By Paul O’Brien

The eight-month SECRET INVASION crossover continued to dominate Marvel’s output in September, sprawling across a whole load of tie-in books. Marvel are saving most of their new launches until after the event, but this month did see the launch of a new solo DEADPOOL series, as well as a second Stephen King adaptation, THE STAND.

As usual, Marvel had the largest market share in the direct market – the surprise is just how big it was. In dollar share, Marvel led DC by 45% to 27%. In unit share, the lead was a staggering 51% to 28%.

This is pretty remarkable, but it’s worth noting that Marvel actually sold a few more copies, in real terms, on a couple of occasions in 2007. Their market share in September was helped by an exceptionally poor performance from DC, who failed to ship most of their major titles. (FINAL CRISIS, BATMAN, JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA, JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA and FINAL CRISIS: LEGION OF 3 WORLDS all failed to appear – in August, they sold over 450K in total.) And in fairness, DC still has a significantly bigger share of the trade paperback market. But there’s no denying this was a fantastic month for Marvel.

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

1,242.  SECRET INVASION
04/08  Secret Invasion #1 of 8 - 272,195
05/08  Secret Invasion #2 of 8 - 197,685  (-27.4%)
06/08  Secret Invasion #3 of 8 - 186,533  ( -5.6%)
07/08  Secret Invasion #4 of 8 - 175,469  ( -5.9%)
08/08  Secret Invasion #5 of 8 - 165,958  ( -5.4%)
09/09  Secret Invasion #6 of 8 - 169,440  ( +2.1%)

As you’d expect, the central book of the crossover remains Marvel’s top seller, even nudging slightly up in sales. The figure shown for issue #6 is a combination of the regular edition and its variants (listed at number 1) and the Baltimore Con Variant (listed separately at number 242, because of its lower cover price). For some reason, issue #3 also saw another 4,344 in re-orders, and they’re added in above.

With a massive lead over the number two title, and strong performances from tie-in books, it’s hard to deny that SECRET INVASION has been another commercial hit in Marvel’s string of big events.

2.  HULK
09/03  Incredible Hulk #60  -  58,584
09/04  ---
09/05  Incredible Hulk #86  -  52,992
09/06  Incredible Hulk #98  -  52,987
=====
09/07  Incredible Hulk #110 -  96,835  (  -7.2%)
10/07  ---
11/07  Incredible Hulk #111 - 101,536  (  +4.9%)
12/07  Incredible Hulk #112 -  77,119  ( -24.0%)
01/08  Hulk #1              - 139,931
02/08  Hulk #2              - 101,598  ( -27.4%)
03/08  ---
04/08  Hulk #3              - 100,167  (  -1.4%)
05/08  ---
06/08  Hulk #4              - 101,927  (  +1.8%)
07/08  ---
08/08  Hulk #5              - 102,105  (  +0.2%)
09/08  Hulk #6              - 117,807  ( +15.4%)
                               6 mnth  (   --- )
                               1 year  ( +21.7%)
                               2 year  (+122.3%)
                               3 year  (+122.3%)
                               4 year  (   --- )
                               5 year  (+101.1%)

This issue has a variant cover by the late Michael Turner, which presumably accounts for the sales increase. There’s another one next month. Marvel bill it as a tribute. And I think I’ll resist the temptation to comment further.

Issue #5 picks up re-orders of 5,758.

3.  NEW AVENGERS
09/03  ---
09/04  Avengers #502    -  93,105
09/05  New Avengers #10 - 143,014
09/06  ---
=====
09/07  New Avengers #34 - 112,815  ( -4.3%)
10/07  New Avengers #35 - 111,481  ( -1.2%)
11/07  New Avengers #36 - 107,715  ( -3.4%)
12/07  New Avengers #37 - 105,545  ( -2.0%)
01/08  ---
02/08  New Avengers #38 - 104,140  ( -1.3%)
03/08  New Avengers #39 - 103,046  ( -1.1%)
04/08  New Avengers #40 - 117,201  (+13.7%)
05/08  New Avengers #41 - 109,185  ( -6.8%)
06/08  New Avengers #42 - 108,495  ( -0.6%)
07/08  New Avengers #43 - 108,751  ( +0.2%)
08/08  New Avengers #44 - 106,385  ( -2.2%)
09/08  New Avengers #45 - 103,326  ( -2.9%)
                           6 mnth  ( +0.3%)
                           1 year  ( -8.4%)
                           2 year  (  --- )
                           3 year  (-27.8%)
                           4 year  (+11.0%)
                           5 year  (  --- )

Another SECRET INVASION tie-in issue. As I’ve noted before, the crossover doesn’t seem to have much impact on this book’s sales, but then it sells very well to start with.

5.  MIGHTY AVENGERS
09/07  ---
10/07  Mighty Avengers #5  -  99,544  ( -7.6%)
11/07  ---
12/07  Mighty Avengers #6  -  90,709  ( -8.9%)
01/08  Mighty Avengers #7  -  92,739  ( +2.2%)
01/08  Mighty Avengers #8  -  84,459  ( -8.9%)
02/08  Mighty Avengers #9  -  83,466  ( -1.2%)
03/08  Mighty Avengers #10 -  82,149  ( -1.6%)
03/08  Mighty Avengers #11 -  82,253  ( +0.1%)
04/08  Mighty Avengers #12 -  97,239  (+18.2%)
05/08  Mighty Avengers #13 - 102,266  ( +5.2%)
05/08  Mighty Avengers #14 -  95,281  ( -6.8%)
06/08  Mighty Avengers #15 -  94,014  ( -1.3%)
07/08  Mighty Avengers #16 -  96,252  ( +2.4%)
08/08  Mighty Avengers #17 -  92,950  ( -3.4%)
09/09  Mighty Avengers #18 -  90,799  ( -2.3%)
                              6 mnth  (+10.4%)
                              1 year  (  --- )

This is also a SECRET INVASION tie-in, but the secondary Avengers title has received a more visible benefit from the crossover.

6.  ULTIMATES
09/03  ---
09/04  ---
09/05  Ultimates 2 #8      -  95,980
09/06  Ultimates 2 #12     -  97,259
=====
09/07  ---
10/07  ---
11/07  ---
12/07  Ultimates 3 #1 of 5 - 154,722  (+46.3%)
01/08  Ultimates 3 #2 of 5 - 112,044  (-27.6%)
02/08  Ultimates 3 #3 of 5 - 103,570  ( -7.6%)
03/08  ---
04/08  ---
05/08  ---
06/08  Ultimates 3 #4 of 5 -  99,697  ( -3.7%)
07/08  ---
08/08  ---
09/08  Ultimates 3 #5 of 5 -  86,851  (-12.9%)
                              6 mnth  (  --- )
                              1 year  (  --- )
                              2 year  (-10.7%)
                              3 year  ( -9.5%)
                              4 year  (  --- )
                              5 year  (  --- )

That’s an unusually steep drop for the final issue of a miniseries, and on the low side for ULTIMATES generally. But at this point, the important thing for the Ultimate titles is how well the upcoming ULTIMATUM crossover does.

WOLVERINE
09/03  Wolverine #5  -  81,728
09/04  Wolverine #19 -  65,046
09/05  Wolverine #32 -  89,026
09/06  Wolverine #46 - 107,865
=====
09/07  Wolverine #57 -  74,588  ( +1.7%)
10/07  Wolverine #58 -  83,810  (+12.4%)
11/07  Wolverine #59 -  65,725  (-21.6%)
12/07  Wolverine #60 -  63,194  ( -3.9%)
01/08  Wolverine #61 -  60,857  ( -3.7%)
02/08  Wolverine #62 -  69,698  (+14.5%)
03/08  Wolverine #63 -  64,475  ( -7.5%)
04/08  Wolverine #64 -  64,871  ( +0.0%)
05/08  Wolverine #65 -  62,451  ( -3.7%)
06/08  Wolverine #66 - 112,469  (+80.1%)
07/08  Wolverine #67 -  96,651  (-14.1%)
08/08  Wolverine #68 -  86,268  (-10.7%)
09/08  ---

Skip month, but issues #66 and #67 continue to rack up re-orders, adding 7,302 and 7,589 respectively.

7.  UNCANNY X-MEN
09/03  Uncanny X-Men #430 -  94,165
09/04  Uncanny X-Men #448 -  94,708
09/05  Uncanny X-Men #464 -  85,885
09/06  Uncanny X-Men #478 -  89,850
=====
09/07  Uncanny X-Men #490 -  87,592  ( -0.5%)
10/07  Uncanny X-Men #491 -  85,638  ( -2.2%)
11/07  Uncanny X-Men #492 - 111,160  (+29.8%)
12/07  Uncanny X-Men #493 - 109,176  ( -1.8%)
01/08  Uncanny X-Men #494 - 105,520  ( -3.3%)
02/08  Uncanny X-Men #495 -  96,183  ( -8.8%)
03/08  Uncanny X-Men #496 -  89,054  ( -7.4%)
04/08  Uncanny X-Men #497 -  93,369  ( +4.8%)
05/08  Uncanny X-Men #498 -  82,090  (-12.1%)
06/08  Uncanny X-Men #499 -  81,100  ( -1.2%)
07/08  Uncanny X-Men #500 - 160,876  (+98.4%)
08/08  Uncanny X-Men #501 -  85,398  (-46.9%)
09/08  Uncanny X-Men #502 -  82,883  ( -2.9%)
                             6 mnth  ( -6.9%)
                             1 year  ( -5.4%)
                             2 year  ( -7.8%)
                             3 year  ( -3.5%)
                             4 year  (-12.5%)
                             5 year  (-12.0%)

Well, we’re back where we started after issue #500. That’s no surprise in itself – anniversary issues rarely have any lasting effect on sales – but it also suggests that the new “Manifest Destiny” direction isn’t having much impact one way or the other, so far. Issue #500 picks up reorders of 8,921, though, which is a good sign.

8.  THE STAND: CAPTAIN TRIPS
09/08  Captain Trips #1 of 5 - 82,671

A strong debut for Marvel’s second Stephen King adaptation. As with DARK TOWER, these titles ought to have a wider than usual audience outside the direct market, so the top ten debut is a very good sign.

