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DC Comics Month-to-Month Sales: October 2009
by Marc-Oliver Frisch

Gotham, we have a problem.

The general consensus seems to be that DC Comics had a particularly great month in October, but that’s not quite true. Despite making a spectacle of the Top 300 chart by claiming — literally for the first time in ages — all of the Top 6 spots, sales of the average new DC comic book were actually down from September. In fact, DC’s October performance isn’t even in the Top 3 of the past twelve months, if you compare average sales or gross dollar value.

The main reason for that is easily spotted: While Blackest Night and its tie-ins keep performing well, the number of flagging franchises and tanking new projects is on the rise again. The Titans books, Outsiders, Justice League, Justice Society, Wonder Woman, Superman/Batman and the entire Superman line are all formerly strong properties that have been skidding down the charts for months and years now; missed opportunities like the failure to capitalize on high-profile creator J. Michael Straczynski don’t help matters. Alarmingly, even the Batman line, which saw a strong relaunch a few months back, is losing steam quickly.

The bleak picture continues through the publisher’s sublabels. For the first time in six months, average Vertigo figures dropped below 11K again in October. WildStorm saw a rare spike, meanwhile — thanks, largely, to the stoically consistent numbers of the Planetary epilogue issue, which brought sales of the average WildStorm periodical closer to 10,000 units than at any other point in the last ten months.

See below for the details, and please consider the small print at the end of the column. Thanks to Milton Griepp and ICv2.com for the permission to use their figures. An overview of ICv2.com’s estimates can be found here.

—–

1 - BLACKEST NIGHT
07/2009: Blackest Night #1 of 8 — 177,105 [199,863]
08/2009: Blackest Night #2 of 8 — 146,092 (-17.5%) [155,512]
09/2009: Blackest Night #3 of 8 — 140,786 (- 3.6%)
10/2009: Blackest Night #4 of 8 — 137,169 (- 2.6%)DC’s big crossover storyline of the year remains the strongest performer in the comic-book direct market.

Blackest Night is promoted with some of the most aggressive variant-cover incentives we’ve seen to date: There’s a 1-for-250 variant for issue #1, a 1-for-200 variant for #2 and a 1-for-100 variant for each subsequent issue, all in addition to 1-for-25 variants.

But, while these variants no doubt distort the numbers, it’s worth pointing out that sales are also bottoming out very quickly — which is unusual for high-profile “event” titles, and especially for books with multiple gimmick covers.

Looking back at this time last year, Final Crisis #4 had just come out, and its charts looked like this:

FINAL CRISIS
05/2008: Final Crisis #1 of 7 — 144,826 [166,641]
06/2008: Final Crisis #2 of 7 — 126,082 (-12.9%) [134,116]
07/2008: –
08/2008: Final Crisis #3 of 7 — 123,881 (- 1.8%)
09/2008: –
10/2008: Final Crisis #4 of 7 — 115,666 (- 6.6%)The raw numbers would suggest that Blackest Night is doing better than Final Crisis, but then again, those were much simpler times back then: Final Crisis was promoted with one 50/50 variant edition per issue, which seems positively restrained by today’s standards.

The big difference between the two, of course, is that Final Crisis was up against Marvel’s Secret Invasion, which outsold it by up to a 100,000 units per issue. This time around, the closest thing Marvel has to a direct rival is Reborn, whose sales aren’t quite as spectacular; Reborn #1 outperformed Blackest Night #1 by about 15,000 units, but with September’s issue #3, the book dropped to 108K, which is significantly below Blackest Night. (Reborn didn’t ship in October.)

It remains to be seen whether Marvel’s upcoming Siege series and its tie-in books will come close to the commercial achievement of Secret Invasion. For now, Blackest Night appears to be as much of a success as the direct market is able to produce at this time.

—–

2 - BATMAN AND ROBIN
06/2009: Batman and Robin #1 — 168,604 [184,826]
07/2009: Batman and Robin #2 — 117,986 (-30.2%) [129,086]
08/2009: Batman and Robin #3 — 110,594 (- 6.3%)
09/2009: Batman and Robin #4 — 106,925 (- 3.3%)
10/2009: Batman and Robin #5 — 101,607 (- 5.0%)Batman and Robin is the only DC book noticeably above 70,000 units that isn’t part of “Blackest Night” — not yet, at least. The Grant Morrison vehicle remains another solid performer for DC.

As usual, there was a 1-for-25 variant-cover edition.

—–

3 - GREEN LANTERN
10/2004: Rebirth #1 of 6 — 95,092 [178,414]
10/2005: –
10/2006: –
10/2007: Green Lantern #24 — 78,650
————————————–
10/2008: Green Lantern #35 — 63,383 (- 0.7%)
11/2008: –
12/2008: Green Lantern #36 — 64,755 (+ 2.2%) [ 74,005]
01/2009: Green Lantern #37 — 65,556 (+ 1.2%) [ 71,331]
02/2009: Green Lantern #38 — 68,908 (+ 5.1%) [ 77,372]
03/2009: –
04/2009: Green Lantern #39 — 79,792 (+15.8%) [ 84,784]
04/2009: Green Lantern #40 — 76,665 (- 3.9%) [ 84,705]
05/2009: Green Lantern #41 — 81,491 (+ 6.3%)
06/2009: Green Lantern #42 — 84,131 (+ 3.2%)
07/2009: Green Lantern #43 — 109,426 (+30.1%) [117,314]
07/2009: Green Lantern #44 — 105,063 (- 4.0%) [109,599]
08/2009: Green Lantern #45 — 102,431 (- 2.5%)
09/2009: Green Lantern #46 — 103,666 (+ 1.2%)
10/2009: Green Lantern #47 — 101,349 (- 2.2%)
—————–
6 months: + 29.6%
1 year : + 60.9%
2 years : + 28.9%
5 years : + 6.6%4 - BLACKEST NIGHT: BATMAN
08/2009: Blackest Night: Batman #1 of 3 — 86,261 [96,243]
09/2009: Blackest Night: Batman #2 of 3 — 87,638 (+1.6%)
10/2009: Blackest Night: Batman #3 of 3 — 86,760 (-1.0%) 5 - GREEN LANTERN CORPS
10/2005: GLC: Recharge #2 of 5 — 68,925 [71,414]
10/2006: Green Lantern Corps #5 — 43,546
10/2007: Green Lantern Corps #16 — 60,862
10/2007: Green Lantern Corps #17 — 59,223
——————————————
10/2008: Green Lantern Corps #29 — 46,316 (+ 3.1%)
11/2008: Green Lantern Corps #30 — 43,600 (- 5.9%)
12/2008: Green Lantern Corps #31 — 44,033 (+ 0.9%)
01/2009: Green Lantern Corps #32 — 44,312 (+ 0.6%)
02/2009: Green Lantern Corps #33 — 44,607 (+ 0.7%) [50,171]
03/2009: Green Lantern Corps #34 — 54,162 (+21.4%)
04/2009: Green Lantern Corps #35 — 58,769 (+ 8.5%)
05/2009: Green Lantern Corps #36 — 61,591 (+ 4.8%)
06/2009: Green Lantern Corps #37 — 63,574 (+ 3.2%)
07/2009: Green Lantern Corps #38 — 82,415 (+29.6%)
08/2009: Green Lantern Corps #39 — 84,241 (+ 2.2%)
09/2009: Green Lantern Corps #40 — 83,112 (- 1.3%)
10/2009: Green Lantern Corps #41 — 81,377 (- 2.1%)
—————-
6 months: +38.5%
1 year : +75.7%
2 years : +35.5%6 - BLACKEST NIGHT: SUPERMAN
08/2009: Blackest Night: Superman #1 of 3 — 76,899 [91,487]
09/2009: Blackest Night: Superman #2 of 3 — 78,766 (+2.4%) [82,570]
10/2009: Blackest Night: Superman #3 of 3 — 78,265 (-0.6%)The four other big “Blackest Night” books in October keep up their remarkably good numbers. The final issues of the Batman and Superman miniseries both outsell their debuts, which is a rare occurrence.

Each book was promoted with a 1-for-25 variant edition, as usual.

—–

11/12 - BATMAN
10/2004: Batman #633 — 69,946
10/2005: Batman #646 — 69,975
10/2006: –
10/2007: Batman #670 — 76,890 [ 86,049]
——————————-
10/2008: Batman #680 — 103,941 (+ 0.3%)
11/2008: Batman #681 — 103,151 (- 0.8%) [114,657]
12/2008: Batman #682 — 93,469 (- 9.4%)
12/2008: Batman #683 — 90,272 (- 3.4%) [ 91,885]
12/2008: Batman #684 — 79,953 (-11.4%) [ 82,903]
01/2009: Batman #685 — 72,654 (- 9.1%)
02/2009: Batman #686 — 111,353 (+53.3%) [128,780]
03/2009: BfC #1 of 3 — 91,619 (-17.7%) [103,913]
04/2009: BfC #2 of 3 — 89,120 (- 2.7%)
05/2009: BfC #3 of 3 — 89,170 (+ 0.1%)
06/2009: Batman #687 — 96,913 (+ 8.7%)
07/2009: Batman #688 — 83,040 (-14.3%)
08/2009: Batman #689 — 78,392 (- 5.6%)
09/2009: Batman #690 — 77,001 (- 1.8%)
10/2009: Batman #691 — 71,431 (- 7.2%)
10/2009: Batman #692 — 70,322 (- 1.6%)
—————-
6 months: -20.5%
1 year : -31.8%
2 years : - 7.8%
5 years : + 1.3%There haven’t been any variant editions that might account for the big drop between Batman #690 and Batman #691, and the creative team was the same. And while there is a creative-team change with issue #692, it doesn’t make any difference in that case.

These numbers are still within the range of the Grant Morrison run, but they’re at the low end of the spectrum now. Either way, a 7% drop in sales isn’t really what you want five months into a revamp. At this stage, readers and retailers usually had enough time to make up their minds about a project. Unfortunately, the problem isn’t limited to Batman, but also affects much of the rest of the Batman line — see below.

—–

14 - BLACKEST NIGHT: TITANS
08/2009: Blackest Night: Titans #1 of 3 — 64,767 [71,321]
09/2009: Blackest Night: Titans #2 of 3 — 64,086 (-1.1%)
10/2009: Blackest Night: Titans #3 of 3 — 63,670 (-0.7%)Another Blackest Night spin-off with exceptionally solid sales. There was a 1-for-25 variant edition for this one, as well.

—–

17 - JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA
10/2004: JLA #107 — 65,225 [68,082]
10/2005: JLA #120 — 82,892
10/2005: JLA #121 — 78,869 [81,316]
10/2006: –
10/2007: Justice League #14 — 101,763
————————————–
10/2008: Justice League #25 — 80,731 (- 0.9%)
10/2008: Justice League #26 — 77,353 (- 4.2%)
11/2008: –
12/2008: Justice League #27 — 75,803 (- 2.0%)
12/2008: Justice League #28 — 72,728 (- 4.1%)
01/2009: Justice League #29 — 72,116 (- 0.8%)
02/2009: Justice League #30 — 69,710 (- 3.3%)
03/2009: Justice League #31 — 68,759 (- 1.4%)
04/2009: Justice League #32 — 66,021 (- 4.0%)
05/2009: Justice League #33 — 63,867 (- 3.3%)
06/2009: Justice League #34 — 61,115 (- 4.3%)
07/2009: Justice League #35 — 58,915 (- 3.6%)
08/2009: Justice League #36 — 57,549 (- 2.3%)
09/2009: Justice League #37 — 55,478 (- 3.6%)
10/2009: Justice League #38 — 61,012 (+10.0%)
—————-
6 months: - 7.6%
1 year : -22.8%
2 years : -40.1%
5 years : - 6.5%The new creative team of James Robinson and Mark Bagley arrives, with less than stunning results.

Considering that issue #38 was promoted with a 1-for-25 variant, it’s questionable whether Robinson and Bagley’s debut yields any genuine increase in demand for the title at all, frankly. The numbers remain below Dwayne McDuffie’s final issue on the series, even, and that one didn’t come with a sales-boosting variant edition.

Justice League of America is another title DC ought to be deeply worried about, at this stage.

—–

19 - DETECTIVE COMICS
10/2004: Detective Comics #799 — 48,228
10/2005: Detective Comics #812 — 39,270
10/2006: Detective Comics #824 — 62,431
10/2007: Detective Comics #837 — 51,363
—————————————–
10/2008: Detective Comics #849 — 65,878 (- 3.6%)
11/2008: Detective Comics #850 — 64,196 (- 2.6%)
12/2008: Detective Comics #851 — 64,961 (+ 1.2%)
01/2009: Detective Comics #852 — 56,656 (-12.8%)
02/2009: –
03/2009: –
04/2009: Detective Comics #853 — 104,107 (+83.8%)
05/2009: –
06/2009: Detective Comics #854 — 72,808 (-30.1%) [79,573]
07/2009: Detective Comics #855 — 61,205 (-15.9%)
08/2009: Detective Comics #856 — 58,859 (- 3.8%)
09/2009: Detective Comics #857 — 57,063 (- 3.1%)
10/2009: Detective Comics #858 — 58,599 (+ 2.7%)
—————–
6 months: - 43.7%
1 year : - 11.1%
2 years : + 14.1%
5 years : + 21.5%The October issue launches a new arc. The slight sales increase is due to a 1-for-10 variant edition, presumably.

These figures aren’t spectacular, but Detective Comics shows the smoothest drop-off by far of the relaunched Batman line.

—–

22 - JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE
07/2009: Cry for Justice #1 of 6 — 68,317 [72,719]
08/2009: Cry for Justice #2 of 6 — 54,553 (-20.2%) [58,829]
09/2009: Cry for Justice #3 of 6 — 54,726 (+ 0.3%)
10/2009: Cry for Justice #4 of 6 — 54,386 (- 0.6%)The other Justice League book by James Robinson is holding on to its sales unusually well, oddly. It’s quite a contrast to the unenthusiastic greeting he received in Justice League of America proper.

—–

26 - BATMAN ANNUAL
10/2009: Batman Annual #27 — 51,442The book begins a two-parter that sets up the new Azrael series. Judging from the numbers, retailers did not know the meaning of this when they placed their orders: Sales are well below the numbers of Batman, but noticeably above those of Detective Comics Annual #11 — the second part of the crossover — and Azrael #1.

—–

28 - SUPERMAN: SECRET ORIGIN
09/2009: Superman: Secret Origin #1 of 6 — 54,630
10/2009: Superman: Secret Origin #2 of 6 — 46,840 (-14.3%)That’s an average second-issue drop for a miniseries. Given the name recognition of the creative team, the numbers have to be rather sobering for DC. The message is clear: Another origin story on top of the confusing pile of existing ones is the last thing the character needs right now.

There was a 1-for-10 variant edition.

—–

38 - JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA
10/2004: JSA #66 — 41,023
10/2005: JSA #78 — 54,070
10/2007: Justice Society #10 — 99,424
—————————————
10/2008: Justice Society #19 — 72,073 (- 1.9%)
11/2008: Justice Society #20 — 71,355 (- 1.0%)
12/2008: Justice Society #21 — 69,662 (- 2.4%)
12/2008: Justice Society #22 — 67,615 (- 2.9%)
01/2009: Justice Society #23 — 61,385 (- 9.2%)
02/2009: Justice Society #24 — 65,207 (+ 6.2%)
03/2009: –
04/2009: Justice Society #25 — 65,713 (+ 0.8%)
04/2009: Justice Society #26 — 81,200 (+ 23.6%)
05/2009: Justice Society #27 — 56,102 (- 30.9%)
06/2009: Justice Society #28 — 52,673 (- 6.1%)
07/2009: Justice Society #29 — 51,375 (- 2.5%)
08/2009: Justice Society #30 — 49,416 (- 3.8%)
09/2009: Justice Society #31 — 47,436 (- 4.0%)
10/2009: Justice Society #32 — 44,885 (- 5.4%)
—————-
6 months: -38.9%
1 year : -37.7%
2 years : -54.9%
5 years : + 9.4%The book’s free-fall keeps speeding up. It’s not quite clear to me why anyone thought what this franchise needed was another ongoing series. Once again, it seems like a decision that would have made sense two years ago, when the series was shifting 80K+ a month.

DC’s mantra for 2009: If once you fail, make three more. So brace yourselves for the new JSA All-Stars book.

——

39 - RED ROBIN
10/2004: Robin #131 — 44,570
10/2005: Robin #143 — 34,141
10/2006: Robin #155 — 32,951
10/2007: Robin #167 — 24,625
——————————–
10/2008: Robin #179 — 30,081 (- 6.7%)
11/2008: Robin #180 — 28,399 (- 5.6%)
12/2008: Robin #181 — 27,891 (- 1.8%)
01/2009: Robin #182 — 28,684 (+ 2.8%)
02/2009: Robin #183 — 31,682 (+ 10.5%)
03/2009: –
04/2009: –
05/2009: –
06/2009: Red Robin #1 — 64,261 (+102.8%) [71,925]
07/2009: Red Robin #2 — 51,593 (- 19.7%) [54,544]
08/2009: Red Robin #3 — 50,329 (- 2.5%)
09/2009: Red Robin #4 — 47,945 (- 4.7%)
10/2009: Red Robin #5 — 44,776 (- 6.6%)
—————–
6 months: n.a.
1 year : + 48.9%
2 years : + 81.8%
5 years : + 0.5%The drops are getting bigger for Red Robin, as well.

To be fair, sales are still much better than they were before the relaunch, in this case — or at most other points in the book’s history, for that matter — so there’s a lot more rope here before the makeover could reasonably be called a failure.

—–

40 - ADVENTURE COMICS
10/2004: –
10/2005: Legion of SH #11 — 34,113
10/2006: Supergirl & LoSH #23 — 41,554
10/2007: Supergirl & LoSH #35 — 27,370
—————————————
10/2008: LoSH #47 — 23,751 (- 4.8%)
11/2008: LoSH #48 — 22,917 (- 3.5%)
12/2008: LoSH #49 — 22,180 (- 3.2%)
01/2009: LoSH #50 — 22,327 (+ 0.7%)
02/2009: Adventure Comics #0 — 32,851 (+47.1%)
03/2009: –
04/2009: –
05/2009: –
06/2009: –
07/2009: –
08/2009: Adventure Comics #1 — 56,706 (+72.6%)
09/2009: Adventure Comics #2 — 47,296 (-15.9%)
10/2009: Adventure Comics #3 — 44,431 (- 6.1%)
—————–
6 months: n.a.
1 year : + 87.1%
2 years : + 62.3%
5 years : n.a.Another average sales drop. These numbers are all right, but they don’t suggest there’s a great enthusiasm for the series — and I’m skeptical whether “all right” was what DC was hoping for with a new Geoff Johns book.

As with the two previous issues, there was a 1-for-10 variant.

—–

41 - DETECTIVE COMICS ANNUAL
10/2009: Detective Comics Annual #11 — 44,191The second part of the crossover introducing the new Azrael series doesn’t do anything to dispel the notion that retailers were a bit puzzled by the material. The figure is neither quite up there with Detective Comics proper, nor quite down there with Azrael — and, oddly enough, it’s not particularly close to the first part of the story, either.

Then again, I don’t think the material would necessarily have sold better as a miniseries, so maybe DC did make the most of the material in this case, commercially.

—–

50 - WORLD’S FINEST
10/2009: World’s Finest #1 — 37,037Surprisingly enough, World’s Finest ends up outselling all four Superman books with its debut issue. There’s a variant edition, but in this case, it seems retailers could order as many of either version as they liked, with no strings attached. The demand seems to be genuine.

—–

51 - BATGIRL
10/2004: Batgirl #57 — 39,631 [41,136]
10/2005: Batgirl #69 — 26,870
———————————-
10/2008: Batgirl #4 of 6 — 23,501 (- 5.7%)
11/2008: Batgirl #5 of 6 — 21,595 (- 8.1%)
12/2008: Batgirl #6 of 6 — 20,750 (- 3.9%)
01/2009: –
02/2009: –
03/2009: –
04/2009: –
05/2009: –
06/2009: –
07/2009: —
08/2009: Batgirl #1 — 51,724 (+149.3%)
09/2009: Batgirl #2 — 40,626 (- 21.5%)
10/2009: Batgirl #3 — 37,011 (- 8.9%)
—————-
6 months: n.a.
1 year : +57.5%
5 years : - 6.6%That’s not an encouraging third-issue drop, but, like Red Robin, Batgirl can afford a few more months to find its level before it should be in any sort of trouble — sales are still very comfortably ahead of the book’s previous incarnations.

—–

53 - SUPERMAN: WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON
03/2009: WoNK #1 of 12 — 50,050
04/2009: WoNK #2 of 12 — 44,880 (-10.3%)
05/2009: WoNK #3 of 12 — 42,153 (- 6.1%)
06/2009: WoNK #4 of 12 — 41,620 (- 1.3%)
07/2009: WoNK #5 of 12 — 39,939 (- 4.0%)
08/2009: WoNK #6 of 12 — 39,218 (- 1.8%)
09/2009: WoNK #7 of 12 — 37,697 (- 3.9%)
10/2009: WoNK #8 of 12 — 36,672 (- 2.7%)
—————-
6 months: -18.3%55 - SUPERMAN
10/2004: Superman #210 — 113,480 [114,272]
10/2005: Superman #222 — 67,638
10/2006: –
10/2007: Superman #668 — 47,948
10/2007: Superman #669 — 47,271
———————————
10/2008: Superman #681 — 54,611 (+17.2%) [57,212]
11/2008: Superman #682 — 55,435 (+ 1.5%)
12/2008: Superman #683 — 55,287 (- 0.3%)
01/2009: Superman #684 — 48,489 (-12.3%)
02/2009: Superman #685 — 48,027 (- 1.0%)
03/2009: Superman #686 — 44,976 (- 6.4%)
04/2009: Superman #687 — 43,041 (- 4.3%)
05/2009: Superman #688 — 41,642 (- 3.3%)
06/2009: Superman #689 — 40,366 (- 3.1%)
07/2009: Superman #690 — 39,472 (- 2.2%)
08/2009: Superman #691 — 39,106 (- 0.9%)
09/2009: Superman #692 — 37,695 (- 3.6%)
10/2009: Superman #693 — 35,395 (- 6.1%)
—————-
6 months: -17.8%
1 year : -35.2%
2 years : -25.7%
5 years : -68.8%58 - ACTION COMICS
10/2004: Action Comics #820 — 41,114
10/2005: Action Comics #832 — 47,968
10/2006: Action Comics #844 — 78,869 [88,290]
10/2007: Action Comics #856 — 53,815
10/2007: Action Comics #857 — 51,401
10/2007: Action Comics #858 — 54,596 [59,031]
————————————-
10/2008: Action Comics #870 — 57,407 (+15.8%)
11/2008: Action Comics #871 — 58,547 (+ 2.0%)
12/2008: Action Comics #872 — 57,175 (- 2.3%)
01/2009: Action Comics #873 — 51,940 (- 9.2%)
02/2009: Action Comics #874 — 48,360 (- 6.9%)
03/2009: Action Comics #875 — 47,079 (- 2.7%)
04/2009: Action Comics #876 — 43,368 (- 7.9%)
05/2009: Action Comics #877 — 41,772 (- 3.7%)
06/2009: Action Comics #878 — 40,011 (- 4.2%)
07/2009: Action Comics #879 — 38,324 (- 4.2%)
08/2009: Action Comics #880 — 37,588 (- 1.9%)
09/2009: Action Comics #881 — 36,183 (- 3.7%)
10/2009: Action Comics #882 — 34,754 (- 4.0%)
—————-
6 months: -19.9%
1 year : -39.5%
2 years : -34.8%
5 years : -15.5%The two ongoing Superman books have reached their lowest numbers in almost six years, with no trend reversal in sight. On the contrary: The drops keep growing. World of New Krypton remains slightly ahead of the bunch, but its numbers aren’t stellar, either.

Plainly, the current direction isn’t working for the franchise. And what’s worse, the crossover with Action Comics seems to be actively hurting the lower-selling Supergirl. See below.

—–

56 - AZRAEL
03/2009: Death’s Dark Knight #1 of 3 — 39,985
04/2009: Death’s Dark Knight #2 of 3 — 36,432 (-8.9%)
05/2009: Death’s Dark Knight #3 of 3 — 35,916 (-1.4%)
06/2009: –
07/2009: –
08/2009: –
09/2009: –
10/2009: Azrael #1 — 35,311 (-1.7%)
—————-
6 months: - 3.1%It’s not just the existing books that keep slipping away from the Batman relaunch, it’s the new launches, as well.

In DC’s defense, the sales of the Azrael miniseries earlier this year did suggest that an ongoing book might be able to support itself. But looking at these numbers now, the title’s prospects aren’t great.

Azrael #1 sales are not just below those of Death’s Dark Knight #3 — they were also, unlike the miniseries, supported with a 1-for-25 variant edition. Adding so many titles so fast to the relaunched Batman line may not have been such a great idea, after all.

—–

59 - SUPERMAN/BATMAN
10/2004: –
10/2005: –
10/2006: –
10/2007: Superman/Batman #41 — 54,928
—————————————
10/2008: Superman/Batman #53 — 48,187 (- 3.6%)
11/2008: –
12/2008: Superman/Batman #54 — 45,968 (- 4.6%)
01/2009: –
02/2009: Superman/Batman #55 — 43,962 (- 4.4%)
03/2009: Superman/Batman #56 — 42,464 (- 3.4%)
04/2009: Superman/Batman #57 — 41,743 (- 1.7%)
04/2009: Superman/Batman #58 — 41,000 (- 1.8%)
04/2009: Superman/Batman #59 — 40,182 (- 2.0%)
05/2009: Superman/Batman #60 — 39,531 (- 1.6%)
06/2009: Superman/Batman #61 — 38,228 (- 3.3%)
07/2009: Superman/Batman #62 — 38,412 (+ 0.5%)
08/2009: Superman/Batman #63 — 37,467 (- 2.5%)
09/2009: Superman/Batman #64 — 36,332 (- 3.0%)
10/2009: Superman/Batman #65 — 34,585 (- 4.8%)
—————-
6 months: -15.6%
1 year : -28.2%
2 years : -37.0%
5 years : n.a.As time goes on, it becomes increasingly difficult to see the point of this title. Readers keep jumping ship, and the decision to relegate Superman/Batman stories to an alternate universe seems like the quiet concession that it’s okay to ignore the book.

—–

60 - BATMAN: STREETS OF GOTHAM
06/2009: Batman: SoG #1 — 57,650
07/2009: Batman: SoG #2 — 44,240 (-23.3%)
08/2009: Batman: SoG #3 — 40,353 (- 8.8%)
09/2009: Batman: SoG #4 — 37,888 (- 6.1%)
10/2009: Batman: SoG #5 — 34,533 (- 8.9%)61 - GOTHAM CITY SIRENS
10/2004: Birds of Prey #75 — 32,091
10/2005: Birds of Prey #87 — 32,084
10/2006: Birds of Prey #99 — 30,385
10/2007: Birds of Prey #111 — 26,400
————————————-
10/2008: Birds of Prey #123 — 21,110 (- 1.0%)
11/2008: Birds of Prey #124 — 20,959 (- 0.7%)
12/2008: Birds of Prey #125 — 20,161 (- 3.8%)
01/2009: Birds of Prey #126 — 20,772 (+ 3.0%)
02/2009: Birds of Prey #127 — 21,424 (+ 3.1%)
03/2009: Oracle #1 of 3 — 34,081 (+59.1%)
04/2009: Oracle #2 of 3 — 33,731 (- 1.0%)
05/2009: Oracle #3 of 3 — 35,328 (+ 4.7%)
06/2009: GC Sirens #1 — 52,439 (+48.4%)
07/2009: GC Sirens #2 — 39,518 (-24.6%)
08/2009: GC Sirens #3 — 36,772 (- 7.0%)
09/2009: GC Sirens #4 — 34,405 (- 6.4%)
10/2009: GC Sirens #5 — 33,015 (- 4.0%)
—————–
6 months: - 2.1%
1 year : + 56.4%
2 years : + 25.1%
5 years : + 2.9%Paul Dini’s share in the Batman revamp remains in a free-fall. Unsurprisingly, the fact that Streets of Gotham began a fill-in two-parter by another writer in October doesn’t help the book’s rapidly dwindling sales.

—–

64 - PLANETARY (WildStorm)
10/2004: Planetary #21 — 32,266
10/2005: –
10/2006: Planetary #26 — 32,283
10/2007: –
———————————
10/2009: Planetary #27 — 31,691 (-1.8%)
—————–
6 months: n.a.
1 year : n.a.
2 years : n.a.
5 years : - 1.8%No, my cat didn’t throw up on the keyboard. The previous issue of Planetary really did come out in October 2006.

All the more astonishing, then, that the book’s sales are still glued to the 32K mark. Wrapping up Planetary may be an afterthought in 2009, but, if nothing else, this blast from the past (pun intended, if you’ve read the comic) serves as a sad reminder of what’s been missing from WildStorm for the last five years or so.

In the real world, unfortunately, the company has already tried the time machine to save the WildStorm Universe line, and it didn’t work.

—–

65 - ARKHAM REBORN
04/2009: BftC: Arkham Asylum #1 — 39,187
05/2009: –
06/2009: –
07/2009: –
08/2009: –
09/2009: –
10/2009: Arkham Reborn #1 of 3 — 31,519 (-19.1%)
—————-
6 months: -19.1%The figures are similar to those of Azrael, but in this instance, the circumstances are different: 30K+ actually isn’t a bad number for a miniseries on Arkham Asylum, and in two issues it’s going to be over, anyway. Simply put, not much can go wrong here, at this stage.

There was a 1-for-25 variant.

—–

68 - SUPERGIRL
10/2005: –
10/2006: –
10/2007: Supergirl #22 — 41,758
———————————
10/2008: Supergirl #34 — 33,958 (+23.0%)
11/2008: Supergirl #35 — 45,518 (+34.0%)
12/2008: Supergirl #36 — 45,491 (- 0.1%)
01/2009: Supergirl #37 — 34,060 (-25.1%)
02/2009: Supergirl #38 — 34,225 (+ 0.5%)
03/2009: Supergirl #39 — 33,713 (- 1.5%)
04/2009: Supergirl #40 — 34,080 (+ 1.1%)
05/2009: Supergirl #41 — 33,441 (- 1.9%)
06/2009: Supergirl #42 — 32,705 (- 2.2%)
07/2009: Supergirl #43 — 32,849 (+ 0.4%)
08/2009: Supergirl #44 — 33,819 (+ 3.0%)
09/2009: Supergirl #45 — 32,240 (- 4.7%)
10/2009: Supergirl #46 — 30,377 (- 5.8%)
—————-
6 months: -10.9%
1 year : -10.6%
2 years : -27.3%If I’m not seriously misreading these numbers, the crossover with Action Comics through September and October is literally doing more harm than good for Supergirl sales.

The Superman line isn’t just not working, evidently, it also has the Touch of Death about it.

—–

70 - TEEN TITANS
10/2004: Teen Titans #17 — 63,154 [67,926]
10/2005: Teen Titans #28 — 66,581
10/2006: –
10/2007: Teen Titans #52 — 55,176
———————————-
10/2008: Teen Titans #64 — 39,695 (- 5.0%)
11/2008: Teen Titans #65 — 37,880 (- 4.6%)
12/2008: Teen Titans #66 — 36,808 (- 2.8%)
01/2009: Teen Titans #67 — 35,877 (- 2.5%)
02/2009: Teen Titans #68 — 35,096 (- 2.2%)
03/2009: –
04/2009: Teen Titans #69 — 35,375 (+ 0.8%)
04/2009: Teen Titans #70 — 35,412 (+ 0.1%)
05/2009: Teen Titans #71 — 34,110 (- 3.7%)
06/2009: Teen Titans #72 — 32,512 (- 4.7%)
07/2009: Teen Titans #73 — 30,990 (- 4.7%)
08/2009: Teen Titans #74 — 30,380 (- 2.0%)
09/2009: Teen Titans #75 — 32,808 (+ 8.0%)
10/2009: Teen Titans #76 — 29,166 (-11.1%)
—————-
6 months: -17.6%
1 year : -26.5%
2 years : -47.1%
5 years : -53.8%71 - TITANS
10/2008: Titans #6 — 45,453 (- 9.0%)
11/2008: Titans #7 — 41,507 (- 8.7%)
12/2008: Titans #8 — 39,154 (- 5.7%)
01/2009: Titans #9 — 37,693 (- 3.7%)
02/2009: Titans #10 — 36,361 (- 3.5%)
03/2009: Titans #11 — 35,240 (- 3.1%)
04/2009: Titans #12 — 36,014 (+ 2.2%)
05/2009: Titans #13 — 34,343 (- 4.6%)
06/2009: Titans #14 — 32,321 (- 5.9%)
07/2009: Titans #15 — 46,189 (+42.9%)
08/2009: Titans #16 — 31,408 (-32.0%)
09/2009: Titans #17 — 30,154 (- 4.0%)
10/2009: Titans #18 — 28,215 (- 6.4%)
—————-
6 months: -21.7%
1 year : -37.9%The Titans books are in a free-fall, and I’m not sure anyone brought a parachute.

—–

76 - POWER GIRL
05/2009: Power Girl #1 — 47,322
06/2009: Power Girl #2 — 36,756 (-22.3%)
07/2009: Power Girl #3 — 35,163 (- 4.3%)
08/2009: Power Girl #4 — 32,140 (- 8.6%)
09/2009: Power Girl #5 — 29,497 (- 8.2%)
10/2009: Power Girl #6 — 27,060 (- 8.3%)The book really shouldn’t have 8% drops, at this stage, particularly since those numbers still include a sales-boosting 1-for-10 variant. Without the incentive, the drop-off for any of the last three issues would very likely have been in the double digits.

On the other hand, it’s Power Girl, a character whose sole distinguishing features are enormous and in front of her. For a property based on the premise that the comics market is desperate for incredibly big breasts, these are still good numbers, I suppose.

—–

77 - WONDER WOMAN
10/2004: Wonder Woman #209 — 25,964
10/2005: Wonder Woman #221 — 52,894
10/2005: Wonder Woman #222 — 47,065 [49,101]
10/2006: –
10/2007: Wonder Woman #13 — 48,385
————————————-
10/2008: Wonder Woman #25 — 33,583 (- 2.9%)
11/2008: Wonder Woman #26 — 33,277 (- 0.9%)
12/2008: Wonder Woman #27 — 32,322 (- 2.9%)
01/2009: Wonder Woman #28 — 32,622 (+ 0.9%)
02/2009: Wonder Woman #29 — 33,237 (+ 1.9%)
03/2009: Wonder Woman #30 — 33,365 (+ 0.4%)
04/2009: Wonder Woman #31 — 31,857 (- 4.5%)
05/2009: Wonder Woman #32 — 33,065 (+ 3.8%)
06/2009: Wonder Woman #33 — 32,755 (- 0.9%)
07/2009: Wonder Woman #34 — 30,131 (- 8.0%)
08/2009: Wonder Woman #35 — 29,657 (- 1.6%)
09/2009: Wonder Woman #36 — 28,806 (- 2.9%)
10/2009: Wonder Woman #37 — 26,972 (- 6.4%)
—————-
6 months: -15.3%
1 year : -19.7%
2 years : -44.3%
5 years : + 3.9%Wonder Woman won’t be coming out of its slide any time soon, evidently.

—–

83/93 - BATMAN: THE UNSEEN
10/2009: The Unseen #1 of 5 — 24,887
10/2009: The Unseen #2 of 5 — 22,653 (-9.0%)Since the first two issues shipped in the same calendar month, that usually means that the third-issue drop is bigger, for whatever reason only retailers know. Not too impressive, then.

—–

88 - SECRET SIX
10/2006: Secret Six #5 of 6 — 36,628
————————————-
10/2008: Secret Six #2 — 27,846 (-12.1%)
11/2008: Secret Six #3 — 26,053 (- 6.4%)
12/2008: Secret Six #4 — 24,657 (- 5.4%)
01/2009: Secret Six #5 — 24,899 (+ 1.0%)
02/2009: Secret Six #6 — 24,758 (- 0.6%)
03/2009: Secret Six #7 — 24,365 (- 1.6%)
04/2009: Secret Six #8 — 24,338 (- 0.1%)
05/2009: Secret Six #9 — 27,116 (+11.4%)
06/2009: Secret Six #10 — 24,272 (-10.5%)
07/2009: Secret Six #11 — 24,357 (+ 0.4%)
08/2009: Secret Six #12 — 24,161 (- 0.8%)
09/2009: Secret Six #13 — 23,919 (- 1.0%)
10/2009: Secret Six #14 — 23,345 (- 2.4%)
—————-
6 months: - 4.1%
1 year : -16.2%Secret Six numbers enter a slow decline, but remain unusually solid overall.

—–

90 - THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD
10/2007: The Brave and the Bold #7 — 48,693
———————————————
10/2008: The Brave and the Bold #18 — 28,199 (- 5.5%)
11/2008: The Brave and the Bold #19 — 26,407 (- 6.4%)
12/2008: The Brave and the Bold #20 — 25,050 (- 5.1%)
01/2009: The Brave and the Bold #21 — 24,375 (- 2.7%)
02/2009: The Brave and the Bold #22 — 23,507 (- 3.6%)
03/2009: –
04/2009: –
05/2009: The Brave and the Bold #23 — 22,312 (- 5.1%)
06/2009: The Brave and the Bold #24 — 21,272 (- 4.7%)
07/2009: The Brave and the Bold #25 — 21,234 (- 0.2%)
08/2009: The Brave and the Bold #26 — 20,154 (- 5.1%)
09/2009: The Brave and the Bold #27 — 26,904 (+33.5%)
10/2009: The Brave and the Bold #28 — 23,176 (-13.9%)
—————-
6 months: n.a.
1 year : -17.8%
2 years : -52.4%J. Michael Straczynski’s arrival at DC is a disaster. If anyone at the publisher did not see it coming, please get in touch. There’s a beautiful bridge for sale in my neighborhood.

—–

98 - BOOSTER GOLD
10/2007: Booster Gold #3 — 39,374
———————————–
10/2008: Booster Gold #13 — 29,914 (- 6.7%)
11/2008: Booster Gold #14 — 28,260 (- 5.5%)
12/2008: Booster Gold #15 — 26,835 (- 5.0%)
01/2009: Booster Gold #16 — 25,472 (- 5.1%)
02/2009: Booster Gold #17 — 24,732 (- 2.9%)
03/2009: Booster Gold #18 — 23,737 (- 4.0%)
04/2009: Booster Gold #19 — 23,203 (- 2.3%)
05/2009: Booster Gold #20 — 22,549 (- 2.8%)
06/2009: Booster Gold #21 — 23,222 (+ 3.0%)
07/2009: Booster Gold #22 — 22,414 (- 3.5%)
08/2009: Booster Gold #23 — 22,108 (- 1.4%)
09/2009: Booster Gold #24 — 21,731 (- 1.7%)
10/2009: Booster Gold #25 — 21,597 (- 0.6%)
—————-
6 months: - 6.9%
1 year : -27.8%
2 years : -45.2%Booster Gold sales have stabilized over the last few months.

—–

100 - THE OUTSIDERS
10/2004: Outsiders #17 — 41,814
10/2005: Outsiders #29 — 47,611
10/2006: Outsiders #41 — 36,672
10/2007: –
——————————–
10/2008: Batsiders #12 — 46,649 (- 6.6%)
11/2008: Batsiders #13 — 42,939 (- 8.0%)
12/2008: Batsiders #14 — 32,163 (-25.1%)
01/2009: –
02/2009: Special #1 — 35,727 (+11.1%)
02/2009: Outsiders #15 — 30,024 (-16.0%)
03/2009: Outsiders #16 — 27,977 (- 6.8%)
04/2009: Outsiders #17 — 27,171 (- 2.9%)
05/2009: Outsiders #18 — 25,995 (- 4.3%)
06/2009: Outsiders #19 — 27,485 (+ 5.7%)
07/2009: Outsiders #20 — 24,323 (-11.5%)
08/2009: Outsiders #21 — 23,856 (- 1.9%)
09/2009: Outsiders #22 — 22,775 (- 4.5%)
10/2009: Outsiders #23 — 21,413 (- 6.0%)
—————-
6 months: -21.2%
1 year : -54.1%
2 years : n.a.
5 years : -48.8%The Outsiders is crashing and burning.

—–

102 - FABLES (Vertigo)
10/2004: Fables #30 — 25,390
10/2005: Fables #42 — 24,953
10/2006: Fables #54 — 25,534
10/2007: Fables #66 — 25,016
—————————–
10/2008: Fables #77 — 23,761 (-0.6%)
11/2008: Fables #78 — 23,345 (-1.8%)
12/2008: Fables #79 — 22,769 (-2.5%)
01/2009: Fables #80 — 22,617 (-0.7%)
02/2009: Fables #81 — 22,517 (-0.4%)
03/2009: Fables #82 — 22,445 (-0.3%)
04/2009: Fables #83 — 23,630 (+5.3%)
05/2009: Fables #84 — 23,634 (+0.0%)
06/2009: Fables #85 — 23,439 (-0.8%)
07/2009: Fables #86 — 22,447 (-4.2%)
08/2009: Fables #87 — 21,876 (-2.5%)
09/2009: Fables #88 — 21,508 (-1.7%)
10/2009: Fables #89 — 21,118 (-1.8%)
—————-
6 months: -10.6%
1 year : -11.1%
2 years : -15.6%
5 years : -16.8%Vertigo’s flagship periodical has seen better times than the last few months, certainly, but remains miles ahead of the rest of the line.

—–

108 - DOOM PATROL
10/2004: Doom Patrol #5 — 23,915
10/2005: Doom Patrol #17 — 14,114
———————————-
08/2009: Doom Patrol #1 — 28,267
09/2009: Doom Patrol #2 — 22,001 (-22.2%)
10/2009: Doom Patrol #3 — 20,036 (- 8.9%)
—————-
5 years : -16.2%That’s an unenthusiastic greeting for the new Doom Patrol series.

—–

109 - JSA VS. KOBRA
06/2009: JSA Vs. Kobra #1 of 6 — 32,237
07/2009: JSA Vs. Kobra #2 of 6 — 25,591 (-20.6%)
08/2009: JSA Vs. Kobra #3 of 6 — 22,806 (-10.9%)
09/2009: JSA Vs. Kobra #4 of 6 — 21,107 (- 7.5%)
10/2009: JSA Vs. Kobra #5 of 6 — 19,828 (- 6.1%)There’s not much breathing space for Justice Society spin-offs right now.

—–

118 - GREEN ARROW & BLACK CANARY
10/2004: Green Arrow #43 — 32,133
10/2005: Green Arrow #55 — 32,804
10/2006: Green Arrow #67 — 32,583
10/2007: Year One #6 of 6 — 30,943
10/2007: Arrow/Canary #1 — 52,183
———————————–
10/2008: Arrow/Canary #13 — 26,890 (- 3.6%)
11/2008: Arrow/Canary #14 — 25,599 (- 4.8%)
12/2008: Arrow/Canary #15 — 24,526 (- 4.2%)
01/2009: Arrow/Canary #16 — 24,419 (- 0.4%)
02/2009: Arrow/Canary #17 — 23,392 (- 4.2%)
03/2009: Arrow/Canary #18 — 22,699 (- 3.0%)
04/2009: Arrow/Canary #19 — 21,933 (- 3.4%)
05/2009: Arrow/Canary #20 — 21,445 (- 2.2%)
06/2009: Arrow/Canary #21 — 20,807 (- 3.0%)
07/2009: Arrow&Canary #22 — 20,571 (- 1.1%)
08/2009: Arrow&Canary #23 — 19,452 (- 5.4%)
09/2009: Arrow&Canary #24 — 18,780 (- 3.5%)
10/2009: Arrow&Canary #25 — 18,013 (- 4.1%)
—————-
6 months: -17.9%
1 year : -33.0%
2 years : -56.7%
5 years : -43.9%I’m wondering how much farther sales can plummet before DC pulls the plug. In February, Green Arrow & Black Canary will be given a temporary name change and be drafted into “Blackest Night.”

No doubt that’s going to result in a dramatic sales spike — but unless a good amount of those additional sales stick around after the crossover, I wouldn’t count on the book being around this time next year.

—–

119/121 - BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL
10/2007: Batman Confidential #10 — 28,724
——————————————
10/2008: Batman Confidential #22 — 24,281 (- 1.0%)
11/2008: Batman Confidential #23 — 22,909 (- 5.7%)
12/2008: Batman Confidential #24 — 21,470 (- 6.3%)
01/2009: Batman Confidential #25 — 20,517 (- 4.4%)
02/2009: Batman Confidential #26 — 20,134 (- 1.9%)
03/2009: Batman Confidential #27 — 19,934 (- 1.0%)
04/2009: Batman Confidential #28 — 19,540 (- 2.0%)
05/2009: Batman Confidential #29 — 18,867 (- 3.4%)
06/2009: Batman Confidential #30 — 18,443 (- 2.3%)
07/2009: Batman Confidential #31 — 19,225 (+ 4.2%)
08/2009: Batman Confidential #32 — 18,545 (- 3.5%)
09/2009: Batman Confidential #33 — 18,140 (- 2.2%)
10/2009: Batman Confidential #34 — 17,097 (- 5.8%)
10/2009: Batman Confidential #35 — 16,724 (- 2.2%)
—————-
6 months: -13.5%
1 year : -30.4%
2 years : -41.1%As we know by now, DC’s way of dealing with lack of demand for their comics is to produce more of them. Hence, there will be two issues of Batman Confidential every month from October through December.

—–

124 - MAGOG
09/2009: Magog #1 — 26,352
10/2009: Magog #2 — 16,193 (-38.6%)This is an apocalyptic second-issue drop, frankly.

The first issue was promoted with a 1-for-10 variant, granted, but that doesn’t begin to explain a 40% crash. Unless the October number is a glitch, Magog is in deep trouble.

—–

127 - THE UNWRITTEN (Vertigo)
05/2009: The Unwritten #1 — 26,915 [31,081]
06/2009: The Unwritten #2 — 16,290 (-39.5%)
07/2009: The Unwritten #3 — 17,028 (+ 4.5%)
08/2009: The Unwritten #4 — 16,336 (- 4.1%)
09/2009: The Unwritten #5 — 16,011 (- 2.0%)
10/2009: The Unwritten #6 — 15,314 (- 4.4%)The Unwritten hasn’t quite found its level yet. In this case, though, the 40% drop is due to the fact that the debut issue only cost a dollar, which is a rather good excuse. So far, it seems the stunt may have paid off.

—–

128 - DCU HALLOWEEN SPECIAL
10/2009: DCU Halloween Special 2009 #1 — 15,251Perfectly good sales for this type of book.

—–

133 - RED TORNADO
09/2009: Red Tornado #1 of 6 — 20,551
10/2009: Red Tornado #2 of 6 — 14,383 (-30.0%)There are no variant-cover editions for this book, in case you were wondering. A 30% drop is beyond abysmal for a miniseries.

—–

139 - ASTRO CITY: ASTRA SPECIAL (WildStorm)
06/2005: The Dark Age/Book 1 #1 of 4 — 32,690
07/2005: The Dark Age/Book 1 #2 of 4 — 29,721
08/2005: The Dark Age/Book 1 #3 of 4 — 28,152
10/2005: The Dark Age/Book 1 #4 of 4 — 27,367
———————————————–
11/2006: The Dark Age/Book 2 #1 of 4 — 26,993
02/2007: The Dark Age/Book 2 #2 of 4 — 23,412
04/2007: The Dark Age/Book 2 #3 of 4 — 22,727
09/2007: The Dark Age/Book 2 #4 of 4 — 19,764
———————————————–
05/2009: The Dark Age/Book 3 #1 of 4 — 18,281 (- 7.5%)
06/2009: The Dark Age/Book 3 #2 of 4 — 16,405 (-10.3%)
07/2009: The Dark Age/Book 3 #3 of 4 — 15,291 (- 6.8%)
08/2009: The Dark Age/Book 3 #4 of 4 — 14,684 (- 4.0%)
09/2009: Astra Special #1 of 2 — 14,627 (- 0.4%)
10/2009: Astra Special #2 of 2 — 13,847 (- 5.3%)
—————-
2 years : n.a.This is a pleasant surprise, actually. I expected a steeper second-issue drop, to be honest. These numbers still aren’t particularly enticing, mind you, but they could have been worse.

—–

144 - JACK OF FABLES (Vertigo)
10/2006: Jack of Fables #4 — 21,614
10/2007: Jack of Fables #15 — 18,329
10/2007: Jack of Fables #16 — 17,743
————————————-
10/2008: Jack of Fables #27 — 15,092 (- 2.5%)
11/2008: Jack of Fables #28 — 14,528 (- 3.7%)
12/2008: Jack of Fables #29 — 14,151 (- 2.6%)
01/2009: Jack of Fables #30 — 13,746 (- 2.9%)
02/2009: Jack of Fables #31 — 13,586 (- 1.2%)
03/2009: Jack of Fables #32 — 13,595 (+ 0.1%)
04/2009: Jack of Fables #33 — 19,242 (+41.5%)
05/2009: Jack of Fables #34 — 19,420 (+ 0.9%)
06/2009: Jack of Fables #35 — 19,571 (+ 0.8%)
07/2009: Jack of Fables #36 — 15,256 (-22.1%)
08/2009: Jack of Fables #37 — 14,508 (- 4.9%)
09/2009: Jack of Fables #38 — 13,790 (- 5.0%)
10/2009: Jack of Fables #39 — 13,161 (- 4.6%)
—————-
6 months: -31.6%
1 year : -12.8%
2 years : -27.0%Jack of Fables sales are pretty much where they were before “The Big Fables Crossover” now, so the stiff drops of the last three issues are misleading.

