But even more interesting is what we’re hearing from within Image about sales trends beyond the #1 and multiple series bucking attrition. Both Patrick Kindlon & EPHK’s Tigress Island #2 orders and Doug Wagner & Daniel Hillyard’s Narco #2 orders exceeded that of their first issue sellout orders, and Malevolent #3 orders exceeded that of its issue #2.
But the rising tide reaches even farther than just those second issues. I’m also hearing from sources that W. Maxwell Prince and Martin Morazzo’s Ice Cream Man #45 orders came in well above that of #44, Geoff Johns & Bryan Hitch’s Redcoat #17 orders were up over that of #16, G.I. Joe #21 orders were up over #20, and Todd McFarlane’s Spawn spin-off, The Scorched, celebrated its 50th issue with a whopping 150,000 in orders at FOC.
This is all on the close heels of the D’Orc and White Sky breakout sales numbers, which are apparently still going up, and I understand that D’Orc #3 had orders higher than both #1 and #2. This is the kind of thing I think DC Comics expected from its Vertigo revamp, given all the previews in the Absolute titles. And it worked a bit with Bleeding Hearts, sure, but it seems a little anaemic compared to where Image, Mad Cave, Vault, Oni, and even AMP have found new readers recently. What will Paramount make of all this?
Meanwhile Image Comics collected editions and OGNs regularly grab award nominations, like Jeff Lemire’s Fishflies Nebula nomination announcement last week, and starred reviews in the book trade media: Fishflies also raked in Starred Reviews from Booklist, Library Journal, and Shelf Awareness. Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ latest Criminal saga, Five Gears In Reverse, and the upcoming paperback of Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martín’s Barrier, are also locked in Starred Reviews. To the uninitiated, a “Starred Review” often directly converts to sales in the book market. Will Image books’ quality outshine even the wiliest sales-incentive-bundle grifts? Or will they need to just say “when in Rome…”
We have talked now for years how great the quality of the Image titles have been, Ghost Machine (Geiger, Rook Exodus, Hyde Street, Redcoat), Ice Cream Man. This makes me happy that readers are finding their way into these titles. When I got back into comics after a hiatus in 2013-2014 it was Image Comics that brought me back. I feel something similar is happening here, lots of lapse readers who are finding their way back into the comic shops.
I’m seeing this in my LCS. Lots of new faces (and younger too).
Granted DC is doing well, I feel new collector/readers are just not into the traditional superhero thing. A lot of these titles don’t have them. Just a pattern I’ve noticed.
Does seem to come and go in waves, for most of the publishers. Readers/Collectors get tired of the big two publishers and they start picking up Indie books and Image kind of leads that as the big one for creator owned titles and then when those get swamped with crud, seems consumers tend to switch back to DC or Marvel.
To be fair, The Scorched #50 orders were supercharged by people trying for a chance at a sketch by McFarlane.
