The Walking Dead #132 topped the October charts, helping Image lands a 9.77% dollar share and impressive 12.28% unit share, according to figures just released by Diamond. While the zombie book led the charts before, it was for the milestone 100th issue. I believe this is the first time a regular issue led the charts, most likely buoyed by the debut of the TV series for its fifth season and also several hundred thousand copies of the book ordered via Loot Crate.
Marvel again was the top publisher, leading DC by a comfortable margin. DC has two books in the top 10, as The Death of Wolverine weekly series performed well. Batman was DC’ss top book, followed by the pot-scented Harley Quinn annual. Lady Thor #1 also made the top ten, making this a good month for female led titles.
The first Ms Marvel GN was the top selling book—man can’t wait to see the sales estimates on THAT—and the first Harley Quinn book was #7.Marvel matched DC with four books in the top 10.
Toon Graphics led the books with the drop-dead gorgeous Hansel & Gretel by Neil Gaiman and Lorenzo Mattotti.
TOP COMIC BOOK PUBLISHERS
| PUBLISHER | DOLLARSHARE | UNITSHARE |
| MARVEL COMICS | 34.82% | 36.35% |
| DC ENTERTAINMENT | 27.53% | 31.00% |
| IMAGE COMICS | 9.77% | 12.28% |
| IDW PUBLISHING | 5.18% | 3.94% |
| DARK HORSE COMICS | 4.74% | 3.25% |
| DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT | 2.60% | 2.00% |
| BOOM! STUDIOS | 2.39% | 2.26% |
| ARCHIE COMICS | 1.19% | 1.20% |
| AVATAR PRESS | 1.18% | 1.25% |
| EAGLEMOSS PUBLICATIONS | 1.17% | 0.30% |
| OTHER NON-TOP 10 | 9.43% | 6.18% |
NEW TITLES SHIPPED
| PUBLISHER | COMICS SHIPPED | GRAPHIC NOVELS SHIPPED | MAGAZINES SHIPPED | TOTALSHIPPED |
| DC COMICS | 109 | 34 | 1 | 144 |
| MARVEL COMICS | 94 | 45 | 1 | 140 |
| IMAGE COMICS | 72 | 17 | 0 | 89 |
| DARK HORSE COMICS | 38 | 34 | 0 | 72 |
| IDW PUBLISHING | 47 | 25 | 0 | 72 |
| BOOM! STUDIOS | 38 | 9 | 0 | 47 |
| DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT | 38 | 9 | 0 | 47 |
| EAGLEMOSS | 0 | 0 | 22 | 22 |
| ARCHIE COMICS | 16 | 5 | 0 | 21 |
| AVATAR PRESS | 17 | 2 | 1 | 20 |
| OTHER NON-TOP 10 | 121 | 194 | 31 | 346 |
COMPARATIVE SALES STATISTICS
| DOLLARS | UNITS | |
| OCTOBER 2014 VS. SEPTEMBER 2014 | ||
| COMICS | 6.30% | 9.64% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | 21.30% | 25.98% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | 10.45% | 10.69% |
| OCTOBER 2014 VS. OCTOBER 2013 | ||
| COMICS | 10.84% | 10.14% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | 12.90% | 6.28% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | 11.46% | 9.85% |
| YEAR-TO-DATE 2014 VS. YEAR-TO-DATE 2013 | ||
| COMICS | 3.64% | -0.66% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | 5.31% | 5.13% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | 4.15% | -0.22% |
TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | PRICE | ITEM CODE | VENDOR |
| 1 | THE WALKING DEAD #132 (MR) | $2.99 | AUG140566-M | IMA |
| 2 | DEATH OF WOLVERINE #4 | $4.99 | JUN140603-M | MAR |
| 3 | THOR #1 | $3.99 | AUG140777-M | MAR |
| 4 | DEATH OF WOLVERINE #3 | $4.99 | JUN140602-M | MAR |
| 5 | AVENGERS AND X-MEN: AXIS #1 | $4.99 | AUG140718-M | MAR |
| 6 | BATMAN #35 | $4.99 | AUG140268-M | DC |
| 7 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #7 | $3.99 | AUG140795-M | MAR |
| 8 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #8 | $3.99 | AUG140800-M | MAR |
| 9 | HARLEY QUINN ANNUAL #1 | $5.99 | AUG140294-M | DC |
| 10 | AVENGERS AND X-MEN: AXIS #2 | $3.99 | AUG140728-M | MAR |
TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | PRICE | ITEM CODE | VENDOR |
