Diamond Comic Distributors sent over the Top 10 comic books sold in the direct market during the month of July, and it looks like everyone has Spider-Fever (no relation to Boogie Fever).
Though the Top 10 is evenly split between Marvel and DC this month, the first three spots go to Marvel with Amazing Spider-Man #666 taking the number one spot.
It shouldn’t come as any surprise that Marvel once again took the top spot when it comes to the number of comics sold in the month of June 2011. The company publishes far more titles than anyone else, thus the market share race is always going to come out with the House of Ideas on top, and DC Comics coming in second.
Where the battle really becomes interesting is when we examine the Top 10 comics from the month. Interestingly, it wasn’t Fear Itself or Flashpoint fighting for the top spot, but rather Ultimate (comics) Spider-Man #160 – the Death of Peter Parker that took the gold. Spider-Man helped Marvel clean house in the Top 10, bringing in seven titles, against DC’s three.
As far as the rest of the publisher’s go, Image Comics took third, with Dark Horse and IDW Publishing close behind.
PUBLISHER | DOLLAR SHARE | UNIT SHARE |
|---|---|---|
| MARVEL COMICS | 39.32% | 43.04% |
| DC COMICS | 28.03% | 33.17% |
| IMAGE COMICS | 5.85% | 5.30% |
| DARK HORSE COMICS | 5.28% | 3.21% |
| IDW PUBLISHING | 3.76% | 3.22% |
| DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT | 3.49% | 3.30% |
| BOOM! STUDIOS | 1.95% | 1.62% |
| VIZ MEDIA | 1.36% | 0.58% |
| ZENESCOPE ENTERTAINMENT | 0.95% | 1.03% |
| ARCHIE COMICS | 0.79% | 1.00% |
| OTHER NON-TOP 10 | 9.22% | 4.52% |
Fortunately, when compared to May, sales were up by 18%, but compared to a year ago, comic sales are down by 4.52%.
And what about the Top 300? Take the jump for the breakdown.
The month of may looked grim once again, with no single issue selling above 100,000 in the direct market. This puts May down 14.3% from this time last year, but only 2.66% down from the number of issues sold compared to last month. On the plus side, graphic novel sales in the direct market were up nearly 5% from the month before.
Fear Itself #2 took the top spot, beating Flashpoint #1, both $3.99 comics – though it should be pointed out that Fear Itself #2 did have an additional week on the shelf compared to Flashpoint #1. Marvel did take six of the top ten comics for the month, which means, once again, no other publisher besides the top two cracked the Top Ten. The closest was Image Comics’ The Walking Dead #85, which came in at the very bottom of the Top 40. Dark Horse Comics, Image Comics, and IDW Publishing rounded out the Top Five publishers for the month when it comes to the Dollar Share perspective, but if you look at the total number of units sold, the ranking would be Marvel, DC, Image, IDW Publishing, and then Dark Horse.
Take the jump for the complete list of the Top 300 Comics sold in the direct market for May 2011, and remember our table is sortable and searchable, so you can run your own analysis.
Diamond Comics has released the top selling products that were released in the direct market during the month of March 2011.
While the top two position haven’t changed (and probably never will), those companies that come after do tend to shift around a bit. In March, Image Comics once again claimed the number three spot, followed by IDW Publishing, Dark Horse, and Dynamite Entertainment.
VendorName | DollarShare | UnitSHare |
|---|---|---|
| MARVEL COMICS | 39.63% | 45.28% |
| DC COMICS | 27.62% | 31.50% |
| IMAGE COMICS | 5.45% | 5.09% |
| IDW PUBLISHING | 5.03% | 4.14% |
| DARK HORSE COMICS | 4.27% | 2.86% |
| DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT | 3.02% | 2.74% |
| BOOM! STUDIOS | 2.09% | 1.66% |
| VIZ MEDIA | 1.15% | 0.50% |
| AVATAR PRESS | 0.96% | 0.80% |
| EAGLEMOSS PUBLICATIONS LTD | 0.88% | 0.22% |
| OTHER NON-TOP 10 | 9.90% | 5.20% |
| FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS | 0.85% | 0.15% |
| ZENESCOPE ENTERTAINMENT INC | 0.71% | 0.70% |
| ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS | 0.65% | 0.76% |
| ONI PRESS INC. | 0.64% | 0.18% |
| RANDOM HOUSE | 0.55% | 0.12% |
| HACHETTE BOOK GROUP USA | 0.26% | 0.08% |
| TITAN | 0.24% | 0.19% |
| BONGO COMICS | 0.23% | 0.22% |
| ARCHAIA ENTERTAINMENT LLC | 0.23% | 0.07% |
| SANCTUM PRODUCTIONS | 0.22% | 0.06% |
| OTHER NON-TOP 20 | 5.32% | 2.67% |
Take the jump for the complete rundown of the Top 300 for March.
Diamond Comic Distributors has released its rankings for the Top 300 Comics sold in the direct market during February 2011. The sheer volume of books released by Marvel, placed it at the top of the Market Share charts once again, with DC right behind. However, the big race occurs below the big two, as Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, and Dynamite Entertainment fought for ranking. The margin between Image, Dark Horse, and IDW in regards to dollar share is very small, with less than a full percentage separating the publishers.
