DC Sales, September 2005
Marc-Oliver Frisch
Comics' September output. New DC Universe launches in September included the
limited series SUPERMAN/SHAZAM: FIRST THUNDER, GREEN LANTERN CORPS: RECHARGE,
SEVEN SOLDIERS: MISTER MIRACLE and VIGILANTE. DC's WildStorm label saw the
debut of the limited series THE AUTHORITY: THE MAGNIFICENT KEVIN, WILDCATS:
NEMESIS, WRAITHBORN and ABC: A TO Z. The Vertigo imprint's main event in
September was the re-release of all nine PREACHER collections.
Compared to their previous issues, 13 of DC's titles displayed increases by more
than 1.0% in September, six of them showing sales increases of more than 10.0%.
FIRESTORM #17, an INFINITE CRISIS tie-in, showed the biggest percentage
increase, going up by 27.5%. Overall, eight out of the 13 titles which posted
increases larger than 1.0% over their previous issue were INFINITE CRISIS or
IDENTITY CRISIS tie-ins. Meanwhile, 40 DC titles were down from the sales of
their previous issues by more than 1.0%. Nine of them posted unit losses of
more than 10.0%, led by ALL STAR BATMAN #2, which displayed a second-issue
drop-off of 31.6%. 13 of DC's titles remained relatively stable in September,
deviating from the sales of their previous issues by less than 1.0%.
The September Top 300 included 79 new DC releases, which are six less than in
August 2005. The number remains consistent with those from September 2004 (79
new releases) and September 2003 (81 new releases), however. The average new DC
issue in September was $ 2.75 (DC Universe: $ 2,71; Vertigo: $ 2.90; WildStorm:
$ 3.07; Johnny DC: $ 2.25), compared to $ 2.80 (DC Universe: $ 2,71; Vertigo: $
2.90; WildStorm: $ 3.28; Johnny DC: $ 2.50) in August, $ 2.85 (DC Universe: $
2,86; Vertigo: $ 2.93; WildStorm: $ 2.95; Johnny DC: $ 2.63) in September 2004,
and $ 2.83 (DC Universe: $ 2,78; Vertigo: $ 3.14; WildStorm: $ 2.96; Johnny DC:
$ 2.49) in September 2003. The average new DC issue in September 2005 sold an
estimated 32,472 copies, down from 33,536 in August, but up on 29,295 in
September 2004 and 26,836 in September 2003.
Among the 79 recorded new DC releases in September 2005, 49 were DC Universe
titles, which is slightly down from August 2005 (51), September 2004 (53) and
September 2003 (51). The average new DC Universe issue in September 2005 sold
an estimated 44,823 copies, down from 46,527 in August, but significantly up
from 36,445 in September 2004 and 32,934 in September 2003.
11 of the 79 recorded new DC titles in September 2005 were Vertigo titles, 12
were WildStorm titles. The average new Vertigo issue in September 2005 sold an
estimated 14,287 copies, up from 13,652 in August, but down from 17,046 in
September 2004, and from 17,084 in September 2003. The average new WildStorm
issue in September 2005 sold an estimated 13,707 copies, down from 15,998 in
August, and significantly down from 16,541 in September 2004 and from 19,744 in
September 2003. In fairness, ASTRO CITY, EX MACHINA and THE AUTHORITY, three of
WildStorm's sales flagships, did not ship in September. Further, September 2003
saw the release of LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN (Vol. 2) #6, which sold
approximately 57,000 copies -- considerably more than the average WildStorm
title. Even taking this title out of the equation, however, the remaining
WildStorm titles in September 2003 still sold an average estimated 16,882
copies.
The seven new Johnny DC releases recorded in September 2005 sold an estimated
average of 6,758 copies in the North American direct market, down from 6,865 in
August 2005, from 10,663 in September 2004, and from 9,124 in September 2003.
Overall, the general trend at DC appears to be an overall increase of sales,
achieved by an increased emphasis on the publisher's mainstream superhero line
and at the expense of the Vertigo, WildStorm and Johnny DC lines.
See below for a more detailed listing of the changes.
Thanks to Milton Griepp and ICv2.com for the permission to use their figures.
An overview of ICv2.com's statistics can be found here:
http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/1850.html
-----
DISCLAIMERS
The numbers below are estimates for actual comic book sales in the North
American direct market, as calculated by www.ICv2.com according to the chart and
index information provided by Diamond Distributors.
ICv2.com's estimates are traditionally known to be somewhat lower than the
"actual" actual numbers, but they are consistent from month to month, so the
trends they show should be accurate.
If additional copies of an issue appeared on the chart after the issue's initial
month of release, you can see the total number of copies sold in parenthesis
behind those issues (e.g. "[36,599]").
Should more than one issue have shipped in a month which is relevant for one of
the long-term comparisons, the average will be used.
The Johnny DC titles, Metal Hurlant and Mad Magazine mostly sell through
channels other than the direct market, so direct market sales don't tell us much
about the performance of those titles.
-----
(1) ALL STAR BATMAN & ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER
07/2005: All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder #1 -- 261,046 --
[271,559]
08/2005: --
09/2005: All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder #2 -- 178,592 (-31.6%)
The second-issue drop-off for Frank Miller and Jim Lee's high-gloss surefire hit
ALL STAR BATMAN is squarely in the same league as other recent sales
juggernauts, such as GREEN LANTERN, HOUSE OF M or NEW AVENGERS, so it should not
come as a great surprise.
Still, it's an 80K difference between the two issues in this case, and that
cannot sit very comfortably with the publisher, especially given that the drop
would presumably have been significantly more dramatic if there hadn't been a
variant edition with a Frank Miller cover for the second issue.
Considering that the title's bi-monthly schedule provided retailers with more
time to gauge interest in the comic than usual, and that the amount of re-orders
for the first issue is comparatively small at this stage, it doesn't look like
ALL STAR BATMAN is doing as well as they might have hoped.
(5) SUPERMAN/BATMAN
09/2003: Superman/Batman #2 -- 104,474
-----------------------------------------------------
09/2004: Superman/Batman #12 -- 139,516 (- 2.9%) -- [173,643]
10/2004: --
11/2004: Superman/Batman #13 -- 157,949 (+13.2%)
11/2004: Superman/Batman #14 -- 121,831 (-22.9%) -- [127,527]
12/2004: Superman/Batman #15 -- 119,926 (- 1.6%) -- [123,273]
12/2004: Superman/Batman #16 -- 115,657 (- 3.6%) -- [120,927]
01/2005: --
02/2005: Superman/Batman #17 -- 116,637 (+ 0.9%) -- [118,126]
03/2005: --
04/2005: Superman/Batman #18 -- 115,305 (- 1.2%)
04/2005: Superman/Batman #19 -- 114,258 (- 0.9%) -- [150,464]
05/2005: --
06/2005: Superman/Batman #20 -- 114,099 (- 0.1%)
07/2005: Superman/Batman #21 -- 108,341 (- 5.1%)
08/2005: --
09/2005: Superman/Batman #22 -- 103,245 (- 4.7%)
----------------
6 months: n.a.
1 year : -26.0%
2 years : - 1.2%
Sales are back where they were two years ago.
The book doesn't seem to inspire much interest lately, although 100K is
certainly a very nice ledge to fall on, if you find yourself slipping through
the cracks.
(6) SUPERGIRL
08/2005: Supergirl #1 -- 123,370 -- [146,478]
09/2005: Supergirl #2 -- 101,681 (-17.6%)
This is a decent second-issue drop-off for a book launched with numbers upwards
of 120K. SUPERGIRL #1 sold another estimated 23,108 copies in September, which
made it No. 93 on the chart. Good sales, overall, indicating that people like
this one.
(9) & (11) JLA
09/2003: JLA #86 -- 59,496
09/2003: JLA #87 -- 58,678
----------------------------
09/2004: JLA #105 -- 60,836 (+ 0.1%)
09/2004: JLA #106 -- 59,838 (- 1.6%) -- [60,943]
10/2004: JLA #107 -- 65,225 (+ 9.0%) -- [68,082]
11/2004: JLA #108 -- 63,355 (- 2.9%) -- [65,882]
12/2004: JLA #109 -- 63,791 (+ 0.7%) -- [64,747]
01/2005: JLA #110 -- 64,094 (+ 0.5%)
02/2005: JLA #111 -- 64,540 (+ 0.7%)
03/2005: JLA #112 -- 64,790 (+ 0.4%)
04/2005: JLA #113 -- 64,002 (- 1.2%)
05/2005: JLA #114 -- 63,934 (- 0.1%)
06/2005: JLA #115 -- 95,375 (+49.2%)
07/2005: JLA #116 -- 87,644 (- 8.1%) -- [91,030]
08/2005: JLA #117 -- 87,995 (+ 0.4%) -- [89,163]
09/2005: JLA #118 -- 89,428 (+ 1.6%)
09/2005: JLA #119 -- 94,073 (+ 5.2%)
----------------
6 months: +41.6%
1 year : +52.1%
2 years : +55.3%
The two issues released in September are the concluding chapters of the arc
following up on IDENTITY CRISIS, written by Geoff Johns and Allan Heinberg.
Once again, the combination of "event" storylines and acclaimed creators has
worked very well for DC, increasing the title's sales to a level they haven't
seen in years.
(10) THE OMAC PROJECT
04/2005: The Omac Project #1 (of 6) -- 65,337 -- [125,455]
05/2005: The Omac Project #2 (of 6) -- 88,285 (+35.1%) -- [108,221]
06/2005: The Omac Project #3 (of 6) -- 94,011 (+ 6.5%) -- [103,601]
07/2005: The Omac Project #4 (of 6) -- 93,598 (- 0.4%) -- [101,963]
08/2005: The Omac Project #5 (of 6) -- 94,010 (+ 0.4%) -- [ 96,762]
09/2005: The Omac Project #6 (of 6) -- 93,374 (- 0.7%)
(14) VILLAINS UNITED
05/2005: Villains United #1 (of 6) -- 96,735 -- [116,314]
06/2005: Villains United #2 (of 6) -- 94,387 (-2.4%) -- [102,017]
07/2005: Villains United #3 (of 6) -- 88,475 (-6.3%)
08/2005: Villains United #4 (of 6) -- 84,721 (-4.2%)
09/2005: Villains United #5 (of 6) -- 82,493 (-2.6%)
(22) RANN/THANAGAR WAR
05/2005: Rann/Thanagar War #1 (of 6) -- 82,887 -- [96,213]
06/2005: Rann/Thanagar War #2 (of 6) -- 83,802 (+1.1%) -- [85,111]
07/2005: Rann/Thanagar War #3 (of 6) -- 79,026 (-5.7%)
08/2005: Rann/Thanagar War #4 (of 6) -- 75,101 (-5.0%)
09/2005: Rann/Thanagar War #5 (of 6) -- 72,569 (-3.4%)
(26) DAY OF VENGEANCE
04/2005: Day of Vengeance #1 (of 6) -- 64,856 -- [97,029]
05/2005: Day of Vengeance #2 (of 6) -- 64,468 (- 0.6%) -- [89,524]
06/2005: Day of Vengeance #3 (of 6) -- 78,445 (+21.7%)
07/2005: Day of Vengeance #4 (of 6) -- 75,505 (- 3.8%)
08/2005: Day of Vengeance #5 (of 6) -- 71,887 (- 4.8%)
09/2005: Day of Vengeance #6 (of 6) -- 70,491 (- 1.9%)
For three months now, THE OMAC PROJECT has been the only one of the four
INFINITE CRISIS "support acts" which still generates enough re-orders to make
the Top 300 more than once. Not coincidentally, it's also the most stable among
the bunch.
Which doesn't mean that the other three titles are doing badly by any stretch,
mind you. Say what you want about event-driven stories -- financially, they
clearly work.
In the short-term, at least.
(15) GREEN LANTERN CORPS: RECHARGE
09/2005: Green Lantern Corps: Recharge #1 (of 5) -- 80,718
The GREEN LANTERN spin-off co-written by Geoff Johns and Dave Gibbons is
sandwiched in the middle of the four INFINITE CRISIS warm-up series and sells
about 17K less than its mother title (which didn't ship in September, in case
you were wondering).
These are great numbers for this sort of thing, obviously, demonstrating Johns'
Midas touch when it comes to DC's mainstream properties. Where Johns goes, the
audience follows.
(27) SUPERMAN
09/2003: Superman #197 -- 33,430
----------------------------------
09/2004: Superman #209 -- 116,827 (- 9.6%) -- [118,289]
10/2004: Superman #210 -- 113,480 (- 2.9%) -- [114,272]
11/2004: Superman #211 -- 106,469 (- 6.2%) -- [110,683]
12/2004: Superman #212 -- 100,244 (- 5.9%) -- [103,545]
01/2005: --
02/2005: Superman #213 -- 101,258 (+ 1.0%)
03/2005: Superman #214 -- 100,943 (- 0.3%)
04/2005: Superman #215 -- 112,593 (+ 11.5%) -- [116,198]
05/2005: Superman #216 -- 70,205 (- 37.7%)
05/2005: Superman #217 -- 65,321 (- 7.0%)
06/2005: Superman #218 -- 61,515 (- 5.8%)
07/2005: Superman #219 -- 71,036 (+ 15.5%) -- [ 84,145]
08/2005: Superman #220 -- 61,264 (- 13.8%)
09/2005: Superman #221 -- 69,065 (+ 12.7%)
-----------------
6 months: - 31.6%
1 year : - 40.9%
2 years : +106.6%
The August issue was "event-less," which was promptly punished by retailers.
September's INFINITE CRISIS tie-in does much to rectify the situation, for now.
(29) SUPERMAN/SHAZAM: FIRST THUNDER
09/2005: Superman/Shazam: First Thunder #1 (of 4) -- 66,419
This is a self-contained series by Judd Winick and Joshua Middleton, retailing
at $ 3.50.
Given that Middleton's NYX #1 (written by Joe Quesada) sold an estimated 54,755
copies back in October 2003, these are great numbers.
(30) BATMAN
09/2003: Batman #619 -- 233,775
--------------------------------
09/2004: Batman #632 -- 71,236 (- 1.5%) -- [ 72,859]
10/2004: Batman #633 -- 69,946 (- 1.8%)
11/2004: Batman #634 -- 63,769 (- 8.8%)
12/2004: Batman #635 -- 60,898 (- 4.5%) -- [ 63,067]
01/2005: Batman #636 -- 58,630 (- 3.7%) -- [ 60,528]
02/2005: Batman #637 -- 58,034 (- 1.0%) -- [ 60,246]
03/2005: Batman #638 -- 59,797 (+ 3.0%) -- [ 82,651]
04/2005: Batman #639 -- 62,344 (+ 4.3%)
05/2005: Batman #640 -- 66,640 (+ 6.9%) -- [ 71,120]
06/2005: Batman #641 -- 67,208 (+ 0.9%) -- [ 70,748]
07/2005: Batman #642 -- 65,435 (- 2.6%)
08/2005: Batman #643 -- 66,396 (+ 1.5%)
08/2005: Batman #644 -- 65,128 (- 1.9%)
09/2005: Batman #645 -- 65,984 (+ 1.3%)
----------------
6 months: +10.4%
1 year : - 7.4%
2 years : -71.8%
Judd Winick and Doug Mahnke are back with the Red Hood storyline, which still
doesn't seem to have lost any steam.
