There were not a lot of positives to take away from an analysis of the March 2013 sales numbers for DC Comics by Marc-Oliver Frisch over at The Beat, the news blog of comics culture. “Estimated sales of the average new DC Universe comic book fell to 31,000, the lowest since the big ‘New 52’ relaunch of September 2011.†The gulf between the best- and worst-selling titles is extreme: the March issue of Firestorm had estimated sales of 10,689 copies; the March issue of Batman had 137,893. Sometimes, low-selling monthly series continue because their collected editions sell well. The “New 52,†which refers to the reboot of the DC heroes that happened in 2011, have been appearing regularly as collected editions on our best-sellers list. This week, volume two of “Detective Comics,†written by Tony Daniel and illustrated by Mr. Daniel and others, lands at No. 1 on the hardcover list. Back whn the “New 52†began, I thought the final page of the first issue of “Detective Comics†was one of the most gruesome images I had seen. I caught up with the series recently and my reaction has pretty much remained the same: solid adventures and often beautifully illustrated, but nothing I feel compelled to read on a regular basis. (The March issue of “Detective†sold an estimated 76,237 copies.)
Over on the paperback list, volume two of “Swamp Thing†lands at No. 3, and volume one of “Worlds’ Finest†arrives at No. 6. These series are incredibly different and I am a fan of both. “Swamp Thing,†written by Scott Snyder and illustrated by Yanick Paquette, is squarely in the horror camp. Mr. Snyder has breathed new life into the character and Mr. Paquette’s artwork is normally lush and, when called for, incredibly gruesome. I’m particularly fond of the more active role that Abigail Arcane, the love interest of Swamp Thing, has taken. (The March issue of “Swamp Thing†sold an estimated 30,716 copies.) “Worlds’ Finest,†written by Paul Levitz and illustrated by Kevin Maguire and George Perez, spotlights two fan-favorite alternate universe characters: Power Girl, who is the cousin of Superman, and the Huntress, the daughter of Batman and Catwoman. In “Worlds’ Finest,†the heroines find themselves exiled from their world and forced to confront other versions of heroes tht were once familiar to them. This series has a winning formula: Mr. Levitz has always thoughtfully handled these alternate universe characters, the artwork of Mr. Maguire and Mr. Perez never disappoints, and the Huntress is one of my favorite characters. Power Girl isn’t shabby either. (The March issue of “Worlds’ Finest†sold an estimated 28,459 copies.)
As always, the complete best-seller lists can be found here, along with an explanation of how they were assembled.