9.  DARK TOWER
09/07  ---
10/07  ---
11/07  ---
12/07  ---
01/08  ---
02/08  ---
03/08  Long Road Home #1 of 5 - 126,783  ( +1.7%)
04/08  Long Road Home #2 of 5 - 106,023  (-16.4%)
05/08  Long Road Home #3 of 5 -  87,631  (-17.3%)
06/08  Long Road Home #4 of 5 -  79,270  ( -9.5%)
07/08  Long Road Home #5 of 5 -  74,981  ( -5.4%)
08/08  ---
09/08  Treachery #1 of 6      -  82,541  (+10.1%)
                                 6 mnth  (-34.9%)
                                 1 year  (  --- )

The third DARK TOWER miniseries debuts in the low 80K range, and diminishing returns are clearly setting in. But this is still a good performance by any normal standards. Curiously, LONG ROAD HOME #1 shifts another 2,944 copies; since the book is six months old, I suspect that’s more likely to be Marvel offloading surplus copies, than retailers suddenly re-ordering.

10,14,13. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
09/03  Amazing Spider-Man #58  -  92,294
09/04  Amazing Spider-Man #412 -  87,236
09/05  Amazing Spider-Man #524 -  71,065
09/06  Amazing Spider-Man #535 - 117,056
=====
09/07  Amazing Spider-Man #544 - 159,104  (+49.4%)
10/07  ---
11/07  ---
12/07  Amazing Spider-Man #545 - 129,085  (-18.9%)
01/08  Amazing Spider-Man #546 - 127,958  ( -0.9%)
01/08  Amazing Spider-Man #547 - 101,213  (-20.9%)
01/08  Amazing Spider-Man #548 -  97,959  ( -3.2%)
02/08  Amazing Spider-Man #549 - 101,112  ( +3.2%)
02/08  Amazing Spider-Man #550 -  90,874  (-10.1%)
02/08  Amazing Spider-Man #551 -  88,084  ( -3.1%)
03/08  Amazing Spider-Man #552 -  89,835  ( +2.0%)
03/08  Amazing Spider-Man #553 -  82,648  ( -8.0%)
03/08  Amazing Spider-Man #554 -  81,072  ( -1.9%)
04/08  Amazing Spider-Man #555 -  86,902  ( +7.2%)
04/08  Amazing Spider-Man #556 -  78,458  ( -9.7%)
04/08  Amazing Spider-Man #557 -  77,057  ( -1.8%)
05/08  Amazing Spider-Man #558 -  76,966  ( -0.1%)
05/08  Amazing Spider-Man #559 -  74,206  ( -3.6%)
05/08  Amazing Spider-Man #560 -  74,012  ( -0.3%)
06/08  Amazing Spider-Man #561 -  72,372  ( -2.2%)
06/08  Amazing Spider-Man #562 -  71,409  ( -1.3%)
06/08  Amazing Spider-Man #563 -  70,792  ( -0.9%)
07/08  Amazing Spider-Man #564 -  68,882  ( -2.7%)
07/08  Amazing Spider-Man #565 -  69,182  ( +0.4%)
07/08  Amazing Spider-Man #566 -  68,912  ( -0.4%)
08/08  Amazing Spider-Man #567 -  68,130  ( -1.1%)
08/08  Amazing Spider-Man #568 - 105,324  (+54.6%)
08/08  Amazing Spider-Man #569 -  77,950  (-26.0%)
09/08  Amazing Spider-Man #570 -  82,479  ( +5.8%)
09/08  Amazing Spider-Man #571 -  73,682  (-10.7%)
09/08  Amazing Spider-Man #572 -  75,574  ( +2.6%)
                                  6 mnth  ( -6.8%)
                                  1 year  (-52.5%)
                                  2 year  (-35.4%)
                                  3 year  ( +6.3%)
                                  4 year  (-13.4%)
                                  5 year  (-18.1%)

Continuing the “New Ways to Die” storyline, which seems to have attracted some attention. Issue #570 has a variant cover, but #571 and #572 are regular issues, and up significantly from July. Bear in mind that NWTD isn’t a crossover and isn’t really an event in the usual sense; it’s just the current storyline. Last month’s issue #568 picks up another 6,967 in reorders.

12. CAPTAIN AMERICA
09/03  Captain America #18 -  42,711
09/04  Captain America #31 -  37,128
09/05  Captain America #10 -  52,609
09/06  Captain America #22 -  82,230
=====
09/07  Captain America #30 -  79,554  (  -5.0%)
10/07  Captain America #31 -  77,131  (  -3.0%)
11/07  Captain America #32 -  73,310  (  -5.0%)
12/07  Captain America #33 -  78,279  (  +6.8%)
01/08  Captain America #34 - 152,739  ( +95.1%)
02/08  Captain America #35 -  86,038  ( -43.7%)
03/08  Captain America #36 -  81,378  (  -5.4%)
04/08  Captain America #37 -  80,635  (  -0.9%)
05/08  Captain America #38 -  79,350  (  -1.6%)
06/08  Captain America #39 -  79,387  (  +0.0%)
07/08  Captain America #40 -  79,317  (  -0.0%)
08/08  Captain America #41 -  85,035  (  +7.2%)
09/08  Captain America #42 -  75,574  ( -11.1%)
                              6 mnth  (  -7.1%)
                              1 year  (  -5.0%)
                              2 year  (  -8.1%)
                              3 year  ( +43.7%)
                              4 year  (+103.5%)
                              5 year  ( +76.9%)

Back to normal after last month’s variant cover. Sales seem to be down slightly, but the book’s current direction is still selling far better than it has in years.

17,23. DEADPOOL
09/08  Deadpool #1 - 67,418
09/08  Deadpool #2 - 59,850  (-11.2%)

This is a SECRET INVASION tie-in arc, with variant covers on both issues. Obviously it’s a big improvement from the sales of the recently-cancelled CABLE & DEADPOOL series (which was effectively a Deadpool solo title in its closing months).

Marvel have launched several previous titles in the middle of a crossover, with mixed results – books like HEROES FOR HIRE debuted strongly, only to crash once the crossover ended. But the most recent such book, CAPTAIN BRITAIN & MI-13, debuted with only 43K. This is clearly a much stronger start, which bodes well for the title.

18. X-MEN: LEGACY
09/03  New X-Men #132     -  99,001
09/04  New X-Men #146     - 105,573
09/05  X-Men #175         -  76,555
09/06  X-Men #191         -  82,048
=====
09/07  X-Men #203         -  85,652  ( -1.0%)
10/07  X-Men #204         -  83,456  ( -2.6%)
11/07  X-Men #205         - 101,401  (+21.5%)
12/07  X-Men #206         - 104,815  ( +3.4%)
01/08  X-Men #207         - 104,793  ( -0.0%)
02/08  X-Men: Legacy #208 -  88,132  (-16.0%)
03/08  X-Men: Legacy #209 -  82,243  ( -6.7%)
04/08  X-Men: Legacy #210 -  77,441  ( -5.8%)
05/08  X-Men: Legacy #211 -  79,818  ( +3.1%)
05/08  X-Men: Legacy #212 -  74,033  ( -7.2%)
06/08  X-Men: Legacy #213 -  71,893  ( -2.9%)
07/08  X-Men: Legacy #214 -  69,863  ( -2.8%)
08/08  X-Men: Legacy #215 -  68,047  ( -2.6%)
09/08  X-Men: Legacy #216 -  66,434  ( -2.4%)
                             6 mnth  (-19.2%)
                             1 year  (-22.4%)
                             2 year  (-19.0%)
                             3 year  (-13.2%)
                             4 year  (-37.1%)
                             5 year  (-32.9%)

This book seems to have settled into a steady decline. October sees a crossover with the lower-selling WOLVERINE: ORIGINS, and it’ll be interesting to see how much difference that makes.

19. ULTIMATE ORIGINS
06/08  Ultimate Origins #1 of 5 - 136,418
07/08  Ultimate Origins #2 of 5 -  83,849 (-38.5%)
08/08  Ultimate Origins #3 of 5 -  71,513 (-14.7%)
09/08  Ultimate Origins #4 of 5 -  64,952 ( -9.2%)

Rather steep declines over the course of this miniseries. Issue #3 picks up re-orders of 3,176, though.

20. X-FORCE
02/08  X-Force #1 - 116,467
03/08  X-Force #2 -  88,650  (-23.9%)
04/08  X-Force #3 -  85,750  ( -3.3%)
05/08  X-Force #4 -  84,792  ( -1.1%)
06/08  ---
07/08  X-Force #5 -  76,978  ( -9.2%)
08/08  X-Force #6 -  69,010  (-10.4%)
09/08  X-Force #7 -  64,911  ( -5.9%)
                     6 mnth  (-26.8%)

Dropping rather too quickly for comfort, I think. Issue #5 picks up another 4,160 thanks to a second printing variant. But if you leave those sales out of account, then this is the second consecutive month to see a drop of roughly 5%, and that’s uncomfortably high seven months in.

22. INVINCIBLE IRON MAN
05/08  Invincible Iron Man #1 - 120,657
06/08  Invincible Iron Man #2 -  76,001  (-37.0%)
07/08  Invincible Iron Man #3 -  66,430  (-12.6%)
08/08  Invincible Iron Man #4 -  58,154  (-12.5%)
09/08  Invincible Iron Man #5 -  60,444  ( +3.9%)

This is a Marvel Apes variant cover. The relatively modest gain tends to suggest that the underlying trend is still steeply downhill.

24. AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE
08/07  Initiative #5 -  86,536  ( -8.7%)
09/07  Initiative #6 -  74,184  (-14.3%)
10/07  ---
11/07  Initiative #7 -  66,455  (-10.4%)
12/07  Initiative #8 -  58,126  (-12.5%)
01/08  Initiative #9 -  55,270  ( -4.9%)
02/08  ---
03/08  Initiative #10 - 54,422  ( -1.5%)
04/08  Initiative #11 - 52,877  ( -2.8%)
04/08  Initiative #12 - 52,343  ( -1.0%)
05/08  Initiative #13 - 56,818  ( +8.5%)
06/08  Initiative #14 - 62,236  ( +9.5%)
07/08  Initiative #15 - 63,634  ( +2.2%)
08/08  Initiative #16 - 60,381  ( -5.1%)
09/08  Initiative #17 - 59,037  ( -2.2%)
                        6 mnth  ( +8.5%)
                        1 year  (-31.8%)

Continuing the SECRET INVASION tie-in storyline. The book is still substantially up from normal.

25. SECRET INVASION: THOR
08/08  Thor #1 of 3 - 70,263
09/08  Thor #2 of 3 - 58,921  (-16.1%)

Issue #1 picks up 4,754 in re-orders. Allowing for that, the second issue drop is quite reasonable.

