Supergirl #34 Sales! Hooray!

ICv2 posted its usual breakdown of comics sales yesterday. Here is the link ( http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/13751.html).

You may recall that Supergirl was hovering around 28,ooo in sales, with a slight monthly decrease in a sales of about 1-2%. When the new team was announced and a clear emphasis on DC's part to promote the character was made, I hoped that we would see a modest increase in sales. I was hoping to break the 30,000 mark. Here are the numbers!

The title jumped in sales rank, going from the 86th selling title to the 75th. But more importantly sales hit 33,958 (#33 sold 27,609). That's 123% of what issue #33 did!

Most 'bold new direction' issues see a bump in sales. You might recall that Kelly Puckett's first issue saw a rise in sales as well. And, of course, things like variant covers (like this excellent one by Fernando Pasarin) will also help sales. DC and the creative team did their part by fueling interest. The title was featured on the DC homepage. The book was going to be integrated with the Superman titles. The creative team gave interviews just about everywhere talking about the path they were going to take with Kara. I think most people were pretty excited when they read about the changes that the team was planning.

But let us not forget post-release the absolute flood of great reviews this issue received both from professional sites as well as in the blogosphere. The creative team of Gates, Igle, and Middleton really need to pat themselves on the back for their efforts.

With issue #35 being part of the New Krypton storyline, I suspect we may even see another bump in sales. I hope we get within sniffing distance of 40,000.

The key issue to watch sales for is going to be #36. That should at least give DC an inkling of just how many people are sticking with the title and how many were around just for New Krypton.

Congratulations to Sterling, Jamal, and Josh again. Thanks for making Supergirl meaningful again!