In September, Marvel’s Return of Wolverine #1 became the tenth comic book in 2018 to ship more than 200,000 copies and the sixth to top 250,000 copies, according to our analysis of data released by Diamond Comic Distributors. By contrast, only three comics topped 200,000 copies in all of 2017, and only two were above a quarter-million. Click to see the comics sales estimates for September 2018.
As reported here on Friday, the recovery in the comics shop market gained steam in the third quarter of 2018, as September comics and graphic novel orders rose 4% over the previous year, allowing the three-month period to close up 6%. Significantly better than the second quarter’s 1% win, the $137.5 million quarter was the best in dollar terms since the fourth quarter of 2016. In all, orders during the past six months were up $9 million over the same period in 2017. The $45.18 million month of September was up $1.6 million, meaning that the year-to-year loss piled up this winter was cut in half for the third month in a row.
Graphic novels were a big winner in the month, up 12% year-over-year thanks to the Image trio of new editions of Saga, Walking Dead, and Monstress, which finished 1-2-3 in the unit sales charts.
Marvel offered a free overship on
Iceman #1, doubling its paid orders; it’s the only Marvel title all year where an overship is evident, and the extra copies’ effect on both Marvel’s unit share for the month and the overall unit sales for the Direct Market is negligible. Oblivion Song #7 saw a modest increase and shows evidence of a significant added discount.
The average cover price for new comics dropped back down under $4, to $3.93.
The vital statistics:
| TOP 300 COMICS SHIPPED (in UNITS) |
||
| September 2018 | 6.7 million copies | |
| 1 Year Ago | 6.83 million copies | -2% |
| 5 Years Ago | 8.15 million copies | -18% |
| 10 Years Ago | 6.78 million copies | -1% |
| 15 Years Ago | 6.51 million copies | +3% |
| 20 Years Ago | 7.44 million copies | -10% |
| Top 500 Comics Shipped (Units) | 7.08 million copies | |
| ALL Comics Shipped in Month (Units) |
7.19 million copies | -7% |
| Year To Date | 58.31 million copies | |
| 1 Year Ago | 60.45 million copies | -4 |
| 5 Years Ago | 63.53 million copies | -8 |
| 10 Years Ago | 60.38 million copies | -3 |
| 15 Years Ago | 53.19 million copies | 10 |
| ALL Comics Shipped Year to Date (Units) |
63.71 million copies | -7% |
| TOP 300 COMICS SHIPPED (in DOLLARS) |
||
| September 2018 | $27.3 million | |
| 1 Year Ago | $27.12 million | +1% |
| 5 Years Ago | $30.05 million | -9% |
| 10 Years Ago | $21.96 million | +24% |
| 15 Years Ago | $19.06 million | +43% |
| 20 Years Ago | $18.18 million | +50% |
| Top 500 Comics Shipped (Dollars) |
$28.87 million | |
| ALL Comics Shipped during Month (Dollars) |
+1% | |
| Year To Date | $238.49 million | |
| 1 Year Ago | $233.39 million | +2% |
| 5 Years Ago | $230.52 million | +3% |
| 10 Years Ago | $193.36 million | +23% |
| 15 Years Ago | $150.04 million | +59% |
| ALL Comics Shipped Year to Date (Dollars) |
+1% | |
| TOP GRAPHIC NOVELS SHIPPED (in DOLLARS) |
||
| September 2018 (Top 300 GNs) | $7.68 million | |
| September 2018 (Top 100 GNs) |
$4.7 million | |
| September 2018 (Top 50 GNs) |
$3.16 million | |
| September 2018 (Top 25 GNs) |
$2.01 million | |
| Versus 1 Year Ago |
$6.78 million | +13% |
| Versus 5 Years Ago (Top 300) |
$7.56 million | +2% |
| Versus 10 Years Ago (Top 100) |
$4.57 million | +3% |
| Versus 15 Years Ago (Top 50) |
$2.89 million | +9% |
| Top 500 Graphic Novel Shipped in Month (Dollars) |
$8.83 million | |
| ALL Graphic Novel Shipped in Month (Dollars) |
+12% | |
| Year To Date | $56.07 million | |
| 1 Year Ago | $64.48 million | -13% |
| ALL Graphic Novel Dollars Shipped Year to Date (Dollars) |
-5% | |
| TOP 300 COMICS plus TOP GNs SHIPPED (in DOLLARS) |
||
| September 2018 (including Top 300 GNs) |
$34.99 million | |
| September 2018 (including Top 300 GNs) |
$32 million | |
| September 2018 (including Top 100 GNs) |
$30.46 million | |
| September 2018 (including Top 25 GNs) |
$29.31 million | |
| Versus 1 Year Ago |
$33.9 million | +3% |
| Versus 5 Years Ago (Top 300) |
$37.61 million | -15% |
| Versus 10 Years Ago (Top 50) |
$26.52 million | +3% |
| Versus 15 Years Ago (Top 50) |
$21.95 million | +43% |
| Top 500 Comics & Top 500 GNs Shipped in Month (Dollars) |
$37.7 million | |
| All Comics & GNs Shipped in Month (Dollars) |
+4% | |
| Year To Date | $294.75 million | |
| 1 Year Ago | $297.9 million | -1% |
| ALL Comics & GNs Shipped Year to Date (Dollars) |
-1% | |
| ALL COMICS AND GNs SHIPPED (in Dollars) |
||
| September 2018 | $45,183,900.00 | |
| Versus 1 Year Ago |
$43.52 million | +4% |
| Versus 5 Years Ago |
$48.07 million | -6% |
| Versus 10 Years Ago |
$35.11 million | +29% |
| Year To Date | $388.99 million | |
| 1 Year Ago | $391.18 million | -1% |
| TITLE SPECIFICS | ||
| TOP SELLING COMIC BOOK | ||
| Return of Wolverine #1 |
260,410 copies at | $4.99 |
| 50th PLACE COMIC BOOK |
||
| Venom First Host #3 |
36,234 copies at | $3.99 |
| 100th PLACE COMIC BOOK |
||
| Old Man Hawkeye #9 |
23,234 copies at | $3.99 |
| 150th PLACE COMIC BOOK |
||
| Farmhand #3 | 12,723 copies at | $3.99 |
| 200th PLACE COMIC BOOK |
||
| Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #36 |
8,978 copies at | $3.99 |
| 300th PLACE COMIC BOOK |
||
| Steven Universe #20 |
3,900 copies at | $3.99 |
| 400th PLACE COMIC BOOK |
||
| Starcraft Scavengers #3 |
1,825 copies at | $3.99 |
| 500th PLACE COMIC BOOK |
||
| Star Wars Darth Vader #20 |
549 copies at | $3.99 |
| NEW RELEASE VOLUME |
||
| New Comics Released |
449 | |
| New Graphic Novels Released |
318 | |
| New Magazines Released |
26 | |
| Total New Print Items Released |
793 | |
| PRICING | ||
| Average Cover Price of Comics in the Top 300 |
$3.93 | |
| Average Cover Price of Comics in the Top 300, weighted by orders |
$4.08 | |
| Average Cover Price of Comics in the Top 25 |
$4.35 | |
| Median Cover Price of Comics in the Top 300 |
$3.99 | |
| Most Common Cover Price of Comics in the Top 300 |
$3.99 |
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.
Be sure to follow Comichron on Twitter and Facebook, and check out our Youtube channel. You can also support us on Patreon!