By the Numbers: December 2019
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 many years but grew up reading comics. He’s had work published with various small press publishers and has is own comic now available on Comixology in Sparks: The Way I Was from Yellow Bear Comics! He didn’t nearly cry at the first episode of Picard, you did!
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. After watching Picard, Ray wants to know why baby Yoda can’t be on this show too. Why can’t he be on all the shows?!
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 500 in full available here!
Glenn: Welcome to a new decade of comic sales madness as we look to the year and the decade that was. In the era of replicants and so on, sales in comics are just as wacky as ever with DC books still being split in most cases so some books appear to sell a lot lower than they actually did but DC still killing it in the top ten at the end of the year. That’s the first impression we get at the top of the chart but let us dive deeper and see how various books fared as we closed out the year that was 2019.
Ray: This was a packed month with a lot of debuts and special issues, but it seems like the sales to end the year overall were pretty weak. Lots of unanswered questions as the companies ramp up their 2020 slates.
Glenn: Finishing out the year with the top spot was the final issue of Doomsday Clock which despite its delays sold remarkably consistently throughout and exceptionally well. The final issue sells over 117.9k and now will go off to collection heaven. Opinions may very but I thought of this as a worthy sequel to Watchmen that deserves its predecessors acclaim and accomplishments. Its safe to say that Johns next prestige project, Three Jokers will be a big hit when it finally hits sometime this year (maybe).
Ray: It just got in under the wire! Doomsday Clock has been amazingly rock-solid since the start, and as one of only two comics to top the 100K mark this month, it’s another big win. Off it goes to evergreen collections-land, and I seriously doubt DC will be able to resist doing more stories in this verse if a top creative team wants to. Paging King and Gerads or Snyder and Jock…
Glenn: Taking second place this month is Marvel’s new top book, X-Men which sells over 105.7k for its third issue. This is an unbelievable success and Marvel will be hoping to keep Hickman chained to this franchise as long as they can. Naturally, not to let a good thing just be that, Marvel has announced tons of new X books to come, we’ll see how the first wave did on their second month in short order but the main book seems to be bulletproof.
Ray: It’s been a while since we had a megahit regular title like this, but the other books are dropping out of the top quickly. Let’s hope they keep letting Hickman do what he wants to with little interruption, but given that he’s already doing an Empyre tie-in in April – outlook not great.
Glenn: The final part of the Black Label three part post apocolyptic epic, Batman: Last Knight On Earth which sees the last solo Batman work by modern Bat legends, Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo is at third with sales over 90k. This is a sharp increase over the previous two issues and likely due to the fact that this does seem to be the end of the road for the legendary Batman team. So far, Black Label has been doing wonders for DC and this title much like Doomsday Clock, heads off to collection heaven where it could become as successful as legendary tales like Year One or Dark Knight Returns.
Ray: Retailers really missed the boat on the first issue here, but they’re course-correcting now. This was a fitting finale to the Snyder era, but it’s far from done selling as it’s going to make a perfect collection.
Glenn: Keeping with a Batman theme is the newest installment of the aforementioned Dark Knight saga with Dark Knight: The Golden Child selling over 88.7k at 4 this month. That’s about 20k lower from where Dark Knight III generally sold which I was surprised about but perhaps it is because in the mainstream market,Rafeal Granpa is an unknown quantity and retailers are wary of solo proects from Miller without anyone to reign in the crazy? Its hard to tell but even though its low compared to DK III its an excellent number for an out of continuity throwaway Batman one shot but the Dark Knight brand is as strong as it was in the mid 80’s in some ways.
Ray: Rafael Grampa is a legendary indie artist, but him doing a licensed work is near-unheard of. The brand has a lot of power, as we saw with DKIII, but this installment also focused on some of the lesser-known characters in the franchise. Overall, it’s definitely a hit, but the brand isn’t quite what it used to be.
Glenn: Another top book from Marvel at 5 with Venom selling over 74k meaning this is one of the lowest selling top ten comics in a while not counting some of the combined numbers we’ll get to later. This book has obviously benefited from Absolute Carnage and is likely to be Marvel’s second highest ongoing without counting Amazing which has has sales like a schizophrenic. What Donny Cates has done with this book is nothing short of astonishing.
Ray: This was the debut of Mark Bagley’s guest arc, Venom Island. I wouldn’t be surprised if that goosed sales a bit.
Glenn: In a bit of a surprise, the interactive comedy title Harley Quinn: Villain Of The year charts at 6 selling over 73.1k. This is a massive hit for a comedy one shot that likely benefited from Harley’s popularity and the unique interactive aspect more than being associated with Villain Of The Year. This bodes well for the Black Label Harley/Birds mini coming a little later this year.
Ray: Harley is a DC superstar, but this is big even for her recent sales levels. I wonder if part of the appeal was the likely appearance of the Batman Who Laughs? That guy sells like Watchmen.
Glenn: Batman Who Laughs vs Comedian confirmed!
At 7 is the Symbiote Spider-Man sequel mini series, Alien Reality that rather than being treated like a continuation seems to have gotten some interest as it sells over 71.3k. Symbiotes are hot at the moment and this title proves that but there might also be a hunger for a Spider-Man title from a writer who you know…knows what he’s doing.
Ray: It’s a perfect storm of factors to make this title sell right now, between Venom being a megahit and ASM being…rough. But it’s also a testament to Peter David’s ongoing sales power. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get a secondary Spider-man ongoing soon.
Glenn: One that isn’t cancelled before its time or he isn’t fired from? Yes please.
At 8 is the much hyped Incoming, priced at 9.99 and features a bunch of teasers for the year to come. Selling 69k there’s two ways to look at it. As a prelude to the next big event, Empyre its underwhelming and further indication that retailers either have no faith in Marvel events, are sick of them or both. Looking at it as a series of teases Marvel made you pay $10 for, its an incredible success. Imagine going to the cinema, paying normal price and buying your popcorn and seeing 5 trailers and then going home. You’d feel shortchanged but the cinema would be rubbing its hands together. Marvel is rubbing its hands together but I bet they expected more rubbing than what they got *coughs*
Ray: If you’re going to do a 9.99 comic, you have to do something special. This didn’t feel like that. Sure, a lot of the stories were great, but it felt like thirty trailers, like you said. The controversy over the ending reveal and the muted response makes me think Empyre might underperform War of the Realms.
