It was the last month of the 'old' DCU and the first day of the 'new' DCU all in the confines of August 2011 and as usual, ICv2 does a great job of breaking down sales. While I haven't looked the list over with a fine tooth comb, it looks as though sales were down outside of Justice League which was the equivalent of a tape measure home run. Here is the link to their site and sales list: http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/21030.html
Supergirl #67, the last part of the Kelly Sue DeConnick/ ChrisCross three-parter effectively ended the career of this version of Kara Zor-El, ending their story in a sort of bittersweet way.
But as I said, sales were down across the board and that included this book.For the first time ... ever ... the book sank below 20000 in sales. It's a shame really. My guess is the ennui about the ending universe had something to do with it.
Too bad. I thought DeConnick's story was a lot of fun. It was definitely a more light-hearted look at Supergirl than the more character driven introspective stories that marked the end of Gates' run and Peaty's story. I thought it was a good change of pace.
Of course, the big news was the simply massive sales of Justice League #1. I have seen even higher numbers listed for sales here.
It will be interesting to see what sales look like for DC 3-4 months down the road. Will this streak of 'sell outs' last? Or is this a transient big bump in sales as the market re-settles and the quality of books is better known.
And so this is the last post reviewing the 'old' Supergirl's title and sales.
I can't think of a better panel to close out this chapter of the character with than this one. I know that I really thought the last three plus years were a golden era for Supergirl. Her own title was so solid. She was a member of the JLA. She starred in an amazing all ages book. She was treated with respect, acted like a hero, and grew so much.
I know I won't forget her.
Great post, Anj. Thanks for all your great work on this blog. The last three years of Supergirl have been wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI figured that "Justice League" #1 would sell higher than usual, but as you say, how long will the sales-bump last? Next month's sales figures should be interesting. My comic shop sold out of Justice League and Action Comics, but there are still many, many copies of titles like Animal Man, OMAC, and Men of War still cluttering up the shelves. DC's market saturation process is a huge gamble, but only time will tell if it works or not. Now is the perfect time to dig in to all those Supergirl-related back issues I've accumulated over the years.
I wonder just how many of the "new" readers are really just what I call "One" collectors. They almost all are outside buyers getting ready to make a quick profit down the road.
ReplyDeleteRemember when the news got out that Superman was going to "die" for real by the hands of Doomsday. DC printed hundreds of thousands of those issues and they sold like hotcakes.
Only when it comes time to try to sell those issues there will so many copies out there. They will be lucky if they get a dollar back for that issue.
I remember seeing a seeing a reporter talking the buyers of the Death of Superman issue. Almost all of them were saying they were planning on keeping their issues (many had bought a dozen or so) for so many years, sell it and retire off of the profit from it.
I can't help but wonder with many of the people rushing out to buy the new Action #1 is it really because a original Action #1 recently sold for well over a Million dollars?
Hi, Valerie. You make a great point. In 1992, my dad took the day off work and waited in line for six hours to get two copies of Superman #75 for me. Two weeks after the issue came out, the price guides were saying the issue was worth $175 or more. Two years later, I found 15 copies at a flea market for a dollar each. If DC is counting on the "speculator market," they will be disappointed in the long run. The Man of Steel mini-series from 1986, touted as "The Comics Event of the Century," can now be found in the dollar-bins at conventions. In those same dollar bins can be found hundreds of fellow #1's with all manner of shiny, foil-embossed junk aimed at the speculator market of the 1990s. Sure, the 52 number-ones don't have these shiny gimmicks this time around. But flooding the marketplace with 52 titles, many of which seem to harken back to the "grim-and-gritty" dark days of the 90's, is in my mind a step back, not forward. (Why the heck are Aquaman and "The Savage" Hawkman so angry? With all the constant gritting of teeth, I expect their dental bills to be through the roof.)
ReplyDelete"wonder just how many of the "new" readers are really just what I call "One" collectors".
ReplyDeleteThat is my concern as well, we will know by next July when the sales figures are in for the first ten months of each book. Typically collector-speculators like to stock up on the first ten issues as a block. I'm idly wondering if after that sales will drop off to the levels we saw this summer. Frankly I don't see how DC sustains a line of 52 books for any length of time, there just aren't enough readers out to buy a "good but not great" Mr. Terrific book let alone a stellar Supergirl solo title.
But I could be wrong.
JF
That "Just...Don't forget me, okay?" panel reminds me of that scene in Superman II (Donner Cut) where Lois Lane asks Superman not to forget her after he vanquished Zod and destroyed the Fortress of Solitude with his heat vision. The John Williams music that played during that one scene fits the mood of that panel nicely.
ReplyDeleteSo whatever happened to the Girl of Steel?
In my imagination she earns a Ph.D in college, explores space, and works her way up in the R&D department of Starrware. In the meantime Superman retires and Supergirl takes over the mantle of being the protector of Metropolis. She does this for several years before turning it over to Connor and retires to the 31st Century with Brainiac 5. She does come back from time to time to visit friends.
The cover to my imaginary tale would be drawn by Jamal Igle and would be a homage to Curt Swan's "Whatever Happened to the Man of Steel" cover with Supergirl flying away from the Daily Planet where a large group waves goodbye to her. On the roof is Superman, Lois, Jimmy, Perry, Lana, Streaky, Brainiac 5, Cat Grant, Batman (Dick), Damien, Steph, Miss Martian, Cassie, Power Girl, Stargirl, Bombshell, Tim, and Connor.
Gene
I'm with Gene on this. I loved these past three years of Supergirl. They were rich with action, suspense, comedy, heart and above all else, she had a personality-both as Supergirl AND as Linda.
ReplyDeleteGreat job, writers and artists. You made a Supergirl fan very proud to be one, again.
I'm just uneasy about this DCnU version. I don't know if I'll love her as much.
If any, maybe DC can do an AU where all of this DCnU stuff only exists in the mainstream canon and the AU is just a separate continuation. :-/
Just an option I'm throwing out there, folks.
-ealperin
I wonder if the Mysterious Hooded Woman who showed up at the end of Flashpoint 5 and now haunting the first issues of the 52. Is either Didio's and Lee's out ticket in case they have to re-boot again OR DC Comics is preparing for yet another version of "Crisis" in the near future?
ReplyDelete