LOOKING AT AUGUST'S NUMBERS

[MattBrady]

Diamond has released its actual sales data for comics and related products ordered by its accounts during the month of August 2003. Knocking Batman from its regular spot at #1, Marvel’s 1602 took the #1 slot for books sold to retailers, with an estimated 168,134 copies, according to Newsarama’s estimate.

Marvel again ranked #1 in unit share for the month, while DC ranked #1 in dollar share.

As with July, Marvel again took eight of the top ten slots, with the #2 spot going to Batman #618 with an estimated 164,290 copies, and #3 going to DC as well for Superman/Batman #1, at an estimated 149,783 copies.

As with the previous four months’ Actual Sales statistics released by Diamond, the chart does not just reflect preorders, but what was ordered by retailers and shipped by Diamond.

While we went into detail in February in regards to where the numbers come from in the actual sales chart versus preorder, let’s do a quick recap – preorder charts only counted orders placed by retailers by the Initial Order Cut Off Date. The actual sales charts reflect those same copies, in addition to orders for advance reorders and back stock or overprint orders placed by retailers – all the orders that must be placed prior to Diamond’s Final Order Cut Off Date, roughly 20 days before a book goes on sale.

The top 25 titles shipped (and estimated copies of each) in August were:

1) 1602 #1 (168,134)
2) Batman #618 (164,290)
3) Superman/Batman #1 (149,783)
4) Ultimate X-Men #36 (123,382)
5) Ultimate Spider-Man #44 (114,379)
6) Ultimate Spider-Man #45 (112,358)
7) New X-Men #144 (111,372)
8) Uncanny X-Men #429 (104,817)
9) Amazing Spider-Man #57 (104,373)
10) Amazing Spider-Man #56 (103,043)
11) Spectacular Spider-Man #3 (87,189)
12) Supreme Power #1 (regular edition) (78,071)
13) Wolverine #4 (76,461)
14) Daredevil #50 (73,027)
15) X-Treme X-Men #30 (72,320)
16) X-Treme X-Men #29 (72,025)
17) Transformers G1 V.2 #5 (68,772)
18) Teen Titans #2 (68,706)
19) Incredible Hulk #59 (66,258)
20) JLA #84 (66,028)
21) JLA #85 (65,190)
22) Avengers #69 (64,599)
23) Fantastic Four #502 (60,393)
24) Fantastic Four #503 (60,064)
25) Spider-Man & Wolverine #3 (59,128)

(margin of error +/- 2.5%)

For a view of August's full Top 300, click here.

As always, something to note, with the Top 300 rankings, the chart positions are at best, relative for that month only, and only reflect comics ordered by retailers through Diamond. Chart positions are affected not only by changes in copies ordered, but also by higher-selling chart additions, which could push a title down a notch or two, but not significantly alter the copies ordered. An example of this can be seen in August, due to the additions of 1602, Superman/Batman, and Supreme Power into the top 25.

As a result of the three additions, books that ranked higher on the Top 25 last month may well rank up to three slots lower, while not seeing an appreciable drop in orders by retailers.

Newsarama estimates copies sold to retailers. Because they are estimates, are also somewhat relative to the given month, but can be used for ballpark month-to-month estimations with the margin of error factored in.

On the whole, Marvel held steady in the Top 25 compared to July, holding down 19 spots, with DC landing five (a boost of two from July) and Dreamwave held one.

Ten books were over the 100,000 mark, down one from July’s estimates.

Going by a Newsarama index of sorts, the 50% drop off (that is, the distance between the 100.00 ranked book and the 50.00 ranked title, which represents a 50% fall off in copies ordered) is narrower than last month’s. In August, the 50.00 rank came between the #11 and #12 books. In July, the rank came between the #14 and #15 ranked books, in June, the point was between #11 and #12 books, and in May it was between the #7 and #8 ranked books. The lower the 50% drop off point is on the Top 300 chart (higher rank #) means the more comics being ordered on the whole.

Or, by another quick and relative back of the envelope comparison, in June, the #10 book was Venom #2 which saw an estimated 77,661 copies ship. July’s #10 book, Uncanny X-Men #428 saw an estimated 102,087 copies ordered by retailers, and in August, the #10 book was Amazing Spider-Man #56, with an estimated 103,043 copies ordered.

