The top 300 comics for September 2001
1 134,620 ORIGIN #1
The story you've been waiting for since 1974, the Origin of Wolverine...well, to be honest, I gave up on getting an origin when the Wolverine mini-series back in 1982 (don't you dare say it, don't you DARE say how old I am) turned out to be a great story by Miller and Claremont, but didn't give the origin. I hope that Paul Jenkins can pull together a decent story from the mish-mash of the past 25 years of various hands adding and re-adding to Wolverine's history. I think they should have went with Weapon-X by Barry Smith when it was done...but obviously, they didn't ask me. AND since Marvel is already planning to collect it as a trade paperback, you should prolly just wait and buy it that way.
2 126,700 NEW X-MEN #118
OK, Grant, the book is late. However, it's so damn good, I forgive you. The X-Men the way it should be, Big, Brassy and filled with interesting questions instead of messy, confusing and filled with endless subplots. The BEST the X-Men has ever been and highly recommended.
3 120,510 UNCANNY X-MEN #398
Fan rumblings are that this book's creative team might get switched because it just isn't as good as New X-Men. How could it be? The team does a damn fine job, but next to Morrison and Quitely, just about anyone looks bad. Maybe they should pay whatever it takes, get Alan Moore and just let him run wild. Could you imagine Moore and Morrison collaborating?
4 106,740 ULTIMATE X-MEN #10
5 96,010 X-TREME X-MEN #5
They still sell well, but neither floats my boat. The art just makes the story hard to get through, and with other comics returning to clean, clear art that serves the story and not to look good when the artist sells it on eBay, this sort of stuff just doesn't cut it for me anymore.
6 89,310 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #35
Unlike most comic sub-plots, the Big Change in this book is already coming together. While this has been a good story, it just doesn't feel like a Spider-Man story for some reason. Maybe it's because Jenkins on Peter Parker and Bendis on Ultimate are doing such great work, but this book just seems to lack something.
7 85,570 GREEN ARROW #8
Kevin Smith is REALLY trying to get us to stare at the damn thing with our mouths open in shock. And succeeds. If he can come up with a great ending, this could be one of the best DC runs in years. Highly recommended.
8 85,390 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #13
The preview said not to tell anyone anything about the book. Tough. No super-villains, not heavy drama, and the best character work anyone has done in comics in years. Even if you hate super-heroes, even if you don't read comics, this is worth the $2.25 and 20 minutes it will take to read. The best book this month and Highly Recommended.
9 75,790 WOLVERINE #168
Feh. They could put Rob Liefeld on the book and it would sell. Oh wait, they did that and it did. This isn't much better, but has pretty art by Sean Chen. But I don't buy comics for the art unless it's Jack Kirby.
10 73,750 JLA #58
I thought I would be getting tired of the Big Stories they have been doing on the JLA, but the current one about the White Martians attacking humanity has been big, bold and well done. It will be interesting to see if the next writer is able to keep up the Huge Event feel of the book that Morrison started and Waid continued.
11 73,420 X-TREME X-MEN SAVAGE LAND #1
Claremont doing another X-Men mini-series. *shrug* I guess if you like his stuff, here it is, but I'm pretty much tired of his style.
12 72,110 PUNISHER #4
This book is another story. Violence, humor and action...this is the way the Punisher should have always been. Garth Ennis was born to write this comic. Highly recommended.
13 66,670 GI JOE #1
A HUGE debut for this book. When Dark Horse tried to bring it back, no one seemed to care, but with Image doing it (and using the characters from the Marvel series) it seems to have hit a nerve. Lots of nostalgia I guess. I'm one of the few who hated the Marvel GI Joe series. Still do.
14 64,900 AVENGERS #46
Slipping down the charts, due to artist changes and an unfocused storyline. Busiek seems to be losing what made the book great when he took it over, clear, defined storytelling that was Marvel's Biggest Heroes against Marvel's Biggest Threats. Now, there seem to be about three plots going on at once, and none of them are all that clear. Hopefully it all comes together with issue #50 or it's going to keep falling.
15 63,540 DAREDEVIL YELLOW #4
Daredevil's history has been mined more than almost any other super-hero, for what little there was in the origin story. Still, Loeb and Sales tell a hell of a story, and anything they do is worth waiting and buying the trade paperback of.
16 62,900 ELEKTRA #3
Another Bendis book, another Highly Recommended book. He's on a roll in comics and to be honest, he's still the best writer on mainstream books currently. The first two issues haven't done a whole lot in terms of plot, but damn if you don't read them all the way through and want more, which is what a writer is supposed to do.
17 56,310 ULTIMATE MARVEL TEAM UP #8
The runt of the Ultimate litter, but that's OK. To see new versions of the Marvel heroes is great in and of itself, but there's a freshness to the approach that is missing in other comics. This one is Highly Recommended.
18 55,920 CYCLOPS #2
Another X-Men mini that will be a trade paperback when it's done. I thought they were cutting down on this crap.
19 55,880 FURY #1
Good Lord! I have NEVER seen a Nick Fury comic sell well. Not when they did the Bob Harris series in the early 90's, not the Chaykin mini-series of the mid-90's and not when he fought Nazis in the 70's. I guess this character was ready to come back after the Sternanko trades and adding it to the mature line. Hope it doesn't suck.
20 55,660 PETER PARKER SPIDER-MAN #35
A close second when it comes to the Spider-Man books. Jenkins tells stories of Peter Parker and those around him so well that I don't mind that his new villains are damn silly. Sure the story about Spider-Man losing a fight with a new foe was, on the surface, the same old thing. However, Jenkins made it fresh and new by delving into character and not rehashing what had gone before. More people should buy this book, dammit. Highly recommended.
21 55,340 X-FORCE #120
For a book so far from how most comics are, I'm shocked this still sells so well. The only way to describe it is if you took a Vertigo book and tried to actually DO it in the Silver Age...odd characters, strange ideas everywhere and plots that seem gimmicky in a post modern way, without making the book seem like a joke. Highly Recommended to people who wouldn't buy a Marvel book to save their lives, because it sure doesn't READ like a Marvel book.
