2005 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops
Estimated Comics Shipped to North American Comics Shops
Based on Reports from Diamond Comic Distributors
OVERALL North American Dollar Sales for
Diamond's Comics, Graphic Novels, and Magazines for the year
around $352.33 Million
(up 7% year-over-year)
2005 opened slowly with a weak January, but February saw massive increases. March saw the beginning of DC's Countdown to Infinite Crisis with a top-selling issue priced at $1.
In April, Star Wars Episode III helped Dark Horse to one of its higher market shares across history. May brought another successful Green Lantern relaunch. June was the biggest month of the year in overall sales, thanks to two issues of Marvel's event comic, House of M.
In July, Frank Miller and Jim Lee's All Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder led the charts with gargantuan numbers (for the early 2000s, anyway); after Justice #1 led in August, another All-Star issue would top September's list.
But the real market movement happened in the fall. DC's Infinite Crisis #1 approached orders of a quarter million copies in its first month, October, and with sales continuing strong through November and December the series helped 2005 close out with increases in all categories.
The final rankings for all comics and trade paperbacks during the year appear below. Diamond Comic Distributors reported these issues without indexes, so no sales estimates are calculated. You can find the first-month sales for these issues in the monthly charts; click one of the months at the bottom or use the search tool at the top of the page to find the specific issue. But note that those monthly numbers do not include reorders for the entire year; the rankings below do take the entire year's sales into account.
Click to skip to the Top Graphic Novels for the year.
—John Jackson Miller
This list includes all items on Diamond's end-of-year chart.
If you don't see a book, Diamond released no data for it.
Distributor charts are regional commodity reports, not measures of a work's total reach. Read our FAQ.
The links lead to current listings for each item on eBay. You can also find the books at your comics shop.
| Units | Dollars | Comic-book Title | Issue | Price | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | All Star Batman & Robin | 1 | $2.99 | DC |
| 2 | 4 | House of M | 1 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 3 | 1 | Infinite Crisis | 1 | $3.99 | DC |
| 4 | 142 | DC Countdown to Infinite Crisis | 1 | $1.00 | DC |
| 5 | 2 | Infinite Crisis | 2 | $3.99 | DC |
| 6 | 7 | Justice | 1 | $2.99 | DC |
| 7 | 5 | Infinite Crisis | 3 | $3.99 | DC |
| 8 | 8 | All Star Batman & Robin | 2 | $2.99 | DC |
| 9 | 6 | Green Lantern | 1 | $3.50 | DC |
| 10 | 9 | House of M | 2 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 11 | 29 | New Avengers | 5 | $2.25 | Marvel |
| 12 | 31 | New Avengers | 6 | $2.25 | Marvel |
| 13 | 10 | Supergirl | 1 | $2.99 | DC |
| 14 | 11 | All Star Batman & Robin | 3 | $2.99 | DC |
| 15 | 34 | New Avengers | 7 | $2.25 | Marvel |
| 16 | 12 | All Star Superman | 1 | $2.99 | DC |
| 17 | 13 | House of M | 4 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 18 | 38 | New Avengers | 4 | $2.25 | Marvel |
| 19 | 14 | All Star Superman | 10 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 20 | 26 | New Avengers | 8 | $2.50 | Marvel |
| 21 | 15 | House of M | 3 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 22 | 41 | New Avengers | 2 | $2.25 | Marvel |
| 23 | 17 | Astonishing X-Men | 8 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 24 | 18 | Ultimate Iron Man | 1 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 25 | 49 | New Avengers | 3 | $2.25 | Marvel |
| 26 | 32 | New Avengers | 9 | $2.50 | Marvel |
| 27 | 36 | New Avengers | 10 | $2.50 | Marvel |
| 28 | 19 | House of M | 5 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 29 | 20 | House of M | 6 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 30 | 21 | Astonishing X-Men | 12 | $.99 | Marvel |
| 31 | 22 | House of M | 7 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 32 | 23 | Astonishing X-Men | 9 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 33 | 24 | House of M | 8 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 34 | 50 | New Avengers | 11 | $2.50 | Marvel |
| 35 | 16 | Justice | 2 | $3.50 | DC |
