By The Numbers October 2016
Like in any industry, comic books and their companies listen most to one thing and that’s your money! What does your money tell them? What does it tell us as fans? What series do people say they adore but can’t seem to catch a break and what books to people hate that sell out? What are the trends? What looks good? What looks rough?
All these questions and more will be answered here, every month in ‘By The Numbers’ by comic writers, editors and fans, Glenn Matchett and Ray Goldfield.
Glenn Matchett is a comic writer and editor. He’s worked in the industry for 6 years but grew up reading comics. He is currently published with Outre Press, Nemeses Studios and Alterna! He is still hoping you order the IF Anthology at this very link!.
Ray Goldfield is a fan of comic books for going on 25 years, starting with the death of Superman. He is a writer and editor for Grayhaven Comics and is working on his first novel. Ray also does a weekly roundup of DC comic reviews for website Geekmom and they’re brilliantly entertaining. A few weeks ago, Ray did an interview with Scott Snyder and soon will be starring in a buddy comedy TV show with the writer! That’s what he told me anyway.
We also do a podcast together with longtime buddy, Brandon James on iTunes with Rabbitt Stew or at the link here! Don’t ask, I didn’t pick the name. If you’d like to hear what me and Ray sound like, give it a listen! We talk about this sales chart (among many, many other things) here.
Full top 300 for October available here!
Greetings folks! Sorry about the delay but sadly, life happens. We’ll not keeping you waiting any further and dive in immediately with a look of the sales of comics from October 2016!
Glenn: For the past few months, DC has dominated the top ten and the charts overall due to DC Rebirth and while in terms of market share, they lose out to Marvel, they manage to draw Marvel with four of the top ten (all of which, naturally star Batman) but the chart had plenty of new surprises and oddities.
Ray: Marvel takes back the lead this month, yeah, but I think the overall picture of the month is not particularly good for them. We’ll talk about this more later, but they no longer seem to have any ability to launch titles featuring lesser characters at a decent level. For DC, meanwhile, some of the Rebirth effect is wearing off and we’re starting to see which titles are going to stay at a higher level permanently, which are resuming their past trajectory – and which couple of titles are going to run into trouble fast.
Glenn: Lets start out with the number 1 book which may be the most surprise and odd of them all. Its not not any of the new Marvel launches or a DC book, its Big Trouble Little China/Escape New York from BOOM! which sells over 421.6k. Huh? How did this happen? Sure both properties that star actor Kurt Russel have their fan base but how did it manage that? Well they didn’t, Loot Crate did. The crossover was included in this month’s Loot Crate with a special variant exclusive to people subscribed to the monthly mystery box. We saw the same effect roughly around the same time last year with IDW’s Orphan Black comic adaption. Its essentially a comic that will find itself in the hands of hundreds of thousands of people that wouldn’t have bothered if they’d known. Certainty a big financial boom for the comic and for BOOM! but the sales are artificially inflated quite a bit. This comic will tumble down to about 12-15k if not next month then certainty the next. Still, a win is a win! I hope they got to include a lot of promotional pages in those special Lootcrate editions for their own creator owned books. This is giving them a huge audience they don’t have access to at the moment and hopefully they’ll be able to take advantage of it. As a result however, everything else has slid down one slot lower than it normally would be as a result.
Ray: I said this when it came to Orphan Black and Bravest Warriors, and I’ll say it again here – this is noise. There’s virtually no impact on future sales, and this book will fall down to its natural level when it resumes its standard distribution next month. I agree with you about the inevitable massive fall, but I think you might honestly be a bit too generous. I predict this will be under 10K next month with virtually no bounce. And I really wish Loot Crate numbers wouldn’t be included in Diamond’s chart or at least would come with the actual numbers aside from the Loot Crate orders included.
Glenn: Stuff like that would be nice as it would give this book a bit more of a realistic figure. The chart would likely be vastly different if things like promotions/variants and stuff were removed.
Second up is the first of All New-All Different-NOW-With Added Sprinkles and Pixie Dust Marvel launches in Champions which sells over 328k. Marvel pushed this one HARD and it seems to have served well for the title that is spinning out of the previous Mark Waid written Avengers title. This book revitalises an old Marvel property with a cast of its most popular young heroes and (insert YOUR least favorite here!). Its a great hit for a book that is also a new incarnation of the Young Avengers series of old and seems to have picked up a great critical reception. Its launched very favorable to some other titles that we’ll get to later but if it can manage sales of about 60-70k then it’ll be great so anything over that as the book finds its level is a bonus.
Ray: Champions seems like the one Marvel NOW! book that’s had the most good buzz behind it. You’ve got two fan-favorite creators, and an all-star cast of Marvel’s most popular young heroes. It strikes me that this is the closest Marvel’s ever come to a proper Teen Titans-style title (Young Avengers and Runaways were both original characters, while Young Allies featured more obscure heroes). That’s them filling a legit gap in the market with this book, and I think they’ll be rewarded. A settling point at around 70K sounds a bit right to me.
Glenn: Another new Marvel launch in a spin off book for the movie fresh Doctor Strange in a title featuring him and Sorcerers Supreme of the past and future. Doctor Strange and the Sorcerers Supreme launches with sales just under 150k which a lot more than I would have expected for a character who only recently has managed to support his own ongoing title for the first time in decades. This figure may be inflated by fact it was included in the Marvel’s Collectors Corps for the month of October but I’m not sure if those copies influence these numbers like it did with Loot Crate and the number one book. It obviously also helps that Doctor Strange has a big budget movie coming out which makes a new title starring him an easy sell. The latest issue of Doctor Strange the regular series is at 68 with sales of 41.2k, which is great but usually spin off books no matter who the character is sell less and Doctor Strange has never been able to support his own title, never mind split offs. The book will probably settle around the 15-20k range and be shuffled off this plane of mortal existence in 12 months. Could be wrong however as the sales here have surprised.
Ray: I wasn’t aware of Doctor Strange and the Sorcerers Supreme having a boost from the Collectors Corps box, but I’m not sure how big that was. I guess we won’t be able to see exactly how this book is genuinely doing until next month, but this is a healthy start. The book did get good reviews and Dr. Strange is very hot right now, so I think it can do better than you think. I think it winds up settling down at 20-25K, well enough to ride out its run. That being said, I also see this probably being a twelve-issue maxiseries that doesn’t get relaunched when the next relaunch comes along.
Glenn: No, you’re definitely right. There will be no relaunches here but we might see a few more Doctor Strange mini’s before all is said and done
Number 4 however is no surprise as its regular By The Numbers guest, Batman! Hey Batman!
Batman: Don’t bring me into this.
Glenn: Fair enough. The latest issue of the delayed added Dark Knight III sells over 133.6k which is still incredibly consistent. This book which is prestige format, experiences delays and a big price manages to still shift copies better than most regular ongoings. The Dark Knight brand is strong and I think this has been a big win for DC. Like I say every month it comes out, it pays them here (their highest selling book this month) and will pay them in the form of collections until Death herself turns the lights out on the universe.
