Diamond Announces Top Products For September 2011
(BALTIMORE, MD) — (October 7, 2011) — DC Comics' Batman #1, written by Scott Snyder (American Vampire) and illustrated by Greg Capullo (Spawn), was the best-selling comic book in total units for September, according to information provided by Diamond Comic Distributors, the world's largest distributor of comics, graphic novels, and pop culture merchandise. Additionally, DC Comics' Action Comics #1 from Grant Morrison (Batman Incorporated, All-Star Superman) and Rags Morales (Identity Crisis) was the month's top-selling comic book in retail dollars.
Thanks to strong sales on DC Comics: The New 52, DC Entertainment was September's leading publisher in overall sales, taking 35.74% of the market in dollars and 43.04% of the market in units sold for the month. Marvel Comics was second in both retail dollars and units sold in September.
Overall comics sales for the month of September improved over August by 10%. Combined sales of comics and graphic novels for the third quarter increased by nearly 11% over the second quarter, and by 3.5% over the third quarter of 2010.
New publisher Legendary Comics teamed with award-winning creator Frank Miller to publish Holy Terror, the long-awaited hardcover graphic novel from Miller that pitted a city's vigilante protector against the forces of terrorism and resulted in giving the publisher September's best-selling graphic novel.
DC Comics' biweekly event Brightest Day re-established many of the heroes of the DC Universe in the wake of Blackest Night, and DC Direct's Brightest Day Series 3 Action Figures gave fans detailed figures of characters such as Hawk and Dove and gave the manufacturer the best-selling Toy product to specialty retailers in September.
The Man of Steel rockets from Krypton to join many gamers' HeroClix campaigns with September's DC HeroClix: Superman Booster Bricks from WizKids/NECA, the best-selling Game product to specialty retailers for the month.
TOP COMIC BOOK PUBLISHERS
| PUBLISHER |
RETAIL MARKET SHARE |
UNIT MARKET SHARE |
| DC COMICS | 35.74% | 43.04% |
| MARVEL COMICS | 35.37% | 37.88% |
| DARK HORSE COMICS | 4.76% | 3.51% |
| IDW PUBLISHING | 4.13% | 3.10% |
| IMAGE COMICS | 4.08% | 3.29% |
| DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT | 3.07% | 3.02% |
| BOOM! STUDIOS | 1.39% | 0.94% |
| RANDOM HOUSE | 0.99% | 0.26% |
| EAGLEMOSS PUBLICATIONS | 0.98% | 0.22% |
| LEGENDARY COMICS | 0.97% | 0.12% |
| OTHER NON-TOP 10 | 8.53% | 4.63% |
COMPARATIVE SALES STATISTICS
| DOLLARS | UNITS | |
| SEPTEMBER 2011 VS. AUGUST 2011 | ||
| COMICS | 9.95% | 13.10% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | -13.92% | -12.64% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | 1.81% | 10.99% |
| SEPTEMBER 2011 VS. SEPTEMBER 2010 | ||
| COMICS | 8.37% | 14.42% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | -18.44% | -23.50% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | -1.01% | 10.86% |
| YEAR-TO-DATE 2011 VS. YEAR-TO-DATE 2010 | ||
| COMICS | -3.02% | -1.49% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | -4.51% | -9.68% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | -3.51% | -2.20% |
| THIRD QUARTER 2011 VS. SECOND QUARTER 2011 | ||
| COMICS | 14.55% | 16.77% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | 3.75% | 0.07% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | 10.92% | 15.33% |
