August direct Market sales: Marvel has only one series in the top 10

[ImprobableQuestion]

Everyone else: it's because of minorities and they haven't relaunched yet!

Me: they just spent the last four months dragging us through the dregs of the mid 2000's in a massive out-of-character company-wide crossover!

[Prof. Warren]

People that think this are in for a rude awakening. Marvel Comics has become a running joke. Nothing will save Marvel Comics than actually a Kevin Feige figure stepping in. That person isn't Alonso, Brevoort and let alone Bendis, who I hold mostly responsible for the mess that Marvel Comics is right now. The best creators don't stay because they aren't paid fairly, with one rare exception that is Dan Slott. The fact that Spider-Man's Dan Slott comics are the outliers aren't just a testament to the character's popularity, but how much he gets and understands him. Other than that, everything went to hell. I wonder how bad can it gets before Kevin Feige and Disney higher ups call for an intervention, hopefully from Feige himself.

"The best creators don't stay because they aren't paid fairly." This is purely an (incorrect) assumption on your part and not an actual fact. Few creators stay forever at either of the Big Two, mostly due to wanting to explore their own creatively owned material. Hickman, Brubaker and Remender have all said as much. All three made their mark at Marvel and moved on amicably. There's plenty of talent still there - Slott, Waid, Bendis, Duggan, Aaron, and Soule to name a few - and new ones on their way up - such as Ewing, Walker, Wilson and Coates.

Also, seeing as Marvel has been in the number one sales slot forever, I don't think anyone is pushing the panic button over being number #2 for a few months. They didn't when New52 launched (even though doom criers insisted at the time that Marvel would need to reboot to compete) and they won't now.

DC= We went back to the basics, feature our classic characters in our books

Marvel= We have killed off and/or turned all of our classic characters into minority versions of themselves

Was there any question which would sell?

DC relaunches their entire line with new #1s - two #1s for every title actually with both a "Rebirth" issue and a new #1 - and double shipping on all titles.

Marvel has one event going on that didn't ship an issue in August and no new title launches.

Is there any question which company would have the better month?

[Kirby Krackle]

I have to wonder, why is the Marvel forum obsessed with this... when the DC forum has like one post about it? lol.

[Prof. Warren]

I have to wonder, why is the Marvel forum obsessed with this... when the DC forum has like one post about it? lol.

I think a) some fans get anxious when Marvel isn't #1 and think that it's a big deal when, actually, it used to be normal for Marvel and DC to swap positions on the charts several times a year and also b) fans who are unhappy with Marvel want to point to DC's performance as "proof" that Marvel is doing something wrong when the truth is Marvel's sales are in line with what they've been - they're not "down" so much as much as DC is enjoying a Rebirth-fueled bump.

[Lemurion]

Wait for Marvel NOW! 2016. Marvel will outsell DC better than DC is outselling Marvel currently.

Possibly; but the deck is stacked so far in Marvel's favor that it wouldn't be the same achievement. Remember, DC is doing this with fewer books at a lower average price point. From everything I've seen, Marvel NOW! 2016 just isn't generating the kind of excitement necessary for real domination. I'm only excited for the new Wasp book, and most of that's because of the artist.

I think a big part of Marvel's current problem lies in the fact that their pricing and publication strategies seem to be working at cross purposes. They're trying to push the price envelope upwards at the same time they are trying to get people to try new ideas and characters. DC's keeping the prices at a point where it's an easier decision for people to jump on and try new things.

Still, it's the excitement, or lack thereof that's the real problem. Right now, while Marvel's putting out some great books, they're doing a terrible job of building excitement. Part of it is that they're going back to the relaunch well too often, so all the promised wonders of each relaunch never have time to flourish. Add in events that get delayed to the point that they end half-way through the new status quo they're supposed to usher in, and it just doesn't hold reader interest.

[ian0delond]

Marvel is about to start two events named Clone Conspiracy and Inhuman vs X-Men. It should do the trick to get the spotlight back.

And they probably don't worry much about their next relaunch when Champions #1 has over 400k preorders.

Marvel is fine.

[RLAAMJR.]

Wow! Harley Quinn is #1!

[gurkle]

I have to wonder, why is the Marvel forum obsessed with this... when the DC forum has like one post about it? lol.

I think part of it is just that some Marvel fans (certainly not all, of course) aren't satisfied with Marvel's current direction, and so would like evidence that it's hurting Marvel's sales. Just like people who didn't like the DCYou experiment were happy to point to the evidence that it wasn't working.

