We've had little-to-no game sales data this year, but that's not to say we can't gauge the blue boy's selling power in another form. Case in point, Archie's Mega Man comic series. With issue four available and the first story arc complete, I figured now would be an ideal time to look at the series' performance. Courtesy of Comic Book Resources, issue 1-3 sales data in North America:
* Rank 128: Mega Man 1 - 12,586 Units
* Rank 222: Mega Man 2 - 7,616 Units
* Rank 264: Mega Man 3 - 4,945 Units
Sales data for issue 4 will be made available within the next few weeks. However, at this rate, it's hard to not imagine how #4 will fair. Taking the above pattern into consideration, issue 4 will more than likely continue to drive a decline. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. Archie's comics in general aren't huge sellers... but a decline this early in the serial's lifespan? Tough call.
UPDATE: Writer Ian Flynn has commented on issue 3's sales...
“If those numbers accurately reflect total sales, it’s not the end of the world. It’s the third issue of a brand new series, so one bad sales month doesn’t set the trend. Additionally, the graphic novel has yet to come out, and its sales will affect things too. If those numbers are accurate, yeah, it’s a little disappointing. But it’s nothing to worry about right now.”
It's worth mentioning, these numbers do not count subscriptions, only issues sold in the direct market. As such, I wouldn't dismiss the series neither a success or failure at this point. Nevertheless if you enjoy Archie's take on the series, please continue to support it.
I actually think issue 4 going to do the around the same as issue 3 - this comic is marketed towards the same crowd Sonic is, and they tend to buy two-three issues and then drop it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I thought that there was some trouble with issue 3's shipping? Might that help contribute toward's issue 3's sales?
ALSO SOMETHING THAT I JUST REMEBERED: These sales figures are just from Comic Book Stores. They do not include newstand sales, so the comic could be doing better than we think!
ReplyDeleteLOVE how Rock looks in that pic. Sweeeet!
ReplyDeleteAnon:
ReplyDeleteYeah, I get kind of sick about how these "research firms" or whatever can't seem to keep a track of sales. These guys can't cover newsstands, NPD doesn't touch Wal-Mart, it's ridiculous.
First issues of anything tend to sell better than average. This is why DC and Marvel like to restart their issue counts so often.
ReplyDeleteWhat Ian Flynn has to say about issue 3 sales:
ReplyDelete“If those numbers accurately reflect total sales, it’s not the end of the world. It’s the third issue of a brand new series, so one bad sales month doesn’t set the trend. Additionally, the graphic novel has yet to come out, and its sales will affect things too.
If those numbers are accurate, yeah, it’s a little disappointing. But it’s nothing to worry about right now.”
source: http://www.bumbleking.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4325&sid=d25959c363ba95728bdaea1939757e0e&start=105
You heard Ian guys.
You better buy the graphic novel too if you want to keep getting comics.
Doesn't help matters when it's difficult to find the issues outside of the U.S. without buying them from ebay or similar
ReplyDeleteWell I'd love to support the series, but these comics aren't available in my country and I don't even have the possibility to order them online ;( My country isn't even on their shipping list...
ReplyDeleteSorry to say it, but I don't really give a crap about comics when I'm not getting any games to play.
ReplyDeleteAnd in addition to Ian's comment, we have something from the comic's editor!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bumbleking.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4325&start=105
Look for the post by Paul Kaminski.
"Additionally, the graphic novel has yet to come out, and its sales will affect things too."
ReplyDeleteTHIS. I'm sorry, but not even for Megaman will I buy comics individually. I don't know how the hell comic book types can store and sort those flimsy things, but I personally need to have something I can actually put up in a bookcase.
Plus, it's cheaper this way, too. I know I'm not the only one to think this way - don't judge it until we get a few volumes out.
Hey, editor Paul Kaminski commented about how the book's still doing well on newstands (which Diamond doesn't take into account) and that "in totality the series is on a sales upswing."
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bumbleking.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=201653#p201653
Well, I have a subscription, so chalk up 1 more number to those figures : )
ReplyDelete(@Dhylec) Those figures don't include subscriptions. As has been said before, they only include comic shop sales. Subscriptions, news stands, etc are not included.
ReplyDeleteI know at the comic book store I pick up Megaman from they have had some stocking issues with #3. They say that archie just never sent them there order so I wonder if that plays in at all
ReplyDeleteI'm a subscriber and, if I could find them anywhere near me, I'd buy the variant covers. It'd be nice if that was something a subscriber could opt into . . .
ReplyDeleteAnd, to be honest, I'd probably buy the trades for it as well. I mean, I did buy all the Megamix and Gigamix (I'm getting 2 sometime this week)so that's not an impossibility.
Still, once again, I'm not really huge into buying something to keep it alive. I mean, I'm more apt to do it for Archie since they seem to genuinely be interested in the comic, but Capcom's lost my "save Mega Man" spirit by basically suggesting I just throw my money at whatever they make. To be fair, it's not really their attitude, but that of some fans. Still, there's little other way to "support" Mega Man these days.
Maybe if they didn't have Mega Man change his personality in each issue...
ReplyDeleteCould only find the first issue at my comic book shop.
ReplyDeleteYou know... regarding the graphic novel... I'd buy it IF it had a cover exactly like the first issue's. If you do remember, the GN's cover looks like a mediocre Cover Art job. So as a request, is there any way this message can be conveyed to Archie? Because I can't send a letter; I live halfway round the world. So if any of you guys can give my message to them, I'd really appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteYou might like this Archie related post my friend - http://www.comicbookandmoviereviews.com/2011/08/wwwjugheadjonescom.html
ReplyDeleteAfter not getting access to Mega Man 3 in my city for the entire month it was due to release, and then having shipping problems with Diamond in my region, I'm not surprised issue 3's numbers are that low.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is selling out within a day of release in actual comic stores - IF you can find a store in town with copies. I got the last one of #4 the day after it released. It's not doing poorly, but two of my three my local shops bluntly pointed the finger at Diamond not fulfilling their orders.
yuhuuuu issue 4 sold 8900 copies, yeah Mega man is still alive! so dont worry:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.comichron.com/monthlycomicssales/2011/2011-08.html