DC 3D Villains Month Print Runs and the Rarest Issues

Print runs for all the DC Villains month Books both 3d and 2d covers. Thanks to Terry Hoknes at www.hoknescomics.com for the in-depth work.

DC 3D Villains Month Print Runs and the Rarest Issues
Article and analysis by comic book historian Terry Hoknes – www.HoknesComics.com – hoknes@hotmail.com

The results are finally in for the most hyped up comics of 2013. Now for the first time we can find out how rare and not rare the issues are. Which standard issues are more common than the 3D versions? Which are the rarest issues overall and how did they rank compared to other issues?

There were 52 3D covers and the same 52 comics were all released with standard covers of the same cover image priced $1.00 cheaper due to NOT having the 3D cover effect.

Here are the best selling 3D cover versions during September 2013 from DC Comics.

Predictably all 4 of the regular Batman issues were the best sellers as Batman is always the #1 best selling DC title month to month.

Note prices however are not very consistent as the Penguin cover has a much smaller print run than the Joker issue. Batman completist’s long term should keep values up on these issues even though they are the most common. For Batman completists the Jokers Daughter is the rarest of all the Batman related 3D covers.

Only the top 6 3D covers had print runs over 50,000 after the numbers drop quickly and all print runs are decent but modest. Only the top 21 of the 52 3D covers had print runs over 40,000. 45 of the 52 covers had print runs over 30,000.

Print runs were not very consistent as for example 3 issues of Action Comics had much higher print runs than the Metallo issue Did DC do this on purpose ? What was the strategy of shorting only 1 of the 4 issues of a run? Was this all a game to create a panic and make customers rush to buy these books as DC did achieve 100% sell through rate.

3D # RANK TITLE ISSUE PRICE DC PRINT RUN
1 5 Batman (Joker) 23.1 $3.99 DC 107680
2 6 Batman (Riddler) 23.2 $3.99 DC 107413
3 8 Batman (Bane) 23.4 $3.99 DC 95298
4 10 Batman (Penguin) 23.3 $3.99 DC 89850
5 15 Justice League (Darkseid) 23.1 $3.99 DC 78200
6 21 Batman Superman (Doomsday) 3.1 $3.99 DC 68150
7 27 Action Comics (Cyborg Superman) 23.1 $3.99 DC 50146
8 28 Batman and Robin (Two Face) 23.1 $3.99 DC 49917
9 29 Justice League of America (Black Adam) 7.4 $3.99 DC 49625
10 30 Action Comics (Zod) 23.2 $3.99 DC 49557
11 31 Batman and Robin (Ras al Ghul) 23.3 $3.99 DC 49452
12 32 Action Comics (Lex Luthor) 23.3 $3.99 DC 49310
13 33 Batman and Robin (Court of Owls) 23.2 $3.99 DC 49205
14 34 Detective Comics (Posion Ivy) 23.1 $3.99 DC 49200
15 35 Detective Comics (Harley Quinn) 23.2 $3.99 DC 48776
16 36 Detective Comics (Scarecrow) 23.3 $3.99 DC 48671
17 37 Green Lantern (Sinestro) 23.4 $3.99 DC 48263
18 38 Batman and Robin (Killer Croc) 23.4 $3.99 DC 48152
19 40 Detective Comics (Man Bat) 23.4 $3.99 DC 46590
20 44 Justice League (Secret Society) 23.4 $3.99 DC 44008
21 46 Superman (Parasite) 23.4 $3.99 DC 43631
22 58 Green Lantern (Relic) 23.1 $3.99 DC 36965
23 61 Aquaman (Black Manta) 23.1 $3.99 DC 36555
24 62 Superman (Brainiac) 23.2 $3.99 DC 36475
25 64 Green Lantern (Mongul) 23.2 $3.99 DC 36281
26 65 Green Lantern (Black Hand) 23.3 $3.99 DC 36281
27 66 Justice League (Lobo) 23.2 $3.99 DC 36240
28 68 Superman (Bizarro) 23.1 $3.99 DC 36039
29 71 Aquaman (Ocean Master) 23.2 $3.99 DC 35893
30 72 Superman (Hel) 23.3 $3.99 DC 35652
31 75 Action Comics (Metallo) 23.4 $3.99 DC 34427
32 82 Justice League of America (Deadshot) 7.1 $3.99 DC 32157
33 83 Earth 2 (Desaad) 15.1 $3.99 DC 32131
34 84 Flash (Grodd) 23.1 $3.99 DC 31838
35 85 Earth 2 (Solomon Grundy) 15.2 $3.99 DC 31829
36 86 Justice League of America (Killer Frost) 7.2 $3.99 DC 31756
37 87 Justice League of America (Shadow Thief) 7.3 $3.99 DC 31720
38 89 Batman The Dark Knight (Ventriloquist) 23.1 $3.99 DC 31653
39 90 Teen Titans (Trigon) 23.1 $3.99 DC 31633
40 92 Flash (Rogues) 23.3 $3.99 DC 31442
41 93 Teen Titans (Deathstroke) 23.2 $3.99 DC 31434
42 95 Wonder Woman (Cheetah) 23.1 $3.99 DC 31367
43 96 Flash (Reverse Flash) 23.2 $3.99 DC 31237
44 98 Batman The Dark Knight (Mr. Freeze) 23.2 $3.99 DC 31053
45 100 Batman The Dark Knight (Clayface) 23.3 $3.99 DC 30794
46 103 Batman The Dark Knight (Joker’s Daughter) 23.4 $3.99 DC 29932
47 112 Green Arrow (Count Vertigo) 23.1 $3.99 DC 26855
48 113 Justice League Dark (Creeper) 23.1 $3.99 DC 26786
49 115 Justice League (Dial E) 23.3 $3.99 DC 26582
50 117 Justice League Dark (Eclipso) 23.2 $3.99 DC 26561
51 118 Wonder Woman (First Born) 23.2 $3.99 DC 26448
52 122 Swamp Thing (Arcane) 23.1 $3.99 DC 25831

