April 1997 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops

Estimated Comics Preordered by North American Comics Shops
Based on Reports from Diamond Comic Distributors

Covers and issue links on this page lead to current eBay listings. This site may be compensated if you make a purchase.

A year and a half of uncertainty and disruption came to an end in April 1997 as comic-book distribution in the Direct Market was unified in a single distributor when Marvel folded Heroes World and signed with Diamond Comic Distributors. Marvel immediately reassumed the top slot in market share, which it had had anyway during the months of divided distribution.

Marvel and DC joined for another round of "Amalgam" cross-over issues. Each publisher produced titles for the event, with their copies going toward their own totals for market share purposes. The Amalgam titles from the previous year were also offered again.

Click to skip to the Top Graphic Novels for the month.

—John Jackson Miller

This list includes all items on Diamond's Top 300 charts, plus any post-#300 items from its Top Independent Publisher charts.
If you don't see a book, Diamond released no data for it.
Items marked (resolicited) were offered in an earlier month but never shipped; disregard any previously reported figure, as earlier orders were canceled when the books were resolicited.
Click to read the methodology for this table's estimates.
Distributor charts are regional commodity reports, not measures of a work's total reach. Read our FAQ.
Title links below lead to current listings for the issues on eBay. As an eBay Partner, this site may be compensated if you make a purchase.

