Marvel's Business

[euroq]

http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=32676

MARVEL: FROM COMIC PUBLISHER TO MOVIE PRODUCTION HOUSE

According to Variety, Paramount is throwing its hat in the superhero movie ring with Marvel, signing an exclusive distribution deal with the company for upcoming movies based on the publisher’s characters. 10 films are in the pipe as a result of the deal, including Captain America and Nick Fury.

What will be different with these films and this relationship is that Paramount will distribute the films to theaters – Marvel will produce, which will be a new stage for the company to enter into. The deal will put virtually full creative control back into Marvel’s hands, as theirs will be the money being put up for the projects. Likewise, the possible return for Marvel on these films will be significantly higher than on other projects which were produced by studios other than Marvel.

To do thism Marvel has already amassed a production war chest of around $500 million, which will the company to produce a slate of movies based on characters which already don’t have deals in the works (the 4,700 – 5,000 characters Marvel touts in its press releases). To fund the films, Marvel has established a $525 million revolving credit facility with Merrill Lynch Commercial Finance Corporation. The credit was secured against the movie rights to 10 Marvel characters, including Captain America.

As a result, Paramount will not have to put up any money for production, but instead, will be paid by Marvel for marketing and distributing the initial 10 films.

Reportedly, budgets for the upcoming films may range as high as $180 million. The first movie of the deal (yet unnamed) is slated to hit in two years, according to the trade, and all the films will be rated PG or PG-13 to ensure the largest audience.

Some observers are comparing Marvel's move akin to something that puts the company on smiliar footing as Pixar. While Marvel does not have it's own studio in which to shoot the films, both companies own a profitable collection of characters, produce their own films, and (now) see them distributed by larger studios.

Marvel's press release for the deal reads:

Marvel Enterprises, Inc. and Paramount Pictures, a part of the entertainment operations of Viacom, Inc. (NYSE: VIA and VIAB) announced that they have entered into an agreement under which Paramount will distribute a slate of feature films to be produced by Marvel. Marvel also announced a new, non-recourse financing facility to be provided by Merrill Lynch Commercial Finance Corp. that will allow the company to produce its own slate of feature films based on its renowned comic book characters.

"We are excited to be building our own film slate, and to be doing so using non-recourse financing," said Avi Arad, Chairman and CEO, Marvel Studios. "Paramount Pictures has the most collaborative and creative team in the business to help us market our films. Under its new leadership, we've found Paramount to be exceptional in every way and look forward to working together for a long, long time."

"Marvel has become a marquee entertainment brand," said Brad Grey, Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures. "It speaks to Marvel's strength in the marketplace and the great popularity of its brand and characters that Marvel can obtain such innovative financing for its film slate. We are thrilled to partner with them in this new venture."

Marvel has obtained a financing commitment from Merrill Lynch Commercial Finance Corp. for a $525 million non-recourse revolving credit facility over seven years to permit Marvel to fund the production of its film slate. The facility will be secured by the theatrical and motion picture production and distribution rights for ten Marvel characters. The non-recourse element of the structure limits Marvel's cash risk to un-reimbursed development costs and general incremental overhead.

Marvel expects that producing its own slate of films will permit it to obtain greater participation in all revenue streams related to its films and the opportunity to begin building its own film library. The finance structure will also allow Marvel to receive a producer fee for each film and retain all merchandising revenues. Paramount will receive a distribution fee for each film it distributes and will retain worldwide distribution rights in sequels to the films covered under the agreement.

The distribution agreement between Paramount and Marvel specifies that Marvel may deliver up to ten films to Paramount over an eight-year period, with the first titles including "Captain America" and "Nick Fury." Marvel's budgets for each film may range from $45 million to $180 million. The first picture is expected to be released in 2007 or 2008. Paramount will not contribute to production costs, although it will provide advance funding of promotion and advertising for the films.

Marvel's financing is subject to numerous contingencies, including
the negotiation of definitive financing and distribution agreements. There is no assurance that the financing will be completed.

Relativity Management, Inc. assisted Marvel with the structuring of the financing.

So Marvel will get more creative control over their movies, bigger profits and of course, bigger risks.

 

[euroq]

http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=32677

MARVEL, LEE SETTLE

Press Release

Marvel and Stan Lee Settle All Outstanding Litigation

Marvel Enterprises, Inc. announced today that it has settled all pending litigation with Stan Lee. The settlement agreement covers the lawsuit filed by Mr. Lee in November 2002 in which Mr. Lee claimed entitlement, under an agreement with Marvel, to a participation in Marvel's profits from various sources, including the Spider-Man movies and other film and television productions that utilize Marvel characters. The settlement covers Mr. Lee's participation claim for both past and any potential future payments. Specific terms of the settlement agreement were not disclosed.

John Turitzin, Marvel's General Counsel, said, "Stan is one of the founders of today's comic book industry. We are pleased with the settlement and are happy to have resolved all of our disputes with him."

Eric Green of Resolutions, LLC mediated the settlement.

Lee’s suit, of course, was filed in November of 2002, and in it Lee claimed that Marvel had embarked upon a “shameful scheme” to deprive him of monies from the film versions of characters he’d had a hand in deceloping – a stipulation which was written into his contract in 1998:

“f) In addition, you shall be paid participation equal to 10% of the profits derived during your life by Marvel (including subsidiaries and affiliates) from the profits of any live action or animation television or movie (including ancillary rights) productions utilizing Marvel characters. This participation is not to be derived from the fee charged by Marvel for the licensing of the product or of the characters for merchandise or otherwise. Marvel will compute, account and pay to you your participation due, if any, on account of said profits, for the annual period ending each March 31 during your life, on an annual basis within a reasonable time after the end of each such period.”

In January of this year, the Court sided with Lee, saying in a partial summary judgement that Lee was indeed owed money from the films. At the time, Marvel claimed they would appeal the Court’s decision.

The case became fairly high profile, both within and outside of the comics market, as 60 Minutes featured Lee on two occasions, one prior to the suit, which, some claim, Lee's expressions suggested he was troubled about his relationship with Marvel in light of the very successful string of movies; and one after the suit had been filed.

Both the announcement of Lee's settlement, and that Marvel has entered into a production deal with Paramount which will see Marvel producing its own movies came hours before Marvel released it's Q1 2005 numbers.

 

[iloveclones]

Here's those Q4 numbers:

http://www.marvelcomics.com/company/showarticle.htm?id=65

Q4 2004 Highlights:

· Net sales and operating income increased primarily due to contributions from Marvel’s joint venture (JV) with Sony for Spider-Man movie merchandising and to improved international licensing revenues.

· A shift towards revenues in licensing in Q4 2004 led to company-wide operating margin of 41% compared to 31% in the prior year period.

· A previously recorded valuation allowance associated with state and local NOL carryforwards was eliminated, resulting in a non-cash, non-recurring credit to income tax of approximately $6.2 million ($0.06 per share), reducing the Q4 2004 income tax rate to 12.7%.

· 4Q 2004 reported EPS of $0.27 as compared to $0.12 in the prior year period.

Total licensing operating expenses remained flat at $22.4 million in Q4 2004 compared to $22.1 million in the prior-year period. Accounting for Sony’s minority interest in the Spider-Man movie merchandising joint venture as royalty expense, licensing operating income in the quarter would have been $27.6 million and operating margins for the licensing segment would have been 49% in Q4 2004 compared to 34% in Q4 2003.

· Marvel’s Publishing Segment net sales rose 16% to $22.1 million due to strength in core comic and trade paperbacks as well as growth in new mass-market retail chains. Marvel experienced slight increases in both the number of comic book titles shipped and the average circulation per title in Q4 2004 compared to the prior year period. Excluding the benefit of reductions in reserves, operating income in Q4 2004 would have been $9.9 million, an operating margin of 44%, compared to an operating margin of 38% in the prior-year period.

· Marvel’s Toy Segment net sales decreased 41% to $21.8 million from the prior-year period primarily due to decreased sales of action figures and accessories based on the Lord of The Rings franchise and The Hulk movies. Spider-Man movie toy sales were $14.2 million in Q4 2004 compared with sales of $11.3 million in Q4 2003. As previously disclosed, a planned increase in advertising and promotion expense ahead of the 2004 holiday season, coupled with lower sales volumes, resulted in a year-over-year decline in the operating margins for the toy division from 39% in Q4 2003 to 13% in Q4 2004. Full year 2004 sales of Spider-Man movie toys were $175.3 million, slightly ahead of guidance of $160 million to $170 million. Marvel toy inventory was only $1.3

 

[iloveclones]

Great to hear that they settled with Stan the Man. That was an ongoing embarrasment. The story about Marvel producing its own movies is exciting and scary all at the same time.

 

[iloveclones]

I didn't know if this subject has ever been kicked around before, but this thread seemed like a nice place for it.

I just finished reading Comic Wars, by Dan Raviv, about Marvel's jaunt through bankruptcy court. Really strange to read about what was going on behind the scenes. Also strange to find myself feeling sympathy for the "little guy" in the story (people worth $100s of millions) "Little" because the guys they're up against are worth b-b-b-billions. Have to admit that parts of it went way over my head, but written clearly enough for a non-business person to follow. Anyone else read this, and what did you think? Here's a link to some info on it if you're interested:

http://www.randomhouse.com/features/comicwars/index.html

 

[DBM]

I didn't know if this subject has ever been kicked around before, but this thread seemed like a nice place for it.

I just finished reading Comic Wars, by Dan Raviv, about Marvel's jaunt through bankruptcy court. Really strange to read about what was going on behind the scenes. Also strange to find myself feeling sympathy for the "little guy" in the story (people worth $100s of millions) "Little" because the guys they're up against are worth b-b-b-billions. Have to admit that parts of it went way over my head, but written clearly enough for a non-business person to follow. Anyone else read this, and what did you think? Here's a link to some info on it if you're interested:

http://www.randomhouse.com/features/comicwars/index.html

I bough this book at Barnes and Noble last weekend because it was in the discount area. I haven't read it yet. Once I do, I'll pop back in here and give my opinions.

 

[iloveclones]

Looking forward to it, DBM. I also saw this at Barnes and Nobles, but opted to sign it out of the library. If I can find it in a bargain bin, I may just buy it, though, just so I can reference some of the numbers. Anyone who thinks that Marvel was at it's worst creatively in the mid-90s should check it out. There's a part in there that talks about Marvel (pre-bankruptcy) "contracting" out some of the titles. I'd be curious to find out which titles/issues.

 

[iloveclones]

Donald Thomas pointed out this article by Mark Carlson over in the Spidey Forum, so I thought I'd give a link and copy some of the numbers. Also, does anyone know where there might be a year by year listing of sales or top sales?

Funny Business: A History of the Comics Industry

1942
Captain Marvel 1,000,000 plus
Superman 1,000,000 plus
Walt Disney Comics and Stories 1,000,000
Batman 913,000
Captain America (peak sales, circa 1942) 900,000
All-Star Comics 440,800
Shadow (1941) 400,000
Ace Comics 279,163
King Comics 256,653
Blue Bolt Comics 200,490

1946
Walt Disney Comics and Stories circa 1,800,000
Superman 1,672,169
Batman 1,451,053
Archie Comics (1947) 1,135,324
Captain Marvel 873,820
Crime Does Not Pay 811,087
Whiz Comics 674,106
Topix 600,000
Suzie 586,780
True Comics 572,753

1952
Walt Disney Comics and Stories 2,850,000
Sweethearts (Fawcett) circa 1,000,000
Young Romance circa 800,000
Classics Illustrated 670,000
Romantic Adventures (ACG) circa 650,000
Adventures into the Unknown (ACG-1953) circa 550,000
Tales From the Crypt (EC-1953) 400,000
Treasure Chest 329.903
Mad (EC-1953) 325,000
Two-Fisted Tales (EC-1953) 225,000

1960
Mad Magazine 1,048,550
Uncle Scrooge 1,040,543
Walt Disney Comics and Stories 1,004,901
Donald Duck 930,613
Superman 810,000
Dennis the Menace 800,000
Bugs Bunny 615,552
Mickey Mouse 568,803
Woody Woodpecker 537,773
Batman 502,000
Lone Ranger 408,711
Casper the Friendly Ghost 399,985
Blackhawk 316,000
Adventures Into the Unknown (ACG) 192,500

 

[euroq]

A retailer writes about publishers announcing sell-outs.

http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=35590

THE SELL-OUT STORY FROM A RETAILER'S PERSPECTIVE
by Regan Clem

As we all know, it has been a craze in the comic book industry for publishers to announce sell outs. Underneath the façade of grandeur and excitement rests a dirty little secret: Almost every comic sells out at the publisher level at some point or another. True, they usually announce sell outs on those issues that sell out prior to hitting the shelves or immediately thereafter, but there are others.

Likewise, there are other points of interest that readers and collectors might not know. First, a comics that sells out prior to release only means that retailers ordered up the whole print run after the company set its print run. It doesn't mean that readers are buying, so, technically, the title could still be a dud. It might not really be as hot as the publsiher is making it out to seem. Second, publishers don’t consistently announce all sell outs, rather, a select group of sold-out books are anounced. This tells me that there is another reason for announcing the sell outs that they do and letting the others slide under the dusty old cape.

Being a retailer, I live in the Diamond Comic inventory database. Every week I’m in there doing reorders, seeing what has sold out, and weeping over lost sales because I underordered something that the publisher has sold out of. Inside this matrix, I see many sold out comics that don’t receive an announcement. This leads me to ask the question: “Why do they announce certain comics as sold out and not others?”

When I asked Bob Wayne, DC's VP – Sales, what the intention for DC announcing sold out announcements was, he replied,

“We announce sold-out titles for lots of reasons. Most importantly, we're communicating to our retailers that we have no more copies available. Our retailers need that information to answer questions from their customers. We also are letting consumers know that if they've postponed making the purchase of that issue, they may want to reconsider and pick one up now while their local shop may still have copies on the shelf.”​

That said, the most effective marketing is that which doesn’t even appear like marketing, and sold out announcements are a good marketing tactic. Since they are a business, it is within their right to use it. They can announce a sell out and include within that announcement information about their upcoming second print or other relevant collection. While we think we are reading news we are actually being marketed to.

The scary thing about this marketing ploy is that it can be manipulated. Marvel has a print to order policy. They still verbally say they adhere to that policy as seen in Joe Fridays Week 3 quote from John (Marvel's Marketing Director) Dokes: “We plan to continue our policy of printing to order.” When you say you print to order, selling out is planned from the beginning and not a big deal, so, in theory Marvel cannot use the sold out marketing tactic, although that hasn't stopped them now and again lately.

(Newsarama Note: shortly after Marvel’s announcement of a sell-out of House of M #1, it was pointed out to Marvel by Newsarama that roughly 1,300 copies of the issue were listed as being in stock according to the Diamond Comic inventory database. Marvel’s Director of Sales David Gabriel said that those were copies that had been released from a slight overage that is held as replacements for damaged copies that are received by retailers.)

What about companies that don’t print to order? All they would have to do is manipulate the system a little bit. In order to generate a little extra hype in a universe altering event or a collection of previous issues, they could print a comic closer to the initial orders placed by retailers. After a wave of the magic wand, they would receive much more entertaining free press through a sold out announcement than they would've through any other means.

