Comments on: Marvel Month-to-Month Sales - February 2008

by: Blog@Newsarama » Fantastic Four sales not so ultimate?

Fri, 23 May 2008 13:54:24 +0000

[…] Paul O’Brien looks at the February sales figures for Marvel books, and finds himself surprised by a couple of things, including X-Force being the #1 book for the month: Didn’t see that one coming, to be honest. Aside from the fact that I was expecting FANTASTIC FOUR to top the chart, I had this book figured for the lower end of the top ten. But apparently “Messiah Complex” did a better job of promoting this new series than I gave it credit for, and the variant covers don’t hurt… […]

by: Darkfung

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:20:20 +0000

“To be fair, isn’t that what Millar is trying to do? At least he’s not reusing the old rogue’s gallery. ”

It was this going back to basics and re-using the wealth of past characters, the old “rogues gallery”, that got me back into Marvel - better to use an antagonist with a rich history than a generic throw-away mutant you won’t hear of again

by: Samy Merchi

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 07:22:33 +0000

Much as I hate the idea of Bucky as Cap, it’s pretty undeniable that saleswise, it is a success. I can’t imagine it’s a “bust” by any meter other than a few individuals’ subjective opinions.

by: Matt

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:43:43 +0000

Your trying to tell me ed brubaker is doing a good job and captain america. The new cap is a bust and your spin control is not going to change that. This new cap idea was doomed from the start. Just like batman when they tried to replace bruce wayne with azrael. New Cap ain’t gonna work

by: Samy Merchi

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 06:02:53 +0000

Re: FF

I’m waiting for the hardcover, simply because I prefer that format to singles, and I am 90% certain that Marvel will treat us to a one big oversized hardcover of the entire Millar/Hitch run after they’re done. It’ll be nice next to my Waid/Ringo hardcovers. It’s not so much that I’m concerned about delays, as it is me being a format snob.

Same thing with Clandestine. I’m hoping for a nice hardcover to sit beside the recently released one of the original series.

by: Tim O'Neil

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 04:01:18 +0000

I was under the impression that the Anita Blake collections were selling like hotcakes in reg’lar bookstores?

by: Liam

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 10:14:17 +0000

re: Omega. I’m reading it monthly, and it really is a phenomenal book that reads like nothing else Marvel publish. It just doesn’t feel like a Marvel book and I fully expect the graphic novel sales to be solid and long-lasting. Reading this in a single sitting is going to be very satisfying.

by: Wraith

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 19:35:21 +0000

Joseph, Hudlin’s BP series sales better then Priest’s run whenever the book is part of a crossover,has a variant cover,or is being drawn by a “hot” artist. When it’s not employing any of these gimmicks, the book is selling around where Priest’s run was selling about (I THINK) a year or two or three before the book was canceled. Hudlin’s BP run is another example of Marvel employing stunts and gimmicks to give the impression that a book is selling well because of the creative team that the editorial regime favors.

by: Wraith

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 19:22:39 +0000

Chris Weston, the reason that we (fans,SOME retailers,and the writers of this column) are saying that the sales of THE TWELVE are disappointing is because MANY (NOT ALL) of us expect a book that is (a) written by a big name popular and critically acclaimed celebrity Hollywood writer (b) drawn by a critically acclaimed artist and (c) has a good amount of hype and promotion behind it to sell a heck of a lot better then 40,000 copies for the first issue and 27,000 copies for the 2nd issue.

by: Joseph

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 19:00:16 +0000

Does anyone know how the current Black Panther numbers compare to the book’s numbers during Priest’s run?

by: Metal Misfit

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:13:13 +0000

“The reason why the first issue of Millar and Hitch’s FF underperformed (which is something I have been telling you guys was going to happen for months now) is because (a) the FF is not as popular as it used to be…”

Stop right there. He hit the nail on the head with that one. Their spot for February doesn’t surprise me at all and I fully expect FF to go back to just “being there”.

I never understood the hype anyway. “It’s Millar & Hitch!” So? It’s still FF.

by: Chris Weston

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:11:20 +0000

Paul. Thanks for the name-check! I always appreciate the publicity.

I just want to know: exactly WHO deems the sales of The Twelve “disappointing”? Certainly not Marvel; we exceeded their expectations, so why should they be disappointed?

Quite the reverse in fact; they give every impression of being delighted and, dare I say it, surprised at this book’s progress.

by: Wraith

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 03:25:19 +0000

Ray Cornwall, the CC/SL run on FF lasted for 2 years. so there was PLENTY of time for the sales boost do to the relaunch of the book by the previous creative team to wear off. If their run on FF was as terrible as you say it was, then sales on the book would have fallen a lot faster and a lot lower then they did.

And yes, I know Pacheco was a big name when he took over the book. However, Pacheco is not as big of a name then some of the creators that followed his run on the book.

by: Paul O'Brien

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 22:50:51 +0000

A quick skim of the archives suggests that FANTASTIC FOUR was indeed regularly placing in the top 15 during Claremont’s run, for whatever that’s worth.

by: Brian

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 18:50:09 +0000

Thank you for explaining the NA #31 giveaway. I thought perhaps it was a cross-promo for Secret Invasion.

by: Ray Cornwall

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 18:40:02 +0000

“IIRC, the Claremont and Laroca FF run consistently placed in the top 15. Of course, people seem to have either forgotten that little fact or refuse to acknowledge that a non X-book written by the critically panned Claremont actually sold pretty decently.”

If that’s true- and I highly doubt it- it’s probably due to the fact that the run happened just after the relaunch of the book post-Heroes Reborn. It’s a dreadful run, practically unreadable. I’ve read nearly every FF comic ever made, and these are right up there with the DeFalco/Ryan run as the worst FF comics ever.

Pacheco was a big name when he took over the book, by the way.

by: JD

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:33:17 +0000

Er, TWELVE is nearly 10K below IRON MAN. Yes, the first issue sold better, but they always do.

by: Joe Williams

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 11:37:23 +0000

Why doesn’t Marvel just bring back the Epic name for the former DBPro books? They need a brand and “Best Selling Authors” frankly sucks.

All the Joe Q. haters should note those X-factor sales since the knock against him was that he was neglecting the X-line and those Spider-Man sales aren’t as bad as all the “boycotters” would have led us to believe.

For the life of me, I don’t get how The Twelve sales are considered disappointing when it’s selling as well as Iron Man.

by: Alan Coil

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 07:05:13 +0000

“Before people start blaming the recession,…”

I stopped by the LCS this afternoon. I’ve not seen that many issues of New Comics This Week sitting on the shelf in years. Comics manager can’t cut the orders fast enough.

by: Marc-Oliver Frisch

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 22:24:19 +0000

“They also duplicated the gimmick with New Avengers #31. So for every comic you buy from a sale list, you can get a New Avengers #31 for free. You may see that show up on next month’s list.”

Wasn’t that the issue with the Elektra twist? It seems Marvel printed more copies of the book than they managed to sell.