This is my first go at talking about DC Comics sales, but it's something that I've wanted to do for long time so what the hell, let's get into it. For this I decided that I was only going to do the main superhero books...... because they're the ones I like the best. I also decided that I wasn't going to put down the collected digital books because I'm still holding out hope that DC will one day release the individual digital sales and make my year. So let's look at how the sales are doing for our favorite comic book company in this segment that I'm calling "Checking The Numbers" and we'll see if our favorite heroes are pulling their weight in the comic book shops. Let's check it out.
Title and number Price Est. Sales Previous Month Est. Sale
1. Batman #42 $3.99 117,441 142,155
While the drop in sales here may simply be from the people
who wanted to check out Jim Gordon’s debut as Batman and then didn’t continue
his adventure, it’s odd seeing this kind of drop in Batman.
2. Justice League #42 $3.99 81,291 88,713
This
is a lot like Batman to me, where people jumped on for Darkseid War due to the
epic-ness of the name and what the story represents, but ultimately fell off
their comic shopping. It is odd seeing
Justice League being a book that is under a 100,000 in estimated sales though.
3. Justice League of America #2 $3.99 70,979 150,845
Issue #1
Fever going on here and it’s no surprise that this title would drop this low for
it’s second issue. People love their #1’s,
but #2’s can suck it.
4. Harley Quinn #18 $3.99 59,566 68,243
Well,
sales are low all around apparently.
People love their Harley Quinn, but it seems that those folks are like
me and not really digging the gang of Harleys story arc…….. that or people are
buying other things besides comics and that’s just blasphemy.
5. Detective Comics #42 $3.99 50,743 57,648
Yeah,
sales are down all over and I think I’m just going to shut up because the
numbers speak for themselves.
6. Superman #42 $3.99 46,691 53,393
7. Cyborg #1 $2.99 45,187
Wow,
that’s a terrible first showing for Cyborg.
8. Harley Quinn & Powergirl #2 $3.99 44,974 64,911
Jim and I haven’t really been fans of this mini-series and I
suspect that the numbers will continue to diminish each month.
9. Robin: Son of Batman #2 $2.99 44,232 64,095
This seems to be a common trend with second issues, but I
have a feeling that people won’t gravitate towards this series because of how
removed it feels from being a “Robin” book.
10. Batman/Superman #22 $3.99 41,672 49,204
11. Green Lantern #42 $3.99 39,290 45,704
Green Lantern is one of my favorite superheroes and it’s
stings to see this title drop down so low in sales.
12.
Action Comics #42 $3.99 37,956 44,083
13.
Wonder Woman #42 $3.99 36,668 45,284
14.
Superman/Wonder Woman #42 $3.99 36,666 39,787
15.
Flash #42 $3.99 36,347 41,256
I’m
really disappointed by this one too because I’ve really been digging this
Professor Zoom story and I figured that everyone would gravitate towards this
story.
16.
New Suicide Squad #10 $2.99 35,365 42,225
I
love the Suicide Squad, but I can’t say that I’ve ever known it to be a big
seller. The thing that strikes me as odd
about this is how close this is to selling the same as the Flash….. and that
just shouldn’t happen.
17.
Batman Beyond #2 $2.99 35,000 53,774
Wow,
that’s one hell of a drop Batman Beyond, I guess you didn’t win over a lot of
fans with your nonsense continuity.
18.
Grayson #10 $3.99
33,990 39,610
19.
Starfire #2 $2.99 33,659 46,298
20.
Deathstroke #8 $2.99 33,648 38,807
Yup…….
Sales down all around.
21.
Batgirl #42 $2.99 33,168 33,220
Think you’re so cool Batgirl, going up a couple of books in
sales?
22.
Earth 2: Society #2 $2.99 31,663 41,002
Yeah, I don’t think Earth 2: Society is going to last very
long……. Man, I wanted this series to be good.
23.
We Are Robin #2 $3.99 31,209 51,943
I’m shocked at how much I liked this series right from the get
go and I’d like to see it go on for awhile longer, so do America’s Sweetheart a
favor and go out and get some We Are Robin……. Please.
24.
Green Lantern: Lost Army #2 $2.99 31,170 42,945
Well, at least this series is doing slightly worse that We
Are Robin because I’m not having any fun with it at all.
25.
Flash Annual #4 $4.99 29,204
26.
Batgirl Annual #3 $4.99 28,731
27.
Teen Titans #10 $2.99 28,547 33,412
I
love the Teen Titans, but I haven’t liked this newer series at all…… and it
looks like no one else is really digging it either.
28.
Aquaman #42 $3.99 28,158 33,629
I thought that Cullen Bunn taking this title over was going
to be the best thing that ever happened to Aquaman……. I was so wrong.
29.
Black Canary #2 $2.99 27,512 40,786
This series hasn’t been bad, but goddamn does it seem like
nobody gives a shit about this.
30.
Constantine: The Hellblazer #2 $2.99 26,870 38,080
Constantine is always a hard sell, but that doesn’t take
away from how good this series has been.
31.
Red Hood/Arsenal #2 $2.99 26,829 40,071
That’s
sad…… almost immediately at Red Hood and The Outlaw numbers.
32.
Deathstroke Annual #1 $4.99 25,178
33.
Martian Manhunter #2 $2.99 24,957 36,581
For the love of something that you may believe in…….. Go get
Martian Manhunter! It’s an incredible
series!
34.
Green Arrow #42 $2.99 24,921 29,545
This book has just been a mess so I
totally understand these sales.
35.
Justice League United #11 $3.99 23,140
This book came back from it’s
Convergence hiatus in July and it really should have sparked up some hype for
the new direction it’s taking by renumbering this series.
36.
