Publishers Weekly DC Sales Report

There is a very in-depth look at DC's current economic woes at Publisher's Weekly. Here is the link:

http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/07/02/dc-month-to-month-sales-may-2008/

The writer does an incredible job at breaking down the numbers, not only of DC as a whole but each individual title, looking back at not only the last several issues sales but also prior incarnations of the title going back years.

Here is the breakdown of Supergirl. The numbers are sobering ... staggering ... depressing. I had no ideas the title had hemorrhaged readers so badly.

74 - SUPERGIRL
05/2001: Supergirl #58 — 20,376*
05/2002: Supergirl #70 — 19,156*
05/2006: Supergirl #6 — 102,860
———————————
05/2007: Supergirl #17 — 50,429 (- 2.4%)
06/2007: Supergirl #18 — 50,279 (- 0.3%)
07/2007: Supergirl #19 — 48,576 (- 3.4%)
08/2007: Supergirl #20 — 46,862 (- 3.5%)
09/2007: Supergirl #21 — 44,656 (- 4.7%)
10/2007: Supergirl #22 — 41,758 (- 6.5%)
11/2007: Supergirl #23 — 45,460 (+ 8.9%)
12/2007: Supergirl #24 — 37,922 (-16.6%)
01/2008: Supergirl #25 — 36,459 (- 3.9%)
02/2008: Supergirl #26 — 34,186 (- 6.2%)
03/2008: Supergirl #27 — 32,596 (- 4.7%)
04/2008: Supergirl #28 — 31,379 (- 3.7%)
05/2008: Supergirl #29 — 30,192 (- 3.8%)
—————-
6 months: -33.6%
1 year : -40.1%
2 years : -70.7%
Supergirl sales keep dropping at an alarming rate. Yet another “regular” new creative team (the sixth one to date, if you’re keeping count) has been announced, meanwhile.

70.7% loss of readers over 2 years. 33.6% over the last 6 months recorded.

70.7 % !!!! 33.6%

So ... how do we interpret these numbers? Let's look at some of the key issues.

Issue 6: 102,000 issues. I expected sales to be brisk at this point in the title. The title was just coming off the Loeb opening arc. Churchill's art was being relatively well received. This was also a jumping on point for new readers with a new storyline that was in essence One Year Later. There was a variant Churchill cover. It also marked the return of Ed Benes to a Supergirl title and guest starred Power Girl. Greg Rucka had just been named new writer. I thought issues 1-5 were okay, although I thought the ending of the story was not satisfying. But I had optimism for this new team and story.

Issue 19: 48,500 issues. Well, after a number of creative teams and what I felt was an absolutely abysmal run by writer Joe Kelly, I was not surprised to see that the title had lost about 50% of its readers. The buzz had faded. The story and art was uneven. And the boards unfortunately showed a fractionated Supergirl fandom. To be honest I am surprised the title sold that many at this point. This was the really awful 'mad Zor-El, kill Kal-El' storyline. The Garza art was uneven at best, muddy at worst. Kelly continued to write (for me) an unlikeable Kara. I almost dropped the title myself.

Issue 23: 45,500 issues. This represented a slight bump in sales from the prior dreadful Countdown crossovers. The new team of Kelly Puckett, who wrote Batgirl so well, and Drew Johnson were coming on board. There was a variant cover by Adam Kubert. Maybe some new readers were brought in. Maybe some old readers came back with the end of the Joe Kelly run.

Issue 24: 38,000 issues. Uhhh ... were did all the new readers go? Well, when it is a new team and you expect new readers, you need to hook them. But issue 23, Puckett's first issue, which was nearly wordless, was probably not a great way to reel people in. So 7ooo readers left. For me, these issues were a breath of fresh air. It immediately redefined the Superman/Supergirl relationship. Kal called on her for help. Sheacted heroic, going to her absolute limits to try to accomplish the mission. Even better, in issue 24 we see a loving Zor-El!

Still, I think about Birds of Prey 56, the first Simone/Benes issue. That had a hook ... great dialogue, great cliff-hanger, eye-catching cover.

Heck, it even said 'Bold New Direction' on the cover. Comics readers are suckers for that line! That's what this title needed in issue 23, a hook to keep new readers.

Issue 29: 30,000 issues. Right in the middle of the 'Saving Thomas' storyline and we are at 25% of sales from issue 6. 30,000 is probably on the cusp of cancellation. But just like Kelly's run was loved by some and hated by others (like me), it seems Puckett has the same effect. I think if you hated Kelly, you like Puckett. And if you liked Kelly, you hate Puckett.

Issue 34: ??? issues. My guess is that DC will do some ads about the title, emphasizing the link to the Superman title. Let's hope Sterling Gates is a unifying force for the polarized Kara fans, bringing together the divided Supergirl house. I think this pic from the Igle website will be a variant cover, maybe drumming up orders.

