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’s had work published with Outre Press, Alterna Comics and Nemesis Studios.  He’s totally team Fabian because everything he knows about the X-Men has been learned through cartoons and movies

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 and has released his first novel. Ray also does a weekly roundup of DC comic reviews for website Geekdad and they’re brilliantly entertaining.  Steadily with team Gail, Ray supports any policy that follows the idiom that Cylcops sucks.

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!

Top 300 in full available here!

Glenn:  Here we are folks, the big showdown!  Its Marvel vs Metal in an epic battle of the M’s!  There’s a lot to discuss this month and its going to get crazier from now until next year so we better get moving swiftly.

Top book of the month was the much hyped Marvel Legacy one shot which despite being priced at 5.99 sold over 298k, completely overshooting any expectations myself or my co-columnist had.  So the success of this one shot is very interesting, if it hadn’t debuted at number one, it would have been a big blow to Marvel.  They needed a win and they got it with a mix of hype, promised returns, new status quo changes, their biggest named writer and some of their biggest named artists.  All this combined got Marvel the win they needed on this book and then some.  Given the price point and that the book is much thinner than the mammoth tome the 2.99 Rebirth one shot was around a year ago, Marvel are still getting a message, people are seemingly willing to pay for expensive comics if they’re marketed right.  So the one shot is a mega success, this cannot be disputed but the real success of Legacy will be determined how the rest of the line performs.  Rebirth gave the majority of DC titles a real shot in the arm, most of which are still befitting from today, can Marvel pull off the same?  We’ll see in some titles this month but the real story will be told next month.  Despite taking the top spot however, Marvel only managed one more book in the top ten so in that regards, DC won the day.  Legacy was a big hit but is it a sign of the tide turning in the companies favour?  We’ll see.

Ray:  There’s a lot to break down about the success of Legacy, and I concur – this is about 100K higher than I had it. These numbers are roughly comparable to the debut of Secret Wars a few years back, by Jonathan Hickman and the solicited artist of this issue Esad Ribic. Of course, he only wound up doing a few segments in this issue, but it seems he may move the needle! However, I’m guessing as much had to do with Jason Aaron, who’s been behind some of the most well-regarded Marvel runs of the last few years, and some of the only that escaped the Marvel sales collapse for the most part. When Marvel puts out a product that looks like it pays proper tribute to the history of the Marvel Universe and puts a lot of hype (and variant covers) behind it, they can get massive numbers. If this was the start of a Marvel event, I would say it bodes very well. But it’s not – it’s just a one-shot, and next month the Legacy titles will have to stand on their own. Although none of the biggest-name titles have debuted, the first week had retailers saying sales were very slow. So Marvel can crow this month with the #1 comic of 2017 (until November), but it’s no guarantee of lasting success.
Glenn:  Number 2 is Metal where the second issue delivers numbers over 149.4k selling about 120k less than the first installment.  I would say that this event won’t drop too much more and is still great numbers for a mini being put out by two of DC’s big guns.  Of course, unlike Legacy, Metal had some tie-ins in main DC books and various one shots.  Whereas Legacy was a success in of itself, Metal’s success seems to be branching out beyond its considerable sales pull.  More on that very shortly.

Ray:  These are great numbers for Metal in month two, dropping significantly but still staying well above the level of Civil War II even before the bad press really set in. This is rarefied air for a comic book event, the highest second-issue sales since Secret Wars, and close to double the sales of Secret Empire. DC has to be very happy with this, and it probably foretells consistent sales of over 200K for Doomsday Clock. And unlike past Marvel events, we’re seeing a major impact on the limited tie-ins.

Glenn:  Next at 3 is the only other Marvel comic in the top ten, the first issue and proper start of Venomverse which again we’ll remind you is a Venom crossover inspired by variants from a few months ago.  Considering that, a launch of over 105.3k is a great result. We’ve talked about it a number of times but Venom has really become a ‘thing’ again and Marvel has definitely taken note of that fact by having him popping up in Spider-Man and X-Men in the coming months.  The mini-events 2nd, 3rd and 4th issue also land this month selling over 57.2 at 20, over 55.1 at 22 and just under 54k at 23.  It’s a big drop right off the bat but then steady as a rock from there on.  This mini event out performs most of Marvel’s catalog quite handily and again sends a message that people want more Symbiote’s in their comics.  Marvel seems to be listening.

Ray:  Given how impressive the first-issue sales of Edge of Venomverse were, this is pretty much what I was expecting. While the three following issues didn’t blow the doors off, they’re very solid numbers for a spin-off event spinning out of a secondary title. Wouldn’t be surprised to see a sequel here. 

