Tilting #257 is UP: BookScan 2016!
/http://www.comicsbeat.com/tilting-at-windmills-257-looking-at-bookscan-2016-more-than-10-million-sold/ I mean, go comment on it over at Heidi's site, so she can have the hits, but it's up, it's up!
-B
Comix Experience Best-Sellers 2016
/Below the Cut, for people who like that kind of thing, Comix Experience's Best Sellers of 2016 (Warning: long!)
Just in case this is your first time reading a sales report from us, let me give you a little background and a longer look at my CV. My name is Brian Hibbs and I own two comic book stores in San Francisco: Comix Experience at 305 Divisadero St, and Comix Experience Outpost at 2381 Ocean Ave. I opened the original store 27 years ago in 1989, when I was just twenty-one years old, and I purchased Outpost almost exactly three years ago, in order to stop it from closing overnight.
San Francisco is currently home to nine comic book stores (The others include: Cards and Comics Central, Collector’s Cave, Isotope, Whatever, Amazing Fantasy, Mission: Comics and Art, and Two Cats); down from twenty-four when I opened in 1989. I’m really super glad that we lost no stores in 2016. There are also something around a dozen general independent book stores (note that San Francisco has no national chain bookstores!) that also carry a solid selection of “graphic novels” (which is usually really just a highfaluting name for “bound collection of comics”, and isn’t really any different in any substantial way from “comic book”, except that it makes people feel better about themselves) – but it is the comics specialty stores that are selling the most comics material, and it is my belief that my two Comix Experience stores sell roughly a quarter of all comics material in The City.
As I noted, I have been selling comics since 1989, and we’re the oldest comic store with the same ownership in the same location in San Francisco. For a quarter of a century I’ve written “Tilting At Windmills”, a regular column about comics retailing, also published in two volumes from IDW Publishing; I’ve been a judge of the Eisner Awards (Comics’ equivalent of the Oscars); I’ve sat on the Board of Directors of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (an organization that protects the First Amendment rights of comics creators), I was one of the original founders of ComicsPRO (the comics retailer trade organization); and I even led a successful Class Action lawsuit against Marvel Comics that won more than a million dollars for comic book retailers internationally.
Most recently, in response to rising costs in San Francisco, we launched an international Graphic-Novel-Of-The-Month Club where we hold streaming meetings with authors (like Neil Gaiman!) for literally hundreds of folks around the country (and globe!), and we also have a sibling club for kids aged 8-13, which is co-hosted with my twelve year old son.
(*whew*)
2016 was another fine year for Comix Experience – sales were up by 1.7% in the main store, and by an excellent 11.7% at Outpost. I attribute our growth mostly to my superlative staff (Douglas, Emma, Sienna and Asia at the main store, and Nathan, Cameron, and Julie at Outpost) – and we’ve had our best year ever at both locations.
However, the year pretty much died in the last quarter – a lot of the drop coming from much weaker periodical sales.
The two stores are VERY different from one another with different tones and tenors. The main store is very much a book store that specializes in comics material: 57% of our sales came from book-format comics this year, while 39% came from new periodical comics (usually stapled, usually 32 pages). 1.5% of sales are back issues, 1.5% is supplies, and the last 1% is everything else: Magazines, Toys, Apparel, Buttons, whatever. Comix Experience is less about the characters (Batman and Spider-Man, et al.) and much more focused on the creators that bring those characters to life. As a creator-driven store, our sales reflect that passion, as you will see below.
Comix Experience Outpost runs pretty differently – it was an existing store that we took over, and because of its location and the nature of its traffic, it is FAR more focused on the periodical comic (as well as the back issue). Outpost is 62% new periodical-format comics (and 7% back issues), and just 23% in book format comics. 3% each are Toys and Supplies, which leaves 2% for “other”. It’s a very different sales mix than the Mothership!
Let’s take a look, store-by-store, at sales this year, and see what the best-sellers are in each category, and get a sense of maybe where the market is heading. Let’s look at BOOKS, first, since that’s the biggest category at the bigger store!
One important consideration here is that these numbers DO NOT include the Graphic-Novel-Of-The-Month Club numbers, every one of which would top the #1 in-store book! In fact, we’ve been told that, for at least some of the titles we selected (which were, in order:
Jan 2016: Joshua Cotter’s “Nod Away”
Feb 2016: Xander Cannon’s “Kaijumax”
Mar 2016: Daniel Clowes’ “Patience”
Apr 2016: Manuele Fior’s “5000 KM Per Second”
May 2016: Lucy Knisley’s “Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride”
June 2016: Paul Dini and Eduardo Risso’s “Dark Night: A True Batman Story”
July 2016: Majorie Liu and Sana Takeda’s “Monstress”
Aug 2016: Lucas Varela’s “Longest Day of the Future”
Sep 2016: Tom Gauld’s “Mooncop”
Oct 2016: Sarah Glidden’s “Rolling Blackouts: Dispatches from Turkey, Syria, and Iraq”
Nov 2016: Jeff Lemire and Greg Smallwood’s “Moon Knight: Lunatic”
Dec 2016: Isabel Greenberg’s “The One Hundred Nights of Hero”
(Damn, what a line-up!), the GN club represented 8-10% of the print run of a few of those books!
The Kids Club list (Again NOT counted in these numbers) looked like this – all of which would have beaten the #6 best-selling book at retail:
Jan 2016: Derek Fridolf and Dustin Nguyen’s “Secret Hero Society: Study Hall of Justice”
Feb 2016: Svetlana Chmakova’s “Awkward”
Mar 2016: Tony Cliff’s “Delilah Dirk & The King’s Shilling”
Apr 2016: Faith Erin Hicks’ “The Nameless City”
May 2016: Annie Szabla’s “Bird Boy: The Sword of Mali Mani”
Jun 2016: Matt Kindt and Brian Hurtt’s “Poppy & The Lost Lagoon”
Jul 2016: Norm Feuti’s “The King of Kazoo”
Aug 2016: Alexis Fajardo’s “Kid Beowulf: The Blood Bound Oath”
Sep 2016: Raina Telgemeier’s “Ghosts”
Oct 2016: Hope Larson & Brittney Williams’ “Goldie Vance”
Nov 2016: Mike Raicht & Brian Smith’s “Tree Mail”
Dec 2016: Jeffrey Brown’s “Lucy & Andy Neanderthal”
As always, our single biggest entry is the generic “Sale Book”, where we’re marking down unsold books by roughly 50% of cover price to get them out – that catchall, combined, sold WAY more copies than our #1 book. This is true at BOTH stores. But, I’m not including that in this presentation because I think it muddies the waters too much. Plus it mostly represents our mistakes! :)
So, starting with The Mothership, Comix Experience on Divisadero, we sold approximately 4500 different books selling at least one copy for full price.
Our Top 100 is right below, and represents twenty three different publishers. The publisher placing the most number of books is Image, with a dominating forty-one out of one hundred and ten. DC comes in next with thirteen, followed by Marvel and Scholastic (!) tied at eleven each. We have books from Archie and Koyama, Fantagraphics and Drawn & Quarterly and a number of the “real” book publishers, too. We have two manga on the list. I’m pretty happy with the diversity of my store, as these things go!
| 1 | MONSTRESS TP VOL 01 |
| 2 | SAGA TP VOL 06 |
| 3 | RAINA TELGEMEIER GHOSTS GN |
| 4 | PAPER GIRLS TP VOL 01 |
| 5 | SAGA TP VOL 05 |
| 6 | SAGA TP VOL 01 |
| 7 | DAN CLOWES PATIENCE HC |
| 8 | SAGA TP VOL 04 |
| 9 | BITCH PLANET TP VOL 01 EXTRAORDINARY MACHINE |
| 10 | SAGA TP VOL 02 |
| 11 | BLACK PANTHER TP BOOK 01 NATION UNDER OUR FEET |
| 12 | RICK & MORTY TP VOL 01 |
| 13 | WICKED & DIVINE TP VOL 03 |
| 14 | WICKED & DIVINE TP VOL 01 THE FAUST ACT |
| 15 | DARK NIGHT A TRUE BATMAN STORY HC |
| 16 | SAGA TP VOL 03 |
| 17 | SPACE DUMPLINS GN VOL 01 |
| 18 | APOCALYPTIGIRL AN ARIA FOR THE END TIMES TP |
| 19 | DESCENDER TP VOL 01 TIN STARS |
| NIMONA GN | |
| 21 | EAST OF WEST TP VOL 01 THE PROMISE |
| 22 | WATCHMEN TP |
| 23 | MS MARVEL TP VOL 01 NO NORMAL |
| SANDMAN TP VOL 01 PRELUDES & NOCTURNES | |
| SMILE GN | |
| 26 | EAST OF WEST TP VOL 05 ALL THESE SECRETS |
| LOW TP VOL 01 THE DELIRIUM OF HOPE | |
| 28 | DEADLY CLASS TP VOL 01 REAGAN YOUTH |
| 29 | PREACHER TP BOOK 01 |
| 30 | WONDER WOMAN EARTH ONE HC VOL 01 |
| 31 | SANDMAN OVERTURE DELUXE ED HC |
| TOKYO GHOST TP VOL 01 ATOMIC GARDEN | |
| 33 | BABY SITTERS CLUB COLOR ED GN VOL 01 KRISTYS GREAT IDEA |
| DAYTRIPPER TP | |
| MEANWHILE IN SAN FRANCISCO THE CITY IN ITS OWN WORDS | |
| PRETTY DEADLY TP VOL 01 | |
| RAINA TELGEMEIER GHOSTS HC GN | |
| 38 | INJECTION TP VOL 01 |
| SISTERS GN | |
| THE INCAL HC NEW PTG | |
| THIS ONE SUMMER GN | |
| 42 | LOVE AND ROCKETS NEW STORIES TP VOL 08 |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP BOOK 01 | |
| 44 | AMULET SC VOL 01 STONEKEEPER NEW PTG |
| LUMBERJANES TP VOL 01 | |
| SEX CRIMINALS TP VOL 01 | |
| 47 | DRAMA GN |
| PAPER GIRLS TP VOL 02 | |
| SEX CRIMINALS TP VOL 03 THREE THE HARD WAY | |
| WICKED & DIVINE TP VOL 02 FANDEMONIUM | |
| WICKED & DIVINE TP VOL 04 RISING ACTION | |
| 52 | BONE COLOR ED SC VOL 01 OUT FROM BONEVILLE |
| SAGA DLX ED HC VOL 01 | |
| 54 | CAT PERSON |
| DESCENDER TP VOL 02 | |
| TREES TP VOL 01 | |
| 57 | BABY SITTERS CLUB COLOR ED GN VOL 02 TRUTH ABOUT STACEY |
| BATMAN THE KILLING JOKE SPECIAL ED HC | |
| 59 | ARCHIE TP VOL 01 |
| BLACK SCIENCE TP VOL 01 HOW TO FALL FOREVER | |
| EAST OF WEST TP VOL 04 WHO WANTS WAR | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 25 NO TURNING BACK | |
| 63 | AMULET SC VOL 07 FIRELIGHT |
| FUN HOME TP | |
| KAIJUMAX TP VOL 01 | |
| SEX CRIMINALS TP VOL 02 TWO WORLDS ONE COP | |
| SOMETHING NEW TALES FROM MAKESHIFT BRIDE GN | |
| 68 | AWKWARD GN |
| DEADLY CLASS TP VOL 03 THE SNAKE PIT | |
| FIGHT CLUB 2 HC | |
| LUMBERJANES TP VOL 03 | |
| SANDMAN TP VOL 02 THE DOLLS HOUSE NEW ED | |
| STAR WARS TP VOL 01 SKYWALKER STRIKES | |
| TREES TP VOL 02 | |
| 75 | DEADLY CLASS TP VOL 04 DIE FOR ME |
| EAST OF WEST TP VOL 02 WE ARE ALL ONE | |
| EAST OF WEST TP VOL 03 THERE IS NO US | |
| HARK A VAGRANT HC | |
| RAT QUEENS TP VOL 03 DEMONS | |
| ROLLING BLACKOUTS HC | |
| 81 | CIVIL WAR TP |
| COMPLETE CHI SWEET HOME TP VOL 01 | |
| DEADLY CLASS TP VOL 02 KIDS OF THE BLACK HOLE | |
| HEAD LOPPER TP VOL 01 ISLAND OR A PLAGUE OF BEASTS | |
| MS MARVEL TP VOL 02 GENERATION WHY | |
| STAR WARS ORIGINAL TRILOGY GN HC | |
| 87 | 5000 KM PER SECOND HC |
| PREACHER TP BOOK 02 | |
| SUPERMUTANT MAGIC ACADEMY GN | |
| TRANSMETROPOLITAN TP VOL 01 BACK ON THE STREET | |
| WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME IF I WET THE BED GN | |
| 92 | AKIRA KODANSHA ED GN VOL 01 |
| COMPLETE PERSEPOLIS TP | |
| DARTH VADER & FRIENDS HC | |
| EAST OF WEST TP VOL 06 | |
| GOLDIE VANCE TP VOL 01 | |
| LOW TP VOL 02 BEFORE THE DAWN BURNS US | |
| LUMBERJANES TP VOL 02 | |
| MS MARVEL TP VOL 04 LAST DAYS | |
| MS MARVEL TP VOL 05 SUPER FAMOUS | |
| STAR WARS TP VOL 02 SHOWDOWN ON THE SMUGGLERS MOON | |
| STEP ASIDE POPS HARK A VAGRANT COLLECTION HC | |
| TOMBOY GRAPHIC MEMOIR | |
| UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL TP VOL 01 SQUIRREL POWER | |
| UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL TP VOL 02 SQUIRRELYOU KNOW IT | |
| VISION TP VOL 01 LITTLE WORSE THAN MAN | |
| WE CAN NEVER GO HOME TP | |
| WRENCHIES GN | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP BOOK 02 | |
| ZAP COMIX #16 |
MONSTRESS does the previously unthinkable, and displaces SAGA from the top of the list. In fact, SAGA settles down into a more Mature sales pattern and doesn’t annihilate everything, like it did last year when it took the first six spots.
I’m super happy with the diversity and breadth of this list of books – my staff has a wide range of material that they push, and it really shows! Great to see Liz Prince and Kids books share the list, y’know?
One calculation I’d like to share this year is the difference between the above list (which is sorted by QUANTITY SOLD), and if you sort the same thing by dollars generated – then things change pretty substantially….
| 1 | DAN CLOWES PATIENCE HC |
| 2 | SAGA TP VOL 06 |
| 3 | MONSTRESS TP VOL 01 |
| 4 | SAGA TP VOL 05 |
| 5 | RAINA TELGEMEIER GHOSTS GN |
| 6 | PAPER GIRLS TP VOL 01 |
| 7 | THE INCAL HC NEW PTG |
| 8 | SAGA DLX ED HC VOL 01 |
| 9 | DARK NIGHT A TRUE BATMAN STORY HC |
| 10 | RICK & MORTY TP VOL 01 |
As you can see here, under this calculation MONSTRESS drops to #3, with PATIENCE being our #1 seller, and SAGA v1 drops out of the top ten all together! (comes in at #12) Wow, and look how well THE INCAL scores! That last is even more amazing when you consider that THE PUBLISHER didn’t have any copies to sell us for at least 10% of the year (including the all-important last six weeks of 2016) – as our incoming President might say, “Sad!”
At the end of the day, while $9.95 price points certainly can help sell more COPIES of books, they’re not so hot for making money for stores or for creators. Fundamentally, I don’t believe that more than 10% of our sales of MONSTRESS v1 was directly connected to cover price (as opposed to salesmanship!), and yet it is 33% cheaper. In the case of SAGE v1, my assessment is that maybe (MAYBE!) 2% of the sales of that this year came from the cover price being a major factor, and if you look at poorer-selling books like, dunno say, RINGSIDE or THE FIX (neither of which managed to chart), the sales impact of that $10 cover price is exactly nil…. But the impact on the creator-owned bottom-line is enormous.
Let’s go over and look how Outpost’s books sold, with the super important caveat that Outposts single best-seller would have only ranked about #30 on the Mothership list, and, in fact, I will only list through #50(+1) since the quantities are so super-low (relatively). Outpost sold just over 1600 different titles selling one copy or more. Here’s their Top 50:
| 1 | SAGA TP VOL 06 |
| 2 | BLACK SCIENCE TP VOL 01 HOW TO FALL FOREVER |
| 3 | MONSTRESS TP VOL 01 |
| PAPER GIRLS TP VOL 01 | |
| 5 | SPACE DUMPLINS GN VOL 01 |
| 6 | BIRTHRIGHT TP VOL 01 HOMECOMING |
| EAST OF WEST TP VOL 01 THE PROMISE | |
| 8 | SAGA TP VOL 05 |
| 9 | NOWHERE MEN TP VOL 01 FATES WORSE THAN DEATH |
| 10 | BITCH PLANET TP VOL 01 EXTRAORDINARY MACHINE |
| SAGA TP VOL 01 | |
| 12 | CIVIL WAR TP |
| 13 | NIMONA GN |
| SAGA TP VOL 02 | |
| SAGA TP VOL 04 | |
| STAR WARS DARTH VADER TP VOL 01 VADER | |
| 17 | LUMBERJANES TP VOL 01 |
| MS MARVEL TP VOL 01 NO NORMAL | |
| 19 | BATMAN TP VOL 01 THE COURT OF OWLS |
| BATMAN YEAR ONE DELUXE SC | |
| BLACK PANTHER TP BOOK 01 NATION UNDER OUR FEET | |
| RUMBLE TP VOL 01 WHAT COLOR OF DARKNESS | |
| SAGA TP VOL 03 | |
| 24 | BATMAN THE KILLING JOKE SPECIAL ED HC |
| HARROW COUNTY TP VOL 01 COUNTLESS HAINTS | |
| LOCKE & KEY TP VOL 01 WELCOME TO LOVECRAFT | |
| WONDER WOMAN EARTH ONE HC VOL 01 | |
| 28 | COPRA ROUND ONE TP |
| STAR WARS TP VOL 01 SKYWALKER STRIKES | |
| 30 | DARK NIGHT A TRUE BATMAN STORY HC |
| INJECTION TP VOL 01 | |
| LOW TP VOL 01 THE DELIRIUM OF HOPE | |
| RAINA TELGEMEIER GHOSTS GN | |
| WICKED & DIVINE TP VOL 01 THE FAUST ACT | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP BOOK 01 | |
| 36 | AUTUMNLANDS TP VOL 01 TOOTH & CLAW |
| BATMAN HUSH COMPLETE TP | |
| DAREDEVIL TP BORN AGAIN | |
| DESCENDER TP VOL 01 TIN STARS | |
| EAST OF WEST TP VOL 02 WE ARE ALL ONE | |
| PREACHER TP BOOK 01 | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 01 DAYS GONE BYE | |
| 43 | BLACK MAGICK TP VOL 01 AWAKENING PART ONE |
| DEADPOOL KILLS MARVEL UNIVERSE TP | |
| MOON KNIGHT TP VOL 01 FROM DEAD | |
| MS MARVEL TP VOL 02 GENERATION WHY | |
| SAILOR MOON TP KODANSHA ED VOL 01 | |
| SANDMAN TP VOL 01 PRELUDES & NOCTURNES NEW ED | |
| SEX CRIMINALS TP VOL 01 | |
| STAR WARS DARTH VADER TP VOL 02 SHADOWS AND SECRETS | |
| WICKED & DIVINE TP VOL 03 |
The list isn’t insanely different, though there are some major holes. Where is PATIENCE, for example? (Down at #75, while THE INCAL is at #66). But, yeah, this is kind of a mainstream listing from a mainstream store.
(And yet, SPACE DUMPLINS is book #5, NICE!)
But what about the periodical comics?
Periodical comics are the engine that drives cash flow week to week TO ALLOW US TO sell the books the way we do – we’re able to keep a wide variety of material on hand simply because the periodicals drive sales and provide us with regular ongoing weekly readers.
Here’s The Mothership (in Quantity Order):
| 1 | BLACK PANTHER #1 |
| 2 | BLACK PANTHER #2 |
| 3 | DC UNIVERSE REBIRTH #1 first print |
| 4 | SAGA #33 |
| 5 | SNOTGIRL #1 |
| 6 | SAGA #36 |
| 7 | BLACK PANTHER #3 |
| SAGA #35 | |
| 9 | SAGA #34 |
| 10 | SAGA #37 |
| 11 | BATMAN REBIRTH #1 |
| PAPER GIRLS #4 | |
| 13 | SAGA #38 |
| 14 | PAPER GIRLS #6 |
| 15 | SAGA #39 |
| 16 | BLACK PANTHER #5 |
| PAPER GIRLS #5 | |
| 18 | BLACK PANTHER #4 |
| PAPER GIRLS #7 | |
| 20 | PAPER GIRLS #8 |
| 21 | SAGA #32 |
| 22 | SECRET WARS #9 (OF 9) |
| 23 | PAPER GIRLS #9 |
| 24 | PAPER GIRLS #10 |
| 25 | BATMAN #1 |
| 26 | BLACK PANTHER #6 |
| 27 | WONDER WOMAN REBIRTH #1 |
| 28 | SAGA #40 |
| 29 | SNOTGIRL #2 |
| 30 | DARK KNIGHT III MASTER RACE #4 (OF 8) |
| 31 | CIVIL WAR II #0 RCW2 |
| 32 | CIVIL WAR II #1 (OF 7) |
| 33 | BLACK PANTHER #7 |
| 34 | DARK KNIGHT III MASTER RACE #3 (OF 8) |
| WONDER WOMAN #1 | |
| 36 | DARK KNIGHT III MASTER RACE #5 (OF 8) |
| 37 | MONSTRESS #3 |
| 38 | MONSTRESS #7 |
| 39 | 4 KIDS WALK INTO A BANK #1 |
| ALL STAR BATMAN #1 | |
| 41 | BATMAN #2 |
| CIVIL WAR II #2 (OF 8) | |
| 43 | DOCTOR STRANGE #4 |
| 44 | FLASH REBIRTH #1 |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE REBIRTH #1 | |
| 46 | BATMAN #3 |
| 47 | SEVEN TO ETERNITY #1 |
| WALKING DEAD #154 | |
| 49 | JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 |
| SAGA #31 | |
| 51 | DARK KNIGHT III MASTER RACE #6 (OF 8) |
| DOOM PATROL #1 | |
| 53 | DARK KNIGHT III MASTER RACE #2 (OF 8) |
| DOCTOR STRANGE #5 | |
| DOCTOR STRANGE #6 | |
| FLASH #1 | |
| SUPERMAN REBIRTH #1 | |
| WALKING DEAD #150 | |
| WONDER WOMAN #2 | |
| SNOTGIRL #3 | |
| 61 | KILL OR BE KILLED #1 |
| STAR WARS POE DAMERON #1 | |
| 63 | BLACK PANTHER #8 |
| DARK KNIGHT RETURNS THE LAST CRUSADE #1 | |
| 65 | ALL STAR BATMAN #2 |
| MONSTRESS #4 | |
| 67 | BATMAN #4 |
| MONSTRESS #5 | |
| 69 | BITCH PLANET #7 |
| CIVIL WAR II #3 (OF 7) | |
| 71 | ARCHANGEL #1 |
| BITCH PLANET #6 | |
| DOCTOR STRANGE #9 | |
| WALKING DEAD #151 | |
| WONDER WOMAN #3 | |
| 76 | BATMAN #5 |
| CIVIL WAR II #4 (OF 7) | |
| DOCTOR STRANGE #7 | |
| SEX CRIMINALS #14 | |
| 80 | MONSTRESS #6 |
| SEX CRIMINALS #15 | |
| WALKING DEAD #152 | |
| 83 | DETECTIVE COMICS #934 |
| MONSTRESS #1 | |
| WALKING DEAD #157 | |
| 86 | DOCTOR STRANGE #8 |
| GREEN LANTERNS REBIRTH #1 | |
| SECRET WARS #8 (OF 9) | |
| 89 | BATMAN #6 |
| CIVIL WAR II #5 (OF 8) | |
| DOOM PATROL #2 | |
| WALKING DEAD #153 | |
| 93 | BATMAN #50 |
| BITCH PLANET #8 | |
| WALKING DEAD #155 | |
| WALKING DEAD #159 | |
| 97 | DOCTOR STRANGE #10 |
| EAST OF WEST #24 | |
| EAST OF WEST #27 | |
| LOW #12 | |
| MIRROR #1 | |
| WALKING DEAD #158 |
The monster success story is Black Panther by Ta-Nehisi Coates – we sold nearly fifty percent more copies of issue #1 than we did of 2015’s best-selling comic. It’s a little insane. And, I short-sleeved the book a bit, ordering less than Doug and the staff recommended, because their number scared me. So, since we sold out at a few points as a result (though never more than 3-4 days at a time), I think we could have done at least 10% better there; maybe even 20%. The drop-off, however, was pretty cataclysmic. I may always and forever have BP #4 in stock!
You can see Rebirth did big all around, CIVIL WAR II failed compared to the end of SECRET WARS (you can’t see it here, but pretty much putting the CW2 logo on a Marvel crossover comi caused sales to DROP here….), and 4 KIDS WALK INTO A BANK, DOOM PATROL and ARCHANGEL were all surprise hits. Oh! And MIRROR #1 made the Top 100, yay!
And over at the Outpost….
| 1 | DC UNIVERSE REBIRTH #1 |
| 2 | BATMAN REBIRTH #1 |
| 3 | BLACK PANTHER #1 |
| 4 | BATMAN #1 |
| 5 | BATMAN #2 |
| 6 | WONDER WOMAN REBIRTH #1 |
| 7 | BATMAN #3 |
| 8 | SUPERMAN REBIRTH #1 |
| 9 | BLACK PANTHER #2 |
| 10 | FLASH REBIRTH #1 |
| 11 | WONDER WOMAN #1 |
| 12 | JUSTICE LEAGUE REBIRTH #1 |
| SUPERMAN #1 | |
| 14 | CIVIL WAR II #1 (OF 7) |
| 15 | FLASH #1 |
| 16 | BATMAN #4 |
| 17 | ALL STAR BATMAN #1 |
| DETECTIVE COMICS #934 | |
| 19 | BATMAN #5 |
| 20 | 4 KIDS WALK INTO A BANK #1 |
| CIVIL WAR II #3 (OF 7) | |
| CIVIL WAR II #4 (OF 7) | |
| 23 | CIVIL WAR II #2 (OF 8) |
| TITANS REBIRTH #1 | |
| 25 | SUPERMAN #2 |
| 26 | BLACK PANTHER #3 |
| CIVIL WAR II #0 RCW2 | |
| 28 | JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 |
| 29 | BATMAN #6 |
| SECRET WARS #9 (OF 9) | |
| 31 | BATMAN #50 |
| DETECTIVE COMICS #935 | |
| WONDER WOMAN #2 | |
| 34 | BATMAN #7 |
| SUPERMAN #3 | |
| 36 | FLASH #2 |
| NEW SUPER MAN #1 | |
| 38 | GREEN LANTERNS REBIRTH #1 |
| MONSTRESS #3 | |
| 40 | BATMAN #51 |
| DARK KNIGHT III MASTER RACE #3 (OF 8) | |
| DARK KNIGHT III MASTER RACE #4 (OF 8) | |
| 43 | BATMAN #49 |
| DARK KNIGHT III MASTER RACE #5 (OF 8) | |
| TITANS #1 | |
| 46 | BATMAN #48 |
| 47 | BATMAN #52 |
| BLACK PANTHER #4 | |
| DARK KNIGHT RETURNS THE LAST CRUSADE #1 | |
| MONSTRESS #6 | |
| WONDER WOMAN #3 | |
| 52 | MONSTRESS #4 |
| 53 | JUSTICE LEAGUE #2 |
| 54 | FLASH #3 |
| 55 | AQUAMAN REBIRTH #1 |
| 56 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #15 |
| GREEN ARROW REBIRTH #1 | |
| SUPERMAN #4 | |
| SUPERMAN #5 | |
| 60 | JUSTICE LEAGUE #3 |
| NIGHTWING REBIRTH #1 | |
| 62 | FLASH #4 |
| MONSTRESS #5 | |
| 64 | BLACK PANTHER #6 |
| SEVEN TO ETERNITY #1 | |
| WONDER WOMAN #4 | |
| 67 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #12 |
| DARK KNIGHT III MASTER RACE #6 (OF 8) | |
| SUICIDE SQUAD #1 | |
| 70 | ALL STAR BATMAN #2 |
| BATMAN #10 | |
| BATMAN #9 | |
| CIVIL WAR II #5 (OF 8) | |
| FLASH #6 | |
| GREEN ARROW #1 | |
| SPIDER-MAN #1 | |
| 77 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #13 |
| GREEN LANTERNS #1 | |
| SUICIDE SQUAD REBIRTH #1 | |
| 80 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #6 |
| BATMAN #8 | |
| BLACK PANTHER #5 | |
| NIGHTWING #1 | |
| 50 | FLASH #5 |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #50 | |
| 86 | ACTION COMICS #957 |
| ALL STAR BATMAN #4 | |
| DETECTIVE COMICS #937 | |
| DOCTOR STRANGE #7 | |
| PAPER GIRLS #4 | |
| SPIDER-MAN DEADPOOL #1 | |
| WONDER WOMAN #5 | |
| 93 | EXTRAORDINARY X-MEN #5 |
| INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #7 | |
| PAPER GIRLS #7 | |
| STAR WARS POE DAMERON #1 | |
| 97 | ACTION COMICS #958 |
| AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #11 | |
| AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #9 | |
| DETECTIVE COMICS #936 | |
| EXTRAORDINARY X-MEN #6 | |
| KILL OR BE KILLED #1 | |
| OLD MAN LOGAN #1 | |
| SPIDER-MAN #2 | |
| SUPERMAN #6 | |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #1 |
Way way way more traditional, right? Here CIVIL WAR II mostly works (though, still, not for the crossovers), and they go ALL-IN on Rebirh. That’s most of what drove that 11% sales increase at the Outpost – the DC Explosion of sales here. There’s NO WAY I would have caught but a fraction of those sales without the returns. Oh, and 4 KIDS WALK INTO A BANK #1 at #20? Wow!
OVERALL, the biggest surprise for me in 2016 was looking at the Publisher percentages, and seeing an upset that the Mothership has never ever seen in 27 years of business. Here’s how the Top 30 Publishers by dollars break down:
| MARVEL COMICS | 21.64% |
| IMAGE COMICS | 19.43% |
| DC COMICS | 19.01% |
| DARK HORSE COMICS | 5.89% |
| IDW PUBLISHING | 3.40% |
| FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS | 3.14% |
| BOOM! STUDIOS | 3.10% |
| GRAPHIX | 1.73% |
| ONI PRESS INC. | 1.63% |
| DRAWN & QUARTERLY | 1.53% |
| :01 FIRST SECOND | 1.27% |
| VIZ MEDIA LLC | 1.16% |
| D. E. | 0.93% |
| KODANSHA COMICS | 0.93% |
| AVATAR PRESS INC | 0.83% |
| HUMANOIDS INC | 0.80% |
| ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS | 0.75% |
| TITAN COMICS | 0.56% |
| PANTHEON BOOKS | 0.53% |
| REBELLION / 2000AD | 0.44% |
| YEN PRESS | 0.35% |
| KOYAMA PRESS | 0.31% |
| CHRONICLE BOOKS | 0.29% |
| SELFMADEHERO | 0.27% |
| BLACK MASK COMICS | 0.26% |
| HARPER COLLINS PUBLISHERS | 0.25% |
| ABRAMS COMICARTS | 0.25% |
| VERTICAL COMICS | 0.25% |
| VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT LLC | 0.25% |
| ALTERNATIVE COMICS | 0.24% |
WHAT? What the HECK is Marvel doing in the lead???!?! Well, I can tell you: it’s pretty much those first few issues of BLACK PANTHER. Not only is that the best-selling comic book the store has seen… well, maybe since that issue of Spider-Man with President Obama? But, sheesh, it was $5. That pricing (and their generally much MUCH more expensive book pricing) drove their percentage to an all-time high.
No, serious, I never ever thought I would see the day that Marvel comics was the #1 publisher at Comix Experience on Divisadero.
How’d the Outpost look this year?
| MARVEL COMICS | 36.64% |
| DC COMICS | 26.51% |
| IMAGE COMICS | 13.55% |
| IDW PUBLISHING | 3.69% |
| DARK HORSE COMICS | 3.60% |
| BOOM! STUDIOS | 2.94% |
| D. E. | 1.11% |
| ONI PRESS INC. | 0.98% |
| ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS | 0.83% |
| FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS | 0.47% |
| AFTERSHOCK COMICS | 0.45% |
| VIZ MEDIA LLC | 0.44% |
| TITAN COMICS | 0.43% |
| AVATAR PRESS INC | 0.39% |
| BLACK MASK COMICS | 0.35% |
| GRAPHIX | 0.34% |
| GRAPHITTI DESIGNS | 0.34% |
| :01 FIRST SECOND | 0.33% |
| FUNKO | 0.32% |
| KODANSHA COMICS | 0.23% |
| BONGO COMICS | 0.23% |
| HUMANOIDS INC | 0.22% |
| VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT LLC | 0.22% |
| DRAWN & QUARTERLY | 0.21% |
| HEAVY METAL MAGAZINE | 0.18% |
| BENITEZ PRODUCTIONS | 0.18% |
| IDW - TOP SHELF | 0.17% |
| PANTHEON BOOKS | 0.15% |
| JOE BOOKS INC. | 0.15% |
| ACTION LAB - DANGER ZONE | 0.15% |
Yeah, like I said, traditional-ass comics store.
But, one thing I would like to highlight is just what happened at Outpost with DC during the Rebirth launch.
Here’s Q1
| MARVEL COMICS | 41.56% |
| DC COMICS | 19.31% |
Then Q2:
| MARVEL COMICS | 40.23% |
| DC COMICS | 24.65% |
But look at Q3, where they almost tie!
| MARVEL COMICS | 33.84% |
| DC COMICS | 32.03% |
And finally Q4:
| MARVEL COMICS | 32.36% |
| DC COMICS | 28.74% |
Four points separating is a whole different ballgame than sheesh, 22 points in q1!
Another thing that happened at Outpost this year was some of the “Variant Series” (ex: Skottie Young variant covers, Hip Hops, etc.) lost most of their ground – at one point we’d sell 20+ copies with a Skottie cover, but by the end of the year we were down to about 7. Doesn’t help, either, that Marvel kept raising their targets, so we couldn’t actually order most of them without taking a risk and a bath. Less money for us all.
Overall, both stores seem to be going in the right direction, and we’re seeing a lot of strength in a lot of great comics. We’ve absolutely got a comic that you’re going to like, and we’d love it if you came by and let us show you all of the possibilities that comics have, whether that’s at our main store on Divisadero, or at the Outpost, out on Ocean ave., or through our Graphic-Novel-of-the-Month Club or our GN Club for Kids! We LOVE comics, and we want you to love them too!
Feel free to make any observations about our sales in the comment section below – we’re always interested in questions and feedback.
Comix Experience best-sellers 2015
/After the cut, it's a big long data-dump for people what like that kind of thing!
I’m posting this year’s sales analysis a bit wider than usual (Hello Reddit!), so let me write a little more about myself and my CV and my stores than typical. My name is Brian Hibbs and I own two comic book stores in San Francisco: Comix Experience on Divisadero St, and Comix Experience Outpost on Ocean Ave. I opened the original store 26 years ago in 1989, when I was just twenty-one years old, and I purchased Outpost almost exactly two years ago, in order to stop it from closing overnight.