Glenn: Amazing Spider-Man is back to its base level at 9 selling over 67.1 and the next issue at 11 selling over 63.7k. This is bare minimum for the book I’d say when it doesn’t have Donny Cates or Marvel book cooking to prop it up. We’re getting a lot of Marvel Handbook inspired stories as we drag our ways towards issue 50, the conclusion of the very tired Kindred story and hopefully the book getting back to its rightful place in the charts and in readability.
Ray: The weird thing where one issue gets a huge bump over the second seems to have faded away, and I don’t think there’s anything to boost the sales coming, at least until April when he homages Sins Past. So this should keep declining.
Glenn: I’m thinking more Death Of Jean DeWolff with the name taken from the Sin Eater as opposed to the JMS story of yester year. Doing a pseudo follow on to one of the most critically acclaimed stories in Spider-Man history got the title some buzz for Hunted, even though it was terrible. We’ll see if that’s the case here.
Final spot in the top ten this month is Superman for the big identity reveal issue which sells over 66.6k. If DC hadn’t done this exact story only a few years ago, it likely would have sold much happier but right now people are just staring at the clock in the wall waiting for us to go back to status quo. Still, always good to get a bump but sales will likely be back to normal next month.
Ray: Despite the story being told in another way less than five years ago, this take by Bendis on Superman’s identity reveal has been received very well. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the sales bump is permanent, because the title seems to be getting some real buzz for the first time.
At #12 is the finale of Tom King’s run, selling 60K. The preceding issue sells 58K three spots below. But that’s deceptive because of the split DC covers, and when you add about 20K more sales for the variant covers, that puts both of them in the top six for the month and gives DC five of the top six books – all of which starred Batman besides Doomsday Clock.
Glenn: Which just very heavily featured Batman. I thought this would boost up to 100k for the finale but the way the end of this run was done was…odd. I think retailers were confused due to the unceremonious end and yet the run not being really over cause Batman/Catwoman is still to come. We’ll see how the run fares up under the watch of long time DC workhorse James Tynion IV the next month.
Ray: After some more Batman in side books like Harleen and Curse of the White Knight, we get the return of Spider-Man by Abrams and Abrams at #16. It sells 54K, which is a huge drop from the first issue but pretty level with the second. Star power and the title character are powering this, but I don’t think it’s going to be remembered for long after it wraps.
Glenn: Given the names attached, I have to think Marvel was expecting more. I think the mystery kept over the direction of the title might have hurt it. I don’t think the delays are going to help too much either, Watchman sequel this ain’t.
Ray: At #17 is 53K in sales for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #100, the much-hyped anniversary issue that had been building sales for the book for a year. It didn’t quite reach the top ten ranking I was hoping for – the $7.99 price tag couldn’t have helped – but it’s a world apart from where it was last year. It’ll be interesting to see how the title holds when it gets a new creative team in January.
Glenn: Brilliant steady climb and a big win for the title, IDW should treat themselves to a coke. The price obviously gave this thing a ceiling but its still a remarkable improvement as you say. These sales won’t stick but if they can hang on to being better off than where they were, it’ll be a big win.
Ray: At #18 we have the relaunch of Dr. Strange, by Mark Waid and Kev Walker. This directly continues Waid’s run from only two months earlier, so it’s not going to get a huge debut. But 53K in sales indicates that it probably got a decent boost from variant covers and the buzz from the previous run.
Glenn: This is pretty standard fare now when Marvel pulls this trick. It’ll be back to normal next month or month after.
Ray: #19 has the 50K in sales for Revenge of the Cosmic Ghost Rider, which has Dennis Hallum continuing the adventures of crazy space Punisher. But the sales on this first issue are likely skewed because it had a backup by Cates and Shaw, picking up on the events of their miniseries. We’ll see next month if that was the source of the top twenty debut or if the character is really that hot.
Glenn: Hard to judge because of the backup but the character is the biggest debut Marvel has had for years. The market loves it when heroes go super loony and jolly it seems.
Ray: This is where the regular top books are lurking, with New Mutants, Marauders, Immortal Hulk, Excalibur, Justice League, all selling between 50K and 45K. But a surprise in this range is the launch of Conan: Serpent War at #23, selling 47K. A Conan/Moon Knight team-up introducing Howard creations Solomon Kane and Dark Agnes to the Marvel Universe, it seems like a niche product but debuted strong. Looks like the Conan franchise still has some heat even once Aaron peaces out.
Glenn: The novelty will have attracted interest I think. Marvel was also marketing it as a Conan event and retailers acted accordingly. They seem to be firing it out quickly too so there won’t be much chance for it to fall before its all said and done.
Ray: More good news for Boom to end their spectacular 2019, as their crossover event with IDW, Power Rangers/TMNT, debuts at #29 with 46K sales. Both these properties have been part of hit crossovers with DC properties recently, which raised their profile, and the Power Rangers are getting the turtles at their hottest point in years. Batman and the Justice League? Who needs them?
Glenn: Can’t wait for 30 Days Of Night/Power Rangers.
Ray: At #31 we have the launch of Tom Taylor’s Suicide Squad, selling 46K. The creative team and characters involved seem like they should have done more, but it’s been close to a decade since we had a good Suicide Squad comic and the movie didn’t help. Taylor is a fast-rising writer, so look for some reorders here.
Glenn: Probably DC’s most abused property outside of Teen Titans so considering it got some interest is testament to Taylor who has been hyping the book hard. I’d wager this will settle quick and pick up steam once Taylor has had time to settle in and build up a little steam.
Ray: Also a surprisingly low debut at #33 is Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen, selling 45K. A comic book where Luthor fights the Batman who Laughs should be a guaranteed megahit, but DC didn’t really promote this Tynion/Epting mini like an event. It falls into the same pattern of how the spinoffs from Year of the Villain don’t seem to get treated like essential parts of the story. Everyone’s holding their powder a bit for whatever Metal 2/Crisis event we’re getting this summer.
