201012131639.jpg

by Paul O’Brien

The big event on Marvel’s publishing schedule for October was the relaunch of X-FORCE, which restarts from issue #1 and celebrates by taking an adjective. It’s also a big month at the Icon imprint, with the first issues of two Mark Millar titles, KICK-ASS 2 and SUPERIOR, plus the return of INCOGNITO. There’s the second month of the Wolverine family relaunch. And there’s another ongoing Deadpool series. Well, it’s been at least a week since the last one.

As usual, Marvel had the largest share of the North American direct market, beating DC by 36% to 32% in unit share, and 41% to 36% in dollars.

Thanks as always to ICV2.com for their permission to use these figures.

1.  UNCANNY X-FORCE
10/08  #8      - 59,745
=====
10/09  #20     - 48,921  (  -1.8%)
11/09  #21     - 53,967  ( +10.3%)
12/09  #22     - 51,859  (  -3.9%)
01/10  #23     - 50,848  (  -1.9%)
02/10  #24     - 49,790  (  -2.1%)
03/10  #25     - 49,910  (  +0.2%)
04/10  #26     - 67,512  ( +35.3%)
05/10  #27     - 62,509  (  -7.4%)
06/10  ---
07/10  #28     - 61,680  (  -1.3%)
07/10  S&V #1  - 41,426  ( -32.8%)
08/10  #2 of 3 - 38,480  (  -7.1%)
09/10  #3 of 3 - 37,283  (  -3.1%)
10/10  #1      - 95,639  (+156.5%)
6 mnth  ( +41.7%)
1 year  ( +95.5%)
2 year  ( +60.1%)

X-FORCE relaunches, following the three-month hiatus which was filled by the SEX & VIOLENCE miniseries. And so far, so good.

We’ve seen over recent months that the boost from renumbering wears off quickly, though, and this issue is bolstered by a veritable horde of variant covers, including 1:25, 1:50 and 1:75 variants. But on the other hand, this is a much more “legitimate” relaunch than many that Marvel have tried recently, coinciding as it does with a change of creative team, a virtually complete change of cast, and a fresh start in terms of shorelines. For a change, with this relaunch, you can make a sensible case for it being a different title.

The previous volume had estimated first month sales of 105,149 when it launched in February 2008, so this really isn’t too far behind. An encouraging start.

7.  NEW AVENGERS
10/05  #12    - 127,949
10/06  #24    - 136,811
10/07  #35    - 111,481
10/08  #46    -  99,513
=====
10/09  #58    -  76,656  (-10.4%)
11/09  #59    -  74,379  ( -3.0%)
12/09  #60    -  72,790  ( -2.1%)
01/10  #61    -  78,202  ( +7.4%)
02/10  #62    -  76,405  ( -2.3%)
03/10  #63    -  76,145  ( -0.3%)
04/10  #64    -  75,430  ( -0.9%)
04/10  ---
05/10  Finale -  82,152  ( +8.9%)
06/10  #1     - 129,084  (+67.8%)
07/10  #2     -  83,397  (-35.4%)
08/10  #3     -  81,354  ( -2.4%)
09/10  #4     -  77,479  ( -4.7%)
10/10  #5     -  73,409  ( -5.3%)
6 mnth  ( -2.7%)
1 year  ( -4.2%)
2 year  (-26.2%)
3 year  (-34.2%)
4 year  (-46.3%)
5 year  (-42.6%)
8. AVENGERS
05/10 #1 - 170,682
06/10 #2 - 98,788 (-42.1%)
07/10 #3 - 87,410 (-11.5%)
08/10 #4 - 87,333 ( -0.1%)
09/10 #5 - 82,411 ( -5.6%)
10/10 #6 - 73,258 (-11.1%)
9. SECRET AVENGERS
05/10 #1 - 110,681
06/10 #2 - 77,933 (-30.0%)
07/10 #3 - 72,293 ( -7.2%)
08/10 #4 - 74,655 ( +3.3%)
09/10 #5 - 69,546 ( -6.8%)
10/10 #6 - 68,617 ( -1.3%)

The three Avengers books continue to hang closely together in the Top 10, with less than 5,000 between them. AVENGERS is having a rare month without a variant cover, hence the slightly odd sales there. Overall, the books seem to be settling at a level that Marvel should be very happy with – when the C-title is still making the top 10, you can’t really complain.

10.  KICK-ASS 2  [Icon]
10/10  #1 of 6 - 65,279

The first of two new Mark Millar books on the chart, and a rare appearance in the top 10 for a creator-owned book. The original series was of course a huge success; when it launched in February 2008, its estimated first-month sales were 47,841, but the re-orders just kept coming, eventually taking it up to the 80K range. The second volume, no doubt bolstered by the high-profile film, opens even more strongly.

Millar’s other creator-owned title SUPERIOR also launches strongly this month, but there’s clearly a level of interest in KICK-ASS that goes above and beyond Millar’s core following.

11.  X-MEN
07/10  #1 - 143,167
08/10  #2 -  71,464  (-50.1%)
09/10  #3 -  66,549  ( -6.9%)
10/10  #4 -  63,772  ( -4.2%)

Continuing the “Curse of the Mutants” storyline. X-MEN is levelling out reasonably quickly, and it’s still the highest selling of the X-Men titles – though admittedly, that’s with the benefit of 1:15 and 1:25 variant covers.

12. WOLVERINE
10/05  #34  -  75,664
10/06  #47  - 106,201
10/07  #58  -  83,810
10/08  ---
=====
10/09  WX#6 -  38,446  (  -6.2%)
11/09  #7   -  36,108  (  -6.1%)
12/09  #8   -  33,470  (  -7.3%)
01/10  #9   -  31,678  (  -5.4%)
02/10  #10  -  30,132  (  -4.9%)
03/10  #11  -  29,799  (  -1.1%)
04/10  #12  -  30,050  (  +0.8%)
05/10  #13  -  29,773  (  -0.9%)
06/10  #14  -  30,035  (  +0.9%)
07/10  #15  -  29,555  (  -1.6%)
08/10  #16  -  29,424  (  -0.4%)
09/10  #1   - 104,414  (+254.9%)
10/10  #2   -  63,210  ( -39.5%)
6 mnth  (+110.3%)
1 year  ( +64.4%)
2 year  (   --- )
3 year  ( -24.6%)
4 year  ( -40.5%)
5 year  ( -16.5%)

A big second-issue drop, but that was always going to happen given the number of variant covers in September.

Having said that, the second issue of WOLVERINE: WEAPON X dropped by about the same amount (from 98K to 59K), so it’s too early to be sure whether things are going to turn out differently this time. But the problem with WEAPON X was that it just kept dropping, which won’t necessarily happen here. Since the book is now unequivocally presented as Wolverine’s A-title, you’d figure the odds favour a better result this time round.

13.  UNCANNY X-MEN
10/05  #450 - 101,506
10/06  #479 -  89,052
10/07  #491 -  85,638
10/08  #503 -  87,196
=====
10/09  #516 -  73,916  ( +0.4%)
11/09  #517 -  69,557  ( -5.9%)
12/09  #518 -  68,572  ( -1.4%)
12/09  #519 -  67,043  ( -2.2%)
01/10  #520 -  65,758  ( -1.9%)
02/10  #521 -  67,049  ( +2.0%)
03/10  #522 -  67,996  ( +1.4%)
04/10  #523 -  78,999  (+16.2%)
05/10  #524 -  77,056  ( -2.5%)
06/10  #525 -  76,068  ( -1.3%)
07/10  #526 -  66,723  (-12.3%)
08/10  #527 -  69,052  ( +3.5%)
09/10  #528 -  62,415  ( -9.6%)
10/10  #529 -  62,256  ( -0.3%)
6 mnth  (-21.2%)
1 year  (-15.8%)
2 year  (-28.6%)
3 year  (-27.3%)
4 year  (-30.1%)
5 year  (-38.7%)

It looks like it’s holding level, but actually issue #529 has a 1:15 vampire variant, while issue #528 had just the one cover. So there’s probably an underlying decline which is being masked by added sales from the variant.

16,18. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
10/05  #525 - 79,520
10/06  ---
10/07  ---
10/08  #575 - 68,913
=====
10/09  #608 - 72,035  (+15.1%)
10/09  #609 - 61,176  (-15.1%)
11/09  #610 - 61,170  ( -0.0%)
11/09  #611 - 64,514  ( +5.5%)
11/09  #612 - 68,459  ( +6.1%)
11/09  #613 - 64,499  ( -5.8%)
12/09  #614 - 59,696  ( -7.4%)
12/09  #615 - 63,738  ( +6.8%)
12/09  #616 - 58,856  ( -7.7%)
01/10  #617 - 76,730  (+30.4%)
01/10  #618 - 61,969  (-19.2%)
01/10  #619 - 56,837  ( -8.3%)
02/10  #620 - 59,860  ( +5.3%)
02/10  #621 - 55,350  ( -7.5%)
02/10  #622 - 53,929  ( -2.6%)
03/10  #623 - 66,064  (+22.5%)
03/10  #624 - 60,213  ( -8.9%)
03/10  #625 - 54,179  (-10.0%)
03/10  #626 - 53,868  ( -0.6%)
03/10  #627 - 54,206  ( +0.6%)
04/10  #628 - 57,797  ( +6.6%)
04/10  #629 - 53,560  ( -7.3%)
05/10  #630 - 57,969  ( +8.2%)
05/10  #631 - 57,239  ( -1.3%)
05/10  #632 - 56,723  ( -0.9%)
06/10  #633 - 57,670  ( +1.7%)
06/10  #634 - 61,736  ( +7.1%)
06/10  #635 - 56,146  ( -9.1%)
07/10  #636 - 56,011  ( -0.2%)
07/10  #637 - 56,031  ( +0.0%)
07/10  #638 - 68,271  (+21.8%)
08/10  #639 - 67,086  ( -1.7%)
08/10  #640 - 73,656  ( +9.8%)
09/10  #641 - 68,345  ( -7.2%)
09/10  #642 - 60,115  (-12.0%)
09/10  #643 - 61,855  ( +2.9%)
09/10  #644 - 58,310  ( -5.7%)
10/10  #645 - 56,709  ( -2.7%)
10/10  #646 - 58,125  ( +2.5%)
6 mnth  ( +8.5%)
1 year  ( -5.0%)
2 year  (-15.7%)
3 year  (  --- )
4 year  (  --- )
5 year  (-26.9%)

These are the concluding chapters of “Origin of the Species”, both of which have variant covers. There’s a relaunch of sorts next month, with the start of the “Big Time” issues.