San Francisco is currently home to nine comic book stores (The others include: Cards and Comics Central, Collector’s Cave, Isotope, Whatever, Amazing Fantasy, Mission: Comics and Art, and Two Cats); down from twenty-four when I opened in 1989. There are also something around a dozen general independent book stores (note that San Francisco has no national chain bookstores!) that also carry a solid selection of “graphic novels” (which is usually really just a highfaluting name for “bound collection of comics”, and isn’t really any different in any substantial way from “comic book”, except that it makes people feel better about themselves) – but it is the comics specialty stores that are selling the most comics material, and it is my belief that my two Comix Experience stores sell roughly a quarter of all comics material in The City.
As I noted, I have been selling comics since 1989, and we’re the oldest comic store with the same ownership in the same location in San Francisco. For a quarter of a century I’ve written “Tilting At Windmills”, a regular column about comics retailing, also published in two volumes from IDW Publishing; I’ve been a judge of the Eisner Awards (Comics’ equivalent of the Oscars); I’ve sat on the Board of Directors of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (an organization that protects the First Amendment rights of comics creators), I was one of the original founders of ComicsPRO (the comics retailer trade organization); and I even led a successful Class Action lawsuit against Marvel Comics that won more than a million dollars for comic book retailers internationally.
Most recently, in response to rising costs in San Francisco, we launched an international Graphic-Novel-Of-The-Month Club where we hold streaming meetings with authors (like Neil Gaiman!) for literally hundreds of folks around the country (and globe!), and we also have a sibling club for kids aged 8-13, which is co-hosted with my twelve year old son.
(*whew*)
2015 was an excellent year for Comix Experience – sales were up by 14.41% in the main store, and by 19.53% at Outpost; something that I attribute mostly to my superlative staff (Douglas, Emma and Sienna at the main store, and Nathan, Cameron, and Jay at Outpost) – and we’ve had our best year ever at both locations.
The two stores are VERY different from one another with different tones and tenors. The main store is very much a book store that specializes in comics material: 56% of our sales came from book-format comics this year, while 40% came from periodical comics (usually stapled, usually 32 pages). Only 4% of our sales come from other material (including toys and t-shirts and so on). Comix Experience is less about the characters (Batman and Spider-Man, et al.) and much more focused on the creators that bring those characters to life. As a creator-driven store, our sales reflect that passion, as you will see below.
Comix Experience Outpost runs pretty differently – it was an existing store that we took over, and because of its location and the nature of its traffic, it is FAR more focused on the periodical comic (as well as the back issue). Outpost is 70% periodical-format comics (10% of that is back issues), and just 23% in book format comics. 7% of sales there are toys and other merchandise. It’s a very different sales mix than the Mothership!
Let’s take a look, store-by-store, at sales this year, and see what the best-sellers are in each category, and get a sense of maybe where the market is heading. Let’s look at BOOKS, first, since that’s the biggest category at the bigger store!
One important consideration here is that these numbers DO NOT include the Graphic-Novel-Of-The-Month Club numbers, every one of which would top the #1 in-store book! In fact, we’ve been told that, for at least some of the titles we selected (which were, in order: ILYA’s “Room For Love”, Ryan North and Erica Henderson’s “Unbeatable Squirrel-Girl”, Liz Suburbia’s “Sacred Heart”, Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba’s “Two Brothers”, Neil Gaiman and JH Williams III’s “Sandman: Overture”, and Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crooks’ “Harrow County”), the GN club represented 8-10% of the print run of those books!
As always, our single biggest entry is the generic “Sale Book”, where we’re marking down unsold books by roughly 50% of cover price to get them out – that catchall, combined, sold more copies than our #1 book. This is true at BOTH stores. But, I’m not including that in this presentation because I think it muddies the waters too much.
So, starting with The Mothership, Comix Experience on Divisadero, the top 100 (or so) books looks like this:
| 1 | SAGA TP VOL 04 |
| 2 | SAGA TP VOL 05 |
| 3 | SAGA TP VOL 01 |
| 4 | SAGA TP VOL 03 |
| 5 | SAGA TP VOL 02 |
| 6 | SAGA DLX ED HC VOL 01 |
| 7 | TREES TP VOL 01 |
| 8 | DEADLY CLASS TP VOL 01 REAGAN YOUTH |
| 9 | WICKED & DIVINE TP VOL 01 THE FAUST ACT |
| 10 | SPACE DUMPLINS GN VOL 01 |
| 11 | SEX CRIMINALS TP VOL 01 |
| 12 | SEX CRIMINALS TP VOL 02 TWO WORLDS ONE COP |
| 13 | SANDMAN TP VOL 01 |
| 14 | MS MARVEL TP VOL 01 NO NORMAL |
| 15 | LOW TP VOL 01 THE DELIRIUM OF HOPE |
| 16 | MS MARVEL TP VOL 02 GENERATION WHY |
| 17 | EAST OF WEST TP VOL 01 THE PROMISE |
| FADE OUT TP VOL 01 | |
| 19 | SANDMAN OVERTURE DELUXE ED HC |
| 20 | BLACK SCIENCE TP VOL 01 HOW TO FALL FOREVER |
| 21 | FABLES TP VOL 22 |
| 22 | DEADLY CLASS TP VOL 02 KIDS OF THE BLACK HOLE |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP BOOK 01 | |
| 24 | EAST OF WEST TP VOL 04 WHO WANTS WAR |
| IN REAL LIFE GN | |
| 26 | AMULET SC VOL 01 STONEKEEPER |
| BLACK SCIENCE TP VOL 02 WELCOME NOWHERE | |
| THIS ONE SUMMER GN | |
| WICKED & DIVINE TP VOL 02 FANDEMONIUM | |
| 30 | BONE COLOR ED SC VOL 01 OUT FROM BONEVILLE |
| SANDMAN TP VOL 02 THE DOLLS HOUSE | |
| 32 | APOCALYPTIGIRL AN ARIA FOR THE END TIMES TP |
| THE INCAL HC | |
| 34 | BITCH PLANET TP VOL 01 EXTRAORDINARY MACHINE |
| 35 | RAT QUEENS TP VOL 01 SASS & SORCERY |
| STEP ASIDE POPS HARK A VAGRANT COLLECTION HC | |
| UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL TP VOL 01 SQUIRREL POWER | |
| 38 | WATCHMEN TP |
| 39 | LOVE AND ROCKETS NEW STORIES TP VOL 07 |
| 40 | NIMONA GN |
| PROPHET TP VOL 01 REMISSION | |
| PROPHET TP VOL 04 JOINING | |
| 43 | BEE AND PUPPYCAT TP VOL 01 |
| KILLING & DYING HC | |
| RAT QUEENS TP VOL 02 FAR REACHING TENTACLES OF N'RYGOT | |
| 46 | DESCENDER TP VOL 01 TIN STARS |
| OGLAF BOOK TWO | |
| 48 | BRYAN LEE O MALLEY SECONDS GN |
| CIVIL WAR TP | |
| HAWKEYE TP VOL 01 MY LIFE AS A WEAPON | |
| HAWKEYE TP VOL 03 LA WOMAN | |
| MS MARVEL TP VOL 03 CRUSHED | |
| 53 | EAST OF WEST TP VOL 02 WE ARE ALL ONE |
| EAST OF WEST TP VOL 03 THERE IS NO US | |
| FUN HOME TP | |
| OGLAF BOOK ONE | |
| 57 | BLACK HOLE COLLECTED SC |
| 58 | AMULET SC VOL 02 STONEKEEPERS CURSE |
| DARTH VADER AND SON HC | |
| MEANWHILE IN SAN FRANCISCO THE CITY IN ITS OWN WORDS | |
| WRENCHIES GN | |
| 62 | BATMAN TP VOL 01 THE COURT OF OWLS |
| BLACK SCIENCE TP VOL 03 VANISHING POINT | |
| COPRA TP ROUND TWO | |
| EX MACHINA TP BOOK 01 | |
| TWO BROTHERS HC | |
| 67 | BATMAN YEAR ONE DELUXE SC |
| CAT PERSON | |
| DAYTRIPPER TP | |
| FIGHT CLUB (Prose) | |
| MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 05 THE COLD WAR | |
| NEMO RIVER OF GHOSTS HC | |
| V FOR VENDETTA NEW EDITION TP (MR) | |
| 74 | ADVENTURE TIME TP VOL 01 |
| BATMAN THE KILLING JOKE SPECIAL ED HC | |
| FABLES TP VOL 01 LEGENDS IN EXILE | |
| GOODNIGHT DARTH VADER HC | |
| SMILE SC NEW PTG | |
| SUPERMUTANT MAGIC ACADEMY GN | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 01 DAYS GONE BYE | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP BOOK 02 | |
| 82 | DEADLY CLASS TP VOL 03 THE SNAKE PIT |
| HAWKEYE TP VOL 04 RIO BRAVO | |
| MOON KNIGHT TP VOL 01 FROM DEAD | |
| PREACHER TP BOOK 01 | |
| SANDMAN TP VOL 03 DREAM COUNTRY | |
| SISTERS GN | |
| THROUGH THE WOODS GN | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 23 WHISPERS INTO SCREAMS | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 24 LIFE AND DEATH | |
| 91 | ATTACK ON TITAN GN VOL 01 |
| BATMAN DARK KNIGHT RETURNS TP | |
| CHI SWEET HOME GN VOL 01 | |
| FABLES TP VOL 21 HAPPILY EVER AFTER | |
| FROM HELL TP | |
| HARK A VAGRANT HC | |
| HELLBOY TP VOL 01 SEED OF DESTRUCTION | |
| MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 01 SCIENCE BAD | |
| SACRED HEART GN | |
| SCULPTOR HC GN | |
| STAR WARS JEDI ACADEMY YR HC VOL 01 | |
| TRANSMETROPOLITAN TP VOL 01 BACK ON THE STREET | |
| ZERO TP VOL 01 AN EMERGENCY |
As you can see, it is Brian K. Vaughan’s world, we just live in it, as “Saga” utterly sweeps the top of the chart. It is almost not fair… except, that it is an excellent comic, and sales are very much deserved. “Saga” is published by Image comics, and Image entirely dominates the charts with a pretty staggering thirty-five out of the 104 books listed here.
Another thing that is probably worth noting is that super-hero comics aren’t doing that great on this list – only nine of the Top Sellers for the year are Marvel super-hero titles, and just a paltry four are DC super-hero books. Meanwhile? I count seventeen books on our Top Sellers that are aimed squarely at kids!
Meanwhile the Outpost has a very different looking list – the top is somewhat the same, but then it diverges wildly:
| 1 | SAGA TP VOL 01 |
| 2 | WICKED & DIVINE TP VOL 01 THE FAUST ACT |
| 3 | SAGA TP VOL 04 |
| 4 | SAGA TP VOL 05 |
| 5 | EAST OF WEST TP VOL 01 THE PROMISE |
| NOWHERE MEN TP VOL 01 FATES WORSE THAN DEATH | |
| SAGA DLX ED HC VOL 01 | |
| 8 | BLACK SCIENCE TP VOL 01 HOW TO FALL FOREVER |
| 9 | CIVIL WAR TP |
| 10 | DEADLY CLASS TP VOL 01 REAGAN YOUTH |
| 11 | SAGA TP VOL 02 |
| 12 | SAGA TP VOL 03 |
| 13 | EAST OF WEST TP VOL 02 WE ARE ALL ONE |
| MS MARVEL TP VOL 01 NO NORMAL | |
| PRETTY DEADLY TP VOL 01 | |
| SEX CRIMINALS TP VOL 01 | |
| SOUTHERN BASTARDS TP VOL 01 HERE WAS A MAN | |
| 18 | BATMAN THE KILLING JOKE SPECIAL ED HC |
| BLACK SCIENCE TP VOL 02 WELCOME NOWHERE | |
| NIMONA GN | |
| RAT QUEENS TP VOL 01 SASS & SORCERY | |
| 22 | MOON KNIGHT TP VOL 01 FROM DEAD |
| MS MARVEL TP VOL 02 GENERATION WHY | |
| 24 | DEADLY CLASS TP VOL 02 KIDS OF THE BLACK HOLE |
| LUMBERJANES TP VOL 01 | |
| 26 | FADE OUT TP VOL 01 |
| LOW TP VOL 01 THE DELIRIUM OF HOPE | |
| RAT QUEENS TP VOL 02 FAR REACHING TENTACLES OF N'RYGOT | |
| 29 | DEADPOOL TP VOL 01 DEAD PRESIDENTS NOW |
| INFINITY GAUNTLET TP | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 23 WHISPERS INTO SCREAMS | |
| WRENCHIES GN | |
| 33 | BATMAN TP VOL 01 THE COURT OF OWLS |
| CHEW TP VOL 01 | |
| FLASH TP VOL 01 MOVE FORWARD | |
| SEX CRIMINALS TP VOL 02 TWO WORLDS ONE COP | |
| SPACE DUMPLINS GN VOL 01 | |
| WICKED & DIVINE TP VOL 02 FANDEMONIUM | |
| 39 | BATMAN ETERNAL TP VOL 01 |
| BATMAN TP VOL 03 DEATH OF THE FAMILY | |
| BEE AND PUPPYCAT TP VOL 01 | |
| BITCH PLANET TP VOL 01 EXTRAORDINARY MACHINE | |
| BLACK SCIENCE TP VOL 03 VANISHING POINT | |
| BONE COLOR ED SC VOL 01 OUT FROM BONEVILLE | |
| DEADPOOL TP VOL 01 SECRET INVASION | |
| DEADPOOL VS CARNAGE TP | |
| EAST OF WEST TP VOL 03 THERE IS NO US | |
| SANDMAN TP VOL 01 PRELUDES & NOCTURNES NEW ED | |
| THEYRE NOT LIKE US TP VOL 01 BLACK HOLES FOR THE YOUNG | |
| TREES TP VOL 01 | |
| 51 | BATMAN DARK KNIGHT RETURNS TP |
| BIRTHRIGHT TP VOL 01 HOMECOMING | |
| COPRA ROUND ONE TP | |
| DARTH VADER & FRIENDS HC | |
| DEADPOOL KILLS MARVEL UNIVERSE TP | |
| DISNEY FROZEN CINESTORY | |
| EAST OF WEST TP VOL 04 WHO WANTS WAR | |
| HOUSE OF HEM TP | |
| JUPITERS LEGACY TP VOL 01 | |
| LOCKE & KEY TP VOL 01 WELCOME TO LOVECRAFT | |
| RUMBLE TP VOL 01 WHAT COLOR OF DARKNESS | |
| SAILOR MOON TP KODANSHA ED VOL 01 | |
| STAR WARS DARTH VADER TP VOL 01 VADER | |
| STAR WARS JEDI ACADEMY YR HC VOL 03 PHANTOM BULLY | |
| STREET FIGHTER TP VOL 01 | |
| WYTCHES TP VOL 01 | |
| 67 | ALAN MOORE WRITING FOR COMICS GN |
| ALL OVER COFFEE v2: EVERYTHING IS ITS OWN REWARD | |
| AUTUMNLANDS TP VOL 01 TOOTH & CLAW | |
| BATMAN HC VOL 07 ENDGAME | |
| BATMAN LIL GOTHAM TP VOL 01 | |
| BLACKEST NIGHT TP | |
| BRYAN LEE O MALLEY SECONDS GN | |
| DARTH VADER AND SON HC | |
| DEADPOOL BY DANIEL WAY COMPLETE COLL TP VOL 01 | |
| DEADPOOL TP VOL 02 SOUL HUNTER NOW | |
| DEADPOOL TP VOL 05 WEDDING OF DEADPOOL | |
| DOCTOR WHO OFF GUIDE HOW TO BE TIME LORD HC | |
| EX MACHINA TP BOOK ONE | |
| FATALE TP VOL 01 DEATH CHASES ME | |
| GREEN ARROW TP VOL 04 THE KILL MACHINE | |
| INFINITY WAR TP (JAN062102) | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE TP VOL 01 ORIGIN | |
| MAGNETO TP VOL 01 INFAMOUS | |
| MS MARVEL TP VOL 03 CRUSHED | |
| NIGHT OF LIVING DEADPOOL TP | |
| PHONOGRAM TP VOL 01 RUE BRITANNA | |
| RUNAWAYS COMPLETE COLLECTION TP VOL 01 | |
| STAR WARS JEDI ACADEMY YR HC VOL 01 | |
| STAR WARS TP VOL 01 SKYWALKER STRIKES | |
| TRANSMETROPOLITAN TP VOL 01 BACK ON THE STREET | |
| VELVET TP VOL 01 BEFORE THE LIVING END | |
| WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM TP VOL 01 | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 01 DAYS GONE BYE | |
| WATCHMEN TP NEW ED | |
| 96 | APOCALYPTIGIRL AN ARIA FOR THE END TIMES TP |
| BATMAN & ROBIN TP VOL 01 BORN TO KILL | |
| BATMAN EARTH ONE HC VOL 02 | |
| BATMAN HUSH COMPLETE TP | |
| BATMAN THE LONG HALLOWEEN TP NEW ED | |
| BATMAN TP VOL 05 ZERO YEAR DARK CITY | |
| BATMAN YEAR ONE DELUXE SC | |
| BATTLING BOY SC GN VOL 01 | |
| BLACKSAD AMARILLO HC | |
| BTVS SEASON 10 TP VOL 01 | |
| CAPTAIN MARVEL TP VOL 01 HIGHER FURTHER FASTER MORE | |
| COWL TP VOL 01 PRINCIPLES OF POWER | |
| CRIMINAL TP VOL 01 COWARD | |
| DAREDEVIL TP VOL 01 DEVIL AT BAY | |
| DEADLY CLASS TP VOL 03 THE SNAKE PIT | |
| DEADPOOL TP VOL 02 DARK REIGN | |
| DIVINE GN | |
| FABLES TP VOL 22 | |
| FUTURAMA TP VOL 01 O RAMA | |
| GOTG BY ABNETT AND LANNING COMPLETE COLL TP VOL 01 | |
| HILO GN VOL 01 BOY WHO CRASHED TO EARTH | |
| INJECTION TP VOL 01 | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE TP VOL 02 THE VILLAINS JOURNEY | |
| KINGDOM COME TP NEW EDITION | |
| LAZARUS TP VOL 01 | |
| MAGNETO TP VOL 02 REVERSALS | |
| MAKING COMICS STORYTELLING SECRETS SC NEW PTG | |
| METAL GEAR SOLID OMNIBUS TP | |
| MILES MORALES ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN TP VOL 01 REVIVAL | |
| MORTAL KOMBAT X TP VOL 01 | |
| MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDS FOREVER TP VOL 01 | |
| NAILBITER TP VOL 01 THERE WILL BE BLOOD | |
| SANDMAN OVERTURE DELUXE ED HC | |
| SANDMAN TP VOL 02 THE DOLLS HOUSE NEW ED | |
| SENSATION COMICS FEATURING WONDER WOMAN TP VOL 01 | |
| SHE-HULK TP VOL 01 LAW AND DISORDER | |
| SMILE SC NEW PTG | |
| SOUTHERN BASTARDS TP VOL 02 GRIDIRON | |
| SPIDER-VERSE HC | |
| STAR WARS JEDI ACADEMY YR HC VOL 02 RETURN OF PADAWAN | |
| SUICIDE SQUAD TP VOL 01 KICKED IN THE TEETH | |
| THOR PREM HC VOL 01 GODDESS OF THUNDER | |
| UNNATURAL CREATURES STORIES SELECTED BY NEIL GAIMAN SC | |
| USAGI YOJIMBO SAGA TP VOL 01 | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 02 MILES BEHIND US | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 19 MARCH TO WAR | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 20 ALL OUT WAR PT 1 | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 24 LIFE AND DEATH | |
| WOODS TP VOL 01 | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP BOOK 01 | |
| YOUNG AVENGERS TP VOL 01 STYLE SUBSTANCE NOW |
There are 146 titles on Outpost’s list of “Top Sellers” (Compared to Experience’s 104), mostly because of all of the ties towards the bottom. Honestly, only the top 24 titles by quantity would even place on The Mothership’s list, and Outpost’s #1 book sold about twenty percent of Experience’s #1 – like I said, Outpost is mostly periodical sales!
Of Outpost’s 146 best-selling books, fifty-one are Image books, and fifty-one are Marvel/DC superhero books (21 DC, 30 Marvel), but I still feel optimistic about this list because 16 of the Top 20 are from Image, and they also feature sixteen titles that are aimed squarely at kids. Outpost has an entrenched and trained customer base, and I believe that it takes somewhere between three and five years to build trust and shift tastes in any kind of a meaningful fashion. This looks like a pretty great start to me, at the end of year two!
What about periodical comics? Periodical comics are the crank that drives the engine – they provide a regular, steady, dependable cash-flow, and get people visiting us “52 weeks a year”. As noted above, Experience is 40% periodicals this year (I am a little surprised: that is up from last year when it was 39% -- I put this primarily on Marvel cover prices).
I actually stumped Divisadero’s staff this year when I asked them what the best-selling periodical was. They (and I!) assumed it was SAGA, or, maybe PAPER GIRLS, but, no….
| 1 | FIGHT CLUB 2 #1 |
| 2 | PAPER GIRLS #1 |
| 3 | SAGA #25 |
| 4 | SECRET WARS #1 (OF 9) |
| 5 | FIGHT CLUB 2 #2 |
| 6 | SAGA #26 |
| 7 | SAGA #28 |
| SANDMAN OVERTURE #5 (OF 6) | |
| 9 | SAGA #29 |
| 10 | SAGA #30 |
| 11 | SAGA #27 |
| 12 | SECRET WARS #2 (OF 8) |
| 13 | FIGHT CLUB 2 #3 |
| 14 | PAPER GIRLS #2 |
| 15 | SANDMAN OVERTURE #4 (OF 6) |
| 16 | SECRET WARS #3 (OF 9) |
| 17 | ISLAND #1 |
| 18 | STAR WARS #1 |
| 19 | SECRET WARS #4 (OF 9) |
| 20 | SAGA #31 |
| 21 | FIGHT CLUB 2 #4 |
| 22 | BITCH PLANET #2 |
| 23 | SANDMAN OVERTURE #6 (OF 6) |
| SECRET WARS #5 (OF 8) | |
| 25 | MONSTRESS #1 |
| 26 | SEX CRIMINALS #11 |
| 27 | CASANOVA ACEDIA #1 |
| 28 | PAPER GIRLS #3 |
| 29 | BITCH PLANET #1 |
| 30 | 8HOUSE ARCLIGHT #1 |
| 31 | DARTH VADER #1 |
| 32 | NAMELESS #1 |
| 33 | BITCH PLANET #3 |
| 34 | DESCENDER #1 |
| 35 | SECRET WARS #6 (OF 9) |
| 36 | WE STAND ON GUARD #1 |
| 37 | STAR WARS #2 |
| 38 | DOCTOR STRANGE #1 |
| INJECTION #1 | |
| 40 | STAR WARS #3 |
| 41 | JOURNEY STAR WARS FASE #1 (OF 4) |
| 42 | SECRET WARS #7 (OF 9) |
| 43 | ARCHIE #1 |
| 44 | DYING AND THE DEAD #1 |
| 45 | INJECTION #2 |
| PROVIDENCE #1 (OF 12) | |
| 47 | DARK KNIGHT III MASTER RACE #1 (OF 8) |
| PRINCESS LEIA #1 (OF 5) | |
| WE STAND ON GUARD #2 | |
| 50 | BITCH PLANET #4 |
| DARTH VADER #2 | |
| 52 | ISLAND #2 |
| STAR WARS #4 | |
| TOKYO GHOST #1 | |
| 55 | DESCENDER #2 |
| SEX CRIMINALS #10 | |
| 57 | BATMAN #40 |
| LOW #6 | |
| WE STAND ON GUARD #3 | |
| 60 | DARTH VADER #4 |
| FADE OUT #4 | |
| FIGHT CLUB 2 #5 | |
| STAR WARS #5 | |
| 64 | NAMELESS #2 |
| 65 | EAST OF WEST #16 |
| 66 | AUTUMNLANDS TOOTH & CLAW #3 |
| DOCTOR STRANGE #2 | |
| SECRET WARS #8 (OF 9) | |
| SEX CRIMINALS #12 | |
| UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #1 (Ser 1) | |
| 71 | 8HOUSE ARCLIGHT #2 |
| BLACK SCIENCE #12 | |
| STAR WARS #6 | |
| STAR WARS #8 | |
| WALKING DEAD #145 | |
| 76 | FADE OUT #5 |
| LOW #7 | |
| 78 | A-FORCE #1 SWA |
| DARTH VADER #3 | |
| FADE OUT #6 | |
| JUPITERS LEGACY #5 | |
| OLD MAN LOGAN #1 | |
| THOR #8 | |
| WALKING DEAD #138 | |
| 85 | BATMAN #39 |
| SEX CRIMINALS #13 | |
| STAR WARS #7 | |
| WALKING DEAD #136 | |
| WALKING DEAD #137 | |
| WALKING DEAD #141 | |
| 91 | 8HOUSE #3 KIEM PART ONE |
| BATMAN #41 | |
| CRIMINAL SPECIAL ED ONE SHOT | |
| DESCENDER #3 | |
| FADE OUT #7 | |
| LOW #9 | |
| ODYC #1 | |
| WALKING DEAD #139 | |
| WALKING DEAD #146 | |
| WICKED & DIVINE #8 |
In a never-before-seen thing, there are *exactly* one hundred titles on the Top 100 this year, and the bottom of the list is about 20% higher sales than the bottom of 2014’s list. The top is also much higher – more than a third! Also, the top 22 books were all triple-digits, which is a significant deepening from the top. From my perspective, periodical comics are sort of thriving?
FIGHT CLUB 2 #1 takes the top spot, at least in part, because we had Chuck Palahniuk in for a signing. That moved the needle a little! We also get the strongest super-hero performance we’ve had in like a decade, with SECRET WARS #1 in at position number four. We sold as many copies of SW #1 as we did (almost) the next three Marvel superhero comics combined. If only lateness hadn’t plagued that project, and sent sales dropping by 20% across-the-board on later issues.
A few things I am proud of: ISLAND #1 as a Top 20 book, MONSTRESS #1 as a Top 25 title, and 8HOUSE: ARCLIGHT #1 as a top 30 book. Oh! And ARCHIE #1 as a Top 50 title!
Overall, Image is a staggering fifty-eight of the Top 100. But note how many of those are #1s and how you’re seeing fewer #2-4s on this list. This indicates people are SAMPLING, but maybe not STAYING with those titles (at least not in the “top 100 in a year” sense)
Just eighteen of our Top 100 are traditional superhero comics – with fourteen from Marvel, and just four of those from DC. My best-selling ongoing periodical DC superhero title that isn’t Snyder & Capulo’s BATMAN is BLACK CANARY #1 way way down at (you can’t see it) 174.
As I said, fourteen Marvel Super-hero comics, but ALSO fourteen Marvel STAR WARS comics. That’s crazy, and huge! Also, you can see the occasional “(ser 1)” notation for Marvel books (MUCH more so on the next chart), that’s because Marvel released more than one “issue #1” this year for certain series, creating a wicked amount of market confusion. The UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #1 that is in our Top 100 here is the first one, not the second one.
My final note: I ran the chart out to 200 places for my own knowledge (I think that would drown you in data), and SANDMAN OVERTURE #1 (released two years ago!) placed at #185 That’s what you call a long tail! Ugh, and that it sold so much better than most of DC’s bread-and-butter superhero comics, too. DC is in serious trouble.
Let’s move back over to Outpost, and look at their periodical comic sales. This is a VERY VERY different chart. Remember, too, that 60% of Outpost’s sales are periodical comics (plus 10% for back issues)
| 1 | SECRET WARS #1 (OF 9) |
| 2 | SECRET WARS #4 (OF 9) |
| 3 | SECRET WARS #2 (OF 8) |
| 4 | SECRET WARS #5 (OF 8) |
| 5 | SECRET WARS #3 (OF 9) |
| 6 | DOCTOR STRANGE #1 |
| 7 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1 |
| 8 | SECRET WARS #6 (OF 9) |
| 9 | MONSTRESS #1 |
| STAR WARS #1 | |
| 11 | SECRET WARS #7 (OF 9) |
| 12 | PAPER GIRLS #1 |
| 13 | DARTH VADER #1 |
| 14 | BATMAN #41 |
| THORS #1 SWA | |
| 16 | BATMAN #40 |
| 17 | GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #1 |
| 18 | INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #1 |
| 19 | CIVIL WAR #1 SWA |
| 20 | BATMAN #38 |
| STAR WARS LANDO #1 (OF 5) | |
| 22 | BATMAN #39 |
| 23 | EXTRAORDINARY X-MEN #1 |
| 24 | BATMAN #43 |
| 25 | BATMAN #42 |
| SPIDER-GWEN #1 | |
| 27 | MIGHTY THOR #1 |
| STAR WARS #4 | |
| 29 | STAR WARS #3 |
| 30 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN RENEW YOUR VOWS #1 SWA |
| BATMAN #44 | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #1 | |
| 33 | ALL NEW ALL DIFFERENT AVENGERS #1 |
| STAR WARS #5 | |
| 35 | FIGHT CLUB 2 #1 MACK MAIN CVR |
| 36 | STAR WARS #7 |
| 37 | DARK KNIGHT III MASTER RACE #1 (OF 8) |
| 38 | BATMAN #45 |
| SPIDER-GWEN #1 (ser 1) | |
| STAR WARS #2 | |
| STAR WARS #6 | |
| 42 | A-FORCE #1 SWA |
| BATMAN #46 | |
| CIVIL WAR #2 SWA | |
| OLD MAN LOGAN #1 | |
| 46 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #2 |
| AMAZING SPIDER-MAN RENEW YOUR VOWS #2 SWA | |
| SILK #1 (Ser 1) | |
| 49 | ALL NEW HAWKEYE #1 |
| CAPTAIN AMERICA SAM WILSON #1 | |
| DOCTOR STRANGE #2 | |
| SECRET WARS #8 (OF 9) | |
| 53 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN RENEW YOUR VOWS #3 SWA |
| UNCANNY INHUMANS #1 | |
| 55 | STAR WARS VADER DOWN #1 VDWN |
| 56 | ALL NEW WOLVERINE #1 |
| AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #12 SV | |
| AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #13 SV | |
| DARTH VADER #2 | |
| DARTH VADER #4 | |
| DEADPOOL #1 | |
| FIGHT CLUB 2 #2 MAIN CVR | |
| PRINCESS LEIA #1 (OF 5) | |
| 64 | CIVIL WAR #3 SWA |
| DARTH VADER #6 | |
| INFINITY GAUNTLET #1 | |
| MONSTRESS #2 | |
| STAR WARS #8 | |
| 69 | ANT-MAN #1 |
| BATMAN ANNUAL #4 | |
| DEADPOOLS SECRET SECRET WARS #1 (OF 4) | |
| JOURNEY STAR WARS FASE #1 (OF 4) | |
| STAR WARS #9 | |
| 74 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN RENEW YOUR VOWS #4 SWA |
| AMAZING SPIDER-MAN RENEW YOUR VOWS #5 SWA | |
| PAPER GIRLS #2 | |
| X-MEN 92 #1 SWA | |
| 78 | CIVIL WAR #4 SWA |
| DARTH VADER #3 | |
| STAR WARS #10 | |
| 81 | DARTH VADER #5 |
| THOR #8 | |
| WOLF #1 | |
| 84 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #3 |
| UNCANNY AVENGERS #1 | |
| 86 | A-FORCE #2 SWA |
| AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #14 SV | |
| AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #15 SV | |
| DARTH VADER #7 | |
| EXTRAORDINARY X-MEN #2 | |
| WE STAND ON GUARD #1 | |
| 92 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #18 |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #41 | |
| SAGA #25 | |
| 95 | BATMAN #47 |
| DARTH VADER #8 | |
| MS MARVEL #1 | |
| SAGA #26 | |
| STAR WARS #11 | |
| STAR WARS #12 | |
| THOR #4 | |
| THOR #6 | |
| THOR #7 | |
| TOTALLY AWESOME HULK #1 |
So, yeah, a pretty super-hero oriented store!
Things I like here: MONSTRESS #1 as a TOP TEN book (Wow! Staff loved that one, obviously!), and FIGHT CLUB 2 #1 in at #35.
There are 104 titles here, with only eight of them being Image (big difference to the main store!), though another difference between the stores is that The Mothership doesn’t really do multiple covers, unless there is an artistic reason to do so (the split covers on SANDMAN OVERTURE, for example), but Outpost is much more collector-oriented, building up customer bases for things like the Skottie Young variants (which sell better than many many Marvel comics) or the Hip Hop covers, etc. These numbers are COMBINED cover sales, so many of these titles have somewhere between 1/3 and ½ of their sales as being variant covers (and therefore, less likely to represent long-term readers)
“Star Wars” is almost a quarter of the Top (104) here – twenty-four SW books chart here, and there are a staggering (compared to Divisadero, I mean, not against the entire industry!) seventy comics that are super-hero oriented. Fifty-six of those Marvel, and just fourteen DC. Like I said, DC is in really deep trouble.
Let’s take a little look at how the marketshares break out. Since we’re already with Outpost, let’s stay with them. This is both categories combined, comics and books (and toys and shirts, and everything else, too!)
| MARVEL COMICS | 40.04% |
| DC COMICS | 21.61% |
| IMAGE COMICS | 15.55% |
| IDW PUBLISHING | 4.08% |
| DARK HORSE COMICS | 3.89% |
| BOOM! STUDIOS | 3.28% |
| D. E. | 1.34% |
| ONI PRESS INC. | 0.82% |
| ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS | 0.81% |
| TITAN COMICS | 0.58% |
| GRAPHITTI DESIGNS | 0.46% |
| AVATAR PRESS INC | 0.46% |
| :01 FIRST SECOND | 0.40% |
| FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS | 0.39% |
| KODANSHA COMICS | 0.33% |
| BONGO COMICS | 0.30% |
| GRAPHIX | 0.26% |
| VIZ MEDIA LLC | 0.24% |
| DRAWN & QUARTERLY | 0.17% |
| VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT LLC | 0.17% |
Looks a lot like the typical market, really. But DC is starting to approach only half of Marvel, which is bad juju for them. And Image is nearly within 6 percentage points, wow. Image taking the #2 spot next year would not be a surprise. Note that Marvel and DC are both losing ground to Image compared to Outpost last year – Marvel was 41.4% and DC 26.7% compared to Image’s 12.1% (or IDW’s 3.1% or Boom’s 2.6%). Between those percentage changes, and the kind of scarily massive impact of open-to-buy Marvel variant covers on the Outpost comics list, I get worried about having a periodical focused store, despite the double digit sales growth. Year three is going to be an interesting year to see how and where things stabilize – because outside of a very few exceptions (MONSTRESS!), we’re not seeing the Image effect really landing like it does at the main shop.
Experience looks very very different than Outpost in 2015:
| IMAGE COMICS | 21.01% |
| MARVEL COMICS | 20.70% |
| DC COMICS | 18.28% |
| DARK HORSE COMICS | 6.85% |
| IDW PUBLISHING | 4.67% |
| BOOM! STUDIOS | 3.25% |
| FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS | 2.46% |
| DRAWN & QUARTERLY | 1.52% |
| :01 FIRST SECOND | 1.34% |
| ONI PRESS INC. | 1.27% |
| VIZ MEDIA LLC | 1.18% |
| AVATAR PRESS INC | 1.08% |
| HUMANOIDS INC | 0.97% |
| GRAPHIX | 0.90% |
| D. E. | 0.84% |
| ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS | 0.71% |
| KODANSHA COMICS | 0.69% |
| PANTHEON BOOKS | 0.63% |
| REBELLION / 2000AD | 0.54% |
| TITAN COMICS | 0.46% |
This is the second year in a row that Image was Experience’s #1 publisher, and the first year that I feel like it’s actually a real thing: in 2014 we had Brian K. Vaughan signing the first SAGA hardcover, and that represented hundreds of $50 books we wouldn’t have sold otherwise. But in 2015? These were honest day-to-day sales not swayed one way or another by a magnet signing.
