Marvel's Business

[euroq]

http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=48875

MARVEL RELEASES Q3 2005 NUMBERS

Marvel today released it’s third quarter financial statement for 2005, and overall reported a 29% drop in profits from last year at this time (albeit Spider-Man 2 was still showing strong effects through the third quarter of 2004). In total, Marvel’s third quarter profit dropped from $34.4 million in Q3 2004 to $23.4 million in Q3 2005. Overall revenue for the quarter fell from $135.1 million in Q3 2004 to $81.4 million in Q3 2005.

As if that news didn’t have stockholders happy, Marvel’s projection for 2006 had them seriously depressed – the company is now scaling back its profit projections for 2006. How much? For 2005, Marvel is projecting full-year earnings to hit somewhere between $1.02 and $1.07 a share. For 2006 Marvel is projecting earnings of $0.37 to $0.52 a share. Chief among the reasons for the small projections, Marvel Chairman Morton Handel is quoted in Marvel’s report as saying 2006 will be “a difficult year for both toys and licensing."

And that’s with the third X-Men feature film opening in May.


Traditionally, like many companies, Marvel is very conservative in regards to projected earnings, and most analysts are still estimating Marvel’s 2006 earnings to be $1.13 a share.

Despite the report and outlook, Marvel has authorized a $250 million stock buyback program. Half of the money for the buyback will come from a new credit line from HSBC Bank USA.

By division of the company:

Licensing:

Still the powerhouse (60% of 2005’s revenue) in regards of revenue, Marvel saw third quarter total licensing revenues drop from $64.2 million in Q3 2004 to $33.2 million in Q3 2005. Of the divisions within the licensing division, only domestic consumer products saw an increase between quarters (from $17.5 million in 2004 to $20.5 million in 2005), while all other divisions (international consumer products, Spider-Man LP (Marvel’s profit sharing agreement with Sony), and the studios) all saw decreased revenue. Among the divisions, the Spider-Man LP saw the most precipitous drop, from $28.4 million in Q3 2004 to $2.9 million in Q3 2005, again, reflecting the performance of Spider-Man 2 in 2004.

Publishing:

The only division of Marvel able to hold its head high in Q3 2005, publishing saw a 14% increase in revenue compared to Q3 2004, increasing to $25.8 million. Marvel credits the increase in higher trade paperback sales (which it claims is responsible for $3.2 million of the increase).

Toys:

Seeing a similar decline to licensing, Toy Biz saw a decline of 54% between Q3 2004 and Q3 2005, due largely to declined revenue from the Spider-Man and Lord of the Rings lines (which were still performing well in Q3 2004). Toy Biz’s Q3 2004 revenue was $48.4 million, while in Q3 2005, it was $22.1 million. Obviously, the decline in revenues also reflects the modest performance of toys based on the Fantastic Four movie.

Marvel also credits some of the low performance to lower than anticipated contributions from the TNA Wrestling and Curious George lines – most of the products from which have been pushed back to 2006 “due to the weak retail environment.” Marvel reported that it had planned to see $20 million from toy sales in the two lines, but now only expects to see $3 million in 2005.

Again, the wild swings of both licensing and toys reflects the pendulum like performance of Marvel, that is, when it has popular products out in the mass market, such as the Spider-Man films or previously, the X-Men films, toys and licensing perform anywhere from very well to spectacularly. When Marvel is in the lull between popular films (which 2005 now appears to have been), licensing and toys suffer. Of course, of note in all of this is Marvel’s publishing segment, which continues to post gains in its quarterly reports. While the segment is the smallest in terms of revenue generated, its recent performance shows it to be Marvel’s most stable.

2006

The bulk of Marvel’s Q3 2005 report was devoted to its 2006 outlook, and its rationale for explaining its rather dim outlook for the future.

From the report:

Nominal contributions from feature films: X-Men 3, Ghost Rider, and The Punisher 2.

Modest expected initial contributions from animated projects: Avengers 1 direct-to-DVD in Q2 2006 and the Fantastic Four animated television series in Europe.

Modest contributions from wholesale sales of Ghost Rider and X-Men 3 toys by our Master Toy Licensee plus sales from Curious George and Marvel Legends.

No contribution expected from the Spider-Man L.P. (compared to over $20 million in 2005).

Studio revenues of $10 - $12 million (compared to over $20 million in 2005).

Continued, modest top-line and bottom-line growth from the publishing division.

Approximately $16 million in interest expense and non-cash amortization expenses related to Marvel's $525 million credit facility for feature film production. [Marvel’s 2006 guidance reflects a $16 million payment of interest and non-cash amortization expenses related to the credit facility]

Roughly $5 million of incremental non-cash expenses related to the expensing of stock options.

Up to $5 million in incremental expenses related to the expansion of activities and infrastructure within the Marvel Studios division.

Marvel's guidance does not reflect the impact of any share repurchase activity under the $250 million authorization announced today.

And – as we noted earlier, Marvel’s own report indicates that investors can expect swings in Marvel’s revenue and returns on their respective investments:

Marvel cautions investors that inherent variability in the timing of license opportunities and entertainment events, the timing of their revenue recognition, and their level of success may contribute to sequential and year-over-year variability in its interim financial results and could have a material impact on quarterly results as well as Marvel's ability to achieve the financial performance included in its financial guidance.

Upcoming Releases:

As is customary for Marvel, it also utilized the Q3 report as a chance to list it’s upcoming film and videogame slate. Among the titles named:

X-men 3 - May 26, 2006
Ghost Rider - July 14th, 2006
The Punisher 2 - targeted for fall 2006

Spider-Man 3 - May 4, 2007
Fantastic Four 2 - July 4, 2007

Films with no release dates listed by Marvel include: Silver Surfer, Wolverine, Deathlok, Hulk 2, and Thor. Namor, Black Widow, and Iron Man were also listed, and it was noted that the three were in the Marvel Film-Backed Credit Facility, that is, films that will be produced by Marvel and distributed by Paramount under its agreement. Other projects in the facility include: Ant-Man, The Avengers, Black Panther, Captain America, Cloak & Dagger,
Doctor Strange, Hawkeye, Nick Fury, Power Pack and Shang-Chi. Of note among the properties is Marvel’s inclusion of Iron Man among the properties is plans to develop, as it was recently reported that the company had regained the film rights to the character. Whether the inclusion is an official notice that Marvel plans to produce an Iron Man film itself, or it merely wanted to list the project among its upcoming films is unknown.

Marvel’s direct to DVD animated projects with Lions Gate will kick off with the Ultimate Avengers on February 21, 2006. Other titles forthcoming include: Ultimate Avengers 2, Iron Man and Doctor Strange.

Marvel animated TV projects in development include: Partnership with Moonscoop SAS (formerly Antefilms Productions) 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.

Live action television projects in development include: Blade, Alter Ego, and Skrull Kill Krew.

Upcoming videogame releases listed by Marvel showed nothing new, with Ghost Rider the only videogame property announced for a 2006 release.

 

[DBM]

This is really interesting

Live action television projects in development include: Blade, Alter Ego, and Skrull Kill Krew.

We knew about the Blade one obviously, and Alter Ego is what they're planning on calling the adaptation of the Alias comic. But Skrull Kill Krew is a new one to me. It was a really interesting book, and one of my favorite obscure miniseries, but I can't believe they're thinking about turning it into a TV series.

 

[iloveclones]

This is really interesting



We knew about the Blade one obviously, and Alter Ego is what they're planning on calling the adaptation of the Alias comic. But Skrull Kill Krew is a new one to me. It was a really interesting book, and one of my favorite obscure miniseries, but I can't believe they're thinking about turning it into a TV series.

Can you give a synopsis of the mini? I'm not familiar with it.

 

[iloveclones]

Aw, screw it. No reason you should do my work for me when google is close by...

SKRULL KILL KREW

Mark Millar and Grant Morrison. Illustrated by Steve Yeowell
5 issues
(Marvel Edge)

Reviewed by Adam Ford

You get super-powers if you eat hamburgers made out of green-skinned pointy-eared aliens called Skrulls. Well, if a radioactive spider doesn't give you cancer and cosmic rays don't cook you like a microwave pot roast, it's not that odd an assertion...

The premise of this short-lived series was kind of basic: five people acquire the ability to change their shape after eating hamburgers made from contaminated beef; more specifically, beef made from cows that weren't really cows, but were instead shape-changing aliens called Skrulls who had been hypnotised into changing into cows and thinking that they really were cows. The shape-changers band together in order to expose the world-wide conspiracy that involves the aforementioned Skrulls (but not the ones that became cows, obviously) infiltrating human society. It's a plot that bears a strong resemblance to the sci-fi B-movie They Live, in which a man discovers a box of magic sunglasses that reveal every second person on the planet to be a member of an alien race that has covertly enslaved our planet.

The five-person team of Skrull killers is comprised of members of five distinct subcultures: Ryder, the leader, is a dreadlocked black-power dude; Moonstomp is a straight-edge skinhead; Dice is a goatee-wearing surfer; Riot is a spiky pink-haired punk; and Catwalk is a supermodel. Presumably the separate cultural identities of the team members was intended to illustrate the oddness of such a group.

The premise of Skrull Kill Krew is a perfect example of the kind of idea-mining that Grant Morrison gets up to when he turns his attention to the comics produced by Marvel and the "history" of the "universe" that the stories produced by Marvel Comics take place in. The skrulls/cows that the four Skrull Killers ate to acquire their powers are actually the villains from one of the very first Fantastic Four comics. The solution to leave the aliens transformed into cows in a sunny meadow was always one that left me unsatisfied as a child, and it seems to have been the same for Morrison and Millar. Their dissatisfaction prompted them to pen this ridiculous romp of a hack-and-slash shoot-'em-up road trip story which lasted a whole five issues before being cancelled.

In the five issues that they managed to get out before cancellation, the SKK go head-to-head with Captain America, an evil army of pseudo-Nazis, a fake Fantastic Four and an entire small town populated by Skrulls. By the end of issue five the bodycount is well over five-hundred, with the Skrulls coming out on the losing side. I dare say that cancellation barely even registered with Millar and Morrison - the whole thing reads like something they threw together over a couple of pints one night. Five issues is most likely five more than they figured they¹d get out of it, so by that criteria this comic could be seen as some kind of success. Overall, though, it's pretty much a no-brainer of a scenario: find some Skrulls, massacre them, find some more Skrulls, massacre them and repeat until fade. If anything this series does point out that the Skrulls are one of the dumbest alien menaces ever to appear in comics, with their stupid little purple skull-caps lodged between their pointy ears, their corrugated chins and the fact that this huge conspiratorial invasion force can be so utterly devastated by five ********s with a tendency to make Schwarzenegger-esque puns as they blow their victims away.

An interesting side-note is that at one stage Morrison claimed that SKK was part of a trilogy of his works that all held together thematically, the other two works being Kill Your Boyfriend and the Invisibles series (see respective reviews in this ProFile). Hard to tell if the man was joking or not - outside some superficial resemblences, there's little similarity between this series and Morrison's more creatively successful, more well-thought-out work.

 

[DBM]

Can you give a synopsis of the mini? I'm not familiar with it.

I actually started a thread about this in Misc Television.

http://www.superherohype.com/forums/showthread.php?t=207235

 

[DBM]

The Beat's analysis and report on the 3Q 2005 numbers.

Marvel vs the Street

“Dismal.” “Gloomy.” “Ugly.”

These are not words that anyone wants to hear about themselves. These are not words that Marvel Entertainment, the Wall Street wunderkind, ever expected to hear. But yesterday's poor third quarter results and “dismal” forecast for '06 had Marvel stock falling and analysts downgrading lickety split.

In layman's terms – and The Beat is nothing is not a layman where anything financial is concerned – what happened is Marvel announced that 2006 was going to be a pretty crappy year for them. Wall Street analysts had expected Marvel's '06 earnings on stock would be around $1.13 Instead Marvel announced expected earnings of 37¢ to 52¢ a share. That's a pretty big difference. And its not good. In addition, 3Q profits were a more $23.4 million, or 24 cents a share, down from $34.4 million, or 32 cents, a year earlier. Licensing revenue alone tumbled 60%.

The result: stock dropped to a 52-week low of $14.06 in trading ten times higher than normal.

Even vice chairman Peter Cuneo admitted that 2005 was the first year where Marvel had seen “surprises,” during yesterday conference call with investors.

About that call: as a publicly traded company, Marvel releases quarterly financial reports and follows them up with a webcast in which the top brass – usually Cuneo, finance guy Ken West and studio head Avi Arad -- get to make statements, and analysts get to question them. We've been listening to these for a couple of years now, and although we don't know these gentlemen personally, we do know when they sound happy or sad, and yesterday's call was nothing if not glum. Every time Ken West opened his mouth he went off on a number crunching orgy that made our eyes cross. Cuneo admitted that it was a disappointing day for Marvel. Arad, usually a fountain of enthusiasm, sounded tired and cranky, and had to be prompted to talk by Cuneo.

While Marvel is not in “trouble” by any means, the bad report has reignited the old parlor game: “Will Marvel be sold?” It was even brought up in one of the questions during the conference call, drawing an answer of complete dissembling by Peter Cuneo.

More from the conference call:

• Marvel's biggest losses were in toys and licensing, due to lower than expected sales on their Curious George and TNA wrestling toys. The problems were due to both a supply problem which caused retailers to cancel orders, and what Cuneo termed the uncertain retail environment. “We know the total sales of Marvel products have been affected by the retailer environment – the price of gas, hurricanes, etc. It is impossible to quantify -- it's just a feeling.” Cuneo said that orders for '06 were good, but one assumed that missing the Christmas season is a big negative.

• The Fantastic Four toys did not sell as expected. Simple as that. The movie was a moneymaker, especially internationally, but toy sales did not come anywhere near expectations. Again, this could have been part of the “general retail environment.”


• The publishing division, as always, was a small but steady earner. Marvel never expects anything spectacular from this group, but it keeps showing that modest growth. That's a good thing. In fact, in '06, toys, licensing and publishing are all expected to contribute equally to the bottom line, which shows how low Marvel expects licensing and toys to go.

• Cuneo was asked about the 7-11 deal that rolled out last summer and put comics back in 7-11s. He said it looks promising, but they are waiting for 6 months of results. Marvel has also recently expanded into Walgreen's, but the chain drug channel is one they don't know much about so they have no result there yet. “We don't want to overreact and in fact in our forecast for 06 the gains from 7-11 are extremely modest in the guidance. Walgreen's is in its infancy and we really don't know how that will go. ”

•A $50 million, 12 year deal with a video game company – probably Activision – boosted the bottom line somewhat, but – and here's where the eyes cross – the cash in hand now means no money from that in future quarters.

• The big problem with '06 is that Ghost Rider and even X-men 3 are just not expected to drive toy sales. Cuneo: “We have frankly and candidly extremely small forecasts for those films for toys. While we are very pleased about what we see happening with the films we're just being, we think, very defensive in looking at this.”

• A couple of questioners brought up the “myth” that Spider-man is really Marvel's only cash cow. Cuneo did his best to pooh-pooh this, but didn't sound all that convincing given the FF toy flop.

• Arad was tight-lipped about any announcements, saying that bringing Iron Man back to Marvel was good, but making no announcement before its time. The Blade TV show on Spike was mentioned, and Hulk 2 sounds a lot more concrete than it had before.

• Overall, Cuneo sounded a little sad. “I'll give you an analogy for what it's worth. If you have climbed mountains or have been a tourist and climbed pyramids, you can't go straight to the top directly. At some point you have to pause and take a rest on some flat surface and take a look at whether you're taking the best direction to the top and regain your strength. For me that's a broad description of 2006. We're not pleased, believe me, about this forecast. We are being probably pretty defensive. Only time will tell if we're being overly defensive. Our fundamental nature is to be conservative. I think this is out best shot at guidance. The future will tell how we're doing at that.”

He also admitted that the company is hard to forecast because Marvels business model is fairly unique. “We recognize it is a problem and obviously for 2005 in some areas it was a problem for the company, despite the fact we've had a lot of success we've had in generally been very successful in past years at looking at our trends and numbers 2005 and was frankly the first year where we had some surprises. While it's very difficult for outside people it's not always easy for us either.”

• Asked about being on the block, he said, “We have no plans for the company per se to be anything but a public company at this point. One of the things we haven't emphasized today this is still very much a cash-generating machine.”

Overall Marvel has been a spectacularly successful company over the last few years. The stock surging to $30 at one points shows that. However, a lot of the business has simply already been mined. Cuneo said that the only licensing growth they foresee is internationally, as domestically they have all their partners lined up. The movie slate, even with Marvel financing its own films, is not going to be all X-men and Spider-man – that's just a fact, and movies like the Punisher and Elektra aren't going to sell a lot of lunchboxes. While Marvel has many opportunities in video games and home video upcoming, the boom time seems ot be over. Like Cuneo said, it's time for a rest.

Over on the Marvel stock board, shareholders -- some of whom had been predicting $30 by '06-- were freaking out. Some random quotes:

“had many chances to sell this stock for a 10 ~ 20K profit... now I leave with about $1000 profit.. profit is a profit, but it still pains me greatly to see a company that i fell in love with lead to this...”

“Like most I always thought MVL would be a good long term investment given all the characters they had in their asset bank. Unfortunately, whilst they did a stellar job with X-Men/2 and I guess Spiderman/2, every other release has been pretty mediocre and not that well reveived by the public. Sure they can bring out 2nd and 3rd movies, but once the chance to establish rapport with the audience with the first movie is gone, they're more likely to lose customers for the second. Also, X-Men was such a success I'm surprised they weren't able to make more of those characters. Licensing is the longterm lifeblood of this company, and because of their inability to build on early successes, I think they've squandered some of their assets with the subsequent weak movies. Its quality not quantity Marvel needs, and if they don't build an attractive charcter franchise, no one is going to be interested in using any particular superhero beyond the original movie. This is a recipe for disaster. I hope they can address it - maybe take a step back and rethink things - but the future forecast is nothing short of disastrous - worse, without other character success, what happens once the Spiderman and X-Men 3 movies have come and gone ... things could go downhill really fast.”

And this:
“why do you think mvl blew so much $ last q, buying back at $20+ and now borrowing money to buyback at $12ish?

that is incredibly troubling to me

they know less about the market and their share price than i do and that ain't saying much considering today”

However some analysts defended the stumbling titan as in this from Jeffries & Co.

“We view today's stock action as a huge buying opportunity for long-term investors, especially considering the balance sheet and value of its intellectual property,” says Robert Routh, an analyst at Jefferies & Co. “This is a huge overreaction. The guidance Marvel gave doesn't include many events that could unfold in 2006. The market didn't take into account the share buyback, which is shrinking the equity capitalization by 20% and, in addition, will rebalance the company's capital structure. Going into 2007, we see the stock in the mid-20s.”

If you've gotten this far, you are obviously a numbers junkie. If anyone out there wants to share their thoughts with us -- or explain why our analysis is full of crap -- please write in . We are also confused by this stock buyback business. Why is borrowing $250 million a good idea to buy back their own stock?

 

[DBM]

From Here

Marvel Entertainment Selects Fadel Partners to Implement a Rights and Royalties Management Solution

NEW YORK, Nov. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Fadel Partners, Inc., a Certified Partner in the Oracle PartnerNetwork, signed a services agreement with Marvel Entertainment, Inc., a prominent global entertainment and licensing company, to implement a rights and royalties management software solution (RRM) utilizing the Oracle E-Business Suite 11i. The RRM software will help Marvel improve revenue projection and cash management and increase financial return on intellectual property rights.

