Comic sales were up 4.99% over July 2018, and graphic novel sales were up 12.83%, a reversal of recent trends which have comics out-performing graphic novels. Year-to-date, comic sales are now up 0.97%, while graphic novel sales are down 0.25%.
Part of the reason for comics’ lackluster year-over-year performance may have been the comp month; July 2018 was an exceptionally strong month, with comic sales up 17.37% over sales in July 2017. Conversely, graphic novel sales in July 2018 were very weak, down 9.11% vs. the previous year.
In market share, Marvel Comics maintained its double-digit lead over DC Comics; other Top 10 publishers’ shares were also fairly typical except for Dynamite Entertainment, which leaped ahead of BOOM! Studios to the #6 slot (see title chart for why).
Comic Store Market Share (Dollar & Unit Share) – July 2019
Publisher Dollar Share Unit Share
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Marvel Comics 41.38% 45.49%
DC Comics 26.79% 27.63%
Image Comics 8.43% 8.64%
IDW Publishing 4.22% 3.99%
Dark Horse Comics 3.10% 2.42%
Dynamite Entertainment 2.31% 2.19%
BOOM! Studios 2.05% 1.86%
VIZ Media 1.51% 0.58%
Titan Comics 0.74% 0.68%
Archie Comics 0.68% 0.75%
Other Non-Top 10 8.80% 5.77%
Marvel’s X-book event miniseries, House of X and Powers of X, topped the comics by units chart, along with Amazing Spider-Man #25, while the final issue of The Walking Dead was the #4 title in comic stores for the month. Here’s hoping that the strong performance of the first books in the X-Men relaunch portends a healthier rest of the year for the comics business.
Top 10 Comics by Units Shipped – July 2019
1. House of X #1 (Marvel Comics)
2. Powers of X #1 (Marvel Comics)
3. Amazing Spider-Man #25 (Marvel Comics)
4. The Walking Dead #193 (Image Comics)
5. Batman: Last Knight on Earth #2 (DC Comics)
6. Batman: Curse of the White Knight #1 (DC Comics)
7. The Batman Who Laughs #7 (DC Comics)
8. Black Cat #2 $3.99 (Marvel Comics)
9. Immortal Hulk #20 (Marvel Comics)
10. Batman #74 $3.99 (DC Comics)
The big news on the top comics by dollars chart is the first Dynamite Entertainment title we can remember cracking the top 10: the company’s relaunch of Vampirella
Top 10 Comics by Dollars Invoiced – July 2019
1. House of X #1 (Marvel Comics)
2. Powers of X #1 (Marvel Comics)
3. Amazing Spider-Man #25 (Marvel Comics)
4. Batman: Last Knight on Earth #2 (DC Comics)
5. The Walking Dead #193 (Image Comics)
6. Batman: Curse of the White Knight #1 (DC Comics)
7. The Batman Who Laughs #7 (DC Comics)
8. Black Cat #2 $3.99 (Marvel Comics)
9. Immortal Hulk #20 (Marvel Comics)
10. Vampirella #1 (Dynamite Entertainment)
On the top graphic novels by units chart, we find George Takei’s They Called Us Enemy from IDW Publishing in the #4 slot and the second The Adventure Zone volume from First Second Books at #5, certainly a top performer for the publisher on a Diamond chart.
Top 10 Graphic Novels by Units Shipped – July 2019
1. The Joker TP (DC Comics)
2. Bad Weekend HC (Image Comics)
3. Deadly Class Vol. 8: Never Go Back TP (Image Comics)
4. They Called Us Enemy TP (IDW Publishing)
5. The Adventure Zone Vol. 2: Murder on Rockport Limited GN (First Second Books)
6. Dear Justice League TP (DC Comics)
7. Conan The Barbarian Vol. 1: The Life and Death of Conan Book One TP (Marvel Comics)
8. Miles Morales Vol. 1: Straight Out of Brooklyn TP (Marvel Comics)
9. Die Die Die Vol. 1 TP (Image Comics)
10. Daredevil by Chip Zdarsky Vol. 1: Know Fear TP (Marvel Comics)
Fewer omnibi than usual (four) made the top graphic novels by dollars chart this month.
Top 10 Graphic Novels by Dollars Invoiced – July 2019
1. Conan The Barbarian: Original Marvel Years Omnibus Vol. 2 HC (Marvel Comics)
2. The Joker TP (DC Comics)
3. Monstress Volume 1 HC (Image Comics)
4. Bad Weekend HC (Image Comics)
5. DC Universe: Bronze Age Omnibus by Jack Kirby HC (DC Comics)
6. Adventure Zone Vol. 2: Murder on Rockport Ltd. GN (First Second Books)
7. They Called Us Enemy TP (IDW Publishing)
8. Superman: The Golden Age Omnibus Vol. 6 HC (DC Comics)
9. Marvel Masterworks: Captain America Vol. 11 HC (Marvel Comics)
10. Thanos by Donny Cates HC (Marvel Comics)
For our estimates of actual sales by Diamond U.S. from comic specialty stores on comic books shipped during July, see "Top 500 Comics Actual--July 2019."
For our estimates of actual sales by Diamond U.S. from comic specialty stores on graphic novels shipped during July, see "Top 500 Graphic Novels Actual--July 2019."
For links to all previous Top 300 Comic and Top 300 Graphic Novel articles, see "ICv2 Top 300 Comics and Top 300 GNs Index."
