Diamond Announces Top Selling Comic Books & Graphic Novels for 2018
Jan 14, 2019
• Marvel Comics Top Comic Book Publisher of the Year; The Infinity Gauntlet Bestselling Graphic Novel of the Year
• Action Comics #1000 Bestselling Comic Book of the Year; DC Comics Ranked #2 Publisher
• Image Comics ranked #3 publisher; Leads Graphic Novels Chart with 6 out of the Top 10 Titles
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| DC Entertainment's Action Comics #1000 FEB180142 |
Marvel Comics' The Infinity Gauntlet TP JUL110745 |
(HUNT VALLEY, MD) — (January 14, 2019) — DC Entertainment hit a celebratory landmark with its publication of Action Comics #1000, the best-selling comic book published in 2018, based on total unit sales to comic book specialty retailers, according to Diamond Comic Distributors, the world’s largest distributor of comics, graphic novels, and pop-culture merchandise.
An all-star line-up of top talent led by Jim Lee, Brian Michael Bendis, and Geoff Johns paid tribute to the legendary Man of Steel. The special, oversized landmark issue presented the best in Superman stories, spanning the 1930s to today..
Annual comic book sales to the comic book specialty market increased in 2018, up 2.04% for the year, while graphic novel sales dipped 8.22% from 2017. Combined, annual sales of comic book and graphic novels to comic book shops were down slightly in 2018, by 1.08%.
Marvel Comics finished the year as the comic book specialty market’s top publisher, leading in both Dollar and Unit Market Shares, with a 38.24% Dollar Market Share and a 40.4% Unit Market Share. Marvel Comics top comic book, Amazing Spider-Man #800, the ten-year landmark issue led by Dan Slott and Stuart Immomen, charted at #2 for the year. Overall, Marvel had seven titles in the top ten comics of the year, including the preceding Amazing Spider-Man #798 and #799, as well as Fantastic Four #1, Amazing Spider-Man #1, Return of Wolverine #1, and Venom #1. Marvel Comics also had the top graphic novel of the year with The Infinity Gauntlet, the epic crossover event from Jim Starlin, George Pérez, and Rom Lim that helped form the storyline for Marvel’s blockbuster Avenger’s Infinity War movie.
DC Entertainment was the comic book specialty market’s number two publisher in 2018 with a 30.04% Dollar Market Share and a 33.82% Unit Market Share. DC Entertainment had three of the year’s top ten comics; in addition to Action Comics #1000, Batman #50 and The Batman Who Laughs #1 were among the top ten.
Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples' award-winning science fiction epic, Saga from Image Comics once again dominated the top ten graphic novels chart and solidified Image Comics as the year's third largest comic book publisher, with a 9.93% Dollar Market Share and a 9.9% Unit Market Share. Image Comics took six of the top ten graphic novel spots, with Saga Volume 9 charting as the #2 best-selling graphic novel for 2018. Saga Volumes 1 and 8 also placed in the top ten, along with The Walking Dead Volume 29 Lines We Cross (#6), Paper Girls Volume 1 (#7), and Monstress Volume 1 (#10). The best-selling comic book for the year from Image was Mark Millar's The Magic Order #1 at #18.
IDW Publishing was the comic book specialty market’s fourth largest publisher, propelled by its licensed titles from Hasbro, Disney, and Lucasfilm. The company’s Dollar Market Share was 3.83% for the year. Marvel Action: Spider-Man #1, was IDW's top-selling comic book, landing at #460 for the year.
Dark Horse Comics' mix of creator-owned and licensed titles helped the company to be the fifth-ranked publisher in the comic book specialty market in 2018 with a 2.92% Dollar Market Share. Dark Horse’s top comic book for the year Stranger Things #1, based upon the popular Netflix series, at #184.
BOOM! Studios was the sixth ranked publisher at 2.24%, and Dynamite Entertainment was seventh at 1.86%. Viz Media, Titan Comics, and Oni Press rounded out the top ten comic book publishers for 2018.
