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The Walking Dead #187 Returns to Top ComiXology Bestseller List. 4th January 2019

Published Fri, 04 Jan 2019 12:30:39 -0600

Matthew Snyder writes,

Welcome to the ComiXology Bestseller list, your guide to see how well your favorite titles are selling digitally. Every week I'll post the ranking of every new title, plus a ranking of the best selling volumes & graphic novels. As always, I hope you find it interesting and informative.

DC is back and refreshed from vacation, and starts out 2019 with a big victory in the Top 10, claiming 7 spots compared to Marvel's 2 and Image's 1. After The Walking Dead had to settle for No. 2 last month (a rare occurrence), it edged out Heroes in Crisis for the crown this week. And with all this schedule shifting, we're able to create a clearer picture for the overall bestselling digital comics. Doomsday Clock beat The Walking Dead, The Walking Dead beat Heroes in Crisis, and Heroes in Crisis beat Fantastic Four. These four would probably be the top four in a digital comics power rankings, but unfortunately we won't know for sure unless Fantastic Four releases the same week as Batman and Justice League. And if the schedule holds, it won't happen anytime soon. Of course, when Saga returns, it would automatically become No. 1, as it is the only comic to beat Doomsday Clock.

With this being a softer week, many DC titles returned to the Top 10, including Flash, Wonder Woman, Titans and Justice League Odyssey. But from Marvel, Tony Stark: Iron Man couldn't make the cut, even with reduced competition. So I'm sorry to break the news Tony, but you're now officially a B-lister. You can still date TV stars and make cameos on Saturday Night Live, but unfortunately Leonardo DiCaprio will no longer return your calls.

If you would have asked me last year where a brand new Conan the Barbarian series would land in the New Issue Rankings would've said in or around the 40s. Conan is just one of those characters that everyone seems to know, yet a relaunch would draw only minor buzz around the comics industry. Even when Conan was co-starring with Wonder Woman last year, he could only hit No. 41 in the final issue.

That was before Marvel got the rights back from Dark Horse and put superstar writer Jason Aaron in the driver's seat. The legendary barbarian is back where he first began his comics career, and the result is a No. 15 ranking, resulting the most hype for a Conan comic in a long time. Here's hoping it can stay this high, and not crash and burn like a certain Jason Mamoa remake. (Pro tip: if Hollywood Undead is playing in a movie trailer, it's going to suck).

This development does not bode well for Dark Horse, because in addition to losing the rights to Conan they have also lost Buffy the Vampire Slayer to BOOM!. But they still have the Black Hammer and Hellboy franchises to lean on, and a deal with Netflix for more Stranger Things miniseries. So what does the future hold for Dark Horse? I have no clue, but I fear in the next ten years, the Big 2 will start buying out more rights from indie publishers, and maybe even the publishers themselves. Hellboy might join the DC Universe, and the Injustice 2 DLC prophecy will be complete.

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