Glenn:  At 4 and 5 is old reliable Batman which sells over 100k and 98.5k for issues 30 and 31 respectively.  We’ve said all we can about Batman and its astonishing consistency and it’ll no doubt pop back over 100k for the conclusion for the War Of Jokes and Riddles which also holds the answer to the Batposal.  Events come and go but Batman is here to stay for the long term.

At 6 is a bit of a surprise in the form of the 25th Anniversary Harley Quinn one shot which was an anthology to celebrate the character being around for two and a half decades.  Creators like Jimmy Pilmiotti, Amanda Conner, Paul Dini and Chip Zdarskey were invited to the party and it wielded great sales for DC at over 97.2k which is incredibly impressive for a one shot that isn’t anything to do with anything and was priced at 4.99.  The Rebirth issue of Harley Quinn was the top selling title in the month it was released so its clear that people still love the feisty but deadly lady clown.  DC has benefited greatly from Harley the last number of years with her main title and random one shot spin offs.  With sales like these on a title that was barely promoted I have no doubt we’ll continue to see more of everyone’s favorite Gotham Siren for a long time to come.

Ray:  I didn’t see all that much hype for this Harley one-shot, interestingly, which makes the almost 200% sales jump from this month’s regular Harley issues very impressive. Paul Dini probably pulled in a lot of sales, being Harley’s co-creator, and DC has to be very happy with this. Only six comics this month approached or passed 100K, and DC had four of them.

Glenn:  Just when you thought it was dead and gone, the Walking Dead revives back to life to take the 7th spot in the charts as sales shoot up again to over 84.2k.  Like I prophasised last month when the titles sales were simmering to the high 60’s (which in this market is still amazing) Walking Dead has a pattern.  High sales for a new story or new character, then slowly, slowly fall and then shoot up again for a continuation of the cycle.  We should never count out Walking Dead and its seemingly never ending skill to reinvent itself to sales success no matter what else is going on in the charts.

Ray:  This is a pretty big, out-of-nowhere jump for Walking Dead. New storyline, perhaps? I’ve given up trying to figure out just how it gets a 19K jump in one month, but it continues to display almost impossible sales momentum.

Glenn:  I believe this particular issue of Walking Dead had a new story and a new antagonist.  Who knew such simple things could mean sales success?

At 8 is the first of the Metal tie-ins for this month, focusing on one of the antagonists of that series and their backstory.  The group known as the Dark Knight’s  feature Batmen gone wrong from the Dark Multiverse.  This first crossover, The Red Death covers an earth where Bruce gained access to the Speed Force to disastourous results.  Its written by Flash writer Joshua Williamson and drawn by the titles most frequent artist so there’s some stability here for Flash fans.  The tie-in delivers sales over 81.9k which is incredible for a one shot that’s not essential to the main narrative but is just great to read.

At 9 is the Murder Machine which is Cyborg corrupted by Batman and delivers sales of over 78.2k.  Again this is great numbers but the really interesting thing is here is that Cyborg is one of the least selling Rebirth titles so I think its probably safe to assume that this is going to be the absolute bottom line for these one shot spin offs.  If the upcoming tie-ins featuring corrupted versions of Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern and Superman (kinda/sorta) can pull of sales bigger than this (which they all most likely will) then they can all have spots in the top ten most likely.  This is going to be a very promising few months for DC and then of course, the Batman Who Laughs one shot will likely be the best selling of the bunch and will likely be the number one or two selling book for that month.  Metal is delivering in spades and the good news doesn’t stop there for the event, there’s more to come.

Ray:  Yeah, these sales on the first two Dark Knights specials are amazing. And the fact that they’re so close together is even more impressive. Aquaman’s tie-in will probably do about the same as Murder Machine did, while all the others should beat it. DC’s made the decision to do limited tie-ins, but to make every one count, and it seems like a lot of retailers have decided to go all-in on this event. DC’s strategy is paying off big-time. More on Metal tie-ins in a bit.

Glenn:  The final book in the top ten is Action Comics which shoots up in sales to over 71.5k for a lenticular cover but more than likely due to the fact that this issue has the reveal of mystery villain Mr. Oz’s identity.  Rebirth has done wonders for the main two Superman books and its clear that there was some interest in this reveal of a storyline that’s been burning for quite some time.  There was a lot of speculation that Mr. Oz would be revealed to be Ozymandias which likely helped but still these is an impressive boost for the title.  There was also a non-lenticular edition which clocked in at allllll the way down at 99 with sales over 25.3k so retailers probably just ordered that just in case people didn’t want to pay the extra $1 but the numbers on this issue shows they had a lot of faith that wouldn’t be an issue.  The second part of the story also charts very well at 12 with sales over 66.3k and again we have a normal edition at 101 selling just under 25k.  A great result for this story line.

