Friday, June 30, 2017

Amazon Top 50 - June 30, 2017

Persepolis: The Story of a ChildhoodHere are the Top 50 Comics & Graphic Novels on Amazon Friday morning. See About the Amazon Top 50 Lists for more information on how this list is compiled.  

1 (-). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
2 (R). Get It Together! with Sarah's Scribbles 16-Month Planner
3 (+1). March: Book One
4 (+20). The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up: A Magical Story
5 (N). Batman/Elmer Fudd Special (2017-) #1 (Kindle)
6 (+3). American Born Chinese
7 (-4). Saga Volume 7
8 (+5). Valerian: The Complete Collection, Volume 1
9 (+11). Batman: The Killing Joke, Deluxe Edition
10 (R). Preacher Book One
11 (N). Descender Volume 4: Orbital Mechanics
12 (-4). Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
13 (-8). My Favorite Thing Is Monsters
14 (-4). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes (paperback)
15 (-). Me without You
16 (N). Justice League vs. Suicide Squad (Rebirth)
17 (-3). The Complete Persepolis
18 (R). March: Book Three
19 (-). The Force Oversleeps (Star Wars: Jedi Academy #5)
20 (+3). Marvel Encyclopedia
21 (R). Maus I: My Father Bleeds History
22 (+12). Providence Act 2
23 (-12). Wonder Woman Vol. 1: The Lies (Rebirth)
24 (-6). I Am Pusheen the Cat
25 (+23). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
26 (R). Batman Vol. 1: I Am Gotham (Rebirth)
27 (-11). Watchmen
28 (+4). The Wicked + The Divine Volume 5: Imperial Phase I
29 (-4). Darth Vader and Son
30 (-23). Tokyo Ghoul, Vol. 13
31 (R). Night Night, Groot
32 (+9). Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet Vol. 1
33 (-12). My Hero Academia, Vol. 1
34 (R). Saga Volume 6
35 (R). Saga Book One
36 (N). Injustice 2 (2017-) #12 (Kindle)
37 (+3). The Complete Maus
38 (R). Flashpoint
39 (R). Hyperbole and a Half (paperback)
40 (-2). My Hero Academia, Vol. 8
41 (+8). March (Trilogy Slipcase Set)
42 (R). Providence Act 1
43 (R). DC Comics Encyclopedia All-New Edition
44 (R). The Walking Dead Compendium One
45 (R). Monstress Volume 1: Awakening
46 (-15). The Walking Dead Volume 27: The Whisperer War
47 (R). Goodnight Darth Vader
48 (-18). Saga Book Two
49 (-23). The Essential Calvin and Hobbes
50 (R). Batman Vol. 2: I Am Suicide (Rebirth)


Items with asterisks (*) are pre-order items.

N = New listing appearing on list for first time 
R = Item returning to the list after having been off for 1 or more weeks

Commentary:
  • Persepolis is in the top spot again, as it was last week.
  • The top debut this week is the Kindle edition of the Batman/Elmer Fudd Special
  • Also debuting this week are the fourth collection of Descender and the Justice League vs. Suicide Squad collection.
  • As the Preacher TV show returns to the screen, the first Preacher collection returns to the Amazon chart.
  • I'm kind of surprised to see The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up doing so well, as usually manga need a popular anime version to do well. But this is based on a popular non-fiction book, which could lead to a whole different avenue for types of manga to be translated.

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Image Comics Month-to Month Sales: April 2017 - One Minute Past Eternity

The Walking Dead #166
Greetings, sales charts fans! It's time once again to look at Image Comics's sales figures. Please refer to the July 2015 column for a preamble and explanation as to why sales standards for Image books are likely to be different than those for DC or Marvel.

Image shipped 52 comics in April, compared to 59 in March, 49 in February, 45 in January, 47 in December, 48 in November, 55 in October and 52 in September. They shipped 51 in April 2016.
So, it looks like theme variants are a thing now at Marvel? This month's theme is April Fools. For those titles participating in the theme variants, the addition or subtraction of one tends to have more of an affect on sales than the normal month-to-month variance (much like with DC's theme variant phase a couple of years ago).

Warning: The commentary below may contain reasoned analysis, speculation (unfounded and otherwise), opinion, and/or snark. Those looking for a more straightforward analysis are directed to John Jackson Miller's excellent Comichron analysis, posted in May over at Comichron!

Please consider the fine print at the end of the column.

