Diamond Announces Top Products for September 2009
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The Battle Between the Lantern Corps and the Black Lanterns Sent DC Comics to the Top of September’s Sales Charts With Blackest Night #3
If you are not familiar with how Diamond’s sales figures, these numbers are based on the amount of units shipping out from Diamond’s warehouses to their network of over 4,000 accounts, comprised of comic book specialty shops and other merchant stores and buyers.
The data therefore does not reflect the actual number of units that ended up in the hands of customers, but rather is based upon what retailers estimate that they will be able to sell. The obvious flaw to this system is that if a retailer made a huge over-order for a certain title, and ended up having to pulp a few hundred books, this will not be reflected in these sales charts. Also, this list does not reflect the amount of customers who buy their comics directly from the publisher by subscription or other means. It’s not perfect, but its as close as we’re going to get…
The following charts show the Top 10 Retailers, Comics, Graphic Novels & Trade Paper Backs, Toys & Statues, and Games for the month of September 2009. In a few days Diamond will be releasing their top 300 charts. I plan to post this list, then crunch the numbers a bit, breaking it up into company, genre etc. and I shall also construct a top indy comics chart.
Top Publishers
The numbers below reflect the overall market share of the top ten comic publishers for the month of August 2009. The number in the first column is the market share in terms of actual units sold, and the number in the second column is the market share in terms of the total dollar amount per publisher.
Marvel Comics took the top publisher spot in September, leading in both the Unit Market and Dollar Shares categories, with a 47.58% Unit Market Share and a 40.72% Dollar Share for the month, bringing them up 3.72% and 1.02% respectively from last months numbers.
DC Comics came in second this month, but with much lower sale from last month, down by 3.30% Unit Market Share and a 2.69% Dollar Share for the month!
The rest of the publisher chart looks pretty much the same as it did last month, with no position changes and only a few decimal point changes in sales numbers for everyone.
| PUBLISHER | UNIT MARKET SHARE | DOLLAR SHARE |
|---|---|---|
| MARVEL COMICS | 47.58% | 40.72% |
| DC COMICS | 32.74% | 30.47% |
| DARK HORSE COMICS | 3.72% | 5.82% |
| IMAGE COMICS | 2.93% | 3.20% |
| IDW PUBLISHING | 2.58% | 3.19% |
| DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT | 2.11% | 2.22% |
| BOOM! STUDIOS | 1.42% | 1.52% |
| ARCHIE COMICS | 0.95% | 0.63% |
| VIZ MEDIA | 0.62% | 1.23% |
Top 10 Comics
Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis’ cosmic company-wide crossover event Blackest Night #3 ramped up the battle between the Lantern Corps and the undead Black Lanterns, providing DC Comics with the best-selling comic book title for September 2009, based upon total unit sales to comic book specialty shops, according to Diamond Comic Distributors.
This is great new for Johns and DC, as this is the second month that Blackest Night has topped the charts (Blackest Night #1 was #2 in July), meaning that fans are reacting well to their latest company crossover.
Captain America Reborn continues to be a good seller for Marvel, as it retains it’s #2 spot from last month.
Batman & Robin #4 & Green Lantern #45 takes the third and fourth spots, again maintaining their sales positions from last month, proving to be two fantastic sellers for DC Comics!
The rest of the Top 10 chart is comprised of solely DC and Marvel titles, with DC ringing up six titles, and Marvel ringing up four. This is slightly unexpected, as the publisher sales charts indicate that DC is down in sales, while Marvel is up!
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | PRICE | ITEM CODE | VENDOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BLACKEST NIGHT #3 | $3.99 | JUL090144-M | DC |
| 2 | CAPTAIN AMERICA: REBORN #3 | $3.99 | JUL090458-M | MAR |
| 3 | BATMAN AND ROBIN #4 | $2.99 | JUL090168-M | DC |
| 4 | GREEN LANTERN #46 | $2.99 | JUL090153-M | DC |
| 5 | WOLVERINE: GIANT-SIZE OLD MAN LOGAN #1 | $4.99 | JUL090561-M | MAR |
| 6 | BLACKEST NIGHT: BATMAN #2 | $2.99 | JUL090149-M | DC |
| 7 | NEW AVENGERS #57 | $3.99 | JUL090500-M | MAR |
| 8 | GREEN LANTERN CORPS #40 | $2.99 | JUL090155-M | DC |
| 9 | DARK AVENGERS #9 | $3.99 | JUL090499 | MAR |
| 10 | BLACKEST NIGHT: SUPERMAN #2 | $2.99 | JUL090147-M | DC |
Top 10 TPBs and GNs
Dark Horse Comics’ continuing adventures of Joss Whedon’s classic character Buffy Summers in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 Volume 5: Predator and Prey gave the Oregon publisher the best-selling graphic novel for the month of September.
Dark Horse also take the number two spot, with The Umbrella Academy Volume 2: Dallas TP
The rest of the Top 10 chart isn’t quite as interesting as it was last month, which was a virtual smorgasbord of small press, indy and creator owned titles. This month Dark horse ranked four titles, DC rank four, and Marvel rank two.
