{"id":4776,"date":"2014-01-13T19:01:00","date_gmt":"2014-01-13T19:01:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-08-01T15:06:45","modified_gmt":"2020-08-01T20:06:45","slug":"2000-for-2013-top-thousand-comics-and","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/comichron.com\/blog\/2014\/01\/13\/2000-for-2013-top-thousand-comics-and\/","title":{"rendered":"2000 for 2013: Top Thousand Comics and Top Thousand GNs, with Comichron Estimates"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

With today’s release of December comics orders from Diamond Comic Distributors<\/b><\/a> \u2014 and our subsequent analysis<\/b><\/a> and estimates for<\/b> December 2013<\/b> comics sales<\/b><\/a> now posted \u2014 Comichron has drawn upon that information to project estimates for the Top Thousand Comics and the Top Thousand Graphic Novels for 2013<\/b><\/a>. The tables are on the page just beneath the image links to individual months.<\/p>\n

As
\nin past years, it is a large page, necessarily, so it may take a bit to
\nload. Also as in the past, I have rounded off to the nearest hundred comics.<\/p>\n

\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/SagaVol1\"The Top Thousand Comics<\/b> account for around 54.21 million copies; as we’ve seen in earlier years, that’s well over half of all the comics that Diamond sold.<\/b>
\nIn 2012 the figure was 53.43 million copies; in 2011, it was 47 million
\ncopies, and in 2010, the
\ntotal was 45.3 million copies. So that’s at least straight years of
\ngrowth in unit sales for the grouping. In full retail
\ndollars, the Top Thousand Comics sold for $202.02 million, a $10
\nmillion increase over last year’s total of 191.4 million. (See the 2012
\narticle here<\/b><\/a> and charts here<\/b><\/a>; and read the 2011 article here<\/b><\/a>, and the charts here<\/b><\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Notably, almost every single one of the Top 100 comics on the list had a “multiple order codes” notation from Diamond, meaning there were variant covers or reprints combined to make the main entry.
\n
\n<\/a>
\nThe
\nTop Thousand<\/b> Graphic Novels,<\/b> led by Saga Vol. 1<\/i><\/a>,<\/b> went for $79.03 million, up
\nfrom $71.4 million in 2012 and $58.4 million in 2011. Combined, the Top
\nThousand Comics and Top Thousand Graphic Novel lists account for about
\n54% of the orders by dollars Diamond received in<\/p>\n

publishing last year, which was around $518 million. The Top Thousands
\naccounted for 55% of all dollars retailers spent in 2012.
\n
\n<\/a>
\n\"http:\/\/www.mycomicshop.com\/search?q=amazing+spider-man+583&pubid=&PubRng=&AffID=874007P01\"Image’s Walking Dead<\/a><\/i> #115<\/a><\/b>
\nwas the top seller of the year; Comichron estimates that, all told,
\naround 329,300 copies of the issue, including all variants, were ordered
\nby Direct Market retailers in North America. That’s enough to make it
\nthe fifth highest-selling comic book of the 21st Century<\/b><\/a>, behind only the Obama Amazing Spider-Man<\/i> #583<\/b><\/a>, with orders of 530,500 copies in 2009, last year’s Walking Dead<\/i> #100<\/b><\/a>, and Civil War<\/i> <\/b>issues #2 and #3. You can see the updated top-sellers by year here<\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n

The entire Top Comics of the 21st Century<\/b><\/a> list has been updated, and it has now also been split into lists for the decade of 2000-2009<\/b><\/a> and the decade of the 2010s<\/b><\/a>. As we can see from just the top of the list, one other 2013 title, Justice League of America <\/i>#1<\/b><\/a>, also cracked the Top 10 for the century, giving DC its highest ranking entrant in some time:<\/p>\n

TEN MOST ORDERED COMIC BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY<\/b><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\u00a0<\/b><\/td>\nComic-book
\nTitle<\/b><\/td>\n		Issue<\/b><\/td>\nShip<\/b><\/td>\nPrice<\/b><\/td>\nPublisher<\/b><\/td>\nEst. sales<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/td>\nAmazing Spider-Man<\/td>\n583<\/td>\nJan-09<\/a><\/td>\n$3.99<\/td>\nMarvel<\/td>\n530,500<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\nWalking Dead (including Chromium edition)<\/td>\n100<\/td>\nJul-12<\/a><\/td>\n$3.99<\/td>\nImage<\/td>\n384,800<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\nCivil War<\/td>\n2<\/td>\nJun-06<\/a><\/td>\n$2.99<\/td>\nMarvel<\/td>\n341,900<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\nCivil War<\/td>\n3<\/td>\nJul-06<\/a><\/td>\n$2.99<\/td>\nMarvel<\/td>\n337,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\nWalking Dead<\/td>\n115<\/td>\nOct-13<\/a><\/td>\n$3.99<\/td>\nImage<\/td>\n328,500<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6<\/td>\nCivil War<\/td>\n1<\/td>\nMay-06<\/a><\/td>\n$3.99<\/td>\nMarvel<\/td>\n328,500<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7<\/td>\nJustice League of America<\/td>\n1<\/td>\nFeb-13<\/a><\/td>\n$3.99<\/td>\nDC<\/td>\n326,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8<\/td>\nCaptain America<\/td>\n25<\/td>\nMar-07<\/a><\/td>\n$2.99<\/td>\nMarvel<\/td>\n317,700<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9<\/td>\nUncanny Avengers<\/td>\n1<\/td>\nOct-12<\/a><\/td>\n$3.99<\/td>\nMarvel<\/td>\n305,900<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10<\/td>\nCivil War<\/td>\n4<\/td>\nSep-06<\/a><\/td>\n$2.99<\/td>\nMarvel<\/td>\n291,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
<\/div>\n