(Note that the percentage comparisons are done with total orders including reorder activity, as opposed to initial orders.)
---
10 - THE WALKING DEAD ($2.99)
04/2007: The Walking Dead #36  --  21,291
04/2012: The Walking Dead #96  --  36,931
04/2013: The Walking Dead #109 --  90,362 
04/2014: The Walking Dead #125 --  66,761  [66,782]
04/2014: The Walking Dead #126 --  67,853  [68,647]
04/2015: The Walking Dead #140 --  66,553
-----------------------------------------
04/2016: The Walking Dead #153 --  67,358 (+  0.1%) 
05/2016: The Walking Dead #154 --  68,922 (+  2.3%) 
06/2016: The Walking Dead #155 --  71,755 (+  4.1%) 
07/2016: The Walking Dead #156 --  76,355 (+  6.4%) 
08/2016: The Walking Dead #157 --  97,689 (+ 37.0%) [104,596]
09/2016: The Walking Dead #158 --  94,316 (-  9.8%) 
10/2016: The Walking Dead #159 --  91,291 (-  3.2%) 
11/2016: The Walking Dead #160 --  88,367 (-  3.2%) 
12/2016: The Walking Dead #161 --  85,459 (-  3.3%) 
01/2017: The Walking Dead #162 --  85,395 (-  0.1%) 
02/2017: The Walking Dead #163 -- 750,000 (+778.3%) **
02/2017: The Walking Dead #164 --  83,999 (- 88.8%) 
03/2017: The Walking Dead #165 --  70,422 (- 16.2%) 
04/2017: The Walking Dead #166 --  68,205 (-  3.1%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 25.3%
1 year  : +  1.3%
2 years : +  2.5%
5 years : + 84.7%
10 years: +220.3%
Back to standard attrition after months of variant covers and other shenanigans.
---
67 - SEVEN TO ETERNITY ($3.99)
09/2016: Seven to Eternity #1  -- 32,790           [39,394] 
10/2016: Seven to Eternity #2  -- 27,968 (- 29.0%)
11/2016: Seven to Eternity #3  -- 26,669 (-  4.6%)
12/2016: Seven to Eternity #4  -- 25,729 (-  3.5%)
01/2017: --
02/2017: --
03/2017: --
04/2017: Seven to Eternity #5  -- 32,667 (+ 27.0%)
-----------------
6 months: + 16.8%
Returns from hiatus with a pretty sizable increase. This is the sort of sales behavior that you hope for when you release a bargain-priced first trade collection. (Multiple covers help as well.)
---
80 - PAPER GIRLS ($2.99)
04/2016: -- 
05/2016: -- 
06/2016: Paper Girls #6  -- 36,385 (-  2.2%) 
07/2016: Paper Girls #7  -- 35,392 (-  2.7%) 
08/2016: Paper Girls #8  -- 33,731 (-  4.7%) 
09/2016: Paper Girls #9  -- 32,320 (-  4.2%) 
10/2016: Paper Girls #10 -- 32,119 (-  0.6%) 
11/2016: -- 
12/2016: -- 
01/2017: -- 
02/2017: Paper Girls #11 -- 30,562 (-  4.8%) 
03/2017: Paper Girls #12 -- 29,047 (-  5.0%) 
04/2017: Paper Girls #13 -- 27,993 (-  3.6%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 12.8%
1 year  :    n.a.
The joys of standard attrition.
---
102 - REDNECK ($3.99)
04/2017: Redneck #1  -- 22,317 
108 - ROSE ($3.99)
04/2017: Rose #1  -- 20,499 
A couple of debuts fairly close to each other. Both had not only variants, but Gold Foil variants. So yes, it is the 90s all over again. Both also had second printings in May.
---
109 - I HATE FAIRYLAND ($3.99)
04/2016: -- 
05/2016: -- 
06/2016: I Hate Fairyland #6  -- 26,095 (+  5.3%) 
07/2016: I Hate Fairyland #7  -- 23,742 (-  9.0%) 
08/2016: I Hate Fairyland #8  -- 22,562 (-  5.0%) 
09/2016: I Hate Fairyland #9  -- 21,265 (-  5.7%) 
10/2016: I Hate Fairyland #10 -- 20,534 (-  3.4%) 
11/2016: --
12/2016: --
01/2017: --
02/2017: --
03/2017: I Hate Fairyland #11 -- 18,606 (-  9.4%) 
04/2017: I Hate Fairyland #12 -- 19,664 (+  5.7%) 
-----------------
6 months: -  4.2%
1 year  :    n.a.
The rise is likely due to the April Fool variant (in addition to its regular variant).
---
110 - KILL OR BE KILLED ($3.99)
08/2016: Kill or Be Killed #1  -- 30,050 
09/2016: Kill or Be Killed #2  -- 23,812 (- 20.8%) 
10/2016: Kill or Be Killed #3  -- 23,883 (+  0.3%) 
11/2016: Kill or Be Killed #4  -- 22,889 (-  4.2%) 
12/2016: --
01/2017: Kill or Be Killed #5  -- 21,261 (-  7.1%) 
02/2017: Kill or Be Killed #6  -- 26,312 (+ 23.8%) 
03/2017: Kill or Be Killed #7  -- 22,957 (- 12.8%) 
04/2017: Kill or Be Killed #8  -- 19,616 (- 14.6%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 17.9%
A kind of biggish drop. Not that 19K at eight issues in is bad or anything, but at this point a drop should be closer to standard attrition levels (neither issue seven nor eight had variants).
---
111 - BLACK CLOUD ($3.99)
04/2017: Black Cloud #1  -- 19,583 