You might be asking: “Why would they limit their print run and lose sales in order to hype a big crossover or a collection?” That would be a legitimate question in the era prior to the second print craze. Now they can have their cape and wear it too. Selling out and producing a second print with a variant cover will allow a company to accumulate more sales than they would have with only one print while garnering the extra hype and attention. Completists will then buy both covers; collectors will try to buy up the cover with the most limited print run; and some readers will buy into the hype and try out something that they normally wouldn’t have, resulting in a nice sales bump after the fact, or after the main publicity and solicitation for the respecitve issue is long over.

Selling out is an amazing two-edged sword. Not only can publishers announce that they have the hottest product under the dimly lit lights of the comic shops across this nation, they can also declare that they are the good guys by announcing a second print. Second prints are not just a marketing tactic, they are also a terrific PR stunt. They can kill two bats with one stone.

Back to Marvel for a minute - despite their continual statements declaring that they still print to order, Marvel is doing a better job at the current time of keeping their comic books in stock for retailers to order. Though the books available are, according to Marvel, normal overages, printed for replacement on damaged or lost copies. Regardless, they're still available for retailers to order.

I've tracked data throughout the month of May. DC only had 80% left in stock during the same period that Marvel had 84%. DC could just be facing a surge in popularity rather than a change in their printing policy, though. Bob Wayne said:

“DC hasn't changed our overprinting policies on periodicals. (It's unchanged from the Newsarama coverage in 2002 and again in 2004.) To a large degree we place our overprints on the orders we receive from our retailers. It certainly looks like every retailer underordered on Countdown to Infinite Crisis and the follow-up projects. The enthusiastic response from fans has certainly exceeded my expectations.”​

As a retailer, I enjoy the extra sales that the announcement and subsequent second printings bring. Unfortunately, the bump is artificial and somewhat dangerous. For starters, we have to avoid the paranoid reaction to overorder on future releases because of the hype and possible sales inflation (due to factors mentioned earlier) surrounding the current release.

Even worse, it causes damage to our cycle sheets. Brian Hibbs went into the drawbacks of variant covers and cycle sheets in a recent Tilting @ Windmills.

“Further, forced variant covers skew the retailer’s single most important tool for survival: their cycle sheets. I won’t be able to tell from how many copies I sell of Green Lantern #1 how many customers I have for Green Lantern, the monthly comic. There’s no clear way to tell how many people bought both covers. That means at least one extra month of guessing when putting together my comics order. Whatever lost profit that entails (either from my under or over-ordering subsequent issues) is good for neither the individual stores nor the publisher.”​

Albeit, second prints are not forced variants; they are still something most retailers feel obligated to sell. And in selling them, we are skewing our numbers so we have added an extra month to determine what the actual demand for the comic being reprinted really is. We can’t determine by looking at our numbers how many of the sales were caused by completists, collectors that are only buying the hot item, or readers.

I write this because I’m concerned for the industry and want to see an authentic growth in comics, not just a bubble that is a furthering dispersal of the already existing comic book reader’s piggy bank. In order to have a healthy industry we need to avoid the pitfalls of buying into the next collectible comic because it has sold out. Some publishers are going to try to do that to us. But for the sake of the industry, we need to just buy what we enjoy and leave all the hype for the bats.

Regan Clem is the owner of Clem's Collectibles, 518 Clinton St. Defiance, Ohio. Clem's opinion does not necessarily represent that of Newsarama.com..

 

[euroq]

http://www.comicon.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=36&t=004035

[font=Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif]

Joe Quesada has signed a new multi-year deal with Marvel Comics that has him not only wearing the Editor-in Chief hat, but also Chief Creative Officer, Publishing.“Over the next couple of years, my ultimate goals will remain further growing Marvel Comics’ leadership position and expanding our mainstream presence. I want comics to have the same consumer prominence as movies, TV and novels and in doing so continue to grow Marvel Comics as among America’s premiere storytellers,” said Mr. Quesada.

PRESS RELEASE
MARVEL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF JOE QUESADA SIGNS NEW MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT RENEWAL



Quesada To Also Assume The Role Of Chief Creative Officer, Publishing



New York, NY, July 19 – Marvel Enterprises, Inc. announced today that it has extended its contract agreement with Joe Quesada, Editor-In-Chief of the company’s Marvel Comics division. As part of the new deal, Mr. Quesada will also take on the added role as the Chief Creative Officer, Publishing.



Widely considered one of the comic book industry’s most recognizable and acclaimed talents, Mr. Quesada has helped spearhead a new golden age for Marvel Comics and solidified its leadership position in the comic book arena. “I’m thrilled to have Joe as a partner in this resurgence of interest in the comic book market,” says Dan Buckley, COO and Publisher of Marvel. “Joe has been invaluable in taking Marvel Comics into new and inventive creative directions, and the fans are responding to that. Thanks in part to his efforts, Marvel Comics has seen four straight years of revenue growth.”



During Mr. Quesada’s tenure, Marvel Comics has experienced a revitalization of the company’s most-renowned comic franchises, and has also attracted the best and brightest writers and illustrators from all fields including the literary, film, television and – of course- comic books.



“Over the next couple of years, my ultimate goals will remain further growing Marvel Comics’ leadership position and expanding our mainstream presence. I want comics to have the same consumer prominence as movies, TV and novels and in doing so continue to grow Marvel Comics as among America’s premiere storytellers,” said Mr. Quesada. “The success we have had is truly a team effort. The company’s senior management, including Avi Arad and Alan Fine, has provided me and our publisher Dan Buckley with the opportunity to build Marvel Comics into more than just a comic book publisher. With their continued support, and the hard working editors, creators and staff, I am confident that Marvel Comics will continue to flourish as one of the most innovative and exciting literary outlets.”

[/font]

 

[Lackey]

woops, I posted this in it's own thread. Oh well :0

 

[euroq]

woops, I posted this in it's own thread. Oh well :0

Well, most people would have probably never noticed it here and we would have missed all the fun *****ing that will surely follow.

 

[euroq]

http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=39259

MARVEL RELEASES Q2 NUMBERS, SEES 11% SLIDE

Marvel today released its Q2 2005 numbers, seeing slides downward across the board, resulting in an overall drop of 11% in its profits from this time last year. The biggest losers for the company during the quarter, a decline in the licensing net sales (though for the year, 2005 is still outpacing 2004), a sharp decline in toy sales, largely due to decreased demand (last year at this time, Spider-Man 2 toys were still fueling the company’s toy segment), and a slight decline in publishing.

In total, Marvel earned $25.9 million in Q2 of 2005, translating to $0.24 cents per share, which is down from last year’s $29.1 million/$0.25 cents per share the year before. Analysists were predicting Marvel to come in at $0.27 cents per share.

Net sales for the company came in at $88.1 million, down compared to $155.5 million of a year ago, and the analysts'-predicted $96.2 million. In terms of per-segment net sales, licensing dropped from $47 million to $43.9 million (7%); toys dropped from $87 million to $23 million (74%); and publishing slid modestly from $21.6 million in Q2 of 2004 to $20.9 million in Q2 of 2005 (4%). The decreases are seen by some as being indicative of Marvel's volatile nature, performance wise - doing well (often very well) if a property clicks with audiences, and taking it on the chin as the heat from a hot property fades, and a replacement property isn't waiting in the wings to take the place of the first.

The company’s operating income for the period also saw a decrease, from $33.5 million to $29.2 million, though the bulk of that decrease was due to, as the company explained: “the impact of a $10 million, one-time charge related to the settlement of litigation with Stan Lee,” referring to Marvel’s settlement payment to Lee for his profit sharing in the Marvel films.

From Marvel’s release:

Marvel's Chairman, Morton Handel, commented, "Marvel's 2005 second quarter and first half operating performance is consistent with our previously announced outlook for the full year and reflects the continued high level of demand for consumer and media products based on our characters. Furthermore, we are very pleased with the success of the global consumer launch of our Fantastic Four character franchise, driven by the successful feature film and the related promotional and licensed product programs. Given the overall performance of the business, our strong cash flow generation and the Board's confidence in the Company's long-term outlook, Marvel has been active in its share repurchase activity over the past few months. We view such repurchases as the most attractive use of surplus cash within our business model."​

Marvel also releases per-segment analyses of performance for the quarter.

Publishing:

Marvel's Publishing Segment net sales declined 4% from the year-ago period to $20.8 million. This year-over-year decrease in comic sales is mainly attributed to a timing difference in marketing events. Marvels' main marketing event for 2004 launched in May, while the main marketing event for 2005 will take place in the second half of 2005. Divisional operating income in Q2 2005 was $7.9 million, an operating margin of 38%, compared to an operating margin of 42% in the prior-year period. Excluding a $1.0 million one-time gain from the settlement of bankruptcy claims in Q2 2004, Marvel's publishing operating margin would have been 37%.​

Licensing:

Licensing Segment net sales declined 7% from the year-ago period to $43.9 million in Q2 2005 primarily due to lower contributions from the joint venture (JV) with Sony for Spider-Man 2 movie merchandising, which continues to generate revenues a full year after the movie's release. Q2 2005 net licensing sales include approximately $7.1 million in gross sales recognized as a result of the consolidation of the JV, compared to $11.2 million in the year ago period. International licensing net sales, excluding JV activity, increased more than 53% year-over-year to $11.6 million in Q2 2005 as Marvel's international offices continued to leverage global marketing momentum.

Operating margins were 64% in Q2 2005 compared to 71% in the prior-year period due to a higher concentration of studio and JV revenues in the year-ago period, which do not incur an off-setting studio share expense.​

Toys:

The transition in Marvel's Toy Segment net sales from Marvel-produced action figures and accessories based on the Lord of The Rings franchise and Spider-Man 2 movie toys in 2004 to lines produced by our master toy licensee in 2005, led to an expected decline in segment revenue of 73% to $23.4 million. Fantastic Four toy sales by Marvel's master toy licensee performed well in the period with year-to-date sales of approximately $41 million, in line with Marvel's projection of full-year Fantastic Four sales of $80 million. Spider-Man 2 movie toy sales were $1.3 million in Q2 2005 compared with $79.8 million in Q2 2004. Operating margins in the toy division increased to 56% in Q2 2005 from 29% in Q2 2004 due to the shift in product mix toward higher margin toy royalty and service fees.​

Marvel also reported that is has completed its $100 million stock repurchase program, spending $159.3 million during Q2 of 2005 (there were no repurchases made during Q1 2005). As of June 30th, Marvel had $105.8 million cash and short-term investments.

As is common with Marvel’s quarterly reports, the company listed its upcoming film slate. No shockers were named in the report, though The Punisher 2 was listed as being targeted for 2006, and Namor for 2007. Other films on Marvel’s slate: X-Men 3, Spider-Man 3, Iron Man, Luke Cage, Deathlok, The Hulk 2 and Wolverine. Projects in development, as listed by Marvel: Ant-Man, Black Panther, Captain America, Killraven, Nick Fury, Silver Surfer, and Thor.

Marvel character animated direct-to-video projects in development through it’s partnership with Lions Gate to develop, produce and distribute original animated DVD features: Four projects in 2D/3D format are in development with the first release slated for 2006. Titles include: The Avengers 1, The Avengers 2, Iron Man and Dr. Strange.

Marvel character animated TV projects in development via a partnership with Antefilms Distribution to produce an original animated television series based on the Fantastic Four. Twenty-six, 30-minute 2D/3D animated episodes are planned with initial TV airings in 2006.

Marvel still lists Brother Voodoo as a live action television project in development. Unnamed (but recently reported to be moving forward for Spike TV) in the report, a live action series based on Marvel’s Blade film franchise.

For 2005, Marvel maintained that it will see somewhere between $1.07 to $1.12 per share profit (2004 saw $1.10), but pulled its net income prediction down slightly, from a range of $120 to $126 million to $117 to $126 million, due to higher than anticipated legal expenses.

 

[iloveclones]

Marvel character animated direct-to-video projects in development through it’s partnership with Lions Gate to develop, produce and distribute original animated DVD features: Four projects in 2D/3D format are in development with the first release slated for 2006. Titles include: The Avengers 1, The Avengers 2, Iron Man and Dr. Strange.

Me and a friend actually sent in audition tapes for the Avengers movies. The write-ups seemed more like the Ultimates. I tried out for Hank Pym, and my friend tried out for Natasha Romanoff (she's Russian......my friend I mean).

Reading through those numbers, I was curious: Does anyone around here actually own stock in Marvel?

The company’s operating income for the period also saw a decrease, from $33.5 million to $29.2 million, though the bulk of that decrease was due to, as the company explained: “the impact of a $10 million, one-time charge related to the settlement of litigation with Stan Lee,” referring to Marvel’s settlement payment to Lee for his profit sharing in the Marvel films.

33.5-10=29.2 ????? And I thought I was bad at math

 

[DBM]

Reading through those numbers, I was curious: Does anyone around here actually own stock in Marvel?

I requested that my broker include it in my portfolio out of sheer fanboy-ness. I couldn't tell you at all how much I have though because it's mixed in with a variety of stuff.

 

[iloveclones]

I requested that my broker include it in my portfolio out of sheer fanboy-ness.

I would've loved to have seen this conversation.(In my mind, I'm picturing you, not in a suit and tie, but a Punisher t-shirt.)

 

[DBM]

From The Beat

Pure speculation: Marvel on the block?

Yesterday Marvel announced its 2Q earnings and held one of its conference calls with analysts. Yesterday's news was the most lackluster Marvel has had in some time, with earnings down 11% from 2Q last year. You can read the entire report here. Yahoo's headline, “Marvel 2nd-qtr earnings fall on lower comic sales” is entirely misleading, however. Peter Cuneo and co. had been warning about this blah quarter for quite some time. Last year had revenues from Spider-Man 2 toys and Lord of the Rings toys. This year didn't. The main culprit was licensing revenue, not publishing. Indeed, most of the call was made up of talk about licensing revenue streams and joint ventures that left The Beat glassy eyed.

Spearking of publishing, here's the relevant part of the report:

Marvel's Publishing Segment net sales declined 4% from the year-ago period to $20.8 million. This year-over-year decrease in comic sales is mainly attributed to a timing difference in marketing events. Marvels' main marketing event for 2004 launched in May, while the main marketing event for 2005 will take place in the second half of 2005. Divisional operating income in Q2 2005 was $7.9 million, an operating margin of 38%, compared to an operating margin of 42% in the prior-year period. Excluding a $1.0 million one-time gain from the settlement of bankruptcy claims in Q2 2004, Marvel's publishing operating margin would have been 37%.


However, in his remarks, finance guy Ken West had this to say (slightly paraphrased.)

