Comics Sales Dec.2006

I wanted to see how the comics I bought that were released in December, 2006, did in terms of sales. I think I have them all listed, but, of course, not all books I buy had an issue release in December. And I'm guessing Nightwolf did not even make the Top 300 (unless perhaps it will show up in a different month's stats for whatever reason).

(rank, publisher, title, issue, sales, change from last issue)

11 DC Justice 9 98,900 -4.72%
14 MAR Uncanny X Men 481 86,000 -2.93%
20 MAR X Men 194 78,100 -2.50%
31 MAR Winter Soldier Winter Kills One Shot 59,100
34 MAR Ultimate Fantastic Four 37 55,000 -4.84%
41 MAR Daredevil 92 48,000 -2.64%
42 MAR Incredible Hulk 101 47,900 -43.11%
47 MAR Newuniversal 1 43,200
50 DC Green Lantern Corps 7 38,700 -5.84%
51 MAR Annihilation 5 38,200 -3.54%
52 MAR New X Men 33 38,100 .53%
58 DC Spirit 1 34,600
59 MAR Ms Marvel 10 34,300 -9.50%
61 DC Supergirl And Legion Of Super Heroes 25 33,300 -2.06%
70 DC Robin 157 30,600 -3.47%
124 MAR Avengers Next 3 19,500 -6.25%
129 MAR Avengers Next 4 18,200 -6.67%
131 MAR AllNewOff. Hndbk Marvel Universe AtoZ 12 17,800 -2.73%
158 MAR Agents Of Atlas 5 11,900 -4.03%
217 DAR Usagi Yojimbo 99 5,900 .00%
257 DAR Blade of Immortal 120 3,500 -2.78%

Only one book had any gain at all, and a second remained perfectly stable. That's pretty staggering. When following a comic, you have to hope that sales are high enough at the starting point because sales typically sink. People like to try things, not necessarily keep at them.

Obviously, first issues and one shots, like Winter Soldier, newuniversal and Spirit here, don't have a comparison, but if an ongoing series is starting as low as Spirit that is cause for concern. Orders for second issues are usually much less.

Incredible Hulk's drop looks huge, but stores probably just over ordered the # 100 milestone in case customers were curious. Ms. Marvel's drop is next largest by percentage. I expect Ms. Marvel to make it for quite a while yet, but these numbers are not yet a basis for that confidence.


Source for data:
Sales Estimates (to retailers from Diamond) for December, 2006, Books


Update: Here are some much more comprehensive articles:
Marvel Month-to-Month Sales — December 2006
DC Comics Month-To-Month Sales: December 2006

More April Cover Previews

Highlander # 7 by Michael Avon Oeming:


Red Sonja # 22 by Homs:
Undead Pirate and pretty girl getting along about as expected.


Zombie bonus section:

Raise the Dead # 2 by Arthur Suydam:
Not content with rolling over in the grave, Norman Rockwell's corpse may soon break to the surface in search of the appropriate brains in reaction to this one. [cf. Norman Rockwell's The Runaway (1958)]


Marvel Zombies/Army of Darkeness #2 (of 5) by Arthur Suydam:


Uncanny X-Men # 268 (1990) by Jim Lee:

Exiles # 90

Exiles # 90: Fresh Blood [Enemy of the Stars - Part 1 (of 5)]

Claremont/Pellitier/Magayar/Quintana/Sharpe/Cosby/Paniccia
March, 2007 (released January 17, 2007)
Marvel
$2.99

Plot Highlights: Morph rampage.... Power Princess decides whether or not to leave the team. Some practice. System tampering by a strange being. A tough mission is undertaken. A potential new member is summoned.

Neither of my two previous encounters with this title, issues # 16 and 26, lead to any continuing interest.

This issue has an appealing combination of factors that lead me to give this series another try. Writer Chris Claremont, recovered from a recent illness, takes the reigns as of this issue. The art looked appealing enough, and I had seen competent efforts from Paul Pellitier in the past. Current characters include Longshot and Spider-Man 2099, both of whom I thought might be fun to see again. And finally, Psylocke would be joining the book.

The cover is not terribly exciting nor germane to the events inside though there's nothing really wrong with it otherwise. At the very least I could easily tell which characters are in the book. And no mater how I turn it around in my hands they are all still looking at me. Well, I bought the book. What more do they want from me now? Well?!

Since I am using this issue as a potential springboard to reading this title more regularly, I appreciate the dialogue devoted to explanations about the team, their mission, and headquarters. Essentially, the team members have been selected and plucked from their own realities to help keep realities that are becoming unstable or dangerous from damaging other realities. Taken seriously it would be almost preposterous. How could a few people safeguard an infinite number of realities from each other unless very few of them ever got really out of control? Regardless, I think this is the kind of thing that might prove fun and exciting yet largely free from the events of the usual Marvel Universe.


As you can see, there is perhaps a little bit too much of updating the reader by the characters talking to themselves or explaining things others in the room would already know. Honestly, I was expecting this and welcome it since I am new to the series. I'm just pointing out because some might not care for it.

