DC Sales & Estimates

[Marvel_Is]

Rocket on issue 3 and dropping like a rock. Its not about overall units to me. Its that they can put an ongoing in the top 10 or 20 except spidey. All of their ongoings just crap out and quickly. I really think a reboot and making some of their lines smaller would help. It would increase interest. To me there is no reason their flagship title( other than spidey) Avengers should be only selling 50 thousand a month. Its the freaking Avengers!

Have you read Avengers? It's garbage. People are pretending to like it.

[beetle_booster]

nah, Marvel still lead. september is the only month DC wins. Marvel now brought eisners, rocket raccoon, guardians of the galaxy, miss marvel. Very hard to believe that Marvel will reboot.

February
Share of Overall Units
Marvel
37.36%
DC
31.12%

Share of Overall Dollars
Marvel
34.10%
DC
28.73%

Marvel did this without 3d covers

They didn't do it with ongoings either.

They did it with non-stop overlapping events, shiny new #1s and point somethings.

[Crmsonlightning]

They didn't do it with ongoings either.

They did it with non-stop overlapping events, shiny new #1s and point somethings.

100% agree, they are going for the short term win on all of these titles. I talked to a creator at my LCS this week and basically at Marvel if your book lasts 15-20 issues that is a success. They are seeing them more like TV seasons then ongoing comics at this point. He said there is more money in it that way.

[GlennSimpson]

Heh. I did an analysis one time. The number of Marvel series that were published in August 2011 that are still in publication - 0. They were all mini-series or series that have ended and been restarted since then.

Not my intention to tell either company how to do what they do or say one is better than the other.

[Joe Kalicki]

Heh. I did an analysis one time. The number of Marvel series that were published in August 2011 that are still in publication - 0. They were all mini-series or series that have ended and been restarted since then.

Not my intention to tell either company how to do what they do or say one is better than the other.

That's why people are being disingenuous when they talk about DC cancelling 47 books in three years or whatever as a sign of failure. Some of those books were stopped and relaunched - JLI, JLA, Nightwing, Suicide Squad, Teen Titans, etc, and some were limited runs - Batman Inc, Superman Unchained. So if you count those, then you have to say that Marvel have cancelled literally their entire line in only two years.

Like you, it doesn't matter to me what they chose to do, no way is better than the other, but let's be realistic in our analyses.

[Paul Newell]

September update:

DC Sales - Top 300 (Jan-Sep) 2014 - 19,651,345 estimated units.
DC Sales - Top 300 (Jan-Sep) 2013 - 21,302,646 estimated units.

And here are the figures for 1997-2012:
2013 - 28,184,085 estimated units
2012 - 29,602,125 estimated units
2011 - 26,522,201 estimated units
2010 - 23,528,000 estimated units
2009 - 24,126,336 estimated units
2008 - 25,760,378 estimated units
2007 - 29,597,217 estimated units
2006 - 30,243,575 estimated units
2005 - 26,995,698 estimated units
2004 - 23,895,322 estimated units
2003 - 22,344,120 estimated units
2002 - 20,687,488 estimated units - Dan Didio joins DC as VP of Editorial.
2001 - 21,220,332 estimated units
2000 - 23,243,656 estimated units
1999 - 25,141,760 estimated units
1998 - 22,869,060 estimated units
1997 - 26,323,968 estimated units


And, out of interest, here's the Marvel numbers:

Marvel Sales - Top 300 (Jan- Sep) 2014 - 22,649,224 estimated units.
Marvel Sales - Top 300 (Jan- Sep) 2013 - 24,095,731 estimated units.

And here are the figures for 1997-2012:
2013 - 31,243,347 estimated units
2012 - 30,278,745 estimated units.
2011 - 29,522,809 estimated units
2010 - 29,998,200 estimated units
2009 - 34,167,744 estimated units
2008 - 37,269,988 estimated units
2007 - 38,132,744 estimated units
2006 - 34,647,105 estimated units
2005 - 32,461,832 estimated units
2004 - 32,021,066 estimated units
2003 - 28,974,336 estimated units
2002 - 28,473,404 estimated units
2001 - 25,349,296 estimated units
2000 - 21,948,494 estimated units - Joe Quesada becomes EIC.
1999 - 24,111,104 estimated units
1998 - 27,015,555 estimated units
1997 - 32,664,192 estimated units

[The Darknight Detective]

September update:

DC Sales - Top 300 (Jan-Sep) 2014 - 19,651,345 estimated units.
DC Sales - Top 300 (Jan-Sep) 2013 - 21,302,646 estimated units.

