For the month of January, Marvel launched a huge overshipping initiative, which gave away free comics to retailers in an effort to try and get new readers to try out some of their books. The problem with that is that those free comics artificially inflate sales numbers in the monthly Diamond sales charts, which then paints an inaccurate picture of exactly how much books comic shops ordered. What resulted from Marvel's overshipping program was an 11% lead over DC in unit share (the amount of comics ordered). For the month of February, without those overships, Marvel's lead over DC is much smaller.
Marvel was the top publisher for the month of February, with a 37.46% dollar share and a 33.64% unit share. Meanwhile DC, creeping ever more closer, had a 30.23% dollar share and a 33.47% unit share. Without those free comics to inflate sales numbers, Marvel's lead in the unit share went from 11% in January to just a .2% lead in February.
Marvel only had two spots in the top ten most sold comics for the month, with
Star Wars: Darth Maul #1 taking the #1 spot and
Star Wars #28 taking the 8th spot. DC took 7 of the 10 spots while, Image's
The Walking Dead #164 took the remaining position at #6.
Read on for a more detailed analysis:
TOP COMIC BOOK PUBLISHERS
|
RETAIL MARKET SHARE |
|
PUBLISHER |
SHARE |
|
MARVEL COMICS |
37.46% |
|
DC ENTERTAINMENT |
30.23% |
|
IMAGE COMICS |
9.58% |
|
IDW PUBLISHING |
5.83% |
|
DARK HORSE COMICS |
2.57% |
|
BOOM! STUDIOS |
2.08% |
|
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT |
1.52% |
|
TITAN COMICS |
1.16% |
|
VIZ MEDIA |
1.10% |
|
ONI PRESS INC. |
0.86% |
|
OTHER NON-TOP 10 |
7.62% |
|
|
|
UNIT MARKET SHARE |
|
PUBLISHER |
SHARE |
|
MARVEL COMICS |
33.64% |
|
DC ENTERTAINMENT |
33.47% |
|
IMAGE COMICS |
18.13% |
|
IDW PUBLISHING |
3.27% |
|
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT |
2.06% |
|
BOOM! STUDIOS |
1.84% |
|
DARK HORSE COMICS |
1.45% |
|
TITAN COMICS |
0.92% |
|
VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT LLC |
0.61% |
|
ONI PRESS INC. |
0.60% |
|
OTHER NON-TOP 10 |
4.01% |
|
COMPARATIVE SALES STATISTICS
|
|
DOLLARS |
UNITS |
|
FEBRUARY 2017 VS. JANUARY 2017 |
|
COMICS |
-4.67% |
3.65% |
|
GRAPHIC NOVELS |
9.05% |
3.04% |
|
TOTAL COMICS/GN |
-0.82% |
3.61% |
|
TOYS |
23.91% |
3.09% |
|
FEBRUARY 2017 VS. FEBRUARY 2016 |
|
COMICS |
-4.47% |
17.29% |
|
GRAPHIC NOVELS |
-3.30% |
-12.98% |
|
TOTAL COMICS/GN |
-4.11% |
14.70% |
|
TOYS |
25.46% |
0.38% |
|
YEAR-TO-DATE 2017 VS. YEAR-TO-DATE 2016 |
|
COMICS |
-2.06% |
12.11% |
|
GRAPHIC NOVELS |
-7.60% |
-10.88% |
|
TOTAL COMICS/GN |
-3.76% |
10.26% |
|
TOYS |
3.18% |
-0.94% |
NEW TITLES SHIPPED
|
PUBLISHER |
COMICS SHIPPED |
GRAPHIC NOVELS SHIPPED |
MAGAZINES SHIPPED |
TOTAL SHIPPED |
|
MARVEL COMICS |
104 |
36 |
0 |
140 |
|
DC ENTERTAINMENT |
82 |
33 |
1 |
116 |
|
IMAGE COMICS |
46 |
14 |
1 |
61 |
|
IDW PUBLISHING |
36 |
22 |
0 |
58 |
|
TITAN COMICS |
24 |
6 |
0 |
30 |
|
BOOM ENTERTAINMENT |
24 |
3 |
0 |
27 |
|
DARK HORSE COMICS |
13 |
13 |
0 |
26 |
|
VIZ MEDIA |
0 |
23 |
0 |
23 |
|
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT |
16 |
4 |
0 |
20 |
|
ONI PRESS INC. |
10 |
5 |
0 |
15 |
|
OTHER NON-TOP 10 |
94 |
138 |
20 |
252 |
TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS
|
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
|
1 |
STAR WARS DARTH MAUL #1 |
$4.99 |
DEC161069-M |
MAR |
|
2 |
BATMAN #16 |
$2.99 |
DEC160259-M |
DC |
|
3 |
BATMAN #17 |
$2.99 |
DEC160261-M |
DC |
|
4 |
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #1 [*] |
$2.99 |
DEC160235-M |