22 55,090 DAREDEVIL #25
23 55,030 DAREDEVIL #24
Geez...showing up on time has hurt the sales of this book. ^_^ Actually, it's probably due to the art on the most recent story arc, which is a GREAT story (Daredevil is being sued for property damage, and his secret identity is the lawyer who's been hired to sue him) but the art is painfully bad. It's realistic in a bad way, and it will be nice when the new team takes over. Oh, and the writer on that team is Bendis. Bastard writes everything.
24 54,690 JUST IMAGINE LEE/BUSCEMA SUPERMAN
The Batman book was very well done, the Wonder Woman book was well done as well. Are they worth $5.95 a pop? No, but for all the people who said Stan Lee couldn't write a decent story anymore, I give you these books...Stan still can tell a good story and Marvel should be damn ashamed of themselves for not letting him do any comics work for them in the 90's.
25 54,640 ROGUE #2
More Marvel Trade Paperback fodder. And with sales this low, only the diehard X-Fanboys are buying it.
26 53,210 FANTASTIC FOUR #47
The creative team is leaving with issue #50, and they got a lot of well-deserved acclaim. The FF may never be the font of creativity it was under Lee/Kirby, but they did new stories with the mythos and brought back the sense of wonder that was missing for a while.
27 51,980 ALIAS #1
The book that Started Marvel's new mature line...and like any Bendis book, it's wonderfully written, with crisp dialogue, a plot that seems to move slowly until you realize that the character IS the plot. I know a few people were concerned about Marvel doing a book like this, but if they all have this level of quality, this entire LINE of comics will be a great addition to the medium. Highly Recommended
28 51,310 SPAWN #114
Still dropping. And if Barry Bonds is able to hit a few more homers this season, Todd will be left holding his...balls.
29 50,770 RISING STARS #17
30 47,500 EXILES #4
I didn't want to like this book. A bunch of characters from alternate timelines jumping around to alternate time-lines to fix things. However, I sat down and read the first story and was impressed. I don't' know if they can keep it up, but this is recommended for comics fans. Non-fans will be lost, though, which is a bad bad thing in the market the way it is now, so I can't put it on the Highly Recommended page.
31 46,230 AVENGERS CELESTIAL QUEST #1 (of 8)
Another continuity heavy book. What is it about long-time comics writers? Steve Englehart wrote some of the best stories of the 70's, and pretty much did passing level stuff in the 80's, never all that good, but not so bad you'd throw it across the room in disgust. Now his stuff just kind of lays there, and makes me think that comics as they are now ARE for young writers, since most of the powerhouse people from 20 years ago can't seem to write at the level anymore. But, this is supposed to wrap up all his storylines from those old 70's Avengers books. So us old time fans will like it, I guess.
32 46,160 FANTASTIC FOUR 1234 #3
Grant Morrison's take on the FF. It's Grant Morrison, so I like it. It's well done, so you'll like it too. Highly reccommended.
33 44,890 DANGER GIRL KAMIKAZE #1
No, J. Scott Campbell didn't draw it. If he did, it would have sold a lot better. The man can make immense amounts of money if he would just put pencil to paper, but instead we don't hear a damn thing out of him. How do he and Art Adams make a living?
34 44,800 SUPERMAN #174
The end of "Our Worlds At War" and I'm glad. The story became a big mess, everything bad we say about huge crossovers, and any emotional impact it WOULD have had was blunted by the story being in so many books and just trying to keep track of it all. It's too bad, since the core Superman TEAMS are doing good books that look better than they ever have. Here's hoping that now that it's over, they'll jus buckle down and do great stories.
35 43,690 UNIVERSE X X
Read it as a paperback collection. The first one was a GREAT story for comics fans who've been reading comics for years. Why are they targeting those fans? We'll buy it no matter what...tell stories for people who haven't bought comics for the past 20 years, OK?
36 43,680 JSA #28
Here's how to do it, kids. The JSA has the longest and richest history of any Super-Hero team, but even in the 3 part "Bring Back Hawkman" story, everything you need to know is right there AND if you're a long time comics fan, you can revel in how they refer to and use older stories. Highly recommended.
37 43,520 BATMAN #595
Why this is the best-selling Batman book, I have no idea, but it's not a slouch by any means. Great art, well done stories, and while it's not a Gotta Have Book, it's still one of the better series out there.
38 43,290 BROTHERHOOD #5
Shite. Utter, complete shite. Howard Mackie's not putting him name on it as writer to try and distract people from what a bad writer he is...and it's not working. This one will either be dead or totally revamped within 12 month, I guarantee it.
39 42,940 AUTHORITY #26
OK, the book is not half as good as it used to be and is selling better than ever. Explain THAT.
40 42,600 GHOST RIDER HAMMER LANE #4
Why bother?
41 40,770 THOR #41
Let's see, Odin was the "Big Death" Marvel was hyping back last spring. Doesn't seem to have taken anyone by surprise and even fewer people seem interested. Besides, we all know that if we wait a couple of years, he'll be back in one way or another. Oh yeah, and the book still sucks.
42 40,590 DETECTIVE COMICS #762
Again, the lesser selling book is far better creatively. While they seem to be leaving behind the wonderful unique color tone the book had after the revamp, the stories by Greg Rucka are more than making up for it. Now dealing with the aftermath of "Officer Down", but doing it in a way that doesn't force you to buy back issues, Detective is like reading a great police procedural novel that happens to take place in Gotham City and has Batman in it. Highly recommended.
43 40,180 ADVENTURES of SUPERMAN #596
44 39,910 ACTION COMICS #783
45 39,780 SUPERMAN THE MAN of STEEL #118
Finally, sales that make sense. I don't understand why Superman sells so much better since the stories are all intertwined, but as I said with Superman, now that the Big Summer Crossover is done, maybe the books will go back to just telling good stories again.
46 39,010 IRON MAN #46
This book is infuriating. Decent stories are being obscured by horrible art, and after a long spell of bland stories with bland art, I WISH Marvel would put an artist on the book who can draw faces. As is, I'll read it and be frustrated, but if the stories do a dip in quality, I'm done with Iron Man.