And here is the thing: Image is crippling itself by charging $9.99 for many TPs. While there is some slight marketing value in a $9.99 trade, I firmly believe that we would still be stilling at least 90% of what we do if these books were $14.99 instead. Why do I think that? Because ALL of our top-selling $9.99 Image titles are books we PUSH. Further, the spread between v1 and v2 is better than the average spread between many other books – these are selling based on content, not on price! We sold more copies of SAGA v4 and v5 than we did of v1 this year – that indicates to me that I am losing $5 on each and every SAGA v1. And so are Brian and Fiona. There is a clear inelastic demand for these books, and Image’s pricing strategy really strongly needs reevaluating in my opinion.
Marvel and DC are just going to decrease further from here, I think. While Marvel is up 0.7%, most of that seems to be from the pricey relaunch at the end of the year – and while a $5 first issue of DR. STRANGE helps me just fine, that’s not a repeatable thing every year, at least not at that sell-through number. Further, I’m not looking at any major demand with the new backlist their current frontlist is likely to be generating, and, unlike DC, they do a pretty mediocre job of stocking and positioning their older backlist.
DC lost 1.5% this year, and they REALLY don’t have any new backlist to sell from current frontlist titles, and both of their proposed/rumored plans for next year (twice-a-month shipping on some books and a full relaunch on issue #52s) sound like giant major audience-losing ideas (Seriously? Relaunching BATMAN to #1 and twice-a-month sounds on the face of it to guarantee it no longer selling 100k month, but maybe 75k or so max, right? I want DC to bring more books to sell like BATMAN, not bring down BATMAN to sell more like DETECTIVE)
Overall, both stores seem to be going in the right direction, and we’re seeing a lot of strength in a lot of great comics. We’ve absolutely got a comic that you’re going to like, and we’d love it if you came by and let us show you all of the possibilities that comics have, whether that’s at our main store on Divisadero, or at the Outpost, out on Ocean ave., or through our Graphic-Novel-of-the-Month Club or our GN Club for Kids! We LOVE comics, and we want you to love them too!
Feel free to make any observations about our sales in the comment section below – we’re always interested in questions and feedback.
Comix Experience Best Sellers 2014: Comics
/The second half of my look at what's going on at Comix Experience's stores in 2014, below the cut. This one has the major major differences!
Really, go back and read the previous post for some "big picture" figures for the two Comix Experience stores-- the "Mothership", and Outpost.
The Mothership is primarily a book store, but it's top-selling comic sold just over 2x what the best-selling book at Outpost sold. The #100 best-seller sold like 120% of Outpost's. Here's what the main store's best-selling comics looked like:
| 1 | SANDMAN OVERTURE #2 (OF 6) |
| 2 | SANDMAN OVERTURE #3 (OF 6) |
| 3 | SAGA #19 |
| 4 | LOW #1 |
| 5 | SAGA #20 |
| 6 | SAGA #23 |
| 7 | SAGA #22 |
| 8 | DEADLY CLASS #1 |
| 9 | SAGA #21 |
| 10 | WICKED & DIVINE #1 |
| 11 | SAGA #24 |
| 12 | SAGA #18 |
| 13 | OUTCAST BY KIRKMAN & AZACETA #1 |
| 14 | WICKED & DIVINE #2 |
| 15 | SOUTHERN BASTARDS #1 |
| 16 | LOW #2 |
| 17 | SANDMAN OVERTURE #1 (OF 6) |
| 18 | FADE OUT #1 |
| 19 | MS MARVEL #1 ANMN |
| 20 | TREES #1 |
| 21 | DEADLY CLASS #2 |
| 22 | SANDMAN OVERTURE #4 (OF 6) |
| 23 | LOW #3 |
| 24 | STRAY BULLETS THE KILLERS #1 |
| WYTCHES #1 | |
| 26 | WICKED & DIVINE #3 |
| 27 | BLACK SCIENCE #3 |
| 28 | MULTIVERSITY #1 |
| 29 | BATMAN #29 |
| 30 | FADE OUT #2 |
| SEX CRIMINALS #7 | |
| 32 | DEADLY CLASS #3 |
| 33 | MOON KNIGHT #1 |
| 34 | DEADLY CLASS #4 |
| LOW #4 | |
| 36 | BATGIRL #35 |
| SEX CRIMINALS #4 | |
| WALKING DEAD #127 | |
| 39 | SEX CRIMINALS #6 |
| BATMAN #27 | |
| DEADLY CLASS #6 | |
| 42 | SOUTHERN BASTARDS #2 |
| 43 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1 |
| SEX CRIMINALS #8 | |
| THOR #1 | |
| TREES #2 | |
| 47 | BITCH PLANET #1 |
| BLACK SCIENCE #5 | |
| DEADLY CLASS #5 | |
| MS MARVEL #2 | |
| 51 | BATMAN #28 |
| BATMAN ETERNAL #1 | |
| SEX CRIMINALS #5 | |
| 54 | DEATH OF WOLVERINE #1 (OF 4) |
| WALKING DEAD #120 | |
| WALKING DEAD #121 | |
| 57 | TREES #3 |
| 58 | OUTCAST BY KIRKMAN & AZACETA #2 |
| WALKING DEAD #129 | |
| 60 | TOOTH & CLAW #1 |
| 61 | BATMAN #30 |
| BATMAN #31 | |
| BATMAN #32 | |
| BATMAN ETERNAL #3 | |
| BLACK SCIENCE #4 | |
| DEADLY CLASS #7 | |
| MOON KNIGHT #2 | |
| WALKING DEAD #123 | |
| WALKING DEAD #124 | |
| WICKED & DIVINE #5 | |
| 71 | BLACK SCIENCE #6 |
| WALKING DEAD #125 | |
| WALKING DEAD #128 | |
| 74 | ORIGINAL SIN #1 (OF 8) |
| ROCKET RACCOON #1 ANMN | |
| SUPREME BLUE ROSE #1 | |
| 77 | BATMAN ETERNAL #2 |
| FADE OUT #3 | |
| JUPITERS LEGACY #4 | |
| SOUTHERN BASTARDS #3 | |
| TREES #4 | |
| WALKING DEAD #119 | |
| WALKING DEAD #122 | |
| WALKING DEAD #126 | |
| 85 | BATMAN #33 |
| DEATH OF WOLVERINE #3 (OF 4) | |
| ILLEGITIMATES #2 (OF 6) | |
| MS MARVEL #4 | |
| OUTCAST BY KIRKMAN & AZACETA #3 | |
| WALKING DEAD #132 | |
| 91 | EAST OF WEST #10 |
| EAST OF WEST #9 | |
| MOON KNIGHT #3 | |
| MS MARVEL #3 | |
| WALKING DEAD #130 | |
| 96 | MULTIVERSITY THE SOCIETY OF SUPER-HEROES #1 |
| ORIGINAL SIN #2 (OF 8) | |
| SEX CRIMINALS #9 | |
| VELVET #3 | |
| 100 | EAST OF WEST #11 |
| EAST OF WEST #14 | |
| VELVET #4 |
As you can see, I remembered to adjust SANDMAN: OVERTURE's multiple covers into a single line item(s) this year, and, whoosh, they score the top two spots pretty handily. But you also know why? BECAUSE I CAN REORDER THEM. I'm reordering copies every other month or so... which I would have done for some of those Image comics as well but Image is Inventory Adverse on comics and so we sold less copies of their periodicals, I would say, across the board, than I would have if they had generous overprint policies. It's a drag because (despite Image being the #1 publisher at the Mothership), they're absolutely below where they COULD be if I could reorder comics any time after week #1 on sale (if then)
My big Flops of the year: AXIS, which, fuck, didn't even CHART over here, and MULTIVERSITY, which I'll be trying to flog single copies of until the end of the decade, most likely.
Meanwhile, Outpost is the big big comic store, and, even more so, the big big big Marvel store, so their Top 100 looks pretty radically different:
| 1 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1 |
| 2 | BATMAN ETERNAL #1 |
| 3 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #4 |
| BATMAN #31 | |
| 5 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #2 ANMN |
| 6 | BATMAN #27 |
| THOR #1 | |
| 8 | BATMAN #28 |
| BATMAN #29 | |
| BATMAN #30 | |
| 11 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #3 ANMN |
| SUPERMAN UNCHAINED #5 | |
| 13 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #5 |
| BATMAN ETERNAL #2 | |
| GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #11.NOW ANMN | |
| 16 | ALL NEW X-MEN #23 ANMN |
| 17 | SUPERMAN UNCHAINED #6 |
| 18 | GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #14 |
| 19 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #6 |
| BATMAN #33 | |
| BATMAN #34 | |
| GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #13 ANMN | |
| LOW #1 | |
| SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #30 ANMN | |
| 25 | ALL NEW X-MEN #22.NOW ANMN |
| AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #7 EOSV | |
| BATMAN #32 | |
| BATMAN #35 | |
| BATMAN #36 | |
| ROCKET RACCOON #1 ANMN | |
| 31 | DEATH OF WOLVERINE #1 (OF 4) |
| GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #12 ANMN | |
| SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #31 ANMN | |
| 34 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #9 SV |
| SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #29 ANMN | |
| 36 | ALL NEW X-MEN #24 ANMN |
| BATMAN ETERNAL #4 | |
| GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #10 INF | |
| SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #27.NOW ANMN | |
| 40 | BATMAN ETERNAL #3 |
| 41 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #8 EOSV |
| SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #25 | |
| 43 | ALL NEW X-MEN #21 |
| DEATH OF WOLVERINE #4 (OF 4) | |
| FOREVER EVIL #5 (OF 7) | |
| SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #32 | |
| 47 | ALL NEW X-MEN #25 |
| THOR #2 | |
| 49 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #10 SV |
| BATMAN ETERNAL #5 | |
| MS MARVEL #1 | |
| ORIGINAL SIN #1 (OF 8) | |
| ORIGINAL SIN #3 (OF 8) | |
| SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #26 | |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #17 | |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #23 SIN | |
| 57 | ORIGINAL SIN #2 (OF 8) |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #18 | |
| 59 | BATMAN ETERNAL #6 |
| FOREVER EVIL #6 (OF 7) | |
| HARLEY QUINN #2 | |
| SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #28 ANMN | |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #16 | |
| 64 | BATMAN SUPERMAN #7 |
| DAREDEVIL #1 ANMN | |
| DEATH OF WOLVERINE #3 (OF 4) | |
| FOREVER EVIL #7 (OF 7) | |
| SUPERMAN UNCHAINED #7 | |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #19.NOW ANMN | |
| 70 | ALL NEW X-MEN #26 |
| LUMBERJANES #1 (OF 8) | |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #20 ANMN | |
| 73 | ALL NEW X-MEN #28 |
| BATMAN ETERNAL #7 | |
| GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #15 | |
| MS MARVEL #2 | |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #22 | |
| 78 | ALL NEW X-MEN #29 |
| AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #11 SV | |
| BATMAN ETERNAL #8 | |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #24 SIN | |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #26 | |
| X-MEN #9 XFV | |
| 84 | ALL NEW X-MEN #27 |
| BATMAN SUPERMAN ANNUAL #1 | |
| DAREDEVIL #2 ANMN | |
| SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #33 | |
| WYTCHES #1 | |
| 89 | FADE OUT #1 |
| MULTIVERSITY #1 | |
| ORIGINAL SIN #0 | |
| SAGA #18 | |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #21 | |
| 94 | BATGIRL #35 |
| NIGHT OF LIVING DEADPOOL #1 (OF 4) | |
| OUTCAST BY KIRKMAN & AZACETA #1 | |
| ROBIN RISES OMEGA #1 | |
| SAGA #19 | |
| SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #2 | |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #25 SIN |
Yeah, way way more super-heroes, right? Totally not even close to similar sales charts!
But remember: The mothership sells about 180% the sales of Outpost.
If you were to combine the two stores, it would look something like this company-wide (though I did this by hand, so admit there could be some mistakes line by line) -- the balanced view:
| 1 | SANDMAN OVERTURE #2 (OF 6) |
| 2 | SAGA #19 |
| 3 | SANDMAN OVERTURE #3 (OF 6) |
| 4 | LOW #1 |
| 5 | SAGA #20 |
| 6 | SAGA #22 |
| 7 | SAGA #23 |
| 8 | DEADLY CLASS #1 |
| SAGA #18 | |
| 10 | SAGA #21 |
| 11 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1 |
| SAGA #24 | |
| WICKED & DIVINE #1 | |
| 14 | OUTCAST BY KIRKMAN & AZACETA #1 |
| 15 | MS MARVEL #1 |
| 16 | BATMAN #29 |
| 17 | WICKED & DIVINE #2 |
| 18 | FADE OUT #1 |
| 19 | BATMAN #27 |
| 20 | BATMAN ETERNAL #1 |
| 21 | THOR #1 |
| 22 | BATMAN #28 |
| 23 | BATMAN #31 |
| 24 | BATMAN #30 |
| 25 | LOW #2 |
| SOUTHERN BASTARDS #1 | |
| 27 | WYTCHES #1 |
| 28 | DEATH OF WOLVERINE #1 (OF 4) |
| 29 | BATMAN ETERNAL #2 |
| 30 | BATMAN #32 |
| MULTIVERSITY #1 | |
| 32 | DEADLY CLASS #2 |
| TREES #1 | |
| 34 | ROCKET RACCOON #1 ANMN |
| 35 | BATMAN #33 |
| 36 | SANDMAN OVERTURE #1 (OF 6) |
| 37 | BATMAN ETERNAL #3 |
| 38 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #2 ANMN |
| 39 | BATGIRL #35 |
| MOON KNIGHT #1 | |
| MS MARVEL #2 | |
| 42 | ALL NEW X-MEN #23 ANMN |
| ORIGINAL SIN #1 (OF 8) | |
| 44 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #4 |
| 45 | BATMAN #35 |
| WALKING DEAD #127 | |
| WICKED & DIVINE #3 | |
| 48 | BATMAN #34 |
| FADE OUT #2 | |
| LOW #3 | |
| 51 | ALL NEW X-MEN #22.NOW ANMN |
| 52 | BATMAN ETERNAL #4 |
| DEATH OF WOLVERINE #3 (OF 4) | |
| 54 | BLACK SCIENCE #3 |
| 55 | BATMAN #36 |
| 56 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #3 ANMN |
| DEADLY CLASS #3 | |
| ORIGINAL SIN #2 (OF 8) | |
| THOR #2 | |
| 60 | GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #11.NOW ANMN |
| LUMBERJANES #1 (OF 8) | |
| ORIGINAL SIN #3 (OF 8) | |
| SUPERMAN UNCHAINED #5 | |
| 64 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #5 |
| GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #13 ANMN | |
| MS MARVEL #1 ANMN | |
| 67 | BATMAN ETERNAL #5 |
| DEATH OF WOLVERINE #4 (OF 4) | |
| MOON KNIGHT #2 | |
| SANDMAN OVERTURE #4 (OF 6) | |
| 71 | ALL NEW X-MEN #29 |
| DAREDEVIL #1 ANMN | |
| DEADLY CLASS #4 | |
| GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #14 | |
| 75 | BITCH PLANET #1 |
| GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #12 ANMN | |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #16 | |
| 78 | ALL NEW X-MEN #24 ANMN |
| BATMAN ETERNAL #6 | |
| 80 | ALL NEW X-MEN #21 |
| ALL NEW X-MEN #25 | |
| 82 | BATMAN #37 |
| BATMAN ETERNAL #7 | |
| LOW #4 | |
| SUPERMAN UNCHAINED #6 | |
| 86 | SEX CRIMINALS #5 |
| TOOTH & CLAW #1 | |
| TREES #2 | |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #17 | |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #23 SIN | |
| WALKING DEAD #120 | |
| WALKING DEAD #121 | |
| WALKING DEAD #129 | |
| 94 | BATMAN ETERNAL #8 |
| DETECTIVE COMICS #27 | |
| SEX CRIMINALS #6 | |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #18 | |
| 98 | MS MARVEL #4 |
| 99 | SEX CRIMINALS #4 |
| 100 | WALKING DEAD #123 |
| WALKING DEAD #125 | |
| WALKING DEAD #126 |
So, yeah, that's 2014 for me, what do you have to say?
-B
Comix Experience Best Sellers 2014: Books
/I love the end of the year, always a good time to reflect back and see what worked, what didn't, what's selling, what's not. Well, I like that stuff; I'm weird! Below the cut, for weirdos like me: charts and figures and some analysis of why 2014 is the Best Year of Comics Ever.
So, stellar freakin' year for Comix Experience -- not only does Dec' 14 mark the end of the first full year of operating Outpost, but the main store shattered Personal Best record-after-record. Best single day, best year ever, bam, CE is up by 18% year-over-year which I never ever would have guessed to be possible for a 25 year old store.
Much of the credit for this I give to my staff, who are really exceptional.
Insofar as the big picture stats, the Mothership was 58% books, and 39% comics which looks to be a small climb. However, I think a lot of that climb (since it is based on dollars not pieces) comes from the SAGA HC and the BKV signing in November.
Publisher break-down-wise, the SAGA HC also lead the way for the giant upset of 2014: Image Comics is now our #1 publisher at the mothership, entirely trading places with DC who is now down at #3. Here is what our Top 20 publishers look like looks like:
| IMAGE COMICS | 20.70% |
| MARVEL COMICS | 20.00% |
| DC COMICS | 19.96% |
| DARK HORSE COMICS | 7.29% |
| IDW PUBLISHING | 4.52% |
| BOOM! STUDIOS | 2.93% |
| FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS | 2.03% |
| AVATAR PRESS INC | 1.38% |
| ONI PRESS INC. | 1.21% |
| HUMANOIDS INC | 1.16% |
| D. E. | 1.14% |
| :01 FIRST SECOND | 1.07% |
| DRAWN & QUARTERLY | 1.00% |
| REBELLION / 2000AD | 0.91% |
| VIZ MEDIA LLC | 0.86% |
| ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS | 0.78% |
| KODANSHA COMICS | 0.64% |
| TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS | 0.56% |
| PANTHEON BOOKS | 0.52% |
| GRAPHIX | 0.42% |
I'm not sure if this is a fluke (the SAGA HCs are absolutely what put Image of the edge), or something that can now be duplicated, but it's a big big change for the store, and, in many ways, a long-overdue validation of how I've tried to run my store for the last three decades: focused more on creator than character or brand. That it happened in our biggest year ever is even more personally satisfying for what I think comics has the potential to be.
So, let's take a look at CE's best-selling books for 2014. The first few are not likely to be a surprise.
| 1 | SAGA TP VOL 01 |
| 2 | SAGA DLX ED HC VOL 01 |
| 3 | SAGA TP VOL 03 |
| 4 | SAGA TP VOL 02 |
| 5 | SEX CRIMINALS TP VOL 01 |
| 6 | EAST OF WEST TP VOL 01 THE PROMISE |
| 7 | NOWHERE MEN TP VOL 01 FATES WORSE THAN DEATH |
| 8 | BRYAN LEE O MALLEY SECONDS GN |
| 9 | SAGA TP VOL 04 |
| 10 | HAWKEYE TP VOL 01 MY LIFE AS A WEAPON |
| 11 | ZERO TP VOL 01 AN EMERGENCY |
| 12 | BATTLING BOY SC GN VOL 01 |
| EAST OF WEST TP VOL 02 WE ARE ALL ONE | |
| 14 | BLACK SCIENCE TP VOL 01 HOW TO FALL FOREVER |
| DEADLY CLASS TP VOL 01 REAGAN YOUTH | |
| 16 | MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 01 SCIENCE BAD |
| 17 | SANDMAN TP VOL 01 PRELUDES & NOCTURNES |
| 18 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 20 ALL OUT WAR PT 1 |
| 19 | PROPHET TP VOL 01 REMISSION |
| 20 | PROPHET TP VOL 03 EMPIRE |
| 21 | AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE TP VOL 01 ESCAPE FROM RIVERDALE |
| 22 | PRETTY DEADLY TP VOL 01 |
| 23 | BONE COLOR ED SC VOL 01 OUT FROM BONEVILLE |
| PROPHET TP VOL 02 BROTHERS | |
| 25 | HAWKEYE TP VOL 02 LITTLE HITS NOW |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 01 DAYS GONE BYE | |
| 27 | EAST OF WEST TP VOL 03 THERE IS NO US |
| THROUGH THE WOODS GN | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 01 UNMANNED | |
| 30 | NEMO ROSES OF BERLIN HC |
| V FOR VENDETTA NEW EDITION TP (MR) | |
| VELVET TP VOL 01 BEFORE THE LIVING END | |
| 33 | LOCKE & KEY TP VOL 01 WELCOME TO LOVECRAFT |
| RAT QUEENS TP VOL 01 SASS & SORCERY | |
| 35 | BATMAN TP VOL 01 THE COURT OF OWLS |
| LOCKE & KEY HC VOL 06 ALPHA & OMEGA | |
| MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 04 FOUR DISCIPLINES | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 21 ALL OUT WAR PT 2 | |
| 39 | FATALE TP VOL 01 DEATH CHASES ME |
| MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 02 | |
| OGLAF BOOK ONE | |
| SANDMAN TP VOL 02 THE DOLLS HOUSE NEW ED | |
| SISTERS GN | |
| VADERS LITTLE PRINCESS HC | |
| Y THE LAST MAN DELUXE EDITION HC VOL 01 | |
| 46 | ADVENTURE TIME TP VOL 01 |
| BLACK HOLE COLLECTED SC NEW PTG | |
| MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 03 | |
| MANIFEST DESTINY TP VOL 01 | |
| MS MARVEL TP VOL 01 NO NORMAL | |
| THIS ONE SUMMER GN | |
| TRANSMETROPOLITAN TP VOL 01 BACK ON THE STREET | |
| 53 | AMULET SC VOL 01 STONEKEEPER |
| BARTKIRA | |
| BATMAN DARK KNIGHT RETURNS TP | |
| BATTLING BOY RISE OF AURORA WEST GN VOL 01 (OF 2) | |
| CHI SWEET HOME GN VOL 01 | |
| COMPLETE MULTIPLE WARHEADS TP | |
| HYPERBOLE AND A HALF SC | |
| 60 | FATALE TP VOL 04 PRAY FOR RAIN |
| HAWKEYE TP VOL 03 LA WOMAN | |
| MEANWHILE IN SAN FRANCISCO THE CITY IN ITS OWN WORDS | |
| SOUTHERN BASTARDS TP VOL 01 HERE WAS A MAN | |
| WATCHMEN TP NEW ED | |
| 65 | BATMAN TP VOL 02 THE CITY OF OWLS |
| DAYTRIPPER TP | |
| DEATH NOTE BLACK ED TP VOL 01 (OF 6) | |
| GOODNIGHT DARTH VADER HC | |
| GUARDIANS OF GALAXY TP VOL 01 COSMIC AVENGERS | |
| OATMEAL HOW TO TELL IF YOUR CAT IS PLOTTING TO KILL YOU | |
| WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME IF I WET THE BED GN | |
| 72 | FROM HELL TP |
| HABIBI GN | |
| NINJAGO GN VOL 09 | |
| PREACHER TP BOOK 01 | |
| VERY CASUAL | |
| WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM TP VOL 01 | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 19 MARCH TO WAR | |
| WICKED & DIVINE TP VOL 01 THE FAUST ACT | |
| 80 | ATTACK ON TITAN GN VOL 01 |
| BATMAN THE KILLING JOKE SPECIAL ED HC | |
| BATMAN YEAR ONE DELUXE SC | |
| CAT PERSON | |
| FABLES TP VOL 01 LEGENDS IN EXILE | |
| FABLES TP VOL 20 CAMELOT | |
| IN REAL LIFE GN | |
| PRIDE OF BAGHDAD SC | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 02 CYCLES | |
| 89 | ADVENTURE TIME ORIGINAL GN VOL 03 SEEING RED |
| AVATAR LAST AIRBENDER TP VOL 07 RIFT PART 1 | |
| CHEW TP VOL 08 FAMILY RECIPES | |
| EX MACHINA TP BOOK 01 | |
| FABLES TP VOL 19 SNOW WHITE | |
| JEFFREY BROWN KIDS ARE WEIRD OBSERVATIONS FROM PARENTHOOD HC | |
| MY FRIEND DAHMER SC | |
| NINJAGO GN VOL 01 CHALLENGE OF SAMUKAI | |
| SANDMAN TP VOL 04 SEASON OF MISTS | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 22 A NEW BEGINNING | |
| 99 | ALL STAR SUPERMAN TP |
| BATMAN TP VOL 03 DEATH OF THE FAMILY | |
| HELLBOY IN HELL TP VOL 01 DESCENT | |
| HELLBOY TP VOL 01 SEED OF DESTRUCTION | |
| INCAL HC NEW PTG | |
| LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN OMNIBUS TP | |
| NEIL GAIMAN AMERICAN GODS MMPB | |
| RUNAWAYS COMPLETE COLLECTION TP VOL 01 | |
| STITCHES GN | |
| STRAY BULLETS UBER ALLES ED TP | |
| WOLVERINE OLD MAN LOGAN TP | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 03 ONE SMALL STEP |
SAGA continues to sell a lot of copies. A LOT. This is not a fluke any longer, it's a machine, which is beautiful to behold. And, note, that while there are Marvel and DC superhero volumes on this list, they're almost all works that are STRONGLY associated with a specific creator and not "well, I like Spider-Man, so I'll buy any old Spider-Man comic", y'know?
Anyway, I continue to be in love with our diversity of sales.
On the other side of The City at Comix Experience Outpost, it is a very different kind of store -- much more comic book periodical oriented and it actually sells a pretty significant number of back issues for a San Francisco store -- Outpost breaks out as only 23% books and a whopping 61% comics (which doesn't count the 9% from "Back issues", so 70% if you consider it that way!)
A year ago as I convinced my family to lend me the money to buy Outpost, I wrote some number down on (pretty much) the back of an envelope with what costs were likely to be, and so where I needed sales to be in order to at least break even on this hasty purchase. Actual real sales ended up just a scootch up from that number, but then so did expenses, but at least we're breaking even, which is just where I wanted to be at the end of year one. Lots of potential.
Being overwhelmingly comics-focused, their Top 20 Publishers looks pretty different:
| MARVEL COMICS | 41.41% |
| DC COMICS | 26.67% |
| IMAGE COMICS | 12.08% |
| DARK HORSE COMICS | 3.58% |
| IDW PUBLISHING | 3.12% |
| BOOM! STUDIOS | 2.64% |
| D. E. | 1.18% |
| GRAPHITTI DESIGNS | 0.96% |
| ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS | 0.58% |
| KODANSHA COMICS | 0.57% |
| ONI PRESS INC. | 0.42% |
| AKA COMICS | 0.36% |
| VIZ MEDIA LLC | 0.32% |
| TITAN COMICS | 0.31% |
| AVATAR PRESS INC | 0.30% |
| VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT LLC | 0.29% |
| BONGO COMICS | 0.27% |
| :01 FIRST SECOND | 0.25% |
| GRAPHIX | 0.21% |
| BROADSWORD COMICS | 0.20% |
That's a lot more like you think a "traditional comics store" is going to look like, right?
But, the odd thing is, when you actually look at the books that are selling, the charts look kind of similar in many many ways. Here is Outpost's Top 100.
| 1 | SAGA TP VOL 01 |
| 2 | SAGA TP VOL 03 |
| 3 | SAGA TP VOL 02 |
| 4 | NOWHERE MEN TP VOL 01 FATES WORSE THAN DEATH |
| 5 | SEX CRIMINALS TP VOL 01 |
| 6 | BLACK SCIENCE TP VOL 01 HOW TO FALL FOREVER |
| 7 | BONE COLOR ED SC VOL 01 OUT FROM BONEVILLE |
| 8 | DEADLY CLASS TP VOL 01 REAGAN YOUTH |
| SAGA DLX ED HC VOL 01 | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 01 DAYS GONE BYE | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 20 ALL OUT WAR PT 1 | |
| 12 | BRYAN LEE O MALLEY SECONDS GN |
| EAST OF WEST TP VOL 01 THE PROMISE | |
| 14 | ADVENTURE TIME TP VOL 01 |
| AVATAR LAST AIRBENDER TP VOL 07 RIFT PART 1 | |
| BATMAN THE KILLING JOKE SPECIAL ED HC | |
| BATMAN TP VOL 01 THE COURT OF OWLS | |
| DOCTOR WHO 11TH DOCTOR SONIC SCREWDRIVER BOOK KIT | |
| SANDMAN TP VOL 01 PRELUDES & NOCTURNES | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 19 MARCH TO WAR | |
| WICKED & DIVINE TP VOL 01 THE FAUST ACT | |
| AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE TP VOL 01 ESCAPE FROM RIVERDALE | |
| RAT QUEENS TP VOL 01 SASS & SORCERY | |
| 24 | SAGA TP VOL 04 |
| SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN TP VOL 01 MY OWN WORST ENEMY NOW | |
| 26 | CIVIL WAR TP |
| DARTH VADER AND SON HC | |
| SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN TP VOL 02 TROUBLED MIND NOW | |
| VADERS LITTLE PRINCESS HC | |
| 30 | AKIRA KODANSHA ED GN VOL 01 |
| BATMAN TP VOL 02 THE CITY OF OWLS | |
| INFINITY GAUNTLET TP | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 21 ALL OUT WAR PT 2 | |
| WATCHMEN TP | |
| 35 | GUARDIANS OF GALAXY TP VOL 01 COSMIC AVENGERS |
| MOON KNIGHT TP VOL 01 FROM DEAD | |
| MS MARVEL TP VOL 01 NO NORMAL | |
| PRETTY DEADLY TP VOL 01 | |
| 37 | AVENGERS VS X-MEN TP |
| BATMAN DARK KNIGHT RETURNS TP | |
| CHEW TP VOL 01 | |
| DEADPOOL KILLS MARVEL UNIVERSE TP | |
| EAST OF WEST TP VOL 02 WE ARE ALL ONE | |
| HAWKEYE TP VOL 01 MY LIFE AS A WEAPON | |
| MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 02 | |
| SAILOR MOON TP KODANSHA ED VOL 01 | |
| TANK GIRL REMASTERED ED TP VOL 01 | |
| X-MEN DARK PHOENIX SAGA TP | |
| X-MEN DAYS OF FUTURE PAST TP | |
| X-MEN NO MORE HUMANS OGN HC | |
| 51 | ADVENTURE TIME TP VOL 04 |
| COMPLETE PERSEPOLIS TP | |
| DAREDEVIL BY MARK WAID TP VOL 01 | |
| DEADPOOL BY DANIEL WAY COMPLETE COLL TP VOL 01 | |
| FATALE TP VOL 01 DEATH CHASES ME | |
| MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 01 SCIENCE BAD | |
| MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 03 | |
| SIEGE TP | |
| SUPERGIRL COSMIC ADVENTURES IN THE EIGHTH GRADE TP | |
| SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN TP VOL 03 NO ESCAPE | |
| THOR GOD OF THUNDER TP VOL 01 GOD BUTCHER | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 18 WHAT COMES AFTER | |
| WONDER WOMAN TP VOL 01 BLOOD | |
| 64 | AGE OF ULTRON TP |
| AMULET SC VOL 01 STONEKEEPER | |
| AVATAR LAST AIRBENDER TP VOL 06 SEARCH PART 3 | |
| AVATAR LAST AIRBENDER TP VOL 08 RIFT PART 2 | |
| BATMAN & ROBIN TP VOL 02 PEARL | |
| BATMAN HUSH COMPLETE TP | |
| BATMAN THE LONG HALLOWEEN TP | |
| BATMAN TP VOL 03 DEATH OF THE FAMILY | |
| BATTLING BOY SC GN VOL 01 | |
| DEADPOOL TP VOL 01 DEAD PRESIDENTS NOW | |
| DOCTOR WHO K-9 LIGHT & SOUND FIGURINE & BOOK KIT | |
| FATALE TP VOL 02 DEVILS BUSINESS | |
| GOTG BY ABNETT AND LANNING COMPLETE COLL TP VOL 01 | |
| HELLBLAZER TP VOL 01 ORIGINAL SINS | |
| HOBBIT TP | |
| HULK WWH TP | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE TP VOL 02 THE VILLAINS JOURNEY | |
| MMW X-MEN TP VOL 01 | |
| NEIL GAIMAN AMERICAN GODS MMPB | |
| NEIL GAIMANS GOOD OMENS ($7.99 VERSION) | |
| ODYSSEY GN CANDLEWICK ED | |
| PROPHET TP VOL 01 REMISSION | |
| R CRUMBS HEROES OF BLUES JAZZ & COUNTRY WITH CD HC | |
| SAILOR MOON TP KODANSHA ED VOL 02 | |
| SIMPSONS FUTURAMA CROSSOVER CRISIS SLIPCASE HC | |
| THANOS INFINITY REVELATION OGN HC | |
| TINY TITANS TP VOL 02 ADVENTURES IN AWESOMENESS | |
| V FOR VENDETTA BOOK AND MASK SET | |
| V FOR VENDETTA NEW EDITION TP | |
| WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM TP VOL 01 | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 02 MILES BEHIND US | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 06 SORROWFUL LIFE | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 17 SOMETHING TO FEAR | |
| WOLVERINE OLD MAN LOGAN TP | |
| YOUNG AVENGERS TP VOL 01 STYLE SUBSTANCE NOW | |
| 99 | AKIRA KODANSHA ED GN VOL 02 |
| BATMAN THE BLACK MIRROR TP | |
| BATMAN YEAR ONE DELUXE SC | |
| CENTURY WEST OGN | |
| DEADPOOL VS CARNAGE TP | |
| DIARY OF A WIMPY KID HC VOL 08 HARD LUCK | |
| DRAGON BALL FULL COLOR TP VOL 01 SAIYAN ARC | |
| ECONOMIX HOW & WHY OUR ECONOMY WORKS & DOESNT WORK GN | |
| FABLES TP VOL 01 LEGENDS IN EXILE | |
| FATALE TP VOL 03 WEST OF HELL | |
| FILTH TP | |
| JOKER A CELEBRATION OF 75 YEARS HC | |
| JOKER DEATH OF THE FAMILY HC | |
| JOKER DEATH OF THE FAMILY TP | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE TP VOL 03 THRONE OF ATLANTIS | |
| MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 04 FOUR DISCIPLINES | |
| MAUS SURVIVORS TALE COMPLETE HC | |
| METAL GEAR SOLID OMNIBUS TP | |
| MY FRIEND DAHMER SC | |
| NEIL GAIMANS NEVERWHERE TP | |
| NEW X-MEN BY MORRISON ULTIMATE COLL TP BOOK 01 | |
| POLARITY TP VOL 01 | |
| PRINCELESS TP VOL 01 NEW PTG | |
| RUNAWAYS COMPLETE COLLECTION TP VOL 01 | |
| SANDMAN TP VOL 04 SEASON OF MISTS NEW ED | |
| SISTERS GN | |
| SMILE SC NEW PTG | |
| SOUTHERN BASTARDS TP VOL 01 HERE WAS A MAN | |
| SUICIDE SQUAD TP VOL 01 KICKED IN THE TEETH | |
| SUPER FRIENDS HEAD OF THE CLASS TP | |
| SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN TP VOL 04 NECESSARY EVIL | |
| SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN TP VOL 06 GOBLIN NATION | |
| THE ARRIVAL GN | |
| TINY TITANS TP VOL 01 WELCOME TO THE TREEHOUSE | |
| TINY TITANS TP VOL 08 AW YEAH TITANS | |
| TRANSMETROPOLITAN TP VOL 01 BACK ON THE STREET | |
| TRANSMETROPOLITAN TP VOL 02 | |
| VELVET TP VOL 01 BEFORE THE LIVING END | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 04 HEARTS DESIRE | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 05 BEST DEFENSE | |
| X-FORCE BY KYLE AND YOST COMPLETE COLLECTION TP VOL 01 |
It is different, but it does have a ton of commonalities -- especially where it counts at the top. SAGA v1 sold twice as many copies as book #5, even if it was only 1/5 of the number of copies the Mothership sold. There's a real lot of Superhero comics that make it on to this list, but only the top thirteen best-sellers at Outpost would even make it on to the Top 100 at Experience.