Meanwhile, the sixth collection shipped in October, with perfectly steady first-month sales in the direct market:

02/2007: Vol. 1 -- 6,046
10/2007: Vol. 2 -- 5,521
06/2008: Vol. 3 -- 5,337
12/2008: Vol. 4 -- 5,365
03/2009: Vol. 5 -- 4,976
10/2009: Vol. 6 -- 5,268It’s always worth pointing out that first-month direct-market sales are not an indicator of total sales outside or inside the direct market.

That said, they do show that the first-month demand among direct-market retailers has been stable between 5,000 and 5,500 units since the second volume. Which, if history is anything to go by, is a relatively good number. On the other hand, there hasn’t been any growth, either, of course.

—–

147 - EX MACHINA (WildStorm)
10/2004: Ex Machina #5 — 24,124
10/2005: Ex Machina #15 — 21,748
10/2006: –
10/2007: Ex Machina #31 — 16,772
———————————
10/2008: –
11/2008: Ex Machina #39 — 14,194 (- 5.2%)
12/2008: Ex Machina #40 — 14,067 (- 0.9%)
01/2009: –
02/2009: –
03/2009: –
04/2009: Ex Machina #41 — 13,526 (- 3.9%)
05/2009: Ex Machina #42 — 13,403 (- 0.9%)
06/2009: Ex Machina #43 — 13,204 (- 1.5%)
07/2009: –
08/2009: Ex Machina #44 — 12,796 (- 3.1%)
09/2009: Ex Machina #45 — 12,832 (+ 0.3%)
10/2009: Ex Machina #46 — 12,538 (- 2.3%)
—————-
6 months: - 7.3%
1 year : n.a.
2 years : -25.2%
5 years : -48.0%Ex Machina is set to pass the finish line next year, and it looks like it’s going to get there with sales well above 10K.

—–

154 - SWEET TOOTH (Vertigo)
09/2009: Sweet Tooth #1 — 18,657
10/2009: Sweet Tooth #2 — 11,315 (-39.4%)The second-issue drop for Sweet Tooth is in the same ball park as the other two recent Vertigo titles launched with $ 1.00 debut issues, but it also remains the lowest-selling of the bunch.

—–

155 - FINAL CRISIS AFTERMATH: RUN
05/2009: Run #1 of 6 — 29,065
06/2009: Run #2 of 6 — 21,429 (-26.3%)
07/2009: Run #3 of 6 — 16,212 (-24.4%)
08/2009: Run #4 of 6 — 13,738 (-15.3%)
09/2009: Run #5 of 6 — 12,406 (- 9.7%)
10/2009: Run #6 of 6 — 11,304 (- 8.9%)The four Final Crisis Aftermath books finally stumble over the finish line. Not all of them managed to crack the 10K mark with their last issue.

—–

157 - R.E.B.E.L.S.
02/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #1 — 23,739
03/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #2 — 16,122 (-32.1%)
04/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #3 — 14,442 (-10.4%)
05/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #4 — 13,468 (- 6.7%)
06/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #5 — 12,909 (- 4.2%)
07/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #6 — 12,349 (- 4.3%)
08/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #7 — 11,682 (- 5.4%)
09/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #8 — 11,347 (- 2.9%)
10/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #9 — 11,284 (- 0.6%)
—————-
6 months: -21.9%It looks like sales have bottomed out. As I’m reading the solicitation copy for the February issue, I calculate a 4.3% chance of R.E.B.E.L.S. being around past issue #14.

—–

159 - JONAH HEX
10/2006: Jonah Hex #12 — 18,299
10/2007: Jonah Hex #24 — 14,749
——————————–
10/2008: Jonah Hex #36 — 12,629 (- 4.6%)
11/2008: Jonah Hex #37 — 12,537 (- 0.7%)
12/2008: Jonah Hex #38 — 12,132 (- 3.2%)
01/2009: Jonah Hex #39 — 11,705 (- 3.5%)
02/2009: Jonah Hex #40 — 11,631 (- 0.6%)
03/2009: Jonah Hex #41 — 11,564 (- 0.6%)
04/2009: Jonah Hex #42 — 11,551 (- 0.1%)
05/2009: Jonah Hex #43 — 11,606 (+ 0.5%)
06/2009: Jonah Hex #44 — 11,592 (- 0.1%)
07/2009: Jonah Hex #45 — 12,588 (+ 8.6%)
08/2009: Jonah Hex #46 — 12,466 (- 1.0%)
09/2009: Jonah Hex #47 — 12,231 (- 1.9%)
10/2009: Jonah Hex #48 — 11,281 (- 7.8%)
—————-
6 months: - 2.3%
1 year : -10.7%
2 years : -23.5%The sudden and mysterious 1,000-unit increase from July disappears again. Maybe some Jonah Hex fans had a few thousand dollars to spare.

—–

160 - THE LAST DAYS OF ANIMAL MAN
05/2009: TLDoAM #1 of 6 — 18,976
06/2009: TLDoAM #2 of 6 — 14,469 (-23.8%)
07/2009: TLDoAM #3 of 6 — 12,998 (-10.2%)
08/2009: TLDoAM #4 of 6 — 12,510 (- 3.8%)
09/2009: TLDoAM #5 of 6 — 11,791 (- 5.8%)
10/2009: TLDoAM #6 of 6 — 11,271 (- 4.4%)Another DC Universe miniseries concludes with terrible sales.

—–

164 - HOUSE OF MYSTERY HALLOWEEN ANNUAL (Vertigo)
10/2009: HoM Halloween Annual #1 — 11,134165 - HOUSE OF MYSTERY (Vertigo)
10/2008: House of Mystery #6 — 15,934 (- 4.7%)
11/2008: House of Mystery #7 — 15,120 (- 5.1%)
12/2008: House of Mystery #8 — 14,273 (- 5.6%)
01/2009: House of Mystery #9 — 13,739 (- 3.7%)
02/2009: House of Mystery #10 — 13,098 (- 4.7%)
03/2009: House of Mystery #11 — 12,785 (- 2.4%)
04/2009: House of Mystery #12 — 12,636 (- 1.2%)
05/2009: House of Mystery #13 — 14,358 (+13.6%)
06/2009: House of Mystery #14 — 12,039 (-16.2%)
07/2009: House of Mystery #15 — 11,809 (- 1.9%)
08/2009: House of Mystery #16 — 11,572 (- 2.0%)
09/2009: House of Mystery #17 — 11,142 (- 3.7%)
10/2009: House of Mystery #18 — 10,922 (- 2.0%)
—————-
6 months: -13.6%
1 year : -31.5%House of Mystery continues a slow decline. The Halloween Annual collects a bunch of short stories starring various Vertigo properties; it’s a relaunch of Vertigo Winter Special, basically.

For $ 4.99, these aren’t bad sales.

—–

168 - R.E.B.E.L.S. ANNUAL: STARRO THE CONQUEROR
10/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. Annual #1 — 10,773You know the drill: R.E.B.E.L.S. doesn’t sell, so DC thought it was imperative to make an Annual.

That said, given these numbers, maybe it’d be worth a shot to continue R.E.B.E.L.S. as a series of Annuals.

—–

169 - HELLBLAZER (Vertigo)
10/2004: Hellblazer #201 — 15,262
10/2005: Hellblazer #213 — 14,688
10/2006: Hellblazer #225 — 13,629
10/2007: Hellblazer #237 — 12,703
———————————-
10/2008: Hellblazer #248 — 11,600 (-2.1%)
11/2008: Hellblazer #249 — 11,445 (-1.3%)
12/2008: Hellblazer #250 — 12,478 (+9.0%)
01/2009: Hellblazer #251 — 11,290 (-9.5%)
02/2009: Hellblazer #252 — 11,174 (-1.0%)
03/2009: Hellblazer #253 — 11,132 (-0.4%)
04/2009: Hellblazer #254 — 11,053 (-0.7%)
05/2009: Hellblazer #255 — 10,937 (-1.1%)
06/2009: Hellblazer #256 — 10,898 (-0.4%)
07/2009: Hellblazer #257 — 10,762 (-1.3%)
08/2009: Hellblazer #258 — 10,665 (-0.9%)
09/2009: Hellblazer #259 — 10,813 (+1.4%)
10/2009: Hellblazer #260 — 10,767 (-0.4%)
—————-
6 months: - 2.6%
1 year : - 7.2%
2 years : -15.2%
5 years : -29.5%Hellblazer is still clinging to the 11K mark. Sales have been thoroughly stable throughout the past twelve months.

—–

171 - FREDDY VS. JASON VS. ASH: NIGHTMARE WARRIORS (WildStorm)
11/2007: Freddy/Jason/Ash #1 of 6 — 23,306 [27,515]
11/2007: Freddy/Jason/Ash #2 of 6 — 15,291
12/2007: Freddy/Jason/Ash #3 of 6 — 15,348
01/2008: Freddy/Jason/Ash #4 of 6 — 17,170
02/2008: Freddy/Jason/Ash #5 of 6 — 17,120
03/2008: Freddy/Jason/Ash #6 of 6 — 17,096
———————————————
06/2009: Nightmare Warriors #1 of 6 — 21,395
07/2009: Nightmare Warriors #2 of 6 — 13,938 (-34.9%)
08/2009: –
09/2009: Nightmare Warriors #3 of 6 — 12,179 (-12.6%)
09/2009: Nightmare Warriors #4 of 6 — 11,388 (- 6.5%)
10/2009: Nightmare Warriors #5 of 6 — 10,603 (- 6.9%)Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash is the highest-selling licensed property in the direct market, currently.

—–

184 - FINAL CRISIS AFTERMATH: ESCAPE
05/2009: Escape #1 of 6 — 28,668
06/2009: Escape #2 of 6 — 20,576 (-29.2%)
07/2009: Escape #3 of 6 — 15,294 (-25.7%)
08/2009: Escape #4 of 6 — 12,950 (-15.3%)
09/2009: Escape #5 of 6 — 11,613 (-10.3%)
10/2009: Escape #6 of 6 — 10,519 (- 9.4%)The second Final Crisis Aftermath mini on the chart.

—–

176 - WORLD OF WARCRAFT (WildStorm)
10/2008: World of WarCraft #12 — 18,200 (- 5.9%)
11/2008: World of WarCraft #13 — 17,017 (- 6.5%)
12/2008: World of WarCraft #14 — 16,058 (- 5.6%)
01/2009: World of WarCraft #15 — 14,996 (- 6.6%)
02/2009: World of WarCraft #16 — 14,177 (- 5.5%)
03/2009: World of WarCraft #17 — 13,614 (- 4.0%)
04/2009: World of WarCraft #18 — 13,110 (- 3.7%)
05/2009: World of WarCraft #19 — 12,536 (- 4.4%)
06/2009: World of WarCraft #20 — 12,274 (- 2.1%)
07/2009: World of WarCraft #21 — 12,656 (+ 3.1%)
08/2009: World of WarCraft #22 — 12,131 (- 4.2%)
09/2009: World of WarCraft #23 — 11,959 (- 1.4%)
10/2009: World of WarCraft #24 — 10,442 (-12.7%)
—————-
6 months: -20.4%
1 year : -42.6%That’s a terrible drop.

After issue #25, there will be a one-shot instead of a regular issue, and then the book continues with a colon in the title, evidently.

I doubt whether a colon will do much for sales, personally, but maybe the often-cited (though never substantiated) sales in video-game stores stand to gain more from the addition of colons, as a matter of principle, than the crowd in the direct-market, whose comics titles are more: frequently: perforated: by colons.

—–

174 - THE SHIELD
08/2009: RC: Shield #1 — 19,088
09/2009: The Shield #1 — 16,997 (-11.0%)
10/2009: The Shield #2 — 10,401 (-38.8%)Half the sales of the Straczynski one-shot are gone already. The two Red Circle series are pretty much D.O.A., from the look of it.

—–

.

182 - AMBUSH BUG: YEAR NONE
10/2008: –
11/2008: Ambush Bug: Year None #4 of 6 — 11,972 (-11.2%)
12/2008: Ambush Bug: Year None #5 of 6 — 11,422 (- 4.6%)
01/2009:–
01/2009:–
01/2009:–
01/2009:–
01/2009:–
01/2009:–
01/2009:–
01/2009:–
01/2009:–
12/2008: Ambush Bug: Year None #7 of 6 — 10,000 (-12.5%)
—————-
6 months: n.a.
1 year : n.a.It seems 2009 will enter comic-book history as the year when sequential numbering finally went out of style.

—–

184 - FINAL CRISIS AFTERMATH: DANCE
05/2009: Dance #1 of 6 — 27,491
06/2009: Dance #2 of 6 — 19,420 (-29.4%)
07/2009: Dance #3 of 6 — 14,505 (-25.3%)
08/2009: Dance #4 of 6 — 12,294 (-15.2%)
09/2009: Dance #5 of 6 — 10,909 (-11.3%)
10/2009: Dance #6 of 6 — 9,995 (- 8.4%)The third Final Crisis Aftermath book.

—–

185 - WARLORD
10/2006: Warlord #9 — 11,244
——————————
04/2009: Warlord #1 — 17,540
05/2009: Warlord #2 — 13,390 (-23.7%)
06/2009: Warlord #3 — 12,283 (- 8.3%)
07/2009: Warlord #4 — 11,445 (- 6.8%)
08/2009: Warlord #5 — 10,790 (- 5.7%)
09/2009: Warlord #6 — 10,331 (- 4.3%)
10/2009: Warlord #7 — 9,892 (- 4.3%)
—————-
6 months: -43.6%Completely off the map.

—–

187 - STRANGE ADVENTURES
03/2009: Strange Adventures #1 of 8 — 22,820
04/2009: Strange Adventures #2 of 8 — 14,499 (-36.5%)
05/2009: Strange Adventures #3 of 8 — 12,515 (-13.7%)
06/2009: Strange Adventures #4 of 8 — 11,441 (- 8.6%)
07/2009: Strange Adventures #5 of 8 — 10,758 (- 6.0%)
08/2009: Strange Adventures #6 of 8 — 10,316 (- 4.1%)
09/2009: Strange Adventures #7 of 8 — 10,068 (- 2.4%)
10/2009: Strange Adventures #8 of 8 — 9,772 (- 2.9%)
—————-
6 months: -32.6%Don’t expect another Jim Starlin book starring heroes in space from DC for a while.

—–

188 - FINAL CRISIS AFTERMATH: INK
05/2009: Ink #1 of 6 — 25,479
06/2009: Ink #2 of 6 — 17,964 (-29.5%)
07/2009: Ink #3 of 6 — 13,643 (-24.1%)
08/2009: Ink #4 of 6 — 11,837 (-13.2%)
09/2009: Ink #5 of 6 — 10,572 (-10.7%)
10/2009: Ink #6 of 6 — 9,720 (- 8.1%)The final Final Crisis Aftermath finale, finally.

—–

191 - THE WEB
08/2009: RC: Web #1 — 19,535
09/2009: The Web #1 — 15,507 (-20.6%)
10/2009: The Web #2 — 9,421 (-39.3%)Bizarrely, the series gets a new, cough, ongoing writer with issue #6. Not to be unduly pessimistic, but right now, even the prospect of making it to #10 looks like a daunting enterprise for the two Red Circle titles. What’s the point?

—–

192 - MADAME XANADU (Vertigo)
10/2008: Madame Xanadu #5 — 11,392 (- 7.6%)
11/2008: Madame Xanadu #6 — 12,340 (+ 8.3%)
12/2008: Madame Xanadu #7 — 10,272 (-16.8%)
01/2009: –
02/2009: Madame Xanadu #8 — 9,932 (- 3.3%)
03/2009: Madame Xanadu #9 — 9,798 (- 1.4%)
04/2009: Madame Xanadu #10 — 9,664 (- 1.4%)
05/2009: Madame Xanadu #11 — 10,179 (+ 5.3%)
06/2009: Madame Xanadu #12 — 9,949 (- 2.3%)
07/2009: Madame Xanadu #13 — 10,009 (+ 0.6%)
08/2009: Madame Xanadu #14 — 9,873 (- 1.4%)
09/2009: Madame Xanadu #15 — 9,733 (- 1.4%)
10/2009: Madame Xanadu #16 — 9,283 (- 4.6%)
—————-
6 months: - 3.9%
1 year : -18.5%The numbers keep slowly declining.

—–

193 - GREEK STREET (Vertigo)
07/2009: Greek Street #1 — 20,422
08/2009: Greek Street #2 — 11,996 (-41.3%)
09/2009: Greek Street #3 — 10,628 (-11.4%)
10/2009: Greek Street #4 — 9,246 (-13.0%)Things don’t look good for Greek Street.

—–

195 - BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE
10/2009: Killing Joke (New Printing) — 9,131This would be more at home on the “Graphic Novel” chart, surely, particularly since it would have been the top-selling book for October. Right now, the No. 1 title is the Wolverine: Old Man Logan hardcover edition, which managed an estimated 7,347 units.

—–

205 - NORTHLANDERS (Vertigo)
10/2008: Northlanders #11 — 10,353 (- 3.6%)
11/2008: Northlanders #12 — 10,048 (- 3.0%)
12/2008: Northlanders #13 — 9,777 (- 2.7%)
01/2009: Northlanders #14 — 9,467 (- 3.2%)
02/2009: –
03/2009: Northlanders #15 — 9,443 (- 0.2%)
04/2009: Northlanders #16 — 9,323 (- 1.3%)
05/2009: Northlanders #17 — 9,239 (- 0.9%)
06/2009: Northlanders #18 — 8,877 (- 3.9%)
07/2009: Northlanders #19 — 8,722 (- 1.8%)
08/2009: –
09/2009: Northlanders #20 — 8,786 (+ 0.7%)
10/2009: Northlanders #21 — 8,360 (- 4.9%)
—————-
6 months: -10.3%
1 year : -19.3%The fluctuations of the last few issues are down to the shipping week: Northlanders #19 was released in the last week of July, issue #20 shipped in the first week of September (a calendar month with five Wednesdays) and issue #21 came out in the last week of October.

The resulting ups and downs nicely illustrate of one of the minor flaws of the Diamond system, but also serve to show the remarkable sensitivity of these numbers.

—–

209 - TINY TITANS (Johnny DC)
10/2008: Tiny Titans #9 — 9,521 (- 2.8%)
11/2008: Tiny Titans #10 — 9,239 (- 3.0%)
12/2008: Tiny Titans #11 — 9,085 (- 1.7%)
01/2009: Tiny Titans #12 — 8,733 (- 3.9%)
02/2009: Tiny Titans #13 — 8,710 (- 0.3%)
03/2009: Tiny Titans #14 — 8,736 (+ 0.3%)
04/2009: Tiny Titans #15 — 9,207 (+ 5.4%)
05/2009: Tiny Titans #16 — 8,844 (- 3.9%)
06/2009: Tiny Titans #17 — 8,640 (- 2.3%)
07/2009: Tiny Titans #18 — 8,576 (- 0.7%)
08/2009: Tiny Titans #19 — 8,432 (- 1.7%)
09/2009: Tiny Titans #20 — 8,435 (+ 0.0%)
10/2009: Tiny Titans #21 — 8,259 (- 2.1%)
—————-
6 months: -10.3%
1 year : -13.3%A Johnny DC book, see small print.

—–

210 - THE AUTHORITY (WildStorm)
10/2004: Revolution #1 of 12 — 26,572
10/2005: Revolution #12 of 12 — 18,256
10/2006: The Authority v3 #1 — 58,136
10/2007: Prime #1 of 6 — 21,992
—————————————
10/2008: The Authority v4 #3 — 13,408 (- 6.4%)
11/2008: The Authority v4 #4 — 12,450 (- 7.2%)
12/2008: The Authority v4 #5 — 11,534 (- 7.4%)
01/2009: The Authority v4 #6 — 10,673 (- 7.5%)
02/2009: The Authority v4 #7 — 10,553 (- 1.1%)
03/2009: The Authority v4 #8 — 9,990 (- 5.3%)
04/2009: The Authority v4 #9 — 9,748 (- 2.4%)
05/2009: The Authority v4 #10 — 9,531 (- 2.2%)
06/2009: The Authority v4 #11 — 9,204 (- 3.4%)
07/2009: The Authority v4 #12 — 8,918 (- 3.1%)
08/2009: The Authority v4 #13 — 8,648 (- 3.0%)
09/2009: The Authority v4 #14 — 8,394 (- 2.9%)
10/2009: The Authority v4 #15 — 8,174 (- 2.6%)
—————-
6 months: -16.2%
1 year : -39.0%
2 years : -62.8%
5 years : -69.2%Heading for a creative-team change, for all the good that will do.

—–

223 - DMZ (Vertigo)
10/2006: DMZ #12 — 14,640
10/2007: DMZ #24 — 11,583
————————–
10/2008: DMZ #35 — 9,240 (-3.4%)
11/2008: DMZ #36 — 8,851 (-4.2%)
12/2008: DMZ #37 — 8,823 (-0.3%)
01/2009: DMZ #38 — 8,457 (-4.2%)
02/2009: DMZ #39 — 8,353 (-1.2%)
03/2009: DMZ #40 — 8,167 (-2.2%)
04/2009: DMZ #41 — 8,061 (-1.3%)
05/2009: —
06/2009: DMZ #42 — 7,927 (-1.7%)
07/2009: DMZ #43 — 7,806 (-1.5%)
08/2009: DMZ #44 — 7,654 (-2.0%)
09/2009: DMZ #45 — 7,589 (-0.9%)
10/2009: DMZ #46 — 7,399 (-2.5%)
—————-
6 months: - 8.2%
1 year : -19.9%
2 years : -36.1%Business as usual.

—–

231 - VIGILANTE
12/2008: Vigilante #1 — 18,236
01/2009: Vigilante #2 — 13,855 (-24.0%)
02/2009: Vigilante #3 — 11,264 (-18.7%)
03/2009: Vigilante #4 — 11,125 (- 1.2%)
04/2009: Vigilante #5 — 21,290 (+91.4%)
05/2009: Vigilante #6 — 18,677 (-12.3%)
06/2009: Vigilante #7 — 11,483 (-38.5%)
07/2009: Vigilante #8 — 9,942 (-13.4%)
08/2009: Vigilante #9 — 8,387 (-15.6%)
09/2009: Vigilante #10 — 7,856 (- 6.3%)
10/2009: Vigilante #11 — 6,971 (-11.3%)
—————-
6 months: -67.3%Canceled with issue #12.

—–

232 - SCALPED (Vertigo)
10/2007: Scalped #10 — 7,536
——————————
10/2008: Scalped #22 — 6,964 (- 0.9%)
11/2008: Scalped #23 — 6,910 (- 0.8%)
12/2008: Scalped #24 — 6,777 (- 1.9%)
01/2009: –
02/2009: Scalped #25 — 6,887 (+ 1.6%)
03/2009: Scalped #26 — 6,866 (- 0.3%)
04/2009: Scalped #27 — 6,950 (+ 1.2%)
04/2009: Scalped #28 — 6,860 (- 1.3%)
05/2009: –
06/2009: Scalped #29 — 7,078 (+ 3.2%)
07/2009: Scalped #30 — 7,059 (- 0.3%)
08/2009: Scalped #31 — 6,916 (- 2.0%)
09/2009: –
10/2009: Scalped #32 — 6,905 (- 0.2%)
—————-
6 months: 0.0%
1 year : - 0.9%
2 years : - 8.4%Periodical sales of Scalped are holding level at around 7K, which they’ve done for the better part of two years now.

First-month direct-market numbers of Scalped collections show a slight uptick in October, meanwhile:

08/2007: Vol. 1 -- 3,502
02/2008: Vol. 2 -- 3,022
10/2008: Vol. 3 -- 3,524
04/2009: Vol. 4 -- 3,337
10/2009: Vol. 5 -- 3,719Considering that Vertigo series with consistent first-month collection sales of 3,300 and periodical sales similar to those of Scalped have been canceled in the past, the increase is good news.

—–

233 - WILDCATS (WildStorm)
10/2005: Nemesis #2 of 9 — 16,829
10/2006: Wildcats #1 — 82,528
10/2007: –
———————————-
10/2008: World’s End #4 — 12,431 (- 8.3%)
11/2008: World’s End #5 — 11,280 (- 9.3%)
12/2008: World’s End #6 — 10,450 (- 7.4%)
01/2009: World’s End #7 — 9,539 (- 8.7%)
02/2009: World’s End #8 — 9,040 (- 5.2%)
03/2009: World’s End #9 — 8,758 (- 3.1%)
04/2009: World’s End #10 — 8,460 (- 3.4%)
05/2009: World’s End #11 — 8,165 (- 3.5%)
06/2009: World’s End #12 — 7,863 (- 3.7%)
07/2009: World’s End #13 — 7,609 (- 3.2%)
08/2009: World’s End #14 — 7,417 (- 2.5%)
09/2009: World’s End #15 — 7,178 (- 3.2%)
10/2009: World’s End #16 — 6,883 (- 4.1%)
—————-
6 months: -18.6%
1 year : -44.6%Another WildStorm Universe title heading for lord knows where.

—–

235 - BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD (Johnny DC)
10/2004: Batman Strikes! #2 — 16,941
10/2005: Batman Strikes! #14 — 8,950
10/2006: Batman Strikes! #26 — 7,560
10/2007: Batman Strikes! #38 — 6,664
—————————————-
10/2008: Batman Strikes! #50 — 6,413 (+ 0.4%)
11/2008: –
12/2008: –
01/2009: Brave & Bold #1 — 13,935 (+117.3%)
02/2009: Brave & Bold #2 — 8,678 (- 37.7%)
03/2009: Brave & Bold #3 — 8,184 (- 5.7%)
04/2009: Brave & Bold #4 — 8,381 (+ 2.4%)
05/2009: Brave & Bold #5 — 7,994 (- 4.6%)
06/2009: Brave & Bold #6 — 7,614 (- 4.8%)
07/2009: Brave & Bold #7 — 7,441 (- 2.3%)
08/2009: Brave & Bold #8 — 7,153 (- 3.9%)
09/2009: Brave & Bold #9 — 7,064 (- 1.2%)
10/2009: Brave & Bold #10 — 6,646 (- 5.9%)
—————-
6 months: -20.7%
1 year : + 3.6%
2 years : - 0.3%
5 years : -60.8%A Johnny DC title. See small print.

—–

236 - UNKNOWN SOLDIER (Vertigo)
10/2008: Unknown Soldier #1 — 16,038
11/2008: Unknown Soldier #2 — 10,553 (-34.2%)
12/2008: Unknown Soldier #3 — 9,926 (- 5.9%)
01/2009: Unknown Soldier #4 — 8,711 (-12.2%)
02/2009: Unknown Soldier #5 — 8,348 (- 4.2%)
03/2009: Unknown Soldier #6 — 8,177 (- 2.1%)
04/2009: Unknown Soldier #7 — 8,631 (+ 5.6%)
05/2009: Unknown Soldier #8 — 7,705 (-10.7%)
06/2009: Unknown Soldier #9 — 7,586 (- 1.6%)
07/2009: Unknown Soldier #10 — 7,256 (- 4.4%)
08/2009: Unknown Soldier #11 — 7,070 (- 2.6%)
09/2009: Unknown Soldier #12 — 6,865 (- 2.9%)
10/2009: Unknown Soldier #13 — 6,636 (- 3.3%)
—————-
6 months: -23.1%
1 year : -58.6%242 - AIR (Vertigo)
10/2008: Air #3 — 10,061 (- 8.3%)
11/2008: Air #4 — 8,913 (-11.4%)
12/2008: Air #5 — 8,412 (- 5.6%)
01/2009: Air #6 — 7,607 (- 9.6%)
02/2009: –
03/2009: Air #7 — 10,290 (+35.3%)
04/2009: Air #8 — 7,216 (-29.9%)
05/2009: Air #9 — 7,115 (- 1.4%)
06/2009: Air #10 — 6,954 (- 2.3%)
07/2009: Air #11 — 6,793 (- 2.3%)
08/2009: Air #12 — 6,589 (- 3.0%)
09/2009: Air #13 — 6,476 (- 1.7%)
10/2009: Air #14 — 6,156 (- 4.9%)
—————-
6 months: -14.7%
1 year : -38.8%The second Air collection shipped in October, and its sales give no indication that the book is doing better than the periodical numbers would suggest:

03/2009: Vol. 1 -- 3,195
10/2009: Vol. 2 -- 2,816Again, these are just first-month numbers for the direct market, which doesn’t tell us anything about total sales. Nevertheless, they can be compared with the first-month direct-market numbers of other Vertigo books, and Air sales don’t look very encouraging in that respect.

—–

243 - NORTH 40 (WildStorm)
07/2009: North 40 #1 of 6 — 8,163
08/2009: North 40 #2 of 6 — 6,523 (-20.1%)
09/2009: North 40 #3 of 6 — 6,284 (- 3.7%)
10/2009: North 40 #4 of 6 — 6,068 (- 3.4%)244 - GEN13 (WildStorm)
10/2006: Gen13 #1 — 47,535
10/2007: Gen13 #13 — 15,539
—————————-
10/2008: Gen13 #23 — 10,061 (- 4.5%)
11/2008: Gen13 #24 — 9,460 (- 6.0%)
12/2008: Gen13 #25 — 8,954 (- 5.4%)
01/2009: Gen13 #26 — 8,341 (- 6.9%)
02/2009: Gen13 #27 — 7,929 (- 4.9%)
03/2009: Gen13 #28 — 7,593 (- 4.2%)
04/2009: Gen13 #29 — 7,313 (- 3.7%)
05/2008: –
06/2008: Gen13 #30 — 6,880 (- 5.9%)
07/2008: –
08/2008: Gen13 #31 — 6,544 (- 4.9%)
09/2008: –
10/2008: Gen13 #32 — 6,044 (- 7.6%)
—————-
6 months: -17.4%
1 year : -39.9%
2 years : -61.1%Two more WildStorm books. Gen13 is meant to stick around with a new creative team. To be blunt, I have some trouble imagining how that’s supposed to work with these numbers.

—–

248 - THE MIGHTY
02/2009: The Mighty #1 — 17,956
03/2009: The Mighty #2 — 10,624 (-40.8%)
04/2009: The Mighty #3 — 8,777 (-17.4%)
05/2009: The Mighty #4 — 7,565 (-13.8%)
06/2009: The Mighty #5 — 7,104 (- 6.1%)
07/2009: The Mighty #6 — 6,660 (- 6.3%)
08/2009: The Mighty #7 — 6,292 (- 5.5%)
09/2009: The Mighty #8 — 6,104 (- 3.0%)
10/2009: The Mighty #9 — 5,932 (- 2.8%)
—————-
6 months: -32.4%Canceled with issue #12.

—–

259 - BILLY BATSON & THE MAGIC OF SHAZAM (Johnny DC)
10/2008: –
11/2008: –
12/2008: Billy Batson #3 — 9,852 (-20.3%)
01/2009: –
02/2009: –
03/2009: –
04/2009: Billy Batson #4 — 8,470 (-14.0%)
05/2009: –
06/2009: Billy Batson #5 — 7,869 (- 7.1%)
07/2009: Billy Batson #6 — 6,771 (-14.0%)
08/2009: Billy Batson #7 — 6,382 (- 5.8%)
09/2009: Billy Batson #8 — 5,858 (- 8.2%)
10/2009: Billy Batson #9 — 5,388 (- 8.0%)
—————-
6 months: -36.4%
1 year : n.a.266 - SUPER FRIENDS (Johnny DC)
10/2008: Super Friends #8 — 6,153 (- 4.3%)
11/2008: Super Friends #9 — 5,739 (- 6.7%)
12/2008: Super Friends #10 — 5,543 (- 3.4%)
01/2009: Super Friends #11 — 5,500 (- 0.8%)
02/2009: Super Friends #12 — 5,394 (- 1.9%)
03/2009: Super Friends #13 — 5,387 (- 0.1%)
04/2009: Super Friends #14 — 5,792 (+ 7.5%)
05/2009: Super Friends #15 — 5,513 (- 4.8%)
06/2009: Super Friends #16 — 5,548 (+ 0.6%)
07/2009: Super Friends #17 — 5,368 (- 3.2%)
08/2009: Super Friends #18 — 5,291 (- 1.4%)
09/2009: Super Friends #19 — 5,045 (- 4.7%)
10/2009: Super Friends #20 — 5,026 (- 0.4%)
—————-
6 months: -13.2%
1 year : -18.3%Two Johnny DC books. See small print.

—–

272 - STARCRAFT (WildStorm)
05/2009: StarCraft #1 — 11,744
06/2009: StarCraft #2 — 7,933 (-32.5%)
07/2009: –
08/2009: StarCraft #3 — 6,410 (-19.2%)
09/2009: StarCraft #4 — 5,428 (-15.3%)
10/2009: StarCraft #5 — 4,422 (-18.5%)Another video-game adaptation from WildStorm. Its numbers speak for themselves.

—–

274 - SCOOBY DOO (Johnny DC)
10/2004: Scooby Doo #89 — 5,449
10/2005: Scooby Doo #101 — 4,604
10/2006: Scooby Doo #113 — 4,339
10/2007: Scooby Doo #125 — 4,407
———————————
10/2008: Scooby Doo #137 — ?
11/2008: Scooby Doo #138 — 4,068
12/2008: Scooby Doo #139 — ?
01/2009: Scooby Doo #140 — 3,800
02/2009: Scooby Doo #141 — 3,861 (+ 1.6%)
03/2009: Scooby Doo #142 — 3,863 (+ 0.1%)
04/2009: Scooby Doo #143 — 4,610 (+19.3%)
05/2009: Scooby Doo #144 — 4,062 (-11.9%)
06/2009: Scooby Doo #145 — 4,093 (+ 0.8%)
07/2009: Scooby Doo #146 — 4,110 (+ 0.4%)
08/2009: Scooby Doo #147 — 4,111 (+ 0.0%)
09/2009: Scooby Doo #148 — 4,103 (- 0.2%)
10/2009: Scooby Doo #149 — 4,005 (- 2.4%)
—————-
6 months: -13.1%
1 year : n.a.
2 years : - 9.1%
5 years : -26.5%A Johnny DC book.

—–

278 - RED HERRING (WildStorm)
08/2009: Red Herring #1 of 6 — 5,982
09/2009: Red Herring #2 of 6 — 4,337 (-27.5%)
10/2009: Red Herring #3 of 6 — 3,797 (-12.5%)A creator-owned WildStorm miniseries.

The second issue of WildStorm’s game adaptation Free Realms also shipped in October, but like the debut issue, it failed to make the Top 300 chart. So, for the purposes of the average charts below, I’m assuming that it sold as much as the No. 300 book on the chart, as usual, although actual sales were probably lower.

—–

REORDERS:
271: 4,471: Blackest Night: Batman #1 (3rd)
277: 3,804: Blackest Night: Batman #2
279: 3,792: Blackest Night #1 (3rd)6-MONTH COMPARISONS
+ 38.5%: GL Corps
+ 29.6%: Green Lantern
0.0%: Scalped
- 2.1%: GC Sirens
- 2.3%: Jonah Hex
- 2.6%: Hellblazer
- 3.1%: Azrael
- 3.9%: Madame Xanadu
- 4.1%: Secret Six
- 6.9%: Booster Gold
- 7.3%: Ex Machina
- 7.6%: JLA
- 8.2%: DMZ
- 10.3%: Northlanders
- 10.3%: Tiny Titans
- 10.6%: Fables
- 10.9%: Supergirl
- 13.1%: Scooby-Doo
- 13.2%: Super Friends
- 13.5%: Batman Confidential
- 13.6%: House of Mystery
- 14.7%: Air
- 15.6%: Superman/Batman
- 15.3%: Wonder Woman
- 16.2%: Authority
- 17.4%: Gen13
- 17.6%: Teen Titans
- 17.8%: Superman
- 17.9%: Green Arrow
- 18.3%: Superman: WoNK
- 18.6%: Wildcats
- 19.1%: Arkham Reborn
- 19.9%: Action Comics
- 20.4%: WoW
- 20.5%: Batman
- 20.7%: Batman: Brave & Bold
- 21.2%: Outsiders
- 21.7%: Titans
- 21.9%: R.E.B.E.L.S.
- 23.1%: Unknown Soldier
- 31.6%: Jack of Fables
- 32.4%: Mighty
- 32.6%: Strange Adventures
- 36.4%: Billy Batson
- 38.9%: JSA
- 43.6%: Warlord
- 43.7%: Detective Comics
- 67.3%: Vigilante—–

1-YEAR COMPARISONS
+ 87.1%: Adventure Comics
+ 75.7%: GL Corps
+ 60.9%: Green Lantern
+ 57.5%: Batgirl
+ 56.4%: GC Sirens
+ 48.9%: Red Robin
+ 3.6%: Batman: Brave & Bold
- 0.9%: Scalped
- 7.2%: Hellblazer
- 10.6%: Supergirl
- 10.7%: Jonah Hex
- 11.1%: Detective Comics
- 11.1%: Fables
- 12.8%: Jack of Fables
- 13.3%: Tiny Titans
- 16.2%: Secret Six
- 17.8%: Brave & Bold
- 18.3%: Super Friends
- 18.5%: Madame Xanadu
- 19.3%: Northlanders
- 19.7%: Wonder Woman
- 19.9%: DMZ
- 22.8%: JLA
- 26.5%: Teen Titans
- 27.8%: Booster Gold
- 28.2%: Superman/Batman
- 30.4%: Batman Confidential
- 31.5%: House of Mystery
- 31.8%: Batman
- 33.0%: Green Arrow
- 35.2%: Superman
- 37.7%: JSA
- 37.9%: Titans
- 38.8%: Air
- 39.0%: Authority
- 39.5%: Action Comics
- 39.9%: Gen13
- 42.6%: WoW
- 44.6%: Wildcats
- 54.1%: Outsiders
- 58.6%: Unknown Soldier—–

2-YEAR COMPARISONS
+ 81.8%: Red Robin
+ 62.3%: Adventure Comics
+ 35.5%: GL Corps
+ 28.9%: Green Lantern
+ 25.1%: GC Sirens
+ 14.1%: Detective Comics
- 0.3%: Batman: Brave & Bold
- 7.8%: Batman
- 8.4%: Scalped
- 9.1%: Scooby-Doo
- 15.2%: Hellblazer
- 15.6%: Fables
- 23.5%: Jonah Hex
- 25.2%: Ex Machina
- 25.7%: Superman
- 27.0%: Jack of Fables
- 27.3%: Supergirl
- 34.8%: Action Comics
- 36.1%: DMZ
- 37.0%: Superman/Batman
- 40.1%: JLA
- 41.1%: Batman Confidential
- 44.3%: Wonder Woman
- 45.2%: Booster Gold
- 47.1%: Teen Titans
- 52.4%: Brave & Bold
- 54.9%: JSA
- 56.7%: Green Arrow
- 61.1%: Gen13
- 62.8%: Authority—–

5-YEAR COMPARISONS
+ 21.5%: Detective Comics
+ 9.4%: JSA
+ 6.6%: Green Lantern
+ 3.9%: Wonder Woman
+ 2.9%: GC Sirens
+ 1.3%: Batman
+ 0.5%: Red Robin
- 1.8%: Planetary
- 6.5%: JLA
- 6.6%: Batgirl
- 15.5%: Action Comics
- 16.8%: Fables
- 26.5%: Scooby-Doo
- 29.5%: Hellblazer
- 43.9%: Green Arrow
- 48.0%: Ex Machina
- 48.8%: Outsiders
- 53.8%: Teen Titans
- 60.8%: Batman: Brave & Bold
- 68.8%: Superman
- 69.2%: Authority—–

Average Periodical Sales
(not counting reprints, reorders shipping after the initial month of release, Johnny DC titles and magazines)

DC COMICS
10/2004: 30,125
10/2005: 36,627
10/2006: 33,406
10/2007: 31,648
—————
10/2008: 29,109 (+13.9%)**
11/2008: 25,340 (-13.0%)
12/2008: 26,793 (+ 5.7%)**
01/2009: 24,273 (- 9.4%)
02/2009: 23,080 (- 4.9%)
03/2009: 21,792 (- 5.6%)
04/2009: 27,373 (+25.6%)**
05/2009: 24,386 (-10.9%)
06/2009: 25,880 (+ 6.1%)**
07/2009: 30,905 (+19.4%)**
08/2009: 29,977 (- 3.0%)
09/2009: 28,493 (- 5.0%)**
10/2009: 27,525 (- 4.4%)**
—————-
6 months: + 0.6%
1 year : - 5.4%
2 years : -13.0%
5 years : - 8.6%DC UNIVERSE
10/2004: 35,481
10/2005: 47,021
10/2006: 42,581
10/2007: 39,748
—————
10/2008: 37,273 (+11.0%)
11/2008: 33,096 (-11.2%)
12/2008: 35,050 (+ 5.9%)
01/2009: 32,705 (- 6.7%)
02/2009: 30,224 (- 7.6%)
03/2009: 31,336 (+ 3.7%)
04/2009: 38,150 (+21.8%)
05/2009: 33,163 (-13.1%)
06/2009: 36,329 (+ 9.6%)
07/2009: 41,218 (+13.9%)
08/2009: 37,300 (- 9.5%)
09/2009: 36,725 (- 1.5%)**
10/2009: 34,795 (- 5.3%)
—————-
6 months: - 8.8%
1 year : - 6.7%
2 years : -12.5%
5 years : - 1.9%VERTIGO
10/2004: 17,102
10/2005: 16,009
10/2006: 15,189
10/2007: 10,678
—————
10/2008: 11,284 (- 4.0%)
11/2008: 11,936 (+ 5.8%)
12/2008: 11,603 (- 2.8%)
01/2009: 10,980 (- 5.4%)
02/2009: 11,353 (+ 3.4%)
03/2009: 10,177 (-10.4%)
04/2009: 10,767 (+ 5.8%)
05/2009: 12,918 (+20.0%)
06/2009: 11,166 (-13.6%)
07/2009: 11,055 (- 1.0%)**
08/2009: 11,369 (+ 2.8%)
09/2009: 11,345 (- 0.2%)
10/2009: 10,551 (- 7.0%)
—————-
6 months: - 2.0%
1 year : - 6.5%
2 years : - 1.2%
5 years : -38.3%WILDSTORM
10/2004: 20,052
10/2005: 17,215
10/2006: 25,747
10/2007: 11,960
—————
10/2008: 10,736 (- 9.5%)**
11/2008: 10,220 (- 4.8%)
12/2008: 9,415 (- 7.9%)**
01/2009: 6,851 (-27.2%)
02/2009: 8,019 (+17.1%)
03/2009: 8,954 (+11.7%)
04/2009: 8,277 (- 7.6%)**
05/2009: 8,579 (+ 3.7%)
06/2009: 8,805 (+ 2.6%)**
07/2009: 8,519 (- 3.3%)**
08/2009: 7,977 (- 6.4%)
09/2009: 8,280 (+ 3.8%)**
10/2009: 9,769 (+18.0%)**
—————-
6 months: +13.9%
1 year : - 9.0%
2 years : -18.3%
5 years : -51.3%—–
Disclaimers, et cetera

The numbers above are estimates for comic-book sales in the North American direct market, as calculated by ICv2.com according to the chart and index information provided by Diamond Comic Distributors

DC Comics Month-to-Month Sales: November 2009
by Marc-Oliver Frisch

Is DC’s November success made of plastic?

We’ll come back to that later. First things first: How much of a success is it, anyway? What’s clear is that, thanks to “Blackest Night,” DC Comics once again dominated the comic-book Top 10 in November. And, as it turns out, the company’s 7-of-10 win isn’t wholly cosmetic this time. At least the publisher’s average comic-book sales increased again — for the first time since July.

On the other hand, the gross dollar value of DC’s periodical output in the direct market fell to its lowest level since June. Both Blackest Night the miniseries and “Blackest Night” the crossover are a great success, but much of the rest of the DC Universe line is flagging.

Over at the Vertigo imprint, a new Fables spin-off debuted with solid numbers, bringing a slight increase to Vertigo’s average periodical sales. Average WildStorm sales saw another major crash in November, meanwhile, dropping to an estimated 7,111 — less than 300 copies ahead of WildStorm’s all-time low in January 2009.

See below for the details, and please consider the small print at the end of the column. Thanks to Milton Griepp and ICv2.com for the permission to use their figures. An overview of ICv2.com’s estimates can be found here.

—–

1 - BLACKEST NIGHT
07/2009: Blackest Night #1 of 8 — 177,105 [199,863]
08/2009: Blackest Night #2 of 8 — 146,092 (-17.5%) [155,512]
09/2009: Blackest Night #3 of 8 — 140,786 (- 3.6%)
10/2009: Blackest Night #4 of 8 — 137,169 (- 2.6%)
10/2009: Blackest Night #5 of 8 — 144,935 (+ 5.7%)2 - GREEN LANTERN
11/2004: Rebirth #2 of 6 — 86,273 [138,252]
11/2005: Green Lantern #5 — 92,348
11/2006: Green Lantern #14 — 72,894
11/2006: Green Lantern #15 — 70,148
11/2007: –
————————————–
11/2008: –
12/2008: Green Lantern #36 — 64,755 (+ 2.2%) [ 74,005]
01/2009: Green Lantern #37 — 65,556 (+ 1.2%) [ 71,331]
02/2009: Green Lantern #38 — 68,908 (+ 5.1%) [ 77,372]
03/2009: –
04/2009: Green Lantern #39 — 79,792 (+15.8%) [ 84,784]
04/2009: Green Lantern #40 — 76,665 (- 3.9%) [ 84,705]
05/2009: Green Lantern #41 — 81,491 (+ 6.3%)
06/2009: Green Lantern #42 — 84,131 (+ 3.2%)
07/2009: Green Lantern #43 — 109,426 (+30.1%) [117,314]
07/2009: Green Lantern #44 — 105,063 (- 4.0%) [109,599]
08/2009: Green Lantern #45 — 102,431 (- 2.5%)
09/2009: Green Lantern #46 — 103,666 (+ 1.2%)
10/2009: Green Lantern #47 — 101,349 (- 2.2%)
11/2009: Green Lantern #48 — 100,371 (- 1.0%)
—————–
6 months: + 23.2%
1 year : n.a.
2 years : n.a.
5 years : + 16.3%As usual, both Blackest Night and Green Lantern were promoted with 1-for-25 variant-cover editions in November.

For those of you just joining us, this means that comic-book retailers had to order 25 copies of the regular editions of Blackest Night #5 and Green Lantern #48 for every variant-cover edition. And, as usual, Blackest Night sales were also boosted with a rarer 1-for-100 variant edition.

So far, so simple, but now it gets complicated.


As an additional means to boost sales, DC came up with the idea of selling promotional Green Lantern plastic rings in various colors in November, to retailers who ordered specific quantities of specific comics.

In the case of Blackest Night #5, retailers were required to order 50 copies of the comic in order to be able to buy “one bag of fifty GREEN PROMOTIONAL RINGS at a net cost of $8.00 U.S.,” according to a DC Comics press release.

In addition to the green rings, the incentive involves yellow, orange, indigo, blue, violet and red rings, with each color tied to the orders of a specific DC Comics title. The involved titles are Doom Patrol, Booster Gold, R.E.B.E.L.S., Adventure Comics, The Outsiders and Justice League of America.

Still here? Good, because now it gets more complicated.

The number of comics that retailers were required to order to buy the plastic rings was not the same for all colors/titles. For Blackest Night #5, Adventure Comics #4 and Justice League #39, the magic number was 50 copies. For the rest of the bunch, it was 25.

Still more complicated, it gets.

Ordering that specific number of copies of Blackest Night #5 qualified a given retailer to buy one bag of fifty green rings. But ordering that specific number of copies of the other titles qualified a given retailer to buy two bags of fifty rings in another color each.

Consequently, in order to buy, say, 100 indigo rings, a retailer had to order 25 copies of R.E.B.E.L.S. But if that same retailer wanted an equal number of green rings, they had to order 100 copies of Blackest Night #5 to get them. Obviously DC speculated on everybody wanting a full set of rings.

Were they right? It’s hard to tell, but at least hypothetically, we can make an educated guess at the number of rings out there, based on the number of copies sold of the participating titles:

RING PROMOTION TITLES
11/2009: Blackest Night #5 — 144,935 = 144,935 (gre)
11/2009: Justice League #39 — 89,376 = 178,752 (red)
11/2009: Adv Comics #4 — 85,145 = 170,290 (blu)
11/2009: Booster Gold #26 — 57,122 = 228,488 (ora)
11/2009: Doom Patrol #4 — 53,748 = 214,992 (yel)
11/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #10 — 51,100 = 204,400 (ind)
11/2009: Outsiders #24 — 50,918 = 203,642 (vio)These numbers would suggest that the green ring coming with Blackest Night #5 is the rarest of the bunch, perhaps surprisingly, while the orange one coming with Booster Gold #26 is probably a dime a dozen.

