The Walking Dead Volume 32

To the surprise of probably zero people, Marvel had a chart topping month in August, according to sales charts just released by Diamond Comics Distributors. Maybe to some surprise Marvel #1000 wasn’t the #1 book – in units anyway. That honor went to Absolute Carnage #1, the Donny Cates/Ryan Stegman production that has everyone talking. The $9.99 Marvel #1000 was #1 in dollars however. Marvel blitzed the periodical charts with various issues of HoX/PoX, while DC’s Batman/Superman #1 was their biggest seller.

In graphic novels, The Walking Dead was once again #1 in units – for the last time, as Volume 32 wrapped up the series. Sniff. The Batman who Laughs and Harley Quinn Breaking Glass were #2 and #3.

Absolute Carnage #1I’d like to note that Action Lab’s Ladybug series once again charted, as did the latest release in TokyoPop’s Descendents adaptation. That’s three young reader/YA titles in the top ten IN COMICS SHOPS.

For deeper analysis I direct you to John Jackson Miller, as always. The year continues to be flat, although August 2018 was a five-week month, and August 2019 was not, so the drop is partly because of that. But as Miller notes, both DC and Image are putting out  fewer titles every month. Miller writes:

So we find that after a $45 million month, things are basically still flat for 2019 so far, with retailer orders through Diamond standing at nearly $343 million year-to-date, down less than $1 million from the same eight months in 2018. The largest shortfall in the month by far was in graphic novels, down 20% in dollars versus last August; there was a major sale of graphic novels that month, with many deep discounts. The calendar certainly played a role, as 10% fewer new graphic novels were released.

But it’s also reasonable to speculate that the big-ticket comics had the effect of drawing dollars away from the category; all but two of the top ten comics by units were priced at $4.99 or above. There’s a good chance of record-breaking average cover prices once the full estimates are reported.

Any rise in dollar trends had to be weighed against the rise in cover prices.

Going back to Marvel #1000 vs Absolute Carnage, while it’s surprising to see an all-star gala issue not rule the chart, Cates’ Venomverse is red hot at the moment. I’ll be interested to see the sell-in estimates on Monday for sure.

august sales charts unit shareaugust sales charts dollar share

 

TOP COMIC BOOK PUBLISHERS

PUBLISHER

DOLLAR

SHARE

UNIT

SHARE

MARVEL COMICS

46.15%

49.96%

DC

24.86%

25.96%

IMAGE COMICS

6.32%

6.26%

IDW PUBLISHING

4.00%

4.18%

DARK HORSE COMICS

3.27%

2.65%

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

2.51%

2.13%

BOOM! STUDIOS

2.50%

2.34%

VIZ MEDIA

1.33%

0.53%

TITAN COMICS

0.72%

0.64%

VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT

0.53%

0.56%

OTHER NON-TOP 10

7.81%

4.79%

 

 COMPARATIVE SALES STATISTICS

DOLLARS

UNITS

AUGUST 2019 VS. JULY 2019

COMICS

-6.01%

-9.70%

GRAPHIC NOVELS

-5.13%

0.26%

TOTAL COMICS/GN

-5.78%

-9.06%

TOYS

-21.40%

-20.06%

AUGUST 2019 VS. AUGUST 2018

COMICS

0.64%

-4.44%

GRAPHIC NOVELS

-20.11%

-21.96%

TOTAL COMICS/GN

-5.76%

-5.94%

TOYS

-9.65%

11.91%

YEAR TO DATE 2019 VS. YEAR TO DATE 2018

COMICS

0.92%

-4.37%

GRAPHIC NOVELS

-3.24%

-8.55%

TOTAL COMICS/GN

-0.26%

-4.68%

TOYS

24.37%

31.96%

 

NEW TITLES SHIPPED

PUBLISHER

COMICS SHIPPED

GRAPHIC NOVELS SHIPPED

MAGAZINES SHIPPED

TOTAL

SHIPPED

MARVEL COMICS

88

42

0

130

DC

64

27

1

92

IMAGE COMICS

47

9

0

56

IDW PUBLISHING

32

12

0

44

DARK HORSE COMICS

21

18

0

39

BOOM! STUDIOS

19

15

0

34

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

17

7

0

24

VIZ MEDIA

0

21

0

21

TITAN COMICS

8

6

1

15

VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT

7

2

0

9

OTHER NON-TOP 10

128

169

22

319

TOTAL

431

328

24

783

 

TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS BY UNITS SHIPPED

RANK

DESCRIPTION

PRICE

ITEM CODE

VENDOR

1

ABSOLUTE CARNAGE #1

$7.99

JUN190761-M MAR

2

MARVEL COMICS #1000

$9.99

JUN190842-M MAR

3

BATMAN/SUPERMAN #1 [*]