| 1 | Ms. MARVEL VOLUME 1: NO NORMAL TP | $15.99 | JUN140725 | MAR |
| 2 | HAWKEYE VOLUME 3: L.A. WOMAN TP | $15.99 | MAY140930 | MAR |
| 3 | BATMAN VOL. 4: ZERO YEAR: SECRET CITY TP (N52) | $16.99 | JUL140237 | DC |
| 4 | EAST OF WEST VOLUME 3: THERE IS NO US TP | $14.99 | JUL140478 | IMA |
| 5 | BATMAN VOL. 5: ZERO YEAR: DARK CITY HC (N52) | $24.99 | JUN140264 | DC |
| 6 | SOUTHERN BASTARDS VOL. 1: HERE WAS A MAN TP (MR) | $9.99 | JUL140517 | IMA |
| 7 | HARLEY QUINN VOLUME 1: HOT IN THE CITY HC | $24.99 | JUN140279 | DC |
| 8 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN VOL. 1: THE PARKER LUCK TP | $17.99 | JUL140726 | MAR |
| 9 | MOON KNIGHT VOLUME 1: FROM THE DEAD HC | $17.99 | JUL140728 | MAR |
| 10 | BATMAN: DEATH OF THE FAMILY BOOK & JOKER MASK SET | $39.99 | MAY140361 | DC |
TOP 10 BOOKS
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | PRICE | ITEM CODE | VENDOR |
| 1 | HANSEL & GRETEL HC | $16.95 | JUL141687 | RAN |
| 2 | LEGEND OF ZELDA: HYRULE HISTORIA HC | $34.99 | SEP120055 | DAR |
| 3 | DOCTOR WHO MAD LIBS | $3.99 | JUL141663 | PUT |
| 4 | THE WALKING DEAD BOOK 5: DESCENT HC | $25.99 | AUG141936 | STM |
| 5 | PRINCESS MONONOKE: THE FIRST STORY HC | $34.99 | AUG141763 | VIZ |
| 6 | UNCANNY X-MEN 100 PROJECT TP | $12.99 | JUL141291 | HER |
| 7 | THE SHADOW DOUBLE NOVEL VOL 88 SC | $14.95 | AUG141926 | SAN |
| 8 | NEIL GAIMAN: FORTUNATELY THE MILK SC | $5.99 | JUL141684 | HAR |
| 9 | BATMAN: A YEAR-BY-YEAR VISUAL CHRONICLE HC | $50.00 | JUL141641 | DK |
| 10 | THE WALKING DEAD NOVEL BOOK 4: THE FALL OF THE GOVERNOR PART 2 SC | $14.99 | AUG141935 | STM |
TOP 10 TOYS
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | ITEM CODE | VENDOR |
| 1 | BATMAN BLACK & WHITE: HARLEY QUINN STATUE (SECOND EDITION) | MAR140302 | DC |
| 2 | DC COMICS COVER GIRLS: HARLEY QUINN STATUE (SECOND EDITION) | APR140329 | DC |
| 3 | BATMAN 75TH ANNIVERSARY ACTION FIGURE 4-PACK SET 1 | MAY140418 | DC |
| 4 | BATMAN BLACK & WHITE STATUE: ZOMBIE BATMAN BY NEAL ADAMS | APR140318 | DC |
| 5 | DC COMICS: THE NEW 52: JUSTICE LEAGUE 7-PACK BOX SET | NOV138235 | DC |
| 6 | MARVEL SELECT: DEADPOOL ACTION FIGURE | MAR101468 | DST |
| 7 | GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: ROCKET RACCOON ARTFX+ STATUE | APR142092 | KOT |
| 8 | DC COMICS ICONS: SUPERMAN 1/6-SCALE STATUE | MAR140304 | DC |
| 9 | ARKHAM ORIGINS: DEATHSTROKE/THE JOKER/COPPERHEAD 3-PACK | MAR140311 | DC |
| 10 | BATMAN ARKHAM CITY: BATMAN ARTFX+ STATUE | MAR142128 | KOT |
TOP 10 GAMES
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | ITEM CODE | VENDOR |
| 1 | MONOPOLY: THE WALKING DEAD SURVIVAL EDITION | OCT128266 | USA |
| 2 | MARVEL DICE MASTERS: UNCANNY X-MEN | JUN142654 | NEC |
| 3 | MAGIC THE GATHERING TCG: KHANS OF TARKIR BOOSTER PACKS | AUG142826 | WIZ |
| 4 | RISK: THE WALKING DEAD SURVIVAL EDITION | OCT128267 | USA |
| 5 | DC HEROCLIX: WAR OF LIGHT: ALTERNATE LANTERNS | JUN142653 | NEC |
| 6 | MARVEL DICE MASTERS: UNCANNY X-MEN STARTER SET | JUN142655 | NEC |
| 7 | ADVENTURE TIME CARD WARS PACK 3: PRINCESS BUBBLEGUM VS. LUMPY SPACE PRINCESS | JUN142617 | CRY |
| 8 | DC HEROCLIX: WAR OF LIGHT BOOSTER BRICK WAVE 2 | MAY142842 | NEC |
| 9 | RISK LEGACY | JUN118204 | HAS |
| 10 | MAGIC THE GATHERING TCG: KHANS OF TARKIR FAT PACK | AUG142828 | WIZ |
Walking Dead took #1spot because of Loot Crate
“I believe this is the first time a regular issue led the charts, most likely buoyed by the debut of the TV series for its fifth season”
—see above. strikes me as a pretty major oversight in one’s analysis…
We ordered a lot of the MS. Marvel TP, not quite Walking Dead or Fables level, but more than most TPs, and we’ve had to reorder.