In addition to implementing Oracle CRM Sales, Configurator, Contracts and Accounts Receivable, Fadel Partners will build royalty management software to help calculate and track earned royalties and overages. Fadel Partners designed this solution to meet the global licensing needs of publishing, media and entertainment companies and has licensed the right from Marvel to re-sell the RRM software to other prospects and clients.

"Fadel Partners used a structured implementation methodology to help identify and document our business requirements," said Kenneth West, Executive Vice President and CFO at Marvel. "As a result, we chose Fadel Partners to implement an innovative rights and royalties management solution that will help us link and analyze our intellectual property rights information and more efficiently manage our royalty processing."

By automating existing manual processes with the RRM software and the Oracle Applications, Marvel will have structured rights configurations and tracking, efficient royalty processing and an integrated contract management and financials solution. The implementation will provide Marvel with more precise tracking of licensee information and rights utilization, faster posting of incoming royalties and better business insight thru the use of business intelligence and reporting.

"Fadel Partners' RRM software will help Marvel drive future revenue growth through exploiting its intellectual property rights and exploring new trends in the underlying business segments," said Tarek E. Fadel, Founder and CEO of Fadel Partners. "Our RRM software is the first rights and royalties management solution fully integrated with the Oracle platform, allowing Marvel to leverage the power of the Oracle Applications and streamline the creation, configuration and management of intellectual property rights."

About Fadel Partners, Inc.

Fadel Partners, Inc. is a technology firm focused on implementing the Oracle Applications and building custom software solutions. Fadel Partners combines the use of techno-functional resources for on-time and on-budget project delivery. Fadel Partners is headquartered in New York City. For more information, visit http://www.fadelpartners.com/.

About Marvel Entertainment, Inc.

With a library of over 5,000 characters, Marvel Entertainment, Inc. -- formerly known as Marvel Enterprises, Inc. -- is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies. Marvel's operations are focused on utilizing its character franchises in licensing, entertainment, publishing and toys. Areas of emphasis include feature films, DVD/home video, consumer products, video games, action figures and role-playing toys, television and promotions. Rooted in the creative success of over sixty years of comic book publishing, Marvel's strategy is to leverage its character franchises in a growing array of opportunities around the world. More information about Marvel can be found on the company's World Wide Web site, which is located at http://www.marvel.com/.

Oracle, JD Edwards, and PeopleSoft are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates.
Website: http://www.fadelpartners.com/
Website: http://www.marvel.com/

 

[Themanofbat]

Well, if a person thought it will rebound to the $30 range, now would be a good time to buy Marvel Stock.

 

[DBM]

From Newsarama

MARVEL AND HASBRO JOIN FORCES, TOY BIZ WORLDWIDE LICENSE ENDS

Marvel and Hasbro today jointly announced that they would join forces, with Marvel granting Hasbro the license to produce toys (including action figures) and games based on the Marvel super hero universe. Characters and properties named in the announcement: Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, X-Men, Captain America, and Ghost Rider. Additionally, Hasbro will produce toys based on Spider-Man 3 and Spider-Man 4. Also announced – Toy Biz Worldwide will no longer produce Marvel toys. The move was apparently made, in part, to stabilize Marvel, financially, and de-link the company's earnings from the volatile toy market.

The deal, which will see its first products ship in January of 2007, is for five years, and guarantees Marvel $205 million in royalty and service fee payments over its term. The royalty Marvel will see from Hasbro, according to Marvel, will be lower than what it saw from Toy Biz Worldwide, though it plans to make up the difference by the increased sales of Hasbro’s Marvel product.

In a separate release, Marvel announced that it has terminated its license with Toy Biz Worldwide, planning to transition all toy business, apparently to Hasbro. The termination went into effect on December 31st, 2005, one year earlier than the scheduled termination date. According to Marvel: “As a result of the termination, in 2006 Marvel-branded action figures and other toys formerly produced by Toy Biz Worldwide will be produced by Marvel. Now, with full control over Marvel-branded toys produced for sale in 2006, Marvel will be in a better position to effect a smooth transition to Hasbro in areas such as toy development, manufacturing, shipping, and retail space. As a result of this early termination, Marvel will record a one-time cash charge of $13 million - $16 million in the fourth quarter of 2005 related to the early termination and reimbursed research and development expenses. The charge is not reflected in Marvel's financial guidance for 2005, last provided on November 9, 2005.”

Marvel's Chairman, Morton Handel, said in the release: "While Marvel will own any inventory produced for 2006, our policy of predominantly manufacturing to order should help mitigate our inventory risk. Commencing in 2007, a wide range of toy and game categories - including action figures, role play and preschool toys, board games and puzzles - will be produced by our new licensee, Hasbro. We are very excited by the business prospects we see in teaming with an industry leader."

The deal, and transition make sense for Marvel as, for years, Toy Biz has shown substantial volatility in terms of Marvel’s divisions, i.e., when a property is hot, the toys (and Toy Biz) do well, but when there is no hot property to base toys upon, the division does poorly, lowering the entire company's quarterly earnings. From the earnings statements, it seemed that Toy Biz had been unable to maintain a stable baseline in regards to toy sales. This move, which apparently seeks to move some of the toy production and distribution (and associated risks) to Hasbro, which, admittedly, ha a much larger machine in place to move toys into the market, given the manufacturer’s continued success with its Star Wars, GI Joe, and Transformers lines, and placement in the larger toy market.

That’s not, of course, to suggest that Hasbro is the loser here, as Marvel licenses are still popular, and can still justify relatively large shelf displays in retailer outlets. What the agreement between the two means for Toy Biz’s future, is still unknown. Marvel and Toy Biz Worldwide struck their deal in mid-2005 for a term of five and a half years, during which, Marvel received a 15% royalty on wholesale sales of toys and an additional "service fee" of 24.5% of wholesale sales in the U.S., and 10% for international sales, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Journal credited the Marvel/Toy Biz deal (which was seen as being highly favorable to Marvel, and that Toy Biz WW would clearly renegotiate at the end of its term) as one of main causes the company saw its licensing revenue skyrocket in the early part of the decade.

Though Toy Biz is owned by Marvel, the announcement made it clear that Marvel was ending the licensing agreement with Toy Biz Worldwide, which (though confusing) is not owned by Marvel, but rather, is a Hong Kong based licensee owned by Jeff Hsieh. TBWW would produce the figures, while they have been designed and marketed by Marvel.

Or, to further clarify the division, from the Toy Biz FAQ:

"Toy Biz is the in-house toy division of Marvel Enterprises, Inc.

"Marvel character-related toy product lines are manufactured and sold by Toy Biz Worldwide Ltd, under license from Marvel Characters Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Marvel Enterprises Inc. Toy Biz, a division of Marvel Enterprises Inc., is the sales representative for Toy Biz Worldwide. "

Thereby, while the announcement doesn't directly spell doom for Toy Biz itself, the Marvel division's future is unclear, given the lack of Toy Biz's invovlement in the Marvel/Hasbro deal.

Also unknown, but undoubtedly soon to be revealed, Hasbro's plans for its Marvel line, which could easily rival the company's Star Wars line in terms of depth and diversity of product.

The press releases read:

Hasbro Awarded Five-Year Strategic License to Marvel's Library of Over 5,000 Characters; Product Inspired by Spider-Man 3 Movie to be Among the First to Market

Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS) and Marvel Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:MVL), announced today a license under which Marvel has granted Hasbro toy and game rights to its renowned Super Hero universe that includes franchises such as Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, X-Men and Captain America. Through the agreement, Hasbro has obtained the rights to develop products based on Marvel's globally-known universe of over 5,000 characters in a wide range of toy and game categories -- including action figures, role play and preschool toys, board games and puzzles. The agreement covers both the "classic" comic book look of the characters as well as product lines inspired by Marvel-themed movies.

The five-year license gives Hasbro the rights to bring Marvel Entertainment-based toy products to retail beginning January 1, 2007. Hasbro's first full line of products based on Marvel properties is expected to center on Ghost Rider and the highly-anticipated movie event, Spider-Man 3, scheduled for release on May 4, 2007. Marvel has also agreed to provide services to Hasbro in connection with the licensed toys. The license guarantees Marvel $205 million in royalty and service fee payments, of which $70 million would be payable on the theatrical release of Spider-Man 3 and $35 million upon the theatrical release of Spider-Man 4. In addition, the license can be extended past the five year term, dependent on the number of other entertainment properties released during that timeframe.

"We are particularly pleased with this arrangement as it fits strategically into our plan to continually develop our home-grown core brands while aligning ourselves selectively with the best licenses in the business," Alfred J. Verrecchia, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hasbro, Inc. said.

"Hasbro's multi-year agreement with Marvel provides Hasbro with proven properties in categories where we have been long-time industry leaders," said Brian Goldner, Hasbro's President, U.S. Toy Segment. "Marvel's properties are a `who's-who' in children's and family entertainment and provide Hasbro with many exciting opportunities in the years ahead."

Tim Rothwell, Worldwide President, Consumer Media Group, Marvel Entertainment, added, "Hasbro is renowned in the toy arena. It supports its key brands with heavy promotional and advertising campaigns and their innovation provides consumers with an unmatched retail experience. We believe aligning with Hasbro as our master toy and game partner sets the stage for us to further extend the global and domestic reach and image of the overall Marvel brand."

Bruno Maglione, President, Marvel International, commented, "As we continue the process of developing our brands through a heightened mix of coordinated multi-media and product activity it was important to engage with a partner who understands how to leverage and optimize that sort of evergreen franchise approach. Hasbro brings that experience to the table, and with it, the ability and reach to execute globally. It's a perfect match."

David Hargreaves, Chief Financial Officer of Hasbro, Inc, said, "We are very pleased with this deal as it provides Hasbro with incremental revenues in high margin categories and allows us to maintain an appropriate balance in our portfolio of core brands and strategic licenses."

