Keeping track of Post-Rebirth Superman sales

[Dolores - The Worst Poster Ever]

For the first two issues, while Super Sons started charting at a lower position than Justice League, they ended up charting higher later. Before the new releases hit, Super Sons finished ahead of Justice League.

Let me see if I can track down the screenshots, because I probably posted them in this thread.

As long as the book is selling more than Ms. Marvel, and books that have shown to perform better than Ms. Marvel, it's safe to say that it's still selling very well digitally.

[Dolores - The Worst Poster Ever]

Found it for the 1st issue.

Super Sons is off to a great start digitally.

The book debuted at number 6, but has now moved up to number 5.

[rui no onna]

For the first two issues, while Super Sons started charting at a lower position than Justice League, they ended up charting higher later. Before the new releases hit, Super Sons finished ahead of Justice League.

Let me see if I can track down the screenshots, because I probably posted them in this thread.

As long as the book is selling more than Ms. Marvel, and books that have shown to perform better than Ms. Marvel, it's safe to say that it's still selling very well digitally.

That's issue #1 though so it's to be expected since there will be a lot of people sampling it. For issue #2 onwards, it's been lower than Justice League. Granted, it's still early. I expect rankings to move around during the weekend. Even at top 12 though, that's still pretty good considering this week appears to be filled with heavyweights.

As for Ms. Marvel, I don't think Ms. Marvel is selling as well as it used to do in terms of new digital single issues. That was a statement made 1-2 years ago and things change. Still one of Marvel's bestsellers outside the direct market. That said, Super Sons #4 ranks higher than almost all Marvel releases. Of the three Marvels above it, one is Star Wars and the other is a mega event. Imho, that's pretty impressive.

Gotta say, I'm amazed by the fact that Superman #23 ranked higher than Secret Empire #2. Iirc, Superman #21 ranked higher than Secret Empire #1, too.

[Dolores - The Worst Poster Ever]

That's issue #1 though so it's to be expected since there will be a lot of people sampling it. For issue #2 onwards, it's been lower than Justice League. Granted, it's still early. I expect rankings to move around during the weekend. Even at top 12 though, that's still pretty good considering this week appears to be filled with heavyweights.

As for Ms. Marvel, I don't think Ms. Marvel is selling as well as it used to do in terms of new digital single issues. That was a statement made 1-2 years ago and things change. Still one of Marvel's bestsellers outside the direct market. That said, Super Sons #4 ranks higher than almost all Marvel releases. Of the three Marvels above it, one is Star Wars and the other is a mega event. Imho, that's pretty impressive.

Gotta say, I'm amazed by the fact that Superman #23 ranked higher than Secret Empire #2. Iirc, Superman #21 ranked higher than Secret Empire #1, too.

Issue #2 also ended up higher than Justice League by the end. Unfortunately I can't find that screenshot, so I'm unsure if I even took one but I do remember it finishing higher than Justice League.

It's definitely still selling very well, there's no question about that.

Superman's been selling well since Rebirth began. The book was even outcharting Civil War II, so for it to outchart Secret Empire, doesn't surprise me. Flash outselling Batman is what really surprises me.

Only books like Saga, and Walking Dead have achieved that.

[rui no onna]

Superman's been selling well since Rebirth began. The book was even outcharting Civil War II, so for it to outchart Secret Empire, doesn't surprise me.

Interesting. I realize comiXology is just like a really big comic shop that tends to be skewed towards certain audiences but their rankings do raise questions regarding sell through at local comic shops. Wonder how Marvel would be doing if they didn't have incentive variants being sold at premium prices to pay for all those regular copies.

Flash outselling Batman is what really surprises me.

Only books like Saga, and Walking Dead have achieved that.

Flash #22 is the conclusion to The Button Batman/Flash crossover. Probably plenty of Batman fans buying it, too.

[Dolores - The Worst Poster Ever]

Interesting. I realize comiXology is just like a really big comic shop that tends to be skewed towards certain audiences but their rankings do raise questions regarding sell through at local comic shops. Wonder how Marvel would be doing if they didn't have incentive variants being sold at premium prices to pay for all those regular copies.

We may have spoken too soon.

Secret Empire has moved ahead of Superman on the charts. Super Sons has also moved up one position.

Flash #22 is the conclusion to The Button Batman/Flash crossover. Probably plenty of Batman fans buying it, too.

That has to be it, but it's still very impressive.

I don't think any DC ongoing has ever topped Batman on these charts, except for maybe John's Justice League during Darkseid War, and ongoings that were just starting out.

[rui no onna]

We may have spoken too soon.

Secret Empire has moved ahead of Superman on the charts.

That makes more sense. That said, it's surprising it couldn't budge Batman from the top spot when the Diamond May 2017 Top 300 Comic Charts are almost guaranteed to have Secret Empire #1-3 as the top titles probably outselling Batman by 50,000-200,000 copies.

[rui no onna]

I always find it interesting to see how similar the Bleeding Cool Best Seller and the comiXology Best Seller Lists are.

Bleeding Cool Best-Seller List, 21st May 2017 – Flash, Batman And Superman Push Down Secret Empire

1. Flash #22
2. Batman #23
3. Superman #23
4. Secret Empire #2
5. Teen Titans #8
6. Justice League #21
7. Super Sons #4
8. Mighty Thor #19
9. Nightwing #21
10. Star Wars #31

[Dolores - The Worst Poster Ever]

That makes more sense. That said, it's surprising it couldn't budge Batman from the top spot when the Diamond May 2017 Top 300 Comic Charts are almost guaranteed to have Secret Empire #1-3 as the top titles probably outselling Batman by 50,000-200,000 copies.

