December 13, 2011
Diamond has released its November sales rankings, placing The Flash #3 in the #9 spot for units sold. ICv2′s November 2011 sales estimates have it selling roughly* 90,417 comics during the month.
Three issues in, it’s still well ahead of all but the first issues of The Flash vol.3 and Flash: Rebirth. It’s the sixth-highest selling Flash comic book in over a decade, or eighth if you include Flashpoint. And it’s still a Top 10 book.
On the other hand, it’s also a 20% drop from the previous issue. That’s awfully steep for anything but the second issue of a series.
Then again, the normal patterns may not apply here. By releasing 52 first issues in one month, DC managed to get a lot of people to try out more comics than they would have otherwise. The sales boost on the early issues was probably higher than it would have been for a more traditional relaunch, so the sharper drop may be less of a concern than it would be otherwise. And it’s still way above the 55K mark that I suggested might be the ultimate test of the relaunch.
Lastly, there’s been a lot of discussion in the comics blog scene the last few weeks over whether these sales estimates are even accurate enough to be worth analyzing. If they have as little to do with reality as Ivan Brandon and Steve Wacker suggest, then neither the drop nor the comparisons to other issues mean much of anything.
| Issue |
Rank |
Month |
Units Sold |
% Change |
| Flash vol.4 |
| Flash v.4 #1 |
4 |
September 2011 |
129,260 |
| Flash v.4 #2 |
5 |
October 2011 |
114,137 |
-11.7% |
| Flash v.4 #3 |
9 |
November 2011 |
90,417 |
-20.8% |
| Top-Selling Flash Issues |
| Flash v.4 #1 |
4 |
September 2011 |
129,260 |
| Flash:TFMA #1 |
7 |
June 2006 |
126,741 |
| Flash v.4 #2 |
5 |
October 2011 |
114,137 |
| Flash: Rebirth #1 |
2 |
April 2009 |
102,429 |
| Flash v.3 #1 |
2 |
April 2010 |
100,903 |
| Flashpoint #1 |
2 |
May 2011 |
95,845 |
| Flashpoint #5 |
2 |
August 2011 |
94,547 |
| Flash v.4 #3 |
9 |
November 2011 |
90,417 |
A few key articles covering past sales (with lots of numbers):
*What these numbers measure: US-only sales, wholesale from Diamond to comics retailers. They don’t count sales through bookstores, they don’t count international sales, and they don’t count how many copies were actually bought and read…but they do measure the same thing every month, which means they can be used to spot trends.
If you live in the US and you use the Internet, you need to know about this. There are two proposed laws, SOPA and Protect IP, that would set up a system to block access to websites deemed to be “infringing,” in the name of stopping piracy. Of course, “infringing” could refer to the actions of one user on a large site, like, say, Facebook or Wikipedia. Imagine if someone at Warner Bros. filed a complaint about someone’s fan art on DeviantArt, and the government blocked access to the entire site. Sort of like shutting down an entire mall because one shopper was accused (not even proven!) of wearing a counterfeit Rolex.
Of course, once a system like this is in place, we all know it’ll never be abused, right?
And that’s not even getting into the technical implications of the bills, which would put an extra burden on tech startups and actually undermine efforts by the US government itself to make the internet more secure.
████, the ████ ████ █████ ██████ the ████████ ██████ the US in the ████ of ████████ ██████ (█████ it ██████’t), isn’t ████ yet. In ████, it’s █████ to a ████ ████ ████.
(Cross-posted from K-Squared Ramblings)
December 12, 2011
I’ve updated the site to WordPress 3.3. WordPress updates usually go smoothly these days, but in case you run into something that looks wrong or doesn’t work, please let me know. Comment here, use the contact form, send a note on Twitter to @SpeedForceOrg, or just send an email to speedforce at pobox dot com.
