - 35,999 ( -1.3%)
03/12 #264 - 35,953 ( -0.1%)
04/12 #265 - 35,712 ( -0.7%)
05/12 #266 - 43,199 (+21.0%)
05/12 #267 - 46,279 ( +7.1%)
06/12 #268 - 49,163 ( +6.2%)
06/12 #269 - 46,923 ( -4.6%)
6 mnth (+23.7%)
1 year ( +4.1%)
2 year (-28.4%)
3 year (-19.6%)
4 year (-34.7%)
5 year (-65.7%)
And another AvX tie-in, with the expected sales bump. This series ends with issue #275 as part of the Marvel Now promotion, apparently with no specific title replacing it.
35. UNCANNY X-FORCE
06/08 ---
06/09 #16 - 58,818
06/10 ---
=====
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%)
02/12 #21 - 50,654 ( -0.8%)
02/12 #22 - 49,665 ( -2.0%)
03/12 #23 - 48,867 ( -1.6%)
04/12 #24 - 50,667 ( +3.7%)
05/12 #25 - 50,851 ( +0.4%)
06/12 #26 - 47,522 ( -6.0%)
6 mnth (-14.1%)
1 year (-10.7%)
2 year ( --- )
3 year (-19.2%)
4 year ( --- )
The previous two issues had variant covers, so the overall picture is that sales on this title remain incredibly steady.
43. DAREDEVIL
06/07 #98 - 46,816
06/08 #108 - 39,557
06/09 #119 - 41,403
06/10 #507 - 34,744
=====
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%)
02/12 #9 - 37,891 ( -12.9%)
03/12 #10 - 38,137 ( +0.6%)
04/12 #.1 - 38,463 ( +0.9%)
04/12 #11 - 46,111 ( +19.9%)
05/12 #12 - 39,231 ( -14.9%)
05/12 #13 - 39,056 ( -0.4%)
06/12 #14 - 43,865 ( +12.3%)
6 mnth ( +13.0%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( +26.3%)
3 year ( +5.9%)
4 year ( +10.9%)
5 year ( -6.3%)
Two variant covers on this issue, which will have boosted the sales, but the overall picture remains very healthy – the current incarnation of DAREDEVIL has bucked the trend of eroding sales by settling almost immediately to the high 30K range and staying there.
45. AVENGERS ASSEMBLE 03/12 #1 - 100,883 04/12 #2 - 53,024 (-47.4%) 05/12 #3 - 43,886 (-17.2%) 06/12 #4 - 43,022 ( -2.0%)
After the scary second-month drop, this book now seems to be levelling out quickly.
46. ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN
06/07 #110 - 73,646
06/08 #123 - 57,187
06/09 #133 - 57,364
06/10 #11 - 39,149
=====
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%)
02/12 #7 - 45,266 ( -9.2%)
03/12 #8 - 46,290 ( +2.3%)
04/12 #9 - 43,724 ( -5.5%)
05/12 #10 - 42,356 ( -3.1%)
06/12 #11 - 42,549 ( +0.5%)
6 mnth ( -11.9%)
1 year ( -17.8%)
2 year ( +8.7%)
3 year ( -25.8%)
4 year ( -25.6%)
5 year ( -42.2%)
No apparent reason for that tiny uptick in sales, but it might be spillover from the SPIDER-MEN launch.
49,54. INCREDIBLE HULK
06/07 #107 - 106,931
06/08 #4 - 90,600
06/09 ---
06/10 #610 - 46,461
=====
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%)
02/12 #5 - 42,760 ( -6.8%)
03/12 #6 - 40,522 ( -5.2%)
04/12 #7 - 42,135 ( +4.0%)
05/12 #7.1 - 38,472 ( -8.7%)
05/12 #8 - 42,076 ( +9.4%)
06/12 #9 - 40,467 ( -3.8%)
06/12 #10 - 38,122 ( -5.8%)
6 mnth ( -17.9%)
1 year ( +36.0%)
2 year ( -17.9%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year ( -57.9%)
5 year ( -64.3%)
The current run ends with issue #15, presumably to be relaunched as part of the Marvel Now promotion.
50. FANTASTIC FOUR
06/07 #547 - 69,610
06/08 #558 - 61,003
06/09 #567 - 46,225
06/10 #580 - 36,582
=====
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%)
02/12 #603 - 42,419 ( -6.0%)
03/12 #604 - 42,126 ( -0.7%)
04/12 #605 - 42,372 ( +0.6%)
05/12 #.1 - 39,475 ( -6.8%)
05/12 #606 - 39,914 ( +1.1%)
06/12 #607 - 40,453 ( +1.4%)
6 mnth (-20.8%)
1 year (-31.3%)
2 year (+10.6%)
3 year (-12.5%)
4 year (-33.7%)
5 year (-41.9%)
Set for a Marvel Now relaunch after issue #611. (Marvel are billing these as “final issues”, which displays an inventively flexible approach to the concept of finality.)
