Old Sales Figures

[Shellhead]

Where can I find some records regarding sales of comics in past decades? Given that the X-Men got cancelled in the early 70's with sales figures around 200,000 per issue, I believe that more popular comics of the day must have sold at least double that or more. I know that comics used to include their circulation numbers at least once a year, but I sold off most of my silver age comics years ago, and I never owned any golden age comics.

[Rob Allen]

I wish there were a good website with this information. I have to say, though, that the published sales figures have to be regarded as wild-ass guesses at best. The magazine distribution business in the US was crooked on every level for decades. Publishers like Liebowitz at DC and Goodman at Marvel were enmeshed in that world and able to get some real information - not that they necessarily published it. Once they sold out to corporate owners in the '60s, the numbers become even less reliable.

[gentlesatirist]

...published by Krause might be your best bet. You can use them to put together DC sales info from the mid 60s to the early 80s and Marvel #s from the mid 70s to the early 90s or so. They're not tabulated as such, but they're listed for each title.


- FE
Wickliffe OH

[Loren]

I don't know about past decades, but I can help with the past decade, singular.

Comic Buyer's Guide Sales Charts (http://www.cbgxtra.com/Default.aspx?tabid=695)

Full sales data from September 1996 to present.

[InfoBroker]

Given that the X-Men got cancelled in the early 70's with sales figures around 200,000 per issue, I believe that more popular comics of the day must have sold at least double that or more.

By 1969, 200,000 or so (based on printed sales numbers that have been debated endlessly as to how factual they really were) was essentially the cut-off point at Marvel for an all-new comic's suvivability. X-men were trending below it, as did Shield, Dr. Strange, and Captain Marvel, who all went bi-monthly and were eventually axed prior to the X-men's cancellation.

In general (and this is all based on printed sales numbers and my general recollections of reading them a bazillion or so times), Marvel's sales, which had been growing from 1961 to 1967, started a downward trend in 1968.

In the early 60s, sales figures of 200-250K were the norm. By 1966, the typical Marvel Super-hero books were selling in the 350-400K range. Spidey and FF were the top sellers. Even more importantly, Marvel had a sell-through of 60-70% or better. What this meant is, at the time, for these comics, for every three printed, two copies sold, and the distributors sent one (well the top third of the cover anyway) back to Marvel for credit. Most comics were happy to see a 50% sell-through point, and this was usually a break-even point for comical book publishers.

By 1969, 50% sell-through was the norm for Marvel, and print runs were dropping to reflect the smaller distribution space that comics were experiencing. When the X-men were cancelled in 1970, Spidey and FF were selling around the 250-300k range. Cap, Avengers and others were doing about 220-250k or thereabouts.

A lot of factors go into the decision to cancel a comic besides raw sales. IIRC, Roy commented in the final X-men comic, that while sales had risen with him and Neal Adams working on the comics, it was a general consensus that their creative efforts could be put to better economics on other projects.

I think he also inferred that Marvel was still making a profit on the slightly higher X-men sales numbers, but I would feel a lot more secure making that statement if I had my X-men comics at hand. The source for that inference might have also come from some fanzines of the time.

-jb the (statement of ownership) ib-

[gentlesatirist]

...seem so high in the context of today's market.

A few years ago, I read online somewhere that DC's cutoff for cancellation was sales of 16k per month. This was attested by someone who was worried about the latest version of Aquaman surviving. Not sure where Kyle Baker's Plastic Man series was in relation to this mark when DC pulled the plug.

All of DC's swell Johnny DC kid-centered titles (my kids dig 'em - and so do I) are well below 16k per month. They must make it up in sales in places like Borders and Barnes & Noble. I think DC sends a bunch of 'em to libraries as well.


- FE
Wickliffe OH

[astronato]

I'm bumping this because I too am interested in sales figures from past decades.

If anyone has new information or can point me to an online source or article, I'd appreciate it.

[astronato]

Where can I find some records regarding sales of comics in past decades? Given that the X-Men got cancelled in the early 70's with sales figures around 200,000 per issue, I believe that more popular comics of the day must have sold at least double that or more. I know that comics used to include their circulation numbers at least once a year, but I sold off most of my silver age comics years ago, and I never owned any golden age comics.


I found this just recently........ http://www.comichron.com/

[gentlesatirist]

...a circulation statement showing that DC's Shazam comic was selling about 105,000 copies per issue. That's got to be a low sales total for that era.

Other #s worked out to a sell through rate of less than 30 percent, which couldn't have made DC very happy, either.


- FE

[Shellhead]

Astronato,

I appreciate that link. Interesting data. I never realized that Mad magazine was such a sales juggernaut back then.

[MDG]

I never realized that Mad magazine was such a sales juggernaut back then.
MAD sales were still on the way up--I read that it peaked with the Poseiden Adventure issue w/ 3 million.

MDG

[shaxper]

All I can tell you is that -

1. At its height, Superman was selling over a million copies per issue in the 1940s
2. For several years in the 1940s, Captain Marvel was outselling Superman
3. Most 1950s Dell Comics publish their circulation numbers somewhere in the comic.

[Kirk G]

Look for the thread on comic distribution article by R.Bearbum (sp?) elsewhere in this forum. There's a great photocopy of comments by Carmine I on sales figures and what they meant to DC when he ordered the first 350,000 for Kirby's Fourth World books. Check it out!