Sales Review: July 2016

The July sales have come out and can be reviewed over at ICv2 here: http://icv2.com/articles/markets/view/35269/top-300-comics-actual-july-2016

In some ways, it is a great time to be a comic fan as there seems to be an explosion of creativity these days. And, in particular, as a DC fan, things are pretty optimistic. DC Rebirth has been a wonderful re-imagining of the DC universe. The tone and plots of the books that I have been reading have all been entertaining and creative.

Sales bear out this swell of good will to DC. They had 8 of the top 10 books. All sold over 100K. Buzz has, for the most part, been possible.

But I have to look back. Sales may have looked like this in the first month of the New 52. One thing I can tell you, without a doubt, these early books read better than the earliest New 52. I am pretty happy.

On to a look at some specific books.

There are some interesting wrinkles in a closer look at the sales charts.

New Superman #1 came out, a young, brash, bully of a super-hero in a book set in China. Gene Luen Yang was the writer but had just limped through a troubled run on Superman. Remember how 'The Truth' was supposed to change everything? It did ... it led to Rebirth which did change everything.

I bought the book on a whim, not knowing what to expect.

I guess I was a bit surprised to see the book ranked at #8, selling almost 118K.

The premise of the book is a bit risky in the mainstream comic world. Maybe it is a new world.

More interesting is that while the main Superman book also sold well (topping 100K), it ranked below New Superman. Is this because it is a new #1? Or is this already showing interest waning?

Superman is telling the story of Mom and Dad Superman. And that book seems pretty much an isolated Superman story.

Action Comics is a title that is way more enmeshed in the entire DCU. This is a Doomsday story. It guest stars Wonder Woman and Lex Luthor. It is the book with Mr. Oz, the character involved with the Rebirth. He may be a Watchmen character.

Surely this book has broader appeal?

Action Comics #960 sold just over 75K.

While this is still about double what the pre-Rebirth book sold, I find it concerning that this book has slipped a bit already.

Are people bored of Doomsday? Is Mr. Oz not a visible enough element to bring people over?

This bears worth watching.

The Supergirl Rebirth book is out this month.

Last month, Kara fans had Adventures of Supergirl by Sterling Gates and a deep bench of great artists on the shelves.

I loved this story. Gates effortlessly slipped a story into the show's season, bolstering some plots and dropping a ton of Supergirl history into the issues.

This was a digital first book so I just don't know how to assess these print-copy sales.

That said, the last two issues sold relatively well, selling around 11K.

I keep hoping the powers-that-be at DC green light a second season. And I want Gates back.

Anyways, I keep hoping that this DC wave of optimism and creativity continues to crest.