THE TOP TEN RAREST 3D COVERS !

1 122 Swamp Thing (Arcane) 23.1 $3.99 DC 25831 13103 38934
2 118 Wonder Woman (First Born) 23.2 $3.99 DC 26448 15935 42383
3 117 Justice League Dark (Eclipso) 23.2 $3.99 DC 26561 16719 43280
4 115 Justice League (Dial E) 23.3 $3.99 DC 26582 33783 60365
5 113 Justice League Dark (Creeper) 23.1 $3.99 DC 26786 17586 44372
6 112 Green Arrow (Count Vertigo) 23.1 $3.99 DC 26855 14741 41596
7 103 Batman The Dark Knight (Joker’s Daughter) 23.4 $3.99 DC 29932 31518 61450
8 100 Batman The Dark Knight (Clayface) 23.3 $3.99 DC 30794 21861 52655
9 98 Batman The Dark Knight (Mr. Freeze) 23.2 $3.99 DC 31053 23666 54719
10 96 Flash (Reverse Flash) 23.2 $3.99 DC 31237 19910 51147

There does not seem to be a real pattern to which ones were underprinted. 3 of the 4 Batman The Dark Knight issues make the list of the smallest print runs. These all had print runs under 31,000 and while these books are not at all rare they are simply the “rarest” of the batch. Swamp Thing #23.1 is the rarest of all issues so anyone who was collecting a run of all 52 covers should have found this the hardest to find. It is the only issue printed under 26,000 copies. Jokers Daughter became the hottest comic of 2013 in pre-sales and deservedly so as it turned out the print run was the lowest of all Batman related titles and the only one under 30,000.

It will be interesting to see if over time if these Top 10 rarest are the ones that prove hardest to find in the future and could be the ones that go up in value. Of course that will only happen if demand for those particular titles stay strong.

