Comics Spidey Book Sales (ASM +)

[C. Pumpkins]

When you look at the 10 main writers on ASM pre-OMD, JMS falls in the last 3...

1) Stan Lee
2) Marv Wolfman
3) Roger Stern
4) Len Wein
5) Gerry Conway
6) JM DeMattheis
7) Tom DeFalco
8) David Micheline
9) JMS
10) Howard Mackie

I realise that's a purely opinionated list on my part, but I think "most" Spider-readers would put JMS above my Top Six...

Not me. JMS would probably be place above Micheline though. JDM, on the other hand would move up right under Stern, and Conway would drop below DeFalco. (GASP, I know, but Conway's style bores me for some reason, The Night Gwen died notwithstanding!) Also Stern rivals Wolfman although Wolfman nails Spidey's humor and wrote an outstanding Mysterio, imo, so it's a tough call.

Guess who broke into the Top 10 in August?

1. Brightest Day #7
2. Brightest Day #8
3. Avengers #4
4. New Avengers #3
5. Secret Avengers #4
6. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #640
7. Batman #702
8. X-Men #2
9. Uncanny X-Men #527
10. Green Lantern Emerald Warriors #1

Source: Newsarama

Nice one! I'm happy for ASM, yet sales don't equate to good story telling, imo. Haven't read the new ASM issues yet, so the jury's out on OMIT thus far.

 

[Meehaul]

The new diamond numbers for September were just released. ASM does quite well, slotting in at 10, 15, 16 & 17. The only "single hero" books to beat it were Wolverine 1, GL, and Batman. Of course, as must be noted, this is indexed sales and does not include news stand or subscription sales.

RANK DOLLAR
RANK INDEX ITEM CODE DESCRIPTION PRICE VENDOR
1 1 135.54 JUL100634-M WOLVERINE #1 $3.99 MAR
2 5 114.82 JUL100110-M BRIGHTEST DAY #9 $2.99 DC
3 7 113.25 JUL100112-M BRIGHTEST DAY #10 $2.99 DC
4 9 110.57 JUN100132-M GREEN LANTERN #57 $2.99 DC
5 10 107.61 MAY100133-M BATMAN AND ROBIN #14 $2.99 DC
6 2 106.98 JUL100543-M AVENGERS #5 $3.99 MAR
7 3 100.58 JUL100551-M NEW AVENGERS #4 $3.99 MAR
8 13 100.00 JUL100138-M BATMAN #703 $2.99 DC
9 4 90.28 JUL100546-M SECRET AVENGERS #5 $3.99 MAR
10 8 88.72 JUN100542-M AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #641 $3.99 MAR
11 6 86.39 JUL100621-M X-MEN #3 $3.99 MAR
12 17 82.53 JUL100116-M GREEN LANTERN CORPS #52 $2.99 DC
13 11 81.02 JUL100641 UNCANNY X-MEN #528 $3.99 MAR
14 20 80.57 JUN100150-M FLASH #5 $2.99 DC
15 22 80.30 JUL100531-M AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #643 $2.99 MAR
16 25 78.04 JUL100529-M AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #642 $2.99 MAR
17 27 75.69 JUL100534-M AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #644 $2.99 MAR
18 12 74.79 JUL100126-M JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #49 $3.99 DC
19 14 73.07 JUL100118-M GREEN LANTERN EMERALD WARRIORS #2 $3.99 DC
20 15 69.46 JUN100615-M THOR #614 $3.99 MAR

I would imagine, without knowing for sure, that ASM would rank higher if newsstand and subscription sales were included. Wolverine 1 probably has no subscription base, and the Brightest Day comics, unless attached to a specific character, are not solicited for subscriptions. Newsstand sales, I suspect, are heavily weighted towards traditional characters like Spidey, Bats, GL, etc.

Sure would be interesting to know actual sales numbers for all this stuff. I'm not sure why I care, as I'm not looking to buy advertising space, and I like what I like regardless of whether others like it or not, but I'm still fascinated by the numbers.

I know people complain about what those numbers mean, or how "accurate" they are, but I will include this from Diamond's site:

"About the Diamond Sales Index: The Sales Index of selected monthly Best Seller Charts is presented as a comparative tool for retailers and publishers. It presents Diamond’s monthly sales for individual titles in relation to Diamond’s total sales for the issue of DC Comics' monthly Batman comic book. (Batman is used as the control title – with a value of 100 – because sales of Batman usually remain relatively stable.) This allows for easy comparison to other titles and helps retailers gauge their orders for all other titles. This formula is only a guide, other factors may impact a titles’ ability to sell in certain locations and clientele."

