Friday, March 16, 2018

By The Numbers

Marvel's Star Wars Line Enters Its Fourth Year

There are currently two publishers of Star Wars comics in the U.S., Marvel and IDW.  I will analyze the numbers from both publishers separately.

Comichron released the January 2018 estimated sales last month and the Marvel Star Wars titles, now in their 4th year of publication, continue to amaze.  Month after month, Marvel has releases new #1s or returned to original numbers for their superhero titles as part of their Legacy initiative.  The main Star Wars title has proven resilient.  While no Star Wars title placed in the top 10 for the month of January, they did take positions 11 through 13.  DC held 6 of the top 10 positions and Image took one with the Walking Dead title.  Marvel took the remaining 3 positions with 2 #1 issues and a renumbered Avengers title.  IDW's Star Wars Adventure title appear to have found it sales level this month and could prove to be IDW's best selling ongoing title.


Marvel


TitleIssueMonthly RankEstimated SalesLast Estimated SalesPercent Change
Star Wars411156,54561,064-7.40%
Star Wars421253,71056,545-5.01%
Darth Vader101353,42051,692+3.34%
DJ13142,427n/an/a
Doctor Aphra166330,36531,839-4.63%
Poe Dameron238725,37928,922-12.25%

Star Wars double shipped this month and, like it did two months ago when it also double shipped, the title slipped more than usual, decreasing by an estimated 7,354 units or 12.04% from issue #40.  Darth Vader #10 saw a slight increase in unit sales and came short of Star Wars #42 by an estimated 290 units.  The main Star Wars title has been hammered lately online because of the artwork by Salvador Larroca while the Darth Vader title is praised for its look into an era rarely explored between Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars.  It would be interesting if the Darth Vader title overtook the main Star Wars title in sales.

The Last Jedi - DJ is the 7th one-shot released by Marvel. December's The Last Jedi - Storms of Crait sold an estimated 49,257 units, so DJ sold 13.87% less units.  Storms of Crait has the advantage of featuring the main heroes from the original trilogy, while DJ stars a minor character from The Last Jedi.  As predicted, the sales for DJ seem respectable in comparison.  DJ's sales are inline with Rogue One - Cassian & K2SO Special #1 which has sales of 43,765 units.

Doctor Aphra continued the usual monthly loss of sales we've come to expect from comics, while Poe Dameron declined over 3,000 units.  I'm surprised since the story arc, Legend Found, leads into The Force Awakens.  Poe Dameron #26 takes place during the events of The Force Awakens and I expect and uptick in sales for that issue.

Month/YearTotal Estimated Sales# IssuesAverage Sale per Issue
January 2015985,9761985,976
February 2015526,4513175,484
March 2015596,2994149,075
April 2015537,8124134,453
May 2015324,8353108,278
June 2015396,931499,232
July 2015597,0235119,404
August 2015430,241586,048
September 2015551,8805110,376
October 2015953,2891095,329
November 20151,003,9548125,494
December 2015507,545684,591
January 2016465,698593,139
February 2016288,355472,088
March 2016355,554571,110
April 2016533,9765106,795
May 2016299,189474,797
June 2016545,833690,972
July 2016359,166571,833
August 2016322,499564,500
September 2016174,420358,140
October 2016339,778567,956
November 2016269,975553,995
December 2016303,886475,972
January 2017161,014353,671
February 2017262,889465,722
March 2017214,603453,650
April 2017274,262554,852
May 2017285,363647,560
June 2017495,588955,065
July 2017326,062746,580
August 2017425,473947,274
September 2017418,023946,447
October 2017299,174742,739
November 2017330,496747,214
December 2017252,923742,153
January 2018263,320643,887

The average sale per issue of 43,887 would rank 30th on the top 300 chart for the month of January.  Marvel's Star Wars trade paperbacks, reprints, and reorders are not accounted for with these numbers.  The Star Wars trade paperbacks are strong sellers.


IDW


TitleIssueMonthly RankEstimated SalesLast Estimated SalesPercent Change
Forces of Destiny - Leian/a13514,937n/an/a
Forces of Destiny - Reyn/a13913,505n/an/a
Star Wars Adventures614213,36113,733-2.71%
Forces of Destiny - Ahsoka & Padmen/a14712,464n/an/a
Forces of Destiny - Heran/a14912,214n/an/a
Forces of Destiny - Rose & Paigen/a15511,793n/an/a

Star Wars Adventures fell a modest 372 units.  It is possible this title has found its sales level and if so, this will be IDW's top selling ongoing title.

The Forces of Destiny sub-brand focuses on stories featuring female characters and IDW published 5 one-shots in January.  The best selling one-shots feature Princess Leia and Rey, outselling the Star Wars Adventures #6.  One-shots featuring Ahsoka & Padme, Hera, and Rose & Paige round out the remaining offerings.  These titles are perfect for the audience IDW is aiming for with their main Star Wars title and I hope they decide to publish an ongoing Forces of Destiny title.

Month/YearTotal Estimated Sales# IssuesAverage Sale per Issue
September 201781,318240,659
October 201723,739123,739
November 201715,917115,917
December 201713,733113,733
January 201878,274113,046


Take a look at the Star Wars Sales Estimates Charts and please read the blog posting January estimates find Doomsday Clock steady, Hawkman soaring; Comichron adds on-sale dates to comics charts.

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