Glenn: That is a big surprise for Hell Arisen, I didn’t expect it to explode like Batman Who Laughs did last year but considering it features that character and the next part of the Apex Lex story, I would have expected a lot more. There was a lot of noise in Year Of The Villain and most of the one shots sold around and about the same so retailers seem to have treated it as an extension of that event rather than the next chapter in the story. Could be failure on DC’s part to market it property. If it had been called Batman Who Laughs Vs. Apex Lex then things may have been very different indeed. I think this will be another one that stabilizes fast and picks up some reorder hype.
Ray: The first of the 2099 books this month land in the low 30s, with Venom 2099 being the highest at 36 and Spider-Man 2099 being a bit lower at 39, selling 41K and 39K respectively. Not much retailer interest in this mini-event, but the titles sell by which character is the hottest at the moment.
Glenn: Yeah, no one’s really bothered about this are they? Venom wins cause he’s having his little renascence but otherwise its general apathy towards it. The 2099 universe will likely go back in the drawer for a few years again once more. Chalk another property up for the kill count of the orchestrator of this.
Ray: #37 brings us the debut of Spider-Ham by Zeb Wells, selling 41K. That’s REALLY good for a Spider-Ham book, but I think like Dr. Strange and Venom, the sales were inflated by these being among the only four Marvel books released the day after Christmas. Limited supply means more demand.
Glenn: Being such a prominent character in Spider-Verse and several other comics the last few years likely helped. It’ll probably fall a good bit but its got the room to do so, if there was any time for the character to bring home the bacon, it’s now (sorrynotsorry)
Ray: #38 has the end of King Thor, the final Jason Aaron Thor title before he hands the baton over to Donny Cates. 39K is a little low for what I would expect, but then it’s not exactly a jumping on point. Like Snyder on Batman, this run heads into immortality now.
Glenn: Usually ends of big runs get a bump but not here which is odd. I thought people would have tuned in to see how this very long saga ended. Its sold around the level that the majority of the run has sold, nothing wrong there. It’ll be something that is read for generations to come in collected format. I think Cates new take on the book could have it pick up a lot of momentum sales wise, we’ll see next month.
Ray: Weird and wacky sales games continue, as Amazing Mary Jane #3 jumps 15K in sales for its third issue to sell 38K after being down to 23K last month.That’s good enough for #41, but color me skeptical that this isn’t games.
Glenn: Methinks some extra copies may have been included. It could be possible the title is seeing some genuine interest but with Marvel its always a guessing game since they love to cook the books.
Ray: Top creator-owned book of the month once again goes to Spawn, as the #303 issue sells just under 37K at #45, but only seven spots lower we have the second issue of Undiscovered Country, selling 32K. That’s far ahead of any other Image book and probably means the new Snyder/Soule joint should lap Spawn shortly.
Glenn: It could be as soon as next month. It’ll be very interesting to see what Spawn’s new level is though, maybe it picked up a bit of steam off 300. Undiscovered Country is selling lower than I might have thought but is selling over double what most of Image’s line does which is absolutely nothing to sneeze at. It’ll be a solid hit for as long as the creators want to tell what is turning out to be an excellent story.
Ray: At #50 we have the latest Black Label title, Wonder Woman: Dead Earth from Daniel Warren Johnson. It sells 35K, which is well below the level of the Batman-related titles. But given that Wonder Woman titles sell well below Batman titles and Johnson is an acclaimed indie creator but not a big name yet, this feels like a strong debut. It’s great to see DC taking chances on indie creators in this line.
Glenn: I think that’s an excellent number all things considered. Its clear that while there’s only a few megawatt hits like this months Last Knight, the majority of Black Label are delivering in the numbers. If this had been presented simply as an out of continuity tale by an indie creator I doubt it would have done this well. The Black Label line is one of DC’s biggest successes of the last few years.
Ray: The Tales from the Dark Multiverse line comes to a close with The Judas Contract, which sells 31K at #55. Not bad for what’s essentially a line of oversized What Ifs, but they could have doubled sales with The Batman Who Laughs as the Cryptkeeper!
Glenn: This is also one of the most iconic DC stories ever and arguably the definitive Teen Titans story so it’s no surprise it sold well. Perhaps there could have been more room if certain choices were made with the narrative like you indicated but given that these (so far) seem pretty throwaway apart from their ‘cool’ factor, I am sure DC is very pleased. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some more of these later in the year.
Ray: A new Star Wars minseries, The Rise of Kylo Ren, lands at #56 with sales of 31K. This feels really low for a direct prelude to The Rise of Skywalker, but then that movie didn’t get the numbers people were expecting either. The response to the conclusion of the franchise for now seems muted.
Glenn: Apart from the main books, this is where Star Wars books seem to live around this level. You could argue that given the movie it should have done better but its not done worse than any other Star Wars related miniseries. The line’s dominance is not as strong as it once was but its still a consistently solid performer no matter what character or era they choose.
Ray: Two spots below we have Star Wars: Empire Ascendant, the anthology wrapping up the previous wave of Star Wars titles. It sells 31K, not bad for a $5.99 epilogue.
Glenn: This is another one where we could get a big bump for a new creative direction on both Star Wars and Vader. I feel that Aphra will always be a step behind since she’s exclusive to the comics…for now.
Ray: One of the most surprising recent success stories has been the Priest run on Vampirella, which sells 30K this month at #61. That puts it above some Marvel mainstays like Captain America and Miles Morales, and gives Dynamite its first top 100 regular in a long time.
Glenn:It’s astonishing how much of a revitalization that Priest has had and how it’s benefited this property of all things. Dynamite will be thrilled obviously.
Ray: At #65 we have Thor: Worthy, which does better than the average Marvel nostalgia anthology with sales of 28K. It had stories from Tom DeFalco and Kathryn Immonen, but the headliner was definitely the return of Walt Simonson to the character he defined.
