Comics Spidey Book Sales (ASM +)

[imdaly]

I'll wait for the sales figures to actually come in before I make any judgements.

 

[Meehaul]

A bit more of interest on sales:

Comic Book Sales Figures for June 2009
Batman, the X-Men, and Dark Reign battled for control of the market.
by Jesse Schedeen
July 9, 2009 - Today, Diamond Comic Distributors released their sales figures for May 2009. Once again, DC's Batman books and Marvel's Dark Reign tie-ins ruled the charts, leaving little room in the top 50 for much else.

First, we'll look at overall market share and which publishers fared the best in June. By each publisher you'll see two numbers. The first is the market share in terms of units, or books, sold. The second is in terms of dollar share - the money made from sales to retailers. Note that these charts do not actually reflect sales to consumers.





Marvel Comics – 50.91% | 45.09%

DC Comics – 28.51% | 27.13%

IDW Publishing - 3.80% | 4.27%

Dark Horse Comics – 2.99% | 3.85%

Image Comics – 2.64% | 2.85%

Dynamite Entertainment – 2.47% | 2.28%

Boom! Studios - 1.17% | 1.27%

Viz Media - 0.80% | 1.65%

Wizard Entertainment - 0.59% | 0.79%

Zenescope Entertainment - 0.54% | 0.62%

Other – 5.05% | 10.20%

Marvel rules the market right now. It seems DC's biggest problem is depth of their character roster. Bats, GL, and Flash rebirth seem to make up their catalogue. Once you get past the "big name" characters at DC, they just arent very deep, it seems.

 

[Meehaul]

I'm surpised that American Son sales havent been higher. The real kicker will be how ASM 600 sells. I'm hoping that will bring people in--I think the stories have been good as of late, and the artwork on 599 looks fabulous.

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

Man, Marvel is just curb-stomping DC in terms of market share!

How do you own the rights to Superman, BATMAN, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, etc., and STILL only come in at #2 month after month?

Dan Didio needs to be impeached.

 

[Themanofbat]

Man, Marvel is just curb-stomping DC in terms of market share!

How do you own the rights to Superman, BATMAN, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, etc., and STILL only come in at #2 month after month?

Dan Didio needs to be impeached.

No kidding...

Truth be told, in 35 years of comic book reading, after loving most of the DC characters for 25 years, during the last 10 years I could care less of what's happening in DC books...

 

[Donald Thomas]

Man, Marvel is just curb-stomping DC in terms of market share!

How do you own the rights to Superman, BATMAN, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, etc., and STILL only come in at #2 month after month?

Dan Didio needs to be impeached.

Aloha,
Which is just another reason why I try and make sure people over here give JoeQ his props.The man KNOWS how to run a comic book publishing company in the 21st century.
Spidey rules

 

[Meehaul]

Yup, Joey Q deserves his props. What's odd is that while Marvel owns the monthlies, DC reigns over the tpbs--although that's largely because of Batman and DC's Vertigo press. Marvel hasn't done that well with their tpbs. Cap Stacy wonders how DC can do so poorly--I think its because DC doesn't have a very deep catalogue. Each company really has two iconic characters: DC has Bats and Supes, Marvel has Spidey and maybe Cap. Cap's not as important to comic book history as the big three, tho--Supes, Bats, and Spidey. Batman is King. He is the comic to which all others are indexed on Diamond. Superman is important, but doesn't sell all that consistently well. GL, Wonderwoman, and the Flash are second tier characters, really, and have their ups and downs. Beyond that roster, DC doesn't have a very deep bench. Aquaman? Hawkman? Black Lightening? Green Arrow? Even the Justice League/Society don't sell that consistently. Marvel, on the other hand, has Spidey, Wolverine, Thor, Cap, Ironman, Hulk, FF, and various combinations of the Avengers and the X-Men. Marvel has a deeper, stronger bench. DC kills Marvel with its other imprints, tho. Vertigo and Wildstorm both kill Icon. Although Marvel Adventures does seem to do better than "Johnny DC" or whatever they're calling it these days.

 

[Meehaul]

Doesnt seem that American Son has given ASM much of a boost. I am dying to find out how ASM 600 stacks up to the other 600 milestones this year. If it doesn't outsell Batman and Robin, I'll be bummed.

