Archie Sales Figures for 2010

It’s that time of year again! Here are the Archie Comics sales figures based on the Statements of Ownership, Management, and Circulation the company is required to file in their publications.

Here are figures for the single issues, all cover priced at $2.99. These are the Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation figures that Archie files with the government. The first number is the Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months; the second is No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date. These figures appeared between January 19 and February 23, 2011. I’ll be comparing to last year’s figures in talking about trends.

Title	Issue	Average	Nearest Issue	% Change
Archie	#617	14,413	18,545	29%
Archie & Friends	#151	8,850	8,643	-2%
Betty	#190	8,952	8,772	-2%
Betty & Veronica	#252	11,319	9,923	-12%
Jughead	#205	8,585	8,058	-6%
Veronica	#205	8,756	8,109	-7%

I’ve left Veronica out because her figures weren’t available in January and March, when the rest of these books were published. I suspect her numbers are due in #205, scheduled to be released tomorrow. Unlike last year, when the percentages were all positive, you’ll notice that all but Archie are declining — which probably explains why Archie is the only non-Sonic title that’s still monthly. The others are all six times a year. (Although the numbers are close enough, except for Betty & Veronica, that it could be within margin of error.)

Update: (4/9/11) I’ve added in the Veronica numbers here and below.

That frequency change also explains why Betty was temporarily removed from the Archie online comic store, leading to rumors of cancellation. As is typical, Betty, Jughead, and Archie & Friends are all clustered about the same sales level.

I don’t know if I never noticed this field before or if it’s new this year, but I also gathered Total Published (Average, 12 months) and Total Published (Nearest Issue). This is the traditional big problem with newsstand distribution — you print a lot more than you end up selling.

Title	Issue	Average	Nearest Issue	% Sold of Published (Nearest Issue)
Archie	#617	35,151	47,296	39%
Archie & Friends	#151	20,403	17,692	49%
Betty	#190	20,700	18,167	48%
Betty & Veronica	#252	24,808	22,257	45%
Jughead	#205	20,469	18,339	44%
Veronica	#205	20,885	19,823	41%

Let’s look at digests. There are no single digests any more, only double digests, which cost $3.99 and come out 10 times a year. I’m also including the monthly magazine-format Life With Archie: Married Life here, since it’s the same price.

Title	Issue	Average	Nearest Issue	% Change
Archie Double Digest	#215	95,236	86,961	-9%
Archie & Friends Double Digest (was Archie’s Pals ‘n’ Gals Double Digest)	#2	70,806	64,559	-9%
Betty & Veronica Double Digest	#188	80,307	72,120	-10%
B & V Friends Double Digest	#211	51,099	48,809	-4%
Jughead Double Digest	#167	70,927	62,286	-12%
World of Archie Double Digest	#4	62,822	57,302	-9%
Life With Archie	#7		57,266	n/a

The digests show a similar sales decline as the comics, only without a positive bright spot. But wow, the magazine is selling better than one of the digests. That’s got to be considered a success — until you look at how much they’re having to print for those sales. Here are the figures for number published.

Title	Issue	Average	Nearest Issue	% Sold of Published (Nearest Issue)
Archie Double Digest	#215	212,995	186,792	47%
Archie & Friends Double Digest	#2	183,937	160,778	40%
Betty & Veronica Double Digest	#188	206,610	179,468	40%
B & V Friends Double Digest	#211	141,473	123,092	40%
Jughead Double Digest	#167	181,724	161,523	39%
World of Archie Double Digest	#4	166,975	152,010	38%
Life With Archie	#7		204,882	28%

And last, here’s the ranking, based on nearest issue sales.

1. Archie Double Digest
2. Betty & Veronica Double Digest
3. Archie & Friends Double Digest
4. Jughead Double Digest
5. World of Archie Double Digest
6. Life With Archie
7. B & V Friends Double Digest
8. Archie
9. Betty & Veronica
10. Veronica
11. Betty
12. Archie & Friends
13. Jughead

This is just about the same as last year, with only #3 and 4 swapping.