Comic books: The top 20 sales estimates for October 2017

Comic books like Marvel Legacy dominate the charts, mid-Fall, while Metal and it’s seven evil Batmen wreak havoc–and boost orders–over the DC landscape.

The Top 20

"1(QTY) — 2($) — Dark Nights: Metal #3 (DC) — 158,698 (+6.16%)154(QTY) — 135($) — Dark Nights: Metal #2 (DC) — 13,336*June 2017: 2(QTY) — 2($) — Dark Days: The Forge #1 (DC) — 130,651July 2017: 1(QTY) — 2($) — Dark Days: The Casting #1 (DC) — 128,261 (-1.86%)August 2017: 1(QTY) — 1($) — Dark Nights: Metal #1 (DC) — 261,997 (+104.26%)*September 2017: 2(QTY) — 2($) — Dark Nights: Metal #2 (DC) — 149,487 (-42.94%)*September 2017: 196(QTY) — 185($) — Dark Nights: Metal #1 (DC) — 9,111**Total Numbers: Dark Nights: Metal #1 (DC) — 271,108; Dark Nights: Metal #2 (DC) — 162,823"

Commentary: If you don’t count the reprint of issue #2, this is one those rare times where an event-driven miniseries sees an increase over time. This increase for Dark Nights: Metal #3 doesn’t seem generated by variant covers, either, as it actually has less than the previous issue did. This suggests that interest in this event is actually growing, with retailers readjusting their orders upwards. In any case, Dark Nights: Metal looks like a big win for DC.

"2(QTY) — 1($) — The Mighty Thor #700 (Marvel) — 115,662 (+165.00%)September 2017: 40(QTY) — 32($) — The Mighty Thor vol. 2 #23 (Marvel) — 43,646 (+16.42%)October 2016: 70(QTY) — 61($) — The Mighty Thor vol. 2 #12 (Marvel — 40,326 (-13.15%)+186.82% after one year."

Commentary: Thanks to “Marvel Legacy,” The Mighty Thor #24 changed into “anniversary issue.” It also has no less than ten different covers, and is the first an epic tale supposedly leading towards the possible death of Jane Foster. Throw in the fact that, as reported in Comichron, retailers ordered copies in anticipation of the then upcoming Thor: Ragnarok, and it is little wonder why this comic became Marvel’s top seller.

"3(QTY) — 3($) — Amazing Spider-Man #789 (Marvel) — 110,349 (+87.4%)33(QTY) — 31($) — Amazing Spider-Man #790 (Marvel) — 52,833 (-52.12%)September 2017: 17(QTY) — 20($) — Amazing Spider-Man vol. 4 #32 (Marvel) — 58,885 (+8.84%)October 2016: 24(QTY) — 12($) — Amazing Spider-Man vol. 4 #19 (Marvel) — 73,215 (+2.89%)October 2016: 29(QTY) — 21($) — Amazing Spider-Man vol. 4 #20 (Marvel) — 67,530 (-7.76%)-21.76% after one year."

Commentary: Amazing Spider-Man serves as a strong indicator of what we can expect from Marvel Legacy during the next few months. After seeing a sizable increase from renumbering and multiple variants, it then plummets by the very next issue. Thus not only has Amazing Spider-Man back to its previous low-50K margins within the same month, it’s out of the top 20–and even the top 30–altogether. If Marvel thought Legacy would be their answer to DC Rebirth, this isn’t an encouraging sign.

"4(QTY) — 11($) — Batman vol. 3 #32 (DC) — 108,945 (+10.50%)5(QTY) — 15($) — Batman vol. 3 #33 (DC) — 97,839 (-10.19%)September 2017: 4(QTY) — 7($) — Batman vol. 3 #30 (DC) — 100,083 (-0.70%)September 2017: 5(QTY) — 9($) — Batman vol. 3 #31 (DC) — 98,594 (-1.49%)October 2016: 5(QTY) — 9($) — Batman vol. 3 #8 (DC) — 129,837 (-4.24%)October 2016: 6(QTY) — 11($) — Batman vol. 3 #9 (DC) — 126,090 (-2.89%)-22.41% after one year."