Looking at the books placing in the Top 25, there were no real surprises, although the strong showing of 1602 #1 given its lack of immediately recognizable Marvel characters of the current Marvel Universe speaks to writer Neil Gaiman’s enduring marketability in the comics industry.

As previously reported, Supreme Power #1, with the regular edition seeing an estimated 78,071 copies ordered, and the special edition (which ranked at #76) seeing an estimated 29,309 copies ordered put it into the record books for the highest-selling (again, to retailers) comic for mature readers, with a total of 107,380 copies ordered through Diamond. Had the editions been counted together, the book would have ranked at #11 on the chart.

Recent debuting titles, Spectacular Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Teen Titans continued their downward, albeit normal, trend, with both titles charting lower in August than they did in July, with fewer copies of both titles respective current issues ordered.

Meanwhile, Daredevil #50 saw a healthy boost in orders thanks to the conclusion of the “Hardcore” story arc, while the bi-weekly JLA storyline meant two issues of the title landing in the Top 25, rather than one. The same was seen for Fantastic Four, which saw two issues ship in the month as well.

As a reminder, the following books were reported to be sold out in August:

Arrowsmith #2
Batman: Death and the Maidens #1
Empire #2
Formerly Known as the Justice League #2
Outsiders #3
Superman/Batman #1 (first printing sold out after shipping, and second printing sold out on September 2nd)
Superman: Red Son #3
Teen Titans #2

DC has gone back to press on Teen Titans #2. As of posting, the remainder of the sold out books are no longer available from DC. Again, as with books “selling out at DC” that simply means that DC cannot re-supply retailers with reordered copies. There may very well still be copies of any or all of the issues named above on many stores throughout the country, but as there is no industry-wide end-customer sales tracking service, such as Soundscan or Bookscan, there is no way to know if the issues are completely sold out around the country on the retail level.

Danger Will Robinson?

With the industry’s top books enjoying sellout after sellout (given that Marvel books are sold out at the publisher level within a month of printing), and the 100,000 number has reached down to include the full Top 10, a question that has started to percolate through several areas of the industry is one of speculation. Are some of the high numbers being seen by the industry recently as result of speculation by retailers or others?

In such an instance as this, a retailer, or someone selling to retailers, could place a large order of a popular DC or Marvel book that they anticipate selling out. It’s not that hard to figure which books will, after all. For example, an order could be placed after the Final Order Cut Off date set by Diamond. Orders placed in that time frame are filled by the publisher’s overprint. If enough orders are placed after FOC, the overprint will be depleted so that the publisher only has a day or two’s supply (or less) after the issue itself goes on sale. An extreme instance of this was seen when Teen Titans #1 sold out at the publisher level nine days before going on sale – retailers placed enough orders after FOC, and after the publisher had set the size of the print run to totally wipe out the overprint more than a week before the issue was to go on sale.

High demand and tight supply can often, and has often bred speculation in the comics market. In this circumstance, a retailer could place a large order after FOC specifically designed at wiping out the publisher’s overprint. In the eyes of the publisher, the overprint is gone, and the specific issue is sold out at their level – they can no longer meet demand for other retailers.

But is that demand “real?” That is, had the entire overprint not been sucked up by a large order, would the puzzler be able to supply all the retailers who needed reorders from their initial overprint?

Meanwhile, whoever placed the order, not the publisher or the distributor, now controls the only available stock of the issue, and is free to charge whatever they feel the market can bear for copies, and sells them to other retailers at markup large enough to make a profit. Since he/she is not buying the comic with their normal discount from Diamond, the issue’s price has to be market up at the store.

And of course, jungle drums start beating in fandom about a “hot” issue – after all, the publisher is sold out of it, and hey, you don’t need to be a genius about supply and demand to figure out what happens to the price of something when a lot of people want it, and there’s not a lot of it to go around. Cue the guy buying five copies of everything, along with an equal amount of bags and boards for each issue, because “it’s all gonna buy me a car someday.”

Yeah, and here’s some toilet paper made of old Valiant books you can wipe with.

