The market has stated that many fans - not all of them but a sizable minority - prefer to buy comics digitally, so long as the price is reasonable, and in trade paper back style chunks of 4-6 issues of material (88 - 142 pages). The latter should be obvious; Japan has only sold manga like that for merely the last 40 years, and manga volumes still sell IN THE MILLIONS over there. The sales of ONE PIECE make all but that Obama ASM issue cringe. However, the big two are dragging their heels about this; DC is experimenting with original graphic novels, but is no longer keeping many trades in print. Marvel, in so many words, would rather trade buyers die in a fire, as they needlessly discourage "trade waiters" by releasing mini-HC's for an extra $5 to encourage monthly sales. Only this doesn't happen; it simply discourages readers. The success of RUNAWAYS - a series that was canceled monthly, yet gained so many new readers via cheaply sold ($7.99) and easily accessed digest trades that it was resurrected for another two volumes - was apparently such an accident that Marvel has made no effort to learn and duplicate it. Same as their accidental success with relaunching THOR - after a 3-4 year wait and a then hot writer signaled that Marvel would NOT revive the franchise until it was both missed and "important" - is forgotten as Marvel seeks to relaunch MOON KNIGHT and PUNISHER and BLACK PANTHER 3-6 months after their last attempt fades. Marvel is a company where they cynically plan for under-performance and cancellations, but when success arrives BY PURE ACCIDENT, they don't even TRY to reverse engineer it, or, heaven forbid, change their 25 year old strategies for a bold, new century. Obviously new strategies need to be tried, but the big two are so invested in the old that they basically have to cling to the Titannic as it sinks down.
I digress.
Yes, sales right now are low. Many blame it on the lack of a "big event", although the ability of "big events" to boost sales for any but the top books or one mini series beyond a couple of months has faded since 2006. And even then, it was merely steroids for sales, and at this time the market could be stroking out. Who knew that employing the same strategies over and over with no variation for years would grow stale, right? It is something when the top sellers can't brake above 72k, and no books can sell above 80k or 90k for long, beyond stunts. Bendis Avengers books can't even break the 64k barrier anymore. The hottest writer in the biz is still bleeding readers at a clip of 4 figures a month (the drop between 1/11 and 2/11 for AVENGERS is roughly 1200 copies). NEW AVENGERS doesn't look so "new" anymore. We are returning to the days when 70k was a high water mark - 2001-2002, basically.
ASM is holding steady. The .1 issue spiked upwards, but frankly, the first issue of ASM in any given month is usually the best selling. It still is averaging about 53k, which has been its overall average for two years now. It can spike upward for a heavily promoted story or a hot creative team, but it has usually never fallen below 52k for long per issue since BRAND NEW DAY started. It actually has been one of Marvel's more consistent sellers over that stretch.
ONSLAUGHT UNLEASHED #1 debuts at over 28k. That is probably only slightly better than where YOUNG ALLIES debuted last year, but better is still better. It is essentially the second arc of YOUNG ALLIES shoved into an Onslaught series Sean McKeever intended to get to with crazy glue.
SPIDER-GIRL is not looking healthy. By the third issue it is barely selling over 15k, and it didn't have a very strong debut. What a surprise, an ASM spin off has not been supported by the market - which has been a fact since about Joe Q took over. Issue #7 has been solicited for April, although as the artist for that issue has been listed as TBA, it could always be canceled last notice, same as YOUNG ALLIES #7 was. Not only is this a poor seller, it cannot hang onto a regular artist - another sure sign of a dead book walking. It is a perfectly enjoyable book, but apparently fans were not ready for ARANA 2.0.
On the other hand, sales for AVENGERS ACADEMY are becoming more stable. Issue 9 sold 23,709 copies, which is roughly 300 copies below where issue 8 sold. Many comics flip flop by a few hundred copies per month anyway as retailers try to figure out where the sales level is. It is possible this comic could hang tough a bit, as NOVA, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY and RUNAWAYS did for years. To Marvel's credit, while they took their time, April figures to be part of their attempt to hype the book. The characters will get an extra one-shot, an appearance in the steady selling ASM, and a devotion to a 5 issue FEAR ITSELF tie in. Still, Marvel mostly left the book to fend for itself for roughly a year, beyond the debut and the Giant-Man issue. We always lament when Marvel doesn't try to build interest for a good book, and at least this time they are - same as they tried for ages with Jeff Parker's AGENTS OF ATLAS. The first collection of AA#1-6 went on sale in January, but it didn't sell amazingly well - barely over 900 copies. Why? Marvel would deny it (David Gabriel can't even trust HIMSELF to issue a proper press release that isn't denied weeks later), but I imagine the needless HC edition, which tacked on an extra $5 to the price, likely didn't help. Maybe they should go the digest route? The same route that worked well to sell RUNAWAYS, and even SENTINEL? The route that actually has a history of SUCCESS? But, what do I know, right? I honestly believe Marvel so cynically plans for failure and under performance that any successful strategy flabbergasts them - like the nerd who doesn't know what to say when a girl says, "Yes, I would love to go to a movie with you."