 

[Meehaul]

I wonder whether ASM 600 will top Thor 600 and/or Hulk 600 and Cap 600. Not to mention whatever Blackest Night & Batman events are out there.

 

[Venom 1988]

I wonder whether ASM 600 will top Thor 600 and/or Hulk 600 and Cap 600. Not to mention whatever Blackest Night & Batman events are out there.

Blackest Night has a chance of topping it, but not Batman. There's currently no "events" going on in any of the Bat-books

 

[MyPokerShirt]

To Dan Didio's defence:

DC have been behind Marvel in terms of share for decades.

I would say that they new to do a "New JLA" and just stick every big gun in it -- including the big villains -- and make it the centre of their line-up, just like New Avengers did and Dark Avengers is doing now.

 

[MyPokerShirt]

To Dan Didio's defence:

DC have been behind Marvel in terms of share for decades.

I would say that they new to do a "New JLA" and just stick every big gun in it -- including the big villains -- and make it the centre of their line-up, just like New Avengers did and Dark Avengers is doing now.

 

[Arach Knight]

Much as I dont like BND, its a good thing that sales arent terrible. Poor sales dont do Spidey any good. The Powers That Be may think that he is broken beyond repair and do something...foolish.

You mean like...cancel Ultimate Spider-Man? Oh wait...too late. Marvel is pretty good at making bad decisions. I feel that they some how piss off their fanbase enough to make them stick around and pray that things improve. In the case of BND, the return to status quo is probably propelling the series. The stories have been who cares to well done quality. I could do without the new publisher behind the Bugle...or the DB name. But I do like some of the themes that have come from that (such as Ben Ulrich's paper going against paparazzi ethics).

It is good to see that Spidey sales are stable though. This is about how well the book was doing back when JMS was introducing all of the magical spidey villains. Good times. As for why DC doesn't perform as well...it honestly comes down to exposure. DC is so reliant on Superman and Batman. Even though they have released tons of films not based on those two characters (Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Constantine etc), they don't do a good job of translating that into public awareness. I do feel that DC stomps all over Marvel in the toons department though. I would take Batman TAS and Justice League Unlimited over X-Men TAS and Spider-Man TAS any day of the week. Not that the latter two are bad cartoons. They are two of my favorites.

 

[Timstuff]

DC have been behind Marvel in terms of share for decades.

Why do you think DC is so insistant on "reviving" the silver age with dumb gimmicks like bringing the Barry Allen Flash back to life after being dead for 20+ years, and bringing back the campy 60's hijinx of Batman and Robin through Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne? They're not happy with being behind Marvel's sales, so they're looking backward to a time period where they weren't-- and are completely forgetting that the reason WHY Marvel started passing DC was because DC didn't keep up with the times. Setting DC comics back by 40 years isn't the answer, nor is displacing Bruce Wayne an Wally West from their rightful positions as Batman and The Flash, respectively.

 

[SpideyInATree]

Why do you think DC is so insistant on "reviving" the silver age with dumb gimmicks like bringing the Barry Allen Flash back to life after being dead for 20+ years, and bringing back the campy 60's hijinx of Batman and Robin through Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne? They're not happy with being behind Marvel's sales, so they're looking backward to a time period where they weren't-- and are completely forgetting that the reason WHY Marvel started passing DC was because DC didn't keep up with the times. Setting DC comics back by 40 years isn't the answer, nor is displacing Bruce Wayne an Wally West from their rightful positions as Batman and The Flash, respectively.

I don't see what's 60's campy about the Batman and Robin series.

Did you actually read the first two issues? If you did I'd like to see what, in your opinion, is campy about the first two issues.

 

[Timstuff]

Not so much camp as the bright and colorful nature of the Silver Age comics. I've definitely gotten some 60's vibe from the color pallets, at least from what I've seen. It seemed pretty obvious to me that the intention is to be at least a partial throwback to the 60's, though.

 

[SpideyInATree]

It is nothing like the comics in the 60's. That's just the way Frank Quitely's artwork is. You should read All Star Superman. And maybe actually read the dialogue in Batman and Robin. There is nothing camp about it.

Anyway...back on topic...

 

[Styleshift]

It is nothing like the comics in the 60's. That's just the way Frank Quitely's artwork is. You should read All Star Superman. And maybe actually read the dialogue in Batman and Robin. There is nothing camp about it.

