Year-to-date sales are now near flat, down 0.26% vs. the same period last year, with comic sales up 0.92% and graphic novel sales down 3.24%.
Marvel’s market share once again reached nearly twice the share of #2 publisher DC Comics. And Dynamite Entertainment once again led BOOM! Studios to hold the #6 spot, behind strong sales of both its periodical and graphic novel lines.
Comic Store Market Share (Dollar & Unit Share) – August 2019
Publisher Dollar Share Unit Share
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Marvel Comics 46.15% 49.96%
DC Comics 24.86% 25.96%
Image Comics 6.32% 6.26%
IDW Publishing 4.00% 4.18%
Dark Horse Comics 3.27% 2.65%
Dynamite Entertainment 2.51% 2.13%
BOOM! Studios 2.50% 2.34%
VIZ Media 1.33% 0.53%
Titan Comics 0.72% 0.64%
Valiant Entertainment 0.53% 0.56%
Other Non-Top 10 7.81% 4.79%
Marvel’s Absolute Carnage #1 at an aggressive $7.99 was the top units book of the month, with the even more aggressively priced Marvel Comics #1000 taking the #2 slot. Marvel’s Absolute Carnage and X-Men event books took six of the top ten slots.
Top 10 Comics by Units Shipped – August 2019
1. Absolute Carnage #1 (Marvel Comics)
2. Marvel Comics #1000 (Marvel Comics)
3. Batman/Superman #1 [*] (DC Comics)
4. House of X #3 (Marvel Comics)
5. Powers of X #2 (Marvel Comics)
6. House of X #2 (Marvel Comics)
7. Powers of X #3 (Marvel Comics)
8. Absolute Carnage #2 (Marvel Comics)
9. Batman #77 (DC Comics)
10. Batman: Curse of the White Knight #2 (DC Comics)
Marvel Comics #1000, at $9.99, was the top dollar comic of the month. Three of the top four dollar comics had MSRPs at $7.99 or higher, including DC’s Superman: Year One #2, which popped into the Top 10 behind is $7.99 cover price.
Top 10 Comics by Dollars Invoiced – August 2019
1. Marvel Comics #1000 (Marvel Comics)
2. Absolute Carnage #1 (Marvel Comics)
3. Batman/Superman #1 [*] (DC Comics)
4. Superman: Year One #2 [*] (DC Comics)
5. Powers of X #2 (Marvel Comics)
6. House of X #3 (Marvel Comics)
7. House of X #2 (Marvel Comics)
8. Powers of X #3 (Marvel Comics)
9. Absolute Carnage #2 (Marvel Comics)
10. Batman: Curse of the White Knight #2 (DC Comics)
The final collection of The Walking Dead was the top-selling graphic novel in August. Action Lab had a Top 10 title with the latest volume of its Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir Season 2 series, although the accomplishment is tempered by the fact that the volume had an MSRP a dollar less than the top dollar comic.
Top 10 Graphic Novels by Units Shipped – August 2019
1. The Walking Dead Vol. 32 TP (Image Comics)
2. The Batman Who Laughs HC (DC Comics)
3. Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass TP (DC Comics)
4. Watchmen TP (DC Comics)
5. War of the Realms TP (Marvel Comics)
6. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Declassified Slipcase HC (Marvel Comics)
7. Star Wars: Vader: Dark Visions TP (Marvel Comics)
8. Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir Season 2 Vol. 4: No Evil Doing TP (Action Labs)
9. Disney Descendants: Evie's Wicked Runway Vol. 2 TP (Tokyopop)
10. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1: Final Gauntlet TP (Marvel Comics)
As usual, higher-priced collections took a big share of the Top 10 graphic novels by dollars, with the first volume of Dynamite Entertainment’s The Boys moving into the Top 10 behind increased visibility due to the Amazon series.
Top 10 Graphic Novels by Dollars Invoiced – August 2019
1. The Walking Dead Vol. 32 TP (Image Comics)
2. The Batman Who Laughs HC (DC Comics)
3. Saga Compendium Vol. 1 TP (Image Comics)
4. War of the Realms TP (Marvel Comics)
5. The Joker: The Bronze Age Omnibus HC (DC Comics)
6. Watchmen TP (DC Comics)
7. Marvel Masters of Suspense: Lee & Ditko Omnibus Vol. 1 HC (Marvel Comics)
8. Amazing Spider-Man: Hunted TP (Marvel Comics)
9. The Boys Omnibus Vol. 1 TP (Dynamite Entertainment)
10. Mister Miracle HC (DC Comics)
For our estimates of actual sales by Diamond U.S. from comic specialty stores on comic books shipped during August, see "Top 500 Comics Actual--August 2019."
For our estimates of actual sales by Diamond U.S. from comic specialty stores on graphic novels shipped during August, see "Top 500 Graphic Novels Actual--August 2019."
For links to all previous Top 300 Comic and Top 300 Graphic Novel articles, see "ICv2 Top 300 Comics and Top 300 GNs Index."