These are estimates of the sales by Diamond U.S. to comic specialty stores during May 2005.
 
For an overview and analysis of comic sales in May, see 'Green Lantern #1 Tops 168K.'
 
For an analysis of the dollar trends in May, see 'Graphic Novels Keep Dollars Up Again.'
 
For our estimates of actual orders to Diamond U.S. from comic specialty stores on comic books scheduled to ship during May, see 'Top 300 Comics Actual--May 2005.'
 

QtyRank

Index

Title

Price

Pub

 

Est.Qty

1

9.87

WALKING DEAD VOL 3 SAFETY BEHIND BARS TP (MR)

$12.95

IMA

 

6,577

2

8.64

SOULFIRE COLLECTED ED #1

$6.99

ASP

 

5,758

3

8.2

SAMURAI EXECUTIONER VOL 4 TP (MR)

$9.95

DAR

 

5,464

4

7.93

DARK HORSE BOOK O/T DEAD HC

$14.95

DAR

 

5,285

5

7.36

FRUITS BASKET VOL 9 GN (Of 14)

$9.99

TKP

 

4,905

6

7.24

POWERS VOL 8 LEGENDS TP (MR)

$17.95

MAR

 

4,825

7

7.2

ESSENTIAL DEFENDERS VOL 1 TP

$16.99

MAR

 

4,798

8

6.85

TEEN TITANS BEAST BOYS & GIRLS TP

$9.99

DC

 

4,565

9

6.56

FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST VOL 1 TP

$9.99

VIZ

 

4,372

10

6.41

BERSERK VOL 7 TP (MR)

$13.95

DAR

 

4,272

11

6.09

SUPERMAN WRATH O/GOG TP

$14.99

DC

 

4,058

12

6.04

WANTED HC (MR)

$29.99

IMA

 

4,025

13

6

TRIGUN MAXIMUM VOL 5 BREAK OUT TP

$9.95

DAR

 

3,998

14

5.91

ESSENTIAL THOR VOL 2 TP

$16.99

MAR

 

3,938

15

5.88

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN VOL 9 SKIN DEEP TP

$9.99

MAR

 

3,918

16

5.63

MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN VOL 3 LAST STAND TP

$9.99

MAR

 

3,752

17

5.3

PUNISHER MAX VOL 3 MOTHER RUSSIA TP

$14.99

MAR

 

3,532

18

5.22

HELLBLAZER RED SEPULCHRE TP (MR)

$12.99

DC

 

3,479

19

5.19

COMPLETE PEANUTS VOL 3 1955-1956 HC

$28.95

FAN

 

3,459

20

4.89

STREET FIGHTER VOL 2 TP

$13.99

DDP

 

3,259

21

4.72

BATMAN BROKEN CITY TP

$14.99

DC

 

3,145

22

4.72

GOTHAM CENTRAL HALF A LIFE TP

$14.99

DC

 

3,145

23

4.7

X-MEN EVE O/DESTRUCTION TP

$14.99

MAR

 

3,132

24

4.67

FRANK MILLER SIN CITY VOL 1 HARD GOODBYE TP 2ND ED (MR)

$17.00

DAR

 

3,112

25

4.62

OLYMPUS TP (MR)

$14.99

DC

 

3,079

26

4.57

FRANK MILLER SIN CITY VOL 5 FAMILY VALUES TP 2ND ED (MR)

$12.00

DAR

 

3,045

27

4.34

RANMA 1/2 VOL 30 TP

$9.95

VIZ

 

2,892

28

4.3

DNANGEL VOL 8 GN (Of 8)

$9.99

TKP

 

2,866

29

4.15

SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN VOL 5 SINS REMEMBERED TP

$9.99

MAR

 

2,766

30

4.1

GIANT SIZE MARVEL TP

$24.99

MAR

 

2,732

31

4.03

TSUBASA VOL 5 GN

$10.95

RAN

 

2,686

32

4.01

STAR WARS EP III REVENGE O/T SITH TP

$12.95

DAR

 

2,672

33

3.96

FANTASTIC FOUR VOL 6 RISING STORM TP

$13.99

MAR

 

2,639

34

3.94

AVENGERS KANG TIME & TIME AGAIN TP

$19.99

MAR

 

2,626

35

3.83

ULTRA VOL 1 SEVEN DAYS TP

$17.95

IMA

 

2,552

36

3.82

EISNER MILLER TP (RES)

$19.95

DAR

 

2,546

37

3.81

AI YORI AOSHI VOL 9 GN (Of 13) (MR)

$9.99

TKP

 

2,539

38

3.79

D3 GI JOE ARASHIKAGE SHOWDOWN GN

$10.95

DDP

 

2,526

39

3.72

MARVEL TEAM-UP VOL 1 GOLDEN CHILD TP

$14.99

MAR

 

2,479

40

3.69

NIGHTWING O/T RAZORS EDGE TP

$14.99

DC

 

2,459

41

3.66

WRATH O/T SPECTRE TP

$19.99

DC

 

