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

Doomsday Clock, Dark Nights, Batman, and more Batman take over several top spots in the comics charts to close out the Fall.

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There are two properties DC Comics can really count on: Batman and Watchmen. Hence with the comic book periodicals charts for November of 2017 (as tabulated by Comichron and ICv2 via Diamond Distributors) it seems Watchmen and Batman are all we see. At least at first glance, as some Marvel titles also made the top spots, thank to their Legacy initiative, just enough to still give them the edge in dollar share, but not in unit share.

The question we have to ask ourselves then isn’t really which comics made it into the top 20, but where they placed in the top 20? We will, of course, look at the possible reasons for their particular placements, but in some cases, it’s pretty easy to see why. Of course, let’s remember these figures are only estimates based off orders not sales. With that, let’s go down the list.

The Top 20

"1(QTY) — 2($) — Doomsday Clock #1 (DC) — 119,412*2(QTY) — 1($) — Doomsday Clock #1 Lenticular Edition (DC) — 119,231*Total Numbers: Doomsday Clock #1 (DC) — 238,643*"

Commentary: As if there was any doubt, the first chapter of the DC Universe and Watchmen crossover proved a big hit. These figures would be even higher, as you can see, if the Direct Market didn’t list the regular and lenticular editions as separate entries due to their different cover prices. Upcoming issues of Doomsday Clock will likely trend downwards over the course of next year, but I expect each issue will have reasonably high estimates regardless.

"3(QTY) — 4($) — The Batman Who Laughs #1 (DC) — 105,183 (+11.31%) 7(QTY) — 6($) — Batman: The Devastator #1 (DC) — 94,496 (+7.48%) 248(QTY) — 265($) — Batman: The Red Death #1 (DC) — 6,804* 276(QTY) — 291($) — Batman: The Merciless #1 (DC) — 5,610*September 2017: 8(QTY) — 5($) — Batman: The Red Death #1 (DC) — 81,904*September 2017: 9(QTY) — 6($) — Batman: The Murder Machine #1 (DC) — 78,202 (-4.52%)October 2017: 8(QTY) — 6($) — Batman: The Dawnbreaker #1 (DC) — 89,427 (+14.35%)October 2017: 7(QTY) — 5($) — Batman: The Drowned #1 (DC) — 89,861 (+0.49%)October 2017: 9(QTY) — 8($) — Batman: The Merciless #1 (DC) — 87,920 (-2.16%)*October 2017: 177(QTY) — 179($) — Batman: The Murder Machine #1 (DC) — 10,491*October 2017: 186(QTY) — 191($) — Batman: The Red Death #1 (DC) — 9,841*Total Numbers: Batman: The Red Death #1 (DC) — 98,549; Batman: The Murder Machine #1 (DC) — 88,693; Batman: The Merciless #1 (DC) — 93,530"

Commentary: The backstory of the evil, Jokerized version of Batman from an alternate universe was definitely going to prove the most popular of the Dark Nights: Metal one-shots. In fact, all the one-shots of the Dark Nights of Barbatos have done well. Not what I was expecting when these were first announced, nor how engrossing each of them would prove to be. Guess this shows how even if twisted versions of the Dark Knight Detective are also very popular.

"4(QTY) — 3($) — Batman: Lost #1 (DC) — 101,267"

Commentary: Even in the absence of a Dark Nights: Metal issue, this one-shot giving us Batman’s nightmares while he’s held prisoner in the Dark Multiverse might as well have been issue #3.5. Perhaps this is why, in part, Batman Lost #1 did as well as it did. For those following the event, it felt like essential reading, and it was.

"5(QTY) — 9($) — Batman vol. 3 #35 (DC) — 97,459 (+0.81%) 6(QTY) — 10($) — Batman vol. 3 #34 (DC) — 96,676 (-1.19%) 9(QTY) — 5($) — Batman Annual vol. 3 #2 (DC) — 75,928 (-22.09%)October 2017: 4(QTY) — 11($) — Batman vol. 3 #32 (DC) — 108,945 (+10.50%)October 2017: 5(QTY) — 15($) — Batman vol. 3 #33 (DC) — 97,839 (-10.19%)November 2016: 1(QTY) — 8($) — Batman vol. 3 #10 (DC) — 120,901 (-4.12%)November 2016: 2(QTY) — 11($) — Batman vol. 3 #11 (DC) — 116,690 (-3.48%)-17.15% after one year (from Batman vol. 3 #11 to Batman vol. 3 #34)."

