The DC Numbers/Estimates Mega Thread

[glennsim]

yeah, well, marvel titles are being pushed up by NOW!

He was comparing "Catwoman" to "Superman". It has nothing to do with relative sales to Marvel.

[vampiric_cannibal]

Looks like those Now! books are dropping like flies.

Of course. No one seriously believed they were all actually selling over 100k, Marvel whored them up to look good.

[Paul Newell]

December update:


DC Sales - Top 300 (Jan-Dec) 2012 - 29,602,125 estimated units.

DC Sales - Top 300 (Jan-Dec) 2011 - 26,522,201 estimated units.


And here are the figures for the previous ten years:

2011 - 26,522,201 estimated units
2010 - 23,528,000 estimated units
2009 - 24,126,336 estimated units
2008 - 25,760,378 estimated units
2007 - 29,597,217 estimated units
2006 - 30,243,575 estimated units
2005 - 26,995,698 estimated units
2004 - 23,895,322 estimated units
2003 - 22,344,120 estimated units
2002 - 20,687,488 estimated units


And out of interest, here's the Marvel numbers:


Marvel Sales - Top 300 (Jan-Dec) 2012 - 30,278,745 estimated units.

Marvel Sales - Top 300 (Jan-Dec) 2011 - 29,522,809 estimated units.


And here are the figures for the previous ten years:

2011 - 29,522,809 estimated units
2010 - 29,998,200 estimated units
2009 - 34,167,744 estimated units
2008 - 37,269,988 estimated units
2007 - 38,132,744 estimated units
2006 - 34,647,105 estimated units
2005 - 32,461,832 estimated units
2004 - 32,021,066 estimated units
2003 - 28,974,336 estimated units
2002 - 28,473,404 estimated units

[glennsim]

So for the folks who didn't like what DC and Marvel did in 2012, you might as well take 2013 off, because I guarantee you it will be more of the same...

[Mr. Holmes]

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?p...ticle&id=43181

Books below top 100:

All Star Western
Legion of Super Heroes
Dial H
Ravagers
Stormwatch
Team 7
Demon Knights
Sword of Sorcery
Savage Hawkman
Deathstroke
Fury of Firestorm, the Nuclear Men

Didn't include the already-cancelled ones.

I still think it's criminal that Firestorm and Hawkman outlasted I, Vampire and Frankenstein.

[BrotherUnitNo_4]

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?p...ticle&id=43181

Books below top 100:

All Star Western
Legion of Super Heroes
Dial H
Ravagers
Stormwatch
Team 7
Demon Knights
Sword of Sorcery
Savage Hawkman
Deathstroke
Fury of Firestorm, the Nuclear Men

Didn't include the already-cancelled ones.

I still think it's criminal that Firestorm and Hawkman outlasted I, Vampire and Frankenstein.

I sure do wonder what there criteria is for cancelling books. I think I, Vampire and Frankenstein are really just hurt by being fringe books while Firestorm and Hawkman are firmly capes and tights. That's the only thing that makes sense as I thought they said I, Vampire was doing very well in trade and digital.

[BrotherUnitNo_4]

So for the folks who didn't like what DC and Marvel did in 2012, you might as well take 2013 off, because I guarantee you it will be more of the same...

Ha! So true.

Neither of them are making any substantial changes going forward, just a few books with higher-profiled creators going forward.

[USERNAME TAKEN]

I sure do wonder what there criteria is for cancelling books. I think I, Vampire and Frankenstein are really just hurt by being fringe books while Firestorm and Hawkman are firmly capes and tights. That's the only thing that makes sense as I thought they said I, Vampire was doing very well in trade and digital.

The only way I can make sense of that is the estimates don't give the full picture.

Other than that, it doesn't make any sense to me.

[glennsim]

I sure do wonder what there criteria is for cancelling books. I think I, Vampire and Frankenstein are really just hurt by being fringe books while Firestorm and Hawkman are firmly capes and tights. That's the only thing that makes sense as I thought they said I, Vampire was doing very well in trade and digital.

