Keeping track of Post-Rebirth Superman sales

[stargazer01]

If you need any explanation for why DC is clinging so hard to Batman... there you go. Has it ever been as bad as it is now? Even in the 2000s we had Johns GL basically on equal footing with Batman. Johns JL was also definitely one of the premiere books of the New 52 during the 2010s. But now it’s just Batman, the gap between Bats and the rest is insane. In my eyes it shows the extent of the damage DC has done. This is what happens when all your outside media (games, movies, etc) feature Batman as the main star with the rest being little more than sidekicks (or even outright villains in Supes and WW’s case) for Batman to put down.

Exactly it's all connected (movies, animation, TV, etc). And this is why I don't read comics on a regular basis. Not worth the investment when I will probably end up disappointed. I only read complete stories that fans recommend. I hate DC and WB for doing so much damage. They only celebrate Batman's day on a yearly basis.. the others? only when they have a big event coming out like a movie or the 1000 issue.. ugh.

[NaVi]

The only good thing about all this is that it is very clear that even in the best of cases DC will last 20 more years, DC will end up closing and its characters in the hands of Marvel, they will remain second characters (Marvel is not going to destroy its own universe ) but at least they will be in a new universe and will see stories that fans have been waiting for a long time.

[Ascended]

Ha! Once upon a time I would've said the idea that Marvel would buy DC's IP's wasn't possible, that there was a slew of anti-trust laws and regulations in place to prevent that kind of monopoly/oligopoly from happening.....but a day out from the 2020 election I've learned that any awful, horrible thing that shouldn't exist is entirely possible.

But DC's characters would not benefit from Marvel's ownership. Movies might be better, if the MCU is still going strong by then, but the comics won't see any increase in quality. Marvel's comics are no better or worse than DC's on average and I doubt most of DC's roster would get quality creators, if they saw print at all.

[manwhohaseverything]

Ha! Once upon a time I would've said the idea that Marvel would buy DC's IP's wasn't possible, that there was a slew of anti-trust laws and regulations in place to prevent that kind of monopoly/oligopoly from happening.....but a day out from the 2020 election I've learned that any awful, horrible thing that shouldn't exist is entirely possible.

But DC's characters would not benefit from Marvel's ownership. Movies might be better, if the MCU is still going strong by then, but the comics won't see any increase in quality. Marvel's comics are no better or worse than DC's on average and I doubt most of DC's roster would get quality creators, if they saw print at all.

Actually, i firmly believe superman would benefit from being with pixar and disney studios. Disney has a market that is young boys. They would find a way to make superman popular, attractive for young boys. The only reason disney is even trying with hercules is because they don't have superman.

[Yoda]

My preorder for the Morrison Action Comics Omnibus was just cancelled by Amazon. Haven't seen anything official anywhere else, but it might not have hit the threshold for sales and got cancelled.

[Vordan]

My preorder for the Morrison Action Comics Omnibus was just cancelled by Amazon. Haven't seen anything official anywhere else, but it might not have hit the threshold for sales and got cancelled.

Pain. I ordered through DCBS so we’ll see if I get a cancellation notice.

Edit: It seems like they also delayed his JLA omnibus, so maybe there’s just an issue over on their end unconnected to sales? They did drop another distributor recently.

[Korath]

I don't get how it works in the US. Can't you just order around at DC directly or something ?

I'm pretty sure I could still buy the whole Morrison Action Comics run at the French publisher of DC, like I did years ago, even if I'm just the only one asking for a reprint... How does it work over there ?

[J. D. Guy]

I don't get how it works in the US. Can't you just order around at DC directly or something ?

I'm pretty sure I could still buy the whole Morrison Action Comics run at the French publisher of DC, like I did years ago, even if I'm just the only one asking for a reprint... How does it work over there ?

Not so well-versed in physical comic book selling, but I am generally aware that the US operates its selling of physical comics via middle-men companies. These middle-men companies are distributors, which is where Diamond comes in, who is one of the biggest (and for a time, only) comic book distribution companies. DC and Marvel, et al, sell their books to Diamond, who sell it to comic book shops. Therefore, comic book shops order from Diamond. And the end-consumer? They have to order from a comic-book shop, or some online equivalent of a comic-book shop. They can't order directly from Diamond, nor can they do so from DC/Marvel directly (typically).


Anyone who knows this situation with more clarity, please correct me and clarify as needed. I know this isn't 100% universal, like for example when it comes to super independent comic books and their (self-)publishers.

[Yoda]

Pain. I ordered through DCBS so we’ll see if I get a cancellation notice.

Edit: It seems like they also delayed his JLA omnibus, so maybe there’s just an issue over on their end unconnected to sales? They did drop another distributor recently.

Possibly but I think trades are distributed differently. And I doubt Amazon is beholden to the comic distributors.

[Vordan]

Possibly but I think trades are distributed differently. And I doubt Amazon is beholden to the comic distributors.

DC has been kinda scattershot with their trades. They solicited a Byrne Superman Omnibus then cancelled that and decided to make it a bunch of deluxes. Wasn’t the trade department one of the hardest hit by layoffs?

[Last Son of Krypton]

Comichron's October 2020 sales numbers projections:

Action Comics #1026 - 35,000/43,000

Superman #26 - 31,000/38,000

Batman Superman #13 - 31,000/37,000

Legion of Super-Heroes #10 - 28,000/34,000

Young Justice #19 - 18,000/22,000

Source: https://www.comichron.com/monthlycom...0/2020-10.html

[Sam]

Unusual to see Action beat Superman.

[BBally]

I decided to look up how the trades of Bendis' run on Superman have been doing through Comichron and other sources and so far according to what I could find the highest point of any trade of Bendis run on Superman reached was when Vol 1. Unity Saga managed just below the top 20. Compare that to say Superman Smashes The Klan that according to ICV2's Direct Market Graphic, managed to make the top 10 Graphic novels sales for the second quarter (April 1st - June 30) of 2020 (#5 in Unit sales and #10 in invoiced).

If a non canon Superman book managed to outperform the trades of an in-continuity Superman run that was still running, it's not a good look for Bendis' entire Superman in general.

[Vordan]

I decided to look up how the trades of Bendis' run on Superman have been doing through Comichron and other sources and so far according to what I could find the highest point of any trade of Bendis run on Superman reached was when Vol 1. Unity Saga managed just below the top 20. Compare that to say Superman Smashes The Klan that according to ICV2's Direct Market Graphic, managed to make the top 10 Graphic novels sales for the second quarter (April 1st - June 30) of 2020 (#5 in Unit sales and #10 in invoiced).

If a non canon Superman book managed to outperform the trades of an in-continuity Superman run that was still running, it's not a good look for Bendis' entire Superman in general.

Eh not really. Out of continuity stuff for DC typically does better than the in continuity stuff because it’s easier to follow and read. Not saying Bendis’ sales were great, just that out of continuity stuff selling better isn’t really a slight. Rebirth trades sold worse than New 52 ones apparently.

[BBally]

Eh not really. Out of continuity stuff for DC typically does better than the in continuity stuff because it’s easier to follow and read. Not saying Bendis’ sales were great, just that out of continuity stuff selling better isn’t really a slight. Rebirth trades sold worse than New 52 ones apparently.

Good point.