[Editors note: I never got around to posting the April charts from Diamond as I was at a show, but in the interests of completeness here they are.]
Sales declined in most categories in April, partly because last April included Action #1000, but also because DC’s output really is shrinking. Marvel led periodicals with War of the Realms #1, while Mark Millar and Netflix led graphic novel units with The Magic Order Vol. 1.
However Batman periodicals and Venom and Infinity Gauntlet trades continued to do well.
John Jackson Miller reported on other notable stats for this month, including a new 2-to-1 Marvel to DC ratio:
Action #1000 alone isn’t enough to explain the difference, however, and the contributing factor there is one we’ve talked about a lot lately: DC just isn’t publishing many comics. Back in December, DC released just 52 comic books, its lowest number in any month since 1991; the holiday-truncated month was partially the cause of that. Last month, DC matched that number with no holidays in the mix; its 52 new periodical releases were 29 fewer than April 2018. Marvel, meanwhile, took up the slack again, releasing 106 comic books, 20 more than last Apriland its highest number since June 2016, before the 2017 slowdown began.
That’s right: Marvel released more than twice as many new comic books than DC did in April. That has never happened in the six years since Diamond’s been publishing new release counts — nor does Marvel appear to have doubled DC’s number of entries in the Top 300 charts at any point since at least 1996. The only time we can definitely say it happened before was in 1974, when DC’s line had shrunk and Marvel was practically blowing it off the newsstands, publishing dozens more titles.
Interestingly, it has occurred in recent memory in the other direction: when Marvel reduced the size of its line after its bankruptcy, DC more than doubled Marvel’s periodical output several times; March 2000 saw DC chart 98 new comic books versus Marvel’s 41. (It was also a historically bad time for sales overall, though it appears that Marvel did not simply expand its way out of that crisis: per-release sales appear to have improved before line size increases took place.)
Graphic novels are down 6% for the year, periodical are down a little over 5%. We have some doldroms here.
But let’s see what May brings, eh?
TOP COMIC BOOK PUBLISHERS
|
PUBLISHER |
DOLLAR SHARE |
UNIT SHARE |
| MARVEL COMICS |
45.50% |
50.70% |
| DC COMICS |
25.73% |
25.89% |
| IMAGE COMICS |
7.93% |
7.60% |
| IDW PUBLISHING |
3.26% |
2.76% |
| DARK HORSE COMICS |
2.89% |
1.92% |
| BOOM! STUDIOS |
2.46% |
2.75% |
| DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT |
1.71% |
1.53% |
| VIZ MEDIA |
1.07% |
0.40% |
| VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT |
0.76% |
0.91% |
| AFTERSHOCK COMICS |
0.70% |
0.71% |
| OTHER NON-TOP 10 |
7.99% |
4.83% |
COMPARATIVE SALES STATISTICS
|
|
DOLLARS |
UNITS |
|
APRIL 2019 VS. MARCH 2019 |
||
| COMICS |
-11.12% |
0.07% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS |
-19.02% |
-27.69% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN |
-13.26% |
-2.22% |
| TOYS |
-11.38% |
-8.24% |
|
APRIL 2019 VS. APRIL 2018 |
||
| COMICS |
-14.67% |
-13.92% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS |
-25.37% |
-31.39% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN |
-17.65% |
