1988 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.
In the wreckage that followed the black-and-white comics collapse, many distribution changes occured in the Direct Market in 1988. The biggest news was that Diamond Comic Distributors purchased Bud Plant Inc., a major West Coast distributor, giving it a national reach for the first time and making it the largest Direct Market distributor. Its Previews catalog launched later in the year.
Neither Capital City Distribution nor Diamond released bestseller lists for year overall, but we can tell from Capital's known orders that the twin launches of Wolverine #1 and Excalibur #1 were likely the top sellers in the Direct Market in 1988. While Batman: The Killing Joke did lead its release month at Capital, it did so only just barely, edging past Uncanny X-Men #231. It was not able to beat the X-Men issue at Diamond, and probably is not in the top five comics of the year for that reason and because of its extremely high cover price. Killing Joke was, of course, reprinted many times, boosting its sales considerably higher — but there was no mechanism in 1988 for reporting reorders or reprint sales.
We have not yet located Diamond charts for January, October, and November 1988; we presume the top-ranked comics to be the same as Capital's, which were just regular issues of Uncanny X-Men.
Only some of the monthly charts for 1988 are live, but we do have most of them. They will be added in the future. Stay tuned!
—John Jackson Miller
DIAMOND TOP SELLERS BY MONTH
Listed are all the top sellers for each month at Diamond.
Where months are linked, click to see the full Diamond chart for that month.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1988 | Uncanny X-Men | 229 | $0.75 | Marvel |
| February 1988 | Uncanny X-Men | 230 | $0.75 | Marvel |
| March 1988 | Uncanny X-Men | 231 | $0.75 | Marvel |
| April 1988 | Uncanny X-Men | 232 | $0.75 | Marvel |
| May 1988 | Uncanny X-Men | 233 | $1.00 | Marvel |
| June 1988 | Excalibur | 1 | $1.50 | Marvel |
| July 1988 | Wolverine | 1 | $1.50 | Marvel |
| August 1988 | Wolverine | 2 | $1.50 | Marvel |
| September 1988 | Wolverine | 3 | $1.50 | Marvel |
| October 1988 | Uncanny X-Men | 241 | $1.00 | Marvel |
| November 1988 | Uncanny X-Men | 242 | $1.50 | Marvel |
| December 1988 | Uncanny X-Men | 243 | $1.00 | Marvel |
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 1988 | Uncanny X-Men | 229 | $0.75 | Marvel | 71,800 |
| February 1988 | Uncanny X-Men | 230 | $0.75 | Marvel | 67,800 |
| March 1988 | Batman: The Killing Joke | $3.50 | DC | 67,300 | |
| April 1988 | Uncanny X-Men | 232 | $0.75 | Marvel | 66,600 |
| May 1988 | Marvel Comics Presents | 1 | $1.25 | Marvel | 70,100 |
| June 1988 | Excalibur | 1 | $1.50 | Marvel | 93,800 |
| July 1988 | Wolverine | 1 | $1.50 | Marvel | 108,800 |
| August 1988 | Wolverine | 2 | $1.50 | Marvel | 78,700 |
| September 1988 | Wolverine | 3 | $1.50 | Marvel | 71,100 |
| October 1988 | Uncanny X-Men | 241 | $1.00 | Marvel | 69,900 |
| November 1988 | Uncanny X-Men | 242 | $1.50 | Marvel | 76,100 |
| December 1988 | Uncanny X-Men | 243 | $1.00 | Marvel | 75,400 |
My analyses of preorders from Diamond Comic Distributors for individual months can be found here, when available:
My analyses of preorders from Capital City Distribution for individual months can be found here, when available:
