Diamond Comic Distributors' sales of comics and graphic novels to comic stores were down 1.08% in 2018, according to numbers released by the distributor today. The company had previously reported a small increase in overall sales; those numbers were corrected after ICv2 (and perhaps others) pointed out that the December decline in overall sales on top of the decline reported in year-to-date sales through November last month could not collectively produce an increase.
The decline was all in graphic novel sales, which were down 8.22% for the year in comic stores. Periodical sales were actually up 2.04% for 2018.
December was a bad finish for 2018 in graphic novels, which were down 26.35% vs. December 2017. Comic sales were up 9.29% year-over-year in December.
Marvel’s share lead was down a little in December, but still a healthy seven share points.
December 2018 Comic Store Market Share (Dollar Share)
38.57% Marvel Comics
31.51% DC Entertainment
8.73% Image Comics
4.10% IDW Publishing
2.98% BOOM! Studios
2.82% Dark Horse Comics
2.11% Dynamite Entertainment
1.03% VIZ Media
0.82% Titan Comics
0.71% Valiant Entertainment LLC
6.62% Other Non-Top 10
Top 10 Comics by Units Shipped – December 2018
1. The Batman Who Laughs #1 (DC Comics)
2. Batman: Damned #2 (DC Comics)
3. Doomsday Clock #8 (DC Comics)
4. Batman #60 (DC Comics)
5. Batman #61 (DC Comics)
6. Amazing Spider-Man #11 (Marvel Comics)
7. Fantastic Four #5 (Marvel Comics)
8. Amazing Spider-Man #12 (Marvel Comics)
9. Batman Annual #3 (DC Comics)
10. Shazam #1 (DC Comics)
The top dollar comics in comic stores were not a lot different from the top unit sale titles in December.
Top 10 Comics by Dollars Invoiced – December 2018
1. The Batman Who Laughs #1 (DC Comics)
2. Batman: Damned #2 (DC Comics)
3. Doomsday Clock #8 (DC Comics)
4. Fantastic Four #5 (Marvel Comics)
5. Batman #60 (DC Comics)
6. Batman #61 (DC Comics)
7. Batman Annual #3 (DC Comics)
8. Shazam #1 (DC Comics)
9. Infinity Wars #6 (Marvel Comics)
10. Fantastic Four Wedding Special #1 (Marvel Comics)
Although Image had the top graphic novel in December, it was a surprisingly weak showing among the top ten titles for the publisher; Paper Girls was its only volume in those ranks. BOOM! Studios' Power Rangers collection had a strong showing at #4, and Viz Media's My Hero Academia is placing in the Top 10 in comic stores, a remarkable development for a manga title.
Top 10 Graphic Novels by Units Shipped – December 2018
1. Paper Girls Vol. 5 TP (Image Comics)
2. Batman Vol. 8: Cold Days TP (DC Comics)
3. Avatar: The Last Airbender: Imbalance Part One TP (Dark Horse Comics)
4. Saban’s Power Rangers: Soul Dragon Original GN (BOOM! Studios)
5. Star Wars Vol. 9: Hope Dies TP (Marvel Comics)
6. The Flash Volume 8: Flash War TP (DC Comics)
7. My Hero Academia Vol. 16 GN (VIZ Media)
8. Thor Vol. 1: God of Thunder Reborn TP (Marvel Comics)
9. Venom: First Host TP (Marvel Comics)
10. Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 8: On the Outside TP (DC Comics)
As has been typical in 2018, omnibi and other up-priced volumes dominated the top ten dollar graphic novels in comic stores; seven of the top ten dollar graphic novels were priced at $75 or more, and six of the top ten were $100 or more.
Top 10 Graphic Novels by Dollars Invoiced – December 2018
1. Paper Girls Vol. 5 TP (Image Comics)
2. Batman: The Golden Age Omnibus Vol. 6 HC (DC Comics)
3. Fantastic Four by Waid & Wieringo Omnibus HC (Marvel Comics)
4. Marvel Masterworks: Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 20 HC (Marvel Comics)
5. Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale: Yellow, Blue, Gray & White Omnibus HC (Marvel Comics)
6. Batman Vol. 8: Cold Days TP (DC Comics)
7. Saban’s Power Rangers: Soul Dragon Original GN (BOOM! Studios)
8. Marvel Universe by John Byrne Omnibus Vol. 2 HC (Marvel Comics)
9. Before Watchmen Omnibus HC (DC Comics)
10. Wonder Woman Diana Prince: Celebrating The 60s Omnibus HC (DC Comics)
For our estimates of actual sales by Diamond U.S. from comic specialty stores on comic books shipped during December, see "Top 500 Comics Actual--December 2018."
For our estimates of actual sales by Diamond U.S. from comic specialty stores on graphic novels shipped during December, see "Top 500 Graphic Novels Actual--December 2018."
For links to all previous Top 300 Comic and Top 300 Graphic Novel articles, see "ICv2 Top 300 Comics and Top 300 GNs Index."