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Looks like this is still where Dark Horse makes its money, too.

Elephant in the Room:
DC has developed almost no new backlist titles since the New 52.
Batman sells, partly because there is an architect writing the series.
Otherwise, superhero backlist titles expire after a year, at best.
For DC, their backlist strength is in Vertigo, Elseworlds, and done-in-one DCU titles, all which began before 2011.

I suspect that Brian Hibb’s BookScan review will prove this.

I don’t know what sandpile Torsten’s head’s been buried, but he’s wrong. My shop welcomed just this week DC trades and/or HCs of Batman ’66, Earth 2 N52, Justice League 3000 N52, and restocked Essential Batman 1 N52, Flash Gorilla Warfare N52 . . . well, between Forever Evil, Green Arrow and Lantern, and Red Lantern about a dozen MORE N52 titles. That’s all in the one week, dude. Plus DC recently released all the Before Watchman trades too.

I suspect that Torsten Adair is a Marvel fan.

Torsten is a fan…of COMICS. And a very smart guy. New 52 collections have been pretty successful, however, with Batman leading the way. I doubt they’ll surpass the greats, but there is interest in them, according to the figures I’ve seen.

Also, DC IS leading the backlist. It has to be with something.

Mr. Sturgeon,
The titles you mention are new. These are known as FRONTLIST in the book trade.
A publisher makes its money in BACKLIST, older titles which sell consistently, methodically, even mathematically year after year. This is why Stephen King makes millions per title; his publishers know that new readers will want to read his older work, and those sales will eventually make a profit.

Go to a Barnes & Noble and check the graphic novel shelves. How many of the fifty-two New 52 Volume One volumes are on the shelf?
How many does your local comics shop stock?

Okay… Scratched the itch…
I went to Edelweiss, which posts online catalogs from publishers.
I searched DC Comics for: new 52 vol.1
102 titles were found. These include 8 new titles not yet published, as well as paperback editions of hardcovers.
90 are still active. 10 are currently out of stock (7 are hardcovers). One has been cancelled (The Green Team).

You can do the same at BN.com:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/-The-New-52-Vol-1-?store=allproducts&keyword=%22The+New+52%22+%22Vol.1%22
Sort by “bestselling”. Usually, when you scroll down on each title’s page, you’ll see a sales rank.
Batman is the top seller, at #18,790 of all titles sold.

Interesting… DC has not made any DCU titles published after June 2011 out-of-print. That could be a result of their partnership with Random House.

So I don’t understand, has DC developed new backlist or not?
Thou I’d say thats way too early to say that considering that most of first arcs of new52 concluded in 2012 and were published in collected addition later. That makes them, 2 years old?

I think it depends on what Diamond considers BACKLIST. I’m guessing it’s whatever is not being offered currently in the catalog? Maybe someone with knowledge can step in.

DC was smart to let Karen Berger start up Vertigo and spend over a decade having top tier talent writing and drawing good stories with a beginning, middle, and end to sell on the bookstore market forever. They also have a lot of super contained, single book sized super-hero stories from top creators to sell, many of which (coincidentally I’m sure) star their most popular character. Stuff like Dark Knight Returns, Killing Joke, Batman Year One, etc.

Much as I’m ambivalent about his writing, it does seem like Snyder’s New 52 Batman will turn into a perennial seller, at least the earlier volumes. Will Zero Year collections keep pace with Year One collections five years from now? I doubt it. But I think there have been a handful of New 52 titles (including Johns’ Justice League and Azzarello’s Wonder Woman) that will see at least moderate backlist action in the next decade.

When comparing that activity to DC classics like Dark Knight Returns, Killing Joke, Watchmen, Sandman, Preacher… Well, I’m not sure it matters. What DC caught lightning with what Frank Miller and Alan Moore did for them for a couple years in the mid-’80s. Faulting DC (or anyone else) for not (re)capturing that kind of magic golden goose is kind of harsh. DC struck gold again with Vertigo, which has given them several titles that sell very well on a longterm basis.

Honestly the only time I’ve seen that sort of stable duplicated to any comparable extent is with Image, right now, with Saga, Walking Dead, East of West and a couple others. If Image keeps the winning streak going for a few more years, maybe they’ll have a murderer’s row comparable to Sandman, Preacher, Invisibles, Transmet, Fables, American Vampire, etc. Vertigo’s catalogue is just so deep and so strong.

It’s no surprise to me that DC is continuing to rule the backlist roost. It’s not easy to put together what Karen Berger was able to put together over there for a time. And it’s not easy to happen upon Alan Moore and Frank Miller at the peak of their powers when both of them want to work for the same company.

But, really, I think the lead is kinda getting buried here: Deadpool has clearly emerged as Marvel’s premier backlist property, and he’s a major player now on this level.