Bendis confirms he's not going to be writing Batman https://twitter.com/BRIANMBENDIS/sta...96996913131520
Bendis confirms he's not going to be writing Batman https://twitter.com/BRIANMBENDIS/sta...96996913131520
In July 2019, Superman sold 51,944. Action sold 43,763.
Let’s go back two years to the middle of each run because using July 2018 was the launch and isn’t fair.
In July 2017, Superman sold 48,953 and Action sold 40,957.
Numbers look good.
Edit: before coffee! Thanks Yoda. Slipped my mind at 6am.
Last edited by DT Winslow; 09-12-2019 at 03:49 AM.
That’s only the one cover. The cardstock covers were listed separately. The combined sales were Superman 51,944 (#26) and Action 43,763 (#40). Both have been selling in that ballpark. Timeline wise, the rebirth numbers were only 8 months into the run, while Bendis is in his second year. Even then the numbers are in the same ballpark. High 40’s for Superman. Low 40’s for Action.
Last edited by Yoda; 09-12-2019 at 03:51 AM.
He was never going to be the IMMEDIATE follow up to King. Still wouldn’t surprise me if he does get the book with issue 100. After issue 85 comes out I believe the Batbooks will revert to once monthly, along with all the other remaining double shippers like WW and Flash. 15 issues monthly would have the book be ready for a Bendis relaunch in 2021.
Yep saleswise Bendis has been pretty steady, on par with Rebirth. Digital has been pretty surprising how well Bendis Superman seems to sell, perhaps because digital users tend to skew younger and so does Bendis’ built in fanbase?
Using last month's sales numbers for Superman and Action to judge the sales of this run isn't entirely valid. The whole line was boosted by the card stock variants, so everything was a little higher than it usually is.
Currently Reading:
DC: The Flash, Challenge of the Super Sons, Nightwing
Image: Lazarus: Risen, The Old Guard, Black Magick
Boom: Mighty Morphin', Power Rangers
It wasn't that big of a boost. I don't know that the cardstock covers did all that much across the board given they were $1 more expensive and weren't that big of a deal. June's numbers were 47,199 and 43,893 for Superman and Action respectively. Still the equivalent to Rebirth at the same issue count and better than the Rebirth Superman at the same point in time (about 14 months into the runs) Action at that point had the lenticular Oz Effect covers which boosted it along with the buildup to 1000.
We go through this every like 3 weeks it seems. Bendis' numbers are not bad at all for Superman books. They are stable and in the range that these books sell in. In context, they are still charting better than Rebirth. At this point Superman was in the mid 40's with sales around 46,000. So Bendis keeping it in the top 25 is actually doing better for the market.
Oh, I'm not saying the current numbers are bad, but I just think we have to be fair in how we analyze them and this brings up a couple things. First off, a jump in 3,000 in sales is significant, specially in a period of stability, so we can't just discount that. For whatever reason, more than quality, more than the writer, variant covers seem to be a big factor when it comes to sales. Titles that have variants do better than titles that don't. Special variants apply a boost, and we must acknowledge that as an outlier.
Furthermore, I'm not sure how comparing them to Rebirth when they were in the 40s make sense. This is month 13 of Bendis's Superman we're talking about? So if you're comparing month to month, wouldn't you be looking at the numbers for Rebirth 26 and 27 or the like? And even so, if you're comparing a month of two issues versus a month of one, don't you have to count the income boost of releasing two issues the same month? Sure you have to pay the writer and artist again, but if the book is making a profit, you would still see a second round of that profit. Then you have to consider whether reader attrition is on a month-to-month basis or an issue-by-issue one. Why doesn't it make more sense to compare issue 13 of Rebirth to issue 13 of Bendis's run.
The point is there are complications and different factors you have to consider and it's not as clear cut as Tomasi's run sold x amount for issue 45 and Bendis's run sold x amount on issue 13.
Edit: Also, rechecking the numbers, I think Bendis's Superman run wasn't in the Top 25 last month, even with the card stock boost. If I'm reading Comichron right, its combined numbers came in at 26.
Last edited by Sam; 09-12-2019 at 03:29 PM.
Currently Reading:
DC: The Flash, Challenge of the Super Sons, Nightwing
Image: Lazarus: Risen, The Old Guard, Black Magick
Boom: Mighty Morphin', Power Rangers
Superman #14 sold out and is off to get a 2nd print.
Currently Reading:
DC: The Flash, Challenge of the Super Sons, Nightwing
Image: Lazarus: Risen, The Old Guard, Black Magick
Boom: Mighty Morphin', Power Rangers