Marvel Month-to-Month Sales — December 2006

[Please note these are the figures for DECEMBER, not November as I mistakenly posted — Ed.]

By Paul O’Brien

CIVIL WAR is still going, but with the core title running late (because you demanded it), and many of the crossover arcs having finished, it’s started to relinquish its grip on Marvel’s line. But December still saw three CIVIL WAR one-shots, along with several crossover issues. It’s a relatively quiet month for new launches, but we do have the debut of Warren Ellis and Salvador Larroca’s NEWUNIVERSAL, and new miniseries including NEW AVENGERS: ILLUMINATI, SPIDER-MAN: REALM, WONDER MAN and X-23: TARGET X.

Once again, Marvel comfortably beat DC in market share. In dollar terms, it’s 38% to 35%. In units, it’s 43% to 39%. And that’s with DC taking most of the top 10, not to mention plenty of Marvel’s big sellers skipping a month.

Thanks as always to Milton Griepp and ICV2 for permission to use their figures for these calculations.

3.  NEW AVENGERS
12/01  #49  -  57,715
12/02  #62  -  55,145
12/03  #75  -  57,814
12/04  #1   - 240,724
=====
12/05  #14  - 126,583  (  +0.3%)
01/06  #15  - 124,143  (  -1.9%)
02/06  #16  - 124,256  (  +0.1%)
03/06  #17  - 122,847  (  -1.1%)
04/06  #18  - 121,550  (  -1.1%)
05/06  #19  - 125,223  (  +3.0%)
06/06  #20  - 125,600  (  +0.3%)
06/06  #21  - 154,911  ( +23.4%)
07/06  #22  - 143,391  (  -7.4%)
08/06  #23  - 155,550  (  +8.5%)
09/06  ---
10/06  #24  - 136,811  ( -12.0%)
11/06  #25  - 136,504  (  -0.2%)
12/06  #26  - 122,670  ( -10.1%)
               6 mnth  ( -20.8%)
               1 year  (  -3.1%)
               2 year  ( -49.0%)
               3 year  (+112.2%)

With CIVIL WAR missing, NEW AVENGERS is Marvel’s top book of the month, although it was beaten into third place by two issues of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA. The CIVIL WAR tie-in arc is over, and sales duly drop straight back to their previous levels.

This month also marks the second anniversary of the book’s relaunch. Some purists continue to protest that this isn’t really the Avengers, and that the upcoming MIGHTY AVENGERS sister title isn’t the Avengers either. Metaphysically, they might have a point, but the reality is that even two years after the relaunch, it’s still selling more than twice as well as the previous version of the book. No wonder Marvel see this as the way forward for the franchise.

4.  ASTONISHING X-MEN
12/04  #7  - 134,103
=====
12/05  ---
01/06  ---
02/06  #13 - 148,244  (+10.1%)
03/06  ---
04/06  #14 - 124,129  (-16.3%)
05/06  ---
06/06  #15 - 119,991  ( -3.3%)
07/06  ---
08/06  #16 - 121,897  ( +1.6%)
09/06  #17 - 124,026  ( +1.7%)
10/06  ---
11/06  #18 - 118,285  ( -4.6%)
12/06  #19 - 121,300  ( +2.5%)
              6 mnth  ( +1.1%)
              1 year  (  --- )
              2 year  ( -9.5%)

ASTONISHING X-MEN seems to have abandoned any pretence of coming out on a predictable schedule, but it still sells in huge numbers when it appears. It fluctuates more than most books, but this is comfortably within its normal range.

5.  NEW AVENGERS: ILLUMINATI
12/06  #1 (of 5) - 103,952

A very good debut for this miniseries. Sales should be interesting to watch here, since despite the title, the New Avengers aren’t actually in the book.

7,16,31.  CIVIL WAR ONE-SHOTS
12/06  Iron Man & Captain America - 100,657
12/06                  War Crimes -  84,771
12/06              Winter Soldier -  59,118

Three one-shots added to the schedule at the last minute when CIVIL WAR span off the rails. Not surprisingly, they all do rather well, but the relative placings are a little surprising. IRON MAN & CAPTAIN AMERICA: CASUALTIES OF WAR has the two lead characters, so its top ten placing isn’t unexpected. WAR CRIMES, on the other hand, is a book about the supervillains which doesn’t have big name creators attached, and doesn’t play any significant part in the wider story. It gets a very impressive top twenty placing, while WINTER SOLDIER: WINTER KILLS – a spin-off from CAPTAIN AMERICA – tails in a distant third. I would have expected the last two to be the other way around.

13. CIVIL WAR: FRONT LINE
06/06  #1 (of 11) - 145,271
06/06  #2 (of 11) - 132,858  ( -8.5%)
07/06  #3 (of 11) - 128,164  ( -3.5%)
07/06  #4 (of 11) - 111,868  (-12.7%)
08/06  #5 (of 11) - 111,435  ( -0.4%)
09/06  #6 (of 11) - 108,436  ( -2.7%)
10/06  #7 (of 11) - 106,588  ( -1.7%)
11/06  #8 (of 11) - 100,869  ( -5.4%)
12/06  #9 (of 11) -  97,948  ( -2.9%)
                     6 mnth  (-26.3%)

Fewer than 100,000 sales for once, and with the re-orders drying up, it looks like it’s staying there. Of course, nobody’s going to be losing sleep about a supporting miniseries that took nine issues to drop below six figures. (Especially considering that this chart doesn’t include sales to the UK, which would easily push it over that mark.)

14. UNCANNY X-MEN
12/01  #401 - 105,646
12/02  #416 -  88,276
12/03  #434 -  90,318
12/04  #453 -  89,952
=====
12/05  #467 -  81,282  ( -1.9%)
01/06  #468 -  79,808  ( -1.8%)
02/06  #469 -  79,039  ( -1.0%)
03/06  #470 -  79,389  ( +0.4%)
03/06  #471 -  78,286  ( -1.4%)
04/06  #472 -  79,157  ( +1.1%)
05/06  #473 -  79,335  ( +0.2%)
06/06  #474 -  78,140  ( -1.5%)
07/06  #475 - 106,037  (+35.7%)
07/06  #476 -  92,154  (-13.1%)
08/06  #477 -  89,225  ( -3.2%)
09/06  #478 -  89,850  ( +0.7%)
10/06  #479 -  89,052  ( -0.9%)
11/06  #480 -  88,584  ( -0.5%)
12/06  #481 -  85,995  ( -2.9%)
               6 mnth  (+10.1%)
               1 year  ( +5.8%)
               2 year  ( -4.4%)
               3 year  ( -4.8%)

Dropping back a little from recent months, but Ed Brubaker and Billy Tan’s run on UNCANNY is still clearly up from the inherited sales after six months. This has to be considered a success.

15. FANTASTIC FOUR
12/01  #50  - 52,471
12/02  #64  - 50,211
12/03  #508 - 50,333
12/04  #521 - 47,634
=====
12/05  #533 - 46,751  ( -2.1%)
01/05  ---
02/06  #534 - 44,573  ( -4.7%)
02/06  #535 - 43,124  ( -3.3%)
03/06  #536 - 79,680  (+84.8%)
04/06  #537 - 79,576  ( -0.1%)
05/06  ---
06/06  #538 - 92,624  (+16.4%)
07/06  ---
08/06  #539 - 89,676  ( -3.2%)
09/06  ----
10/06  #540 - 88,933  ( -0.8%)
11/06  ----
12/06  #541 - 84,895  ( -4.5%)
              6 mnth  ( -8.3%)
              1 year  (+81.6%)
              2 year  (+78.2%)
              3 year  (+68.7%)

Still caught up in CIVIL WAR, and still getting the benefits. Somewhere along the line, FANTASTIC FOUR has turned into a bimonthly.

