That'll buy enough vodka for him to swim in.

/and drown in, hopefully

unlikely: I don't think they printed that many copies of the new Action #1


...at least I hope they didn't print that many.

im pretty sure they probably did.

probably as many as the obama issue of spiderman

and also, you could probably get 664,000 issues depending on taxes at three bucks a pop

/DC COMICS DRAWING THE LINE AT 2.99....even if there are fewer pages

Disposable Rob: Vexed Thespian: unlikely: I don't think they printed that many copies of the new Action #1


...at least I hope they didn't print that many.

im pretty sure they probably did.

probably as many as the obama issue of spiderman

Amazing Spider-Man #583 sold about 300,000. The best-selling periodical this year, Justice League #1, sold out at a little over 200,000 copies. Even counting worldwide sales, I don't think DC or Marvel have printed more than a million of any periodical since the mid 90s.

what did the skeptic say to the chiropractor after his first visit? I stand corrected.


...and 200,000? that seems pretty small, perhaps my faith in the stability in the comic industry is unfounded.

/reads mostly IMAGE anyway
//not to be *that* guy who brags about how he doesnt read mainstream
///picks up marvel darktower in hardcover and reads UNWRITTEN on dc's vertigo print

Vexed Thespian: and also, you could probably get 664,000 issues depending on taxes at three bucks a pop

/DC COMICS DRAWING THE LINE AT 2.99....even if there are fewer pages

Just 2 pages less...

Plus I prefer 2.99 for 20 pages than 3.99 for 22 like Marvel.

BTW, Action Comics is 3.99 for 30 pages so :P

Vexed Thespian:

...and 200,000? that seems pretty small, perhaps my faith in the stability in the comic industry is unfounded.

More than 200,000 was actually a breakout success.

Before JL#1 hit, no book had reached the 100,000 mark for at least three months IIRC

unlikely: I don't think they printed that many copies of the new Action #1


...at least I hope they didn't print that many.

The one where he's got the 1930s-level powers? It's pretty damn good, actually.

unlikely: I don't think they printed that many copies of the new Action #1


...at least I hope they didn't print that many.

They did. But the thing that makes old comics so scarce were the paper drives for the WW2 effort. Kids donated all their comic books, or their parents did.

History Channel did a fascinated documentary on the history of comic books, worth looking into (don't remember the name of it)

rocky_howard: Vexed Thespian:

...and 200,000? that seems pretty small, perhaps my faith in the stability in the comic industry is unfounded.

More than 200,000 was actually a breakout success.

Before JL#1 hit, no book had reached the 100,000 mark for at least three months IIRC

Maybe no DC book.... Marvel has been still putting out 200k, hell if you look at some of the gimmicky type stuff they do, their numbers are actually pretty solid. One thing that bothers me is that they publish Amazing Spiderman twice a month now, and each run gets usually over 100k sales... so it's likely we might see them instead of putting up prices again, switching to a fortnightly publishing schedule with some other books like Avengers or Fantastic Four.

Not sure how I feel about that.

TwistedFark: rocky_howard: Vexed Thespian:

...and 200,000? that seems pretty small, perhaps my faith in the stability in the comic industry is unfounded.

More than 200,000 was actually a breakout success.

Before JL#1 hit, no book had reached the 100,000 mark for at least three months IIRC

Maybe no DC book.... Marvel has been still putting out 200k, hell if you look at some of the gimmicky type stuff they do, their numbers are actually pretty solid. One thing that bothers me is that they publish Amazing Spiderman twice a month now, and each run gets usually over 100k sales... so it's likely we might see them instead of putting up prices again, switching to a fortnightly publishing schedule with some other books like Avengers or Fantastic Four.

Not sure how I feel about that.

Are you still following the industry or going by gut feelings?

In May, Fear Itself, Marvel's premier event and best selling title, didn't break the 100,000 barrier. It sold 96K. Overall sales were down 17.3%

http://joeshusterawards.com/2011/06/14/may-2011-not-a-good-month-for- c omics-sales-down-17-3/

In June, Fear Itself was the 2nd best selling comic book and sold 95K, only the Ultimate Spider-Man issue where Spider-Man died managed to sell 159K.

http://www.comichron.com/monthlycomicssales/2011/2011-06.html

In July, Captain America was the 2nd best selling and Fear Iself was the 3rd. Each sold 96K and 93K respectively. Only Amazing Spider-Man 666 sold more at 135.

http://www.comichron.com/monthlycomicssales/2011/2011-07.html

In August, Flashpoint (DC's event) was the 2nd book and Fear Itself the 3rd and. Each sold 94K and 95K issues.

