Comics Spidey Book Sales (ASM +)

[iloveclones]

Well, I would say anything above 90K is considered a success, and anything venturing below 40K is flirting with cancellation.

 

[iloveclones]

double

 

[Meehaul]

Blackest Night has really charged up DC and Green Lantern in particular. And Grant Morrison has been magic on Batman & Robin. Makes me wonder whether the market will be driven more by the creative teams than anything else.

 

[Meehaul]

The actual numbers: only Batman (well, and Robin too), Cap (reborn), the Hulk and the Flash (re-birth) did better than ASM No comic cracked the 200 K barrier, and DD #500, while only 18th in sales quantity, ranked 7th in sales dollars because of the $4.99 price.

QUANTITY RANK DOLLAR RANK INDEX ITEM CODE DESCRIPTION PRICE VENDOR
1 1 186.36 JUN090122-M BLACKEST NIGHT #2 (OF 8) $3.99 DC
2 2 159.92 JUN090439-M CAPTAIN AMERICA REBORN #2 (OF 5) $3.99 MAR
3 8 141.08 JUN090146-M BATMAN AND ROBIN #3 $2.99 DC
4 11 130.67 JUN090131-M GREEN LANTERN #45 (BLACKEST NIGHT) $2.99 DC
5 6 121.17 JUN090468-M ULTIMATE COMICS AVENGERS #1 $3.99 MAR
6 3 120.15 JUN090486-M DARK AVENGERS #8 DAX $3.99 MAR
7 4 115.21 JUN090483-M UNCANNY X-MEN #514 DAX $3.99 MAR
8 5 114.80 JUN090510-M NEW AVENGERS #56 DKR $3.99 MAR
9 9 113.61 JUN090440-M MARVELS PROJECT #1 (OF 8) $3.99 MAR
10 14 110.04 JUN090125-M BLACKEST NIGHT BATMAN #1 (OF 3) $2.99 DC
11 10 109.72 JUN090471-M ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #1 $3.99 MAR
12 15 107.46 JUN090133-M GREEN LANTERN CORPS #39 (BLACKEST NIGHT) $2.99 DC
13 18 100.00 JUN090149 BATMAN #689 $2.99 DC
14 19 99.64 MAY090153-M FLASH REBIRTH #4 (OF 6) $2.99 DC
15 12 98.80 JUN090515-M HULK #14 $3.99 MAR
16 20 98.10 JUN090127-M BLACKEST NIGHT SUPERMAN #1 (OF 3) $2.99 DC
17 22 94.75 JUN090476-M AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #601 $2.99 MAR
18 7 93.74 JUN090528-M DAREDEVIL #500 $4.99 MAR
19 25 91.25 JUN090478-M AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #602 $2.99 MAR
20 13 91.04 JUN090512-M HULK #13 DKR $3.99 MAR
21 26 90.64 JUN090480-M AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #603 $2.99 MAR
22 28 87.50 JUN090491-M DARK WOLVERINE #77 DKR $2.99 MAR
23 29 82.62 JUN090129-M BLACKEST NIGHT TITANS #1 (OF 3) $2.99 DC
24 16 81.79 JUN090541-M INCREDIBLE HULK #601 $3.99 MAR
25 31 80.77 JUN090489-M X-MEN LEGACY #227 DAX $2.99 MAR
26 44 79.60 JUN090532-M FANTASTIC FOUR #570 $2.99 MAR
27 32 78.23 JUN090554-M MIGHTY AVENGERS #28 $2.99 MAR
28 17 75.08 JUN090148 DETECTIVE COMICS #856 $3.99 DC
29 33 73.41 JUN090182 JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #36 $2.99 DC
30 21 72.34 JUN090155-M ADVENTURE COMICS #1 $3.99 DC

 

[Themanofbat]

Wow... looks like a significant jump from the 590's...

 

[stillanerd]

Based on this, and the fact that Mark Millar on his own message boards said Ultimate Comics Avengers #1 sold 106K as stated here: http://forums.millarworld.tv/index.php?showtopic=90086 I think we can have a pretty good guess what the sales estimates were before ICV2 comes out.