“Net sales in the publishing segment declined modestly to $28 mil compared to prior period. Last year's results reflected a significant increase in comic book sales preceding the release of Spider-man 2. The decline was partially offset by a nearly 50% increase in sales of trade paperbacks into the direct market channel during Q2 2005. The operating margin of 38% declined slightly from 42% as a result of timing of sales in comics. We expect a 40% operating margin for publishing for the rest of the year.” [Emphasis mine]


In fact, with the movie pipeline dormant until X3, and toy licensing down, publishing was mentioned in this call more than we ever remember -- House of M spinoffs were even brought up. The 7-11 deal was mentioned several times, along with a newly announced deal with Walgreens. In contrast, the usually ebullient Avi Arad was nearly silent, even on the topic of FANTASTIC FOUR's surprise smash status. “The people have spoken,” was all he said.

However, for long term Marvel watchers, perhaps the most interesting part of the call was the revelation that Marvel had completed its stock buyback program. (Basically, Marvel has been reinvesting its profits into the stock to keep it healthy.) Some $215 mil of Marvel's cash on hand was spent on the stock -- but over a period of a mere two months, instead of the year that had been previously announced.

Now why was this? Yahoo's Marvel stock board had two theories.

The first -- and most likely -- is that the stock buyback had been completed in order to keep the stock price up during this slow quarter.

However, an even more intriguing theory was also advanced. Principal stock holder and CEO Ike Perlmutter -- along with other Marvel top brass -- had promised not to sell any of their stock during the buyback program. Had the buyback been hurried along so that Ike could start selling stock again? Or is it part of the long rumored plan to sell off Marvel?

One post laid out that theory in detail, and we'll quote it in full. Bear in mind, this is pure, uninformed speculation.

...I have a hunch that MVL is on the block, in a serious way now — and that others might start noticing this too.

* MVL spent its funds for the share buyback very quickly — within a month or two, rather than 12. This would seem a reckless strategy if it were just to manage earnings, since it depletes capital that could be used to stabilize the share price on any decline.

MVL management wouldn't imo spend the buyback funds so quickly unless they saw a revaluation event in the near future.

Since that “revaluation event” is unlikely to be increased organic growth, I'm speculating that it may be a buyout offer.

* Ike is still CEO, and no move to my knowledge has been made to replace him. This was always seen as a short term post for Ike. Not filling the position suggests MVL is leaving it open for an acquirer to step in.

* MVL's large shareholders — Ike, Avi, Cuneo — have an incentive or desire to realize their wealth. They were never in this for the long haul: They are not the founders, and they are not young men.

Yet Cuneo and Ike have committed themselves to “not selling at this price; and Avi to my knowledge refrained from selling, even though the extended buyback agreement explicitly gave him the right to sell.

So...if insiders WANT to realize their gains, but REFRAIN from selling in the market at this price...this suggests again that they may be seriously cosidering a buyout.

* I personally think it is important for MVL to sell while X3 and SM3 are still on the horizon. The last films in each of these series were enormously successful, and created huge value for the franchises, and by implication other MVL properties.

That success may be duplicated in the next instrallments. Still, there is a not unsubstantial risk that the next films will not achieve the success of their predecessors, which set the bar so high. That would erode the value of the franchises...and in a ”reverse layering“ effect, erode the value of other MVL properties and revenue channels.

Better to sell **now**, in ANTICIPATION of X3 and S3, rather than risk waiting for the box office to come in.

* The fact the MVL has not fallen more today on the disappointing earnings and guidance indicates to me that others might be thinking in a similar manner.


Execs selling stock is always a chancy matter, but, hey, it's their money. Cuneo was questioned about this directly, and his answer was revealing:

”My personal situation is that I am 61 years old. I have a large portion of my personal net worth tied up in Marvel, and my children and financial advisers are yelling that I'm crazy to have that much in this stock. But on the emotional side, I'm very committed to the company and I'm not prepared to sell at these levels.“


Marvel stock fell 7.2% following the 2Q results announcement.

 

[iloveclones]

I see these numbers other places, but it never seems to be all of them. So here's all of them:

JUNE 2005
=========


The battle of the crossovers continues. In May, DC's INFINITE CRISIS
tie-ins helped them to beat Marvel in terms of both dollar share and
unit share, for the first time in ages. But it was tight, and Marvel
hadn't yet started their HOUSE OF M event.


But June was another matter. Although the full range of crossovers
didn't reach stores until the next month, the flagship HOUSE OF M
miniseries hit shelves in June, along with some of the major tie-ins.
Result: Marvel win dollar share by 35.9% to 33.5%, and Marvel win unit
share by 41.1% to 36.6%. Told you.


Still - in dollar share, at least, it remains fairly close. And with
both events set to continue for the next few months, it remains to be
seen which publisher's event will sustain its sales more effectively.


The usual preliminaries: where applicable, I've included the numbers for
June 2001, 2002 and 2003. Bear in mind that the charts for 2001-2 were
based solely on initial orders, so they aren't directly comparable with
the figures for 2003-2005, which are based on copies actually shipped,
including re-orders. Mind you, given Marvel's print-to-order policy,
the earlier numbers probably aren't a million miles out, and if
anything, they're likely to be on the low side.


As always, thanks to Milton Griepp and ICV2 for permission to use their
figures for these calculations. See http://www.icv2.com for the full
archive.


1,2. HOUSE OF M
Jun 05 House of M #1 (of 8) - 233,763
Jun 05 House of M #2 (of 8) - 168,974 (-27.7%)


It goes without saying that the number for issue #1 is enormous. The
second issue drop off is on the high side, but still leaves HOUSE OF M
with a dominant figure of almost 170,000, and the top two places on the
chart. These are the sort of numbers Marvel will be happy with. And
with the degree of hype that HOUSE OF M received, they don't really come
as a surprise.


The next question is how well the book will hold up now that people have
actually seen it. Reaction has been a little mixed, and it'll be very
interesting to see whether HOUSE OF M can deliver the sustained success
of the INFINITE CRISIS books - both as regards the core miniseries, and
the event as a whole.


3. NEW AVENGERS
Jun 01 Avengers #43 - 64,634
Jun 02 Avengers #55 - 51,495
Jun 03 Avengers #68 - 57,587
======
Jun 04 Avengers #84 - 57,083 ( +3.3%)
Jul 04 Avengers #500 - 140,033 (+145.3%)
Aug 04 n/a
Sep 04 Avengers #501 - 91,054 ( -35.0%)
Sep 04 Avengers #502 - 93,105 ( +2.3%)
Oct 04 n/a
Nov 04 Avengers #503 - 105,761 ( +13.6%)
Nov 04 Avengers Finale - 101,431 ( -4.1%)
Dec 05 New Avengers #1 - 280,286 (+176.3%)
Jan 05 New Avengers #2 - 155,742 ( -44.3%)
Feb 05 New Avengers #3 - 148,973 ( -4.3%)
Mar 05 New Avengers #4 - 156,746 ( +5.2%)
Apr 05 New Avengers #5 - 165,997 ( +5.9%)
May 05 n/a
Jun 05 New Avengers #6 - 161,575 ( -2.7%)
6 mnth ( -42.4%)
1 year (+183.1%)
2 year (+180.6%)


The first arc wraps up, and NEW AVENGERS continues to deliver high
numbers. The six month comparison looks a little nasty, but that's only
because it's a comparison with the stellar sales of issue #1. In
reality, NEW AVENGERS seems to be settling down in the 160K region,
which is an impressive performance by any standards - comfortably ahead
of "Avengers Disassembled", and lightyears ahead of the book's previous
incarnation.


9,12. UNCANNY X-MEN
Jun 01 Uncanny X-Men #395 - 130,299
Jun 02 Uncanny X-Men #407 - 88,448
Jun 03 Uncanny X-Men #426 - 89,719
======
Jun 04 Uncanny X-Men #445 - 98,660 (-12.0%)
Jul 04 Uncanny X-Men #446 - 96,961 ( -1.7%)
Aug 04 Uncanny X-Men #447 - 95,838 ( -1.2%)
Sep 04 Uncanny X-Men #448 - 95,908 ( +0.1%)
Sep 04 Uncanny X-Men #449 - 93,839 ( -2.2%)
Oct 04 Uncanny X-Men #450 - 101,506 ( +8.2%)
Oct 04 Uncanny X-Men #451 - 99,411 ( -2.1%)
Nov 04 Uncanny X-Men #452 - 92,051 ( -7.4%)
Dec 04 Uncanny X-Men #453 - 89,952 ( -2.3%)
Jan 05 Uncanny X-Men #454 - 87,411 ( -2.8%)
Feb 05 Uncanny X-Men #455 - 88,920 ( +1.7%)
Feb 05 Uncanny X-Men #456 - 86,767 ( -2.4%)
Mar 05 Uncanny X-Men #457 - 86,365 ( -0.5%)
Apr 05 Uncanny X-Men #458 - 85,299 ( -1.2%)
May 05 Uncanny X-Men #459 - 83,547 ( -2.1%)
Jun 05 Uncanny X-Men #460 - 82,457 ( -1.3%)
Jun 05 Uncanny X-Men #461 - 91,221 (+10.6%)
6 mnth ( +1.4%)
1 year ( -7.5%)
2 year ( +1.7%)


Two issues this month - can you guess which is the HOUSE OF M crossover?
Yes, it's issue #461, which is duly rewarded with a 10% sales boost.
That bodes well for next month, when a number of other titles will get
their HOUSE OF M tie-in issues. As a general rule, the boosts from
crossovers tend not to last beyond the crossover itself, but it'll still
bring in a lot of extra sales while it lasts.


10. SPIDER-MAN: HOUSE OF M
Jun 05 Spider-Man: House of M #1 (of 5) - 85,126


And another HOUSE OF M tie-in, giving the event four books in the top
ten. Again, Marvel must be happy with this number. Not only is it
comfortably ahead of the other Spider-Man books, but SPIDER-MAN: HOUSE
OF M is effectively filling the gap left in the schedule by the
cancellation of SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN. SPECTACULAR was the lowest
selling Spider-Man book by some margin, so this marks an enormous step
up in sales.


13,16. X-MEN
Jun 01 New X-Men #115 - 133,056
Jun 02 New X-Men #128 - 99,018
Jun 03 New X-Men #142 - 97,897
======
Jun 04 X-Men #158 - 96,759 ( -9.7%)
Jul 04 X-Men #159 - 93,164 ( -3.7%)
Aug 04 X-Men #160 - 91,790 ( -1.5%)
Sep 04 X-Men #161 - 90,591 ( -1.3%)
Sep 04 X-Men #162 - 90,752 ( +0.2%)
Oct 04 X-Men #163 - 88,615 ( -2.4%)
Nov 04 X-Men #164 - 88,620 ( +0.0%)
Dec 04 X-Men #165 - 86,633 ( -2.2%)
Jan 05 X-Men #166 - 85,934 ( -0.8%)
Feb 05 X-Men #167 - 84,155 ( -2.1%)
Mar 05 X-Men #168 - 83,979 ( -0.2%)
Apr 05 X-Men #169 - 82,793 ( -1.4%)
May 05 X-Men #170 - 81,048 ( -2.1%)
Jun 05 X-Men #171 - 80,307 ( -0.9%)
Jun 05 X-Men #172 - 78,889 ( -1.8%)
6 mnth ( -8.9%)
1 year (-18.5%)
2 year (-19.4%)


Business as usual, continuing the title's gentle but seemingly
inexorable downward drift.


14. WOLVERINE
Jun 01 Wolverine #165 - 68,398
Jun 02 Wolverine #177 - 67,450
Jun 03 Wolverine #2 - 99,867
======
Jun 04 Wolverine #16 - 67,519 ( -1.8%)
Jul 04 Wolverine #17 - 66,589 ( -1.4%)
Aug 04 Wolverine #18 - 65,304 ( -1.9%)
Sep 04 Wolverine #19 - 65,046 ( -0.4%)
Oct 04 Wolverine #20 - 118,553 (+82.3%)
Oct 04 Wolverine #21 - 85,760 (-27.7%)
Nov 04 Wolverine #22 - 81,841 ( -4.6%)
Dec 04 Wolverine #23 - 82,525 ( +0.8%)
Jan 04 Wolverine #24 - 81,618 ( -1.1%)
Feb 05 Wolverine #25 - 83,180 ( +1.9%)
Mar 05 Wolverine #26 - 108,677 (+30.7%)
Apr 05 Wolverine #27 - 101,228 ( -6.9%)
May 05 Wolverine #28 - 80,961 (-20.0%)
Jun 05 Wolverine #29 - 79,951 ( -1.2%)
6 mnth ( -3.1%)
1 year (+18.4%)
2 year (-19.9%)


The Millar/Romita run nears its conclusion. Issues #26-27 have
artificial sales boosts from variant covers, but otherwise the book
continues to hover around the 80K mark with a very slight downward tick.
This storyline is clearly going to end with solid numbers - and after
that, there's a three-part HOUSE OF M tie-in.


15. ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN
Jun 01 Ultimate Spider-Man #10 - 80,736
Jun 02 Ultimate Spider-Man #23 - 87,521
Jun 03 Ultimate Spider-Man #42 - 100,151
======
Jun 04 Ultimate Spider-Man #60 - 104,789 (+16.6%)
Jun 04 Ultimate Spider-Man #61 - 101,159 ( -3.5%)
Jul 04 Ultimate Spider-Man #62 - 98,963 ( -2.2%)
Aug 04 Ultimate Spider-Man #63 - 96,279 ( -2.7%)
Aug 04 Ultimate Spider-Man #64 - 94,682 ( -1.7%)
Sep 04 Ultimate Spider-Man #65 - 94,174 ( -0.5%)
Oct 04 Ultimate Spider-Man #66 - 95,917 ( +1.9%)
Oct 04 Ultimate Spider-Man #67 - 95,071 ( -0.9%)
Nov 04 Ultimate Spider-Man #68 - 91,075 ( -4.2%)
Nov 04 Ultimate Spider-Man #69 - 90,010 ( -1.2%)
Dec 04 Ultimate Spider-Man #70 - 88,960 ( -1.2%)
Jan 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #71 - 83,987 ( -5.6%)
Feb 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #72 - 86,685 ( +3.2%)
Mar 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #73 - 83,943 ( -3.2%)
Mar 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #74 - 83,817 ( -0.2%)
Apr 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #75 - 83,940 ( +0.1%)
Apr 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #76 - 82,244 ( -2.0%)
May 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #77 - 81,034 ( -1.5%)
Jun 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #78 - 79,420 ( -2.0%)
6 mnth (-10.7%)
1 year (-24.2%)
2 year (-20.7%)


This book, and ULTIMATE X-MEN below it, have both been drifting down
badly over the last few months. The individual drops are fairly small,
but the cumulative effect is substantial. Marvel's solution is Ultimate
Starts Month in July, whichis basically the start of a load of new
storylines at the same time. It hasn't been given a huge promotional
push, and it's been somewhat overshadowed by HOUSE OF M, so it'll be
interesting to see what difference it makes.


