MARKET SHARES, DATA FOR NOVEMBER 2004

[MattBrady]

Diamond has released the Market Sales Data for November, 2004.

Market Share for November, 2004:

Publisher - Dollar Share – Unit Share

MARVEL COMICS - 36.06% - 43.13%
DC COMICS - 31.63% - 33.98%
IMAGE COMICS - 4.31% - 4.52%
TOKYOPOP - 4.26% - 1.67%
DARK HORSE COMICS - 3.87% - 2.63%
VIZ LLC - 2.03% - 0.88%
DEVILS DUE PUBLISHING - 1.69% - 2.09%
WIZARD ENTERTAINMENT - 1.66% - 1.24%
IDW PUBLISHING - 1.24% - 0.83%
DREAMWAVE PRODUCTIONS- 1.24% - 1.58%
CARTOON BOOKS - 1.06% - 0.08%
A. D. VISION - 1.05% - 0.39%
GEMSTONE PUBLISHING - 0.87% - 0.57%
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS/EROS COMIX - 0.81% - 0.22%
DYNAMIC FORCES - 0.61% - 0.64%
AVATAR PRESS - 0.49% - 0.53%
BONGO COMICS - 0.48% - 0.31%
ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS - 0.43% - 0.63%
HARRIS COMICS - 0.41% - 0.37%
SLG PUBLISHING - 0.21% - 0.17%
Other Non-Top 20 - 5.60% - 3.55%

The Top 25 comics for the month, based on invoiced sales were:

1) Superman/Batman #13
2) Astonishing X-Men #6
3) Identity Crisis #6
4) Superman/Batman #14
5) Superman #211
6) Avengers #503
7) Avengers Finale #1
8) Ultimate Fantastic Four #13
9) Ultimate X-Men #53
10) Uncanny X-Men #452
11) Ultimate Spider-Man #68
12) Ultimate Spider-Man #69
13) JLA: Classified #1
14) X-Men #164
15) Amazing Spider-Man #514
16) Green Lantern: Rebirth #2
17) Ultimate Fantastic Four #12
18) Wolverine #22
19) X-Men: The End: Dreamers & Demons #5
20) Iron Man #1
21) Marvel Knights Spider-Man #8
22) Captain America #1
23) Batman #634
24) JLA #108
25) Teen Titans #18

For a listing of the full Top 300 in text format, click here

The Top 10 graphic novels/trades for the month, based on invoiced sales were:

1) Ultimate Spider-Man: Carnage (vol.11)
2) Y: The Last Man: Safeworld (vol. 4)
3) Star Wars Vol. 2 Clone Wars
4) Walking Dead Vol. 2 Miles Behind Us
5) Walt Disney’s Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas
6) Silent Hill: Among the Damned
7) Little Endless Storybook
8) Walt Disney’s Christmas Parade
9) .Hack Sign Vol. 3
10)Superman: Secret Identity

Graphic novel data is also included in the Top 300 data here. Click and scroll down.

The Top 10 Manga for November, based on invoiced sales were:

1) Rurouni Kenshin vol 8
2) AI Yori Aoshi vol 6
3) GTO vol 21
4) Ranma 1/2 vol 28
5) Kare Kano vol 12
6) DNAngel vol 5
7) Gravitation vol 9
8) Tsubasa vol 3
9) Saiyuki vol 5
10) Full Metal Panic Manga vol 6

[Starpilot]

Looks like Marvel's still kicking their butt for the most part, but DC has seemingly been putting more top-20 titles up with better creative talent and interesting event books like Identity Crisis. It's good to have a competitive market! Better comics for all of us!

[Kish]

Was really not a fan of 'Avengers Finale #1' so I hate the fact that others got sucked into buying it like I did.

[JimShelley]

Why is Ultimate Fantastic Four 13 higher than 12? (by quite a bit?)

12 was the end of the Dr. Doom arc. From talk on various message boards, a lot of people were going to Jump off the title on 13, so what caused this disparity?

[MattBrady]

Originally posted by CapVsBats
From talk on various message boards, a lot of people were going to Jump off the title on 13, so what caused this disparity?

rule one of messageboard club: don't believe everything people say they are going to do on messageboards.

MattB

[xdemon]

Originally posted by Starpilot
It's good to have a competitive market! Better comics for all of us!

Amen!

[comicbookguy_uk]

[quote]Originally posted by CapVsBats
[b]Why is Ultimate Fantastic Four 13 higher than 12? (by quite a bit?)

If I remember correctly, issue 13 was the issue that Adam Kubert came back to the title after replacing Stuart Immonen. The pair of them swapped titles i.e. Ultimate Fantastic 4 and Ultimate X-men.

[Godfather]

Originally posted by MattBrady
rule one of messageboard club: don't believe everything people say they are going to do on messageboards.

MattB

What? You mean that 18 year old hot blonde isn't really gonna come visit me from California?

[Kermie]

Mickey's Twice Upon A Christmas was a TPB? I never saw it, I would have loved to grab that! Anyone here read it?

[DragynWulf]

Originally posted by Starpilot
Looks like Marvel's still kicking their butt for the most part, but DC has seemingly been putting more top-20 titles up with better creative talent and interesting event books like Identity Crisis. It's good to have a competitive market! Better comics for all of us!

Marvel's no overprint policy with "Order now or never" is why they are always so high up on the list.

GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH #1 had so many reorders that it would have made that issue the #1 spot for the month it was released. THe 2nd printing is #74 on the Top 300 list,

GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH #2 would also be higher up if you were to add in all the reorders and second printings.

