Marvel month-to-month sales: October 2007

by Paul O’Brien

Well, it was bound to happen eventually. DC were the number one publisher in the direct market in October – the first time they’ve been able to say that since May 2006. It’s close, mind you. The margin is 34.2% to 33.7% in dollar share, and 39% to 37% in unit share. But it’s DC’s chart, nonetheless.

Marvel had a rather bad month in terms of delays. In theory, October was supposed to be the final month of WORLD WAR HULK, but the series slipped into the start of November, taking several tie-in issues with it. So, there’s not many WWH crossover books on this chart.

“One More Day” continues to drag on far beyond the original schedule, leaving Marvel with only one Spider-Man book instead of the scheduled three. ASTONISHING X-MEN and THOR both missed shipping as well, along with a raft of lesser titles that slipped into the start of November. None of this did Marvel any favours in the charts.

What does that leave us with? Well, there are a few WORLD WAR HULK titles still around, and there’s the start of the X-Men crossover, “Messiah Complex.” There are a scattering of unusual new miniseries, including three old Steve Gerber concepts – FOOLKILLER, HOWARD THE DUCK and OMEGA THE UNKNOWN.

And there are zombies, as MARVEL ZOMBIES 2 reaches the stores. In celebration, and on the grounds that October includes Hallowe’en, Marvel have commissioned even more gratuitous zombie variant covers that usual, on some of the most unlikely books imaginable. We’ll be seeing them scattered throughout the list.

Thanks to Milton Griepp and ICv2.com for the permission to use their figures.

1.  NEW AVENGERS
10/01  Avengers #47     -  58,771
10/02  Avengers #59     -  53,772
10/03  Avengers #70     -  58,878
10/04  ---
10/05  New Avengers #12 - 127,949
=====
10/06  New Avengers #24 - 136,811  (-12.0%)
11/06  New Avengers #25 - 136,504  ( -0.2%)
12/06  New Avengers #26 - 122,670  (-10.1%)
01/06  ---
02/07  New Avengers #27 - 132,109  ( +7.7%)
03/07  New Avengers #28 - 119,514  ( -9.5%)
04/07  New Avengers #29 - 125,378  ( +4.9%)
05/07  New Avengers #30 - 126,425  ( +0.8%)
06/07  New Avengers #31 - 160,911  (+27.3%)
07/07  New Avengers #32 - 122,991  (-23.6%)
08/07  New Avengers #33 - 117,906  ( -4.1%)
09/07  New Avengers #34 - 112,815  ( -4.3%)
10/07  New Avengers #35 - 111,481  ( -1.2%)
                           6 mnth  (-11.1%)
                           1 year  (-18.5%)
                           2 year  (-12.9%)
                           3 year  (  --- )
                           4 year  (+89.3%)

It’s a fairly quiet month at the top end of the charts, so NEW AVENGERS leads the pack. After some unusually high drops over the last couple of months, the book seems to be levelling out again.

2.  FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN
10/05  F.N. Spider-Man #1  -  85,761
=====
10/06  F.N. Spider-Man #13 -  46,293  (  -3.7%)
11/06  F.N. Spider-Man #14 -  43,476  (  -6.1%)
12/06  F.N. Spider-Man #15 -  42,147  (  -3.1%)
01/07  F.N. Spider-Man #16 -  41,832  (  -0.7%)
02/07  F.N. Spider-Man #17 -  62,278  ( +48.9%)
03/07  F.N. Spider-Man #18 -  50,665  ( -18.6%)
04/07  F.N. Spider-Man #19 -  50,307  (  -0.7%)
05/07  F.N. Spider-Man #20 -  49,908  (  -0.8%)
06/07  F.N. Spider-Man #21 -  47,915  (  -4.0%)
07/07  F.N. Spider-Man #22 -  46,465  (  -3.0%)
08/07  F.N. Spider-Man #23 -  44,661  (  -3.9%)
09/07  ---
10/07  F.N. Spider-Man #24 - 110,405  (+147.2%)
                              6 mnth  (+119.5%)
                              1 year  (+138.5%)
                              2 year  ( +28.7%)

Cancelled. This is part two of “One More Day”, which means it’s effectively AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #544-and-a-third. As you’d expect, sales leap up to AMAZING’s usual level. This would be all well and good if the series was actually shipping on a weekly basis as planned. But with only one Spider-Man series around, Marvel are actually worse off than they were before the crossover started, in terms of total sales.

The first part of “One More Day” sold 146,215 in September, and adds some re-orders on this month’s chart. That’s a 25% drop between parts one and two (in first month sales alone), which is a little disappointing. Yes, it’s number two on the chart – but that’s in a very quiet month, with only three titles breaking 100K in the direct market.

3.  MIGHTY AVENGERS
03/07  Mighty Avengers #1 - 156,400
04/07  Mighty Avengers #2 - 124,209  (-20.6%)
05/07  Mighty Avengers #3 - 115,440  ( -7.1%)
06/07  ---
07/07  Mighty Avengers #4 - 107,768  ( -6.6%)
08/07  ---
09/07  ---
10/07  Mighty Avengers #5 -  99,544  ( -7.6%)
                             6 mnth  (-19.9%)

The rate of decline here is worrying. A drop of 7% from month to month for the third issue running is just too high. MIGHTY AVENGERS has plenty of leeway to find its level, of course, but it looks like the initial orders overestimated the demand for this book.

The other possibility is that the delays have badly hurt the book’s drawing power. But that’s rarely seemed to be a major factor with hot titles in the past.

6,191.  X-MEN: MESSIAH COMPLEX
10/07  Messiah Complex - 108,081

Thanks to the vagaries of the Diamond chart, this is listed twice. Most of the copies appear at number 6, selling 98,958. But buried way down at number 191, there’s a further 9,123 copies of the “PX Sketch Edition.” The sketch version has a lower price tag, hence the separate listing. In any event, adding those sales is enough to take the book into six figures.

This is over 20K higher than UNCANNY normally manages, so that’s a good sign for the
crossover.

8.  MARVEL ZOMBIES 2
10/07  Marvel Zombies 2 #1 of 5 - 92,587

The original MARVEL ZOMBIES series was a huge sleeper hit in 2006. Launching with sales of 35,497, it picked up so many re-orders that by the end of the run, issue #1 had shifted 86,771 copies. Sales actually grew from month to month, and the series finished off in the 50K range.

Having stumbled upon a rare unexpected hit, Marvel duly set about milking the joke for all it was worth. But the zombie covers and occasional guest appearances still spike sales even after all these monts, so now we get the full-scale sequel. And once again, bucking all the trends, the sequel outsells the original. The joke has had a much longer shelf-life than anyone would have guessed.

9.  UNCANNY X-MEN
10/01  Uncanny X-Men #399 - 110,158
10/02  Uncanny X-Men #414 -  83,699
10/03  Uncanny X-Men #432 -  92,472
10/04  Uncanny X-Men #450 - 101,506
10/05  Uncanny X-Men #465 -  84,271
=====
10/06  Uncanny X-Men #479 -  89,052  ( -0.9%)
11/06  Uncanny X-Men #480 -  88,584  ( -0.5%)
12/06  Uncanny X-Men #481 -  85,995  ( -2.9%)
01/07  Uncanny X-Men #482 -  83,860  ( -2.5%)
02/07  Uncanny X-Men #483 -  83,009  ( -1.0%)
03/07  Uncanny X-Men #484 -  82,043  ( -1.2%)
04/07  Uncanny X-Men #485 -  81,764  ( -0.3%)
05/07  Uncanny X-Men #486 -  81,965  ( +0.2%)
06/07  Uncanny X-Men #487 -  81,481  ( -0.6%)
07/07  Uncanny X-Men #488 -  86,747  ( +6.5%)
08/07  Uncanny X-Men #489 -  88,068  ( +1.5%)
09/07  Uncanny X-Men #490 -  87,592  ( -0.5%)
10/07  Uncanny X-Men #491 -  85,638  ( -2.2%)
                             6 mnth  ( +4.7%)
                             1 year  ( -3.8%)
                             2 year  ( +1.6%)
                             3 year  (-15.6%)
                             4 year  ( -7.4%)

The final issue before “Messiah Complex.” Sales have been relatively steady over the course of the last year, but clearly the X-books will all be hoping for a significant boost next month.

10. WOLVERINE
10/01  Wolverine #169 -  71,314
10/02  Wolverine #182 -  65,937
10/03  Wolverine #6   -  82,074
10/04  Wolverine #20  - 116,831
10/05  Wolverine #34  -  75,664
=====
10/06  Wolverine #47  - 106,201  ( -1.5%)
11/06  Wolverine #48  -  99,991  ( -5.8%)
12/06  Wolverine #49  -  78,807  (-21.2%)
01/07  Wolverine #50  - 117,160  (+48.7%)
02/07  Wolverine #51  -  99,636  (-15.0%)
03/07  Wolverine #52  -  97,111  ( -2.5%)
04/07  Wolverine #53  -  98,441  ( +1.4%)
05/07  Wolverine #54  -  96,082  ( -2.4%)
06/07  ---
07/07  Wolverine #55  - 130,707  (+36.0%)
08/07  Wolverine #56  -  73,368  (-43.9%)
09/07  Wolverine #57  -  74,588  ( +1.7%)
10/07  Wolverine #58  -  83,810  (+12.4%)
                         6 mnth  (-14.9%)
                         1 year  (-21.1%)
                         2 year  (+10.8%)
                         3 year  (-28.3%)
                         4 year  ( +2.1%)

The first of many zombie variant covers. This one actually has a semi-decent excuse, because the story involves Wolverine dying. We’ll see some much more random selections further down the chart.

