The boom of the 1990s was fully underway as 1991 began. Easy terms from the many competing distributors led to a ballooning number of comics shops, which in turn resulted in enormous orders.

    In June, X-Force #1, with several editions bagged with different trading cards, posted numbers not seen in the business in decades. But August brought the release of X-Men Vol. 2, #1 -- what would prove to be the best-selling comic book in the history of publishing, at least in terms of retailer orders. A different variant cover shipped every week of the month, combining to make a larger image. More than 8 million copies were sold to direct market retailers. It was far more than the collector market could absorb, but that didn't slow down momentum for future collectible-driven marketing efforts.

    Other publishers were coming on the scene -- Voyager would become Valiant, and Malibu was growing. But Marvel had 90 out of the Top 100 best-selling issues at Diamond Comic Distributors in 1992 — though actually, Diamond's chart runs from February to January.

    Trade paperbacks on Diamond's list were still mostly anything that cost more than $4; Marvel's loose-leaf Marvel Universe guides and DC's Who's Who took up a lot of slots on the charts.