DC |
|
5 |
SUPER SONS #1 [*] |
$2.99 |
DEC160240-M |
DC |
|
6 |
WALKING DEAD #164 (MR) |
$2.99 |
DEC160746-M |
IMA |
|
7 |
ALL STAR BATMAN #7 |
$4.99 |
DEC160246-M |
DC |
|
8 |
STAR WARS #28 |
$3.99 |
DEC161066-M |
MAR |
|
9 |
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA REBIRTH #1 [*] |
$2.99 |
DEC160233-M |
DC |
|
10 |
JUSTICE LEAGUE #14 |
$2.99 |
DEC160297-M |
DC |
TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS
|
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
|
1 |
SEVEN TO ETERNITY TP VOL 01 |
$9.99 |
DEC160767-M |
IMA |
|
2 |
LOVE IS LOVE GN |
$9.99 |
OCT160480 |
IDW |
|
3 |
BATMAN DETECTIVE TP VOL 01 RISE OT BATMEN (REBIRTH) |
$16.99 |
NOV160317 |
DC |
|
4 |
SNOTGIRL TP VOL 01 GREEN HAIR DONT CARE |
$9.99 |
DEC160774 |
IMA |
|
5 |
WONDER WOMAN TP VOL 01 THE LIES (REBIRTH) |
$16.99 |
NOV160320 |
DC |
|
6 |
MARCH GN BOOK 03 |
$19.99 |
JUN160408 |
IDW |
|
7 |
SUPERMAN ACTION COMICS TP VOL 01 PATH OF DOOM (REBIRTH) |
$16.99 |
NOV160319 |
DC |
|
8 |
HAL JORDAN & THE GLC TP VOL 01 SINESTROS LAW (REBIRTH) |
$17.99 |
NOV160318 |
DC |
|
9 |
OUTCAST BY KIRKMAN & AZACETA TP VOL 04 (MR) |
$14.99 |
DEC160821 |
IMA |
|
10 |
CIVIL WAR II HC |
$50.00 |
OCT160999 |
MAR |
TOP 10 BOOKS
|
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
|
1 |
LEGEND OF ZELDA ART & ARTIFACTS HC |
$39.99 |
JUL168360 |
DAR |
|
2 |
NEIL GAIMAN NORSE MYTHOLOGY HC |
$25.95 |
DEC162208 |
WW |
|
3 |
SHADOW DOUBLE NOVEL VOL 114 DEATH BY PROXY & LOOT OF DEATH |
$14.95 |
NOV162123 |
SAN |
|
4 |
LEGO BATMAN MOVIE ACTIVITY BOOK WITH MINIFIGURE |
$8.99 |
NOV162102 |
SCH |
|
5 |
DRAGON AGE ADULT COLORING BOOK SC |
$14.99 |
OCT160028 |
DAR |
|
6 |
UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL SQUIRREL MEETS WORLD HC |
$13.99 |
DEC162185 |
HAC |
|
7 |
LEGEND OF ZELDA ART & ARTIFACTS HC LTD ED |
$79.99 |
OCT168812 |
DAR |
|
8 |
VINTAGE ROMANCE COMIC BOOK COVERS COLORING BOOK TP |
$9.99 |
DEC160595 |
IDW |
|
9 |
DOCTOR WHO GOOD BAD & ALIEN SC |
$9.99 |
NOV158049 |
PEN |
|
10 |
VAMPIRE HUNTER D NOVEL SC VOL 25 (MR) |
$11.99 |
OCT160081 |
DAR |
TOP 10 TOYS
|
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
|
1 |
DBZ MS PIECE MANGA DIMENSIONS SON GOHAN FIG |
MAY168161 |
BAN |
|
2 |
BATMAN V SUPERMAN DOJ WONDER WOMAN STATUE |
NOV150319 |
DC |
|
3 |
BATMAN ANIMATED BATMAN BEYOND AF 3 PACK |
JUL160450 |
DC |
|
4 |
DC BOMBSHELLS KATANA STATUE |
JUL160448 |
DC |
|
5 |
MARVEL GALLERY DR STRANGE PVC FIG |
JUL162621 |
DST |
|
6 |
SUICIDE SQUAD MOVIE JOKER & HARLEY QUINN STATUE |
AUG160374 |
DC |
|
7 |
MARVEL FEMALE THOR BISHOUJO STATUE |
AUG162818 |
KOT |
|
8 |
BATMAN ANIMATED NBA GIRLS NIGHT OUT AF 5 PACK (RES) |
NOV160375 |
DC |
|
9 |
BATMAN ANIMATED SERIES PREM COLL NURSE HARLEY STAT |
AUG162553 |
DST |
|
10 |
WALKING DEAD TV DARYL DIXON LTD ED STATUE |
MAY160736 |
TMP |
TOP 10 GAMES
|
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
|
1 |
POKEMON KANTO MONOPOLY |
DEC163203 |
USA |
|
2 |
HARRY POTTER DECK BUILDING GAME |
DEC163201 |
USA |
|
3 |
MTG TCG OATH OF THE GATEWATCH BOOSTER DIS |
NOV158284 |
WIZ |
|
4 |
MTG TCG CONSPIRACY TAKE THE CROWN BOOSTER DIS |
JUL168216 |
WIZ |
|
5 |
YU GI OH TCG RAGING TEMPEST BOOSTER DIS |
SEP168277 |
KON |
|
6 |
TMNT DICE MASTERS HEROES IN A HALF SHELL BOX SET |
SEP163197 |
NEC |
|
7 |
D&D MINIATURES SET FIVE 8CT BOOSTER BRICK |
JUN169191 |
NEC |
|
8 |
CLUE STAR WARS CLUE GAME CS |
OCT168250 |
HAS |
|
9 |
MARVEL HEROCLIX SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN BOOSTER BRICK |
MAY163107 |
NEC |
|
10 |
MTG TCG 2016 COMMANDER CASE |
AUG168994 |
WIZ |