11. X-MEN
10/01  New X-Men #119 - 115,828
10/02  New X-Men #133 -  98,092
10/03  New X-Men #147 - 105,647
10/04  X-Men #163     -  88,615
10/05  X-Men #176     -  74,635
=====
10/06  X-Men #192     -  81,816  (  -0.3%)
11/06  X-Men #193     -  80,102  (  -2.1%)
12/06  X-Men #194     -  78,114  (  -2.5%)
01/07  X-Men #195     -  76,900  (  -1.6%)
02/07  X-Men #196     -  75,707  (  -1.6%)
03/07  X-Men #197     -  75,184  (  -0.7%)
04/07  X-Men #198     -  74,841  (  -0.5%)
05/07  X-Men #199     -  75,996  (  +1.5%)
06/07  X-Men #200     - 156,787  (+106.3%)
07/07  X-Men #201     -  86,278  ( -45.0%)
08/07  X-Men #202     -  86,521  (  +0.3%)
09/07  X-Men #203     -  85,652  (  -1.0%)
10/07  X-Men #204     -  83,456  (  -2.6%)
                         6 mnth  ( +11.5%)
                         1 year  (  +2.0%)
                         2 year  ( +11.8%)
                         3 year  (  -5.8%)
                         4 year  ( -21.0%)

Still seeing gains from the “Endangered Species” back-up stories. “Messiah Complex” starts next month.

15. CAPTAIN AMERICA
10/01  Captain America #48 -  35,257
10/02  Captain America #6  -  60,895
10/03  Captain America #19 -  42,356
10/04  Captain America #32 -  37,309
10/05  Captain America #11 -  45,162
=====
10/06  Captain America #23 -  81,323  (  -7.9%)
11/06  Captain America #24 -  82,348  (  +1.3%)
12/06  ---
01/07  ---
02/07  ---
03/07  Captain America #25 - 344,270  (+318.1%)
04/07  ---
05/07  Captain America #26 - 129,365  ( -62.4%)
06/07  Captain America #27 -  99,108  ( -23.4%)
07/07  Captain America #28 -  89,721  (  -9.5%)
08/07  Captain America #29 -  83,781  (  -6.6%)
09/07  Captain America #30 -  79,554  (  -5.0%)
10/07  Captain America #31 -  77,131  (  -3.0%)
                              6 mnth  (   --- )
                              1 year  (  -5.2%)
                              2 year  ( +70.8%)
                              3 year  (+106.7%)
                              4 year  ( +82.1%)

Seems to be levelling out, which is good news – the book is still miles ahead of its pre-CIVIL WAR sales.

20. ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN
10/01  Ult. Spider-Man #14  -  78,436
10/02  Ult. Spider-Man #28  -  92,099
10/03  Ult. Spider-Man #47  -  99,662
10/04  Ult. Spider-Man #67  -  95,071
10/05  Ult. Spider-Man #84  -  74,670
=====
10/06  Ult. Spider-Man #101 -  78,963  (-33.8%)
11/06  Ult. Spider-Man #102 -  77,121  ( -2.3%)
12/06  Ult. Spider-Man #103 -  76,251  ( -1.1%)
01/07  Ult. Spider-Man #104 - 108,082  (+41.7%)
02/07  Ult. Spider-Man #105 -  74,376  (-31.2%)
03/07  Ult. Spider-Man #106 -  73,832  ( -1.3%)
03/07  Ult. Spider-Man #107 -  72,818  ( -1.4%)
04/07  Ult. Spider-Man #108 -  72,713  ( -0.1%)
05/07  Ult. Spider-Man #109 -  72,478  ( -0.3%)
06/07  Ult. Spider-Man #110 -  73,646  ( +1.6%)
07/07  Ult. Spider-Man #111 -  75,487  ( +2.5%)
08/07  Ult. Spider-Man #112 -  76,523  ( +1.4%)
09/07  Ult. Spider-Man #113 -  67,476  (-11.8%)
09/07  Ult. Spider-Man #114 -  66,682  ( -1.2%)
10/07  Ult. Spider-Man #115 -  74,310  (+11.4%)
                               6 mnth  ( +2.2%)
                               1 year  ( -5.9%)
                               2 year  ( -0.5%)
                               3 year  (-21.8%)
                               4 year  (-25.4%)

Zombie variant. Yes, on ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN. Rather disappointingly, it doesn’t do enough to cancel out the inexplicable drop from last month. In fact, most of the zombie covers went up by around 8K, no matter how much the book normally sells.

21. PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL
11/06  War Journal #1  - 102,727
12/06  --
01/07  War Journal #2  -  96,112  ( -6.4%)
01/07  War Journal #3  -  70,143  (-27.0%)
02/07  War Journal #4  -  52,961  (-24.5%)
03/07  War Journal #5  -  50,190  ( -5.2%)
04/07  War Journal #6  -  53,498  ( +6.6%)
05/07  War Journal #7  -  75,360  (+40.9%)
06/07  War Journal #8  -  61,376  (-18.6%)
07/07  War Journal #9  -  56,854  ( -7.4%)
08/07  War Journal #10 -  51,303  ( -9.8%)
09/07  War Journal #11 -  47,220  ( -8.0%)
10/07  War Journal #12 -  66,548  (+40.9%)
                          6 mnth  (+24.4%)

A zombie variant AND a crossover with WORLD WAR HULK. It’s the best of both worlds. Still, there’s no arguing with the 41% jump. (And it’s a fun crossover issue, to be honest.)

22. ULTIMATE X-MEN
10/01  Ultimate X-Men #11 -  99,329
10/02  Ultimate X-Men #23 -  90,053
10/03  Ultimate X-Men #38 - 108,112
10/04  Ultimate X-Men #52 -  93,833
10/05  Ultimate X-Men #64 -  75,118
=====
10/06  Ultimate X-Men #75 -  73,837  ( +7.2%)
11/06  Ultimate X-Men #76 -  69,054  ( -6.5%)
12/06  Ultimate X-Men #77 -  67,338  ( -2.5%)
01/07  Ultimate X-Men #78 -  66,409  ( -1.4%)
02/07  Ultimate X-Men #79 -  64,363  ( -3.1%)
03/07  Ultimate X-Men #80 -  63,037  ( -2.1%)
04/07  Ultimate X-Men #81 -  62,926  ( -0.2%)
05/07  Ultimate X-Men #82 -  62,063  ( -1.4%)
06/07  Ultimate X-Men #83 -  59,677  ( -3.8%)
07/07  Ultimate X-Men #84 -  59,929  ( +0.4%)
08/07  Ultimate X-Men #85 -  57,660  ( -3.8%)
09/07  Ultimate X-Men #86 -  55,346  ( -4.0%)
10/07  Ultimate X-Men #87 -  63,028  (+13.9%)
                             6 mnth  ( +0.2%)
                             1 year  (-14.6%)
                             2 year  (-16.1%)
                             3 year  (-32.8%)
                             4 year  (-41.7%)

Another zombie cover.

25. WOLVERINE: ORIGINS
10/06  Origins #7  - 103,273  ( +2.2%)
11/06  Origins #8  -  91,585  (-11.3%)
12/06  Origins #9  -  84,733  ( -7.5%)
01/07  Origins #10 -  97,881  (+15.5%)
02/07  Origins #11 -  78,901  (-19.4%)
03/07  Origins #12 -  74,750  ( -5.3%)
04/07  Origins #13 -  70,963  ( -5.1%)
05/07  Origins #14 -  68,953  ( -2.8%)
06/07  Origins #15 -  65,558  ( -4.9%)
07/07  ---
08/07  Origins #16 -  69,781  ( +6.4%)
09/07  Origins #17 -  62,235  (-10.8%)
10/07  Origins #18 -  60,050  ( -3.5%)
                      6 mnth  (-15.4%)
                      1 year  (-41.9%)

Still dropping, and that year on year comparison is not pretty.

26. FRONT LINE
10/06  Civil War #7  of 11    - 106,588  ( -1.7%)
11/06  Civil War #8  of 11    - 100,869  ( -5.4%)
12/06  Civil War #9  of 11    -  97,948  ( -2.9%)
01/07  Civil War #10 of 11    -  99,795  ( +1.9%)
02/07  Civil War #11 of 11    -  89,163  (-10.7%)
03/07  ---
04/07  ---
05/07  ---
06/07  World War Hulk #1 of 6 -  84,386  ( -5.4%)
07/07  World War Hulk #2 of 6 -  76,140  ( -9.8%)
08/07  World War Hulk #3 of 6 -  69,104  ( -9.2%)
09/07  World War Hulk #4 of 6 -  62,546  ( -9.5%)
10/07  World War Hulk #5 of 6 -  59,584  ( -4.7%)
                                 6 mnth  (  --- )
                                 1 year  (-44.1%)

Dropping much more heavily than CIVIL WAR: FRONT LINE did. To be fair, this crossover doesn’t lend itself as well to the FRONT LINE format.

28. FANTASTIC FOUR
10/01  Fantastic Four #48  - 48,616
10/02  Fantastic Four #62  - 51,805
10/03  Fantastic Four #505 - 52,850
10/04  Fantastic Four #519 - 47,969
10/05  ---
=====
10/06  Fantastic Four #540 - 88,933  ( -0.8%)
11/06  ----
12/06  Fantastic Four #541 - 84,895  ( -4.5%)
01/07  Fantastic Four #542 - 84,338  ( -0.7%)
02/07  ---
03/07  Fantastic Four #543 - 78,823  ( -6.5%)
03/07  Fantastic Four #544 - 85,677  ( +8.7%)
04/07  Fantastic Four #545 - 77,576  ( -9.5%)
05/07  Fantastic Four #546 - 72,182  ( -7.0%)
06/07  Fantastic Four #547 - 69,610  ( -3.6%)
07/07  ---
08/07  Fantastic Four #548 - 65,695  ( -5.6%)
08/07  Fantastic Four #549 - 61,770  ( -6.0%)
09/07  ---
10/07  Fantastic Four #550 - 57,906  ( -6.3%)
                             6 mnth  (-25.4%)
                             1 year  (-34.9%)
                             2 year  (  --- )
                             3 year  (+20.7%)
                             4 year  ( +9.6%)

A lot of the Initiative tie-in books have seen unusually large drops over the last couple of months. It does indeed seem that a lot of readers picked up the issues with an “Initiative” banner (even though it wasn’t a crossover) but weren’t persuaded to stay around beyond that. FANTASTIC FOUR is still selling well by the standards of recent years, but the trend over the last few months is a little alarming.

31. WOLVERINE ANNUAL
10/07  Deathsong - 55,041

That’s around two thirds of the parent title’s sales, which is perfectly fine.

