Posted in: Batman, Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News, DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Spider-Man | Tagged: Absolute Batman, ultimate spider-man

Absolute Batman #1 Wasn't 2024 Best-Seller, Ultimate Spider-Man #1 Was

Absolute Batman #1 was not 2024's best-seller in comic book stores. Ultimate Spider-Man #1 was.

Published Mon, 02 Dec 2024 08:57:09 -0600

by Rich Johnston

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DC Comics PR made a claim that Absolute Batman #1 at around 400,000 copies were ordered by stores across printings. Bleeding Cool tried to provide some context to those figures, but other news sources reported it uncritically.

David Brooke at AIPT headlined "'Absolute Batman' #1 breaks records: How it became 2024's best-selling comic 'Absolute Batman,' with his massive axe and chest emblem, is the #1 comic of the year!" saying "DC Comics has revealed Absolute Batman #1 is the highest-selling comic of 2024. As a periodical sold through the direct market across all printings, DC Comics tells me Absolute Batman has sold just under 400,000 copies."
Dashel Reeves at ScreenRant reported, "DC Locks in Best-Selling Comic of 2024, Marking an Iconic Hero's Next Hit" adding, "There's no denying that Batman is one of the most popular comic book characters ever made, and he's proved it again as his latest new comic just became the best-selling comic of 2024." While Joe Antony Mook retreated this saying " Absolute Batman #1 in particular has become the highest-selling comic of 2024, sporting over 400,000 sold copies."
Chris Arrant, EIC at Popverse reported, "Absolute Batman #1 is absolutely the best-selling comic book of the year (so far)" though qualified that in the article, stating "DC has announced that October 2024's Absolute Batman #1 is the best-selling comic book of 2024 – and it's only been on sale for 42 days."
Alex Zalben at Comic Club Live reported "Absolute Batman #1 has sold 400,000 copies, making it the best-selling comic of 2024."

Bleeding Cool has continued to look into this since it was first reported and has come to the conclusion that it doesn't stand up. Now Absolute Batman #1 led with a 250,000 print run, which was below that of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but then added with subsequent printings to take total sales to comic bookstores up to 400,000.

However, Marvel Comics had its own contender in Ultimate Spider-Man #1, which was published at the beginning of the year by Jonathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto. And has gone through seven printings in that time. And while its first printing sold less than both Absolute Batman #1 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1, talking to distributor sources has confirmed total orders of around 450,000 across seven printings. Now, Absolute Batman has only had a couple of months and still has a fourth printing to drop on Boxing Day, but if you take 2024 as a whole, Ultimate Spider-Man #1 still will have sold more copies to stores than Absolute Batman #1.

Will that stop DC Comics from making a claim? Probably not. But still…

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