The Four Color Media Monitor

Comic Book Invest looked at what were allegedly the highest selling issues of the past summer months, and the examples they give, in addition to being no surprise, are also delivered without sales figures. For instance:

The highest selling comic book sold in shops (by the end of July) was Absolute Batman #10. This shouldn’t be a shock, as this series has been on fire since release, take the fact that issue one has been reprinted about nine times as an example.

But how many were even "reprinted", a term that might be better suited for trade paperbacks? That aside, it's sad either way that once again, the darkness appears to sell more than the light, though one can reasonably argue it's because the assigned writers for Superman haven't been suited to scripting the Man of Steel for a long time. Yet there are one or two examples of titles that were brighter back in the day on the list, there's the Fantastic Four:

A new number one for the family that launched Marvel into the silver age was bound to sell well, but the release of a highly anticipated movie alongside this new series helped place it as the second highest selling issue in stores last month.

Considering the movie hasn't lived up to financial expectations, how can we be sure this new volume's selling any better? Note how they sugarcoat the pointless tactic of relaunching at numero uno as a temporary boost for sales numbers, even though it's long proven increasingly unsuccessful. Also on the list is Absolute Superman:

Another comic that presumably saw more success due to the release of a new film (of the titular character), but like Bats, Absolute Supes has been selling well since issue one hit the shelves.

And if it didn't sell over a million copies, then what's all the fuss about? That aside, it's sad how something built upon PC is what's being promoted so heavily, and for all we know, its "success" is surely exaggerated even then, much like the new movie's. Then, there's Batman 161:

Next to do well at the LCS is an issue that is a part of the Hush 2 story; a sequel years in the making. This run has seen some delays recently, and has had mixed reviews overall, but it hasn’t stopped it from being one of the top five selling comic books of the Summer.

A sequel to that overrated Jeph Loeb-penned story of the early 2000s? Pass. Most interesting suggestions are given that this might've suffered from delays not unlike at least a few Marvel titles during Joe Quesada's first few years as EIC. What that can prove is that, given the chance, DC can be just as awful with their scheduling and how they employ creators. And one more on the list is "Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe":

I wasn’t expecting to see this book so high on the list, as there are about a hundred Godzilla titles currently on the racks, but adding in the Marvel superheroes must have been enough for even casual Kaiju fans to pick it up. Looks like a fun read!

When they title it with the word "destroy", something's terribly wrong, and has been for a long time. And without sales figures, this is as unconvincing as the rest. If their modern flagship universe has some of the worst writing in comicdom today, then it stands to reason even these licensed merchandise adaptations will be no different.

And no chance these new money-wasters will be worth much in the forseeable future on the market either. Not to mention that monetary investment is not a substitute for artistic value.

Labels: Batman, dc comics, Fantastic Four, licensed products, marvel comics, msm propaganda, sales, Superman