Keeping track of Post-Rebirth Superman sales

[Vordan]

What was the tweet?

https://twitter.com/steve_lieber/sta...487sLx_4UoiJsQ

Lieber quotes it

[Vordan]

Sales for May:

Comics

Graphic Novels and Trades

In the floppy sales, Superman #4 made the top 20 in both Dollars and Units charts, World's Finest #15 ranked 36 in Units and 48 in Dollars. Adventures of Superman Jon Kent #3 ranked 48 in Units.

In trade sales, Supermans Pal Jimmy Olsen Who Killed Jimmy Olsen ranked high in the top 10 on both Units and Dollars, Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow ranked 3 in Units and 14 in Dollars and All Star Superman (2018 Printing) ranked 12 in Units and 7 in Dollars.

The total May 2023 Superman titles rankings:

20 Superman #4

31 Power Girl Special #1 (One-Shot)

36 Batman Superman Worlds Finest #15

48 Adventures of Superman Jon Kent #3 (Of 6)

54 Action Comics #1055

78 Superman Lost #3 (Of 10)

104 Superboy The Man of Tomorrow #2 (Of 6)

154 Action Comics #1054 (Resolicitation)

196 Superman #3 (Resolicitation)

I’d love to see Action Comics climb into the top 50, but otherwise these are pretty solid showings.

[Frontier]

The total May 2023 Superman titles rankings:

I’d love to see Action Comics climb into the top 50, but otherwise these are pretty solid showings.

Good to hear .

[Vordan]

https://icv2.com/articles/markets/vi...mics-june-2023

33. Superman #5
37. World’s Finest #17
48. Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #4

[Ascended]

The total May 2023 Superman titles rankings:

I’d love to see Action Comics climb into the top 50, but otherwise these are pretty solid showings.

Yeah, they look solid. Good for you DC! Well earned. I'd like to see Action and Lost doing better too, but I think they're selling what they're gonna be selling. Underappreciated for sure. But Lost has the makings of an evergreen trade and I think PKJ's stuff will be appreciated more in retrospect, especially if he sticks the landing. And Power Girl hitting 31? I'd have been proud of top 50, but 31? Damn girl! Looks like the trades are riding strong. The line feels fairly healthy. It's a nice feeling.

[Frontier]

https://icv2.com/articles/markets/vi...mics-june-2023

I'm hoping this is pretty solid.

[Vordan]

I'm hoping this is pretty solid.

Wish Williamson Superman was doing better but there were a lot of #1’s so that kicked it down a few spots. I’ve already accepted that Superman’s sales aren’t going to improve no matter how good his books are until his adaptions win him new fans (which thankfully it seems like MAWS is doing).

[TheKryptonMan]

I know that this is off topic , but I'd be up for a sequel of Jimmy Olsen's Superman's Pal .
It was a silly fun comic to look forward to for the 12 months that it ran.
With Jimmy and his history of hijinks it's always fun . And now his girlfriend is Silver Banshee , can you imagine the craziness the book would be :-)
Well just a thought 💭 if anyone at DC reads these postings .

[HsssH]

Important bit now is if sales won't crash after two months hiatus like they did the last time with Convergence.

[Ascended]

Wish Williamson Superman was doing better but there were a lot of #1’s so that kicked it down a few spots. I’ve already accepted that Superman’s sales aren’t going to improve no matter how good his books are until his adaptions win him new fans (which thankfully it seems like MAWS is doing).

Rebuilding the brand is a long term investment. After decades of mismanagement and marginalization sales aren't gonna improve quickly; DC has put too much time and effort into convincing fans to ignore the character. But the rankings seem higher overall than they were a couple years ago when the current push began, and if this effort continues then we'll see sales continue to heal and increase. But we're not gonna see a huge improvement overnight.

Just like with the movies, the damage to the brand runs deep and there's no quick fix for that.

[Vordan]

Important bit now is if sales won't crash after two months hiatus like they did the last time with Convergence.

That’s a big fear of mine too, especially since KT seems mediocre and Williamson is writing it. Dude might end up crippling his own run because of a poor event. And then we have another event coming next year albeit that one I have more hope for since it seems to be a Superman one they’re actually building towards instead of a last minute thing like KT.

Rebuilding the brand is a long term investment. After decades of mismanagement and marginalization sales aren't gonna improve quickly; DC has put too much time and effort into convincing fans to ignore the character. But the rankings seem higher overall than they were a couple years ago when the current push began, and if this effort continues then we'll see sales continue to heal and increase. But we're not gonna see a huge improvement overnight.

Just like with the movies, the damage to the brand runs deep and there's no quick fix for that.

He has a good cartoon now, if he could get a video game I think he would recover from the major damage of the Snyder/Injustice Era. It’s not enough to get him back in the top 10 regularly, and he will always have a strong hatedom, but I don’t expect or need him to actually be a viable competitor to Batman. I just need him to actually be able to sustain multiple books for himself and the “Family” once more.

[Vordan]

Dawn of DC leads the way. Brower told me DC is the only publisher that is up at Challengers in 2023, and “it all has to do with the quality of the Dawn of DC books.” Anderson shared it’s putting up strong numbers at Third Eye as well. It’s doing more than just driving sales with existing readers too. Pratt said they’ve seen new customers buying assorted titles in the line, while Exum noted that the Dawn of DC banner on titles has encouraged readers to sample other releases. This isn’t just a Batman-fueled rise; others like Superman and Green Lantern are growing as well.

Single-issues were a tough sell this year, though. As has been the case of late, it seemed as if the most consistent sellers were on the manga and graphic novel side. Sareli reported that manga and manhwa are dominant forces for his shops. Movie releases like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse saw surges in interest, as well, with characters like Miles Morales, Gwen Stacy, and maybe especially Spider-Punk generating sales. Even movie announcements created a bump, with the upcoming DC slate from James Gunn and friends creating interest in books like All-Star Superman and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.

https://sktchd.com/longform/july-2023-retailer-feature/

Article is a good read, it’s a tough moment in the industry right now but at least Superman seems to be doing well. There’s concern that Knight Terrors could deride the whole initiative which was my own fear, and I hope that doesn’t happen.

[Frontier]

I hope Knight Terrors doesn't turn out to be a colossal mistake.

[HsssH]

I doubt that they did it because everything was great. Many of the recent series were probably launched too early and they need time to catch up.

[The Frog Bros]

https://sktchd.com/longform/july-2023-retailer-feature/

Article is a good read, it’s a tough moment in the industry right now but at least Superman seems to be doing well. There’s concern that Knight Terrors could deride the whole initiative which was my own fear, and I hope that doesn’t happen.

Yeah I read this article, had similar thoughts (and fears) that the two month event hiatus would sap some (or worst case all) of the good momentum from the Dawn books. Potentially troubling that the stores are of the same thoughts and opinions. Hope not, cause they have been really nice thus far, esp in the Superverse corner of the world. I do think the titles are good enough to get right back on track due to the quality of writers, artists, etc. but time will tell.

Bonus points to the article for name dropping one of my LCS too.