Jonah Hex sales numbers... BUY THIS BOOK!

[The Shadow]

11/2005: Jonah Hex #1 — 33,771
12/2005: Jonah Hex #2 — 26,227 (-22.3%)
01/2006: Jonah Hex #3 — 24,671 (- 5.9%)
02/2006: Jonah Hex #4 — 23,569 (- 4.5%)
03/2006: Jonah Hex #5 — 23,496 (- 0.3%)
04/2006: Jonah Hex #6 — 22,763 (- 3.1%)
05/2006: Jonah Hex #7 — 21,910 (- 3.8%)
06/2006: Jonah Hex #8 — 21,006 (- 4.1%)
07/2006: Jonah Hex #9 — 20,385 (- 3.0%)
08/2006: Jonah Hex #10 — 19,772 (- 3.0%)
09/2006: Jonah Hex #11 — 18,957 (- 4.1%)
10/2006: Jonah Hex #12 — 18,299 (- 3.5%)

The Source of the numbers (http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2006/11/29/dc-comics-month-to-month-sales-october-2006/)

These numbers are scary!

I know Hex is a niche book but CUMMON! Less than 19,000 people are getting this book? It's one of the best on the shelves! The series has mostly been done-in-one stories (the current story is the first multi-part tale) and all have been entertaining. Any fan of the western genre should be grabbing this one.

Anyone else love Hex?

[wes_rk]

I love Hex. I had no idea the numbers were so low, I've been following since issue #6 and this book never lets me down. The origin of Jonah has been a nice story and I for one had never read any Jonah Hex books prior to this one, so I'm loving this series.

[The Shadow]

I had no idea the numbers were so low.
Me either.

I thought they were in the 23-24K range.

[lonesomefool]

I love the book, but I'm not overly concerned. On the plus trade sales must be good cause DC just solicited the second trade for the series already. I think the lack of a regular artist has hurt the book, ever since Ross left each issue has had a different artist basically and I think that turns some fans away. I mean I really liked Phil Noto's issues, but I can tell you I'm not a fan of Bernet's style at all, legend or no legend.

[Sean Walsh]

11/2005: Jonah Hex #1 — 33,771

I think this will factor in very well for Jonah's future. That's a pretty high number for a Western series to debut at these days - and at the time people were surprised by that number.

The only plunge in sales was with #2 - and that happens to pretty much all comics. Since then, it's drifted down. Sure it's in ugly territory now, but it's taken a little over a year to get to 19K. It could've been there with #3 and it'd be gone by now.

[CaptainAwesome]

I have a question. If trade sales are good, would DC continue to put out a monthly book or what? I dont have the money to put this on my pull-list without taking something off. As it is I'm probably gonna have to take some books off, but thats neither here nor there. My point is, I'm thinking about getting the trades, but would that actually help the numbers and keep the book afloat?


BTW, I know one sale isnt going to make much difference, but I'm not much of an original thinker so I would assume other people feel the same way as me.

[stealthwise]

I was buying the series, but I really stopped digging it after a while. The art was a part of that, but the done-in-one wasn't working for me after the first half dozen issues.

[ExoKnight]

Still enjoying the series. I think DC will continue to go the trade route with the series. As long as it stays above 15k I think it is safe. Very niche book in the market.

[Edward E. Nigma]

It's a crime how underrated Jonah Hex is.

[Sean Walsh]

I was buying the series, but I really stopped digging it after a while. The art was a part of that, but the done-in-one wasn't working for me after the first half dozen issues.

Well, the current story is a 3 (or 4?) part Jonah Hex origin, with art by Jordi Bernet.

Sometimes I prefer one-issue stories. Harkens back to the old days when niche books like this (war, western, sci-fi, horror/mystery) featured lots of short-but-sweet one-issue tales. And these days, it's nice to see a book that doesn't to the over-extended TPB arcs.

[StrikeForce Albert]

I already buy it

I do reccomend it to people I know and want to try new books out

[Desaad]

I have a question. If trade sales are good, would DC continue to put out a monthly book or what? I dont have the money to put this on my pull-list without taking something off. As it is I'm probably gonna have to take some books off, but thats neither here nor there. My point is, I'm thinking about getting the trades, but would that actually help the numbers and keep the book afloat?


BTW, I know one sale isnt going to make much difference, but I'm not much of an original thinker so I would assume other people feel the same way as me.

Definitely. This was true of many very popular books. Titles like Sandman didn't do very well in the direct market, but TPB sales were gangbusters. Thus, the series continued.