Commentary: Once again, Batman maintains a very strong, consistent presence in the charts. No doubt issue #32, as the finale of “The War of Jokes and Riddles,” along with Catwoman accepting Batman’s marriage proposal, gave it an additional boost. With Batman #33, however, I’m wondering if for next month we’ll see both issues below 100K for the month of November. Even so, this is a very healthy position for an ongoing series to be in.

"6(QTY) — 4($) — Despicable Deadpool #287 (Marvel) — 93,981 (+205.58%)68(QTY) — 65($) — Despicable Deadpool #288 (Marvel) — 33,875 (-63.96%)September 2017: 80(QTY) — 73($) — Deadpool vol. 4 #36 (Marvel) — 30,755 (-2.66%)October 2016: 57(QTY) — 48($) — Deadpool vol. 4 #20 (Marvel) — 46,109 (-3.84%)October 2016: 48(QTY) — 7($) — Deadpool vol. 4 #21 (Marvel) — 51,351 (+11.37%)-34.03% after one year."

Commentary: Like Amazing Spider-Man, Deadpool‘s Marvel Legacy treatment saw huge gains followed by drastic drops. The difference here is that at least Despicable Deadpool #288 has slightly better figures than last month’s Deadpool #36. Still, it won’t take very long for the series to fall back down towards its previous trend before the Marvel Legacy relaunch.

"7(QTY) — 5($) — Batman: The Drowned #1 (DC) — 89,861 (+0.49%) 8(QTY) — 6($) — Batman: The Dawnbreaker #1 (DC) — 89,427 (+14.35%) 9(QTY) — 8($) — Batman: The Merciless #1 (DC) — 87,920 (-2.16%)177(QTY) — 179($) — Batman: The Murder Machine #1 (DC) — 10,491*186(QTY) — 191($) — Batman: The Red Death #1 (DC) — 9,841*September 2017: 8(QTY) — 5($) — Batman: The Red Death #1 (DC) — 81,904September 2017: 9(QTY) — 6($) — Batman: The Murder Machine #1 (DC) — 78,202 (-4.52%)Total Numbers: Batman: The Red Death #1 (DC) — 91,745; Batman: The Murder Machine #1 (DC) — 88,693"

Commentary: For clarification, Dawnbreaker, Drowned, and Merciless is the reading order for October’s Dark Nights: Metal tie-ins. This is why I’ve listed Drowned with a 0.49% increase, and Merciless with a 2.16% decrease. In any event, these one-shots featuring the Dark Knights (i.e. the evil Batmen from the Dark Multiverse) are proving the surprising success. It helps, too, that the backstories for each are quite compelling.

"10(QTY) — 7($) — Batman: White Knight #1 (DC) — 86,791"

Commentary: A very good start for what’s essentially an “Elseworlds” miniseries. A Batman-centric “Elseworlds” miniseries written and illustrated by the creator of Punk Rock Jesus, but even so, a good start is a good start. The question is, as it is with all miniseries, is what the drop-off rate will be after the first issue. Since Batman: White Knight has started strong, it’s possible it will still be above 80K, even still in the Top 20, for next month.

"11(QTY) — 9($) — X-Men Gold vol. 2 #13 (Marvel) — 81,970 (+96.77%) 47(QTY) — 44($) — X-Men Gold vol. 2 #14 (Marvel) — 41,878 (-48.91%)September 2017: 26(QTY) — 27($) — X-Men Gold vol. 2 #11 (Marvel) — 52,623 (+21.14%)September 2017: 45(QTY) — 37($) — X-Men Gold vol. 2 #12 (Marvel) — 41,657 (-20.84%)October 2016: 76(QTY) — 67($) — Extraordinary X-Men #15 (Marvel) — 36,941 (-5.92%)+13.36% after one year.15(QTY) — 16($) — X-Men Blue #13 (Marvel) — 71,089 (+94.2%) 61(QTY) — 53($) — X-Men Blue #14 (Marvel) — 37,909 (-46.67%)September 2017: 47(QTY) — 39($) — X-Men Blue #11 (Marvel) — 41,624 (+7.52%)September 2017: 55(QTY) — 53($) — X-Men Blue #12 (Marvel) — 36,607 (-12.05%)October 2016: 97(QTY) — 89($) — All-New X-Men #14 (Marvel) — 32,629 (-5.93%)+16.18% after one year."