Ray:  So all told, these two issues of Action Comics sold about 90K each. That’s a 125% increase from last month’s issues of Action, which is a very similar sales pattern to what we saw with The Button. The gap between the lenticular and non-lenticular covers has increased a lot, but retailers treated this as a major piece of the Rebirth picture and ordered accordingly. I’m not sure if they’ll be a bit disappointed with the actual reveal, but it is a massive Superman storyline either way. 

Glenn:  Even though Mr. Oz didn’t turn out to be who was heavily speculated, the actual identity is still a very big deal.  I doubt many people will be disappointed in the direction and the possibilities it opens for Superman stories long term.

Ray:  Just outside of the top ten is the new Star Wars mini, a prequel to The Last Jedi starring Captain Phasma and written by Hawkeye author Kelly Thompson. It sells 71K, which is a good number for a title starring a supporting villain, and probably would have easily cracked the top ten in another month. The second issue sells 45K at #38, which is a standard level for side Star Wars books, well above things like Kanan or Mace Windu (38K), but well below the main title.

Glenn:  It probably helped with the ties to the modern trilogy.  Not only does it feature a character that is being likened to Boba Fett but gives readers the first hint as to what secrets the Last Jedi might hold.  Marvel doesn’t get a chance to tell stories with new Wars characters and there’s no doubt enough excitement about the inevitable smash Episode 8 will be to carry this mini to very good numbers through its run and have a trade on the shelf in time for the movie.  All good news here.

Ray:  The conclusion of Secret Empire, the Omega issue, lands at #14 with 60K. The Omega issues always have a significant drop from the main miniseries, and this was no exception, but this feels especially sharp. Marvel’s got to be pretty happy to have this event over and done with.

Glenn:  These Omega one shots don’t seem to be seen as important parts of the story.  If Marvel wanted retailers and readers to care more you would have thought they simply would have extended the main mini by another issue (which they had already done once!)  Its an odd strategy that has delivered underwhelming results for both this and the last time they did this which was with Clone Conspiracy.  In a few months time, Venom is popping up in Spider-Man with a lead in with an ‘Alpha’ issue which will probably far better since its the first chapter rather than the final one that most people got in the final issue of the mini-series (more or less).

Ray:  Unlike The Oz Effect, we didn’t see a massive jump for “A Lonely Place of Living”, the major Tim Drake story in Detective which has major reveals for Rebirth as well. The issue that begins the storyline gets a 4K jump over the previous issue, selling 57K at #21. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s significant reorders on this.

Glenn:  Detective doesn’t need the sales juice given its consistency so that’s probably why it hasn’t benefited as much as Action did.

Ray:  There’s a trio of titles, Teen Titans (#19, 57K), Nightwing (#29, 51K), and Suicide Squad (#30, 50K), that all get major increases of close to 20K from their previous issues. That’s because these are the first three chapters of the Gotham Resistance story, tying in to Metal. This is a huge increase, almost 60%, for the tie-in. This is a complete 180 from what we saw with Secret Empire and Civil War II tie-ins. Everything that touches Metal benefits from it.

Glenn:  Throughout Secret Empire we talked about the true test of an event, no matter how big or small is how it not only performs itself but how it benefits any associated tie ins or spin offs.  The original Civil War had a Midas touch effect on everything that was even remotely associated with it and although the interest isn’t nearly as insane here (its 12 years and the market is very different) this shows a lot of interest in DC’s big bruiser of an event.  Its doubtful the titles will see much benefit long term but even a temporary bump is well worth being happy about.

Ray:  It was not a good month for Generations, with all five of the second wave missing the top ten and selling lower than expected. The two Bendis one-shots fared the best, with Spider-Man/Spider-Man landing at #16 with sales of 59K, and the offbeat future-set Iron Man/Ironheart one-shot selling 51K at #28. Both significant increases over the main title, but nothing as dramatic as last month’s Wolverine or Thor. Beyond that, Captain America’s one-shot is at #31 with 50K. To be expected given the massive slide we saw on the property under the departing writer. Ms. Marvel’s one-shot lands at #43 with sales of 41K, a big increase over the low-selling main title, while Captain Marvel lands at #59 with sales of 39K. The latter two are well below the 45K Hawkeye sold last month. This played out more like a side series of one-shots than an event.

Glenn:  Generations was a weird one.  Marvel seemed to be putting a lot behind it but quickly shifted focus to Legacy.  Most of these titles sold better than the titles they would be most associated with but none really lit the sales charts on fire.  It seems to have been a somewhat interesting idea that quickly got forgotten to have anyone put any real push on.  We’ll see some plot threads from the Thor one carry on but otherwise, Generations seems to have been something that will quickly forgotten and destined for bargain bins at your local comic shops before so long.

