After rebounding strongly in April, comic sales plummeted in May.  Not only were there no comics that sold over 100,000 copies, there was only one book, New Avengers #53 that sold over 90K.  The New Avengers was one of two Dark Reign titles in the top 10 in May (Amazing Spider-Man #595 was #9, while two other Dark Reign books landed in the top 25, Invincible Iron Man #13 at #22 and Deadpool #10 at #23).  While Marvel’s Dark Reign is clearly the major current comic book “event,” and it definitely help Amazing Spider-Man #595 raise its numbers, Dark Reign’s impact can’t compare with last year’s Secret Invasion, which placed four books in the top 10 in May of 2008.

 

Another event-based title, DC’s Battle for the Cowl #3, which was the #2 book for the month, was one of only five titles to gain circulation in May.  DC’s Green Lantern #41 and Green Lantern Corps #36, both of which are part of the “Blackest Night” storyline, also posted gains signaling the rising popularity of that property.  Overall 18 titles in the top 25 were down, while five were up.  There were two debut issues that produced only limited impact.  Marvel’s New Mutants #1 came in at #20, while DC’s Power Girl #1 ended up at #25. 

 

Wolverine #72, which shipped late, sold better than Wolverine #73, which actually shipped earlier in the month.  Issue #72 is a continuation of Mark Millar’s “Old Man Logan” storyline, while #73 is a more conventional Wolvie story designed to take advantage of the character’s increased visibility due to the release of the X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie in early May.

 

Marvel dominated the top of the chart with 7 out of the top ten and 17 out of the top 25, while DC had 3 in the top ten and 7 in the top 25.  Once again Dark Horse’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #25 (at #14) was the only non Marvel or DC title in the top 25.

 

On the graphic novel side Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen went mysteriously from 1st place to no place with only the International Edition making a token appearance on the list at #277.  Unless this is the result of some kind of mistake, it appears that the Watchmen boom is finally over in the direct market (it is still apparently doing well in bookstores), at least until the DVD hits in July.  However Alan Moore still dominates the list, only this time with the new League of Extraordinary Gentlemen graphic novel from Top Shelf, which debuted in spectacular style selling more than four times as many copies as the #2 book, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 Vol. 4 from Dark Horse. 

 

As usual the top of the graphic novel chart is a good deal more open than the corresponding section of the periodical list.  Image had the #4 graphic novel with Robert Kirkman’s Invincible, while IDW’s Star Trek: Countdown, which undoubtedly benefited from the success of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek movie was at #6.  Dark Horse’s Berserk Vol. 29, which came in at #10, was the bestselling manga title in the direct market in May.  Overall DC had nine books in the top 25 on the graphic novel list, followed by Dark Horse with 7, Marvel with 5, Image with 2, and Top Shelf and IDW with one each.

94,367            New Avengers #53 DKR
89,170            Batman Battle For The Cowl #3 (of 3)   
87,075            Wolverine #72
86,183            Flash: Rebirth #2 (of 6)
83,324            Wolverine #73
81,491            Green Lantern #41
75,139            Uncanny X-Men #510
73,105            Hulk #12
71,837            Amazing Spider-Man #595 DKR
66,928            Captain America #50
63,867            Justice League of America #33
61,591            Green Lantern Corps #36
59,192            Wolverine Weapon X #2
58,740            Buffy The Vampire Slayer #25 Chen CVR
58,464            Amazing Spider-Man #594
58,363            Amazing Spider-Man #593
58,340            X-Force #15 XMW
57,149            Ultimate Wolverine Vs Hulk #6 (of 6)
56,102            Justice Society of America #27
55,734            New Mutants #1
54,008            X-Men Legacy #224
51,311            Invincible Iron Man #13 DKR
51,113            Deadpool #10 DKR
50,144            Ultimate Spider-Man #132
47,322            Power Girl #1


For an analysis of the dollar trends in May, see "Comic Sales Crash in May."

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 2009."

For our estimates of actual orders to Diamond U.S. from comic specialty stores on graphic novels scheduled to ship during May, see "Top 300 Graphic Novels Actual--May 2009."

For our estimates of actual orders to Diamond U.S. from comic specialty stores on comic books scheduled to ship during April, see "Top 300 Comics Actual--April 2009."

For our estimates of actual orders to Diamond U.S. from comic specialty stores on graphic novels scheduled to ship during April, see "Top 300 Graphic Novels Actual--April 2009."

For our index to our reports on the top comic and graphic novel preorders for January 2000 through May 2009, see "ICv2's Top 300 Comics and Top 100 GNs Index."