The July 2016 Diamond top products rankings show that when both of the Big Two are playing the double shipping game, DC Comics comes out on top.

And it’s not like DC Comics was double shipping as many comics as Marvel was.  Despite Marvel shipping 97 comics and 33 graphic novels, compared to DC’s 63 and 31, Marvel still took the number two slot.  The top three comics, and eight of the top ten comics, were DC titles (including four comics reviewed here on NerdSpan, Nightwing: Rebirth #1, Batman #2,  Batman #3 and New Super-Man #1).

As to other comic shop product performers, there’s no surprise that the annual Overstreet price guide was the top selling book, and IDW Games, as one of the most visible tabletop game companies at comic book stores, continues to be the predominant seller on Diamond’s top ten games with five of the slots (one of which was Random Encounter, which we reviewed here on NerdSpan).

Official press release and market reports:

Diamond Announces Top Products For July 2016

(BALTIMORE, MD) — (August 12, 2016) — Alien machines threaten Earth and the Justice League reforms to defeat them in Bryan Hitch, Tony S. Daniel, and Sandu Florea’s Justice League #1 from DC Entertainment, the best-selling comic book of July 2016 according to information provided by Diamond Comic Distributors, the world’s largest distributor of comics, graphic novels, and pop culture merchandise.

Their sales powered by Rebirth, DC Entertainment was July’s top publisher with a 35.36% dollar share and a 40.96% unit share. Marvel Comics was the month’s number two publisher with a 34.20% dollar share and a 35.69% unit share. At number three was Image Comics with a 8.15% dollar share and a 7.56% unit share. IDW Publishing was fourth with a 4.49% dollar share and a 3.00% unit share, followed by Dark Horse Comics with a 2.83% dollar share and 1.98% units share.

DC Entertainment had eight of the month’s top ten best-selling comics; beyond Justice League #1, Justice League Rebirth #1 ranked #2, Batman #2 ranked #3, Batman #3 ranked #5, Nightwing Rebirth #1 ranked #6, New Super-Man #1 ranked #8, Nightwing #1 ranked #9, and Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #1 ranked #10. Marvel Comics had two titles in the top ten; Brian Michael Bendis and David Marquez’s Civil War II #3 ranked #4, and Civil War II #4 ranked #7. Among the premier publishers, Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard’s The Walking Dead #156 was Image Comics’ best-selling book in July at #32. Chris Ryall, Christos Gage, and David Messina’s ROM #1 was IDW Publishing’s top book at #75. Finally, Dark Horse Comics’ top book, Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston’s Black Hammer #1, ranked #117.

Marjorie M. Liu and Sana Takeda’s steampunk kaiju story Monstress Volume 1 from Image Comics was July’s best-selling graphic novel and one of the four titles from Image Comics among the top ten. DC Entertainment had two titles among the top ten, led by Harley Quinn’s Greatest Hits, a collection of stories featuring the fan-favorite character, at #2. Charles Soule and Marco Checchetto’s Star Wars: Obi-Wan and Anakin was Marvel Comics’ best-selling book at #4 and one of their three titles among the top ten.

The softcover edition of Gemstone Publishing’s The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide Volume 46 was July’s best-selling book.

Good Smile’s The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D: Link Nendoroid, a recreation of the beloved Nintendo hero, was July’s best-selling toy product. Diamond Select Toys had four titles among the month’s top ten, led by Marvel Select: Carnage Action Figure at #2. Also in the top ten, DC Collectibles had two titles in the top ten, with the DC Comics Blueline: Superman Action Figure, a unique figure based on Jim Lee’s pencil artwork, their best-selling product at #5.