Ray: #AlwaysBatman, I guess! The delays on DKIII have been significant, but with no ties to overall continuity, it doesn’t seem to have hurt it at all. Frank Miller still seems to have a major draw, and this will go down as one of DC’s more successful swings in recent years.
Glenn: 5 and 6 are both issues of Tom King’s Batman which sells over 129.8k and 126k respectively. The streak lives and the book seems to have found its level at a very, very, very good number. DC’s gamble to make their highest selling, most financially successful title month in, month out twice monthly has paid off in spades. Not much more to be said, we’ll just see it again at around the same number no doubt.
Ray: The stability of Batman has been amazing. It’s still well above the line that Snyder and Capullo’s book ended at, although I expect it’ll find that level soon enough. Still, this really goes to show just how strong Batman is. We’ll keep everyone updated to see if it can make it to #52 above 100K just like the last run did!
Glenn: Issue 7 is the latest issue of Civil War II which sells over 118.6k. This event has turned into a head scratcher as books set after it and spoiling its conclusion are starting to roll out this month and we still have an issue to go. It looks like it’ll manage to finish in the six figure mark and has sold well in of itself but I think as a cross line event, the effect its had on the tie in books has been troubling to say the least. I doubt we’ll be back in ten years for Civil War III where Tony and Captain Universe fight over who’s turn laundry day it is.
Ray: I expected Civil War II to suffer more from the constant delays and terrible buzz, but it seems like the low 100K range is the floor for a huge event like this. Still, I think it has to be considered a failure because of the genuinely toxic effect it has on its tie-ins, and the fact that it doesn’t seem to have been able to serve as an effective launchpad for the new line (much more on that later).
Glenn: 8 is the final issue and a massive sales bump for everyone’s favorite Sith lord, Dark Vader with sales of 111.3k, this one had a lot of variants which will have helped but I’d say people were probably interested how a book so well received would end. It’ll be interesting to see how Doctor Aphra performs when it launches as its essentially this titles successor. Strong ending for a book from one of Marvel’s most consistent lines right now.
Ray: Healthy boost for Darth Vader, and this finale got a pretty good amount of hype. I do think Doctor Aphra will be able to capitalize on that momentum. It definitely won’t be able to get the same sales that Darth Vader did on a regular basis, but I think it can perform similarly to Chewbacca or Kanan. If that’s the case, that will nicely show that Marvel’s original Star Wars characters are a franchise in and of themselves.
Glenn: All-Star Batman is number 9 with sales of just south of 107 and will probably jump below that six figure margin either next month or month after. I’d say the new storyline starting with issue 6 will give it a bump as that was always the pattern with Snyder’s time on Batman but even if it doesn’t, don’t feel too bad. The book is still $4.99 so even if is oversized, its still a big buy in for an ongoing so its sales are brilliant. If it can land at over 75k (spoilers: it will) its a great success. DC are letting Snyder do what he wants in his own little Bat corner and watching money magically appear in front of them.
Ray: For a $4.99 book that’s sort of on the side of the main line, this is still amazing. However, I do think it’s worth noting that next month will probably be the first Snyder Bat-title since the New 52 to sell under 6 figures. This is definitely a big hit either way, but I think that’s further proof that the “Batman” title is more powerful than any creator.
Glenn: Final spot in the top ten is The Walking Dead from Image which sells over 91k. You know the drill. Walking Dead is the comic every other comic wishes it was. Business as usual.
Ray: Walking Dead, amazing as always. I wonder just how strong the numbers will be for its special 25 cent issue a few months from now, if they even count the sales like normally instead of as an incentive.
Glenn: If they are listed on the charts I wouldn’t be surprised if Walking Dead, Invincible and Outcast (which are all involved in the promotion you mentioned) are the top 3 selling books for that month. Walking Dead doesn’t need a promotion like that so retailers will be chomping at the bit to be able to sell the book so cheap to some of the millions of fans that watch the TV show that haven’t gravitated over to the comic yet.
Number 11 is the first part of this years big Spider-Man story in Clone Conspiracy which sells over 90k on its debut. The big storyline that Dan Slott has been building for the last long while is finally here! I thought sales would have been higher but I know a few months ago, Slott did mention there did seem to be some confusion to retailers about this being a separate book while the main book (Amazing) only contained side stories. This is the first time Marvel have done this with Slott’s big Spidey stories so I’m wondering if some confusion led this to not crack to 100k mark (which I thought it would easily). I suppose if that’s the case we’ll see some big reorders and a bigger demand for issue 2! Still a very good number though and a lot better than these mini crossovers tend to do. We’ll see if the event can help launch some new books over the next few months.
Ray: That’s well lower than I would have expected from Clone Conspiracy. I was betting on easy six figures. It’s possible that retailers didn’t quite understand how important this was – but on the other hand, maybe they did, and as such they ordered it essentially just like the Amazing Spider-Man title with a slight boost, assuming this would perform like a family event for the fans of the title as opposed to a full-on event. Maybe a bit of a missed opportunity here, because no one does Marvel events these days like Slott and co.
For the record, Clone Conspiracy sold about 17K more than this month’s issue of Amazing Spider-Man, which was down at #24, a difference likely explained by the variant covers available.
Aside from Batman, three other DC Rebirth books land both their issues in the top 20 this month (or rather, top 21, given the strange #1 book this month). Those are Justice League, (12/13, 89k/85k), Detective Comics (14/20, 81K/74K), and The Flash (17/21, 76K/74K). Those are the titles that are clearly the most successful Rebirth titles, with Detective and Flash having popular, critically acclaimed runs and Justice League having all the top heroes and Bryan Hitch on board. Superman is also doing consistently well, landing two issues at 26 and 30, with sales of 69 and 67K. Wonder Woman is just behind at 31 and 34, with sales of 66K and 64K. The attrition is slow on these books, and it looks like they’re all going to firmly land themselves in the upper part of the chart for the foreseeable future. The news is a bit more mixed for other DC books that haven’t found their levels yet, though.
Glenn: All success stories at this end for DC on Flash, Superman and Wonder Woman in particular. These books are all doing 20-30k or so better than they were, which is brilliant. Given that all these books are bi-monthly also just sweetens the honey pot.
Ray: There were two new limited series from Marvel that made it into the top twenty as well, and while their placement on the charts is similar, what the company was hoping from them likely isn’t. Deadpool: Back in Black is a throwaway flashback miniseries where Deadpool gets ahold of the Venom symbiote and chaos ensues. That managed to land at #15 with sales of 78K, predictably strong sales for Deadpool. Meanwhile, Death of X is the heavily hyped prequel to the upcoming IvX event, written by the writers of the two main titles from the franchises. That managed to land at #18 with sales of 75K. Both numbers are probably acceptable for a first issue, but I’d say this is an ill omen for the upcoming sales of IvX. Much more worrisome is that Death of X then promptly loses 16K and over 20 spots with its second issue the same month
Glenn: Deadpool is Deadpool and is usually good for a very decent mini launch. Venom is a character that despite spending the last 10 years or so as a very different version from the one that slobbers and threatens to eat your brains can still garner interest so a combination of the two is an easy win out of the gate. Its not something that will be a long term hit but its just a throwaway mini to add to the Deadpool section of the collection shelf so this is a good launch for that kind of thing.
