Venom #27For the first time since the Great Suspension, Diamond has published sales charts, with August sales charts.  But things have changed since the Before Times. For one, these charts no longer include DC — leading to a  “Marvel has all Top Ten” announcement that may cause some pain among old-school DC employees, provided any of them still have jobs.

Still, it’s a snapshot of something that happened.

Marvel led the August sales charts with Venom #27 by Donny Cates and Juan Gedeon, and claimed the rest of the Top 10 periodical chart. However, as Diamond notes, the #11 book was from Titan Comics, of all publishers: Horizon: Zero Dawn #1. Whoa!

Deadpool Classics, a collection of the Chimichanga-loving scamp’s earliest appearances, was the #1 graphic novel, followed by more Marvel collections. However, two books by Image did make the list.

Deadppol Classic Volume 1.jpgAnother new feature: a quote from Tim Lenaghan, chief purchasing officer of Geppi Family Enterprises, the parent company of Diamond Comic Distributors, noting that sales have remained a lot more stable than expected.  “We’re very encouraged by the strong performance we saw in many titles this month. The market continues to rebound, and in many cases, we’re seeing new series debut from many of our publishers that are outperforming what we saw in the first quarter. Similarly, issues of established series are seeing increases in subsequent issues as well, and we believe this bodes well for the strength of the industry in third and fourth quarter.”

Another change for Diamond’s charts: There are no market share or comparative charts for this month, so it’s still kind of a wild, wild west of speculation.

However, as usual, John Jackson Miller at Comichron has been on the job. Miller has actually compiled his own sales charts for the Interregnum, and is expanding them as more information becomes available. For August, he notes that Batman: Three Jokers #1 will almost certainly smash these charts, since it sold some 300,000 copies, according to Jim Lee.

Miller is also working on charts from Lunar and UCS and we’re told he’ll be integrating all of his charts for the first all-industry sales charts of the New Pandemic Era. Of the August numbers from Diamond, Miller has many, many caveats such as the following:

As you may have seen, we’ve made our own interium projections for Diamond and for the two distributors DC uses, Lunar Distribution and UCS Comic Distributors, going back to April 2020, covering the period of Diamond’s shutdown. They then progress through May and June to July 2020, the month after the DC/Diamond divorce finalized. Both sets of projections for August have been done here for a while, but on seeing the new release volume at Diamond during the month, we held off on posting on the chance that this might be the month that Diamond’s charts returned. And indeed, here it is, on the last day of September.

A couple of notes before diving in. First, on scheduling: while Diamond made no announcement that there would be full charts to come, we think it’s likely enough that we’re going to operate under that assumption. As noted, our DC charts are ready, and we’ll follow with them tomorrow; the timing of merged charts will depend on what else comes from Diamond and when. (It’s a very safe bet that Batman: Three Jokers #1 beat everything else in August, but the other parts of the charts may hold more suspense.)

Second, to temper expectations: Diamond did not release its usual comparative industrywide statistics and market shares. For reasons described in greater detail here, charting in the days of coronavirus is difficult, with impacts tracking for several categories. Cross-time comparisons are less useful given the smaller number of comics in release from several publishers: Marvel, at 65 new comics in August, is finally nearing three-quarters of its slate size from recent years, but it still has a ways to go.

Miller also notes that many, many periodical comics are now returnable, and will be for quite some time, adding even more uncertainty to the charts.

Still, just seeing these numbers adds a hint of normalcy to these uncertain times, and so, in that spirit we present them. We’ll have more to come on this tomorrow.

 

 

horizon dawnTOP 10 COMIC BOOKS BY UNITS SHIPPED

RANK

DESCRIPTION

PRICE

ITEM CODE

VENDOR

1

VENOM #27

$3.99

APR201001-M MARVEL COMICS

2

THOR #6

$3.99

MAR201009-M MARVEL COMICS

3

MAESTRO #1

$4.99

JUN200648-M MARVEL COMICS

4

X-MEN #11

$3.99

MAR200872-M MARVEL COMICS

5

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #47

$3.99

APR200985-M MARVEL COMICS

6

WOLVERINE #4

$3.99

MAR200900-M MARVEL COMICS

7

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #46

$3.99

MAR200990-M MARVEL COMICS

8

EMPYRE #4

$4.99

APR200845-M MARVEL COMICS

9

VENOM #25

$5.99

FEB200943-M MARVEL COMICS

10

EMPYRE #5

$4.99

APR200851-M MARVEL COMICS

 

TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS BY DOLLARS INVOICED

RANK

DESCRIPTION

PRICE

ITEM CODE

VENDOR

1

VENOM #27

$3.99

APR201001-M MARVEL COMICS

2

THOR #6

$3.99

MAR201009-M MARVEL COMICS

3

MAESTRO #1

$4.99

JUN200648-M MARVEL COMICS

4

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #47

$3.99

APR200985-M MARVEL COMICS

5

X-MEN #11

$3.99

MAR200872-M MARVEL COMICS

6

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #46

$3.99

MAR200990-M MARVEL COMICS

7

WOLVERINE #4

$3.99

MAR200900-M MARVEL COMICS

8

VENOM #25

$5.99

FEB200943-M MARVEL COMICS

9

EMPYRE #4

$4.99

APR200845-M MARVEL COMICS

10

EMPYRE #5

$4.99

APR200851-M MARVEL COMICS

 

TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS BY UNITS SHIPPED

RANK

DESCRIPTION

PRICE

ITEM CODE

VENDOR

1

DEADPOOL CLASSIC VOLUME 1 TP

$29.99

FEB082311 MARVEL COMICS

2

SPIDER-MAN/DEADPOOL VOL. 0: DON’T CALL IT TEAM UP TP

$34.99

FEB160956 MARVEL COMICS

3

INHUMANS BY PAUL JENKINS AND JAE LEE TP

$34.99

JUN150836 MARVEL COMICS

4

GIDEON FALLS VOLUME 4 TP (MR)

$16.99

FEB200126 IMAGE COMICS

5

HOUSE OF X/POWERS OF X TP

$44.99

JUN200667 MARVEL COMICS

6

DEADPOOL VS. CARNAGE TP

$16.99

MAY140932 MARVEL COMICS

7

PULP HC (MR)

$16.99

MAR200016 IMAGE COMICS

8

RETURN OF THE LIVING DEADPOOL TP

$16.99

MAY150827 MARVEL COMICS

9

MILES MORALES: ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN VOLUME 1:REVIVAL TP

$17.99

AUG140912 MARVEL COMICS

10

DEADPOOL FIRSTS TP

$34.99

NOV150949 MARVEL COMICS

 

TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS BY DOLLARS INVOICED

RANK

DESCRIPTION

PRICE

ITEM CODE

VENDOR

1

HOUSE OF X/POWERS OF X TP

$44.99

JUN200667 MARVEL COMICS

2

SOLOMON KANE: THE ORIGINAL MARVEL YEARS OMNIBUS HC

$100.00

JAN201040-M MARVEL COMICS

3

CONAN THE BARBARIAN: THE ORIGINAL MARVEL YEARS OMNIBUS VOLUME 1 HC

$125.00

JUL181158-M MARVEL COMICS

4

CRUEL SUMMER HC (MR)

$34.99

JUN200096 IMAGE COMICS

5

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: FANTASTIC FOUR VOLUME 22 HC

$75.00

JAN201046-M MARVEL COMICS

6

STERANKO IS REVOLUTIONARY KING-SIZE HC

$125.00

NOV190951 MARVEL COMICS

7

X-MEN EPIC COLLECTION: PROTEUS TP

$39.99

APR201110 MARVEL COMICS

8

UNCANNY X-FORCE BY REMENDER OMNIBUS HC

$100.00

SEP190971 MARVEL COMICS

9

PULP HC (MR)

$16.99

MAR200016 IMAGE COMICS

10

WORLD OF CYBERPUNK 2077 HC

$39.99

DEC190236 DARK HORSE COMICS

 

TOP 10 TOYS BY DOLLARS INVOICED

RANK

DESCRIPTION

ITEM CODE

VENDOR

1

POP! MARVEL HEROES: ABSOLUTE CARNAGE DELUXE VINYL FIGURE DEC198585 FUNKO

2

POP DC HEROES: RED HOOD VS. DEATHSTROKE COMIC MOMENT SDCC 2020 VINYL FIGURE DIORAMA SEP198705 FUNKO

3

ONE-12 COLLECTIVE: SPIDER-MAN STEALTH SUIT FIGURE NOV198726 MEZCO TOYS

4

THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS: DELUXE LIGHTED SDCC 2020 ACTION FIGURE BOX SET DEC198805 DIAMOND SELECT TOYS