47 38,810 JLA INCARNATIONS #5 (of 7)
This issue should deal with the humorous Justice League of the late 80's and early 90's, which I feel fans today have been very unkind too. At the time, comics were jockying to see which one could be the most grim, and JLA was like a super-hero sitcom and stood out. Yeah, they lost good artists and the idea suffered, but I miss that sort of silliness. It will be interesting to see how they treat the era in this surprisingly well-done mini-series.
48 37,850 CAPTAIN AMERICA #47
Don't care. Might try it when it goes to Marvel Knights IF they get a good creative team. But I'm starting to think that they should either cancel it or get someone in to completely revamp it, since no one wants to do Kirby's vision of Cap as the ultimate human action story.
49 37,330 US WAR MACHINE #1
A 12 issue biweekly series that will be a trade paperback the week after the final issue ships. Can you guess how *I'm* going to buy it?
50 37,240 NIGHTWING #61
Just read where Chuck Dixon has drank the Kool-Ade and will be going exclusive with Cross-Gen. Now, Dixon has been the only writer for both Robins since they got their own series, and has done a good, but not great job. My local can't keep back issues of this series in, and it is in the top 50, so I hope DC gets someone who keeps up Dixon's ability to tell a good story, but loses his propensity for endless subplots that don't seem to go anywhere. But for now, this is a readable, b8ut not fantastic comic.
51 36,990 BATGIRL #20
52 36,780 CABLE #97
What do these books have in common? They were once very hot, and I don't read either of them.
53 36,110 THOR GODSTORM #1 (of 3)
Now here's a conundrum. Yesh, it's a mini-series so it will be collected as a trade paperback, but it's Steve Rude Drawing Thor....can I wait? I think not.
54 35,930 TANGLED WEB #6
This is kind of like DC's "Legends of the Dark Knight" in that it's Spider-Man story arcs by creators who don't want to do full series runs of Spider-Man. And like that series, the stories have been very, very good. As of right now the first part of this story isn't out yet, but if it's as good as the other two that have been in this series, they should be Highly Recommended.
55 35,910 GREEN LANTERN #142
Same as last month: Character stuff = good, super-hero action = lame. Winnick does much better on Exiles and his own work...so maybe it's just that Green Lantern is a suck character to write.
56 35,620 US WAR MACHINE #2
57 35,350 US WAR MACHINE #3
More more more...
58 34,850 WARLANDS AGE of ICE #2
Another Fantasy series that seems to be logging big sales. I wonder if that's going to be the next big trend in comics...
59 34,850 INCREDIBLE HULK #32
I'm almost getting excited about the new creative team. Bruce Jones did some great work in the past, but his super-hero stuff has been non-existent, unless you count his early 80's run of Ka-zar. I know I don't. Currently, though, I just am not paying much attention to this book, and neither is anyone else. STILL think getting rid of Peter David was a good idea?
60 34,610 BATMAN LEGENDS O/T DARK KNIGHT #147
Haven't started reading the current arc yet. Sorry. I've been a bit busy. Oh yeah? BITE ME!
61 34,610 DEADPOOL AGENT of WEAPON X #2
Now I DID read the first issue of this, and the premise is ok, the writing is tolerable and the art is serviceable. Is it worth it? No. But it's not horrible either.
62 34,590 THUNDERBOLTS #56
slowly....losing...all...interest...
63 34,140 BATMAN GOTHAM KNIGHTS #21
I like the done in one concept the book has now. I like that it focuses on the supporting cast. I LOVE the "Black and White" backups. I loved the Superman story. But the series is uneven, and just because you get a very good issue doesn't mean you won't get a stinker of an issue the next time.
64 31,980 WONDER WOMAN #174
65 31,690 WITCHBLADE #51
66 31,660 STARTLING STORIES BANNER #3
Three more books I don't buy. But Wonder Woman is selling at a higher level than it has in a long time, and I do like Jimenez's art. I just can't warm up to the character for some reason. And Witchblade is just a damn stupid idea, OK?
67 31,520 INCREDIBLE HULK 2001
It's GOT to be better than last year's annual where "The Hulk Puts On A Mating Display Of Destruction To Win She-Hulk As His Mate." *shudder* I'd rather see Rosie O'Donnel in a thong that read something that nasty again.
68 31,090 CAPTAIN AMERICA 2001
I guess sales like this is why Marvel won't do annuals next year.
69 30,710 SUICIDE SQUAD #1
This is not real good for a first issue. Of course, the last time they did a Suicide Squad series, it didn't sell all that well either, even though it lasted about 60 issues.
70 30,570 OUT THERE #5
71 30,440 SUPERMAN/BATMAN GENERATIONS II #2
Much like the first mini-series, this one shows the DC universe as if it would have started in the Golden Age and everyone aged appropraitely. Byrne is an oddity anymore, as his out-of-continuity books like this and "Batman/Captain America" have been great, but his regular series work has been horrible. His art on Spider-Man seemed little more than sketches, and his X-Men Hidden Years book was so drawn out I lost interest after NONE of the plotlines came to a conclusion after 10 issues. This is recommended and hopefully Byrne will find something worth doing soon.
72 30,410 TOMB RAIDER #1/2
And the series continues to tumble. This was #1 when the first issues came out a year ago...
73 29,440 ESTABLISHMENT #1
ANOTHER Authority spin-off. I just don't care.
74 28,470 FLASH #178
A well-done issue, but not so great that I HAD to read it. Average.
75 28,280 ROBIN #94
Another book Chuck Dixon has written since it was a series of mini-series. And another one that would benefit from someone coming onto the book and writing the same sort of plots, but with an eye toward speeding up the subplots.
76 28,070 HARLEY QUINN #12
Odd that this book would fall so far. It has great art, fun stories and is always well worth the $2.25. Mildly recommended for comics fans.
77 28,020 UNIVERSE #2
The Big Top Cow Crossover sells 28,000 copies. I think the days of a big Event Crossover are far behind us for now.
