Diamond Comic Distributors released the Top 10 Comics released in the direct Market for March 2012. For the last several months, DC has held the top spot with Justice League, but now, thanks to the Avengers vs. X-Men event, Marvel reclaims the spot on the top of the stack.
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | PRICE | VENDOR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #1 | $3.99 | MAR |
| 2 | AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #0 | $3.99 | MAR |
| 3 | JUSTICE LEAGUE #7 | $3.99 | DC |
| 4 | BATMAN #7 | $2.99 | DC |
| 5 | AVENGERS ASSEMBLE #1 | $3.99 | MAR |
| 6 | ACTION COMICS #7 | $3.99 | DC |
| 7 | GREEN LANTERN #7 | $2.99 | DC |
| 8 | DETECTIVE COMICS #7 | $2.99 | DC |
| 9 | BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #7 | $2.99 | DC |
| 10 | SUPERMAN #7 | $2.99 | DC |
Compared to February 2012, overall comic sales dropped in March by a little over five percent, and compared to a year ago, comic sales were down just over one-percent. Don’t let that news let you down, as overall sales for the first quarter of 2012 is up by 15-percent compared to the same period last year.
| PUBLISHER | DOLLAR SHARE | UNIT SHARE |
|---|---|---|
| MARVEL COMICS | 36.21% | 39.94% |
| DC COMICS | 30.95% | 36.09% |
| IMAGE COMICS | 6.66% | 5.59% |
| IDW PUBLISHING | 5.74% | 4.71% |
| DARK HORSE COMICS | 5.24% | 3.98% |
| DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT | 2.90% | 2.38% |
| BOOM! STUDIOS | 1.42% | 1.27% |
| AVATAR PRESS | 1.15% | 0.93% |
| ZENESCOPE ENTERTAINMENT | 1.06% | 0.98% |
| VIZ MEDIA | 0.86% | 0.38% |
| OTHER NON-TOP 10 | 7.81% | 3.75% |
If you are curious as to why Avengers vs. X-Men #1 shows up on the March 2012 list instead of April, the issue was shipped to retailers a week before its on-sale date and invoiced to retailers in March 2012 to facilitate pre-release launch parties for the book. Diamond Comic Distributors’ sales figures are factored on the books invoiced to retailers during the calendar month, not on the book’s on-sale date.
2 Comments
Sneaky, sneaky Marvel. I see what you did there.
Man, who would have pictured 3 books starring Superman and 3 Avengers books in the top 10 back when I started collecting in the 80’s. Makes my heart proud.