-15.24% |
| TOYS |
15.41% |
18.74% |
|
YEAR TO DATE 2019 VS. YEAR TO DATE 2018 |
||
| COMICS |
1.83% |
-5.35% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS |
-3.18% |
-6.11% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN |
0.41% |
-5.40% |
| TOYS |
19.14% |
27.48% |
NEW TITLES SHIPPED
|
PUBLISHER |
COMICS SHIPPED |
GRAPHIC NOVELS SHIPPED |
MAGAZINES SHIPPED |
TOTAL SHIPPED |
| MARVEL COMICS |
106 |
37 |
0 |
143 |
| DC COMICS |
52 |
32 |
1 |
85 |
| IMAGE COMICS |
47 |
13 |
0 |
60 |
| IDW PUBLISHING |
32 |
9 |
0 |
41 |
| BOOM! STUDIOS |
20 |
11 |
0 |
31 |
| DARK HORSE COMICS |
19 |
7 |
0 |
26 |
| YEN PRESS |
0 |
24 |
0 |
24 |
| DYNAMITE |
16 |
4 |
0 |
20 |
| AFTERSHOCK COMICS |
11 |
4 |
0 |
15 |
| VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT LLC |
9 |
1 |
0 |
10 |
| OTHER |
101 |
133 |
18 |
252 |
| TOTAL |
413 |
275 |
19 |
707 |
TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS BY UNITS SHIPPED
|
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
|
1 |
WAR OF THE REALMS #1 |
$5.99 |
JAN190870-M | MAR |
|
2 |
SYMBIOTE SPIDER-MAN #1 |
$4.99 |
FEB190822-M | MAR |
|
3 |
THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS #4 |
$4.99 |
FEB190484-M | DC |
|
4 |
THE IMMORTAL HULK #16 |
$3.99 |
FEB190849-M | MAR |
|
5 |
BATMAN #69 |
$3.99 |
FEB190480-M | DC |
|
6 |
BATMAN #68 |
$3.99 |
FEB190478-M | DC |
|
7 |
THANOS #1 |
$4.99 |
FEB190810-M | MAR |
|
8 |
HEROES IN CRISIS #8 |
$3.99 |
FEB190462-M | DC |
|
9 |
WEB OF VENOM: CULT OF CARNAGE #1 |
$4.99 |
FEB190858-M | MAR |
|
10 |
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #20 |
$3.99 |
FEB190837-M | MAR |
TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS BY DOLLARS INVOICED
|
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
|
1 |
WAR OF THE REALMS #1 |
$5.99 |
JAN190870-M | MAR |
|
2 |
SYMBIOTE SPIDER-MAN #1 |
$4.99 |
FEB190822-M | MAR |
|
3 |
THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS #4 |
$4.99 |
FEB190484-M | DC |
|
4 |
DETECTIVE COMICS #1000 |
$9.99 |
JAN190542-M | DC |
|
5 |
WEB OF VENOM: CULT OF CARNAGE #1 |
$4.99 |
FEB190858-M | MAR |
|
6 |
THANOS #1 |
$4.99 |
FEB190810-M | MAR |
|
7 |
THE IMMORTAL HULK #16 |
$3.99 |
FEB190849-M | MAR |
|
8 |
BATMAN #69 |
$3.99 |
FEB190480-M | DC |
|
9 |
BATMAN #68 |
$3.99 |
FEB190478-M | DC |
|
10 |
WAR OF THE REALMS #2 |
$4.99 |
FEB190759-M | MAR |
TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS BY UNITS SHIPPED
|
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
|
1 |
THE MAGIC ORDER VOLUME 1 TP (MR) |
$19.99 |
FEB190095-M | IMA |
|
2 |
VENOM BY DONNY CATES VOLUME 2 TP |
$17.99 |
JAN191101 | MAR |
|
3 |
GIDEON FALLS VOLUME 2: ORIGINAL SINS TP (MR) |
$16.99 |
FEB190077 | IMA |
|
4 |
THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 1: APOCALYPSE SUITE TP |
$17.99 |
SEP108136 | DAR |
|
5 |
CATWOMAN VOLUME 1: COPYCATS TP |
$16.99 |
JAN190665 | DC |
|
6 |
STAR WARS VOLUME 10: ESCAPE TP |
$17.99 |
JAN191095 | MAR |
|
7 |
BATMAN: DETECTIVE COMICS VOL. 9: DEFACE THE FACE TP |
$16.99 |
JAN190661 | DC |
|
8 |
THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 2: DALLAS TP |
$17.99 |
DEC098005 | DAR |
|
9 |
UNNATURAL VOLUME 2 TP (MR) |
$16.99 |
FEB190120 | IMA |
|
10 |
JESSICA JONES: PURPLE DAUGHTER TP |
$19.99 |
JAN191027 | MAR |
TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS BY DOLLARS INVOICED
|
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
