(BALTIMORE, MD) — (June 15, 2018) —Peter Parker and his allies battle Norman Osborn and the Carnage symbiote in Dan Slott, Stuart Immonen, and an all-star roster of artists’ Amazing Spider-Man #800, an oversized landmark issue from Marvel Comics and the best-selling comic book of May 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 May’s top publisher with a 42.64% dollar share and a 38.35% unit share. DC Entertainment was second for the month with a 25.71% dollar share and a 37.87% unit share. Image Comics was third with a 10.83% dollar share and a 9.67% unit share. In fourth was IDW Publishing with a 3.65% dollar share and a 3.07% unit share, followed by Dark Horse Comics with a 2.54% dollar share and a 1.63% unit share, BOOM! Studios with a 1.96% dollar share and a 1.58% unit share, and Dynamite Entertainment with a 1.64% dollar share and a 1.30% unit share.
Marvel Comics had four titles in the top ten. In addition to Amazing Spider-Man #800, Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman’s Venom #1 ranked #2, Jason Aaron and Ed McGuinness’ Avengers #1 ranked #4, and Ta-Nehisi Coates and Daniel Acuña’s Black Panther #1 ranked #5. DC Entertainment had five titles in the top ten: Geoff Johns and Gary Frank’s Doomsday Clock #5 ranked #3; Tom King and Tony S. Daniel’s Batman #47 ranked 6; King and Daniel’s Batman #46 ranked #7; Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Joshua Williamson, and Francis Manapul’s Justice League: No Justice #1 ranked #8; and Brian Michael Bendis, Ivan Reis, and Jason Fabok’s The Man of Steel #1 ranked #9. Also in the top ten, Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead #179 ranked #10. Among the premier publishers, BOOM! Studios’ Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #27 was their top book at #133, Frank Miller’s Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander #2 was Dark Horse’s top book at #129, Dynamite Entertainment’s Red Sonja/Tarzan #1 ranked #142, and IDW Publishing’s TMNT: Urban Legends #1 ranked #159.
The misadventures of two rebels during the Galactic Civil War are recounted in Kevin Rubio and Lucas Marangon’s Star Wars: Tag & Bink Were Here from Marvel Comics, the best-selling graphic novel of May. Marvel had five titles in the top ten including Jim Starlin, George Perez, and Ron Lim’s The Infinity Gauntlet at #2, Amazing Spider-Man/Venom: Venom, Inc. at #7; and, tied at #10, Black Panther: Long Live the King and Infinity War. Image Comics had three titles in the top ten: Where We Live: A Benefit for the Survivors in Las Vegas ranked #3, Snotgirl Volume 2: California Screaming ranked #3, and Black Magick Volume 2: Awakening II ranked #9. DC Entertainment had two titles in the top ten: Dark Days: The Road to Metal ranked #5 and Wonder Woman Volume 5: Heart of the Amazon ranked #6. Also in the top ten, Dark Horse Comics’ Hellboy Omnibus Volume 1: Seed of Destruction ranked #8.
Zenescope Entertainment’s Grimm Fairy Tales Adult Coloring Book Volume 2 was May’s best-selling book. Also in the top ten, Dark Horse Comics’ Overwatch Anthology Volume 1, a collection of stories and background details on the popular video game from Blizzard Entertainment, returned to the top ten at #7.
A PREVIEWS Exclusive variant of the first figure in Mezco’s trio of One:12 Collective figures that interpret different eras of Batman’s career, the One:12 Collective: DC Comics: Ascending Knight “Blue” Action Figure, was May’s best-selling toy product. DC Collectibles had three products in the top ten: the DC Designer Series: Metal Batman by Greg Capullo Statue at #2, the Batman vs. The Joker: Laff-Co Battle Statue at #8, and the DC Rebirth: Justice League Action Figure 7-Pack at #9. Funko had two PREVIEWS exclusive POP! vinyl figures in the top ten: the POP! Rick and Morty: Pickle Rick “No Limbs” Vinyl Figure ranked #3, and the POP! Heroes: DC Death Vinyl Figure, based on Neil Gaiman’s character from The Sandman, ranked #4. Diamond Select Toys’ Marvel Gallery: X-23 PVC Statue ranked #6. Also in the top ten, McFarlane Toys’ Stranger Things: Demogorgon Deluxe Action Figure ranked #10.