Commentary: Despite both issues falling below 100K in their estimates, DC’s juggernaut known as Batman is still charging ahead at full speed. It even has the most successful Annual issue of year, too. It’s also quite telling how it received a bump given how it’s cover promises a fight between Catwoman fighting Talia al Ghul. I suspect the next issues for December, which feature Superman, will also see some boosts, too.

"8(QTY) — 7($) — Captain America #695 (Marvel) — 87,101 (+115.45%)August 2017: 42(QTY) — 21($) — Captain America vol. 8 #25 (Marvel) — 40,428 (+6.68%)November 2016: 49(QTY) — 35($) — Captain America: Steve Rogers #7 (Marvel) — 48,505 (-1.23%)+79.57% after one year."

Commentary: Like other Marvel Legacy issues, it seems Captain America will follow the same pattern of those comics. Compared with the other renumbered Legacy issues, it’s also the fourth “bestseller” behind The Mighty Thor #700, Amazing Spider-Man #789, and Despicable Deadpool #287. What we really have to pay attention to, however, is how much will the inevitable drop between issue #695 and #696 will be.

"10(QTY) — 8($) — Star Wars vol. 2 #38 (Marvel) — 73,885 (+12.62%)24(QTY) — 18($) — Star Wars vol. 2 #39 (Marvel) — 56,125 (-24.04%)October 2017: 20(QTY) — 10($) — Star Wars vol. 2 #37 (Marvel) — 65,606 (+34.09%)November 2016: 15(QTY) — 6($) — Star Wars vol. 2 #25 (Marvel) — 75,234 (-3.74%)November 2016: 26(QTY) — 13($) — Star Wars Annual vol. 2 #2 (Marvel) — 59,490 (-20.93%)-25.40% after one year (from Star Wars vol. 2 #25 to Star Wars vol. 2 #39)."

Commentary: Having a new creative team on your Star Wars comic a month before the release of The Last Jedi will likely give you big returns. Having that same comic with eleven different covers will give you even bigger returns. Hence the reason behind the almost 13-percent surge for issue #38, and the near 25-percent drop with issue #39.  Expect another spike for issue #40, since it came out during Last Jedi’s opening week and has its share of variants, too.

"11(QTY) — 20($) — Justice League vol. 3 #32 (DC) — 73,839 (+55.32%)12(QTY) — 22($) — Justice League vol. 3 #33 (DC) — 71,769 (-2.80%)October 2017: 40(QTY) — 57($) — Justice League vol. 3 #30 — 48,477 (+0.11%)October 2017: 42(QTY) — 58($) — Justice League vol. 3 #31 — 47,541 (-1.93%)November 2016: 12(QTY) — 21($) — Justice League vol. 3 #8 — 80,696 (-5.94%)November 2016: 13(QTY) — 22($) — Justice League vol. 3 #9 — 77,905 (-3.46%)-7.88% after one year.19(QTY) — 34($) — Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #32 (DC) — 57,000 (+86.36%) 59(QTY) — 82($) — Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #33 (DC) — 33,624 (-41.01%)October 2017: 81(QTY) — 101($) — Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #30 — 31,268 (+1.15%)October 2017: 83(QTY) — 103($) — Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #31 — 30,586 (-2.18%)51(QTY) — 76($) — Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #8 — 45,194 (-5.97%)55(QTY) — 82($) — Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #9 — 43,485 (-3.78%)-22.68% after one year."

Commentary: Like last month’s The Flash vol. 5 #33, the remaining chapters for Dark Nights: Metal tie-in crossover, “Bats Out of Hell” saw significant increases for Justice League and Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps.  Of course, if we go by the results from Hal Jordan, Justice League will not stay long in that 70K plus margin. That is unless the announcement of Christopher Priest as the new head writer with issue #34 resulted in some gains, too.