Unlike DCYou we really don't have enough evidence at this point that Marvel's current direction isn't working. Of course whether Civil War 2 ends up making money or not will not change my low opinion of it.

And I agree with whoever said a page or so ago that Marvel's current direction can't be described as "edgy." That was closer to what the New 52 was trying to do. ANAD Marvel has been, overall, quite lighthearted, partly because they're trying to get younger readers who might not want the sex n' violence that superhero comics have become stereotypically associated with, partly because they wanted to do something different from the grimness of Hickman's Avengers and Remender's Uncanny Avengers.

I think the line has erred on the side of lightness lately and that makes some of the books seem too low-stakes. But I'm sure they'll be grim again in no time and the cycle will continue.

[crimsonspider89]

Marvel is about to start two events named Clone Conspiracy and Inhuman vs X-Men. It should do the trick to get the spotlight back.

And they probably don't worry much about their next relaunch when Champions #1 has over 400k preorders.

Marvel is fine.

That is due to variant issue tricks, and the discount.

All the #1s Marvel produces sell that high then follow a massive dropoff.

If follow the trend ANAD started then should be really bad.

[Lemurion]

Marvel is about to start two events named Clone Conspiracy and Inhuman vs X-Men. It should do the trick to get the spotlight back.

And they probably don't worry much about their next relaunch when Champions #1 has over 400k preorders.

Marvel is fine.

While I agree that Marvel is fine in the long term, I'm not as sanguine about the next two events. I think Clone Conspiracy will do well, but getting people excited about the Inhumans is a tall order even if they are fighting the X-Men. As for the 400,000 preorders for Champions - those are good numbers, but then there is the second issue drop to consider.

The real question isn't going to be who wins October, but rather who wins December. What really impressed me with Rebirth is that DC's relative numbers improved from June to July to August.

[Username taken]

Don't think this really means much at the moment. Remember, DC dominated for months after the New 52 relaunch. There were times when Marvel got pretty much shut out of the top 10. Well, they're in the middle of an event now and they have yet another relaunch planned down the line. So judging the situation now, given the context for both companies, is simply inaccurate. The real test will come when we see the sales of Marvel's latest relaunch. If this relaunch still fails to match Rebirth's numbers, then we can say it. Marvel is in trouble, but I don't think that'll be the case.

This basically.

When the new 52 launched, DC got up to 50 freaking per cent of the market share. Until DC's re-birth, Marvel had a hammer lock on the market and most of DCs titles had fallen off a cliff.

In another few months, Marvel will re-launch and dominate again. I might not be reading as many Marvel comics as before but folks need to understand that it's just the way the market is and no one should be surprised by this anymore.

[whiterabbit]

I'm sure this is true. Writers are often fans themselves.

Marvel's current changes aren't unprecedented (which, to me, just shows that they're rooted in tradition and not simply the careless gestures that some believe them to be) but they are playing out in ways that are not easily predictable. Just because I'm familiar with Eric Masterson doesn't mean I know how Jane Foster's tenure as Thor will end (if in fact it ever does). And just because Cap has tangled with the Cosmic Cube before doesn't mean I know how this round will play out and we've never seen Doom truly try to be a hero before and not just a "noble villain."

Yeah, lately I can barely tell when writers genuinely like something as it's been extremely popular to shake things up and change characters or directions. Going back to the old ways must give them nostalgia like those retro fans.

If the outcomes do not end with any traditional ending I will be impressed: Jane Foster will either die, be cured of cancer, or be given a hammer. No one expects Captain America to stay a member of Hydra, so he either goes back to being a superhero, retires for a while, or dies and be reborn. Dr. Doom is too good a villain to stay a hero -- Baron Zemo, Sandman, Venom, Riddler, Black Adam, Sinestro... All went villain to hero to villain again.

[El_Gato]

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2016/09/...n-august-2016/

Here is an update, with the top 100 comics

[Slant]

In another few months, Marvel will re-launch and dominate again.

Thats not a given, since you're not actually looking at whats been happening.

Marvels book dropped like hell, which is how they got here in the first place. DCs books have yet to have the same kind of drops. And we're not accounting the mass difference in books being published by both sides.

This whole thing depends on if Marvels books keep readers, and they've gotten worse at that with every relaunch. The 1s will be fine but then then they don't have as much this time around.

[lordozone]

"Aquaman - and even Saga - beats every X-men comics."

Wow. I was not a big fan of the X-men, but Marvel have really destroyed this franchise, and for no good reasons: Inhuman will never be the new X-men. They can try all they want, it will not happening.