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Marvel Returns to Dominate November 2018 Marketshare as Spider-Man Goes Head-To-Head With Batman

That's a turnaround for Marvel Comics. While claiming the leading comics marketshare in the North American direct market of late, their lead over DC Comics had been chipped away in recent months.

In August, Marvel Comics had a 40.87% dollar share and a 43.12% unit share of the North American direct market. In September, the dollars were down with a 39.86% dollar share and a 43.24% unit share. In October, a massive drop by five and a half points to a 34.22% dollar share and a 37.89% unit share. That's huge. But not huge enough to stop them having the lead. Over three months, Marvel lost six-and-a-half points in marketshare.

Marvel Returns to Dominate November 2018 Marketshare as Spider-Man Goes Head-To-Head With Batman

Meanwhile, in August, DC Comics had a 27.51% dollar share and a 31.02% unit share. In September, that built to 29.06% dollar share and a 32.76% unit share. In October, that jumped to 30.48% dollar share and a 32.99% unit share. They'd gained a few points, with Image Comics and others getting the rest.

In November 2018, the tanker has been turned. With help from the launch of a new Uncanny X-Men #1, Marvel Comics was November's top publisher with a 40.80% dollar share and a 43.75% unit share. That's six points up in one month, and level pegging to where they were in August.

While DC dropped back under the psychologically important 30% mark, with  26.74% dollar share and a 29.51% unit share.

Marvel Returns to Dominate November 2018 Marketshare as Spider-Man Goes Head-To-Head With Batman

Image Comics also suffered from Marvel's rise, and well past October's Walking Dead Day Image Comics was third with a 8.57% dollar share and a 8.50% unit share. In fourth was IDW Publishing with a 3.62% dollar share and a 3.39% unit share, followed by Dark Horse Comics with a 3.37% dollar share and a 2.58% unit share, BOOM! Studios with a 2.95% dollar share and a 2.49% unit share, and Dynamite Entertainment with a 2.24% dollar share and a 2.11% unit share.

It's also notable that Amazing Spider-Man #10 beat out Batman #58 and #59, though not #9. That's not a normal thing for a non-launch Marvel title to do and Batman has dominated standard Amazing Spider-Man sales for years. It appears there was a slight Batman slump after the non-wedding and Spider-Man has been gaining a Nick Spencer bump. Is this a blip or will it continue?

November was a four Wednesday month compared to October's five Wednesday month, and sales are down around the usual 20%. But as November 2017 was also a five Wednesday month, that has been enough to turn a slight dollar growth year-on-year of 0.38% in October 2018 has slipped into a deficit of -0.98%. Will December 2018 be able to push it into the black for the end of the year? Either way total comics sales are down even if revenue may be ever so slightly up…

Among the premier publishers, Image Comics' The Walking Dead #185 ranked #18; BOOM! Studios' Firefly #1,  ranked #22; IDW's Marvel Action: Spider-Man #1 ranked #48; Dark Horse Comics' Stranger Things #3 ranked #67; and Dynamite Entertainment's  Elvira: Mistress of the Dark #3 ranked #156. Venom Volume 1: Rex by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman was the best-selling graphic novel of November. Dark Horse Comics' The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: Creating a Champion was the best-selling book of November. DC Collectibles' DC Comics Bombshells: Batman & Catwoman Statue, based on Ant Lucia's pin-up styled artwork and sculpted by Jack Mathews, was November's best-selling toy product. And Shinobi 7's My Hero Academia Card Game, based on the popular manga and anime, was November's best-selling game.

TOP COMIC BOOK PUBLISHERS

PUBLISHER

DOLLAR

SHARE

UNIT

SHARE

MARVEL COMICS

40.80%

43.75%

DC ENTERTAINMENT

26.74%

29.51%

IMAGE COMICS

8.57%

8.50%

IDW PUBLISHING

3.62%

3.39%

DARK HORSE COMICS

3.37%

2.58%

BOOM! STUDIOS

2.95%

2.49%

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

2.24%

2.11%

VIZ MEDIA

1.26%

0.48%

TITAN COMICS

1.20%

0.80%

ONI PRESS INC.