The thing is, if the demand is real, and the quality of the comic attracts and holds an audience, the market can tolerate a moderate amount of speculative buying. If the comic is pants, that is, to be of dubious quality, then sooner or later, readers will stop buying it, a seed of distrust towards whoever they bought the issue (with its inflated price) from will be planted, and whoever is sitting on the stock of copies will realize they’re sitting on, to quote a Neil Gaiman analogy, tulip bulbs.

Are there safeguards to prevent this from happening? A few. Perhaps the biggest safeguard is the form of the industry itself in 2003, that is, the immediacy of trades. For example, it doesn’t take a business degree to figure out that Teen Titans and Batman: Death and the Maidens trades are most likely planned shortly after the conclusions of the first arc/miniseries, respectively. With the knowledge that a trade is coming by a large percentage of the readers, “I’m waiting for the trade” can act as a buffer against speculation, keeping demand on the single issues manageable, rather than chronically unmet. Who wants a warehouse full of single issues when the publisher is cranking out trades at a price point comparable to the single issues themselves?

Additionally, Diamond has rules against sub-distributorship, that is, a retailer, or another individual, buying copies for the sole intent of selling them to other retailers. Sources have told Newsarama that recently, there has been some buzzing in this regard around Diamond, with the distributor being urged by a publisher to review its accounts, and perhaps even take action against those thought to be sub-distributing.

Ahem

Back on looking at the charts and numbers, with all the sold out titles (a minor exception being the second printing of Superman/Batman #1, as it did not sell out until September 2nd, allowing for a few copies to be included in the September numbers), the estimated number of copies give a ballpark estimate of the print run for the respective issues. A caution however, the actual total print run would include a few more copies, such as comp copies, as well as those requested by the publisher.

Other DC buzz-books continue to do respectable numbers, all of them landing roughly in the #30 to #50 range including:

JSA #51 at #29 (48,449)
Outsiders #3 at #27 (50,338) – an increase from July
Superman: Birthright #2 at #31 (47,414)
Green Arrow #29 at #32 (46,379)
Formerly Known as the Justice League #3 at #41 (42,228)
Batman: Death and the Maidens #1 at #44 (40,629)
Flash #201 at #46 (39,315)

Notable Marvel titles in this “DC neighborhood” included:

Emma Frost #2 at #26 (51,932)
Exiles #30-#32 at #33, #34, and #35, respectively (46,083, 45,410, 45,278, respectively)
Mystique #5 at #37 (43,356)
Captain America #16 at #30 (48,153)
Thor #52 at #52 (36,045)
Thor: Vikings #2 at #43 (40,662)

Trouble #2 just made it into the Top #50, coming in at #50, with an estimated 37,047 copies ordered, about a 37% drop from issue #1.

Another book of note in this range was Sojourn #25, at #39. While the title is consistently the highest selling “Sigilverse” title for CrossGen, it’s numbers got a serious boost from it’s $1.00 cover price, which gave it an estimated 42,633 copies ordered by retailers. The high numbers helped to boost CrossGen’s Unit Share for the month, helping the publisher with a somewhat normal showing despite their abbreviated shipping during the month.

Looking at #50-#100, an improvement, but still on a long road of recovery to sales fit for the character was Wonder Woman #195, the debut issue by the new creative team of Greg Rucka and Andrew Johnson, which gained an estimated 5300 copy lift from the previous issue.

Other books debuting in the Top 100 included:

Dr. Fate #1 at #73 (30,591)
Smax #1 at #93 (26,188)

Other books of buzz:

Alias #25 at #70 (30,903) +
Y: The Last Man #14 at #77 (29,276) +
Fables #16 at #83 (28,324) +
Spider-Girl #63 at #96 (25,219) +
Sentinel #5 at #109 (22,590) -
Runaways #5 at #114 (21,588) -
HERO #7 at #120 (20,372) -
Red #2 at #136 (17,168) –
Gotham Central #10 at #128 (19,008) +

Marvel and DC still dominate the Top 100, with only minor representation from Image, Dreamwave, Dark Horse, and CrossGen.