114 - PLASTIC ($3.99)
04/2017: Plastic #1  -- 18,980 
Two more debuts. Plastic had both a regular variant and an April Fools variant, while Black Cloud apparently had neither. Both had second printings in May.
---
169, 243 - SEX CRIMINALS ($3.99/$4.69)
04/2014: --
04/2015: --
--------------------------
04/2016: Sex Criminals #15 -- 25,937 (-  1.9%) 
05/2016: -- 
06/2016: -- 
07/2016: -- 
08/2016: -- 
09/2016: -- 
10/2016: -- 
11/2016: -- 
12/2016: -- 
01/2017: -- 
02/2017: Sex Criminals #16 -- 22,494 (- 13.3%) 
03/2017: Sex Criminals #17 -- 19,020 (- 15.4%) 
04/2017: Sex Criminals #18 -- 17,716 (-  6.9%) 
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  : - 31.7%
2 years :    n.a.
Combined sales for the regular and XXX variants.
---
122 - MONSTRESS ($3.99)
04/2016: Monstress #5  -- 21,820 (-  2.6%) 
05/2016: Monstress #6  -- 20,850 (-  4.4%) 
06/2016: --
07/2016: --
08/2016: --
09/2016: --
10/2016: Monstress #7  -- 20,799 (-  0.2%) 
11/2016: Monstress #8  -- 18,830 (-  9.5%) 
12/2016: Monstress #9  -- 17,515 (-  7.0%) 
01/2017: -- 
02/2017: Monstress #10 -- 19,345 (+ 10.4%)
03/2017: -- 
04/2017: Monstress #11 -- 16,757 (- 13.4%)
-----------------
6 months: - 19.4%
1 year  : - 23.2%
Back to normal without the variant.
---
126 - GOD COUNTRY ($3.99)
01/2017: God Country #1 of 6 -- 14,322           [19,357]
02/2017: God Country #2 of 6 -- 17,701 (-  8.6%)
03/2017: God Country #3 of 6 -- 15,321 (- 13.4%)
04/2017: God Country #4 of 6 -- 16,174 (+  5.8%)
There have been multiple printings of each issue, so I think this is growth based on actual demand.
---
131 - THE BLACK MONDAY MURDERS ($4.99)
08/2016: Black Monday Murders #1  -- 26,696 
09/2016: Black Monday Murders #2  -- 19,749 (- 26.0%) 
10/2016: Black Monday Murders #3  -- 18,371 (-  7.0%) 
11/2016: Black Monday Murders #4  -- 17,718 (-  3.6%) 
12/2016: --
01/2017: --
02/2017: --
03/2017: -- 
04/2017: Black Monday Murders #5  -- 15,655 (- 11.6%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 14.8%
The dangers of a long hiatus...
---
132 - SPAWN ($2.99)
04/2007: -- 
04/2012: Spawn #218      -- 12,680 
04/2013: Spawn #230      -- 15,994  
04/2014: Spawn #242      -- 11,827 
04/2015: Spawn #251      -- 17,443 
----------------------------------
04/2016: Spawn #262      -- 18,775 (+ 10.8%) 
05/2016: Spawn #263      -- 16,109 (- 14.2%) 
06/2016: -- 
07/2016: Spawn #264      -- 17,157 (+  6.5%) 
08/2016: Spawn #265      -- 15,927 (-  7.2%) 
09/2016: -- 
10/2016: Spawn #266      -- 22,304 (+ 40.0%) 
11/2016: Spawn #267      -- 16,976 (- 23.9%) 
12/2016: Spawn #268      -- 16,652 (-  1.9%) 
01/2017: Spawn #269      -- 16,257 (-  2.4%) 
02/2017: Spawn #270      -- 15,778 (-  2.9%) 
03/2017: Spawn #271      -- 15,517 (-  1.7%) 
04/2017: Spawn #272      -- 15,400 (-  0.8%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 31.0%
1 year  : - 18.0%
2 years : - 12.3%
5 years : + 21.5%
10 years:    n.a.
---
143 - RAT QUEENS ($3.99)
04/2014: --
04/2015: Rat Queens #10 -- 14,228 
---------------------------------
04/2016: --
05/2016: Rat Queens #16 -- 12,092 (+  0.8%)
06/2016: --
07/2016: --
08/2016: --
09/2016: --
10/2016: --
11/2016: --
12/2016: --
01/2017: --
02/2017: --
03/2017: Rat Queens #1  -- 22,461 (+ 85.7%)
04/2017: Rat Queens #2  -- 14,057 (- 37.4%)
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  :    n.a.
2 years : -  1.2%
---
144 - OLD GUARD ($3.99)
02/2017: Old Guard #1  -- 23,867 
03/2017: Old Guard #2  -- 17,991 (- 24.6%) 
04/2017: Old Guard #3  -- 13,978 (- 22.3%) 
---
145 - BITCH PLANET ($3.99)
04/2015: Bitch Planet #4  -- 21,569
----------------------------------- 
04/2016: -- 
05/2016: -- 
06/2016: Bitch Planet #8  -- 18,158 (+  2.5%)
07/2016: -- 
08/2016: -- 
09/2016: -- 
10/2016: -- 
11/2016: Bitch Planet #9  -- 15,340 (- 15.7%)
12/2016: --
01/2017: --
02/2017: --
03/2017: -- 
04/2017: Bitch Planet #10 -- 13,922 (-  9.0%)
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  :    n.a.
2 years : - 28.9%
Pretty much the exemplar of the adverse effects of an irregular shipping schedule on issue sales. 14K is still a good number for an Image series, and the collected editions are doing quite well, so no worries. But with a more regular schedule, Bitch Planet might have been a Saga-level success.