BEST SELLING STANDARD COVER EDITIONS

1 49 Batman (Joker) 23.1 Std* $2.99 DC 39304
2 51 Justice League (Lobo) 23.2 Std* $2.99 DC 38704
3 59 Detective Comics (Harley Quinn) 23.2 Std* $2.99 DC 36774
4 76 Justice League (Dial E) 23.3 Std* $2.99 DC 33783
5 91 Batman The Dark Knight (Joker’s Daughter) 23.4 Std Ed* $2.99 DC 31518
6 97 Justice League of America (Deadshot) 7.1 Std* $2.99 DC 31192
7 101 Justice League (Secret Society) 23.4 Std* $2.99 DC 30605
8 106 Justice League (Darkseid) 23.1 Std* $2.99 DC 29648
9 108 Batman (Riddler) 23.2 Std* $2.99 DC 29387
10 109 Justice League of America (Killer Frost) 7.2 Std* $2.99 DC 27855
11 111 Batman (Penguin) 23.3 Std* $2.99 DC 27158
12 116 Green Lantern (Relic) 23.1 Std* $2.99 DC 26577
13 119 Detective Comics (Poison Ivy) 23.1 Std* $2.99 DC 26390
14 120 Batman (Bane) 23.4 Std* $2.99 DC 26176
15 123 Justice League of America (Shadow Thief) 7.3 Std* $2.99 DC 25809
16 127 Green Lantern (Mongul) 23.2 Std* $2.99 DC 24705
17 128 Batman and Robin (Two Face) 23.1 Std* $2.99 DC 24440
18 130 Green Lantern (Black Hand) 23.3 Std* $2.99 DC 23825
19 131 Batman and Robin (Court of Owls) 23.2 Std* $2.99 DC 23707
20 132 Batman The Dark Knight (Mr. Freeze) 23.2 Std* $2.99 DC 23666
21 133 Batman The Dark Knight (Ventriloquist) 23.1 Std* $2.99 DC 23139
22 135 Justice League of America (Black Adam) 7.4 Std* $2.99 DC 22725
23 141 Detective Comics (Scarecrow) 23.3 Std* $2.99 DC 21935
24 142 Batman And Robin (Ras Al Ghul) 23.3 Std* $2.99 DC 21865
25 143 Batman The Dark Knight (Clayface) 23.3 Std* $2.99 DC 21861
26 145 Batman Superman (Doomsday) 3.1 Std* $2.99 DC 21726
27 147 Superman (Bizarro) 23.1 Std* $2.99 DC 21195
28 154 Green Lantern (Sinestro) 23.4 Std* $2.99 DC 20367
29 157 Flash (Reverse Flash) 23.2 Std* $2.99 DC 19910
30 158 Superman (Brainiac) 23.2 Std* $2.99 DC 19550
31 159 Aquaman (Black Manta) 23.1 Std* $2.99 DC 19487
32 161 Detective Comics (Man Bat) 23.4 Std* $2.99 DC 19368
33 163 Batman and Robin (Killer Croc) 23.4 Std* $2.99 DC 19148
34 164 Flash (Grodd) 23.1 Std* $2.99 DC 18957
35 166 Earth 2 (Solomon Grundy) 15.2 Std* $2.99 DC 18486
36 170 Action Comics (Zod) 23.2 Std* $2.99 DC 17819
37 171 Earth 2 (Desaad) 15.1 Std* $2.99 DC 17747
38 173 Action Comics (Cyborg Superman) 23.1 Std* $2.99 DC 17685
39 174 Flash (Rogues) 23.3 Std* $2.99 DC 17667
40 176 Justice League Dark (Creeper) 23.1 Std* $2.99 DC 17586
41 178 Superman (Hel) 23.3 Std* $2.99 DC 17475
42 184 Justice League Dark (Eclipso) 23.2 Std* $2.99 DC 16719
43 185 Teen Titans (Deathstroke) 23.2 Std* $2.99 DC 16637
44 187 Action Comics (Lex Luthor) 23.3 Std* $2.99 DC 16480
45 189 Wonder Woman (Cheetah) 23.1 Std* $2.99 DC 16137
46 191 Aquaman (Ocean Master) 23.2 Std* $2.99 DC 16007
47 192 Wonder Woman (First Born) 23.2 Std* $2.99 DC 15935
48 196 Action Comics (Metallo) 23.4 Std* $2.99 DC 15642
49 197 Teen Titans (Trigon) 23.1 Std* $2.99 DC 15607
50 202 Green Arrow (Count Vertigo) 23.1 Std* $2.99 DC 14741
51 204 Superman (Parasite) 23.4 Std* $2.99 DC 14562
52 211 Swamp Thing (Arcane) 23.1 Std* $2.99 DC 13103