More Marvel 2099 one-shots down here, with the Ghost Rider and Doom issues selling about 28K, followed by the Omega issue selling 26K between #66 and #72.
Glenn: I’m surprised Doom didn’t do a bit better since it was one of the original 2099 mainstays, not surprised that Omega did this low.
Ray: This is also where we see the Annihilation Scourge one-shots, with Silver Surfer being the highest-selling one at #70, selling 26K. Maybe due to the lingering success of Silver Surfer: Black? The Omega issue, Beta Ray Bill, Fantastic Four, and Nova issues sell between 25 and 23K.
Glenn: Pretty acceptable stuff for Annihilation, this was never going to set the charts on fire. I think the original story sold about the same back in the day.
Ray: Absolutely, its still a better debut than they normally manage though. I doubt this will have the sticking power of Vampirella (insert own pun here) and will likely fall to whatever the standard is next month.
At #71 we have the debut of Dan Abnett’s Dejah Thoris from Dynamite, selling 26K. The character’s been around at the company for a while and recently appeared in Warlords of Mars Attacks, but these sales – as always – are heavily due to Dynamite’s aggressive variant cover program.
An odd entry at #73, with the debut of American Jesus: The New Messiah with 26K in sales. This is one of the earliest Millarworld books, coming from the Dark Horse days. But the most notable thing about the sales is that this book was ordered blind. It was part of “Project X-Mas”, a secret rollout where this was released as a Christmas present that was solicited without a title. Clever gimmick, but I think retailers probably expected a bigger-name sequel. It’s only a three-issue miniseries, so there will be no time for retailers to adjust.
Glenn: In a way, this was quite a clever tactic by Millar. Had this been a sequel to one of the Juniper titles or Kick-Ass, this would be quite low but this is one of his more obscure properties from many moons ago. By not telling what this really was, he probably made sure the sales were better than they would have been as retailers literally gambled on whatever this would be.
Ray: At #84 we have the third issue of Basketful of Heads, which sells 23K. That once again makes it one of the top-selling creator-owned books of the month, and is worlds above where it would have been at Vertigo.
Glenn: Fantastic success for Heads but I somehow thing the other Hill House book Hill himself is writing might do a little better because of the involvement of the previously retired superstar artist, Stuart Immonen.
Ray: The last two Infected miniseries, featuring characters who never carried their own titles, are down here at #90 and #94. Deathbringer, featuring Donna Troy, sells 22K, with The Commissioner starring Jim Gordon selling only 900 copies less. I thought the latter might do a bit more due to its ties to The Batman Who Laughs, one of DC’s top recent books.
Glenn: I would have thought that too but maybe retailers assumed it would be throwaway since it wasn’t Snyder writing. It seems like the Batman Who Laughs popularity doesn’t necessarily extend to characters stealing/being leant his bit. Still you have to wonder that without the extra level there that one shots starring these characters wouldn’t have done nearly as well.
Ray: #106 brings us the cardstock variant cover of Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, but that’s just over half the sales as another cover charts at #129. Together they sell above 33K, which puts the book just around the top 50 for the month.
Glenn: This mini has been a solid performer for DC, Harley continues to bring in the money as DC preps the shelves for the movie starring her and some other female characters I don’t recognize.
Ray: Another strong issue for The Dollhouse Family, which sells 17K for its second issue at #111. This again puts it above all but three Image titles and not far below the Joe Hill-penned flagship title.
#116 has the Ocean Master: Year of the Villain one-shot, selling 17K. None of these one-shots sold well besides the Harley and Joker ones, but this one-shot by Dan Watters (heh) seemed like it was setting up future stories.
Glenn: At 118 is the final issue of Deathstroke from Christopher Priest who made this book one of DC’s most critically acclaimed and solid performing mid tier performers. It never set the sales chart on fire but it may be the best the characters ever been written since the Wolvman/Perez days. The finale saw sales over 16.6k which is around where it sold pretty consistently for years. Off it goes to collection heaven while Priest makes Dynamite money on Vampirella.
Ray: 50 issues of Deathstroke by the same creative team and it finishes just outside the top 100. That’s pretty amazing. Worth noting that Priest’s book is one of only four DC Rebirth titles to get this far with a single writer, along with Batman, Batman Beyond, and Flash.
#120 brings us one last DC anthology to wrap the year, as the villain-focused New Year’s Evil selling 16K. This is roughly the area these 9.99 anthologies sell, but this one had some a-list creators including the return of Kurt Busiek to DC that may have driven sales up a little.
Glenn: Plus villains have been hot this year, we can’t forget that. I never would expected Busiek returning to DC so yeah, that likely got some attention. Once again as we say when one of these comes out, given how they’re priced and how good they are, there’s no reason for DC to stop them.
The newest launch from BOOM in Red Mother hits the charts at 123 selling over 16k. While its not the runaway hit of recent offerings from Tynion IV and Gillan that’s still a great debut as it outsells every Image title not Spawn or Undiscovered Country. Last year was a very big game changer for BOOM and this year they could very well make even more growth if they play their cards right.
Ray: This title didn’t have a superstar creative team, and the writer Jeremy Haun is currently dealing with some controversy over the abrupt cancellation of The Beauty. Given that, this performed not just well it probably performed above what it would have done as an Image book. That’s another win for Boom.
Glenn: A facsimile edition of Star Wars 1 is at 124 selling over 15.8k which is very good for old material. I’m not sure if this is the newer run or the classic run but either way, its free money for Marvel on older material.
At 125 is the next Hill House comic, The Low, Low Woods which sells over 15.8k here but also another 6.6kish at 263 for a card stock variant meaning it actually sold over 22.4ish which is a brilliant number for a brand new horror property. This would not have done nearly well as a Vertigo mini which it most likely was repurposed from. This line has been a big hit under the Black Label umbrella.
Ray: This didn’t have an A-list talent like Joe Hill or a superstar comic team like Carey/Gross, but writer Carmen Maria Machado has a pretty big following herself. The line as a whole seems to be solid gold sales-wise, and next month brings a fourth title with art by horror maestro Kelley Jones.
