It’s the 40th anniversary of the release of Star Wars: A New Hope — known to those of us who saw it then as just-plain Star Wars — so here’s an update of a post from a couple of years ago on what the movie meant to comics in the 1970s. Given that much of … Read more
Given that much of my professional comics and fiction output has been associated with Star Wars, it’s perhaps surprising that I haven’t gotten around to doing a circulation spotlight on the original 1977 Marvel series — especially since I’ve had all the Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation postal forms from the title on hand … Read more
March closed the winter quarter on a mildly positive note in the comics industry, according to data released this morning by Diamond Comic Distributors. Comic shops ordered nearly $42 million in comics and graphic novels, up about 3% over last March, which like this one had four shipping weeks. Marvel’s relaunch of the Star Wars … Read more
The final comics sales estimates for January are out from Diamond Comic Distributors, and as reported here on Friday, the Direct Market began the year strongly, up 12%. Click to see the sales estimates for comics ordered in January 2015. As expected, Marvel’s relaunch issue Star Wars #1 had sales that, when UK and February … Read more
The year is off to a solid start, according to preliminary statistics released today by Diamond Comic Distributors. Comic shops in North America ordered nearly $44 million in comic books and graphic novels in the month, up 12.27% over last January and topping the total for December, a rare but not unprecedented feat. It … Read more
Marvel’s Star Wars #1s in 1977 (left) and 2015 (right) topped 1 million copies Marvel has confirmed this morning a report from Comicbook.com that its Star Wars #1, releasing in January, has orders of more than 1 million copies, which would make it the best-selling print comic book in North America since at least 1999 … Read more