78 28,000 TITANS #33
The perfect definition of an average super-hero comic. Its too bad, because with this team's history, it could be much, much better.
79 27,970 MINISTRY of SPACE #3 (of 3)
80 27,810 STAR WARS JEDI QUEST #1 (of 4)
Two mini-series that will be trade paperback and reviewed then. Am I the only one who doesn't even bother buying mini-series anymore?
81 27,320 YOUNG JUSTICE #37
A Peter David book that really lets his stretch his humor muscles. It's always fun to read, and even takes part in Big Crossovers without becoming a chore to read. It's really an underperformer because it's aimed at younger readers, who just aren't buying comics anymore.
82 26,250 DEFENDERS #9
Here's another very fun comic that makes me laugh out loud at least once per issue, and yet its one of Marvel's lower sellers. Go figure. In the 70's this would have been one of Marvel's highest selling books and is Highly Recommended.
83 25,790 HARLEY & IVY LOVE ON THE LAM
Don't know yet. It's a big dollar prestige format book and hopefully will be as fun as the regular Harley Quinn series.
84 25,690 SPECTRE #9
OK, this book teeters on the edge for me. I love DeMatties's work on it, and the last issue was just heartbreakingly good, but I can't recommend it to just anyone since it IS so personal. I don't' think this is the right direction to go with erither the book or the character, but I love the exploration of faith, belief and redemption. Recommended for people who liked Sandman but not to people who are expecting the old Green Lantern in a different costume.
85 25,660 SPIDER-GIRL #38
Still a fun super-hero comic for younger readers. Buy a copy and give it to a kid after you read it, OK?
86 25,480 CAPTAIN MARVEL #23
Another Peter David book that I think should sell better. I don't know why his stuff doesn't sell like it used to, but this is just as good as his old Hulk stories and the art is getting better every issue.
87 25,480 BATMAN ORPHEUS RISING #2 (of 5)
88 24,950 STAR WARS TALES #9
An anthology book that prolly makes more money for Dark Horse than anything other than Lone Wolf and Cub. The stories are a mixed bag, but they at least use the characters from the first three movies instead of a bunch of oddly named characters from the myriad Dark Horse spin-offs.
89 24,950 STAR WARS JEDI VS SITH #6 (of 6)
This, however, uses a bunch of characters no one has heard of in a time period that they won't be using in the movies. Does ark Horse not understand we want to see Luke, Leia and Han Solo?
90 24,630 BIRDS of PREY #35
91 24,100 NINJA BOY #2
Ninja Boy? Ninja Boy? Who in the blue hell thought this up and said, "There's a new idea the world needs!"? The same moron who did James Bond Jr.? It sounds like the title of a bad 80's song. Oh...wait, that was Tarzan Boy. Never mind.
92 23,800 SHIDIMA #0*
93 23,540 STAR WARS #34 DARKNESS (3 of 4)
94 22,810 SUPERGIRL #62
Peter David makes her look more like she does on the cartoon and sales sink? Weird. Still a fun, readable book, although it doesn't read well as single issues which is a bad idea, IMHO.
95 22,130 WAR STORY JOHANNS TIGER
The new Garth Ennis "I'm still at DC despite all the Punisher Money" mini-series. Since everything else he does gets put into book form, I'll but this one in book form later.
96 21,520 LEGION WORLDS #6 (of 6)
The press release for the new Legion series says that it comes from the "rousing success" of this mini-series and the Legion Lost mini-series. If 21,000 is a huge success, I'd HATE to see a failure.
97 21,150 GEN 13 #69
Rumored to be cancelled and not brought back with a new number one. Guess that extra 500 copies is the line between a rousing success and miserable failure.
98 20,950 BLACK PANTHER #36
Marvel REALLY wants this book to do better. At the recent sales conference, the Marvel rep asked the owner of my local if he had any ideas to make the book sell better...he couldn't think of any either. I tried it back around issue 17 and it looked HORRIBLE and I couldn't follow the plot at all. Maybe changing those two things would help a little.
99 20,580 SOJOURN #3
100 20,410 MONARCHY #7
Also said to be cancelled. Think they might figure out at Wildstorm that when you have a hit, just because you spin off 15 different versions of it, doesn't mean they will all be big hits?
101 19,940 RIFLE BRIGADE OPERATION BOLLOCK #2
Another Ennis mini-series soon to be a trade paperback. I read the first one and wasn't all that impressed by it. Maybe it was a bit too over-the-top for me, or maybe Ennis isn't able to write EVERYTHING as well as Preacher and Punisher.
102 19,350 TRANSMETROPOLITAN #49
103 19,300 HELLBLAZER #166
Two books that used to be much, much better. Wish I could recommend them like I used to, but, sadly, I just can't.
104 19,260 ANGEL VOL 2 #1 (of 4)
105 19,100 PLANET O/T APES #1
Two more Dark Horse mini-series based on movies and TV shows. Both of which would prolly sell very well in stores that catered to people who aren't the Wednesday Zombies who need the next "fix" of their monthly habit. I'm looking at these anemic sales and thinking that this is less than one half of one percent of the people who see these things.
106 19,010 HELLSPAWN #14
Cancelled. And no one cares.
107 18,920 FLASH SECRET FILES #3
I finally picked up a "Secret Files", which were supposed to be a new version of the old "Who's Who" type books, but really they are three or four half-assed filler stories and four or five Who's Who type pages. I know comics have fallen to such a level that the encyclopedia of super-heroes that were all the rage in the 80's would prolly be stillborn now, but these "Secret Files" are just sad and a waste of paper.
108 18,730 SUPERBOY #92
Should probably sell better than this. But not much.
109 18,340 TALEWEAVER #1 (of 6)
110 18,290 AGENCY #3
111 18,250 100 BULLETS #28
112 18,230 LADY DEATH LAST RITES #1 (of 4)
113 18,220 SCION #16
114 17,890 CRUX #6
I see that most of the Cross-Gen stuff is down here, selling between 15,000 and 20,000. And I wonder, how can they make ends meet, pay out all sorts of benefits and keep recruiting new people with sales this low? Anyone got a clue?