This is the end of the second story arc; next up is an anthology series, during which maybe the regular creative team will get a few issues in the bag for a more regular schedule?
---
148 - DESCENDER ($3.99)
04/2015: Descender #2  -- 43,946  [41,853]  
--------------------------------
04/2016: -- 
05/2016: -- 
06/2016: Descender #12 -- 19,782 (+  5.0%) 
07/2016: Descender #13 -- 17,783 (- 10.1%) 
08/2016: Descender #14 -- 17,296 (-  2.7%) 
09/2016: Descender #15 -- 16,386 (-  5.3%) 
10/2016: Descender #16 -- 15,963 (-  2.6%) 
11/2016: --
12/2016: Descender #17 -- 15,296 (-  4.2%) 
01/2017: Descender #18 -- 14,526 (-  5.0%) 
02/2017: Descender #19 -- 15,753 (+  8.4%) 
03/2017: Descender #20 -- 13,974 (- 11.3%) 
04/2017: Descender #21 -- 13,743 (-  1.7%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 13.9%
1 year  :    n.a.
2 years : - 67.2%
---
150 - ROYAL CITY ($3.99)
03/2017: Royal City #1  -- 24,597 
04/2017: Royal City #2  -- 13,721 (- 44.2%) 
The lack of variant covers leads to a percentage drop a bit larger than normal for the second issue.
---
152 - INVINCIBLE ($2.99)
04/2007: Invincible #40  -- 13,230
04/2012: Invincible #90  -- 14,393
04/2013: Invincible #102 -- 15,249 
04/2014: Invincible #110 -- 12,557
04/2015: Invincible #119 -- 13,492
----------------------------------
04/2016: Invincible #127 -- 12,038 (-  3.2%) 
05/2016: Invincible #128 -- 11,982 (-  0.5%) 
06/2016: Invincible #129 -- 12,510 (+  4.4%) 
07/2016: --
08/2016: Invincible #130 -- 11,921 (-  4.7%) 
09/2016: -- 
10/2016: -- 
11/2016: Invincible #131 -- 11,579 (-  2.9%) 
12/2016: -- 
01/2017: -- 
02/2017: Invincible #132 -- 11,505 (-  0.6%) 
02/2017: Invincible #133 -- ?????? 
03/2017: Invincible #134 -- 11,605  
04/2017: Invincible #135 -- 13,658 (+ 17.7%)  
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  : + 13.5%
2 years : +  1.2%
5 years : -  5.1%
10 years: +  3.2%
Adds an April Fools variant, gets a sales boost.
---
156 - THE WICKED + THE DIVINE ($3.99)
04/2015: --
--------------------------------------
04/2016: Wicked + Divine #18 -- 17,722 (-  4.1%) 
05/2016: Wicked + Divine #19 -- 16,929 (-  4.4%) 
06/2016: Wicked + Divine #20 -- 17,831 (+  5.3%) 
07/2016: Wicked + Divine #21 -- 16,283 (-  8.7%) 
08/2016: Wicked + Divine #22 -- 15,969 (-  1.9%) 
09/2016: W + D 1831 one-shot -- 16,408 (+  2.7%) 
10/2016: -- 
11/2016: Wicked + Divine #23 -- 15,238 (-  7.1%) 
12/2016: Wicked + Divine #24 -- 14,666 (-  3.8%) 
01/2017: Wicked + Divine #25 -- 14,164 (-  3.4%) 
02/2017: Wicked + Divine #26 -- 15,651 (+ 10.5%) 
03/2017: Wicked + Divine #27 -- 14,589 (-  6.8%) 
04/2017: Wicked + Divine #28 -- 13,045 (- 10.6%) 
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  : - 26.4%
2 years :    n.a.
No theme variant (just the regular variant) = a larger than normal drop this time out.
---
165 - CURSE WORDS ($3.99)
01/2017: Curse Words #1  -- 18,162 
02/2017: Curse Words #2  -- 15,248 (- 16.0%) 
03/2017: Curse Words #3  -- 12,116 (- 20.5%) 
04/2017: Curse Words #4  -- 12,219 (+  0.9%) 
The April Fools theme cover variant offsets a potential drop.
---
168 - EXTREMITY ($3.99)
03/2017: Extremity #1  -- 17,917 
04/2017: Extremity #2  -- 11,973 (- 33.2%) 
In line with second issue expectations.
---
171 - BLACK SCIENCE ($3.99)
04/2014: Black Science #5  -- 25,492 
04/2014: Black Science #6  -- 24,892 
04/2015: Black Science #13 -- 17,876 
------------------------------------
04/2016: -- 
05/2016: -- 
06/2016: -- 
07/2016: Black Science #22 -- 12,829 (-  2.0%) 
08/2016: Black Science #23 -- 12,466 (-  2.8%) 
09/2016: Black Science #24 -- 11,810 (-  5.3%) 
10/2016: Black Science #25 -- 11,425 (-  3.3%) 
11/2016: --
12/2016: Black Science #26 -- 11,041 (-  3.4%) 
01/2017: Black Science #27 -- 10,631 (-  3.7%) 
02/2017: Black Science #28 -- 10,478 (-  1.4%) 
03/2017: -- 
04/2017: Black Science #29 -- 11,542 (+ 10.2%) 
-----------------
6 months: +  1.0%
1 year  : - 35.4%
2 years :    n.a.
Adds an April Fools variant, gets a sales boost.
---
176 - LOW ($3.99)
04/2015: -- 
--------------------------
04/2016: Low #13 -- 13,956 (-  3.7%) 
05/2016: -- 
06/2016: Low #14 -- 13,903 (-  0.4%) 
07/2016: -- 
08/2016: Low #15 -- 12,955 (-  6.8%) 
09/2016: --
10/2016: --
11/2016: --
12/2016: --
01/2017: --
02/2017: --
03/2017: Low #16 -- 13,478 (+  4.0%) 
04/2017: Low #17 -- 10,915 (- 19.0%) 
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  : - 21.8%
2 years :    n.a.
You guessed it: no theme variant this month.
---
179 - ROCK CANDY MOUNTAIN ($3.99)
04/2017: Rock Candy Mtn #1  -- 10,794 
The debut issue of Kyle Stark's new comic has an April Fools variant.
---
206 - INJECTION ($2.99)
04/2016: Injection #9  -- 11,433 (-  3.6%) 
05/2016: -- 
06/2016: Injection #10 -- 11,771 (+  3.0%) 
07/2016: -- 
08/2016: -- 
09/2016: -- 
10/2016: -- 
11/2016: -- 
12/2016: -- 
01/2017: -- 
02/2017: --
03/2017: Injection #11 --  9,052 (- 23.1%)
04/2017: Injection #12 --  8,615 (-  4.8%)
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  : - 24.6%
---
224 - MOTOR CRUSH ($3.99)
12/2016: Motor Crush #1  -- 21,801 
01/2017: Motor Crush #2  -- 12,643 (- 42.0%) 
02/2017: Motor Crush #3  --  9,757 (- 22.8%) 
03/2017: Motor Crush #4  --  9,071 (-  7.0%) 
04/2017: Motor Crush #5  --  7,065 (- 22.1%) 
No theme variant (just the regular variant) = a larger than normal drop this time out.
---
237 - GREEN VALLEY ($2.99)
10/2016: Green Valley #1 of 9 -- 16,091 
11/2016: Green Valley #2 of 9 --  9,713 (- 39.6%) 
12/2016: Green Valley #3 of 9 --  8,219 (- 15.4%) 
01/2017: Green Valley #4 of 9 --  7,553 (-  8.1%) 
02/2017: Green Valley #5 of 9 --  7,187 (-  4.8%) 
03/2017: Green Valley #6 of 9 --  7,204 (+  0.2%) 
04/2017: Green Valley #7 of 9 --  6,842 (-  5.0%) 