If anything, this most closely looks like a CE list from, say, 4 to 5 years ago.
Check the next post for the real crazy differences between stores.
Obviously, I'm always curious to hear your musings on these lists
-B
Comix Experience Best Sellers: First half of 2014, Books
/OK, same thing as the last post, except this time we’ll talk about BOOKS. Again, after the jump for those of you who don’t want to read sales charts!
Right, so Experience is the Big Book Store, with 55% of sales coming from Book Format material between 1/1 and 6/30 2014. Outpost is only 23% books.
Here’s what Experience’s Top 100 (or so) looks like, sorted by PIECES SOLD:
1 SAGA TP VOL 01 2 SAGA TP VOL 03 3 SAGA TP VOL 02 4 SEX CRIMINALS TP VOL 01 5 EAST OF WEST TP VOL 01 THE PROMISE 6 MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 01 SCIENCE BAD NOWHERE MEN TP VOL 01 FATES WORSE THAN DEATH WALKING DEAD TP VOL 20 ALL OUT WAR PT 1 9 PROPHET TP VOL 03 EMPIRE ZERO TP VOL 01 AN EMERGENCY 11 EAST OF WEST TP VOL 02 WE ARE ALL ONE 12 HAWKEYE TP VOL 01 MY LIFE AS A WEAPON PROPHET TP VOL 01 REMISSION 14 SANDMAN TP VOL 01 PRELUDES & NOCTURNES NEW ED 15 BATTLING BOY SC GN VOL 01 BLACK SCIENCE TP VOL 01 HOW TO FALL FOREVER 17 NEMO ROSES OF BERLIN HC 18 PRETTY DEADLY TP VOL 01 19 PROPHET TP VOL 02 BROTHERS 20 LOCKE & KEY HC VOL 06 ALPHA & OMEGA 21 HAWKEYE TP VOL 02 LITTLE HITS NOW 22 MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 02 23 MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 03 24 FATALE TP VOL 01 DEATH CHASES ME MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 04 FOUR DISCIPLINES OGLAF BOOK ONE 27 ADVENTURE TIME ORIGINAL GN VOL 03 SEEING RED BONE COLOR ED SC VOL 01 OUT FROM BONEVILLE COMPLETE MULTIPLE WARHEADS TP MANIFEST DESTINY TP VOL 01 WALKING DEAD TP VOL 19 MARCH TO WAR Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 01 UNMANNED 33 BATMAN THE KILLING JOKE SPECIAL ED HC FABLES TP VOL 19 SNOW WHITE RAT QUEENS TP VOL 01 SASS & SORCERY STRAY BULLETS UBER ALLES VADERS LITTLE PRINCESS HC WALKING DEAD TP VOL 01 DAYS GONE BYE 39 ADVENTURE TIME TP VOL 01 AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE TP VOL 01 ESCAPE FROM RIVERDALE PX ED AVATAR LAST AIRBENDER TP VOL 07 RIFT PART 1 BATMAN TP VOL 01 THE COURT OF OWLS BPRD HELL ON EARTH TP VOL 07 A COLD DAY IN HELL FATALE TP VOL 04 PRAY FOR RAIN JEFFREY BROWN KIDS ARE WEIRD OBSERVATIONS FROM PARENTHOOD HC NINJAGO GN VOL 09 V FOR VENDETTA NEW EDITION TP (MR) VELVET TP VOL 01 BEFORE THE LIVING END WATCHMEN TP 50 AVENGERS VS X-MEN TP BATMAN DARK KNIGHT RETURNS TP BATMAN YEAR ONE DELUXE SC BLUE IS WARMEST COLOR GN CHEW TP VOL 08 FAMILY RECIPES CHI SWEET HOME GN VOL 01 HELLBOY IN HELL TP VOL 01 DESCENT LOCKE & KEY TP VOL 01 WELCOME TO LOVECRAFT LOEG III CENTURY #1 1910 NAO OF BROWN GN NINJAGO GN VOL 08 DESTINY OF DOOM SANDMAN TP VOL 02 THE DOLLS HOUSE NEW ED SANDMAN TP VOL 04 SEASON OF MISTS NEW ED SWAMP THING BY BRIAN K VAUGHAN TP VOL 01 UNWRITTEN TP VOL 08 ORPHEUS IN THE UNDERWORLDS 65 BARTKIRA BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS HC BPRD HELL ON EARTH TP VOL 08 DAYTRIPPER TP FABLES TP VOL 01 LEGENDS IN EXILE NEW ED HYPERBOLE AND A HALF SC LOVE BUNGLERS HC OATMEAL HOW TO TELL IF YOUR CAT IS PLOTTING TO KILL YOU PREACHER TP BOOK 01 PREACHER TP BOOK 02 PRISON PIT GN VOL 05 SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING TP BOOK 01 SATELLITE SAM TP VOL 01 SERENITY HC VOL 02 BETTER DAYS & OTHER STORIES SILVER SURFER BY STAN LEE AND MOEBIUS STAR WARS JEDI ACADEMY YR HC VOL 01 X-MEN DAYS OF FUTURE PAST TP NEW PTG Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 02 CYCLES (OCT058281) (MR) 83 ADVENTURE TIME TP VOL 04 ATTACK ON TITAN GN VOL 01 GUARDIANS OF GALAXY TP VOL 01 COSMIC AVENGERS HABIBI GN HELLBOY TP VOL 01 SEED OF DESTRUCTION LOBSTER JOHNSON TP VOL 03 SATAN SMELLS A RAT MY FRIEND DAHMER SC OATMEAL 5 VERY GOOD REASONS TO PUNCH DOLPHIN SC POWERS BUREAU TP VOL 01 UNDERCOVER SANDMAN TP VOL 05 A GAME OF YOU NEW ED SERENITY HC VOL 01 THOSE LEFT BEHIND 2ND ED STITCHES GN TRANSMETROPOLITAN TP VOL 01 BACK ON THE STREET VERY CASUAL 97 47 RONIN HC ADVENTURE TIME ENCYCLOPEDIA HC ALONE FOREVER GN AMERICAN VAMPIRE TP VOL 01 AMULET SC VOL 01 STONEKEEPER BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL TP VOL 28 RAINING CHAOS BLANKETS GN NEW PTG BOXERS & SAINTS BOXED SET CELEBRATED SUMMER GN DARTH VADER AND SON HC DEATH NOTE BLACK TP VOL 01 (OF 6) FATALE TP VOL 02 DEVILS BUSINESS HEDGE KNIGHT JET CITY ED TP INCAL CLASSIC COLLECTION HC KING CITY TP LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN OMNIBUS TP LOEG III CENTURY #3 2009 MARVEL 1602 TP NEW PTG MIND MGMT HC VOL 01 MANAGER NEIL GAIMAN AMERICAN GODS MMPB NINJAGO GN VOL 01 CHALLENGE OF SAMUKAI ORC STAIN TP VOL 01 RELISH MY LIFE IN KITCHEN GN REVIVAL TP VOL 03 A FARAWAY PLACE RICHARD STARKS PARKER SLAYGROUND HC SANDMAN TP VOL 03 DREAM COUNTRY NEW ED SANDMAN TP VOL 06 FABLES AND REFLECTIONS NEW ED SUPERMAN RED SON TP (NOV058130) WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM TP VOL 01 WEIRDO YEARS 1981-1993 HC
Can I just say that I very very very much enjoy owning a comic book store with this kind of range and diversity? For I do! SAGA v1 is still selling, some 18 months after its initial release something very close to a copy a day. That’s…. well, it’s kind of unprecedented, really.
Still, one game you could play at home is: “How many of these best-sellers are not actually in print at this moment?” It isn’t QUITE double digits, but it’s kind of close….
Sort it by dollars, and it changes a lot, and here you can really see what price points can do for the bottom line – clearly, you have to sell far fewer $60 books than $9.99 books to make the more money…
1 SAGA TP VOL 03 $14.99 2 SAGA TP VOL 01 $9.99 3 SAGA TP VOL 02 $14.99 4 STRAY BULLETS UBER ALLES $59.99 5 SEX CRIMINALS TP VOL 01 $9.99 6 LOCKE & KEY HC VOL 06 ALPHA & OMEGA $29.99 7 SANDMAN TP VOL 01 PRELUDES & NOCTURNES NEW ED $19.99 8 MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 01 SCIENCE BAD $14.99 9 HAWKEYE TP VOL 01 MY LIFE AS A WEAPON $16.99 10 WALKING DEAD TP VOL 20 ALL OUT WAR PT 1 $14.99 11 PROPHET TP VOL 03 EMPIRE $14.99 12 EAST OF WEST TP VOL 01 THE PROMISE $9.99 13 SANDMAN SLIPCASE SET $199.99 14 EAST OF WEST TP VOL 02 WE ARE ALL ONE $14.99 15 BATTLING BOY SC GN VOL 01 $15.99 16 WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM TP VOL 01 $59.99 17 AVENGERS VS X-MEN TP $34.99 18 NEMO ROSES OF BERLIN HC $14.95 19 BEST OF EC ARTIST ED HC $150.00 20 METABARONS ULTIMATE COLL ED $59.95 21 NOWHERE MEN TP VOL 01 FATES WORSE THAN DEATH $9.99 22 ZERO TP VOL 01 AN EMERGENCY $9.99 23 HAWKEYE TP VOL 02 LITTLE HITS NOW $16.99 24 JACK KIRBY NEW GODS ARTIST ED HC $140.00 25 PROPHET TP VOL 02 BROTHERS $14.99 26 INCAL CLASSIC COLLECTION HC $44.95 27 HABIBI GN $37.50 28 PROPHET TP VOL 01 REMISSION $9.99 29 OGLAF BOOK ONE $18.99 30 JOHN ROMITA AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ARTIST ED HC VOL 02 $135.00 31 MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 02 $14.99 32 NAO OF BROWN GN $24.95 33 BLACK SCIENCE TP VOL 01 HOW TO FALL FOREVER $9.99 34 BOXERS & SAINTS BOXED SET $34.99 35 MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 03 $14.99 36 V FOR VENDETTA NEW EDITION TP (MR) $19.99 WATCHMEN TP $19.99 38 BATMAN THE KILLING JOKE SPECIAL ED HC $17.99 39 COMPLETE MULTIPLE WARHEADS TP $17.99 40 FATALE TP VOL 01 DEATH CHASES ME $14.99 41 FABLES TP VOL 19 SNOW WHITE $16.99 42 PRETTY DEADLY TP VOL 01 $9.99 43 DISTRICT 14 HC SEASON 02 $39.95 44 WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM TP VOL 02 $59.99 45 LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN OMNIBUS TP $29.99 46 BATMAN DARK KNIGHT RETURNS TP $19.99 LOCKE & KEY TP VOL 01 WELCOME TO LOVECRAFT $19.99 SANDMAN TP VOL 02 THE DOLLS HOUSE NEW ED $19.99 SANDMAN TP VOL 04 SEASON OF MISTS NEW ED $19.99 50 AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE TP VOL 01 ESCAPE FROM RIVERDALE PX ED $17.99 51 MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 04 FOUR DISCIPLINES $14.99 WALKING DEAD TP VOL 19 MARCH TO WAR $14.99 Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 01 UNMANNED $14.99 54 BLANKETS GN NEW PTG $29.95 WEIRDO YEARS 1981-1993 HC $29.95 56 BLUE IS WARMEST COLOR GN $19.95 57 BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS HC $22.95 58 FROM HELL TP $35.00 59 BPRD HELL ON EARTH TP VOL 07 A COLD DAY IN HELL $19.99 SWAMP THING BY BRIAN K VAUGHAN TP VOL 01 $19.99 61 BATMAN TP VOL 01 THE COURT OF OWLS $16.99 62 FINAL INCAL DLX ED HC $99.95 63 WALKING DEAD TP VOL 01 DAYS GONE BYE $14.99 64 AVATAR LAST AIRBENDER PROMISE LIBRARY ED HC $39.99 AVATAR LAST AIRBENDER SEARCH LIBRARY ED HC $39.99 66 DAYTRIPPER TP $19.99 67 PREACHER TP BOOK 01 $19.99 PREACHER TP BOOK 02 $19.99 SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING TP BOOK 01 $19.99 SERENITY HC VOL 02 BETTER DAYS & OTHER STORIES $19.99 X-MEN DAYS OF FUTURE PAST TP NEW PTG $19.99 72 VADERS LITTLE PRINCESS HC $14.95 73 BONE COLOR ED SC VOL 01 OUT FROM BONEVILLE $12.99 74 UNWRITTEN TP VOL 08 ORPHEUS IN THE UNDERWORLDS $16.99 75 LOVE BUNGLERS HC $19.99 76 INFINITY HC $75.00 INVISIBLES OMNIBUS HC $150.00 78 SUPERMAN GOLDEN AGE SUNDAYS 1943-1946 HC $49.99 79 WOLVERINE OLD MAN LOGAN TP $29.99 Y THE LAST MAN DELUXE EDITION HC VOL 02 $29.99 81 ADVENTURE TIME TP VOL 01 $14.99 82 HYPERBOLE AND A HALF SC $17.99 83 GUARDIANS OF GALAXY TP VOL 01 COSMIC AVENGERS $19.99 POWERS BUREAU TP VOL 01 UNDERCOVER $19.99 SANDMAN TP VOL 05 A GAME OF YOU NEW ED $19.99 86 ADVENTURE TIME ORIGINAL GN VOL 03 SEEING RED $11.99 87 HELLBOY IN HELL TP VOL 01 DESCENT $17.99 88 BATMAN YEAR ONE DELUXE SC $14.99 FATALE TP VOL 04 PRAY FOR RAIN $14.99 90 BEFORE THE INCAL CLASS COLL HC $44.95 91 BPRD HELL ON EARTH TP VOL 08 $19.99 92 METABARONS GENESIS CASTAKA DLX HC $49.95 93 JEFFREY BROWN KIDS ARE WEIRD OBSERVATIONS FROM PARENTHOOD HC $14.95 94 INVINCIBLE COMPENDIUM TP VOL 02 $64.99 95 HELLBOY TP VOL 01 SEED OF DESTRUCTION $17.99 96 MY FRIEND DAHMER SC $17.95 97 CHI SWEET HOME GN VOL 01 $13.95 98 AKIRA KODANSHA ED GN VOL 01 $24.99 BATMAN HUSH COMPLETE TP $24.99 100 MOUSE GUARD HC VOL 03 BLACK AXE $24.95 ************************************************************************
Meanwhile, across The City at Outpost, here is what they look like – but at the end of the day, this is just a tiny fraction of the main store…. So far. The top is about 1/5th, while anything under #62 wouldn’t have even made the sales chart from Experience (that’s like 3 copies here, which is lower for now – but I’m building the section and selection) the top 25 are meaningful and profitable numbers, however.
1 SAGA TP VOL 03 2 SAGA TP VOL 01 3 NOWHERE MEN TP VOL 01 FATES WORSE THAN DEATH 4 SAGA TP VOL 02 5 WALKING DEAD TP VOL 20 ALL OUT WAR PT 1 6 WALKING DEAD TP VOL 01 DAYS GONE BYE WALKING DEAD TP VOL 19 MARCH TO WAR 8 SEX CRIMINALS TP VOL 01 9 ADVENTURE TIME TP VOL 01 AVATAR LAST AIRBENDER TP VOL 07 RIFT PART 1 BATMAN THE KILLING JOKE SPECIAL ED HC 12 DARTH VADER AND SON HC SANDMAN TP VOL 01 PRELUDES & NOCTURNES NEW ED 14 BATMAN TP VOL 01 THE COURT OF OWLS RAT QUEENS TP VOL 01 SASS & SORCERY SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN TP VOL 01 MY OWN WORST ENEMY NOW 17 BATMAN THE LONG HALLOWEEN TP NEW ED BATMAN TP VOL 02 THE CITY OF OWLS BONE COLOR ED SC VOL 01 OUT FROM BONEVILLE CIVIL WAR TP DOCTOR WHO 11TH DOCTOR SONIC SCREWDRIVER BOOK KIT MMW X-MEN TP VOL 01 SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN TP VOL 02 TROUBLED MIND NOW WALKING DEAD TP VOL 02 MILES BEHIND US WALKING DEAD TP VOL 18 WHAT COMES AFTER 26 AVENGERS VS X-MEN TP BLACK SCIENCE TP VOL 01 HOW TO FALL FOREVER CENTURY WEST OGN CHEW TP VOL 01 EAST OF WEST TP VOL 01 THE PROMISE FATALE TP VOL 02 DEVILS BUSINESS JOKER DEATH OF THE FAMILY HC MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 01 SCIENCE BAD NEIL GAIMANS GOOD OMENS ($7.99 VERSION) PROPHET TP VOL 01 REMISSION R CRUMBS HEROES OF BLUES JAZZ & COUNTRY WITH CD HC WATCHMEN TP X-MEN DAYS OF FUTURE PAST TP X-MEN NO MORE HUMANS OGN HC 40 AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE TP VOL 01 ESCAPE FROM RIVERDALE PX ED AKIRA KODANSHA ED GN VOL 01 AVATAR LAST AIRBENDER TP VOL 06 SEARCH PART 3 BATMAN INCORPORATED TP DAREDEVIL BY MARK WAID TP VOL 01 DRAGON BALL FULL COLOR TP VOL 01 SAIYAN ARC FATALE TP VOL 03 WEST OF HELL GUARDIANS OF GALAXY TP VOL 01 COSMIC AVENGERS HAWKEYE TP VOL 01 MY LIFE AS A WEAPON HOBBIT TP MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 02 MY FRIEND DAHMER SC PRETTY DEADLY TP VOL 01 SAILOR MOON TP KODANSHA ED VOL 01 SIMPSONS COMICS TP VOL 14 JAM PACKED JAMBOREE JAM PACKED JAM SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN TP VOL 03 NO ESCAPE TANK GIRL REMASTERED ED TP VOL 01 (RES) (MR) (C: 0-1-2) VADERS LITTLE PRINCESS HC WALKING DEAD TP VOL 17 SOMETHING TO FEAR WOLVERINE OLD MAN LOGAN TP WONDER WOMAN TP VOL 01 BLOOD X-MEN DARK PHOENIX SAGA TP NEW PTG 62 ADVENTURE TIME ORIGINAL GN VOL 01 PLAYING FIRE ADVENTURE TIME ORIGINAL GN VOL 02 PIXEL PRINCESSES ADVENTURE TIME TP VOL 04 AKIRA KODANSHA ED GN VOL 02 ARE YOU MY MOTHER A COMIC DRAMA SC BATMAN HC VOL 03 DEATH OF THE FAMILY BATMAN HC VOL 04 ZERO YEAR SECRET CITY BATMAN HUSH COMPLETE TP BATMAN JUDGE DREDD FILES TP (JUL040672) (C: 1-0-0) BATMAN MAD LOVE AND OTHER STORIES TP BATMAN TP VOL 03 DEATH OF THE FAMILY BATMAN YEAR ONE DELUXE SC BATTLING BOY SC GN VOL 01 BIG NATE ALL WORK AND NO PLAY TP CHANGE TP DAREDEVIL BY BENDIS & MALEEV TP ULT COLL BOOK 01 DEADPOOL KILLS DEADPOOL TP DEADPOOL TP VOL 04 MONKEY BUSINESS DEATH NOTE BLACK TP VOL 01 (OF 6) DIARY OF A WIMPY KID HC VOL 08 HARD LUCK DRAMA GN DRINKING AT THE MOVIES SC EAST OF WEST TP VOL 02 WE ARE ALL ONE FABLES TP VOL 01 LEGENDS IN EXILE NEW ED FATALE TP VOL 01 DEATH CHASES ME FILTH TP GODZILLA HC GUARDIANS OF GALAXY PREM HC VOL 01 COSMIC AVENGERS NOW HARLEY QUINN PRELUDES AND KNOCK KNOCK JOKES TP HELLBLAZER TP VOL 01 ORIGINAL SINS NEW ED HULK WWH TP INFLUENCING MACHINE SC JOE THE BARBARIAN TP JOKER HC MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 03 MARVEL ZOMBIES TP COMPLETE COLLECTION VOL 01 METAL GEAR SOLID OMNIBUS TP MMW AMAZING SPIDER-MAN TP VOL 01 (NOV082434) NAO OF BROWN GN NEIL GAIMANS NEVERWHERE TP (NOV060304) (MR) NINJAGO GN VOL 07 STONE COLD ODYSSEY GN CANDLEWICK ED PRINCELESS TP VOL 01 NEW PTG PYONGYANG A JOURNEY IN NORTH KOREA TP SATELLITE SAM TP VOL 01 SIEGE TP SMILE SC NEW PTG STAR WARS ADV TP VOL 01 HAN SOLO & HOLLOW MOON OF KHORYA STAR WARS CRIMSON EMPIRE SAGA HC SUPER FRIENDS HEAD OF THE CLASS TP SUPERGIRL COSMIC ADVENTURES IN THE EIGHTH GRADE TP THOR MIGHTY AVENGER TP COMPLETE COLLECTION TINY TITANS TP VOL 01 WELCOME TO THE TREEHOUSE (NOV080197) TINY TITANS TP VOL 02 ADVENTURES IN AWESOMENESS TINY TITANS TP VOL 08 AW YEAH TITANS TOKYO ON FOOT V FOR VENDETTA BOOK AND MASK SET WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM TP VOL 02 YOUNG AVENGERS TP VOL 01 STYLE SUBSTANCE NOW
It is still early over at Outpost for Book Format work (I was flatly told “Outpost can’t sell Graphic Novels” – but it is almost a quarter of business), but I’m pretty much OK with what we’ve done so far. These numbers will climb as the stock level increases, and as people come to understand that we’re supporting the category on the south side of town. But look: a lot of the same trends are there: smart genre comics for adults, strong kids comics, they sell at both stores.
I’m not going to do a mix chart because, frankly, Outpost’s numbers don’t change Experience’s placements by any significant amount because there’s just that much of a difference in scale. Maybe at the year-end report?
That’s how two comic stores look to me at the moment; what do you think?
-B
Comix Experience Best Sellers: First half of 2014, Comics
/Hey, hey, it’s the half-year report from Comix Experience – now also with numbers from Comix Experience Outpost.You’ll find it below the cut, for those of you who like numbers-porn. Right, so the first bit I want to show is our publisher breakdown. I think some of you may recall I’ve said that I think that it is likely that Image is going to move into the #2 publisher spot sometime this year, though, I almost think it is possible it might hit #1 as well. This chart is all Experience, mostly because I totally spaced on running it on Outpost – but Outpost is probably about 40% Marvel. Top 20 Publishers @ Experience, 1/1/14-6/30/14, all categories, by quantity 26.46% MARVEL COMICS 24.27% DC COMICS 22.32% IMAGE COMICS 6.69% DARK HORSE COMICS 4.06% IDW PUBLISHING 3.03% BOOM! STUDIOS 2.06% AVATAR PRESS INC 1.80% D. E. 1.03% ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS 0.69% ONI PRESS INC. 0.60% VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT LLC 0.60% FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS 0.39% BONGO COMICS 0.35% DRAWN & QUARTERLY 0.35% REBELLION / 2000AD 0.31% TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS 0.29% :01 FIRST SECOND 0.25% VIZ MEDIA LLC 0.21% PAPERCUTZ 0.19% KODANSHA COMICS
That’s pretty much exactly what one calls “neck in neck”, yes, for the top three?
If you sort it by dollars, things move around a bit because DC has a lot of legacy TPs that are priced at $20+, while much of Image’s sales are of $9.99 TPs, and $2.99 comics… 22.00% DC COMICS 21.17% MARVEL COMICS 18.67% IMAGE COMICS 7.49% DARK HORSE COMICS 4.91% IDW PUBLISHING 2.62% BOOM! STUDIOS 1.94% FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS 1.71% AVATAR PRESS INC 1.39% D. E. 1.37% HUMANOIDS INC 1.11% DRAWN & QUARTERLY 1.07% ONI PRESS INC. 1.01% REBELLION / 2000AD 0.86% :01 FIRST SECOND 0.80% ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS 0.68% VIZ MEDIA LLC 0.62% TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS 0.56% KODANSHA COMICS 0.45% ARCHAIA ENTERTAINMENT LLC 0.40% VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT LLC
We are up 8.2% from same period last year at Experience, which for a 25 year old business, is pretty exceptional. Outpost is under a year old, so I don’t have comps just yet!
So, let’s first take comics as their own thing. New periodical comics are 40% of Experience’s sales, and 55% of Outpost.
Starting off with Experience, here is what things look like for comics, from the first of the year, in terms of PIECES SOLD:
1 DEADLY CLASS #1 2 SAGA #18 3 SANDMAN OVERTURE #2 (OF 6) McKean Cover 4 SAGA #19 5 DEADLY CLASS #2 6 MS MARVEL #1 7 BLACK SCIENCE #3 8 SOUTHERN BASTARDS #1 9 DEADLY CLASS #3 SANDMAN OVERTURE #2 (OF 6) JHW Cover 11 DEADLY CLASS #4 SEX CRIMINALS #4 13 SAGA #20 14 BATMAN #27 15 TREES #1 16 BATMAN #28 WALKING DEAD #121 18 MS MARVEL #2 SANDMAN OVERTURE #1 (OF 6) McKean Cover SEX CRIMINALS #5 21 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1 MOON KNIGHT #1 23 WALKING DEAD #120 24 BLACK SCIENCE #4 WALKING DEAD #127 26 BLACK SCIENCE #5 JUPITERS LEGACY #4 WALKING DEAD #119 WALKING DEAD #122 WALKING DEAD #123 31 BATMAN #29 STRAY BULLETS THE KILLERS #1 WALKING DEAD #125 34 BLACK SCIENCE #6 VELVET #3 WALKING DEAD #124 WALKING DEAD #126 38 BATMAN #30 DEADLY CLASS #5 EAST OF WEST #10 41 EAST OF WEST #11 42 EAST OF WEST #9 43 MOON KNIGHT #2 44 BATMAN #31 EAST OF WEST #12 HAWKEYE #16 SEX CRIMINALS #1 VELVET #4 49 BLACK SCIENCE #2 DAREDEVIL #1 ANMN ORIGINAL SIN #1 (OF 8) SEX CRIMINALS #6 SOUTHERN BASTARDS #2 54 AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE #3 FOREVER EVIL #5 (OF 7) 56 AVENGERS WORLD #1 HAWKEYE #15 PRETTY DEADLY #4 UNCANNY X-MEN #16 60 ALL NEW X-MEN #22.NOW ALL NEW X-MEN #23 FOREVER EVIL #7 (OF 7) MIRACLEMAN #1 OUTCAST BY KIRKMAN & AZACETA #1 SILVER SURFER #1 ANMN 66 DAREDEVIL #35 FOREVER EVIL #6 (OF 7) MOON KNIGHT #3 ORIGINAL SIN #2 (OF 8) PRETTY DEADLY #5 VELVET #5 72 DEADLY CLASS #6 FATALE #19 JUSTICE LEAGUE #27 MOON KNIGHT #4 SERENITY LEAVES ON THE WIND #1 (OF 6) WALKING DEAD #128 78 MS MARVEL #4 SAGA #17 SERENITY LEAVES ON THE WIND #2 (OF 6) 81 JUSTICE LEAGUE #28 JUSTICE LEAGUE #29 LUMBERJANES #1 (OF 8) MS MARVEL #3 ORIGINAL SIN #3 (OF 8) STRAY BULLETS THE KILLERS #2 87 AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE #4 ALL NEW X-MEN #21 ALL NEW X-MEN #25 BATMAN ETERNAL #1 DETECTIVE COMICS #27 CVR B (Frank Miller) MIRACLEMAN #2 ORIGINAL SIN #0 (OF 8) TREES #2 UNCANNY X-MEN #17 UNCANNY X-MEN #18 UNCANNY X-MEN #19.NOW ANMN 98 AVENGERS #25 ANMN BLACK SCIENCE #1 HAWKEYE #17 LAZARUS #6 SHE-HULK #1 UNCANNY AVENGERS #16
So, yeah, Image is doing VERY well at Experience, with Rick Remender’s DEADLY CLASS taking the #1 spot away from SAGA (though, looking at this now that I’ve done the math already, Sandman: Overture, if you combine the two covers, beats even that. Yet another reason I think that multiple covers are bunk)
Things change up a little if you sort it by dollars (I’ve put the cover price there at the end for this exercise) – limiting this just to the top 20
1 SANDMAN OVERTURE #2 (OF 6) McKean Cover $3.99 2 DEADLY CLASS #1 $3.50 3 SAGA #18 $2.99 4 SAGA #19 $2.99 5 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1 $5.99 6 DEADLY CLASS #2 $3.50 7 SANDMAN OVERTURE #1 (OF 6) McKean Cover $4.99 8 DETECTIVE COMICS #27 CVR B (Frank Miller) $7.99 9 SANDMAN OVERTURE #2 (OF 6) JHW Cover $3.99 10 BLACK SCIENCE #3 $3.50 11 SOUTHERN BASTARDS #1 $3.50 12 BATMAN #29 $4.99 13 MS MARVEL #1 $2.99 14 MIRACLEMAN #1 $5.99 BATMAN #27 $3.99 16 DEADLY CLASS #3 $3.50 17 SEX CRIMINALS #4 $3.50 18 BATMAN #28 $3.99 19 DEADLY CLASS #4 $3.50 20 MOON KNIGHT #1 $3.99
What about across town at the Outpost? Outpost is a MUCH more “mainstream” kind of store! Here’s the Top 100 (or so) by PIECES SOLD
1 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1 2 BATMAN #27 3 BATMAN #28 BATMAN #29 5 BATMAN #30 GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #11.NOW ANMN 7 ALL NEW X-MEN #23 ANMN SUPERMAN UNCHAINED #5 9 BATMAN ETERNAL #1 10 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #2 ANMN BATMAN #31 SUPERMAN UNCHAINED #6 13 ALL NEW X-MEN #22.NOW ANMN GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #13 ANMN 15 GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #12 ANMN GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #14 17 SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #30 ANMN 18 BATMAN ETERNAL #2 SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #31 ANMN 20 GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #10 INF SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #27.NOW ANMN SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #29 ANMN 23 ALL NEW X-MEN #24 ANMN SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #25 25 FOREVER EVIL #5 (OF 7) 26 ALL NEW X-MEN #21 ALL NEW X-MEN #25 28 SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #26 29 BATMAN ETERNAL #4 BATMAN SUPERMAN #7 FOREVER EVIL #6 (OF 7) UNCANNY X-MEN #18 33 UNCANNY X-MEN #16 34 BATMAN ETERNAL #3 SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #28 ANMN UNCANNY X-MEN #17 37 DAREDEVIL #1 ANMN UNCANNY X-MEN #19.NOW ANMN 39 FOREVER EVIL #7 (OF 7) ORIGINAL SIN #1 (OF 8) 41 ALL NEW X-MEN #26 HARLEY QUINN #2 ORIGINAL SIN #3 (OF 8) X-MEN #9 XFV 45 BATMAN ETERNAL #5 BATMAN ETERNAL #6 BATMAN SUPERMAN ANNUAL #1 MS MARVEL #1 NIGHT OF LIVING DEADPOOL #1 (OF 4) UNCANNY X-MEN #20 ANMN 51 AVENGERS #25 ANMN AVENGERS #26 ANMN ORIGINAL SIN #2 (OF 8) UNCANNY AVENGERS #16 55 DAREDEVIL #2 ANMN X-MEN #10.NOW ANMN X-MEN #11 ANMN 58 ALL NEW X-MEN #27 BATMAN ETERNAL #7 DEADPOOL #22 GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #15 MS MARVEL #2 SAGA #18 SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #2 65 AVENGERS #29 ORIGINAL SIN #0 67 AVENGERS #27 BATMAN ETERNAL #8 DEADLY CLASS #1 FANTASTIC FOUR #1 ANMN FOREVER EVIL #4 (OF 7) 72 AVENGERS #28 BATMAN SUPERMAN #8 DAREDEVIL #3 ANMN JUSTICE LEAGUE #27 NIGHT OF LIVING DEADPOOL #4 (OF 4) UNCANNY AVENGERS #17 UNCANNY AVENGERS #18.NOW ANMN UNCANNY X-MEN #21 80 ALL NEW X-MEN #28 BATMAN SUPERMAN #11 DETECTIVE COMICS #30 83 ALL NEW INVADERS #1 ANMN AVENGERS #24.NOW ANMN AVENGERS #30 SIN DEADPOOL #27 ANMN HARLEY QUINN #3 JUSTICE LEAGUE #28 NIGHT OF LIVING DEADPOOL #2 (OF 4) UNCANNY AVENGERS ANNUAL #1 91 DEADPOOL #23 DETECTIVE COMICS #27 CVR B (Frank Miller) LUMBERJANES #1 (OF 8) MOON KNIGHT #2 NEW AVENGERS #16.NOW ANMN SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #24 97 BATMAN ETERNAL #9 MOON KNIGHT #1 MOON KNIGHT #1 YOUNG VAR ANMN NEW AVENGERS #14 NIGHT OF LIVING DEADPOOL #3 (OF 4) X-MEN #12 ANMN
Damn, a LOT more mainstream, right? And swapping this for dollars sold shows a tremendous less amount of changes, so I’m not even going to bother!