Ray:  Star Wars Adventures has one of IDW’s best debuts, selling 50K at #33, just above the level that this month’s Star Wars Annual sold. Given that this is a title that will likely be geared heavily towards the bookstore/young reader market, that’s great. It’s not a surprise that IDW has already announced a companion series, Forces of Destiny. This bodes ill for Marvel’s future handling any Disney properties, given that IDW seems to be handling their new license just fine.

Glenn:  I can just imagine the IDW exec that got the call’s face when whoever at Disney called them and said ‘how’d you like to do Star Wars but for all ages, yes even in the new era!’  It quite a coup for them especially when all ages properties at Marvel and DC don’t have the best history.  Even if the book can do half these numbers, it’ll be great for IDW and they are likely more than happy to accept whatever else Disney wants to throw their way.  They’re only going to benefit here.

Ray:  Down at #42, we’ve got Runaways #1, which sells just over 42K. Runaways was never much of a big seller in the direct market and stayed alive so long based on digest/trade sales, but I was still expecting a bit more. This is a title written by one of the most successful young adult writers in the industry, with a TV series coming soon. Maybe Marvel just can’t get retailers to order big on much anymore, given how many times they’ve been burned? Once again, though, this will probably do 90% of its business in bookstores.

Glenn:  Its been a loooong time since we had Runaways in any form and like you said, the book never had much success in the direct market except when it was briefly written by Joss Whedon over a decade ago.  With the new show on the way, the original run will receive renewed interest and this will do well collections wise because of who is involved but there doesn’t seem to be a big cry out for this property to return without its original writer on board which I can probably say with 99% certainty will not be happening.

Ray:  Wonder Woman launches a new creative team this month, with James Robinson taking over as writer, and it gains about 700 copies from the conclusion of Shea Fontana’s arc to land at #46 with sales of 41.6K. There doesn’t seem to have been all that much buzz around this new run, so I expect slow, standard attrition to continue from here.

One of the most impressive stories of the month is Mister Miracle #2, which lands at #48 with sales of 41.5K. That’s an increase of 8K from last month’s debut, which is almost unheard of. The only other book I can remember performing like this recently is God Country. I knew the first issue was under-ordered, but I was hoping for a steady performance. A 25% increase is spectacular. And the first issue lands 14K in reorders at #146. DC took a chance on this book, and it’s paid off.

Glenn:  I told you!  You said I was crazy!  The critical reception for Mister Miracle has done wonders and given the character involved, this is due to be a very good selling 12 issue series which will do gangbusters in collections for generations.  Everything that Tom King produces seems to turn to go

Ray:  Two female-led titles get big increases this month. First up is Spider-Gwen, which jumps from #113 and 20K last month to #54 and 36K. That can be explained by the kick-off of the Gwenom storyline, and bodes well for the title’s Legacy debut next month. Less easily explained is Supergirl, which gains another 6K in sales from last month to land at #65 with sales of 33K. That’s the second month in a row Supergirl’s had a major increase. It was always selling much lower than I expected, and maybe retailers are finally seeing interest and upping their orders. Either way, this book feels officially in the safe zone now.

Glenn:  Supergirl’s sudden increase is an odd one…maybe the new artist is getting some attention?  Still an increase is an increase, may it continue!

Ray:  Supergirl’s now selling right between Miles Morales and Avengers, which really says more about the latter than anything, but is great news for Kara fans.

Star Wars Adventures charts again at #73 with sales of 32K, a decent second-issue slide. If it can hold at close to this level, it’ll blow anything else IDW has out of the water.

At #71, there’s a one-shot called Venomverse: War Stories, which showed the backstories of some of the original Venoms from the event. This is the only tie-in to this short event, so I think sales of 32K are pretty decent, holding about 60% of the sales from the second through fourth issues.

Right below at #72, we have a new crossover, Wonder Woman/Conan, which lands with 32K. I think these numbers are decent, but I might have expected more given Gail Simone’s name power and Wonder Woman’s great year. Conan really has no major sales profile in the market today, so it might be that retailers sort of split the difference? I imagine this might build buzz when the good reviews start making the rounds.

Glenn:  Conan is a hard one to try to pick up, even the all powerful Batman may have struggled to make this 50k so with him counteracting Gail back at DC (sorta) and Wonder Woman, I’d say these are good enough sales.  I’m sure everyone that DC has had partnerships with has been very happy they’ve done them and this will likely not lose too many readers before it finishes up.

Ray:  At #87, it’s a healthy debut for Bloodshot with 28K. This is act three of Jeff Lemire’s epic Bloodshot run, which has turned the character into one of Valiant’s biggest heroes. Lemire seems to be one of those writers who has genuine sales pull on anything he does. See also, Thanos four spots and 1K lower, which releases the penultimate issue of Lemire’s run and outsells books like Black Panther, Green Arrow, Champions, and Venom.