51. AVENGING SPIDER-MAN
11/11 #1 - 112,153
12/11 #2 - 60,682 (-45.9%)
01/12 #3 - 52,371 (-13.7%)
02/12 #4 - 45,622 (-12.9%)
03/12 #5 - 40,877 (-10.4%)
04/12 #6 - 47,430 (+16.0%)
05/12 #7 - 38,012 (-19.9%)
06/12 #8 - 39,861 ( +4.9%)
6 mnth (-34.3%)
This is an epilogue to the “Ends of the Earth” storyline running in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (or at least, the framing sequence is – the bulk of the issue is a flashback). That probably explains the sales jump.
52,63. DARK AVENGERS
06/07 #115 - 64,876
06/08 #121 - 37,693
06/09 #133 - 39,479
06/10 #145 - 31,999
=====
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%)
02/12 #170 - 19,505 ( -4.0%)
03/12 #171 - 19,073 ( -2.2%)
04/12 #172 - 19,203 ( +0.7%)
04/12 #173 - 19,017 ( -1.0%)
05/12 #174 - 18,792 ( -1.2%)
06/12 #175 - 39,532 (+110.4%)
06/12 #176 - 34,614 ( -12.4%)
6 mnth ( +63.5%)
1 year ( +21.8%)
2 year ( +8.2%)
3 year ( -12.3%)
4 year ( -8.2%)
5 year ( -46.6%)
This is the series formerly known as THUNDERBOLTS. The change of name reflects the addition to the cast of the characters who made up the Dark Avengers in the recent NEW AVENGERS arc, although in storyline terms, it’s very much a continuation of the existing title. As expected, sales are significantly up, though the big question will be where they settle over the next few months.
53. CAPTAIN AMERICA
06/07 #27 - 99,108
06/08 #39 - 79,387
06/09 #600 - 112,287
06/10 #607 - 52,989
=====
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%)
02/12 #8 - 43,487 ( -7.4%)
03/12 #9 - 41,631 ( -4.3%)
04/12 #10 - 41,474 ( -0.4%)
05/12 #11 - 39,012 ( -5.9%)
05/12 #12 - 38,800 ( -0.5%)
06/12 #13 - 39,456 ( +1.7%)
6 mnth ( -17.4%)
1 year ( -11.9%)
2 year ( -25.5%)
3 year ( -64.9%)
4 year ( -50.3%)
5 year ( -60.2%)
This month’s slight uptick is probably due to a variant cover. The book is due to be relaunched as part of the Marvel Now promotion following the “final” issue #19.
56,60. X-MEN
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%)
02/12 #24 - 36,906 ( -4.7%)
02/12 #25 - 36,488 ( -1.1%)
03/12 #26 - 35,833 ( -1.8%)
04/12 #27 - 36,843 ( +2.8%)
05/12 #28 - 35,838 ( -2.7%)
05/12 #29 - 35,483 ( -1.0%)
06/12 #30 - 37,690 ( +6.2%)
06/12 #31 - 35,789 ( -5.0%)
6 mnth ( -8.5%)
1 year (-21.8%)
The new creative team of Brian Wood and David Lopez begin their run with issue #30, which might account for the slight bounce on that issue – though a variant cover might also play a part.
61. WOLVERINE
06/07 ---
06/08 #66 - 98,026
06/09 #3 - 51,076
06/10 #14 - 30,035
=====
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%)
02/12 #301 - 38,891 (-33.7%)
03/12 #302 - 37,213 ( -4.3%)
03/12 #303 - 36,368 ( -2.3%)
04/12 #304 - 37,836 ( +4.0%)
04/12 #305 - 37,440 ( -1.0%)
05/12 #306 - 34,873 ( -6.9%)
05/12 #307 - 34,485 ( -1.1%)
06/12 #308 - 35,142 ( +1.9%)
6 mnth ( -5.9%)
1 year (-17.7%)
2 year (+17.0%)
3 year (-31.2%)
4 year (-64.2%)
5 year ( --- )
Variant cover. This is the last issue of Cullen Bunn’s first story arc – it’s followed by a fill-in issue, then the heavily promoted Loeb/Bianchi arc, before Bunn returns later in the year.
64. FF
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%)
02/12 #15 - 40,583 ( -4.8%)
03/12 #16 - 37,152 ( -8.5%)
04/12 #17 - 37,325 ( +0.5%)
05/12 #18 - 34,555 ( -7.4%)
06/12 #19 - 34,260 ( -0.9%)
6 mnth (-23.8%)
1 year (-41.9%)
Issue #23 is being listed as the “final issue”, although of course that doesn’t tell us whether the book is ending or just being relaunched.
