Thanks for the updated charts and your analysis are interesting. I look forward to these charts and am glad you take the time to put them together.
I do have a bias and am anti NuSpidey. My hope is that the charts help show that the current direction that Marvel took Spidey is wrong and that sales are sinking because of that. I hope there is a reversal or conclusion to this whole Mephisto deal and that writers and editors put more thought into a story other than "It's magic, we don't have to explain it."
AC
Quote: Amazing Spider-Man sales: January 2008-April 2009
Quote: | Month, Year, # | Issue, # | Estimate | Rank | Issue-to-Issue % | Month-to-Month % |
|---|
| January 2008 #1 | Amazing Spider-Man #546 | 127,958 | 2 | n/a | n/a | | January 2008 #2 | Amazing Spider-Man #547 | 101,213 | 9 | -20.9% | n/a | | January 2008 #3 | Amazing Spider-Man #548 | 97,959 | 10 | -3.2% | n/a | | February 2008 #1 | Amazing Spider-Man #549 | 101,112 | 3 | +3.2% | -21.0% | | February 2008 #2 | Amazing Spider-Man #550 | 90,874 | 9 | -10.1% | -10.2% | | February 2008 #3 | Amazing Spider-Man #551 | 88,084 | 13 | -3.1% | -10.1% | | March 2008 #1 | Amazing Spider-Man #552 | 89,835 | 4 | +2.0% | -11.2% | | March 2008 #2 | Amazing Spider-Man #553 | 82,648 | 8 | -8.0% | -9.1% | | March 2008 #3 | Amazing Spider-Man #554 | 81,072 | 14 | -1.9% | -8.0% | | April 2008 #1 | Amazing Spider-Man #555 | 86,902 | 8 | +7.2% | -3.3% | | April 2008 #2 | Amazing Spider-Man #556 | 78,458 | 14 | -9.7% | -5.1% | | April 2008 #3 | Amazing Spider-Man #557 | 77,057 | 16 | -1.8% | -5.0% | | May 2008 #1 | Amazing Spider-Man #558 | 76,966 | 20 | -0.1% | -11.4% | | May 2008 #2 | Amazing Spider-Man #559 | 74,206 | 21 | -3.6% | -5.4% | | May 2008 #3 | Amazing Spider-Man #560 | 74,012 | 23 | -0.3% | -4.0% | | June 2008 #1 | Amazing Spider-Man #561 | 72,372 | 17 | -2.2% | -6.0% | | June 2008 #2 | Amazing Spider-Man #562 | 71,409 | 19 | -1.3% | -3.8% | | June 2008 #3 | Amazing Spider-Man #563 | 70,792 | 20 | -0.9% | -4.4% | | July 2008 #1 | Amazing Spider-Man #564 | 68,882 | 22 | -2.7% | -4.8% | | July 2008 #2 | Amazing Spider-Man #565 | 69,182 | 20 | +0.4% | -3.1% | | July 2008 #3 | Amazing Spider-Man #566 | 68,912 | 21 | -0.4% | -2.7% | | August 2008 #1 | Amazing Spider-Man #567 | 68,130 | 21 | -1.1% | -1.1% | | August 2008 #2 | Amazing Spider-Man #568 | 105,324 | 7 | +54.6% | +52.2% | | August 2008 #3 | Amazing Spider-Man #569 | 86,432 | 14 | -17.9% | +25.4% | | September 2008 #1 | Amazing Spider-Man #570 | 89,516 | 10 | +3.6% | +31.4% | | September 2008 #2 | Amazing Spider-Man #571 | 80,178 | 14 | -10.4% | -24.9% | | September 2008 #3 | Amazing Spider-Man #572 | 80,220 | 13 | +0.1% | -7.2% | | October 2008 #1 | Amazing Spider-Man #573 | 82,550 | 8 | +2.9% | -7.8% | | October 2008 #2 | Amazing Spider-Man #574 | 69,069 | 17 | -16.3% | -13.9% | | October 2008 #3 | Amazing Spider-Man #575 | 68,913 | 18 | -0.2% | -14.1% | | November 2008 #1 | Amazing Spider-Man #576 | 68,956 | 12 | +0.1% | -16.5% | | November 2008 #2 | Amazing Spider-Man #577 | 76,625 | 6 | +11.1% | +10.9% | | November 2008 #3 | Amazing Spider-Man #578 | 66,564 | 13 | -13.1% | -3.4% | | December 2008 #1 | Amazing Spider-Man #579 | 69,784 | 19 | +4.8% | +1.2% | | December 2008 #2 | Amazing Spider-Man #580 | 62,979 | 27 | -9.8% | -17.8% | | December 2008 #3 | Amazing Spider-Man #581 | 68,905 | 21 | +9.4% | +3.5% |
| January 2009 #1 | Amazing Spider-Man #582 | 59,932 | 15 | -13.0% | -14.1% | | January 2009 #2 | Amazing Spider-Man #583 | 521,831 | 1 | +770.7% | +728.6% | | January 2009 #3 | Amazing Spider-Man #584 | 63,754 | 12 | -87.8% | -7.5% | | February 2009 #1 | Amazing Spider-Man #585 | 60,286 | 16 | -5.4% | +0.6% | | February 2009 #2 | Amazing Spider-Man #586 | 59,521 | 18 | -1.3% | -88.6% | | February 2009 #3 | Amazing Spider-Man #587 | 60,118 | 17 | +1.0% | -5.7% | | March 2009 #1 | Amazing Spider-Man #588 | 61,334 | 12 | +2.0% | +1.7% | | March 2009 #2 | Amazing Spider-Man #589 | 58,832 | 13 | -4.1% | -1.2% | | March 2009 #3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | | April 2009 #1 | Amazing Spider-Man #590 | 66,415 | 17 | +12.9% | +8.3% | | April 2009 #2 | Amazing Spider-Man #591 | 60,508 | 24 | -8.9% | +2.9% | | April 2009 #3 | Amazing Spider-Man #592 | 65,940 | 19 | +8.9% | n/a |