115 17,290 BTVS #37 FALSE MEMORIES (3 of 4)
Another TV-Tie in that sells less than one half of one percent of the people who tune in for a re-run of the damn show. Explain that in some way other than, No one knows these things exist."
116 17,100 CODENAME KNOCKOUT #5
I still like this book. A spy story with a LOT of cheesecake art and weird characters. It's not at all serious and nowhere close to a piece of art, but it is fun to read, and that makes it Highly Recommended this month.
117 17,080 FIRST #11
118 17,070 WILDCATS VOL 2 #27
OK, explain this to me. This book is being cancelled and started with a new number one, but Gen 13 (which sells better) is going to be shelved and not brought back. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to start waving the Gen 13 flag, other than it's gotten much better with Adam Warren writing it, but why a book that sells a lot worse?
119 17,060 MYSTIC #16
120 16,810 BONE #45
Still seems to be marking time before the next trade paperback. And, going back and reading the earlier one, it's not just my perception, the story has slowed to a snail's pace.
121 16,590 BART SIMPSONS TREEHOUSE HORROR #7
Usually the best Simpson's comic of the year, and I don't see this as being an exception. As always, highly recommended and more fun to read than it should be.
122 16,500 HUNTER THE AGE of MAGIC #3
123 16,460 SPAWN THE DARK AGES #31*
124 16,290 SAM AND TWITCH #26*
125 16,200 MARTIAN MANHUNTER #36*
OK, the three books listed above have been cancelled. In fact I think these are all the last issues. Martian Manhunter had a few good stories, but for the most part did a lot of "Here's what happened a long time ago" type stories instead of setting up a reasopn for us to read the comic. Sam and Twitch should have been dropped when McFarlane fired Brian Bendis, and Spawn the Dark Ages was a dopey idea for a comic anyway. The Spawn train has left the station, crashed and has no passengers left anymore.
126 15,980 F4 WORLDS GREATEST COMIC MAG #10
I hate you all for not buying this book. Yeah, once in a while they put a horrid artist on a chapter, and it does seem horribly old fashioned, but there's more going on here than in most comics, and they have the feel of a Stan Lee/Jack Kirby story, which comics sorely miss nowadays. Highly Recommended and you should go out and buy the back issues while you still can.
127 15,900 SIGIL #16
128 15,710 MERIDIAN #16 129
15,460 SIMPSONS COMICS #62
Still a decent read, and most of the time better than the TV show which isn't as hard as it was 5 years ago. Highly recommended.
130 15,380 AMERICAN CENTURY #7
Getting a trade paperback and heralded as a success by Vertigo, but it sells this poorly? Too bad, since it is one of the few comics aimed at adults which is actually an Adult Comic. And with current world events, the post WWII setting feels more relevant than expected. Highly recommended.
131 15,340 AZRAEL AGENT O/T BAT #82
Shit. Utter shit
132 15,320 LUCIFER #18
133 15,300 BTVS OZ #3 (of 3)
134 15,080 DEAD BOY DETECTIVES #4 (of 4)
Also known as raiding the corpse of Neil Gaiman's work. By this time next year, they'll be doing mini-series about the cop who asked a question in one panel of A Doll's House.
135 15,040 VAMPI #11 REG ED
136 14,830 IMPULSE #78
Geez...I like this comic well enough, even though it has lost most of the charm it had under Waid and Ramos, but I can't believe it sells this poorly. I look for it to be cancelled within the next year, which is too bad. Another kid's comic in a market that doesn't have any kids.
137 14,780 CREECH OUT FOR BLOOD #2
138 14,770 OBERGEIST #5
I take it Top Cow's horror line isn't doing all that hot?
139 14,770 VAMPIRELLA #3 REG ED
I picked up the first issue, and it wasn't bad. But I also see that only the first three issues are by anyone we've ever heard of, and after that it just kind of goes to a bunch of new talent, which may be good and all, but...this book has suffered from second rate talent for so long, who's willing to take the risk? I'll drop it after issue 3.
140 14,700 SHADOW REAVERS #2
141 14,560 SAVAGE DRAGON #90
142 14,150 ORION #18
Cancelled. And a damn shame too. It has more action and deeper plots than 90% of the stuff that sells better, and Walt Simonson was BORN to do this kind of art. I remember when his art could sell crap like X-Factor, and now it can't sell one of the 10 best books being published. Highly recommended because you KNOW it will go out with a bang.
143 14,130 ANGEL AND THE APE #2 (of 4)
Hm....looks like taking an old kid's book into Vertigo territory didn't help a lot. Should have just let Phil Foglio do another mini-series of it if they needed to protect the copyright.
144 13,920 LIBERTY MEADOWS #22
The "Evil Brandy" story shows me that Frank Cho REALLY wants to do comic books, because this is the first story I have said, "You know, in a daily paper, this wouldn't have worked at all." But it's still funny and the art is darn swell. Yep, it's won me over and is Highly Recommended.
145 13,540 PURGATORI DARKEST HOUR #2
146 13,490 SAILOR MOON #35
147 12,920 BATMAN GOTHAM ADVENTURES #42
It has outlasted the Batman animated series, which is a good thing. As much as I understand why they discontinue animated series nowadays (they just do so many episodes for syndication and then move on to something else) I think they would STILL be doing big ratings if they had kept doing new episodes of it. But the comics are OK.
148 12,810 BAD KITTY RELOADED #1 (of 4)
149 12,510 CRUSADES #7
Love, love, love this book. It doesn't read well as a monthly comic, but the characters are fully realized, the art is Kelly Jones's best in years and the plot is incredibly interesting. Highly Recommended if you can find the early issues.
150 12,160 NOBLE CAUSES FIRST IMPRESSIONS
151 11,770 INSANE CLOWN POSSE PENDULUM #11
One more issue. I have only read the first one, waiting until they were all done, but the creative team has done a good job of actually fleshing out the sort of stuff the ICP rap about and made an interesting story. But, most people have bought it for the CD with every issue, which was a brilliant idea by Chaos. Wonder if they'll do another series with that sort of thing?
