It shouldn’t be a surprise that Marvel is back on top both in dollar and unit (actual comic book) sales, but here’s a shocker: Overall, May 2012 saw a 40% increase in comic book sales from May 2011. And this was in no small part due to the publication of the DC’s first paperback collections of the New 52. I say this because comics are pretty much flat from 2011 to 2012, but graphic novel sales are up a whopping 17%!
Image Comics also posted a healthy 7% of overall sales, probably due to the significant number of #1 issues released in May.
The actual top 10 loose comics sold were:
1. and 2. Avengers vs. X-Men #4 and #3.
3. Batman #9.
4. Justice League #9.
5. Batman Annual #1.
6. AvX Vs. #2.
7. Batman, Inc. #1
8. Detective Comics #9.
9. Action Comics #9.
10. Green Lantern #9.
I personally find it nice that Grant Morrison has two books in the top 10, but I was pretty surprised that Batman, Inc., didn’t place higher—especially because it had a number one slapped on it.
For trade paperbacks/GNs, DC was able to knock the Walking Dead out of the number one slot, and pretty much dominated:
1. Justice League Vol. 1
2. Batman Vol. 1
3. Walking Dead Vol. 1
4. Batman: Death by Design Deluxe Edition
5. Animal Man Vol. 1
6. Walking Dead Vol. 4
7. Kick Ass 2
8. Walking Dead Vol. 3
9. Watchmen Hardcover
10. Green Lantern Vol. 1
So, nine of the top 10 had a movie or TV show released in the past year. No surprise there.
