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The Four Best Selling Comics In March Were From DC, But Marvel Pulls Ahead On Market Share – And So Does Image Comics

These are the official statistics for comic books as distributed in North America by Diamond Comic Distributors in the month of March 2014. So what have we learned?

Marvel Comics dollar share continues to slowly rise from to 34.09% to 34.1% to 34.31% this year but their unit share takes a small jump, from 37.39% to 37.36% to 38.17%. DC Comics saw their dollar share take a dive from 28.06% to 28.73% to 25.94% and their unit share from 30.77% to 31.12% to 29.02%.

Despite this, DC Comics took the four top spots with Batman, Superman Unchained, Forever Evil and Sandman.

But the bigger news is that Image's dollar share has gone from 8.78% to 7.85% to 11.38% and their unit share has done the same, from to 10.10% to 8.88% to 11.04%.

Overall sales though are dropping, compared to January and to this time last year… indeed, compared 2013 at this time last year, 2014 is 10% down. After months and years of increasing sales… is this the beginning of reducing sales? Graphic novel sales in comic stores are up, but its not enough to stop the downward trend…

But its also noticing that while the graphic novel sales don't match the bookstore sales results, there are still no Marvel or DC titles in the top five.

March's overall sales are up on February but down on March last year, as is the year so far, especially in comics sales. Graphic novel sales have been buoyed, much down to the return of the Walking Dead TV show driving sales, and real success for Saga. No wonder Image are celebrating higher market share…

And Silver Surfer looks a far stronger launch for Marvel than some might have expected, beating The Walking Dead.

TOP PUBLISHERS

RETAIL MARKET SHARE
PUBLISHER SHARE
MARVEL COMICS 34.31%
DC COMICS 25.94%
IMAGE COMICS 11.38%
DARK HORSE COMICS 6.19%
IDW PUBLISHING 5.29%
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT 2.61%
BOOM! STUDIOS 1.99%
EAGLEMOSS PUBLICATIONS LTD 1.59%
AVATAR PRESS INC 1.14%
RANDOM HOUSE 1.04%
OTHER NON-TOP 10 8.53%
UNIT MARKET SHARE
PUBLISHER SHARE
MARVEL COMICS 38.17%
DC COMICS 29.02%
IMAGE COMICS 11.04%
DARK HORSE COMICS 5.72%
IDW PUBLISHING 4.51%
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT 2.56%
BOOM! STUDIOS 1.84%
VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT LLC 0.95%
ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS 0.95%
AVATAR PRESS INC 0.94%
OTHER NON-TOP 10 4.29%

TITLES SHIPPED

PUBLISHER COMICS SHIPPED GRAPHIC NOVELS SHIPPED MAGAZINES SHIPPED TOTAL SHIPPED
DC COMICS 84 28 1 113
MARVEL COMICS 75 34 0 109
IMAGE COMICS 54 13 0 67
IDW PUBLISHING 42 22 0 64
DARK HORSE COMICS 42 15 0 57
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT 34 5 0 39
BOOM! STUDIOS 28 7 0 35
AVATAR PRESS 11 4 0 15
RANDOM HOUSE 0 15 0 15
EAGLEMOSS 0 0 12 12
OTHER 63 104 16 183

COMPARATIVE SALES STATISTICS

  DOLLARS UNITS
MARCH 2014 VS. FEBRUARY 2014
COMICS 4.11% 6.32%
GRAPHIC NOVELS 24.00% 25.00%
TOTAL COMICS/GN 10.22% 7.93%
MARCH 2014 VS. MARCH 2013
COMICS -9.47% -11.83%
GRAPHIC NOVELS 18.31% 22.85%
TOTAL COMICS/GN -1.48% -9.28%
FIRST QUARTER 2014 VS. FOURTH QUARTER 2013
COMICS -14.30% -13.77%
GRAPHIC NOVELS -11.59% -1.59%
TOTAL COMICS/GN -13.45% -12.82%
FIRST QUARTER 2014 VS. FIRST QUARTER 2013
COMICS -6.89% -11.40%
GRAPHIC NOVELS 1.39% 10.06%
TOTAL COMICS/GN -4.40% -9.85%
YEAR-TO-DATE 2014 VS. YEAR-TO-DATE 2013
COMICS -6.89% -11.40%
GRAPHIC NOVELS 1.39% 10.06%
TOTAL COMICS/GN -4.40% -9.85%

TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS

RANK DESCRIPTION PRICE VENDOR
1 BATMAN #29 $4.99 DC
2 SUPERMAN UNCHAINED #6 $3.99 DC
3 FOREVER EVIL #6 $3.99 DC
4 SANDMAN OVERTURE #2 (MR) $3.99 DC
5 SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #29 $3.99 MAR
6 DAREDEVIL #1 $3.99 MAR
7 SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #30 $3.99 MAR
8 SILVER SURFER #1 $3.99 MAR
9 THE WALKING DEAD #124 (MR) $2.99 IMA
10 UNCANNY X-MEN #19.NOW $3.99 MAR

TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS

RANK DESCRIPTION PRICE VENDOR
1 THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 20: ALL OUT WAR PART 1 TP (MR) $14.99 IMA
2 SAGA VOLUME 3 TP (MR) $14.99 IMA
3 NEMO: ROSES OF BERLIN HC (MR) $14.95 TOP
4 AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER VOL. 7: RIFT PART 1 TP $10.99 DAR
5 CHEW VOLUME 8: FAMILY RECIPES TP (MR) $12.99 IMA
6 JUSTICE LEAGUE: TRINITY WAR HC (N52) $29.99 DC
7 HARLEY QUINN: WELCOME TO METROPOLIS TP $19.99 DC
8 ADVENTURE TIME VOL. 3: SEEING RED OGN $11.99 BOO
9 MARVEL MASTERWORKS: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN VOL. 1 TP $24.99 MAR
10 STRAY BULLETS UBER ALLES EDITION TP (MR) $59.99 IMA

TOP 10 BOOKS

RANK DESCRIPTION PRICE VENDOR
1 DOCTOR WHO: 11TH DOCTOR SONIC SCREWDRIVER KIT $12.95 RUN
2 WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S THE EMPIRE STRIKETH BACK HC $14.95 RAN
3 PAUL POPE'S MONSTERS & TITANS: BATTLING BOY ART ON TOUR SC $24.99 IMA
4 LEGEND OF ZELDA: HYRULE HISTORIA HC $34.99 DAR
5 THE SHADOW DOUBLE NOVEL VOLUME 82: SPY RING SC $14.95 SAN
6 HATSUNE MIKU GRAPHICS VOCALOID VOLUME 1 SC $34.99 UDO
7 DOC SAVAGE DOUBLE NOVEL VOLUME 73: LAND OF LONG JUJU SC $14.95 SAN
8 BATMAN SCIENCE: THE REAL WORLD SCIENCE BEHIND BATMAN'S GEAR SC $9.95 CAP
9 DRAGON'S DOGMA OFFICIAL DESIGN WORKS SC $44.99 UDO
10 ADVENTURE TIME: TOTALLY MATH POSTER COLLECTION SC $19.95 ABR

TOP 10 TOYS

RANK DESCRIPTION VENDOR
1 THE WALKING DEAD TV SERIES 5 ACTION FIGURES TMP
2 BATMAN HUSH: BATMAN & CATWOMAN KISS STATUE DC
3 ARROW: OLIVER QUEEN/DEATHSTROKE ACTION FIGURE 2-PACK DC
4 DC COMICS COVER GIRLS HUNTRESS STATUE DC
5 BATMAN ARKHAM CITY: TWO-FACE ACTION FIGURE DC
6 BATMAN BLACK & WHITE STATUE BY GARY FRANK DC
7 WONDER WOMAN ART OF WAR STATUE BY JIM LEE DC
8 SUPERMAN: MAN OF STEEL STATUE BY ROCAFORT DC
9 DC COMICS SUPER VILLAINS: OWLMAN ACTION FIGURE DC
10 DC COMICS SUPERGIRL "NEW 52" ARTFX+ STATUE KOT

TOP 10 GAMES

RANK DESCRIPTION VENDOR
1 MONOPOLY: THE WALKING DEAD SURVIVAL EDITION USA
2 MARVEL HEROCLIX: CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER NEC
3 DC HEROCLIX: LEGION OF SUPERHEROES BOOSTER BRICK NEC
4 RISK LEGACY HAS
5 MARVEL HEROCLIX: CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER STARTER SET NEC
6 DC HEROCLIX: LEGION OF DOOM FAST FORCES 6-PACK NEC
7 MAGIC THE GATHERING TCG: BORN OF THE GODS BOOSTER PACK WZK
8 RISK: THE WALKING DEAD SURVIVAL EDITION USA
9 MAGIC THE GATHERING TCG: BORN OF THE GODS FAT PACK WZK
10 MAGIC THE GATHERING CCG: DUEL DECKS JACE VS. VRASKA WZK

 

d1

Dollar Market Share – March 2014

d2

Unit Market Share– March 2014


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Rich JohnstonAbout Rich Johnston

Founder of Bleeding Cool. The longest-serving digital news reporter in the world, since 1992. Author of The Flying Friar, Holed Up, The Avengefuls, Doctor Who: Room With A Deja Vu, The Many Murders Of Miss Cranbourne, Chase Variant. Lives in South-West London, works from Blacks on Dean Street, shops at Piranha Comics. Father of two. Political cartoonist.
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