$3.99

JUN190450-M DC

4

HOUSE OF X #3

$4.99

JUN190821-M MAR

5

POWERS OF X #2

$4.99

JUN190828-M MAR

6

HOUSE OF X #2

$4.99

JUN190814-M MAR

7

POWERS OF X #3

$4.99

JUN190835-M MAR

8

ABSOLUTE CARNAGE #2

$4.99

JUN190775-M MAR

9

BATMAN #77

$3.99

JUN190479-M DC

10

BATMAN: CURSE OF THE WHITE KNIGHT #2

$4.99

JUN190457-M DC

 

TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS BY DOLLARS INVOICED

RANK

DESCRIPTION

PRICE

ITEM CODE

VENDOR

1

MARVEL COMICS #1000

$9.99

JUN190842-M MAR

2

ABSOLUTE CARNAGE #1

$7.99

JUN190761-M MAR

3

BATMAN/SUPERMAN #1 [*]

$3.99

JUN190450-M DC

4

SUPERMAN: YEAR ONE #2 (MR) [*]

$7.99

JUN190465-M DC

5

POWERS OF X #2

$4.99

JUN190828-M MAR

6

HOUSE OF X #3

$4.99

JUN190821-M MAR

7

HOUSE OF X #2

$4.99

JUN190814-M MAR

8

POWERS OF X #3

$4.99

JUN190835-M MAR

9

ABSOLUTE CARNAGE #2

$4.99

JUN190775-M MAR

10

BATMAN: CURSE OF THE WHITE KNIGHT #2

$4.99

JUN190457-M DC

 

TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS BY UNITS SHIPPED

RANK

DESCRIPTION

PRICE

ITEM CODE

VENDOR

1

THE WALKING DEAD VOLUME 32 TP

$16.99

JUN190045 IMA

2

THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS HC

$29.99

JUN190568 DC

3

HARLEY QUINN: BREAKING GLASS TP

$16.99

APR190434 DC

4

WATCHMEN TP

$24.99

JUN190614-M DC

5

WAR OF THE REALMS TP

$29.99

MAY190956 MAR

6

MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. DECLASSIFIED SLIPCASE HC

$49.99

APR140762 MAR

7

STAR WARS: VADER: DARK VISIONS TP

$15.99

MAY190975 MAR

8

MIRACULOUS: TALES OF LADYBUG AND CAT NOIR SEASON 2 VOL. 4: NO EVIL DOING TP

$8.99

SEP181357 ACT

9

DISNEY DESCENDANTS: EVIE’S WICKED RUNWAY VOL. 2 TP

$15.99

FEB192149 TOK

10

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 1: FINAL GAUNTLET TP

$17.99

MAY190960 MAR

 

TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS BY DOLLARS INVOICED

RANK

DESCRIPTION

PRICE

ITEM CODE

VENDOR

1

THE WALKING DEAD VOLUME 32 TP

$16.99

JUN190045 IMA

2

THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS HC

$29.99

JUN190568 DC

3

SAGA COMPENDIUM VOLUME 1 TP (MR)

$59.99

MAY190044 IMA

4

WAR OF THE REALMS TP

$29.99

MAY190956 MAR

5

THE JOKER: THE BRONZE AGE OMNIBUS HC

$99.99

DEC180652 DC

6

WATCHMEN TP

$24.99

JUN190614-M DC

7

MARVEL MASTERS OF SUSPENSE: LEE & DITKO OMNIBUS VOLUME 1 HC

$100.00

FEB190976 MAR

8

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: HUNTED TP

$39.99

MAY190964 MAR

9

THE BOYS OMNIBUS VOLUME 1 TP (MR)

$29.99

DEC181256-M DYN

10

MISTER MIRACLE HC (MR)

$34.99

JAN198940 DC

 

TOP 10 BOOKS BY UNITS SHIPPED

RANK

DESCRIPTION

PRICE

ITEM CODE

VENDOR

1

NEON GENESIS EVANGELION ART COLLECTION HC

$39.99

JUN192115 UDO

2

MEGA MAN BATTLE NETWORK OFFICIAL COMPLETE WORKS

$44.99

JUN192114 UDO

3

OVERSTREET COMIC BOOK PRICE GUIDE VOL. 49 SC

$29.95

APR191757-M GEM

4

THE SAGA OF TANYA THE EVIL VOL. 6 SC

$14.00

MAY192174 YEN

5

STAR WARS: REY AND PALS HC

$14.95

JUN191651 CHR

6

CYCLE OF THE WEREWOLF ILLUSTRATED NOVEL SC

$18.00

JUN191761 POC

7

SO I’M A SPIDER, SO WHAT? VOL. 6 SC

$14.00

MAY192175 YEN

8

DARK SOULS DESIGN WORKS VOLUME 1 HC

$39.99

AUG131470 UDO

9

THE ART OF DEJAH THORIS & THE WORLDS OF MARS VOL. 2 HC (MR)