This is highly hypothetical for various reasons, mind you.

For one thing, the total number of copies sold of one title isn’t enough information to calculate the number of rings out there: Theoretically, it’s quite possible for one retailer to order 30 copies of Booster Gold and the other 45, in which case both retailers would qualify for precisely the same number of rings.

Second, the thought that retailers qualified for a bag of rings but didn’t want to shell out the $ 8.00 to buy them — unlikely as it may seem — is not inconceivable.

Even if we pretend that the numbers reflect the real distribution of the rings, the conclusions to be drawn are limited, for that matter.

Because, first up, the promotion initially involved one bag of rings per x number of ordered copies for all participating titles; it was only expanded to two bags for six of the titles later. So it’s not impossible that a number of retailers missed the memo and ordered more copies of those six titles than they would have required for a maximum number of full sets.

And second, the November issues of Superman/Batman and Teen Titans also tied in with Blackest Night, and — although they weren’t part of the ring promotion — they also display significant sales increases.

So, in conclusion, the numbers don’t tell us a whole lot about how effective the ring promotion was, or about how many rings are out there. Strictly speaking, it’s not even clear if the promotion had any effect at all, although the particularly high increases for Justice League, Adventure Comics or R.E.B.E.L.S. would certainly suggest as much, of course.

—–

4 - BATMAN AND ROBIN
06/2009: Batman and Robin #1 — 168,604 [184,826]
07/2009: Batman and Robin #2 — 117,986 (-30.2%) [129,086]
08/2009: Batman and Robin #3 — 110,594 (- 6.3%)
09/2009: Batman and Robin #4 — 106,925 (- 3.3%)
10/2009: Batman and Robin #5 — 101,607 (- 5.0%)
11/2009: Batman and Robin #6 — 95,690 (- 5.8%)The flagship title of the Batman franchise keeps shedding readers, but it also remains the best-selling DC title that’s not tied to “Blackest Night” by more than 20,000 units.

As usual, there was a 1-for-25 variant edition.

—–

5 - JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA
11/2004: JLA #108 — 63,355 [ 65,882]
11/2005: JLA #122 — 80,866
11/2006: Justice League #3 — 140,939 [143,310]
11/2007: –
————————————–
11/2008: –
12/2008: Justice League #27 — 75,803 (- 2.0%)
12/2008: Justice League #28 — 72,728 (- 4.1%)
01/2009: Justice League #29 — 72,116 (- 0.8%)
02/2009: Justice League #30 — 69,710 (- 3.3%)
03/2009: Justice League #31 — 68,759 (- 1.4%)
04/2009: Justice League #32 — 66,021 (- 4.0%)
05/2009: Justice League #33 — 63,867 (- 3.3%)
06/2009: Justice League #34 — 61,115 (- 4.3%)
07/2009: Justice League #35 — 58,915 (- 3.6%)
08/2009: Justice League #36 — 57,549 (- 2.3%)
09/2009: Justice League #37 — 55,478 (- 3.6%)
10/2009: Justice League #38 — 61,012 (+10.0%)
11/2009: Justice League #39 — 89,376 (+46.5%)
—————-
6 months: +39.9%
1 year : n.a.
2 years : n.a.
5 years : +41.1%6 - ADVENTURE COMICS
11/2004: –
11/2005: LoSH #12 — 33,541
11/2006: SLoSH #24 — 33,985
11/2007: SLoSH #36 — 26,814
—————————————
11/2008: LoSH #48 — 22,917 (- 3.5%)
12/2008: LoSH #49 — 22,180 (- 3.2%)
01/2009: LoSH #50 — 22,327 (+ 0.7%)
02/2009: Adventure Comics #0 — 32,851 (+47.1%)
03/2009: –
04/2009: –
05/2009: –
06/2009: –
07/2009: –
08/2009: Adventure Comics #1 — 56,706 (+72.6%)
09/2009: Adventure Comics #2 — 47,296 (-15.9%)
10/2009: Adventure Comics #3 — 44,431 (- 6.1%)
11/2009: Adventure Comics #4 — 85,145 (+91.6%)
—————–
6 months: n.a.
1 year : +271.5%
2 years : +217.5%
5 years : n.a.7 - GREEN LANTERN CORPS
11/2006: Green Lantern Corps #6 — 41,089
11/2007: Green Lantern Corps #18 — 55,838 [59,049]
——————————————
11/2008: Green Lantern Corps #30 — 43,600 (- 5.9%)
12/2008: Green Lantern Corps #31 — 44,033 (+ 0.9%)
01/2009: Green Lantern Corps #32 — 44,312 (+ 0.6%)
02/2009: Green Lantern Corps #33 — 44,607 (+ 0.7%) [50,171]
03/2009: Green Lantern Corps #34 — 54,162 (+21.4%)
04/2009: Green Lantern Corps #35 — 58,769 (+ 8.5%)
05/2009: Green Lantern Corps #36 — 61,591 (+ 4.8%)
06/2009: Green Lantern Corps #37 — 63,574 (+ 3.2%)
07/2009: Green Lantern Corps #38 — 82,415 (+29.6%)
08/2009: Green Lantern Corps #39 — 84,241 (+ 2.2%)
09/2009: Green Lantern Corps #40 — 83,112 (- 1.3%)
10/2009: Green Lantern Corps #41 — 81,377 (- 2.1%)
11/2009: Green Lantern Corps #42 — 80,391 (- 1.2%)
—————-
6 months: +30.5%
1 year : +84.4%
2 years : +95.7%Three “Blackest Night” crossover titles: Justice League and Adventure Comics were part of the ring promotion, while Green Lantern Corps was not. We can’t know for sure, but these numbers strongly imply, at least, that it’s the rings that pushed the two former titles ahead.

There was a 1-for-25 variant for Green Lantern Corps #42 and a 1-for-10 variant for Justice League of America #39.

—–

9 - THE FLASH: REBIRTH
11/2004: Flash #216 — 43,618 [49,350]
11/2005: Flash #228 — 45,861
11/2006: Flash: FMA #6 — 56,789
11/2007: Flash #234 — 46,435
———————————–
11/2008: Flash #246 — 27,746 (- 1.2%)
12/2008: Flash #247 — 26,498 (- 4.5%)
01/2009: –
02/2009: –
03/2009: –
04/2009: Rebirth #1 of 5 — 102,429 (+286.6%) [111,515]
05/2009: Rebirth #2 of 5 — 86,183 (- 15.9%)
06/2009: Rebirth #3 of 5 — 83,086 (- 3.6%)
07/2009: –
08/2009: Rebirth #4 of 5 — 78,107 (- 6.0%)
09/2009: –
10/2009: –
11/2009: Rebirth #5 of 6 — 73,875 (- 5.4%)
—————–
6 months: - 14.3%
1 year : +166.3%
2 years : + 59.1%
5 years : + 69.4%For a Flash book, these would still be splendid numbers. The question is where sales will bottom out once the dust has settled.

That’s not a typo, by the way: The miniseries was expanded by one issue with the solicitation for issue #5. As usual, the book was promoted with a 1-for-25 variant edition.

—–

12 - BATMAN
11/2004: Batman #634 — 63,769
11/2005: Batman #647 — 69,718
11/2006: Batman #658 — 94,349
11/2006: Batman #659 — 90,651
11/2007: Batman #671 — 76,764 [ 80,440]
——————————-
11/2008: Batman #681 — 103,151 (- 0.8%) [114,657]
12/2008: Batman #682 — 93,469 (- 9.4%)
12/2008: Batman #683 — 90,272 (- 3.4%) [ 91,885]
12/2008: Batman #684 — 79,953 (-11.4%) [ 82,903]
01/2009: Batman #685 — 72,654 (- 9.1%)
02/2009: Batman #686 — 111,353 (+53.3%) [128,780]
03/2009: BfC #1 of 3 — 91,619 (-17.7%) [103,913]
04/2009: BfC #2 of 3 — 89,120 (- 2.7%)
05/2009: BfC #3 of 3 — 89,170 (+ 0.1%)
06/2009: Batman #687 — 96,913 (+ 8.7%)
07/2009: Batman #688 — 83,040 (-14.3%)
08/2009: Batman #689 — 78,392 (- 5.6%)
09/2009: Batman #690 — 77,001 (- 1.8%)
10/2009: Batman #691 — 71,431 (- 7.2%)
10/2009: Batman #692 — 70,322 (- 1.6%)
11/2009: Batman #693 — 68,983 (- 1.9%)
—————-
6 months: -22.6%
1 year : -33.1%
2 years : -10.1%
5 years : + 8.2%Batman numbers are settling into a slow decline.

—–

19 - BOOSTER GOLD
11/2007: Booster Gold #4 — 37,683
———————————–
11/2008: Booster Gold #14 — 28,260 (- 5.5%)
12/2008: Booster Gold #15 — 26,835 (- 5.0%)
01/2009: Booster Gold #16 — 25,472 (- 5.1%)
02/2009: Booster Gold #17 — 24,732 (- 2.9%)
03/2009: Booster Gold #18 — 23,737 (- 4.0%)
04/2009: Booster Gold #19 — 23,203 (- 2.3%)
05/2009: Booster Gold #20 — 22,549 (- 2.8%)
06/2009: Booster Gold #21 — 23,222 (+ 3.0%)
07/2009: Booster Gold #22 — 22,414 (- 3.5%)
08/2009: Booster Gold #23 — 22,108 (- 1.4%)
09/2009: Booster Gold #24 — 21,731 (- 1.7%)
10/2009: Booster Gold #25 — 21,597 (- 0.6%)
11/2009: Booster Gold #26 — 57,122 (+164.5%)
—————–
6 months: +153.3%
1 year : +102.1%
2 years : + 51.6%Another “Blackest Night” tie-in, obviously.

—–

22 - DETECTIVE COMICS
11/2004: Detective Comics #800 — 52,399
11/2005: Detective Comics #813 — 38,338
11/2006: Detective Comics #825 — 58,940
11/2007: Detective Comics #838 — 60,267 [65,293]
—————————————–
11/2008: Detective Comics #850 — 64,196 (- 2.6%)
12/2008: Detective Comics #851 — 64,961 (+ 1.2%)
01/2009: Detective Comics #852 — 56,656 (-12.8%)
02/2009: –
03/2009: –
04/2009: Detective Comics #853 — 104,107 (+83.8%)
05/2009: –
06/2009: Detective Comics #854 — 72,808 (-30.1%) [79,573]
07/2009: Detective Comics #855 — 61,205 (-15.9%)
08/2009: Detective Comics #856 — 58,859 (- 3.8%)
09/2009: Detective Comics #857 — 57,063 (- 3.1%)
10/2009: Detective Comics #858 — 58,599 (+ 2.7%)
11/2009: Detective Comics #859 — 54,392 (- 7.2%)
—————–
6 months: n.a.
1 year : - 15.3%
2 years : - 9.8%
5 years : + 3.8%Not good: The last two issues of Detective Comics were both promoted with 1-for-10 variant editions, so the 7% drop is real.

Not bad: It’s still more than 10,000 units ahead of most other Batman titles.

—–

24 - DOOM PATROL
11/2004: Doom Patrol #6 — 21,841
11/2005: Doom Patrol #18 — 13,853
———————————-
08/2009: Doom Patrol #1 — 28,267
09/2009: Doom Patrol #2 — 22,001 (- 22.2%)
10/2009: Doom Patrol #3 — 20,036 (- 8.9%)
11/2009: Doom Patrol #4 — 53,748 (+168.3%)
—————–
5 years : +146.1%A “Blackest Night” tie-in.

—–

27 - JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE
07/2009: Cry for Justice #1 of 6 — 68,317 [72,719]
08/2009: Cry for Justice #2 of 6 — 54,553 (-20.2%) [58,829]
09/2009: Cry for Justice #3 of 7 — 54,726 (+ 0.3%)
10/2009: Cry for Justice #4 of 7 — 54,386 (- 0.6%)
11/2009: Cry for Justice #5 of 7 — 52,400 (- 3.7%)Sales of the James Robinson vehicle are holding up well.

—–

29 - SUPERMAN/BATMAN
11/2004: Superman/Batman #13 — 157,949
11/2004: Superman/Batman #14 — 121,831 [127,527]
11/2005: –
11/2006: Superman/Batman #30 — 84,008
11/2007: Superman/Batman #42 — 54,341
—————————————
11/2008: –
12/2008: Superman/Batman #54 — 45,968 (- 4.6%)
01/2009: –
02/2009: Superman/Batman #55 — 43,962 (- 4.4%)
03/2009: Superman/Batman #56 — 42,464 (- 3.4%)
04/2009: Superman/Batman #57 — 41,743 (- 1.7%)
04/2009: Superman/Batman #58 — 41,000 (- 1.8%)
04/2009: Superman/Batman #59 — 40,182 (- 2.0%)
05/2009: Superman/Batman #60 — 39,531 (- 1.6%)
06/2009: Superman/Batman #61 — 38,228 (- 3.3%)
07/2009: Superman/Batman #62 — 38,412 (+ 0.5%)
08/2009: Superman/Batman #63 — 37,467 (- 2.5%)
09/2009: Superman/Batman #64 — 36,332 (- 3.0%)
10/2009: Superman/Batman #65 — 34,585 (- 4.8%)
11/2009: Superman/Batman #66 — 52,143 (+50.8%)
—————-
6 months: +31.9%
1 year : n.a.
2 years : - 4.1%
5 years : -62.7%30 - R.E.B.E.L.S.
02/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #1 — 23,739
03/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #2 — 16,122 (- 32.1%)
04/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #3 — 14,442 (- 10.4%)
05/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #4 — 13,468 (- 6.7%)
06/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #5 — 12,909 (- 4.2%)
07/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #6 — 12,349 (- 4.3%)
08/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #7 — 11,682 (- 5.4%)
09/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #8 — 11,347 (- 2.9%)
10/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #9 — 11,284 (- 0.6%)
11/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #10 — 51,100 (+352.9%)
—————–
6 months: +279.4%31 - THE OUTSIDERS
11/2004: –
11/2005: Outsiders #30 — 44,682
11/2006: Outsiders #42 — 35,598
11/2007: Batsiders #1 — 60,690
11/2007: Batsiders #2 — 42,827
——————————–
11/2008: Batsiders #13 — 42,939 (- 8.0%)
12/2008: Batsiders #14 — 32,163 (- 25.1%)
01/2009: –
02/2009: Special #1 — 35,727 (+ 11.1%)
02/2009: Outsiders #15 — 30,024 (- 16.0%)
03/2009: Outsiders #16 — 27,977 (- 6.8%)
04/2009: Outsiders #17 — 27,171 (- 2.9%)
05/2009: Outsiders #18 — 25,995 (- 4.3%)
06/2009: Outsiders #19 — 27,485 (+ 5.7%)
07/2009: Outsiders #20 — 24,323 (- 11.5%)
08/2009: Outsiders #21 — 23,856 (- 1.9%)
09/2009: Outsiders #22 — 22,775 (- 4.5%)
10/2009: Outsiders #23 — 21,413 (- 6.0%)
11/2009: Outsiders #24 — 50,918 (+137.8%)
—————-
6 months: +95.9%
1 year : +18.6%
2 years : - 1.6%
5 years : n.a.38 - TEEN TITANS
11/2004: Teen Titans #18 — 61,537 [65,142]
11/2005: Teen Titans #29 — 69,558
11/2006: Teen Titans #40 — 64,176
11/2006: Teen Titans #41 — 61,714
11/2007: Teen Titans #53 — 54,387
———————————-
11/2008: Teen Titans #65 — 37,880 (- 4.6%)
12/2008: Teen Titans #66 — 36,808 (- 2.8%)
01/2009: Teen Titans #67 — 35,877 (- 2.5%)
02/2009: Teen Titans #68 — 35,096 (- 2.2%)
03/2009: –
04/2009: Teen Titans #69 — 35,375 (+ 0.8%)
04/2009: Teen Titans #70 — 35,412 (+ 0.1%)
05/2009: Teen Titans #71 — 34,110 (- 3.7%)
06/2009: Teen Titans #72 — 32,512 (- 4.7%)
07/2009: Teen Titans #73 — 30,990 (- 4.7%)
08/2009: Teen Titans #74 — 30,380 (- 2.0%)
09/2009: Teen Titans #75 — 32,808 (+ 8.0%)
10/2009: Teen Titans #76 — 29,166 (-11.1%)
11/2009: Teen Titans #77 — 46,239 (+58.5%)
—————-
6 months: +35.6%
1 year : +22.1%
2 years : -15.0%
5 years : -24.9%Four more “Blackest Night” crossover titles.

R.E.B.E.L.S. #10 and The Outsiders #24 were part of the plastic-ring promotion, while Superman/Batman #66 and Teen Titans #77 were not. Perhaps that explains why the two former books are the ones with the bigger percentage leaps.

—–

39 - SUPERMAN: SECRET ORIGIN
09/2009: Superman: Secret Origin #1 of 6 — 54,630
10/2009: Superman: Secret Origin #2 of 6 — 46,840 (-14.3%)
11/2009: Superman: Secret Origin #3 of 6 — 45,029 (- 3.9%)The numbers are bottoming out at a rather modest level, given the creative team. As usual, there was a 1-for-10 variant.

—–

40 - BATMAN: THE WIDENING GYRE
11/2008: Cacophony #1 of 3 — 69,522
12/2008: Cacophony #2 of 3 — 55,698 (-19.9%) [58,016]
01/2009: –
02/2009: –
03/2009: Cacophony #3 of 3 — 52,814 (- 5.2%)
04/2009: –
05/2009: –
06/2009: –
07/2009: –
08/2009: Widening Gyre #1 of 6 — 52,191 (- 1.2%)
09/2009: Widening Gyre #2 of 6 — 46,287 (-11.3%)
10/2009: –
11/2009: Widening Gyre #3 of 6 — 43,336 (- 6.4%)
—————-
6 months: n.a.
1 year : -37.7%The Kevin Smith project is finding its level. There were a 1-for-25 and a 1-for-50 variant, as usual.

—–

41 - JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA
11/2004: JSA #67 — 47,725
11/2005: JSA #79 — 52,783
11/2007: –
—————————————
11/2008: Justice Society #20 — 71,355 (- 1.0%)
12/2008: Justice Society #21 — 69,662 (- 2.4%)
12/2008: Justice Society #22 — 67,615 (- 2.9%)
01/2009: Justice Society #23 — 61,385 (- 9.2%)
02/2009: Justice Society #24 — 65,207 (+ 6.2%)
03/2009: –
04/2009: Justice Society #25 — 65,713 (+ 0.8%)
04/2009: Justice Society #26 — 81,200 (+ 23.6%)
05/2009: Justice Society #27 — 56,102 (- 30.9%)
06/2009: Justice Society #28 — 52,673 (- 6.1%)
07/2009: Justice Society #29 — 51,375 (- 2.5%)
08/2009: Justice Society #30 — 49,416 (- 3.8%)
09/2009: Justice Society #31 — 47,436 (- 4.0%)
10/2009: Justice Society #32 — 44,885 (- 5.4%)
11/2009: Justice Society #33 — 43,218 (- 3.7%)
—————-
6 months: -23.0%
1 year : -39.0%
2 years : n.a.
5 years : - 9.4%There’s no end in sight for the book’s swift decline. The new creative team doesn’t seem to be catching on.

——

43 - RED ROBIN
11/2004: Robin #132 — 35,927
11/2005: Robin #144 — 32,314
11/2006: Robin #156 — 31,682
11/2007: Robin #168 — 50,672 [57,442]
——————————–
11/2008: Robin #180 — 28,399 (- 5.6%)
12/2008: Robin #181 — 27,891 (- 1.8%)
01/2009: Robin #182 — 28,684 (+ 2.8%)
02/2009: Robin #183 — 31,682 (+ 10.5%)
03/2009: –
04/2009: –
05/2009: –
06/2009: Red Robin #1 — 64,261 (+102.8%) [71,925]
07/2009: Red Robin #2 — 51,593 (- 19.7%) [54,544]
08/2009: Red Robin #3 — 50,329 (- 2.5%)
09/2009: Red Robin #4 — 47,945 (- 4.7%)
10/2009: Red Robin #5 — 44,776 (- 6.6%)
11/2009: Red Robin #6 — 42,409 (- 5.3%)
—————–
6 months: n.a.
1 year : + 49.3%
2 years : - 16.3%
5 years : + 18.0%Like the rest of the Batman line, Red Robin keeps slipping down the charts. It’s still more than 10,000 units ahead of its previous incarnation, though, so there’s no reason to panic just yet.

—–

51 - SUPERMAN: WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON
03/2009: WoNK #1 of 12 — 50,050
04/2009: WoNK #2 of 12 — 44,880 (-10.3%)
05/2009: WoNK #3 of 12 — 42,153 (- 6.1%)
06/2009: WoNK #4 of 12 — 41,620 (- 1.3%)
07/2009: WoNK #5 of 12 — 39,939 (- 4.0%)
08/2009: WoNK #6 of 12 — 39,218 (- 1.8%)
09/2009: WoNK #7 of 12 — 37,697 (- 3.9%)
10/2009: WoNK #8 of 12 — 36,672 (- 2.7%)
11/2009: WoNK #9 of 12 — 35,286 (- 3.8%)
—————-
6 months: -16.3%The flagship Superman book hasn’t found its level quite yet. As usual, there was a 1-for-25 variant edition.

—–

52 - BATGIRL
11/2004: Batgirl #58 — 31,056 [32,932]
11/2005: Batgirl #70 — 27,002
———————————-
11/2008: Batgirl #5 of 6 — 21,595 (- 8.1%)
12/2008: Batgirl #6 of 6 — 20,750 (- 3.9%)
01/2009: –
02/2009: –
03/2009: –
04/2009: –
05/2009: –
06/2009: –
07/2009: —
08/2009: Batgirl #1 — 51,724 (+149.3%)
09/2009: Batgirl #2 — 40,626 (- 21.5%)
10/2009: Batgirl #3 — 37,011 (- 8.9%)
11/2009: Batgirl #4 — 34,697 (- 6.3%)
—————-
6 months: n.a.
1 year : +60.7%
5 years : +11.7%Batgirl sales keep declining too fast for comfort.

If DC was hoping for another solid mid-level performer, the numbers will have to stabilize very soon.

—–

53 - SUPERMAN
11/2004: Superman #211 — 106,469 [110,683]
11/2005: Superman #223 — 69,739
11/2006: Superman #657 — 62,327
11/2007: Superman #670 — 48,407
———————————
11/2008: Superman #682 — 55,435 (+ 1.5%)
12/2008: Superman #683 — 55,287 (- 0.3%)
01/2009: Superman #684 — 48,489 (-12.3%)
02/2009: Superman #685 — 48,027 (- 1.0%)
03/2009: Superman #686 — 44,976 (- 6.4%)
04/2009: Superman #687 — 43,041 (- 4.3%)
05/2009: Superman #688 — 41,642 (- 3.3%)
06/2009: Superman #689 — 40,366 (- 3.1%)
07/2009: Superman #690 — 39,472 (- 2.2%)
08/2009: Superman #691 — 39,106 (- 0.9%)
09/2009: Superman #692 — 37,695 (- 3.6%)
10/2009: Superman #693 — 35,395 (- 6.1%)
11/2009: Superman #694 — 34,430 (- 2.7%)
—————-
6 months: -17.3%
1 year : -37.9%
2 years : -28.9%
5 years : -67.7%54 - ACTION COMICS
11/2004: Action Comics #821 — 38,880
11/2005: Action Comics #833 — 44,613
11/2006: Action Comics #845 — 66,742 [71,135]
11/2007: Action Comics #859 — 54,572
————————————-
11/2008: Action Comics #871 — 58,547 (+ 2.0%)
12/2008: Action Comics #872 — 57,175 (- 2.3%)
01/2009: Action Comics #873 — 51,940 (- 9.2%)
02/2009: Action Comics #874 — 48,360 (- 6.9%)
03/2009: Action Comics #875 — 47,079 (- 2.7%)
04/2009: Action Comics #876 — 43,368 (- 7.9%)
05/2009: Action Comics #877 — 41,772 (- 3.7%)
06/2009: Action Comics #878 — 40,011 (- 4.2%)
07/2009: Action Comics #879 — 38,324 (- 4.2%)
08/2009: Action Comics #880 — 37,588 (- 1.9%)
09/2009: Action Comics #881 — 36,183 (- 3.7%)
10/2009: Action Comics #882 — 34,754 (- 4.0%)
11/2009: Action Comics #883 — 33,386 (- 3.9%)
—————-
6 months: -20.1%
1 year : -43.0%
2 years : -38.8%
5 years : -14.1%The other two core Superman titles also keep burning unit sales like there’s no tomorrow. DC’s plans for the franchise don’t suggest that’s going to change anytime soon.

—–

56 - BATMAN/DOC SAVAGE SPECIAL
11/2009: Batman/Doc Savage Special #1 — 32,636The $ 4.99 one-shot by Brian Azzarello and Phil Noto serves as a lead-in to an upcoming miniseries, also written by Azzarello.

30K is all right, but this type of book will probably do a significant chunk of its business once it’s been collected.

There was a 1-for-10 variant edition.

—–

59 - BATMAN: STREETS OF GOTHAM
06/2009: Batman: SoG #1 — 57,650
07/2009: Batman: SoG #2 — 44,240 (-23.3%)
08/2009: Batman: SoG #3 — 40,353 (- 8.8%)
09/2009: Batman: SoG #4 — 37,888 (- 6.1%)
10/2009: Batman: SoG #5 — 34,533 (- 8.9%)
11/2009: Batman: SoG #6 — 32,303 (- 6.5%)63 - GOTHAM CITY SIRENS
11/2004: Birds of Prey #76 — 31,126
11/2005: Birds of Prey #88 — 32,823
11/2006: Birds of Prey #100 — 34,607
11/2007: Birds of Prey #112 — 25,117
————————————-
11/2008: Birds of Prey #124 — 20,959 (- 0.7%)
12/2008: Birds of Prey #125 — 20,161 (- 3.8%)
01/2009: Birds of Prey #126 — 20,772 (+ 3.0%)
02/2009: Birds of Prey #127 — 21,424 (+ 3.1%)
03/2009: Oracle #1 of 3 — 34,081 (+59.1%)
04/2009: Oracle #2 of 3 — 33,731 (- 1.0%)
05/2009: Oracle #3 of 3 — 35,328 (+ 4.7%)
06/2009: GC Sirens #1 — 52,439 (+48.4%)
07/2009: GC Sirens #2 — 39,518 (-24.6%)
08/2009: GC Sirens #3 — 36,772 (- 7.0%)
09/2009: GC Sirens #4 — 34,405 (- 6.4%)
10/2009: GC Sirens #5 — 33,015 (- 4.0%)
11/2009: GC Sirens #6 — 30,990 (- 6.1%)
—————–
6 months: - 12.3%
1 year : + 47.9%
2 years : + 23.4%
5 years : - 0.4%That’s another 2,000+ units down the drain each for Streets of Gotham and Gotham City Sirens. Something’s not clicking here.

—–

66 - SUPERGIRL
11/2005: Supergirl #3 — 99,990 [101,910]
11/2006: Supergirl #11 — 62,544
11/2007: Supergirl #23 — 45,460
———————————
11/2008: Supergirl #35 — 45,518 (+34.0%)
12/2008: Supergirl #36 — 45,491 (- 0.1%)
01/2009: Supergirl #37 — 34,060 (-25.1%)
02/2009: Supergirl #38 — 34,225 (+ 0.5%)
03/2009: Supergirl #39 — 33,713 (- 1.5%)
04/2009: Supergirl #40 — 34,080 (+ 1.1%)
05/2009: Supergirl #41 — 33,441 (- 1.9%)
06/2009: Supergirl #42 — 32,705 (- 2.2%)
07/2009: Supergirl #43 — 32,849 (+ 0.4%)
08/2009: Supergirl #44 — 33,819 (+ 3.0%)
09/2009: Supergirl #45 — 32,240 (- 4.7%)
10/2009: Supergirl #46 — 30,377 (- 5.8%)
11/2009: Supergirl #47 — 29,159 (- 4.0%)
—————-
6 months: -12.8%
1 year : -35.9%
2 years : -35.9%Things started looking good for Supergirl about a year ago. Now, though, not so much anymore.

These aren’t the lowest numbers the series has seen, but if the drops continue like this, it’ll be getting there in a few months.

—–

71 - JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA 80-PAGE GIANT
11/2009: JSA 80-Page Giant #1 — 27,905Not bad numbers for a $ 5.99 one-shot, given the general state of the franchise.

—–

72 - TITANS
11/2007: TTE Special #1 — 49,735
———————————
11/2008: Titans #7 — 41,507 (- 8.7%)
12/2008: Titans #8 — 39,154 (- 5.7%)
01/2009: Titans #9 — 37,693 (- 3.7%)
02/2009: Titans #10 — 36,361 (- 3.5%)
03/2009: Titans #11 — 35,240 (- 3.1%)
04/2009: Titans #12 — 36,014 (+ 2.2%)
05/2009: Titans #13 — 34,343 (- 4.6%)
06/2009: Titans #14 — 32,321 (- 5.9%)
07/2009: Titans #15 — 46,189 (+42.9%)
08/2009: Titans #16 — 31,408 (-32.0%)
09/2009: Titans #17 — 30,154 (- 4.0%)
10/2009: Titans #18 — 28,215 (- 6.4%)
11/2009: Titans #19 — 27,099 (- 4.0%)
—————-
6 months: -21.1%
1 year : -34.7%
2 years : -45.5%Titans sales continue to be in a free-fall. The solicitation text for the February issue suggests that the series may be cancelled, meanwhile.

—–

73 - WORLD’S FINEST
10/2009: World’s Finest #1 of 4 — 37,037
11/2009: World’s Finest #2 of 4 — 26,566 (-28.3%)That’s a very high second-issue drop for a miniseries. On the other hand, sales of the first issue were surprisingly high, so maybe this is retailers coming to their senses.

—–

74 - WONDER WOMAN
11/2004: Wonder Woman #210 — 25,699
11/2005: Wonder Woman #223 — 49,332
11/2006: Wonder Woman #3 — 76,998
11/2007: Wonder Woman #14 — 53,090
————————————-
11/2008: Wonder Woman #26 — 33,277 (- 0.9%)
12/2008: Wonder Woman #27 — 32,322 (- 2.9%)
01/2009: Wonder Woman #28 — 32,622 (+ 0.9%)
02/2009: Wonder Woman #29 — 33,237 (+ 1.9%)
03/2009: Wonder Woman #30 — 33,365 (+ 0.4%)
04/2009: Wonder Woman #31 — 31,857 (- 4.5%)
05/2009: Wonder Woman #32 — 33,065 (+ 3.8%)
06/2009: Wonder Woman #33 — 32,755 (- 0.9%)
07/2009: Wonder Woman #34 — 30,131 (- 8.0%)
08/2009: Wonder Woman #35 — 29,657 (- 1.6%)
09/2009: Wonder Woman #36 — 28,806 (- 2.9%)
10/2009: Wonder Woman #37 — 26,972 (- 6.4%)
11/2009: Wonder Woman #38 — 26,265 (- 2.6%)
—————-
6 months: -20.6%
1 year : -21.1%
2 years : -50.5%
5 years : + 2.2%91 - SECRET SIX
11/2006: –
————————————-
11/2008: Secret Six #3 — 26,053 (- 6.4%)
12/2008: Secret Six #4 — 24,657 (- 5.4%)
01/2009: Secret Six #5 — 24,899 (+ 1.0%)
02/2009: Secret Six #6 — 24,758 (- 0.6%)
03/2009: Secret Six #7 — 24,365 (- 1.6%)
04/2009: Secret Six #8 — 24,338 (- 0.1%)
05/2009: Secret Six #9 — 27,116 (+11.4%)
06/2009: Secret Six #10 — 24,272 (-10.5%)
07/2009: Secret Six #11 — 24,357 (+ 0.4%)
08/2009: Secret Six #12 — 24,161 (- 0.8%)
09/2009: Secret Six #13 — 23,919 (- 1.0%)
10/2009: Secret Six #14 — 23,345 (- 2.4%)
11/2009: Secret Six #15 — 23,190 (- 0.7%)
—————-
6 months: -14.5%
1 year : -11.0%Two books written by Gail Simone, two very different performances: Wonder Woman keeps slipping down the charts, while Secret Six sales have been relatively stable in comparison.

—–

96 - ARKHAM REBORN
04/2009: BftC: Arkham Asylum #1 — 39,187
05/2009: –
06/2009: –
07/2009: –
08/2009: –
09/2009: –
10/2009: Arkham Reborn #1 of 3 — 31,519 (-19.1%)
11/2009: Arkham Reborn #2 of 3 — 21,770 (-30.9%)98 - AZRAEL
03/2009: Death’s Dark Knight #1 of 3 — 39,985
04/2009: Death’s Dark Knight #2 of 3 — 36,432 (- 8.9%)
05/2009: Death’s Dark Knight #3 of 3 — 35,916 (- 1.4%)
06/2009: –
07/2009: –
08/2009: –
09/2009: –
10/2009: Azrael #1 — 35,311 (- 1.7%)
11/2009: Azrael #2 — 21,392 (-39.4%)
—————-
6 months: -40.4%These two stragglers from the makeover of the Batman line are too much for the market, it turns out.

These numbers demonstrate, once again, that DC tends to expand franchises when the focus should be on consolidating them first. See Teen Titans. See Justice Society.

—–

99 - THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD
11/2007: The Brave and the Bold #8 — 45,629
———————————————
11/2008: The Brave and the Bold #19 — 26,407 (- 6.4%)
12/2008: The Brave and the Bold #20 — 25,050 (- 5.1%)
01/2009: The Brave and the Bold #21 — 24,375 (- 2.7%)
02/2009: The Brave and the Bold #22 — 23,507 (- 3.6%)
03/2009: –
04/2009: –
05/2009: The Brave and the Bold #23 — 22,312 (- 5.1%)
06/2009: The Brave and the Bold #24 — 21,272 (- 4.7%)
07/2009: The Brave and the Bold #25 — 21,234 (- 0.2%)
08/2009: The Brave and the Bold #26 — 20,154 (- 5.1%)
09/2009: The Brave and the Bold #27 — 26,904 (+33.5%)
10/2009: The Brave and the Bold #28 — 23,176 (-13.9%)
11/2009: The Brave and the Bold #29 — 21,287 (- 8.2%)
—————-
6 months: - 4.6%
1 year : -19.4%
2 years : -53.4%The numbers are almost back where they were before J. Michael Strczynski’s arrival. They couldn’t possibly have gotten any less mileage out of the high-profile writer’s name if they tried.

The Brave and the Bold is missing from the February solicitations, meanwhile.

—–

101 - FABLES (Vertigo)
11/2004: Fables #31 — 25,061
11/2005: Fables #43 — 24,659
11/2006: Fables #55 — 25,635
11/2007: Fables #67 — 24,841
—————————–
11/2008: Fables #78 — 23,345 (-1.8%)
12/2008: Fables #79 — 22,769 (-2.5%)
01/2009: Fables #80 — 22,617 (-0.7%)
02/2009: Fables #81 — 22,517 (-0.4%)
03/2009: Fables #82 — 22,445 (-0.3%)
04/2009: Fables #83 — 23,630 (+5.3%)
05/2009: Fables #84 — 23,634 (+0.0%)
06/2009: Fables #85 — 23,439 (-0.8%)
07/2009: Fables #86 — 22,447 (-4.2%)
08/2009: Fables #87 — 21,876 (-2.5%)
09/2009: Fables #88 — 21,508 (-1.7%)
10/2009: Fables #89 — 21,118 (-1.8%)
11/2009: Fables #90 — 20,882 (-1.1%)
—————-
6 months: -11.6%
1 year : -10.6%
2 years : -15.9%
5 years : -16.7%105 - CINDERELLA: FROM FABLETOWN WITH LOVE (Vertigo)
11/2009: Cinderella #1 of 6 — 20,337While sales of the mother title are back in a slow decline, a new spin-off miniseries launches with solid numbers.

What may be of particular interest to Vertigo is that Cinderella seems to manage just fine without Fables creator Bill Willingham getting a “co-writer” credit.

—–

111/121 - BATMAN: THE UNSEEN
10/2009: The Unseen #1 of 5 — 24,887
10/2009: The Unseen #2 of 5 — 22,653 (- 9.0%)
11/2009: The Unseen #3 of 5 — 19,169 (-15.4%)
11/2009: The Unseen #4 of 5 — 17,944 (- 6.4%)As usual with twice-monthly books, retailers delayed what’s usually the second-issue drop to issue #3 for some reason.

(If you know what that reason is, please tell me, by the way.)

—–

115 - JSA VS. KOBRA
06/2009: JSA Vs. Kobra #1 of 6 — 32,237
07/2009: JSA Vs. Kobra #2 of 6 — 25,591 (-20.6%)
08/2009: JSA Vs. Kobra #3 of 6 — 22,806 (-10.9%)
09/2009: JSA Vs. Kobra #4 of 6 — 21,107 (- 7.5%)
10/2009: JSA Vs. Kobra #5 of 6 — 19,828 (- 6.1%)
11/2009: JSA Vs. Kobra #6 of 6 — 18,994 (- 4.2%)These numbers are not catastrophic, but they don’t exactly suggest there’s demand for a second ongoing JSA series, either.

—–

120 - LOBO: HIGHWAY TO HELL
11/2009: Highway to Hell #1 of 2 — 18,247Lobo: Highway to Hell is a two-part $ 6.99 series, drawn by Sam Kieth and written by the guitarist of, um, Anthrax; not bad sales for what’s basically a novelty item.

On a personal note, I’d like to add that I’m pretty sure that Lobo totally prefers John Bush. Joey Belladonna, my big, hairy … calculator.

—–

123 - GREEN ARROW & BLACK CANARY
11/2004: Green Arrow #44 — 32,159
11/2005: Green Arrow #56 — 32,670
11/2006: Green Arrow #68 — 32,135
11/2007: Arrow/Canary #2 — 42,827
———————————–
11/2008: Arrow/Canary #14 — 25,599 (- 4.8%)
12/2008: Arrow/Canary #15 — 24,526 (- 4.2%)
01/2009: Arrow/Canary #16 — 24,419 (- 0.4%)
02/2009: Arrow/Canary #17 — 23,392 (- 4.2%)
03/2009: Arrow/Canary #18 — 22,699 (- 3.0%)
04/2009: Arrow/Canary #19 — 21,933 (- 3.4%)
05/2009: Arrow/Canary #20 — 21,445 (- 2.2%)
06/2009: Arrow/Canary #21 — 20,807 (- 3.0%)
07/2009: Arrow&Canary #22 — 20,571 (- 1.1%)
08/2009: Arrow&Canary #23 — 19,452 (- 5.4%)
09/2009: Arrow&Canary #24 — 18,780 (- 3.5%)
10/2009: Arrow&Canary #25 — 18,013 (- 4.1%)
11/2009: Arrow&Canary #26 — 17,384 (- 3.5%)
—————-
6 months: -18.9%
1 year : -32.1%
2 years : -59.4%
5 years : -45.9%There’s some sort of mini-event storyline planned for the book next year — DC’s last-ditch effort to try and save the book, presumably.

—–

125 - BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL
11/2007: Batman Confidential #11 — 27,397
——————————————
11/2008: Batman Confidential #23 — 22,909 (- 5.7%)
12/2008: Batman Confidential #24 — 21,470 (- 6.3%)
01/2009: Batman Confidential #25 — 20,517 (- 4.4%)
02/2009: Batman Confidential #26 — 20,134 (- 1.9%)
03/2009: Batman Confidential #27 — 19,934 (- 1.0%)
04/2009: Batman Confidential #28 — 19,540 (- 2.0%)
05/2009: Batman Confidential #29 — 18,867 (- 3.4%)
06/2009: Batman Confidential #30 — 18,443 (- 2.3%)
07/2009: Batman Confidential #31 — 19,225 (+ 4.2%)
08/2009: Batman Confidential #32 — 18,545 (- 3.5%)
09/2009: Batman Confidential #33 — 18,140 (- 2.2%)
10/2009: Batman Confidential #34 — 17,097 (- 5.8%)
10/2009: Batman Confidential #35 — 16,724 (- 2.2%)
11/2009: Batman Confidential #36 — 16,664 (- 0.4%)
11/2009: Batman Confidential #37 — 16,355 (- 1.9%)
—————-
6 months: -12.5%
1 year : -27.9%
2 years : -39.7%The Batman title for hardcore completists continues apace. If nothing else, it’ll be interesting to see how low DC’s willing to let sales drop before someone pulls the plug.

—–

137 - THE UNWRITTEN (Vertigo)
05/2009: The Unwritten #1 — 26,915 [31,081]
06/2009: The Unwritten #2 — 16,290 (-39.5%)
07/2009: The Unwritten #3 — 17,028 (+ 4.5%)
08/2009: The Unwritten #4 — 16,336 (- 4.1%)
09/2009: The Unwritten #5 — 16,011 (- 2.0%)
10/2009: The Unwritten #6 — 15,314 (- 4.4%)
11/2009: The Unwritten #7 — 14,763 (- 3.6%)
—————-
6 months: -45.2%Sales still haven’t found their level, but it’s safe to say that they’re still much higher than they would have been without the $ 1.00 debut issue.

—–

143 - THE GREAT TEN
11/2009: The Great Ten #1 of 10 — 13,159146 - MAGOG
09/2009: Magog #1 — 26,352
10/2009: Magog #2 — 16,193 (-38.6%)
11/2009: Magog #3 — 12,915 (-20.2%)150 - RED TORNADO
09/2009: Red Tornado #1 of 6 — 20,551
10/2009: Red Tornado #2 of 6 — 14,383 (-30.0%)
11/2009: Red Tornado #3 of 6 — 12,331 (-14.3%)A bunch of DC Universe books that are dropping into oblivion.

Magog is the odd man out, of course, because it’s meant to be ongoing. With these numbers, it’s not inconceivable that it may be over before The Great Ten is, however.

—–

154 - CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2: GHOST (WildStorm)
11/2009: CoD:MW2: Ghost #1 of 6 — 11,936156 - VICTORIAN UNDEAD (WildStorm)
11/2009: Victorian Undead #1 of 6 — 11,422Two new WildStorm books with surprisingly good numbers — particularly Victorian Undead, whose sales are positively astonishing compared to the imprint’s other recent creator-owned launches.

And Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2: Ghost is more proof that colons are all the rage in the video-game stores.

Both comics were supported with 1-for-10 variant editions.

—–

159 - JONAH HEX
11/2005: Jonah Hex #1 — 33,771
11/2006: Jonah Hex #13 — 18,747
11/2007: Jonah Hex #25 — 14,577
——————————–
11/2008: Jonah Hex #37 — 12,537 (- 0.7%)
12/2008: Jonah Hex #38 — 12,132 (- 3.2%)
01/2009: Jonah Hex #39 — 11,705 (- 3.5%)
02/2009: Jonah Hex #40 — 11,631 (- 0.6%)
03/2009: Jonah Hex #41 — 11,564 (- 0.6%)
04/2009: Jonah Hex #42 — 11,551 (- 0.1%)
05/2009: Jonah Hex #43 — 11,606 (+ 0.5%)
06/2009: Jonah Hex #44 — 11,592 (- 0.1%)
07/2009: Jonah Hex #45 — 12,588 (+ 8.6%)
08/2009: Jonah Hex #46 — 12,466 (- 1.0%)
09/2009: Jonah Hex #47 — 12,231 (- 1.9%)
10/2009: Jonah Hex #48 — 11,281 (- 7.8%)
11/2009: Jonah Hex #49 — 11,146 (- 1.2%)
—————-
6 months: - 4.0%
1 year : -11.1%
2 years : -23.5%Jonah Hex is back in a slow decline.

—–

167 - HELLBLAZER (Vertigo)
11/2004: Hellblazer #202 — 15,254
11/2005: Hellblazer #214 — 14,766
11/2006: Hellblazer #226 — 13,388
11/2007: Hellblazer #238 — 12,536
———————————-
11/2008: Hellblazer #249 — 11,445 (-1.3%)
12/2008: Hellblazer #250 — 12,478 (+9.0%)
01/2009: Hellblazer #251 — 11,290 (-9.5%)
02/2009: Hellblazer #252 — 11,174 (-1.0%)
03/2009: Hellblazer #253 — 11,132 (-0.4%)
04/2009: Hellblazer #254 — 11,053 (-0.7%)
05/2009: Hellblazer #255 — 10,937 (-1.1%)
06/2009: Hellblazer #256 — 10,898 (-0.4%)
07/2009: Hellblazer #257 — 10,762 (-1.3%)
08/2009: Hellblazer #258 — 10,665 (-0.9%)
09/2009: Hellblazer #259 — 10,813 (+1.4%)
10/2009: Hellblazer #260 — 10,767 (-0.4%)
11/2009: Hellblazer #261 — 10,553 (-2.0%)
—————-
6 months: - 3.5%
1 year : - 7.8%
2 years : -15.8%
5 years : -30.8%169 - HOUSE OF MYSTERY (Vertigo)
11/2008: House of Mystery #7 — 15,120 (- 5.1%)
12/2008: House of Mystery #8 — 14,273 (- 5.6%)
01/2009: House of Mystery #9 — 13,739 (- 3.7%)
02/2009: House of Mystery #10 — 13,098 (- 4.7%)
03/2009: House of Mystery #11 — 12,785 (- 2.4%)
04/2009: House of Mystery #12 — 12,636 (- 1.2%)
05/2009: House of Mystery #13 — 14,358 (+13.6%)
06/2009: House of Mystery #14 — 12,039 (-16.2%)
07/2009: House of Mystery #15 — 11,809 (- 1.9%)
08/2009: House of Mystery #16 — 11,572 (- 2.0%)
09/2009: House of Mystery #17 — 11,142 (- 3.7%)
10/2009: House of Mystery #18 — 10,922 (- 2.0%)
11/2009: House of Mystery #19 — 10,478 (- 4.1%)
—————-
6 months: -27.0%
1 year : -30.7%170 - SWEET TOOTH (Vertigo)
09/2009: Sweet Tooth #1 — 18,657
10/2009: Sweet Tooth #2 — 11,315 (-39.4%)
11/2009: Sweet Tooth #3 — 10,363 (- 8.4%)Hellblazer, House of Mystery and Sweet Tooth remain just above 10K in November. At this rate, though, Hellblazer will be the only one of the bunch that’ll still be above that marker in a couple of months.

Sweet Tooth remains the lowest-selling of the recent $ 1.00 launches from Vertigo, comparing their third issues.

Vertigo keeps struggling to launch periodicals that sell solidly above the 10,000-unit mark.

—–

173 - WORLD OF WARCRAFT (WildStorm)
11/2007: World of WarCraft #1 — 44,508 [49,271]
—————————————-
11/2008: World of WarCraft #13 — 17,017 (- 6.5%)
12/2008: World of WarCraft #14 — 16,058 (- 5.6%)
01/2009: World of WarCraft #15 — 14,996 (- 6.6%)
02/2009: World of WarCraft #16 — 14,177 (- 5.5%)
03/2009: World of WarCraft #17 — 13,614 (- 4.0%)
04/2009: World of WarCraft #18 — 13,110 (- 3.7%)
05/2009: World of WarCraft #19 — 12,536 (- 4.4%)
06/2009: World of WarCraft #20 — 12,274 (- 2.1%)
07/2009: World of WarCraft #21 — 12,656 (+ 3.1%)
08/2009: World of WarCraft #22 — 12,131 (- 4.2%)
09/2009: World of WarCraft #23 — 11,959 (- 1.4%)
10/2009: World of WarCraft #24 — 10,442 (-12.7%)
11/2009: World of WarCraft #25 — 10,067 (- 3.6%)
—————-
6 months: -19.7%
1 year : -40.8%
2 years : -77.4%World of WarCraft continues to be a very shaky presence in the direct market.

—–

177 - WARLORD
11/2006: Warlord #10 — 10,539
——————————
04/2009: Warlord #1 — 17,540
05/2009: Warlord #2 — 13,390 (-23.7%)
06/2009: Warlord #3 — 12,283 (- 8.3%)
07/2009: Warlord #4 — 11,445 (- 6.8%)
08/2009: Warlord #5 — 10,790 (- 5.7%)
09/2009: Warlord #6 — 10,331 (- 4.3%)
10/2009: Warlord #7 — 9,892 (- 4.3%)
11/2009: Warlord #8 — 9,547 (- 3.5%)
—————-
6 months: -28.7%DC’s beefcake sword & sorcery title keeps slipping down the charts.

—–

183 - THE AUTHORITY: THE LOST YEAR (WildStorm)
10/2006: The Authority v3 #1 — 58,136
03/2007: The Authority v3 #2 — 39,886
——————————————
11/2009: The Lost Year #3 of 12 — 8,988 (-77.5%)Not surprisingly, WildStorm’s attempt to do Grant Morrison comics without Grant Morrison is met with some resistance by retailers.

