Diamond Sales Observations for January 2013
- Written by Jude Terror on Sunday, February 10 2013 and posted in News and Satire
Marvel wins the month, though DC's top books are performing strongly. All of which, of course, spells DOOM for the industry.
Source: Diamond
Diamond released their top ten sales charts for January, kicking off the monthly debate over which company's marketing gimmicks are dragging the industry into the gutters. Of course, that debate seems pretty silly when comic sales are up 20% over last January, but that won't stop fanboys from declaring that DC's Nu52 reboot has run its course and the company needs to return to its old continuity.
The DC naysayers will point to Marvel's dominance in both the retail and unit sales, but it should be noted that top DC books like Justice League and Batman outperformed numerous high profile Marvel #1 issues, such as Savage Wolverine and New Avengers. While Superior Spider-Man #1 took the number one spot thanks to comic book readers' famous love of rapeyness, Justice League #16 and Batman #16 came in ahead of Superior Spider-Man #2, showing that those books have maintained a strong readership more than a year after their launch.
That's not to say that Marvel isn't doing well. They took seven of the top ten spots in comics along with their market share victories, capitalizing on the hype around their Marvel NOW! soft relaunch. Image Comics took five of the top ten graphic novel spots, thanks to Saga and The Walking Dead. DC's Fables took the top graphic novel spot, which bodes well for Vertigo.
Check out the stats below and make your own reasonable argument about why DC and Marvel are shedding readers and destroying the industry despite sales trending upward.
TOP COMIC BOOK PUBLISHERS
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COMPARATIVE SALES STATISTICS
| DOLLARS | UNITS | |
| JANUARY 2013 VS. DECEMBER 2012 | ||
| COMICS | -4.44% | -3.34% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | 21.64% | 16.63% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | 3.01% | -2.03% |
| JANUARY 2013 VS. JANUARY 2012 | ||
| COMICS | 22.32% | 19.86% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | 37.89% | 30.73% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | 27.16% | 20.65% |
TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | PRICE | ITEM CODE | VENDOR |
| 1 | SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #1 | $3.99 | NOV120633 | MAR |
| 2 | BATMAN #16 | $3.99 | NOV120190 | DC |
| 3 | JUSTICE LEAGUE #16 | $3.99 | NOV120161 | DC |
| 4 | NEW AVENGERS #1 | $3.99 | NOV120625 | MAR |
| 5 | SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #2 | $3.99 | NOV120641 | MAR |
| 6 | SAVAGE WOLVERINE #1 | $3.99 | NOV120643 | MAR |
| 7 | UNCANNY AVENGERS #3 | $3.99 | OCT120587 | MAR |
| 8 | DETECTIVE COMICS #16 | $3.99 | NOV120202 | DC |
| 9 | AVENGERS #3 | $3.99 | NOV120663 | MAR |
| 10 | UNCANNY X-FORCE #1 | $3.99 | NOV120620 | MAR |
TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | PRICE | ITEM CODE | VENDOR |
| 1 | FABLES VOLUME 18: CUBS IN TOYLAND TP (MR) | $16.99 | OCT120296 | DC |
| 2 | SAGA VOLUME 1 TP | $9.99 | AUG120491 | IMA |
| 3 | THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 1: DAYS GONE BYE | $9.99 | JUL068351 | IMA |
| 4 | SILVER SURFER BY STAN LEE AND MOEBIUS | $7.99 | NOV120729 | MAR |
| 5 | THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 2: MILES BEHIND US | $14.99 | SEP088204 | IMA |