(35) ACTION COMICS
09/2003: Action Comics #807 -- 30,858
--------------------------------------
09/2004: Action Comics #819 -- 42,385 (- 2.0%)
10/2004: Action Comics #820 -- 41,114 (- 3.0%)
11/2004: Action Comics #821 -- 38,880 (- 5.4%)
12/2004: Action Comics #822 -- 38,110 (- 2.0%)
01/2005: Action Comics #823 -- 36,638 (- 3.9%)
02/2005: Action Comics #824 -- 37,432 (+ 2.2%)
03/2005: Action Comics #825 -- 40,877 (+ 9.2%)
04/2005: Action Comics #826 -- 54,769 (+34.0%) -- [58,294]
05/2005: Action Comics #827 -- 44,009 (-19.7%)
06/2005: Action Comics #828 -- 43,000 (- 2.3%)
07/2005: Action Comics #829 -- 62,994 (+46.5%) -- [76,896]
08/2005: Action Comics #830 -- 48,469 (-23,1%)
09/2005: Action Comics #831 -- 55,288 (+14.1%)
----------------
6 months: +35.3%
1 year : +30.4%
2 years : +79.2%
An INFINITE CRISIS tie-in.
(38) JSA: CLASSIFIED
07/2005: JSA: Classified #1 -- 58,296 -- [84,490]
08/2005: JSA: Classified #2 -- 46,039 (-21.0%) -- [59,717]
09/2005: JSA: Classified #3 -- 54,932 (+19.3%)
My, do people like this one.
In addition to the hefty upwards correction in sales for issue number three,
numbers one and two sold another solid 10,604 and 13,678 estimated copies in
September.
Another big hit written by Johns.
(39) JSA
09/2003: JSA #52 -- 43,739
---------------------------
09/2004: JSA #65 -- 41,459 (+ 0.4%)
10/2004: JSA #66 -- 41,023 (- 1.1%)
11/2004: JSA #67 -- 47,725 (+16.3%)
12/2004: JSA #68 -- 45,198 (- 5.3%)
01/2005: JSA #69 -- 43,650 (- 3.4%)
02/2005: JSA #70 -- 42,864 (- 1.8%)
03/2005: JSA #71 -- 42,874 (+ 0.0%)
04/2005: JSA #72 -- 43,472 (+ 1.4%)
05/2005: JSA #73 -- 51,326 (+18.1%)
06/2005: JSA #74 -- 51,609 (+ 0.6%)
07/2005: JSA #75 -- 55,410 (+ 7.4%)
08/2005: JSA #76 -- 51,928 (- 6.3%)
09/2005: JSA #77 -- 53,216 (+ 2.5%)
----------------
6 months: +24.1%
1 year : +28.4%
2 years : +21.7%
Although the solicitation copy didn't bother to mention that fact, the cover of
JSA #77 reveals that the issue is another INFINITE CRISIS tie-in, which
presumably explains the slight increase.
Of course, it would probably have been larger if people had known about it in
advance. But it looks like DC want to teach you to read ALL their comics ALL
the time, for fear of missing something important.
(44) ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN
09/2003: Adventures of Superman #620 -- 28,100
-----------------------------------------------
09/2004: Adventures of Superman #632 -- 38,111 (- 1.9%)
10/2004: Adventures of Superman #633 -- 36,505 (- 4.2%)
11/2004: Adventures of Superman #634 -- 35,118 (- 3.8%)
12/2004: Adventures of Superman #635 -- 34,438 (- 1.9%)
01/2005: Adventures of Superman #636 -- 39,253 (+14.0%) -- [41,487]
02/2005: Adventures of Superman #637 -- 33,265 (-15.3%)
03/2005: Adventures of Superman #638 -- 34,479 (+ 3.7%)
04/2005: Adventures of Superman #639 -- 49,295 (+43.0%) -- [53,427]
05/2005: Adventures of Superman #640 -- 37,045 (-24.9%)
06/2005: Adventures of Superman #641 -- 38,020 (+ 2.6%)
07/2005: Adventures of Superman #642 -- 58,774 (+54.6%) -- [75,814]
08/2005: Adventures of Superman #643 -- 46,537 (-20.8%) -- [47,580]
09/2005: Adventures of Superman #644 -- 49,237 (+ 5.8%)
-----------------
6 months: +42.8%
1 year : +29.2%
2 years : +75.2%
This one was an epilogue to the recent JLA storyline.
(47) FLASH
09/2003: Flash #202 -- 34,599
------------------------------
09/2004: Flash #214 -- 44,124 (+ 6.7%) -- [46,894]
10/2004: Flash #215 -- 44,024 (- 0.2%) -- [51,882]
11/2004: Flash #216 -- 43,618 (- 0.9%) -- [49,350]
12/2004: --
01/2005: Flash #217 -- 49,771 (+14.1%)
01/2005: Flash #218 -- 41,668 (-16.3%) -- [43,914]
02/2005: Flash #219 -- 44,071 (+ 5.8%) -- [46,188]
03/2005: Flash #220 -- 46,851 (+ 6.3%) -- [48,659]
04/2005: Flash #221 -- 46,471 (- 0.8%) -- [47,704]
05/2005: Flash #222 -- 47,528 (+ 2.3%)
06/2005: Flash #223 -- 48,013 (+ 1.0%) -- [49,583]
07/2005: Flash #224 -- 48,062 (+ 0.1%)
08/2005: Flash #225 -- 50,242 (+ 4.5%) -- [52,386]
09/2005: Flash #226 -- 45,252 (- 9.9%)
----------------
6 months: - 3.4%
1 year : + 2.6%
2 years : +30.8%
Geoff Johns is gone, and so are 5,000 units.
The book is rumored to be in for a revamp early next year, however, so DC
probably won't mind the few thousand units lost during the fill-in issues.
(48) OUTSIDERS
09/2003: Outsiders #4 -- 46,802
----------------------------------
09/2004: Outsiders #15 -- 42,186 (+ 0.6%)
09/2004: Outsiders #16 -- 41,374 (- 1.9%)
10/2004: Outsiders #17 -- 41,814 (+ 1.1%)
11/2004: --
12/2004: Outsiders #18 -- 40,601 (- 2.8%)
01/2005: Outsiders #19 -- 39,528 (- 2.6%)
02/2005: Outsiders #20 -- 39,051 (- 1.2%)
02/2005: Outsiders #21 -- 40,032 (+ 2.5%) -- [42,077]
03/2005: Outsiders #22 -- 38,886 (- 2.9%) -- [41,716]
04/2005: --
05/2005: Outsiders #23 -- 40,617 (+ 4.5%)
05/2005: Outsiders #24 -- 51,313 (+26.3%) -- [54,734]
06/2005: Outsiders #25 -- 52,187 (+ 1.7%) -- [55,884]
07/2005: Outsiders #26 -- 43,226 (-17.2%)
08/2005: Outsiders #27 -- 44,021 (+ 1.8%)
09/2005: Outsiders #28 -- 44,222 (+ 0.5%)
----------------
6 months: +13.7%
1 year : + 5.9%
2 years : - 5.5%
The regular creative team is back, but there doesn't seem to be much of an
effect on sales.
(50) JLA: CLASSIFIED
11/2004: JLA: Classified #1 -- 88,747
12/2004: JLA: Classified #2 -- 66,147 (-25.5%) -- [68,310]
01/2005: JLA: Classified #3 -- 60,225 (- 9.0%) -- [62,158]
02/2005: JLA: Classified #4 -- 53,606 (-11.0%)
03/2005: JLA: Classified #5 -- 51,390 (- 4.1%)
04/2005: JLA: Classified #6 -- 48,086 (- 6.4%)
05/2005: JLA: Classified #7 -- 45,788 (- 4.8%)
06/2005: JLA: Classified #8 -- 43,504 (- 5.0%)
06/2005: JLA: Classified #9 -- 42,798 (- 1.6%)
07/2005: JLA: Classified #10 -- 45,039 (+ 5.2%) -- [47,814]
08/2005: JLA: Classified #11 -- 43,582 (- 3.2%) -- [46,056]
09/2005: JLA: Classified #12 -- 43,714 (+ 0.3%)
----------------
6 months: -14.9%
The Warren Ellis/Jackson Guice run turns out to be stabilizing sales. JLA:
CLASSIFIED #11 sold an additional 2,474 units in September.
(56) DETECTIVE COMICS
09/2003: Detective Comics #786 -- 37,778
-----------------------------------------
09/2004: Detective Comics #798 -- 48,782 (- 3.8%)
10/2004: Detective Comics #799 -- 48,228 (- 1.1%)
11/2004: Detective Comics #800 -- 52,399 (+ 8.7%)
12/2004: Detective Comics #801 -- 42,775 (-18.3%)
01/2005: Detective Comics #802 -- 40,842 (- 4.5%)
02/2005: Detective Comics #803 -- 40,014 (- 2.0%)
03/2005: Detective Comics #804 -- 39,388 (- 1.6%)
04/2005: Detective Comics #805 -- 39,077 (- 0.8%)
05/2005: Detective Comics #806 -- 38,838 (- 0.6%)
06/2005: Detective Comics #807 -- 38,497 (- 0.9%)
07/2005: Detective Comics #808 -- 37,952 (- 1.4%)
08/2005: Detective Comics #809 -- 49,087 (+29.3%)
08/2005: Detective Comics #810 -- 48,270 (- 1.7%)
09/2005: Detective Comics #811 -- 38,772 (-19.7%)
----------------
6 months: - 1.6%
1 year : -20.5%
2 years : + 2.6%
David Lapham is back to continue his 12-part arc after the interruption with a
crossover back in August. He seems to have inherited 1,000 readers from the
fill-in crew.
(57) SECRET FILES
09/2003: --
-----------------------------------------------------------
09/2004: JLA Secret Files 2004 -- 33,595
10/2004: --
11/2004: --
12/2004: --
01/2005: --
02/2005: --
03/2005: --
04/2005: --
05/2005: Green Lantern Secret Files 2005 -- 49,687 -- [53,195]
06/2005: Batman Villains Secret Files 2005 -- 26,762
06/2005: Batman Allies Secret Files 2005 -- 24,941
07/2005: --
08/2005: --
09/2005: Teen Titans/Outsiders Secret Files 2005 -- 38,587
Good numbers for this sort of thing.
TEEN TITANS proper -- as currently drawn by Rob Liefeld -- didn't ship in
September, by the way.
(59) SEVEN SOLDIERS: MISTER MIRACLE
09/2005: Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle #1 (of 4) -- 37,690
The previous SEVEN SOLDIERS limited series debuted with estimated sales of
39,580 (GUARDIAN), 41,308 (SHINING KNIGHT), 43,647 (ZATANNA) and 38,123 (KLARION
THE WITCH BOY), so this is at the lower end of the spectrum.
On the other hand, given that the lead character isn't all that popular and that
DC titles without obvious connections to INFINITE CRISIS are increasingly
marginalized, these are still pretty good sales, of course.
Unfortunately, the artist jumped ship and went exclusive with Marvel after the
first issue, so the drops on MISTER MIRACLE may turn out to be a little bit
harsher than on its sister books.
(64) NIGHTWING
09/2003: Nightwing #85 -- 29,292
----------------------------------
09/2004: Nightwing #97 -- 44,038 (- 1.2%) -- [44,961]
10/2004: Nightwing #98 -- 43,618 (- 1.0%)
11/2004: Nightwing #99 -- 33,708 (-22.7%)
12/2004: Nightwing #100 -- 40,022 (+18.6%)
01/2005: Nightwing #101 -- 38,098 (- 4.8%) -- [41,243]
01/2005: Nightwing #102 -- 36,093 (- 5.3%) -- [40,271]
02/2005: Nightwing #103 -- 36,921 (+ 2.3%)
02/2005: Nightwing #104 -- 36,411 (- 1.4%)
03/2005: Nightwing #105 -- 38,958 (+ 7.0%)
03/2005: Nightwing #106 -- 38,772 (- 0.5%)
04/2005: Nightwing #107 -- 38,061 (- 1.8%)
05/2005: Nightwing #108 -- 37,019 (- 2.7%)
06/2005: Nightwing #109 -- 36,601 (- 1.1%)
07/2005: Nightwing #110 -- 38,175 (+ 4.3%)
08/2005: Nightwing #111 -- 36,146 (- 5.3%)
09/2005: Nightwing #112 -- 36,238 (+ 0.3%
----------------
6 months: - 6.8%
1 year : -17.7%
2 years : +23.7%
Holding level.
(67) LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES
09/2003: Legion #24 -- 22,653
----------------------------------------------
09/2004: --
10/2004: --
11/2004: --
12/2004: Legion of Super-Heroes #1 -- 50,691 (+117.3%) -- [59,944]
01/2005: Legion of Super-Heroes #2 -- 42,261 (- 16.6%) -- [48,584]
02/2005: Legion of Super-Heroes #3 -- 39,951 (- 5.5%) -- [44,824]
03/2005: Legion of Super-Heroes #4 -- 41,756 (+ 4.5%) -- [43,408]
04/2005: Legion of Super-Heroes #5 -- 41,664 (- 0.2%)
05/2005: Legion of Super-Heroes #6 -- 40,970 (- 1.7%)
06/2005: Legion of Super-Heroes #7 -- 39,155 (- 4.4%)
07/2005: Legion of Super-Heroes #8 -- 37,272 (- 4.8%)
08/2005: Legion of Super-Heroes #9 -- 35,834 (- 3.9%)
09/2005: Legion of Super-Heroes #10 -- 34,833 (- 2.8%)
----------------
6 months: -16.6%
1 year : n.a.
2 years : +53.8%
The decline appears to be slowing down again, but a thousand units gone from one
month to the next are still a lot.
