Diamond Comic Distributors has released the first batch of information about the comic sales for June 2018, and while Marvel Comics once again nabbed the largest part of the market share, it is the Justice League that came out on top.
While it will be hard for DC Comics to ever beat Marvel in terms of the largest market share (Marvel simply ships more books), the interesting race to watch for the next couple of months will be between Dark Horse, IDW Publishing, and Dynamite Entertainment to see who will come out as the solid number four publisher in the industry.
TOP COMIC BOOK PUBLISHERS JUNE 2018
| PUBLISHER | DOLLAR SHARE | UNIT SHARE |
|---|---|---|
| MARVEL COMICS | 38.42% | 40.98% |
| DC ENTERTAINMENT | 30.54% | 33.73% |
| IMAGE COMICS | 10.46% | 11.48% |
| DARK HORSE COMICS | 3.23% | 2.10% |
| IDW PUBLISHING | 2.46% | 1.66% |
| DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT | 2.10% | 1.51% |
| BOOM! STUDIOS | 1.62% | 1.76% |
| VIZ MEDIA | 1.18% | 0.43% |
| ONI PRESS INC. | 1.09% | 0.83% |
| TITAN COMICS | 0.87% | 0.68% |
| OTHER NON-TOP 10 | 8.03% | 4.84% |
When you look at the Top Comic Book Publishers breakdown, I really can’t see how people constantly pick and complain about the number four and lower spots as we are talking about less than 3% of the total number of comics shipped.
| PUBLISHER | COMICS SHIPPED | GRAPHIC NOVELS SHIPPED | MAGAZINES SHIPPED | TOTAL SHIPPED |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MARVEL COMICS | 87 | 33 | 0 | 120 |
| DC ENTERTAINMENT | 73 | 31 | 1 | 105 |
| IMAGE COMICS | 60 | 15 | 0 | 75 |
| IDW PUBLISHING | 19 | 18 | 0 | 37 |
| DARK HORSE COMICS | 20 | 15 | 0 | 35 |
| BOOM! STUDIOS | 23 | 10 | 0 | 33 |
| DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT | 18 | 7 | 0 | 25 |
| TITAN COMICS | 17 | 5 | 1 | 23 |
| VIZ MEDIA | 0 | 20 | 0 | 20 |
| ONI PRESS | 7 | 10 | 0 | 17 |
| OTHER NON-TOP 10 | 113 | 176 | 19 | 308 |
| TOTAL | 437 | 340 | 21 | 798 |
The area everyone should focus on is how well the industry has done compared to previous months and years. In that area, things don’t look as good in the monthly sales data, even though the second quarter of this year is better than the first. The comparative sales data will surely generate a lot of talk from certain nay-sayers, and I expect the business meetings between publishers and retailers will be intense at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con.
Comparative Sales Data for June 2018
| DOLLARS | UNITS | |
|---|---|---|
| JUNE 2018 VS. MAY 2018 | ||
| COMICS | -16.71% | -6.22% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | -7.44% | -8.41% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | -14.13% | -6.39% |
| TOYS | 1.03% | 4.22% |
| JUNE 2018 VS. JUNE 2017 | ||
| COMICS | -11.14% | -8.93% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | -2.15% | -14.24% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | -8.62% | -9.35% |
| TOYS | -11.53% | 17.66% |
| YEAR-TO-DATE 2018 VS. YEAR-TO-DATE 2017 | ||
| COMICS | -1.84% | -9.65% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | -8.12% | -11.22% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | -3.72% | -9.77% |
| TOYS | -11.98% | -12.70% |
| SECOND QUARTER 2018 VS. FIRST QUARTER 2018 | ||
| COMICS | 19.97% | 12.84% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | 19.01% | 19.68% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | 19.70% | 13.34% |
| TOYS | -16.97% | -7.55% |
| SECOND QUARTER 2018 VS. SECOND QUARTER 2017 | ||
| COMICS | 3.01% | -4.85% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | -3.41% | -10.32% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | 1.10% | -5.28% |
| TOYS | -14.46% | -13.05% |
With that in mind, at least DC has a few bragging rights today as Justice League #1 came out on top in June.
TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS BY UNITS SHIPPED
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | PRICE | ITEM CODE | VENDOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 | $3.99 | APR180140-M | DC |
| 2 | THE MAGIC ORDER #1 [*] (MR) | $3.99 | APR180455-M | IMA |
| 3 | TONY STARK: IRON MAN #1 | $4.99 | APR180665-M | MAR |
| 4 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #801 | $3.99 | APR180766-M | MAR |
| 5 | BATMAN #49 | $2.99 | APR180171-M | DC |
| 6 | BATMAN #48 | $2.99 | APR180169-M | DC |
| 7 | DEADPOOL #1 | $4.99 | APR180698-M | MAR |
| 8 | THOR #1 | $5.99 | APR180649-M | MAR |
| 9 | X-MEN GOLD #30 | $4.99 | APR180810-M | MAR |
| 10 | JUSTICE LEAGUE #2 | $3.99 | APR180143-M | DC |
TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS BY DOLLARS INVOICED
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | PRICE | ITEM CODE | VENDOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 | $3.99 | APR180140-M | DC |
| 2 | TONY STARK: IRON MAN #1 | $4.99 | APR180665-M | MAR |
| 3 | DEADPOOL #1 | $4.99 | APR180698-M | MAR |
| 4 | THOR #1 | $5.99 | APR180649-M | MAR |
| 5 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #801 | $3.99 | APR180766-M | MAR |
| 6 | X-MEN GOLD #30 | $4.99 | APR180810-M | MAR |
| 7 | THE IMMORTAL HULK #1 | $4.99 | APR180691-M | MAR |
| 8 | BATMAN #49 | $2.99 | APR180171-M | DC |
| 9 | JUSTICE LEAGUE #2 | $3.99 | APR180143-M | DC |
| 10 | VENOM #2 | $3.99 | APR180768-M | MAR |
We will have a rundown of comics sold in the direct market on Monday, but for now, share your thoughts and insights into this early data.
via Diamond Comic Distributors
