Comics Spidey Book Sales

[Meehaul]

So, ASM hits spots 15, 19, and 22. Blackest Night & Siege seem to be dominating raxk sales. Grant Morrison continues to do well on Batman & Robin. GL, Thor, Cap, and Bats are the only "single hero" comics to score ahead of our Friendly Neighborhood Wall-Crawler.

QUANTITY RANK DOLLAR RANK INDEX ITEM CODE DESCRIPTION PRICE VENDOR
1 1 213.11 DEC090133-M BLACKEST NIGHT #7 $3.99 DC
2 2 176.91 DEC090432-M SIEGE #2 $3.99 MAR
3 5 155.83 DEC090136-M GREEN LANTERN #51 $2.99 DC
4 6 142.44 DEC090151-M BATMAN AND ROBIN #8 $2.99 DC
5 7 137.97 DEC090153-M BATMAN AND ROBIN #9 $2.99 DC
6 3 125.04 DEC090436-M DARK AVENGERS #14 $3.99 MAR
7 4 124.66 DEC090435 NEW AVENGERS #62 $3.99 MAR
8 10 123.03 DEC090138-M GREEN LANTERN CORPS #45 $2.99 DC
9 12 115.56 JUL090202-M FLASH REBIRTH #6 $2.99 DC
10 16 109.40 DEC090546-M UNCANNY X-MEN #521 $2.99 MAR
11 21 109.27 DEC090440-M THOR #607 $2.99 MAR
12 17 106.62 DEC090140-M BLACKEST NIGHT THE FLASH #3 $2.99 DC
13 8 103.72 DEC090488-M CAPTAIN AMERICA #603 $3.99 MAR
14 18 100.00 DEC090155 BATMAN #696 $2.99 DC
15 22 97.67 DEC090474-M AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #620 $2.99 MAR
16 11 96.52 DEC090464-M ULTIMATE COMICS X #1 $3.99 MAR
17 23 95.77 DEC090144-M BLACKEST NIGHT WONDER WOMAN #3 $2.99 DC
18 9 93.85 DEC090195-M JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #42 $3.99 DC
19 29 90.31 DEC090476 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #621 $2.99 MAR
20 28 89.58 DEC090142-M BLACKEST NIGHT JSA #3 $2.99 DC
21 30 88.04 DEC090438-M DARK WOLVERINE #83 $2.99 MAR
22 13 87.99 DEC090477 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #622 $3.99 MAR
23 15 87.65 DEC090146-M ADVENTURE COMICS WITH BLACK LANTERN SUPERBOY #7 $3.99 DC
24 14 84.78 DEC090506-M HULK #20 $3.99 MAR
25 33 83.77 DEC090554-M X-MEN LEGACY #233 XN $2.99 MAR
26 34 81.62 DEC090497-M INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #23 $2.99 MAR
27 35 81.24 DEC090552-M X-FORCE #24 XN $2.99 MAR
28 36 78.28 DEC090047-M BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #32 $2.99 DAR
29 19 75.06 DEC090434 SIEGE EMBEDDED #2 $3.99 MAR
30 20 74.84 DEC090509-M INCREDIBLE HULK #607 $3.99 MAR

 

[stillanerd]

Well, here are the estimates:

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #620 - 59,860
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #621 - 55,350
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #622 - 53,929

Other Spider-Man titles:

ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #7 - 42,176
WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #5 - 24,296
SPIDER-MAN CLONE SAGA #6 - 15,465
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN PRESENTS JACKPOT #2 - 13,697
SPIDER-MAN AND SECRET WARS #3 - 13,561
SPIDER-MAN NOIR EYES WITHOUT A FACE #3 - 11,379
SPIDER-MAN 1602 #5 - 8,303
MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN #60 - 4,212

http://icv2.com/articles/markets/17020.html

 

[Themanofbat]

Wow... is the industry ever in a sales slump now... if those numbers are true, then only the top 2 books cracked 100k (barely), and we have the 10th place book selling around 65k...

 

[Hobgoblin]

How do these sales estimates compare to the numbers from the failed 1999/2000 reboot? Those are very collectible now.

 

[The ?ion]

How the mighty have fallen. Looks like that Obama issue wasn't enough to maintain the momentum for Spidey book sales. Then again, Spider-Man hasn't been consistently in the top ten for over a year. I believe the gimmick of ending the marriage has finally lost its effect. I wonder what Marvel will do next to get the sales back up.

Though, I predict that once Blackest Night comes to an end and The Return of Bruce Wayne concludes, Amazing will be likely to climb back up into the top ten.