-----------------
6 months: - 57.5%
---
258 - COPPERHEAD ($3.99)
04/2015: Copperhead #6  -- 10,148
---------------------------------
04/2016: -- 
05/2016: -- 
06/2016: -- 
07/2016: -- 
08/2016: -- 
09/2016: -- 
10/2016: -- 
11/2016: -- 
12/2016: -- 
01/2017: -- 
02/2017: --
03/2017: Copperhead #11 --  6,369 (- 26.5%)
04/2017: Copperhead #12 --  5,517 (- 13.4%)
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  :    n.a.
2 years : - 45.6%
---
262 - THE BEAUTY ($3.99)
04/2016: -- 
05/2016: The Beauty #7  --  9,178 (- 13.4%)
06/2016: The Beauty #8  --  9,577 (+  4.3%)
07/2016: The Beauty #9  --  8,340 (- 12.9%)
08/2016: -- 
09/2016: The Beauty #10 --  7,986 (-  4.2%)
10/2016: The Beauty #11 --  7,210 (-  9.7%)
11/2016: -- 
12/2016: -- 
01/2017: -- 
02/2017: The Beauty #12 --  6,179 (- 14.3%)
03/2017: The Beauty #13 --  6,067 (-  1.8%)
04/2017: The Beauty #14 --  5,465 (-  9.9%)
-----------------
6 months: - 24.2%
1 year  :    n.a.
---
265 - THE FEW ($4.99)
01/2017: The Few #1 of 6 -- 10,571 
02/2017: The Few #2 of 6 --  8,431 (- 20.2%) 
03/2017: The Few #3 of 6 --  6,067 (- 28.0%) 
04/2017: The Few #4 of 6 --  5,119 (- 15.6%) 
---
276 - BLACK ROAD ($3.99)
04/2016: Black Road #1  -- 16,572 
05/2016: Black Road #2  -- 10,131 (- 38.9%) 
06/2016: Black Road #3  -- 10,484 (+  3.5%) 
07/2016: Black Road #4  --  7,292 (- 30.4%) 
08/2016: Black Road #5  --  6,912 (-  5.2%) 
09/2016: --
10/2016: --
11/2016: --
12/2016: --
01/2017: Black Road #6  --  5,748 (- 16.8%) 
02/2017: Black Road #7  --  5,340 (-  7.1%) 
03/2017: Black Road #8  --  5,030 (-  5.8%) 
04/2017: Black Road #9  --  4,809 (-  4.4%) 
-----------------
6 months:    n.a.
1 year  : - 64.9%
---
280 - LOOSE ENDS ($3.99)
01/2017: Loose Ends #1 of 4 -- 10,847 
02/2017: Loose Ends #2 of 4 --  5,858 (- 46.0%) 
03/2017: Loose Ends #3 of 4 --  4,912 (- 16.1%) 
04/2017: Loose Ends #4 of 4 --  4,672 (-  4.9%) 
---
283 - UNDERWINTER ($3.99)
03/2017: Underwinter #1  -- 10,555 
04/2017: Underwinter #2  --  4,576 (- 56.6%) 
---
287 - ECLIPSE ($3.99)
09/2016: Eclipse #1  -- 12,375 
10/2016: Eclipse #2  --  7,764 (- 37.3%) 
11/2016: Eclipse #3  --  6,818 (- 12.2%) 
12/2016: Eclipse #4  --  5,762 (- 15.5%) 
01/2017: -- 
02/2017: --
03/2017: Eclipse #5  --  ????? (< 4,812) 
04/2017: Eclipse #6  --  4,486  
-----------------
6 months: - 42.2%
---
300 - MAGDELENA ($3.99)
04/2012: --  
--------------------------------
03/2017: Magdalena #1  --  7,567 (+ 52.0%) 
04/2017: Magdalena #2  --  4,244 (- 43.9%) 
-----------------
5 years :    n.a.
---
Image titles shipping but not making the Top 300 in April (cutoff at 4,244) include: Circuit Breaker, Drifter, Elephantmen, Hadrian's Wall, Horizon, Mirror, Planetoid Praxis, Savage Dragon, She Wolf, Sons of the Devil, Stray Bullets, Sun Bakery, They're Not Like Us, Think Tank, Throwaways.