65,71. AVENGERS ACADEMY
06/10 #1 - 45,890
=====
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%)
02/12 #25 - 21,963 ( +0.5%)
02/12 #26 - 21,633 ( -1.5%)
03/12 #27 - 21,830 ( +0.9%)
04/12 #28 - 22,333 ( +2.3%)
05/12 #29 - 29,460 (+31.9%)
05/12 #30 - 29,213 ( -0.8%)
06/12 #31 - 34,040 (+16.5%)
06/12 #32 - 32,243 ( -5.3%)
6 mnth (+43.8%)
1 year (+37.2%)
2 year (-29.7%)
A second month of AVENGERS VS X-MEN tie-in stories, continuing to have an enormous impact on sales.
66,73. MIGHTY THOR
06/07 ---
06/08 ---
06/09 #602 - 69,568
06/10 #611 - 56,443
=====
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%)
02/12 #11 - 35,066 ( -6.7%)
03/12 #12 - 33,967 ( -3.1%)
04/12 #.1 - 33,533 ( -1.3%)
04/12 #13 - 34,500 ( +2.9%)
05/12 #14 - 32,550 ( -5.7%)
06/12 #15 - 33,674 ( +3.5%)
06/12 #16 - 31,798 ( -5.6%)
6 mnth (-16.3%)
1 year (-33.9%)
2 year (-43.7%)
3 year (-54.3%)
4 year ( --- )
5 year ( --- )
The current run ends with issue #22, though an immediate relaunch is surely inevitable.
69,70. INVINCIBLE IRON MAN
06/07 #19 - 75,096
06/08 #2 - 69,021
06/09 #14 - 53,229
06/10 #27 - 52,268
=====
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%)
02/12 #513 - 32,748 ( -6.9%)
03/12 #514 - 31,424 ( -4.0%)
04/12 #515 - 32,409 ( +3.1%)
05/12 #516 - 31,374 ( -3.2%)
05/12 #517 - 31,536 ( +0.5%)
06/12 #518 - 32,553 ( -3.2%)
06/12 #519 - 32,518 ( -0.1%)
6 mnth ( -8.1%)
1 year (-23.2%)
2 year (-37.8%)
3 year (-38.9%)
4 year (-52.9%)
5 year (-56.7%)
Ends with issue #527, and again, a relaunch is a sure thing.
77. ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES
06/07 ---
06/08 #4 of 5 - 95,688
06/09 ---
06/10 ---
=====
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%)
02/12 #7 - 33,863 ( -2.9%)
03/12 #8 - 32,222 ( -4.8%)
04/12 #9 - 31,336 ( -2.7%)
05/12 #10 - 31,257 ( -0.3%)
05/12 #11 - 31,344 ( +0.3%)
06/12 #12 - 30,845 ( -1.6%)
6 mnth (-15.3%)
1 year (-27.9%)
2 year ( --- )
3 year ( --- )
4 year (-67.7%)
5 year ( --- )
A very slight decline, but overall it seems to be pretty steady around the 30-31K mark.
78,85. WINTER SOLDIER 02/12 #1 - 50,932 02/12 #2 - 41,164 (-19.2%) 03/12 #3 - 34,923 (-15.2%) 04/12 #4 - 33,519 ( -4.0%) 05/12 #5 - 30,646 ( -8.6%) 06/12 #6 - 30,386 ( -0.8%) 06/12 #7 - 28,984 ( -4.6%)
Issues #4 and #6 had variant covers, hence the slightly wonky trend. The underlying trend is smoother but also clearly downhill.
79. SCARLET SPIDER 01/12 #1 - 53,410 02/12 #2 - 33,794 (-36.7%) 03/12 #3 - 32,616 ( -3.5%) 04/12 #4 - 33,097 ( +1.5%) 05/12 #5 - 30,932 ( -6.5%) 06/12 #6 - 30,722 ( -0.7%)
Issue #4 had a variant cover, which distorts the trend. Allow for that and it seems that this book is levelling out at around the 30K mark – Marvel ought to be happy with that.
80. AGE OF APOCALYPSE 03/12 #1 - 56,426 04/12 #2 - 39,263 (-30.4%) 05/12 #3 - 32,085 (-18.3%) 06/12 #4 - 30,469 ( -5.0%)
Levelling out, but still shedding a significant chunk of readers each month.
82. THOR ANNUAL 06/12 #1 - 30,038
The last THOR ANNUAL was in 2009, and was also numbered #1. It’s a JM DeMatteis story guest starring the Silver Surfer, which gives it a bit more interest than your typical fill-in. Even so, sales are surprisingly good, fewer than 2,000 copies behind the parent title.
83. DEADPOOL
06/09 #11 - 55,343
06/10 #24 - 38,663
=====
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* ( --- )
02/12 #50 - 40,695 (+64.2%)
02/12 #51 - 27,458 (-32.5%)
03/12 #52 - 27,990 ( +1.9%)
04/12 #53 - 29,334 ( +4.8%)
05/12 #54 - 29,644 ( +1.1%)
05/12 #55 - 29,022 ( -2.1%)
06/12 #56 - 29,513 ( +1.7%)
6 mnth (+15.9%)
1 year ( +6.1%)
2 year (-23.7%)
3 year (-46.7%)
Sales on this book have been strong ever since issue #50, without the aid of any apparent gimmicks. This really does seem to be a rare example of a comic that has actually capitalised on its anniversary sales boost and kept a significant number of new readers.
84. ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN
06/07 #83 - 59,677
06/08 #95 - 48,137
06/09 ---
06/10 #3 - 44,568
=====
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%)
02/12 #7 - 32,353 ( -4.8%)
02/12 #8 - 30,822 ( -4.7%)
03/12 #9 - 30,080 ( -2.4%)
04/12 #10 - 29,743 ( -1.1%)
05/12 #11 - 28,711 ( -3.5%)
05/12 #12 - 28,839 ( +0.4%)
06/12 #13 - 29,159 ( +1.1%)
6 mnth (-17.1%)
1 year (-16.0%)
2 year (-34.6%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year (-39.4%)
5 year (-51.1%)
The first issue of Brian Wood’s run, which presumably accounts for the slight sales increase.
86. VENOM
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%)
02/12 #13 - 33,174 (+15.5%)
02/12 #.1 - 27,520 (-17.0%)
02/12 #.2 - 27,155 ( -1.3%)
02/12 #.3 - 26,969 ( -0.7%)
02/12 #.4 - 27,135 ( +0.6%)
03/12 #14 - 28,926 ( +6.6%)
04/12 #15 - 28,858 ( -0.2%)
04/12 #16 - 28,440 ( -1.4%)
05/12 #17 - 30,157 ( +6.0%)
05/12 #18 - 28,309 ( -6.1%)
06/12 #19 - 28,702 ( +1.4%)
6 mnth ( +0.2%)
1 year (-26.3%)
Variant cover. Nonetheless, the book seems to be legitimately hovering around the 27-29K range these days.
93,95. X-FACTOR
06/07 #20 - 37,105
06/08 #32 - 45,104
06/09 #44 - 31,552
06/10 #206 - 40,981
=====
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%)
02/12 #231 - 24,362 ( -5.2%)
02/12 #232 - 24,173 ( -0.8%)
03/12 #233 - 23,840 ( -1.4%)
04/12 #234 - 23,821 ( -0.1%)
05/12 #235 - 24,051 ( +1.0%)
05/12 #236 - 24,031 ( -0.1%)
06/12 #237 - 24,854 ( +3.4%)
06/12 #238 - 23,607 ( -5.0%)
6 mnth ( -0.3%)
1 year ( -5.3%)
2 year (-42.4%)
3 year (-25.2%)
4 year (-47.7%)
5 year (-36.4%)
Locked stubbornly in the 23-25K range all year.
96. DEFENDERS
12/11 #1 - 85,969
01/12 #2 - 38,935 (-54.7%)
02/12 #3 - 33,548 (-13.8%)
03/12 #4 - 29,789 (-11.2%)
04/12 #5 - 27,893 ( -6.4%)
05/12 #6 - 25,518 ( -8.5%)
06/12 #7 - 23,574 ( -7.6%)
6 mnth (-72.6%)
That six month comparison is rather misleading, since it mostly reflects the heavily inflated sales on issue #1. Even so, the book continues to shed readers at a worrying rate.
97. PUNISHER
06/07 #8 - 61,376
06/08 #20 - 27,288
06/09 #6 - 32,982
06/10 #18 - 19,605
=====
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%)
02/12 #8 - 22,488 ( -1.8%)
03/12 #9 - 22,318 ( -0.8%)
04/12 #10 - 32,412 ( +45.2%)
05/12 #11 - 23,303 ( -28.1%)
06/12 #12 - 23,329 ( +0.1%)
6 mnth ( -2.7%)
1 year ( --- )
2 year ( +19.0%)
3 year ( -29.3%)
4 year ( -14.5%)
5 year ( -62.0%)
Another book that seems to be heading for a relaunch as part of the Marvel Now promotion.
100,102. HULK
06/08 #4 - 90,600
06/09 ---
06/10 #23 - 50,724
=====
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%)
02/12 #48 - 21,751 ( -4.3%)
03/12 #49 - 21,510 ( -1.1%)
04/12 #50 - 34,437 (+60.1%)
05/12 #51 - 22,085 (-35.9%)
05/12 #52 - 21,882 ( -0.9%)
06/12 #53 - 22,386 ( +2.3%)
06/12 #54 - 22,070 ( -1.4%)
6 mnth ( -3.9%)
1 year (-24.9%)
2 year (-56.5%)
3 year ( --- )
4 year (-75.6%)
Due to be revamped as a Red She-Hulk title as part of Marvel Now.
