Diamond has released its December 2016 sale rankings, which reflect a strong interest in key event comics, with the top three comic books being event comics: Justice League vs. Suicide Squad #1, Inhumans vs. X-Men #1, and Dark Knight III: The Master Race #7.
That Batman also sells well in trade is no surprise, but the top trade collection for December was the much anticipated Love is Love anthology.
While DC and Marvel split the top ten books, Marvel significantly outsold DC in December 2016–by 25% in terms of dollar share, and by about a third in terms of unit share, while only shipping around 10% more titles. DC upset Marvel for a few months in 2016, but as Marvel has been playing the double shipping game longer than DC, it stands to reason that things would return to status quo until DC brings back impulse buyers with more key events. Marvel almost never stops churning out new events, which, when paired with double shipping, is a very strong strategy.
IDW had a really strong month, pulling ahead of Dark Horse, and Valiant is back in the top ten publishers. Bruce Timm’s Harley Quinn sculpt was the top toy, two Doctor Who novels topped the Diamond book list, and the top selling tabletop game–sold by Diamond to retailers, that is–was Back to the Future Monopoly
Original press release:
Diamond Announces Top Products For December 2016
(BALTIMORE, MD) — (January 12, 2017) — The Justice League discovers the existence of the Suicide Squad and is determined to bring them to justice in DC Entertainment’s Justice League vs. Suicide Squad #1 from Joshua Williamson and Jason Fabok, the first crossover event of DC Rebirth and the best-selling comic book of December 2016, 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 top publisher with a 36.73% dollar share and a 40.50% unit share. DC Entertainment was the month’s number two publisher with a 29.47% dollar share and a 29.04% unit share. At number three was Image Comics with an 8.81% dollar share and a 7.70% unit share. IDW Publishing was fourth with a 5.49% dollar share and a 4.10% unit share, followed by Dark Horse Comics with a 3.17% dollar share and 2.43% units share.
Comic and graphic novel sales in December, a four shipping week month, declined by 9.69% from November, a five shipping week month, as well as by 14.84% from December 2015, also a five shipping week month. Despite the decline, comics and graphic novel sales on the year finished up 0.30% over 2015.
DC Entertainment had five titles in the top ten. In addition to Justice League vs. Suicide Squad, Frank Miller, Brian Azzarello, Andy Kubert, and Klaus Janson’s Dark Knight III: The Master Race #7 ranked #3; Tom King, Mikel Janin, and Hugo Petrus’ Batman #12 ranked #4; King and Janin’s Batman #13 ranked #5, and Scott Snyder, John Romita, Jr., and Danny Miki’s All-Star Batman #5 ranked #10. Marvel Comics also had five titles in the top ten: Charles Soule, Jeff Lemire, and Leinil Francis Yu’s Inhumans vs. X-Men #1 ranked #2; Brian Michael Bendis and David Marquez’s Civil War II #8, the final chapter of Marvel’s 2016 event, ranked #6; Jason Aaron and Salvador Larroca’s Star Wars #26 ranked #7; Kieron Gillen, Kev Walker, and Salvador Larroca’s Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #1, a new ongoing series spinning out of Star Wars: Darth Vader, ranked #8; and Mariko Tamaki and Nico Leon’s Hulk #1, a new series starring Jennifer Walters, ranked #9. Among the premier publishers, Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead #161 was Image Comics’ top book in December at #11. IDW Publishing’s top book was Batman/TMNT Adventures #2 at #65. Finally, Dark Horse Comics’ Serenity: No Power in the ‘Verse #3, based on Joss Whedon’s film Serenity, was their top book of the month at #112.
IDW Publishing’s Love is Love anthology, a tribute to the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting, produced with the assistance of DC Entertainment and featuring dozens of writers and artists, was December’s best-selling graphic novel. DC Entertainment had two titles in the top ten led by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s Batman Volume 9: Bloom at #2 for the month. Image Comics’ three titles in the top ten were led by Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen’s Descender Volume 3: Singularities at #3. Marvel Comics rounded out the top ten with four titles topped by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven’s Wolverine: Old Man Logan at #4.
Penguin Books’ Doctor Who: The Death Riders, a Doctor Who novel starring the eleventh Doctor for young readers, was December’s best-selling book and one of three Doctor Who novels from the publisher among the top ten. IDW Publishing’s The Princess Bride: A Storybook to Color, an adult coloring book based on the beloved film, ranked #3 for the month. Dark Horse Comics had three adult coloring books among the top ten, led by the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Adult Coloring Book at #4. Also in the top ten, Image Comics’ The Walking Dead Adult Coloring Book ranked #10 for the month.