Commentary: X-Men Gold and X-Men Blue had two advantages during October. Gold and Blue‘s 13th issues are the first two parts of a six-part crossover entitled “Mojo Worldwide.” They also received the Marvel Legacy treatment, as they had multiple covers, including the “Lenticular Homage Variant.” Hence why Gold and Blue‘s 14th issues each dropped close to 50% towards their previous estimates during the same month. Looks like Legacy didn’t kindle the X-Men’s fire for very long, either.

"12(QTY) — 12($) — Venom #155 (Marvel) — 76,445 (+201.33%) 96(QTY) — 91($) — Venom #156 (Marvel) — 26,192 (-65.74%)September 2017: 98(QTY) — 89($) — Venom #154 (Marvel) — 25,369 (-16.53%)October 2016: 162(QTY) — 170($) — Venom Space Knight #13 (Marvel) — 14,577 (-9.98%)+79.68% after one year."

Commentary: The first issue of Venom with Mark Bagley as the regular artist, Kraven the Hunter’s return, and Marvel Legacy explains why the series climbed back in the Top 20. Unfortunately, as we’ve seen with other twice-a-month Marvel Legacy titles, it didn’t last. Although Venom isn’t in the below 20K danger zone yet, it’s very close. It will also certainly get another boost once the “Venom Inc.” crossover with Amazing Spider-Man starts.

"13(QTY) — 13($) — Spider-Gwen vol. 2 #25 (Marvel) — 72,935 (+97.95%)September 2017: 54(QTY) — 42($) — Spider-Gwen vol. 2 #24 (Marvel) — 36,846 (+79.79%)October 2016: 108(QTY) — 101($) — Spider-Gwen vol. 2 #13 (Marvel) — 29,346 (-13.70%)+148.53% after one year."

Commentary: Take a few guesses about why this particular issue of Spider-Gwen made it back into the Top 20 after months being out of it. If you said, “It’s because of the long-awaited, much-hyped début of Spider-Gwen’s version of Venom,” well done! Other acceptable answers would’ve been “it’s the 25th issue” and “the Marvel Legacy Lenticular Homage Variant.” Don’t expect issue #26 having these kinds of estimates during November, though.

"14(QTY) — 14($) — Cable #150 (Marvel) — 71,105 (+122.14%)September 2017: 74(QTY) — 69($) — Cable vol. 3 #5 (Marvel) — 32,009"

Commentary: Another X-Men related title benefiting from Marvel Legacy, at least for the moment. It also has another advantage of having a new direction, promising Nathan Summers will once again lead a New Mutants/X-Force team with some B-list fan favorites. Then again, like what we’ve seen so far with Marvel Legacy, I don’t believe Cable will have these kinds of figures of very long.

"16(QTY) — 17($) — Avengers #672 (Marvel) — 70,199 (+106.67%)September 2017: 64(QTY) — 64($) — Avengers vol. 7 #11 (Marvel) — 33,967 (+7.63%)October 2016: 81(QTY) — 73($) — All-New, All-Different Avengers #15 (Marvel) — 37,209 (-18.24%)+88.66% after one year."

Commentary: I think, by now, you’re seeing an obvious pattern developing when it comes to Marvel Legacy. The renumbering and “Lenticular Homage Variant” covers inflate the estimates, but only for the first issue under the Legacy banner. Given how Avengers has the same creative team with the same team roster as before, it will fall right back down into the 30K margins next month.

"17(QTY) — 18($) — Invincible Iron Man #593 (Marvel) — 70,107 (+106.11%)September 2017: 62(QTY) — 61($) — Invincible Iron Man vol. 3 #11 (Marvel) — 34,015 (+22.91%)October 2016: 64(QTY) — 54($) — Invincible Iron Man vol. 2 #14 (Marvel) — 43,888 (-9.31%)+59.74% after one year."

Commentary: The same thing happening with all the Marvel Legacy will happen with Invincible Iron #593, too. Still, there are some things which potentially work in this title’s favor. For starters, “The Search for Tony Stark” could hopefully lead towards Tony coming out of his coma and back in the armor. Second, with Brian Michael Bendis’ surprise announcement that he’s leaving Marvel for DC, it’s possible retailers could order more copies expecting their customers to buy the last “Bendis at Marvel” issues.

