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Diamond Announces Top Products for July 2017

(BALTIMORE, MD) — (August 11, 2017) — The mystery deepens for Batman and his allies in Dark Days: The Casting #1 by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Andy Kubert, Jim Lee, and John Romita, Jr. DC Entertainment’s prelude to their Dark Nights: Metal event was the best-selling comic book of July 2017 according to information provided by Diamond Comic Distributors, the world's largest distributor of comics, graphic novels, and pop culture merchandise.

Marvel Comics was July's top publisher with a 36.89% dollar share and a 39.53% unit share. DC Entertainment was second in July with a 26.94% dollar share and a 31.15% unit share. In third was Image Comics with an 11.47% dollar share and a 9.73% unit share. In fourth was IDW Publishing with a 3.83% dollar share and a 3.26% unit share, followed by Dark Horse Comics with a 3.40% dollar share and a 2.55% unit share.

DC Entertainment had three titles among the top ten. In addition to Dark Days: The Casting #1, Tom King and Mikel Janin's Batman #26, the second chapter of "The War of Jokes and Riddles," ranked #3 and King and Clay Mann's Batman #27, the third chapter in the storyline, ranked #4. Marvel Comics had six titles in the top ten, led by Charles Soule and Jim Cheung's Astonishing X-Men #1 at #2, followed by Nick Spencer and Leinil Francis Yu's Secret Empire #6 at #5, Spencer and Andrea Sorrentino's Secret Empire #7 at #6, Jason Aaron and Salvador Larroca's Star Wars #33 at #7, Cullen Bunn and Dalibor Talajic's Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again #1 at #8, and Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli's Spider-Men II #1 at #10. Image Comics rounded out the top ten with Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard's The Walking Dead #169 at #9. Among the premier publishers, Dark Horse Comics' Neil Gaiman's American Gods: Shadows #5 was their top book at #94, while IDW Publishing's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Usagi Yojimbo One-Shot was the publisher's top ranked book at #145.

Monstress Volume 2, the second volume in Marjorie M. Liu and Sana Takeda's steampunk meets kaiju series from Image Comics, was July's best-selling graphic novel. Image Comics had three titles total among the top ten, including Curse Words Volume 1 at #4 and Black Science Volume 6 at #9. Oni Press' Rick and Morty Volume 1 returned to the top ten at #2 for the month. Marvel Comics' Star Wars Volume 5: Yoda's Secret War ranked #3. DC Comics had two titles in the top ten: The Flash Volume 3: Rogues Reloaded ranked #5 and Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ranked #7. Dark Horse Comics had two titles in the top ten as well; The Legend of Korra Volume 1: Turf Wars Part 1 ranked #6 and Serenity Volume 5: No Power in the 'Verse ranked #10. IDW Publishing's Batman/TMNT Adventures ranked #8 for the month.

Gemstone Publishing's The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide Volume 47, the latest edition of the venerable comic book resource, was the best-selling book of July; the softcover edition ranked #1 for the month, the hardcover edition ranked #2, and the spiral-bound Big! Big! edition ranked #8. BOOM! Studios' Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal Tales ranked #3 for the month. Dark Horse Comics' Lead Poisoning: The Pencil Art of Geof Darrow, an art book devoted to the work of the artist behind Hard Boiled and Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot, ranked #4.

A fan-favorite video game character, Princess Zelda, was brought to life by Good Smile for their Legend of Zelda: Princess Zelda Figma, the best-selling toy product of July. DC Collectibles had three products among the top ten: the Superman: The Animated Series: Superman & Lois Lane Action Figure 2-Pack ranked #3, the DC Designer Series: Wonder Woman by Adam Hughes Statue ranked #4, and the Harley Quinn: Black, White, and Red Statue by Terry Dodson ranked #7. Diamond Select Toys also had three products in the top ten: the Marvel Gallery: Gwenpool PVC Figure ranked #6, the Marvel Gallery: Classic Iron Man PVC Figure ranked #9, and the Batman 1966: Shakespeare Head Bust Bank ranked #10.

WizKids/NECA celebrated the fifteenth-anniversary of the debut of the HeroClix miniatures game with the DC HeroClix: 15th-Anniversary Elseworlds Booster Brick, the best-selling game product of July. IDW Publishing had two products in the top ten: the perennial best-selling Machi Koro Card Game at #6 and the King of Creepies Game at #9.