19. THOR
10/05  ---
10/06  ---
10/07  ---
10/08  #11    - 78,673
=====
10/09  ---
11/09  Finale - 53,566  (-17.9%)
12/09  #604   - 61,608  (+15.0%)
12/09  #605   - 55,242  (-10.3%)
01/10  #606   - 55,353  ( +0.2%)
02/10  #607   - 66,973  (+21.0%)
03/10  #608   - 62,012  ( -7.4%)
04/10  #609   - 64,522  ( +4.0%)
05/10  #610   - 61,779  ( -4.3%)
06/10  #611   - 56,443  ( -8.6%)
07/10  #612   - 53,373  ( -5.4%)
08/10  #613   - 51,076  ( -4.3%)
09/10  #614   - 53,505  ( +4.8%)
09/10  #615   - 52,896  ( -1.2%)
10/10  #616   - 51,051  ( -3.5%)
6 mnth  (-20.9%)
1 year  (  --- )
2 year  (-35.1%)
3 year  (  --- )
4 year  (  --- )
5 year  (  --- )

The second issue of Matt Fraction and Pascual Ferry’s run, and sales are holding fairly steady. There’s a variant cover, but that’s common with this book (and last month’s variant had a higher incentive ratio).

22. ULTIMATE COMICS THOR
10/10  #1 of 4 - 49,747

There’s a deluge of THOR product at the moment, as Marvel generate material for film tie-in collections, but ULTIMATE COMICS THOR does at least come out ahead of the pack. In that regard, at least, it’s perhaps a sign of the Ultimate brand still carrying a bit of weight.

23. CAPTAIN AMERICA
10/05  #11       - 45,162
10/06  #23       - 81,323
10/07  #31       - 77,131
10/08  #43       - 72,405
=====
10/09  ---
11/09  Reborn #4 - 96,571  (-10.9%)
12/09  Reborn #5 - 91,790  ( -5.0%)
01/10  Reborn #6 - 84,844  ( -7.6%)
01/10  #602      - 63,948  (-24.6%)
02/10  #603      - 63,568  ( -0.6%)
03/10  #604      - 56,962  (-10.4%)
04/10  #605      - 59,051  ( +3.7%)
05/10  ---
06/10  #606      - 57,443  ( -2.7%)
06/10  #607      - 52,989  ( -7.8%)
07/10  ---
08/10  #608      - 51,362  ( -3.1%)
08/10  #609      - 52,834  ( +2.9%)
09/10  #610      - 47,986  ( -9.2%)
10/10  #611      - 48,788  ( +1.7%)
6 mnth  (-17.4%)
1 year  (  --- )
2 year  (-32.6%)
3 year  (-36.7%)
4 year  (-40.0%)
5 year  ( +8.0%)

The slight increase is most likely due to the vampire variant cover.

24. X-MEN LEGACY
10/05  #176 - 74,635
10/06  #192 - 81,816
10/07  #204 - 83,456
10/08  #217 - 65,888
=====
10/09  #228 - 52,855  (-16.5%)
11/09  #229 - 50,789  ( -3.9%)
12/09  #230 - 49,776  ( -2.0%)
12/09  #231 - 50,929  ( +2.3%)
01/10  #232 - 49,200  ( -3.4%)
02/10  #233 - 51,344  ( +4.4%)
03/10  #234 - 48,217  ( -6.1%)
04/10  #235 - 65,302  (+35.4%)
05/10  #236 - 69,731  ( +6.8%)
06/10  #237 - 65,578  ( -6.0%)
07/10  #238 - 53,313  (-18.7%)
08/10  #239 - 53,236  ( -0.1%)
09/10  #240 - 50,984  ( -4.2%)
10/10  #241 - 48,133  ( -5.6%)
6 mnth  (-26.3%)
1 year  ( -8.9%)
2 year  (-26.9%)
3 year  (-42.3%)
4 year  (-41.2%)
5 year  (-35.5%)

Looks like it’s losing sales quite steeply over the last few months, but to be fair, it was at around this level before the “Second Coming” crossover started in April. Mind you, it’s now being bolstered by variant covers, which it didn’t have in the spring.

25. CARNAGE
10/10  #1 of 5 - 47,452

Multiple variants, including 1:10 and 1:25 incentives. Despite the title, this is really more of a Spider-Man/Iron Man team-up miniseries. Still, a very respectable number for a self-contained mini, perhaps reflecting the prominence which Marvel gave to it in MARVEL PREVIEWS.

28. SHADOWLAND
07/10  #1 of 5 - 59,529
08/10  #2 of 5 - 44,573  (-25.1%)
09/10  #3 of 5 - 47,223  ( +6.0%)
10/10  #4 of 5 - 46,411  ( -1.7%)

Holding steady in the mid-40K range, which is a good performance.

29. INVINCIBLE IRON MAN
10/05  ---
10/06  ---
10/07  #23 - 42,608
10/08  #6  - 53,332
=====
10/09  #19 - 47,178  ( -1.8%)
11/09  #20 - 61,667  (+30.7%)
12/09  #21 - 49,986  (-18.9%)
01/10  #22 - 49,130  ( -1.7%)
02/10  #23 - 50,027  ( +1.8%)
03/10  #24 - 49,239  ( -1.6%)
04/10  #25 - 73,694  (+49.7%)
05/10  #26 - 53,625  (-27.2%)
06/10  #27 - 52,268  ( -2.5%)
07/10  #28 - 48,690  ( -6.8%)
08/10  #29 - 49,012  ( +0.7%)
09/10  #30 - 47,238  ( -3.6%)
10/10  #31 - 45,507  ( -3.7%)
6 mnth  (-38.2%)
1 year  ( -3.5%)
2 year  (-14.7%)
3 year  ( +6.8%)
4 year  (  --- )
5 year  (  --- )

In decline over recent months, but it’s another book which has really just returned to the sales range it had at the start of the year.

31. DAREDEVIL
10/05  #78  - 45,071
10/06  #90  - 50,500
10/07  #101 - 47,189
10/08  #112 - 46,202
=====
10/09  #501 - 45,181  (-38.5%)
11/09  #502 - 40,354  (-10.7%)
12/09  #503 - 38,680  ( -4.1%)
01/10  #504 - 37,135  ( -4.0%)
02/10  #505 - 38,693  ( +4.2%)
03/10  ---
04/10  #506 - 37,467  ( -3.2%)
05/10  ---
06/10  #507 - 34,744  ( -7.3%)
07/10  #508 - 41,943  (+20.7%)
08/10  #509 - 41,577  ( -0.9%)
09/10  #510 - 44,728  ( +7.6%)
10/10  #511 - 43,167  ( -3.5%)
6 mnth  (+15.2%)
1 year  ( -4.5%)
2 year  ( -6.6%)
3 year  ( -8.5%)
4 year  (-14.5%)
5 year  ( -4.2%)

The fourth month of a SHADOWLAND tie-in arc which is clearly helping sales a lot. (The variant covers won’t be hurting either.)

33. HULK
10/08  #7  - 110,261
=====
10/09  #16 -  56,811  ( -3.2%)
11/09  #17 -  52,653  ( -7.3%)
12/09  #18 -  53,222  ( +1.1%)
01/10  #19 -  56,738  ( +6.6%)
02/10  #20 -  51,962  ( -8.4%)
03/10  #21 -  50,785  ( -2.3%)
04/10  ---
05/10  #22 -  49,618  ( -2.3%)
06/10  #23 -  50,724  ( +2.2%)
07/10  ---
08/10  #24 -  48,903  ( -3.6%)
09/10  #25 -  46,784  ( -4.3%)
10/10  #26 -  42,934  ( -8.2%)
6 mnth  (  --- )
1 year  (-24.4%)
2 year  (-61.1%)

The second month with the new creative team and another noticeable drop. Might level out after this point, though.

34. ULTIMATE COMICS NEW ULTIMATES
10/05  ---
10/06  ---
10/07  ---
10/08  ---
=====
03/10  #1 of 5 - 71,279
04/10  ---
05/10  #2 of 5 - 53,323  (-25.2%)
06/10  ---
07/10  #3 of 5 - 47,840  (-10.3%)
08/10  ---
09/10  ---
10/10  #4 of 5 - 42,876  (-10.4%)

Shedding readers at an alarming rate. In a recent interview on this site, Marvel’s David Gabriel explained that they’re continuing to price Ultimate books at $3.99 because it’s “our marquee line”. Well, it’s certainly meant to be, no argument there. But unless it’s doing remarkably well in trades, it’s difficult to see how that aspiration is being achieved.

37. FANTASTIC FOUR
10/05  ---
10/06  #540 - 88,933
10/07  #550 - 57,906
10/08  ---
=====
10/09  #572 - 41,939  (-11.6%)
11/09  #573 - 39,433  ( -6.0%)
12/09  #574 - 38,431  ( -2.5%)
01/10  #575 - 41,284  ( +7.4%)
02/10  #576 - 37,526  ( -9.1%)
03/10  #577 - 35,791  ( -4.6%)
04/10  #578 - 37,940  ( +6.0%)
05/10  #579 - 38,415  ( +1.3%)
06/10  #580 - 36,582  ( -4.8%)
07/10  #581 - 35,505  ( -2.9%)
08/10  #582 - 34,617  ( -2.5%)
09/10  #583 - 42,257  (+22.1%)
10/10  #584 - 41,163  ( -2.6%)
6 mnth  ( +8.5%)
1 year  ( -1.9%)
2 year  (  --- )
3 year  (-28.9%)
4 year  (-53.7%)
5 year  (  --- )

Second month of the “Three” storyline, and sales are holding up very nicely. Last issue had two incentive variants, this has one, so the signs are good.

