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June 16, 2008
can't fight the numbers...
Well, Diamond Comic Distributors released their May monthly sales report. And Marvel whopped DC's ass with a coat hanger... and then slapped them... then spat on their face... then pointed and laugh...
here's how the publishers did sales percentage wise.
MARVEL COMICS 47.56%
DC COMICS 29.95%
DARK HORSE COMICS 6.30%
IMAGE COMICS 2.75%
Seriously, Marvel sold almost HALF of what DC did... That's pretty bad.
Here's the list of the top 20 selling books as per Diamond:
1 SECRET INVASION #2 (Of 8)MARVEL
2 FINAL CRISIS #1 (Of 7) DC
3 NEW AVENGERS #41 MARVEL
4 AVENGERS INVADERS #1 (Of 12) MARVEL
5 INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #1 MARVEL
6 GIANT SIZE ASTONISHING X-MEN #1 MARVEL
7 BATMAN #676 DC
8 MIGHTY AVENGERS #13 MARVEL
9 BATMAN #677 DC
10 MIGHTY AVENGERS #14 MARVEL
11 JUSTICE LEAGUE O/AMERICA #21 DC
12 DARK TOWER LONG ROAD HOME #3 (Of 5)MARVEL
13 THOR #9 MARVEL
14 UNCANNY X-MEN #498 MARVEL
15 BUFFY VAMPIRE SLAYER #14 DARK HORSE
16 X-FORCE #4 MARVEL
17 X-MEN LEGACY #211 MARVEL
18 CAPTAIN AMERICA #38 MARVEL
19 JUSTICE SOCIETY O/AMERICA #15 DC
20 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #558 MARVEL
Marvel had 14 titles on the top 20 list. Poor DC had 5 and Dark Horse with 1.
Sigh... I have to admit... I was really excited to read Secret Invasion #3 this month, more than Final Crisis. AND! To make matters worse?! I'm totally more in love with Ms. Marvel than Wonder Woman! Why? Ms. Marvel is a stronger character and her support cast is great! And it's no secret that I heart Gail Simone's writing, so I feel like I'm cheating on Gail with Ms. Marvel... And to be honest, Grant Morrison is a great writer, but I always felt I had to be in his head in order to understand his story. Batman RIP? Totally don't get it, and don't get me started on Seven Solders. Secret Invasion was solid from issue 1. I even don't mind the random tie-ins.
I have to face it, Marvel is the better publisher. Maybe it's Joe Quesada and his direction, or maybe it's the "majority rules" effect. After all this, I read on Newsarama this crazy drama between Chuck Dixon (current writer of Detective Comics and Robin) and Dan Didio (senior vice president-executive editor for DC Comics) who I guess quit last week. he responded to these allegation and it read a lil somthing like this...
I did not quit.
I do not believe it had anything to do with politics.
My involvement with Robin ends with issue 174.
I think my BATO run is over with #10.
My Booster two-parter will still be appearing.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, Storming Paradise continues on schedule.
For those keep score, yes, I was way ahead on both of my monthlies. Down the road perhaps I’ll offer those scripts and you folks can help out Books for Soldiers as you so generously have before.
(Storming Paradise is Dixon and Butch Guice’s six-issue Wildstorm miniseries set during in World War II. The first issue debuts next month.)
Dixon also appeared in the comments section of a post at Comics Should Be Good that questions DC editorial’s handling of Final Crisis, Countdown, Death of the New Gods, Robin, and Batman and the Outsiders.
Dixon, writer of Robin and Batman and the Outsiders, steps in to say:
Don’t blame my editors.
DC, currently, is run from the top down in a way that makes Jim Shooter’s aegis at Marvel look like a hippie commune.
He follows that a little later with:
Shooter was very dictatorial with strict rules for writing and drawing superheroes.
The difference between his reign at Marvel and the current one at DC is that Shooter was successful at raising circulation and longterm planning.
And then, when another commenter asks, “Taking a shot at Warners? At Levitz? At DiDio?,” Dixon clarifies:
Not at Paul.
Warners? The geniuses who merged with a company that was billions in the red? Trust me, most days they don’t even KNOW they own a comic company much less take an interest in running it.
On the Shooter front—
Though I saw Shooter in full fledge psychotic editorial rage a couple of times, he did provide leadership at Marvel and didn’t change the company’s direction five times in one day. And the company climbed out of the red and became vital again under his stewardship. I disagreed with many of his ideas when it came to continuity but he was at least consistant and you knew where you stood. And merit was rewarded back then. If you sold well and handed the stuff in on time you’d never go without work.
And finally (as of this morning, at least):
I’ve worked under tyrants and I can say that I’d prefer to work under a talented, knowledgeable tyrant with a successful plan than a directionless gladhander with a ouija board any day of the week.
Wow... Here's to better month for DC...
Posted by Roque at June 16, 2008 10:23 AM