The Top 300 Selling Comics For July 2003
This list comes from digging through sales figures, asking too many questions and using Diamond Comics information. The snotty comments in white are mine.
1 BATMAN #617 $2.25 DC 146,601
Getting close to the end, and they are pulling out all of the
stops, what with making it seem like the second Robin was "Hush",
Jim Lee doing a LOT more "poster pages" and the like.
The story is very good, but I remain the only person who looks at
Jim Lee's art and sees nothing but the flaws. His Catwoman isn't
even anatomically possible, let alone realistic. Oh well.
2 SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #1 $2.25 MAR 118,805
Not bad for a first issue, and the return of Venom made the
character a bit less of a pain in the ass, but Jenkins is working
with a Big Story here, which I don't feel he's best at. His
character work with Spider-man is why I read his stuff, so
hopefully, he'll get to do a lot of that here.
3 ULTIMATE X-MEN #35 $2.25 MAR 109,687
The first issue by Brain Bendis, and as such, it's the first
issue that strips away a lot of the "stuff the panels with
tons of crap going on" and just tells a very simple story
very well. Wolverine is being chased by a group of people and
Spider-Man gets in the way. The story grabs the reader like a
good action movie and just barrels through, giving
characterization on the fly. Not just a good issue for first time
readers, but a blast for people who gave up on the book a long
time ago. Highly recommended.
4 ULTIMATES #11 $2.25 MAR 103,192
5 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #43 $2.25 MAR 101,316
Every issue of this comic shows why Bendis is the best super-hero
writer working today. Slow pacing that doesn't feel padded, band
a plot that keep you reading even if you KNOW what is coming next.
Highly recommended.
6 NEW X-MEN #143 $2.25 MAR 99,850
Grant Morrison, you magnificent bastard. Why is it you can get me
to read the X-Men again? A prelude to the last Big story Morrison
is going to do on the book, so it's a bit confusing, but as you
read it, the confusion smooths out to show that everything
Morrison has written on the series was leading up to a specific
point. Highly recommended, with moody, dark art by Chris Bachalo.
7 GI JOE/TRANSFORMERS #1 (Of 6)* $2.95 IMA
98,091
Meeting again. I didn't care then, and I don't care now.
8 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #55 $2.25 MAR 95,467
9 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #54 $2.25 MAR 95,173
Moving toward getting back on schedule with a decent little
Spider-Man story. The current team does good work, and I like
their stories a lot, but it seem we aren't getting any of the
supporting cast other then Aunt May and Mary Jane...what about
Peter Parker's job? What about the Daily Bugle? It would be nice
to work those elements back in. Recommended for super-hero fans.
10 UNCANNY X-MEN #428 $2.25 MAR 93,546
11 UNCANNY X-MEN #427 $2.25 MAR 92,095
The new artist isn't helping matters any, while this comic tends
to just chug along. It's still readable, but the new storyline
delving into Nightcrawler's past is going to really go too long,
and the stuff with giving the characters new powers (secondary
mutations) strikes me as a writer trying to write his way out of
plot holes. Still, it's more readable than the issues from 300 -
400, so you have to give them that, anyway.
12 WOLVERINE #3 $2.25 MAR 90,717
I never thought I would say this, but Wolverine has been Marvel's
best book for the past three months. Greg Rucka is telling the
first story arc for the series in a novels' pace, starting slow
and building to a huge climax. Add in Robertson's art, the best
the character has seen in his own title since John Bucesma
handled the pencils, and you have a highly recommended comic,
even for people who hate super-heroes.
13 SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #2 $2.25 MAR 90,350
Second part of the story from issue one. Same review.
14 TEEN TITANS #1* $2.50 DC 75,206
One of DC's big hits, with sales actually going up with each
issue. I don't know why, as it reads to me like a standard super-team
book, with some characters from Young Justice and the Wolfman
Titans in the book, but it's good to see this title doing well
again after YEARS of being an also ran. Mildly recommended for
super-team fans.
15 X-TREME X-MEN #28 $2.99 MAR 65,765
No matter what I say, the Claremont fans will still buy it. I
lost interest in the title again soon after the "relaunch"
with a God Loves, Man Kills sequel. Sorry.
16 INCREDIBLE HULK #57 $2.25 MAR 64,959
An odd way of using the Absorbing Man's powers mars this story
arc, which works in every way but that. However, the series is
starting to get a confusing tone to it, from changing artists,
too many peripheral characters and feeling that the main story
threads are never going to be resolved. Still, it's enough of a
different take on the character to make it feel fresh, and the
stories are entertaining enough for it to be mildly recommended.
17 TRANSFORMERS GENERATION ONE VOL 2 #4 (Of
6) $2.95 DRE 64,886
18 INCREDIBLE HULK #58 $2.25 MAR 62,804
19 SILVER SURFER #1 $2.25 MAR 60,282
Didn't see it. I at least wanted to look through it and see if it
was going to be any good, even though the way it was being
pitched didn't interest me at all.
20 DAREDEVIL #49 $2.99 MAR 60,165
If not for Wolverine, this would be Marvel's best book. Dark,
moody art that fits the morally dark storylines Bendis is writing
make for an amazing combination. One of the great things about
this comic is that no matter what you think is going to happen,
the writer still can pull off shocking twists that don't feel
they were planned all along. Highly recommended.
21 JLA #83 $2.25 DC 59,154
Going down. I don't even read it anymore, but will prolly start
again when the rotating creative teams come on.
22 GI JOE/TRANSFORMERS #2 (Of 6) $2.95 IMA
57,292
23 SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE #2 (Of 4) $2.99 MAR 57,116
24 FANTASTIC FOUR #501 (#72) $2.25 MAR 56,002
A comic story that deals with the aftermath of a Huge Event, and
does it in such a way that it doesn't just feel right, but acts
as a springboard for a new series of storylines is exactly the
thing you need after a Big Event. Mark Waid is one of the few
writers in comics who still knows how to do a "super-hero
soap opera" that doesn't feel like warmed over Stan Lee.