Units	Dollars	Comic-book Title	Issue	Price	Publisher	Est. units
1	1	Uncanny X-Men	345	$1.95	Marvel	179,378
2	2	X-Men	65	$1.95	Marvel	177,828
3	3	Fantastic Four	8	$1.95	Marvel	154,912
4	5	Spawn	61	$1.95	Image	141,123
5	6	Wolverine	114	$1.95	Marvel	139,554
6	7	Exciting X-Patrol	1	$1.95	Marvel	135,341
7	8	Iron Lantern	1	$1.95	Marvel	135,298
8	9	JLX Unleashed	1	$1.95	DC	134,484
9	10	Magnetic Men Featuring Magneto	1	$1.95	Marvel	134,350
10	11	Challengers of the Fantastic	1	$1.95	Marvel	133,833
11	12	Spider-Boy Team-Up	1	$1.95	Marvel	131,097
12	13	Iron Man	8	$1.95	Marvel	130,696
13	14	Dark Claw Adventures	1	$1.95	DC	130,404
14	15	Super Soldier: Man of War	1	$1.95	DC	127,808
15	17	Bat Thing	1	$1.95	DC	123,339
16	18	Thorion of the New Asgods	1	$1.95	Marvel	121,661
17	19	Generation Hex	1	$1.95	DC	121,430
18	20	Avengers	8	$1.95	Marvel	120,937
19	23	Captain America	8	$1.95	Marvel	114,669
20	24	Generation X	28	$1.95	Marvel	112,936
21	26	Lobo the Duck	1	$1.95	DC	108,625
22	27	X-Man	28	$1.95	Marvel	103,925
23	4	X-Men Unlimited	15	$2.99	Marvel	99,171
24	28	JLA	6	$1.95	DC	98,818
25	29	X-Factor	135	$1.95	Marvel	98,490
26	16	Gen13	18	$2.50	Image	98,295
27	30	X-Force	67	$1.95	Marvel	96,441
28	31	Curse of the Spawn	8	$1.95	Image	94,039
29	21	Witchblade	14	$2.50	Image	93,304
30	22	Darkness	5	$2.50	Image	90,878
31	32	Cable	44	$1.95	Marvel	90,033
32	34	Incredible Hulk	454	$1.95	Marvel	83,795
33	38	Excalibur	110	$1.95	Marvel	80,074
34	39	Amazing Spider-Man	424	$1.95	Marvel	79,143
35	41	Superman	124	$1.95	DC	77,046
36	43	Action Comics	734	$1.95	DC	74,298
37	44	Spider-Man	81	$1.95	Marvel	74,067
38	45	Adventures of Superman	547	$1.95	DC	73,951
39	46	Superman: The Man of Steel	68	$1.95	DC	72,273
40	25	Cable and X-Force '97	1	$2.99	Marvel	72,024
41	47	Spectacular Spider-Man	247	$1.95	Marvel	69,482
42	49	Sensational Spider-Man	17	$1.95	Marvel	66,807
43	51	Batman vs. Aliens	2	$4.95	Dark Horse	64,934
44	36	Deadpool	6	$1.95	Marvel	64,594
45	53	Beast	2	$2.50	Marvel	60,800
46	42	Batman	543	$1.95	DC	59,706
47	61	Gen13: Bootleg	6	$2.50	Image	55,529
48	35	Detective Comics	710	$1.95	DC	55,389
49	37	X-Files	29	$2.95	Topps	54,155
50	62	Batman: The Long Halloween	7	$2.95	DC	53,686
51	40	Supergirl	10	$1.95	DC	52,081
52	50	Lady Death: The Crucible	4	$2.95	Chaos	51,352
53	52	WildC.A.T.S	37	$2.50	Image	50,355
54	77	Preacher	26	$2.50	DC	47,722
55	68	Green Lantern	87	$1.75	DC	47,138
56	69	Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight	95	$1.95	DC	46,804
57	55	Elektra	8	$1.95	Marvel	46,597
58	70	Arcanum (resolicitation)	2	$2.50	Image	46,348
59	71	Thunderbolts	3	$1.95	Marvel	46,068
60	56	Batman: Shadow of the Bat	63	$1.95	DC	45,819
61	73	Kurt Busiek's Astro City Vol. 2	9	$2.50	Image	45,101
62	59	Nightwing	9	$1.95	DC	44,609
63	64	Darkchylde Remastered	1	$2.50	Image	44,512
64	48	Batman/Wildcat	3	$2.25	DC	44,378
65	60	Crypt of Dawn	2	$2.95	Sirius	44,335
66	189	DV8	7	$2.50	Image	42,007
67	80	Catwoman	46	$1.95	DC	41,326
68	91	Flash	126	$1.75	DC	41,204
69	81	Robin	42	$1.95	DC	40,396
70	63	Unknown Soldier	3	$2.50	DC	39,234
71	54	Spider-Man Team-Up	7	$2.99	Marvel	39,228
72	165	Untold Tales of Spider-Man	22	$.99	Marvel	39,040
73	85	Silver Surfer	129	$1.95	Marvel	38,900
74	86	Venom: License to Kill	1	$1.95	Marvel	38,778
75	88	What If?	98	$1.95	Marvel	38,529
76	57	Star Wars: A New Hope Special Edition	4	$2.95	Dark Horse	38,480
77	58	Star Wars: X-Wing Rogue Squadron: Requiem for a Rogue	1	$2.95	Dark Horse	38,116
78	65	Tenth	3	$2.50	Image	37,763
79	66	Weird War Tales	1	$2.50	DC	37,599
80	90	Wonder Woman	122	$1.95	DC	37,252