Yeah, Death of X is an okay launch in of itself but not what you would consider for a book that’s meant to be the lead in to the big event. IvX is supposed to be 2017’s version of Civil War and if this is any indication, not many people seem overly bothered. Perhaps the actual event will generate a few more sales but this is a bit of a luke warm start to a mini that was promoted by Marvel as being so important.
Ray: Good news for Reborn #1, which lands in the top 20 with sales just under 75K at #19. Capullo is maybe the most popular artist in the industry at the moment, so this isn’t a surprise, and it’s worth noting that this is apparently the best sales for a Millarworld #1 since the first volume of Jupiter’s Legacy eons ago. Still, it’s strange to note that the much-hyped debut of a Millar/Capullo book sold 16K less than a standard issue of The Walking Dead.
Glenn: Great launch for Reborn which had one of the best selling creator owned writers in comics and like you said, possibly the best artistic commercial draw out there at the moment. This will be a high performer throughout its run and be a great collection seller for years to come, especially when the inevitable movie adaption is released. The fact that it sold so much less than Walking Dead is probably another underscore of how ridiculously unstoppable that book is rather than a reflection on this one I’d wager.
Ray: We’ve got two new Bendis books right next to each other at 22 and 23, with Jessica Jones selling 74K and Infamous Iron Man selling 73K. Jessica Jones has always been a low-selling cult title that was previously part of the MAX line, so I think we can call these first issue sales a major success. No way of knowing how it’ll sell down the line, but this is a good start. On the other hand, a new Iron Man title not even being able to scratch the top 20 with its first issue? That strikes me as an unmitigated disaster, and is probably the first really bad sign we’ve seen as to how this new Marvel relaunch is being received. I’m sure next month relaunch of Invincible Iron Man will sell better, but how much better? The titles spinning directly out of Civil War II don’t seem to be off to a strong start.
Glenn: You’ve nailed it here, although the two books are right next to each other and have the same writer, they are very different stories. The Alias ongoing was never a strong seller and the Pulse wasn’t either so this is a great start and the book is probably good for 35-45k at least which would be brilliant for an adult orientated comic starring a character who has been a supporting player for a few years now. This book will have enough juice to last as long as Bendis/Gaydos want it so hopefully Marvel doesn’t relaunch it to death.
The last Iron Man launch (not counting International) by Bendis sold well over 200k and was the top selling book of that month so yeah, the difference here was staggering. True it stars a villain and those books generally don’t so as well but this is a continuation of Doctor Doom’s story from Secret Wars from only 2 years ago, its not as if the book has had a big lead in because it has. This title is essentially a continuation of the dreadfully selling International Iron Man so its a decent bump compared to that and will likely sell higher in the long run but not by much and this books rebut bids ill for a lot of other launches. Sadly, this is one of the wins of this months Marvel launches.
Ray: The second issues of Trinity and Teen Titans fall to a still healthy 65K this month, next to each other at 32/33. Batman Beyond surprisingly holds very well too, selling 60K at #39. However, it’s worth noting that for BB and TT, these issues are still labeled as #1 due to the Rebirth issue. We’ll have to see how the #2 issue holds, because there’s a title down the list that illustrates that there’s a serious retailer effect when there’s two #1 issues and the real attrition doesn’t start until the issue labeled #2.
Books like Nightwing, Suicide Squad, and Harley Quinn are still selling healthy numbers, but what’s worrisome for them is that they’re consistently losing 3-6K between issues in the same month. They’re all at healthy numbers in the 60K range right now and well above their pre-Rebirth numbers, but the long-term trend is worrisome. The effect is the same for both Green Lantern books, Green Arrow, and Aquaman, but they’re lower on the charts – making those drops in between issues in a month look all the grimmer. We’re starting to see books like those four drop below the 50K range about five months in.
Glenn: If most of those books can stay above 40-45k that would still be a large victory for DC. Where Marvel has been dominating the last year or so is the middle so if DC can take that from them, then they won’t be doing too badly. These are still some very good numbers but yes, we’re at a point where we need to see them slowing down.
Ray: The one book that seems to be beating the Rebirth attrition trend besides Batman is Action Comics, which holds steady this month in the mid-50K range, landing two issues next to each other at 44/45. This title started low and has had the steadiest performance in the entire line since then.
Glenn: Selling about 15k higher than where it used to and like you said, incredibly stable. The Superman led books are selling better than they have in years and since that’s a puzzle DC has been repeatedly trying to solve, they’ll be more than happy.
Ray: And Supergirl #2 lands at #58 with sales of 45K – a full 50% drop from its second first issue to its actual second issue. That’s really troubling, as it seems the sales for the books with a #1 on the cover may have been heavily inflated. Still, 45K is well above the level Supergirl had been selling for a long time, and the book is being received well, so I can see it finding its level very quickly from here.
Glenn: Same here. It is a big drop but nothing to be alarmed at yet. Even if it drops another 15k I’d say that DC would be very happy. I would have thought the TV show would have brought new eyes to a book starring the girl of steel but if it can land around 45k maybe that includes the new audience?
Ray: Now that neither book is inflated by an extra #1, the two Batgirl books have landed right around each other at 40K, with the main Batgirl book three spots higher at #69, and Birds of Prey selling only a few hundred copies less. Still decent numbers for Batgirl compared to where the last run ended, but the Rebirth boost is wearing off fast with these two.
Glenn: Its interesting to see the books paired together so closely, almost as if they’re being treated the same because they have Batgirl in them even though they’ll both have very different voices and dynamics. That’s a very good number historically for Birds Of Prey in particular but as we’ve said, the sales need to settle here before the smiley faces become neutral before finally becoming sad.
Next new Marvel launch is the latest Inhuman superstar Mosiac. Oh wait, it only managed over 44.3k at 61. This is another new Inhuman character that Marvel says is a thing that turns out not to be a thing. I have to give Marvel credit put apart from Ms. Marvel, they just can’t get the market to care about new Inhuman characters. This will be one that will be not long for this world.
Ray: Yeah, Mosaic very much looks like an 8-12 issue miniseries to me, especially without the likeliness that it would do better in digests/digital the way Ms. Marvel and Moon Girl apparently do. Ms. Marvel was a unicorn, in that it is an original character selling well without any big name attached. This is not going to duplicate that success.
Glenn: Underlining that point further is that Mosiac barely outsold Cage which is at 62 with sales of over 44k. If this was a new Luke Cage title then it wouldn’t be anything to write home about but its not. This is a much delayed, out of continuity mini by an artist who doesn’t usually do comics. Its something that to me, would only appeal to a certain part of the market so with that taken under consideration, this is a great launch. After all this time, Marvel isn’t probably expecting much from this book so if i can do about 15-20k until it ends that’ll be more than fine.
Ray: Cage is only a four-issue miniseries, as well. Based on these numbers, it’s likely that this is going to be a modest hit for Marvel, even if a lot of the fans picking this up based on the Netflix series are likely to be very confused by this version.