17. WOLVERINE: ORIGINS
04/06  #1 - 182,672
05/06  #2 - 131,522  (-28.0%)
06/06  #3 - 116,058  (-11.8%)
07/06  #4 - 110,830  ( -4.5%)
08/06  #5 - 120,448  ( +8.7%)
09/06  #6 - 101,013  (-16.1%)
10/06  #7 - 103,273  ( +2.2%)
11/06  #8 -  91,585  (-11.3%)
12/06  #9 -  84,733  ( -7.5%)
             6 mnth  (-27.0%)

Now that the variant cover boosts are a thing of the past, WOLVERINE: ORIGINS is dropping far too quickly for comfort. The book has dropped by almost 20,000 in two months. That should be ringing alarm bells.

19. WOLVERINE
12/01  #171 -  72,909
12/02  #184 -  64,620
12/03  #9   -  74,659
12/04  #23  -  80,678
=====
12/05  #37  -  73,866  (-21.7%)
01/06  #38  -  73,815  ( -0.0%)
02/06  #39  -  75,285  ( +2.0%)
03/06  #40  -  77,627  ( +3.1%)
04/06  #41  -  70,965  ( -8.6%)
05/06  #42  - 112,209  (+58.1%)
06/06  #43  - 116,540  ( +3.9%)
07/06  #44  - 111,478  ( -4.3%)
08/06  #45  - 110,662  ( -0.7%)
09/06  #46  - 107,865  ( -2.5%)
10/06  #47  - 106,201  ( -1.5%)
11/06  #48  -  99,991  ( -5.8%)
12/06  #49  -  78,807  (-21.2%)
               6 mnth  (-32.4%)
               1 year  ( -6.7%)
               2 year  ( -2.4%)
               3 year  ( +5.6%)

Despite appearances, this is actually a surprisingly good number. Issue #49 is a fill-in Christmas story by Rob Williams and Laurence Campbell, killing time for a month between the CIVIL WAR arc and the arrival of Jeph Loeb and Simone Bianchi in January. Obviously it’s going to go down – the interesting thing is that it still did better than the pre-CIVIL WAR arc, which suggests this book has some momentum behind it.

20. X-MEN
12/01  #121 - 112,227
12/02  #135 -  96,154
12/03  #150 - 110,591
12/04  #165 -  86,633
======
12/05  #179 -  77,189  ( +1.3%)
12/05  #180 -  75,559  ( -2.1%)
01/06  #181 -  74,094  ( -1.9%)
02/06  #182 -  78,653  ( +6.2%)
02/06  #183 -  79,477  ( +1.0%)
03/06  #184 -  79,480  ( +0.0%)
04/06  #185 -  78,815  ( -0.8%)
05/06  #186 -  79,536  ( +0.9%)
06/06  #187 -  77,918  ( -2.0%)
07/06  #188 -  95,487  (+22.5%)
07/06  #189 -  85,157  (-10.8%)
08/06  #190 -  83,436  ( -2.0%)
09/06  #191 -  82,048  ( -1.7%)
10/06  #192 -  81,816  ( -0.3%)
11/06  #193 -  80,102  ( -2.1%)
12/06  #194 -  78,114  ( -2.5%)
               6 mnth  ( +0.3%)
               1 year  ( +1.2%)
               2 year  ( -9.8%)
               3 year  (-29.4%)

Unlike UNCANNY, this book is back where it was before Carey and Bachalo took over. But it’s not doing badly – X-MEN continues to sell in its normal range. The previous creative team levelled out here in their closing months, so it’ll be interesting to see where the book goes now. There’s a noticeable, but slow, decline going on here.

22. ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN
12/01  #16  -  80,875
12/02  #32  -  92,160
12/03  #50  - 109,819
12/04  #70  -  88,960
======
12/05  #87  -  74,537  ( -3.0%)
12/05  #88  -  74,213  ( -0.4%)
01/06  #89  -  71,935  ( -3.1%)
02/06  #90  -  71,470  ( -0.6%)
03/06  #91  -  74,028  ( +3.6%)
03/06  #92  -  72,269  ( -2.4%)
04/06  #93  -  72,831  ( +0.8%)
05/06  #94  -  74,051  ( +1.7%)
05/06  #95  -  73,564  ( -0.7%)
06/06  #96  -  73,472  ( -0.1%)
07/06  #97  -  76,612  ( +4.3%)
08/06  #98  -  77,304  ( +0.9%)
08/06  #99  -  76,075  ( -1.6%)
09/06  #100 - 119,194  (+56.7%)
10/06  #101 -  78,963  (-33.8%)
11/06  #102 -  77,121  ( -2.3%)
12/06  #103 -  76,251  ( -1.1%)
               6 mnth  ( +3.8%)
               1 year  ( +2.3%)
               2 year  (-14.3%)
               3 year  (-30.6%)

The Ultimate Clone Saga seems to have rekindled interest in this book and turned around its decline from earlier in the year. It’s an unexpected result.

24. IRON MAN
12/01  #49 - 35,588
12/02  #62 - 33,492
12/03  #75 - 31,889
12/04  #2  - 53,292
======
12/05  ---
01/06  #5  - 45,243  (  -6.5%)
02/06  ---
03/06  #6  - 40,264  ( -11.0%)
04/06  #7  - 49,404  ( +22.7%)
05/06  #8  - 38,860  ( -21.3%)
06/06  #9  - 37,650  (  -3.1%)
07/06  #10 - 38,102  (  +1.2%)
08/06  #11 - 37,279  (  -2.2%)
09/06  #12 - 36,278  (  -2.7%)
10/06  ---
11/06  #13 - 76,800  (+111.7%)
12/06  #14 - 73,388  (  -4.4%)
             6 mnth  ( +94.9%)
             1 year  ( +62.2%)
             2 year  ( +37.7%)
             3 year  (+130.1%)

Another CIVIL WAR tie-in, benefitting from a massive boost.

25. ULTIMATE POWER
10/06  #1 (of 9) - 102,687
11/06  #2 (of 9) -  76,654  (-25.4%)
12/06  #3 (of 9) -  70,148  ( -8.5%)

Levelling out, but the series certainly isn’t doing “event” numbers. That’s not so much of a concern when you look at any individual book, but when you consider the sales on this and ULTIMATE VISION, not to mention the glaring sales declines on ULTIMATE X-MEN and ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR, you have to wonder whether the Ultimate imprint is in need of attention. At the very least, it’s losing its elite lustre.

Issue #2 picks up re-orders of 1,901 to chart at 297. As always, they’re added into the numbers above.

26. ULTIMATE X-MEN
12/01  #13 - 100,442
12/02  #26 -  87,893
12/03  #40 - 104,443
12/04  ---
=====
12/05  ---
01/06  #66 -  73,720  ( -0.7%)
02/06  #67 -  72,700  ( -1.4%)
03/06  #68 -  72,765  ( +0.1%)
04/06  #69 -  73,188  ( +0.6%)
05/06  #70 -  72,235  ( -1.3%)
06/06  #71 -  71,314  ( -1.3%)
07/06  #72 -  70,593  ( -1.0%)
08/06  #73 -  70,153  ( -0.6%)
09/06  #74 -  68,874  ( -1.8%)
10/06  #75 -  73,837  ( +7.2%)
11/06  #76 -  69,054  ( -6.5%)
12/06  #77 -  67,338  ( -2.5%)
              6 mnth  ( -5.6%)
              1 year  ( -8.7%)
              2 year  (  --- )
              3 year  (-35.5%)

See what I mean? Despite the blip from issue #75 in October, the book seems to be in long term decline.

