After a pretty glum April, comics sales were a bit better in May, according to sales figures just released by Diamond. DC had a dream month with a new issue of Doomsday Clock, lots of Batman and a new blockbuster in DCeased #1. which was the top periodical for the month.
Marvel still led DC in dollars, but DC came close in units, losing by a mere 1% despite publishing half as many books! Very interesting. Maybe less is more after all.
DC also led graphic novels sales units with Catwoman: Under the Moon, the first release in the YA Ink line. What did I tell ya about everyone pivoting to all ages? If you’d told me an explicitly YA Catwoman graphic novel would one day lead sales in comics shops I would have plotzed.
, and some funky stuff is happening overalls with several publishers adjusting their output, John Jackson Miller reports (quoted with permission):
The tale of two strategies we’ve seen in 2019 continued with Marvel publishing more different periodical titles, and DC and Image publishing fewer. Diamond reported that market-share leader Marvel shipped 118 new comic books to market, a figure that’s higher than any since Diamond began reporting monthly release counts in 2013. We’re not absolutely certain that figure represents only unique new comic books, with no second or later printings included; it depends on how Diamond is keeping track. But if that 118 number holds, it’s likely to be the highest figure this century. Marvel placed 119 comics in the Top 300 in June 2009, but several of those were previously listed books that had been reordered.
The month’s total wouldn’t be an all-time record, though. At the peak of the early 1990s comics boom, Marvel shipped 126 new comic books to retailers in August 1993, of which 123 issues made Diamond’s Top 300. That appears to be the all-time record for it or any other American publisher.
Marvel’s “keep pumping it out” strategy appears to be working in the short term but it rarely works out well.
Umbrella Academy collections did well, buoyed by the Netflix series. GN sales were up quite a bit in May over April, and I’ll be curious to see the sales estimates on these.
Although I don’t really report on it, Diamond also includes toy sales in these charts and toys have been booming. This was mentioned at the retailer summit last month as well. I don’t know the details on what’s driving that but you must admit, it is a grand time for tchatchkes.
TOP COMIC BOOK PUBLISHERS
PUBLISHER |
DOLLAR SHARE |
UNIT SHARE |
MARVEL COMICS |
40.46% |
39.75% |
DC COMICS |
28.22% |
38.58% |
IMAGE COMICS |
6.88% |
5.53% |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
3.78% |
2.19% |
IDW PUBLISHING |
3.61% |
2.98% |
BOOM! STUDIOS |
2.21% |
1.76% |
VIZ MEDIA |
1.84% |
0.65% |
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT |
1.78% |
1.50% |
ONI PRESS |
0.84% |
0.56% |
TITAN COMICS |
0.67% |
0.49% |
OTHER NON-TOP 10 |
9.72% |
9.72% |
COMPARATIVE SALES STATISTICS
|
DOLLARS |
UNITS |
MAY 2019 VS. APRIL 2019 |
||
COMICS |
15.60% |
14.51% |
GRAPHIC NOVELS |
50.97% |
44.63% |
TOTAL COMICS/GN |
24.51% |
16.35% |
TOYS |
27.91% |
46.27% |
MAY 2019 VS. MAY 2018 |
||
COMICS |
-7.81% |
-4.30% |
GRAPHIC NOVELS |
5.36% |
-5.36% |
TOTAL COMICS/GN |
-4.15% |
-4.38% |
TOYS |
40.65% |
40.25% |
YEAR TO DATE 2019 VS. YEAR TO DATE 2018 |
||
COMICS |
-0.45% |
-5.12% |
GRAPHIC NOVELS |
-1.21% |
-5.94% |
TOTAL COMICS/GN |
-0.66% |
-5.18% |
TOYS |
23.04% |
30.09% |
NEW TITLES SHIPPED
PUBLISHER |
COMICS |
GRAPHIC NOVELS SHIPPED |
