I never thought we’d see the day when DC Comics would beat Marvel Entertainment in the number of comics sold and the amount of money made in a month, but the New 52 appears to have done exactly what DC said it didn’t want it to do – change the playing field.
The margin between the dollar share in the top publishers for September isn’t large, DC only beat Marvel by .37%, but considering DC’s titles are mostly $2.99 against Marvel’s $3.99, to take that top spot says something about the number of comics sold. When it comes to unit share, DC dominated with 43.04% of the market.
When it comes to the Top Ten Comics for September, DC nailed it with 8 titles on the list, with Batman and Action Comics taking the top spots. Batman actually did really well, putting four titles featuring the hero on the list. Marvel did have a few number ones released in September, and Miles Morales lead the way placing Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1 in the number nine position. As far as big event comics go, Fear Itself #6 placed in the number eight spot.
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | PRICE | ITEM CODE | VENDOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BATMAN #1 | $2.99 | JUL110206 | DC |
| 2 | ACTION COMICS #1 | $3.99 | JUL110201 | DC |
| 3 | GREEN LANTERN #1 | $2.99 | JUL110218 | DC |
| 4 | THE FLASH #1 | $2.99 | JUL110193 | DC |
| 5 | SUPERMAN #1 [*] | $2.99 | JUL110203 | DC |
| 6 | DETECTIVE COMICS #1 [*] | $2.99 | JUL110208 | DC |
| 7 | BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #1 [*] | $2.99 | JUL110210 | DC |
| 8 | FEAR ITSELF #6 | $3.99 | JUL110570 | MAR |
| 9 | ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #1 | $3.99 | JUL110605 | MAR |
| 10 | BATMAN AND ROBIN #1 [*] | $2.99 | JUL110211 | DC |
While there is probably a lot of back slapping and hand shaking going on at DC Comics with this news, the bigger measure of success is still a month away when the industry sees how well DC does with its number twos.
8 Comments
It’s just a big hyped event, so of course sales will spike. Look at the non DCs on the list, also big events, Fear Itself and the new Ultimate Spidey. What will matter is whether the sales keep up.
Well, I hadn’t bought a non-trade in over a decade and DC now has me in for at least 5 titles a month. It’s fun to be excited about comics again! Though I am still really bummed that Superman #1 sucked so hard.
It makes me incredibly sad that Dark Knight sold so well. I read the previous volume (really this is just a continuation of that volume), and it was one of the worst comics I have ever read. The writing was all kinds of horrible. I picked up the new #1 because I got all of the new 52, but it was still just as bad. One Face? Batman talking to himself in third person? Generic cop doesn’t like Batman? Mysterious woman who couldn’t possibly be bad or nothin’? Crap, I tells you! Since it sold so well, it seems like it’s guaranteed that this mess of a comic will continue to take up space on the comic shelf for months to come. Sad face.
I had a feeling this would happen, though, as everyone I knew who was jumping into comics with the new 52 was incredibly excited about it due to the Dark Knight title. Of course DC is going to slap a Batman book with a Dark Knight title; they would be fools not to capitalize on it. It’s just too bad they had to put it on such a poorly written book.
You’re quite the spoil sport, aren’t you?
Damn bro you are so boring i almost fell asleep reading your post lol
I’ve been complaining every month for the past several that The Dark Knight was so high in the sales when great titles like Booster Gold, Batgirl and Secret Six were getting passed up. I guess some people really like David Finch, though I can’t really see why. I am glad they’re helping fund the industry, even if they are unfortunately reinforcing bad writing.
Without the 20% discount Diamond gave the returnable titles, DC would have had the top 9 books. I doubt with all the 2nd and 3rd printings that we’ll see 20% returns, but who really knows.
I think the better measure of success is that most of the reaction to these books has been positive, despite all of the outcry that the announcement of the new 52 generated.
They certainly managed to get me excited about DC Comics for the first time since probably the Crisis. I’ve gone from getting three DC books a month before relaunch to getting 10 in October, with the return of Thunder Agents making it 11 books on my November pull list.
“While there is probably a lot of back slapping and hand shaking going on at DC Comics with this news, the bigger measure of success is still a month away when the industry sees how well DC does with its number twos.”
I think this should go without saying honestly, but if it’s going to be like this monthly, when will we be able to call this a success or failure?
In my opinion, it’s already a huge success and will continue to be. Marvel will probably still be the top dog in sales, but DC may have won themselves a huge new part of the fanbase.