38. SUPERIOR  [Icon]
10/10  #1 of 6 - 40,842

The new Mark Millar title that isn’t KICK-ASS. Still a very good number for a creator-owned book.

39,45. INCREDIBLE HULKS
10/05  #87  -  42,454
10/06  #99  -  47,878
10/07  ---
10/08  #7   - 110,261
=====
10/09  #603 -  49,126  ( -4.8%)
11/09  #604 -  40,652  (-17.2%)
12/09  #605 -  43,964  ( +8.1%)
01/10  #606 -  48,197  ( +9.6%)
02/10  #607 -  45,870  ( -4.8%)
03/10  #608 -  47,148  ( +2.8%)
04/10  ---
05/10  #609 -  46,670  ( -1.0%)
06/10  #610 -  46,461  ( -0.4%)
07/10  ---
08/10  #611 -  44,982  ( -3.2%)
09/10  #612 -  42,956  ( -4.5%)
09/10  #613 -  40,063  ( -6.7%)
10/10  #614 -  39,572  ( -1.2%)
10/10  #615 -  36,750  ( -7.1%)
6 mnth  (  --- )
1 year  (-25.2%)
2 year  (-66.7%)
3 year  (  --- )
4 year  (-23.2%)
5 year  (-13.4%)

Still to find its level under the new bimonthly format. Issue #614 had a vampire variant cover, which goes some way to explaining the uneven drops.

41. DAKEN: DARK WOLVERINE
10/09  #79 - 60,076  ( -1.0%)
11/09  #80 - 52,394  (-12.8%)
12/09  #81 - 48,102  ( -8.2%)
01/10  #82 - 54,838  (+14.0%)
02/10  #83 - 53,958  ( -1.6%)
03/10  #84 - 49,469  ( -8.3%)
04/10  #85 - 47,527  ( -3.9%)
05/10  #86 - 46,315  ( -2.6%)
06/10  #87 - 43,087  ( -7.0%)
07/10  #88 - 42,522  ( -1.3%)
08/10  #89 - 41,409  ( -2.6%)
08/10  #90 - 39,815  ( -3.8%)
09/10  #1  - 48,819  (+22.6%)
10/10  #2  - 38,660  (-22.9%)
6 mnth  (-18.7%)
1 year  (-35.6%)

Right back where it started after only a month. Not a good sign, but this is a classic example of a non-relaunch, with the same creators carrying on the same storylines and nothing changing besides the number and the logo. This type of relaunch rarely seems to make any lasting difference.

42. ULTIMATE COMICS AVENGERS
10/09  Vol 1 #3 - 62,716  ( -8.6%)
11/09  Vol 1 #4 - 59,023  ( -5.9%)
12/09  ---
01/10  ---
02/10  ---
03/10  Vol 1 #5 - 58,098  ( -1.6%)
04/10  Vol 1 #6 - 53,438  ( -8.0%)
04/10  Vol 2 #1 - 64,811  (+21.3%)
05/10  Vol 2 #2 - 52,939  (-18.3%)
06/10  Vol 2 #3 - 50,797  ( -4.0%)
06/10  Vol 2 #4 - 49,606  ( -2.3%)
07/10  Vol 2 #5 - 46,886  ( -5.5%)
08/10  Vol 2 #6 - 46,358  (-11.3%)
08/10  Vol 3 #1 - 53,870  (+16.2%)
09/10  Vol 3 #2 - 43,119  (-20.0%)
10/10  Vol 3 #3 - 38,529  (-10.6%)
6 mnth  (-27.9%)
1 year  (-38.6%)

Another Ultimate book shedding readers at a rate that must surely be causing concern.

52. X-23
09/10  #1 - 48,481
10/10  #2 - 35,280  (-27.2%)

This is AVENGERS ACADEMY territory, more or less. So it has a reasonable chance of levelling out at an acceptable number.

53. DEADPOOL
10/08  #3  - 61,833
=====
10/09  #16 - 46,288  ( -8.3%)
11/09  #17 - 46,765  ( +1.0%)
12/09  #18 - 45,914  ( -1.8%)
01/10  ---
02/10  #19 - 44,580  ( -2.9%)
02/10  #20 - 43,347  ( -2.8%)
03/10  #21 - 42,062  ( -3.0%)
04/10  #22 - 43,061  ( +2.4%)
05/10  #23 - 42,761  ( -0.7%)
06/10  #24 - 38,663  ( -9.6%)
07/10  #25 - 36,828  ( -4.7%)
08/10  #26 - 35,595  ( -3.3%)
09/10  #27 - 36,404  ( +2.3%)
10/10  #28 - 34,828  ( -4.3%)
6 mnth  (-19.1%)
1 year  (-24.8%)
2 year  (-43.7%)

Hovering in the mid-30Ks, sliding very slowly.

55. ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN
10/05  #84  - 74,670
10/06  #101 - 78,963
10/07  #115 - 74,310
10/08  #127 - 52,584
=====
10/09  #3   - 52,813  ( -8.1%)
11/09  #4   - 49,106  ( -7.0%)
12/09  #5   - 45,849  ( -6.6%)
01/10  #6   - 43,622  ( -4.9%)
02/10  #7   - 42,176  ( -3.3%)
03/10  #8   - 40,967  ( -2.9%)
04/10  #9   - 39,955  ( -2.5%)
05/10  #10  - 39,690  ( -0.7%)
06/10  #11  - 39,149  ( -1.4%)
07/10  #12  - 37,879  ( -3.2%)
08/10  #13  - 36,946  ( -2.5%)
09/10  #14  - 35,776  ( -3.7%)
10/10  #15  - 34,657  ( -3.1%)
6 mnth  (-13.3%)
1 year  (-34.4%)
2 year  (-34.1%)
3 year  (-53.4%)
4 year  (-56.1%)
5 year  (-53.6%)

Heading for a renumbering and then a “kill the main character” storyline. In the meantime, sales continue to slide.

57,69. CHAOS WAR
10/08  Herc #122 - 42,876
=====
10/09  #136      - 26,447  (  -0.4%)
10/09  #137      - 23,463  ( -11.3%)
11/09  #138      - 25,116  (  +7.0%)
12/09  #139      - 23,591  (  -6.1%)
01/10  #140      - 23,244  (  -1.5%)
02/10  #141      - 24,539  (  +5.6%)
03/10  Fall #1   - 23,036  (  -6.1%)
04/10  #2 of 2   - 20,215  ( -12.2%)
05/10  Prince #1 - 20,373  (  +0.8%)
06/10  #2 of 4   - 17,068  ( -16.2%)
07/10  #3 of 4   - 15,667  (  -8.2%)
08/10  #4 of 4   - 17,137  (  +9.4%)
09/10  ---
10/10  Chaos #1  - 34,509  (+101.4%)
10/10  #2 of 5   - 29,375  ( -14.9%)
6 mnth  ( +45.3%)
1 year  ( +11.1%)
2 year  ( -31.5%)

Promoted as an event miniseries in its own right (which it is), but also the latest chapter in the ongoing INCREDIBLE HERCULES series-of-minis, this delivers a healthy boost to sales.

60. STEVE ROGERS: SUPER-SOLDIER
07/10  #1 of 4 - 57,222
08/10  #2 of 4 - 40,278  (-29.6%)
09/10  #3 of 4 - 35,817  (-11.1%)
10/10  #4 of 4 - 32,967  ( -8.0%)

Decent numbers for a Marvel Universe spin-off mini.

62. S.H.I.E.L.D.
04/10  #1 - 44,543
05/10  ---
06/10  #2 - 37,595  (-15.6%)
07/10  ---
08/10  #3 - 33,335  (-11.3%)
09/10  ---
10/10  #4 - 32,495  ( -2.5%)
6 mnth  (-27.0%)

Holding up nicely, especially for a relatively off-beat Marvel Universe title. According to the solicitations, the first volume ends with issue #6, with a second to follow.

64. AVENGERS ACADEMY
06/10  #1 - 45,890  (+20.3%)
07/10  #2 - 38,061  (-17.1%)
08/10  #3 - 35,629  ( -6.4%)
09/10  #4 - 31,212  (-12.4%)
10/10  #5 - 31,272  ( +0.2%)

There’s an extra variant cover this month, presumably cancelling out the regular drops.

65. THUNDERBOLTS
10/05  #13  - 29,250
10/06  #107 - 29,624
10/07  #117 - 47,151
10/08  #125 - 41,358
=====
10/09  #137 - 32,409  ( -4.8%)
11/09  #138 - 31,238  ( -3.6%)
12/09  #139 - 29,957  ( -4.1%)
01/10  #140 - 28,644  ( -4.4%)
02/10  #141 - 33,948  (+18.5%)
03/10  #142 - 34,132  ( +0.5%)
04/10  #143 - 35,656  ( +4.5%)
05/10  #144 - 33,276  ( -6.7%)
06/10  #145 - 31,999  ( -3.8%)
07/10  #146 - 31,501  ( -1.6%)
08/10  #147 - 31,252  ( -0.8%)
09/10  #148 - 32,190  ( +3.0%)
10/10  #149 - 30,580  ( -5.0%)
6 mnth  (-14.2%)
1 year  ( -5.6%)
2 year  (-26.1%)
3 year  (-35.1%)
4 year  ( +3.2%)
5 year  ( +4.5%)

A SHADOWLAND tie-in, though it doesn’t seem to have made much difference. On the whole, the series looks relatively steady.

68. THANOS IMPERATIVE
05/10  Ignition - 29,716
06/10  #1 of 6  - 34,285  (+13.4%)
07/10  #2 of 6  - 31,888  ( -7.0%)
08/10  #3 of 6  - 30,493  ( -4.4%)
09/10  #4 of 6  - 29,704  ( -2.6%)
10/10  #5 of 6  - 29,614  ( -0.3%)

The wrap-up of Marvel’s cosmic titles nears its conclusion. Very solid sales.

