There's been quite a few problems within the comic book industry over the past decade. Sales are falling, and a majority of the reason is because of two very different reasons: disinterested readers and people downloading comic books illegally. It's no secret that things aren't doing as good as they should be. The system needs to be fixed before it's too late, and DC comics took a HUGE risk by revamping all of their books in order to bring new readers.

August 31st was a landmark day for comic books and DC comics. Justice League #1, the first book of the new 52 revamped DC books, was released and hit some record numbers. The new 52 took heavy criticism from press and fans alike, but the actual release of the book has made the vast majority of naysayers come around. How big was this launch, and how did it affect retailers?

Today, DC's The Source released some more info and numbers on Justice League's impact on the world of comic books. Not only was Justice League #1 the best selling book of August, it was the best selling book (so far) of 2011:

With a first printing exceeding 200,000 copies, JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 was the highest first printing of any DC Comics’ title since 2006′s JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA # 1 by NEW YORK TIMES bestselling writer Brad Meltzer, Ed Benes and Sandra Hope.

Not only that, but it's the first book to break the 200,000 with a first printing since Amazing Spider-Man #583, according to the numbers on The Comics Chronicles, and that needed the power of an Obama fist-bump to get people to buy it. The second printing on this book is also already sold out, and now, the third printing is on sale.

Justice League is one of ten books to have first prints of more than 100,000 copies, and aside from that, there's more sell out news:

All 13 of the Week 3 titles from DC Comics: The New 52 have sold out from Diamondin advance of publicationand are going back to press, including BATMAN AND ROBIN, BATWOMAN, DEATHSTROKE, DEMON KNIGHTS, FRANKENSTEIN, AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E., GREEN LANTERN, GRIFTER, LEGION LOST, MISTER TERRIFIC, RED LANTERNS, RESURRECTION MAN, SUICIDE SQUAD and SUPERBOY.

Right off the bat, this seems like a HUGE step in the right direction. From personal experience, working at the comic book store, it's been pretty awesome. When the boxes of Justice League issues came in, I thought that there was no way we were going to sell as many copies as we ordered, but when the comic went on sale, it was a madhouse, and we ended up selling out of the book.

It wasn't just dedicated DC fans picking up the book. Marvel and Indy fans gave it a shot, and they liked it, but more importantly, the book brought in new and old readers alike. I saw fathers, who haven't read Justice League in years, bringing in their sons, who haven't read Justice League ever, pick up copies. Mothers brought in their daughters. Guys who told me they'd never read a DC comic, ever, picked it up. It was this really cool moment, as a retailer, to see people excited for comics again.

Honestly, I haven't seen non-comic readers this excited for a book since the Amazing Spider-Man/Obama issue, and before that was the death of Captain America. It's been a really cool moment for fans of comic books, and the industry. Sure, it may be too soon to say this is great for the industry, but look at what the new 52 has done so far.

It's got people talking about comics again, and it's not just about someone's death. Sure, we've seen two iconic characters "die" in the past 10 years that really got people talking, Captain America and Batman, but after the death, no one cared anymore. People bought the single issue and left it at that. The new 52 may have be able to keep those new readers on the books. After Justice League came out, the next weekend, I saw those same people trying out Action Comics and Detective Comics. It may be true that not every new reader did it, but we are seeing repeat customers who haven't stepped foot in a comic book store in over a decade.

Aside from the new readers, the new books are extremely solid. There is a great variety of stories and genres to choose from, and in my opinion, the majority of them are great reads. Standing above all of them is Swamp Thing and Batwing. Sure, I enjoyed Action Comics, Stormwatch, Justice League and a few others, but Swamp Thing and Batwing truly stood out as books that were enjoyable and refreshing to the comic book industry. As a comic book reader and fan, as disappointed I was, at first, they were doing this, I am 100% behind the cause and loving what is going on at DC right now.

Whether you're a DC or Marvel fan, you have to admit that this is the "kick in the butt" that the comic book industry needed. Between reader disinterest and online thieves, watching the industry was like watching the best apple tree in town slowly wither because everyone forgot to water it. The new 52 is doing exactly what DC hoped it would do "bring new readers in." While I cannot say the "comic book revival is here," it seems like a start in the right direction, and frankly, DC is doing something, while others remain stale. Hopefully, it has lasting effects, and it keeps people interested for a long time as well. Do you guys think the new 52 is the start a new comic book revival?

marvel sure aint with all those events. i remember a time when they did 2-3 events tops a YEAR. now event this event that. everything will change but not really.