81	67	Cyberforce	33	$2.50	Image	35,969
82	94	Daredevil	365	$1.95	Marvel	34,680
83	99	Azrael	30	$1.95	DC	34,474
84	74	Weapon Zero	12	$2.50	Image	34,145
85	75	Dreaming	13	$2.50	DC	33,513
86	101	Journey into Mystery	510	$1.95	Marvel	33,312
87	78	Hellshock	4	$2.50	Image	32,364
88	104	Teen Titans	9	$1.95	DC	32,005
89	82	Wetworks	28	$2.50	Image	31,543
90	118	Impulse	26	$1.75	DC	31,397
91	83	Stormwatch	47	$2.50	Image	31,203
92	120	Adventures in the DC Universe	3	$1.75	DC	31,124
93	121	Aquaman	33	$1.75	DC	30,996
94	95	Starman	31	$2.25	DC	30,643
95	110	Superboy	40	$1.95	DC	30,540
96	97	Hitman	15	$2.25	DC	30,011
97	113	Ka-Zar	2	$1.95	Marvel	30,011
98	72	Classic Star Wars: Han Solo at Stars End	2	$2.95	Dark Horse	28,503
99	92	Savage Dragon	38	$2.50	Image	28,260
100	93	Books of Magic	37	$2.50	DC	27,354
101	98	Savant Garde	2	$2.50	Image	27,354
102	108	Legion of Super-Heroes	93	$2.25	DC	27,232
103	123	Punisher	20	$1.95	Marvel	27,232
104	124	Jack Kirby's Fourth World	4	$1.95	DC	27,172
105	125	Star Trek: Voyager	8	$1.95	Marvel	26,709
106	141	Young Heroes in Love	1	$1.75	DC	26,533
107	112	Legionnaires	49	$2.25	DC	26,308
108	128	Star Trek: Deep Space Nine	8	$1.95	Marvel	26,095
109	102	Anarky	2	$2.50	DC	26,028
110	84	Manga Shi 2000	2	$2.95	Crusade	26,016
111	131	Star Trek: Early Voyages	5	$1.95	Marvel	25,591
112	103	Backlash	31	$2.50	Image	25,585
113	87	Avengelyne	14	$2.99	Extreme	25,323
114	115	Shade	3	$2.25	DC	25,262
115	89	Suspira: The Great Working	2	$2.95	Chaos	24,885
116	134	Star Trek: Starfleet Academy	7	$1.95	Marvel	24,831
117	105	House of Secrets	9	$2.50	DC	24,788
118	106	Grifter	10	$2.50	Image	24,715
119	153	Batman and Robin Adventures	19	$1.75	DC	24,679
120	109	Leave it to Chance	6	$2.50	Image	24,034
121	138	Ghost Rider	86	$1.95	Marvel	24,004
122	157	Superman Adventures	8	$1.75	DC	23,846
123	142	Ka-Zar (variant cover)	2	$1.95	Marvel	23,669
124	79	Vampirella vs. Hemmorhage	1	$3.50	Harris	23,414
125	126	Hellblazer	114	$2.25	DC	22,903
126	117	Invisibles Vol. 2	5	$2.50	DC	22,642
127	100	Predator: Hell & Hot Water	1	$2.95	Dark Horse	22,344
128	130	Simpsons Comics	30	$2.25	Bongo	22,289
129	119	Resurrection Man	2	$2.50	DC	22,016
130	155	Superboy & the Ravers	10	$1.95	DC	21,833
131	167	Power of Shazam!	27	$1.75	DC	21,687
132	223	Uncanny Origins	10	$.99	Marvel	21,614
133	122	Spectre	54	$2.50	DC	21,329
134	137	Lobo	40	$2.25	DC	20,824
135	107	Crow: Waking Nightmares	4	$2.95	Kitchen Sink	20,775
136	127	Untold Tales of Captain Marvel	3	$2.50	Marvel	20,362
137	111	Savage Dragon: Red Horizon	3	$2.95	Image	20,252
138	132	Sandman Mystery Theatre	51	$2.50	DC	19,736
139	147	2020 Visions	2	$2.25	DC	19,608
140	151	Green Arrow	121	$2.25	DC	19,486
141	196	Marvel Adventures	3	$1.50	Marvel	19,128
142	135	X-O Manowar	7	$2.50	Acclaim	18,939
143	136	Supreme	48	$2.50	Extreme	18,787
144	140	Wynonna Earp	5	$2.50	Image	18,580
145	177	Sovereign Seven	23	$1.95	DC	18,045
146	146	Siege	4	$2.50	Image	17,900
147	148	Shadowman	6	$2.50	Acclaim	17,614
148	150	Glory	22	$2.50	Extreme	17,565
149	96	Operation Stormbringer	0	$3.95	Acclaim	17,535
150	129	Elric: Stormbringer	2	$2.95	Dark Horse	17,085
151	156	Ghost	24	$2.50	Dark Horse	16,702
152	186	Steel	39	$1.95	DC	16,677
153	139	ESPers Vol. 3	1	$2.95	Image	15,784
154	161	Turok Timewalker	1	$2.50	Acclaim	15,632
155	143	Nexus God Con	1	$2.95	Dark Horse	15,613
156	163	Wildstorm Spotlight	3	$2.50	Image	15,577
157	164	Trinity Angels	2	$2.50	Acclaim	15,577
158	144	Dicks	1	$2.95	Caliber	15,358
159	182	Challengers of the Unknown	5	$2.25	DC	14,726
160	169	Magnus Robot Fighter	4	$2.50	Acclaim	14,683