26. FANTASTIC FOUR
09/03  Fantastic Four #504 - 53,885
09/04  Fantastic Four #518 - 48,939
09/05  Fantastic Four #531 - 49,745
09/06  ---
=====
09/07  ---
10/07  Fantastic Four #550 - 57,906  (  -6.3%)
11/07  Fantastic Four #551 - 58,617  (  +1.2%)
12/07  Fantastic Four #552 - 51,320  ( -12.4%)
01/08  Fantastic Four #553 - 48,332  (  -5.8%)
02/08  Fantastic Four #554 - 98,111  (+103.0%)
03/08  Fantastic Four #555 - 67,416  ( -31.3%)
04/08  Fantastic Four #556 - 65,013  (  -3.6%)
05/08  Fantastic Four #557 - 62,736  (  -3.5%)
06/08  Fantastic Four #558 - 61,003  (  -2.8%)
07/08  ---
08/08  Fantastic Four #559 - 59,791  (  -2.0%)
09/08  Fantastic Four #560 - 58,258  (  -2.6%)
                             6 mnth  ( -13.6%)
                             1 year  (   --- )
                             2 year  (   --- )
                             3 year  ( +17.1%)
                             4 year  ( +19.0%)
                             5 year  (  +8.1%)

Still falling. By the standards of recent years, these are perfectly good numbers for FANTASTIC FOUR – better than usual, in fact – but they aren’t the huge sales that one might have expected from Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch.

27. SECRET INVASION: X-MEN
08/08  X-Men #1 of 4 - 68,388
09/08  X-Men #2 of 4 - 57,561  (-15.8%)

Issue #1 adds another 3,873 with a second printing. Again, allowing for that, the second issue drop is quite decent.

29. ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN
09/03  Ult. Spider-Man #46  - 105,409
09/04  Ult. Spider-Man #65  -  94,174
09/05  Ult. Spider-Man #82  -  75,756
09/06  Ult. Spider-Man #100 - 116,197
=====
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%)
11/07  Ult. Spider-Man #116 -  61,534  (-17.2%)
12/07  Ult. Spider-Man #117 -  60,361  ( -1.9%)
01/08  Ult. Spider-Man #118 -  58,800  ( -2.6%)
02/08  Ult. Spider-Man #119 -  58,045  ( -1.3%)
03/08  Ult. Spider-Man #120 -  57,728  ( -0.5%)
04/08  Ult. Spider-Man #121 -  56,633  ( -1.9%)
05/08  Ult. Spider-Man #122 -  55,759  ( -1.5%)
06/08  Ult. Spider-Man #123 -  57,187  ( +2.6%)
07/08  Ult. Spider-Man #124 -  55,262  ( -3.4%)
08/08  Ult. Spider-Man #125 -  54,746  ( -0.9%)
09/08  Ult. Spider-Man #126 -  54,604  ( -0.3%)
                               6 mnth  ( -5.4%)
                               1 year  (-19.1%)
                               2 year  (-53.0%)
                               3 year  (-27.9%)
                               4 year  (-42.0%)
                               5 year  (-48.2%)

The book seems to have found a new level at around 54-55K.

40. X-MEN: MANIFEST DESTINY
09/08  Manifest Destiny #1 of 5 - 49,262

This is an anthology title based loosely around the theme of various second and third-tier characters moving to San Francisco. Not a bad debut for a book of that sort.

41. INCREDIBLE HERCULES
01/08  Hercules #113 -  73,533  ( -4.6%)
02/08  Hercules #114 -  52,200  (-29.0%)
03/08  Hercules #115 -  49,336  ( -5.5%)
04/08  Hercules #116 -  44,575  ( -9.7%)
05/08  Hercules #117 -  57,264  (+28.5%)
06/08  Hercules #118 -  52,975  ( -7.5%)
07/08  Hercules #119 -  52,598  ( -0.7%)
08/08  Hercules #120 -  51,100  ( -2.8%)
09/08  Hercules #121 -  47,363  ( -7.3%)
                        6 mnth  ( -4.0%)

The SECRET INVASION tie-in storyline finished last month, so a fall was only to be expected. But this issue also had a Marvel Apes variant cover, and allowing for that, I’d say the drop was on the high side.

42. SECRET INVASION: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
08/08  SI: ASM #1 of 3 - 56,663
09/08  SI: ASM #2 of 3 - 46,803  (-17.4%)

Another SECRET INVASION tie-in series, performing respectably.

KICK-ASS  [Icon]
02/08  Kick-Ass #1 - 73,317
03/08  ---
04/08  Kick-Ass #2 - 54,596  (-25.5%)
05/08  ---
06/08  Kick-Ass #3 - 56,655  ( +3.8%)
07/08  ---
08/08  Kick-Ass #4 - 51,162  ( -9.7%)
09/08  ---

Skip month, but the “Must Have” collected edition makes the chart at number 211, selling 7,240 copies.

44. WOLVERINE: ORIGINS
09/06  Origins #6  - 101,013
=====
09/07  Origins #17 -  62,235  (-10.8%)
10/07  Origins #18 -  60,050  ( -3.5%)
11/07  Origins #19 -  55,999  ( -6.7%)
12/07  Origins #20 -  53,548  ( -4.4%)
01/08  Origins #21 -  51,919  ( -3.0%)
02/08  Origins #22 -  50,324  ( -3.1%)
03/08  Origins #23 -  49,633  ( -1.4%)
04/08  Origins #24 -  49,299  ( -0.7%)
05/08  Origins #25 -  52,907  ( +5.9%)
06/08  Origins #26 -  48,059  ( -9.2%)
07/08  Origins #27 -  47,540  ( -1.1%)
08/08  ---
09/08  Origins #28 -  46,557  ( -2.1%)
                      6 mnth  ( -6.2%)
                      1 year  (-25.2%)
                      2 year  (-53.9%)

Drifting down. There’s a crossover with X-MEN: LEGACY next month, which ought to help.

45. DAREDEVIL
09/03  Daredevil #51  - 59,636
09/04  Daredevil #65  - 56,547
09/05  Daredevil #77  - 45,945
09/06  Daredevil #89  - 55,481
=====
09/07  Daredevil #100 - 78,143  (+64.9%)
10/07  Daredevil #101 - 47,189  (-39.6%)
11/07  Daredevil #102 - 45,030  ( -4.6%)
12/07  Daredevil #103 - 43,874  ( -2.6%)
01/08  Daredevil #104 - 42,773  ( -2.5%)
02/08  Daredevil #105 - 42,098  ( -1.6%)
03/08  Daredevil #106 - 41,537  ( -1.3%)
04/08  ---
05/08  Daredevil #107 - 40,418  ( -2.7%)
06/08  Daredevil #108 - 39,557  ( -2.1%)
07/08  Daredevil #109 - 39,258  ( -0.8%)
08/08  Daredevil #110 - 43,362  (+10.5%)
09/08  Daredevil #111 - 46,305  ( +6.8%)
                        6 mnth  (+11.5%)
                        1 year  (-40.7%)
                        2 year  (-16.5%)
                        3 year  ( +0.8%)
                        4 year  (-18.1%)
                        5 year  (-22.4%)

Variant cover by Terry Dodson, who’s apparently more of a draw than last month’s monkey.

46. SECRET INVASION: INHUMANS
08/08  Inhumans #1 of 4 - 54,944
09/08  Inhumans #2 of 4 - 45,895  (-16.5%)

Issue #1 picks up re-orders of 4,973. Allowing for that, the second issue drop is remarkably small.

47,50. ULTIMATE X-MEN/FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL
09/08  Ult X-Men/FF - 45,437
09/08  Ult FF/X-Men - 44,160  (-2.8%)

A two-issue miniseries, replacing this month’s issues of ULTIMATE X-MEN and ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR. It’s a trailer for the ULTIMATUM crossover. For what it’s worth, the sales are surprisingly close together.

49. X-FACTOR
09/06  X-Factor #11 - 43,431
=====
09/07  X-Factor #23 - 53,311  ( +1.3%)
10/07  X-Factor #24 - 52,085  ( -2.3%)
11/07  X-Factor #25 - 79,066  (+51.8%)
12/07  X-Factor #26 - 84,219  ( +6.5%)
01/08  X-Factor #27 - 81,350  ( -3.4%)
02/08  X-Factor #28 - 61,173  (-24.8%)
03/08  X-Factor #29 - 54,832  (-10.4%)
04/08  X-Factor #30 - 51,447  ( -6.2%)
05/08  X-Factor #31 - 48,231  ( -6.3%)
06/08  X-Factor #32 - 45,104  ( -6.5%)
07/08  X-Factor #33 - 53,088  (+17.7%)
08/08  X-Factor #34 - 50,416  ( -5.0%)
09/08  X-Factor #35 - 44,481  (-11.8%)
                      6 mnth  (-18.9%)
                      1 year  (-16.6%)
                      2 year  ( +2.4%)

Back to regular stories after SECRET INVASION. This also has a Marvel Apes variant, so the size of the drop is a little worrying, and suggests another hefty fall in October.

51. IRON MAN: DIRECTOR OF SHIELD
09/03  Iron Man #72 - 30,438
09/04  Iron Man #88 - 32,932
09/05  ---
09/06  Iron Man #12 - 36,278
=====
09/07  Iron Man #22 - 46,691  ( -5.8%)
10/07  Iron Man #23 - 42,608  ( -8.7%)
11/07  ---
12/07  Iron Man #24 - 38,834  ( -8.9%)
01/08  Iron Man #25 - 38,072  ( -2.0%)
02/08  Iron Man #26 - 36,607  ( -3.8%)
03/08  Iron Man #27 - 36,011  ( -1.6%)
04/08  Iron Man #28 - 35,754  ( -0.7%)
05/08  Iron Man #29 - 36,415  ( +1.8%)
06/08  Iron Man #30 - 35,384  ( -2.8%)
07/08  Iron Man #31 - 35,352  ( -0.0%)
08/08  Iron Man #32 - 34,257  ( -3.1%)
09/08  Iron Man #33 - 43,887  (+28.1%)
                      6 mnth  (+21.9%)
                      1 year  ( -6.0%)
                      2 year  (+21.0%)
                      3 year  (  --- )
                      4 year  (+33.3%)
                      5 year  (+44.2%)

The book finally begins its SECRET INVASION tie-in. It’s being cancelled after the crossover.

52. THUNDERBOLTS
09/05  New Thunderbolts #12 - 25,912
09/06  Thunderbolts #106    - 31,527
=====
09/07  ---
10/07  Thunderbolts #117    - 47,151  (-10.2%)
11/07  ---
12/07  ---
01/08  Thunderbolts #118    - 43,645  ( -7.4%)
02/08  ---
03/08  Thunderbolts #119    - 40,173  ( -8.0%)
04/08  ---
05/08  Thunderbolts #120    - 38,330  ( -4.6%)
06/08  Thunderbolts #121    - 37,693  ( -1.7%)
07/08  Thunderbolts #122    - 47,170  (+25.1%)
08/08  Thunderbolts #123    - 45,403  ( -3.7%)
09/08  Thunderbolts #124    - 43,429  ( -4.3%)
                              6 mnth  ( +8.1%)
                              1 year  (  --- )
                              2 year  (+37.8%)
                              3 year  (+67.6%)

Another SECRET INVASION tie-in arc. Sales aren’t entirely holding up over the course of the storyline, but they’re still noticeably up from normal.