First, of all, if as Millar says, Ultimate Comics Avengers was 106K and since the index number for that issue was 121.17, well we then divide 106,000 by 121.17 and that gives us, 874.8, which if we round is 875. That means, since Batman is ALWAYS a constant index number of 100, that Batman #689 sold for about 87,500. Based on that, the sales estimates are:

1. 186.36 BLACKEST NIGHT #2 (OF 8)--163,065
2. 159.92 CAPTAIN AMERICA REBORN #2 (OF 5)--139,930
3. 141.08 BATMAN AND ROBIN #3--123,445
4. 130.67 GREEN LANTERN #45 (BLACKEST NIGHT)--114,336
5. 121.17 ULTIMATE COMICS AVENGERS #1--106,023
6. 120.15 DARK AVENGERS #8 (Dark Avengers/X-Men)--105,131
7. 115.21 UNCANNY X-MEN #514 (Dark Avengers/X-Men)--100,809
8. 114.80 NEW AVENGERS #56 DKR--100,450
9. 113.61 MARVELS PROJECT #1 (OF 8)--99,409
10. 110.04 BLACKEST NIGHT BATMAN #1 (OF 3)--96,285

11. 109.72 ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #1 -- 96,005
17. 94.75 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #601-- 82,906
19. 91.25 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #602 -- 79,844
21 90.64 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #603 -- 79,310

Keep in mind though that, this is all based on what Millar claims Ultimate Comics Avengers sold for, and also all three issues of Amazing Spider-Man for this month had variant covers of Marvel's 70th Anniversary as well as the Mary Jane ones. Even so, not too shabby.

 

[Meehaul]

If those numbers are correct, and we add in estimated subscription and news stand sales, it's pretty clear why Marvel went to ASm thrice monthly. All the Batman titles (and there are a slew of them) do not match ASM. It would be interesting to see what would happen if DC went to a thrice monthly Batman once Bruce Wayne is back, and discontinued the other series.

 

[stillanerd]

If those numbers are correct, and we add in estimated subscription and news stand sales, it's pretty clear why Marvel went to ASm thrice monthly. All the Batman titles (and there are a slew of them) do not match ASM. It would be interesting to see what would happen if DC went to a thrice monthly Batman once Bruce Wayne is back, and discontinued the other series.

However, the real flaw in my analysis is that the sales for Batman have actually been trending sharply downwards.

In June of 2009, Batman #687 sold an estimated 96,913 copies. In July of 2009, Batman #688 sold an estimated 83,040 copies. It would be really hard to see how Batman #689 INCREASED sales by 4K after going DOWN by 14K the previous month without any real event tie-ins or variant covers as far as I know. Also, Millar could either be exaggerating or factoring in things Diamond doesn't consider in their sales estimates. So, I wouldn't be surprised if I turned out to be wrong in my assessment since it's all based on what Millar claims Ultimate Comics Avengers #1 sold for.

 

[Themanofbat]

Batman #689 would have to decrease by yet another 14k for the ASM books to have maintained their current average of 62k per book... and I don't see that type of drop, so as I stated in my previous post, ASM 601, 602 & 603 will have a much higher average than the books sold in the 590's...

 

[Meehaul]

Here's the ICV2 estimate of actual unit sales:

146,092 Blackest Night #2 (of 8)
125,366 Captain America: Reborn #2 (of 5)
110,594 Batman and Robin #3
102,431 Green Lantern #45 (Blackest Night)
94,985 Ultimate Comics Avengers #1
94,191 Dark Avengers #8 DAX
90,316 Uncanny X-Men #514 DAX
89,996 New Avengers #56 DKR
89,062 The Marvels Project #1 (of 8)
86,261 Blackest Night: Batman #1 (of 3)
86,008 Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1
84,241 Green Lantern Corps #39 (Blackest Night)
78,392 Batman #689
78,107 The Flash: Rebirth #4 (of 6)
77,455 Hulk #14
76,899 Blackest Night: Superman #1 (of 3)
74,279 Amazing Spider-Man #601
73,486 Daredevil #500
71,532 Amazing Spider-Man #602
71,369 Hulk #13 DKR
71,051 Amazing Spider-Man #603
68,593 Dark Wolverine #77 DKR
64,767 Blackest Night: Titans #1 (of 3)
64,120 Incredible Hulk #601
63,316 X-Men: Legacy #227 DAX

 

[Themanofbat]

And that's about a 72k average for the month, which is about 10k more than the previous months leading up to ASM #600...