The solicitation text seems confused as to what Morrison’s exact role in the project is. Is The Lost Year “plotted by Grant Morrison”? Or “written by Grant Morrison”? How about “story by Grant Morrison,” maybe?

Or is all of that just shorthand for “Grant Morrison couldn’t be bothered but we’ve still got his notes”?

Also, why isn’t the book called “The Lost Three Years”?

The Authority: The Lost Year Reader, a reprint of the two comics the book is based on, sold an estimated 5,380 units, meanwhile.

Overall, projects like this one add to the general sense that WildStorm editorial isn’t really clear on what, precisely, the appeal of the WildStorm Universe line was, once upon a time.

—–

184 - MADAME XANADU (Vertigo)
11/2008: Madame Xanadu #6 — 12,340 (+ 8.3%)
12/2008: Madame Xanadu #7 — 10,272 (-16.8%)
01/2009: –
02/2009: Madame Xanadu #8 — 9,932 (- 3.3%)
03/2009: Madame Xanadu #9 — 9,798 (- 1.4%)
04/2009: Madame Xanadu #10 — 9,664 (- 1.4%)
05/2009: Madame Xanadu #11 — 10,179 (+ 5.3%)
06/2009: Madame Xanadu #12 — 9,949 (- 2.3%)
07/2009: Madame Xanadu #13 — 10,009 (+ 0.6%)
08/2009: Madame Xanadu #14 — 9,873 (- 1.4%)
09/2009: Madame Xanadu #15 — 9,733 (- 1.4%)
10/2009: Madame Xanadu #16 — 9,283 (- 4.6%)
11/2009: Madame Xanadu #17 — 8,856 (- 4.6%)
—————-
6 months: -13.0%
1 year : -28.2%186 - GREEK STREET (Vertigo)
07/2009: Greek Street #1 — 20,422
08/2009: Greek Street #2 — 11,996 (-41.3%)
09/2009: Greek Street #3 — 10,628 (-11.4%)
10/2009: Greek Street #4 — 9,246 (-13.0%)
11/2009: Greek Street #5 — 8,610 (- 6.9%)Greek Street seems to have profited from its cheap introductory issue in a rather less substantial fashion than The Unwritten.

Madame Xanadu sales are dropping off steeply again, too.

—–

187 - THE SHIELD
08/2009: RC: Shield #1 — 19,088
09/2009: The Shield #1 — 16,997 (-11.0%)
10/2009: The Shield #2 — 10,401 (-38.8%)
11/2009: The Shield #3 — 8,546 (-17.8%)There’s not much hope here.

—–

191 - NORTHLANDERS (Vertigo)
11/2008: Northlanders #12 — 10,048 (- 3.0%)
12/2008: Northlanders #13 — 9,777 (- 2.7%)
01/2009: Northlanders #14 — 9,467 (- 3.2%)
02/2009: –
03/2009: Northlanders #15 — 9,443 (- 0.2%)
04/2009: Northlanders #16 — 9,323 (- 1.3%)
05/2009: Northlanders #17 — 9,239 (- 0.9%)
06/2009: Northlanders #18 — 8,877 (- 3.9%)
07/2009: Northlanders #19 — 8,722 (- 1.8%)
08/2009: –
09/2009: Northlanders #20 — 8,786 (+ 0.7%)
10/2009: Northlanders #21 — 8,360 (- 4.9%)
11/2009: Northlanders #22 — 8,136 (- 2.7%)
—————-
6 months: -11.9%
1 year : -19.0%Business as usual for Northlanders.

—–

192 - TINY TITANS (Johnny DC)
11/2008: Tiny Titans #10 — 9,239 (- 3.0%)
12/2008: Tiny Titans #11 — 9,085 (- 1.7%)
01/2009: Tiny Titans #12 — 8,733 (- 3.9%)
02/2009: Tiny Titans #13 — 8,710 (- 0.3%)
03/2009: Tiny Titans #14 — 8,736 (+ 0.3%)
04/2009: Tiny Titans #15 — 9,207 (+ 5.4%)
05/2009: Tiny Titans #16 — 8,844 (- 3.9%)
06/2009: Tiny Titans #17 — 8,640 (- 2.3%)
07/2009: Tiny Titans #18 — 8,576 (- 0.7%)
08/2009: Tiny Titans #19 — 8,432 (- 1.7%)
09/2009: Tiny Titans #20 — 8,435 (+ 0.0%)
10/2009: Tiny Titans #21 — 8,259 (- 2.1%)
11/2009: Tiny Titans #22 — 8,100 (- 1.9%)
—————-
6 months: - 8.4%
1 year : -12.3%A Johnny DC book. See small print.

—–

194 - THE AUTHORITY (WildStorm)
11/2004: Revolution #2 of 12 — 23,282
11/2006: –
11/2007: Prime #2 of 6 — 17,717
—————————————
11/2008: The Authority v4 #4 — 12,450 (- 7.2%)
12/2008: The Authority v4 #5 — 11,534 (- 7.4%)
01/2009: The Authority v4 #6 — 10,673 (- 7.5%)
02/2009: The Authority v4 #7 — 10,553 (- 1.1%)
03/2009: The Authority v4 #8 — 9,990 (- 5.3%)
04/2009: The Authority v4 #9 — 9,748 (- 2.4%)
05/2009: The Authority v4 #10 — 9,531 (- 2.2%)
06/2009: The Authority v4 #11 — 9,204 (- 3.4%)
07/2009: The Authority v4 #12 — 8,918 (- 3.1%)
08/2009: The Authority v4 #13 — 8,648 (- 3.0%)
09/2009: The Authority v4 #14 — 8,394 (- 2.9%)
10/2009: The Authority v4 #15 — 8,174 (- 2.6%)
11/2009: The Authority v4 #16 — 8,066 (- 1.3%)
—————-
6 months: -15.4%
1 year : -35.2%
2 years : -54.5%
5 years : -65.4%The numbers are bottoming out, evidently.

—–

195 - GEARS OF WAR (WildStorm)
11/2008: GoW #2 — 12,964 (-34.3%)
12/2008: GoW #3 — 12,095 (- 6.7%)
01/2009: –
02/2009: GoW #4 — 12,864 (+ 6.4%)
03/2009: GoW #5 — 11,394 (-11.4%)
04/2009: GoW #6 — 11,506 (+ 1.0%)
05/2009: GoW #7 — 9,955 (-13.5%)
06/2009: –
07/2009: GoW #8 — 9,368 (- 5.9%)
07/2009: GoW #9 — 9,009 (- 3.8%)
08/2009: –
09/2009: –
10/2009: –
11/2009: GoW #10 — 8,066 (-10.5%)
—————-
6 months: -19.0%
1 year : -37.8%Gears of War in particular has been mentioned as an example of a video-game adaptation that’s doing well for WildStorm outside the direct market.

—–

201 - THE WEB
08/2009: RC: Web #1 — 19,535
09/2009: The Web #1 — 15,507 (-20.6%)
10/2009: The Web #2 — 9,421 (-39.3%)
11/2009: The Web #3 — 7,631 (-19.0%)I don’t see this book sticking around for much longer.

—–

211 - DMZ (Vertigo)
11/2005: DMZ #1 — 18,705
11/2006: DMZ #13 — 14,228
11/2007: DMZ #25 — 11,277
————————–
11/2008: DMZ #36 — 8,851 (-4.2%)
12/2008: DMZ #37 — 8,823 (-0.3%)
01/2009: DMZ #38 — 8,457 (-4.2%)
02/2009: DMZ #39 — 8,353 (-1.2%)
03/2009: DMZ #40 — 8,167 (-2.2%)
04/2009: DMZ #41 — 8,061 (-1.3%)
05/2009: —
06/2009: DMZ #42 — 7,927 (-1.7%)
07/2009: DMZ #43 — 7,806 (-1.5%)
08/2009: DMZ #44 — 7,654 (-2.0%)
09/2009: DMZ #45 — 7,589 (-0.9%)
10/2009: DMZ #46 — 7,399 (-2.5%)
11/2009: DMZ #47 — 7,187 (-2.9%)
—————-
6 months: n.a.
1 year : -18.8%
2 years : -36.3%DMZ sales have been declining a little faster than usual in the last two months.

—–

222 - WILDCATS (WildStorm)
11/2005: Nemesis #3 of 9 — 16,154
11/2006: –
———————————-
11/2008: World’s End #5 — 11,280 (- 9.3%)
12/2008: World’s End #6 — 10,450 (- 7.4%)
01/2009: World’s End #7 — 9,539 (- 8.7%)
02/2009: World’s End #8 — 9,040 (- 5.2%)
03/2009: World’s End #9 — 8,758 (- 3.1%)
04/2009: World’s End #10 — 8,460 (- 3.4%)
05/2009: World’s End #11 — 8,165 (- 3.5%)
06/2009: World’s End #12 — 7,863 (- 3.7%)
07/2009: World’s End #13 — 7,609 (- 3.2%)
08/2009: World’s End #14 — 7,417 (- 2.5%)
09/2009: World’s End #15 — 7,178 (- 3.2%)
10/2009: World’s End #16 — 6,883 (- 4.1%)
11/2009: World’s End #17 — 6,691 (- 2.8%)
—————-
6 months: -18.1%
1 year : -40.7%A new creative team is waiting around the corner.

—–

226 - RESIDENT EVIL (WildStorm)
03/2009: Resident Evil #1 of 6 — 15,759
04/2009: –
05/2009: Resident Evil #2 of 6 — 10,366 (-34.2%)
06/2009: –
07/2009: –
08/2009: –
09/2009: –
10/2009: –
11/2009: Resident Evil #3 of 6 — 6,508 (-37.2%)
—————-
6 months: -37.2%For WildStorm’s sake, let’s hope that the rumors about sales in video-game stores are true.

—–

227 - VIGILANTE
12/2008: Vigilante #1 — 18,236
01/2009: Vigilante #2 — 13,855 (-24.0%)
02/2009: Vigilante #3 — 11,264 (-18.7%)
03/2009: Vigilante #4 — 11,125 (- 1.2%)
04/2009: Vigilante #5 — 21,290 (+91.4%)
05/2009: Vigilante #6 — 18,677 (-12.3%)
06/2009: Vigilante #7 — 11,483 (-38.5%)
07/2009: Vigilante #8 — 9,942 (-13.4%)
08/2009: Vigilante #9 — 8,387 (-15.6%)
09/2009: Vigilante #10 — 7,856 (- 6.3%)
10/2009: Vigilante #11 — 6,971 (-11.3%)
11/2009: Vigilante #12 — 6,450 (- 7.5%)
—————-
6 months: -65.5%Cancelled.

—–

228 - BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD (Johnny DC)
11/2004: Batman Strikes! #3 — 15,305
11/2005: Batman Strikes! #15 — 8,840
11/2006: Batman Strikes! #27 — 7,567
11/2007: Batman Strikes! #39 — 6,464
—————————————-
01/2009: Brave & Bold #1 — 13,935 (+117.3%)
02/2009: Brave & Bold #2 — 8,678 (- 37.7%)
03/2009: Brave & Bold #3 — 8,184 (- 5.7%)
04/2009: Brave & Bold #4 — 8,381 (+ 2.4%)
05/2009: Brave & Bold #5 — 7,994 (- 4.6%)
06/2009: Brave & Bold #6 — 7,614 (- 4.8%)
07/2009: Brave & Bold #7 — 7,441 (- 2.3%)
08/2009: Brave & Bold #8 — 7,153 (- 3.9%)
09/2009: Brave & Bold #9 — 7,064 (- 1.2%)
10/2009: Brave & Bold #10 — 6,646 (- 5.9%)
11/2009: Brave & Bold #11 — 6,438 (- 3.1%)
—————-
6 months: -19.5%
2 years : - 0.4%
5 years : -57.9%A Johnny DC book, see small print.

—–

231 - UNKNOWN SOLDIER (Vertigo)
11/2008: Unknown Soldier #2 — 10,553 (-34.2%)
12/2008: Unknown Soldier #3 — 9,926 (- 5.9%)
01/2009: Unknown Soldier #4 — 8,711 (-12.2%)
02/2009: Unknown Soldier #5 — 8,348 (- 4.2%)
03/2009: Unknown Soldier #6 — 8,177 (- 2.1%)
04/2009: Unknown Soldier #7 — 8,631 (+ 5.6%)
05/2009: Unknown Soldier #8 — 7,705 (-10.7%)
06/2009: Unknown Soldier #9 — 7,586 (- 1.6%)
07/2009: Unknown Soldier #10 — 7,256 (- 4.4%)
08/2009: Unknown Soldier #11 — 7,070 (- 2.6%)
09/2009: Unknown Soldier #12 — 6,865 (- 2.9%)
10/2009: Unknown Soldier #13 — 6,636 (- 3.3%)
11/2009: Unknown Soldier #14 — 6,359 (- 4.2%)
—————-
6 months: -17.5%
1 year : -39.7%234 - AIR (Vertigo)
11/2008: Air #4 — 8,913 (-11.4%)
12/2008: Air #5 — 8,412 (- 5.6%)
01/2009: Air #6 — 7,607 (- 9.6%)
02/2009: –
03/2009: Air #7 — 10,290 (+35.3%)
04/2009: Air #8 — 7,216 (-29.9%)
05/2009: Air #9 — 7,115 (- 1.4%)
06/2009: Air #10 — 6,954 (- 2.3%)
07/2009: Air #11 — 6,793 (- 2.3%)
08/2009: Air #12 — 6,589 (- 3.0%)
09/2009: Air #13 — 6,476 (- 1.7%)
10/2009: Air #14 — 6,156 (- 4.9%)
11/2009: Air #15 — 5,921 (- 3.8%)
—————-
6 months: -16.8%
1 year : -33.6%Air and Unknown Soldier have been the two lowest-selling Vertigo titles for a while.

Unless overall collection sales are better than the first-month direct-market numbers suggest, these books may be in trouble.

—–

236 - NORTH 40 (WildStorm)
07/2009: North 40 #1 of 6 — 8,163
08/2009: North 40 #2 of 6 — 6,523 (-20.1%)
09/2009: North 40 #3 of 6 — 6,284 (- 3.7%)
10/2009: North 40 #4 of 6 — 6,068 (- 3.4%)
11/2009: North 40 #5 of 6 — 5,819 (- 4.1%)Another creator-owned WildStorm title with better-than-average sales overall.

—–

238 - THE MIGHTY
02/2009: The Mighty #1 — 17,956
03/2009: The Mighty #2 — 10,624 (-40.8%)
04/2009: The Mighty #3 — 8,777 (-17.4%)
05/2009: The Mighty #4 — 7,565 (-13.8%)
06/2009: The Mighty #5 — 7,104 (- 6.1%)
07/2009: The Mighty #6 — 6,660 (- 6.3%)
08/2009: The Mighty #7 — 6,292 (- 5.5%)
09/2009: The Mighty #8 — 6,104 (- 3.0%)
10/2009: The Mighty #9 — 5,932 (- 2.8%)
11/2009: The Mighty #10 — 5,728 (- 3.4%)
—————-
6 months: -24.3%Cancelled with issue #12.

—–

254 - BILLY BATSON & THE MAGIC OF SHAZAM (Johnny DC)
11/2008: –
12/2008: Billy Batson #3 — 9,852 (-20.3%)
01/2009: –
02/2009: –
03/2009: –
04/2009: Billy Batson #4 — 8,470 (-14.0%)
05/2009: –
06/2009: Billy Batson #5 — 7,869 (- 7.1%)
07/2009: Billy Batson #6 — 6,771 (-14.0%)
08/2009: Billy Batson #7 — 6,382 (- 5.8%)
09/2009: Billy Batson #8 — 5,858 (- 8.2%)
10/2009: Billy Batson #9 — 5,388 (- 8.0%)
11/2009: Billy Batson #10 — 4,993 (- 7.3%)
—————-
6 months: n.a.
1 year : n.a.258 - SUPER FRIENDS (Johnny DC)
11/2008: Super Friends #9 — 5,739 (- 6.7%)
12/2008: Super Friends #10 — 5,543 (- 3.4%)
01/2009: Super Friends #11 — 5,500 (- 0.8%)
02/2009: Super Friends #12 — 5,394 (- 1.9%)
03/2009: Super Friends #13 — 5,387 (- 0.1%)
04/2009: Super Friends #14 — 5,792 (+ 7.5%)
05/2009: Super Friends #15 — 5,513 (- 4.8%)
06/2009: Super Friends #16 — 5,548 (+ 0.6%)
07/2009: Super Friends #17 — 5,368 (- 3.2%)
08/2009: Super Friends #18 — 5,291 (- 1.4%)
09/2009: Super Friends #19 — 5,045 (- 4.7%)
10/2009: Super Friends #20 — 5,026 (- 0.4%)
11/2009: Super Friends #21 — 4,879 (- 2.9%)
—————-
6 months: -11.5%
1 year : -15.0%Two more Johnny DC books.

—–

264 - STORMWATCH: PHD (WildStorm)
11/2006: StormWatch: PHD #1 — 29,975
11/2007: –
————————————–
11/2008: StormWatch: PHD #16 — 6,824 (- 7.9%)
12/2008: StormWatch: PHD #17 — 6,468 (- 5.2%)
01/2009: StormWatch: PHD #18 — 6,030 (- 6.8%)
02/2009: StormWatch: PHD #19 — 5,708 (- 5.3%)
03/2009: StormWatch: PHD #20 — 5,555 (- 2.7%)
04/2009: –
05/2009: StormWatch: PHD #21 — 5,370 (- 3.3%)
06/2009: –
07/2009: StormWatch: PHD #22 — 5,090 (- 5.2%)
08/2009: –
09/2009: StormWatch: PHD #23 — 4,840 (- 4.9%)
10/2009: –
11/2009: StormWatch: PHD #24 — 4,598 (- 5.0%)
—————-
6 months: -14.4%
1 year : -32.6%
2 years : n.a.Cancelled? Probably. No further issues have been solicited, and there has been no mention of StormWatch in a while from WildStorm.

—–

275 - STARCRAFT (WildStorm)
05/2009: StarCraft #1 — 11,744
06/2009: StarCraft #2 — 7,933 (-32.5%)
07/2009: –
08/2009: StarCraft #3 — 6,410 (-19.2%)
09/2009: StarCraft #4 — 5,428 (-15.3%)
10/2009: StarCraft #5 — 4,422 (-18.5%)
11/2009: StarCraft #6 — 4,149 (- 6.2%)
—————-
6 months: -64.7%See comments on Resident Evil above; these figures are abysmal.

—–

277 - SCOOBY DOO (Johnny DC)
11/2004: Scooby Doo #90 — 5,280
11/2005: Scooby Doo #102 — 4,587
11/2006: Scooby Doo #114 — 4,387
11/2007: Scooby Doo #126 — 4,237
———————————
11/2008: Scooby Doo #138 — 4,068
12/2008: Scooby Doo #139 — ?
01/2009: Scooby Doo #140 — 3,800
02/2009: Scooby Doo #141 — 3,861 (+ 1.6%)
03/2009: Scooby Doo #142 — 3,863 (+ 0.1%)
04/2009: Scooby Doo #143 — 4,610 (+19.3%)
05/2009: Scooby Doo #144 — 4,062 (-11.9%)
06/2009: Scooby Doo #145 — 4,093 (+ 0.8%)
07/2009: Scooby Doo #146 — 4,110 (+ 0.4%)
08/2009: Scooby Doo #147 — 4,111 (+ 0.0%)
09/2009: Scooby Doo #148 — 4,103 (- 0.2%)
10/2009: Scooby Doo #149 — 4,005 (- 2.4%)
11/2009: Scooby Doo #150 — 4,044 (+ 1.0%)
—————-
6 months: - 0.4%
1 year : - 0.6%
2 years : - 4.6%
5 years : -23.4%A Johnny DC title.

—–

285 - RED HERRING (WildStorm)
08/2009: Red Herring #1 of 6 — 5,982
09/2009: Red Herring #2 of 6 — 4,337 (-27.5%)
10/2009: Red Herring #3 of 6 — 3,797 (-12.5%)
11/2009: Red Herring #4 of 6 — 3,438 (- 9.5%)A creator-owned WildStorm miniseries.

The third issue of WildStorm’s game adaptation Free Realms shipped in November, and like the previous two, it failed to appear on the Top 300 chart.

As usual, for the purposes of the average charts below, I’m presuming any books that didn’t make the chart sold as many units as the last book on the chart, although actual sales are likely to be lower. The last book on the chart in November sold an estimated 2,699 units.

—–

6-MONTH COMPARISONS
+279.4%: REBELS
+153.3%: Booster Gold
+ 95.9%: Outsiders
+ 39.9%: JLA
+ 35.6%: Teen Titans
+ 31.9%: Superman/Batman
+ 30.5%: GL Corps
+ 23.2%: Green Lantern
- 0.4%: Scooby-Doo
- 3.5%: Hellblazer
- 4.0%: Jonah Hex
- 4.6%: Brave & Bold
- 8.4%: Tiny Titans
- 11.5%: Super Friends
- 11.6%: Fables
- 11.9%: Northlanders
- 12.3%: GC Sirens
- 12.5%: Batman Confidential
- 12.8%: Supergirl
- 13.0%: Madame Xanadu
- 14.3%: Flash
- 14.4%: StormWatch
- 14.5%: Secret Six
- 15.4%: Authority
- 16.3%: Superman: WoNK
- 16.8%: Air
- 17.3%: Superman
- 17.5%: Unknown Soldier
- 18.1%: Wildcats
- 18.9%: Green Arrow
- 19.0%: GoW
- 19.5%: Batman: Brave & Bold
- 19.7%: WoW
- 20.1%: Action Comics
- 20.6%: Wonder Woman
- 21.1%: Titans
- 22.6%: Batman
- 23.0%: JSA
- 24.3%: Mighty
- 27.0%: House of Mystery
- 28.7%: Warlord
- 37.2%: Resident Evil
- 40.4%: Azrael
- 45.2%: Unwritten
- 64.7%: StarCraft
- 65.5%: Vigilante—–

1-YEAR COMPARISONS
+271.5%: Adventure Comics
+166.3%: Flash
+102.1%: Booster Gold
+ 84.4%: GL Corps
+ 60.7%: Batgirl
+ 49.3%: Red Robin
+ 47.9%: GC Sirens
+ 22.1%: Teen Titans
+ 18.6%: Outsiders
- 0.6%: Scooby-Doo
- 7.8%: Hellblazer
- 10.6%: Fables
- 11.0%: Secret Six
- 11.1%: Jonah Hex
- 12.3%: Tiny Titans
- 15.0%: Super Friends
- 15.3%: Detective Comics
- 18.8%: DMZ
- 19.0%: Northlanders
- 19.4%: Brave & Bold
- 21.1%: Wonder Woman
- 27.9%: Batman Confidential
- 28.2%: Madame Xanadu
- 30.7%: House of Mystery
- 32.1%: Green Arrow
- 32.6%: StormWatch
- 33.1%: Batman
- 33.6%: Air
- 34.7%: Titans
- 35.2%: Authority
- 35.9%: Supergirl
- 37.7%: Batman: Widening Gyre
- 37.8%: GoW
- 37.9%: Superman
- 39.0%: JSA
- 39.7%: Unknown Soldier
- 40.7%: Wildcats
- 40.8%: WoW
- 43.0%: Action Comics—–

2-YEAR COMPARISONS
+217.5%: Adventure Comics
+ 95.7%: GL Corps
+ 59.1%: Flash
+ 51.6%: Booster Gold
+ 23.4%: GC Sirens
- 0.4%: Batman: Brave & Bold
- 1.6%: Outsiders
- 4.1%: Superman/Batman
- 4.6%: Scooby-Doo
- 9.8%: Detective Comics
- 10.1%: Batman
- 15.0%: Teen Titans
- 15.8%: Hellblazer
- 15.9%: Fables
- 16.3%: Red Robin
- 23.5%: Jonah Hex
- 28.9%: Superman
- 35.9%: Supergirl
- 36.3%: DMZ
- 38.8%: Action Comics
- 39.7%: Batman Confidential
- 45.5%: Titans
- 50.5%: Wonder Woman
- 53.4%: Brave & Bold
- 54.5%: Authority
- 59.4%: Green Arrow
- 77.4%: WoW—–

5-YEAR COMPARISONS
+146.1%: Doom Patrol
+ 69.4%: Flash
+ 41.1%: JLA
+ 18.0%: Red Robin
+ 16.3%: Green Lantern
+ 11.7%: Batgirl
+ 8.2%: Batman
+ 3.8%: Detective Comics
+ 2.2%: Wonder Woman
- 0.4%: GC Sirens
- 9.4%: JSA
- 14.1%: Action Comics
- 16.7%: Fables
- 23.4%: Scooby-Doo
- 24.9%: Teen Titans
- 30.8%: Hellblazer
- 45.9%: Green Arrow
- 57.9%: Batman: Brave & Bold
- 62.7%: Superman/Batman
- 65.4%: Authority
- 67.7%: Superman—–

Average Periodical Sales
(not counting reprints, reorders shipping after the initial month of release, Johnny DC titles and magazines)

DC COMICS
11/2004: 31,940
11/2005: 32,971
11/2006: 34,907
11/2007: 29,429
—————
11/2008: 25,340 (-13.0%)
12/2008: 26,793 (+ 5.7%)**
01/2009: 24,273 (- 9.4%)
02/2009: 23,080 (- 4.9%)
03/2009: 21,792 (- 5.6%)
04/2009: 27,373 (+25.6%)**
05/2009: 24,386 (-10.9%)
06/2009: 25,880 (+ 6.1%)**
07/2009: 30,905 (+19.4%)**
08/2009: 29,977 (- 3.0%)
09/2009: 28,493 (- 5.0%)**
10/2009: 27,525 (- 4.4%)**
11/2009: 28,913 (+ 5.1%)**
—————-
6 months: +18.6%
1 year : +14.1%
2 years : - 1.8%
5 years : - 6.4%DC UNIVERSE
11/2004: 40,291
11/2005: 42,342
11/2006: 45,399
11/2007: 37,257
—————
11/2008: 33,096 (-11.2%)
12/2008: 35,050 (+ 5.9%)
01/2009: 32,705 (- 6.7%)
02/2009: 30,224 (- 7.6%)
03/2009: 31,336 (+ 3.7%)
04/2009: 38,150 (+21.8%)
05/2009: 33,163 (-13.1%)
06/2009: 36,329 (+ 9.6%)
07/2009: 41,218 (+13.9%)
08/2009: 37,300 (- 9.5%)
09/2009: 36,725 (- 1.5%)**
10/2009: 34,795 (- 5.3%)
11/2009: 38,488 (+10.6%)
—————-
6 months: +16.1%
1 year : +16.3%
2 years : + 3.3%
5 years : - 4.5%VERTIGO
11/2004: 15,239
11/2005: 15,730
11/2006: 13,773
11/2007: 10,946
—————
11/2008: 11,936 (+ 5.8%)
12/2008: 11,603 (- 2.8%)
01/2009: 10,980 (- 5.4%)
02/2009: 11,353 (+ 3.4%)
03/2009: 10,177 (-10.4%)
04/2009: 10,767 (+ 5.8%)
05/2009: 12,918 (+20.0%)
06/2009: 11,166 (-13.6%)
07/2009: 11,055 (- 1.0%)**
08/2009: 11,369 (+ 2.8%)
09/2009: 11,345 (- 0.2%)
10/2009: 10,551 (- 7.0%)
11/2009: 11,036 (+ 4.6%)
—————-
6 months: -14.6%
1 year : - 7.5%
2 years : + 0.8%
5 years : -27.6%WILDSTORM
11/2004: 16,628
11/2005: 16,255
11/2006: 18,987
11/2007: 15,109
—————
11/2008: 10,220 (- 4.8%)
12/2008: 9,415 (- 7.9%)**
01/2009: 6,851 (-27.2%)
02/2009: 8,019 (+17.1%)
03/2009: 8,954 (+11.7%)
04/2009: 8,277 (- 7.6%)**
05/2009: 8,579 (+ 3.7%)
06/2009: 8,805 (+ 2.6%)**
07/2009: 8,519 (- 3.3%)**
08/2009: 7,977 (- 6.4%)
09/2009: 8,280 (+ 3.8%)**
10/2009: 9,769 (+18.0%)**
11/2009: 7,111 (-27.2%)
—————-
6 months: -17.1%
1 year : -30.4%
2 years : -52.9%
5 years : -57.2%

N.A. - BLACKEST NIGHT
07/2009: Blackest Night #1 of 8 -- 177,105 [206,534]
08/2009: Blackest Night #2 of 8 -- 146,092 (-17.5%) [155,512]
09/2009: Blackest Night #3 of 8 -- 140,786 (- 3.6%) [143,949]
10/2009: Blackest Night #4 of 8 -- 137,169 (- 2.6%)
11/2009: Blackest Night #5 of 8 -- 144,935 (+ 5.7%) [151,292]
12/2009: Blackest Night #6 of 8 -- 135,985 (- 6.2%)Blackest Night was on a scheduled skip month in January, but as expected, issue #6 made the chart again with 35,000 additional units, which brings the total count for that issue back up to the expected level.

The reason for the delay of those 35,000 issues, as retailer Brian Hibbs pointed out last month, was related to Diamond not shipping any comics in the final week of 2009. Since that’s when DC wanted Blackest Night #6 to be on sale, consequently, they had to ship it to retailers a week earlier. And to make sure that no copies would be up for sale before the desired shipping date, retailers were required to sign an affidavit.

The 35,000 copies that didn’t reach stores in January are probably the ones ordered by retailers who didn’t sign the sheet in question.

It’s also worth noting that Blackest Night would very likely have been the top-selling comic in January by a handsome margin, if it had shipped, because Marvel’s Siege #1 only managed a relatively disappointing 108,484 units. See the Marvel column for more on that, if you haven’t already.

Issues #1, #3 and #5 of Blackest Night also made the chart again in January, meanwhile, with re-orders of around 3K each. The demand for the series continues to be strong.


—–

2 - GREEN LANTERN
01/2005: --
01/2006: Green Lantern #7 -- 84,723
01/2007: Green Lantern #16 -- 66,105
01/2008: Green Lantern #27 -- 67,600
--------------------------------------
01/2009: Green Lantern #37 -- 65,556 (+ 1.2%) [ 71,331]
02/2009: Green Lantern #38 -- 68,908 (+ 5.1%) [ 77,372]
03/2009: --
04/2009: Green Lantern #39 -- 79,792 (+15.8%) [ 84,784]
04/2009: Green Lantern #40 -- 76,665 (- 3.9%) [ 84,705]
05/2009: Green Lantern #41 -- 81,491 (+ 6.3%)
06/2009: Green Lantern #42 -- 84,131 (+ 3.2%)
07/2009: Green Lantern #43 -- 109,426 (+30.1%) [117,314]
07/2009: Green Lantern #44 -- 105,063 (- 4.0%) [109,599]
08/2009: Green Lantern #45 -- 102,431 (- 2.5%)
09/2009: Green Lantern #46 -- 103,666 (+ 1.2%)
10/2009: Green Lantern #47 -- 101,349 (- 2.2%)
11/2009: Green Lantern #48 -- 100,371 (- 1.0%)
12/2009: Green Lantern #49 -- 97,285 (- 3.1%)
01/2010: Green Lantern #50 -- 106,444 (+ 9.4%)
-----------------
6 months: - 0.8%
1 year : + 62.4%
2 years : + 57.5%
5 years : n.a.Thanks to the anniversary number and to an additional 1-for-100 variant-cover edition on top of the usual 1-for-25 one, Green Lantern sales, which were already at an elevated level thanks to the continuing “Blackest Night” crossover, saw another boost in January. The book missed the top of the chart by 2,000 units and change.

—–

3 - BATMAN AND ROBIN
06/2009: Batman and Robin #1 -- 168,604 [184,826]
07/2009: Batman and Robin #2 -- 117,986 (-30.2%) [129,086]
08/2009: Batman and Robin #3 -- 110,594 (- 6.3%)
09/2009: Batman and Robin #4 -- 106,925 (- 3.3%)
10/2009: Batman and Robin #5 -- 101,607 (- 5.0%)
11/2009: Batman and Robin #6 -- 95,690 (- 5.8%)
12/2009: --
01/2010: Batman and Robin #7 -- 87,780 (- 8.3%)
-----------------
6 months: - 25.6%Batman and Robin joins the rest of the Batman line in a hefty decline. Of course, the book still comfortably outsells most of the Grant Morrison run on Batman proper. And, again, it’s the only non-”Blackest Night” title left at DC that sells above 70,000 units. As usual, there was a 1-for-25 variant edition.

—–

7 - GREEN LANTERN CORPS
01/2006: GLC: Recharge #4 of 5 -- 59,952 [61,540]
01/2007: Green Lantern Corps #8 -- 36,924
01/2008: Green Lantern Corps #20 -- 44,607 [48,577]
------------------------------------------
01/2009: Green Lantern Corps #32 -- 44,312 (+ 0.6%)
02/2009: Green Lantern Corps #33 -- 44,607 (+ 0.7%) [50,171]
03/2009: Green Lantern Corps #34 -- 54,162 (+21.4%)
04/2009: Green Lantern Corps #35 -- 58,769 (+ 8.5%)
05/2009: Green Lantern Corps #36 -- 61,591 (+ 4.8%)
06/2009: Green Lantern Corps #37 -- 63,574 (+ 3.2%)
07/2009: Green Lantern Corps #38 -- 82,415 (+29.6%)
08/2009: Green Lantern Corps #39 -- 84,241 (+ 2.2%)
09/2009: Green Lantern Corps #40 -- 83,112 (- 1.3%)
10/2009: Green Lantern Corps #41 -- 81,377 (- 2.1%)
11/2009: Green Lantern Corps #42 -- 80,391 (- 1.2%)
12/2009: Green Lantern Corps #43 -- 77,774 (- 3.3%)
01/2010: Green Lantern Corps #44 -- 76,458 (- 1.7%)
----------------
6 months: - 7.2%
1 year : +72.6%
2 years : +71.4%“Blackest Night” continues to keep Green Lantern Corps sales in the stratosphere. There was a 1-for-25 variant.

—–

9 - BLACKEST NIGHT: THE FLASH
01/2005: Flash #217 -- 49,771
01/2005: Flash #218 -- 41,668 [43,914]
01/2006: Flash #230 -- 40,571 [42,392]
01/2007: Flash: FMA #8 -- 50,967
01/2008: Flash #236 -- 41,464
-----------------------------------
04/2009: Rebirth #1 of 5 -- 102,429 (+286.6%) [111,515]
05/2009: Rebirth #2 of 5 -- 86,183 (- 15.9%)
06/2009: Rebirth #3 of 5 -- 83,086 (- 3.6%)
07/2009: --
08/2009: Rebirth #4 of 5 -- 78,107 (- 6.0%)
09/2009: --
10/2009: --
11/2009: Rebirth #5 of 6 -- 73,875 (- 5.4%)
12/2009: B.Night #1 of 3 -- 80,313 (+ 8.7%)
01/2010: B.Night #2 of 3 -- 69,381 (- 13.6%)
-----------------
6 months: n.a.
1 year : n.a.
2 years : + 67.3%
5 years : + 39.4%That’s an average second-issue drop for a mini, and the book stays noticeably below Blackest Night: Superman and Blackest Night: Batman.

You guessed it: There was a 1-for-25 variant edition.

—–

12 - BATMAN
01/2005: Batman #636 -- 58,630 [ 60,528]
01/2006: Batman #649 -- 62,379 [ 64,645]
01/2007: Batman #662 -- 72,499
01/2008: Batman #673 -- 69,234
-------------------------------
01/2009: Batman #685 -- 72,654 (- 9.1%)
02/2009: Batman #686 -- 111,353 (+53.3%) [128,780]
03/2009: BfC #1 of 3 -- 91,619 (-17.7%) [103,913]
04/2009: BfC #2 of 3 -- 89,120 (- 2.7%)
05/2009: BfC #3 of 3 -- 89,170 (+ 0.1%)
06/2009: Batman #687 -- 96,913 (+ 8.7%)
07/2009: Batman #688 -- 83,040 (-14.3%)
08/2009: Batman #689 -- 78,392 (- 5.6%)
09/2009: Batman #690 -- 77,001 (- 1.8%)
10/2009: Batman #691 -- 71,431 (- 7.2%)
10/2009: Batman #692 -- 70,322 (- 1.6%)
11/2009: Batman #693 -- 68,983 (- 1.9%)
12/2009: Batman #694 -- 65,908 (- 4.5%)
01/2010: Batman #695 -- 63,467 (- 3.7%)
----------------
6 months: -23.6%
1 year : -12.7%
2 years : - 8.3%
5 years : + 8.3%Batman sales keep declining stiffly.

—–

13 - JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA
01/2005: JLA #110 -- 64,094
01/2006: JLA #124 -- 74,069
01/2007: --
01/2008: Justice League #17 -- 94,712
--------------------------------------
01/2009: Justice League #29 -- 72,116 (- 0.8%)
02/2009: Justice League #30 -- 69,710 (- 3.3%)
03/2009: Justice League #31 -- 68,759 (- 1.4%)
04/2009: Justice League #32 -- 66,021 (- 4.0%)
05/2009: Justice League #33 -- 63,867 (- 3.3%)
06/2009: Justice League #34 -- 61,115 (- 4.3%)
07/2009: Justice League #35 -- 58,915 (- 3.6%)
08/2009: Justice League #36 -- 57,549 (- 2.3%)
09/2009: Justice League #37 -- 55,478 (- 3.6%)
10/2009: Justice League #38 -- 61,012 (+10.0%)
11/2009: Justice League #39 -- 89,376 (+46.5%)
12/2009: Justice League #40 -- 68,672 (-23.2%)
01/2010: Justice League #41 -- 62,262 (- 9.3%)
----------------
6 months: + 5.7%
1 year : -13.7%
2 years : -34.3%
5 years : - 2.9%The numbers fall back towards their previous level after the two-part “Blackest Night” tie-in. The book came with a variant edition that could be ordered separately, to promote the “proper” start of the Robinson/Bagley run, now that the crossover is out of the way. It certainly looks like retailers thought they had it right the first time, though.

—–

15 - BLACKEST NIGHT: WONDER WOMAN
12/2009: BN: Wonder Woman #1 of 3 -- 70,758
01/2010: BN: Wonder Woman #2 of 3 -- 61,372 (-13.3%)16 - BLACKEST NIGHT: JSA
12/2009: BN: JSA #1 of 3 -- 68,721
01/2010: BN: JSA #2 of 3 -- 58,751 (-14.5%)These are the lowest sales for any of the Blackest Night spin-off minis, to date, including Blackest Night: Titans. But of course, it’s still a gigantic boost compared to the sales of the regular Wonder Woman and Justice Society books.

There were 1-for-25 variant editions for both.

—–

24 - JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE
07/2009: Cry for Justice #1 of 6 -- 68,317 [72,719]
08/2009: Cry for Justice #2 of 6 -- 54,553 (-20.2%) [58,829]
09/2009: Cry for Justice #3 of 7 -- 54,726 (+ 0.3%)
10/2009: Cry for Justice #4 of 7 -- 54,386 (- 0.6%)
11/2009: Cry for Justice #5 of 7 -- 52,400 (- 3.7%)
12/2009: --
01/2010: Cry for Justice #6 of 7 -- 49,193 (- 6.1%)
----------------
6 months: -28.0%That’s a slight downward tweak, but the book is still doing well overall.

—–

29 - DETECTIVE COMICS
01/2005: Detective Comics #802 -- 40,842
01/2006: Detective Comics #815 -- 35,569
01/2007: --
01/2008: Detective Comics #840 -- 51,579
-----------------------------------------
01/2009: Detective Comics #852 -- 56,656 (-12.8%)
02/2009: --
03/2009: --
04/2009: Detective Comics #853 -- 104,107 (+83.8%)
05/2009: --
06/2009: Detective Comics #854 -- 72,808 (-30.1%) [79,573]
07/2009: Detective Comics #855 -- 61,205 (-15.9%)
08/2009: Detective Comics #856 -- 58,859 (- 3.8%)
09/2009: Detective Comics #857 -- 57,063 (- 3.1%)
10/2009: Detective Comics #858 -- 58,599 (+ 2.7%)
11/2009: Detective Comics #859 -- 54,392 (- 7.2%)
12/2009: Detective Comics #860 -- 52,295 (- 3.9%)
01/2010: Detective Comics #861 -- 45,937 (-12.2%)
-----------------
6 months: - 25.0%
1 year : - 18.9%
2 years : - 10.9%
5 years : + 12.5%The lack of a variant edition and the departure of artist J.H. Williams III in December probably account for most of the big drop. These are still decent numbers for Detective Comics, historically, but given that Greg Rucka’s “Batwoman” feature evidently won’t be sticking around, it’s questionable if the numbers will stabilize any time soon.

—–

31 - SUPERMAN: SECRET ORIGIN
09/2009: Superman: Secret Origin #1 of 6 -- 54,630
10/2009: Superman: Secret Origin #2 of 6 -- 46,840 (-14.3%)
11/2009: Superman: Secret Origin #3 of 6 -- 45,029 (- 3.9%)
12/2009: --
01/2010: Superman: Secret Origin #4 of 6 -- 43,863 (- 2.6%)Late from December, Superman: Secret Origin keeps bottoming out nicely.

Given that this is supposed to be a major story for DC’s most recognizable property by the company’s top-selling writer and a superstar artist, on the other hand, 40K seems underwhelming.

As usual, there was a 1-for-10 variant.

—–

33 - ADVENTURE COMICS
01/2005: LoSH #2 -- 42,261 [48,584]
01/2006: LoSH #13 -- 32,730
01/2007: SLoSH #26 -- 32,342
01/2008: LoSH #38 -- 33,045
---------------------------------------
01/2009: LoSH #50 -- 22,327 (+ 0.7%)
02/2009: Adventure Comics #0 -- 32,851 (+47.1%)
03/2009: --
04/2009: --
05/2009: --
06/2009: --
07/2009: --
08/2009: Adventure Comics #1 -- 56,706 (+72.6%)
09/2009: Adventure Comics #2 -- 47,296 (-15.9%)
10/2009: Adventure Comics #3 -- 44,431 (- 6.1%)
11/2009: Adventure Comics #4 -- 85,145 (+91.6%)
12/2009: Adventure Comics #5 -- 59,876 (-29.7%)
01/2010: Adventure Comics #6 -- 42,514 (-29.0%)
-----------------
6 months: n.a.
1 year : + 90.4%
2 years : + 28.7%
5 years : + 0.6%Following the two-part “Blackest Night” crossover, Adventure Comics sales pick up where issue #3 left off — before it’ll jolt right up again in February, of course, for the next Blackest Night crossover issue.

There was a 1-for-10 variant.

—–

37 - JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA
01/2005: JSA #69 -- 43,650
01/2006: JSA #81 -- 50,078
01/2007: Justice Society #2 -- 86,180 [92,459]
01/2008: --
---------------------------------------
01/2009: Justice Society #23 -- 61,385 (- 9.2%)
02/2009: Justice Society #24 -- 65,207 (+ 6.2%)
03/2009: --
04/2009: Justice Society #25 -- 65,713 (+ 0.8%)
04/2009: Justice Society #26 -- 81,200 (+ 23.6%)
05/2009: Justice Society #27 -- 56,102 (- 30.9%)
06/2009: Justice Society #28 -- 52,673 (- 6.1%)
07/2009: Justice Society #29 -- 51,375 (- 2.5%)
08/2009: Justice Society #30 -- 49,416 (- 3.8%)
09/2009: Justice Society #31 -- 47,436 (- 4.0%)
10/2009: Justice Society #32 -- 44,885 (- 5.4%)
11/2009: Justice Society #33 -- 43,218 (- 3.7%)
12/2009: Justice Society #34 -- 41,734 (- 3.4%)
01/2010: Justice Society #35 -- 39,934 (- 4.3%)
----------------
6 months: -22.3%
1 year : -35.0%
2 years : n.a.
5 years : - 8.5%This is the first time Justice Society numbers are dropping below 40K since Diamond started reporting sales to retailers in March 2003. The new creative team isn’t catching on, evidently.

—–

38/40/44/45/47/50/54 - BLACKEST NIGHT ONE-SHOTS
01/2010: Catwoman #83 -- 39,239
01/2010: Starman #81 -- 38,671
01/2010: Atom and Hawkman #46 -- 37,854
01/2010: Suicide Squad #67 -- 37,818
01/2010: Power of SHAZAM #48 -- 36,793
01/2010: Phantom Stranger #42 -- 35,937
01/2010: Weird Western T. #71 -- 33,70241 - SECRET SIX
01/2009: Secret Six #5 -- 24,899 (+ 1.0%)
02/2009: Secret Six #6 -- 24,758 (- 0.6%)
03/2009: Secret Six #7 -- 24,365 (- 1.6%)
04/2009: Secret Six #8 -- 24,338 (- 0.1%)
05/2009: Secret Six #9 -- 27,116 (+11.4%)
06/2009: Secret Six #10 -- 24,272 (-10.5%)
07/2009: Secret Six #11 -- 24,357 (+ 0.4%)
08/2009: Secret Six #12 -- 24,161 (- 0.8%)
09/2009: Secret Six #13 -- 23,919 (- 1.0%)
10/2009: Secret Six #14 -- 23,345 (- 2.4%)
11/2009: Secret Six #15 -- 23,190 (- 0.7%)
12/2009: Secret Six #16 -- 22,638 (- 2.4%)
01/2010: Secret Six #17 -- 38,515 (+70.1%)
----------------
6 months: +58.1%
1 year : +54.7%On the one hand, the one-shot epilogues to a number of canceled DC Universe titles aren’t setting the charts on fire, considering they’re Blackest Night tie-ins. But then again, it was obviously a fairly one-note gimmick, and the numbers are still great compared to the bulk of Marvel and DC’s output, so I doubt anybody’s too disappointed.

Secret Six #17 continues a two-parter started in Suicide Squad #67 and is by the same creative team, so that’s why it’s up here in this bunch.

——

43 - RED ROBIN
01/2005: Robin #134 -- 32,850
01/2006: Robin #146 -- 29,499 [31,851]
01/2007: Robin #158 -- 29,464
01/2008: Robin #170 -- 30,048
--------------------------------
01/2009: Robin #182 -- 28,684 (+ 2.8%)
02/2009: Robin #183 -- 31,682 (+ 10.5%)
03/2009: --
04/2009: --
05/2009: --
06/2009: Red Robin #1 -- 64,261 (+102.8%) [71,925]
07/2009: Red Robin #2 -- 51,593 (- 19.7%) [54,544]
08/2009: Red Robin #3 -- 50,329 (- 2.5%)
09/2009: Red Robin #4 -- 47,945 (- 4.7%)
10/2009: Red Robin #5 -- 44,776 (- 6.6%)
11/2009: Red Robin #6 -- 42,409 (- 5.3%)
12/2009: Red Robin #7 -- 39,528 (- 6.8%)
01/2010: Red Robin #8 -- 37,869 (- 4.2%)
-----------------
6 months: - 26.6%
1 year : + 32.0%
2 years : + 26.0%
5 years : + 15.3%Red Robin hasn’t found its level, but the drops are still feeding on the big boost the book got out of its relaunch.

—–

48 - BATMAN: THE WIDENING GYRE
01/2009: --
02/2009: --
03/2009: Cacophony #3 of 3 -- 52,814 (- 5.2%)
04/2009: --
05/2009: --
06/2009: --
07/2009: --
08/2009: Widening Gyre #1 of 6 -- 52,191 (- 1.2%)
09/2009: Widening Gyre #2 of 6 -- 46,287 (-11.3%)
10/2009: --
11/2009: Widening Gyre #3 of 6 -- 43,336 (- 6.4%)
12/2009: --
01/2010: Widening Gyre #4 of 6 -- 36,729 (-15.3%)
----------------
6 months: n.a.
1 year : n.a.In contrast to earlier issues, there was just one variant-cover edition for Widening Gyre #4. Maybe that explains most of the large drop-off, or maybe retailers are getting fed up with the new delays, or both.

—–

53 - SUPERMAN/BATMAN
01/2005: --
01/2006: --
01/2007: --
01/2008: Superman/Batman #45 -- 52,119
---------------------------------------
01/2009: --
02/2009: Superman/Batman #55 -- 43,962 (- 4.4%)
03/2009: Superman/Batman #56 -- 42,464 (- 3.4%)
04/2009: Superman/Batman #57 -- 41,743 (- 1.7%)
04/2009: Superman/Batman #58 -- 41,000 (- 1.8%)
04/2009: Superman/Batman #59 -- 40,182 (- 2.0%)
05/2009: Superman/Batman #60 -- 39,531 (- 1.6%)
06/2009: Superman/Batman #61 -- 38,228 (- 3.3%)
07/2009: Superman/Batman #62 -- 38,412 (+ 0.5%)
08/2009: Superman/Batman #63 -- 37,467 (- 2.5%)
09/2009: Superman/Batman #64 -- 36,332 (- 3.0%)
10/2009: Superman/Batman #65 -- 34,585 (- 4.8%)
11/2009: Superman/Batman #66 -- 52,143 (+50.8%)
12/2009: Superman/Batman #67 -- 49,650 (- 4.8%)
01/2010: Superman/Batman #68 -- 33,869 (-31.8%)
----------------
6 months: -11.8%
1 year : n.a.
2 years : -35.0%
5 years : n.a.Another book crashing back to pre-crossover levels after a two-part tie-in with Blackest Night.