Glenn: Star Wars Saga is a retelling of the story that has been told in the main title since it relaunched a few years back. This isn’t even old material, its telling what it is in old material so sales of over 15.3k at 127 is pretty damn good considering that.
Dying Is Easy, a new creator owned comic by Joe Hill not from DC but IDW sells over 14.7k at 131. IDW has less of a reach obviously than DC so its no surprise it sells lower than the Hill House stuff but this is a very good number from IDW who have likely benefited by Joe Hill’s increased presence in comics at DC and some of his work getting adapted. They’re obviously waiting for the Locke and Key money to come pouring in early February.
Ray: That’s one of the best creator-owned IDW debuts in a while. Power of Hill!
Glenn: At 132 is a video game tie in with Marvels Avengers Iron Man which sells over 14.3 which is pretty good for a throwaway other media tie in. The game itself seems to have some genuine hype behind it given how hot the Avenger’s property is in larger media so anything like this will get a small piece of that.
Ray: The game got delayed and doesn’t have a built-in fanbase yet, so that probably blunted sales a bit. Spider-Man gameverse this is not.
Glenn: A new Black Hammer universe comic launches in the form of Skulldigger and Skeleton Boy which sells over 13.7k at 137 which makes me giggle slightly. This is slightly higher than the last few Black Hammer spin offs have done so there might be some float over from the Justice League crossover but nothing unusually out there. The entire universe of comics is remarkably solid and Dark Horse’s crown jewel at the moment.
Ray: Like Doctor Star, this is one of those that takes place outside the main Black Hammer narrative. It’s a gritty non-powered vigilante story, essentially “Punisher and Robin“. It’s the least marketable concept from the franchise yet on the face, so that it did so well is a testament to how strong the franchise has become.
Glenn: Right below it at 138 is another Lemire property in Family Tree which sells over 13.5k on its second issue losing roughtly about 8k in sales. That’s not too bad I don’t think and it isn’t that far away from Image hits like Oblivion Song and Die so another win from the Rabbitt Stew 2019 creator of the year.
Ray: This one sort of seems to have slipped under the radar compared to Lemire’s normal hype, but this is still a strong number.
Glenn: New Image launch at 146 in 20xx, the new Luna property which sells over 12.7k. The Luna’s have their own set loyal fanbase, its clear that Image must be happy with how their books perform because they keep green lighting them. It’ll probably settle around 8-9k which is where their books usually land but they usually do very well in collections thereafter.
Ray: This is a black-and-white mature readers thriller from a writer making her comic book debut, so I’d say everyone involved is very happy with this number.
Glenn: Around 15-20 years ago Annihilation the first hit and it got a lot of cult love, now Marvel is revisiting the event but also doing some True Believers starting with Nova at 147 selling over 12.6k which again is just more free money. This is especially impressive considering this material has got a lot of reprinting love over the last decade or so.
A return of one of Greg Rucka’s rotating cast of properties at 156 in the form of Old Guard Force Multiplied with sales over 11.8k. It seems retailers will know who will be coming in to buy this so that’s why its not higher given it’ll have a set fanbase.
Ray: This is one of Rucka’s least-known properties and it’s been years since the first volume, but a Netflix adaptation is coming. I think all of Rucka’s series do better in collections.
Glenn: Some more reorders for Hickman’s 1st X-Men issue at 157 selling over 11.8k in additional copies. Insane stuff.
Superman Smashes The Klan sells over 11.4k at 161 for its second issue which is pretty good for a Golden Age set Superman story that is a passion project from its writer. This will sell oodles in collections outside the direct market for years to come so its largely moot anyway.
Ray: It was apparently designed as an OGN for the Zoom line originally, but was too big for a single volume. This wasn’t meant for the single issues market in more ways than one.
Glenn: At 162 is a comic that Image should be ashamed to have its logo on. It sells over 11.2k likely cause of the controversy surrounding it and morbid curiosity. If I was a retailer who had ordered this I would have returned it with specific instructions on what Image can do with it.
Ray: The less said about this, the better, but these are pretty mediocre sales. Even for those who don’t know it’s a self-justifying treatise from a domestic abuser, it looks like a thoroughly generic werewolf comic.
Glenn: Cheap reprints of old comics from DC this time in Birds Of Prey selling over 10.8k cause there’s a movie coming out. Its old material so its no big deal how it sells but it likely didn’t do better cause it has no Harley Quinn and features characters I know are named in the trailers but I have to see any true sign of yet in the footage or posters.
More True Believers Annihilation stuff at 166 for Super Skrull which sells over 10.7k, Annihilius at 172 which sells over 10.4k, Super Adaptoid (seriously?) at 176 selling over 10.3k and Moondragon (seriously?!?) at 178 selling over 10.2k . Shelf space takers which make money for very little production cost. There are more of them this month, I just feel lazy.
A facsimile edition of Jack Kirby’s original Eternals 1 at 168 selling over 10.6k I thought might have caught a bit more interest from people who you know have no clue who these characters are and wanted to prep prior to the upcoming films.
Ray: Almost as if there’s a movie coming or something!
Glenn: The second issue of Mirka Andolfo’s horny devil comic, Unsacred sells over 10.2k at 177 which is remarkably good considering the content, the size of the publisher and that its just a translation off existing material. The upcoming Mercy which has much more of a general material could be a big hit for Image in the new year.
Ray: Yeah, Andolfo’s star is rising like a shooting star based on these numbers. Image has got to be really glad they have a working relationship with her.
Glenn: A DC giant focusing on the duo of Batwoman and Supergirl with the title ‘world’s finest’ sells over 9.8k at 185. Might have expected a shade more but this isn’t for the direct market so it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.
Ray: This is a one-shot, which means DC is mostly trying to raise awareness of the two ladies’ comics for fans of the shows, I think.
Glenn: Publisher Ablaze reprints European comic, Gung Ho which charts at 200 with sales over 9k which is remarkably good from a company I’ve never heard of. The marketing really pushes similarities to Walking Dead which people seem to have bought into so good for them.
