Wonder Woman Sales Figures - Now to 1942

[aegisbearer]

Andy is the Olympian! :)

[jameslm]

Yup! Sure is!

[dshipp17]

There are problems collecting most of the missing data.

1984-1988 are years I haven't snagged the SOOs for YET; after that, DC stopped filing them. I'll be getting them, just have not.

1984-2006 is also when the rise of the Direct Market had a major effect. There were two MAJOR direct distributors (Diamond and Capital), numerous smaller ones (Heroes World, Second Genesis, and others), AND there was still a newsstand market. So collating sales figures WITHOUT any SOOs is going to be next to impossible. I have sales charts for several of the distributors, so I can show ranking, but that's a long and laborious process and involves getting a lot of boxes out of storage.

The interesting thing with the SOOs is that the correlation between print run and actual sales was ABSURD. DC was often printing up to three times the amount of actual copies sold. If WW was selling 50,000 copies (including subscriptions), DC might print and ship to newsstands 150,000, of which 100,000 copies would be destroyed!

Once the Direct Market nearly completely took the place of the newsstand market, sales narrowed down more than they ever had, cutting off all but the "fans" who would go to comic book stores; casual buyers who would pick up the title on newsstands thus disappeared, as did their sales.

Then too, one must look at the cultural world around comics, and how outer entertainment factors have affected comics as a whole.
* The rise of television in the 1950s-1960s dealt a major blow to the comics field, probably much moreso than anything Wertham and Kefauver ever did.
* The rise of video games -- and video tapes -- in the 1980s struck the second major blow.
* The rise of the internet in the 1990s struck almost a killing blow.
* These latter two, combined with the rise of the Direct Market supremacy and the strangling to death of newsstand sales, meant that by the 1990s, comics were selling only a fraction of what they once had.
* Add in today's high prices vs. the recession, and it's lucky comic fans have any market to visit.

As to your assertion about the Loebs run, that period will be one of the hardest to graph, as it is post-SOO and smack in the middle of the multiple-distributors newsstand-dying era. But I actually believe, from the evidence I've read, that Byrne's run (which as one can see, was well into the 40K range) was the highest the book had been since the early days of Perez's run. I think the Loebs run started small in sales, and experienced a spike during the Deodato era, but not equal (or possibly barely equal) to Byrne's sales.

So, it's really post-Byrne that the sales -- and fans -- were lost.

Thanks for your response; but, didn't Loebs get the cheesecake reputation when Deodato came aboard? Actually, I believe that Loebs equal and surpassed Byrne while Deodato was onboard. I was just offering a suggestion; I only want success for Wonder Woman and I'm glad you have a firm grasp on all of the causes; I only listed two of those factors, one you stated (e.g. the Internet) and one I stated (e.g. cheesecake; maybe just a risky speculation at this point).

[AndyMangels]

Remember that many people download their comics these days. Yes, it's illegal and annoying but there it is, there might be another 40,000 people downloading Wonder Woman comics.
People also borrow and trade comics between friends so one copy doesn't mean one person. It might mean 2, 3 or even 10 people. I borrow a lot of comics off my ex, sometimes I'll buy my own and sometimes I'll just keep his and hope he forgets about them.
Wonder Woman is still selling 30-60 thou and I think we should try to be more positive instead of complaining all the time about some weird arbitrary marker of success.

I believe that you're significantly exaggerating the downloaded copies of Wonder Woman. In my experiences at conventions and online, the amount of downloaders is significantly smaller than what most people believe it to be. And while it's true that more people may be READING Wonder Woman in download form, the comic store employees I've discussed the matter with (and sales levels in general) show that since the rise of comics downloading (the last 5 years), the actual sales level has not dropped very significantly. Almost everyone I know who downloads Wonder Woman ALSO buys the physical comic.

Statistically, the sales highs and lows have stayed very consistent in the low-20Ks to mid-40Ks for 13 charted years, rising and falling for new creative teams, or sales stunts.

The "pass along rate" doesn't matter in the comic SALES question, as a passed-along comic does not affect SALES of the comic itself.

Pass-along readers ARE better for the company than "average consumers," however, as they may be more likely to buy trade paperbacks, and are certainly more likely to buy more Wonder Woman merchandise. And merchandise is the main reason that Wonder Woman remains a marketable commodity for Warner.