The top book was the start of DC's relaunch: Justice League #1. It ended up selling 249,447 issues.

http://www.comichron.com/monthlycomicssales/2011/2011-08.html

In September, there were SIX books that sold more than 100K. All of them DC. Marvel's top book was Fear Itself which sold 93K

1 Batman #1 188,420
2 Action Comics #1 182,748
3 Green Lantern #1 141,682
4 Flash #1 129,260
5 Superman #1 118,376
6 Detective Comics #1 103,392

In October, there were SEVEN books that sold more than 100k, 6 DC and the first Marvel book to do so in months. Fear Itself last issue still sold less than 100K:

http://www.comichron.com/monthlycomicssales/2011/2011-10.html

1 Justice League #2180,709
2 Batman #2 172,428
3 Action Comics #2 153,855
4 Green Lantern #2 142,344
5 Flash #2 114,137
6 Detective Comics #2 110,789
7 Incredible Hulk #1 106,472

As it is now, DC has more than 50% of the market and half a dozen books selling 100K issues. Overall sales for all comics have grown thanks to the relaunch effect. So if the industry can keep this momentum the audience will hopefully keep growing. Let's see what Marvel has in store right now since they're really going to feel being relegated to barely 30% of the Market for the month of October in terms of units (and LESS than 30% in terms of profits)

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/11/04/dc-smashes-marvel-marketshare- i n-october-taking-51-of-sales/

But apparently it hasn't been at the cost of Marvel sales, since their absolute numbers grew a little bit (thanks to the aforementioned "DC Relaunch effect"), so everybody's winning, just that DC has won a lot more than the rest of the guys.

FirstNationalBastard: I hope it leaves DC in shambles, and the masterminds behind the stunt looking for work with Jack Chick.

That's a little harsh, isn't it? Also, not likely to happen for a few reasons, not the least of which is that Disney owns DC now. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the New 52 came from somewhere in the House of Mouse.

Second, no one works with Jack Chick. He's a loner, FNB, a rebel...

FirstNationalBastard: It's time to leave the Superman Batman X-Men shiat to the movies and get back to making good comics that anyone could pick up and read without it being incomprehensible gibberish about a Crisis or a Mutant or which universe they're in this month.

Resurrection Man, Batgirl, Batwoman, The Flash, Wonder Woman, Action Comics (Although, given that it's Morrison, that one may become an incomprehensible mess sooner rather than later.) Batwing, Supergirl (Bonus points for actually being about someone who doesn't know what the hells going on.), All-Star Western (Probably doesn't fit under your rubric, but I like it, so NYAH!), Grifter, Animal Man, Green Lantern Corps, and Demon Knights.

All of the above are good, solid titles that don't need a ton of backstory for you to know what's going on. I would have included GL, but it seems like there's some backstory that I'm missing. (I don't know why Hal started ringless, nor why the Guardians space-lobotomized Ganthet, but I'm hoping for some exposition there.)

I will grant that there are a lot of strong, non-super titles, but to think that comics would ever do away with the costumed crusader for justice (TM & R) is ludicrous.

FirstNationalBastard: ...except Archie books.

I WAS going to mock you for this, but my comics guy said they're doing some good stuff there right now. And, I kinda believe him, what with Kevin and all.

Okay, so you don't want to pay for them, but you should still check out alternative sources for those two at least. (I will say, though, Animal Man's starting to lose me. It's getting super weird.)

FirstNationalBastard: And reality is already starting to set in. Every book you listed has already dropped with issue #2. Within 6 months, most of those books will be down below 100k. Within 12, they'll all be nearing their original sales numbers.

Comics lose readership by the #2 issue. News at 11!

Er...dude, that's how it's always have been. The amazing thing here is that the drop off has been barely a few % points, when it's usually a good 15% or more. And some books even increased in numbers, like Animal Man, Swamp Thing and Red Hood & The Outlaws.

Good stories trump stunts. This was a stunt. It's the same shiat being shoveled by the same hacks that drove the books into the ground in the first place.

Can't argue with you there. Thing is, right now most of the DC books are having good stories. There's some stinkers though, but this is not just a stunt, there's some content here.

rocky_howard: There's some stinkers though

Good lord, I can't wait for the team behind Hawk & Dove to NOT be on it anymore.

No one posted this? Really?