17. ULTIMATE X-MEN
Jun 01 Ultimate X-Men #7 - 100,737
Jun 02 Ultimate X-Men #19 - 92,815
Jun 03 Ultimate X-Men #34 - 110,753
======
Jun 04 Ultimate X-Men #47 - 95,254 ( -1.4%)
Jun 04 Ultimate X-Men #48 - 94,238 ( -1.1%)
Jul 04 Ultimate X-Men #49 - 93,572 ( -0.7%)
Aug 04 Ultimate X-Men #50 - 103,154 (+10.2%)
Sep 04 Ultimate X-Men #51 - 94,965 ( -7.9%)
Oct 04 Ultimate X-Men #52 - 93,833 ( -1.2%)
Nov 04 Ultimate X-Men #53 - 92,133 ( -1.8%)
Dec 04 n/a
Jan 05 Ultimate X-Men #54 - 90,619 ( -1.6%)
Jan 05 Ultimate X-Men #55 - 87,447 ( -3.5%)
Feb 05 Ultimate X-Men #56 - 86,130 ( -1.5%)
Mar 05 Ultimate X-Men #57 - 83,835 ( -2.7%)
Apr 05 Ultimate X-Men #58 - 82,606 ( -1.5%)
May 05 Ultimate X-Men #59 - 81,321 ( -1.6%)
Jun 05 Ultimate X-Men #60 - 78,613 ( -3.3%)
6 mnth (-13.2%)
1 year (-17.5%)
2 year (-29.0%)


See above, really. The drops are mounting up.


19. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
Jun 01 Amazing Spider-Man #32 - 76,976
Jun 02 Amazing Spider-Man #42 - 96,537
Jun 03 n/a
======
Jun 04 Amazing Spider-Man #508 - 82,268 ( +0.4%)
Jun 04 Amazing Spider-Man #509 - 101,632 (+23.5%)
Jul 04 Amazing Spider-Man #510 - 86,181 (-15.2%)
Aug 04 Amazing Spider-Man #511 - 88,118 ( +2.2%)
Sep 04 Amazing Spider-Man #512 - 88,628 ( +0.6%)
Oct 04 Amazing Spider-Man #513 - 89,615 ( +1.1%)
Nov 04 Amazing Spider-Man #514 - 87,121 ( -2.8%)
Dec 04 Amazing Spider-Man #515 - 83,637 ( -4.0%)
Jan 05 Amazing Spider-Man #516 - 79,842 ( -4.5%)
Feb 05 Amazing Spider-Man #517 - 78,584 ( -1.6%)
Mar 05 Amazing Spider-Man #518 - 77,025 ( -2.0%)
Apr 05 Amazing Spider-Man #519 - 79,668 ( +3.4%)
May 05 Amazing Spider-Man #520 - 76,143 ( -4.4%)
Jun 05 Amazing Spider-Man #521 - 74,117 ( -2.7%)
6 mnth (-11.4%)
1 year ( -9.9%)
2 year ( n/a )


Another book which has settled into a noticeable downward trend after
previously solid sales. Marvel is hoping that the upcoming "The Other"
event will reinvigorate the three core Spider-Man books.


21,22. ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR
Jun 04 Ultimate Fantastic Four #6 - 100,972 ( -3.0%)
Jun 04 Ultimate Fantastic Four #7 - 99,445 ( -1.5%)
Jun 04 Ultimate Fantastic Four #8 - 96,694 ( -2.8%)
Jul 04 Ultimate Fantastic Four #9 - 94,094 ( -2.7%)
Aug 04 Ultimate Fantastic Four #10 - 90,670 ( -3.6%)
Sep 04 Ultimate Fantastic Four #11 - 87,620 ( -3.4%)
Oct 04 n/a
Nov 04 Ultimate Fantastic Four #12 - 84,417 ( -3.7%)
Nov 04 Ultimate Fantastic Four #13 - 109,997 (+30.3%)
Dec 04 Ultimate Fantastic Four #14 - 78,717 (-28.4%)
Jan 05 Ultimate Fantastic Four #15 - 74,501 ( -5.4%)
Feb 05 n/a
Mar 05 Ultimate Fantastic Four #16 - 73,987 ( -0.7%)
Apr 05 Ultimate Fantastic Four #17 - 72,207 ( -2.4%)
May 05 Ultimate Fantastic Four #18 - 71,478 ( -1.0%)
Jun 05 Ultimate Fantastic Four #19 - 70,300 ( -1.6%)
Jun 05 Ultimate Fantastic Four #20 - 69,097 ( -1.7%)
6 mnth (-12.2%)
1 year (-31.6%)


Also dropping, but in this case the decline seems to be levelling out a
bit. Considering that issues #19 and #20 were a fill-in story by Mike
Carey, this has to be considered a pretty good sign.


23. YOUNG AVENGERS
Feb 05 Young Avengers #1 - 112,803
Mar 05 Young Avengers #2 - 79,952 (-29.1%)
Apr 05 Young Avengers #3 - 75,015 ( -6.2%)
May 05 Young Avengers #4 - 69,925 ( -6.8%)
Jun 05 Young Avengers #5 - 68,687 ( -1.8%)


A surprisingly small drop, given the established trend. YOUNG AVENGERS
seems to be levelling out in the high 60K range, which Marvel must be
delighted with. The book has far outperformed most expectations.


26. FANTASTIC FOUR
Jun 01 Fantastic Four #44 - 51,589
Jun 02 Fantastic Four #57 - 42,829
Jun 03 Fantastic Four #70 - 53,066
======
Jun 04 Fantastic Four #514 - 49,895 ( -2.0%)
Jul 04 Fantastic Four #515 - 48,449 ( -2.9%)
Jul 04 Fantastic Four #516 - 48,580 ( +0.3%)
Aug 04 Fantastic Four #517 - 50,247 ( +3.4%)
Sep 04 Fantastic Four #518 - 48,939 ( -2.6%)
Oct 04 Fantastic Four #519 - 47,969 ( -2.0%)
Nov 04 Fantastic Four #520 - 51,685 ( +7.7%)
Dec 04 Fantastic Four #521 - 47,634 ( -7.8%)
Jan 05 Fantastic Four #522 - 46,335 ( -2.7%)
Feb 05 Fantastic Four #523 - 46,276 ( -0.1%)
Mar 05 Fantastic FOur #524 - 46,660 ( +0.8%)
Apr 05 Fantastic Four #525 - 45,561 ( -2.4%)
May 05 Fantastic Four #526 - 44,935 ( -1.4%)
May 05 Fantastic Four #527 - 75,525 (+68.1%)
Jun 05 Fantastic Four #528 - 55,937 (-25.9%)
6 mnth (+17.4%)
1 year (+12.1%)
2 year ( +5.4%)


The second issue under J Michael Straczynski. Issue #527, in its
Director's Cut edition, charts at number 208, with orders of 8,092.
That's included in the numbers above, making the spike look even
sharper. Meanwhile, FANTASTIC FOUR drops back to the mid-50K range.
It's comfortably ahead of the last few months, but nothing out of the
ordinary compared with the book's track record over the past few years.
Solid numbers, though.


27. X-MEN: THE END
Aug 04 X-Men: The End, Book One #1 (of 6) - 109,587
Aug 04 X-Men: The End, Book One #2 (of 6) - 98,578 (-10.0%)
Sep 04 X-Men: The End, Book One #3 (of 6) - 84,001 (-14.8%)
Oct 04 X-Men: The End, Book One #4 (of 6) - 75,073 (-10.6%)
Nov 04 X-Men: The End, Book One #5 (of 6) - 69,642 ( -7.2%)
Dec 04 X-Men: The End, Book One #6 (of 6) - 66,220 ( -4.9%)
Jan 05 n/a
Feb 05 n/a
Mar 05 X-Men: The End, Book Two #1 (of 6) - 71,230 ( +7.6%)
Apr 05 X-Men: The End, Book Two #2 (of 6) - 63,005 (-11.5%)
May 05 X-Men: The End, Book Two #3 (of 6) - 58,870 ( -6.6%)
Jun 05 X-Men: The End, Book Two #4 (of 6) - 54,875 ( -6.8%)
6 mnth (-17.1%)


Still shedding readers. Given that this is effectively an
eighteen-issue miniseries, it really should have levelled out a bit more
by this point.


28. MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN
Jun 04 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #3 - 82,715 (-16.7%)
Jul 04 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #4 - 75,508 ( -8.7%)
Aug 04 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #5 - 75,562 ( +0.1%)
Sep 04 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #6 - 71,492 ( -5.4%)
Oct 04 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #7 - 69,918 ( -2.2%)
Nov 04 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #8 - 68,290 ( -2.3%)
Dec 04 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #9 - 64,461 ( -5.6%)
Jan 05 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #10 - 61,831 ( -4.1%)
Feb 05 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #11 - 60,460 ( -2.2%)
Mar 05 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #12 - 59,983 ( -0.8%)
Apr 05 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #13 - 60,542 ( +0.9%)
May 05 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #14 - 57,270 ( -5.4%)
Jun 05 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #15 - 54,102 ( -5.5%)
6 mnth (-16.1%)
1 year (-34.6%)


Another book that's losing readers rather more quickly than Marvel might
hope. Two 5% drops in a row is a little disappointing. Again, Marvel
are relying on "The Other" to revitalise the Spider-Man books.


29. SUPREME POWER
Jun 04 n/a
Jul 04 Supreme Power #11 - 63,007 ( -0.5%)
Aug 04 Supreme Power #12 - 61,798 ( -1.9%)
Sep 04 n/a
Oct 04 n/a
Nov 04 Supreme Power #13 - 61,556 ( -0.4%)
Dec 04 Supreme Power #14 - 58,843 ( -4.4%)
Jan 05 n/a
Feb 05 Supreme Power #15 - 55,510 ( -5.7%)
Mar 05 n/a
Apr 05 Supreme Power #16 - 55,068 ( -0.8%)
May 05 n/a
Jun 05 Supreme Power #17 - 52,288 ( -5.0%)
6 mnth (-11.1%)
1 year (-17.0%)


Cancelled with issue #18, to be followed by a HYPERION miniseries, a
NIGHTHAWK miniseries, and then a new volume under the Marvel Knights
banner. In the meantime, the book continues to drift down.


32. GIANT-SIZE X-MEN
Jun 05 Giant-Size X-Men #3 - 48,685


The first in a curious series of books featuring a collection of
reprints along with eight pages of original material. It's a difficult
one for retailers to order - how many people will shell out five dollars
just to get an eight page story? This has to rate as a respectable
number for a curious book.


33. DAREDEVIL
Jun 01 Daredevil #19 - 58,270
Jun 02 Daredevil #34 - 47,328
Jun 03 Daredevil #48 - 59,869
======
Jun 04 Daredevil #61 - 53,770 ( -0.4%)
Jul 04 Daredevil #62 - 52,936 ( -1.6%)
Aug 04 Daredevil #63 - 52,090 ( -1.6%)
Sep 04 Daredevil #64 - 52,259 ( +0.3%)
Sep 04 Daredevil #65 - 57,841 (+10.7%)
Oct 04 Daredevil #66 - 53,138 ( -8.1%)
Nov 04 Daredevil #67 - 51,347 ( -3.4%)
Dec 04 Daredevil #68 - 50,491 ( -1.7%)
Jan 05 Daredevil #69 - 48,727 ( -3.5%)
Feb 05 Daredevil #70 - 48,702 ( -0.0%)
Mar 05 Daredevil #71 - 49,715 ( +2.1%)
Apr 05 Daredevil #72 - 48,803 ( -1.8%)
May 05 Daredevil #73 - 48,681 ( -0.2%)
Jun 05 Daredevil #74 - 48,175 ( -1.0%)
6 mnth ( -4.6%)
1 year (-10.4%)
2 year (-19.5%)


Rock solid in the 48-49K range yet again. About as steady as Marvel
Universe books get.

 

[iloveclones]

And the beat goes on...

35. CAPTAIN AMERICA
Jun 01 Captain America #44 - 37,052
Jun 02 Captain America #3 - 67,445
Jun 03 Captain America #14 - 45,639
======
Jun 04 Captain America #27 - 36,212 ( -3.6%)
Jun 04 Captain America #28 - 35,664 ( -1.5%)
Jul 04 Captain America #29 - 40,221 (+12.8%)
Aug 04 Captain America #30 - 38,464 ( -4.4%)
Sep 04 Captain America #31 - 37,128 ( -3.5%)
Oct 04 Captain America #32 - 37,309 ( +0.5%)
Nov 04 Captain America #1 - 67,225 (+80.2%)
Dec 04 n/a
Jan 05 Captain America #2 - 53,306 (-20.7%)
Feb 05 Captain America #3 - 48,104 ( -9.8%)
Mar 05 Captain America #4 - 46,654 ( -3.0%)
Apr 05 Captain America #5 - 46,976 ( +0.7%)
May 05 Captain America #6 - 58,660 (+24.9%)
Jun 05 Captain America #7 - 47,160 (-19.6%)
6 mnth (-11.5%)
1 year (+30.2%)
2 year ( +3.3%)


Variant covers strike again, as last month's issue #6 picks up a
whacking 12,292 further orders, and charts at number 165. All of which
serves to disguise the fact that CAPTAIN AMERICA has been another
extremely solid performer, locked firmly into the 46-47K range for four
months now, and actually nudging slightly upwards this month.


38. INCREDIBLE HULK
Jun 01 Incredible Hulk #29 - 34,591
Jun 02 Incredible Hulk #41 - 46,355
Jun 03 Incredible Hulk #56 - 68,529
======
Jun 04 Incredible Hulk #73 - 44,249 ( -2.5%)
Jul 04 Incredible Hulk #74 - 43,383 ( -2.0%)
Aug 04 Incredible Hulk #75 - 44,066 ( +1.6%)
Aug 04 Incredible Hulk #76 - 42,298 ( -4.0%)
Sep 04 Hulk & Thing: Hard Knocks #1 (of 4) - 44,302 ( +4.7%)
Oct 04 Hulk & Thing: Hard Knocks #2 (of 4) - 37,519 (-15.3%)
Nov 04 Hulk & Thing: Hard Knocks #3 (of 4) - 34,129 ( -9.0%)
Dec 04 Hulk & Thing: Hard Knocks #4 (of 4) - 31,003 ( -9.2%)
Jan 05 Incredible Hulk #77 - 47,180 (+52.2%)
Feb 05 Incredible Hulk #78 - 44,721 ( -5.2%)
Mar 05 Incredible Hulk #79 - 43,508 ( -2.7%)
Apr 05 Incredible Hulk #80 - 48,404 (+11.3%)
May 05 Incredible Hulk #81 - 43,822 (-10.5%)
Jun 05 Incredible Hulk #82 - 43,248 ( -1.3%)
6 mnth (+39.5%)
1 year ( -2.3%)
2 year (-36.9%)


Basically, we're back where we were at the tail end of the Bruce Jones
run, albeit that the price has gone up since then. Not that price rises
ever seem to have an immediate effect on orders, mind you. Anyway,
there's a HOUSE OF M crossover just around the corner, so it won't be
staying at this level for long.


