NuSpidey sales: I am now $5 richer.
ICv2 has posted its sales figures for June, so once again, I'll be using those to track the sales trends for the NuSpidey era to date, together with previously released monthly sales figures also drawn from ICv2:
Amazing Spider-Man sales: January 2008-June 2010
Month, Year, #Issue, #Writer(s)Artist(s)EstimateRankIssue-to-Issue %Month-to-Month %Year-to-Year %January 2008 #1Amazing Spider-Man #546Bob Gale, Marc Guggenheim, Dan Slott, Zeb WellsMike Deodato, Greg Land, Steve McNiven, Phil Winslade127,9582+2.8%n/an/aJanuary 2008 #2Amazing Spider-Man #547Dan SlottSteve McNiven101,2139-20.9%n/an/aJanuary 2008 #3Amazing Spider-Man #548Dan SlottSteve McNiven97,95910-3.2%n/an/aFebruary 2008 #1Amazing Spider-Man #549Marc GuggenheimSalvador Larroca101,1123+3.2%-21.0%n/aFebruary 2008 #2Amazing Spider-Man #550Marc GuggenheimSalvador Larroca90,8749-10.1%-10.2%n/aFebruary 2008 #3Amazing Spider-Man #551Marc GuggenheimSalvador Larroca88,08413-3.1%-10.1%n/aMarch 2008 #1Amazing Spider-Man #552Bob GalePhil Jiminez89,8354+2.0%-11.2%n/aMarch 2008 #2Amazing Spider-Man #553Bob GalePhil Jiminez82,6488-8.0%-9.1%n/aMarch 2008 #3Amazing Spider-Man #554Bob GalePhil Jiminez81,07214-1.9%-8.0%n/aApril 2008 #1Amazing Spider-Man #555Zeb WellsChris Bachalo86,9028+7.2%-3.3%n/aApril 2008 #2Amazing Spider-Man #556Zeb WellsChris Bachalo78,45814-9.7%-5.1%n/aApril 2008 #3Amazing Spider-Man #557Zeb WellsChris Bachalo77,05716-1.8%-5.0%n/aMay 2008 #1Amazing Spider-Man #558Bob GaleBarry Kitson76,96620-0.1%-11.4%n/aMay 2008 #2Amazing Spider-Man #559Dan SlottMarcos Martin74,20621-3.6%-5.4%n/aMay 2008 #3Amazing Spider-Man #560Dan SlottMarcos Martin74,01223-0.3%-4.0%n/aJune 2008 #1Amazing Spider-Man #561Dan SlottMarcos Martin72,37217-2.2%-6.0%n/aJune 2008 #2Amazing Spider-Man #562Bob GaleMike McKone71,40919-1.3%-3.8%n/aJune 2008 #3Amazing Spider-Man #563Bob GaleMike McKone70,79220-0.9%-4.4%n/aJuly 2008 #1Amazing Spider-Man #564Bob Gale, Marc Guggenheim, Dan SlottPaulo Siqueira68,88222-2.7%-4.8%n/aJuly 2008 #2Amazing Spider-Man #565Marc GuggenheimPhil Jiminez69,18220+0.4%-3.1%n/aJuly 2008 #3Amazing Spider-Man #566Marc GuggenheimPhil Jiminez68,91221-0.4%-2.7%n/aAugust 2008 #1Amazing Spider-Man #567Marc GuggenheimPhil Jiminez68,13021-1.1%-1.1%n/aAugust 2008 #2Amazing Spider-Man #568Dan Slott, Mark WaidAdi Granov, John Romita Jr.105,3247+54.6%+52.2%n/aAugust 2008 #3Amazing Spider-Man #569Dan SlottJohn Romita Jr.86,43214-17.9%+25.4%n/aSeptember 2008 #1Amazing Spider-Man #570Dan SlottJohn Romita Jr.89,51610+3.6%+31.4%n/aSeptember 2008 #2Amazing Spider-Man #571Dan SlottJohn Romita Jr.80,17814-10.4%-24.9%n/aSeptember 2008 #3Amazing Spider-Man #572Dan SlottJohn Romita Jr.80,22013+0.1%-7.2%n/aOctober 2008 #1Amazing Spider-Man #573Dan Slott, Mark WaidPatrick Olliffe, John Romita Jr.82,5508+2.9%-7.8%n/aOctober 2008 #2Amazing Spider-Man #574Marc GuggenheimBarry Kitson69,06917-16.3%-13.9%n/aOctober 2008 #3Amazing Spider-Man #575Joe KellyChris Bachalo68,91318-0.2%-14.1%n/aNovember 2008 #1Amazing Spider-Man #576Joe KellyChris Bachalo68,95612+0.1%-16.5%n/aNovember 2008 #2Amazing Spider-Man #577Zeb WellsPaolo Rivera76,6256+11.1%+10.9%n/aNovember 2008 #3Amazing Spider-Man #578Mark WaidMarcos Martin66,56413-13.1%-3.4%n/aDecember 2008 #1Amazing Spider-Man #579Mark WaidMarcos Martin69,78419+4.8%+1.2%n/aDecember 2008 #2Amazing Spider-Man #580Roger SternLee Weeks62,97927-9.8%-17.8%n/aDecember 2008 #3Amazing Spider-Man #581Dan SlottMike McKone68,90521+9.4%+3.5%n/aJanuary 2009 #1Amazing Spider-Man #582Dan SlottKlaus Janson, Mike McKone59,93215-13.0%-14.1%-53.2%January 2009 #2Amazing Spider-Man #583Mark Waid, Zeb WellsBarry Kitson, Todd Nauck525,05011+776.1%+733.7%+418.8%January 2009 #3Amazing Spider-Man #584Marc GuggenheimJohn Romita Jr.63,75412-87.9%-7.5%-34.9%February 2009 #1Amazing Spider-Man #585Marc GuggenheimJohn Romita Jr.60,286161-5.4%+0.6%-40.4%February 2009 #2Amazing Spider-Man #586Marc GuggenheimBarry Kitson59,521181-1.3%-88.7%-34.5%February 2009 #3Amazing Spider-Man #587Marc GuggenheimJohn Romita Jr.60,118171+1.0%-5.7%-31.7%March 2009 #1Amazing Spider-Man #588Marc GuggenheimJohn Romita Jr.61,33412+2.0%+1.7%-31.7%March 2009 #2Amazing Spider-Man #589Fred Van LentePaulo Siqueira58,83213-4.1%-1.2%-28.8%April 2009 #1Amazing Spider-Man #590Dan SlottBarry Kitson66,41517+12.9%+8.3%-23.6%April 2009 #2Amazing Spider-Man #591Dan SlottDale Eaglesham, Barry Kitson60,50824-8.9%+2.9%-22.9%April 2009 #3Amazing Spider-Man #592Mark WaidMike McKone65,94019+8.9%n/a-14.4%May 2009 #1Amazing Spider-Man #593Mark WaidMike McKone58,36316-11.5%-12.1%-24.2%May 2009 #2Amazing Spider-Man #594Mark WaidBarry Kitson, Mike McKone58,46415+0.2%-3.4%-21.2%May 2009 #3Amazing Spider-Man #595Joe KellyPhil Jimenez71,8379+22.9%+8.9%-2.9%June 2009 #1Amazing Spider-Man #596Joe KellyPaulo Siqueira63,52521-11.6%+8.8%-12.2%June 2009 #2Amazing Spider-Man #597Joe KellyMarco Checchetto61,64623-2.9%+5.4%-13.7%June 2009 #3Amazing Spider-Man #598Joe KellyMarco Checchetto, Paulo Siqueira61,58524-0.1%-14.3%-13.0%
July 2009 #1Amazing Spider-Man #599Joe KellyMarco Checchetto, Stephen Segovia, Paulo Siqueira72,41219+17.6%+13.9%+5.1%
July 2009 #2Amazing Spider-Man #600[complete list below]2[complete list below]3116,8574+61.4%+89.6%+68.9%
August 2009 #1Amazing Spider-Man #601Brian Michael Bendis, Mark WaidMario Alberti, Joe Quesada74,27917-36.4%+2.6%+9.0%
August 2009 #2Amazing Spider-Man #602Fred Van LenteBarry Kitson71,53219-3.7%-38.8%-32.1%
August 2009 #3Amazing Spider-Man #603Fred Van LenteRobert Atkins71,05121-0.7%n/a-17.8%
September 2009 #1Amazing Spider-Man #604Fred Van LenteBarry Kitson63,43518-10.7%-14.6%-29.1%
September 2009 #2Amazing Spider-Man #605Brian Reed, Fred Van LenteYanick Paquette, Javier Pulido, Luke Ross62,83119-0.9%-12.2%-21.6%
September 2009 #3Amazing Spider-Man #606Joe KellyMike McKone70,17714+11.7%-1.2%-12.5%
September 2009 #4Amazing Spider-Man #607Joe KellyMike McKone, Adriana Melo62,57020-10.8%n/an/a
October 2009 #1Amazing Spider-Man #608Marc GuggenheimMarco Checchetto, Luke Ross72,03510+15.1%+13.6%-12.7%
October 2009 #2Amazing Spider-Man #609Marc GuggenheimMarco Checchetto, Luke Ross61,17616-15.1%-2.6%-11.2%
November 2009 #1Amazing Spider-Man #610Marc GuggenheimMarco Checchetto, Luke Ross61,17017less than -0.1%-15.1%-11.3%
November 2009 #2Amazing Spider-Man #611Joe KellyEric Canete64,51415+5.5%+5.5%-15.8%
November 2009 #3Amazing Spider-Man #612Joe Kelly, Mark WaidPaul Azaceta, J.M. Ken Niimura68,45913+6.1%n/a-2.8%
November 2009 #4Amazing Spider-Man #613Mark WaidPaul Azaceta64,69914-5.5%n/an/a
December 2009 #1Amazing Spider-Man #614Mark WaidPaul Azaceta59,69622-7.7%-2.4%-14.5%
December 2009 #2Amazing Spider-Man #615Fred Van LenteJavier Pulido63,73816+6.8%-1.2%+1.2%
December 2009 #3Amazing Spider-Man #616Fred Van LenteJavier Pulido58,85623-7.7%-14.0%-14.6%
January 2010 #1Amazing Spider-Man #617Joe KellyMax Fiumara, Javier Pulido76,7306+30.4%+28.5%+28.0%