Juli Boylan, Sr Vice President, Sony Pictures Consumer Products, the limited partner in Spider-Man Merchandising LP, stated, "We are thrilled to have Hasbro develop toys and games for Spider-Man 3. We are very proud of the Spider-Man film franchise and feel Hasbro will play a pivotal role in its continued success."

The license is conditioned on its clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.

Marvel Terminates Toy Biz License

Marvel Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:MVL), announced today that is has terminated its licensing agreement with Toy Biz Worldwide Ltd., effective as of December 31, 2005, one year earlier than the license's scheduled termination date. As a result of the termination, in 2006 Marvel-branded action figures and other toys formerly produced by Toy Biz Worldwide will be produced by Marvel. Now, with full control over Marvel-branded toys produced for sale in 2006, Marvel will be in a better position to effect a smooth transition to Hasbro in areas such as toy development, manufacturing, shipping, and retail space. As a result of this early termination, Marvel will record a one-time cash charge of $13 million - $16 million in the fourth quarter of 2005 related to the early termination and reimbursed research and development expenses. The charge is not reflected in Marvel's financial guidance for 2005, last provided on November 9, 2005.

Marvel's Chairman, Morton Handel, commented, "While Marvel will own any inventory produced for 2006, our policy of predominantly
manufacturing to order should help mitigate our inventory risk Commencing in 2007, a wide range of toy and game categories - including action figures, role play and preschool toys, board games and puzzles - will be produced by our new licensee, Hasbro. We are very excited by the business prospects we see in teaming with an industry leader."

Additional Background on Hasbro License Agreement

The combined percentage royalty and fees to be received by Marvel from Hasbro will be generally lower than those paid by Toy Biz Worldwide, but Marvel believes that Hasbro's worldwide marketing, promotion and distribution strength should enhance the Marvel brand and Marvel-branded toy sales. In conjunction with the signing of the Hasbro license agreement, Marvel will receive a non-refundable advance of $100 million. There will be no immediate revenue recognition related to the advance payment.

The license is conditioned on its clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.

 

[RightBauer56]

WTF mate?

 

[Arkady Rossovich]

I KNOW Marvel is not in the right place at the moment,i have heard for the past few years a slow,yet steady decline with Marvel.The Ultimate line was originally ment to help Marvel get out of this stump,but really hasnt done that much in the long run.

Its common sence that Marvel`s despirate ploy to do "fantastic" events with long term problems,to try and get money.[HoM still has alot of plot holes not addressed.] and letting writers like Bendis do whatever they want.

I can imagine the end would come within 10-20 years if Marvel doesnt get it in gear and put their faith back into their fans.Or like me,fans will go with full support to DC.

 

[DBM]

From BoingBoing.net

Saturday, March 18, 2006
Marvel Comics: stealing our language
Marvel Comics is continuing in its bid to steal the word "super-hero" from the public domain and put it in a lock-box to which it will control the key. Marvel and DC comics jointly filed a trademark on the word "super-hero." They use this mark to legally harass indie comic companies that make competing comic books.

A trademark's enforceability hinges on whether the public is likely to associate a word or mark with a given company -- in other words, when you hear the word "super-hero," if you think "Marvel and DC," then Marvel will be able to go on censoring and eliminating its competition.

One way of accomplishing this dirty bit of mind-control is by adding a ™ symbol after the word "Super-Hero." That TM lets the world know that you claim ownership over the word it accompanies. If you can get other people to do it, too, eventually you may in fact get the world to believe that the word is your property -- and then, it becomes your property.

"Super-hero" isn't Marvel's property. They didn't invent the term. They aren't the only users of the term. It's a public-domain word that belongs to all of us. Adding a ™ to super-hero is a naked bid to steal "super-hero" from us and claim it for their own.

The latest trick in its move to steal the word is using the ™ symbol in the bumpf for its California science centre show -- they've recruited a science museum to help them steal "super-hero."

Here's a proposal: from now on, let's never use the term "super-hero" to describe a Marvel character. Let's call them "underwear perverts" -- as Warren Ellis is wont to -- or vigilantes, or mutants. Let's reserve the term "super-hero" exclusively to describe the heros of comics published by companies that aren't crooked word-thieves.

 

[iloveclones]

Yeah, I don't dig that kind of hubris. That's a fight I'll be rooting against the big Two.

Whoever wrote that article clearly wants to vent against Marvel, but seems to let DC slide, even though his own article states that it was filed jointly.

 

[masteryoda]

It was filed jointly and it really has nothing to do with Marvel or DC the way fans think of the company. That's nothing more then the work of lawyers. They've ruined the world and they're not done yet.

 

[iloveclones]

I knew it was coming when someone wanted to Copyright the word "Three-peat" You'd think winning three championships in a row would be reward enough!

 

[Furthermore]

Yup, it's not about the books. It's about the movies.

 

[masteryoda]

I knew it was coming when someone wanted to Copyright the word "Three-peat" You'd think winning three championships in a row would be reward enough!

Are you serious? That's insane!
Molsen Canadian actually tried to copyright the word Canadian up here once so that no one else could use it.

 

[Lackey]

quick! let's copyright "rape clock"

 

[iloveclones]

iloveclones©

I don't think anyone else wants it, but I'll be laughing when my lab, under the tutelage of that crazy guy that mumbles to himself, Dr. Warren, perfects human cloning.

 

[iloveclones]

I was going to post this in one of the Avengers threads, but it's really about marketing. I'm getting that 40 years of Avengers DVD, and I realized, looking at the cover, that it features the current team. Now it also has "floating heads" of a lot of the past Avengers (Perez, I think). But I thought it was interesting since what's in the box only goes up to Disassembled. The team featured on the cover won't really be in any of the issues (except for Spidey here and there.)

The other thing I recently saw is one of those index card-sized ads for Marvel Adventures Avengers (the line they make for the kiddies) in my LCBS. And if you go by the picture, it looks like the team would include: Cap, Iron Man, Hulk, Spidey, Wolverine, Storm, and someone who looks like Cassie over in YA. Since these titles are designed, sort of, for a new Marvel generation, it looks like they want new readers to think NA when they think Avengers. Plus, it ties into X-men more strongly now and Young Avengers.

 

[DBM]

The other thing I recently saw is one of those index card-sized ads for Marvel Adventures Avengers (the line they make for the kiddies) in my LCBS. And if you go by the picture, it looks like the team would include: Cap, Iron Man, Hulk, Spidey, Wolverine, Storm, and someone who looks like Cassie over in YA. Since these titles are designed, sort of, for a new Marvel generation, it looks like they want new readers to think NA when they think Avengers. Plus, it ties into X-men more strongly now and Young Avengers.

That's actually not Cassie. It's Janet Van Dyne as Giant Girl. In the Marvel Adventures Universe, they've meshed Hank Pym and Janet's character a bit so Janet isn't the Wasp. They needed a girl on the team and a Giant Girl made a better visual than Wasp.

It's pretty obvious though that Cassie's character/costume had an influence on this.

 

[iloveclones]

Is Storm actually on this team? I was a little surprised by that.

 

[DBM]

Is Storm actually on this team? I was a little surprised by that.

Yep. They needed another female and they wanted someone that would be recognizable. With a very active role in the various X-Men cartoons as well as the movies, store fit the bill.

 

[iloveclones]

Haven't posted these in a while. Galactus does it over in the Spidey forum, but this includes all the Marvel titles:

As always, thanks to Milton Griepp and ICV2 for permission to use their figures for these calculations.


1. ASTONISHING X-MEN
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
Jul 05 Astonishing X-Men #11 - 127,768 (-18.3%)
Aug 05 Astonishing X-Men #12 - 134,693 ( +5.4%)
Sep 05 n/a
Oct 05 n/a
Nov 05 n/a
Dec 05 n/a
Jan 06 n/a
Feb 06 Astonishing X-Men #13 - 140,655 ( +4.4%)
6 mnth ( +4.4%)
1 year ( -8.2%)

Returning to the schedules after a five month absence, ASTONISHING gets a boost. It's done better than this in the past year, but only with the help of variant covers. Whedon and Cassaday are still proving a big draw as the book enters its second season.


2. NEW AVENGERS
Feb 02 Avengers #51 - 54,381
Feb 03 Avengers #64 - 52,753
Feb 04 Avengers #78 - 58,798
======
Feb 05 New Avengers #3 - 148,973 ( -4.3%)
Mar 05 New Avengers #4 - 158,303 ( +6.3%)
Apr 05 New Avengers #5 - 168,556 ( +6.5%)
May 05 n/a
Jun 05 New Avengers #6 - 164,592 ( -2.4%)
Jul 05 New Avengers #7 - 158,693 ( -3.6%)
Aug 05 New Avengers #8 - 156,037 ( -1.7%)
Aug 05 New Avengers #9 - 147,501 ( -5.5%)
Sep 05 New Avengers #10 - 143,014 ( -3.0%)
Sep 05 New Avengers #11 - 134,125 ( -6.2%)
Oct 05 New Avengers #12 - 130,110 ( -3.0%)
Nov 05 New Avengers #13 - 126,148 ( -3.0%)
Dec 05 New Avengers #14 - 126,583 ( +0.3%)
Jan 06 New Avengers #15 - 124,143 ( -1.9%)
Feb 06 New Avengers #16 - 121,492 ( -2.1%)
6 mnth ( -17.6%)
1 year ( -18.4%)
2 year (+106.6%)

Continuing the slow downward drift which we've seen ever since the variant covers promotion ended. But these are still excellent numbers compared to the book's previous incarnation, and a major role in the CIVIL WAR crossover is just around the corner. Issue #15 picks up 2,385 reorders to chart at number 263 - as always, those sales are included in the number above.


