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Marvel sales - April 2006

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Paul O'Brien

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May 31, 2006, 6:12:03 PM5/31/06
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MARVEL SALES
APRIL 2006
============

The busiest month for Marvel in quite some time, as a range of new
projects hit the shelves. The logic, presumably, is that CIVIL WAR
starts in May, so they've got a better chance in April. So say hello to
all four of the ANNIHILATION miniseries, plus new ongoing titles
WOLVERINE: ORIGINS and MOON KNIGHT. Civil War crossovers are already
appearing in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN and FANTASTIC FOUR, and the build-up to
the alleged "wedding of the century" continues in BLACK PANTHER and the
STORM miniseries. On top of that, there's a NEW AVENGERS annual and,
way off on the margins, a POWER PACK/AVENGERS miniseries.

Once again, with INFINITE CRISIS out of the way, Marvel comfortably take
the lead in the charts. They beat DC 38.4% to 34.9% in dollar share,
and 43.9% to 36.1% in unit share. And next month, CIVIL WAR comes along
to tilt matters even further in Marvel's direction - although four
issues of 52 may complicate matters.

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


2. WOLVERINE: ORIGINS
Apr 06 Wolverine: Origins #1 - 150,283

A very strong debut for WOLVERINE: ORIGINS. Marvel's purpose in
creating this series is a little obscure. The official line is that
they wanted to do a Civil War crossover with the ongoing WOLVERINE
title, so they set up this title to continue Daniel Way's storyline. But
if that was the only problem, they'd have taken the simpler route and
published a CIVIL WAR: WOLVERINE miniseries. Really, it seems more like
Marvel are seizing the opportunity to get some more Wolverine on the
shelves.

Considering that sales on WOLVERINE have been unspectcular during the
Daniel Way period, this has to rate as an extremely impressive start. Of
course, it also benefits from a variant cover by Michael Turner. Issue
#2 will have a variant cover by Bryan Hitch, and issue #3 has a variant
by Simone Bianchi. So it's going to be a little time before we find out
what this book can do without stunts. But then, people said that about
NEW AVENGERS, and in the long run its sales have held up nicely.

3. NEW AVENGERS
Apr 01 Avengers #41 - 62,532
Apr 02 Avengers #53 - 53,828
Apr 03 Avengers #66 - 58,312
Apr 04 Avengers #81 - 54,987
======
Apr 05 New Avengers #5 - 168,556 ( +6.5%)
May 05 n/a
Jun 05 New Avengers #6 - 164,592 ( -2.4%)
Jul 05 New Avengers #7 - 158,693 ( -3.6%)
Aug 05 New Avengers #8 - 156,037 ( -1.7%)
Aug 05 New Avengers #9 - 147,501 ( -5.5%)
Sep 05 New Avengers #10 - 143,014 ( -3.0%)
Sep 05 New Avengers #11 - 134,125 ( -6.2%)
Oct 05 New Avengers #12 - 130,110 ( -3.0%)
Nov 05 New Avengers #13 - 126,148 ( -3.0%)
Dec 05 New Avengers #14 - 126,583 ( +0.3%)
Jan 06 New Avengers #15 - 124,143 ( -1.9%)
Feb 06 New Avengers #16 - 124,256 ( +0.1%)
Mar 06 New Avengers #17 - 122,847 ( -1.1%)
Apr 06 New Avengers #18 - 121,550 ( -1.1%)
6 mnth ( -6.6%)
1 year ( -27.9%)
2 year (+121.1%)
3 year (+108.4%)

Despite the post-variants drop-off, NEW AVENGERS continues to sell in
very healthy quantities. Issue #17 ships 1,749 reorders to chart at
number 285. As always, those are included in the number above.
Frequently 1,749 wouldn't be enough to make the charts - April, however,
was pretty quiet overall, with the number 300 comic selling only 1,421.
In March it was almost double that.


4. ASTONISHING X-MEN
Apr 05 n/a
May 05 Astonishing X-Men #10 - 156,298 (+15.5%)
Jun 05 n/a
Jul 05 Astonishing X-Men #11 - 127,768 (-18.3%)
Aug 05 Astonishing X-Men #12 - 134,693 ( +5.4%)
Sep 05 n/a
Oct 05 n/a
Nov 05 n/a
Dec 05 n/a
Jan 06 n/a
Feb 06 Astonishing X-Men #13 - 147,119 ( +9.2%)
Mar 06 n/a
Apr 06 Astonishing X-Men #14 - 119,545 (-18.7%)
6 mnth ( n/a )
1 year (-23.5%)

No, it's not running late - ASTONISHING X-MEN is on a bimonthly schedule
after returning from its hiatus. In part, this is a kind of
second-issue drop, but it's also significant that issue #13 had a
variant and this one doesn't. ASTONISHING figures waver all over the
place depending on the scattershot application of variant covers, and
this isn't an enormous number by the standards the book has reached in
the past, but it's still miles ahead of the rest of the X-books.


6. MOON KNIGHT
Apr 06 Moon Knight #1 - 103,670

You see what happens when you promote a new launch properly? And there
was me thinking Marvel had forgotten how. Moon Knight has been a C-list
hero for years, so Marvel can take justifiable pride in shifting over
100K of his first issue. A large part of the credit, of course, has to
go to artist David Finch, who seems to be a significant sales draw on
his own. There's also - say it with me, now - a variant cover. Still,
a very good start for a Moon Knight series, and the reaction seems to be
generally positive.


7. NEW AVENGERS ANNUAL
Apr 06 New Avengers Annual #1 - 101,877

Not too far behind the parent book, which is about what you'd expect.
The main point of interest here is the wedding of Luke Cage and Jessica
Jones, although that's actually an epilogue to a big fight with the new
Super-Adaptoid. (And in fairness, the solicitation text reflects that.)


8. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
Apr 01 Amazing Spider-Man #30 - 71,392
Apr 02 Amazing Spider-Man #40 - 99,273
Apr 03 Amazing Spider-Man #52 - 96,624
Apr 04 Amazing Spider-Man #506 - 83,152
======
Apr 05 Amazing Spider-Man #519 - 79,668 ( +3.4%)
May 05 Amazing Spider-Man #520 - 76,143 ( -4.4%)
Jun 05 Amazing Spider-Man #521 - 74,117 ( -2.7%)
Jul 05 Amazing Spider-Man #522 - 73,130 ( -1.3%)
Aug 05 Amazing Spider-Man #523 - 72,046 ( -1.5%)
Sep 05 Amazing Spider-Man #524 - 71,065 ( -1.4%)
Oct 05 Amazing Spider-Man #525 - 91,707 (+29.0%)
Nov 05 Amazing Spider-Man #526 - 90,343 ( -1.5%)
Dec 05 Amazing Spider-Man #527 - 89,922 ( -0.5%)
Jan 06 Amazing Spider-Man #528 - 97,807 ( -8.8%)
Feb 06 Amazing Spider-Man #529 - 126,951 (+29.8%)
Mar 06 Amazing Spider-Man #530 - 96,376 (-24.1%)
Apr 06 Amazing Spider-Man #531 - 86,884 ( -9.8%)
6 mnth ( -5.3%)
1 year ( +9.1%)
2 year ( +4.5%)
3 year (-10.1%)

Issue #529, featuring the debut of the Iron Spider costume, goes into a
third printing with - altogether now - a variant cover, and shifts a
further 14,053 copies. Issue #530 also picks up a respectable quantity
of re-orders to chart at number 194 with 6,502 extra sales. And issues
#529-531 are all Civil War tie-ins - as are the next several months - so
not surprisingly, the book continues to perform above its normal,
pre-Other levels. Despite the constant re-orders on issue #529, my
inclination is to credit the recent high sales to the Civil War
crossover rather than the new crossover, since that would be consistent
with the sales boost on FANTASTIC FOUR.


11. UNCANNY X-MEN
Apr 01 Uncanny X-Men #393 - 97,780
Apr 02 Uncanny X-Men #405 - 93,909
Apr 03 Uncanny X-Men #421 - 86,503
Apr 04 Uncanny X-Men #442 - 86,975
======
Apr 05 Uncanny X-Men #458 - 85,299 ( -1.2%)
May 05 Uncanny X-Men #459 - 83,547 ( -2.1%)
Jun 05 Uncanny X-Men #460 - 82,457 ( -1.3%)
Jun 05 Uncanny X-Men #461 - 91,221 (+10.6%)
Jul 05 Uncanny X-Men #462 - 91,125 ( -0.1%)
Aug 05 Uncanny X-Men #463 - 87,610 ( -3.9%)
Sep 05 Uncanny X-Men #464 - 85,885 ( -2.0%)
Oct 05 Uncanny X-Men #465 - 84,271 ( -1.9%)
Nov 05 Uncanny X-Men #466 - 82,825 ( -1.7%)
Dec 05 Uncanny X-Men #467 - 81,282 ( -1.9%)
Jan 06 Uncanny X-Men #468 - 79,808 ( -1.8%)
Feb 06 Uncanny X-Men #469 - 79,039 ( -1.0%)
Mar 06 Uncanny X-Men #470 - 79,389 ( +0.4%)
Mar 06 Uncanny X-Men #471 - 78,286 ( -1.4%)
Apr 06 Uncanny X-Men #472 - 79,157 ( +1.1%)
6 mnth ( -6.1%)
1 year ( -7.2%)
2 year ( -9.0%)
3 year ( -8.5%)

Stable over the last few months. A new creative team is just around the
corner.


12. X-MEN
Apr 01 X-Men #113 - 95,696
Apr 02 New X-Men #125 - 104,185
Apr 03 New X-Men #139 - 95,981
Apr 04 New X-Men #155 - 100,088
======
Apr 05 X-Men #169 - 82,793 ( -1.4%)
May 05 X-Men #170 - 81,048 ( -2.1%)
Jun 05 X-Men #171 - 80,307 ( -0.9%)
Jun 05 X-Men #172 - 78,889 ( -1.8%)
Jul 05 X-Men #173 - 77,154 ( -2.2%)
Aug 05 X-Men #174 - 76,342 ( -1.1%)
Sep 05 X-Men #175 - 76,555 ( +0.3%)
Oct 05 X-Men #176 - 74,635 ( -2.5%)
Nov 05 X-Men #177 - 78,405 ( +5.1%)
Nov 05 X-Men #178 - 76,195 ( -2.8%)
Dec 05 X-Men #179 - 77,189 ( +1.3%)
Dec 05 X-Men #180 - 75,559 ( -2.1%)
Jan 06 X-Men #181 - 74,094 ( -1.9%)
Feb 06 X-Men #182 - 78,653 ( +6.2%)
Feb 06 X-Men #183 - 79,477 ( +1.0%)
Mar 06 X-Men #184 - 79,480 ( +0.0%)
Apr 06 X-Men #185 - 78,815 ( -0.8%)
6 mnth ( +5.6%)
1 year ( -4.8%)
2 year (-21.3%)
3 year (-17.9%)

Again, solid sales during the current Apocalypse storyline, although
like UNCANNY, it's done far better in the past. Issue #184 picks up
reorders of 1,480 to chart at number 298; without taking those into
account, the April issue would have been a marginal climber.


15. ULTIMATE X-MEN
Apr 01 Ultimate X-Men #5 - 101,270
Apr 02 Ultimate X-Men #17 - 95,887
Apr 03 Ultimate X-Men #32 - 90,484
Apr 04 Ultimate X-Men #44 - 96,264
======
Apr 05 Ultimate X-Men #58 - 82,606 ( -1.5%)
May 05 Ultimate X-Men #59 - 81,321 ( -1.6%)
Jun 05 Ultimate X-Men #60 - 78,613 ( -3.3%)
Jul 05 Ultimate X-Men #61 - 87,094 (+10.8%)
Aug 05 Ultimate X-Men #62 - 76,229 (-12.5%)
Sep 05 Ultimate X-Men #63 - 74,760 ( -1.9%)
Oct 05 Ultimate X-Men #64 - 75,118 ( +0.5%)
Nov 05 Ultimate X-Men #65 - 74,264 ( -1.1%)
Dec 05 n/a
Jan 06 Ultimate X-Men #66 - 73,720 ( -0.7%)
Feb 06 Ultimate X-Men #67 - 72,700 ( -1.4%)
Mar 06 Ultimate X-Men #68 - 72,765 ( +0.1%)
Apr 06 Ultimate X-Men #69 - 73,188 ( +0.6%)
6 mnth ( -2.6%)
1 year (-11.4%)
2 year (-24.0%)
3 year (-19.1%)

Robert Kirkman seems to have arrested the book's decline, perhaps in
part on the strength of his recent MARVEL ZOMBIES miniseries.


16. ULTIMATE GALACTUS TRILOGY
Apr 05 Ultimate Secret #2 (of 4) - 77,914 (-12.6%)
May 05 n/a
Jun 05 n/a
Jul 05 n/a
Aug 05 n/a
Sep 05 Ultimate Secret #3 (of 4) - 67,046 (-13.9%)
Oct 05 Ultimate Secret #4 (of 4) - 64,909 ( -3.2%)
Nov 05 n/a
Dec 05 n/a
Jan 06 Ultimate Extinction #1 (of 5) - 85,439 (+31.6%)
Feb 06 Ultimate Extinction #2 (of 5) - 75,869 (-11.2%)
Mar 06 Ultimate Extinction #3 (of 5) - 75,773 ( -0.1%)
Apr 06 Ultimate Extinction #4 (of 5) - 73,151 ( -3.5%)
6 mnth (+12.7%)
1 year ( -6.1%)

Perfectly normal miniseries numbers, as the trilogy nears its
conclusion.


18. ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN
Apr 01 Ultimate Spider-Man #8 - 78,028
Apr 02 Ultimate Spider-Man #21 - 84,485
Apr 03 Ultimate Spider-Man #39 - 103,531
Apr 04 Ultimate Spider-Man #56 - 91,585
======
Apr 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #75 - 83,940 ( +0.1%)
Apr 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #76 - 82,244 ( -2.0%)
May 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #77 - 81,034 ( -1.5%)
Jun 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #78 - 79,420 ( -2.0%)
Jul 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #79 - 78,404 ( -1.3%)
Jul 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #80 - 76,906 ( -1.9%)
Aug 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #81 - 75,572 ( -1.7%)
Sep 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #82 - 75,756 ( +0.2%)
Sep 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #83 - 75,539 ( -0.3%)
Oct 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #84 - 74,670 ( -1.2%)
Nov 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #85 - 74,264 ( -0.5%)
Nov 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #86 - 76,864 ( +3.5%)
Dec 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #87 - 74,537 ( -3.0%)
Dec 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #88 - 74,213 ( -0.4%)
Jan 06 Ultimate Spider-Man #89 - 71,935 ( -3.1%)
Feb 06 Ultimate Spider-Man #90 - 71,470 ( -0.6%)
Mar 06 Ultimate Spider-Man #91 - 74,028 ( +3.6%)
Mar 06 Ultimate Spider-Man #92 - 72,269 ( -2.4%)
Apr 06 Ultimate Spider-Man #93 - 72,831 ( +0.8%)
6 mnth ( -2.5%)
1 year (-13.2%)
2 year (-20.5%)
3 year (-29.7%)

Nudging slightly up, presumably on the strength of an appearance by the
X-Men.


19. WOLVERINE
Apr 01 Wolverine #163 - 67,457
Apr 02 Wolverine #175 - 75,528
Apr 03 Wolverine #189 - 61,282
Apr 04 Wolverine #13 - 71,060
======
Apr 05 Wolverine #27 - 101,228 ( -6.9%)
May 05 Wolverine #28 - 80,961 (-20.0%)
Jun 05 Wolverine #29 - 79,951 ( -1.2%)
Jul 05 Wolverine #30 - 76,651 ( -4.1%)
Aug 05 Wolverine #31 - 75,618 ( -1.3%)
Sep 05 Wolverine #32 - 89,026 (+17.7%)
Sep 05 Wolverine #33 - 78,508 (-11.8%)
Oct 05 Wolverine #34 - 75,664 ( -3.6%)
Oct 05 Wolverine #35 - 73,684 ( -2.6%)
Nov 05 Wolverine #36 - 94,355 (+28.1%)
Dec 05 Wolverine #37 - 73,866 (-21.7%)
Jan 06 Wolverine #38 - 73,815 ( -0.0%)
Feb 06 Wolverine #39 - 75,285 ( +2.0%)
Mar 06 Wolverine #40 - 77,627 ( +3.1%)
Apr 06 Wolverine #41 - 70,965 ( -8.6%)
6 mnth ( -3.7%)
1 year (-29.9%)
2 year ( -0.1%)
3 year (+15.8%)

A fill-in story between the Daniel Way run and the Civil War crossover,
so the sales drop is only to be expected. Issue #40, which was Way's
final issue, picks up re-orders of 2,070.

20. ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR
Apr 04 Ultimate Fantastic Four #5 - 102,648
======
Apr 05 Ultimate Fantastic Four #17 - 72,207 ( -2.4%)
May 05 Ultimate Fantastic Four #18 - 71,478 ( -1.0%)
Jun 05 Ultimate Fantastic Four #19 - 70,300 ( -1.6%)
Jun 05 Ultimate Fantastic Four #20 - 69,097 ( -1.7%)
Jul 05 Ultimate Fantastic Four #21 - 91,321 (+32.2%)
Aug 05 Ultimate Fantastic Four #22 - 71,767 (-21.4%)
Sep 05 Ultimate Fantastic Four #23 - 71,494 ( -0.4%)
Oct 05 Ultimate Fantastic Four #24 - 70,549 ( -1.3%)
Nov 05 Ultimate Fantastic Four #25 - 70,032 ( -0.7%)
Dec 05 Ultimate Fantastic Four #26 - 69,689 ( -0.5%)
Jan 06 n/a
Feb 06 Ultimate Fantastic Four #27 - 67,922 ( -2.5%)
Mar 06 Ultimate Fantastic Four #28 - 67,480 ( -0.7%)
Apr 06 Ultimate Fantastic Four #29 - 67,554 ( +0.1%)
6 mnth ( -4.2%)
1 year ( -6.4%)
2 year (-34.2%)

Holding level.


22. FANTASTIC FOUR
Apr 01 Fantastic Four #42 - 48,996
Apr 02 Fantastic Four #54 - 44,808
Apr 03 Fantastic Four #68 - 51,405
Apr 04 Fantastic Four #512 - 52,953
======
Apr 05 Fantastic Four #525 - 45,561 ( -2.4%)
May 05 Fantastic Four #526 - 44,935 ( -1.4%)
May 05 Fantastic Four #527 - 75,525 (+68.1%)
Jun 05 Fantastic Four #528 - 55,937 (-25.9%)
Jul 05 Fantastic Four #529 - 52,963 ( -5.3%)
Aug 05 Fantastic Four #530 - 51,782 ( -2.2%)
Sep 05 Fantastic Four #531 - 49,745 ( -3.9%)
Oct 05 n/a
Nov 05 Fantastic Four #532 - 47,771 ( -4.0%)
Dec 05 Fantastic Four #533 - 46,751 ( -2.1%)
Jan 05 n/a
Feb 06 Fantastic Four #534 - 44,573 ( -4.7%)
Feb 06 Fantastic Four #535 - 43,124 ( -3.3%)
Mar 06 Fantastic Four #536 - 60,999 (+41.5%)
Apr 06 Fantastic Four #537 - 62,940 ( +3.2%)
6 mnth (+31.8%)
1 year (+38.1%)
2 year (+18.9%)
3 year (+22.4%)

Issues #536 and #537 are Civil War crossovers, on top of which they're
teasing the return of Thor. Sales duly go through the roof, which has
to be great news for next month's Civil War tie-ins. Issue #536 picks
up a healthy 3,054 re-orders to chart at number 242.


24. YOUNG AVENGERS
Apr 05 Young Avengers #3 - 75,015 ( -6.2%)
May 05 Young Avengers #4 - 69,925 ( -6.8%)
Jun 05 Young Avengers #5 - 69,956 ( +0.0%)
Jul 05 n/a
Aug 05 Young Avengers #6 - 68,733 ( -1.7%)
Sep 05 Young Avengers #7 - 67,036 ( -2.5%)
Oct 05 Young Avengers #8 - 63,873 ( -4.7%)
Nov 05 Young Avengers #9 - 63,213 ( -1.0%)
Dec 05 n/a
Jan 06 n/a
Feb 06 Young Avengers #10 - 56,347 (-10.9%)
Mar 06 n/a
Apr 06 Young Avengers #11 - 56,613 ( +0.5%)
6 mnth (-11.4%)
1 year (-24.5%)

Holding steady after last issue's alarming drop-off, but it does seem
that the erratic schedule has taken its toll slightly. It took the book
five months to drop from 70K to 63K, and then only one month to drop
from 63K to 56K? In mid-storyline? That's a worrying sign.


26. FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN
Oct 05 Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1 - 100,430
Nov 05 Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #2 - 82,988 (-17.4%)
Dec 05 Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #3 - 81,309 ( -2.0%)
Jan 06 Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #4 - 78,672 ( -3.2%)
Feb 06 n/a
Mar 06 Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #5 - 59,900 (-23.9%)
Mar 06 Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #6 - 58,853 ( -1.7%)
Apr 06 Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #7 - 55,381 ( -5.9%)
6 mnth (-44.9%)

Business as usual, from the looks of it.


28. MARVEL ZOMBIES
Dec 05 Marvel Zombies #1 (of 5) - 71,332
Jan 06 Marvel Zombies #2 (of 5) - 55,197 (-22.6%)
Feb 06 Marvel Zombies #3 (of 5) - 59,932 ( +8.6%)
Mar 06 Marvel Zombies #4 (of 5) - 60,399 ( +0.8%)
Apr 06 Marvel Zombies #5 (of 5) - 52,961 (-12.3%)

Once again, MARVEL ZOMBIES continues to sell more copies of its earlier
issues. The second printing of issue #4 hits the shelves, and sells
16,087 to chart at 122. There are also re-orders of issues #2 (3,827)
and #3 (3,236). All of that's shown above, which makes April's final
issue look like it's dropped. In fact, it's a big climber from the
first-month sales of issue #4, and no doubt it'll continue to sell in
the next few months. This has been an unexpected sleeper hit of the
sort that we very rarely see.


30. SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN
Apr 04 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #1 - 137,314
======
Apr 05 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #13 - 60,542 ( +0.9%)
May 05 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #14 - 57,270 ( -5.4%)
Jun 05 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #15 - 54,102 ( -5.5%)
Jul 05 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #16 - 50,876 ( -6.0%)
Aug 05 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #17 - 48,555 ( -4.6%)
Sep 05 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #18 - 47,654 ( -1.9%)
Oct 05 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #19 - 75,461 (+58.4%)
Nov 05 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #20 - 73,262 ( -2.9%)
Dec 05 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #21 - 76,763 ( +4.8%)
Jan 06 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #22 - 74,923 ( -2.4%)
Feb 06 Sensational Spider-Man #23 - 59,051 (-21.2%)
Mar 06 Sensational Spider-Man #24 - 53,910 ( -8.7%)
Apr 06 Sensational Spider-Man #25 - 51,992 ( -3.6%)
6 mnth (-31.1%)
1 year (-14.1%)
2 year (-62.1%)

Still dropping back towards its normal levels after the "Other"
crossover.


31. SQUADRON SUPREME
Apr 04 Supreme Power #9 - 64,284
======
Apr 05 Supreme Power #16 - 55,068 ( -0.8%)
May 05 n/a
Jun 05 Supreme Power #17 - 52,288 ( -5.0%)
Jul 05 n/a
Aug 05 Supreme Power #18 - 50,594 ( -3.2%)
Sep 05 n/a
Oct 05 n/a
Nov 05 n/a
Dec 05 n/a
Jan 06 n/a
Feb 06 n/a
Mar 06 Squadron Supreme #1 - 61,625 (+21.8%)
Apr 06 Squadron Supreme #2 - 51,197 (-16.9%)
6 mnth ( n/a )
1 year ( -7.0%)
2 year (-20.4%)

Issue #1 ships another 1,946 in re-orders. But the bigger story is that
April's number crashes straight back to the level of the Max book from
the end of its run. The stated aim of this relaunch was to expose the
book to a wider audience by making it all-ages, enable Marvel to promote
it more enthusiastically (which was duly done), and thereby boost sales.
It appears to have failed.


32. X-MEN: THE 198
Jan 06 The 198 #1 (of 5) - 68,698
Feb 06 The 198 #2 (of 5) - 58,540 (-14.8%)
Mar 06 The 198 #3 (of 5) - 53,882 ( -8.0%)
Apr 06 The 198 #4 (of 5) - 50,038 ( -7.1%)

Holding up quite well.


33. IRON MAN
Apr 01 Iron Man #41 - 36,482
Apr 02 Iron Man #53 - 37,636
Apr 03 Iron Man #67 - 32,479
Apr 04 Iron Man #79 - 29,138
======
Apr 05 Iron Man #3 - 51,390 ( -6.7%)
May 05 n/a
Jun 05 n/a
Jul 05 n/a
Aug 05 Iron Man #4 - 48,403 ( -5.8%)
Sep 05 n/a
Oct 05 n/a
Nov 05 n/a
Dec 05 n/a
Jan 06 Iron Man #5 - 45,243 ( -6.5%)
Feb 06 n/a
Mar 06 Iron Man #6 - 40,264 (-11.0%)
Apr 06 Iron Man #7 - 49,404 (+22.7%)
6 mnth ( n/a )
1 year ( -3.9%)
2 year (+69.6%)
3 year (+52.1%)

A remarkably large jump, considering that the new creative team on this
book are the writers of the not-exactly-mainstream CARNIVALE and the
artist from CABLE & DEADPOOL. But wait! What's this? Why, there's a
Bryan Hitch variant cover as well, on a 1-in-15 ratio, which distorts
the numbers. Still a very solid debut, though, even allowing for that
factor.


35. ANNIHILATION: SILVER SURFER
Apr 04 Silver Surfer #8 - 25,542
======
Apr 06 Silver Surfer #1 (of 4) - 49,120

The first of the four ANNIHILATION lead-in miniseries. Not surprisingly,
the Silver Surfer gets the best sales, since he's far and away the
biggest star. It's a big improvement from two years ago, when the
Surfer was appearing in a swiftly cancelled and horrendously pretentious
ongoing series.


36. SON OF M
Dec 05 Son of M #1 (of 6) - 62,254
Jan 06 Son of M #2 (of 6) - 52,704 (-15.3%)
Feb 06 Son of M #3 (of 6) - 52,227 ( -0.9%)
Mar 06 Son of M #4 (of 6) - 49,973 ( -4.3%)
Apr 06 Son of M #5 (of 6) - 48,785 ( -2.4%)

Again, the Decimation tie-in miniseries performs very solidly.


37. DAREDEVIL
Apr 01 Daredevil #17 - 59,122
Apr 02 Daredevil #32 - 47,576
Apr 03 Daredevil #46 - 60,517
Apr 04 Daredevil #59 - 54,398
======
Apr 05 Daredevil #72 - 48,803 ( -1.8%)
May 05 Daredevil #73 - 48,681 ( -0.2%)
Jun 05 Daredevil #74 - 48,175 ( -1.0%)
Jul 05 Daredevil #75 - 47,800 ( -0.8%)
Aug 05 Daredevil #76 - 46,424 ( -2.9%)
Sep 05 Daredevil #77 - 45,945 ( -1.0%)
Oct 05 Daredevil #78 - 45,071 ( -1.9%)
Nov 05 Daredevil #79 - 44,250 ( -1.8%)
Dec 05 Daredevil #80 - 43,309 ( -2.1%)
Jan 06 Daredevil #81 - 44,252 ( +2.2%)
Feb 06 Daredevil #82 - 53,058 (+19.9%)
Mar 06 Daredevil #83 - 46,804 (-11.8%)
Apr 06 Daredevil #84 - 47,123 ( +0.7%)
6 mnth ( +4.6%)
1 year ( -3.4%)
2 year (-13.4%)
3 year (-22.1%)

A very marginal increase, which at least shows continuing interest in Ed
Brubaker and Michael Lark's run.


39. MS MARVEL
Mar 06 Ms Marvel #1 - 73,407
Apr 06 Ms Marvel #2 - 46,204 (-37.1%)

Erk. That's an awfully big drop. But then, MS MARVEL #1 had two
variant covers by Michael Turner - one normal cover, on a 1-in-15 ratio,
and one sketch cover, on a 1-in-35 ratio. MS MARVEL #2 doesn't. The
"real" drop - from the actual readers on issue #1, rather than the
number including variant collectors - is probably much more sensible.
Nonetheless, it's a powerful illustration of the degree to which variant
covers are now distorting sales.


41. CAPTAIN AMERICA
Apr 01 Captain America #42 - 36,754
Apr 02 Captain America #1 - 90 567
Apr 03 Captain America #12 - 51,804
Apr 04 Captain America #25 - 38,584
======
Apr 05 Captain America #5 - 46,976 ( +0.7%)
May 05 Captain America #6 - 58,660 (+24.9%)
Jun 05 Captain America #7 - 47,160 (-19.6%)
Jul 05 n/a
Aug 05 Captain America #8 - 51,842 ( +9.9%)
Aug 05 Captain America #9 - 44,638 (-13.9%)
Sep 05 Captain America #10 - 52,609 (+17.9%)
Oct 05 Captain America #11 - 45,162 (-14.2%)
Nov 05 Captain America #12 - 45,038 ( -0.3%)
Dec 05 Captain America #13 - 44,954 ( -0.2%)
Jan 05 n/a
Feb 06 Captain America #14 - 44,041 ( -0.2%)
Feb 06 Captain America #15 - 43,350 ( -1.6%)
Mar 06 Captain America #16 - 44,717 ( +3.2%)
Apr 06 Captain America #17 - 45,541 ( +1.8%)
6 mnth ( +0.8%)
1 year ( -3.1%)
2 year (+18.0%)
3 year (-12.1%)

Nudging slightly up this month. In the absence of stunts and
crossovers, CAPTAIN AMERICA continues to place solidly in the mid-40K
range.


42. X-FACTOR
Dec 05 X-Factor #1 - 64,861
Dec 05 X-Factor #2 - 52,705 (-18.7%)
Jan 06 n/a
Feb 06 X-Factor #3 - 48,307 ( -8.3%)
Mar 06 X-Factor #4 - 48,183 ( -0.3%)
Mar 06 X-Factor #5 - 46,490 ( -3.5%)
Apr 06 X-Factor #6 - 45,220 ( -2.7%)

Still finding its level, but nothing to worry about.


43. INCREDIBLE HULK
Apr 01 Hulk #27 - 33,608
Apr 02 Hulk #39 - 44,517
Apr 03 Hulk #53 - 57,837
Apr 04 Hulk #71 - 46,837
======
Apr 05 Hulk #80 - 48,404 (+11.3%)
May 05 Hulk #81 - 43,822 (-10.5%)
Jun 05 Hulk #82 - 43,248 ( -1.3%)
Jul 05 Hulk #83 - 63,881 (+47.7%)
Jul 05 Hulk #84 - 58,583 ( -8.3%)
Aug 05 Hulk #85 - 53,177 ( -9.2%)
Sep 05 Hulk #86 - 52,992 ( -0.3%)
Oct 05 Hulk #87 - 42,454 (-19.9%)
Nov 05 Hulk #88 - 41,141 ( -3.1%)
Nov 05 Hulk #89 - 39,635 ( -3.7%)
Dec 05 Hulk #90 - 36,924 ( -6.8%)
Jan 06 Hulk #91 - 35,980 ( -2.6%)
Feb 06 Hulk #92 - 53,661 (+49.1%)
Mar 06 Hulk #93 - 47,437 (-11.6%)
Apr 06 Hulk #94 - 44,907 ( -5.3%)
6 mnth ( +5.8%)
1 year ( -7.2%)
2 year ( -4.1%)
3 year (-22.4%)

Issues #92 and #93 both pick up re-orders (2,012 and 3,746
respectively), which tends to support Marvel's claim that Planet Hulk is
generating real buzz. On the other hand, it's still not delivering
especially high numbers by the historical standards of this book. Mixed
signals, then.


45. X-MEN: THE END
Apr 05 Book Two #2 (of 6) - 63,005 (-11.5%)
May 05 Book Two #3 (of 6) - 58,870 ( -6.6%)
Jun 05 Book Two #4 (of 6) - 54,875 ( -6.8%)
Jul 05 Book Two #5 (of 6) - 51,949 ( -5.3%)
Aug 05 Book Two #6 (of 6) - 49,565 ( -4.6%)
Sep 05 n/a
Oct 05 n/a
Nov 05 n/a
Dec 05 n/a
Jan 06 Book Three #1 (of 6) - 52,891 ( +6.7%)
Feb 06 Book Three #2 (of 6) - 47,370 (-10.4%)
Mar 06 Book Three #3 (of 6) - 44,899 ( -5.2%)
Apr 06 Book Three #4 (of 6) - 44,586 ( -0.7%)
6 mnth ( n/a )
1 year (-29.2%)

Remaining solid as the end draws near, which tends to be the way things
go on titles like this. After all, if you've stuck with it this far,
you're not going to give up now. Fortunately, since no co-writers have
been announced, Chris Claremont presumably completed his scripts on this
book before his recent ill health.


47. ANNIHILATION: SUPER-SKRULL
Apr 06 Super-Skrull #1 (of 4) - 42,779

48. ANNIHILATION: NOVA
Apr 06 Nova #1 (of 4) - 42,458

I'd have expected NOVA to be the number two title in ANNIHILATION, but
it turns out that he's officially 321 copies less popular than the
Super-Skrull. Funny old world, isn't it? Still, good solid numbers for
the start of a miniseries.


49. NEW EXCALIBUR
Nov 05 New Excalibur #1 - 58,333
Dec 05 New Excalibur #2 - 48,816 (-16.3%)
Jan 06 New Excalibur #3 - 47,196 ( -3.3%)
Feb 06 New Excalibur #4 - 45,071 ( -4.5%)
Mar 06 New Excalibur #5 - 43,523 ( -3.4%)
Apr 06 New Excalibur #6 - 40,687 ( -6.5%)

Still dropping, and rather too quickly for comfort by this point. Writer
Chris Claremont is absent for the time being with ill health, which
can't help matters - NEW EXCALIBUR seems to exist for the purpose of
catering to the Claremont fanbase, which is a perfectly good reason to
exist, but only if you've got Chris Claremont to write it.


50. NEW X-MEN
Apr 04 New Mutants #11 - 34,148
======
Apr 05 New X-Men #12 - 35,779 ( +0.6%)
May 05 New X-Men #13 - 35,033 ( -2.1%)
May 05 New X-Men #14 - 34,579 ( -1.3%)
Jun 05 New X-Men #15 - 34,007 ( -1.7%)
Jul 05 New X-Men #16 - 49,217 (+44.7%)
Aug 05 New X-Men #17 - 43,908 (-10.8%)
Sep 05 New X-Men #18 - 43,286 ( -1.4%)
Oct 05 New X-Men #19 - 41,691 ( -3.7%)
Nov 05 New X-Men #20 - 59,466 (+42.6%)
Dec 05 New X-Men #21 - 43,473 (-26.9%)
Jan 06 New X-Men #22 - 42,923 ( -1.3%)
Feb 06 New X-Men #23 - 41,463 ( -3.4%)
Mar 06 New X-Men #24 - 42,044 ( +1.4%)
Apr 06 New X-Men #25 - 40,176 ( -4.4%)
6 mnth ( -3.6%)
1 year (+12.3%)
2 year (+17.7%)

Dropping back somewhat, but still considerably up on the book's previous
incarnations.


51. ANNIHILATION: RONAN
Apr 06 Ronan #1 (of 4) - 39,010

The straggler of ANNIHILATION, but he's not too far behind the pack. And
39K for the debut issue of a Ronan the Accuser miniseries is pretty
good, to be fair.


52. SPIDER-WOMAN: ORIGIN
Dec 05 Origin #1 (of 5) - 66,791
Jan 06 Origin #2 (of 5) - 43,684 (-34.6%)
Feb 06 Origin #3 (of 5) - 40,553 ( -7.2%)
Mar 06 Origin #4 (of 5) - 39,768 ( -1.9%)
Apr 06 Origin #5 (of 5) - 38,602 ( -2.9%)

A fairly typical miniseries decline, bearing in mind that issue #1 was
boosted by variants.


58. SENTRY
Sep 05 Sentry #1 (of 8) - 93,021
Oct 05 Sentry #2 (of 8) - 53,384 (-42.6%)
Nov 05 Sentry #3 (of 8) - 47,903 (-10.3%)
Dec 05 Sentry #4 (of 8) - 41,901 (-12.5%)
Jan 06 n/a
Feb 06 Sentry #5 (of 8) - 39,257 ( -6.3%)
Feb 06 Sentry #6 (of 8) - 37,230 ( -5.2%)
Mar 06 Sentry #7 (of 8) - 35,203 ( -5.4%)
Apr 06 Sentry #8 (of 8) - 34,192 ( -2.9%)
6 mnth (-36.0%)

Levelling off in the later months, but still a bit of an underperformer
considering that he's in NEW AVENGERS.


59. EXILES
Apr 02 Exiles #12 - 38,766
Apr 03 Exiles #25 - 36,414
Apr 04 Exiles #45 - 37,878
======
Apr 05 Exiles #62 - 33,965 (-19.5%)
Apr 05 Exiles #63 - 33,728 ( -0.7%)
May 05 Exiles #64 - 34,033 ( +0.9%)
Jun 05 Exiles #65 - 34,484 ( +1.3%)
Jul 05 Exiles #66 - 34,092 ( -1.1%)
Jul 05 Exiles #67 - 33,751 ( -1.0%)
Aug 05 Exiles #68 - 33,815 ( +0.2%)
Sep 05 Exiles #69 - 43,794 (+29.5%)
Sep 05 Exiles #70 - 42,434 ( -3.1%)
Oct 05 Exiles #71 - 41,131 ( -3.1%)
Nov 05 Exiles #72 - 34,329 (-16.5%)
Nov 05 Exiles #73 - 34,008 ( -0.9%)
Dec 05 Exiles #74 - 33,881 ( -0.4%)
Jan 06 Exiles #75 - 33,485 ( -1.2%)
Jan 06 Exiles #76 - 32,843 ( -1.9%)
Feb 06 Exiles #77 - 32,998 ( +0.5%)
Mar 06 Exiles #78 - 33,506 ( +1.5%)
Apr 06 Exiles #79 - 34,119 ( +1.8%)
6 mnth (-17.0%)
1 year ( +0.5%)
2 year ( -9.9%)
3 year ( -6.3%)

Nudging slightly upwards as "World Tour" continues. This time, it's the
Future Imperfect world from Peter David's INCREDIBLE HULK run.
Basically, though, EXILES continues to hover stubbornly in the mid-30K
range. One of Marvel's most consistent mid-table performers.


60. PUNISHER
Apr 02 Punisher #11 - 44,956
Apr 03 Punisher #24 - 40,503
Apr 04 Punisher #5 - 34,234
======
Apr 05 Punisher #19 - 38,753 ( +1.1%)
Apr 05 Punisher #20 - 38,130 ( -1.6%)
May 05 Punisher #21 - 37,998 ( -0.3%)
Jun 05 Punisher #22 - 37,811 ( -0.5%)
Jul 05 Punisher #23 - 37,376 ( -1.2%)
Aug 05 Punisher #24 - 37,022 ( -0.9%)
Sep 05 Punisher #25 - 37,149 ( +0.3%)
Oct 05 Punisher #26 - 36,450 ( -1.9%)
Nov 05 Punisher #27 - 36,072 ( -1.0%)
Dec 05 Punisher #28 - 35,535 ( -1.5%)
Jan 05 Punisher #29 - 34,708 ( -2.3%)
Feb 06 Punisher #30 - 34,293 ( -1.2%)
Mar 06 Punisher #31 - 34,505 ( +0.6%)
Apr 06 Punisher #32 - 34,076 ( -1.2%)
6 mnth ( -6.5%)
1 year (-12.1%)
2 year ( -0.5%)
3 year (-15.9%)

Another book with extremely solid sales, although there's a slow
downward slide visible in the long run.


66. X-MEN: APOCALYPSE VS DRACULA
Feb 06 Apocalypse vs Dracula #1 (of 4) - 37,057
Mar 06 Apocalypse vs Dracula #2 (of 4) - 31,719 (-14.4%)
Apr 06 Apocalypse vs Dracula #3 (of 4) - 29,010 ( -8.5%)

Pretty good numbers when you consider that it's an Apocalypse versus
Dracula miniseries.


69. BLACK PANTHER
Apr 01 Black Panther #31 - 19,699
Apr 02 Black Panther #43 - 19,883
Apr 03 Black Panther #57 - 16,431
======
Apr 05 Black Panther #3 - 44,925 ( -5.5%)
May 05 Black Panther #4 - 40,804 ( -9.2%)
Jun 05 Black Panther #5 - 37,401 ( -8.1%)
Jul 05 Black Panther #6 - 35,256 ( -5.7%)
Aug 05 Black Panther #7 - 42,905 (+21.7%)
Sep 05 Black Panther #8 - 46,239 ( +7.8%)
Oct 05 Black Panther #9 - 40,173 (-13.1%)
Nov 05 Black Panther #10 - 31,987 (-20.4%)
Dec 05 Black Panther #11 - 29,327 ( -8.3%)
Jan 06 Black Panther #12 - 27,933 ( -4.7%)
Feb 06 Black Panther #13 - 26,054 ( -6.7%)
Mar 06 Black Panther #14 - 28,809 (+10.6%)
Apr 06 Black Panther #15 - 28,361 ( -1.6%)
6 mnth (-29.4%)
1 year (-36.9%)
2 year ( n/a )
3 year (+72.6%)

Part two of a five-part arc leading into the wedding. It's arrested the
slide, bt that's really all you can say for it. There's no sign of this
generating anything like the sort of interest Marvel seemed to be hoping
for. The wedding issue itself will do fine - it's a CIVIL WAR
crossover. Then again, given that this stunt has been aggressively
hyped to a mainstream, non-comics-reading black audience, you really
have to question the wisdom of bringing them in and then delivering them
a tie-in issue of a seventy part crossover. Who IS this storyline aimed
at, exactly?


74, NEXTWAVE: AGENTS OF H.A.T.E.
Jan 06 Nextwave #1 - 41,041
Feb 06 n/a
Mar 06 Nextwave #2 - 29,911 (-27.1%)
Mar 06 Nextwave #3 - 27,126 ( -9.3%)
Apr 06 Nextwave #4 - 26,728 ( -1.5%)

Levelling out nicely.


77. CABLE & DEADPOOL
Apr 04 Cable & Deadpool #2 - 39,472
======
Apr 05 Cable & Deadpool #14 - 24,994 ( -2.2%)
May 05 Cable & Deadpool #15 - 24,837 ( -0.6%)
Jun 05 Cable & Deadpool #16 - 24,612 ( -0.9%)
Jul 05 Cable & Deadpool #17 - 34,393 (+39.7%)
Aug 05 Cable & Deadpool #18 - 25,304 (-26.4%)
Sep 05 Cable & Deadpool #19 - 25,298 ( -0.0%)
Sep 05 Cable & Deadpool #20 - 24,982 ( -1.2%)
Oct 05 Cable & Deadpool #21 - 25,030 ( +0.2%)
Nov 05 Cable & Deadpool #22 - 23,746 ( -5.1%)
Dec 05 Cable & Deadpool #23 - 23,296 ( -1.9%)
Jan 06 Cable & Deadpool #24 - 23,542 ( +1.1%)
Feb 06 Cable & Deadpool #25 - 22,918 ( -2.7%)
Mar 06 Cable & Deadpool #26 - 25,584 (+11.6%)
Apr 06 Cable & Deadpool #27 - 26,153 ( +2.2%)
6 mnth ( +4.5%)
1 year ( +4.6%)
2 year (-33.7%)

Nudging marginally up. Issues #26 and #27 are a prequel to the "Blood
of Apocalypse" storyline in X-MEN, which is the likely explanation.


83. STORM
Feb 06 Storm #1 (of 6) - 32,831
Mar 06 Storm #2 (of 6) - 25,905 (-21.1%)
Apr 06 Storm #3 (of 6) - 24,214 ( -6.5%)

Levelling out. In fairness, it's substantially outselling the ORORO:
BEFORE THE STORM miniseries from last summer. But again, the hype would
lead you to expect more.


84. THUNDERBOLTS
Apr 01 Thunderbolts #51 - 34,746
Apr 02 Thunderbolts #63 - 29,042
Apr 03 Thunderbolts #78 - 21,806
======
Apr 05 New Thunderbolts #7 - 28,977 ( -0.4%)
May 05 New Thunderbolts #8 - 27,769 ( -4.2%)
Jun 05 New Thunderbolts #9 - 27,300 ( -1.7%)
Jul 05 New Thunderbolts #10 - 25,978 ( -4.8%)
Aug 05 New Thunderbolts #11 - 37,036 (+42.6%)
Sep 05 New Thunderbolts #12 - 25,912 (-30.0%)
Oct 05 New Thunderbolts #13 - 29,250 (+12.9%)
Oct 05 New Thunderbolts #14 - 27,864 ( -4.7%)
Nov 05 New Thunderbolts #15 - 25,245 ( -9.4%)
Dec 05 New Thunderbolts #16 - 25,084 ( -0.6%)
Jan 06 New Thunderbolts #17 - 23,417 ( -6.7%)
Feb 06 New Thunderbolts #18 - 23,735 ( +1.4%)
Mar 06 Thunderbolts #100 - 26,798 (+12.9%)
Apr 06 Thunderbolts #101 - 24,170 ( -9.8%)
6 mnth (-13.3%)
1 year (-16.6%)
2 year ( n/a )
3 year (+10.8%)

Back to normal after the anniversary issue.


86. RUNAWAYS
Apr 03 Runaways #1 - 25,833
Apr 04 Runaways #14 - 19,363
======
Apr 05 Runaways #3 - 30,332 ( -3.2%)
May 05 Runaways #4 - 28,968 ( -4.5%)
Jun 05 Runaways #5 - 28,409 ( -1.9%)
Jul 05 Runaways #6 - 27,365 ( -3.7%)
Aug 05 Runaways #7 - 27,063 ( -1.1%)
Sep 05 Runaways #8 - 26,954 ( -0.4%)
Oct 05 Runaways #9 - 26,800 ( -0.6%)
Nov 05 Runaways #10 - 25,761 ( -3.9%)
Dec 05 Runaways #11 - 25,260 ( -1.9%)
Jan 06 Runaways #12 - 24,989 ( -1.1%)
Feb 06 Runaways #13 - 24,313 ( -2.7%)
Mar 06 Runaways #14 - 24,536 ( +0.9%)
Apr 06 Runaways #15 - 24,046 ( -2.0%)
6 mnth (-10.3%)
1 year (-20.7%)
2 year (+24.2%)
3 year ( -6.9%)

Slow but steady decline.


91. X-MEN UNLIMITED
Apr 01 X-Men Unlimited #31 - 43,274
Apr 02 X-Men Unlimited #35 - 39,897
Apr 03 X-Men Unlimited #43 - 35,756
Apr 04 X-Men Unlimited #2 - 42,597
======
Apr 05 X-Men Unlimited #8 - 25,686 ( -4.9%)
May 05 n/a
Jun 05 X-Men Unlimited #9 - 25,398 ( -1.1%)
Jul 05 n/a
Aug 05 X-Men Unlimited #10 - 23,717 ( -6.6%)
Sep 05 n/a
Oct 05 X-Men Unlimited #11 - 23,344 ( -1.6%)
Nov 05 n/a
Dec 05 X-Men Unlimited #12 - 22,134 ( -5.2%)
Jan 06 n/a
Feb 06 X-Men Unlimited #13 - 25,257 (+14.1%)
Mar 06 n/a
Apr 06 X-Men Unlimited #14 - 22,749 ( -9.9%)
6 mnth ( -2.5%)
1 year (-11.4%)
2 year (-46.6%)
3 year (-36.4%)

Back to its normal range.


93. SENTINEL SQUAD O*N*E
Jan 06 Sentinel Squad O*N*E #1 (of 5) - 34,988
Feb 06 Sentinel Squad O*N*E #2 (of 5) - 26,971 (-22.9%)
Mar 06 Sentinel Squad O*N*E #3 (of 5) - 24,334 ( -9.8%)
Apr 06 Sentinel Squad O*N*E #4 (of 5) - 21,874 (-10.1%)

Disappearing off the radar altogether.


95. OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE
Apr 05 Spider-Man 2005 - 25,530 (-31.1%)
May 05 Teams 2005 - 22,564 (-11.6%)
Jun 05 Fantastic Four 2005 - 21,970 ( -2.6%)
Jul 05 Avengers 2005 - 23,668 ( +7.7%)
Aug 05 Ultimate Universe 2005 - 25,436 ( +7.5%)
Sep 05 Alternate Universes 2005 - 18,680 (-26.6%)
Oct 05 Horror 2005 - 15,849 (-15.2%)
Nov 05 X-Men 2005 - 22,986 (+45.0%)
Dec 05 Ultimates/Ultimate X-Men 2005 - 20,795 ( -9.5%)
Jan 06 A to Z #1 (of 12) - 23,423 (+12.6%)
Feb 06 A to Z #2 (of 12) - 21,828 ( -6.8%)
Mar 06 A to Z #3 (of 12) - 21,681 ( -0.7%)
Apr 06 A to Z #4 (of 12) - 21,531 ( -0.7%)
6 mnth (+35.9%)
1 year (-15.7%)

Well, my assumption that the A TO Z series would go into a typical
miniseries decline has been comprehensively disproved. Since it doesn't
cover characters already featured in earlier volumes, this is largely a
tour around the obscure corners of the Marvel Universe, but it's still
drawing 21,000 readers religiously every month. (Interestingly,
"Horror" was apparently a significantly less enticing theme than "a
bunch of random characters with names between D and G.")


96. FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST FAMILY
Mar 06 First Family #1 (of 6) - 26,435
Apr 06 First Family #2 (of 6) - 21,444 (-18.9%)

Normal second-issue drop.


101. FOUR
Apr 04 Marvel Knights 4 #4 - 45,926
======
Apr 05 Marvel Knights 4 #17 - 29,189 ( -1.4%)
May 05 Marvel Knights 4 #18 - 28,649 ( -1.9%)
Jun 05 Marvel Knights 4 #19 - 28,153 ( -1.7%)
Jul 05 Marvel Knights 4 #20 - 27,548 ( -2.1%)
Aug 05 Marvel Knights 4 #21 - 27,023 ( -1.9%)
Sep 05 Marvel Knights 4 #22 - 26,446 ( -2.1%)
Oct 05 Marvel Knights 4 #23 - 25,100 ( -5.1%)
Nov 05 Marvel Knights 4 #24 - 24,129 ( -3.9%)
Dec 05 Marvel Knights 4 #25 - 22,753 ( -5.7%)
Jan 06 Marvel Knights 4 #26 - 21,365 ( -6.1%)
Feb 06 Marvel Knights 4 #27 - 20,977 ( -1.8%)
Mar 06 Four #28 - 20,976 ( -0.0%)
Apr 06 Four #29 - 21,233 ( +1.2%)
6 mnth (-15.4%)
1 year (-27.3%)
2 year (-53.8%)

Cancelled with issue #30, and the marginal increase is too little too
late.


102. THING
Nov 05 Thing #1 - 30,188
Dec 05 Thing #2 - 23,606 (-21.8%)
Jan 06 Thing #3 - 21,839 ( -7.5%)
Feb 06 Thing #4 - 21,190 ( -3.0%)
Mar 06 Thing #5 - 20,348 ( -4.0%)
Apr 06 Thing #6 - 20,577 ( +1.1%)

The same applies here. O'Brien's first law of comics sales: by the time
the creative team are publicly lobbying for you to buy their comic, it's
probably too late. THING is axed with issue #8, and the very marginal
increase in sales - less than 200 copies - really doesn't undermine that
decision. Plenty of books see marginal increases and then resume their
decline the next month. Genuine turnarounds are few and far between and
remember, Marvel have already seen the sales figures for the following
issues.


104. IRON MAN: INEVITABLE
Dec 05 Inevitable #1 (of 6) - 31,032
Jan 06 Inevitable #2 (of 6) - 25,382 (-18.2%)
Feb 06 Inevitable #3 (of 6) - 22,997 ( -9.4%)
Mar 06 Inevitable #4 (of 6) - 21,430 ( -6.8%)
Apr 06 Inevitable #5 (of 6) - 20,329 ( -5.1%)

Quietly forgotten.


108. MARVEL TEAM-UP
Apr 05 Marvel Team-Up #7 - 24,800 ( +0.2%)
May 05 Marvel Team-Up #8 - 24,270 ( -2.1%)
Jun 05 Marvel Team-Up #9 - 23,530 ( -3.0%)
Jul 05 Marvel Team-Up #10 - 22,549 ( -4.2%)
Aug 05 Marvel Team-Up #11 - 22,150 ( -1.8%)
Sep 05 Marvel Team-Up #12 - 21,240 ( -4.1%)
Oct 05 Marvel Team-Up #13 - 21,048 ( -0.9%)
Nov 05 Marvel Team-Up #14 - 26,200 (+24.5%)
Dec 05 Marvel Team-Up #15 - 20,000 (-23.7%)
Jan 06 Marvel Team-Up #16 - 19,955 ( -0.2%)
Feb 06 Marvel Team-Up #17 - 19,422 ( -2.7%)
Mar 06 Marvel Team-Up #18 - 18,944 ( -2.5%)
Apr 06 Marvel Team-Up #19 - 19,891 ( +5.0%)
6 mnth ( -5.5%)
1 year (-19.8%)

The lowest selling Marvel Universe title that hasn't been cancelled yet.


110. FURY: PEACEMAKER
Feb 06 Peacemaker #1 (of 6) - 27,423
Mar 06 Peacemaker #2 (of 6) - 21,612 (-21.2%)
Apr 06 Peacemaker #3 (of 6) - 19,177 (-11.3%)

Another miniseries disappearing off the radar, which is surprising
considering the creators involved.


115. SPIDER-GIRL
Apr 01 Spider-Girl #33 - 23,995
Apr 02 Spider-Girl #46 - 23,781
Apr 03 Spider-Girl #59 - 23,199
Apr 04 Spider-Girl #72 - 20,533
======
Apr 05 Spider-Girl #85 - 19,682 ( -1.8%)
May 05 Spider-Girl #86 - 19,452 ( -1.2%)
Jun 05 Spider-Girl #87 - 19,605 ( +0.8%)
Jul 05 Spider-Girl #88 - 18,983 ( -3.2%)
Aug 05 Spider-Girl #89 - 18,538 ( -2.3%)
Sep 05 Spider-Girl #90 - 18,344 ( -1.0%)
Oct 05 Spider-Girl #91 - 18,159 ( -1.0%)
Nov 05 Spider-Girl #92 - 17,597 ( -3.1%)
Dec 05 Spider-Girl #93 - 17,057 ( -3.1%)
Jan 06 Spider-Girl #94 - 17,148 ( +0.5%)
Feb 06 Spider-Girl #95 - 16,778 ( -2.2%)
Mar 06 Spider-Girl #96 - 16,739 ( -0.2%)
Apr 06 Spider-Girl #97 - 17,508 ( +4.6%)
6 mnth ( -3.6%)
1 year (-11.0%)
2 year (-14.7%)
3 year (-24.5%)

Cancelled with issue #100. Again, this month's increase really isn't
that significant in the bigger picture, when you compare the sort of
sales that SPIDER-GIRL was regularly generating between 2001 and 2003.
It just isn't the solid (albeit modest) performer that it used to be.


125. X-STATIX PRESENTS DEAD GIRL
Apr 01 X-Force #115 - 36,361
Apr 02 X-Force #127 - 42,014
Apr 03 X-Statix #10 - 31,009
Apr 04 X-Statix #21 - 25,911
======
Jan 06 Dead Girl #1 (of 5) - 20,685
Feb 06 Dead Girl #2 (of 5) - 17,369 (-16.0%)
Mar 06 Dead Girl #3 (of 5) - 16,048 ( -7.6%)
Apr 06 Dead Girl #4 (of 5) - 15,606 ( -2.8%)
2 year (-39.8%)
3 year (-49.7%)

A book which seems to have been generally ignored. Oh well.


145. DAUGHTERS OF THE DRAGON
Jan 06 Daughters of the Dragon #1 (of 6) - 17,522
Feb 06 n/a
Mar 06 Daughters of the Dragon #2 (of 6) - 13,256 (-24.3%)
Mar 06 Daughters of the Dragon #3 (of 6) - 12,104 ( -8.7%)
Apr 06 Daughters of the Dragon #4 (of 6) - 11,604 ( -4.1%)

Leading in to a new HEROES FOR HIRE title, which debuts as part of CIVIL
WAR. To judge by the sales on this miniseries, it'll need all the help
it can get.


154. BOOK OF LOST SOULS
Oct 05 Book of Lost Souls #1 - 24,365
Nov 05 Book of Lost Souls #2 - 20,002 (-17.9%)
Dec 05 Book of Lost Souls #3 - 15,308 (-23.5%)
Jan 06 Book of Lost Souls #4 - 13,455 (-12.1%)
Feb 06 Book of Lost Souls #5 - 11,941 (-11.3%)
Mar 06 n/a
Apr 06 Book of Lost Souls #6 - 10,627 (-11.0%)
6 mnth (-56.4%)

An Icon book, so Marvel don't really care how well it sells.
Nonetheless, this is a remarkably low number for a title written by one
of their star creators. Admittedly, Straczynski wouldn't be the first
writer whose fanbase didn't follow him beyond superhero comics, but the
difference is that he already had a vocal fanbase before coming to
comics. I'd always assumed there were rather more of them, but
apparently not. The book goes on hiatus after this, although the
creators say that issue #7 will be solicited in due course.


161. NEW MANGAVERSE
Jan 06 New Mangaverse #1 (of 5) - 14,403
Feb 06 New Mangaverse #2 (of 5) - 11,462 (-20.4%)
Mar 06 New Mangaverse #3 (of 5) - 10,427 ( -9.0%)
Apr 06 New Mangaverse #4 (of 5) - 9,723 ( -6.8%)

162. DOC SAMSON
Jan 06 Doc Samson #1 (of 5) - 18,240
Feb 06 Doc Samson #2 (of 5) - 13,230 (-27.5%)
Mar 06 Doc Samson #3 (of 5) - 10,827 (-18.2%)
Apr 06 Doc Samson #4 (of 5) - 9,621 (-11.1%)

File under "Well, what did they expect?"


166. AMAZING FANTASY
Apr 05 Amazing Fantasy #7 - 21,802 ( -8.9%)
May 05 Amazing Fantasy #8 - 17,773 (-18.5%)
Jun 05 Amazing Fantasy #9 - 15,606 (-12.2%)
Jul 05 Amazing Fantasy #10 - 14,729 ( -5.6%)
Aug 05 Amazing Fantasy #11 - 12,788 (-13.2%)
Sep 05 Amazing Fantasy #12 - 11,983 ( -6.3%)
Oct 05 Amazing Fantasy #13 - 11,973 ( -0.0%)
Oct 05 Amazing Fantasy #14 - 11,623 ( -2.9%)
Nov 05 Amazing Fantasy #15 - 13,958 (+20.1%)
Dec 05 Amazing Fantasy #16 - 11,816 (-15.3%)
Jan 06 Amazing Fantasy #17 - 10,517 (-11.0%)
Feb 06 n/a
Mar 06 Amazing Fantasy #18 - 10,108 ( -3.9%)
Mar 06 Amazing Fantasy #19 - 9,535 ( -5.7%)
Apr 06 Amazing Fantasy #20 - 8,929 ( -6.4%)
6 mnth (-23.2%)
1 year (-59.0%)

Axed, as reality finally catches up on the beleaguered anthology.


169. UNDERWORLD
Feb 06 Underworld #1 (of 5) - 12,479
Mar 06 Underworld #2 (of 5) - 11,134 (-10.8%)
Apr 06 Underworld #3 (of 5) - 8,667 (-22.2%)

Disastrous. UNDERWORLD really isn't that bad, but with two issues yet
to go, it looks set to break records for a Marvel Universe title. If it
carries on dropping at this rate, it's in serious danger of falling
below MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN, and I can't remember any Marvel
Universe book doing that before.


178. AVENGERS & POWER PACK ASSEMBLE!
Apr 06 Avengers & Power Pack Assemble #1 (of 4) - 7,857

The third POWER PACK miniseries, which must be doing good business in
digest format, since they're certainly not selling in the direct market.


186. SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE
Dec 05 Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #1 - 11,171
Jan 06 Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #2 - 8,590 (-23.1%)
Feb 06 Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #3 - 7,648 (-11.0%)
Mar 06 Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #4 - 7,672 ( +0.3%)
Apr 06 Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #5 - 7,165 ( -6.6%)

Solid, if nothing else.


189. SABLE & FORTUNE
Jan 06 Sable & Fortune #1 (of 4) - 15,451
Feb 06 Sable & Fortune #2 (of 4) - 10,751 (-30.4%)
Mar 06 Sable & Fortune #3 (of 4) - 7,755 (-27.9%)
Apr 06 Sable & Fortune #4 (of 4) - 6,968 (-10.1%)

Cut back from an initial six issues. This issue features fill-in art
that might tactfully be described as unfortunate. The artist, who is
capable of much better and was presumably working on a tight deadline,
can perhaps take some comfort in knowing that very few people saw it.


200. MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN
Apr 05 Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #2 - 10,305 (-28.2%)
May 05 Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #3 - 9,110 (-11.6%)
Jun 05 Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #4 - 8,878 ( -2.5%)
Jul 05 Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #5 - 8,075 ( -9.0%)
Aug 05 Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #6 - 7,636 ( -5.4%)
Sep 05 Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #7 - 7,199 ( -5.7%)
Oct 05 Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #8 - 7,088 ( -1.5%)
Nov 05 Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #9 - 6,637 ( -6.4%)
Dec 05 Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #10 - 6,391 ( -3.7%)
Jan 06 Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #11 - 6,107 ( -4.4%)
Feb 06 Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #12 - 6,087 ( -0.3%)
Mar 06 Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #13 - 5,899 ( -3.1%)
Apr 06 Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #14 - 5,970 ( +1.2%)
6 mnth (-15.8%)
1 year (-42.1%)

215. MARVEL ADVENTURES: FANTASTIC FOUR
May 05 Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four #0 - 9,723
Jun 05 Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four #1 - 9,617 ( -1.1%)
Jul 05 Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four #2 - 6,864 (-28.6%)
Aug 05 Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four #3 - 6,447 ( -6.1%)
Sep 05 Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four #4 - 6,064 ( -5.9%)
Oct 05 Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four #5 - 5,969 ( -1.6%)
Nov 05 Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four #6 - 5,522 ( -7.5%)
Dec 05 Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four #7 - 5,058 ( -8.4%)
Jan 06 Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four #8 - 4,834 ( -4.4%)
Feb 06 Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four #9 - 4,711 ( -2.5%)
Mar 06 Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four #10 - 4,663 ( -1.0%)
Apr 06 Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four #11 - 4,526 ( -2.9%)
6 mnth (-24.2%)

The Marvel Adventures titles are aimed primarily at the digest market,
so their direct market sales aren't particularly important.


220. MARVEL ROMANCE REDUX
Feb 06 But He Said He Loved Me - 7,070
Mar 06 Guys & Doll - 6,150 (-13.0%)
Apr 06 Restraining Orders Are For Other Girls - 4,359 (-29.1%)

Well, this is looking like a disaster. Still, at least there are no
artists to pay. My initial theory was that Marvel might get their money
back by repackaging it as a humour book for the bookstores, but
bizarrely, the series is full of comics industry jokes, which puts paid
to that idea.

This month's MARVEL MILESTONES reprint is AMAZING ADVENTURES #11 (the
story from 1972 where the Beast becomes furry) backed up with UNCANNY
X-MEN #153 ("Kitty's Fairy Tale", presumably to tie in with May's X-MEN:
FAIRY TALES miniseries). It sells 3,367 copies to chart at number 233.
One has to wonder, even as reprint books, whether the MILESTONES books
are really worth Marvel's time when they sell at this level.


235. MARVEL SPOTLIGHT
Dec 05 John Cassaday & Sean McKeever - 9,763
Jan 06 Warren Ellis & Jim Cheung - 6,843 (-29.9%)
Feb 06 Joss Whedon & Michael Lark - 5,947 (-13.1%)
Mar 06 David Finch & Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa - 4,146 (-30.3%)
Apr 06 Daniel Way & Olivier Coipel - 3,309 (-20.2%)

Incredibly, Marvel continue to solicit these things. They're 32-page
interview and sketch books with no adverts, which makes you wonder how
they can possibly be making anything but a massive loss. If sales
continue to drop at this rate, there's a real likelihood of MARVEL
SPOTLIGHT becoming Marvel's first ongoing, non-reprint series to drop
off the top 300 altogether. In fact, if sales continue to drop at this
rate, it'll be selling less than zero in six months time.


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

NEW AVENGERS: ILLUMINATI
Mar 06 Illuminati - 122,920

March's one-shot sells 15,008 more copies in re-orders, placing at
number 127.


ULTIMATE WOLVERINE VS HULK
Dec 05 Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk #1 (of 6) - 115,492
Jan 06 n/a
Feb 06 Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk #2 (of 6) - 105,770 (-8.4%)
Mar 06 n/a
Apr 06 n/a

Late. (Given that this involves a writer from TV, it's worth mentioning
that it's a bimonthly title, not just a very late monthly.)


ULTIMATES
Apr 02 Ultimates #
4 - 103,153
Apr 03 n/a
Apr 04 n/a
======
Apr 05 Ultimates 2 #5 - 104,971 ( -0.3%)
May 05 Ultimates 2 #6 - 102,026 ( -2.8%)
Jun 05 n/a
Jul 05 Ultimates 2 #7 - 99,134 ( -2.8%)
Aug 05 n/a
Sep 05 Ultimates 2 #8 - 95,980 ( -3.2%)
Oct 05 n/a
Nov 05 n/a
Dec 05 Ultimates 2 #9 - 94,493 ( -1.5%)
Jan 06 n/a
Feb 06 n/a
Mar 06 Ultimates 2 #10 - 94,900 ( +0.4%)
Apr 06 n/a

Late. Hey, remember when they said they were going to get a good head
start on this series so that it would all run through without any
delays?


X-MEN: DEADLY GENESIS
Nov 05 Deadly Genesis #1 (of 6) - 117,042
Dec 05 Deadly Genesis #2 (of 6) - 83,159 (-28.9%)
Jan 06 Deadly Genesis #3 (of 6) - 78,238 ( -5.9%)
Feb 06 Deadly Genesis #4 (of 6) - 77,549 ( -0.9%)
Mar 06 Deadly Genesis #5 (of 6) - 77,585 ( +0.0%)
Apr 06 n/a

Slightly late - the book slipped into May. Issue #5 picks up 2,901
re-orders.


ANNIHILATION: PROLOGUE
Mar 06 Prologue - 63,869

Another 2,085 re-orders, charting at 264.


DAREDEVIL: FATHER
Apr 04 Father #1 (of 5) - 66,050
======
Apr 05 n/a
May 05 n/a
Jun 05 n/a
Jul 05 n/a
Aug 05 Father #2 (of 5) - 39,745 (-42.8%)
Sep 05 Father #3 (of 5) - 37,571 ( -5.5%)
Oct 05 n/a
Nov 05 Father #4 (of 5) - 33,562 (-10.7%)
Dec 05 Father #5 (of 6) - 30,249 ( -9.9%)
Jan 06 n/a
Feb 06 n/a
Mar 06 n/a
Apr 06 n/a

Incredibly, still not finished, two years after the series started. Not
exactly a glowing example of professionalism from the editor-in-chief.


SHE-HULK
Apr 04 She-Hulk #2 - 30,779
======
Oct 05 She-Hulk #1 - 37,220 (+60.4%)
Nov 05 She-Hulk #2 - 31,610 (-15.1%)
Dec 05 She-Hulk #3 - 29,428 ( -6.9%)
Jan 06 She-Hulk #4 - 28,214 ( -4.1%)
Feb 06 She-Hulk #5 - 27,183 ( -3.7%)
Mar 06 She-Hulk #6 - 26,631 ( -2.0%)
Apr 06 n/a

Late.


POWERS
Apr 01 Powers #11 - 24,977
Apr 02 Powers #20 - 27,333
Apr 03 Powers #30 - 26,690
Apr 04 n/a
======
Apr 05 Powers #10 - 28,360 ( -0.5%)
May 05 n/a
Jun 05 Powers #11 - 27,703 ( -2.3%)
Jul 05 n/a
Aug 05 Powers #12 - 30,290 ( +9.3%)
Sep 05 n/a
Oct 05 Powers #13 - 26,535 (-12.4%)
Nov 05 Powers #14 - 26,109 ( -1.6%)
Dec 05 Powers #15 - 25,633 ( -1.8%)
Jan 06 n/a
Feb 06 Powers #16 - 24,924 ( -2.8%)
Mar 06 Powers #17 - 24,139 ( -3.1%)
Apr 06 n/a

Late.


BOOKS OF DOOM
Nov 05 Books of Doom #1 (of 6) - 34,413
Dec 05 Books of Doom #2 (of 6) - 27,767 (-19.3%)
Jan 06 Books of Doom #3 (of 6) - 25,157 ( -9.4%)
Feb 06 n/a
Mar 06 Books of Doom #4 (of 6) - 23,804 ( -5.4%)
Mar 06 Books of Doom #5 (of 6) - 22,715 ( -4.6%)
Apr 06 n/a

Late.


SPIDER-MAN UNLIMITED
Apr 04 n/a
======
Apr 05 n/a
May 05 Spider-Man Unlimited #9 - 16,953 ( -3.9%)
Jun 05 n/a
Jul 05 Spider-Man Unlimited #10 - 16,104 ( -5.0%)
Aug 05 n/a
Sep 05 Spider-Man Unlimited #11 - 15,684 ( -2.6%)
Oct 05 n/a
Nov 05 Spider-Man Unlimited #12 - 15,150 ( -3.4%)
Dec 05 n/a
Jan 06 Spider-Man Unlimited #13 - 13,780 ( -9.0%)
Feb 06 n/a
Mar 06 Spider-Man Unlimited #14 - 20,188 (+46.5%)
Apr 06 n/a

Bimonthly.


ARES
Jan 06 Ares #1 (of 5) - 20,541
Feb 06 Ares #2 (of 5) - 16,884 (-17.8%)
Mar 06 Ares #3 (of 5) - 15,895 (-14.4%)
Apr 06 n/a

Late.


KABUKI
Apr 05 Kabuki #4 - 14,327 ( +3.2%)
May 05 n/a
Jun 05 n/a
Aug 05 n/a
Sep 05 n/a
Oct 05 Kabuki #5 - 11,420 (-20.3%)
Nov 05 n/a
Dec 05 n/a
Jan 06 n/a
Feb 06 Kabuki #6 - 11,349 ( -0.6%)
Mar 06 n/a
Apr 06 n/a

World of its own.


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

+35.9% - Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
+31.8% - Fantastic Four
+12.7% - Ultimate Galactus Trilogy
+ 5.8% - Incredible Hulk
+ 5.6% - X-Men
+ 4.6% - Daredevil
+ 4.5% - Cable & Deadpool
+ 0.8% - Captain America
- 2.5% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 2.5% - X-Men Unlimited
- 2.6% - Ultimate X-Men
- 3.6% - New X-Men
- 3.6% - Spider-Girl
- 3.7% - Wolverine
- 4.2% - Ultimate Fantastic Four
- 5.3% - Amazing Spider-Man
- 5.5% - Marvel Team-Up
- 6.1% - Uncanny X-Men
- 6.5% - Punisher
- 6.6% - New Avengers
-10.3% - Runaways
-11.4% - Young Avengers
-13.3% - Thunderbolts
-15.4% - Four
-15.8% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
-17.0% - Exiles
-23.2% - Amazing Fantasy
-24.2% - Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four
-29.4% - Black Panther
-31.1% - Sensational Spider-Man
-36.0% - Sentry
-44.9% - Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
-56.4% - Book of Lost Souls


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

+38.1% - Fantastic Four
+12.3% - New X-Men
+ 9.1% - Amazing Spider-Man
+ 4.6% - Cable & Deadpool
+ 0.5% - Exiles
- 3.1% - Captain America
- 3.4% - Daredevil
- 3.9% - Iron Man
- 4.8% - X-Men
- 6.1% - Ultimate Galactus
- 6.4% - Ultimate Fantastic Four
- 7.0% - Squadron Supreme
- 7.2% - Uncanny X-Men
- 7.2% - Incredible Hulk
-11.0% - Spider-Girl
-11.4% - Ultimate X-Men
-11.4% - X-Men Unlimited
-12.1% - Punisher
-13.2% - Ultimate Spider-Man
-14.1% - Sensational Spider-Man
-15.7% - Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
-16.6% - Thunderbolts
-19.8% - Marvel Team-Up
-20.7% - Runaways
-23.5% - Astonishing X-Men
-24.5% - Young Avengers
-27.3% - Four
-27.9% - New Avengers
-29.2% - X-Men: The End
-29.9% - Wolverine
-36.9% - Black Panther
-42.1% - Marvel Adventures Spider-Man
-59.0% - Amazing Fantasy


2 years comparison
==================

+121.1% - New Avengers
+ 92.3% - Silver Surfer
+ 69.9% - Iron Man
+ 24.2% - Runaways
+ 18.9% - Fantastic Four
+ 18.0% - Captain America
+ 17.7% - New X-Men
+ 4.5% - Amazing Spider-Man
- 0.1% - Wolverine
- 0.5% - Punisher
- 4.1% - Incredible Hulk
- 9.0% - Uncanny X-Men
- 9.9% - Exiles
- 13.4% - Daredevil
- 14.7% - Spider-Girl
- 20.4% - Squadron Supreme
- 20.5% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 21.3% - X-Men
- 24.0% - Ultimate X-Men
- 33.7% - Cable & Deadpool
- 34.2% - Ultimate Fantastic Four
- 39.8% - X-Statix
- 46.6% - X-Men Unlimited
- 53.8% - Four
- 62.1% - Sensational Spider-Man


3 years comparison
==================

+108.4% - New Avengers
+ 72.6% - Black Panther
+ 52.1% - Iron Man
+ 22.4% - Fantastic Four
+ 15.8% - Wolverine
+ 10.8% - Thunderbolts
- 6.3% - Exiles
- 6.9% - Runaways
- 8.5% - Uncanny X-Men
- 10.1% - Amazing Spider-Man
- 12.1% - Captain America
- 15.9% - Punisher
- 17.9% - X-Men
- 19.1% - Ultimate X-Men
- 22.1% - Daredevil
- 22.4% - Incredible Hulk
- 24.5% - Spider-Girl
- 29.7% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 36.4% - X-Men Unlimited
- 49.7% - X-Statix
--
Paul O'Brien

THE X-AXIS - http://www.thexaxis.com
IF DESTROYED - http://ifdestroyed.blogspot.com
NINTH ART - http://www.ninthart.com

spiritof...@hotmail.com

unread,
May 31, 2006, 9:09:39 PM5/31/06
to
Paul O'Brien wrote:
> 3. NEW AVENGERS
> 3 year (+108.4%)

Why didn't the 3-year comparisons start on the March chart?


Mark Moore

Paul O'Brien

unread,
Jun 1, 2006, 5:15:07 AM6/1/06
to
In message <1149124179.4...@u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com>,
spiritof...@hotmail.com writes

Because I couldn't be bothered, basically.

Billy Bissette

unread,
Jun 1, 2006, 7:21:57 PM6/1/06
to
Paul O'Brien <pa...@esoterica.demon.co.uk> wrote in
news:PU0EyfAz...@esoterica.demon.co.uk:

>
> MARVEL SALES
> APRIL 2006
> ============

> it also benefits from a variant cover by Michael Turner

Has there ever been a case where a book shipped twice in one month,
with only one of those issues having a variant cover?

I was just wondering, because such a case could give an even more
accurate judge of just how much variant covers affect sales, as
books shipped twice in a month have hardly any order differences
under normal circumstances.

> 69. BLACK PANTHER


>
> The wedding issue itself will do fine - it's a CIVIL WAR
> crossover. Then again, given that this stunt has been aggressively
> hyped to a mainstream, non-comics-reading black audience, you really
> have to question the wisdom of bringing them in and then delivering
> them a tie-in issue of a seventy part crossover. Who IS this
> storyline aimed at, exactly?

Something else I've wondered about... Is there any chance that
the wedding won't happen, or won't reach consumation at least? A
Civil War crossover could give a storyline excuse to call off the
wedding, if Storm and T'Challa end up on opposite sides. Marvel
might see calling off the wedding as a means of getting more press...
(Unless they'd rather have "The Affair" in a few years, the multi-
part, universe shaking, T'Challa/Storm divorce...)

Paul O'Brien

unread,
Jun 2, 2006, 8:44:40 AM6/2/06
to
In message <Xns97D5C4FEC6DC...@207.217.125.201>, Billy
Bissette <bai...@coastalnet.com> writes

>
> Something else I've wondered about... Is there any chance that the
>wedding won't happen, or won't reach consumation at least?

Virtually none, I'd have thought. They've clearly and unambiguously
hyped it as a wedding and I don't think anyone would be happy with a
bait-and-switch finish - except those people who never wanted the story
to see print in the first place. It's a no-win solution.

Aaron Forever

unread,
Jun 3, 2006, 4:30:01 PM6/3/06
to

Paul O'Brien wrote:
> In message <Xns97D5C4FEC6DC...@207.217.125.201>, Billy
> Bissette <bai...@coastalnet.com> writes
> >
> > Something else I've wondered about... Is there any chance that the
> >wedding won't happen, or won't reach consumation at least?
>
> Virtually none, I'd have thought. They've clearly and unambiguously
> hyped it as a wedding and I don't think anyone would be happy with a
> bait-and-switch finish - except those people who never wanted the story
> to see print in the first place. It's a no-win solution.
>


well, there seem to be 2 main camps: those who never wanted the
wedding and those who are not interested. so i don't see what they
could lose, honestly. nobody wants it or nobody cares.

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