Even after an entire decade, the first appearance of Miles Morales is still a chart-topping success.
Diamond Comics Distributors has released its list of the top titles sold to comic book shops for the month of September. These sales figures do not include DC Comics, which left its long-standing partnership with Diamond last year in favor of a new deal with Lunar Distributors. Among expected successes like Amazing Spider-Man and Inferno was one significant oddity -- a reprinted edition of Ultimate Comics Fallout #4, the first issue to feature Miles Morales.
In order, the full list of rankings is Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters #4, Amazing Spider-Man #73, Inferno #1, Amazing Spider-Man #74, Dark Ages #1, Extreme Carnage: Toxin #1, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin #4, Ultimate Comics Fallout #4, Daredevil #34 and Primordial #1. Of the top 10 titles, eight were published by Marvel Comics, one from IDW Publishing and one from Image Comics. Notably, September was the last full month in which Diamond Comics was the sole distributor for Marvel, who recently entered a new partnership with Penguin Random House.
In 2011, Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli created Miles Morales as a replacement for Peter Parker, the Ultimate Universe's Spider-Man. After Peter died saving his family, Miles was introduced in the pages of Ultimate Comics Fallout #4. The move was controversial for many at the time, since Spider-Man's previous replacements had been so poorly received up to that point. However, Miles proved to be a hit, and new readers flocked to the series. When the Ultimate Universe was canceled in 2015, Miles was among the characters to survive the end of Earth-1610 and join the proper Marvel continuity. Ten years later, the facsimile edition of Ultimate Comics Fallout #4 is a way for newer fans to connect with Miles' original appearance all over again, making it a hot item.
Unlike second printings or dollar editions, facsimiles are a way to reproduce classic comics exactly as they first appeared -- with one change. For the sake of differentiating them from the originals, facsimiles adjust the price on their cover and give the book a distinct barcode. The first three digits of most comic book barcodes refer to the issue number, then the fourth refers to which variant it is, and the fifth refers to the printing. In the case of the original Ultimate Comics Fallout #4, the standard cover read 00411, whereas the facsimile reads 00111.
Facsimile comics continue to be one of the most popular ways for publishers to recapture the magic of books as they were first released. They often commemorate special occasions, such as Rob Liefeld's upcoming facsimile of Prophet #1 that coincides with the character's 30th anniversary. The success of Ultimate Comics Fallout #4 can be taken both as an indication of the enduring popularity of Miles Morales and as a sign of the ingenuity of the comic book industry, which continues to find new ways to inspire fans to visit their local shop for a memorable read.
Source: Diamond Comics Distributor