April 2018 Sales Breakdown

If you have been following the new IDW Sonic the Hedgehog ongoing series, then you probably already know that all of the first 4 issues released last month have sold out! IDW Publishing proudly announced that all of them will be getting a 2nd printing, with issue #1 even getting a third! On top of this, a box set will be released in June containing special variants of the first arc to further meet demand!

As exciting as all this is, I was somewhat skeptical upon initially hearing the news. It is always good when your product sells out, since that means there is greater demand in the market than expected, but smart businesses tend to be conservative in their initial production, so not to be left with warehouses full of items they could not move. Hence, I was highly interested to see exactly how many orders were made for the new books before I came to any conclusions on just how successful the new book’s debut was.

Well, the numbers are finally in, and according to comichron.com, they are even better than I imagined! But before we get into the stats, let me clarify that these numbers represent those ordered by retailers from Diamond. When IDW says that they have sold out, it means all of their copies have gone out to retail shops, not that all local comic shops or other retailers are sold out individually. Likewise, these numbers do not include any convention exclusives, digital copies, or even retailer incentives.

All four issues sold phenomenally for an independent publisher, each issue sold at least 13,000 copies, with issue #1 selling a ground breaking 21,632 copies! This makes the first issues, the best-selling single issue of any Sonic the Hedgehog ongoing series! All four issues are among the top 10 best-selling Sonic comics in the US ever. Moreover, they will likely climb even higher on the Top 10 list after adding the 2nd and 3rd printings!

Comichron’s advanced reorders (products that have already shipped at the time of reorder) list for April also featured the 2nd printing of #2 and 3rd printing of #3 on its Top 25 list by dollar value at 23rd and 25th respectively.

Advance Reorders for April according to Comichron.com

Issue #1 outsold the previous record holder, Sonic Boom #1, by over 5,000 copies. Sonic Boom #1’s monumental sales were somewhat of a phenomenon, as the series sold quite poorly in generally and was cancelled after only 11 issues. Otherwise, it completely eclipses other high selling milestones from the Archie run, by no less than 33%! It is firmly established as the highest selling #1 of any Sonic related series!

Issues #2-4 are right on par with the best-selling milestone issues from the Archie run, sitting far above their average sales. This is impressive on its own, but more so when you consider the fact that IDW released 4 issues in one month. One might be inclined to think that customer might be fatigued by the prospect of buying 4 times more comics than usual, not even factoring in collectors buying multiple covers! This apparently did not faze the Sonic fandom!

Rank	Comic	Issue	Copies
1	IDW Sonic	#1	21,632
2	Sonic Boom	#1	17,228
3	IDW Sonic	#2	14,684
4	Archie Sonic	#250	14,291
5	IDW Sonic	#3	13,779
6	Archie Sonic	#275	13,363
7	IDW Sonic	#4	13,225
8	Archie Sonic	#251	12,782
9	Archie Sonic	#248	12,158
10	Sonic Universe	#75	11,618

The chart below shows all the major Sonic series in the US, and their order numbers throughout the years. As expected, the main Sonic series set the standard with spin-offs following the same trends a few deviations below. You will notice spikes representing various milestones or events. The two large spikes near the end represent the Worlds Unite and Worlds Collide crossover events which gave some of the faltering series a temporary injection of sales. Interestingly, the single best-selling Sonic comic was Sonic Worlds Battle Unite #1, which sold over 43,000 copies, which was something of an anomaly due to being included in the Nerdblock monthly subscription crate. All the way at the far right end, you will see IDW sitting far above the trend with all 4 issues selling 13,000+ copies!

It will be interesting to see how sales hold up going forward. The average monthly sales for the various Archie series range from around 5,000-8,000. Even if number somewhat decline going forward, which they usually do after a big debut or milestone, sales are likely to hold well above that average!

Based on these numbers, I can safely state that Sonic is hot out of the gates and racing ahead at full speed. These numbers will only get a boost next month when 2nd printing results bolster them! The creative team should be proud of this significant accomplishment! IDW Sonic stands a cut above its predecessors. They have done a great job of connecting with the community and tapped into an audience that is hungry for more quality Sonic content!

Going forward, we will be keeping a close on sales figures, and continuing to bring you the latest IDW Sonic news! Did you find this information interesting? Do you want to see more of it? Let us know in the comments below!