Ghost Rider Vol. 2 Sales Figures
Circulation as Reported in Publishers' Statements of Ownership
Filed with the United States Postal Service
With the number of comics shops exploding in the early 1990s, Marvel revived Ghost Rider, whose previous title had a ten-year run from 1973-83. The boom-era title soon reached a circulation peak previously unseen in the earlier title. (Click to see the figures for Ghost Rider Vol. 1.)
Ghost Rider's 1990s popularity led to two spinoffs, Ghost Rider 2099 and Blaze: Spirit of Vengeance. But sales trailed off extremely fast with the collapse of the industry that decade, and the main title ended in 1998. It would be revived again in the 2000s.
Some direct-market only information is available in the monthly reports.
—John Jackson Miller
| 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issue Statement appearing in: | #23 Mar | #36 April | #46 Feb | #59 Mar | |
| Date of filing: | 10/1/91 | 10/1/92 | 10/1/93 | 10/1/94 | |
| Issues published during year: | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | |
| Annual subscription price: | $21.00 | $21.00 | $21.00 | $23.40 | |
| Cover price during year: | $1.75 | $1.75 | $1.75 | $1.95 | |
| Total Copies PRINTED (avg): | 370,617 | 475,183 | 424,133 | 280,083 | |
| Sales through DEALERS (avg): | 291,500 | 353,083 | 319,359 | 156,533 | |
| Sales by SUBSCRIPTION (avg): | 2,417 | 4,117 | 3,283 | 1,742 | |
| Total PAID circulation (avg): | 239,917 | 357,200 | 322,642 | 158,275 | |
| Samples by MAIL (avg): | 125 | 250 | 125 | 125 | |
| Samples OUTSIDE mail (avg): | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total FREE circulation (avg): | 125 | 250 | 125 | 125 | |
| TOTAL DISTRIBUTION: | 294,042 | 357,450 | 322,767 | 158,400 | |
| Copies not distributed (office): | 250 | 500 | 500 | 500 | |
| Copies not distributed (RETURNS): | 76,325 | 117,233 | 100,867 | 121,183 | |
| Reported % Paid/Requested: | |||||
| % of RUN RETURNED: | 20.6% | 24.7% | 23.8% | 43.3% | |
| Copies existent: | 294,292 | 357,950 | 323,267 | 158,900 | |
| SELL-THROUGH at RETAIL: | 64.7% | 75.2% | 76.1% | 56.5% | |
| 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 0 | |
| Issue Statement appearing in: | #69 Jan | #79 Nov.! | #92 Jan | ||
| Date of filing: | 10/1/95 | 10/1/96 | 10/1/97 | ||
| Issues published during year: | 12 | 12 | 12 | ||
| Annual subscription price: | $23.40 | $22.00 | $23.88 | ||
| Cover price during year: | $1.95 | $1.50 | $1.99 | ||
| Total Copies PRINTED (avg): | 156,966 | 85,698 | 40,708 | ||
| Sales through DEALERS (avg): | 76,224 | 57,607 | 31,636 | ||
| Sales by SUBSCRIPTION (avg): | 1,115 | 1,035 | 930 | ||
| Total PAID circulation (avg): | 77,339 | 58,642 | 32,566 | ||
| Samples by MAIL (avg): | 750 | 600 | 93 | ||
| Samples OUTSIDE mail (avg): | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total FREE circulation (avg): | 750 | 600 | 93 | ||
| TOTAL DISTRIBUTION: | 78,089 | 59,242 | 32,659 | ||
| Copies not distributed (office): | 500 | 125 | 125 | ||
| Copies not distributed (RETURNS): | 78,377 | 26,381 | 7,924 | ||
| Reported % Paid/Requested: | 99.0% | 99.0% | 99.0% | ||
| % of RUN RETURNED: | 49.9% | 30.8% | 19.5% | ||
| Copies existent: | 78,589 | 59,367 | 32,784 | ||
| SELL-THROUGH at RETAIL: | 49.3% | 68.4% | 80.0% | ||
Statement history
Marvel first published a Statement in the second year of the title. 1996's Statement was published earlier than normal, creeping back into 1996 itself. The last Statement, for 1997, appeared in the next-to-last issue of the series.
Understanding Statements of Ownership
The figures above are taken directly from the annual Statements of Ownership, Management, and Circulation filed by publishers with the United States Postal Service. The sales figure is the Average Paid Circulation figure and includes all copies sold through newsstands, comics shops, and postal subscription. It does not count copies the publisher gave away for free, or copies that were kept for office use.
More information can be found in the FAQ section.