Glenn:  Much like King, Lemire has the Midas touch, especially when it comes to these more ‘out there’ c or d listers.  I’m sure Valiant consider themselves very fortunate to have him as should any company.

Ray:  Speaking of Venom, the main series lands at #98 with sales of 25K. No bump from Venomverse, which oddly decided not to tie in. Despite Venom seeming to sell like gangbusters for events, the main title doesn’t seem to have benefited.

The second issue of Inhumans: Once And Future King drops to #104 with sales of 23K, down from 50K last month. But that still puts it at 10K more than Inhumans flagship book Royals sells this month. Priest is the first writer to get Inhumans any halfway decent sales trajectory lately, even if it’s only for a miniseries.

Glenn:  The logical thing for Marvel would be to hand him the ongoing and run for the hills but it seems DC have seen that eventuality and are likely going to keep him busy.  Still, this is very good sales for an Inhuman mini-series and victories should be taken where they can.

Ray:  At #109 we’ve got Bombshells United #1, the relaunch of Marguerite Bennett’s WW2-set AU for DC heroines. The title got a 100% bounce from the finale of the previous series, but the second issue dips down to 14K at #139. It looks to me like it got a relaunch bounce, but this digital-first series is likely to resume its standard sales trajectory.

Glenn:  Bombshells is a fan fave that has a huge merchandise side to it and I believe is very successful outside the direct market. Another steady performer considering what type of book it is, all things taken into account.

Ray:  At #121, there’s the debut of Kingsman: The Red Diamond, which is a spin-off of the hit movie property kicked off by Mark Millar. Now with new writer Rob Williams on board, this series seems to have debuted without much buzz at 18.8K, but that’s good enough to be the top Image debut of the month. I imagine Millarworld is hoping this will do big business among casual fans of the movie in trade, as opposed to single issue sales.

Glenn:  Debuting the same month as the movie helps.  Its hard to tell if Millar’s name on writing duties would have helped it, probably I’d wager and its odd to see a creator owned property ‘lent out’ in this fashion but considering all the Netflix money Millarworld earned, I doubt he’s bothered.  Like you said, will be one for the trade audience more than likely but impressive enough considering its not the series original creative team at the helm.

Ray:  #126 brings the debut of Realm, the post-apocalyptic fantasy comic from former X-Men writer Seth Peck and artist Jeremy Haun, which sells 17.4K. I think this is actually a pretty excellent number for a book without a-list creators attached, coming within 1K of Kingsman. Image may have a sleeper hit on their hands.

#127 has the debut of Sheena, which had a 25-cent issue the previous month that didn’t chart. Selling 16.8K, it probably benefited from the attachment of co-writer Marguerite Bennett, who has written for all of DC, Marvel, and Archie in recent years and has two popular books from DC. We’ll see if it can hold its numbers, but it is currently the top-selling Dynamite title.

Glenn:  Did Sheena come first or did Shanna?  I get them confused all the time.  This is a very good number for a property that never had that much interest like…ever.  Like you said, I would say a large amount of credit would fall at the feet of Bennett for bringing some name recognition to the character like Gail did with Red Sonja a few years ago.

Ray:  Good news for new horror series Redlands, which lands at #128 and actually gains about 100 copies from its first issue sales of 16K. We’ve seen this sales pattern  before with books like God Country and Redneck in recent months, so Image has to be feeling good about this one.

Glenn:  Astonishingly, the second issue of Elsewhere by longtime Image writer Jay Faeber only loses about 400 copies selling over 14.5k at 138.  Talk about stability.  This is a big win for Faeber on a concept that has clearly grabbed people’s attention.  If it can stay at this level long term, it could be a sleeper hit.

Ray:  Similar performance to Redlands, then. It’s probably a good sign that the audience is responding to these books that may not debut huge.

Glenn:  A new debut from Image in the form of Gasolina sells over 13.8k at 142.  This is better than average for a new debut by two creators I don’t know the names of.  Should settle to a 7-8k range which is the standard for non big name Image stuff so all is fine.

Ray:  Yeah, I was thinking Gasolina might debut below 10K given the hard-to-describe concept and very dark tone. This is a good number, and might indicate a good bit of momentum for Image as a whole right now.

Glenn:  Future’s Quest Presents also has a pretty steady fall of about 4-5k at sales over 13.7k at 143.  This one is a fan favorite and had a pretty set audience in its last incarnation so retailer likely ordered the first issue with a fair judgement of who they could sell too.  Its not a book that will keep Batman up at night but its still an admirable performer in terms of stability, especially given the majority of the characters had their peak popularity 20 something years ago.

