DC Crushes Marvel in Sales for October

For the first time in years, DC has won the monthly sales percentage (according to Diamond Publishing).  It's amazing how two months in, and the nuDC is doing amazing.  But we need to look to the future, and what does this mean for DC and Marvel?

The full results can bee seen here

Wonder Woman #2 was one of the better selling comics (DC Comics)

On the plus side for all of comicdom, seven tittles sold over 100,000 copies.  That hasn't happened in a long time.  It paints a picture of a slightly brighter future, as more people are putting their money into market.  Justice League #2 was the highest selling comic, followed by Batman, Action Comics, Green Lantern, and The Flash to round out the top five.  The top selling comic for Marvel was The Incredible Hulk #1, which also sold over 100,000 copies.  Wolverine & the X-Men #1 was the other top selling comic for Marvel (although it didn't sell 100,000 copies).

Marvel has already responded by canceling numerous books.  Besides the already announced Alpha Flight, Herc, and Iron Man 2.0, Marvel recently cancelled X-23.  Looking at the sales, it was barely above the death line for Marvel (around 23,000 copies).  They have also cancelled numerous miniseries, including Victor Von Doom, the Nick Spencer miniseries many were looking forward too.  The things bout these series was that none of these series had even been released yet.  Many had already had a few issues penciled, inked, and colored.

DC has really put a shot of adrenaline into the market.  As much as DC took a lot of money away, they seem to be bringing attention to the medium.  As noted in the Comic Book Resources article, October saw an increase in over one million issues compared to October 2010.  And as DC starts to bring in new ongoings and miniseries, they will no doubt bring more eyes to the market.  Especially the six issue miniseries T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents coming up soon.

Marvel was in dire need of a slap in the face creatively wise.  Many of their main books are doing great, but the always heavy flow of miniseries was starting to drag down sales a bit for the house of ideas.  It's sad to see some great series have to be the example that needed to be made, but it had to happen.  Canceling X-23 probably wasn't a good idea, as the fan outcry hasn't been ideal.  The renewed need to be back on top will force them to focus on putting out the best books possible.  This will mean series like Herc and Alpha Flight can't live, but hopefully they can some day.

The Incredible Hulk was Marvel's biggest selling comic (Marvel)

The only thing I noticed in the DC books that was notable was that all their new books either sink or swim.  They either sell more copies than a Justin Beiber CD at a middle school, or they sell nothing.  Which begs the question...when will DC start canceling books?  Hawk & Dove, Mr. Terrific, and books like that are selling poorly and soon won't be able to sustain themselves for long.  Also, do the numbers for Justice League count the combo pack as well?  I'd like to see those numbers and see if that experiment is working out for them.