Posted in: Comics | Tagged: brazil, Comics, dc, monica

This Is What A Half-Million-Selling American Comic Book Looks Like

Published Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:15:37 -0500

Last updated Thu, 28 May 2026 16:50:56 -0500

Yesterday, announcing over 200,000 sales of Justice League #1, DC declared it the best-selling comic book of the year. I took issue with that, citing other graphic novels, trade collections, BD albums, manga volumes and digital comics. And got it in the neck for it. But there you go. "Comic book" does not just mean a printed on paper, non-perfect bound, under 50 pages, floppy magazine with comics in it. But even if it did, and even if you kept it just to the American continents, it still would be wrong. When you have something like Teen Monica's Gang being printed in Brazil. Issue 34 here united two popular characters in a kiss and added 100,000 sales, bringing it to a total of 500,000. The comic sold out. Normally it only sells 400,000…

: Teen Monica's Gang #34

: Teen Monica's Gang #34

Why do I care? Because it's one of the bigger publishers in the USA, making a claim about their product that ignores the rest of the world and the rest of the medium, and defines their product publicly in narrowly understood marketing terms. Rather than embracing and recognising the medium and its place within it. So, you know. That.

Teen Monica's Gang is a Brazilian manga-style spin-off comic series based on the children's comic Monica's Gang. It launched in August 2008 and reimagines the classic characters as 15-year-old teenagers, blending slice-of-life teen drama with action, romance, humour, anime/manga influences, and occasional fantasy or pop culture references. The series shifts from the episodic, kid-friendly gags of the original to more serialised stories aimed at preteens and teens. The series keeps the wholesome, friendship-focused heart of the original Monica's Gang while updating it for an older audience. It's hugely nostalgic and culturally significant in Brazil, where the franchise spans generations. The Justice League can't get close to this kind of performance, especially on a regular basis…

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