Comics sales continued to drop in October, and The Flash was no exception.
02/2008: Flash #237 — 37,719 (- 9.0%) 03/2008: Flash #238 — 35,606 (- 5.6%) 04/2008: Flash #239 — 33,741 (- 5.2%) 05/2008: Flash #240 — 31,944 (- 5.3%) 06/2008: Flash #241 — 30,810 (- 3.6%) 07/2008: Flash #242 — 30,325 (- 1.5%) 08/2008: Flash #243 — 29,647 (- 2.2%) 09/2008: Flash #244 — 29,180 (- 1.6%) 10/2008: Flash #245 — 28,085 (- 3.8%)
The combined effects of the recession, poor reaction to the current run on the book, and a feeling that everything from now until April is just filler* — Flash: Rebirth was announced just days after this issue was solicited in July, so this is likely the first issue for which sales responded to the announcement — have combined to produce the largest drop in several months.
Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge, on the other hand, actually saw a slight increase in sales over the previous issue after the standard second-issue drop.
07/2008: Rogues Revenge #1 — 62,482 08/2008: Rogues Revenge #2 — 54,404 (- 12.9%) 10/2008: Rogues Revenge #3 — 55,056 (+ 1.2%)
Given Geoff Johns’ presence on both mini-series, this looks promising for Flash: Rebirth.(link via The Beat)
*You know what else was “just filler” prior to a relaunch? Alan Moore & Curt Swan’s “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?” Now considered a classic Superman story. I’m not saying the current storyline compares, I’m just pointing out that “filler” isn’t always mediocre, and the current trend among fans to follow only “important” books can cause us to miss out on good stories.