Diamond Announces Top Products For December 2011
(BALTIMORE, MD) — (January 5, 2012) — The Justice League encountered the dread lord Darkseid in Geoff Johns and Jim Lee's Justice League #4 from DC Comics, continuing DC's run atop the charts for its fifth straight month with December's best-selling comic book, according to information provided by Diamond Comic Distributors, the world's largest distributor of comics, graphic novels, and pop culture merchandise.
Marvel Comics led the print market in December, narrowly edging DC Entertainment in both the Retail Dollar (34.43% for Marvel vs. 33.74% for DC) and Unit Share (39.05% vs. 37.72%) categories.
Sales in December, a four week month, declined from November, a five week month, with Comics falling by 14.45% and Graphic Novels by 21.17%.
Rick Grimes and his band of survivors of the zombie apocalypse continue their struggle to find a home in Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard's The Walking Dead Volume 15: We Find Ourselves, December's best-selling Graphic Novel.
Based on Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment's best-selling new game, Batman: Arkham City, DC Direct's Batman: Arkham City Series 1 Action Figures brought the game's characters to life and gave the manufacturer the best-selling Toy product to specialty retailers in December.
The Incredible Hulk joined the HeroClix campaign with the Marvel HeroClix: The Incredible Hulk Booster Brick from WizKids/NECA, December's best-selling Games product to specialty retailers.
TOP COMIC BOOK PUBLISHERS
| PUBLISHER | RETAIL MARKET SHARE |
UNIT MARKET SHARE |
| MARVEL COMICS | 34.43% | 39.05% |
| DC COMICS | 33.74% | 37.72% |
| IMAGE COMICS | 6.75% | 4.89% |
| IDW PUBLISHING | 5.26% | 4.43% |
| DARK HORSE COMICS | 3.97% | 3.34% |
| DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT | 3.35% | 3.27% |
| EAGLEMOSS PUBLICATIONS | 1.63% | 0.37% |
| BOOM! STUDIOS | 1.41% | 1.32% |
| VIZ LLC | 1.19% | 0.50% |
| ARCHIE COMICS | 0.82% | 0.98% |
| OTHER NON-TOP 10 | 7.44% | 4.12% |
COMPARATIVE SALES STATISTICS
| DOLLARS | UNITS | |
| DECEMBER 2011 VS. NOVEMBER 2011 | ||
| COMICS | -14.45% | -12.29% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | -21.17% | -19.27% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | -16.62% | -12.81% |
| DECEMBER 2011 VS. DECEMBER 2010 | ||
| COMICS | 2.66% | 11.83% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | -16.20% | -21.44% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | -3.94% | 8.66% |
| FOURTH QUARTER 2011 VERSUS THIRD QUARTER 2011 | ||
| COMICS | 7.82% | 8.39% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | -0.85% | -5.57% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | 5.10% | 7.34% |
| FOURTH QUARTER 2011 VERSUS FOURTH QUARTER 2010 | ||
| COMICS | 16.69% | 25.08% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | -5.75% | -18.08% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | 9.01% | 20.89% |
TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | PRICE | ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
| 1 | JUSTICE LEAGUE #4 | $3.99 | OCT110159 | DC |
| 2 | BATMAN #4 | $2.99 | OCT110184 | DC |
| 3 | ACTION COMICS #4 | $3.99 | OCT110178 | DC |
| 4 | GREEN LANTERN #4 | $2.99 | OCT110202 | DC |
| 5 | AVENGERS: X-SANCTION #1 | $3.99 | OCT110606 | MAR |
| 6 | DETECTIVE COMICS #4 [*] | $2.99 | OCT110188 | DC |
| 7 | DEFENDERS #1 | $3.99 | OCT110587 | MAR |
| 8 | THE FLASH #4 | $2.99 | OCT110166 | DC |
| 9 | BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #4 [*] | $2.99 | OCT110189 | DC |