I wonder if there's a matter of people either really liking Frankenstein/I, Vampire or having no interest, with the people who really like them simply not being a large number, whereas there's potentially a bigger audience for Hawkman and Firestorm if they can ever get the creative formula right. In other words, there probably isn't a big group of people saying "I'd buy Frankenstein but I just don't like that particular writer."

[TehJofus]

Wow, I had no idea Stormwatch had slipped so low. I thought it was still doing around 21k. Along with Team 7 at 15k, it seems that Wildstorm just isn't a great seller in the New 52. Kind of makes me wonder if DC will even bother with an eventual Authority or Apollo/Midnighter series, or just try to integrate the characters into Justice League teams.

[Rough_Diamond]

Sorry Mr. Newell but your numbers seem to be totally wrong! You claim that DC did 26,522,201 estimated units in 2011. Except they sold over 5 million comics of the first month of the New 52(don't believe me, believe their own words: http://www.comicbookresources.com/?p...ticle&id=34886) and over 9m units more till the end of that year. That makes a total of 14+m units for the last quarter of 2011. Take that 14+m out from your 2011 estimation and that would mean they had only sold about 12m units till the New 52 happened, which means an average of 1.5m/month. Comichron's data says otherwise however, that they even did over 2m in summer of 2011. But it also contradicts DC's claim about the 5+m of late August/September '11. I think your estimations do not reflect the truth.

[Paul Newell]

Sorry Mr. Newell but your numbers seem to be totally wrong! You claim that DC did 26,522,201 estimated units in 2011. Except they sold over 5 million comics of the first month of the New 52(don't believe me, believe their own words: http://www.comicbookresources.com/?p...ticle&id=34886) and over 9m units more till the end of that year. That makes a total of 14+m units for the last quarter of 2011. Take that 14+m out from your 2011 estimation and that would mean they had only sold about 12m units till the New 52 happened, which means an average of 1.5m/month. Comichron's data says otherwise however, that they even did over 2m in summer of 2011. But it also contradicts DC's claim about the 5+m of late August/September '11. I think your estimations do not reflect the truth.

So does the 5 million include digital sales? overseas sales? non-comic store sales? Because the Comichron estimates are based on North American sales, through Diamond only, and don't include any of those. Comichron's estimates are what I used to calculate the figures so anything I work out is a guesstimate based on a guesstimate. And that's why I call them "estimates"....They aren't exact, they're guesses based on the available data. If you can work out something more accurate, feel free to do so and post it here.

[Mr. Holmes]

Wow, I had no idea Stormwatch had slipped so low. I thought it was still doing around 21k. Along with Team 7 at 15k, it seems that Wildstorm just isn't a great seller in the New 52. Kind of makes me wonder if DC will even bother with an eventual Authority or Apollo/Midnighter series, or just try to integrate the characters into Justice League teams.

I thought they were going to do "Justice League Edge" in the place of Authority for a long time, but JLA sort of destroyed that theory. Of course it's still possible in the more distant future.

I mean Wildstorm sort of has the same problem as a lot of comic book companies. If they weren't published for a long time, people forget about them. At one point Authority was the biggest thing ever, just like how at one point Captain Marvel outsold Superman.

[Rough_Diamond]

So does the 5 million include digital sales? overseas sales? non-comic store sales? Because the Comichron estimates are based on North American sales, through Diamond only, and don't include any of those. Comichron's estimates are what I used to calculate the figures so anything I work out is a guesstimate based on a guesstimate. And that's why I call them "estimates"....They aren't exact, they're guesses based on the available data. If you can work out something more accurate, feel free to do so and post it here.

http://comicsbeat.com/dc-sells-5-mil...em-end-to-end/
Well, if they "lay them end to end" that means they do not include digital sales, only physical copies. What's more it probably means that DC did not sell more in 2012 than 2011. 26.6m seems too low for the success the New 52 had in 2011. So, I think we are far from seeing the whole story! And I do not see any articles from DC claiming they sold more in 2012. Don't you think they would have used that since so many people are saying that sales of the reboot are going down the toilet now?

[billee0918]

Hi Saxth/future banned new member. See link below and we'll do big boy math.

In Sept 2011 the total units sold is 7,270,861. DC represents 46.59% of these units, which equals 3,387,494.

Sorry! I know how these great sales stats are killing you.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?p...ticle&id=34838