If you look at the entire listing you can find IDENTITY CRISIS #1-6, FLASH, TEEN TITANS, GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH #1 (1st printing), GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH #1 (2nd priting), JLA, CATWOMAN, FIRESTORM, TEEN TITANS/LEGION SPECIAL, ADAM STRANGE, WE3 and others all still selling. With REBIRTH #1 that still doesn't count the 3rd printing. Every single one of those titles would be higher up the list if DC had the mentality of "order now or never" to retailers like Marvel does.

So while Marvel only looks at the monthly outcome, DC is beating them at the end of the year when everything is completely added up. Which means in the end, DC is "kicking Marvel's butt" by far. DC was the #1 publisher last year dispite Marvel having more titles in the Top 25 every month.

[MattBrady]

Originally posted by Kermie
Mickey's Twice Upon A Christmas was a TPB? I never saw it, I would have loved to grab that! Anyone here read it?

My son gives it two tiny thumbs up.

MattB

[DarkKnight1013]

Originally posted by CapVsBats
Why is Ultimate Fantastic Four 13 higher than 12? (by quite a bit?)

12 was the end of the Dr. Doom arc. From talk on various message boards, a lot of people were going to Jump off the title on 13, so what caused this disparity?

There was a variant cover for issue 13, a black and white one, that retailers received due to the number of regular ones they ordered, thus jacking up orders for issue 13. Seems Marvel's variant policy is working to jack up sales.

[OcCaM]

Originally posted by MattBrady
rule one of messageboard club: don't believe everything people say they are going to do on messageboards.

MattB

That and the fact that even if they did do what they say, just how many people buy comics that actually post on these silly boards?

Seriously, when I see thousands of posters on any one topic, not just a hundred or so, THEN I might tend to believe they are more representative of the greater public.

It's interesting that DC only pulled another 2 of the top 20 once you get past the top 5. But, congrat's anyway DC! When I see the crap that people are actually willing to buy in the top 20 they shouldn't feel too bad.

And more #1's Marvel! When's the last time Cap. and esp. Iron Man been in the top 25 anyway?

[JimShelley]

I thought the first rule of MessageBoard Club was you don't talk about MessageBoard Club.

[qtzar]

Originally posted by CapVsBats
Why is Ultimate Fantastic Four 13 higher than 12? (by quite a bit?)

12 was the end of the Dr. Doom arc. From talk on various message boards, a lot of people were going to Jump off the title on 13, so what caused this disparity?

the Ultimate FF happens to be a great comic, with great artwork and great dialogue, with one of the best creative teams in the comic biz, thats why

[some_bloke]

Ultimate Spider-Man #19?
Are you sure?

[palefire]

DC is beating them at the end of the year when everything is completely added up. Which means in the end, DC is "kicking Marvel's butt" by far.

DragynWulf
________________________________________ ____________

Do you have some #'s indicating this to be so? From what I can gather, Marvel is ahead by a bit in terms of both dollars and units for the year, and has been so for a number of years running. Matt, you got anything you can add?

[JimShelley]

the Ultimate FF happens to be a great comic, with great artwork and great dialogue, with one of the best creative teams in the comic biz, thats why

This would explain why it sells well, but not why 13 had an increase over 12 when the title has been losing readers the past 5 issues.

I'm inclined to believe that it was combination of new artist and variant covers as has been suggested by other posters (Thanks DarkKnight1013 and ComicBookguy_uk)

[Fenris_mx]

DC's back in the bussines

well, actually they never left the bussines (but you know what I mean) and I hope 2005 become "the year of the bat" just like some many years ago...(remember Tim Burton?).

And marvel should stop giving books to Bendis, this guy is great, fantastic, awesome, but can he write 20 book's a month? "he's not Superman you know?"

supercalifragilisticuespilialidoso...

...sorry I mean EXCELSIOR!

[Raphe Cheli]

Anyone else surprised at how low (relatively) Iron Man #1 showed up? I'm not a big Warren Ellis fan (I've liked some things -- Red, Planetary -- and disliked others -- his recent Ultimate stuff), but I thought he had a much bigger following than this.

Of course, it is Iron Man...

[Ras Al Ghul]

Originally posted by MattBrady
1) Superman/Batman #13
2) Astonishing X-Men #6
3) Identity Crisis #6
4) Superman/Batman #14
5) Superman #211

Whoa! Lookit that! 4/5 of the top 5! Niiiiiiiice!!!!

19) X-Men: The End: Dreamers & Demons #5

It's incredibly sad that people are actually buying this.

20) Iron Man #1
22) Captain America #1

Yeesh. That's the best they could do? I wonder what Marvel's going to do when these titles slide back to their previous spots to six months time. No one's going to care about another relaunch.

[jedifish]

Originally posted by CapVsBats
Why is Ultimate Fantastic Four 13 higher than 12? (by quite a bit?)

12 was the end of the Dr. Doom arc. From talk on various message boards, a lot of people were going to Jump off the title on 13, so what caused this disparity?

That's a good question. I jumped off with #11.

[Dylan Wright]

Originally posted by Raphe Cheli
I'm not a big Warren Ellis fan (I've liked some things -- Red, Planetary -- and disliked others -- his recent Ultimate stuff), but I thought he had a much bigger following than this.

He's rather outspoken (and I happen to agree with a lot of what he has to say), but I don't think he's ever had that huge of a following. Of course he's never really done a great deal of superhero work, so that limits you right there.

Anyway: Yay, DC!

[Now all I have to do is go buy me some Time-Warner stock so I can gets me some of that IDENTITY CRISIS money.]

[David H.]

Originally posted by Godfather
What? You mean that 18 year old hot blonde isn't really gonna come visit me from California?

Well, she might, if you really invite her.

But she's really a fat, old, balding guy with some interesting fetishes....

[President Kang]

Hey YOU!

Yeah, I'm talkin to you - readin this message

GO BUY "MADROX"!

NOW!

Ok, cool.