Buffy at 13, huh? Hey, we can do better than that!

To everyone who has a Whedon DVD collection, time to give those friends who haven't watched a chance to experience Buffy! That'll push those numbers up.

Remember, Star Trek got MORE popular after it was cancelled. If we Buffy fans keep multiplying (through biology and other, less sticky means), we might one day get a spinoff in the form of a series or a movie, or maybe even an animated something longer than four minutes. :)

quantumac | September 15, 21:09 CET

Lucky 13! Let's break the top ten again.

Emmie | September 15, 21:21 CET

There're a lot of event titles out at the moment. I'll be interested to see the actual numbers estimate because I suspect right now, with R.I.P doing as well as it's doing, that 0.77 of a 'Batman' actually isn't too far off the numbers Buffy's done fairly consistently all along (mid to high 70s, maybe even over 80k).

Gotta laugh at 'Watchmen' still kicking such ass though, after all this time (and nice to see the 'Killing Joke' hardback up there, it's a very nice book).

Saje | September 15, 21:29 CET

I know fans of all types push for their muse to win awards and get the recognition they deserve. They want their friends to discover what they love so dear...hear the awesome new song or new episode or movie sequel or book trilogy conclusion or comic book adaptation, (you get the idea).

However, in all my experience, I don't think I've ever seen a group of fans that were as concerned with achieving the monetary greatness of their hero or heroes' products as much as I do with fans of Joss. I think it's important to note the fan's motivation when making these purchases. Making a recommendation I can completely understand. They want to share something they love. But is that the sole motivator?

How many times have I read about people buying extra copies of Serenity to give away to friends or to donate to libraries? Obviously, there's almost always a nice benefit when donating to charity. But that's not what I am taking issue with. I'm more interested in the motivation of the fan/buyer that says, "we need to show those studio executives that we deserve a sequel." Or as quantumac just said (above), "Buffy at 13, huh? Hey, we can do better than that!"

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and motivations but to be clear, Joss is at 13. Andy Owens is at 13. Jo Chen is at 13. Dark Horse is at 13. Our man Scott Alley is at 13. I hate to be the one to say it but WE aren't at 13.

I seem to be drawing a parallel to the sports world and rooting for your team. I'm the first to cheer for the White Sox when they win...but I'm not buying tickets to the games I can't attend, just so they can break an attendance record. Similarly, I don't rejoice when Alex Rodriguez gets a new contract for 30 million a year.

So the question is, do we want to share our love of The Verse? Achieve the highest rung on the sales ladder so the fan can say, "we're number one?" Or is it tied to the idea that sales equals more of the fanboy goodness we crave? Someone help me out.

alexreager | September 15, 22:37 CET

Well I just want the sales to be good so the series isn't canceled. I would like to see Joss get the opportunity to get the whole thing out.

aapac | September 15, 23:04 CET

Can't see Dark Horse cancelling it's top selling title any time soon. Call me crazy.

Serial Rocker | September 15, 23:09 CET

Joss' work inspires loyalty amongst fans. His work just resonates with some people a lot, and when you add in that some of his projects have taken a beating at the hands of "the man", I think you have an already devoted fan base pushed to want to evangelize all of Joss' work so that similar bad things don't ever happen to him again.

I wish more artists got the same appreciation as Joss, but being a Joss fan I can understand where they're coming from, even if I may not be as vehement as some. Long live Joss.

archon | September 16, 01:32 CET

Serial Rocker: I'm just saying be a friend and show your friends Buffy, because it's a show (and now a comic book) worth viewing.

If a dear and close friend of mine hadn't insisted I and my wife sit down and watch his DVD collection of a TV series based on a so-so movie, we wouldn't know about Buffy, and we wouldn't be the Buffy fans we are today. That would be a loss, for we love Joss' work, and we want him to succeed and continue making the art he makes so well.

Note I say this even after Joss killed off my favorite character, so that's saying something. (Grumble... grumble... bring Tara back already... grumble... grumble...)

Seriously though, I'm not pitching so my team can "win." I just want to spread the "lurve" around.

quantumac | September 16, 01:40 CET

I'm excited to see the numbers because it's success means it will keep on going hopefully. As far as the sense of ownership in "our", I still called it my show when it was a cult hit not getting the highest ratings on tv. Now that "Buffy" is making big splashes in the comic world, I'm stilling calling it mine. My favorite, my fandom, my whatever I want. I don't think I'm in control nor do I think I'm part of the creative process that makes it great, but I love it so it's a part of me. Hence mine.

Emmie | September 16, 02:20 CET

I know #13 is not top ten, but I'm pretty sure that it is still a fantastic chart position for a series that is remaining strong.

Vanessa_A | September 16, 02:28 CET

"I'm just saying be a friend and show your friends Buffy, because it's a show (and now a comic book) worth viewing."

Couldn't agree more with that thinking, quantumac. My above comment was more directed towards what aapac had said. Personally I believe that Buffy holding strong at 13 while Marvel and DC are pushing so many big events goes to show that there is nothing to worry about when it comes to Joss being able to complete this series. Wanting a regular top 10 position for Buffy at the moment is probably asking a little much though.

Serial Rocker | September 16, 09:59 CET

Especially when, as I say, the actual number of comics sold may not have changed much (may even have risen). It's not a strict zero sum game folks, sales going up for one doesn't necessarily mean sales going down for another and being edged out of the top 10 is completely meaningless when there are so many event titles floating around.

And sales would have to plummet for the book to be in any danger of cancellation. Mainstay titles of bigger publishers than Dark Horse regularly sell 1/2 or 2/3 as many copies as Buffy does and carry on regardless.

Saje | September 16, 10:33 CET

ICV2 have their guestimates up so I've changed the link to their site.

Simon | September 16, 12:23 CET

Cool, ta Simon - so Buffy holds fairly firm and actually bucks the average slide of 9% with a small blip downwards of maybe 2%. Good news.

Saje | September 16, 12:38 CET

We don't want to win, we want *Joss* to win. As much of everything as he can.

The comics are doing really well. All of them and that's great.

cheryl | September 16, 19:08 CET