Ray: I didn’t know this was a European comic, but it’s been a lot of fun so far – essentially a radical teen rebel version of The Walking Dead. Between this, Unsacred, and Vampire State Building, Ablaze is having a really good time right out of the gate.
Glenn: I forgot about Ablaze doing Vampire State building, they are out of the gate pretty solidly then. To have a new company show up on the top 200 or so this early is a very impressive achievement.
Vampironica returns in a new series at 204 which sells over 8.9k which is pretty standard for Archie stuff now, especially the more weird and wacky takes on the property.
Ray: As much as they’ve watered down the horror line with spinoffs, it’s still their most consistent seller.
Glenn: One of Dark Horse’s bread and butter properties, Alien Vs Predator returns at 211 with Thicker Than Blood, a new mini pairing off the iconic space horrors. The concept is long past its glory days, selling over 8.7k but its likely to have a continued cult fanbase that Dark Horse can rely on to make it worth their while carrying it on for the time being.
Ray: Dark Horse and Disney still have good working relations, so I imagine the license for these two will stay with them for now.
Glenn: Absolutely, this isn’t Star Wars, Predator hasn’t had a peak since the 80’s and has been coasting ever since. If they wanted to do Guardians vs Predator though…
Some reorders for the new X-Men line books in New Mutants at 223 selling over 8.1k additional, X-Force selling over 8k additional at 224 and Excalibur at 227 selling over 7.9k. This is one that’ll be fine for a while to say the least.
Eternals: Secrets From Marvel Universe seems to be more material going into background on the obscure Marvel property in prep for the movie. It sells over 8k at 226. This is essentially a handbook so sales this low, especially on a more obscure property (movie or no movie) are to be expected.
Ray: Almost as if there’s a movie coming, etc etc.
At #228 is Boom’s annual event from Grant Morrison and Dan Mora, Klaus: The Life and Times of Joe Christmas. It sells 7.9K, very low for a Morrison book, but given that this is a 7.99 silent Christmas book based on a series that ended its regular run five years ago, it’s a good number. It seems like this is going to be a yearly tradition as long as they want to do it.
Glenn: Since it has become an annual thing and presumingly the main narrative is over, this is probably just the diehard fanbase for the property. I also like to think Morrison keeps doing these just to deprive our Rabbitt Stew friend Brandon James of the complete collection he so covets.
Ray: Almost 8K in reorders for the second issue of Scream: Curse of Carnage at #231. Seems this odd franchise fusing two B-list Venom characters does have some real heat behind it.
Glenn: I would say B list is generous which makes it even more impressive.
Ray: At #236 is a new Valiant launch, The Visitor. This sells 7.5K, but it’s an odd one. It’s the debut of DC legend Paul Levitz at the company, but doesn’t feature any existing Valiant characters. The main character is a masked antihero whose identity will be revealed later. That sort of makes this series a guessing game for retailers.
Glenn: What an odd one. Levitz hasn’t contributed to a comic in quite some time so his name won’t be pulling in many new fans to this universe I’d say. This seems like pretty set level Valient which is fine in itself. No nasty surprises.
Ray: Proving you never know when a reprint will crop up again, at #243 we find 7,3K in reorders for Secret Wars #1. Yes, the Hickman event from over five years ago. Is this just due to interest in anything Hickman right now? Or are we in for a mass of stock dumping below? Stay strong, true believers…
Glenn: It might be because of X-Men? Its hard to tell with Marvel what’s genuine and what isn’t sadly.
Ray: At #246 we have 7.2K in sales for a facsimile edition of Giant Size Defenders #3, which as I can tell is the first appearance of Korvac. What won’t Marvel do a facsimile of?
Glenn: The Sins Remembered story.
Ray: Dynamite reboots James Bond again, this time by Vita Ayala and Danny Lore, and it debuts at #247 with sales of 7.1K. This run didn’t seem to get the hype of the just-concluded Greg Pak one that rebooted Oddjob, and the lack of time between them probably didn’t help.
Glenn: Retailers likely just ordered it as a continuation, diminishing returns and all that. You would have thought they would have waited until the new film is out because we’re bound to get yet another number 1 then to try and get some heat off that.
Ray: At #249 we have the return of one of the best creator-owned books in recent years, Harrow County. Cullen Bunn’s rural horror masterpiece is back for a new miniseries, Tales from Harrow County: Death’s Choir, set a decade after the original series. It sells 7.1K, well above where the series concluded and proving there’s some interest in a revival.
Glenn: Harrow County was a solidly performing series and this spin off/sequel is the same. The books seems to do well in collections with Dark Horse. We often mention that Lemire and Magnola are keeping the lights on at Dark Horse but Bunn isn’t far behind.
Ray: One of Image’s longest-running series, Hack/Slash, has a 15th-anniversary celebration one-shot that sells 7.1K at #250. Tim Seeley came back to his original creation, which probably helped boost the sales here.
#257 has one of the lowest-selling DC books in recent memory, Inferior Five by Jeff Lemire and Keith Giffen. It sells 6.8K with the bump from the launch worn off, which led DC to end the series after six. Disappointing. Lemire will probably stick to Black Label for his offbeat DC books from now on.
Glenn: Even with a creator like Lemire, a book like this can only go so far under the main line. Like you said, Lemire’s future at DC is likely bound for the different lines like Black Label or maybe even Zoom or something like that.
Ray: Another IDW creator-owned book at #261, as the period piece horror series Wellington launches with sales of 6.6K. This one is co-written by the creator of the hit podcast Lore, but IDW still has trouble with creator-owned launches (more on that…lay-tor)
Glenn: Unless your Joe Hill that seems to be the case. IDW has become known largely as a property farm rather than a creator owned haven like Image or what BOOM is becoming.
Ray: A new Dungeons and Dragons miniseries, Infernal Tides, launches from IDW with sales of 6.5K. Standard sales from a cult property.
Dark Horse launches a new WW2-set horror series, The Butcher of Paris, at #269. This was loosely based on real events and has gotten strong reviews, but the 6.2K sales show Dark Horse still has trouble launching new series unless they’re by Lemire.
More Annihilation at #272, as the oversized Marvel Tales collection sells 6.1K. More essentially free sales for Marvel.
The prequel issue to the mostly reviled Civil War II charts again at #275, selling 5.9K, It’s beginning to smell a lot like stock-dumping…
Glenn: Its the end of the fourth quarter, got to get those dust gatherers out the door to make your market share larger than it is!
Ray: Another new IDW creator-owned book, The Kill Lock, launches at #276 with sales of 5.8K. This is essentially The Dirty Dozen with droids, about a dangerous escape from a robot penal colony, but it slipped under the radar despite being released on the last week of the month when only a selection of books were dropped.
Glenn: This sounds like a great concept and may have done better elsewhere bit it’s hard to tell. By the end of 2020 I would wager we’ll see less creator owned from IDW but more licensed stuff from big daddy Marvel.
Ray: IDW has been doing comics from all areas of Star Trek, but the middle series are the ones that definitely get less attention. At #282 we have a Voyager one-shot, selling Mirrors and Smoke, selling 5.6K. I don’t know the last time I heard someone talk about Voyager.
Glenn: I’m assuming this a mirror universe version of the crew, they did one of Next Gen so decided to do this property too. Apart from the upcoming return of Seven Of Nine on Picard, Voyager is not really at the forefront of the Trek fandom. It doesn’t get the deep love that Next Gen does or the outright hatred that Enterprise did. It was very good, even excellent at times but mostly its treated as…kind of there.
Ray: 5.5K in reorders for Undiscovered Country #1 at #285, as this monster hit of a comic keeps on chugging.
Just before we exit the top 300, we have the debut of Kill Whitey Donovan from Dark Horse, selling 4.6K. Essentially a feminist hybrid of Kill Bill and Django Unchained, this comic had a promising concept but no name creators and got lost in the shuffle.
An incredibly low debut for Hardcore: Reloaded from Image, selling just under 4.5K at #301. This book got a new writer in Brandon Thomas, but the body-swapping thriller didn’t get too much buzz in the first volume and it seems to have shed most of it when it switched talent.
At #304 we have a comic adaptation of the hit Netflix series Narcos, selling 4.3K. I’m not sure a fact-based drug war drama is the best fit for translating to comics.
Glenn: What an odd show to do a comic about. Spin off’s of TV shows rarely do well in comic form unless they have a strong built in geek audience that lean that way anyway (Buffy or Stranger Things for example) but I would say most people who would be interest in this will just watch the show. Financially it makes more sense to pay 5.99 for a month or two to binge the whole thing rather than pay 3.99 a month for who knows how long until its all retold.
Ray: Stock dumping continues apace, as books like Iceman #6, Avengers #672, X-Men Gold #13, and random issues of Secret Wars get about 4K in reorders around this point.
Glenn: Why Iceman 6 I wonder. What if someone has been waiting for Iceman 4 and not been able to find it? Are they out of luck? Poor Iceman 4 person, we feel your pain.
Ray: IDW repackages some of their Star Wars Adventures comics in a dollar comic called Greatest Hits, just in time for the last movie. It sells 3.7K at #323 as IDW gets into the Marvel game of selling their comics more than once. I hope none of the kids who picked up this book visited any Star Wars message forums after the movie came out…
Glenn: Or Twitter or Facebook or general street conversation. We won’t get into toxic fandom here, By The Numbers is a place of peace!
Ray: The cult Dark Horse property Criminal Macabre launches a new series at #326, with sales of 3.6. “The Big Bleed Out” is probably going to stay pretty stable for the series overall, as retailers know who wants it.
#327 has a new installment of AOC and the Freshman Force Squad, selling 3.6K. No word of any copyright infringement lawsuits for this one yet.
Glenn: I was about to say this is at least better than another Trump comic but I think its probably about the same. Can’t wait for the adventures of Captain Brexit.
Ray: #330 brings us the launch of Sina Grace’s new cyberpunk detective thriller, Read Only Memories, another creator-owned launch from IDW that didn’t click with a bigger audience. Grace is a fast-rising writer with DC and Marvel work and a hit book at Boom, so I’m surprised it didn’t do more than 3.4K.
Glenn: It’s likely just because of where IDW is in the creator owned game. Had this launched elsewhere it likely would have done a lot better.
Ray: #331 has the space horror thriller Angela Della Morte, selling 3.4K from Red 5 Comics. This is a weird book, but I’m pretty sure the startup company is just happy to be here.
Glenn: Ahoy Red 5! Welcome to the north wing of the madhouse section of the top 500. There is cake around the corner and to the left.
Titan continues to put out English translations of the manga adaptions of BBC’s mega popular Sherlock in the first issue of Sherlock In Belgravia which sells over 3.3k at 333. That’s a lot of 3’s! It’ll be die hard Sherlock fans that want this I guess but like most manga, it likely does a lot better in collected formats.
There’s a zero issue for IDW’s version of Marvel Team Up which chose to take the much more convoluted name of Marvel Action Classics Spider-Man Two-In-One. A bit odd since Marvel Two-In-One was the Thing’s team up book but you know, whatever. It sells over 3.2k at 336. As usual these are comics aimed outside the direct market that daddy Disney IDW can reach better than Marvel…which is right of course.
Remember last years Marvel Knights 20th overseen by Donny Cates? Of course you don’t! The one shot that kicked it off shows up randomly at 342 selling over 2.9k. I guess they were gathering up space in a closet at Marvel HQ.
IDW is getting into the facimilie game with Star Trek: The Motion Picture adaption at 345 selling over 2.8k. Since this is one of the weaker films and its a reprint of existing material, its a little less free money than what Marvel or DC enjoys on such things but it is free money none the less.
Spawn 300 is still getting some reorders a few months later 349 selling over 2.7k in additional copies. Image really made this one seemingly near unmissable.
Also selling around 2.7k is Archie’s Christmas spectacular which is our standard point in the charts where this is classic Archie reprinted and the sales here don’t ultimately matter very much. Tune in next month for the same.
