Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Legion sales still sliding

According to February Top 300 the Legion's sales continue to fall even with all of the buzz about Keith Giffen and the death of Sun Boy. Sales dipped to 16,242 in February, down from 16,496 in January and 16,912 in December. At this rate the Legion is in a free fall. I'm worried that the title will be axed the next round of cancellations!

On the one hand, a 1.5% fall is hardly "freefall", it's just standard attrition. But yes, on the other, you should be worried, since whatever the change from the previous issue, 16k is indeed deep in cancellation territory.

Here are the "New 52" titles below LSH. Red means cancelled:

128. - LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #17 ($2.99) - 16,242
145. - RAVAGERS #9 ($2.99) - 14,223
148. - STORMWATCH #17 ($2.99) - 13,657
149. - DEMON KNIGHTS #17 ($2.99) - 13,571
151. - DIAL H #9 ($2.99) - 13,541
155. - TEAM 7 #5 ($2.99) - 13,005
161. - DEATHSTROKE #17 ($2.99) - 12,626
162. - BATWING #17 ($2.99) - 12,595
167. - SAVAGE HAWKMAN #17 ($2.99) - 12,376
169. - SWORD OF SORCERY #5 ($3.99) - 12,334
171. - DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #17 ($2.99) - 11,985
172. - I VAMPIRE #17 ($2.99) - 11,833
178. - FURY OF FIRESTORM THE NUCLEAR MAN #17 ($2.99) - 11,100

So, LSH is the fifth lowest-selling New 52 title not yet cancelled. The last wave of cancellations announced, back in February, was six titles (I, Vampire & DCU Presents were axed a month earlier).

It doesn't look good. Not good at all. I hate to say this, but I'm going to start preparing myself mentally for cancellation. I just can't see this getting any better. On the plus side, I guess they've got issues prepared until June? But if all the hooplah with Giffen and Sun Boy dying didn't at least get people to buy it out of curiosity...

*sniffle*

Four of my six DC books are on that list!

Given the rumors about a "new direction" planned, I'd say were safe through the next round of cancellations.

However, since said "new direction" sounds like it will totally suck, I think we can pretty much count on cancellation not long after that.

Crap! We can't be outsold by Vibe! That's just unacceptable!

Something else else just hit me. 16k is lower than the pre-DnA nadir of the postboot and probably (considering the 2003 change to Diamond's reporting methodology, going from preorders to what actually shipped. And ignore that odd Legionnaires #80 number that's far lower than #79 or #81, something went wrong there. It was right between the two) the lowest-selling Legion figure ever.

That's because these are, in my honest opinion, the worst Legion stories I've ever read. This new storyline with the Fatal Five looks promising, but before it? Yeah. This has been some seriously crappy storytelling. There is absolutely no chance to pick up new readers when the current plots have been so utterly inane.

I guess what worries me most is that Giffen was expected to give Legion an uptick in sales. Still, I read a lot of posts on other blogs that a number of readers decided not to even give the Legion a try since Giffen only penciled 2 issues before leaving. So, if Keith Giffen can't create enough buzz to even keep current readers around, what will it take to turn the title around? I think Levitz has got a good storyline going, but if no one reads it...

I am thinking that it did give a bump in sales, since I bought one, so the loss would probably have been EVEN more without the Giff and the sensationalism of the issue.

I think this thread is really funny, I have a dark sense of humor. he he.

The current LSH does seem joyless, its not even failing because it is doing something new or odd.


but tis the NEW 52. Its NEW. NEW sells.

Its still new.

I flipped through Katana at the store, it sure was pretty, but I think I read it all in a matter of seconds.

Also, she sleeps with her sword "you are the only one that will ever share my bed"
he he


Also, the JL whatever with Katana and Vibe is based on tit for tat characters to take out members of the JL.

LSH will most assuredly be cancelled shortly after the sure-to-be-space-gawdawful JLAization (that I personally will not be around for), if not sooner.

We will then be without a LSH title for possibly quite awhile until a Geoff Johns-tier writer or Jim Lee-tier artist decide they want to work on the book.

Or until the undoing of the New 52verse via the next big EVENT...

I wonder if this book has already been cancelled and that's part of the reason Giffen quit - they pulled the rug out from underneath him?

Those are not good sales figures at all and things do not look promising for the future. But those are just paper copies sold though aren't they or does that figure include digital sales as well? You only need 1500 or so digital sales and it would be up around the, comparatively healthy, 18000 mark.

