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Comics Sales Records in the Diamond Exclusive Era
High and low points in sales to comics shops in North America from 1997-present

These records detail the high and low points observed on the charts published by Diamond Comic Distributors during the period in which it was the sole distributor for the North American comic-book store market, from April 1997 onward.

These totals do not reflect comics that might have been sold in the newsstand, bookstore, or overseas markets — and for individual books, those sales may be substantial. For example, Pokémon: The Electric Tale of Pikachu #1 is reported to have had sales topping 1 million copies across multiple printings in 1999 — almost entirely outside the comics shop market.

And, of course, if you go further back, you reach many higher sales records — the top-selling comic book ever, X-Men Vol. 2, #1 in 1991, had sales over 8 million copies. But the records here for average prices represent all-time averages (for obvious reasons).


Highest Orders for a Comic Book in Single Month, 1997-present
357,000 copies
Darkness #11, Image Comics
December 1997


Lowest Number of Copies Ordered for the #1 Comic Book in a Single Month, 1997-present
94,400 copies
New Avengers #53, Marvel Comics
May 2009


Fewest Titles Selling More than 100,000 Copies in a Single Month, 1997-present
0
March 2009
   May 2009


Most Comic Books in the Top 300 Comics List by Publisher, 1997-present
119
Marvel Comics

December 2008



Most Comic Books Ordered in a Single Month (Top 300 Comics), 1997-present
9,340,000 copies
April 1997


Fewest Comic Books Ordered in a Single Month (Top 300 Comics), 1997-present
4,800,000 copies

April 2001


Highest Dollar Volume for Comic Books Ordered in a Single Month (Top 300 Comics) 1997-present
$24.9 million

October 2008


Lowest Dollar Volume for Comic Books Ordered in a Single Month (Top 300 Comics)
$13,000,000

May 2001


Highest Dollar Volume for Top 300 Comic Books and Top 100 Trade Paperbacks Ordered in a Single Month
$30.69 million

October 2008


Highest Dollar Volume for All Comic Books, Trade Paperbacks, and Magazines Ordered from Diamond in a Single Month, 2003-present
$42.05 million

October 2008


Lowest Dollar Volume for All Comic Books, Trade Paperbacks, and Magazines Ordered from Diamond in a Single Month, 2003-present
$21.9 million

January 2004


Most Consecutive Months for a Publisher to Have the #1 Comic Book, 1996-present
27 months

Marvel Comics
January 2007 - March 2009


Number of Different Publishers with the #1 Comic Book, 1996-present
4

Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Image, Dreamwave


Most Consecutive Months for a Title at #1, 1996-present
10

Uncanny X-Men #366-375, Marvel Comics
January 1999 - October 1999


Highest Average Price for Comics in Diamond’s Top 300 Comics List
$3.59

December 2009


Highest Weighted Average Price for All Comics Ordered within Diamond’s Top 300 Comics List
$3.57

December 2009


Highest Final Order Dollar Market Shares registered for the Following Companies, 1997-present:
Marvel: 45.31%, September 2008
DC: 40.88%, December 1999
Image: 17.09%, May 1998
Dark Horse: 13.62%, May 1999
IDW: 5.01%, March 2009
CrossGen: 4.58%, June 2002

Updated: Jan. 11, 2010

 



 For more charts of interest, click here:
Vital Statistics

For market shares at Diamond over time, click here:

Market shares
 





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