Glenn: The last issue of Invincible Iron Man sells just over 44k and is one of the higher mid level performers for the company at the moment. Can newcomer Riri Williams do better? We’ll see in a few months. Myself and Ray seem to disagree whether Riri’s new book can crack six figures so let us what you think about that one numberites.
To the shock of no one, Great Lakes Avengers (minus their most popular character) debuts at 71 with sales of just over 40k. Wonderful numbers for a GLA book if we were a few issues in but not the best launch in the world by quite a fair margin. Take your bets now whether it can outlast Mosiac.
Ray: Marvel actually put a lot of promotion into Mosaic. It didn’t pay off, but they’re likely to give that a bit more rope than GLA. GLA is likely gone quicker – although not as quick as some comics we’ll talk about later.
Glenn: Given how much Marvel wants to make Inhumans and their various books work, they may be willing to take a hit on Mosiac but yeah, GLA won’t be given as much rope. I wonder even if Squirrel Girl had been involved if it would have helped that much.
A new Serenity comic launches at 73 with sales over 39k making it the highest selling Dark Horse title this month. The good will this property has after its cancellation over 15 years ago is astonishing. The fan base is incredibly loyal and this book launched a lot better than I would have expected. It outsold a lot of new Marvel launches (yes, there’s still more of those to come…yes we know) and is surprisingly one of the few valuable properties Dark Horse still has in its catalogue. Always good to see Dark Horse in the top 100 given their current problems.
Ray: Firefly‘s fanbase isn’t huge (if it was, it would have lasted on Fox! *cries*) but what they are is incredibly loyal. They’ll follow this property anywhere. That may not be enough for a TV show or movie, but it definitely is a nice starting point for a comic book.
Glenn: The second issue of the Young Animal flagship title, Doom Patrol lands at 79 with sales over 37.8k. Still a great number for a Doom Patrol book that is being released separate from the main DC line. This is double or even triple than any Vertigo books which for lack of comparison for the new line is where I think Young Animal is measured against. We still have plenty of room to fall and still call it good news, there’s more great numbers from DC’s new line further down the charts in a bit also.
Ray: Thus far, Young Animal is looking like a nice surprise for DC. I was expecting acceptable early numbers, but this is much higher than I saw coming. I think a big part of this may be the fanbase of Gerard Way, who is a massively popular music star and some of his fans might have jumped over to his oddball take on DC. We’ll talk more about two Young Animal books later, one with Way on board and one without.
Glenn: It can’t be all good news at DC as Cyborg issue 2 crashes all the way down to 80 with sales just over 37.7k and then issue 3 at 98 with sales just over 32.5k making it seem like it’ll definitely be out of the top 100 next month. It seems the book has promptly been turned into a monthly which will slow the bleeding in theory but this is one book where the Rebirth magic hasn’t worked. The market isn’t interested in Cyborg as a solo hero, its that simple. DC are trying to make him a thing given how high profile he is in their other media but no one cares. These Cyborg issues are still returnable by the way so once that stops, expect it to fall even further.
Ray: I’m going to make an analogy here – Cyborg = Captain Marvel. Both are characters that DC and Marvel respectively have decided should be headliners and solo title stars. Both are starring in upcoming movies. Despite this, the companies can’t seem to make a solo title starring these characters work. Captain Marvel is on her fifth relaunch, while Cyborg is only on his second, but the collapse is accelerating. Even with the monthly schedule slowing down the decline, this will likely be the lowest-selling Rebirth title in only a matter of months at this pace.
Glenn: That’s a very apt comparison and even throwing some a-list talent at each book isn’t a guarantee so its doubtful DC or Marvel will do that. I’d say Captain Marvel will be due for another relaunch before so long, as for Cyborg…he might be getting a regular guest star in Batman…who will also have his name on the cover.
People care even less though about the new ongoing* from Marvel in Prowler #1 which starts off at just over 37k. Decent enough start for a D lister like Prowler and I could almost live with it if it was the start of a random mini but this isn’t that. This is one of the launches of the all new Marvel line and spinning out of Clone Conspiracy. Given those two factors, a launch of 37k is quite startling and alarming. This indicates a lot of similar numbers for future launches but actually…we’re not done with new Marvel launches just yet. No seriously, there’s ones that did less than this. No seriously!
*may not end up be an ongoing
Ray: Yeah, there’s nothing good to say about Prowler‘s numbers. A Prowler title was always going to be a hard sell, but I assumed the tie-in would boost it a bit. I can see this being a one-arc-and-done book like Black Knight or Weirdworld, but there’s something more worrisome at work here – we saw it with Civil War II, and now it’s happening with Clone Conspiracy. Could it be that Marvel events have stopped having a positive effect on their tie-ins altogether? If this pattern continues with IvX and Monsters Unleashed, Marvel’s event-crazy strategy might have had serious long-term negative effects on their line.
Glenn: For over 10 years, Marvel has gotten a lot of good results from events, lead ins and aftermath but in the last number of years, the results have been increasingly dwindling. There are a number of factors that could have an entire article on its own but no matter what the reason is, its happening. If the current pattern holds then there’s going to be some troubling numbers into 2017 for Marvel.
Ray: The digital-first Deadpool mystery-comedy “Too Soon” manages to sell 36K at #85. Given that Marvel already sold a lot of copies of this online, they have to be happy with this. Deadpool lifts all boats!
Glenn: Economics are very different with digital first so like you said, now that this book is in print these numbers are grand. The seemingly never ending output of Deadpool mini’s will likely continue for the foreseeable future as books starring him are an easy win.
Ray: One thing I love is when something really strange and out-of-nowhere shows up on the charts, that’s the case for this month’s Kiss #1, from Dynamite, which sells 36K at #86. That’s right, the make-up heavy rock band. Gene Simmons gotta eat, I suppose. How long till Dynamite puts Grumpy Cat in makeup for the inevitable crossover?
Glenn: I’d buy that crossover! I guess retailers hoped that KISS fanatics would come into comic stores to get their latest bit of the bands merchandise? Its an unexpected one like you said and even though its likely issue 2 will sink, I bet Dynamite is very pleased with this one by quite a fair margin.
Ray: Wonder Woman celebrated her 75th anniversary last month, and DC put out a massive one-shot anthology featuring dozens of top creators to celebrate. Anthologies are usually a hard sell, especially with a $7.99 price tag, so the numbers here of 36K at #87 are pretty solid. The presence of Gail Simone, among others, made this a must-read for many Wonder Woman fans.
Glenn: The anniversary and creators was the big selling point here. True, number 1’s will always attract a bump but characters with a legacy like Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman will have things like this that can’t be artificially created or messed about with to produce a sales bump. There may be some interest given how big a year Wonder Woman has ahead of her too and at that price point, 36k is rather brilliant.
Ray: The other two Young Animal books that debuted this month had distinctly smaller debuts than Doom Patrol, which isn’t a surprise since they feature characters many fans might never have heard of and have lesser-known creative teams. Cave Carson has a Cybernetic Eye, which had Gerard Way co-writing and Michael Avon Oeming on art, was able to swing 35K at #89, while Shade the Changing Girl, by Vertigo/Indie mainstay Cecil Castelucci, landed at #100 with 32K. We’ll see how well these books hold, but these numbers are still 2-3 times higher than what the average Vertigo launch does.