5. ULTIMATE WOLVERINE VS HULK
Dec 05 Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk #1 (of 6) - 115,492
Jan 06 n/a
Feb 06 Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk #2 (of 6) - 97,358 (-15.7%)

An unequivocal hit. At first glance the 15% drop for issue #2 looks about normal. But it's more complicated than that, because the sales for issue #1 are significantly boosted by re-orders. In fact, in its first month, it only sold 100,947. And if you take that as your comparison, it's a tiny drop for issue #2.

Incidentally, issue #1 is still picking up substantial reorders, two months after it came out. This month, it charts at number 205 with 4,957 copies. Even if ULTIMATES had shipped in February, this would still have been the top selling Ultimate title for the month.


6. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
Feb 02 Amazing Spider-Man #40 - 90,551
Feb 03 Amazing Spider-Man #50 - 100,439
Feb 04 Amazing Spider-Man #504 - 84,064
======
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%)
Jul 05 Amazing Spider-Man #522 - 73,130 ( -1.3%)
Aug 05 Amazing Spider-Man #523 - 72,046 ( -1.5%)
Sep 05 Amazing Spider-Man #524 - 71,065 ( -1.4%)
Oct 05 Amazing Spider-Man #525 - 91,707 (+29.0%)
Nov 05 Amazing Spider-Man #526 - 90,343 ( -1.5%)
Dec 05 Amazing Spider-Man #527 - 89,922 ( -0.5%)
Jan 06 Amazing Spider-Man #528 - 97,807 ( -8.8%)
Feb 06 Amazing Spider-Man #529 - 90,414 ( -7.6%)
6 mnth (+25.5%)
1 year (+15.1%)
2 year ( +7.6%)

The "Other" crossover is finished, but AMAZING remains way up on its previous level. At this point, it's hard to say how much of this is attributable to the crossover. This issue has another big selling point, namely the debut of Spider-Man's much-hyped new costume. Ideally we could look to the other Spider-Man titles for guidance, but FRIENDLY didn't ship in February, and SENSATIONAL has a new creative team, which distorts its figures as well. But SENSATIONAL is significantly up on its pre-crossover sales, so this may be a rare crossover which has brought in new readers who are here to stay. We'll have a better idea next month. For the moment, this has to rank as a success.

Issue #528 picks up a further 2,392 in reorders, charting at number 262.


10. UNCANNY X-MEN
Feb 02 Uncanny X-Men #403 - 97,079
Feb 03 Uncanny X-Men #419 - 83,714
Feb 04 Uncanny X-Men #439 - 86,259
======
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%)
Jul 05 Uncanny X-Men #462 - 91,125 ( -0.1%)
Aug 05 Uncanny X-Men #463 - 87,610 ( -3.9%)
Sep 05 Uncanny X-Men #464 - 85,885 ( -2.0%)
Oct 05 Uncanny X-Men #465 - 84,271 ( -1.9%)
Nov 05 Uncanny X-Men #466 - 82,825 ( -1.7%)
Dec 05 Uncanny X-Men #467 - 81,282 ( -1.9%)
Jan 06 Uncanny X-Men #468 - 79,808 ( -1.8%)
Feb 06 Uncanny X-Men #469 - 79,039 ( -1.0%)
6 mnth ( -9.8%)
1 year (-11.1%)
2 year ( -8.4%)

Continuing its usual gentle decline. The new creative team takes over in the summer.


11,12. X-MEN
Feb 02 New X-Men #123 - 105,642
Feb 03 New X-Men #137 - 92,470
Feb 04 New X-Men #153 - 113,879
======
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%)
Jul 05 X-Men #173 - 77,154 ( -2.2%)
Aug 05 X-Men #174 - 76,342 ( -1.1%)
Sep 05 X-Men #175 - 76,555 ( +0.3%)
Oct 05 X-Men #176 - 74,635 ( -2.5%)
Nov 05 X-Men #177 - 78,405 ( +5.1%)
Nov 05 X-Men #178 - 76,195 ( -2.8%)
Dec 05 X-Men #179 - 77,189 ( +1.3%)
Dec 05 X-Men #180 - 75,559 ( -2.1%)
Jan 06 X-Men #181 - 74,094 ( -1.9%)
Feb 06 X-Men #182 - 78,653 ( +6.2%)
Feb 06 X-Men #183 - 76,454 ( -2.8%)
6 mnth ( +0.1%)
1 year ( -9.2%)
2 year (-32.9%)

Two issues this month, starting the five-part "Blood of Apocalypse" storyline. And it seems Apocalypse is still a sales draw, because sales jump 6% on the prospect. Considering that it's the regular creative team and there's no crossover or variant cover involved, this is actually quite surprising.


13. ULTIMATE GALACTUS TRILOGY
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
Jul 05 n/a
Aug 05 n/a
Sep 05 Ultimate Secret #3 (of 4) - 67,046 (-13.9%)
Oct 05 Ultimate Secret #4 (of 4) - 64,909 ( -3.2%)
Nov 05 n/a
Dec 05 n/a
Jan 06 Ultimate Extinction #1 (of 5) - 85,439 (+31.6%)
Feb 06 Ultimate Extinction #2 (of 5) - 75,869 (-11.2%)
6 mnth ( n/a )
1 year ( +3.8%)

Holding up well by comparison with the previous miniseries ULTIMATE SECRET. Issue #1 picks up 2,718 in reorders, charting at number 248.


14. X-MEN: DEADLY GENESIS
Nov 05 Deadly Genesis #1 (of 6) - 117,042
Dec 05 Deadly Genesis #2 (of 6) - 83,159 (-28.9%)
Jan 06 Deadly Genesis #3 (of 6) - 78,238 ( -5.9%)
Feb 06 Deadly Genesis #4 (of 6) - 74,666 ( -4.6%)

After an initially sluggish start, re-orders are really picking up for DEADLY GENESIS. Presumably these are the people who didn't believe the hype about this being an important X-Men story, but have changed their minds now that we know what's in it.

Issue #1 ships a further 2,611 copies, four months after it originally shipped. Issue #2 has reorders of 3,076. And issue #3 sells 4,837 extra copies. This is remarkably high reorder activity by Marvel standards. And what's more, if it wasn't for those reorders being taken into account, issue #4 would actually have gone slightly up from February - very unusual for a miniseries.

This bodes well for writer Ed Brubaker's upcoming run on UNCANNY, which spins off from this miniseries.


16. ULTIMATE X-MEN
Feb 02 Ultimate X-Men #15 - 94,713
Feb 03 Ultimate X-Men #29 - 84,789
Feb 04 Ultimate X-Men #42 - 97,299
======
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%)
Jul 05 Ultimate X-Men #61 - 87,094 (+10.8%)
Aug 05 Ultimate X-Men #62 - 76,229 (-12.5%)
Sep 05 Ultimate X-Men #63 - 74,760 ( -1.9%)
Oct 05 Ultimate X-Men #64 - 75,118 ( +0.5%)
Nov 05 Ultimate X-Men #65 - 74,264 ( -1.1%)
Dec 05 n/a
Jan 06 Ultimate X-Men #66 - 73,720 ( -0.7%)
Feb 06 Ultimate X-Men #67 - 72,700 ( -1.4%)
6 mnth ( -4.6%)
1 year (-15.6%)
2 year (-25.3%)

Second issue of the Robert Kirkman run, but it's really just business as usual.


17. WOLVERINE
Feb 02 Wolverine #173 - 69,684
Feb 03 Wolverine #186 - 63,911
Feb 04 Wolverine #11 - 69,686
======
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%)
Jul 05 Wolverine #30 - 76,651 ( -4.1%)
Aug 05 Wolverine #31 - 75,618 ( -1.3%)
Sep 05 Wolverine #32 - 89,026 (+17.7%)
Sep 05 Wolverine #33 - 78,508 (-11.8%)
Oct 05 Wolverine #34 - 75,664 ( -3.6%)
Oct 05 Wolverine #35 - 73,684 ( -2.6%)
Nov 05 Wolverine #36 - 94,355 (+28.1%)
Dec 05 Wolverine #37 - 73,866 (-21.7%)
Jan 06 Wolverine #38 - 73,815 ( -0.0%)
Feb 06 Wolverine #39 - 72,248 ( -2.1%)
6 mnth ( -4.5%)
1 year (-13.1%)
2 year ( +3.7%)

Continuing the "Origins and Endings" storyline, which leads into the new WOLVERINE: ORIGINS ongoing. While these aren't enormous sales by the book's usual standards, it may be turning a corner - issue #38 picks up reorders of 2,871. Without those sales being taken into account, issue #39 would be a small climber.


18. ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN
Feb 02 Ultimate Spider-Man #19 - 77,513
Feb 03 Ultimate Spider-Man #36 - 98,475
Feb 04 Ultimate Spider-Man #53 - 92,540
======
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%)
Jul 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #79 - 78,404 ( -1.3%)
Jul 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #80 - 76,906 ( -1.9%)
Aug 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #81 - 75,572 ( -1.7%)
Sep 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #82 - 75,756 ( +0.2%)
Sep 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #83 - 75,539 ( -0.3%)
Oct 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #84 - 74,670 ( -1.2%)
Nov 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #85 - 74,264 ( -0.5%)
Nov 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #86 - 76,864 ( +3.5%)
Dec 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #87 - 74,537 ( -3.0%)
Dec 05 Ultimate Spider-Man #88 - 74,213 ( -0.4%)
Jan 06 Ultimate Spider-Man #89 - 71,935 ( -3.1%)
Feb 06 Ultimate Spider-Man #90 - 71,470 ( -0.6%)
6 mnth ( -5.4%)
1 year (-17.6%)
2 year (-22.8%)

Final part of the Silver Sable story arc. Still drifting slowly downwards - nothing alarming on a month-by-month basis, but the yearly drop is really quite large.


20. ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR
Feb 04 Ultimate Fantastic Four #3 - 109,801
======
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%)
Jul 05 Ultimate Fantastic Four #21 - 91,321 (+32.2%)
Aug 05 Ultimate Fantastic Four #22 - 71,767 (-21.4%)
Sep 05 Ultimate Fantastic Four #23 - 71,494 ( -0.4%)
Oct 05 Ultimate Fantastic Four #24 - 70,549 ( -1.3%)
Nov 05 Ultimate Fantastic Four #25 - 70,032 ( -0.7%)
Dec 05 Ultimate Fantastic Four #26 - 69,689 ( -0.5%)
Jan 06 n/a
Feb 06 Ultimate Fantastic Four #27 - 67,922 ( -2.5%)
6 mnth ( -5.4%)
1 year ( -8.2%)
2 year (-38.1%)

Another book in gentle decline, although it's been fairly consistent over the last year.


24. SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN
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%)
Jul 05 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #16 - 50,876 ( -6.0%)
Aug 05 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #17 - 48,555 ( -4.6%)
Sep 05 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #18 - 47,654 ( -1.9%)
Oct 05 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #19 - 75,461 (+58.4%)
Nov 05 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #20 - 73,262 ( -2.9%)
Dec 05 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #21 - 76,763 ( +4.8%)
Jan 06 Marvel Knights Spider-Man #22 - 74,923 ( -2.4%)
Feb 06 Sensational Spider-Man #23 - 59,051 (-21.2%)
6 mnth (+21.6%)
1 year ( -2.3%)

The Marvel Knights imprint jettisons its ongoing titles, forcing MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN to rename itself SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN. This is a long overdue move, since there was really no difference of tone between this title and the other Spider-Man books. Anyhow, it's a promising start for the retitled book - down from last month, when it was part of the "Other" crossover, but over 10,000 up on the regular sales of Reginald Hudlin's run. The new creators are Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Angel Medina, who wouldn't normally be expected to generate such a big sales increase. It looks very much as though the crossover has genuinely helped this title.


25. X-MEN: THE 198
Jan 06 The 198 #1 (of 5) - 68,698
Feb 06 The 198 #2 (of 5) - 58,540 (-14.8%)

Standard second issue drop for a miniseries.


26. 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 - 69,956 ( +0.0%)
Jul 05 n/a
Aug 05 Young Avengers #6 - 68,733 ( -1.7%)
Sep 05 Young Avengers #7 - 67,036 ( -2.5%)
Oct 05 Young Avengers #8 - 63,873 ( -4.7%)
Nov 05 Young Avengers #9 - 63,213 ( -1.0%)
Dec 05 n/a
Jan 06 n/a
Feb 06 Young Avengers #10 - 56,347 (-10.9%)
6 mnth (-18.0%)
1 year (-50.0%)

Hmm. All is not well.

For one thing, that's a surprisingly big drop from the last issue. Perhaps the delays are starting to take their toll on the book. Also, the title is now scheduled to go on hiatus after issue #12 - an interesting creative decision, given that issue #10 was solicited as part 2 of 6, meaning that the storyline was supposed to run to issue #14. It's now been cut back to a four-parter, but we've clearly deviated from the original plan.

According to Joe Quesada, the delay is due to writer Allan Heinberg's "other commitments." One of those "other commitments", of course, is Heinberg's upcoming monthly run on DC's WONDER WOMAN. No doubt there's an excellent reason why WONDER WOMAN should take priority over completing this book on the advertised schedule, although I have no earthly idea what it might be.


27. GHOST RIDER
Sep 05 Ghost Rider #1 (of 6) - 119,575
Oct 05 Ghost Rider #2 (of 6) - 71,473 (-40.2%)
Nov 05 Ghost Rider #3 (of 6) - 62,914 (-12.0%)
Dec 05 Ghost Rider #4 (of 6) - 59,678 ( -5.1%)
Jan 06 Ghost Rider #5 (of 6) - 56,958 ( -4.6%)
Feb 06 Ghost Rider #6 (of 6) - 55,802 ( -2.0%)

Levelling out nicely for the end of the miniseries. An ongoing title is scheduled for later in the year - hardly surprising on the back of sales like this.


29. DAREDEVIL
Feb 02 Daredevil #30 - 47,333
Feb 03 Daredevil #43 - 58,782
Feb 04 Daredevil #57 - 54,644
======
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%)
Jul 05 Daredevil #75 - 47,800 ( -0.8%)
Aug 05 Daredevil #76 - 46,424 ( -2.9%)
Sep 05 Daredevil #77 - 45,945 ( -1.0%)
Oct 05 Daredevil #78 - 45,071 ( -1.9%)
Nov 05 Daredevil #79 - 44,250 ( -1.8%)
Dec 05 Daredevil #80 - 43,309 ( -2.1%)
Jan 06 Daredevil #81 - 44,252 ( +2.2%)
Feb 06 Daredevil #82 - 53,058 (+19.9%)
6 mnth (+14.3%)
1 year ( +8.9%)
2 year ( -2.9%)

Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark take over the book and sales duly bounce upwards. A good start to the run.


30. SON OF M
Dec 05 Son of M #1 (of 6) - 62,254
Jan 06 Son of M #2 (of 6) - 52,704 (-15.3%)
Feb 06 Son of M #3 (of 6) - 52,227 ( -0.9%)

Suddenly levelling out after a standard drop last month. This is a surprisingly good number for the third issue.


32. X-FACTOR
Dec 05 X-Factor #1 - 64,861
Dec 05 X-Factor #2 - 52,705 (-18.7%)
Jan 06 n/a
Feb 06 X-Factor #3 - 48,307 ( -8.3%)

Hmm. Dropping a little faster than I'd be comfortable with, but nothing to really worry about at this stage. Issue #2 picks up 7,754 re-orders, which isn't actually as great as it sounds. Since these reorders still leave us with an 18.7% second issue drop, the most likely explanation is that Diamond simply botched the shipping of issue #2, with several thousand copies failing to reach the shelves until the first week of March. (X-FACTOR ships in the last week of the month.)


33. X-MEN: THE END
Feb 05 n/a
Mar 05 Book Two #1 (of 6) - 71,230 ( +7.6%)
Apr 05 Book Two #2 (of 6) - 63,005 (-11.5%)
May 05 Book Two #3 (of 6) - 58,870 ( -6.6%)
Jun 05 Book Two #4 (of 6) - 54,875 ( -6.8%)
Jul 05 Book Two #5 (of 6) - 51,949 ( -5.3%)
Aug 05 Book Two #6 (of 6) - 49,565 ( -4.6%)
Sep 05 n/a
Oct 05 n/a
Nov 05 n/a
Dec 05 n/a
Jan 06 Book Three #1 (of 6) - 52,891 ( +6.7%)
Feb 06 Book Three #2 (of 6) - 47,370 (-10.4%)
6 mnth ( -4.4%)

The established pattern - a boost for the start of the new volume, and then back to the decline in progress.


35. NEW EXCALIBUR
Nov 05 New Excalibur #1 - 58,333
Dec 05 New Excalibur #2 - 48,816 (-16.3%)
Jan 06 New Excalibur #3 - 47,196 ( -3.3%)
Feb 06 New Excalibur #4 - 45,071 ( -4.5%)

Fairly normal decline for the early issues.


36,40. FANTASTIC FOUR
Feb 02 Fantastic Four #52 - 46,355
Feb 03 Fantastic Four #66 - 48,512
Feb 04 Fantastic Four #510 - 49,129
======
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%)
Jul 05 Fantastic Four #529 - 52,963 ( -5.3%)
Aug 05 Fantastic Four #530 - 51,782 ( -2.2%)
Sep 05 Fantastic Four #531 - 49,745 ( -3.9%)
Oct 05 n/a
Nov 05 Fantastic Four #532 - 47,771 ( -4.0%)
Dec 05 Fantastic Four #533 - 46,751 ( -2.1%)
Jan 05 n/a
Feb 06 Fantastic Four #534 - 44,573 ( -4.7%)
Feb 06 Fantastic Four #535 - 43,124 ( -3.3%)
6 mnth (-16.7%)
1 year ( -6.8%)
2 year (-12.2%)

Back to the title's standard range. J Michael Straczynski's arrival doesn't seem to have made much difference beyond the initial months.


37,38. CAPTAIN AMERICA
Feb 03 Captain America #9 - 52,627
Feb 04 Captain America #23 - 39,695
======
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%)
Jul 05 n/a
Aug 05 Captain America #8 - 51,842 ( +9.9%)
Aug 05 Captain America #9 - 44,638 (-13.9%)
Sep 05 Captain America #10 - 52,609 (+17.9%)
Oct 05 Captain America #11 - 45,162 (-14.2%)
Nov 05 Captain America #12 - 45,038 ( -0.3%)
Dec 05 Captain America #13 - 44,954 ( -0.2%)
Jan 05 n/a
Feb 06 Captain America #14 - 44,041 ( -0.2%)
Feb 06 Captain America #15 - 43,350 ( -1.6%)
6 mnth ( -2.9%)
1 year ( -9.9%)
2 year ( +9.2%)

Continuing a slow decline.

 

[iloveclones]

Continuing....

41. NEW X-MEN
Feb 04 New Mutants #9 - 36,037
======
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%)
Jul 05 New X-Men #16 - 49,217 (+44.7%)
Aug 05 New X-Men #17 - 43,908 (-10.8%)
Sep 05 New X-Men #18 - 43,286 ( -1.4%)
Oct 05 New X-Men #19 - 41,691 ( -3.7%)
Nov 05 New X-Men #20 - 59,466 (+42.6%)
Dec 05 New X-Men #21 - 43,473 (-26.9%)
Jan 06 New X-Men #22 - 42,923 ( -1.3%)
Feb 06 New X-Men #23 - 41,463 ( -3.4%)
6 mnth ( -4.2%)
1 year (+12.3%)
2 year (+15.1%)

Again, drifting slowly down but still miles ahead of the book's earlier incarnation as a teen drama.


