Sales Review: December 2009

It's that time of the month again. Diamond has released their sales numbers and, as usual, ICv2 does a great job of breaking things down. Here is the link: http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/16618.html

I always find these sales reviews interesting. The swings at the top of the heap, the power of the mega-event, the overall dominance of Marvel, the comparison of trade sales and floppy sales of the same title ... it's all fascinating.

But I always scrutinize the Supergirl sales as well as all the Super-titles. Supergirl #48 was a very good issue, the first issue in some time that had some distance from the New Krypton arc, and felt like a breath of fresh air.


Unfortunately, sales continued to slowly drop as monthly comics seem to be finding their own level. Supergirl #48 sold 28,178 down 3% from last month's 29,159. Of note, the main Superman titles are only selling a bit more with their sales in the low 30Ks.

I think a lot of things are involved in this. For one, I wonder if the 'Year Without Superman' is starting to feel a little stale. I know I am looking forward to the super-universe being reset without the 100,000 other Kryptonians being around. I also know that won't happen until next summer after War of the Supermen.

But I also think Blackest Night crossovers might be moving dollars from monthly titles to mini-series. And I also think that the increase of some titles to a $3.99 is forcing buyers into tough choices. Remember $12 only buys 3 titles now instead of 4. Supergirl is not the only title effected by these other issues.

I think the title continues to get significant publicity and praise. I hope that things like the upcoming Supergirl #50 and next summer's Super-heavy mega-event will bring readers to the title and keep them here.



That effect of the mega-event and crossover power was apparent in the sales of R.E.B.E.L.S. #11. The comic has the Blackest Night trade dress. It is the continuation of the powerful R.E.B.E.L.S. #10, the issue linked to an indigo ring toy last month. Remember, R.E.B.E.L.S. sales were around 12K before this crossover.


R.E.B.E.L.S. #11 sold well, coming in with 31,489 units sold. While sales were down 40% from the ring promotion issue, this is still significant retention of new readers. How much of that is due to the Blackest Night banner? I guess we'll find out next month.


ICv2 also looks at trade sales. Here is that link: http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/16619.html

I don't have as much of a handle on trade sales in terms of what are 'good sales.'


The trade treatment of Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the Eighth Grade sold 1747 trades. Sure it ranked 35 but there is a whole morass of trades selling around 2000 and it is right in the mix. It also is the highest ranked 'all ages' trade by a wide margin.

Is it enough to give the go-ahead for a sequel?

These sales posts sometimes depress me.

Review: Supergirl #48

Supergirl #48 was released this week and was fantastic.

After a year of stories tightly connected to the other super-titles, I have been craving a pure Supergirl story and that's just what this was.

As much as I have enjoyed the Superwoman/Reactron/Alura/Thara/New Krypton issues, I have missed what we first saw way back in Supergirl #34, the first Gates/Igle issue. I have missed reading about Kara and her world without someone else's story butting in a bit. Don't misunderstand me ... those are great issues that I loved.

But this was like a breath of fresh air. It was great to see Lana and Inspector Henderson and a non-New Krypton based villain.

The book opens up with Inspector Henderson investigating a crime in Suicide Slum on the corner of Austen and Byrne (a nice little 'shout out' to some comic professionals).

It is an eerie scene as Henderson and his men arrive seconds too late. After surviving an explosion of magical fire, the police find the dead body of a woman, her body covered in runes.

It is a good opening scene ... short, dense, powerful, creepy. In particular, this last panel with the victim's body awkwardly lying on the floor, bent like a rag doll, her face twisted in terror, her skin covered in magical text ... that's just eerie.

But we leave that supernatural horror for one all too based in the real world. Lana is sick and getting sicker. And now that Kara knows about it, she wants some answers.

The smashing of the fruit bowl is a little strong ... I mean its Supergirl's fruit bowl too.

That said, I can understand Supergirl's anger. Despite Lana's claim that she didn't want to burden Kara more, Kara feels she should have been told. I like how Lana brings up that she didn't want to bring back the feelings Kara had when she tried and failed in the 'Saving Thomas' arc. It was a nice little nod to continuity.

I also think Kara's anger may stem from feeling guilty that she didn't notice Lana's condition. Supergirl has been so busy with everything else in her life that she hasn't been there for her friend.

