Observations on Feb. 2014 Diamond GN Chart - DC

DC tends to publish about 25 new books a month, and this month was right on average for them. For convenience I'll divide them into three groups.

The first is the New 52, collections of their current mainstream super-hero line. Until the recent decision to cancel the GREEN TEAM collection, every on-going book in the line was collected, with the top sellers getting an initial hadcover followed by a softcover the day the next hardcover volume ships (see FLASH this month), and the other books going straight to softcover. Occasionally crossover storylines (like WRATH OF THE FIRST LANTERN this month) also get a separate collection. There are about ten New 52 collections every month, eleven this month.

There's a pretty wide spread in sales, mostly matching the monthly sales of those books. The spread is actually even wider, since that FLASH TP VOL 02 book has already sold over 3200 copies in the direct market in hardcover, and will probably continue to sell as backlist much better than those lower sellers, six of which collect issues of books already cancelled.

FLASH TP VOL 02 ROGUES REVOLUTION (N52) : 2753 copies
CONSTANTINE TP VOL 01 SPARK AND THE FLAME (N52) : 2675 copies
GREEN LANTERN WRATH OF THE FIRST LANTERN HC (N52) : 2478 copies
FLASH HC VOL 03 GORILLA WARFARE (N52) : 2103 copies
SUPERGIRL TP VOL 03 SANCTUARY (N52) : 1996 copies
DEATHSTROKE TP VOL 02 LOBO HUNT (N52) : 1734 copies
DIAL H TP VOL 02 EXCHANGE (N52) : 1526 copies
LEGION OF SUPER HEROES TP VOL 03 FATAL FIVE (N52) : 1116 copies
RAVAGERS TP VOL 02 HEAVENLY DESTRUCTION (N52) : 891 copies
THRESHOLD TP VOL 01 THE HUNTED (N52) : 819 copies
DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS TP VOL 03 BLACK LIGHTNING BLUE DEVIL (N52) : 767 copies

DC's Vertigo line usually accounts for about four or five entries every month.  This month is a little bit heavy for them, as they're in the process of re-issuing some books in updated formats, usually more pages per volume. For example, DMZ will be collected in 5 books in this format, instead of the 11 in the original format. In fact, only two of the eight books they have this month collect material which has never been collected before: FBP (collecting the first storyline of a new book) and STRANGE ADVENTURES (collecting several short story anthologies).

FBP FEDERAL BUREAU OF PHYSICS TP VOL 01 : 2648 copies
WE3 TP NEW ED : 2140 copies
FABLES DELUXE EDITION HC VOL 08 : 1794 copies
SPACEMAN TP : 1525 copies
DMZ DELUXE EDITION HC BOOK 01 : 1320 copies
INVISIBLES HC BOOK 01 DELUXE EDITION : 1293 copies
UNKNOWN SOLDIER TP NEW ED : 961 copies
STRANGE ADVENTURES TP : 864 copies

The third category is everything else, this month consisting of two collections of recent comics for younger readers and four collections of mainstream super-hero books from before the New 52 reboot. Only one of those four, MARTIAN MANHUNTER, collects material which hasn't been collected before, either in hardcover versions of the same books or previous smaller collections.

BATMAN LIL GOTHAM TP VOL 01 : 2298 copies

SUPERMAN FAMILY ADVENTURES TP VOL 02 : 1581 copies

POWER GIRL POWER TRIP TP : 1544 copies

JLA TP VOL 04 : 1520 copies

LEGION OF SUPER HEROES GREAT DARKNESS SAGA TP NEW ED : 996 copies

MARTIAN MANHUNTER SON OF MARS TP : 898 copies