May 2012 Sales: Marvel Still Tops, DC Gains, Industry Grows

CREDIT: View full size image

 

DC Comics took back significant dollar and unit share in May 2012 after a slightly down April, but they didn't get those gains from Marvel. Thanks to the Avengers vs. X-Men event, Marvel stayed nearly even in monthly sales, while DC's first month of New 52 collections helped them dominate the trades charts.

Two issues of Avengers vs. X-Men plus the AvX: VS tie-in comic were all that broke the top ten for Marvel, while Batman single-handedly landed 4 of the top ten, 5 if you count Justice League. DC also held the remaining two slots with Green Lantern and Action Comics.

Marvel maintained the number one slot in both Unit and Dollar share, with 38.64% and 35.32% respectively, while DC held #2 with 36.72% and 32.73%. That marked over a 2.5% increase for DC in both categories, with only a .4% loss in Unit Share for Marvel, and a .6% gain in Dollar Share. That means the non-Big 2 publishers are where DC's additional market share is coming from.

 

DC Comics significantly covered the trade paperback, hardcover, and original graphic novels chart, though. With four of the top five and six of the top ten, the first month of New 52 collections was a win for DC. Watchmen returned to the top ten in likely anticipation of June's Before Watchmen launch. Top 10 stalwart The Walking Dead held three of the other slots, with Marvel breaking the top ten only once thanks to the creator-owned Kick-Ass 2.

The industry as a whole saw a huge month of growth in May 2012 versus May 2011. Over a 42% unit growth and nearly 44% dollar growth can be seen as a win for the comic book world, though May 2011 had four Wednesdays, May 2012 has five, so there's an extra week that's throwing the percentage off somewhat. That's why the year-to-date numbers are included, since they reflect the trends better. Both categories are sitting at around 20% growth in 2012.

Look for much more analysis of April 2012 comic book sales from our content partner Comichron in the upcoming hours and days.

May 2012’s Publisher Market Share chart, Comparative Sales Statistics, and Top 10 Comic Book chart and Top 10 Graphic Novel chart follow below.

PUBLISHER MARKET SHARES 

RETAIL MARKET SHARE  PUBLISHER  SHARE  MARVEL COMICS 35.32% DC COMICS 32.73% IMAGE COMICS 7.19% IDW PUBLISHING 4.80% DARK HORSE COMICS 4.75% DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT 2.55% BOOM! STUDIOS 1.60% EAGLEMOSS PUBLICATIONS 1.08% VIZ MEDIA 0.86% ZENESCOPE ENTERTAINMENT INC 0.85% OTHER NON-TOP 10 8.27

UNIT MARKET SHARE  PUBLISHER  SHARE MARVEL COMICS 38.64% DC COMICS 36.72% IMAGE COMICS 6.70% IDW PUBLISHING 4.04% DARK HORSE COMICS 3.48% DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT 2.63% BOOM! STUDIOS 1.60% ZENESCOPE ENTERTAINMENT INC 0.73% ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS 0.71% AVATAR PRESS INC 0.64% OTHER NON-TOP 10 4.13%

 

COMPARATIVE SALES STATISTICS

	DOLLARS	UNITS
MAY 2012 VS. APRIL 2012
COMICS	20.60%	20.93%
GRAPHIC NOVELS	31.65%	22.13%
TOTAL COMICS/GN	24.11%	21.02%
MAY 2012 VS. MAY 2011
COMICS	45.12%	44.24%
GRAPHIC NOVELS	41.14%	24.98%
TOTAL COMICS/GN	43.76%	42.46%
YEAR-TO-DATE 2012 VS. YEAR-TO-DATE 2011
COMICS	21.77%	20.89%
GRAPHIC NOVELS	16.22%	12.77%
TOTAL COMICS/GN	19.95%	20.21%

 

TOP 10 COMICS

RANK	DESCRIPTION	PRICE	VENDOR
1	AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #4	$3.99	MAR
2	AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #3	$3.99	MAR
3	BATMAN #9	$3.99	DC
4	JUSTICE LEAGUE #9	$3.99	DC
5	BATMAN ANNUAL #1	$4.99	DC
6	AVX VS #2	$3.99	MAR
7	BATMAN INCORPORATED #1	$2.99	DC
8	DETECTIVE COMICS #9	$3.99	DC
9	ACTION COMICS #9	$3.99	DC
10	GREEN LANTERN #9	$2.99	DC

 

TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS

RANK	DESCRIPTION	PRICE	VENDOR
1	JUSTICE LEAGUE VOLUME 1: ORIGIN HC	$24.99	DC
2	BATMAN VOLUME 1: THE COURT OF OWLS HC	$24.99	DC
3	THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 1: DAYS GONE BYE TP	$9.99	IMA
4	BATMAN: DEATH BY DESIGN DELUXE EDITION HC	$24.99	DC
5	ANIMAL MAN VOLUME 1: THE HUNT TP	$14.99	DC
6	THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 4: HEARTS DESIRE TP	$14.99	IMA
7	KICK-ASS 2 PREMIERE HC (MR)	$24.99	MAR
8	THE WALKING DEAD VOL. 2: MILES BEHIND US TP	$14.99	IMA
9	WATCHMEN HC	$39.99	DC
10	GREEN LANTERN VOLUME 1: SINESTRO HC	$22.99	DC

Got a comment? There's lots of conversation on Newsarama's FACEBOOK and TWITTER!