Comic “events” continued to drive sales in March as the final issue of DC’s Blackest Night posted a solid gain in circulation and Marvel’s Siege continued to show strength, while smaller mini-events like DC’s Green Arrow-based Rise and Fall and Marvel’s Fall of the Hulks also made an impact on the charts. Three of the top five titles in March were Blackest Night-related. Marvel’s Siege also posted a gain from issue #2 to issue #3, and four Siege tie-ins, New Avengers #63, Dark Avengers #15, Thor #608, and Mighty Avengers #35, all made the top 25.
Publishers show no signs of being able to shake their addiction to the use of variant covers as their primary sales incentive. DC used 1 in 25 variants to boost sales of its Blackest Night and Rise and Fall tie-ins, while Marvel had 1 in 15 Deadpool variants helping to drive sales of its Siege titles, and Dynamite had multiple covers for its Kevin Smith’s Green Hornet, which came in at #20, the lone non-Marvel/DC top 25 title.
Eight titles posted gains in circulation, and twelve declined, while five number-one issues made the top 25 and added their sales to what was an impressive gain by periodical comics. DC grabbed four out of the top five spots, but Marvel dominated the top 25 with 17 titles versus seven for DC and one for Dynamite.
On the graphic novel side Marvel’s Kick-Ass Premium HC, which finished second in February (when it actually sold more copies), topped the charts thanks largely to the upcoming release of the Kick-Ass movie adaptation directed by Matthew Vaughn. Look for Kick-Ass to have an impact on the BookScan chart of graphic novels sold in bookstores when the March numbers are released. If the movie, which opens on April 16th, does well, Kick-Ass could dominate the charts in both the direct and bookstore markets for several more months.
The sixth Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 collection from Dark Horse took second place followed closely by the sixth volume of Dynamite’s collection of Garth Ennis’ The Boys and the latest collection of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy from Dark Horse. Mention should also be made of Image’s Haunt by Robert Kirkman and Todd McFarlane. The first collection of this innovative series about a priest haunted by the spirit of his estranged brother came in at #5, while another series that is building up steam, Brian Wood’s Viking-era saga Northlanders Vol. 3 finished in the sixth position.
The first volume of Yen Press’ Twilight, which came in at number 10, was the top manga followed by Viz Media’s Bleach Vol. 30 at number 14.
Here are ICv2's estimates of the sales by Diamond Comic Distributors to comic stores on the top 25 comic titles in March:
135,061 Blackest Night #8
113,071 Siege #3
97,369 Green Lantern #52
85,292 Batman and Robin #10
76,720 Green Lantern Corps #46
76,145 New Avengers #63
72,254 Dark Avengers #15
71,279 Ultimate Comics New Ultimates #1
67,996 Uncanny X-Men #522
66,064 Amazing Spider-Man #623
66,013 X-Men Second Coming #1
62,012 Thor #608 SIEGE
61,157 Batman #697
60,213 Amazing Spider-Man #624
58,098 Ultimate Comics Avengers #5
56,962 Captain America #604
56,461 Justice League of
54,206 Amazing Spider-Man #627
54,179 Amazing Spider-Man #625
54,122 Kevin Smith’s Green Hornet #1
53,868 Amazing Spider-Man #626
53,732 Nemesis #1
51,085 Mighty Avengers #34
50,785 Hulk #21
50,360 Justice League Rise & Fall Special #1
For an analysis of the dollar trends in March, see "Comic Sales Bounce Back in March."
For our estimates of actual sales by Diamond
For our estimates of actual orders to Diamond
For our estimates of actual orders to Diamond
For our estimates of actual orders to Diamond
For our index to our reports on the top comic and graphic novel preorders for January 2000 through March 2010, see "ICv2's Top 300 Comics and Top 300 GNs Index."