And again, in the range near #130-#150 for August, an absence can be noted – due to problems with printing and scheduling their books, a solid chunk of CrossGen’s titles are not listed, as they did not ship. This removal of titles has caused everything that traditionally ranks behind these CrossGen titles to move forward, and has a negative effect on CrossGen’s unit dollar share. However, as mentioned earlier, the higher than usual numbers of Sojourn #25 helped to raise the publisher’s unit share.

Imprints

Tsunami (Marvel) – Encompassing a variety of characters, the Tsunami titles are likewise across the chart, led by Mystique at #37 with Crew bringing up the rear at #125. Some titles (Venom and New Mutants) do not appear on the chart due to delays in shipping). By order of appearance:

#37 - Mystique #5 (43,356)
#55 - Kingpin #3 (34,829)
#85 - Namor #5 (27,946)
#92 - Inhumans #4 (26,352)
#99 - Human Torch #5 (24,331)
#109 - Sentinel #5 (22,590)
#114 - Runaways #5 (21,588)
#129 - Crew #4 (18,203)

Vertigo (DC) – Largely lumped together in the #130-#160 range, Vertigo has been pulled upwards lately, thanks to Y: The Last Man and Fables commercial and critical successes. By order of appearance:

#77 - Y: The Last Man #14 (29,276)
#83 - Fables #16 (28,324)
#117 - The Filth #12 (20,651)
#125 - Human Target #1 (19,682)
#132 - Hellblazer #187 (17,908)
#138 - Losers #3 (16,692)
#150 - Lucifer #41 (14,016)
#164 - Beware the Creeper #5 (12,585)
#187 - Vertigo Pop!: Bangkok #4 (7,853)

Wildstorm (DC) – All over the map, with franchises and strong creator-owned titles doing okay, while the “core” of the Wildstorm universe is spread around.

#53 - Thundercats: Dogs of War #3 (35,733)
#56 - Authority #4 (34,534)
#81 - Authority #0 (28,471)
#107 - Arrowsmith #2 (23,083)
#115 - Robotech: Love and War #3 (21,489)
#136 - Red #2 (17,168)
#140 - Wildcats v. 3.0 #13 (16,462)
#142 - Gen13 #12 (16,215)
#152 - The Possessed #2 (14,688)
#154 - Stormwatch: Team Achilles #14 (13,751)
#159 - Extinction Event #2 (12,782)
#175 - Sleeper #8 (10,022)

Rocket Comics (Dark Horse) –

#188 - Galactic #1 (7754)
#189 - Syn #1 (7656)
#204 - Go Boy 7: Human Action Machine #2 (6473)

All Ages

As its becoming the typical scene, all-ages, and kids comics are listed on the Top 300, but show up around #195 or so - Power Puff Girls #40 charted at #194 (8,591).

20K Club

The 20,000 cutoff point for August appears to be around ranking #123 and #124, with Fallen Angel #2 coming in at #123 with an estimated 20,126 copies ordered and Batman: Nevermore #5 landing at #124 with an estimated 19,813 copies ordered. Last month’s cutoff point appears to be around ranking #126 and #127, with Terra Obscura #2 coming in at #126 with an estimated 20,206 copies ordered and Global Frequency #9 landing at #127 with an estimated 19,774 copies ordered.

Titles coming in under 20,000 copies (by Newsarama’s estimates) include: Gotham Central, Ruse, Ultimate Adventures, Reign of the Zodiac, The Hedge Knight, and Way of the Ratt.

It should be noted that while titles selling under 20,000 copies a month (not counting reorders after the order is placed) usually bear the mark of death at Marvel and DC, due to corporate structuring, some titles from other Top 5 publishers can continue and even modestly thrive. Likewise, such numbers are de rigueur for Image titles and other small press books.

The Under 10K Club

The 10,000 copy cutoff point appears to come roughly between ranking #175 (Sleeper #8) and #176 (Shonen Jump #9). July’s 10,000 copy cutoff point appears to come roughly between ranking #185 (The Call #4) and #186 (American Century #26).

Some titles selling less than 10,000 copies include: Vampirella, Assassin, Faction Paradox, Jack Staff, and Puffed.

Of course, whether or not any given comic is profitable at that level of orders depends upon the publisher and talent. While many self-published and small press books can pull off selling less than 10,000 copies, it gets admittedly trickier with larger publishers.