| 6 | JUSTICE LEAGUE VOL. 2: THE VILLAIN'S JOURNEY HC | $24.99 | SEP120233 | DC |
| 7 | JUSTICE LEAGUE VOL. 1: ORIGIN TP | $16.99 | OCT120252 | DC |
| 8 | THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 3: SAFETY BEHIND BARS | $14.99 | NOV082245 | IMA |
| 9 | THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 17: SOMETHING TO FEAR | $14.99 | SEP120449 | IMA |
| 10 | ANIMAL MAN VOL. 2: ANIMAL VS. MAN TP | $16.99 | OCT120251 | DC |
TOP 10 BOOKS
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | PRICE | ITEM CODE | VENDOR |
| 1 | LEGEND OF ZELDA: HYRULE HISTORIA HC | $34.99 | SEP120055 | DAR |
| 2 | FRANK CHO: WOMEN BOOK 2 HC (MR) | $24.99 | SEP120438 | IMA |
| 3 | NEIL GAIMAN: CHU'S DAY HC | $17.99 | OCT121382 | HAR |
| 4 | DC SUPER HEROES: THE DARK KNIGHT: THE JOKER VIRUS TP | $5.95 | OCT121338 | CAP |
| 5 | DC SUPER HEROES: THE DARK KNIGHT: CAT COMMANDER TP | $5.95 | OCT121336 | CAP |
| 6 | BEHIND THE SOFA: CELEBRITY MEMORIES OF DOCTOR WHO HC | $24.99 | JUL121374 | DIA |
| 7 | DC SUPER HEROES: THE DARK KNIGHT: THE SCARECROW'S FLOCK OF FEAR TP | $5.95 | OCT121337 | CAP |
| 8 | DC SUPER HEROES: BATMAN: FIVE RIDDLES FOR ROBIN TP | $4.95 | NOV121443 | CAP |
| 9 | DC SUPER HEROES: BATMAN: FUN HOUSE OF EVIL | $4.95 | NOV121444 | CAP |
| 10 | DC SUPER HEROES: THE DARK KNIGHT: KILLER CROC OF DOOM TP | $5.95 | OCT121339 | CAP |
TOP 10 TOYS
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | ITEM CODE | VENDOR |
| 1 | BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY -- HARLEY QUINN STATUE | OCT120311 | DC |
| 2 | BATMAN: ARKHAM CITYPLAY ARTS ~KAI~: CATWOMAN | JUN128138 | SQU |
| 3 | BATMAN: ARKHAM CITYPLAY ARTS ~KAI~: BATMAN | JUN128137 | SQU |
| 4 | DEADPOOL ACTION STATUE | JUL121853 | BOW |
| 5 | STAR TREK: USS ENTERPRISE NCC-1701-B SHIP | AUG121760 | DST |
| 6 | THE DARK KNIGHT: BATMAN HD MASTERPIECE | AUG128067 | ENT |
| 7 | DC COMICS: HUNTRESS BISHOUJO STATUE | AUG121880 | KOT |
| 8 | DC COMICS: SUPERMAN "THE NEW 52" ARTFX+ STATUE | AUG121878 | KOT |
| 9 | DOCTOR WHO TITANS MINI-FIGURES | AUG121925 | TIT |
| 10 | THE DARK KNIGHT: THE JOKER HD MASTERPIECE | AUG128068 | ENT |
TOP 10 GAMES
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | ITEM CODE | VENDOR |
| 1 | MARVEL HEROCLIX AMAZING SPIDER-MAN | NOV122066 | NEC |
| 2 | DC HEROCLIX: BATMAN BOOSTER BRICK | AUG122142 | NEC |
| 3 | PATHFINDER BATTLES: SHATTERED STAR BOOSTER BRICK | NOV122069 | NEC |
| 4 | STAR TREK TACTICS HEROCLIX SERIES II | OCT128372 | NEC |
| 5 | DC HEROCLIX: BATMAN STREETS OFGOTHAM | SEP122103 | NEC |
| 6 | THE WALKING DEAD COMIC BOARD GAME | JUL112185 | ALL |
| 7 | STAR WARS LCG CORE SET | NOV122044 | FAN |
| 8 | MAGIC THE GATHERING TCG: RETURN TO RAVNICA BOOSTERS | AUG122136 | WIZ |
| 9 | STAR TREK TACTICS HEROCLIX SERIES II STARTER SET | OCT128373 | NEC |
| 10 | MARVEL HEROCLIX: WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN | JUL128140 | NEC |
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About the Author - Jude Terror
Jude Terror is the Webmaster Supreme of The Outhouse and a sarcastic ace reporter dedicated to delivering irreverent comics and entertainment news to The Outhouse's dozens of loyal readers. Driven by a quest for vengeance, Jude Terror taught himself to program and joined The Outhouse. He instantly began working toward his goal of forcing the internet comics community to take itself less seriously and failing miserably.
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