Kamala is a character that is grabbing readers (male and female) left and right. Everyone who has given it a try here has kept up with it, some even buying #1 or the TP to give as gifts.
It may well be that Walking Dead would have taken #1 regardless of Loot Crate; if the number of subscribers doesn’t fluctuate much, what we saw from Rocket Raccoon could put a ceiling on how much the mail-order retailer’s sales would add. (My piece is up, by the way: http://blog.comichron.com/2014/11/october-comics-shop-orders-best-in-17.html)
4 books @ 4.99, 4 books @ 3.99, 1 @ 5.99 in the top ten. Wow. Price is as elastic for comics as it is for cigarettes.
“It may well be that Walking Dead would have taken #1 regardless of Loot Crate”
—given that #133 charted waaaay below #132’s numbers, that seems preposterous…
Where are you seeing #133’s ranking, out of curiosity? Diamond hasn’t posted past the top 10s yet.
I would want to look at the final numbers, and also whether there were any differences between #132 and #133 in terms of content and covers offered that would make them differ. Reported sales on Rocket Raccoon #2 certainly made it look as if early estimates of how much Loot Crate added — 100k — were low.
I do think that even though Loot Crate is ordering non-returnably through Diamond like a direct market retailer, including one-time single-issue orders in the hundreds of thousands tends to conflict with the original purpose of the Diamond charts, which is to tell comic shop owners what the typical comic shop is buying. On the other hand, they’re now just as helpful in telling collectors whether a comic book is really rare or not, so not having that information would be a problem, too. It’s a complicated question.
Oh MAN hahaha that’s amazing about Ms. Marvel. I almost feel like digging up all the “but new/female/teen/Muslim/foreign (let alone any combination of those) characters don’t sell!!!” posts we saw back when it was announced just to gleefully rub this chart in their face. Haters to the left, Kamala might be around for a whole while longer, quietly being one of Marvel’s better AND cheaper (for now..) series. :)
http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2014-11-16/paperback-graphic-books/list.html
New York Times Bestsellers, Graphic Books, Trade Paperbacks
1 SISTERS, by Raina Telgemeier. (Scholastic.)
2 MS. MARVEL, VOL. 1, by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona. (Marvel Entertainment.)
3 SMILE, by Raina Telgemeier. (Scholastic.)
4 THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM, VOL. 1, by Robert Kirkman and others. (Image Comics.)
5 THE WALKING DEAD, VOL. 21, by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard. (Image Comics.)
6 HAWKEYE, VOL. 3, by Matt Fraction, Annie Wu and Javier Pulido. (Marvel Entertainment.)
7 THE WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM, VOL. 2, by Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard. (Image Comics.)
8 AMULET, VOL. 6, by Kazu Kibuishi. (Scholastic.)
9 DRAMA, by Raina Telgemeier. (Scholastic.)
10 AMULET, VOL. 1, by Kazu Kibuishi.
2 superhero titles.
2 biographies
6 aimed at middle school readers
3 Walking Dead
And judging by the length of time many of these titles have spent on the charts, I think the NWO occurred two years ago.
So, judging by the success of Big Hero 6, how soon before Disney greenlights a “Ms. Marvel” animated feature?
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