For example, take a $2.95 cover price comics with an estimated 9,000 copies ordered. Retail, that comes to $26,550.00. However, retailers, on average, pay about 55% of the cover price (some more, some less, depending upon the retailer and the publisher) for their comics from Diamond, reflecting an average 45% discount off of cover price. That said, Diamond collects roughly, $14,602.50. Diamond gets all of that money from the retail accounts, and then cuts the publisher a check for a percentage of that. Percentages (that is, discounts that the publisher sells their product to Diamond for) vary, but 60% off cover is a decent ballpark. For example, a publisher would sell a $10.00 book to Diamond for $4.00.

Again, very, very generally, but using 60% as our discount for the above publisher, Diamond owes the publisher $10,620 for all the issues it sold. Diamond cuts the publisher a check for that amount, and keeps the remainder, $3982.50. Back on the publisher’s side, they now have $10,620 for that issue, to pay the creators (writer, penciller, inker, colorist, letterer, cover artist, and any set-up charges), staff (editor), and overhead (lights air, coffee, office staff, office equipment, and foot massages). Using some general industry guidelines, the writer can get around 30% of that, and the penciller another 25-30%, so from the very beginning, the publisher can be down to $4248 for the rest of the team, the staff, and overhead.

Again, this was all very general numbers, as discounts vary from retailer to retailer and publisher to publisher.

Again, it should be noted that many of the publishers in the lower end of the Top 300 are not exclusive to Diamond, and have other avenues to distribute their books.

Hit Me Baby, One More Time

Reorders start to show up in the 170s, with August’s top reorder (not surprise) being Batman #617 at #173 (10,695) which originally shipped in July. The reorder for Outsiders #2 ranked at #218 with 4469 copies.

Other significant reorders included:

Flash #200 - 4,354 copies
Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman: Trinity #2 - 3,877 copies
Empire #1 - 3,039 copies
Trouble #1 - 2,711 copies
Batman #616 - 2,612 copies
Batman #615 - 2,136 copies
Losers #2 - 1,659 copies
Birds of Prey #57 - 1,429 copies
Spectacular Spider-Man #2 - 1,298 copies
Batman #610 - 1,249 copies
Red #1 - 1,019 copies
JLA #83 - 1,019 copies

The effect of the reorders is to lift the total copies ordered up, but that doesn’t change the ranking for the given month. However, if we looked at Batman #616 for example – in June, the issue had an estimated 164,956 copies ordered. Add to it July’s reorder, and Batman #616, had 172,027 copies ordered as of July 31st, and by adding the reorders from August, the total as of August 31st stands at 174,639.

Likewise, let’s look at issue #615 from May. Original actual sales of Batman #615 were 152,676. June’s reorders for #615 were 7,967, while July’s were 3,856, and August’s were 2,136. Grand total for Batman #615 as of August 31st: an estimated 166,635 copies. In terms of total copies sold through Diamond, the showdown in May, between Wolverine #1 (168,250) and Batman #615 (166,635) is much closer than it was as of May 31st, and ultimately, the top selling book released in May, 2003 may switch to Batman #615, especially if September’s reorder is of the same magnitude as August’s.

The Trade Game

August’s top ordered trade through Diamond was Y: The Last Man: Cycles vol.2 with an estimated 8,822 copies ordered, roughly half of July’s #1 trade, Sandman: At Death’s Door. The OGN Batman: Hong Kong, illustrated by renown Hong Kong artist, Tony Wong.

The Top 25 trades for the month were:

1) Y: The Last Man: Cycles (8,822)
2) Batman: Hong Kong (7,738)
3) Dark Horse Book of Hauntings (7,229)
4) Wonder Woman: Hiketeia (SC) (5,290)
5) Essential Human Torch Vol. 1 (4,485)
6) Squadron Supreme (4,272)
7) Maxx Book One (4,107)
8) JLA: Obsidian Age Book Two (4,058)
9) Batman Archives Vol. 1 (3,729)
10) Star Wars: A Long Time Ago vol. 7 (3,532)
11) Superman & Batman: Generations II (3,467)
12) Star Wars Empire Vol. 1 (3,368)
13) Ranma ½ Vol. 23 (3,269)
14) Earth X Vol. 4 (3,138)
15) League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Book One (2,957)
16) Star Wars: Dark Empire 3rd Ed. (2,924)
17) Will Eisner’s The Spirit Archives vol. 11 (2,859)
18) Love Hina Vol. 13 (2,826)
19) Batman/Aliens II (2,793)
20) Thor Legends Vol. 2 Walt Simonson (2,777)
21) Chobits Vol.7 (2,744)
22) Quimby the Mouse SC (2,645)
23) Human Target Final Cut SC (2,481)
24) Astro Boy Vol. 17 (2,464)
25) Al Capp Lil Abner/Frazetta Sundays Vol.1 (2,431)