103. NEW MUTANTS
06/09 #2 - 43,230
06/10 #14 - 53,926
=====
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%)
02/12 #37 - 23,262 ( -2.6%)
02/12 #38 - 22,656 ( -2.6%)
03/12 #39 - 21,508 ( -5.1%)
04/12 #40 - 21,343 ( -0.8%)
04/12 #41 - 21,012 ( -1.6%)
05/12 #42 - 24,572 (+16.9%)
05/12 #43 - 24,160 ( -1.7%)
06/12 #44 - 22,069 ( -8.7%)
6 mnth (-13.7%)
1 year (-20.8%)
2 year (-59.1%)
3 year (-48.9%)
Ends with issue #50 – and I’d guess this one’s likely to be for real.
104,112. JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY
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%)
02/12 #634 - 22,323 ( -6.5%)
03/12 #635 - 21,617 ( -3.2%)
04/12 #636 - 21,148 ( -2.2%)
05/12 #637 - 24,378 (+15.3%)
05/12 #638 - 23,766 ( -2.5%)
06/12 #639 - 21,914 ( -7.8%)
06/12 #640 - 20,714 ( -5.5%)
6 mnth (-14.3%)
1 year (-42.2%)
Marvel have announced that Kieron Gillen’s run ends in October, but (at least as at the time of writing) they aren’t billing it as a “final issue”, nor does it have a “final issue variant”. Logically that would seem to suggest that the series is continuing, but that would seem a very odd decision given how many other titles are being relaunched when they have much less need of the help.
106,107. CAPTAIN AMERICA ANDÉ
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%)
02/12 #627 - 26,276 ( -4.9%)
03/12 #628 - 24,881 ( -5.3%)
04/12 #629 - 24,750 ( -0.5%)
05/12 #630 - 23,774 ( -3.9%)
05/12 #631 - 22,684 ( -4.6%)
06/12 #632 - 21,674 ( -4.5%)
06/12 #633 - 21,822 ( +0.7%)
6 mnth (-23.8%)
Issue #633 is the start of a new arc with Iron Man as the guest star. Presumably that explains the very slight uptick (which is really more notable because the general trend would have been a 4% drop).
128. FURY MAX 05/12 #1 - 20,620 05/12 #2 - 19,021 (-7.8%) 06/12 #3 - 17,152 (-9.8%) 134. UNTOLD TALES OF THE PUNISHER MAX 06/12 #1 of 5 - 16,449
The Max imprint apparently still operates by different commercial rules from those applying to regular Marvel Universe titles.
147. DARK TOWER: GUNSLINGER - MAN IN BLACK
06/07 Gunslinger Brn #5 - 132,090
06/08 Long Road Home #4 - 79,270
06/09 Fall of Gilead #2 - 39,978
06/10 Gunslinger #2 - 24,024
=====
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%)
02/12 #3 of 5 - 14,302 ( -3.5%)
03/12 #4 of 5 - 13,987 ( -2.2%)
04/12 #5 of 5 - 13,823 ( -1.2%)
05/12 ---
06/12 Man in Black #1 - 14,672 ( +6.1%)
6 mnth ( -4.5%)
1 year (-17.0%)
2 year (-38.9%)
3 year (-63.3%)
4 year (-81.5%)
5 year (-88.9%)
This series will be the final volume of the adaptation.
153,158. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: THE MOVIE 06/12 #1 of 2 - 13,627 06/12 #2 of 2 - 12,477 (-8.4%)
Self-explanatory, really. Movie tie-in comics never do particularly well in the direct market, so these sales are no surprise.
154,157. MARVEL ZOMBIES DESTROY! 05/12 #1 of 5 - 16,375 05/12 #2 of 5 - 15,072 ( -8.0%) 06/12 #3 of 5 - 13,049 (-13.4%) 06/12 #4 of 5 - 12,501 ( -4.2%)
I can only assume these books are still doing well in collected form, because Marvel keep on commissioning them – a Hallowe’en one-shot has not been announced.
161. AVENGERS: BLACK WIDOW STRIKES 05/12 #1 of 3 - 13,682 05/12 #2 of 3 - 12,404 (-9.3%) 06/12 #3 of 3 - 11,618 (-6.3%)
Prequel to the Avengers movie, which seems odd timing.
171. AMAZING FANTASY #15: SPIDER-MAN! 06/12 One-shot - 10,441
A reprint of Amazing Fantasy #15, for the obvious movie-promotional reasons.
207. DOROTHY AND THE WIZARD IN OZ
06/09 #7 of 8 - 15,473
06/10 #7 of 8 - 12,200
=====
06/11 #7 of 8 - 8,672 ( -0.9%)
07/11 #8 of 8 - 8,216 ( -5.3%)
08/11 ---
09/11 #1 of 8 - 10,648 (+29.6%)
10/11 #2 of 8 - 8,504 (-20.1%)
11/11 #3 of 8 - 8,381 ( -1.4%)
12/11 #4 of 8 - 7,694 ( -8.2%)
01/12 ---
02/12 #5 of 8 - 7,503 ( -2.5%)
03/12 ---
04/12 ---
05/12 #6 of 8 - 7,475 ( -0.4%)
05/12 #7 of 8 - 7,391 ( -1.1%)
06/12 #8 of 8 - 7,258 ( -1.8%)
6 mnth ( -5.7%)
1 year (-16.3%)
2 year (-40.5%)
3 year (-53.1%)
Another mini, ROAD TO OZ, starts in September.
