DC was the top publisher in September by a solid margin, with its month of Zero issues convincingly beating Marvel, which had the #1 book in AvX #11. The comparative statistics are an interesting case — sales are down significantly against August, but that was a five-week month. Year-to-year this is the first time we’re comparing New 52 to New 52, and comics sales are down while GN sales are up in double digits. Year to date is up for 2012, however. In general, a strong year continues, and Marvel better print up some more variant covers.
The Avengers and the X-Men join forces to defeat the Phoenix-possessed Cyclops and Emma Frost and a legendary character falls in the battle in Avengers Vs. X-Men #11 from Marvel Comics, the best-selling comic book to specialty retailers in September 2012, according to information provided by Diamond Comic Distributors, the world’s largest distributor of comics, graphic novels, and pop culture merchandise.
DC Entertainment was September’s leading publisher in both Retail Dollars and Unit Market Share, leading Marvel Comics 34.41% to 31.04% in dollars and 41.10% to 33.65% in units.
Following Thanos’ appearance in the Avengers film, Marvel Comics reprinted Jim Starlin and Ron Lim’s 1990 mini-series The Thanos Quest, and the collected edition of this prequel to The Infinity Gauntlet was September’s best-selling graphic novel to retailers.
The latest series of Hasbro’s Marvel Legends Action Figures, featuring dynamic 6-inch sculpts of characters including Deadpool, Mystique, and the Punisher, was September’s best-selling toy product to comic book specialty retailers.
The rage of the Incredible Hulk comes to the HeroClix campaign with the Marvel HeroClix: Incredible Hulk Booster Brick from WizKids/NECA, the best-selling games product to comic book specialty retailers in September.
TOP COMIC BOOK PUBLISHERS
|
PUBLISHER |
DOLLAR SHARE |
UNIT SHARE |
| DC COMICS |
36.41% |
41.10% |
| MARVEL COMICS |
31.04% |
33.65% |
| IDW PUBLISHING |
6.36% |
4.82% |
| IMAGE COMICS |
6.09% |
5.56% |
| DARK HORSE COMICS |
4.49% |
3.69% |
| DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT |
2.97% |
2.97% |
| BOOM! STUDIOS |
1.40% |
1.50% |
| AVATAR PRESS |
1.11% |
0.87% |
| ZENESCOPE ENTERTAINMENT |
0.96% |
1.00% |
| EAGLEMOSS PUBLICATIONS |
0.92% |
0.18% |
| OTHER NON-TOP 10 |
8.25% |
4.67% |
COMPARATIVE SALES STATISTICS
|
|
DOLLARS |
UNITS |
|
SEPTEMBER 2012 VS. AUGUST 2012 |
||
| COMICS |
-11.89% |
-9.62% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS |
-14.31% |
-15.83% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN |
-12.69% |
-10.17% |
|
SEPTEMBER 2012 VS. SEPTEMBER 2011 |
||
| COMICS |
-4.42% |
-8.72% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS |
14.43% |
20.18% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN |
1.02% |
-6.85% |
|
YEAR-TO-DATE 2012 VS. YEAR-TO-DATE 2011 |
||
| COMICS |
17.12% |
14.26% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS |
14.16% |
13.60% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN |
16.16% |
14.21% |
|
THIRD QUARTER 2012 VS. SECOND QUARTER 2012 |
||
| COMICS |
2.36% |
0.41% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS |
1.46% |
8.75% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN |
2.07% |
1.06% |
|
THIRD QUARTER 2012 VS. THIRD QUARTER 2011 |
||
| COMICS |
8.25% |
6.06% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS |
7.84% |
21.21% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN |
8.12% |
7.19% |
TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS
|
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
|
1 |
AVENGERS VS X-MEN #11 |
$3.99 |
JUL120528-M | MAR |
|
2 |
BATMAN #0 |
$3.99 |
JUL120154-M | DC |
|
3 |
JUSTICE LEAGUE #0 |
$3.99 |
JUL120123-M | DC |
|
4 |
GREEN LANTERN #0 |
$2.99 |
JUL120173-M | DC |
|
5 |
DETECTIVE COMICS #0 |
$3.99 |
JUL120159-M | DC |
|
6 |
ACTION COMICS #0 |
$3.99 |
JUL120142-M | DC |
|
7 |
BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #0 |
$2.99 |
JUL120162-M | DC |
|
8 |
BATMAN AND ROBIN #0 |
$2.99 |
JUL120164 | DC |
|
9 |
EARTH 2 #0 |
$2.99 |
JUL120135-M | DC |
|
10 |
BATMAN INCORPORATED #0 |
$2.99 |
JUL120150-M | DC |
TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS
|
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
|
1 |
THANOS QUEST #1 |
$7.99 |
JUL120553 |
MAR |
|
2 |
THE JUDAS COIN HC |
$22.99 |
MAY120270 |
DC |
|
3 |
THE WALKING DEAD VOLUME 8 HC (MR) |
$34.99 |
JUL120438 |
IMA |
|
4 |
AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER VOLUME 3: PROMISE PART 3 TP |
$10.99 |
MAY120011 |
DAR |
|
5 |
AQUAMAN VOLUME 1: THE TRENCH HC |
$22.99 |
MAY120278 |
DC |
|
6 |
THE TOWER CHRONICLES VOL. 1: GEISTHAWK GN |
$7.99 |
JUL121137 |
LEG |
|