It's good to see that he can still find life in 40 year old
characters that had been left for creatively dead for almost 15
years. Highly recommended.
25 BORN #2 (Of 4) (MR) $3.50 MAR 54,624
26 EMMA FROST #1 $2.50 MAR 54,330
And 53,000 of the people who bought this did so because of the
barely covered breasts on the cover as rendered by Greg Horn.
Imagine what would happen if they ever saw real breasts.
27 TROUBLE #1 (Of 5)* $2.99 MAR 53,949
For all the hype, this didn't break any sales records. The comic
itself is mediocre, and my inner fanboy is SCREAMING at the
continuity gaffe created by this mini-series. However, I do think
the idea of romance comics from a modern style viewpoint is a
good idea, and I hope it succeeds in the bookstore market.
Oh, and the continuity gaffe? If Aunt May and Uncle Ben were
teenagers when Peter Parker was conceived, why does Aunt May
appear to be in her 80's now?
ANSWER ME!!!
28 VENOM #3 (RES) $2.25 MAR 53,040
29 FANTASTIC FOUR #500 (#71) (Note Price) $3.50 MAR 49,800
Of course, why the issue AFTER the big event selling almost 8,000
more copies makes no sense to me at all. This is almost a perfect
example of what a Big Event in a mainstream super-hero book
should be. Waid has a perfect grasp on the Fantastic Four and
this issue proves it. If you don't like this issue, you just
don't like the Fantastic Four. Highly recommended.
30 SUPERMAN BIRTHRIGHT #1 (Of 12) $2.95 DC
48,789
31 JSA #50 (Note Price) $3.95 DC 47,924
DC's Big Event comic, where a bunch of super-heroes fight against
overwhelming odds and just barely eke out a victory. The creative
team juggles a LARGE cast quite well, making each of them seem
unique by character, not just by super-power. As far as super-hero
team books go, this is one of the better ones, and his mildly
recommended for super-hero fans.
32 CAPTAIN AMERICA #15 $2.99 MAR 45,520
Another of the "Everything you know is wrong" stories
that will turn out to be a dream, hoax or some other stupid
device. Why is it so hard to write a good captain America story
anymore?
33 GREEN ARROW #28 $2.50 DC 45,270
34 NEW MUTANTS #3 $2.50 MAR 43,614
35 THOR VIKINGS #1 (Of 5) (MR) $3.50 MAR 43,057
Garth Ennis does Thor, Vikings, zombies and massive violence. I'm
amazed that Marvel lets him play with their Big toys, but when he
does, you know you're going to get something darkly funny and
twisted. Recommended for Preacher fans, but old school comic fans
who still wish Marvel would go back to publishing the stuff they
did in the 60's should prolly hide from this comic.
36 OUTSIDERS #2 $2.50 DC 42,954
Also selling very well, even though I HATE the art, and the story
hasn't been all that great. But it feels like they are going
somewhere with the story, so I'll stay with it for the first arc
and decide then. Like most of Judd Winnick's stuff, the super-hero
side of the story isn't' all that great, but the character
interaction is worth reading./
37 FORMERLY KNOWN AS JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 (Of
6) $2.50 DC 41,591
A quick confession: I LOVED Keith Giffen's Justice League. I
loved that he made the "World's Greatest Super Heroes"
into a silly sitcom and spent more time pointing out how silly it
all was when everyone was trying to see how "dark and
realistic" they could make comics. Even with the humor,
there were some more serious storylines in his run on the
characters. Thankfully, none of that is in evidence here as the
same team starts it all over again and shows just how good they
were at this stuff. Kevin McGuire is the MASTER of facial
expressions, and is such a great artist, I wonder why he was ever
allowed to leave comics. This is a Highly Recommended comic and I
hope it becomes a regular series just as soon as the last issue
of this mini-series ships.
38 FLASH #200 (Note Price) $3.50 DC 41,078
Another Big Event comic, and another shocking ending that I
didn't see coming. Geoff Johns had a lot of trouble when he took
over this comic, trying to find his voice. Now, using a better
artist and setting up the story elements he wants to work with,
the comic is well done, although not as good as his work on JSA,
or, sadly, Mark Waid's towering run as writer here. Mildly
recommended for super-hero fans.
39 EXILES #29 $2.99 MAR 40,696
One of Marvel's odder books, now that they have de-emphasized the
"continuity" aspect of their books. With the writer,
Judd Winnick, signing for a another year of exclusivity with DC,
I think they will turn it over to Chuck Austin, whose fill-in
issues were just that, placeholders filling in while waiting for
a story that moved things forward. Still, if you are a long time
Marvel fan, there is a perverse pleasure is seeing the darker
turns the Marvel Universe could have taken.
40 SPAWN #126 $2.50 IMA 40,227
If you look in the new Previews, you'll see that Spawn #141 is
supposed to come out in October. The book is more than a YEAR
late. I have yet to get a single e-mail from anyone who say they
are still reading this, so I think this is the best example of a
comic that people buy just because they always have bought it and
they are too lazy to drop it from their pull list.
41 GI JOE #19 $2.95 IMA 39,538
42 MYSTIQUE #4 $2.99 MAR 39,480
Marvel is doing a good job of promoting this book, and the "first issue" they put in their order form was a fun read, but nothing I will go out of my way for.
43 PUNISHER #29 $2.99 MAR 38,849
By now, all fo the dark humor that gave this title its start is gone, and all that is left is Garth Ennis's ability to make a taut action story work in what is essentially a static medium. His Punisher is both a force of nature and impartial judge of the evil that Ennis sets in front of him. Still a very good comic, but no longer the brialliant one it was when Ennis first took over.
44 DETECTIVE COMICS #784 $2.75 DC 38,571
I read an interview with Ed Brubaker where he said he was leaving this series because he was just burned out on Batman. It's amazing that a creative person would say that, even if it was obvious like it has been on this book. I loved his Batman work, but his Detective writing has been...well...flat. Hopefully the next writer they get ont he book will continue in the "crime noir" style that Greg Rucka used on the series.