32.  X-23: TARGET X
12/06  #1 (of 6) - 58,125

A comfortable 20,000 higher than the notional parent title NEW X-MEN, showing the continuing popularity of X-23. This is a sequel to her origin miniseries from the first half of 2005, which debuted with a staggering 96K and finished off at 52K. This is a little more subdued, but that’s sequels for you. It’s still a number to be very happy with.

34. ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR
12/03  #1  - 173,441
12/04  #14 -  77,931
=====
12/05  #26 -  69,689  ( -0.5%)
01/06  ---
02/06  #27 -  67,922  ( -2.5%)
03/06  #28 -  67,480  ( -0.7%)
04/06  #29 -  67,554  ( +0.1%)
05/06  #30 - 103,837  (+53.7%)
06/06  ---
07/06  #31 -  84,460  (-18.7%)
08/06  #32 -  80,730  ( -4.4%)
08/06  #33 -  65,191  (-19.2%)
09/06  #34 -  63,447  ( -2.7%)
10/06  #35 -  61,270  ( -3.4%)
11/06  #36 -  57,779  ( -5.7%)
12/06  #37 -  55,047  ( -4.7%)
              6 mnth  (-34.8%)
              1 year  (-21.0%)
              2 year  (-29.4%)
              3 year  (-68.3%)

Deeply worrying numbers. The book has been bleeding readers since Mike Carey and Pasqual Ferry took over with issue #33, and the drops have actually been larger in recent months. Apparently the audience of this title doesn’t want to read a six-part storyline featuring a thinly disguised version of the Forever People. Something’s clearly going wrong, anyway.

36. BLACK PANTHER
12/01  #39 - 19,576
12/02  #52 - 18,393
=====
12/05  #11 - 29,327  (  -8.3%)
01/06  #12 - 27,933  (  -4.7%)
02/06  #13 - 26,054  (  -6.7%)
03/06  #14 - 28,809  ( +10.6%)
04/06  #15 - 28,361  (  -1.6%)
05/06  #16 - 28,091  (  -1.0%)
06/06  #17 - 27,993  (  -0.3%)
07/06  #18 - 69,912  (+149.7%)
08/06  #19 - 28,372  ( -59.4%)
09/06  #20 - 26,585  (  -6.3%)
10/06  #21 - 34,257  ( +28.9%)
11/06  #22 - 47,556  ( +38.8%)
12/06  #23 - 54,762  ( +15.2%)
             6 mnth  ( +95.6%)
             1 year  ( +86.7%)

Leaping up the charts as people notice that the CIVIL WAR crossover arc actually appears to be important to the plot. Well, that’s how it’s presented in this book, anyway – it seems to be pretty much irrelevant in CIVIL WAR itself. Still, I’m sure they’ll take what they can get. Be warned that BLACK PANTHER has established a track record of getting large boosts from crossovers, and crashing straight back afterwards. (See issue #18 for an example.)

Issue #22 picks up re-orders of 6,288.

38. ULTIMATE VISION
11/06  #0 (of 5) - 40,004
12/06  #1 (of 5) - 53,069  (+32.7%)

The first issue of the miniseries proper – issue #0 was a reprint of some back-up strips. It’s a pretty good number for an Ultimate Vision miniseries, but as noted above, you have to wonder whether the Ultimate imprint can maintain its brand image while producing mid-table miniseries like this.

39. ONSLAUGHT REBORN
11/06  #1 (of 5) - 82,642
12/06  #2 (of 5) - 52,907  (-36.0%)

Issue #1 picks up re-orders of 3,540. This is pretty much standard for a Rob Liefeld project at Marvel – high numbers for issue #1, and then it drops like a stone.

40. SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN
12/04  #9  - 64,461
======
12/05  #21 - 76,763  ( +4.8%)
01/06  #22 - 74,923  ( -2.4%)
02/06  #23 - 59,051  (-21.2%)
03/06  #24 - 53,910  ( -8.7%)
04/06  #25 - 51,992  ( -3.6%)
05/06  #26 - 52,496  ( +1.0%)
06/06  #27 - 50,721  ( -3.4%)
07/06  #28 - 58,532  (+15.4%)
08/06  #29 - 55,420  ( -5.3%)
09/06  #30 - 54,467  ( -1.7%)
10/06  #31 - 51,587  ( -5.3%)
11/06  #32 - 50,222  ( -2.6%)
12/06  #33 - 48,443  ( -3.5%)
             6 mnth  ( -4.5%)
             1 year  (-36.9%)
             2 year  (-24.8%)

In clear decline, as is FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN. After a very short initial burst of interest, the unmasking of Spider-Man has done absolutely nothing to help sales on his titles. True, AMAZING is doing fine, but it’s running a lengthy CIVIL WAR tie-in arc which would have boosted sales for that reason anyway. Look at the sales on this book, and FRIENDLY, and compare the sales a year ago when they were running the “Other” crossover. There’s no way a stunt as well-publicised as this should be doing that much worse than a workaday crossover. This is not working; it’s not drawing money. And it’s going to be very hard to undo.

At this stage, “Back in Black” really needs to deliver a sales boost, because when you look beneath the CIVIL WAR boost on AMAZING, the Spider-Man line is actually looking a little sickly.

41. DAREDEVIL
12/01  #28 - 49,733
12/02  #40 - 54,292
12/03  #55 - 53,660
12/04  #68 - 50,491
=====
12/05  #80 - 43,309  ( -2.1%)
01/06  #81 - 44,252  ( +2.2%)
02/06  #82 - 53,058  (+19.9%)
03/06  #83 - 46,804  (-11.8%)
04/06  #84 - 47,123  ( +0.7%)
05/06  #85 - 47,899  ( +1.6%)
06/06  #86 - 48,280  ( +0.8%)
07/06  #87 - 51,989  ( +7.7%)
08/06  #88 - 50,554  ( -2.8%)
09/06  #89 - 55,481  ( +9.7%)
10/06  #90 - 50,500  ( -9.0%)
11/06  #91 - 49,335  ( -2.3%)
12/06  #92 - 48,035  ( -2.6%)
             6 mnth  ( -0.5%)
             1 year  (+10.9%)
             2 year  ( -4.9%)
             3 year  (-10.5%)

Still within the book’s normal range.

42. INCREDIBLE HULK
12/01  #35  - 34,446
12/02  #48  - 48,668
12/03  #64  - 51,960
12/04  ---
=====
12/05  #90  - 36,924  (  -6.8%)
01/06  #91  - 35,980  (  -2.6%)
02/06  #92  - 53,661  ( +49.1%)
03/06  #93  - 47,437  ( -11.6%)
04/06  #94  - 47,966  (  +1.1%)
05/06  #95  - 49,089  (  +2.3%)
06/06  ---
07/06  #96  - 49,209  (  +0.2%)
08/06  #97  - 48,893  (  -0.6%)
09/06  #98  - 52,987  (  +8.4%)
10/06  #99  - 47,878  (  -9.6%)
11/06  #100 - 84,169  ( +75.8%)
12/06  #101 - 47,927  ( -43.1%)
              6 mnth  (  -2.6%)
              1 year  ( +29.8%)
              2 year  (   --- )
              3 year  (  -7.8%)

Straight back to normal after November’s anniversary issue. The “Planet Hulk” story continues to sell consistently at around 48K, though, so Marvel can be happy with that.

43. X-MEN: PHOENIX - WARSONG
09/06  #1 (of 5) - 73,503
10/06  #2 (of 5) - 54,727  (-25.5%)
11/06  #3 (of 5) - 50,222  ( -8.2%)
12/06  #4 (of 5) - 46,942  ( -6.5%)

Fairly standard miniseries numbers.

44. SPIDER-MAN: REIGN
12/06  #1 (of 4) - 46,827

An out-of-continuity miniseries by Kaare Andrews. Not a bad start for that sort of thing.