54. SECRET INVASION: RUNAWAYS & YOUNG AVENGERS
06/08  SIRYA #1 of 3 - 50,123
07/08  ---
08/08  SIRYA #2 of 3 - 45,309  (-9.6%)
09/08  SIRYA #3 of 3 - 42,480  (-6.2%)

Selling more than the regular RUNAWAYS title, so this has to be judged a success.

55. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
05/08  Guardians o/the Galaxy #1 - 36,293
06/08  Guardians o/the Galaxy #2 - 32,967 ( -9.2%)
07/08  Guardians o/the Galaxy #3 - 33,986 ( +3.1%)
08/08  Guardians o/the Galaxy #4 - 40,285 (+18.5%)
09/08  Guardians o/the Galaxy #5 - 42,104 ( +4.5%)

Yet another SECRET INVASION tie-in, and another monkey variant, both helping the book to its highest sales so far.

57. SECRET INVASION: FRONT LINE
07/08  Front Line #1 of 5 - 56,313
08/08  Front Line #2 of 5 - 45,796  (-18.7%)
09/08  Front Line #3 of 5 - 40,307  (-12.0%)

Another SECRET INVASION tie-in. Sales aren’t holding up too well on this one.

58,72. MS MARVEL
09/06  Ms Marvel #7  - 64,973
=====
09/07  Ms Marvel #19 - 32,371  ( -7.0%)
10/07  Ms Marvel #20 - 37,930  (+17.2%)
11/07  Ms Marvel #21 - 26,484  (-30.2%)
12/07  Ms Marvel #22 - 25,450  ( -3.9%)
01/08  Ms Marvel #23 - 24,260  ( -4.7%)
02/08  Ms Marvel #24 - 24,139  ( -0.5%)
03/08  Ms Marvel #25 - 40,993  (+69.8%)
04/08  Ms Marvel #26 - 42,277  ( +3.1%)
05/08  Ms Marvel #27 - 41,131  ( -2.7%)
06/08  Ms Marvel #28 - 42,194  ( +2.6%)
07/08  Ms Marvel #29 - 41,231  ( -2.3%)
08/08  ---
09/08  Ms Marvel #30 - 40,041  ( -2.9%)
09/08  Ms Marvel #31 - 32,145  (-19.7%)
                       6 mnth  (-21.6%)
                       1 year  ( -0.7%)
                       2 year  (-50.6%)

Issue #30 ends the SECRET INVASION tie-in, and issue #31 returns to normal service. Considering that the book was doing 24K before the crossover, this is a good number.

59. YOUNG X-MEN
04/08  Young X-Men #1 - 71,593
05/08  Young X-Men #2 - 51,267  (-28.4%)
06/08  Young X-Men #3 - 45,227  (-11.8%)
07/08  Young X-Men #4 - 41,341  ( -8.6%)
08/08  Young X-Men #5 - 38,379  ( -7.2%)
09/08  Young X-Men #6 - 38,176  ( -0.5%)

This has a Marvel Apes variant, so chances are that the underlying decline is still going.

60. SKAAR, SON OF HULK PRESENTS
09/08  Savage World of Sakaar - 38,169

A 64-page one-shot, taking the place of the regular series. That title sold 51K in August, but then it costs three dollars, and this book costs four. The takings are about even.

61. NOVA
09/07  Nova #6 -  36,978  ( -6.5%)
10/07  Nova #7 -  34,876  ( -5.7%)
11/07  Nova #8 -  32,110  ( -7.9%)
12/07  Nova #9 -  30,469  ( -5.1%)
01/08  Nova #10 - 29,397  ( -3.5%)
02/08  ---
03/08  Nova #11 - 28,162  ( -4.2%)
04/08  Nova #12 - 28,185  ( +0.1%)
05/08  Nova #13 - 28,144  ( -0.1%)
06/08  Nova #14 - 28,892  ( +2.7%)
07/08  Nova #15 - 28,592  ( -1.0%)
08/08  Nova #16 - 38,338  (+34.1%)
09/08  Nova #17 - 37,015  ( -3.5%)
                  6 mnth  (+31.4%)
                  1 year  ( +0.1%)

Another SECRET INVASION tie-in arc.

62. CIVIL WAR: HOUSE OF M
09/08  Civil War: House of M #1 of 5 - 35,082

This is a belated prequel to the HOUSE OF M miniseries from a few years ago, explaining how Magneto conquered the world. The connection to CIVIL WAR eludes me. It’s not a particularly good debut for a miniseries claiming a connection to two major crossovers, but then it’s several years late. If you view it as a random Marvel miniseries, it’s not a bad number.

63. X-MEN: MAGNETO - TESTAMENT
09/08  Testament #1 of 5 - 34,863

A Magneto origin series set in the Holocaust. Unlikely to be to everyone’s taste, but the sales aren’t bad for a project of this sort.

65. VENOM: DARK ORIGIN
08/08  Dark Origin #1 of 5 - 44,336
09/08  Dark Origin #2 of 5 - 34,078  (-23.1%)

On the steep side for a second issue drop.

66,77. MARVEL APES
09/08  Marvel Apes #1 of 4 - 33,682
09/08  Marvel Apes #2 of 4 - 29,884  (-11.3%)

Given the orders for last month’s monkey variant covers, I’m a little surprised this didn’t do better. It doesn’t look like another MARVEL ZOMBIES, but to be fair, if you leave those expectations aside, this is a good number for a gimmick series about apes.

67. BLACK PANTHER
09/05  Black Panther #8  - 40,494
09/06  Black Panther #20 - 26,585
=====
09/07  ---
10/07  Black Panther #31 - 33,673  (-30.5%)
11/07  Black Panther #32 - 28,426  (-15.6%)
12/07  Black Panther #33 - 25,906  ( -8.9%)
01/08  ---
02/08  Black Panther #34 - 23,395  ( -9.7%)
03/08  Black Panther #35 - 21,332  ( -8.9%)
04/08  ---
05/08  Black Panther #36 - 20,841  ( -2.3%)
06/08  Black Panther #37 - 19,989  ( -4.1%)
07/08  Black Panther #38 - 19,459  ( -2.7%)
07/08  Black Panther #39 - 37,546  (+92.9%)
08/08  Black Panther #40 - 33,583  (-10.6%)
09/08  Black Panther #41 - 33,620  ( +0.1%)
                           6 mnth  (+57.6%)
                           1 year  (  --- )
                           2 year  (+26.5%)
                           3 year  (-17.0%)

Another SECRET INVASION tie-in arc. This is the final issue, with a relaunch scheduled for 2009. Issue #39 adds another 3,648 in sales thanks to a second printing.

68. MARVEL 1985
05/08  Marvel 1985 #1 of 6 - 61,126
06/08  Marvel 1985 #2 of 6 - 40,134  (-34.3%)
07/08  Marvel 1985 #3 of 6 - 38,677  ( -3.6%)
08/08  Marvel 1985 #4 of 6 - 36,339  ( -6.0%)
09/08  Marvel 1985 #5 of 6 - 33,586  ( -7.6%)

Not holding up brilliantly, but the overall numbers are still perfectly good for an out-of-continuity miniseries.

69. CAPTAIN BRITAIN & MI-13
05/08  Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #1 - 43,281
06/08  Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #2 - 37,986  (-12.2%)
07/08  Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #3 - 39,100  ( +2.9%)
08/08  Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #4 - 36,826  ( -5.8%)
09/08  Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #5 - 32,999  (-10.4%)

This is the first issue after the opening SECRET INVASION tie-in, and again, there’s a monkey variant to cushion the blow. It could have been worse, but we’ll have to wait and see how the numbers look in October.

70. SHE-HULK
09/04  She-Hulk #7  - 25,303
09/05  ---
09/06  She-Hulk #12 - 26,448
=====
09/07  She-Hulk #21 - 27,221  ( +6.4%)
10/07  She-Hulk #22 - 35,568  (+30.7%)
11/07  She-Hulk #23 - 24,956  (-29.8%)
12/07  She-Hulk #24 - 23,585  ( -5.5%)
01/08  She-Hulk #25 - 23,283  ( -1.3%)
02/08  She-Hulk #26 - 22,181  ( -4.7%)
03/08  She-Hulk #27 - 21,421  ( -3.4%)
04/08  She-Hulk #28 - 20,843  ( -2.7%)
05/08  She-Hulk #29 - 20,678  ( -0.8%)
06/08  She-Hulk #30 - 21,016  ( +1.6%)
07/08  She-Hulk #31 - 39,079  (+85.9%)
08/08  She-Hulk #32 - 38,069  ( -2.6%)
09/08  She-Hulk #33 - 32,862  (-13.7%)
                      6 mnth  (+53.4%)
                      1 year  (+20.7%)
                      2 year  (+24.3%)
                      3 year  (  --- )
                      4 year  (+29.9%)

Another SECRET INVASION tie-in. Issue #31 picks up reorders of 3,026.

76. WOLVERINE ANNUAL
09/08  Wolverine Annual #2 - 30,451

80. CABLE KING-SIZE SPECTACULAR
09/08  Cable King-Size Spectacular - 29,474

Special editions filling in for the absent WOLVERINE and CABLE, both of which usually sell a lot better than this.

84. RUNAWAYS
09/03  Runaways #6  - 20,035
09/04  Runaways #18 - 18,614
09/05  Runaways #8  - 26,954
09/06  Runaways #20 - 23,561
=====
09/07  ---
10/07  Runaways #28 - 47,760  (+15.8%)
11/07  ---
12/07  ---
01/08  ---
02/08  Runaways #29 - 33,210  (-30.5%)
03/08  ---
04/08  ---
05/08  ---
06/08  Runaways #30 - 31,353  ( -5.6%)
07/08  ---
08/08  Runaways #1  - 33,252  ( +6.1%)
09/08  Runaways #2  - 27,958  (-15.9%)
                      6 mnth  (  --- )
                      1 year  (  --- )
                      2 year  (+18.7%)
                      3 year  ( +3.7%)
                      4 year  (+50.2%)
                      5 year  (+39.5%)

The book seems to be dropping back to its pre-Whedon range.

87. PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL
09/07  War Journal #11 - 47,220  ( -8.0%)
10/07  War Journal #12 - 66,548  (+40.9%)
11/07  War Journal #13 - 41,783  (-37.2%)
12/07  War Journal #14 - 38,471  ( -7.9%)
01/08  War Journal #15 - 35,815  ( -6.9%)
02/08  War Journal #16 - 32,508  ( -9.2%)
03/08  War Journal #17 - 31,227  ( -3.9%)
04/08  War Journal #18 - 29,565  ( -5.3%)
05/08  War Journal #19 - 29,906  ( +1.2%)
06/08  War Journal #20 - 27,288  ( -8.8%)
07/08  War Journal #21 - 26,299  ( -3.6%)
08/08  War Journal #22 - 25,555  ( -2.8%)
09/08  War Journal #23 - 27,384  ( +7.2%)
                         6 mnth  (-12.3%)
                         1 year  (-42.0%)

Monkey variant. The book is being relaunched in January.

88. SUB-MARINER: THE DEPTHS
09/08  Depths #1 of 5 - 27,275

About standard for an underpromoted miniseries.

89. SQUADRON SUPREME
07/08  Squadron Supreme #1 - 35,583
08/08  Squadron Supreme #2 - 28,052  (-21.2%)
09/08  Squadron Supreme #3 - 27,131  ( -3.3%)

Monkey variant, which implies that the underlying drop was really quite nasty for a third issue.

91. PUNISHER  [Max]
09/03  Punisher #32 - 37,240
09/04  Punisher #11 - 44,038
09/05  Punisher #25 - 37,149
09/06  Punisher #38 - 33,389
=====
09/07  ---
10/07  Punisher #51 - 33,771  ( -7.4%)
11/07  Punisher #52 - 32,909  ( -2.6%)
12/07  Punisher #53 - 31,772  ( -3.5%)
01/08  Punisher #54 - 31,654  ( -0.4%)
02/08  ---
03/08  Punisher #55 - 31,276  ( -1.2%)
04/08  Punisher #56 - 30,796  ( -1.5%)
05/08  Punisher #57 - 30,528  ( -0.9%)
06/08  Punisher #58 - 29,802  ( -2.4%)
07/08  Punisher #59 - 30,064  ( +0.9%)
08/08  Punisher #60 - 30,683  ( +2.1%)
08/08  Punisher #61 - 28,373  ( -7.5%)
09/08  Punisher #62 - 26,906  ( -5.2%)
                      6 mnth  (-14.0%)
                      1 year  (  --- )
                      2 year  (-19.4%)
                      3 year  (-27.6%)
                      4 year  (-39.0%)
                      5 year  (-27.7%)

Sales are down with the new creative team, but that was only to be expected. The question is when it levels out.

92. WOLVERINE: SAUDADE
09/08  Saudade - 26,701

Another Wolverine one-shot, this time reprinting a French story. This is in the typical sales range for a random Wolverine project.

94. MOON KNIGHT
09/06  Moon Knight #5  - 64,736
=====
09/07  Moon Knight #12 - 47,521  (-18.5%)
10/07  Moon Knight #13 - 44,082  ( -7.2%)
11/07  ---
12/07  ---
01/08  Moon Knight #14 - 34,569  (-21.6%)
02/08  Moon Knight #15 - 31,553  ( -8.7%)
03/08  Moon Knight #16 - 29,546  ( -6.4%)
04/08  Moon Knight #17 - 27,808  ( -5.9%)
05/08  Moon Knight #18 - 26,626  ( -4.3%)
06/08  Moon Knight #19 - 25,820  ( -3.0%)
07/08  Moon Knight #20 - 28,773  (+11.4%)
08/08  Moon Knight #21 - 30,900  ( +7.4%)
09/08  Moon Knight #22 - 26,380  (-14.6%)
                         6 mnth  (-10.7%)
                         1 year  (-44.5%)
                         2 year  (-59.2%)

Back to normal after two variant covers. MOON KNIGHT actually seems to be fairly stable over the last three or four months.

95. MS MARVEL ANNUAL
09/08  Ms Marvel Annual #1 - 25,268

About 7K below the regular title – not bad for an annual.

104. X-MEN ORIGINS
05/08  Colossus  - 26,759
06/08  ---
07/08  ---
08/08  Jean Grey - 28,611  ( +6.9%)
09/08  Beast     - 23,429  (-18.1%)

Another one-shot retelling an X-Man’s origin story. The Beast isn’t an obvious candidate, since his origin story is terribly corny, and it looks like retailers are ordering this for the hardcore X-Men fans.

105. GHOST RIDER
09/06  Ghost Rider #3  - 54,029
=====
09/07  Ghost Rider #15 - 38,220  ( -7.1%)
10/07  Ghost Rider #16 - 34,335  (-10.2%)
11/07  Ghost Rider #17 - 31,581  ( -8.0%)
12/07  Ghost Rider #18 - 30,540  ( -3.3%)
01/08  Ghost Rider #19 - 28,566  ( -6.5%)
02/08  Ghost Rider #20 - 27,958  ( -2.1%)
03/08  Ghost Rider #21 - 26,526  ( -5.1%)
04/08  Ghost Rider #22 - 25,866  ( -2.5%)
05/08  Ghost Rider #23 - 25,099  ( -3.0%)
06/08  Ghost Rider #24 - 24,494  ( -2.4%)
07/08  Ghost Rider #25 - 24,546  ( +0.2%)
08/08  Ghost Rider #26 - 27,026  (+10.1%)
09/08  Ghost Rider #27 - 23,402  (-13.4%)
                         6 mnth  (-11.8%)
                         1 year  (-38.8%)
                         2 year  (-56.7%)

Back to normal after last month’s monkey variant. If you ignore that blip, though, the numbers seem to be slowly levelling out.

106. ETERNALS
06/08  Eternals #1 - 41,680
07/08  Eternals #2 - 30,395  (-27.1%)
08/08  Eternals #3 - 25,555  (-15.9%)
09/08  Eternals #4 - 23,176  ( -9.3%)

Four issues in, these drops are starting to look worrying.

107. IMMORTAL IRON FIST: ORSON RANDALL
09/08  Orson Randall - 23,135

Once again, this is a one-shot appearing in place of the regular title. IRON FIST sold around 27K (and falling) in August, so this is very close to the sales of the regular title.

108. NEW EXILES
09/03  Exiles #34     - 40,934
09/04  Exiles #52     - 36,245
09/05  Exiles #69     - 43,794
09/06  Exiles #86     - 33,080
=====
09/07  Exiles #98     - 28,308  ( -2.7%)
10/07  Exiles #99     - 27,776  ( -1.9%)
11/07  ---
12/07  Exiles #100    - 33,416  (+20.3%)
01/08  New Exiles #1  - 47,618  (+42.5%)
02/08  New Exiles #2  - 34,454  (-27.6%)
03/08  New Exiles #3  - 30,480  (-11.5%)
04/08  New Exiles #4  - 29,231  ( -4.1%)
04/08  New Exiles #5  - 28,505  ( -2.5%)
05/08  New Exiles #6  - 27,533  ( -3.4%)
06/08  New Exiles #7  - 25,742  ( -6.5%)
07/08  New Exiles #8  - 24,436  ( -5.1%)
08/08  New Exiles #9  - 22,986  ( -5.9%)
08/08  New Exiles #10 - 23,048  ( +0.3%)
09/08  New Exiles #11 - 22,630  ( -1.8%)
                        6 mnth  (-25.8%)
                        1 year  (-20.1%)
                        2 year  (-31.6%)
                        3 year  (-48.3%)
                        4 year  (-37.6%)
                        5 year  (-44.7%)

Fairly steady over the last couple of months. There was no apparent reason for the small increase in August, so the book seems to be just floating around the 22-23K mark.

110. AGE OF THE SENTRY
09/08  Age of the Sentry #1 of 6 - 21,981

A miniseries of quasi-Silver Age Sentry stories. It’s a bit of a niche product, so the numbers were never going to be great. Mind you, with the Avengers connection and with a variant cover in play, I might have expected it to be a little higher.

113. IRON MAN: GOLDEN AVENGER
09/08  Golden Avenger - 20,922

A random Iron Man story shoved out for no readily apparent reason.

115. NYX: NO WAY HOME
08/08  No Way Home #1 of 6 - 29,927
09/08  No Way Home #2 of 6 - 20,471  (-31.6%)

That’s alarmingly steep. Interest in these characters may have evaporated in the years since the last series.

116. NEW WARRIORS
09/07  New Warriors #4  - 39,998  ( -6.2%)
10/07  New Warriors #5  - 36,937  ( -7.7%)
11/07  ---
12/07  New Warriors #6  - 32,982  (-10.7%)
12/07  New Warriors #7  - 30,177  ( -8.5%)
01/08  New Warriors #8  - 28,926  ( -4.1%)
02/08  New Warriors #9  - 25,694  (-11.2%)
03/08  New Warriors #10 - 23,887  ( -7.0%)
04/08  New Warriors #11 - 22,636  ( -5.2%)
05/08  New Warriors #12 - 21,808  ( -3.7%)
06/08  New Warriors #13 - 20,992  ( -3.7%)
07/08  New Warriors #14 - 33,209  (+58.2%)
08/08  New Warriors #15 - 30,683  ( -7.6%)
09/08  New Warriors #16 - 20,335  (-33.7%)
                          6 mnth  (-14.9%)
                          1 year  (-49.2%)

Cancelled with issue #20.

124. TWELVE #1/2
09/08  Twelve #1/2 - 18,074

This is a reprint book, with Golden Age stories featuring some of the characters from the TWELVE miniseries. 18K for a bunch of 1940s reprints is really very good.

125. POWERS  [Icon]
09/03  ---
09/04  Powers #4  - 33,046
09/05  ---
09/06  ---
=====
09/07  ---
10/07  Powers #26 - 20,541  ( -3.8%)
11/07  Powers #27 - 19,843  ( -3.4%)
12/07  ---
01/08  ---
02/08  ---
03/08  Powers #28 - 19,256  ( -3.0%)
04/08  ---
05/08  ---
06/08  ---
07/08  Powers #29 - 18,908  ( -1.8%)
08/08  ---
09/08  Powers #30 - 17,985  ( -4.9%)
                    6 mnth  ( -6.6%)
                    1 year  (  --- )
                    2 year  (  --- )
                    3 year  (  --- )
                    4 year  (-45.6%)
                    5 year  (  --- )

Still drifting down.

128. X-MEN: RETURN OF MAGIK
09/08  Return of Magik - 17,281

Another reprint, this time with various recent Magik stories. Again, quite a good number for this type of product.