| 10 | SUPERMAN #4 [*] | $2.99 | OCT110181 | DC |
TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | PRICE | ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
| 1 | THE WALKING DEAD VOLUME 15 TP (MR) | $14.99 | OCT110502 | IMA |
| 2 | FABLES VOLUME 16: SUPER TEAM TP (MR) | $14.99 | SEP110221 | DC |
| 3 | THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 1: DAYS GONE BYE TP | $9.99 | JUL068351 | IMA |
| 4 | THE LASTBATTLEONE-SHOT | $7.99 | OCT110442 | IMA |
| 5 | CRIMINAL VOLUME 6: LAST OF INNOCENT TP (MR) | $14.99 | OCT110698 | MAR |
| 6 | NARUTO VOLUME 53 TP | $9.99 | SEP111276 | VIZ |
| 7 | BRIGHTEST DAY VOLUME 1 TP | $19.99 | SEP110177 | DC |
| 8 | THE WALKING DEAD VOLUME 2: MILES BEHIND US | $14.99 | SEP088204 | IMA |
| 9 | X-MEN: SCHISM HC | $24.99 | OCT110711 | MAR |
| 10 | ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN VOLUME 3: DEATH OF SPIDER-MAN PRELUDE TP | $19.99 | OCT110733 | MAR |
TOP 10 TOYS
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
| 1 | BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY SERIES 1 ACTION FIGURE | OCT110307 | DC |
| 2 | WORLD OF WARCRAFT SERIES 8 ACTION FIGURE | OCT100358 | DC |
| 3 | GREEN LANTERN SERIES 5 ACTION FIGURE | MAY110310 | DC |
| 4 | STARCRAFT PREMIUM SERIES 1 ACTION FIGURE | FEB110285 | DC |
| 5 | COVER GIRLS OF THE DCU: STARFIRE STATUE | APR110267 | DC |
| 6 | DC UNIVERSE ONLINE: HARLEY QUINN STATUE | APR110282 | DC |
| 7 | BLACKEST NIGHT POWER RING SPECTRUM SET | MAY110309 | DC |
| 8 | DC UNIVERSE ONLINE: THE JOKER STATUE | APR110283 | DC |
| 9 | DC X BISHOUJO: BATGIRL "BLACK COSTUME" STATUE | JUL111905 | KOT |
| 10 | SABRETOOTH STREETCLOTHES PREVIEWS EXCL. STATUE | DEC108208 | BOW |
TOP 10 GAMES
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
| 1 | MARVEL HEROCLIX: INCREDIBLE HULK BOOSTER BRICK | OCT112063 | NEC |
| 2 | RISK LEGACY | JUN118204 | KEN |
| 3 | THE WALKING DEAD TV BOARD GAME | JUL112137 | CRY |
| 4 | MARVEL HEROCLIX: INCREDIBLE HULK FAST FORCES 6-PACK | OCT112064 | NEC |
| 5 | THE LORD OF THE RINGS HEROCLIX BOOSTER | AUG118096 | NEC |
| 6 | THE LORD OF THE RINGS HEROCLIX STARTER | AUG118095 | NEC |
| 7 | ANGRY BIRDS: KNOCK ON WOOD GAME | SEP111897 | MAT |
| 8 | STAR TREK: KLINGON COLLECTORS EDITION MONOPOLY | NOV111877 | USA |
| 9 | MOUSE GUARD ROLEPLAYING GAME | OCT100772 | ARA |
| 10 | TICKET TO RIDE | MAR043750 | ALL |
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| Dollar Market Share – December 2011 |
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| Unit Market Share– December 2011 |
How does Diamond calculate the charts? It all starts at the comic book shop.
Data for Diamond’s sales charts — which include the monthly market shares and all top product charts — are compiled by Diamond Comic Distributors from a universe of over 3,500 comic book specialty shops located in North America and around the world. The account base includes brick-and-mortar comic book specialty shops, Internet merchants, and other specialty stores.
Unit and dollars sales are calculated based upon orders invoiced and shipped to Diamond accounts during any given month, which comprises initial pre-orders, advance reorders, and reorders, minus any copies that are received back from a title marked as returnable.
Please note that comics marked with an asterisk have had their reported quantities reduced due to retailer returnability, and thus may rank lower on the charts than their actual sales would reflect.
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