7 |
THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS VOLUME 1: SCIENCE BAD TP |
$14.99 |
JUN120470 |
IMA |
|
8 |
THIEF OF THIEVES VOLUME 1 TP |
$14.99 |
JUL120437 |
IMA |
|
9 |
BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY TP |
$16.99 |
JUN120243 |
DC |
|
10 |
BATMAN: KNIGHTFALL VOL. 3: KNIGHTSEND TP |
$29.99 |
JUN120242 |
DC |
TOP 10 TOYS
|
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
|
1 |
MARVEL LEGENDS 6-INCH ACTION FIGURES | JUL121808 | HAS |
|
2 |
ARKHAM ASYLUM DELUXE: TITAN JOKER FIGURE | JUL120272 | DC |
|
3 |
BATMAN ARTFX STATUE – BLACK COSTUME VERSION | FEB121622 | KOT |
|
4 |
JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE FLASH ACTION FIGURE | MAY120340 | DC |
|
5 |
BATMAN BLACK & WHITE: JOKER BY BOLLAND STATUE | JUN120309 | DC |
|
6 |
MARVEL SELECT: ULTRON ACTION FIGURE | MAR121603 | DST |
|
7 |
BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY SERIES 3: BATMAN FIGURE | JUN120298 | DC |
|
8 |
BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY SERIES 3 RA’S AL GHUL FIGURE | JUN120301 | DC |
|
9 |
BATMAN VERSION 2 1/4-SCALE MUSEUM QUALITY STATUE | JUN120308 | DC |
|
10 |
JUSTICE LEAGUE: PARADEMON ACTION FIGURE | MAY120342 | DC |
TOP 10 GAMES
|
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
|
1 |
MARVEL HEROCLIX: INCREDIBLE HULK BOOSTER BRICK | OCT112063 | NEC |
|
2 |
DC HEROCLIX 10TH-ANNIVERSARY | MAY122157 | NEC |
|
3 |
MARVEL HEROCLIX 10TH-ANNIVERSARY | MAY122158 | NEC |
|
4 |
YU-GI-OH! TCG: RETURN OF THE DUELIST BOOSTERS | APR128387 | KON |
|
5 |
THE WALKING DEAD TV BOARD GAME | JUL112137 | CRY |
|
6 |
STREET FIGHTER MONOPOLY | APR121976 | USA |
|
7 |
MARVEL HEROIC RPG: CIVIL WAR EVENT BOOK PREMIUM | JAN122072 | MAR |
|
8 |
RISK LEGACY | JUN118204 | HAS |
|
9 |
MAGIC THE GATHERING TCG: 2013 CORE SET BOOSTERS | APR121977 | WIZ |
|
10 |
MAGIC THE GATHERING TCG: AVACYN RESTORED BOOSTERS | FEB121827 | WIZ |
Diamond has revised upward the quarterly year-to-year dollar sales figures from the chart above. The revised figures appear here:
http://blog.comichron.com/2012/10/september-2012-sales-beat-first-dc.html
I’m sure we’re all anxiously awaiting the monthly DC sales analysis so we can learn how DC being the best-selling publisher in August is really just more evidence of how much they suck and how everything DC does turns to crap.
Mike
I messed up the headline on this (not enough coffee.) Should have been “DC ZEROES IN ON #1 SPOT.” DAMN!!!!!
I don’t care WHAT Diamond says — THANOS QUEST #1, and THE TOWER CHRONICLES are *comics*, not “books”.
The “$5.95 rule” needs to be changed to $10 and over.
-B
Geisthawk has an EAN, and is sold as such by Barnes & Noble and Amazon. Yes, it’s 72 pages, but there are picture books smaller than that.
(Yes, Gemstone placed EANs on all of their Disney comics, and those comics were sold on BN.com as well. Smart marketing.)
The original printing of Thanos Quest: Book One had an ISBN (0871356813), so the reprint could be considered a book as well.
Of course, Abdo is rebinding single issues of Marvel Age titles and selling them to libraries as books, so it’s a fine line.
How many copies of Thanos Quest #1 were sold? Where would it chart in the comics list? Where would it chart on the comics list by dollars?
Torsten, when the full charts come out from Diamond on Monday, you’ll be able to compare the Index number for Thanos Quest against the Index numbers on the Comics chart to see where it would fall there.
“How many copies of Thanos Quest #1 were sold? Where would it chart in the comics list? Where would it chart on the comics list by dollars?”
The other question is what does it say that, as good as it is, a reprint of a 22 year old limited series is the only Marvel book in the top ten?
Frisch’s analysis of DC’s September sales is going to be a blast! That’s if he even submits one.
The 0 issues I read were all extremely uninspired and turned me off.
Scott
http://www.ReconditePictures.com
I’m hoping this has alot more to do with people slowly boycotting Marvel due to their pricing stratagy. If DC and Image can have a product at one price – I dont see how Marvel can justify a 33% increase on the same content from their company. I will, however, continue to buy their $3 comics. They seem to have a better reputation anyway (I’m getting 4 series).
That being said, I am really not overly impressed with the majority of DC’s nu52 (I’m getting 8 series). The decompression is out of control. B&R’s first arc was 8 issues?!? And it was boring as shit! JL is unreadable, how is it still so high?!? haha…
I know! What are they, 2 months behind now??
when will the month to month analysis be up?
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