Wonder Woman #750 led the periodical charts for January, following in the footsteps of other DC gala anniversaries; the Absolute Carnage collection led graphic novels.
Overall, it was a down month, as January often is, especially since on of its Wednesdays was a low shipping New Year’s Day. Graphic novels were up however – counterintuitive given December’s gift rush, but more GNS were published, and the mix included titles from Dark Horse and Viz.
A swath of #1s topped the dollar chart for periodicals…but not units, showing the high-priced debut issues are not reaching more readers.
John Jackson Miller has his commentary as always:
The result this time out was a month that was down 8% or so in the number of new comic books offered to market once the DC card stock variants (which get counted twice) were weeded out, and unit sales for comics were down by a similar amount. Dollar orders for comic books and graphic novels were down less, off 3% to $43.37 million. One way to normalize the cross-calendar comparisons is to look at November through January; that grouping was up 3% in dollar orders over the same three months in 2018-19.
Graphic novels appear to have taken more of their share of the focus in January; 52 more graphic novels were offered to market in the month than in the previous January, an increase of 14%. Graphic novel units — a figure we rarely consider because of how widely pricing varies — were even from year to year, while dollars were up 6%.
BTW I’m not a number cruncher, but I am a units person, because that shows how many customers are in the business. You can sell 10 $1000 comics or 1000 $10 comics … or both! Dollars show whether the business is profitable or not, so both metrics are invaluable.
TOP COMIC BOOK PUBLISHERS
|
PUBLISHER |
DOLLAR SHARE |
UNIT SHARE |
| MARVEL COMICS |
39.98% |
46.67% |
| DC COMICS |
29.33% |
29.73% |
| IMAGE COMICS |
5.60% |
5.60% |
| IDW PUBLISHING |
4.05% |
3.28% |
| DARK HORSE COMICS |
3.09% |
2.28% |
| BOOM! STUDIOS |
3.04% |
3.10% |
| VIZ MEDIA |
2.59% |
1.04% |
| DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT |
2.21% |
2.08% |
| RANDOM HOUSE |
0.76% |
0.22% |
| TITAN COMICS |
0.57% |
0.41% |
| OTHER NON-TOP 10 |
8.77% |
5.59% |
COMPARATIVE SALES STATISTICS
|
|
DOLLARS |
UNITS |
|
JANUARY 2020 VS. DECEMBER 2019 |
||
| COMICS |
-2.48% |
-1.59% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS |
29.62% |
36.99% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN |
5.84% |
0.73% |
| TOYS |
-1.05% |
-4.04% |
|
JANUARY 2020 VS. JANUARY 2019 |
||
| COMICS |
-6.70% |
-8.64% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS |
5.09% |
0.00% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN |
-3.26% |
-7.99% |
| TOYS |
4.00% |
-16.26% |
NEW TITLES SHIPPED
|
PUBLISHER |
COMICS SHIPPED |
GRAPHIC NOVELS SHIPPED |
MAGAZINES SHIPPED |
TOTAL SHIPPED |
| MARVEL COMICS |
101 |
56 |
0 |
157 |
| DC COMICS |
98 |
30 |
0 |
128 |
| IDW PUBLISHING |
35 |
16 |
0 |
51 |
| IMAGE COMICS |
43 |
7 |
0 |
50 |
| VIZ MEDIA LLC |
0 |
43 |
0 |
43 |
| DARK HORSE COMICS |
25 |
9 |
0 |
34 |
| BOOM! STUDIOS |
22 |
6 |
0 |
28 |
| SOURCE POINT PRESS |
16 |
3 |
0 |
19 |
| DYNAMITE |
14 |
4 |
0 |
18 |
| TITAN COMICS |