152 11,760 RADIOACTIVE MAN #4
A little too "in-jokey" to be highly recommended, but great fun for comics fans.
153 11,560 10TH MUSE #6
154 11,090 OUTLAW NATION #13
155 10,930 SWAMP THING #19
Swamp Thing's already cancelled, and I hear that Outlaw Nation isn't far behind. Too bad Jamie Delano hasn't really had a hit since the first 40 issues of Hellblazer, since he can be a very inventive writer. He just doesn't have the spark that makes you love his work. And the new Swampt Thing series didn't interest me at all. Sorry.
156 10,860 SNAKES & LADDERS
157 10,780 FLASH ANNUAL 1963 #1
I know it doesn't sell very well, but I love this kind of thing. Old comic stories I have never read and wouldn't get a chance to buy at horrid back issue prices. And it gives 100 pages of solid entertainment without too much thinking for $6, which is pretty much a bargain anymore in both comics and any other form of entertainment.
158 10,580 GRENDEL THE DEVIL INSIDE #1 (of 3)
Love this book, but this is a reprint of issues 13 - 16 of the old Comico series, done as comics to pay for the restoration before it's put into a trade paperback. So, if you don't' have those issues, wait until it's a trade, then buy it, read it and love it, OK?
159 10,490 TAROT WITCH O/T BLACK ROSE #10
I guess since this is a book that Jim Balent owns, I should feel good for him that it does this well and he's all about creator rights. But why does it have to be so damn bad? His Catwoman was very well-drawn, even though it was a bit breast obsessed, but this book...women with sharp, steel nipples and all sorts of bizarre imagery makes ME uncomfortable. And I look at internet porn.
160 10,400 VIOLENT MESSIAHS #8
161 10,370 POWERPUFF GIRLS #19
162 9,940 LEGEND O/T SAGE #3
163 9,530 OH MY GODDESS PART XI #2
164 9,490 CYBERNARY 2.0 #3 (of 6)
165 9,390 SUPERMAN ADVENTURES #61
166 8,790 MECH DESTROYER #4
167 8,700 DESPERADOES QUIET O/T GRAVE #5
A well done Western with great art, and they can't give it away. Hopefully DC will get the trade into bookstores and in the Western section instead of the SF section they normally put graphic novels in. But even so, I'm afraid that Westerns, as a genre, are dead. Which is too bad, since I like this book, the Tim Truman Lone Ranger and anything by Joe Lansdale. *sigh*
168 8,660 DRAGONBALL Z PART 4 #10 (of 15)
169 8,330 QUEEN & COUNTRY #4
A book by Greg Rucka that's prolly just as good if not better than his work on Detective Comics, but sells about 20% of that book's sales levels. And to be honest, I'm not buying it either, but that's because I KNOW that Oni publishes everything they do as trade paperbacks, and I'd rather read it that way.
170 8,270 BLADE O/T IMMORTAL #60 SECRETS
171 8,210 TERRY MOORES PARADISE TOO #3
172 8,040 D&D IN SHADOW of DRAGONS #4 (of 8)
Hopefully it sells a lot better in game stores. IIRC this is a hard cover comic for about $5, which, if I cared about the subject matter, would be a GREAT buy actually. I remember when DC did their D&D books, TSR took back the license because DC couldn't get them into game stores. TSR never did anything either, except put out some over priced crappy comics based on Top Secret after that, IIRC.
173 7,810 KNIGHTS O/T DINNER TABLE #59
174 7,520 RING OF NIBELUNG GOTTERDAMMERUNG #4
Yesh, I love P. Craig Russel's art, and his other opera adaptations have been things of sheer poetry, but this is another one that I'd rather pay $12.95 for all 4 issues in one big book than $2.95 for 4 pamphlets that I would have trouble digging out of comic boxes to re-read.
175 7,480 OUTLAW 7 #2 (of 4)
176 7,400 NOCTURNALS DARK FOREVER #2 (of 3)
177 7,380 DRAGONBALL PART 4 #2 (of 10)
178 7,250 CEREBUS #270
Oh how the mighty have fallen, sales-wise. Sim was a pioneer in collecting his back issues into books so he would make money off of them instead of comic stores, and at the time we all called him nuts. But, now everyone is doing this sort of thing. It has killed his new issue sales, but shows him to be a bit of a pioneer in the trade paperback realm. Too bad his vision of self-publishing fell apart, and his views on women have gone from slightly wacky to full-blown nuts. But the books are good.
179 7,080 AVENGELYNE SERAPHACIDE #1
180 7,050 SUPER MANGA BLAST #16
5 great mange series in one $5.95 comic. I WISH this sold better and that this sort of thing worked with American comics. I have started buying the old "Dollar comics" from DC I passed over as a kid, and while the stories aren't great, I love the idea of a big, thick anthology comic that takes an hour or so to read. Too bad those days are gone for good. Oh, and this book is Highly Recommended for Japanese comics and anime fans, with "What's Michael" being by far the best thing in the comic.
181 6,680 RANMA 1/2 PART 10 #6 (of 11)
Can you believe I've been reading this series for over 10 years now? And it's STILL funny? I guess I take it for granted, since it's always there, but at some point the stories will run out.
182 6,360 GUNDAM WING EPISODE ZERO #6 (of 8)
183 6,140 POISON ELVES #67
I say it every month. I'll keep saying it until it's being outsold by books that are a kerjillion times better like Gloomcookie and Scary Godmother. This Comic Is Utter Shite. Shite, I tell you!!
184 6,000 NEON GENESIS BOOK 6 #3 (of 4)
185 5,870 SCOOBY-DOO #52
186 5,190 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #102
187 5,070 TICK COLOR #5
188 5,070 CARDCAPTOR SAKURA #20
189 4,700 LITTLE RED HOT BOUND #2
Why does this sound like on of the Borthers Grimm's wet dreams from an issue of Skin Two?
190 4,630 NO NEED FOR TENCHI PART 12 #2
191 4,570 KoTD: HACKMASTERS #9
192 4,540 HOW TO DRAW MANGA #8
Again, more people want to draw like it that BUY most of it. Kind of like how more people write poetry than read it.