Among some stock dumping and low selling small press is Stabbity Ever After at 361 selling over 2.2k. This is the follow up to Stabbity Bunny which didn’t do too badly too long ago. I guess the joke wore thin.
Speaking of stock dumping, I forgot that Marvel tried to make the comic Mosaic a thing. They brushed that under the rug faster than whatshisface from Civil War II. The excess stock was over 2.1k that Marvel enforced upon retailers who likely wondered what the hell it was.
Now I’m confused, there’s another Stabbity Bunny comic? Stabbity Bunny: Emmets story sells over 2k at 372. Ray! Explain! I shouldn’t have this much of a headache over a bunny which stabs people!
Ray: There is never enough Stabbity Bunny, Glenn! But yes, these are two separate one-shots expanding the universe before the main series returns. The bunny murder universe.
Glenn: Mickey and Donald Christmas Parade is more young reader stuff from IDW that will sell elsewhere. Here it does over 2k at 373.
Steve Niles delivers a new horror comic that has an association from John Carpenter in the form of Storm Kids Monica Belue Welwolf Story at 1.7k at 392 from Storm King press. I would have thought Niles name would have been good for a few more sales but this seems like a brand new company so again, they’re probably thrilled to be here.
Ray: That name is certainly a mouthful. The publisher is so small even two huge names couldn’t really help.
Glenn: Source Point comic homages Eerie Comics in the form of Classic Pulp Horror at 393. Given how horror is likely the number 2 genre in comics right now I would have thought this might have done a little better than 393 but Source Point only has so much reach at the moment.
Ray: I’m sure the outdated name really didn’t help when making retailers want to order this.
Glenn: Christopher Sabela delivers a one shot from Scout Comics in the form of Eskimo Kisses which is another horror book, this time from Scout which sells over 1.6k at 395. Again I might have expected a little more given the name involved and the genre but its likely just the reach of the publisher at this point.
MAD (not sure if from ‘the magazine’ fame) come in at 400 with Over The Ropes, the pro wrestling crime story that actually seems really interesting. If they’re just new or even MAD magazine stretching out then the sales over 1.5k aren’t too big a surprise. Happy to be here again and I can see this one getting some traction in collections.
Ray: It’s from Mad Cave Studios, and it did an additional 1K or so for a special preview edition last month. So I think this is a hit for the small company. This feels like one of those that could be a sleeper hit.
Glenn: Breathers, another comic with promise debuts from ‘It’s Alive!‘(??!??!?!?!?) selling over 1.4k at 406. Initially I thought this was another one lost in the shuffle but a variant cover drawn by Jeff Lemire and Matt Kindt also shows up at 443 selling over 1.1k meaning combined sales of around 2.5k which isn’t two shabby at all, especially when its priced at 2.99.
Ray: Breathers is It’s Alive’s first ongoing series and it’s endorsed by Kindt and Lemire, so I think this is a great outing for the small company. It’s kind of a prestige company, but they’ve got some amazing names working for them out of the gate like Craig Thompson and Madson.
Glenn: Vark Thing One Shot at 408 selling over 1.4k. Stay classy Dave.
Ray: I’m sure it’s a tasteful comic about the anthropology of primitive humans and the role of women in primordial society.
Glenn: Reorders for Deaths Of Vic Sage at 410 meaning it sells an additional 1.4k copies. Not quite the barnstormer than some of the other ones in terms of reorders but obviously there’s interest here.
Among other small reorders, much stock dumping (mostly the Amazing Spider-Man Hunted one shots, shock and horror) is Seance Room from Source Point which sells over 1.2k at 422. This was originally a Kickstarter book so most of the interested readers likely have this and again, Source Point outreach. This one also looks very interesting.
Getting into the true meaning of the festive season we have Scary Christmas at 423 selling over 1.2k from American Mythology. This is a mature themed horror anthology with a Christmas theme. Bit of an unusual one for American Anthology to go for such a specialist part of the small audience they usually have access to.
A lot of stock dumping around this level from Marvel, you can’t fool us Marvel!
Some reorders for BOOM’s Folklords at 426 selling over 1.2k. Not the runaway success of Once and Future or Something Is Killing The Children but there is some interest here.
Next spot that isn’t a low selling ongoing or stock dumping is the one shot Seeress Reckless from Source Point selling over 1k at 451. This is another former kickstarter that likely had most of its primary audience get the book there.
Mostly reorders down here and stock dumping until we get to 487 and Cavewoman: Terror in the Skies from Basement that sells 758 copies. I see they named their company after where their output likely belongs, that’s nice.
At 495 is Deadly Ten Presents….Sorority Babes. It sells 722 copies. I want to go home.
Ray: Sounds sexy. I’m sure they have a lovely pillow fight and no one gets murdered.
Glenn: This months last book at spot 500 is some reorders for Countdown: Picard which picks up additional 696 orders. The TV show is amazing so I think people will want to go back and check this out, I know I do.
Ray: A testament to the hype for the TV series! IDW is getting the most out of the Trek license these days.
Looking ahead to 2020, it’s kind of a quiet month to start the year. DC is wrapping up a couple of runs, with the headliners this month probably being the giant-sized Wonder Woman #750 (can it come close to the success of the #1000 issues?) and the debut of James Tynion on Batman. We’ve also got the launch of the fourth Hill House book, the gothic mystery Daphne Byrne.
Over at Marvel, we’ve got a lot more material. Surprise surprise. New Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy runs kick off with what are sure to be big numbers, and the Iron Man 2020 event kicks off by Slott and Gage. The Ravencroft mini-event launches, and we get most of the “The End” one-shots from top creators. A sequel to Earth X, Marvels X, debuts, and a bunch of new minis featuring characters from Hawkeye to Namor jockey for space. Oh, and a little book called Star Wars relaunches.
Over at Image, there are some small launches like Protector and The Clock, the return of Sex Criminals from a long hiatus, and a few books ramping up for the finish. Otherwise, it should be a quiet month as companies hold their powder for a big 2020.
What will rise? What will fall? Find out next month on…By the Numbers!
Liked what you read? Have any questions or concerns? Let us know here or on Twitter @glenn_matchett and @raygoldfield!
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