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Batman
Sales Figures
Average Total Paid Circulation as Reported in Postal Records, 1960-1987


  1960 1961 1962 1963 1964
Issue Statement appearing in: #137 Feb. #145 Feb #153 Feb #161 Feb. #170 March
Date of filing: 9/20/60 10/1/61 10/1/62 10/1/63 10/1/64
Issues published during year: 8 8 8 8 8
Annual subscription price:   $1.15 $1.15 $0.95 $0.95
Cover price during year: $0.10 $0.10 $0.12 $0.12 $0.12
Total Copies PRINTED (avg): unlisted unlisted unlisted unlisted unlisted
Sales through DEALERS (avg): unlisted unlisted unlisted unlisted unlisted
Sales by SUBSCRIPTION (avg): unlisted unlisted unlisted unlisted unlisted
Total PAID circulation (avg): 502,000 485,000 410,000 unlisted unlisted
Samples by MAIL (avg): unlisted unlisted unlisted unlisted unlisted
Samples OUTSIDE mail (avg): unlisted unlisted unlisted unlisted unlisted
Total FREE circulation (avg): unlisted unlisted unlisted unlisted unlisted
TOTAL DISTRIBUTION: unlisted unlisted unlisted unlisted unlisted
Copies not distributed (office): unlisted unlisted unlisted unlisted unlisted
Copies not distributed (RETURNS): unlisted unlisted unlisted unlisted unlisted
Reported % Paid/Requested: unlisted unlisted unlisted unlisted unlisted
% of RUN RETURNED: n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
Copies existent: n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
SELL-THROUGH at RETAIL: n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.












  1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
Issue Statement appearing in: #183 Aug.     #210 March  
Date of filing: 10/1/65     10/1/68  
Issues published during year: 8     10  
Annual subscription price:          
Cover price during year: $0.12     $0.12  
Total Copies PRINTED (avg): 694,000 1,198,000   941,000  
Sales through DEALERS (avg): 448,000     531,000  
Sales by SUBSCRIPTION (avg): 5,745     2,450  
Total PAID circulation (avg): 453,745 898,470 805,700 533,450 355,782
Samples by MAIL (avg): 142     386  
Samples OUTSIDE mail (avg): 0     0  
Total FREE circulation (avg): 142     386  
TOTAL DISTRIBUTION: 453,887     533,836  
Copies not distributed (office): unlisted     unlisted  
Copies not distributed (RETURNS): 240,113     407,164  
Reported % Paid/Requested: unlisted     unlisted  
% of RUN RETURNED: 34.6%     43.3%  
Copies existent: 453,887     533,836  
SELL-THROUGH at RETAIL: 65.4% 75.0%   56.7%  












  1970 1971 1972 1973 1974
Issue Statement appearing in:     #248 April #256 May/June #263 May
Date of filing:          
Issues published during year:          
Annual subscription price:          
Cover price during year:          
Total Copies PRINTED (avg):          
Sales through DEALERS (avg):          
Sales by SUBSCRIPTION (avg):          
Total PAID circulation (avg): 293,897 244,488 185,283 200,574 193,223
Samples by MAIL (avg):          
Samples OUTSIDE mail (avg):          
Total FREE circulation (avg):          
TOTAL DISTRIBUTION:          
Copies not distributed (office):          
Copies not distributed (RETURNS):          
Reported % Paid/Requested:          
% of RUN RETURNED:          
Copies existent:          
SELL-THROUGH at RETAIL:          












  1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Issue Statement appearing in:   #287 May #299 May   #322 April
Date of filing:         10/1/79
Issues published during year:         12
Annual subscription price:         $6.75
Cover price during year:         $0.40
Total Copies PRINTED (avg):         333,231
Sales through DEALERS (avg):         165,623
Sales by SUBSCRIPTION (avg):         1,017
Total PAID circulation (avg): 154,000 178,000 168,164 125,421 166,640
Samples by MAIL (avg):         0
Samples OUTSIDE mail (avg):         0
Total FREE circulation (avg):         0
TOTAL DISTRIBUTION:         166,640
Copies not distributed (office):         122
Copies not distributed (RETURNS):         166,469
Reported % Paid/Requested:         unlisted
% of RUN RETURNED:         50.0%
Copies existent:         166,762
SELL-THROUGH at RETAIL:         50.0%












  1980 1981 1982 1983 1984
Issue Statement appearing in: #335 May   #359 May    
Date of filing: 10/1/80   10/1/82    
Issues published during year: 12   12    
Annual subscription price: $7.95   $7.20    
Cover price during year: $0.50   $0.60    
Total Copies PRINTED (avg): 301,102   275,830    
Sales through DEALERS (avg): 127,274   105,895    
Sales by SUBSCRIPTION (avg): 2,025   2,339    
Total PAID circulation (avg): 129,299 110,997 108,234 97,741 89,217
Samples by MAIL (avg): 127   677    
Samples OUTSIDE mail (avg): 0   0    
Total FREE circulation (avg): 127   677    
TOTAL DISTRIBUTION: 129,426   108,911    
Copies not distributed (office): 3,608   2,703    
Copies not distributed (RETURNS): 168,068   164,216    
Reported % Paid/Requested: unlisted   unlisted    
% of RUN RETURNED: 55.8%   59.5%    
Copies existent: 133,034   111,614    
SELL-THROUGH at RETAIL: 42.9%   39.2%    












  1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Issue Statement appearing in:   #406 Apr      
Date of filing:   10/1/86      
Issues published during year:   12      
Annual subscription price:   $9.00      
Cover price during year:   $0.75      
Total Copies PRINTED (avg):   187,309      
Sales through DEALERS (avg):   87,637      
Sales by SUBSCRIPTION (avg):   2,110      
Total PAID circulation (avg): 75,303 89,747 193,000    
Samples by MAIL (avg):   163      
Samples OUTSIDE mail (avg):   unlisted      
Total FREE circulation (avg):   163      
TOTAL DISTRIBUTION:   89,910      
Copies not distributed (office):   2,941      
Copies not distributed (RETURNS):   94,458      
Reported % Paid/Requested:   unlisted      
% of RUN RETURNED:   50.4%      
Copies existent:   92,851      
SELL-THROUGH at RETAIL:   47.9%      






Green year: Complete data




Orange year: Partial data




White year: Data needed




Gray year: Data doesn't exist










Updated November 3, 2008





Statement history:
    Statements of Ownership ran in Batman long before 1960, when the government began requiring them to report circulation figures. DC published those figures in the Statements from 1960 to 1962, rounding figures off to the nearest thousand. But in 1963 and 1964, as it did with much of its line, DC ran statements in Batman without sales figures again. (These appeared in #161 and #170. This happened again in 1965, only for DC to return in the August cover-dated issue of the year with a revised Statement including sales figures. (Thus the asterisk for the two years with missing data.)

    Statements then appeared consistently in the title until 1987. Thereafter, DC switched from mailing subscription copies second-class to mailing them first-class, exempting the publisher from the need to publish the statements. Thus, less than half the run of the title includes postal circulation information.






Find out more about comics and fiction from writer John Jackson Miller!