Twenty-one issues from 2013 made the Top 300
\nfor the 21st Century list, fewer than last year. Ten 2013 issues made the Top 100, and six made the Top 50.<\/p>\n

Who published the Top Thousand Comics this year? Here’s the breakdown:<\/p>\n

Marvel: 498 <\/b>(-32 from 2012)<\/div>\n
DC: 410<\/b> (-9 from 2012)<\/div>\n
Image: 49<\/b> (+18 from 2012)<\/div>\n
Dark Horse: 18<\/b> (+10 from 2012)<\/div>\n
IDW: 15<\/b> (+9 from 2012)
\nAspen: 5<\/b> (+5 from 2012)<\/div>\n
Boom: 2 <\/b>(-1 from 2012)
\n<\/b>
\nValiant: 1<\/b> (-2 from 2012)<\/div>\n
Dynamic Forces (Dynamite):<\/b> 1<\/b> (-1 from 2012)
\nArchie: 1<\/b> (+1 from 2012)<\/div>\n

That’s one publishers that wasn’t on last year’s list: Aspen<\/b>.<\/p>\n

And here’s the publisher breakdown of the Top Thousand Graphic Novels. Those with 10 or more entries:<\/p>\n

DC: 362 <\/b>(+21 from 2012)<\/div>\n
Marvel: 288<\/b> (+4 from 2012)<\/p>\n
Image: 96 <\/b>(+25 from 2012)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Dark Horse: 91<\/b> (-3 from 2012)\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
IDW: 42 <\/b>(+4 from 2012)<\/div>\n
Random House: 17<\/b> (-4 from 2012)<\/div>\n

\u00a0Viz: 16 <\/b>(-24 from 2012)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Boom: 12<\/b> <\/b>(+2 from 2012)<\/div>\n

That’s a big move for DC and Image, with a similar-sized drop in the count of entries from Viz.<\/p>\n

Walking Dead<\/i>
\nsoftcovers and hardcovers in the Top Thousand added up to nearly $7.8
\nmillion at retail \u2014 with comics bringing the total for the line up to
\nnearly $12 million. That’s enough to give it a market share approaching
\n2.4%, which would make it once again the seventh largest publisher for
\nthe year.<\/p>\n

Now, some notes about the shape of the market, as seen on the lists. We find the following breakdowns for unit sales:<\/p>\n

\n
NUMBER OF COMIC BOOK ISSUES SELLING
\nAT LEAST THIS MANY COPIES DURING YEAR<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n<\/b><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
200,000+<\/b><\/td>\n100,000+<\/b><\/td>\n75,000+<\/b><\/td>\n50,000+<\/b><\/td>\n25,000+<\/b><\/td>\n10,000+<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2009<\/b><\/td>\n2<\/td>\n39<\/td>\n119<\/td>\n379<\/td>\nn.a.<\/td>\nn.a.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2010<\/b><\/td>\n0<\/td>\n26<\/td>\n94<\/td>\n303<\/td>\n955<\/td>\nn.a.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2011<\/b><\/td>\n3<\/td>\n42<\/td>\n86<\/td>\n343<\/td>\n984<\/td>\nn.a.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2012<\/b><\/td>\n5<\/td>\n63<\/td>\n129<\/td>\n403<\/td>\n1100<\/td>\n2250<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2013<\/b><\/td>\n6<\/td>\n64<\/td>\n178<\/td>\n390<\/td>\n1128<\/td>\n2430<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
Another
\nway to look at the above is: where does the 100,000-copy level start on
\nthe chart? In 2010, every book above 39th place sold that many copies
\nor more; in 2013, six-figures started at 64th place.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
As
\nyou can see, the upper tier, above 100,000 copies, was basically
\nunchanged from 2012 to 2013. But nearly 50 more titles sold above 75,000
\ncopies in 2013 than in 2012. The middle to lower tiers were more
\nstable, but it appears that quite a few more issues broke the
\n10,000-copy level.<\/p>\n

Repeating the end-of-year report<\/b><\/a>, the comic shop market in North America ordered nearly $518 million worth of comics and graphic novels in 2013, an increase of 9% over 2012. The final end-of-year report, bringing in outside channels, will appear later this winter. (And no, there is no source for digital sales, although they appeared in 2012 to be about 10% of print sales in dollar terms, based on industry reports.) Diamond also reported in September that the number of comics accounts it sells to increased 4% to 2,638<\/b><\/a> from September 2012.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

There are 22 other years of Diamond annual reports on the site<\/b><\/a>, going back to 1991<\/b><\/a>. You can also find comparatives for how the market as a whole did across that time by viewing our Yearly Comics Sales<\/b><\/a> page.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With today’s release of December comics orders from Diamond Comic Distributors \u2014 and our subsequent analysis and estimates for December 2013 comics sales now posted \u2014 Comichron has drawn upon that information to project estimates for the Top Thousand Comics and the Top Thousand Graphic Novels for 2013. The tables are on the page just … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4777,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[76,21],"class_list":["post-4776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-2013-sales","tag-diamond-annual-reports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/comichron.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/comichron.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/comichron.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/comichron.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/comichron.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4776"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/comichron.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4776\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6442,"href":"https:\/\/comichron.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4776\/revisions\/6442"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/comichron.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4777"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/comichron.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/comichron.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/comichron.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}