As the sales figures show, left on it's own merits, Panther sales plummet. But when riding off the popularity of other series, like X-Men, House of M, Fantastic Four, etc. it has respectable sales (which history has shown us will then drop).

Guess I'm old fashioned, in that I consider success to be standing on one's own merits, and not being completely dependant on other, better writers. I'd also consider success being able to retain those new readers in a meaningful fashion, but I guess that puts me in the minority.