33. ULTIMATE POWER
10/06  Ultimate Power #1 of 9 - 113,823
11/06  Ultimate Power #2 of 9 -  76,654  (-32.7%)
12/06  Ultimate Power #3 of 9 -  70,148  ( -8.5%)
01/07  ---
02/07  ---
03/07  Ultimate Power #4 of 9 -  63,818  ( -9.0%)
04/07  ---
05/07  Ultimate Power #5 of 9 -  62,784  ( -1.6%)
06/07  ---
07/07  Ultimate Power #6 of 9 -  61,361  ( -2.3%)
08/07  ---
09/07  Ultimate Power #7 of 9 -  57,998  ( -5.5%)
10/07  Ultimate Power #8 of 9 -  54,845  ( -5.4%)
                                 6 mnth  (  --- )
                                 1 year  (-51.8%)

This series is now being promoted as the lead-in to next year’s “Ultimatum” event, but there’s no sign of that spiking interest.

36. CAPTAIN AMERICA: CHOSEN
09/07  Chosen #1 of 6 - 74,010
09/07  Chosen #2 of 6 - 59,776  (-19.2%)
10/07  Chosen #3 of 6 - 53,168  (-11.1%)

Issue #1 picks up re-orders of 6,483, which are included in the total above. The third issue drop is a little steep, but overall this is still doing quite well for an out-of-continuity miniseries.

38. X-FACTOR
10/06  X-Factor #12 - 42,909  ( -1.2%)
11/06  X-Factor #13 - 42,844  ( -0.2%)
12/06  X-Factor #14 - 40,208  ( -6.2%)
01/07  X-Factor #15 - 38,693  ( -3.8%)
02/07  X-Factor #16 - 38,240  ( -1.2%)
03/07  X-Factor #17 - 38,067  ( -0.4%)
04/07  X-Factor #18 - 37,851  ( -0.6%)
05/07  X-Factor #19 - 37,898  ( +0.1%)
06/07  X-Factor #20 - 37,105  ( -2.1%)
07/07  X-Factor #21 - 50,227  (+35.4%)
08/07  X-Factor #22 - 52,627  ( +4.8%)
09/07  X-Factor #23 - 53,311  ( +1.3%)
10/07  X-Factor #24 - 52,085  ( -2.3%)
                      6 mnth  (+37.6%)
                      1 year  (+21.4%)


42. NEW X-MEN
10/03  New Mutants #5 - 41,301
10/04  New X-Men #6   - 45,647
10/05  New X-Men #19  - 41,691
=====
10/06  New X-Men #31  - 39,175  ( -1.2%)
11/06  New X-Men #32  - 37,919  ( -3.2%)
12/06  New X-Men #33  - 38,076  ( +0.4%)
01/07  New X-Men #34  - 37,272  ( -2.1%)
02/07  New X-Men #35  - 37,142  ( -0.3%)
03/07  New X-Men #36  - 37,004  ( -0.4%)
04/07  New X-Men #37  - 37,935  ( +2.5%)
05/07  New X-Men #38  - 38,915  ( +2.6%)
06/07  New X-Men #39  - 39,258  ( +0.9%)
07/07  New X-Men #40  - 49,515  (+26.1%)
08/07  New X-Men #41  - 52,950  ( +6.9%)
09/07  New X-Men #42  - 52,730  ( -0.4%)
10/07  New X-Men #43  - 49,558  ( -6.0%)
                        6 mnth  (+30.6%)
                        1 year  (+26.5%)
                        2 year  (+18.9%)
                        3 year  ( +8.6%)
                        4 year  (+20.0%)

The second-tier X-books are still enjoying huge sales increases thanks to the “Endangered Species” back-up strips. They should jump even higher next month when the main crossover starts. However, NEW X-MEN seems to have disappeared from the post-crossover solicitations, with X-FORCE taking its place. That would suggest that it’s cancelled with issue #46.

46. RUNAWAYS
10/03  Runaways #7  - 21,721
10/04  ---
10/05  Runaways #9  - 26,800
=====
10/06  Runaways #21 - 25,553  (  +8.5%)
11/06  Runaways #22 - 25,908  (  +1.4%)
12/06  ---
01/07  Runaways #23 - 25,346  (  -2.2%)
02/07  Runaways #24 - 25,216  (  -0.5%)
03/07  ---
04/07  Runaways #25 - 56,250  (+123.1%)
05/07  Runaways #26 - 46,134  ( -18.0%)
06/07  ---
07/07  Runaways #27 - 41,254  ( -10.6%)
08/07  ---
09/07  ---
10/07  Runaways #28 - 47,760  ( +15.8%)
                      6 mnth  ( -15.1%)
                      1 year  ( +86.9%)
                      2 year  ( +78.2%)
                      3 year  (   --- )
                      4 year  (+119.9%)

Zombie cover. The next issue isn’t due until the end of December, so something’s gone seriously off the rails with this book.

48. DAREDEVIL
10/01  Daredevil #26  - 52,719
10/02  Daredevil #38  - 53,252
10/03  Daredevil #53  - 58,620
10/04  Daredevil #66  - 53,138
10/05  Daredevil #78  - 45,071
=====
10/06  Daredevil #90  - 50,500  ( -9.0%)
11/06  Daredevil #91  - 49,335  ( -2.3%)
12/06  Daredevil #92  - 48,035  ( -2.6%)
01/07  Daredevil #93  - 47,124  ( -1.9%)
02/07  Daredevil #94  - 46,773  ( -0.7%)
03/07  Daredevil #95  - 46,455  ( -0.7%)
04/07  Daredevil #96  - 46,198  ( -0.6%)
05/07  Daredevil #97  - 47,200  ( +2.2%)
06/07  Daredevil #98  - 46,816  ( -0.8%)
07/07  ---
08/07  Daredevil #99  - 47,386  ( +1.2%)
09/07  Daredevil #100 - 78,143  (+64.9%)
10/07  Daredevil #101 - 47,189  (-39.6%)
                        6 mnth  ( +2.1%)
                        1 year  ( -6.6%)
                        2 year  ( +4.7%)
                        3 year  (-11.2%)
                        4 year  (-19.5%)

Dropping straight back to normal levels after last month’s anniversary spike. That’s standard.

49. THUNDERBOLTS
10/01  Thunderbolts #57     - 31,172
10/02  Thunderbolts #73     - 27,372
10/03  ---
10/04  ---
10/05  New Thunderbolts #13 - 29,250
=====
10/06  Thunderbolts #107    - 29,624  (  -6.0%)
11/06  Thunderbolts #108    - 27,890  (  -5.9%)
12/06  Thunderbolts #109    - 27,300  (  -2.1%)
01/07  Thunderbolts #110    - 73,557  (+169.4%)
02/07  Thunderbolts #111    - 62,791  ( -14.6%)
03/07  Thunderbolts #112    - 61,395  (  -2.2%)
04/07  Thunderbolts #113    - 65,092  (  +6.0%)
05/07  Thunderbolts #114    - 66,309  (  +1.9%)
06/07  Thunderbolts #115    - 64,876  (  -2.2%)
07/07  ---
08/07  Thunderbolts #116    - 52,503  ( -19.1%)
09/07  ---
10/07  Thunderbolts #117    - 47,151  ( -10.2%)
                              6 mnth  ( -27.6%)
                              1 year  ( +59.2%)
                              2 year  ( +61.2%)
                              3 year  (   --- )
                              4 year  (   --- )

Another book developing weird shipping problems, as it seems to have slipped onto a bimonthly schedule with assorted one-shots taking up the slack. Like other Initiative books, sales seem to have gone into a swandive now that the cover banners have stopped – although, of course, it’s still selling in a different league to its previous incarnation.

51. WHAT IF?
10/07  Planet Hulk - 46,151

The first in another wave of one-shots. Obviously, this is a good time to put out Hulk tie-ins, and the book sells rather well.

52. ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR
10/04  ---
10/05  Ult. Fantastic Four #24 - 70,549
=====
10/06  Ult. Fantastic Four #35 - 61,270  ( -3.4%)
11/06  Ult. Fantastic Four #36 - 57,779  ( -5.7%)
12/06  Ult. Fantastic Four #37 - 55,047  ( -4.7%)
01/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #38 - 52,859  ( -4.0%)
02/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #39 - 52,104  ( -1.4%)
03/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #40 - 50,488  ( -3.1%)
04/07  ---
05/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #41 - 49,916  ( -1.1%)
05/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #42 - 52,840  ( +5.9%)
06/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #43 - 51,453  ( -2.6%)
07/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #44 - 50,796  ( -1.3%)
08/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #45 - 48,779  ( -4.0%)
09/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #46 - 46,647  ( -4.4%)
10/07  Ult. Fantastic Four #47 - 45,015  ( -3.5%)
                                 6 mnth  ( -9.8%)
                                 1 year  (-26.5%)
                                 2 year  (-36.2%)

Still trapped in a long-term decline, with no sign of a turnaround.

53. MOON KNIGHT
10/06  --
11/06  Moon Knight #6  - 74,017  (+14.3%)
12/06  --
01/07  Moon Knight #7  - 76,921  ( +3.9%)
02/07  --
03/07  Moon Knight #8  - 77,390  ( +0.6%)
04/07  Moon Knight #9  - 69,196  (-10.6%)
05/07  Moon Knight #10 - 56,734  (-18.0%)
06/07  Moon Knight #11 - 58,313  ( +2.8%)
07/07  ---
08/07  ---
09/07  Moon Knight #12 - 47,521  (-18.5%)
10/07  Moon Knight #13 - 44,082  ( -7.2%)
                         6 mnth  (-36.3%)
                         1 year  (  --- )

Yet another book where the retailers are slashing back their orders in the hope of finding the right level. Shame, actually – this was a good issue. But MOON KNIGHT has been losing readers at a remarkable rate since the spring, however you look at it.

54. IRON MAN
10/01  Iron Man #47 - 35,734
10/02  Iron Man #60 - 35,422
10/03  Iron Man #73 - 34,132
10/04  Iron Man #89 - 33,483
10/05  ---
=====
10/06  ---
11/06  Iron Man #13 - 76,800  (+111.7%)
12/06  Iron Man #14 - 73,388  (  -4.4%)
01/07  ---
02/07  Iron Man #15 - 72,394  (  -1.4%)
03/07  --- 
04/07  Iron Man #16 - 59,470  ( -17.9%)
05/07  Iron Man #17 - 63,328  (  +6.5%)
06/07  Iron Man #18 - 56,474  ( -10.8%)
06/07  Iron Man #19 - 83,801  ( +48.4%)
07/07  Iron Man #20 - 72,831  ( -13.1%)
08/07  Iron Man #21 - 49,548  ( -32.0%)
09/07  Iron Man #22 - 46,691  (  -5.8%)
10/07  Iron Man #23 - 42,608  (  -8.7%)
                      6 mnth  ( -28.4%)
                      1 year  (   --- )
                      2 year  (   --- )
                      3 year  ( +27.3%)
                      4 year  ( +24.8%)

Another Initiative book that seems to have suddenly fallen off a cliff. Issues #19-20 were WORLD WAR HULK tie-ins, but issue #21 was a regular story, and the book has shed 7,000 since then. This is shaping up as the big Marvel sales trend of the winter.

55. X-MEN: EMPEROR VULCAN
09/07  Emperor Vulcan #1 of 5 - 48,990
10/07  Emperor Vulcan #2 of 5 - 42,022  (-14.2%)

Fairly standard second issue drop for a miniseries. It’s really a Starjammers mini, and if you consider it in that light, it’s doing fine.

57. DAREDEVIL ANNUAL
10/07  Annual #1 - 40,818

Only a few thousand below the regular title, which is always a good sign.

59,71. X-MEN: DIE BY THE SWORD
10/07  Die By The Sword #1 of 5 - 38,306
10/07  Die By The Sword #2 of 5 - 34,320  (-10.4%)

The first two issues of a miniseries co-starring the Exiles and Excalibur (but not the X-Men, despite the title). This appears to be the lead-in to the relaunched NEW EXILES title. It comfortably outsells both parent books, which suggests that some people took the “X-Men” title at face value.

60. MS MARVEL
10/06  Ms Marvel #8  - 62,893  ( -3.2%)
11/06  Ms Marvel #9  - 37,881  (-39.8%)
12/06  Ms Marvel #10 - 34,350  ( -9.3%)
01/07  Ms Marvel #11 - 32,298  ( -6.0%)
02/07  Ms Marvel #12 - 30,763  ( -4.8%)
03/07  Ms Marvel #13 - 40,836  (+32.7%)
04/07  Ms Marvel #14 - 42,877  ( +5.0%)
05/07  Ms Marvel #15 - 42,849  ( -0.0%)
06/07  Ms Marvel #16 - 40,048  ( -6.5%)
07/07  Ms Marvel #17 - 38,003  ( -5.1%)
08/07  Ms Marvel #18 - 34,818  ( -8.4%)
09/07  Ms Marvel #19 - 32,371  ( -7.0%)
10/07  Ms Marvel #20 - 37,930  (+17.2%)
                       6 mnth  (-11.5%)
                       1 year  (-39.7%)

Zombie variant.

61. SUB-MARINER
06/07  Sub-Mariner #1 of 6 - 57,902
07/07  Sub-Mariner #2 of 6 - 45,728  (-21.0%)
08/07  Sub-Mariner #3 of 6 - 42,491  ( -7.1%)
09/07  Sub-Mariner #4 of 6 - 40,130  ( -5.6%)
10/07  Sub-Mariner #5 of 6 - 37,155  ( -7.4%)

Rather disappointing drops for this stage in a miniseries. But it’s still doing fine for a SUB-MARINER miniseries.

62. NEW WARRIORS
06/07  New Warriors #1 - 56,809
07/07  New Warriors #2 - 45,820  (-19.3%)
08/07  New Warriors #3 - 42,660  ( -6.9%)
09/07  New Warriors #4 - 39,998  ( -6.2%)
10/07  New Warriors #5 - 36,937  ( -7.7%)

Not good. It’s not levelling out and it’s shedding 7% of its readers a month. By this stage in its life, that’s an unhealthy sign.

64. HEROES FOR HIRE
10/06  Heroes for Hire #3  - 60,770  (  -9.2%)
11/06  Heroes for Hire #4  - 38,070  ( -37.4%)
12/06  Heroes for Hire #5  - 31,318  ( -17.7%)
01/07  Heroes for Hire #6  - 27,513  ( -12.1%)
02/07  Heroes for Hire #7  - 24,476  ( -11.0%)
03/07  Heroes for Hire #8  - 22,563  (  -7.8%)
04/07  Heroes for Hire #9  - 21,444  (  -5.0%)
05/07  Heroes for Hire #10 - 20,503  (  -4.4%)
06/07  Heroes for Hire #11 - 47,808  (+133.2%)
07/07  Heroes for Hire #12 - 41,229  ( -13.8%)
08/07  --- 
09/07  Heroes for Hire #13 - 40,086  (  -2.8%)
10/07  Heroes for Hire #14 - 36,381  (  -9.2%)
                             6 mnth  ( +69.7%)
                             1 year  ( -40.1%)

World War Hulk tie-in. The book is cancelled with issue #15 in November.

65. ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER  [DBPro]
10/06  Guilty Pls. #1 of 12 - 53,277
11/06  Guilty Pls. #2 of 12 - 39,450  (-26.0%)
12/06  Guilty Pls. #3 of 12 - 36,091  ( -8.5%)
01/07  Guilty Pls. #4 of 12 - 32,363  (-10.3%)
02/07  ---
03/07  Guilty Pls. #5 of 12 - 31,136  ( -3.8%)
04/07  Guilty Pls. #6 of 12 - 30,759  ( -1.2%)
05/07  ---
06/07  ---
07/07  First Death #1 of 2  - 38,631  (+25.6%)
08/07  ---
09/07  ---
10/07  First Death #2 of 2  - 36,035  ( -6.7%)
                              6 mnth  (+17.2%)
                              1 year  (-32.4%)

A modest drop, but as FIRST DEATH was billed as an original story by Anita Blake’s creator, I’m surprised it didn’t do better.

67. SHE-HULK
10/04  She-Hulk #8  - 24,929
10/05  She-Hulk #1  - 37,220
=====
10/06  ---
11/06  She-Hulk #13 - 26,267  ( -0.7%)
12/06  She-Hulk #14 - 24,552  ( -6.5%)
01/07  She-Hulk #15 - 27,600  (+12.4%)
02/07  She-Hulk #16 - 27,961  ( +1.3%)
03/07  ---
04/07  She-Hulk #17 - 27,669  ( -1.0%)
05/07  She-Hulk #18 - 41,800  (+51.4%)
06/07  She-Hulk #19 - 26,127  (-37.5%)
07/07  ---
08/07  She-Hulk #20 - 25,582  ( -2.1%)
09/07  She-Hulk #21 - 27,221  ( +6.4%)
10/07  She-Hulk #22 - 35,568  (+30.7%)
                      6 mnth  (+28.5%)
                      1 year  (  --- )
                      2 year  ( -4.4%)
                      3 year  (+42.7%)

Zombie variant. It’s also the first Peter David issue, so at least they had something worth drawing attention to. As the sales boost is roughly the same as for other zombie covers, I’d tentatively estimate that the new direction didn’t make a huge difference to sales.

68. NEW AVENGERS / TRANSFORMERS
07/07  N.Av./T'formers #1 of 4 - 60,565
08/07  N.Av./T'formers #2 of 4 - 44,977  (-25.7%)
09/07  N.Av./T'formers #3 of 4 - 38,749  (-13.8%)
10/07  N.Av./T'formers #4 of 4 - 34,944  ( -9.8%)

Underwhelming for a NEW AVENGERS miniseries, but hey, it’s a novelty item.

69. NOVA
04/07  Nova #1 - 42,917  (+21.9%)
05/07  Nova #2 - 44,532  ( +3.8%)
06/07  Nova #3 - 45,004  ( +1.1%)
07/07  Nova #4 - 40,173  (-10.7%)
08/07  Nova #5 - 39,543  ( -1.6%)
09/07  Nova #6 - 36,978  ( -6.5%)
10/07  Nova #7 - 34,876  ( -5.7%)
                 6 mnth  (-18.7%)

This is the final part of a four-month tie-in to ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST, which makes
the drops rather disappointing.

70. GHOST RIDER
10/06  Ghost Rider #4  - 50,925  ( -5.7%)
11/06  Ghost Rider #5  - 47,929  ( -5.9%)
12/06  Ghost Rider #6  - 46,673  ( -2.6%)
01/07  Ghost Rider #7  - 43,557  ( -6.7%)
02/07  Ghost Rider #8  - 48,736  (+11.9%)
03/07  Ghost Rider #9  - 48,041  ( -1.4%)
04/07  Ghost Rider #10 - 43,986  ( -8.4%)
05/07  Ghost Rider #11 - 43,626  ( -0.8%)
06/07  Ghost Rider #12 - 71,348  (+63.5%)
07/07  Ghost Rider #13 - 64,092  (-10.2%)
08/07  Ghost Rider #14 - 41,121  (-35.8%)
09/07  Ghost Rider #15 - 38,220  ( -7.1%)
10/07  Ghost Rider #16 - 34,335  (-10.2%)
                         6 mnth  (-21.9%)
                         1 year  (-32.6%)

Bleeding. If you look past the spikes for crossover issues, the remaining issues
show a worrying downward trend.

72. PUNISHER  [Max]
10/01  Punisher #5  - 64,226
10/02  Punisher #17 - 45,530
10/03  Punisher #33 - 42,130
10/04  Punisher #12 - 42,702
10/05  Punisher #26 - 36,450
=====
10/06  Punisher #39 - 33,962  ( +0.4%)
11/06  Punisher #40 - 33,579  ( -1.1%)
11/06  Punisher #41 - 33,164  ( -1.2%)
12/06  Punisher #42 - 33,003  ( -0.5%)
01/07  Punisher #43 - 33,023  ( +0.0%)
02/07  Punisher #44 - 32,951  ( -0.2%)
03/07  Punisher #45 - 33,245  ( +0.9%)
04/07  Punisher #46 - 33,427  ( +0.5%)
05/07  Punisher #47 - 33,892  ( +1.4%)
06/07  Punisher #48 - 33,804  ( -0.3%)
07/07  Punisher #49 - 34,317  ( +1.5%)
08/07  Punisher #50 - 36,457  ( +6.2%)
09/07  ---
10/07  Punisher #51 - 33,771  ( -7.4%)
                      6 mnth  ( +1.0%)
                      1 year  ( -0.6%)
                      2 year  ( -7.3%)
                      3 year  (-20.9%)
                      4 year  (-19.8%)

Dropping back to the book’s standard range after the anniversary spike. PUNISHER
remains one of Marvel’s most remarkably consistent sellers.

