Sales Review: October 2015

I follow monthly sales on ICv2 and I continue to be amazed at what I am seeing unfold before me. Because I think I can safely say that the days of the Big Two is over. Because Marvel has won.

The sales numbers for October are up at ICv2 and DC got squashed. Marvel almost doubled DC in sales and dollar revenue. Doubled.

Now part of this could be because Marvel is in the midst of rebooting. Plenty of the big sellers for Marvel are new titles with rare variants. There is a lot of Marvel's edge that could be a one month deal. But what strikes me is the acceptance there has been for this Marvel reboot. The Secret Wars book which has led to the reboot is still going on. And yet here we have post-reboot books out.

I can only imagine what would happen if DC's multiverse changing event was delayed and new books were already running. The sky would be falling. I think maybe Marvel fans just go with the flow. It also can't hurt that Marvel is part of the Disney/ABC/ESPN monolith, getting nods and recommendations from everywhere in that media giant.

But even this reboot of the entire Marvel universe has just been more accepted than DC's similar attempts. On to the sales.

We are now 4 months into The Truth. This story was supposed to reenergize the Superman books.

Sales haven't budged too much.

And while the story has garnered lots of discussion. It hasn't all been good. I know I have had my issues with the arc.

Superman #45 sold 42K in October.

Squirrel Girl sold more.

Now I love Squirrel Girl. This isn't a knock against her book at all.

But how can DC at all feel happy if one of their greatest characters and oldest books is only the 48th best selling book.

Of all the Superman books, I have always trumpeted the Pak/Kuder Action Comics book.

It also has been rolled into The Truth. So I don't know if people would head there on a whim. And it is a shame. Their issues when not bogged down by crossovers (like Doomed and now The Truth) have been wonderful.

Last month saw the release of the Superman Lois and Clark book. That book was much more of a Classic Superman, bringing the pre-Flashpoint Superman into the current world.

Lois and Clark opened pretty strong with 35K in sales, just 1500 units behind Action.

It will be interesting to see if sales hold strong on this book. It is scheduled for a 12 issue run. What if sales hold on par with the other Super-books? Will there be an ongoing? A rethinking of the Superman mythos?

Lastly, I have to look at books where Supergirl stars.

DC Bombshells continues to sell well, hitting 32K in sales.

But the more classic Kara is only in Justice League 3001.

Justice League 3001 #5 slipped to 15K in sales. I really am loving this book. I just hope DC has faith and doesn't pull the plug!

I don't know what to think about DC Comics as a whole though. I have been thinking they needed to clean out the C-suite for a while now. There seems to be no vision or a poor vision.

Posted in: Reviews