Small Press Spotlight: Taking a Closer Look at September’s Small Press Sales Charts

The Small Press Spotlight is a semi-regular feature on Hypergeek where I dedicate an article to all the excellent small press and indie publishers out there, as well as self-publishing artists. This is accomplished in the form of company/creator profiles, highlights of key works, reviews of the company/individual’s latest releases, and general articles about the small press scene.

Last week Diamond Distribution published their direct market sales charts for September 2009. I then went through these charts and eliminated all of the big publishers to leave only the small press publishing companies that appeared in the Top 300 (see here.)

I noticed is that only 21 comics and 24 TPB/OGNs ranked in the Top 300. This is not really a huge surprise, as there’s a reason they call it the small press, and if they were selling Marvel numbers they wouldn’t be small press for very log at all! However, for only 7% of all the comics to be small press titles, and only 8% of the TPB/OGNs seems really low, especially it you consider that Marvel alone hold almost 50% of the market! Oh well, there’s no accounting for taste I guess.

Today I plan to take a closer look at the Top 5 selling Small Press Comics, TPBs and OGNs for September, and have a look at a few of the other notable appearances in this month’s charts.

Small Press Comics Top 5

Last month’s best selling small press comic was Archie #601, with an overall ranking in #56 in the TOP 300. Archie has been selling really well recently, and this issue is the reason why, being the issue where Archie marries Veronica. I have to confess that I’ve never read an issue of Archie in my entire life, or any of its spin-off titles. I’m from the UK, and we never got the comic over there when I was a kid, and to be honest, the idea of it ever really appealed to me.

The second best selling small press comic for September was Vampirella Second Coming #1, with an overall ranking of #133 in the Top 300. Vampirella Second Coming #1 is published by Harris Comics, who are trying another reboot of the Vampirella franchise that they acquired after its original publisher, Warren Publishing, went bankrupt. Harris Publications acquired the company assets at auction in August 1983, although legal murkiness and a 1998 lawsuit by Warren publisher James Warren resulted in his reacquisition of the rights to sister publications Creepy and Eerie. Harris Comics published Vampirella stories in various series and miniseries from 1991 to 2007. Harris also published Vampirella #113, a one-issue continuation of the original series, containing solely reprinted stories, in 1988.

The number three best selling small press comic for September was No Hero #7, with an overall ranking of #175 in the Top 300. Published by Avatar Press, No Hero is a superhero deconstruction piece written and created by Warren Ellis, with art by Juan Jose Ryp. No Hero takes place in a world where superheroes have existed since the 1960s and came about as a reaction to increasingly violence police reactions to the American counter-culture movement as well as violent street crime. The original heroes of the 1960s called themselves “The Levellers” after the popular movement that came out of the English Civil War. The Levellers eventually evolved into “The Front Line” who derive their superpowers from pills that have side-effects as dangerous as the powers they gain.

The number four best selling small press comic for September was Echo #15, with an overall ranking of #196 in the Top 300. From Abstract Studios, Echo is a story written and drawn by Terry Moore that revolves around a woman named Julie, a young photographer who inadvertently discovers a hi-tech battle suit. However, the story is really about a woman living in today’s America who is dealing with a sudden unbelievable change to her daily life.

The number five best selling small press comic for September was Bart Simpson’s Tree House of Horror #15, with an overall ranking of #214 in the Top 300. From Bongo Comics, this is the Simpson’s Comics annual Halloween special, which always seems to be published a month before Halloween. I guess it hits the direct market first, then ends up in bookstores and newsagents around Halloween time. This special issue was guest edited by Sammy Harkam, the creator of the Kramers Ergot anthology.