"13(QTY) — 11($) — Batman: White Knight #2 (DC) — 69,668 (-19.73%)October 2017: 10(QTY) — 7($) — Batman: White Knight #1 (DC) — 86,791"

Commentary: Sean Murphy’s reinterpretation of Batman and Joker as mortal enemies has received  much attention and praise. That said, this is only translating into better-than-average estimates. It is a miniseries, after all, and it when comes to those, comic book readers are more likely to wait for the entire series to come out in trade paperback than read a floppy every month.

"14(QTY) — 30($) — The Walking Dead #173 (Image) — 63,228 (-1.56%)October 2017: 22(QTY) — 35($) — The Walking Dead #172 (Image) — 64,231 (-23.75%)November 2016: 9(QTY) — 16($) — The Walking Dead #160 (Image) — 88,367 (-3.20%)-28.45% after one year."

Commentary: Image Comic’s bestselling title finds its way back into the top 20, thanks in part to having not as much competition from Marvel’s Legacy titles. It also is continuing to hold steady, though it definitely had higher estimates last year than now. It’s possible, however, that with issue #175 essentially being an anniversary issue that The Walking Dead could see a spike in orders.

"15(QTY) — 13($) — Punisher #218 (Marvel) — 62,929 (+210.68%)October 2017: 119(QTY) — 116($) — Punisher vol. 11 #17 — 20,255 (-1.76%)"

Commentary: Another comic which saw a sizable bump, all because of renumbering and lenticular cover deals under the Marvel Legacy initiative. Netflix debuting their Punisher series during the same month may also have played a factor in Punisher #218’s orders, too. Unfortunately, given what figures Punisher had pulled in before Marvel Legacy, and has taken the direction of having Frank Castle wear the War Machine armor, I suspect issue #219 may just fall below the 20K line.

"16(QTY) — 12($) — Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows vol. 2 #13 (Marvel) — 61,889 (+117.32%)October 2017: 111(QTY) — 109($) — Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows vol. 2 #12 (Marvel) — 22,317 (-34.32%)November 2016: 6(QTY) — 3($) — Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows vol. 2 #1 (Marvel) — 96,111-35.61% after one year."

Commentary: As nice as it is seeing Renew Your Vows back in the Top 20 after so long, the only reason it happened is because of Marvel Legacy. Then again, issue #13 also saw a brand new creative team with their story now set eight years from where issue #12 left off. If this was another reason for the increase in orders, perhaps the drop off for Renew Your Vows #14 won’t fall below 22K.

"17(QTY) — 14($) — Old Man Logan #31 (Marvel) — 60,532 (+61.15%)46(QTY) — 44($) — Old Man Logan #30 (Marvel) — 37,562 (-5.40%)October 2017: 55(QTY) — 51($) — Old Man Logan #29 (Marvel) — 39,706 (-11.83%)November 2016: 54(QTY) — 46($) — Old Man Logan #13 (Marvel) — 43,609 (-3.91%)November 2016: 59(QTY) — 50($) — Old Man Logan #14 (Marvel) — 42,574 (-2.37%)-11.77% after one year."

Commentary: Another comic having a brief moment in the top 20 because of Marvel Legacy. The numbers for Old Man Logan, prior to having its Legacy bump looked moderately stable. Yet I wonder, with the Marvel Legacy #1 comic revealing the original Wolverine is back from the dead, what the future for Logan’s time-displaced alternate future self will be.

"18(QTY) — 15($) — Daredevil #595 (Marvel) — 58,292 (+135.97%)October 2017: 94(QTY) — 90($) — Daredevil vol. 5 #27 (Marvel) — 26,550 (-11.56%)October 2017: 102(QTY) — 93($) — Daredevil vol. 5 #28 (Marvel) — 24,703 (-6.96%)November 2016: 86(QTY) — 78($) — Daredevil vol. 5 #13 (Marvel) — 33,910 (-1.13%)+71.90% after one year."

