201105271213.jpgIndustry analysis site ICv2 has just released a new industry report card for Q1 ’11, and while sales were a bit patchy, it wasn’t a disaster. This article contains links to a bunch of category analyses, but perhaps the most interesting is that non-Big Two, non-superhero titles are beginning to take up a bigger part of the market share:

Retailers found strength in non-superhero genres in the generally weak market for graphic novels during the first quarter of 2011, according to market coverage in ICv2’s Internal Correspondence #75. The Walking Dead is the top property for many, with Scott Pilgrim also still in the mix. And Image’s Chew and Morning Glories, and Oni’s The Sixth Gun, all non-superhero titles, are among the new titles doing best, according to the report.


At BEA, Yen Press’s Kurt Hassler mentioned that despite so many manga publishers shutting down, the category has a lot of life left, with several Yen Press books doing surprisingly well. the iCv2 report backs this up, stating that manga sales have stabilized in Q1.

THE SIXTH GUN by Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurrt is a sleeper hit for Oni, showing the “supernatural western” category has more legs than you might think.

2 COMMENTS

  1. Our manga sales have been fairly healthy the past 6 months. I don’t think a day goes by that we don’t sell at least a few. Yen has been the tortoise in this race. Yotsuba is a must have for any comics shop that carries all-ages material. We’ve also hand-sold many volumes of Vertical’s delightful Twin Spica.

    It’s too bad about TokyoPop’s abrupt departure, especially since they’ve left several series incomplete, but they haven’t had much that was exciting for the past few years.

    We also had very respectable sales at Anime Boston last month, whose attendance grew 10% to 19k, so I’d say there’s plenty of life in the art form.

  2. Also keep in mind that MANY Indie GNs are now sold as hardcovers only. HCs fetch a few more $$$. You add up those nickels and dimes and they begin to add up.

    As someone who buys a lot of indie GNs this trend has actually made me cut back on my spending. Very much like the $3.99 to $2.99 Big 2 debates.

    the Tiki

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