70. DEADPOOLMAX  [Max]
10/10  #1 - 29,176

Yes, it’s the fourth ongoing Deadpool title. But two of the others are being cancelled at the start of the new year. And the solicitations actually had this down as a six-issue miniseries for a month, though Marvel seem to have changed their mind on that one. Anyhow, this is miles lower than the launch point of DEADPOOL CORPS or DEADPOOL TEAM-UP, both of which started around 39K – not a good sign.

73. X-FACTOR
10/06  #12  - 42,909
10/07  #24  - 52,085
10/08  #36  - 38,552
=====
10/09  #50  - 30,138  ( +0.7%)
11/09  ---
12/09  #200 - 36,577  (+21.4%)
01/10  #201 - 29,732  (-18.7%)
02/10  #202 - 30,981  ( +4.2%)
03/10  #203 - 28,924  ( -6.6%)
04/10  #204 - 40,534  (+40.1%)
05/10  #205 - 41,745  ( +3.0%)
06/10  #206 - 40,981  ( -1.8%)
07/10  #207 - 32,082  (-21.7%)
08/10  #208 - 30,095  ( -6.2%)
09/10  #209 - 29,626  ( -1.6%)
10/10  #210 - 27,548  ( -7.0%)
6 mnth  (-32.0%)
1 year  ( -8.6%)
2 year  (-28.5%)
3 year  (-47.0%)
4 year  (-35.8%)

Still in the ballpark of pre-crossover sales from March, so it’s not all bad.

75. NEW MUTANTS
10/09  #6  - 34,967  (+11.0%)
11/09  #7  - 33,328  ( -4.7%)
12/09  #8  - 32,240  ( -3.3%)
01/10  #9  - 30,572  ( -5.2%)
02/10  #10 - 30,807  ( +0.8%)
03/10  #11 - 36,629  (+18.9%)
04/10  #12 - 49,591  (+35.4%)
05/10  #13 - 54,169  ( +9.2%)
06/10  #14 - 53,926  ( -0.4%)
07/10  #15 - 35,426  (-34.3%)
08/10  #16 - 31,989  ( -9.7%)
09/10  #17 - 31,684  ( -1.0%)
10/10  #18 - 27,027  (-14.7%)
6 mnth  (-45.5%)
1 year  (-22.7%)

Last month’s variant cover will be distorting the trend.

77. SECRET WARRIORS
10/09  #9  - 36,385  ( +7.4%)
11/09  #10 - 31,567  (-13.2%)
12/09  #11 - 30,748  ( -2.6%)
01/10  #12 - 29,894  ( -2.8%)
02/10  #13 - 30,843  ( +3.2%)
03/10  #14 - 28,580  ( -7.3%)
04/10  #15 - 29,669  ( +3.8%)
05/10  #16 - 29,340  ( -1.1%)
06/10  #17 - 28,017  ( -4.5%)
07/10  ---
08/10  #18 - 27,415  ( -2.1%)
08/10  #19 - 26,902  ( -1.9%)
09/10  #20 - 25,947  ( -3.5%)
10/10  #21 - 24,748  ( -4.6%)
6 mnth  (-16.6%)
1 year  (-32.0%)

Ends in the not-too-distant future, so the downward trend is perfectly acceptable.

78. SHADOWLAND: SPIDER-MAN
10/10  One-shot - 24,583

The highest peripheral SHADOWLAND book of the month, presumably because it’s got the highest profile lead.

81. THOR: FOR ASGARD
09/10  #1 of 6 - 32,236
09/10  #2 of 6 - 28,563  (-11.4%)
10/10  #3 of 6 - 23,724  (-16.9%)

Never a good sign when the drops get bigger from issue to issue.

83. X-MEN VS VAMPIRES
09/10  #1 of 2 - 25,654
10/10  #2 of 2 - 23,362  (-8.9%)

X-anthology title. Another one starts next month, so this might be a regular feature. The second issue drop is surprisingly modest.

84. ULTIMATE COMICS MYSTERY
07/10  #1 of 4 - 33,676
08/10  #2 of 4 - 26,507  (-21.3%)
09/10  #3 of 4 - 25,293  ( -4.6%)
10/10  #4 of 4 - 23,334  ( -7.7%)

Fairly standard miniseries behaviour.

92. INVADERS NOW!
09/10  #1 of 5 - 33,696
10/10  #2 of 5 - 21,137  (-37.3%)

A steep drop, though there were a lot of variant covers on issue #1. Still, there’s little sign of much appetite for an Invaders reunion.

93. LOKI
10/10  #1 of 4 - 21,095

Another product of the Thor Glut, lost in the shuffle.

97.  INCOGNITO: BAD INFLUENCES  [Icon]
10/10  #1 of 4 - 20,316

That’s slightly up from the first month sales of the original miniseries in December 2008.

101. DEADPOOL CORPS
03/10  Prelude #1 - 37,011
03/10  #2 of 5    - 32,024  (-13.5%)
03/10  #3 of 5    - 31,065  ( -3.0%)
03/10  #4 of 5    - 30,254  ( -2.6%)
03/10  #5 of 5    - 29,037  ( -4.0%)
04/10  Corps #1   - 39,466  (+35.9%)
05/10  #2         - 28,236  (-28.5%)
06/10  #3         - 26,251  ( -7.0%)
07/10  #4         - 24,476  ( -6.8%)
08/10  #5         - 22,887  ( -6.5%)
09/10  #6         - 21,888  ( -4.4%)
10/10  #7         - 19,644  (-10.3%)
6 mnth  (-50.2%)

104. DEADPOOL TEAM-UP
10/09 #900 - 51,337
11/09 #899 - 39,584 (-22.9%)
12/09 #898 - 36,308 ( -8.3%)
01/10 #897 - 32,671 (-10.0%)
02/10 #896 - 30,119 ( -7.8%)
03/10 #895 - 28,573 ( -5.1%)
04/10 #894 - 28,835 ( +0.9%)
05/10 #893 - 26,578 ( -7.8%)
06/10 #892 - 23,697 (-10.8%)
07/10 #891 - 22,439 ( -5.3%)
08/10 #890 - 21,279 ( -5.2%)
09/10 #889 - 19,917 ( -6.4%)
10/10 #888 - 18,394 ( -7.6%)
6 mnth (-36.2%)
1 year (-64.2%)

Both cancelled in the new year.

106. SHADOWLAND: MOON KNIGHT
10/06  ---
10/07  MK #13  - 44,082
10/08  #23     - 25,216
=====
10/09  #2      - 26,493  (-25.8%)
11/09  #3      - 23,359  (-11.8%)
12/09  #4      - 21,482  ( -8.0%)
01/10  ---
02/10  #5      - 19,733  ( -8.1%)
03/10  #6      - 19,094  ( -3.2%)
04/10  #7      - 20,718  ( +8.5%)
05/10  #8      - 20,597  ( -0.6%)
06/10  #9      - 18,695  ( -9.2%)
07/10  #10     - 19,143  ( +2.4%)
08/10  S:MK #1 - 28,196  (+47.3%)
09/10  #2 of 3 - 20,307  (-28.0%)
10/10  #3 of 3 - 18,318  ( -9.8%)
6 mnth  (-11.6%)
1 year  (-30.9%)
2 year  (-27.4%)
3 year  (-58.4%)
4 year  (  --- )

The end for now, but another relaunch is in the offing.

111. THE STAND
10/08  Captain Trips #2  - 64,443
=====
10/09  Soul Survivors #1 - 27,725  (-12.0%)
11/09  #2 of 5           - 25,600  ( -7.7%)
12/09  #3 of 5           - 24,308  ( -5.0%)
01/10  ---
02/10  #4 of 5           - 22,804  ( -6.2%)
03/10  #5 of 5           - 22,294  ( -2.2%)
04/10  ---
05/10  ---
06/10  Hardcases #1      - 20,802  ( -6.7%)
07/10  #2 of 5           - 19,194  ( -7.7%)
08/10  #3 of 5           - 18,352  ( -4.4%)
09/10  ---
10/10  #4 of 5           - 17,186  ( -6.4%)
6 mnth  (  --- )
1 year  (-38.0%)
2 year  (-73.3%)

Drifting down.

112,136. KLAWS OF THE PANTHER
10/05  BP #9      - 40,173
10/06  #21        - 26,077
10/07  #31        - 33,673
10/08  ---
=====
10/09  #9         - 20,346  ( -11.6%)
11/09  #10        - 19,147  (  -5.9%)
12/09  #11        - 17,989  (  -6.0%)
01/10  #12        - 17,881  (  -1.0%)
02/10  Doomwar #1 - 43,241  (+141.8%)
03/10  #2 of 6    - 30,555  ( -29.3%)
04/10  #3 of 6    - 27,859  (  -8.9%)
05/10  #4 of 6    - 28,307  (  +1.6%)
06/10  #5 of 6    - 26,041  (  -8.0%)
07/10  ---
08/10  #6 of 6    - 24,797  (  -4.8%)
09/10  ---
10/10  Klaws #1   - 16,973  ( -31.6%)
10/10  #2 of 4    - 12,960  ( -23.6%)
6 mnth  ( -53.5%)
1 year  ( -36.3%)
2 year  (   --- )
3 year  ( -61.5%)
4 year  ( -50.3%)
5 year  ( -67.7%)

With the boost from DOOMWAR over, BLACK PANTHER sales go right back to previous levels – and drop 30% from there. With the original Black Panther being plugged into Daredevil’s title, the end must surely be looming for this version of the series.

113. DEADPOOL: PULP
09/10  #1 of 4 - 20,965
10/10  #2 of 4 - 16,782  (-20.0%)

Not much interest in this one, though if you judge it by the standards of the NOIR imprint, it’s doing okay.