5

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: RETRO ROTOCAST SDCC 2020 6-PIECE ACTION FIGURE SET NOV198145 PLAYMATES

6

THE MUPPETS: BAND MEMBERS SDCC 2020 DELUXE ACTION FIGURE BOX SET DEC198804 DIAMOND SELECT TOYS

7

LOST IN SPACE: B-9 ELECTRONIC ROBOT AUG142281 DIAMOND SELECT TOYS

8

MARVEL DEADPOOL LEGENDS 6-INCH ACTION FIGURES MAR208127 HASBRO TOY GROUP

9

POP! STAR WARS THE MANDALORIAN: THE CHILD 10-INCH VINYL FIGURE OCT198608 FUNKO

10

THE IRON GIANT SELECT ACTION FIGURE DEC192335 DIAMOND SELECT TOYS

 

TOP 10 GAMES BY DOLLARS INVOICED

RANK

DESCRIPTION

ITEM CODE

VENDOR

1

PATHFINDER RPG: ADVANCED PLAYERS GUIDE HC (P2) NOV198464 PAIZO PUBLISHING

2

STARFINDER RPG: STARSHIP OPERATIONS MANUAL HC NOV198469 PAIZO PUBLISHING

3

PATHFINDER: LOST OMENS LEGENDS HC (P2) NOV198463 PAIZO PUBLISHING

4

PATHFINDER: CORE RULEBOOK HC (P2) MAY193227 PAIZO PUBLISHING

5

PATHFINDER RPG: ADVANCED PLAYERS GUIDE SPECIAL EDITON HC (P2) NOV198465 PAIZO PUBLISHING

6

STARFINDER RPG: CORE RULEBOOK POCKED EDITION NOV198467 PAIZO PUBLISHING

7

PATHFINDER: CORE RULEBOOK HC SPECIAL EDITION (P2) MAY193228 PAIZO PUBLISHING

8

PATHFINDER RPG: CORE RULEBOOK POCKET EDITION APR168770 PAIZO PUBLISHING

9

PATHFINDER: GAMEMASTERY GUIDE HC (P2) NOV192998 PAIZO PUBLISHING

10

PATHFINDER: BESTIARY HC (P2) MAY193229 PAIZO PUBLISHING

 

NEW TITLES SHIPPED

PUBLISHER

COMICS SHIPPED

GRAPHIC NOVELS SHIPPED

MAGAZINES SHIPPED

TOTAL

SHIPPED

MARVEL COMICS

65

35

0

100

IMAGE COMICS

44

5

0

49

BOOM! STUDIOS

25

16

0

41

IDW PUBLISHING

31

9

0

40

YEN PRESS

0

31

0

31

SEVEN SEAS ENTERTAINMENT

0

26

0

26

VIZ MEDIA

0

26

0

26

KODANSHA COMICS

0

19

0

19

SCOUT COMICS

13

3

0

16

ANTARCTIC PRESS

12

0

0

12

OTHER NON-TOP 10

110

152

11

273

TOTAL

300

322

11

633

How does Diamond calculate the charts? It all starts at the comic book shop.

Data for Diamond’s sales charts are compiled by Diamond Comic Distributors from sales made to thousands of comic book specialty shops located in North America and around the world.  Additional sales made to online merchants and other specialty retailers may be included as well.

Premier Publishers are defined by Diamond as Marvel Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, Dynamite Entertainment, and BOOM! Studios.

Unit and dollar market shares are calculated based upon orders for comic books, graphic novels, and magazines invoiced and shipped to Diamond customers during any given month, which comprises pre-orders, advance reorders, and reorders, minus any copies that are received back from a title marked as returnable. Please note that reported quantities on comics marked with an asterisk (*) have been reduced based on an estimate of retailer expected returns that may or may not occur and thus, the title may rank lower on the charts than their actual sales would reflect.

The New Titles Count Chart includes all titles that were invoiced by Diamond to retailers for the first time during the month and is not the official solicited title count for the month. Variant edition comic books and graphic novels at the same price point count as a single SKU. Variant edition comic books, lenticular covers, digital combo packs, and graphic novels at different price points count as separate SKUs for each edition.

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