Glenn: Lower than even the second issue of Doom Patrol but great launch numbers for some truely obscure properties. If these books had a Vertigo label on them, they would have charted much lower as you said so its clear that the Young Animal brand does have a strong identity right out of the gate. Even if the books can do about half that would be brilliant but I think these are books that are going to find their audience very fast given their critical acclaim and general buzz.
Ray: It didn’t do the same numbers as this month’s other big Image launch, but Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso’s return to monthly comics in Image’s Moonshine had a healthy debut with 34.5K at #90. This will likely hold very well and do even better in trade, so chalk this up as another win for Image.
Glenn: A big win for Image as doubtlessly this book wouldn’t have performed nearly as well with Vertigo which they printed their previous creator owned collaboration, 100 Bullets with. Image clearly sit at the top when it comes out for the potential audience for creator owned which means they will continue to be the first choice for most big name creators. Rebirth and Marvel NOW! may grab the majority of headlines but Image just puts out quality books by great creators and deliver sales steadily on new properties unlike the big two really can anymore.
Ray: Random crossover He-Man/Thundercats from DC didn’t get much hype or much in the way of positive reviews, but despite this it managed to pull just under 33K at #96, a decent showing for two old-school nostalgia properties. A lot of people played with the toys as kids, I guess? This is well above the numbers that the He-Man series DC used to put out would do.
Glenn: A lot of nostalgia at work here. Perhaps retailers felt that a lot of fans of classic 80’s cartoons would be coming into their stores? Its one that launched a lot higher than I expected, that’s for sure. I doubt it’ll have a sustained level of these sales but still a very good launch.
Ray: Worth noting that this month the low-water mark for a Rebirth title is New Super-Man #4 with 31.7K at #102. However, the decline here seems to have slowed a little bit and based on this month’s numbers, both Blue Beetle and Cyborg will be below it next month.
Glenn: New Super-Man launched very handsomely but has now crashed to one of the lowest Rebirth books but given its an all new character, these numbers are very good. If it can prove itself to have a steady audience around here then I doubt too many people will be unhappy.
Ray: That’s basically where the good news for DC ends this month, though, as the new miniseries without the Rebirth or Young Animal branding all bombed, to a one. We start with Death of Hawkman #1, a title that changed its name to something more…dramatic after being solicited. I don’t know if orders increased due to the name change, or if not enough people cared about Hawkman, but #103 with sales of 31K can’t have been what DC was looking for here.
Glenn: Like with Raven last month, the decision not to ‘share’ the Rebirth branding clearly hurt the book here. I can certainty see the logic of DC wanting to protect that brand but by not using it, they told retailers and fans that this book didn’t matter. I’m guessing this was a book that wa sin production before Rebirth was a thing, otherwise the logic with bothering at all as the book itself seems a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation is puzzling.
Ray: There’s a random Doctor Strange tie-in mini, Mystic Apprentice, which does 31K at #104. Nothing special, but for one of the inventory stories that Marvel dresses up and ships out when a movie hits, not bad.
Now we come to maybe the worst bit of news for Marvel this month, and that’s the debut of Solo, the first book spinning out of Deadpool and the Mercs for Money. #105 with sales just over 30K. Gong. Now, this is awful on any conceivable level, but the news is actually far worse. This is the first of three books starring these characters, with Foolkiller coming in November and Slapstick in December. Moreover, this is the one of those three that actually has the Deadpool writer, Gerry Duggan, attached. Based on that, does anyone think those other two books has a chance of doing better? I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see all three of these books gone after 5-8 issues in the vein of Black Knight or Starbrand and Nightmask.
Glenn: While Solo lives, sales die. I’m not sure what the logic was here beyond ‘well lets see what happens’ but I think everyone predicted this was going to bomb and it has. Solo is a 90’s castaway that no one cares about anymore. He’s not the reason behind people buying Mercs For Money (spoilers: it’s Deadpool) and no one was asking for this book. Irish comic shop, the Big Bang is one of the biggest comic shops in the world and they reported issue two of the book sold three copies…total. Next month is going to be ugly.
Ray: The hits keep coming for Marvel this month. You know Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Gwen, and Ms. Marvel? Three of the biggest bright spots in Marvel’s line for a while? They’re all under 30K, out of the top 100, and falling fast. This section of the chart is basically a graveyard of Marvel books that should not be out of the top 100 – Captain America, Hulk, Black Widow, Uncanny Inhumans, etc – but these three are especially depressing given how far and fast they’ve fallen. Something’s gone very wrong with Marvel’s line over the last year, and they’re running out of time to figure it out.
Glenn: Spider-Gwen is particularly depressing as it has now been taken over in sales by Gwenpool (91 at just over 34.3k). We’ve covered extensively how Marvel dropped the ball with the title but given how popular she remains outside of comics (merchandise and what-not) the book will probably get a lot of rope. All the books you mentioned you would think would be doing a lot better there’s a lot of reasons for the overall stagnation in the Marvel line. They’ll keep leading in market share as long as they keep churning out more books than anyone else but at the moment, under a microscope the whole house of cards is very wobbly.
Ray: Future Quest, the brightest spot in DC’s Hanna-Barbera line, has stabilized quickly in the mid-20K range and is selling around the same level as a lot of those Marvel books at #115, to put this into perspective. It ships a second issue this month that only sheds about 1K, which is great attrition. Scooby Apocalypse, which started with much higher numbers, is around the same level at only 200 copies and four spots lower.
Glenn: Future’s Quest has been graduated to an ongoing hasn’t it? It seems that the old school feel its going for in terms of these properties has worked. I would say it’ll soon be the highest seller out of the new Hanna Barbara line which shows sometimes, the key to success is to do whats worked for over 50 years.
Ray: This is also where we’re seeing Image books like Seven to Eternity and Kill or Be Killed settle down to, a historically healthy number for Image books. Not the top tier, but likely to stay strong for the long haul
I’m actually a bit surprised by how well Raven’s second issue holds, as the book stays above 20K at #123. The first issue numbers were pretty weak, as were all of the non-Rebirth minis (more on that later), but there may actually be a small audience for this one, given her fanbase from outside comics.
Glenn: Raven gets a good amount of exposure due to the Teen Titans Go cartoon and such so yeah, she has a steady fan base. People may also be interested in having legendary writer Marv Wolfman back on a character he created when Teen Titans was DC’s biggest franchise (no really, it was) also.
Ray: Midnighter and Apollo #1 at #128 with sales of 20K…it’s not great. At the same time, I don’t think DC was expecting much more, given the sales of Midnighter. This strikes me as a bit of a gift, the same way Omega Men was allowed to continue to 12 despite the disastrous sales. Steve Orlando is one of DC’s brightest new stars since, well, Tom King, so they’re allowing him to continue his critically acclaimed book in miniseries form despite the low sales. Good on them, and I hope this book finds its audience in trades.
Glenn: There is a mix of creator placation and also probably because an editor liked his pitch and thought ‘eh, why not?’ In a few months, Warren Ellis will attempt to bring back some interest to some Wildstorm characters so that may lead to the trade of this and Orlando’s Midnighter run proving worth having on shelves at that point.