 

[Miken Ayers]

How many incentive covers did each issue of Amazing have? You gotta remember those are sales to retailers and unlesss every issue to every store sells, that's no indication to the book selling because it's good or not. The sales are somewhat decent but only due to stores ordering so many issues to get the varients.

 

[Meehaul]

In the top 17, only one book had no variants. Uncanny X-men #528. Here, the variants sort of cancel one another out. It was generally a good month for ASM in what is shaping up to be a good year-comparatively speaking.

 

[Meehaul]

And, ASM has a fine October, placing 16 & 18th.

QTY
RANK DOLLAR
RANK INDEX ITEM CODE DESCRIPTION PRICE VENDOR
1 1 268.09 AUG100524-M UNCANNY X-FORCE #1 $3.99 MAR
2 2 241.09 JUN100157-M BATMAN RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #5 $3.99 DC
3 7 234.97 AUG100111-M BRIGHTEST DAY #11 $2.99 DC
4 9 230.96 AUG100113-M BRIGHTEST DAY #12 $2.99 DC
5 11 228.81 JUL100114-M GREEN LANTERN #58 $2.99 DC
6 13 224.74 JUN100155-M BATMAN AND ROBIN #15 $2.99 DC
7 4 205.78 AUG100566-M NEW AVENGERS #5 $3.99 MAR
8 5 205.35 AUG100562 AVENGERS #6 $3.99 MAR
9 6 192.34 AUG100563-M SECRET AVENGERS #6 $3.99 MAR
10 17 182.99 JUN100640-M KICK-ASS 2 #1 (MR) $2.99 MAR
11 8 178.76 AUG100641-M X-MEN #4 $3.99 MAR
12 12 177.19 AUG100634-M WOLVERINE #2 $3.99 MAR
13 10 174.51 AUG100646-M UNCANNY X-MEN #529 $3.99 MAR
14 20 170.45 AUG100119-M GREEN LANTERN CORPS #53 $2.99 DC
15 3 167.31 AUG100129-M JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #50 $4.99 DC
16 24 162.93 AUG100555-M AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #646 $2.99 MAR
17 23 162.04 AUG100135 BRUCE WAYNE THE ROAD HOME BATMAN & ROBIN #1 $2.99 DC
18 28 158.96 AUG100553-M AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #645 $2.99 MAR
19 16 143.10 AUG100626-M THOR #616 $3.99 MAR
20 15 141.53 AUG100121-M GREEN LANTERN EMERALD WARRIORS #3 $3.99 DC

 

[Meehaul]

ASM in November hit 8, 19 & 20th. Not bad. But Batman totally owns November. Still, other than Bats, ASM is the highest ranking solo-adventure comic. Not too shabby!

QTY
RANK DOLLAR
RANK INDEX ITEM CODE DESCRIPTION PRICE VENDOR
1 1 152.65 AUG100143-M BATMAN THE RETURN $4.99 DC
2 2 146.58 SEP100156-M BATMAN INCORPORATED #1 $3.99 DC
3 3 137.64 SEP100579-M AVENGERS #7 $3.99 MAR
4 4 127.28 JUL100144-M BATMAN RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #6 $3.99 DC
5 5 123.20 JUL100146-M BATMAN AND ROBIN #16 $3.99 DC
6 9 122.61 SEP100192-M BRIGHTEST DAY #13 $2.99 DC
7 12 120.30 SEP100194-M BRIGHTEST DAY #14 $2.99 DC
8 7 118.13 SEP100569-M AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #648 $3.99 MAR
9 14 116.81 AUG100117-M GREEN LANTERN #59 $2.99 DC
10 16 108.26 SEP100166-M BATMAN AND ROBIN #17 $2.99 DC
11 8 102.32 SEP100586 NEW AVENGERS #6 $3.99 MAR
12 20 100.00 SEP100164 BATMAN #704 $2.99 DC
13 11 92.01 SEP100584-M SECRET AVENGERS #7 $3.99 MAR
14 13 88.95 SEP100665 UNCANNY X-MEN #530 $3.99 MAR
15 25 88.44 JUL100129-M FLASH #6 $2.99 DC
16 26 88.09 SEP100202-M GREEN LANTERN CORPS #54 $2.99 DC
17 15 86.87 SEP100661-M X-MEN #5 $3.99 MAR
18 22 86.67 SEP100657 UNCANNY X-FORCE #2 $3.99 MAR
19 6 85.60 AUG100558-M AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #647 $4.99 MAR
20 17 80.64 SEP100574 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #649 $3.99 MAR

 

[thegame_45]

I would love to get into comics again, but at 3.99 and 4.99 a pop I just don't think I can do it anymore.