42,54,58,66,69. LAST HERO STANDING
Jun 05 Last Hero Standing #1 (of 5) - 39,579
Jun 05 Last Hero Standing #2 (of 5) - 35,607 (-10.0%)
Jun 05 Last Hero Standing #3 (of 5) - 34,330 ( -3.6%)
Jun 05 Last Hero Standing #4 (of 5) - 32,737 ( -4.6%)
Jun 05 Last Hero Standing #5 (of 5) - 32,125 ( -1.9%)


A weekly miniseries spinning off from SPIDER-GIRL, and an interesting
indication of how much weight Marvel now place on digest sales. The
numbers are surprisingly good, outperforming parent book SPIDER-GIRL by
a comfortable 13K margin. A cynic might be tempted to suggest that a
factor here is the solicitation text, which never quite gets around to
making clear that the Marvel heroes who guest star in the book are
actually the versions from the MC2 timeline. Nonetheless, it's a very
good number for a SPIDER-GIRL spin-off, by any standards.


49. PUNISHER
Jun 01 Punisher #1 - 85,966
Jun 02 Punisher #13 - 45,756
Jun 03 Punisher #28 - 39,431
======
Jun 04 Punisher #7 - 48,124 ( -0.9%)
Jun 04 Punisher #8 - 47,476 ( -1.3%)
Jul 04 Punisher #9 - 46,882 ( -1.3%)
Aug 04 Punisher #10 - 45,396 ( -3.2%)
Sep 04 Punisher #11 - 44,038 ( -3.0%)
Oct 04 Punisher #12 - 42,072 ( -4.5%)
Nov 04 Punisher #13 - 42,088 ( +0.0%)
Nov 04 Punisher #14 - 41,514 ( -1.4%)
Dec 04 Punisher #15 - 40,357 ( -2.8%)
Jan 05 Punisher #16 - 39,341 ( -2.5%)
Feb 05 Punisher #17 - 38,714 ( -1.6%)
Mar 05 Punisher #18 - 38,348 ( -0.9%)
Apr 05 Punisher #19 - 38,753 ( +1.1%)
Apr 05 Punisher #20 - 38,130 ( -1.6%)
May 05 Punisher #21 - 37,998 ( -0.3%)
Jun 05 Punisher #22 - 37,811 ( -0.5%)
6 mnth ( -6.3%)
1 year (-21.4%)
2 year ( -4.1%)


Another book which has been incredibly solid over the last few issues.


50. BLACK PANTHER
Jun 01 Black Panther #33 - 20,408
Jun 02 Black Panther #46 - 19,213
Jun 03 Black Panther #60 - 16,115
======
Feb 05 Black Panther #1 - 69,930
Mar 05 Black Panther #2 - 47,533 ( -32.0%)
Apr 05 Black Panther #3 - 44,925 ( -5.5%)
May 05 Black Panther #4 - 40,804 ( -9.2%)
Jun 05 Black Panther #5 - 37,401 ( -8.1%)
6 mnth ( n/a )
1 year ( n/a )
2 year (+132.1%)


Still dropping, and it really should be levelling out better than this
by issue #5. 8% drops at this stage are not a good thing. But two
major crossovers are just around the corner, starting in issue #7 - a
difficult call for retailers, since readers are plainly drifting away
from this title.


53. STRANGE
Sep 04 Strange #1 (of 6) - 59,974
Oct 04 Strange #2 (of 6) - 48,410 (-19.3%)
Nov 04 n/a
Dec 04 Strange #3 (of 6) - 41,015 (-15.3%)
Jan 05 n/a
Feb 05 Strange #4 (of 6) - 37,449 ( -8.7%)
Mar 05 n/a
Apr 05 Strange #5 (of 6) - 36,970 ( -1.3%)
May 05 n/a
Jun 05 Strange #6 (of 6) - 35,842 ( -3.1%)
6 mnth (-12.6%)


Fairly standard miniseries numbers, although the book seems to have
drifted off the radar over the last few months. As of yet, the book's
revisions of Dr Strange's history have simply been ignored everywhere
else, and it remains to be seen whether anyone's actually going to pick
up on them.


55. SHANNA THE SHE-DEVIL
Feb 05 Shanna the She-Devil #1 (of 7) - 47,953
Mar 05 Shanna the She-Devil #2 (of 7) - 40,877 (-14.8%)
Apr 05 Shanna the She-Devil #3 (of 7) - 38,678 ( -5.4%)
May 05 Shanna the She-Devil #4 (of 7) - 37,212 ( -3.8%)
Jun 05 Shanna the She-Devil #5 (of 7) - 35,412 ( -4.8%)


Holding up fairly well for a miniseries about such a C-list character.


57. EXILES
Jun 01 Exiles #1 - 55,899
Jun 02 Exiles #14 - 38,448
Jun 03 Exiles #28 - 39,048
======
Jun 04 Exiles #48 - 38,120 ( -0.5%)
Jul 04 Exiles #49 - 37,184 ( -2.5%)
Aug 04 Exiles #50 - 37,958 ( +2.1%)
Aug 04 Exiles #51 - 36,946 ( -2.7%)
Sep 04 Exiles #52 - 36,245 ( -1.9%)
Oct 04 Exiles #53 - 35,323 ( -2.5%)
Nov 04 Exiles #54 - 34,180 ( -3.2%)
Dec 04 Exiles #55 - 33,744 ( -1.3%)
Dec 04 Exiles #56 - 33,396 ( -1.0%)
Dec 04 Exiles #57 - 33,183 ( -0.6%)
Jan 05 Exiles #58 - 32,129 ( -3.2%)
Feb 05 Exiles #59 - 32,337 ( +0.6%)
Mar 05 Exiles #60 - 42,898 (+32.7%)
Mar 05 Exiles #61 - 42,217 ( -1.6%)
Apr 05 Exiles #62 - 33,965 (-19.5%)
Apr 05 Exiles #63 - 33,728 ( -0.7%)
May 05 Exiles #64 - 34,033 ( +0.9%)
Jun 05 Exiles #65 - 34,484 ( +1.3%)
6 mnth ( +3.9%)
1 year ( -9.5%)
2 year (-11.7%)


Another very stable book, not merely holding steady but moving very
slightly upwards for two months in a row.


60. NEW X-MEN
Jun 03 New Mutants #2 - 45,568
======
Jun 04 New X-Men #2 - 58,844 (-23.0%)
Jul 04 New X-Men #3 - 55,304 ( -6.0%)
Aug 04 New X-Men #4 - 51,902 ( -6.2%)
Sep 04 New X-Men #5 - 48,526 ( -6.5%)
Oct 04 New X-Men #6 - 45,647 ( -5.9%)
Nov 04 n/a
Dec 04 New X-Men #7 - 43,024 ( -5.7%)
Jan 05 New X-Men #8 - 40,179 ( -6.6%)
Jan 05 New X-Men #9 - 38,197 ( -4.9%)
Feb 05 New X-Men #10 - 36,910 ( -3.4%)
Mar 05 New X-Men #11 - 35,549 ( -3.7%)
Apr 05 New X-Men #12 - 35,779 ( +0.6%)
May 05 New X-Men #13 - 35,033 ( -2.1%)
May 05 New X-Men #14 - 34,579 ( -1.3%)
Jun 05 New X-Men #15 - 34,007 ( -1.7%)
6 mnth (-21.0%)
1 year (-42.2%)
2 year (-25.4%)


The decline is finally levelling out over the last few issues, but it's
not enough to save the book from a change of creative team and, from the
sounds of it, a radical revision of the premise.


62. X-MEN: KITTY PRYDE - SHADOW & FLAME
Jun 05 Kitty Pryde #1 (of 5) - 33,785


Another X-Men miniseries which nobody seems all that excited about.
Kitty Pryde is one of the core cast in ASTONISHING X-MEN, one of
Marvel's top books, and when her solo books sell at this level, Marvel
really ought to be asking themselves why they're bothering.


65. PULSE
Jun 02 Alias #10 - 31,300
Jun 03 Alias #23 - 27,426
======
Jun 04 n/a
Jul 04 Pulse #4 - 39,883 ( -8.6%)
Aug 04 n/a
Sep 04 Pulse #5 - 37,812 ( -5.2%)
Oct 04 n/a
Nov 04 Pulse #6 - 40,895 ( +8.2%)
Dec 04 n/a
Jan 05 Pulse #7 - 34,779 (-15.0%)
Feb 05 n/a
Mar 05 Pulse #8 - 33,367 ( -4.1%)
Apr 05 n/a
May 05 n/a
Jun 05 Pulse #9 - 32,771 ( -1.8%)
6 mnth ( -5.8%)
1 year (-17.8%)
2 year (+19.5%)


Seems to be levelling out in the low 30K range.


68. SPIDER-MAN: BREAKOUT
Apr 05 Spider-Man: Breakout #1 (of 5) - 44,353
May 05 Spider-Man: Breakout #2 (of 5) - 35,476 (-20.0%)
Jun 05 Spider-Man: Breakout #3 (of 5) - 32,596 ( -8.1%)


Again, levelling out somewhat. Not too bad for a miniseries. It has to
be said that by this stage in proceedings, it's become apparent that the
alleged NEW AVENGERS tie-in is extremely tenuous: the villains were in
the jailbreak in NEW AVENGERS #1, and that's it.


79. TOXIN
Apr 05 Toxin #1 (of 6) - 42,138
May 05 Toxin #2 (of 6) - 34,093 (-19.1%)
Jun 05 Toxin #3 (of 6) - 29,249 (-14.2%)


This, on the other hand, is a worryingly steep drop for a third issue.
Toxin was introduced in the VENOM VERSUS CARNAGE miniseries, which
didn't exactly set the world alight, and there seems to be a degree of
bafflement as to why this book exists at all. In all fairness, it's
better than people seem to assume - it's by Peter Milligan and Darick
Robertson, for heaven's sake. But other than completists, it's hard to
see who's supposed to be the target audience for this.


81. NEW X-MEN: HELLIONS
May 05 New X-Men: Hellions #1 (of 4) - 33,193
Jun 05 New X-Men: Hellions #2 (of 4) - 28,563 (-13.9%)


A fairly standard second issue drop.


82. RUNAWAYS
Jun 03 Runaways #3 - 20,778
======
Jun 04 Runaways #16 - 19,049 ( -1.3%)
Jul 04 n/a
Aug 04 Runaways #17 - 18,563 ( -2.6%)
Sep 04 Runaways #18 - 18,614 ( +0.3%)
Oct 04 n/a
Nov 04 n/a
Dec 04 n/a
Jan 05 n/a
Feb 05 Runaways #1 - 43,128 (+131.7%)
Mar 05 Runaways #2 - 31,330 ( -27.4%)
Apr 05 Runaways #3 - 30,332 ( -3.2%)
May 05 Runaways #4 - 28,968 ( -4.5%)
Jun 05 Runaways #5 - 28,409 ( -1.9%)
6 mnth ( n/a )
1 year ( +49.1%)
2 year ( +36.7%)


Levelling out around the 28K mark, which places the book miles ahead of
its previous incarnation. It's not a fantastic number by Marvel
Universe standards, but then we come back again to the all impotant
digest sales. RUNAWAYS reputedly did rather well in that format, and
overall, it's probably in fairly good health.


83. DREAM POLICE
Jun 05 Dream Police #1 - 28,308


The Icon imprint makes its first appearance, with this curious one-shot
by J Michael Straczynski and Mike Deodato. Very respectable sales for
an unusual book.


85. G.L.A.
Apr 05 G.L.A. #1 (of 4) - 35,150
May 05 G.L.A. #2 (of 4) - 29,995 (-14.7%)
Jun 05 G.L.A. #3 (of 4) - 28,248 ( -5.8%)


Holding up remarkably well, especially when you consider that it's the
GLA. Better sales than could reasonably have been expected, which
perhaps bodes well for the relaunch of Dan Slott's SHE-HULK.


86. MARVEL KNIGHTS 4
Jun 04 Marvel Knights 4 #6 - 44,076 ( -2.5%)
Jul 04 Marvel Knights 4 #7 - 43,010 ( -2.4%)
Jul 04 Marvel Knights 4 #8 - 41,312 ( -3.9%)
Aug 04 Marvel Knights 4 #9 - 39,743 ( -3.8%)
Sep 04 Marvel Knights 4 #10 - 38,318 ( -3.6%)
Oct 04 Marvel Knights 4 #11 - 36,820 ( -3.9%)
Nov 04 Marvel Knights 4 #12 - 34,525 ( -6.2%)
Dec 04 Marvel Knights 4 #13 - 32,623 ( -5.5%)
Jan 05 Marvel Knights 4 #14 - 31,291 ( -4.1%)
Feb 05 Marvel Knights 4 #15 - 30,230 ( -3.4%)
Mar 05 Marvel Knights 4 #16 - 29,600 ( -2.1%)
Apr 05 Marvel Knights 4 #17 - 29,189 ( -1.4%)
May 05 Marvel Knights 4 #18 - 28,649 ( -1.9%)
Jun 05 Marvel Knights 4 #19 - 28,153 ( -1.7%)
6 mnth (-13.7%)
1 year (-36.1%)


Finding its level, but so far behind the parent book - and now producing
material so similar to it - that you have to wonder what the point is.


88. POWERS
Jun 01 Powers #13 - 27,002
Jun 02 Powers #22 - 26,561
Jun 03 Powers #32 - 26,774
======
Jul 04 Powers #1 - 40,387 (+61.4%)
Jul 04 Powers #2 - 36,537 ( -9.5%)
Aug 04 Powers #3 - 33,628 ( -8.0%)
Sep 04 Powers #4 - 33,046 ( -1.7%)
Oct 04 Powers #5 - 32,504 ( -1.6%)
Nov 04 Powers #6 - 30,431 ( -6.4%)
Dec 04 Powers #7 - 30,687 ( +0.8%)
Jan 05 Powers #8 - 29,438 ( -4.1%)
Feb 05 Powers #9 - 28,512 ( -3.1%)
Mar 05 n/a
Apr 05 Powers #10 - 28,360 ( -0.5%)
May 05 n/a
Jun 05 Powers #11 - 27,703 ( -2.3%)
6 mnth ( -9.7%)
1 year ( n/a )
2 year ( +3.5%)


More from Icon, as POWERS drifts back down towards its established
26-27K range. Historically, this is its bedrock audience, so it ought
to be levelling out now.


91. NEW THUNDERBOLTS
Jun 01 Thunderbolts #53 - 35,388
Jun 02 Thunderbolts #65 - 28,224
Jun 03 Thunderbolts #80 - 18,766
======
Nov 04 New Thunderbolts #1 - 45,793
Nov 04 New Thunderbolts #2 - 40,104 (-12.4%)
Dec 04 New Thunderbolts #3 - 32,720 (-18.4%)
Jan 05 New Thunderbolts #4 - 31,725 ( -3.0%)
Feb 05 New Thunderbolts #5 - 29,377 ( -7.4%)
Mar 05 New Thunderbolts #6 - 29,103 ( -0.9%)
Apr 05 New Thunderbolts #7 - 28,977 ( -0.4%)
May 05 New Thunderbolts #8 - 27,769 ( -4.2%)
Jun 05 New Thunderbolts #9 - 27,300 ( -1.7%)
6 mnth (-31.9%)
1 year ( n/a )
2 year (-22.9%)


Again, fairly solid over the last few issues. Hopefully safe as long as
it can stick around this level.


