Diamond Announces Top Products for September 2020

BALTIMORE, — (October 21, 2020) — Marvel Comics’ Venom #28 by Donny Cates and Juan Gedeon, continuing the “Venom Beyond” storyline, was the best-selling comic book distributed in September through Diamond Comic Distributors, the world’s largest distributor of comics, graphic novels, and pop culture merchandise.

Marvel Comics had eight titles in the top ten. Jonathan Hickman and Pepe Larraz’s X of Swords: Creation #1, the opening chapter of the X of Swords crossover in the X-Men books, ranked #2. Also debuting in September were Donny Cates and Guiu Vilanova’s Web of Venom: Wraith #1 (ranking #5), Christopher Cantwell and CAFU’s Iron Man #1 (ranking #6), and Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Leonard Kirk’s Marvel Zombies: Resurrection #1 (ranking #10). Other titles in the top ten include Thor #7, X-Men #12, and Fantastic Four #24.

Image Comics had two titles in September’s top ten. Their best-selling title, Todd McFarlane and Jim Muniz’s Spawn #310, ranked #4. Also, The Department of Truth #1, a conspiracy thriller from James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds that sold out at Diamond before it shipped, placed in September’s top ten at #7.

The best-selling comic titles from the other premier publishers in September were BOOM! Studios’ We Only Find Them When They’re Dead #1 by Al Ewing and Simone Di Meo at #31; Dark Horse Comics’ You Look Like Death: Tales from The Umbrella Academy #1 by Gerard Way, Shaun Simon, and I.N.J. Culbard at #52; Dynamite Entertainment’s Vampirella #13 by Christopher Priest, Ergun Gunduz, and Giovanni Timpano, at #77; and IDW Publishing’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #109 by Sophie Campbell and Jodie Nishijima at #85.

Marvel Comics’ The Marvel Legacy of Jack Kirby, an overview of the work by the legendary artist curated by John Rhett Thomas, was the best-selling graphic novel of September and one of the eight Marvel titles among the top ten. Other titles include The Amazing Spider-Man: The Art of the Movie; Jim Starlin’s original graphic novel, Thanos: The Infinity Relativity; Ms. Marvel Volumes 1 and 2; Punisher Max Volume 1: In the Beginning; Amazing Spider-Man Volume 2; and The Immortal Hulk Volume 7: Hulk Is Hulk.

Image Comics had two titles in September’s top ten graphic novels. Their top book, Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda’s Monstress Volume 5: Warchild, ranked #4 for the month. Also in the top ten, Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez’s Old Guard Book 2: Force Multiplied, the second volume of the series that inspired the Netflix film starring Charlize Theron, ranked #6.

Funko’s POP! Marvel Heroes: Absolute Carnage Deluxe Vinyl Figure, a PREVIEWS Exclusive figure inspired by Marvel Comics’ best-selling Absolute Carnage event, topped the toys sales chart for the second month in row in September. Also in the top ten for Funko, the POP! Marvel: Infamous Iron Man Vinyl Figure, a PREVIEWS Exclusive released for Halloween ComicFest 2020 of Doctor Doom as Iron Man, ranked #3. 1000 Toys had two PREVIEWS Exclusive releases among the top ten; the Re-Edit Halo: Master Chief Mjolnir Mark V 1/12-Scale Figure charted at #2, and the Hellboy: Abe Sapien (Standard Version) 1/12-Scale Figure, based on the Mike Mignola comics published by Dark Horse Comics, ranked #5. Another PREVIEWS Exclusive among the top ten, Mezco Toys’ One:12 Collective: Marvel: Magneto (Marvel Now Edition) Figure ranked #3. Diamond Select Toys also had two products in the top ten; the Marvel Select: Hulkbuster Action Figure was their top product for September at #8.

Paizo Publishing had a strong month in September, claiming nine of the month’s top ten best-selling games with the Pathfinder Second Edition Advanced Player’s Guide topping the chart. Also in the top ten, NECA/WizKids’ Marvel HeroClix: Spider-Man and Venom: Absolute Carnage Booster Brick, an expansion for the popular miniatures game inspired by Marvel Comics’ best-selling event, ranked #2.

Also noteworthy, Gemstone Publishing’s The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide Volume 50, the golden jubilee edition of the industry Bible that boasted a Todd McFarlane cover that featured his character Spawn and Marvel Comics’ Spider-Man, was September’s best-selling book.  Its paperback edition topped the chart, its hardcover edition ranked #2, and the oversized Big! Big! edition ranked #4.

“September was a fantastic close to third quarter sales for the industry and we continue to see a wide spectrum of publishers pick up momentum in the latter part of 2020,” said Tim Lenaghan, Chief Purchasing officer of Geppi Family Enterprises, the parent company of Diamond Comic Distributors.  “We’ve seen strong sales from Marvel’s X titles and the debut of X of Swords continues that trend. It’s been great to see a long running series like Spawn return to our Top Sellers list as well, proving it’s never too late to recruit new readers!”

TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS BY UNITS SHIPPED

 
TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS BY DOLLARS INVOICED

TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS BY UNITS SHIPPED

TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS BY DOLLARS INVOICED

TOP 10 TOYS BY DOLLARS INVOICED

TOP 10 GAMES BY DOLLARS INVOICED

 
NEW TITLES SHIPPED

 MARKET SHARE

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

Data for Diamond’s sales 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.

Diamond’s market share numbers are pulled from overall Diamond orders of over 2,500 retail accounts from all publishers’ titles. Diamond’s market share data reflects orders from its current publishing partners.

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.

Some accounts may use a variety of Point-Of-Sale (POS) tools and other sales systems, while others do not. Sales data from other sources based on a varied set of POS users are limited to specific store performance and may not include data from other industry accounts. POS data are limited to each individual POS system’s user base and do not accurately present a holistic view of the industry.

Premier Publishers are defined by Diamond as Marvel Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, Dynamite Entertainment, and BOOM! Studios.

Please note that reported quantities on comics marked with an asterisk (*) have been reduced based on an estimate of retailer expected returns that may or may not occur and thus, the title 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.

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