Sales Report for January 2009:
http://www.comichron.com/monthlycomi...9/2009-01.html

Items of Interest:

Rank: Item: Issue# Unit Price: Units Sold
147 Transformers Revenge Fallen Movie Pq Defiance #1 $3.99 10,466

150 Transformers Revenge Fallen Movie Pq Alliance #2 $3.99 10,270

211 Transformers Maximum Dinobots #2 $3.99 5,317

Before I begin, again I’d like to reiterate that these are the sales numbers to retailers. Not the actual retail sales. Obviously, it’s far harder to gauge retail sales given the fragmented nature of the retail market. These numbers are from Diamond Distributors and while not reflective of the actual retail sales for a month, they do reflect trends in customer demand as retailers adjust current orders based on their data from previous months.

In the comics industry, January is often considered one of the “dead” months of the year. This is the post Christmas season where sales are flat. The month was a flat one for comics but arguably much worse for our Robots in Disguise. There are two primary indicators we need to examine.

The first is the opening figure for Transformers: ROTF Defiance. It opened at 10, 466 units. With a movie in sight, one would expect the numbers to not be so flat. Perhaps we can attribute part of the reason to the fact that it is January. Retailers are reluctant to take a punt on a comic – even if it has a hype machine behind it. The impact on cash flow in a quiet month of slow moving stock is something that retailers don’t want. .Even more so given the state of the American economy.

That brings us to an interesting point. To what extent is spending in the comic industry responsive to changes in the broader economy. It’s an age old argument that comic sales are reasonably unresponsive to changes in the economy. The argument is that comic fans are obsessive. They persist with their comics as it one of their primary sources of entertainment. I’m inclined to agree with this view. But I place one qualification. It depends on the nature of the comic in question. If a comic is tailored to a strong fanbase, has a loyal following, expect this to be true. If this is more of a passing/special interest title then its sales success is far more likely to move with the fortunes of the economy.

Now, moving onto the second of the indicators aforementioned. Maximum Dinobots #2 closed at less than 5,371 units. Is there anyone, absolutely anyone, who can still defend this book? Where is the so-called loyal fan-base of Simon Furman? It’s been long argued that Mr. Furman is a venerated veteran. I think what these numbers show us that his time has past. These numbers are appalling. They’re pathetic. He was the driving force behind IDW’s version of Transformers and all he’s done is run it into a hole it won’t dig itself out of. Fact is, sentimentality isn’t enough. We need cold hard numbers and the only thing Maximum Dinobot’s cold hard number are telling us is that Furman’s titles are beyond hope. At the rate this title is going, it might not even be in the Top 300 Comics at this rate and that is deeply concerning for a franchise that used to be much stronger.

A notable absence is All Hail Megatron which failed to register an issue this month. This will of course hurt its sales too as the later a comic is released than its solicitation date, the more interest that is lost. Part of its momentum disappears. Given that IDW managed to find an artist by the name of Don Figueroa, no small name at all, for ROTF Defiance #3, it’s rather mind-boggling that they couldn’t fill in the gap for January. Sure, ROTF is movie related and TPB is due to coincide with the movie but there are plenty of artists in IDW’s stable who don’t seem too busy at the moment. It’ll be interesting to see how the next issue of AHM tracks.

The TF last item was ROTF: Alliance #2. Less than 500 units separated it from ROTF: Destiny. This seems to suggest that retailers are treating them as complementary to one another. It doesn’t bode well for either ROTF series then as given that ROTF Alliance #1 came in at 11,551, it would appear that we can only expect a further decline to below 10,000 units for the prequels. This is surprisiig especially when you recall that the first Transformers Movie Prequel actually sold out at Diamond and went back for a 2nd printing.

Trade Paperback Collections

Rank Title: Month Released: Unit Price Publisher Units Sold
117 Transformers Movie Prequel Saga of the All NEW $17.99 IDW 1,169

171 Transformers Armada Vol. 2 NEW $19.99 IDW 809

There were two trades in January 2009. The first were repaints from the exclusive UK magazine. It sold 1,169 units. Not the most inspiring of openings but its hard to gauge how it would have been received. The 2007 Movie has long gone and the momentum behind it is no longer there. Other than to the faithful, its appeal isn’t as broad.

The other item, Armada vol.2 performed poorly at only 809 units. It is a reprint of a series that is now long forgotten. Its only saving grace was that it was written by Simon Furman. But given his name doesn’t move as many units anymore, its unlikely that would have helped it.