For an over-view and analysis of the best-selling comics and graphic novels in March, see 'Mundane March Titles Hold Their Own.'
 
For the dollar trends for March and the first quarter of 2002, see 'Comics and Graphic Novels Complete Q1 Hat Trick.'
 
QtyRank  GuideDescription  PricePubEst.Qty
127.94LONE WOLF & CUB VOL 20 TASTE OF POISON TP (MR)$9.95 DAR13,429
217.43SEPTEMBER 11 VOL 2 (Net)$5.00 DC8,377
316.79SEPTEMBER 11 VOL 1 (Net)$5.00 DAR8,070
414.74GI JOE VOL 1 TP$24.95 MAR7,084
513.55GREEN ARROW QUIVER HC$24.95 DC6,513
612.46ULTIMATE X-MEN VOL 2 WEAPON X TP$14.95 MAR5,989
711.2KING DAVID SC (MR)$19.95 DC5,383
810.33BATMAN NINE LIVES HC$24.95 DC4,965
99.87ASTRO BOY VOL 2 TP$9.95 DAR4,744
109.56MAD ABOUT SUPER-HEROES TP$9.95 DC4,595
119.09DAWN RETURN O/T GODDESS TP (MR)$12.95 IMA4,369
128.31BEST OF SPIDER-MAN VOL 1 HC$34.95 MAR3,994
138.07SWAMP THING VOLUME 5 EARTH TO EARTH TP (MR)$17.95 DC3,879
147.96ESSENTIAL MARVEL TEAM UP TP$14.95 MAR3,826
157.86TRANSFORMERS VOL 3 PRIMAL SCREAM TP$19.99 TIT3,778
167.68VAMPIRES HC (MR)$14.95 DAR3,691
176.02DOOM PATROL ARCHIVES VOL 1 HC$49.95 DC2,893
185.95BATMAN HUNTRESS CRY FOR BLOOD TP$12.95 DC2,860
195.77TOP TEN BOOK TWO HC$24.95 DC2,773
205.35SPIDER-MAN PARALLEL LIVES TP$5.95 MAR2,571
215.33KOLCHAK NIGHT STALKER GN (MR)$6.50 MNS2,562
225.23ART OF COMIC BOOK INKING VOL 2 TP (MR)$14.95 DAR2,514
235.22ROSE SC$19.95 CAR2,509
245.05MARVEL MASTERWORKS SUB MARINER HC$49.95 MAR2,427
254.89X-MEN MUTANT GENESIS TP$17.95 MAR2,350
264.84FLASH BLOOD WILL RUN TP$17.95 DC2,326
274.72RING O/T NIBELUNG RHINEGOLD & VALKYRIE VOL 1 TP$21.95 DAR2,269
284.53DRAGONBALL Z VOL 8 TP$12.95 VIZ2,177
294.3GROO MAIDEN TP$12.95 DAR2,067
304.18SIMPSONS UNCHAINED TP$14.95 BON2,009
314.14SCION VOL 2 TP$19.95 CRO1,990
324.06SPIDER-MAN TANGLED WEB VOL 2 TP$14.95 MAR1,951
334MYSTIC VOL 2 TP$19.95 CRO1,923
343.97X-TREME X-MEN SAVAGE LAND TP$12.95 MAR1,908
353.97QUEEN & COUNTRY VOL 1 TP (MR)$11.95 ONI1,908
363.76NOWHERESVILLE TP (MR)$14.95 IMA1,807
373.69UNION JACK TP$11.50 MAR1,774
383.68CARDCAPTOR SAKURA VOL 6 PKT GN$9.99 TKP1,769
393.3KRAZY & IGNATZ KOMPLETE KAT KOMICS 1925-26 TP$14.95 FAN1,586
403.1GEN 13 SUPER-HUMAN LIKE YOU TP$12.95 DC1,490
413.07CERES CELESTIAL LEGEND VOL 1 AYA TP$15.95 VIZ1,476
423.03BTVS OUT O/T WOODWORK TP$12.95 DAR1,456
432.89CLICK VOL 4 (A)$10.95 NBM1,389
442.8CLOVER VOL 4 PKT GN$14.99 TKP1,346
452.74SORCERER HUNTERS VOL 9 PKT GN$12.99 TKP1,317
462.67DIRTY PAIR SIM HELL 3RD ED TP (MR)$14.95 DAR1,283
472.64GUNDAM WING BATTLEFIELD OF PACIFISTS VOL 1 TP$9.99 TKP1,269
482.59WHITE DEATH GN$12.95 AIT1,245
492.55STRAY BULLETS VOL 6 TP (MR)$14.95 EL1,226
502.52SKIZZ GN$16.99

DIA

1,211

 

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 March 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 -- February 2002.'

 

For last month's graphic novel list, see 'Top 25 Graphic Novels -- February 2002.'

 

For an overview and analysis of last month's numbers, see 'DKSA #1 Again for February.

 

For an analysis of the over-all dollar trends for February, see 'Comics and Graphic Novels Continue Growth in February.'