Posted in: Comics, Image | Tagged: Exquisite Corpses, james tynion iv, Michael Walsh, NYCC

Exquisite Corpses Increases Its Sales From #3 To #4

James Tynion IV and Michael Walsh's Exquisite Corpses increases its sales from #3 To #4

Published Wed, 10 Sep 2025 09:56:04 -0500

Last updated Wed, 10 Sep 2025 13:54:21 -0500

Article Summary

Exquisite Corpses by James Tynion IV and Michael Walsh sees a rare sales increase from issue #3 to #4.
The series bucks industry trends by gaining readers after the initial launch, defying usual sales drops.
Each issue features top guest creators, building a dark, collaborative story around serial killers and power.
Multiple reprints and rising popularity hint at future announcements, with issue #5 releasing soon.

Image Comics has been jumping on James Tynion IV, as they battle it out with Boom Studios and DC Vertigo for his attention, but the recent Exquisite Corpses series, created with Michael Walsh, and inviting all manner of creators to play the game with him, has been doing very well. Indeed, it has done that most elusive of tricks, increasing orders from issue 3 to issue 4.

Most comics start off strong, before losing some sales after the first issue and all its variants, and the subsequent second issue,s before settling into what the ongoing readership of that series will be for the long term. Rarely do those sales start to rise. But it seems that Exquisite Corpses has been enough of a hit, even after the flush of the first issue, to keep attention and bring in some new readers. Thank goodness the second and third printings have helped folk catch up with what's been going on. Over its first three issues, Exquisite Corpses has had an average of around 40,000 orders an issue, and did the usual strong-launch-and-settle publication trend… until orders for #4 came in and kicked things up a notch. This is the kind of sales pattern that was enjoyed by series like Saga… even books like Sandman, Walking Dead, Stray Dogs, Ice Cream Man, and Something Is Killing The Children took time for those sales to start rising. Oh and talking of which, Exquisite Corpses has had another sellthrough which means more printings across the run so far.

Michael Walsh had a history on his own anthology series The Silver Coin, in curating guest creators to contribute their own horror chops, a particular favorite was Jeff Lemire's contribution, and many of them have turned up in Exquisite Corpses, taking on the tale of a town in which the richest and most powerful families fight amongst themselves with the most elaborate and famous serial killers, to ensure their dominance in the years to come, with invited creators concocting their own serial killers to take on the fight, including Adam Gorham, Becca Carey, Che Grayson, Claire Roe, Gavin Fullerton, Jordie Bellaire, Marianna Ignazzi, Pornsak Pichetshote, Tyler Boss and Valentine De Landro.

What's next? Well, New York Comic Con is next. And they might just have a movie or TV show to announce. How they will divvy that out between the credits so far, I have no idea… Exquisite Corpses #5 is also out next week. If you can find it.

EXQUISITE CORPSES #5
(W) Jordie Bellaire, James Tynion IV (A) Claire Roe, Michael Walsh (CA) Michael Walsh
It's murder on the dance floor as killers converge at the NoLife concert…but can the sparks of young love between two incendiary psychopaths win out over bloodlust and bounties? Heads will roll as Eisner Award-winning multi-hyphenate JORDIE BELLAIRE (REDLANDS) and red-hot artist CLAIRE ROE (Dark Spaces: The Hollywood Special) join **JAMES TYNION IV **and MICHAEL WALSH for the most terrifying meet-cute of the year! $4.99 9/17/2025

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!