I have excerpted last month's sales figures for the titles that make up my current reading. I took out the reorders/reprints for earlier issues. It is interesting to see how titles sell in relation to each other, and you might want to check your own favorites via the link below. It figures that, like movies that come to DVD, some titles might make some more money back when collected (see the top graphic novel/tpb list), but it still worries me how little some titles I like sell on a monthly basis.
Rank Index Title Price Pub
4 154.59 NEW AVENGERS ILLUMINATI SP $3.99 MAR
7 128.75 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #530 $2.50 MAR
8 114.24 GREEN LANTERN #10 $2.99 DC
9 113.73 UNCANNY X-MEN #470 $2.50 MAR
11 112.15 UNCANNY X-MEN #471 $2.50 MAR
12 111.74 X-MEN #184 $2.50 MAR
17 105.16 MS MARVEL #1* $2.99 MAR
28 88.51 ANNIHILATION PROLOGUE $3.99 MAR
29 86.13 GREEN LANTERN CORPS RECHARGE #5 (Of 5) $2.99 DC
39 71.59 SON O/M #4 (Of 6) $2.99 MAR
43 67.05 DAREDEVIL #83 $2.99 MAR
49 62.35 NEW EXCALIBUR #5 $2.99 MAR
98 35.15 RUNAWAYS #14 $2.99 MAR
103 34.58 POWERS #17 (MR) $2.95 MAR
113 31.06 ALL NEW OFF HANDBOOK MARVEL UNIVERSE A TO Z #3 $3.99 MAR
116 30.70 IRON MAN INEVITABLE #4 (Of 6) $2.99 MAR
227 8.36 USAGI YOJIMBO #92 $2.99 DAR
241 6.78 QUEEN & COUNTRY #29 (MR) $2.99 ONI
243 6.75 QUEEN & COUNTRY DECLASSIFIED VOL 2 #3 (MR) $2.99 ONI
249 6.51 ANGEL SCRIPTBOOK #1 $3.99 IDW
269 5.18 BLADE O/T IMMORTAL #111 (MR) $2.99 DAR
Index is how many copies sold for every 100 copies of Batman (estimated 69,805 total). So (Index/100) * 69,805 = estimated sales for a title.
Sources for data:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=7102
http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/8516.html
Saturday, April 15, 2006
X-Man's on First
You may or may not remember that at one time there was a character called X-Man. I barely remember X-Man. Maybe I read a few stories, maybe I didn't. Newsarama was asking Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada about the chances of certain characters returning, and he figured the chances of this one coming back weren't very high. He didn't cite the reason that I would for avoiding his return. Talking about him is an Abbott and Costello routine waiting to happen. I wrote this in a message board post earlier today, but maybe it is worth preserving here as well.
Spider-Man: So, I was talking to X-Man...
Iron Man: Which one?
SM: What do you mean which one?
IM: Which X-Man were you talking to?
SM: There's only one.
IM: There's only one X-Man left? M-Day was worse than I thought!
SM: Right, there's only one.
IM: But which one is left? Storm, Iceman?
SM: For crying out loud Shellhead, X-Man!
IM: Wolverine, Havok?
SM: No, X-Man!
IM: Haven't I been listing X-Men?
SM: Not X-Men, X-Man, I was talking to X-Man.
Spider-Man: So, I was talking to X-Man...
Iron Man: Which one?
SM: What do you mean which one?
IM: Which X-Man were you talking to?
SM: There's only one.
IM: There's only one X-Man left? M-Day was worse than I thought!
SM: Right, there's only one.
IM: But which one is left? Storm, Iceman?
SM: For crying out loud Shellhead, X-Man!
IM: Wolverine, Havok?
SM: No, X-Man!
IM: Haven't I been listing X-Men?
SM: Not X-Men, X-Man, I was talking to X-Man.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Black Bolt Said What?!
In case you missed Illuminati, Black Bolt's inability to safely speak combined with Bendis and Maleev's rather vague presentation to produce this sequence:
Iron Man has just advocated supporting Hero Registration publicly while working to take it down as part of the process. What does Black Bolt think? When I first read this scene, I thought it meant that Black Bolt was expressing solidarity with Tony and Reed. The fist = solidarity. Turns out I was way off.
Marvel's Joe Quesada says, "I believe what Black Bolt said was, 'Screw you and you!'"
Bendis' script:
IRON-MAN
Well. I'm sorry you can't communicate with us, Black Bolt. I -
6- Black Bolt holds up a stern hand with stern pursed lips.
7- Black Bolt gestures at him through with pursed lips.
8- Black Bolt points at them with disappointed, hateful eyes.
9- From Behind Reed Richards, Black Bolt flies away. Iron Man hangs his head as Reed gets up to leave.
IRON-MAN
I think I got the gist.
(Quote and script from newsarama Q&A articles.)