45 BATMAN/SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN TRINITY #2 (Of 3) $6.95 DC 38,131
It's by Matt Wanger, my favorite comics creator. So I will not be objective. Go buy this. Right freaking now.
46 JSA ALL STARS #3 (Of 8) $2.50 DC 37,105
47 X-MEN UNLIMITED #50 $2.50 MAR 36,606
Last issue, and it goes out with a bang, featuring a Wolverine story by one of the creators of Lone Wolf and Cub. This book started as a Big Honking Mess back in the mid 90's, a double sized comic that featured bad Image style art, fill-in stories and generally waste of paper work. Then, about two years ago, it became a good "spotlight" comic where different creators told self-contained X-Men stories, and I liked the comic. Now that it's gone, it'll be mostly forgotten, which is a shame. By the way, go seek out this issue, as it's one of the better Wolverine stories told in a very entertaining way.
48 GREEN LANTERN #167 $2.25 DC 36,254
49 WOLVERINE SNIKT #3 (Of 6) $2.99 MAR 35,741
Another Wolverine mini-series to be put into a trade the week after the last issue ships.
50 KINGPIN #2 $2.50 MAR 35,712
51 SUPERMAN #195 $2.25 DC 35,302
How the mighty have fallen. I remember in the mid 80's, when they did the big Superman re-vamp by Byrne, it was done because Superman had fallen below 150K in sales through most of the 80's. Now, the book struggles to sell 40K. Part of it is because of the general slide in comic sales altogether, but I think a large part of why it's not doing well now is because Superman no longer feels like a "wish fulfillment" for readers. At it's best, Superman fits a need in readers who can think that, just like Clark Kent, if people just knew who they realoly were, they would think they were great. Not to mention the flying, strength and such. Now, the books just barrel from confusing generic villian to generic villian with little to set it apart from any other super-hero comic.
52 X-MEN UNLIMITED #49 $2.50 MAR 35,243
53 TRANSFORMERS ARMADA #13 $2.95 DRE 34,964
54 FANTASTIC FOUR #500 (#71) DIRECTORS CUT ED $4.99 MAR 33,836
A great package for a actual Big Deal in both numbers and story for Marvel's first successful Silver Age comic. Yeah, it had a shiny cover, but it also had behind the scenes stuff, script pages, sketches and the like. All in all, if you buy FF #500, this is the one to get. And the shiny cover is kewl. Highly recommended.
55 AUTHORITY VOL 2 #3 (MR) $2.95 DC 33,777
Looks like I'm not the only one who looked at the book under the new creative team and decided to drop it like a hot rock. This book's time has passed, and I would even argue that it shouldn't have continued after Warren Ellis finished his run on it.
56 THOR #66 $2.99 MAR 33,557
57 TRUTH RED WHITE BLACK #7 (Of 7) (RES) $3.50 MAR 33,161
Normally, I'm a big Kyle Baker fan (and I am near giddy over the idea that he's going to do a Plastic Man series), but his work on this mini-series was substandard, and rushed. The idea behind the series actually got some of the more conservative ass-clowns in the media to bellyache that Captain America was black (yesh, I'm talking to YOU Michael Medved, who wouldn't know a good idea if it bit him on the ass, gave him rabies and then went home and kicked his cat), and I like the idea that they experimented on other people before the Captain America we know. But, I'll wait for the trade to see if the story made up for the art.
58 IRON MAN #70 $2.99 MAR 32,208
59 ACTION COMICS #805 $2.25 DC 31,959
60 HULK NIGHTMERICA #2 (Of 6) $2.99 MAR 31,636
61 BATMAN GOTHAM KNIGHTS #43 $2.75 DC 31,387
The plot of this issue is that a social worker is investigating the death of Jason Todd. WHO DIED IN 1988! Want to know why people get irritated with comics? It's because they are endlessly self-referential. If this story needed to be told, it needed to be
62 BATGIRL YEAR ONE #8 (Of 9) $2.95 DC
29,995
63 NIGHTWING #83 $2.25 DC 29,745
64 AQUAMAN #8 $2.50 DC 29,628
65 X-STATIX #11 $2.99 MAR 29,599
66 X-MEN PHOENIX #2 (Of 3) $2.99 MAR 29,408
67 HAWKMAN #17 $2.50 DC 29,276
68 BATGIRL #42 $2.50 DC 29,144
69 ADVS O/SUPERMAN #618 $2.25 DC 29,086
70 MAGDALENA VOL 2 #1 $2.99 IMA 29,012
71 GI JOE FRONTLINE #8 $2.95 IMA 28,939
72 GI JOE FRONTLINE #9 $2.95 IMA 28,191
73 ALIAS #24 (MR) $2.99 MAR 28,103
74 WEAPON X #10 $2.99 MAR 28,015
75 NAMOR #4 $2.25 MAR 28,001
76 BIRDS O/PREY #57 $2.50 DC 27,898
