I have been reviewing sales on this site for many years and usual I discuss some minor fluctuations all while wondering where all the fans are.
I think this month I have, for the first time, been stunned.
The sales for July 2019 came out recently and the best place to review them, as always, is over on ICv2. Here is a link:
https://icv2.com/articles/markets/view/43808/top-500-comics-july-2019
July was a 5 Wednesday month which meant overall comic sales were up from the prior July. No surprises there.
But looking at the actual numbers has me gobsmacked.
Supergirl #32 came out last month.
In it Kara and Jon team up to have a final showdown with Gandelo. Rogol Zaar shows up to join the party. This is a big part of the Unity Saga currently rolling through the Superman book, reuniting the Super-family.
While Marc Andreyko's run hasn't been a favorite, at least this issue was a crossover of a sort with the Bendis books. So how did it sell?
Supergirl #32 shipped 13,681 units, landing at #167 in sales.
That is pretty dismal. That is down significantly from 20,903 the prior issue was ordered, a drop of around 33%.
The book seems to average around 18K, so regardless this is a big dip.
I'd say I was surprised but I'd be lying.
Let's take a look at other books.
EDIT: It actually turns out that card stock cover variants are listed separately. So had I perused lower-
I'd have seen that Supergirl #32 had 8.851 more units sold for a total of 22,532.
That is a much more normal total.
Event Levithan #2 was another text heavy mystery yarn.
I have been delighted by the series as I mull over the clues and try to figure out who is under the mask.
It continues to be a healthy sell, coming in at 53K in orders.
So I was very happy when it came in at #46 in sales, pushing past the 40K mark in sales.
Interestingly enough, that was higher than both Superman and Action Comics. It will be interesting to see if there is a big drop in orders for the second issue.
Supergirl being at 13K is very worrisome.
Should I start the 'final issue' in solicits countdown again?
That is rubbish. Worrying in a way, but maybe this will give DC the three-year slap to the forehead that 'badass' Supergirl isn't what anyone wants. Andreyko is good at what he does, but what he does isn't good for Supergirl. Can you imagine a restart with writers of the sensibility of Jeff Parker, nor Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti?
ReplyDeleteThis is not as bad as it looks. In fact the total numbers are fine.
ReplyDeleteBleeding Cool, and Comichron, discussed this at length, and it's affecting much of the DC lineup. I'm surprised ICv2 didn't discuss the matter.
Card stock covers - which I don't like, for several reasons - are sold at a different price point and are therefore counted separately, unlike same-price variants which are counted together. This has skewed the rankings
Comichron lets you sort the stats for the month so you can look at a "combined" or fused ranking that adds together the covers.
https://www.comichron.com/monthlycomicssales/2019/2019-07.html
The "fused" Supergirl total is 22,532 - consisting of 13,681 main covers and 8,851 variants.
So - total sales are actually somewhat up!
(It's a rare look at how many variants vs. main covers are sold.)
Now, if you really want to get depressed, look ahead to the November solicitation for Supergirl Annual #2. This could be sweet, or it could be monstrous.
"What was Supergirl’s last day on Krypton like? Before her entire world came crumbling down, did she get to say goodbye to her loved ones? Tell the boy who sat next to her in science class her true feelings for him? Take a deep dive into Supergirl’s darkest regrets and desires as the Batman Who Laughs’ infection takes over her core memories and twists them to his bidding!"
Well, Didio, we already heard and read your ideas about that. Twisted memories? Like how she killed all the school friends? At least that's what she recalled the last time she was infected and reminisced about school.
On the other hand, solicitations have never seemed less relevant to the interiors than they are now. So who knows what will be in that Annual?
As part of this Secret Six or whatever they will be called, the good news is more visibility and crossovers. The bad news is - not just that we'll have to suffer through another Supermonstergirl, but we'll also have to deal with the Batman who Laughs and the meta-infection of DC, as The Snyder Horror Particle invades the Bendisphere.
T.N.
It's more than worrying.
ReplyDeleteOrlando, Houser , please come back, I miss your...
... checks...
Average of 30K plus sales every month.
Even the fused numbers are 30% below where they were with the previous creative team, and that sort of drop this far into a run is pretty unusual. How do you kill a title that quickly? This run may provide guidance for anyone who who wants to give it a try on another book. I guess that's why they're going to double down on this stuff with the Supergirl Who Laughs, which isn't going to bring back readers who want heart-felt, aspirational, character driven stories.
I guess Rogol Zaar may be succeeding in killing off the last of the Kryptonians after all, just not in the way he planned.
Thanks for clarification. That makes sense given every DC title looked a bit down.
ReplyDeleteAppreciate you letting me know!
Super girl is a book where her core audience reads it month after month scared that she is finally gonna cross the line and kill someone forever separating her from the "House of El's No Killing Code".
ReplyDeleteShe is otherwise a character that is routinely jobbed out in guest appearances (OF COURSE she is a malevolent zombie in the "Secret Six" Lois Lane has a miniseries to support after all!) and who has no team affiliation to speak ofl...
Y'know why this is?
Because DC doesn't know how to pander!
Marvel can do it easily, they do it every month, not DC audience torture seems to be their path to big sales.
Its a wonder Supergirl is even published at all given this level of stupidity and ineptitude...
JF