Marvel has informed CBR exclusively that April's "Amazing Spider-Man" #1 has passed 500,000 copies in initial retailer orders. An exact number was not made available, and may change following next week's order cutoff.

That number would place it, based on Diamond estimates, as the highest initially ordered individual issue in the last decade. January 2009's "Amazing Spider-Man" #583, which featured a guest appearance from freshly elected President Barack Obama, totaled for more than 500,000 copies, but that number includes combined initial orders and reorders the subsequent month. By comparison, February 2014's reported top-selling comic of the month -- DC Comics' "Batman" #28 -- had estimated sales of 114,089 copies.

"I've been working in comics for over half of my life, and I've never seen fans react as quickly, as crazily, or as passionately about anything I've been a part of more than they have with the death and return of Peter Parker," "Amazing Spider-Man" writer Dan Slott said. "Speaking for the creative team on 'Big Time,' 'Superior,' and the all-new 'Amazing,' seeing that level of passion has been one of the great rewards of this run."

"Stan Lee and Steve Ditko created one of the greatest characters, not just in comics, but in all of fiction," Slott continued. "And thanks to legendary artists and writers like John Romita Sr. and Jr., Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway, Gil Kane, and on and on... he's stayed popular and relevant for over half a century. It's kind of silly, but Spider-Man, that wisecracking wall-crawler, is immortal now. He's folklore. He's myth. He's always going to be there for us, and for generations to come."

"Amazing Spider-Man" #1, written by Slott and illustrated by Humberto Ramos, marks the ongoing return of the flagship Spidey series following its temporary conclusion with December 2012's "Amazing Spider-Man" #700. The book was then replaced by "Superior Spider-Man," featuring Doctor Octopus' mind controlling Peter Parker's body. That story wraps with "Superior Spider-Man" #31, on sale April 16.

"Peter Parker is back and the milestone 'Amazing Spider-Man' #1 is already close to becoming the best-selling direct market comic of the last decade and one of the best-selling of all time," Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso said.

"We're thrilled that 'Amazing Spider-Man' #1 has exceeded our expectations on such a massive scale," added Marvel senior vice president of sales and marketing David Gabriel. "To not only bring Peter back but to do it in such a way that will provide maximum exposure to the industry has been a joy."

The 64-page "Amazing Spider-Man" #1, is scheduled for release on April 30 and beyond the main story by Slott and Ramos will also feature back-up stories written by Slott & Christos Gage, Peter David, Christopher Yost and Joe Caramagna; and illustrated by Will Sliney, Giuseppe Camuncoli and Ramón Perez.