1. Blackest Night #4
2. Green Lantern #47
3. Blackest Night Titans #3
4. Batman #692
5. Star Wars Legacy #41
6. New Avengers #58
7. Detective Comics #858 (tie)
7. Anita Blake LC Executioner #1 (tie)
8. X-Force #20
9. Ultimate Comics Avengers #3
10. Teen Titans #76 (tie)
10. Nova #21 (tie)
10. Guardians Of Galaxy #19 (tie)
Tied for 11th: Incredible Hercules #137 & Worlds Finest #1
Amazing Spider-Man benchmark = Tied for 11th
Not much commentary this time, and it's a week late to boot. I think I'm going to put this on hold for a while... it's not offering up a lot of new information at this point. I might try to figure out some other similar feature, or I might not. I have noticed that Twitter & Facebook has more or less taken over for blogging.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Top 10 Preorders at Rogues Gallery 10/21/09
1. Blackest Night Superman #3
2. Stand Soul Survivors #1
3. Justice League Of America #38
4. GI Joe #10
5. Dark Avengers #10 (tie)
5. Dark Wolverine #79
5. X-Men Legacy #228
6. World Of Warcraft #24
7. Mighty Avengers #30 (tie)
7. Amazing Spider-Man #609 (tie)
7. Dark Reign The List Hulk (tie)
8. Thunderbolts #137 (tie)
8. Invincible #67 (tie)
9. Ex Machina #46 (tie)
9. Wolverine Origins #41 (tie)
10. Batman Streets Of Gotham #5 (tie)
10. Invincible Iron Man #19 (tie)
10. Deadpool Merc With A Mouth #4 (tie)
10. Star Wars Knights Of The Old Republic #46 (tie)
10. Supergirl #46 (tie)
10. Power Girl #6 (tie)
Tied for 11th: Batman Confidential #35, Hellblazer #260, Resurrection Vol. 2 #4, Outsiders #23, Superman Batman #65 and Transformers Tales O/t Fallen #3.
This doesn't measure sales, just pre-sales, as we see how many subscribers had preordered on various titles, just to gauge relative interest levels.
Benchmarking once again against Amazing Spider-Man, which this week comes out tied with two other titles for #7. It generally sits at around the #7-8 mark, and it's placement a little higher on the chart helps tell me that this is another smaller week for comics, in terms of general interest.
It's also more of a Marvel week than DC this time out, which used to mean a bigger week, but right now, that's not really the case. Dark Reign The List, Dark Avengers, Dark Wolverine and Mighty Avengers are all shipping, and they do respectably well in terms of staying in the top 10, but I know from recent experience that shelf sales for these books is down. While the hardcore Marvel fans are still on-board, the casual DC & Marvel fans are starting to gravitate to buying more DC off the shelf. Or at least, anything DC with Blackest Night on it, as Blackest Night Superman is far and away the top preorder, and probably the top seller, for this week.
Justice League also gets a boost from anticipation for James Robinson's run, as many folks seem to be enjoying Cry For Justice. I'm not one of them, and it's pretty clear Robinson's Justice League isn't gonna be for me, but I'm glad to see the book sliding up on the charts again. I also find it interesting that Supergirl and Power Girl are tied, because it tells me that DC still doesn't know what to do with Supergirl. Because no matter what you think of Power Girl, it's hard to deny that Supergirl is the original, and should be selling better than the Earth-2 version. Maybe DC should have put Palmiotti and Connor on Supergirl regularly, instead of just for the short-run Wednesday Comics?
2. Stand Soul Survivors #1
3. Justice League Of America #38
4. GI Joe #10
5. Dark Avengers #10 (tie)
5. Dark Wolverine #79
5. X-Men Legacy #228
6. World Of Warcraft #24
7. Mighty Avengers #30 (tie)
7. Amazing Spider-Man #609 (tie)
7. Dark Reign The List Hulk (tie)
8. Thunderbolts #137 (tie)
8. Invincible #67 (tie)
9. Ex Machina #46 (tie)
9. Wolverine Origins #41 (tie)
10. Batman Streets Of Gotham #5 (tie)
10. Invincible Iron Man #19 (tie)
10. Deadpool Merc With A Mouth #4 (tie)
10. Star Wars Knights Of The Old Republic #46 (tie)
10. Supergirl #46 (tie)
10. Power Girl #6 (tie)
Tied for 11th: Batman Confidential #35, Hellblazer #260, Resurrection Vol. 2 #4, Outsiders #23, Superman Batman #65 and Transformers Tales O/t Fallen #3.