Taking the HeroClix game to the depths of space, WizKids/NECA’s Marvel HeroClix: Avengers Infinity Colossal Booster Brick was May’s best-selling game product. Paizo Publishing also had a strong month in May, with eight products from the Starfinder and Pathfinder role-playing game lines among the month’s top ten products.
TOP COMIC BOOK PUBLISHERS
PUBLISHER |
DOLLAR SHARE |
UNIT SHARE |
MARVEL COMICS |
42.64% |
38.35% |
DC ENTERTAINMENT |
25.71% |
37.87% |
IMAGE COMICS |
10.83% |
9.67% |
IDW PUBLISHING |
3.65% |
3.07% |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
2.54% |
1.63% |
BOOM! STUDIOS |
1.96% |
1.58% |
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT |
1.64% |
1.30% |
VIZ MEDIA |
1.12% |
0.40% |
ONI PRESS |
1.03% |
0.48% |
VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT |
0.84% |
0.90% |
OTHER NON-TOP 10 |
8.03% |
4.75% |
COMPARATIVE SALES STATISTICS
|
DOLLARS |
UNITS |
MAY 2018 VS. APRIL 2018 |
||
COMICS |
7.00% |
2.99% |
GRAPHIC NOVELS |
6.94% |
4.85% |
TOTAL COMICS/GN |
6.98% |
3.13% |
TOYS |
4.95% |
23.84% |
MAY 2018 VS. MAY 2017 |
||
COMICS |
6.23% |
-8.63% |
GRAPHIC NOVELS |
-8.04% |
-13.85% |
TOTAL COMICS/GN |
1.84% |
-9.06% |
TOYS |
-28.63% |
-30.85% |
YEAR-TO-DATE 2018 VS. YEAR-TO-DATE 2017 |
||
COMICS |
0.22% |
-9.80% |
GRAPHIC NOVELS |
-9.31% |
-10.56% |
TOTAL COMICS/GN |
-2.67% |
-9.85% |
TOYS |
-12.06% |
-17.25% |
NEW TITLES SHIPPED
PUBLISHER |
COMICS SHIPPED |
GRAPHIC NOVELS SHIPPED |
MAGAZINES SHIPPED |
TOTAL SHIPPED |
MARVEL COMICS |
92 |
42 |
0 |
134 |
DC ENTERTAINMENT |
74 |
30 |
0 |
104 |
IMAGE COMICS |
65 |
22 |
0 |
87 |
IDW PUBLISHING |
39 |
24 |
0 |
63 |
BOOM! STUDIOS |
23 |
12 |
0 |
35 |
DARK HORSE COMICS |
17 |
16 |
0 |
33 |
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT |
20 |
5 |
0 |
25 |
VIZ MEDIA |
0 |
22 |
0 |
22 |
VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT |
8 |
3 |
0 |
11 |
ONI PRESS |
3 |
2 |
0 |
5 |
OTHER NON-TOP 10 |
131 |
208 |
32 |
371 |
TOTAL |
472 |
386 |
32 |
890 |
TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS BY UNITS SHIPPED
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
1 |
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #800 |
$9.99 |
MAR180826-M | MAR |
2 |
VENOM #1 |
$4.99 |
MAR180796-M | MAR |
3 |
DOOMSDAY CLOCK #5 |
$4.99 |
MAR180233-M | DC |
4 |
AVENGERS #1 |
$4.99 |
MAR180776-M | MAR |
5 |
BLACK PANTHER #1 |
$4.99 |
MAR180786-M | MAR |
6 |
BATMAN #47 |
$2.99 |
MAR180256-M | DC |
7 |
BATMAN #46 |
$2.99 |
MAR180254-M | DC |
8 |
JUSTICE LEAGUE: NO JUSTICE #1 |
$3.99 |
MAR180228-M | DC |
9 |
