Wonder Woman Sales Figures - Now to 1942

[jestersjoker]

If sales don't make a big turnaround, and/or sales elsewhere (digital, gn/tpbs in bookstores, online, etc) don't make up for it, we aren't going to have much of a comic industry.

if things keep going the way they are I will be thinking of canceling all my mail order subscriptions of both DC & Marvel and switch totally to digital since I have an iPad.

JJ

[mistergoodman]

if things keep going the way they are I will be thinking of canceling all my mail order subscriptions of both DC & Marvel and switch totally to digital since I have an iPad.

Too soon. Very few of the latest issues are for sale on the iPad right now.

(Of course, you can download them all for free. But that would be wrong.)

[nightforce]

Overall, I think you raise a good point in that it is imortant to look at these things in context, and overall sales trends are a big part of that context.

However, the #1 book barely selling 70,000 copies is not a good thing. Even the best selling Spider-Man book only sold 55,000. And that's a top ten book. GL may have the best seat (right now) on a sinking ship, but it's still a sinking ship. Comic shops are going to really struggle if this trend continues, and many will close. If sales don't make a big turnaround, and/or sales elsewhere (digital, gn/tpbs in bookstores, online, etc) don't make up for it, we aren't going to have much of a comic industry.

Very very good point.

[brettc1]

Overall, I think you raise a good point in that it is imortant to look at these things in context, and overall sales trends are a big part of that context.

However, the #1 book barely selling 70,000 copies is not a good thing. Even the best selling Spider-Man book only sold 55,000. And that's a top ten book. GL may have the best seat (right now) on a sinking ship, but it's still a sinking ship. Comic shops are going to really struggle if this trend continues, and many will close. If sales don't make a big turnaround, and/or sales elsewhere (digital, gn/tpbs in bookstores, online, etc) don't make up for it, we aren't going to have much of a comic industry.

Maybe it is just the case that the comic book industry has expanded beyong its ability to remain viable in its present form.

Sure it has become a huge money maker, but only if folks are prepared to fork out the money to sustain it. In the last twenty years comic books - very much a luxury item - have increased in cost by 300 - 400%.

If you compare comic books to other print media, two decades ago you could take the money you would spend on the average paperback novel and buy maybe 10 or 12 comic books. And I would have to say those comics were generally better value becuase they were more text dense and took longer to read. Even ten years ago that was the case. Read Phil J's Wonder Woman books. By the gods, that man can WRITE!

These days the money of a paperback novel which would last you a week or two reading will only buy you 4 comic books, and you can usually knock each of those off in 10 minutes. Decompressed story telling and huge splashy artwork make you wonder where your money went sometimes.

So it could be that the comic industry needs to step back and set itself some realistic targets and accept the fact that they cant just flood the market with a gazillion titles, many of which could accurately be described as a 24 issue mini-series.

At the moment its really a slugging match between DC and Marvel as to who can get more folks roped into the next big crossover event and spending all their cash. It might just be that the PTB have to take a good look at their stables of books and make some cuts, par the reading list back to something folks feel they can afford, and then produce good, solid, value for money material because you dont have your star writers spread so thin that they can only put in the effort to scribe a few hundred words per title each month.

[nightforce]

I think a lot of people are making a mistake here... They are comparing numbers (dollars) and not position within the top 100. The comic industry as a whole is shrinking, there are simply fewer people reading comics or even books for that matter than before. That means that as a whole we'll have fewer units sold. The price kept creeping up in the 90's and 00's so they could continue making the profit they were making as the number of total units decreased. We're never going to have another Death of Superman moment.

We should be looking at where WW falls in the DC books from month-to-month, as much as simply sales. If she went from being ranked in the low 40s to steadily ranked in the mid 30s then that is good; regardless of the actual number of sales. Quite frankly she is still rather high in when you take out non-DC books... That is good. Was she this high (position) two years ago? I don't remember...

Look at it this way... we all love to watch a race... It is neat to know what goes into it, but at the end of the day the fact the Green Lantern is #1 (regardless of whether it is the least sales of any #1 positioned book) means that GL is doing good.

I am not sure I can agree with you. If DC looked at it your way then they wouldn't be changing her status quo. every year

[brettc1]

Any word yet on how 608 did?

[zryson]

Overall, I think you raise a good point in that it is imortant to look at these things in context, and overall sales trends are a big part of that context.