Right, so what if we fold the two stores together? Then it looks something like this:
1 DEADLY CLASS #1 2 SAGA #18 3 SAGA #19 4 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1 5 SANDMAN OVERTURE #2 (OF 6) McKean Cover 6 BATMAN #27 7 BATMAN #28 8 MS MARVEL #1 9 BATMAN #29 10 BATMAN #30 11 DEADLY CLASS #2 12 ALL NEW X-MEN #23 BATMAN #31 14 ALL NEW X-MEN #22.NOW BLACK SCIENCE #3 16 BATMAN ETERNAL #1 17 MS MARVEL #2 18 SOUTHERN BASTARDS #1 19 FOREVER EVIL #5 (OF 7) GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #11.NOW ANMN 21 DEADLY CLASS #3 SUPERMAN UNCHAINED #5 23 GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #13 ANMN 24 DEADLY CLASS #4 GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #12 ANMN 26 SANDMAN OVERTURE #2 (OF 6) JHW Cover 27 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #2 ANMN DAREDEVIL #1 ANMN MOON KNIGHT #1 UNCANNY X-MEN #16 31 FOREVER EVIL #6 (OF 7) ORIGINAL SIN #1 (OF 8) 33 ALL NEW X-MEN #24 ANMN GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #14 35 ALL NEW X-MEN #21 ALL NEW X-MEN #25 SEX CRIMINALS #4 38 FOREVER EVIL #7 (OF 7) SUPERMAN UNCHAINED #6 WALKING DEAD #121 41 UNCANNY X-MEN #18 WALKING DEAD #127 43 SEX CRIMINALS #5 WALKING DEAD #120 45 UNCANNY X-MEN #17 WALKING DEAD #119 47 ORIGINAL SIN #2 (OF 8) UNCANNY X-MEN #19.NOW ANMN WALKING DEAD #125 50 BLACK SCIENCE #4 ORIGINAL SIN #3 (OF 8) SAGA #20 WALKING DEAD #126 54 GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #10 INF MOON KNIGHT #2 WALKING DEAD #123 57 BATMAN ETERNAL #2 TREES #1 59 BATMAN ETERNAL #4 60 AVENGERS #25 ANMN UNCANNY AVENGERS #16 62 BATMAN ETERNAL #3 JUSTICE LEAGUE #27 WALKING DEAD #124 65 BATMAN ETERNAL #5 DAREDEVIL #2 ANMN ORIGINAL SIN #0 UNCANNY X-MEN #20 ANMN 69 ALL NEW X-MEN #26 BATMAN SUPERMAN #7 SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #31 72 ALL NEW X-MEN #27 BATMAN ETERNAL #6 BLACK SCIENCE #6 HARLEY QUINN #2 76 BLACK SCIENCE #5 JUSTICE LEAGUE #28 WALKING DEAD #122 79 AVENGERS #26 ANMN EAST OF WEST #10 JUPITERS LEGACY #4 LUMBERJANES #1 (OF 8) 83 DETECTIVE COMICS #27 CVR B (Frank Miller) HAWKEYE #16 UNCANNY AVENGERS #17 86 EAST OF WEST #11 FANTASTIC FOUR #1 ANMN MOON KNIGHT #3 UNCANNY AVENGERS #18.NOW ANMN UNCANNY X-MEN #21 91 BATMAN SUPERMAN ANNUAL #1 DEADLY CLASS #5 EAST OF WEST #9 MS MARVEL #3 X-MEN #9 XFV 96 AVENGERS #29 DETECTIVE COMICS #30 HAWKEYE #15 JUSTICE LEAGUE #29 SEX CRIMINALS #1
Experience’s big hits are bigger, but the Outpost’s midlist swings a lot of the Marvel and DC comics right up the charts.
Yeah, so that’s the 6 month look – see anything interesting yourself?
-B
Comix Experience Best Sellers: First half of 2013, Books
/Same thing as the previous, just this time focusing on the BOOKS part of the business. This is the list that genuinely excites me, again, under the jump!
Like the other, here we go first by QUANTITY sold.
As you can see, our best sellers are dominated by Image comics -- 6 of the top 10, 10 of the top 20.
I talked before about just how well SAGA is doing -- that number is HUGE, almost triple the sales on HAWKEYE, but even more impressive to me is how SAGA v2 is already our #4 book for the year... with just ELEVEN on-sale days. Wow!
I also want to give Special Note to that HAWKEYE book at #2 -- it has been a while since I've had a Marvel TP perform like that... AVX is the next best-seller, and it is way down at #42.... -- and, again, these are just huge, huge numbers, numbers rivaling any number of periodicals back on that list.
I am really really happy with the breadth and diversity of this list!
| 1 | SAGA TP VOL 01 (BKV) |
| 2 | HAWKEYE TP VOL 01 MY LIFE AS A WEAPON |
| 3 | LOEG NEMO HEART OF ICE HC |
| 4 | SAGA TP VOL 02 (BKV) |
| 5 | PROPHET TP VOL 01 REMISSION |
| 6 | MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 01 SCIENCE BAD |
| 7 | FABLES TP VOL 18 CUBS IN TOYLAND |
| 8 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 01 DAYS GONE BYE |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 18 WHAT COMES AFTER | |
| 10 | ADVENTURE TIME TP VOL 02 |
| 11 | ADVENTURE TIME TP VOL 01 |
| CURSED PIRATE GIRL HC VOL 01 | |
| DARTH VADER AND SON HC | |
| VADERS LITTLE PRINCESS HC | |
| 15 | ALAN MOORE NEONOMICON TP |
| MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 02 | |
| 17 | FATALE TP VOL 02 DEVILS BUSINESS |
| 18 | CHEW TP VOL 06 SPACE CAKES |
| OGLAF BOOK ONE | |
| SANDMAN TP VOL 01 PRELUDES & NOCTURNES | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 17 SOMETHING TO FEAR | |
| 22 | HARK A VAGRANT HC |
| NINJAGO GN VOL 06 | |
| WARREN ELLIS GUN MACHINE HC | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 01 UNMANNED | |
| 26 | AVATAR LAST AIRBENDER TP VOL 04 SEARCH PART 1 |
| FATALE TP VOL 01 DEATH CHASES ME | |
| OATMEAL HOW TO TELL IF YOUR CAT IS PLOTTING TO KILL YOU | |
| ONE TRICK RIP OFF DEEP CUTS HC | |
| PROMETHEA TP BOOK 01 | |
| 31 | ADVENTURE TIME ORIGINAL GN VOL 01 PLAYING FIRE |
| ECONOMIX HOW & WHY OUR ECONOMY WORKS & DOESNT WORK GN | |
| 33 | HAPPY TP |
| 34 | MASSIVE TP VOL 01 BLACK PACIFIC |
| NINJAGO GN VOL 01 CHALLENGE OF SAMUKAI | |
| NINJAGO GN VOL 02 MASK OF THE SENSEI | |
| NINJAGO GN VOL 05 KINGDOM O/T SNAKES | |
| PREACHER TP VOL 01 GONE TO TEXAS NEW EDITION (MAR050489) (MR | |
| TRANSMETROPOLITAN TP VOL 01 BACK ON THE STREET | |
| V FOR VENDETTA NEW EDITION TP (MR) | |
| WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM TP VOL 02 | |
| 42 | AMULET SC VOL 01 STONEKEEPER |
| AVENGERS VS X-MEN TP | |
| FABLES TP VOL 01 LEGENDS IN EXILE NEW ED | |
| FABLES TP VOL 17 INHERIT THE WIND | |
| INVINCIBLE TP VOL 17 WHATS HAPPENING | |
| KICK-ASS 2 PRELUDE HIT-GIRL PREM HC | |
| LOEG III CENTURY #3 2009 | |
| MIND MGMT HC VOL 01 | |
| NORTHLANDERS TP VOL 07 THE ICELANDIC TRILOGY | |
| 51 | BATMAN DARK KNIGHT RETURNS TP (new $19.99 printing) |
| BATMAN HUSH COMPLETE TP | |
| BLACK HOLE COLLECTED SC NEW PTG | |
| BTVS SEASON 9 TP VOL 02 ON YOUR OWN | |
| CHEW TP VOL 01 | |
| CHEW TP VOL 05 MAJOR LEAGUE CHEW | |
| CRIMINAL TP VOL 01 COWARD (MR) | |
| DRINKING AT THE MOVIES SC | |
| FLEX MENTALLO MAN OF MUSCLE MYSTERY DLX HC | |
| JULIOS DAY HC | |
| MARBLE SEASON HC | |
| ORC STAIN TP VOL 01 | |
| PREACHER TP VOL 02 UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD NEW EDITION (M | |
| SANDMAN TP VOL 02 THE DOLLS HOUSE NEW ED | |
| SILVER SURFER BY STAN LEE AND MOEBIUS #1 | |
| UNDERWATER WELDER GN | |
| UNWRITTEN TP VOL 06 TOMMY TAYLOR WAR OF WORDS | |
| UNWRITTEN TP VOL 07 THE WOUND | |
| WATCHMEN TP | |
| 70 | BATMAN INCORPORATED TP |
| BATMAN THE KILLING JOKE SPECIAL ED HC | |
| BATMAN TP VOL 01 THE COURT OF OWLS | |
| BATMAN YEAR ONE DELUXE SC | |
| BONE COLOR ED SC VOL 01 OUT FROM BONEVILLE | |
| CHEW TP VOL 03 JUST DESSERTS | |
| CHI SWEET HOME GN VOL 01 | |
| GLOBAL FREQUENCY TP | |
| GODZILLA HALF CENTURY WAR TP | |
| KINGDOM COME TP NEW EDITION | |
| LEGEND OF ZELDA HYRULE HISTORIA HC | |
| LOEG III CENTURY #1 1910 | |
| LOEG III CENTURY #2 1969 | |
| LOEG VOL TWO TP (FEB058407) | |
| MY FRIEND DAHMER SC | |
| NAO OF BROWN GN | |
| R CRUMBS HEROES OF BLUES JAZZ & COUNTRY WITH CD HC | |
| SANDMAN TP VOL 04 SEASON OF MISTS NEW ED | |
| SOLO DELUXE ED HC | |
| THE INFINITE WAIT | |
| WALKING DEAD NOVEL SC VOL 01 RISE OF GOVERNOR | |
| WRINKLE IN TIME GN | |
| Y THE LAST MAN DELUXE EDITION HC VOL 01 | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 02 CYCLES (OCT058281) (MR) | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 03 ONE SMALL STEP (MAR068027) (MR) | |
| 95 | ARKHAM ASYLUM ANNIVERSARY ED SC |
| ASTERIX WHERES ASTERIX HC | |
| AVATAR LAST AIRBENDER TP VOL 01 PROMISE PART 1 | |
| BATMAN HC VOL 01 THE COURT OF OWLS | |
| BEST AMERICAN COMICS HC 2012 | |
| CHEW TP VOL 04 FLAMBE | |
| DIAL H TP VOL 01 INTO YOU | |
| DRAMA GN | |
| FABLES TP VOL 02 ANIMAL FARM | |
| FATALE TP VOL 03 | |
| KICK-ASS 2 TP | |
| KOKO BE GOOD GN | |
| LOGICOMIX GN | |
| PARKER THE HUNTER SC | |
| PRISON PIT GN VOL 04 | |
| PUNK ROCK JESUS TP | |
| PYONGYANG A JOURNEY IN NORTH KOREA TP | |
| RELISH MY LIFE IN KITCHEN GN | |
| SCOTT PILGRIM GN VOL 01 PRECIOUS LITTLE LIFE | |
| SHARAZ DE HC | |
| STAR TREK COUNTDOWN TO DARKNESS TP |
And here is the chart, sorted instead by DOLLARS SOLD. Not a TON of changes, the most obvious might be WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM v2 rising up so strong, but again, it shows you just how important price points become to the profitability of a store. Hardcovers, Artist Editions, that Disney Animation box set, and so on -- A dolla makes me holla!
| 1 | SAGA TP VOL 01 (BKV) |
| 2 | HAWKEYE TP VOL 01 MY LIFE AS A WEAPON |
| 3 | LOEG NEMO HEART OF ICE HC |
| 4 | SAGA TP VOL 02 (BKV) |
| 5 | WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM TP VOL 02 |
| 6 | MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 01 SCIENCE BAD |
| 7 | CURSED PIRATE GIRL HC VOL 01 |
| 8 | PROPHET TP VOL 01 REMISSION |
| 9 | FABLES TP VOL 18 CUBS IN TOYLAND |
| 10 | ALAN MOORE NEONOMICON TP |
| 11 | WARREN ELLIS GUN MACHINE HC |
| 12 | AVENGERS VS X-MEN TP |
| 13 | ONE TRICK RIP OFF DEEP CUTS HC |
| 14 | ADVENTURE TIME TP VOL 02 |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 18 WHAT COMES AFTER | |
| 16 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 01 DAYS GONE BYE |
| 17 | WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM TP VOL 01 |
| 18 | SANDMAN TP VOL 01 PRELUDES & NOCTURNES NEW ED |
| 19 | ADVENTURE TIME TP VOL 01 |
| 20 | METABARONS ULTIMATE COLL ED |
| 21 | DARTH VADER AND SON HC |
| 22 | SOLO DELUXE ED HC |
| 23 | OGLAF BOOK ONE |
| 24 | AVENGERS VS X-MEN CHEUNG HC |
| 25 | VADERS LITTLE PRINCESS HC |
| 26 | HARK A VAGRANT HC |
| 27 | MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 02 |
| 28 | ABSOLUTE SANDMAN HC VOL 01 |
| 29 | KICK-ASS 2 PRELUDE HIT-GIRL PREM HC |
| 30 | ABSOLUTE SANDMAN HC VOL 04 (JUL080211) (MR) |
| 31 | LEGEND OF ZELDA HYRULE HISTORIA HC |
| 32 | MAD ARTIST ED HC |
| 33 | INVINCIBLE COMPENDIUM TP VOL 01 |
| 34 | FATALE TP VOL 02 DEVILS BUSINESS |
| 35 | Y THE LAST MAN DELUXE EDITION HC VOL 01 |
| 36 | MASSIVE TP VOL 01 BLACK PACIFIC |
| V FOR VENDETTA NEW EDITION TP (MR) | |
| 38 | CHEW TP VOL 06 SPACE CAKES |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 17 SOMETHING TO FEAR | |
| 40 | PROMETHEA TP BOOK 01 (APR068028) |
| 41 | ECONOMIX HOW & WHY OUR ECONOMY WORKS & DOESNT WORK GN |
| 42 | WILL EISNER SPIRIT ARTIST ED HC |
| 43 | WALKING DEAD HC VOL 01 NEW PTG |
| 44 | BATMAN HUSH COMPLETE TP |
| 45 | ABSOLUTE BATMAN & ROBIN HC BATMAN REBORN |
| 46 | Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 01 UNMANNED |
| 47 | PREACHER TP VOL 01 GONE TO TEXAS NEW EDITION (MAR050489) (MR |
| 48 | FLEX MENTALLO MAN OF MUSCLE MYSTERY DLX HC |
| 49 | MARBLE SEASON HC |
| 50 | INVISIBLES OMNIBUS HC |
| 51 | FATALE TP VOL 01 DEATH CHASES ME |
| 52 | SHARAZ DE HC |
| 53 | NAO OF BROWN GN |
| 54 | OATMEAL HOW TO TELL IF YOUR CAT IS PLOTTING TO KILL YOU |
| 55 | HABIBI GN |
| 56 | BATMAN DARK KNIGHT RETURNS TP (new $19.99 printing) |
| JULIOS DAY HC | |
| MIND MGMT HC VOL 01 | |
| SANDMAN TP VOL 02 THE DOLLS HOUSE NEW ED | |
| WATCHMEN TP | |
| 61 | BLACK HOLE COLLECTED SC NEW PTG |
| UNDERWATER WELDER GN | |
| 63 | INVINCIBLE TP VOL 17 WHATS HAPPENING |
| NORTHLANDERS TP VOL 07 THE ICELANDIC TRILOGY | |
| 65 | TRANSMETROPOLITAN TP VOL 01 BACK ON THE STREET |
| 66 | BLACK INCAL DLX HC VOL 01 |
| 67 | R CRUMBS HEROES OF BLUES JAZZ & COUNTRY WITH CD HC |
| 68 | BTVS SEASON 9 TP VOL 02 ON YOUR OWN |
| ORC STAIN TP VOL 01 | |
| 70 | BEST AMERICAN COMICS HC 2012 |
| 71 | BATMAN HC VOL 01 THE COURT OF OWLS |
| 72 | HOUSE OF SECRETS OMNIBUS HC |
| 73 | DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS ARCHIVES BK 05 9 OLD MEN FLIPBOOK |
| 74 | DOOM 2099 COMPLETE COLLECTION BY WARREN ELLIS TP |
| MAGE HC VOL 01 THE HERO DISCOVERED | |
| 76 | CREEPY PRESENTS RICHARD CORBEN HC |
| LUCIFER TP VOL 01 | |
| 78 | BATMAN INCORPORATED TP |
| SANDMAN TP VOL 04 SEASON OF MISTS NEW ED | |
| WRINKLE IN TIME GN | |
| 81 | BONE ONE VOL ED SC |
| 82 | UNWRITTEN TP VOL 06 TOMMY TAYLOR WAR OF WORDS |
| 83 | HAPPY TP |
| 84 | TECHNOPRIESTS SUPREME COLL OMNIBUS |
| 85 | LOGICOMIX GN |
| 86 | FABLES TP VOL 17 INHERIT THE WIND |
| 87 | GLOBAL FREQUENCY TP |
| 88 | STAR WARS MILLENNIUM FALCON OWNERS WORKSHOP MANUAL |
| 89 | WEIRD HORRORS & DARING ADV JOE KUBERT ARCHIVES HC VOL 01 |
| 90 | AVATAR LAST AIRBENDER TP VOL 04 SEARCH PART 1 |
| 91 | WOODWORK WALLACE WOOD 1927-1981 HC |
| 92 | BATMAN THE KILLING JOKE SPECIAL ED HC |
| KINGDOM COME TP NEW EDITION | |
| 94 | ADVENTURE TIME ORIGINAL GN VOL 01 PLAYING FIRE |
| 95 | MY FRIEND DAHMER SC |
| 96 | DRINKING AT THE MOVIES SC |
| FROM HELL TP | |
| MAUS SURVIVORS TALE COMPLETE HC | |
| 99 | CHEW OMNIVORE ED HC VOL 03 |
| 100 | JOHN K PRESENTS SPUMCO COMIC BOOK HC |
| WALKING DEAD HC VOL 08 |
And that wraps this up. Always interested in your thoughts on anything you see here!
-B
Comix Experience Best Sellers: First half of 2013, Comics
/Hey, hey, that time of the year again, where we peek in and see what is doing well at Comix Experience. Find it down below the jump, if you are interested!
As usual, I'm scrubbing out any back issue related sale here -- including quarter and dollar books, starter sets, and single back issues. This first list is presented in QUANTITY SOLD -- these are actual sales to actual consumers, NOT just my orders or the like.
If Image had gone back to press on SAGA #9, all issues would have charted even higher -- hard to max sales when part 3 of 6 is OOP.... #7 & 8 would have also been in top 10, I think, if we could have got more 9s.
What's so striking about these sales for SAGA is just how well the book is ALSO doing (next post!) -- it is selling spiffy in EVERY format. I sure hope there is a v1+v2 combined HC coming for Christmas.....
| 1 | SAGA #11 |
| 2 | SAGA #10 |
| 3 | SAGA #9 |
| 4 | SAGA #12 |
| 5 | BATMAN #17 |
| JUPITERS LEGACY #1 | |
| 7 | BATMAN #16 |
| 8 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #8 |
| SAGA #8 | |
| 10 | EAST OF WEST #1 |
| 11 | UNCANNY X-MEN #1 NOW |
| WALKING DEAD #106 | |
| 13 | WALKING DEAD #108 |
| 14 | BATMAN #18 |
| 15 | EAST OF WEST #2 |
| WALKING DEAD #107 | |
| 17 | BATMAN #20 |
| HELLBOY IN HELL #2 | |
| 19 | BATMAN #19 |
| HELLBOY IN HELL #3 | |
| WALKING DEAD #109 | |
| 22 | AGE OF ULTRON #1 (OF 10) |
| 23 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #9 |
| 24 | ACTION COMICS #16 |
| 25 | HAWKEYE #8 |
| SAGA #7 | |
| 27 | BATMAN #21 |
| HELLBOY IN HELL #4 | |
| WALKING DEAD #110 | |
| 30 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #6 |
| HAWKEYE #7 | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #16 | |
| 33 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #10 |
| GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #1 NOW | |
| 35 | ALL NEW X-MEN #5 |
| AVENGERS #3 NOW | |
| 37 | ACTION COMICS #17 |
| 38 | AGE OF ULTRON #2 (OF 10) |
| AGE OF ULTRON #3 (OF 10) | |
| BATMAN INCORPORATED #7 | |
| STAR WARS #1 | |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #3 NOW | |
| 43 | ALL NEW X-MEN #6 NOW2 |
| AVENGERS #4 NOW2 | |
| AVENGERS #6 NOW2 | |
| EAST OF WEST #3 | |
| GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #2 NOW | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #1 | |
| STAR WARS #2 | |
| UNCANNY AVENGERS #4 NOW | |
| 51 | BATMAN AND ROBIN #16 |
| DETECTIVE COMICS #18 | |
| HAWKEYE #9 | |
| SUPERMAN UNCHAINED #1 | |
| 55 | ACTION COMICS #18 |
| ALL NEW X-MEN #7 NOW2 | |
| ALL NEW X-MEN #9 NOW | |
| DETECTIVE COMICS #16 | |
| GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #0.1 NOW | |
| UNCANNY AVENGERS #3 NOW | |
| 61 | ALL NEW X-MEN #10 NOW |
| AVENGERS #5 NOW2 | |
| DETECTIVE COMICS #17 | |
| DETECTIVE COMICS #19 | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #18 | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #19 | |
| 67 | BATMAN AND ROBIN #18 |
| HAPPY #4 (OF 4) | |
| HAWKEYE #10 | |
| JUPITERS LEGACY #2 | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #17 | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #2 | |
| NEW AVENGERS #1 NOW | |
| UNCANNY AVENGERS #5 NOW2 | |
| WALKING DEAD #111 | |
| 76 | AGE OF ULTRON #4 (OF 10) |
| AVENGERS #8 NOW | |
| FATALE #12 | |
| PROPHET #32 | |
| SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #1 NOW | |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #2 NOW | |
| 82 | AGE OF ULTRON #5 (OF 10) |
| ALL NEW X-MEN #11 NOW | |
| FATALE #11 | |
| X-MEN #1 NOW | |
| YOUNG AVENGERS #2 NOW | |
| 87 | ADVENTURE TIME FIONNA & CAKE #1 (OF 6) |
| AGE OF ULTRON #8 (OF 10) | |
| ALL NEW X-MEN #8 NOW2 | |
| AVENGERS #10 NOW | |
| AVENGERS #7 NOW | |
| BATMAN INCORPORATED #11 | |
| FATALE #13 | |
| MARA #1 (OF 6) | |
| NOWHERE MEN #3 | |
| STAR WARS #3 | |
| 97 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #700 |
| AVENGERS #9 NOW | |
| BATMAN AND ROBIN #17 | |
| DETECTIVE COMICS #20 | |
| PROPHET #33 | |
| SEX #1 | |
| UNCANNY AVENGERS #8 NOW2 | |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #5 NOW | |
| WALKING DEAD THE GOVERNOR SPECIAL |
Let's also present the same data, except sorted by DOLLARS SOLD. Not a lot of changes here, but you can see some shifts, like how AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #700 soars way up the list. SUPERMAN UNCHAINED #1 suddenly becomes a Top 20 book (I ordered too many, though, and are not yet where I want to be with profit on that one...)
Also? #46.
Either way, you can see just how much an impact $3.99 price points can have on the bottom line, and it isn't like there's any real market resistance (on an individual book level!) to the price point.
I'm always interested in your thoughts on any of this....
| 1 | SAGA #11 |
| 2 | SAGA #10 |
| 3 | SAGA #9 |
| 4 | SAGA #12 |
| 5 | BATMAN #17 |
| 6 | DETECTIVE COMICS #19 |
| 7 | BATMAN #16 |
| 8 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #700 |
| 9 | UNCANNY X-MEN #1 NOW |
| 10 | BATMAN #18 |
| 11 | EAST OF WEST #1 |
| 12 | JUPITERS LEGACY #1 |
| 13 | BATMAN #20 |
| 14 | BATMAN #19 |
| 15 | SAGA #8 |
| 16 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #8 |
| 17 | AGE OF ULTRON #1 (OF 10) |
| 18 | SUPERMAN UNCHAINED #1 |
| 19 | EAST OF WEST #2 |
| 20 | ACTION COMICS #18 |
| 21 | GREEN LANTERN #20 |
| 22 | BATMAN #21 |
| 23 | WALKING DEAD #106 |
| 24 | GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #1 NOW |
| 25 | COPRA COMPENDIUM |
| 26 | WALKING DEAD #108 |
| 27 | ACTION COMICS #16 |
| AGE OF ULTRON #3 (OF 10) | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #16 | |
| 30 | AGE OF ULTRON #2 (OF 10) |
| AVENGERS #3 NOW | |
| 32 | UNCANNY X-MEN #3 NOW |
| 33 | WALKING DEAD #107 |
| 34 | ALL NEW X-MEN #6 NOW2 |
| GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #2 NOW | |
| 36 | ALL NEW X-MEN #5 |
| 37 | JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #1 |
| 38 | HELLBOY IN HELL #2 |
| 39 | DETECTIVE COMICS #18 |
| 40 | HELLBOY IN HELL #3 |
| 41 | WALKING DEAD #109 |
| 42 | ALL NEW X-MEN #7 NOW2 |
| ALL NEW X-MEN #9 NOW | |
| DETECTIVE COMICS #16 | |
| GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #0.1 NOW | |
| 46 | JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #1 COMPLETE PACK (*sigh*) |
| 47 | ALL NEW X-MEN #10 NOW |
| DETECTIVE COMICS #17 | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #18 | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #19 | |
| UNCANNY AVENGERS #4 NOW | |
| 52 | AVENGERS #4 NOW2 |
| 53 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #9 |
| 54 | ACTION COMICS #17 |
| AVENGERS #5 NOW2 | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #17 | |
| NEW AVENGERS #1 NOW | |
| UNCANNY AVENGERS #3 NOW | |
| 59 | JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #2 |
| 60 | HAWKEYE #8 |
| SAGA #7 | |
| 62 | AGE OF ULTRON #4 (OF 10) |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #2 NOW | |
| 64 | EAST OF WEST #3 |
| 65 | AVENGERS #8 NOW |
| 66 | PROPHET #32 |
| 67 | HELLBOY IN HELL #4 |
| 68 | HAWKEYE #7 |
| 69 | WALKING DEAD #110 |
| 70 | AGE OF ULTRON #5 (OF 10) |
| ALL NEW X-MEN #11 NOW | |
| AVENGERS #6 NOW2 | |
| X-MEN #1 NOW | |
| 74 | ADVENTURE TIME FIONNA & CAKE #1 (OF 6) |
| 75 | SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #1 NOW |
| 76 | AGE OF ULTRON #8 (OF 10) |
| ALL NEW X-MEN #8 NOW2 | |
| AVENGERS #10 NOW | |
| AVENGERS #7 NOW | |
| UNCANNY AVENGERS #5 NOW2 | |
| 81 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #10 |
| 82 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #6 |
| 83 | AVENGERS #9 NOW |
| DETECTIVE COMICS #20 | |
| UNCANNY AVENGERS #8 NOW2 | |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #5 NOW | |
| 87 | PROPHET #33 |
| 88 | GARTH ENNIS RED TEAM #1 |
| 89 | STAR WARS #1 |
| 90 | PROPHET #34 |
| 91 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #7 |
| 92 | FATALE #12 |
| 93 | BATMAN AND ROBIN ANNUAL #1 |
| 94 | ADVENTURE TIME FIONNA & CAKE #2 (OF 6) |
| BATMAN SUPERMAN #1 | |
| 96 | AGE OF ULTRON #6 (OF 10) |
| UNCANNY AVENGERS #6 NOW2 | |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #4 NOW | |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #6 NOW | |
| 100 | STAR WARS #2 |
Comix Experience 2012 Best Sellers: Books
/We sell more books than periodicals (dollars this year: 55% books v 40% comics), so this is my favorite category! I believe this is a wonderfully amazingly diverse list of material sold.
First off, by pieces:
| 1 | SAGA TP VOL 01 |
| 2 | LOEG III CENTURY #3 2009 |
| 3 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 16 A LARGER WORLD |
| 4 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 01 DAYS GONE BYE |
| 5 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 15 WE FIND OURSELVES |
| 6 | MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 01 SCIENCE BAD |
| 7 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 17 SOMETHING TO FEAR |
| 8 | DARTH VADER AND SON HC |
| 9 | LOVE AND ROCKETS NEW STORIES TP VOL 05 |
| 10 | WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM TP VOL 01 |
| 11 | ALAN MOORE NEONOMICON TP |
| MY FRIEND DAHMER SC | |
| 13 | WATCHMEN TP |
| 14 | BATMAN YEAR ONE DELUXE SC |
| 15 | CHEW TP VOL 05 MAJOR LEAGUE CHEW |
| FABLES TP VOL 17 INHERIT THE WIND | |
| HARK A VAGRANT HC | |
| NINJAGO GN VOL 01 CHALLENGE OF SAMUKAI | |
| PROPHET TP VOL 01 REMISSION | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 02 MILES BEHIND US | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 03 SAFETY BEHIND BARS | |
| 22 | FLEX MENTALLO MAN OF MUSCLE MYSTERY DLX HC |
| OGLAF BOOK ONE | |
| 24 | FATALE TP VOL 01 DEATH CHASES ME |
| 25 | HABIBI GN |
| RICHARD STARKS PARKER v3 THE SCORE | |
| UNTERZAKHN GN | |
| 28 | ARE YOU MY MOTHER A COMIC DRAMA HC |
| KING CITY TP | |
| TRANSMETROPOLITAN TP VOL 01 BACK ON THE STREET | |
| 31 | BATMAN EARTH ONE HC |
| BONE COLOR ED SC VOL 01 OUT FROM BONEVILLE | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 13 TOO FAR GONE | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 14 NO WAY OUT | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 01 UNMANNED | |
| 36 | NINJAGO GN VOL 02 MASK OF THE SENSEI |
| SANDMAN TP VOL 01 PRELUDES & NOCTURNES NEW ED | |
| THE INFINITE WAIT | |
| 39 | LOEG III CENTURY #2 1969 |
| NINJAGO GN VOL 03 RISE O/T SERPENTINE | |
| V FOR VENDETTA NEW EDITION TP (MR) | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 04 HEARTS DESIRE | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 12 LIFE AMONG THEM | |
| 44 | CHEW TP VOL 04 FLAMBE |
| CHRIS WARE BUILDING STORIES HC | |
| FROM HELL TP | |
| GET JIRO HC | |
| 48 | AMULET SC VOL 01 STONEKEEPER |
| AVATAR LAST AIRBENDER TP VOL 01 PROMISE PART 1 | |
| BATMAN DARK KNIGHT RETURNS TP (new $19.99 printing) | |
| BATMAN THE KILLING JOKE SPECIAL ED HC | |
| BLACKSAD SILENT HELL HC | |
| CHEW TP VOL 01 | |
| CRIMINAL TP VOL 01 COWARD | |
| GONZO A GRAPHIC BIOGRAPHY OF HUNTER S THOMPSON | |
| TRANSMETROPOLITAN TP VOL 02 LUST FOR LIFE NEW ED | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 11 FEAR THE HUNTERS | |
| 58 | ANYAS GHOST GN |
| CHEW TP VOL 02 INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR | |
| FABLES TP VOL 16 SUPER TEAM | |
| HARVEY PEKAR CLEVELAND HC | |
| HELLBOY TP VOL 12 THE STORM AND THE FURY | |
| INVISIBLES TP #1 SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION | |
| JERUSALEM CHRONICLES FROM THE HOLY CITY HC | |
| NINJAGO GN VOL 04 TOMB O/T FANGPYRE | |
| SCALPED TP VOL 09 KNUCKLE UP | |
| 67 | AVATAR LAST AIRBENDER LOST ADVENTURES TP VOL 01 |
| AVATAR LAST AIRBENDER TP VOL 02 PROMISE PART 2 | |
| BATMAN HC VOL 01 THE COURT OF OWLS | |
| BATMAN HUSH COMPLETE TP | |
| BATMAN KNIGHTFALL TP NEW ED VOL 01 | |
| BLANKETS GN | |
| CHI SWEET HOME GN VOL 01 | |
| DMZ TP VOL 12 THE FIVE NATIONS OF NEW YORK | |
| LOEG III CENTURY #1 1910 | |
| PREACHER TP VOL 01 GONE TO TEXAS NEW EDITION | |
| UNWRITTEN TP VOL 05 ON TO GENESIS | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 05 BEST DEFENSE | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 10 WHAT WE BECOME | |
| WALT DISNEY DONALD DUCK HC VOL 01 LOST I/T ANDES | |
| 81 | ADVENTURE TIME TP VOL 01 |
| BLACK HOLE COLLECTED SC NEW PTG | |
| BOOK OF GENESIS ILLUS BY ROBERT CRUMB HC | |
| BOYS TP VOL 10 BUTCHER BAKER CANDLESTICKMAKER | |
| BPRD HELL ON EARTH TP VOL 02 GODS AND MONSTERS | |
| DMZ TP VOL 11 FREE STATES RISING | |
| FUN HOME TP | |
| LOCKE & KEY TP VOL 01 WELCOME TO LOVECRAFT | |
| LOEG VOL ONE TP | |
| NOT THE ISRAEL MY PARENTS PROMISED ME GN | |
| POLLY & PIRATES TP VOL 02 | |
| SCALPED TP VOL 01 INDIAN COUNTRY | |
| WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM TP VOL 02 | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 09 HERE WE REMAIN | |
| 95 | BATMAN THE LONG HALLOWEEN TP NEW ED |
| BOYS TP VOL 11 OVER THE HILL W/T SWORDS OF A THOUSAND MEN | |
| BPRD HELL ON EARTH TP VOL 03 RUSSIA | |
| BTVS SEASON 9 TP FREEFALL | |
| CHEW TP VOL 03 JUST DESSERTS | |
| CORTO MALTESE TP VOL 01 BALLAD OF THE SALT SEA | |
| DMZ TP VOL 01 ON THE GROUND | |
| FABLES TP VOL 01 LEGENDS IN EXILE NEW ED | |
| FABLES TP VOL 02 ANIMAL FARM | |
| HELLBOY TP VOL 01 SEED OF DESTRUCTION | |
| I SAW YOU COMICS INSPIRED BY REAL LIFE MISSED CONNECTIONS | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE HC VOL 01 ORIGIN | |
| MONSTERS GN | |
| PROMETHEA TP BOOK 01 | |
| SANDMAN TP VOL 04 SEASON OF MISTS NEW ED | |
| SCALPED TP VOL 10 TRAILS END | |
| SPY VS SPY TP DANGER INTRIGUE STUPIDITY | |
| SWEET TOOTH TP VOL 01 OUT OF THE WOODS | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 06 SORROWFUL LIFE | |
| WALT DISNEY UNCLE SCROOGE HC VOL 01 POOR OLD MAN |
SAGA, dayum -- I ain't seen a book sell this well (ESPECIALLY since we MURDERED with the serialization) since when the WATCHMEN trailer hit the theater. We're selling like 1.2 copies a day when an average TP collection is super lucky to turn one time a year. SAGA sold far more than 2x the #3 book.
