Diamond Announces Top Products For March 2013
(BALTIMORE, MD) — (April 5, 2013) —Iron Man joins forces with Star Lord and the Guardians of the Galaxy as they embark on an interstellar quest in Brian Michael Bendis and Steve McNiven's Guardians of the Galaxy #1 from Marvel Comics, the best-selling comic book to specialty retailers in March 2013, according to information provided by Diamond Comic Distributors, the world's largest distributor of comics, graphic novels, and pop culture merchandise.
Marvel Comics was March's leading publisher with a 39.96% market share in retail dollars and a 43.78% market share in units. DC Entertainment was second with a 27.09% share in dollars and a 29.88% share in units. Comics sales were up in March over February by 3.05%, and graphic novels sales climbed by 7.77%
Batman's confrontation with the Court of Owls for the soul of Gotham City reaches its climax in Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Batman Volume 2: The City of Owls from DC Comics, the best-selling graphic novel for March.
For the third month in a row, Dark Horse Comics' The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia was the best-selling book to comic retailers.
More fan-favorite characters from AMC's top-rated The Walking Dead were brought to life in McFarlane Toys' The Walking Dead Series 3 Action Figures, March's best-selling toy product to comic book specialty retailers.
Hasbro's Risk Legacy, a new version of the venerable game that features multi-game gameplay mechanics, returned to the top of the sales charts for the first time since October as March's top-selling games product to comic book specialty retailers.
TOP COMIC BOOK PUBLISHERS
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COMPARATIVE SALES STATISTICS
| DOLLARS | UNITS | |
| MARCH 2012 VS. FEBRUARY 2012 | ||
| COMICS | 3.05% | 2.78% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | 7.77% | 17.00% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | 4.36% | 3.71% |
| MARCH 2013 VS. MARCH 2012 | ||
| COMICS | 26.28% | 21.43% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | 14.33% | 7.78% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | 22.59% | 20.31% |
| YEAR-TO-DATE 2013 VS. YEAR-TO-DATE 2012 (FIRST QUARTER 2013 VS. FIRST QUARTER 2012) |
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| COMICS | 21.38% | 18.62% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | 16.22% | 12.38% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | 19.78% | 18.15% |
| FIRST QUARTER 2013 VS. FOURTH QUARTER 2012 | ||
| COMICS | -4.13% | -3.62% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | -6.00% | -2.09% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | -4.70% | -3.51% |
TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | PRICE | ITEM CODE | VENDOR |
| 1 | GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #1 | $3.99 | JAN130642 | MAR |
| 2 | AGE OF ULTRON #1 | $3.99 | JAN130627 | MAR |
| 3 | BATMAN #18 | $3.99 | JAN130234 | DC |
| 4 | WOLVERINE #1 | $3.99 | JAN130653 | MAR |
| 5 | AGE OF ULTRON #2 | $3.99 | JAN130634 | MAR |
| 6 | JUSTICE LEAGUE #18 | $3.99 | JAN130205 | DC |
| 7 | AGE OF ULTRON #3 | $3.99 | JAN130637 | MAR |
| 8 | SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #5 | $3.99 | JAN130712 | MAR |
| 9 | JUSTICE LEAGUE OFAMERICA #2 | $3.99 | JAN130195 | DC |
| 10 | ALL NEW X-MEN #8 | $3.99 | JAN130674 | MAR |
TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | PRICE | ITEM CODE | VENDOR |
| 1 | BATMAN HC VOL 02 THE CITY OF OWLS (N52) | $24.99 | NOV120259 | DC |
| 2 | BATMAN TP VOL 01 THE COURT OF OWLS (N52) | $16.99 | DEC120323 | DC |
| 3 | HAWKEYE TP VOL 01 MY LIFE AS WEAPON NOW | $16.99 | DEC120744 | MAR |
| 4 | AVATAR LAST AIRBENDER TP VOL 04 SEARCH PART 1 | $10.99 | NOV120020 | DAR |
| 5 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 01 DAYS GONE BYE | $14.99 | NOV128157-M | IMA |
| 6 | AVENGERS VS X-MEN TP | $34.99 | JAN130771 | MAR |
| 7 | KICK-ASS 2 TP (MR) | $19.99 | AUG120686 | MAR |
| 8 | KICK-ASS 2 PRELUDE HIT-GIRL PREM HC (MR) | $24.99 | OCT120679 | MAR |
| 9 | SAGA TP VOL 01 | $9.99 | AUG120491 | IMA |
| 10 | EARTH 2 HC VOL 01 THE GATHERING (N52) | $22.99 | NOV120262 | DC |
TOP 10 TOYS
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | ITEM CODE | VENDOR |
| 1 | WALKING DEAD TV SERIES 3 AF ASST | JAN130620 | TMP |
| 2 | BATMANARKHAMCITYPLAY ARTS KAI ROBIN VER | AUG128201 | SQU |
| 3 | MARVEL LEGENDS 6-IN AF ASST 201301 | DEC121644 | HAS |
| 4 | BATMANARKHAMCITYPLAY ARTS KAI BATMAN DKR VER | AUG128200 | SQU |
| 5 | SAVAGE HULK STATUE | JUL121857 | BOW |
| 6 | WE CAN BE HEROES JUSTICE LEAGUE 7 PACK BOX SET | AUG120308 | DC |
| 7 | BATMAN DARK KNIGHT RETURNS CALL TO ARMS STATUE | DEC120379 | DC |
| 8 | VERTIGO COVER GIRLS DEATH STATUE | NOV120314 | DC |
| 9 | DC COMICS FLASH ARTFX+ STATUE NEW 52 VER | SEP121780 | KOT |
| 10 | SUPERMAN THE MAN OF STEEL STATUE BY LEEBERMEJO | JAN130346 | DC |
TOP 10 GAMES
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | ITEM CODE | VENDOR |
| 1 | RISK LEGACY | JUN118204 | HAS |
| 2 | BATMAN GOTHAM CITY STRATEGY GAME | OCT122010 | NEC |
| 3 | MTG TCG GATECRASH BOOSTER DIS | DEC121918 | WIZ |
| 4 | STAR WARS X-WING MINIS GAME CORE SET | JUN122181 | FAN |
| 5 | MTG CCG DUEL DECKS SORIN VS TIBALT DISPLAY | JAN138121 | WIZ |
| 6 | WALKING DEAD COMIC BOARD GAME | JUL112185 | Z-M |
| 7 | YU GI OH TCG ZEXAL TIN COLLECTION CASE | NOV128237 | KON |
| 8 | LORD OF THE RINGS DICE BUILDING GAME | NOV122065 | NEC |
| 9 | STAR WARS X-WING MINIS GAME MILLENNIUM FALCON EXP PACK | NOV122047 | FAN |
| 10 | STAR WARS X-WING MINIS GAME SLAVE-I EXP PACK | NOV122048 | FAN |
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| Dollar Market Share – March 2013 |
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| Unit Market Share – March 2013 |
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 inNorth Americaand 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.
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