Speaking of Hanna Barbara properties, at 148 we have the first issue of Dastardly and Muttley which is a very, very, very, very *10 years later* very different take on the stars of Wacky Races and Catch The Pigeon.  This one is from the demented (genius?) imagination of Garth Ennis and sells over 13.5k.  That’s pretty good given the title’s oddball nature but Ennis brings his own sales and people may have been wanting something a little different here while they get something much more traditional in Future’s Quest Presents.  Should be good for an 8-10k run which is fine.

Ray:  These numbers are significantly better than what we saw with the previous versions of these characters in Wacky Raceland. This is clearly an odd book, but Ennis’ rare foray into (mostly) all-ages storytelling seems to be going over well.

Glenn:  Next title that’s of note is way down at 171 which is this months customary Hellboy one-shot/new number one!  This is Hellboy: 1955 Occult Intelligence and sells over 11.5k.  See all previous By The Numbers articles, available on this very site you’re on for how this one has performed!

Ray:  Hellboy material, rock solid as always.

Glenn:  At 177 is a new Aftershock offering by Cullen Bunn, the man who needs no sleep as he produces another horror title called Dark Ark which sells just over 11k.  Pretty standard stuff for a new Aftershock book from a creator of note.  Will likely do well in trade for people who are fans of Bunn’s other horror books like Harrow County.

Ray:  I believe this is right in line with how Unholy Grail, Bunn’s other Aftershock horror book, performed. Aftershock is still finding its footing as a company, but it seems like name creators are finding some success here.

Glenn:  Just below it at 178 is the official launch of a new Ducktales (a woo-woo) title from IDW to tie in to the revamped show.  It sells just under 11k.  Pretty standard for an all ages comic of this nature in the direct market.  Will do most of its business in bookstores, Disney Parks and collected forms.  There’s a reason Scrooge McDuck has all that money you know.

At 181 is Angelic, another new Image title with a concept that is a bit outside the norm.  It has no creators of note and the bizarre concept may have been a hard sell so I’d call its sales of just over 10.6k pretty normal considering those two things.  This will have a particular audience that will probably remain loyal to whomever the concept speaks to.

Just below it at 182 is another new launch, also from Image in the form of Scales and Scoundrels.  A fantasy tale from the writer of the cult hit, Shirtless Bear Fighter its another example of a book that won’t perhaps have a big appeal but will likely create a loyal following rather quickly.  It sells just over 10.5k

Ray:  Both Angelic and Scales & Scoundrels are two of Image’s more oddball comics, although the former has received some fantastic reviews in particular. We’ll have to watch the coming months to see if they pick up reorders and increases. 

Generations: Hawkeye and Hawkeye surprisingly picks up a hefty 12.7K in reorders at #158. This was the lowest-selling Generations one-shot last month, but the dynamic between the two heroes is a fan favorite. That’s a pleasant surprise, and well deserved for the creative team. The reorders actually outsell this month’s issue of the main Hawkeye title by about a hundred copies!

Glenn:  People seem to like Kate and Clint together, hopefully Marvel will figure that out too.

Ray:  The bottom two Rebirth titles remain Blue Beetle and Cyborg, with both sinking about 2K below New Super-Man and Superwoman. However, it’s worth noting that Cyborg this month sells 10.3K at #185. Next month might be the first time we see a Rebirth title dip below 10K.

Glenn:  Still no sign of an ending to Cyborg and Beetle but with the influx of books kinda/sorta spinning out of Metal, I’d say these are two books that will definitely go. Maybe DC are hoping Cyborg’s debut on the big screen next month will help his book but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

There’s a Rat Queens special at 188 selling over 9.9k.  This has never been one of Image’s biggest properties and is only a one shot so was likely only ordered for those retailers knew would be big fans of the property.
Shout out to the fourth issue of Bitch Planet TripleFeature 4 which features the Image and top 300 debut of our mutual friend Marc Deschamps!  The issue sells over 8.7k at 203 and carries on its typical routine slide but I totally look forward to cleaning Marc’s pool one day.

Ray:  Good for Marc, and these sales are pretty stable for an anthology spin-off of a cult series. I believe the main series has a very irregular schedule, as well, so this is a success for Image.

Glenn:  A sequel to an 80’s cult hit, Big Trouble In Little China: Old Man Jack sells over 8.7k at 204.  This is co-written by the movie’s original director and legend John Carpenter so I’m surprised that didn’t push this a little more.  Still, the movie is very much a tongue in cheek cult favorite from over 30 years ago so probably only appealed to a certain audience.  Let it be known though that in terms of comic sales, Marc Deschamps>>>>John Carpenter

A new book based on the popular cartoon, Samurai Jack: Quantum Jack sells over 8.6k at 207.  I think this issue coincides with the cartoons return to television but I would doubt many Jack fans would be looking for stories outside the cartoon.  Another one for die hard fans.