This doesn't measure sales, just pre-sales, as we see how many subscribers had preordered on various titles, just to gauge relative interest levels.
Benchmarking once again against Amazing Spider-Man, which this week comes out tied with two other titles for #7. It generally sits at around the #7-8 mark, and it's placement a little higher on the chart helps tell me that this is another smaller week for comics, in terms of general interest.
It's also more of a Marvel week than DC this time out, which used to mean a bigger week, but right now, that's not really the case. Dark Reign The List, Dark Avengers, Dark Wolverine and Mighty Avengers are all shipping, and they do respectably well in terms of staying in the top 10, but I know from recent experience that shelf sales for these books is down. While the hardcore Marvel fans are still on-board, the casual DC & Marvel fans are starting to gravitate to buying more DC off the shelf. Or at least, anything DC with Blackest Night on it, as Blackest Night Superman is far and away the top preorder, and probably the top seller, for this week.
Justice League also gets a boost from anticipation for James Robinson's run, as many folks seem to be enjoying Cry For Justice. I'm not one of them, and it's pretty clear Robinson's Justice League isn't gonna be for me, but I'm glad to see the book sliding up on the charts again. I also find it interesting that Supergirl and Power Girl are tied, because it tells me that DC still doesn't know what to do with Supergirl. Because no matter what you think of Power Girl, it's hard to deny that Supergirl is the original, and should be selling better than the Earth-2 version. Maybe DC should have put Palmiotti and Connor on Supergirl regularly, instead of just for the short-run Wednesday Comics?
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Weekly Comics for October 14, 2009
Hellboy The Wild Hunt #7 (Really digging the use of Arthurian myth in conjunction with Hellboy, and the art, as always, is phenomenal)
Incredible Hercules #136 (Possibly the funniest fight scene I've ever read. And quite possibly my favorite book Marvel is publishing right now, at least when Hercules is the lead feature)
Red Robin #5 (Not as good as the previous issue, but a solid outing. Lucius Fox having a daughter weirds me out, even though he's the right age and seems like the kind of guy who would have a family)
Uncanny X-Men #516 (Tired of Magneto reforming. Tired of Magneto, actually. I like the Fraction X-Men, but it really does feel like nobody wants to evolve the X-Men concept like Morrison did, and so it's stuck in speeds that range from terrible nostalgia to pretty decent nostalgia)
The Unwritten #6 (Some weird narrative tricks that left me a bit bored, but the actual story of Tom Taylor in prison was really good)
Incredible Hercules #136 (Possibly the funniest fight scene I've ever read. And quite possibly my favorite book Marvel is publishing right now, at least when Hercules is the lead feature)
Red Robin #5 (Not as good as the previous issue, but a solid outing. Lucius Fox having a daughter weirds me out, even though he's the right age and seems like the kind of guy who would have a family)
Uncanny X-Men #516 (Tired of Magneto reforming. Tired of Magneto, actually. I like the Fraction X-Men, but it really does feel like nobody wants to evolve the X-Men concept like Morrison did, and so it's stuck in speeds that range from terrible nostalgia to pretty decent nostalgia)
The Unwritten #6 (Some weird narrative tricks that left me a bit bored, but the actual story of Tom Taylor in prison was really good)
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Top 10 Preorders at Rogues Gallery 10/14/09
1. Green Lantern Corps #25
2. Blackest Night Batman #3
3. Uncanny X-Men #516
4. Batman #691
5. Detective Comics Annual #11
5. Red Robin #5
6. Fables #89
7. Deadpool #900
8. Batgirl #3
9. Action Comics #882
9. Enders Game Command School #2
9. Incredible Hercules #136
10. Secret Six #14
Tied for 11th: GI Joe Origins #8, Hellboy Wild Hunt #5 & PS238 #41.