77 CAPTAIN MARVEL #12 $2.99 MAR 27,810
78 WEAPON X #11 $2.99 MAR 27,590
79 ARKHAM ASYLUM LIVING HELL #3 (Of 6) $2.50 DC 27,561
80 PARADISE X #12 (Of 12) $2.99 MAR 27,312
81 SUPERMAN & BATMAN GENERATIONS III #7 (Of 12) $2.95 DC 26,975
82 GI JOE FRONTLINE #10 $2.95 IMA 26,843
83 Y THE LAST MAN #13 (MR) $2.95 DC 26,755
84 JLA SCARY MONSTERS #5 (Of 6) $2.50 DC 26,418
85 INHUMANS #3 $2.50 MAR 26,403
86 BATMAN LEGENDS O/T DARK KNIGHT #169 $2.50 DC 26,286
87 ELEKTRA #25 $2.99 MAR 25,655
88 FABLES #15 (MR) $2.50 DC 25,567
89 WONDER WOMAN #194 $2.25 DC 25,347
90 ARROWSMITH #1 (Of 6) $2.95 DC 24,937
91 BATTLE O/T PLANETS #11 (Of 12) $2.99 IMA 24,805
92 GHOST I/T SHELL 2 MAN/MACHINE INTERFACE #5 (MR) $3.50 DAR 24,438
93 DAWN THREE TIERS #1 (Of 6) $2.95 IMA 24,350
94 HUMAN TORCH #4 $2.50 MAR 24,160
95 LOBO UNBOUND #2 (Of 6) (MR) $2.95 DC 24,072
96 FALLEN ANGEL #1 $2.50 DC 23,720
97 MASTERS O/T UNIVERSE VOL 2 #5 $2.95 IMA 23,500
98 TRANSFORMERS MORE THAN MEETS EYE OFF GD #4 $5.25 DRE 23,368
99 SPIDER-GIRL #62 $2.99 MAR 23,104
100 CATWOMAN #21 $2.50 DC 23,090
101 LEGION #22 $2.50 DC 22,987
102 STAR WARS EMPIRE #9 DARKLIGHTER (2 Of 4) $2.99 DAR 22,489
103 TMNT ANIMATED #2 $2.95 DRE 22,371
104 ROBIN #116 $2.25 DC 22,210
105 SENTINEL #4 $2.50 MAR 22,210
106 DOMINO #3 (Of 4) $2.50 MAR 22,181
107 EMPIRE #1 (Of 6) $2.50 DC 21,668
108 STAR WARS EMPIRE #10 YAVIN BASE (1 Of 2) $2.99 DAR 21,638
109 ROBOTECH LOVE & WAR #2 (Of 6) $2.95 DC 21,330
110 STAR WARS REPUBLIC #55 BATTLE O/JABIIM (1 Of 4) $2.99 DAR 20,685
111 ULTIMATE ADVS #4 (RES) $2.25 MAR 20,524
112 STAR WARS REPUBLIC #56 BATTLE O/JABIIM (2 Of 4) $2.99 DAR 20,465
113 RUNAWAYS #4 $2.50 MAR 20,246
114 SMALLVILLE #3 $3.95 DC 20,202
115 ETERNAL #2 (MR) $2.99 MAR 19,923
116 VOLTRON DEFENDER O/T UNIVERSE #3 $2.95 IMA 19,732
117 WAR MACHINE 2.0 #3 (Of 3) (MR) $2.99 MAR 19,674
118 HELLBOY BPRD DARK WATERS ONE-SHOT $2.99 DAR 19,469
119 CRIMINAL MACABRE CAL MCDONALD MYSTERY #3 (Of 5) $2.99 DAR 19,439
120 HERO #6 $2.50 DC 19,366
121 RED #1 (Of 3) $2.95 DC 19,146
122 LIBERTY MEADOWS #32 $2.95 IMA 18,868
123 BRIAN PULIDO LADY DEATH #6 $2.95 CRO 18,677
124 BATMAN NEVERMORE #4 (Of 5) $2.50 DC 18,677
125 CREW #3 $2.50 MAR 18,633
126 TERRA OBSCURA #2 (Of 6) $2.95 DC 18,516
127 GLOBAL FREQUENCY #9 (Of 12) $2.95 DC 18,120
128 GLOBAL FREQUENCY #10 (Of 12) $2.95 DC 17,797
129 POSSESSED #1 (Of 6) (MR) $2.95 DC 17,489
130 GOTHAM CENTRAL #9 $2.50 DC 17,299
131 THUNDERBOLTS #81 (Note Price) $2.25 MAR 17,211
132 VAMPIRELLA/WITCHBLADE #1 $2.99 HAR 17,167
133 100 BULLETS #46 (MR) $2.50 DC 17,108
134 HELLBLAZER #186 (MR) $2.75 DC 16,405
135 NECROWAR #1 $2.95 DRE 16,155
136 SUPERMAN METROPOLIS #6 (Of 12) $2.95 DC 15,804
137 BLACK PANTHER #62 $2.99 MAR 15,774
138 HARLEY QUINN #34 $2.50 DC 15,716
139 SOLUS #5 $2.95 CRO 15,510
140 STARTLING STORIES THING NIGHT FALLS ON YANCY ST #3 $3.50 MAR
15,510
141 WILDCATS VERSION 3.0 #12 (MR) $2.95 DC 15,437
142 BATTLE O/T PLANETS #1/2 $2.99 IMA 15,422
143 GEN 13 #11 $2.95 DC 15,408
144 LOSERS #2 (MR) $2.95 DC 15,334
145 BATMAN ADVS #4 $2.25 DC 15,056
146 WAY O/T RAT #15 $2.95 CRO 14,807
147 BTVS #59 SLAYER INTERRUPTED (4 Of 4)* $2.99 DAR 14,777
148 RELOAD #3 (Of 3) (MR) $2.95 DC 14,719
149 EXTINCTION EVENT #1 (Of 5) $2.50 DC 14,689
150 BLOOD AND WATER #5 (Of 5) (MR) $2.95 DC 14,587
151 TOKYO STORM WARNING #2 (Of 3) $2.95 DC 14,426
152 SIMPSONS COMICS #84 $2.50 BON 14,367
153 JUSTICE LEAGUE ADVS #21 $2.25 DC 13,898
Even though it has a revolving creative team, it's still one of
the better super-hero books DC does. Why? It has clear, plot
based stories that are well drawn with iconic heroes that still
manages to entertain the reader for 22 pages. Mildly recommended.
154 LUCIFER #40 (MR) $2.50 DC 13,722
155 TOMB RAIDER EPIPHANY $4.99 IMA 13,605
And what is the epiphany? That her games, movies and comics all
suck and no one cares any more.
156 MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE ICONS O/EVIL
MER MAN #1 $4.95 CRO 13,458
Oh, for the love of all that is Holy people, QUIT BUYING THIS
SHIT. The cartoon was painfully bad, the toys were cheap and the
characters have the worse names in the history of children's
entertainment. He-Man was what your mom bought you when she had
no clue what you liked, and they were the toys you gave your
younger siblings when you were told to share and still wanted to
make them cry.
