It’s that time of year again! here are the Archie Comics sales figures based on the Statements of Ownership, Management, and circulation the company is required to file in their publications.
Here are figures for the single issues, all cover priced at $2.99. These are the total Paid and/or requested circulation figures that Archie files with the government. The first number is the average No. Copies Each issue during preceding 12 Months; the second is No. Copies of single issue published Nearest to filing Date. These figures appeared between January 19 and February 23, 2011. I’ll be comparing to last year’s figures in talking about trends.
Title
Issue
Average
Nearest Issue
% Change
Archie
#617
14,413
18,545
29%
Archie & Friends
#151
8,850
8,643
-2%
Betty
#190
8,952
8,772
-2%
Betty & Veronica
#252
11,319
9,923
-12%
Jughead
#205
8,585
8,058
-6%
Veronica
#205
8,756
8,109
-7%
I’ve left Veronica out because her figures weren’t available in January and March, when the rest of these books were published. I suspect her numbers are due in #205, scheduled to be released tomorrow. Unlike last year, when the percentages were all positive, you’ll notice that all but Archie are declining — which probably describes why Archie is the only non-Sonic title that’s still monthly. The others are all six times a year. (Although the numbers are close enough, except for Betty & Veronica, that it could be within margin of error.)
Update: (4/9/11) I’ve added in the Veronica numbers here and below.
That frequency change also describes why Betty was temporarily removed from the Archie online comic store, leading to rumors of cancellation. As is typical, Betty, Jughead, and Archie & pals are all clustered about the same sales level.
I don’t know if I never observed this field before or if it’s new this year, but I also gathered total published (Average, 12 months) and total published (Nearest Issue). This is the standard big problem with newsstand distribution — you print a lot a lot more than you end up selling.
Title
Issue
Average
Nearest Issue
% sold of published (Nearest Issue)
Archie
#617
35,151
47,296
39%
Archie & Friends
#151
20,403
17,692
49%
Betty
#190
20,700
18,167
48%
Betty & Veronica
#252
24,808
22,257
45%
Jughead
#205
20,469
18,339
44%
Veronica
#205
20,885
19,823
41%
Let’s look at digests. There are no single digests any more, only double digests, which cost $3.99 and come out 10 times a year. I’m also including the monthly magazine-format Life With Archie: married Life here, considering that it’s the same price.
Title
Issue
Average
Nearest Issue
% Change
Archie double Digest
#215
95,236
86,961
-9%
Archie & pals double Digest(was Archie’s friends ‘n’ Gals double Digest)
#2
70,806
64,559
-9%
Betty & Veronica double Digest
#188
80,307
72,120
-10%
B & V pals double Digest
#211
51,099
48,809
-4%
Jughead double Digest
#167
70,927
62,286
-12%
World of Archie double Digest
#4
62,822
57,302
-9%
Life With Archie
#7
57,266
n/a
The digests show a similar sales decline as the comics, only without a positive bright spot. but wow, the magazine is selling better than one of the digests. That’s got to be considered a success — until you look at how much they’re having to print for those sales. here are the figures for number published.
Title
Issue
Average
Nearest Issue
% sold of published (Nearest Issue)
Archie double Digest
#215
212,995
186,792
47%
Archie & pals double Digest
#2
183,937
160,778
40%
Betty & Veronica double Digest
#188
206,610
179,468
40%
B & V pals double Digest
#211
141,473
123,092
40%
Jughead double Digest
#167
181,724
161,523
39%
World of Archie double Digest
#4
166,975
152,010
38%
Life With Archie
#7
204,882
28%
And last, here’s the ranking, based on nearest issue sales.
Archie double Digest
Betty & Veronica double Digest
Archie & pals double Digest
Jughead double Digest
World of Archie double Digest
Life With Archie
B & V pals double Digest
Archie
Betty & Veronica
Veronica
Betty
Archie & Friends
Jughead
This is just about the same as last year, with only #3 and 4 swapping.
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