 

[Themanofbat]

And that's about a 72k average for the month, which is about 10k more than the previous months leading up to ASM #600...

 

[Spare-Flair]

Sorry I'm new to this whole sales numbers thing. Since Spidey basically has 3 comics per month to 1 comic for the other guys, are you considering sales of ASM as all 3 issues combined versus the other guys? If ASM is selling about 80K an issue, he's doing 240K issues month off the shelves right?

Are these numbers the complete sales figures from all sources? Or are they only direct market? Because I sure have noticed ASM stocked at gas stations, grocery stores, convenience stores, etc. where I will see no other comics aside from Archie!

I'm thinking that Batman comics will still be up there but start performing worse and worse with Bruce Wayne being missing and checking out Detective Comics, Batwoman taking over the title holds very little appeal to me or others.

 

[Themanofbat]

Those numbers are from Diamond only and does NOT include newsstand sales nor subscription.

 

[Meehaul]

Subscriptions to ASM add another roughly 40-50 K to the totals, at least according to the Marvel subscriptions department. ASM is the most subscribed to comic in the Marvel universe and has more subscriptions than any DC title presently. Only Marvel knows the news stand data, though, and it's not telling. I suspect ASM is Marvel's biggest news stand seller, simply because it appears to be the most available.

 

[Themanofbat]

I think newsstand issues of ASM run between 8 to 10k per issue, or 24 to 30k per month.

 

[Jolly Rolly]

I'm perplexed at the standard comic going for $2.99 and $3.99 that's why I've stopped buying monthlies and wait for the TPB's.

 

[Meehaul]

Probably the biggest price increases are due to 1) payments to talent. In the old days, artists and writers pretty much got screwed. Now, because of the movement towards "creator owned" products and the need to hire "big name" talent, payments to the creative folks have gone up substantially. 2) Shipping costs. Fuel price increases and the like have made shipping comics more expensive than ever. 3) Paper costs. Comics are printed on better quality, recycled paper now, so the physical cost of a comic has increased. The big name titles, like ASM or Batman, are also used to fund the titles that dont sell as well, so that Marvel & DC can experiment a bit and try out new titles, some of which don't recoup their production costs. Actually, a $3.99 comic is quite a good buy. We're just spoiled because DC & Marvel have held costs down fo so long. Thats why, for example, you see other print media dying off. With ad revenues down (no more Hostess twinkie ads), I suspect we'll see a slow movement towards digital-only formats and more tpbs from the big two.

 

[Donald Thomas]

Probably the biggest price increases are due to 1) payments to talent. In the old days, artists and writers pretty much got screwed. Now, because of the movement towards "creator owned" products and the need to hire "big name" talent, payments to the creative folks have gone up substantially. 2) Shipping costs. Fuel price increases and the like have made shipping comics more expensive than ever. 3) Paper costs. Comics are printed on better quality, recycled paper now, so the physical cost of a comic has increased. The big name titles, like ASM or Batman, are also used to fund the titles that dont sell as well, so that Marvel & DC can experiment a bit and try out new titles, some of which don't recoup their production costs. Actually, a $3.99 comic is quite a good buy. We're just spoiled because DC & Marvel have held costs down fo so long. Thats why, for example, you see other print media dying off. With ad revenues down (no more Hostess twinkie ads), I suspect we'll see a slow movement towards digital-only formats and more tpbs from the big two.

Aloha,
I couldn't agree with you more.However,when it comes to advertising, comic books(graphic novels), seem to be a vehicle for companies that have Licensing agreements with Marvel.That's an ever increasing group.Soon that group is going to include companies that advertise with Disney.
I've always been of the opinion that digital comics would be part of the industry but I'll never believe that paper is going to be completely replaced.Instead, I think that you'll buy the hard copy of a comic and then with a code, you download a cyber copy of the same issue.Maybe from right there at the store.
Gold and Silver Age comics will always be the highest valued but from what I've seen, Hard Cover compilations and then Trades would have to be a new area within the world of comic book collecting.Marvel Masterpiece,Omnibus,Premiere Editions are hard covers costing anywhere from $18-100. The trades while not as valuable, will make up a whole new area of being a comic book collector.As some point, you will not have to own a single comic book, to own the complete comic book collection of a super hero.The times are a changing.
Spidey rules

 

[Meehaul]

Here's the top 10's for September. The actual numbers will be crunched soon! ASM didn't make the top 10, but Marvel maintains its overall lead in terms of publishing.

