CBR: MAYO REPORT: August 2010 Sales Analysis

[CBR News]

August had the fifth lowest number of total units sold for the top 300 comics since the start of the final order era with no comic selling over 100,000 units. John Mayo analyzes the data and offers his conclusions.


Full article here.

[wildstorm3]

I also think that sales are down due to no major comic book related movies released this year for people to get interested in reading the books. Last year we had Transformers, GI Joe, Star Trek, Wolverine, and Watchmen to name a few. This year you had Iron man 2. Sure you had Kick-Ass (which I think appealed to the few that read the book before the movie) and Jonah Hex (and we all know how well that did).

Also I think that sales are down because of the price hikes of some major titles from $2.99 to 3.99. I know personally I dropped some titles due to this and refused to pick up new titles (namely GL:Emerald Warriors). I know that DC and Marvel are trying to earn more money but now is not the time to squeeze more money out of people, especially in this economy. I guess they never seen the Laffer curve. I think the same curve can be used in any business. There is a certain amount that you can charge people until they quit buying of reduce their buying.

[MadThespian]

I stopped buying most DC & Marvel Comics years ago for several reasons.
First was budgetary. The "Big Events" are what finished it for me. I can easily spend $25 or more a week, without much effort, and I just can't afford that.
Second was the constant churn of creative talent on various titles, which leads to a lack of artistic and storyline continuity.
Third is the constant discarding of "what has gone before". The stories that were written fifty, twenty, or ten years ago should matter.

From a personal high of 100+ titles per month in 1994 (I was working for Capital City Dist and getting most stuff at a 50% discount), I'm now down to 3 regular books (Walking Dead, Buffy Season 8, and Echo), and the occasional thing from a favorite creator (Paul Pope, Ted McKeever, Keith Giffen [when he does the art], Mike Mignola).

An untalked about aspect of the growth of Marvel titles, is an effort to push non-Marvel titles off the shelf. Both Marvel & DC have used this tactic before (Marvels rapid expansion of title count in the mid 90's, comes to mind).

I don't know how Marvel & DC are ever going to get me back. I don't care enough about the characters anymore to want to spend $4 a month, for a story which won't matter next year.

And that ensaddens me.

[thecrimson]

This was the first time have ever read one of these charts, and now I'm depressed for comics. I hope the companies can find some way to revive interest.

[Shellhead]

I don't know how Marvel & DC are ever going to get me back. I don't care enough about the characters anymore to want to spend $4 a month, for a story which won't matter next year.

And that ensaddens me.

Me too. I'm down to following just a few titles, though I sometimes pick up trades of back issues.

[randomengine]

I hope this trend continues and Marvel in particular wakes up and stops their bullshit.

[Certifiable1]

Is there some way you guys can release information on whether or not the $3.99 average cover price has had an impact? It's the reason I stopped buying monthlies. I can't be alone!

[randomengine]

Is there some way you guys can release information on whether or not the $3.99 average cover price has had an impact? It's the reason I stopped buying monthlies. I can't be alone!

You can do it yourself using icv2.com data, I believe. Just do an aggregate of all the 3.99 books. Compare them to cheaper books, or whatever you want.

[Owned by pugs]

Here, I believe, is the key:

>>>The problem isn't that the total sales of new comics for the top 300 comics were down in August. The problem is the sales on most of the titles in the top 300 comics were down.<<<

So people are buying as many comics as usual in aggregate, but not in terms of individual titles. This would seem to indicate that price is less of an issue than we might think, BUT that the massive increase in number of titles over the last 5 years IS important. There are, what, a dozen Batman titles now? If there were 2, sales per issue would be greatly increased.

I'm probably buying the same number of books than I did a decade ago (and since I go through DCBS, not at $4 per, thankfully) but that likely only represents a tiny fraction of Marvel/DC output.

Kevin C

[DanDunne]

Consider the implications for a moment. The title is re-launched with a new #1 issue and within three issues about 95% of the sales boost is gone. Short term this is good, but it isn't doing anything for the long term.