Commentary: Like Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows, it’s great seeing Daredevil in the Top 20, but, again, it’s only there because of Marvel Legacy. That said, with Daredevil #600 and the conclusion of “Mayor Fisk” just around the corner, you know there will be a significant amount of retailer orders, perhaps even more than those for issue #595.

"20(QTY) — 33($) — Detective Comics #968 (DC) — 56,948 (+2.51%)28(QTY) — 37($) — Detective Comics #969 (DC) — 52,855 (-7.19%)October 2017: 26(QTY) — 42($) — Detective Comics #966 (DC) — 56,801 (-0.53%)October 2017: 30(QTY) — 43($) — Detective Comics #967 (DC) — 55,556 (-2.19%)November 2016: 16(QTY) — 30($) — Detective Comics #944 (DC) — 71,923 (-3.25%)November 2016: 19(QTY) — 30($) — Detective Comics #945 (DC) — 69,942 (-2.75%)-24.43% after one year."

Commentary: After a brief absence, Detective Comics makes it back into the top 20, but only for one issue. Of significance is how, after having relatively minor drops, there’s the noticeable difference after the conclusion of “A Lonely Place of Living.” It won’t be long before we see Detective Comics fall below 50K over the course of “Fall of the Batmen” before seeing a spike with issue #975.

Next: 50 greatest super heroes in comic book history

Notable Mentions

"21(QTY) — 19($) — Action Comics #991 Lenticular Edition (DC) — 56,948 (-3.89%)* 104(QTY) — 134($) — Action Comics #991 Regular Edition (DC) — 21,762 (-0.14%)* 39(QTY) — 59($) — Action Comics #992 (DC) — 41,955 (-26.33%)October 2017: 21(QTY) — 21($) — Action Comics #989 Lenticular Edition (DC) — 64,641 (-2.55%)*October 2017: 107(QTY) — 128($) — Action Comics #989 Regular Edition (DC) — 23,442 (-6.11%)*October 2017: 24(QTY) — 24($) — Action Comics #990 Lenticular Edition (DC) — 59,252 (-8.34%)*October 2017: 114(QTY) — 133($) — Action Comics #990 Regular Edition (DC) — 21,793 (-7.03%)*November 2016: 44(QTY) — 65($) — Action Comics #967 (DC) — 50,611 (-5.34%)November 2016: 48(QTY) — 66($) — Action Comics #968 (DC) — 48,931 (-3.32%)-14.26% after one year.Total Numbers: Action Comics #989 (DC) — 88,083; Action Comics #990 (DC) — 81,045; Action Comics #991 (DC) — 78,710"

Commentary: Again, were it not for the lenticular cover’s price categorizing it as a different issue, even though it’s not, Action Comics #991 would place ninth on the list. As it stands, expect it to go under 40K and stay there…until Action Comics #1000.

"22(QTY) — 16($) — Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #297 (Marvel) — 56,688 (+40.65%) 41(QTY) — 35($) — Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #6 (Marvel) — 40,303 (+19.65%)October 2017: 69(QTY) — 66($) — Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #5 (Marvel) — 33,683 (-19.18%)31(QTY) — 27($) — Amazing Spider-Man #791 (Marvel) — 50,358 (-4.68%)October 2017: 3(QTY) — 3($) — Amazing Spider-Man #789 (Marvel) — 110,349 (+87.4%)October 2017: 33(QTY) — 31($) — Amazing Spider-Man #790 (Marvel) — 52,833 (-52.12%)November 2016: 23(QTY) — 19($) — Amazing Spider-Man vol. 4 #21 (Marvel) — 63,052 (-6.63%)November 2016: 42(QTY) — 17($) — Amazing Spider-Man Annual vol. 4 #1 (Marvel) — 52,184 (-17.24%)-20.13% after one year (from Amazing Spider-Man vol. 4 #21 to Amazing Spider-Man #791)."

Commentary: Here’s a tale of two Spider-Man comics. One of them, Spectacular Spider-Man,  undergoes two increases in the same month (albeit one from Marvel Legacy’s renumbering). The other, Amazing Spider-Man, a comic considered Marvel’s bestselling series after Star Wars, is currently hovering just above 50K. Talk about a reversal of fortune.

