2015 had some ups and downs, the most notable being for Marvel Comics between September and October, but the overall trend for the monthly top 300 comics was positive. This shouldn't be too much of a surprise since publishers cancel lower selling title and replace them with new titles. Between the "Secret Wars" event at Marvel and the "Convergence" event which put the mainstream DC titles on hiatus for two months, 2015 was far from a typical year. In the case of "Convergence," the first month was good for DC Comics but the second month wasn't. For Marvel, the turning point was the launching of the post-"Secret Wars" titles in October and November.
Marvel Titles Accounted for Over Half of 2015's Top 1000 Comics
Since the top 1,000 comics list for 2016 did not include an index ranking, I used the known sales for the items on the list and calculated the minimum number of unreported units each item needed to rank as it did. While the Total Estimated Report Units estimates are as accurate as the data released from Diamond, both the unreported units and Estimated Yearly Total Sales are ballpark estimates and should be treated as such. All of the charts use the calculated estimates from the monthly top 300 lists.
The chart of both the units and dollars from month to month show a peak in both units and dollar in April and a valley in September:
TOP COMICS
January, 2015
DC sold a combined total of 1,940,695 units across 80 items for a total of $6,605,562.05
Marvel sold a combined total of 3,475,583 units across 79 items for a total of $14,999,621.34
The top comics list sold a combined total of 6,885,246 units across the 329 items on the list for a total value of $27,192,730.24 at cover price.
February, 2015
DC sold a combined total of 2,102,992 units across 83 items for a total of $7,202,343.08
Marvel sold a combined total of 3,120,796 units across 79 items for a total of $12,771,876.21
The top comics list sold a combined total of 7,273,190 units across the 323 items on the list for a total value of $27,888,991.07 at cover price.
March, 2015
DC sold a combined total of 1,853,401 units across 75 items for a total of $6,178,018.76
Marvel sold a combined total of 3,193,880 units across 81 items for a total of $12,849,645.20
The top comics list sold a combined total of 6,850,063 units across the 325 items on the list for a total value of $25,503,418.47 at cover price.
April, 2015
DC sold a combined total of 3,218,988 units across 77 items for a total of $13,235,988.12
Marvel sold a combined total of 3,472,424 units across 103 items for a total of $14,360,911.40
The top comics list sold a combined total of 8,565,491 units across the 338 items on the list for a total value of $34,426,916.07 at cover price.
May, 2015
DC sold a combined total of 2,154,012 units across 68 items for a total of $8,754,816.88
Marvel sold a combined total of 3,632,139 units across 81 items for a total of $15,839,621.61
The top comics list sold a combined total of 8,084,812 units across the 322 items on the list for a total value of $33,673,783.25 at cover price.
June, 2015
DC sold a combined total of 2,272,114 units across 64 items for a total of $8,445,799.71
Marvel sold a combined total of 3,480,378 units across 80 items for a total of $14,135,002.22
The top comics list sold a combined total of 7,580,758 units across the 322 items on the list for a total value of $29,316,650.26 at cover price.
July, 2015
DC sold a combined total of 2,085,756 units across 73 items for a total of $7,705,045.44
Marvel sold a combined total of 3,449,317 units across 81 items for a total of $14,237,060.83
The top comics list sold a combined total of 7,679,125 units across the 319 items on the list for a total value of $30,103,616.81 at cover price.
August, 2015
DC sold a combined total of 1,952,784 units across 69 items for a total of $7,020,187.16
Marvel sold a combined total of 2,874,290 units across 73 items for a total of $11,552,518.10
The top comics list sold a combined total of 6,583,161 units across the 316 items on the list for a total value of $25,178,769.37 at cover price.
September, 2015
DC sold a combined total of 1,841,987 units across 70 items for a total of $7,156,519.13
Marvel sold a combined total of 2,740,911 units across 79 items for a total of $10,687,056.89
The top comics list sold a combined total of 6,323,476 units across the 318 items on the list for a total value of $24,505,735.03 at cover price.
October, 2015
DC sold a combined total of 1,975,093 units across 76 items for a total of $7,042,146.10
Marvel sold a combined total of 4,174,721 units across 68 items for a total of $17,845,089.79
The top comics list sold a combined total of 7,977,185 units across the 314 items on the list for a total value of $32,119,256.58 at cover price.
November, 2015
DC sold a combined total of 2,371,450 units across 78 items for a total of $9,768,788.50
Marvel sold a combined total of 4,255,476 units across 71 items for a total of $18,687,164.24
The top comics list sold a combined total of 8,368,607 units across the 320 items on the list for a total value of $35,091,980.36 at cover price.
December, 2015
DC sold a combined total of 2,684,589 units across 95 items for a total of $10,762,009.11
Marvel sold a combined total of 3,739,424 units across 80 items for a total of $15,752,689.76
The top comics list sold a combined total of 8,089,620 units across the 331 items on the list for a total value of $32,750,190.42 at cover price.