46. GHOST RIDER
12/05  #4 (of 6) - 59,678  ( -5.1%)
01/06  #5 (of 6) - 56,958  ( -4.6%)
02/06  #6 (of 6) - 55,802  ( -2.0%)
03/06  ---
04/06  ---
05/06  ---
06/06  ---
07/06         #1 - 98,826  (+77.1%)
08/06         #2 - 61,793  (-37.5%)
09/06         #3 - 54,029  (-12.6%)
10/06         #4 - 50,925  ( -5.7%)
11/06         #5 - 47,929  ( -5.9%)
12/06         #6 - 46,673  ( -2.6%)
                   6 mnth  (  --- )
                   1 year  (-21.8%)

Levelling out, and no doubt Marvel could live quite happily with the book settling down in this area of the chart.

47. NEWUNIVERSAL
12/06  #1 - 43,163

Warren Ellis and Salvador Larroca revive the New Universe, of all things. (Purists may wish to imagine the title in lower case.) Obviously there’s very little built-in audience for these characters, so this audience largely reflects the drawing power of the creators. It’s a solid start for an unlikely-sounding project.

48. FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN
12/05  #3  - 81,309  ( -2.0%)
01/06  #4  - 78,672  ( -3.2%)
02/06  ---
03/06  #5  - 59,900  (-23.9%)
03/06  #6  - 58,853  ( -1.7%)
04/06  #7  - 55,381  ( -5.9%)
05/06  #8  - 53,910  ( -2.7%)
06/06  #9  - 50,177  ( -6.9%)
07/06  #10 - 48,902  ( -2.5%)
08/06  #11 - 50,995  ( +4.3%)
09/06  #12 - 48,063  ( -5.7%)
10/06  #13 - 46,293  ( -3.7%)
11/06  #14 - 43,476  ( -6.1%)
12/06  #15 - 42,147  ( -3.1%)
             6 mnth  (-16.0%)
             1 year  (-48.2%)

See the comments for SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN above.

49. X-FACTOR
12/05  #1  - 64,861
12/05  #2  - 52,705  (-18.7%)
01/06  ---
02/06  #3  - 48,307  ( -8.3%)
03/06  #4  - 48,183  ( -0.3%)
03/06  #5  - 46,490  ( -3.5%)
04/06  #6  - 45,220  ( -2.7%)
05/06  #7  - 44,315  ( -2.0%)
06/06  #8  - 76,150  (+71.8%)
07/06  #9  - 68,799  ( -9.7%)
08/06  #10 - 44,603  (-35.2%)
09/06  #11 - 43,431  ( -2.6%)
10/06  #12 - 42,909  ( -1.2%)
11/06  #13 - 42,844  ( -0.2%)
12/06  #14 - 40,208  ( -6.2%)
             6 mnth  (-47.2%)
             1 year  (-38.1%)

An unusually large drop for a book that’s generally fairly stable. The six month comparison is with a CIVIL WAR tie-in issue, so it’s not really representative. (Given the length of some CIVIL WAR crossover arcs, I’ll be saying that a lot over the next few months.) It’s also the book’s first anniversary, and it’s still over 40K. That would count as a successful mid-table launch.

51. ANNIHILATION
08/06  #1 (of 6) - 61,006
09/06  #2 (of 6) - 44,537  (-27.0%)
10/06  #3 (of 6) - 41,292  ( -7.3%)
11/06  #4 (of 6) - 39,645  ( -4.0%)
12/06  #5 (of 6) - 38,237  ( -3.6%)

Standard miniseries decline. The book is drifting off the radar a bit, but still doing very well considering the cast. Marvel might have hoped for slightly higher numbers at this stage, considering that they’re attempting to launch a NOVA ongoing title off the back of this event.

52. NEW X-MEN
12/04  #7  - 43,024
=====
12/05  #21 - 43,473  (-26.9%)
01/06  #22 - 42,923  ( -1.3%)
02/06  #23 - 41,463  ( -3.4%)
03/06  #24 - 42,044  ( +1.4%)
04/06  #25 - 40,176  ( -4.4%)
05/06  #26 - 40,073  ( -0.3%)
06/06  #27 - 39,785  ( -0.7%)
07/06  #28 - 39,771  ( -0.0%)
08/06  #29 - 40,303  ( +1.3%)
09/06  #30 - 39,658  ( -1.6%)
10/06  #31 - 39,175  ( -1.2%)
11/06  #32 - 37,919  ( -3.2%)
12/06  #33 - 38,076  ( +0.4%)
             6 mnth  ( -4.3%)
             1 year  (-12.4%)
             2 year  (-11.5%)

Hovering comfortably in its normal range.

54. FANTASTIC FOUR: THE END
11/06  #1 (of 6) - 54,213
11/06  #2 (of 6) - 38,928  (-28.2%)
12/06  #3 (of 6) - 36,744  ( -5.6%)

Again, fairly standard miniseries drops.

59. MS MARVEL
03/06  #1  - 73,407
04/06  #2  - 46,204  (-37.1%)
05/06  #3  - 43,048  ( -6.8%)
06/06  #4  - 40,627  ( -5.6%)
07/06  #5  - 38,874  ( -4.3%)
08/06  #6  - 68,330  (+75.8%)
09/06  #7  - 64,973  ( -4.9%)
10/06  #8  - 62,893  ( -3.2%)
11/06  #9  - 37,881  (-39.8%)
12/06  #10 - 34,350  ( -9.3%)
             6 mnth  (-15.5%)

A worryingly large drop at this stage. Perhaps the character’s inclusion in MIGHTY AVENGERS will help her.

62. IMMORTAL IRON FIST
11/06  #1 - 40,696
12/06  #2 - 33,219  (-18.4%)

Issue #1 picks up re-orders of 2,117, and there’s a Director’s Cut edition still to go. The second issue drop isn’t bad either, considering the re-orders. These aren’t fantastic numbers, but given that it’s Iron Fist, they could have been a lot worse.

63. PUNISHER  [Max]
12/01  #7  - 59,606
12/02  #20 - 43,514
12/03  #37 - 38,561
12/04  #15 - 40,357
=====
12/05  #28 - 35,535  ( -1.5%)
01/06  #29 - 34,708  ( -2.3%)
02/06  #30 - 34,293  ( -1.2%)
03/06  #31 - 34,505  ( +0.6%)
04/06  #32 - 34,076  ( -1.2%)
05/06  #33 - 34,480  ( +1.2%)
06/06  #34 - 34,161  ( -0.9%)
07/06  #35 - 34,116  ( -0.1%)
08/06  #36 - 34,227  ( +0.3%)
09/06  #37 - 34,250  ( +0.1%)
09/06  #38 - 33,839  ( -1.2%)
10/06  #39 - 33,962  ( +0.4%)
11/06  #40 - 33,579  ( -1.1%)
11/06  #41 - 33,164  ( -1.2%)
12/06  #42 - 33,003  ( -0.5%)
             6 mnth  ( -3.4%)
             1 year  ( -7.1%)
             2 year  (-18.2%)
             3 year  (-14.4%)

Rock solid.

66. HEROES FOR HIRE
08/06  #1 - 84,006
09/06  #2 - 66,949  (-20.3%)
10/06  #3 - 60,770  ( -9.2%)
11/06  #4 - 38,070  (-37.4%)
12/06  #5 - 31,318  (-17.7%)

Please remain calm and make your way to the lifeboats in an orderly fashion.

A recap: this series is a spin-off from the DAUGHTERS OF THE DRAGON miniseries, which sold abysmally. The first three issues were CIVIL WAR crossovers, though, so they sold rather well. Issue #4 saw a massive drop which was only to be expected in the circumstances. But now issue #5 sees another huge drop month on month, and that suggests retailers are desperately slashing orders in the hope of finding a quantity that they can actually shift.

