DC's attempt to alienate readers were trumped by Marvel's, forcing the publisher to take first prize.
Source: Diamond Comics
Another month, another first place finish for DC. The company's Zero Month proved to be a baffling success in September and captured all but the top spot in September's sales charts. The company won both the Unit Share (number of comics sold) Title and the Market Share (dollar sales) title, leaving Marvel entirely in the cold. The befuddling success of Zero Month, which had largely mediocre reviews from critics, all but guarantees that DC will attempt a third linewide gag next September.
Meanwhile, Marvel's plan to kill interest in its characters by turning them into a band of murderers, criminals and douchebags seems to be paying off as the company had the top-selling comic with Avengers vs. X-Men while the rest of its comics suffered humiliating defeats at the hands of five Batman books, two Justice League series, a Superman title and the introduction of new Green Lantern Simon "I'm a car thief, not a terrorist" Baz.
Meanwhile, Image and IDW had a close month, with Image taking the third place spot for Unit Share, while IDW took third in Market Share.
Despite the relative success of Zero Month, September was still a relatively weak month for sales. Sales were down nearly 10% from August and dropped 8% when compared to September 2011's sales figures. The latter figure is a bit surprising considering how strong DC's New 52 launched last year. One would figure that the market would have seen more atrophy based on the 30% or greater drop in sales that most DC's titles have seen during the last year.
Marvel looks to be locked in to take the top spot in September with Uncanny Avengers #1, although it appears the title will not reach the sales that Walking Dead #100 enjoyed in July, despite offering nearly twice as many covers. With most of Marvel's line relaunching over the next four months, it's likely that Marvel will start regaining some of the ground it lost on the Top Ten list, unless DC introduces "Fifteen Month" or some other new silly gimmick that will boost sales like it did this month.