Joe Casey, who writes the new arc, has made no secret of the fact that labeling the book’s cover as part of a 10-year-old crossover was not his idea — or, indeed, that it doesn’t have anything to do with the story he wrote, which is presumably why it wasn’t promoted as such in the solicitation copy, either.

Be that as it may, given that the gimmick wasn’t advertised in advance, we won’t know if it made any difference to sales until next month, at the earliest. Although, to be honest, I suspect it won’t.

If anything, the stunt is a sign that DC are fairly desperate in their attempts to stop the sales decline, at this stage. It seems Superman/Batman is another victim of the market that both Marvel and DC have created: It’s a book that doesn’t “matter” to anyone, bluntly.

—–

56 - SUPERMAN: WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON
03/2009: WoNK #1 of 12 -- 50,050
04/2009: WoNK #2 of 12 -- 44,880 (-10.3%)
05/2009: WoNK #3 of 12 -- 42,153 (- 6.1%)
06/2009: WoNK #4 of 12 -- 41,620 (- 1.3%)
07/2009: WoNK #5 of 12 -- 39,939 (- 4.0%)
08/2009: WoNK #6 of 12 -- 39,218 (- 1.8%)
09/2009: WoNK #7 of 12 -- 37,697 (- 3.9%)
10/2009: WoNK #8 of 12 -- 36,672 (- 2.7%)
11/2009: WoNK #9 of 12 -- 35,286 (- 3.8%)
12/2009: WoNK #10 of 12 -- 33,868 (- 4.0%)
01/2010: WoNK #11 of 12 -- 32,728 (- 3.4%)
----------------
6 months: -18.1%Of course, if Superman/Batman “doesn’t matter,” that’s bad news for the Superman line proper, which is summarily outsold by it — despite, in the case of World of New Krypton, of a 1-for-25 variant edition, to boot.

—–

58 - JSA ALL-STARS
12/2009: JSA All-Stars #1 -- 42,493
01/2010: JSA All-Stars #2 -- 32,601 (-23.3%)There was no variant edition for the second issue, so that drop-off could have been worse.

—–

59 - SUPERMAN
01/2005: --
01/2006: Superman #225 -- 61,768
01/2007: Superman #658 -- 60,682
01/2008: Superman #672 -- 44,656
---------------------------------
01/2009: Superman #684 -- 48,489 (-12.3%)
02/2009: Superman #685 -- 48,027 (- 1.0%)
03/2009: Superman #686 -- 44,976 (- 6.4%)
04/2009: Superman #687 -- 43,041 (- 4.3%)
05/2009: Superman #688 -- 41,642 (- 3.3%)
06/2009: Superman #689 -- 40,366 (- 3.1%)
07/2009: Superman #690 -- 39,472 (- 2.2%)
08/2009: Superman #691 -- 39,106 (- 0.9%)
09/2009: Superman #692 -- 37,695 (- 3.6%)
10/2009: Superman #693 -- 35,395 (- 6.1%)
11/2009: Superman #694 -- 34,430 (- 2.7%)
12/2009: Superman #695 -- 32,482 (- 5.7%)
01/2010: Superman #696 -- 31,940 (- 1.7%)
----------------
6 months: -19.1%
1 year : -34.1%
2 years : -28.5%
5 years : n.a.62 - ACTION COMICS
01/2005: Action Comics #823 -- 36,638
01/2006: Action Comics #835 -- 41,114
01/2007: --
01/2008: Action Comics #861 -- 56,093
-------------------------------------
01/2009: Action Comics #873 -- 51,940 (- 9.2%)
02/2009: Action Comics #874 -- 48,360 (- 6.9%)
03/2009: Action Comics #875 -- 47,079 (- 2.7%)
04/2009: Action Comics #876 -- 43,368 (- 7.9%)
05/2009: Action Comics #877 -- 41,772 (- 3.7%)
06/2009: Action Comics #878 -- 40,011 (- 4.2%)
07/2009: Action Comics #879 -- 38,324 (- 4.2%)
08/2009: Action Comics #880 -- 37,588 (- 1.9%)
09/2009: Action Comics #881 -- 36,183 (- 3.7%)
10/2009: Action Comics #882 -- 34,754 (- 4.0%)
11/2009: Action Comics #883 -- 33,386 (- 3.9%)
12/2009: Action Comics #884 -- 31,873 (- 4.5%)
01/2010: Action Comics #885 -- 30,678 (- 3.8%)
----------------
6 months: -20.0%
1 year : -40.9%
2 years : -45.3%
5 years : -16.3%The core Superman titles keep slipping down the charts.

For Superman, this is the lowest number since Diamond started reporting sales to retailers in March 2003.

—–

64 - BATGIRL
01/2005: Batgirl #60 -- 29,227
01/2006: Batgirl #72 -- 26,480
----------------------------------
08/2009: Batgirl #1 -- 51,724 (+149.3%)
09/2009: Batgirl #2 -- 40,626 (- 21.5%)
10/2009: Batgirl #3 -- 37,011 (- 8.9%)
11/2009: Batgirl #4 -- 34,697 (- 6.3%)
12/2009: Batgirl #5 -- 32,482 (- 6.4%)
01/2010: Batgirl #6 -- 30,403 (- 6.4%)
----------------
5 years : + 4.0%70 - BATMAN: STREETS OF GOTHAM
06/2009: Batman: SoG #1 -- 57,650
07/2009: Batman: SoG #2 -- 44,240 (-23.3%)
08/2009: Batman: SoG #3 -- 40,353 (- 8.8%)
09/2009: Batman: SoG #4 -- 37,888 (- 6.1%)
10/2009: Batman: SoG #5 -- 34,533 (- 8.9%)
11/2009: Batman: SoG #6 -- 32,303 (- 6.5%)
12/2009: Batman: SoG #7 -- 30,290 (- 6.2%)
01/2010: Batman: SoG #8 -- 28,313 (- 6.5%)
----------------
6 months: -36.0%71 - GOTHAM CITY SIRENS
01/2005: Birds of Prey #78 -- 29,456
01/2006: Birds of Prey #90 -- 30,460
01/2007: Birds of Prey #102 -- 29,043
01/2008: Birds of Prey #114 -- 24,211
-------------------------------------
01/2009: Birds of Prey #126 -- 20,772 (+ 3.0%)
02/2009: Birds of Prey #127 -- 21,424 (+ 3.1%)
03/2009: Oracle #1 of 3 -- 34,081 (+59.1%)
04/2009: Oracle #2 of 3 -- 33,731 (- 1.0%)
05/2009: Oracle #3 of 3 -- 35,328 (+ 4.7%)
06/2009: GC Sirens #1 -- 52,439 (+48.4%)
07/2009: GC Sirens #2 -- 39,518 (-24.6%)
08/2009: GC Sirens #3 -- 36,772 (- 7.0%)
09/2009: GC Sirens #4 -- 34,405 (- 6.4%)
10/2009: GC Sirens #5 -- 33,015 (- 4.0%)
11/2009: GC Sirens #6 -- 30,990 (- 6.1%)
12/2009: GC Sirens #7 -- 29,709 (- 4.1%)
01/2010: GC Sirens #8 -- 28,254 (- 4.9%)
-----------------
6 months: - 28.5%
1 year : + 36.0%
2 years : + 16.7%
5 years : - 4.1%Three more Batman spin-off series, all in a free fall.

—–

72 - TEEN TITANS
01/2005: Teen Titans #20 -- 65,953 [67,781]
01/2006: Teen Titans #31 -- 65,223
01/2007: Teen Titans #43 -- 60,290 [62,560]
01/2008: Teen Titans #55 -- 52,376
----------------------------------
01/2009: Teen Titans #67 -- 35,877 (- 2.5%)
02/2009: Teen Titans #68 -- 35,096 (- 2.2%)
03/2009: --
04/2009: Teen Titans #69 -- 35,375 (+ 0.8%)
04/2009: Teen Titans #70 -- 35,412 (+ 0.1%)
05/2009: Teen Titans #71 -- 34,110 (- 3.7%)
06/2009: Teen Titans #72 -- 32,512 (- 4.7%)
07/2009: Teen Titans #73 -- 30,990 (- 4.7%)
08/2009: Teen Titans #74 -- 30,380 (- 2.0%)
09/2009: Teen Titans #75 -- 32,808 (+ 8.0%)
10/2009: Teen Titans #76 -- 29,166 (-11.1%)
11/2009: Teen Titans #77 -- 46,239 (+58.5%)
12/2009: Teen Titans #78 -- 43,400 (- 6.1%)
01/2010: Teen Titans #79 -- 27,790 (-36.0%)
----------------
6 months: -10.3%
1 year : -22.5%
2 years : -46.9%
5 years : -57.9%The book returns to business as usual after its two-part tie-in with Blackest Night.

—–

73 - SUPERGIRL
01/2006: --
01/2007: --
01/2008: Supergirl #25 -- 36,459
---------------------------------
01/2009: Supergirl #37 -- 34,060 (-25.1%)
02/2009: Supergirl #38 -- 34,225 (+ 0.5%)
03/2009: Supergirl #39 -- 33,713 (- 1.5%)
04/2009: Supergirl #40 -- 34,080 (+ 1.1%)
05/2009: Supergirl #41 -- 33,441 (- 1.9%)
06/2009: Supergirl #42 -- 32,705 (- 2.2%)
07/2009: Supergirl #43 -- 32,849 (+ 0.4%)
08/2009: Supergirl #44 -- 33,819 (+ 3.0%)
09/2009: Supergirl #45 -- 32,240 (- 4.7%)
10/2009: Supergirl #46 -- 30,377 (- 5.8%)
11/2009: Supergirl #47 -- 29,159 (- 4.0%)
12/2009: Supergirl #48 -- 28,176 (- 3.4%)
01/2010: Supergirl #49 -- 27,728 (- 1.6%)
----------------
6 months: -15.6%
1 year : -18.6%
2 years : -24.0%Sales are bottoming out again, in time for February’s anniversary number.

—–

77 - JOE THE BARBARIAN (Vertigo)
01/2010: Joe the Barbarian #1 of 8 -- 25,543The miniseries by Grant Morrison and Sean Murphy is Vertigo’s latest $ 1.00 launch, with numbers slightly below those of The Unwritten #1.

At first glance, it’s curious that Vertigo’s putting out loss-leaders for miniseries. Given that a done-in-one Grant Morrison paperback can be counted on to be a long-term performer in the book market and the comic book will only be able to profit from the promotion for a limited time, if at all.

A look at January’s “Graphic Novel” chart may solve this particular mystery, however; see comments on The Unwritten for more on that.

—–

78 - WONDER WOMAN
01/2005: Wonder Woman #212 -- 25,610
01/2006: Wonder Woman #225 -- 42,661
01/2007: --
01/2008: Wonder Woman #16 -- 42,897
-------------------------------------
01/2009: Wonder Woman #28 -- 32,622 (+ 0.9%)
02/2009: Wonder Woman #29 -- 33,237 (+ 1.9%)
03/2009: Wonder Woman #30 -- 33,365 (+ 0.4%)
04/2009: Wonder Woman #31 -- 31,857 (- 4.5%)
05/2009: Wonder Woman #32 -- 33,065 (+ 3.8%)
06/2009: Wonder Woman #33 -- 32,755 (- 0.9%)
07/2009: Wonder Woman #34 -- 30,131 (- 8.0%)
08/2009: Wonder Woman #35 -- 29,657 (- 1.6%)
09/2009: Wonder Woman #36 -- 28,806 (- 2.9%)
10/2009: Wonder Woman #37 -- 26,972 (- 6.4%)
11/2009: Wonder Woman #38 -- 26,265 (- 2.6%)
12/2009: Wonder Woman #39 -- 26,152 (- 0.4%)
01/2010: Wonder Woman #40 -- 25,156 (- 3.8%)
----------------
6 months: -16.5%
1 year : -22.9%
2 years : -41.4%
5 years : - 1.8%The drops have been rather erratic lately, but Wonder Woman keeps slipping too fast for comfort, overall.

—–

79 - TITANS
01/2009: Titans #9 -- 37,693 (- 3.7%)
02/2009: Titans #10 -- 36,361 (- 3.5%)
03/2009: Titans #11 -- 35,240 (- 3.1%)
04/2009: Titans #12 -- 36,014 (+ 2.2%)
05/2009: Titans #13 -- 34,343 (- 4.6%)
06/2009: Titans #14 -- 32,321 (- 5.9%)
07/2009: Titans #15 -- 46,189 (+42.9%)
08/2009: Titans #16 -- 31,408 (-32.0%)
09/2009: Titans #17 -- 30,154 (- 4.0%)
10/2009: Titans #18 -- 28,215 (- 6.4%)
11/2009: Titans #19 -- 27,099 (- 4.0%)
12/2009: Titans #20 -- 25,887 (- 4.5%)
01/2010: Titans #21 -- 24,924 (- 3.7%)
----------------
6 months: -46.0%
1 year : -33.9%The book is headed for a relaunch, evidently. I’m wondering what makes DC think there’s enough demand for this property to support multiple titles, at this stage.

—–

88 - THE OUTSIDERS
01/2005: Outsiders #19 -- 39,528
01/2006: Outsiders #32 -- 44,027
01/2007: --
01/2008: --
--------------------------------
01/2009: --
02/2009: Special #1 -- 35,727 (+ 11.1%)
02/2009: Outsiders #15 -- 30,024 (- 16.0%)
03/2009: Outsiders #16 -- 27,977 (- 6.8%)
04/2009: Outsiders #17 -- 27,171 (- 2.9%)
05/2009: Outsiders #18 -- 25,995 (- 4.3%)
06/2009: Outsiders #19 -- 27,485 (+ 5.7%)
07/2009: Outsiders #20 -- 24,323 (- 11.5%)
08/2009: Outsiders #21 -- 23,856 (- 1.9%)
09/2009: Outsiders #22 -- 22,775 (- 4.5%)
10/2009: Outsiders #23 -- 21,413 (- 6.0%)
11/2009: Outsiders #24 -- 50,918 (+137.8%) [55,704]
12/2009: Outsiders #25 -- 37,847 (- 25.7%)
01/2010: Outsiders #26 -- 22,626 (- 40.2%)
----------------
6 months: - 7.0%
1 year : n.a.
2 years : n.a.
5 years : -42.8%90 - BOOSTER GOLD
01/2008: Booster Gold #6 -- 36,292
-----------------------------------
01/2009: Booster Gold #16 -- 25,472 (- 5.1%)
02/2009: Booster Gold #17 -- 24,732 (- 2.9%)
03/2009: Booster Gold #18 -- 23,737 (- 4.0%)
04/2009: Booster Gold #19 -- 23,203 (- 2.3%)
05/2009: Booster Gold #20 -- 22,549 (- 2.8%)
06/2009: Booster Gold #21 -- 23,222 (+ 3.0%)
07/2009: Booster Gold #22 -- 22,414 (- 3.5%)
08/2009: Booster Gold #23 -- 22,108 (- 1.4%)
09/2009: Booster Gold #24 -- 21,731 (- 1.7%)
10/2009: Booster Gold #25 -- 21,597 (- 0.6%)
11/2009: Booster Gold #26 -- 57,122 (+164.5%)
12/2009: Booster Gold #27 -- 40,256 (- 29.5%)
01/2010: Booster Gold #28 -- 21,967 (- 45.4%)
-----------------
6 months: - 2.0%
1 year : - 13.8%
2 years : - 39.5%The Outsiders and Booster Gold drop back to their previous levels after the two-month tie-in with Blackest Night. The Outsiders #26 was also the first issue by the new creative team of Dan DiDio and Philip Tan, which may be while it’s still slightly above its pre-crossover level.

—–

93 - POWER GIRL
05/2009: Power Girl #1 -- 47,322
06/2009: Power Girl #2 -- 36,756 (-22.3%)
07/2009: Power Girl #3 -- 35,163 (- 4.3%)
08/2009: Power Girl #4 -- 32,140 (- 8.6%)
09/2009: Power Girl #5 -- 29,497 (- 8.2%)
10/2009: Power Girl #6 -- 27,060 (- 8.3%)
11/2009: --
12/2009: Power Girl #7 -- 22,533 (-16.7%)
01/2010: Power Girl #8 -- 21,760 (- 3.4%)
----------------
6 months: -38.1%Power Girl sales are still declining faster than they should, at this point.

—–

95 - THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD
01/2008: --
---------------------------------------------
01/2009: The Brave and the Bold #21 -- 24,375 (- 2.7%)
02/2009: The Brave and the Bold #22 -- 23,507 (- 3.6%)
03/2009: --
04/2009: --
05/2009: The Brave and the Bold #23 -- 22,312 (- 5.1%)
06/2009: The Brave and the Bold #24 -- 21,272 (- 4.7%)
07/2009: The Brave and the Bold #25 -- 21,234 (- 0.2%)
08/2009: The Brave and the Bold #26 -- 20,154 (- 5.1%)
09/2009: The Brave and the Bold #27 -- 26,904 (+33.5%)
10/2009: The Brave and the Bold #28 -- 23,176 (-13.9%)
11/2009: The Brave and the Bold #29 -- 21,287 (- 8.2%)
12/2009: The Brave and the Bold #30 -- 20,932 (- 1.7%)
01/2010: The Brave and the Bold #31 -- 21,406 (+ 2.3%)
----------------
6 months: + 0.8%
1 year : -12.2%
2 years : n.a.It stirs! Did word get out that superstar writer J. Michael Straczynski is writing a DC Universe title, despite DC’s best efforts to conceil the fact?

Anyway, the book is on hiatus in February and March. That might kill whatever momentum we’re seeing here, or it might give it a better chance to catch on. We’ll find out in a few months.

—–

97 - WORLD'S FINEST
10/2009: World's Finest #1 of 4 -- 37,037
11/2009: World's Finest #2 of 4 -- 26,566 (-28.3%)
12/2009: World's Finest #3 of 4 -- 23,295 (-12.3%)
01/2010: World's Finest #4 of 4 -- 21,113 (- 9.4%)The miniseries has seen some stiff drops, but since it started out with a surprisingly high figure to begin with, it still manages to finish with perfectly decent sales.

—–

100 - FABLES (Vertigo)
01/2005: Fables #33 -- 24,367
01/2006: Fables #45 -- 24,297
01/2007: Fables #57 -- 25,744
01/2008: --
-----------------------------
01/2009: Fables #80 -- 22,617 (-0.7%)
02/2009: Fables #81 -- 22,517 (-0.4%)
03/2009: Fables #82 -- 22,445 (-0.3%)
04/2009: Fables #83 -- 23,630 (+5.3%)
05/2009: Fables #84 -- 23,634 (+0.0%)
06/2009: Fables #85 -- 23,439 (-0.8%)
07/2009: Fables #86 -- 22,447 (-4.2%)
08/2009: Fables #87 -- 21,876 (-2.5%)
09/2009: Fables #88 -- 21,508 (-1.7%)
10/2009: Fables #89 -- 21,118 (-1.8%)
11/2009: Fables #90 -- 20,882 (-1.1%)
12/2009: Fables #91 -- 20,450 (-2.1%)
01/2010: Fables #92 -- 20,180 (-1.3%)
----------------
6 months: -10.1%
1 year : -10.8%
2 years : n.a.
5 years : -17.2%The last six months haven’t been great by Fables standards, but the series remains one of DC’s more stable performers nonetheless.

—–

114 - BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL
01/2007: Batman Confidential #2 -- 47,451
01/2008: --
------------------------------------------
01/2009: Batman Confidential #25 -- 20,517 (- 4.4%)
02/2009: Batman Confidential #26 -- 20,134 (- 1.9%)
03/2009: Batman Confidential #27 -- 19,934 (- 1.0%)
04/2009: Batman Confidential #28 -- 19,540 (- 2.0%)
05/2009: Batman Confidential #29 -- 18,867 (- 3.4%)
06/2009: Batman Confidential #30 -- 18,443 (- 2.3%)
07/2009: Batman Confidential #31 -- 19,225 (+ 4.2%)
08/2009: Batman Confidential #32 -- 18,545 (- 3.5%)
09/2009: Batman Confidential #33 -- 18,140 (- 2.2%)
10/2009: Batman Confidential #34 -- 17,097 (- 5.8%)
10/2009: Batman Confidential #35 -- 16,724 (- 2.2%)
11/2009: Batman Confidential #36 -- 16,664 (- 0.4%)
11/2009: Batman Confidential #37 -- 16,355 (- 1.9%)
12/2009: Batman Confidential #38 -- 16,132 (- 1.4%)
12/2009: Batman Confidential #39 -- 15,906 (- 1.4%)
01/2010: Batman Confidential #40 -- 17,241 (+ 8.4%)
----------------
6 months: -10.3%
1 year : -16.0%
2 years : n.a.A four-part storyline by writer/artist Sam Kieth brings a small increase.

——

115 - DOOM PATROL
01/2005: Doom Patrol #8 -- 17,970
----------------------------------
08/2009: Doom Patrol #1 -- 28,267
09/2009: Doom Patrol #2 -- 22,001 (- 22.2%)
10/2009: Doom Patrol #3 -- 20,036 (- 8.9%)
11/2009: Doom Patrol #4 -- 53,748 (+168.3%)
12/2009: Doom Patrol #5 -- 35,348 (- 34.2%)
01/2010: Doom Patrol #6 -- 17,117 (- 51.6%)
-----------------
5 years : - 4.8%Doom Patrol tied in with Blackest Night in November and December. In January, all those additional units were dust in the wind, as usual.

—–

117 - GREEN ARROW & BLACK CANARY
01/2005: Green Arrow #46 -- 32,469
01/2006: Green Arrow #58 -- 30,990
01/2007: Green Arrow #70 -- 31,798
01/2008: Arrow/Canary #4 -- 35,039
-----------------------------------
01/2009: Arrow/Canary #16 -- 24,419 (- 0.4%)
02/2009: Arrow/Canary #17 -- 23,392 (- 4.2%)
03/2009: Arrow/Canary #18 -- 22,699 (- 3.0%)
04/2009: Arrow/Canary #19 -- 21,933 (- 3.4%)
05/2009: Arrow/Canary #20 -- 21,445 (- 2.2%)
06/2009: Arrow/Canary #21 -- 20,807 (- 3.0%)
07/2009: Arrow&Canary #22 -- 20,571 (- 1.1%)
08/2009: Arrow&Canary #23 -- 19,452 (- 5.4%)
09/2009: Arrow&Canary #24 -- 18,780 (- 3.5%)
10/2009: Arrow&Canary #25 -- 18,013 (- 4.1%)
11/2009: Arrow&Canary #26 -- 17,384 (- 3.5%)
12/2009: Arrow&Canary #27 -- 16,904 (- 2.8%)
01/2010: Arrow&Canary #28 -- 16,482 (- 2.5%)
----------------
6 months: -19.9%
1 year : -32.5%
2 years : -53.0%
5 years : -49.2%The numbers keep slipping.

—–

119 - CINDERELLA: FROM FABLETOWN WITH LOVE (Vertigo)
11/2009: Cinderella #1 of 6 -- 20,337
12/2009: Cinderella #2 of 6 -- 16,598 (-18.4%)
01/2010: Cinderella #3 of 6 -- 15,827 (- 4.7%)The Fables spin-off is bottoming out nicely, remaining well above any other regular Vertigo titles.

—–

121 - AZRAEL
03/2009: Death's Dark Knight #1 of 3 -- 39,985
04/2009: Death's Dark Knight #2 of 3 -- 36,432 (- 8.9%)
05/2009: Death's Dark Knight #3 of 3 -- 35,916 (- 1.4%)
06/2009: --
07/2009: --
08/2009: --
09/2009: --
10/2009: Azrael #1 -- 35,311 (- 1.7%)
11/2009: Azrael #2 -- 21,392 (-39.4%)
12/2009: Azrael #3 -- 17,757 (-17.0%)
01/2010: Azrael #4 -- 14,703 (-17.2%)This is a complete disaster. Azrael will be lucky to make it to issue #12.

—–

129 - THE UNWRITTEN (Vertigo)
05/2009: The Unwritten #1 -- 26,915 [31,081]
06/2009: The Unwritten #2 -- 16,290 (-39.5%)
07/2009: The Unwritten #3 -- 17,028 (+ 4.5%)
08/2009: The Unwritten #4 -- 16,336 (- 4.1%)
09/2009: The Unwritten #5 -- 16,011 (- 2.0%)
10/2009: The Unwritten #6 -- 15,314 (- 4.4%)
11/2009: The Unwritten #7 -- 14,763 (- 3.6%)
12/2009: The Unwritten #8 -- 14,257 (- 3.4%)
01/2010: The Unwritten #9 -- 13,792 (- 3.3%)
----------------
6 months: -19.0%Sales haven’t quite found their level, but things still don’t look too bad for The Unwritten.

First up, it’s still the second-best-selling ongoing Vertigo series right now, which makes it the most successful book they’ve launched in ages.

Second, the first paperback collection of The Unwritten came out in January and sold an estimated 5,836 units in its first calendar month, which is a rather good number if you compare it to the first-month direct-market business of other Vertigo titles. Apart from the latest volumes of perennial best-sellers Fables (12,491) and 100 Bullets (8,680), it outsells any other collections of current Vertigo series released throughout 2009, including the first volumes of House of Mystery (4,011), Air (3,195) and Madame Xanadu (3,616).

Consequently, it seems the $ 1.00 debut issue paid off in this case, which explains why we keep seeing more of them. Whether or not that success is unique to The Unwritten or worked for the other books as well, we’re about to find out in the next few months.

—–

130 - ASTRO CITY: THE DARK AGE (WildStorm)
06/2005: The Dark Age/Book 1 #1 of 4 -- 32,690
07/2005: The Dark Age/Book 1 #2 of 4 -- 29,721
08/2005: The Dark Age/Book 1 #3 of 4 -- 28,152
10/2005: The Dark Age/Book 1 #4 of 4 -- 27,367
-----------------------------------------------
11/2006: The Dark Age/Book 2 #1 of 4 -- 26,993
02/2007: The Dark Age/Book 2 #2 of 4 -- 23,412
04/2007: The Dark Age/Book 2 #3 of 4 -- 22,727
09/2007: The Dark Age/Book 2 #4 of 4 -- 19,764
-----------------------------------------------
05/2009: The Dark Age/Book 3 #1 of 4 -- 18,281 (- 7.5%)
06/2009: The Dark Age/Book 3 #2 of 4 -- 16,405 (-10.3%)
07/2009: The Dark Age/Book 3 #3 of 4 -- 15,291 (- 6.8%)
08/2009: The Dark Age/Book 3 #4 of 4 -- 14,684 (- 4.0%)
09/2009: Astra Special #1 of 2 -- 14,627 (- 0.4%)
10/2009: Astra Special #2 of 2 -- 13,847 (- 5.3%)
----------------------------------------------
01/2010: The Dark Age/Book 4 #1 of 4 -- 13,664 (- 1.3%)
----------------
6 months: -10.6%Bad news: Book 4 debuts with less than half the sales of Book 1. WildStorm’s top-selling comic-book title for January keeps losing ground.

—–

141 - R.E.B.E.L.S.
02/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #1 -- 23,739
03/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #2 -- 16,122 (- 32.1%)
04/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #3 -- 14,442 (- 10.4%)
05/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #4 -- 13,468 (- 6.7%)
06/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #5 -- 12,909 (- 4.2%)
07/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #6 -- 12,349 (- 4.3%)
08/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #7 -- 11,682 (- 5.4%)
09/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #8 -- 11,347 (- 2.9%)
10/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #9 -- 11,284 (- 0.6%)
11/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #10 -- 51,100 (+352.9%)
12/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #11 -- 31,489 (- 38.4%)
01/2010: R.E.B.E.L.S. #12 -- 12,428 (- 60.5%)
-----------------
6 months: + 0.6%Sales crash back down after the two-part Blackest Night ie-in. It’s worth noting that the numbers are still 10% above the pre-crossover level — that’s not hard, given that R.E.B.E.L.S. sales were so low to begin with, but it’s still unusual.

—–

144 - JACK OF FABLES (Vertigo)
01/2007: Jack of Fables #7 -- 20,314
01/2008: Jack of Fables #19 -- 16,886
-------------------------------------
01/2009: Jack of Fables #30 -- 13,746 (- 2.9%)
02/2009: Jack of Fables #31 -- 13,586 (- 1.2%)
03/2009: Jack of Fables #32 -- 13,595 (+ 0.1%)
04/2009: Jack of Fables #33 -- 19,242 (+41.5%)
05/2009: Jack of Fables #34 -- 19,420 (+ 0.9%)
06/2009: Jack of Fables #35 -- 19,571 (+ 0.8%)
07/2009: Jack of Fables #36 -- 15,256 (-22.1%)
08/2009: Jack of Fables #37 -- 14,508 (- 4.9%)
09/2009: Jack of Fables #38 -- 13,790 (- 5.0%)
10/2009: Jack of Fables #39 -- 13,161 (- 4.6%)
11/2009: --
12/2009: Jack of Fables #40 -- 12,970 (- 1.5%)
12/2009: Jack of Fables #41 -- 12,559 (- 3.2%)
01/2010: Jack of Fables #42 -- 11,966 (- 4.7%)
----------------
6 months: -21.6%
1 year : -13.0%
2 years : -29.1%That’s another comparatively big drop. Jack of Fables sales haven’t really found their footing after the “Great Fables Crossover.”

—–

148 - JONAH HEX
01/2006: Jonah Hex #3 -- 24,671
01/2007: Jonah Hex #15 -- 17,987
01/2008: Jonah Hex #27 -- 13,881
--------------------------------
01/2009: Jonah Hex #39 -- 11,705 (- 3.5%)
02/2009: Jonah Hex #40 -- 11,631 (- 0.6%)
03/2009: Jonah Hex #41 -- 11,564 (- 0.6%)
04/2009: Jonah Hex #42 -- 11,551 (- 0.1%)
05/2009: Jonah Hex #43 -- 11,606 (+ 0.5%)
06/2009: Jonah Hex #44 -- 11,592 (- 0.1%)
07/2009: Jonah Hex #45 -- 12,588 (+ 8.6%)
08/2009: Jonah Hex #46 -- 12,466 (- 1.0%)
09/2009: Jonah Hex #47 -- 12,231 (- 1.9%)
10/2009: Jonah Hex #48 -- 11,281 (- 7.8%)
11/2009: Jonah Hex #49 -- 11,146 (- 1.2%)
12/2009: Jonah Hex #50 -- 15,131 (+35.8%)
01/2010: Jonah Hex #51 -- 11,184 (-26.1%)
----------------
6 months: -11.2%
1 year : - 4.5%
2 years : -19.4%The numbers return to their previous level after the anniversary issue.

—–

152 - HELLBLAZER (Vertigo)
01/2005: Hellblazer #204 -- 14,523
01/2006: Hellblazer #216 -- 14,590
01/2007: Hellblazer #228 -- 12,956
01/2008: Hellblazer #240 -- 12,213
----------------------------------
01/2009: Hellblazer #251 -- 11,290 (-9.5%)
02/2009: Hellblazer #252 -- 11,174 (-1.0%)
03/2009: Hellblazer #253 -- 11,132 (-0.4%)
04/2009: Hellblazer #254 -- 11,053 (-0.7%)
05/2009: Hellblazer #255 -- 10,937 (-1.1%)
06/2009: Hellblazer #256 -- 10,898 (-0.4%)
07/2009: Hellblazer #257 -- 10,762 (-1.3%)
08/2009: Hellblazer #258 -- 10,665 (-0.9%)
09/2009: Hellblazer #259 -- 10,813 (+1.4%)
10/2009: Hellblazer #260 -- 10,767 (-0.4%)
11/2009: Hellblazer #261 -- 10,553 (-2.0%)
12/2009: Hellblazer #262 -- 10,334 (-2.1%)
01/2010: Hellblazer #263 -- 10,179 (-1.5%)
----------------
6 months: - 5.4%
1 year : - 9.8%
2 years : -16.7%
5 years : -29.9%Hellblazer keeps declining very, very slowly. Barring a small miracle, though, that won’t prevent the book from dropping below the 10K mark soon.

—–

155 - RED TORNADO
09/2009: Red Tornado #1 of 6 -- 20,551
10/2009: Red Tornado #2 of 6 -- 14,383 (-30.0%)
11/2009: Red Tornado #3 of 6 -- 12,331 (-14.3%)
12/2009: Red Tornado #4 of 6 -- 11,009 (-10.7%)
01/2010: Red Tornado #5 of 6 -- 10,044 (- 8.8%)Predictably poor numbers.

—–

157 - HOUSE OF MYSTERY (Vertigo)
01/2009: House of Mystery #9 -- 13,739 (- 3.7%)
02/2009: House of Mystery #10 -- 13,098 (- 4.7%)
03/2009: House of Mystery #11 -- 12,785 (- 2.4%)
04/2009: House of Mystery #12 -- 12,636 (- 1.2%)
05/2009: House of Mystery #13 -- 14,358 (+13.6%)
06/2009: House of Mystery #14 -- 12,039 (-16.2%)
07/2009: House of Mystery #15 -- 11,809 (- 1.9%)
08/2009: House of Mystery #16 -- 11,572 (- 2.0%)
09/2009: House of Mystery #17 -- 11,142 (- 3.7%)
10/2009: House of Mystery #18 -- 10,922 (- 2.0%)
11/2009: House of Mystery #19 -- 10,478 (- 4.1%)
12/2009: House of Mystery #20 -- 10,175 (- 2.9%)
01/2010: House of Mystery #21 -- 9,888 (- 2.8%)
----------------
6 months: -16.3%
1 year : -28.0%House of Mystery sales aren’t bottoming out, but there’s still a lot of rope, obviously.

—–

158 - DAYTRIPPER (Vertigo)
12/2009: Daytripper #1 of 10 -- 12,010
01/2009: Daytripper #1 of 10 -- 9,846 (-18.0%)That’s an average drop for a maxi-series.

—–

159 - SWEET TOOTH (Vertigo)
09/2009: Sweet Tooth #1 -- 18,657
10/2009: Sweet Tooth #2 -- 11,315 (-39.4%)
11/2009: Sweet Tooth #3 -- 10,363 (- 8.4%)
12/2009: Sweet Tooth #4 -- 9,817 (- 5.3%)
01/2010: Sweet Tooth #5 -- 9,787 (- 0.3%)Sales are holding level. Sweet Tooth has been able to profit more from its loss-leader debut than Greek Street, evidently.

—–

164 - SUPERNATURAL: BEGINNING'S END (WildStorm)
05/2007: Origins #1 -- 21,128
06/2007: Origins #2 -- 15,955 (-24.5%)
07/2007: Origins #3 -- 14,812 (- 7.2%)
08/2007: Origins #4 -- 13,915 (- 6.1%)
09/2007: Origins #5 -- 13,034 (- 6.3%)
10/2007: Origins #6 -- 12,350 (- 5.5%)
-------------------------------------
04/2008: Rising Son #1 of 6 -- 16,013 (+29.7%)
05/2008: Rising Son #2 of 6 -- 11,846 (-26.0%)
06/2008: Rising Son #3 of 6 -- 11,276 (- 4.8%)
07/2008: Rising Son #4 of 6 -- 10,676 (- 5.3%)
08/2008: Rising Son #5 of 6 -- 10,110 (- 5.3%)
09/2008: Rising Son #6 of 6 -- 9,590 (- 5.1%)
-------------------------------------
01/2010: Beginning's End #1 -- 9,251 (- 3.5%)There’s some obvious attrition going on here, but the fact remains that Supernatural is one of WildStorm’s more successful licensed properties in the direct market. There was a 1-for-10 variant edition.

—–

165 - MAGOG
09/2009: Magog #1 -- 26,352
10/2009: Magog #2 -- 16,193 (-38.6%)
11/2009: Magog #3 -- 12,915 (-20.2%)
12/2009: Magog #4 -- 10,700 (-17.2%)
01/2010: Magog #5 -- 9,215 (-13.9%)175 - WARLORD
04/2009: Warlord #1 -- 17,540
05/2009: Warlord #2 -- 13,390 (-23.7%)
06/2009: Warlord #3 -- 12,283 (- 8.3%)
07/2009: Warlord #4 -- 11,445 (- 6.8%)
08/2009: Warlord #5 -- 10,790 (- 5.7%)
09/2009: Warlord #6 -- 10,331 (- 4.3%)
10/2009: Warlord #7 -- 9,892 (- 4.3%)
11/2009: Warlord #8 -- 9,547 (- 3.5%)
12/2009: Warlord #9 -- 9,102 (- 4.7%)
01/2010: Warlord #10 -- 8,807 (- 3.2%)
----------------
6 months: -23.1%Compared to Magog sales, Warlord looks almost stable.

—–

178 - MADAME XANADU (Vertigo)
01/2009: --
02/2009: Madame Xanadu #8 -- 9,932 (- 3.3%)
03/2009: Madame Xanadu #9 -- 9,798 (- 1.4%)
04/2009: Madame Xanadu #10 -- 9,664 (- 1.4%)
05/2009: Madame Xanadu #11 -- 10,179 (+ 5.3%)
06/2009: Madame Xanadu #12 -- 9,949 (- 2.3%)
07/2009: Madame Xanadu #13 -- 10,009 (+ 0.6%)
08/2009: Madame Xanadu #14 -- 9,873 (- 1.4%)
09/2009: Madame Xanadu #15 -- 9,733 (- 1.4%)
10/2009: Madame Xanadu #16 -- 9,283 (- 4.6%)
11/2009: Madame Xanadu #17 -- 8,856 (- 4.6%)
12/2009: Madame Xanadu #18 -- 8,686 (- 1.9%)
01/2010: Madame Xanadu #19 -- 8,439 (- 2.8%)
----------------
6 months: -15.7%
1 year : n.a.Another Vertigo title with slowly declining numbers well below 10,000 units.

—–

185 - THE AUTHORITY (WildStorm)
01/2005: Revolution #4 of 12 -- 20,984
01/2007: --
01/2008: Prime #4 of 6 -- 15,058
---------------------------------------
01/2009: The Authority v4 #6 -- 10,673 (- 7.5%)
02/2009: The Authority v4 #7 -- 10,553 (- 1.1%)
03/2009: The Authority v4 #8 -- 9,990 (- 5.3%)
04/2009: The Authority v4 #9 -- 9,748 (- 2.4%)
05/2009: The Authority v4 #10 -- 9,531 (- 2.2%)
06/2009: The Authority v4 #11 -- 9,204 (- 3.4%)
07/2009: The Authority v4 #12 -- 8,918 (- 3.1%)
08/2009: The Authority v4 #13 -- 8,648 (- 3.0%)
09/2009: The Authority v4 #14 -- 8,394 (- 2.9%)
10/2009: The Authority v4 #15 -- 8,174 (- 2.6%)
11/2009: The Authority v4 #16 -- 8,066 (- 1.3%)
12/2009: The Authority v4 #17 -- 7,829 (- 2.9%)
01/2010: The Authority v4 #18 -- 7,952 (+ 1.6%)
----------------
6 months: -10.8%
1 year : -25.5%
2 years : -47.2%
5 years : -62.1%The Authority got a new creative team and a George Pérez cover in January.

Not surprisingly, retailers don’t have any faith left in the WildStorm Universe line.

—–

186 - NORTHLANDERS (Vertigo)
01/2008: Northlanders #2 -- 15,945
-----------------------------------
01/2009: Northlanders #14 -- 9,467 (- 3.2%)
02/2009: --
03/2009: Northlanders #15 -- 9,443 (- 0.2%)
04/2009: Northlanders #16 -- 9,323 (- 1.3%)
05/2009: Northlanders #17 -- 9,239 (- 0.9%)
06/2009: Northlanders #18 -- 8,877 (- 3.9%)
07/2009: Northlanders #19 -- 8,722 (- 1.8%)
08/2009: --
09/2009: Northlanders #20 -- 8,786 (+ 0.7%)
10/2009: Northlanders #21 -- 8,360 (- 4.9%)
11/2009: Northlanders #22 -- 8,136 (- 2.7%)
12/2009: Northlanders #23 -- 8,069 (- 0.8%)
01/2010: Northlanders #24 -- 7,935 (- 1.7%)
----------------
6 months: - 9.0%
1 year : -16.2%
2 years : -50.2%Standard attrition, although the two-year comparison is ugly.

—–

187 - TINY TITANS (Johnny DC)
01/2009: Tiny Titans #12 -- 8,733 (- 3.9%)
02/2009: Tiny Titans #13 -- 8,710 (- 0.3%)
03/2009: Tiny Titans #14 -- 8,736 (+ 0.3%)
04/2009: Tiny Titans #15 -- 9,207 (+ 5.4%)
05/2009: Tiny Titans #16 -- 8,844 (- 3.9%)
06/2009: Tiny Titans #17 -- 8,640 (- 2.3%)
07/2009: Tiny Titans #18 -- 8,576 (- 0.7%)
08/2009: Tiny Titans #19 -- 8,432 (- 1.7%)
09/2009: Tiny Titans #20 -- 8,435 (+ 0.0%)
10/2009: Tiny Titans #21 -- 8,259 (- 2.1%)
11/2009: Tiny Titans #22 -- 8,100 (- 1.9%)
12/2009: Tiny Titans #23 -- 8,017 (- 1.0%)
01/2010: Tiny Titans #24 -- 7,844 (- 2.2%)
----------------
6 months: - 8.5%
1 year : -10.2%A Johnny DC title. See small print.

—–

189 - THE AUTHORITY: THE LOST YEAR (WildStorm)
10/2006: The Authority v3 #1 -- 58,136
03/2007: The Authority v3 #2 -- 39,886
------------------------------------------
11/2009: The Lost Year #3 of 12 -- 8,988 (-77.5%)
12/2009: The Lost Year #4 of 12 -- 7,999 (-11.0%)
01/2010: The Lost Year #5 of 12 -- 7,541 (- 5.7%)The zombie version of the three-year-old relaunch stumbles on, with the kind of sales you’d expect.

—–

191 - THE GREAT TEN
11/2009: The Great Ten #1 of 10 -- 13,159
12/2009: The Great Ten #2 of 10 -- 8,760 (-33.4%)
01/2010: The Great Ten #3 of 10 -- 7,458 (-14.9%)This was another disaster waiting to happen, surely. You can’t just shove a maxiseries out there and expect it to sell on the basis that there was a brief flicker of interest in the character four years ago.

—–

192 - GREEK STREET (Vertigo)
07/2009: Greek Street #1 -- 20,422
08/2009: Greek Street #2 -- 11,996 (-41.3%)
09/2009: Greek Street #3 -- 10,628 (-11.4%)
10/2009: Greek Street #4 -- 9,246 (-13.0%)
11/2009: Greek Street #5 -- 8,610 (- 6.9%)
12/2009: Greek Street #6 -- 7,802 (- 9.4%)
01/2010: Greek Street #7 -- 7,335 (- 6.0%)
----------------
6 months: -64.1%Greek Street is another Vertigo title promoted with a $ 1.00 debut issue. Unlike The Unwritten and possibly Sweet Tooth, it doesn’t seem able to capitalize on that, though. Sales are still declining way too fast for comfort.

—–

196 - GEARS OF WAR (WildStorm)
01/2009: --
02/2009: GoW #4 -- 12,864 (+ 6.4%)
03/2009: GoW #5 -- 11,394 (-11.4%)
04/2009: GoW #6 -- 11,506 (+ 1.0%)
05/2009: GoW #7 -- 9,955 (-13.5%)
06/2009: --
07/2009: GoW #8 -- 9,368 (- 5.9%)
07/2009: GoW #9 -- 9,009 (- 3.8%)
08/2009: --
09/2009: --
10/2009: --
11/2009: GoW #10 -- 8,066 (-10.5%)
12/2009: --
01/2010: GoW #11 -- 7,157 (-11.3%)
----------------
6 months: -22.1%
1 year : n.a.Gears of War #11 was originally meant to be out in October, and no further issues have been solicited to date. Which makes me more skeptical whether the series is doing as well outside of the direct market as some have suggested.

—–

200 - DMZ (Vertigo)
01/2006: DMZ #3 -- 14,503
01/2007: DMZ #15 -- 13,340
01/2008: DMZ #27 -- 10,662
--------------------------
01/2009: DMZ #38 -- 8,457 (-4.2%)
02/2009: DMZ #39 -- 8,353 (-1.2%)
03/2009: DMZ #40 -- 8,167 (-2.2%)
04/2009: DMZ #41 -- 8,061 (-1.3%)
05/2009: --
06/2009: DMZ #42 -- 7,927 (-1.7%)
07/2009: DMZ #43 -- 7,806 (-1.5%)
08/2009: DMZ #44 -- 7,654 (-2.0%)
09/2009: DMZ #45 -- 7,589 (-0.9%)
10/2009: DMZ #46 -- 7,399 (-2.5%)
11/2009: DMZ #47 -- 7,187 (-2.9%)
12/2009: DMZ #48 -- 6,977 (-2.9%)
01/2010: DMZ #49 -- 6,872 (-1.5%)
----------------
6 months: -12.0%
1 year : -18.7%
2 years : -35.6%DMZ keeps slipping down the charts, slowly but surely.

—–

201 - WILDCATS (WildStorm)
01/2006: Nemesis #5 of 9 -- 14,983
01/2007: --
----------------------------------
01/2009: World's End #7 -- 9,539 (- 8.7%)
02/2009: World's End #8 -- 9,040 (- 5.2%)
03/2009: World's End #9 -- 8,758 (- 3.1%)
04/2009: World's End #10 -- 8,460 (- 3.4%)
05/2009: World's End #11 -- 8,165 (- 3.5%)
06/2009: World's End #12 -- 7,863 (- 3.7%)
07/2009: World's End #13 -- 7,609 (- 3.2%)
08/2009: World's End #14 -- 7,417 (- 2.5%)
09/2009: World's End #15 -- 7,178 (- 3.2%)
10/2009: World's End #16 -- 6,883 (- 4.1%)
11/2009: World's End #17 -- 6,691 (- 2.8%)
12/2009: World's End #18 -- 6,487 (- 3.2%)
01/2010: World's End #19 -- 6,791 (+ 4.7%)
----------------
6 months: -10.8%
1 year : -28.8%
2 years : n.a.WildCats also got a new creative team and a George Pérez cover in January, and like The Authority, sees a minuscule sales increase as a result.

—–

205 - VICTORIAN UNDEAD (WildStorm)
11/2009: Victorian Undead #1 of 6 -- 11,422
12/2009: Victorian Undead #2 of 6 -- 7,430 (-35.0%)
01/2010: Victorian Undead #3 of 6 -- 6,663 (-10.3%)That’s a steep third-issue drop, but Victorian Undead remains one of the more successful creator-driven books released at WildStorm recently.

—–

207 - THE SHIELD
08/2009: RC: Shield #1 -- 19,088
09/2009: The Shield #1 -- 16,997 (-11.0%)
10/2009: The Shield #2 -- 10,401 (-38.8%)
11/2009: The Shield #3 -- 8,546 (-17.8%)
12/2009: The Shield #4 -- 7,316 (-14.4%)
01/2010: The Shield #5 -- 6,444 (-11.9%)The Shield and The Web are still in the double-digit drops. To be honest, I’m surprised every time DC solicits a new issue.

—–

214 - BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD (Johnny DC)
01/2005: Batman Strikes! #5 -- 11,808
01/2006: Batman Strikes! #17 -- 8,172
01/2007: Batman Strikes! #29 -- 7,330
01/2008: Batman Strikes! #41 -- 6,723
----------------------------------------
01/2009: Brave & Bold #1 -- 13,935 (+117.3%)
02/2009: Brave & Bold #2 -- 8,678 (- 37.7%)
03/2009: Brave & Bold #3 -- 8,184 (- 5.7%)
04/2009: Brave & Bold #4 -- 8,381 (+ 2.4%)
05/2009: Brave & Bold #5 -- 7,994 (- 4.6%)
06/2009: Brave & Bold #6 -- 7,614 (- 4.8%)
07/2009: Brave & Bold #7 -- 7,441 (- 2.3%)
08/2009: Brave & Bold #8 -- 7,153 (- 3.9%)
09/2009: Brave & Bold #9 -- 7,064 (- 1.2%)
10/2009: Brave & Bold #10 -- 6,646 (- 5.9%)
11/2009: Brave & Bold #11 -- 6,438 (- 3.1%)
12/2009: Brave & Bold #12 -- 6,342 (- 1.5%)
01/2010: Brave & Bold #13 -- 6,129 (- 3.4%)
----------------
6 months: -17.6%
1 year : -56.0%
2 years : - 8.8%
5 years : -48.1%Another Johnny DC book. See small print.