USAopoly’s Risk: The Walking Dead Survival Edition, a specialized edition of the venerable board game inspired by Image Comics’ The Walking Dead, returned to the top of the sales charts as July’s best-selling game product. IDW Publishing’s IDW Games division also had a strong showing in July with five products among the top ten, led by the Machi Koro Deluxe Edition Card Game at #2.

dollar-shareunit-share

TOP COMIC BOOK PUBLISHERS

PUBLISHER

DOLLAR

SHARE

UNIT

SHARE

DC ENTERTAINMENT

35.36%

40.96%

MARVEL COMICS

34.20%

35.69%

IMAGE COMICS

8.15%

7.56%

IDW PUBLISHING

4.49%

3.00%

DARK HORSE COMICS

2.83%

1.98%

BOOM! STUDIOS

2.05%

1.68%

ARCHIE COMICS

1.36%

1.26%

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

1.19%

.95%

ONI PRESS INC.

1.14%

0.84%

VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT

1.06%

1.03%

OTHER NON-TOP 10

8.18%

5.06%

COMPARATIVE SALES STATISTICS

DOLLARS

UNITS

JULY 2016 VS. JUNE 2016

COMICS

-8.15%

-3.24%

GRAPHIC NOVELS

-26.54%

-35.83%

TOTAL COMICS/GN

-13.77%

-6.16%

JULY 2016 VS. JULY 2015

COMICS

4.32%

12.01%

GRAPHIC NOVELS

-19.12%

-28.26%

TOTAL COMICS/GN

-3.01%

8.28%

YEAR-TO-DATE 2016 VS. YEAR-TO-DATE 2015

COMICS

-2.59%

-5.39%

GRAPHIC NOVELS

2.42%

0.26%

TOTAL COMICS/GN

-1.08%

-4.94%

NEW TITLES SHIPPED

PUBLISHER

COMICS SHIPPED

GRAPHIC NOVELS SHIPPED

MAGAZINES SHIPPED

TOTAL

SHIPPED

MARVEL COMICS

97

33

0

130

DC ENTERTAINMENT

63

31

0

94

IMAGE COMICS

61

11

1

73

IDW PUBLISHING

37

13

0

50

DARK HORSE COMICS

21

18

0

39

BOOM ENTERTAINMENT

21

10

0

31

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

19

7

0

26

VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT LLC

11

5

0

16

ONI PRESS INC.

13

2

0

15

ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS

10

1

0

11

OTHER NON-TOP 10

102

144

23

269

Justice League #1 Justice League Rebirth #1 Batman #1

TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS

RANK

DESCRIPTION

PRICE

ITEM CODE

VENDOR

1

JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 [*]

$2.99

MAY160206-M DC

2

JUSTICE LEAGUE REBIRTH #1 [*]

$2.99

MAY160204-M DC

3

BATMAN #2 [*]

$2.99

MAY160234-M DC

4

CIVIL WAR II #3

$4.99

APR160862-M MAR

5

BATMAN #3 [*]

$2.99

MAY160236-M DC

6

NIGHTWING REBIRTH #1 [*]

$2.99

MAY160216-M DC

7

CIVIL WAR II #4

$4.99

MAY160747-M MAR

8

NEW SUPER MAN #1 [*]

$2.99

MAY160224-M DC

9

NIGHTWING #1 [*]

$2.99

MAY160218-M DC

10

HAL JORDAN & THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS REBIRTH #1 [*]

$2.99

MAY160208-M DC

Monstress Volume 1 Harley Quinn's Greatest Hits Batman The Killing Joke Special Edition

TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS

RANK

DESCRIPTION

PRICE

ITEM CODE

VENDOR

1

MONSTRESS VOLUME 1 TP (MR)

$9.99

APR160803-M IMA

2

HARLEY QUINN’S GREATEST HITS TP

$9.99

MAR168712 DC

3

BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE SPECIAL EDITION HC

$17.99

NOV070226 DC

4

STAR WARS: OBI-WAN AND ANAKIN TP

$16.99

APR161092 MAR

5

HUCK TP

$14.99

APR160798-M IMA

6

SOUTHERN BASTARDS VOLUME 3: HOMECOMING TP (MR)

