For information about and analysis of these numbers, see 'Ten Cent Batman Boffo.'
For analysis of over-all dollar trends for the month, see 'Comics Up 18% in January.'
 
QtyRank  GuideDescriptionPricePubEst Qty
128.01STAR WARS ZAM WESELL TP$5.95 DAR13,223
227.67LONE WOLF & CUB VOL 18 LAST KUROKUWA TP$9.95 DAR13,063
326.729-11 EMERGENCY RELIEF GN (MR)$14.95 ALT12,614
49.66TRANSMETROPOLITAN VOL 6 GOUGE AWAY TP (MR)$14.95 DC4,560
58.08ESSENTIAL ANT MAN$14.95 MAR3,814
67.99JLA VOL 8 DIVIDED WE FALL TP$17.95 DC3,772
77.9STAR WARS INFINITIES A NEW HOPE TP$12.95 DAR3,730
87.29UNIVERSE X VOL 1$24.95 MAR3,442
96.9WONDER WOMAN PARADISE LOST TP$14.95 DC3,257
106PUNISHER ARMY OF ONE$15.95 MAR2,833
115.83USAGI YOJIMBO GRASSCUTTER II JOURNEY TO ATSUTA SHRINE TP$15.95 DAR2,752
125.76SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN$12.95 MAR2,719
135.6ART OF COMIC BOOK WRITING TP$14.95 DAR2,644
145.51GUNSMITH CATS MISTYS RUN TP (MR)$14.95 DAR2,601
155.41GOLDEN AGE GREEN LANTERN ARCHIVES VOL 2 HC$49.95 DC2,554
165.15EXILES$12.95 MAR2,431
174.76DR STRANGE A SEPARATE REALITY$19.95 MAR2,247
184.26LIFE & DEATH OF CAPTAIN MARVEL$24.95 MAR2,011
194.19MARVEL MASTERWORKS UNCANNY X-MEN TP$49.95 MAR1,978
204.16DRAGONBALL VOL 7 TP$12.95 VIZ1,964
214.08CAPTAIN AMERICA TO SERVE & PROTECT TP$17.95 MAR1,926
224.04BLACKMARK TP (MR)$16.95 FAN1,907
233.78TOMORROW STORIES BOOK ONE HC$24.95 DC1,785
243.65CYBERTRONIAN TRG UNOFFICIAL TRANSFORMERS GD VOL 4$24.95 ANT1,723
253.59NO NEED FOR TENCHI VOL 11 TP$15.95 VIZ1,695

 

Notes on this chart:

Some titles have been truncated or abbreviated for space reasons.

Publisher abbreviations have also been used.

Mar = Marvel

Dar = Dark Horse

Ima = Image

Bla = Black Bull

Car = Cartoon Books

Har = Harris

Cro = Crossgen

Bon = Bongo

Tok = Tokyo Pop

Cha = Chaos

 

The quantities in this chart are ICv2 estimates of initial raw orders to Diamond North America on titles scheduled for shipment in January 2002. 

 

Marvel, DC, Dark Horse and Image distribute 100% of their comic store orders through Diamond.  Some other publishers distribute directly to stores or through other distributors and as a result this analysis may underestimate their sales. 

 

Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, and Image distribute some of their titles through channels other than comic specialty stores, e.g., newsstands and bookstores.  These quantity estimates do not reflect distribution through those channels. 

 

The quantities above do not include advance reorders, late orders, or reorders.

 

Most of the titles on this chart are also distributed to Europe by Diamond UK, which can account for significant sales for the publisher, ranging from 3-20% of the US numbers.   Sales by Diamond UK are not included in the numbers above.

 

Even given the above, however, it is probably safe to say that these quantities reflect 80% or more of the total North American sales by the publisher on most periodical comics.   

 

One other factor to consider is that sales through Diamond and other comic distributors are non-returnable to retailers.  That means that there is a considerable unknown percentage of books unsold at the retailer level.  If that percentage is 10-20% of sales (a reasonable assumption), the estimates above may be quite close to actual sales to consumers.

 

For last month's top comic list, see 'Top 300 Comics -- December 2001.'

 

For last month's graphic novel list, see 'Top 25 Graphic Novels -- December 2001.'

 

For an overview and analysis of last month's numbers, see 'The Return of the Million Dollar Comic.'

 

For an analysis of the over-all dollar trends for December, see 'December Comic Orders Up 7% Over Last Year.'