This is an interesting month, not in the least because how you see it will depend largely upon which way your bias leans, regarding the current status quo of Spider-Man.
Quote: For the NuSpidey supporters, who no doubt see this month's increase in sales as a good sign, allow me to remind you that Amazing Spider-Man #590 and #592 both featured Wolverine variant covers, and Amazing Spider-Man #591 featured the final-page reveal of J. Jonah Jameson's new status quo as mayor of New York City. Allow me to further note that Jonah's new job, which represents a genuinely radical shift in the direction of his character, only managed to deliver a sales increase of 2.9 percent, or 1,676 issues, when compared to the lowest-selling issue of the month prior.
Quote: This is not a good sign for Marvel.
Quote: It's even less of a good sign that, according to ICv2, comic sales rebounded in April, while, by contrast, the sales ranks of Amazing Spider-Man declined. The reason I mention this is that, for months, the NuSpidey supporters have argued that the fact that this title has often managed to remain in the top 20 necessarily meant that it was doing no worse, relatively speaking, than many of the other titles released by Marvel (or by DC, for that matter) during those same months. This argument is demonstrably no longer valid, if indeed it ever was, because in April, as well as in several previous months listed on the chart above, the rising tides of sales have NOT lifted all boats equally.
Quote: As always, our watermarks:
Quote: And the John Byrne and Howard Mackie "reboot" years:
Quote: Amazing Spider-Man sales: August 1998-April 2001
Quote: | Month, Year | Issue, Original # (Reboot #) | Creators | Estimate | Rank |
|---|
| August 1998 | Amazing Spider-Man #440 (n/a) | John Byrne, Rafael Kayanan | 64,500 | 16 | | September 1998 | Amazing Spider-Man #441 (n/a) | John Byrne, Rafael Kayanan | 69,100 | 21 |
| November 1998 | Amazing Spider-Man #442 (#1) | John Byrne, Howard Mackie | 124,900 | 4 | | December 1998 | Amazing Spider-Man #443 (#2) | John Byrne, Howard Mackie | 102,500 | 7 | | January 1999 | Amazing Spider-Man #444 (#3) | John Byrne, Howard Mackie | 83,900 | 11 | | February 1999 | Amazing Spider-Man #445 (#4) | John Byrne, Howard Mackie | 78,800 | 11 | | March 1999 | Amazing Spider-Man #446 (#5) | John Byrne, Howard Mackie | 76,800 | 12 | | April 1999 | Amazing Spider-Man #447 (#6) | John Byrne, Howard Mackie | 74,500 | 12 | | May 1999 | Amazing Spider-Man #448 (#7) | John Byrne, Howard Mackie | 71,600 | 15 | | June 1999 | Amazing Spider-Man #449 (#8) | John Byrne, Howard Mackie | 70,000 | 12 | | July 1999 | Amazing Spider-Man #450 (#9) | John Byrne, Howard Mackie | 67,300 | 13 | | August 1999 | Amazing Spider-Man #451 (#10) | John Byrne, Howard Mackie | 64,100 | 11 | | September 1999 | Amazing Spider-Man #452 (#11) | John Byrne, Howard Mackie | 61,100 | 12 | | October 1999 | Amazing Spider-Man #453 (#12) | John Byrne, Howard Mackie | 62,000 | 11 | | November 1999 | Amazing Spider-Man #454 (#13) | John Byrne, Howard Mackie | 58,900 | 13 | | December 1999 | Amazing Spider-Man #455 (#14) | John Byrne, Howard Mackie | 61,900 | 11 | | January 2000 | Amazing Spider-Man #456 (#15) | John Byrne, Howard Mackie | 56,400 | 13 | | February 2000 | Amazing Spider-Man #457 (#16) | John Byrne, Howard Mackie | 53,200 | 15 | | March 2000 | Amazing Spider-Man #458 (#17) | John Byrne, Howard Mackie | 54,100 | 14 | | April 2000 | Amazing Spider-Man #459 (#18) | John Byrne, Howard Mackie | 53,200 | 16 | | May 2000 | Amazing Spider-Man #460 (#19) | Howard Mackie, Erik Larsen | 53,000 | 12 | | June 2000 | Amazing Spider-Man #461 (#20) | Howard