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