Ray: Vision finally does dip under 20K for its final issue at #132, which is still fantastic attrition for this title. This will likely sell hundreds of thousands of copies in trade over the next few decades, so Marvel’s going to be very happy they greenlit this before King dipped over to DC town.
Glenn: I’ve not read Vision but it seems to be deemed as an instant classic so yeah, more than worth Marvel’s time. A Vision series selling over 20k over the majority of its run is a notable achievement. This would have been a wonderful platform to launch King onto a top franchise and watch the money roll in but DC got there first, oops.
Ray: And the best-selling new Vertigo debut of the last few months isn’t an original Josh Williamson thriller, it’s not the return of Fables, it’s…a comic sequel to the 80’s vampire movie The Lost Boys. This does have Tim Seeley on board as writer, but still, 19.8K is very impressive given Vertigo’s recent struggles. Maybe there was a hidden group of Corey fans who came out in droves?
Glenn: Lost Boys is a serious cult favorite, to me its the ideal 80’s film and fans have been incredibly loyal to it, much like Firefly but instead of 15 years, you’re talking 30. Having Seeley write a vampire book after the Blade debacle likely garnered some interest too. Honestly, I think DC is fortunate they found out they still had this property (it was down the back of the sofa), any indie company would have loved to have a property like this one.
Ray: It’s no Haunted Mansion, but 18.2K at #138 is a bit better than I expected for Enchanted Tiki Room, easily the oddest choice of comic based on a Disney attraction yet. This will likely do most of its business in trade form at Disney World for years to come, so I imagine Disney got what they wanted out of this.
Speaking of odd comics on the charts, a one-shot where Archie teams up with the Ramones, written by the creator of Five Kids Walk Into a Bank – good for 18K at #140. Archie’s certainly chasing the unusual lately, and it seems to be working out for them. At the very least, they’re certainly not predictable anymore.
It doesn’t have any household names attached, so the lower debut of new Image book Cannibal (17K at #144) is perfectly acceptable for this title by a former Flash and Injustice writer, Brian Buccellato.
Glenn: About what you’d expect (maybe a bit higher since Buccelletto did co-write Manapul’s Flash run) from this type of thing. Will probably land a bit higher than the standard non big name Image number of around 8-10k.
Ray: More pain for DC’s new miniseries as their much-hyped Vigilante: Southland miniseries lands at #150 with sales of just over 16K. These numbers are going to be incredibly ugly by the time the end of the mini rolls around, and we’re really starting to see a “Tale of Two DCs” with the gulf between Rebirth and everything else.
Glenn: I wonder if DC had waited until the character had debuted on Arrow if they’d had gotten more interest? Maybe a little but not a lot. DC has got some serious momentum going on but books like this are very reminiscent of their mistakes of the past and the sales clearly reflect that. This isn’t the DC people are interested in anymore.
Ray: The month’s other big Image launch, Green Valley, by Max Landis and Marvel artist Giuseppe Camuncoli, has a surprisingly weak launch at #155 with 16K. I expected more given the names attached, but Landis has a mixed reputation and retailers may have ordered cautiously as a result.
Glenn: Landis is a big name and Camuncoli is the regular artist on Amazing Spider-Man so yeah you would have thought this could have done slightly below Moonshine. There was a very mixed response to the recent Superman mini Landis wrote so maybe along with his reputation, retailers didn’t want to take the risk as you suggest. The question now is that if anyone will come in wanting it when its not necessarily on the shelves to remind them it exists?
Ray: The last of DC’s new miniseries, Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love (love that name!) had the lowest debut, just over 15K at #159. However, this is a double-sized $5.99 comic with three issues released bimonthly, so it might hold a bit better than the others. This is clearly an experimental project and it shows in the sales, but it’s closer in sales to some of the other minis than I might have expected.
Glenn: That is a great title and given the price point, the news is slightly better. I’d say that next month this book will be put to shame sales wise by Image’s After Death which has the same price point and is also 3 issues. I would have imagined Deadman would have fallen under the same net as the other Young Animal properties so perhaps there is a lost opportunity there. Perhaps Way had his pickings of properties as part of his DC deal and Deadman got left out in the cold as a result?
Just below it is the latest Star Trek mini titled Boldly Go from IDW which sells just over 14.6k, about standard for a new Trek launch as we discussed in last months charts at length.
Selling 14.5k is the newest chapter in Jeff Lemire’s Valiant epic in Bloodshot: USA. This is the highest Valient launch in a bit due to Lemire’s name and the fans of the previous Bloodshot series likely just shuffling over here. I think this is the closing chapter of Lemire’s tenure on the property and the sales are off to a solid start.
Ray: Yeah, Bloodshot Reborn has been a decent seller for Valiant since the start, and this is a nice jump for the final arc as a miniseries. I do think it probably debuted about six month’s before Lemire’s career really exploded, and a Bloodshot run by him today would likely do even better, but Valiant has to be happy with this. Lemire is probably the top-name creator they’ve ever had on board.
Glenn: We see Mockingbird crash to an end with 8 with sales just over 14.3k. It’s not the lowest selling Marvel ongoing so she won’t be alone for long and as we’ve discussed earlier, she’ll have some company soon.
Just below that at 177, Dynamite launches a new Betty Boop comic that sells 12.3k. I…erm…well…you see…Ray?
Ray: We’ve talked before about how Boom seems to have a hard time launching new creator-owned books, and I think a part of that comes down to promotion. They have a very strong brand when it comes to teen books like Lumberjanes, but their regular line seems to struggle. Frank Cho is a big name, but I knew very little about this book before it launched.
Glenn: Every month I feel like I’m reporting a new Transformers launch from IDW. This month its Revolution which sells just under 12k at 183. Its Transformers, the audience is what it is.
Ray: Black Hammer continues to be the most stable book on the charts, losing only roughly 300 copies from #3 as #4 charts at #171 with sales of 13.3K. The buzz and quality of this book is quickly turning it into Dark Horse’s first lasting hit in a long time.
A strong debut from Albatross Press for #1, their new horror anthology, which sells just over 10K at 190. This is probably explained by the fact that the creator is Eric Powell, who built a small but devoted fanbase during his long tenure at Dark Horse. They followed him here, so this is a pretty big get for the up-and-coming publisher.
Glenn: Powell also drew a very brief stint on Action Comics many moons ago but of course is best known for his work on The Goon, so yeah a big grab for a company I’ve only recently started to hear about. A lot of small press companies like to release anthology works and sometimes, they don’t work but glad to see this one have a half decent launch.
Ray: Also just over 10K at #191 is the return of a long-time creator-owned institution – Love and Rockets Magazine #1, published by Fantagraphics. This is new stories by the original creative team, and while Love and Rockets has never been a mainstream hit, it’s one of those books that will have an audience that follows it wherever it goes. We don’t see Fantagraphics on the charts often, because they do most of their business in trades, so this is definitely a win for them.
Glenn: It seems there is still a fan base for these characters on a montly basis. If Fantographic’s business is based solely on trades then this title charting here could come as a pleasant surprise.