At this stage in a book’s life, an 18% drop between issues is truly horrific. This is an extremely bad sign.

67. NEW EXCALIBUR
12/05  #2  - 48,816  (-16.3%)
01/06  #3  - 47,196  ( -3.3%)
02/06  #4  - 45,071  ( -4.5%)
03/06  #5  - 43,523  ( -3.4%)
04/06  #6  - 40,687  ( -6.5%)
05/06  #7  - 38,744  ( -4.8%)
06/06  #8  - 37,428  ( -3.4%)
07/06  #9  - 36,466  ( -2.6%)
08/06  #10 - 36,108  ( -1.0%)
09/06  #11 - 34,104  ( -5.6%)
10/06  #12 - 33,082  ( -3.0%)
11/06  #13 - 32,173  ( -2.7%)
12/06  #14 - 31,318  ( -2.7%)
             6 mnth  (-16.3%)
             1 year  (-35.8%)

Still in decline as it celebrates its first year. Obviously, months of fill-in stories, forced by the ill health of Chris Claremont, have made it difficult for the book to get traction.

68,74. WHAT IF?
11/06        Enemy of the State - 31,211
11/06                 The Other - 31,060
11/06     Avengers Disassembled - 30,635
12/06  X-Men: Age of Apocalypse - 31,172
12/06     X-Men: Deadly Genesis - 29,902

All this year’s one-shots end up at about the same level.

69. ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER  [DBPro]
10/06  #1 (of 12) - 46,524
11/06  #2 (of 12) - 35,528  (-23.6%)
12/06  #3 (of 12) - 30,610  (-13.8%)

Still piling on the re-orders. Issue #1 gets another 4,056, while issue #2 adds 7,497 extra orders. Taking that into account, the number for issue #3 is great – it’s actually a climb from issue #2’s first month sales. This book is a hit, especially when you consider that the direct market serial format has traditionally been a weak area for DBPro.

73. EXILES ANNUAL
12/06  #1 - 30,033

Exactly where EXILES itself usually is. And where is EXILES, you ask? Stick around…

76. X-MEN: FIRST CLASS
09/06  #1 of 8 - 39,859
10/06  #2 of 8 - 33,688  (-15.5%)
11/06  #3 of 8 - 30,805  ( -8.6%)
12/06  #4 of 8 - 28,455  ( -7.6%)

Perfectly good miniseries numbers.

77. CABLE & DEADPOOL
12/04  #10 - 26,911
=====
12/05  #23 - 23,296  (  -1.9%)
01/06  #24 - 23,542  (  +1.1%)
02/06  #25 - 22,918  (  -2.7%)
03/06  #26 - 25,584  ( +11.6%)
04/06  #27 - 26,153  (  +2.2%)
05/06  #28 - 25,665  (  -1.9%)
06/06  #29 - 25,368  (  -1.2%)
07/06  #30 - 59,333  (+133.9%)
08/06  #31 - 59,804  (  +0.8%)
09/06  #32 - 60,177  (  +0.6%)
10/06  #33 - 30,741  ( -48.9%)
11/06  #34 - 29,144  (  -5.2%)
12/06  #35 - 27,785  (  -4.7%)
             6 mnth  (  +9.5%)
             1 year  ( +19.3%)
             2 year  (  +3.2%)


78. THUNDERBOLTS
12/01  #59  - 30,781
12/02  #75  - 27,233
12/04  #3   - 32,720
=====
12/05  #16  - 25,084  (  -0.6%)
01/06  #17  - 23,417  (  -6.7%)
02/06  #18  - 23,735  (  +1.4%)
03/06  #100 - 26,798  ( +12.9%)
04/06  #101 - 24,170  (  -9.8%)
05/06  #102 - 23,741  (  -1.8%)
06/06  #103 - 60,823  (+156.2%)
07/06  #104 - 63,850  (  +5.0%)
08/06  #105 - 61,467  (  -3.7%)
09/06  #106 - 31,527  ( -48.7%)
10/06  #107 - 29,624  (  -6.0%)
11/06  #108 - 27,890  (  -5.9%)
12/06  #109 - 27,300  (  -2.1%)
              6 mnth  ( -55.1%)
              1 year  (  +8.8%)
              2 year  ( -16.6%)

The two Fabian Nicieza titles are still holding on to some of their CIVIL WAR sales boosts, although they’re wearing off. THUNDERBOLTS gets revamped next month, and is virtually guaranteed to leap up the charts as a result.

80. DOCTOR STRANGE: OATH
10/06  #1 (of 5) - 40,280
11/06  #2 (of 5) - 29,824  (-26.0%)
12/06  #3 (of 5) - 27,046  ( -9.3%)

Again, pretty standard miniseries drops. This is fine for a Dr Strange book.

82,85. AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES II
11/06  #1 of 8 - 35,032
11/06  #2 of 8 - 31,871  ( -9.0%)
12/06  #3 of 8 - 27,015  (-15.2%)
12/06  #4 of 8 - 25,622  ( -5.2%)

This is an oddity of retailer ordering patterns: they tend to cut orders more aggressive between months. So the book gets its big drop on issue #3, not issue #2. That quirk aside, this is pretty standard.

84. AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL
12/01  #41  - 23,573
12/02  #54  - 24,389
12/03  #67  - 21,403
12/04  #81  - 20,419
=====
12/05  #93  - 17,057  (  -3.1%)
01/06  #94  - 17,148  (  +0.5%)
02/06  #95  - 16,778  (  -2.2%)
03/06  #96  - 16,739  (  -0.2%)
04/06  #97  - 17,508  (  +4.6%)
05/06  #98  - 17,738  (  +1.3%)
06/06  #99  - 17,915  (  +1.0%)
07/06  #100 - 22,691  ( +26.7%)
08/06  ----
09/06  ----
10/06  #1   - 47,304  (+108.5%)
11/06  #2   - 28,135  ( -40.5%)
12/06  #3   - 25,645  (  -8.9%)
              6 mnth  ( +43.1%)
              1 year  ( +50.3%)
              2 year  ( +25.6%)
              3 year  ( +19.8%)

Still searching for its level, but it remains comfortably above pre-relaunch numbers.

88. BULLET POINTS
11/06  #1 (of 5) - 33,503
12/06  #2 (of 5) - 25,184  (-24.8%)

A fairly normal second issue drop for a miniseries.

91. SHE-HULK
12/04  #10 - 23,848
=====
12/05  #3  - 29,428  (  -6.9%)
01/06  #4  - 28,214  (  -4.1%)
02/06  #5  - 27,183  (  -3.7%)
03/06  #6  - 26,631  (  -2.0%)
04/06  ---
05/06  #7  - 26,561  (  -0.3%)
05/06  #8  - 58,053  (+118.6%)
06/06  ---
07/06  #9  - 29,902  ( -48.5%)
08/06  #10 - 28,555  (  -4.5%)
08/06  #11 - 27,393  (  -4.1%)
09/06  #12 - 26,448  (  -3.4%)
10/06  ---
11/06  #13 - 26,267  (  -0.7%)
12/06  #14 - 24,552  (  -6.5%)
             6 mnth  ( -17.9%)
             1 year  ( -16.6%)
             2 year  (  +3.0%)

A slightly unusual drop; we’ll have to see whether it’s starting a trend.

108. WONDER MAN
12/06  #1 (of 5) - 22,282

A decidedly lacklustre debut. Well, it’s Wonder Man – they couldn’t really have expected much better.

