Friday, December 11, 2009

Sales Review: November 2009


Over on ICv2, comic sales for November has been released and reviewed. Overall, comic sales for the month were up. Here is the link:
http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/16433.html

In particular, DC comics did very well claiming seven of the top 10. Sales for some titles were dramatically up as they were part of the Blackest Night ring promotion.

I also find it interesting that Detective Comics continues to shine even though Batman is not starring in the title. Batwoman's story continues to shine because of the strong writing of Greg Rucka and the unbelievable art of J.H.Williams.

Unfortunately, sales for the Superman titles continue to be poor.



Supergirl #47, the very strong Alura issue, sold 29,159 copies. This put Supergirl ranked at 66 overall.

This was another drop in sales for the title, with sales down 4%. This was also the third straight month that sales have decreased. It's important to note that Superman, Action Comics, and Superman:World of New Krypton are all selling in the low 30,000 range. Even Superman Secret Origin, with the powerhouse team of Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, is only selling just over 45,000 issues.

I think that sales may rebound a little bit when New Krypton winds down. And I am sure there will be a sales bump when next summer's big event rolls around. But I do find this sales loll somewhat disheartening. In particular, Supergirl#47 was a really great issue and it seems a shame that it wasn't more widely read.

I am not going to read into sales too much. I just always hope that quality comics do well financially. And I think Supergirl is a quality comic.


One bonus to the ring promotion was an increase in sales of R.E.B.E.L.S. #10.


R.E.B.E.L.S. ranked at 30 and sold over 51,000 copies. That is more than four times what it typically sells! And that Blackest Night crossover issue was a great issue showcasing the title very well. I can only hope that some people who bought the comic strictly for the ring stick with it.



I don't really know enough about trade sales to state what sales are considered strong. But the Who Is Superwoman trade came out last month and I figured I would post to those sales as well.



The trade, which featured an introduction by Helen Slater, sold just under 2000 books. This made it 33rd best selling trade for the month.

Again, there is no gloom and doom to this post. Supergirl as a character has really built a lot of momentum this year, she has a big anniversary issue coming out in three months, and she continues to be an important character in the entire DCU. I just always hope that the title will be recognized both critically and financially.

4 comments:

TalOs said...

WOW! 0_0 I simply had no idea the Superman Family titles had dropped off by that much.

Hmm I think New Krypton saga might be starting to drive readers off as well as possibly having Supergirl's title crossing over with Superman's own causing fatigue too. :/

Anj said...

Hmm I think New Krypton saga might be starting to drive readers off as well as possibly having Supergirl's title crossing over with Superman's own causing fatigue too. :/

Yeah. The early issues of New Krypton sold very well but this 'year without Superman' has seen a slow erosion of those gains.

Anonymous said...

YEah I'm ready for Superman to regain his titles it has to cause confusion when Superman and Action Comics both are lacking in any appreciable Kal El time.
Overall though, WONK has been a storytelling boon for Supergirl any one of a number of interesting plot-angles have been promulgated...This is a far cry from when she was slaughtering busloads of Kryptonian schoolchildren and walking around starkers in front of her father.
John Feer

Kandou Erik said...

I can tell you all the Superman titles are way up at the top of my list. I feel like this is like a resurgence of the feel 52 gave us, when the Trinity where M.I.A. and we saw other characters rise to the challenge in their abscence.

I can, however see why people would still want Superman appear in actual Superman titles. With World of New Krypton winding down, and the War of the Supermen - I think any lull the Super Books might have experienced will be forgotten.

Plus, this year's worth of Superman books are probably going to be of great benifit to DC in the coming years - as I can't remember Metropolis being as better developed or more fun than ever before. Even better than Gotham. That's a definate testiment to the great characterizations of Mon-El, Guardian, Supergirl, Nightwing and Flamebird.