This doesn't measure sales, just pre-sales, as we see how many subscribers had preordered on various titles, just to gauge relative interest levels.
Amazing Spider-Man didn't come out this week, but if it had, it would be tied for spot #10, an indicator that there a lot of better-selling books this week. There aren't as many ties, so it's not a huge week of best sellers, but when I look at the top 8 and see that six of the nine books in it are either Batman or Blackest Night related, it tells me two things: 1) The momentum in superhero comics is pretty squarely on DC's side right now and 2) It's going to be a pretty good week for sales.
Also? The big Batman revamp that DC has done has paid off huge, and I'm afraid that just like Marvel's decision to return Steve Rogers in 2009, the decision to bring back Bruce Wayne in 2010 without even seeing how the revamp sells is jumping the gun and undercutting themselves. Certainly I'm shocked to see a Batgirl series and Robin series selling this well.
Deadpool and Uncanny X-Men are Marvel's representatives in the top 5 this week, with Incredible Hercules and Ender's Game Command School their other representatives in the top 10. Hercules is a bit of an anomaly, in that we're all huge fans, because it's such a great book. Ender's Game is a licensed book that doesn't sell many shelf copies, and that's fine with me... I sell it to be a good retailer, not because I'm any particular fan of noted homophobic crazy person Orson Scott Card.
I have to admit, I expected a bit of a drop for Fables after the big issue #50 - I know that my own interest has dropped off a bit, and I haven't read it for several issues - but that hasn't happened. Instead, the book remains one of our best sellers, both in single issues and trades. We got behind this book early on and it remains our best-selling trade series, just a tiny bit ahead of The Walking Dead.
2. Blackest Night Batman #3
3. Uncanny X-Men #516
4. Batman #691
5. Detective Comics Annual #11
5. Red Robin #5
6. Fables #89
7. Deadpool #900
8. Batgirl #3
9. Action Comics #882
9. Enders Game Command School #2
9. Incredible Hercules #136
10. Secret Six #14
Tied for 11th: GI Joe Origins #8, Hellboy Wild Hunt #5 & PS238 #41.
This doesn't measure sales, just pre-sales, as we see how many subscribers had preordered on various titles, just to gauge relative interest levels.
Amazing Spider-Man didn't come out this week, but if it had, it would be tied for spot #10, an indicator that there a lot of better-selling books this week. There aren't as many ties, so it's not a huge week of best sellers, but when I look at the top 8 and see that six of the nine books in it are either Batman or Blackest Night related, it tells me two things: 1) The momentum in superhero comics is pretty squarely on DC's side right now and 2) It's going to be a pretty good week for sales.
Also? The big Batman revamp that DC has done has paid off huge, and I'm afraid that just like Marvel's decision to return Steve Rogers in 2009, the decision to bring back Bruce Wayne in 2010 without even seeing how the revamp sells is jumping the gun and undercutting themselves. Certainly I'm shocked to see a Batgirl series and Robin series selling this well.
Deadpool and Uncanny X-Men are Marvel's representatives in the top 5 this week, with Incredible Hercules and Ender's Game Command School their other representatives in the top 10. Hercules is a bit of an anomaly, in that we're all huge fans, because it's such a great book. Ender's Game is a licensed book that doesn't sell many shelf copies, and that's fine with me... I sell it to be a good retailer, not because I'm any particular fan of noted homophobic crazy person Orson Scott Card.
