Monday, October 23, 2017

September 2017 Sales Review


The sales reports for September came out a while ago and there are some interesting numbers to report which shows just how fickle the comic market is. As always, head to ICv2 for a bigger report.
https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/38630/top-300-comics-actual-september-2017

I have bemoaned a bit that Supergirl, a perfectly fine superhero book, was selling relatively low numbers. I will admit the book seemed to be trying to find itself. The initial Cyborg story and then the weird trip into the Phantom Zone seemed like the creative team was finding its footing and building a foundation. And I understand that 10 months is a long time to give a book (at least these days), but the title seems to have turned a corner. Wouldn't it be bad if no one was around to see it?


Well, this title's super-soft reboot coincided with another change.

Artgerm started to do the variant covers.

And as I said, I noticed that his first cover on the book sold out at my LCS and was a wall book at a local con!

Let's take a peek at sales!


Supergirl #13 ended the Fatal Five storyline and reset the table.
It sported a fun Artgerm cover with Kara and a Streaky-like cat.

It sold 33750 units, ranking #65 on the chart.

That's insane.

I'll remind people that Supergirl #11, the last pre-Artgerm issue, sold 21319 and was ranked #104.

Whether it was the new direction or the new covers, sales increased more than 50% in two months. My gut tells me it's the covers.


And what about Action Comics #987 with The Oz Effect storyline coming to fruition.

How did that sell?



Well between the lenticular cover and the regular cover, it sold around 100K.

100K.

That's also insane.

But I suppose this is a major thing and is an opening act to Doomsday Clock.

I am happy that these books are succeeding. I hope people are enjoying the inside as much as the covers. And I hope people keep reading.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's extremely nice to see such a big improvement. Let's hope maybe some of the new buyers actually READ the book and like it enough to stick around for a while.

Anyway, comic readers are a fickle bunch, aren't we? A new cover artist comes along and all of sudden 12,000 more persons are buying the book. Twelve. Thousand.

I'm not shocked to hear AC sold well. Lenticular covers and the beginning of the resolution of a most-hyped mystery.

"I am happy that these books are succeeding. I hope people are enjoying the inside as much as the covers. And I hope people keep reading."

Let's hope so!

Slightly off-topic: Anj, have you already heard details about AC #1000? Two particular items drew my attention:

"The book will revisit major moments in Action Comics history, like the introduction of Superman, Supergirl, Brainiac and the Fortress of Solitude."

So it looks like Kara will not miss this milestone! Great news. I was fearing she'd be shafted once again.

Lois isn't mentioned but I doubt she'll be forgotten.

"Also included is a poster that incorporates all 1000 Action Comics covers, as well as an unpublished ‘40s Superman story thought to have been written by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster."

How thrilling. Do you think it'll be "The K-Metal from Krypton"? Should this story have been published back in 1940 maybe we'd been spared from the "Krypton must be only an excuse for the powers! Superman didn't know about his origin until 1949!"

Anonymous said...

I am so glad that the comic book sales are doing well, I don't want this series to get cancelled like superwoman was sadly.

Also, I agree that the bump in sales is the result of the covers. I always thought, and correct me if I am wrong, that they introduced Kara in the Superwoman issue #11 or #12 to try to bump up the sales. I maybe wrong though and it could have been a purely plot decision.

Another thing which I have wanted to know from a while is- did DC approach artgerm to do the covers or did he approach them? It could change my perspective a bit regarding some stuff.

Thank you for the update Anj!

Anonymous said...

I'm fine with whatever sells the book as long as it does no violence to the character's core concept. If glossy collectible covers are driving sales I say bravo!
Wow Supergirl's gonna be in Action 1000....nice, she used to make the cover back in the 1960's about every three months....but then she was an integral cast member in those days.

JF

Anonymous said...

"I am so glad that the comic book sales are doing well, I don't want this series to get cancelled like superwoman was sadly."

Indeed.

Unfortunately, books with female leads usually are poor sellers.

Fortunately, I think the current DC is more committed to make a Supergirl book working than cancelling it as soon as sales drop.

"I always thought, and correct me if I am wrong, that they introduced Kara in the Superwoman issue #11 or #12 to try to bump up the sales."

No idea. As far as I know, Kate Perkins likes Supergirl, so maybe her appearance was for plot reasons.

"Wow Supergirl's gonna be in Action 1000.... nice, she used to make the cover back in the 1960's about every three months.... but then she was an integral cast member in those days."

I know what you mean. Have you ever noticed back then she was present in any imginary story or Superman's origin's retelling? Even if it was only a cameo appearance or token mention?

Professor Feetlebaum said...

Nice to see the upward trend continuing. But I will admit that I'm concerned about what might happen if and when Artgerm leaves. Will sales revert to pre Artgerm levels? While I agree that Artgerm's covers are most likely the main reason for the sales jump, I'd also like to believe that adding Rocha to the team had something to do with it too.

Nice to hear that Supergirl will have a part in Action Comics 1000. I expect her to play an important role in the Mr. Oz story as it progresses, considering the ending of issue 13.

Artgerm's cover for Supergirl 16 is up on his facebook and Instagram pages.

Finally, if anyone is interested, Discount Comic Book Service is selling volume 2 of Supergirl The Silver Age Omnibus for half price. The sale may be for October only.

Anonymous said...

"Artgerm's cover for Supergirl 16 is up on his facebook and Instagram pages."

I have seen that picture and let me say

(WOLF WHISTLE)

Man is she so cute and sexy. Artgerm calls her the Supergirl next door. To live next door to her...WOW!

Professor Feetlebaum said...

The above comment makes me think of a Tex Avery cartoon.