5 Before Watchmen Minutemen #1--107,517
6 Before Watchmen Comedian #1--104,142
7 Before Watchmen Silk Spectre #1--102,955
8 Before Watchmen Nite Owl #1--101,297
Even though there was a lot of opposition to the new series from longtime Watchmen fans, DC's plan seems to have paid off, at least as far as first issue sales. These numbers will undoubtably dip by the last issue of each series, but unless they fall off a cliff, it looks like the Before Watchmen initiative was a success for DC.
So, were you surprised by the success of the first issues?