161	152	Devil Dinosaur Spring Fling	1	$2.99	Marvel	14,665
162	170	Firstman	1	$2.50	Image	14,622
163	154	Lady Rawhide	6	$2.95	Topps	14,622
164	173	Glory	16	$2.50	Extreme	14,404
165	175	Fault Lines	2	$2.50	DC	14,209
166	176	Bloodshot	2	$2.50	Acclaim	14,118
167	158	Head Hunters	1	$2.95	Image	14,112
168	201	Essential Vertigo: The Sandman	11	$1.95	DC	14,069
169	160	Oh My Goddess!: The Queen of Vengeance	0	$2.95	Dark Horse	13,492
170	214	Xero	2	$1.75	DC	13,400
171	184	Poison Elves	23	$2.50	Sirius	13,175
172	166	Hate	27	$2.95	Fantagraphics	12,969
173	168	Jaguar God	8	$2.95	Verotik	12,835
174	171	Freak Force	2	$2.95	Image	12,385
175	172	Dark Horse Classics - Star Wars: Dark Empire	2	$2.95	Dark Horse	12,342
176	174	Ranma 1/2 Part Six	5	$2.95	Viz	12,057
177	178	TCB	1	$2.95	Crusade	11,832
178	194	Troublemakers	5	$2.50	Acclaim	11,698
179	116	Elfquest	11	$4.95	Warp	11,479
180	179	Mars Attacks High School Special	2	$2.95	Topps	11,467
181	145	Blade of the Immortal: Call of the Worm	1	$3.95	Dark Horse	11,449
182	197	Ninjak	6	$2.50	Acclaim	11,443
183	180	Edgar Rice Burroughs Return of Tarzan	1	$2.95	Dark Horse	11,406
184	199	Star Crossed	1	$2.50	DC	11,400
185	208	Book of Fate	5	$2.25	DC	11,400
186	181	Squee	1	$2.95	Slave Labor	11,303
187	149	Quantum Leap Special	0	$3.95	Acclaim	11,139
188	185	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	9	$2.95	Image	11,053
189	187	Bone	18	$2.95	Image	10,938
190	188	Dusty Star	0	$2.95	Image	10,889
191	202	Vampirella Silver Ann. Coll. (Silkie cover)	4	$2.50	Harris	10,828
192	191	Amanda and Gunn	1	$2.95	Image	10,354
193	192	Drakuun: Rise of the Dragon Princess	3	$2.95	Dark Horse	10,281
194	193	Warrior Nun Black and White	2	$2.95	Antarctic	10,275
195	190	Santa Barbarian vs. Easter Bunny Spring Special	0	$2.99	Extreme	10,275
196	219	Cerebus	217	$2.25	Aardvark-Vanaheim	10,251
197	162	Eightball	18	$3.95	Fantagraphics	9,886
198	195	Inu Yasha	1	$2.95	Viz	9,801
199	210	Vampirella Silver Ann. Coll. (Beachum cover)	4	$2.50	Harris	9,764
200	211	Quantum & Woody	3	$2.50	Acclaim	9,692
201	198	Scud: Disposable Assassin	15	$2.95	Fireman	9,673
202	240	Pinky and the Brain	12	$1.75	DC	9,600
203	213	Newmen	24	$2.50	Extreme	9,467
204	200	Dark Horse Presents	120	$2.95	Dark Horse	9,315
205	217	Cabbot Bloodhunter	4	$2.95	Extreme	9,242
206	204	Usagi Yojimbo	12	$2.95	Dark Horse	8,980
207	237	Essential Vertigo: Swamp Thing	8	$1.95	DC	8,852
208	207	Aaron Strips	1	$2.95	Image	8,834
209	239	Legends of the Dark Claw (2nd printing, offered again)	1	$1.95	DC	8,719
210	206	Razor Vol. 2	5	$3.00	London Night	8,694
211	229	Night Force	7	$2.25	DC	8,646
212	209	Kabuki: Skin Deep	3	$2.95	Caliber	8,591
213	224	Cyberella	10	$2.50	DC	8,548
214	227	Waterworld	1	$2.50	Acclaim	8,184
215	212	Battle Angel Alita Part Seven	7	$2.95	Viz	8,129
216	228	Brainbanx	4	$2.50	DC	7,916
217	215	Shotgun Mary: Blood Lore	2	$2.95	Antarctic	7,898
218	268	Animaniacs	26	$1.75	DC	7,861
219	216	Black Cross: Dirty Work	0	$2.95	Dark Horse	7,849
220	218	Razor Uncut	34	$3.00	London Night	7,697
221	220	Soulwind	2	$2.95	Image	7,606
222	256	Uncle Scrooge Adventures	48	$1.95	Gladstone	7,606
223	221	GE Rouge	2	$2.95	Verotik	7,460
224	222	New Bondage Fairies	6	$2.95	Fantagraphics	7,260
225	233	Vermillion	9	$2.50	DC	7,193
226	225	Chronowar	9	$2.95	Dark Horse	7,150
227	300	Sonic the Hedgehog	48	$1.50	Archie	6,834
228	241	Tales from the Crypt	20	$2.50	Gemstone	6,688
229	308	Sabrina the Teenage Witch	3	$1.50	Archie	6,621
230	205	Igrat Illustrations	0	$3.95	Verotik	6,615
231	257	Scare Tactics	7	$2.25	DC	6,566