6 |
2 |
3 |
11 |
| OTHER NON-TOP 10 |
130 |
235 |
28 |
393 |
| TOTAL |
490 |
411 |
31 |
932 |
TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS BY UNITS SHIPPED
|
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
|
1 |
WONDER WOMAN #750 |
$9.99 |
NOV190399-M | DC |
|
2 |
THOR #1 |
$4.99 |
AUG199016-M | MAR |
|
3 |
STAR WARS #1 |
$4.99 |
AUG199000-M | MAR |
|
4 |
X-MEN #4 |
$3.99 |
OCT190906-M | MAR |
|
5 |
X-MEN #5 |
$3.99 |
AUG199030-M | MAR |
|
6 |
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #1 |
$4.99 |
NOV190742-M | MAR |
|
7 |
BATMAN #86 |
$3.99 |
NOV190411-M | DC |
|
8 |
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #38 |
$3.99 |
NOV190915-M | MAR |
|
9 |
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #37 |
$3.99 |
NOV190913-M | MAR |
|
10 |
STAR #1 |
$3.99 |
NOV190799-M | MAR |
TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS BY DOLLARS INVOICED
|
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
|
1 |
WONDER WOMAN #750 |
$9.99 |
NOV190399-M | DC |
|
2 |
THOR #1 |
$4.99 |
AUG199016-M | MAR |
|
3 |
STAR WARS #1 |
$4.99 |
AUG199000-M | MAR |
|
4 |
X-MEN #4 |
$3.99 |
OCT190906-M | MAR |
|
5 |
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #1 |
$4.99 |
NOV190742-M | MAR |
|
6 |
X-MEN #5 |
$3.99 |
AUG199030-M | MAR |
|
7 |
THE JOKER/HARLEY: CRIMINAL SANITY #2 (MR) [*] |
$5.99 |
SEP190500-M | DC |
|
8 |
BATMAN: CURSE OF THE WHITE KNIGHT #6 |
$4.99 |
NOV190433-M | DC |
|
9 |
IRON MAN 2020 #1 |
$4.99 |
NOV190753-M | MAR |
|
10 |
VENOM: THE END #1 |
$4.99 |
NOV190795-M | MAR |
TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS BY UNITS SHIPPED
|
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
|
1 |
ABSOLUTE CARNAGE TP |
$29.99 |
OCT191107 | MAR |
|
2 |
DIANA: PRINCESS OF THE AMAZONS TP |
$9.99 |
SEP190470 | DC |
|
3 |
WATCHMEN TP |
$24.99 |
JUN190614-M | DC |
|
4 |
LEAGUE OF LEGENDS: LUX TP |
$15.99 |
JUL191064 | MAR |
|
5 |
HOUSE OF X/POWERS OF X HC |
$60.00 |
SEP190963-M | MAR |
|
6 |
STRANGER THINGS: ZOMBIE BOYS TP |
$10.99 |
OCT190311 | DAR |
|
7 |
MY HERO ACADEMIA VOLUME 22 GN |
$9.99 |
OCT192290 | VIZ |
|
8 |
BLACK HAMMER VOL. 4: AGE OF DOOM PART II TP |
$19.99 |
MAY190209 | DAR |
|
9 |
GREEN LANTERN: LEGACY TP |
$9.99 |
SEP190471 | DC |
|
10 |
WONDER WOMAN: WARBRINGER TP |
$16.99 |
SEP190472 | DC |
TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS BY DOLLARS INVOICED
|
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
|
1 |
INCREDIBLE HULK BY PETER DAVID OMNIBUS VOL. 1 HC |
$125.00 |
JUL191095-M | MAR |
|
2 |
CONAN THE BARBARIAN: THE ORIGINAL MARVEL YEARS OMNIBUS VOL. 3 HC |
$125.00 |
JUL191093-M | MAR |
|
3 |
HOUSE OF X/POWERS OF X HC |
$60.00 |
SEP190963-M | MAR |
|
4 |
ABSOLUTE CARNAGE TP |
$29.99 |
OCT191107 | MAR |
|
5 |
DAREDEVIL BY BENDIS & MALEEV OMNIBUS VOL. 1 HC |
$100.00 |
JUL191088 | MAR |
|
6 |
JUNJI ITO: NO LONGER HUMAN HC (MR) |
$34.99 |
OCT192289 | VIZ |
|
7 |
WATCHMEN TP |
$24.99 |
JUN190614-M | DC |
|
8 |
BATMAN: BLACK & WHITE OMNIBUS HC |
$125.00 |
MAY190477 | DC |
|
9 |
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: DAREDEVIL VOL. 14 HC |
$75.00 |
JUL191091-M | MAR |
|
10 |
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN EPIC COLLECTION: MAXIMUM CARNAGE TP |