THE FLASH #7
Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and BRIAN BUCCELLATO
Variant cover by DALE KEOWN
1:200 B&W Variant cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
On sale MARCH 28 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
Captain Cold is back – and he’s more dangerous than ever! Seeking revenge on The Flash, he must convince the rest of the Rogues to reunite one last time. But what tore them apart before? And what did The Flash do to earn their deadly scorn? Find out here!
DC released their March Justice League group solicits today. Check them out over at The Source!
December 11, 2011
Your regularly scheduled weekend linkblogging…
First the Flash & Speedster stuff
More comics-related stuff
And beyond comics.
December 8, 2011
In case you’re wondering where my reviews of Flash #2 and Flash #3 are, this may shed some light…
- Wednesday: It’s new comic day! I can’t wait to read this week’s comics! I’ll just have to make sure I finish my review tonight or tomorrow so it’s among the first batch people see.
- Saturday: There are still some people who buy comics on the weekend, right? So a review is still timely.
- Tuesday: Crap, new comics will be out tomorrow! I’d better make sure I post that review tonight!
- Next Wednesday: Well, everyone’s going to be reading reviews of this week’s comics. So I guess I’ve got three weeks to review this one before the next one’s out.
- Three Tuesdays Later: Crap, the new issue is out tomorrow and I still haven’t reviewed this one! I’d better get cracking!
- Wednesday: Eh, forget it. No one wants to read a review of last month’s issue. But hey, it’s new comic day! I can’t wait to read this week’s comics! I’ll just have to make sure I finish my review tonight or tomorrow so it’s among the first batch people see….
Lather, rinse, repeat.
December 7, 2011
Welcome to the latest installment in our annotations of the collected edition of The Trial of the Flash! We’ve analyzed related stories leading up to the summer 2011 release of Showcase Presents: The Trial of the Flash. In addition, we’ve interviewed author Cary Bates about the buildup and the Trial itself, plus shown you what wasn’t included in the collection.
Links to artwork and research are included throughout this post. For legal analysis of the story, something I will not attempt, go here. For this issue’s corresponding Tom vs. The Flash podcast, go here!
Read the rest of this entry »
December 6, 2011
The Source has posted the first complete look at Captain Cold, as he appears in the New 52.
Of the redesigned Rogue, the Flash creative team of Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato had this to say in a recent interview with IGN:
IGN: What plans do you have for Captain Cold and the rest of the Rogues?
Manapul:Captain Cold and the rest of the Rogues are currently broken up. In fact, they hate each other. In our second arc we catch up with Captain Cold and learn more about this dysfunctional family called The Rogues. Thematically, they take a similar journey as the Flash, and it will all come to a head in that arc.
Buccellato: They are going to TRY and kick The Flash’s butt all over Central City.
Manapul also had this to say, in an interview with CBR, about the new take on Cold and the Rogues:
Manapul: I love Captain Cold. To me, he is a real badass! And I think you’re going to see that, once we start our second arc. I also like characters like the Pied Piper, but our take on him is going to be different, he’s — well, I don’t want to reveal anything! But it’s going to be fun, because what you are going to see is, rather than a reintroduction of the Rogues, you’re going to see an evolution of them.
The “evolution” has been revealed to be an internalization of their powers, which is evident as well in the new image.
What do you think of the new look for The Man Who Mastered Absolute Zero?
IGN has posted some new clips from the “Lightning Strikes” Flash expansion pack for DC Universe Online. You can catch an animated promo video showing the Flash and some villains, as well as a scene of Barry Allen explaining the scenario’s mission to the player. And to top it off (oh man, I am so sorry), three videos showing gameplay against the Top, Pied Piper, and the Trickster. Yes, there are puns, and Piper tells you to “shake your groove thing”.
Eagle-eyed viewers may notice the Trickster is wearing the same costume as in the Infinite Heroes toy line. An interesting choice; perhaps the game designers borrowed the figure’s design art. All in all, it’s pretty cool to see some of the abilities and moves the Rogues have in the game, although not all the new ones are shown (Weather Wizard, Abra Kadabra and Professor Zoom will just have to wait).
December 4, 2011
