Top100 comics for January 2002 (and some analysis)
Michael Burns
post. With some luck I´ll get the next listing ready in about 10 days.
I´m trying something different this month. I´ll be starting with some
analysis of the top100 and then the top100 itself. Feedback on this
format will be welcomed. Analysis in the beginning? in the end? or no
analysis?
Mike
Rising UP:
Batman: The 10cent experiment and subsequent crossover brought new
hopes to the Batman franchise as retailers try to guess how many of
those who read the 10cent book will stick around for a while. Big
Jumps for Detective (over 30%), Birds of Prey (over 40%), Robin (over
30%), Nightwing (21%), Batgirl (21%) and Gotham Knights (23%). Batman
had a smaller, but still considerable jump (16%).
Ultimate Line: The launching figures for the Ultimates show the
importance and consolidation of the Ultimate line during this year.
It´s the highest selling #1 in pre-orders launch for an Ultimate
title. And both X-men and Spider-Man are still going strong. Don´t be
surprised if two Ultimate titles (X-Men and Ultimates) are leading
this top100 in 6 months time.
Amazing Spider-Man: Still going strong, picking up new readers every
month. This month it rose another 2,3% and it´s already selling almost
the double as last year (90%).
Origin: Still getting some gains in sales in the last issue and taking
the 2nd place from DKS2. Impressive.
Going DOWN:
Marvel Knights: The line never had really much of a sucess from the
start. Daredevil was the only good selling book of the 1st line up,
the others were just medium. Then Daredevil had those scheduling
problems and the line was almost pulled.... but it´s sales continued
to grow, and voilá it was considered a sucess case. Weird. Things
picked up with the Punisher maxi series and later with the launch of
Elektra ongoing. But now 6 month later Electra is losing 10% per month
with the arrival of the new writer, Punisher lost 9% after the
Ennis/Dillon issues and Daredevil is selling around 45k and sliping
down every month. Does anyone believe that it will be the relaunch of
the Marvel Knights team book that will turn things around?
Vertigo: Not one book at the top100. It´s highest sellers are
HellBlazer, TransMet and 100 Bullets selling 17/18k. TransMet is
ending in 6 months. The other good seller for TPB is 100Bullets.
Lucifer, Hunter and Codename are selling around 13k and going down.
American Century sells 12k and is dropping fast. Crusades sales are so
bad (9k) that you have to wonder how long it will keep going.
Prediction: No future for any except HellBlazer, 100 Bullets and
(maybe) Lucifer.
Marvel Mangaverse: Reaaaaaaaaally low numbers for an event at Marvel.
From 28 to 36k. Why is eveybody at Marvel claiming a sucess and
starting a new ongoing series? Desperation?
Power Company One-Shots: The same case, only at DC. All one-shots sold
25/26k. A slight case of overbombing?
Uncanny X-Men: Droping like a rock. Another 4% this month, it is just
a little bit over the number it had before the revamp. New writer,
anyone?
Spawn: Droping faster than a rock. 26th in the Top, a title that was
in the Top10 for 9 years. It lost another 4% this month (29% this
year) and it selling around 44k. Is it time to end it?
Cable: The new direction seems to be driving the old readers away.
Dropped 13% since last year and it selling is just over 30k. Maybe
there is some truth behind Rich Johnston´s speculations.
Tomb Raider: What´s the point with this book? Dropped another 7% this
month.
Thunderbolts: Once it had a loyal readership. Now that readership
seems to be moving and the book is slowly losing sales. It lost
another 3% this month puttin it a little over 30k. Last year it lost
18%. I don´t think the by-weekly schedule will help.
Captain Marvel: A 6% drop between two issues that come out in the same
month can´t be a good sign, especially for this already slow selling
book. What´s the point of the 13th issue anyway?
Top-selling comics, comics-related magazines, and graphic
novels for January 2002. For a detailed explanation on how
these sales figures were calculated, see the end of the list.
estimated #
# Title Publisher sold (1000's)
1 Batman: 10Cent Adventure DC 664.6
2 Origin #6 Marvel 168.5 0,7%
3 Dark Knight Strikes Again #2 DC 157.8 -10,9%
4 Ultimates #1 Marvel 151.7
5 New X-Men #122 Marvel 111.0 - 2,6%
11,4%
6 Uncanny X-Men #402 Marvel 102.8 - 4,2%
5,9%
7 Ultimate X-Men #14 Marvel 99.3 - 2,6%
12,0%
8 Amazing Spider-Man #39 Marvel 92.2 2,3%
90,1%
9 Ultimate Spider-Man #17 Marvel 80.5 - 2,1%
37,8%
10 X-Treme X-Men #10 Marvel 79.0 - 3,8%
11 Green Arrow #12 DC 77.2 - 3,5%
12 GI Joe #3 Image 76.6 - 4,5%
13 Wolverine #172 Marvel 72.7 - 1,9% -
1,5%
14 JLA #62 DC 64.4 - 6,1%
15 Avengers #50 Marvel 56.9 - 2,9%
-14,7%
16 Punisher #8 Marvel 55.2 - 8,9%
17 Detective Comics #766 DC 50.4 30,9%
11,7%
18 Peter Parker, Spider-Man #39 Marvel 49.2 - 2,0%
8,6%
19 Daredevil #29 Marvel 48.8 - 3,4%
-20,5%
20 Fantastic Four #51 Marvel 48.5 - 9,0% -
4,7%
21 Batman #599 DC 48.0 16,8%
4,1%
22 X-Force #124 Marvel 46.4 - 3,9%
14,0%
23 Fathom #13 Image 45.6
24 Elektra #7 Marvel 45.1 - 9,4%
25 Adventures of Superman #600 DC 44.4 18,1%
28,0%
26 Spawn #118 Image 44.0 - 4,1%
-28,8%
27 Iron Man #50 Marvel 43.8 21,0%
6,1%
28 Ultimate Marvel Team Up #12 Marvel 42.5 -19,5%
29 Nightwing #65 DC 42.1 21,3%
2,1%
30 BatGirl #24 DC 41.4 20,7% -
1,2%
31 Superman #178 DC 41.2 - 1,7%
-18,6%
32 Batman: Gotham Knights #25 DC 40.6 23,4%
2,8%
33 Iceman #4 Marvel 40.6 - 3,3%
34 Exiles #8 Marvel 40.0 - 1,7%
35 JSA #32 DC 39.9 - 2,7%
5,6%
36 Nightcrawler #3 Marvel 39.1 - 5,6%
37 Fury #5 Marvel 38.2 - 5,7%
38 Incredible Hulk #36 Marvel 37.0 - 5,7%
3,6%
39 Marvel Mangaverse: X-Men Marvel 36.5
40 Action Comics #787 DC 36.5 - 4,5% -
0,3%
41 Alias #5 Marvel 36.4 - 6,4%
42 Thor #45 Marvel 35.9 - 1,9%
-15,7%
43 Robin #98 DC 35.3 32,2%
5,1%
44 Superman: Man Steel #122 DC 35.1 - 4,4%
2,0%
45 Catwoman #3 DC 33.9 - 9,3%
46 Elektra/Wolverine:Redeemer#3 Marvel 33.3 -12,4%
47 Marvel Mangaverse:SpiderMan#1Marvel 33.1
48 Birds of Prey #39 DC 33.1 40,9%
6,8%
49 Green Lantern #146 DC 33.9 - 2,4% -
4,2%
50 Howard, the Duck #1 Marvel 31.9
51 Cable #101 Marvel 31.9 -13,3%
-13,3%
52 Batman Legends Dark Kn #151 DC 31.1 - 3,1% -
7,2%
53 Tomb Raider #19 Image 30.7 - 7,0%
54 Thunderbolts #60 Marvel 30.4 - 2,9%
-18,3%
55 Captain America: HeartDarkn#1Marvel 30.4
56 Avengers: Celestial Quest #5 Marvel 30.3 - 7,1%
57 Marvel Mangaverse: New Dawn#1Marvel 29.6
58 Tangled Web #10 Marvel 29.5 - 3,0%
59 Wonder Woman #178 DC 29.4 - 3,0%
20,5%
60 JIST Secret Files #1 DC 28.9
61 Marvel Mangaverse:Etwilight#1Marvel 28.9
62 Marvel Mangaverse: Avengers#1Marvel 28.9
63 Marvel Knights Double Shot #4Marvel 28.9 - 9,7%
64 Marvel Mangaverse: FanFour #1Marvel 28.9
65 Witchblade #53 Image 28.5 - 7,2%
66 Deadpool: Funeral Freak #2 Marvel 28.1 - 6,3%
67 Brotherhood #9 Marvel 27.6 -10,1%
68 Powers #18 Image 27.3 - 4,9%
68 Flash #182 DC 27.0 - 1,5%
70 Doom: Emperor Returns #3 Marvel 26.9 -14,6%
71 Out There #7 DC 26.5 - 3,3%
72 Marvel Mangaverse: Punisher#1Marvel 26.4
73 Power Company: Josiah Power DC 26.3
74 Power Company: Sapphire DC 26.2
75 Power Company: Manhunter DC 25.9
76 Power Company: Skyrocket DC 25.8
77 Power Company: Bork DC 25.8
78 Power Company: Witchfire DC 25.7
79 Young Justice #40 DC 25.3 - 4,5% -
5,2%
80 Power Company: StrikerZ DC 25.1
81 Titans #37 DC 25.0 - 4,2%
-22,8%
82 Legion #4 DC 24.8 0,4%
83 Marvel Mangaverse: GRider #1 Marvel 24.5
84 X-Men Evolution #3 Marvel 24.2 - 4,7%
85 Harley Quinn #16 DC 24.1 - 6,2%
-36,1%
86 Haven: The Broken City #2 DC 23.7 -13,5%
87 Spidergirl #42 Marvel 23.4 - 2,5% -
8,6%
88 Spidergirl #43 Marvel 23.4 0%
89 Inferno: Hellbound #2 Image 23.1
90 Warlands: Age of Ice #0 Image 23.0 - 7,6%
91 Captain Marvel #27 Marvel 22.3 - 3,5%
-11,9%
92 Tom Strong Terrific Tales #2 DC 22.3 -14,9%
93 Deadman #2 DC 21.8 -19,9%
94 Doom Patrol #4 DC 21.6 - 8,5%
95 Sojourn #7 CrossGen 21.6 - 0,5%
96 Spectre #13 DC 21.5 - 4,9%
97 Captain Marvel #28 Marvel 20.9 - 6,3%
98 Starkfighter: Crossbones #1 DHC 20.7
99 Supergirl #66 DC 20.6 - 3,7%
6,4%
100 Star Wars #38 DHC 20.5 - 4,7%
Some others down the charts:
105 Black Panther #40 Marvel 19.1 - 4,0% -
6,4%
107 Suicide Squad #5 DC 18.5 -11,1%
108 Hellblazer #170 DC 18.5 1,1% -
2,1%
112 Transmetropolitan #52 DC 17.5 - 3,8% -
6,4%
113 Gen 13 #73 DC 17.1 - 2,8%
-25,3%
114 100 Bullets #32 DC 17.1 - 2,3%
115 Superboy #96 DC 17.0 - 4,5% -
4,5%
135 Lucifer #22 DC 13.9 - 3,5%
-13,7%
136 Azrael #86 DC 13.9 - 3,5%
-19,7%
137 Impulse #82 DC 13.9 - 5,4% -
4,1%
138 Hunter: Age of Magic #7 DC 13.7 - 2,8%
140 Codename: Knockout #9 DC 13.2 - 5,7%
143 Orion #22 DC 12.8 - 3,8%
-15,8%
145 American Century #11 DC 12.3 - 4,7%
157 Crusades #11 DC 9.6 - 5,0%
164 Outlaw Nation #17 DC 8.9 - 5,3%
-37,3%
Ralf Haring
wrote:
>Captain Marvel: A 6% drop between two issues that come out in the same
>month canæ„’ be a good sign, especially for this already slow selling
>book. Whatæ„€ the point of the 13th issue anyway?
Marvel doesn't do annuals anymore. Instead they do 13 issues a year.
Spider-Girl and Captain Marvel had two issues this month.
-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
Nate Berdfeldt
> FINALLY, I´m up to date. Sorry for the delay in this last 2 months
> post. With some luck I´ll get the next listing ready in about 10 days.
Thanks for sharing this. It is pretty cool to see how my titles are
doing, and the insight was a real treat. One or two things, though...
> Ultimate Line: The launching figures for the Ultimates show the
> importance and consolidation of the Ultimate line during this year.
> It´s the highest selling #1 in pre-orders launch for an Ultimate
> title. And both X-men and Spider-Man are still going strong. Don´t be
> surprised if two Ultimate titles (X-Men and Ultimates) are leading
> this top100 in 6 months time.
I always imagined Ultimates doing about the same as Authority, a
bit better with the name recognition, perhaps, but not blockbuster.
I'm surprised it opened so high, but I predict it will level off
somewhere just outside the top ten, about where the other Avengers
book is. It's too bad there's no version of the Hollywood Stock
Exchange (www.hsx.com) game for comic books.
> Marvel Knights: The line never had really much of a sucess from the
> start.
I haven't read one MK book that has impressed me since Inhumans and
Black Panther. Was it a one-trick pony? Luck? Inferior creative team?
Or are the books still great, just my own personal taste that is
keeping me from enjoying it?
> Vertigo: Not one book at the top100. It´s highest sellers are
> HellBlazer, TransMet and 100 Bullets selling 17/18k.
Could it be a lack of big names on the books? Or is it just that
Vertigo (with exceptions like books by Gaiman or Milligan) has always
been this low?
> Marvel Mangaverse: Reaaaaaaaaally low numbers for an event at Marvel.
> From 28 to 36k. Why is eveybody at Marvel claiming a sucess and
> starting a new ongoing series? Desperation?
I think this one might have been a tad underordered. Between two
stores I have seen two copies of Spider-Man, one of Avengers, and a
handfull of Ghost Riders. No signs of the first bookend, or the other
individual titles. I'm hoping demand warrants a TPB.
> Power Company One-Shots: The same case, only at DC. All one-shots sold
> 25/26k. A slight case of overbombing?
This one confounds me. Big name writer, good artists, guest
appearances. Maybe if they had put the name of the guest character in
the title: "POWER COMPANY: Manhunter & Batman!" or "POWER COMPANY
PRESENTS: SKYROCKET AND GREEN LANTERN!" or would that be too
misleading?
As a side question, did anyone read PC: Witchfire? I was wondering
how Matt Haley's art was looking.
> Spawn: Droping faster than a rock. 26th in the Top, a title that was
> in the Top10 for 9 years. It lost another 4% this month (29% this
> year) and it selling around 44k. Is it time to end it?
I think even if this one slipped out of the top 100, I think it
would still be published. It's just a vehicle for the endless parade
of merchandise, isn't it?
> Captain Marvel: A 6% drop between two issues that come out in the same
> month can´t be a good sign, especially for this already slow selling
> book. What´s the point of the 13th issue anyway?
I understand (at least vaguely) the idea of the 13th issue, people
were not buying Annuals, because they didn't matter and they cost more
than normal issues, and sometimes had a different creative team.
However, with a bit less effort a regular issue could be made, with
none of the drawbacks listed above. I haven't purchased an annual
since the first Starman annual, but I didn't even think twice about
ordering that extra Captain Marvel. Pretty slick move.
What I don't understand is the 6% drop. Are people just ordering at
random? I suppose it is just a slip. People who have to search through
11 trillion books and decide what their store's budget can handle,
month in and month out, are bound to slip up once in a while.
> 1 Batman: 10Cent Adventure DC 664.6
See? Price point does effect sales! Ha! Seriously, I read it
online, and it was a pretty good story, didn't feel much like a Batman
story to me, though. And what's with the lady? Is giving Batman a new
sidekick really a good idea? What happened to Robin? Maybe my bias is
speaking here, but she doesn't seem to belong.
> 2 Origin #6 Marvel 168.5 0,7%
> 3 Dark Knight Strikes Again #2 DC 157.8 -10,9%
This is kind of interesting. I know that when titles sell 150,000+
copies, a little gap like this isn't all that much (plus, there's
price points to consider). Oh, I bet it is because #2 of DKR had to be
ordered blind, wheras orders for Origin #6 had to be put in after
store owners could see what was happening with the first few issues.
> 4 Ultimates #1 Marvel 151.7
Didn't order it, based on his run on Ultimate X-Men. I will keep an
eye on the reviews, though.
> 11 Green Arrow #12 DC 77.2 - 3,5%
Good time to ask, is Kevin Smith's run on GA definitely limited, or
will he be writing for the forseeable future? Regardless, it was great
to see superhero heaven. I might just be reading the wrong books, but
it seems like companies are obsessed with presenting 17,000 different
versions of hell/devils/demons, and nothing approaching heaven. This
and Wally from Supergirl were really cool.
> 12 GI Joe #3 Image 76.6 - 4,5%
Just plain lame. It lacks some indescribable quality from the
series of old. Or maybe I have just grown up.
> 15 Avengers #50 Marvel 56.9 - 2,9%
> -14,7%
An anniversary issue that dropped? Is nothing sacred?
> 50 Howard, the Duck #1 Marvel 31.9
I'm impressed. Hope they TPB it for me later on.
> 91 Captain Marvel #27 Marvel 22.3 - 3,5%
> 97 Captain Marvel #28 Marvel 20.9 - 6,3%
> 99 Supergirl #66 DC 20.6 - 3,7%
> 105 Black Panther #40 Marvel 19.1 - 4,0%
Maybe good writing doesn't matter. Or maybe it's all relative.
> 107 Suicide Squad #5 DC 18.5 -11,1%
Should I brace myself for cancellation? It's not as good as the old
series, anyhow. And in this case, I know it isn't just me getting
older, because I re-read the issues once a year or so.
Take Care,
Nate
Johanna Draper Carlson
> I always imagined Ultimates doing about the same as Authority, a
> bit better with the name recognition, perhaps, but not blockbuster.
> I'm surprised it opened so high
It's the characters. Morrison writing JLA did better than any of Morrison's
other books. Millar writing the Avengers or the X-Men does very well,
regardless of the content.
> I haven't read one MK book that has impressed me since Inhumans and
> Black Panther. Was it a one-trick pony? Luck? Inferior creative team?
The guy who brought us those projects and creative teams is now busy with
the whole company. :)
>> Marvel Mangaverse: Reaaaaaaaaally low numbers for an event at Marvel.
> I think this one might have been a tad underordered.
Sort of. Many customers seem to have not been willing to preorder this, so
retailers, based on that, decided that there wasn't much interest. Then
people wanted to buy them off the shelf (I can't figure out why).
> This one confounds me. Big name writer, good artists, guest
> appearances. Maybe if they had put the name of the guest character in
> the title: "POWER COMPANY: Manhunter & Batman!" or "POWER COMPANY
> PRESENTS: SKYROCKET AND GREEN LANTERN!" or would that be too
> misleading?
They're generic stories. They have to be, in order for the first POWER
COMPANY book to be a true #1. Writers have never had the kind of name
recognition artists do, sadly, and customers finally seem to be burning out
on perceived stunts.
> As a side question, did anyone read PC: Witchfire? I was wondering
> how Matt Haley's art was looking.
Ok. I reviewed the book at Comics Worth Reading.
> What I don't understand is the 6% drop. Are people just ordering at
> random?
Maybe they thought that a Spider-Man 2099 guest shot wasn't really what
their customers wanted? :)
> I bet it is because #2 of DKR had to be ordered blind
Fits something that looks like it was done with the artist's eyes closed,
doesn't it? :)
> Good time to ask, is Kevin Smith's run on GA definitely limited, or
> will he be writing for the forseeable future?
A new writer takes over at #16.
>> 15 Avengers #50 Marvel 56.9 - 2,9% -14,7%
>
> An anniversary issue that dropped? Is nothing sacred?
I think people are tired of the never-ending Kang War. It's a lame duck,
anyway, since the writer's leaving.
Johanna Draper Carlson joh...@comicsworthreading.com
Reviews of Comics Worth Reading -- http://www.comicsworthreading.com
Newly updated: Reviews of Action, Batman, Howard the Duck, JLA, Orion,
Power Company Manhunter, Spider-Man, Ultimates, Holliday, The Lab
Grant Enfield
"Johanna Draper Carlson" <joh...@comicsworthreading.com> wrote in message
news:B87EA8FB.5D6F7%joh...@comicsworthreading.com...
I'll leave this in rac.misc because I don't think I'm going to say anything
about the Marvel Universe really.
> >> 15 Avengers #50 Marvel 56.9 - 2,9% -14,7%
> >
> > An anniversary issue that dropped? Is nothing sacred?
>
> I think people are tired of the never-ending Kang War. It's a lame duck,
> anyway, since the writer's leaving.
Was it ever announced in the book itself that this arc is an arc or is
twelve issues (or however many it is)? I don't remember it, and that seems
just weird to me. When an issue announces itself as Part x of n, then
readers tend to read it differently, I think. Without knowing that there's
only three parts to go (or whatever), I think the story does start to seem
interminable. (That also suggests to me that pacing happens outside the
story itself as well as in it.)
"Lame duck" is exactly right. Orion keeps falling off in sales, despite that
it's maintaining the same consistent quality. Why is that? Do readers who
are enjoying a title start to enjoy it less simply because they know it's
going to end?
And Avengers #50 seemed like a "wrap-up" sort of story in many ways: the
whole Triathlon/Triunes plot suddenly came to a close. I wonder if Busiek is
trying to tie things up fairly neatly for his departure from the book. It
would frustrate me to work hard on a book then see it all come unraveled
when you go (like Iron Man or Thunderbolts--I thought it was just rude for
Nicieza to kill Jolt his first issue out), but I guess that's part of the
deal when you play with someone else's toys.
> > I bet it is because #2 of DKR had to be ordered blind
>
> Fits something that looks like it was done with the artist's eyes closed,
> doesn't it? :)
You're just being snarky there. . . . ;)
grant
Thomas Galloway
Nate Berdfeldt <DrN...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> I haven't read one MK book that has impressed me since Inhumans and
>Black Panther. Was it a one-trick pony? Luck? Inferior creative team?
>Or are the books still great, just my own personal taste that is
>keeping me from enjoying it?
I think it's more that Marvel itself is now Marvel Knights, what with
Quesada's promotion. So instead of him using contacts and charisma to
get cool creators to shake up the second stringers assigned to Marvel
Knights, he's using 'em to get said creators on the main Marvel books.
At this point, either the Knights should just fold back into the main line,
or else they should be recruiting someone as different from Quesada as
Quesada was from Harras to run it so that there is a marked distinction
between a Knights book and a mainstream Marvel book.
>individual titles. I'm hoping demand warrants a TPB.
Mangaverse TPB is solicited for April in the latest Previews.
tyg t...@panix.com
Kenmlin
> start.
They need to scale the price back to $2.25 since they can't justify the extra
cost.
>> Power Company One-Shots: The same case, only at DC. All one-shots sold
>> 25/26k. A slight case of overbombing?
I didn't order PC one-shots because I thought it was all coming out in one week
as a fifth-week event. I'd have bought all of them if they came out once a
month, however.
> Captain Marvel: A 6% drop between two issues that come out in the same
> month canæ„’ be a good sign, especially for this already slow selling
> book. Whatæ„€ the point of the 13th issue anyway?
Just Marvel's attempt to squeeze more money out of the faithful readers. If
they can't get the regular artists to do every issue, there's no reason they
should squeeze out 13 issues a year.
> 15 Avengers #50 Marvel 56.9 - 2,9%
> -14,7%
Bad artist will do that to do.
>> 107 Suicide Squad #5 DC 18.5 -11,1%
The story moved too slow and the characters uninteresting. I don't see why
Sgt. Rock is in charge.
Duke Harrington
"Michael Burns" <mbur...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:4b7e8730.02012...@posting.google.com...
> FINALLY, I´m up to date. Sorry for the delay in this last 2 months
> post. With some luck I´ll get the next listing ready in about 10 days.
>
GREATLY appreaciated. THANKS! I do not come around Usenet all that much
anymore. Maybe it's just the newservers on the ISP's I have used, but I got
tired of sometimes not getting messages, or getting newer reply messages
before the original ones. Message boards and e-mail lists just seem easier.
To be honest, the sales charts from you and Carl are the only real reason
that I come around r.a.c.m at all these days.
> I´m trying something different this month. I´ll be starting with some
> analysis of the top100 and then the top100 itself. Feedback on this
> format will be welcomed. Analysis in the beginning? in the end? or no
> analysis?
>
Love the analysis. Helps to open up discussion.
>
> Batman: The 10cent experiment and subsequent crossover brought new
> hopes to the Batman franchise as retailers try to guess how many of
> those who read the 10cent book will stick around for a while.
Well, how MANY actually did read it? Do you have reports from retailers yet?
Did they sell through, or are they sitting on a ton of copies having ordered
big on the cheap item?
>Big
> Jumps for Detective (over 30%), Birds of Prey (over 40%), Robin (over
> 30%), Nightwing (21%), Batgirl (21%) and Gotham Knights (23%). Batman
> had a smaller, but still considerable jump (16%).
What I think is the more interesting stat on these book is the relatively
minor jump these books have from a year ago, intimating that these books
would be in significant negative terratory IF NOT for this event:
Detective (11.7%), Birds of Prey (over 6.8%), Robin (over 5.1%), Nightwing
(2.1%), Batgirl (-1.2%) and Gotham Knights (2.8%). Batman
(4.1%).
Of particular note: Batgirl got a 21% jump and is STILL down from a year
ago.
>
> Ultimate Line: The launching figures for the Ultimates show the
> importance and consolidation of the Ultimate line during this year.
> It´s the highest selling #1 in pre-orders launch for an Ultimate
> title. And both X-men and Spider-Man are still going strong. Don´t be
> surprised if two Ultimate titles (X-Men and Ultimates) are leading
> this top100 in 6 months time.
>
In the case of The Ultimates, I would not be surprised. GREAT book. I can
hardly believe tha the same person is writing both books.
> Amazing Spider-Man: Still going strong, picking up new readers every
> month. This month it rose another 2,3% and it´s already selling almost
> the double as last year (90%).
Maybe THIS will be #1 soon. It's been decades since Spidey was the best
selling book.
>
> Origin: Still getting some gains in sales in the last issue and taking
> the 2nd place from DKS2. Impressive.
>
Hmmm, the retailers must be more precient than I had given them credit for.
How did they know DK2 #2 was going to suck? Was Miller drawing with his
toes?
>
>
> Going DOWN:
>
> Marvel Knights: The line never had really much of a sucess from the
> start. Daredevil was the only good selling book of the 1st line up,
> the others were just medium. Then Daredevil had those scheduling
> problems and the line was almost pulled.... but it´s sales continued
> to grow, and voilá it was considered a sucess case. Weird.
Well, what is the identity of the imprint? What does in MEAN to be a Marvel
Knight title? If faced with two titles on the stands, why would a reader
chose a Marvel title over any other, and what would they expect to get?
I donlt think that Q has adequetly addressed these questions since he moved
"upstairs."
>
> Vertigo: Not one book at the top100. It´s highest sellers are
> HellBlazer, TransMet and 100 Bullets selling 17/18k. TransMet is
> ending in 6 months. The other good seller for TPB is 100Bullets.
> Lucifer, Hunter and Codename are selling around 13k and going down.
> American Century sells 12k and is dropping fast. Crusades sales are so
> bad (9k) that you have to wonder how long it will keep going.
> Prediction: No future for any except HellBlazer, 100 Bullets and
> (maybe) Lucifer.
>
Vertigo just needs some real writers and some dynamic art.
>
> Power Company One-Shots: The same case, only at DC. All one-shots sold
> 25/26k. A slight case of overbombing?
I call it a major marketing mistake.
In my case, and I think the core of the collecting community shares this
prediciment, I pre-order my books from Previews. I have a budget, and I
order just so many books a month, ordering the whole month's worth in one
shot. I do not sit in front of the newsstand for hours each week, laboring
over whatever chanced to come in, for my impulse buys as I did when I was a
kid. Occasionally I can fit in a new title, but doing so generally means
having to drop something else. As with the recent Deadman: Dead Again
weekly series, I could not find enough of my regular books to cut in order
ot make room for 5-7 new books in a single month. And, having missed the
one-shots, I did not dare take a chance on the regular title. Who knows
what I might have missed. And for God's sake, why tie these characters into
past contintuity? Now I've not only missed what I missed, but now I've
missed stories that havn't even been told yet. For Chirst's sake, can't we
have something NEW, not bound to the whole entire existing universe, which,
incedentally, is not even the right and proper universe anyway.
So anyway, I won;t be buying Power Company.
>
> Uncanny X-Men: Droping like a rock. Another 4% this month, it is just
> a little bit over the number it had before the revamp. New writer,
> anyone?
>
I'd say yes. Although I dropped both of the big two X books last month. I
gave 'em a try when the new creative teams came on board a few months ago,
but found the books pretty boring.
>
>
> estimated #
> # Title Publisher sold (1000's)
>
> 14 JLA #62 DC 64.4 - 6,1%
What was this selling a year ago?
> 15 Avengers #50 Marvel 56.9 - 2,9%
> -14,7%
I big drop from last year. Was Perez still the penciller then, or had Davis
come on board already?
> 20 Fantastic Four #51 Marvel 48.5 - 9,0% -
> 4,7%
Here's a book Q needs to get some new talent on.
> 27 Iron Man #50 Marvel 43.8 21,0%
> 6,1%
I big jump for the first Grell issue.
> 35 JSA #32 DC 39.9 - 2,7%
> 5,6%
Down, but up for the year. Where did it pick up? Around the re-intro of
Hawkman?
> 45 Catwoman #3 DC 33.9 - 9,3%
Be interesting to see how this does next month, when actual sales on #1 will
be known. I'm enjoying this new series quite a bit.
> 59 Wonder Woman #178 DC 29.4 - 3,0%
> 20,5%
Jiminez has has a BIG impact on this book, although I think that it has lost
its way in the spate of recent event cross-overs.
> 60 JIST Secret Files #1 DC 28.9
Technically a one-shot, but how does this compare with the last JIST issue,
or the first?
> 68 Flash #182 DC 27.0 - 1,5%
Up or down from a year ago? I'm hoping up as I think this book has improved
dramatically.
> 82 Legion #4 DC 24.8 0,4%
Up on #4, if only by a little. Still, an indication that this is being
recieved well. How are sales from Legion Lost, which was the Legion series
running a year ago? And from the last issues of the last regular series?
> 85 Harley Quinn #16 DC 24.1 - 6,2%
> -36,1%
I wonder why the didn't cross this book over into the Bruce Wayne Murderer?
event?
> 93 Deadman #2 DC 21.8 -19,9%
> 94 Doom Patrol #4 DC 21.6 - 8,5%
> 107 Suicide Squad #5 DC 18.5 -11,1%
I just can't see any of these series lasting vary long.
> 115 Superboy #96 DC 17.0 - 4,5% -
> 4,5%
> 137 Impulse #82 DC 13.9 - 5,4% -
> 4,1%
Any thoughts on what could be done to turn sales on either of these books
around?
Duke
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Duke Harrington
"Nate Berdfeldt" <DrN...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:dea8c209.02013...@posting.google.com...
> mbur...@hotmail.com (Michael Burns) wrote in message
news:<4b7e8730.02012...@posting.google.com>...
> Exchange (www.hsx.com) game for comic books.
This would be a GREAT idea? Trade in titles, characters, creators, proposed
series. I wonder how we could make it happen? ...
Duke Harrington
"Grant Enfield" <enf...@wam.NO.umd.SPAM.edu> wrote in message
news:a3bvo0$5a8$1...@grapevine.wam.umd.edu...
>
> And Avengers #50 seemed like a "wrap-up" sort of story in many ways: the
> whole Triathlon/Triunes plot suddenly came to a close.
Good choice of words. It did seem sudden after so much build up. I felt
the Yellowjacket sub-plot got the same treatment. The Kang War has been
going on forver, with practically no movement in any single issue, and will
likely resolve everything with a similar snap of the wrist.
Stranger
> > I think this one might have been a tad underordered.
>
> Sort of. Many customers seem to have not been willing to preorder this, so
> retailers, based on that, decided that there wasn't much interest. Then
> people wanted to buy them off the shelf (I can't figure out why).
Here's a nice story. I live in Austin, and our entire area was sold out. I
had managed to get all the ones I wanted except MM #2. So one of the nice
clerks from Dragon's Lair Comics gave me her copy of Marvel Mangaverse #2.
Very cool.
Anyways, did you check out the bookends, Johanna? The middle books weren't
so...great, but I thought Ben Dunn hit one out of the ballpark with his
books.
--
Stranger- Impulse's #1 fan, next to Max of course.
Paul O'Brien
Draper Carlson <joh...@comicsworthreading.com> writes
>
>>> 15 Avengers #50 Marvel 56.9 - 2,9% -14,7%
>>
>> An anniversary issue that dropped? Is nothing sacred?
>
>I think people are tired of the never-ending Kang War. It's a lame duck,
>anyway, since the writer's leaving.
I agree; this storyline has gone on WAY too long. By this point, I
just want to get the damn thing over with, have the Scarlet Centurion
turn on his father in the way they've been telegraphing for the last
six months, and wrap it up.
I don't particularly like "planet gets conquered" stories in shared
universes, either. It just creates all sorts of implausibilities when
the world is back to normal next week.
Paul O'Brien
THE X-AXIS REVIEWS - http://www.esoterica.demon.co.uk
ARTICLE 10 - http://www.ninthart.com
Brevity is the sister of talent.
Johanna Draper Carlson
> did you check out the bookends, Johanna?
Yep. Typical Ben Dunn pneumatic babes and lack of panel flow, I thought.
Duke Harrington at du...@exploremaine.com wrote:
> Did they sell through, or are they sitting on a ton of copies having ordered
> big on the cheap item?
You're forgetting option 3 - some retailers ordered the 10-cent adventure as
a promotional item, having them inserted in newspapers, giving them away,
and the like.
> Vertigo just needs some real writers and some dynamic art.
Real writers? I don't think you can fault Vertigo's current writing lineup.
The concepts, sure, some are odd, but the talent is there.
>> 20 Fantastic Four #51 Marvel 48.5 - 9,0% - 4,7%
>
> Here's a book Q needs to get some new talent on.
Already taken care of.
>> 45 Catwoman #3 DC 33.9 - 9,3%
>
> Be interesting to see how this does next month, when actual sales on #1 will
> be known. I'm enjoying this new series quite a bit.
You and me both.
Nate Berdfeldt
>
> Mangaverse TPB is solicited for April in the latest Previews.
Wow! Service with a smile! Thanks for letting me know! I was about
to add another sentence here about how I would be able to make a good
assessment of the Mangaverse with the first regular issue and the TPB
coming out at the same time, but all their TPB's I want are running
late, so I won't get my hopes up.
Again, thanks for passing this along. Long live the TPB!
Take Care,
Nate
Ralf Haring
<joh...@comicsworthreading.com> wrote:
>>> 45 Catwoman #3 DC 33.9 - 9,3%
>>
>> Be interesting to see how this does next month, when actual sales on #1 will
>> be known. I'm enjoying this new series quite a bit.
>
>You and me both.
Not to mention there's an artist switch after #4. I've stopped
preordering it past then.
Duke Harrington
> > Duke Harrington at du...@exploremaine.com wrote:
> > Did they sell through, or are they sitting on a ton of copies having ordered
> > big on the cheap item?
>
> You're forgetting option 3 - some retailers ordered the 10-cent adventure as
> a promotional item, having them inserted in newspapers, giving them away,
> and the like.
>
Actually, you are right. I had not even considered that some
retailers might do that. Good for them. Hope the freebies bring in
some extra customers.
> > Vertigo just needs some real writers and some dynamic art.
>
> Real writers? I don't think you can fault Vertigo's current writing lineup.
> The concepts, sure, some are odd, but the talent is there.
Well, I have read very, very, little Vertigo in the last 4-5 years.
Of course, "real writers" was a pretty poor choice of words, I must
admit. I mean, they are getting paid to write. How else should we
define "real" after all. ;)
I think what I mean is that, more often than not, I personally found
Vertigo books to be pseudo-psychological melodrama. Weird for the
sake of being weird. I have never really been entertained by most
Vertigo books, and put down most wondering, "what was *the point* of
that story."
>
> >> 20 Fantastic Four #51 Marvel 48.5 - 9,0% - 4,7%
> >
> > Here's a book Q needs to get some new talent on.
>
> Already taken care of.
How so?
>
> >> 45 Catwoman #3 DC 33.9 - 9,3%
> >
> > Be interesting to see how this does next month, when actual sales on #1 will
> > be known. I'm enjoying this new series quite a bit.
>
> You and me both.
YAY!! We agree!
Your tastes are improving. ;)
Duke
Duke Harrington
> On Fri, 01 Feb 2002 09:39:57 -0500, Johanna Draper Carlson
> <joh...@comicsworthreading.com> wrote:
>
> >>> 45 Catwoman #3 DC 33.9 - 9,3%
> >>
> >> Be interesting to see how this does next month, when actual sales on #1 will
> >> be known. I'm enjoying this new series quite a bit.
> >
> >You and me both.
>
> Not to mention there's an artist switch after #4. I've stopped
> preordering it past then.
>
Oh no! I missed that. Who will the new team be? The "animated noir"
art style was one of the major selling points of the book for me.
Duke
Ralf Haring
wrote:
>> >>> 45 Catwoman #3 DC 33.9 - 9,3%
>> >>
>> >> Be interesting to see how this does next month, when actual sales on #1 will
>> >> be known. I'm enjoying this new series quite a bit.
>> >
>> >You and me both.
>>
>> Not to mention there's an artist switch after #4. I've stopped
>> preordering it past then.
>
>Oh no! I missed that. Who will the new team be? The "animated noir"
>art style was one of the major selling points of the book for me.
The new artist is Brad Rader.
If you like Darwyn Cooke's art, you might want to check out next
week's X-FORCE #124, where he is doing a fill-in for Allred.
Ralf Haring
wrote:
> >> 20 Fantastic Four #51 Marvel 48.5 - 9,0% - 4,7%
>> >
>> > Here's a book Q needs to get some new talent on.
>>
>> Already taken care of.
>
>How so?
In a few months, Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo will take over the title.
Johanna Draper Carlson
> preordering it past then.
I don't expect that to be a problem. I anticipate continuing to enjoy the
series.
Duke Harrington at du...@exploremaine.com wrote:
> I have never really been entertained by most Vertigo books, and put down most
> wondering, "what was *the point* of that story."
Your loss. :)
ENIGMA, to name only one, is one of the best comments out there on the
appeal of the superhero story. I also greatly enjoyed BREATHTAKER.