42. MARVEL ZOMBIES
Dec 05 Marvel Zombies #1 (of 5) - 52,282
Jan 06 Marvel Zombies #2 (of 5) - 43,517 (-16.8%)
Feb 06 Marvel Zombies #3 (of 5) - 41,164 ( -5.4%)

A remarkable surprise hit. The sales now look like a fairly standard miniseries decline, but that's the result of taking the re-orders into account. In fact, the book is still climbing month on month. Issue #2 picks up 5,023 re-orders to chart at number 203 - meanwhile, the variant cover of issue #1 sells a massive 16,785 copies. It's been a long time since we saw a mid-table miniseries do business like this. Marvel's faith in Robert Kirkman is finally being rewarded.


43. SPIDER-WOMAN: ORIGIN
Dec 05 Origin #1 (of 5) - 66,791
Jan 06 Origin #2 (of 5) - 43,684 (-34.6%)
Feb 06 Origin #3 (of 5) - 40,553 ( -7.2%)

Standard drops. Issue #2 has re-orders of 1,641.


45. GENERATION M
Nov 05 Generation M #1 (of 5) - 54,617
Dec 05 Generation M #2 (of 5) - 44,747 (-18.1%)
Jan 06 Generation M #3 (of 5) - 41,551 ( -7.1%)
Feb 06 Generation M #4 (of 5) - 39,450 ( -5.1%)

Again, standard miniseries drops.


46,51. SENTRY
Sep 05 Sentry #1 (of 8) - 93,021
Oct 05 Sentry #2 (of 8) - 53,384 (-42.6%)
Nov 05 Sentry #3 (of 8) - 47,903 (-10.3%)
Dec 05 Sentry #4 (of 8) - 41,901 (-12.5%)
Jan 06 n/a
Feb 06 Sentry #5 (of 8) - 39,257 ( -6.3%)
Feb 06 Sentry #6 (of 8) - 37,230 ( -5.2%)

Two issues this month as the book gets back on schedule. And once again, it's just the standard miniseries decline.


47. INCREDIBLE HULK
Feb 02 Hulk #37 - 38,844
Feb 03 Hulk #50 - 58,682
Feb 04 Hulk #67 - 47,632
======
Feb 05 Hulk #78 - 44,721 ( -5.2%)
Mar 05 Hulk #79 - 43,508 ( -2.7%)
Apr 05 Hulk #80 - 48,404 (+11.3%)
May 05 Hulk #81 - 43,822 (-10.5%)
Jun 05 Hulk #82 - 43,248 ( -1.3%)
Jul 05 Hulk #83 - 63,881 (+47.7%)
Jul 05 Hulk #84 - 58,583 ( -8.3%)
Aug 05 Hulk #85 - 53,177 ( -9.2%)
Sep 05 Hulk #86 - 52,992 ( -0.3%)
Oct 05 Hulk #87 - 42,454 (-19.9%)
Nov 05 Hulk #88 - 41,141 ( -3.1%)
Nov 05 Hulk #89 - 39,635 ( -3.7%)
Dec 05 Hulk #90 - 36,924 ( -6.8%)
Jan 06 Hulk #91 - 35,980 ( -2.6%)
Feb 06 Hulk #92 - 39,224 ( +9.0%)
6 mnth (-26.2%)
1 year (-12.3%)
2 year (-17.7%)

The beginning of "Planet Hulk". Marvel are promoting this as a massive runaway success, which is a bit of an exaggeration. It's up substantially on last month, but not a particularly great number in the context of the last year. In fact, it only really looks good when you judge it against the sales of Daniel Way's prequel arc - the whole Peter David run outsold this issue comfortably. Don't get me wrong, it's a good start to build on. But let's not get carried away here.


52. X-MEN: APOCALYPSE VS DRACULA
Feb 06 Apocalypse vs Dracula #1 (of 4) - 37,057

Perfectly respectable debut for an X-Men miniseries.


57. PUNISHER
Feb 02 Punisher #9 - 51,330
Feb 03 Punisher #22 - 41,356
Feb 04 Punisher #3 - 46,396
======
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%)
Jul 05 Punisher #23 - 37,376 ( -1.2%)
Aug 05 Punisher #24 - 37,022 ( -0.9%)
Sep 05 Punisher #25 - 37,149 ( +0.3%)
Oct 05 Punisher #26 - 36,450 ( -1.9%)
Nov 05 Punisher #27 - 36,072 ( -1.0%)
Dec 05 Punisher #28 - 35,535 ( -1.5%)
Jan 05 Punisher #29 - 34,708 ( -2.3%)
Feb 06 Punisher #30 - 34,293 ( -1.2%)
6 mnth ( -7.4%)
1 year (-11.4%)
2 year (-26.1%)

Still moving glacially downhill.


59. SUPREME POWER: HYPERION
Sep 05 Hyperion #1 (of 5) - 42,546
Oct 05 Hyperion #2 (of 5) - 37,423 (-12.0%)
Nov 05 n/a
Dec 05 Hyperion #3 (of 5) - 34,825 ( -6.9%)
Jan 06 n/a
Feb 06 Hyperion #4 (of 5) - 33,868 ( -2.7%)

Levelling out nicely.


60. EXILES
Feb 02 Exiles #9 - 37,563
Feb 03 Exiles #22 - 35,239
Feb 04 Exiles #42 - 37,147
======
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%)
Jul 05 Exiles #66 - 34,092 ( -1.1%)
Jul 05 Exiles #67 - 33,751 ( -1.0%)
Aug 05 Exiles #68 - 33,815 ( +0.2%)
Sep 05 Exiles #69 - 43,794 (+29.5%)
Sep 05 Exiles #70 - 42,434 ( -3.1%)
Oct 05 Exiles #71 - 41,131 ( -3.1%)
Nov 05 Exiles #72 - 34,329 (-16.5%)
Nov 05 Exiles #73 - 34,008 ( -0.9%)
Dec 05 Exiles #74 - 33,881 ( -0.4%)
Jan 06 Exiles #75 - 33,485 ( -1.2%)
Jan 06 Exiles #76 - 32,843 ( -1.9%)
Feb 06 Exiles #77 - 32,998 ( +0.5%)
6 mnth ( -2.4%)
1 year ( +2.0%)
2 year (-11.2%)

Hovering reliably in the 32-34K range.


61. STORM
Feb 06 Storm #1 (of 6) - 32,831

An origin miniseries attempting to retrofit Storm and the Black Panther with a proper reason to get married. You wouldn't generally expect great numbers for a book like this - not only is it set in the past, which is usually bad for sales, but it's a romance comic from the woman's point of view, and we all know how the direct market loves those.

That said... this is a tie-in to the Storm/Panther wedding, which is being promoted as a very big deal. But it's actually debuted below APOCALYPSE VS DRACULA #1 - which is also set in the past, features no big name heroes, and was kind of shoved out there without much promotion. And it still beat the wedding tie-in? That's not a good sign.


67. SUPREME POWER: NIGHTHAWK
Sep 05 Nighthawk #1 (of 6) - 39,505
Oct 05 Nighthawk #2 (of 6) - 35,183 (-10.9%)
Nov 05 Nighthawk #3 (of 6) - 33,228 ( -5.6%)
Dec 05 Nighthawk #4 (of 6) - 32,207 ( -3.1%)
Jan 06 Nighthawk #5 (of 6) - 30,828 ( -4.3%)
Feb 06 Nighthawk #6 (of 6) - 30,280 ( -1.8%)

Levelling out as the series comes to an end.


74. FURY: PEACEMAKER
Feb 02 Fury #6 (of 6) - 35,825
======
Feb 06 Peacemaker #1 (of 6) - 27,423

Another Garth Ennis miniseries, but this time set in World War II and taking the character more seriously. Interestingly, it's exactly four years since the controversial FURY series under the Max imprint finished. It sold rather better than this one, as you can see.


75. SHE-HULK
Feb 05 She-Hulk #12 - 23,202 ( -0.1%)
Mar 05 n/a
Apr 05 n/a
May 05 n/a
Jun 05 n/a
Jul 05 n/a
Aug 05 n/a
Sep 05 n/a
Oct 05 She-Hulk #1 - 37,220 (+60.4%)
Nov 05 She-Hulk #2 - 31,610 (-15.1%)
Dec 05 She-Hulk #3 - 29,428 ( -6.9%)
Jan 06 She-Hulk #4 - 28,214 ( -4.1%)
Feb 06 She-Hulk #5 - 27,183 ( -3.7%)
6 mnth ( n/a )
1 year (+17.2%)

Standard decline.


76. SENTINEL SQUAD O*N*E
Jan 06 Sentinel Squad O*N*E #1 (of 5) - 34,988
Feb 06 Sentinel Squad O*N*E #2 (of 5) - 26,971 (-22.9%)

A steep second issue drop, even for a miniseries.


80. BLACK PANTHER
Feb 02 Black Panther #41 - 19,523
Feb 03 Black Panther #54 - 17,401
======
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%)
Jul 05 Black Panther #6 - 35,256 ( -5.7%)
Aug 05 Black Panther #7 - 42,905 (+21.7%)
Sep 05 Black Panther #8 - 46,239 ( +7.8%)
Oct 05 Black Panther #9 - 40,173 (-13.1%)
Nov 05 Black Panther #10 - 31,987 (-20.4%)
Dec 05 Black Panther #11 - 29,327 ( -8.3%)
Jan 06 Black Panther #12 - 27,933 ( -4.7%)
Feb 06 Black Panther #13 - 26,054 ( -6.7%)
6 mnth (-39.3%)
1 year (-62.7%)

The other half of the big wedding, and it continues to drop like a stone. At these levels it really can't afford to keep shedding almost 2,000 readers an issue, but that's what it's doing. Marvel evidently have tremendous faith in the book, but the direct market doesn't agree with them, on the strength of these numbers.


