Year-to-date sale of comics and graphic novels through Diamond Comic Distributors are off sharply when compared with sales during the first 11 months of 2009.  Dollar sales of comics were down by 4.64%, while graphic novels have suffered a somewhat smaller decline of 3.22%.  Total sales of comics and graphic novels are down 4.18% even as some other sectors of the economy are experiencing are experiencing a recovery.  To be fair comic sales didn’t suffer nearly as much as most other entertainment sectors during the worst of the great recession in 2008 and 2009.

The difference in the decline in year-to-date sales between graphic novels and comics would have been smaller save for what transpired in November.  Dollar sales of periodical comics in November were down 4.86% when compared with November of 2009, but graphic novels rebounded strongly with a 11.70% jump over November 2009 fueled by the release of the latest volume (#13) of Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead, which has got plenty of “juice” thanks to the highly popular debut of The Walking Dead TV series on AMC.  The first volume of The Walking Dead, which was originally released in 2004, also made the top ten, a sure sign that the TV series is having an effect on sales.

Sales of comics and graphic novels combined were up .24% in November vs. November 2009.

For an overview and analysis of the best-selling comics and graphic novels in November, see "Hat Trick--Top Comic Under 100K."

For our estimates of actual sales by Diamond U.S. from comic specialty stores on comic books shipped during November, see "Top 300 Graphic Novels Actual--November 2010."

For our estimates of actual orders to Diamond U.S. from comic specialty stores on graphic novels shipped during November, see "Top 300 Comics Actual--November 2010."

For our estimates of actual sales by Diamond U.S. from comic specialty stores on comic books shipped during October, see "Top 300 Graphic Novels Actual--October 2010."

For our estimates of actual orders to Diamond U.S. from comic specialty stores on graphic novels shipped during October, see "Top 300 Graphic Novels Actual--October 2010."

For an overview and analysis of the best-selling comics and graphic novels in October, see "Top Comic Under 100K."  For an analysis of the dollar trends in October, see "Are Comic Sales Better than They Look?"

For our index to our reports on the top comic and graphic novel preorders for January 2000 through November 2010, see "ICv2's Top 300 Comics and Top 300 GNs Index."