Ray: Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur stays in the four-digit range, selling 9.5K at #196. I said it before, but Marvel is definitely seeing something here that we’re not, because big two comics don’t survive at this level. The book is starting its new arc in November, but with no re-numbering, I doubt it will move the needle.
Glenn: This could be a book supported by digital sales or trades or any number of things but its a Marvel book getting outsold by a lot of other stuff by publishers the vast majority of comic fans are unaware of. Either Marvel is taking a hit on this one for other reasons or like you say, its performing elsewhere. If it is a book that performs digitally better, it may be better to release it first there and then repackage for print later, surely it would make them a bit more money?
Ray: There were quite a few Image books launching this month, and the bottom rung is Romulus #1, the latest Top Cow title by Bryan Hill, which only manages to muster 9.5K at #197. Top Cow hasn’t had a new hit in a long time, and this book didn’t really attract any critical attention when it launched, so the weak numbers aren’t a surprise.
Glenn: We talked about Top Cow last month and how they’re a brand that fails to create any excitement any more. I doubt their books are held to the same standard that regular Image ones are so they might be happy enough with this? I don’t really recall them charting anything in a long time so anything might be a win.
Ray: Frostbite sheds 4K copies from its first issue, going down to about 9.3K, just out of the top 200. Needless to say, there is no real good news for Vertigo here, if a well-reviewed genre title by a top DC creator can’t muster higher numbers.
Glenn: Still slightly higher than Williamson’s creator owned books at Image but yeah…I don’t think much more needs to be said about Vertigo. I’d say that this time in a year or two, projects like this are more likely to be released under the Young Animal banner and Vertigo to be basically used to produce library stock and the odd mini here and there involving Sandman or whatever.
Ray: Nighthawk wraps up with just under 9K copies at #204. Womp womp. It’s almost as if trying to spin individual titles out of a team with middling sales to begin with is a terrible idea. (Looks pointedly at the Mercs for Money)
Glenn: The books fan base was small but seemed to be enjoying the book so it sucks for them seeing the book go away so quickly. For fans of these types of books, it must create some frustration towards Marvel who have to suspect that the titles aren’t going to garner the sales to keep them going when the green light is given.
Ray: The slide for the new Fables spin-off continues, with the second issue of Everafter only mustering about 8,4K at #213. It’s already selling below Lucifer, which is almost a year older. This franchise is officially well past its prime, and bringing it back was probably a poor move.
Glenn: On paper, one of the premier Vertigo properties coming back probably seemed like a good idea and its worked somewhat for Lucifer (the TV show might help there) but not with Fables. There doesn’t seem to be much interest as fans know the ‘proper’ story is done. This isn’t Harry Potter and the Cursed Child people, no one wants to see Fables continue on at this point.
Ray: Crossovers seem to be very much in vogue right now, and one of the oddest is the Dynamite miniseries Army of Darkness/Xena: Forever and a Day, combining two of creator Sam Raimi’s cult properties, which kicks off at #217 with just under 8.1K. It was written by controversial DC writer Scott Lobdell, which may have brought in a few DC fans – but I’m not sure it was the best move to bring in Xena fans.
Glenn: What an odd team up. Sometimes these team ups make little sense to me and just get drawn out of a fishbowl of whatever properties the company seems to have and/or can agree to with someone else. Beyond having a creator in common, I’m not sure how Evil Dead meets Xena can gel. Both franchises have a solid following to this day but not many of them seem to be interested in the bizarre crossover.
Ray: The latest Dark Tower miniseries kicks off from Marvel, selling just over 7.9K, which is pretty standard numbers. It feels like this line of books has been going for about ten years now, and they’ve carved out a small niche in the market that I imagine is mostly geared towards collected editions. They might get a bounce with the upcoming movie, though.
Glenn: The Dark Tower books have been coming out for a very long time and likely do well not only in comic shops but in regular book stores also. Having Stephen King on the cover will always help sell this book to people who have never ventured into a comic shop in their lives and it may benefit Marvel to have such an extensive library of these things already in time for the movie. I believe this current mini is set during the second book so Marvel is clearly in for the long haul here regardless.
Ray: American Vampire has been gone for a while and the schedule was spotty before that, so that can’t have been good for the sales of the second American Vampire Anthology, which lands at #232 with sales of 7.3K. It was the same price as the Wonder Woman anniversary anthology, but there’s a pretty big gulf in how the two issues performed. I’m interested in seeing how American Vampire vol. 3 does when it returns.
Glenn: Maybe fans of the series have grown tired of waiting or are just wanting the regular series to start up again? Given how Vertigo is as a whole, the sales may not be the best whenever the series finally returns. Much like most of the stronger quality Vertigo series that are coming out, it will still be a strong seller in collection form for years to come, no doubt.
Ray: Another month, another Dark Horse book with a lot of promotion and a promising creative team underperforming. This month it’s Spell on Wheels, by Kate Leth. Leth has had successful comics at multiple companies, and Dark Horse put a lot into selling this one, so they had to be hoping for more than 6.6K at #241. This is the state of affairs at Dark Horse right now, with very few titles able to break away from the pack.
Speaking of Dark Horse, the bizarre Eric Powell/Stephanie Buscema freakshow comedy Chimichanga: Sorrow of the World’s Worst Face manages to debut at #245 with sales of 6.4K. This is very clearly a niche book, so no surprises there. This is probably one of those books that the retailers already know exactly how to order.
Glenn: It’s strange that one book seems to be for a specific audience where another it appears Dark Horse was maybe expecting both out of but they sold at nearly the same level. I guess this is the standard launch for a new Dark Horse property without a-list creators regardless of the material? Not good if that’s the case but that’s what we say every month about Dark Horse. I wonder how many people ordered/bought Chimichanga cause of Deadpool’s love of the food though?
We see the second issue of new Dark Horse launch, Rise Of The Black Flame sell just under 6.4k at 246 as it gets outsold by the latest issue of the Simpsons comic. If it were Harrow County which is 17 issues in and has the 248 spot then I probably would be feeling a lot less sorry for it.
Ray: It’s good you mentioned Harrow County, because that’s another book, like Black Hammer, that found its level and just locked down there. A good deal lower than Black Hammer, of course, but it’s one of Dark Horse’s few success stories over the last few years.
Glenn: Another Dark Horse launch and a video game tie in is Call Of Duties: Zombies sells literally just over 6k at 255. Call Of Duty is an insanely popular gaming franchise but as we’ve seen in the charts before, that doesn’t necessarily mean a high selling comic make. This one tries to lure more potential patrons in by including Zombies but with Walking Dead as the clear high standard for that type of comic, anyone else doing something similar probably won’t be paid much attention.
Ray: Video game comics tend to be hard sells overall. Maybe it’s because people would rather play the game than read about it? We see the same thing with video game movies. Interactivity is the biggest draw when it comes to video games, so any expanded material without that might struggle.
Glenn: I just want to mention the second issue of Tarzan and the Planet Of The Apes (selling just over 5.9k) at 257 because clearly someone who makes decisions reads these articles. We asked for Green Lanterns and the Planet Of The Apes and you readers are getting it, you’re welcome.