So far only 1 of the 52 standard covers has sold at Diamond and surprisingly its the one with the largest print run – Batman #23.1 – Joker is sold out. Only 7 of the 52 standard covers sold over 30,000 copies. In the long run the standard covers could prove to be more valuable than the 3D covers as the print runs are much smaller for the majority of issues. Only 28 of the 52 even sold over 20,000 copies each. These print runs are modest for DC print runs.

THE TOP TEN RAREST 3D COVERS !

1 211 Swamp Thing (Arcane) 23.1 Std* $2.99 DC 13103
2 204 Superman (Parasite) 23.4 Std* $2.99 DC 14562
3 202 Green Arrow (Count Vertigo) 23.1 Std* $2.99 DC 14741
4 197 Teen Titans (Trigon) 23.1 Std* $2.99 DC 15607
5 196 Action Comics (Metallo) 23.4 Std* $2.99 DC 15642
6 192 Wonder Woman (First Born) 23.2 Std* $2.99 DC 15935
7 191 Aquaman (Ocean Master) 23.2 Std* $2.99 DC 16007
8 189 Wonder Woman (Cheetah) 23.1 Std* $2.99 DC 16137
9 187 Action Comics (Lex Luthor) 23.3 Std* $2.99 DC 16480
10 185 Teen Titans (Deathstroke) 23.2 Std* $2.99 DC 16637

Swamp Thing #23.1 ranks top of this list just as it did with the 3D covers. Unanimously the rarest of all the DC Villain month comics.

Numerous Superman and Wonder Woman related comics rank very low for standard covers.

3 comics make the top 10 rarest of both lists proving that stores not only did not get 3D copies in the first place but they did not realize there was a shortage to order more standard covers. These 3 therefore are the rarest of the villain month:

Animal Man (Arcane), Green Arrow (Count Vertigo), Wonder Woman (First Born)

RETAILERS UP THEIR ORDERS ON STANDARD COVERS

While many retailers and collectors realized that certain 3D covers were going to sell out they would up their orders on the standard edition. This can be seen happening with a few of the most hyped issues including: Jokers Daughter, Dial E, Harley Quinn, Lobo.

In fact there are certain Standard Covers that actually have LARGER print runs than the 3D covers. This includes:

Justice League (Lobo), Batman The Dark Knight (Jokers Daughter), Justice League (Dial E), and almost equal in orders was: Justice League (Deadshot)

COMBINING PRINT RUNS OF 3D AND STANDARD COVERS

Finally lets combine the print runs of the 3D and standard covers and look for books that stand out in either 3D or standard orders. Also for those who just want to READ a copy of each book this will give you an idea of which books will likely turn up the easiest.

The top 6 3D covers still hold the Top 6 rank when adding the standard cover editions.

But then the chart begins to drastically change as issues of Detective Comics and Justice League get bumped up the list with large standard print runs. Yet with some titles bumped up the list certain other titles have to fall including issues of Batman and Robin and Justice League America. Jokers Daughter gets bumped UP the list to #24 most common villains month comic from a low 3D #46. Ventriliquist as the biggest bump up the chart due to high standard edition print run. Now ranks #26 instead of #49. All the issues of Action Comics get bumped way DOWN the chart due to retailers ordering very few standard covers in comparison. These could prove to be harder to find in years to come.