Sinestro #13 $2.99 23,044 28,848
I got a little bored with the
traitor in the Sinestro Corps story that we were dealing with, but now that
over and I really look forward to the Sinestro/Lobo crossover coming in
September. This is probably the best
Cullen Bunn title right now so if you like some evil ring slinging, you should
probably pick this up.
37.
Doctor Fate #2 $2.99 22,967 35,962
HA!
Suck it Doctor Fate, nobody likes you!
38.
Secret Six #4 $2.99 22,813 28,458
Awwwwwww! That sucks Secret Six, nobody likes you. Issue #4 was a rough issue so I can totally
see people bailing on this.
39.
Gotham Academy #8 $2.99 22,359 26,594
40.
Catwoman #42 $2.99 21,983 27,034
41.
Justice League 3001 #2 $2.99 21,301 32,174
42.
Bizarro #2 $2.99 21,070 35,010
I never expected these “funny” six issue minis to sell that
well, but what really pisses me off is that Bizarro is selling better than
Bat-Mite…… Bat-Mite is where it’s at!
43.
Midnighter #2 $2.99 19,813 32,200
So long Midnighter. Thanks for stopping by.
44.
Bat-Mite #2 $2.99 18,628 34,731
Again, Bat-Mite is where it’s at!
45.
Gotham By Midnight #7 $2.99 18,427 22,331
This series is alright but sadly, it’s not interesting enough
to last.
46.
Doomed #2 $2.99 17,630 32,259
I’m sorry Doomed, I’ll be sad to see
you go.
47.
Omega Men #2 $2.99 17,093 30,158
So long Omega Men…….. You and I had
our differences, but you were alright I guess.
48.
All Star Section Eight $2.99 16,695 31,099
Luckily, this is only a six issue
mini and we can have all our deranged fun.
49.
Gotham By Midnight Annual #1 $4.99 13,536
50.
Prez #2 $2.99 13,178 28,309
51.
Lobo #8 $2.99 12,459 19,281
52.
Lobo Annual #1 $4.99 10,899
I totally understand not giving a shit about Lobo…… I’m right
there with you, but you guys totally missed out not getting this Annual because
it was the best issue that this series has offered. Hopefully once the crossover with Sinestro
begins in September this series will get a boost in sales because it’s finally
gotten my attention.
That's it for the month of July and the estimated sales of the books featuring our favorite heroes and what we can gleam from these sales are........... Holy shit DC, you really need to do something now because shit looks bad!
That makes me sad. DC just isn't what it used to be, I guess.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what prompted such a, company wide drop in sales.
I'm not surprised by the B and C-list characters not doing so well (even though BLACK CANARY and, especially, MARTIAN MANHUNTER feature the best solo stories I've ever read about their respective stars), but, the fact that the JUSTICE LEAGUE books aren't doing better is pretty crazy. Not only are they JUSTICE LEAGUE books but they're great, too (excluding JLU...the jury is still out there. The first arc left me a little cold but it had a lot of promise).
I think having fewer titles would help. I love the diversity, but there's just too much going on for the average fan to keep up. So they're not even trying.
ReplyDeleteSome of these drops aren't too crazy...7000 a month in attrition is not actually that uncommon these days. And a drop of 50% after a multi-variant #1 issue like JLA is definitely par for the course. This doesn't look good overall, though, DC has Batman and Justice League and really nothing else pulling its weight. I think some of this is common comics shop ordering, they tend to taper off fast after issue #2 or #3, and if the comics aren't on the shelves a lot of people will just forget about them. Frankly, I think DC's main problem is one that has plagued them for many, many years: their publicity sucks!
ReplyDeleteWow, thats alot of weeping and 'ha! im glad its failing!' in that commentary. XD
ReplyDeleteSurprising to see Batgirl is doing well of anything in that.
As for the sales, its probably because of Marvel. Their in the middle of a crisis event that reboots their universe. Marvel saw a similar decline when new 52 started.
Also, as Reggie points out, DC has TERRIBLE issues with publicity. Their getting there with their youtube channel, but gosh, they don't do their books many favors. ^^;
They are even worse on the digital front.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a combo of a bunch of things:
Changing their whole company focus in response to positive press and social media presence of Batgirl, Convergence and then coming out of that "Event" with their two biggest characters depowered (Superman) and a robot Jim Gordon (obviously Batman). The sales show that not only have they not grabbed new readers with the DC YOU, but have lost old readers as well. I really think long time readers feel left out and/or betrayed. DC better show more concern than yelling they are getting back to the "Meat and Potatoes"...they better start cutting the bad sellers and give people what they want.
Looking at whats going up and whats going down, what people want is more batgirl, and nothing else including Flash, Harley Quinn and Grayson...Which have not changed at all in the past six months, despite the sales plunging.
Deletenot to dump on Batgirl, but it did it's plunging the last couple of months. In march it was almost at 42,000 and fell to 33,000 after Convergence in June while Grayson (the book it's usually neck and neck with) only dropped to 39,000 then to almost 34,000.
DeleteCan't say I'm surprised when readers #1 one complaints about the New 52 are a consist drone of how does X character relate to X character now and man 9 out of 10 these major character changes are horrible the editorial policy of openly stating that they won't focus on continuity and introduce further drastic character changes to the point where their 3 most iconic characters are essentially unrecognizable what else could happen but a huge drop off in readership? They're literally doing the very things that their existing readers told they didn't like and drastic character changes don't really bring in new readers indeed in the case of the big 3 you practically have the opposite effect going on right now. Hell JLA which is typically the entry point for knew readers to the DCU literally can't serve that function anymore because its essentially wholly detached from the solo tiles. The editorial direction at DC has been nothing short of tone-deaf and disastrous
ReplyDelete