2021 September X-Books sales

[Luckystar.]

https://icv2.com/articles/markets/vi...september-2021

Rank without DC titles

#3 - INFERNO #1 - 135,697
#15 - X-MEN #3 - 72,875
#22 - X-FORCE #23 - 66,162
#26 - X-MEN TRIAL OF MAGNETO #2 - 58,589
#32 - WOLVERINE #16 - 55,615
#34 - EXCALIBUR #23 - 55,402
#52 - X-MEN ONSLAUGHT REVELATION #1 - 38,501
#59 - HELLIONS #15 - 32,527
#66 - MARAUDERS #24 - 29,786
#68 - NEW MUTANTS #21 - 29,104
#70 - X-MEN LEGENDS #7 - 27,254
#75 - SWORD #8 - 26,245
#86 - X-CORP #5 - 22,273

[CGAR]

Welp damn I don't get why SWORD was doing so bad. Al Ewing was doing great on that series.

Also shocked the Excalibur is doing well but good for TH guess she might be sticking around after all.

And New Mutants is very good IMO sucks that it is so low.

Percy and Ayala need to not drag out their stories and I hope they adapt if they get titles during the refresh/reboot.

[ChronoRogue]

It's the cast. Excalibur will always be held up by the fact it has Betsy, Gambit, Jubilee, and (formerly) Rogue.

Compare its sales to X-Corp which has much less known characters and is selling the lowest. SWORD has the same problem, Ewing is a good writer but it's hard to get readers to pick up a book with only a few recognizable characters (outside of Magneto and now Storm).

[JB]

Good for Excalibur, which has improved over the last few issues. There's a lot of Marvel UK readers from back in the day that have been checking it out due to some deep cut characters appearing. It's no Hellions though, of course.

Surprised to see X-Force towards the top but good for Percy. And I hope X-Men keeps the momentum going.

[Nomura99]

Well I hope SWORD is doing well in digital sales, considering that's actually where the X-Line's main sales comes from (at least according to Hickman, I tend to believe him).

[DragonPiece]

I'm honestly shocked Marvel didn't decide to relaunch New Mutants along with the other x books next year. They could have even kept Vita, just seems weird not to with the low sales.

[SamuraiK]

X-Force and Excalibur numbers are inflated due to the fact they were one of the comics that had the September 11th Memorial story, which made them collection items and therefore some stores ordered almost double than usual.

Inferno numbers are very good but not excellent. Understandable since it didt have as many variants as usual and is a closure event rather than a jumping point.


X-Corp becomes the lowest selling title of this era. Even below Children of the Atom.

[SamuraiK]

I'm honestly shocked Marvel didn't decide to relaunch New Mutants along with the other x books next year. They could have even kept Vita, just seems weird not to with the low sales.

Yep, with those sales a relaunch would be a better option, but there's also onlyl 12 issues before reaching the #200 legacy so that could be the reason to keep it going until the mandatory milestone revamp.

[Grunty]

It's the cast. Excalibur will always be held up by the fact it has Betsy, Gambit, Jubilee, and (formerly) Rogue.

I wouldn't say OG Betsy is much of a draw, since it's not the version which has been popular for 30 years. Which leaves mostly older readers who liked her before the "asian ninja" change or those who retroactively found that version more interesting as those who would buy a series specifically for her.
Similar Jubilee isn't particular high on the list who can sell comics just by being part of a cast. Yes she is a relative well known and famous X-men, but she isn't a major draw, especialy with her diminishing relevance in the franchise since X-men TAS. Which in my opinion leaves us with Gambit and Rogue as main draws, characters wise.

Though to give the benefit of a doubt, it's still entirely possible there is a strong enough crowd which *shock* actualy likes Howard's writing and sees enough in it to actualy support it by buying it.

Compare its sales to X-Corp which has much less known characters and is selling the lowest. SWORD has the same problem, Ewing is a good writer but it's hard to get readers to pick up a book with only a few recognizable characters (outside of Magneto and now Storm).

I think X-corps suffers more from having an unappealing premise, tied to a difficult to get into status quo for the franchise overall, weak writing, problematic characterization, weak to inconsistent art and being a third wave title released when the overall direction allready lost a lot of momentum, than just having B- to C-listers as central characters.

As for SWORD. I stick to the lack of overall solidified identity, in part because of the constant tie ins to other stories and events, which robbed the title of a proper foundation. In addition to that it's not a well proven concept for a longterm X-men series. While the X-men can occasionaly go to space, i'm still of the opinion their main ties are earth based just like the Avengers. So X-men in space as longterm premise doesn't hold as much strength as it would for say the Fanastic Four.

EDIT:

X-Force and Excalibur numbers are inflated due to the fact they were one of the comics that had the September 11th Memorial story, which made them collection items and therefore some stores ordered almost double than usual.

Hmm. Interesting factor i wasn't aware of.

X-Corp becomes the lowest selling title of this era. Even below Children of the Atom.

At least COTA had a good premise for a super hero comic. Even if the execution arguably doomed it.

[Havok83]

Welp damn I don't get why SWORD was doing so bad. Al Ewing was doing great on that series.

Also shocked the Excalibur is doing well but good for TH guess she might be sticking around after all.

And New Mutants is very good IMO sucks that it is so low.

Percy and Ayala need to not drag out their stories and I hope they adapt if they get titles during the refresh/reboot.

The switch to Arakko and Storm just aint as interesting as the concept the book had before the Gala.

[JB]

X-Corp becomes the lowest selling title of this era. Even below Children of the Atom.

How did Fallen Angels do? I almost always forget about that title.

[SamuraiK]

How did Fallen Angels do? I almost always forget about that title.

Realtively well thanks to being part of the First Wave. The last issue #6 sold 39K, which beats everything after except for Wolverine and Hellions at that same numbering.

[anyajenkins]

Well I hope SWORD is doing well in digital sales, considering that's actually where the X-Line's main sales comes from (at least according to Hickman, I tend to believe him).

I don’t think he said that, I think it was that the X-titles do better in digital than most other books.

[JB]

Realtively well thanks to being part of the First Wave. The last issue #6 sold 39K, which beats everything after except for Wolverine and Hellions at that same numbering.

Thank you!

[The tall man]

The switch to Arakko and Storm just aint as interesting as the concept the book had before the Gala.

100% agree. Sword was so much more interesting and frankly better when it was about Brand's manipulations and schemes as well as showcasing mutant circuits like the six and focusing on galactic power plays. Also seeing mutants like Manifold get the spotlight was great, now Ewing seems to have pulled a bait and switch. The book has become a Storm focus book co-staring Old Man Cable and Arakko, while the original cast has been relegated to secondary bystanders status. It's all about Mars politics and Storm doing feats now. That may appeal to some readers but clearly not enough to increase sales. And all the readers who wanted to read more about Brand, Manifold, Frenzy, Peepers and the rest are not feeling this new book.