Ultimate Comics Walk-Up Sales For Dec 4th, 2008

From Lee Newman of Ultimate Comics, the list of top-selling books at one of their locations in North Carolina for what was released on 12/4/08. Pull lists are not included, as this is meant to capture what is being bought off the shelf.

Sorry, everyone for the late post this week. One day shorter in the week and business in the store created a very hectic week for me.

1. Batman #682
2. Batman #681
3. Secret Invasion #8
4. X-Men Noir #1
5. Haunted Tank #1
6. Sandman: The Dream Hunters #2
7. Amazing Spider-Man #579
8. X-Infernus #1
9. Justice Society #21
10. Hellboy: The Wild Hunt #1

Commentary:

1&2: Media exposure baby. Seriously, I would love if Marvel and DC would start advertising on tv with a nice comic shop locator ride on!

3. It is important to note that last week's issue of Batman performed better than the end of Marvel's big event. Some will think this is attrition, but believe or not we don't see too much attrition in event books, even late ones like Final Crisis perform well and consistently. The big push here was the Batman story made it into the news.

4&8. Yup, people will buy the X-Men regardless of what it is.

5. Surprise of the week. Solid, fun, and funny book (although I am unsure as to whether or not it was supposed to be funny or if my twisted brain made it funny), it may have had something to do with me talking it up. ; )

10. Hellboy has been a big performer at this store. We are just now figuring out what numbers of it will sell here, it may become a repeat performer.

1 & 2. Ugh. I'd be afraid that those sales would mean we'd see more stories like BATMAN R.I.P., but most of my problems with the arc were very Grant-Morrison-specific, thus unlikely to be repeated any time soon.

4 & 8. I haven't seen a copy of these yet, but I'd like to hope there is some quality behind them in addition to having the X-MEN name slapped across them. Lee's comment doesn't leave me with much hope, though.

Random Comic Book Thoughts

• Hey...maybe Heidi MacDonald and Douglas Wolk were paid Marvel consultants on the Marvel_b0y viral marketing campaign? I mean...didn't they start the whole "insult your readers and creators to generate buzz" thing with the "Jess Lemon" incident?
  
• Now that it is no longer April Fool's Day, I can tell you my true joke: the spoilers were never going to end with Monday's reveal. Full Secret Invasion #2 spoilers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu_moia-oVI
• I'll be traveling to attend a wedding and possibly a funeral this weekend, so you'll have to forgive me if I'm not around to say "I told you so" or "f*ck! they used me!" right away.
• For some reason, the retcon of a sidekick for The Wrath just happening to match the way The Wrath was done in THE BATMAN cartoon is detracting from my enjoyment of the great work Bedard and Morales are doing on their BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL arc. I wish it wasn't true, but it keeps nagging at me. If anyone involved has come out and said that it was an idea that came up independent of the cartoon development, please direct my attention to it so I can breathe easier.
• Dennis Calero was on the RON & FEZ SHOW on XM Satellite Radio Channel 202 this afternoon, plugging his upcoming appearance at NYCC and a big project he is doing at Marvel that he thinks will be announced at the convention. Wonder what it is? DC's loss for not wrapping him up when he was on Legion of Super-Heroes; his work there was very underrated. (Update: Dan Coyle says in the comments that Calero was talking about a big pitch with Fred Van Lente at the Baltimore Comic Convention)
  
• I'd really like to see Johns and Morrison collaborate on a bi-weekly half or full year alternate Earth story. Well, I'd be fine with them writing the real DCU Earth, if coordination issues wouldn't seep in. I'm struggling to figure out who I'd team to do the same over at Marvel, but Fraction would be in the equation.