Initial piece orders from comic stores on the top comic titles were weaker in June, with orders dropping on seventeen of the top 25 titles. This follows a similar performance in May, when orders on sixteen of the top 25 comics were lower (see 'Spider-Man, Batman Up in May'). 'Threes' were the charm in June, though, with two third issues in the top fifteen increasing -- Transformers #3 from Dreamwave (still #1), and Captain America #3 from Marvel. Those increases indicate strong sales on the first issues of those two titles, pushing retailers to order more on the first issues' orders they could catch.
One thing to keep in mind in interpreting these numbers is that these orders were place by retailers based on what was happening in their stores during April. They do not reflect the sales during what has been by many reports a torrid May. Presumably if retailers were selling out during May, the orders for books shipping in July will reflect that fact.
Marvel had its typical nine out of the top ten titles and nineteen out of the top 25. DC slipped to three out of the top 25, with none in the top ten. Image had two of the top 25 titles with GI Joe and Micronauts.
Lone Wolf held its normal spot atop the graphic novel best-seller list, but Witchblade Obakemono was a close second with a manga-style $9.95 one-shot.
The estimated raw initial orders to Diamond on the top 25 titles for June 2002 are as follow:
131,586 Transformers Generation One #3
118,204 Spider-Man/Black Cat Evil that Men Do #1
99,672 New X-Men #127
99,473 Ultimates #6
99,018 New X-Men #128
96,537 Amazing Spider-Man #42
92,815 Ultimate X-Men #19
88,448 Uncanny X-Men #407
87,521 Ultimate Spider-Man #23
68,040 Spider-Man Blue #2
67,554 Green Arrow #15
67,450 Wolverine #177
67,445 Captain America #3
67,390 Wolverine #176
67,195 X-treme X-Men #14
65,836 GI Joe #7
59,684 JLA #67
53,231 Spider-Man Peter Parker #45
52,081 Micronauts #1
51,495 Avengers #55
48,768 Detective Comics #771
47,328 Daredevil #34
46,355 Incredible Hulk #41
45,942 Incredible Hulk #42
45,756 Punisher #13
The quantities in this chart are ICv2 estimates of initial raw orders to Diamond North America on titles scheduled for shipment in June 2002.
Marvel, DC, Dark Horse and Image distribute 100% of their comic store orders through Diamond. Some other publishers distribute directly to stores or through other distributors and as a result this analysis may underestimate their sales.
Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, and Image distribute some of their titles through channels other than comic specialty stores, e.g., newsstands and bookstores. These quantity estimates do not reflect distribution through those channels.
The quantities above do not include advance reorders, late orders, or reorders.
Most of the titles on this chart are also distributed to Europe by Diamond UK, which can account for significant sales for the publisher, ranging from 3-20% of the US numbers. Sales by Diamond UK are not included in the numbers above.
Even given the above, however, it is probably safe to say that these quantities reflect 80% or more of the total North American sales by the publisher on most periodical comics.
One other factor to consider is that sales through Diamond and other comic distributors are non-returnable to retailers. That means that there is a considerable unknown percentage of books unsold at the retailer level. If that percentage is 10-20% of sales (a reasonable assumption), the estimates above may be quite close to actual sales to consumers.
For an analysis of the dollar trends in June, see 'Comic and Graphic Novel Orders up 19% in Second Quarter.'
For a list of the top comics in June, see 'Top 300 Comics -- June 2002.'
For a list of the top graphic novels in June, see 'Top 50 Graphic Novels -- June 2002.'
For a list of the top comics in May, see 'Top 300 Comics -- May.'
For a list of the top graphic novels in May, see 'Top 50 Graphic Novels -- May.'
For an over-view and analysis of the best-selling comics and graphic novels in May, see 'Spider-Man, Batman Up in May.'