Space Adventures Sales Figures
Circulation as Reported in Publishers' Statements of Ownership
Filed with the United States Postal Service
Famous for Steve Ditko's stories, the appearances of Blue Beetle, and the first appearnce of Captain Atom (the later inspiration for Watchmen's Doctor Manhattan), Space Adventures, not to be confused with Strange Adventures, took a winding and complicated publishing journey. The 1950s version of the title, first published under the Capitol imprint, actually ran for four years before becoming War at Sea with #22 (where it would continue into the 1960s). But then Charlton changed the name of Nyoka, Jungle Girl to Space Adventures with its 23rd issue — which is why no Space Adventures #22 exists!
Sales were low when Charlton began reporting sales figures in the 1960s — at just over 100,000 copies, some of the lowest in comics — but that was true for most of Charlton's line, and at least Space Adventures' sales look to have held up as it went along.
The publisher's sales efforts and distribution was such that Space Adventures had only 25 subscribers in 1963. Charlton folded the title in 1964, with Captain Atom, who first appeared in #33, migrating to Strange Suspense Stories, finally taking that title over completely in 1965.
Charlton revived the Space Adventures title briefly in the late 1960s and again in the late 1970s.
—John Jackson Miller
| 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issue Statement appearing in: | #39 April | #45 May | #50 March | #56 March | |
| Date of filing: | 9/30/60 | 9/29/61 | 9/29/62 | 9/30/63 | |
| Issues published during year: | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | |
| Annual subscription price: | $0.60 | $0.70 | $0.70 | $0.70 | |
| Cover price during year: | $0.10 | $0.12 | $0.12 | $0.12 | |
| Total Copies PRINTED (avg): | 190,781 | ||||
| Sales through DEALERS (avg): | 117,604 | ||||
| Sales by SUBSCRIPTION (avg): | 19 | ||||
| Total PAID circulation (avg): | 110,166 | 132,006 | 121,345 | 117,623 | |
| Samples by MAIL (avg): | 25 | ||||
| Samples OUTSIDE mail (avg): | 0 | ||||
| Total FREE circulation (avg): | 25 | ||||
| TOTAL DISTRIBUTION: | 117,648 | ||||
| Copies not distributed (office): | |||||
| Copies not distributed (RETURNS): | 73,133 | ||||
| Reported % Paid/Requested: | |||||
| % of RUN RETURNED: | 38.3% | ||||
| Copies existent: | 117,648 | ||||
| SELL-THROUGH at RETAIL: | 61.7% |
Statement history
No sales figures were required in Statements appearing before 1960. The 1960 statement included only total sales figures without breakdowns, as most did that year. By 1963, Charlton was publishing additional data. No Statement exists for 1964, as the last issue came out too early in the year. The series' final incarnation did not include postal data.
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.