114. BLACK WIDOW
04/10  #1 - 32,807
05/10  #2 - 23,384  (-28.7%)
06/10  #3 - 19,892  (-14.9%)
07/10  #4 - 18,665  ( -6.2%)
08/10  #5 - 17,568  ( -5.9%)
09/10  #6 - 18,499  ( +5.3%)
10/10  #7 - 16,653  (-10.0%)
6 mnth  (-49.2%)

This seems to be cancelled with issue #8. After that there’s the four-issue WIDOWMAKER miniseries shipping in December and January (a storyline originally slated to appear as a crossover between this title and HAWKEYE & MOCKINGBIRD), but there’s nothing solicited beyond that. Curiously, HAWKEYE & MOCKINGBIRD – which is the lower selling title – appears to continue into February’s HAWKEYE: BLIND SPOT miniseries, but there may be storyline reasons for that.

116. SHADOWLAND: BLOOD ON THE STREETS
08/10  #1 of 4 - 22,110
09/10  #2 of 4 - 19,199  (-13.2%)
10/10  #3 of 4 - 16,396  (-14.6%)

Not holding up particularly well, which isn’t a promising sign for the HEROES FOR HIRE series that spins out from these SHADOWLAND minis.

118. THOR: FIRST THUNDER
09/10  #1 of 5 - 21,228
10/10  #2 of 5 - 16,126  (-24.0%)

Yet more Thor. At this point, if you can remember which Thor book is which without having a copy of the solicitations to hand, you’re doing better than I am.

121. HAWKEYE AND MOCKINGBIRD
06/10  #1 - 27,552
07/10  #2 - 20,531  (-25.5%)
08/10  #3 - 17,870  (-13.0%)
09/10  #4 - 16,405  ( -8.2%)
10/10  #5 - 15,337  ( -6.5%)

Cancelled with issue #6, but continues into the WIDOWMAKER and BLIND SPOT minis.

124. SHADOWLAND: POWER MAN
08/10  #1 of 4 - 21,206
09/10  #2 of 4 - 17,647  (-17.0%)
10/10  #3 of 4 - 15,147  (-14.2%)

Not doing too well, but the sequel POWER MAN AND IRON FIST mini is still planned for the spring, so hopefully the reviews will be strong enough to deliver higher sales there.

126. PUNISHERMAX: ONE-SHOTS
10/10  Tiny Ugly World - 15,071

That’s very slightly down from last month.

127. I AM AN AVENGER
09/10  #1 of 5 - 20,922
10/10  #2 of 5 - 14,882  (-28.9%)

Not much interest in this Avengers anthology title – despite the Avengers being the stronger franchise right now, I AM AN AVENGER lags some distance behind X-MEN VS VAMPIRES.

128. IRON MAN LEGACY
04/10  #1 - 48,956
05/10  #2 - 29,175  (-40.4%)
06/10  #3 - 23,340  (-20.0%)
07/10  #4 - 20,142  (-13.7%)
08/10  #5 - 17,773  (-11.8%)
09/10  #6 - 15,949  (-10.3%)
10/10  #7 - 14,882  ( -6.7%)
6 mnth  (-69.6%)

Well, let’s be realistic. By this point on the chart, we’ve passed a string of Marvel Universe books which are either cancelled outright or about to be relaunched. This book is below them all and losing readers at around 7% a month. It doesn’t take a genius to see that the omens aren’t good. The current storyline, “Industrial Revolution”, is a six-parter due to end in March’s issue #11, so the big question is whether the book shows up in the April solicitations.

130. TASKMASTER
09/10  #1 of 4 - 18,550
10/10  #2 of 4 - 14,553  (-21.5%)

Could be worse. It’s a villain book, after all.

131. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN PRESENTS BLACK CAT
06/10  #1 of 4 - 24,951
07/10  #2 of 4 - 18,154  (-27.2%)
08/10  #3 of 4 - 15,124  (-16.7%)
09/10  ---
10/10  #4 of 4 - 14,478  ( -4.3%)

Looks to be the last of these Spider-Man spin-off minis for now, which is probably a good move given the strength of the franchise.

133. AVENGERS & THE INFINITY GAUNTLET
08/10  #1 of 4 - 24,438
09/10  #2 of 4 - 17,733  (-27.4%)
10/10  #3 of 4 - 13,796  (-22.2%)

Dropping off fast, but still very good numbers for an all-ages superhero comic.

135.  SPIDER-MAN VS VAMPIRES
10/10  One-shot - 13,395

To judge from the solicitations, this is a random Spider-Man/Blade team-up story with no particular connection to anything going on over in the X-Men books. Somebody at Marvel thinks vampires are the new gorillas, methinks.

138. INCREDIBLE HULKS: ENIGMA FORCE
09/10  #1 of 3 - 16,206
10/10  #2 of 3 - 12,634  (-22.0%)

Vanishing off the radar. To be fair, a lot of potential readers may not realise that this is a MICRONAUTS mini, albeit one tied fairly closely to Hulk storylines.

144,145. X-MEN FOREVER
10/09  #9   - 21,926  ( -5.4%)
10/09  #10  - 22,287  ( +1.6%)
11/09  #11  - 20,130  ( -9.7%)
11/09  #12  - 19,541  ( -2.9%)
12/09  #13  - 18,870  ( -3.4%)
12/09  #14  - 18,376  ( -2.6%)
01/10  #15  - 17,665  ( -3.9%)
01/10  #16  - 17,290  ( -2.1%)
02/10  #17  - 17,873  ( +3.4%)
02/10  #18  - 16,464  ( -7.9%)
03/10  #19  - 16,183  ( -1.7%)
03/10  #20  - 15,990  ( -1.2%)
04/10  #21  - 15,530  ( -2.9%)
04/10  #22  - 15,305  ( -1.4%)
05/10  #23  - 15,045  ( -1.7%)
05/10  #24  - 14,940  ( -0.7%)
06/10  GS#1 - 15,039  ( +0.7%)
06/10  #1   - 16,094  ( +7.0%)
06/10  #2   - 14,933  ( -7.2%)
07/10  #3   - 14,151  ( -5.2%)
07/10  #4   - 13,835  ( -2.2%)
08/10  #5   - 13,632  ( -1.5%)
08/10  #6   - 13,351  ( -2.1%)
09/10  #7   - 12,869  ( -3.6%)
09/10  #8   - 12,753  ( -0.9%)
10/10  #9   - 12,260  ( -3.9%)
10/10  #10  - 12,064  (-16.0%)
6 mnth  (-21.2%)
1 year  (-45.0%)

Cancelled with issue #16.

147. CAPTAIN AMERICA: PATRIOT
09/10  #1 of 4 - 18,017
09/10  #2 of 4 - 15,950  (-11.5%)
10/10  #3 of 4 - 11,959  (-25.0%)

Not great numbers, but it’s a miniseries about one of the continuity-implant Captain Americas, so it’s a bit of a niche product.

148. NEW MUTANTS FOREVER
08/10  #1 of 5 - 16,784
09/10  #2 of 5 - 13,778  (-17.9%)
10/10  #3 of 5 - 11,910  (-13.6%)

In similar territory to the parent book X-MEN FOREVER, which is the best that could realistically have been expected of it.

149. STRANGE TALES 2  [Max]
10/10  #1 of 3 - 11,800

Significantly down from the first series, which launched with 16,266 in September 2009.

153. IRON MAN: TITANIUM!
10/10  One-shot - 11,333

An Iron Man anthology, sneaked out without much promotion.

154. YOUNG ALLIES
06/10  #1 - 20,858
07/10  #2 - 16,209  (-22.3%)
08/10  #3 - 14,016  (-13.5%)
09/10  #4 - 12,620  (-10.0%)
10/10  #5 - 11,265  (-10.7%)

Cancelled with issue #6.

157. FANTASTIC FOUR IN... ATAQUE DEL MODOK!
10/10  One-shot - 11,187
162. SPIDER-MAN/FANTASTIC FOUR
07/10 #1 of 4 - 17,324
08/10 #2 of 4 - 13,329 (-23.1%)
09/10 #3 of 4 - 11,791 (-11.5%)
10/10 #4 of 4 - 11,019 ( -6.5%)

We’re getting down to the Marvel Universe completists here.

164. TRON: THE BETRAYAL
10/10  #1 of 2 - 10,934

This is a prequel to the upcoming movie. Needless to say, this sort of material isn’t aimed particularly at the direct market; it ought to reach a wider market when it’s released as a tie-in product for the film.

165. CAPTAIN AMERICA: FOREVER ALLIES
08/10  #1 of 4 - 17,418
09/10  #2 of 4 - 13,131  (-24.6%)
10/10  #3 of 4 - 10,813  (-17.7%)

Not much interest in this, but then Marvel surely can’t have expected wonders from a Young Allies reunion miniseries.

181. THOR: THE MIGHTY AVENGER
07/10  #1 - 20,076
07/10  #2 - 14,315  (-28.7%)
08/10  #3 - 12,112  (-15.4%)
09/10  #4 - 10,887  (-10.1%)
10/10  #5 -  9,673  (-11.2%)

Cancelled with issue #8.

185. SPIDER-MAN: BACK IN QUACK
10/10  Back in Quack - 9,262

A Spider-Man/Howard the Duck one-shot. Howard without Steve Gerber has rarely been much of a draw.

188. HALO
10/09  Helljumper #4 - 10,784  ( -8.8%)
11/09  #5 of 5       - 10,235  ( -5.1%)
12/09  Blood Line #1 - 10,551  ( +3.1%)
01/10  #2 of 5       -  9,172  (-13.1%)
02/10  #3 of 5       -  8,793  ( -4.1%)
03/10  #4 of 5       -  8,683  ( -1.3%)
04/10  ---
05/10  #5 of 5       -  8,510  ( -2.0%)
06/10  ---
07/10  ---
08/10  ---
09/10  Boot Camp #1  - 10,715  (+26.0%)
10/10  #2 of 4       -  9,056  (-15.5%)
6 mnth  (  --- )
1 year  (-16.0%)

Video game adaptations are said to do extremely well through other channels.

194. TOMB OF TERROR
10/10  One-shot - 8,603

Black-and-white anthology with old 70s horror characters.

