Sales figures for June

[keeen]

And if FANS tried those books instead of bashing them as a whole or encouraging boycotts of them based on who is on the cover-sales might be better.

As long as you got entitlement fans that act like Marvel is not allowed to have books beyond the chosen few-you see the results.

That list of possible cancellations was pretty much everything I buy from Marvel. Ultimates2, Unbeatable SQ, Royals, Fury, America, Crew...thing is, I buy them all digitally. I know this is just one anecdote, but if some of those books don't get cancelled, there may be a market unaccounted for in these figures. But, those books are all going to get cancelled anyway, so maybe I'm just wrong.

[Timmyb52]

Not buying a book you don't want to buy is not entitlement.

Expecting others to buy a book you like is.

Also....Marvel's books are expensive and not getting cheaper. Not everyone is made of money to pay 5 bucks a pop for a comic book. If Marvel had any sense they would start looking at ways to lower their costs instead of thinking that the only way to boost their profit margins and sales rankings is to raise their price on their books.
The comic book industry needs to start lowering costs if they wish ti maintain their readership and to attract new readers...ending the monopoly called Diamond Distribution would also help IMO.

[rui no onna]

Also....Marvel's books are expensive and not getting cheaper. Not everyone is made of money to pay 5 bucks a pop for a comic book. If Marvel had any sense they would start looking at ways to lower their costs instead of thinking that the only way to boost their profit margins and sales rankings is to raise their price on their books.
The comic book industry needs to start lowering costs if they wish ti maintain their readership and to attract new readers...ending the monopoly called Diamond Distribution would also help IMO.

In all fairness, Marvel has the very excellent and affordable Marvel Unlimited subscription service for those who don't mind being 6 months behind.

Marvel's random double ships, high priced issues and crossovers play havoc on my comics budget every month so despite Brevoort, Alonso, et al saying single issues are the "proper" way to read Marvel comics, I'm likely just going back to Marvel Unlimited once Secret Empire is over.

[Kuwagaton]

Is it possible they think he's a good writer with extensive knowledge of some fairly obscure cosmic characters, and they like the mythos-building that he's doing? Eh, he'll probably be gone from Marvel soon. He reminds me of my other favorite marvel writer, Jeff Parker, sigh.

Yeah, Ewing is pretty much my favorite Marvel writer right now and Jeff Parker was my favorite some years ago. Unfortunately, a very particular style of comic sells, and most others don't.

But oh well. Books like Black Bolt, Ultimates, Royals, and Iron Fist are dope. And if they end, they end.

[nnelg]

Because you ignore the other success that book, especially outside comic book stores.

Because you don't know WHY that book is at 20k. Sorry there are folks who do NOT want these books in their stores based on who is on the cover. We heard that with Mosaic, Inhumans & Sam Alexander a LOT.

Because you cherry pick rage. None of these books are the reason FF are not around. It's ONE person.

Go yell at HIM.

What success? Getting sales numbers that would have caused Marvel to cancel them 3 years ago. Are or were the titles that you are talking about published monthly? If so that is what matters. If monthly sales didn't matter then Marvel would just release the titles your speaking of as trades.

I think I listed some of the reasons why in the post that you just responded to. As far as the who is on the cover horseshit. Comic shop owner order based on what their customers ask to be pulled. If a small number of customers ask for Mosaic to be in their bag then they will order a small number with a few extra for the shelves. If a large number ask for Mosaic then a large number will be ordered with a significant amount for the shelves. It is as simple as that.



As far as cherry picking rage I'm assuming you are referencing my previous post about the replacement of popular characters. Or the Death of Wolverine. Why shouldn't I speak about the entertainment I have loved since childhood being screwed up? Entertainment is the key word. I don't care about your political agenda as far as comics are concerned. I care about when they are going to unNazi Cap. Hydra has been Marvels stand in for Nazi for decades. I could go on about similar things with different characters that i like but this post would be significantly longer. Continuity I get pissed that they ignore there continuity all the time. I could go on and on about that but I'm not.



Also I didn't say those books are the reason why F4 was canceled. But none of those books should be published instead of Fantastic 4. Hell I can name more books that should be published instead of almost every book on that list.


1. Uncanny X-men
2. Alpha Flight
3. New Warriors
4. New Mutants
5.Secret Defenders
6.X-Factor
7.X- Force
8.Gambit
9. Exiles
10. A real Thor title
11. A real Cap title
12. Excalibur
13. Blade
14. A real Avengers title
15. A real Ironman title
16. A real Hulk title
17. Adam Warlock
18. Another Wolverine title. Why not I'd buy it
I'm sure that I forgot some titles. Every title listed on its own is more deserving of a ongoing than any that you keep mentioning.


Did you buy Sif's solo? If not should I constantly blame you because it got canceled?

[mace11]

Books below cancellation level of 20,000:

Captain America Sam Wilson
True Believers Amazing Spider-Man
Ms. Marvel
Luke Cage
Royals
Ultimates2
Rocket
U.S. Avengers
Doctor Strange Sorcerers Supreme
Spider-Man 2099
Black Panther Crew
Hawkeye
Silver Surfer
Man-Thing
Nova
Nick Fury
America
Monsters Unleashed
Zombies Assemble
Elektra
Kingpin
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl
Zombies Assemble
Occupy Avengers
Bullseye
True Believers Peter Parker
Unstoppable Wasp
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur
True Believers Miles Morales

Cancellation levels had change a few years ago.
It is anywhere below 17,000 to 11,000/10,00 i think.
Currently today it could be lower.

