Transformers, surprising no one, has topped the October comic book sales charts. Kieron Gillen is leaving Marvel. DC Comics has given Catwoman powers. All on Comic Book Club News for October 31, 2023.
SUBSCRIBE ON RSS, APPLE, ANDROID, SPOTIFY, OR THE APP OF YOUR CHOICE. FOLLOW US ON TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, TIKTOK, AND FACEBOOK. SUPPORT OUR SHOWS ON PATREON.
Powered by RedCircle
Episode Transcript:
Eek! Transformers tops October charts.
Boo! Kieron Gillen leaving Marvel.
Witches cackle. DC gives Catwoman powers.
This is Comic Book Club News for October 31, 2023.
Transformers Tops October Comic Book Sales Charts:
Here’s a treat to kick things off: To the surprise of no one, Image Comics and Skybound’s Transformers #1 has topped the comic book sales charts for October.
As revealed by ICv2, the Energon Universe title written and drawn by Daniel Warren Johnson was number one on both their charts of units sold and total dollars made. As Comic Book Club News previously reported, the title sold well north of 150,000 copies to comic book stores. And given that there are now multiple printings of the first issue, it’s possible this might hit the November charts, as well.
Another big October release, Marvel’s G.O.D.S. #1, didn’t quite hit the heights of the robots in disguise. Despite nearly double the cover price at $9.99, versus $4.99, G.O.D.S. was still second to Transformers on the dollars chart. In units sold, it only reached number five, beaten by new issues of The Amazing Spider-Man, Batman, and X-Men, in that order.
The rest of the chart is dominated by Marvel and DC, with any other publishers first appearing at 44 and 45, with King Spawn and Void Rivals, respectively. Another buzzy Skybound book, Universal Monsters: Dracula, debuted at number 50.
One last item of note, though: bespoke publisher DSTLRY did break onto the dollars chart, at number fifty, with Jock’s new series Gone. Clearly, per the title, fans were grabbing the $8.99 priced issue until it disappeared.
Kieron Gillen Leaving Marvel:
And now a trick, if you were expecting one of Marvel’s main writers to stick with the publisher. Somewhat underplayed in a report from this past weekend’s MCM London Comic Con: writer Kieron Gillen is leaving Marvel after his work is done on X-Men.
In the report by Popverse, Kieron Gillen officially announced the news during his “A Conversation With Kieron Gillen” panel. Said Gillen: “I’m about to leave Marvel… The reason I did Marvel work is that I was burned out on creator-owned work, and it suddenly seemed overwhelming to think of a new idea… and now I’m ready.”
Though Gillen didn’t mention that new idea, he did tease several other projects, including reteaming with his DIE co-creator Stephanie Hans on a new book, a “post-apocalyptic fable about giants.” He also mentioned a Cold War series that takes place over 50 years. And further out, he has a “secondary world” project that isn’t set on planet Earth.
But first, Gillen has to wrap up his final commitment at Marvel, the five-issue Rise of the Powers of X, which will itself wrap up the X-Men’s Krakoa era. Here’s hoping Gillen survives the experience! That’s an X-Men reference, not a threat. To be clear.
DC Gives Catwoman Powers At The Conclusion Of The Gotham War:
Since we’ve already used “trick” and “treat,” for this next news item please smell my feet. In today’s DC Comics, some big changes are coming for Catwoman. Spoilers for Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War – Scorched Earth #1 past this point. In the issue, a meteor crashes into Gotham City, creating a new sort of Lazarus Pit. And in the process, Catwoman falls in, while Batman watches. While it’s clear he knows she’s alive by the issue’s end, something has changed with her, and she’s bathed in shadow. Is she a monster now? Is she… Hideous? Insert spooky Halloween music here.
…Only, if you’ve read the solicit text for the next three issues of her solo title, you know exactly what’s happened to Catwoman. The next arc is titled “Nine Lives” and seemingly finds Catwoman gaining nine actual lives, just like a cat. This makes sense when you remember that the Lazarus Pit brings people back to life, so presumably, this newfangled one gave some of its properties to Selina Kyle.
In the upcoming arc, Selina leaves Gotham, and uses her new powers to take on incredibly dangerous, probably deadly missions. What happens when she runs out of her nine lives? Bad luck, probably.
For Comic Book Club News, I’m Alex Zalben. And this podcast has been dead the whole time!
Got tips or stories you’d like us to cover? Email us at comicbookclublive@gmail.com.
For more comic book news, reviews, and interviews, check out comicbookclublive.com.
Listen early and ad-free on Patreon.com/comicbookclub.
2 thoughts on “Transformers Tops October Comics Charts, Kieron Gillen Leaving Marvel, DC Gives Catwoman Powers | Comic Book Club News For October 31, 2023”