| THIRD QUARTER 2011 VS. THIRD QUARTER 2010 | ||
| COMICS | 6.18% | 10.34% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | -1.75% | -7.85% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | 3.55% | 8.74% |
TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
| 1 | BATMAN #1 | $2.99 | JUL110206 | DC |
| 2 | ACTION COMICS #1 | $3.99 | JUL110201 | DC |
| 3 | GREEN LANTERN #1 | $2.99 | JUL110218 | DC |
| 4 | THE FLASH #1 | $2.99 | JUL110193 | DC |
| 5 | SUPERMAN #1 [*] | $2.99 | JUL110203 | DC |
| 6 | DETECTIVE COMICS #1 [*] | $2.99 | JUL110208 | DC |
| 7 | BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #1 [*] | $2.99 | JUL110210 | DC |
| 8 | FEAR ITSELF #6 | $3.99 | JUL110570 | MAR |
| 9 | ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #1 | $3.99 | JUL110605 | MAR |
| 10 | BATMAN AND ROBIN #1 [*] | $2.99 | JUL110211 | DC |
TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
| 1 | HOLY TERROR HC (MR) | $29.99 | JUL111154 | LEG |
| 2 | NEW TEEN TITANS: GAMES HC | $24.99 | MAY110190 | DC |
| 3 | CHEW VOLUME 4: FLAMBE TP (MR) | $12.99 | MAY110447 | IMA |
| 4 | RICHARD CASTLE'S DEADLY STORM PREMIERE HC | $19.99 | JUL110726 | MAR |
| 5 | HELLBOY VOLUME 11: THE BRIDE OF HELL & OTHERS TP | $19.99 | MAY118259 | DAR |
| 6 | MORNING GLORIES VOLUME 2 TP | $12.99 | JUN110483 | IMA |
| 7 | BRIGHTEST DAY VOLUME 3 HC | $29.99 | MAY110243 | DC |
| 8 | SAILOR MOON VOLUME 1 TP | $10.99 | JUL111150 | KOD |
| 9 | NARUTO VOLUME 52 TP | $9.99 | JUN111269 | VIZ |
| 10 | UNCANNY X-FORCE VOLUME 1: THE APOCALYPSE SOLUTION TP | $15.99 | AUG110733 | MAR |
TOP 10 TOYS
| RANK | DESCRIPTION |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
| 1 | BRIGHTEST DAY SERIES 3 ACTION FIGURES | JAN110442 | DC |
| 2 | HALO 10TH-ANNIVERSARY ACTION FIGURES | JUL110565 | TMP |
| 3 | WOMEN OF THE DCU SERIES 3: SUPERGIRL BUST | FEB110279 | DC |
| 4 | UNIVERSAL MONSTERS SERIES 2 RETRO CLOTH FIGURES | DEC108176 | DST |
| 5 | GREEN LANTERN VS. SINESTRO MINI-STATUE | NOV100300 | DC |
| 6 | MARVEL SELECT: RED SKULL (CAPTAIN AMERICA) FIGURE | MAR111682 | DST |
| 7 | MARVEL UNIVERSE SUPER HERO TEAM FIGURES | JUL111821 | KEN |
| 8 | DC UNIVERSE ONLINE: SOLOMON GRUNDY STATUE | JAN110453 | DC |
| 9 | HEROES OF DCU: BLACKEST NIGHT INDIGO-1 LANTERN BUST | FEB110277 | DC |
| 10 | BACK TO THE FUTURE: TIME MACHINE MARK I CAR | MAR094739 | DST |
TOP 10 GAMES
| RANK | DESCRIPTION |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
| 1 | DC HEROCLIX: SUPERMAN BOOSTER BRICK | JUL112183 | NEC |
| 2 | DOCTOR WHO: ELEVENTH DOCTOR MONOPOLY | MAY112061 | WIN |
| 3 | DC HEROCLIX: GREEN LANTERN BOOSTER PACKS | MAY118037 | NEC |
| 4 | YU-GI-OH! TCG: GENERATION FORCE BOOSTER PACKS | JUN118255 | KON |
| 5 | GEARS OF WAR BOARD GAME | JUL112145 | FAN |
| 6 | MAGIC THE GATHERING TCG: SCARS OF MIRRODIN BOOSTER PACKS | AUG101862 | WIZ |
| 7 | MAGIC THE GATHERING TCG: 2012 BOOSTER BATTLE PACKS | JUN118130 | WIZ |
| 8 | YU-GI-OH! TCG 2011: COLLECTIBLE TINS WAVE 1 | MAY118313 | KON |
| 9 | YU-GI-OH! TCG: GENERATION FORCE SPECIAL EDITION BOOSTER PACKS | JUL112160 | KON |
| 10 | OPERATION: STAR WARS R2-D2 EDITION | JUL112158 | KEN |
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Dollar Market Share – September 2011 |
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Unit Market Share– September 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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