January 2010 #2Amazing Spider-Man #618Dan SlottMarcos Martin61,96914-19.2%-2.8%-88.2%
January 2010 #3Amazing Spider-Man #619Dan SlottMarcos Martin56,83717-8.3%-3.4%-10.8%
February 2010 #1Amazing Spider-Man #620Dan SlottMarcos Martin, Javier Pulido59,86015+5.3%-21.9%-0.7%
February 2010 #2Amazing Spider-Man #621Dan SlottMichael Lark55,35019-7.5%-10.7%-7.0%
February 2010 #3Amazing Spider-Man #622Fred Van Lente, Greg WeismanJoe Quinones, Luke Ross53,92922-2.6%-5.1%-10.3%
March 2010 #1Amazing Spider-Man #623Tom Peyer, Mark WaidPaul Azaceta66,06410+22.5%+10.4%+7.7%
March 2010 #2Amazing Spider-Man #624Tom Peyer, Mark WaidPaul Azaceta, Javier Rodriguez60,21314-8.9%+8.8%+2.3%
March 2010 #3Amazing Spider-Man #625Joe KellyMax Fiumara54,17919-10.0%+0.5%n/a
March 2010 #4Amazing Spider-Man #626Fred Van LenteMichael Gaydos53,86821-0.6%n/an/a
March 2010 #5Amazing Spider-Man #627Roger SternLee Weeks54,20618+0.6%n/an/a
April 2010 #1Amazing Spider-Man #628Tom Peyer, Roger Stern, Mark WaidTodd Nauck, Lee Weeks57,79717+6.6%-12.5%-12.9%
April 2010 #2Amazing Spider-Man #629Roger SternLee Weeks53,56019-7.3%-11.0%-11.5%
May 2010 #1Amazing Spider-Man #630Zeb WellsChris Bachalo57,96921+8.2%+0.3%-0.7%
May 2010 #2Amazing Spider-Man #631Zeb WellsChris Bachalo, Emma Rios57,23922-1.3%+6.9%-2.1%
May 2010 #3Amazing Spider-Man #632Zeb WellsChris Bachalo, Emma Rios56,72323-0.9%n/a-21.0%
June 2010 #1Amazing Spider-Man #633Zeb WellsChris Bachalo, Emma Rios57,67017+1.7%-0.5%-9.2%
June 2010 #2Amazing Spider-Man #634J.M. DeMatteis, Joe Kelly, Stan LeeMax Fiumara, Michael Lark, Marcos Martin61,73616+7.1%+7.9%+0.1%
June 2010 #3Amazing Spider-Man #635J.M. DeMatteis, Joe Kelly, Stan LeeMax Fiumara, Michael Lark, Marcos Martin56,14621-9.1%-1.0%-8.8%
1Amazing Spider-Man #583, the issue in which Barack Obama guest-starred, ranked first in sales during both January and February of 2009.
2Complete list of writers for Amazing Spider-Man #600: Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, Bob Gale, Marc Guggenheim, Joe Kelly, Stan Lee, Jeph Loeb, Dan Slott, Mark Waid and Zeb Wells.
3Complete list of artists for Amazing Spider-Man #600: Mario Alberti, Mitch Breitweiser, Derec Donovan, Colleen Doran, Max Fiumara, Klaus Janson, Andy Lanning, Marcos Martin, Mike McKone and John Romita Jr.
Footnote on how to read the charts: I've purposefully color-coded the charts so that the start of each year begins with red, the same months in each year always have the same colors, and each rainbow of colors always recycles after six months. So, every six months, the rainbow recycles back to red. :)
Regular readers will recall that I had a minor bet riding on these results, and unless the sales figures for July suddenly jump up around 20K or so, I think it's safe to say that I just won. Indeed, if anything, my earlier sales predictions were overly optimistic.
This sales performance bodes especially ill when you remember that this is only the second month of the Endless Season of Variant Covers, and this month set a new low for variant cover sales for the NuSpidey era to date.
Also worth noting? The second issue of the "Grim Hunt" story arc - the first of the arc with only one variant cover - sold lower than every single issue of "Shed." Not good, especially since "Grim Hunt" was supposed to be more important and eagerly anticipated than "Shed."
As always, our regular watermarks ...
- Paul O'Brien, Jan. 30, 2008.