"18(QTY) — 30($) — The Flash vol. 5 #33 (DC) — 69,679 (+34.58%) 35(QTY) — 52($) — The Flash vol. 5 #32 (DC) — 51,775 (-1.22%)September 2017: 25(QTY) — 43($) — The Flash vol. 5 #30 — 52,905 (+0.16%)September 2017: 27(QTY) — 45($) — The Flash vol. 5 #31 — 52,412 (-0.93%)October 2016: 17 (QTY) — 30($) — The Flash vol. 5 #8 (DC) — 76,749 (-1.68%)October 2016: 21(QTY) — 32($) — The Flash vol. 5 #9 (DC) — 74,311 (-3.18%)+6.23% after one year."

Commentary: No surprise for why The Flash #33, as a Dark Nights: Metal tie-in, made it into the Top 20. Like most one issue tie-ins, though, we will likely see the November issues of The Flash reach or dip below 50K. At least DC can take some momentary pride in having a somewhat successful ongoing series that isn’t about Batman…even though, ironically, the tie-in does center around Batman.

"19(QTY) — 20($) — Incredible Hulk #709 (Marvel) — 66,745 (+238.53%)September 2017: 119(QTY) — 115($) — Totally Awesome Hulk #23 (Marvel) — 19,716 (-21.12%)October 2016: 112(QTY) — 108($) — Totally Awesome Hulk #11 (Marvel) — 26,259 (+0.25%)+154.18% after one year."

Commentary: How much do you want to bet that, aside of being a sequel to “Planet Hulk,” some retailers assumed the return of an Incredible Hulk comic also meant the return of Bruce Banner? Little they realize that Incredible Hulk #709 is still Totally Awesome Hulk in all but name. The moment readers figure this out, don’t be surprised if the comic drops below 20K again.

"20(QTY) — 10($) — Star Wars vol. 2 #37 (Marvel) — 65,606 (+34.09%)September 2017: 13(QTY) — 14($) — Star Wars vol. 2 #36 (Marvel) — 64,899 (-1.58%)September 2017: 34(QTY) — 16($) — Star Wars Annual #3 (Marvel) — 48,926 (-24.61%)October 2016: 16(QTY) — 15($) — Star Wars vol. 2 #24 (Marvel) — 78,160 (-5.34%)-16.06% after one year."

Commentary: I neglected last time to include the Star Wars Annual issue, which is why I’ve now included it here. In any case, despite being in the mid-60k margins, Star Wars is holding steady. As a matter of fact, if you discount the Marvel Legacy relaunch issues for this month, Star Wars would be Marvel’s best-selling ongoing title.

Notable Mentions

"21(QTY) — 21($) — Action Comics #989 Lenticular Edition (DC) — 64,641 (-2.55%)*107(QTY) — 128($) — Action Comics #989 Regular Edition (DC) — 23,442 (-6.11%)* 24(QTY) — 24($) — Action Comics #990 Lenticular Edition (DC) — 59,252 (-8.34%)*114(QTY) — 133($) — Action Comics #990 Regular Edition — 21,793 (-7.03%)*September 2017: 10(QTY) — 11($) — Action Comics #987 Lenticular Edition (DC) — 71,550 (+76.20%)*September 2017: 99(QTY) — 118($) — Action Comics #987 Regular Edition (DC) — 25,317 (-37.65%)*September 2017: 12(QTY) — 13($) — Action Comics #988 Lenticular Edition (DC) — 66,335 (-7.29%)*September 2017: 101(QTY) — 120($) — Action Comics #988 Regular Edition (DC) — 24,968 (-1.38%)*October 2016: 44(QTY) — 56($) — Action Comics #965 (DC) — 55,678 (-4.72%)October 2016: 45(QTY) — 59($) — Action Comics #966 (DC) — 53,467 (-3.97%)*Total Numbers: Action Comics #987 (DC) — 96,867; Action Comics #988 (DC) — 91,303; Action Comics #989 (DC) — 88,083; Action Comics #990 (DC) — 81,045+10.82% after one year."

Commentary: If Action Comics‘ Lenticular covers weren’t listed at a different price than the regular covers, both issue #989 and #990 would be in the Top 20. We will likely see similar results for Actions Comics in the November estimates.

"22(QTY) — 35($) — The Walking Dead #172 (Image) — 64,231 (-23.75%)September 2017: 7(QTY) — 15($) — The Walking Dead #171 (Image) — 84,239 (+27.92%)October 2016: 10(QTY) — 18($) — The Walking Dead #159 (Image) — 91,291 (-3.21%)-29.64% after one year."

