Metal Men Sales Figures
Circulation as Reported in Publishers' Statements of Ownership
Filed with the United States Postal Service
A super-team created as a filler feature for Showcase, the Metal Men proved popular enough to get their own title in 1963, and the series' average circulation steadily increased for its first few years, peaking in 1966. Circulation dropped precipitously in the following years, until the series went on hiatus at the end of 1969.
The series made brief returns twice, once with reprints in 1973 and once with new stories from 1976 to early 1978, but Metal Men never quite recaptured its earlier success.
—John Jackson Miller
| 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issue Statement appearing in: | #12 March | #19 April/May | #24 Feb-Mar | #30 Feb/March | |
| Date of filing: | 10/1/64 | 10/1/65 | 10/1/66 | 10/1/67 | |
| Issues published during year: | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | |
| Annual subscription price: | $0.70 | $0.70 | $0.88 |
$0.88 | |
| Cover price during year: | $0.12 | $0.12 | $0.12 | $0.12 | |
| Total Copies PRINTED (avg): | 410,000 | 505,000 | 642,000 | 439,000 | |
| Sales through DEALERS (avg): | 291,000 | 328,000 | 391,000 | 236,000 | |
| Sales by SUBSCRIPTION (avg): | 4,126 | 6,245 | 5,506 | 3,700 | |
| Total PAID circulation (avg): | 295,513 | 334,245 | 396,506 | 239,700 | |
| Samples by MAIL (avg): | 387 | 142 | 265 | 340 | |
| Samples OUTSIDE mail (avg): | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total FREE circulation (avg): | 387 | 142 | 265 | 340 | |
| TOTAL DISTRIBUTION: | 295,513 | 334,387 | 396,771 | 240,040 | |
| Copies not distributed (office): | |||||
| Copies not distributed (RETURNS): | 114,487 | 170,613 | 245,229 | 198,960 | |
| Reported % Paid/Requested: | |||||
| % of RUN RETURNED: | 27.9% | 33.8% | 38.2% | 45.3% | |
| Copies existent: | 295,513 | 334,387 | 396,771 | 240,040 | |
| SELL-THROUGH at RETAIL: | 72.1% | 66.2% | 61.8% | 54.6% | |
| 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | |
| Issue Statement appearing in: | #37 April/May | title not published | title not published | title not published | |
| Date of filing: | 10/1/68 | ||||
| Issues published during year: | 6 | ||||
| Annual subscription price: | $0.88 | ||||
| Cover price during year: | $0.12 | ||||
| Total Copies PRINTED (avg): | 387,000 | ||||
| Sales through DEALERS (avg): | 205,000 | ||||
| Sales by SUBSCRIPTION (avg): | 1,555 | ||||
| Total PAID circulation (avg): | 206,555 | ||||
| Samples by MAIL (avg): | 386 | ||||
| Samples OUTSIDE mail (avg): | 0 | ||||
| Total FREE circulation (avg): | 386 | ||||
| TOTAL DISTRIBUTION: | 206,941 | ||||
| Copies not distributed (office): | |||||
| Copies not distributed (RETURNS): | 180,059 | ||||
| Reported % Paid/Requested: | |||||
| % of RUN RETURNED: | 46.5% | ||||
| Copies existent: | 206,941 | ||||
| SELL-THROUGH at RETAIL: | |||||
| 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | |
| Issue Statement appearing in: | title not published | title not published | |||
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| 1978 | |||||
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Statement history
DC's original Metal Men series lasted several years before the title went on hiatus; forms ran for 1964-68. A handful of reprint issues were published in 1973, and a short run from 1976 to early 1978 featured new stories, but no circulation statements were filed for these brief returns.
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.