 

[Meehaul]

ASM has landed in the top 10 seven times since last January. Other than one of the collective Batman titles (Batman, Detective, B&R), it's been the most consistent non-event performer (ie, Blackest Night tie-in). Thor, Wolverine, Cap, and GL have all been up and down, with Cap benefiting mightly from Captain American Reborn, and GL benefiting from the Blackest Night event. Thor and Wolverine have really gone down, as has Batman with Dick Grayson wearing the mantle (although Morrison's Batman & Robin has done exceptionally well). Batman, which is the index comic for sales charts because of its year in, year out sales consistency (since 1939), has really struggled (compared to the past). ASM appears to have a pretty loyal fan base (especially given the wide variety of writers/artists producing the thing since it went to 3x a month), while everyone else seems either event driven or writer/artist driven--pretty much anything Morrison and JMS write sells well.

 

[The ?ion]

Oh don't get me wrong. Spider-Man will always be a solid performer. I haven't seen ASM fall from the top twenty for some time. But there was a point where it was always in the top ten. I should have put more emphasis on the consistent part.

 

[Meehaul]

I did a quick number crunch of ASM's appearance in the top 10 for the past decade. plus three (1997, 98 & 99--because we have data for those three years). Here's the breakdown, by year. The first number is ASM and the second number is USM. I decided to include USM because for three years, USM beat or tied ASM in the top 10 rankings:

1997 0 (USM not yet launched)

1998 2 (USM not yet launched)

1999 0 (USM not yet launched)

2000 0 (no USM calculated)

2001 9 12

2002 12 12

2003 9 11

2004 0 10

2005 3 2

2006 8 1

2007 8 1

2008 9 0

2009 7 0

I can see why Marvel re-booted the Ultimate universe. USM, for a couple of years, out-sold ASM, then really plummeted. And in only one year, 2002, was ASM in the top ten comics every month. That was the year, I think, of "Coming Home" and "Revelations" when JMS and John Romita, Jr. were doing the book. ASM also got a boost from the film--at least maybe it did. In four years, 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2004, ASM didn't make it into the top 10 at all. In 1998, ASM was re-numbered, so ASM 1 and ASM 2 both squeeked into the top 10 for that year. I suspect ASM would have been blanked out that year as well, but for the re-numbering.

For 2010, it's an even split thus far--ASM made it in the top 10 in one out of the two months for which data is available, but USM made it into the top 10 in neither month. I don't have news stand sales (ie, sales at book stores, grocery stores, or drug stores and news stands--but those sales have been small since the rise of the Diamond era), but according to subscription data, ASM has been Marvel's top subscribed monthly for the past decade and subscriptions have increased in each of the last three years.

 

[The ?ion]

Like I said, ASM did have a point where it was consistently in the top ten. Then it suddenly slipped. Look at how awful 2004 and 2005 were. ASM has since rebounded thanks to House of M, Civil War, Secret Invasion etc. Those events really helped the book pick up a lot of extra sales. These days, it is coasting along on its own steam. We'll see how long that lasts. As for Ultimate Spider-Man...things fell apart once Bendis decided to start doing things like revisiting the Clone Saga. Even though he handled it differently than Mackie, the end result was still a mess that left people feeling less interested in our friendly neighborhood wall crawler. I didn't know they wound up rebooting the whole Ultimate line though. I guess things must have been bad all over.

 

[imdaly]

Did someone say something about ASM being in the Top 10?

March 2010's Unit Share (%)
Marvel - 47.12%
DC - 29.92%

March 2010's Dollar Share (%)
Marvel - 41.94%
DC - 27.25%

March 2010's Top 10 Comic Books
1. Blackest Night #8
2. Siege #3
3. Green Lantern #52
4. Batman and Robin #10
5. Green Lantern Corps #46
6. New Avengers #63
7. Dark Avengers #15
8. Ultimate Comics New Ultimates #1
9. Uncanny X-Men #522
10. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #623

Source

 

[SpideyInATree]

Wasn't the # 623 issue the one where Peter got "fired"? That got national press so I guess I can see that got it in the top ten.

What's really interesting to me is that Blackest Night is outselling Siege and that Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps are in the top ten. That's freakin' crazy. Five years ago who would have said Green Lantern would be dominating the charts?

 

[imdaly]

Wasn't the # 623 issue the one where Peter got "fired"? That got national press so I guess I can see that got it in the top ten.

Nope. That was the next issue, #624! This was the first part to the New Vulture story.

 

[SpideyInATree]

Ok, that's right. That was by Waid and Paul Azaceta. That's very interesting. I wonder what sparked the extra love for Spidey. Could it be the New Vulture? Heh. Or maybe it's because of Mark Waid. Either way it's good to see the book crack the top ten. It certainly deserves to as it's really been on a roll for a while now, at least in my opinion.