205. ANITA BLAKE, VAMPIRE HUNTER
10/07  First Death #2 - 36,035
10/08  L. Corpse #1   - 22,493
=====
10/09  Executioner #1 - 11,205  ( +0.6%)
11/09  ---
12/09  #2 of 5        - 10,454  ( -6.7%)
01/10  #3 of 5        -  9,958  ( -4.7%)
02/10  #4 of 5        -  9,626  ( -3.3%)
03/10  #5 of 5        -  9,454  ( -1.8%)
04/10  ---
05/10  Circus #1      -  9,484  ( +0.3%)
06/10  #2 of 5        -  9,060  ( -4.5%)
07/10  #3 of 5        -  8,557  ( -5.6%)
08/10  ---
09/10  #4 of 5        -  8,427  ( -1.5%)
10/10  #5 of 5        -  8,146  ( -3.3%)
6 mnth  (  --- )
1 year  (-27.3%)
2 year  (-63.8%)
3 year  (-77.4%)

Still drifting down.

215. CASANOVA  [Icon]
07/10  #1 - 10,452
08/10  #2 -  8,349  (-20.1%)
09/10  #3 -  7,621  ( -8.7%)
10/10  #4 -  7,366  ( -3.3%)

Levelling out fairly quickly, and actually doing quite well when you consider that it’s a reprint book.

222. SPIDER-MAN SAGA
10/10  Bundle of 25 - 7,109

Promotional item leading into the “Big Time” relaunch.

224.  AVENGERS VS PET AVENGERS
02/10  Tails        - 8,214  (-27.6%)
03/10  Unleashed #1 - 8,554  ( +4.1%)
04/10  #2 of 4      - 6,767  (-20.9%)
05/10  #3 of 4      - 6,339  ( -6.3%)
06/10  #4 of 4      - 6,166  ( -2.7%)
07/10  Dogs/Summer  - 5,142  (-16.6%)
08/10  ---
09/10  ---
10/10  #1 of 4      - 7,097  (+38.0%)
6 mnth  ( +4.9%)

The usual slight boost for the first issue of a new mini.

Bizarrely, at number 227 on the chart with estimated orders of 6,937 is MARVELS: EYE OF THE CAMERA #2, a book that shipped in December 2008. I can only assume it’s some sort of stock-dumping exercise.

231. IRON MAN BY DESIGN
10/10  One-shot - 6,666

Collection of the Iron Man variant covers from a few months ago.

256. SUPER HERO SQUAD
10/09  #2  - 4,496  ( -33.5%)
11/09  #3  - 4,384  (  -2.5%)
12/09  #4  - 4,132  (  -5.7%)
01/10  #1  - 9,709  (+135.0%)
02/10  #2  - 5,691  ( -41.4%)
03/10  #3  - 5,399  (  -5.1%)
04/10  #4  - 5,822  (  +7.8%)
05/10  #5  - 5,639  (  -3.1%)
06/10  #6  - 6,029  (  +6.9%)
07/10  #7  - 5,328  ( -11.6%)
08/10  #8  - 5,358  (  +0.6%)
09/10  #9  - 5,304  (  -1.0%)
10/10  #10 - 5,139  (  -3.1%)
6 mnth  ( -11.7%)
1 year  ( +14.3%)

Still drifting down. Marvel haven’t solicited the ongoing series beyond December, but there’s a special in February.

259. OFFICIAL HANDBOOK
02/10  A to Z Update #1 of 5 -  5,406
03/10  Deadpool Corps        - 21,900  (+305.1%)
04/10  Iron Manual Mark 3    -  9,456  ( -56.8%)
05/10  Avengers Assemble #1  - 15,113  ( +59.8%)
06/10  A to Z Update #2 of 5 -  5,312  ( -64.9%)
07/10  X-Men: Phoenix Force  -  9,566  ( +80.1%)
08/10  A to Z Update #3 of 5 -  4,962  ( -48.1%)
09/10  Heroic Age: Heroes    - 11,224  (+126.2%)
10/10  A to Z Update #4 of 5 -  4,990  ( -55.5%)
6 mnth  ( -47.2%)

The “miscellaneous” issues never do as well.

265. ORSON SCOTT CARD'S ENDER IN EXILE
06/10  #1 of 5 - 6,568
07/10  #2 of 5 - 5,673  (-13.6%)
08/10  #3 of 5 - 5,342  ( -5.8%)
09/10  #4 of 5 - ?,???  (  ??? )
10/10  #5 of 5 - 4,812  (  ??? )

A novel adaptation, so presumably it’s doing better business elsewhere.

268. MARVELMAN FAMILY'S FINEST
07/10  #1 of 6 - 17,739
08/10  #2 of 6 -  9,324  (-47.4%)
09/10  #3 of 6 -  6,151  (-34.0%)
10/10  #4 of 6 -  4,707  (-23.5%)

Vanishing rather quickly, but this isn’t entirely unexpected.

289. SUPER HEROES  [Marvel Adventures]
10/08  #4  - 4,542
=====
10/09  #16 - 3,250  (-23.9%)
11/09  #17 - 3,308  ( +1.8%)
12/09  #18 - ?,???  (  ??? )
01/10  #19 - 3,103  (  ??? )
02/10  #20 - 3,008  ( -3.1%)
03/10  #21 - ?,???  (  ??? )
04/10  #1  - 8,107  (  ??? )
05/10  #2  - 6,360  (-21.5%)
06/10  #3  - 5,678  (-10.7%)
07/10  #4  - 4,564  (-19.6%)
08/10  #5  - 4,418  ( -3.2%)
09/10  #6  - ?,???  (  ??? )
10/10  #7  - 3,800  (  ??? )
6 mnth  (-53.1%)
1 year  (+16.9%)
2 year  (-16.3%)

Still seeing some gain from the relaunch.

Rounding us off for the month, OFFICIAL INDEX TO THE MARVEL UNIVERSE: AVENGERS, THOR & CAPTAIN AMERICA #6 and TALES OF THE DRAGON GUARD: INTO THE VEIL #2 both failed to make the top 300, the cut-off point being 3,494.

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

+110.3% - Wolverine
+ 45.3% - Chaos War/Hercules
+ 41.7% - X-Force
+ 15.2% - Daredevil
+  8.5% - Amazing Spider-Man
+  8.5% - Fantastic Four
+  4.9% - Pet Avengers
-  2.7% - New Avengers
- 11.6% - Moon Knight
- 11.7% - Super Hero Squad
- 13.3% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man
- 14.2% - Thunderbolts
- 16.6% - Secret Warriors
- 17.4% - Captain America
- 18.7% - Daken: Dark Wolverine
- 19.1% - Deadpool
- 20.9% - Thor
- 21.2% - Uncanny X-Men
- 21.2% - X-Men Forever
- 26.3% - X-Men Legacy
- 27.0% - S.H.I.E.L.D.
- 27.9% - Ultimate Comics Avengers
- 32.0% - X-Factor
- 36.2% - Deadpool Team-Up
- 38.2% - Invincible Iron Man
- 45.5% - New Mutants
- 47.2% - Official Handbook
- 49.2% - Black Widow
- 50.2% - Deadpool Corps
- 53.1% - Super Heroes
- 53.5% - Black Panther
- 69.6% - Iron Man Legacy


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

+ 95.5% - X-Force
+ 64.4% - Wolverine
+ 16.9% - Super Heroes
+ 14.3% - Super Hero Squad
+ 11.1% - Chaos War/Hercules
-  1.9% - Fantastic Four
-  3.5% - Invincible Iron Man
-  4.2% - New Avengers
-  4.5% - Daredevil
-  5.0% - Amazing Spider-Man
-  5.6% - Thunderbolts
-  8.6% - X-Factor
-  8.9% - X-Men Legacy
- 15.8% - Uncanny X-Men
- 16.0% - Halo
- 22.7% - New Mutants
- 24.4% - Hulk
- 24.8% - Deadpool
- 25.2% - Incredible Hulks
- 27.3% - Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter
- 30.9% - Moon Knight
- 32.0% - Secret Warriors
- 34.4% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man
- 35.6% - Daken: Dark Wolverine
- 36.3% - Black Panther
- 38.0% - The Stand
- 38.6% - Ultimate Comics Avengers
- 45.0% - X-Men Forever
- 64.2% - Deadpool Team-Up


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

+ 60.1% - X-Force
-  6.6% - Daredevil
- 14.7% - Invincible Iron Man
- 15.7% - Amazing Spider-Man
- 16.3% - Super Heroes
- 26.1% - Thunderbolts
- 26.2% - New Avengers
- 26.9% - X-Men Legacy
- 27.4% - Moon Knight
- 28.5% - X-Factor
- 28.6% - Uncanny X-Men
- 31.5% - Chaos War/Hercules
- 32.6% - Captain America
- 34.1% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man
- 35.1% - Thor
- 43.7% - Deadpool
- 61.1% - Hulk
- 63.8% - Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter
- 66.7% - Incredible Hulks
- 73.3% - Stand


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

+  6.8% - Invincible Iron Man
-  8.5% - Daredevil
- 24.6% - Wolverine
- 27.3% - Uncanny X-Men
- 28.9% - Fantastic Four
- 34.2% - New Avengers
- 35.1% - Thunderbolts
- 36.7% - Captain America
- 42.3% - X-Men Legacy
- 47.0% - X-Factor
- 53.4% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man
- 58.4% - Moon Knight
- 61.5% - Black Panther
- 77.4% - Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter


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

+  3.2% - Thunderbolts
- 14.5% - Daredevil
- 23.2% - Incredible Hulks
- 30.1% - Uncanny X-Men
- 35.8% - X-Factor
- 40.0% - Captain America
- 40.5% - Wolverine
- 41.2% - X-Men Legacy
- 46.3% - New Avengers
- 50.3% - Black Panther
- 53.7% - Fantastic Four
- 56.1% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man


5 year comparisons
==================

+  8.0% - Captain America
+  4.5% - Thunderbolts
-  4.2% - Daredevil
- 13.4% - Incredible Hulks
- 16.5% - Wolverine
- 26.9% - Amazing Spider-Man
- 35.5% - X-Men Legacy
- 38.7% - Uncanny X-Men
- 42.6% - New Avengers
- 53.6% - Ultimate Comics Spider-Man
- 67.7% - Black Panther

1 COMMENT

  1. It is clear that the $3.99 price point nuked Incredible Herc’s numbers. The 2nd tier X-books took a larger hit than the commentary indicates, X-Factor in particular. Too bad because New Mutants is great right now. The whole analysis is depressing me, but thanks for the numbers Paul. Your effort, as always, is incredibly herculean!