Note that this doesn't necessarily mean that any of them are in danger of being cancelled; there are many reasons that the creators of these books may desire to keep them going.
---
The Fine Print (Disclaimers, et cetera) The numbers above are estimates for comic-book sales in the North American direct market, as calculated by ICv2.com according to the chart and index information provided by Diamond Comic Distributors.

ICv2.com's estimates are somewhat lower than the actual numbers, but they are consistent from month to month, so the trends they show are fairly accurate. Since it's a "month-to-month" column, the comments, unless otherwise noted, are on the most recent month.

Bear in mind that the figures measure sales of physical comics to retailers, not customers. Also, these numbers do not include sales to bookstores, newsstands, other mass-market retail chains or the United Kingdom. Re-orders are included, so long as they either reached stores in a book's initial calendar month of release or were strong enough to make the chart again in a subsequent month. Keep in mind that sales for some titles may include incentives to acquire variants and not every unit sold is necessarily even intended to be sold to a customer.

If additional copies of an issue did appear on the chart after a book's initial calendar month of release, you can see the total number of copies sold in brackets behind those issues (e.g. "[36,599]"). Should more than one issue have shipped in a month which is relevant for one of the long-term comparisons, the average between them will be used.

Titles which are returnable have their numbers artificially adjusted down by Diamond. To make up for that this column increases the reported numbers for those titles by 10%. Which is likely also wrong, but it's a different and likely less wrong kind of wrong, and experience has shown that this leads to sales figures which are more consistent.

Image is not a normal comics publisher, and the typical metrics for sales success may not apply. For many titles, collection sales tend to be a significant factor, so the numbers for those books should be taken with a grain of salt as well.

Please keep in mind that raw sales numbers do not tell us about how profitable a book is for a publisher or for the creators.

Above all, do not allow sales numbers to dictate your purchasing and enjoyment of a particular comic. If you enjoy reading a comic series then go right on buying and reading that comic, no matter what the sales figures say.

** Two asterisks after a given month in the average charts mean that one or more periodical release did not make the Top 300 chart in that month. In those cases, it's assumed that said releases sold as many units as the No. 300 comic on the chart for that month for the purposes of the chart, although its actual sales are likely to be less than that.

Opinions expressed in this column are mine alone, and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer, Heidi MacDonald or anyone at The Comics Beat, The International Organization for Standardization, or my former neighbor's dog Miles.

The author of this column does weekly snapshots of Amazon comic sales charts at http://yetanothercomicsblog.blogspot.com/ and tweets about comics and related subjects on Twitter at @davereadscomics (PM me there if you need to contact me).

As always, we welcome your comments and corrections below. Please try to keep things civilized.

Friday, June 23, 2017

Amazon Top 50 - June 23, 2017

Persepolis: The Story of a ChildhoodHere are the Top 50 Comics & Graphic Novels on Amazon Friday morning. See About the Amazon Top 50 Lists for more information on how this list is compiled.  

1 (+2). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
2 (N). Death Note Box Set (Vol. 1-12)
3 (+2). Saga Volume 7
4 (+6). March: Book One
5 (+25). My Favorite Thing Is Monsters
6 (+10). American Gods: Shadows #1 (Kindle)
7 (N). Tokyo Ghoul, Vol. 13
8 (+19). Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
9 (-1). American Born Chinese
10 (-4). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes (paperback)
11 (-4). Wonder Woman Vol. 1: The Lies (Rebirth)
12 (R). Darth Vader (2017-) #1 (Kindle)
13 (-9). Valerian: The Complete Collection, Volume 1
14 (+5). The Complete Persepolis
15 (+23). Me without You
16 (+29). Watchmen
17 (R). Wolverine: Old Man Logan
18 (+13). I Am Pusheen the Cat
19 (+7). The Force Oversleeps (Star Wars: Jedi Academy #5)
20 (+23). Batman: The Killing Joke, Deluxe Edition
21 (R). My Hero Academia, Vol. 1
22 (-1). Wonder Woman Vol. 2: Year One (Rebirth)
23 (-6). Marvel Encyclopedia
24 (N). The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up: A Magical Story *
25 (-24). Darth Vader and Son
26 (+22). The Essential Calvin and Hobbes
27 (R). Star Wars: Jedi Academy
28 (N). Teen Titans Vol. 1: Damian Knows Best (Rebirth)
29 (-18). The Infinity Gauntlet (Kindle)
30 (+20). Saga Book Two
31 (-9). The Walking Dead Volume 27: The Whisperer War
32 (-20). The Wicked + The Divine Volume 5: Imperial Phase I
33 (N). Black Panther: World of Wakanda *
34 (-14). Providence Act 2
35 (+9). Star Wars: Darth Vader Vol. 1: Vader
36 (N). Injustice 2 (2017-) #11 (Kindle)
37 (N). Monster
38 (+4). My Hero Academia, Vol. 8
39 (N). Batman (2016-) #25 (Kindle)
40 (R). The Complete Maus
41 (-32). Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet Vol. 1
42 (N). Nightwing Vol. 2: Back to Blüdhaven (Rebirth)
43 (-41). Vader's Little Princess
44 (R). Scott Pilgrim Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life - Color Edition (Kindle)
45 (N). Monstress Volume 2: The Blood *
46 (-17). Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year Five Vol. 3
47 (-12). Providence Act 3 *
48 (R). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
49 (-17). March (Trilogy Slipcase Set)
50 (N). The Walking Dead: Here's Negan *