0.97%

0.80%

OTHER NON-TOP 10

8.28%

5.58%

 

 COMPARATIVE SALES STATISTICS

DOLLARS

UNITS

NOVEMBER 2018 VS. OCTOBER 2018

COMICS

-16.49%

-19.71%

GRAPHIC NOVELS

-21.10%

-23.49%

TOTAL COMICS/GN

-17.81%

-19.99%

TOYS

6.76%

-23.81%

NOVEMBER 2018 VS. NOVEMBER 2017

COMICS

-4.98%

-11.24%

GRAPHIC NOVELS

-30.36%

-31.11%

TOTAL COMICS/GN

-13.61%

-13.02%

TOYS

-10.88%

-19.52%

YEAR-TO-DATE 2018 VS. YEAR-TO-DATE 2017

COMICS

1.48%

-6.06%

GRAPHIC NOVELS

-6.67%

-7.25%

TOTAL COMICS/GN

-0.98%

-6.15%

TOYS

-3.25%

-3.25%

 

NEW TITLES SHIPPED

PUBLISHER

COMICS SHIPPED

GRAPHIC NOVELS SHIPPED

MAGAZINES SHIPPED

TOTAL

SHIPPED

MARVEL COMICS

79

39

0

118

DC COMICS

67

40

0

107

IMAGE COMICS

57

18

0

75

IDW PUBLISHING

33

14

0

47

BOOM! STUDIOS

23

16

0

39

DARK HORSE COMICS

16

19

0

35

TITAN COMICS

10

13

5

28

VIZ MEDIA LLC

0

26

0

26

DYNAMITE

17

4

0

21

ONI PRESS INC.

8

4

0

12

OTHER NON-TOP 10

113

206

17

336

TOTAL

423

399

22

844

 

TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS BY UNITS SHIPPED

RANK

DESCRIPTION

PRICE

ITEM CODE

VENDOR

1

UNCANNY X-MEN #1

$7.99

SEP180791-M MAR

2

THE GREEN LANTERN #1

$4.99

SEP180430-M DC

3

WEB OF VENOM: CARNAGE BORN #1

$4.99

SEP180855-M MAR

4

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #10

$3.99

SEP180916-M MAR

5

BATMAN #58

$3.99

SEP180450-M DC

6

BATMAN #59

$3.99

SEP180452-M DC

7

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #9

$3.99

SEP180914-M MAR

8

HEROES IN CRISIS #3

$3.99

SEP180434-M DC

9

AVENGERS #10

$5.99

SEP180829-M MAR

10

VENOM #8

$3.99

SEP180918-M MAR

 

TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS BY DOLLARS INVOICED

RANK

DESCRIPTION

PRICE

ITEM CODE

VENDOR

1

UNCANNY X-MEN #1

$7.99

SEP180791-M MAR

2

WEB OF VENOM: CARNAGE BORN #1

$4.99

SEP180855-M MAR

3

THE GREEN LANTERN #1

$4.99

SEP180430-M DC

4

AVENGERS #10

$5.99

SEP180829-M MAR

5

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #10

$3.99

SEP180916-M MAR

6

BATMAN #58

$3.99

SEP180450-M DC

7

BATMAN #59

$3.99

SEP180452-M DC

8

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #9

$3.99

SEP180914-M MAR

9

HEROES IN CRISIS #3

$3.99

SEP180434-M DC

10

VENOM #8

$3.99

SEP180918-M MAR

 

TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS BY UNITS SHIPPED

RANK

DESCRIPTION

PRICE

ITEM CODE

VENDOR

1

VENOM BY DONNY CATES VOLUME 1: REX TP

$17.99

AUG181081 MAR

2

THANOS: THE INFINITY CONFLICT HC

$24.99

AUG181076 MAR

3

JUSTICE LEAGUE VOLUME 1: THE TOTALITY TP

$17.99

AUG180630 DC

4

BLACK EYED PEAS PRESENTS: MASTERS OF THE SUN: THE  ZOMBIE CHRONICLES TP

$24.99

APR171143 MAR

5

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN BY NICK SPENCER VOLUME 1: BACK TO BASICS TP

$15.99

SEP181008 MAR

6

THE IMMORTAL HULK VOLUME 1: OR IS HE BOTH? TP

$15.99

AUG181082 MAR

7

BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT TP

$19.99

JUL180733 DC

8

UNNATURAL VOLUME 1: AWAKENING TP (MR)

$9.99

SEP180132 IMA

9

STAR WARS: LANDO: DOUBLE OR NOTHING TP

$15.99

JUL181171 MAR

10

DOMINO VOLUME 1: KILLER INSTINCT TP

$17.99

AUG181085 MAR

 

TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS BY DOLLARS INVOICED

RANK

DESCRIPTION

PRICE

ITEM CODE

VENDOR

1

X-MEN MUTANT: MASSACRE OMNIBUS HC

$100.00

MAY180951 MAR

2

THANOS: THE INFINITY CONFLICT HC

$24.99

AUG181076 MAR

3

ABSOLUTE TRANSMETROPOLITAN VOLUME 3 HC (MR)