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | PRICE | ITEM CODE | VENDOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SEASON 8 VOLUME 5: PREDATOR & PREY TP | $15.95 | MAY090057 | DAR |
| 2 | THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY VOLUME 2: DALLAS TP | $17.95 | JUN090040 | DAR |
| 3 | DMZ VOLUME 7: WAR POWERS TP (MR) | $14.99 | JUN090262 | DC |
| 4 | THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ HC | $29.99 | JUL090457 | MAR |
| 5 | SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN VOLUME 6 TP | $19.95 | APR090029 | DAR |
| 6 | BATMAN: CACOPHONY HC | $19.99 | MAY090177 | DC |
| 7 | BATMAN: THE BLACK GLOVE TP | $17.99 | JUN090205 | DC |
| 8 | FABLES DELUXE EDITION VOLUME 1 HC (MR) | $29.99 | MAY090235 | DC |
| 9 | CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE MAN WITH NO FACE TP | $15.99 | JUL090619 | MAR |
| 10 | THE GOON VOLUME 9: CALAMITY OF CONSCIENCE TP | $15.95 | JUN090056 | DAR |
Top 10 Toys & Statues
Diamond Select Toys’ Back to the Future: DeLorean Mark I Car, recreating the iconic time travel machine from the Robert Zemekis film, was the best-selling Toy product.
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | ITEM CODE | VENDOR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BACK TO THE FUTURE: DELOREAN MARK I CAR | MAR094739 | DST |
| 2 | BATMAN: BLACK AND WHITE STATUE -- MAZZUCCHELLI STATUE | FEB090302 | DC |
| 3 | RED DAREDEVIL ON GARGOYLE STATUE | MAY091512 | BOW |
| 4 | JLI SERIES 2 ACTION FIGURES | JAN090302 | DC |
| 5 | HEROES OF THE DCU: SUPERMAN BUST | FEB090294 | DC |
| 6 | JEAN GREY STATUE | FEB094918 | BOW |
| 7 | STAR TREK: "MIRROR MIRROR" ISS ENTERPRISE SHIP | FEB098006 | DST |
| 8 | ARKHAM ASYLUM BOXED SET | FEB090301 | DC |
| 9 | SUPERMAN/BATMAN DVD: BATMAN MAQUETTE | JUL090311 | DC |
| 10 | SUPERMAN/BATMAN DVD: SUPERMAN MAQUETTE | JUL090310 | DC |
Top 10 Games
Wizard of the Coast’s Magic the Gathering TCG: Zendikar Booster Packs, the latest expansion for their popular trading card game, was September’s best-selling Game product to comic book specialty shops.
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | ITEM CODE | VENDOR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MAGIC THE GATHERING TCG: ZENDIKAR BOOSTER PACKS | AUG091778 | WIZ |
| 2 | MAGIC THE GATHERING TCG: 2010 CORE SET BOOSTER PACKS | MAY091798 | WIZ |
| 3 | YU GI OH TCG: 5DS ANCIENT PROPHECY BOOSTER PACKS | JUL091697 | KON |
| 4 | YU GI OH TCG: 5DS JACK ATLAS COLLECTIBLE TINS | JUL091699 | KON |
| 5 | MAGIC THE GATHERING TCG: SHARDS ALARA INTRO PACKS | MAY088381 | WIZ |
| 6 | POKEMON TCG: 2009 HOLIDAY COLLECTORS WAVE 1 TINS | JUL091716 | POK |
| 7 | SUPER MARIO BROS CHESS | JUL091739 | USA |
| 8 | D&D 4TH-EDITION DUNGEON MASTERS GUIDE II | JUL091747 | WIZ |
| 9 | RISK: HALO WARS COLLECTORS EDITION | JUN091743 | USA |
| 10 | MAGIC THE GATHERING PLANECHASE CARD GAME | JUL091755 | WIZ |
How does Diamond calculate the charts?
It all starts at the comic book shop. Data for Diamond’s sales charts—which include the monthly market shares and all top product charts—are compiled by Diamond Comic Distributors from a universe of over 4,000+ accounts, comprised of comic book specialty shops and other merchant stores and buyers. The shops are primarily located in North America, with a percentage of sales also to international stores and buyers located throughout the world. The account base includes brick-and-mortar comic book specialty shops, Internet merchants, and other specialty stores.
Unit and dollars sales are calculated based upon orders invoiced and shipped to Diamond accounts during any given month, which comprises initial pre-orders, advance reorders, and reorders, minus any copies that are received back from a title marked as returnable.
ABOUT DIAMOND COMIC DISTRIBUTORS
The world’s largest distributor of English-language comic books and pop-culture related merchandise, Diamond is based in Baltimore, MD, and services more than 4,000 specialty retailers worldwide. For more information, visit Diamond on the web at www.diamondcomics.com.
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