Speed Force

Last week we reported that Flash #4 ranked #8 for the month of December. ICV2 has released its December sales estimates, figuring that the comic sold 77,336 copies. Despite the slight climb in rank, that’s a 14.5% drop from previous issue. Not as big as the the drop from #2 to #3, but still big. And it’s a whopping 40% drop from #1. On the plus side, it’s still above any issue of vol.3 after the first, and above the 55K threshold I pulled out of thin air last year.

What does it mean?

To be honest, I have no idea. The New 52 was an unprecedented event, with all of DC’s books seeing a sales spike. The drop is big, sure, but the numbers are still high, and the ranking is phenomenal for the Flash. Is this just a reflection of the overall market re-adjusting after DC’s line-wide sales spike a few months ago? Is DC worried about The Flash dropping faster than other top-tier titles, or are they glad it’s not dropping as quickly as the lower tier? Obviously they’re not too concerned, because they haven’t changed the creative team — something DC hasn’t shied away from in the short time since the launch.

The more I report on sales figures, the less I understand the implications. And that’s assuming the numbers are consistent enough to analyze to begin with.

A few key articles covering past sales (with lots of numbers):

• Flash Sales 1996-2002
• Flash Sales 2001-2008
• Flash: Rebirth & Blackest Night Sales
• Flash vol.3 Sales

*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.

Diamond’s December sales rankings are out, and The Flash #4 is ranked the month’s #8 comic by units sold. Four issues in a row in the top 10 is, as far as I know, a first for The Flash (at least in recent memory). Volume three spent most of its time in the 10-20 range, and even Flash: Rebirth dropped to #14 in the fourth issue. Only Flashpoint held in the top 10 longer…for all five issues of the miniseries, in fact, including both August issues.

Detailed estimates will likely be available sometime next week.

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.

A few key articles covering past sales (with lots of numbers):

• Flash Sales 1996-2002
• Flash Sales 2001-2008
• Flash: Rebirth & Blackest Night Sales
• Flash vol.3 Sales

*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.

Diamond’s sales rankings for October are up, along with ICv2′s sales estimates*. Flash #2 was ranked the #5 comic book, selling an estimated 114,137 copies, and the Flashpoint hardcover was the top graphic novel selling 5,646 copies to comic stores.

That represents am 11.17% drop from issue #1, which sounds like a lot…but for a #2 issue, it’s phenomenal. You expect a lot of people to pick up a #1 out of curiosity, or speculation, or just because they collect #1s. Add in the line-wide relaunch and people who bought every single New 52 first issue (without intending to keep going), and you’d expect this to be a lot higher.

For comparison, Flash vol.3 dropped 24% from issue #1 to #2. Flash: TFMA dropped a staggering 35% between the first two issues.

Also: Look down that list a ways, and you’ll find the Flash #1 second printing at 18,558 copies. That’s more copies of a reprint than the latest new issue of the highest-selling Vertigo book.

*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.

Flash #1 Sells Estimated 129K in US, Over 150K Worldwide

ICv2′s September sales estimates are out, and The Flash #1 is ranked #4 on the charts with 129,260 units sold. Those are US-only numbers, based on sales through Diamond, and DC states that the book has sold over 150,000 copies worldwide. Let’s stick with the ICv2 numbers for now, though, because they’re the ones I’ve been tracking over the last few years, which means we can compare trends over time.

The new Flash #1 does in fact beat the previous record-holder, Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #1 (2006, starring Bart Allen), which sold an estimated 126,741 copies after reorders.

I’m only listing the launches here, since none of the series lasted long enough to find its level and start building back up. Flash: TFMA (Bart) dropped to around 46K before experiencing a Countdown-powered uptick. The relaunched Flash vol.2 (Wally) dropped into the 20s, about half the numbers it was pulling in before Infinite Crisis, when it peaked at 50K for the final issue of Geoff Johns’ first run. Flash: vol.3 (Barry) seemed to level out around 54K over its last few issues.

It’s obvious that a lot of the success of this issue is due to the massive relaunch. But at the same time, while DC’s 52 #1s sold phenomenally well overall, they didn’t all sell over 100,000 copies. This has driven home the fact that the Flash really is one of DC’s top-tier characters. Even if half the general public thinks his name is Gordon, they at least know he’s the guy in red who runs fast. He really is cancellation-proof.

The real question now, of course, is how many of those readers who picked it up to try it out will stick around. Based on the last six years, I think if the book is still selling well over 55K a year from now, DC can count this Flash relaunch a success. If not, well…fifth time’s the charm, right?

A few key articles covering past sales (with lots of numbers):

• Flash Sales 1996-2002
• Flash Sales 2001-2008
• Flash: Rebirth & Blackest Night Sales
• Flash vol.3 Sales

Diamond has released its September sales charts, and The Flash #1 takes the #4 spot on the chart. DC dominated the charts with 9 of the top 10 comics, and Flash was beat only by Batman #1, Action Comics #1, and Green Lantern #1.