$125.00

MAR180362 DC

4

SILVER SURFER BY SLOTT AND ALLRED OMNIBUS HC

$75.00

MAY180954 MAR

5

BLACK EYED PEAS PRESENTS: MASTERS OF THE SUN: THE ZOMBIE CHRONICLES TP

$24.99

APR171143 MAR

6

VENOM BY DONNY CATES VOLUME 1: REX TP

$17.99

AUG181081 MAR

7

FIREFLY: BIG DAMN HEROES BOX SET

$150.00

SEP181294 BOO

8

WONDER WOMAN: THE GOLDEN AGE OMNIBUS VOL. 3 HC

$125.00

APR180285 DC

9

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: THE MIGHTY THOR VOLUME 17 HC

$75.00

MAY180957-M MAR

10

JUSTICE LEAGUE VOLUME 1: THE TOTALITY TP

$17.99

AUG180630 DC

 

TOP 10 BOOKS BY UNITS SHIPPED

RANK

DESCRIPTION

PRICE

ITEM CODE

VENDOR

1

LEGEND OF ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD: CREATING A CHAMPION HC

$39.99

JUL180425 DAR

2

BLACK PANTHER LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK

$4.99

NOV172179 GOL

3

GIGER HC

$15.00

SEP181990 TAS

4

ART MATTERS: BECAUSE YOUR IMAGINATION CAN CHANGE WORLD

$19.99

OCT182016 WIL

5

DARK SOULS III DESIGN WORKS HC

$49.99

JUN182173 UDO

6

SPECTRUM ART BOOK 25 SC

$35.00

SEP181796 FLE

7

FIREFLY: BIG DAMN HERO HC

$22.95

AUG182286 TTN

8

GHOSTBUSTERS LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK

$4.99

JUL162266 GOL

9

FINAL FANTASY VII: ON THE WAY TO A SMILE SC

$14.00

AUG182452 YEN

10

MARVEL STUDIOS: THE FIRST 10 YEARS HC

$24.99

SEP182051 TTN

 

TOP 10 TOYS BY DOLLARS INVOICED

RANK

DESCRIPTION

ITEM CODE

VENDOR

1

DC COMICS BOMBSHELLS: BATMAN & CATWOMAN STATUE MAY180613 DC

2

BATMAN BLACK & WHITE: THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS STATUE MAY180609 DC

3

MARVEL GALLERY: VENOM COMIC PVC FIGURE MAY182304 DST

4

MARVEL GALLERY: AVENGERS INFINITY WAR: DR. STRANGE PVC FIGURE AUG178008 DST

5

LEGEND OF ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD: GUARDIAN NENDOROID JAN188701 GOO

6

EVIL DEAD 2: DEAD BY DAWN: ASH WILLIAMS BISHOUJO STATUE MAY182647 KOT

7

MARVEL UNIVERSE: BLACK PANTHER ARTFX+ STATUE MAY182646 KOT

8

MARVEL GALLERY: BLACK PANTHER MOVIE (VER. 2) PVC FIGURE MAY182305 DST

9

MARVEL SELECT: JUGGERNAUT FIGURE JUN101512 DST

10

DC COVER GIRLS: CATWOMAN BY JOELLE JONES STATUE MAY180610 DC

 

TOP 10 GAMES BY DOLLARS INVOICED

RANK

DESCRIPTION

ITEM CODE

VENDOR

1

MY HERO ACADEMIA CARD GAME JUL183082 SHI

2

MAGIC THE GATHERING TCG: GUILDS OF RAVNICA BOOSTERS AUG183192 WIZ

3

D&D ICONS OF THE REALM SET 10 AUG183199 NEC

4

BATMAN THE ANIMATED SERIES: GOTHAM UNDER SIEGE GAME JUN180756 IDW

5

RISK RICK & MORTY BOARD GAME OCT182927 USA

6

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES MUNCHKIN MAY180770 IDW

7

PATHFINDER BATTLES: KINGMAKER BOOSTER BRICK AUG183201 NEC

8

RICK AND MORTY DBG: THE RICKSHANK RICKDEMPTION MAY188741 PSI

9

FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDYS MONOPOLY BOARD GAME SEP182828 USA

10

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS RPG: WATERDEEP DRAGON HEIST HC AUG183190 WIZ

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Rich JohnstonAbout Rich Johnston

Founder of Bleeding Cool. The longest-serving digital news reporter in the world, since 1992. Author of The Flying Friar, Holed Up, The Avengefuls, Doctor Who: Room With A Deja Vu, The Many Murders Of Miss Cranbourne, Chase Variant. Lives in South-West London, works from Blacks on Dean Street, shops at Piranha Comics. Father of two. Political cartoonist.
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