96. WOLVERINE: SOULTAKER
Mar 05 Wolverine: Soultaker #1 (of 5) - 42,880
Mar 05 Wolverine: Soultaker #2 (of 5) - 38,910 ( -9.3%)
Apr 05 Wolverine: Soultaker #3 (of 5) - 33,130 (-14.9%)
May 05 Wolverine: Soultaker #4 (of 5) - 29,015 (-12.4%)
Jun 05 Wolverine: Soultaker #5 (of 5) - 26,742 ( -7.8%)


Generic orders for a Wolverine miniseries nobody's that interested in.


97. ORORO: BEFORE THE STORM
Jun 05 Ororo: Before the Storm #1 (of 4) - 26,372


Because you demanded it: a miniseries about Storm as a kid. Actually,
it's got an all ages rating, so Marvel might be eyeing this as a
possible digest story. The direct market sales certainly aren't going
to justify the exercise, anyway.


100. X-MEN UNLIMITED
Jun 01 n/a
Jun 02 n/a
Jun 03 X-Men Unlimited #48 - 34,314
======
Jun 04 X-Men Unlimited #3 - 36,737 (-13.8%)
Jul 04 n/a
Aug 04 X-Men Unlimited #4 - 33,895 ( -7.7%)
Sep 04 n/a
Oct 04 X-Men Unlimited #5 - 32,910 ( -2.9%)
Nov 04 n/a
Dec 04 X-Men Unlimited #6 - 30,138 ( -8.4%)
Jan 05 n/a
Feb 05 X-Men Unlimited #7 - 27,009 (-10.4%)
Mar 05 n/a
Apr 05 X-Men Unlimited #8 - 25,686 ( -4.9%)
May 05 n/a
Jun 05 X-Men Unlimited #9 - 25,398 ( -1.1%)
6 mnth (-15.7%)
1 year (-30.9%)


A small drop this month, but then again, it did have Wolverine in it.
X-MEN UNLIMITED sales tend to be a bit erratic, presumably depending on
the characters - although instead up going up and down, it goes down and
downer.


104. CABLE/DEADPOOL
Jun 04 Cable/Deadpool #4 - 34,966 ( -5.0%)
Jul 04 Cable/Deadpool #5 - 32,594 ( -6.8%)
Aug 04 Cable/Deadpool #6 - 31,033 ( -4.8%)
Sep 04 Cable/Deadpool #7 - 30,325 ( -2.3%)
Oct 04 Cable/Deadpool #8 - 28,986 ( -4.4%)
Nov 04 Cable/Deadpool #9 - 27,612 ( -4.7%)
Dec 04 Cable/Deadpool #10 - 26,911 ( -2.5%)
Jan 05 Cable/Deadpool #11 - 25,844 ( -4.0%)
Feb 05 Cable/Deadpool #12 - 25,349 ( -1.9%)
Mar 05 Cable/Deadpool #13 - 25,551 ( +0.8%)
Apr 05 Cable/Deadpool #14 - 24,994 ( -2.2%)
May 05 Cable/Deadpool #15 - 24,837 ( -0.6%)
Jun 05 Cable/Deadpool #16 - 24,612 ( -0.9%)
6 mnth ( -8.5%)
1 year (-29.6%)


And here's another solid book. There's a HOUSE OF M crossover just
around the corner.


108. MARVEL TEAM-UP
Nov 04 Marvel Team-Up #1 - 44,530
Nov 04 Marvel Team-Up #2 - 37,515 (-15.7%)
Dec 04 Marvel Team-Up #3 - 29,085 (-22.5%)
Jan 05 Marvel Team-Up #4 - 27,216 ( -6.4%)
Feb 05 Marvel Team-Up #5 - 28,141 ( +3.4%)
Mar 05 Marvel Team-Up #6 - 24,762 (-12.0%)
Apr 05 Marvel Team-Up #7 - 24,800 ( +0.2%)
May 05 Marvel Team-Up #8 - 24,270 ( -2.1%)
Jun 05 Marvel Team-Up #9 - 23,530 ( -3.0%)
6 mnth (-19.1%)


The decline has slowed to reasonable amounts, although sales are still a
little too erratic to really describe this one as stable.

 

[iloveclones]

Last but not least (boy, I see why people pick and choose....)

109. STORMBREAKER: THE SAGA OF BETA RAY BILL
Jan 05 Stormbreaker #1 (of 6) - 31,297
Feb 05 Stormbreaker #2 (of 6) - 26,365 (-15.8%)
Mar 05 Stormbreaker #3 (of 6) - 25,671 ( -2.6%)
Apr 05 Stormbreaker #4 (of 6) - 24,264 ( -5.5%)
May 05 Stormbreaker #5 (of 6) - 23,257 ( -4.2%)
Jun 05 Stormbreaker #6 (of 6) - 22,649 ( -2.6%)


All things considered, these numbers should probably be considered a
success. After all, it's outsold four ongoing X-books, and who'd have
expected that for a BETA RAY BILL book?


110. MARVEL NEMESIS: THE IMPERFECTS
May 05 Marvel Nemesis: The Imperfects #1 (of 6) - 32,600
Jun 05 Marvel Nemesis: The Imperfects #2 (of 6) - 22,407 (-31.3%)


Slashing back the orders. Again, it's hard to work out who this book is
for, although I'm sure it went down very well with an internal committee
on cross-media marketing synergy.


111. NIGHTCRAWLER
Sep 04 Nightcrawler #1 - 46,547
Oct 04 n/a
Nov 04 Nightcrawler #2 - 36,533 (-21.5%)
Dec 04 Nightcrawler #3 - 31,436 (-14.0%)
Dec 04 Nightcrawler #4 - 29,292 ( -6.8%)
Jan 05 Nightcrawler #5 - 26,442 ( -9.7%)
Feb 05 Nightcrawler #6 - 24,641 ( -6.8%)
Mar 05 n/a
Apr 05 n/a
May 05 n/a
Jun 05 Nightcrawler #7 - 22,400 ( -9.1%)
6 mnth (-23.5%)


A strong contender for this year's most baffling promotional move: take
a book with flagging sales, pull it off the shelves for three months,
and then bring it back with no particular publicity at all. Quite what
this was supposed to achieve, I have no idea. Anyway, Marvel should
count themselves lucky that the decline simply continued at previous
levels. The book surely can't be long for this world.


113. OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE
Jun 04 Spider-Man 2004 - 32,013 ( -18.7%)
Jul 04 Avengers 2004 - 28,791 ( -10.1%)
Aug 04 Hulk 2004 - 22,011 ( -23.5%)
Sep 04 Daredevil/Elektra 2004 - 22,781 ( +3.5%)
Oct 04 Wolverine 2004 - 32,553 ( +42.9%)
Nov 04 Book of the Dead 2004 - 25,131 ( -22.8%)
Dec 04 Golden Age 2004 - 17,356 ( -30.9%)
Jan 05 Women of Marvel 2005 - 20,837 ( +20.1%)
Feb 05 Marvel Knights 2005 - 18,182 ( -12.7%)
Mar 05 X-Men: Age of Apocalypse 2005 - 37,056 (+103.8%)
Apr 05 Spider-Man 2005 - 25,530 ( -31.1%)
May 05 Teams 2005 - 22,564 ( -11.6%)
Jun 05 Fantastic Four 2005 - 21,970 ( -2.6%)
6 mnth ( +26.6%)
1 year ( -31.4%)


Once again, not a huge amount of interest in a Fantastic Four product. I
really do wonder how much appetite there is for the characters, at least
among the direct market audience.


118. NEW WARRIORS
Jun 05 New Warriors #1 (of 6) - 20,841


120. GRAVITY
Jun 05 Gravity #1 (of 5) - 20,304


The standard order number for miniseries which the retailers don't have
much confidence in, and which didn't get much publicity. SPELLBINDERS
and LIVEWIRES both debuted at this level as well, and what does that
tell you?


121. ROGUE
Jul 04 Rogue #1 - 50,727
Aug 04 Rogue #2 - 39,910 (-21.3%)
Sep 04 Rogue #3 - 34,934 (-12.5%)
Oct 04 Rogue #4 - 31,301 (-10.4%)
Nov 04 n/a
Dec 04 Rogue #5 - 28,835 ( -7.9%)
Dec 04 Rogue #6 - 26,905 ( -6.7%)
Jan 05 Rogue #7 - 24,865 ( -7.6%)
Feb 05 Rogue #8 - 23,312 ( -6.2%)
Mar 05 Rogue #9 - 22,328 ( -4.2%)
Apr 05 n/a
May 05 Rogue #10 - 21,845 ( -2.2%)
May 05 Rogue #11 - 21,458 ( -1.8%)
Jun 05 Rogue #12 - 20,290 ( -5.4%)
6 mnth (-24.6%)


Axed with this issue.


122. DAREDEVIL: REDEMPTION
Feb 05 Daredevil: Redemption #1 (of 6) - 33,091
Feb 05 Daredevil: Redemption #2 (of 6) - 30,137 ( -8.9%)
Mar 05 Daredevil: Redemption #3 (of 6) - 24,810 (-17.7%)
Apr 05 n/a
May 05 Daredevil: Redemption #4 (of 6) - 21,118 (-14.9%)
Jun 05 Daredevil: Redemption #5 (of 6) - 19,658 ( -6.9%)


Disappearing quietly.


123,128. GAMBIT
Sep 04 Gambit #1 - 46,994
Sep 04 Gambit #2 - 40,013 (-14.9%)
Oct 04 Gambit #3 - 34,952 (-12.6%)
Nov 04 Gambit #4 - 29,385 (-15.9%)
Dec 04 Gambit #5 - 25,413 (-13.5%)
Jan 05 Gambit #6 - 23,528 ( -7.4%)
Feb 05 Gambit #7 - 22,233 ( -5.5%)
Mar 05 Gambit #8 - 21,509 ( -3.3%)
Apr 05 Gambit #9 - 20,536 ( -4.5%)
May 05 Gambit #10 - 19,872 ( -3.2%)
Jun 05 Gambit #11 - 19,652 ( -1.1%)
Jun 05 Gambit #12 - 18,852 ( -4.1%)
6 mnth (-25.8%)


Axed with this issue.


124. SPIDER-GIRL
Jun 01 Spider-Girl #35 - 24,402
Jun 02 Spider-Girl #48 - 24,311
Jun 03 Spider-Girl #61 - 23,429
======
Jun 04 Spider-Girl #75 - 24,674 (+23.6%)
Jul 04 Spider-Girl #76 - 22,157 (-10.2%)
Aug 04 Spider-Girl #77 - 21,758 ( -1.8%)
Sep 04 Spider-Girl #78 - 22,076 ( +1.5%)
Oct 04 Spider-Girl #79 - 21,893 ( -0.8%)
Nov 04 Spider-Girl #80 - 21,146 ( -3.4%)
Dec 04 Spider-Girl #81 - 20,419 ( -3.4%)
Jan 05 Spider-Girl #82 - 20,005 ( -2.0%)
Feb 05 Spider-Girl #83 - 20,382 ( +1.9%)
Mar 05 Spider-Girl #84 - 20,050 ( -1.6%)
Apr 05 Spider-Girl #85 - 19,682 ( -1.8%)
May 05 Spider-Girl #86 - 19,452 ( -1.2%)
Jun 05 Spider-Girl #87 - 19,605 ( +0.8%)
6 mnth ( -4.0%)
1 year (-20.5%)
2 year (-16.3%)


Moving slightly up, perhaps because of LAST HERO STANDING.


129. DISTRICT X
Jun 04 District X #2 - 35,844 (-21.1%)
Jul 04 District X #3 - 33,257 ( -7.2%)
Aug 04 District X #4 - 30,816 ( -7.3%)
Sep 04 District X #5 - 28,979 ( -6.0%)
Oct 04 District X #6 - 27,097 ( -6.5%)
Nov 04 District X #7 - 25,488 ( -6.0%)
Dec 04 District X #8 - 23,683 ( -7.1%)
Jan 05 District X #9 - 22,244 ( -6.1%)
Feb 05 District X #10 - 21,252 ( -4.5%)
Mar 05 District X #11 - 20,546 ( -3.3%)
Apr 05 District X #12 - 20,218 ( -1.6%)
May 05 District X #13 - 19,459 ( -3.8%)
Jun 05 District X #14 - 18,798 ( -3.4%)
6 mnth (-20.6%)
1 year (-47.6%)


Axed with this issue, although it's immediately followed by the HOUSE OF
M tie-in miniseries MUTOPIA X.


134. X-FORCE
Aug 04 X-Force #1 (of 6) - 66,620
Sep 04 X-Force #2 (of 6) - 50,991 (-23.5%)
Oct 04 X-Force #3 (of 6) - 46,528 ( -8.8%)
Nov 04 X-Force #4 (of 6) - 41,533 (-10.7%)
Dec 04 X-Force #5 (of 6) - 38,006 ( -8.5%)
Jan 05 n/a
Feb 05 X-Force #6 (of 6) - 35,633 ( -6.2%)
Feb 05 X-Force: Shatterstar #1 (of 4) - 28,361 (-20.4%)
Mar 05 X-Force: Shatterstar #2 (of 4) - 23,237 (-18.1%)
Apr 05 X-Force: Shatterstar #3 (of 4) - 20,948 ( -9.9%)
May 05 n/a
Jun 05 X-Force: Shatterstar #4 (of 4) - 18,066 (-13.8%)
6 mnth (-52.5%)


And that's the end of that. The novelty of Rob Liefeld really does wear
off quickly these days.


136. FANTASTIC FOUR: THE MOVIE
Jun 05 Fantastic Four: The Movie #1 - 17,481


Not a bad number, as these things go. Movie tie-ins aren't primarily
aimed at the direct market.


141,149. FANTASTIC FOUR: FOES
Jan 05 Fantastic Four: Foes #1 (of 6) - 30,329
Feb 05 Fantastic Four: Foes #2 (of 6) - 24,177 (-20.3%)
Mar 05 Fantastic Four: Foes #3 (of 6) - 20,313 (-16.0%)
Apr 05 Fantastic Four: Foes #4 (of 6) - 17,737 (-12.7%)
May 05 n/a
Jun 05 Fantastic Four: Foes #5 (of 6) - 16,526 ( -6.8%)
Jun 05 Fantastic Four: Foes #6 (of 6) - 15,713 ( -4.9%)


A bit of a bomb, frankly.


142. HERCULES
Apr 05 Hercules #1 (of 5) - 26,222
May 05 Hercules #2 (of 5) - 19,499 (-25.6%)
Jun 05 Hercules #3 (of 5) - 16,459 (-15.6%)


Losing readers at an uncomfortable rate.


