So far 2012 is looking like a banner year for comics and graphic novels according to sell-in data released today by Diamond Comic Distributors.  Sales of periodical comics were up 22.26% versus sales in February of 2011, while graphic novels gained 15.6% versus sales during the same time frame a year ago.  Year-over-year combined sales of comics and graphic novels were up a solid 20.11% in February. 

 

Of course it’s all “compared to what” and there is no denying that Q1 of 2011 was a down period for comic sales  (especially for top-tier titles—the bestselling book in February of 2011, Green Lantern #62, sold just 71,517 copies), but there is also no denying that the market is considerably more robust now than it was a year ago.

 

Once again DC Comics’ Justice League remains the number one comic (for the sixth consecutive month).  For the second month in a row, DC Comics managed to make a clean sweep all the spots in the “Top Ten,” though Marvel’s strength in the middle ranks (and higher cover prices) gave The House of Ideas a significant lead in “Dollar Share” (35.92% to 29.47%) over DC.

 

There was definite churn among the mid-tier publishers as IDW Pubslihing came in third in February with 6.66% dollar share, followed by Image Comics at 5.53%, Dark Horse Comics at 4.98%, and Dynamite Entertainment close behind at 4.2%.

 

Batman: Gates of Gotham was the bestselling graphic novel of the month.  Three other Batman titles (and Vertigo’s American Vampire) all made the top ten along with two volumes of Image’s The Walking Dead.  It should be noted that the first collected volume of  IDW’s revived Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles made the Top Ten in February, a sign that the property, which is about to get another boost from a new animated series, appears to be regaining some of its once mighty strength.

For an overview and analysis of comic sales in February, see "DC Sweeps Top 10 Again in February."

For our estimates of actual sales by Diamond U.S. from comic specialty stores on comic books shipped during February, see "Top 300 Comics Actual--February 2012."

For our estimates of actual sales by Diamond U.S. from comic specialty stores on graphic novels shipped during February, see "Top 300 Graphic Novels Actual--February 2012."

For our estimates of actual sales by Diamond U.S. from comic specialty stores on comic books shipped during January, see "Top 300 Comics Actual--January 2012."

For our estimates of actual sales by Diamond U.S. from comic specialty stores on graphic novels shipped during January, see "Top 300 Graphic Novels Actual--January 20112."

For an overview and analysis of the best-selling comics and graphic novels in January, see "Three Comics Over 100K."  For an analysis of the dollar trends in January, see "Comic Store Sales Surge in January."

For our index to our reports on the top comic and graphic novel preorders for January 2000 through February 2012, see "ICv2's Top 300 Comics and Top 300 GNs Index."