Posted in: Comics | Tagged:

The Bleeding Cool Bestseller List, 29th August, 2019 – "Numbers Dropped But X-Men Remains Bulletproof"

Published Sun, 29 Sep 2019 12:00:53 -0500

This is the Top Ten Bleeding Cool Bestseller List, as compiled by a number of comic stores from their sales on Wednesday and Thursday. It measures what are known as the "Wednesday Warriors", those who can't wait till the weekend to get this week's comics. Overall, Powers of X's penultimate issue tops the charts ahead of Batman and Spider-Man. Harleen launched strongly, while New Mutants War Children makes a case for more of this and even SFSX sneaked in…

Top ten bestselling comics of the week

Powers of X #5
Batman/Superman #2
Batman: Curse Of The White Knight #3
Amazing Spider-Man #30
Harleen #1
Detective Comics #1012
New Mutants War Children #1
Avengers #24
SFSX #1
Shazam #7

Thanks to the following retailers…

Famous Faces & Funnies of West Melbourne, Florida
Rodman Comics, Ankeny, Iowa.
Ssalefish Comics, Winston-Salem & Greensboro, North Carolina.
Comix Experience Outpost, San Francisco, California
Fat Jack's Comicrypt, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Collector's Paradise Pasadena, California.

Who had this to say:

Weird week. I think most people were waiting until our Saturday sale.

—-

Another week another Top Ten led by Powers of X at FFF. With only two weeks left on the event/crossover/smash success it'll be interesting to see if the X-Titles can keep the momentum going. We've gotten positive responses from several customers who are already asking for some of the titles but not many are going all in with all six. Harleen came in just behind Pox only selling three issues less than the mutant power(s)house. Stjepan Sejic has a bit of a cult following with his sexy comics, so putting him on a character like Harley Quinn and then giving him a "mature" leaning book is a surefire way to make a hit. Batman actually hit our Top Ten in FOUR places with Batman/Superman, Curse of the White Knight and Detective Comics making it to spots #3, 4 and 6 respectively. Amazing Spider-Man with the help of being an Absolute Carnage tie-in managed to squeak between Curse and Tec but the web slinger is also usually somewhere near the middle of our Top Ten list anyway. New Mutants was actually the surprise hit of the week where it was our #7 best seller. To see a one shot of a side team do this well gives me hope for books like Fallen Angels and Marauders (and of course New Mutants). Once and Future #2 has cracked the Top Ten in it's second week to nobody's surprise. While the first issue was a one hit wonder for some retailers, I'm happy to see that we've retained more readers than flippers (at least I hope thats the case).

—-

The numbers dropped on everything this week due to a slew of events going on in our neck of the woods, but the X-Men remain bulletproof. Typical heavy-hitters sold far less than usual (a lot of folks are saving up for Force Friday and local conventions) and yet, despite that, Powers of X #5 sold the exact same amount that it has every week prior and took the top spot yet again, meaning HOXPOX has dominated sales for 10 weeks straight without competition. Harleen was a book we were unsure about, and though it lacked the heat that other Black Label titles have had, I think it had a relatively successful launch. The format and price tag, as is the case with previous Black Label titles, can turn people away, and Harley doesn't have the same enormous customer base as Batman or Superman. Regardless, its sales were significantly bolstered by Stjepan Sejic's doggedly loyal fanbase, and I have no doubt those same folks will continue to pick it up. Otherwise, it was a pretty slow week, though we were woefully unprepared for just how many people would want the New Mutants War Children one-shot. Hoping to get some more in, and grateful they're doing a second printing.

—-

POWERS OF X sits at the top of the heap, as expected, this week. Other than that, this was a quieter week for us compared to much of the last month or so.

The rest of the top half is unsurprising heavyweights along the lines of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN and BATMAN SUPERMAN.

Coming in at the middle of the pack is DC's newest Black Label offering: HARLEEN, brought to us by incredible artist Stjepan Sejic, serves to offer a somewhat more modernized look at the origin of Harley Quinn.

Towards the bottom we see more familiar faces like DETECTIVE COMICS and AVENGERS. Most notable, in my humble opinion, is the lovely one-shot NEW MUTANTS WAR CHILDREN, featuring Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz revisiting a classic era of the title.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!