Sales Review: August 2017

The sales numbers for August have come out and DC hit the top three with Metal #1 and two Batman issues. Here is a link:
https://icv2.com/articles/markets/view/38411/top-300-comics-actual-august-2017

Amazingly, Metal #1 sold over a quarter million issues, something I didn't think I'd see again. After those three, Marvel dominates the next 12 slots until All Star Batman slides in at #15. It is clear that D.C. Will milk the Batman cow for all the cash he is going to provide.

But we're not here to discuss Batman. Instead, we are here to discuss the sales on Supergirl. I have good news!

And I can't help but think that Artgerm has a lot to do with that good news. 

Artgerm Covers On Supergirl

Earlier this month, Supergirl #12 came out. It was the first to sport an Stanley 'Artgerm' Lau variant cover. Artgerm certainly produces eye-grabbing, truly spectacular art. And I immediately notice a couple of aftershocks.

1) The number of Supergirl issues on the rack of my dramatically less than usual for a Wednesday afternoon and all the Artgerm covers were already sold.

2) My store thankfully pulled both covers off the shelves figuring it would sell out quickly.

3) That cover was up on walls at Terrificon last weekend and was already tagged at $10

4) I already wondered if these covers would somehow drive up orders/sales.  

Well, lo and behold, it looks like that might be true.

Review: Supergirl #12

Supergirl #12 came out this last week and is probably my favorite issue of this run to date. This is a fast moving issue with intrigue, action, and some teenage angst. There is punchy dialogue. There is a some mystery. There is just incredible art by Robson Rocha and Daniel Henriques. And there is a Stanley 'Artgerm' Lau variant cover. If this title started out like this, we might still be selling 40K a month.

It's not that I disliked the first year of stories. But the Cyborg Superman arc was something of a bummer to start out on. And Brian Ching's somewhat loose pencils were definitely a style I needed to become accustomed to.

Now with the opening arc behind us, we are moving out of 'origin' and into adventures.

Steve Orlando is crackling here. This is the Cat Grant I want to read. These are the villains I want to see fighting Kara. And this is the caring Supergirl still reaching out to those who have hurt her as she moves forward. Plus, there is a lot of Legion working its way into this arc. Maybe Supergirl will join that team when we eventually meet them in the Rebirth DCU.

And I just have to say one more time in this introduction how much the art just sings on the page. This is detailed, energetic work which just sings. You see every clothes wrinkle, every hair strand, every crackle of energy. I hope everyone out there in comic land notices this book and trumpets it.

On to the story.

August 2017 Solicits

The full August solicits for DC Comics were released last week and it looks like the summer season is going to go out with a bang, especially for Supergirl fans! I am pretty thrilled with the comics and can't wait to talk about them so I am going to jump right in.

For viewing all the solicits, here is a link to Newsarama:
http://www.newsarama.com/34577-dc-comics-august-2017-solicitations.html

SUPERGIRL #12
Written by STEVE ORLANDO
Art and cover by ROBSON ROCHA and DANIEL HENRIQUES
Variant cover by STANLEY “ARTGERM” LAU
“EMERALD ERADICATION” part one! Emerald Empress’ attack on Supergirl begins as her new Fatal Five assembles. Empress’ plan to destroy Supergirl’s present to preserve her future goes into full swing as Supergirl tries to hold her own—but soon even her abilities are out of her control.

I spoke a bit about this before in terms of Robson Rocha coming on board as series artist. But there is a lot to love here. I like the idea of the Emerald Empress being a sort of Supergirl- specific Legion foe. Given the timey-wimey nature of these stories, my assumption is somewhere in Kara's future but Emerald Empress' past, these two have tangled.

I am wary of 'powers out of control' stories in general. But only one year into a new take on Supergirl might be too early, but we'll see.

But the cover ... wow! It took me some time to see that Kara has been shot through the left shoulder and is sliding down the wall. And who is that shadow? The art is beautiful and if this is what Rocha is going to bring,  I am going to be very happy!

On to the rest of the month!

New Supergirl Artist Robson Rocha

The full DC Comics August Solicitations are going to be revealed soon. But some super-titles, including Supergirl #12, were previewed over on Newsarama here:
http://www.newsarama.com/34562-supergirl-august-2017-solicitation-preview.html

But the biggest news in that article is that Robson Rocha is taking over on monthly are duties on the book. Here is the solicit.

SUPERGIRL #12
Written by STEVE ORLANDO—Art and cover by ROBSON ROCHA and DANIEL HENRIQUES—Variant cover by STANLEY “ARTGERM” LAU
“EMERALD ERADICATION” part one! Emerald Empress’ attack on Supergirl begins as her new Fatal Five assembles. Empress’ plan to destroy Supergirl’s present to preserve her future goes into full swing as Supergirl tries to hold her own—but soon even her abilities are out of her control.

It looks like all art might be getting shaken up because Artgerm is on the variant cover, not Bengal.

But the big news is Rocha. I have had my issues with Brian Ching's art on the book. It has at times seemed rough, rushed, and unfinished. There have been high points with Ching, no doubt. But I think that he would work better on a different style of book.

So I am glad that Robson Rocha is coming on board. Rocha has a sort of fine-lined and more polished look to things. I have covered Rocha's art on some issues here. You can look for prior reviews with his art here:http://comicboxcommentary.blogspot.com/search/label/Robson%20Rocha

I first ran into Rocha's art on Demon Knights and Worlds' Finest. I liked his art then. There was a very good sense of action in the proceedings. And while different artists gave the work a different feel, it always looked very good.

Now I consider Power Girl and Supergirl to be two very different characters so you can't simply say that since Power Girl looked good, Supergirl will look good. That said, Rocha never really dipped too deep into the cheesecake aspects of Power Girl. And the action, as mentioned above, looked sharp. I think you can look at this and see just how Supergirl will be portrayed in the book.

Those Worlds' Finest issues were on the shelves a few years ago now.

If you want to see what Rocha's art looks like more recently, he did a three-parter in the now canceled Batman/Superman book. I reviewed these issues here as well if you want a deeper dive.

Suffice it to say, the art was stunning. there was a different, more detailed, more elegant look to these issues. The action still looked kinetic and powerful. But there was a still more refined look to the art here than even in those Worlds' Finest issues.

I am looking forward to this art change. Welcome aboard Robson Rocha!