DC Entertainment’s Doomsday Clock #1 by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank was the top selling comic in November 2017, and that should be great news for the publisher, right?
Though DC was able to place eight comics in the top ten, MarvelComics was still the top publisher for the month when it came to the amount of money that was brought in, while DC shipped the most comics. How is this possible? DC shipped 95 single issues in November against Marvel’s 85 comics – this is definitely a change as Marvel typically ships more single issues. Interestingly when you add in graphic novel sales, both DC and Marvel shipped 131 titles in November.
On the monetary side, we’ll have to wait until the top 300 comics list arrives on Monday to see why Marvel made more money, but early thoughts indicate that Marvel sold more comics in the Top 50 than DC.
| PUBLISHER | DOLLAR SHARE | UNIT SHARE |
|---|---|---|
| MARVEL COMICS | 34.29% | 34.52% |
| DC ENTERTAINMENT | 33.71% | 39.37% |
| IMAGE COMICS | 8.07% | 8.26% |
| IDW PUBLISHING | 4.04% | 3.66% |
| DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT | 2.20% | 2.15% |
| DARK HORSE COMICS | 2.08% | 1.53% |
| BOOM! STUDIOS | 2.06% | 1.61% |
| VIZ MEDIA | 1.34% | 0.53% |
| TITAN COMICS | 1.31% | 1.07% |
| ONI PRESS | 1.23% | 0.76% |
| OTHER NON-TOP 10 | 9.68% | 6.54% |
When it comes to comparative data, November was a great month for graphic novel sales, as holidays are always a great time to gift a collected tome (actually every day is a great day to give someone the gift of graphic novels). However, single issues sales slipped again, making us wonder how bad December will be for the “floppy.”
| DOLLARS | UNITS | |
|---|---|---|
| NOVEMBER 2017 VS. OCTOBER 2017 | ||
| COMICS | -3.63% | -4.73% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | 19.29% | 27.04% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | 3.11% | -2.54% |
| TOYS | 45.65% | 39.93% |
| NOVEMBER 2017 VS. NOVEMBER 2016 | ||
| COMICS | -9.45% | -13.28% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | 2.21% | -1.73% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | -5.80% | -12.36% |
| TOYS | -4.88% | -20.66% |
| YEAR-TO-DATE 2017 VS. YEAR-TO-DATE 2016 | ||
| COMICS | -9.89% | -8.38% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | -9.32% | -11.72% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | -9.72% | -8.65% |
| TOYS | -11.01% | -18.12% |
It should be pointed out that this data only represents sales in the direct market, and sales to larger stores (Wal-Mart for example) are not listed here.
So, while this is a great month for DC Comics, overall sales continue to slide, which isn’t good for single issue sales as a whole.
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | PRICE | ITEM CODE | VENDOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DOOMSDAY CLOCK #1 | $4.99 | SEP170245-M | DC |
| 2 | DOOMSDAY CLOCK #1 LENTICULAR EDITION | $5.99 | SEP170247 | DC |
| 3 | THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS #1 | $3.99 | AUG170173 | DC |
| 4 | BATMAN LOST #1 | $4.99 | AUG170170 | DC |
| 5 | BATMAN #35 | $2.99 | SEP170276-M | DC |
| 6 | BATMAN #34 | $2.99 | SEP170274-M | DC |
| 7 | BATMAN: THE DEVASTATOR #1 | $3.99 | AUG170172-M | DC |
| 8 | CAPTAIN AMERICA #695 | $3.99 | SEP170802-M | MAR |
| 9 | BATMAN ANNUAL #2 | $4.99 | SEP170278 | DC |
| 10 | STAR WARS #38 | $3.99 | SEP170965-M | MAR |
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | PRICE | VENDOR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | STAR WARS: DARTH VADER VOL. 1: IMPERIAL MACHINE TP | $17.99 | MAR |
| 2 | DEADPOOL KILLS THE MARVEL UNIVERSE… AGAIN TP | $15.99 | MAR |
| 3 | THE FLASH VOL. 4: RUNNING SCARED TP | $14.99 | DC |
| 4 | WONDER WOMAN VOL. 4: GODWATCH TP | $16.99 | DC |
| 5 | RICK AND MORTY VOLUME 1 TP | $19.99 | ONI |
| 6 | STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE ADAPTATION TP | $19.99 | MAR |
| 7 | JOURNEY TO STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI: CAPTAIN PHASMA TP | $16.99 | MAR |
| 8 | SUPERMAN VOLUME 4: BLACK DAWN TP | $16.99 | DC |
| 9 | STAR WARS: DARTH MAUL: SON OF DATHOMIR TP | $15.99 | MAR |
| 10 | JUSTICE LEAGUE VOL. 4: ENDLESS TP | $16.99 | DC |
Once again, this might be a good time for a publisher who can afford to do it (Marvel/DC/IDW Publishing), to pull the trigger and release an entire volume in one collection, skipping the single issue and going straight to the trade.
What are your reactions to this initial data?