Comic-book Title Issue Price Publisher
1 Blackest Night 3 $3.99 DC
2 Captain America: Reborn 3 $3.99 Marvel
3 Batman and Robin 4 $2.99 DC
4 Green Lantern 46 $2.99 DC
5 Wolverine: Giant-Size Old Man Logan 1 $4.99 Marvel
6 Blackest Night: Batman 2 $2.99 DC
7 New Avengers 57 $3.99 Marvel
8 Green Lantern Corps 40 $2.99 DC
9 Dark Avengers 9 $3.99 Marvel
10 Blackest Night: Superman 2 $2.99 DC


Top-selling trade paperbacks

Trade Paperback title Price Publisher
1 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 Vol. 5: Predator & Prey $15.95 Dark Horse
2 The Umbrella Academy Vol. 2: Dallas $17.95 Dark Horse
3 DMZ Vol. 7: War Powers $14.99 DC
4 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz HC $29.99 Marvel
5 Savage Sword of Coman Vol. 6 $19.95 Dark Horse
6 Batman: Cacaphony HC $19.99 DC
7 Batman: The Black Glove $17.99 DC
8 Fables Deluxe Edition Vol. 1 HC $29.99 DC
9 Captain America: The Man with No Face $15.99 Marvel
10 The Goon Vol. 9: Calamity of Conscience $15.95 Dark Horse

 

[stillanerd]

Here's the latest numbers from ICv2

14 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #606 70,177 (variant cover)
18 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #604 63,435
19 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #605 62,831
20 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #607 62,570
24 ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #2 57,477
76 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN PRESENTS ANTI VENOM #1 (OF 3) 32,128
91 SPIDER-MAN CLONE SAGA #1 (OF 6) 27,697
99 DARK REIGN SINISTER SPIDER-MAN #4 (OF 4)25,157

269 MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN #55 5,668

http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/16022.html

 

[Themanofbat]

Man... that Clone Saga number is really sad... unless it picks up, I doubt we'll see any Ben Reilly Spider-Man in the future...

 

[Meehaul]

It's pretty obvious why Marvel decided to go with ASM thrice monthlly. Apparently, what keeps Marvel Adenvtures SM going is subscriptions and Marvel's desire to target younger readers. To supplement what stillanerd posted, here's the overall top 20 in September:


Rank
Index
Title
Price
Pub
Est.Qty

1
182.84
BLACKEST NIGHT #3 (OF 8)
$3.99
DC
140,786

2
140.69
CAPTAIN AMERICA REBORN #3 (OF 5)
$3.99
MAR
108,331

3
138.86
BATMAN AND ROBIN #4
$2.99
DC
106,925

4
134.63
GREEN LANTERN #46 (BLACKEST NIGHT)
$2.99
DC
103,666

5
121.85
WOLVERINE GIANT-SIZE OLD MAN LOGAN #1
$4.99
MAR
93,823

6
113.81
BLACKEST NIGHT BATMAN #2 (OF 3)
$2.99
DC
87,638

7
111.16
NEW AVENGERS #57
$3.99
MAR
85,598

8
107.94
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #40 (BLACKEST NIGHT)
$2.99
DC
83,112

9
103.54
DARK AVENGERS #9
$3.99
MAR
79,729

10
102.29
BLACKEST NIGHT SUPERMAN #2 (OF 3)
$2.99
DC
78,766

11
100.00
BATMAN #690
$2.99
DC
77,001

12
98.26
DARK AVENGERS UNCANNY X-MEN EXODUS DAX
$3.99
MAR
75,662

13
95.56
UNCANNY X-MEN #515
$2.99
MAR
73,585

14
91.14
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #606
$2.99
MAR
70,177