(68) GREEN ARROW
09/2003: Green Arrow #30 -- 40,443
-----------------------------------
09/2004: Green Arrow #42 -- 31,714 (- 1.7%)
10/2004: Green Arrow #43 -- 32,133 (+ 1.3%)
11/2004: Green Arrow #44 -- 32,159 (+ 0.1%)
12/2004: Green Arrow #45 -- 30,997 (- 3.6%) -- [32,082]
01/2004: Green Arrow #46 -- 32,469 (+ 4.8%)
02/2004: Green Arrow #47 -- 31,553 (- 2.8%)
03/2004: Green Arrow #48 -- 31,668 (+ 0.4%)
04/2004: Green Arrow #49 -- 31,403 (- 0.8%)
05/2004: Green Arrow #50 -- 34,886 (+11.1%)
06/2004: Green Arrow #51 -- 31,346 (-10.2%)
07/2004: Green Arrow #52 -- 35,656 (+13.8%)
08/2004: Green Arrow #53 -- 32,474 (- 8.9%)
09/2004: Green Arrow #54 -- 34,331 (+ 5.7%)
----------------
6 months: + 8.4%
1 year : + 8.3%
2 years : -15.1%
This issue started another story spinning out of IDENTITY CRISIS, hence the
increase.
(73) BIRDS OF PREY
09/2003: Birds of Prey #59 -- 29,292
-------------------------------------
09/2004: Birds of Prey #73 -- 32,070 (+ 0.7%)
09/2004: Birds of Prey #74 -- 31,835 (- 0.7%)
10/2004: Birds of Prey #75 -- 32,091 (+ 0.8%)
11/2004: Birds of Prey #76 -- 31,126 (- 3.0%)
12/2004: Birds of Prey #77 -- 30,303 (- 2.6%)
01/2005: Birds of Prey #78 -- 29,456 (- 2.8%)
02/2005: Birds of Prey #79 -- 29,510 (+ 0.2%)
03/2005: Birds of Prey #80 -- 29,964 (+ 1.5%)
04/2005: Birds of Prey #81 -- 29,832 (- 0.4%)
05/2005: Birds of Prey #82 -- 29,855 (+ 0.1%)
06/2005: Birds of Prey #83 -- 38,067 (+27.5%)
07/2005: Birds of Prey #84 -- 29,982 (-21.2%)
08/2005: Birds of Prey #85 -- 32,076 (+ 7.0%)
09/2005: Birds of Prey #86 -- 31,270 (- 2.5%)
----------------
6 months: +4.4%
1 year : -2.1%
2 years : +6.8%
That's another slight downward correction, but sales remain at the upper end of
the book's usual range.
(74) BATMAN: JOURNEY INTO KNIGHT
08/2005: Batman: Journey Into Knight #1 (of 12) -- 39,565
09/2005: Batman: Journey Into Knight #2 (of 12) -- 30,900 (-21.9%)
This looks like a rather harsh drop for this type of book.
Then again, the series started out with surprisingly high sales to begin with,
so perhaps some retailer noticed that their August order had one zero too much.
(76) BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS
09/2003: Gotham Knights #45 -- 28,661
--------------------------------------
09/2004: Gotham Knights #57 -- 44,914 (- 0.1%)
10/2004: Gotham Knights #58 -- 43,534 (- 3.1%)
11/2004: Gotham Knights #59 -- 35,252 (-19.0%)
12/2004: Gotham Knights #60 -- 35,839 (+ 1.7%)
01/2005: Gotham Knights #61 -- 33,073 (- 7.7%)
02/2005: Gotham Knights #62 -- 32,789 (- 0.9%)
03/2005: Gotham Knights #63 -- 31,967 (- 2.5%)
04/2005: Gotham Knights #64 -- 31,746 (- 0.7%)
05/2005: Gotham Knights #65 -- 31,247 (- 1.6%)
06/2005: Gotham Knights #66 -- 31,870 (+ 2.0%)
07/2005: Gotham Knights #67 -- 30,630 (- 3.9%)
08/2005: Gotham Knights #68 -- 30,223 (- 1.3%)
09/2005: Gotham Knights #69 -- 30,438 (+ 0.7%)
----------------
6 months: - 4.8%
1 year : -32.2%
2 years : + 6.2%
Holding level.
(77) SEVEN SOLDIERS: GUARDIAN
03/2005: Seven Soldiers: Guardian #1 (of 4) -- 39,580 --
[41,600]
04/2005: --
05/2005: Seven Soldiers: Guardian #2 (of 4) -- 35,586 (-10.1%)
06/2005: --
07/2005: Seven Soldiers: Guardian #3 (of 4) -- 32,920 (- 7.5%)
08/2005: --
09/2005: Seven Soldiers: Guardian #4 (of 4) -- 29,930 (- 9.1%)
----------------
6 months: -24.4%
The book finishes with a relatively hefty loss. A sign that SEVEN SOLDIERS may
be dropping off people's radar, perhaps.
(78) ROBIN
09/2003: Robin #118 -- 21,811
------------------------------
09/2004: Robin #130 -- 45,406 (- 0.5%) -- [47,113]
10/2004: Robin #131 -- 44,570 (- 1.8%)
11/2004: Robin #132 -- 35,927 (-19.4%)
12/2004: Robin #133 -- 35,406 (- 1.5%)
01/2005: Robin #134 -- 32,850 (- 7.2%)
02/2005: Robin #135 -- 32,331 (- 1.6%)
03/2005: Robin #136 -- 31,645 (- 2.1%)
04/2005: Robin #137 -- 30,798 (- 2.7%)
05/2005: Robin #138 -- 29,935 (- 2.8%)
06/2005: Robin #139 -- 29,645 (- 1.0%)
07/2005: Robin #140 -- 28,909 (- 2.5%)
08/2005: Robin #141 -- 28,564 (- 1.2%)
09/2005: Robin #142 -- 28,822 (+ 0.9%)
----------------
6 months: - 8.9%
1 year : -36.5%
2 years : +32.1%
Holding level.
(80) BATGIRL
09/2003: Batgirl #44 -- 27,796
-------------------------------
09/2004: Batgirl #56 -- 39,493 (+ 0.1%) -- [42,088]
10/2004: Batgirl #57 -- 39,631 (+ 0.4%) -- [41,136]
11/2004: Batgirl #58 -- 31,056 (-21.6%) -- [32,932]
12/2004: Batgirl #59 -- 31,028 (- 0.1%) -- [32,423]
01/2005: Batgirl #60 -- 29,227 (- 5.8%)
02/2005: Batgirl #61 -- 28,796 (- 1.5%)
03/2005: Batgirl #62 -- 28,750 (- 0.2%)
04/2005: Batgirl #63 -- 28,123 (- 2.2%)
05/2005: Batgirl #64 -- 28,049 (- 0.3%)
06/2005: Batgirl #65 -- 26,796 (- 4.5%)
07/2005: Batgirl #66 -- 26,959 (+ 0.6%)
08/2005: Batgirl #67 -- 28,159 (+ 4.5%)
09/2005: Batgirl #68 -- 27,199 (- 3.4%)
----------------
6 months: - 5.4%
1 year : -31.1%
2 years : - 2.2%
No crossovers or guest appearances were in sight for this issue, so the book
resumes its decline.
(84) Y: THE LAST MAN (Vertigo)
09/2003: --
---------------------------------------
09/2004: Y: The Last Man #26 -- 26,735 (+0.5%)
10/2004: Y: The Last Man #27 -- 26,929 (+0.7%)
11/2004: Y: The Last Man #28 -- 26,770 (-0.6%)
12/2004: Y: The Last Man #29 -- 26,765 (-0.0%)
01/2005: Y: The Last Man #30 -- 25,744 (-3.8%)
02/2005: Y: The Last Man #31 -- 25,825 (+0.3%)
03/2005: --
04/2005: Y: The Last Man #32 -- 26,914 (+4.2%)
05/2005: Y: The Last Man #33 -- 26,883 (-0.1%)
06/2005: Y: The Last Man #34 -- 26,756 (-0.5%)
07/2005: Y: The Last Man #35 -- 26,449 (-1.2%)
08/2005: Y: The Last Man #36 -- 26,558 (+0.4%)
09/2005: Y: The Last Man #37 -- 26,638 (+0.3%)
---------------
6 months: n.a.
1 year : -0.4%
2 years : n.a.
Vertigo clearly doesn't have a lot of hits or even constant sellers left in the
direct market these days, but this is one of them.
(89) BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT
09/2003: Legends of the Dark Knight #171 -- 25,294
---------------------------------------------------
09/2004: Legends of the Dark Knight #183 -- 41,174 (- 2.5%)
10/2004: Legends of the Dark Knight #184 -- 41,170 (- 0.0%)
11/2004: Legends of the Dark Knight #185 -- 28,741 (-30.2%)
12/2004: Legends of the Dark Knight #186 -- 27,812 (- 3.2%)
01/2005: Legends of the Dark Knight #187 -- 26,853 (- 3.5%)
02/2005: Legends of the Dark Knight #188 -- 26,400 (- 1.7%)
03/2005: Legends of the Dark Knight #189 -- 26,257 (- 0.5%)
04/2005: Legends of the Dark Knight #190 -- 25,935 (- 1.2%)
05/2005: Legends of the Dark Knight #191 -- 25,936 (+ 0.0%)
06/2005: Legends of the Dark Knight #192 -- 26,211 (+ 1.1%)
07/2005: Legends of the Dark Knight #193 -- 25,755 (- 1.7%)
08/2005: Legends of the Dark Knight #194 -- 25,290 (- 1.8%)
09/2005: Legends of the Dark Knight #195 -- 25,206 (- 0.3%)
----------------
6 months: - 4.0%
1 year : -38.8%
2 years : - 0.4%
Perfectly stable. The one-year comparison looks ugly for several Batman titles
because it's with the increased sales of the "War Games" crossover, by the way.
(90) FABLES (Vertigo)
09/2003: Fables #17 -- 25,856
------------------------------
09/2004: Fables #29 -- 25,025 (-0.2%)
10/2004: Fables #30 -- 25,390 (+1.5%)
11/2004: Fables #31 -- 25,061 (-1.3%)
12/2004: Fables #32 -- 24,889 (-0.7%)
01/2005: Fables #33 -- 24,367 (-2.1%)
02/2005: Fables #34 -- 24,322 (-0.2%)
03/2005: Fables #35 -- 24,469 (+0.6%)
04/2005: Fables #36 -- 24,975 (+2.1%)
05/2005: Fables #37 -- 24,477 (-2.0%)
06/2005: Fables #38 -- 24,813 (+1.4%)
07/2005: Fables #39 -- 24,617 (-0.8%)
08/2005: Fables #40 -- 24,952 (+1.4%)
09/2005: Fables #41 -- 25,001 (+0.2%)
---------------
6 months: +2.2%
1 year : -0.1%
2 years : -3.3%
The second Vertigo mainstay.
(92) VIGILANTE
09/2003: Vigilante #1 (of 6) -- 24,533
So, this is the long-awaited limited series by WildStorm creators Micah Ian
Wright and Alé Gar... oh, oops. It's by Bruce Jones and Ben Oliver now,
actually.
This is a decent start, really, especially given the very public hiccups
involved in the book's gestation. Of course, DC titles debuting in this range
have the nasty habit of entering a free-fall with the release of issue number
two.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. It's a decent start.
(95) HAWKMAN
09/2003: Hawkman #19 -- 28,988
-------------------------------
09/2004: Hawkman #32 -- 23,729 (- 1.3%)
10/2004: Hawkman #33 -- 22,704 (- 4.3%)
11/2004: Hawkman #34 -- 21,975 (- 3.2%)
12/2004: Hawkman #35 -- 21,357 (- 2.8%)
01/2005: Hawkman #36 -- 20,468 (- 4.2%)
02/2005: Hawkman #37 -- 19,929 (- 2.6%)
03/2005: Hawkman #38 -- 19,727 (- 1.0%)
04/2005: Hawkman #39 -- 19,620 (- 0.5%)
05/2005: Hawkman #40 -- 19,912 (+ 1.5%)
06/2005: Hawkman #41 -- 21,238 (+ 6.7%)
07/2005: Hawkman #42 -- 21,365 (+ 0.6%)
08/2005: Hawkman #43 -- 22,010 (+ 3.0%)
09/2005: Hawkman #44 -- 22,560 (+ 2.5%)
----------------
6 months: +14.4%
1 year : - 4.9%
2 years : -22.2%
Slowly but surely, the current storyline keeps raking in customers, apparently.
Good performance, obviously.
(96) FIRESTORM
09/2004: Firestorm #5 -- 26,429 (- 7.0%)
10/2004: Firestorm #6 -- 28,034 (+ 6.1%) -- [29,743]
11/2004: Firestorm #7 -- 22,109 (-21.1%)
12/2004: Firestorm #8 -- 21,077 (- 4.7%)
01/2005: Firestorm #9 -- 19,993 (- 5.1%)
02/2005: Firestorm #10 -- 20,149 (+ 0.8%)
03/2005: Firestorm #11 -- 19,440 (- 3.5%)
04/2005: Firestorm #12 -- 18,984 (- 2.4%)
05/2005: Firestorm #13 -- 18,899 (- 0.5%)
06/2005: Firestorm #14 -- 18,375 (- 2.8%)
07/2005: Firestorm #15 -- 17,687 (- 3.7%)
08/2005: Firestorm #16 -- 17,688 (+ 0.0%)
09/2005: Firestorm #17 -- 22,553 (+27.5%)
----------------
6 months: +16.0%
1 year : -14.7%
It's an INFINITE CRISIS tie-in, as you might have guessed.
(100) WRAITHBORN (WildStorm)
09/2005: Wraithborn #1 (of 6) -- 22,118
Because ASTRO CITY didn't ship, this is the best-selling WildStorm title for
September. Even if EX MACHINA and THE AUTHORITY would have showed up,
WRAITHBORN would likely still have outsold them.
There were two different cover editions, however. Both were by the regular
artist, and they were distributed on a 50/50 ratio, to be fair. Still, it's
likely that the gimmick is responsible for some of these units, so these numbers
need to be taken with a grain of salt.
(102) NEIL GAIMAN'S NEVERWHERE (Vertigo)
06/2005: Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere #1 (of 9) -- 30,815 -- [31,993]
07/2005: Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere #2 (of 9) -- 25,166 (-18.3%)
08/2005: Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere #3 (of 9) -- 22,727 (- 9.7%)
09/2005: Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere #4 (of 9) -- 21,636 (- 4.8%)
Leveling out, but rather slowly.
(103) BATMAN: JEKYLL & HYDE
04/2005: Batman: Jekyll & Hyde #1 (of 6) -- 30,636
05/2005: Batman: Jekyll & Hyde #2 (of 6) -- 26,336 (-14.0%)
06/2005: Batman: Jekyll & Hyde #3 (of 6) -- 24,336 (- 7.6%)
07/2005: Batman: Jekyll & Hyde #4 (of 6) -- 22,804 (- 6.3%)
08/2005: Batman: Jekyll & Hyde #5 (of 6) -- 22,143 (- 2.9%)
09/2005: Batman: Jekyll & Hyde #6 (of 6) -- 21,498 (- 2.9%)
Perfectly average limited series drops, but at a disappointingly low level,
given the creative team.