$14.99

FEB160707 IMA

7

SAGA VOLUME 6 TP (MR)

$14.99

MAR160684 IMA

8

BONE CODA 25TH ANNIVERSARY TP

$14.95

MAY161334 CAR

9

WOLVERINE: OLD MAN LOGAN VOLUME 1: BERZERKER TP

$16.99

APR161078 MAR

10

AGENTS OF SHIELD VOLUME 1: COULSON PROTOCOLS TP

$17.99

APR161086 MAR

TOP 10 BOOKS

RANK

DESCRIPTION

PRICE

ITEM CODE

VENDOR

1

THE OVERSTREET COMIC BOOK PRICE GUIDE VOLUME 46 SC

$29.95

APR161667-M GEM

2

THE OVERSTREET COMIC BOOK PRICE GUIDE VOLUME 46 HC

$35.00

APR161668-M GEM

3

STAR WARS LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK: I AM A PRINCESS

$4.99

MAY162079 RAN

4

STAR WARS LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK: I AM A SITH

$4.99

MAY162080 RAN

5

ERIC POWELL COLORING BOOK VOLUME 1 SC

$10.99

MAY161048 ALB

6

DC SUPER HERO GIRLS: SUPERGIRL AT SUPER HERO HIGH HC

$13.99

MAY162038 RAN

7

DC COMICS COLORING BOOK SC

$15.99

MAY162059 POC

8

LITTLE GRUMPY CAT THAT WOULDN’T LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK

$4.99

MAY162041 RAN

9

BIG BIG OVERSTREET COMIC BOOK PRICE GUIDE VOLUME 46

$47.50

MAY161536 GEM

10

THE OVERSTREET COMIC BOOK PRICE GUIDE VOLUME 46 HALL-OF-FAME EDITION SC

$29.95

MAY161534 GEM

TOP 10 TOYS

RANK

DESCRIPTION

ITEM CODE

VENDOR

1

LEGEND OF ZELDA: MAJORA’S MASK 3D: LINK NENDOROID JUL158281 GOO

2

MARVEL SELECT: CARNAGE ACTION FIGURE NOV142179 DST

3

X-MEN LEGENDS 6-INCH ACTION FIGURES APR168678 HAS

4

MARVEL SELECT: VENOM ACTION FIGURE AUG121762 DST

5

DC COMICS BLUELINE: SUPERMAN ACTION FIGURE MAR160334 DC

6

MOVIE REALIZATION STAR WARS: AKAZONAE ROYAL GUARD FIGURE AUG158040 BLU

7

THE X-FILES 2016 SELECT ACTION FIGURES JAN162247 DST

8

DC COMICS COVER GIRLS: POWER GIRL STATUE OCT150298 DC

9

METAL GEAR SOLID: SNIPER WOLF BISHOUJO STATUE DEC152338 KOT

10

MARVEL SELECT CAPTAIN AMERICA CIVIL WAR: IRON MAN MK. 45 FIG. JAN162254 DST

TOP 10 GAMES

RANK

DESCRIPTION

ITEM CODE

VENDOR

1

RISK: THE WALKING DEAD SURVIVAL EDITION OCT128267 USA

2

MACHI KORO DELUXE EDITION CARD GAME JUN152743 IDW

3

MACHI KORO CARD GAME MAY142831 IDW

4

THE GAME CARD GAME SEP152625 IDW

5

RANDOM ENCOUNTER CARD GAME FEB160459 IDW

6

FINDING DORY: DON’T WAKE GAME JUL158674 BAN

7

MAGIC THE GATHERING TCG: SHADOWS OVER INNISTRAD BOOSTERS FEB162979 WIZ

8

MUNCHKIN CTHULHU: KATIE COOK GUEST ARTIST EDITION APR163153 PSI

9

AWESOME KINGDOM: MINES AND LABYRINTHS BOARD GAME EXPANSION MAR160508 IDW

10

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES HEROCLIX JAN162805 NEC

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 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.