Final sales for February have been reported by Diamond Comic Distributors, and as reported here earlier, comics were off significantly, while new graphic novels were up considerably. Dark Knight III: The Master Race #3 was the top-seller, shipping more than 146,000 copies. Click to see the sales estimates for comics ordered in February 2016.
Once again, a Loot Crate title was #1 in the comparison month from the previous year: that time, it was Orphan Black #1,
which had nearly a half million copies move through Diamond. Remove
that title and the 900,000-copy drop in the Top 300 is more than halved.
But lower volumes this month are real: the month’s 300th place title
sold 3,744 copies, the lowest sum since June 2012. Click to see the
sales of 300th-place titles across time.
The aggregate changes are as follows:
TOP 300 COMICS UNIT SALES
February 2016: 6.1 million copies
Versus 1 year ago this month: -16%
Versus 5 years ago this month: +5%
Versus 10 years ago this month: +10%
Versus 15 years ago this month: unchanged
YEAR TO DATE: 12.08 million copies, -16% vs. 2015, -7% vs. 2011, +15% vs. 2006, unchanged vs. 2001
ALL COMICS UNIT SALES
February 2016 versus one year ago this month: -14.62%
YEAR TO DATE: -9.52%
February 2016: $24.35 million
Versus 1 year ago this month: -13%
Versus 5 years ago this month: +34%
Versus 10 years ago this month: +32%
Versus 15 years ago this month: +78%
YEAR TO DATE: $48.42 million, -11% vs. 2015, +45% vs. 2011, +39% vs. 2006, +74% vs. 2001
ALL COMICS DOLLAR SALES
February 2016 versus one year ago this month: -6.73%
YEAR TO DATE: -5.32%
February 2016: $7.86 million
Versus 1 year ago this month: +32%
Versus 5 years ago this month: +53%
Versus 10 years ago this month, just the Top 100 vs. the Top 100: +40%
Versus 15 years ago this month, just the Top 25 vs. the Top 25: +33%
YEAR TO DATE: $15.82 million, +26% vs. 2015
ALL TRADE PAPERBACK SALES
February 2016 versus one year ago this month: +12%
YEAR TO DATE: +1.13%
February2016: $32.21 million
Versus 1 year ago this month: -5%
Versus 5 years ago this month: +25%
Versus 10 years ago this month, counting just the Top 100 TPBs: +19%
Versus 15 years ago this month, counting just the Top 25 TPBs: +91%
YEAR TO DATE: $63.94 million, -5% vs. 2015
ALL COMICS AND TRADE PAPERBACK SALES
February 2016 versus one year ago this month: -1.69%
YEAR TO DATE: -3.43%
February 2016: approximately $41.48 million (subject to revision)
Versus 1 year ago this month: -2%
Versus 5 years ago this month: +39%
Versus 10 years ago this month: +45%
YEAR TO DATE: $83 million, -3% vs. 2015
RELEASES
New comic books released: 485
New graphic novels released: 275
New magazines released: 33
All new releases: 793
The average comic book in the Top 300 cost $3.84; the average comic book
retailers ordered cost $3.99. The median and most common price for comics offered was $3.99. Click to see comics prices across time.
Comichron founder John Jackson Miller has tracked the comics industry for more than 25 years, including a decade editing the industry’s retail trade magazine; he is the author of several guides to comics, as well as more than a hundred comic books for various franchises.
He is the author of novels including Star Wars: Kenobi, Star Wars: A New Dawn, Star Trek: Discovery – The Enterprise War, and his upcoming release, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The High Country. Read more about them at his fiction site.
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