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2018 TOP COMIC BOOK PUBLISHERS
| PUBLISHER | DOLLAR SHARE |
UNIT SHARE |
| MARVEL COMICS | 38.24% | 40.40% |
| DC ENTERTAINMENT | 30.04% | 33.82% |
| IMAGE COMICS | 9.93% | 9.90% |
| IDW PUBLISHING | 3.83% | 3.30% |
| DARK HORSE COMICS | 2.92% | 2.10% |
| BOOM! STUDIOS | 2.24% | 1.90% |
| DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT | 1.86% | 1.73% |
| VIZ MEDIA | 1.22% | 0.46% |
| TITAN COMICS | 0.87% | 0.61% |
| ONI PRESS | 0.83% | 0.54% |
| OTHER NON-TOP 10 | 8.01% | 5.25% |
2018 TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS
| QTY RANK |
DOLLAR RANK |
DESCRIPTION | PRICE | ITEM CODE | VENDOR |
| 1 | 1 | ACTION COMICS #1000 | $7.99 | FEB180142-M | DC ENTERTAINMENT |
| 2 | 2 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #800 | $9.99 | MAR180831-M | MARVEL COMICS |
| 3 | 3 | BATMAN #50 | $4.99 | MAY180450-M | DC ENTERTAINMENT |
| 4 | 4 | FANTASTIC FOUR #1 | $5.99 | JUN180771-M | MARVEL COMICS |
| 5 | 5 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1 | $5.99 | MAY180784-M | MARVEL COMICS |
| 6 | 6 | RETURN OF WOLVERINE #1 | $4.99 | JUL180968-M | MARVEL COMICS |
| 7 | 9 | VENOM #1 | $4.99 | MAR180803-M | MARVEL COMICS |
| 8 | 10 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #798 | $3.99 | FEB180832-M | MARVEL COMICS |
| 9 | 8 | BATMAN WHO LAUGHS #1 | $4.99 | OCT180464-M | DC ENTERTAINMENT |
| 10 | 13 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #799 | $3.99 | FEB180836-M | MARVEL COMICS |
2018 TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS
| QTY RANK |
DOLLAR RANK |
DESCRIPTION | PRICE | ITEM CODE | VENDOR |
| 1 | 1 | INFINITY GAUNTLET TP | $24.99 | JUL110745 | MARVEL COMICS |
| 2 | 4 | SAGA TP VOL 09 (MR) | $14.99 | JUL180297 | IMAGE COMICS |
| 3 | 19 | SAGA TP VOL 01 (MR) | $9.99 | AUG120491 | IMAGE COMICS |
| 4 | 6 | SAGA TP VOL 08 (MR) | $14.99 | OCT170715 | IMAGE COMICS |
| 5 | 2 | ACTION COMICS 80 YEARS OF SUPERMAN HC | $29.99 | DEC170241 | DC ENTERTAINMENT |
| 6 | 8 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 29 LINES WE CROSS | $16.99 | JAN180844 | IMAGE COMICS |
| 7 | 38 | PAPER GIRLS TP VOL 01 | $9.99 | JAN160645 | IMAGE COMICS |
| 8 | 7 | BATMAN WHITE KNIGHT TP | $19.99 | JUL180733 | DC ENTERTAINMENT |
| 9 | 3 | DARK NIGHTS METAL DELUXE ED HC | $29.99 | JAN180379 | DC ENTERTAINMENT |
| 10 | 33 | MONSTRESS TP VOL 01 (MR) | $9.99 | APR160803-M | IMAGE COMICS |
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| Dollar Market Share – 2018 |
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| Unit Market Share – 2018 |
Data for Diamond’s sales charts — which includes the market shares and all top product 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.
Unit and dollar market shares are calculated based upon orders for comic books, graphic novels, and magazines invoiced and shipped to Diamond customers during 2018, which comprises pre-orders, advance reorders, and reorders, minus any copies that are received back from a title marked as returnable. The category tables in this press release are ranked by units sold by Diamond to its accounts for the comic books and graphic novels categories.
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