  2. “Still to find its level under the new bimonthly format. Issue #614 had a vampire variant cover, which goes some way to explaining the uneven drops.”

    Just nitpicking, ‘bi-monthy’ is every other month. Semi-monthly is twice a month.

    Enjoy this column very much. Check for it every day. Keep up the good work.

  3. I said it before, and I’ll keep saying it until the Big 2 finally wake up and smell the coffee. Sales at both company’s might improve if they would do the following things.

    1. Return to making all of their MU and DCU interconnected in continuity series (both ongoing and mini series) LAYERED ALL AGES comics aimed at a wide ALL AGES AUDIENCE without talking down to the readers by over sanitizing or making the books silly and campy. In other words, put out more books like CCA approved Marvel and DC comics like PAD’s first HULK run,Hama’s G.I. JOE run,DeFalco’s MC2 books,THE FAMILY DYNAMIC, Byrne’s FF run,and Claremont’s X-MEN. Aiming their comics at a very small niche and rapidly shrinking market of older teens and adults has ultimatyely hurt the market and sales of the Big 2. Like Archie Comics, the Big 2 comics should be the gateway drug to comics for new younger readers.

    2. Give the fans more for their money. Nuff Said.

    3. Like fellow internet poster and retailer QCCBOB has said numerous times before, the Big 2 need to spend money advertising to the world that comics are still being made.

    4. Stop over exposing the same 12 characters by putting them in every damn book and having numerous spin off books featuring them.

    5. Return to making the superhero comic more action pack, and less boring talking heads and naval gazing.

    6. Put the damn books out on time.

    7. Stop telling stories that get rid of key elements that make certain characters and comics very popular and interesting (like telling Wolverine’s origin,marrying Spidey, or bringing Bucky back)

  4. I’m confused by your first point, Wraith. The Marvel Universe comics and DC Universe comics are more interconnected and continuity-laden than they’ve ever been.

    Maybe it would be better, for a change, if individual comic book series were more able to stand on their own, rather than being roped into a larger story.

  5. Darryl, he means that all the interconnected titles should be age appropriate, not that all titles should be interconnected.

  6. I’m confused by your first point, Wraith. The Marvel Universe comics and DC Universe comics are more interconnected and continuity-laden than they’ve ever been.

    Maybe it would be better, for a change, if individual comic book series were more able to stand on their own, rather than being roped into a larger story.

    __________________________________

    What I was trying to say was that all comics set in either the MU or DCU should be written in a layered all ages manner. The exception to this rule would be either out of continuity or special stand alone one shots and mini series that would not be a tie in or reference in the regular books.

  7. Bimonthly is actually correct for both, because the English language likes to give us options!

    I prefer biweekly (every two weeks) and bimonthly (every two months), though, for clarity.

  8. I was reading the latest Fables trade last night and the use if bi-annual to mean twice a year threw me for a second.

    The comment I really wanted to make is I’m saddened by Strange Tales 2 dropping from the first book. It seemed to be well received and something of a surprise hit, so I thought it might have some momentum going into the second one.

  9. @Wraith

    To your point about the overexposure, it would be a tough sell to anyone over at DC because their 19 Batman titles closed the gap with Marvel to fraction points in November.

    Whether you or I agree with the practice, it does make money and presumably pays dividends.

    While it may hurt stories and creativity it seems the money coming in justifies it.

    There are probably less people like me, who drop all of a character if I can only afford one or two of the dozen titles versus those that WILL pick up all dozen.

  10. Wraith-
    I see you making the same claims all over the internet. I don’t think there is quite the causal relationship you think there is between sales and all-ages (or layered; a word you use like you own stock in it)comics. There are a great number of factors explaining the sales decline of the American monthly comic book. Most of them have to do with distribution and cost issues, as well as competition from other media. The idea that if comics are made exactly the way you remember them being made when you were a kid then they are going to sell in the same numbers they did when you were a kid is pretty foolish and simple-minded.

    It’s like saying that since the ratings of evening newscasts were higher back when TV was black and white, getting rid of the color in today’s newscasts would cause their ratings to rise. You’re making causal relationships where there really isn’t any evidence to back you up.

  11. @Wraith

    Return to making all of their MU and DCU interconnected in continuity series (both ongoing and mini series) LAYERED ALL AGES comics aimed at a wide ALL AGES AUDIENCE without talking down to the readers by over sanitizing or making the books silly and campy.

    Take a look at this chart. All-ages titles sell awfully compared to the titles aimed at teens/young adults. Why would Marvel or DC do something that’s clearly not economically viable?

    PAD’s first HULK run,Hama’s G.I. JOE run, Byrne’s FF run,and Claremont’s X-MEN.

    …Were products of their time and boy do they reflect it, in terms of both writing and art. The modern audience is unlikely to embrace something this dated (see – nearly everything Claremont wrote over the past ten years)

    DeFalco’s MC2 books,THE FAMILY DYNAMIC,

    Sold awfully. See first point.

    Aiming their comics at a very small niche and rapidly shrinking market of older teens and adults has ultimately hurt the market and sales of the Big 2.

    No. Just no. The market has been shrinking since comics stopped being profitable for newsstands, which caused the emergence of the Direct Market. The more mature comics were related in response to the resulting demographics shift, not because the companies deliberately made their comics more adult. But that paled in comparison to the collapse of the Speculator Bubble, which put a significant chunk of comic stores out of business and cost the sales figures to plummet so badly they still haven’t recovered.

    And, of course, there is also the fact that when it debuted, Image Comics brought in a slew of younger readers precisely because the comics they produced were violent and somewhat gory. It was extreme. Kids liked (and still like) things that push the envelope. Ask any comic fan who got into superhero comics over the past 20 years and most of them will admit (perhaps begrudgingly, but they will admit it) that their first comics were titles that were published by Image (Spawn, Witchblade, etc).

    To sum it up, as others have stated, your arguments are nostalgia-driven and not based in reality. Taking your advice would, if anything, cause the sales to plummet at much greater rate than they already are. And while DC and Marvel may occasionally make misguided decisions, I don’t imagine they would ever do something that suicidal.

  12. The idea that if comics are made exactly the way you remember them being made when you were a kid then they are going to sell in the same numbers they did when you were a kid is pretty foolish and simple-minded.

    That’s not at all what Wraith is advocating. In the context that Wraith is using it, layered means story material that appeals to multiple demographic groups. That might be because characters are of different ages, the primary plot is action-oriented and subplots pose intellectual puzzles or deal with adult issues, there’s philosophical content that gives the story deeper meaning, and so on. The reasoning is pretty simple: The larger the potential readership market is, the more copies that Marvel can potentially sell.

    SRS

  13. “The reasoning is pretty simple: The larger the potential readership market is, the more copies that Marvel can potentially sell.”

    But, as others have pointed out, it hasn’t worked that way. Thor the Mighty Avenger is an all-ages, “layered” comic book that has received almost universal critical acclaim. And it’s canceled.
    I’m not advocating for more violence and sex in superhero comics, at all. I’m just trying to point out that there is no evidence that this “amazingly simple” solution would do anything to arrest the falling sales of American monthly comic books. All evidence points to the opposite, really.
    Like I said upthread, when John Byrne was on FF, it was sold on newstands. It was $0.65. Video games were still relatively primitive. There was no internet. Wraith ignores all those factors and concludes that making the comic more like it was when John Byrne did it would make its sales rise. It’s specious reasoning and myopic thinking.

  14. YOU know what peeps, instead of raging on and on about WHAT WE THINK would sell…why don’t we look at WHAT IS SELLING?

    Lots of NEW PUBLISHERS have gotten into comics in the past decade. Look at the figures from the NYT best sellers list, Comixology, the Bookscan numbers we can see, and other lists to get some idea of what the market is accepting.

    There are marketing problems EVERYWHERE on EVERYTHING… but this echo chamber of the same arguments isn’t going to do any good.

  15. But, as others have pointed out, it hasn’t worked that way. Thor the Mighty Avenger is an all-ages, “layered” comic book that has received almost universal critical acclaim. And it’s canceled.

    The one issue of THOR: THE MIGHTY AVENGER that I read, #4, had no layering to speak of and very little plot content. Thor learned that he’d been exiled to Earth, hung out with his Asgardian friends, related to Jane Foster, ran into Captain Britain — and that was it. No real conflict. no drama — just well-rendered characters who weren’t doing anything that would interest adults.

    Layered stories have plots.

    SRS

  16. That’s not at all what Wraith is advocating. In the context that Wraith is using it, layered means story material that appeals to multiple demographic groups. That might be because characters are of different ages, the primary plot is action-oriented and subplots pose intellectual puzzles or deal with adult issues, there’s philosophical content that gives the story deeper meaning, and so on. The reasoning is pretty simple: The larger the potential readership market is, the more copies that Marvel can potentially sell.

    SRS

    _______________________________

    EXACTLY. Heck, you explained my point better then I did.

  17. Once again, thanks for all the work you put into this, Paul!

    Sad, but not surprising to see sales dropping like flies.

  18. I’m very amused by the – this is what Wraith meant! No, this is! – debate.

    As for The Beat’s point, it’s a very good one, but sales for periodical comics seem to be in a slump. Is this the economy or something more?

    I’ve bought Acme 20, Love & Rockets 3, Wild Kingdom, and the Outfit this past month, so clearly I can’t pick popular books, either. I can tell you what doesn’t sell – solid comic storytelling! ^_^

  19. But, as others have pointed out, it hasn’t worked that way. Thor the Mighty Avenger is an all-ages, “layered” comic book that has received almost universal critical acclaim. And it’s canceled.
    I’m not advocating for more violence and sex in superhero comics, at all. I’m just trying to point out that there is no evidence that this “amazingly simple” solution would do anything to arrest the falling sales of American monthly comic books. All evidence points to the opposite, really.
    Like I said upthread, when John Byrne was on FF, it was sold on newstands. It was $0.65. Video games were still relatively primitive. There was no internet. Wraith ignores all those factors and concludes that making the comic more like it was when John Byrne did it would make its sales rise. It’s specious reasoning and myopic thinking.