232	274	Donald Duck	303	$1.95	Gladstone	6,420
233	270	Sonic vs. Knuckles Battle Royal Special	0	$2.00	Archie	6,396
234	230	Dark Horse Classics: Aliens vs. Predator	3	$2.95	Dark Horse	6,317
235	231	No Need for Tenchi Part Two	6	$2.95	Viz	6,317
236	278	Spider-Boy (offered again)	1	$1.95	Marvel	6,202
237	376	WDC&S Penny Pincher	3	$.99	Gladstone	6,080
238	252	Sisters of Mercy Vol. 2	1	$2.50	London Night	5,989
239	258	Icon (resolicitation)	45	$2.50	DC	5,885
240	238	Big Bang Comics	10	$2.95	Image	5,806
241	261	Warrior (resolicitation)	4	$2.50	Ultimate	5,733
242	263	Weird Science	20	$2.50	Gemstone	5,685
243	242	Maison Ikkoku Part Six	9	$2.95	Viz	5,667
244	243	Double Impact Assassins for Hire (Regular)	1	$2.95	High Impact	5,648
245	244	Diesel	1	$2.95	Antarctic	5,575
246	247	Real Adventures of Jonny Quest	7	$2.95	Dark Horse	5,411
247	296	JLX (offered again)	1	$1.95	DC	5,369
248	246	Ultimate Strike	4	$3.00	London Night	5,350
249	299	X-Patrol (offered again)	1	$1.95	Marvel	5,277
250	248	Hepcats	5	$2.95	Antarctic	5,259
251	249	Luftwaffe 1946	2	$2.95	Antarctic	5,168
252	302	Magneto & the Magnetic Men (offered again)	1	$1.95	Marvel	5,125
253	250	Midnight Panther	1	$2.95	CPM	5,125
254	309	Super Soldier (offered again)	1	$1.95	DC	5,028
255	255	La Blue Girl	10	$2.95	CPM	5,028
256	288	Kurt Busiek's Astro City (second printing)	1	$2.25	Image	5,004
257	348	Archie	461	$1.50	Archie	4,980
258	259	Lust	1	$2.95	Fantagraphics	4,980
259	276	Berlin (resolicitation)	4	$2.50	Black Eye	4,949
260	280	Tenchi Muyo	2	$2.95	Pioneer	4,882
261	313	Speed Demon (offered again)	1	$1.95	Marvel	4,864
262	354	Betty and Veronica	113	$1.50	Archie	4,797
263	262	Tommi Gunn	3	$3.00	London Night	4,773
264	264	Xenozoic Tales	14	$2.95	Kitchen Sink	4,724
265	265	Sexcapades	5	$2.95	Fantagraphics	4,706
266	266	Lady Vampre in the Flesh	1	$2.95	Blackout	4,700
267	267	Marquis	1	$2.95	Caliber	4,694
268	322	Bruce Wayne: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (offered again)	1	$1.95	Marvel	4,627
269	282	Darkchylde Remastered (variant cover)	1	$2.50	Image	4,627
270	203	What's Michael	0	$5.95	Dark Horse	4,530
271	289	Panic	2	$2.50	Gemstone	4,414
272	269	Misty Girl Extreme	4	$2.95	Fantagraphics	4,359
273	330	Bullets & Bracelets (offered again)	1	$1.95	Marvel	4,353
274	271	Lords of Misrule	4	$2.95	Dark Horse	4,335
275	365	Betty	51	$1.50	Archie	4,329
276	272	Elflord	4	$2.95	Warp	4,286
277	273	Moldiver	1	$2.95	Pioneer	4,286
278	275	Metal Guardian Faust	2	$2.95	Viz	4,201
279	339	Doctor Strangefate (offered again)	1	$1.95	DC	4,171
280	277	El Hazard	1	$2.95	Pioneer	4,159
281	340	Amazon (offered again)	1	$1.95	DC	4,134
282	245	Mythography	3	$3.95	Bardic	4,074
283	279	Reality Check	8	$2.95	Sirius	4,068
284	375	Veronica	65	$1.50	Archie	4,043
285	778	Wizard Ace Edition - Wildcats #1	69	$.00	Wizard	3,996
286	280	Vamperotica	26	$2.95	Brainstorm	3,982
287	281	Bio Booster Armor Guyver Part Six	5	$2.95	Viz	3,958
288	292	Archie's Double Digest	93	$2.75	Archie	3,928
289	285	Gold Digger	35	$2.95	Antarctic	3,879
290	286	Otis Goes Hollywood	1	$2.95	Dark Horse	3,849
291	251	Book of Angels	1	$3.95	Caliber	3,800
292	253	Donna Mia Giant-Size	1	$3.95	Avatar	3,770
293	254	Art of Usagi Yojimbo	1	$3.95	Radio	3,764
294	351	Assassins (offered again)	1	$1.95	DC	3,764
295	316	Goblin Lord	4	$2.50	Goblin	3,751
296	378	Betty & Veronica Spectacular	24	$1.50	Archie	3,745
297	291	Cud Comics	7	$2.95	Dark Horse	3,715
298	232	Manga Vizion Vol. 3	4	$4.95	Viz	3,648
299	321	Akiko	14	$2.50	Sirius	3,636
300	382	Archie's Pal Jughead Comics	94	$1.50	Archie	3,563