... Including the John Byrne and Howard Mackie "reboot" era:
Amazing Spider-Man sales: August 1998-April 2001
Month, YearIssue, Original # (Reboot #)Writer(s)Artist(s)EstimateRankIssue-to-Issue %Year-to-Year %August 1998Amazing Spider-Man #440 (n/a)1John ByrneRafael Kayanan64,49716+1.6%-10.9%September 1998Amazing Spider-Man #441 (n/a)1John ByrneRafael Kayanan69,05321+7.1%-1.2%November 1998Amazing Spider-Man #442 (#1)John Byrne, Howard MackieJohn Byrne, Rafael Kayanan124,9034+80.9%+80.3%December 1998Amazing Spider-Man #443 (#2)Howard MackieJohn Byrne102,4777-17.9%+54.8%January 1999Amazing Spider-Man #444 (#3)Howard MackieJohn Byrne83,89111-18.1%+23.1%February 1999Amazing Spider-Man #445 (#4)Howard MackieJohn Byrne78,78111-6.1%+23.9%March 1999Amazing Spider-Man #446 (#5)Howard MackieJohn Byrne76,82912-2.5%+8.9%April 1999Amazing Spider-Man #447 (#6)Howard MackieJohn Byrne74,47512-3.1%+6.4%May 1999Amazing Spider-Man #448 (#7)Howard MackieJohn Byrne71,58015-3.9%+8.4%June 1999Amazing Spider-Man #449 (#8)Howard MackieJohn Byrne70,03312-2.2%+5.2%July 1999Amazing Spider-Man #450 (#9)Howard MackieJohn Byrne67,26413-3.9%+5.9%August 1999Amazing Spider-Man #451 (#10)Howard MackieJohn Byrne64,06011-4.8%-0.7%September 1999Amazing Spider-Man #452 (#11)Howard MackieJohn Byrne61,13512-4.6%-11.5%October 1999Amazing Spider-Man #453 (#12)Howard MackieJohn Byrne, Sean Phillips62,01811+1.4%n/aNovember 1999Amazing Spider-Man #454 (#13)John ByrneJohn Byrne58,88313-5.1%-52.9%December 1999Amazing Spider-Man #455 (#14)John ByrneJohn Byrne61,91711+5.2%-39.6%January 2000Amazing Spider-Man #456 (#15)Howard MackieJohn Byrne56,41313-8.9%-32.8%February 2000Amazing Spider-Man #457 (#16)Howard MackieJohn Byrne53,22215-5.7%-32.4%March 2000Amazing Spider-Man #458 (#17)Howard MackieJohn Byrne54,09714+1.6%-29.6%April 2000Amazing Spider-Man #459 (#18)Howard MackieJohn Byrne53,21816-1.6%-28.5%May 2000Amazing Spider-Man #460 (#19)Howard MackieErik Larsen52,99512-0.4%-25.9%June 2000Amazing Spider-Man #461 (#20)Howard MackieErik Larsen53,51512+0.9%-23.6%July 2000Amazing Spider-Man #462 (#21)Howard MackieErik Larsen51,90314-3.0%-22.8%August 2000Amazing Spider-Man #463 (#22)Howard MackieJohn Romita Jr.49,89113-3.9%-22.1%September 2000Amazing Spider-Man #464 (#23)Howard MackieJohn Romita Jr.49,29118-1.2%-19.4%October 2000Amazing Spider-Man #465 (#24)Howard MackieJohn Romita Jr.50,18314+1.8%-19.1%November 2000Amazing Spider-Man #466 (#25) [both covers]Howard MackieJohn Romita Jr.60,308122+20.2%+2.4%November 2000Amazing Spider-Man #466 (#25) [foil-enhanced cover]Howard MackieJohn Romita Jr.45,391242-9.5%-22.9%November 2000Amazing Spider-Man #466 (#25) [regular cover]Howard MackieJohn Romita Jr.14,9171422-70.3%-74.7%December 2000Amazing Spider-Man #467 (#26)Howard MackieJohn Romita Jr.49,54816-17.8%3-19.9%January 2001Amazing Spider-Man #468 (#27)Howard MackieJohn Romita Jr.49,19017-0.7%-12.8%February 2001Amazing Spider-Man #469 (#28)Howard MackieJoe Bennett48,55916-1.3%-8.8%March 2001Amazing Spider-Man #470 (#29)Howard MackieLee Weeks48,804416+0.5%-9.8%April 2001Amazing Spider-Man #471 (#30)5J. Michael StraczynskiJohn Romita Jr.77,31445+58.4%+45.3%
1Amazing Spider-Man #440 and #441 technically precede the start of the John Byrne and Howard Mackie "reboot" of the title, but are included in this chart because they established the "reboot" in the same way that "One More Day" established "Brand New Day."
2The Comics Chronicles, in its monthly sales figures for November of 2000, does not list a single rank for both covers of Amazing Spider-Man #466 (#25), and instead lists separate ranks for this issue's foil-enhanced and regular covers, but the combined sales of both covers of this issue would give it a rank of 12 for this month.
3This issue-to-issue percentage is based on the comparison between the sales of Amazing Spider-Man #467 (#26) and the combined sales of both covers of Amazing Spider-Man #466 (#25).
4ICv2 started listing monthly sales figures in March of 2001, and lists sales figures of 45,436 for Amazing Spider-Man #470 (#29) and 71,392 for Amazing Spider-Man #471 (#30). The Comics Chronicles lists monthly sales figures for all 30-plus months of the John Byrne and Howard Mackie "reboot" of the title, and all monthly sales figures listed in this chart are drawn from The Comics Chronicles, to maintain internal consistency in its issue-to-issue and year-to-year percentages.
5Amazing Spider-Man #470 (#29) marks the end of the John Byrne and Howard Mackie "reboot" of the title, but Amazing Spider-Man #471 (#30) is included in this chart for comparison purposes.
Footnote on how to read the charts: I've purposefully color-coded the charts so that the start of each year begins with red, the same months in each year always have the same colors, and each rainbow of colors always recycles after six months. So, every six months, the rainbow recycles back to red. :)
How poisoned has the Spider-Man franchise become? An issue of Amazing Spider-Man with new stories written by Stan Lee, J.M. DeMatteis and Joe Kelly, the latter of whom is writing a sequel to one of the most well-regarded Spider-Man stories of all time, can't even sell as well as the John Byrne and Howard Mackie "reboot" of the title was selling at 15 months in, and Byrne and Mackie were hitting that 56K mark without any variant covers. That's like losing a dick-measuring contest to John Wayne Bobbitt after you've been using an Austin Powers Swedish-made penis enlarger pump.