    ________________________________

    A few quick points.

    1. I agree with you 100% that comics need to be sold/made available in other venues (including a return to newstands) in addition to being sold in comic book shops.

    2. There have always been things competing for the attention and cash of young comic book readers (and kids in general). Back in the day kids had kites,bikes,dolls/action figures,Yo Yo,hula hoops,Tyco and AFC race tracks,Hot Wheels/Match Box/Johny Lightening toy cars,electric trains,sports trading cards,electric football,air hockey tables,bumper pool table,pinball machines, and video games (both in the home and in the arcade).

    3. The reason why THOR:THE MIGHTY AVENGER doesn’t sell well is because (a) Thor is not popular enough to support more then one ongoing series (b) the market is not strong enough to support more then one Thor title a month and (c) the book is out of continuity and “does not count” in the minds of most fans (this is one of the main reason why most all ages Marvel and DC comics don’t sell).

    4. Labeling a book “ALL AGES” drives away most older teen and adult readers, since they (like most Marvel and DC editors and creators) think that a book being “all ages” means said book is for little kids. It doesn’t help matters when you have so called “all ages” books like the MARVEL ADVENTURE line that talks down to the readers by over sanitizing the comics and telling silly and campy stories. A true all ages comics is written in a layered manner so that it can appeal to readers from age 7 to 70 on many different levels and still be appropriate for a little kid to read. From 1961 to 2000, most (not all) Marvel superhero comics were written in a layered all ages manner and were read by readers of all ages. Most people (including many current creators and editors) either don’t realize or want to admit, that those Marvel comics were actually written for and aimed at all ages.

    5. Back in the 80’s and 90’s, most (if not all) DCU titles were more mature then most MU titles (in regards to language,violence, and sex), and most of those layered all ages MU comics outsold the more mature DCU titles on a regular basis.

  20. RJT: “Thor the Mighty Avenger is an all-ages, “layered” comic book that has received almost universal critical acclaim. And it’s canceled.”

    That’s not really a fair comparison. Thor: The Mighty Avenger tanked because it was launched at the exact same time as 5 other Thor comics. It’s not a surprise it got lost in that glut…they pretty much ALL did.

  21. People,

    We only get a part of the picture here. While some may bemoan these sales figures, they are for the PRINTED comics only, correct?. Haven’t I read that digital comic sales continue to RISE?

  22. I think Wraith’s point boils down to: “Comics should be like they were when I was a kid”.

    Personally, I tend to assume Marvel knows how much their books are selling and are adjusting accordingly. Yeah they make mistakes, and there’s bound to be a misstep here and there, but I hardly think “comics should be like they used to” is the answer.

    That being said, I wonder if the sales from the Thor trades will offset the low numbers on the monthlies that (presumably) took sales from each other.

  23. I think Wraith’s point boils down to: “Comics should be like they were when I was a kid”.

    ____________________________________

    And you would be wrong. I want the MU and DCU to follow the content model that Marvel used up until Quesada became EIC. The in continuity MU and DCU superhero comics should be layered all ages aimed at a wide all ages audience. The Wildstorm,Vertigo ,MAX,Epic,and Icon line of books (and yes, I know some of those lines no longer exist) should be aimed at teens and adults.

  24. “That’s not really a fair comparison. Thor: The Mighty Avenger tanked because it was launched at the exact same time as 5 other Thor comics. It’s not a surprise it got lost in that glut…they pretty much ALL did.”

    I don’t disagree…but Wraith’s argument is that all DC/Marvel have to do is make comics for all ages again and sales will rise. And despite SRS’s claim, Thor the Mighty Avenger is exactly the kind of “layered” book he and Wraith are advocating…if what they’re advocating is comics aimed at all ages, and not, as I suspect, just comics that look and smell like the ones they loved growing up.

    And Heidi is right: there are comics being read out there by new, younger readers. We should be looking at what works now–what are those comics that kids are reading, and in what formats–instead of looking to the past.

  25. And despite SRS’s claim, Thor the Mighty Avenger is exactly the kind of “layered” book he and Wraith are advocating…

    You’re repeating yourself to no purpose whatsoever.

    SRS

  26. cosmic comics in nyc is closing. the owner said it’s mostly because sales tanked when the prices were jacked to 3.99. customers dropped books in droves. bummer.

  27. Everyone should realize that these sales figures are for a specific market.

    Comic books ARE sold at newsstands. Not every newsstand, but some. I know that Barnes & Noble, which tracks sales of every title, continues to sell comics, so that is still a viable market. Also, Boom Studios distributes comics via Kable Distribution Services, Inc. Ingram Periodicals distributes Marvel, DC, Boom, and Dark Horse titles.

    Marvel does have a layered, accessible line of superhero comics: The Ultimate Universe. No, it’s not the 616 Universe, but most readers don’t care. (Almost all of the Ultimate trades remain in print. Compare and contrast with the 616 books from the same period.)

    Can a layered-plot (“The Levitz ABC Paradigm”) title succeed? Well, Brightest Day seems to be selling nicely, as did 52. (I’ll let others debate those titles’ suitability for middle-school readers.) Now that Paul Levitz is once again writing Legion of Super-Heroes, we’ll see if that type of storytelling is successful.

  28. It comes down to two things:

    1. The general public isn’t interested in reading comics, especially not when there are flashier film adaptations available.

    2. The general public is, least of all, interested in reading comics about superhero, especially when there’s such a large library of manga titles available that aren’t steeped in one giant continuity clusterfuck.

  29. Michael

    1) If that is true, why are Scott Pilgrim (can a movie get any flashier?) and Walking Dead currently at the top of the GN bestsellers on BN.com?

    http://browse.barnesandnoble.com/browse/nav.asp?N=989443+0&Ne=989443&visgrp=fiction&Ns=SALESRANK_SORT&sid=65213F09810C&act=M9

    Why did so many people purchase Watchmen after seeing the trailer during The Dark Knight movie?

    Heck, even the novelization of “The Dark Knight” made the New York Times bestseller list, and it didn’t have any pictures!

    (And if the general public isn’t interested in reading comics, why do so many mainstream book publishers publish graphic novels? Why are libraries circulating (that’s “lending”, not “shelving”) so many graphic novels? Why does the New York Times publish a GN best seller list every week?)

    2) In addition to Watchmen, there’s also Superman: Earth One, which sold out its first printing. The core Batman titles also sold extremely well during the last movie, including “Joker”, an original hardcover graphic novel. Ultimate Spider-Man remains in print ten years after it debuted, and Marvel is known for not keeping titles in print!

    As for continuity, how many volumes exist for One Piece or Yu-Gi-Oh or Naruto? (Holey moley… I just checked the character list for One Piece on Wikipedia!) Continuity isn’t a problem (as shown by the three bestselling manga above), some people enjoy arcane knowledge (like baseball statistics). Others want something finite.

    Read what you enjoy. Share that joy with others.

  30. I think Wraith makes good points. Taking comics out of newstands/spinner racks has really hurt sales overall, as has Diamond’s distribution monopoly.

  31. “Taking comics out of newstands/spinner racks has really hurt sales overall.”

    But, at least here in the Northeast, comics are still on newsstands. Nearly every grocery store and pharmacy has comics, either in a spinner rack or with the kids magazines. And both Borders and Barnes and Nobles have spinner racks of comics.

    Kids are reading comics, but they’re getting them through school book clubs, and from book stores and libraries. But based on the condition of the monthly comics I see in those spinner racks, they aren’t buying those.

  32. >>>Taking comics out of newstands/spinner racks has really hurt sales overall, as has Diamond’s distribution monopoly.

    The end of the comics newsstand happened 30 YEARS AGO. What is this? A James Michener novel?

  33. Newsstand fact #1:
    For every three copies printed, you’re lucky to sell ONE.
    (The “U.S. Postal service statement of ownership, management and circulation” will give you a detailed accounting. Here’s an example:
    http://www.bmj.com/content/331/7521/E388.full
    15b(3) lists the newsstand sales. Check October issues of Archie or Marvel Comics for reports.)

    Newsstand fact #2:
    Sales data is much less precise. Are those copies actually being displayed, or just dumped to make room for something else?

    Newsstand fact #3:
    Most comics get stripped. That is, the cover is torn off and returned to the distributor for credit, and the comic is tossed in the local landfill (or sold illegally).

    Newsstand fact #4:
    The risk is taken by the publisher, not the retailer. The retailer has no incentive to promote comics.

    Newsstand fact #5:
    To generate maximum sales, the lowest common denominator must be pursued. Experimentation? Mature storylines? Government-sponsored themes? Start a comics magazine like Heavy Metal or Epic, or sell the book without a Comics Code stamp. Expect some regions to not sell the book at all.

  34. Acually, if lil ole me is anything to go by, books like “FANTASTIC FOUR IN… ATAQUE DEL MODOK!” are bought by anything but completists. The last few years of crossover madness and grim and gritty story lines have led to me basically only buying stuff like this and Pet Avengers.

  35. $3.99 price points are killing sales – just look at Ultimate Spider-Man.

    If Uncanny X-Men, Uncanny X-Force and Punisher: In the Blood were all priced at $2.99, they’d be on my list in a flash. That’s going to be the same case for me with Remender’s Venom in March. I have to really think about how much I want the book… and maybe I can pick it up for less than cover later on!

  36. No, there’s a mess up in the formatting Paul hasn’t fixed yet for Avengers, Deadpool Team-up, and Fantastic Four/Spidey Mini. Not sure if that’s the case for Secret Avengers or if just didn’t have an Oct issue.

    I enjoyed the Taskmaster miniseries. But waited until all 4 issues came out so I could buy them together for much cheaper than the $3.99 cover price.