It's a bold move, but I'd consider it a revival of the Super Hero Comicbook Industry, rather than the Industry as a whole. Sure, it might open the door for some people to read Indies and stuff, but at the same time, it's not going completely bring everything back to life because they rebooted and started again.  
 
Good on them for doing a great job and selling their comics well, good on them for creating and crafting some great stories. I just don't think they're going to be the Comic Industry Messiah, is all.

Marvel is killing its readers with events. DC is working on a storyline that isn't full of massive wars and chaos...I applaud them.

Yes! I'm so glad they are doing well. DC Comics is going to be the best there is soon and I hope that a lot of people continue to read these amazing stories!

I'm curious about this lasting much.But they have more chance than Marvel to make money.First because they won't have an event in the close months,second they are starting from #1 al of their famous series and third and last Marvel are making everything an event this days.

Well in here in Scotland, Glasgow to be more specific, they sold out all their copies of Detective Comics, and the guy behind the counter said they had sold the equivalent of two months worth in one day. So I think to some degree it is working. Batgirl was another big seller, but the smaller titles were still left in bulk, like Batwing and Green Arrow. A surprising one that had been left largely untouched was Action Comics. They still had like thirty issues left, and Batgirl had sold more than Supes did. 

Well, I know they got me to spend money I was going to use on something else. It has been a while since I last had the money to buy a bunch of comics so I feel behind (lets see it was like around Batman and Robin #5) So it just became a bigger number of comics I have to catch up on. But they got me to go buy the new issues since I could start over. I am still going to buy all the Batmans and GLs I missed but I need money.

As long as DC still has Lobo I'll be happy. I'll be ecstatic if they bring back Hitman!

The real question is, will it stay that way? It's one thing to get something hyped for the first few weeks, if something else if they can maintain it.

I'm a Marvel and DC reader and I definitely can't admit that this is the kick in the butt the industry needed and I'm not really sure how I feel about this article.  I'd love to see some data that supports the idea that sales are falling due to disinterested readers and people pirating comics.  What's the total loss in revenue due to pirating?  Plus  I think it's way too soon to say that DC's reviving the industry, especially from a couple months of high sales that may or may not have been fueled by speculation, and personal comic shop experience isn't evidence enough to support that.  I'm hyped that DC books are doing well (Animal Man has been my favorite #1 so far) but the idea that a company spanning reboot might revive the comic book industry just seems like  a bit of a stretch right now.

Yes! I'm so glad they are doing well. DC Comics is going to be the best there is soon and I hope that a lot of people continue to read these amazing stories!

It is way too soon to call this a success. As pointed out in the article, random issues of certain titles have hit these kinds of numbers in the past, only to have those numbers drop back down with the very next issue. Generating interest is easier than sustaining interest. If.. & fell I must stress that word... if  the second issue... than the third... than the fourth can sustain that level of sales, then there's cause for cautious optimism. My biggest concern is that a lot of the people buying these books are speculators, looking to turn a quick profit on re-sales of sold out books. According to my local comic shop, Batgirl #1 was already on ebay, & like sites, selling for $10 -$15 dollars, the day it was released in stores. I shouldn't have to remind anyone of how damaging speculators can be to the comics industry. 
 
 On an entirely different note...  Green Arrow #1 sold out of it's initial print run? Seriously? Outside of George Perez's ink work on the art, that comic was terrible.

Reviving the Comic Book industry is quite the dramatic leap, don't you think? A month hasn't even passed since they started these reboots.
 
I'm still questioning if this Reboot is really going to bring in all these new readers they are hoping for. For one matter, how are new readers even going to know about this? I'm still not that impressed by the Justice League #1 sales. Yeah, it sold out, but that's just because everyone has been making a big fuss about it.  It's similar to when news media is all talking about some politician or vapid celebrities book non stop. Then everyone is all surprised when it hits the Top 10 list on Amazon or something.
 
When all this media attention dies down, will they be able to keep these numbers. That would be more telling than a one month spike in sales.
 