For a view of August's full Top 50 trades, click here.

Market Share:

August’s Market share was split, with Marvel claiming the unit share, and DC topping the list in dollar share. Again, as noted previously, CrossGen’s printing problems and two weeks of not shipping books caused the publisher rank at #5 in dollars and #5 in units.

The Top 5 publishers in terms of dollar share percentage:

1) DC – 33.12
2) Marvel – 32.53
3) Image – 7.53
4) Dark Horse – 5.78
5) CrossGen – 2.24

The Top 5 in terms of unit share percentage:

1) Marvel – 37.84
2) DC – 35.07
3) Image – 8.36
4) Dark Horse – 3.81
5) CrossGen – 3.04

For a view of August's full Market Shares, click here.

Coming Next Month

Anyone’s guess, as Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee’s run on Batman comes to a close with issue #619, JLA/Avengers #1 clocks in (already estimated at over 185,000 copies), along with Ultiamtes #12, Ultimate Six #1, and the “reveal” in New X-Men #146 &B #147. And we’re also going to see how high top debuters such as Superman/Batman, 1602 and Supreme Power can stay, or how far they slide.

[JohnnyONeal]

Looks like DC is pulling into the lead. Interesting.

I've always been more of a Marvel fan, but comics like Batman, Teen Titans, Birds of Prey and the Outsiders are becoming a big part of my comics diet. I love realism and I think the Ultimate line is perfection, but after all the months of decompressed storytelling at Marvel, it's nice to see fast-paced superhero comics that embrace costumes and powers.

Another trend I'm seeing is the move back toward high-profile artists. Writers are still getting much more credit than they did in years past, but artists are more often sharing top billing. That's another area where DC seems to suddenly be a step ahead of Marvel.

[mpg]

congrats to the 1602 crew

[cyclopsfan]

Is there an error in the Unit Share Numbers? They have marvel at 1 with 35 and DC second with 37?

[magister]

Those are some interesting numbers, especially the top 10 creeping up like that.

Matt, got a question and a nit-pick for you:

1) Are you estimates U.S.-only, or do they include Diamond's overseas accounts (UK, etc.)?

2) Looks like the borders got turned off on the estimated sales column for the full chart. It's still readable, but borders would be a cool thing.

Keep it up.

[Jeff Hoffman]

I can't believe Sleeper sales are so low...that and Gotham Central...both are great books.

[dj_me]

Originally posted by MattBrady
As previously reported, Supreme Power #1, with the regular edition seeing an estimated 78,071 copies ordered, and the special edition (which ranked at #76) seeing an estimated 29,309 copies ordered put it into the record books for the highest-selling (again, to retailers) comic for mature readers, with a total of 107,380 copies ordered through Diamond. Had the editions been counted together, the book would have ranked at #11 on the chart.

Wouldn't it actually be ranked 8th on the List?

7) New X-Men #144 (111,372)
8) Uncanny X-Men #429 (104,817)

Supreme Power - 107,380

Originally posted by MattBrady
#140 - Wildcats v. 3.0 #13 (16,462)
#142 - Gen13 #12 (16,215)

YES! Finally, Wildcats Version 3.0 beats the much less deserving book of Gen13.

[myownterminator]

i agree. sleeper and gotham central are two of my favorites as well. i must say that i never thought id ever purchase more dc titles than marvel but i think this is a first for me. i think i appreciate the combination of dc's new stretch on super hero titles as well as their efforts through wildstorm and vertigo. marvel has some work to do in their adult markets; ie MAX, etc. i also; think, dc has snagged so many talented writers to exclusive contracts that marvel have future problems next year; surely, bendis cant stretch himself further than he already has with the amount of titles hes currently writing. albeit their still are a few free agents mucking around in their yard. nevertheless, its a good time for comic books; the overall influence on pop culture is very impressionable.

