Strange Suspense Stories/Captain Atom Sales Figures
Circulation as Reported in Publishers' Statements of Ownership
Filed with the United States Postal Service
Few titles saw so many name changes as the series that spent its longest duration as Strange Suspense Stories.
Unrelated to a five-issue series by the same name from Fawcett in 1952-53, Strange Suspense began as the Charlton crime comic Lawbreakers — and changed its name annually in the early 1950s. Famous for Steve Ditko art, the series fared a little better than some other Charlton titles dwelling at the bottom of the 1960s sales charts.
Captain Atom — the character who would inspire Watchmen's Doctor Manhattan — migrated into this title from Space Adventures and took it over completely in 1965. Sales figures at right are for both the forerunner title and Captain Atom.
—John Jackson Miller
| 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issue Statement appearing in: | #53 May | #58 April | #64 April | #70 May | #75 Jun |
| Date of filing: | 9/30/61 | 9/30/61 | 9/29/62 | 9/30/65 | 10/30/64 |
| Issues published during year: | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Annual subscription price: | $0.60 | $0.70 | $0.70 | $0.70 | $0.70 |
| Cover price during year: | $0.10 | $0.12 | $0.12 | $0.12 | $0.12 |
| Total Copies PRINTED (avg): | 221,507 | 226,251 | |||
| Sales through DEALERS (avg): | 133,788 | 130,475 | |||
| Sales by SUBSCRIPTION (avg): | 17 | 20 | |||
| Total PAID circulation (avg): | 122,257 | 126,598 | 127,740 | 133,805 | 130,495 |
| Samples by MAIL (avg): | 25 | 25 | |||
| Samples OUTSIDE mail (avg): | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total FREE circulation (avg): | 25 | 25 | |||
| TOTAL DISTRIBUTION: | 133,330 | 130,520 | |||
| Copies not distributed (office): | |||||
| Copies not distributed (RETURNS): | 88,177 | 95,731 | |||
| Reported % Paid/Requested: | |||||
| % of RUN RETURNED: | 39.8% | 42.3% | |||
| Copies existent: | 122,257 | 126,598 | 127,740 | 133,830 | 130,520 |
| SELL-THROUGH at RETAIL: | 60.4% | 57.7% | |||
| 1965 | 1966 | ||||
| Issue Statement appearing in: | #80 Apr-May | #86 June | |||
| Date of filing: | 9/30/65 | 9/30/66 | |||
| Issues published during year: | 6 | 6 | |||
| Annual subscription price: | $0.70 | $0.70 | |||
| Cover price during year: | $0.12 | $0.12 | |||
| Total Copies PRINTED (avg): | 260,959 | 238,100 | |||
| Sales through DEALERS (avg): | 131,317 | 123,200 | |||
| Sales by SUBSCRIPTION (avg): | 33 | 67 | |||
| Total PAID circulation (avg): | 131,350 | 123,267 | |||
| Samples by MAIL (avg): | 25 | 25 | |||
| Samples OUTSIDE mail (avg): | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total FREE circulation (avg): | 25 | 25 | |||
| TOTAL DISTRIBUTION: | 131,375 | 123,292 | |||
| Copies not distributed (office): | |||||
| Copies not distributed (RETURNS): | 129,584 | 114,808 | |||
| Reported % Paid/Requested: | |||||
| % of RUN RETURNED: | 49.7% | 48.2% | |||
| Copies existent: | 131,375 | 123,292 | |||
| SELL-THROUGH at RETAIL: | 50.3% | 51.8% | |||
Statement history
Statements of Ownership did not include sales figures until 1960, so no figures exist for the previous incarnations of the series. Subscribers followed over into Captain Atom, so the form printed in Captain Atom #80 is actually referring to sales of Strange Suspense before the name change. There is no 1967 Statement.
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.