At least we finally get some answers as to what is ailing Lana. Well ... more like what it isn't. It isn't a typical cancer or infectious disease. It is something new, something effecting Lana's immune system, something even the best doctors in Metropolis can't figure out. Anyone with any new ideas as to what this is?

Before Kara can process all this, she is called to the Metropolis Police headquarters.

It seems that Inspector Henderson needs some super-help with the case he is working on. I really like that he trusts and feels like he can count on Supergirl for help. It is just another tangible way that you see how much Supergirl has grown over this year. The police see her as a hero and an ally.

I am also glad that Henderson addresses the "Metropolis Three' incident. Mon-El and The Guardian have backed up Supergirl's claims of innocence. Of course, Kryptonians are still illegal on Earth as per the UN edict.

Henderson fears the Silver Banshee is behind the killing he was investigating and he fears she is on the hunt.

As always, it is the small things in comics that often make me the happiest. I love how Henderson's board includes the cover of and a panel from PAD's Supergirl #11, a panel from Supergirl #34, and even a still from the recent Superman/Batman Public Enemies movie.

Supergirl provides some exposition, retelling the Banshee's origin albeit with (what I think is) a new wrinkle.

The Banshee is looking to rid herself of the curse placed on her by her ancestors. She can rid herself of it by finding 7 family heirlooms.

In the past, Hendeson was involved in a case where an odd coin was found in the murder victim's hand. The police officer who was in charge of the case, Captain Tanner, was a friend of Henderson's. Tanner was scarred by the case and ended up commiting suicide. Henderson vowed to find out the significance of the coin and solve the case.


Unfortunately, he found out the significance the hard way. It is indeed one of Banshee's heirlooms. And she hasn't been able to find it because the coin hides within the people who have them.

Henderson removes a glove and shows the coin embedded in his palm, the rest of his hand covered in the same glyphs the earlier victim had on her body. The Banshee was able to recover the coin from that murder victim and now she wants the Inspector's.

The Banshee arrives and attempts to cast a spell on Henderson but Supergirl intercepts and the two fight.

The Banshee screams and deafens Kara. In a nice twist, Gates has the last scene unfold just with Supergirl's inner monologue. She cannot hear Henderson or the Silver Banshee. And as readers, we only see empty word balloons. Is he telling her to do something? Warning her about something? It definitely builds the suspense of the scene.

Kara sees a box on Henderson's desk she thinks must hold another heirloom and grabs it.

And then something incredible happens ...

Supergirl hears the voices of what I presume are the Banshee's ancestors and we suddenly have a super-banshee.

Whew ... wow ...

What a phenomenal issue.

First off, this was clearly a Supergirl issue. She was in every scene but the first. The story revolved around her. No one else's story superceded or interrupted hers.

Second, it was great to catch up with the parts of the book that Gates initiated but have been put off for a while .. the Lana/Linda relationship, the burgeoning friendship with Inspector Henderson.

Third, the Silver Banshee is a great villain for Supergirl's rogues gallery. I like the new wrinkle to the Banshee back story. And that cliffhanger was unexpected and intriguing!

Add to that the best art I have seen by Fernando Dagnino and you had the recipe for a great issue. Dagnino's work here seemed softer, more fluid, more polished.

And next issue we have the end of Lana's story and the double sized fiftieth issue after that!

Overall grade: A+/A

Josh Middleton On Supergirl #48

Another solicitation and another spectacular cover on Supergirl by Joshua Middleton. Supergirl #48 sports a great cover of Supergirl in agony as she feels the brunt of the Banshee's cry.

I really love when Middleton breaks down the process behind the covers on his blog. Here is the link with some blurbs and my usual two cents of commentary ( http://joshuamiddleton.blogspot.com/2009/09/supergirl-48.html ).

As you can see from the above thumbnail, the final image stayed pretty close to my initial concept. In fact, when I was adding some color to the thumbnail in Photoshop to submit for editorial approval, I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to reproduce the "scream ring" effect on the final- I was just screwing around when I came up with it and couldn't remember exactly how I did it, but I liked it.

It sounds like Middleton had this picture in his mind from the beginning so the thumbnail is close to the final product. This is different than other posts we have seen on his blog where there are a couple of thumbnails done each with a slightly different take on the scene. (We saw 4 thumbnails for the 'Hamlet' cover of Supergirl #47.