Small Press TPB/OGNs Top 5

The Top ranking small press TPB/GN for September was Love & Rockets New Stories TP Vol 02, with an overall ranking of #18 in the Top 300. From Fantagraphics Books, Love & Rockets New Stories TP Vol 02, is the latest volume of this fantastic new chapter in Gilbert and Jamie Hernandez’s magnum opus. ‘New Stories’ is both similar and at the sample time radically different from any L&R volumes that came before it, and it is a great contender for this year’s best collection. I’m actually incredibly surprised that the book didn’t come higher in the overall Top 300 than #18, as I really expected it to sell much better! It’s kinda depressing really that great comics like this aren’t selling as well as they should. Get out there and buy a copy!!!

The second best selling small press collection for September was Process Recess Vol. 3: Hallowed Seam HC, with an overall ranking of #39 in the Top 300. Published by Adhouse Books, The Hallowed Seam collects the sketches of renowned artist James Jean, who has documented his life in drawings and paintings. From beautiful figure drawings to experimental paintings, Jean demonstrates a keen eye for humanity and a virtuosic handling of any medium.

The third best selling small press collection for September was Archie & Friends All-Stars Volume 1: Veronica’s Passport, with an overall ranking of #117 in the Top 300. Published by Archie Comics, Veronica’s Passport features the jet-setting darling of all debutantes has glammed her way to stardom with her romantic and often perilous tales around the globe! Now, for the first time, Archie Comics is proud to bring to their loyal readers the stories of Veronica’s travels as she meets alluring men, fights crime, and experiences the diversity of world culture from Africa to Asia, South America to Europe, and everywhere in-between!

The fourth best selling small press collection for September was Whiteout Definitive Ed TP Vol 01, with an overall ranking of #118 in the Top 300. Published by Oni Press, this is the re-mastered and re-formatted collection of Greg Rucka & Steve Lieber’s crime classic, that features U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko trying to solve a murder case in the harsh tundra of Antarctica, before winter hits and and the and everyone ships back to the mainland. The books has been out a while, but seems to have gotten a sales boost from release of the Whiteout movie.

The fifth best selling small press collection for September was The Surrogates Vol 01 TP, with an overall ranking of #127 in the Top 300. Published by Top Shelf, The Surrogates is written by Robert Venditti, with art by Brett Weldele. The story is set in the year 2054, when life is reduced to a data feed. The fusing of virtual reality and cybernetics has ushered in the era of the personal surrogate, android substitutes that let users interact with the world without ever leaving their homes. It’s a perfect world, and it’s up to Detectives Harvey Greer and Pete Ford of the Metro Police Department to keep it that way. But to do so they’ll need to stop a techno-terrorist bent on returning society to a time when people lived their lives instead of merely experiencing them. The book has been out a while, but seems to have gotten a sales boost from release of the Surrogates movie.

Other notable appearances

Also of note in the month’s TPB/OGN charts is that The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume III: Century #1 1910 is still ranking #6 in the small press charts, four month’s after it’s original release. Rightly so too, as every bookshelf should have a copy of this book!

I’m pretty sad that Wasteland: The Apocalyptic Edition didn’t rank higher in the charts, coming #21 in the small press TPB charts, and #287 overall. Wasteland is one of my favorite comic series, and deserves far better sales than this. If you’ve not read the series yet, trust me, you’ll love it!

I’m also kind of disappointed to see that Hotwire #4 from Radical Comics only ranked #16 in the small press comics charts, with an overall Top 300 ranking of #251. I really enjoyed this comic series, written and drawn by Steve Pugh, and would urge everyone to pick up the TPB collection of the series when it comes out later this year. This is unmissable stuff, and most of you missed it!!

I’m really surprised to see Judge Dredd Complete Case Files Vol. 13 actually appeared in the charts this month, albeit with a rank of #23 in the small press TPB charts, and #296 in the Top 300. 2000 AD hardly ever ranks in the sales charts, which is in itself criminal. The Complete Case files trades are the best way to collect Judge Dredd stories, as they reprint every story from 2000 AD #1 to the current day in order of printing. It’s essential reading for any Dredd fan!!