The surviving heroes of the Marvel Universe confront Doom and his Thor Corps in Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic’s Secret Wars #4 from Marvel Comics, the best-selling comic book in July 2015 according to information provided by Diamond Comic Distributors, the world’s largest distributor of comics, graphic novels, and pop culture merchandise.
Marvel Comics was July’s top publisher with a 38.43% dollar share and a 41.59% unit share. DC Entertainment was the month’s number two publisher with a 23.94% dollar share and a 24.30% unit share. July’s number three publisher was Image Comics with a 9.48% dollar share and a 10.72% unit share. In fourth was IDW Publishing with a 6.60% dollar share and a 5.28% unit share. Dark Horse Comics placed fifth for the month with a 3.77% dollar share and a 3.36% unit share.
In July, Marvel Comics had eight titles among the top ten best-selling comics, including Charles Soule and Alex Maleev’s Star Wars: Lando #1 at #2 and Soule and Leinil Francis Yu’s Civil War #1 at #3. Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo continue their impressive run on their current adventures of the Dark Knight, with DC Entertainment’s Batman #42 coming in at #5. Also in the top ten was Mark Waid and Fiona Staples’ Archie #1, a modern relaunch of the venerable character from Archie Comics, at #7.
Bill Willingham’s long-running fantasy Fables came to its conclusion in Fables Volume 22 from DC Entertainment’s VERTIGO imprint, the best-selling graphic novel for July and one of the publisher’s four volumes in the top ten. Image Comics had two titles among the top ten, with Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie’s The Wicked & The Divine Volume 2: Fandemonium as their best-selling graphic novel at #2. Marvel Comics had two titles in the top ten, led by Hawkeye Volume 4: Rio Bravo by Jonathan Hickman and David Aja at #3.
Gemstone’s softcover edition of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide Volume 45 was July’s best-selling book, and the hardcover edition ranked #2 for the month.
DC Entertainment’s DC Comics Blueline: Batman By Jim Lee San Diego Comic-Con 2015 Exclusive Action Figure, a unique new action figure that boasts a design based on Lee’s pencil artwork of the Dark Knight, was July’s best-selling toy and one of the manufacturer’s five products in the top ten. Also in the top ten was Diamond Select Toys with two products; the Marvel Select: Deadpool Action Figure was their best-selling product at #2.
The Marvel Dice Masters: Avengers: Age of Ultron Foil Packs, an expansion for WizKids/NECA’s collectible dice game based on Marvel Comics’ Age of Ultron comic book, was July’s best-selling game product.
TOP COMIC BOOK PUBLISHERS
| PUBLISHER | DOLLAR SHARE | UNIT SHARE |
|---|---|---|
| MARVEL COMICS | 38.43% | 41.59% |
| DC ENTERTAINMENT | 23.94% | 24.30% |
| IMAGE COMICS | 9.48% | 10.72% |
| IDW PUBLISHING | 6.60% | 5.28% |
| DARK HORSE COMICS | 3.77% | 3.36% |
| ARCHIE COMICS | 2.28% | 2.62% |
| BOOM! STUDIOS | 1.85% | 1.99% |
| DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT | 1.83% | 1.65% |
| TITAN COMICS | 1.26% | 1.15% |
| ONI PRESS | 1.24% | 1.19% |
| OTHER NON-TOP 10 | 9.32% | 6.13% |
COMPARATIVE SALES STATISTICS
| DOLLARS | UNITS | |
|---|---|---|
| JULY 2015 VS. JUNE 2014 | ||
| COMICS | 8.35% | 3.46% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | 3.88% | 5.14% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | 6.91% | 3.61% |
| JULY 2015 VS. JULY 2014 | ||
| COMICS | -4.67% | -8.22% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | 1.29% | 10.81% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | -2.88% | -6.74% |
| YEAR-TO-DATE 2015 VS. YEAR-TO-DATE 2014 | ||
| COMICS | 12.64% | 12.08% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | 5.08% | 5.18% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | 10.25% | 11.50% |
TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS
| RANK | TITLE | PRICE | PUBLISHER |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SECRET WARS #4 | $3.99 | MAR |
| 2 | STAR WARS: LANDO #1 | $3.99 | MAR |
| 3 | CIVIL WAR #1 | $4.99 | MAR |
| 4 | STAR WARS #7 | $3.99 | MAR |
| 5 | BATMAN #42 | $3.99 | DC |
| 6 | DARTH VADER #7 | $3.99 | MAR |
| 7 | ARCHIE #1 | $3.99 | ARC |
| 8 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: RENEW YOUR VOWS #2 | $3.99 | MAR |
| 9 | AGE OF APOCALYPSE #1 | $4.99 | MAR |
| 10 | GUARDIANS OF KNOWHERE #1 | $3.99 | MAR |
How does Diamond calculate the charts? It all starts at the comic book shop.
Data for Diamond’s sales charts — which includes the monthly market shares and all top product charts — are compiled by Diamond Comic Distributors from sales made to thousands of comic book specialty shops located in North America and around the world. Additional sales made to online merchants and other specialty retailers may be included as well.
Unit and dollar market shares are calculated based upon orders for comic books, graphic novels, and magazines invoiced and shipped to Diamond customers during any given month, which comprises pre-orders, advance reorders, and reorders, minus any copies that are received back from a title marked as returnable. Please note that comics marked with an asterisk (*) have had their reported quantities reduced due to retailer returnability, and thus may rank lower on the charts than their actual sales would reflect.
The New Titles Count Chart includes all titles that were invoiced by Diamond to retailers for the first time during the month and is not the official solicited title count for the month. Variant edition comic books and graphic novels at the same price point count as a single SKU. Variant edition comic books, lenticular covers, digital combo packs, and graphic novels at different price points count as separate SKUs for each edition.
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