It's interesting to look at the trades and collection numbers, as they've stayed remarkably consistent, eroded only mostly by the HC/SC introduction. From them, we can see that the TRADE audience for Wonder Woman is likely in the 20K-29K range, plus or minus. Archives started out around 29K and by #5 are down to 15K. If one compares that to, let's say, high-end Tonner dolls where the edition size has shrunk from the over-a-thousand to 500, to 200 to 100, you start to get a picture where the hardcore demographic of Wonder Woman is versus the casual buyer.

But a Wonder Woman t-shirt still likely has a higher print-run -- and likely higher sales -- than most issues of her comic book.

As for your assertions that "Wonder Woman is still selling 30-60 thou" and labelling them "weird arbitrary marker of success," either you don't fully understand the numbers or you're being disingenious.
* Wonder Woman has NOT sold 60K since Picoult came onboard.
* Wonder Woman has not sold 50K since Gail's first issue.
* The entire last year has run from 26K-32K, with the latest issue (#38) being the lowest sales level since #213, five years ago.
* These are not just "weird arbitrary marker of success," these are Sales Figures. They're cold, hard, facts. Unfortunately, emphasis is on "cold."

Do these spell doom for the Wonder Woman comic? No, no more than any other comic. Wonder Woman's sales ranking has stayed remarkably consistent. But the continued erosion of the comic book sales -- Wonder Woman included -- are undeniable.

What can be done? A good movie would spike sales for at least a solid year. Iron Man has grown incredibly around the film. A television series wouldn't hurt. Other than that, not much.

[AndyMangels]

Thanks for your response; but, didn't Loebs get the cheesecake reputation when Deodato came aboard? Actually, I believe that Loebs equal and surpassed Byrne while Deodato was onboard. I was just offering a suggestion; I only want success for Wonder Woman and I'm glad you have a firm grasp on all of the causes; I only listed two of those factors, one you stated (e.g. the Internet) and one I stated (e.g. cheesecake; maybe just a risky speculation at this point).

Wow, a whole bunch of responses while I was formulating and researching MY responses. Thanks for the kind words, pals 'n' gals!

Deodato did bring the cheesecake quotient into high gear, but it was reflective of comics at the time (see: Jim Balent's Catwoman at DC and any number of "Bad Girl" independent comics). I'll see if I can get some thoughts from the editor of the book as to Loebs' general sales level, but I don't think it ever significantly topped Byrne's or Perez's. As I explained, reliable sales figures are nearly impossible to get from the period.

And I want Wonder Woman to succeed as well. I'd love to see her atop the charts one day, with Gail writing, or any creative team who also respects her character and history rather than her bust size and thong song.

[dshipp17]

Wow, a whole bunch of responses while I was formulating and researching MY responses. Thanks for the kind words, pals 'n' gals!

Deodato did bring the cheesecake quotient into high gear, but it was reflective of comics at the time (see: Jim Balent's Catwoman at DC and any number of "Bad Girl" independent comics). I'll see if I can get some thoughts from the editor of the book as to Loebs' general sales level, but I don't think it ever significantly topped Byrne's or Perez's. As I explained, reliable sales figures are nearly impossible to get from the period.

And I want Wonder Woman to succeed as well. I'd love to see her atop the charts one day, with Gail writing, or any creative team who also respects her character and history rather than her bust size and thong song.

Oh, they'd respect the character; it's just fun to have the cheesecake, also. I don't think that just narrows things down to her bust size and thong song; those are just two other enjoyable features of Wonder Woman.

[SJNeal]

So, it's really post-Byrne that the sales -- and fans -- were lost.

Not surprising considering his art and stories... left a lot to be desired. To put it nicely.

In my very humble opinion, of course.

[lariatofhestia]

Thank you so much for your hard work and I am afraid sales do mean something contrary to what some people like to think.

It has to influence whether DC is willing to risk a second title and that might not be if the only one can't even plateau and maintain something respectable between 30 and 40 k. It is just losing too many readers. And this was a relaunched title...not one that has just been going on for years!!!

It shows that there is an audience as seen by the sales upon the relaunch but as the story progressed people have been gradually losing interest.


If one is a DC boss then one has to pay attention to the reasons why the current series is not really gelling. I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to figure that out. It's as simple as that if one wants Diana to succeed.

Anyway thanks for that.

[marvelboy74]

Really depressing when you look at the recent sales numbers. It's a shame because Gail's run has had better stories and moments than most of Byrne's run and she didn't have to do retcons. I'm skeptical to believe the Heinberg's name was the sole reason WW sales jumped but it appears so, which is a shame because it was such a let down.

