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.
| Issue | Rank | Month | Units Sold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flash:TFMA #1 | 7 | June 2006 | 126,741 |
| All-Flash #1 | 22 | July 2007 | 78,955 |
| Flash v.2 #231 | 26 | August 2007 | 72,898 |
| Flash: Rebirth #1 | 2 | April 2009 | 102,429 |
| Flash v.3 #1 | 2 | April 2010 | 100,903 |
| Flashpoint #1 | 2 | May 2011 | 95,845 |
| Flash v.4 #1 | 4 | September 2011 | 129,260 |
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):
I’m interested in finding out where the new series levels out at.
And I’m shocked at how many issues TFMA sold!! I don’t seem to remember the buzz on the book being that big!