15
89.09
ULTIMATE COMICS AVENGERS #2
$3.99
MAR
68,597

16
84.76
THOR #603
$3.99
MAR
65,265

17
83.23
BLACKEST NIGHT TITANS #2 (OF 3)
$2.99
DC
64,086

18
82.38
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #604
$2.99
MAR
63,435

19
81.60
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #605
$3.99
MAR
62,831

20
81.26
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #607
$2.99
MAR
62,570

The only "solo hero" titles that seem to beat ASM with any degree of regularity are Batman and Thor. GL, Cap and Wolverine have on occasion, but not with any regularity. Overall, comic sales are pretty good, but super hero comics just aren't the dominant force they once were. There's a good bit of variety in the marketplace now (though maybe not as much in the 40's, 50's, and early 60's where Romance, Western, and Horror comics also had sizeable market shares).

 

[Meehaul]

We don't have the actual numbers (and, as always, this does not include subscriptions or news stand sales), but here's the October TOP 10 COMICS from Diamond. ASM has moved back to the number 10 slot and only two "solo hero" books are ahead of him, Batman & Robin (counts as a solo) and Green Lantern (which ties into Blackest Night). All the Blackest Night tie-ins (including Batman & Superman) are doing really well, to say the least. The top 6 slots are all DC and all but one (B&R) are Blackest Night related. I'm glad we're back to beating Thor, Hulk, and Wolverine on a regular basis. Actually, I suspect that when news stand and subscription sales are taken into account, ASM may actually be in the top three in sales.

RANK DESCRIPTION PRICE ITEM CODE VENDOR
1 BLACKEST NIGHT #4 $3.99 AUG090086-M DC
2 BATMAN AND ROBIN #5 $2.99 AUG090106-M DC
3 GREEN LANTERN #47 $2.99 AUG090095-M DC
4 BLACKEST NIGHT: BATMAN #3 $2.99 AUG090091-M DC
5 GREEN LANTERN CORPS #41 $2.99 AUG090097-M DC
6 BLACKEST NIGHT: SUPERMAN #3 $2.99 AUG090089-M DC
7 NEW AVENGERS #58 $3.99 AUG090495 MAR
8 DARK AVENGERS #10 $3.99 AUG090460 MAR
9 UNCANNY X-MEN #516 $2.99 AUG090513 MAR
10 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #608 $2.99 AUG090442-M MAR

 

[Meehaul]

Ok, here's the numbers ranked on the basis of the index:

Comic-book Title Issue Price Publisher Order index
1 Blackest Night 4 $3.99 DC 192.03
2 Batman And Robin 5 $2.99 DC 142.24
3 Green Lantern 47 $2.99 DC 141.88
4 Blackest Night Batman 3 $2.99 DC 121.46
5 Green Lantern Corps 41 $2.99 DC 113.92
6 Blackest Night Supe 3 $2.99 DC 109.57
7 New Avengers 58 $3.99 Marvel 107.31
8 Dark Avengers 10 $3.99 Marvel 105.86
9 Uncanny X-Men 516 $2.99 Marvel 103.48
10 Amazing Spider-Man 608 $2.99 100.85
11 Batman 691 $2.99 DC 100.00
12 Batman 692 $2.99 DC 98.45
13 Astonishing X-Men 31 $2.99 93.89
14 Blackest Night Titans 3 $2.99 DC 89.13
15 Ultimate Comics Avengers 3 87.80
16 Amazing Spider-Man 609 $2.99 85.64
17 Justice League 38 $2.99 DC 85.41
18 Dark Wolverine 79 $2.99 Marvel 84.10
19 Detective Comics 858 $3.99 DC 82.04
20 Web of Spider-Man 1 $3.99 81.77
21 Hulk 16 $3.99 Marvel 79.53
22 Justice League 4 $3.99 DC 76.14
23 X-Men Legacy 228 $2.99 Marvel 73.99
24 Ultimate Comics Spider-Man 3 73.94
25 Mighty Avengers 30 $2.99 73.79
26 Batman Annual 27 $4.99 DC 72.02
27 Deadpool 900 $4.99 Marvel 71.87
28 Buffy The Vampire Slayer 70.33
29 Haunt 1 $2.99 Image 70.11
30 Incredible Hulk 603 $3.99 68.77