| Title | Monthly Rank | Estimated Sales | Last Estimated Sales | Percent Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Star Wars | 22 | 20 | 85,126 | 90,863 | -6.31% |
| Darth Vader | 24 | 31 | 75,401 | 77,430 | -2.62% |
| Han Solo | 3 | 26 | 67,816 | 83,738 | -19.01% |
| Poe Dameron | 5 | 44 | 52,581 | 57,712 | -8.89% |
| The Force Awakens | 3 | 51 | 41,575 | 49,423 | -15.88% |
For the second month in a row, every Star Wars title saw a drop in units sold. Like last month, Darth Vader had the smallest drop, with a loss of over 2,000 units. The main Star Wars title fell a surprisingly high 5,700+ units. In just 2 months, the main title has shed over 10,000 units. The recent announcement of a Yoda tale pre-The Phantom Menace in issue #26 should prove a much needed lift for this title. It has to be remembered that every comic has to compete for reader dollars and the best way to capture a reader's attention is to generate buzz for the title. Darth Vader is approaching it's end with issue #25 which has readers speculating which character's are going to live and die including fan favorites Doctor Aphra, 0-0-0, and BT-1. Star Wars has not had an attention grabbing story since the Vader Down crossover. This is not to say the stories since Vader Down have been bad, but to remain a top selling title these days requires an event to pull in readers.
Poe Dameron's loss is inline with the drop for Kanan's 5th issue. So far, Poe Dameron has proven to be a better seller. With the followup movie for The Force Awakens still over a year away, Poe Dameron could survive as one of Marvel's mid tier sellers until then.
Han Solo #3 fell another 19.01%, which is pretty normal for a mini-series. Han Solo #1 sold another 6,885 units in August. The Force Awakens #3 shed just under 8,000 units. Overall, both mini-series are performing as expected.
Marvel has not announced any new mini-series past Han Solo and The Force Awakens which will end in November. It has announce a new ongoing title which will debut in December, the same month Rogue One is due to hit theaters. The content of the title is being kept under wraps. This should help lift the Star Wars line out of the doldrums it has seen the last few months.
The following table shows the total number of Star Wars units sold per month since January 2015 along with the average number of sales per issue. Note this chart does not include reprints.
| Month/Year | Total Estimated Sales | # Issues | Average Sale per Issue |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2015 | 985,976 | 1 | 985,976 |
| February 2015 | 526,451 | 3 | 175,484 |
| March 2015 | 596,299 | 4 | 149,075 |
| April 2015 | 537,812 | 4 | 134,453 |
| May 2015 | 324,835 | 3 | 108,278 |
| June 2015 | 396,931 | 4 | 99,232 |
| July 2015 | 597,023 | 5 | 119,404 |
| August 2015 | 430,241 | 5 | 86,048 |
| September 2015 | 551,880 | 5 | 110,376 |
| October 2015 | 953,289 | 10 | 95,329 |
| November 2015 | 1,003,954 | 8 | 125,494 |
| December 2015 | 507,545 | 6 | 84,591 |
| January 2016 | 465,698 | 5 | 93,139 |
| February 2016 | 288,355 | 4 | 72,088 |
| March 2016 | 355,554 | 5 | 71,110 |
| April 2016 | 533,976 | 5 | 106,795 |
| May 2016 | 299,189 | 4 | 74,797 |
| June 2016 | 545,833 | 6 | 90,972 |
| July 2016 | 359,166 | 5 | 71,833 |
| August 2016 | 322,499 | 5 | 64,500 |
The average sale per issue is the lowest for the modern Star Wars line and it would rank 42nd on the top 300 chart for the month of August. Star Wars trade paperbacks and reorders are not accounted for with these numbers. The Star Wars trade paperbacks are strong sellers.
Take a look at the Star Wars Sales Estimate Chart and please read the blog posting 20 years counting: Two decades of sales reports -- plus August 2016's comics sales estimates. I want to congratulate and thank John Jackson Miller for the work he has put into his reports for 20 years. That is an accomplishment worth recognizing.
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