Diamond Announces Top Products for April 2018

(BALTIMORE, MD) — (May 4, 2018) — An all-star slate of creators, including Brian Michael Bendis and his first work on the Man of Steel, celebrated Superman’s 80th birthday in DC Entertainment’s milestone Action Comics #1000, the best-selling comic book of April 2018 according to information provided by Diamond Comic Distributors, the world’s largest distributor of comics, graphic novels, and pop culture merchandise.

Marvel Comics was April’s top publisher with a 37.59% dollar share and a 42.21% unit share. DC Entertainment was second for the month with a 32.39% dollar share and a 33.02% unit share. Image Comics was third with a 9.16% dollar share and a 9.47% unit share. In fourth was IDW Publishing with a 4.08% dollar share and a 3.67% unit share, followed by Dark Horse Comics with a 2.36% dollar share and a 1.79% unit share, BOOM! Studios with a 2.20% dollar share and a 1.72% unit share, and Dynamite Entertainment with a 1.60% dollar share and a 1.29% unit share.

Marvel Comics had six titles, led by Dan Slott and Stuart Immonen’s Amazing Spider-Man #798 at #2, followed by Amazing Spider-Man #799 at #3, Charles Soule and David Marquez’s Hunt for Wolverine #1 at #4, Cullen Bunn and Iban Coello’s Venomized #1 at #6, Gail Simone and David Baldeon’s Domino #1 at #8, and Mark Waid and Chris Samnee’s Captain America #700 at #9. DC Entertainment had three titles among April’s top ten. In addition to Action Comics #1000, Tom King, Mikel Janin, and Joëlle Jones’ Batman #44 ranked #5 and King and Tony S. Daniel’s Batman #45 ranked #7. Also in the top ten, Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead #178 ranked #10. Among the premier publishers, Dark Horse Comics’ Xerxes #1, the debut of Frank Miller’s long-awaited sequel to 300, was their top book at #95; IDW Publishing’s Sonic the Hedgehog #1 ranked #111; Dynamite Entertainment’s John Wick #2 was their top book at #140; and BOOM! Studios’ Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #26 ranked #142 for April.

DC Entertainment’s Action Comics: 80 Years of Superman, a hardcover collection of Superman stories from Action Comics spanning the last eight years, was April’s best-selling graphic novel. Also in the top ten for DC Entertainment, Batman Volume 5: Rules of Engagement ranked #5. Image Comics had four titles in the top ten: Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang’s Paper Girls Volume 4 ranked #2, followed by Vaughan and Fiona Staples’ Saga Volume 1 at #4, Saga Volume 8 at #8, and Paper Girls Volume 1 at #10. Marvel Comics also had four titles in the top ten, led by Jim Starlin and Alan Davis’ original graphic novel, Thanos: The Infinity Siblings at #3; Starlin, George Perez, and Ron Lim’s The Infinity Gauntlet at #6; Star Wars: Darth Vader Volume 2: Legacy’s End at #7; and Phoenix Resurrection: The Return of Jean Grey at #9.

Dark Horse Comics’ Moebius Library: The Art of Edena, an artbook that looks at Moebius’ work on World of Edena, was April’s best-selling book. Also in the top ten for Dark Horse, The Art of God of War, an artbook based on the new video game for the PlayStation 4, ranked #8. BOOM! Studios’ Power Rangers Artist Tribute ranked #6.

Diamond Select Toys’ Pacific Rim Uprising Select Series 1 Action Figures were the best-selling toy product of April. Also in the top ten for Diamond Select Toys, the Marvel Select: Thor Ragnarok: Gladiator Thor Figure ranked #4. DC Collectibles had two products in the top ten: the DC Comics Bombshells: Green Lantern Jessica Cruz Statue ranked #8 and the Harley Quinn: Red, White, and Black Statue by Babs Tarr ranked #10.

Steam Forged Games’ Dark Souls Card Game, based on the best-selling video game, was April’s best-selling game product. IDW Games had two products in the top ten: the Dragonball Z: Perfect Cell Game ranked #4 and The X-Files: Conspiracy Theory Game ranked #7. Also of note, Dynamite Entertainment’s Vampirella Tarot Cards Set ranked #8.

TOP COMIC BOOK PUBLISHERS

 COMPARATIVE SALES STATISTICS

NEW TITLES SHIPPED

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 BOOKS BY UNITS SHIPPED

TOP 10 TOYS BY DOLLARS INVOICED

TOP 10 GAMES BY DOLLARS INVOICED

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

***

About Author

First Comics News

Your First Place For Comics News since October 18, 1998

See author's posts