157 SCION #38 $2.95 CRO 13,282
158 STORMWATCH TEAM ACHILLES #13 (MR) $2.95 DC 13,018
159 POWER COMPANY #18 $2.75 DC 12,930
Last issue, and a failed little experiment in doing a standard 80's
style super-hero team. Kurt Busiek has written far better, but
Tom Grummett's work was just amazingly well done for a super-hero
comic. I hope he gets another assignment soon, as he is one of
DC's best artists currently.
160 LENORE #10 $2.95 SLG 12,593
A funny, twisted comic in the same vein as Gahan Wilson or
Charles Addams, and it's nice to see that it has built up a big
audience. The artist worked on Invader Zim with a few other Slave
Labor creators, and while it didn't last very long, they prolly
got more money on one episode of that than on all of their comic
work combined. Highly recommended.
161 BEWARE THE CREEPER #4 (Of 5) (MR) $2.95
DC 12,373
162 MICRONAUTS #9 $2.95 IMA 12,314
The first issue was utterly unreadable, and this comic is now
selling 10% of what the first issue sold. I think this is the
very definition of "wasted potential."
163 DOOM PATROL #22 $2.50 DC 12,227
Last issue, and I am convinced that the only reason the book was
published this long was to give the artist more training in
monthly books before putting him on a higher selling comic. I
liked the Doom Patrol, but I like the quirky super-hero stuff
that merges Vertigo Weirdness with standard super-hero concepts.
Looks as if I am not in the majority on that.
164 SILKEN GHOST #3 (Of 5) $2.95 CRO 12,139
165 NEGATION #20 $2.95 CRO 12,007
166 KISS #11* $2.99 DAR 11,977
Dark Horse keeps getting licenses that should sell really well,
but for some reason, just lay there. KISS comics would sell tons
of copies in bookstores and record shops, but in comic shops, who
cares? My opinion? KISS was cool for about an hour in 1977, but
so was the song Disco Duck, and I don't think anyone wants to
read about THAT either.
167 SAVAGE DRAGON #108 $2.95 IMA 11,772
168 MYSTIC #38 $2.95 CRO 11,655
169 EYE O/T STORM ANNUAL (MR) $4.95 DC 11,581
A Wildstorm annual for a sub-line that doesn't sell well. Put it
this way, I read Sleeper, and I had no idea that it was a part of
this imprint, let alone part of this annual until I did a bit of
research to see just what the hell this comic was. Wildstorm
continues to do what it did at Image, fire books into the market
without any marketing or publicity and watch them fail at an
alarming rate.
170 HUMANS DEFENSE CORPS #3 (Of 6) $2.50 DC
11,464
171 CRUX #28 $2.95 CRO 11,362
172 ELFQUEST 25TH ANNV ED $2.95 DC 11,362
The first 20 issues of Elfquest are some of the best comics
available, and I'm glad DC is putting them in their "Archive"
format. Its rare that high fantasy works in a comic, but for
those 21 issues, it worked quite well. The stuff that came after
wasn't quite as good, having the feel of the "Dune"
books written by Frank Herbert's son. It would be too bad if the
Pini's never did anything else, making them a one trick pony,
when Wendy was one of the best artists to work in black and white.
173 SIGIL #38 $2.95 CRO 11,318
174 HUNTER AGE O/MAGIC #25 (MR) $2.75 DC 11,215
Last issue, and due to be relaunched again soon. I liked the
first series "Books of Magic" well enough, but by the
end, it was easy to see that they had painted themselves into a
corner, characterwise, and the concept just hasn't been the same
since.
175 ROUTE 666 #14 $2.95 CRO 11,010
176 FIRST #33 $2.95 CRO 10,907
177 VAMPI VICIOUS #1* $2.99 HAR 10,731
Yet another Vampirella mini-series, revamp, whatever. I wonder
how many times they will relaunch the character before they
realize that no one cares anymore?
178 SAVAGE DRAGON #109 (RES) $2.95 IMA 10,629
179 HIP FLASK ELEPHANTMEN #1 $3.50 ACT 10,453
The only reason to get this comic is for the Brilliant work by
Ladronn as the artist. The story is a mess, and I really couldn't
make it through by reading it, but Ladronn has become one of the
most talented artists to work in comics in years. Highly
recommended for the art.
180 FUTURAMA COMICS #14 $2.50 BON 10,365
Now that they series is canceled, this is all we have of Futurama.
And it's a good thing that the comic is usually just as well done
as the series, and this is Highly Recommended.
181 RADIOACTIVE MAN #7 BONGO SUPER HEROES $2.50
BON 10,174
More fun super-hero parodies from the Simpsons people. Highly
recommended, and fun even if you have NO CLUE about the comics
they are making fun of.
182 TAROT WITCH O/T BLACK ROSE #21 (MR) $2.95
BRO 10,028
183 SLEEPER #7 (MR) $2.95 DC 9,426
My shop didn't pull this issue of this Highly Recommended story
for me. If yours has a copy, e-mail me and let me know how I can
buy it from them. Thanks.
184 CSI THICKER THAN BLOOD $6.99 IDW 9,382
The CSI comics are well done, but also amazingly overpriced.
Being a big CSI fan, but a cheap bastard, I'm only buying them
when they are discounted...especially when the CSI novels cost
the same as this, have a MUCH deeper story and take more than 20
minutes to read.
185 CALL #4 $2.25 MAR 9,324
This came out? Marvel's attempt to do stories about firemen and
cops failed because they put a ton of fantasy elements in it,
didn't promote it to comics fans well, and dumped three separate
mini-series on shops at the same time, making people think you
had to buy 3 comics a month to keep up.
186 AMERICAN CENTURY #26 (MR) $2.75 DC 8,913
Next to last issue of a comic that had 12 great issues at the
beginning, and then coasted on toward extinction.
187 CROSSOVERS #7 $2.95 CRO 8,781
188 SHONEN JUMP VOL 1 #8 AUG 2003 $4.95 VIZ 8,781
Sells great outside comic shops. Filled with strips that appeal
to kids. No WONDER comic shop owners ignore it, since it would
only bring in new customers.