—–

221 - UNKNOWN SOLDIER (Vertigo)
01/2009: Unknown Soldier #4 -- 8,711 (-12.2%)
02/2009: Unknown Soldier #5 -- 8,348 (- 4.2%)
03/2009: Unknown Soldier #6 -- 8,177 (- 2.1%)
04/2009: Unknown Soldier #7 -- 8,631 (+ 5.6%)
05/2009: Unknown Soldier #8 -- 7,705 (-10.7%)
06/2009: Unknown Soldier #9 -- 7,586 (- 1.6%)
07/2009: Unknown Soldier #10 -- 7,256 (- 4.4%)
08/2009: Unknown Soldier #11 -- 7,070 (- 2.6%)
09/2009: Unknown Soldier #12 -- 6,865 (- 2.9%)
10/2009: Unknown Soldier #13 -- 6,636 (- 3.3%)
11/2009: Unknown Soldier #14 -- 6,359 (- 4.2%)
12/2009: Unknown Soldier #15 -- 6,134 (- 3.5%)
01/2010: Unknown Soldier #16 -- 5,848 (- 4.7%)
----------------
6 months: -19.4%
1 year : -32.9%Unknown Soldier sales aren’t bottoming out.

—–

222 - THE WEB
08/2009: RC: Web #1 -- 19,535
09/2009: The Web #1 -- 15,507 (-20.6%)
10/2009: The Web #2 -- 9,421 (-39.3%)
11/2009: The Web #3 -- 7,631 (-19.0%)
12/2009: The Web #4 -- 6,653 (-12.8%)
01/2010: The Web #5 -- 5,809 (-12.7%)These are truly infernal numbers — see above.

—–

226 - AIR (Vertigo)
01/2009: Air #6 -- 7,607 (- 9.6%)
02/2009: --
03/2009: Air #7 -- 10,290 (+35.3%)
04/2009: Air #8 -- 7,216 (-29.9%)
05/2009: Air #9 -- 7,115 (- 1.4%)
06/2009: Air #10 -- 6,954 (- 2.3%)
07/2009: Air #11 -- 6,793 (- 2.3%)
08/2009: Air #12 -- 6,589 (- 3.0%)
09/2009: Air #13 -- 6,476 (- 1.7%)
10/2009: Air #14 -- 6,156 (- 4.9%)
11/2009: Air #15 -- 5,921 (- 3.8%)
12/2009: Air #16 -- 5,733 (- 3.2%)
01/2010: Air #17 -- 5,573 (- 2.8%)
----------------
6 months: -18.0%
1 year : -26.7%I’m wondering how much rope there is for Air.

—–

228 - THE MIGHTY
02/2009: The Mighty #1 -- 17,956
03/2009: The Mighty #2 -- 10,624 (-40.8%)
04/2009: The Mighty #3 -- 8,777 (-17.4%)
05/2009: The Mighty #4 -- 7,565 (-13.8%)
06/2009: The Mighty #5 -- 7,104 (- 6.1%)
07/2009: The Mighty #6 -- 6,660 (- 6.3%)
08/2009: The Mighty #7 -- 6,292 (- 5.5%)
09/2009: The Mighty #8 -- 6,104 (- 3.0%)
10/2009: The Mighty #9 -- 5,932 (- 2.8%)
11/2009: The Mighty #10 -- 5,728 (- 3.4%)
12/2009: The Mighty #11 -- 5,500 (- 4.0%)
01/2010: The Mighty #12 -- 5,341 (- 2.9%)
----------------
6 months: -19.8%Canceled.

—–

240 - JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA SPECIAL
01/2010: JLoA Special -- 4,605A reprint special previously packaged with a bunch of action figures and now retailing at $ 4.99.

—–

246 - SUPER FRIENDS (Johnny DC)
01/2009: Super Friends #11 -- 5,500 (- 0.8%)
02/2009: Super Friends #12 -- 5,394 (- 1.9%)
03/2009: Super Friends #13 -- 5,387 (- 0.1%)
04/2009: Super Friends #14 -- 5,792 (+ 7.5%)
05/2009: Super Friends #15 -- 5,513 (- 4.8%)
06/2009: Super Friends #16 -- 5,548 (+ 0.6%)
07/2009: Super Friends #17 -- 5,368 (- 3.2%)
08/2009: Super Friends #18 -- 5,291 (- 1.4%)
09/2009: Super Friends #19 -- 5,045 (- 4.7%)
10/2009: Super Friends #20 -- 5,026 (- 0.4%)
11/2009: Super Friends #21 -- 4,879 (- 2.9%)
12/2009: Super Friends #22 -- 4,837 (- 0.9%)
01/2010: Super Friends #23 -- 4,538 (- 6.2%)
----------------
6 months: -15.5%
1 year : -17.5%251 - BILLY BATSON & THE MAGIC OF SHAZAM (Johnny DC)
01/2009: --
02/2009: --
03/2009: --
04/2009: Billy Batson #4 -- 8,470 (-14.0%)
05/2009: --
06/2009: Billy Batson #5 -- 7,869 (- 7.1%)
07/2009: Billy Batson #6 -- 6,771 (-14.0%)
08/2009: Billy Batson #7 -- 6,382 (- 5.8%)
09/2009: Billy Batson #8 -- 5,858 (- 8.2%)
10/2009: Billy Batson #9 -- 5,388 (- 8.0%)
11/2009: Billy Batson #10 -- 4,993 (- 7.3%)
12/2009: Billy Batson #11 -- 4,795 (- 4.0%)
01/2010: Billy Batson #12 -- 4,371 (- 8.8%)
----------------
6 months: -35.5%
1 year : n.a.Two more Johnny DC titles.

—–

263 - DANTE'S INFERNO (WildStorm)
12/2009: Dante's Inferno #1 of 6 -- 5,431
01/2010: Dante's Inferno #2 of 6 -- 3,808 (-29.9%)Another videogame adaptation with dreadful direct-market numbers.

—–

266 - SCOOBY DOO (Johnny DC)
01/2005: Scooby Doo #92 -- 4,872
01/2006: Scooby Doo #104 -- 4,454
01/2007: Scooby Doo #116 -- 4,285
01/2008: Scooby Doo #128 -- 4,147
---------------------------------
01/2009: Scooby Doo #140 -- 3,800
02/2009: Scooby Doo #141 -- 3,861 (+ 1.6%)
03/2009: Scooby Doo #142 -- 3,863 (+ 0.1%)
04/2009: Scooby Doo #143 -- 4,610 (+19.3%)
05/2009: Scooby Doo #144 -- 4,062 (-11.9%)
06/2009: Scooby Doo #145 -- 4,093 (+ 0.8%)
07/2009: Scooby Doo #146 -- 4,110 (+ 0.4%)
08/2009: Scooby Doo #147 -- 4,111 (+ 0.0%)
09/2009: Scooby Doo #148 -- 4,103 (- 0.2%)
10/2009: Scooby Doo #149 -- 4,005 (- 2.4%)
11/2009: Scooby Doo #150 -- 4,044 (+ 1.0%)
12/2009: Scooby Doo #151 -- 3,906 (- 3.4%)
01/2010: Scooby Doo #152 -- 3,724 (- 4.7%)
----------------
6 months: - 9.4%
1 year : - 0.2%
2 years : -10.2%
5 years : -23.6%The final Johnny DC book on the Top 300 chart.

—–

267 - STARCRAFT (WildStorm)
05/2009: StarCraft #1 -- 11,744
06/2009: StarCraft #2 -- 7,933 (-32.5%)
07/2009: --
08/2009: StarCraft #3 -- 6,410 (-19.2%)
09/2009: StarCraft #4 -- 5,428 (-15.3%)
10/2009: StarCraft #5 -- 4,422 (-18.5%)
11/2009: StarCraft #6 -- 4,149 (- 6.2%)
12/2009: --
01/2010: StarCraft #7 -- 3,649 (-12.1%)
----------------
6 months: n.a.282 - RED HERRING (WildStorm)
08/2009: Red Herring #1 of 6 -- 5,982
09/2009: Red Herring #2 of 6 -- 4,337 (-27.5%)
10/2009: Red Herring #3 of 6 -- 3,797 (-12.5%)
11/2009: Red Herring #4 of 6 -- 3,438 (- 9.5%)
12/2009: Red Herring #5 of 6 -- ?
01/2010: Red Herring #6 of 6 -- 3,014The videogame adaptation StarCraft is canceled with issue #7, while the creator-driven Red Herring returns to the chart with its final issue.

Free Realms #5 (of 12), part of another WildStorm game adaptation, also shipped in January, but like the previous four issues, it missed the chart.

RE-ORDERS:
278: 3,163 -- Blackest Night #3
289: 2,668 -- Blackest Night #1
292: 2,597 -- Blackest Night #5—–

6-MONTH COMPARISONS
+ 58.1%: Secret Six
+ 5.7%: JLA
+ 0.8%: Brave & Bold
+ 0.6%: REBELS
- 0.8%: Green Lantern
- 2.0%: Booster Gold
- 5.4%: Hellblazer
- 7.0%: Outsiders
- 7.2%: GL Corps
- 8.5%: Tiny Titans
- 9.0%: Northlanders
- 9.4%: Scooby-Doo
- 10.1%: Fables
- 10.3%: Batman Confidential
- 10.3%: Teen Titans
- 10.6%: Astro City
- 10.8%: Authority
- 10.8%: Wildcats
- 11.2%: Jonah Hex
- 11.8%: Superman/Batman
- 12.0%: DMZ
- 15.5%: Super Friends
- 15.6%: Supergirl
- 15.7%: Madame Xanadu
- 16.3%: House of Mystery
- 16.5%: Wonder Woman
- 17.6%: Batman: Brave & Bold
- 18.0%: Air
- 18.1%: Superman: WoNK
- 19.0%: Unwritten
- 19.1%: Superman
- 19.4%: Unknown Soldier
- 19.8%: Mighty
- 19.9%: Green Arrow
- 20.0%: Action Comics
- 21.6%: Jack of Fables
- 22.1%: GoW
- 22.3%: JSA
- 23.1%: Warlord
- 23.6%: Batman
- 25.0%: Detective Comics
- 25.6%: Batman and Robin
- 26.6%: Red Robin
- 28.0%: JLA: Cry for Justice
- 28.5%: GC Sirens
- 35.5%: Billy Batson
- 36.0%: Batman: SoG
- 38.1%: Power Girl
- 46.0%: Titans
- 64.1%: Greek Street—–

1-YEAR COMPARISONS
+ 90.4%: Adventure Comics
+ 72.6%: GL Corps
+ 62.4%: Green Lantern
+ 54.7%: Secret Six
+ 36.0%: GC Sirens
+ 32.0%: Red Robin
- 0.2%: Scooby-Doo
- 4.5%: Jonah Hex
- 9.8%: Hellblazer
- 10.2%: Tiny Titans
- 10.8%: Fables
- 12.2%: Brave & Bold
- 12.7%: Batman
- 13.0%: Jack of Fables
- 13.7%: JLA
- 13.8%: Booster Gold
- 16.0%: Batman Confidential
- 16.2%: Northlanders
- 17.5%: Super Friends
- 18.6%: Supergirl
- 18.7%: DMZ
- 18.9%: Detective Comics
- 22.5%: Teen Titans
- 25.5%: Authority
- 26.7%: Air
- 28.0%: House of Mystery
- 28.8%: Wildcats
- 32.5%: Green Arrow
- 32.9%: Unknown Soldier
- 33.9%: Titans
- 34.1%: Superman
- 35.0%: JSA
- 40.9%: Action Comics
- 56.0%: Batman: Brave & Bold—–

2-YEAR COMPARISONS
+ 71.4%: GL Corps
+ 67.3%: Flash
+ 57.5%: Green Lantern
+ 28.7%: Adventure Comics
+ 26.0%: Red Robin
+ 16.7%: GC Sirens
- 8.3%: Batman
- 8.8%: Batman: Brave & Bold
- 10.2%: Scooby-Doo
- 10.9%: Detective Comics
- 16.7%: Hellblazer
- 19.4%: Jonah Hex
- 24.0%: Supergirl
- 28.5%: Superman
- 29.1%: Jack of Fables
- 34.3%: JLA
- 35.0%: Superman/Batman
- 35.6%: DMZ
- 39.5%: Booster Gold
- 41.4%: Wonder Woman
- 45.3%: Action Comics
- 46.9%: Teen Titans
- 47.2%: Authority
- 50.2%: Northlanders
- 53.0%: Green Arrow—–

5-YEAR COMPARISONS
+ 39.4%: Flash
+ 15.3%: Red Robin
+ 12.5%: Detective Comics
+ 8.3%: Batman
+ 4.0%: Batgirl
+ 0.6%: Adventure Comics
- 1.8%: Wonder Woman
- 2.9%: JLA
- 4.1%: GC Sirens
- 4.8%: Doom Patrol
- 8.5%: JSA
- 16.3%: Action Comics
- 17.2%: Fables
- 23.6%: Scooby-Doo
- 29.9%: Hellblazer
- 42.8%: Outsiders
- 48.1%: Batman: Brave & Bold
- 49.2%: Green Arrow
- 57.9%: Teen Titans
- 62.1%: Authority—–

february was a black month for two of DC’s major imprints.

Average direct-market sales for both Vertigo and WildStorm comic books hit their lowest levels in history, with 9,256 and 5,692 units, respectively, and dollar sales to match. In Vertigo’s case, there’s a pretty good excuse, at least, because Fables and Jack of Fables, two of the label’s top-selling titles, didn’t ship — not to mention they’ve got a series co-written by Stephen King in the pipeline, as well as a few other promising projects that might improve the situation in the not too distant future.

At WildStorm, though, things look pretty dire. Even if their best performers, Ex Machina and Astro City, were both coming out monthly, their numbers haven’t been stellar lately. And from the stuff that’s solicited through June, nothing particularly looks like it might set the charts on fire, either. Is there any reason why DC needs this imprint, at this stage? What does it do for the company that Vertigo and the DC Universe branch aren’t accomplishing more successfully?

Speaking of which, the DC Universe line was in fairly solid shape in February, thanks to Blackest Night returning from its skip month, two issues of Batman and Robin and the continued strong performance of the “Blackest Night” crossover in what is now its ninth month. The question is what’s going to happen once it’s over, of course, but there have actually been some promising signs from the company lately, like no longer being embarrassed to let people know that J. Michael Straczynski is working for them and such, so let’s wait and see.

See below for the details, and please consider the small print at the end of the column. Thanks to Milton Griepp and ICv2.com for the permission to use their figures. An overview of ICv2.com’s estimates can be found here.

—–


1 - BLACKEST NIGHT
07/2009: Blackest Night #1 of 8 -- 177,105 [206,534]
08/2009: Blackest Night #2 of 8 -- 146,092 (-17.5%) [155,512]
09/2009: Blackest Night #3 of 8 -- 140,786 (- 3.6%) [143,949]
10/2009: Blackest Night #4 of 8 -- 137,169 (- 2.6%)
11/2009: Blackest Night #5 of 8 -- 144,935 (+ 5.7%) [151,292]
12/2009: Blackest Night #6 of 8 -- 135,985 (- 6.2%)
01/2010: --
02/2010: Blackest Night #7 of 8 -- 130,613 (- 4.0%)
-----------------
6 months: - 26.3%Blackest Night continues to be DC’s biggest comic-book cash cow, now in its ninth month. As usual, there were a 1-for-25 variant edition and a 1-for-100 variant edition, which are likely to have helped sales somewhat.

By the way, judging from the February number, it looks like Diamond took 20% off the sales of Marvel’s Siege #1 in January due to the book’s returnability, which would place the actual estimate for that issue at about 135,000 units. Even with that upward correction, though, Blackest Night #7 would be the first issue to fall below the sales of Siege #1.

Obviously, that’s good for DC, because it means they’ve managed to not just hold the level of 2008’s Final Crisis, but also beat it by a good few thousand copies; and not so good for Marvel, because it means there’s a massive drop in sales compared to 2008’s Secret Invasion, of more than 100K.

Of course, with DC’s “Brightest Day” and Marvel’s “Heroic Age” waves of relaunches coming up, the deck is to be reshuffled soon. But right now, it looks like DC has the edge, in terms of convincing its target audience that its major books “matter.” For more on Siege sales, see Paul’s Marvel column.

—–

3 - GREEN LANTERN
02/2005: GL: Rebirth #4 -- 108,077 [121,581]
02/2006: Green Lantern #8 -- 89,252
02/2006: Green Lantern #9 -- 86,554 [ 89,974]
02/2007: Green Lantern #17 -- 62,018
02/2008: --
--------------------------------------
02/2009: Green Lantern #38 -- 68,908 (+ 5.1%) [ 77,372]
03/2009: --
04/2009: Green Lantern #39 -- 79,792 (+15.8%) [ 84,784]
04/2009: Green Lantern #40 -- 76,665 (- 3.9%) [ 84,705]
05/2009: Green Lantern #41 -- 81,491 (+ 6.3%)
06/2009: Green Lantern #42 -- 84,131 (+ 3.2%)
07/2009: Green Lantern #43 -- 109,426 (+30.1%) [117,314]
07/2009: Green Lantern #44 -- 105,063 (- 4.0%) [109,599]
08/2009: Green Lantern #45 -- 102,431 (- 2.5%)
09/2009: Green Lantern #46 -- 103,666 (+ 1.2%)
10/2009: Green Lantern #47 -- 101,349 (- 2.2%)
11/2009: Green Lantern #48 -- 100,371 (- 1.0%)
12/2009: Green Lantern #49 -- 97,285 (- 3.1%)
01/2010: Green Lantern #50 -- 106,444 (+ 9.4%)
02/2010: Green Lantern #51 -- 95,509 (-10.3%)
-----------------
6 months: - 6.8%
1 year : + 38.6%
2 years : n.a.
5 years : - 11.6%The obligatory spike for January’s anniversary number disappears, as usual, but thanks to “Blackest Night,” Green Lantern sales remain close to 100K. As usual, there was a 1-for-25 variant edition.

—–

4/5 - BATMAN AND ROBIN
06/2009: Batman and Robin #1 -- 168,604 [184,826]
07/2009: Batman and Robin #2 -- 117,986 (-30.2%) [129,086]
08/2009: Batman and Robin #3 -- 110,594 (- 6.3%)
09/2009: Batman and Robin #4 -- 106,925 (- 3.3%)
10/2009: Batman and Robin #5 -- 101,607 (- 5.0%)
11/2009: Batman and Robin #6 -- 95,690 (- 5.8%)
12/2009: --
01/2010: Batman and Robin #7 -- 87,780 (- 8.3%)
02/2010: Batman and Robin #8 -- 87,302 (- 0.6%)
02/2010: Batman and Robin #9 -- 84,562 (- 3.1%)
-----------------
6 months: - 22.3%There were two issues in February to compensate for the skip month in December. The Cameron Stewart arc seems to have slowed the decline considerably, but given there’s now a sell-by date on the current direction of the Batman titles, that’s moot, anyway.

Both issues came with 1-for-25 variants, as usual.

—–

8 - GREEN LANTERN CORPS
02/2006: --
02/2007: Green Lantern Corps #9 -- 34,897
02/2008: Green Lantern Corps #21 -- 47,582
------------------------------------------
02/2009: Green Lantern Corps #33 -- 44,607 (+ 0.7%) [50,171]
03/2009: Green Lantern Corps #34 -- 54,162 (+21.4%)
04/2009: Green Lantern Corps #35 -- 58,769 (+ 8.5%)
05/2009: Green Lantern Corps #36 -- 61,591 (+ 4.8%)
06/2009: Green Lantern Corps #37 -- 63,574 (+ 3.2%)
07/2009: Green Lantern Corps #38 -- 82,415 (+29.6%)
08/2009: Green Lantern Corps #39 -- 84,241 (+ 2.2%)
09/2009: Green Lantern Corps #40 -- 83,112 (- 1.3%)
10/2009: Green Lantern Corps #41 -- 81,377 (- 2.1%)
11/2009: Green Lantern Corps #42 -- 80,391 (- 1.2%)
12/2009: Green Lantern Corps #43 -- 77,774 (- 3.3%)
01/2010: Green Lantern Corps #44 -- 76,458 (- 1.7%)
02/2010: Green Lantern Corps #45 -- 75,404 (- 1.4%)
----------------
6 months: -10.5%
1 year : +69.0%
2 years : +58.5%The series has managed to capitalize on various Green Lantern crossovers non-stop for almost three years now. That’s unusual for spin-off series.

As you may have guessed, there was a 1-for-25 variant edition.

—–

9 - THE FLASH: REBIRTH
02/2005: Flash #219 -- 44,071 [46,188]
02/2007: Flash: FMA #9 -- 47,214
02/2008: Flash #237 -- 37,719
-----------------------------------
04/2009: Rebirth #1 of 5 -- 102,429 (+286.6%) [111,515]
05/2009: Rebirth #2 of 5 -- 86,183 (- 15.9%)
06/2009: Rebirth #3 of 5 -- 83,086 (- 3.6%)
07/2009: --
08/2009: Rebirth #4 of 5 -- 78,107 (- 6.0%)
09/2009: --
10/2009: --
11/2009: Rebirth #5 of 6 -- 73,875 (- 5.4%)
12/2009: --
01/2010: --
02/2010: Rebirth #6 of 6 -- 70,824 (- 4.1%)
-----------------
6 months: - 9.3%
1 year : n.a.
2 years : + 87.8%
5 years : + 60.7%12 - BLACKEST NIGHT: THE FLASH
12/2009: BN: Flash #1 of 3 -- 80,313
01/2010: BN: Flash #2 of 3 -- 69,381 (- 13.6%)
02/2010: BN: Flash #3 of 3 -- 65,348 (- 5.8%)Both Flash minis wrapped up in February.

The Flash: Rebirth performed decently throughout its run, given the current market climate, even though its debut numbers didn’t look great compared to DC’s last two attempts to relaunch the series in 2006 and 2007. But in contrast to these relaunches, it’s actually stabilized with subsequent issues. The book was originally solicited for September, by the way.

Blackest Night: The Flash did reasonably well, although it’s not quite up there with the first two Blackest Night spin-off miniseries by the end of its run. The Wonder Woman and JSA ones fared similarly, so that’s probably a case of diminishing returns from the crossover.

There was a 1-for-25 variant for each.

—–

14 - BATMAN
02/2005: Batman #637 -- 58,034 [60,246]
02/2006: Batman #650 -- 66,447
02/2007: Batman #663 -- 83,167
02/2008: Batman #674 -- 68,208
-------------------------------
02/2009: Batman #686 -- 111,353 (+53.3%) [128,780]
03/2009: BfC #1 of 3 -- 91,619 (-17.7%) [103,913]
04/2009: BfC #2 of 3 -- 89,120 (- 2.7%)
05/2009: BfC #3 of 3 -- 89,170 (+ 0.1%)
06/2009: Batman #687 -- 96,913 (+ 8.7%)
07/2009: Batman #688 -- 83,040 (-14.3%)
08/2009: Batman #689 -- 78,392 (- 5.6%)
09/2009: Batman #690 -- 77,001 (- 1.8%)
10/2009: Batman #691 -- 71,431 (- 7.2%)
10/2009: Batman #692 -- 70,322 (- 1.6%)
11/2009: Batman #693 -- 68,983 (- 1.9%)
12/2009: Batman #694 -- 65,908 (- 4.5%)
01/2010: Batman #695 -- 63,467 (- 3.7%)
02/2010: Batman #696 -- 61,290 (- 3.4%)
----------------
6 months: -21.8%
1 year : -45.0%
2 years : -10.1%
5 years : + 5.6%Batman keeps bottoming out very slowly. There’s another shake-up coming with issue #700, so nobody’s losing any sleep here.

—–

17 - BLACKEST NIGHT: WONDER WOMAN
12/2009: BN: Wonder Woman #1 of 3 -- 70,758
01/2010: BN: Wonder Woman #2 of 3 -- 61,372 (-13.3%)
02/2010: BN: Wonder Woman #3 of 3 -- 58,700 (- 4.4%)20 - BLACKEST NIGHT: JSA
12/2009: BN: JSA #1 of 3 -- 68,721
01/2010: BN: JSA #2 of 3 -- 58,751 (-14.5%)
02/2010: BN: JSA #3 of 3 -- 54,906 (- 6.6%)These are perfectly good numbers, though not as enthusiastic as those for Blackest Night: Batman and Blackest Night: Superman. There was a 1-for-25 variant edition.

—–

18 - JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA
02/2005: JLA #111 -- 64,540
02/2006: JLA #125 -- 74,341
02/2007: --
02/2008: Justice League #18 -- 89,803
--------------------------------------
02/2009: Justice League #30 -- 69,710 (- 3.3%)
03/2009: Justice League #31 -- 68,759 (- 1.4%)
04/2009: Justice League #32 -- 66,021 (- 4.0%)
05/2009: Justice League #33 -- 63,867 (- 3.3%)
06/2009: Justice League #34 -- 61,115 (- 4.3%)
07/2009: Justice League #35 -- 58,915 (- 3.6%)
08/2009: Justice League #36 -- 57,549 (- 2.3%)
09/2009: Justice League #37 -- 55,478 (- 3.6%)
10/2009: Justice League #38 -- 61,012 (+10.0%)
11/2009: Justice League #39 -- 89,376 (+46.5%)
12/2009: Justice League #40 -- 68,672 (-23.2%)
01/2010: Justice League #41 -- 62,262 (- 9.3%)
02/2010: Justice League #42 -- 57,522 (- 7.6%)
----------------
6 months: - 0.1%
1 year : -17.5%
2 years : -36.0%
5 years : -10.9%With no more gimmicks or crossovers to boost the numbers, Justice League drops right back into the lower end of Dwayne McDuffie’s sales spectrum. Of course, the next bunch of tie-in stories and crossovers is just around the corner, so sales should be all right for the time being. Based on these numbers, though, they may end up being crutches rather than jet packs.

—–

23 - ADVENTURE COMICS
02/2009: Adventure Comics #0 -- 32,851
03/2009: --
04/2009: --
05/2009: --
06/2009: --
07/2009: --
08/2009: Adventure Comics #1 -- 56,706 (+72.6%)
09/2009: Adventure Comics #2 -- 47,296 (-15.9%)
10/2009: Adventure Comics #3 -- 44,431 (- 6.1%)
11/2009: Adventure Comics #4 -- 85,145 (+91.6%)
12/2009: Adventure Comics #5 -- 59,876 (-29.7%)
01/2010: Adventure Comics #6 -- 42,514 (-29.0%)
02/2010: Adventure Comics #7 -- 53,721 (+26.4%)
-----------------
6 months: - 5.3%
1 year : + 63.5%35/100 - GREEN ARROW & BLACK CANARY
02/2005: Green Arrow #47 -- 31,553
02/2006: Green Arrow #59 -- 31,250
02/2007: Green Arrow #71 -- 31,470
02/2008: Arrow/Canary #5 -- 36,662
-----------------------------------
02/2009: Arrow/Canary #17 -- 23,392 (- 4.2%)
03/2009: Arrow/Canary #18 -- 22,699 (- 3.0%)
04/2009: Arrow/Canary #19 -- 21,933 (- 3.4%)
05/2009: Arrow/Canary #20 -- 21,445 (- 2.2%)
06/2009: Arrow/Canary #21 -- 20,807 (- 3.0%)
07/2009: Arrow&Canary #22 -- 20,571 (- 1.1%)
08/2009: Arrow&Canary #23 -- 19,452 (- 5.4%)
09/2009: Arrow&Canary #24 -- 18,780 (- 3.5%)
10/2009: Arrow&Canary #25 -- 18,013 (- 4.1%)
11/2009: Arrow&Canary #26 -- 17,384 (- 3.5%)
12/2009: Arrow&Canary #27 -- 16,904 (- 2.8%)
01/2010: Arrow&Canary #28 -- 16,482 (- 2.5%)
02/2010: Arrow&Canary #29 -- 16,600 (+ 0.7%)
02/2010: BLG Arrow #30 -- 42,014 (+153.1%)
----------------
6 months: +50.7%
1 year : +25.3%
2 years : -20.1%
5 years : - 7.1%Two more Blackest Night tie-in issues, and as usual, the lower-selling one gets the larger boost. Interestingly, some retailers seem to have increased their orders for Green Arrow & Black Canary #29, too, evidently for no other reason than because it shipped in the same calendar month as the “Blackest Night” issue. It’s one of those direct-market oddities that I’ll never understand.

Also, Black Lantern Green Arrow #30 (yes, that’s what it’s called) came with a 1-for-25 variant, while Adventure Comics Starring Black Lantern Superboy #7 (yes, that’s what it’s called) was supported with a 1-for-10 variant only. That may further have contributed to the disproportion of their increases.

Green Arrow will see yet another relaunch in June, on the back of an upcoming crossover with Justice League. Given that the story leading up to the relaunch is being lambasted for shoddiness all over and that the new creative team is fairly no-name, there’s cause for being skeptical, certainly.

—–

38 - JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA
02/2005: JSA #70 -- 42,864
02/2006: JSA #82 -- 54,234
02/2007: Justice Society #3 -- 84,356 [ 86,014]
02/2008: Justice Society #12 -- 84,162
02/2008: Justice Society #13 -- 82,702
---------------------------------------
02/2009: Justice Society #24 -- 65,207 (+ 6.2%)
03/2009: --
04/2009: Justice Society #25 -- 65,713 (+ 0.8%)
04/2009: Justice Society #26 -- 81,200 (+ 23.6%)
05/2009: Justice Society #27 -- 56,102 (- 30.9%)
06/2009: Justice Society #28 -- 52,673 (- 6.1%)
07/2009: Justice Society #29 -- 51,375 (- 2.5%)
08/2009: Justice Society #30 -- 49,416 (- 3.8%)
09/2009: Justice Society #31 -- 47,436 (- 4.0%)
10/2009: Justice Society #32 -- 44,885 (- 5.4%)
11/2009: Justice Society #33 -- 43,218 (- 3.7%)
12/2009: Justice Society #34 -- 41,734 (- 3.4%)
01/2010: Justice Society #35 -- 39,934 (- 4.3%)
02/2010: Justice Society #36 -- 39,060 (- 2.2%)
----------------
6 months: -21.0%
1 year : -40.1%
2 years : -53.2%
5 years : - 8.9%That’s the smallest drop in ages, but it’s also the book’s lowest sales in ages. That’s still not a terrible number for a Justice Society series, mind you, but obviously, it’s a far cry from the book’s days as a top seller.

—–

40 - SECRET SIX
02/2009: Secret Six #6 -- 24,758 (- 0.6%)
03/2009: Secret Six #7 -- 24,365 (- 1.6%)
04/2009: Secret Six #8 -- 24,338 (- 0.1%)
05/2009: Secret Six #9 -- 27,116 (+11.4%)
06/2009: Secret Six #10 -- 24,272 (-10.5%)
07/2009: Secret Six #11 -- 24,357 (+ 0.4%)
08/2009: Secret Six #12 -- 24,161 (- 0.8%)
09/2009: Secret Six #13 -- 23,919 (- 1.0%)
10/2009: Secret Six #14 -- 23,345 (- 2.4%)
11/2009: Secret Six #15 -- 23,190 (- 0.7%)
12/2009: Secret Six #16 -- 22,638 (- 2.4%)
01/2010: Secret Six #17 -- 38,515 (+70.1%)
02/2010: Secret Six #18 -- 37,876 (- 1.7%)
----------------
6 months: +56.8%
1 year : +53.0%Secret Six sales remain significantly up with the second part of a tie-in with a Blackest Night tie-in.

——

42 - RED ROBIN
02/2005: Robin #135 -- 32,331
02/2006: Robin #147 -- 32,120
02/2007: Robin #159 -- 28,210
02/2008: Robin #171 -- 27,781
--------------------------------
02/2009: Robin #183 -- 31,682 (+ 10.5%)
03/2009: --
04/2009: --
05/2009: --
06/2009: Red Robin #1 -- 64,261 (+102.8%) [71,925]
07/2009: Red Robin #2 -- 51,593 (- 19.7%) [54,544]
08/2009: Red Robin #3 -- 50,329 (- 2.5%)
09/2009: Red Robin #4 -- 47,945 (- 4.7%)
10/2009: Red Robin #5 -- 44,776 (- 6.6%)
11/2009: Red Robin #6 -- 42,409 (- 5.3%)
12/2009: Red Robin #7 -- 39,528 (- 6.8%)
01/2010: Red Robin #8 -- 37,869 (- 4.2%)
02/2010: Red Robin #9 -- 36,466 (- 3.7%)
-----------------
6 months: - 27.6%
1 year : + 15.1%
2 years : + 31.3%
5 years : + 12.8%The numbers are levelling out very slowly. Red Robin still outsells its predecessor quite handsomely, though, so there’s no reason to be unhappy with these sales.

—–

43 - BLACKEST NIGHT ONE-SHOTS
01/2010: Catwoman #83 -- 39,239
01/2010: Starman #81 -- 38,671
01/2010: Atom and Hawkman #46 -- 37,854 [40,383]
01/2010: Suicide Squad #67 -- 37,818
01/2010: Power of SHAZAM #48 -- 36,793
01/2010: Phantom Stranger #42 -- 35,937
01/2010: Weird Western T. #71 -- 33,702
02/2010: The Question #37 -- 35,940The Question #37 is a straggler from January.

—–

48 - SUPERGIRL
02/2006: Supergirl #4 -- 104,734
02/2006: Supergirl #5 -- 103,108 [104,930]
02/2007: Supergirl #14 -- 52,977
02/2008: Supergirl #26 -- 34,186
---------------------------------
02/2009: Supergirl #38 -- 34,225 (+ 0.5%)
03/2009: Supergirl #39 -- 33,713 (- 1.5%)
04/2009: Supergirl #40 -- 34,080 (+ 1.1%)
05/2009: Supergirl #41 -- 33,441 (- 1.9%)
06/2009: Supergirl #42 -- 32,705 (- 2.2%)
07/2009: Supergirl #43 -- 32,849 (+ 0.4%)
08/2009: Supergirl #44 -- 33,819 (+ 3.0%)
09/2009: Supergirl #45 -- 32,240 (- 4.7%)
10/2009: Supergirl #46 -- 30,377 (- 5.8%)
11/2009: Supergirl #47 -- 29,159 (- 4.0%)
12/2009: Supergirl #48 -- 28,176 (- 3.4%)
01/2010: Supergirl #49 -- 27,728 (- 1.6%)
02/2010: Supergirl #50 -- 33,338 (+20.2%)
----------------
6 months: - 1.4%
1 year : - 2.6%
2 years : - 2.5%Thanks to the modest, desultory anniversary-issue boost, Supergirl outsells the other Superman titles this month. Obviously, the book’s sales have seen better days, as the comparisons with 2006 and 2007 show. There was a 1-for-10 variant edition.

—–

49 - SUPERMAN/BATMAN
02/2005: Superman/Batman #17 -- 116,637 [118,126]
02/2006: --
02/2007: --
02/2008: Superman/Batman #46 -- 52,009
---------------------------------------
02/2009: Superman/Batman #55 -- 43,962 (- 4.4%)
03/2009: Superman/Batman #56 -- 42,464 (- 3.4%)
04/2009: Superman/Batman #57 -- 41,743 (- 1.7%)
04/2009: Superman/Batman #58 -- 41,000 (- 1.8%)
04/2009: Superman/Batman #59 -- 40,182 (- 2.0%)
05/2009: Superman/Batman #60 -- 39,531 (- 1.6%)
06/2009: Superman/Batman #61 -- 38,228 (- 3.3%)
07/2009: Superman/Batman #62 -- 38,412 (+ 0.5%)
08/2009: Superman/Batman #63 -- 37,467 (- 2.5%)
09/2009: Superman/Batman #64 -- 36,332 (- 3.0%)
10/2009: Superman/Batman #65 -- 34,585 (- 4.8%)
11/2009: Superman/Batman #66 -- 52,143 (+50.8%)
12/2009: Superman/Batman #67 -- 49,650 (- 4.8%)
01/2010: Superman/Batman #68 -- 33,869 (-31.8%)
02/2010: Superman/Batman #69 -- 33,224 (- 1.9%)
----------------
6 months: -11.3%
1 year : -24.4%
2 years : -36.1%
5 years : -71.5%The Previews text for Superman/Batman #69 is remarkably frank in referring to the current storyline as “the secret aftermath of ‘Our Worlds at War’.” Indeed, so secret was this aftermath of “Our Worlds at War” that not even the writer knew about it when he wrote the story for Superman/Batman #69.

Not surprisingly, the prospect of a follow-up to a ten-year-old, not even very fondly remembered, not even very-fondly-remembered-by-the-people-who-wrote-it crossover didn’t entice retailers to buy more copies.

—–

50 - SUPERMAN: WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON
03/2009: WoNK #1 of 12 -- 50,050
04/2009: WoNK #2 of 12 -- 44,880 (-10.3%)
05/2009: WoNK #3 of 12 -- 42,153 (- 6.1%)
06/2009: WoNK #4 of 12 -- 41,620 (- 1.3%)
07/2009: WoNK #5 of 12 -- 39,939 (- 4.0%)
08/2009: WoNK #6 of 12 -- 39,218 (- 1.8%)
09/2009: WoNK #7 of 12 -- 37,697 (- 3.9%)
10/2009: WoNK #8 of 12 -- 36,672 (- 2.7%)
11/2009: WoNK #9 of 12 -- 35,286 (- 3.8%)
12/2009: WoNK #10 of 12 -- 33,868 (- 4.0%)
01/2010: WoNK #11 of 12 -- 32,728 (- 3.4%)
02/2010: WoNK #12 of 12 -- 32,407 (- 1.0%)
----------------
6 months: -17.4%51 - SUPERMAN
02/2005: Superman #213 -- 101,258
02/2006: Superman #226 -- 63,982
02/2007: Superman #659 -- 58,258
02/2008: Superman #673 -- 41,580
---------------------------------
02/2009: Superman #685 -- 48,027 (- 1.0%)
03/2009: Superman #686 -- 44,976 (- 6.4%)
04/2009: Superman #687 -- 43,041 (- 4.3%)
05/2009: Superman #688 -- 41,642 (- 3.3%)
06/2009: Superman #689 -- 40,366 (- 3.1%)
07/2009: Superman #690 -- 39,472 (- 2.2%)
08/2009: Superman #691 -- 39,106 (- 0.9%)
09/2009: Superman #692 -- 37,695 (- 3.6%)
10/2009: Superman #693 -- 35,395 (- 6.1%)
11/2009: Superman #694 -- 34,430 (- 2.7%)
12/2009: Superman #695 -- 32,482 (- 5.7%)
01/2010: Superman #696 -- 31,940 (- 1.7%)
02/2010: Superman #697 -- 31,504 (- 1.4%)
----------------
6 months: -19.4%
1 year : -34.4%
2 years : -24.2%
5 years : -68.9%59 - ACTION COMICS
02/2005: Action Comics #824 -- 37,432
02/2006: Action Comics #836 -- 51,722 [55,331]
02/2007: Action Comics #846 -- 64,554 [66,349]
02/2008: Action Comics #862 -- 55,658
-------------------------------------
02/2009: Action Comics #874 -- 48,360 (- 6.9%)
03/2009: Action Comics #875 -- 47,079 (- 2.7%)
04/2009: Action Comics #876 -- 43,368 (- 7.9%)
05/2009: Action Comics #877 -- 41,772 (- 3.7%)
06/2009: Action Comics #878 -- 40,011 (- 4.2%)
07/2009: Action Comics #879 -- 38,324 (- 4.2%)
08/2009: Action Comics #880 -- 37,588 (- 1.9%)
09/2009: Action Comics #881 -- 36,183 (- 3.7%)
10/2009: Action Comics #882 -- 34,754 (- 4.0%)
11/2009: Action Comics #883 -- 33,386 (- 3.9%)
12/2009: Action Comics #884 -- 31,873 (- 4.5%)
01/2010: Action Comics #885 -- 30,678 (- 3.8%)
02/2010: Action Comics #886 -- 29,845 (- 2.7%)
----------------
6 months: -20.6%
1 year : -38.3%
2 years : -46.4%
5 years : -20.3%The Superman titles all seem to be bottoming out, now that the end is nigh for the current direction. There was a variant edition for World of New Krypton, as usual, though this time the advertisement text was coy on the ratio.

Starting in February, the next shake-up gets underway: Superman: The World of New Krypton is replaced with a three-part miniseries from March through April; in May the entire line will be on hold in favor of the weekly four-part series War of the Supermen, which will be promoted with a free “#0″ issue on Free Comic Book Day; and in June, the next creative revamp begins, headed by J. Michael Straczynski’s Superman #700 and Marc Guggenheim’s Action Comics #890.

Handing Superman to Straczynski is a commercial no-brainer, of course. This being DC, I suppose it’s still possible they’ll ask Straczynski to work under a pseudonym or replace the hero with Ambush Bug for the duration of the Straczynski run so it doesn’t interfere with upcoming events in the WildStorm Universe books, or something equally unlikely that no mentally sane person who wishes to sell comics would ever think of. But, you know, fingers crossed.

Speaking of oddities, by the way, it’s extremely odd that DC chose what now looks like the beginning of a clean-up exercise as their Free Comic Book Day selection. Wouldn’t it have made infinitely more sense to have a J. Michael Straczynski-written, accessible, fresh-start kind of comic book for that?

All of this makes the Straczynski run look like a decision that was made on rather short notice by the new editorial and executive regime. Honestly: Why else would DC waste an opportunity like that to get a free Superman comic in people’s hands that they might actually be able to understand?

—–

61 - JSA ALL-STARS
12/2009: JSA All-Stars #1 -- 42,493
01/2010: JSA All-Stars #2 -- 32,601 (-23.3%)
02/2010: JSA All-Stars #3 -- 29,666 (- 9.0%)These are average drops. But the book started out with high sales, so that’s not a problem, for now.

—–

62 - BATGIRL
02/2005: Batgirl #61 -- 28,796
02/2006: Batgirl #73 -- 26,546
----------------------------------
08/2009: Batgirl #1 -- 51,724 (+149.3%)
09/2009: Batgirl #2 -- 40,626 (- 21.5%)
10/2009: Batgirl #3 -- 37,011 (- 8.9%)
11/2009: Batgirl #4 -- 34,697 (- 6.3%)
12/2009: Batgirl #5 -- 32,482 (- 6.4%)
01/2010: Batgirl #6 -- 30,403 (- 6.4%)
02/2010: Batgirl #7 -- 29,524 (- 2.9%)
----------------
6 months: -42.9%
5 years : + 2.5%66 - GOTHAM CITY SIRENS
02/2005: Birds of Prey #79 -- 29,510
02/2006: Birds of Prey #91 -- 29,835
02/2007: Birds of Prey #103 -- 28,327
02/2008: Birds of Prey #115 -- 23,157
-------------------------------------
02/2009: Birds of Prey #127 -- 21,424 (+ 3.1%)
03/2009: Oracle #1 of 3 -- 34,081 (+59.1%)
04/2009: Oracle #2 of 3 -- 33,731 (- 1.0%)
05/2009: Oracle #3 of 3 -- 35,328 (+ 4.7%)
06/2009: GC Sirens #1 -- 52,439 (+48.4%)
07/2009: GC Sirens #2 -- 39,518 (-24.6%)
08/2009: GC Sirens #3 -- 36,772 (- 7.0%)
09/2009: GC Sirens #4 -- 34,405 (- 6.4%)
10/2009: GC Sirens #5 -- 33,015 (- 4.0%)
11/2009: GC Sirens #6 -- 30,990 (- 6.1%)
12/2009: GC Sirens #7 -- 29,709 (- 4.1%)
01/2010: GC Sirens #8 -- 28,254 (- 4.9%)
02/2010: GC Sirens #9 -- 27,172 (- 3.8%)
-----------------
6 months: - 26.1%
1 year : + 26.8%
2 years : + 17.3%
5 years : - 7.9%67 - BATMAN: STREETS OF GOTHAM
06/2009: Batman: SoG #1 -- 57,650
07/2009: Batman: SoG #2 -- 44,240 (-23.3%)
08/2009: Batman: SoG #3 -- 40,353 (- 8.8%)
09/2009: Batman: SoG #4 -- 37,888 (- 6.1%)
10/2009: Batman: SoG #5 -- 34,533 (- 8.9%)
11/2009: Batman: SoG #6 -- 32,303 (- 6.5%)
12/2009: Batman: SoG #7 -- 30,290 (- 6.2%)
01/2010: Batman: SoG #8 -- 28,313 (- 6.5%)
02/2010: Batman: SoG #9 -- 27,023 (- 4.6%)
----------------
6 months: -33.0%These three Batman spin-off titles keep racing down the charts, although not as fast as they used to. That’s a good sign.

The bad sign is that they’re all very closely lumped together on the chart, which usually means that retailers only order the books because they happen to be part of a line that’s been over-expanded.

—–

68 - TEEN TITANS
02/2005: Teen Titans #21 -- 66,861 [68,751]
02/2006: Teen Titans #32 -- 69,131
02/2007: --
02/2008: Teen Titans #56 -- 50,283
----------------------------------
02/2009: Teen Titans #68 -- 35,096 (- 2.2%)
03/2009: --
04/2009: Teen Titans #69 -- 35,375 (+ 0.8%)
04/2009: Teen Titans #70 -- 35,412 (+ 0.1%)
05/2009: Teen Titans #71 -- 34,110 (- 3.7%)
06/2009: Teen Titans #72 -- 32,512 (- 4.7%)
07/2009: Teen Titans #73 -- 30,990 (- 4.7%)
08/2009: Teen Titans #74 -- 30,380 (- 2.0%)
09/2009: Teen Titans #75 -- 32,808 (+ 8.0%)
10/2009: Teen Titans #76 -- 29,166 (-11.1%)
11/2009: Teen Titans #77 -- 46,239 (+58.5%)
12/2009: Teen Titans #78 -- 43,400 (- 6.1%)
01/2010: Teen Titans #79 -- 27,790 (-36.0%)
02/2010: Teen Titans #80 -- 26,537 (- 4.5%)
----------------
6 months: -12.7%
1 year : -24.4%
2 years : -47.2%
5 years : -60.3%The numbers are back in their usual decline.

—–

71 - WONDER WOMAN
02/2005: Wonder Woman #213 -- 24,728
02/2006: Wonder Woman #226 -- 45,682
02/2007: Wonder Woman #4 -- 69,860
02/2008: Wonder Woman #17 -- 41,948
-------------------------------------
02/2009: Wonder Woman #29 -- 33,237 (+ 1.9%)
03/2009: Wonder Woman #30 -- 33,365 (+ 0.4%)
04/2009: Wonder Woman #31 -- 31,857 (- 4.5%)
05/2009: Wonder Woman #32 -- 33,065 (+ 3.8%)
06/2009: Wonder Woman #33 -- 32,755 (- 0.9%)
07/2009: Wonder Woman #34 -- 30,131 (- 8.0%)
08/2009: Wonder Woman #35 -- 29,657 (- 1.6%)
09/2009: Wonder Woman #36 -- 28,806 (- 2.9%)
10/2009: Wonder Woman #37 -- 26,972 (- 6.4%)
11/2009: Wonder Woman #38 -- 26,265 (- 2.6%)
12/2009: Wonder Woman #39 -- 26,152 (- 0.4%)
01/2010: Wonder Woman #40 -- 25,156 (- 3.8%)
02/2010: Wonder Woman #41 -- 25,354 (+ 0.8%)
----------------
6 months: -14.5%
1 year : -23.7%
2 years : -39.6%
5 years : + 2.5%Sales are holding level for no readily apparent reason, which is always a good sign for the current direction.

It’s moot, at this stage, though. Starting in June, Wonder Woman will see a creative overhaul led by J. Michael Straczynski.

—–

74 - TITANS
02/2009: Titans #10 -- 36,361 (- 3.5%)
03/2009: Titans #11 -- 35,240 (- 3.1%)
04/2009: Titans #12 -- 36,014 (+ 2.2%)
05/2009: Titans #13 -- 34,343 (- 4.6%)
06/2009: Titans #14 -- 32,321 (- 5.9%)
07/2009: Titans #15 -- 46,189 (+42.9%)
08/2009: Titans #16 -- 31,408 (-32.0%)
09/2009: Titans #17 -- 30,154 (- 4.0%)
10/2009: Titans #18 -- 28,215 (- 6.4%)
11/2009: Titans #19 -- 27,099 (- 4.0%)
12/2009: Titans #20 -- 25,887 (- 4.5%)
01/2010: Titans #21 -- 24,924 (- 3.7%)
02/2010: Titans #22 -- 24,489 (- 1.8%)
----------------
6 months: -22.0%
1 year : -32.7%Coming up: a fill-in, a skip month, a one-shot special, and then a new direction with a no-name creative team.

Given that you’d need a third hand to count all the new and immediately aborted directions the Titans books have seen over the last two years, it’s probably a good idea to tie it in with “Brightest Day.”