 

[Themanofbat]

I would love to get into comics again, but at 3.99 and 4.99 a pop I just don't think I can do it anymore.

A lot of comics are droppping back to $2.99 in 2011...

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

A lot of comics are droppping back to $2.99 in 2011...

Really? Where did you hear that?

 

[Donald Thomas]

Really? Where did you hear that?

Aloha,
Happy Holidays Capt. good to see you still around.I think somewhere it's stated that DC is going to $2.99 and Marvel is following suit in some titles.Marvel.com may have the story.
Spidey rules with enduring 10 yr Hype fans

 

[Donald Thomas]

ASM in November hit 8, 19 & 20th. Not bad. But Batman totally owns November. Still, other than Bats, ASM is the highest ranking solo-adventure comic. Not too shabby!

QTY
RANK DOLLAR
RANK INDEX ITEM CODE DESCRIPTION PRICE VENDOR
1 1 152.65 AUG100143-M BATMAN THE RETURN $4.99 DC
2 2 146.58 SEP100156-M BATMAN INCORPORATED #1 $3.99 DC
3 3 137.64 SEP100579-M AVENGERS #7 $3.99 MAR
4 4 127.28 JUL100144-M BATMAN RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #6 $3.99 DC
5 5 123.20 JUL100146-M BATMAN AND ROBIN #16 $3.99 DC
6 9 122.61 SEP100192-M BRIGHTEST DAY #13 $2.99 DC
7 12 120.30 SEP100194-M BRIGHTEST DAY #14 $2.99 DC
8 7 118.13 SEP100569-M AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #648 $3.99 MAR
9 14 116.81 AUG100117-M GREEN LANTERN #59 $2.99 DC
10 16 108.26 SEP100166-M BATMAN AND ROBIN #17 $2.99 DC
11 8 102.32 SEP100586 NEW AVENGERS #6 $3.99 MAR
12 20 100.00 SEP100164 BATMAN #704 $2.99 DC
13 11 92.01 SEP100584-M SECRET AVENGERS #7 $3.99 MAR
14 13 88.95 SEP100665 UNCANNY X-MEN #530 $3.99 MAR
15 25 88.44 JUL100129-M FLASH #6 $2.99 DC
16 26 88.09 SEP100202-M GREEN LANTERN CORPS #54 $2.99 DC
17 15 86.87 SEP100661-M X-MEN #5 $3.99 MAR
18 22 86.67 SEP100657 UNCANNY X-FORCE #2 $3.99 MAR
19 6 85.60 AUG100558-M AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #647 $4.99 MAR
20 17 80.64 SEP100574 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #649 $3.99 MAR

Aloha,
Happy Holidays.
Please don't forget that Spidey is #1 for Marvel subscriptions though Marvel. Marvel makes more from direct subscriptions than through distributors. I canceled my subscription to Spidey through another comic book company because the rates through Marvel for Spidey are the BEST.I do get my books a week late but with FREE postage and reduced cost, I can't complain.
Spidey rules on a budget

 

[Donald Thomas]

I would love to get into comics again, but at 3.99 and 4.99 a pop I just don't think I can do it anymore.

Aloha,
Check out Marvel.com subscription dept.
Spidey rules

 

[Themanofbat]

Really? Where did you hear that?

It's been on a few comic websites since the late Fall... I read most of it at newsarama... but looking at Marvel's March solicitations... here's a breakdown...

Ok...so, we finally get a new Essential book coming out this month. (They sure have cut back on those. I think we went a good 3-4 months without one.) Here is the data on price points:

$2.99 = 47
$3.99 = 50

(BTW, of those 50, 16 are 40 pages long.)

$3.50 = 1
$3.95 = 1
$1.00 = 6
$4.99 = 3

(Of those priced at $4.99, 1 is 104 pages, 1 is 64 pages, and the last is 48 pages. Plus, I didn't include the reprint books that popped up this month, which seem to give 3 reprints for $4.99.)

The only book without a price is Fantastic Four #1.