One of the new Vertigo launches to last the test of time is Clean Room which sells just over 5.8k at 261. I would say this is largely due to Gail Simone’s loyal fanbase and the fact that she seems to be one of the nicest people in comics more than anything else. A lot of the Vertigo books it launched alongside are long gone so credit to this one for managing to stick around.
Ray: Clean Room and Sheriff of Babylon (about 700 copies lower at #286) seem to have found their levels, at numbers well below what a Gail Simone or Tom King book should be selling. Such is the state of Vertigo, but these two seem to have stopped the bleeding. We’ll see if Sheriff can rebound and start higher when volume two lands.
Glenn: Volume 2 of Sheriff might see an initial bump but I don’t think it’ll be anything significant and will probably fall to previous levels. If it were repackaged at Image it might be a different story…
At first I thought A Year Of Marvel’s Unbeatable was a reprint but a quick google tells me…no? It seems to be a fully bonified new Marvel one shot so what its doing down here at the ‘depressing section’ of the charts when it comes to the likes of Vertigo and Dark Horse is baffling. It only sells 5.6k at 268 and I can’t help but feel I missed something here.
Ray: That is insanely low for a Marvel book with original material. Anthologies without an impact on continuity are always a hard sell, but even by those standards, wow. Marvel puts out such a glut of content that retailers are probably having to make some hard calls. This is just further evidence that Marvel’s current strategy is backfiring. Could the future issues of this anthology miss the top 300 entirely?
Glenn: This isn’t just a one shot?! Oh wow, that’s grim. Even if Marvel cancelled this it doesn’t seem many people would notice.
Just below that at 269 is a new launch from Titan in the form of Hard Case Crime Peepland which sells around 5.6k also. This is a new mini series based in a super pulpy looking crime world that seems along the lines of the stories Ed Brubaker tells. Without the former Captain America writer attached though, interest seems to be slim.
Next we’re looking at Duck Avenger from IDW which sells just over 5.4k at 274. This appears to be a new book starring Donald Duck as a superheo so this is pretty standard level for a new Disney launch from someone who isn’t Marvel. I used to love Darkwing Duck so I demand his return also!
Ray: Apparently Duck Avenger precedes Darkwing Duck, too. This is an odd little chapter of Disney history I was not aware of. Standard numbers for IDW’s Disney books, but it continues to be sort of surprising the way Disney rights are still split between three different companies.
Glenn: Next at 276 is Warlords of Appalachia from BOOM! which sells just over 5.3k. This title is another attempt from BOOM! to do more adult orientated creator owned work and seems to struggle like similar books they put out do. In the past few years, BOOM! has managed to carve itself a nice little niche with all ages books so going against that when the demand is being met by literally everyone else is puzzling.
Ray: Similar numbers to the last book from this creative team, Last Sons of America. BOOM! has a wide variety of genres in their line, and their darker books seem to consistently struggle.
Glenn: Also from IDW is Action Man: Revolution, the spin off from the toy version of the Expendables we saw launch last month. It sells just over 5.3k. Given that Action Man was only a thing for roughly a month in the early 90’s, I’d say this is only for people wanting to be completionists with the overall story.
Ray: Black Mask has a new title debuting at #281 with 5.2K, The Skeptics. This one didn’t have any big names attached, so these numbers aren’t a big surprise. Still, Black Mask has slowly but surely carved out a place in the market, even if this is one of their less impressive debuts.
Glenn: Given how new Black Mask is, the fact they can get books to chart at all is impressive. There are a lot of older companies still around that hardly ever chart any more. I think Black will be the book that brings them a lot of attention which they can expand their audience through.
Ray: There’s a few other debuts, like a new Pathfinder comic from Dynamite and another of those Hard Case Crime titles from Titan, the second this month. As usual, the bottom of the chart mostly consists of tie-ins, low-selling creator-owned books, and the occasional oddball comic like X-Files: Origins, the teen adventures of Mulder and Scully. I hope they have to rule out Red Herring as the culprit in every issue.
One bit of depressing news, though, is that Revival is circling the bottom of the top 300 at 291 with sales of 5.1K. The series is one of Image’s longest-running, and it’s ending in a few month, so I’m hoping it manages to stay in the top 300 till the end.
Glenn: If Revival does drop out, it’ll likely pop back in for the end but the audience might see it over the finish line.
Ray: Looking ahead to next month, it’s a very quiet month for DC as they continue to settle into their new post-Rebirth normal. There’s only two new series launches – Mother Panic, the fourth of the Young Animal books and the only one of the four set in Gotham City. Given that, I think it’ll debut a bit higher than Shade and Cave did. There’s also a new all-ages miniseries, Super Powers, from Baltazar and Franco, as well as a pair of unique one-shots. The first, Catwoman: Election Night, seems like a bit of a trainwreck in reviews, but the second, the DC New Talent Showcase, is an anthology giving spotlights to the graduates of DC’s first talent workshops. We’ll also get to see how the first two annuals of the Rebirth era, Batman and Superman, perform. There’s also the latest Batman/TMNT crossover, this one based on the animated series, published by IDW.
For Marvel, it’s yet another big month of relaunches, as we’ll likely see Avengers and Invincible Iron Man compete for the top spot with six-figure debuts (my money is on Avengers). Two of Marvel’s most popular series get spinoffs as well, with the Unworthy Thor miniseries, which should be a solid hit, and Black Panther: World of Wakanda (although the creative team from outside comics and the $4.99 price tag makes me wonder if this one struggles). Then there’s the alternate universe Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows, which has a lot of anticipation behind it, and Mark Waid’s flashback mini Avengers .1. There’s also some smaller books, like Ultimates 2, Occupy Avengers, Venom, and Jeff Lemire’s Thanos. Some of these might find their footing, others are going to struggle. And of course, there’s Ghost Rider and Foolkiller, this month’s contenders to debut outside of the top 100. We’ll also start to see how some of these books settle down. What will Champions or Doctor Strange and the Sorcerers Supreme look like in month two? Or more ominously, how low can Solo and Prowler fall?
After a huge month of debuts for Image, it’s a bit of a quieter month for creator-owned books this time, with one big exception – A.D. After Death, Image’s prestige format miniseries from Snyder and Lemire, two of the biggest creators in the industry. I don’t think it’ll quite equal the numbers of Reborn, partially due to the $5.99 price tag (for 69 pages of story), but I expect a very healthy debut here. Other books like Alex De Campi’s cold war thriller Mayday and Frank Barbiere’s rural noir Violent Love will have more modest debuts. Outside of Image, we’ve got Steve Orlando’s new creator owned book, Namesake, from BOOM!. We’ll see if his sudden rise at DC boosts the numbers on this one. Matt Kindt brings another one of his strange, dense fantasy worlds to life in Ether for Dark Horse. And Valiant has another one of their more offbeat projects in the mysterious Savage.
Glenn: A lot of interesting launches next month but as you indicate, the more interesting story might be how these new Marvel books perform in their second month. Magic 8 ball says ‘We’re doomed, Jim’.
A delay in these charts means less time to wait to see what happens! Good news for all! See you then!