"38(QTY) — 36($) — The Mighty Thor #701 (Marvel) — 43,110 (-62.73%)219(QTY) — 154($) — The Mighty Thor #700 (Marvel) — 8,780*October 2017: 2(QTY) — 1($) — The Mighty Thor #700 (Marvel) — 115,662 (+165.00%)*November 2016: 71(QTY) — 63($) — The Mighty Thor #13 (Marvel) — 39,274 (-2.61%)-9.77% after one year.Total Numbers: The Mighty Thor #700 (Marvel) — 124,362*"

Commentary: No surprise, The Mighty Thor drops by almost two-thirds after it’s Marvel Legacy boost. That said, it does look as though issue #700 was one of the Marvel Legacy titles benefiting from added printings.

"75(QTY) — 72($) — Incredible Hulk #710 (Marvel) — 28,770 (-56.90%)October 2017: 19(QTY) — 20($) — Incredible Hulk #709 (Marvel) — 66,745 (+238.53%)November 2016: 120(QTY) — 119($) — Totally Awesome Hulk #12 (Marvel ) — 22,448 (-14.51%)+28.16% after one year."

Commentary: Looks as though Incredible Hulk has followed the pattern of all the Marvel Legacy titles, too. At least it’s performing somewhat better than when it was titled Totally Awesome Hulk. I don’t expect this title to stay in the high 20K figures for very long, though.

"100(QTY) — 106($) — Cable #151 (Marvel) — 22,256 (-68.70%)October 2017: 14(QTY) — 14($) — Cable #150 (Marvel) — 71,105 (+122.14%)"

Commentary: More proof that Marvel Legacy was only a temporally effective at best. Cable‘s time in the top 20 was looks as though it was definitely a one-time occurrence, and it’s likely it won’t even be in the top 100 come the December estimates.

"33(QTY) — 28($) — Guardians of the Galaxy #146 (Marvel) — 48,025 (+105.53%) 102(QTY) — 102($) — Guardians of the Galaxy #147 (Marvel) — 22,073 (-54.04%)91(QTY) — 86($) — Secret Warriors #8 (Marvel) — 23,958 (+140.86%) 209(QTY) — 214($) — Secret Warriors #9 (Marvel) — 9,323 (-61.09%)93(QTY) — 112($) — Uncanny Avengers #29 (Marvel) — 23,782 (-52.08%)125(QTY) — 131($) — Jean Grey #9 (Marvel) — 16,977 (-55.60%)139(QTY) — 163($) — Unbelievable Gwenpool #22 (Marvel) — 14,499 (-63.07%)141(QTY) — 146($) — Generation X #8 (Marvel) — 14,197 (-3.25%) 144(QTY) — 153($) — Generation X #9 (Marvel) — 13,531 (-4.69%)158(QTY) — 165($) — Iceman #7 (Marvel) — 12,677 (-62.93%)164(QTY) — 171($) — Hawkeye #12 (Marvel) — 12,113 (-11.17%)165(QTY) — 179($) — U.S. Avengers #12 (Marvel) — 12,102 (-59.69%)168(QTY) — 176($) — Luke Cage #167 (Marvel) — 11,949 (-70.08%)174(QTY) — 198($) — Royals #10 (Marvel) — 11,597 (-67.61%) 176(QTY) — 181($) — Royals #11 (Marvel) — 11,431 (-1.43%)225(QTY) — 235($) — America #9 (Marvel) — 8,360 (-68.49%)"

Commentary: Want to know the real reason Marvel is cancelling these titles? Just look at the current sales estimates and remember that when a DC or Marvel title falls below 20K, the ax usually follows. Although in case of Guardians of the Galaxy, Uncanny Avengers, U.S. Avengers, and Jean Grey, they’re either being replaced by or consolidated into other books.

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

What do you have to say about the comics that made it into the top 20? Do you think they deserve to be there? And what do you think the top 20 will look like in December, especially with fewer Dark Night: Metal tie-ins?