3D # SE # RANK TITLE ISSUE PRICE DC PRINT RUN PRINT RUN OF OPPOSITE
1 5 Batman (Joker) 23.1 $3.99 DC 107680 39304 146984
2 6 Batman (Riddler) 23.2 $3.99 DC 107413 29387 136800
3 8 Batman (Bane) 23.4 $3.99 DC 95298 26176 121474
4 10 Batman (Penguin) 23.3 $3.99 DC 89850 27158 117008
5 15 Justice League (Darkseid) 23.1 $3.99 DC 78200 29648 107848
6 21 Batman Superman (Doomsday) 3.1 $3.99 DC 68150 21726 89876
15 35 Detective Comics (Harley Quinn) 23.2 $3.99 DC 48776 36774 85550
14 34 Detective Comics (Posion Ivy) 23.1 $3.99 DC 49200 26390 75590
27 66 Justice League (Lobo) 23.2 $3.99 DC 36240 38704 74944
20 44 Justice League (Secret Society) 23.4 $3.99 DC 44008 30605 74613
8 28 Batman and Robin (Two Face) 23.1 $3.99 DC 49917 24440 74357
13 33 Batman and Robin (Court of Owls) 23.2 $3.99 DC 49205 23707 72912
9 29 Justice League of America (Black Adam) 7.4 $3.99 DC 49625 22725 72350
11 31 Batman and Robin (Ras al Ghul) 23.3 $3.99 DC 49452 21865 71317
16 36 Detective Comics (Scarecrow) 23.3 $3.99 DC 48671 21935 70606
17 37 Green Lantern (Sinestro) 23.4 $3.99 DC 48263 20367 68630
7 27 Action Comics (Cyborg Superman) 23.1 $3.99 DC 50146 17685 67831
10 30 Action Comics (Zod) 23.2 $3.99 DC 49557 17819 67376
18 38 Batman and Robin (Killer Croc) 23.4 $3.99 DC 48152 19148 67300
19 40 Detective Comics (Man Bat) 23.4 $3.99 DC 46590 19368 65958
12 32 Action Comics (Lex Luthor) 23.3 $3.99 DC 49310 16480 65790
22 58 Green Lantern (Relic) 23.1 $3.99 DC 36965 26577 63542
32 82 Justice League of America (Deadshot) 7.1 $3.99 DC 32157 31192 63349
46 103 Batman The Dark Knight (Joker’s Daughter) 23.4 $3.99 DC 29932 31518 61450
25 64 Green Lantern (Mongul) 23.2 $3.99 DC 36281 24705 60986
49 115 Justice League (Dial E) 23.3 $3.99 DC 26582 33783 60365
26 65 Green Lantern (Black Hand) 23.3 $3.99 DC 36281 23825 60106
36 86 Justice League of America (Killer Frost) 7.2 $3.99 DC 31756 27855 59611
21 46 Superman (Parasite) 23.4 $3.99 DC 43631 14562 58193
37 87 Justice League of America (Shadow Thief) 7.3 $3.99 DC 31720 25809 57529
28 68 Superman (Bizarro) 23.1 $3.99 DC 36039 21195 57234
23 61 Aquaman (Black Manta) 23.1 $3.99 DC 36555 19487 56042
24 62 Superman (Brainiac) 23.2 $3.99 DC 36475 19550 56025
38 89 Batman The Dark Knight (Ventriloquist) 23.1 $3.99 DC 31653 23139 54792
44 98 Batman The Dark Knight (Mr. Freeze) 23.2 $3.99 DC 31053 23666 54719
30 72 Superman (Hel) 23.3 $3.99 DC 35652 17475 53127
45 100 Batman The Dark Knight (Clayface) 23.3 $3.99 DC 30794 21861 52655
29 71 Aquaman (Ocean Master) 23.2 $3.99 DC 35893 16007 51900
43 96 Flash (Reverse Flash) 23.2 $3.99 DC 31237 19910 51147
34 84 Flash (Grodd) 23.1 $3.99 DC 31838 18957 50795
35 85 Earth 2 (Solomon Grundy) 15.2 $3.99 DC 31829 18486 50315
31 75 Action Comics (Metallo) 23.4 $3.99 DC 34427 15642 50069
33 83 Earth 2 (Desaad) 15.1 $3.99 DC 32131 17747 49878
40 92 Flash (Rogues) 23.3 $3.99 DC 31442 17667 49109
41 93 Teen Titans (Deathstroke) 23.2 $3.99 DC 31434 16637 48071
42 95 Wonder Woman (Cheetah) 23.1 $3.99 DC 31367 16137 47504
39 90 Teen Titans (Trigon) 23.1 $3.99 DC 31633 15607 47240
48 113 Justice League Dark (Creeper) 23.1 $3.99 DC 26786 17586 44372
50 117 Justice League Dark (Eclipso) 23.2 $3.99 DC 26561 16719 43280
51 118 Wonder Woman (First Born) 23.2 $3.99 DC 26448 15935 42383
47 112 Green Arrow (Count Vertigo) 23.1 $3.99 DC 26855 14741 41596
52 122 Swamp Thing (Arcane) 23.1 $3.99 DC 25831 13103 38934

