Marc-Oliver Frisch writes DC Comics’ performance in July was an improvement on the previous month, not unexpectedly. The publisher’s numbers were bolstered by issues of three high-selling titles, Batman, All Star Superman and Action Comics, which were late from June. Then there was the release of All Flash #1, the continuation of DC’s latest Flash revamp, whose numbers were enhanced through gimmicks and retailer incentives. Finally, the “Sinestro Corps War” crossover running through issues of Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps continued to be a genuine hit and brought sizeable sales increases to both titles. In other news, July saw the launch of the limited series Green Arrow: Year One and Black Canary.

While DC’s overall position in terms of direct market periodicals improved somewhat in July, the publisher’s Vertigo and WildStorm sublabels had no part in the upturn. Despite the launch of Vertigo’s Faker and WildStorm’s The Programme, limited series by established creators, average sales for both imprints dipped again in July, reaching a new historical low in WildStorm’s case. At Vertigo, there’s a reasonably attractive mix of new and revamped properties in the pipeline. WildStorm, however, are essentially planning to offer more of the same, by less popular creators, and that doesn’t really inspire a great deal of trust.

Credit where credit is due, though: DC are continuing to cut down on late-shipping books. Although several titles remained an issue or two behind their schedules in July, the only series failing to be released altogether were Vertigo’s Deadman and Jack of Fables. See below for the details.

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