MAGAZINES SHIPPED |
TOTAL SHIPPED |
MARVEL COMICS |
118 |
36 |
0 |
154 |
DC COMICS |
60 |
33 |
0 |
93 |
IMAGE COMICS |
38 |
23 |
0 |
61 |
IDW PUBLISHING |
37 |
18 |
0 |
55 |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
22 |
30 |
0 |
52 |
VIZ MEDIA |
0 |
45 |
0 |
45 |
BOOM! STUDIOS |
22 |
13 |
0 |
35 |
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT |
19 |
4 |
0 |
23 |
TITAN COMICS |
10 |
6 |
2 |
18 |
ONI PRESS |
9 |
5 |
0 |
14 |
OTHER NON-TOP 10 |
151 |
190 |
27 |
368 |
TOTAL |
486 |
403 |
29 |
918 |
TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS BY UNITS SHIPPED
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
1 |
DCEASED #1 |
$3.99 |
MAR190464-M | DC |
2 |
DOOMSDAY CLOCK #10 |
$4.99 |
JAN190585-M | DC |
3 |
BATMAN: LAST KNIGHT ON EARTH #1 (MR) |
$5.99 |
MAR190458-M | DC |
4 |
SAVAGE AVENGERS #1 |
$4.99 |
MAR190757-M | MAR |
5 |
THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS #5 |
$4.99 |
MAR190495-M | DC |
6 |
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #21 |
$3.99 |
MAR190831-M | MAR |
7 |
THE IMMORTAL HULK #17 |
$3.99 |
MAR190845-M | MAR |
8 |
BATMAN #70 |
$3.99 |
MAR190487-M | DC |
9 |
BATMAN #71 |
$3.99 |
MAR190489-M | DC |
10 |
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #22 |
$3.99 |
MAR190835-M | MAR |
TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS BY DOLLARS INVOICED
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
1 |
DCEASED #1 |
$3.99 |
MAR190464-M | DC |
2 |
BATMAN: LAST KNIGHT ON EARTH #1 (MR) |
$5.99 |
MAR190458-M | DC |
3 |
DOOMSDAY CLOCK #10 |
$4.99 |
JAN190585-M | DC |
4 |
THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS #5 |
$4.99 |
MAR190495-M | DC |
5 |
SAVAGE AVENGERS #1 |
$4.99 |
MAR190757-M | MAR |
6 |
THE IMMORTAL HULK #17 |
$3.99 |
MAR190845-M | MAR |
7 |
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #21 |
$3.99 |
MAR190831-M | MAR |
8 |
WAR OF REALMS #3 |
$4.99 |
MAR190765-M | MAR |
9 |
WAR OF REALMS #4 |
$4.99 |
MAR190773-M | MAR |
10 |
BATMAN #70 |
$3.99 |
MAR190487-M | DC |
TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS BY UNITS SHIPPED
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
1 |
UNDER THE MOON: A CATWOMAN TALE TP |
$16.99 |
JAN190554 | DC |
2 |
THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 1: THE APOCALYPSE SUITE TP |
$17.99 |
SEP108136 | DAR |
3 |
MIDDLEWEST BOOK 1 TP (MR) |
$9.99 |
MAR190092-M | IMA |
4 |
THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 2: DALLAS TP |
$17.99 |
DEC098005 | DAR |
5 |
EAST OF WEST VOL. 9 TP |
$16.99 |
FEB190059 | IMA |
6 |
DC SUPER HERO GIRLS: SPACED OUT TP |
$9.99 |
JAN190555 | DC |
7 |
THE IMMORTAL HULK VOL. 3: HULK IN HELL TP |
$15.99 |
FEB190998 | MAR |
8 |
LEGEND OF KORRA PART 1: RUINS OF EMPIRE TP |
$10.99 |
JAN190482 | DAR |
9 |
RAT QUEENS VOL. 6: INFERNAL PATH TP (MR) |
$16.99 |
MAR190119 | IMA |
10 |
SAGA DELUXE EDITION VOL. 3 HC (MR) |
$49.99 |
MAR190127 | IMA |
TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS BY DOLLARS INVOICED
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
1 |
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN OMNIBUS VOL. 4 HC |
$125.00 |
NOV181004-M | MAR |
2 |
SAGA DELUXE EDITION VOL. 3 HC (MR) |
$49.99 |
MAR190127 | IMA |
3 |
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN BY J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI OMNIBUS VOL. 1 HC |
$125.00 |
NOV181006 | MAR |
4 |
THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 1: THE APOCALYPSE SUITE TP |
$17.99 |
SEP108136 | DAR |