$39.99 |
OCT191135 | MAR |
TOP 10 BOOKS BY UNITS SHIPPED
|
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
|
1 |
DOCTOR WHO: STAR TALES HC |
$16.99 |
MAY198373 | PEN |
|
2 |
DOCTOR WHOL REVELATION OF THE DALEKS HC |
$16.99 |
JAN198797 | PEN |
|
3 |
BLACK WIDOW LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK |
$4.99 |
NOV191744 | RAN |
|
4 |
OVERSTREET COMIC BOOK PRICE GUIDE VOLUME 49 SC |
$29.95 |
APR191757-M | GEM |
|
5 |
BLOODBORNE OFFICIAL ARTWORKS SC |
$44.99 |
MAR172148 | UDO |
|
6 |
SWORD ART ONLINE VOL. 18: ALICIZATION LASTING SC |
$14.00 |
OCT192330 | YEN |
|
7 |
FROZEN: I AM ELSA LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK |
$4.99 |
NOV191746 | RAN |
|
8 |
FROZEN: I AM ANNA LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK |
$4.99 |
NOV191745 | RAN |
|
9 |
THE SHADOW NOVEL VOL. 151 SC |
$19.95 |
DEC191846 | SAN |
|
10 |
THE SHADOW NOVEL VOL. 150 SC |
$19.95 |
DEC191845 | SAN |
TOP 10 TOYS BY DOLLARS INVOICED
|
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
|
1 |
POP! MARVEL HEROES: THANOS SNAP 6-INCH DELUXE VINYL FIGURE | MAY198251 | FUN |
|
2 |
DARK NIGHTS METAL: THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS & ROBINS DELUXE STATUE | MAY190542 | DC |
|
3 |
DC BOMBSHELLS: DEATH STATUE | MAY190539 | DC |
|
4 |
FANTASTIC FOUR LEGENDS 6-INCH ACTION FIGURES | SEP198358 | HAS |
|
5 |
SPIDER-MAN LEGENDS 6-INCH ACTION FIGURES | SEP198357 | HAS |
|
6 |
POP! DRAGON BALL Z: SUPER SAIYAN 2 VEGETA VINYL FIGURE | JAN199073 | FUN |
|
7 |
MARVEL ANIMATED: VENOM & SPIDER-MAN STATUE | JUN192393 | DST |
|
8 |
MARVEL SELECT: AVENGERS ENDGAME: HERO SUIT HULK FIGURE | JUL192664 | DST |
|
9 |
MARVEL SELECT: SPIDER-MAN PS4 VIDEO GAME FIGURE | AUG192734 | DST |
|
10 |
MARVEL GALLERY: 1990S SPIDER-MAN PVC FIGURE | JUN192391 | DST |
TOP 10 GAMES BY DOLLARS INVOICED
|
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
|
1 |
CRITICAL ROLE: TAL’DOREI CAMPAIGN SETTING HC | JUN173357 | GRE |
|
2 |
STARFINDER RPG: CORE RULEBOOK HC | JUN173371 | PAI |
|
3 |
CREATURE CODEX HC | JUL183073 | PAI |
|
4 |
PATHFINDER CORE RULEBOOK SPECIAL EDITION HC (P2) | MAY193228 | PAI |
|
5 |
D&D ICONS OF THE REALM: VOLO & MORDENKAINEN BOOSTER BRICK | MAY198224 | NEC |
|
6 |
PATHFINDER: GAME MASTER SCREEN (P2) | MAY193238 | PAI |
|
7 |
PATHFINDER RPG: CORE RULEBOOK | JUN091729 | PAI |
|
8 |
PATHFINDER: BESTIARY HC (P2) | MAY193229 | PAI |
|
9 |
PATHFINDER: BESTIARY SPECIAL EDITION HC (P2) | MAY193230 | PAI |
|
10 |
STARFINDER RPG: ARMORY HC | MAY182931 | PAI |
I think my default instinct has usually been that units ≠ customers when it comes to periodicals in the modern era, given the variant phenomenon — whereas instead you can take an annual dollar value and work backwards to a vague head count. In a $530 million Direct Market, for example, there’s room for no more than about 510,000 people spending $20 a week, every week; the number of such people is probably a lot lower, but we know what the maximum possible would be.
Paying less mind to graphic novel units is more a measurement thing, because it’s a category where $7.50 and $150 units co-mingle.
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