189 PVP #3 $2.95 IMA 8,518
More on-line strip reprints. Feh. I find the art to be generic
bigfoot stuff and the stories endlessly "inside joke"
filled.
190 HELL #1 $2.99 DAR 8,459
191 RA SALVATORE DEMON WARS VOL 2 #3 EYE FOR EYE $2.95 CRO 8,239
192 GO BOY 7 HUMAN ACTION MACHINE #1 $2.99 DAR 8,195
Dark Horse's "Rocket Comics" seems like all of their
other side imprints. Sells poorly and doesn't have any fan
interest.
193 TERMINATOR 3 BEFORE THE RISE #2 (MR)* $5.95
BEC 8,166
Beckett, who does Baseball Card Price Guides, is getting into
comic publishing with the old standby of movie adaptations, which
I say every month I see no need for. This tells the story Before
the most recent movie, and hopefully, they are getting decent
distribution outside comic stores, because this is pretty low for
sales.
194 POWERPUFF GIRLS #40 $2.25 DC 7,872
195 21 DOWN #11 $2.95 DC 7,667
196 DEFIANCE #8 $2.95 IMA 7,667
197 VERTIGO POP BANGKOK #3 (Of 4) (MR) $2.95 DC 7,594
198 USAGI YOJIMBO #67 $2.99 DAR 7,565
199 USAGI YOJIMBO #68 $2.99 DAR 7,403
200 LEGACY #2 $2.95 IMA 7,359
201 QUEEN & COUNTRY #17 (MR) $2.99 ONI 6,890
Buy it as trades.
202 INVINCIBLE #5 $2.95 IMA 6,802
203 GRENDEL GOD & THE DEVIL #6 (Of 10) (MR) $3.50 DAR 6,802
Reprinting the Comic Series with new coloring and reproduction.
Why are they printing it this way and not simply in trade
paperbacks? Because Comico lost the film, so they have to print
it like this so that they can afford to re-shoot the art and
format it so that it doesn't just look like a photocopy of the
old comics. Wait for the book, they buy it.
204 KNIGHTS Of The DINNER TABLE #81 $3.99
KZR 6,758
I Love This Comic. A comic/magazine that features a group of
gamers as the main comic story and a bunch of gaming articles to
fill it out to be 100 pages per issue. The stories are fun and
transcend the REALLY BAD ART, so that if you know anything at all
about Dungeons and Dragons, you'll like it. Gamers should be
buying this without hesitation, and this comic is Highly
Recommended to them and Mildly recommended to everyone else.
205 OH MY GODDESS #99 PHANTOM RACER (4 Of 4)
$2.99 DAR 6,700
206 BRIT #1 (MR) $4.95 IMA 6,582
A comic filled with people drinking tea, dark beer and putting
"bloody" in front of everything. Hm...any other
stereotypes I can put in this review of a comic I know nothing
about? Oh, it's mature readers, so it's prolly full of kinky sex,
too.
207 BATMAN #616 $2.25 DC 6,480
More re-orders.
208 KORE #3 $2.95 IMA 6,465
No, it's spelled Cory. You people can't get anything right, can you?
209 UNCLE SCROOGE #320 $6.95 GEM 6,421
In the 80's and early 90's, Don Rosa started doing Uncle Scrooge
stories, and they were easily the most entertaining comics being
published (yes, more than Alan Moore and Frank Miller's stuff...bite
me if you disagree). However, the publishers weren't able to get
his stuff to a big enough audience, and he had to start working
for European Disney publishers. Now, Disney books are back, but
horridly overpriced. If Gemstone had any brains, they'd figure
out a way to get Rosa's stuff into Big Collected Trades and in
bookstores where people would find and appreciate it.
210 GIRL GENIUS #9 (RES) $3.95 STF 6,406
You ever wonder why I don't buy the Phil Foglio stuff, even when
I LOVE his work and am highly entertained by it? Because this
comic's first issue was back in either 1999 or 2000, and it's a
continued story...and he's just coming out with the 9th issue.
It's why I buy things in books...if I was buying this as
individual issues, I KNOW I would have no clue where the story
left off when the last issue came out months and months ago.
211 SWEATSHOP #4 $2.95 DC 6,289
Canceled, and a damn shame, as it was a funny comic. Highly
Recommended, since you'll get at least 10 good laughs out of each
issue.
212 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #125 $2.19 ARC 6,260
213 BLADE O/T IMMORTAL PETALS O/T WIND #80 (MR) $2.99 DAR 6,187
214 CEREBUS #291 $2.25 AAR 6,128
9 issues left. Anyone want to place odds that Dave Sim will be
forgotten by most people 5 years after its done if he doesn't
start another comic soon after Cerebus ends?
215 STRAY BULLETS #32 (MR) $2.95 EL 6,084
216 WALT DISNEYS COMICS & STORIES #635 $6.95 GEM 6,025
The biggest selling comic of all time, back in the 40's and 50's.
I think it could be the biggest selling NOW if it was sold at a
better price, had more pages and was in bookstores. As is, it's
overpriced and in a sales environment that caters to super-hero
fans.
217 SCOOBY DOO #74 $2.25 DC 5,967
218 LOVE & ROCKETS VOL 2 #8 (MR) $3.95 FAN 5,615
219 PLANETARY/BATMAN NIGHT ON EARTH $5.95 DC 5,600
More re-orders, and Warren Ellis said that this comic has sold 50,000
overall. Congratulations, and it's GOOD that DC made him put this
out before restarting the "Planetary" series so people
would remember it. And it was a good read, and is mildly
recommended...but it DOES have a gimmick lifted from the Zero
Hour issues that Batman appeared in, so look those up in the back
issue bin. I GUARANTEE your shop owner will thank you for buying
them.
220 PUFFED #1 (Of 3) (MR)* $2.95 IMA 5,527
221 RUSE #21 $2.95 CRO 5,512
Under Mark Waid, this was a fun detective comic with a great
premise, good stories and a lot of fun. With him gone, it's just
a great premise and a LOT of unfulfilled potential. I would have
to say that any really quirky idea for a series thought up by a
talented writer, really needs that talented writer to make it
work.