47 $2.99 books is really getting Marvel in a good direction. We almost have as many of those books as the $3.99ers. I think the swing will go in the $2.99 direction, as many of the higher priced books are minis coming to an end; and, also, some titles will automatically be at the higher price, like the comics by famous authors or Ultimate books. (Or, Bendis books, I see. He sure wasn't going to take a price decrease, it seems.)

 

[Mary Jane Watson]

whats up with dec sale?? and jan? jww

 

[Themanofbat]

whats up with dec sale?? and jan? jww

Here are December's Top 20...

1 Batman The Dark Knight 1 - 89,985
2 Green Lantern 60 - 76,360
3 Brightest Day 15 - 75,450
4 Brightest Day 16 - 74,871
5 Green Lantern 61 - 72,203
6 Batman Incorporated 2 - 71,544
7 Batman and Robin 18 - 68,814
8 New Avengers 7 - 67,840
9 Avengers 8 - 67,056
10 Batman 705 - 63,262
11 Wolverine Best There Is 1 - 57,348
12 Flash 7 - 56,304
13 Amazing Spider-Man 650 - 55,996
14 Uncanny X-Men 531 - 55,770
15 Uncanny X-Force 3 - 55,520
16 Green Lantern Corps 55 - 54,387
17 Secret Avengers 8 - 54,048
18 Flash 8 - 53,975
19 X-Men 6 - 53,005
20 Wolverine 4 - 52,812

It's a pretty sad state of affairs when the No.1 book doesn't even crack 90k...

 

[Meehaul]

And the January numbers from Diamond


Based on Total Unit Sales of Products Invoiced in January 2011

QTY
RANK DOLLAR
RANK INDEX ITEM CODE DESCRIPTION PRICE VENDOR
1 1 191.68 NOV100584 FANTASTIC FOUR #587 $3.99 MAR
2 8 120.94 NOV100154-M BRIGHTEST DAY #17 $2.99 DC
3 9 119.69 NOV100156-M BRIGHTEST DAY #18 $2.99 DC
4 2 108.66 DEC090345-M SPAWN #200 $3.99 IMA
5 4 107.70 NOV100529 AVENGERS #9 $3.99 MAR
6 5 107.28 NOV100603-M X-MEN #7 $3.99 MAR
7 15 102.58 NOV100169-M BATMAN AND ROBIN #19 $2.99 DC
8 6 101.56 NOV100539 NEW AVENGERS #8 $3.99 MAR
9 17 100.00 NOV100166 BATMAN #706 $2.99 DC
10 7 94.22 OCT100567-M AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #651 $3.99 MAR
11 3 89.96 NOV100552-M INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #500 $4.99 MAR
12 10 89.77 NOV100614 UNCANNY X-MEN #532 $3.99 MAR
13 20 89.07 NOV100190-M GREEN LANTERN CORPS #56 $2.99 DC
14 11 86.42 NOV100560 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #652 $3.99 MAR
15 12 85.31 NOV100613 UNCANNY X-FORCE #4 $3.99 MAR
16 13 84.26 NOV100540 SECRET AVENGERS #9 $3.99 MAR
17 22 78.19 NOV100198-M JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #53 $2.99 DC
18 16 78.12 NOV100514-M AGE OF X ALPHA #1 $3.99 MAR
19 14 77.90 NOV100599 WOLVERINE #5 $3.99 MAR
20 27 72.17 NOV100192-M GREEN LANTERN EMERALD WARRIORS #6 $2.99 DC
21 18 71.22 NOV100545 THOR #619 $3.99 MAR
22 19 69.93 NOV100541 CAPTAIN AMERICA #614 $3.99 MAR
23 28 69.47 NOV100179-M SUPERMAN #707 $2.99 DC
24 33 66.73 NOV100602 X-MEN LEGACY #244 $2.99 MAR
25 32 65.56 NOV100026-M BUFFY VAMPIRE SLAYER #40 $2.99 DAR
26 21 64.13 NOV100537-M AVENGERS PRIME #5 $3.99 MAR
27 35 63.78 NOV100167 DETECTIVE COMICS #873 $2.99 DC
28 37 59.57 NOV100168-M BATMAN BEYOND #1 $2.99 DC
29 23 59.34 NOV100523-M ULTIMATE COMICS CAPTAIN AMERICA #1 $3.99 MAR
30 36 58.62 NOV100196-M GREEN ARROW #8 $2.99 DC

ASM does well, but the industry as a whole has a weak, weak January--unless digital sales and subscriptions are amazing!

 

[Themanofbat]

January, Febrary & March are typically bad months for comics...