We don't really get to see what the difficult mission is for the team even though Sabretooth returns beaten and wanting reinforcements at one point. Most of what we see in this issue happens in the Crystal Palace headquarters. No, not the English soccer club, but a presumably unrelated observatory outside space and time.

I'm not sure exactly how the Marvel ratings system works. Is A for All Ages? This next scene is a little gruesome, so take the kids out of the room for a moment:


Talk about stamping out a character. Taunting a guy with his own blood splatter and compressed body parts just isn't right.

There was possibly some temptation at Marvel to restart and publish this as a # 1. I'm glad they didn't. I usually find that irritating.

I will not go so far as to recommend this issue. I personally enjoyed it, and it was pretty much everything I was expecting though I recognize it was nothing amazing. I also don't generally recommend a book until I've read at least three issues unless the issue worked as an incredible stand alone wonder. This looks like a decent primer on the current state of Exiles to me though, so feel free to check it out if that interests you. I expect to get the next issue myself.

Damnation

Alternate reality scenarios are not limited to comics like Exiles. The forthcoming Magic: The Gathering release, Planar Chaos, celebrating prerelease tournaments this weekend, will feature what are essentially alternate reality versions of some classic Magic cards. Take a look at some examples that Wizards has already revealed.

Damnation with art by Kev Walker:
This card is Wrath of God for Black. Wow... I love it.

Akroma, Angel of Fury with art by Darren Bader:
Akroma, Angel of Wrath is a popular Legendary Creature, and this version is no slouch either.

Oros, the Avenger (prerelease version) with art by Darren Bader:
This recalls Treva, the Renewer from the Invasion set, and there will be four others like it in the set.


Links:
Chaos Theory by Magic Designer Mark Rosewater
The Rebirth of Cool by Aaron Forsythe
Planar Chaos site
magicthegathering.com
Gatherer the Magic: The Gathering Card Database
Damnation Wallpaper
Oros Wallpaper

Last Night's TV

Quick comments on last night's (Th, Jan. 18, 2007) shows:

Smallville 6.11 - Justice: I'm not a regular viewer, but the introduction of the Justice League (Clark, Green Arrow, Cyborg, Impulse and Aquaman with Chloe manning the Watchtower) wasn't half bad. Poor Lois. Totally in the dark about everyone's super powers.

Scrubs 6.06 - My Musical: Music references have always had a place in this show, so it was only natural that they did one of these. Decent premise for having a musical episode. I would not want to see this on a regular basis though. A little is enough.

30 Rock 1.12 - The Head and the Hair: Probably one of my favorite episodes so far. Liz and Jenna wondering what was going on with the world when Jack asked them for coffee was priceless. And ultimately defeat cruelly snatched from the jaws of victory for everyone by the end. Well done as I was not expecting that.

Carson Daly 6.066: Again, I am not a regular viewer, but there was a Warren Haynes appearance. He did a nice acoustic cover of Radiohead's Lucky. Current Events Karaoke updating viewers on the iPhone to the tune of Under Pressure was amusing.

Reference: Yahoo TV (show episode guides)

April Cover Previews

Ms. Marvel # 14 by Greg Horn:
Fighting will only mess up that great hair and body paint.

Ghost Rider: Trail of Tears # 3 (of 6) by Clayton Crain:
The Spirit of Vengeance has not always needed gasoline.

Mighty Avengers # 2 by Frank Cho: Maybe this version of Ultron will find a loyal bride.

newuniversal # 5 by Salvador Larocca:
So swirly. So purple.

Exiles # 93 by Paul Pelletier:
Alternate reality Sue & Wolverine doing well for themselves.

X-23: Target X # 5 (of 6) by Michael Choi:
Be careful not to pop those chest balloons.

X-Factor # 18 by Pablo Raimondi:
That feeling you've had enough of a certain someone.

Firestorm # 35 by Pete Woods:
Do not hold your breath for the cover to Firestorm # 36.

Hellblazer # 231 by Lee Bermejo:
Sometimes the cigarettes don't get to finish the job.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer # 2 by Jo Chen:
Xander: So, you mean there's really something behind this mystical painting that acts like a mirror?
Buffy: Yeah, Giles says a whole other universe that can see what we're doing and saying.
X: Not everything though, right?!
B: Are you thinking of...
X: Yeah.
B: I'm sure they can see that.
X: They so shouldn't see that. Ever.
B: I know. We'll have to destroy it. It's too bad though. I look so good in this thing.
X: Well, maybe that's reason enough to keep it. We can't have a Slayer with self-esteem issues.
B: True. That would be bad. Undesirable even.
X: Plus even I look good in it. That kind of magic must be a force for good.
B: Hard to question that logic. It's settled then.

Sources:
Marvel Comics for April, 2007
DC Comics for April, 2007
Dark Horse Comics for April, 2007
Image Comics for April, 2007

Sun Via STEREO

NASA's STEREO mission holds the promise of taking three dimensional images of the Sun beginning in April, 2007. In the meantime, it can provide pictures like this:



Sources:
NASA Image of the Day
STEREO