2,439

42

3.66

STAR WARS EMPIRE VOL 4 HEART O/T REBELLION TP

$17.95

DAR

 

2,439

43

3.65

LOSERS TRIFECTA TP (MR)

$14.99

DC

 

2,432

44

3.49

MICKEY MOUSE ADVS VOL 3 TP

$7.95

GEM

 

2,326

45

3.44

NEW THUNDERBOLTS VOL 1 ONE STEP FORWARD TP

$14.99

MAR

 

2,292

46

3.33

JSA GOLDEN AGE TP NEW ED

$19.99

DC

 

2,219

47

3.27

FRANK MILLER SIN CITY VOL 3 BIG FAT KILL TP 2ND ED (MR)

$17.00

DAR

 

2,179

48

3.23

EXCALIBUR VOL 2 SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER TP

$14.99

MAR

 

2,152

49

3.21

ESSENTIAL FANTASTIC FOUR VOL 1 TP NEW PTG

$16.99

MAR

 

2,139

50

3.14

LITTLE LULU VOL 3 MY DINNER WITH LULU TP

$9.95

DAR

 

2,092

51

3.12

WALKING DEAD VOL 1 DAYS GONE BYE TP (MR)

$9.95

IMA

 

2,079

52

3.08

KING O/WOLVES TP (MR)

$12.95

DAR

 

2,053

53

2.98

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED VOL 1 UNITED THEY STAND TP

$6.99

DC

 

1,986

54

2.98

NIGHTCRAWLER DEVIL INSIDE TP

$14.99

MAR

 

1,986

55

2.95

HAWKMAN VOL 3 WINGS O/FURY TP

$17.99

DC

 

1,966

56

2.92

SUPERMAN ACTION COMICS ARCHIVES VOL 4 HC

$49.99

DC

 

1,946

57

2.88

OJO TP (MR)

$14.95

ONI

 

1,919

58

2.83

BATMAN STRIKES VOL 1 CRIME TIME TP

$6.99

DC

 

1,886

59

2.74

LEGAL DRUG VOL 3 GN (Of 4)

$9.99

TKP

 

1,826

60

2.74

ULTIMATE ADVS ONE TIN SOLDIER TP (RES)

$12.99

MAR

 

1,826

61

2.73

SAIYUKI VOL 8 GN (Of 9) (MR)

$9.99

TKP

 

1,819

62

2.66

KOLCHAK THE NIGHT STALKER EVE O/TERROR GN

$5.95

MNS

 

1,773

63

2.55

TOKYO MEW MEW VOL 1 A LA MODE GN (Of 2)

$9.99

TKP

 

1,699

64

2.52

COMPLETE JON SABLE FREELANCE VOL 1 TP

$24.99

IDW

 

1,679

65

2.48

MARVEL AGE RUNAWAYS VOL 2 TEENAGE WASTELAND DIGEST TP

$7.99

MAR

 

1,653

66

2.47

GET BACKERS VOL 9 GN (Of 26)

$9.99

TKP

 

1,646

67

2.44

BEST O/T FANTASTIC FOUR VOL 1 HC

$29.99

MAR

 

1,626

68

2.44

DAMPYR #2 NIGHT TRIBE

$7.99

IDW

 

1,626

69

2.41

FRANK MILLER SIN CITY VOL 4 THAT YELLOW BASTARD TP 2ND ED (MR)

$19.00

DAR

 

1,606

70

2.4

SAMURAI DEEPER KYO VOL 13 GN (Of 27) (MR)

$9.99

TKP

 

1,599

71

2.39

EMMA FROST VOL 3 BLOOM DIGEST TP

$7.99

MAR

 

1,593

72

2.38

INITIAL D VOL 18 GN (Of 29)

$9.99

TKP

 

1,586

73

2.29

TENJHO TENGE VOL 2

$9.99

DC

 

1,526

74

2.17

GI JOE VS TRANSFORMERS VOL 2 TP

$14.95

DDP

 

1,446

75

2.16

HOUDINI MAN FROM BEYOND GN

$16.95

IMA

 

1,439

76

2.11

DON BLUTH VOL 1 ART O/ANIMATION DRAWING TP

$14.95

DAR

 

1,406

77

2.07

HELL HOUSE VOL 3 TP

$6.49

IDW

 

1,379

78

2.06

PSYCHIC ACADEMY VOL 8 GN (Of 11) (RES)

$9.99

TKP

 

1,373

79

1.98

MAHOROMATIC AUTOMATIC MAIDEN VOL 6 GN (Of 8)

$9.99

TKP

 

1,319

80

1.97

PREACHER VOL 1 GONE TO TEXAS TP NEW ED (MR)

$14.99

DC

 

1,313

81

1.96

MARVEL MASTERWORKS INVINCIBLE IRON MAN VOL 2 HC NEW ED

$49.99

MAR

 

1,306

82

1.93

FRANK MILLER SIN CITY VOL 2 DAME TO KILL FOR TP 2ND ED (MR)

$17.00

DAR

 

