Mobile Menu Toggle

Diamond Announces Top Products For December 2012

(BALTIMORE, MD) — (January 11, 2013) — Trapped in Doctor Octopus' body, Peter Parker wages a desperate final battle against his old enemy in Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos' Amazing Spider-Man #700, the oversized anniversary issue from Marvel Comics and the best-selling comic book to specialty retailers in December 2012, according to information provided by Diamond Comic Distributors, the world's largest distributor of comics, graphic novels, and pop culture merchandise.

Marvel Comics was December’s leading publisher in both Retail Dollars with 33.40% market share and Units with a 36.12% market share. DC Entertainment was second with a 29.69% share in dollars and a 34.84% share in units.

Rick Grimes' desperate struggle for survival in the face of the zombie apocalypse begins as Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead Volume 1: Days Gone Bye from Image Comics, the first volume of the fan-favorite series and inspiration for the AMC series, returns to the top of the sales charts as December's best-selling graphic novel.

Sporting the new costume from the pages of the "New 52," the Justice League: Superman Action Figure from DC Collectibles was the best-selling toy product to comic book specialty retailers in December.

The struggle for GothamCitycontinues in WizKids/NECA’s DC HeroClix: Batman: Streets of Gotham Booster Packs, an expansion for the fan-favorite miniature games and December’s best-selling games product to comic book specialty retailers.

TOP COMIC BOOK PUBLISHERS

RETAIL MARKET SHARE
PUBLISHER SHARE
MARVEL COMICS 33.40%
DC COMICS 29.69%
IMAGE COMICS 9.10%
IDW PUBLISHING 5.82%
DARK HORSE COMICS 5.49%
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT 2.60%
BOOM! STUDIOS 1.69%
EAGLEMOSS PUBLICATIONS LTD 1.13%
VIZ MEDIA 0.94%
AVATAR PRESS INC 0.91%
OTHER NON-TOP 10 9.23%
 
UNIT MARKET SHARE
PUBLISHER SHARE
MARVEL COMICS 36.12%
DC COMICS 34.84%
IMAGE COMICS 8.49%
IDW PUBLISHING 4.79%
DARK HORSE COMICS 4.56%
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT 2.93%
BOOM! STUDIOS 1.88%
VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT LLC 0.93%
ZENESCOPE ENTERTAINMENT INC 0.82%
AVATAR PRESS INC 0.75%
OTHER NON-TOP 10 3.89%

COMPARATIVE SALES STATISTICS

  DOLLARS UNITS
DECEMBER 2012 VS. NOVEMBER 2012
COMICS -1.67% -3.45%
GRAPHIC NOVELS -4.27% -4.03%
TOTAL COMICS/GN -2.42% -3.49%
DECEMBER 2012 VS. DECEMBER 2011
COMICS 19.03% 12.93%
GRAPHIC NOVELS 8.25% 6.65%
TOTAL COMICS/GN 15.74% 12.50%
FOURTH QUARTER 2012 VS. THIRD QUARTER 2012
COMICS 5.90% 6.71%
GRAPHIC NOVELS -1.57% -11.29%
TOTAL COMICS/GN 3.50% 5.19%
FOURTH QUARTER 2012 VS. FOURTH QUARTER 2011
COMICS 9.51% 4.42%
GRAPHIC NOVELS 14.53% 13.86%
TOTAL COMICS/GN 11.00% 5.04%
YEAR 2012 VS. YEAR 2011
COMICS 14.94% 11.41%
GRAPHIC NOVELS 14.26% 13.66%
TOTAL COMICS/GN 14.72% 11.58%

TOP 10 COMICS

RANK DESCRIPTION PRICE ITEM CODE VENDOR
1 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #700 $7.99 OCT120626-M MAR
2 AVENGERS #1 $3.99 SEP120526-M MAR
3 BATMAN #15 $3.99 OCT120183-M DC
4 JUSTICE LEAGUE #15 $3.99 OCT120147-M DC
5 DETECTIVE COMICS #15 $3.99 OCT120187-M DC
6 AVENGERS #2 $3.99 OCT120565-M MAR
7 CABLE AND X-FORCE #1 $3.99 OCT120568-M MAR
8 BATMAN AND ROBIN #15 $2.99 OCT120192 DC
9 ALL-NEW X-MEN #3 $3.99 OCT120589-M MAR
10 THUNDERBOLTS #1 $2.99 OCT120559-M MAR

TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS

RANK DESCRIPTION PRICE ITEM CODE VENDOR
1 THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 1: DAYS GONE BYE TP $9.99 JUL068351 IMA
2 THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 2: MILES BEHINDUSTP $14.99 SEP088204 IMA
3 CHEW VOLUME 6: SPACE CAKES TP (MR) $14.99 OCT120481 IMA
4 SAGA VOLUME 1 TP $9.99 AUG120491 IMA
5 FATALE VOLUME 2: DEVIL'S BUSINESS TP (MR) $14.99 OCT120474 IMA
6 THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 3: SAFETY BEHIND BARS $14.99 NOV082245 IMA
7 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SEASON 9 VOL. 2: ON YOUR OWN TP $17.99 AUG120067 DAR
8 GREEN LANTERN VOLUME 2: REVENGE OF THE BLACK HAND HC $24.99 SEP120232 DC
9 THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 17: SOMETHING TO FEAR TP (MR) $14.99 SEP120449 IMA
10 DAREDEVIL BY MARK WAID VOLUME 2 TP $15.99 SEP120699 MAR

TOP 10 TOYS

RANK DESCRIPTION ITEM CODE VENDOR
1 JUSTICE LEAGUE: SUPERMAN ACTION FIGURE OCT120316 DC
2 DC COMICS COVER GIRLS: HARLEY QUINN STATUE SEP120277 DC
3 "WE CAN BE HEROES" JUSTICE LEAGUE BOX SET AUG120308 DC
4 MARVEL SELECT: BARBARIAN HULK FIGURE JUL121724-M DST
5 THE DARK KNIGHT: BATMAN HD MASTERPIECE AUG128067 ENT
6 THE DARK KNIGHT: JOKER HD MASTERPIECE AUG128068 ENT
7 DC COMICS: POWER GIRL BISHOUJO STATUE JUL121879 KOT
8 THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS ACTION FIGURE BOX SET OCT120313 DC
9 MARVEL SELECT: STORM ACTION FIGURE APR121690-M DST
10 SPIDER-MAN RED MUSEUM STATUE JUL121855 BOW

TOP 10 GAMES

RANK DESCRIPTION ITEM CODE VENDOR
1 DC HEROCLIX: BATMAN STREETS OFGOTHAM SEP122103 NEC
2 DC HEROCLIX: BATMAN STREETS OFGOTHAMFAST FORCES SEP122104 NEC
3 STAR TREK CATAN BOARD GAME AUG128353 ALL
4 RISK LEGACY JUN118204 HAS
5 THE WALKING DEAD TV BOARD GAME JUL112137 CRY
6 THE WALKING DEAD COMIC BOARD GAME JUL112185 ALL
7 MONOPOLY: DOCTOR WHO 50TH-ANNIVERSARY EDITION AUG122147 USA
8 DC COMICS DECK BUILDING GAME JUN122173 CRY
9 MAGIC THE GATHERING TCG: RETURN TO RAVNICA BOOSTER PACKS AUG122136 WIZ
10 STAR WARS RPG: EDGE OF THE EMPIRE BEGINNER GAME NOV122045 FAN

 

Dollar Market Shares for December 2012
Dollar Market Share – December 2012
Unit Market Shares for December 2012
Unit Market Share– December 2012

 

How does Diamond calculate the charts? It all starts at the comic book shop.

Data for Diamond’s sales charts — which include the monthly market shares and all top product charts — are compiled by Diamond Comic Distributors from a universe of over 3,500 comic book specialty shops located inNorth Americaand around the world. The account base includes brick-and-mortar comic book specialty shops, Internet merchants, and other specialty stores.

Unit and dollars sales are calculated based upon orders invoiced and shipped to Diamond accounts during any given month, which comprises initial pre-orders, advance reorders, and reorders, minus any copies that are received back from a title marked as returnable.

Please note that comics that were shipped to comic book retailers on December 28, 2012 with an on-sale date of January 2, 2013 were included in December's sales chart information.

***

ABOUT DIAMOND COMIC DISTRIBUTORS (DCD)—Diamond is at the nexus of comics and pop culture merchandise. Based in Baltimore, MD, DCD is the world's largest distributor of English-language comic books and pop-culture related merchandise, servicing more than 4,000 specialty retailers worldwide. For more information, visit Diamond on the web at www.diamondcomics.com.

© 2013 Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. All rights reserved. Diamond, the Diamond logo, Diamond Books logo, and PREVIEWS are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Diamond Comic Distributors in theUnited States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective copyright owners.

Follow Us Facebook Icon Twitter Icon Instagram Icon YouTube Icon Rss Feed Email
Search for a Comic Shop

Cookies
We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. To manage our use of cookies click Cookie Policy.
By clicking 'Accept & Continue' or closing this banner, you accept our use of cookies.
}