I have to admit, I expected a bit of a drop for Fables after the big issue #50 - I know that my own interest has dropped off a bit, and I haven't read it for several issues - but that hasn't happened. Instead, the book remains one of our best sellers, both in single issues and trades. We got behind this book early on and it remains our best-selling trade series, just a tiny bit ahead of The Walking Dead.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
Weekly Comics for October 7, 2009
Batman and Robin #5 (I wasn't expecting to like this once Quitely left, but I liked Morrison's take on Jason Todd, and I like seeing him match wits with the other former Robin, and I like the new Scarlet and the new villain. Good stuff)
Criminal: Sinners #1 (Spectacularly good, among the best first issues of an arc that the book has had, and it's great to see follow-up to the Lawless story. One nitpick: I wish writers would stop drawing so many names from pop culture... I love 30 Rock too, but Scotty "The Collector" Adsit drew me right out of the book)
Daredevil #501 (Diggle is off to a great start. I think he's got Daredevil running some sort of scheme, and things aren't as they appear... if I'm wrong and it's just that he's gone over to the dark side, I don't know if I'll be as happy, but I don't think I'm wrong. And either way, it's great writing and art)
Strange Tales #2 (Pretty great, for the most part. R. Kikuo Johnson's Alicia Masters story, Jhonen Vasquez's MODOK and the Rugg/Maruca Brother Voodoo are particular highlights. On the other hand, I continue to not get the appeal of Tony Millionaire)
Superman World of New Krypton #8 (The Thanagarian/Kryptonian match-up sounded like a great idea, but it's merely so-so. This book is good, but I wish it were consistently great)
Sweet Tooth #2 (Fantastic second issue, Lemire is doing beautiful work and has a setup that is slow and deliberate without being boring or too obtuse. With this and Unwritten, Vertigo monthlies are back on my radar again)
X-Men vs. Agents of Atlas #1 (I kind of enjoyed Jeff Parker's take on the Fraction-era X-Men more than I've been enjoying the Fraction version of late, and I loved seeing them match wits with the Agents of Atlas)
Criminal: Sinners #1 (Spectacularly good, among the best first issues of an arc that the book has had, and it's great to see follow-up to the Lawless story. One nitpick: I wish writers would stop drawing so many names from pop culture... I love 30 Rock too, but Scotty "The Collector" Adsit drew me right out of the book)
Daredevil #501 (Diggle is off to a great start. I think he's got Daredevil running some sort of scheme, and things aren't as they appear... if I'm wrong and it's just that he's gone over to the dark side, I don't know if I'll be as happy, but I don't think I'm wrong. And either way, it's great writing and art)
Strange Tales #2 (Pretty great, for the most part. R. Kikuo Johnson's Alicia Masters story, Jhonen Vasquez's MODOK and the Rugg/Maruca Brother Voodoo are particular highlights. On the other hand, I continue to not get the appeal of Tony Millionaire)
Superman World of New Krypton #8 (The Thanagarian/Kryptonian match-up sounded like a great idea, but it's merely so-so. This book is good, but I wish it were consistently great)
Sweet Tooth #2 (Fantastic second issue, Lemire is doing beautiful work and has a setup that is slow and deliberate without being boring or too obtuse. With this and Unwritten, Vertigo monthlies are back on my radar again)
X-Men vs. Agents of Atlas #1 (I kind of enjoyed Jeff Parker's take on the Fraction-era X-Men more than I've been enjoying the Fraction version of late, and I loved seeing them match wits with the Agents of Atlas)
Saturday, October 03, 2009
Top 10 Preorders at Rogues Gallery 10/7/09
A much smaller week than last week, judging not only by the position of my benchmark book (see below) but the lack of any notable "big seller" books in the top 10.
This doesn't measure sales, just pre-sales, as we see how many subscribers had preordered on various titles, just to gauge relative interest levels.
1. Buffy The Vampire Slayer #29
2. Batman And Robin #5
3. Angel #26
4. Batman Annual #27
5. Astonishing X-Men #31
6. Deadpool #16
6. Justice League Cry For Justice #4
7. Amazing Spider-Man #608
7. Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #3
8. X-Men Vs. Agents Of Atlas #1
9. Witchfinder In The Service Of Angels #4
9. Boys #35
9. Cable #19
9. Dark Reign List Secret Warriors #1
9. Star Wars Invasion #4
9. Superman World Of New Krypton #13
10. Daredevil #501
10. Irredeemable #7
10. Batman Confidential #34
Tied for 11th: Incredibles #1, Jack Of Fables TP, Vengeance Of Moon Knight #2 and Warlord #7.
