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The New Mutants #98 Print Run?1067

Collector Despain private msg quote post Address this user
I've discussed this topic with a few people over the years. Some claim that the print run for NM 98 is 1 million copies, and some have even claimed the print run to be 3 million.

The only definitive number that I have seen is in The New Mutants #99:

Statement of Ownership: Total No. Copies Printed (net press run): Average no. of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 289,387. Single issue nearest to filing date: 318,102

So if I'm understanding this correctly, the total print run for NM #98 is 289,387. That is still a big number, but it's no where near 1-3 million copies. If anyone has any factual information that disputes this print run number please share it here.

Thanks
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Collector Rafel private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by Despain
I've discussed this topic with a few people over the years. Some claim that the print run for NM 98 is 1 million copies, and some have even claimed the print run to be 3 million.

The only definitive number that I have seen is in The New Mutants #99:

Statement of Ownership: Total No. Copies Printed (net press run): Average no. of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 289,387. Single issue nearest to filing date: 318,102

So if I'm understanding this correctly, the total print run for NM #98 is 289,387. That is still a big number, but it's no where near 1-3 million copies. If anyone has any factual information that disputes this print run number please share it here.

Thanks


I was wondering how they came up with such an odd number to print.
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Collector poka private msg quote post Address this user
That is an average number for issues 88-99. Certain of the issues might be higher or lower.
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Collector Arikhan private msg quote post Address this user
I believe your number is correct. I think it gets over inflated because it came just a few months before X-force 1 which sold millions of copies and X-men 1 which shattered sales records at the time.
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Collector Despain private msg quote post Address this user
@poka Correct. More than likely each issue starting with 88 had a slightly larger print run than the preceding issue. If issue 99 had a print run of 318,102, then I would imagine that issue 98 had a slightly smaller print run than 99. I honestly can't figure out why some people say that #98 had a print run of 1 million or more other than what Arikhan said in his post or maybe people just enjoy degrading the issue because they simply don't like it. I've never seen any factual information to back up that 1 million print run claim. I'm not saying it doesn't exist; I've just never seen it.

@Arikhan I agree.
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Collector poka private msg quote post Address this user
The other number I have seen is 220k. It is in this article:
http://earlyretirementdiary.com/new-mutants-87-9-8-vs-captain-marvel-17-2nd-print/

Not sure where he got the source from though but given the numbers in the registry (which always are inflated) much more than the numbers you have come up with doesn't makes sense.

Good analysis @despain
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Collector Arikhan private msg quote post Address this user
Still a print run in the mid to upper 200k range is no slouch number. I was 14 years old at the time and remember how hot X-Force/X-Men were at the time.
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Collector The_Curmudgeon private msg quote post Address this user
From where do those numbers come?
If they are from Diamond, they do not account for the newsstand editions that were massively overprinted, many of which were destroyed when they didn't sell.
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Collector Milk private msg quote post Address this user
http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=7162146&fpart=1
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Collector Oxbladder private msg quote post Address this user
@The_Curmudgeon newsstand print numbers were dropping consistently from the 80's to when they basically stopped in the late 90's. I would bet that the newsstand numbers on this book are not as high as you might think. If the publisher statement of ownership average distribution numbers are 290K then that usually included direct, newsstand, promos, etc.

@Despain for some reason people seem to think many books of the late 80's and 90's were printed in the millions, even lesser titles. Fact is there were a few issues that had large print run and only a few of the major titles had runs between 500K and just under 1M. The rest were well below 500K. Much higher than today but no where near what seems to get bandied about.

Similarly, people constantly talk about over-printing. They don't do it it is all based on orders and estimates from any newsstand sales. The number is likely a bit higher than you would see on comichron but not significantly higher. Why people think that publishers just randomly print thousands or hundreds of thousands extra copies is mind boggling.
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Collector MR_SigS private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by Milk
http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=7162146&fpart=1


I was hoping Doc Brown would join the conversation, but this works too

Thanks, Stu.
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Collector Despain private msg quote post Address this user
Quote:
Originally Posted by The_Curmudgeon
From where do those numbers come?
If they are from Diamond, they do not account for the newsstand editions that were massively overprinted, many of which were destroyed when they didn't sell.


These numbers were printed at the end of issue #99.

@Milk Thanks. I've read through that thread before. It's an excellent read.



The reason I started this thread is because some people on Facebook want to argue that NM 98 had a print run in the millions without backing it up with facts. One guy even claimed that Rob Liefeld posted on Facebook that the issue had a print run that was at least 1 million. Personally I've never seen anything to back this up. I just wanted a definitive answer if the information printed at the end of issue 99 is true or somehow incorrect.
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Collector Oxbladder private msg quote post Address this user
I missed the hubbub over new mutants at the time. My collecting had slowed and I was only really buying Gladstones. I know a few books hit the million mark but I would be dubious of any claims of million copy print runs on NM. With an average of south of 290K those claims do not add up.
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Collector Despain private msg quote post Address this user
@Oxbladder I agree. Plus it doesn't make sense that Marvel would suddenly decide to make issue 98 a larger print run than 99. Maybe #100 because it was the final issue but not 98, 97, 96, etc.
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Collector Oxbladder private msg quote post Address this user
If that ownership info is from 98 or after I think there would have to be a number of months with sales at or below 100k for a one million print run to average out below 300k

290,000 adds up to an estimated 3,480,000 total books printed. So it is possible but I am dubious of such claims.
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Collector Despain private msg quote post Address this user
@Oxbladder Good observation. From the information I have that was printed in issue 99, I'd guess the print run for 98 was likely around 280,000-290,000. Wouldn't you?
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Please continue to ignore anything I post. southerncross private msg quote post Address this user
300k would be a good guess of the print run. sales were climbing at the time due to liefield art and introduction of Cable. Why they finished the run at 100 if my nemory serves me correct and they rebooted the title called X-Force for the new readership that jumped onto the title.
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Collector Oxbladder private msg quote post Address this user
Well that ownership was in issue 99 so that number of 318,102 could well be for 98. It all depends when they filed that statement of ownership
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Collector Despain private msg quote post Address this user
@Oxbladder That's true. I assumed that number was for issue 99.
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Please continue to ignore anything I post. southerncross private msg quote post Address this user
Rare print run for 98 would be the 1.50 Australian price edition. At the time less newsagents were carrying comics due to space and what they can sell in their place. And die hard collectors like myself went into the city where the comic shops were. As we were not prepared to wait the 3 months for the issue to appear on the newstand
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