Amazing Spider-Man sales: January 2008-June 2010
Month, Year, #Issue, #Writer(s)Artist(s)EstimateRankIssue-to-Issue %Month-to-Month %Year-to-Year %January 2008 #1Amazing Spider-Man #546Bob Gale, Marc Guggenheim, Dan Slott, Zeb WellsMike Deodato, Greg Land, Steve McNiven, Phil Winslade127,9582+2.8%n/an/aJanuary 2008 #2Amazing Spider-Man #547Dan SlottSteve McNiven101,2139-20.9%n/an/aJanuary 2008 #3Amazing Spider-Man #548Dan SlottSteve McNiven97,95910-3.2%n/an/aFebruary 2008 #1Amazing Spider-Man #549Marc GuggenheimSalvador Larroca101,1123+3.2%-21.0%n/aFebruary 2008 #2Amazing Spider-Man #550Marc GuggenheimSalvador Larroca90,8749-10.1%-10.2%n/aFebruary 2008 #3Amazing Spider-Man #551Marc GuggenheimSalvador Larroca88,08413-3.1%-10.1%n/aMarch 2008 #1Amazing Spider-Man #552Bob GalePhil Jiminez89,8354+2.0%-11.2%n/aMarch 2008 #2Amazing Spider-Man #553Bob GalePhil Jiminez82,6488-8.0%-9.1%n/aMarch 2008 #3Amazing Spider-Man #554Bob GalePhil Jiminez81,07214-1.9%-8.0%n/aApril 2008 #1Amazing Spider-Man #555Zeb WellsChris Bachalo86,9028+7.2%-3.3%n/aApril 2008 #2Amazing Spider-Man #556Zeb WellsChris Bachalo78,45814-9.7%-5.1%n/aApril 2008 #3Amazing Spider-Man #557Zeb WellsChris Bachalo77,05716-1.8%-5.0%n/aMay 2008 #1Amazing Spider-Man #558Bob GaleBarry Kitson76,96620-0.1%-11.4%n/aMay 2008 #2Amazing Spider-Man #559Dan SlottMarcos Martin74,20621-3.6%-5.4%n/aMay 2008 #3Amazing Spider-Man #560Dan SlottMarcos Martin74,01223-0.3%-4.0%n/aJune 2008 #1Amazing Spider-Man #561Dan SlottMarcos Martin72,37217-2.2%-6.0%n/aJune 2008 #2Amazing Spider-Man #562Bob GaleMike McKone71,40919-1.3%-3.8%n/aJune 2008 #3Amazing Spider-Man #563Bob GaleMike McKone70,79220-0.9%-4.4%n/aJuly 2008 #1Amazing Spider-Man #564Bob Gale, Marc Guggenheim, Dan SlottPaulo Siqueira68,88222-2.7%-4.8%n/aJuly 2008 #2Amazing Spider-Man #565Marc GuggenheimPhil Jiminez69,18220+0.4%-3.1%n/aJuly 2008 #3Amazing Spider-Man #566Marc GuggenheimPhil Jiminez68,91221-0.4%-2.7%n/aAugust 2008 #1Amazing Spider-Man #567Marc GuggenheimPhil Jiminez68,13021-1.1%-1.1%n/aAugust 2008 #2Amazing Spider-Man #568Dan Slott, Mark WaidAdi Granov, John Romita Jr.105,3247+54.6%+52.2%n/aAugust 2008 #3Amazing Spider-Man #569Dan SlottJohn Romita Jr.86,43214-17.9%+25.4%n/aSeptember 2008 #1Amazing Spider-Man #570Dan SlottJohn Romita Jr.89,51610+3.6%+31.4%n/aSeptember 2008 #2Amazing Spider-Man #571Dan SlottJohn Romita Jr.80,17814-10.4%-24.9%n/aSeptember 2008 #3Amazing Spider-Man #572Dan SlottJohn Romita Jr.80,22013+0.1%-7.2%n/aOctober 2008 #1Amazing Spider-Man #573Dan Slott, Mark WaidPatrick Olliffe, John Romita Jr.82,5508+2.9%-7.8%n/aOctober 2008 #2Amazing Spider-Man #574Marc GuggenheimBarry Kitson69,06917-16.3%-13.9%n/aOctober 2008 #3Amazing Spider-Man #575Joe KellyChris Bachalo68,91318-0.2%-14.1%n/aNovember 2008 #1Amazing Spider-Man #576Joe KellyChris Bachalo68,95612+0.1%-16.5%n/aNovember 2008 #2Amazing Spider-Man #577Zeb WellsPaolo Rivera76,6256+11.1%+10.9%n/aNovember 2008 #3Amazing Spider-Man #578Mark WaidMarcos Martin66,56413-13.1%-3.4%n/aDecember 2008 #1Amazing Spider-Man #579Mark WaidMarcos Martin69,78419+4.8%+1.2%n/aDecember 2008 #2Amazing Spider-Man #580Roger SternLee Weeks62,97927-9.8%-17.8%n/aDecember 2008 #3Amazing Spider-Man #581Dan SlottMike McKone68,90521+9.4%+3.5%n/aJanuary 2009 #1Amazing Spider-Man #582Dan SlottKlaus Janson, Mike McKone59,93215-13.0%-14.1%-53.2%January 2009 #2Amazing Spider-Man #583Mark Waid, Zeb WellsBarry Kitson, Todd Nauck525,05011+776.1%+733.7%+418.8%January 2009 #3Amazing Spider-Man #584Marc GuggenheimJohn Romita Jr.63,75412-87.9%-7.5%-34.9%February 2009 #1Amazing Spider-Man #585Marc GuggenheimJohn Romita Jr.60,286161-5.4%+0.6%-40.4%February 2009 #2Amazing Spider-Man #586Marc GuggenheimBarry Kitson59,521181-1.3%-88.7%-34.5%February 2009 #3Amazing Spider-Man #587Marc GuggenheimJohn Romita Jr.60,118171+1.0%-5.7%-31.7%March 2009 #1Amazing Spider-Man #588Marc GuggenheimJohn Romita Jr.61,33412+2.0%+1.7%-31.7%March 2009 #2Amazing Spider-Man #589Fred Van LentePaulo Siqueira58,83213-4.1%-1.2%-28.8%April 2009 #1Amazing Spider-Man #590Dan SlottBarry Kitson66,41517+12.9%+8.3%-23.6%April 2009 #2Amazing Spider-Man #591Dan SlottDale Eaglesham, Barry Kitson60,50824-8.9%+2.9%-22.9%April 2009 #3Amazing Spider-Man #592Mark WaidMike McKone65,94019+8.9%n/a-14.4%May 2009 #1Amazing Spider-Man #593Mark WaidMike McKone58,36316-11.5%-12.1%-24.2%May 2009 #2Amazing Spider-Man #594Mark WaidBarry Kitson, Mike McKone58,46415+0.2%-3.4%-21.2%May 2009 #3Amazing Spider-Man #595Joe KellyPhil Jimenez71,8379+22.9%+8.9%-2.9%June 2009 #1Amazing Spider-Man #596Joe KellyPaulo Siqueira63,52521-11.6%+8.8%-12.2%June 2009 #2Amazing Spider-Man #597Joe KellyMarco Checchetto61,64623-2.9%+5.4%-13.7%June 2009 #3Amazing Spider-Man #598Joe KellyMarco Checchetto, Paulo Siqueira61,58524-0.1%-14.3%-13.0%
July 2009 #1Amazing Spider-Man #599Joe KellyMarco Checchetto, Stephen Segovia, Paulo Siqueira72,41219+17.6%+13.9%+5.1%
July 2009 #2Amazing Spider-Man #600[complete list below]2[complete list below]3116,8574+61.4%+89.6%+68.9%
August 2009 #1Amazing Spider-Man #601Brian Michael Bendis, Mark WaidMario Alberti, Joe Quesada74,27917-36.4%+2.6%+9.0%
August 2009 #2Amazing Spider-Man #602Fred Van LenteBarry Kitson71,53219-3.7%-38.8%-32.1%
August 2009 #3Amazing Spider-Man #603Fred Van LenteRobert Atkins71,05121-0.7%n/a-17.8%
September 2009 #1Amazing Spider-Man #604Fred Van LenteBarry Kitson63,43518-10.7%-14.6%-29.1%
September 2009 #2Amazing Spider-Man #605Brian Reed, Fred Van LenteYanick Paquette, Javier Pulido, Luke Ross62,83119-0.9%-12.2%-21.6%
September 2009 #3Amazing Spider-Man #606Joe KellyMike McKone70,17714+11.7%-1.2%-12.5%
September 2009 #4Amazing Spider-Man #607Joe KellyMike McKone, Adriana Melo62,57020-10.8%n/an/a
October 2009 #1Amazing Spider-Man #608Marc GuggenheimMarco Checchetto, Luke Ross72,03510+15.1%+13.6%-12.7%
October 2009 #2Amazing Spider-Man #609Marc GuggenheimMarco Checchetto, Luke Ross61,17616-15.1%-2.6%-11.2%
November 2009 #1Amazing Spider-Man #610Marc GuggenheimMarco Checchetto, Luke Ross61,17017less than -0.1%-15.1%-11.3%
November 2009 #2Amazing Spider-Man #611Joe KellyEric Canete64,51415+5.5%+5.5%-15.8%
November 2009 #3Amazing Spider-Man #612Joe Kelly, Mark WaidPaul Azaceta, J.M. Ken Niimura68,45913+6.1%n/a-2.8%
November 2009 #4Amazing Spider-Man #613Mark WaidPaul Azaceta64,69914-5.5%n/an/a
December 2009 #1Amazing Spider-Man #614Mark WaidPaul Azaceta59,69622-7.7%-2.4%-14.5%
December 2009 #2Amazing Spider-Man #615Fred Van LenteJavier Pulido63,73816+6.8%-1.2%+1.2%
December 2009 #3Amazing Spider-Man #616Fred Van LenteJavier Pulido58,85623-7.7%-14.0%-14.6%
January 2010 #1Amazing Spider-Man #617Joe KellyMax Fiumara, Javier Pulido76,7306+30.4%+28.5%+28.0%
January 2010 #2Amazing Spider-Man #618Dan SlottMarcos Martin61,96914-19.2%-2.8%-88.2%
January 2010 #3Amazing Spider-Man #619Dan SlottMarcos Martin56,83717-8.3%-3.4%-10.8%
February 2010 #1Amazing Spider-Man #620Dan SlottMarcos Martin, Javier Pulido59,86015+5.3%-21.9%-0.7%
