Tag Archives: Sales

Flash: Rebirth Ranked #10 for June, Still Over 80K

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IcV2 has released sales estimates for June, and Flash: Rebirth #3 is still in the top-ten…but only barely, edged out by the start of Captain America: Reborn and a zillion Dark Avengers books.

Issue Rank Units Sold Change
Flash: Rebirth #1 (of 6) 2 102,429 +286.6%
Flash: Rebirth #2 (of 6) 4 86,183 -15.9%
Flash: Rebirth #3 (of 6) 10 83,086 -3.6%

From what I understand, it’s typical for a miniseries to drop sharply from #1-#2 and then slowly over the course of the series, so this is probably not unexpected. It’s also worth noting that the drop in rankings from #4 to #10 seems steeper than it actually is, since overall sales for June went up. And it’s still the fourth-highest-selling Flash issue of the decade, after Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #1 and the first two issues of Flash: Rebirth.

Down near the bottom of the chart, DC also managed to sell another 6,405 copies of issue #1 “variant edition,” presumably the third printing. I understand DC is actually planning a fourth printing of the book, possibly unprecedented in the history of The Flash. No word on whether any subsequent issues will be reprinted prior to next year’s hardcover collection.

Rebirth Hangs In There as Sales Drop in May

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ICv2 has published their table of May 2009 sales estimates, and it doesn’t look good — for anyone. The summary notes that comic sales overall dropped 19% from April to May.

Flash: Rebirth #2 was still ranked highly at #4 (down from #2 in April), but had dropped to an estimated 86,183. At first glance that’s a staggering drop of 15.8% — but since the entire market dropped 19%, by comparison, Flash: Rebirth is actually doing pretty well!

Flash: Rebirth Sales

Issue Rank Units Sold Change
Flash: Rebirth #1 (of 6) 2 102,429 +286.6%
Flash: Rebirth #2 (of 6) 4 86,183 -15.9%

Meanwhile, down near the bottom, the chart shows another 2,681 units of Flash: Rebirth #1 — presumably these would be the second printing, which arrived in stores the very last week of April.

Flash: Rebirth #2 is also still the third-highest monthly sales a Flash book has pulled in the last decade.

Top Flash Books since 2000

Month Issue Units Sold Change W/Reorders
06/2006 Flash: FMA #1 120,404 (+196.8%) [126,741]
04/2009 Flash: Rebirth #1 102,429 (+286.6%) [105,110]
05/2009 Flash: Rebirth #2 86,183 (-15.9%)
07/2006 Flash: FMA #2 77,487 (- 35.6%) [ 82,501]
07/2007 All Flash #1 78,955 (+ 2.7%)
06/2007 Flash: FMA #13 76,860 (+ 60.8%) [ 82,767]
08/2007 Flash #231 72,898 (- 7.7%)

These are Flash issues that sold more than 70,000 units over the past few years. (Even Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge maxed out around 62K.) Interestingly, these top issues are all the first and second issues of a relaunch, with one exception: Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #13, the final issue of that series, in which Bart Allen was killed.

Flash: Rebirth Tops Charts as #2 Comic for April

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Flash: Rebirth #1It’s official: Flash: Rebirth #1 is a sales success.

ICv2 has released sales data for April 2009, and Flash: Rebirth #1 takes the #2 spot on the chart, right after Detective Comics #853, the first second half of the Neil Gaiman/Andy Kubert Batman story, “Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?”

Just out of the starter gate, The Flash: Rebirth #1 sold an estimated 102,429 copies, the highest the book has sold since the launch of Flash: The Fastest Man Alive in 2006. The first issue of that series, featuring an adult Bart Allen as the Flash, sold 120,404 copies in the first month, climbing to 126,741 with reorders. (Of course, sales on subsequent issues of Flash: TFMA dropped sharply after that initial spike, so only time will tell.)

I’m not sure The Flash has ever been this high in the rankings. I imagine this is the first time Flash outsold every single X-Men book on the market, including Wolverine!

Also interesting: 8 of the top 10 books (by units sold) were priced at $3.99.

Sales Still Trailing Off Through November

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ICV2’s November sales estimates are out, and The Flash is still dropping. (via The Beat). It’s getting downright depressing to post this slide month after month.

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%)
11/2008: Flash #246     —  26,746 (-  4.7%)

This month’s sales figure, on it’s own, would still be respectable, not far off from what the series was doing when Geoff Johns picked up the book in 2000. But factor in the steep drop, the fact that 3 years ago it was selling 50,000/month (Flash #225), and the fact that the last two relaunches spiked sales to 120,000 (Flash: TFMA #1) and 79,000 (All-Flash), and it’s clear that something has gone disastrously wrong. The Flash clearly can support a higher audience, but just hasn’t connected. (Of course, being a lame-duck series can’t help.)

Flash:Rebirth is pretty much guaranteed to produce another sales spike. The real question is: can DC hold onto the new readers this time?

Flash Down, Rogues Up in October

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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.

Sales Slide in September

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ICV2’s sales estimates for September show yet another drop in Flash sales.

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%)

A couple of things worth noting: 1. Most regular super-hero series do drop slowly from month to month, with occasional jumps back up as big events bring new readers in to replace those who have left. (See “standard attrition.”) By that measure, the last couple of months don’t look so bad… but the series dropped horrifically from #230-237, leaving it at the dismal position of #82 on the rankings. 2. Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge has been outselling the regular series by roughly 2:1, though there was no issue in September.