Only one comic title sold over 100,000 copies in the comic store market in January, according to ICv2 estimates of comic sales based on indexes released by Diamond Comic Distributors. The last time that happened was in August 2011 (see "Top 300 Comics Actual--August 2011"), and the title was Justice League #1, the first DC "New 52" title, which arguably kicked off a 2+ year run of growth in the comic market.
There were only three titles over 100,000 copies sold in December (see "Only Three Titles Over 100K"), the fewest at that level since May 2013, which had only two.
The weak sales on the top comic titles were reflected in the dollar sales on periodicals, which were down .42% (see "Comic Sales Flat, GNs Down in January").
The top selling graphic novel, Saga Vol. 1 TP, title sold only around 4200 copies in January, again an unusual low. And that was on a backlist title, displaying the weakness of the new graphic releases in January. Graphic novel sales in the comic store market dropped 14.28% in January.
For an analysis of the dollar trends in January, see "Comics Sales Flat, GNs Down in January."
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 2014."
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 2014."
For our estimates of actual sales by Diamond U.S. from comic specialty stores on comic books shipped during December, see "Top 300 Comics Actual--December 2013."
For our estimates of actual sales by Diamond U.S. from comic specialty stores on graphic novels shipped during December, see "Top 300 Graphic Novels Actual--December 2013."
For an overview and analysis of the best-selling comics and graphic novels in December, see "Only Three Titles Over 100K." For an analysis of the dollar trends in December, see "December Direct Market Up 5.93%."
For our index to our reports on the top comic and graphic novel preorders for January 2000 through January 2014, see "ICv2's Top 300 Comics and Top 300 GNs Index."
Just Like August 2011
Posted by ICv2 on February 11, 2014 @ 12:29 am CT