On the Publisher's Weekly web-site, there is the monthly breakdown of DC's June sales. Of note, Final Crisis #2 came in at #3, behind Secret Invasion and Ultimates 3. DC can't be happy about that. Here is the link:
http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/05/dc-month-to-month-sales-june-2008/
Now, the Supergirl specific details. The June book was issue 30, the Will Pfeifer rest issue. It ranked 71st in sales, pretty much the same spot it has been for a while.
Here is a review of the last 3 months of sales of Supergirl. The percent shows the decrease in sales from the last issue.
04/2008: Supergirl #28 — 31,379 issues (- 3.7%)
05/2008: Supergirl #29 — 30,192 issues (- 3.8%)
06/2008: Supergirl #30 — 29,553 issues (- 2.1%)
It appears as though the title has found its level ... around 30,000 sold. This did mark the 6th straight month of decreasing sales after a small blip upwards on Puckett/Johnson's first issue.
My assumption is we will see similar attrition for issues 31-33 as the Puckett run ends. At this rate of attrition, by issue 33, I suspect a total of around 28,ooo. That is disheartening. Just disheartening!
My hope is that the Gates/Igle run will bring in new readers. In particular, I hope that DC gives Supergirl #34, the first Gates/Igle issue some promotion. As I have said before, a variant cover will help as will tying the title into the Super-books. Maybe an in-store poster? An ad in other comics? A DC Nation spotlight piece? Something ?? Please DC ...
A while backed I guess about 38,000 will be sold for #34, which would be an increase of around 33%, a nice bump. Let's see if my prognostic skills are good.
Here are my thoughts.
ReplyDelete#30 actually did really well. It lost 2.1% - but as far as I can see only 3 issues have done better since the original run. I don't know why, maybe people picked it up because it was a one off, or people who would have dropped it are sticking with the title to keep their collections complete until they see #34?
Even though, I think your predictions are a bit optimistic.
28k for #33 would mean falls lower than 2%, which is even better than this issue, and not going to happen. 3% falls would be good, putting #33 on 27,000, even this is optimistic. Puckett's best retention figure is 3.7%. If people don't stay with the book after the one-off 4% could happen which'll take it down towards 26k. I reckon we'll get lower rates of 3.5% - as people stay with the arc to the end - and #33 will see 26,500.
I think we'll see a jump with #34, given the new writer, artist, alternate cover and link to the other superbooks, it could be big. The thing to watch though is #35. Puckett got a leap with #23, but got almost twice the fall as normal the issue later. So it made no difference in the long run.
And #1 sold 165,579 issues! That's bigger than Final Crisis #1.
First off, thanks for the great in-depth post.
ReplyDeleteIf people don't stay with the book after the one-off 4% could happen which'll take it down towards 26k. I reckon we'll get lower rates of 3.5% - as people stay with the arc to the end - and #33 will see 26,500.
The truth is my guess of 28K was for the next issue's sales, which I mentally thought was 33. It can be confusing when the numbers are released from 2 months ago. Assuming a similar decrease, somewhere between 26-27K makes sense.
I think we'll see a jump with #34, given the new writer, artist, alternate cover and link to the other superbooks, it could be big. The thing to watch though is #35.
I also agree with this. The new readers jumped ship after that first issue, which didn't quite have the hooks to reel them in. But the timing is such that I think 35 is going to be a part of the New Krypton story. So we may have to wait a bit to see if the Superman readers stay.
And #1 sold 165,579 issues! That's bigger than Final Crisis #1.
That number still staggers me.
Thanks again.
Yeah. The other numbers we've got to think about are those of the Superbooks which pull about 50k, and Catwoman, which got canceled on about 20k. I think we're okay in the medium-term, as the integration of the Superbooks is a done deal and all planned out.
ReplyDeleteThis is obviously a deliberate attempt to stave off the fall in readers. It good that they care, but if the present course isn't interupted by it, and we're on 20k in a year's time, that that's cause to worry.
I've been telling customers at my store about the upcoming integration of Supergirl with the other Super books and the numbered diamonds and all, and the reactions have been positive. A lot of people want to read a consistently-good Supergirl book, if DC will give them one.
ReplyDeleteYeah. The other numbers we've got to think about are those of the Superbooks which pull about 50k, and Catwoman, which got canceled on about 20k. I think we're okay in the medium-term, as the integration of the Superbooks is a done deal and all planned out.
ReplyDeleteIt does seem like 20K is the death knell for a mainstream book.
Again, my hope is that with the new team and new emphasis we'll see sales very safely in the high 30K's.
I've been telling customers at my store about the upcoming integration of Supergirl with the other Super books and the numbered diamonds and all, and the reactions have been positive.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! Word of mouth is just as important.
I can remember talking incessantly in my store about Matt Fraction's Casanova.
To think that once, when titans the earth did roam, "Supergirl starring in Adventure Comics" routinely sold 400,000 issues a month. And for all that the book and the character were rated a modest success by the DC high command.
ReplyDeleteNow we scramble for 30K a month.
Very well then, this is the Supergirl with which we will make our stand....
:D
Frankly to me its a miracle that anyone other than us reads it at all, given the book's near total creative chaos down since day one. From Loeb to Rucka to Kelly to Puckett with two detours along the way.
But either we have hope or we have nothing, anyone see the preview of this week's "Action Comics"?
Seems like Kara has a wonderful cameo therein.
John Feer
Very well then, this is the Supergirl with which we will make our stand....
ReplyDeleteI guess you're right. It looks like a make or break time for this title, at least over the next 6 months.
Frankly to me its a miracle that anyone other than us reads it at all, given the book's near total creative chaos down since day one. From Loeb to Rucka to Kelly to Puckett with two detours along the way.
I have, at times, felt like I was reading the title out of loyalty to the character rather than out of enjoyment. The last few issues of Kelly's run especially were cringe-worthy.
For sheer rampant dementia, I'm not sure I've ever seen anything quite like Joe Kelly's run on Supergirl. I firmly believed he was removed from the title not simply because he was destroying Supergirl, but just as importantly due to the changes he was imposing on the accepted Superman-Krypton-Supergirl mythos. Sooner or later Kelly's petty and nihilistic version of Superman and Supergirl had to supercede accepted canon...finally the editors...started editing the book and Kelly was gone.
ReplyDeleteJust in time as far as I was concerned....you could just TELL he longed to depict Kara as a child killer...he wanted that soooo bad.
Kudos to whoever rang down the curtains on that storyline.
All Power to the Kara Soviets
NO Superman without Supergirl
Midvale Uber Alles!
John Feer
Just in time as far as I was concerned....you could just TELL he longed to depict Kara as a child killer...he wanted that soooo bad.
ReplyDeleteKudos to whoever rang down the curtains on that storyline.
Thanks for the post.
I point to the cover of issue 17, with Kara standing over her dead classmates who are impaled with crystals as a clear visual of what was wrong with Kelly's run.
Kara should never be called a slayer like she was on that cover.
Very well then, this is the Supergirl with which we will make our stand....
ReplyDeleteOk, Anj holds the flag, John stands defiantly with fixed bayonet, and I'm the wounded guy on the ground still holding his head up to glare at the foe. The rest of you sing "The Minstrel Boy."
Ok, Anj holds the flag, John stands defiantly with fixed bayonet, and I'm the wounded guy on the ground still holding his head up to glare at the foe. The rest of you sing "The Minstrel Boy."
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post. It gave me a much needed chuckle!