 

[Dan_Slott]

3 things to consider...

1. Diamond Estimate numbers are NOT accurate. The actual numbers are much higher.

2. And on TOP of being inaccurate, they only reflect the direct market-- and DON'T include newsstand, subscription, legal downloads, foreign sales, and many other markets. (For example, since the start of BND, ASM has been Marvel's highest ranked mainstream book ("616") when it comes to subscriptions.)

3. If you check the January sales, you'll see orders on 2nd printings for ASM #648, #649, and #650. So you can slap an extra 2-and-a-half to 3 thousand to those November and December sales. (And, in some cases, a change to a higher spot on the rankings as well.) And 2nd printings are on the way for ASM #651 and #652 as well. (Hopefully retailers have gotten the message and have upped their orders for #653 and beyond).

 

[Donald Thomas]

3 things to consider...

1. Diamond Estimate numbers are NOT accurate. The actual numbers are much higher.

2. And on TOP of being inaccurate, they only reflect the direct market-- and DON'T include newsstand, subscription, legal downloads, foreign sales, and many other markets. (For example, since the start of BND, ASM has been Marvel's highest ranked mainstream book ("616") when it comes to subscriptions.)

3. If you check the January sales, you'll see orders on 2nd printings for ASM #648, #649, and #650. So you can slap an extra 2-and-a-half to 3 thousand to those November and December sales. (And, in some cases, a change to a higher spot on the rankings as well.) And 2nd printings are on the way for ASM #651 and #652 as well. (Hopefully retailers have gotten the message and have upped their orders for #653 and beyond).

Aloha,
I've been trying to get point #2 across for quite some time now. Fanboys see and hear, what they want to see and hear. Nothing more
Spidey rules with reality

 

[Meehaul]

3 things to consider...

1. Diamond Estimate numbers are NOT accurate. The actual numbers are much higher.

2. And on TOP of being inaccurate, they only reflect the direct market-- and DON'T include newsstand, subscription, legal downloads, foreign sales, and many other markets. (For example, since the start of BND, ASM has been Marvel's highest ranked mainstream book ("616") when it comes to subscriptions.)

3. If you check the January sales, you'll see orders on 2nd printings for ASM #648, #649, and #650. So you can slap an extra 2-and-a-half to 3 thousand to those November and December sales. (And, in some cases, a change to a higher spot on the rankings as well.) And 2nd printings are on the way for ASM #651 and #652 as well. (Hopefully retailers have gotten the message and have upped their orders for #653 and beyond).

Yeah, the Diamond numbers are just "indexed to Batman" numbers. DIamond has always used Batman as its index book. Failing any other data, however, the Diamond index is the best source that exists for trying to discern sales data. Dan, does Marvel use its own distribution system for news stand sales? I have never been clear as to whether news stand sales were in the Diamond index or not. And, great work on the book! I've been greatly enjoying it.

 

[Meehaul]

I don't know what happened to the old thread, but according to Diamond, here's the March stats:

1 FF 1 195.36
2 Green Lantern 64 131.24
3 Green Lantern 63 129.08
4 Batman The Dark K 121.36
5 Brightest Day 21 119.81
6 Brightest Day 22 119.17
7 Batman Incorporated 113.96
8 Avengers 11 113.69
9 Batman Incorporated 111.47
10 Fear Itself Book Of The Skull 107.03
11 Kick-Ass 2 2 106.21
12 Green Lantern Corps 102.57
13 New Avengers 10 102.28
14 Batman And Robin 102.09
15 Amazing Spider-Man 101.76
16 Godzilla KOfMonsters1 100.49
17 Amazing Spider-Man 100.19
18 Batman 708 100.00
19 Uncanny X-Men 95.11
20 Venom 1 92.13

 

[WolfCypher]

A Venom-anything in a top 20 any-list?

 

[Meehaul]

A Venom-anything in a top 20 any-list?

Not just Venom...but Godzilla?

 

[WolfCypher]

And I'm loving (no sarcasm here) how DC is dominating a majority of the list with just Green Lantern (Brightest Day included) and Batman.

 

[SpideyInATree]

Not just Venom...but Godzilla?

Godzilla has a huge fanbase and the creative team alone is worth the price of admission.

The Bat-books and the Green Lantern books continue to dominate, however. I was there for Blackest Night and a little bit for the beginning of Brightest Day but the books kind of lost their fun for me. Good to see Batman Inc high on the list too I love that book a lot!