Once again benchmarking against Amazing Spider-Man, which sits at #7 just like last week, this is another really light week. There are no Blackest Night books, and the biggest books are licensed sellers like Angel and Buffy. Warren Ellis has two long-delayed books, Astonishing X-Men and the fabled final issue of Planetary, but those probably aren't destination books like the last issue of Old Man Logan was, and even Batman and Robin is slipping a little bit with the loss of Frank Quitely. My guess? A lighter-than-usual Wednesday.
I've always known Deadpool was popular, but I'm still surprised at how well that book is selling, both to subscribers and off the shelf, and Justice League Cry For Justice seems to have scratched the Justice League itch a lot of fans were feeling. I wonder how that will transition over with Robinson (and many of the Cry For Justice characters) moving over to the main Justice League book.
Buffy and Angel continue to sit comfortably near the top, but their shelf sales have dropped by at least 75%. These books, once blockbusters in their own right, are selling pretty much to the diehards now.
This doesn't measure sales, just pre-sales, as we see how many subscribers had preordered on various titles, just to gauge relative interest levels.
1. Buffy The Vampire Slayer #29
2. Batman And Robin #5
3. Angel #26
4. Batman Annual #27
5. Astonishing X-Men #31
6. Deadpool #16
6. Justice League Cry For Justice #4
7. Amazing Spider-Man #608
7. Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #3
8. X-Men Vs. Agents Of Atlas #1
9. Witchfinder In The Service Of Angels #4
9. Boys #35
9. Cable #19
9. Dark Reign List Secret Warriors #1
9. Star Wars Invasion #4
9. Superman World Of New Krypton #13
10. Daredevil #501
10. Irredeemable #7
10. Batman Confidential #34
Tied for 11th: Incredibles #1, Jack Of Fables TP, Vengeance Of Moon Knight #2 and Warlord #7.
Once again benchmarking against Amazing Spider-Man, which sits at #7 just like last week, this is another really light week. There are no Blackest Night books, and the biggest books are licensed sellers like Angel and Buffy. Warren Ellis has two long-delayed books, Astonishing X-Men and the fabled final issue of Planetary, but those probably aren't destination books like the last issue of Old Man Logan was, and even Batman and Robin is slipping a little bit with the loss of Frank Quitely. My guess? A lighter-than-usual Wednesday.
I've always known Deadpool was popular, but I'm still surprised at how well that book is selling, both to subscribers and off the shelf, and Justice League Cry For Justice seems to have scratched the Justice League itch a lot of fans were feeling. I wonder how that will transition over with Robinson (and many of the Cry For Justice characters) moving over to the main Justice League book.
Buffy and Angel continue to sit comfortably near the top, but their shelf sales have dropped by at least 75%. These books, once blockbusters in their own right, are selling pretty much to the diehards now.
Friday, October 02, 2009
Weekly Comics for September 30, 2009
Between new TV starting up again, borrowing Arkham Asylum, a fairly light comic book week and a variety of other stuff, I didn't have any time to read comics last Wednesday, but I've caught a smattering in the last couple days. I need to catch up on my Boom! reading, as they had a couple of books this week I really wanted to read.
GI Joe Cobra Special (Really great coda to the GI Joe Cobra story. I'd love to see an ongoing exploring this grittier battle between GI Joe and Cobra, maybe switching POV between Cobra and GI Joe, from this creative team)
Usagi Yojimbo #123 (A bittersweet, very effective story going back to Usagi's origins and once again playing off Sakai's fondness for down endings with a touch of hope for everyone but Usagi - fantastic issue of the book)
GI Joe Cobra Special (Really great coda to the GI Joe Cobra story. I'd love to see an ongoing exploring this grittier battle between GI Joe and Cobra, maybe switching POV between Cobra and GI Joe, from this creative team)
Usagi Yojimbo #123 (A bittersweet, very effective story going back to Usagi's origins and once again playing off Sakai's fondness for down endings with a touch of hope for everyone but Usagi - fantastic issue of the book)
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