109. NEXTWAVE: AGENTS OF H.A.T.E.
01/06   #1 - 41,041
02/06  ---
03/06   #2 - 29,911  (-27.1%)
03/06   #3 - 27,126  ( -9.3%)
04/06   #4 - 26,728  ( -1.5%)
05/06   #5 - 30,818  (+15.3%)
06/06   #6 - 24,626  (-20.1%)
07/06  ---
08/06   #7 - 24,245  ( -1.5%)
09/06   #8 - 23,059  ( -4.9%)
10/06   #9 - 22,357  ( -3.0%)
11/06  #10 - 21,644  ( -3.2%)
12/06  #11 - 22,259  ( +2.8%)
             6 mnth  ( -9.6%)

Axed with issue #12. There’s no obvious reason for the 2.8% gain, unless possibly some retailers looked at the parody cover and figured it was a CIVIL WAR parody issue. (It isn’t.)

113. BEYOND!
07/06  #1 (of 6) - 35,728
08/06  #2 (of 6) - 28,727  (-19.6%)
09/06  #3 (of 6) - 25,096  (-12.6%)
10/06  #4 (of 6) - 23,792  ( -5.2%)
11/06  #5 (of 6) - 22,795  ( -4.2%)
12/06  #6 (of 6) - 21,528  ( -5.6%)

Considering the C-list cast, BEYOND! finishes up with a respectable number.

114. MARVEL 1602: FANTASTICK FOUR
09/06  #1 (of 5) - 31,784
10/06  #2 (of 5) - 26,702  (-16.0%)
11/06  #3 (of 5) - 23,295  (-12.8%)
12/06  #4 (of 5) - 21,389  ( -8.2%)

Quietly disappearing from view. This surely has to be the last we see of the MARVEL 1602 franchise for the foreseeable future.

119. BLADE
09/06  #1 - 37,394
10/06  #2 - 27,170  (-27.3%)
11/06  #3 - 23,144  (-14.8%)
12/06  #4 - 21,043  ( -9.1%)

Levelling out, but the numbers are very unhealthy. (Insert your own joke about the walking dead here.)

121. EXILES
12/01  #7  - 40,075
12/02  #20 - 36,796
12/03  #38 - 38,542
12/04  #55 - 33,744
=====
12/05  #74 - 33,881  ( -0.4%)
01/06  #75 - 33,485  ( -1.2%)
01/06  #76 - 32,843  ( -1.9%)
02/06  #77 - 32,998  ( +0.5%)
03/06  #78 - 33,506  ( +1.5%)
04/06  #79 - 34,119  ( +1.8%)
05/06  #80 - 34,039  ( -0.2%)
05/06  #81 - 33,908  ( -0.4%)
06/06  #82 - 33,342  ( -1.7%)
06/06  #83 - 33,143  ( -0.6%)
07/06  #84 - 32,866  ( -0.8%)
08/06  #85 - 33,978  ( +3.4%)
09/06  #86 - 33,080  ( -2.6%)
10/06  #87 - 31,946  ( -3.4%)
11/06  #88 - 30,928  ( -3.2%)
12/06  #89 - 20,727  (-33.0%)
             6 mnth  (-37.5%)
             1 year  (-38.8%)
             2 year  (-38.6%)
             3 year  (-46.2%)

This is the result of a distribution screw-up. Sales are only counted towards the chart if they actually reach stores within the month. EXILES #89 was meant to ship in the last week of the month, and it did – unless you live on the west coast, in which case Diamond lost your shipping container, and didn’t get the books out until January. The remainder of the sales will almost certainly show up on next month’s chart.

123. IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN
10/06  #1 - 29,499
11/06  #2 - 23,191  (-21.4%)
12/06  #3 - 19,580  (-15.6%)

The lowest selling Marvel Universe title that hasn’t been cancelled yet – but with numbers like these, it’s only a matter of time.

124,129. AVENGERS NEXT
11/06  #1 (of 5) - 24,521
11/06  #2 (of 5) - 20,842  (-15.0%)
12/06  #3 (of 5) - 19,496  ( -6.5%)
12/06  #4 (of 5) - 18,157  ( -6.9%)

The SPIDER-GIRL sister title is holding up decently.

126. WHITE TIGER
11/06  #1 (of 6) - 24,663
12/06  #2 (of 6) - 19,042  (-22.3%)

Not a spectacular number, but no worse than should reasonably have been expected. It’s an unfamiliar creative team and a minor character, after all.

131. OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE
12/04   Golden Age - 17,356
=====
12/05    Ultimates - 20,795  ( -9.5%)
01/06   #1 (of 12) - 23,423  (+12.6%)
02/06   #2 (of 12) - 21,828  ( -6.8%)
03/06   #3 (of 12) - 21,681  ( -0.7%)
04/06   #4 (of 12) - 21,531  ( -0.7%)
05/06   #5 (of 12) - 21,331  ( -0.9%)
06/06   #6 (of 12) - 20,731  ( -2.8%)
07/06   #7 (of 12) - 20,124  ( -2.9%)
08/06   #8 (of 12) - 19,926  ( -1.0%)
09/06   #9 (of 12) - 18,966  ( -4.8%)
10/06  #10 (of 12) - 18,767  ( -1.0%)
11/06  #11 (of 12) - 18,285  ( -2.6%)
12/06  #12 (of 12) - 17,826  ( -2.5%)
                     6 mnth  (-14.0%)
                     1 year  (-14.3%)
                     2 year  ( +2.7%)

The A TO Z series wraps up, having held its audience surprisingly well. The title continues into 2007 with a mixture of updates and theme issues.

132. CRIMINAL  [Icon]
10/06  #1 - 25,978
11/06  #2 - 21,115  (-18.7%)
12/06  #3 - 17,702  (-16.2%)

Ah, now that’s a rather steep drop for the third issue. A bit disappointing.

134. UNION JACK
09/06  #1 (of 4) - 25,333
10/06  #2 (of 4) - 20,871  (-17.6%)
11/06  #3 (of 4) - 18,841  ( -9.7%)
12/06  #4 (of 4) - 17,495  ( -7.1%)

Not spectacular, but considering that it’s Union Jack with no big name creators attached, it’s actually a respectable performance.

144. MARVEL HOLIDAY SPECIAL
12/06  Marvel Holiday Special - 15,093

The annual Christmas special, featuring filler galore. Last year it did 14,341.

145. ZOMBIE  [Max]
09/06  #1 (of 4) - 26,621
10/06  #2 (of 4) - 19,772  (-25.7%)
11/06  #3 (of 4) - 16,605  (-16.0%)
12/06  #4 (of 4) - 14,855  (-10.5%)

147. HELLSTORM, SON OF SATAN  [Max]
10/06  #1 (of 5) - 27,045
11/06  #2 (of 5) - 17,398  (-35.7%)
12/06  #3 (of 5) - 14,593  (-16.1%)

Two miniseries from the recent Max imprint push, both politely fading into synchronised obscurity.

158. AGENTS OF ATLAS
08/06  #1 (of 6) - 19,292
09/06  #2 (of 6) - 14,416  (-25.3%)
10/06  #3 (of 6) - 12,929  (-10.3%)
11/06  #4 (of 6) - 12,388  ( -4.2%)
12/06  #5 (of 6) - 11,853  ( -4.3%)

Well received, but not many people actually bought it.

191. MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS  [All ages]
05/06  #1 - 13,891
06/06  #2 -  9,359  (-32.7%)
07/06  #3 -  9,006  ( -3.8%)
08/06  #4 -  8,610  ( -4.4%)
09/06  #5 -  7,994  ( -7.2%)
10/06  #6 -  7,879  ( -1.4%)
11/06  #7 -  7,642  ( -3.0%)
12/06  #8 -  7,512  ( -1.7%)

As I’ve said many times before, the all ages books aren’t dependent on direct market sales, and these numbers of academic interest only.

198. MAGICIAN: APPRENTICE  [DBPro]
10/06  #1-2       - 1,892
11/06  #3 (of 12) - 4,595  (+142.9%)
12/06  #4 (of 12) - 7,266  ( +58.1%)

This, on the other hand, is rather more attention-grabbing. Last month I said that I wouldn’t bother listing the DBPro books unless they were selling well enough to make the Top 300 consistently. Well, if they keep gaining sales at this rate, that’s not going to be a concern. Of course, this book is still doing most of its business elsewhere, but hooking up with Marvel does seem to be boosting DBPro’s direct market sales in leaps and bounds.

210. MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN  [All ages]
12/05  #10 - 6,391  ( -3.7%)
01/06  #11 - 6,107  ( -4.4%)
02/06  #12 - 6,087  ( -0.3%)
03/06  #13 - 5,899  ( -3.1%)
04/06  #14 - 5,970  ( +1.2%)
05/06  #15 - 6,165  ( +3.3%)
06/06  #16 - 6,114  ( -0.8%)
07/06  #17 - 6,133  ( +0.3%)
08/06  #18 - 6,220  ( +1.4%)
09/06  #19 - 6,057  ( -2.6%)
10/06  #20 - 6,131  ( +1.2%)
11/06  #21 - 6,529  ( +6.5%)
12/06  #22 - 6,396  ( -2.0%)
            6 mnth  ( +4.6%)
            1 year  ( +0.1%)

211. SPIDER-MAN & POWER PACK  [All ages]
11/06  #1 (of 4) - 7,897
12/06  #2 (of 4) - 6,350  (-19.6%)

213. SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE  [All ages]
12/05  #1  - 11,171
01/06  #2  -  8,590  (-23.1%)
02/06  #3  -  7,648  (-11.0%)
03/06  #4  -  7,672  ( +0.3%)
04/06  #5  -  7,165  ( -6.6%)
05/06  #6  -  7,069  ( -1.3%)
06/06  #7  -  6,834  ( -3.3%)
07/06  #8  -  6,769  ( -1.0%)
08/06  #9  -  6,719  ( -0.7%)
09/06  #10 -  6,623  ( -1.4%)
10/06  #11 -  6,586  ( -0.6%)
11/06  #12 -  6,520  ( -1.0%)
12/06  #13 -  6,311  ( -3.2%)
             6 mnth  ( -7.7%)
             1 year  (-43.5%)

More all ages titles.

227. KABUKI: REFLECTIONS  [Icon]
12/05  --
01/06  --
02/06  --
03/06  --
04/06  --
05/06  --
06/06  --
07/06  #6 - 5,815
08/06  --
09/06  --
10/06  --
11/06  --
12/06  #7 - 5,226  (-10.1%)

David Mack’s sporadic art book makes one of its irregular appearances on the charts.

229. RED PROPHET: TALES OF ALVIN MAKER  [DBPro]
10/06  #1-2       -   1,617
11/06  #3 (of 12) - < 3,170  (   ?.?%)
12/06  #4 (of 12) -   5,034  (+>58.9%)

This book failed to chart last month, meaning that it must have sold fewer than 3,170 copies. This month it managed 5,034 and it was comfortably inside the top 250. There’s actual, significant growth here, even though these books aren’t going to develop typical Marvel sales patterns overnight.

240. MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR  [All ages]
12/05  #7  - 5,058  ( -8.4%)
01/06  #8  - 4,834  ( -4.4%)
02/06  #9  - 4,711  ( -2.5%)
03/06  #10 - 4,663  ( -1.0%)
04/06  #11 - 4,526  ( -2.9%)
05/06  #12 - 4,836  ( +6.8%)
06/06  #13 - 4,752  ( -1.7%)
07/06  #14 - 4,668  ( -1.8%)
08/06  #15 - 4,569  ( -2.1%)
09/06  #16 - 4,687  ( +2.6%)
10/06  #17 - 4,557  ( -2.8%)
11/06  #18 - 4,614  ( +1.3%)
12/06  #19 - 4,533  ( -1.8%)
            6 mnth  ( -4.6%)
            1 year  (-10.4%)


262. PTOLUS: CITY BY THE SPIRE  [DBPro]
10/06  #1 (of 6) -   1,873
11/05  #2 (of 6) - < 3,170  (  ?.?%)
12/06  #3 (of 6) -   3,186  (+>0.5%)

A little less emphatic than MAGICIAN or RED PROPHET, but still showing signs of growth. Looks like I’ll have to watch out for DBPro’s books after all.

Skip months
===========


CIVIL WAR
05/06  #1 (of 7) - 360,172
06/06  #2 (of 7) - 339,527  ( -5.7%)
07/06  #3 (of 7) - 332,451  ( -2.1%)
08/06  ---
09/06  #4 (of 7) - 283,556  (-14.7%)
10/06  ---
11/06  #5 (of 7) - 276,328  ( -2.5%)
12/06  ---

Late. The re-orders continue to flood in: 2,571 copies of issue #1, 2,147 of issue #3, 3,048 of issue #4 and 3,725 of issue #5.

Marvel also shifted a further 8,936 copies of CIVIL WAR: CHOOSING SIDES in December, bringing the total to 83,547.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
12/01  #38  -  88,666
12/02  #48  -  93,867
12/03  #502 -  90,484
12/04  #515 -  82,840
=====
12/05  #527 -  89,922  ( -0.5%)
01/06  #528 -  97,807  ( -8.8%)
02/06  #529 - 132,329  (+35.3%)
03/06  #530 - 101,226  (-23.5%)
04/06  #531 -  96,213  ( -5.0%)
05/06  #532 - 119,083  (+23.8%)
06/06  #533 - 137,926  (+15.8%)
07/06  #534 - 125,553  ( -9.0%)
08/06  ----
09/06  #535 - 122,968  ( -2.1%)
10/06  ----
11/06  #536 - 121,003  ( -1.6%)
12/06  ---

Delayed by CIVIL WAR. Issue #536 picks up 2,170 re-orders.

PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL
11/06  #1 - 102,727
12/06  --

Delayed by CIVIL WAR.

ULTIMATES 2
12/02  #9  - 101,811
12/03  #12 - 104,572
12/04  #1  - 146,271
=====
12/05  #9  -  94,493  ( -1.5%)
01/06  ---
02/06  ---
03/06  #10 -  94,900  ( +0.4%)
04/06  ---
05/06  ---
06/06  #11 -  96,751  ( +2.0%)
07/06  ---
08/06  ---
09/06  #12 -  99,538  ( +2.9%)
10/06  ---
11/06  ---
12/06  ---

Late again. December saw the second anniversary of issue #1. Isn’t that sweet?

CAPTAIN AMERICA
12/01  #50 - 40,010
12/02  #7  - 57,410
12/03  #21 - 43,018
12/04  ---
=====
12/05  #13 - 44,954  ( -0.2%)
01/05  ---
02/06  #14 - 44,041  ( -0.2%)
02/06  #15 - 43,350  ( -1.6%)
03/06  #16 - 44,717  ( +3.2%)
04/06  #17 - 45,541  ( +1.8%)
05/06  #18 - 46,740  ( +2.6%)
06/06  #19 - 47,315  ( +1.2%)
07/06  #20 - 47,357  ( +0.1%)
08/06  ---
09/06  #21 - 49,050  ( +3.6%)
09/06  #22 - 86,875  (+77.1%)
10/06  #23 - 81,323  ( -6.4%)
11/06  #24 - 82,348  ( +1.3%)
12/06  ---

Late, presumably because of CIVIL WAR tie-ins. Issue #24 picks up 2,463 re-orders.

MOON KNIGHT
04/06  #1 - 114,533
05/06  #2 -  77,552  (-32.3%)
06/06  #3 -  72,206  ( -6.9%)
07/06  ---
08/06  #4 -  67,802  ( -6.1%)
09/06  #5 -  64,736  ( -4.5%)
10/06  ---
11/06  #6 -  74,017  (+14.3%)
12/06  ---

Late.