However, the #1 book barely selling 70,000 copies is not a good thing. Even the best selling Spider-Man book only sold 55,000. And that's a top ten book. GL may have the best seat (right now) on a sinking ship, but it's still a sinking ship. Comic shops are going to really struggle if this trend continues, and many will close. If sales don't make a big turnaround, and/or sales elsewhere (digital, gn/tpbs in bookstores, online, etc) don't make up for it, we aren't going to have much of a comic industry.

i expect sales to keep falling over the forthcoming years. why? well comics offer very little entertainment value for the cost of the comic, and comics arent getting that crossover effect into the next generation - very few children buy comics, its essentially older men 20s-40s from what i hear. in the end i think the comic industry needs ground breaking changes if they want to survive because many older fans (like myself) are buying less of their product (new comics) and even when they have successful movies, often they are only getting a spike in sales for a month or two, and beyond that sales drop off again. and comic stores are facing a bleak future, i think to survive they will have to multi-task in what they sell and maybe even divide the bookstores up, so part will be a liquor shop and the other half comics and trades and action figures but with the digital age really beginning to push ahead i think many stores will go bust.

[zryson]

Any word yet on how 608 did?

hi brett, the chart rankings for March 2011 are #45 WONDER WOMAN #608
and #49 WONDER WOMAN #609

http://www.diamondcomics.com/public/...&s=5&ai=107546

[Groovie Mann]

Should be noted that since the index book keeps slipping 2K you can expect a sales slip for WW but of how much is anyones guess.

[AndyMangels]

preliminary March 2011 Sales Reports are in, courtesy of Diamond (no sales numbers yet), and across the board, all DC sales have not risen despite the "Hold the line at $2.99" promotion:

45 WONDER WOMAN #608 $2.99 (with variant cover)

49 WONDER WOMAN #609 $2.99 (with variant cover)

for comparison on other female-centric titles:

52 BIRDS OF PREY #10 $2.99

62 SIGIL #1 $2.99

64 X-23 #7 $2.99

80 BATGIRL #19 $2.99

92 SUPERGIRL #62 $2.99

99 GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #21 $2.99

[Groovie Mann]

Sad that Zatanna wasn't in the top 100. Also thinking DC dropped the ball with Supergirl. Nick Spencer was the hottest thing on the alternative scene and there was a buzz about him on the book. But that didn't go over and now his exclusive at Marvel and has an Eisner nod for best writer which DC was shut out of for the first time in years.

[zryson]

Sad that Zatanna wasn't in the top 100. Also thinking DC dropped the ball with Supergirl. Nick Spencer was the hottest thing on the alternative scene and there was a buzz about him on the book. But that didn't go over and now his exclusive at Marvel and has an Eisner nod for best writer which DC was shut out of for the first time in years.

the way i see it, dc is a failing brand, struggling to make their heroes relevant in the new century. if they cancelled more of their books, to free up creative teams so they can work on producing better quality work, i think dc would be in better shape when it comes to the comics-side of the business imho.

[Groovie Mann]

the way i see it, dc is a failing brand, struggling to make their heroes relevant in the new century. if they cancelled more of their books, to free up creative teams so they can work on producing better quality work, i think dc would be in better shape when it comes to the comics-side of the business imho.

They're not attracting a lot of the hot new talent though. Marvels pulling in more of the "indy stars" or even novelist types and putting them on big deal books. Most of DC's top selling books last year were are written by the same two guys and thats not helping. Neither is editorial driven plots and having the majority of their focus on Batman and GL and letting several others fall under the way side.

[zryson]

They're not attracting a lot of the hot new talent though. Marvels pulling in more of the "indy stars" or even novelist types and putting them on big deal books. Most of DC's top selling books last year were are written by the same two guys and thats not helping. Neither is editorial driven plots and having the majority of their focus on Batman and GL and letting several others fall under the way side.

you make some good points GM; i think dc needs a major shakeup if they want to get their company in better order. because the comics side is really letting them down.

[Glynne Ainsworth]

From icv2.com

45
55.53
WONDER WOMAN #608
$2.99
DC
32,540

46
54.89
HULK #30.1
$2.99
MAR
32,163

47
54.73
INCREDIBLE HULKS #624
$2.99
MAR
32,066

48
54.29
ACTION COMICS #899
$2.99
DC
31,808

49
53.62
WONDER WOMAN #609
$2.99
DC
31,421