Sales of comic periodicals and graphic novels were both up substantially in January when compared with the first month in 2005.  Comic periodicals jumped an impressive 19%, while graphic novels grew by 15%.  A substantial portion of the increase in periodical sales was due to year-over-year price increases, but the number of units sold also rose. 

 

Typically January is a month when sales slow down and periodical sales did register a 17% decline from December to January, but graphic novel sales declined only 7.7% thanks to a strong list of titles debuting in January including Dark Horse's Serenity, which took the top spot.

 

Combined comic and graphic novel sales in the direct market were up a whopping 19% from January of 2005.  Combined comic and graphic novel sales declined 15.6 % from December, but the drop was far smaller than what occurred in the first month of 2005 when sales slipped a dramatic 26.5% from December of 2004.
 
For the top 300 comics in January, see 'Top 300 Comics Actual--January 2006.'
 
For the top 100 graphics novels in January, see 'Top 100 Graphic Novels Actual--January 2006.'
 
For an overview and analysis of the best-selling comics and graphic novels in January, see '16 of 20 Top Comics Drop in January.'
 
For the top 300 comics in December, see 'Top 300 Comics Actual--December 2005.'
 
For the top 100 graphics novels in December, see 'Top 100 Graphic Novels Actual--December 2005.'
 
For an over-view and analysis of the best-selling comics and graphic novels in December, see '21 of 23 Top Comics Down in December.'  For an analysis of the dollar trends in December, see '2005 Graphic Novel Sales in Comic Stores Up 33%.'
 
For our index to our reports on the top comic and graphic novel preorders for January 2000 through January 2006, see 'ICv2's Top 300 Comics and Top 100 GNs Index.'