February 2010 #2Amazing Spider-Man #621Dan SlottMichael Lark55,35019-7.5%-10.7%-7.0%
February 2010 #3Amazing Spider-Man #622Fred Van Lente, Greg WeismanJoe Quinones, Luke Ross53,92922-2.6%-5.1%-10.3%
March 2010 #1Amazing Spider-Man #623Tom Peyer, Mark WaidPaul Azaceta66,06410+22.5%+10.4%+7.7%
March 2010 #2Amazing Spider-Man #624Tom Peyer, Mark WaidPaul Azaceta, Javier Rodriguez60,21314-8.9%+8.8%+2.3%
March 2010 #3Amazing Spider-Man #625Joe KellyMax Fiumara54,17919-10.0%+0.5%n/a
March 2010 #4Amazing Spider-Man #626Fred Van LenteMichael Gaydos53,86821-0.6%n/an/a
March 2010 #5Amazing Spider-Man #627Roger SternLee Weeks54,20618+0.6%n/an/a
April 2010 #1Amazing Spider-Man #628Tom Peyer, Roger Stern, Mark WaidTodd Nauck, Lee Weeks57,79717+6.6%-12.5%-12.9%
April 2010 #2Amazing Spider-Man #629Roger SternLee Weeks53,56019-7.3%-11.0%-11.5%
May 2010 #1Amazing Spider-Man #630Zeb WellsChris Bachalo57,96921+8.2%+0.3%-0.7%
May 2010 #2Amazing Spider-Man #631Zeb WellsChris Bachalo, Emma Rios57,23922-1.3%+6.9%-2.1%
May 2010 #3Amazing Spider-Man #632Zeb WellsChris Bachalo, Emma Rios56,72323-0.9%n/a-21.0%
June 2010 #1Amazing Spider-Man #633Zeb WellsChris Bachalo, Emma Rios57,67017+1.7%-0.5%-9.2%
June 2010 #2Amazing Spider-Man #634J.M. DeMatteis, Joe Kelly, Stan LeeMax Fiumara, Michael Lark, Marcos Martin61,73616+7.1%+7.9%+0.1%
June 2010 #3Amazing Spider-Man #635J.M. DeMatteis, Joe Kelly, Stan LeeMax Fiumara, Michael Lark, Marcos Martin56,14621-9.1%-1.0%-8.8%
1Amazing Spider-Man #583, the issue in which Barack Obama guest-starred, ranked first in sales during both January and February of 2009.
2Complete list of writers for Amazing Spider-Man #600: Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, Bob Gale, Marc Guggenheim, Joe Kelly, Stan Lee, Jeph Loeb, Dan Slott, Mark Waid and Zeb Wells.
3Complete list of artists for Amazing Spider-Man #600: Mario Alberti, Mitch Breitweiser, Derec Donovan, Colleen Doran, Max Fiumara, Klaus Janson, Andy Lanning, Marcos Martin, Mike McKone and John Romita Jr.
Footnote on how to read the charts: I've purposefully color-coded the charts so that the start of each year begins with red, the same months in each year always have the same colors, and each rainbow of colors always recycles after six months. So, every six months, the rainbow recycles back to red. :)
Regular readers will recall that I had a minor bet riding on these results, and unless the sales figures for July suddenly jump up around 20K or so, I think it's safe to say that I just won. Indeed, if anything, my earlier sales predictions were overly optimistic.
This sales performance bodes especially ill when you remember that this is only the second month of the Endless Season of Variant Covers, and this month set a new low for variant cover sales for the NuSpidey era to date.
Also worth noting? The second issue of the "Grim Hunt" story arc - the first of the arc with only one variant cover - sold lower than every single issue of "Shed." Not good, especially since "Grim Hunt" was supposed to be more important and eagerly anticipated than "Shed."
As always, our regular watermarks ...
- Paul O'Brien's "magic number:" 63,463.
- The highest-selling issue of Amazing Spider-Man in June with three variant covers: 61,736.
- The highest-selling issue of Amazing Spider-Man in June with one variant cover: 57,670.
- The lowest-selling issue of Amazing Spider-Man in June with one variant cover: 56,146.
- Paul O'Brien, Jan. 30, 2008.