1,286

83

1.92

RUNAWAYS VOL 1 PRIDE & JOY DIGEST TP

$7.99

MAR

 

1,279

84

1.92

CERES CELESTIAL LEGEND VOL 11 TP

$9.95

VIZ

 

1,279

85

1.92

MARVEL MASTERWORKS INVINCIBLE IRON MAN VOL 2 HC VAR ED

$54.99

MAR

 

1,279

86

1.89

ALICHINO VOL 2 GN (Of 3)

$9.99

TKP

 

1,259

87

1.89

HUMAN TORCH VOL 1 BURN DIGEST

$7.99

MAR

 

1,259

88

1.89

LAST TRAIN TO DEADSVILLE CAL MCDONALD MYSTERY TP (MR)

$14.95

DAR

 

1,259

89

1.88

BONE ONE VOL ED SC

$39.95

CAR

 

1,253

90

1.87

SERENITY ROSE VOL 1 WORKING THROUGH NEGATIVITY TP

$12.95

SLG

 

1,246

91

1.85

EXCEL SAGA VOL 12 TP

$9.99

VIZ

 

1,233

92

1.82

FRANK MILLER SIN CITY VOL 6 BOOZE BROADS BULLETS TP 2ND ED (MR)

$15.00

DAR

 

1,213

93

1.82

ARCANA VOL 1 GN (Of 3)

$9.99

TKP

 

1,213

94

1.82

DESCENDANTS O/DARKNESS VOL 5 GN

$9.99

VIZ

 

1,213

95

1.81

REX MUNDI VOL 2 RIVER UNDERGROUND TP

$14.95

IMA

 

1,206

96

1.77

CAPTAIN BRITAIN TP NEW PTG

$19.99

MAR

 

1,180

97

1.77

CRESCENT MOON VOL 6 GN (Of 6)

$9.99

TKP

 

1,180

98

1.76

FRANK MILLER SIN CITY VOL 7 HELL & BACK TP 2ND ED (MR)

$28.00

DAR

 

1,173

99

1.75

X/1999 VOL 18 INVERSION TP

$9.95

VIZ

 

1,166

100

1.75

METABARONS VOL 3 STEELHEAD & DONA VICENTA TP (MR)

$14.99

DC

 

1,166

 
Notes on this chart:
Some titles have been truncated or abbreviated for space reasons.  Publisher abbreviations have also been used:
MAR = Marvel Comics
DC = DC Comics
DAR = Dark Horse Comics
IMA = Image Comics
DRE = Dreamwave Productions
DEV = Devil's Due Publishing
ABS = Abstract Studio
AVA = Avatar Press
ADV = A.D. Vision
BON = Bongo Comics
CAR = Cartoon Books
GEM = Gemstone Publishing
FAN = Fantagraphics Books
IDW = IDW Publishing
ONI = Oni Press Inc.
TIT = Titan Publishing
TKP = Tokyopop
VIZ = Viz LLC
 
We are estimating actual sales by Diamond U.S. (primarily to North American comic stores), using Diamond's published sales indexes and publisher sales data to estimate a sales number for Batman (the anchor title Diamond uses in its calculations), and using that number and the indexes to estimate Diamond's sales on the remaining titles.  We can check the accuracy of our numbers by comparing the Batman number that we calculate using multiple data points; our numbers for Batman are within 1/10 of 1% of each other, ensuring a high degree of accuracy.  They do not include sales made by Diamond UK, orders on these titles placed after the end of May, or copies purchased by Diamond but held in inventory at the end of May.
 
Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Image, Devil's Due, and Dreamwave distribute 100% of their comic store orders through Diamond.  Some other publishers distribute directly to stores or through other distributors and as a result this analysis may underestimate their sales.
 
Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Image, and Archie distribute some of their titles through channels other than comic specialty stores, e.g., newsstands and bookstores.  These quantity estimates do not reflect distribution through those channels.
 
Most of the titles on this chart are also distributed to Europe by Diamond UK, which can account for significant sales for the publisher, ranging from 3-20% of the US numbers.  Sales by Diamond UK are not included in the numbers above.
 
One other factor to consider is that sales through Diamond and other comic distributors are non-returnable to retailers.  That means that there is a considerable unknown percentage of books unsold at the retailer level, probably amounting to 5-20% of sales.
 
For the top 100 graphic novels actual orders in April, see 'Top 100 Graphic Novels Actual--April 2005.'
 
For the top 300 comic actual orders in April, see 'Top 300 Comics Actual--April 2005.'
 
For an overview and analsysis of the actual April orders and an explanation of the transition to our new reporting, see 'DC Closes the Gap in April' and 'ICv2 Kicks Off New Top 300 Reporting.'  For an analysis of the dollar trends in April, see 'Graphic Novels Drive April Sales.'
 
For links to all previous Top 300 Comic and Top 100 Graphic Novel articles (going back over three years, including preorder analysis through March 2003 and actual order analysis beginning March 2003) see: 'ICv2's Top 300 Comics and Top 100 GNs Index.'