TOP COMIC BOOK PUBLISHERS

RETAIL MARKET SHARE
PUBLISHER SHARE
MARVEL COMICS 36.89%
DC ENTERTAINMENT 26.94%
IMAGE COMICS 11.47%
IDW PUBLISHING 3.83%
DARK HORSE COMICS 3.40%
BOOM! STUDIOS 2.32%
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT 2.16%
ONI PRESS INC. 1.63%
VIZ MEDIA 1.12%
TITAN COMICS 0.95%
OTHER NON-TOP 10 9.29%
 
UNIT MARKET SHARE
PUBLISHER SHARE
MARVEL COMICS 39.53%
DC ENTERTAINMENT 31.15%
IMAGE COMICS 9.73%
IDW PUBLISHING 3.26%
DARK HORSE COMICS 2.55%
BOOM! STUDIOS 2.33%
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT 2.04%
ONI PRESS INC. 0.96%
TITAN COMICS 0.94%
AFTERSHOCK COMICS 0.84%
OTHER NON-TOP 10 6.69%

COMPARATIVE SALES STATISTICS

  DOLLARS UNITS
JULY 2017 VS. JUNE 2017
COMICS -13.55% -11.04%
GRAPHIC NOVELS -6.41% -18.21%
TOTAL COMICS/GN -11.56% -11.61%
TOYS -10.76% 11.81%
JULY 2017 VS. JULY 2016
COMICS -23.18% -26.60%
GRAPHIC NOVELS -8.33% -10.96%
TOTAL COMICS/GN -19.31% -25.64%
TOYS -18.79% -25.46%
YEAR-TO-DATE 2017 VS. YEAR-TO-DATE 2016
COMICS -7.01% -2.52%
GRAPHIC NOVELS -12.39% -13.18%
TOTAL COMICS/GN -8.69% -3.41%
TOYS -5.09% -9.26%

NEW TITLES SHIPPED

PUBLISHER COMICS SHIPPED GRAPHIC NOVELS SHIPPED MAGAZINES SHIPPED TOTAL SHIPPED
MARVEL COMICS 93 40 0 133
DC ENTERTAINMENT 76 32 0 108
IMAGE COMICS 52 20 1 73
IDW PUBLISHING 41 12 0 53
DARK HORSE COMICS 20 22 0 42
BOOM! STUDIOS 23 8 0 31
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT 24 3 0 27
TITAN COMICS 18 8 1 27
VIZ MEDIA 0 27 0 27
ONI PRESS INC. 8 5 0 13
OTHER NON-TOP 10 131 133 18 282
TOTAL 486 310 20 816

TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS

RANK DESCRIPTION PRICE ITEM CODE VENDOR
1 DARK DAYS: THE CASTING #1 $4.99 MAY170193-M DC
2 ASTONISHING X-MEN #1 $4.99 MAY170806-M MAR
3 BATMAN #26 $2.99 MAY170211-M DC
4 BATMAN #27 $2.99 MAY170213-M DC
5 SECRET EMPIRE #6 $4.99 MAY170763-M MAR
6 SECRET EMPIRE #7 $3.99 MAY170769-M MAR
7 STAR WARS #33 $3.99 MAY170924-M MAR
8 DEADPOOL KILLS MARVEL UNIVERSE AGAIN #1 $3.99 MAY170819-M MAR
9 THE WALKING DEAD #169 (MR) $2.99 MAY170730 IMA
10 SPIDER-MEN II #1 $3.99 MAY170813-M MAR

TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS

RANK DESCRIPTION PRICE ITEM CODE VENDOR
1 MONSTRESS VOLUME 2 TP (MR) $16.99 APR170834-M IMA
2 RICK AND MORTY VOLUME 1 TP $19.99 JUL151482-M ONI
3 STAR WARS VOLUME 5: YODA’S SECRET WAR TP $17.99 MAR171131 MAR
4 CURSE WORDS VOLUME 1 TP (MR) $9.99 MAY170612-M IMA
5 THE FLASH VOLUME 3: ROGUES RELOADED TP $16.99 APR170413 DC
6 THE LEGEND OF KORRA VOL. 1: TURF WARS PT 1 TP $10.99 FEB170063 DAR
7 BATMAN/TMNT TP $16.99 APR170419 DC
8 BATMAN/TMNT ADVENTURES TP $19.99 APR170539-M IDW
9 BLACK SCIENCE VOLUME 6 TP (MR) $16.99 MAY170662 IMA
10 SERENITY VOLUME 5: NO POWER IN THE ‘VERSE HC $19.99 MAR170077 DAR