73. BLACK PANTHER
10/05  Black Panther #9  - 40,173
=====
10/06  Black Panther #21 - 34,257  (+28.9%)
11/06  Black Panther #22 - 47,556  (+38.8%)
12/06  Black Panther #23 - 54,762  (+15.2%)
01/07  Black Panther #24 - 59,971  ( +9.5%)
02/07  Black Panther #25 - 56,479  ( -5.8%)
03/07  Black Panther #26 - 51,385  ( -9.0%)
04/07  ---
05/07  Black Panther #27 - 52,552  ( +2.3%)
06/07  Black Panther #28 - 61,808  (+17.6%)
07/07  Black Panther #29 - 55,027  (-11.0%)
08/07  Black Panther #30 - 48,478  (-11.9%)
09/07  ---
10/07  Black Panther #31 - 33,673  (-30.5%)
                           6 mnth  (  --- )
                           1 year  ( -1.7%)
                           2 year  (-16.2%)

This is very strange. The previous arc guest starred the Marvel Zombies, which might explain the huge drop for this month. But that story didn’t hold readers well, and besides, the zombies were also mentioned in the solicitation for this issue. But look at that drop. I can only assume this is a combination of the widespread post-Initiative decline, and the end of the zombie storyline proper. It’s not pretty.

BLACK PANTHER has been tied up in events, stunts and crossovers for so long that it’s avoided dealing with the lurking question: what happens when it has to stand on its own two feet again? Obviously, the hope was that the extra readers would stick around. But the trend for the last few months is pretty hair-raising, even by the standards of other Initiative titles.

76. CABLE & DEADPOOL
10/04  Cable & Deadpool #8  - 28,986
10/05  Cable & Deadpool #21 - 25,030
=====
10/06  Cable & Deadpool #33 - 30,741  (-48.9%)
11/06  Cable & Deadpool #34 - 29,144  ( -5.2%)
12/06  Cable & Deadpool #35 - 27,785  ( -4.7%)
01/07  Cable & Deadpool #36 - 26,803  ( -3.5%)
02/07  Cable & Deadpool #37 - 26,588  ( -0.8%)
03/07  Cable & Deadpool #38 - 26,258  ( -1.2%)
04/07  Cable & Deadpool #39 - 26,110  ( -0.6%)
05/07  Cable & Deadpool #40 - 26,120  ( +0.0%)
06/07  Cable & Deadpool #41 - 27,431  ( +5.0%)
06/07  Cable & Deadpool #42 - 27,203  ( -0.8%)
07/07  Cable & Deadpool #43 - 26,341  ( -3.2%)
08/07  Cable & Deadpool #44 - 25,944  ( -1.5%)
09/07  Cable & Deadpool #45 - 26,009  ( +0.3%)
10/07  Cable & Deadpool #46 - 32,108  (+23.4%)
                              6 mnth  (+23.0%)
                              1 year  ( +4.4%)
                              2 year  (+28.3%)
                              3 year  (+10.8%)

Zombie variant. The book is cancelled with issue #50.

88. EXILES
10/01  Exiles #5  - 42,659
10/02  Exiles #18 - 37,808
10/03  Exiles #35 - 40,730
10/04  Exiles #53 - 35,323
10/05  Exiles #71 - 41,131
=====
10/06  Exiles #87 - 31,946  ( -3.4%)
11/06  Exiles #88 - 30,928  ( -3.2%)
12/06  Exiles #89 - 36,880  (+19.2%)
01/07  Exiles #90 - 31,595  (-14.3%)
02/07  Exiles #91 - 31,712  ( +0.4%)
03/07  Exiles #92 - 30,296  ( -4.5%)
04/07  Exiles #93 - 30,697  ( +1.3%)
05/07  Exiles #94 - 30,735  ( +0.1%)
06/07  Exiles #95 - 30,612  ( -0.4%)
07/07  Exiles #96 - 30,245  ( -1.2%)
08/07  Exiles #97 - 29,092  ( -3.8%)
09/07  Exiles #98 - 28,308  ( -2.7%)
10/07  Exiles #99 - 27,776  ( -1.9%)
                    6 mnth  ( -9.6%)
                    1 year  (-13.1%)
                    2 year  (-32.5%)
                    3 year  (-21.4%)
                    4 year  (-31.8%)

Axed with issue #100, to be relaunched immediately as NEW EXILES.

92. ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST - QUASAR
07/07  Quasar #1 of 4 - 37,048
08/07  Quasar #2 of 4 - 32,801  (-11.5%)
09/07  Quasar #3 of 4 - 29,396  (-10.4%)
10/07  Quasar #4 of 4 - 27,129  ( -7.7%)

93. ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST - WRAITH
07/07  Wraith #1 of 4 - 37,241
08/07  Wraith #2 of 4 - 33,155  (-11.0%)
09/07  Wraith #3 of 4 - 29,844  (-10.0%)
10/07  Wraith #4 of 4 - 27,077  ( -9.3%)

Not a terribly inspiring start for ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST, but these characters would never have sold anything like these quantities without the benefit of the crossover.

95. MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS
09/07  Marvel Comics Presents #1 - 38,337
10/07  Marvel Comics Presents #2 - 26,573 (-30.7%)

That’s an atrocious second issue drop. The book seems to be guaranteed a year, but it’s going to have to turn things around very quickly to survive that. In fairness, anthologies have always been a tough sell, and this book was always going to face an uphill struggle. But it’s a disappointing number nonetheless.

96. AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL
10/01  Spider-Girl #39         - 23,514
10/02  Spider-Girl #52         - 24,907
10/03  Spider-Girl #65         - 22,561
10/04  Spider-Girl #79         - 21,893
10/05  Spider-Girl #91         - 18,159
=====
10/06  Amazing Spider-Girl #1  - 47,304  (+108.5%)
11/06  Amazing Spider-Girl #2  - 28,135  ( -40.5%)
12/06  Amazing Spider-Girl #3  - 25,645  (  -8.9%)
01/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #4  - 23,113  (  -9.9%)
02/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #5  - 21,391  (  -7.5%)
03/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #6  - 20,478  (  -4.3%)
04/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #7  - 20,093  (  -1.9%)
05/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #8  - 19,574  (  -2.6%)
06/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #9  - 19,142  (  -2.2%)
07/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #10 - 19,094  (  -0.3%)
08/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #11 - 18,725  (  -1.9%)
09/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #12 - 18,676  (  -0.3%)
10/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #13 - 26,558  ( +42.2%)
                                 6 mnth  ( +32.2%)
                                 1 year  ( -43.9%)
                                 2 year  ( +46.3%)
                                 3 year  ( +21.3%)
                                 4 year  ( +17.7%)

Zombie variant. Yes, on AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL. Don’t ask me.

99. NEW EXCALIBUR
10/06  New Excalibur #12 - 33,082  ( -3.0%)
11/06  New Excalibur #13 - 32,173  ( -2.7%)
12/06  New Excalibur #14 - 31,318  ( -2.7%)
01/07  New Excalibur #15 - 30,827  ( -1.6%)
02/07  New Excalibur #16 - 30,356  ( -1.5%)
02/07  New Excalibur #17 - 30,073  ( -0.9%)
03/07  ---
04/07  New Excalibur #18 - 29,617  ( -1.5%)
04/07  New Excalibur #19 - 29,014  ( -2.0%)
05/07  New Excalibur #20 - 28,796  ( -0.8%)
06/07  ---
07/07  New Excalibur #21 - 28,930  ( +0.5%)
08/07  New Excalibur #22 - 27,683  ( -4.3%)
09/07  New Excalibur #23 - 26,979  ( -2.5%)
10/07  New Excalibur #24 - 26,362  ( -2.3%)
                           6 mnth  (-11.0%)
                           1 year  (-20.3%)

Cancelled. Some sort of replacement series by Paul Cornell is in the pipeline.

100. HOWARD THE DUCK
10/07  Howard the Duck #1 of 4 - 26,182

Zombie variant, which Steve Gerber might find wryly appropriate considering some of the comments he’s made about other people’s Howard stories in the past. Allowing for the gimmick cover, which presumably boosted sales on this series too, it’s not a good start.

101. SPIDER-MAN & RED SONJA
08/07  Spider-Man/Sonja #1 of 5 - 36,780
09/07  Spider-Man/Sonja #2 of 5 - 28,764  (-21.8%)
10/07  Spider-Man/Sonja #3 of 5 - 25,956  ( -9.8%)

Levelling out, at least.

107. PENANCE: RELENTLESS
09/07  Relentless #1 of 5 - 30,454
10/07  Relentless #2 of 5 - 24,346  (-20.1%)

A steep second issue drop. This isn’t looking like a hit, despite the success of the relaunched THUNDERBOLTS title and Penance’s high-profile introduction in CIVIL WAR: FRONT LINE.

118. IRON MAN: ENTER THE MANDARIN
09/07  Enter t/Mandarin #1 of 6 - 26,912
10/07  Enter t/Mandarin #2 of 6 - 20,781  (-22.8%)

Another steep drop, but Joe Casey’s Silver Age stories haven’t done especially while in serial form for a while now. Perhaps the trade paperback is doing better.

121. POWERS  [Icon]
10/01  Powers #15 - 26,830
10/02  ---
10/03  Powers #34 - 26,285
10/04  Powers #5  - 32,504
10/05  Powers #13 - 26,535
=====
10/06  Powers #20 - 22,943  ( -0.9%)
11/06  Powers #21 - 22,134  ( -3.5%)
12/06  ---
01/07  Powers #22 - 22,018  ( -0.5%)
02/07  Powers #23 - 21,939  ( -0.4%)
03/07  ---
04/07  Powers #24 - 20,960  ( -4.5%)
05/07  ---
06/07  ---
07/07  ---
08/07  Powers #25 - 21,349  ( +1.9%)
09/07  ---
10/07  Powers #26 - 20,541  ( -3.8%)
                    6 mnth  ( -2.0%)
                    1 year  (-10.5%)
                    2 year  (-22.6%)
                    3 year  (-36.8%)
                    4 year  (-21.9%)

Hovering around its usual area.

123. FOOLKILLER  [Max]
10/07  Foolkiller #1 of 5 - 19,706

Another low-selling Max miniseries. The hope has to be that these books will connect in the trade paperback format.