There are some discrepancies when it comes to digital and the direct market.

Comics like The Wicked + The Divine, Ms. Marvel, Walking Dead, Saga, and some other comics fare far better digitally than they do in print.

When Dark Knight III #1 came out, that same week Saga maintained the number spot. While in print sales, Dark Knight III sold over 8 times more than the same issue of Saga.

On another note, Super Sons has moved up the list yet again.

[rui no onna]

There are some discrepancies when it comes to digital and the direct market.

Comics like The Wicked + The Divine, Ms. Marvel, Walking Dead, Saga, and some other comics fare far better digitally than they do in print.

When Dark Knight III #1 came out, that same week Saga maintained the number spot. While in print sales, Dark Knight III sold over 8 times more than the same issue of Saga.

On another note, Super Sons has moved up the list yet again.

Yay, Top 10 now.

We'll probably see final comiXology rankings for May 17 on Tuesday or Wednesday before the new batch of books take over.

Yup, I do expect comiXology rankings to differ from LCS. Like I mentioned, it's just one shop except with a wider reach than your average LCS.

Titles that appeal to a female audience certainly seem to do better via comiXology than the direct market which I totally understand. The Simpsons Comic Book Guy trope is hard to get rid of and digital is certainly more convenient. No need to worry if comiXology will have a copy of the book you want to buy. Had one bad experience at a local comic shop and I never stepped foot in one again even after we moved. I bought all my manga via Amazon and RightStuf. It's only recently that I started visiting the LCS near me. Happy to find that the staff at my new LCS were pretty nice.

Another problem with the Diamond charts (aside from it being sales to retailers rather than customers) is that variants muddy things up. Iirc, DK III #1 had at least 19 variants which include a 1:500 Jim Lee variant as well as a retailer incentive 1:5000 blank/sketch variant with original Jim Lee art. You also have collectors and speculators buying multiple copies of the same book.

Based on http://pulllist.comixology.com/, I reckon DC's open to buy variants probably add 5-10% to their sales (exception being Batman/Flash lenticular which sold like crazy). Full disclosure, I get both the regular and variant covers for Super Sons. That Dustin Nguyen art is dope.

Meanwhile, comiXology sales are all to actual readers - not retailers, not collectors, not speculators.

That said, Saga sells like crazy. As of December 2016, the Saga Vol. 1 TPB has already sold a cumulative total of over 350,000 copies.

[stephtanner]

Very happy to see Superman and Super Sons continuing to do well on comixology.

I was also happy to see that Super Sons was still priced at $2.99. I thought monthlies were getting a price hike, but I guess it only applies to floppies. So relieved!

[rui no onna]

Very happy to see Superman and Super Sons continuing to do well on comixology.

I was also happy to see that Super Sons was still priced at $2.99. I thought monthlies were getting a price hike, but I guess it only applies to floppies. So relieved!

I think they originally raised digital prices to $3.99 also but then they backtracked after consumer complaints.

I think it's fair considering they likely get a bigger share of the sale from comiXology (website, not DC app) rather than from print.

$2.99 digital, comiXology website - 50/50 DC/comiXology - ~$1.50 revenue

$2.99 digital, DC comiXology app - 35/35/30 DC/comiXology/Apple - ~$1.05 revenue

$2.99 print - 40/10/50 DC/Diamond/retailer - ~$1.20 revenue (still have printing cost)

$3.99 print - 40/10/50 DC/Diamond/retailer - ~$1.60 revenue (still have printing cost)

[stephtanner]

I think they originally raised digital prices to $3.99 also but then they backtracked after consumer complaints.

I think it's fair considering they likely get a bigger share of the sale from comiXology (website, not DC app) rather than from print.

$2.99 digital, comiXology website - 50/50 DC/comiXology - ~$1.50 revenue

$2.99 digital, DC comiXology app - 35/35/30 DC/comiXology/Apple - ~$1.05 revenue

$2.99 print - 40/10/50 DC/Diamond/retailer - ~$1.20 revenue (still have printing cost)

$3.99 print - 40/10/50 DC/Diamond/retailer - ~$1.60 revenue (still have printing cost)

I'm really grateful to those who complained.

Though in all honesty, I would've still purchased Super Sons at the higher price. It is just that good. But DC made the right move. Keeping the digital price low gives me more flexibility to try other titles. So really they end up getting more of my money, I think.

[rui no onna]

Though in all honesty, I would've still purchased Super Sons at the higher price. It is just that good. But DC made the right move. Keeping the digital price low gives me more flexibility to try other titles. So really they end up getting more of my money, I think.

Agreed on both counts. I'm more than double dipping on Super Sons:

• Digital (midnight because I can't wait)
• Regular Cover
• Variant Cover
• Trade Paperback (Vol 01 - Oct 2017)

Really hoping it also gets the deluxe HC treatment.

[stephtanner]

Agreed on both counts. I'm more than double dipping on Super Sons:

• Digital (midnight because I can't wait)
• Regular Cover
• Variant Cover
• Trade Paperback (Vol 01 - Oct 2017)

Really hoping it also gets the deluxe HC treatment.

Holy crap. You are a Super Sons mega fan. LOL

Can't say that I blame you. Even though I've forsaken purchasing hard copies, a deluxe HC would be too tempting to resist.