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Comic Book Sales Figures for 1966

Average Total Paid Circulation as Reported in Publishers' Statements of Ownership and Filed with the United States Postal Service

This list includes only those titles which offered subscriptions via the USPS Second or Periodical Class, and which published their sales reports in their titles.

#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.

The Batman TV show on ABC starring Adam West launched, and there's no doubt that it made a huge difference to the comics immediately, nearly doubling sales for the Caped Crusader's main title. (Click to see cross-time tracking on Batman.) It was the first time, based on everything we know about the Golden Age, that Batman outsold Superman — something which would happen again in the 1980s when Frank Miller took on the character and then become more or less the rule in the years after the 1992 "Death of Superman" storyline.

Looking at the drops in the Superman titles, it appears that the Batman series' coattails in comics seem to have been limited to the character, with no general increase notable in unrelated series. That said, the television series itself would impact how comics were discussed in the mass media for a generation, with "Biff! Pow! Bam!" in headlines about comics of all sorts, and the moment was the harbinger for many later mass-media inspired boomlets in comics, the next of which would impact Archie, Star Wars, Wonder Woman, and The Incredible Hulk.

Also significant about 1966 is that Marvel finally ran its first figures for Fantastic Four and Amazing Spider-Man, in issues #61 and #47 respectively. By this time, both titles were well established, many classic stories having already appeared — and we find Spidey selling over a third of a million copies. We don't know what sales were for these titles between 1962-1965, but it's interesting to note that while they grow throughout the rest of the 1960s, that growth is not dramatic. This year also finds Marvel changing Journey into Mystery's title to Thor.

1966 saw a new publishing name: King. King Feature Syndicate withdrew its titles from Gold Key in an ill-fated attempt to publish on its own. Many of the books would later wind up with Charlton. Data for Phantom in 1966 includes both information from King and from Gold Key's portion of the year.

ACG published Statements for the last time before going away.

Magazines with comics content (like Mad) are sorted separately at the bottom.

—John Jackson Miller


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.



TitlePublisherAverage Copies Sold
Per Issue
1BatmanDC898,470
2SupermanDC719,976
3SuperboyDC608,386
4Superman's Girlfriend Lois LaneDC530,808
5Superman's Pal Jimmy OlsenDC523,455
6World's Finest ComicsDC513,201
7ArchieArchie491,691
8Action ComicsDC491,135
9Adventure ComicsDC481,234
10Justice League of AmericaDC408,219
11Detective ComicsDC404,339
12Metal MenDC396,506
13Treasure ChestCatholic Guild348,305
14Walt Disney's Comics & StoriesGold Key346,250
15Betty and VeronicaArchie342,295
16Amazing Spider-ManMarvel340,155
17TarzanGold Key338,052
18FlintstonesGold Key332,362
19Fantastic FourMarvel329,379
20FlashDC325,404
21Life with ArchieArchie300,954
22Uncle ScroogeGold Key297,516
23ThorMarvel296,251
24Archie's Pal JugheadArchie284,928
25Laugh ComicsArchie282,731
26Brave & BoldDC279,406
27Bugs BunnyGold Key276,949
28Tom and JerryGold Key271,920
29KorakGold Key270,923
30AvengersMarvel269,994
31Sgt. Fury and his Howling CommandosMarvel268,499
32The Three StoogesGold Key266,701
33Walt Disney's Donald DuckGold Key265,932
34Archie's Pals 'n' GalsArchie265,476
35Porky PigGold Key261,850
36Strange TalesMarvel261,069
37Twilight ZoneGold Key259,703
38Tales to AstonishMarvel256,145
39G.I. CombatDC255,496
40X-MenMarvel255,070
41Daffy DuckGold Key254,750
42Mighty SamsonGold Key254,725
43Lost in SpaceGold Key253,025
44Archie Giant SeriesArchie252,427
45Tales of SuspenseMarvel252,239
46ShowcaseDC250,512
47Pep ComicsArchie248,718
48Woody WoodpeckerGold Key248,199
49Yogi BearGold Key247,356
50Green LanternDC245,699
51Turok, Son of StoneGold Key245,202
52Little LuluGold Key245,000
53Our Army at WarDC243,906
54MagnusGold Key236,304
55AtomDC232,850
56BonanzaGold Key230,033
57BlackhawkDC228,453
58AquamanDC228,403
59Mickey MouseGold Key225,716
60Doctor SolarGold Key224,936
61PhantomGold Key/King221,141
62Wonder WomanDC220,168
63Archie's MadhouseArchie220,056
64Star-Spangled ComicsDC215,495
65Kid Colt OutlawMarvel214,555
66TomahawkDC212,954
67Adventures of Jerry LewisDC211,934
68Challengers of the UnknownDC210,316
69Our Fighting ForcesDC207,885
70Little ArchieArchie206,321
71Young RomanceDC204,613
72Sad SackHarvey204,253
73Rawhide KidMarvel202,823
74Adventures of Bob HopeDC194,004
75Doom PatrolDC191,420
76Sugar & SpikeDC190,515
77Millie the ModelMarvel190,217
78Tales of the UnexpectedDC185,650
79House of MysteryDC183,934
80Strange AdventuresDC174,922
81Sea DevilsDC168,731
82Unknown WorldsACG162,684
83ThirteenDell161,231
84Forbidden WorldsACG160,520
85Adventures into the UnknownACG155,102
86Teen-Age LoveCharlton148,813
87Fox & The CrowDC142,720
88Army War HeroesCharlton133,205
89Fightin' ArmyCharlton129,514
90Texas Rangers in ActionCharlton125,114
91Outlaws of the WestCharlton124,813
92Fightin' MarinesCharlton123,517
93Strange Suspense StoriesCharlton123,267
94Cheyenne KidCharlton116,320
999MadEC1,635,612


About a hundred more Statements exist for this year and have been collected by Comichron. They'll appear here soon!