ETERNALS
06/06  #1 (of 6) - 110,269
07/06  #2 (of 6) -  79,086  (-28.3%)
08/06  #3 (of 6) -  73,997  ( -6.4%)
09/06  #4 (of 6) -  66,556  (-10.1%)
10/06  --
11/06  #5 (of 6) -  66,356  ( -0.3%)
12/06  --

Late.

SQUADRON SUPREME
12/03  #5  - 70,321
12/04  #14 - 57,975
=====
03/06  #1  - 61,625  (+21.8%)
04/06  #2  - 51,197  (-16.9%)
05/06  #3  - 49,205  ( -3.9%)
06/06  #4  - 48,035  ( -1.8%)
07/06  #5  - 46,029  ( -4.2%)
08/06  #6  - 44,564  ( -3.2%)
09/06  ---
10/06  ---
11/06  #7  - 41,966  ( -5.8%)
12/06  ---

Off the schedule altogether. Issues #8 and #9 were solicited, with Mike Deodato as the new regular artist. Then they were cancelled, with Deodato blaming “late scripts.” Then Deodato was reassigned to the THUNDERBOLTS revamp. The delayed issues haven’t been rescheduled. So basically, the current position is that, in theory, SQUADRON SUPREME has not been cancelled, but in practice, they haven’t solicited any more issues. On any view, this is a troubled comic.

RUNAWAYS
12/03  #9  - 20,429
12/04  ---
=====
12/05  #11 - 25,260  ( -1.9%)
01/06  #12 - 24,989  ( -1.1%)
02/06  #13 - 24,313  ( -2.7%)
03/06  #14 - 24,536  ( +0.9%)
04/06  #15 - 24,046  ( -2.0%)
05/06  #16 - 23,842  ( -0.8%)
06/06  #17 - 23,654  ( -0.8%)
07/06  #18 - 24,678  ( +4.3%)
08/06  #19 - 25,042  ( +1.5%)
09/06  #20 - 23,561  ( -5.9%)
10/06  #21 - 25,553  ( +8.5%)
11/06  #22 - 25,908  ( +1.4%)
12/06  ---

Late.

POWERS  [Icon]
12/01  #17 - 28,205
12/02  #27 - 26,621
12/03  ---
12/04  #7  - 30,687
=====
12/05  #15 - 25,633  ( -1.8%)
01/06  ---
02/06  #16 - 24,924  ( -2.8%)
03/06  #17 - 24,139  ( -3.1%)
04/06  ---
05/06  #18 - 23,617  ( -2.2%)
06/06  ---
07/06  #19 - 23,156  ( -1.9%)
08/06  ---
09/06  ---
10/06  #20 - 22,943  ( -0.9%)
11/06  #21 - 22,134  ( -3.5%)
12/06  ---

Skip months.

WISDOM  [Max]
11/06  #1 (of 6) - 20,021
12/06  ---

Late.

KABUKI  [Icon]
12/04  #3 - 13,885
=====
12/05  ---
01/06  ---
02/06  #6 - 11,349  ( -0.6%)
03/06  ---
04/06  ---
05/06  ---
06/06  ---
07/06  ---
08/06  #7 - 10,798  ( -4.9%)
09/06  ---
10/06  ---
11/06  ---
12/06  ---

Skip month.

JACK KIRBY'S GALACTIC BOUNTY HUNTERS  [Icon]
07/06  #1 - 13,514
08/06  #2 -  9,301  (-31.2%)
09/06  ---
10/06  #3 -  7,716  (-17.0%)
11/06  ---
12/06  ---

Late.

MARVEL SPOTLIGHT
12/05  Cassaday/McKeever - 9,763
01/06       Ellis/Cheung - 6,843  ( -29.9%)
02/06        Whedon/Lark - 5,947  ( -13.1%)
03/06       Finch/Sacasa - 4,146  ( -30.3%)
04/06         Way/Coipel - 3,309  ( -20.2%)
05/06  ---
06/06     Millar/McNiven - 7,668  (+131.7%)
06/06     Gaiman/Larroca - 5,449  ( -28.9%)
07/06       Kirkman/Land - 3,963  ( -27.3%)
08/06       Brubaker/Tan - 3,580  (  -9.7%)
09/06          Lee/Kirby - 6,313  ( +76.3%)
10/06   Onslaught Reborn - 4,557  ( -27.8%)
11/06      Bendis/Bagley - 5,869  ( +28.8%)
12/06  ---

Late.

6 month comparisons
===================

+95.6% - Black Panther
+94.9% - Iron Man
+43.1% - Spider-Girl
+10.1% - Uncanny X-Men
+ 9.5% - Cable & Deadpool
+ 4.6% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
+ 3.8% - Ultimate Spider-Man
+ 1.1% - Astonishing X-Men
+ 0.3% - X-Men
- 0.5% - Daredevil
- 2.6% - Hulk
- 3.4% - Punisher
- 4.3% - New X-Men
- 4.5% - Sensational Spider-Man
- 4.6% - Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four
- 5.6% - Ultimate X-Men
- 7.7% - Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane
- 8.3% - Fantastic Four
- 9.6% - Nextwave
-14.0% - Official Handbook
-15.5% - Ms Marvel
-16.0% - Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
-16.3% - New Excalibur
-17.9% - She-Hulk
-20.8% - New Avengers
-26.3% - Civil War: Front Line
-27.0% - Wolverine: Origins
-32.4% - Wolverine
-34.8% - Ultimate Fantastic Four
-37.5% - Exiles
-47.2% - X-Factor
-55.1% - Thunderbolts


1 year comparisons
==================

+86.7% - Black Panther
+81.6% - Fantastic Four
+62.2% - Iron Man
+50.3% - Amazing Spider-Girl
+29.8% - Hulk
+19.3% - Cable & Deadpool
+10.9% - Daredevil
+ 8.8% - Thunderbolts
+ 5.8% - Uncanny X-Men
+ 2.3% - Ultimate Spider-Man
+ 1.2% - X-Men
+ 0.1% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
- 3.1% - New Avengers
- 4.5% - Sensational Spider-Man
- 6.7% - Wolverine
- 7.1% - Punisher
- 8.7% - Ultimate X-Men
-10.4% - Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four
-12.4% - New X-Men
-14.3% - Official Handbook
-16.6% - She-Hulk
-21.0% - Ultimate Fantastic Four
-21.8% - Ghost Rider
-35.8% - New Excalibur
-38.1% - X-Factor
-38.8% - Exiles
-43.5% - Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane
-48.2% - Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man


2 year comparisons
==================

+78.2% - Fantastic Four
+37.7% - Iron Man
+25.6% - Amazing Spider-Girl
+ 3.2% - Cable & Deadpool
+ 3.0% - She-Hulk
+ 2.7% - Official Handbook
- 2.4% - Wolverine
- 4.4% - Uncanny X-Men
- 4.9% - Daredevil
- 9.5% - Astonishing X-Men
- 9.8% - X-Men
-11.5% - New X-Men
-14.3% - Ultimate Spider-Man
-16.6% - Thunderbolts
-18.2% - Punisher
-24.8% - Sensational Spider-Man
-29.4% - Ultimate Fantastic Four
-38.6% - Exiles
-49.0% - New Avengers


3 year comparisons
==================

+130.1% - Iron Man
+112.2% - New Avengers
+ 68.7% - Fantastic Four
+ 19.8% - Spider-Girl
+  5.6% - Wolverine
-  4.8% - Uncanny X-Men
-  7.8% - Hulk
- 10.5% - Daredevil
- 14.4% - Punisher
- 29.4% - X-Men
- 30.6% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 35.5% - Ultimate X-Men
- 46.2% - Exiles
- 68.3% - Ultimate Fantastic Four