As expected, the return of Peter Parker powered "Amazing Spider-Man" #1 to the top of the sales charts in April 2014, with the 'final' issue of "Superior Spider-Man" in the number two position. "Hulk" #1 and "Original Sin" #0 rounded out Marvel's Top Ten offerings, while DC's "Justice League" took the #5 slot and the Dark Knight accounted for the remaining five. Knocked from it's typical #1 position, "Batman" settled for #3 in April, while the weekly "Batman Eternal" took positions 4, 6, 9 and 10.
Overall, the picture remained relatively stable compared to March's numbers, with Marvel taking 39.27% of the Direct Market's dollars, and 41.15% in units to DC's 23.65% and 27.24%, respectively. Image Comics dropped slightly, taking 9.34% / 10.31% share of the market, though the numbers are somewhat skewed thanks to "ASM" #1's higher-than-average $5.99 price tag accompanying it's over 500K in sales - the best numbers for a single issue in over a decade..
"Sex Criminals" debuted strong on the graphic novel charts, landing in the top position, followed by editions of "Saga," "East of West," "Pretty Deadly" and "The Walking Dead," giving Image seven of the top ten. Marvel's OGN "Amazing Spider-Man: Family Business" hardcover debuted at #5 on the charts.
Overall, April saw a massive boost over March in both Dollars and Units, as well as year-to-year over April 2013.
Check out the charts and graphs below and come back next week for John Mayo's look at the Top 300 and in-depth analysis.
TOP COMIC BOOK PUBLISHERS
PUBLISHER |
DOLLARSHARE |
UNITSHARE |
MARVEL COMICS |
39.27% |
41.15% |
DC COMICS |
23.65% |
27.24% |
IMAGE COMICS |
9.34% |
10.31% |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
5.54% |
5.18% |
IDW PUBLISHING |
5.10% |
4.24% |
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT |
2.49% |
2.47% |
EAGLEMOSS PUBLICATIONS LTD |
2.14% |
0.54% |
BOOM! STUDIOS |
2.07% |
1.97% |
AVATAR PRESS INC |
1.15% |
1.03% |
VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT LLC |
1.04% |
1.18% |
OTHER NON-TOP 10 |
8.21% |
4.69% |
COMPARATIVE SALES STATISTICS
|
DOLLARS |
UNITS |
APRIL 2014 VS. MARCH 2014 |
||
COMICS |
23.22% |
14.36% |
GRAPHIC NOVELS |
8.90% |
-0.33% |
TOTAL COMICS/GN |
18.27% |
12.90% |
APRIL 2014 VS. APRIL 2013 |
||
COMICS |
17.37% |
6.96% |
GRAPHIC NOVELS |
16.78% |
11.20% |
TOTAL COMICS/GN |
17.18% |
7.32% |
YEAR-TO-DATE 2014 VS. YEAR-TO-DATE 2013 |
||
COMICS |
-0.89% |
-6.91% |
GRAPHIC NOVELS |
5.44% |
10.38% |
TOTAL COMICS/GN |
1.04% |
-5.61% |
TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
1 |
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1 |
$5.99 |
FEB140664-M |
MAR |
2 |
SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #31 |
$5.99 |
FEB140659-M |
MAR |
3 |
BATMAN #30 |
$3.99 |
FEB140198-M |
DC |
4 |
BATMAN ETERNAL #1 [*] |
$2.99 |
FEB140140-M |
DC |
5 |
JUSTICE LEAGUE #29 |
$3.99 |
JAN140243-M |
DC |
6 |
BATMAN ETERNAL #2 [*] |
$2.99 |
FEB140142 |
DC |
7 |
HULK #1 |
$3.99 |
FEB140684-M |
MAR |
8 |
ORIGINAL SIN #0 |
$4.99 |
FEB140657 |
MAR |
9 |
BATMAN ETERNAL #3 [*] |
$2.99 |
FEB140143 |
DC |
10 |
BATMAN ETERNAL #4 [*] |
$2.99 |
FEB140144 |
DC |
TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
1 |
SEX CRIMINALS VOLUME 1 TP (MR) |
$9.99 |
JAN140558 |
IMA |
2 |
SAGA VOLUME 3 TP (MR) |
$14.99 |
JAN140556 |
IMA |
3 |
EAST OF WEST VOLUME 2: WE ARE ALL ONE TP |
$14.99 |
DEC130494 |
IMA |
4 |
SAGA VOLUME 1 TP (MR) |
$9.99 |
AUG120491 |
IMA |
5 |
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: FAMILY BUSINESS HC |
$24.99 |
DEC130759 |
MAR |
6 |
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 1: COSMIC AVENGERS TP |
$19.99 |
JAN140800 |
MAR |
7 |
THE JOKER: DEATH OF THE FAMILY TP (N52) |
$24.99 |
JAN140340 |
DC |
8 |
SAGA VOLUME 2 TP (MR) |
$14.99 |
APR130443 |
IMA |
9 |
PRETTY DEADLY VOLUME 1 TP (MR) |
$9.99 |
FEB140533 |
IMA |
10 |
THE WALKING DEAD VOLUME 1: DAYS GONE BYE TP |
$14.99 |
NOV128157 |
IMA |