TOP 10 BOOKS

RANK DESCRIPTION PRICE ITEM CODE VENDOR
1 OVERSTREET COMIC BOOK PRICE GUIDE VOL. 47 SC $29.95 APR171765-M GEM
2 OVERSTREET COMIC BOOK PRICE GUIDE VOL. 47 HC $35.00 APR171766-M GEM
3 JIM HENSON’S THE DARK CRYSTAL TALES HC $16.99 MAR171409 BOO
4 LEAD POISONING: THE PENCIL ART OF GEOF DARROW HC $34.99 MAR170037 DAR
5 BE A STAR WONDER WOMAN PICTURE BOOK $15.95 MAY172129 CAP
6 BEDTIME FOR BATMAN BOARD BOOK $7.99 MAY172130 CAP
7 SPIDER MAN: NIGHT OF VULTURE LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK $4.99 MAY172147 RAN
8 BIG! BIG! OVERSTREET COMIC BOOK PRICE GUIDE VOL 47 $47.50 MAY171625 GEM
9 MIGHTY THOR: THUNDER STRIKE LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK $4.99 MAY172146 RAN
10 STAR WARS: JEDI ACADEMY VOL. 5: FORCE OVERSLEEPS HC $12.99 MAY172182 SCH

TOP 10 TOYS

RANK DESCRIPTION ITEM CODE VENDOR
1 LEGEND OF ZELA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS: ZELDA FIGMA AUG168805 GOO
2 DRAGONBALL SUPER: DRAGON STARS ACTION FIGURES DEC168377 BAN
3 SUPERMAN ANIMATED: SUPERMAN & LOIS LANE FIGURE 2-PACK JAN170424 DC
4 DC DESIGNER SERIES: WONDER WOMAN BY ADAM HUGHES STATUE JAN170426 DC
5 MARVEL: SQUIRREL GIRL BISHOUJO STATUE DEC162884 KOT
6 MARVEL GALLERY: GWENPOOL PVC FIGURE DEC162562 DST
7 HARLEY QUINN: RED WHITE & BLACK STATUE BY TERRY DODSON JAN170429 DC
8 MARVEL UNIVERSE VARIANT PLAY ARTS KAI: WOLVERINE FIGURE DEC168151 SQU
9 MARVEL GALLERY: CLASSIC IRON MAN PVC FIGURE JAN172648 DST
10 BATMAN 1966: SHAKESPEARE HEAD BUST BANK JUN162388 DST

TOP 10 GAMES

RANK DESCRIPTION ITEM CODE VENDOR
1 DC HEROCLIX: 15TH-ANNIVERSARY ELSEWORLDS BOOSTER BRICK MAR173391 NEC
2 MAGIC THE GATHERING TCG: AETHER REVOLT BOOSTER PACKS NOV162988 WIZ
3 RICK AND MORTY: ANATOMY PARK BOARD GAME MAY173183 CRY
4 D&D: ICONS OF THE REALM MINIATURE BOOSTER BRICK MAR173387 NEC
5 MAGIC THE GATHERING TCG: HOUR OF DEVESTATION BOOSTER PACKS APR173295 WIZ
6 MACHI KORO CARD GAME MAY142831 IDW
7 DRINKING FLUXX CARD GAME APR173273 LOO
8 DC HEROCLIX: 15TH-ANNIVERSARY ELSEWORLDS STARTER SET MAR173392 NEC
9 KING OF CREEPIES GAME APR170672 IDW
10 MARVEL HEROCLIX: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 OCT168616 NEC

 

Dollar Market Shares for July 2017
Dollar Market Share – July 2017
Unit Market Shares for July 2017
Unit Market Share – July 2017

 

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

Data for Diamond’s sales charts — which includes the monthly market shares and all top product charts — are compiled by Diamond Comic Distributors from sales made to thousands of comic book specialty shops located in North America and around the world.  Additional sales made to online merchants and other specialty retailers may be included as well.

Unit and dollar market shares are calculated based upon orders for comic books, graphic novels, and magazines invoiced and shipped to Diamond customers during any given month, which comprises pre-orders, advance reorders, and reorders, minus any copies that are received back from a title marked as returnable. Please note that comics marked with an asterisk (*) have had their reported quantities reduced due to retailer returnability, and thus may rank lower on the charts than their actual sales would reflect.

The category tables in this press release are ranked by units sold by Diamond to its accounts for the comic books, graphic novels, and books categories and by the dollars invoiced by Diamond for the toys and games categories.

The New Titles Count Chart includes all titles that were invoiced by Diamond to retailers for the first time during the month and is not the official solicited title count for the month. Variant edition comic books and graphic novels at the same price point count as a single SKU. Variant edition comic books, lenticular covers, digital combo packs, and graphic novels at different price points count as separate SKUs for each edition.

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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 thousands of specialty retailers worldwide. For more information, visit Diamond on the web at www.diamondcomics.com.

© 2017 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 the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective copyright owners.

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