DC had the top market share in comic stores in October, bringing its tally since mid-year to three out of four months, according to information released by Diamond Comic Distributors.  Its margin of victory was small, 31.02% vs. Marvel’s 30.47% share. 

Image Comics had a 9.26% share and the #1 comic in October, the 10th anniversary The Walking Dead #115.  It shipped 352,000 copies worldwide through Diamond, according to Image (see "'The Walking Dead' #115 Shipped 352,000 Copies").

Top 10 Comics--October
The Walking Dead #115
Batman #24
Infinity #4
Forever Evil #2
Infinity #5
Justice League #24
Superman/Wonder Woman #1
The Sandman:  Overture #1
Superior Spider-Man #20
Superior Spider-Man #19
 
Batman: Death of the Family volumes took two of the top three graphic novel slots, and other Batman volumes took another two slots, for a total of half the top 10 graphic novels.  The two Saga collections are stubbornly hanging in the Top 10.

Top 10 Graphic Novels--October
Batman Vol. 3:  Death of the Family
Avengers:  Endless Wartime
The Joker:  Death of the Family
Batman: The Court of Owls Book & Mask Set
Avatar:  The Last Airbender Vol. 6
Hellboy:  Midnight Circus
Batman Vol. 2:  City of Owls
Lazarus Vol. 1
Saga Vol. 1
Saga Vol. 2
 
Sales of comics and graphic novels in October were up 6.36% year over year, with a 4.65% drop in graphic novels and an 11.90% increase in comics combining for that total.  It’s too soon to tell whether the government shutdown had an impact on spending in comic stores in October, since these percentage changes are based on sell-in.  Any impact on orders will come in December, for which orders were placed in late October. 
 
The year-to-date comics and graphic novel growth rate slipped below 10%, to 9.95%.  Year-to-date comics are up 12.42% and graphic novels are up 4.69%.

For an overview and analysis of comic sales in October, see "'TWD,' Events, Image Launches, OGNs."

For our estimates of actual sales by Diamond U.S. from comic specialty stores on comic books shipped during October see "Top 300 Comics Actual--October 2013."

For our estimates of actual sales by Diamond U.S. from comic specialty stores on graphic novels shipped during October, see "Top 300 Graphic Novels Actual--October 2013."

For our estimates of actual sales by Diamond U.S. from comic specialty stores on comic books shipped during September, see "Top 300 Comics Actual--September 2013."

For our estimates of actual sales by Diamond U.S. from comic specialty stores on graphic novels shipped during September, see "Top 300 Graphic Novels Actual--September 2013."

For an overview and analysis of the best-selling comics and graphic novels in September, see "'Villains Month,' 'Infinity,' Drive September Comic Sales."  For an analysis of the dollar trends in September, see "'Villains Month' Gives DC a Win."