And I am hoping for about 38,000 in sales for that issue. I don't think this title can afford to lose more support.

Drew Johnson's design for Supergirl's Uniform

Over on Drew Johnson's blog (http://www.cursethatmonkey.blogspot.com/) he posted the pic below, which was one of his designs on an alternative Supergirl costume.





Well I like it for a number of reasons.


1) No belly shirt. I have never been a fan of the belly shirt, even when Linda Danvers wore the white half-shirt in the latter issues of Peter David's run (which of course was designed to match the Timm-verse Kara).

2) I am a big fan of a huge S-Shield for all the 'supers'. I think it should dominate the shirt, not be a little logo. Here the shield basically *is* the front of the shirt.

3) The ' cape's shoulders forming the corner of the S-symbol' is reminiscent of the Crisis era Kara with the red shoulders, a nice homage.

Overall, it is a design that is much closer to the "Matrix" style costume, which is my favorite of all the Supergirl costumes: blue shirt, pointy sleeves, red skirt, pointy belt. Here is a Gary Frank take on that costume from Supergirl #4 (1996).






Despite not being able to use this design, I did like the slight panaches Drew put into the current costume. In particular I liked the big oversized gold sleeve ends and the thick gold strip around the collar of the cape and bottom of the shirt.

As I have said before, I thought Johnson's art was slick and I am sad to see him leave the title.

Review: Supergirl 29

Another decent issue in the 'Cure cancer' storyline. As I said in an earlier post, I think Kelly has done an admirable job of restoring a heroic aspect to Kara while keeping intact the impetuousness and fire of a super-powered teenager.


In her attempt to find a quick cure for Thomas, the ailing young boy with 'grade 4 brain cancer', Kara has enlisted the help of reluctant super-hero Resurrection Man and D-list baddie Dr. Luzano a nanite (here tektite) expert who helped create Resurrection Man. Of course, to get Luzano's help she had to break him out of jail and stay hidden from cousin Superman. After all, a jail break is a violation of the law, even if it is for a good cause.


R-Man continues to warn Kara that Luzano is no good, but Kara does have that stubborn streak in her as well as wearing some rose-colored glasses. She wonders if Luzano has ever been asked to do anything good before.


Of course, it *is* all a trap for Luzano who completely ignores the 'save Thomas' mission and instead pumps himself full of a tektite formula becoming a something akin to the Borg meets 'Guy Gardner Warrior'. Kara is completely perpelexed why Luzano didn't first find the cure for Thomas and then do his evil work.


Frankly, her being perplexed makes sense. Kara comes from an advanced world, has been living here for just over a year, and is also a teenage girl. It makes sense that she is stubborn, doesn't think things through, makes mistakes, and occasionally gets burned when she thinks the best in people. Sounds like being a teenager doesn't it? Maybe this is the arc where Kara grows up a little. Maybe this is her first experience with death and feeling helpless and that will change her.


Anyways, Luzano does a nice monologuing job listing off all his new powers including 'hyper-sensual' perception leading to this amusing panel.






He screams "you know what I mean" which I assume means super-hearing, super-vision, etc and not something from late night Cinemax.


A super-powered scrum ensues. Resurrection Man gets killed, comes back with a healing power, and then suffers a near fatal blow again from Luzano. (Amazing luck there that the 'random power' he evidences is a healing one. But if I can tolerate a tektite formula I suppose I have to tolerate luck as well.) Kara handily defeats Luzano. As R-Man lays dying, Kara realizes she needs to bring him to Tommy now. If R-Man dies, his healing power dies with him.


Alas, as she is about to fly him off, Superman arrives telling Kara it is too late ... Thomas has died. To be continued ....


I am very interested in seeing how this arc ends as I think it is the best one of the title so far.


That said, I do have some minor complaints about the issue.


1) The art is again split between Drew Johnson and Ron Randall. Both guys are fine (I prefer Johnson) but it gives the issue and overall disjointed feel. With Drew off in the near future, maybe Randall will do all the pages.


2) Pages 2-3 are a huge splash page featuring R-Man and some prior love in some medieval looking period of time. Another splash page is devoted to Superman looking for Kara. The title is Supergirl ... if there are going to be splash pages they should be of her.


3) While it fits this story in particular, the number of guest stars in this title is staggering. What I wouldn't give for a supporting cast and a rogue's gallery!


Looking forward to number 30.

Review: Supergirl 1-28

Let's review the Supergirl issues so far.