(107) CATWOMAN
09/2003: Catwoman #22 -- 23,471
09/2003: Catwoman #23 -- 22,793
-------------------------------
09/2004: Catwoman #35 -- 37,784 (+ 2.0%) -- [41,239]
10/2004: Catwoman #36 -- 37,554 (- 0.6%) -- [40,226]
11/2004: Catwoman #37 -- 26,107 (-30.5%)
12/2004: Catwoman #38 -- 25,108 (- 3.8%)
01/2005: Catwoman #39 -- 24,161 (- 3.8%)
02/2005: Catwoman #40 -- 23,103 (- 4.4%)
03/2005: Catwoman #41 -- 22,029 (- 4.7%)
04/2005: Catwoman #42 -- 21,029 (- 4.5%)
05/2005: Catwoman #43 -- 20,818 (- 1.0%)
06/2005: Catwoman #44 -- 21,574 (+ 3.6%)
07/2005: Catwoman #45 -- 20,848 (- 3.4%)
08/2005: Catwoman #46 -- 20,702 (- 0.7%) -- [21,718]
09/2005: Catwoman #47 -- 20,699 (- 0.0%)
----------------
6 months: - 6.0%
1 year : -45.2%
2 years : -10.5%
Virtually no change from last month. These days, that's a good sign.
The new creative team of Will Pfeifer and Pete Woods appear to have succeeded in
stabilizing the book's sales again.
(110) WILDCATS: NEMESIS (WildStorm)
09/2003: Wildcats Version 3.0 #14 -- 14,471
----------------------------------------------
09/2005: Wildcats: Nemesis #1 (of 9) -- 19,663
----------------
2 years : +35.9%
WILDCATS VERSION 3.0 was canceled back in August 2004 with estimated sales of
13,359. The latest stab at the WildC.A.T.s franchise does a little better than
that, obviously, but it doesn't seem like retailers have a great deal of
confidence in the project.
It would probably have been more prudent to let the franchise rest until Grant
Morrison and Jim Lee do their revamp in 2006, rather than to see it tank one
more time.
(112) BLOOD OF THE DEMON
03/2005: Blood of the Demon #1 -- 22,801
04/2005: Blood of the Demon #2 -- 18,404 (-19.3%)
05/2005: Blood of the Demon #3 -- 18,133 (- 1.5%)
06/2005: Blood of the Demon #4 -- 16,311 (-10.1%)
07/2005: Blood of the Demon #5 -- 16,581 (+ 1.7%)
08/2005: Blood of the Demon #6 -- 17,416 (+ 5.0%)
09/2005: Blood of the Demon #7 -- 19,248 (+10.5%)
----------------
6 months: -15.6%
An INFINITE CRISIS tie-in.
(116) & (120) THE AUTHORITY: THE MAGNIFICENT KEVIN (WildStorm)
09/2005: The Authority: The Magnificent Kevin #1 (of 5) -- 18,443
09/2005: The Authority: The Magnificent Kevin #2 (of 5) -- 17,453 (-5.4%)
Only Garth Ennis can do this sort of thing three times and get away with it.
These are passable numbers, at any rate, just below those of the mother title.
(118) AQUAMAN
09/2003: Aquaman #10 -- 26,370
-------------------------------
09/2004: Aquaman #22 -- 23,358 (- 0.6%)
10/2004: Aquaman #23 -- 22,369 (- 4.2%)
11/2004: Aquaman #24 -- 21,605 (- 3.4%)
12/2004: Aquaman #25 -- 21,107 (- 2.3%)
01/2005: Aquaman #26 -- 20,374 (- 3.5%)
02/2005: Aquaman #27 -- 19,459 (- 4.5%)
03/2005: Aquaman #28 -- 19,177 (- 1.5%)
04/2005: Aquaman #29 -- 19,046 (- 0.7%)
05/2005: Aquaman #30 -- 18,606 (- 2.3%)
06/2005: Aquaman #31 -- 18,402 (- 1.1%)
07/2005: Aquaman #32 -- 17,916 (- 2.6%)
08/2005: Aquaman #33 -- 17,621 (- 1.7%)
09/2005: Aquaman #34 -- 17,605 (- 0.1%)
----------------
6 months: - 8.2%
1 year : -24.6%
2 years : -33.2%
It's found its level, apparently.
(119) GOTHAM CENTRAL
09/2003: Gotham Central #11 -- 17,066
--------------------------------------
09/2004: Gotham Central #23 -- 17,773 (+ 6.4%)
10/2004: Gotham Central #24 -- 17,717 (- 0.3%)
11/2004: Gotham Central #25 -- 17,683 (- 0.2%)
12/2004: Gotham Central #26 -- 17,094 (- 3.3%)
01/2005: Gotham Central #27 -- 16,751 (- 2.0%)
02/2005: Gotham Central #28 -- 16,569 (- 1.1%)
03/2005: Gotham Central #29 -- 16,881 (+ 1.9%)
04/2005: Gotham Central #30 -- 16,465 (- 2.5%)
05/2005: Gotham Central #31 -- 16,380 (- 0.5%)
06/2005: Gotham Central #32 -- 16,694 (+ 1.9%)
07/2005: Gotham Central #33 -- 16,915 (+ 1.3%)
08/2005: Gotham Central #34 -- 19,215 (+13.6%)
09/2005: Gotham Central #35 -- 17,565 (- 8.6%)
---------------
6 months: +4.1%
1 year : -1.2%
2 years : +2.9%
The book inherits a few hundred units from the Teen Titans guest appearance in
issue #34.
(121) DESOLATION JONES (WildStorm)
05/2005: Desolation Jones #1 -- 21,831
06/2005: --
07/2005: Desolation Jones #2 -- 18,184 (-16.7%)
08/2005: --
09/2005: Desolation Jones #3 -- 17,374 (- 4.5%)
Sales are stabilizing comparatively quickly on this one. A promising
performance, if not spectacular.
(122) MANHUNTER
09/2004: Manhunter #2 -- 20,281 (-20.5%)
10/2004: Manhunter #3 -- 19,186 (- 4.9%)
11/2004: Manhunter #4 -- 15,808 (-17.6%)
12/2004: Manhunter #5 -- 15,352 (- 2.9%) -- [16,683]
01/2005: Manhunter #6 -- 14,335 (- 6.6%)
02/2005: Manhunter #7 -- 14,096 (- 1.7%)
03/2005: Manhunter #8 -- 14,232 (+ 1.0%)
04/2005: Manhunter #9 -- 13,603 (- 4.4%)
05/2005: Manhunter #10 -- 13,741 (+ 1.0%)
06/2005: Manhunter #11 -- 14,040 (+ 2.2%)
07/2005: Manhunter #12 -- 13,591 (- 3.2%)
08/2005: Manhunter #13 -- 22,110 (+62.7%)
09/2005: Manhunter #14 -- 17,162 (-22.4%)
----------------
6 months: +20.6%
1 year : -15.4%
This change is tremendously interesting, because it shows how much the mention
of a tie-in with the crossover of the month in the solicitation copy can affect
sales: While MANHUNTER #13 was solicited as an OMAC PROJECT tie-in, the
solicitation copy for issue #14 didn't deem it necessary to mention that the
tie-in story continued in that issue, including an OMAC PROJECT logo on the
cover. The result is a difference of 5,000 units.
Does this policy make sense? Who knows. But depending on what they're aiming
at, it's quite possible that it does. If they succeed in convincing a
sufficiently large number of readers that it's imperative to buy all (or even
just "more") DC Universe titles in order to not miss anything important, for
example, then a few thousand lost units here and there on a few strategically
selected titles are peanuts -- particularly if you can always satisfy the
additional demand through re-orders and reprints.
At this stage, it's hard not to get the impression that all those "surprise"
tie-ins are part of a larger strategy of teaching the audience to adjust their
buying habits to the publisher's liking.
(123) JACK CROSS
08/2005: Jack Cross #1 -- 20,895 -- [21,924]
09/2005: Jack Cross #2 -- 16,635 (-20.4%)
That's an average drop-off. So far, there doesn't seem to be a lot of
enthusiasm here.
That may change in the next couple of months, of course.
(128) TOP TEN: BEYOND THE FARTHEST PRECINCT (WildStorm)
08/2005: Top Ten: Beyond the Farthest Precinct #1 (of 5) -- 17,216
09/2005: Top Ten: Beyond the Farthest Precinct #2 (of 5) -- 15,533 (-9.8%)
This, on the other hand, looks rather more promising.
(130) HELLBLAZER (Vertigo)
09/2003: Hellblazer #188 -- 15,897
-----------------------------------
09/2004: Hellblazer #200 -- 16,342 (+10.7%) -- [17,636]
10/2004: Hellblazer #201 -- 15,262 (- 6.6%)
11/2004: Hellblazer #202 -- 15,254 (- 0.1%)
12/2004: Hellblazer #203 -- 15,304 (+ 0.3%)
01/2005: Hellblazer #204 -- 14,523 (- 5.1%)
02/2005: Hellblazer #205 -- 15,158 (+ 4.4%)
03/2005: Hellblazer #206 -- 15,464 (+ 2.0%)
04/2005: Hellblazer #207 -- 15,368 (- 0.6%)
05/2005: Hellblazer #208 -- 15,420 (+ 0.3%)
06/2005: Hellblazer #209 -- 15,149 (- 1.8%)
07/2005: Hellblazer #210 -- 14,801 (- 2.3%)
08/2005: Hellblazer #211 -- 14,727 (- 0.5%)
09/2005: Hellblazer #212 -- 14,714 (- 0.1%)
----------------
6 months: - 4.9%
1 year : -10.0%
2 years : - 7.4%
Virtually no change.
(131) 100 BULLETS (Vertigo)
09/2003: --
-----------------------------------
09/2004: 100 Bullets #53 -- 16,413 (- 1.5%)
10/2004: 100 Bullets #54 -- 16,276 (- 0.8%)
11/2004: 100 Bullets #55 -- 15,929 (- 2.1%)
12/2004: 100 Bullets #56 -- 15,590 (- 2.1%)
01/2005: 100 Bullets #57 -- 15,068 (- 3.5%)
02/2005: 100 Bullets #58 -- 14,926 (- 0.9%)
03/2005: 100 Bullets #59 -- 14,931 (+ 0.0%)
04/2005: 100 Bullets #60 -- 14,882 (- 0.3%)
05/2005: 100 Bullets #61 -- 14,927 (+ 0.3%)
06/2005: --
07/2005: 100 Bullets #62 -- 14,867 (- 0.4%)
08/2005: 100 Bullets #63 -- 14,793 (- 0.5%)
09/2005: 100 Bullets #64 -- 14,708 (- 0.6%)
----------------
6 months: - 1.5%
1 year : -10.4%
2 years : n.a.
Standard attrition.
(132) DOOM PATROL
09/2004: Doom Patrol #4 -- 26,101 (- 7.1%)
10/2004: Doom Patrol #5 -- 23,915 (- 8.3%)
11/2004: Doom Patrol #6 -- 21,841 (- 8.7%)
12/2004: Doom Patrol #7 -- 19,335 (-11.5%)
01/2004: Doom Patrol #8 -- 17,970 (- 7.1%)
02/2004: Doom Patrol #9 -- 17,544 (- 2.4%)
03/2004: Doom Patrol #10 -- 16,600 (- 5.4%)
04/2004: Doom Patrol #11 -- 16,247 (- 2.1%)
05/2004: Doom Patrol #12 -- 15,747 (- 3.1%)
06/2004: Doom Patrol #13 -- 15,290 (- 2.9%)
07/2004: Doom Patrol #14 -- 15,004 (- 1.9%)
08/2004: Doom Patrol #15 -- 14,547 (- 3.1%)
09/2004: Doom Patrol #16 -- 14,325 (- 1.5%)
----------------
6 months: -13.7%
1 year : -45.1%
Canceled with issue #18.
(139) TEEN TITANS GO (Johnny DC)
09/2004: Teen Titans Go #11 -- 15,337 (+ 5.0%)
10/2004: Teen Titans Go #12 -- 14,968 (- 2.4%)
11/2004: Teen Titans Go #13 -- 15,279 (+ 2.1%)
12/2004: Teen Titans Go #14 -- 14,963 (- 2.1%)
01/2005: Teen Titans Go #15 -- 14,294 (- 4.5%)
02/2005: Teen Titans Go #16 -- 13,980 (- 2.2%)
03/2005: Teen Titans Go #17 -- 14,046 (+ 0.5%)
04/2005: Teen Titans Go #18 -- 14,152 (+ 0.8%)
05/2005: Teen Titans Go #19 -- 14,348 (+ 1.4%)
06/2005: Teen Titans Go #20 -- 14,114 (- 1.6%)
07/2005: Teen Titans Go #21 -- 13,440 (- 4.8%)
08/2005: Teen Titans Go #22 -- 13,166 (- 2.0%)
09/2005: Teen Titans Go #23 -- 12,933 (- 1.8%)
----------------
6 months: - 7.9%
1 year : -15.7%
(144) MAJESTIC (WildStorm)
09/2004: Majestic #2 (of 4) -- 24,163 (-21.8%)
10/2004: Majestic #3 (of 4) -- 21,767 (- 9.9%)
11/2004: Majestic #4 (of 4) -- 20,221 (- 7.1%)
12/2004: --
01/2005: Majestic #1 -- 26,149 (+29.3%)
02/2005: Majestic #2 -- 19,569 (-25.2%)
03/2005: Majestic #3 -- 18,136 (- 7.3%)
04/2005: Majestic #4 -- 17,001 (- 6.3%)
05/2005: Majestic #5 -- 15,914 (- 6.4%)
06/2005: Majestic #6 -- 14,927 (- 6.2%)
07/2005: Majestic #7 -- 13,689 (- 8.3%)
08/2005: Majestic #8 -- 12,808 (- 6.4%)
09/2005: Majestic #9 -- 12,438 (- 2.9%)
----------------
6 months: -31.4%
1 year : -48.5%
Finding its level, it seems, but very slowly.
(147) OTHERWORLD (Vertigo)
03/2005: Otherworld #1 (of 12) -- 18,603 -- [21,527]
04/2005: Otherworld #2 (of 12) -- 15,143 (-18.6%) -- [16,263]
05/2005: Otherworld #3 (of 7) -- 14,021 (- 7.4%)
06/2005: Otherworld #4 (of 7) -- 14,214 (+ 1.4%)
07/2005: Otherworld #5 (of 7) -- 13,323 (- 6.3%)
08/2005: Otherworld #6 (of 7) -- 12,688 (- 4.8%)
09/2005: Otherworld #7 (of 7) -- 11,937 (- 5.9%)
----------------
6 months: -35.8%
These numbers don't reflect a great deal of interest.
(148) LUCIFER (Vertigo)
09/2003: Lucifer #42 -- 13,582
-------------------------------
09/2004: Lucifer #54 -- 13,008 (- 0.4%)
10/2004: Lucifer #55 -- 12,919 (- 0.7%)
11/2004: Lucifer #56 -- 12,677 (- 1.9%)
12/2004: Lucifer #57 -- 12,441 (- 1.9%)
01/2004: Lucifer #58 -- 12,031 (- 3.3%)
02/2004: Lucifer #59 -- 11,984 (- 0.4%)
03/2004: Lucifer #60 -- 11,941 (- 0.4%)
04/2004: Lucifer #61 -- 11,771 (- 1.4%)
05/2004: Lucifer #62 -- 13,248 (+12.6%)
06/2004: Lucifer #63 -- 11,694 (-11.7%)
07/2004: Lucifer #64 -- 11,418 (- 2.4%)
08/2004: Lucifer #65 -- 11,347 (- 0.6%)
09/2004: Lucifer #66 -- 11,725 (+ 3.3%)
----------------
6 months: - 1.8%
1 year : - 9.9%
2 years : -13.7%
No, it's not an INFINITE CRISIS tie-in that caused the increase. And no, it's
not the Boogieman's idea of a practical joke, either.
It is, most assuredly, the guest art by Michael Wm. Kaluta.
(153) SILENT DRAGON (WildStorm)
07/2005: Silent Dragon #1 (of 6) -- 15,240
08/2005: Silent Dragon #2 (of 6) -- 11,978 (-21.4%)
09/2005: Silent Dragon #3 (of 6) -- 11,217 (- 6.4%)
A standard drop.
(154) BOOKS OF MAGICK: LIFE DURING WARTIME (Vertigo)
09/2004: Books of Magick: Life During Wartime #3 -- 18,585 (-13.0%)
10/2004: Books of Magick: Life During Wartime #4 -- 16,542 (-11.0%)
11/2004: Books of Magick: Life During Wartime #5 -- 15,477 (- 6.4%)
12/2004: Books of Magick: Life During Wartime #6 -- 14,494 (- 6.4%)
01/2005: Books of Magick: Life During Wartime #7 -- 13,678 (- 5.6%)
02/2005: Books of Magick: Life During Wartime #8 -- 12,942 (- 5.4%)
03/2005: Books of Magick: Life During Wartime #9 -- 12,545 (- 3.1%)
04/2005: Books of Magick: Life During Wartime #10 -- 12,276 (- 2.1%)
05/2005: Books of Magick: Life During Wartime #11 -- 12,082 (- 1.6%)
06/2005: Books of Magick: Life During Wartime #12 -- 11,896 (- 1.5%)
07/2005: --
08/2005: Books of Magick: Life During Wartime #13 -- 11,447 (- 3.8%)
09/2005: Books of Magick: Life During Wartime #14 -- 11,052 (- 3.5%)
----------------
6 months: -11.9%
1 year : -40.5%
Canceled with issue #15.
(156) JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED (Johnny DC)
09/2003: Justice League Adventures #23 -- 13,372
-------------------------------------------------
09/2004: Justice League Unlimited #1 -- 21,941 (+86.3%)
10/2004: Justice League Unlimited #2 -- 16,598 (-24.4%)
11/2004: Justice League Unlimited #3 -- 15,451 (- 6.9%)
12/2004: Justice League Unlimited #4 -- 13,787 (-10.8%)
01/2005: Justice League Unlimited #5 -- 12,717 (- 7.8%)
02/2005: Justice League Unlimited #6 -- 12,205 (- 4.0%)
03/2005: Justice League Unlimited #7 -- 12,175 (- 0.3%)
04/2005: Justice League Unlimited #8 -- 12,145 (- 0.3%)
05/2005: Justice League Unlimited #9 -- 11,869 (- 2.3%)
06/2005: Justice League Unlimited #10 -- 11,634 (- 2.0%)
07/2005: Justice League Unlimited #11 -- 11,340 (- 2.5%)
08/2005: Justice League Unlimited #12 -- 11,181 (- 1.4%)
09/2005: Justice League Unlimited #13 -- 10,914 (- 2.4%)
----------------
6 months: -10.4%
1 year : -50.3%
2 years : -18.4%
(163) SWAMP THING (Vertigo)
09/2004: Swamp Thing #7 -- 20,238 (+ 1.3%)
10/2004: Swamp Thing #8 -- 18,711 (- 7.6%)
11/2004: Swamp Thing #9 -- 16,790 (-10.3%)
12/2004: Swamp Thing #10 -- 15,846 (- 5.6%)
01/2005: Swamp Thing #11 -- 14,300 (- 9.8%)
02/2005: Swamp Thing #12 -- 13,452 (- 5.9%)
03/2005: Swamp Thing #13 -- 12,707 (- 5.5%)
04/2005: Swamp Thing #14 -- 12,057 (- 5.1%)
05/2005: Swamp Thing #15 -- 11,542 (- 4.3%)
06/2005: Swamp Thing #16 -- 10,962 (- 5.0%)
07/2005: Swamp Thing #17 -- 10,345 (- 5.6%)
08/2005: Swamp Thing #18 -- 10,112 (- 2.3%)
09/2005: Swamp Thing #19 -- 9,726 (- 3.8%)
----------------
6 months: -23.5%
1 year : -51.9%
The book continues its slide into oblivion.
February's issue #24 will be the conclusion to a four-part storyline, so don't
be surprised if they call it a day after that.
(165) BATMAN STRIKES! (Johnny DC)
09/2003: Batman Adventures #6 -- 13,512
-----------------------------------------
09/2004: Batman Strikes! #1 -- 22,397 (+88.8%) -- [23,348]
10/2004: Batman Strikes! #2 -- 16,941 (-24.4%)
11/2004: Batman Strikes! #3 -- 15,305 (-10.0%)
12/2004: Batman Strikes! #4 -- 13,257 (-13.4%)
01/2005: Batman Strikes! #5 -- 11,808 (-10.9%)
02/2005: Batman Strikes! #6 -- 11,102 (- 6.0%)
03/2005: Batman Strikes! #7 -- 10,775 (- 3.0%)
04/2005: Batman Strikes! #8 -- 10,368 (- 3.8%)
05/2005: Batman Strikes! #9 -- 10,376 (+ 0.1%)
06/2005: Batman Strikes! #10 -- 10,048 (- 3.2%)
07/2005: Batman Strikes! #11 -- 9,796 (- 2.5%)
08/2005: Batman Strikes! #12 -- 9,528 (- 2.7%)
09/2005: Batman Strikes! #13 -- 9,284 (- 2.6%)
----------------
6 months: -13.8%
1 year : -58.5%
2 years : -31.3%
(168) WINTER MEN (Vertigo)
08/2005: Winter Men #1 (of 8) -- 11,340
09/2005: Winter Men #2 (of 8) -- 8,862 (-21.9%)
A harsh drop-off.
(170) CITY OF TOMORROW (WildStorm)
04/2005: City of Tomorrow #1 (of 6) -- 14,576
05/2005: City of Tomorrow #2 (of 6) -- 11,675 (-19.9%)
06/2005: City of Tomorrow #3 (of 6) -- 10,505 (-10.0%)
07/2005: City of Tomorrow #4 (of 6) -- 9,501 (- 9.6%)
08/2005: City of Tomorrow #5 (of 6) -- 8,930 (- 6.0%)
09/2005: City of Tomorrow #6 (of 6) -- 8,664 (- 3.0%)
Awfully low numbers for a Howard Chaykin project.
(172) THE LOSERS (Vertigo)
09/2003: Losers #4 -- 15,125
------------------------------
09/2004: Losers #16 -- 10,465 (- 0.7%)
10/2004: Losers #17 -- 10,254 (- 2.0%)
11/2004: Losers #18 -- 9,897 (- 3.5%)
12/2004: Losers #19 -- 9,665 (- 2.3%)
01/2005: Losers #20 -- 9,363 (- 3.1%)
02/2005: Losers #21 -- 9,053 (- 3.3%)
03/2005: --
04/2005: Losers #22 -- 9,065 (+ 0.1%)
04/2005: Losers #23 -- 8,878 (- 2.1%)
05/2005: Losers #24 -- 8,836 (- 0.1%)
06/2005: Losers #25 -- 8,791 (- 0.5%)
07/2005: Losers #26 -- 8,781 (- 0.1%)
08/2005: Losers #27 -- 8,572 (- 2.4%)
09/2005: Losers #28 -- 8,439 (- 1.6%)
----------------
6 months: n.a.
1 year : -19.4%
2 years : -44.2%
Ends with issue #32.
(173) BREACH
01/2005: Breach #1 -- 16,891
02/2005: Breach #2 -- 12,274 (-27.3%)
03/2005: Breach #3 -- 10,692 (-12.9%)
04/2005: Breach #4 -- 10,698 (+ 0.1%)
05/2005: Breach #5 -- 9,676 (-10.0%)
06/2005: Breach #6 -- 9,255 (- 4.4%)
07/2005: Breach #7 -- 10,057 (+ 8.7%)
08/2005: Breach #8 -- 9,455 (- 6.0%)
09/2005: Breach #9 -- 8,406 (-11.1%)
----------------
6 months: -21.4%
Canceled with issue #11.
(174) THE INTIMATES (WildStorm)
11/2004: The Intimates #1 -- 31,578
12/2004: The Intimates #2 -- 20,443 (-35.3%)
01/2005: The Intimates #3 -- 16,375 (-19.9%)
02/2005: The Intimates #4 -- 14,468 (-11.7%)
03/2005: The Intimates #5 -- 12,755 (-11.8%)
04/2005: The Intimates #6 -- 11,527 (- 9.6%)
05/2005: The Intimates #7 -- 10,689 (- 7.3%)
06/2005: The Intimates #8 -- 9,826 (- 8.1%)
07/2005: The Intimates #9 -- 9,174 (- 6.6%)
08/2005: The Intimates #10 -- 8,731 (- 4.8%)
09/2005: The Intimates #11 -- 8,274 (- 5.2%)
----------------
6 months: -35.1%
Canceled with issue #12.
(176) SON OF VULCAN
06/2005: Son of Vulcan #1 (of 6) -- 16,453
07/2005: Son of Vulcan #2 (of 6) -- 12,138 (-26.2%)
08/2005: Son of Vulcan #3 (of 6) -- 9,860 (-18.8%)
09/2005: Son of Vulcan #4 (of 6) -- 8,010 (-18.8%)
Terrible sales, obviously. But that's what tends to happen to books which are
just thrown out there without promotion.
(177) ABC A TO Z (WildStorm)
09/2005: ABC A to Z: Tom Strong & Jack B. Quick -- 7,944
Horrible sales. Given that the ABC line doesn't sell terribly well to begin
with lately, you wonder why they bothered.
(180) PLASTIC MAN
09/2004: Plastic Man #10 -- 11,626 (- 3.7%)
10/2004: Plastic Man #11 -- 11,135 (- 4.2%)
11/2004: Plastic Man #12 -- 10,611 (- 4.7%)
12/2004: Plastic Man #13 -- 9,975 (- 6.0%)
01/2004: Plastic Man #14 -- 9,439 (- 5.4%)
02/2004: --
03/2004: Plastic Man #15 -- 8,940 (- 5.3%)
04/2004: --
05/2004: Plastic Man #16 -- 8,477 (- 5.2%)
06/2004: --
07/2004: Plastic Man #17 -- 8,179 (- 3.5%)
08/2004: --
09/2004: Plastic Man #18 -- 7,700 (- 5.9%)
----------------
6 months: -13.9%
1 year : -33.8%
Canceled with issue #20. It's laudable that they kept the book around this
long.
(181) MNEMOVORE (Vertigo)
04/2005: Mnemovore #1 (of 6) -- 10,549
05/2005: Mnemovore #2 (of 6) -- 8,870 (-15.9%)
06/2005: Mnemovore #3 (of 6) -- 8,401 (- 5.3%)
07/2005: --
08/2005: Mnemovore #4 (of 6) -- 8,107 (- 3.5%)
08/2005: Mnemovore #5 (of 6) -- 7,868 (- 3.0%)
09/2005: Mnemovore #6 (of 6) -- 7,436 (- 5.5%)
Standard limited series drops, but at a depressingly low level.
(192) THE HUMAN RACE
03/2005: The Human Race #1 (of 7) -- 14,931
04/2005: The Human Race #2 (of 7) -- 11,527 (-22.8%)
05/2005: --
06/2005: The Human Race #3 (of 7) -- 9,234 (-19.9%)
06/2005: The Human Race #4 (of 7) -- 7,863 (-14.9%)
07/2005: The Human Race #5 (of 7) -- 6,949 (-11.6%)
08/2005: The Human Race #6 (of 7) -- 6,367 (- 8.4%)
09/2005: The Human Race #7 (of 7) -- 5,939 (- 6.7%)
----------------
6 months: -60.2%
Disastrous numbers, obviously.
(197) MATADOR (WildStorm)
05/2005: Matador #1 (of 6) -- 10,529
06/2005: Matador #2 (of 6) -- 8,293 (-21.2%)
07/2005: Matador #3 (of 6) -- 6,681 (-19.4%)
08/2005: Matador #4 (of 6) -- 5,683 (-14.9%)
09/2005: Matador #5 (of 6) -- 5,364 (- 5.6%)
Ditto.
(199) SCOOBY DOO (Johnny DC)
09/2003: Scooby Doo #76 -- 5,938
----------------------------------
09/2004: Scooby Doo #88 -- 5,571 (+ 2.5%)
10/2004: Scooby Doo #89 -- 5,449 (- 2.2%)
11/2004: Scooby Doo #90 -- 5,280 (- 3.1%)
12/2004: Scooby Doo #91 -- 5,201 (- 1.5%)
01/2005: Scooby Doo #92 -- 4,872 (- 6.3%)
02/2005: Scooby Doo #93 -- 4,747 (- 2.6%)
03/2005: Scooby Doo #94 -- 4,772 (+ 0.5%)
04/2005: Scooby Doo #95 -- 4,800 (+ 0.6%)
05/2005: Scooby Doo #96 -- 4,718 (- 1.7%)
06/2005: Scooby Doo #97 -- 4,819 (+ 2.1%)
07/2005: Scooby Doo #98 -- 4,666 (- 3.2%)
08/2005: Scooby Doo #99 -- 4,654 (- 0.3%)
09/2005: Scooby Doo #100 -- 5,239 (+12.6%)
----------------
6 months: + 9.8%
1 year : - 6.0%
2 years : -11.8%
(210) POWERPUFF GIRLS (Johnny DC)
09/2003: Powerpuff Girls #42 -- 7,364
--------------------------------------
09/2004: Powerpuff Girls #54 -- 6,005 (+1.4%)
10/2004: Powerpuff Girls #55 -- 5,792 (-3.6%)
11/2004: Powerpuff Girls #56 -- 5,586 (-3.6%)
12/2004: Powerpuff Girls #57 -- 5,463 (-2.2%)
01/2005: Powerpuff Girls #58 -- 5,089 (-6.9%)
02/2005: Powerpuff Girls #59 -- 4,904 (-3.6%)
03/2005: Powerpuff Girls #60 -- 4,975 (+1.5%)
04/2005: --
05/2005: Powerpuff Girls #61 -- 4,891 (-1.7%)
05/2005: Powerpuff Girls #62 -- 4,765 (-2.6%)
06/2005: Powerpuff Girls #63 -- 4,772 (+0.2%)
07/2005: Powerpuff Girls #64 -- 4,607 (-3.5%)
08/2005: Powerpuff Girls #65 -- 4,508 (-2.2%)
09/2005: Powerpuff Girls #66 -- 4,388 (-2.7%)
----------------
6 months: -11.8%
1 year : -26.9%
2 years : -40.4%
(235) LOONEY TUNES (Johnny DC)
09/2003: Looney Tunes #106 -- 3,577
------------------------------------
09/2004: Looney Tunes #118 -- 3,548 (+12.3%)
10/2004: Looney Tunes #119 -- 3,218 (- 9.3%)
11/2004: Looney Tunes #120 -- 3,150 (- 2.1%)
12/2004: Looney Tunes #121 -- 3,088 (- 2.0%)
01/2005: Looney Tunes #122 -- 2,896 (- 6.2%)
02/2005: Looney Tunes #123 -- 2,838 (- 2.0%)
03/2005: Looney Tunes #124 -- 2,846 (+ 0.3%)
04/2005: Looney Tunes #125 -- 2,974 (+ 4.5%)
05/2005: Looney Tunes #126 -- 2,852 (- 4.1%)
06/2005: Looney Tunes #127 -- 2,991 (+ 4.9%)
07/2005: Looney Tunes #128 -- 2,722 (- 9.0%)
08/2005: Looney Tunes #129 -- 2,736 (- 0.5%)
09/2005: Looney Tunes #130 -- 2,659 (- 2.8%)
----------------
6 months: - 6.6%
1 year : -25.1%
2 years : -25.7%
(257) CARTOON NETWORK BLOCK PARTY
09/2003: Cartoon Cartoons #22 -- 2,595
--------------------------------------------------
09/2004: Cartoon Network Block Party #1 -- 4,203 (+76.8%)
10/2004: Cartoon Network Block Party #2 -- 3,043 (-27.6%)
11/2004: Cartoon Network Block Party #3 -- 2,512 (-17.5%)
12/2004: Cartoon Network Block Party #4 -- 2,393 (- 4.7%)
01/2005: Cartoon Network Block Party #5 -- 2,140 (-10.6%)
02/2005: Cartoon Network Block Party #6 -- 2,002 (- 6.5%)
03/2005: Cartoon Network Block Party #7 -- 2,081 (+ 4.0%)
04/2005: Cartoon Network Block Party #8 -- 2,039 (- 2.0%)
05/2005: Cartoon Network Block Party #9 -- 2,059 (- 1.0%)
06/2005: Cartoon Network Block Party #10 -- ?????
07/2005: Cartoon Network Block Party #11 -- 1,871
07/2005: Cartoon Network Block Party #12 -- ?????
07/2005: Cartoon Network Block Party #13 -- 1,887
----------------
6 months: - 9.3%
1 year : -55.1%
2 years : -27.3%
RE-ORDERS:
( 93) 23,108 -- Supergirl #1
(136) 13,678 -- JSA: Classified #2
(157) 10,604 -- JSA: Classified #1
(189) 6,137 -- Wonder Woman #219
(209) 4,441 -- DC Countdown #1
(231) 2,752 -- The Omac Project #5
(234) 2,705 -- All-Star Batman #1
(237) 2,593 -- Green Lantern #4
(239) 2,474 -- JLA: Classified #11
(246) 2,144 -- Flash #225
(253) 1,960 -- Justice #1
(260) 1,788 -- Superman #219
(268) 1,636 -- Adventures of Superman #642
(272) 1,471 -- Wonder Woman #220
(280) 1,333 -- Action Comics #829
(284) 1,214 -- Teen Titans #27
(288) 1,168 -- JLA #117
(291) 1,148 -- The Omac Project #4
(295) 1,043 -- Adventures of Superman #643
(296) 1,029 -- Jack Cross #1
(300) 1,016 -- Catwoman #46
6-MONTH COMPARISONS:
+ 42.8%: Adventures of Superman
+ 41.6%: JLA
+ 35.3%: Action Comics
+ 24.1%: JSA
+ 20.6%: Manhunter
+ 16.0%: Firestorm
+ 14.4%: Hawkman
+ 13.7%: Outsiders
+ 10.4%: Batman
+ 9.8%: Scooby-Doo
+ 8.4%: Green Arrow
+ 4.4%: Birds of Prey
+ 4.1%: Gotham Central
+ 2.2%: Fables
- 1.5%: 100 Bullets
- 1.6%: Detective Comics
- 1.8%: Lucifer
- 3.4%: Flash
- 4.0%: Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight
- 4.8%: Batman: Gotham Knights
- 4.9%: Hellblazer
- 5.4%: Batgirl
- 6.0%: Catwoman
- 6.6%: Looney Tunes
- 6.8%: Nightwing
- 7.9%: Teen Titans Go
- 8.2%: Aquaman
- 8.9%: Robin
- 9.3%: Cartoon Network Block Party
- 10.4%: Justice League Unlimited
- 11.8%: Powerpuff Girls
- 11.9%: Books of Magick
- 13.7%: Doom Patrol
- 13.8%: Batman Strikes
- 13.9%: Plastic Man
- 14.9%: JLA: Classified
- 15.6%: Blood of the Demon
- 16.6%: Legion of Super-Heroes
- 21.4%: Breach
- 23.5%: Swamp Thing
- 24.4%: Seven Soldiers: Guardian
- 31.4%: Majestic
- 31.6%: Superman
- 35.1%: The Intimates
- 35.8%: Otherworld
- 60.2%: The Human Race
1-YEAR COMPARISONS:
+ 52.1%: JLA
+ 30.4%: Action Comics
+ 29.2%: Adventures of Superman
+ 28.4%: JSA
+ 8.3%: Green Arrow
+ 5.9%: Outsiders
+ 2.6%: Flash
- 0.1%: Fables
- 0.4%: Y: The Last Man
- 1.2%: Gotham Central
- 2.1%: Birds of Prey
- 4.9%: Hawkman
- 6.0%: Scooby-Doo
- 7.4%: Batman
- 9.9%: Lucifer
- 10.0%: Hellblazer
- 10.4%: 100 Bullets
- 14.7%: Firestorm
- 15.4%: Manhunter
- 15.7%: Teen Titans Go
- 17.7%: Nightwing
- 19.4%: The Losers
- 20.5%: Detective Comics
- 24.6%: Aquaman
- 25.1%: Looney Tunes
- 26.0%: Superman/Batman
- 26.9%: Powerpuff Girls
- 31.1%: Batgirl
- 32.2%: Batman: Gotham Knights
- 33.8%: Plastic Man
- 36.5%: Robin
- 38.8%: Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight
- 40.5%: Books of Magick
- 40.9%: Superman
- 45.1%: Doom Patrol
- 45.2%: Catwoman
- 48.5%: Majestic
- 50.3%: Justice League Unlimited
- 51.9%: Swamp Thing
- 55.1%: Cartoon Network Block Party
- 58.5%: Batman Strikes
2-YEAR COMPARISONS:
+106.6%: Superman
+ 79.2%: Action Comics
+ 75.2%: Adventures of Superman
+ 55.3%: JLA
+ 53.8%: Legion of Super-Heroes
+ 35.9%: Wildcats
+ 32.1%: Robin
+ 30.8%: Flash
+ 23.7%: Nightwing
+ 21.7%: JSA
+ 6.8%: Birds of Prey
+ 6.2%: Batman: Gotham Knights
+ 2.9%: Gotham Central
+ 2.6%: Detective Comics
- 0.4%: Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight
- 1.2%: Superman/Batman
- 2.2%: Batgirl
- 3.3%: Fables
- 5.5%: Outsiders
- 7.4%: Hellblazer
- 10.5%: Catwoman
- 11.8%: Scooby-Doo
- 13.7%: Lucifer
- 15.1%: Green Arrow
- 18.4%: Justice League Unlimited
- 22.2%: Hawkman
- 25.7%: Looney Tunes
- 27.3%: Cartoon Network Block Party
- 31.3%: Batman Strikes
- 33.2%: Aquaman
- 40.4%: Powerpuff Girls
- 44.2%: The Losers
- 71.8%: Batman
OTHER TITLES
(37) RED SONJA (Dynamic Forces)
07/2005: Red Sonja #1 -- 80,603
08/2005: --
09/2005: Red Sonja #2 -- 55,149 (-31.6%)
That's a comparatively harsh drop.
RED SONJA #2 still came with a truckload of variant cover editions (including
two "1-in-65" limited editions), as well as a rather ridiculous "retailer
incentive":
According to the Dynamic Forces website, retailers who ordered 300 copies of the
book were meant to receive "THE RARE RRP EDITION FEATURING RED SONJA BY ADAM
HUGHES IN BLACK WHITE GREY AND RED!," adding that "THIS IS GOING TO BE ONE OF
THE MOST POWERFUL RRP EDITIONS EVER!"
As with the various "incentives" connected to issues number zero and one (see
the July column), my eyes are bleeding just from reading the solicitation copy.
Presumably, if the drop-off is any indication, retailers are beginning to smell
the coffee, as well.
If there were an award for the most artificially bloated sales in the industry,
I'm confident that RED SONJA would take it, with cream on top.
(42) SERENITY (Dark Horse)
07/2005: Serenity #1 (of 3) -- 38,502 -- [85,597]
08/2005: Serenity #2 (of 3) -- 47,095 (+22.3%)
09/2005: Serenity #3 (of 3) -- 52,312 (+11.1%)
SERENITY came with three different covers per issue as well, granted, but in
this case, at least the significant upward corrections indicate that there's
some genuine, content-driven demand for the book involved.
Given that the story ties in with a blockbuster film and is co-written by Joss
Whedon, that's not entirely surprising, of course.
(66) CONAN (Dark Horse)
09/2004: Conan #8 -- 46,339 (-1.5%)
10/2004: Conan #9 -- 44,633 (-3.7%)
11/2004: Conan #10 -- 43,216 (-3.2%)
12/2004: Conan #11 -- 41,149 (-4.8%)
01/2005: Conan #12 -- 39,311 (-4.5%)
02/2005: Conan #13 -- 38,645 (-1.7%)
03/2005: Conan #14 -- 38,180 (-1.2%)
04/2005: Conan #15 -- 38,086 (-0.3%)
05/2005: Conan #16 -- 37,632 (-1.2%)
06/2005: Conan #17 -- 37,032 (-1.6%)
07/2005: Conan #18 -- 36,323 (-1.9%)
08/2005: Conan #19 -- 35,455 (-2.4%)
09/2005: Conan #20 -- 34,899 (-1.6%)
----------------
6 months: - 8.6%
1 year : -24.7%
The book continues its slow but steady downward slide.
(72) SOULFIRE (Aspen)
09/2004: --
10/2004: Soulfire #2 -- 34,364 (-44.9%)
11/2004: --
12/2004: --
01/2005: Soulfire #3 -- 35,325 (+ 2.8%)
02/2005: --
03/2005: Soulfire #4 -- 48,489 (+37.3%) -- [51,026]
04/2005: --
05/2005: --
06/2005: --
07/2005: --
08/2005: --
09/2005: Soulfire #5 -- 32,128 (-33.7%)
----------------
6 months: -33.7%
1 year : n.a.
We're back to one regularly-priced cover edition, in contrast to issue number
four's four variants. Not surprisingly, sales are right back where you would
expect them to be.
(83) SPAWN (Image/TMP)
09/2003: Spawn #128 -- 38,082
------------------------------
09/2004: Spawn #138 -- 31,073 (-10.5%)
10/2004: Spawn #139 -- 30,552 (- 1.7%)
11/2004: Spawn #140 -- 30,798 (+ 0.8%)
12/2004: Spawn #141 -- 29,469 (- 4.3%)
01/2005: Spawn #142 -- 28,705 (- 2.6%)
02/2005: Spawn #143 -- 28,408 (- 1.0%)
03/2005: Spawn #144 -- 28,170 (- 0.8%)
04/2005: Spawn #145 -- 28,161 (- 0.0%)
05/2005: --
06/2005: Spawn #146 -- 28,093 (- 0.2%)
06/2005: Spawn #147 -- 27,495 (- 2.1%)
07/2005: --
08/2005: Spawn #148 -- 27,548 (+ 0.2%)
09/2005: Spawn #149 -- 26,790 (- 2.8%)
----------------
6 months: - 4.9%
1 year : -13.8%
2 years : -29.7%
Business as usual.
(86) HUNTER-KILLER (Image/Top Cow)
02/2005: Hunter-Killer #1 -- 40,084 -- [44,838]
03/2005: --
04/2005: Hunter-Killer #2 -- 31,714 (-20.9%) -- [34,186]
05/2005: --
06/2005: --
07/2005: Hunter-Killer #3 -- 27,928 (-11.9%)
08/2005: --
09/2005: Hunter-Killer #4 -- 26,215 (- 6.1%)
----------------
6 months: n.a.
Rather disappointing numbers, given that both creators are reasonably popular.
(94) FELL (Image)
09/2005: Fell #1 -- 22,580
This is quite interesting.
FELL not only debuts in the same general region as Warren Ellis' recent DC
Comics launches DESOLATION JONES (21,831) and JACK CROSS (20,895), it actually
outsells both of them.
Then again, if you consider that FELL is only $ 1.99 per issue, whereas the
other two titles carry the usual $ 2.99 price tag, that should serve as a damper
to the suggestion that comics would sell significantly better if they were only
made to be cheaper.
On the other hand, FELL also has six comics pages less than the usual monthly
issue (it fills out the remaining space with script and art samples, among other
things), so, to be fair, there is some basis for the argument that the price may
not have been seen as as big a factor as it might have with more comics pages.
Still, these are encouraging numbers, which are significantly higher than those
of the bulk of Image's output, including hits like THE WALKING DEAD and
INVINCIBLE.
Presuming that the format, as it is, is financially feasible, Ellis' experiment
can be rated as a success.
(99) STAR WARS: X-WING: ROGUE LEADER (Dark Horse)
09/2005: Star Wars: X-Wing: Rogue Leader #1 (of 3) -- 22,263
The latest spin-off. Dark Horse obviously do a good job managing the franchise.
(150) INVINCIBLE (Image)
09/2003: --
----------------------------------
09/2004: Invincible #15 -- 8,612 (+ 4.8%)
09/2004: Invincible #16 -- 8,427 (- 2.2%)
10/2004: --
11/2004: Invincible #17 -- 9,055 (+ 7.5%)
12/2004: Invincible #18 -- 9,439 (+ 4.2%)
01/2005: Invincible #19 -- 9,860 (+ 4.5%)
02/2005: Invincible #20 -- 9,541 (- 3.2%)
03/2005: Invincible #21 -- 9,872 (+ 3.5%)
04/2005: Invincible #22 -- 9,963 (+ 0.9%)
05/2005: Invincible #0 -- ??????
06/2005: Invincible #23 -- 11,452 (+15.0%)
07/2005: Invincible #24 -- 11,818 (+ 3.2%)
08/2005: Invincible #25 -- 12,031 (+ 1.8%)
09/2005: Invincible #26 -- 11,574 (- 3.8%)
----------------
6 months: +17.2%
1 year : +35.9%
2 years : n.a.
That's a small downward correction after the initial surge caused by the
promotional issue in May. Nothing to worry about, though.
(159) THE GOON (Dark Horse)
09/2004: --
10/2004: The Goon #9 -- 10,254 (+2.1%)
11/2004: --
12/2004: The Goon #10 -- 9,975 (-2.7%)
01/2005: --
02/2005: --
03/2005: The Goon #11 -- 9,227 (-7.5%)
04/2005: --
05/2005: The Goon #12 -- 9,443 (+2.3%)
06/2005: --
07/2005: The Goon #13 -- 9,573 (+1.4%)
08/2005: --
09/2005: The Goon #14 -- 10,287 (+7.5%)
----------------
6 months: +11.5%
1 year : n.a.
This one keeps climbing. A 25-cent special was released in October, so it's
unlikely that THE GOON sales have reached the ceiling yet.
(219) GODLAND (Image)
07/2005: Godland #1 -- 5,601
08/2005: Godland #2 -- 4,375 (-21.9%)
09/2005: Godland #3 -- 3,952 (- 9.7%)
These numbers are discouraging, but Image have solicited a trade paperback of
the first six issues for January, which can be taken as a signal of support.
--
Marc-Oliver Frisch
POPP'D! >> http://poppd.blogspot.com
COMIKADO << http://comikado.blogspot.com
SUPERCRITICAL >> http://supercritic.blogspot.com
"Time to get kids back where they belong - up chimneys, down mines, and tied to
the printing presses!"
-- Grant Morrison
--
[This is a Usenet message, posted to the rec.arts.comics.* groups.]
Sean Walsh
Methinks it's losing a lot of these numbers when Loeb and McGuinness
are gone after #25. Verheiden and Van Sciver take over after
that......and I just don't see the book keeping at these levels.
Unless, of course, the Infinite Crisis logo is on there too. ;p
Still............books that star Catman/Deadshot, Adam Strange/Hawkman
and Ragman/Blue Devil/Detective Chimp are all the way up here on the
sales charts. Not bad at all.
> (15) GREEN LANTERN CORPS: RECHARGE
> 09/2005: Green Lantern Corps: Recharge #1 (of 5) -- 80,718
>
> The GREEN LANTERN spin-off co-written by Geoff Johns and Dave Gibbons is
> sandwiched in the middle of the four INFINITE CRISIS warm-up series and sells
> about 17K less than its mother title (which didn't ship in September, in case
> you were wondering).
>
> These are great numbers for this sort of thing, obviously, demonstrating Johns'
> Midas touch when it comes to DC's mainstream properties. Where Johns goes, the
> audience follows.
And this had a $3.50 price tag too (I forget if the whole mini is that
price or just #1). So this was really due to Johns and a more
heightened focus on the GLs lately, as normally a price level like that
would sometimes hurt.
> (29) SUPERMAN/SHAZAM: FIRST THUNDER
> 09/2005: Superman/Shazam: First Thunder #1 (of 4) -- 66,419
>
> This is a self-contained series by Judd Winick and Joshua Middleton, retailing
> at $ 3.50.
>
> Given that Middleton's NYX #1 (written by Joe Quesada) sold an estimated 54,755
> copies back in October 2003, these are great numbers.
That is interesting, considering this mini has a lot less hype than NYX
did -- then again, NYX's hype because of the general "Jesus, this book
is never shipping and late as hell!" opinion from frustrated fans.
> (38) JSA: CLASSIFIED
> 07/2005: JSA: Classified #1 -- 58,296 -- [84,490]
> 08/2005: JSA: Classified #2 -- 46,039 (-21.0%) -- [59,717]
> 09/2005: JSA: Classified #3 -- 54,932 (+19.3%)
>
> My, do people like this one.
>
> In addition to the hefty upwards correction in sales for issue number three,
> numbers one and two sold another solid 10,604 and 13,678 estimated copies in
> September.
>
> Another big hit written by Johns.
Wow. Those multiple printings of #1 and 2 sure did help (in increasing
#1 and 2's numbers as well as getting the interest for #3 up there too)
> (47) FLASH
> 09/2003: Flash #202 -- 34,599
> ------------------------------
> 09/2004: Flash #214 -- 44,124 (+ 6.7%) -- [46,894]
> 10/2004: Flash #215 -- 44,024 (- 0.2%) -- [51,882]
> 11/2004: Flash #216 -- 43,618 (- 0.9%) -- [49,350]
> 12/2004: --
> 01/2005: Flash #217 -- 49,771 (+14.1%)
> 01/2005: Flash #218 -- 41,668 (-16.3%) -- [43,914]
> 02/2005: Flash #219 -- 44,071 (+ 5.8%) -- [46,188]
> 03/2005: Flash #220 -- 46,851 (+ 6.3%) -- [48,659]
> 04/2005: Flash #221 -- 46,471 (- 0.8%) -- [47,704]
> 05/2005: Flash #222 -- 47,528 (+ 2.3%)
> 06/2005: Flash #223 -- 48,013 (+ 1.0%) -- [49,583]
> 07/2005: Flash #224 -- 48,062 (+ 0.1%)
> 08/2005: Flash #225 -- 50,242 (+ 4.5%) -- [52,386]
> 09/2005: Flash #226 -- 45,252 (- 9.9%)
> ----------------
> 6 months: - 3.4%
> 1 year : + 2.6%
> 2 years : +30.8%
>
> Geoff Johns is gone, and so are 5,000 units.
>
> The book is rumored to be in for a revamp early next year, however, so DC
> probably won't mind the few thousand units lost during the fill-in issues.
Well, #226 was really a fill-in. #227 starts a storyarc by a new
creative team. But since we don't really know the lasting status of the
title yet (rumors persist another Flash won't make it through another
Crisis, although they're dying down more as of late) it's kinda tough
to call them the regular team just yet.
> (59) SEVEN SOLDIERS: MISTER MIRACLE
> 09/2005: Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle #1 (of 4) -- 37,690
>
> The previous SEVEN SOLDIERS limited series debuted with estimated sales of
> 39,580 (GUARDIAN), 41,308 (SHINING KNIGHT), 43,647 (ZATANNA) and 38,123 (KLARION
> THE WITCH BOY), so this is at the lower end of the spectrum.
>
> On the other hand, given that the lead character isn't all that popular and that
> DC titles without obvious connections to INFINITE CRISIS are increasingly
> marginalized, these are still pretty good sales, of course.
>
> Unfortunately, the artist jumped ship and went exclusive with Marvel after the
> first issue, so the drops on MISTER MIRACLE may turn out to be a little bit
> harsher than on its sister books.
Ferry's still doing covers, apparently (although #3's cover solicit
ain't Ferry's artwork). Not sure if they're gonna paint new artist
Billy Dallas Patton's stuff like there were with Ferry, to help ease
the transition, because if not the difference in art will be quite
jarring I think.
But hey, a New Gods book at 37K. Been a looooong time since we've seen
that.
> (96) FIRESTORM
> 09/2004: Firestorm #5 -- 26,429 (- 7.0%)
> 10/2004: Firestorm #6 -- 28,034 (+ 6.1%) -- [29,743]
> 11/2004: Firestorm #7 -- 22,109 (-21.1%)
> 12/2004: Firestorm #8 -- 21,077 (- 4.7%)
> 01/2005: Firestorm #9 -- 19,993 (- 5.1%)
> 02/2005: Firestorm #10 -- 20,149 (+ 0.8%)
> 03/2005: Firestorm #11 -- 19,440 (- 3.5%)
> 04/2005: Firestorm #12 -- 18,984 (- 2.4%)
> 05/2005: Firestorm #13 -- 18,899 (- 0.5%)
> 06/2005: Firestorm #14 -- 18,375 (- 2.8%)
> 07/2005: Firestorm #15 -- 17,687 (- 3.7%)
> 08/2005: Firestorm #16 -- 17,688 (+ 0.0%)
> 09/2005: Firestorm #17 -- 22,553 (+27.5%)
> ----------------
> 6 months: +16.0%
> 1 year : -14.7%
>
> It's an INFINITE CRISIS tie-in, as you might have guessed.
Good decision on DC's part to get this Firestorm much more involved
with the Crisis. This trend may very well continue for several more
months (which is what this book really needs: sales and attention)
> (103) BATMAN: JEKYLL & HYDE
> 04/2005: Batman: Jekyll & Hyde #1 (of 6) -- 30,636
> 05/2005: Batman: Jekyll & Hyde #2 (of 6) -- 26,336 (-14.0%)
> 06/2005: Batman: Jekyll & Hyde #3 (of 6) -- 24,336 (- 7.6%)
> 07/2005: Batman: Jekyll & Hyde #4 (of 6) -- 22,804 (- 6.3%)
> 08/2005: Batman: Jekyll & Hyde #5 (of 6) -- 22,143 (- 2.9%)
> 09/2005: Batman: Jekyll & Hyde #6 (of 6) -- 21,498 (- 2.9%)
>
> Perfectly average limited series drops, but at a disappointingly low level,
> given the creative team.
Didn't Jae Lee bail (again, for exclusivity at Marvel) half way thru
this? I believe I saw Sean Phillip's name on the last couple issues.
> (118) AQUAMAN
> 09/2003: Aquaman #10 -- 26,370
> -------------------------------
> 09/2004: Aquaman #22 -- 23,358 (- 0.6%)
> 10/2004: Aquaman #23 -- 22,369 (- 4.2%)
> 11/2004: Aquaman #24 -- 21,605 (- 3.4%)
> 12/2004: Aquaman #25 -- 21,107 (- 2.3%)
> 01/2005: Aquaman #26 -- 20,374 (- 3.5%)
> 02/2005: Aquaman #27 -- 19,459 (- 4.5%)
> 03/2005: Aquaman #28 -- 19,177 (- 1.5%)
> 04/2005: Aquaman #29 -- 19,046 (- 0.7%)
> 05/2005: Aquaman #30 -- 18,606 (- 2.3%)
> 06/2005: Aquaman #31 -- 18,402 (- 1.1%)
> 07/2005: Aquaman #32 -- 17,916 (- 2.6%)
> 08/2005: Aquaman #33 -- 17,621 (- 1.7%)
> 09/2005: Aquaman #34 -- 17,605 (- 0.1%)
> ----------------
> 6 months: - 8.2%
> 1 year : -24.6%
> 2 years : -33.2%
>
> It's found its level, apparently.
Next ish is a Infinite Crisis tie-in.
I'm thinking there will be a boost in sales. ;p
What I find more interesting is that the drop from #13 to 14 wasn't
complete. A couple thousand stuck around - giving it a sales level it
hasn't seen since #3. The next ish is a slight "history lesson" on the
Manhunter legacy. I'm guessing it will drop, but hopefully not to
pre-#13 levels just yet.
> (147) OTHERWORLD (Vertigo)
> 03/2005: Otherworld #1 (of 12) -- 18,603 -- [21,527]
> 04/2005: Otherworld #2 (of 12) -- 15,143 (-18.6%) -- [16,263]
> 05/2005: Otherworld #3 (of 7) -- 14,021 (- 7.4%)
> 06/2005: Otherworld #4 (of 7) -- 14,214 (+ 1.4%)
> 07/2005: Otherworld #5 (of 7) -- 13,323 (- 6.3%)
> 08/2005: Otherworld #6 (of 7) -- 12,688 (- 4.8%)
> 09/2005: Otherworld #7 (of 7) -- 11,937 (- 5.9%)
> ----------------
> 6 months: -35.8%
>
> These numbers don't reflect a great deal of interest.
Otherworld is completed??
Wow, I never noticed.
> (176) SON OF VULCAN
> 06/2005: Son of Vulcan #1 (of 6) -- 16,453
> 07/2005: Son of Vulcan #2 (of 6) -- 12,138 (-26.2%)
> 08/2005: Son of Vulcan #3 (of 6) -- 9,860 (-18.8%)
> 09/2005: Son of Vulcan #4 (of 6) -- 8,010 (-18.8%)
>
> Terrible sales, obviously. But that's what tends to happen to books which are
> just thrown out there without promotion.
And this was a book (like The Human Race, below) that started off very
non-DCU related (at least, at first glance) and ended up featuring a
bunch of DCU-related things (in Human Race, it concluded in Metropolis
or Gotham, while here a bunch of DCU villains - and the White Martians
- show up).
So instead of being just some project, it ends up tying into other
company assets as time goes on. Disappointing tactic.
> (180) PLASTIC MAN
> 09/2004: Plastic Man #10 -- 11,626 (- 3.7%)
> 10/2004: Plastic Man #11 -- 11,135 (- 4.2%)
> 11/2004: Plastic Man #12 -- 10,611 (- 4.7%)
> 12/2004: Plastic Man #13 -- 9,975 (- 6.0%)
> 01/2004: Plastic Man #14 -- 9,439 (- 5.4%)
> 02/2004: --
> 03/2004: Plastic Man #15 -- 8,940 (- 5.3%)
> 04/2004: --
> 05/2004: Plastic Man #16 -- 8,477 (- 5.2%)
> 06/2004: --
> 07/2004: Plastic Man #17 -- 8,179 (- 3.5%)
> 08/2004: --
> 09/2004: Plastic Man #18 -- 7,700 (- 5.9%)
> ----------------
> 6 months: -13.9%
> 1 year : -33.8%
>
> Canceled with issue #20. It's laudable that they kept the book around this
> long.
This won several awards, so it was a serious critical darling. DC
always seems to be more generous to those kinds of books, as they can
afford to publish them longer than Marvel can.
Plus, perhaps DC felt they needed to make up for that fiasco regarding
Kyle Baker's "SUPER MEGA CONTROVERSIAL" Superman's Babysitter story
from a few years ago.
> (42) SERENITY (Dark Horse)
> 07/2005: Serenity #1 (of 3) -- 38,502 -- [85,597]
> 08/2005: Serenity #2 (of 3) -- 47,095 (+22.3%)
> 09/2005: Serenity #3 (of 3) -- 52,312 (+11.1%)
>
> SERENITY came with three different covers per issue as well, granted, but in
> this case, at least the significant upward corrections indicate that there's
> some genuine, content-driven demand for the book involved.
>
> Given that the story ties in with a blockbuster film and is co-written by Joss
> Whedon, that's not entirely surprising, of course.
In the movie circles, this movie was pretty much NOT a blockbuster by
any means. Insiders expected it to make a lot more money than it did,
despite the post-summer release.
I figured the comic sales would be excellent, though, and I appear to
be delightfully surprised sales went up as the series went on.
> (86) HUNTER-KILLER (Image/Top Cow)
> 02/2005: Hunter-Killer #1 -- 40,084 -- [44,838]
> 03/2005: --
> 04/2005: Hunter-Killer #2 -- 31,714 (-20.9%) -- [34,186]
> 05/2005: --
> 06/2005: --
> 07/2005: Hunter-Killer #3 -- 27,928 (-11.9%)
> 08/2005: --
> 09/2005: Hunter-Killer #4 -- 26,215 (- 6.1%)
> ----------------
> 6 months: n.a.
>
> Rather disappointing numbers, given that both creators are reasonably popular.
Top Cow has published a softcover collection of these issues. I have to
say, I flipped through and was not really impressed. Seems like the
standard Top Cow fare from Silvestri, but was almost surprised how
uninterested I was with what Waid was writing.
> (150) INVINCIBLE (Image)
> 09/2003: --
> ----------------------------------
> 09/2004: Invincible #15 -- 8,612 (+ 4.8%)
> 09/2004: Invincible #16 -- 8,427 (- 2.2%)
> 10/2004: --
> 11/2004: Invincible #17 -- 9,055 (+ 7.5%)
> 12/2004: Invincible #18 -- 9,439 (+ 4.2%)
> 01/2005: Invincible #19 -- 9,860 (+ 4.5%)
> 02/2005: Invincible #20 -- 9,541 (- 3.2%)
> 03/2005: Invincible #21 -- 9,872 (+ 3.5%)
> 04/2005: Invincible #22 -- 9,963 (+ 0.9%)
> 05/2005: Invincible #0 -- ??????
> 06/2005: Invincible #23 -- 11,452 (+15.0%)
> 07/2005: Invincible #24 -- 11,818 (+ 3.2%)
> 08/2005: Invincible #25 -- 12,031 (+ 1.8%)
> 09/2005: Invincible #26 -- 11,574 (- 3.8%)
> ----------------
> 6 months: +17.2%
> 1 year : +35.9%
> 2 years : n.a.
>
> That's a small downward correction after the initial surge caused by the
> promotional issue in May. Nothing to worry about, though.
I wonder how Invincible's appearance this week in Marvel Team-Up will
help this title. And not only do Marvel readers get a history lesson on
Invincible, but the story actually ties into stuff that will be
appearing in this title next spring (April 2006 I believe) to boot.
Some nice cross-promotion, I think.
--
Sean
Bob Hughes
<Dersc...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>(1) ALL STAR BATMAN & ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER
>07/2005: All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder #1 -- 261,046 --
>[271,559]
>08/2005: --
>09/2005: All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder #2 -- 178,592 (-31.6%)
>
>The second-issue drop-off for Frank Miller and Jim Lee's high-gloss surefire hit
>ALL STAR BATMAN is squarely in the same league as other recent sales
>juggernauts, such as GREEN LANTERN, HOUSE OF M or NEW AVENGERS, so it should not
>come as a great surprise.
>
>Still, it's an 80K difference between the two issues in this case, and that
>cannot sit very comfortably with the publisher, especially given that the drop
>would presumably have been significantly more dramatic if there hadn't been a
>variant edition with a Frank Miller cover for the second issue.
>
>Considering that the title's bi-monthly schedule provided retailers with more
>time to gauge interest in the comic than usual, and that the amount of re-orders
>for the first issue is comparatively small at this stage, it doesn't look like
>ALL STAR BATMAN is doing as well as they might have hoped.
>
Given the incredibly venomous and vituperative reaction to the first
issue chroniclled on here and on DC's own message boards, the sales
decline would seem to be predictable. When you produce a comic book
that seems to induce the urge to vomit in half your potential
audience, you should expect some slight decline in sales.
Reaction on the net to the Frank Miller cover for the third issue so
far has been about 90% condemnation (which is way stronger than -"I
don't like it.") A futher significant sales decline should be
noticeable, unless there is a strong collector's market for "really
bad comic books" as a genre.
(Although I understand there were some people who quite like this
sort of thing.)
Bob Hughes
Who's Whose at DC Comics? Creator Credits and art samples from DC's Golden and Silver Age Comics, especially Superman and Batman profiled at:
http://www.supermanartists.comics.org/superart.htm
Frank Zappa
Marc-Oliver Frisch
: What I find more interesting is that the drop from #13 to 14 wasn't
: complete. A couple thousand stuck around - giving it a sales level it
: hasn't seen since #3.
Well, there was one of them robot thingies on the cover, and once the issue was
out, it was labeled as an OMAC PROJECT tie-in. It's not surprising that this
resulted in a couple thousand more sales than usual.
Marc-Oliver Frisch
: Given the incredibly venomous and vituperative reaction to the first
: issue chroniclled on here and on DC's own message boards, the sales
: decline would seem to be predictable.
Considering the very high initial sales, the decline isn't surprising, no.
But I doubt it has much to do with the negative online responses, honestly.
IDENTITY CRISIS got a shitstorm of criticism as well on the internet, and it
still sold gangbusters.
Bob Hughes
Yeah, I know bad internet press and sales don't have much connection.
But the negative criticism of Identity Crisis and All-Star Batman were
of much different character. The criticism of Infinite Crisis was
pickier, detailerd fine-tuned issue taking. All-Star's was pure
venomous anger.
Another difference was -with Identity Crisis people wanted to see what
happened next, even if they disagreed with it. With All Star Batman,
it's Robin's origin. We've seen it before. So, there's no incentive
to continue reading a book you hate.
Be interting to see if sales go up with the next arc. assuming the
book lasts that long.
Marc-Oliver Frisch
: Be interting to see if sales go up with the next arc. assuming the
: book lasts that long.
It's not like sales need to go up for the book to stick around, really.
ALL STAR BATMAN is the best-selling launch the direct market has seen in years.
Even if it loses another 50K sales in the next few months, it'll still be doing
very well.
--
Marc-Oliver Frisch
POPP'D! >> http://poppd.blogspot.com
COMIKADO << http://comikado.blogspot.com
SUPERCRITICAL >> http://supercritic.blogspot.com
"Time to get kids back where they belong - up chimneys, down mines, and tied to
the printing presses!"
-- Grant Morrison
--
Bob Hughes
<Dersc...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>Bob Hughes wrote:
>
>: Be interting to see if sales go up with the next arc. assuming the
>: book lasts that long.
>
>It's not like sales need to go up for the book to stick around, really.
>
>ALL STAR BATMAN is the best-selling launch the direct market has seen in years.
>Even if it loses another 50K sales in the next few months, it'll still be doing
>very well.
>
>--
>Marc-Oliver Frisch
I'm not sure about DC's long term committment to the book once Miller
and Lee leave. Post Infinite Crisis I expect a total revamp of the
line and All-Star Batman may not serve a purpose anymore.
Ralf Haring
wrote:
>Marc-Oliver Frisch wrote:
>>
>> (59) SEVEN SOLDIERS: MISTER MIRACLE
>> 09/2005: Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle #1 (of 4) -- 37,690
>>
>> first issue, so the drops on MISTER MIRACLE may turn out to be a little bit
>> harsher than on its sister books.
I thought he would have finished the mini (like Leinel Yu and Silent
Dragon) but it was DC's decision to can him.
>> (103) BATMAN: JEKYLL & HYDE
>>
>Didn't Jae Lee bail (again, for exclusivity at Marvel) half way thru
>this? I believe I saw Sean Phillip's name on the last couple issues.
It was always solicited as having two artists with a switch in the
middle.
>> (147) OTHERWORLD (Vertigo)
>> 03/2005: Otherworld #1 (of 12) -- 18,603 -- [21,527]
>> 09/2005: Otherworld #7 (of 7) -- 11,937 (- 5.9%)
>>
>Otherworld is completed??
>Wow, I never noticed.
It was originally a twelve issue miniseries. Then it was reduced to
seven and stated that there would be another miniseries later to
conclude it. I guess DC wanted Jimenez to work on Infinite Crisis
instead for some reason.
-Ralf Haring
"The mind must be the harder, the heart the keener,
the spirit the greater, as our strength grows less."
-Byrhtwold, The Battle of Maldon
Ralf Haring
wrote:
>
>Be interting to see if sales go up with the next arc. assuming the
>book lasts that long.
After putting both Frank Miller and Jim Lee on Batman, I don't think
it'd be possible for the book to go up in sales with a different
creative team regardless of the quality of either story.
YKW '05
someone claiming to be Ralf Haring <har...@SPAMBLOCK.preypacer.com> spooned
up the following and ladled it out into rec.arts.comics.dc.universe's bowl:
> On Sat, 05 Nov 2005 12:35:20 -0500, Bob Hughes <BOBH...@TTLC.NET>
> wrote:
>>
>>Be interting to see if sales go up with the next arc. assuming the
>>book lasts that long.
>
> After putting both Frank Miller and Jim Lee on Batman, I don't think
> it'd be possible for the book to go up in sales with a different
> creative team regardless of the quality of either story.
>
Give Neal Adams four issues and complete creative control (which,
presumably, he'd absolutely demand in order to return to the character and
the company), and it's not unlikely you'd see similar numbers -- maybe
better ones.
--
------------------- ------------------------------------------------
|| E-mail: ykw2005 ||"The mystery of government is not how Washington||
|| -at-gmail-dot-com ||works but how to make it stop." -- P.J. O'Rourke||
|| ----------- || ------------------------------------ ||
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|| "@" to respond. || Since 1998 ||
------------------- ------------------------------------------------
Sean Walsh
> On 5 Nov 2005 06:20:17 -0800, "Sean Walsh" <sean...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >Marc-Oliver Frisch wrote:
> >>
> >> (59) SEVEN SOLDIERS: MISTER MIRACLE
> >> 09/2005: Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle #1 (of 4) -- 37,690
> >>
> >> Unfortunately, the artist jumped ship and went exclusive with Marvel after the
> >> first issue, so the drops on MISTER MIRACLE may turn out to be a little bit
> >> harsher than on its sister books.
>
> I thought he would have finished the mini (like Leinel Yu and Silent
> Dragon) but it was DC's decision to can him.
Wait.....DC willingly got rrid of him?! Ack!
> >> (147) OTHERWORLD (Vertigo)
> >> 03/2005: Otherworld #1 (of 12) -- 18,603 -- [21,527]
> >> 09/2005: Otherworld #7 (of 7) -- 11,937 (- 5.9%)
> >>
> >Otherworld is completed??
> >Wow, I never noticed.
>
> It was originally a twelve issue miniseries. Then it was reduced to
> seven and stated that there would be another miniseries later to
> conclude it.
Huh. Never heard that (nor even noticed the (of 12) after #1 up there.
;p
> I guess DC wanted Jimenez to work on Infinite Crisis instead for some reason.
Geez.
Infinity Crisis this, Infinity Crisis that!
I hope they actually plan to do something with this damn event.......
;p
--
Sean
Sean Walsh
> On Sat, 05 Nov 2005 12:35:20 -0500, Bob Hughes <BOBH...@TTLC.NET>
> wrote:
> >
> >Be interting to see if sales go up with the next arc. assuming the
> >book lasts that long.
>
> After putting both Frank Miller and Jim Lee on Batman, I don't think
> it'd be possible for the book to go up in sales with a different
> creative team regardless of the quality of either story.
Frank Miller ==> Joss Whedon?
--
Sean
Martin Feller
"Ralf Haring" <har...@SPAMBLOCK.preypacer.com> wrote in message
news:filqm1l3d0ej2mblv...@4ax.com...
> On Sat, 05 Nov 2005 12:35:20 -0500, Bob Hughes <BOBH...@TTLC.NET>
> wrote:
>>
>>Be interting to see if sales go up with the next arc. assuming the
>>book lasts that long.
>
> After putting both Frank Miller and Jim Lee on Batman, I don't think
> it'd be possible for the book to go up in sales with a different
> creative team regardless of the quality of either story.
Two words: O'Neil and Adams.
Bob Hughes
Getting Stan Lee and Jack Kirby to do it would work too, And the odds
are about the same.
Paul O'Brien
<ykw2005-at-g...@invalid.stuff.here> writes
>
>Give Neal Adams four issues and complete creative control (which,
>presumably, he'd absolutely demand in order to return to the character
>and the company), and it's not unlikely you'd see similar numbers --
>maybe better ones.
Not in 2006. Neal Adams is simply not that big a draw in today's
marketplace.
--
Paul O'Brien
THE X-AXIS - http://www.thexaxis.com
ARTICLE 10 - http://www.ninthart.com
IF DESTROYED - http://ifdestroyed.blogspot.com
Martin Feller
"Bob Hughes" <BOBH...@TTLC.NET> wrote in message
news:2j1sm11dtmfj727bs...@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 06 Nov 2005 03:34:42 GMT, "Martin Feller"
> <martin...@sxfxcxgxlxoxbxaxlx.nxext> wrote:
>
>>
>>"Ralf Haring" <har...@SPAMBLOCK.preypacer.com> wrote in message
>>news:filqm1l3d0ej2mblv...@4ax.com...
>>> On Sat, 05 Nov 2005 12:35:20 -0500, Bob Hughes
>>> <BOBH...@TTLC.NET>
>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>Be interting to see if sales go up with the next arc. assuming the
>>>>book lasts that long.
>>>
>>> After putting both Frank Miller and Jim Lee on Batman, I don't
>>> think
>>> it'd be possible for the book to go up in sales with a different
>>> creative team regardless of the quality of either story.
>>
>>Two words: O'Neil and Adams.
>>
> Getting Stan Lee and Jack Kirby to do it would work too, And the
> odds
> are about the same.
Wait, is O'Neil dead?
Sean Walsh
Dennis O'Neil?
Heavens no!
--
Sean
Ralf Haring
<martin...@sxfxcxgxlxoxbxaxlx.nxext> wrote:
Honestly, I don't see it. Neither have been a big draw on anything for
how long?