#1 3D VILLAINS MONTH WEEK #4 (DC 2013) 13 different 3D covers came out in week #4 of the villains month campaign. Here are the highest prices achieved for each. Some high sales actually came in pre-sales online. Most prices have settled to about 50% of these listed prices. Week Four Joker’s Daughter at $110.00 Doomsday at $20 Black Adam at $20 Killer Croc at $13 First Born at $13 Man-Bat at $13 Bane at $12 Sinestro at $12 Secret Society at $12 Ocean Master at $12 Parasite at $11. Joker’s Daughter is without the single most hyped up and hottest comic of the entire year and may have set world record prices for a pre-sale of a new release as collectors were paying up to $110.00 each for a copy of this book just to make sure they got one. That is paying almost 40x cover price before it even came out. Very few customers got a copy unless they were a regular file customer for Batman: The Dark Knight series. It was the hottest of all the 3D covers and the hottest comic of the entire year. However the downside I predicted is that prices could only come down and that has already started to happen.

#2 3D VILLAINS MONTH WEEK #3 (DC 2013) 13 different 3D covers came out in week #3 of the villains month campaign. Here are the highest prices achieved for each. Some high sales actually came in pre-sales online. Most prices have settled to about 50% of these listed prices. Week Three Clayface at $20 Dial E at $46 Eclipso at $20 Deathstroke at $25 The Rogues at $15 Cheetah at $14 Penguin at $13 Ra’s Al Ghul at $13 Arcane at $13 Black Hand at $12 Scarecrow at $12 Shadow Thief at $12 Lex Luthor at $11 H’el at $7

#3 3D VILLAINS MONTH WEEK #2 (DC 2013) 13 different 3D covers came out in week #2 of the villains month campaign. Here are the highest prices achieved for each. Some high sales actually came in pre-sales online. Most prices have settled to about 50% of these listed prices. Week Two Harley Quinn at $36 Mr Freeze at $31 Lobo at $31 Riddler at $20.50 Reverse Flash at $20 Court Of Owls at $18 Killer Frost at $17.50 Solomon Grundy at $13 Trigon at $13 Black Manta for $12 Mongul at $12 Brainiac at $10.50 Zod at $10

#4 3D VILLAINS MONTH WEEK #1 (DC 2013) 13 different 3D covers came out in week #2 of the villains month campaign. Here are the highest prices achieved for each. Some high sales actually came in pre-sales online. Most prices have settled to about 50% of these listed prices. Week One Forever Evil #1 – $280 (1 per store variant cover). Darkseid for $31 Poison Ivy for $27 Ventriloquist for $26.50 Joker for $25 Count Vertigo at $20 Creeper at $20 Deadshot at $16.50 Two-Face at $15 Relic at $14 Bizarro at $13.50 Grodd at $13 Desaad at $13 Cyborg Superman at $10