144. ARAÑA: HEART OF THE SPIDER
Jun 04 Amazing Fantasy #1 - 62,056
Jul 04 n/a
Aug 04 Amazing Fantasy #2 - 37,047 (-40.3%)
Aug 04 Amazing Fantasy #3 - 33,917 ( -8.4%)
Sep 04 Amazing Fantasy #4 - 30,325 (-10.6%)
Oct 04 Amazing Fantasy #5 - 26,349 (-13.1%)
Nov 04 Amazing Fantasy #6 - 23,913 ( -9.2%)
Dec 04 n/a
Jan 05 Araña #1 - 29,843 (+24.8%)
Feb 05 n/a
Mar 05 Araña #2 - 22,131 (-25.8%)
Mar 05 Araña #3 - 20,002 ( -9.6%)
Apr 05 n/a
May 05 Araña #4 - 18,752 ( -6.2%)
Jun 05 Araña #5 - 16,379 (-12.7%)
6 mnth (-45.1%)
1 year (-73.6%)


Plummetting like a brick. I can only assume that ARAÑA must be
performing respectably in digest format, because if it wasn't, they'd
surely have pulled the plug by now. Nonetheless, the numbers on this
title are embarrassing. With SENTINEL set to return as a digest-only
book, how long can it be before some of these low-selling titles also
make the big jump and abandon the monthly format altogether?


150. AMAZING FANTASY
Jun 04 Amazing Fantasy #1 - 62,056
Jul 04 n/a
Aug 04 Amazing Fantasy #2 - 37,047 (-40.3%)
Aug 04 Amazing Fantasy #3 - 33,917 ( -8.4%)
Sep 04 Amazing Fantasy #4 - 30,325 (-10.6%)
Oct 04 Amazing Fantasy #5 - 26,349 (-13.1%)
Nov 04 Amazing Fantasy #6 - 23,913 ( -9.2%)
Dec 04 n/a
Jan 05 n/a
Feb 05 n/a
Mar 05 n/a
Apr 05 Amazing Fantasy #7 - 21,802 ( -8.9%)
May 05 Amazing Fantasy #8 - 17,773 (-18.5%)
Jun 05 Amazing Fantasy #9 - 15,606 (-12.2%)
6 mnth (-34.7%)
1 year (-74.9%)


Doing no better. It's being used to launch a CAPTAIN UNIVERSE event in
the coming months, but one has to wonder whether AMAZING FANTASY is in
any position to launch anything. With issues #13-14 scheduled to
contain two-parters, are they about to pull the plug? Or do they just
want something more impressive for AMAZING FANTASY #15 II?


151. SPIDER-MAN/HUMAN TORCH
Jan 05 Spider-Man/Human Torch #1 (of 5) - 30,617
Feb 05 Spider-Man/Human Torch #2 (of 5) - 22,448 (-26.7%)
Mar 05 Spider-Man/Human Torch #3 (of 5) - 18,286 (-18.5%)
Apr 05 n/a
May 05 Spider-Man/Human Torch #4 (of 5) - 16,893 ( -7.6%)
Jun 05 Spider-Man/Human Torch #5 (of 5) - 15,512 ( -8.2%)


Not particularly great numbers, but it was levelling out somewhat.


179. SPELLBINDERS
Mar 05 Spellbinders #1 (of 6) - 20,995
Apr 05 Spellbinders #2 (of 6) - 14,632 (-30.3%)
May 05 Spellbinders #3 (of 6) - 12,069 (-17.5%)
Jun 05 Spellbinders #4 (of 6) - 10,189 (-15.6%)


Disastrous.


183. LIVEWIRES
Feb 05 Livewires #1 (of 6) - 20,944
Mar 05 Livewires #2 (of 6) - 14,688 (-29.9%)
Apr 05 Livewires #3 (of 6) - 12,581 (-14.3%)
May 05 Livewires #4 (of 6) - 11,089 (-11.9%)
Jun 05 Livewires #5 (of 6) - 9,960 (-10.2%)


Ditto.


185. MACHINE TEEN
May 05 Machine Teen #1 (of 5) - 16,527
Jun 05 Machine Teen #2 (of 5) - 9,812 (-40.6%)


Oww. The numbers on this book are doing to be truly painful to watch.


187. MARVEL ADVENTURES: FANTASTIC FOUR
May 05 Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four #0 - 9,723
Jun 05 Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four #1 - 9,617 (-1.1%)


198. MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN
Mar 05 Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #1 - 14,351
Apr 05 Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #2 - 10,305 (-28.2%)
May 05 Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #3 - 9,110 (-11.6%)
Jun 05 Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #4 - 8,878 ( -2.5%)


205. MARY JANE: HOMECOMING
Mar 05 Mary Jane: Homecoming #1 (of 4) - 12,707
Apr 05 Mary Jane: Homecoming #2 (of 4) - 10,536 (-17.1%)
May 05 Mary Jane: Homecoming #3 (of 4) - 9,016 (-14.4%)
Jun 05 Mary Jane: Homecoming #4 (of 4) - 8,307 ( -7.9%)


206. POWER PACK
Apr 05 Power Pack #1 (of 4) - 14,221
May 05 Power Pack #2 (of 4) - 11,289 (-20.6%)
May 05 Power Pack #3 (of 4) - 10,143 (-10.2%)
Jun 05 Power Pack #4 (of 4) - 8,307 (-18.1%)


All ages books, all of which are aimed primarily at the digest audience.
The direct market sales really don't matter.


227. MARVEL MILESTONES
Jun 05 Dr Doom, Sub-Mariner & Red Skull - 6,237


Another slightly random collection of reprints.


273. MARVEL HEROES
Jun 05 Marvel Heroes #1 - 3,528


276. ULTIMATE TALES
Jun 05 Ultimate Tales #1 - 3,495


282. ULTIMATE MARVEL
Jun 05 Ultimate Marvel #1 - 3,266


283. MARVEL SELECT
Jun 05 Marvel Select #1 - 3,246


Er... yes. These are flipbooks reprinting material that was out in the
direct market months, and in some cases years, ago. So it's hardly
surprising that the orders were so low. In fact, there's got to be a
good chance that these titles will drop out of the Top 300 altogether in
early course. Once again, it really doesn't matter, because they're not
aimed at the direct market readership.


Skip months
===========


ASTONISHING X-MEN
Jun 04 Astonishing X-Men #2 - 136,158 (-48.6%)
Jul 04 Astonishing X-Men #3 - 129,362 ( -5.0%)
Aug 04 Astonishing X-Men #4 - 148,209 (+14.6%)
Sep 04 Astonishing X-Men #5 - 134,154 ( -9.5%)
Oct 04 n/a
Nov 04 Astonishing X-Men #6 - 134,840 ( +0.5%)
Dec 04 Astonishing X-Men #7 - 153,516 (+13.9%)
Jan 05 n/a
Feb 05 Astonishing X-Men #8 - 153,395 ( -0.0%)
Mar 05 Astonishing X-Men #9 - 135,325 (-11.8%)
Apr 05 n/a
May 05 Astonishing X-Men #10 - 156,298 (+15.5%)
Jun 05 n/a


Late. Meanwhile, more fun with variant covers, as issue #10 picks up
another 21,312 orders, and charts at number 116.


ULTIMATES
Jun 02 Ultimates #6 - 99,473
Jun 03 n/a
======
Dec 05 Ultimates 2 #1 - 146,271 (+42.0%)
Jan 05 Ultimates 2 #2 - 114,963 (-21.4%)
Feb 05 Ultimates 2 #3 - 108,378 ( -5.7%)
Mar 05 Ultimates 2 #4 - 105,255 ( -2.9%)
Apr 05 Ultimates 2 #5 - 104,971 ( -0.3%)
May 05 Ultimates 2 #6 - 102,026 ( -2.8%)
Jun 05 n/a


Late.


SECRET WAR
Jun 04 n/a
Jul 04 n/a
Aug 04 n/a
Sep 04 n/a
Oct 04 Secret War #3 (of 5) - 109,745 (-17.4%)
Nov 04 n/a
Dec 04 n/a
Jan 05 n/a
Feb 05 n/a
Mar 05 Secret War #4 (of 5) - 94,893 (-13.5%)
Apr 05 n/a
May 05 n/a
Jun 05 n/a


Hopelessly late.


ULTIMATE IRON MAN
Mar 05 Ultimate Iron Man #1 (of 5) - 143,697
Apr 05 n/a
May 05 Ultimate Iron Man #2 (of 5) - 90,197 (-37.2%)
Jun 05 n/a


Bimonthly, although issue #3 has actually been pushed back to the first
week of August.


ULTIMATE GALACTUS TRILOGY
Aug 04 Ultimate Nightmare #1 (of 5) - 102,655
Sep 04 Ultimate Nightmare #2 (of 5) - 88,088 (-14.2%)
Oct 04 Ultimate Nightmare #3 (of 5) - 83,208 ( -5.5%)
Nov 04 n/a
Dec 04 Ultimate Nightmare #4 (of 5) - 76,658 ( -7.9%)
Jan 05 n/a
Feb 05 Ultimate Nightmare #5 (of 5) - 73,082 ( -4.6%)
Mar 05 Ultimate Secret #1 (of 4) - 89,132 (+22.0%)
Apr 05 Ultimate Secret #2 (of 4) - 77,914 (-12.6%)
May 05 n/a
Jun 05 n/a


On hiatus until September.


IRON MAN
Jun 01 Iron Man #43 - 36,917
Jun 02 Iron Man #56 - 36,126
Jun 03 Iron Man #69 - 31,976
======
Jun 04 Iron Man #84 - 29,629 ( +5.6%)
Jun 04 Iron Man #85 - 29,615 ( -0.0%)
Jul 04 Iron Man #86 - 34,520 ( +16.6%)
Aug 04 Iron Man #87 - 33,512 ( -2.9%)
Sep 04 Iron Man #88 - 32,932 ( -1.7%)
Oct 04 Iron Man #89 - 33,483 ( +1.7%)
Nov 04 Iron Man #1 - 68,992 (+106.1%)
Dec 04 Iron Man #2 - 55,051 ( -20.2%)
Jan 05 n/a
Feb 05 n/a
Mar 05 n/a
Apr 05 Iron Man #3 - 51,390 ( -6.7%)
May 05 n/a
Jun 05 n/a


Hopelessly late.


NYX
Jun 04 n/a
Jul 04 n/a
Aug 04 n/a
Sep 04 n/a
Oct 04 NYX #5 - 35,749 ( -3.5%)
Nov 04 n/a
Dec 04 n/a
Jan 05 n/a
Feb 05 n/a
Mar 05 n/a
Apr 05 n/a
May 05 n/a
Jun 05 n/a


Divorced from time and space. Incredibly, issue #6 actually shipped in
July. Meanwhile, in June, the MARVEL MUST HAVES collection of issues
#4-5 appears at number 217 with orders of 7,084. The book is axed with
issue #7, which at this rate, should be out in April 2006.


SPIDER-MAN UNLIMITED
Jun 04 n/a
Jul 04 Spider-Man Unlimited #4 - 26,506 (-16.3%)
Aug 04 n/a
Sep 04 Spider-Man Unlimited #5 - 24,156 ( -8.9%)
Oct 04 n/a
Nov 04 Spider-Man Unlimited #6 - 20,974 (-13.2%)
Dec 04 n/a
Jan 05 Spider-Man Unlimited #7 - 18,316 (-12.7%)
Feb 05 n/a
Mar 05 Spider-Man Unlimited #8 - 17,640 ( -3.7%)
Apr 05 n/a
May 05 Spider-Man Unlimited #9 - 16,953 ( -3.9%)
Jun 05 n/a


Bimonthly.


KABUKI
Jul 04 Kabuki #1 - 25,305
Aug 04 n/a
Sep 04 Kabuki #2 - 16,705 (-34.0%)
Oct 04 n/a
Nov 04 n/a
Dec 04 Kabuki #3 - 13,885 (-16.9%)
Jan 05 n/a
Feb 05 n/a
Mar 05 n/a
Apr 05 Kabuki #4 - 14,327 ( +3.2%)
May 05 n/a
Jun 05 n/a


World of its own. Ships when it's ready.


6 month comparisons
===================


+39.5% - Incredible Hulk
+26.6% - Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
+17.4% - Fantastic Four
+ 3.9% - Exiles
+ 1.4% - Uncanny X-Men
- 3.1% - Wolverine
- 4.0% - Spider-Girl
- 4.6% - Daredevil
- 5.8% - Pulse
- 6.3% - Punisher
- 8.5% - Cable/Deadpool
- 8.9% - X-Men
- 9.7% - Powers
-10.7% - Ultimate Spider-Man
-11.1% - Supreme Power
-11.4% - Amazing Spider-Man
-11.5% - Captain America
-12.2% - Ultimate Fantastic Four
-12.6% - Strange
-13.2% - Ultimate X-Men
-13.7% - Marvel Knights 4
-15.7% - X-Men Unlimited
-16.1% - Marvel Knights Spider-Man
-17.1% - X-Men: The End
-19.1% - Marvel Team-Up
-20.6% - District X
-21.0% - New X-Men
-23.5% - Nightcrawler
-24.6% - Rogue
-25.8% - Gambit
-31.9% - New Thunderbolts
-34.7% - Amazing Fantasy
-42.4% - New Avengers
-45.1% - Araña: Heart of the Spider
-52.5% - X-Force


1 year comparison
=================


+183.1% - New Avengers
+ 49.1% - Runaways
+ 30.2% - Captain America
+ 18.4% - Wolverine
+ 12.1% - Fantastic Four
- 2.3% - Incredible Hulk
- 7.5% - Uncanny X-Men
- 9.5% - Exiles
- 9.9% - Amazing Spider-Man
- 10.4% - Daredevil
- 12.2% - Ultimate Fantastic Four
- 17.0% - Supreme Power
- 17.5% - Ultimate X-Men
- 17.8% - Pulse
- 18.5% - X-Men
- 20.5% - Spider-Girl
- 21.4% - Punisher
- 24.2% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 29.6% - Cable & Deadpool
- 30.9% - X-Men Unlimited
- 31.4% - Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
- 34.6% - Marvel Knights Spider-Man
- 36.1% - Marvel Knights 4
- 42.2% - New X-Men
- 47.6% - District X
- 73.6% - Araña / Amazing Fantasy
- 74.9% - Amazing Fantasy


2 year comparisons
==================


+180.6% - New Avengers / Avengers
+132.1% - Black Panther
+ 36.7% - Runaways
+ 19.5% - Pulse / Alias
+ 5.4% - Fantastic Four
+ 3.5% - Powers
+ 3.3% - Captain America
+ 1.7% - Uncanny X-Men
- 4.1% - Punisher
- 11.7% - Exiles
- 16.3% - Spider-Girl
- 19.4% - X-Men / New X-Men
- 19.5% - Daredevil
- 19.9% - Wolverine
- 20.7% - Ultimate Spider-Man
- 22.9% - New Thunderbolts
- 25.4% - New X-Men / New Mutants
- 29.0% - Ultimate X-Men
- 36.9% - Incredible Hulk


--
Paul O'Brien

 

[iloveclones]

For all the griping, I didn't expect numbers that big. No wonder they do these things. I wonder what the numbers would be for something people like. (That's my subtle way of asking for numbers of other crossovers)

1,2. HOUSE OF M
Jun 05 House of M #1 (of 8) - 233,763
Jun 05 House of M #2 (of 8) - 168,974 (-27.7%)

 

[DBM]

For all the griping, I didn't expect numbers that big. No wonder they do these things. I wonder what the numbers would be for something people like. (That's my subtle way of asking for numbers of other crossovers)

Were there variant covers on the House of M titles? Those will inflate the sales numbers to look like more people are buying it.

