Batman #50, a landmark issue in which Bruce Wayne returns, generated twice the dollars in the comics channel as the #2 dollar book in March, according to estimates by ICv2 based on indexes released by Diamond Comic Distributors.  Unit sales on Batman were up 59% from the previous issue, at a cover price 50% higher.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #1, behind a total of 17 variant covers, had very high sales of nearly 120,000 at the standard $3.99 cover price, and was the #2 dollar book.  Star Wars, the #3 book in unit sales and #4 in dollars, was also at $3.99.

But overall, the impact of higher cover prices was significant:  half of the top ten dollar books in March had retail prices higher than $3.99, while unit sales were uninspiring (three titles over 100,000, compared to four over 100,000 in the year ago period).  Superman #50, at $4.99, was the #3 dollar book; Avengers Standoff Assault on Pleasant Hill Alpha #1 sold only around 55,000 units, but at $4.99 it was the #6 dollar book of the month.  And Captain America Sam Wilson #7, the "75th anniversary" issue in which Steve Rogers gets rejuvenated returns only sold around 55,000 copies (the #19 title), but was the #7 dollar book at $5.99 MSRP.

Those higher prices were one factor responsible for keeping comics and graphic novel sales at least ostensibly higher for the quarter (see "Comics Eke Out Small Direct Market Increase for Q1 (Sorta)").

On the graphic novel front, two titles, the latest The Walking Dead volume and the collection of Brian K. Vaughan’s latest, sold over 10,000 copies in the first month in the direct market channel.  At #3, movie-driven Civil War sales are rocking in comic stores as well as bookstores.

For an analysis of the dollar trends in March, see "Comics Eke Out Small Direct Market Increase for Q1 (Sorta)."

For our estimates of actual sales by Diamond U.S. from comic specialty stores on comic books shipped during March, see "Top 300 Comics Actual--March 2016."

For our estimates of actual sales by Diamond U.S. from comic specialty stores on graphic novels shipped during March, see "Top 300 Graphic Novels Actual--March 2016."

For our estimates of actual sales by Diamond U.S. from comic specialty stores on comic books shipped during February, see "Top 300 Comics Actual--February 2016."

For our estimates of actual sales by Diamond U.S. from comic specialty stores on graphic novels shipped during February, see "Top 300 Graphic Novels Actual--February 2016."

​For our index to our reports on the top comic and graphic novel preorders for January 2000 through March 2016, see "ICv2's Top 300 Comics and Top 300 GNs Index."