TOP TRADES
January, 2015
DC sold a combined total of 82,196 units across 82 items for a total value of $1,780,840.10 at cover price.
Marvel sold a combined total of 80,048 units across 59 items for a total of $2,064,295.07 at cover price.
The top trades list sold a combined total of 331,024 units across the 300 items on the list for a total value of $6,625,346.86 at cover price.
February, 2015
DC sold a combined total of 87,618 units across 79 items for a total value of $1,744,688.82 at cover price.
Marvel sold a combined total of 65,403 units across 65 items for a total of $1,727,364.96 at cover price.
The top trades list sold a combined total of 300,522 units across the 300 items on the list for a total value of $5,958,895.92 at cover price.
March, 2015,/b>
DC sold a combined total of 70,017 units across 74 items for a total value of $1,355,480.83 at cover price.
Marvel sold a combined total of 78,092 units across 61 items for a total of $1,913,372.63 at cover price.
The top trades list sold a combined total of 328,501 units across the 300 items on the list for a total value of $6,227,997.11 at cover price.
April, 2015
DC sold a combined total of 121,727 units across 75 items for a total value of $2,661,396.02 at cover price.
Marvel sold a combined total of 102,122 units across 69 items for a total of $2,714,525.24 at cover price.
The top trades list sold a combined total of 447,740 units across the 300 items on the list for a total value of $9,008,708.03 at cover price.
May, 2015
DC sold a combined total of 99,091 units across 74 items for a total value of $2,100,792.09 at cover price.
Marvel sold a combined total of 100,272 units across 75 items for a total of $2,428,791.41 at cover price.
The top trades list sold a combined total of 370,135 units across the 300 items on the list for a total value of $7,269,545.14 at cover price.
June, 2015
DC sold a combined total of 86,153 units across 62 items for a total value of $1,813,257.95 at cover price.
Marvel sold a combined total of 135,408 units across 107 items for a total of $3,547,006.30 at cover price.
The top trades list sold a combined total of 391,931 units across the 300 items on the list for a total value of $8,108,714.24 at cover price.
July, 2015
DC sold a combined total of 117,604 units across 74 items for a total value of $2,581,393.76 at cover price.
Marvel sold a combined total of 139,707 units across 113 items for a total of $3,368,427.79 at cover price.
The top trades list sold a combined total of 398,195 units across the 300 items on the list for a total value of $8,160,653.64 at cover price.
August, 2015
DC sold a combined total of 104,969 units across 92 items for a total value of $2,194,915.71 at cover price.
Marvel sold a combined total of 91,432 units across 67 items for a total of $2,301,216.75 at cover price.
The top trades list sold a combined total of 374,822 units across the 300 items on the list for a total value of $7,282,064.23 at cover price.
September, 2015
DC sold a combined total of 127,388 units across 86 items for a total value of $2,640,316.11 at cover price.
Marvel sold a combined total of 76,082 units across 55 items for a total of $1,756,996.98 at cover price.
The top trades list sold a combined total of 426,792 units across the 300 items on the list for a total value of $7,774,400.37 at cover price.
October, 2015
DC sold a combined total of 100,837 units across 74 items for a total value of $2,380,921.63 at cover price.
Marvel sold a combined total of 101,428 units across 55 items for a total of $2,812,066.92 at cover price.
The top trades list sold a combined total of 394,278 units across the 300 items on the list for a total value of $8,660,411.18 at cover price.
November, 2015
DC sold a combined total of 87,293 units across 72 items for a total value of $1,952,585.90 at cover price.
Marvel sold a combined total of 117,447 units across 61 items for a total of $2,543,210.70 at cover price.
The top trades list sold a combined total of 350,770 units across the 300 items on the list for a total value of $7,118,033.96 at cover price.
December, 2015
DC sold a combined total of 93,328 units across 80 items for a total value of $2,258,676.64 at cover price.
Marvel sold a combined total of 81,779 units across 62 items for a total of $1,930,490.01 at cover price.
The top trades list sold a combined total of 332,641 units across the 300 items on the list for a total value of $7,217,944.66 at cover price.
If you'd like to listen to an in-depth discussion of the sales data, check out the Mayo Report episodes of the Comic Book Page podcast at www.ComicBookPage.com covering the past decade of comic book sales. In addition to those episodes, every Monday is a Weekly Comics Spotlight episode featuring a comic by DC, a comic by Marvel and a comic by some other publisher. I read around 200 new comics a month so the podcast covers a wide variety of what is currently being published. If you are looking for more or different comics to read, check out the latest Previews Spotlight episode which features clips from various comic book fans talking about the comics they love. With thousands of comics in Previews every month, Previews Spotlight episodes are a great way to find out about things which may have flown under your comic book radar.
As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email me at John.Mayo@ComicBookResources.com.