As usual Marvel Comics dominated the direct market sales in March with a 47.12% unit market share (41.94% in dollars), with DC Comics a strong second with a 29.92% unit share.  The big news was in the battle for the spots immediately below comics’ entrenched “Big Two.”  IDW Publishing, which just made the leap to the front of Diamond’s April Previews catalog as a “Premier Publisher” (see “IDW Achieves Premier Status”), took the third spot with a 3.61% unit share, though Dark Horse Comics was third in dollar sales with 4.76% to IDW’s 4.02% share.

Top 10 Publisher Market Shares: March 2010

PUBLISHER

UNIT MARKET SHARE

DOLLAR MARKET SHARE

MARVEL COMICS

47.12%

41.94%

DC COMICS

29.92%

27.25%

IDW PUBLISHING

3.61%

4.02%

DARK HORSE COMICS

3.33%

4.76%

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

3.08%

3.40%

IMAGE COMICS

3.01%

3.22%

BOOM! STUDIOS

1.84%

1.98%

ZENESCOPE ENTERTAINMENT

0.93%

0.90%

ARCHIE COMICS

0.81%

0.67%

VIZ MEDIA

0.71%

1.48%


Dynamite Entertainment, buoyed by the launch of Kevin Smith’s Green Hornet #1 (the only non-Marvel/DC title in the top 25, see “Blackest Night Ends on Top”), and the continuing strength of titles like Garth Ennis’ The Boys, finished in the fifth spot in both units (3.08%) and dollars (3.4%).  The sixth graphic novel collection of The Boys was the #3 graphic novel of the month sold through Diamond, the kind of big dollar release that can have an effect on the monthly charts.

 

Right behind Dynamite in March was Image Comics with a 3.01% unit share and a 3.22% dollar share.  A little farther back BOOM! Studios, which posted a 1.84% unit and 1.98% dollar share in March, continues its rise to publishing prominence under the editorial leadership of Mark Waid.

 

While it’s a safe bet that Marvel and DC will continue to rule the charts, the next four to five slots on the chart are likely to fluctuate from month to month largely depending on the publication of key titles and the release of popular trade paperback collections (like a new The Walking Dead volume from Image).