Here it is, courtesy of worldwide comics (and many other cool things) distributor, Diamond.

Marvel Comics top publisher; Image Comics’ The Walking Dead #115 was the year’s top comic 

Image Comics’ The Walking Dead #115 was the best-selling comic book published in 2013 based on total unit sales to comic book specialty shops, according to Diamond Comic Distributors, the world’s largest distributor of comics, graphic novels, and pop-culture merchandise.

Written by creator Robert Kirkman and illustrated by Charlie Adlard, The Walking Dead #115 celebrated the zombie series’ 10th-anniversary and kicked off the “All-Out War” storyline with twelve different covers, ten of which interlocked to create one large image.

Demonstrating the strength of the comic book specialty market, comics and graphic novels had another strong year, with 2013’s annual sales increasing 9.04% over the previous year, as comic book sales were up 10.22%, while graphic novel sales were up by 6.5%.

Marvel Comics finished the year as the comic book specialty market’s top publisher, leading both Dollar and Unit Market Shares, with a 33.50% Dollar Market Share and a 36.97% Unit Market Share.  Marvel Comics had six titles in the top ten, led by Guardians of the Galaxy #1 in the third spot.

DC Entertainment was the comic book specialty market’s number two publisher in 2013 with a 30.33% Dollar Market Share and a 33.35% Unit Market Share. DC Entertainment published three of the year’s top ten comic books and thirteen of the top twenty, with Justice League of America #1 charting as 2013’s second best-selling comic book title.

The first volume of Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples’ Saga from Image Comics was the year’s top-selling graphic novel and helped propel Image Comics to be the third largest comic book publisher, with a with a 8.00% Dollar Market Share and a 8.49% Unit Market Share. A science-fiction epic of love and family in a time of interstellar war, Saga received the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story from the wider science-fiction community in September. Image Comics had seven of the top ten graphic novels, including five volumes of Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead.

IDW Publishing’s mix of licensed comic books, creator-owned titles and groundbreaking art books fortified the company as the comic book specialty market’s fourth largest publisher. The company’s market share rose .90% in 2013, up to 6.47% dollar market share. My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Volume 1 based on the fan-favorite animated series was IDW’s top-selling graphic novel for the year.

Dark Horse Comics was the fifth leading comic book publisher to the comic book specialty market in 2013 with a 5.17% retail dollar market share, gaining .36% over its 2012 total. Coupled with the year’s top-selling book, The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia, Dark Horse solidified its position as a top seller in both the comic book specialty and book markets worldwide.

January 12, 2014
Categories: Comics, DC Comics, Image Comics, New To Comics?, News . Tags: 2013 best selling comics, Dark Horse Comics . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment