INFO: Top 200 Comics May 1997
Matthew High
Note: Additional sales charts can be found at:
http://www.texas.net/~antarc/salescharts.com.
Top-selling Comics for May 1997, based on pre-orders
through Diamond Distributors - **CORRECTED**
estimated #
# Title Publisher sold (1000's)
1 Spawn #62 Image 167.0 +18.4%
2 Uncanny X-Men #-1 Marvel 162.5 -9.4%
3 X-Men #-1 Marvel 159.9 -10.1%
4 Fantastic Four #9 Marvel 141.9 -8.4%
5 Curse of the Spawn #9 Image 133.6 +42.1%
6 Wolverine #-1 Marvel 127.1 -9.0%
7 Iron Man #9 Marvel 122.1 -6.6%
8 Captain America #9 Marvel 107.4 -6.4%
9 Avengers #-1 Marvel 107.2 -11.3%
10 Generation X #-1 Marvel 103.8 -8.1%
11 JLA #7 DC 103.2 +4.5%
12 X-Man #-1 Marvel 96.1 -7.5%
13 Gen 13 #19 Image 95.4 -3.0%
14 X-Factor #-1 Marvel 89.7 -8.9%
15 X-Force #-1 Marvel 89.6 -7.1%
16 Cable #-1 Marvel 84.1 -6.6%
17 Tales of the Witchblade #2 Image 76.6 -12.4%**
18 Gen 13 Annual #1 Image 75.2
19 Excalibur #-1 Marvel 74.8 -6.6%
20 Amazing Spiderman #-1 Marvel 74.2 -6.2%
21 Superman #125 DC 73.5 -4.5%
22 Incredible Hulk #-1 Marvel 72.3 -13.7%
23 Action Comics #735 DC 69.8 -6.1%
24 Adventures of Superman #548 DC 69.6 -5.9%
25 Superman Man of Steel #69 DC 69.3 -4.1%
26 Peter Parker Spiderman #-1 Marvel 68.9 -7.0%
27 Spectacular Spiderman #248 Marvel 64.7 -6.9%
28 Sensational Spiderman #-1 Marvel 63.5 -4.9%
29 Deadpool #-1 Marvel 62.6 -3.4%
30 Star Wars Dark Force Ris #1 DHC 60.0
31 Batman #544 DC 58.3 -4.1%
32 Gen 13 Bootleg #7 Image 54.7 -8.4%
33 Superman Annual #9 DC 54.1 -0.9%**
34 Beast #3 Marvel 53.6 -17.0%
35 Detective Comics #711 DC 52.6 -5.2%
36 Batman Long Halloween #8 DC 51.8 -4.4%
37 Supergirl #11 DC 50.8 -5.4%
38 X-Files #30 Topps 50.4* -9.0%
39 Heroes For Hire #1 Marvel 50.4
40 Batman Annual #21 DC 47.5 -21.9%**
41 Darkchylde The Diary #1 Image 47.1
42 Green Lantern #88 DC 47.0 -1.5%
43 Wildcats #38 Image 46.9 -8.8%
44 Thunderbolts #4 Marvel 46.3 0.0
45 Alpha Flight: Beginning Marvel 46.0
46 Preacher #27 DC 45.6 -9.5%
47 Arcanum #3 Image 44.3 -4.9%
48 Elektra #-1 Marvel 44.2 -5.6%
49 Thunderbolts: Distant Rumbl Marvel 44.1
50 Batman Legends Dark Kn #86 DC 43.9 -6.8%
51 Batman Batgirl DC 43.8
52 Nightwing #10 DC 43.1 -4.4%
53 Batman Shadow of the Bat #64 DC 42.8 -7.2%
54 DV8 #8 Image 42.7 -3.6%
55 Batman Bane DC 41.7
56 Batman Poison Ivy DC 41.5
57 Ka-Zar #3 Marvel 41.5 +36.1%
58 Batman Mr. Freeze DC 41.2
59 Unknown Soldier #4 DC 40.9 +1.2%
60 Untold Tales Spiderman #-1 Marvel 40.8 +4.1%
61 Catwoman #47 DC 40.3 -4.0%
62 Robin #43 DC 40.1 -2.7%
63 Flash #127 DC 39.9 -3.4%
64 Silver Surfer #-1 Marvel 39.8 +2.1%
65 Tenth #4 Image 38.9 +2.1%
66 Nightwing Annual #1 DC 38.8
67 Daredevil #-1 Marvel 38.6 +7.2%
68 What If #-1 Marvel 38.3 -1.3%
69 Wonder Woman #123 DC 36.9 -1.9%
70 Batman Chronicles #9 DC 36.2 -5.7%**
71 Venom: Seed of Darkness Marvel 36.2
72 Ka-Zar: Sibling Rivalry Marvel 36.2
73 Star Wars Rogue Squad #2 DHC 35.8 -7.0%
74 Pride and Joy #1 DC 35.4
75 Journey Into Mystery #-1 Marvel 34.7 +3.6%
76 Untold Tales Spiderman 97 #1 Marvel 34.6
77 Weapon Zero #13 Image 32.8 -4.7%
78 Venom: License to Kill #2 Marvel 32.6 -16.2%
79 Wonder Woman Annual #6 DC 32.6 -12.6%**
80 Azrael #31 DC 32.5 -6.3%
81 Judgement Day: Alpha Maximum 32.5
82 Chastity #3 Chaos 31.9 +10.4%*
83 Conan #1 Marvel 31.4
84 Hellshock #5 Image 31.1 -6.6%
85 Evil Ernie Destroyer #1 Chaos 31.1
86 Silver Surfer 97 #1 Marvel 31.0
87 Maxx #30 Image 30.8 -6.7%*
88 Aquaman #34 DC 30.6 -1.6%
89 Dreaming #14 DC 30.4 -10.9%
90 Impulse #27 DC 30.3 -3.8%
91 Teen Titans #10 DC 30.3 -6.5%
92 Starman #32 DC 30.1 -2.9%
93 Wetworks #29 Image 29.8 -6.9%
94 Superboy #41 DC 29.3 -4.2%
95 Weird War Tales #2 DC 28.6 -24.3%
96 Hitman #16 DC 28.5 -6.6%
97 Legionnaires #50 DC 28.3 +7.6%
98 Aquaman Annual #3 DC 27.7 -11.5%**
99 Classic Star Wars Han S #3 DHC 27.7 -7.7%
100 Savage Dragon #39 Image 27.6 -3.2%
101 Ghost Rider #-1 Marvel 27.6 +15.0%
102 Strangers in Paradise #6 Image 27.1 0.0*
103 Adventures in DC Universe #4 DC 26.9 -13.8%
104 Legion of Superheroes #94 DC 26.4 -2.9%
105 Books of Magic #38 DC 26.1 -7.8%
106 Manga Shi 2000 #3 Crusade 26.1* +0.4%
107 Ash Cinder and Smoke #1 Event 26.1*
108 Bone #29 Cartoon 25.4* -12.7%*
109 Stormwatch #48 Image 25.1 -20.1%
110 Backlash #32 Image 25.0 -2.3%
111 Jack Kirby's Fourth World #5 DC 25.0 -8.1%
112 Avengelyne #15 Maximum 24.9 -1.6%
113 Shade #4 DC 24.8 -2.0%
114 Darkness Collected Ed #1 Image 24.6
115 Grifter #11 Image 23.7 -4.0%
116 Savant Garde #3 Image 23.6 -13.9%
117 Crimson Plague #1 Event 23.6*
118 Vampirella vs Hemmorhage #2 Harris 23.3* -0.4%
119 Leave It To Chance #7 Image 23.1 -3.8%
120 Batman and Robin Advent #20 DC 23.1 -6.5%
121 Star Trek: Unlimited #5 Marvel 23.1
122 Star Trek: Voyager #9 Marvel 22.9 -14.2%
123 Star Trek: Deep Space 9 #9 Marvel 22.4 -14.2%
124 Anarky #3 DC 22.4 -13.8%
125 Resurrection Man #3 DC 22.4 +1.8%
126 Superman Adventures #9 DC 22.4 -5.9%
127 House of Secrets #10 DC 22.3 -10.1%
128 Star Trek: Early Voyages #6 Marvel 22.2 -13.3%
129 Star Trek: Starfleet Aca #8 Marvel 21.8 -12.1%
130 Power of Shazam #28 DC 20.9 -3.7%
131 Superboy and Ravers #11 DC 20.3 -6.9%
132 Invisibles v2 #6 DC 20.0 -11.5%
133 Suspira Great Working #3 Chaos 20.0 -19.7%
134 Spectre #55 DC 19.9 -6.6%
135 Hellblazer #115 DC 19.5 -14.8%
136 Lobo #41 DC 19.3 -7.2%
137 Young Heroes in Love #2 DC 19.1 -27.9%
138 Green Arrow #122 DC 18.8 -3.6%
139 Starship Troopers Insect #1 DHC 18.7
140 Sandman Mystery Theare #52 DC 18.4 -6.6%
141 Ticks Back #0 NEC 18.3*
142 Predator Hell and Hot H2O #2 DHC 18.2 -18.4%
143 Uncanny Origins #11 Marvel 18.1 -16.2%
144 X-O Manowar #8 Acclaim 17.7 -6.3%
145 Sovereign Seven #24 DC 17.5 -2.8%
146 Supreme #49 Maximum 17.1 -9.0%
147 Immortal 2 #1 Image 17.0
148 Ghost #25 DHC 16.9 +1.2%
149 Glory #23 Maximum 16.8 -4.5%
150 Junk Culture #1 DC 16.5
151 Lost World Jurassic Park #1 Topps 16.4*
152 2020 Visions #3 DC 16.3 -16.8%
153 Steel #40 DC 16.2 -3.0%
154 Shadowman #7 Acclaim 15.5 -11.9%
155 Stray Bullets #14 El Capitan 15.4* -6.7%*
156 Gunsmith Cats Shades Gray #1 DHC 15.4 +27.3%**
157 Elric Stormbringer #3 DHC 15.2 -11.1%
158 BW Smith Storyteller #7 DHC 15.0 -9.1%*
159 Badger #1 Image 14.4
160 Wildstorm Spotlight #4 Image 14.3 -8.3%
161 Marvel Adventures #4 Marvel 14.2 -25.7%
162 A Man Called Ax #1 DC 14.1
163 Angel Fire #2 Crusade 14.0* -36.4%*
164 Batman Robin Movie Adapt Std DC 14.0
165 Turok Timewalker #2 Acclaim 13.9 -10.9%
166 Dr Tomorrow #1 Acclaim 13.7
167 Magnus Robot Fighter #5 Acclaim 13.5 -8.2%
168 Challengers of Unknown #6 DC 13.5 -8.2%
169 Lady Rawhide #7 Topps 13.5* -7.5%
170 Trinity Angels #3 Acclaim 13.4 -14.1%
171 Oh My Goddess Mara #1 DHC 13.3 -1.5%
172 Nexus God Con #2 DHC 13.1 -16.0%
173 Crimson Nun #1 Antarctic 12.9*
174 Poison Elves #24 Sirius 12.9* -2.3%
175 Jackie Chans Spartan X #1 Topps 12.8*
176 Ess. Vertigo Sandman #12 DC 12.6 -10.6%
177 Bloodshot #3 Acclaim 12.4 -12.1%
178 Eternal Warriors Digital A Acclaim 12.1
179 DHC Star Wars Dark Empire #3 DHC 12.0 -2.4%
180 Fault Lines #3 DC 11.8 -16.9%
181 Elfquest #12 Warp 11.7* +1.7%
182 Xero #3 DC 11.5 -14.2%
183 Ranma 1/2 VI #6 Viz 11.4* -5.8%
184 Tick Special Acclaim 11.2
185 Freak Force #3 Image 11.1 -10.5%
186 Pantha Haunted Passion Harris 11.1*
187 Troublemakers #6 Acclaim 10.9 -6.8%
188 Cerebus #218 Aardvark 10.8* +4.9%
189 Book of Fate #6 DC 10.7 -6.1%
190 Verotika #16 Verotik 10.6* -2.8%*
191 Blade Immortal Call Worm #2 DHC 10.6 -7.0%
192 Ninjak #7 Acclaim 10.5 -7.9%
193 Nameless #1 Image 10.4
194 Bone #19 reprint Image 10.4 -4.6%
195 ERB Return of Tarzan #2 DHC 10.2 -10.5%
196 A Touch of Silver #3 Image 9.9 -24.4%*
197 Strangers Paradise Gold #1 Abstract 9.9*
198 Quantum and Woody #4 Acclaim 9.8 +1.0%
199 ERB Tarzan #10 DHC 9.5 -3.1%*
200 Drakuun Rise of Dragon #4 DHC 9.5 -7.8%
...and the top-selling comics from companies that did not quite
make it into the top 200.
207 Full Metal Fiction #2 LNS 8.5
209 Uncle Scrooge #305 Hamilton 8.1*
218 New Bondage Fairies #7 FBI 7.3*
220 Oink Blood and Circus #1 KSP 7.3*
221 Tyrant #5 resolicitation Spiderbaby 7.2*
225 Sonic the Hedgehog #49 Archie 7.0
231 Cavewoman Rain #7 Caliber 6.5*
237 Araknis Retribution #1 Morningstar 6.1*
238 Warrior #5 Ultimate 6.1*
245 Vault of Horror #20 Gemstone 5.6
256 Le Femme Vamprique #1 Brainstorm 5.3
257 Tenchi Muyo #3 Pioneer 5.0*
277 Griffin #1 SLG 4.2*
280 Star Blazers #11 Voyager 4.0*
281 La Cosa Nostroid #3 Fireman 4.0*
288 Tormentress Mistress #0 reg Blackout 3.7*
290 Double Impact Gallery #1 reg High Imp 3.6*
296 Midnight Panther #2 CPM 3.5*
299 Thieves and Kings #17 I Box 3.5*
300 Donna Mia Giant Size #2 reg Avatar 3.3*
The "estimated number sold" is an estimate of the total
number of copies pre-ordered through Diamond Distribution,
in thousands. PLEASE NOTE: This figure does not include
advance reorders, reorders, or sales outside of Diamond
Distribution. Comics marked with an asterisk (*) by their
sales estimate are not exclusive to Diamond.
The "change" is an estimate of the percentage change over
the previous issue. An asterisk (*) indicates the
previous issue was published two months ago (March),
and a double asterisk (**) indicates the previous issue was
published three or more months ago. Note that a change of
TWO PERCENT OR LESS is statistically insignificant, and
nothing should be inferred from very small increases or
decreases in sales.
Comic Book Market Share by dollar value, May 1997:
Publisher Comic Books All Products
1 DC Comics 29.27% 24.48%
2 Marvel Comics 22.08% 17.51%
3 Image 13.16% 10.47%
4 Dark Horse 5.58% 4.57%
5 Fleer 2.32%
6 Wizard Press 2.64% 2.09%
7 Moore Creations 1.85%
8 Acclaim 2.17% 1.72%
9 Viz 1.30% 1.39%
10 Topps 1.16% 1.34%
11 Applause 1.04%
12 Extreme/Maximum 1.04%
13 Antarctic Press 1.03%
14 Gemstone 1.23% 0.97%
15 Tohan 1.05% 0.84%
16 Chaos! 0.82%
17 London Night Studios 0.80%
18 Fantagraphics/Eros 0.75%
19 Heavey Metal 0.57%
20 Harris 0.55%
Other Suppliers 20.35% 23.85%
Note: This information was obtained from Diamond Distrib-
ution's DIAMOND DIALOGUE, which publishes various sales
charts every month, and is available to comics retailers.
This listing includes sales of all comic books sold through
Diamond, which constitutes 98-99% of all direct market comic
book sales. I make no claims as to the accuracy of any of
the information on these charts, and only provide estimates
based on the available information.
Special thanks to John Jackson Miller for help in producing
this list. Using sales figures from Antarctic Press, the
Diamond order index was originally calculated at 1 index
point = 573 comics sold. Using Marvel sales figures (a
much broader and more accurate measure), the order index
has been *CORRECTED* to 583 comics sold - an increase of
1.7%.
Michael Encinas
Matthew High wrote:
>
> Note: Additional sales charts can be found at:
> http://www.texas.net/~antarc/salescharts.com.
>
> Top-selling Comics for May 1997, based on pre-orders
> through Diamond Distributors - **CORRECTED**
Unfortunately, the above website seems to be incorrect. I think I found
it at:
http://www.texas.net/~antarc/salescharts.html
Michael
plai...@mindspring.com
Kate the Short wrote:
>
> In article <5laq1b$e8q$2...@news3.texas.net>,
> Matthew High <mh...@REMOVE.TO.REPLY.antarctic-press.com> wrote:
>
> > 2 Uncanny X-Men #-1 Marvel 162.5 -9.4%
> > 3 X-Men #-1 Marvel 159.9 -10.1%
> > 10 Generation X #-1 Marvel 103.8 -8.1%
> > 15 X-Force #-1 Marvel 89.6 -7.1%
> > 16 Cable #-1 Marvel 84.1 -6.6%
> > 20 Amazing Spiderman #-1 Marvel 74.2 -6.2%
> > 29 Deadpool #-1 Marvel 62.6 -3.4%
> > 68 What If #-1 Marvel 38.3 -1.3%
>
>
> "Hello, I'm a retcon. Skip me!" Looks like readers did just that.
Or at least the comic stores figured they would. Remember, these are
pre-orders, not retail sales, they only tell us the stores' guesses on
what we will buy, they probably reflect last months sales more this
months
books. Of course this is only the second month of Marvel statistics, so
we don't know how much of the decline is due to the gimick rather than
normal sales.
> > 4 Fantastic Four #9 Marvel 141.9 -8.4%
> > 7 Iron Man #9 Marvel 122.1 -6.6%
> > 8 Captain America #9 Marvel 107.4 -6.4%
These did better then the -1 issues in the same range, but they are
still sinking fast, I think this shows that Marvel's poor showing
is not solely due to this months gimmick.
Old Toby
Least Known Dog on the Net
All e-mail to me should have "T:" at the beginning of the title, I have
to share this account.
Elayne Wechsler-Chaput
Matthew High (mh...@REMOVE.TO.REPLY.antarctic-press.com) wrote:
: Top-selling Comics for May 1997, based on pre-orders
: through Diamond Distributors - **CORRECTED**
Thanks, as always, for posting this, Matt!
:
: estimated #
: # Title Publisher sold (1000's)
: 11 JLA #7 DC 103.2 +4.5%
Whoa, DC cracks the 100 thou mark again at last. And this sells higher
than Superman. Hope Morrison opted for royalties. :)
: 21 Superman #125 DC 73.5 -4.5%
: 23 Action Comics #735 DC 69.8 -6.1%
: 24 Adventures of Superman #548 DC 69.6 -5.9%
: 25 Superman Man of Steel #69 DC 69.3 -4.1%
: 31 Batman #544 DC 58.3 -4.1%
: 33 Superman Annual #9 DC 54.1 -0.9%**
: 35 Detective Comics #711 DC 52.6 -5.2%
: 36 Batman Long Halloween #8 DC 51.8 -4.4%
: 37 Supergirl #11 DC 50.8 -5.4%
: 40 Batman Annual #21 DC 47.5 -21.9%**
: 50 Batman Legends Dark Kn #86 DC 43.9 -6.8%
: 51 Batman Batgirl DC 43.8
: 52 Nightwing #10 DC 43.1 -4.4%
: 53 Batman Shadow of the Bat #64 DC 42.8 -7.2%
: 55 Batman Bane DC 41.7
: 56 Batman Poison Ivy DC 41.5
: 58 Batman Mr. Freeze DC 41.2
Interesting that the Supes titles are outdoing the Bat titles, even with
the Bat movie coming out. All those minuses can't be good, though. :(
I also note that the Batgirl one-shot has at least 2000 more pre-orders
than the other three movie tie-in one-shots, but I suppose one can chalk
that up to name recognition.
: 97 Legionnaires #50 DC 28.3 +7.6%
: 104 Legion of Superheroes #94 DC 26.4 -2.9%
Glad the bit #50 got some notice, but don't like the minus point on the
LSH title. Still, good to see the Legion books holding their own; I just
wish they'd maybe break 30 one of these days...
: 120 Batman and Robin Advent #20 DC 23.1 -6.5%
: 126 Superman Adventures #9 DC 22.4 -5.9%
This is NOT good, especially compared to the "core" Bat and Superman
titles. What a shame.
: 144 X-O Manowar #8 Acclaim 17.7 -6.3%
: 154 Shadowman #7 Acclaim 15.5 -11.9%
: 165 Turok Timewalker #2 Acclaim 13.9 -10.9%
: 166 Dr Tomorrow #1 Acclaim 13.7
: 167 Magnus Robot Fighter #5 Acclaim 13.5 -8.2%
: 170 Trinity Angels #3 Acclaim 13.4 -14.1%
: 177 Bloodshot #3 Acclaim 12.4 -12.1%
: 178 Eternal Warriors Digital A Acclaim 12.1
: 187 Troublemakers #6 Acclaim 10.9 -6.8%
: 192 Ninjak #7 Acclaim 10.5 -7.9%
: 198 Quantum and Woody #4 Acclaim 9.8 +1.0%
Has Acclaim cracked 20,000 yet? (Can't believe Ninjak isn't doing better,
though...) And Q&W, not even at 10,000? There's no justice...
: 159 Badger #1 Image 14.4
Ooh, that's a nice surprise.
- Elayne
--
I am currently seeking an administrative assistant/secretarial position in
New York City (preferably Manhattan or Brooklyn). My resume can be found
at http://ezinfo.ucs.indiana.edu/~fchary/elayne.html - please e-mail me
for further information, including references.
Mark Bernstein
>In article <5laq1b$e8q$2...@news3.texas.net>,
>Matthew High <mh...@REMOVE.TO.REPLY.antarctic-press.com> wrote:
>>Top-selling Comics for May 1997, based on pre-orders
>>through Diamond Distributors - **CORRECTED**
>>
>> 1 Spawn #62 Image 167.0 +18.4%
>> 5 Curse of the Spawn #9 Image 133.6 +42.1%
>
>Yowza. Orders up THAT much? That seems really odd. What's going on in
>Spanw that there's this much push? Are people coming back to it because of
>the hype for the movie and cartoon?
>
Remember, these figures are based on what the retailers order from
Diamond. I can believe they'd up their orders because they're hoping
the cartoon and movie will generate more interest in the comics. I'm
not saying they're *right*, mind you . . .
Mark Bernstein
m...@arbortext.com
James Hudnall
Matthew High <mh...@REMOVE.TO.REPLY.antarctic-press.com> wrote:
>Note: Additional sales charts can be found at:
>http://www.texas.net/~antarc/salescharts.com.
>
>Top-selling Comics for May 1997, based on pre-orders
>through Diamond Distributors - **CORRECTED**
Any idea why most books fell this month? Last month a large percentage
went up in sales.
Elayne Wechsler-Chaput
Lance Visser (vis...@convex.com) wrote:
: In <5lc8it$8...@panix.com> fire...@panix.com (Elayne Wechsler-Chaput) writes:
: +>: 120 Batman and Robin Advent #20 DC 23.1 -6.5%
: +>: 126 Superman Adventures #9 DC 22.4 -5.9%
: +>This is NOT good, especially compared to the "core" Bat and Superman
: +>titles. What a shame.
: Is it maybe that most of these books are selling through
: the non-direct market? Archie keeps saying how spectacular
: Sonic does overall and its ranked back past 200 on the list here.
: Maybe this says that comic shops do a bad job of
: selling to the audience for these books. (the younger audience).
This is what I'm assuming is the case-- that newsstand and other non-
direct market sales are doing better with the younger demographic. Damn
shame, too, we need more kid-friendly (and female-friendly) stores...
Mike Comeau
Elayne Wechsler-Chaput wrote:
>
> Matthew High (mh...@REMOVE.TO.REPLY.antarctic-press.com) wrote:
>
> : Top-selling Comics for May 1997, based on pre-orders
> : through Diamond Distributors - **CORRECTED**
>
> : 55 Batman Bane DC 41.7
> : 56 Batman Poison Ivy DC 41.5
>
> I also note that the Batgirl one-shot has at least 2000 more pre-orders
> than the other three movie tie-in one-shots, but I suppose one can chalk
> that up to name recognition.
>
Other possibilities:
- Those who don't read the Bat-books regularly but remember enjoying THE
KILLING JOKE decided this might be good.
- Those who miss Batgirl will buy anything with her in it.
Both my brother-in-law and I ordered BATMAN:BATGIRL for these reasons,
though neither of us buys the Bat-titles any more. It's more than just
name recognition - Batgirl represents to us, to an extent, the "good old
days". (I'll also buy any reasonably priced special that shows us Hal
Jordan as GJ, Barry Allen as Flash, the Justice Society ...)
William George Ferguson
> Matthew High <mh...@REMOVE.TO.REPLY.antarctic-press.com> wrote:
> >Note: Additional sales charts can be found at:
> >http://www.texas.net/~antarc/salescharts.com.
In case nobody has pointed it out yet, you'll have bettr luck looking for
http://www.texas.net/~antarc/salescharts.html
^^^^
--
annoying signature --
CROOOOW
Mark Bernstein wrote:
>
> On Wed, 14 May 1997 01:05:37 GMT, ka...@cicero.spc.uchicago.edu (Kate
> the Short) wrote:
>
> >In article <5laq1b$e8q$2...@news3.texas.net>,
> >Matthew High <mh...@REMOVE.TO.REPLY.antarctic-press.com> wrote:
> >>through Diamond Distributors - **CORRECTED**
> >>
> >
> >Spanw that there's this much push? Are people coming back to it because of
> >the hype for the movie and cartoon?
> >
> Remember, these figures are based on what the retailers order from
> Diamond. I can believe they'd up their orders because they're hoping
> the cartoon and movie will generate more interest in the comics. I'm
> not saying they're *right*, mind you . . .
You can't keep the dead man down...
Though CURSE should be up after that fantastic "SEVEN" style story
over the last 4 issues, and CURSE #9 is supposed to be the origin of
ANGELA...so there you have it.
--
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO THEMEPARKS - Future Attractions, Simulators
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO THE MOVIES - The 5th Element, Batman 4!
For people who are their OWN children:
http://home.earthlink.net/~Croooow
Matthew High
In article <337C82...@earthlink.net> CROOOOW,
Cro...@earthlink.net writes:
>Mark Bernstein wrote:
>> On Wed, 14 May 1997 01:05:37 GMT, ka...@cicero.spc.uchicago.edu (Kate
>> the Short) wrote:
>> >In article <5laq1b$e8q$2...@news3.texas.net>,
>> >Matthew High <mh...@REMOVE.TO.REPLY.antarctic-press.com> wrote:
>> >>
>> >
>> >
>> Diamond. I can believe they'd up their orders because they're hoping
>> the cartoon and movie will generate more interest in the comics. I'm
>> not saying they're *right*, mind you . . .
>
>You can't keep the dead man down...
Actually, the reason for the big jump in sales is because May was
"Spawn Month", and it was featured on the front cover of PREVIEWS.
Such coverage always leads to additional sales (for example, look at
"Starman month" in February), and sales on Spawn will see a
roughly-equal-sized drop in sales next month, off-setting the increase
this month.
The $64 question is if sales AFTER May will stabilize at a higher
level than BEFORE May. Then again, that's the entire goal of doing
special months and special features in the first place...
Best,
, -mlh
Matthew High
In article <337a4ada...@news.mindspring.com> James Hudnall,
jdhu...@mindspring.com writes:
>Any idea why most books fell this month? Last month a large percentage
>went up in sales.
At first I was very concerned as well. Sales in May traditionally are
*supposed* to go up, not down. Most superhero comics have mildly
seasonal sales, with increases in summer and big dips in the dead of
winter. (Note, however, the more "alternative" a comic is, the less
seasonal the sales. In fact, some of the more alternative comics
actually see an *increase* in sales during winter months as retailers
shift focus away from mainstream books looking for something to
improve cash flow).
However, after talking to someone who actually has done more intensive
studying of the May figures than I have (hard to believe, I know), it
appears that the reason most books saw a drop in sales in because
there was more product offered in May than April, and the dollar value
of that product was much higher. So while the sales on individual
titles may have dropped, the overall gross revenue may be up.
Another point to bring up is that May is the first month we have been
able to accurately track Marvel sales figures. Marvel comics returned
to the sales charts in Diamond Dialogue in April, and May is the first
month we can actually do comparisons on Marvel sales trends. From
April to May it appears the average Marvel book saw a drop in sales of
8-10% - perhaps this is *normal*, and Marvel books have been dropping
8-10% every month for several months. Perhaps 8-10% is better than
before - who knows? Only the people at Marvel can say for sure.
In any case, I feel it is more important to take a good look at the
comics in March, April and May that saw the greatest increases in
sales - THAT is where the future of comics lies.
Best,
- mlh
Matthew High
+>: 120 Batman and Robin Advent #20 DC 23.1 -6.5%
+>: 126 Superman Adventures #9 DC 22.4 -5.9%
+>This is NOT good, especially compared to the "core" Bat and Superman
+>titles. What a shame.
In article <5ldr20$8...@mikey.convex.com> Lance Visser,
vis...@convex.com writes:
> Is it maybe that most of these books are selling through
>the non-direct market? Archie keeps saying how spectacular
>Sonic does overall and its ranked back past 200 on the list here.
Yes - in general comics aimed at a younger audience sell much, much
better through the mass market (i.e. direct market) than through comic
book stores. This makes sense, too. Very few young kids actually go
to comic stores any more - based on the foot traffic at the two stores
we own in town, and on the comic stores I've visited recently (I have
personally visited just shy of 200 comic stores in the past seven
weeks), the average customer is in his early twenties, and
overwhelmingly male. Very few kids 12 years old or younger - unless
they have come in to buy "Magic".
Archie Comics sell between 3000 and 7000 copies through Diamond (who
is their exclusive distributor, since June 1996). It should be
pointed out that while most comics have seen big drops in sales over
the past year, most Archie books have actually gone UP in sales
through Diamond - especially Sonic. I am willing to bet that Sonic is
one of the top 10 books that have seen the biggest increase in sales
over the past year.
While they sell a few thousand through Diamond, they sell tens of
thousands of copies through the newsstand (supermarkets, drug stores,
Stop'n'Robs, etc). Probably something like 60/70/80+% of their sales
are on the newsstand. Unfortunately, this is pretty much only true
for Archie and similar titles - for superhero comics it is estimated
that only about 25% of their sales are on the newsstand (reference:
John Miller, Comics Retailer). A considerable sum, but nothing to
write home about.
> Maybe this says that comic shops do a bad job of
>selling to the audience for these books. (the younger audience).
Maybe. But then again, I don't see the comic book specialty store as
catering to the younger audience. Many young comic readers get their
start buying comics at the 7-11, or Safeway, or Ben Franklin Five and
Dime. Then, as they get older, kids "graduate" to shopping at the
comic specialty store. The same pattern holds true to many hobbies,
including model kits/RC modelling, card collecting, role-play gaming.
Most comic specialty stores are end-destination stores, and I don't
think most stores should be viewed as the place to go as an "entry
level" into the world of comics. General book stores or hobby stores,
such as Hastings Records or Bookstop or something similar can fill
that role. Then as soon as the reader has out-grown the limited
selection available there, he/she can seek out the specialty store to
find new comics.
Anyway, that's my 50 rupiah (dos centavos),
- mlh
Mikko Aittola
ka...@cicero.spc.uchicago.edu (Kate the Short) writes:
> > 57 Ka-Zar #3 Marvel 41.5 +36.1%
> And that's a niiiiice bounce for Ka-Zar. What were the figures for #1 and
> #2? Was there just an under-ordered #2 and that's that?
Two words: Variant Covers.
As I recall Ka-Zar #2 + Ka-Zar #2(variant) totalled more
than 41.5k.
/Mikko
bart
In article <5li3lj$q5l$1...@news3.texas.net>,
Matthew High <mh...@REMOVE.TO.REPLY.antarctic-press.com> wrote:
>In article <337a4ada...@news.mindspring.com> James Hudnall,
>jdhu...@mindspring.com writes:
>>Any idea why most books fell this month? Last month a large percentage
>>went up in sales.
<snipped Matt's explanation that gross revenue may in fact be up in May>
>In any case, I feel it is more important to take a good look at the
>comics in March, April and May that saw the greatest increases in
>sales - THAT is where the future of comics lies.
But the real problem is that only a few comics are up in March, April, May
taken collectively - and fewer comics are up in relation to where they were
six, twelve or eighteen months ago. I really think that April seems to be
the anomalous month - it's the only month in ages that a significant number
of books saw increases - May just seems to be continuing the downward
trajectory on mainstream comics that we've been watching for a couple of
years at this point.
The type of increase that we saw in the sales figures in April for many
titles - and the type of decrease we see on most titles this month - arenÕt
really significant (in fact they're well within a margin of error of about
5%). What would be significant would be if most titles increased 5% every
month for a number of months - that would indicate that the market had
bottomed out. But that hasnÕt happened. Instead what weÕve seen are steady
drops on most titles every month for years. After so many companies went
Diamond exclusive and Matt started posting the sales numbers from Diamond
people generally agreed that it was a tough time for the comics industry.
In the eighteen months since then almost every comic in the Diamond 150 has
lost sales, ie. weÕre worse off than when we thought we were bad off.
IÕve sorted the Top 200 for May by company to look at how the titles are
doing over time. IÕve left out Marvel because with only two months we canÕt
draw any conclusions about them at all. While a few titles have steadily
increased month after month over the past year (Preacher being the best
example), or stayed roughly the same within 1 or 2 thousand mark (Starman),
most titles in the top 200 have gone down, many very significantly.
Starting with the biggest companies:
DC:
JLA 103.2 This book debuted at 104.2 then dropped into the 70k range and
climbed back up. This is DCÕs only real ongoing success of the past 18
months (they had one-shot successes with Amalgam, and Kingdom Come did
better than this)
Superman, Action Comics, Adventures of Superman, Superman Man of Steel
These books range right now from 73.5 to 69.3 which is an increase from the
mid-50k range which they were in before the Blue Superman story. The bad
news is that all of these books were in mid-70k range in Dec 95. The DC
success story seems to be getting books back to where they were just
eighteen months ago.
Batman, Detective Comics, Batman Long Halloween, Batman Legends Dark Kn,
Batman Shadow of the Bat
These range from a high of 58.3 to a low of 42.8. In Dec 95 Batman was
selling 82.9k, which was considered exceptionally low. Each of the Batman
titles has lost five or six thousand sales in the past five months or so,
though thatÕs a slower rate of decline than previously.
Most of DCÕs main core of books have fallen about 15k in the past year or
so.
Supergirl 50.8 - this was in the high 60k range 6 or 7 months ago
Green Lantern - one of the few DCs holding roughly steady over the past
year and a half
Catwoman 40.3 -down from mid 50k
Robin 39.9 - down from mid 50k
Flash 39.9 - down from mid to high 40k
Wonder Woman 36.9 - down from high 40k
Azrael 32.5 - down from low 50k
Aquaman 30.6 - down slightly from mid-30k range
Impulse 30.3 - down slightly from mid 30k
Teen Titans 30.3 - debuted in mid 50k rnage
Starman 30.1 - holding steady within margin of one or two k each month
Superboy 29.3 - down from mid 40k
Hitman 28.5 - down from mid 30k range
Legionnaires 28.3 - up slightly from mid 20k range
Legion of Superheroes 26.4 - holding steady in mid 20k
Jack Kirby's Fourth World 25 - up from the end of New Gods
The Adventures line continues to sell consistently, if moderately:
Adventures in DC Universe 26.9 - dropping to Batman Adv levels
Batman and Robin Advent 23.1 - down slight from high 20k
Superman Adventures 22.4 - leveling off at about same as Batman Adv
These are the DC books that are starting to drift into troubled waters. The
last issues of Justice League Task Force sold 18.5, Guy Gardner Warrior
sold 17.9 and Swamp Thing sold 16.6 and they were all cancelled. Drawing
close to those cancellation numbers are:
Power of Shazam 20.9 - down from mid 20k
Superboy and Ravers 20.3 - down from high 20k
Spectre 19.9 - down from mid 20k
Lobo 19.3 - down from high 20k range
Green Arrow 18.8 - holding steady from low 20k
Sovereign Seven 17.5 - down from high 20k range
Steel 16.2 - down from low 20k. Steel must be close to the cusp of
cancellation.
Then there are the recent DC books that already seem to be goners. Each of
these had incredibly low debut numbers and have gone down from there.
Young Heroes in Love, A Man Called Ax, Challengers of Unknown, Fault Lines,
Xero, Book of Fate
I would be shocked if any of these books last out the year.
Vertigo is faring increasingly poorly with the exception of Preacher, which
seems to have maxed out at a respectable mid 40k range.
Preacher 45.6 - rose from the mid30k range before peaking at about 50k and
coming down
Dreaming 30.4 - down from low 50k
Books of Magic 26.1 - down from mid 30k
House of Secrets 22.3 - debuted at 44.3
Invisibles 20 - slightly better than vol 1
Hellblazer 19.5 - down from mid 20k
Sandman Mystery Theatre 18.4 - down from low 20k
Ess Vertigo Sandman 12.6 - debuted at 34.7, down from mid 20k
The books from Invisibles down are in the same range that Swamp Thing was
when it was cancelled
One piece of good news might be that the annuals for May sold roughly what
they did last year.
Image:
Spawn 167 - jumped up to where it was about 8 mos ago
Curse of the Spawn 133.6 - also a jump to where it was 6 mos ago
Only time will tell if these are permanent turn arounds, or just anomalies.
Most Image books are down quite a bit though from previous highs, even as
they do generally better than many of DCÕs books.
Gen 13 98.3 - down from 150k range
Gen 13 Bootleg 54.7 - debuted at 108.2
WildCats 46.9 - down from mid 70k range
Arcanum 44.3 -holding steady in mid-40s after a big drop from 70k range
DV8 42.7 - debuted at 205.7 has been sliding thru 40s for a number of
months
Weapon Zero 32.8 -down from mid 40k
Hellshock 31.1 -down from mid 50k
Maxx 30.8 -down from high 30k
Wetworks 29.8 -down from mid 40k
Savage Dragon 27.6 -down from low 30k
Stormwatch 25.1 -down from low 30k
Backlash 25 -down from mid 30k
Grifter 23.7 -down form mid 30k
Two Image books that are doing fine are:
Strangers in Paradise 27.1 consistent in mid 20k
Leave It To Chance 23.1 holding steady
Astro City (which wasnÕt on the May chart) is also faring well.
Dark Horse:
There really are two Dark Horses: Star Wars comics and everything else. The
Star Wars comics that are coming out right now are faring worse than
previous mini-series though:
Star Wars Dark Force Ris 60 - Pretty low for a Star Wars #1
Star Wars Rogue Squad 35.8 - one of the lowest Star Wars titles from the
last year
Classic Star Wars Han Solo 27.7 - not very good but itÕs a reprint
Star Wars Dark Empire 12 - very low for a Star Wars books
Predator Hell and Hot H2O 22.3 - low by Predator standards but still
alright
Ghost 16.9 - down from high 30k range from Dec 95, but has been holding
steady for four or five months
Gunsmith Cats Shades Gray, Elric Stormbringer, BW Smith Storyteller, Oh My
Goddess,
Nexus God Con are all between 10k and 15k, which seems to be within the DH
danger zone for cancellation - though maybe not given how little DH has
that seems to be working these days.
Blade Immortal Call Worm, Return of Tarzan, ERB Tarzan, Drakuun Rise of
Dragon are all at or below 10k which would seem to be below DHÕs
cancellation number. For comparison sake IÕll note that the last comics
from Big and Broadway sold better than 12k.
Acclaim:
AcclaimÕs top seller is XO Manowar at 17.7. It has seven titles that sold
between 12k and 17.7 thru Diamond, or roughly what Acclaim books like X-O
Manowar, Solar and Turok were selling before the relaunch. The first of
these books debuted in the mid-30k range, and theyÕve all lost at least
half their sales.
Eternal Warriors Digital, Tick Special both hit about 12k, which is pretty
poor.
Troublemakers, Ninjak, Quantum and Woody are all below 11k and dropping
every month. ItÕs difficult to imagine that any of them will survive.
Acclaim really needs at least one title to improve even for a month, which
is something they havenÕt done at all.
From the smaller sized publishers. ItÕs worth nothing as well that only 28
comics from the non-Big Five cracked the Top 200 this month, which means
that only 28 comics from the smaller presses sold more than 10k thru
Diamond. ThatÕs not a healthy sign to me.
Cerebus (Aardvark)
Rock Sseady over the last six months (10.1 - 10.8 range); down about 3k
since Dec 95.
Crimson Nun (Antarctic)
-not best selling Warrior Nun spin-off but quite good for Acclaim
Bone (Cartoon)
-sold 39.2 in Dec 95 but now sells in the mid-20k range. Bone has had a
constant and steady downslide that is typical of the whole market
ChaosÕ books (Chastity, Evil Ernie, and Suspira) have fallen off quite a
bit, losing about half their sales.
Manga Shi (Crusade) 26.1 - low end of Shi line which is usually 40-50k
Angel Fire 14 - low for Crusade, probably good given the size of the
ocmpany
Stray Bullets (El Capitan) 15.4 down slightly from about 18k of a while
back
Ash Cinder and Smoke (Event) 26.1 and Crimson Plague 23.6 are some of
Events best numbers in a long time
Vampirella vs Hemmorhage 23.3 - Vampirella used to do 30-40k range
Judgement Day: Alpha (Maximum) 32.5 - low for Maximum one-shot,
particularly for a universe shaking event
Avengelyne 24.9 - down from mid 50k
Supreme 17.1 - down from low 20s when Moore took over
Glory - down from mid40k
Poison Elves (Sirius) 12.9 down from the mid teens
X-Files (Topps) 50.4 - down from high 80k range but still very strong
Verotika (Verotik) 10.6 - down from high teens
Ranma 1/2 (Viz) 11.4 holding steady as always
Anyway, all of these numbers collectively indicate to me that the market is
still dropping steadily. There has been no turn around in the market place
at all and almost everything seems to be falling. The more alternative
books donÕt seem to be dropping as fast (if at all) but they donÕt break
10k either. The fate of Kitchen Sink, however, indicates that perhaps all
is not as rosy as weÕd like to believe.
I find it hard to believe that Acclaim can survive in its current
incarnation. If Dark Horse were to lose the Star Wars license I think that
they would have trouble supporting some of their lower sellers and the
entire company could find itself in danger. The fate of individual Image
books will be decided owner by owner so theyÕre difficult to gauge. DC
canÕt be happy with whatÕs happening there though itÕs difficult to know
what they want to do - continue to expand market share with the flood of
low-selling books that theyÕre pumping out, or large scale cancellations to
restrict things to only profitable books.
Basically, IÕd say that the comics industry looks to be in worse shape than
ever before. Moreover, heading into a what is traditionally the boom period
of the year (summer) I see little in the catalogues that indicates any of
the big companies plan to turn things around.
Sorry to be so cynical
bart