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April 1997 Graphic Novel Sales to Comics Shops

Estimated Graphic Novels and Trade Paperbacks Preordered by North American Comics Shops Based on Reports from Diamond Comic Distributors

This list includes all items on Diamond's Top Graphic Novel charts. If you don't see a book, Diamond released no data for it.

The links lead to title details on Amazon (paid links). You can also find the books at your comics shop.

Diamond's first reunified graphic novel table included no Marvel titles, none made the Top 10. Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #613, a comic book, made the list due to its cover price.

Units	Dollars	Trade Paperback title	Price	Publisher	Est. units
1	1	Hellboy: The Lost Army	$14.95	Dark Horse	n/a
2	2	Big Book of the Unexplained	$14.95	DC	n/a
3	11	Messiah	$6.95	Verotik	n/a
4	13	Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #613	$6.95	Gladstone	n/a
5	10	Leave it to Chance	$9.95	Image	n/a
6	5	Ranma 1/2 Vol. 8	$15.95	Viz	n/a
7	4	Gen13	$16.95	Image	n/a
8	9	Maxx Vol. 2	$12.95	Image	n/a
9	8	Impulse: Reckless Youth	$14.95	DC	n/a
10	14	Uncle Scrooge Adventures in Color #23	$8.95	Gladstone	n/a

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The month in comics shops

Vital statistics

(All figures below are estimated)
One point on the chart released by Diamond equals
597 copies.