193 4,400 INCAL #5
194 4,380 SCARY GODMOTHER #5 (of 6)
Kat likes it. I don't like Jill Thompson's art without color, so I'll just say that she really likes it and recommends it. But her taste is suspect, since she dates me!
195 4,350 RANDY ODONNELL IS THE MAN #3
Another fun comic that would sell bundles to pre-teens if they would buy comics. As is, I think this is the next to last issue.
196 4,340 INU YASHA PART 6 #5 (of 15)
197 4,190 GOLD DIGGER ANNUAL 2001
198 4,060 KISSING CHAOS #1 (of 8)
199 4,030 GLOOM COOKIE #9
Love this book, and recommend it highly. The creator says that it sells about 6,000 copies overall, so that's 50% above this figure through Hot Topics and smaller distributors. Maybe THAT'S how book down on this end of the sales chart keep going. OK, that and deals with Satan. It is my crusade to get this book selling better, so buy it, dammit.
200 4,010 TICKS BIG HALLOWEEN SPECIAL 2001
The new TICK TV series starts soon, and even though it won't last very long (it's on Thursday nights against Friends and Survivor) the first 10 issues by the creator were some of the funniest stuff being done in comics. While the money is MUCH better in TV, it's a damn shame he isn't doing comics anymore. And the stuff not by him is pretty damn lame.
201 3,690 CAVEWOMAN PANGAEAN SEA #2
202 3,630 AVENGELYNE SERAPHICIDE #1/2
Is there REALLY a reason to keep this book up? I doubt the model that Robbie Liefeld was doing it to impress would be very happy that it's now almost porn, and poorly drawn almost porn at that.
203 3,610 MAGIC PICKLE #1 (of 4)
Proof positive that you can come up with ANY sort of dumb idea and SOMEONE will buy it. Maybe I should bring out my "Strong Teddy" comics I drew back in 5th grade and try to print them up and sell them. It's a hell of a better idea than magic pickles.
204 3,490 CERES CELESTIAL LEGEND #4 (of 6)
205 3,490 ARCHIE #515
And it sells about 75,000 over-all. I think MAYBE Marvel and DC should talk with Archie folks about how they keep a market outside comic shops, since Marvel and DC abandoned it in the mid 80's, and need it back pretty bad.
206 3,370 CORRECTOR YUI #1
207 3,340 LOONEY TUNES #82
208 3,320 BETTY & VERONICA DOUBLE DIGEST #101
209 3,270 BETTY & VERONICA #167
210 3,250 ARCHIE & FRIENDS #52
The odd thing is, all Archie stories are pretty much the same, and they are able to work the formula in so many different ways. Whatever happened to comics that were something for kids to read, toss in a pile and let get beat to hell? Are those days EVER going to come back?
211 3,200 DORK TOWER #17
212 3,130 DARK ANGEL #29
213 3,130 BETTY #104
214 3,030 SABRINA VOL 2 #24
215 3,030 HOPELESS SAVAGES #2 (of 4)
Yesh, the comic that tells the true story of France. Thank you! I'll be here all week, and next week is Steve and Edy!
216 3,030 LODOSS WAR DEEDLITS TALE #2
217 2,980 EL HAZARD PART 3 #3 (of 6)
218 2,960 CARTOON CARTOONS #7
219 2,870 ARTESIA ANNUAL #2
220 2,850 VERONICA #119
221 2,830 LODOSS WAR CHRON. HEROIC KNIGHT #13
They're selling fewer copies than they are comic stores, and have two series running? I thought a comic had to be SUCCESSFUL to warrant a spin-off.
222 2,810 NEGATIVE EXPOSURE #1 (of 6)
223 2,800 NINJA HIGH SCHOOL YEARBOOK 2001
224 2,800 TALES of SHOCK CITY
225 2,790 JUGHEADS DOUBLE DIGEST #80
226 2,770 AGENCY PREVIEW
227 2,730 ARCHIE DIGEST #184
228 2,730 BETTY & VERONICA DIGEST #124
229 2,660 HOLIDAY FUN DIGEST #6
230 2,610 WERESLUT #4
I think I used to date her, go see at...oh hell, I did that joke last month. And no one was offended. Still, this sounds more like a porn movie than a story. "When the moon is full, she takes on all comers..."
231 2,600 SMILE VOL 3 #10
Not will sales of 2500 I won't Smile. Maybe weep openly.
232 2,520 PVP #4
A comic printing the on-line comic strip. It prolly sells very well to the people who already read the strip, but the name doesn't exactly tell you what the hell it's about. Which is a shame, since it's pretty funny, despite it's poor art.
233 2,510 GUNFIGHTERS IN HELL ORIGINAL SIN #1
234 2,450 LAUGH DIGEST #170
235 2,420 ARCHIES WEIRD MYSTERIES #17
The first weird mystery is "The cover says it's based on the new cartoon, but I have never seen the cartoon anywhere." The second weird mystery is "What hasn't Scooby-Doo sued for copyright infringement on this stupid way of using the Archie Characters?"
236 2,410 SLOW NEWS DAY #2 (of 6)
Great, a comic about anchormen who do cute puppy stories and banter with the weatherguy. Still, it's prolly better than Poison Elves.
237 2,390 SILENT MOBIUS ADVENT #3 (of 6)
238 2,380 S&M UNIVERSITY #2
Where you get a degree in PAIN. Or Because A&M was taken. Or Where Rush Week means you are tied up and forced to listen to Rush Limbaugh. Or Preparing you for work in the corporate world, one whiplash at a time. Oh hell, make up your own.
239 2,290 JUGHEAD #140
240 2,270 MILK #25
241 2,190 KAOS MOON #0
242 2,190 ATLAS #1
No one gives a damn about Greek gods anymore. Unless this is a map in comic book form, then I remind people that comic book adaptation of EVERYTHING aren't necessary.
243 2,160 GOLD DIGGER PERFECT MEMORY VOL 2
244 2,160 SEXY SYMPHONY #4
Then, this one time, at band camp....