5 |
UNDER THE MOON: A CATWOMAN TALE TP DC INK |
$16.99 |
JAN190554 | DC |
6 |
THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOL. 2: DALLAS TP |
$17.99 |
DEC098005 | DAR |
7 |
EAST OF WEST VOL. 9 TP |
$16.99 |
FEB190059 | IMA |
8 |
SIX DAYS: THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF D-DAY’S LOST CHAPTER HC |
$24.99 |
FEB190468 | DC |
9 |
ABSOLUTE BATMAN: THE BLACK MIRROR HC |
$99.99 |
AUG180594 | DC |
10 |
BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT HC |
$29.99 |
JAN198939 | DC |
TOP 10 BOOKS BY UNITS SHIPPED
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
1 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA: SCHOOL BRIEFS VOL. 1 SC |
$10.99 |
FEB192175 | VIZ |
2 |
LULU IS A RHINOCEROS |
$16.99 |
FEB188267 | WIC |
3 |
DOCTOR WHO: SCRATCHMAN HC |
$23.99 |
DEC181681 | PEN |
4 |
OVERLORD VOLUME 10 HC (MR) |
$20.00 |
MAR192224 | YEN |
5 |
BLOODBORNE: OFFICIAL ARTWORKS SC |
$44.99 |
MAR172148 | UDO |
6 |
TALES OF THE LOST CITADEL PROSE ANTHOLOGY SC |
$15.99 |
JAN193197 | GRE |
7 |
THE SHADOW DOUBLE NOVEL VOL. 141 SC |
$14.95 |
FEB191942 | SAN |
8 |
AVENGERS ENDGAME: OFFICIAL MOVIE SPECIAL HC |
$19.99 |
JAN192125 | TTN |
9 |
DOCTOR WHO: 13 DOCTORS 13 STORIES SC |
$17.99 |
DEC181677 | PEN |
10 |
DOCTOR WHO: THE WOMEN WHO LIVED HC |
$23.99 |
FEB188707 | PEN |
TOP 10 TOYS BY DOLLARS INVOICED
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
1 |
HELLBOY: STANDARD VERSION 1/12-SCALE FIGURE | MAY189233 | 100 |
2 |
POP! MARVEL: SPIDER-PUNK VINYL FIGURE | SEP188215 | FUN |
3 |
MARVEL SELECT: ROGUE ACTION FIGURE | SEP182338 | DST |
4 |
MARVEL GALLERY: SPIDER-MAN COMIC PVC FIGURE | SEP182341 | DST |
5 |
DC COVER GIRLS: WONDER WOMAN BY JOELLE JONES STATUE | OCT180633 | DC |
6 |
DARK KNIGHTS METAL: BATMAN THE DAWNBREAKER STATUE | OCT180626 | DC |
7 |
MARVEL SELECT: JUGGERNAUT ACTION FIGURE | JUN101512 | DST |
8 |
DC GALLERY METAL: THE RED DEATH PVC FIGURE | OCT182228 | DST |
9 |
ONE-12 COLLECTIVE: MARVEL: BLADE ACTION FIGURE | MAR188185 | MEZ |
10 |
BATMAN BLACK & WHITE STATUE: WHITE KNIGHT JOKER BY SEAN MURPHY | NOV180600 | DC |
TOP 10 GAMES BY DOLLARS INVOICED
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
1 |
STARFINDER RPG BEGINNER BOX | FEB193069 | PAI |
2 |
CRITICAL ROLE: TAL’DOREI CAMPAIGN SETTING HC | JUN173357 | GRE |
3 |
THE EXPANSE RPG HC | NOV182869 | GRE |
4 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA CARD GAME | JUL183082 | S7 |
5 |
STARFINDER RPG: CORE RULEBOOK HC | JUN173371 | PAI |
6 |
PATHFINDER PAWNS BESTIARY BOX | FEB168541 | PAI |
7 |
TOME OF BEASTS HC | JUN168476 | PAI |
8 |
THE EXPANSE RPG: GAME MASTERS KIT HC | NOV182870 | GRE |
9 |
PATHFINDER RPG: CORE RULEBOOK POCKET EDITION | APR168770 | PAI |
10 |
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: STRANGER THINGS EDITION | JAN198565 | HAS |
Why is Scholastic not included in these numbers?
Books of Scholastic’s that are sold by Diamond are already reflected in the charts. Scholastic never makes the Top 10 publishers list at Diamond, in part because many retailers order Scholastic’s books elsewhere. You wouldn’t expect to see those copies reflected in a chart released by Diamond (and indeed, that data would be impossible to obtain).
Remember, distributor sales charts are not scoreboards, and do not attempt to say what everyone is selling everywhere; they’re commodity reports so the particular distributor’s customers can know how much supply is in the system.
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