THE MAN OF STEEL #1 [*] |
$3.99 |
APR180145 | DC |
10 |
THE WALKING DEAD #179 (MR) |
$3.99 |
MAR180767-M | IMA |
TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS BY DOLLARS INVOICED
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
1 |
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #800 |
$9.99 |
MAR180826-M | MAR |
2 |
VENOM #1 |
$4.99 |
MAR180796-M | MAR |
3 |
DOOMSDAY CLOCK #5 |
$4.99 |
MAR180233-M | DC |
4 |
AVENGERS #1 |
$4.99 |
MAR180776-M | MAR |
5 |
BLACK PANTHER #1 |
$4.99 |
MAR180786-M | MAR |
6 |
ACTION COMICS #1000 |
$7.99 |
FEB180142-M | DC |
7 |
DESPICABLE DEADPOOL #300 |
$5.99 |
MAR180832-M | MAR |
8 |
BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT #8 |
$4.99 |
MAR180260-M | DC |
9 |
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #600 |
$5.99 |
MAR180837-M | MAR |
10 |
JUSTICE LEAGUE: NO JUSTICE #1 |
$3.99 |
MAR180228-M | DC |
TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS BY UNITS SHIPPED
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
1 |
STAR WARS: TAG & BINK WERE HERE #1 |
$7.99 |
MAR180947 | MAR |
2 |
THE INFINITY GAUNTLET TP |
$24.99 |
JUL110745 | MAR |
3 |
WHERE WE LIVE: LAS VEGAS SHOOTING BENEFIT ANTHOLOGY TP |
$19.99 |
MAR180600 | IMA |
4 |
SNOTGIRL VOL. 2: CALIFORNIA SCREAMING TP |
$15.99 |
MAR180757 | IMA |
5 |
DARK DAYS: THE ROAD TO METAL HC |
$29.99 |
DEC170376 | DC |
6 |
WONDER WOMAN VOL. 5: HEART OF THE AMAZON TP |
$16.99 |
FEB180292 | DC |
7 |
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN/VENOM: VENOM, INC TP |
$19.99 |
FEB180936 | MAR |
8 |
HELLBOY OMNIBUS VOL. 1: SEED OF DESTRUCTION TP |
$24.99 |
JAN180104 | DAR |
9 |
BLACK MAGICK VOL. 2: AWAKENING II TP (MR) |
$16.99 |
MAR180642 | IMA |
10 |
BLACK PANTHER: LONG LIVE THE KING TP |
$14.99 |
FEB180931 | MAR |
10 |
INFINITY WAR TP |
$29.99 |
JAN062102 | MAR |
TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS BY DOLLARS INVOICED
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
1 |
THE INFINITY GAUNTLET TP |
$24.99 |
JUL110745 | MAR |
2 |
PUNISHER MAX BY GARTH ENNIS OMNIBUS VOL. 1 HC (MR) |
$100.00 |
NOV171043 | MAR |
3 |
STAR WARS: TAG & BINK WERE HERE #1 |
$7.99 |
MAR180947 | MAR |
4 |
DARK DAYS: THE ROAD TO METAL HC |
$29.99 |
DEC170376 | DC |
5 |
WHERE WE LIVE: LAS VEGAS SHOOTING BENEFIT ANTHOLOGY TP |
$19.99 |
MAR180600 | IMA |
6 |
WOLVERINE GOES TO HELL OMNIBUS HC |
$100.00 |
NOV171044 | MAR |
7 |
INFINITY WAR TP |
$29.99 |
JAN062102 | MAR |
8 |
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: MARVEL TEAM-UP VOL. 3 HC |
$75.00 |
NOV171039-M | MAR |
9 |