245 2,150 ULTIMATE MARVEL MAGAZINE #9
246 2,150 SAINT TAIL #11
247 2,110 BATTLE POPE PRESENTS ST MICHAEL #1
OK, I'm not Catholic, but this strikes even ME as just being wrong. Damn wrong.
248 2,030 GEOBREEDERS #31
249 2,000 LA BLUE GIRL MANGA ED #2
250 1,990 ASTRA #3
251 1,980 APHRODITE IX CON. EXCLUSIVE #1
THEY KEEP REPRINTING THE #0 AND #1 ISSUES, BUT HAVEN'T EVEN PRINTED #2 YET!! DRAW A NEW DAMN BOOK OR CANCELL IT ALREADY!!
252 1,950 FUTABAKUN CHANGE VOL 7 #2
253 1,950 MIRACLE GIRLS #12
254 1,920 RAZOR BLEEDING HEART #1
Another porn and blood comic that used to actually sell very well. OK, well enough to last 50+ issues. I think I am very glad this stuff doesn't sell anymore. Makes me feel safer when I go in comic shops and the creepy, tubby guy glaring at me starts muttering to himself.
255 1,890 GALACTIC GLADIATORS #2 (of 4)
256 1,870 TIGRESS TALES #2 257 1,860 WILD ZOO #8
You won't believe what these monkey do when Zoos Go Wild! Llamas raising their tails When Zoos Go Wild! Order now and get this "What Animals Do At Mardi Gras" tape absolutely FREE!
258 1,850 ISLAND #2
259 1,790 SO YOU WANT TO BE SUPER-VILLAIN #1
Nope. Not really. Sales show no one else wants to be one either. Maybe this should just be a web site for people to look at and laugh then never ever return to again.
260 1,750 FURRLOUGH #105
How did it last 105 issues with 1700 readers? Is it like PBS and they spend pages begging people for money to keep it going?
261 1,750 ARCHIE HALLOWEEN ASHCAN 2001 BUNDLE
These are comics to give away on Halloween. And No one bought them. No One. That's just sad, since I would have loved to get comics for Halloween. Of course, I was a geek and a loser too.
262 1,730 RANKLECHICK & HIS 3-LEGGED CAT #3
OK, what three things are wrong with this title? The Guy's name is chick, his cat has three legs, and this is the third issue of what shouldn't have even been ONE issue.
263 1,680 ACTIONOPOLIS #1
264 1,660 VAMPIRE PRINCESS YUI VOL 3 #2
265 1,650 JACK STAFF #7
266 1,640 DEMON BEAST INVASION MANGA ED #1
267 1,640 SMALL FAVORS #4
268 1,610 PANTHEON #9 (of 12)
269 1,590 POKEMON ADVS PART 5 #3 (of 4)
Yep. The craze is dead. But in 25 years, all that crap will be worth something. Kind fo like how people my age are trying to buy Weebles.
270 1,590 LADY DEATH LAST RITES PREMIUM ED #1
271 1,580 MENS ALTERED WARS CHRON. ANNUAL #1
There's just no way I would even think of buying this comic based on its title. Is it a chronicle of Men who have been altered at war? A chronicle of war that's been altered for men? Or just a bad translation of a Japanese comic that the writer was too lazy to proofread?
272 1,560 ART of TIM VIGIL DARK UTOPIA #7
273 1,510 OGENKI CLINIC VOL 8 #2
What's stranger, the title, the fact there have been 8 volumes, or that it has lasted so long with sales this low? If the comic sells for $2.95, that mean the publisher gets $2004.53 to pay for printing, creating, shipping and everything else. And printing prolly costs more than that as is.
274 1,500 DAHLIA VAMPIRE #5 (of 6)
275 1,490 MAXION #22
276 1,480 ARSENIC LULLABY HALLOWEEN SP #1
277 1,470 ARSENIC LULLABY SEP 01
278 1,470 PRINCESS PRINCE #12
279 1,430 FILLER BUNNY #1 I FILL UP 15 PAGES
No, it's not a failure, it's a relist of a book that's came out a couple of years ago.
280 1,360 WE LOVE PORN #1
That's nice. Now SHUT UP!
281 1,350 BLUE EYES VOL 1 #2 (of 5)
282 1,350 HELDEN #2 (of 6)
283 1,310 VESPER #4
284 1,300 UROTSUKIDOJI RETURN of CHOJIN #4
285 1,280 FILLER BUNNY #2
286 1,260 WARHAMMER MONTHLY #46
287 1,250 THRESHOLD #44 *
288 1,250 COLLARS AND CUFFS SPECIAL #1
Obviously not THAT special. And to HAVE a special issue, wouldn't it be a good idea to be something someone somewhere has heard of?
289 1,240 VICTORIAN #12
290 1,240 MAD SCIENCE #2 (of 6)
291 1,160 BATMAN GIANT ANNUAL #1 FACSIMILE ED
Again, a re-list. If you don't have a copy, pick one up. For all the whining people did (and still do) about the Batman TV show being campy and silly, the comics at that time were about a kerjillion times worse. This doesn't have the stories of Batman fighting aliens or time travelling to ancient Rome, but that was what Batman was up to in the early 60's. So, in a way, at least the TV show brought back all the classic villains.
292 1,160 ELVIRA #101
293 1,160 PALEO TALES LATE CRETACEOUS #4
294 1,140 TALES of CHEROKEE #1
295 1,130 BILLY BOY SICK LITTLE FAT KID #1
And in what way would I even WANT to consider buying this?
296 1,110 FRED THE CLOWN #1
I hate clowns unless they are named Shakes.
297 1,110 SUPERNATURAL LAW #32
298 1,080 TOMORROW GIRL ARMARY #1
299 1,070 TOP COW CLASSICS WITCHBLADE #1
I guess you CAN reprint something enough. The first issue has been reprinted more times than I've had a can of SlimFast, and I've lost 20 pounds...
300 1,040 VAMPIRELLA #3 LTD CVR ED
That's it. We'll do it all again next month!