However if/when the book is cancelled perhaps a sensible idea would to try it out as one of their continuity free digital first series. On the whole they have been extremely solid and the shorter stories seems to enable them to attract a level of talent that probably cannot or will not do a monthly book. For example, the Orson Scott Card furore aside, there are some very good or interesting names attached to the Superman book and talent like Amanda Conner, Ted Naifeh and Fiona Staples have already done issues of other series so the willingness is there.

A weekly Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes telling shorter fun stories with a rotating cast of creators could be just what is needed, almost as a palette cleanser, to rebuild faith and a readership before the inevitable Volume 8.

I actually prefer no LSH book sometimes. Just let it rest until someone really wants to do it and has some enthusiasm for creating the book.

If the Legion does get cancelled, then I'm done collecting new comics. The Legion is the only title on my pull list. I'm not wasting money on anything else. I'll just spend my time collecting back issues and enjoy a completed collection. The only reason I'm on board right now is because this is Levitz writing the "original" Legion again.

I think that is actually what turns me off of it, it is a bland sort of weird take on the original ... a mockery of its memory! :devil:

I'd rather have a new or different take than ... some pale shadow of the "original".

It seems more focused on marketing than story. Its just packaging.

I prefer my heroes dead than written by DC right now.

<--- salty.

It's assuredly losing money for DC on a monthly basis. I fear cancellation is imminent. Of course, the last year has been one of the worst ever in Legion history so I'm not surprised.

It's time for a new voice. Sorry Paul, sorry Keith. It's time for someone whose never done the Legion before.

I think (just speculation) it's part of Paul's deal for voluntarily leaving the publisher position, that he gets work for DC regardless. That's not to say they won't cancel Legion and move him to a different book, but I'm sure the economics of this one are a bit different.

Given the critical and financial failure of the "Legion", I don't see how there can be any doubt that Levitz's continued presence on this title is down to a 'deal' he made after being ousted as president of DC, to go quietly and happily and not badmouth the company. Far too many similarly underperforming books - and even superiorly performing books - have been canceled or had complete creative overhauls to generate buzz.

With that said, I suspect this book is going to get a lot of leeway. I also suspect that means that Levitz isn't leaving until he wants to leave, or until the book is in such a gutter that it has to be canceled.

At this point, rather than seeing it languish in mediocrity, I'd rather it be canceled on the off chance that a newly relaunched book wouldn't demand Levitz's presence.

It's such a shame, as the first issue with Giffen - 17 - was everything I want out of a Legion book. It was a perfect issue, in every way, and I'm completely gutted that we're losing that magic.

Ditto. I'll just start the laborious, yet satisfying, process of trying to get a complete collection. By the time I finish the Legion will probably be started back up!

And I'm with Cobie on the book needing a new voice. Perhaps not necessarily someone that's never done it before, but at least someone excited to do so. The last two years of Legion have felt like they were on autopilot, with someone disinterested writing the stories. Time for a breath of fresh air.

If we are looking for new blood apparently Adam Beecham? who writes the Batman Beyond books is a Legion fan so perhaps he would be willing to give it a go.

Then all we need is a penciller which shouldn't be too hard as, by and large, the Legion has been lucky with artists, especially new ones.

Not a huge fan of Beechen, I'm afraid. I think there are a lot of guys who have proven themselves a bit better.

In fact, a lot of writers have said they're Legion fans; most of the biggest guys today have expressed some love for that franchise at some point or another. Matt Kindt said it was his dream job at DC. Hickman loves it, Aaron loves it.

There are plenty of guys who are available in terms of love. THe real deal is skill.

Thing is though we are not going to get Hickman, Aaron or Kindt (even though that mat be more possible than the other two) no matter how much they may want to write the book or how well suited they may be.

To pay the money necessary to get them to leave Marvel they would be going to JLA, Batbooks or Superbooks which probably pay for most of the rest of what DC publish which is just how it should be no matter how much we may wall want it to be different.

So we have to be realistic about the Legions position in the grand scheme of things, which is not great at present it would appear, and set our sights a bit lower to the Beechens, Kruls and The Unwrittens Tom Taylor (who I have been mighty impressed with on Injustice so far). Potentially we may be able to get Palmiotti and Grey who are very good writers but I cannot think of them doing sci-fi before so may not be a good fit.

If I had my choice of, potentially, obtainable writers I would go for J M Dematties who is, IMO, a solid writer and I thought the issues of he cartoon he wrote were some of the better episodes which suggests he has a feel for the characters.

Failing that I would love for J Torres to be given a shot at the proper team after his sterling efforts with the animated book.

This. This all over the place. I give Torres a lot of credit for his work on that book. He managed to write very entertaining self-contained stories that I enjoyed a lot. I'd be very curious to see how he could manage the normal book and an opportunity to write longer-term storylines. Definitely a good idea!