HELLBOY OMNIBUS VOL. 1: SEED OF DESTRUCTION TP |
$24.99 |
JAN180104 | DAR |
10 |
WEAPON X: THE RETURN OMNIBUS HC |
$125.00 |
NOV171045 | MAR |
TOP 10 BOOKS BY UNITS SHIPPED
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
PRICE |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
1 |
GRIMM FAIRY TALES ADULT COLORING BOOK VOL. 2 |
$12.99 |
APR181912 | ZEN |
2 |
OVERLORD VOL. 7 LIGHT NOVEL HC |
$20.00 |
MAR188458 | YEN |
3 |
THE ART OF JIM STARLIN: LIFE IN WORDS & PICTURES HC |
$49.99 |
MAR181077 | AFT |
4 |
BLOODBORNE OFFICIAL ARTWORKS SC |
$44.99 |
MAR172148 | UDO |
5 |
DOCTOR WHO TARGET COLLECTION: CITY OF DEATH MMPB |
$9.99 |
APR181367 | PEN |
6 |
THE SHADOW DOUBLE NOVEL VOLUME 129 SC |
$14.95 |
FEB182112 | SAN |
7 |
OVERWATCH ANTHOLOGY VOLUME 1 HC |
$19.99 |
JUN170080 | DAR |
8 |
WOLF & PARCHMENT VOL. 2 LIGHT NOVEL SC |
$14.00 |
FEB181982 | YEN |
9 |
DEATH MARCH TO THE PARALLEL WORLD RHAPSODY VOL. 5 NOVEL SC |
$14.00 |
MAR182083 | YEN |
10 |
NEIL GAIMAN: NORSE MYTHOLOGY SC |
$15.95 |
DEC178273 | WW |
TOP 10 TOYS BY DOLLARS INVOICED
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
1 |
ONE-12 COLLECTIVE: DC: ASCENDING KNIGHT BATMAN “BLUE” FIGURE | JUL178556 | MEZ |
2 |
DC DESIGNER SERIES: METAL BATMAN STATUE BY CAPULLO | NOV170394 | DC |
3 |
POP! RICK & MORTY: PICKLE RICK “NO LIMBS” VINYL FIGURE | DEC178162 | FUN |
4 |
POP! HEROES: DC: DEATH VINYL FIGURE | DEC178161 | FUN |
5 |
OVERWATCH: GENJI 12-INCH STATUE | DEC178061 | BLI |
6 |
MARVEL GALLERY: X-23 PVC STATUE | NOV172443 | DST |
7 |
OVERWATCH: D.VA 20-INCH STATUE | AUG178473 | BLI |
8 |
BATMAN VS. THE JOKER: LAFF-CO BATTLE STATUE | OCT170396 | DC |
9 |
DC REBIRTH: JUSTICE LEAGUE ACTION FIGURE 7-PACK | AUG160372 | DC |
10 |
STRANGER THINGS: DEMOGORGON DELUXE ACTION FIGURE | SEP178832 | TMP |
TOP 10 GAMES BY DOLLARS INVOICED
RANK |
DESCRIPTION |
ITEM CODE |
VENDOR |
1 |
MARVEL HEROCLIX: AVENGERS INFINITY COLOSSAL BOOSTER BRICK | DEC172935 | NEC |
2 |
STARFINDER RPG: PACT WORLDS HC | JAN182863 | PAI |
3 |
CRITICAL ROLE: TAL DOREI CAMPAIGN SETTING HC | JUN173357 | GRE |
4 |
PATHFINDER RPG: ULTIMATE MAGIC POCKET EDITION | FEB182807 | PAI |
5 |
PATHFINDER RPG: BESTIARY 4 POCKET EDITION | FEB182806 | PAI |
6 |
STARFINDER ADVENTURE PATH: DEAD SUNS PART 5 SC | FEB182808 | PAI |
7 |
PATHFINDER RPG: CORE RULEBOOK | JUN091729 | PAI |
8 |
PATHFINDER RPG: CORE RULEBOOK POCKET EDITION | APR168770 | PAI |
9 |
STARFINDER RPG ALIEN: ARCHIVE HC | AUG173202 | PAI |
10 |
PATHFINDER RPG: BOOK OF THE DAMNED HC | JUL173377 | PAI |
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.