I wonder how often that happens ... that the artist is 'struck by the muse' and comes up with the final design on first shot.

I agonized over how to draw the actual cover; I knew that it would technically be much easier to draw Silver Banshee and Supergirl on two different pieces of paper so that I could work with them separately in PS, but I would be sacrificing a nicer looking piece of finished art. In the end, practicality won, and I have yet another cover drawn in pieces. It was the right choice, however, because having Supergirl on her own layer floating over Silver Banshee allowed me to add all of the effects without having to make selections or deal with weird edges around Supergirl.

The Banshee piece alone lacks both Supergirl and the concentric rings of the scream and as a result feels unfinished. You definitely feel the effort behind the wail though ... the neck muscles and taut face do evoke the feeling that she is screaming as hard as she can.

The only part of the cover that doesn't completely work are the wide eyes with so much white showing. While the eyes help bring out that feeling of effort again (she is even straining her eyes), they feel just a bit cartoony to me.

Supergirl was first drawn with blue pencil on a sheet of vellum, then I laid another sheet on top of that and drew the final lines in ink with a pen. The most important part was getting the balance right between Supergirl and the black and white background so that the contrast is striking, yet reads well. I had to lighten the background a touch and added a little bit of a soft halo of white around Supergirl to help pop her off the background. After staring at it for a while and nearly getting dizzy, I decided it was done.

The Supergirl portion of the cover is really amazing to me in how dynamic it feels. I can feel Supergirl being battered by the sound. I can see her cowering as she tries to cover her ears. And the pained expression really works.

I also like the whitish halo around Supergirl as it makes her stand out just enough so she feels 'above' the picture.

I sound like a broken record but every Middleton cover has been fantastic. It is one thing to satisfy the readers of the book, which I think he has. But his covers are so striking, I am sure the casual reader scanning the new arrivals at least pauses and hopefully thumbs through the book and buys it. That eye-catching quality is rare ... I know because I scan the new arrivals every week and rarely does something grab me.

I hope Middleton has a long run on the title as cover artist.

December Super-title Covers

The Source has posted the covers for the December Super-title covers on their blog and I have to admit I like what I see. Here is the link: http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2009/09/08/how-about-some-december-superman-covers/





Supergirl #48 brings back the threat of Silver Banshee. After almost a year of Reactron, I am greatly looking forward to seeing Supergirl face of against another super-villain. I think Banshee will be a great addition to Supergirl's rogue's gallery. I especially like that she was part of character change-over in Supergirl #34.

The cover by Josh Middleton, as usual, is very strong and eye catching. The wide-eyed look on the enraged Silver Banshee looks menacing. And you can feel Kara's discomfort as she tries to block out the sound.

Action Comics #884 caught me off-guard and that's always a good thing. Why is Lois being arrested? I wonder if she is digging into Project 7734 too much and is being labelled a threat to national security.

I love Perry White's shocked expression right next to Cat Grant's smug smile. Just a very slick cover by Cafu.

Superman #695 showcase Cafu's art again as we see the newly garbed Mon-El fighting a bulked up Parasite.

Parasite has been on the periphery of James Robinson's Superman run so I like that his story should be moved forward here.

I still don't really like the new Mon-El costume.

Superman:World of New Krypton #10 shows Commander El flying around New Krypton with Adam Strange. That means in WONK, Superman will have interacted with the Green Lantern Corps, Thanagarians, Jemm the Son of Saturn, and now the defender of Rann.

I guess a New Krypton would have a cosmic effect on the DCU so I am not surprised to see these interstellar gust stars.

That said, I was hoping that the cover would show some sort of movement towards the end of this series and its story. I know covers don't always reflect what is inside, so maybe things are rushing to a conclusion. Gary Frank's cover is great and I can't wait to see his interiors in Secret Origin.

I keep wondering if Superman:World of New Krypton #12 is really the end of the New Krypton saga.

And finally in a seperate post, we see the cover for Adventure Comics #5, yet another homage to the cover of Crisis on Infinite Earths #7.

Unfortunately, I also read somewhere that Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul are both leaving Adventure Comics after issue #6. I don't know if I will stay with this title afterwards. I suppose it will depend on the creative team announced to take over.