 

[iloveclones]

I'm not sure. I don't think so. I never really look for those things, so I don't know if they're there. But inflated or not, those numbers surprised me a little. What kind of numbers does DC's crossover do?

 

[DBM]

From ICv2.

Interview with Marvel Publisher Dan Buckley 2005, Part 1
On the Comics and Graphic Novel Market
August 22, 2005

We recently conducted our annual interview with Marvel publisher Dan Buckley about the state of the comics business and Marvel's place in it. In Part 1, we talk about the over-all market conditions for comics and graphic novels in comic stores, bookstores, mass merchants, and newsstand outlets. In Part 2, we discuss the way Marvel approaches its mass market outlets as ways to reach new consumers, the relationship between movies and graphic novel sales, and Marvel's graphic novel share and investment in inventory. In Part 3, we talk about whether videogame licenses help or hurt comic sales and the risks and rewards of variant covers and reprints. And in Part 4, we talked whether Marvel would ever license its comics (like it does toy manufacturing), whether comic-based movies are a bubble, how Marvel is approaching the female young adult market, and the challenges and opportunities for the coming year.



What's your perspective on the state of the market, 2005 versus 2004, for comics and graphic novels over-all.

It's a little bit more competitive from a Marvel and DC standpoint. From a market dynamic in the direct market [standpoint], it's the Big Two and other publishers going on right now. From a marketing and product offering [standpoint], it's been a good year for direct market retailers. Between House of M and the Infinity Crisis there's a lot of product for them to sell. We're probably doing a little bit more of an event where things are happening in a book, and DC's doing much more of a major crossover connected story lattice. It will be interesting to see how that affects the market, but it's very good; sales are up. It's been a good year, especially for DC and Marvel.



From the standpoint of over-all growth, it's exciting what's going on with the bookstore business. We've had a very good year (not just in bookstores but in the direct market). We have a lot more offerings in our classic category, and our Ultimates line continues to do very well for us in both markets. We've also seen quite a bit of growth with our digest program in various distribution networks. Barnes and Borders are doing very well for us with the digest program, all ages, and some of our YA (Young Adult, ed.), which I would put in the Runaways vein. We're experimenting with different IP, from Arana to Machine Teen to Spellbinders. We're generating some excitement. Runaways is the lead of that stuff. Target is continuing to do well. The most exciting thing going on for us is that the all ages line with Marvel Adventures is sticking. Our initial response to the mass market relaunch into the newsstand business is going pretty well (fingers crossed, we still have two or three months to see how it's going).



This year compared to last year the direct market's experiencing some growth. That's nice to see especially considering all the years it wasn't growing. We're experiencing some opening of avenues in new distribution channels, therefore, getting new readers, and getting people excited about what we're doing between bookstores, convenience stores and drug stores. We weren't there last year. The digest programs and the all ages programs have really helped with that.



Going to bookstores, last year we talked about the growth in pockets for graphic novels and whether that was adequate to support the number of titles that publishers were asking bookstores to field. Are you feeling any more pressure on the available space there in the graphic novel departments?

We aren't really experiencing any pushback from the offering that we're giving them. We're getting the space necessary. Both of the big players have been very supportive of the category, and they're not saying, "Less! Don't offer me as much." Do they go into to everything wholeheartedly? No, but they take a little of everything we do with the exception of things we don't offer them, that being the mass merch hardcover program. We are getting pushed back that way.



We might disagree on how deep they should go on an order and where something should be merchandised, where you should rack something. But those are things that we're working through as we try to expand the category from a Marvel perspective. The best example is that we are doing digest-formatted books because that's where we think the manga reader is. I'm know I'm not making manga, I'm not professing that, but we do think we have some products that the manga reader or demographic might be comfortable with. Runaways is the flagship of that. We might go back and forth, but we're not getting pushed back and told, "Don't make the product for me."



The dynamic is slightly different for DC and us--that plethora of titles wasn't coming from us. It was coming from the manga publishers and the fact that so many publishers are jumping into that category. The dynamic has settled down a little bit. From what I've seen in the stores, I think the category's safe. I think the category's solid and it's growing and the bookstores are going to support it. Like I said last year, we've probably got a couple more years before we finally figure out what the product mix will be in graphic fiction. The movies doing well helps Marvel and DC tremendously. Having a familiar IP does take you a long way. They seem to be accepting the things we present to them. The classic stuff they don't go as deep on, but Ultimates does really well there, and we've been very happy with the digest program.



Are you getting digests into any mass merchant channels?

We haven't aggressively pushed that yet. Scholastic has taken some of the digests into their book fair programs and into various distribution paths. Not the whole line, obviously, though they're taking pretty good orders, and putting Spider-Man in front of them, Spider-Girl. Every year of trust they build with us, the better opportunity we have to put another title in. We are doing some other distribution paths, we are talking to other people to see if they would be interested in taking the digest format. But, you know, slow and steady.



You mentioned convenience stores. Obviously that's a very large number of outlets, maybe the biggest expansion in outlets for comics in a long time. Did you say that it was really too early to tell how that's going?

Our initial results look pretty good. But as you well know, with the newsstand business and its returnable nature, the final count isn't until the final count. We'll have a much better feel for what the first six books did in the fourth quarter, but the initial feedback has been very good. The retailers are happy and we're happy. It's very exciting to get this product out in twenty thousand storefronts.



What titles did you put out there?

We led with Marvel Adventures, a $1.99 launch book, Fantastic Four Zero. That was on sale first week in June. We went very aggressively across the board with it, into 7-11s, Blockbusters, Walgreens, a variety of different places. And then the core product mix is six titles that are $3.99 apiece, that have two comic book stories in each of them. They're double-sized books, sixty-four pages. They're flip-book formats so there are two covers for each book. The flagship title is Marvel Adventures; it's all ages titles--one side is Fantastic Four, the other side is Spider-Man. It has four to five pages of material that promotes to all ages and focuses on them. We feel very comfortable with that product everywhere. The other five books are Marvel Heroes, which is New Avengers and Captain America; Marvel Select, with Astonishing X-Men and New X-Men; Marvel Tales with Amazing Spider-Man and Arana; then we have Ultimate Tales, which is Ultimate Spider-Man; and Ultimate Marvel, which is Ultimate X-Men and Ultimate Fantastic Four. In those five, we made sure that we have a lot of house ads, in-house promotional stuff, because we remember picking up books where you feel like you're a member of a club. We're trying to speak more directly to consumers. Plus we have a couple of extra pages to play with because they're 64 pages, so we make sure we're communicating the broad spectrum and line that's out there.



When we first ran the story on the newsstand launch, one comment we got was that Marvel should run stand-alone stories rather than continuing stores. It sounds like in the titles you listed there's probably some that tend a little more way and some the other. Your thoughts?

Marvel Adventures is very much focused on stand-alone stories. There will be a stand-alone FF story and a stand-alone Spider-Man story. That's not to say they might not develop an over-arching arc someday down the road; I'm not discounting any storytelling. It's an all-ages read; we want people to think they got something out of it immediately. Hopefully it's like their first experience of reading a comic book. I think it's much more essential for that book.


Most of the other five titles are continuing stories which focus on what we've been doing over the last year, five to eight issue story arcs, but they're good stories and they're mass market brands. We made certain that each of the books had one of the mainstay mass market brands, with Fantastic Four now the movie, X-Men, Spider-Man. Marvel Heroes is more our world, Captain America, Iron Man; those character have their own Q factor too. We have to make sure we give them the characters they want to read about, really good stories that look good, and are not so continuity-saddled that it makes it hard to get your arms around it. All ages, it's important to have stand-alone stories. The other books, which have ratings of teen plus, you just need to make sure it's a good product.

 

[DBM]

From ICv2

Interview with Marvel Publisher Dan Buckley 2005, Part 2
Reaching New Customers; the Graphic Novel Business
August 22, 2005

We recently conducted our annual interview with Marvel publisher Dan Buckley about the state of the comics business and Marvel's place in it. In Part 2, we discuss the way Marvel approaches its mass market outlets as ways to reach new consumers, the relationship between movies and graphic novel sales, and Marvel's graphic novel share and investment in inventory. In Part 1, we talk about the over-all market conditions for comics and graphic novels in comic stores, bookstores, mass merchants, and newsstand outlets. In Part 3, we talk about whether videogame licenses help or hurt comic sales and the risks and rewards of variant covers and reprints. And in Part 4, we talk about whether Marvel would ever license its comics (like it does toy manufacturing), whether comic-based movies are a bubble, how Marvel is approaching the female young adult market, and the challenges and opportunities for the coming year.



You have several high traffic channels now that provide the opportunity to recruit new consumers into the comic space-convenience stores, bookstores, and mass merchants. How do you view those channels in terms of recruiting new consumers? Do you see them as hitting different customer groupings and tailor the product accordingly? Or is it more a matter of just throwing the broadest-based material out in each channel and hoping it finds its audience?

It's a little bit of both. The newsstand/convenience/drug is much more of a magazine kind of feel. The racking and merchandising you set up to support the comic functions, but it doesn't have a lot of shelf space. We narrow the focus. It's people going in and out to get a beverage, salty snacks, maybe pick up a prescription; they're looking to get in and out within five minutes. You have to make it something with which they're familiar. That's why we're very cognizant of what titles we're putting in. We also want to make sure we have a little bit of a demographic reach because it is such a broad-based place.



Mass merchants have their own wants and needs. You have to take into account their consumer base, where they're looking to merchandise, where they're looking to service it...



Where it is in the store, in other words?

Where it is in the store, and things like what buyer you're dealing with. That's really on a case by case basis, where the bookstores have a very unique environment. It's a great environment because people go in there and hang out. It's a bit of a destination shop. People often browse and have a cup of coffee. Our books in the digest program are much stronger in there.



We do have a pretty good comics [periodical] program in bookstores too. I feel very comfortable with our core comic book program. We don't put seventy titles of our monthlies in there, but we put in somewhere between fifteen to twenty-four of the titles in that venue. It's a different type of reader. They search this stuff out, where in the convenience and drug stores you're looking for an intercept, and hopefully you build a habit. I see convenience and drugstores as being awareness and trial. Mass merchants are also awareness and trial. In the bookstore, you're doing some awareness and trial but it's mostly the converted. They're in there to pick up certain books; they follow certain authors; they follow certain characters; they go out of their way to spend time there; or purchase gifts. We think about what the product mix is, but we're not going to make every color of the rainbow if you know what I mean.



You mentioned drugstores. How many drugstore outlets are you in?

We have all the Walgreens. I can't remember the number off the top of my head.



Not as many as the convenience stores?

Not quite as many, but it's a good intercept.



Going back to the bookstores, you talked a little bit about the movies and their impact on sales. What do you see as the variable that determines the extent of success of a comic or graphic novel product based on or tied to a movie? Just quick comparisons -- Sin City was massive in terms of its graphic novel impact. It put books on top of the graphic novel chart in bookstores, and in comic stores. Fantastic Four definitely had an impact, it moved the dial, there were more titles near the top of the list but it wasn't as powerful. Other movies, something like an Elektra, for example, it's tough to see much of an impact at all. Part of that's box office, but Fantastic Four was bigger box office than Sin City, but the visible sales impact wasn't as great. What do you see as the critical variable in determining...

That is a very odd question. Sin City's a great story and an incredible aberration. A lot of the success we have in bookstores does have to do with how people reacted to the movie, but it also has to do with the fact that because of the marketing programs being done by the studios or through our licensing department, the bookstores are much more open to getting behind it. It's very hard for me to say, 'Spider-Man's a huge character, why don't we do a waterfall, or more merchandising, or put this in front of the store?' The movies have given us the opportunity to put a little bit more behind the product and sell it in. You evaluate the existing Q score, or the existing popularity of the character. What is the rating of the movie? The movies definitely help each property because it raises the Q factor of the characters. It has impact.



Sin City is a great story, but a lot of the PR. associated with the movie is associated with Frank and the way they made that movie. It had that auteur feel to it. People wanted to see, 'Did he do it shot for shot?' It struck a certain chord. Frank has moved books before with the Dark Knight properties. He's already a saleable author that's come out of our community, very much like Neil Gaiman, which is a little bit of a rarity for us. You just had a unique combination of effects in Sin City, being both a box office and very much a critical success. FF has helped a lot. We've moved sales. I'm sure licensing is doing pretty well too. Is there a mathematical formula? Most likely not. But it gives us an opportunity to put product out there, which then in turn gives us an opportunity to move more.



I know I'm not answering your question directly, but there really isn't a variable. We look at the character, we look at the rating, we look at the release dates. Is it a summer blockbuster movie? Is it a February release? Is it a dark character versus an all-ages type of movie character? Things like that have a definite impact.



All channels combined, where do you think Marvel falls in the ranks of all graphic novel publishers in terms of dollar sales per year?

You know what? Great question--I wish I had the answer. We're in the top three. I haven't looked at the manga publishers as of late. We have an opportunity to be #1 this year. DC's done a very good job over the past twenty years supporting their graphic fiction program. We only just started five or six years ago. We've learned a lot of things along the way. We're having a great year as far as graphic fiction goes. This past May was the first time we were the #1 trade paperback publisher in the direct market, since I can remember (laughs). So we're in that area, but I haven't examined the manga numbers enough to give you an honest assessment.



We haven't analyzed the share issues specifically, but just based on where I see titles placed on the charts I'm assuming that Viz and Tokyopop are the top two. If that's the case, and you think you're in the top three, does that mean you think you're ahead of Dark Horse and DC?

I think we would be this year. The Ultimates has done a lot for us in that aspect. They have a very good trade support program.



Things have changed a lot in the last year. Do you have any idea how many backlist SKUs you've got in your graphic novel line?

I don't know the exact number but I know I've got a hell of a lot more (laughs).



Last year you said three to four hundred.

We're higher than that and we're doing a much better job supporting people being able to get the backlist. Historically we've had some problems understanding how to support that, and felt uncomfortable with how deep you go with inventory to support that function. We've spent a lot of time in the last eighteen months figuring that out. I feel very comfortable that if you called our retailers, they might initially say, 'No, Marvel didn't support that backlist item.' I would challenge you to tell them to call Diamond and find out if it's there or not. Unless it's the most esoteric title, eight out of ten times they'll be able to get that book.



We've heard in the last few months a few retailers saying, 'The Marvel in-print isn't that great.' So we asked David [Gabriel] about it, and he said, 'No it's pretty good.' Before we talked I looked, for example, at your Essentials line. I found that Essential X-Men Vol. II isn't on Diamond's list, but pretty much everything else is right there in sequence.

If it's X-Men it will be there soon. We've had to do a lot of legwork backwards. We had to evaluate and prioritize what went where and then evaluate the success of those things being sold. We needed to develop our own formula for risk and return. We're doing a pretty good job with it right now. I know we're going to be dealing with a lot of perceptions in the marketplace that we don't support our backlist, but we've made a concerted effort in the last year to do that. It may take us a lot longer to deal with the perception of our support of that, but that's a separate issue, and we just need to make sure we communicate that to people.