There are still many fans still hung up on that One More Day thing.

 

[Meehaul]

Actually, that means that ASM has been in the Top 10 for two out of the first three months of 2010. That's already better than 1997, 1999, 2000, and 2004. Plus, it already equals its appearance in 1998 (two times). I suspect it will also do better than 1998 by the time the year is over.

 

[C. Pumpkins]

Actually, I think this was the issue of the press release. At first I thought it was because of the kickass cover though. Either way, I don't care, I'm lovin' Spidey in the top ten. By hook or crook, I say.

 

[imdaly]

Actually, I think this was the issue of the press release. At first I thought it was because of the kickass cover though. Either way, I don't care, I'm lovin' Spidey in the top ten. By hook or crook, I say.

Hmm. Looking at it further I found this:

The press release and all the news about this that circulated for Pete's firing always mentioned that it was happening in ASM #523:

''Because we still want to sell comic books, I can't answer those questions,'' laughs Joe Quesada, editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics, which reveals the web spinner's latest crisis in Issue No. 623.

Source

BUT!

The actual COVER and the actual STORY happened in #524:

 

[imdaly]

Full results are in:

March 2010's Unit Share (%)
Marvel - 47.12%
DC - 29.92%

March 2010's Dollar Share (%)
Marvel - 41.94%
DC - 27.25%

March 2010's Top 100 Comic Books
1. Blackest Night #8
2. Siege #3
3. Green Lantern #52
4. Batman and Robin #10
5. Green Lantern Corps #46
6. New Avengers #63
7. Dark Avengers #15
8. Ultimate Comics New Ultimates #1
9. Uncanny X-Men #522
10. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #623
11. X-Men - Second Coming #1
12. Thor #608
13. Batman #697
14. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #624
15. Ultimate Comics Avengers #5
16. Captain America #604
17. JLA #43
18. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #627
19. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #625
20. Kevin Smith - Green Hornet #1
21. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #626

5 issues of ASM in the Top 25 for the month? Not too bad, I'd have to say!

Source

 

[Donald Thomas]

Full results are in:

March 2010's Unit Share (%)
Marvel - 47.12%
DC - 29.92%

March 2010's Dollar Share (%)
Marvel - 41.94%
DC - 27.25%

March 2010's Top 100 Comic Books
1. Blackest Night #8
2. Siege #3
3. Green Lantern #52
4. Batman and Robin #10
5. Green Lantern Corps #46
6. New Avengers #63
7. Dark Avengers #15
8. Ultimate Comics New Ultimates #1
9. Uncanny X-Men #522
10. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #623
11. X-Men - Second Coming #1
12. Thor #608
13. Batman #697
14. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #624
15. Ultimate Comics Avengers #5
16. Captain America #604
17. JLA #43
18. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #627
19. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #625
20. Kevin Smith - Green Hornet #1
21. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #626

5 issues of ASM in the Top 25 for the month? Not too bad, I'd have to say!

Source

Aloha,
Great thread. At this point ALL the egos have to put themselves back in the box and discuss hard cold facts. After two years of BND,neither the Amazing Spider-Man comic book nor the character Spider-Man, have fallen by the way side. It was during the Mackie years that Amazing Spider-Man was in the top TWENTIES on Diamonds lists. JMS was quoted as saying that HE brought Amazing Spider-Man back into the top 5-10. Ultimate Spider-Man as well as the Ultimate Universe was a surprise hit that Marvel had to go with, but no Alternate Marvel Universe can ever out sell the primary MU,that destroys the whole foundation of the MU. So I think at some point, the Ultimate Universe became the next Clone Saga.Neither the MC2,2099 nor Unlimited Universe have lasted as long as the Ultimate Universe.
Amazing Spider-Man is doing very well despite NOT having one identifiable writer and artist.I can't think of any other time in the history of Amazing Spider-Man where there wasn't primarily one writer and artist assigned to Amazing for YEARS! I think Marvel is purposely mixing up the teams so that no one artist or writer has a stronghold on the character. We know that Joe Q and JMS butted heads, yet JMS was putting Amazing in the top 10 consistently during his years-So Money Talks!But the direction that Amazing Spider-Man is going at this time is the one that even before the Disney buy out, the powers at Marvel Corporate wanted to see. JoeQ's job was to make that happen. With OMD he did that. Two years ago, you could say for better or worse. After two years, based upon the sales numbers, so far , for the better.

ASM has since rebounded thanks to House of M, Civil War, Secret Invasion etc. Those events really helped the book pick up a lot of extra sales.The ?ion

Funny you should say that. Some fan boys hated the idea of the Events. Yet, without them, sales of many of the books during that time would not have sold as well.
Spidey rules