[adamania]

I was so optimistic in the early days of Image that a third company could compete with the big boys (Dark Horse will always be an also-ran, kids.) on a long term basis and shake up the status quo.

The smaller studios may have hit books every now and again, but they are all doomed to the harsh realities of a harsh industry.

[Dan Feeser]

Very impressive write-up and analysis.

Anyone else find it a little sad that the Top 10, excluding 1602, is only 3 different properties. Not even spin-off books, just core Spider-Man, core X-Men and two Batman titles? That's just sad to me.

[Hdefined]

Originally posted by Dan Feeser
Very impressive write-up and analysis.

Anyone else find it a little sad that the Top 10, excluding 1602, is only 3 different properties. Not even spin-off books, just core Spider-Man, core X-Men and two Batman titles? That's just sad to me.

True, at least with Marvels "double shipping" junking up the charts, but you have to admit, it's impressive to see a Superman book, even if it's partnered with Batman, reaching the top 3.

[farwell3d]

Wow, at this point Marvel and DC are nearly running neck and neck... Damn. What's scary about it is that Marvel hasn't really slipped at all, DC is just gaining.

Reminds me of great pennant races in Baseball where one team slowly catches the other, because the leader keeps winning more often than losing.

[choisez]

#173 Batman #617 (10,695)

#175 Sleeper #8 (10,022)

Da-yam. Batman's reorders were higher than Sleeper's initial orders?!?

That's just crazy!

Are readers just so turned-off by the Wildstorm universe, that they're not going to check out this book?

If this was a Vertigo book or somehow associated w/ Batman, I bet the orders would almost double.

Do people just want to read about their favorite characters day-after-day or are they willing to read good stories, regardless of who's the main character?

When the Preacher series was nearing it's end, I practically ran into my LCS for the latest issue.

I'd said it was one of the best comics coming out and the retailer practically scoffed at me. I asked him what he liked and he listed every Superman and Batman title there was, although he said Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight was hit-or-miss for him.

That store's been out-of-business for about three years now.

Maybe Sean Phillips artwork isn't to everybody's tastes or maybe the stories are too mature for the average fan, but Ed Brubaker's doing some FINE work here.

This is the kind of comic I've wanted to read for years.

Unfortunately, it's only living up to it's title now.

I'd known the title wasn't exactly burning-up the charts, but this is ridiculous.

Hopefully, the upcoming Sleeper trade, in-stores this December, will sell-through.

-Eddy

P.S. BUY SLEEPER.

[Grendel Prime]

Originally posted by MattBrady
#114 - Runaways #5 (21,588)

That is just sickening.

Retailers should be pushing this book at everybody -- the kids, the adults, the cape-n-cowl crowd, the vertigo crowd, etc.

It is quite simply one of the best books currently on the shelves.

[JohnnyONeal]

Originally posted by Grendel Prime
#114 - Runaways #5 (21,588)
That is just sickening.

Retailers should be pushing this book at everybody -- the kids, the adults, the cape-n-cowl crowd, the vertigo crowd, etc.

It is quite simply one of the best books currently on the shelves.

You took the words right outta my mouth. Hey everybody, buy Runaways! It's one of the best, most consistent comics series today, it features a hot writer, and it's a totally effective blend of realism/characterization and superheroics/action.

And I'm not one of those people who just loves failing comics like Captain Marvel or Black Panther or Spider-Girl. I'm a mainstream guy, and this is a mainstream comic that everyone else is just missing.

My hope is that it'll experience a jump in popularity when people read the trade, but it's totally enjoyable in single issues, so don't wait to check it out! I want to be able to keep reading this book!

[adampasz]

I've been following this column for a couple of months, and I'm encouraged by what looks like an upward sales trend. The increasing sales seem to be occurring concurrently with some significant improvements in overall comic quality (notably in writing and coloring) in this decade.

Obviously there is a risk of speculation fever, and also, it is troubling that the Big Two have such a lock on the industry. That being said, isn't there good reason to feel some optimism?

