by Xavier Lancel Welcome to a new analysis of the Marvel sales. Reminder: I’m French, and that’s why I’m talking funny. Please address your complaints to my French-people-are-never-happy country. Reminder: the sales data referenced below is an estimate of sales to comics shops located in North America. American comics do get sold elsewhere in their original floppy […]
As Marvel’s “Secret Wars” re-something or other rolls on, and Battleworld become a crushed pizza of mashed up worlds, more fan favorite comics are entering their “last days.” Which may not be very long. If Ms Marvel doesn’t come back after Secret Wars I think there would be rioting—or at the very least harsh shunning.
First, Dan Slott and Mike Allred bring you “The Death of Everything That Ever Was or Will Be” in SILVER SURFER #13. From the edge of Battleworld to the far reaches of the cosmos – every planet, moon and star has been extinguished. Except for the Surfer, Dawn and Toomie! How did they pull this off? And more importantly, can they figure out a way to bring everything back?
Then, the end of the world comes to Jersey City in MS. MARVEL #16 as G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona bring Kamala Khan to the brink of destruction, as she learns the hard way what it takes to be a hero. But is it too late for her to save the world she has sworn to protect?
When the end comes – will you fall into the darkness, or will you fight against the dying of the light? That is the question as Natasha Romanoff faces her LAST DAYS in BLACK WIDOW #19. Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto take the most dangerous woman in the world to the very end of all things, as she finds herself unexpectedly connected to one of the darkest moments of her past.
Finally, when you live every day like it’s your last, what will you do when it finally comes? The end of the Marvel Universe won’t stop Frank Castle from doling out retribution in THE PUNISHER #19. Nathan Edmondson and Mitch Gerads take Frank Castle back into the fray for one last war. One of the Punisher’s allies falls. Someone picked the wrong fight.
SILVER SURFER #13
Written by DAN SLOTT
Art & Cover by MIKE ALLRED
On Sale in June!
MS. MARVEL #16
Written by G. WILLOW WILSON
Art by ADRIAN ALPHONA
Cover by KRIS ANKA
On Sale in June!
BLACK WIDOW #19
Written by NATHAN EDMONDSON
Art & Cover by PHIL NOTO
On Sale in June!
THE PUNISHER #19
Written by NATHAN EDMONDSON
Art & Cover by MITCH GERADS
On Sale in June!
BTW while I was prepping these cover files, I noticed that when its shrunk down, the Secret Wars logo looks like Cartman.
By Davey Nieves
Marvel not one to let irons cool announced on CBR and Comicbooked that two more books would join Magneto on the Last Days list of possible casualties during Secret Wars. Loki: Agent of Asgard and Captain America & The Mighty Avengers will both see issues under the Last Days tie-in banner. Both books will be written by current series scribe Al Ewing and he had cautious excitement over both.
Mighty Avengers will be a two-part story about Cap Falcon’s Avengers squad dealing with the upcoming cataclysm on a global scale. Ewing didn’t give many story details but did offer two interesting tidbits about it. This story, which buttresses the events of the current Time Runs Out arc in the Avengers books, will pick up right where it leaves off and return the team to a positon of being “Avengers for the people.” To play on this, Ewing will tell the events of the Mighty Avengers final moments through the eyes of as he put it, “most unexpected Mighty Avenger of all – you! The person reading this!” When asked who he would choose to write for his dream team, Ewing jokingly offered a list of some heavyweight non-Marvel characters: Doctor Who, Acroyear, , Zoidzilla, ROM, Pinsor, Bill S Preston Esquire, Indiana Jones, Ren Hoek and Superman.
Loki: Agent of Asgard also joins the impending doom of Last Days. May’s Agent of Asgard #14 kicks off a four part arc chronicling how the cast will spend the final hours of the current Marvel universe. With issues 11-13 focusing on the repercussions of Loki killing his child incarnation in the form of a trial; issue 14 will start a pressed countdown through the remanning moments of the world as they know it. Ewing did mention we’ll see the ramifications both in Asgard and on earth through Loki’s friend Verity Willis. What’s most exciting about this tie-in is how eclectic the series has been thus far, which sets it up to end its place in the current Marvel U with both a bang and a whimper.
When asked about the finality a suggestive banner like LastDays has, Ewing would neither confirm nor deny anything. All of the writers orbiting Secret Wars aren’t taking being on the ship at the end of the Marvel Universe lightly, as Ewing would put it “I suppose part of me is always wondering what I’d do if I was given the brief of “this is the final story of so-and-so”… well, now that moment is here! In the present day! And it turns out this is the story I’d do.” With Loki and the Mighty Avengers squad joining Magneto on the possible hit list, it remains to be seen who in the Marvel universe will be left to draw arms in Secret Wars.
Despite living in the age of the hype machine, it appears Marvel still know how to make the wait for May feel that much longer. Who else do you think will have their Last Days numbered?
I love the Weirdworld comic. I was never a fan of the main character, nor am I too into the whole Secret Wars thing going on, but the art is fantastic and weird and I love it.
I really want to read it: Arkon has been such a jerk, I’m interested to see what was made of him. And of course, I wanna know the terrilbe fate of the Crystal warriors! I’m a huge fans of Saga of Crystar.
What happened in Ant-Man #5 that made it jump so far in sales?
It looks like a special crate/box offer, or a special variant program at the same time than the release of the movie (like “buy 50 of those to 1 special variant cover for this”) but it had clearly nothing to do with readers taking a sudden interest into reading it.
Hi Xavier! Great column, as usual. The phenominon that is Star Wars sales are outrageous. How would Marvel stack up against DC if they didn’t have the numbers from the Star Wrs titles?
Thanks for the response, Xavier.
I do think the Star Wars books are sort of proof that a stable creative team can do a lot for a book/line of books. Darth Vader’s had a stable team, and while Cassaday didn’t stick around on the main book, I’m confident Immonen can deliver on a monthly basis. Sorta like Snyder/Capullo on Batman.
Why in the world would someone pay $25 dollars for a trade that they could have bought for $18 in floppies?!
THOR HC VOL.2 – 2,562 | 136p, $25
Only two months after the release of volume 1, here is volume 2, at a not-very-friendly price, and collecting very few things (only issue 6-8 and Annual 1). Sales are ok but its less than the first volume. Apparently, reviewers were not really happy with the small amount of stories collected.
I mean, there is value in a trade that floppies don’t have (ease of display, ease of re-read, no ads), but also factor in that it’s easier to pay non-cover price for a trade. Amazon marks stuff down on the regular. But I agree, a bit lower a price would be preferable.
Remind yourself that it’s a HC: they are always way more expensive than their floppy counterpart.