125. OMEGA THE UNKNOWN
10/07  Omega the Unknown #1 of 10 - 19,322

A very odd relaunch of a very odd series, this is clearly intended to end up in the bookstore market. The direct market sales aren’t too impressive, but the book’s natural audience (and the author’s) will be reached through different channels.

135. X-MEN: FIRST CLASS
10/06  First Class #2 of 8 - 33,688  (-15.5%)
11/06  First Class #3 of 8 - 30,805  ( -8.6%)
12/06  First Class #4 of 8 - 28,455  ( -7.6%)
01/07  First Class #5 of 8 - 26,607  ( -6.5%)
02/07  First Class #6 of 8 - 25,125  ( -5.6%)
03/07  First Class #7 of 8 - 24,028  ( -4.4%)
04/07  First Class #8 of 8 - 23,420  ( -2.5%)
05/07  First Class Special - 23,556  ( +0.6%)
06/07  First Class #1      - 26,370  (+11.9%)
07/07  First Class #2      - 22,269  (-15.6%)
08/07  First Class #3      - 20,495  ( -8.0%)
09/07  First Class #4      - 19,088  ( -6.9%)
10/07  First Class #5      - 18,134  ( -5.0%)
                             6 mnth  (-22.6%)
                             1 year  (-46.2%)

Dropping rather fast. Of course, if you view FIRST CLASS as an all-ages book, it’s doing much better than its compatriots.

139. MYTHOS
01/07  Ghost Rider    - 22,163  ( +9.7%)
06/07  Spider-Man     - 23,432  ( +5.7%)
10/07  Fantastic Four - 17,322  (-26.1%)

A surprisingly big drop, but it’s fair to say that the MYTHOS books haven’t really caught the imagination of the direct market audience. Presumably the intention is to get a trade paperback out of them at some point.

141. MARVEL SPOTLIGHT
10/06  Onslaught Reborn    -  4,557  ( -27.8%)
11/06  Bendis/Bagley       -  5,869  ( +28.8%)
12/06  ---
01/07  Ghost Rider         -  7,902  ( +34.6%)
01/07  Dark Tower          - 18,922  (+139.5%)
02/07  ---
03/07  Civil War Aftermath - 31,072  ( +64.2%)
04/07  Spider-Man          - 13,210  ( -57.5%)
05/07  Fantastic Four      -  8,261  ( -37.5%)
06/07  Captain America     - 31,483  (+281.1%)
07/07  ---
08/07  World War Hulk      - 22,534  ( -28.4%)
08/07  Halo                -  9,782  ( -56.6%)
09/07  Thor                - 11,300  ( +15.5%)
10/07  Marvel Zombies      - 16,697  ( +47.8%)
                             6 mnth  ( +26.4%)
                             1 year  (+266.4%)

As you’d expect, the zombies boost sales.

157. SHANNA THE SHE-DEVIL: SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
08/07  Survival #1 of 4 - 25,336
09/07  Survival #2 of 4 - 17,993  (-29.0%)
10/07  Survival #3 of 4 - 14,651  (-18.6%)

A nasty third issue drop. There isn’t much evidence of a market for this.

159. OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE
10/04  Wolverine 2004   - 32,553
10/05  Horror 2005      - 15,849
=====
10/06  A to Z #10 of 12 - 18,767  (  -1.0%)
11/06  A to Z #11 of 12 - 18,285  (  -2.6%)
12/06  A to Z #12 of 12 - 21,183  ( +15.8%)
01/07  Update #1 of 4   - 17,182  ( -18.9%)
02/07  ---
03/07  ---
04/07  Spider-Man: BIB  - 23,510  ( +36.8%)
05/07  Update #2 of 4   - 16,633  ( -29.3%)
05/07  Anita Blake      - 20,936  ( +25.9%)
06/07  Mystic Arcana    - 15,669  ( -25.2%)
06/07  Mighty Avengers  - 22,312  ( +42.4%)
07/07  Update #3 of 4   - 15,600  ( -30.1%)
08/07  World War Hulk   - 41,583  (+166.6%)
09/07  Marvel Zombies   - 35,664  ( -14.2%)
10/07  Update #4 of 4   - 14,328  ( -59.8%)
                          6 mnth  ( -39.1%)
                          1 year  ( -23.7%)
                          2 year  (  -9.6%)
                          3 year  ( -56.0%)

The generic UPDATE issues always sell below the theme issues, so no surprises there. More unusually, the MARVEL ZOMBIES book from last month picks up re-orders of 4,769, even though it was really an all-purpose horror issue that happened to include the zombies among many other entries. I don’t recall the HANDBOOK ever making the chart on re-orders before, but that’s the power of the undead for you.

163. AVENGERS CLASSIC
06/07  Avengers Classic #1 - 29,319
07/07  Avengers Classic #2 - 20,954  (-28.5%)
08/07  Avengers Classic #3 - 18,817  (-10.2%)
09/07  Avengers Classic #4 - 15,392  (-18.2%)
10/07  Avengers Classic #5 - 13,599  (-11.6%)

Even allowing for the fact that it’s part-reprint, I’m really struggling to imagine how this book is paying its way. It doesn’t seem like the sort of project that would do any better through other channels.

166. TERROR, INC.  [Max]
08/07  Terror Inc. #1 of 5 - 18,025
09/07  Terror Inc. #2 of 5 - 14,496  (-19.6%)
10/07  Terror Inc. #3 of 5 - 13,365  ( -7.8%)

Fairly typical sales for the Max imprint.

167. SUPER-VILLAIN TEAM-UP: MODOK's 11
07/07  MODOK's 11 #1 of 5 - 22,612
08/07  MODOK's 11 #2 of 5 - 17,355  (-23.2%)
09/07  MODOK's 11 #3 of 5 - 14,819  (-14.6%)
10/07  MODOK's 11 #4 of 5 - 13,305  (-10.2%)


176. SPIDER-MAN FAMILY
02/07  Spider-Man Family #1 - 30,516
03/07  ---
04/07  Spider-Man Family #2 - 20,679  (-32.2%)
05/07  ---
06/07  Spider-Man Family #3 - 16,853  (-18.5%)
07/07  ---
08/07  Spider-Man Family #4 - 14,253  (-15.4%)
09/07  ---
10/07  Spider-Man Family #5 - 11,771  (-17.4%)
                              6 mnth  (-43.1%)

Two low-selling Marvel Universe titles. SPIDER-MAN FAMILY is tanking spectacularly in the direct market, but they keep on soliciting it. So either it’s doing better somewhere else, or it’s been guaranteed a reasonable run.

192. CIVIL WAR CHRONICLES
07/07  Civil War Chronicles #1 - 18,449
08/07  Civil War Chronicles #2 - 12,953  (-29.8%)
09/07  Civil War Chronicles #3 - 11,094  (-14.4%)
10/07  Civil War Chronicles #4 -  9,108  (-17.9%)

Still selling far better than you’d expect for a story that sold so well, so recently.

And from here on, it’s the all-ages books and the DBPro titles. You know the drill: these books do most of their business in other channels, so the direct market sales are pretty much irrelevant.

230. MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS  [All ages]
10/06  M.A. Avengers #6  - 7,879  ( -1.4%)
11/06  M.A. Avengers #7  - 7,642  ( -3.0%)
12/06  M.A. Avengers #8  - 7,512  ( -1.7%)
01/07  M.A. Avengers #9  - 7,315  ( -2.6%)
02/07  M.A. Avengers #10 - 7,053  ( -3.6%)
03/07  M.A. Avengers #11 - 7,068  ( +0.2%)
04/07  M.A. Avengers #12 - 7,092  ( +0.3%)
05/07  M.A. Avengers #13 - 7,251  ( +2.2%)
06/07  M.A. Avengers #14 - 7,293  ( +0.6%)
07/07  ---
08/07  M.A. Avengers #15 - 6,950  ( -4.7%)
09/07  M.A. Avengers #16 - 6,870  ( -1.2%)
10/07  M.A. Avengers #17 - 6,423  ( -6.5%)
                           6 mnth ( -9.4%)
                           1 year (-18.5%)


232. MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN  [All ages]
10/05  M.A. Spider-Man #8  - 7,088
=====
10/06  M.A. Spider-Man #20 - 6,131  ( +1.2%)
11/06  M.A. Spider-Man #21 - 6,529  ( +6.5%)
12/06  M.A. Spider-Man #22 - 6,396  ( -2.0%)
01/07  M.A. Spider-Man #23 - 6,271  ( -2.0%)
02/07  M.A. Spider-Man #24 - 6,678  ( +6.5%)
03/07  M.A. Spider-Man #25 - 6,408  ( -4.0%)
04/07  M.A. Spider-Man #26 - 6,478  ( +1.1%)
05/07  M.A. Spider-Man #27 - 6,818  ( +5.2%)
06/07  M.A. Spider-Man #28 - 7,006  ( +2.8%)
07/07  M.A. Spider-Man #29 - 7,071  ( +0.9%)
08/07  M.A. Spider-Man #30 - 6,573  ( -7.0%)
09/07  M.A. Spider-Man #31 - 6,723  ( +2.3%)
10/07  M.A. Spider-Man #32 - 6,355  ( -5.5%)
                            6 mnth  ( -1.9%)
                            1 year  ( +3.7%)
                            2 year  (-10.3%)


247. MARVEL ADVENTURES HULK [All ages]
07/07  M.A. Hulk #1 - 11,394
08/07  M.A. Hulk #2 -  7,142  (-37.3%)
09/07  M.A. Hulk #3 -  5,790  (-18.9%)
10/07  M.A. Hulk #4 -  5,588  ( -3.5%)


253. MAGICIAN: APPRENTICE  [DBPro]
10/06  Apprentice #1-2 of 12 - 1,892
11/06  Apprentice #3   of 12 - 4,595  (+142.9%)
12/06  Apprentice #4   of 12 - 7,266  ( +58.1%)
01/07  Apprentice #5   of 12 - 7,206  (  -0.8%)
02/07  ---
03/07  Apprentice #6   of 12 - 6,818  (  -5.4%)
04/07  ---
05/07  Apprentice #7   of 12 - 6,193  (  -9.2%)
06/07  Apprentice #8   of 12 - 5,941  (  -4.1%)
07/07  Apprentice #9   of 12 - 5,454  (  -8.2%)
08/07  ---
09/07  ---
10/07  Apprentice #10  of 12 - 5,190  (  -4.8%)
                              6 mnth  (   --- )
                              1 year  (+174.3%)