Commentary: So much for the season eight première of The Walking Dead increasing orders for the comic book. Not to mention seeing it be knocked out of the Top 20 in light of this month’s Marvel Legacy titles.

"38(QTY) — 37($) — Venomverse #5 (Marvel) — 49,258 (-8.69%)June 2017: 7(QTY) — 5($) — Edge of Venomverse #1 (Marvel) — 98,052July 2017: 24(QTY) — 18($) — Edge of Venomverse #2 (Marvel) — 50,128 (-48.88%)July 2017: 33(QTY) — 23($) — Edge of Venomverse #3 (Marvel) — 42,167 (-15.88%)August 2017: 36(QTY) — 26($) — Edge of Venomverse #4 (Marvel) — 41,274 (-2.12%)August 2017: 41(QTY) — 31($) — Edge of Venomverse #5 (Marvel) — 40,548 (-1.76%)September 2017: 3(QTY) — 3($) — Venomverse #1 (Marvel) — 105,398 (+159.93%)September 2017: 71(QTY) — 40($) — Venomverse: War Stories #1 (Marvel) — 32,614 (-69.06%)September 2017: 20(QTY) — 24($) — Venomverse #2 (Marvel) — 57,279 (+75.63%)September 2017: 22(QTY) — 25($) — Venomverse #3 (Marvel) — 55,111 (-3.78%)September 2017: 23(QTY) — 26($) — Venomverse #4 (Marvel) — 53,945 (-2.12%)-49.76% after 11 issues."

Commentary: Looks like in the end, Venomverse didn’t have the same draw as “Spider-Verse” did. It also won’t likely leave any lasting impact. What’s interesting is, with the exception of Venom #155, most issues performed better than the ongoing series.

"50(QTY) — 49($) — Astonishing X-Men vol. 4 #4 (Marvel) — 40,588 (-29.46%)September 2017: 18(QTY) — 23($) — Astonishing X-Men vol. 4 #3 (Marvel) — 57,539 (+12.05%)"

Commentary: It appears Astonishing X-Men is rapidly losing the steam it started out with. It probably doesn’t help that each issue has a different artist, either, creating a sense of visual inconsistency over time.

"73(QTY) — 70($) — Punisher: The Platoon #1 (Marvel) — 32,837 100(QTY) — 92($) — Punisher : The Platoon #2 (Marvel) — 25,587 (-22.08%)"

Commentary: A Garth Ennis written Punisher miniseries makes for a strong selling point. Based on the first two issues, though, I don’t think we can expect very sizable sales estimates or high rankings for future installments.

"75(QTY) — 94($) — Nightwing vol. 4 #30 (DC) — 31,978 (-37.42%) 76(QTY) — 97($) — Nightwing vol. 4 #31 (DC) — 31,762 (-0.68%)September 2017: 69(QTY) — 91($) — Nightwing vol. 4 #28 (DC) — 32,874 (-1.13%)September 2017: 29(QTY) — 47($) — Nightwing vol. 4 #29 (DC) — 51,102 (+55.45%)October 2016: 28(QTY) — 40($) — Nightwing vol. 4 #6 (DC) — 69,246 (-0.99%)October 2016: 42(QTY) — 51($) — Nightwing vol. 4 #7 (DC) — 58,402 (-15.66%)-45.61% after one year."

Commentary: Looks like Nightwing settled back down into the 30K figures after it’s tie-in with Dark Nights: Metal. Even so, it will likely stay in the Top 100 as a solid enough B-title.

Next: Number Crunching: the top 20 comics sales estimates for September 2017

That’s it for October of 2017. Do you think, after looking at these estimates, that Marvel Legacy is a hit or a bust? Considering there’s more upcoming Marvel Legacy titles, which of those comics do you think will make into the Top 20 next month? Is there also any other series you’re curious about how it’s performing? Throw in a recommendation, along with some of your own “numbering crunching” analysis, in the comments.

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Number Crunching: The top 20 comics sales estimates for October 2017

By Mike McNulty | Nov 16, 2017

Comic books like Marvel Legacy dominate the charts, mid-Fall, while Metal and it’s seven evil Batmen wreak havoc–and boost orders–over the DC landscape.

The Top 20

Notable Mentions