Put this into perspective. In Japan, Once Piece Volume 63 that was released in August had an initial printing for 3.9 Million units. In under a week, it sold over 2 Millions. It broke the record for most manga sold in one week. This isn't a flash in the pan either.For the past two years they have been selling over 2 million for each released volume.
The US has three times the population of Japan, but even at it's best the US comics can only manage a fraction of those numbers.
 
Trying to make some claim that DC is fixing what has been failing for so long, and they would never do it again. That's an awful lot like an alcoholic saying they're three days sober and will never touch a drink again.

Respect to DC for the "NEW 52" Television Ads, regardless of the DCnU's content it's good to see that kind of visibility for the medium. Bravo. 
(Saw the AD 4 times on BBCAmerica last night.)

@chalkshark said:

It is way too soon to call this a success. As pointed out in the article, random issues of certain titles have hit these kinds of numbers in the past, only to have those numbers drop back down with the very next issue. Generating interest is easier than sustaining interest. If.. & fell I must stress that word... if the second issue... than the third... than the fourth can sustain that level of sales, then there's cause for cautious optimism. My biggest concern is that a lot of the people buying these books are speculators, looking to turn a quick profit on re-sales of sold out books. According to my local comic shop, Batgirl #1 was already on ebay, & like sites, selling for $10 -$15 dollars, the day it was released in stores. I shouldn't have to remind anyone of how damaging speculators can be to the comics industry. On an entirely different note... Green Arrow #1 sold out of it's initial print run? Seriously? Outside of George Perez's ink work on the art, that comic was terrible.

It has only been two weeks, but take for example the horror that was the Obama/Spidey crossover. People came in for that, and we never saw them again. I've seen a great deal of repeat customers from week one to week two. They aren't just buying one issue and running away. However, they could just be buying all the numbers ones and trying to sell them, but through conversations I've had with people, they truly seem to be enjoying the experience.

@FoxxFireArt said:

Reviving the Comic Book industry is quite the dramatic leap, don't you think? A month hasn't even passed since they started these reboots.

It is a giant leap, and while I don't think it's fair to say they flat-out have or haven't done so, the DC reboot is the ONLY thing any company has tried to do in order to gain new readership

@FoxxFireArt said:

Put this into perspective. In Japan, Once Piece Volume 63 that was released in August had an initial printing for 3.9 Million units. In under a week, it sold over 2 Millions. It broke the record for most manga sold in one week. This isn't a flash in the pan either.For the past two years they have been selling over 2 million for each released volume. The US has three times the population of Japan, but even at it's best the US comics can only manage a fraction of those numbers.

I saw that, and it is an amazing feat. But, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Manga a much larger part of Japanese culture than comic books are a part of American culture?

I don't want to sound like a spoilsport here, but wouldn't it be best to let the dust settle before calling this the saving grace of the American comic market.

No. It's alienating long time passionate fans and trading them for more new people instead. It's all about money.

@damswedon said:

I don't want to sound like a spoilsport here, but wouldn't it be best to let the dust settle before calling this the saving grace of the American comic market.

I never really said that. I make some points positive towards the new 52, but never really state it's the comic book revival or saving the industry. The fact of the matter is, they're the only people actually trying something.

hopefully if these character driven stories become really successful then marvel will go back to that way too. not necessarily reboot their whole universe but shift the focus from events to characters again

Off Topic:
 

 
What was Jim Lee thinking about his redesigns of Aquaman?
 
Wolverine sideburns?
 
Jewelry and necklaces?
 
Phew, thank God there were no leather jackets in sight!

@damswedon said:

I don't want to sound like a spoilsport here, but wouldn't it be best to let the dust settle before calling this the saving grace of the American comic market.

I never really said that. I make some points positive towards the new 52, but never really state it's the comic book revival or saving the industry. The fact of the matter is, they're the only people actually trying something.

i hope it does. i truly do.

I'm primary a Marvel fan but last year I dived into Green Lantern and The Flash and was pleasantly surprised and did initially see this as a bad idea, potentially seeing a lot of continuity go out the window was annoying to say the least (even though a lot of it I'm not a fan of most of it I know how annoyed I would be if I were) but I wanted to get involved somehow anyway and opted for Batwing, to the amusement of some friends and even my father but it was a fantastic book, to early to judge yeah but for an off the bat issue it's got me wanting to pick up the next one so in this respect alone it's been a success. Its good to hear about how its gone down with others, none readers especially.   