254. POWER PACK
10/05  X-Men #1 of 4          - 12,295
=====
11/06  Spider-Man #1 of 4     -  7,897  (+35.0%)
12/06  Spider-Man #2 of 4     -  6,350  (-19.6%)
01/07  Spider-Man #3 of 4     -  5,880  ( -7.4%)
02/07  Spider-Man #4 of 4     -  5,605  ( -4.7%)
03/07  Hulk #1 of 4           -  6,697  (+19.5%)
04/07  Hulk #2 of 4           -  5,944  (-11.2%)
05/07  Hulk #3 of 4           -  5,593  ( -5.9%)
06/07  Hulk #4 of 4           -  5,443  ( -2.7%)
07/07  Fantastic Four #1 of 4 -  6,577  (+20.8%)
08/07  Fantastic Four #2 of 4 -  5,749  (-12.6%)
09/07  Fantastic Four #3 of 4 -  5,400  ( -6.1%)
10/07  Fantastic Four #4 of 4 -  5,152  ( -4.6%)
                                6 mnth  (-13.3%)
                                1 year  (  --- )
                                2 year  (-58.1%)


255. MARVEL ADVENTURES IRON MAN  [All ages]
05/07  M.A. Iron Man #1 - 11,922
06/07  M.A. Iron Man #2 -  7,050  (-40.9%)
07/07  M.A. Iron Man #3 -  6,543  ( -7.2%)
08/07  M.A. Iron Man #4 -  5,911  ( -9.7%)
09/07  M.A. Iron Man #5 -  5,562  ( -5.9%)
10/07  M.A. Iron Man #6 -  5,130  ( -7.8%)


261. MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR  [All ages]
10/05  M.A. Fantastic Four #5  - 5,969
=====
10/06  M.A. Fantastic Four #17 - 4,557  ( -2.8%)
11/06  M.A. Fantastic Four #18 - 4,614  ( +1.3%)
12/06  M.A. Fantastic Four #19 - 4,533  ( -1.8%)
01/07  M.A. Fantastic Four #20 - 4,459  ( -1.6%)
02/07  M.A. Fantastic Four #21 - 4,508  ( +1.1%)
03/07  M.A. Fantastic Four #22 - 4,588  ( +1.8%)
04/07  M.A. Fantastic Four #23 - 4,604  ( +0.3%)
05/07  M.A. Fantastic Four #24 - 4,807  ( +4.4%)
06/07  M.A. Fantastic Four #25 - 4,972  ( +3.4%)
07/07  M.A. Fantastic Four #26 - 5,370  ( +8.0%)
08/07  M.A. Fantastic Four #27 - 4,641  (-13.6%)
09/07  M.A. Fantastic Four #28 - 5,194  (+11.9%)
10/07  M.A. Fantastic Four #29 - 4,851  ( -6.6%)
                                6 mnth  ( +5.4%)
                                1 year  ( +6.5%)
                                2 year  (-18.7%)


269. TREASURE ISLAND [Marvel Illustrated]
06/07  Treasure Island #1 of 6 - 8,224
07/07  Treasure Island #2 of 6 - 6,351  (-22.8%)
08/07  Treasure Island #3 of 6 - 5,534  (-12.9%)
09/07  Treasure Island #4 of 6 - 4,908  (-11.3%)
10/07  Treasure Island #5 of 6 - 4,543  ( -7.4%)


276. MAN IN THE IRON MASK  [Marvel Illustrated]
07/07  Iron Mask #1 of 6 - 7,188
08/07  Iron Mask #2 of 6 - 5,526  (-23.1%)
09/07  Iron Mask #3 of 6 - 4,687  (-15.2%)
10/07  Iron Mask #4 of 6 - 4,159  (-11.3%)


Skip months and re-orders
=========================

WORLD WAR HULK
05/07  Prologue               - 111,153
06/07  World War Hulk #1 of 5 - 204,823  (+84.3%)
07/07  World War Hulk #2 of 5 - 165,402  (-19.2%)
08/07  World War Hulk #3 of 5 - 156,526  ( -5.4%)
09/07  World War Hulk #4 of 5 - 148,610  ( -5.1%)
10/07  ---

Delayed to November.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
10/01  Amazing Spider-Man #36  -  86,456
10/02  Amazing Spider-Man #46  -  98,001
10/03  Amazing Spider-Man #500 - 148,928
10/04  Amazing Spider-Man #513 -  89,615
10/05  Amazing Spider-Man #525 -  79,520
=====
10/06  ----
11/06  Amazing Spider-Man #536 - 121,003 ( -1.6%)
12/06  ---
01/07  Amazing Spider-Man #537 - 123,160 ( +1.8%)
02/07  Amazing Spider-Man #538 - 145,435 (+18.1%)
03/07  Amazing Spider-Man #539 - 155,980 ( +7.3%)
04/07  ---
05/07  Amazing Spider-Man #540 - 119,662 (-23.3%)
06/07  Amazing Spider-Man #541 - 108,284 ( -9.5%)
07/07  Amazing Spider-Man #542 - 105,715 ( -2.4%)
08/07  Amazing Spider-Man #543 - 106,485 ( +0.7%)
09/07  Amazing Spider-Man #544 - 150,788 (+41.6%)
10/07  ---

Issue #544 picks up 4,573 in re-orders. The next issue is due out at Christmas.

ASTONISHING X-MEN
10/06  ---
11/06  Astonishing X-Men #18 - 118,285  ( -4.6%)
12/06  Astonishing X-Men #19 - 124,033  ( +4.9%)
01/07  ---
02/07  Astonishing X-Men #20 - 119,736  ( -3.5%)
03/07  ---
04/07  ---
05/07  Astonishing X-Men #21 - 120,495  ( +0.6%)
06/07  ---
07/07  ---
08/07  Astonishing X-Men #22 - 117,321  ( -2.6%)
09/07  ---
10/07  ---


THOR
10/01  Thor #42 -  36,477
10/02  Thor #55 -  36,734
10/03  Thor #69 -  32,991
10/04  Thor #85 -  49,368
=====
07/07  Thor #1  - 202,798
08/07  Thor #2  - 122,951  ( -39.4%)
09/07  Thor #3  - 109,964  ( -10.6%)
10/07  ---


INCREDIBLE HULK
10/01  Incredible Hulk #33  -  31,529
10/02  Incredible Hulk #46  -  50,267
10/03  Incredible Hulk #62  -  55,530
10/04  ---
10/05  Incredible Hulk #87  -  42,454
=====
10/06  Incredible Hulk #99  -  47,878  (  -9.6%)
11/06  Incredible Hulk #100 -  84,169  ( +75.8%)
12/06  Incredible Hulk #101 -  47,927  ( -43.1%)
01/07  Incredible Hulk #102 -  46,965  (  -2.0%)
02/07  Incredible Hulk #103 -  46,690  (  -0.6%)
03/07  Incredible Hulk #104 -  47,823  (  +2.4%)
04/07  Incredible Hulk #105 -  53,256  ( +11.4%)
05/07  Incredible Hulk #106 - 119,735  (+124.8%)
06/07  Incredible Hulk #107 - 115,912  (  -3.2%)
07/07  Incredible Hulk #108 - 107,714  (  -7.1%)
08/07  Incredible Hulk #109 - 104,322  (  -3.1%)
09/07  Incredible Hulk #110 -  96,835  (  -7.2%)
10/07  ---


NEW AVENGERS: ILLUMINATI
12/06  Illuminati #1 of 5 - 106,381
01/07  ---
02/07  Illuminati #2 of 5 -  92,881  (-12.7%)
03/07  ---
04/07  ---
05/07  Illuminati #3 of 5 -  92,821  ( -0.0%)
06/07  ---
07/07  ---
08/07  Illuminati #4 of 5 -  88,114  ( -5.1%)
09/07  ---
10/07  ---


AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE
04/07  Initiative #1 - 127,798
05/07  Initiative #2 - 103,189  (-19.3%)
06/07  Initiative #3 -  92,339  (-10.5%)
07/07  Initiative #4 -  94,773  ( +2.6%)
08/07  Initiative #5 -  86,536  ( -8.7%)
09/07  Initiative #6 -  74,184  (-14.3%)
10/07  ---

All five of these books shipped in November.

HALO: UPRISING
08/07  Uprising #1 of 4 - 71,812
09/07  ---
10/07  ---

Issue #1 picks up 4,257 further re-orders, while the second issue slips to November.

SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN
10/04  Marvel Knights S-M #7  - 69,918
10/05  Marvel Knights S-M #19 - 66,140
=====
10/06  Sensational S-M #31    - 51,587  ( -5.3%)
11/06  Sensational S-M #32    - 50,222  ( -2.6%)
12/06  Sensational S-M #33    - 48,443  ( -3.5%)
01/07  Sensational S-M #34    - 47,008  ( -3.0%)
02/07  Sensational S-M #35    - 69,543  (+47.9%)
03/07  Sensational S-M #36    - 58,559  (-15.8%)
04/07  Sensational S-M #37    - 57,528  ( -1.8%)
05/07  ---
06/07  Sensational S-M #38    - 57,091  ( -0.8%)
07/07  Sensational S-M #39    - 55,346  ( -3.1%)
08/07  Sensational S-M #40    - 52,180  ( -5.7%)
09/07  ---
10/07  ---

Effectively cancelled already, but the “One More Day” tie-in issue is due out at the end of November to cap it off.

WORLD WAR HULK: GAMMA CORPS
07/07  Gamma Corps #1 of 4 - 65,718
08/07  Gamma Corps #2 of 4 - 54,497  (-17.1%)
09/07  Gamma Corps #3 of 4 - 47,543  (-12.8%)
10/07  ---

The final issue slipped to November, as part of a general rescheduling of WORLD WAR HULK books.

ONSLAUGHT REBORN
11/06  Onslaught Reborn #1 of 5 - 82,642
12/06  Onslaught Reborn #2 of 5 - 55,111  (-33.3%)
01/07  ---
02/07  ---
03/07  Onslaught Reborn #3 of 5 - 52,420  ( -4.9%)
04/07  ---
05/07  ---
06/07  ---
07/07  Onslaught Reborn #4 of 5 - 45,946  (-12.4%)
08/07  ---
09/07  ---
10/07  ---

Currently due in December, but I’ll believe it when I see it.

