Diamond Comic Distributors released its sales rankings today, and unusually I was able to attend to the math right away and generate the estimates for April 2008.
Overall, the comics industry fared better against last April — but only overall. Comparatives in the narrower categories remain slightly down, even considering this April had five ship weeks (versus four last year). But the backlist strength bumped the overall category up 6% this month — with the year-to-date now ahead by nearly $1 million, or 1%.
Look for my Newsarama column with in-depth historical analysis coming soon. (Update: And now it's online — you can find it here.)
TOP 300 COMICS UNIT SALES
April 2008: 6.71 million copies
Versus 1 year ago this month: -6%
Versus 5 years ago this month: +11%
Versus 10 years ago this month: -5%
YEAR TO DATE: 25.82 million copies, -6% vs. 2007
TOP 300 COMICS DOLLAR SALES
April 2008: $21.45 million
Versus 1 year ago this month: -2%
Versus 5 years ago this month: +28%
Versus 10 years ago this month: +22%
YEAR TO DATE: $81.24 million, -5% vs. 2007
TOP 100 TRADE PAPERBACK DOLLAR SALES
April 2008: $4.74 million
Versus 1 year ago this month: -7%
Versus 5 years ago this month, just the Top 50 vs. the Top 50: +30%
YEAR TO DATE: $ 16.85 million, -1% vs. 2007
TOP 300 COMICS + TOP 100 TRADE PAPERBACK DOLLAR SALES
April 2008: $26.19 million
Versus 1 year ago this month: -3%
Versus 5 years ago this month, counting just the Top 50 TPBs: +28%
YEAR TO DATE: $98.45 million, -4% vs. 2007
OVERALL DIAMOND SALES (including all comics, trades, and magazines)
April 2008: $36.74 million ($40.39 million with UK)
Versus 1 year ago this month: +6%
Versus 5 years ago this month: +38%
YEAR TO DATE: $135.04 million, +1% vs. 2007, +43% vs. 2003