Action Comics/Detective Comics numbering gap.

[Black Manta]

I was doing research for something and I noticed something odd about Action and Detective. In the mid 70's their numbering was the same, so issue 451 of Action came out the same month that 451 of Detective did. Obviously at some point this had to have been orchestrated, because Detective started before Action, and if they were being released at the same pace should have a slight lead.

But then it looks like Detective went to a bi-monthly schedule for a while. I find that really odd. DC is literally named for this book and I can't imagine Batman not selling well enough.

So I just wonder if anyone knows what happened. It's kind of a shame because it would have been cool to have both of them hit 1,000 at the same time.

[Embryonic Superman]

Hard to believe as it is today, Batman wasn't exactly a sales juggernaut in the early 1970's and the book was nearing cancellation levels. It became bimonthly for nearly two years from '73 to '75. Action also got a numerical boost when it went weekly for 10 months, becoming a multi-character showcase in the late 1980's, an experiment that more or less flopped. Still, except for the New 52 era when the numbering was reset, Action has been ahead ever since.

[MRP]

Action Comics was a weekly from issue 601-642 as well, and it went back to its roots as an anthology book during that period.



-M

[Lee Stone]

Also, from #438 to #445 Detective was a 100 page anthology.

It would also briefly become a Dollar Comic later, along with World's Finest and some others, again being an anthology.
And it went bi-monthly again from #481 to #488.
It would continue as a Dollar Comic anthology until #495, but returning to monthly with #489.

Here's info about the Dollar Comics.
Note it mentions that Detective was actually cancelled, but given a reprieve by merging Batman Family with it.

[dancj]

Action also got a numerical boost when it went weekly for 10 months, becoming a multi-character showcase in the late 1980's, an experiment that more or less flopped.

I read somewhere that the sales were actually pretty good, but organising a weekly anthology was such a nightmare that they decided to end it.

[CaptCleghorn]

I read somewhere that the sales were actually pretty good, but organising a weekly anthology was such a nightmare that they decided to end it.

I didn't know about the sales, but I remember hearing about the problematic nature of a weekly anthology book. I suppose that's why Marvel came up with the bi-weekly Marvel Comics Presents which has slightly fewer stories and came out half as often.

[Black Manta]

Hard to believe as it is today, Batman wasn't exactly a sales juggernaut in the early 1970's and the book was nearing cancellation levels. It became bimonthly for nearly two years from '73 to '75. Action also got a numerical boost when it went weekly for 10 months, becoming a multi-character showcase in the late 1980's, an experiment that more or less flopped. Still, except for the New 52 era when the numbering was reset, Action has been ahead ever since.

Wow. I can't believe there was a time that Batman wasn't selling well.

[Adekis]

Wow. I can't believe there was a time that Batman wasn't selling well.

Keep in mind, what's the public's main perception of Batman in the early '70s? Adam West, right? But the books at the time wanted to get away from that, removed Robin as a regular character, and generally tried to make Batman more serious. Between people who didn't know that Batman was more serious and didn't want to buy such a jokey character and people who wanted the jokey character but couldn't get it, it wouldn't surprise me to learn that those elements caused the sales slump. Of course, I don't have figures on any of that, I'm just speculating...

By contrast, today Batman fans know what they're going to get, and generally speaking, get it.