May Sales Review

It's that time of the month when ICv2.com reviews comic sales from the prior month. As usual, the whole set of links is worth reviewing, especially if you are keeping track of some of your favorite titles. Here is the main link: http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/15150.html

After something of a rebound month in April, the comics market again dipped in May. Once again there was no comic that sold more than 100,000 units. In comparison to May 2008, the market dipped 18%. That is hard to swallow but not hard to believe given the current economic situation.

All that said, I also have been reconsidering my pull list. Knowing the upcoming Blackest Night minis coming out, I have had to look long and hard at my current titles and wonder if I need to trim the fat.

For me, the best part of the ICv2 monthly review is the list of the top 300 books ( http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/15147.html ). The list gives the total number of issues sold and gives me some gut feeling about the 'health' of a title.

Supergirl #41 was the finale of the "Who is Superwoman?" story arc. With the big reveal last month, I was curious to see how the book would do here. Would some people leave with the Lucy reveal? Would the spoilers posted on the net bring some people to the title?

Looks like neither was true. The Gates/Igle Supergirl looks like it is good for 33-34K in sales monthly. That is a steady and respectable number. This issue sold 33,441 issues, down 2% from last month's sales of 34,080. It also represents the lowest sales since the team took over. It is hard to know what that means given the current economic climate and market. The fact that readers have for the most part stuck with the title despite the downturn in the market has to be seen as a good thing, right?

The same sense of stability can be seen in the sales of Supergirl:Cosmic Adventures in the Eighth Grade.

The last issue sold 6,179 which is down 6% from last month's rebound sales of 6,576. That said, outside of the first issue which sold over 9K, this mini sold about 6200 issues each month. Is that good enough sales for a Johnny DC book to greenlight a sequel?

The question is 'does stability in sales in a volatile market signify a healthy title?' Or is DC looking for more? Or is there a certain number sales-wise that should have people preparing for cancellation.

For example, I have really enjoyed R.E.B.E.L.S. but issue #4 only sold 13,468. Despite getting good reviews and some publicity, sales for the title continue to drop monthly. How long does DC give a new title to catch on before the axe falls. 12 issues? 18? I can only hope this title goes long enough to see the end of this Starro run.