|
1 |
INFINITY WAR OMNIBUS HC |
$125.00 |
OCT181002 | MAR |
|
2 |
THE DEATH & RETURN OF SUPERMAN OMNIBUS HC |
$150.00 |
SEP180566 | DC |
|
3 |
THE MAGIC ORDER VOLUME 1 TP (MR) |
$19.99 |
FEB190095-M | IMA |
|
4 |
INFINITY BY STARLIN & HICKMAN OMNIBUS HC |
$125.00 |
OCT181005 | MAR |
|
5 |
AVENGERS: EARTH’S MIGHTIEST BOX SET SLIPCASE |
$500.00 |
OCT181006 | MAR |
|
6 |
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: AVENGERS VOL. 19 HC |
$75.00 |
OCT181009-M | MAR |
|
7 |
VENOM BY DONNY CATES VOLUME 2 TP |
$17.99 |
JAN191101 | MAR |
|
8 |
PAPER GIRLS DELUXE EDITION VOLUME 2 HC |
$34.99 |
NOV180079 | IMA |
|
9 |
GIDEON FALLS VOLUME 2: ORIGINAL SINS TP (MR) |
$16.99 |
FEB190077 | IMA |
|
10 |
BATMAN/SUPERMAN SILVER AGE OMNIBUS VOL. 2 HC |
$99.99 |
SEP180539 | DC |
TOP 10 BOOKS BY UNITS SHIPPED
|
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
|
1 |
NO GAME NO LIFE VOLUME 8 LIGHT NOVEL SC |
$14.00 |
DEC182289 | YEN |
|
2 |
SHARE YOUR SMILE: RAINA’S GUIDE TO TELLING YOUR OWN STORY HC |
$12.99 |
FEB191785 | SCH |
|
3 |
BLOODBORNE OFFICIAL ARTWORKS SC |
$44.99 |
MAR172148 | UDO |
|
4 |
THE SHADOW DOUBLE NOVEL VOLUME 140 SC |
$14.95 |
JAN192066 | SAN |
|
5 |
MARVEL ENCYCLOPEDIA HC (NEW EDITION) |
$40.00 |
JAN191813 | DK |
|
6 |
SAMURAI PIZZA CATS OFFICIAL FAN BOOK SC |
$39.99 |
NOV182128 | UDO |
|
7 |
THE ROAD TO MARVEL’SS AVENGERS: ENDGAME: THE ART OF THE CINEMATIC UNIV HC SLIPCASE |
$50.00 |
JAN191086 | MAR |
|
8 |
FAMILY TRAITS HC |
$29.99 |
DEC182218 | UDO |
|
9 |
HELLBOY: THE ART OF THE MOTION PICTURE HC |
$39.99 |
JAN190452 | DAR |
|
10 |
FLCL ARCHIVES TP |
$39.99 |
DEC182217 | UDO |
TOP 10 TOYS BY DOLLARS INVOICED
|
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
|
1 |
OVERWATCH: TORBJRN NENDOROID | SEP188531 | GOO |
|
2 |
POP! DC HEROES: JOHN CONSTANTINE FCBD 2019 VINYL FIGURE | NOV180015 | FUN |
|
3 |
BATMAN BLACK & WHITE: WHITE KNIGHT STATUE BY SEAN MURPHY | SEP180641 | DC |
|
4 |
MARVEL GALLERY: SYMBIOTE SPIDER-MAN FCBD 2019 PVC STATUE | AUG188000 | DST |
|
5 |
ALIENS COLONIAL MARINES: ARMORED PERSONNEL CARRIER 1/18-SCALE VEHICLE | APR182281 | DST |
|
6 |
HELLRAISER 3: HELL ON EARTH: PINHEAD BISHOUJO STATUE | JUL189121 | KOT |
|
7 |
SPIDER-MAN LEGENDS 6-INCH ACTION FIGURES | NOV188096 | HAS |
|
8 |
DC COMICS BOMBSHELLS: BATWOMAN “AWAY UNIFORM” STATUE | SEP180642 | DC |
|
9 |
JOHN WICK 2 GALLERY PVC FIGURE | JUN182313 | DST |
|
10 |
DC DESIGNER SERIES: GREEN LANTERN BY IVAN REIS STATUE | SEP180631 | DC |
TOP 10 GAMES BY DOLLARS INVOICED
|
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
|
1 |
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: STRANGER THINGS EDITION | JAN198565 | HAS |
|
2 |
DC HEROCLIX REBIRTH BOOSTER BRICK | NOV182895 | NEC |
|
3 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA CARD GAME | JUL183082 | SHI |
|
4 |
STARFINDER RPG: CORE RULEBOOK HC | JUN173371 | PAI |
|
5 |
PATHFINDER PAWNS: BESTIARY BOX | FEB168541 | PAI |
|
6 |
PATHFINDER RPG: CORE RULEBOOK | JUN091729 | PAI |
|
7 |
STARFINDER ADVENTURE PATH: DAWN OF FLAME PART 2 | JAN193202 | PAI |
|
8 |
CREATURE CODEX HC | JUL183073 | PAI |
|
9 |
CRITICAL ROLE: TAL’DOREI CAMPAIGN SETTING HC | JUN173357 | GRE |
|
10 |
STARFINDER RPG: CRITICAL FUMBLE DECK | JAN193205 | PAI |
Great, thanks. When will you post May results? Also why don’t they include Scholastic comics?
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