216. MARVEL UNIVERSE ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN 04/12 #1 - 10,886 05/12 #2 - 7,581 (-30.4%) 06/12 #3 - 6,756 (-10.9%) 225. MARVEL UNIVERSE AVENGERS 04/12 #1 - 12,874 05/12 #2 - 6,733 (-47.7%) 06/12 #3 - 6,345 ( -5.8%)
The all ages books, still finding their level after the recent relaunch.
237. HALO: FALL OF REACH - INVASION
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%)
02/12 #2 of 4 - 6,446 ( -9.9%)
03/12 ---
04/12 #3 of 4 - 6,224 ( -3.4%)
05/12 ---
06/12 #4 of 4 - 5,972 ( -4.0%)
6 mnth ( --- )
1 year ( --- )
Video game adaptations reportedly do much better outside the direct market. The HALO property certainly has to have more interest than this.
246. CASANOVA: AVARITIA [Icon] 09/11 #1 of 4 - 7,059 (+21.5%) 10/11 #2 of 4 - 6,483 ( -8.2%) 11/11 --- 12/11 --- 01/12 --- 02/12 --- 03/12 --- 04/12 #3 of 4 - 6,159 ( -5.0%) 05/12 --- 06/12 #4 of 4 - 5,672 ( -7.9%)
Losing readers rather quickly for a book this far down the chart. Given that the book continues to get good reviews, perhaps the problem lies with the erratic schedule.
258. JOHN CARTER: GODS 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%) 02/12 --- 03/12 #1 of 5 - 11,896 (+138.0%) 04/12 #2 of 5 - 5,254 ( -55.8%) 05/12 #3 of 5 - 5,180 ( -1.4%) 06/12 #4 of 5 - 4,709 ( -9.1%) 266. TOY STORY 03/12 #1 of 4 - 6,564 04/12 #2 of 4 - 5,034 (-23.3%) 05/12 #3 of 4 - ?,??? ( ??? ) 06/12 #4 of 4 - 4,486 ( ??? )
Two licences from the rest of the Disney empire.
6 month comparisons =================== +163.3% - Astonishing X-Men + 63.5% - Dark Avengers/Thunderbolts + 43.8% - Avengers Academy + 35.0% - Secret Avengers + 23.7% - X-Men Legacy + 22.7% - New Avengers + 20.5% - Avengers + 15.9% - Deadpool + 13.0% - Daredevil + 11.9% - Amazing Spider-Man + 11.0% - Wolverine and the X-Men + 5.7% - Uncanny X-Men + 0.1% - Venom - 0.3% - X-Factor - 2.7% - Punisher - 3.9% - Hulk - 4.5% - Dark Tower - 5.7% - Oz - 5.9% - Wolverine - 8.1% - Iron Man - 8.5% - X-Men - 11.9% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man - 13.7% - New Mutants - 14.1% - X-Force - 14.3% - Journey into Mystery - 15.3% - Ultimates - 16.3% - Thor - 17.1% - Ultimate Comics X-Men - 17.4% - Captain America - 17.9% - Incredible Hulk - 20.8% - Fantastic Four - 23.8% - FF - 23.8% - Captain America And... - 34.3% - Avenging Spider-Man - 72.6% - Defenders 1 year comparisons ================== +122.6% - Astonishing X-Men + 37.2% - Avengers Academy + 36.0% - Incredible Hulk + 27.1% - Uncanny X-Men + 21.8% - Dark Avengers/Thunderbolts + 12.6% - New Avengers + 7.5% - Avengers + 6.1% - Deadpool + 5.9% - Amazing Spider-Man + 4.1% - X-Men Legacy + 3.4% - Secret Avengers - 5.3% - X-Factor - 10.7% - X-Force - 11.9% - Captain America - 16.0% - Ultimate Comics X-Men - 16.3% - Oz - 17.0% - Dark Tower - 17.7% - Wolverine - 17.8% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man - 20.8% - New Mutants - 21.8% - X-Men - 23.2% - Iron Man - 24.9% - Hulk - 26.3% - Venom - 27.9% - Ultimates - 31.3% - Fantastic Four - 41.9% - FF - 42.2% - Journey into Mystery - 43.7% - Thor 2 year comparisons ================== + 44.1% - Astonishing X-Men + 26.3% - Daredevil + 19.0% - Punisher + 17.0% - Wolverine + 10.6% - Fantastic Four + 8.7% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man + 8.2% - Dark Avengers/Thunderbolts + 7.6% - Amazing Spider-Man - 10.9% - Uncanny X-Men - 17.9% - Incredible Hulk - 19.2% - X-Force - 23.7% - Deadpool - 25.5% - Captain America - 28.4% - X-Men Legacy - 29.7% - Avengers Academy - 30.3% - Avengers - 33.8% - Secret Avengers - 34.6% - Ultimate Comics X-Men - 37.8% - Iron Man - 38.9% - Dark Tower - 40.5% - Oz - 42.4% - X-Factor - 49.7% - New Avengers - 54.3% - Thor - 56.5% - Hulk - 59.1% - New Mutants 3 year comparisons ================== + 28.3% - Astonishing X-Men + 5.9% - Daredevil - 4.7% - Uncanny X-Men - 4.9% - Amazing Spider-Man - 12.3% - Dark Avengers/Thunderbolts - 12.5% - Fantastic Four - 19.6% - X-Men Legacy - 25.2% - X-Factor - 25.8% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man - 29.3% - Punisher - 30.8% - New Avengers - 31.2% - Wolverine - 38.9% - Iron Man - 46.7% - Deadpool - 48.9% - New Mutants - 53.1% - Oz - 63.3% - Dark Tower - 64.9% - Captain America 4 year comparisons ================== + 10.9% - Daredevil - 8.2% - Dark Avengers/Thunderbolts - 14.5% - Punisher - 14.7% - Amazing Spider-Man - 16.4% - Uncanny X-Men - 25.6% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man - 33.7% - Fantastic Four - 34.7% - X-Men Legacy - 39.4% - Ultimate Comics X-Men - 40.2% - New Avengers - 47.7% - X-Factor - 50.3% - Captain America - 52.9% - Iron Man - 57.9% - Incredible Hulk - 64.2% - Wolverine - 67.7% - Ultimates - 75.6% - Hulk - 81.5% - Dark Tower 5 year comparisons ================== - 6.3% - Daredevil - 16.8% - Uncanny X-Men - 36.4% - X-Factor - 41.9% - Fantastic Four - 42.2% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man - 44.2% - Amazing Spider-Man - 46.6% - Dark Avengers/Thunderbolts - 51.1% - Ultimate Comics X-Men - 56.7% - Iron Man - 59.7% - New Avengers - 60.2% - Captain America - 62.0% - Punisher - 64.3% - Incredible Hulk - 65.7% - X-Men Legacy - 88.9% - Dark Tower
Marvel’s highest-selling non-special event, non-AvX tie-in book is at #25 (and it’s selling slightly above normal). Wow.
I read Daredevil, Avengers Academy and X-Factor so I’m not greatly tuned in to Marvel.
Are their books selling so poorly because they’re not good enough to sell well or is it just market forces at work? (And yes I realize there probably will be a hundred answers claiming each position.)
And I’ve just seen that Hit-Girl sold the same as Spider-Man. No wonder Millar quit writing corporate comics.
UGH. Enough with bloated events and heroes hitting each other instead of a real threat.
EEEWwwww!!!! Mit Romney promotion advertisement at Monster.com on top of the Avengers Blu-ray promotion banner…
EEEWwwww!!!! Mit Romney promotion advertisement at Mavel.com on top of the Avengers Blu-ray promotion banner…
I can’t believe these numbers. When I was an independent publisher in 1992, our comics sold in the 60,000 to 75,000 range. Independents. Mostly unknown. Certainly not top brands!
It’s strange and telling that, month-to-month, Marvel can claim victories and point to certain good sales numbers, especially in regards to AvX being a success. But then if you look at things in the aggregate, or examine things in context, then Marvel looks absolutely pathetic now, needing double-shipping, $3.99 price-points, and constant relaunches and “Last issue!” gimmicks to hold their own — while at historic or near-historic lows for their many of their flagship series. I guess it’s just another example of the company pulling out everything to make its quarterly performance look good while eroding its actual foundation of patrons. There are a handful of Marvel titles I still buy, and I’m very happy with a couple of them which ARE 3.99 double-shipped titles. But, wow, month in and month it just seems like Marvel is walking on thinner and thinner ice and needing to do more and more exhausting relaunches, events, and crossovers to stay at #1.
P.S. Re: “AAB” — It’s also very telling that I can no longer tell the difference between a spambot and a political operative. And, yes, I’d be saying the same thing if the robotic poster was saying a childish “Ewww!” in regards to the OTHER corporate shill candidate (who pretends not to be).
“UGH. Enough with bloated events and heroes hitting each other instead of a real threat.”
…and YET, do you see those sales numbers on AVX? They will NEVER stop with the crap as long as clueless fanboys bring in those sales numbers. It’s sad, but true.
And WHAT is with Winter Soldier’s numbers, people. I’m gonna get a baseball bat out soon if people don’t start buying that book!
I’m not sure (and I’m positive it will be back in some form at some point) but I think Punisher is just cancelled, period. There will be a mini to wrap up the Rucka run, but that’s all they’ve announced.