DC Collectibles’ DC Designer Series: Harley Quinn by Bruce Timm Statue was December’s best-selling toy product and one of their nine products among the top ten. Also among the top ten, Diamond Select Toys’ Marvel Gallery: The Hulk PVC Figure ranked #2 for the month.
Diamond Select Toys’ Back to the Future Monopoly, a custom edition of the venerable board game, returned to the top of the sales charts as December’s best-selling game product. IDW Publishing had two products in the top ten, led by the Machi Koro Card Game at #2. Also in the top ten, Dark Horse Comics’ Game of Thrones Playing Cards, a decorative deck based on the hit HBO series, ranked #7 for the month.
TOP COMIC BOOK PUBLISHERS
PUBLISHER
DOLLAR
SHARE
UNIT
SHARE
MARVEL COMICS 36.73%
40.50%
DC ENTERTAINMENT 29.47%
29.04%
IMAGE COMICS 8.81%
7.70%
IDW PUBLISHING 5.49%
4.10%
DARK HORSE COMICS 3.17%
2.43%
BOOM! STUDIOS 2.40%
1.64%
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT 1.99%
6.97%
TITAN COMICS 1.16%
0.99%
VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT LLC 1.10%
1.20%
VIZ MEDIA 1.09%
0.34%
OTHER NON-TOP 10 8.59%
5.09%
COMPARATIVE SALES STATISTICS
DOLLARS
UNITS
DECEMBER 2016 VS. NOVEMBER 2016
COMICS -9.01%
-1.79%
GRAPHIC NOVELS -11.19%
1.10%
TOTAL COMICS/GN -9.69%
-1.56%
TOYS -12.28%
-11.75%
DECEMBER 2016 VS. DECEMBER 2015
COMICS -18.84%
-8.39%
GRAPHIC NOVELS -4.24%
18.44%
TOTAL COMICS/GN -14.84%
-6.66%
TOYS -36.78%
-46.07%
FOURTH QUARTER 2016 VS. THIRD QUARTER 2016
COMICS -7.42%
-5.96%
GRAPHIC NOVELS 0.07%
1.88%
TOTAL COMICS/GN -5.36%
-5.42%
TOYS -1.80%
-11.85%
FOURTH QUARTER 2016 VS. FOURTH QUARTER 2015
COMICS -8.92%
-0.53%
GRAPHIC NOVELS 1.53%
12.21%
TOTAL COMICS/GN -6.11%
0.30%
TOYS -22.29%
-30.42%
YEAR 2016 VS. YEAR 2015
COMICS -0.11%
1.02%
GRAPHIC NOVELS 1.24%
2.10%
TOTAL COMICS/GN 0.30%
1.10%
TOYS -9.74%
-14.18%
NEW TITLES SHIPPED
PUBLISHER
COMICS SHIPPED
GRAPHIC NOVELS SHIPPED
MAGAZINES SHIPPED
TOTAL
SHIPPED
MARVEL COMICS 89
42
0
131
DC ENTERTAINMENT 84
33
1
118
IMAGE COMICS 47
18
1
66
IDW PUBLISHING 42
17
0
59
BOOM! STUDIOS 26
12
0
38
DARK HORSE COMICS 26
10
0
36
TITAN COMICS 21
5
4
30
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT 18
9
0
27
ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS 11
2
0
13
VIZ MEDIA 0
13
0
13
OTHER NON-TOP 10 114
133
25
272
TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS
RANK
DESCRIPTION
PRICE
ITEM CODE
VENDOR
1
JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. SUICIDE SQUAD #1 $3.99
OCT160147-M DC 2
INHUMANS VS. X-MEN #1 $5.99
SEP160868-M MAR 3
DARK KNIGHT III: THE MASTER RACE #7 $5.99
OCT160259-M DC 4
BATMAN #12 $2.99
OCT160173-M DC 5
BATMAN #13 $2.99
OCT160175-M DC 6
CIVIL WAR II #8 $4.99
SEP161000-M MAR 7
STAR WARS #26 $3.99
OCT160988-M MAR 8
STAR WARS: DOCTOR APHRA #1 $4.99
OCT160975-M MAR 9
HULK #1 $3.99
OCT160788-M MAR 10
ALL-STAR BATMAN #5 $4.99
OCT160160-M DC TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS
RANK
DESCRIPTION
PRICE
ITEM CODE
VENDOR
1
LOVE IS LOVE SC $9.99
OCT160480 IDW 2
BATMAN VOLUME 9: BLOOM TP $16.99
SEP160335 DC 3
DESCENDER VOLUME 3: SINGULARITIES TP $14.99
SEP160801 IMA 4
WOLVERINE: OLD MAN LOGAN TP $29.99
JUL100692 MAR 5
I HATE FAIRYLAND VOLUME 2: FLUFF MY LIFE TP $14.99
OCT160683-M IMA 6
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN VOLUME 1: REBOOT TP $17.99
OCT161021 MAR 7
STAR WARS: POE DAMERON VOL. 1: BLACK SQUADRON TP $19.99
AUG160999 MAR 8
DOCTOR STRANGE VOLUME 1: WAY OF WEIRD TP $19.99
SEP161127 MAR 9
BATMAN VOLUME 10: EPILOGUE HC $22.99
AUG160317 DC 10
BLACK SCIENCE VOL. 5: TRUE ATONEMENT TP (MR) $14.99
OCT160677 IMA
TOP 10 BOOKS
RANK
DESCRIPTION
PRICE
ITEM CODE
VENDOR
1
DOCTOR WHO: DEATH RIDERS SC $9.99
JUN158023 PEN
2
DOCTOR WHO: SYSTEM WIPE SC $9.99
JUN158025 PEN
3
THE PRINCESS BRIDE: A STORYBOOK TO COLOR TP $16.99
SEP160611 IDW
4
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER ADULT COLORING BOOK $14.99
AUG160020 DAR
5
THE POKEMON COOKBOOK HC $14.99
OCT162035 VIZ
6
STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES ADULT COLORING BOOK $14.99
AUG160018 DAR
7
STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION ADULT COLORING BOOK $14.99
AUG160019 DAR
8
DOCTOR WHO: THE GOOD THE BAD & THE ALIEN SC $9.99
NOV158049 PEN
9
THE SHADOW DOUBLE NOVEL VOLUME 112 SC $14.95
SEP162252 SAN
10
THE WALKING DEAD ADULT COLORING BOOK (MR) $14.99
FEB160615 IMA
TOP 10 TOYS
RANK
DESCRIPTION
ITEM CODE
VENDOR
1
DC DESIGNER SERIES: HARLEY QUINN BY BRUCE TIMM STATUE MAR160333 DC 2
MARVEL GALLERY: THE HULK PVC FIGURE AUG162570 DST 3
DC TV: ARROW/THE FLASH ACTION FIGURE 2-PACK APR160456 DC 4
DC FILMS: ARMORED BATMAN PREMIUM ACTION FIGURE MAR160323 DC 5
BATMAN ANIMATED SERIES: NEW BATMAN ADVENTURES HARLEY QUINN ACTION FIGURE MAR160314 DC 6
HARLEY QUINN: RED WHITE & BLACK STATUE APR160452 DC 7
BATMAN ANIMATED SERIES: NEW BATMAN ADVENTURES CLAYFACE DELUXE ACTION FIGURE MAR160318 DC 8
DC COMICS DESIGNER SERIES BY LEE BERMEJO: BATMAN FIGURE FEB160280 DC 9
DC DESIGNER SERIES: THE FLASH BY FRANCIS MANAPUL STATUE JUL160449 DC 10
DARKSEID AND GRAIL ACTION FIGURE 2-PACK APR160448 DC TOP 10 GAMES
RANK
DESCRIPTION
ITEM CODE
VENDOR
1
BACK TO THE FUTURE MONOPOLY JUL152198 DST 2
MACHI KORO CARD GAME MAY142831 IDW 3
MOUSE GUARD ROLEPLAYING GAME BOXED SET (2ND EDITION) FEB151158 BOO 4
EXPLODING KITTENS CARD GAME NSFW EDITION OCT163224 EXP 5
EXPLODING KITTENS CARD GAME ORIGINAL EDITION OCT163223 EXP 6
PANDEMIC: IBERIA BOARD GAME AUG163183 ZMA 7
GAME OF THRONES PLAYING CARDS JAN120128 DAR 8
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: SHADOWS OF THE PAST BOARD GAME APR160482 IDW 9
BATMANL THE ANIMATED SERIES DICE GAME SEP163193 PSI 10
STAR TREK 50TH-ANNIVERSARY 3000-PIECE DIECUT JIGSAW PUZZLE JUN168685 NMR 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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