82. X-MEN UNLIMITED
Feb 03 X-Men Unlimited #42 - 34,489
Feb 04 X-Men Unlimited #1 - 52,685
======
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%)
Jul 05 n/a
Aug 05 X-Men Unlimited #10 - 23,717 ( -6.6%)
Sep 05 n/a
Oct 05 X-Men Unlimited #11 - 23,344 ( -1.6%)
Nov 05 n/a
Dec 05 X-Men Unlimited #12 - 22,134 ( -5.2%)
Jan 06 n/a
Feb 06 X-Men Unlimited #13 - 25,257 (+14.1%)
6 mnth ( +6.5%)
1 year ( -6.5%)
2 year (-52.1%)

A belated Decimation crossover - so at least that's one title which was definitely helped by the event. Still not great numbers, though.


84. POWERS
Feb 02 n/a
Feb 03 Powers #29 - 25,982
Feb 04 n/a
======
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%)
Jul 05 n/a
Aug 05 Powers #12 - 30,290 ( +9.3%)
Sep 05 n/a
Oct 05 Powers #13 - 26,535 (-12.4%)
Nov 05 Powers #14 - 26,109 ( -1.6%)
Dec 05 Powers #15 - 25,633 ( -1.8%)
Jan 06 n/a
Feb 06 Powers #16 - 24,924 ( -2.8%)
6 mnth (-17.7%)
1 year (-12.6%)

Standard decline.


87. RUNAWAYS
Feb 04 Runaways #11 - 19,978
======
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%)
Jul 05 Runaways #6 - 27,365 ( -3.7%)
Aug 05 Runaways #7 - 27,063 ( -1.1%)
Sep 05 Runaways #8 - 26,954 ( -0.4%)
Oct 05 Runaways #9 - 26,800 ( -0.6%)
Nov 05 Runaways #10 - 25,761 ( -3.9%)
Dec 05 Runaways #11 - 25,260 ( -1.9%)
Jan 06 Runaways #12 - 24,989 ( -1.1%)
Feb 06 Runaways #13 - 24,313 ( -2.7%)
6 mnth ( -10.2%)
1 year ( -43.6%)
2 year ( +21.7%)

And much the same here, although RUNAWAYS is still way ahead of pre-relaunch numbers.


88. PUNISHER: BLOODY VALENTINE
Feb 06 Bloody Valentine - 24,200

Respectable numbers for a random Punisher one-shot.


90. NEW THUNDERBOLTS
Feb 02 Thunderbolts #61 - 29,197
Feb 03 Thunderbolts #76 - 25,432
======
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%)
Jul 05 New Thunderbolts #10 - 25,978 ( -4.8%)
Aug 05 New Thunderbolts #11 - 37,036 (+42.6%)
Sep 05 New Thunderbolts #12 - 25,912 (-30.0%)
Oct 05 New Thunderbolts #13 - 29,250 (+12.9%)
Oct 05 New Thunderbolts #14 - 27,864 ( -4.7%)
Nov 05 New Thunderbolts #15 - 25,245 ( -9.4%)
Dec 05 New Thunderbolts #16 - 25,084 ( -0.6%)
Jan 06 New Thunderbolts #17 - 23,417 ( -6.7%)
Feb 06 New Thunderbolts #18 - 23,735 ( +1.4%)
6 mnth (-35.9%)
1 year (-19.2%)

Nudging very slightly up from last issue, which is a tentatively good sign.


93. PUNISHER VS BULLSEYE
Nov 05 Punisher vs Bullseye #1 (of 5) - 30,048
Dec 05 Punisher vs Bullseye #2 (of 5) - 25,121 (-16.4%)
Jan 06 Punisher vs Bullseye #3 (of 5) - 23,872 ( -5.0%)
Feb 06 Punisher vs Bullseye #4 (of 5) - 23,050 ( -3.4%)

Levelling out as normal.


94. IRON MAN: INEVITABLE
Dec 05 Inevitable #1 (of 6) - 31,032
Jan 06 Inevitable #2 (of 6) - 25,382 (-18.2%)
Feb 06 Inevitable #3 (of 6) - 22,997 ( -9.4%)

And ditto.


95. CABLE & DEADPOOL
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%)
Jul 05 Cable & Deadpool #17 - 34,393 (+39.7%)
Aug 05 Cable & Deadpool #18 - 25,304 (-26.4%)
Sep 05 Cable & Deadpool #19 - 25,298 ( -0.0%)
Sep 05 Cable & Deadpool #20 - 24,982 ( -1.2%)
Oct 05 Cable & Deadpool #21 - 25,030 ( +0.2%)
Nov 05 Cable & Deadpool #22 - 23,746 ( -5.1%)
Dec 05 Cable & Deadpool #23 - 23,296 ( -1.9%)
Jan 06 Cable & Deadpool #24 - 23,542 ( +1.1%)
Feb 06 Cable & Deadpool #25 - 22,918 ( -2.7%)
6 mnth ( -9.4%)
1 year ( -9.6%)

Another remarkably solid performer, albeit at the lower end of the chart.


97. OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE
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%)
Jul 05 Avengers 2005 - 23,668 ( +7.7%)
Aug 05 Ultimate Universe 2005 - 25,436 ( +7.5%)
Sep 05 Alternate Universes 2005 - 18,680 ( -26.6%)
Oct 05 Horror 2005 - 15,849 ( -15.2%)
Nov 05 X-Men 2005 - 22,986 ( +45.0%)
Dec 05 Ultimates/Ultimate X-Men 2005 - 20,795 ( -9.5%)
Jan 06 A to Z #1 (of 12) - 23,423 ( +12.6%)
Feb 06 A to Z #2 (of 12) - 21,828 ( -6.8%)
6 mnth ( -14.2%)
1 year ( +20.1%)

Holding up quite well for the second issue of the new format - many of the themed issues sold below this.


99. THING
Nov 05 Thing #1 - 30,188
Dec 05 Thing #2 - 23,606 (-21.8%)
Jan 06 Thing #3 - 21,839 ( -7.5%)
Feb 06 Thing #4 - 21,190 ( -3.0%)

Levelling out, but writer Dan Slott has made it public that the book is in troubled waters with sales at this level.


101. MARVEL KNIGHTS 4
Feb 04 Marvel Knights 4 #1 - 61,388
======
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%)
Jul 05 Marvel Knights 4 #20 - 27,548 ( -2.1%)
Aug 05 Marvel Knights 4 #21 - 27,023 ( -1.9%)
Sep 05 Marvel Knights 4 #22 - 26,446 ( -2.1%)
Oct 05 Marvel Knights 4 #23 - 25,100 ( -5.1%)
Nov 05 Marvel Knights 4 #24 - 24,129 ( -3.9%)
Dec 05 Marvel Knights 4 #25 - 22,753 ( -5.7%)
Jan 06 Marvel Knights 4 #26 - 21,365 ( -6.1%)
Feb 06 Marvel Knights 4 #27 - 20,977 ( -1.8%)
6 mnth (-22.4%)
1 year (-30.6%)
2 year (-65.8%)

Cancelled with issue #30. And no, it didn't change its name to FOUR with this month's issue, before you ask.


105. MARVEL TEAM-UP
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%)
Jul 05 Marvel Team-Up #10 - 22,549 ( -4.2%)
Aug 05 Marvel Team-Up #11 - 22,150 ( -1.8%)
Sep 05 Marvel Team-Up #12 - 21,240 ( -4.1%)
Oct 05 Marvel Team-Up #13 - 21,048 ( -0.9%)
Nov 05 Marvel Team-Up #14 - 26,200 (+24.5%)
Dec 05 Marvel Team-Up #15 - 20,000 (-23.7%)
Jan 06 Marvel Team-Up #16 - 19,955 ( -0.2%)
Feb 06 Marvel Team-Up #17 - 19,422 ( -2.7%)
6 mnth (-12.3%)
1 year (-30.9%)

Not good numbers at all. The solicitations show a six-part storyline starting in issue #20, though, so it's with us for a good while yet.


106. SAGA OF THE SQUADRON SUPREME
Feb 06 Saga of the Squadron Supreme - 18,977

Another clipshow book recapping the plot of SUPREME POWER in preparation for the upcoming SQUADRON SUPREME relaunch. Good numbers for a product of this sort, I'd say.


115. X-STATIX PRESENTS DEAD GIRL
Feb 02 X-Force #125 - 44,404
Feb 03 X-Statix #8 - 32,512
Feb 04 X-Statix #19 - 24,182
======
Jan 06 Dead Girl #1 (of 5) - 20,685
Feb 06 Dead Girl #2 (of 5) - 17,369 (-16.0%)
2 year (-28.2%)

Fairly standard second issue drop, although the figures are depressingly low.


116. ARES
Jan 06 Ares #1 (of 5) - 20,541
Feb 06 Ares #2 (of 5) - 16,884 (-17.8%)

The heavy hints that he's joining the Avengers don't seem to be making much difference.


118. SPIDER-GIRL
Feb 02 Spider-Girl #44 - 23,478
Feb 03 Spider-Girl #57 - 23,330
Feb 04 Spider-Girl #70 - 20,541
======
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%)
Jul 05 Spider-Girl #88 - 18,983 ( -3.2%)
Aug 05 Spider-Girl #89 - 18,538 ( -2.3%)
Sep 05 Spider-Girl #90 - 18,344 ( -1.0%)
Oct 05 Spider-Girl #91 - 18,159 ( -1.0%)
Nov 05 Spider-Girl #92 - 17,597 ( -3.1%)
Dec 05 Spider-Girl #93 - 17,057 ( -3.1%)
Jan 06 Spider-Girl #94 - 17,148 ( +0.5%)
Feb 06 Spider-Girl #95 - 16,778 ( -2.2%)
6 mnth ( -9.5%)
1 year (-17.7%)
2 year (-18.3%)

Cancelled with issue #100.