COMICS UNIT SALES

The Top 300 Comics had preorders of
9.34 million copies

Category to date for year:
34.76 million copies

COMICS DOLLAR SALES

The Top 300 Comics preordered had a total retail price of
$20.62 million

Category to date for year:
$81.6 million

Average cost of comics in the Top 300:
$2.47

Average cost of comics in the Top 300, weighted by orders:
$2.21

MARKET SHARES

Share of Comic & Magazine Publisher Preorder Dollars
Marvel	28.52%
DC	23.30%
Image	13.31%
Dark Horse	4.84%
Wizard	3.39%
Acclaim	1.94%
Topps	1.79%
Viz	1.31%
Extreme	1.07%
Fantagraphics	0.94%
Other	19.58%

Share of Comic & Magazine Publisher Preorder Units
Marvel	35.69%
DC	27.91%
Image	13.45%
Dark Horse	3.90%
Wizard	2.07%
Acclaim	1.72%
Topps	1.32%
Extreme	1.03%
Chaos	0.78%
Viz	0.77%
Other	11.97%

Share of Overall Preordered Dollars (including noncomics vendors)
Marvel	21.84%
DC	18.30%
Image	10.76%
Topps	3.96%
Dark Horse	3.83%
Kenner/ Hasbro	3.81%
Wizard	2.60%
Decipher	2.33%
Gemstone	1.67%
Acclaim	1.48%
Viz	1.15%
Extreme	0.82%
Chaos	0.78%
Fantagraphics	0.72%
Tohan	0.68%
Toy Biz	0.60%
Harris	0.60%
Upper Deck	0.60%
Caliber	0.60%
Sirius	0.59%
Other	22.24%

Share of Overall Preordered Units (including noncomics vendors)
Marvel	33.88%
DC	26.79%
Image	12.80%
Dark Horse	3.12%
Wizard	3.08%
Diamond Publications	2.30%
Acclaim	1.63%
Topps	1.35%
Extreme	0.97%
Chaos	0.77%
Viz	0.75%
Archie	0.69%
Sirius	0.64%
Fantagraphics	0.64%
Gemstone	0.62%
Caliber	0.56%
Harris	0.47%
Antarctic	0.40%
Crusade	0.40%
London Night	0.35%
Other	7.78%

Items in Top 300
DC	79
Marvel	55
Image	39
Dark Horse	23
Acclaim	12
Archie	10
Viz	8
Extreme	7
Antarctic	6
Fantagraphics	6
London Night	5
Caliber	4
Sirius	4
Gemstone	3
Gladstone	3
Harris	3
Pioneer	3
Topps	3
Verotik	3
Chaos	2
CPM	2
Crusade	2
Kitchen Sink	2
Warp	2
Aardvark-Vanaheim	1
Avatar	1
Bardic	1
Black Eye	1
Blackout	1
Bongo	1
Brainstorm	1
Fireman	1
Goblin	1
High Impact	1
Slave Labor	1
Ultimate	1
Wizard	1
Radio	1

Share of Units in Top 300
Marvel	40.00%
DC	30.54%
Image	14.35%
Dark Horse	3.88%
Acclaim	1.78%
Extreme	1.13%
Topps	0.86%
Chaos	0.82%
Sirius	0.70%
Viz	0.58%
Archie	0.53%
Fantagraphics	0.48%
Harris	0.47%
Antarctic	0.41%
Crusade	0.41%
London Night	0.35%
Caliber	0.35%
Verotik	0.29%
Kitchen Sink	0.27%
Bongo	0.24%
Gladstone	0.22%
Gemstone	0.18%
Warp	0.17%
Pioneer	0.14%
Slave Labor	0.12%
Aardvark-Vanaheim	0.11%
CPM	0.11%
Fireman	0.10%
Ultimate	0.06%
High Impact	0.06%
Black Eye	0.05%
Blackout	0.05%
Bardic	0.04%
Brainstorm	0.04%
Avatar	0.04%
Radio	0.04%
Goblin	0.04%