Anyway...back on topic...

He's talking about the style of art and colors, not necessarily the story or dialogue.
It's really ditko-jack kirby-60s esque. I love it.

He's not insulting it by calling Campy. I'm sure if he saw some Marcos Martin art he would call it campy-like as well.
Alot of people say that, and considering how ditko influenced and created much of the Spidey universe. That a good thing

Jeez you guys are so quick to defend things sometimes....

 

[iloveclones]

I think it depends on how you're defining camp. Here's what wiki says:

Camp is an aesthetic sensibility wherein something is appealing because of its bad taste and ironic value. When the usage appeared, in 1909, it denoted: ostentatious, exaggerated, affected, theatrical, effeminate, and homosexual behaviour, and, by the middle of the 1970s, the definition comprised: banality, artifice, mediocrity, and ostentation so extreme as to have perversely sophisticated appeal. [1] American writer Susan Sontag's essay “Notes on ‘Camp’ ” (1964) emphasised its key elements as: artifice, frivolity, naïve middle-class pretentiousness, and ‘shocking’ excess.

I read through the first issue of Batman and Robin, and campy wouldn't have been the first thing to come to my mind either. And I don't know if the word "camp" is an appropriate description of a coloring or art technique. But to each their own. It's just semantics.

 

[Styleshift]

I think it depends on how you're defining camp. Here's what wiki says:




I read through the first issue of Batman and Robin, and campy wouldn't have been the first thing to come to my mind either. And I don't know if the word "camp" is an appropriate description of a coloring or art technique. But to each their own. It's just semantics.

Wow, I didn't know campy can be interpreted as gay. I guess that's why people have been saying the batman and robin film was campy.



Thanks for looking that up clones.

 

[SpideyInATree]

He's talking about the style of art and colors, not necessarily the story or dialogue.
It's really ditko-jack kirby-60s esque. I love it.

He's not insulting it by calling Campy. I'm sure if he saw some Marcos Martin art he would call it campy-like as well.
Alot of people say that, and considering how ditko influenced and created much of the Spidey universe. That a good thing

Jeez you guys are so quick to defend things sometimes....

Haha, quick to defend things? I'm not the police force for the Batman and Robin book. It's just my humble opinion that I don't see the "camp" in the Batman and Robin book. Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely have a very distinct style when they work together on a book. As I said...see their All Star Superman run.

I was just confused as to why he would refer to it as camp. As iloveclones posted the definition of camp...yes...the Batman and Robin MOVIE was camp...heh. t:

If someone doesn't want to like a book. They don't have to.

 

[Styleshift]

Haha, quick to defend things? I'm not the police force for the Batman and Robin book. It's just my humble opinion that I don't see the "camp" in the Batman and Robin book. Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely have a very distinct style when they work together on a book. As I said...see their All Star Superman run.

I wouldn't blame you if you were. BOTH of those books kick alot of butt.

I was just confused as to why he would refer to it as camp. As iloveclones posted the definition of camp...yes...the Batman and Robin MOVIE was camp...heh. t:

If someone doesn't want to like a book. They don't have to.

Yeah I can understand why people don't like it.
One we've seen this before (with the exception of D. Wayne as Robin of course)
Bruce Wayne is irreplaceable as Batman.

But I'm really diggin it so far. We all know Bruce will be back in the cowl eventually, so its not taking anything away from the book as long as the stories are top notch. The problem with Morrison though is that he botches some of his stories at the end.

:end of rant:

It was great that he (clones) did that also. I called my brother who is alot bigger and stronger than me campy......heheh. t:

 

[iloveclones]

Wkipedia is great (if you take it with a grain of salt). I work in a lab, and you would be surprised how often wiki ends up being my starting point when I'm stuck, or starting something new.

 

[Styleshift]

Wkipedia is great (if you take it with a grain of salt). I work in a lab, and you would be surprised how often wiki ends up being my starting point when I'm stuck, or starting something new.

Cool. up:
You know before the whole air force thing, I wanted to be a scientist ever since I was a little kid.

If I had not moved overseas I would have still been going to college and probably married right now. Travel can sure change a guy's life. Go figure.

 

[iloveclones]

^ Don't. There are, like, 10 billion easier ways to make money, and you are constantly dependent on grant money.

That said, use the GI Bill and get yourself good and edumacated.