Sales Review: August 2016

The sales reports for DC Comics since the inception of #Rebirth have been, to say the least, robust. DC has climbed in sales and market share. Whether this is a mix of a company wide renumbering, a return to the classic feel of their characters, a lackluster massive Marvel crossover, or a combination of both, the results have been staggering.

Now there is a lot to digest. I think DC is allowing returns meaning stores can order more. And we saw a major bump in sales (briefly) with the New 52 and we know how that turned out.

But there is no denying, DC has increased sales. And it is impressive. Here is a link to ICv2's coverage of August's sale:http://ift.tt/2cp8Vs8

And this was a big month for this site because Supergirl Rebirth #1 was on the racks. So how did it do?

This was the first Supergirl book on the shelves in over a year. This was a highly anticipated book given the popularity of the character these days and the nouveau approach Steve Orlando was bringing to the title. This was going to be an optimistic and heroic Supergirl. And the book was being streamlined to mirror the show in many ways.

Incredibly, Supergirl Rebirth #1 came in as the tenth most ordered book with a raw number of 112,708 units delivered.

A Supergirl book selling over 100K! We haven't seen that since the Loeb/Churchill Supergirl #1 a decade ago.

It is a lot for me to grasp. This was a book that was given a lot of coverage and publicity both by DC and locally at comic stores I visited. This book got a lot of love. And it sold well. Impressive.

I do think that usual attrition will occur as people feel out if they want to continue reading sampled titles. Action Comics #962  and #963 came out that month. This was the opening arc. It had Doomsday. It featured Mr. Oz, a key player in Rebirth and purportedly a Watchmen character.

You would think this book would still be selling like hotcakes.

Now I don't think 64K in sales is something to frown on. That is very very healthy in the current market. But it is down 15% from the opening sales from the beginning of #Rebirth. So maybe people are sampling lots of books and sifting through what they want to keep collecting.

Still, Rebirth has to be considered a smashing success for DC. Most importantly, the tone of the books I am reading feels right. Maybe quality will maintain these sales once the novelty wears off!

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