Share of Dollars in Top 300
Marvel	36.66%
DC	29.47%
Image	14.91%
Dark Horse	4.81%
Acclaim	2.22%
Extreme	1.38%
Topps	1.15%
Chaos	0.98%
Viz	0.80%
Sirius	0.80%
Fantagraphics	0.67%
Harris	0.65%
Antarctic	0.54%
Crusade	0.54%
Caliber	0.48%
London Night	0.46%
Verotik	0.42%
Archie	0.40%
Kitchen Sink	0.36%
Warp	0.34%
Bongo	0.24%
Gemstone	0.20%
Pioneer	0.19%
Gladstone	0.16%
Slave Labor	0.16%
CPM	0.15%
Fireman	0.14%
Aardvark-Vanaheim	0.11%
High Impact	0.08%
Bardic	0.08%
Avatar	0.07%
Radio	0.07%
Ultimate	0.07%
Blackout	0.07%
Black Eye	0.06%
Brainstorm	0.06%
Goblin	0.05%

Product Breakdown of Diamond Sales
Comic Books	64.23%
Magazines	6.65%
Toys & Models	6.06%
Graphic Novels	5.63%
Trading Cards	5.44%
Games	3.33%
Books	3.23%
Apparel	1.86%
Video/Audio and Video Games	0.93%
Comics Novelties	0.86%
Posters & Prints	0.64%
Non-comic Novelties	0.53%
Diamond Publications	0.38%
Comic Supplies	0.10%
Card Supplies	0.08%
Retailer Sales Tools	0.05%

LATEST UPDATES

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April 1997 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops

Estimated Comics Preordered by North American Comics Shops
Based on Reports from Diamond Comic Distributors

Covers and issue links on this page lead to current eBay listings. This site may be compensated if you make a purchase.

April 1997 Graphic Novel Sales to Comics Shops

Estimated Graphic Novels and Trade Paperbacks Preordered by North American Comics Shops Based on Reports from Diamond Comic Distributors

This list includes all items on Diamond's Top Graphic Novel charts. If you don't see a book, Diamond released no data for it.

The links lead to title details on Amazon (paid links). You can also find the books at your comics shop.

The month in comics shops

Vital statistics

MARKET SHARES

LATEST UPDATES

VIDEOS

CONTACT

RESOURCES

DONATE

The contents of this site are copyright ©2023 John Jackson Miller, and are provided for academic purposes only. No commercial use permitted. See our Terms of Use. Privacy policy.

Comichron is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Clicking on links to various merchants on this site and making a purchase can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Cover images are used for identification purposes only and are © their respective copyright holders. Product mentions do not constitute endorsements.

April 1997 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops

Estimated Comics Preordered by North American Comics Shops Based on Reports from Diamond Comic Distributors

Covers and issue links on this page lead to current eBay listings. This site may be compensated if you make a purchase.

April 1997 Graphic Novel Sales to Comics Shops

Estimated Graphic Novels and Trade Paperbacks Preordered by North American Comics Shops Based on Reports from Diamond Comic Distributors

This list includes all items on Diamond's Top Graphic Novel charts. If you don't see a book, Diamond released no data for it.

The links lead to title details on Amazon (paid links). You can also find the books at your comics shop.

The month in comics shops

Vital statistics

MARKET SHARES

LATEST UPDATES

VIDEOS

CONTACT

RESOURCES

DONATE

The contents of this site are copyright ©2023 John Jackson Miller, and are provided for academic purposes only. No commercial use permitted. See our Terms of Use. Privacy policy.

Comichron is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Clicking on links to various merchants on this site and making a purchase can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Cover images are used for identification purposes only and are © their respective copyright holders. Product mentions do not constitute endorsements.

Estimated Comics Preordered by North American Comics Shops
Based on Reports from Diamond Comic Distributors