Every month, there are all kinds of fascinating things that come from the sales charts in comics. The month of June 2013 was no different, and to give you a look at some of the notable things from the month, I’ve got five thoughts on the sales charts of this past month.
Check out Comichron for the full stats, as well as far better and more detailed analysis from John Jackson Miller.
1. “Superman Unchained” is Off the Chain!
Yeah, that’s right. “Superman Unchained,” a very expensive first issue from the superstar creative team of Scott Snyder and Jim Lee, dominated the month of June. While you had to imagine DC would really be pushing it with “Man of Steel” launching and the team of Snyder and Lee involved, 251,000 plus copies being ordered by retailers at a $4.99 price point? Man. That is astounding. Just by itself, “Unchained” drove more than $1 million in revenue for DC, and while this is by no means a sustainable number (and I have to imagine there is a story behind how exactly it did so well), that’s still crazy impressive. Bravo to DC’s marketing team for making that happen.
2. “Lazarus” Rises
While “Unchained” stole the headlines, another debut did remarkably well over at Image. Greg Rucka and Michael Lark’s “Lazarus” opened at #34 with an extremely healthy number 48,030 copies (estimated) moved in June of its first issue, falling behind both “East of West” and “Ten Grand” in terms of Image 2013 debuts, but I have to imagine Rucka, Lark and Image were thrilled with the result. Congrats to everyone involved on the spectacular debut, and here’s hoping even more readers pick up this phenomenal series as it moves along.
3. Other Big Debuts
Two other books debuted in the top 10 overall, as Greg Pak and Jae Lee’s (and Ben Oliver) “Batman/Superman” moved a gigantic 143,000+ at #2 and “Kick-Ass 3” opened at #10 with over 78,000 copies sold. The former obviously had the ties to DC’s two biggest properties, while the latter has a movie dropping later this summer and had six variants to its name. Not surprisingly gigantic on either part, but still notable debuts.
4. DC Takes the Top, but Marvel’s Depth Wins Out
Taking the top three spots – especially with such a gigantic open like “Unchained” – is huge for DC, but you have to give props to Marvel’s depth. 21 of the first 30 spots are taken up by the House of Ideas, and apparently their idea is double-shipping. Five books double shipped out of that group, with even one of them triple shipping (“Age of Ultron”). While it’s definitely a way to capture market share, looking at many of these multiple-shipping titles finds the following issues seeing lower numbers than the issue that preceded it. I know a lot of readers through our comments who are expressing being burned out on double-shipping, and to me, I have to wonder how sustainable this model of perpetually double-shipping is. Only time will tell, I suppose.
5. Image Dominates the Trade Market
As we’ve come to realize recently, especially thanks to stats dropped at Image Expo, much of Image’s success has been coming from the book market. But when it comes to the direct market, they continue to dominate the trade paperback section, as they took the top two spots and four of the top seven. Their top two books – the latest “The Walking Dead” and “Saga” edition – sold more copies than the rest of the top ten combined. “The Walking Dead” Vol. 18 itself sold more than three through seven on the list combined, which is pretty damn incredible. Comparing to three years ago, this month’s #1 sold more than the top five from then. The trade market has been an underrated section of growth for both Image and the industry, and we’re continuing to see that here.