[Linkara]

Thanks for the hard data, Andy!

And yeah, the sales numbers don't spell doom. Bear in mind that there are a few points in Wondy's history where the sales numbers are close to the current level and they didn't spell doom there, either.

[Atomcrush]

Really depressing when you look at the recent sales numbers. It's a shame because Gail's run has had better stories and moments than most of Byrne's run and she didn't have to do retcons. I'm skeptical to believe the Heinberg's name was the sole reason WW sales jumped but it appears so, which is a shame because it was such a let down.

Heinbeg also benefitted from the soft reboot and renumbering.

[Atomcrush]

Yes Andy, thanks a bunch. You seem like an exceptionally busy fellow, with several irons in the fire, so it is much appreciated that you took the time to share this information with us.

[Peter Svensson]

Not surprising considering his art and stories... left a lot to be desired. To put it nicely.

In my very humble opinion, of course.

I don't think you understood what he meant. Byrne sold well. But sales started falling after Byrne left and we got the interim period of Priest doing a few fill-ins and then the short Erik Luke run. Byrne, love him or hate him is a big name creator and DC didn't have anyone of similar quality ready to take over the series. Luke was critically acclaimed for his work at Dark Horse but didn't have the name recognition that a Byrne or Perez would. Sales dropped because there wasn't an immediate changeover to a permanent creative team, and said eventual creative team just wasn't as big a draw.

I do wonder what would have happened had Byrne stuck to his original plan and kept on the book longer, since he left the book early when he was told that Kupperberg was leaving and wanted to bow out with him. Since Kupperberg ended up staying longer, Byrne ended up leaving prematurely. In a world where Byrne's run lasted another year, who knows what would have happened? With more advance notice, who could DC have gotten to take over the title? Jurgens?

[AndyMangels]

Found one more SOO for Series 2, but since DC stopped running them in 1988, this is all there was. Still, it shows that the Perez run was a HUGE jump forward in sales from the previous series.

1987 Wonder Woman #15 SOO 118,550

Also, thanks to the Standard Catalog of Comic Books (2nd Edition), I found some Capital City orders of almost all of the Series 2 issues. These are ONLY one distributors' orders, and did not factor in orders from Diamond, Heroes World, Second Genesis, or others, nor newsstand sales. My bet is that these were probably around 1/4 of total sales.

The CC orders do, however show trends in sales. I've marked a few spots where artist changes were made. Surprisingly, while sales declined after Perez left the book, it was not immediate, and Perez sales were often less than 1/3 of when he had started. The Deodato sales didn't immediately pick up, but were rising already before "The Contest" issues, and peaked as those showed up. And Byrne's sales started strong.

I tried to add these CC orders into posting #2 below, but was unable to due to too much material, so it's in this post. You can now see SOME figures for all but thirteen issues. It isn't likely that Diamond will ever release their numbers prior to 1996, and the other distributors are out of business, so this is most likely the closest look we'll ever actually get at sales.

Still, I'll eventually do a lot of digging in storage to pull out old Capital City Internal Correspondances and catalogues, as well as Diamond and Heroes World catalogues, to see if I can find more sales figure. Don't expect that to happen anytime too soon though!

++++++++++

The following are order numbers from Capital City Distributors ONLY, and are not reflective of total sales. They likely reflect about 1/4 of total sales, when factoring in other distributors, newsstand sales, and subscriptions.

NEW as of Nov 30, 2010: Thanks to new numbers being posted at TheComicChron, I've been able to update some of the numbers below with Diamond (blue); Diamond numbers mean one point equals about 700-800 copies sold:

October 1995 Wonder Woman #102 $1.95 (CCo) 20,650
October 1995 Wonder Woman #102 $1.95 (Diamond rank 35) 71.96
September 1995 Wonder Woman #101 $1.95 (CCo) 29,800 Byrne
September 1995 Wonder Woman #101 $1.95 (Diamond rank 20) 89.36
August 1995 Wonder Woman Annual #04 $3.50 (Diamond rank 94) 39.92
July 1995 Wonder Woman #100 $2.95 (CCo) 28,825
July 1995 Wonder Woman #100 Collectors Ed $3.95 (Diamond rank 40) 79.23
July 1995 Wonder Woman #100 Newsstand Ed $2.95 (Diamond rank 230) 16.33
July 1995 Wonder Woman #099 $1.75 (CCo) 20,200
July 1995 Wonder Woman #098 $1.50 (Diamond rank 65) 57.50
June 1995 Wonder Woman #098 $1.75 (CCo) 16,100
June 1995 Wonder Woman #098 $1.50 (Diamond rank 72) 40.0
May 1995 Wonder Woman #097 $1.50 (CCo) 16,200
May 1995 Wonder Woman #097 $1.50 (Diamond rank 75) 39.0
April 1995 Wonder Woman #096 $1.50 (CCo) 15,400
April 1995 Wonder Woman #096 $1.50 (Diamond rank 85) 25.6
March 1995 Wonder Woman #095 $1.50 (CCo) 14,175
March 1995 Wonder Woman #095 $1.50 (Diamond rank 109) 33.7
February 1995 Wonder Woman #094 $1.50 (CCo) 12,900
January 1995 Wonder Woman #093 $1.50 (CCo) 12,850

++++++++++

December 1994 Wonder Woman #092 $1.50 (CCo) 11,100
November 1994 Wonder Woman #091 $1.50 (CCo) 9,500
October 1994 Wonder Woman #000 $1.50 (CCo) 16,400
September 1994 Wonder Woman #090 $1.50 (CCo) 8,750
August 1994 Wonder Woman #089 $1.50 (CCo) 7,600
July 1994 Wonder Woman #088 $1.50 (CCo) 8,050
June 1994 Wonder Woman #087 $1.50 (CCo) 7,500
May 1994 Wonder Woman #086 $1.50 (CCo) 7,600
April 1994 Wonder Woman #085 $1.50 (CCo) 7,400 Deodato
March 1994 Wonder Woman #084 $1.50 (CCo) 7,800
February 1994 Wonder Woman #083 $1.50 (CCo) 8,100
January 1994 Wonder Woman #082 $1.25 (CCo) 8,375

++++++++++

December 1993 Wonder Woman #081 $1.25 (CCo) 8,600
November 1993 Wonder Woman #080 $1.25 (CCo) 8,550
October 1993 Wonder Woman #079 $1.25 (CCo) 8,650
September 1993 Wonder Woman #078 $1.25 (CCo) 8,900
August 1993 Wonder Woman #077 $1.25 (CCo) 9,600
July 1993 Wonder Woman #076 $1.25 (CCo) 9,700
June 1993 Wonder Woman #075 $1.25 (CCo) 10,350
May 1993 Wonder Woman #074 $1.25 (CCo) 9,450
April 1993 Wonder Woman #073 $1.25 (CCo) 9,650
March 1993 Wonder Woman #072 $1.25 (CCo) 9,400
February 1993 Wonder Woman #071 $1.25 (CCo) 9,350
January 1993 Wonder Woman #070 $1.25 (CCo) 9,100

++++++++++

December 1992 Wonder Woman #069 $1.25 (CCo) 9,400
November 1992 Wonder Woman #068 $1.25 (CCo) 10,000
October 1992 Wonder Woman #067 $1.25 (CCo) 10,950
September 1992 Wonder Woman #066 $1.25 (CCo) 11,450
August 1992 Wonder Woman #065 $1.25 (CCo) 12,050
July 1992 Wonder Woman #064 $1.25 (CCo) 12,050
June 1992 Wonder Woman #063 $1.25 (CCo) 13,550
May 1992 Wonder Woman Special $1.75 (CCo) 17,400
February 1992 Wonder Woman #062 $1.00 (CCo) 17,100 Last Perez
January 1992 Wonder Woman #061 $1.00 (CCo) 21,100

++++++++++

November 1991 Wonder Woman #060 $1.00 (CCo) 19,750
October 1991 Wonder Woman #059 $1.00 (CCo) 16,850
September 1991 Wonder Woman #058 $1.00 (CCo) 18,950
August 1991 Wonder Woman #057 $1.00 (CCo) 10,750
July 1991 Wonder Woman #056 $1.00 (CCo) 10,450
June 1991 Wonder Woman #055 $1.00 (CCo) 10,500
May 1991 Wonder Woman #054 $1.00 (CCo) 10,800
April 1991 Wonder Woman #053 $1.00 (CCo) 11,050
March 1991 Wonder Woman #052 $1.00 (CCo) 11,050
February 1991 Wonder Woman #051 $1.00 (CCo) 11,450
January 1991 Wonder Woman #050 $1.50 (CCo) 13,200

