Speed Force

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.

A couple of quick sales items:

The Source is reporting that Flashpoint #1 has sold out at the distributor. You may be able to still find copies at your local comic shop, but they won’t be able to order any more. DC doesn’t say so in the announcement, but you can probably expect a second printing soon.

Diamond Comic Distributors has posted their sales rankings for April, and The Flash takes two spots in the top 20 by units sold. Flash #10 is #18 for the month, and Flash #11 is #19. No doubt ICv2 will have number estimates up soon.

Update: Previews confirms the second printing, coming June 15.

ICv2′s February sales estimates are out based on Diamond’s rankings, and The Flash climbed back into the top 10 to score an impressive #9 ranking in units sold.

The issue actually sold more copies than the previous one for the first time since the relaunch! Some possible reasons for the climb:

• Start of a new story arc.
• Promoted as a Flashpoint lead-in.
• Theme cover.
• Return of the regular creative team.
• Return of the speedster guest cast (Wally, Jay, Bart)

Or perhaps the book has reached its level. The next question: what kind of boost will Flashpoint bring to the book?

(Thanks to Esteban of Comic Verso for the link!)

The latest relaunch of The Flash continues to hold steady around #10-15 in Diamond’s sales rankings, fitting into December’s chart at #12 for Flash #7 and #18 for Flash #8.*

ICv2′s sales estimates for the month have Flash #7 selling 56,304 copies, and Flash #8 selling 53,975.

Some things to consider when interpreting these numbers:

• Overall comics sales were down in December, as reflected in the fact that #7 went up in rankings even though it sold fewer copies than #6.
• The book shipped twice this month.
• A storyline concluded last month, making #7 a good jumping-off point.
• #8 is the first issue without the Brightest Day banner on the cover.
• #8 shipped the last week of the year, between Christmas and New Year’s. Any late shipments or reorders won’t factor into these numbers.
• They’re fill-in issues. Good fill-in issues, but still stand-alone comics by a different creative team, pushed in between major stories to get the book back on schedule. The only thing today’s market hates as much as a late book is a fill-in issue. It will be interesting to see if #9 (the start of a new story, not to mention some high-profile speedster guest stars) climbs back up a bit or continues to drop.

Other interesting items of note:

• Green Lantern #60, featuring a Parallax-possessed Flash on the cover, took the #2 spot.
• Of the 11 books ranked higher, 4 were Green Lantern or Brightest Day, 4 were Batman titles, 2 were Avengers and 1 was Wolverine. That’s some solid company for the Flash.
• T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #2, focusing on the team’s speedster Lightning, sold 11,227 copies for a rank of #165.
• Velocity #3 clocked in at 5,305 copies, ranked #263. I seem to recall that Top Cow considers this book a success (though it’s pulling half the numbers of Artifacts or Witchblade), which should tell you just how big a gap there is between the size of the DC/Marvel market and the size of the Indie market.

*Yesterday on Twitter & Facebook I mistakenly reported that they were #26 and #29, a big drop, but when looking back at the chart, I realized I’d been looking at the wrong column. Those were the dollar rankings, which differ from the units-sold rankings depending on cover price.

November sales charts show The Flash #6 ranked #15 for the month, with an estimated 57,673 units sold.

The numbers are a lot like the numbers for Flash: The Fastest Man Alive. But overall comics sales are down compared to 2006, and the rankings for The Flash are solid, still holding between #10 and #15.

The percentage drop is kind of disturbing, though there’s been some discussion as to a possible error in this month’s estimates. Between this and discussions of the overall comics market, I’m beginning to wonder if, by the time DC is ready to launch the long-promised second Flash title, sales will be too low to justify it.

Here’s hoping Flashpoint can do for The Flash what Sinestro Corps War and Blackest Night did for Green Lantern.

ICv2′s sales estimates for September are out. The Flash #5 sold 62K copies and was ranked 14 for the month. While that is a drop in raw numbers, it’s worth considering that comics sales are down overall in the third quarter…and that the book actually climbed in the rankings. In fact, it seems to be holding steady in terms of rankings, between 10 and 15 for every issue since the first.

ICv2′s July sales estimates are up. The Flash #4 takes the #15 spot by units sold, with an estimated 64,832 copies sold to retailers.

OK, back to the charts for the last few relaunches. Let’s see how volume three is doing. (In case you’re wondering, I only plan on doing the detailed relaunch-by-relaunch-by-relaunch comparisons through the end of the first story arc.)

So: still dropping (as most series do), but it seems to be leveling off. I’m not sure how this compares to standard attrition for a new series at DC or Marvel. The drop-off rate seems about the same as Flash: The Fastest Man Alive, though perhaps it will level off at a higher point.

That said, the numbers are still solid (if still below F:TFMA), and the rankings are very good.

ICv2′s Top Super-Hero Graphic Novel Properties for Q2 2010 are based on “sales in all channels,” including comic shops, book stores, and online sales. Topping the list is Kick-Ass, which isn’t terribly surprising since the movie came out during this time. Edit: Here’s the full article on second-quarter comics & GN sales.

The Flash comes in at #11 overall, or #5 among DC Comics properties after Batman, Watchmen, Superman and Green Lantern, propelled onto the list by the hardcover release of Flash: Rebirth in April. No doubt the high-profile series launch during the same period helped spark interest in collections as well.

It’s also interesting that, at least in book form, the single volume of Watchmen continues to outsell DC characters who are not only cultural icons (Superman and the absent Wonder Woman), but are continuously getting new stories. This despite it being a quarter century since its first publication and a year after a movie that was widely considered a flop (debatable, but that seems to be the consensus). Is it any wonder that DC keeps it in print?

(via Robot 6)