2019 was an extraordinary year for Batman in the comic book industry.
Diamond Comic Distributors named the milestone Detective Comics #1000 the number-one selling comic book of the year, much like Action Comics #1000 in 2018. Additionally, Tom Taylor, Trevor Hairsine, James Harren and Stefano Gaudiano’s DCeased #1, which prominently featured the Dark Knight, secured the number five spot.
As far as collected editions go, Batman was also well represented, as Sean Gordon Murphy's Batman: White Knight, Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's Batman: The Killing Joke and Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo's Batman: Damned were all in the top 10 bestselling graphic novels list. Other DC titles in the top 10 include Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen and Tom King and Mitch Gerads' Mister Miracle.
"These rankings demonstrate how Batman continues to be an important part of our publishing success, in comic books, original graphic novels and collected editions," DC Co-Publisher Dan DiDio said in a statement. "I’m incredibly happy to see how enthusiastically fans responded to Detective Comics #1000, especially during Batman’s 80th anniversary and to be the best-selling comic book two years in a row is a fantastic achievement."