It's that time of the month again. Over on their web site, ICv2 breaks down comic sales in October. Here is a link to their list of the top 300 selling books: http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/16243.html
Overall, comic sales dipped 14% from a review of last October (here is that link: http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/16246.html ). I wonder how long we can blame to overall economy for this. I also wonder how much of this is secondary to that increase cover price to $3.99 on some books.
Now as a DC fan, there were things to both love and hate about this month. DC had the top 6 selling books, almost all tied in to Blackest Night. That's incredible! The top 6 books! This sales boon is warranted as I think Blackest Night has delivered.
But this is a Supergirl blog.
Supergirl #46, the conclusion of The Hunt For Reactron only sold 30,377 issues, down from 32,240 the month before. That's a drop in sales of 6%!
So should I be an optimist and say that a drop of 6% is still better than the overall drop of 14%? Should I note that sales are still better than such flagship DC titles as Teen Titans and Wonder Woman?
Or should I be a pessimist and say that sales have dropped 11% over the last two months? Should I worry that this month's sales is the lowest the book has sold since before Gates and Igle took over?
Here is the breakdown of the last year in sales.
The truth is none of the Superman books are selling that well (outside of the Blackest Night:Superman miniseries). I wonder if the 'bloom is off the rose' of the Year Without Superman.
The next few issues of Supergirl do not seem as tightly enmeshed with the New Krypton story line. And then we get the double-sized Supergirl #50. So I hope the people who have left the title will come back.
I am not ringing any bells of doom here. I am just a bit befuddled that the book isn't selling better or retaining readers.
And as usual I will post about R.E.B.E.L.S. sales. R.E.B.E.L.S. #9 added Adam Strange and Captain Comet to the cast.
R.E.B.E.L.S. #9 stayed steady from last months sales but is still lying in the weeds, selling just over 11K.
I am sort of glad that I have done this recently if only for the fact that I get to review the sales of R.E.B.E.L.S. #10 next month. That issue, of course, is the issue linked with the Indigo Ring promotion. My guess is that issue will sell quite healthily. My guess is it breaks the 50,000 mark.
8 comments:
people can get tired of crossovers.. I'm personally very tired of Reactron.
This crossover is just on the limit on how much people that don't like crossovers can support. If it were a couple of issues longer you'll see sales drop further.
Agreed, We are about halfway through this Krypton Stryline at a guess and it's only now I feel Robinson has really found his feet and started delivering some quality (Read the Jimmy Olsen Special) but this storyline is so unbelievably stretched out it feels like the Marketing strategies they employed in the 90s with the Superman-Blue typ of storyline, and we know what a shambles that was creatively and sales wise...
You can see it happening with the Hulk books who have just started a very similar sort of storyline, people just do not have the patience of money to commit to such horribly longterm somewhat experimental stories.
Supergirl is a good book, but its identity is now being submerged in this Krypton storyline and unless there's a serious push coming that sees this Krypton develop into a major event in the DCU It's not going to get any better saleswise.
Dave M said...
Supergirl is a good book, but its identity is now being submerged in this Krypton storyline and unless there's a serious push coming that sees this Krypton develop into a major event in the DCU It's not going to get any better saleswise.
I suppose next years "Earth Vs. New Krypton" war mega event will be the deciding factor as to whether sales will stay the same, increase or just the opposite. :/
PS: Anyone who's picking up the just released Supergirl: Who is Superwoman trade should be warned that it doesn't collect #35 and 36 for some reason. >:(
Talos wrote:
"Anyone who's picking up the just released Supergirl: Who is Superwoman trade should be warned that it doesn't collect #35 and 36 for some reason. >:("
I believe those issues are in the New Krypton trade paperbacks.
This crossover is just on the limit on how much people that don't like crossovers can support. If it were a couple of issues longer you'll see sales drop further.
I think the tie-in with the Superman title is sort of a double-edged sword.
It was a great way to bring some new readers to the book.
But when tied so closely, Supergirl could lose some of the draw of her unique character.
One thing I want to reiterate is that the quality of the issues has not waned. I think the product is great. And that is what makes these sales numbers that much harder to explain.
Supergirl is a good book, but its identity is now being submerged in this Krypton storyline and unless there's a serious push coming that sees this Krypton develop into a major event in the DCU It's not going to get any better saleswise.
Thanks for the post.
My guess is the 'Earth/New Krypton' war is next summer's event. That event (as well as Superman's return to his titles) should help sapes rebound a bit.
And ...
I can't believe you brought up the Superman Blue/Superman Red arc. (shivers)
PS: Anyone who's picking up the just released Supergirl: Who is Superwoman trade should be warned that it doesn't collect #35 and 36 for some reason. >:(
I think those were reprinted in the New Krypton trades.
Nice little intro by Helen Slater though. I'll be posting about that soon.
Yup, I agree that the New Krypton stuff is harming the book - I want Kara to have her own stories, not act as a spillover for Superman's.
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