222 SOUL O/SAMURAI #2 (Of 4) $5.95 IMA 5,439
223 HEROES ANONYMOUS #1 (Of 6) $2.99 BON 4,999
A semi-serious title by Bongo (who do the Simpsons comics) that
has a good premise, but just doesn't hold together as a story. I
wanted to like this one, and maybe future issues will be better,
but this one just wasn't very good.
224 BLACKBURNE COVENANT #4 (Of 4) $2.99 DAR
4,940
225 AGENTS #3 (Of 6) $2.95 IMA 4,911
226 SUPER MANGA BLAST #33 (MR) $5.99 DAR 4,911
Dark Horse's Manga anthology, which is pretty much mired at sales
of about 5,000, which is a shame. It's the one Manga anthology I
buy and enjoy, and it has some great work in it that is easily
readable by people who have no experience with Japanese work.
Highly recommended.
227 STRANGERS #4 (Of 6)* $2.95 IMA 4,867
228 HEIRS O/ETERNITY #3 (Of 5) $2.95 IMA 4,662
229 CANNON GOD EXAXXION #15 (MR) $2.99 DAR 4,647
230 MARVEL MUST HAVES ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #1-#3 $3.99 MAR 4,471
231 KNIGHT OF THE DINNER TABLE ORIGINS 2003 ISSUE $2.99 KZR 4,442
See review higher on the sales chart. Oh, and this is Highly
Recommended as well.
232 DEVILS FOOTPRINTS #4 (Of 4) $2.99 DAR 4,427
233 PATH #16 $2.95 CRO 4,413
The worst selling CrossGen book, which is NOT the one being
canceled (that would be The First), but it shows that the
CrossGen fans are picking and choosing which comics they will
get, rather than buying them all as they did when the company
started.
234 GOLD DIGGER #43 $2.99 ANT 4,163
235 GOLD DIGGER #44 $2.99 ANT 4,046
236 OUTSIDERS #1 $2.50 DC 4,032
These are re-orders, and this and Teen Titans have been fairly
big successes for DC. Surprising, since the series they replaced
(Young Justice and Titans) weren't exactly tearing up the sales
charts...and they aren't series I would call "Must reads",
but actually fairly generic super-hero comics.
237 SCOOTER GIRL #2 (Of 6) (MR) $2.99 ONI 3,958
238 MARVEL MUST HAVES ULTIMATES #1-#3 $3.99 MAR 3,944
239 TERRY MOORES PARADISE TOO #13 $2.95 ABS 3,929
240 ARCHIE #538 $2.19 ARC 3,797
241 MARVEL MUST HAVES AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #30-32 $3.99 MAR 3,782
242 MARVEL MUST HAVES ULTIMATE X-MEN #1-#3 $3.99 MAR 3,680
243 DORK TOWER #23 $2.99 DOR 3,636
I finally picked up a few issues of this after reading good
reviews, and I'm a bit mixed on it. It is mining the same ground
as "Knights of the Dinner Table" (gamer humor) and is
more interested in going for the gag than telling a story, which
is OK, I guess. However, it comes out VERY infrequently, is
telling a continued story and doesn't tell you anything about
who's who (the story I read didn't even give the names to 3 of
the 6 characters, making the gag at the end confusing).
244 BATMAN #615 $2.25 DC 3,533
More re-orders, and showing that if you HAVE issues for stores to
order, they will keep filling their shelves.
245 LOONEY TUNES #104 $2.25 DC 3,533
246 MARVEL MUST HAVES INCREDIBLE HULK #34-36 $3.99 MAR 3,518
Reprinting the first 3 issues of Bruce Jones's work on The Hulk.
Worth reading and a different take on the character.
247 AGE O/BRONZE #17 $3.50 IMA 3,489
248 PARADIGM #10 $3.50 IMA 3,357
249 MARVEL MUST HAVES NEW X-MEN #114-#116 $3.99 MAR 3,313
Reprinting Grant Morrison's opening arc on the X-Men. If, for
some insane reason, you haven't read it, ask your dealer to get
this for you, since you can get the first 3 issues for the price
of 1 and 3/4ths, and it's VERY worth it.
250 LANSDALE & TRUMANS DEAD FOLKS #3 (Of
3) (MR) $3.50 AVA 3,211
This is a GREAT creative team whose comics have always been
entertaining and impeccably well done. It's a damn shame they can
only get work from this crappy publisher, meaning their work will
look like shit. But, it will be collected in a trade once the
last issue comes out, and will prolly still be the best horror
comic since the LAST horror comic they put together.
251 LOVE FIGHTS #2 $2.99 ONI 3,196
252 BETTY & VERONICA #190 $2.19 ARC 3,181
253 WARREN ELLIS STRANGE KILLINGS STRONG MEDICINE #1 $3.50 AVA 3,152
254 LUBA #7 (MR) $3.50 FAN 3,152
255 TRANSFORMERS GENERATION ONE VOL 2 #3 (Of 6) $2.95 DRE 3,137
256 ARTESIA AFIRE #2 (Of 6) (MR) $3.95 ARC 3,108
I have looked through this comic, and it's a good looking fantasy
book that I just can't get interested in, having burned out on
fantasy over the years. But it shore is purty.
257 FLASH #199 $2.25 DC 3,035
258 VERONICA #142 $2.19 ARC 3,035
259 BONEYARD #11 $2.95 NBM 3,020
260 KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER TABLE ILLUSTRATED #24 $2.99 KZR 2,991
While I Love the "Knights Of The Dinner Table" comic, I
can't find it in myself to warm up to this comic, which shows the
"adventures" of the characters run by the "players"
of the role playing games in that comic. And if you don't play
RPGs, the last sentence seems to you like a bunch of random words
put together in the hopes it could possible be a sentence at some
point.
261 BETTY #128 $2.19 ARC 2,947
262 SABRINA VOL 2 #47 $2.19 ARC 2,873
263 DOGWITCH #6 (MR) $2.95 SIR 2,741
One of my friends dressed up as a character from this comic for
the Sandy Eggo convention. I wonder if anyone knew who she was
supposed to be other than "Large Breasted Woman In Kinky
Outfit." Then again, isn't that enough?
