JB:

"at a time when FANTASTIC FOUR was selling about 190,000 per month, Kirby's CAPTAIN AMERICA sank to 17,000! "

Are you sure there's not a typo in the last number? I can't imagine any Marvel title selling that low in the late 1970's. I have those issues at home, so I could check later the annual statement of ownership records in those books, but I'm sure that 17.000 copies per month would have been an unprecedented sales disaster in that era.

Another thing to consider is that back then a title's success wasn't measured only in number of copies sold. The other important variable was the percentage of copies sold (compared to number of copies printed). A book selling 100.000 copies out of 120.000 printed was an amazing success, while a book selling 140.000 out of 350.000 wasn't so hot (that title would have been moved to bi-monthly status in order to increase the percentage). Since Kirby's CAPTAIN AMERICA was always a monthly, I can't imagine sales being as bad as 17.000 copies sold per month.

Rodrigo
http://rodrigobaeza.blog-city.com

And have I mentioned lately how incredibly tired I am of these "Gee, John, I know you were actually there, but I think things must have been different" responses?

"And have I mentioned lately how incredibly tired I am of these "Gee, John, I know you were actually there, but I think things must have been different" responses?"

It's more like "Gee, John, the number you cite (17.000) doesn't match any other account from the time, and doesn't make the slightest sense for a monthly book sold in the 1970's."

I'll settle this this afternoon, when I check (and post) the actual statement of ownership numbers for the two years that Kirby's run lasted, and spare you what I "imagine" in the meantime.

Rodrigo

Aw, gee, sounds like someone got their nose knocked out of joint...

Thanks, at least, for taking your blog site link out of your posts.

From Captain America #196, 207, and 219 -

Please forgive the poor scans - when I scanned my collection years ago, I didn't pay much attention to the quality of the letter's page. While I looked for these this morning, I did notice some very 'Internet-esque' fan letters bashing Kirby's work on the book. Very sad.

Thanks for posting these. As can be seen, even though there is a decline in sales from 1976 to 1977, the average of copies sold per month is always above 130.000.

The "17.000" figure has no basis in reality.

Rodrigo
http://rodrigobaeza.blog-city.com

"Aw, gee, sounds like someone got their nose knocked out of joint..."

Ha ha, hardly.

"Thanks, at least, for taking your blog site link out of your posts."

??? According to the rules of conduct message by Dave Pruitt: "Putting a link to your website in your signature is fine, but making a thread about your latest product or service is not."

Rodrigo
http://rodrigobaeza.blog-city.com

Rodrigo Baeza: According to the rules of conduct message by Dave Pruitt: "Putting a link to your website in your signature is fine

True, but that's not what you're doing.  You're bypassing the sig function of the board and including your blog link in your post.  Not the same thing.

Oh, I plead ignorance on my part. This is the first time someone tells me it's a problem (it's not specified in the "rules of conduct" post either). I'll see how to create a proper sig then, and leave the link out in the meantime.

Rodrigo