1985 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops
Estimated Comics Shipped to North American Comics Shops
Based on Reports from Direct Market Distributors
Covers and issue links on this page lead to current eBay listings. This site may be compensated if you make a purchase.
It was still very early days for comics sales reporting by Direct Market distributors in 1985; Capital City Distribution did monthly reports with order index numbers, but if Diamond Comic Distributors reported anything at all, we haven't found it. Nonetheless, it's clear Secret Wars II was the big event of the year, just as Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars was in 1984.
Capital City did not publish end-of-year rankings until 1991, but based on Capital City's known preorders, Secret Wars II #1 appears to be the top seller in the Direct Market in 1985, followed by X-Factor #1. Secret Wars II #4, #2, and #3 would likely have rounded out the top five. DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths issues were often bubbling under the top spot, but they never overtook Secret Wars II — a least not at Capital.
Only one of the monthly charts below is live, but more will be added in the future. Stay tuned!
—John Jackson Miller
CAPITAL CITY TOP SELLERS BY MONTH
Listed are all the top sellers for each month at Capital City.
Where months are linked, click to see the full Capital chart for that month.
Est. units are the number of copies preordered just from Capital, Overall totals would be much higher.
Distributor charts are regional commodity reports, not measures of a work's total reach. Read our FAQ.
Title links below lead to current listings for the issues on eBay. As an eBay Partner, this site may be compensated if you make a purchase.
| Month | Comic-book Title | Issue | Price | Publisher | Est. units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1985 | Uncanny X-Men | 194 | $0.75 | Marvel | 49,800 |
| February 1985 | Uncanny X-Men | 195 | $0.75 | Marvel | 44,800 |
| March 1985 | Secret Wars II | 1 | $0.75 | Marvel | 85,000 |
| April 1985 | Secret Wars II | 2 | $0.75 | Marvel | 65,000 |
| May 1985 | Secret Wars II | 3 | $0.75 | Marvel | 61,900 |
| June 1985 | Secret Wars II | 4 | $0.75 | Marvel | 63,200 |
| July 1985 | Secret Wars II | 5 | $0.75 | Marvel | 59,800 |
| August 1985 | Uncanny X-Men | 200 | $0.75 | Marvel | 54,800 |
| September 1985 | Secret Wars II | 7 | $0.75 | Marvel | 49,100 |
| October 1985 | X-Factor | 1 | $1.25 | Marvel | 77,800 |
| November 1985 | X-Factor | 2 | $0.75 | Marvel | 58,700 |
| December 1985 | X-Factor | 3 | $0.75 | Marvel | 58,500 |
My analyses of preorders from Capital City Distribution for individual months can be found here:
