I always like looking at sales estimates, even if they have been depressing lately. Monthly comic sales are down a whopping 14% for the quarter, while they are down 4% for the year. UNCANNY X-FORCE #1 was the top book, but it sold less than 96k, and no other comic sold over 90k. CARNAGE #1 was in the Top 25 sellers list with under 48k sales; in 2006, that was bottom of the Top 50 territory. Sales slumps for trades aren't as bad, but trade sales seem to rely on one massive seller to drive things up. The ones of the last few years have been WATCHMEN, SCOTT PILGRIM, WALKING DEAD, and now SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE. ICV2 seems to be blaming the negative sales policies of the last two years as coming home to roost now. Which is perhaps a nice way of saying that experimenting with the $1 sales price surge at the end of 2008 was probably not a good idea, in the midst of a recession that is literally hammering comics because retailers are being wiped out, and no new store replaces them. No wonder there is focus on digital these days. Aside for keeping legal digital sales of "day and date" comics artificially high (as in over $1.99), the big two have done nothing to help the direct market besides seek to exploit it for one cash payout and then watch it smolder in flame.
Still, comics at the lower end of the spectrum are doing better. The #300 book sold over 3,400 copies, which is historically high for the 300th seller. That could simply mean many of the smaller comics that can't manage that have been forced out of the direct market, or got wise and went online. On the downside, the threshold for selling in the Top 100 has gotten lower; FABLES #99 did and it sold less than 19,700 copies. I remember when RUNAWAYS was selling about 23k and just barely hanging onto the Top 95; these days, it might have managed to stay in the Top 80 and "looked" better.
What often sinks DC is the amount of titles they have below the Top 100, but man, Marvel is catching up. The shame of it is that naturally, some of them are good mini's, like TASKMASTER or SHADOWLAND: POWER MAN, or series canceled before their prime like YOUNG ALLIES. Marvel seem incapable of launching anything that is even a step from the beaten path and getting it to last more than 7-10 issues. I am mixed on how I think SPIDER-GIRL will debut. On the one hand, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN hasn't been able to support a spin off mini since BRAND NEW DAY got into full swing, that's basically been over a year now. On the other hand, CARNAGE did better than I expected, unless Clayton Crain and Zeb Wells are really top draw talent. Methinks retailers ordered that on the premise that Carnage USED to be hot, and has been kept dead for about five years now with little word. The next issue will be in December. Still, that means it may be possible that SPIDER-GIRL #1 won't be DOA. I still wouldn't bet my life's savings on it lasting past issue ten.
These lists are always fun, or disturbing, seeing where things you like sell. Bendis' Avengers titles seem to be slipping all the way back to pre-relaunch titles, if not more so. SECRET AVENGERS has also slipped, but not as much and remains locked in the Top 10, which is fine for the Avenger's C title. More disheartening, though, is seeing AVENGERS ACADEMY barely remain in the Top 65 in a down month with over 31k. Sales on that have not been stable; to be fair, sales on it's "mother" series, AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE, were also not stable. The lowest point of that book was about 28k, before SIEGE helped it rebound a bit, and at the very least AA is still selling above A:TI's lowest point. It's the best Avengers book, in terms of quality.
STEVE ROGERS: SUPER SOLDIER ended up a bit below CAPTAIN AMERICA, but both were written by the same guy and both sold within the Top 60, which isn't bad. It did better than quite a lot of DEADPOOL material. Can you see it sinking like a stone? Wouldn't it have been smarter if Marvel scaled it back, oh, a year ago before things got this bad?
While DC are still outsold by Marvel overall, it is telling that they have gotten Batman and Green Lantern to outsell Bendisvengers. That was impossible a year or so ago.
It is worth noting while sales for WOLVERINE #2 aren't bad at all (within the Top 15 and outsold UNCANNY X-MEN, albeit by about 40 copies), that his sales have seen a nose-dive drop from the latest issue one; I don't have figures but it's at least a 40% drop, if not closer to about 45-50%. That puts it on level with X-MEN, which isn't too bad if sales can hold steady with that, or not fall too far below UNCANNY.
Fraction on THOR is out selling JMS on SUPERMAN, albeit not by a whole lot (about 1,000 copies). Naturally, JMS was unable to really get WONDER WOMAN's sales to sour, and SUPERMAN managing a Top 25 sales listing is really a sign of how low they were before.
The second chapter of FANTASTIC FOUR's "THREE" arc has seen a drop from the first, but is still up from where it was before. The storyline has caused a spike in sales, although nothing so high as to give BATMAN AND ROBIN's editors any worries. I am actually surprised it outsold SUPERIOR #1, which is Mark Millar's latest movie pitch disguised as a comic.
Good news? CHAOS WAR #1 sold way better than PRINCE OF POWER #4. Bad news? It lost 6k in sales in under one month with #2. Still, if it can hold steady, it'll finish out better than that Pak/Ven Lente run has sold all year.
SHADOWLAND is a modest hit, so long as Marvel didn't expect SIEGE numbers, and it has at least gotten DAREDEVIL back to where it was selling in 2009.