I think you're really on to something there.

[failinginplace]

The $3.99 price increase was my biggest reason for dropping titles. If it's not a major even book, or doesn't have more story pages (ie. none of the filler pages bull.sh*t like reprinted handbook pages, pages about how the pages were drawn- I'm talking expanding the freaking story to justify the increase) then I'm not buying it. I just can't afford it right now as things are tight, and plus I was laid off a month ago. So I stripped my list down to only Joe The Barbarian and GL.

But I refuse to pay $4 a pop on a freaking Avengers book with mediocre art or an X-Men book that is about two years late to the puke that is the Twilight party. And I feel like the majority of the Ultimates line is uninteresting trash at this point. It's like they had a meeting and said "X-Men book? Vampires. A potentially great Gambit/Storm book? Vampires. A Namor book? Vampires. Ok ok let's do something original and creative and different for the Ultimates book. Any ideas? No? Ok, vampires." That's my Marvel knock.

My DC knock is that I love their Batman stuff, but those delays are killing me. I know it can be looked at that "Oh nice, I don't have to spend that much on books this month because 90% of them are delayed!" but honestly the more messed up a books schedule is, the less it's on my mind and the more I don't care about it.

I absolutely do vote with my dollars. If your book sucks, I probably won't buy it. But I may, because I'm a loyal reader and I enjoy the serialized nature of comic books. But if your book suck and you try screwing me for an additional dollar a pop for absolutely no reason except that you can, then not only have you pissed me off and assisted me in tossing my loyalty out the window, but I am way less likely to choose you over competition when MY times get tough.

[JohnnyHorror92182]

I was just talking about this with the owners of the Comic Shop I go to. The owner said his sales were really down this summer and that led into the news that DC closing Wildstorm (they'll be back though) and a round of layoffs, which sucks but with the industry the way it is, it was bound to happen.

The owners wife, who also works there, made a good point when she said that "Marvel doesn't act like the industry is hurting, they just keep churning out 3.99 books trying to get every dime they can." DC's recent reorganizing, while it is perhaps sad to an extent, at least they're doing some Damage Control.

[dupont2005]

I also think that sales are down due to no major comic book related movies released this year for people to get interested in reading the books. Last year we had Transformers, GI Joe, Star Trek, Wolverine, and Watchmen to name a few. This year you had Iron man 2. Sure you had Kick-Ass (which I think appealed to the few that read the book before the movie) and Jonah Hex (and we all know how well that did).

Star Trek, G. I. Joe, and Transformers may be licensed comics, but calling them "comic book movies" is sort of like calling Texas Chainsaw Massacre a comic book movie. But you did miss Diary Of A Wimpy Kid, Scott Pilgrim, and countless others. I don't think it was a bad year for comic book movies at all. And Kick Ass not only appealed to plenty more people than those who were reading the floppies month to month, but was responsible for a huge surge in sales of the trade. I had never even considered picking up a copy of Kick Ass until I saw the movie trailer.

[dupont2005]

Reason I think sales are down? The people who grew up reading comics are growing up. Kids today aren't really reading comics because accessible mainstream comics are made for adults these days. People who don't visit comic book forums or read previews are not likely to know Darkwing Duck and Rescue Rangers even have comics, and if they visit the LCS on a whim they are unlikely to find a copy in those stacks of murder and tits lining the walls. That's why sales are down and will continue to drop.

[JohnnyHorror92182]

Reason I think sales are down? The people who grew up reading comics are growing up. Kids today aren't really reading comics because accessible mainstream comics are made for adults these days. People who don't visit comic book forums or read previews are not likely to know Darkwing Duck and Rescue Rangers even have comics, and if they visit the LCS on a whim they are unlikely to find a copy in those stacks of murder and tits lining the walls. That's why sales are down and will continue to drop.

A shopper at the Shop I go to is a comic reader, and he runs a program at a local elementary school to help kids get interesting in reading. And he uses childrens comic books to do so.