A reprint for FF #587 - the Death Bag issue - sells over 23k, or better than many Marvel titles properly. That's amazing. The only success Marvel replicates is success in the short term with death issues, crossover stunts, renumberings, relaunches, and events. Sort of like the baseball hitter that only focuses on a home run, and not on a single, a bunt, running hard, etc. The flash and not the fundamentals excite them, and I think that says a lot.
SILVER SURFER #1 sells at 24k. Hmm. Not the worst launch, but not a good one. I doubt it'll see a year.
HEROES FOR HIRE #3 is at 22k, which is better than SPIDER-GIRL but still not out of the danger zone if sales don't get steady. Usually when sales for an ongoing dip below 18-19k with no end in sight, Marvel pulls the plug. Not even Iron Man's B-title (IRON MAN LEGACY) lasted 12 issues lately. On the other hand, the sales drop between issue #2 and #3 was under 900 copies, which is a sign that they could become stable.
THUNDERBOLTS seems to be selling about where it did before SIEGE, and has held steady above 26k for two months now, with drops only in the triple digits per month. Not bad for a series that has been around as long as that one has. It remains one of few titles selling better than it was 5 years ago, actually.
THOR slipped about 700-800 copies between 1/11 and 2/11. Still, Fraction's run has resulted in sales for THOR reaching 1-3 year lows at north of 42k. In the last 6 months, sales have slid 19.6%. In fact, I think when THOR was hovering around these sales years ago, they killed him off. His title will be relaunched as MIGHTY THOR, which will spike sales for exactly one issue (three at best) and then slip back where THOR left off. Bet on it. For such a big name, why is Gillen outselling him on THOR? Was it because Gillen had SIEGE at his back, or because he wasn't rubbish?
Never a good sign when a ridiculously numbered one shot, WOLVERINE #1000, outsells a regular Wolvie title, WOLVERINE: THE BEST THERE IS by a fairly wide margin (about 6,000 copies). Wolverine is a franchise that has been completely stretched thin and apart due to over indulgence and tinkering with his ongoing to try to build DAKEN. Yet does Marvel see the writing on the wall? No. Sales will only get uglier for side Wolverine material and his spawn, but Marvel will still treat him like an A-Lister. Dude, GREEN ARROW sells better than some Wolverine books. Green ****ing Arrow. Move the **** on and see reality, Marvel! Stick Wolverine to one book and at best his kids may have back-ups. The market can no longer support a family of some 4-5 Wolverine titles. It simple can't, and won't, and hasn't, for YEARS. The NEW MUTANTS outsell Wolverine material, for heaven's sakes.
POWER MAN AND IRON FIST #1, a five issue mini, debuts above 27k. To be frank, Marvel has had genuine debuts of ongoing series sell about that well; HAWKEYE & MOCKINGBIRD, for instance. Still, even in down months, it may likely finish below the Top 100. Enjoy it while you can. I doubt Fred Van Lente is getting an ongoing out of it.
I do think it says a lot when X-MEN LEGACY by Mike Carey is outselling UNCANNY X-MEN with Fraction's name still attached, even if only by about 55 copies. Matt Fraction may not be the super-star he used to be. Why not reward him with his own event series?
Actually, if we are looking at this month's totals, Marvel's second best selling writer of an ongoing series is Dan Slott. He certainly is one of Marvel's Top 5 selling writers these days, at least on ASM. He's come a long way.
Still, in many ways, as ICV2 noted, the "midlist" - the titles that sell between 59k and 20k - are showing a lot of stability. That is often where Marvel routinely outsells DC, after all. They're still dropping sales, but many by 1,000 copies or less, which isn't too shabby. Marvel needs to figure out a way to get all but the most hardcore fans back for more than 1-6 months at a time. Might it be by employing a strategy that last worked in the 2000's and not 1972? Just a thought, fellas.