I used to be a major Marvel guy. I’m down to Daredevil, Winter Soldier, the Oz minis, and Hawkeye. That’s it. I got so sick of the double ships, and the $3.99 prices, and the bad art (I’m talking to you, Amazing Spiderman.)
@Joseph: You realize these rankings are relative, right? Only ten books can be in the top ten, no matter how well the rest of them sell. You admit that Amazing-Spider Man is selling better than normal, so why wonder why it’s selling so poorly? It’s not; it’s just that events (and a handful of recently relaunched DC books) sell better.
Congrats on Daredevil selling so well. Finally a title worth reading that is actually retaining readers!
@Rob S.: See ValJ’s comment
@JosephW: If you’re comparing to 1992, it’s just market forces at work. Nothing has the audience it did back then. Too many choices, too few sales outlets, too high prices, not enough bang for the buck: take your pick of the reasons.
But your first comment compared ASM’s sales not to 20 years ago, but to the rest of this month’s chart. And in that context, the numbers aren’t great, but they’re no tragedy. But it certainly explains why Marvel is trying to market its next move as a relaunch, even though it seems like a run of the mill creative reshuffling. They want some of that juice.
@b.t.t.c. Not that I disagree with you entirely but are you giving DC a pass on Before Watchmen? Please that is an event book and a desperate attempt to hold sales numbers. Tell me where they will be in a few months after Marvel ‘s own relaunch, I want to see what Didio tries to pull out of his @$$ after this. How much of DC sales were BW? Are they going to make it a monthly? Rorschach will be fighting Batman very soon, or pulled into the DC universe to make it stronger for what’s coming……
I agree with Nathan: what’s up with the low numbers on Winter Soldier? That book has been fantastic. The story’s solid and the art has been incredible (Guice and now Epting are really blowing it away).
I just don’t understand comic readers sometimes.
JSF, I’ve enjoyed a lot of Brubaker comics, but I’ve really never found Bucky all that engaging. Can’t speak for other readers, but that’s what’s kept me from Winter Soldier.
@jsf
I loved the Winter Soldier character when he first appeared, and even after a time when he donned Cap’s mantle, but his solo book is HORRENDOUS.
I dropped it after the first issue it was so bad. Brubaker was phoning it in.
Cliched spy stories and awful, muddy art where half the time you couldn’t tell what was happening? Big pass on this turd…
I over the moon that Thunderbolts/Dark Avengers more than doubled its sales!! Great idea to whoever suggested it!! Looks like it’ll be safe for at least another year or more!! :) I hope the people who try it out stick around. Its my favorite Marvel title and Parker is one of my top 3 writers. He never fails to impress.
Amazing Spiderman is selling 60,000 copies. That is terrible.
I don’t know why Marvel keeps relaunching their all-ages books. The sales stay the same so the problem is a marketing one (awareness, availability, creating interest, etc). Renumbering is a wasted focus. I think the first Spidey comic I bought as a kid was #360 or something and I didn’t care in the slightest. I bought it because the art grabbed me and the story inside was fun and cool. I don’t know any kids who do care about renumbering other than teenagers who think they’ve found a collector’s item. A relaunch isn’t needed to explain such a popular character’s history nor make it more accessible to a new audience. I’d like to see Marvel get a little more creative in their marketing to both kids and non-regular readers instead of doing the same old familiar thing that that does nothing to create consistent improvement in sales.
After Civil War #2 I thought the book was over because it was such a big empty promise to the readers and they had no intention of writing a proper story out of it, despite the fact that it was the biggest thing you could do with the character. Then OMD I was sure that it was over.. and I was right.
It’s not Dan Slott’s fault at all. People seem to really his enjoy his stories. It’s not the Spider-man I used to read, but by the time Spider-man had his magical resurrection, he was already almost completely gone.
I always wondered if it were intentionally bad, because wouldn’t it be challenged by the other editors or writers? It was so obviously bad by doing these big things that aren’t played out and it’s another big thing after another that doesn’t amount to much of a plot. It’s just introduction after introduction for a while, then the lead character seems to just wait around while bad stuff happens and he’s mad… or something. It was bad and Marvel should’t of done it.
I think they are just beyond screwed at this point. There is no winning us older readers back anymore. Even if they aplogized for the Unmasking, OMD stuff.
Hey, look at Batman. It’s #3. It’s a great book. Capullo’s doing his great art thing. I don’t know who Snyder is, but he’s great.
I’m actually surprised more people aren’t dropping Iron Man considering its story arc is at least 13 issues long and counting.
PeterCSK730 said:”I’m actually surprised more people aren’t dropping Iron Man considering its story arc is at least 13 issues long and counting.”
Really? That. Is. Insane. I dropped the book around issue 500 because I found it painfully slow. At $2.99 I (foolishly) stuck with it but once it went to $3.99 it was obvious that it was not worth it.