[jbmasta]

Secret Empire is not bombing, but this is surprisingly low for a comic book event.

Now Luke Cage and Nick Fury on the other hand are bombing, along with America and Monsters Unleashed.

Monsters Unleashed dropped completely off my radar.

[jbmasta]

Books below cancellation level of 20,000:

Captain America Sam Wilson
True Believers Amazing Spider-Man
Ms. Marvel
Luke Cage
Royals
Ultimates2
Rocket
U.S. Avengers
Doctor Strange Sorcerers Supreme
Spider-Man 2099
Black Panther Crew
Hawkeye
Silver Surfer
Man-Thing
Nova
Nick Fury
America
Monsters Unleashed
Zombies Assemble
Elektra
Kingpin
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl
Zombies Assemble
Occupy Avengers
Bullseye
True Believers Peter Parker
Unstoppable Wasp
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur
True Believers Miles Morales

Nova concluded last month.

[jbmasta]

But Marvel wants the sweet sales bump that a #1 issue brings never mind that's usually followed by fast attrition and a much lower steady state level.

Not to mention the law of diminishing returns on the practice as consumers become all too aware of the why. While there may be a case for lower numbers theoretically being more appealing to a casual browser, it's often far easier to retain the readers you already have, who will be turned off by the frequent relaunches (if there's a related movie there may be an element of corporate synergy that readers may not like). You can put jumping on points within the longer run, put more marketing towards these issues. A new creative team doesn't need the numbering to be refreshed. Those who are interested have the chance to check out the back issues or trades. It's amazing to think that it's now rare for Marvel titles to reach issue 20 without being relaunched.

[Colossus1980]

In all fairness, Marvel has the very excellent and affordable Marvel Unlimited subscription service for those who don't mind being 6 months behind.

DisMarvel should be advertising this service at their movies. Make a commercial and show it before they start the trailers. I'm assuming they show commercials in America just like they do in Canada. Maybe they will see a spike in subscribers.

[Iron Maiden]

It should be noted that one of Diamond's biggest clients, the Hastings chain, went out of business last year. So it's not like the exact same number of clients are now buying less books. When a retail chain of 123 stores goes belly up, that's a lot of comics that suddenly aren't being purchased. So when people want to compare numbers from a previous event to now, it's worth noting that a lot of stores that used to carry books are no longer part of the equation.

If it were me, and it was one of those areas with no local retailer I'd go digital. I know there are some areas of Indiana or SW Michigan where there's hardly a comic book shop to be found. There used to be 5 shops within an easy drive for me but it went down to 3. None of them were with a large chain like that. I find those kind of multimedia stores like a Hastings rarely stock as many comics as an LCS where comics and some related merch like actions figures, trades, etc. are their bread and butter.

Too bad the chain went under though....this article has an old commercial of theirs and they look like they would have been my kind of store to shop in. We still have one FYE in this area with CDs, DVDs and a small collection of collectibles. No comix though.

[rui no onna]

DisMarvel should be advertising this service at their movies. Make a commercial and show it before they start the trailers. I'm assuming they show commercials in America just like they do in Canada. Maybe they will see a spike in subscribers.

I got a free trial to Marvel Unlimited with a MCU Blu-ray purchase last year. That's how I got started reading American comics. Started getting floppies in order to "support" my fave series but that seems pointless.

[Drops Of Venus]

Ewing is sales poison. This has been known for quite some time. His style doesn't appeal to many people. I personally am not a big fan. His ever-present brand of comedy that is in all of his works has never appealed to me, and he has a penchant for over-self-indulgence almost to the point of masturbation.

But he HAS managed to cultivate a very small, but very loyal fanbase, and generally is consistently highly regarded by most people who read actively his stuff, so that's probably why Marvel just keeps putting him on books they were aware had very little chance of being overly successful. Or maybe they're just giving him shit gigs and aren't aware...or maybe he's asking for these books? Who knows.

Well, I disagree. Put him on a Spider-Man, an A-list X-Men or an A-list Avengers book and see how he would fare... I highly doubt he would poison the sales. The thing is, that's not the kind of books he usually gets. And I certainly wouldn't be surprised if he is the one who asks for this... it's just the kind of guy he is.

[MarvelMaster616]

Any book that places two issues in the Top Ten isn't bombing. Landing outside the Top 50 is bombing. Also, so far it's arguably the best event either of the big two have done. Certainly in the top five.

I agree. I think these numbers are somewhat deceptive because they only tell part of the story. It's something Tom Brevoort goes out of his way to point out every time someone throws these numbers in his face. These are just estimates. These only cover the direct market. They say nothing about the digital market, which is where more and more markets are going. The market of comics in 2017 just isn't the same as it was five or ten years ago. That's just an inescapable fact. As dire as these numbers are for certain series, I don't think you can say they're bombing without knowing the digital sales figures, which aren't made public for some reason. I'd be very interested in knowing how Secret Empire is doing in that domain. But without those figures, we're still left with an incomplete picture at best.

[jbmasta]

I agree. I think these numbers are somewhat deceptive because they only tell part of the story. It's something Tom Brevoort goes out of his way to point out every time someone throws these numbers in his face. These are just estimates. These only cover the direct market. They say nothing about the digital market, which is where more and more markets are going. The market of comics in 2017 just isn't the same as it was five or ten years ago. That's just an inescapable fact. As dire as these numbers are for certain series, I don't think you can say they're bombing without knowing the digital sales figures, which aren't made public for some reason. I'd be very interested in knowing how Secret Empire is doing in that domain. But without those figures, we're still left with an incomplete picture at best.

And how much of it represents international numbers?