++++++++++

December 1990 Wonder Woman #049 $1.00 (CCo) 11,600
November 1990 Wonder Woman #048 $1.00 (CCo) 11,200
October 1990 Wonder Woman #047 $1.00 (CCo) 11,200
September 1990 Wonder Woman #046 $1.00 (CCo) 11,400
August 1990 Wonder Woman #045 $1.00 (CCo) 11,400
July 1990 Wonder Woman #044 $1.00 (CCo) 11,850
June 1990 Wonder Woman #043 $1.00 (CCo) 12,200
May 1990 Wonder Woman #042 $1.00 (CCo) 12,500
April 1990 Wonder Woman #041 $1.00 (CCo) 12,600
March 1990 Wonder Woman #040 $1.00 (CCo) 13,400
February 1990 Wonder Woman #039 $1.00 (CCo) 13,950
January 1990 Wonder Woman #038 $1.00 (CCo) 14,600

++++++++++

December 1989 Wonder Woman #037 $1.00 (CCo) 14,650
November 1989 Wonder Woman #036 $1.00 (CCo) 49,900
October 1989 Wonder Woman #035 $1.00 (CCo) 15,650
September 1989 Wonder Woman #034 $1.00 (CCo) 16,100
August 1989 Wonder Woman #033 $1.00 (CCo) 16,300
July 1989 Wonder Woman #032 $1.00 (CCo) 17,450
June 1989 Wonder Woman #031 $1.00 (CCo) 17,000
May 1989 Wonder Woman #030 $1.00 (CCo) 17,450
April 1989 Wonder Woman #029 $1.00 (CCo) 17,900
March 1989 Wonder Woman #028 $1.00 (CCo) 17,950
February 1989 Wonder Woman #027 $1.00 (CCo) 18,150
January 1989 Wonder Woman #026 $1.00 (CCo) 20,200
January 1989 Wonder Woman #025 $1.00 (CCo) 21,550

++++++++++

Holiday 1988 Wonder Woman #024 $1.00 (CCo) 19,150
December 1988 Wonder Woman #023 $1.00 (CCo) 20,850
November 1988 Wonder Woman #022 $1.00 (CCo) 20,100
October 1988 Wonder Woman #021 $1.00 (CCo) 21,250
September 1988 Wonder Woman #020 $0.75 (CCo) 21,000
August 1988 Wonder Woman #019 $0.75 (CCo) 21,100
July 1988 Wonder Woman #018 $0.75 (CCo) 21,900
June 1988 Wonder Woman #017 $0.75 (CCo) 21,400
May 1988 Wonder Woman #016 $0.75 (CCo) 25,750
April 1988 Wonder Woman #015 $0.75 (CCo) 23,650
March 1988 Wonder Woman #014 $0.75 (CCo) 23,450
February 1988 Wonder Woman #013 $0.75 (CCo) 28,050
January 1988 Wonder Woman #012 $0.75 (CCo) 27,800

++++++++++

December 1987 Wonder Woman #011 $0.75 (CCo) 22,700
November 1987 Wonder Woman #010 $0.75 (CCo) 24,600
October 1987 Wonder Woman #009 $0.75 (CCo) 24,200
September 1987 Wonder Woman #008 $0.75 (CCo) 24,400
August 1987 Wonder Woman #007 $0.75 (CCo) 23,450
July 1987 Wonder Woman #006 $0.75 (CCo) 22,200
June 1987 Wonder Woman #005 $0.75 (CCo) 21,600
May 1987 Wonder Woman #004 $0.75 (CCo) 23,050
April 1987 Wonder Woman #003 $0.75 (CCo) 22,700
March 1987 Wonder Woman #002 $0.75 (CCo) 25,650
February 1987 Wonder Woman #001 $0.75 (CCo) 39,250

[Tom]

Wonder Woman is still selling 30-60 thou and I think we should try to be more positive instead of complaining all the time about some weird arbitrary marker of success.

Wonder Woman is NOT selling 30-60 thousand, no matter how much you may want it to be so. And sales charts are the only real way to measure how a book is doing, so there's nothing arbitrary about them at all.

Look, I think it's silly when readers get into the minutiae of sales charts, but pretending like they don't exist or pretending that they're saying something other than what they're saying is just as, if not more, silly.