Mackie, Erik Larsen | 53,500 | 12 | | July 2000 | Amazing Spider-Man #462 (#21) | Howard Mackie, Erik Larsen | 51,900 | 14 | | August 2000 | Amazing Spider-Man #463 (#22) | Howard Mackie, John Romita Jr. | 49,900 | 13 | | September 2000 | Amazing Spider-Man #464 (#23) | Howard Mackie, John Romita Jr. | 49,300 | 18 | | October 2000 | Amazing Spider-Man #465 (#24) | Howard Mackie, John Romita Jr. | 50,200 | 14 | | November 2000 | Amazing Spider-Man #466 (#25) [foil-enhanced cover] | Howard Mackie, John Romita Jr. | 45,400 | 24 | | November 2000 | Amazing Spider-Man #466 (#25) [regular cover] | Howard Mackie, John Romita Jr. | 14,900 | 142 | | December 2000 | Amazing Spider-Man #467 (#26) | Howard Mackie, John Romita Jr. | 49,500 | 16 | | January 2001 | Amazing Spider-Man #468 (#27) | Howard Mackie, John Romita Jr. | 49,200 | 17 | | February 2001 | Amazing Spider-Man #469 (#28) | Howard Mackie, John Romita Jr. | 48,600 | 16 | | March 2001 | Amazing Spider-Man #470 (#29) | Howard Mackie, Lee Weeks | 48,800 | 16 | | April 2001 | Amazing Spider-Man #471 (#30) | J. Michael Straczynski, John Romita Jr. | 77,300 | 5 |
(Yes, I included J. Michael Straczynski's first issue of Amazing Spider-Man at the end of the chart, but only for the purposes of comparison.)
Quote: We're now 16 months into the NuSpidey status quo, at least in terms of recorded sales. In terms of their respective sales, the NuSpidey issues have finally diverged significantly from the Byrne-and-Mackie "reboot" issues, which they had only done previously for "New Ways to Die" and the Obama issue. The NuSpidey issues have also now diverged significantly from the Byrne-and-Mackie "reboot" issues in terms of their respective ranks, albeit not in a positive direction. As in several previous months, the NuSpidey issues' April ranks are significantly underperforming the Byrne-and-Mackie "reboot" issues. At 16 months in, the lowest "reboot" rank was 15, whereas the lowest NuSpidey rank has been 27, well after the onset of the economic downturn that the NuSpidey supporters have blamed for this title's sales downturn. In April, the title's lowest rank was 24. NuSpidey has frequently dropped out of the top 20 rank chart, while the "reboot" arguably never did (so long as you combine the regular and foil-enhanced cover sales of Amazing Spider-Man #466).
Quote: All that being said? We NuSpidey detractors should not be surprised to see the title's sales level out, or even uptick slightly, on a month-to-month basis, in these months leading up to Amazing Spider-Man #600, which is the biggest event of the NuSpidey era since "New Ways to Die." In the months leading up to "New Ways to Die," the closer the title came to the first issue of that event, the more that sales leveled out, until they finally increased just a hair beforehand, and Amazing Spider-Man #600 is unquestionably a much bigger event than "New Ways to Die." It's worth remembering, however, that as soon as "New Ways to Die" ended, sales not only returned immediately to their previous level, but actually began falling at an accelerated rate of speed. I've seen many readers online, who were initially positively inclined toward the NuSpidey status quo, describe "New Ways to Die" as their "jumping-off point," and unless Amazing Spider-Man #600 manages to pull a rabbit out of its hat, I'm fairly confident that it will be the same, only more so.
Quote: Footnote on how to read the charts: I've purposefully color-coded these two charts so that the official start of each respective status quo begins with red (the two Byrne issues listed before the official start of the "reboot" were basically his equivalent of "One More Day"), and each rainbow of colors always recycles after six months. So, if you want to compare respective months in, or else figure out at a glance how many months in any given issue is, just remember; every six months, the rainbow recycles back to red. 
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