—–

87 - THE OUTSIDERS
02/2005: Outsiders #20 -- 39,051
02/2005: Outsiders #21 -- 40,032 [42,077]
02/2006: Outsiders #33 -- 43,270
02/2007: Outsiders #45 -- 32,976
02/2008: Batsiders #4 -- 37,903
--------------------------------
02/2009: Special #1 -- 35,727 (+ 11.1%)
02/2009: Outsiders #15 -- 30,024 (- 16.0%)
03/2009: Outsiders #16 -- 27,977 (- 6.8%)
04/2009: Outsiders #17 -- 27,171 (- 2.9%)
05/2009: Outsiders #18 -- 25,995 (- 4.3%)
06/2009: Outsiders #19 -- 27,485 (+ 5.7%)
07/2009: Outsiders #20 -- 24,323 (- 11.5%)
08/2009: Outsiders #21 -- 23,856 (- 1.9%)
09/2009: Outsiders #22 -- 22,775 (- 4.5%)
10/2009: Outsiders #23 -- 21,413 (- 6.0%)
11/2009: Outsiders #24 -- 50,918 (+137.8%) [55,704]
12/2009: Outsiders #25 -- 37,847 (- 25.7%)
01/2010: Outsiders #26 -- 22,626 (- 40.2%)
02/2010: Outsiders #27 -- 21,167 (- 6.5%)
----------------
6 months: -11.3%
1 year : -35.6%
2 years : -44.2%
5 years : -46.5%88 - BOOSTER GOLD
02/2008: Booster Gold #0 -- 37,808
-----------------------------------
02/2009: Booster Gold #17 -- 24,732 (- 2.9%)
03/2009: Booster Gold #18 -- 23,737 (- 4.0%)
04/2009: Booster Gold #19 -- 23,203 (- 2.3%)
05/2009: Booster Gold #20 -- 22,549 (- 2.8%)
06/2009: Booster Gold #21 -- 23,222 (+ 3.0%)
07/2009: Booster Gold #22 -- 22,414 (- 3.5%)
08/2009: Booster Gold #23 -- 22,108 (- 1.4%)
09/2009: Booster Gold #24 -- 21,731 (- 1.7%)
10/2009: Booster Gold #25 -- 21,597 (- 0.6%)
11/2009: Booster Gold #26 -- 57,122 (+164.5%)
12/2009: Booster Gold #27 -- 40,256 (- 29.5%)
01/2010: Booster Gold #28 -- 21,967 (- 45.4%)
02/2010: Booster Gold #29 -- 21,020 (- 4.3%)
-----------------
6 months: - 4.9%
1 year : - 15.0%
2 years : - 44.4%The Outsiders and Booster Gold sales are back where they were before the “Blackest Night” issues.

—–

89 - POWER GIRL
05/2009: Power Girl #1 -- 47,322
06/2009: Power Girl #2 -- 36,756 (-22.3%)
07/2009: Power Girl #3 -- 35,163 (- 4.3%)
08/2009: Power Girl #4 -- 32,140 (- 8.6%)
09/2009: Power Girl #5 -- 29,497 (- 8.2%)
10/2009: Power Girl #6 -- 27,060 (- 8.3%)
11/2009: --
12/2009: Power Girl #7 -- 22,533 (-16.7%)
01/2010: Power Girl #8 -- 21,760 (- 3.4%)
02/2010: Power Girl #9 -- 20,900 (- 4.0%)
----------------
6 months: -35.0%Still declining. A new creative team is around the corner, but Power Girl seems like one of those titles that only work because of the specific creative team that happens to be doing them, so again, there’s reason to be skeptical whether the move will have a positive effect on the numbers.

—–

97 - JOE THE BARBARIAN (Vertigo)
01/2010: Joe the Barbarian #1 of 8 -- 25,543 [29,712]
02/2010: Joe the Barbarian #2 of 8 -- 17,512 (-31.4%)Under normal circumstances, this would be a very stiff second-issue drop for a mini. In this case, though, 30% are a great sign, because the first issue was one of Vertigo’s $ 1.00 loss leaders.

Also, because Fables was absent in February, Joe the Barbarian was Vertigo’s best-selling comic book.

—–

99 - BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL
02/2007: Batman Confidential #3 -- 41,109
02/2008: Batman Confidential #12 -- 27,208
02/2008: Batman Confidential #13 -- 25,735
------------------------------------------
02/2009: Batman Confidential #26 -- 20,134 (- 1.9%)
03/2009: Batman Confidential #27 -- 19,934 (- 1.0%)
04/2009: Batman Confidential #28 -- 19,540 (- 2.0%)
05/2009: Batman Confidential #29 -- 18,867 (- 3.4%)
06/2009: Batman Confidential #30 -- 18,443 (- 2.3%)
07/2009: Batman Confidential #31 -- 19,225 (+ 4.2%)
08/2009: Batman Confidential #32 -- 18,545 (- 3.5%)
09/2009: Batman Confidential #33 -- 18,140 (- 2.2%)
10/2009: Batman Confidential #34 -- 17,097 (- 5.8%)
10/2009: Batman Confidential #35 -- 16,724 (- 2.2%)
11/2009: Batman Confidential #36 -- 16,664 (- 0.4%)
11/2009: Batman Confidential #37 -- 16,355 (- 1.9%)
12/2009: Batman Confidential #38 -- 16,132 (- 1.4%)
12/2009: Batman Confidential #39 -- 15,906 (- 1.4%)
01/2010: Batman Confidential #40 -- 17,241 (+ 8.4%)
02/2010: Batman Confidential #41 -- 16,856 (- 2.2%)
----------------
6 months: - 9.1%
1 year : -16.3%
2 years : -36.3%The Sam Kieth arc still enjoys a modest increase compared to previous issues.

——

103 - DOOM PATROL
02/2005: Doom Patrol #9 -- 17,544
----------------------------------
08/2009: Doom Patrol #1 -- 28,267
09/2009: Doom Patrol #2 -- 22,001 (- 22.2%)
10/2009: Doom Patrol #3 -- 20,036 (- 8.9%)
11/2009: Doom Patrol #4 -- 53,748 (+168.3%)
12/2009: Doom Patrol #5 -- 35,348 (- 34.2%)
01/2010: Doom Patrol #6 -- 17,117 (- 51.6%)
02/2010: Doom Patrol #7 -- 15,689 (- 8.3%)
-----------------
6 months: - 44.5%
5 years : - 10.6%Doom Patrol keeps rushing down the charts. Which is what the two previous Doom Patrol series did, so no great surprise there.

—–

107 - CINDERELLA: FROM FABLETOWN WITH LOVE (Vertigo)
11/2009: Cinderella #1 of 6 -- 20,337
12/2009: Cinderella #2 of 6 -- 16,598 (-18.4%)
01/2010: Cinderella #3 of 6 -- 15,827 (- 4.7%)
02/2010: Cinderella #4 of 6 -- 15,421 (- 2.6%)The Fables spin-off keeps performing very well, even without Bill Willingham’s name in the credits.

Meanwhile, Fables, Vol. 13: The Great Fables Crossover, the latest collection, shipped in February, with estimated direct-market sales of 11,892 in its first calendar month. This is broadly in line with previous volumes but also suggests that there hasn’t been any growth to make up for the recent decline of sales of the Fables comic books.

(The usual disclaimer applies: These are first-month sales in the direct market. For all we know, people may be simply postponing their purchase or — since Fables is one of the few recent Vertigo books that seem to be doing very well in the book market at large — getting the books through Amazon.)

—–

116 - HUMAN TARGET
02/2005: Human Target #19 -- 7,678
---------------------------------------
02/2010: Human Target #1 of 6 -- 13,690
----------------
5 years : +78.3%A new miniseries to tie in with the television series, this time under the DC Universe umbrella rather than from Vertigo. Sales are deeply unimpressive, at any rate, particularly considering that there was a 1-for-10 variant edition.

—–

117 - THE UNWRITTEN (Vertigo)
05/2009: The Unwritten #1 -- 26,915 [31,081]
06/2009: The Unwritten #2 -- 16,290 (-39.5%)
07/2009: The Unwritten #3 -- 17,028 (+ 4.5%)
08/2009: The Unwritten #4 -- 16,336 (- 4.1%)
09/2009: The Unwritten #5 -- 16,011 (- 2.0%)
10/2009: The Unwritten #6 -- 15,314 (- 4.4%)
11/2009: The Unwritten #7 -- 14,763 (- 3.6%)
12/2009: The Unwritten #8 -- 14,257 (- 3.4%)
01/2010: The Unwritten #9 -- 13,792 (- 3.3%)
02/2010: The Unwritten #10 -- 13,644 (- 1.1%)
----------------
6 months: -16.5%The numbers are bottoming out, which means The Unwritten is set to be Vertigo’s second-best-selling ongoing title after Fables — and their most successful new launch in ages.

Also, the first collection sold another estimated 1,059 copies in the direct market in its second calendar month, in addition to January’s 5,836 units, making The Unwritten one of Vertigo’s most successful titles in that respect, as well.

There’s every indication that the loss-leader $ 1.00 debut issue from last May is paying off in spades, in this case.

—–

123 - AZRAEL
03/2009: Death's Dark Knight #1 of 3 -- 39,985
04/2009: Death's Dark Knight #2 of 3 -- 36,432 (- 8.9%)
05/2009: Death's Dark Knight #3 of 3 -- 35,916 (- 1.4%)
06/2009: --
07/2009: --
08/2009: --
09/2009: --
10/2009: Azrael #1 -- 35,311 (- 1.7%)
11/2009: Azrael #2 -- 21,392 (-39.4%)
12/2009: Azrael #3 -- 17,757 (-17.0%)
01/2010: Azrael #4 -- 14,703 (-17.2%)
02/2010: Azrael #5 -- 12,856 (-12.6%)Azrael sales keep crashing like there’s no tomorrow.

—–

131 - R.E.B.E.L.S.
02/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #1 -- 23,739
03/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #2 -- 16,122 (- 32.1%)
04/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #3 -- 14,442 (- 10.4%)
05/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #4 -- 13,468 (- 6.7%)
06/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #5 -- 12,909 (- 4.2%)
07/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #6 -- 12,349 (- 4.3%)
08/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #7 -- 11,682 (- 5.4%)
09/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #8 -- 11,347 (- 2.9%)
10/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #9 -- 11,284 (- 0.6%)
11/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #10 -- 51,100 (+352.9%)
12/2009: R.E.B.E.L.S. #11 -- 31,489 (- 38.4%)
01/2010: R.E.B.E.L.S. #12 -- 12,428 (- 60.5%)
02/2010: R.E.B.E.L.S. #13 -- 11,836 (- 4.8%)
-----------------
6 months: + 1.3%
1 year : - 50.1%Sales are still above the pre-”Blackest Night” number, but again, that’s not a ringing endorsement. Obviously, though, R.E.B.E.L.S. isn’t the worst-selling ongoing DC Universe series by a long stretch, so maybe there’s still some rope.

—–

135 - JONAH HEX
02/2006: Jonah Hex #4 -- 23,569
02/2007: Jonah Hex #16 -- 17,490
02/2008: Jonah Hex #28 -- 13,614
--------------------------------
02/2009: Jonah Hex #40 -- 11,631 (- 0.6%)
03/2009: Jonah Hex #41 -- 11,564 (- 0.6%)
04/2009: Jonah Hex #42 -- 11,551 (- 0.1%)
05/2009: Jonah Hex #43 -- 11,606 (+ 0.5%)
06/2009: Jonah Hex #44 -- 11,592 (- 0.1%)
07/2009: Jonah Hex #45 -- 12,588 (+ 8.6%)
08/2009: Jonah Hex #46 -- 12,466 (- 1.0%)
09/2009: Jonah Hex #47 -- 12,231 (- 1.9%)
10/2009: Jonah Hex #48 -- 11,281 (- 7.8%)
11/2009: Jonah Hex #49 -- 11,146 (- 1.2%)
12/2009: Jonah Hex #50 -- 15,131 (+35.8%)
01/2010: Jonah Hex #51 -- 11,184 (-26.1%)
02/2010: Jonah Hex #52 -- 11,213 (+ 0.3%)
----------------
6 months: -10.1%
1 year : - 3.6%
2 years : -17.6%The numbers are holding level again, for no obvious reason — always a good sign.

—–

143 - HELLBLAZER (Vertigo)
02/2005: Hellblazer #205 -- 15,158
02/2006: Hellblazer #217 -- 14,306
02/2007: Hellblazer #229 -- 13,032
02/2008: Hellblazer #241 -- 11,998
----------------------------------
02/2009: Hellblazer #252 -- 11,174 (-1.0%)
03/2009: Hellblazer #253 -- 11,132 (-0.4%)
04/2009: Hellblazer #254 -- 11,053 (-0.7%)
05/2009: Hellblazer #255 -- 10,937 (-1.1%)
06/2009: Hellblazer #256 -- 10,898 (-0.4%)
07/2009: Hellblazer #257 -- 10,762 (-1.3%)
08/2009: Hellblazer #258 -- 10,665 (-0.9%)
09/2009: Hellblazer #259 -- 10,813 (+1.4%)
10/2009: Hellblazer #260 -- 10,767 (-0.4%)
11/2009: Hellblazer #261 -- 10,553 (-2.0%)
12/2009: Hellblazer #262 -- 10,334 (-2.1%)
01/2010: Hellblazer #263 -- 10,179 (-1.5%)
02/2010: Hellblazer #264 -- 10,025 (-1.5%)
----------------
6 months: - 6.0%
1 year : -10.3%
2 years : -16.4%
5 years : -33.9%Standard attrition.

—–

145 - MILESTONE FOREVER
02/2010: Milestone Forever #1 of 2 -- 9,792This swan song to the Milestone comics published by DC in the 1990s comes with a $ 5.99 price tag, so this number was to be expected.

Bizarrely, DC’s been pulling various quotations from the series that were evidently essential to the story, under nebulous circumstances.

—–

146 - SWEET TOOTH (Vertigo)
09/2009: Sweet Tooth #1 -- 18,657
10/2009: Sweet Tooth #2 -- 11,315 (-39.4%)
11/2009: Sweet Tooth #3 -- 10,363 (- 8.4%)
12/2009: Sweet Tooth #4 -- 9,817 (- 5.3%)
01/2010: Sweet Tooth #5 -- 9,787 (- 0.3%)
02/2010: Sweet Tooth #6 -- 9,740 (- 0.5%)Sales are holding level, for the second month in a row.

Another win for the $ 1.00-debut promotion? We’ll find out in a few months, when the first collection ships. For now, Sweet Tooth sales are looking good.

—–

150 - RED TORNADO
09/2009: Red Tornado #1 of 6 -- 20,551
10/2009: Red Tornado #2 of 6 -- 14,383 (-30.0%)
11/2009: Red Tornado #3 of 6 -- 12,331 (-14.3%)
12/2009: Red Tornado #4 of 6 -- 11,009 (-10.7%)
01/2010: Red Tornado #5 of 6 -- 10,044 (- 8.8%)
02/2010: Red Tornado #6 of 6 -- 9,581 (- 4.6%)Well, kind of expected for a Red Tornado series that’s just been pushed out the door to fend for itself. The numbers could have been worse, even.

—–

151 - DAYTRIPPER (Vertigo)
12/2009: Daytripper #1 of 10 -- 12,010
01/2009: Daytripper #2 of 10 -- 9,846 (-18.0%)
02/2009: Daytripper #3 of 10 -- 9,577 (- 2.7%)Another Vertigo series that appears to be finding its level quickly.

—–

152 - HOUSE OF MYSTERY (Vertigo)
02/2009: House of Mystery #10 -- 13,098 (- 4.7%)
03/2009: House of Mystery #11 -- 12,785 (- 2.4%)
04/2009: House of Mystery #12 -- 12,636 (- 1.2%)
05/2009: House of Mystery #13 -- 14,358 (+13.6%)
06/2009: House of Mystery #14 -- 12,039 (-16.2%)
07/2009: House of Mystery #15 -- 11,809 (- 1.9%)
08/2009: House of Mystery #16 -- 11,572 (- 2.0%)
09/2009: House of Mystery #17 -- 11,142 (- 3.7%)
10/2009: House of Mystery #18 -- 10,922 (- 2.0%)
11/2009: House of Mystery #19 -- 10,478 (- 4.1%)
12/2009: House of Mystery #20 -- 10,175 (- 2.9%)
01/2010: House of Mystery #21 -- 9,888 (- 2.8%)
02/2010: House of Mystery #22 -- 9,401 (- 4.9%)
----------------
6 months: -18.8%
1 year : -28.2%No such luck for House of Mystery, meanwhile. But the book is still one of the imprint’s better performers, of course.

—–

158 - TINY TITANS (Johnny DC)
02/2008: Tiny Titans #1 -- 15,238
----------------------------------
02/2009: Tiny Titans #13 -- 8,710 (- 0.3%)
03/2009: Tiny Titans #14 -- 8,736 (+ 0.3%)
04/2009: Tiny Titans #15 -- 9,207 (+ 5.4%)
05/2009: Tiny Titans #16 -- 8,844 (- 3.9%)
06/2009: Tiny Titans #17 -- 8,640 (- 2.3%)
07/2009: Tiny Titans #18 -- 8,576 (- 0.7%)
08/2009: Tiny Titans #19 -- 8,432 (- 1.7%)
09/2009: Tiny Titans #20 -- 8,435 (+ 0.0%)
10/2009: Tiny Titans #21 -- 8,259 (- 2.1%)
11/2009: Tiny Titans #22 -- 8,100 (- 1.9%)
12/2009: Tiny Titans #23 -- 8,017 (- 1.0%)
01/2010: Tiny Titans #24 -- 7,844 (- 2.2%)
02/2010: Tiny Titans #25 -- 8,566 (+ 9.2%)
----------------
6 months: + 1.6%
1 year : - 1.7%
2 years : -43.8%A Johnny DC title, see fine print.

—–

159 - MAGOG
09/2009: Magog #1 -- 26,352
10/2009: Magog #2 -- 16,193 (-38.6%)
11/2009: Magog #3 -- 12,915 (-20.2%)
12/2009: Magog #4 -- 10,700 (-17.2%)
01/2010: Magog #5 -- 9,215 (-13.9%)
02/2010: Magog #6 -- 8,548 (- 7.2%)161 - WARLORD
04/2009: Warlord #1 -- 17,540
05/2009: Warlord #2 -- 13,390 (-23.7%)
06/2009: Warlord #3 -- 12,283 (- 8.3%)
07/2009: Warlord #4 -- 11,445 (- 6.8%)
08/2009: Warlord #5 -- 10,790 (- 5.7%)
09/2009: Warlord #6 -- 10,331 (- 4.3%)
10/2009: Warlord #7 -- 9,892 (- 4.3%)
11/2009: Warlord #8 -- 9,547 (- 3.5%)
12/2009: Warlord #9 -- 9,102 (- 4.7%)
01/2010: Warlord #10 -- 8,807 (- 3.2%)
02/2010: Warlord #11 -- 8,532 (- 3.1%)
----------------
6 months: -20.9%These are the two lowest-selling ongoing DC Universe series that haven’t been canceled yet. The future looks bleak for Magog, certainly.

—–

162 - DEMO (Vertigo)
11/2003: Demo #1 of 12 -- 4,529
12/2003: Demo #2 of 12 -- 3,115 (-31.2%)
01/2004: Demo #3 of 12 -- 3,170 (+ 1.8%)
02/2004: Demo #4 of 12 -- 3,220 (+ 1.6%)
03/2004: Demo #5 of 12 -- 3,301 (+ 2.5%)
05/2004: Demo #6 of 12 -- 3,514 (+ 6.5%)
06/2004: Demo #7 of 12 -- 3,882 (+10.5%)
07/2004: Demo #8 of 12 -- 3,803 (- 2.0%)
08/2004: Demo #9 of 12 -- 3,976 (+ 4.6%)
10/2004: Demo #10 of 12 -- 4,260 (+ 7.1%)
10/2004: Demo #11 of 12 -- 4,344 (+ 2.0%)
12/2004: Demo #12 of 12 -- 4,628 (+ 6.5%)
-------------------------------------
02/2010: Demo Vol. 2 #1 of 6 -- 8,317Granted: One, a lot of people are going to wait for the collection on this one. And two, the book almost doubled its sales compared to Vol. 1, which was released by indie publisher AiT/Planet Lar back in 2003 and 2004.

That said: This is a disappointing start for the new Demo series, surely — not just by Vertigo’s standards, but also by Brian Wood’s.

Wood’s Northlanders #1 debuted with estimated first-month sales of 19,805 back in December 2007 (partly thanks to a variant edition, to be fair). And DMZ #1 sold an estimated 18,705 units in November 2005. Demo isn’t even in the same ballpark. The number makes me wonder if half the book’s print run fell off a truck and didn’t arrive in stores until March, to be honest; but given that Demo #1 came out in the first week of February, that’s an unlikely scenario.

—–

165 - MADAME XANADU (Vertigo)
02/2009: Madame Xanadu #8 -- 9,932 (- 3.3%)
03/2009: Madame Xanadu #9 -- 9,798 (- 1.4%)
04/2009: Madame Xanadu #10 -- 9,664 (- 1.4%)
05/2009: Madame Xanadu #11 -- 10,179 (+ 5.3%)
06/2009: Madame Xanadu #12 -- 9,949 (- 2.3%)
07/2009: Madame Xanadu #13 -- 10,009 (+ 0.6%)
08/2009: Madame Xanadu #14 -- 9,873 (- 1.4%)
09/2009: Madame Xanadu #15 -- 9,733 (- 1.4%)
10/2009: Madame Xanadu #16 -- 9,283 (- 4.6%)
11/2009: Madame Xanadu #17 -- 8,856 (- 4.6%)
12/2009: Madame Xanadu #18 -- 8,686 (- 1.9%)
01/2010: Madame Xanadu #19 -- 8,439 (- 2.8%)
02/2010: Madame Xanadu #20 -- 8,285 (- 1.8%)
----------------
6 months: -16.1%
1 year : -16.6%That’s standard attrition.

—–

170 - THE AUTHORITY (WildStorm)
02/2005: Revolution #5 of 12 -- 20,683
02/2007: --
02/2008: Prime #5 of 6 -- 14,099
---------------------------------------
02/2009: The Authority v4 #7 -- 10,553 (- 1.1%)
03/2009: The Authority v4 #8 -- 9,990 (- 5.3%)
04/2009: The Authority v4 #9 -- 9,748 (- 2.4%)
05/2009: The Authority v4 #10 -- 9,531 (- 2.2%)
06/2009: The Authority v4 #11 -- 9,204 (- 3.4%)
07/2009: The Authority v4 #12 -- 8,918 (- 3.1%)
08/2009: The Authority v4 #13 -- 8,648 (- 3.0%)
09/2009: The Authority v4 #14 -- 8,394 (- 2.9%)
10/2009: The Authority v4 #15 -- 8,174 (- 2.6%)
11/2009: The Authority v4 #16 -- 8,066 (- 1.3%)
12/2009: The Authority v4 #17 -- 7,829 (- 2.9%)
01/2010: The Authority v4 #18 -- 7,952 (+ 1.6%)
02/2010: The Authority v4 #19 -- 7,943 (- 0.1%)
----------------
6 months: - 8.2%
1 year : -24.7%
2 years : -43.7%
5 years : -61.6%Sales are holding level, at least. That’s probably not much of a saving grace, though, at this stage.

—–

173 - NORTHLANDERS (Vertigo)
02/2008: Northlanders #3 -- 14,699
-----------------------------------
02/2009: --
03/2009: Northlanders #15 -- 9,443 (- 0.2%)
04/2009: Northlanders #16 -- 9,323 (- 1.3%)
05/2009: Northlanders #17 -- 9,239 (- 0.9%)
06/2009: Northlanders #18 -- 8,877 (- 3.9%)
07/2009: Northlanders #19 -- 8,722 (- 1.8%)
08/2009: --
09/2009: Northlanders #20 -- 8,786 (+ 0.7%)
10/2009: Northlanders #21 -- 8,360 (- 4.9%)
11/2009: Northlanders #22 -- 8,136 (- 2.7%)
12/2009: Northlanders #23 -- 8,069 (- 0.8%)
01/2010: Northlanders #24 -- 7,935 (- 1.7%)
02/2010: Northlanders #25 -- 7,807 (- 1.6%)
----------------
6 months: n.a.
1 year : n.a.
2 years : -46.9%Standard attrition.

—–

177 - BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT SPECIAL
02/2010: Batman: LotDK Special #1 -- 7,323Another reprint special.

—–

180 - DMZ (Vertigo)
02/2006: DMZ #4 -- 14,778
02/2007: DMZ #16 -- 13,199
02/2008: DMZ #28 -- 10,463
--------------------------
02/2009: DMZ #39 -- 8,353 (-1.2%)
03/2009: DMZ #40 -- 8,167 (-2.2%)
04/2009: DMZ #41 -- 8,061 (-1.3%)
05/2009: --
06/2009: DMZ #42 -- 7,927 (-1.7%)
07/2009: DMZ #43 -- 7,806 (-1.5%)
08/2009: DMZ #44 -- 7,654 (-2.0%)
09/2009: DMZ #45 -- 7,589 (-0.9%)
10/2009: DMZ #46 -- 7,399 (-2.5%)
11/2009: DMZ #47 -- 7,187 (-2.9%)
12/2009: DMZ #48 -- 6,977 (-2.9%)
01/2010: DMZ #49 -- 6,872 (-1.5%)
02/2010: DMZ #50 -- 7,262 (+5.7%)
----------------
6 months: - 5.1%
1 year : -13.1%
2 years : -30.6%The book sees a modest increase for the anniversary number, as usual.

—–

182 - THE AUTHORITY: THE LOST YEAR (WildStorm)
10/2006: The Authority v3 #1 -- 58,136
03/2007: The Authority v3 #2 -- 39,886
------------------------------------------
11/2009: The Lost Year #3 of 12 -- 8,988 (-77.5%)
12/2009: The Lost Year #4 of 12 -- 7,999 (-11.0%)
01/2010: The Lost Year #5 of 12 -- 7,541 (- 5.7%)
02/2010: The Lost Year #6 of 12 -- 7,184 (- 4.7%)The undead corpse of an aborted Grant Morrison revamp keeps creeping on across the land in trucks and shops and boxes. Bah.

—–

187 - SUPERNATURAL: BEGINNING'S END (WildStorm)
05/2007: Origins #1 -- 21,128
06/2007: Origins #2 -- 15,955 (-24.5%)
07/2007: Origins #3 -- 14,812 (- 7.2%)
08/2007: Origins #4 -- 13,915 (- 6.1%)
09/2007: Origins #5 -- 13,034 (- 6.3%)
10/2007: Origins #6 -- 12,350 (- 5.5%)
-------------------------------------
04/2008: Rising Son #1 of 6 -- 16,013 (+29.7%)
05/2008: Rising Son #2 of 6 -- 11,846 (-26.0%)
06/2008: Rising Son #3 of 6 -- 11,276 (- 4.8%)
07/2008: Rising Son #4 of 6 -- 10,676 (- 5.3%)
08/2008: Rising Son #5 of 6 -- 10,110 (- 5.3%)
09/2008: Rising Son #6 of 6 -- 9,590 (- 5.1%)
-------------------------------------
01/2010: Beginning's End #1 -- 9,251 (- 3.5%)
02/2010: Beginning's End #2 -- 6,922 (-25.2%)Obviously, the sheen is off. That’s another licensed property dropping off the grid for WildStorm.

—–

188 - GREEK STREET (Vertigo)
07/2009: Greek Street #1 -- 20,422
08/2009: Greek Street #2 -- 11,996 (-41.3%)
09/2009: Greek Street #3 -- 10,628 (-11.4%)
10/2009: Greek Street #4 -- 9,246 (-13.0%)
11/2009: Greek Street #5 -- 8,610 (- 6.9%)
12/2009: Greek Street #6 -- 7,802 (- 9.4%)
01/2010: Greek Street #7 -- 7,335 (- 6.0%)
02/2010: Greek Street #8 -- 6,872 (- 6.3%)
----------------
6 months: -42.7%Greek Street keeps shedding readers.

—–

190 - THE GREAT TEN
11/2009: The Great Ten #1 of 10 -- 13,159
12/2009: The Great Ten #2 of 10 -- 8,760 (-33.4%)
01/2010: The Great Ten #3 of 10 -- 7,458 (-14.9%)
02/2010: The Great Ten #4 of 10 -- 6,812 (- 8.7%)This DC Universe mini will probably see some ugly numbers before it’s done, but without any promotion, that was to be expected.

—–

192/199 - SCALPED (Vertigo)
02/2007: Scalped #2 -- 10,005
02/2008: Scalped #14 -- 6,903
------------------------------
02/2009: Scalped #25 -- 6,887 (+ 1.6%)
03/2009: Scalped #26 -- 6,866 (- 0.3%)
04/2009: Scalped #27 -- 6,950 (+ 1.2%)
04/2009: Scalped #28 -- 6,860 (- 1.3%)
05/2009: --
06/2009: Scalped #29 -- 7,078 (+ 3.2%)
07/2009: Scalped #30 -- 7,059 (- 0.3%)
08/2009: Scalped #31 -- 6,916 (- 2.0%)
09/2009: --
10/2009: Scalped #32 -- 6,905 (- 0.2%)
11/2009: --
12/2009: Scalped #33 -- 6,752 (- 2.2%)
01/2010: --
02/2010: Scalped #34 -- 6,731 (- 0.3%)
02/2010: Scalped #35 -- 6,443 (- 4.3%)
----------------
6 months: - 4.8%
1 year : - 4.4%
2 years : - 4.6%Those 300 copies between the two February issues are the difference between shipping in the first week of the month and shipping in the last week of the month. Overall, this means that Scalped is sticking to its usual level.

—–

194 - WILDCATS (WildStorm)
02/2006: Nemesis #6 of 9 -- 14,572
02/2007: --
----------------------------------
02/2009: World's End #8 -- 9,040 (- 5.2%)
03/2009: World's End #9 -- 8,758 (- 3.1%)
04/2009: World's End #10 -- 8,460 (- 3.4%)
05/2009: World's End #11 -- 8,165 (- 3.5%)
06/2009: World's End #12 -- 7,863 (- 3.7%)
07/2009: World's End #13 -- 7,609 (- 3.2%)
08/2009: World's End #14 -- 7,417 (- 2.5%)
09/2009: World's End #15 -- 7,178 (- 3.2%)
10/2009: World's End #16 -- 6,883 (- 4.1%)
11/2009: World's End #17 -- 6,691 (- 2.8%)
12/2009: World's End #18 -- 6,487 (- 3.2%)
01/2010: World's End #19 -- 6,791 (+ 4.7%)
02/2010: World's End #20 -- 6,669 (- 1.8%)
----------------
6 months: -10.1%
1 year : -26.2%
2 years : n.a.Standard attrition.

—–

202 - VICTORIAN UNDEAD (WildStorm)
11/2009: Victorian Undead #1 of 6 -- 11,422
12/2009: Victorian Undead #2 of 6 -- 7,430 (-35.0%)
01/2010: Victorian Undead #3 of 6 -- 6,663 (-10.3%)
02/2010: Victorian Undead #4 of 6 -- 6,365 (- 4.5%)Believe it or not, Victorian Undead is one of WildStorm’s best-selling creator-owned releases in recent memory.

—–

204 - BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD (Johnny DC)
02/2005: Batman Strikes! #6 -- 11,102
02/2006: Batman Strikes! #18 -- 8,626
02/2007: Batman Strikes! #30 -- 7,335
02/2008: Batman Strikes! #42 -- 6,623
----------------------------------------
02/2009: Brave & Bold #2 -- 8,678 (- 37.7%)
03/2009: Brave & Bold #3 -- 8,184 (- 5.7%)
04/2009: Brave & Bold #4 -- 8,381 (+ 2.4%)
05/2009: Brave & Bold #5 -- 7,994 (- 4.6%)
06/2009: Brave & Bold #6 -- 7,614 (- 4.8%)
07/2009: Brave & Bold #7 -- 7,441 (- 2.3%)
08/2009: Brave & Bold #8 -- 7,153 (- 3.9%)
09/2009: Brave & Bold #9 -- 7,064 (- 1.2%)
10/2009: Brave & Bold #10 -- 6,646 (- 5.9%)
11/2009: Brave & Bold #11 -- 6,438 (- 3.1%)
12/2009: Brave & Bold #12 -- 6,342 (- 1.5%)
01/2010: Brave & Bold #13 -- 6,129 (- 3.4%)
02/2010: Brave & Bold #14 -- 6,084 (- 0.7%)
----------------
6 months: -15.0%
1 year : -29.9%
2 years : - 8.1%
5 years : -45.2%Another Johnny DC book.

—–

205 - THE SHIELD
08/2009: RC: Shield #1 -- 19,088
09/2009: The Shield #1 -- 16,997 (-11.0%)
10/2009: The Shield #2 -- 10,401 (-38.8%)
11/2009: The Shield #3 -- 8,546 (-17.8%)
12/2009: The Shield #4 -- 7,316 (-14.4%)
01/2010: The Shield #5 -- 6,444 (-11.9%)
02/2010: The Shield #6 -- 6,010 (- 6.7%)
----------------
6 months: -68.5%Canceled with issue #10.

—–

226 - UNKNOWN SOLDIER (Vertigo)
02/2009: Unknown Soldier #5 -- 8,348 (- 4.2%)
03/2009: Unknown Soldier #6 -- 8,177 (- 2.1%)
04/2009: Unknown Soldier #7 -- 8,631 (+ 5.6%)
05/2009: Unknown Soldier #8 -- 7,705 (-10.7%)
06/2009: Unknown Soldier #9 -- 7,586 (- 1.6%)
07/2009: Unknown Soldier #10 -- 7,256 (- 4.4%)
08/2009: Unknown Soldier #11 -- 7,070 (- 2.6%)
09/2009: Unknown Soldier #12 -- 6,865 (- 2.9%)
10/2009: Unknown Soldier #13 -- 6,636 (- 3.3%)
11/2009: Unknown Soldier #14 -- 6,359 (- 4.2%)
12/2009: Unknown Soldier #15 -- 6,134 (- 3.5%)
01/2010: Unknown Soldier #16 -- 5,848 (- 4.7%)
02/2010: Unknown Soldier #17 -- 5,701 (- 2.5%)
----------------
6 months: -19.4%
1 year : -31.7%Standard attrition.

—–

224 - GEN13 (WildStorm)
02/2007: Gen13 #5 -- 22,422
02/2008: Gen13 #17 -- 12,844
----------------------------
02/2009: Gen13 #27 -- 7,929 (- 4.9%)
03/2009: Gen13 #28 -- 7,593 (- 4.2%)
04/2009: Gen13 #29 -- 7,313 (- 3.7%)
05/2009: --
06/2009: Gen13 #30 -- 6,880 (- 5.9%)
07/2009: --
08/2009: Gen13 #31 -- 6,544 (- 4.9%)
09/2009: --
10/2009: Gen13 #32 -- 6,044 (- 7.6%)
11/2009: --
12/2009: Gen13 #33 -- 5,718 (- 5.4%)
01/2010: --
12/2010: Gen13 #34 -- 5,412 (- 5.4%)
----------------
6 months: -17.3%
1 year : -31.7%
2 years : -57.9%Another WildStorm Universe book.

—–

229 - AIR (Vertigo)
02/2009: --
03/2009: Air #7 -- 10,290 (+35.3%)
04/2009: Air #8 -- 7,216 (-29.9%)
05/2009: Air #9 -- 7,115 (- 1.4%)
06/2009: Air #10 -- 6,954 (- 2.3%)
07/2009: Air #11 -- 6,793 (- 2.3%)
08/2009: Air #12 -- 6,589 (- 3.0%)
09/2009: Air #13 -- 6,476 (- 1.7%)
10/2009: Air #14 -- 6,156 (- 4.9%)
11/2009: Air #15 -- 5,921 (- 3.8%)
12/2009: Air #16 -- 5,733 (- 3.2%)
01/2010: Air #17 -- 5,573 (- 2.8%)
02/2010: Air #18 -- 5,352 (- 4.0%)
----------------
6 months: -18.8%
1 year : n.a.Still no end in sight for the sales decline.

—–

230 - THE WEB
08/2009: RC: Web #1 -- 19,535
09/2009: The Web #1 -- 15,507 (-20.6%)
10/2009: The Web #2 -- 9,421 (-39.3%)
11/2009: The Web #3 -- 7,631 (-19.0%)
12/2009: The Web #4 -- 6,653 (-12.8%)
01/2010: The Web #5 -- 5,809 (-12.7%)
02/2010: The Web #6 -- 5,276 (- 9.2%)
----------------
6 months: -73.0%Canceled with issue #10.

—–

235 - CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2: GHOST (WildStorm)
11/2009: CoD:MW2: Ghost #1 of 6 -- 11,936
12/2009: CoD:MW2: Ghost #2 of 6 -- 5,214 (-56.3%)
01/2010: --
02/2010: CoD:MW2: Ghost #3 of 6 -- 4,938 (- 5.3%)Another one of WildStorm’s licensed titles.

—–

242 - SUPER FRIENDS (Johnny DC)
02/2009: Super Friends #12 -- 5,394 (- 1.9%)
03/2009: Super Friends #13 -- 5,387 (- 0.1%)
04/2009: Super Friends #14 -- 5,792 (+ 7.5%)
05/2009: Super Friends #15 -- 5,513 (- 4.8%)
06/2009: Super Friends #16 -- 5,548 (+ 0.6%)
07/2009: Super Friends #17 -- 5,368 (- 3.2%)
08/2009: Super Friends #18 -- 5,291 (- 1.4%)
09/2009: Super Friends #19 -- 5,045 (- 4.7%)
10/2009: Super Friends #20 -- 5,026 (- 0.4%)
11/2009: Super Friends #21 -- 4,879 (- 2.9%)
12/2009: Super Friends #22 -- 4,837 (- 0.9%)
01/2010: Super Friends #23 -- 4,538 (- 6.2%)
02/2010: Super Friends #24 -- 4,644 (+ 2.3%)
----------------
6 months: -12.2%
1 year : -13.9%251 - BILLY BATSON & THE MAGIC OF SHAZAM (Johnny DC)
02/2009: --
03/2009: --
04/2009: Billy Batson #4 -- 8,470 (-14.0%)
05/2009: --
06/2009: Billy Batson #5 -- 7,869 (- 7.1%)
07/2009: Billy Batson #6 -- 6,771 (-14.0%)
08/2009: Billy Batson #7 -- 6,382 (- 5.8%)
09/2009: Billy Batson #8 -- 5,858 (- 8.2%)
10/2009: Billy Batson #9 -- 5,388 (- 8.0%)
11/2009: Billy Batson #10 -- 4,993 (- 7.3%)
12/2009: Billy Batson #11 -- 4,795 (- 4.0%)
01/2010: Billy Batson #12 -- 4,371 (- 8.8%)
02/2010: Billy Batson #13 -- 4,316 (- 1.3%)
----------------
6 months: -32.4%
1 year : n.a.260 - SCOOBY DOO (Johnny DC)
02/2005: Scooby Doo #93 -- 4,747
02/2006: Scooby Doo #105 -- 4,326
02/2007: Scooby Doo #117 -- 4,275
02/2008: Scooby Doo #129 -- 4,161
---------------------------------
02/2009: Scooby Doo #141 -- 3,861 (+ 1.6%)
03/2009: Scooby Doo #142 -- 3,863 (+ 0.1%)
04/2009: Scooby Doo #143 -- 4,610 (+19.3%)
05/2009: Scooby Doo #144 -- 4,062 (-11.9%)
06/2009: Scooby Doo #145 -- 4,093 (+ 0.8%)
07/2009: Scooby Doo #146 -- 4,110 (+ 0.4%)
08/2009: Scooby Doo #147 -- 4,111 (+ 0.0%)
09/2009: Scooby Doo #148 -- 4,103 (- 0.2%)
10/2009: Scooby Doo #149 -- 4,005 (- 2.4%)
11/2009: Scooby Doo #150 -- 4,044 (+ 1.0%)
12/2009: Scooby Doo #151 -- 3,906 (- 3.4%)
01/2010: Scooby Doo #152 -- 3,724 (- 4.7%)
02/2010: Scooby Doo #153 -- 3,780 (+ 1.5%)
----------------
6 months: - 8.1%
1 year : - 2.1%
2 years : - 9.2%
5 years : -20.4%A bunch of Johnny DC books.

—–

267 - DANTE'S INFERNO (WildStorm)
12/2009: Dante's Inferno #1 of 6 -- 5,431
01/2010: Dante's Inferno #2 of 6 -- 3,808 (-29.9%)
02/2010: Dante's Inferno #3 of 6 -- 3,557 (- 6.6%)Another game adaptation from WildStorm. So’s Free Realms #6, which — like all previous issues of the series — missed the Top 300 in February. The final book on the chart sold an estimated 2,237 units, so, for the purposes of the average sales charts, I’m presuming that’s the estimate for Free Realms #6, although the actual number is probably lower than that.

—–

RE-ORDERS:
257: 4,169 -- Joe the Barbarian #1
284: 2,529 -- Atom and Hawkman #46—–

6-MONTH COMPARISONS
+ 56.8%: Secret Six
+ 50.7%: Green Arrow
+ 1.6%: Tiny Titans
+ 1.3%: REBELS
- 0.1%: JLA
- 1.4%: Supergirl
- 4.8%: Scalped
- 4.9%: Booster Gold
- 5.1%: DMZ
- 5.3%: Adventure Comics
- 6.0%: Hellblazer
- 6.8%: Green Lantern
- 8.1%: Scooby-Doo
- 8.2%: Authority
- 9.1%: Batman Confidential
- 9.3%: Flash
- 10.1%: Jonah Hex
- 10.1%: Wildcats
- 10.5%: GL Corps
- 11.3%: Outsiders
- 11.3%: Superman/Batman
- 12.2%: Super Friends
- 12.7%: Teen Titans
- 14.5%: Wonder Woman
- 15.0%: Batman: B&B
- 16.1%: Madame Xanadu
- 16.5%: The Unwritten
- 17.3%: Gen13
- 17.4%: Superman: WoNK
- 18.8%: Air
- 18.8%: House of Mystery
- 19.4%: Superman
- 19.4%: Unknown Soldier
- 20.6%: Action Comics
- 20.9%: Warlord
- 21.0%: JSA
- 21.8%: Batman
- 22.0%: Titans
- 22.3%: Batman and Robin
- 26.1%: GC Sirens
- 26.3%: Blackest Night
- 27.6%: Red Robin
- 32.4%: Billy Batson
- 33.0%: Batman: SoG
- 35.0%: Power Girl
- 42.7%: Greek Street
- 42.9%: Batgirl
- 44.5%: Doom Patrol
- 68.5%: Shield
- 73.0%: Web—–

1-YEAR COMPARISONS
+ 69.0%: GL Corps
+ 63.5%: Adventure Comics
+ 53.0%: Secret Six
+ 38.6%: Green Lantern
+ 26.8%: GC Sirens
+ 25.3%: Green Arrow
+ 15.1%: Red Robin
- 1.7%: Tiny Titans
- 2.1%: Scooby-Doo
- 2.6%: Supergirl
- 3.6%: Jonah Hex
- 4.4%: Scalped
- 10.3%: Hellblazer
- 13.1%: DMZ
- 13.9%: Super Friends
- 15.0%: Booster Gold
- 16.3%: Batman Confidential
- 16.6%: Madame Xanadu
- 17.5%: JLA
- 23.7%: Wonder Woman
- 24.4%: Superman/Batman
- 24.4%: Teen Titans
- 24.7%: Authority
- 26.2%: Wildcats
- 28.2%: House of Mystery
- 29.9%: Batman: B&B
- 31.7%: Gen13
- 31.7%: Unknown Soldier
- 32.7%: Titans
- 34.4%: Superman
- 35.6%: Outsiders
- 38.3%: Action Comics
- 40.1%: JSA
- 45.0%: Batman
- 50.1%: REBELS—–

2-YEAR COMPARISONS
+ 87.8%: Flash
+ 58.5%: GL Corps
+ 31.3%: Red Robin
+ 17.3%: GC Sirens
- 2.5%: Supergirl
- 4.6%: Scalped
- 8.1%: Batman: B&B
- 9.2%: Scooby-Doo
- 10.1%: Batman
- 16.4%: Hellblazer
- 17.6%: Jonah Hex
- 20.1%: Green Arrow
- 24.2%: Superman
- 30.6%: DMZ
- 36.0%: JLA
- 36.1%: Superman/Batman
- 36.3%: Batman Confidential
- 39.6%: Wonder Woman
- 43.7%: Authority
- 43.8%: Tiny Titans
- 44.2%: Outsiders
- 44.4%: Booster Gold
- 46.4%: Action Comics
- 46.9%: Northlanders
- 47.2%: Teen Titans
- 53.2%: JSA
- 57.9%: Gen13—–

5-YEAR COMPARISONS
+ 60.7%: Flash
+ 12.8%: Red Robin
+ 5.6%: Batman
+ 2.5%: Batgirl
+ 2.5%: Wonder Woman
- 7.1%: Green Arrow
- 7.9%: GC Sirens
- 8.9%: JSA
- 10.9%: JLA
- 11.6%: Green Lantern
- 20.3%: Action Comics
- 20.4%: Scooby-Doo
- 33.9%: Hellblazer
- 45.2%: Batman: B&B
- 46.5%: Outsiders
- 60.3%: Teen Titans
- 61.6%: Authority
- 68.9%: Superman
- 71.5%: Superman/Batman—–

March brought jolly good sales for DC’s comic-book business!

In fact, even considering that it was a month with five delivery days for new comics instead of just four and, consequently, one extra week of re-orders, the numbers seem almost too good on a range of titles, but maybe I’m just paranoid.

In particular, DC’s Vertigo imprint is beginning to look more solid than it has in ages. Partly, that’s because Vertigo released a whopping 19 new comic books in March, a new record for them, but also because many of those books performed well.

The big launch of the month was American Vampire, of course, a new ongoing series co-written by Stephen King. It sold an estimated 33,762 copies, the highest first-month sales for Vertigo since Diamond started providing data on sales to retailers in March 2003. (Andy Diggle and Enrique Breccia’s Swamp Thing #1 came close: It moved 33,382 units in March 2004.)

More significantly for Vertigo’s long-term health, there are signs of moderate success with a number of other recent launches. Sales on titles like The Unwritten, Joe the Barbarian and — to a lesser extent — Sweet Tooth indicate that the practice of publishing debut issues with low introductory prices is bearing fruit. The Fables spin-off Cinderella and the maxiseries Daytripper are also turning out to be solid sellers.

Blackest Night and its tie-ins keep the publisher’s DC Universe line in reasonably good shape in March, while the WildStorm imprint saw an increase of 35% in average comic-book sales. The latter is a mixed blessing, though. The spike is entirely due to a highly irregular three new issues of WildStorm top-sellers Astro City and Ex Machina, neither of which came out in April, and one of which has two more issues to go before reaching its conclusion.

See below for the details, and please consider the small print at the end of the column. Thanks to Milton Griepp and ICv2.com for the permission to use their figures. An overview of ICv2.com’s estimates can be found here.

—–

1 - BLACKEST NIGHT
07/2009: Blackest Night #1 of 8 -- 177,105 [206,534]
08/2009: Blackest Night #2 of 8 -- 146,092 (-17.5%) [155,512]
09/2009: Blackest Night #3 of 8 -- 140,786 (- 3.6%) [143,949]
10/2009: Blackest Night #4 of 8 -- 137,169 (- 2.6%)
11/2009: Blackest Night #5 of 8 -- 144,935 (+ 5.7%) [151,292]
12/2009: Blackest Night #6 of 8 -- 135,985 (- 6.2%)
01/2010: --
02/2010: Blackest Night #7 of 8 -- 130,613 (- 4.0%)
03/2010: Blackest Night #8 of 8 -- 135,061 (+ 3.4%)
----------------
6 months: - 4.1%Thus ends Blackest Night, the most successful event comic-book series since Secret Invasion. Marvel’s current event miniseries Siege proves to be a consistent 100K+ juggernaut (see the Marvel column), but its first-month figures haven’t come close to those of Blackest Night.

That’s significant, because a little more than a year ago, the picture was quite a different one: Marvel’s Secret Invasion, which came out between April and December 2008, had first-month sales between 250,263 and 152,429. DC’s last event series Final Crisis, released from May 2008 through January 2009, had first-month numbers between 144,826 and 103,292. Blackest Night sits right in-between those two, whereas the most charitable estimates for Siege are currently well below Final Crisis.

On the surface, Marvel lost many readers between Secret Invasion and Siege, whereas DC gained a few between Final Crisis and Blackest Night. Beyond that, though, it seems worth pointing out Secret Invasion was the last event series that had an easy-to-understand, quick-to-relate-to premise — an invasion by shape-shifting aliens — that more casual readers would understand. I’m sure there are other factors at play, such as the economic crisis and the reception of Marvel and DC’s respective directions through 2009.

But ultimately, maybe the simple reason why no event series since Secret Invasion has been able to break the 200K barrier is that no event series since Secret Invasion was made so that anyone except the hardcore direct-market audience would find it appealing or accessible. A few years ago, with books like Civil War, Buffy, The Umbrella Academy or World of WarCraft, it looked like publishers were having some tangible success driving casual buyers into comics stores. In 2010, I’m not sure that momentum exists anymore.

Make no mistake: Blackest Night has been a huge success for DC. That said, though, there are signs that they happen to be the biggest fishes in a pond that’s been getting smaller again, rather than bigger.

As usual, there was a 1-for-100 variant-cover edition as well as a 1-for-25 one for Blackest Night #8.