If TPB sales are high, and direct sales stay high enough to be even slightly profitable, everything should be fine.

[Sadyv]

I'll be honest, and I know this sounds petty, but the artists insistence on making Jonah Hex look like CLint Eastwood really irritated me, so much so that I gave up on the book long ago.

Did later artist change this, or is it still DC/the writers position to replace Jonah Hex with Clint Eastwood?

[Mr. Palmer]

I'd been buying it since #1. However, the last story I really liked was about the alligators and inbred maniacs. After that, the book just went on auto-pilot for me. Dropped it, last issue, and haven't missed it.

I now get my oater fix via Loveless.

[PastePotPete]

I tried this book.

To let you know where I'm coming from: I own both of the Clint Eastwood "Man With No Name" collections. I love westerns. The darker, the better. Unforgiven is one of my favorite movies!

I thought "Sure, I'll give this a try!" because I heard it was mostly stand-alone stories.

The issue I bought...#5 I think it was...was about a bride and a wedding... I thought the plot sucked. It didn't make all that much sense to me. I read through the story more than once to make sure I was getting it. I was getting it, all right. There just wasn't anything to get.

Another thing that bothered me...and I don't think this is a minor quibble entireley... the artist was drawing Hex as Eastwood, just adding the weird mouth scar thing. I really can't stand it when artists use celebrity models in an obvious way. It takes me out of the story. I'm positive I wasn't imagining this.

Having said all that, I want another great western book to read every month (check out The Lone Ranger!) so I'll try picking this up again.

[Sean Walsh]

I now get my oater fix via Loveless.

Gah! You went from JONAH HEX to LOVELESS?!

Enjoy that read - I'm still scratching my head as to why I used a "free TPB!" coupon on it.

[Mr. Palmer]

I own both of the Clint Eastwood "Man With No Name" collections.

Both?

I knew they released one set, a few years back, but didn't know they received the double-dip treatment...

[stealthwise]

Definitely. This was true of many very popular books. Titles like Sandman didn't do very well in the direct market, but TPB sales were gangbusters. Thus, the series continued.


By "Didn't do very well in the direct market," you must mean "cracked the top 100 (and sometimes top 50) constantly," right? (keeping in mind that this was in the early 90's, when there were far more titles, and most of them sold way more than the current ones do).

I believe that the unofficial cutoff mark for DCU titles is 20,000 copies, so we'll see how long Hex lasts. It's a hell of a lot better than Loveless though.

[Valen]

I dropped this book around issue 10. I found that each month, it would sit at the bottom of my pile and I would put off reading it til the end. I'm not entirely sure why. It could be that each issue was self-contained, but I just didn't have that compelling draw to read it (and I love the character). I wish Vertigo would restart this series under it's banner.

[Mr. Palmer]

I wish Vertigo would restart this series under it's banner.

Count me as another who would've liked to seen this happen...

[Apathy Boy]

Gah! You went from JONAH HEX to LOVELESS?!

Enjoy that read - I'm still scratching my head as to why I used a "free TPB!" coupon on it.I also turfed JONAH HEX (at least, I will once the current origin story completes) but am still reading LOVELESS. While I appreciate that LOVELESS is an acquired taste, it at least has its own voice and a direction. Palmiotti and Gray, on the other hand, never really made JONAH HEX their own. The series has meandered creatively (you can still move a character arc forward even if you're only doing one-issue stories, y'know) and spends too much time riffing on the stories we saw from the SHOWCASE PRESENTS collection.

[Captain Jim]

I wish Vertigo would restart this series under it's banner.

Absolutely not! We had a vertigo Jonah Hex once and it sucked!

[rick]

Absolutely not! We had a vertigo Jonah Hex once and it sucked!


I do like the current series better, since it is more traditional Jonah Hex, but at the same time I do have to say that I really enjoyed the Landsdale and Truman books too.

They were weird, silly fun.

[wes_rk]

I've always liked westerns, and I'm a big Eastwood fan, so when I first read Jonah Hex, it was the (sometimes not so) subtle similarities between the two that made me love that book right there and then.

and by the way, I think Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven might as well be called Jonah Hex instead of William Munny.

[stealthwise]

Absolutely not! We had a vertigo Jonah Hex once and it sucked!

There's absolutely no reason that a Vertigo Hex would suck.

There's also absolutely no reason that a Vertigo Hex would rule.

In fact, other than a bit more graphic violence and occasional nudity, I can't see a Vertigo Hex book being much different than the current one. The only advantage is that the Vertigo books get a bit more leeway in terms of sales, as they're mostly created for the trade nowadays.