[blackandwhite]

Originally posted by Hdefined
it's impressive to see a Superman book, even if it's partnered with Batman, reaching the top 3.

it really is Hdefined. it really is

[R A Renteria]

Great Article! I look forward to this article every month and it never fails to deliver.

Go Spider-Man, just as strong as ever.

Richard Renteria

[Frans Blix]

I'd probably have been likely to pick up Runaways more if the art had been different. That's usually not a deal breaker for me, but I found it way too bland.

I forget how many copies of Runaways #1 were ordered (30,000 or so, maybe), but there's clearly a fair number of people like me who tried it and didn't like it, so the numbers started dropping. And there's no discernable buzz around the book, except for when Matt posts these charts once a month. Books that had good buzz, like Vaughn's Y:The Last Man, were showing an increase in orders by #5.

Maybe what folks can hope for is that those numbers stabilize and Marvel will be content as long as the book doesn't drop below 20K.

[Riliss]

Runaways should be top 20, end of story.

[JackHoff]

"Way Of The Ratt"??? The 80's hair band get a new title??? "Round and Round What Comes Around Goes Around"
Seriously I can verify most of these heavily ordered titles ARE selling out at retail.And most of the books bought by the so-called "Sub-Distributors" are no longer available from them so that shows retailers are going to alternative means than Diamond to re-stock some of these books. I seriously doubt you will find copies of Teen Titans #1,Superman Batman #1 sitting on some retail shelf somewhere.If you do let me know as I need more copies of these books!

[GenXMaverick]

Originally posted by adampasz
I've been following this column for a couple of months, and I'm encouraged by what looks like an upward sales trend. The increasing sales seem to be occurring concurrently with some significant improvements in overall comic quality (notably in writing and coloring) in this decade.

Obviously there is a risk of speculation fever, and also, it is troubling that the Big Two have such a lock on the industry. That being said, isn't there good reason to feel some optimism?

Agreed, and I've been saying so for months. If Mark Alessi can manage to keep the financing going for CrossGen until WAY OF THE RAT hits theatres, I'll be even happier. What a wonderful year 2004 is going to turn out to be with all the non-Marvel movies coming out (yay for diversity!) and so many beautifully-drawn, well-written, bestselling comics around!

And then there's this year's return of the Teen Titans' one and only mutant member to brighten my day, too!

Originally posted by MattBradyRecent debuting titles, Spectacular Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Teen Titans continued their downward, albeit normal, trend, with both titles charting lower in August than they did in July, with fewer copies of both titles respective current issues ordered.

You consider Teen Titans to be on a downward trend? Not according to the five major retailers in the Greater Los Angeles area that I know of and not according to Wizard, either. Certainly not with the 2nd issue following the 1st by also getting a 2nd printing. If #3 does the same, then I don't think it's fair or accurate to say DC's bestselling superteam (Titans is outselling JLA, JSA, Outsiders, and Legion) is on a "downward trend."

[farwell3d]

Downward trend simply means it sold less initial copies than issue one.

Runaways, Sleeper, Gotham Central, possibly the three best books the top two debuted in the first half of this year (okay, GC debuted in Dec, but still) all have terrible sales. That sucks. I am so in love with all three of these titles. Ed Brubaker is a genius, and Brian K. Vaughn is a red-hot up and coming writer.

[WiiGii!]

I just can't believe Xorn is Magneto. Can't wait to see New X-Men numbers jump!!!

[wrongrobot]

Originally posted by Jeff Hoffman
I can't believe Sleeper sales are so low...that and Gotham Central...both are great books.

I completely agree. I can't help but wonder if this is a product of what limited shelf space comic retailers can afford in this market. For example, are low orders, and low sales, of books like Sleeper and Gotham Central, due to the fact that the average seller is not a full-fledged comic shop but a comics/cards/toys/gifts/hotdogs/videos/mini-licenseplates shop, and what space they do have is occupied by the big name high-recognition books?

I feel genuinely spoiled to have access to the books I want, every week, enjoy a favorable high-volume discount, with marginal budgetary restraints.


Also, I wouldn't wipe with Valant books. That's a world of 4-color pain.