And here are the figures for 1997-2012:
2013 - 28,184,085 estimated units
2012 - 29,602,125 estimated units
2011 - 26,522,201 estimated units
2010 - 23,528,000 estimated units
2009 - 24,126,336 estimated units
2008 - 25,760,378 estimated units
2007 - 29,597,217 estimated units
2006 - 30,243,575 estimated units
2005 - 26,995,698 estimated units
2004 - 23,895,322 estimated units
2003 - 22,344,120 estimated units
2002 - 20,687,488 estimated units - Dan Didio joins DC as VP of Editorial.
2001 - 21,220,332 estimated units
2000 - 23,243,656 estimated units
1999 - 25,141,760 estimated units
1998 - 22,869,060 estimated units
1997 - 26,323,968 estimated units


And, out of interest, here's the Marvel numbers:

Marvel Sales - Top 300 (Jan- Sep) 2014 - 22,649,224 estimated units.
Marvel Sales - Top 300 (Jan- Sep) 2013 - 24,095,731 estimated units.

And here are the figures for 1997-2012:
2013 - 31,243,347 estimated units
2012 - 30,278,745 estimated units.
2011 - 29,522,809 estimated units
2010 - 29,998,200 estimated units
2009 - 34,167,744 estimated units
2008 - 37,269,988 estimated units
2007 - 38,132,744 estimated units
2006 - 34,647,105 estimated units
2005 - 32,461,832 estimated units
2004 - 32,021,066 estimated units
2003 - 28,974,336 estimated units
2002 - 28,473,404 estimated units
2001 - 25,349,296 estimated units
2000 - 21,948,494 estimated units - Joe Quesada becomes EIC.
1999 - 24,111,104 estimated units
1998 - 27,015,555 estimated units
1997 - 32,664,192 estimated units

Sales are down for DC, but also for Marvel so their market share is still comparable to last year's numbers. Still roughly 18% more than 2008's (wow!).

[andersonh1]

September update:

DC Sales - Top 300 (Jan-Sep) 2014 - 19,651,345 estimated units.
DC Sales - Top 300 (Jan-Sep) 2013 - 21,302,646 estimated units.

And here are the figures for 1997-2012:
2013 - 28,184,085 estimated units
2012 - 29,602,125 estimated units
2011 - 26,522,201 estimated units
2010 - 23,528,000 estimated units
2009 - 24,126,336 estimated units
2008 - 25,760,378 estimated units
2007 - 29,597,217 estimated units
2006 - 30,243,575 estimated units
2005 - 26,995,698 estimated units
2004 - 23,895,322 estimated units
2003 - 22,344,120 estimated units
2002 - 20,687,488 estimated units - Dan Didio joins DC as VP of Editorial.
2001 - 21,220,332 estimated units
2000 - 23,243,656 estimated units
1999 - 25,141,760 estimated units
1998 - 22,869,060 estimated units
1997 - 26,323,968 estimated units

I look at the 2006 and 2007 sales figures, and it tells me that someone squandered all the interest that Infinite Crisis created, assuming IC is what boosted sales, and I"ve read arguments to that effect. Even the first full year of the New 52 didn't quite reach the 30 million of 2006, and it only managed to equal 2007. Somebody dropped the ball from 2008-2011.

[Paul Newell]

I look at the 2006 and 2007 sales figures, and it tells me that someone squandered all the interest that Infinite Crisis created, assuming IC is what boosted sales, and I"ve read arguments to that effect. Even the first full year of the New 52 didn't quite reach the 30 million of 2006, and it only managed to equal 2007. Somebody dropped the ball from 2008-2011.

One thing to remember, though, was that 2008 was also the Global Financial Crisis. Marvel's numbers in 2008 were affected slightly but had the same dramatic fall from 2009 to 2011.

[andersonh1]

One thing to remember, though, was that 2008 was also the Global Financial Crisis. Marvel's numbers in 2008 were affected slightly but had the same dramatic fall from 2009 to 2011.

True, and thanks for pointing that out. There's no doubt that had an impact.

[the4thpip]

Rocket on issue 3 and dropping like a rock.

Next month we will see in re-orders for issues 2 and 3 and orders for issue 4 if retailers underestimated the amount of readers the loot crate promotion brought in for the book.

[Joe Kalicki]

Marvel and DC are down about the same amount over last year. Could be the digital buyers?

[The Darknight Detective]

Marvel and DC are down about the same amount over last year. Could be the digital buyers?

Most likely, Joe. That's why I'm more interested in DC's market share, which is still higher than what we have seen in many a year.

[the4thpip]

Marvel and DC are down about the same amount over last year. Could be the digital buyers?

Or could be the mortality rate of an ageing fandom.

[The Darknight Detective]

Or could be the mortality rate of an ageing fandom.

It's hard to tell without the digital numbers.