Let's sort the same chart by dollars sold:
| 1 | WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM TP VOL 01 |
| 2 | SAGA TP VOL 01 (BKV) |
| 3 | CHRIS WARE BUILDING STORIES HC |
| 4 | LOEG III CENTURY #3 2009 |
| 5 | HABIBI GN |
| 6 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 16 A LARGER WORLD |
| 7 | WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM TP VOL 02 |
| 8 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 15 WE FIND OURSELVES |
| 9 | FROM HELL TP |
| 10 | ALAN MOORE NEONOMICON TP |
| 11 | WATCHMEN TP |
| 12 | MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 01 SCIENCE BAD |
| 13 | FLEX MENTALLO MAN OF MUSCLE MYSTERY DLX HC |
| 14 | MY FRIEND DAHMER SC |
| 15 | RICHARD STARKS PARKER v3 THE SCORE |
| 16 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 17 SOMETHING TO FEAR |
| 17 | HARK A VAGRANT HC |
| 18 | DARTH VADER AND SON HC |
| 19 | BATMAN EARTH ONE HC |
| 20 | ARE YOU MY MOTHER A COMIC DRAMA HC |
| 21 | UNTERZAKHN GN |
| 22 | LOVE AND ROCKETS NEW STORIES TP VOL 05 |
| 23 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 01 DAYS GONE BYE |
| 24 | OGLAF BOOK ONE |
| 25 | GET JIRO HC |
| 26 | KING CITY TP |
| 27 | INVISIBLES OMNIBUS HC |
| 28 | BATMAN YEAR ONE DELUXE SC |
| 29 | BLANKETS GN |
| 30 | BATMAN KNIGHTFALL TP NEW ED VOL 01 |
| 31 | SANDMAN TP VOL 01 PRELUDES & NOCTURNES NEW ED |
| 32 | FABLES TP VOL 17 INHERIT THE WIND |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 02 MILES BEHIND US | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 03 SAFETY BEHIND BARS | |
| 35 | V FOR VENDETTA NEW EDITION TP |
| 36 | FATALE TP VOL 01 DEATH CHASES ME |
| 37 | BATMAN HC VOL 01 THE COURT OF OWLS |
| BATMAN HUSH COMPLETE TP | |
| 39 | CHEW TP VOL 05 MAJOR LEAGUE CHEW |
| 40 | BOOK OF GENESIS ILLUS BY ROBERT CRUMB HC |
| 41 | BATMAN DARK KNIGHT RETURNS TP (new $19.99 printing) |
| 42 | JERUSALEM CHRONICLES FROM THE HOLY CITY HC |
| 43 | TRANSMETROPOLITAN TP VOL 01 BACK ON THE STREET |
| 44 | HARVEY PEKAR CLEVELAND HC |
| 45 | WALT DISNEY DONALD DUCK HC VOL 01 LOST I/T ANDES |
| 46 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 13 TOO FAR GONE |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 14 NO WAY OUT | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 01 UNMANNED | |
| 49 | NOT THE ISRAEL MY PARENTS PROMISED ME GN |
| 50 | WALT DISNEY UNCLE SCROOGE HC VOL 01 POOR OLD MAN |
| 51 | BATMAN THE KILLING JOKE SPECIAL ED HC |
| 52 | GONZO A GRAPHIC BIOGRAPHY OF HUNTER S THOMPSON |
| 53 | BLACKSAD SILENT HELL HC |
| 54 | MAUS SURVIVORS TALE COMPLETE HC |
| 55 | 100 BULLETS HC BOOK 02 |
| 56 | INVISIBLES TP #1 SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION |
| 57 | ALL OVER COFFEE v2: EVERYTHING IS ITS OWN REWARD |
| 58 | THE INFINITE WAIT |
| 59 | BATMAN THE LONG HALLOWEEN TP NEW ED |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE HC VOL 01 ORIGIN | |
| 61 | JOHN ROMITA AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ARTIST ED HC |
| 62 | BLACKSAD HC VOL 01 |
| FEYNMAN GN | |
| 64 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 04 HEARTS DESIRE |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 12 LIFE AMONG THEM | |
| 66 | CORTO MALTESE TP VOL 01 BALLAD OF THE SALT SEA |
| 67 | BEFORE THE INCAL CLASSIC COLL DLX HC |
| 68 | HELLBOY TP VOL 12 THE STORM AND THE FURY |
| 69 | WALKING DEAD HC VOL 01 NEW PTG |
| 70 | HOLY TERROR HC |
| Y THE LAST MAN DELUXE EDITION HC VOL 01 | |
| 72 | LOCKE & KEY TP VOL 01 WELCOME TO LOVECRAFT |
| 73 | CRIMINAL TP VOL 01 COWARD |
| TRANSMETROPOLITAN TP VOL 02 LUST FOR LIFE NEW ED | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 11 FEAR THE HUNTERS | |
| 76 | PROPHET TP VOL 01 REMISSION |
| 77 | PREACHER TP VOL 01 GONE TO TEXAS NEW EDITION |
| 78 | BLACK HOLE COLLECTED SC NEW PTG |
| 79 | DMZ TP VOL 11 FREE STATES RISING |
| 80 | BATMAN KNIGHTFALL TP NEW ED VOL 02 KNIGHTQUEST |
| 81 | BONE COLOR ED SC VOL 01 OUT FROM BONEVILLE |
| 82 | ABSOLUTE DC THE NEW FRONTIER HC |
| TRANSIENT | |
| 84 | HOUSE OF M TP |
| KICK-ASS 2 PREM HC | |
| 86 | ANYAS GHOST GN |
| 87 | BLANKETS HC |
| 88 | CHEW TP VOL 04 FLAMBE |
| 89 | BOYS TP VOL 10 BUTCHER BAKER CANDLESTICKMAKER |
| SANDMAN TP VOL 04 SEASON OF MISTS NEW ED | |
| 91 | KRAMERS ERGOT HC VOL 08 |
| 92 | DARK TOWER GUNSLINGER BATTLE OF TULL PREM HC |
| 93 | MADWOMAN O/T SACRED HEART GN |
| 94 | BPRD HELL ON EARTH TP VOL 02 GODS AND MONSTERS |
| 95 | FABULOUS FURRY FREAK BROTHERS OMNIBUS TP |
| 96 | AVENGERS CHILDRENS CRUSADE HC |
| 97 | ASTONISHING X-MEN WHEDON CASSADAY ULT COLL TP BOOK 01 |
| DEADENDERS TP | |
| MARVEL FIRSTS 1960S TP | |
| OMEGA THE UNKNOWN PREM HC |
Right: always interested to hear what you say.... how many of these do you own?
-B
-B
Comix Experience 2012 Best Sellers: Comics
/The full year is now over for us, so how the hell did we do?
The overview says: overall sales up by 7.82%. It would have been much higher, but fourth quarter showed a big softening from last year -- down 1.99% (that was mostly October, comparable down 11%, December was up 1.3%)
Looking just now at "comics" -- these are actual sales, and don't count anything sitting, say, in subscription boxes (even those are close-to-guaranteed sales):
First off, we sort by QUANTITY SOLD. This is the way that traditional Diamond sales charts are sorted. Before the full list, here's what the real Top 5 looks like:
| 1 | Quarter Book - Single |
| 2 | Back Issue |
| 3 | Dollar Book |
| 4 | SAGA #1 |
| 5 | Starter Set |
"Quarter Book" is literally a comic for 25 cents from the junk box, "Back Issue" is a generic category for anything bagged and boarded -- we stop tracking them individually once they go into the bins. "Dollar Book" is just that, slightly more "premium" stuff I am trying to ditch; and "Starter Set" is a themed bunch of back issues (ex: "Avengers #1-12" or "25 comics featuring women characters") bundled together at a cheaper price, but typically a bit more than if I Dollared them out. That first one is multiple thousands, while #5 is a solidly triple digit number. People like cheap stuff, this much is true.
BUT, you don't really want those in the chart, do you? You want the actual comical bookies. So, with 4 of the 5 deleted:
| 1 | SAGA #1 |
| 2 | SAGA #2 |
| 3 | SAGA #3 |
| 4 | AVENGERS VS X-MEN #1 (OF 12) |
| WALKING DEAD #100 (combined) | |
| 6 | SAGA #7 |
| 7 | SAGA #5 |
| 8 | SAGA #4 |
| SAGA #6 | |
| 10 | AVENGERS VS X-MEN #2 (OF 12) |
| PROPHET #21 | |
| 12 | AVENGERS VS X-MEN #3 (OF 12) |
| 13 | BATMAN #13 |
| 14 | WALKING DEAD #97 |
| 15 | AVENGERS VS X-MEN #0 (OF 12) |
| PROPHET #22 | |
| 17 | JUSTICE LEAGUE #5 |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #6 | |
| 19 | AVENGERS VS X-MEN #5 (OF 12) |
| BATMAN #6 | |
| 21 | ACTION COMICS #5 |
| BATMAN #8 | |
| 23 | AVENGERS VS X-MEN #4 (OF 12) |
| 24 | ACTION COMICS #6 |
| 25 | BATMAN #5 |
| BATMAN ANNUAL #1 | |
| 27 | WALKING DEAD #99 |
| 28 | ACTION COMICS #7 |
| BATMAN #10 | |
| BATMAN #11 | |
| BATMAN #7 | |
| 32 | ACTION COMICS #9 |
| AVENGERS VS X-MEN #7 (OF 12) | |
| BATMAN #9 | |
| 35 | AVENGERS VS X-MEN #6 (OF 12) |
| BATMAN INCORPORATED #1 | |
| FATALE #1 | |
| WALKING DEAD #98 | |
| 39 | BATMAN #14 |
| EARTH 2 #1 | |
| 41 | ACTION COMICS #10 |
| ACTION COMICS #8 | |
| WALKING DEAD #101 | |
| 44 | ACTION COMICS #11 |
| ADVENTURE TIME #1 | |
| AVENGERS VS X-MEN #8 (OF 12) | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #9 | |
| WALKING DEAD #95 | |
| 49 | DIAL H #1 |
| 50 | BATMAN #12 |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #8 | |
| WALKING DEAD #94 | |
| 53 | AVENGERS VS X-MEN #10 (OF 12) |
| BATMAN #0 | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #11 | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #7 | |
| WALKING DEAD #103 | |
| 58 | ALL NEW X-MEN #1 NOW |
| AVENGERS VS X-MEN #12 (OF 12) | |
| FAIREST #1 | |
| 61 | FATALE #2 |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #10 | |
| WALKING DEAD #96 | |
| 64 | AVENGERS VS X-MEN #11 (OF 12) |
| AVENGERS VS X-MEN #9 (OF 12) | |
| BATMAN #15 | |
| BATWOMAN #5 | |
| HAPPY #1 (OF 4) | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #12 | |
| PROPHET #24 | |
| SAGA #8 | |
| SECRET SERVICE #1 (OF 7) | |
| WALKING DEAD #93 | |
| 74 | FATALE #3 |
| FATALE #4 | |
| UNCANNY AVENGERS #1 NOW | |
| 77 | EARTH 2 #2 |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #0 | |
| 79 | ADVENTURE TIME #2 |
| ANIMAL MAN #5 | |
| BATMAN INCORPORATED #2 | |
| WALKING DEAD #102 | |
| WALKING DEAD #104 | |
| 84 | AMERICAS GOT POWERS #1 (OF 6) |
| BEFORE WATCHMEN MINUTEMEN #1 (OF 6) | |
| FATALE #5 | |
| PROPHET #23 | |
| 88 | ACTION COMICS #12 |
| ACTION COMICS #13 | |
| ANIMAL MAN #6 | |
| WONDER WOMAN #5 | |
| 92 | ACTION COMICS #14 |
| BATWOMAN #6 | |
| SUPERCROOKS #1 | |
| 95 | AVX VS #1 (OF 6) |
| FATALE #6 | |
| 97 | ADVENTURE TIME MARCELINE SCREAM QUEENS #1 |
| BATMAN INCORPORATED #3 | |
| 99 | ACTION COMICS #0 |
| ADVENTURE TIME #5 | |
| AVENGERS #1 NOW | |
| BEFORE WATCHMEN RORSCHACH #1 (OF 4) | |
| BEFORE WATCHMEN SILK SPECTRE #1 (OF 4) | |
| HAWKEYE #1 | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #13 | |
| PROPHET #25 | |
| SECRET #1 | |
| WALKING DEAD MICHONNE SPECIAL | |
| WONDER WOMAN #9 |
It's BKV and Fiona Staples' world, we just live in it.
This year there were a couple of significant "They can't fill my reorders fast enough" that probably otherwise limited some of the specific placing of some books -- There not being a (6th?) printing on SAGA #1 kept it and #2-6 probably lower than it *could* have been, and the ADVENTURE TIME back issues went weekssss between refills, so I think, in a better world, the first six issues at least, could have sold 20-40% more in the end. HAWKEYE faced the same problem towards the end of the year. MANHATTAN PROJECTS #1 just missed the "top 100" here (well, 109) because it didn't keep going back to press (and/or having enough up front). I also had some spot issues with AVX availability, but that was almost always well into their on-stands -- like week 11, I think, for #1. Other than that, most of these comics sold out just when I wanted them to.
But as nice as circulation figures are (and, really, they are nice), the real impact comes from the DOLLARS SOLD -- you can see that more expensive books often end up making more money even when they sell fewer copies. I'll include the MSRP here, though this is "dollars taken in", that is, it includes discounts or things like that, when there are such things (almost never, but still worth mentioning)
| Rank | Title | MSRP |
| 1 | Back Issue | (var) |
| 2 | Starter Set | (var) |
| 3 | Quarter Book - Single | $ 0.25 |
| 4 | SAGA #1 | $ 2.99 |
| 5 | AVENGERS VS X-MEN #1 (OF 12) | $ 3.99 |
| WALKING DEAD #100 | $ 3.99 | |
| 7 | Dollar Book | $ 1.00 |
| 8 | BATMAN ANNUAL #1 | $ 4.99 |
| 9 | AVENGERS VS X-MEN #2 (OF 12) | $ 3.99 |
| 10 | SAGA #2 | $ 2.99 |
| 11 | AVENGERS VS X-MEN #3 (OF 12) | $ 3.99 |
| 12 | SAGA #3 | $ 2.99 |
| 13 | BATMAN #13 | $ 3.99 |
| 14 | AVENGERS VS X-MEN #0 (OF 12) | $ 3.99 |
| 15 | JUSTICE LEAGUE #5 | $ 3.99 |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #6 | $ 3.99 | |
| 17 | AVENGERS VS X-MEN #5 (OF 12) | $ 3.99 |
| 18 | ACTION COMICS #5 | $ 3.99 |
| BATMAN #8 | $ 3.99 | |
| 20 | AVENGERS VS X-MEN #4 (OF 12) | $ 3.99 |
| 21 | ACTION COMICS #6 | $ 3.99 |
| 22 | SAGA #7 | $ 2.99 |
| 23 | AVENGERS VS X-MEN #12 (OF 12) | $ 4.99 |
| 24 | ACTION COMICS #7 | $ 3.99 |
| BATMAN #10 | $ 3.99 | |
| BATMAN #11 | $ 3.99 | |
| 27 | SAGA #4 | $ 2.99 |
| SAGA #5 | $ 2.99 | |
| SAGA #6 | $ 2.99 | |
| 30 | ACTION COMICS #9 | $ 3.99 |
| AVENGERS VS X-MEN #7 (OF 12) | $ 3.99 | |
| BATMAN #9 | $ 3.99 | |
| 33 | AVENGERS VS X-MEN #6 (OF 12) | $ 3.99 |
| 34 | PROPHET #21 | $ 2.99 |
| 35 | BATMAN #14 | $ 3.99 |
| EARTH 2 #1 | $ 3.99 | |
| 37 | ACTION COMICS #10 | $ 3.99 |
| ACTION COMICS #8 | $ 3.99 | |
| 39 | ACTION COMICS #11 | $ 3.99 |
| ADVENTURE TIME #1 | $ 3.99 | |
| AVENGERS VS X-MEN #8 (OF 12) | $ 3.99 | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #9 | $ 3.99 | |
| 43 | WALKING DEAD #97 | $ 2.99 |
| 44 | PROPHET #22 | $ 2.99 |
| 45 | BATMAN #12 | $ 3.99 |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #8 | $ 3.99 | |
| 47 | FATALE #1 | $ 3.50 |
| 48 | BATMAN #6 | $ 2.99 |
| 49 | AVENGERS VS X-MEN #10 (OF 12) | $ 3.99 |
| BATMAN #0 | $ 3.99 | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #11 | $ 3.99 | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #7 | $ 3.99 | |
| 53 | ALL NEW X-MEN #1 NOW | $ 3.99 |
| 54 | JUSTICE LEAGUE #10 | $ 3.99 |
| 55 | BATMAN #5 | $ 2.99 |
| 56 | AVENGERS VS X-MEN #11 (OF 12) | $ 3.99 |
| AVENGERS VS X-MEN #9 (OF 12) | $ 3.99 | |
| BATMAN #15 | $ 3.99 | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #12 | $ 3.99 | |
| 60 | WALKING DEAD #99 | $ 2.99 |
| 61 | UNCANNY AVENGERS #1 NOW | $ 3.99 |
| 62 | BATMAN #7 | $ 2.99 |
| 63 | JUSTICE LEAGUE #0 | $ 3.99 |
| 64 | GREEN LANTERN ANNUAL #1 | $ 4.99 |
| 65 | ADVENTURE TIME #2 | $ 3.99 |
| 66 | BEFORE WATCHMEN MINUTEMEN #1 (OF 6) | $ 3.99 |
| 67 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #1 | $ 2.99 |
| WALKING DEAD #98 | $ 2.99 | |
| 69 | ANIMAL MAN ANNUAL #1 | $ 4.99 |
| 70 | ACTION COMICS #12 | $ 3.99 |
| ACTION COMICS #13 | $ 3.99 | |
| 72 | FATALE #2 | $ 3.50 |
| 73 | ACTION COMICS #14 | $ 3.99 |
| 74 | ACTION COMICS ANNUAL #1 | $ 4.99 |
| 75 | WALKING DEAD #101 | $ 2.99 |
| 76 | AVX VS #1 (OF 6) | $ 3.99 |
| 77 | FATALE #3 | $ 3.50 |
| FATALE #4 | $ 3.50 | |
| 79 | ADVENTURE TIME MARCELINE SCREAM QUEENS #1 | $ 3.99 |
| 80 | WALKING DEAD #95 | $ 2.99 |
| 81 | DIAL H #1 | $ 2.99 |
| 82 | ACTION COMICS #0 | $ 3.99 |
| ADVENTURE TIME #5 | $ 3.99 | |
| AVENGERS #1 NOW | $ 3.99 | |
| BEFORE WATCHMEN RORSCHACH #1 (OF 4) | $ 3.99 | |
| BEFORE WATCHMEN SILK SPECTRE #1 (OF 4) | $ 3.99 | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #13 | $ 3.99 | |
| 88 | WALKING DEAD #94 | $ 2.99 |
| 89 | FATALE #5 | $ 3.50 |
| 90 | ADVENTURE TIME #6 | $ 3.99 |
| BEFORE WATCHMEN OZYMANDIAS #1 (OF 6) | $ 3.99 | |
| 92 | WALKING DEAD #103 | $ 2.99 |
| 93 | BEFORE WATCHMEN COMEDIAN #1 (OF 6) | $ 3.99 |
| 94 | FAIREST #1 | $ 2.99 |
| 95 | WALKING DEAD #96 | $ 2.99 |
| 96 | ALL NEW X-MEN #2 NOW | $ 3.99 |
| DETECTIVE COMICS #9 | $ 3.99 | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #14 | $ 3.99 | |
| 99 | FATALE #6 | $ 3.50 |
| 100 | DETECTIVE COMICS ANNUAL #1 | $ 4.99 |
So, yeah, there's the raw data -- I think it shows a pretty healthy and robust market with a fairly diverse bunch of products. I'm especially proud of the showing that Image put in this year.
Questions, comments, toss 'em below!
-B
Comix Experience Best Sellers Comics: The First Half of 2012
/Same thing, just looking at comics!
This list is actually pretty awesome, I think, and marks a distinct shift from the last New-52-centric chart
(as usual, "Quarter Books" "Generic Back Issue" and "Dollar comics" are the *actual* #1-3 items, but I think that confuses people)
Look at that AMAZING performance by SAGA!
| 1 | SAGA #1 |
| 2 | SAGA #2 |
| 3 | AVENGERS VS X-MEN #1 (OF 12) |
| 4 | PROPHET #21 |
| 5 | SAGA #3 |
| 6 | ACTION COMICS #5 |
| 7 | AVENGERS VS X-MEN #2 (OF 12) |
| 8 | AVENGERS VS X-MEN #0 (OF 12) |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #6 | |
| 10 | BATMAN #5 |
| BATMAN #6 | |
| 12 | JUSTICE LEAGUE #5 |
| 13 | AVENGERS VS X-MEN #3 (OF 12) |
| 14 | BATMAN #7 |
| FATALE #1 | |
| PROPHET #22 | |
| 17 | ACTION COMICS #6 |
| BATMAN #8 | |
| 19 | AVENGERS VS X-MEN #5 (OF 12) |
| 20 | ACTION COMICS #7 |
| 21 | ACTION COMICS #9 |
| AVENGERS VS X-MEN #4 (OF 12) | |
| 23 | ACTION COMICS #8 |
| WALKING DEAD #94 | |
| WALKING DEAD #95 | |
| WALKING DEAD #97 | |
| 27 | JUSTICE LEAGUE #7 |
| 28 | BATMAN #9 |
| SAGA #4 | |
| 30 | FATALE #2 |
| 31 | BATWOMAN #5 |
| WALKING DEAD #93 | |
| 34 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #1 |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #8 | |
| WALKING DEAD #96 | |
| 36 | ANIMAL MAN #5 |
| 37 | BATMAN ANNUAL #1 |
| DIAL H #1 | |
| 39 | ANIMAL MAN #6 |
| EARTH 2 #1 | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #9 | |
| PROPHET #23 | |
| WONDER WOMAN #5 | |
| 44 | BATWOMAN #6 |
| 45 | FATALE #3 |
| 46 | ACTION COMICS #10 |
| FATALE #4 | |
| 48 | BATWOMAN #7 |
| DETECTIVE COMICS #5 | |
| DETECTIVE COMICS #6 | |
| MANHATTAN PROJECTS #1 | |
| WALKING DEAD #98 | |
| 53 | AVX VS #1 (OF 6) |
| BATMAN #1 | |
| BATMAN #10 | |
| WONDER WOMAN #6 | |
| 57 | FAIREST #1 |
| GREEN LANTERN #5 | |
| PROPHET #24 | |
| 60 | ADVENTURE TIME #1 |
| ANIMAL MAN #7 | |
| AVENGERS VS X-MEN #6 (OF 12) | |
| WONDER WOMAN #7 | |
| 64 | BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #5 |
| WALKING DEAD #99 | |
| 66 | ADVENTURE TIME #2 |
| ANIMAL MAN #8 | |
| AQUAMAN #5 | |
| BTVS SEASON 9 FREEFALL #5 | |
| BTVS SEASON 9 FREEFALL #7 | |
| PROPHET #25 | |
| WONDER WOMAN #9 | |
| 73 | DETECTIVE COMICS #7 |
| EARTH 2 #2 | |
| 75 | BATMAN #4 |
| BATWOMAN #8 | |
| SWAMP THING #5 | |
| WONDER WOMAN #8 | |
| 79 | BEFORE WATCHMEN MINUTEMEN #1 (OF 6) |
| FABLES #113 | |
| FABLES #114 | |
| FATALE #5 | |
| SECRET #1 | |
| 84 | BATGIRL #5 |
| BATMAN AND ROBIN #5 | |
| BATWOMAN #9 | |
| BTVS SEASON 9 FREEFALL #6 | |
| GARTH ENNIS JENNIFER BLOOD #8 | |
| MANHATTAN PROJECTS #2 | |
| SWAMP THING #7 | |
| THIEF OF THIEVES #1 | |
| 93 | ANIMAL MAN #10 |
| ANIMAL MAN ANNUAL #1 | |
| BTVS SEASON 9 FREEFALL #8 | |
| DAREDEVIL #11 OMEGA | |
| DIAL H #2 | |
| GLORY #23 CAMPBELL CVR | |
| LOBSTER JOHNSON THE BURNING HAND #1 (OF 5) | |
| MANHATTAN PROJECTS #3 | |
| SUPERCROOKS #1 | |
| SWAMP THING #6 | |
| WOLVERINE AND X-MEN #4 XREGG |
Comix Experience Best Sellers Books: The First Half of 2012
/From Jan 1 to Jun 30, here's what's selling at Comix Experience.
Book #1 has only been out for five days!
| 1 | LOEG III CENTURY #3 2009 |
| 2 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 15 WE FIND OURSELVES |
| 3 | MY FRIEND DAHMER SC |
| 4 | UNTERZAKHN GN |
| 5 | HARK A VAGRANT HC |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 01 DAYS GONE BYE | |
| 7 | FLEX MENTALLO MAN OF MUSCLE MYSTERY DLX HC |
| OGLAF BOOK ONE | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 16 A LARGER WORLD | |
| 10 | KING CITY TP |
| 11 | ARE YOU MY MOTHER A COMIC DRAMA HC |
| 12 | CHEW TP VOL 05 MAJOR LEAGUE CHEW |
| HABIBI GN | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 03 SAFETY BEHIND BARS (MR) | |
| 15 | ALAN MOORE NEONOMICON TP |
| BATMAN YEAR ONE DELUXE SC | |
| HELLBOY TP VOL 12 THE STORM AND THE FURY | |
| 18 | NINJAGO GN VOL 01 CHALLENGE OF SAMUKAI |
| WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM TP VOL 01 | |
| 20 | BPRD HELL ON EARTH TP VOL 02 GODS AND MONSTERS |
| POLLY & PIRATES TP VOL 02 | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 02 MILES BEHIND US | |
| 23 | DMZ TP VOL 11 FREE STATES RISING |
| FABLES TP VOL 16 SUPER TEAM | |
| GONZO A GRAPHIC BIOGRAPHY OF HUNTER S THOMPSON | |
| HARVEY PEKAR CLEVELAND HC | |
| TRANSMETROPOLITAN TP VOL 01 BACK ON THE STREET | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 04 HEARTS DESIRE | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 11 FEAR THE HUNTERS | |
| WATCHMEN TP | |
| 31 | BONE COLOR ED SC VOL 01 OUT FROM BONEVILLE |
| DARTH VADER AND SON HC | |
| LOEG III CENTURY #2 1969 | |
| NINJAGO GN VOL 02 MASK OF THE SENSEI | |
| SANDMAN TP VOL 01 PRELUDES & NOCTURNES NEW ED | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 14 NO WAY OUT | |
| 37 | AVATAR LAST AIRBENDER TP VOL 02 PROMISE PART 2 |
| BOYS TP VOL 10 BUTCHER BAKER CANDLESTICKMAKER | |
| CHEW TP VOL 01 | |
| CHEW TP VOL 04 FLAMBE | |
| JERUSALEM CHRONICLES FROM THE HOLY CITY HC | |
| SANDMAN TP VOL 04 SEASON OF MISTS NEW ED | |
| SUPERMAN RED SON TP (NOV058130) | |
| TRANSMETROPOLITAN TP VOL 02 LUST FOR LIFE NEW ED (MR) | |
| UNWRITTEN TP VOL 05 ON TO GENESIS | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 12 LIFE AMONG THEM | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 13 TOO FAR GONE | |
| WITCHFINDER TP VOL 02 LOST AND GONE FOREVER | |
| 49 | 100 BULLETS TP VOL 03 HANG UP ON THE HANG LOW (MAR058150) |
| AVATAR LAST AIRBENDER TP VOL 01 PROMISE PART 1 | |
| DAREDEVIL BY MARK WAID PREM HC VOL 01 | |
| DARK TOWER GUNSLINGER BATTLE OF TULL PREM HC | |
| DC COMICS PRESENTS ELSEWORLDS 80 PAGE GIANT #1 | |
| FROM HELL TP | |
| HELLBOY TP VOL 01 SEED OF DESTRUCTION | |
| NINJAGO GN VOL 03 RISE O/T SERPENTINE | |
| PREACHER TP VOL 01 GONE TO TEXAS NEW EDITION (MAR050489) (MR | |
| SANDMAN TP VOL 05 A GAME OF YOU NEW ED | |
| SWEET TOOTH TP VOL 01 OUT OF THE WOODS | |
| THE FART PARTY TP | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 05 BEST DEFENSE | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 10 WHAT WE BECOME | |
| WALT DISNEY DONALD DUCK HC VOL 01 LOST I/T ANDES | |
| 64 | ABE SAPIEN TP VOL 02 DEVIL DOES NOT JEST |
| BATMAN DARK KNIGHT RETURNS TP | |
| CHI SWEET HOME GN VOL 01 | |
| CRIMINAL TP VOL 01 COWARD (MR) | |
| DMZ TP VOL 01 ON THE GROUND (MAR060383) (MR) | |
| DMZ TP VOL 12 THE FIVE NATIONS OF NEW YORK | |
| EXPLORER THE MYSTERY BOXES SC | |
| KICK-ASS TP | |
| LOCKE & KEY TP VOL 01 WELCOME TO LOVECRAFT | |
| MONSTERS GN | |
| NORTHLANDERS TP VOL 06 THORS DAUGHTER | |
| SANDMAN TP VOL 06 FABLES AND REFLECTIONS NEW ED | |
| SERENITY THOSE LEFT BEHIND TP NEW PTG | |
| SWEET TOOTH TP VOL 04 ENDANGERED SPECIES | |
| UNCANNY X-FORCE TP VOL 02 DEATHLOK NATION | |
| V FOR VENDETTA NEW EDITION TP (MR) | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 09 HERE WE REMAIN | |
| 81 | A TALE OF SAND HC |
| ALL OVER COFFEE v2: EVERYTHING IS ITS OWN REWARD | |
| ATHOS IN AMERICA HC | |
| AVATAR LAST AIRBENDER LOST ADVENTURES TP VOL 01 | |
| BATMAN HUSH COMPLETE TP | |
| BATMAN INCORPORATED DELUXE HC VOL 01 | |
| BATMAN THE KILLING JOKE SPECIAL ED HC | |
| BATMAN THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS HC | |
| BEST AMERICAN COMICS HC 2011 | |
| BOOK OF GENESIS ILLUS BY ROBERT CRUMB HC | |
| BOYS TP VOL 09 BIG RIDE | |
| BTVS SEASON 8 TP VOL 01 LONG WAY HOME NEW PTG | |
| BTVS SEASON 8 TP VOL 08 LAST GLEAMING | |
| CHEW TP VOL 02 INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR | |
| CRIMINAL TP VOL 02 LAWLESS (OCT072158) (MR) | |
| CRIMINAL TP VOL 06 LAST OF INNOCENT | |
| DANIEL CLOWES DEATH-RAY HC | |
| FABLES TP VOL 15 ROSE RED | |
| FREAKANGELS TP VOL 01 | |
| FUN HOME TP | |
| HELLBLAZER PHANTOM PAINS TP | |
| KINGDOM COME TP NEW EDITION | |
| KISS & TELL GN A ROMANTIC RESUME AGES 0 TO 22 | |
| KRAMERS ERGOT HC VOL 08 | |
| LIFE & DEATH OF FRITZ THE CAT HC | |
| LOEG III CENTURY #1 1910 | |
| LOEG VOL TWO TP (FEB058407) | |
| MARVEL 1602 TP NEW PTG | |
| MAUS SURVIVORS TALE COMPLETE HC | |
| PHONOGRAM TP VOL 02 SINGLES CLUB | |
| SANDMAN TP VOL 03 DREAM COUNTRY NEW ED | |
| SPY VS SPY TP MASTERS OF MAYHEM | |
| SUPERIOR PREM HC | |
| UNCANNY X-FORCE TP VOL 01 APOCALYPSE SOLUTION | |
| UNWRITTEN TP VOL 01 TOMMY TAYLOR AND BOGUS IDENTITY | |
| UNWRITTEN TP VOL 04 LEVIATHAN | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 06 SORROWFUL LIFE | |
| WARREN ELLIS CROOKED LITTLE VEIN MMPB |
CE 2011: Publisher break down
/I'm slightly embarrassed to say I've never thought to check for this before, but how about looking at things in terms of publisher breakdowns? The chart that follows is sales (all categories) broken out by publisher.
However, this just a quick report, so we have to caveat, a little: all of the "publisher" field data is straight of what comes off the Diamond monthly data dump. I generally ignore that field in day-to-day operation, so if there are mistakes there, I can't help ya' pardner.
Diamond also has a few.... odd naming habits. Eros and Fantagraphics are split, for example. There's a few more oddities in there as well.
This list will only show the first 79 pubs, those with an arbitrary 0.1% marketshare -- there are 169 other publishers who have had a sale in my store (actually, way way way more, since I don't put any data in that field for mini-comics or other over-the-counter transactions) in 2011 that I'm not showing you. Those other publishers represent about 2.5% of my overall sales.
| DC COMICS | 30.2% |
| MARVEL COMICS | 24.4% |
| DARK HORSE COMICS | 7.6% |
| IMAGE COMICS | 6.5% |
| IDW PUBLISHING | 2.8% |
| FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS | 2.5% |
| D. E. | 2.4% |
| DRAWN & QUARTERLY | 1.8% |
| PANTHEON BOOKS | 1.7% |
| BOOM! STUDIOS | 1.6% |
| AVATAR PRESS INC | 1.4% |
| TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS | 1.1% |
| ARCHAIA ENTERTAINMENT LLC | 0.9% |
| HUMANOIDS INC | 0.8% |
| REBELLION / 2000AD | 0.7% |
| :01 FIRST SECOND | 0.7% |
| ONI PRESS INC. | 0.6% |
| IDEA & DESIGN WORKS LLC | 0.5% |
| EUROTICA | 0.5% |
| HARPER COLLINS PUBLISHERS | 0.4% |
| BONGO COMICS | 0.4% |
| ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICA | 0.4% |
| KODANSHA COMICS | 0.4% |
| VERTICAL INC | 0.4% |
| VIZ MEDIA LLC | 0.3% |
| GRAPHIX | 0.3% |
| ABSTRACT STUDIOS | 0.3% |
| ABRAMS COMICARTS | 0.3% |
| CHRONICLE BOOKS | 0.2% |
| TITAN PUBLISHING | 0.2% |
| VILLARD BOOKS | 0.2% |
| EROS COMIX | 0.2% |
| HEAVY METAL MAGAZINE | 0.2% |
| WW NORTON | 0.2% |
| CARTOON BOOKS | 0.2% |
| TWOMORROWS PUBLISHING | 0.2% |
| GRAPHITTI DESIGNS | 0.2% |
| Little Brown and Company | 0.2% |
| BLOOMSBURY | 0.2% |
| ABRAMS | 0.1% |
| HILL & WANG | 0.1% |
| LAST GASP | 0.1% |
| HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT | 0.1% |
| THREE RIVERS PRESS | 0.1% |
| KNOCKABOUT COMICS | 0.1% |
| DIAMOND COMIC DIST--ENGLAND | 0.1% |
| RED 5 COMICS | 0.1% |
| NBM | 0.1% |
| SPIEGEL & GRAU | 0.1% |
| KENZER & COMPANY | 0.1% |
| METROPOLITAN BOOKS | 0.1% |
| AIRSHIP ENTERTAINMENT | 0.1% |
| SCHOLASTIC INC. | 0.1% |
| UNIVERSE | 0.1% |
| EVIL TWIN COMICS | 0.1% |
| EAGLEMOSS PUBLICATIONS LTD | 0.1% |
| APE ENTERTAINMENT | 0.1% |
| AMAZE INK (SLAVE LABOR GRAPHIC | 0.1% |
| SQPINC | 0.1% |
| THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS | 0.1% |
| PAPERCUTZ | 0.1% |
| RADICAL PUBLISHING | 0.1% |
| FULCRUM PUBLISHING | 0.1% |
| TOP COW | 0.1% |
| ADHOUSE BOOKS | 0.1% |
| LEGENDARY COMICS | 0.1% |
| TOUCHSTONE | 0.1% |
| WATSON GUPTILL | 0.1% |
| DEL REY | 0.1% |
| GEMSTONE PUBLISHING | 0.1% |
| WIZARD ENTERTAINMENT | 0.1% |
| HYPERION BOOKS | 0.1% |
| W.W. NORTON | 0.1% |
| ATOMIC BOOK COMPANY | 0.1% |
| AARDVARK VANAHEIM | 0.1% |
| TITAN COMICS | 0.1% |
Edit:
Here's one more chart, even more suspect.... "Genre". This category is 100% pure Diamond, and is NOTHING like how I'd design a similar check, but it's a onestep output, so I ran it.
