Posted in: Boom, Comics, Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics, IDW, Image, Marvel Comics, Titan | Tagged: bestseller, marketshare

DC Comics Leads Marketshare Last Week… But It's Closer Again

DC Comics Lead Marketshare Last Week... well, Absolute Batman was out... but it's closer to Marvel Comics again

Published Fri, 21 Aug 2026 08:58:12 -0500

by Rich Johnston

Comments

Article Summary

DC Comics lead marketshare last week with 38.82%, topping Marvel’s 35.17% as the direct market gap narrowed again.
Absolute Batman helped power DC Comics back to No. 1, though Marvel Comics stayed close in a tighter weekly race.
Image Comics claimed a strong 13.14% share, while IDW, Dynamite, Dark Horse and Boom trailed in the mid-tier pack.
Prana DM data from 600-plus comic shops tracked sales from July 27 to August 2, 2026 across the direct market.

DC overtook Marvel Comics again after a recent reversal in terms of marketshare, but this is a lot closer than it has been of late. DC Comics took a majority 39% of last week's marketshare in the direct market of comic book shops as Marvel Comics could only muster 35%. Well, it was an Absolute Batman month. Image grab a sizeable 13.% while Dynamite, IDW, Dark Horse cluster around the 2% to 4% share, Boom and Ignition go lower, while Massive and Titan go loer still… Thanks to Prana Direct Market Solutions, here are the comic book publisher marketshare in the direct market of comic book stores as sold from the 27th of July to the 2nd of August 2026, based on Point Of Sale data from 600+ stores in the Manage Comics and Comic Shop Assistant systems. You can find previous Bestseller Lists right here including the Top 400 sales for last week, on which this data is based.

DC Comics — 38.82%
Marvel Comics — 35.17%
Image Comics — 13.14%
IDW — 3.54%
Dynamite — 2.53%
Dark Horse — 2.05%
Boom Studios — 1.88%
Ignition Press — 1.49%
Titan Comics — 0.73%
Massive Publishing — 0.64%

The Prana DM data set provides access to a week's sales data from comic book stores from Monfay to Sunday and is published on Bleeding Cool the following Friday. It draws from over 600 comic book stores, out of the estimated 1800-2000 that currently order through the direct market. Bleeding Cool neither receives our hands-out payment for this data; it's about bringing the information together in one place and then sharing it out. And if Lunar, PRH, Universal, Philbo or Diamond UK, or even Marvel, DC, Image, Dynamite, Dark Horse, would be interested in sharing their data, in a way that I guarantee never to declare it to competitors, but combine it to create a Direct Market Orders chart that reflects the whole market like Diamond used to, I would be down with that as well. We have made a start with Image Comics and their Monthly Top Ten charts, too. But for now, for right now, this is where we are. I will always strive to do better to serve Bleeding Cool readers, whether comic store owners or comic shop customers. And if you have any ideas or suggestions, or would like to contribute additional data, please let me know at richjohnston@gmail.com.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!