From what DC has said before, we know that The Flash sold somewhere between 126K and 200K copies (more links in that article to older sales figures). And if three of DC’s books sold over 200K, and Flash is #4, it’s probably at the high end of that range.

Detailed sales estimates will no doubt be available soon at Comic Chronicles & ICv2.

Update: I had an interesting thought. Is this the first time sales have gone up with the next issue after Geoff Johns has left a series? Obviously the circumstances are unusual, but still…

Cosmic Book News reports that The Flash #1, due in stores tomorrow, is the best-selling* Flash title in 40 years, according to a statement Dan Didio made on Facebook:

Happy to say that the New 52 FLASH comic is the best selling issue of Flash in over 40 years.

In fact, the first month of DC’s “New 52″ is settings records all around. In a market that rarely sees more than a couple of books a month exceed 100,000 copies, 11 DC books have passed 100K, 3 have passed 200K, and all 52 have sold out. Even unexpected series like Hawk & Dove, Batwing, Men of War and OMAC are getting second printings.

I’ve only seen sales figures going back to 1996, but the highest-selling issue of the last 15 years was Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #1 in 2006, selling an estimated 126,741 copies. The first issue of Bart Allen’s solo series was notable as the first major relaunch of the Flash in 20 years, while subsequent relaunches with Wally West’s surprise return (2007, ~79K), Barry Allen in Flash: Rebirth (2009, ~102K) and Barry Allen’s solo series (2010, ~100K) failed to match it.

Of course, the real question is: How much of the audience can they keep? First issues tend to sell a lot more than second, third and fourth issues, between speculators and people who just want to try out a new series. The real test is going to be how many people are still on board by the end of the first story arc.

*Sales figures in the comics industry are based on wholesale — how many copies are ordered by retailers — which is why they have numbers available now, before the books go on sale to readers.

ICv2′s May sales estimates are up, including the final issue of Flash vol.3 and the first issue of Flashpoint. Flashpoint #1 sold an estimated 86,981 copies, ranked #2 for the month (right behind Marvel’s big event comic, Fear Itself #2), while The Flash #12 sold an estimated 54,914 copies to rank #15.

Sales have been steady the last three issues, and have held above the low point at issue #8, suggesting that the series found its level at around 54-55K…just in time to be canceled for DC’s September relaunch. (Or maybe it was just being propped up by people curious about Flashpoint?)

It’s surprising that Flashpoint #1 sold fewer copies than Flash #1, though I suppose it shouldn’t be. Between event fatigue, a feeling that the Flash mythos hadn’t been built up sufficiently to support a major event, and a general sense that the event was simply an alternate universe story and not as “important” as, for instance, Blackest Night, I remember the buzz being relatively poor beforehand. Over the last month, lots of people have remarked that the book has been under-ordered. (Even the tie-ins have been. I got the last copy of Flashpoint: Grodd of War from my local shop yesterday, the day it was released.) Clearly readers are responding better to the actual comic book than retailers expected, based on the multiple sell-out issues.

It’ll be interesting to see the figures with re-orders and the second printing included…and it’ll be interesting to see the sales figures on the later issues of the miniseries.

Like the first issue, Flashpoint #2 has sold out at the distributor. A second printing is coming in July. (The second printing of Flashpoint #1 arrives this coming Wednesday.

Diamond has released their sales rankings for May. Flashpoint #1 was the #2 comic for the month by unites sold (behind Marvel’s Fear Itself), while The Flash #12 pulled in a respectable 15th place. Number estimates will no doubt be up soon.

ICv2 has posted their sales estimates for April, and The Flash volume three appears to be leveling out at around 55,000 copies an issue…just in time to get canceled for Flashpoint. Both issues landed in the top 20 comics for the month.

For comparison, Flash: The Fastest Man Alive bottomed out at 46K before climbing slightly to 47K, then getting a Countdown-infused sales boost for the final issue, while the post-Countdown relaunch dropped to around 26K before it was canceled to make way for Flash: Rebirth.

So despite the delays, and despite the Flashpoint-induced “cancellation,” this seems to be the most successful Flash relaunch in 5 years by numbers alone. Looking at sales rankings, it’s been consistently in the top 20 — something that hasn’t been true of The Flash in a long time.

I think the credit can be summed up in two words: Geoff Johns. The Flash vol.2 took a big hit when Mark Waid left, dropping from 40K to below 30K when this virtually unknown writer took over, but Johns slowly built up the readership until it hit around 50K when he left. (Then DC decided to cancel the series, printed a fill-in that had been sitting on the shelf and commissioned a 4-issue “finale” that dropped rapidly to 40K, thus giving legions of fans the mistaken impression that it had been canceled for sales.)

In other speedster news, Velocity #4 sold an estimated 5,247 copies, almost exactly the number sold of issue #3. Apparently those who were reading the book were committed, regardless of delays.