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February 1988 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops

Estimated Comics Preordered by North American Comics Shops
Based on Reports from Diamond Comic Distributors


#1 Most Ordered Issue
#1
#2 Most Ordered Issue
#2
#3 Most Ordered Issue
#3
#4 Most Ordered Issue
#4
#5 Most Ordered Issue
#5

Covers and issue links on this page lead to current eBay listings. This site may be compensated if you make a purchase.

Find this issue at eBayThe second month of 1988 saw the start of DC's experiment with weekly comics in Action Comics Weekly, a move that would prove to be one of the bigger sales blunders of the 1980s. It launched in fourth place at Diamond Comic Distributors and wouldn't see that level again.

There weren't many high-profile launches otherwise: Marvel had Doctor Zero start in 29th place, while DC had Crimson Avenger start in 33rd.

The raw version of the chart below was presumably published in the January 1988 Diamond Dialogue newsletter; it was reprinted in Comics Values Monthly #23, where we found it. We've added publishers and ship dates.

Diamond did not yet report market shares; Capital City this month found Marvel with a dollar share of 38.6%, DC with a dollar share of 30.58%, and Eclipse at 6.11%.

The dates shown below are the dates the comics shipped from the printer, according to Amazing Heroes #136 (Feb. 29, 1988); these would have come from distributor catalogs. Capital City Distribution reported almost all dates as Tuesdays, which corresponded to when the printer Ronald's released its comics — but World Color Press wasn't releasing its books until 12:01 a.m. on Thursdays. It's not clear which books came from that printer, however, so we've kept everything on Tuesday unless the dates said otherwise.

Further, in this era, distributor catalog dates for all publishers did not synch up exactly with the calendar month, so Diamond's October charts include one week's worth of DC comics from November — and are missing the first week's comics, which would have appeared in Diamond's September charts. This would continue until March 1995, when DC would realign its solicitations with the Direct Market's calendar month (that chart only included three weeks of DC sales). Because Diamond did not report indexed sales, there is no way to know where those comics would have landed in this month's chart.

—John Jackson Miller


This list includes all items on Diamond's Top 100 chart.
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.


UnitsComic-book TitleIssuePriceShippedPublisher
1Uncanny X-Men230$1.0002/18/88Marvel
2X-Factor29$1.0002/25/88Marvel
3New Mutants64$1.0002/11/88Marvel
4Action Comics601$0.5002/02/88DC
5Justice League International14$0.7502/09/88DC
6Amazing Spider-Man301$1.0002/11/88Marvel
7Silver Surfer12$1.0002/18/88Marvel
8Punisher9$1.0002/18/88Marvel
9Green Arrow5$1.0002/16/88DC
10Classic X-Men22$1.0002/25/88Marvel
11Iron Man231$0.7502/25/88Marvel
12Avengers292$1.0002/18/88Marvel
13Nam19$1.2502/25/88Marvel
14Superman18$0.7502/16/88DC
15Web of Spider-Man39$0.7502/04/88Marvel
16Spectacular Spider-Man139$1.0002/25/88Marvel
17Weird3$1.5002/23/88DC
18Fantastic Four315$0.7502/25/88Marvel
19Thor392$0.7502/25/88Marvel
20Alpha Flight59$1.0002/11/88Marvel
21West Coast Avengers33$0.7502/04/88Marvel
22G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero72$1.0002/18/88Marvel
23Batman420$0.7502/16/88DC
24Flash13$0.7502/09/88DC
25Captain America342$0.7502/11/88Marvel
26Daredevil255$0.7502/04/88Marvel
27What If Special1$1.5002/04/88Marvel
28Solo Avengers7$0.7502/11/88Marvel
29Doctor Zero1$1.2502/18/88Marvel
30Wonder Woman17$0.7502/09/88DC
31Incredible Hulk344$0.7502/18/88Marvel
32Martian Manhunter2$1.2502/18/88DC
33Crimson Avenger1$1.0002/09/88DC
34G.I. Joe Special Missions11$1.0002/04/88Marvel
35World of Smallville3$0.7502/09/88DC
36Doom Patrol9$0.7502/23/88DC
37Power Girl1$1.0003/01/88DC
38Flash Gordon1$1.2502/23/88DC
39Adventures of Superman441$0.7502/23/88DC
40Detective Comics587$0.7503/08/88DC
41Marvel Age63 $0.50 2/16/88Marvel
42Aquaman Special1$1.5003/08/88DC
43Wanderers1$1.2503/08/88DC
44Star Trek: The Next Generation5$1.0003/08/88DC
45Power Pack37$1.0001/21/88Marvel
46New Teen Titans44$1.0002/11/88Marvel
47Suicide Squad14$0.7503/01/88DC
48Legion of Super-Heroes47$1.7502/16/88DC
49Strange Tales15$0.7502/11/88Marvel
50Captain Atom16$0.7503/01/88DC
51Shadow11$1.7502/23/88DC
52Phantom2$1.2503/08/88DC
53D.P. 720$1.2502/18/88Marvel
54Marvel Fanfare38$1.9502/18/88Marvel
55Checkmate3$1.2502/09/88DC
56Marshal Law3 $1.95 2/16/88 Marvel
57Firestorm: The Nuclear Man72$0.7502/09/88DC
58Strikeforce: Morituri19$1.0002/04/88Marvel
59Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles14 $1.50Mirage
60Lone Wolf and Cub10$2.50First
61Who's Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes3$1.2502/23/88DC
62Star Trek51$1.0002/16/88DC
63Transformers41$1.0002/25/88Marvel
64Cinder and Ashe2$1.7502/09/88DC
65Secret Origins27$1.5002/16/88DC
66Justice20$1.2502/18/88Marvel
67Psi Force20$1.2502/04/88Marvel
68Spectre15$1.2503/08/88DC
69Hellblazer6$1.2502/16/88DC
70Swamp Thing73$1.2502/23/88DC
71Infinity Inc.51$1.7502/16/88DC
72Groo the Wanderer40$1.0002/11/88Marvel
73Question17$1.7503/08/88DC
74Young All-Stars13$1.2502/09/88DC
75Conan the Barbarian207$1.0002/18/88Marvel
76Grendel17$1.5002/02/88Comico
77Alien Legion4$1.2502/25/88Marvel
78Forever People5$1.2502/16/88DC
79Marvel Tales212$0.7502/18/88Marvel
80Wasteland7$1.50 3/1/88DC
81Outcasts9$1.7502/09/88DC
82Wrath of the Spectre2$2.5002/23/88DC
83Alf4$1.0002/11/88Marvel
84Elementals22$1.5002/16/88Comico
85Savage Sword of Conan148$2.0002/11/88Marvel
86Sonic Disruptors6$1.7503/08/88DC
87Silverblade10$1.35 3/29/88DC
88Punisher/Daredevil1$4.9502/25/88Marvel
89American Flagg2$1.7502/12/88First
90Cerebus107$1.70Aardvark-Vanaheim
91Tales of G.I. Joe6$1.5002/04/88Marvel
92 Marvel Graphic Novel: Shadow 1941 35 $12.95 Marvel
93Justice Machine14$1.5002/02/88Comico
94Badger36$1.7501/29/88First
95Sable4$1.7502/19/88First
96Jonny Quest21$1.5002/16/88Comico
97Nexus45$1.7501/29/88First
98Uncle Scrooge Adventures5$0.95Gladstone
99Cloak and Dagger: Predator and Prey GN$6.9502/25/88Marvel
100Airboy36$1.7502/02/88Eclipse





Diamond did not report graphic novel sales separately this month, but some items appeared in the Top 100.