(Optic Nerve is "Reality Based", while Archie is "Humor", Akira is "Science Fiction", and Bone is "Fantasy", Y The Last Man is "fantasy" while Preacher is "Horror" )
The Diamond lists are REALLY screwed up, though, cuz I went to see what, say, "anime" might be, and Diamond had things like "Negative Burn, Very Best from 93-98" and "Flight v2" listed with that as a category, which suggests that mostly they're mistypes from a data entry department that isn't paying a lot of attention when they're trying to select/paste/whatever on "Anthology".
("Seasonal based" on the other hand, appears to be the 2 cases of Justice League Pez that sold through the year)
Anyway enough carping, here you go:
| Superhero | 49.7% |
| Horror | 13.0% |
| Fantasy | 10.6% |
| Science Fiction | 6.3% |
| Humor | 5.5% |
| Reality-Based | 5.0% |
| Action/Adventure | 3.4% |
| Crime | 3.0% |
| Adult | 1.2% |
| Romance | 0.8% |
| War | 0.7% |
| No Genre/All Genres | 0.3% |
| Anthologies | 0.2% |
| Music | 0.1% |
| Anthropomorphics | 0.1% |
| Anime | 0.0% |
| Sports | 0.0% |
| Seasonal Merchandise | 0.0% |
| *None* | 0.0% |
| WildStorm | 0.0% |
| INDIE | 0.0% |
As always, I welcome any comments you might have!
-B
Comix Experience 2011 Best Sellers: Books
/Books are the majority of what I sell (this year: 56% of sales vs 40% on comics), so let's look at those!
As usual, books on sale (damages, deleted items, overstock, whatever) come in on top -- these are by UNITS, here.
I need to explain #3 -- we had Chad Michael Murray in for a signing, and his legion of women admirers pushed that book up high. We've not sold a single copy since, and I'm not sure if I ever will? We also had Craig Thompson for a signing for HABIBI, but he had less people show up. Philistines!
| 1 | Sale Book |
| 2 | LOEG III CENTURY #2 1969 |
| 3 | EVERLAST HC |
| 4 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 14 NO WAY OUT |
| 5 | HABIBI GN |
| 6 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 01 DAYS GONE BYE |
| 7 | FABLES TP VOL 15 ROSE RED |
| 8 | LOVE AND ROCKETS NEW STORIES TP VOL 04 |
| 9 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 13 TOO FAR GONE |
| 10 | CHEW TP VOL 01 |
| 11 | Comic Book Guide to the Mission |
| 12 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 02 MILES BEHIND US |
| 13 | BLACK HOLE COLLECTED SC NEW PTG |
| CHEW TP VOL 03 JUST DESSERTS | |
| HARK A VAGRANT HC | |
| SCOTT PILGRIM GN VOL 01 PRECIOUS LITTLE LIFE | |
| 17 | FABLES TP VOL 14 WITCHES |
| 18 | BATMAN DARK KNIGHT RETURNS TP |
| DAN CLOWES MISTER WONDERFUL LOVE STORY TP | |
| SCENES FROM AN IMPENDING MARRIAGE HC | |
| 21 | FABLES TP VOL 01 LEGENDS IN EXILE |
| 22 | CHEW TP VOL 04 FLAMBE |
| 23 | ASTERIOS POLYP GN |
| BTVS SEASON 8 TP VOL 08 LAST GLEAMING | |
| 25 | CHEW TP VOL 02 INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR |
| SCOTT PILGRIM GN VOL 02 VS THE WORLD | |
| V FOR VENDETTA NEW EDITION TP (MR) | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 12 LIFE AMONG THEM | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 15 | |
| 30 | AMAZING SCREW ON HEAD & OTHER CURIOUS OBJECTS HC |
| BOYS TP VOL 08 HIGHLAND LADDIE | |
| PLANETARY TP BOOK 04 SPACETIME ARCHAEOLOGY | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 09 HERE WE REMAIN | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 10 WHAT WE BECOME | |
| 35 | BATMAN YEAR ONE DELUXE SC |
| DAYTRIPPER TP | |
| LOEG III CENTURY #1 1910 | |
| LOEG VOL ONE TP (JUL068290) | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 01 UNMANNED | |
| 40 | ALL OVER COFFEE v2: EVERYTHING IS ITS OWN REWARD |
| INCOGNITO TP | |
| PREACHER TP VOL 01 GONE TO TEXAS NEW EDITION (MAR050489) (MR | |
| 43 | CATS ARE WEIRD & MORE OBSERVATIONS HC |
| HELLBOY TP VOL 11 BRIDE OF HELL & OTHERS | |
| ORC STAIN TP VOL 01 | |
| PAYING FOR IT HC | |
| R CRUMBS HEROES OF BLUES JAZZ & COUNTRY WITH CD HC | |
| TRANSMETROPOLITAN TP VOL 01 BACK ON THE STREET | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 11 FEAR THE HUNTERS | |
| WATCHMEN TP | |
| 51 | BATMAN THE KILLING JOKE SPECIAL ED HC |
| DRINKING AT THE MOVIES SC | |
| WARREN ELLIS CROOKED LITTLE VEIN MMPB | |
| 54 | ALAN MOORE NEONOMICON TP |
| CARNET DE VOYAGE | |
| DMZ TP VOL 09 MIA | |
| FABLES TP VOL 02 ANIMAL FARM | |
| INCAL CLASSIC COLLECTION HC | |
| 59 | ALL STAR SUPERMAN TP VOL 01 |
| BATMAN AND ROBIN TP VOL 01 BATMAN REBORN | |
| BTVS SEASON 8 TP VOL 01 LONG WAY HOME NEW PTG | |
| CRIMINAL TP VOL 01 COWARD (MR) | |
| DMZ TP VOL 01 ON THE GROUND (MAR060383) (MR) | |
| DMZ TP VOL 10 COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT | |
| ELEPHANTMEN TP VOL 01 WOUNDED ANIMALS REVISED ED | |
| FABLES TP VOL 16 SUPER TEAM | |
| FINDER GN VOL 01 VOICE | |
| FROM HELL TP | |
| GETTING CLOSE | |
| HELLBOY HOUSE OF THE LIVING DEAD HC | |
| MORNING GLORIES TP VOL 01 FOR A BETTER FUTURE | |
| SCALPED TP VOL 07 REZ BLUES | |
| UNWRITTEN TP VOL 03 DEAD MANS KNOCK | |
| ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE TP (DEC058019) | |
| 75 | 100 BULLETS TP VOL 01 FIRST SHOT LAST CALL |
| ALL STAR SUPERMAN TP VOL 02 | |
| BATMAN THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE DELUXE ED HC | |
| BLACK DYNAMITE SLAVE ISLAND GN | |
| BLACKSAD HC VOL 01 | |
| BTVS SEASON 8 TP VOL 07 TWILIGHT | |
| ISLE OF 100000 GRAVES GN | |
| LOGICOMIX GN | |
| SANDMAN TP VOL 01 PRELUDES & NOCTURNES NEW ED | |
| SCOTT PILGRIM GN VOL 06 FINEST HOUR | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 03 SAFETY BEHIND BARS (MR) | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 04 HEARTS DESIRE | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 05 RING OF TRUTH (MAY050306) (MR) | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 06 GIRL ON GIRL (SEP050317) (MR) | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 08 KIMONO DRAGONS (AUG060299) (MR) | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 10 WHYS AND WHEREFORES (MAR080241) (MR | |
| 91 | ALEXANDRO JODOROWSKY SCREAMING PLANET HC |
| CROSSED 3D GN VOL 01 | |
| FABLES TP VOL 03 STORYBOOK LOVE | |
| FABLES TP VOL 13 THE GREAT FABLES CROSSOVER | |
| FREAKANGELS TP VOL 05 | |
| HELLBOY TP VOL 02 WAKE THE DEVIL | |
| INCOGNITO TP VOL 02 BAD INFLUENCES | |
| JACK OF FABLES TP VOL 08 THE FULMINATE BLADE TP | |
| KAFKA GN | |
| LOEG VOL TWO TP (FEB058407) | |
| MOUSE GUARD TP FALL 1152 (JAN083948) | |
| NEMESIS PREM HC | |
| NORTHLANDERS TP VOL 05 METAL | |
| PLANETARY TP VOL 01 ALL OVER THE WORLD AND OTHER STORIES | |
| SANDMAN TP VOL 02 THE DOLLS HOUSE NEW ED | |
| SCOTT PILGRIM GN VOL 03 INFINITE SADNESS | |
| SCOTT PILGRIM GN VOL 04 GETS IT TOGETHER | |
| SUPERGODS WHAT SUN GODS CAN TEACH US ABOUT BEING HUMAN HC | |
| TRANSMETROPOLITAN TP VOL 02 LUST FOR LIFE NEW ED (MR) | |
| WILSON HC | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 07 PAPER DOLLS (FEB060341) (MR) | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 09 MOTHERLAND (FEB070362) (MR) |
Sorting this out by dollars instead? Craig wins this round against Chad!
| 1 | Sale Book |
| 2 | HABIBI GN |
| 3 | EVERLAST HC |
| 4 | LOEG III CENTURY #2 1969 |
| 5 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 14 NO WAY OUT |
| 6 | FABLES TP VOL 15 ROSE RED |
| 7 | ASTERIOS POLYP GN |
| 8 | WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM TP VOL 01 |
| 9 | INCAL CLASSIC COLLECTION HC |
| 10 | LOVE AND ROCKETS NEW STORIES TP VOL 04 |
| 11 | BLACK HOLE COLLECTED SC NEW PTG |
| 12 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 13 TOO FAR GONE |
| 13 | HARK A VAGRANT HC |
| 14 | FABLES TP VOL 14 WITCHES |
| 15 | ALL OVER COFFEE v2: EVERYTHING IS ITS OWN REWARD |
| 16 | DAN CLOWES MISTER WONDERFUL LOVE STORY TP |
| 17 | FROM HELL TP |
| 18 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 01 DAYS GONE BYE |
| 19 | Comic Book Guide to the Mission |
| 20 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 02 MILES BEHIND US |
| 21 | BLANKETS HC |
| 22 | V FOR VENDETTA NEW EDITION TP (MR) |
| 23 | PAYING FOR IT HC |
| 24 | BLACKSAD HC VOL 01 |
| 25 | BOYS TP VOL 08 HIGHLAND LADDIE |
| 26 | BATMAN DARK KNIGHT RETURNS TP |
| 27 | DAYTRIPPER TP |
| 28 | CHEW TP VOL 03 JUST DESSERTS |
| 29 | BATMAN THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE DELUXE ED HC |
| 30 | AMAZING SCREW ON HEAD & OTHER CURIOUS OBJECTS HC |
| PLANETARY TP BOOK 04 SPACETIME ARCHAEOLOGY | |
| 32 | R CRUMBS HEROES OF BLUES JAZZ & COUNTRY WITH CD HC |
| 33 | BTVS SEASON 8 TP VOL 08 LAST GLEAMING |
| 34 | SCOTT PILGRIM GN VOL 01 PRECIOUS LITTLE LIFE |
| 35 | INCOGNITO TP |
| 36 | HELLBOY TP VOL 11 BRIDE OF HELL & OTHERS |
| 37 | WATCHMEN TP |
| 38 | CHEW TP VOL 01 |
| 39 | PREACHER TP VOL 01 GONE TO TEXAS NEW EDITION (MAR050489) (MR |
| 40 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 12 LIFE AMONG THEM |
| 41 | FABLES TP VOL 01 LEGENDS IN EXILE |
| 42 | SUPERGODS WHAT SUN GODS CAN TEACH US ABOUT BEING HUMAN HC |
| 43 | ORC STAIN TP VOL 01 |
| 44 | BLANKETS GN |
| 45 | CHEW TP VOL 04 FLAMBE |
| 46 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 15 |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 09 HERE WE REMAIN | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 10 WHAT WE BECOME | |
| 49 | ALAN MOORE NEONOMICON TP |
| 50 | LOGICOMIX GN |
| 51 | ALEXANDRO JODOROWSKY SCREAMING PLANET HC |
| 52 | BATMAN THE KILLING JOKE SPECIAL ED HC |
| 53 | BATMAN YEAR ONE DELUXE SC |
| 54 | LOEG VOL ONE TP (JUL068290) |
| 55 | ELEPHANTMEN TP VOL 01 WOUNDED ANIMALS REVISED ED |
| 56 | CHEW TP VOL 02 INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR |
| 57 | Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 01 UNMANNED |
| 58 | BEST AMERICAN COMICS HC 2011 |
| 59 | COMPLETE PERSEPOLIS TP |
| 60 | FINDER GN VOL 01 VOICE |
| 61 | WILSON HC |
| 62 | TRANSMETROPOLITAN TP VOL 01 BACK ON THE STREET |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 11 FEAR THE HUNTERS | |
| 64 | SCOTT PILGRIM GN VOL 02 VS THE WORLD |
| 65 | SCENES FROM AN IMPENDING MARRIAGE HC |
| 66 | SCALPED TP VOL 07 REZ BLUES |
| 67 | SANDMAN TP VOL 01 PRELUDES & NOCTURNES NEW ED |
| 68 | DRINKING AT THE MOVIES SC |
| 69 | BOYS TP VOL 09 BIG RIDE |
| 70 | BATMAN NOEL DELUXE EDITION HC |
| 71 | FREAKANGELS TP VOL 05 |
| NEMESIS PREM HC | |
| 73 | SANDMAN TP VOL 02 THE DOLLS HOUSE NEW ED |
| 74 | WARREN ELLIS CROOKED LITTLE VEIN MMPB |
| 75 | MOUSE GUARD TP FALL 1152 (JAN083948) |
| 76 | BTVS SEASON 8 TP VOL 01 LONG WAY HOME NEW PTG |
| 77 | CATS ARE WEIRD & MORE OBSERVATIONS HC |
| 78 | BTVS SEASON 8 TP VOL 07 TWILIGHT |
| 79 | CARNET DE VOYAGE |
| 80 | DMZ TP VOL 09 MIA |
| 81 | INVISIBLES TP #1 SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION |
| LOCKE & KEY TP VOL 01 WELCOME TO LOVECRAFT | |
| SWAMP THING TP VOL 01 SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING | |
| JIMMY CORRIGAN THE SMARTEST KID ON EARTH SC | |
| 85 | FABLES TP VOL 13 THE GREAT FABLES CROSSOVER |
| INCOGNITO TP VOL 02 BAD INFLUENCES | |
| NORTHLANDERS TP VOL 05 METAL | |
| 88 | HELLBOY TP VOL 02 WAKE THE DEVIL |
| 89 | INVINCIBLE TP VOL 14 VILTRUMITE WAR |
| 90 | BATMAN AND ROBIN TP VOL 01 BATMAN REBORN |
| CRIMINAL TP VOL 01 COWARD (MR) | |
| FABLES TP VOL 16 SUPER TEAM | |
| UNWRITTEN TP VOL 03 DEAD MANS KNOCK | |
| 94 | LOEG BLACK DOSSIER TP (JUL080193) |
| 95 | KOKO BE GOOD GN |
| 96 | DMZ TP VOL 10 COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT |
| 97 | HONDO CITY LAW GN |
| 98 | FABLES TP VOL 02 ANIMAL FARM |
| 99 | ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE TP (DEC058019) |
| 100 | FABLES TP VOL 04 MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS |
Any thoughts?
-B
Comix Experience 2011 Best Sellers: Comics
/New Year, so how'd the last one do? Let's Find out!
So, here's the list sorted by QUANTITY SOLD.
Yes, comics for 25 cents outsell anything, by a factor of about 10x. Hardly a surprise, I'm sure, though worth noting that I couldn't possibly survive with that as my business model.
Straight-up for a buck comes next, and the generic "back issue"... Back issues, generically, sold about 50% more units than the best-selling comic.
After that, pretty much a straight-up rout for the DC New 52, with 31 of them placing in the Top 100, yow. Marvel places only a single book in the Top 20. Double yow.
| 1 | Quarter Book - Single |
| 2 | Dollar Book |
| 3 | Back Issue |
| 4 | JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 |
| 5 | ACTION COMICS #1 |
| 6 | BATMAN #1 |
| 7 | Starter Set |
| 8 | DETECTIVE COMICS #1 |
| 9 | WONDER WOMAN #1 |
| 10 | BATWOMAN #1 |
| 11 | ACTION COMICS #2 |
| 12 | SUPERMAN #1 |
| 13 | BATGIRL #1 |
| 14 | ANIMAL MAN #1 |
| 15 | GREEN LANTERN #1 |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE #2 | |
| SWAMP THING #1 | |
| 18 | JUSTICE LEAGUE #3 |
| 19 | FEAR ITSELF #1 (OF 7) |
| 20 | AQUAMAN #1 |
| 21 | ACTION COMICS #3 |
| 22 | BATMAN AND ROBIN #1 |
| BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #1 | |
| 24 | BATMAN #2 |
| 25 | TEEN TITANS #1 |
| 26 | ANIMAL MAN #2 |
| 27 | FLASH #1 |
| FLASHPOINT #1 | |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #1 | |
| NIGHTWING #1 | |
| 31 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #3 |
| BATMAN INCORPORATED #4 | |
| BATMAN INCORPORATED #5 | |
| BATMAN INCORPORATED #6 | |
| DETECTIVE COMICS #2 | |
| 36 | ACTION COMICS #4 |
| FEAR ITSELF #2 (OF 7) | |
| 38 | BATMAN #3 |
| 39 | BATWOMAN #2 |
| BUFFY VAMPIRE SLAYER #40 LAST GLEAMING PT 5 (OF 5) | |
| 41 | CATWOMAN #1 |
| SPACEMAN #1 (OF 9) | |
| WALKING DEAD #85 | |
| 44 | FEAR ITSELF #4 (OF 7) |
| 45 | WALKING DEAD #86 |
| WALKING DEAD #87 | |
| 47 | KICK-ASS 2 #2 |
| 48 | FLASHPOINT #5 (OF 5) |
| XOMBI #1 | |
| 50 | JUSTICE LEAGUE #4 |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #1 | |
| OPTIC NERVE #12 | |
| WALKING DEAD #88 | |
| 54 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #7 |
| CRIMINAL LAST OF INNOCENT #1 (OF 4) | |
| FEAR ITSELF #3 (OF 7) | |
| FEAR ITSELF #5 (OF 7) | |
| KICK-ASS 2 #3 | |
| 59 | ANIMAL MAN #3 |
| RED LANTERNS #1 | |
| STORMWATCH #1 | |
| 62 | DETECTIVE COMICS #3 |
| GREEN LANTERN #2 | |
| 64 | BATWOMAN #3 |
| DEMON KNIGHTS #1 | |
| WALKING DEAD #90 | |
| 67 | GREEN LANTERN NEW GUARDIANS #1 |
| SWAMP THING #2 | |
| WALKING DEAD #82 | |
| WALKING DEAD #83 | |
| WALKING DEAD #84 | |
| 72 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #8 |
| DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #1 | |
| FF #1 | |
| FLASHPOINT #2 | |
| FRANKENSTEIN AGENT OF SHADE #1 | |
| GREEN LANTERN #64 | |
| WOLVERINE AND X-MEN #1 XREGG | |
| WONDER WOMAN #2 | |
| 80 | BTVS SEASON 9 FREEFALL #1 |
| SUPERGIRL #1 | |
| WALKING DEAD #89 | |
| 83 | BATWING #1 |
| RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #1 | |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #1 | |
| 86 | BATMAN AND ROBIN #2 |
| FANTASTIC FOUR #587 | |
| FEAR ITSELF #6 (OF 7) | |
| FEAR ITSELF #7 (OF 7) | |
| WALKING DEAD #91 | |
| WONDER WOMAN #3 | |
| XOMBI #2 | |
| 93 | ANIMAL MAN #4 |
| ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #160 DOSM | |
| WALKING DEAD #80 | |
| 96 | ALL STAR WESTERN #1 |
| BTVS SEASON 9 FREEFALL #2 | |
| CRIMINAL LAST OF INNOCENT #2 (OF 4) | |
| FLASHPOINT #3 | |
| FLASHPOINT #4 (OF 5) | |
| GARTH ENNIS JENNIFER BLOOD #1 | |
| SUPERBOY #1 | |
| WALKING DEAD #81 |
Alright, what if we sort it by DOLLARS instead, does anything change?
Well, not a TON, but at least OPTIC NERVE becomes a Top 20 book, then!
| 1 | Back Issue |
| 2 | Starter Set |
| 3 | JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 |
| 4 | ACTION COMICS #1 |
| 5 | Quarter Book - Single |
| 6 | Dollar Book |
| 7 | BATMAN #1 |
| 8 | ACTION COMICS #2 |
| 9 | DETECTIVE COMICS #1 |
| 10 | WONDER WOMAN #1 |
| 11 | JUSTICE LEAGUE #2 |
| 12 | JUSTICE LEAGUE #3 |
| 13 | BATWOMAN #1 |
| 14 | OPTIC NERVE #12 |
| 15 | ACTION COMICS #3 |
| 16 | FEAR ITSELF #1 (OF 7) |
| 17 | SUPERMAN #1 |
| 18 | BATGIRL #1 |
| 19 | FLASHPOINT #1 |
| 20 | ANIMAL MAN #1 |
| 21 | ACTION COMICS #4 |
| FEAR ITSELF #2 (OF 7) | |
| 23 | GREEN LANTERN #1 |
| 24 | SWAMP THING #1 |
| 25 | AQUAMAN #1 |
| 26 | FLASHPOINT #5 (OF 5) |
| 27 | BATMAN AND ROBIN #1 |
| BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #1 | |
| 29 | FEAR ITSELF #7 (OF 7) |
| 30 | BATMAN #2 |
| 31 | JUSTICE LEAGUE #4 |
| 32 | FEAR ITSELF #5 (OF 7) |
| 33 | FEAR ITSELF #3 (OF 7) |
| 34 | TEEN TITANS #1 |
| 35 | FEAR ITSELF #4 (OF 7) |
| 36 | ANIMAL MAN #2 |
| 37 | NIGHTWING #1 |
| 38 | FLASH #1 |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #1 | |
| 40 | DETECTIVE COMICS #2 |
| 41 | FLASHPOINT #2 |
| WOLVERINE AND X-MEN #1 XREGG | |
| 43 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #6 |
| 44 | FF #1 |
| 45 | BRIGHTEST DAY #24 |
| 46 | BATMAN #3 |
| 47 | CRIMINAL LAST OF INNOCENT #1 (OF 4) |
| 48 | UNCANNY X-MEN #1 |
| 49 | BUFFY VAMPIRE SLAYER #40 LAST GLEAMING PT 5 (OF 5) |
| 50 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #4 |
| BATWOMAN #2 | |
| 52 | CATWOMAN #1 |
| 53 | FEAR ITSELF #6 (OF 7) |
| 54 | ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #160 DOSM |
| 55 | FANTASTIC FOUR #587 |
| 56 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #3 |
| 57 | KICK-ASS 2 #2 |
| 58 | WALKING DEAD #87 |
| 59 | WALKING DEAD #86 |
| 60 | ALL STAR WESTERN #1 |
| 61 | FLASHPOINT #3 |
| FLASHPOINT #4 (OF 5) | |
| 63 | XOMBI #1 |
| 64 | JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #1 |
| 65 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #2 |
| 66 | KICK-ASS 2 #3 |
| 67 | WALKING DEAD #85 |
| WALKING DEAD #88 | |
| 69 | DAREDEVIL #1 |
| ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #1 | |
| 71 | RED LANTERNS #1 |
| STORMWATCH #1 | |
| 73 | ANIMAL MAN #3 |
| 74 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #5 |
| 75 | DETECTIVE COMICS #3 |
| 76 | GREEN LANTERN #2 |
| 77 | DEMON KNIGHTS #1 |
| 78 | BATWOMAN #3 |
| 79 | ALAN MOORE NEONOMICON #4 (OF 4) |
| 80 | GREEN LANTERN NEW GUARDIANS #1 |
| 81 | ASTONISHING X-MEN #36 |
| 82 | WALKING DEAD #90 |
| 83 | SWAMP THING #2 |
| 84 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #7 |
| 85 | DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #1 |
| 86 | WALKING DEAD #83 |
| 87 | FRANKENSTEIN AGENT OF SHADE #1 |
| WONDER WOMAN #2 | |
| 89 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #8 |
| 90 | GARTH ENNIS JENNIFER BLOOD #1 |
| 91 | GARTH ENNIS JENNIFER BLOOD #2 |
| 92 | BTVS SEASON 9 FREEFALL #1 |
| SUPERGIRL #1 | |
| 94 | CRIMINAL LAST OF INNOCENT #3 (OF 4) |
| 95 | BATWING #1 |
| RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #1 | |
| 97 | WALKING DEAD #89 |
| 98 | JOE THE BARBARIAN #8 (OF 8) |
| 99 | BATMAN AND ROBIN #2 |
| 100 | WALKING DEAD #82 |
Either way, this was very much DC's year for comical books -- Marvel is is deep trouble here.
Any trends you see, worth commenting on?
-B
Comix Experience Best Sellers: Comics, first half of 2011
/I'm looking at my half-year performance, so you can too!
Actually, before I get into the comics, let's do the big overview. First: sales down for the half by 2.1%, versus same period in 2010. *sad face*
As is pretty usual, if I kept cheap stuff in the charts, it would totally dominate. Here's the Top Ten in Pieces, including Everything:
| 1 | Quarter Book - Single |
| 2 | Dollar Book |
| 3 | Sale Book |
| 4 | Back Issue |
| 5 | FEAR ITSELF #1 (OF 7) |
| 6 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #3 |
| 7 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #4 |
| 8 | Starter Set |
| 9 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #6 |
| 10 | BUFFY VAMPIRE SLAYER #40 LAST GLEAMING PT 5 (OF 5) |
Dang, look how all of the cheapies outsell everything else!
So, let's remove those cheapies from consideration, and ONLY look at comics right now. Here's the Top 100 in units sold:
| 1 | FEAR ITSELF #1 (OF 7) |
| 2 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #3 |
| 3 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #4 |
| 4 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #6 |
| 5 | BUFFY VAMPIRE SLAYER #40 LAST GLEAMING PT 5 (OF 5) |
| FEAR ITSELF #2 (OF 7) | |
| FLASHPOINT #1 | |
| 8 | XOMBI #1 |
| 9 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #5 |
| 10 | FF #1 |
| KICK-ASS 2 #2 | |
| WALKING DEAD #82 | |
| WALKING DEAD #83 | |
| WALKING DEAD #85 | |
| 15 | FEAR ITSELF #3 (OF 7) |
| 16 | FANTASTIC FOUR #587 |
| 17 | WALKING DEAD #80 |
| 18 | WALKING DEAD #81 |
| WALKING DEAD #84 | |
| 20 | BATMAN AND ROBIN #19 |
| CRIMINAL LAST OF INNOCENT #1 (OF 4) | |
| 22 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #2 |
| GREEN LANTERN #64 | |
| 24 | ASTONISHING X-MEN #36 |
| BRIGHTEST DAY #20 | |
| BRIGHTEST DAY #21 | |
| INCOGNITO BAD INFLUENCES #4 | |
| 28 | BATMAN AND ROBIN #20 |
| BRIGHTEST DAY #19 | |
| BRIGHTEST DAY #24 | |
| FF #2 | |
| FLASHPOINT #2 | |
| HELLBOY SLEEPING & DEAD #2 (OF 2) | |
| INCOGNITO BAD INFLUENCES #3 | |
| XOMBI #2 | |
| 36 | FABLES #101 |
| FABLES #102 | |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #534 POINT ONE | |
| 39 | BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #2 |
| BRIGHTEST DAY #17 | |
| BRIGHTEST DAY #18 | |
| BRIGHTEST DAY #22 | |
| BRIGHTEST DAY #23 | |
| FABLES #103 | |
| FF #3 | |
| GARTH ENNIS JENNIFER BLOOD #1 | |
| INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #500 | |
| JOE THE BARBARIAN #8 (OF 8) | |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #533 | |
| 50 | AVENGERS #10 |
| AVENGERS #11 | |
| BATMAN AND ROBIN #22 | |
| BPRD HELL ON EARTH GODS #1 (OF 3) | |
| FANTASTIC FOUR #588 THREE | |
| FF #4 | |
| GARTH ENNIS JENNIFER BLOOD #2 | |
| GREEN LANTERN #63 | |
| SCARLET #4 | |
| ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #160 DOSM | |
| 60 | ALAN MOORE NEONOMICON #4 (OF 4) |
| AVENGERS #9 | |
| FABLES #104 | |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #534 | |
| 64 | AVENGERS #12 |
| FEAR ITSELF BOOK OF THE SKULL #1 | |
| NEW AVENGERS #9 | |
| SCARLET #5 | |
| SECRET AVENGERS #10 | |
| SECRET AVENGERS #9 | |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #532 | |
| WITCHFINDER LOST & GONE FOREVER #1 (OF 5) | |
| XOMBI #3 | |
| 73 | AVENGERS #12 POINT ONE |
| BATMAN #706 | |
| BATMAN AND ROBIN #21 | |
| CAPTAIN AMERICA #615 | |
| HELLBOY BEING HUMAN ONE SHOT | |
| HELLBOY BUSTER OAKLEY GETS HIS WISH | |
| NEW AVENGERS #8 | |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #535 | |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #536 | |
| 82 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #654.1 |
| AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #656 BIG | |
| AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #657 BIG | |
| AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #658 BIG | |
| BATMAN #707 | |
| BOYS #51 | |
| BOYS #52 | |
| BPRD HELL ON EARTH GODS #2 (OF 3) | |
| CAPTAIN AMERICA #615 POINT ONE | |
| DETECTIVE COMICS #873 | |
| GARTH ENNIS JENNIFER BLOOD #3 | |
| GREEN LANTERN #62 | |
| INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #501 | |
| SUPERIOR #4 (OF 6) | |
| AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #659 BIG | |
| 97 | BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #1 |
| BOYS #50 | |
| BOYS #53 | |
| CAPTAIN AMERICA #614 | |
| FABLES #105 | |
| INCOGNITO BAD INFLUENCES #2 | |
| INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #503 FEAR | |
| UNWRITTEN #21 | |
| UNWRITTEN #23 |
And, here's the Top 100, in dollars sold (close, but not the same):
| 1 | FEAR ITSELF #1 (OF 7) |
| 2 | FLASHPOINT #1 |
| 3 | FEAR ITSELF #2 (OF 7) |
| 4 | FF #1 |
| 5 | BRIGHTEST DAY #24 |
| 6 | FEAR ITSELF #3 (OF 7) |
| 7 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #4 |
| 8 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #6 |
| 9 | FANTASTIC FOUR #587 |
| 10 | BUFFY VAMPIRE SLAYER #40 LAST GLEAMING PT 5 (OF 5) |
| 11 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #3 |
| 12 | ACTION COMICS #900 |
| 13 | DARK HORSE PRESENTS #1 PAUL CHADWICK CVR |
| 14 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #2 |
| 15 | XOMBI #1 |
| 16 | INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #500 |
| 17 | BATMAN INCORPORATED #5 |
| 18 | FLASHPOINT #2 |
| 19 | ASTONISHING X-MEN #36 |
| 20 | STRANGE ADVENTURES #1 |
| 21 | KICK-ASS 2 #2 |
| 22 | CRIMINAL LAST OF INNOCENT #1 (OF 4) |
| 23 | GARTH ENNIS JENNIFER BLOOD #1 |
| 24 | WALKING DEAD #83 |
| 25 | GARTH ENNIS JENNIFER BLOOD #2 |
| 26 | ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #160 DOSM |
| 27 | JOE THE BARBARIAN #8 (OF 8) |
| 28 | CAPTAIN AMERICA #616 |
| 29 | FANTASTIC FOUR #588 THREE |
| 30 | WALKING DEAD #85 |
| 31 | SCARLET #4 |
| 32 | ALAN MOORE NEONOMICON #4 (OF 4) |
| AVENGERS #9 | |
| 34 | WALKING DEAD #82 |
| 35 | INCOGNITO BAD INFLUENCES #3 |
| 36 | WALKING DEAD #80 |
| 37 | FEAR ITSELF BOOK OF THE SKULL #1 |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #532 | |
| 39 | SCARLET #5 |
| 40 | WALKING DEAD #81 |
| WALKING DEAD #84 | |
| 42 | UNCANNY X-MEN #534 |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #535 | |
| 44 | LEGION OF SUPER HEROES ANNUAL #1 |
| 45 | AVENGERS #10 |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #536 | |
| 47 | GREEN LANTERN #64 |
| 48 | GARTH ENNIS JENNIFER BLOOD #3 |
| 49 | BPRD HELL ON EARTH GODS #1 (OF 3) |
| 50 | AVENGERS #12 |
| 51 | BOYS #52 |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #533 | |
| 53 | BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #1 |
| 54 | CAPTAIN AMERICA #615 |
| 55 | INCOGNITO BAD INFLUENCES #4 |
| 56 | BRIGHTEST DAY #21 |
| 57 | BOYS #51 |
| BOYS #53 | |
| 59 | HATE ANNUAL #9 |
| 60 | INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #501 |
| 61 | SECRET AVENGERS #10 |
| 62 | BRIGHTEST DAY #20 |
| 63 | CAPTAIN AMERICA #614 |
| 64 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #659 BIG |
| BOYS #50 | |
| BOYS #54 | |
| 67 | HELLBOY SLEEPING & DEAD #2 (OF 2) |
| 68 | SECRET AVENGERS #9 |
| 69 | FABLES #101 |
| FABLES #102 | |
| 71 | UNCANNY X-MEN #534 POINT ONE |
| 72 | FF #2 |
| XOMBI #2 | |
| 74 | HELLBOY BUSTER OAKLEY GETS HIS WISH |
| 75 | BATMAN AND ROBIN #20 |
| 76 | HELLBOY BEING HUMAN ONE SHOT |
| 77 | AVENGERS #13 FEAR |
| MOON KNIGHT #1 | |
| 79 | BATMAN AND ROBIN #19 |
| BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #2 | |
| BRIGHTEST DAY #19 | |
| BRIGHTEST DAY #22 | |
| BRIGHTEST DAY #23 | |
| FABLES #103 | |
| 85 | UNCANNY X-MEN #537 |
| 86 | BPRD HELL ON EARTH GODS #2 (OF 3) |
| 87 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #653 BIG |
| AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #655 BIG | |
| 89 | FF #3 |
| 90 | BRIGHTEST DAY #17 |
| BRIGHTEST DAY #18 | |
| 92 | ASTONISHING X-MEN #37 |
| AVENGERS #11 | |
| BOYS #55 | |
| 95 | GREEN LANTERN #63 |
| 96 | FF #4 |
| 97 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #652 BIG |
| AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #654 BIG | |
| AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #656 BIG | |
| AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #658 BIG |
Overall, I'd say it's been an ugly-ish six months for periodical comics. Anything interesting stand out for you?
-B
Comix Experience Best Sellers: Books, first half of 2011
/Same thing as previous, but looking at things that have a spine. Once again, knocking out "sale books" as an entry, because that would be number one, by far.
Here it is in pieces:
| 1 | Comic Book Guide to Mission |
| 2 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 14 NO WAY OUT |
| 3 | CHEW TP VOL 03 JUST DESSERTS |
| FABLES TP VOL 15 ROSE RED | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 01 DAYS GONE BYE | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 13 TOO FAR GONE | |
| 7 | DAN CLOWES MISTER WONDERFUL LOVE STORY TP |
| 8 | CHEW TP VOL 01 |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 02 MILES BEHIND US | |
| 10 | FABLES TP VOL 01 LEGENDS IN EXILE (APR058372) |
| SCENES FROM AN IMPENDING MARRIAGE HC | |
| SCOTT PILGRIM GN VOL 01 PRECIOUS LITTLE LIFE | |
| 13 | BLACK HOLE COLLECTED SC NEW PTG |
| CHEW TP VOL 02 INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR | |
| FABLES TP VOL 14 WITCHES | |
| 16 | ASTERIOS POLYP GN |
| 17 | BOYS TP VOL 08 HIGHLAND LADDIE |
| DAYTRIPPER TP | |
| DMZ TP VOL 09 MIA | |
| INCOGNITO TP | |
| PLANETARY TP BOOK 04 SPACETIME ARCHAEOLOGY | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 12 LIFE AMONG THEM | |
| 23 | AMAZING SCREW ON HEAD & OTHER CURIOUS OBJECTS HC |
| BATMAN DARK KNIGHT RETURNS TP (DEC058055) | |
| FINDER GN VOL 01 VOICE | |
| FREAKANGELS TP VOL 05 | |
| LOEG VOL ONE TP (JUL068290) | |
| MORNING GLORIES TP VOL 01 FOR A BETTER FUTURE | |
| PAYING FOR IT HC | |
| 30 | BATMAN THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE DELUXE ED HC |
| BLACKSAD HC VOL 01 | |
| DMZ TP VOL 10 COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT | |
| FABLES TP VOL 02 ANIMAL FARM (MAR058123) | |
| ORC STAIN TP VOL 01 | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 11 FEAR THE HUNTERS | |
| WARREN ELLIS CROOKED LITTLE VEIN MMPB | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 01 UNMANNED | |
| 38 | ALL OVER COFFEE v2: EVERYTHING IS ITS OWN REWARD |
| BLACK DYNAMITE SLAVE ISLAND GN | |
| BTVS SEASON 8 TP VOL 07 TWILIGHT | |
| DMZ TP VOL 01 ON THE GROUND (MAR060383) (MR) | |
| GETTING CLOSE | |
| SANDMAN TP VOL 02 THE DOLLS HOUSE NEW ED | |
| SCOTT PILGRIM GN VOL 02 VS THE WORLD | |
| TRANSMETROPOLITAN TP VOL 01 BACK ON THE STREET | |
| UNWRITTEN TP VOL 03 DEAD MANS KNOCK | |
| V FOR VENDETTA NEW EDITION TP (MR) | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 09 HERE WE REMAIN | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 10 WHAT WE BECOME | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 05 RING OF TRUTH (MAY050306) (MR) | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 06 GIRL ON GIRL (SEP050317) (MR) | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 09 MOTHERLAND (FEB070362) (MR) | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 10 WHYS AND WHEREFORES (MAR080241) (MR | |
| 54 | AXE COP TP VOL 01 |
| BATMAN AND ROBIN TP VOL 01 BATMAN REBORN | |
| CRIMINAL TP VOL 01 COWARD (MR) | |
| DELIRIUMS PARTY A LITTLE ENDLESS STORYBOOK HC | |
| ISLE OF 100000 GRAVES HC | |
| JACK OF FABLES TP VOL 08 THE FULMINATE BLADE TP | |
| LOEG III CENTURY #1 1910 | |
| LOVE FROM THE SHADOWS HC | |
| SCALPED TP VOL 07 REZ BLUES | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 03 SAFETY BEHIND BARS (NEW PTG) (MR) | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 05 BEST DEFENSE | |
| WATCHMEN TP | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 07 PAPER DOLLS (FEB060341) (MR) | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 08 KIMONO DRAGONS (AUG060299) (MR) | |
| 68 | ALL STAR SUPERMAN TP VOL 01 |
| ALL STAR SUPERMAN TP VOL 02 | |
| BATMAN THE KILLING JOKE SPECIAL ED HC | |
| CASANOVA TP LUXURIA VOL 01 | |
| CLUMSY GN | |
| HELLBLAZER TP VOL 01 ORIGINAL SINS NEW ED | |
| IRREDEEMABLE TP VOL 01 | |
| PREACHER TP VOL 04 ANCIENT HISTORY NEW EDITION (MAY050299) ( | |
| R CRUMBS HEROES OF BLUES JAZZ & COUNTRY WITH CD HC | |
| SANDMAN TP VOL 01 PRELUDES & NOCTURNES NEW ED | |
| SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE WITCHING HOUR TP VOL 01 | |
| SUPERMAN RED SON TP (NOV058130) | |
| SWEET TOOTH TP VOL 02 IN CAPTIVITY | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 04 HEARTS DESIRE | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 06 SORROWFUL LIFE | |
| 83 | BTVS SEASON 8 TP VOL 01 LONG WAY HOME NEW PTG |
| BTVS SEASON 8 TP VOL 06 RETREAT | |
| BTVS SEASON 8 TP VOL 08 LAST GLEAMING | |
| BULLETPROOF COFFIN TP | |
| CAT GETTING OUT OF A BAG HC | |
| CROSSED 3D GN VOL 01 | |
| DRINKING AT THE MOVIES SC | |
| ELEPHANTMEN TP VOL 01 WOUNDED ANIMALS REVISED ED | |
| FABLES TP VOL 03 STORYBOOK LOVE (MAY068085) (MR) | |
| FINDER LIBRARY TP VOL 01 | |
| HOUSE OF MYSTERY TP VOL 05 UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT | |
| KOKO BE GOOD GN | |
| MOUSE GUARD TP FALL 1152 (JAN083948) | |
| NEMESIS PREM HC | |
| PLANETARY TP VOL 01 ALL OVER THE WORLD AND OTHER STORIES | |
| PLANETARY TP VOL 02 THE FOURTH MAN | |
| PREACHER TP VOL 01 GONE TO TEXAS NEW EDITION (MAR050489) (MR | |
| PREACHER TP VOL 05 DIXIE FRIED NEW EDITION (JUL050315) (MR) | |
| PROMETHEA TP BOOK 01 (APR068028) | |
| PROMETHEA TP BOOK 02 (MAR068220) | |
| SWAMP THING TP VOL 01 SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING | |
| TALES OF A HIPPY KID TP | |
| TRANSMETROPOLITAN TP VOL 02 LUST FOR LIFE NEW ED (MR) | |
| UMBRELLA ACADEMY TP VOL 01 APOCALYPSE SUITE NEW PTG |
And the same thing sorted in dollars:
| 1 | Comic Book Guide to Mission |
| 2 | FABLES TP VOL 15 ROSE RED |
| 3 | ASTERIOS POLYP GN |
| 4 | DAN CLOWES MISTER WONDERFUL LOVE STORY TP |
| 5 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 13 TOO FAR GONE |
| 6 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 14 NO WAY OUT |
| 7 | BLACKSAD HC VOL 01 |
| 8 | BATMAN THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE DELUXE ED HC |
| 9 | CHEW TP VOL 03 JUST DESSERTS |
| 10 | BLACK HOLE COLLECTED SC NEW PTG |
| 11 | PAYING FOR IT HC |
| 12 | FABLES TP VOL 14 WITCHES |
| 13 | ALL OVER COFFEE v2: EVERYTHING IS ITS OWN REWARD |
| 14 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 02 MILES BEHIND US |
| 15 | DAYTRIPPER TP |
| 16 | INCOGNITO TP |
| 17 | BOYS TP VOL 08 HIGHLAND LADDIE |
| FREAKANGELS TP VOL 05 | |
| 19 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 01 DAYS GONE BYE |
| 20 | PLANETARY TP BOOK 04 SPACETIME ARCHAEOLOGY |
| 21 | FINDER GN VOL 01 VOICE |
| 22 | AMAZING SCREW ON HEAD & OTHER CURIOUS OBJECTS HC |
| 23 | FABLES TP VOL 01 LEGENDS IN EXILE (APR058372) |
| 24 | CHEW TP VOL 02 INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR |
| 25 | WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM TP VOL 01 |
| 26 | ORC STAIN TP VOL 01 |
| 27 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 12 LIFE AMONG THEM |
| 28 | SCOTT PILGRIM GN VOL 01 PRECIOUS LITTLE LIFE |
| 29 | STARSTRUCK HC DLX ED |
| 30 | FROM HELL TP |
| 31 | DMZ TP VOL 09 MIA |
| 32 | SANDMAN TP VOL 02 THE DOLLS HOUSE NEW ED |
| V FOR VENDETTA NEW EDITION TP (MR) | |
| 34 | BATMAN DARK KNIGHT RETURNS TP (DEC058055) |
| 35 | PREACHER HC BOOK 01 |
| 36 | LOVE FROM THE SHADOWS HC |
| 37 | CHEW TP VOL 01 |
| 38 | LOEG VOL ONE TP (JUL068290) |
| 39 | BTVS SEASON 8 TP VOL 07 TWILIGHT |
| 40 | WATCHMEN TP |
| 41 | CAPTAIN AMERICA LIVES OMNIBUS HC |
| 42 | CREEPY ARCHIVES HC VOL 01 NEW PTG |
| 43 | BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER TALES HC |
| WOLVERINE OLD MAN LOGAN TP | |
| 45 | Y THE LAST MAN DELUXE EDITION HC VOL 01 |
| 46 | WALKING DEAD TP VOL 11 FEAR THE HUNTERS |
| 47 | SCENES FROM AN IMPENDING MARRIAGE HC |
| 48 | SCALPED TP VOL 07 REZ BLUES |
| 49 | Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 01 UNMANNED |
| 50 | R CRUMBS HEROES OF BLUES JAZZ & COUNTRY WITH CD HC |
| 51 | DMZ TP VOL 10 COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT |
| 52 | FABULOUS FURRY FREAK BROTHERS OMNIBUS TP |
| 53 | WALKING DEAD HC VOL 02 NEW PTG |
| X-NECROSHA TP | |
| 55 | FINDER LIBRARY TP VOL 01 |
| 56 | WARREN ELLIS CROOKED LITTLE VEIN MMPB |
| 57 | TRANSMETROPOLITAN TP VOL 01 BACK ON THE STREET |
| UNWRITTEN TP VOL 03 DEAD MANS KNOCK | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 09 HERE WE REMAIN | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 10 WHAT WE BECOME | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 05 RING OF TRUTH (MAY050306) (MR) | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 09 MOTHERLAND (FEB070362) (MR) | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 10 WHYS AND WHEREFORES (MAR080241) (MR | |
| 64 | SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE WITCHING HOUR TP VOL 01 |
| 65 | SANDMAN TP VOL 01 PRELUDES & NOCTURNES NEW ED |
| 66 | FABLES TP VOL 02 ANIMAL FARM (MAR058123) |
| 67 | BATMAN THE KILLING JOKE SPECIAL ED HC |
| SUPERMAN RED SON TP (NOV058130) | |
| 69 | CAPTAIN AMERICA WINTER SOLDIER ULTIMATE COLLECTION TP |
| GRANT MORRISON 18 DAYS | |
| HOW TO UNDERSTAND ISRAEL IN 60 DAYS OR LESS HC | |
| MARIJUANAMAN HC | |
| POWERS TP VOL 13 Z | |
| RICHARD STARKS PARKER THE OUTFIT HC | |
| 75 | ALEXANDRO JODOROWSKY SCREAMING PLANET HC |
| 76 | TEZUKA AYAKO GN |
| 77 | HELLBLAZER TP VOL 01 ORIGINAL SINS NEW ED |
| 78 | BLOOM COUNTY COMPLETE LIBRARY HC VOL 04 |
| 79 | AKIRA KODANSHA ED GN VOL 06 |
| JOHN CARTER OF MARS WARLOARD OF MARS TP | |
| 81 | ELEPHANTMEN TP VOL 01 WOUNDED ANIMALS REVISED ED |
| NEMESIS PREM HC | |
| SWAMP THING TP VOL 01 SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING | |
| 84 | AXE COP TP VOL 01 |
| BATMAN AND ROBIN TP VOL 01 BATMAN REBORN | |
| CRIMINAL TP VOL 01 COWARD (MR) | |
| DELIRIUMS PARTY A LITTLE ENDLESS STORYBOOK HC | |
| JACK OF FABLES TP VOL 08 THE FULMINATE BLADE TP | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 03 SAFETY BEHIND BARS (NEW PTG) (MR) | |
| WALKING DEAD TP VOL 05 BEST DEFENSE | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 07 PAPER DOLLS (FEB060341) (MR) | |
| Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 08 KIMONO DRAGONS (AUG060299) (MR) | |
| 93 | HORROR THE HORROR COMICS GOVERNMENT DIDNT WANT YOU READ |
| 94 | ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY HC #20 |
| 95 | Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 06 GIRL ON GIRL (SEP050317) (MR) |
| 96 | WALKING DEAD HC VOL 01 NEW PTG |
| 97 | LOGICOMIX GN |
| TRICKSTER NATIVE AMERICAN TALES GN ANTHOLOGY | |
| 99 | KOKO BE GOOD GN |
| 100 | ISLE OF 100000 GRAVES HC |
Like usual, I look at these lists and think "Well, yes, there's a comic shop I'd like to shop at!"
Thankfully. It would suck to work at a shitty comics store, hah!
Anything you see or think?
-B
CE 2010: Comics
/Last one! Again, under the cut...
Same deal, first presenting it by QUANTITY SOLD. Note this is what SOLD, not what I *ordered*, which are way different numbers! You'll also probably be able to tell some of what I sold out of before I "should have", if you use a bit of logic in parsing the listings.
1 Quarter Book - Single 2 Dollar Book 3 Back Issue 4 SIEGE #1 (OF 4) 5 BATMAN AND ROBIN #7 6 BATMAN AND ROBIN #10 BATMAN RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #1 (OF 6) 9 BATMAN AND ROBIN #8 BATMAN AND ROBIN #9 11 BATMAN AND ROBIN #11 12 BATMAN AND ROBIN #12 13 BATMAN AND ROBIN #16 14 BATMAN #700 BATMAN AND ROBIN #13 16 BATMAN RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #2 OF(6) JOE THE BARBARIAN #1 (OF 8) 18 BATMAN INCORPORATED #1 BLACKEST NIGHT #8 (OF 8) 20 Starter Set 21 BATMAN AND ROBIN #14 22 BLACKEST NIGHT #7 (OF 8) BRIGHTEST DAY #0 24 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #32 TWILIGHT PT 1 (OF 5) 25 BATMAN RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #3 (OF 6) BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #33 TWILIGHT PT 2 (OF 5) 27 BATMAN AND ROBIN #15 28 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #34 TWILIGHT PT 3 (OF 5) 29 NEMESIS #1 (OF 4) 30 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #31 JO CHEN CVR 31 AVENGERS #1 HA BRIGHTEST DAY #1 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #35 TWILIGHT PT 4 (OF 4) NEW AVENGERS #1 HA 35 JOE THE BARBARIAN #2 (OF 8) 36 BATMAN RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #4 (OF 6) 37 AMERICAN VAMPIRE #1 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #36 LAST GLEAMING PT 1 (OF 5) 39 BATMAN RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #6 (OF 6) BATMAN THE RETURN #1 41 BATMAN RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #5 (OF 6) SIEGE #2 (OF 4) SIEGE #3 (OF 4) SIEGE #4 (OF 4) 45 BATMAN #701 46 FLASH #1 KICK-ASS 2 #1 NEMESIS #2 (OF 4) WONDER WOMAN #600 50 BLACKEST NIGHT #6 (OF 8) JOE THE BARBARIAN #3 (OF 8) 52 DETECTIVE COMICS #861 53 AVENGERS #2 HA DETECTIVE COMICS #862 SECRET AVENGERS #1 56 BRIGHTEST DAY #2 BRIGHTEST DAY #4 58 BATMAN #702 BUFFY VAMPIRE SLAYER #37 LAST GLEAMING PT 2 (OF 5) CAPTAIN AMERICA #602 CAPTAIN AMERICA REBORN #6 (OF 6) FLASH REBIRTH #6 (OF 6) GREEN LANTERN #50 NEW AVENGERS #61 SIEGE 65 JOE THE BARBARIAN #4 (OF 8) 66 SCARLET #1 UNCANNY X-MEN #523 68 ASTONISHING X-MEN #34 BATMAN AND ROBIN #17 BRIGHTEST DAY #3 BRIGHTEST DAY #6 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER WILLOW ONE SHOT SERENITY FLOAT OUT ONE SHOT #1 JO CHEN CVR 74 AMERICAN VAMPIRE #2 BRIGHTEST DAY #9 BUFFY VAMPIRE SLAYER #38 LAST GLEAMING PT 3 (OF 5) GREEN LANTERN #51 INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #25 NEW AVENGERS #62 SIEGE 80 BRIGHTEST DAY #5 BRIGHTEST DAY #7 CAPTAIN AMERICA #603 DARK AVENGERS #13 SIEGE DETECTIVE COMICS #863 DETECTIVE COMICS #864 GREEN LANTERN #52 GREEN LANTERN #53 HELLBOY IN MEXICO OR DRUNKEN BLUR ONE SHOT HELLBOY THE STORM #1 (OF 3) JOE THE BARBARIAN #5 (OF 8) LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #1 NEW AVENGERS #64 SIEGE SECRET AVENGERS #2 SHIELD #1 SHIELD #2 WALKING DEAD #74 WALKING DEAD #75 WALKING DEAD #77 X-MEN #1 100 BRIGHTEST DAY #8 FLASH #2 KICK ASS #8 SECRET AVENGERS #3 SUPERGOD #3 (OF 5) SUPERIOR #1 (OF 6) UNCANNY X-MEN #526 WALKING DEAD #71 WALKING DEAD #76 WALKING DEAD #79
And, like before, here's the same magilla, except looking at DOLLARS SOLD instead (A lot fewer ties here!):
1 Back Issue 2 Starter Set 3 Quarter Book - Single 4 BATMAN #700 5 BATMAN RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #1 (OF 6) 6 Dollar Book 7 BATMAN AND ROBIN #16 8 BATMAN RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #2 OF(6) 9 BATMAN INCORPORATED #1 10 BLACKEST NIGHT #8 (OF 8) 11 BATMAN AND ROBIN #7 12 BATMAN THE RETURN #1 13 SIEGE #1 (OF 4) 14 BATMAN AND ROBIN #10 15 BRIGHTEST DAY #0 16 FABLES #100 17 BATMAN RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #3 (OF 6) 18 BATMAN AND ROBIN #8 19 BATMAN AND ROBIN #9 20 BLACKEST NIGHT #7 (OF 8) 21 BATMAN AND ROBIN #11 22 BATMAN AND ROBIN #12 23 AMERICAN VAMPIRE #1 24 BATMAN RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #4 (OF 6) 25 BATMAN AND ROBIN #13 26 BATMAN RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #6 (OF 6) 27 AVENGERS #1 HA 28 BATMAN RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #5 (OF 6) 29 BATMAN AND ROBIN #14 30 SIEGE #2 (OF 4) SIEGE #3 (OF 4) 32 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #32 TWILIGHT PT 1 (OF 5) 33 SIEGE #4 (OF 4) 34 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #33 TWILIGHT PT 2 (OF 5) 35 WONDER WOMAN #600 36 VERTIGO RESURRECTED #1 37 BATMAN AND ROBIN #15 38 BLACKEST NIGHT #6 (OF 8) 39 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #34 TWILIGHT PT 3 (OF 5) 40 NEMESIS #1 (OF 4) 41 DETECTIVE COMICS #861 42 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #31 JO CHEN CVR 43 SECRET AVENGERS #1 44 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #35 TWILIGHT PT 4 (OF 4) 45 BRIGHTEST DAY #1 46 CAPTAIN AMERICA REBORN #6 (OF 6) 47 DETECTIVE COMICS #862 48 JOE THE BARBARIAN #2 (OF 8) 49 NEW AVENGERS FINALE #1 50 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #36 LAST GLEAMING PT 1 (OF 5) 51 STRANGE TALES 2 #1 52 AVENGERS #2 HA 53 FLASH #1 54 SCARLET #1 55 AMERICAN VAMPIRE #2 56 GREEN LANTERN #50 57 NEW AVENGERS #61 SIEGE 58 DARK AVENGERS #13 SIEGE 59 SHIELD #1 4TH PTG WEAVER VAR 60 DETECTIVE COMICS #863 61 SUPERGOD #3 (OF 5) 62 SECRET AVENGERS #2 63 WALKING DEAD #75 64 BATMAN #701 65 SECRET AVENGERS #3 66 LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #1 67 NEMESIS #2 (OF 4) 68 SUPERMAN #700 69 KICK-ASS 2 #1 70 X-MEN SECOND COMING #1 71 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER WILLOW ONE SHOT 72 STRANGE TALES 2 #2 (OF 3) 73 SERENITY FLOAT OUT ONE SHOT #1 JO CHEN CVR 74 ALAN MOORE NEONOMICON #1 (OF 4) AMERICAN VAMPIRE #3 INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #25 77 JOE THE BARBARIAN #3 (OF 8) 78 CAPTAIN AMERICA #602 79 NEW AVENGERS #1 HA NEW AVENGERS #63 SIEGE NEW AVENGERS #64 SIEGE 82 SCARLET #2 83 CAPTAIN SWING #1 (OF 4) 84 HATE ANNUAL #8 85 X-WOMEN #1 86 AVENGERS #3 87 BRIGHTEST DAY #2 BRIGHTEST DAY #4 89 AMERICAN VAMPIRE #4 AMERICAN VAMPIRE #5 91 HELLBOY IN MEXICO OR DRUNKEN BLUR ONE SHOT 92 DARK AVENGERS #15 93 BUFFY VAMPIRE SLAYER #37 LAST GLEAMING PT 2 (OF 5) 94 ASTONISHING X-MEN XENOGENESIS #1 (OF 5) AVENGERS #4 96 UNCANNY X-MEN #522 97 BATMAN #702 98 UNCANNY X-MEN #526 99 ASTRO CITY THE DARK AGE BOOK FOUR #4 (OF 4) 100 INCOGNITO BAD INFLUENCES #1
It is probably worth noting that this is what things SOLD FOR, so if, for example, I discounted something (or, perhaps, wholesaled it off?) that can skew the charts a bounce or three.
Anyway, that's what the year in sales looked like to me -- I'm always interested in your comments!
-B
CE 2010: Books
/Here's a look at the top selling "Books" for Comix Experience in 2010, under the cut...
First off, here's the sales charts sorted by PIECES. I'm not doing a lot of cleanup on this, there's garbagey artifacts of the output process (some books have Diamond order codes appended, and so on) -- also ignore all "new Printing" notes, each new printing just overwrites the product description, but I don't feel like cleaning that all up...
This is the top 100 (well, 108, thanks to ties...)
1 SCOTT PILGRIM GN VOL 06 FINEST HOUR 2 SCOTT PILGRIM GN VOL 01 PRECIOUS LITTLE LIFE 3 WALKING DEAD TP VOL 11 FEAR THE HUNTERS 4 WILSON HC 5 WALKING DEAD TP VOL 01 DAYS GONE BYE 6 CHEW TP VOL 01 7 SCOTT PILGRIM GN VOL 02 VS THE WORLD 8 WALKING DEAD TP VOL 12 LIFE AMONG THEM 9 ASTERIOS POLYP GN 10 FABLES TP VOL 13 THE GREAT FABLES CROSSOVER 11 LOVE AND ROCKETS NEW STORIES TP VOL 03 12 SCOTT PILGRIM GN VOL 05 SP VS THE UNIVERSE 13 SCOTT PILGRIM GN VOL 04 SP GETS IT TOGETHER 14 UNWRITTEN TP VOL 01 TOMMY TAYLOR BOGUS IDENTITY TP 15 WALKING DEAD TP VOL 02 MILES BEHIND US 16 WALKING DEAD TP VOL 10 WHAT WE BECOME 17 BOOK OF GENESIS ILLUS BY ROBERT CRUMB HC 18 KICK ASS PREM HC WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM TP VOL 01 20 Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 01 UNMANNED (OCT058020) 21 SCOTT PILGRIM GN VOL 03 INFINITE SADNESS
WALKING DEAD TP VOL 13 TOO FAR GONE 23 WALKING DEAD TP VOL 03 SAFETY BEHIND BARS (NEW PTG) (MR) 24 BTVS SEASON 8 TP VOL 06 RETREAT CHEW TP VOL 02 INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR HELLBOY TP VOL 09 WILD HUNT SERENITY SHEPHERDS TALE HC 28 ALL STAR SUPERMAN TP VOL 02 EX MACHINA TP VOL 09 RING OUT THE OLD FABLES TP VOL 01 LEGENDS IN EXILE (APR058372) LOEG III CENTURY #1 1910 NEW PTG 32 WALKING DEAD TP VOL 04 HEARTS DESIRE WALKING DEAD TP VOL 09 HERE WE REMAIN 34 BATMAN DARK KNIGHT RETURNS TP (DEC058055) RICHARD STARKS PARKER THE OUTFIT HC 36 ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY HC #20 DRINKING AT THE MOVIES SC INCOGNITO TP TRANSMETROPOLITAN TP VOL 01 BACK ON THE STREET WALKING DEAD TP VOL 08 MADE TO SUFFER Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 02 CYCLES (OCT058281) (MR) 42 SERENITY BETTER DAYS TP NEW PTG Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 07 PAPER DOLLS (FEB060341) (MR) 44 BATMAN YEAR ONE DELUXE SC (OCT060163) BTVS SEASON 8 TP VOL 03 WOLVES AT THE GATE FABLES TP VOL 14 WITCHES FROM HELL TP NEW PTG PREACHER TP VOL 01 GONE TO TEXAS NEW EDITION (MAR050489) WALKING DEAD TP VOL 05 BEST DEFENSE WALKING DEAD TP VOL 07 THE CALM BEFORE Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 10 WHYS AND WHEREFORES (MAR080241) 52 ALL STAR SUPERMAN TP VOL 01 BLACK HOLE COLLECTED SC NEW PTG BTVS SEASON 8 TP VOL 01 LONG WAY HOME NEW PTG CLUMSY GN SANDMAN TP VOL 01 PRELUDES & NOCTURNES (DEC058090) UNWRITTEN TP VOL 02 INSIDE MAN 58 100 BULLETS TP VOL 01 FIRST SHOT LAST CALL (SEP068078) AMAZING SCREW ON HEAD & OTHER CURIOUS OBJECTS HC AMULET SC VOL 01 STONEKEEPER BATMAN THE KILLING JOKE SPECIAL ED HC BOYS TP VOL 06 SELF-PRESERVATION SOCIETY BTVS SEASON 8 TP VOL 05 PREDATOR & PREY COMPLETE PERSEPOLIS TP DMZ TP VOL 08 HEARTS AND MINDS EX MACHINA TP VOL 10 TERM LIMITS R CRUMBS HEROES OF BLUES JAZZ & COUNTRY WITH CD HC RAMAYANA DIVINE LOOPHOLE HC SCALPED TP VOL 06 THE GNAWING WATCHMEN TP (FEB058406) 71 BATMAN AND ROBIN DELUXE HC VOL 01 BATMAN REBORN BLACKSAD HC VOL 01 BOYS TP VOL 01 NAME OF THE GAME CROSSED TP VOL 01 DMZ TP VOL 01 ON THE GROUND (MAR060383) (MR) EIGHTBALL GHOST WORLD TP EX MACHINA TP VOL 08 DIRTY TRICKS HELLBOY TP VOL 01 SEED OF DESTRUCTION IGNITION CITY TP VOL 01 LOEG VOL ONE TP (JUL068290) NO HERO TP OTHER LIVES HC PREACHER TP VOL 02 UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD NEW EDITION RICHARD STARKS PARKER THE HUNTER HC WALKING DEAD TP VOL 06 SORROWFUL LIFE WEATHERCRAFT HC WITCHFINDER IN THE SERVICE OF ANGELS TP VOL 01 Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 03 ONE SMALL STEP (MAR068027) (MR) Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 09 MOTHERLAND (FEB070362) (MR) 90 BATWOMAN ELEGY DELUXE EDITION HC BOYS TP VOL 02 GET SOME CHARLES BURNS X ED OUT GN CHEW TP VOL 03 JUST DESSERTS CHI SWEET HOME GN VOL 01 FABLES TP VOL 03 STORYBOOK LOVE (MAY068085) (MR) FREAKANGELS TP VOL 04 GRENDEL BEHOLD THE DEVIL HC HELLBOY TP VOL 10 CROOKED MAN & OTHERS MESMO DELIVERY GN VOL 01 PROMETHEA TP BOOK 01 (APR068028) SANDMAN TP VOL 02 THE DOLLS HOUSE (APR058268) SCALPED TP VOL 01 INDIAN COUNTRY (MAY070243) (MR) SUPERMAN RED SON TP (NOV058130) SWAMP THING TP VOL 01 SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING (APR058269) THE ARRIVAL GN (C: 1-1-2) UMBRELLA ACADEMY TP VOL 02 DALLAS NEW PTG V FOR VENDETTA NEW EDITION TP (MR) Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 08 KIMONO DRAGONS (AUG060299) (MR)
I'm pretty happy with the diversity of the list, as always, though clearly Bryan Lee O'Malley and Robert Kirkman are the big big winners of this year's spread.
I'm a retail, so DOLLARS actually kind of matter more to me than QTY does, so here's a top 100 sorted out by dollars sold -- it looks a smidge different...
1 WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM TP VOL 01 2 SCOTT PILGRIM GN VOL 06 FINEST HOUR 3 WILSON HC 4 ASTERIOS POLYP GN 5 WALKING DEAD TP VOL 11 FEAR THE HUNTERS 6 SCOTT PILGRIM GN VOL 01 PRECIOUS LITTLE LIFE 7 BOOK OF GENESIS ILLUS BY ROBERT CRUMB HC 8 KICK ASS PREM HC 9 FABLES TP VOL 13 THE GREAT FABLES CROSSOVER 10 WALKING DEAD TP VOL 12 LIFE AMONG THEM 11 WALKING DEAD TP VOL 01 DAYS GONE BYE 12 FROM HELL TP NEW PTG 13 CHEW TP VOL 01 14 SCOTT PILGRIM GN VOL 02 VS THE WORLD 15 LOVE AND ROCKETS NEW STORIES TP VOL 03 16 WALKING DEAD TP VOL 02 MILES BEHIND US 17 WALKING DEAD TP VOL 10 WHAT WE BECOME 18 RICHARD STARKS PARKER THE OUTFIT HC 19 SCOTT PILGRIM GN VOL 05 SP VS THE UNIVERSE 20 HELLBOY TP VOL 09 WILD HUNT 21 ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY HC #20 22 SCOTT PILGRIM GN VOL 04 SP GETS IT TOGETHER 23 RAMAYANA DIVINE LOOPHOLE HC 24 BLACKSAD HC VOL 01 25 COMPLETE PERSEPOLIS TP 26 INCOGNITO TP 27 WALKING DEAD TP VOL 03 SAFETY BEHIND BARS (NEW PTG) (MR) WALKING DEAD TP VOL 13 TOO FAR GONE 29 NEXTWAVE AGENTS OF HATE TP ULTIMATE COLLECTION 30 BTVS SEASON 8 TP VOL 06 RETREAT 31 BATMAN AND ROBIN DELUXE HC VOL 01 BATMAN REBORN OTHER LIVES HC 33 Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 01 UNMANNED (OCT058020) 34 WHO KILLED AMANDA PALMER HC 35 UNWRITTEN TP VOL 01 TOMMY TAYLOR BOGUS IDENTITY TP 36 SERENITY SHEPHERDS TALE HC 37 RICHARD STARKS PARKER THE HUNTER HC 38 BLACKEST NIGHT HC DAVE MCKEAN CAGES TP 40 CROSSED TP VOL 01 41 SANDMAN TP VOL 01 PRELUDES & NOCTURNES (DEC058090) 42 EX MACHINA TP VOL 09 RING OUT THE OLD 43 ABSOLUTE SANDMAN HC VOL 01 ABSOLUTE SANDMAN HC VOL 03 (JAN080242) 45 WALKING DEAD TP VOL 04 HEARTS DESIRE 46 FABLES TP VOL 14 WITCHES 47 WALKING DEAD TP VOL 09 HERE WE REMAIN 48 CHEW TP VOL 02 INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR 49 BATMAN DARK KNIGHT RETURNS TP (DEC058055) 50 BLACK HOLE COLLECTED SC NEW PTG 51 SCOTT PILGRIM GN VOL 03 INFINITE SADNESS 52 ABSOLUTE DEATH HC 53 WASTELAND APOCALYPTIC ED HC VOL 01 54 WATCHMEN TP (FEB058406) 55 R CRUMBS HEROES OF BLUES JAZZ & COUNTRY WITH CD HC 56 ALL STAR SUPERMAN TP VOL 02 57 LOST GIRLS HC 58 Y THE LAST MAN DELUXE EDITION HC VOL 01 59 TRANSMETROPOLITAN TP VOL 01 BACK ON THE STREET WALKING DEAD TP VOL 08 MADE TO SUFFER 61 BLANKETS GN 62 BOYS TP VOL 06 SELF-PRESERVATION SOCIETY WEATHERCRAFT HC 64 BTVS SEASON 8 TP VOL 03 WOLVES AT THE GATE 65 BEST AMERICAN COMICS HC 2010 66 BATMAN THE KILLING JOKE SPECIAL ED HC 67 Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 07 PAPER DOLLS (FEB060341) (MR) 68 MORE THAN COMPLETE ACTION PHILOSOPHERS TP 69 PREACHER TP VOL 01 GONE TO TEXAS NEW EDITION (MAR050489) 70 DRINKING AT THE MOVIES SC 71 WALKING DEAD HC VOL 05 72 BOYS TP VOL 02 GET SOME IGNITION CITY TP VOL 01 NO HERO TP SWAMP THING TP VOL 01 SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING (APR058269) THE ARRIVAL GN (C: 1-1-2) V FOR VENDETTA NEW EDITION TP (MR) 78 BTVS SEASON 8 TP VOL 01 LONG WAY HOME NEW PTG 79 BATMAN YEAR ONE DELUXE SC (OCT060163) WALKING DEAD TP VOL 05 BEST DEFENSE 81 CHARLES BURNS X ED OUT GN 82 SANDMAN TP VOL 02 THE DOLLS HOUSE (APR058268) 83 OMEGA THE UNKNOWN PREM HC 84 Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 10 WHYS AND WHEREFORES (MAR080241) 85 Y THE LAST MAN TP VOL 02 CYCLES (OCT058281) (MR) 86 FREAKANGELS TP VOL 04 87 BONE ONE VOL ED SC 88 DMZ TP VOL 08 HEARTS AND MINDS 89 BATWOMAN ELEGY DELUXE EDITION HC 90 INVINCIBLE IRON MAN HC VOL 01 91 BTVS SEASON 8 TP VOL 05 PREDATOR & PREY 92 AMAZING SCREW ON HEAD & OTHER CURIOUS OBJECTS HC 93 BOYS TP VOL 01 NAME OF THE GAME 94 WEDNESDAY COMICS HC 95 FABLES TP VOL 01 LEGENDS IN EXILE (APR058372) 96 FLIGHT GN VOL 07 97 SUPERMAN RED SON TP (NOV058130) 98 HELLBOY TP VOL 01 SEED OF DESTRUCTION 99 UMBRELLA ACADEMY TP VOL 02 DALLAS NEW PTG 100 DARK TOWER FALL OF GILEAD PREM HC
I'm rather proud of my Top 10, actually (especially considering that GENESIS came out LAST Christmas...) -- I also love that the WALKING DEAD COMPENDIUM soars right up to #1, when looking at dollars...that's what a $60 cover price can do for you! (well, if you're Kirkman, that probably won't work for YOU...)
Anyway, I'm always up for your commentary on these lists...
-B