| 36 | 55 | New Avengers | 12 | $2.50 | Marvel |
| 37 | 27 | Astonishing X-Men | 11 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 38 | 58 | New Avengers | 13 | $2.50 | Marvel |
| 39 | 59 | OMAC Project | 1 | $2.50 | DC |
| 40 | 65 | New Avengers | 14 | $2.50 | Marvel |
| 41 | 35 | Green Lantern Rebirth | 4 | $2.95 | DC |
| 42 | 33 | Green Lantern | 2 | $2.99 | DC |
| 43 | 39 | Superman/Batman | 17 | $2.95 | DC |
| 44 | 37 | X-Men Phoenix Endsong | 1 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 45 | 76 | Villains United | 1 | $2.50 | DC |
| 46 | 44 | Green Lantern Rebirth | 5 | $2.95 | DC |
| 47 | 40 | Superman/Batman | 19 | $2.99 | DC |
| 48 | 42 | Green Lantern | 6 | $2.99 | DC |
| 49 | 43 | Ultimates 2 | 2 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 50 | 48 | Superman/Batman | 18 | $2.95 | DC |
| 51 | 45 | Supergirl | 2 | $2.99 | DC |
| 52 | 46 | Superman | 215 | $2.99 | DC |
| 53 | 47 | Superman/Batman | 20 | $2.99 | DC |
| 54 | 25 | Justice | 3 | $3.50 | DC |
| 55 | 52 | Superman/Batman | 21 | $2.99 | DC |
| 56 | 53 | Green Lantern | 3 | $2.99 | DC |
| 57 | 85 | OMAC Project | 2 | $2.50 | DC |
| 58 | 56 | Ultimates 2 | 3 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 59 | 107 | Wolverine | 26 | $2.25 | Marvel |
| 60 | 57 | Ultimates 2 | 4 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 61 | 92 | JLA | 119 | $2.50 | DC |
| 62 | 61 | Ultimates 2 | 5 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 63 | 62 | X-Men Phoenix Endsong | 2 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 64 | 63 | Ultimates 2 | 6 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 65 | 95 | Villains United | 2 | $2.50 | DC |
| 66 | 64 | Superman/Batman | 22 | $2.99 | DC |
| 67 | 97 | OMAC Project | 3 | $2.50 | DC |
| 68 | 99 | OMAC Project | 4 | $2.50 | DC |
| 69 | 124 | Wolverine | 27 | $2.25 | Marvel |
| 70 | 67 | Superman/Batman | 23 | $2.99 | DC |
| 71 | 68 | Ghost Rider | 1 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 72 | 100 | Superman | 214 | $2.50 | DC |
| 73 | 69 | Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man | 1 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 74 | 70 | Supergirl | 3 | $2.99 | DC |
| 75 | 101 | Superman | 213 | $2.50 | DC |
| 76 | 71 | Spider-Man House of M | 2 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 77 | 72 | Ultimates 2 | 8 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 78 | 73 | Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk | 2 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 79 | 74 | Green Lantern | 5 | $2.99 | DC |
| 80 | 108 | OMAC Project | 6 | $2.50 | DC |
| 81 | 77 | Ultimates 2 | 9 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 82 | 28 | Decimation House of M Day After | 0 | $3.99 | Marvel |
| 83 | 113 | OMAC Project | 6 | $2.50 | DC |
| 84 | 78 | X-Men Age of Apocalypse | 1 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 85 | 115 | JLA | 115 | $2.50 | DC |
| 86 | 118 | Wolnder Woman | 219 | $2.50 | DC |
| 87 | 30 | Secret War | 4 | $3.99 | Marvel |
| 88 | 80 | Young Avengers | 1 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 89 | 82 | Ultimate | 9 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 90 | 120 | Wolverine | 36 | $2.50 | Marvel |
| 91 | 83 | Ultimate Iron Man | 2 | $2.99 | Marvel |
| 92 | 125 | Uncanny X-Men | 462 | $2.50 | Marvel |
| 93 | 126 | JLA | 116 | $2.50 | DC |
| 94 | 127 | Villains United | 3 | $2.50 | DC |
| 95 | 86 | Green Lantern | 5 | $2.99 | DC |
| 96 | 128 | Amazing Spider-Man | 525 | $2.50 | Marvel |
| 97 | 129 | Uncanny X-Men | 461 | $2.50 | Marvel |
| 98 | 160 | Ultimate X-Men | 54 | $2.25 | Marvel |
| 99 | 130 | JLA | 118 | $2.50 | DC |
| 100 | 87 | Ultimate Secret | 1 | $2.99 | Marvel |
2005 Graphic Novel Sales to Comics Shops
Estimated Graphic Novels and Trade Paperbacks Shipped to North American Comics Shops Based on Reports from Diamond Comic Distributors
This list includes all items on Diamond's Top Graphic Novel charts. If you don't see a book, Diamond released no data for it.
The links lead to title details on Amazon (paid links). You can also find the books at your comics shop.
Frank Miller's Sin City volumes, repackaged and released by Dark Horse, dominated the top sellers list in a strong year for graphic novels. The Top 100 titles for each month were up 12% in dollars.
My analyses of preorders from Diamond Comic Distributors for individual months can be found here:
