clipped from pwbeat.publishersweekly.com

It’s a quiet October. SECRET INVASION continues into its seventh month. Just think, when the crossover began, Hillary Clinton was still campaigning for President…

The biggest new title of the month was ASTONISHING X-MEN: GHOST BOXES, and there’s also the “Original Sin” crossover between X-MEN: LEGACY and WOLVERINE: ORIGINS. And, er, that’s pretty much it - there are some new miniseries further down the charts, but otherwise, it’s a month of business as usual.

clipped from pwbeat.publishersweekly.com

It’s month five of SECRET INVASION, and the crossover continues to dominate Marvel’s output. August also sees the X-books continuing their “Manifest Destiny” direction, and relaunches for RUNAWAYS and AMAZING SPIDER-MAN FAMILY.

Marvel’s share of the North American direct market continues to hold up well. This time round, they beat DC in dollar share by 41% to 33%, and unit share by 48% to 33%. But there’s a fly in the ointment, as DM periodical sales have now been sliding for seven straight months. Graphic novels are up, but that’s entirely due to the sudden surge of WATCHMEN sales.

All a bit discouraging, then. But hey, what isn’t, these days? There was a time when comics used to be relatively recession-proof, but then in those days, Marvel weren’t charging four dollars for an issue of a miniseries.

clipped from pwbeat.publishersweekly.com

UNCANNY X-MEN celebrates five hundred issues, while SECRET INVASION enters a fourth month, with a range of crossover titles in tow. Marvel tend to save their major launches until after the crossovers have finished, but there’s a handful of new minis, as well as the debut of Warren Ellis and Simone Bianchi on ASTONISHING X-MEN.

As usual, Marvel were by far the biggest publisher in the North American direct market, beating DC in unit share by 48% to 35%, and in dollar share by 49% to 33%. But then, FINAL CRISIS was on a skip month, so what do you expect?