129. GENEXT
05/08  GeNext #1 of 5 - 33,685
06/08  GeNext #2 of 5 - 25,345  (-24.8%)
07/08  GeNext #3 of 5 - 21,782  (-14.1%)
08/08  GeNext #4 of 5 - 18,915  (-13.2%)
09/08  GeNext #5 of 5 - 16,865  (-10.8%)

Shedding readers consistently from month to month. But Marvel have commissioned a sequel, so they must see more potential in this.

132. WOLVERINE: FIRST CLASS
03/08  Wolverine: First Class #1 - 35,695
04/08  Wolverine: First Class #2 - 25,610 (-28.3%)
05/08  Wolverine: First Class #3 - 22,430 (-12.4%)
06/08  Wolverine: First Class #4 - 20,199 ( -9.9%)
07/08  Wolverine: First Class #5 - 18,788 ( -7.0%)
08/08  Wolverine: First Class #6 - 19,443 ( +3.5%)
09/08  Wolverine: First Class #7 - 16,168 (-16.8%)
                                   6 mnth (-54.7%)

Back to normal after last month’s monkey variant. The book seems to be levelling out somewhat.

134. CRIMINAL  [Icon]
09/07  Criminal #9  - 14,768  ( -2.6%)
10/07  ---
11/07  Criminal #10 - 14,539  ( -1.6%)
12/07  ---
01/08  ---
02/08  Criminal #1  - 18,655  (+28.3%)
03/08  ---
04/08  Criminal #2  - 15,885  (-14.8%)
05/08  ---
06/08  Criminal #3  - 15,840  ( -0.3%)
07/08  ---
08/08  Criminal #4  - 15,621  ( -1.4%)
09/08  Criminal #5  - 15,615  ( -0.0%)
                      6 mnth  (  --- )
                      1 year  ( +5.7%)

Rock solid. The relaunch hasn’t made much difference, but the CRIMINAL audience is remarkably loyal.

138. AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL
09/03  Spider-Girl #64         - 22,442
09/04  Spider-Girl #78         - 22,076
09/05  Spider-Girl #90         - 18,344
09/06  ---
=====
09/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #12 - 18,676  ( -0.3%)
10/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #13 - 26,558  (+42.2%)
11/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #14 - 17,410  (-34.4%)
12/07  Amazing Spider-Girl #15 - 17,164  ( -1.4%)
01/08  Amazing Spider-Girl #16 - 16,422  ( -4.3%)
02/08  Amazing Spider-Girl #17 - 16,193  ( -1.4%)
03/08  Amazing Spider-Girl #18 - 15,910  ( -1.7%)
04/08  Amazing Spider-Girl #19 - 15,970  ( +0.4%)
05/08  Amazing Spider-Girl #20 - 15,646  ( -2.0%)
06/08  Amazing Spider-Girl #21 - 15,659  ( +0.0%)
07/08  Amazing Spider-Girl #22 - 15,373  ( -1.8%)
08/08  Amazing Spider-Girl #23 - 15,155  ( -1.4%)
09/08  Amazing Spider-Girl #24 - 14,966  ( -1.2%)
                                 6 mnth  ( -5.9%)
                                 1 year  (-19.9%)
                                 2 year  (  --- )
                                 3 year  (-18.4%)
                                 4 year  (-32.2%)
                                 5 year  (-33.3%)

Cancelled with issue #30. SPIDER-GIRL has escaped from the jaws of cancellation several times before, but it sounds like this is probably the end – after what will be a very respectable 130 issues, counting the previous volume.

155. BIG HERO 6
09/08  Big Hero 6 #1 of 5 - 13,026

There’s a variant cover on this, but the sales are pretty uninspiring – not unexpectedly, given the obscurity of the characters. The Japanese team had a miniseries a decade ago, and have barely been seen since.

157. X-MEN: FIRST CLASS
09/07  First Class #4  - 19,088  ( -6.9%)
10/07  First Class #5  - 18,134  ( -5.0%)
11/07  First Class #6  - 17,050  ( -6.0%)
12/07  First Class #7  - 16,195  ( -5.0%)
01/08  First Class #8  - 15,986  ( -1.3%)
02/08  First Class #9  - 15,320  ( -4.2%)
03/08  First Class #10 - 14,907  ( -2.7%)
04/08  First Class #11 - 14,896  ( -0.0%)
05/08  First Class #12 - 14,566  ( -2.2%)
06/08  First Class #13 - 14,157  ( -2.8%)
07/08  First Class #14 - 13,870  ( -2.0%)
08/08  First Class #15 - 13,249  ( -4.5%)
09/08  First Class #16 - 12,842  ( -3.1%)
                         6 mnth  (-13.9%)
                         1 year  (-32.7%)

Cancelled, kind of. There’s a Hallowe’en special and another miniseries to follow, but this is the end of the ongoing title.

158. SAMURAI LEGEND  [Soleil]
09/08  Samurai Legend #1 of 4 - 12,425

Another Soleil reprint. The audience is modest, but at six dollars an issue, it’s probably doing fine.

165. PATSY WALKER, HELLCAT
07/08  Hellcat #1 of 5 - 19,679
08/08  Hellcat #2 of 5 - 12,814  (-34.9%)
09/08  Hellcat #3 of 5 - 12,213  ( -4.7%)

This has a Marvel Apes variant cover, implying that the drop would otherwise have been a lot bigger.

167. SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE
08/08  SMLMJ Season 2 #1 of 5 - 14,409
09/08  SMLMJ Season 2 #2 of 5 - 11,639  (-19.2%)

Yet another Marvel Apes variant.

170. FANTASTIC FOUR: TRUE STORY
07/08  True Story #1 of 4 - 19,929
08/08  True Story #2 of 4 - 12,824  (-35.7%)
09/08  True Story #3 of 4 - 11,195  (-12.7%)

172. TRUE BELIEVERS
07/08  True Believers #1 of 5 - 17,155
08/08  True Believers #2 of 5 - 12,845  (-25.1%)
09/08  True Believers #3 of 5 - 10,806  (-15.9%)

176. ANGEL: REVELATIONS
05/08  Revelations #1 of 5 - 22,328
06/08  Revelations #2 of 5 - 15,351  (-31.2%)
07/08  Revelations #3 of 5 - 14,842  ( -3.3%)
08/08  Revelations #4 of 5 - 11,498  (-22.5%)
09/08  Revelations #5 of 5 - 10,642  ( -7.4%)

A bunch of straggling Marvel Universe miniseries. It’s a little surprising to see the Fantastic Four and the X-Men down in the company of TRUE BELIEVERS, which at least has the excuse of getting little promotion and featuring no established characters.

178. DEAD OF NIGHT: DEVIL-SLAYER  [Max]
09/08  Devil-Slayer #1 of 4 - 10,212

The Max imprint is something of a puzzle; Marvel is clearly committed to it, but the books aren’t selling in big numbers in the direct market. So either they’re selling somewhere else, or Marvel is prepared to give the line a long time to find an audience.

180.  UNIVERSAL WAR ONE  [Soleil]
07/08  Universal War One #1 of 3 - 15,032
08/08  Universal War One #2 of 3 - 10,628 (-29.3%)
09/08  Universal War One #3 of 3 -  9,932 ( -6.5%)

Another French reprint. Again, bear in mind the six dollar price tag.

200. FOOLKILLER  [Max]
10/07  Foolkiller #1 of 5   - 19,706
11/07  Foolkiller #2 of 5   - 13,779  (-30.1%)
12/07  Foolkiller #3 of 5   - 12,892  ( -6.4%)
01/08  ---
02/08  ---
03/08  Foolkiller #4 of 5   - 11,353  (-11.9%)
04/08  ---
05/08  Foolkiller #5 of 5   -  9,697  (-14.6%)
06/08  ---
07/08  White Angels #1 of 5 - 10,165  ( +4.8%)
08/08  White Angels #2 of 5 -  8,608  (-15.3%)
09/08  White Angels #3 of 5 -  7,958  ( -7.6%)
                              6 mnth  (-29.9%)

Not doing brilliantly in this format, but as I say, Marvel evidently feel the Max imprint has potential somewhere.

226. MARVEL SPOTLIGHT
09/06  Lee/Kirby            -  6,313
=====
09/07  Thor                 - 11,300  (+15.5%)
10/07  Marvel Zombies       - 16,697  (+47.8%)
11/07  ---
12/07  One More Day         - 12,807  (-23.3%)
12/07  Messiah Complex      - 13,462  ( +5.1%)
01/08  Ultimates 3          -  9,354  (-30.5%)
02/08  ---
03/08  L Hamilton/G Martin
  -  4,656  (-50.2%)
04/08  Iron Man Movie       -  8,124  (+74.5%)
05/08  Hulk Movie           -  7,680  ( -5.5%)
06/08  Secret Invasion      - 14,206  (+85.0%)
07/08  Uncanny X-Men #500   -  8,763  (-38.3%)
08/08  Brand New Day        -  6,257  (-28.6%)
09/08  Marvel Knights       -  5,936  ( -5.1%)
                              6 mnth  (+27.5%)
                              1 year  (-47.5%)
                              2 year  ( -6.0%)

As usual, MARVEL SPOTLIGHT wavers according to the popularity of that month’s theme.

232. POWER PACK  [All ages]
09/07  Fantastic Four #3 of 4 - 5,400  ( -6.1%)
10/07  Fantastic Four #4 of 4 - 5,152  ( -4.6%)
11/07  Iron Man #1 of 4       - 5,527  ( +7.3%)
12/07  Iron Man #2 of 4       - 4,855  (-12.2%)
01/08  Iron Man #3 of 4       - 4,445  ( -8.4%)
02/08  Iron Man #4 of 4       - 4,256  ( -4.3%)
03/08  Day One #1 of 4        - 8,298  (+95.0%)
04/08  Day One #2 of 4        - 4,830  (-41.8%)
05/08  Day One #3 of 4        - 4,696  ( -2.8%)
06/08  Day One #4 of 4        - 4,491  ( -4.4%)
07/08  Skrulls #1 of 4        - 7,141  (+59.0%)
08/08  Skrulls #2 of 4        - 6,246  (-12.5%)
09/08  
Skrulls #3 of 4        - 5,663  ( -9.3%)
                               6 mnth  (-31.8%)
                               1 year  ( +4.9%)

The thematic SECRET INVASION tie-in is still doing slightly better than normal for a Power Pack mini.

From here on, it’s mainly Marvel Adventures books and Marvel Illustrated titles, and the direct market sales aren’t particularly crucial for them.

237. MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN  [All ages]
09/05  M.A. Spider-Man #7  - 7,199
09/06  M.A. Spider-Man #19 - 6,057
=====
09/07  M.A. Spider-Man #31 - 6,723  ( +2.3%)
10/07  M.A. Spider-Man #32 - 6,355  ( -5.5%)
11/07  M.A. Spider-Man #33 - 6,126  ( -3.6%)
12/07  M.A. Spider-Man #34 - 6,115  ( -0.2%)
01/08  M.A. Spider-Man #35 - 6,065  ( -0.8%)
02/08  M.A. Spider-Man #36 - 5,893  ( -2.8%)
03/08  M.A. Spider-Man #37 - 5,877  ( -0.3%)
04/08  M.A. Spider-Man #38 - 5,833  ( -0.7%)
05/08  M.A. Spider-Man #39 - 5,816  ( -0.3%)
06/08  M.A. Spider-Man #40 - 5,954  ( +2.4%)
07/08  M.A. Spider-Man #41 - 5,859  ( -1.6%)
08/08  M.A. Spider-Man #42 - 5,718  ( -2.4%)
09/08  M.A. Spider-Man #43 - 5,505  ( -3.7%)
                            6 mnth  ( -6.3%)
                            1 year  (-18.1%)
                            2 year  ( -9.1%)
                            3 year  (-23.5%)

245. MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS  [All ages]
09/06  M.A. Avengers #5  - 7,994
=====
09/07  M.A. Avengers #16 - 6,870  ( -1.2%)
10/07  M.A. Avengers #17 - 6,423  ( -6.5%)
11/07  M.A. Avengers #18 - 6,141  ( -4.4%)
12/07  M.A. Avengers #19 - 6,115  ( -0.4%)
01/08  M.A. Avengers #20 - 5,670  ( -7.3%)
02/08  M.A. Avengers #21 - 5,607  ( -1.1%)
03/08  M.A. Avengers #22 - 5,575  ( -0.6%)
04/08  M.A. Avengers #23 - 5,556  ( -0.3%)
05/08  M.A. Avengers #24 - 5,358  ( -3.6%)
06/08  M.A. Avengers #25 - 5,327  ( -0.6%)
07/08  M.A. Avengers #26 - 5,418  ( +1.7%)
08/08  M.A. Avengers #27 - 5,200  ( -4.0%)
09/08  M.A. Avengers #28 - 4,966  ( -4.5%)
                          6 mnth  (-10.9%)
                          1 year  (-27.7%)
                          2 year  (-37.9%)

247. MARVEL ADVENTURES SUPER HEROES
07/08  M.A. Super Heroes #1 - 11,968
08/08  M.A. Super Heroes #2 -  5,956  (-50.2%)
09/08  M.A. Super Heroes #3 -  4,857  (-18.5%)

250. ODYSSEY [Marvel Illustrated]
09/08  Odyssey #1 of 8 - 4,536

255. MARVEL ADVENTURES HULK [All ages]
09/07  M.A. Hulk #3  -  5,790  (-18.9%)
10/07  M.A. Hulk #4  -  5,588  ( -3.5%)
11/07  M.A. Hulk #5  -  4,990  (-10.7%)
12/07  M.A. Hulk #6  -  4,862  ( -2.6%)
01/08  M.A. Hulk #7  -  4,653  ( -4.3%)
02/08  M.A. Hulk #8  -  4,533  ( -2.6%)
03/08  M.A. Hulk #9  -  4,394  ( -3.1%)
04/08  M.A. Hulk #10 -  4,645  ( +5.7%)
05/08  M.A. Hulk #11 -  4,686  ( +0.9%)
06/08  M.A. Hulk #12 -  4,716  ( +0.6%)
07/08  M.A. Hulk #13 -  5,037  ( +6.8%)
08/08  M.A. Hulk #14 -  4,537  (-10.0%)
09/08  M.A. Hulk #15 -  4,344  ( -4.3%)
                       6 mnth  ( -1.1%)
                       1 year  (-25.0%)

260. PUNISHER KILLS THE MARVEL UNIVERSE
09/08  Punisher Kills... - 4,228

This is a reprint of a Garth Ennis one-shot from 1995, which isn’t especially good, but has a certain novelty value in view of his later work on the character.

Number 270 is something called GIANT-SIZE SPIDER-MAN CLASSICS: POWER AND RESPONSIBILITY, selling 3,805 copies. It’s a digest reprint of some random old Spider-Man stories.

273. MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR  [All ages]
09/05  M.A. Fantastic Four #4  -  6,064
09/06  M.A. Fantastic Four #16 -  4,687
=====
09/07  M.A. Fantastic Four #28 -  5,194  (+11.9%)
10/07  M.A. Fantastic Four #29 -  4,851  ( -6.6%)
11/07  M.A. Fantastic Four #30 -  4,460  ( -8.1%)
12/07  M.A. Fantastic Four #31 -  4,392  ( -1.5%)
01/08  M.A. Fantastic Four #32 -  4,293  ( -2.3%)
02/08  M.A. Fantastic Four #33 -  4,222  ( -1.7%)
03/08  M.A. Fantastic Four #34 -  4,176  ( -1.1%)
04/08  M.A. Fantastic Four #35 -  4,154  ( -0.5%)
05/08  M.A. Fantastic Four #36 -  4,054  ( -2.4%)
06/08  M.A. Fantastic Four #37 -  3,972  ( -2.0%)
07/08  M.A. Fantastic Four #38 - <4,256  (  ??? )
08/08  M.A. Fantastic Four #39 -  3,833  (  ??? )
09/08  M.A. Fantastic Four #40 -  3,716  ( -3.1%)
                                 6 mnth  (-11.0%)
                                 1 year  (-28.5%)
                                 2 year  (-38.7%)

284. THREE MUSKETEERS [Marvel Illustrated]
06/08  Three Musketeers #1 of 6 -  6,937
07/08  Three Musketeers #2 of 6 - <4,256 (  ??? )
08/08  Three Musketeers #3 of 6 -  3,605 (  ??? )
09/08  Three Musketeers #4 of 6 -  3,306 (-8.3%)

289. HULK CHRONICLES
09/07  Civil War Chronicles #3  - 11,094  (-14.4%)
10/07  Civil War Chronicles #4  -  9,108  (-17.9%)
11/07  Civil War Chronicles #5  -  7,500  (-17.7%)
12/07  Civil War Chronicles #6  -  6,841  ( -8.8%)
01/08  Civil War Chronicles #7  -  6,127  (-10.4%)
02/08  Civil War Chronicles #8  -  5,811  ( -5.2%)
03/08  Civil War Chronicles #9  -  5,536  ( -4.7%)
04/08  Civil War Chronicles #10 -  5,350  ( -3.4%)
05/08  Civil War Chronicles #11 -  5,052  ( -5.6%)
06/08  Civil War Chronicles #12 -  5,073  ( +0.4%)
07/08  Hulk Chronicles #1       -  5,388  ( +6.2%)
08/08  Hulk Chronicles #2       -  4,071  (-24.4%)
09/08  Hulk Chronicles #3       -  3,087  (-24.2%)
                                  6 mnth  (-44.2%)
                                  1 year  (-72.2%)


6 mnth comparisons
==================

+ 53.4% - She-Hulk
+ 31.4% - Nova
+ 27.5% - Marvel Spotlight
+ 21.9% - Iron Man: Director of SHIELD
+ 11.5% - Daredevil
+ 10.4% - Mighty Avengers
+  8.5% - Avengers: The Initiative
+  8.1% - Thunderbolts
+  0.3% - New Avengers
-  1.1% - Marvel Adventures Hulk
-  4.0% - Incredible Hercules
-  5.4% - Ultimate Spider-Man
-  5.9% - Amazing Spider-Girl
-  6.2% - Wolverine: Origins
-  6.3% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
-  6.6% - Powers
-  6.8% - Amazing Spider-Man
-  6.9% - Uncanny X-Men
-  7.1% - Captain America
- 10.7% - Moon Knight
- 10.9% - Marvel Adventures Avengers
- 11.0% - Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four
- 11.8% - Ghost Rider
- 12.3% - Punisher War Journal
- 13.6% - Fantastic Four
- 13.9% - X-Men: First Class
- 14.0% - Punisher
- 14.9% - New Warriors
- 18.9% - X-Factor
- 19.2% - X-Men: Legacy
- 21.6% - Ms Marvel
- 25.8% - New Exiles
- 26.8% - X-Force
- 29.9% - Foolkiller
- 31.8% - Power Pack
- 34.9% - Dark Tower
- 44.2% - Hulk Chronicles
- 54.7% - Wolverine: First Class


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

+ 21.7% - Hulk
+ 20.7% - She-Hulk
+  5.7% - Criminal
+  4.9% - Power Pack
+  0.1% - Nova
-  0.7% - Ms Marvel
-  5.0% - Captain America
-  5.4% - Uncanny X-Men
-  6.0% - Iron Man: Director of SHIELD
-  8.4% - New Avengers
- 16.6% - X-Factor
- 18.1% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
- 19.1% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 19.9% - Amazing Spider-Girl
- 20.1% - New Exiles
- 22.4% - X-Men: Legacy
- 25.0% - Marvel Adventures Hulk
- 25.2% - Wolverine: Origins
- 27.2% - Marvel Adventures Avengers
- 28.5% - Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four
- 31.8% - Avengers: The Initiative
- 32.7% - X-Men: First Class
- 38.8% - Ghost Rider
- 40.7% - Daredevil
- 42.0% - Punisher War Journal
- 44.5% - Moon Knight
- 47.5% - Marvel Spotlight
- 49.2% - New Warriors
- 52.5% - Amazing Spider-Man
- 72.2% - Hulk Chronicles


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

+122.3% - Hulk
+ 37.8% - Thunderbolts
+ 26.5% - Black Panther
+ 24.3% - She-Hulk
+ 21.0% - Iron Man: Director of SHIELD
+ 18.7% - Runaways
+  2.4% - X-Factor
-  6.0% - Marvel spotlight
-  7.8% - Uncanny X-Men
-  8.1% - Captain America
-  9.1% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
- 10.7% - Ultimates
- 16.5% - Daredevil
- 19.0% - X-Men: Legacy
- 19.4% - Punisher
- 31.6% - New Exiles
- 35.4% - Amazing Spider-Man
- 37.9% - Marvel Adventures Avengers
- 38.7% - Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four
- 50.6% - Ms Marvel
- 53.0% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 53.9% - Wolverine: Origins
- 56.7% - Ghost Rider
- 59.2% - Moon Knight