Items with asterisks (*) are pre-order items.

N = New listing appearing on list for first time 
R = Item returning to the list after having been off for 1 or more weeks

Commentary:
  • After a few weeks of hovering near the top of the chart, Persepolis finally slides up into the top spot this week.
  • Not sure what caused the Death Note Box Set to suddenly show up in the second position, but I suspect there was some kind of sale as it is currently sold out from Amazon.
  • There are a lot of debuts this week: in addition to the aforementioned Death Note set, there's the new volume of Tokyo Ghoul; a couple of DC Rebirth collections: Teen Titans & Nightwing; a few pre-orders: The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying UpBlack Panther: World of WakandaMonstress Volume 2: The Blood, and The Walking Dead: Here's Negan; and a couple of Kindle single issues: Injustice 2 and Batman.
  • Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet plummets down 32 spots this week, but that's because Amazon is currently sold out. Quick, Marvel, print more and ship them to Amazon's warehouses; you're losing sales!

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

DC Rebirth Trade Sales - May 2017

Wonder Woman Volume 2: Year One
Here are the trade paperback collection sales for DC Rebirth trades via Diamond-North America, cumulative through May 2017.



Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Total
Batman vol. 1
9,122
2,017
1,821
1,443
2,113
16,516
Flash vol. 1
5,884
1,497
1,850
1,542
2,115
12,888
Superman vol. 1
5,585
1,441
1,298
872
1,175
10,371
Justice League vol. 1
5,095
1,025
921
527
836
8,404
Green Arrow vol. 1
4,473
925
740
655
637
7,430
Nightwing vol. 1
4,263
898
1,031
903
944
8,039
Aquaman vol. 1
3,940
743
525
426
570
6,204
Green Lanterns vol. 1
3,637
691
444
458

5,230
Detective Comics vol. 1

5,920
1,365
916
988
9,189
Wonder Woman vol. 1

5,252
1,219
906
1,667
9,044
Action Comics vol. 1

4,102
908
611
612
6,233
Hal Jordan & GLC vol. 1

3,743
769
604
564
5,680
Harley Quinn vol. 1


5,879
533
748
7,160
Suicide Squad vol. 1


5,801
407
536
6,744
Titans vol. 1


4,764
569
924
6,257
Deathstroke vol. 1


3,953
408
589
4,950
Batgirl vol. 1


3,666


3,666
Hellblazer vol. 1


2,941


2,941
Cyborg vol. 1


2,235


2,235
Batman vol. 2



6,809
1,397
8,206
Superman vol. 2



4,478
943
5,421
Justice League vol. 2



3,812
500
4,312
Red Hood & Outlaws vol. 1



3,411
657
4,068
Batgirl & Birds/Prey vol. 1



3,306

3,306
Green Arrow vol. 2



3,253

3,253
Action Comics vol. 2



3,095

3,095
Aquaman vol. 2



2,955

2,955
Green Lanterns vol. 2



2,868

2,868
Wonder Woman vol. 2




5,454
5,454
Flash vol. 2




5,075
5,075
Detective Comics vol. 2




4,744
4,744
Supergirl vol. 1




3,357
3,357
Hal Jordan & GLC vol. 2




2,944
2,944
Superwoman vol. 1




2,723
2,723
Blue Beetle vol. 1




2,061
2,061







Totals
41,999
28,254
42,130
45,767
44,873
203,023


There were also an additional 517 in sales for the first All Star Batman hardcover collection for a total of 4,936, but a table with just one entry on it would look pretty silly...

These sales represent only those sales reported through Diamond-North America accounts. They do not include sales through book stores, foreign sales, book clubs, or to most libraries.

Note that for those trades with no listed sales in May (BatgirlHellblazerCyborg) that just means that they didn't make the Top 300 in collection sales for the month; they may have had sales that were below the Top 300 threshold (460).

(This chart is starting to get a bit hard to read; I may reorganize it next month. Which would be better: sorting alpha-numerically, or sorting by sales?)