$39.99

JAN191259 DE

10

THE SHADOW DOUBLE NOVEL VOL. 143 SC

$14.95

APR191921 SAN

 

TOP 10 TOYS BY DOLLARS INVOICED

RANK

DESCRIPTION

ITEM CODE

VENDOR

1

ONE-12 COLLECTIVE: DC COMICS: SOVEREIGN KNIGHT BATMAN BLUE FIGURE JUN188303 MEZ

2

POP! DC HEROES: BATMAN DAMNED VINYL FIGURE DEC188715 FUN

3

POP! DC HEROES: THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS VINYL FIGURE JUN188595 FUN

4

X-FORCE LEGENDS ACTION FIGURES APR198748 HAS

5

MARVEL LEGENDS GEAR: AVENGERS ENDGAME: POWER GAUNTLET JAN199285 HAS

6

MARVEL SELECT: PSYLOCKE FIGURE FEB192448 DST

7

BATMAN THE ANIMATED SERIES: BATCYCLE & FIGURE SET JAN190709 DC

8

POP! MARVEL: NOVA PRIME VINYL FIGURE OCT188711 FUN

9

DC DESIGNER SERIES: NIGHTWING BY JIM LEE STATUE JAN190712 DC

10

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: SKELETOR 1/6-SCALE COLLECTIBLE FIGURE SEP188638 MON

 

TOP 10 GAMES BY DOLLARS INVOICED

RANK

DESCRIPTION

ITEM CODE

VENDOR

1

PATHFINDER CORE RULEBOOK HC (P2) MAY193227 PAI

2

PATHFINDER BESTIARY HC (P2) MAY193229 PAI

3

PATHFINDER ADVENTURE PATH: AGE OF ASHES VOL. 1 (P2) MAY193233 PAI

4

PATHFINDER ADVENTURE: FALL OF PLAGUESTONE (P2) MAY193232 PAI

5

CRITICAL ROLE: TAL’DOREI CAMPAIGN SETTING HC JUN173357 GRE

6

PATHFINDER RPG: CORE RULEBOOK POCKET EDITION APR168770 PAI

7

D&D: BALDUR’S GATE: DECENT INTO AVERNUS MINIATURES BRICK JAN198568 NEC

8

PATHFINDER BESTIARY SPECIAL EDITION HC (P2) MAY193230 PAI

9

STARFINDER RPG: CORE RULEBOOK HC JUN173371 PAI

10

PATHFINDER RPG: CORE RULEBOOK JUN091729 PAI

4 COMMENTS

  1. “That’s three young reader/YA titles in the top ten IN COMICS SHOPS.”

    I’m kind of suspicious of the recent top 10 rankings of a few MIRACULOUS and DESCENDANTS volumes in the last few Diamond charts, especially since they seem to only be for a few volumes of long running series (and odd numbers like “Season 2, Volume 4”, not a logical jumping on point). Is there any way of determining whether those are bulk purchases only going to one or a handful of accounts, or more widespread, which would make a difference if they should be reported as sales “IN COMIC SHOPS” all-caps, or just as sales “through Diamond”.

  2. They’re literally the cheapest thing on the chart most months at $8.99 — that seems to be part of it. Not able to detect any deep discounting on them which might indicate a large number of copies going somewhere else; Diamond seems to be getting paid the regular rate for them. (Which doesn’t mean they couldn’t be sold to an outside account at the regular price — but there’s no way to detect that.)

  3. What is Marvel thinking publishing both Carnage and 1000 at the same time? Aren’t they just competing against themselves, and making it more difficult for retailers?

  4. Carnage came out on 8/21, 1000 came out on 8/28, so it isn’t like Marvel is competing with themselves in the same release week. Nor are retailers that overwhelmed trying to stock two big releases in the same week. Local retailers around here rarely order enough extra copies of any new release to last until Friday of the week of release. You don’t get there on Wednesday, you are ordering online from one of the big retailers or scouring eBay for a reasonably priced first printing. The local shops pull list programs are largely unreliable as well. They either under order and you miss out despite having a title on your pull list, or they flat out forget and you simply miss out. I went to mail order for my books years ago and haven’t regretted it. I use the local retailers for supplies only.

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