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

+122.3% - Hulk
+ 67.6% - Thunderbolts
+ 43.7% - Captain America
+ 17.1% - Fantastic Four
+  6.3% - Amazing Spider-Man
+  3.7% - Runaways
+  0.8% - Daredevil
-  3.5% - Uncanny X-Men
-  9.5% - Ultimates
- 13.2% - X-Men: Legacy
- 17.0% - Black Panther
- 18.4% - Amazing Spider-Girl
- 23.5% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
- 27.6% - Punisher
- 27.8% - New Avengers
- 27.9% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 48.3% - New Exiles


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

+103.5% - Captain America
+ 50.2% - Runaways
+ 33.3% - Iron Man: Director of SHIELD
+ 29.9% - She-Hulk
+ 19.0% - Fantastic Four
+ 11.0% - New Avengers
- 12.5% - Uncanny X-Men
- 13.4% - Amazing Spider-Man
- 18.1% - Daredevil
- 32.2% - Amazing Spider-Girl
- 37.1% - X-Men: Legacy
- 37.6% - New Exiles
- 39.0% - Punisher
- 42.0% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 45.6% - Powers


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

+101.1% - Hulk
+ 76.9% - Captain America
+ 44.2% - Iron Man: Director of SHIELD
+ 39.5% - Runaways
+  8.1% - Fantastic Four
- 12.0% - Uncanny X-Men
- 18.1% - Amazing Spider-Man
- 22.4% - Daredevil
- 27.7% - Punisher
- 32.9% - X-Men: Legacy
- 33.3% - Amazing Spider-Girl
- 44.7% - New Exiles
- 48.2% - Ultimate Spider-Man

1 COMMENT

  1. “113. IRON MAN: GOLDEN AVENGER
    09/08 Golden Avenger – 20,922

    A random Iron Man story shoved out for no readily apparent reason.”

    Probably part of the flood of titles to coincide with the Iron-Man movie/DVD release.

  2. So whatever happened to Newuniversal: Shockfront? I haven’t seen anything about the main series since they started doing the fill-in flashback issues with different creative teams. Have they even solicited the rest of the issues or is it MIA?

  3. Glad to see the numbers return. I’ve been rabidly waiting for this Paul. Thanks for posting, as always. My LCS guy is saying the economy is wrecking his sales, big time.

  4. Jason Baldwin
    Warren Ellis has ADD. I’m still waiting for Desolation Jones #9. At least Planetary is almost out the door.

  5. I bought the big #500 issue of Uncanny, the first time I’ve bought an issue of any monthly X-book since Morrison, and I liked it plenty. I didn’t stick with it, because I’ll take it in trades if the quality seems to hold. So there may be value to splashy issues like that down the road, even when they don’t convert more pamphlet readers.

  6. Why the cynicism regarding the Turner variants? I assume Marvel had a few they were planning on using anyway – should they not use the art because he passed away? I’d just as soon continue to see new Michael Turner art as long as possible.

  7. While Marvel is certainly not dancing on Turner’s grave, it is setting up a cash register on said grave. Marvel should not be expected to withhold from publication art for which the company has paid and for which a market exists, but it’s in poor taste to bill these covers as altruistic tributes.

  8. re: Wolverine Annual #2

    “Special editions filling in for the absent WOLVERINE and CABLE, both of which usually sell a lot better than this.”

    and re: Saudade

    “This is in the typical sales range for a random Wolverine project.”

    BUT…

    I renew my suggestion from last month about grouping the various Wolverine one-shots together to get maybe some historical perspective on their performance. The nigh-monthly frequency of the releases seriously constitutes a third (irregular) Wolverine ongoing, in practice if not in title. Last month, in reply to my idea, JD cobbled together previous Wolverine one-shot sales to get an idea of how it would look like…

    “For those who care : a synthesis of the random Wolverine one-shots for the last year or so :

    10/07 Annual #1 – Deathsong – 55,041
    12/07 Firebreak – 37,218
    05/08 Amazing Immortal – 32,280
    06/08 Dangerous Game – 31,940
    08/08 Killing Made Simple – 33,645”

    Add:

    09/08 Saudade – 26,701

    and

    09/08 Wolverine Annual #2 – 30,451

    In light of other recent Random Wolverine One Shots – RWOS ™ – the Annual is closer to the trend for other RWOS, and Saudade is actually 20% below the average of the previous RWOS.

  9. Does anyone know a good place to find sales figures or circulation numbers pre-1996? It would be much appreciated.

  10. Joseph —

    I’m sure there are many people who would like to see new Turner art, but this wasn’t something Marvel was holding in its drawer. The issue #6 variant was just a World War Hulk #1 variant that was cropped and recolored red. I’m not sure if the same was done with the #7 variant, but it probably was.

  11. Appreciated, but John’s page only seems to cover the 60s and 96-current. Anyone know of any resources for the interim period?

  12. > Continuing the “New Ways to Die” storyline, which seems to have attracted some attention. Issue #570 has a variant cover, but #571 and #572 are regular issues, and up significantly from July.

    Wait, I was under the impression that *every* issue of the arc had at least one variant, and several had more, no?

    > The SECRET INVASION tie-in storyline finished last month, so a fall was only to be expected. But this issue also had a Marvel Apes variant cover, and allowing for that, I’d say the drop was on the high side.

    It’s still 3k higher than the pre-SI issue, which doesn’t seem far off where the other monkey variants fall. [Next issue: a Zombie variant! – although the zombie element is relegated to the faint background]

    > 113. IRON MAN: GOLDEN AVENGER
    > 09/08 Golden Avenger – 20,922
    > A random Iron Man story shoved out for no readily apparent reason.

    A random *MARVEL ADVENTURES* IM story shoved out for no readily apparent reason, actually (although it doesn’t use the branding).

    > Why the cynicism regarding the Turner variants? I assume Marvel had a few they were planning on using anyway – should they not use the art because he passed away? I’d just as soon continue to see new Michael Turner art as long as possible.

    Actually, they’re all old art which has been recoloured, with the original backgrounds snipped out (one of them was a variant WWH1 cover – which had a bunch of Marvel characters fanned out behind so as to hide all their feet – which has been turned into a Red Hulk cover with an abstract background).

  13. A few quick points.

    1. The reason why the new DEADPOOL series is selling far better then CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI-13, despite both books being SI crossovers and having variant covers, is because Deadpool is a much more popular character then Captain Britain and the other MI-13 characters. After the SI crossover and the variant covers stop, sales on DEADPOOL will most likely start to SLOWLY fall back down to C&D levels.

    2. The under performance and falling sales of MOST of the Wolverine books (including X-FORCE) is proof that Wolverine’s appearance in a book or any spin off book starring him in it DOES NOT guarantee that book will sell well. Wolverine is way over exposed, so any book he appears in will not automatically get MOST fans to buy most of the books he appears in.

    3. IRON MAN: GOLDEN AVENGER is actually a one shot spin off issue of MARVEL ADVENTURES IRON MAN. Marvel either deliberately or unintentionally mislead retailers and fans into believing that this one shot issue of MARVEL ADVENTURES IRON MAN featured the regular Marvel Universe version of Iron Man by having the cover of the book look like an issue of INVINCIBLE IRON MAN.

  14. “Variant cover by Terry Dodson, who’s apparently more of a draw than last month’s monkey.”

    Regarding Daredevil #111, I think the new Lady Bullseye character could be as much of a draw as that fantastic Terry Dodson cover.

  15. I agree with Jay. I haven’t read DD since the beginning of Bru’s run (just fell by the wayside), but the ‘Lady Bullseye’ storyline intrigued me, and I hopped back aboard.

    It was a great ‘jumping on’ point for someone like me who hasn’t read the title in a few years, and I didn’t feel lost or out of my element.

    I never noticed the dodson cover, but I assume it was there.

  16. Just pointing out that Wolverine: Saudade had a $4.99 cover price, which more than the usual random Wolverine story.

  17. Don’t forget that CB and MI3 will be selling a higher proportion than your average Marvel comic in the UK. I don’t think these figures include those sales

  18. “Correct, they’re North American figures. And I’d agree that CB/MI-13 is likely to do unusually well in Britain. ”

    Who’s to say? I’m British and couldnt care less about it. I dont think it will sell particularly much more here simply because it is set in Britain.

  19. It’s a book set in Britain and written by Paul Cornell, someone who was behind some popular recent episodes of Doctor Who. I’d be surprised if that didn’t give it at least a small boost.

  20. I would be curious to find out of a group of “mainstream” DW fans could name Cornell as being behind Father’s Day and Human Nature/Family of Blood. RTD is by far the main off-screen public presence of the show, and Moffat’s only really had a lot of coverage since it was announced he was taking over from RTD.

  21. That’s true, but I don’t think anyone’s suggesting that typical Dr Who viewers (i.e., the general public) will be flooding British comic stores to demand their copy of CAPTAIN BRITAIN. It’s more a question of the Dr Who fans who already buy comics; they’re the sort of people who do pay attention to the credits, and Cornell’s TV success probably does mean something to them (at least in terms of making him a higher profile writer).

  22. Paul, Marvel has been steadily raising the price of their miniseries to $3.99 per 32-page issue. And this is for non-event and non-MAX books! (The ltest Franklin Richard’s one-shot was also $3.99.) Also, beginning in January, Punisher: Frank Castle, formerly Punisher MAX, will now be $3.99 per issue. Personally, I have been dropping and not adding books that are priced at $3.99.

    This may be difficult to track but could also look at some of these books through the price filter? I know you do this already but it seems now that books are getting to the $4 mark, are sales being affected by that, especially given the current economic climate?

    Just a thought…

  23. “Somebody Says: Wait, I was under the impression that *every* issue of the arc had at least one variant, and several had more, no?”

    Yeah true, according to Marvel’s catalogue for New Ways To Die…
    #568 – 4 covers
    #569 – 2 covers
    #570 – 3 covers
    #571 – 2 covers
    #572 – 2 covers
    #573 – 4 covers

    They really milked this story for all its worth, of course the interesting thing is the drop-off in next months charts between the end of NWTD and the following issue.

  24. Todd – It’s interesting how gradually they’ve done the price increase. They picked off non-DM (i.e. newsstand) sales first. Then miniseries with card covers or somesuch, then MAX books, gradually adding more and more minis. And there’s not really been a backlash *because* of how gradually they’ve done it.

    Paul C – thanks for the confirmation :). Hopefully, Paul O will make the correction above…

  25. Somebody – Marvel has been sneaky about the price increases but I think it finally hit critical mass because I am seeing more people complaining about it than ever before. More minis than ever before are $3.99. The current economic climate and the higher price has forced me to make some hard choices.

    And I’m sorry, but X-Men: Worlds Apart is not worth $3.99 an issue.