I mentioned below a census I ran on all Diamond products that shipped in 1997; it may shed some light on the number of publishers who, at least at the beginning of the Diamond Exclusive Era, had access to the system. Using the shipping lists and cancellation lists from every week in 1997, the staff … Read more
Completing its roundup of 2008, Diamond Comic Distributors has released its rankings for its Top 300 Comics and Top 300 trade paperbacks for the year, as well as final market shares. And, just as it’s doing now on a monthly basis, it released a Top 50 Independent list for the year — independent meaning all … Read more
Not comics-related, but for those interested in publishing and some of the decisions involved in transitioning titles from publisher to publisher, I have some reminiscences on my personal site relating to the just-announced cancellation of Scrye: The Guide to Collectible Card Games, a magazine I edited from 1999-2001 and managed as part of a larger … Read more
They’re frequently asked questions: How many comics are the major publishers releasing each month? And how many are charting in the Diamond Top 300 title lists? And does getting more comics out translate to greater sales or market share? Answering the first question requires tracking the Diamond shipping lists — looking at Previews alone won’t … Read more
As noted also in the updated main post below: Dan Manser, director of marketing at Diamond, has confirmed my understanding of the numbers: Indeed, all three findings that have been reported are correct. The 3-4% drops in Diamond’s 2008 sales mentioned in previous interviews with Bill Schanes and Roger Fletcher refer to Diamond’s overall sales, … Read more
Diamond Comic Distributors released its top-sellers list and market shares for December 2008 last week — and as the end of a quarter and the end of the year, the report from the comics industry’s main distributor provides a lot to talk about. First, speaking just of December: As seen from the tables with estimates … Read more