No. There's your answer.

@damswedon said:

I don't want to sound like a spoilsport here, but wouldn't it be best to let the dust settle before calling this the saving grace of the American comic market.

I never really said that. I make some points positive towards the new 52, but never really state it's the comic book revival or saving the industry. The fact of the matter is, they're the only people actually trying something.

I'm curious about something. After the industry was effectively put into a coma in the mid-90s, has it ever recovered? And if so, what were the catalysts?

hard sell. firstly i think the motion is to try and save DC themselves in the sales department, not the comic industry, and kudo's to DC for pulling in numbers with their effort for themselves. 

once Jim Lee redesigned much of the Marvel Universe in something called Heroes Reborn, which also centered around a revised version of continuity (and guest stared Wildstorm characters to boot). The first issues of this event were spiked high compared to their norm, but it didn't end up launching the comic book industry in itself to new heights in the long-term, and after only thirteen issues the whole idea was undone.
 
really seeing an uber popular title re-released with a #1 issue have high sales isn't unusual, and minding that a large part of this sale comes from the collectors market,
note, collectors not comic collectors persay as these things are well sought after in a craze by those who would deem a return profit, and meaning not actual readers of the comic represent those sales, and this will be evident in the sales of later issues.
 
to say no one else is trying anything is fallacy. all comic companies, particularly DC and Marvel are always trying to sell more comics, that is their livelihood, and both constantly take large risks and push reinvention to that end. for example the X-titles are due for a #1 happening soon, and I can guarantee that Uncanny will hit very high
given it's a well known title that also doesn't have a #1 often. In other news, every Spider-Island tie-in went to second print due to selling out in the first month, and making note of the fact that most of those titles barely saw the kind of press and advertisement that the New 52 did, nor are the titles that popular. 
 
given that information, my answer is a believe no, but DC did however make themselves a good profit anyways, though they didn't eat the whole 2011 pie either.

It's pretty early but it has been a success so far. The stories have all had a strong starts and I really hope they can keep people interested enough to go to their local comic shops every now and then. Comics needed a breath of fresh and some attention and DC has done that. Things will obviously die down but hopefully it strengthens the industry in the long run.

I think that this is part of a greater media blitz to get DC's comic book property aligned with movies, games etc.  My guess is that they are banking on a multimedia approach by making their universe more coherent and similar across media lines.

Lets wait a month or two and see hwo things platue off. DC dose have some good hype around it.

Im most glad at them going in on Digital Comics. You don't kill piracy you subvert it with ease of access for a fair price.

Lol Hal got owned again

I sincerely hope sales increase to the point where danger of the industry collapsing is no longer a concern. 
 
I'm 28 years old and the last comic book I bought before this year was in 1995.  So far, I've purchased 5 books this month and am still picking up another 14 before Justice League #2 is released.

Respect to DC for the "NEW 52" Television Ads, regardless of the DCnU's content it's good to see that kind of visibility for the medium. Bravo. (Saw the AD 4 times on BBCAmerica last night.)

It is a pretty big leap to say that disinterest and piracy are the biggest factors for the decrease in sales, the economy is a much larger deciding factor when it comes to unnecessary spending for entertainment especially when it is so expensive and sales were already declining long before comic piracy gained any kind of foothold. If you can rent a movie for a dollar at redbox that is 90-120 minutes long why would you want to spend $3 on a print or digital comic book that you can read in under 15 minutes. 
 
Sales may be good but I don't see them lasting very long, if DC is lucky when the speculators finally get tired and they loose all the wish washy new readers and kids with short attention spans they might might have a small percentage in higher sales compared to pre-relaunch. 
 
If they were serious about this they would have embraced digital more and decreased the cost of new comics to $0.99 across the board because it makes zero sense to charge the same price for digital comics as print comics. By decreasing the price they would have exponentially increased sales at no additional cost to them, making a digital version of a comic costs next to nothing compared to all the costs of print media especially since it is an intangible item that can be sold an infinite amount of times. The internet is all about micro-sales now, $0.99 for a phone app here $0.99 for an mp3 from itunes or amazon these are amounts of money that mean next to nothing for the average person so they are more inclined to spend more without realizing the total costs over time so users are more likely to continue buying issues of the series's they like and more likely to try other new series. Another plus to digital is that they could have offered a subscription option that charges a user quarterly or yearly and they would be charged upfront with an opt-out auto-renew, keeps customers happy and the publisher can make more money since people often forget to turn off auto-renewals.

I think it's too early to say anything definitive about the impact of the revamp. It's generated buzz and boosted the sales for now, but the public interest might wane after the first few issues. I'm guessing that the revamped titles have attracted some new readers, but I'm also thinking that people who already read mainstream comics have been more interested to check out the New 52 titles than new readers have. In the end, this will be yesterday's news, and DC will have to deal with the old problems again.
 
I'm hoping that Marvel will not follow DC's example and revamp its universe. I'd be incredibly disappointed if it did, and I'd possibly lose my interest in the titles I'm currently following. I got into mainstream comics very recently through X-Men, and I wasn't put off by continuity issues. As a matter of fact, the reason I got sucked into X-Men was probably the fact that the characters already had a lot of history to explore. It was fairly easy to fill in on what I had missed by searching Internet. The more I learned about the characters, the more curious I became to see what's going to happen next. Continuity can be alienating, but it's also addictive and ultimately rewarding.
 
Stunts like this are bound to gain some fleeting media attention, but I don't think that we're dealing with any kind of a revival here. I think the big companies should rethink the way they market and distribute their comics in order to access new readers who aren't already frequent comic book readers. Most of all, I think they should focus on quality writing instead of relying on publicity stunts. For instance, I think that Marvel is exhausting its readers by releasing too many Big Crossover Events right now, which I personally find more alienating than exciting. I'll rather read well-written, self-contained titles with good pacing than one boringly action-packed, over-hyped cameofest after another.

In all fairness I do hope DC makes a lasting revival with this New 52.  After initial cynicism I can say with certainty that I am on board with all changes made now.  It is a praiseworthy effort to get new readers into the fold.  My only concern is how long DC will be able to keep up the fire of this new found popularity and  readership?  Yes it is hot now for DC once more considering that we are only about 2 weeks into this New 52, but how long will that last before the popularity starts to edge off ? How long until people start to settle back into the mediocrity of the comics industry that we have seen over the last decade?  That's why I think it will be interesting to see just how successful this massive gamble by DC will go in making a new DCU.  If it continues on, then maybe the comics industry will have the revival that is so needed.  If not...I shudder to think what the negative alternative might be.  

@DoomDoomDoom:  
I remember the Marvel G.I. Joe TV Ads! (80's) 
  

    
   
 

Marvel is killing its readers with events. DC is working on a storyline that isn't full of massive wars and chaos...I applaud them.

Let's see in another six months when either the majority of those 52 titles are cancelled or they've gone back to the status quo.

It is a pretty big leap to say that disinterest and piracy are the biggest factors for the decrease in sales, the economy is a much larger deciding factor when it comes to unnecessary spending for entertainment especially when it is so expensive and sales were already declining long before comic piracy gained any kind of foothold. If you can rent a movie for a dollar at redbox that is 90-120 minutes long why would you want to spend $3 on a print or digital comic book that you can read in under 15 minutes. 
 
Sales may be good but I don't see them lasting very long, if DC is lucky when the speculators finally get tired and they loose all the wish washy new readers and kids with short attention spans they might might have a small percentage in higher sales compared to pre-relaunch.  If they were serious about this they would have embraced digital more and decreased the cost of new comics to $0.99 across the board because it makes zero sense to charge the same price for digital comics as print comics. By decreasing the price they would have exponentially increased sales at no additional cost to them, making a digital version of a comic costs next to nothing compared to all the costs of print media especially since it is an intangible item that can be sold an infinite amount of times. The internet is all about micro-sales now, $0.99 for a phone app here $0.99 for an mp3 from itunes or amazon these are amounts of money that mean next to nothing for the average person so they are more inclined to spend more without realizing the total costs over time so users are more likely to continue buying issues of the series's they like and more likely to try other new series. Another plus to digital is that they could have offered a subscription option that charges a user quarterly or yearly and they would be charged upfront with an opt-out auto-renew, keeps customers happy and the publisher can make more money since people often forget to turn off auto-renewals.

No this won't save comics. Much like every event it begins with a bump in sales, which quickly drops back down to the normal sales levels as always after a few months.