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In the case of the first wave of “New 52” titles, that figure was 10%, or close enough to it not to raise any red flags when the returnability period ended for those titles. (Under specific conditions, as usual, and those conditions are not equal for all titles.) This means their numbers, as they determine the chart rankings and index information, were reduced by Diamond Comic Distributors by a token percentage to compensate for any books retailers might - in theory - end up returning. Combat, as well as all the Before Watchmen books, were made returnable by DC. An overview of ‘s estimates can be found here.Ī procedural note pertaining to the “New 52” and Before Watchmen titles: Earth-2, Worlds’ Finest, The Ravagers, Dial H and G.I. Thanks to Milton Griepp and for the permission to use their figures. See below for the details and, as usual, please consider the small print at the end of the column. Is this really what a healthy publishing strategy looks like? And bear in mind that the variants of 2012 require retailers to order many more units than the variants of 2007 did. In other words, measured against the total number of titles published, variant editions have gone from 15% (7 in 46) in July 2007 to 55% (34 in 62) in July 2012.
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Officially, DC publishes those to give readers access to digital comics, but in practice, the publisher has admitted that customers treat the “Combo Pack” editions as just another variety of collectible, without bothering to redeem the code. Plus, there were 9 so-called “Combo Pack” editions in July 2012. In July 2012, on the other hand, 21 out of the 62 published DC Universe titles come with a total of 25 variants - and there’s just one 1:10 variant among the bunch the rest are supposedly rarer 1:25 and 1:100 variants and one 1:200 variant. In July 2007, a total of 7 out of the 46 DC Universe titles published that month had variant-cover editions: four 1:10 variants, two 50/50 variants and one extra-priced “3D” edition. We’re also talking about a line still boosted to a huge degree by gimmicks that are bloating whatever actual demand there is in the market, much, much more so than used to be the case five years back. And the novelty of “more Watchmen comics,” which is masking much of these trends right now, is unlikely to work for a second time it didn’t even work much for a second month, from the look of things. In April, just before six of the initial ones were axed, it was 17, and one of the ones that replaced them in May has already dropped below 15,000 units with its third issue. There are 16 “New 52” titles selling fewer than 20,000 units this month. “ Keeping it at 52“? Not very much, Dan DiDio.)Īs the last few months’ worth of figures have shown, retailers are still catching up with quickly dropping sales on the “New 52” books. Since the relaunch in September 2011, it’s been an average 63 DC Universe titles per month. From 2010 through August 2011, it went up to 57. (From 2007 through 2009, the average number of published DC Universe titles was 52. “The reboot was a remarkable success,” Hibbs says, and: “There hardly could have been a better result.” I agree, all things (such as the stifled potential of the comic-book format and the stifling way the major publishers are set up now, structurally) considered.īut it’s also worth remembering that what we talk about now when we talk about comic-book sales that are “doing quite well” and a relaunch that’s “a remarkable success,” and note that “there hardly could have been a better result,” are the kinds of sales figures we used to see more regularly five years ago, when the DC Universe imprint was publishing fewer comic books than it is now. With regard to DC’s overall performance, Hibbs makes some of the same points that I’ve been making here in the months since the relaunch, and as far as his own store is concerned, his observations seem to match the market climate. I see no reason to disagree with anything prominent retailer Brian Hibbs said in his recent look at “New 52” numbers. That, in itself, is not surprising, however, and the company is still doing quite well. As retailers keep slashing their orders on Before Watchmen and the replacement “New 52” titles, DC’s overall figures decline again in July.