[Guts/Batman]

I love the book personally. One of my favorites month to month. I have been diversifying my pull list and this was one of the beneficiaries.

I don't pay attention to sales numbers, but sometimes what does concern me is the amount of a book that my comic book shop orders. Sometimes I can't get to the shop on Wednesday when I normally get there so I have to hope that the store has it if it isn't in my box.

If I know the book isn't getting much hype, I'm concerned about it not being there when I get to the shop. Example, my store doesn't order that much of Annihilation compared to Civil War.

[The Shadow]

The only advantage is that the Vertigo books get a bit more leeway in terms of sales, as they're mostly created for the trade nowadays.

If that's true I hope they switch it to Vertigo if it helps ensure continuation!!!

[stealthwise]

If that's true I hope they switch it to Vertigo if it helps ensure continuation!!!

The unofficial cutoff sales line for a DC title is about 20,000 copies, unless there are special circumstances, like mass fan campaigns or awards. Hence the reason Manhunter is still around and Plastic Man had so much leeway, even though the latter was selling close to 10,000 copies near the end.

Vertigo books, on the other hand, get into the 10,000 range before cancellation, as long as the trades do well.

[astronato]

Just wanted to say that I love the Jonah Hex book. I don't see how it could be any better than it is. Sorry to hear it doesn't sell so well.

[Captain Jim]

There's absolutely no reason that a Vertigo Hex would suck.

There's also absolutely no reason that a Vertigo Hex would rule.

In fact, other than a bit more graphic violence and occasional nudity, I can't see a Vertigo Hex book being much different than the current one.

Well, let me put it this way: the previous Vertigo Jonah Hex series sucked. And it was quite different, as it was full of the supernatural, which I just don't think suits Jonah at all. Also, the Vertigo Jonah was not capable of uttering a single sentence without at least 2-3 vulgarities. It was ridiculous. He sounded like a junior boy who had just discovered all the "bad words."

[presterjohn]

Jonah Hex is a reasonable enough comic. Reasonable quality art. Reasonable (if occasionally ripped off) stories. The trouble is if you have a limited budget and half of everything published is connected to a 'Crisis' or Civil War then books like this will always get put to the bottom of the buying list. Event storylines are often fun in themselves but someone (or rather some comic) is going to have to pay the price sooner or later.

[Captain Jim]

Good point, Presterjohn. And welcome to CBR! :)

[Adem]

I don't pay attention to sales numbers, but sometimes what does concern me is the amount of a book that my comic book shop orders.

This is a problem at my comic shop too. Everytime it ships the owner says that he enjoys the book, but he only orders 3 copies for the shelves(don't know how many have it on their pull lists). Those 3 copies are always gone by the end of the week. He never orders anymore for the shelves, yet he ordered around 20 copies of Batman Confidential for the shelves that only sold around 7. Other titles like Ultimate Spider-Man and Justice League of America he orders a lot too that never sell out.

[The Confessor]

Well, let me put it this way: the previous Vertigo Jonah Hex series sucked. And it was quite different, as it was full of the supernatural, which I just don't think suits Jonah at all.

I beg to differ...I think a supernatural twist to Jonah Hex works really well. The problem with the Vertigo series was that it was Supernatural all the time...every single issue. This is overkill in my opinion, but I would like to see aspects of the supernatural pop up from time to time in the current series. Kinda like in the early 'Weird Western Tales' stories but perhaps a bit more explicitly supernatural, like in the Vertigo issues.

If memory serves me correctly, the only story in the current series that featured anything even remotely supernatural was the issue where El Diablo appeared. This series could stand more of that kind of thing in my opinion.

Still, that little grumble aside, I'm still really loving this book and I'm worried about those sales figures. I'll be dissapointed if the book gets cancelled. :(

[Mr. Palmer]

Reasonable (if occasionally ripped off) stories.

That's one reason why I've dropped it. When they ripped off Il Grande Silenzio, it was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back.

[bird]

i've really dug this series. i didn't even mind the obvious clint eastwood rip off. i thought the 1 iss stories might cause problems with sales, but the newest 3 part story isn't that great and i hate the artwork.

i speak in the past tense because i'm sure the series is about done, but it had a good run.

if it became a vertigo title i don't think much would change except more swearing. perhaps satan would show up in some stories or something. i have 1 iss of the riders of the worm and such but i don't remember it, maybe i'll re-read it and look through the back iss long boxes. more than likely i won't :)

well @$%# it was what is was. i'll buy it until the fast coming end. 3 more dollars i won't give to the damn debt collectors!