1-5: A decent opening story, picking up where the Superman/Batman origin story ended. Jeph Loeb did a decent job of showing how difficult it was for Kara to find her way on earth initially. And there is always some guilty pleasure in seeing a Kryptonian/Lutho smack-down. The 'split persona' plot twist is a little tired, and the seeds of the 'I am here to kill Kal-El' thread were planted here though. Grade: B



6-8: One year later and we have 3 inscrutable issues taking place in Kandor with Kara again being mind-controlled. After an aborted rebellion and fiery speeches, Kara takes off for Earth to possibly search for Argo. Even Greg Rucka knew this was so bad, he left after 2 issues. Grade: D




9-12: The beginning of the Joe Kelly experiment. A series of one shots which are hit or miss. The high school issue, where Kara tries to have a secret identity only to leave after she sees how cruel teenagers can be, is a brief shining light. The Outsiders issue (11) and the Terra (12) issue do little to move the title forward. The Outsiders issue in particular seems more interested in cheesecake art than story. The Terra issue shows us a shallow Kara rave dancing rather than saving people. It was here I began to feel some dislike to the character, who had yet to show much heroism and instead was sort of a jerk. Overall grade: B, might have been higher without the Terra issue.



13-15: The Power Boy arc. Some nice art here. And a decent message against abusive relationships of any kind. Still, Kara seems flighty and shallow here again. And the seeds of the 'kill Kal-el' plot as well as the 'crystal powers theme' start to put down roots here. Grade: C-




16-19: It ends with Kara asking Kal to forgive her and become part of her life again. Whew! Unfortunately to get there we have to see a demented Zor-El experimenting on Kara, leading her on a Colombine like rampage in her high school where she mows down students with a crystal gun, and Kara killing her mother. There is some obsfuscation where maybe these memories were planted by the dark herald of the Monitor. But who wants to read about a murderous Supergirl with crystal powers and a genocide streak. In particular, issue 18 seems a slap in the face to older Supergirl fans where a 'sweet as pie' Silver Age Kara tries to rough up the current one. It read more like Kelly trying to show some fans that a heroic Kara is the wrong direction. It didn't work. Grade: F




20-22: Amazons attack cross-over. Two Countdown crossovers. (shivers). Enough said.




23-28: Kelley Puckett and Drew Johnson come on. Immediately out of the gate they do 2 things that revitalized my interest in the comic. One, they made Kara act like a hero again. The first issue shows her trying to help Superman in some intergalactic war. She wants to help!! Second, they completely erase the 'mad Zor-El, kill Kal-El, crystal hell' thread, showing actual visions from Krypton of a loving Zor-El and a scientist Lara. Hurrah hurrah!!




Next, they bring in a old school Kara villain, Reactron, last seen way back in Daring New Adventures of Supergirl issues 8 and 9, a nice touch for the old-timers.




But the most intriguing plot has been the cancer plot. Kara promises a young cancer victim that she will save him despite the dismal prognosis. This has always been an undercurrent in super-hero comics. Why stop Blackstarr when instead you can plant crops and feed the hungry? Build shelters for the homeless? Turn deserts into plains? Kara asks the question 'maybe curing cancer is a better use of my time than stopping crooks.'


While the actions she does to bring this about (find Resurrection man, break a noted evil scientist out of jail) seems silly, it makes sense for the character. Kara is a teenager; she is going to be impulsive and do things that seem silly. Still, it is for a good cause.


Some bloggers/message board pundits have complained about this run. They say Kara is too passive. That she is constantly being bailed out by Superman and seems subservient to him. That she has no guts or spirit. I think quite the opposite. This is the best version of Kara I have seen so far in this title. Now if only Drew Johnson could have drawn all the issues so the art would be consistent, it would be fabulous. Grade: B+



And now that we are caught up ... from now on ... monthly reviews.

Drew Johnson off Supergirl

Well, Drew announced on his blog that he is off Supergirl ... finishing up in June.

http://www.cursethatmonkey.blogspot.com/

He is listed as the artist for the July issue (#31) on the DC web site.

I, for one, am going to miss his art. His tenure was short. He had multiple issues where he only did some of the pages (although he did have appendix taken out emergently somewhere along the way).

But he drew a very sleek and beautiful Kara. His added some personal flourishes to her costume. I especially liked the crazy overly large sleeve ends he gave her. I mean look at the panels here. Just slick.

Unfortunately, this just continues the trend of rotating creators on this title. It is unfortunate, but I will always compare this title to Peter David's run, one of my favorite comic runs of all time. David wrote all 80 issues. Leonard Kirk drew the bulk of the issues, sandwiched between solid runs by Gary Frank and Ed Benes. And David had a vision and path for Linda in that title, a grand story that was well on it's way by issue #29. That vision has not been present in this title.

But let's not forget the post ... take care Drew Johnson. I really loved your work.