Ray:  IDW seems to have a very solid relationship with Cartoon Network, so aside from a few select shows like Steven Universe, they’re the home for spinoffs. It seems like almost any show on the network will wind up getting a comic for the die-hard fans eventually. With this being an old property with a lot of nostalgia, they might be banking more on the first generation of fans.

Glenn:  The second issue of Mage: Hero Denied has your verly typical Image drop to just over 8.6k at 208.  As we said last month, this is the final chapter of a very, very long story so retailers and Image will likely know what to expect in terms of how it performs.

An interesting concept doesn’t help the first issue of Retcon from Image which debuts at over 8.5k at 207.  Not a sales disaster but it didn’t seem to catch the same interest like the other Image debuts we’ve highlighted this month?

Ray:  The marketing on Retcon was very vague, teasing an interesting concept but not giving many details. As such, I think retailers were cautious. Worth noting that our friend Matt Krotzer did the lettering on this comic, and those are some pretty letters.

Glenn:  I did not know that!  Go Matt!  Let us know what you think of our font choices!

At 213 we have Ninjak 0 which is another Valiant title that seems to serve as a catch up handbook in prep for a new title starting soon.  It sells over 8.1k.  Considering how steady Valiant’s core audience seem to be, a book like this is more geared towards potential new readers and therefore, ironically, doesn’t have the same appeal.

Ray:  These zero issues always serve as a bridge between the past run and the next one, so this is fairly close to the sales on the conclusion of Kindt’s run. Valiant’s sales are always pretty steady.

Glenn:  The second issue of the Shadow sells over 7.5k at 222.  Pretty standard for the Shadow who doesn’t have Batman to carry him tens of thousands of copies higher.

Ray:  It is worth noting that we’ll see how much Dynamite can push a book next month, when Batman/The Shadow continues into The Shadow/Batman and switches companies. We might see a significant drop in sales, or Batman might carry the day.

Glenn:  At 230 we have this years Millarworld annual selling over 6.9k. A good bit lower than last years, probably retailers know how many they will actually sell vs last year.  Whether this concept will continue after Millarworld being sold to Netflix is anyone’s guess.

Ray:  These are still pretty decent numbers for an anthology with no name creators by design, but I wouldn’t be optimistic about a third, given that it’s a corporate property now.

Glenn:  My dream of winning this thing, smashed against the rocks!  I was going to double my bribe next year too.

Ray:  Even among the lower-selling Image books, we see some impressive sales stability. Spy Seal only drops 128 copies in its second month at 6K, and actually jumps 38 places in placement up to 241. Looks like retailers are being a bit cautious with initial Image orders, but correcting soon after.

The quarterly fantasy comic Head Lopper charts at #242 with 6K. Given that this is a $5.99 comic with a cult audience, it seems to have locked down on a low but steady place on the charts.

The cult Image series Glitterbomb returns with a new series, The Fame Game, and charts at#246 with sales of 5.8K. This was never a top seller, so these numbers are to be expected.

Right below is the one-shot World of Animosity, which was actually a sourcebook expanding on the backmatter of this world and selling 5.7K. Given that this wasn’t actually a comic, these are impressive numbers, but then the solicits didn’t make it all that clear about the format.

Hey, it’s Grumpy Cat/Garfield at #263, selling 5.2K. This is likely a book that will do gangbusters in trade, but the direct market may not be its strongest suit.

At #268, we’ve got a new one-shot from IDW, GI Joe: First Strike, by controversial writer Aubrey Sitterson. Just under 5.2K in sales here, which is pretty standard numbers for IDW licensed spinoffs.

At #272, there’s the new Oni Frankenstein crime thriller Made Men, which lands with 5K. This was by former Marvel writer Paul Tobin, which might have gotten a few additional sales on this book. However, overall it continues Oni’s streak of struggling on the charts.

Glenn:  Another new ongoing from Aftershock at 277 sells over 4.8k.  Unlike nearly all of Aftershock’s catalogue to date, neither half of the creative team seem to be anyone of note so this more muted debut is not a big surprise.  This is what Aftershock can perform as its own brand which is probably better than most companies of a similar size.

Ray:  Fu Jitsu didn’t have any big names attached and sort of an odd concept, so that’s probably on the low end of what Aftershock can expect. Still, for a small company, they seem to have basically locked down that all their titles will debut in the top 300, so that’s a win that many small companies would love to achieve.

Glenn:  The new Boom title from Greg Pak, Mech Cadet Yu loses around half its sales for the second issue selling over 4.7k at 280.  We’ve said a number of times before but Boom doesn’t seem like the right place for creator owned properties currently, no matter who is producing them.

Ray:  However, Mech Cadet Yu has already been upgraded into an ongoing, so Boom has to be happy with these numbers on some level. I expect a book like this is going to do the majority of its sales in trades, and even a title like Backstagers, which spent only one month in the top 300, was recently revealed to be coming back for a second volume. Boom may be patient zero for the coming transformation of the industry.