When it comes to the number of comics sold, DC can dance around a cheer, as the publisher took the top three spots for the month with Green Lantern #62, and Brightest Day #19 and #20. In fact, DC held 60% of the Top Ten comics sold, with Marvel only placing four comics.
But now for the bad news. It’s estimated that Green Lantern #62 sold less than 72,000 copies, which is odd, since Diamond Comic Distributors claims that comic sales were up by 19.72% over January.
We have the complete rundown of the Top 300 Comics sold, after the jump, and don’t forget you can sort, and search our table to come up with your own conclusions about the month that was.
We’ve received the data for the top comics sold in the direct market in 2011, and while there are some nice chart toppers, the overall trend is bleak. Even with Fantastic Four #587 taking the top spot with all the hype surrounding the death of Johnny Storm (SPOILER WARNING), direct market comic sales fell 27-percent from December, and fell below the year previous with sales tripping 21.92-percent.
The most interesting thing about the Top 300 comics list for January is there are only three non-DC/Marvel books in the Top 50. Two were released by Image Comics; Spawn #200 placed 4th, and The Walking Dead #80 coming in at 48th, while Buffy the Vampire Slayer #40 from Dark Horse barely made the Top 25.
2010 was a year of ups and downs for the comic industry, and when it comes to comics in the direct market, there were plenty of downs. In a year that saw several months where the top selling comic sold fewer than 100,000 copies, it’s time to pick through the year to discover what were the top selling comics of 2010.
In August, the direct comic book market saw a huge drop in sales, with no single book breaking the 100,000 mark. The good news is September did break the 100,000 benchmark, the bad news it was only one comic… and Wolverine at that. Brightest Day #9 and #10 followed close behind, but the index difference between the two have each issue selling around 85,000 copies each. DC and Marvel split the top ten equally, though DC did triumph in the Top 5 Comics with four titles. Still, those titles had to go up against Wolverine…
The range in the number of comics sold varied greatly over the month, with Boom Studios’ Farscape # selling just under 5,000 issue, with most selling less than 50,000 copies. A lot of people have speculated that the price point woes continue to vex the publishers in this economy, while others are firmly on the Event Fatigue bandwagon, though it is interesting that all the DC titles in the Top 10 were $2.99 and were tied to some event (Brightest Day and Batman), while Marvel didn’t have any big event going on at all. So, why another month (and a Q3) of low sales? Could it be that digital comics are taking a bite out of the direct market in a really big way? While estimates have digital comic sales hitting the $6 million to $8 million range, most comics are still not day and date releases, so that argument can be shot down really quickly.
Take the jump to see the data for yourself (remember, you can sort our table and search for specific data), then share your thoughts on what the heck is going on.
By now you know the routine, Marvel Comics takes the top spot, DC Comics lands at number two. The real fun begins with Dark Horse once moving in at number three, followed by Image Comics, IDW PUblishing, Dynamite Entertainment, and Boom! Studios. The good news Dark Horse, Dynamite Entertainment, and Boom! Studios is they all saw an increase in their dollar share for the month.
Take the jump for the complete Top 300 rundown.
With the return of the Heroic Age, Marvel sent the Avengers #1 to the top of the direct market charts for May 2010. And while Siege #4 took the second spot, Marvel only snagged four of the Top 10 comics for the month. DC made a decent showing with Batman: Return of Bruce Wayne #1 and #2, with issues of Brightest Day #1, and #2 making it into the top ten as well.
At this point we should really stop talking about Marvel taking the Unit and Dollar share each month, because the sheer number of issues Marvel puts out each month will always trounce all comers. Instead, the companies that place in the third through fifth positions are where the action is happening. Dark Horse was able to reclaim the number three spot thanks to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, barely edging out Image Comics. Again we can probably chalk this up to the number of titles released by Image, as Dynamite Entertainment appeared on the list before Image comics’ Walking Dead, with their Kevin Smith Green Hornet series. Still IDW Publishing rounded out the Top Five publishers for the month, while Boom! Studios slides down to number seven.
As you look at the list, be prepared for a lot of DC and Marvel titles in the Top 100 with a smattering of other companies making appearances.
Norman Osborn’s crazy antics propelled Marvel to the top of the charts, as Siege #1 took the top spot for the month of January. Still, DC did make a good showing, with Green Lantern #50′s Blackest Night tie-in, and Grant Morrison’s Batman and Robin #7 placing second and third. DC only had two other titles showing up in the Top Ten for the month, with Marvel claiming 60% of the Top Ten titles.
Marvel also took the top publisher spot in January in both the Direct Market Unit and Dollar Shares, by snatching 42.56% of the Unit and 38.77% of the Dollar Share.
As far as other publishers go, Dark Horse’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer continues to slip down the charts placing 25th, while Image made its first showing at the number 75 spot with Haunt #4, and Archie #605 hitting number 80. Dynamite Entertainment’s The Boys #38, slid into the 89th slot, and IDW Publishing making it into the Top 100 with Angel #29.
Take the jump to see the complete list.
According to Diamond Comic Distributors, Siege #1 took the top spot for comics sold to the direct market in January 2010. Marvel also took the top publisher spot during the month capturing 42.56% of the Unit Market Share, and 38.77% of the Dollar Share.
Take the jump for the Top 10 Comics for January.