With that mask essentially obscuring any opportunities for expression in the forehead and around the eyes, this was a tough task for Maleev. The script isn't exactly clear on what kind of gestures either. Situations like this might call for a relaxation of the reliance on art and sparse dialogue in favor of giving some form of narration as to what characters are trying to portray if not outright thinking. I would probably get the "gist" right along with Iron Man if I were sitting there at the table seeing all the subtle movements. In this case, I missed it. I suppose in hindsight, gist has a negative connotation here, and with only Tony and Reed left talking, presumably only they agree with the approach.
The other thing I wonder about is if you can have glasses that block the optic blasts of Cyclops while still allowing him to see, why can't some genius design a voice dampener/modulator that would allow Black Bolt to speak without the side effects.
Iron Man has just advocated supporting Hero Registration publicly while working to take it down as part of the process. What does Black Bolt think? When I first read this scene, I thought it meant that Black Bolt was expressing solidarity with Tony and Reed. The fist = solidarity. Turns out I was way off.
Marvel's Joe Quesada says, "I believe what Black Bolt said was, 'Screw you and you!'"
Bendis' script:
IRON-MAN
Well. I'm sorry you can't communicate with us, Black Bolt. I -
6- Black Bolt holds up a stern hand with stern pursed lips.
7- Black Bolt gestures at him through with pursed lips.
8- Black Bolt points at them with disappointed, hateful eyes.
9- From Behind Reed Richards, Black Bolt flies away. Iron Man hangs his head as Reed gets up to leave.
IRON-MAN
I think I got the gist.
(Quote and script from newsarama Q&A articles.)
With that mask essentially obscuring any opportunities for expression in the forehead and around the eyes, this was a tough task for Maleev. The script isn't exactly clear on what kind of gestures either. Situations like this might call for a relaxation of the reliance on art and sparse dialogue in favor of giving some form of narration as to what characters are trying to portray if not outright thinking. I would probably get the "gist" right along with Iron Man if I were sitting there at the table seeing all the subtle movements. In this case, I missed it. I suppose in hindsight, gist has a negative connotation here, and with only Tony and Reed left talking, presumably only they agree with the approach.
The other thing I wonder about is if you can have glasses that block the optic blasts of Cyclops while still allowing him to see, why can't some genius design a voice dampener/modulator that would allow Black Bolt to speak without the side effects.
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Why... Procrastinators Should Not Be Traveling Time
I don't pretend to understand Cable's story in any detail. He's from the future. He can travel time. He's not the same guy as Kang. However, reading the new Marvel Team-Up # 19 made me realize something.
Take a look at this scene. Wolverine and Jubilee are in a bit of hot water, circa 1991 comics, and Cable's computer gives him the scoop that Wolverine might die.
Notice that since Cable can travel time, he doesn't actually have to deal with the situation any time soon. As long as he eventually handles it, no one will even know the difference. It's a fairly amusing and clever observation by the writer, Kirkman. Clearly Cable isn't a lazy guy, so this isn't a problem.
But when you put Time Travel in the hands of a serious procrastinator, that's really asking for trouble. The thing about the Time Traveler is that even though he is/was/will be an outside observer and sometimes meddler, he is presumably still aging biologically. The shear amount of stuff available to do when he can pop right into any situation in history would surely prevent the procrastinator from getting anything done. Naturally he'll think he can just go back and do his taxes whenever he wants, so he'll keep putting it off. But when faced at the end of biological life with doing the 50 tax returns he never did, it is going to end badly. There will always be new things in the time line that need his traveling. And something won't get done. He won't have the energy, the time, or all the brokerage statements. And the series of events that lead to a life of traveling time could be erased by spending his whole life in jail for tax evasion. The various permutations and paradoxes are impossible to forecast.
Now you know Why... Procrastinators Should Not Be Traveling Time. Now, where did I put that 1099 again? I'll never find it if I left it somewhere in the last century.
Take a look at this scene. Wolverine and Jubilee are in a bit of hot water, circa 1991 comics, and Cable's computer gives him the scoop that Wolverine might die.
Notice that since Cable can travel time, he doesn't actually have to deal with the situation any time soon. As long as he eventually handles it, no one will even know the difference. It's a fairly amusing and clever observation by the writer, Kirkman. Clearly Cable isn't a lazy guy, so this isn't a problem.
But when you put Time Travel in the hands of a serious procrastinator, that's really asking for trouble. The thing about the Time Traveler is that even though he is/was/will be an outside observer and sometimes meddler, he is presumably still aging biologically. The shear amount of stuff available to do when he can pop right into any situation in history would surely prevent the procrastinator from getting anything done. Naturally he'll think he can just go back and do his taxes whenever he wants, so he'll keep putting it off. But when faced at the end of biological life with doing the 50 tax returns he never did, it is going to end badly. There will always be new things in the time line that need his traveling. And something won't get done. He won't have the energy, the time, or all the brokerage statements. And the series of events that lead to a life of traveling time could be erased by spending his whole life in jail for tax evasion. The various permutations and paradoxes are impossible to forecast.
Now you know Why... Procrastinators Should Not Be Traveling Time. Now, where did I put that 1099 again? I'll never find it if I left it somewhere in the last century.
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