—–

3 - GREEN LANTERN
03/2005: --
03/2006: Green Lantern #10 -- 79,745 [87,143]
03/2007: Green Lantern #18 -- 61,661
03/2008: Green Lantern #29 -- 66,536
--------------------------------------
03/2009: --
04/2009: Green Lantern #39 -- 79,792 (+15.8%) [ 84,784]
04/2009: Green Lantern #40 -- 76,665 (- 3.9%) [ 84,705]
05/2009: Green Lantern #41 -- 81,491 (+ 6.3%)
06/2009: Green Lantern #42 -- 84,131 (+ 3.2%)
07/2009: Green Lantern #43 -- 109,426 (+30.1%) [117,314]
07/2009: Green Lantern #44 -- 105,063 (- 4.0%) [109,599]
08/2009: Green Lantern #45 -- 102,431 (- 2.5%)
09/2009: Green Lantern #46 -- 103,666 (+ 1.2%)
10/2009: Green Lantern #47 -- 101,349 (- 2.2%)
11/2009: Green Lantern #48 -- 100,371 (- 1.0%)
12/2009: Green Lantern #49 -- 97,285 (- 3.1%)
01/2010: Green Lantern #50 -- 106,444 (+ 9.4%)
02/2010: Green Lantern #51 -- 95,509 (-10.3%)
03/2010: Green Lantern #52 -- 97,369 (+ 2.0%)
-----------------
6 months: - 6.1%
1 year : n.a.
2 years : + 46.3%
5 years : n.a.As the main Blackest Night tie-in and the series where the story originated, Green Lantern has been profiting from the even quite a bit. The next several issues are linked to the follow-up maxiseries Brightest Day, so the numbers will be interesting to watch.

As usual, there was a 1-for-25 variant edition.

—–

4 - BATMAN AND ROBIN
06/2009: Batman and Robin #1 -- 168,604 [184,826]
07/2009: Batman and Robin #2 -- 117,986 (-30.2%) [129,086]
08/2009: Batman and Robin #3 -- 110,594 (- 6.3%)
09/2009: Batman and Robin #4 -- 106,925 (- 3.3%)
10/2009: Batman and Robin #5 -- 101,607 (- 5.0%)
11/2009: Batman and Robin #6 -- 95,690 (- 5.8%)
12/2009: --
01/2010: Batman and Robin #7 -- 87,780 (- 8.3%)
02/2010: Batman and Robin #8 -- 87,302 (- 0.6%)
02/2010: Batman and Robin #9 -- 84,562 (- 3.1%)
03/2010: Batman and Robin #10 -- 85,292 (+ 0.9%)
-----------------
6 months: - 20.2%The March issue was the beginning of a new story, drawn by Andy Clarke. It’s also touted as the beginning of the “Return of Bruce Wayne” story on the cover, which wasn’t mentioned in the advertising text. Combined with the extra month of re-orders, that’s explanation enough for the marginal increase.

There was a 1-for-25 variant, as usual.

—–

5 - GREEN LANTERN CORPS
03/2006: GLC: Recharge #5 of 5 -- 60,123
03/2007: Green Lantern Corps #10 -- 34,227
03/2008: Green Lantern Corps #22 -- 46,736
------------------------------------------
03/2009: Green Lantern Corps #34 -- 54,162 (+21.4%)
04/2009: Green Lantern Corps #35 -- 58,769 (+ 8.5%)
05/2009: Green Lantern Corps #36 -- 61,591 (+ 4.8%)
06/2009: Green Lantern Corps #37 -- 63,574 (+ 3.2%)
07/2009: Green Lantern Corps #38 -- 82,415 (+29.6%)
08/2009: Green Lantern Corps #39 -- 84,241 (+ 2.2%)
09/2009: Green Lantern Corps #40 -- 83,112 (- 1.3%)
10/2009: Green Lantern Corps #41 -- 81,377 (- 2.1%)
11/2009: Green Lantern Corps #42 -- 80,391 (- 1.2%)
12/2009: Green Lantern Corps #43 -- 77,774 (- 3.3%)
01/2010: Green Lantern Corps #44 -- 76,458 (- 1.7%)
02/2010: Green Lantern Corps #45 -- 75,404 (- 1.4%)
03/2010: Green Lantern Corps #46 -- 76,720 (+ 1.8%)
----------------
6 months: - 7.7%
1 year : +41.7%
2 years : +64.2%Another major Blackest Night tie-in.

With “Brightest Day,” a new writer and an anniversary issue around the corner, this is another title whose sales won’t get much of a chance to settle down in the next few months.

This one had a 1-for-25 variant, too.

—–

13 - BATMAN
03/2005: Batman #638 -- 59,797
03/2006: Batman #651 -- 69,805
03/2007: Batman #664 -- 80,497
03/2008: --
-------------------------------
03/2009: BfC #1 of 3 -- 91,619 (-17.7%) [103,913]
04/2009: BfC #2 of 3 -- 89,120 (- 2.7%)
05/2009: BfC #3 of 3 -- 89,170 (+ 0.1%)
06/2009: Batman #687 -- 96,913 (+ 8.7%)
07/2009: Batman #688 -- 83,040 (-14.3%)
08/2009: Batman #689 -- 78,392 (- 5.6%)
09/2009: Batman #690 -- 77,001 (- 1.8%)
10/2009: Batman #691 -- 71,431 (- 7.2%)
10/2009: Batman #692 -- 70,322 (- 1.6%)
11/2009: Batman #693 -- 68,983 (- 1.9%)
12/2009: Batman #694 -- 65,908 (- 4.5%)
01/2010: Batman #695 -- 63,467 (- 3.7%)
02/2010: Batman #696 -- 61,290 (- 3.4%)
03/2010: Batman #697 -- 61,157 (- 0.2%)
----------------
6 months: -20.6%
1 year : -33.3%
2 years : n.a.
5 years : + 2.3%This is one of the books doing better than you’d expect, for no evident reason. Batman was losing more than 2,000 units per month with the last few issues, and it seems unlikely that a single extra week could have compensated for that.

Then again, maybe the current storyline is just catching on with readers, or the book is picking up steam in anticipation of issue #700.

—–

17 - JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA
03/2005: JLA #112 -- 64,790
03/2007: Justice League #6 -- 130,099 [131,754]
03/2008: Justice League #19 -- 87,482
--------------------------------------
03/2009: Justice League #31 -- 68,759 (- 1.4%)
04/2009: Justice League #32 -- 66,021 (- 4.0%)
05/2009: Justice League #33 -- 63,867 (- 3.3%)
06/2009: Justice League #34 -- 61,115 (- 4.3%)
07/2009: Justice League #35 -- 58,915 (- 3.6%)
08/2009: Justice League #36 -- 57,549 (- 2.3%)
09/2009: Justice League #37 -- 55,478 (- 3.6%)
10/2009: Justice League #38 -- 61,012 (+10.0%)
11/2009: Justice League #39 -- 89,376 (+46.5%)
12/2009: Justice League #40 -- 68,672 (-23.2%)
01/2010: Justice League #41 -- 62,262 (- 9.3%)
02/2010: Justice League #42 -- 57,522 (- 7.6%)
03/2010: Justice League #43 -- 56,461 (- 1.9%)
----------------
6 months: + 1.8%
1 year : -17.9%
2 years : -35.5%
5 years : -12.9%25 - JUSTICE LEAGUE: RISE AND FALL SPECIAL
03/2010: JL: RaF Special #1 -- 50,36028 - JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE
07/2009: Cry for Justice #1 of 6 -- 68,317 [72,719]
08/2009: Cry for Justice #2 of 6 -- 54,553 (-20.2%) [58,829]
09/2009: Cry for Justice #3 of 7 -- 54,726 (+ 0.3%)
10/2009: Cry for Justice #4 of 7 -- 54,386 (- 0.6%)
11/2009: Cry for Justice #5 of 7 -- 52,400 (- 3.7%)
12/2009: --
01/2010: Cry for Justice #6 of 7 -- 49,193 (- 6.1%)
02/2010: --
03/2010: Cry for Justice #7 of 7 -- 49,769 (+ 1.2%)
----------------
6 months: - 9.1%These few Justice League books were all written — or co-written — by James Robinson, as it were, and are all part of a storyline that sets up June’s Green Arrow relaunch.

That sounds a bit like buying rocket fuel to broil a wiener, but according to DC, it’s a very serious story with weight and emotion. (Critics use other words to describe it.)

Be that as it may, all the commotion likely explains the good numbers for Cry for Justice and the Rise and Fall Special. If Justice League proper profited from the proceedings, though, that’s not very flattering to its overall performance.

Two more chapters in this particular story came out in March, one without the words “Justice League” in the title, and both without the name James Robinson in the credits, which means they’re of an increasingly rare breed. See below.

All three issues were promoted with 1-for-25 variant editions.

—–

34/36 - DETECTIVE COMICS
03/2005: Detective Comics #804 -- 39,388
03/2006: Detective Comics #817 -- 62,245 [70,241]
03/2007: Detective Comics #829 -- 52,943
03/2007: Detective Comics #830 -- 52,395
03/2008: Detective Comics #842 -- 49,425
-----------------------------------------
03/2009: --
04/2009: Detective Comics #853 -- 104,107 (+83.8%)
05/2009: --
06/2009: Detective Comics #854 -- 72,808 (-30.1%) [79,573]
07/2009: Detective Comics #855 -- 61,205 (-15.9%)
08/2009: Detective Comics #856 -- 58,859 (- 3.8%)
09/2009: Detective Comics #857 -- 57,063 (- 3.1%)
10/2009: Detective Comics #858 -- 58,599 (+ 2.7%)
11/2009: Detective Comics #859 -- 54,392 (- 7.2%)
12/2009: Detective Comics #860 -- 52,295 (- 3.9%)
01/2010: Detective Comics #861 -- 45,937 (-12.2%)
02/2010: --
03/2010: Detective Comics #862 -- 44,687 (- 2.7%)
03/2010: Detective Comics #863 -- 43,119 (- 3.5%)
-----------------
6 months: - 23.1%
1 year : n.a.
2 years : - 11.2%
5 years : + 11.5%The two issues that came out in March were writer Greg Rucka’s final work on the Batwoman character for the time being, as it turns out, while his “Question” strip will conclude in issue #865. Given that the solicitation copy for #866, released in late March, still urges readers to “come back next month for the return of The Question and Batwoman,” this looks like another rather sudden change of plans.

The numbers during Rucka’s tenure never quite gained a foothold. Then again, they’re still well within the book’s usual spectrum historically, and the departure of a critically acclaimed creator is rarely a sign that sales are about to improve.

—–

39/44 - ADVENTURE COMICS
08/2009: Adventure Comics #1 -- 56,706 (+72.6%)
09/2009: Adventure Comics #2 -- 47,296 (-15.9%)
10/2009: Adventure Comics #3 -- 44,431 (- 6.1%)
11/2009: Adventure Comics #4 -- 85,145 (+91.6%)
12/2009: Adventure Comics #5 -- 59,876 (-29.7%)
01/2010: Adventure Comics #6 -- 42,514 (-29.0%)
02/2010: Adventure Comics #7 -- 53,721 (+26.4%)
03/2010: Adventure Comics #8 -- 39,351 (-26.8%)
03/2010: Adventure Comics #9 -- 37,515 (- 4.7%)
-----------------
6 months: - 18.7%43 - SUPERMAN: LAST STAND OF NEW KRYPTON
03/2009: WoNK #1 of 12 -- 50,050
04/2009: WoNK #2 of 12 -- 44,880 (-10.3%)
05/2009: WoNK #3 of 12 -- 42,153 (- 6.1%)
06/2009: WoNK #4 of 12 -- 41,620 (- 1.3%)
07/2009: WoNK #5 of 12 -- 39,939 (- 4.0%)
08/2009: WoNK #6 of 12 -- 39,218 (- 1.8%)
09/2009: WoNK #7 of 12 -- 37,697 (- 3.9%)
10/2009: WoNK #8 of 12 -- 36,672 (- 2.7%)
11/2009: WoNK #9 of 12 -- 35,286 (- 3.8%)
12/2009: WoNK #10 of 12 -- 33,868 (- 4.0%)
01/2010: WoNK #11 of 12 -- 32,728 (- 3.4%)
02/2010: WoNK #12 of 12 -- 32,407 (- 1.0%)
03/2010: LSoNK #1 of 3 -- 38,202 (+17.9%)
-----------------
6 months: + 1.3%
1 year : - 23.7%The two March issues of Adventure Comics begin a four-part run co-written by James Robinson that ties in with the Superman books. As you’d expect given the lackluster sales of the Superman line proper, it doesn’t seem to have made any difference commercially.

Meanwhile, Last Stand of New Krypton, also co-written by James Robinson and part of the same crossover, takes the place of World of New Krypton in March and April, as the not-very-popular current direction of the Superman books is starting to wind down. Retailers dutifully up their orders compared to the last few issues of the maxiseries, but you can’t blame them for not going overboard with enthusiasm, at this stage.

As usual, there were 1-for-10 variants for both issues of Adventure Comics and a 1-for-25 variant for Last Stand of New Krypton.

—–

42 - FIRST WAVE
11/2009: B/DS Special #1 -- 32,636
-------------------------------------
03/2010: First Wave #1 of 6 -- 38,365First Wave is a new miniseries by Brain Azzarello and Rags Morales that teams Batman with pulp heroes Doc Savage and The Spirit, preparing the world for the launch of new ongoing titles for the latter two.

The fact that there’s a noticeable increase versus the one-shot from last November may mean that anticipation is building, or just that retailers order more copies of a $ 3.99 mini than they do of a $ 4.99 one-shot.

Either way, these are very decent figures for this type of thing, but perhaps not decent enough to suggest that there’s enough demand for two fairly generic — if visually recognizable — characters, one of which failed to sustain a monthly series less than a year ago.

There was a 1-for-10 variant.

—–

45 - JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA
03/2005: JSA #71 -- 42,874
03/2006: JSA #83 -- 51,991 [ 58,624]
03/2007: Justice Society #4 -- 84,449 [ 86,475]
03/2008: --
---------------------------------------
03/2009: --
04/2009: Justice Society #25 -- 65,713 (+ 0.8%)
04/2009: Justice Society #26 -- 81,200 (+ 23.6%)
05/2009: Justice Society #27 -- 56,102 (- 30.9%)
06/2009: Justice Society #28 -- 52,673 (- 6.1%)
07/2009: Justice Society #29 -- 51,375 (- 2.5%)
08/2009: Justice Society #30 -- 49,416 (- 3.8%)
09/2009: Justice Society #31 -- 47,436 (- 4.0%)
10/2009: Justice Society #32 -- 44,885 (- 5.4%)
11/2009: Justice Society #33 -- 43,218 (- 3.7%)
12/2009: Justice Society #34 -- 41,734 (- 3.4%)
01/2010: Justice Society #35 -- 39,934 (- 4.3%)
02/2010: Justice Society #36 -- 39,060 (- 2.2%)
03/2010: Justice Society #37 -- 37,381 (- 4.3%)
----------------
6 months: -21.2%
1 year : n.a.
2 years : n.a.
5 years : -12.8%Justice Society numbers keep sliding down. The book will be hijacked by the creative team of Justice League of America — yes, that means James Robinson — for the duration of a crossover.

While this will probably increase the numbers, it’s worth noting that books usually don’t even profit from crossovers when it’s the regular creators who execute them, so the point of the exercise, other than to reduce the number of DC Comics publications not written by James Robinson, seems questionable at best; putting out an extra issue of Justice League with the Justice Society as guest stars would probably have done the same.

——

48 - RED ROBIN
03/2005: Robin #136 -- 31,645
03/2006: Robin #148 -- 36,717 [42,442]
03/2007: Robin #160 -- 27,659
03/2008: Robin #172 -- 26,912
--------------------------------
06/2009: Red Robin #1 -- 64,261 (+102.8%) [71,925]
07/2009: Red Robin #2 -- 51,593 (- 19.7%) [54,544]
08/2009: Red Robin #3 -- 50,329 (- 2.5%)
09/2009: Red Robin #4 -- 47,945 (- 4.7%)
10/2009: Red Robin #5 -- 44,776 (- 6.6%)
11/2009: Red Robin #6 -- 42,409 (- 5.3%)
12/2009: Red Robin #7 -- 39,528 (- 6.8%)
01/2010: Red Robin #8 -- 37,869 (- 4.2%)
02/2010: Red Robin #9 -- 36,466 (- 3.7%)
03/2010: Red Robin #10 -- 36,708 (+ 0.7%)
-----------------
6 months: - 23.4%
1 year : n.a.
2 years : + 36.4%
5 years : + 16.0%A crossover with Batgirl arrests the book’s decline.

—–

50 - JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE RISE OF ARSENAL
03/2010: JL: RoA #1 of 4 -- 36,020Contrary to what the title or the solicited cover of the first issue suggest, this is neither a story about British Premier League football nor a gently cautioning brochure on the pitfalls of archery, but, disappointingly, a miniseries growing out of — not being severed from — the reportedly very, very serious conclusion to Justice League: Cry for Justice.

It’s a pretty good number for a Green Arrow spin-off.

There was a 1-for-25 variant.

—–

52 - BATMAN: THE WIDENING GYRE
03/2009: Cacophony #3 of 3 -- 52,814 (- 5.2%)
04/2009: --
05/2009: --
06/2009: --
07/2009: --
08/2009: Widening Gyre #1 of 6 -- 52,191 (- 1.2%)
09/2009: Widening Gyre #2 of 6 -- 46,287 (-11.3%)
10/2009: --
11/2009: Widening Gyre #3 of 6 -- 43,336 (- 6.4%)
12/2009: --
01/2010: Widening Gyre #4 of 6 -- 36,729 (-15.3%)
02/2010: --
03/2010: Widening Gyre #5 of 6 -- 34,338 (- 6.5%)
----------------
6 months: -25.8%
1 year : -35.0%Kevin Smith is off the rails again, in terms of the schedule. Issue #5 was last solicited for February, while the final issue has just been resolicited from April to July. Sales are pretty low at this stage, and unlikely to be improved by the delays. As usual, there was a variant edition — a 1-for-25 one as usual, I presume, even if it wasn’t specified in the advertising text this time.

Also out in March was Smith’s Green Hornet #1 from Dynamite, evidently produced from an old screenplay Smith wrote in 2004 that ended up not being used. It debuted with estimated sales of 54,122. Being a Dynamite release, the book was promoted with a million variant-cover editions, but for what it is, the numbers are still impressive — it beats Batman: Widening Gyre #1.

—–

55 - AMERICAN VAMPIRE (Vertigo)
03/2010: American Vampire #1 -- 33,762There is a backup strip with a bona fide, unmitigated Stephen King writing credit in Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque’s American Vampire. Consequently, it’s not altogether surprising that this ends up being the best-selling Vertigo comic book since Diamond started providing data on sales to comics retailers seven years ago.

To be fair, the one that came closest, Swamp Thing #1 by Andy Diggle and Enrique Breccia from March 2004, probably beat it in the end, if you account for the fact that American Vampire was promoted with a 1-for-25 variant edition, but I’m sure that won’t cloud anyone’s happiness with these figures.

Vertigo were confident in this one: Instead of a cheap introductory cover price that would surely have sold more than a few extra copies, American Vampire carries a $ 3.99 price tag; and instead of the usual cheap introductory paperback collection nine months down the road, American Vampire gets a hardcover book that’s already been solicited for a September release.

It’s too early to tell whether that confidence is paying off, but the book’s debut sales give reason to be cautiously optimistic.

—–

58 - SUPERMAN
03/2005: Superman #214 -- 100,943
03/2006: Superman #650 -- 65,603 [77,783]
03/2007: Superman #660 -- 57,169
03/2008: Superman #674 -- 41,715
---------------------------------
03/2009: Superman #686 -- 44,976 (- 6.4%)
04/2009: Superman #687 -- 43,041 (- 4.3%)
05/2009: Superman #688 -- 41,642 (- 3.3%)
06/2009: Superman #689 -- 40,366 (- 3.1%)
07/2009: Superman #690 -- 39,472 (- 2.2%)
08/2009: Superman #691 -- 39,106 (- 0.9%)
09/2009: Superman #692 -- 37,695 (- 3.6%)
10/2009: Superman #693 -- 35,395 (- 6.1%)
11/2009: Superman #694 -- 34,430 (- 2.7%)
12/2009: Superman #695 -- 32,482 (- 5.7%)
01/2010: Superman #696 -- 31,940 (- 1.7%)
02/2010: Superman #697 -- 31,504 (- 1.4%)
03/2010: Superman #698 -- 33,336 (+ 5.8%)
----------------
6 months: -11.6%
1 year : -25.9%
2 years : -20.1%
5 years : -67.0%It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s … well, it’s a flagging Superman comic-book series, isn’t it? The (James Robinson-written!) March issue saw a slight increase for being part of a crossover with Adventure Comics and Last Stand of New Krypton.

New writer J. Michael Straczynski is waiting around the corner, of course. And DC, being DC, uses Free Comic Book Day to promote the last gasp of the current direction, rather than Straczynski’s run.

—–

61 - SUPERMAN/BATMAN
03/2005: --
03/2006: Superman/Batman #24 -- 101,315 [103,757]
03/2007: Superman/Batman #32 -- 77,905
03/2008: --
---------------------------------------
03/2009: Superman/Batman #56 -- 42,464 (- 3.4%)
04/2009: Superman/Batman #57 -- 41,743 (- 1.7%)
04/2009: Superman/Batman #58 -- 41,000 (- 1.8%)
04/2009: Superman/Batman #59 -- 40,182 (- 2.0%)
05/2009: Superman/Batman #60 -- 39,531 (- 1.6%)
06/2009: Superman/Batman #61 -- 38,228 (- 3.3%)
07/2009: Superman/Batman #62 -- 38,412 (+ 0.5%)
08/2009: Superman/Batman #63 -- 37,467 (- 2.5%)
09/2009: Superman/Batman #64 -- 36,332 (- 3.0%)
10/2009: Superman/Batman #65 -- 34,585 (- 4.8%)
11/2009: Superman/Batman #66 -- 52,143 (+50.8%)
12/2009: Superman/Batman #67 -- 49,650 (- 4.8%)
01/2010: Superman/Batman #68 -- 33,869 (-31.8%)
02/2010: Superman/Batman #69 -- 33,224 (- 1.9%)
03/2010: Superman/Batman #70 -- 32,196 (- 3.1%)
----------------
6 months: -11.4%
1 year : -24.2%
2 years : n.a.
5 years : n.a.Business as usual for Superman/Batman, which means it’s proceeding with its usual downslide.

—–

64 - BATGIRL
03/2005: Batgirl #62 -- 28,750
----------------------------------
08/2009: Batgirl #1 -- 51,724 (+149.3%)
09/2009: Batgirl #2 -- 40,626 (- 21.5%)
10/2009: Batgirl #3 -- 37,011 (- 8.9%)
11/2009: Batgirl #4 -- 34,697 (- 6.3%)
12/2009: Batgirl #5 -- 32,482 (- 6.4%)
01/2010: Batgirl #6 -- 30,403 (- 6.4%)
02/2010: Batgirl #7 -- 29,524 (- 2.9%)
03/2010: Batgirl #8 -- 30,886 (+ 4.6%)
----------------
6 months: -24.0%
5 years : + 7.4%The crossover with Red Robin brings a modest increase.

—–

68 - SUPERGIRL
03/2006: --
03/2007: Supergirl #15 -- 51,083
03/2008: Supergirl #27 -- 32,596
---------------------------------
03/2009: Supergirl #39 -- 33,713 (- 1.5%)
04/2009: Supergirl #40 -- 34,080 (+ 1.1%)
05/2009: Supergirl #41 -- 33,441 (- 1.9%)
06/2009: Supergirl #42 -- 32,705 (- 2.2%)
07/2009: Supergirl #43 -- 32,849 (+ 0.4%)
08/2009: Supergirl #44 -- 33,819 (+ 3.0%)
09/2009: Supergirl #45 -- 32,240 (- 4.7%)
10/2009: Supergirl #46 -- 30,377 (- 5.8%)
11/2009: Supergirl #47 -- 29,159 (- 4.0%)
12/2009: Supergirl #48 -- 28,176 (- 3.4%)
01/2010: Supergirl #49 -- 27,728 (- 1.6%)
02/2010: Supergirl #50 -- 33,338 (+20.2%)
03/2010: Supergirl #51 -- 29,845 (-10.5%)
----------------
6 months: - 7.4%
1 year : -11.5%
2 years : - 8.4%70 - ACTION COMICS
03/2005: Action Comics #825 -- 40,877
03/2006: Action Comics #837 -- 55,816 [69,652]
03/2007: Action Comics #847 -- 64,679
03/2008: --
-------------------------------------
03/2009: Action Comics #875 -- 47,079 (- 2.7%)
04/2009: Action Comics #876 -- 43,368 (- 7.9%)
05/2009: Action Comics #877 -- 41,772 (- 3.7%)
06/2009: Action Comics #878 -- 40,011 (- 4.2%)
07/2009: Action Comics #879 -- 38,324 (- 4.2%)
08/2009: Action Comics #880 -- 37,588 (- 1.9%)
09/2009: Action Comics #881 -- 36,183 (- 3.7%)
10/2009: Action Comics #882 -- 34,754 (- 4.0%)
11/2009: Action Comics #883 -- 33,386 (- 3.9%)
12/2009: Action Comics #884 -- 31,873 (- 4.5%)
01/2010: Action Comics #885 -- 30,678 (- 3.8%)
02/2010: Action Comics #886 -- 29,845 (- 2.7%)
03/2010: Action Comics #887 -- 29,460 (- 1.3%)
----------------
6 months: -18.6%
1 year : -37.4%
2 years : n.a.
5 years : -27.9%Supergirl also took part in the crossover with Adventure Comics, et cetera, hence the slight sales increase versus the January issue.

Action Comics was not part of the crossover, but the numbers appear to have bottomed out nonetheless. A new creative team is taking over with issue #890, and contrary to what the solicitations said, writer Marc Guggenheim won’t be part of the makeover. Instead, Paul Cornell will be writing Action Comics regularly, and he hopes he’ll be able to use Superman one day, he says.

In other words: DC’s marketing strategy continues to involve Superman titles that don’t have Superman in them. Because it worked so well over the last year.

—–

76 - JSA ALL-STARS
12/2009: JSA All-Stars #1 -- 42,493
01/2010: JSA All-Stars #2 -- 32,601 (-23.3%)
02/2010: JSA All-Stars #3 -- 29,666 (- 9.0%)
03/2010: JSA All-Stars #4 -- 28,526 (- 3.8%)Sales are finding their level fairly quickly; a good sign for the Justice Society spin-off.

—–

77 - GREEN ARROW
03/2005: Green Arrow #48 -- 31,668
03/2006: Green Arrow #60 -- 37,946 [43,045]
03/2007: Green Arrow #72 -- 31,144
03/2008: Arrow/Canary #6 -- 32,621
-----------------------------------
03/2009: Arrow/Canary #18 -- 22,699 (- 3.0%)
04/2009: Arrow/Canary #19 -- 21,933 (- 3.4%)
05/2009: Arrow/Canary #20 -- 21,445 (- 2.2%)
06/2009: Arrow/Canary #21 -- 20,807 (- 3.0%)
07/2009: Arrow&Canary #22 -- 20,571 (- 1.1%)
08/2009: Arrow&Canary #23 -- 19,452 (- 5.4%)
09/2009: Arrow&Canary #24 -- 18,780 (- 3.5%)
10/2009: Arrow&Canary #25 -- 18,013 (- 4.1%)
11/2009: Arrow&Canary #26 -- 17,384 (- 3.5%)
12/2009: Arrow&Canary #27 -- 16,904 (- 2.8%)
01/2010: Arrow&Canary #28 -- 16,482 (- 2.5%)
02/2010: Arrow&Canary #29 -- 16,600 (+ 0.7%)
02/2010: Black Arrow #30 -- 42,014 (+153.1%)
03/2010: Green Arrow #31 -- 28,486 (- 32.2%)
----------------
6 months: +51.7%
1 year : +25.5%
2 years : -12.7%
5 years : -10.1%Thanks to the crossover with the Justice League books and a 1-for-25 variant edition, Green Arrow gets some much-needed attention in preparation of its relaunch.

I’m rather skeptical, given that none of the creators are household names and the story that got things off the ground was largely met with relentless ridicule.

Also, the cover price reverted back to $ 2.99 in March after nine issues, because the book lost the “Black Canary” backup strip. Given everything else that’s going on, there’s no way to tell whether this had any impact on the numbers, though.

—–

81 - GOTHAM CITY SIRENS
03/2005: Birds of Prey #80 -- 29,964
03/2006: Birds of Prey #92 -- 36,808
03/2007: Birds of Prey #104 -- 28,464
03/2008: Birds of Prey #116 -- 22,627
-------------------------------------
06/2009: GC Sirens #1 -- 52,439
07/2009: GC Sirens #2 -- 39,518 (-24.6%)
08/2009: GC Sirens #3 -- 36,772 (- 7.0%)
09/2009: GC Sirens #4 -- 34,405 (- 6.4%)
10/2009: GC Sirens #5 -- 33,015 (- 4.0%)
11/2009: GC Sirens #6 -- 30,990 (- 6.1%)
12/2009: GC Sirens #7 -- 29,709 (- 4.1%)
01/2010: GC Sirens #8 -- 28,254 (- 4.9%)
02/2010: GC Sirens #9 -- 27,172 (- 3.8%)
03/2010: GC Sirens #10 -- 26,550 (- 2.3%)
-----------------
6 months: - 22.8%
2 years : + 17.3%
5 years : - 11.4%82 - BATMAN: STREETS OF GOTHAM
06/2009: Batman: SoG #1 -- 57,650
07/2009: Batman: SoG #2 -- 44,240 (-23.3%)
08/2009: Batman: SoG #3 -- 40,353 (- 8.8%)
09/2009: Batman: SoG #4 -- 37,888 (- 6.1%)
10/2009: Batman: SoG #5 -- 34,533 (- 8.9%)
11/2009: Batman: SoG #6 -- 32,303 (- 6.5%)
12/2009: Batman: SoG #7 -- 30,290 (- 6.2%)
01/2010: Batman: SoG #8 -- 28,313 (- 6.5%)
02/2010: Batman: SoG #9 -- 27,023 (- 4.6%)
03/2010: Batman: SoG #10 -- 26,396 (- 2.3%)
----------------
6 months: -30.3%The two Paul Dini Batman books keep descending the charts hand in hand. Usually, that’s an indication that retailers keep ordering them out of duty and inertia.

—–

83 - TEEN TITANS
03/2005: Teen Titans #22 -- 67,780
03/2006: Teen Titans #33 -- 67,208
03/2007: Teen Titans #44 -- 61,572
03/2008: Teen Titans #57 -- 49,109
----------------------------------
03/2009: --
04/2009: Teen Titans #69 -- 35,375 (+ 0.8%)
04/2009: Teen Titans #70 -- 35,412 (+ 0.1%)
05/2009: Teen Titans #71 -- 34,110 (- 3.7%)
06/2009: Teen Titans #72 -- 32,512 (- 4.7%)
07/2009: Teen Titans #73 -- 30,990 (- 4.7%)
08/2009: Teen Titans #74 -- 30,380 (- 2.0%)
09/2009: Teen Titans #75 -- 32,808 (+ 8.0%)
10/2009: Teen Titans #76 -- 29,166 (-11.1%)
11/2009: Teen Titans #77 -- 46,239 (+58.5%)
12/2009: Teen Titans #78 -- 43,400 (- 6.1%)
01/2010: Teen Titans #79 -- 27,790 (-36.0%)
02/2010: Teen Titans #80 -- 26,537 (- 4.5%)
03/2010: Teen Titans #81 -- 25,758 (- 2.9%)
----------------
6 months: -21.5%
1 year : n.a.
2 years : -47.6%
5 years : -62.0%Are the numbers bottoming out, now that the dust is settling and the book has a regular creative team again?

—–

85 - WONDER WOMAN
03/2005: Wonder Woman #214 -- 30,473
03/2007: Wonder Woman #5 -- 64,414
03/2008: Wonder Woman #18 -- 40,771
-------------------------------------
03/2009: Wonder Woman #30 -- 33,365 (+ 0.4%)
04/2009: Wonder Woman #31 -- 31,857 (- 4.5%)
05/2009: Wonder Woman #32 -- 33,065 (+ 3.8%)
06/2009: Wonder Woman #33 -- 32,755 (- 0.9%)
07/2009: Wonder Woman #34 -- 30,131 (- 8.0%)
08/2009: Wonder Woman #35 -- 29,657 (- 1.6%)
09/2009: Wonder Woman #36 -- 28,806 (- 2.9%)
10/2009: Wonder Woman #37 -- 26,972 (- 6.4%)
11/2009: Wonder Woman #38 -- 26,265 (- 2.6%)
12/2009: Wonder Woman #39 -- 26,152 (- 0.4%)
01/2010: Wonder Woman #40 -- 25,156 (- 3.8%)
02/2010: Wonder Woman #41 -- 25,354 (+ 0.8%)
03/2010: Wonder Woman #42 -- 25,240 (- 0.5%)
----------------
6 months: -12.4%
1 year : -24.4%
2 years : -38.1%
5 years : -17.2%Sales have been rock-solid for the last two months.

After issue #44, Wonder Woman hits #600 and gets a new creative team headed by J. Michael Straczynski.

—–

88 - TITANS
03/2009: Titans #11 -- 35,240 (- 3.1%)
04/2009: Titans #12 -- 36,014 (+ 2.2%)
05/2009: Titans #13 -- 34,343 (- 4.6%)
06/2009: Titans #14 -- 32,321 (- 5.9%)
07/2009: Titans #15 -- 46,189 (+42.9%)
08/2009: Titans #16 -- 31,408 (-32.0%)
09/2009: Titans #17 -- 30,154 (- 4.0%)
10/2009: Titans #18 -- 28,215 (- 6.4%)
11/2009: Titans #19 -- 27,099 (- 4.0%)
12/2009: Titans #20 -- 25,887 (- 4.5%)
01/2010: Titans #21 -- 24,924 (- 3.7%)
02/2010: Titans #22 -- 24,489 (- 1.8%)
03/2010: Titans #23 -- 24,260 (- 0.9%)
----------------
6 months: -20.0%
1 year : -31.2%A tie-in with Justice League: Cry for Justice further slows the sales decline. Titans is now on hiatus until June.

—–

89 - SECRET SIX
03/2009: Secret Six #7 -- 24,365 (- 1.6%)
04/2009: Secret Six #8 -- 24,338 (- 0.1%)
05/2009: Secret Six #9 -- 27,116 (+11.4%)
06/2009: Secret Six #10 -- 24,272 (-10.5%)
07/2009: Secret Six #11 -- 24,357 (+ 0.4%)
08/2009: Secret Six #12 -- 24,161 (- 0.8%)
09/2009: Secret Six #13 -- 23,919 (- 1.0%)
10/2009: Secret Six #14 -- 23,345 (- 2.4%)
11/2009: Secret Six #15 -- 23,190 (- 0.7%)
12/2009: Secret Six #16 -- 22,638 (- 2.4%)
01/2010: Secret Six #17 -- 38,515 (+70.1%)
02/2010: Secret Six #18 -- 37,876 (- 1.7%)
03/2010: Secret Six #19 -- 23,181 (-38.8%)
----------------
6 months: - 3.1%
1 year : - 4.9%The numbers are back to their usual level after the Blackest Night tie-in.

Apart from the jumps and drops resulting from various crossovers, Secret Six sales have been perfectly solid.

—–

101 - POWER GIRL
05/2009: Power Girl #1 -- 47,322
06/2009: Power Girl #2 -- 36,756 (-22.3%)
07/2009: Power Girl #3 -- 35,163 (- 4.3%)
08/2009: Power Girl #4 -- 32,140 (- 8.6%)
09/2009: Power Girl #5 -- 29,497 (- 8.2%)
10/2009: Power Girl #6 -- 27,060 (- 8.3%)
11/2009: --
12/2009: Power Girl #7 -- 22,533 (-16.7%)
01/2010: Power Girl #8 -- 21,760 (- 3.4%)
02/2010: Power Girl #9 -- 20,900 (- 4.0%)
03/2010: Power Girl #10 -- 20,801 (- 0.5%)
----------------
6 months: -29.5%Power Girl sales are holding level at 21K. A new creative team is waiting around the corner.

—–

103 - THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD
03/2007: The Brave and the Bold #2 -- 64,357 [67,143]
03/2008: The Brave and the Bold #11 -- 37,751
---------------------------------------------
03/2009: --
04/2009: --
05/2009: The Brave and the Bold #23 -- 22,312 (- 5.1%)
06/2009: The Brave and the Bold #24 -- 21,272 (- 4.7%)
07/2009: The Brave and the Bold #25 -- 21,234 (- 0.2%)
08/2009: The Brave and the Bold #26 -- 20,154 (- 5.1%)
09/2009: The Brave and the Bold #27 -- 26,904 (+33.5%)
10/2009: The Brave and the Bold #28 -- 23,176 (-13.9%)
11/2009: The Brave and the Bold #29 -- 21,287 (- 8.2%)
12/2009: The Brave and the Bold #30 -- 20,932 (- 1.7%)
01/2010: The Brave and the Bold #31 -- 21,406 (+ 2.3%)
02/2010: --
03/2010: The Brave and the Bold #32 -- 20,466 (- 4.4%)
----------------
6 months: -23.9%
1 year : n.a.
2 years : -45.8%Um, okay, so The Brave and the Bold wasn’t on hiatus in March, after all — DC just forgot to include the book in the online solicitations they sent out, evidently.

This sums up the publisher’s marketing strategy for the book quite nicely, come to think of it: It doesn’t exist. For a mainstream book written by Straczynski, these are rubbish sales, obviously. But considering the way Straczynski’s arrival has been handled, these sales are pretty much as expected.

—–

104 - BOOSTER GOLD
03/2008: Booster Gold #7 -- 36,140
-----------------------------------
03/2009: Booster Gold #18 -- 23,737 (- 4.0%)
04/2009: Booster Gold #19 -- 23,203 (- 2.3%)
05/2009: Booster Gold #20 -- 22,549 (- 2.8%)
06/2009: Booster Gold #21 -- 23,222 (+ 3.0%)
07/2009: Booster Gold #22 -- 22,414 (- 3.5%)
08/2009: Booster Gold #23 -- 22,108 (- 1.4%)
09/2009: Booster Gold #24 -- 21,731 (- 1.7%)
10/2009: Booster Gold #25 -- 21,597 (- 0.6%)
11/2009: Booster Gold #26 -- 57,122 (+164.5%)
12/2009: Booster Gold #27 -- 40,256 (- 29.5%)
01/2010: Booster Gold #28 -- 21,967 (- 45.4%)
02/2010: Booster Gold #29 -- 21,020 (- 4.3%)
03/2010: Booster Gold #30 -- 20,187 (- 4.0%)
----------------
6 months: - 7.1%
1 year : -15.0%
2 years : -44.1%With its March issue, Booster Gold lost its backup strip and went back to a $2.99 cover price, with no effect on sales whatsoever. A new creative team is taking over in May.

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105 - FABLES (Vertigo)
03/2005: Fables #35 -- 24,469
03/2006: Fables #47 -- 24,278
03/2007: Fables #58 -- 26,065
03/2008: Fables #71 -- 24,006
-----------------------------
03/2009: Fables #82 -- 22,445 (-0.3%)
04/2009: Fables #83 -- 23,630 (+5.3%)
05/2009: Fables #84 -- 23,634 (+0.0%)
06/2009: Fables #85 -- 23,439 (-0.8%)
07/2009: Fables #86 -- 22,447 (-4.2%)
08/2009: Fables #87 -- 21,876 (-2.5%)
09/2009: Fables #88 -- 21,508 (-1.7%)
10/2009: Fables #89 -- 21,118 (-1.8%)
11/2009: Fables #90 -- 20,882 (-1.1%)
12/2009: Fables #91 -- 20,450 (-2.1%)
01/2010: Fables #92 -- 20,180 (-1.3%)
02/2010: --
03/2010: Fables #93 -- 20,003 (-0.9%)
----------------
6 months: - 7.0%
1 year : -10.9%
2 years : -16.7%
5 years : -18.3%Fables #93 was a straggler from February, had guest art by David Lapham and two weeks to accumulate re-orders in March, but still barely scraped over the 20K mark.

This means Vertigo is about to lose its last consistent 20K+ comic-book series, for the time being. Of course, there’s every chance now that American Vampire might replace it.

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87 - THE OUTSIDERS
03/2005: Outsiders #22 -- 38,886 [41,716]
03/2006: Outsiders #34 -- 47,286 [51,527]
03/2007: Outsiders #46 -- 32,577
03/2008: Batsiders #5 -- 36,797
--------------------------------
03/2009: Outsiders #16 -- 27,977 (- 6.8%)
04/2009: Outsiders #17 -- 27,171 (- 2.9%)
05/2009: Outsiders #18 -- 25,995 (- 4.3%)
06/2009: Outsiders #19 -- 27,485 (+ 5.7%)
07/2009: Outsiders #20 -- 24,323 (- 11.5%)
08/2009: Outsiders #21 -- 23,856 (- 1.9%)
09/2009: Outsiders #22 -- 22,775 (- 4.5%)
10/2009: Outsiders #23 -- 21,413 (- 6.0%)
11/2009: Outsiders #24 -- 50,918 (+137.8%) [55,704]
12/2009: Outsiders #25 -- 37,847 (- 25.7%)
01/2010: Outsiders #26 -- 22,626 (- 40.2%)
02/2010: Outsiders #27 -- 21,167 (- 6.5%)
03/2010: Outsiders #28 -- 19,632 (- 7.3%)
----------------
6 months: -13.8%
1 year : -29.8%
2 years : -46.7%
5 years : -49.5%Ouchsiders. The new creative team doesn’t seem to be catching on, to put it mildly.

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109 - SUPERMAN 80-PAGE GIANT
03/2010: Superman 80-Page Giant #1 -- 19,391Another $ 5.99 anthology one-shot. Perfectly good numbers for this type of book.

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119 - JOE THE BARBARIAN (Vertigo)
01/2010: Joe the Barbarian #1 of 8 -- 25,543 [29,712]
02/2010: Joe the Barbarian #2 of 8 -- 17,512 (-31.4%)
03/2010: Joe the Barbarian #3 of 8 -- 17,672 (+ 0.9%)Very encouraging sales.

And more evidence that the $ 1.00 debut issues are paying off for Vertigo.

—–

123 - BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL
03/2007: Batman Confidential #4 -- 38,735
03/2008: Batman Confidential #14 -- 25,330
03/2008: Batman Confidential #15 -- 24,283
------------------------------------------
03/2009: Batman Confidential #27 -- 19,934 (- 1.0%)
04/2009: Batman Confidential #28 -- 19,540 (- 2.0%)
05/2009: Batman Confidential #29 -- 18,867 (- 3.4%)
06/2009: Batman Confidential #30 -- 18,443 (- 2.3%)
07/2009: Batman Confidential #31 -- 19,225 (+ 4.2%)
08/2009: Batman Confidential #32 -- 18,545 (- 3.5%)
09/2009: Batman Confidential #33 -- 18,140 (- 2.2%)
10/2009: Batman Confidential #34 -- 17,097 (- 5.8%)
10/2009: Batman Confidential #35 -- 16,724 (- 2.2%)
11/2009: Batman Confidential #36 -- 16,664 (- 0.4%)
11/2009: Batman Confidential #37 -- 16,355 (- 1.9%)
12/2009: Batman Confidential #38 -- 16,132 (- 1.4%)
12/2009: Batman Confidential #39 -- 15,906 (- 1.4%)
01/2010: Batman Confidential #40 -- 17,241 (+ 8.4%)
02/2010: Batman Confidential #41 -- 16,856 (- 2.2%)
03/2010: Batman Confidential #42 -- 16,652 (- 1.2%)
----------------
6 months: - 8.2%
1 year : -16.5%
2 years : -32.9%The Sam Kieth arc (issues #40 through #43) keeps Batman Confidential sales rock-solid.

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130 - CINDERELLA: FROM FABLETOWN WITH LOVE (Vertigo)
11/2009: Cinderella #1 of 6 -- 20,337
12/2009: Cinderella #2 of 6 -- 16,598 (-18.4%)
01/2010: Cinderella #3 of 6 -- 15,827 (- 4.7%)
02/2010: Cinderella #4 of 6 -- 15,421 (- 2.6%)
03/2010: Cinderella #5 of 6 -- 15,285 (- 0.9%)The Fables spin-off maintains very decent numbers.

——

134 - DOOM PATROL
03/2005: Doom Patrol #10 -- 16,600
----------------------------------
08/2009: Doom Patrol #1 -- 28,267
09/2009: Doom Patrol #2 -- 22,001 (- 22.2%)
10/2009: Doom Patrol #3 -- 20,036 (- 8.9%)
11/2009: Doom Patrol #4 -- 53,748 (+168.3%)
12/2009: Doom Patrol #5 -- 35,348 (- 34.2%)
01/2010: Doom Patrol #6 -- 17,117 (- 51.6%)
02/2010: Doom Patrol #7 -- 15,689 (- 8.3%)
03/2010: Doom Patrol #8 -- 14,197 (- 9.5%)
----------------
6 months: -35.5%
5 years : -14.5%This doesn’t look good at all, obviously.

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135 - THE UNWRITTEN (Vertigo)
05/2009: The Unwritten #1 -- 26,915 [31,081]
06/2009: The Unwritten #2 -- 16,290 (-39.5%)
07/2009: The Unwritten #3 -- 17,028 (+ 4.5%)
08/2009: The Unwritten #4 -- 16,336 (- 4.1%)
09/2009: The Unwritten #5 -- 16,011 (- 2.0%)
10/2009: The Unwritten #6 -- 15,314 (- 4.4%)
11/2009: The Unwritten #7 -- 14,763 (- 3.6%)
12/2009: The Unwritten #8 -- 14,257 (- 3.4%)
01/2010: The Unwritten #9 -- 13,792 (- 3.3%)
02/2010: The Unwritten #10 -- 13,644 (- 1.1%)
03/2010: The Unwritten #11 -- 13,630 (- 0.1%)
----------------
6 months: -14.9%The Unwritten sales keep sticking to the 16-17K mark, with virtually no change in March.

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140/145 - ASTRO CITY: THE DARK AGE (WildStorm)
06/2005: The Dark Age/Book 1 #1 of 4 -- 32,690
07/2005: The Dark Age/Book 1 #2 of 4 -- 29,721
08/2005: The Dark Age/Book 1 #3 of 4 -- 28,152
10/2005: The Dark Age/Book 1 #4 of 4 -- 27,367
-----------------------------------------------
11/2006: The Dark Age/Book 2 #1 of 4 -- 26,993
02/2007: The Dark Age/Book 2 #2 of 4 -- 23,412
04/2007: The Dark Age/Book 2 #3 of 4 -- 22,727
09/2007: The Dark Age/Book 2 #4 of 4 -- 19,764
-----------------------------------------------
05/2009: The Dark Age/Book 3 #1 of 4 -- 18,281 (- 7.5%)
06/2009: The Dark Age/Book 3 #2 of 4 -- 16,405 (-10.3%)
07/2009: The Dark Age/Book 3 #3 of 4 -- 15,291 (- 6.8%)
08/2009: The Dark Age/Book 3 #4 of 4 -- 14,684 (- 4.0%)
09/2009: Astra Special #1 of 2 -- 14,627 (- 0.4%)
10/2009: Astra Special #2 of 2 -- 13,847 (- 5.3%)
----------------------------------------------
01/2010: The Dark Age/Book 4 #1 of 4 -- 13,664 (- 1.3%)
02/2010: --
03/2010: The Dark Age/Book 4 #2 of 4 -- 13,118 (- 4.0%)
03/2010: The Dark Age/Book 4 #3 of 4 -- 12,630 (- 3.7%)
----------------
6 months: -12.0%There’s no second-issue drop for the final miniseries in the 16-part The Dark Age. Sales have dropped quite a bit since the storyline began in 2005, but at least there are signs that the numbers are bottoming out, now that the series is coming out more frequently again.

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148 - EX MACHINA (WildStorm)
03/2005: Ex Machina #9 -- 22,352
03/2006: Ex Machina #18 -- 21,081
03/2007: --
03/2008: Ex Machina #35 -- 15,500
---------------------------------
03/2009: --
04/2009: Ex Machina #41 -- 13,526 (- 3.9%)
05/2009: Ex Machina #42 -- 13,403 (- 0.9%)
06/2009: Ex Machina #43 -- 13,204 (- 1.5%)
07/2009: --
08/2009: Ex Machina #44 -- 12,796 (- 3.1%)
09/2009: Ex Machina #45 -- 12,832 (+ 0.3%)
10/2009: Ex Machina #46 -- 12,538 (- 2.3%)
11/2009: --
12/2009: Ex Machina #47 -- 12,192 (- 2.8%)
01/2010: --
02/2010: --
03/2010: Ex Machina #48 -- 12,093 (- 0.8%)
----------------
6 months: - 5.8%
1 year : n.a.
2 years : -22.0%
5 years : -45.9%Two more issues to go, then WildStorm is short of its second-best-selling title. Apart from Astro City, the imprint seems to be a dead end for creator-owned books, at this stage.

—–