264 SABRINA VOL 2 #48 $2.19 ARC 2,741
265 DEATHMASK #3 $2.99 FUT 2,741
266 LOSERS #1 (MR) $2.95 DC 2,697
More reorders for a new Vertigo comic based on an old DC war
series. I never cared for War Comics when I was a kid, and there
were a LOT of them. I try now to go back and read them, and the
only ones I can read are the ECs, anything Kirby did and...well,
the Warren Stuff, but that was just ECs for the 60's.
267 MAGDALENA VOL 2 JIM SILKE ACTOR CVR #1
(Net) $5.00 IMA 2,683
268 METAL HURLANT #7 (MR) $3.95 HUM 2,668
269 ARCHIE & FRIENDS #73 $2.19 ARC 2,624
270 CARTOON CARTOONS #20 $2.25 DC 2,580
271 ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #144 $3.59 ARC 2,566
272 ARCHIE DIGEST #200 $2.39 ARC 2,536
Fabulous 200th issue! Nothing special happens! If this were a
Marvel book, Archie would finally beat the hell out of Reggie,
with Mr. Lodge keeping him from killing the bastard at the last
minute.
273 BETTY & VERONICA DOUBLE DIGEST #117
$3.59 ARC 2,536
274 WALT DISNEYS COMICS & STORIES #634 $6.95 GEM 2,522
I like that Disney Comics are back, but I have a lot of trouble
paying $7 for 48 pages. Maybe I'm alone in this, but it just
seems horridly overpriced. Maybe if it was printed in the Graphic
Album size I wouldn't feel the same way, but as is, I think the
price point is just too prohibitive, which is a shame, since most
Disney comics are well done and entertaining.
275 PALS N GALS DOUBLE DIGEST #77 $3.59 ARC
2,507
276 BETTY & VERONICA SPECTACULAR #61 $2.19 ARC 2,478
277 LOEG II BUMPER ED PARTS 1 & 2 $5.95 DC 2,463
278 BETTY & VERONICA DIGEST #140 $2.39 ARC 2,448
279 EMPIRE #0 (Of 6) $4.95 DC 2,434
You might think these are crappy sales, but these are reorders of
reprint of two comics from 3 years ago. And it's a GREAT mini-series.
I talked more about it under the current issue, don't you
remember?
280 GOLD DIGGER SWIMSUIT END O/SUMMER SP
2003 ED $4.50 ANT 2,419
It is official, this comic has now had more stupid swimsuit
issues than actual issues. All the creators are now forced to
actually do an issue where something happens rather than drawing
furry fan wanking material. I'm guessing they won't be able to.
And if they DO, it won't sell.
281 KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER TABLE EVERKNIGHTS
#7 $2.99 KZR 2,404
282 LOEG II BUMPER ED PARTS 3 & 4 $5.95 DC 2,390
283 ALICE IN SEXLAND EXTREME #3 (A) $3.95 ERO 2,346
In this issue she eats EXTREME Doritos and plays EXTREME
videogames. Is there anything in our lives now that isn't "EXTREME"?
I'm still looking for "EXTREME" power walking and
EXTREME sitting on your ass and watching TV.
284 METALLIX #6 $2.99 FUT 2,331
"Cory? Why did Future Comics decide that they were going to
just print graphic novels?" Because their stuff read like
bland mid 80's Marvel books and sold crappy. "Why didn't
they just fold up and go away?" Because they don't get the
message that low sales give you.
285 NINJA HIGH SCHOOL #107 $3.50 ANT 2,331
286 FREEMIND #7 $2.99 FUT 2,316
287 JUGHEADS DOUBLE DIGEST #96 $3.59 ARC 2,302
288 KISSING CHAOS 1000 WORDS ONE-SHOT (MR) $2.99 ONI 2,287
289 LOEG VOL II #5 2ND PT $3.50 DC 2,228
People are buying second printings of this when they know the
darn thing will be reprinted in a book by the end of the year? I
don't understand it.
290 JUGHEAD #152 $2.19 ARC 2,199
291 ARCHIE MYSTERIES #29 $2.19 ARC 2,140
292 JUNGLE FANTASY #3 (MR)* $3.50 AVA 2,111
293 JUGHEAD W/ARCHIE DIGEST #185 $2.39 ARC 2,082
294 PLANETARY READER $5.95 DC 2,067
Reorders of a book that is made to remind people that they used
to have this comic called "Planetary" and they used to
like it back in the heady days of the 90's.
295 KITSUNE TALES #1 $4.95 SLG 1,994
296 INVINCIBLE ED #3 LANCE LUNDGRIN UNLEASHES (Of 4) $2.99 DAR 1,920
297 DEMONSLAYER LORDS O/NIGHT #1 (MR)* $3.50 AVA 1,876
I wonder if Marvel will ever see this and protect their character
"Demonslayer" that they stole from the 1970's "Atlas
Comics"? If not, we can ALL do comics named "Demonslayer"!
And I bet I could do one that sells better than this, and I can't
draw!
298 LAUGH DIGEST #185 $2.39 ARC 1,876
299 LAUGH DIGEST #186 $2.39 ARC 1,847
You know, these aren't made for me, but when I was a kid, I LOVED
comics digests. Sure, the pages were smaller, but you got over
100 pages for about the same price as a normal comic. If I were a
kid now and wanted to read Archies, I wouldn't even think about
buying the normal comics, but would be all over the digests.
300 ZEN #2 $2.95 ZEN 1,833
If you made it down this far (and really, why should you if you
don't work on any of these comics?) you will notice something
that jumped out at me immediately. The #300 comic is selling over
1800 copies. Part of that is because now Diamond lists re-orders,
so comics that sold a lot of re-orders are on the list. But I
also think that it means that more comics are being bought. There
are 5 comics that sold over 100,000 for the first time in over 2
years. Maybe, just maybe, things are turning around. Now if
companies use this as a way to get comics out into the general
public, we might see some actual growth.