IMMORTAL IRON FIST
11/06  Immortal Iron Fist #1 - 60,079
12/06  Immortal Iron Fist #2 - 40,617  (-32.4%)
01/07  ---
02/07  Immortal Iron Fist #3 - 35,654  (-12.2%)
03/07  ---
04/07  Immortal Iron Fist #4 - 37,159  ( +4.2%)
05/07  Immortal Iron Fist #5 - 36,856  ( -0.8%)
06/07  Immortal Iron Fist #6 - 36,731  ( -0.3%)
07/07  Immortal Iron Fist #7 - 35,842  ( -2.4%)
08/07  Immortal Iron Fist #8 - 35,449  ( -1.1%)
09/07  Immortal Iron Fist #9 - 34,282  ( -3.3%)
10/07  ---


THE ORDER
07/07  The Order #1 - 57,264
08/07  The Order #2 - 40,274  (-30.0%)
09/07  The Order #3 - 33,936  (-15.7%)
10/07  ---


ULTIMATE VISION
11/06  Ultimate Vision #0 of 5 - 40,004
12/06  Ultimate Vision #1 of 5 - 53,069  (+32.7%)
01/07  Ultimate Vision #2 of 5 - 40,288  (-24.1%)
02/07  ---
03/07  Ultimate Vision #3 of 5 - 33,455  (-17.0%)
04/07  ---
05/07  ---
06/07  Ultimate Vision #4 of 5 - 29,844  (-10.8%)
07/07  ---
08/07  ---
09/07  ---
10/07  ---


ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST - STAR LORD
07/07  Star Lord #1 of 4 - 35,833
08/07  Star Lord #2 of 4 - 32,001  (-10.7%)
09/07  Star Lord #3 of 4 - 29,447  ( -8.0%)
10/07  ---


MYSTIC ARCANA
06/07  Magik         - 26,976
07/07  Black Knight  - 20,928  (-22.4%)
08/07  Scarlet Witch - 23,481  (+12.2%)
09/07  ---
10/07  ---


LONERSCRIMINAL  [Icon]
10/06  Criminal #1 - 25,978
11/06  Criminal #2 - 21,115  (-18.7%)
12/06  Criminal #3 - 17,702  (-16.2%)
01/07  Criminal #4 - 16,827  ( -4.9%)
02/07  ---
03/07  Criminal #5 - 16,389  ( -2.6%)
04/07  ---
05/07  Criminal #6 - 15,720  ( -4.1%)
06/07  Criminal #7 - 15,214  ( -3.2%)
07/07  ---
08/07  Criminal #8 - 15,169  ( -0.3%)
09/07  Criminal #9 - 14,768  ( -2.6%)
10/07  ---

Another seven – yes, seven – books slipping to November.

KABUKI  [Icon]
10/05  Kabuki #5 - 11,420
=====
10/06  ---
11/06  ---
12/06  ---
01/07  Kabuki #8 -  9,961  ( -7.8%)
02/07  ---
03/07  ---
04/07  ---
05/07  ---
06/07  ---
07/07  ---
08/07  ---
09/07  ---
10/07  ---

Currently due in December, but it’s been rescheduled so many times that you’d be ill-advised to take it seriously.

HEDGE KNIGHT 2: SWORN SWORD  [DBPro]
06/07  Sworn Sword #1 of 6 - 12,011
07/07  Sworn Sword #2 of 6 -  8,763  (-27.0%)
08/07  Sworn Sword #3 of 6 -  7,658  (-12.6%)
09/07  ---
10/07  ---
11/07  ---

Pushed back to January.

LAST OF THE MOHICANS [Marvel Illustrated]
05/07  Last o/Mohicans #1 of 6 - 11,498
06/07  Last o/Mohicans #2 of 6 -  7,786  (-32.3%)
07/07  ---
08/07  Last o/Mohicans #3 of 6 -  6,896  (-11.4%)
08/07  Last o/Mohicans #4 of 6 -  6,319  ( -8.4%)
09/07  Last o/Mohicans #5 of 6 -  5,679  (-10.1%)
10/07  ---

Delayed to November. (Along with the sixteen other books already mentioned.)

ORSON SCOTT CARD'S WYRMS  [DBPro]
02/07  Wyrms #1 of 6 - 6,246
03/07  Wyrms #2 of 6 - 5,401  (-13.5%)
04/07  Wyrms #3 of 6 - 4,902  ( -9.2%)
05/07  Wyrms #4 of 6 - 4,567  ( -6.8%)
06/07  Wyrms #5 of 6 - 4,209  ( -7.8%)
07/07  ---
08/07  ---
09/07  ---
10/07  ---

The final issue has been pushed back to December.

RED PROPHET: TALES OF ALVIN MAKER  [DBPro]
10/06  Alvin Maker #1-2 of 12 -   1,617
11/06  Alvin Maker #3   of 12 - < 3,170  (+<96.0%)
12/06  Alvin Maker #4   of 12 -   5,034  (+>58.8%)
01/07  Alvin Maker #5   of 12 -   4,480  ( -11.0%)
02/07  ---
03/07  Alvin Maker #6   of 12 -   4,009  ( -10.5%)
04/07  ---
05/07  Alvin Maker #7   of 12 -   3,678  (  -8.3%)
06/07  Alvin Maker #8   of 12 -   3,441  (  -6.4%)
07/07  Alvin Maker #9   of 12 -   3,184  (  -7.5%)
08/07  Alvin Maker #10  of 12 -   3,048  (  -4.3%)
09/07  ---
10/07  ---

Resumes in December.

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

+119.5% - Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
+ 69.7% - Heroes for Hire
+ 37.6% - X-Factor
+ 32.2% - Amazing Spider-Girl
+ 30.6% - New X-Men
+ 28.5% - She-Hulk
+ 26.4% - Marvel Spotlight
+ 24.4% - Punisher War Journal
+ 23.0% - Cable & Deadpool
+ 17.2% - Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter
+ 11.5% - X-Men
+  5.4% - Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four
+  4.7% - Uncanny X-Men
+  2.2% - Ultimate Spider-Man
+  2.1% - Daredevil
+  1.0% - Punisher
+  0.2% - Ultimate X-Men
-  1.9% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
-  2.0% - Powers
-  9.4% - Marvel Adventures Avengers
-  9.6% - Exiles
-  9.8% - Ultimate Fantastic Four
- 11.0% - New Excalibur
- 11.1% - New Avengers
- 11.5% - Ms Marvel
- 13.3% - Power Pack
- 14.9% - Wolverine
- 15.1% - Runaways
- 15.4% - Wolverine: Origins
- 18.7% - Nova
- 19.9% - Mighty Avengers
- 21.9% - Ghost Rider
- 22.6% - X-Men: First Class
- 25.4% - Fantastic Four
- 27.6% - Thunderbolts
- 28.4% - Iron Man
- 36.3% - Moon Knight
- 39.1% - Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
- 43.1% - Spider-Man Family


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

+266.4% - Marvel Spotlight
+174.3% - Magician: Apprentice
+138.5% - Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
+ 86.9% - Runaways
+ 59.2% - Thunderbolts
+ 26.5% - New X-Men
+ 21.4% - X-Factor
+  6.5% - Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four
+  4.4% - Cable & Deadpool
+  3.7% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
+  2.0% - X-Men
-  0.6% - Punisher
-  1.7% - Black Panther
-  3.8% - Uncanny X-Men
-  5.2% - Captain America
-  5.9% - Ultimate Spider-Man
-  6.6% - Daredevil
- 10.5% - Powers
- 13.1% - Exiles
- 14.6% - Ultimate X-Men
- 18.5% - New Avengers
- 18.5% - Marvel Adventures Avengers
- 20.3% - New Excalibur
- 21.1% - Wolverine
- 23.7% - Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
- 26.5% - Ultimate Fantastic Four
- 32.4% - Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter
- 32.6% - Ghost Rider
- 34.9% - Fantastic Four
- 39.7% - Ms Marvel
- 40.1% - Heroes for Hire
- 41.9% - Wolverine: Origins
- 43.9% - Amazing Spider-Girl
- 44.1% - Front Line
- 46.2% - X-Men: First Class
- 51.8% - Ultimate Power


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

+ 78.2% - Runaways
+ 70.8% - Captain America
+ 61.9% - Thunderbolts
+ 46.3% - Amazing Spider-Girl
+ 28.7% - Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
+ 28.3% - Cable & Deadpool
+ 18.9% - New X-Men
+ 11.8% - X-Men
+ 10.8% - Wolverine
+  4.7% - Daredevil
+  1.6% - Uncanny X-Men
-  0.5% - Ultimate Spider-Man
-  4.4% - She-Hulk
-  7.3% - Punisher
-  9.6% - Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
- 10.3% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
- 12.9% - New Avengers
- 16.1% - Ultimate X-Men
- 16.2% - Black Panther
- 18.7% - Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four
- 22.6% - Powers
- 32.5% - Exiles
- 36.2% - Ultimate Fantastic Four
- 58.1% - Power Pack


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

+194.5% - Thor
+106.7% - Captain America
+ 42.7% - She-Hulk
+ 27.3% - Iron Man
+ 21.3% - Amazing Spider-Girl
+ 20.7% - Fantastic Four
+ 10.8% - Cable & Deadpool
+  8.6% - New X-Men
-  5.8% - X-Men
- 11.2% - Daredevil
- 15.6% - Uncanny X-Men
- 20.9% - Punisher
- 21.4% - Exiles
- 21.8% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 28.3% - Wolverine
- 32.8% - Ultimate X-Men
- 36.8% - Powers
- 56.0% - Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe


4 year comparisons
==================

+239.9% - Thor
+119.9% - Runaways
+ 89.3% - New Avengers
+ 82.1% - Captain America
+ 24.8% - Iron Man
+ 20.0% - New X-Men
+ 17.7% - Amazing Spider-Girl
+  9.6% - Fantastic Four
+  2.1% - Wolverine
-  7.4% - Uncanny X-Men
- 19.5% - Daredevil
- 19.8% - Punisher
- 21.0% - X-Men
- 21.9% - Powers
- 25.4% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 31.8% - Exiles
- 41.7% - Ultimate X-Men