Glenn:  At 281, Zenescope releases a GFT 2017 Armed Forces Appreciation one shot which sells over 4.7k.  When I looked up to see what that was, I was hit with a number of busty woman in uniform. I guess this one shot is here to tell us that you can both
wolf whistle and respect those that risk their lives to protect their country.

Ray:  I’m sure our men and women in uniform are honored.

Glenn:  Right below it at 282 from the company that is the Crazy Ex-Girlfriend song ‘Heavy Boobs’ taken sentience is Black Sable selling 4.7k bang on the money.   Its about space pirates apparently.  It is what it is and sells akin to that.

At 286 is another new book from Boom in the form of Lazaretto which sells over 4.4k.  Like we said previously, creator owned books at Boom struggle for the top names in the industry, a book like this from someone who doesn’t have the same built in draw can’t expect to fair much better than this.

Ray:  Lazaretto is also an incredibly dark book, basically Lord of the Flies meets Outbreak set in a college dorm. It’s a rough read, and retailers likely ordered accordingly. Definitely one of Boom’s more cult properties.

Glenn:  Killer Instinct is a new title from Dynamite that sells over 4.3k at 289.  I read what this title is and although I understood all the words describe them individually, all together they didn’t seem to process in my brain.  It seems to be something to do with vampires or witches or whatnot that’s apparently based on a video game.  I guess there’s some sort of audience for this, somewhere?

Ray:  Killer Instinct is a 90’s video game through and through, so Dynamite is probably banking solely on nostalgia here. Given the hype and variants they put behind it, they were probably expecting a bit more.

Glenn:  A video game I actually heard of, Wolfenstein gets an adaption from Titan and sells over 4.2k at 291.  This is a concept based off the Nazi’s winning the second world war.  The video game counter part is pretty popular so I’m surprised it didn’t do slightly better.  Maybe retailers have been turned off comics featuring Nazi characters for a while for some reason…

Pretty standard drop for a mini from Image by unknown creators for the second issue of the Hard Place at over 4.2k at 294.  That’s all we’ll be seeing of this 5 issue mini in the charts I’d think.

At 300 is a title from Avatar Press called Uber Invasion which I’m going to pretend is about the online taxi company attempting world domination.  It sells just over 4k.  I’ve not heard of it before but this is a much lower entry point to the top 300 than usual so its likely just never managed to crack through.  This months top of the chart is a lot healthier than we’ve seen but this end of the chart tells a very different story with the lowest selling comic selling over 1.5k less than last months lowest selling charter.  Concerning.

Ray:  I did notice that certain titles that mainly stayed flat were much higher on the overall rankings this month, so it’s clear there were either less titles, or a lot of titles dropped in sales. I’m a bit worried that we’re reaching “peak comics”, in that think about how many new companies there are. There’s going to be a lot of competition.

Looking ahead to next month, DC should have another great October. Scott Snyder revealed that Metal #3 increased in sales, and we’ll be getting two more Dark Knights one-shots (Green Lantern and Aquaman-based), as well as the end of the Resistance crossover. There’s also the first Wild Storm spin-off, a new Ragman miniseries, the launch of new digital-first series Gotham City Garage, and two major new Bat-related minis – Batman: White Knight from Sean Murphy, and Harley and Ivy meet Betty and Veronica. I wouldn’t be shocked to see seven of the top ten next month be Batman-adjacent in some way.

Then there’s Marvel, which is facing a huge test this month with the launch of Legacy. But that also means Marvel won’t have many #1s, aside from a few like Falcon and Spirits of Vengeance. Most Legacy titles will be getting some renumbering and a fancy cover while keeping their creative team and general direction. Will it be enough to shake things up? Prognosis…murky. We might see some movement on books like Iron Man, which brings back Tony Stark, and Incredible Hulk, which sends Amadeus off to Sakaar, not to mention the big Thor anniversary issue. But for most titles, it may be a non-event. Random mini Deadpool vs. Old Man Logan may be the top #1 of the month from Marvel. There’s also the return of Garth Ennis to Punisher for a new mini.

There’s quite a few interesting indie books coming our way, including the first Black Hammer spinoff, the awesome-named Sherlock Frankenstein; the resurrection of Hack/Slash under a new writer; the first Goosebumps comic book; and the return of The Archies from Alex Segura and Matt Rosenberg in a rare non-Marvel work. What will rise to the top?

 Glenn:  I’m thinking Metal will win the day but its going to be interesting to see how Marvel Legacy lands, join us in a few weeks to find out!

Like what you read?  Any thoughts or questions to share?  Please comment below or hit us up on Twitter @glenn_matchett and @raygoldfield