... Including the John Byrne and Howard Mackie "reboot" era:
Amazing Spider-Man sales: August 1998-April 2001
Month, YearIssue, Original # (Reboot #)Writer(s)Artist(s)EstimateRankIssue-to-Issue %Year-to-Year %August 1998Amazing Spider-Man #440 (n/a)1John ByrneRafael Kayanan64,49716+1.6%-10.9%September 1998Amazing Spider-Man #441 (n/a)1John ByrneRafael Kayanan69,05321+7.1%-1.2%November 1998Amazing Spider-Man #442 (#1)John Byrne, Howard MackieJohn Byrne, Rafael Kayanan124,9034+80.9%+80.3%December 1998Amazing Spider-Man #443 (#2)Howard MackieJohn Byrne102,4777-17.9%+54.8%January 1999Amazing Spider-Man #444 (#3)Howard MackieJohn Byrne83,89111-18.1%+23.1%February 1999Amazing Spider-Man #445 (#4)Howard MackieJohn Byrne78,78111-6.1%+23.9%March 1999Amazing Spider-Man #446 (#5)Howard MackieJohn Byrne76,82912-2.5%+8.9%April 1999Amazing Spider-Man #447 (#6)Howard MackieJohn Byrne74,47512-3.1%+6.4%May 1999Amazing Spider-Man #448 (#7)Howard MackieJohn Byrne71,58015-3.9%+8.4%June 1999Amazing Spider-Man #449 (#8)Howard MackieJohn Byrne70,03312-2.2%+5.2%July 1999Amazing Spider-Man #450 (#9)Howard MackieJohn Byrne67,26413-3.9%+5.9%August 1999Amazing Spider-Man #451 (#10)Howard MackieJohn Byrne64,06011-4.8%-0.7%September 1999Amazing Spider-Man #452 (#11)Howard MackieJohn Byrne61,13512-4.6%-11.5%October 1999Amazing Spider-Man #453 (#12)Howard MackieJohn Byrne, Sean Phillips62,01811+1.4%n/aNovember 1999Amazing Spider-Man #454 (#13)John ByrneJohn Byrne58,88313-5.1%-52.9%December 1999Amazing Spider-Man #455 (#14)John ByrneJohn Byrne61,91711+5.2%-39.6%January 2000Amazing Spider-Man #456 (#15)Howard MackieJohn Byrne56,41313-8.9%-32.8%February 2000Amazing Spider-Man #457 (#16)Howard MackieJohn Byrne53,22215-5.7%-32.4%March 2000Amazing Spider-Man #458 (#17)Howard MackieJohn Byrne54,09714+1.6%-29.6%April 2000Amazing Spider-Man #459 (#18)Howard MackieJohn Byrne53,21816-1.6%-28.5%May 2000Amazing Spider-Man #460 (#19)Howard MackieErik Larsen52,99512-0.4%-25.9%June 2000Amazing Spider-Man #461 (#20)Howard MackieErik Larsen53,51512+0.9%-23.6%July 2000Amazing Spider-Man #462 (#21)Howard MackieErik Larsen51,90314-3.0%-22.8%August 2000Amazing Spider-Man #463 (#22)Howard MackieJohn Romita Jr.49,89113-3.9%-22.1%September 2000Amazing Spider-Man #464 (#23)Howard MackieJohn Romita Jr.49,29118-1.2%-19.4%October 2000Amazing Spider-Man #465 (#24)Howard MackieJohn Romita Jr.50,18314+1.8%-19.1%November 2000Amazing Spider-Man #466 (#25) [both covers]Howard MackieJohn Romita Jr.60,308122+20.2%+2.4%November 2000Amazing Spider-Man #466 (#25) [foil-enhanced cover]Howard MackieJohn Romita Jr.45,391242-9.5%-22.9%November 2000Amazing Spider-Man #466 (#25) [regular cover]Howard MackieJohn Romita Jr.14,9171422-70.3%-74.7%December 2000Amazing Spider-Man #467 (#26)Howard MackieJohn Romita Jr.49,54816-17.8%3-19.9%January 2001Amazing Spider-Man #468 (#27)Howard MackieJohn Romita Jr.49,19017-0.7%-12.8%February 2001Amazing Spider-Man #469 (#28)Howard MackieJoe Bennett48,55916-1.3%-8.8%March 2001Amazing Spider-Man #470 (#29)Howard MackieLee Weeks48,804416+0.5%-9.8%April 2001Amazing Spider-Man #471 (#30)5J. Michael StraczynskiJohn Romita Jr.77,31445+58.4%+45.3%
1Amazing Spider-Man #440 and #441 technically precede the start of the John Byrne and Howard Mackie "reboot" of the title, but are included in this chart because they established the "reboot" in the same way that "One More Day" established "Brand New Day."
2The Comics Chronicles, in its monthly sales figures for November of 2000, does not list a single rank for both covers of Amazing Spider-Man #466 (#25), and instead lists separate ranks for this issue's foil-enhanced and regular covers, but the combined sales of both covers of this issue would give it a rank of 12 for this month.
3This issue-to-issue percentage is based on the comparison between the sales of Amazing Spider-Man #467 (#26) and the combined sales of both covers of Amazing Spider-Man #466 (#25).
4ICv2 started listing monthly sales figures in March of 2001, and lists sales figures of 45,436 for Amazing Spider-Man #470 (#29) and 71,392 for Amazing Spider-Man #471 (#30). The Comics Chronicles lists monthly sales figures for all 30-plus months of the John Byrne and Howard Mackie "reboot" of the title, and all monthly sales figures listed in this chart are drawn from The Comics Chronicles, to maintain internal consistency in its issue-to-issue and year-to-year percentages.
5Amazing Spider-Man #470 (#29) marks the end of the John Byrne and Howard Mackie "reboot" of the title, but Amazing Spider-Man #471 (#30) is included in this chart for comparison purposes.
Footnote on how to read the charts: I've purposefully color-coded the charts so that the start of each year begins with red, the same months in each year always have the same colors, and each rainbow of colors always recycles after six months. So, every six months, the rainbow recycles back to red. :)
How poisoned has the Spider-Man franchise become? An issue of Amazing Spider-Man with new stories written by Stan Lee, J.M. DeMatteis and Joe Kelly, the latter of whom is writing a sequel to one of the most well-regarded Spider-Man stories of all time, can't even sell as well as the John Byrne and Howard Mackie "reboot" of the title was selling at 15 months in, and Byrne and Mackie were hitting that 56K mark without any variant covers. That's like losing a dick-measuring contest to John Wayne Bobbitt after you've been using an Austin Powers Swedish-made penis enlarger pump.