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August 1987 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops

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


#1 Most Ordered Issue
#1
#2 Most Ordered Issue
#2
#3 Most Ordered Issue
#3
#4 Most Ordered Issue
#4
#5 Most Ordered Issue
#5

DC had more comics in Diamond Comic Distributors' Top 100 in August 1987 than Marvel did, and while Diamond was not yet reporting market shares, Capital City Distribution reported that DC had passed Marvel in its dollar shares for the first time.

A couple of graphic novels contributed to that performance. The Batman: Son of the Demon hardcover sold so many copies that it placed 85th among all comics products at Diamond in units sold; priced at $14.95, the hardcover would have had a mammoth impact on DC's dollar share. Beyond that, retailers were also ordering for the first time copies of a book, debuting Sept. 8, that would have an extremely long life-span: the Watchmen trade paperback. Also priced at $14.95, it did not make the Top 100 for units — though Capital City reported it was its #2 dollar product for the month, earning about 75% the dollars of Son of the Demon. (Watchmen also had a 1987 bookstore printing that went through Warner Books, which would have added more to its early totals.)

That said, it isn't known for sure that DC outperformed Marvel at Diamond in dollar terms: DC's titles in August appeared to fare better at Capital, which may have been a function of discounts.

The 'Nam #13 placed fourth, remaining strong as it began its second year. Vietnam stories had been prominent in the mass media since the release of Platoon at the end of 1986, and Tour of Duty would debut on CBS in September. Still buoyed by its own TV series, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #66 placed sixth.

Marvel launched a new Solo Avengers series; its debut issue placed fifth.

The raw version of the chart below was presumably published in the July 1987 Diamond Dialogue newsletter; it was reprinted in Comics Values Monthly #19, where we found it. We've added publishers and ship dates. Diamond did not yet report market shares; Capital City this month found DC with a dollar share of 32.98%, Marvel with a dollar share of 27.3%, and Eclipse at 6.13%.

The dates shown below are the dates the comics shipped from the printer, according to Capital City's Orderpak (August 1987) and subsequently reported in Amazing Heroes #124 (Sept. 1, 1987). Marvel Age's shipping date came from Marvel Age #56 (Nov. 1987). Capital reported almost all dates as Tuesdays, which corresponded to when the printer Ronald's released its comics — but World Color Press wasn't releasing its books until 12:01 a.m. on Thursdays. It's not clear which books came from that printer, however, so we've kept everything on Tuesday unless the dates said otherwise.


Further, in this era, distributor catalog dates for all publishers did not synch up exactly with the calendar month, so Diamond's August charts include two week's worth of DC comics from September — and are missing the first week's comics, which would have appeared in Diamond's July charts. This would continue until March 1995, when DC would realign its solicitations with the Direct Market's calendar month (that chart only included three weeks of DC sales). Because Diamond did not report indexed sales, there is no way to know where those comics would have landed in this month's chart.

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

—John Jackson Miller


This list includes all items on Diamond's Top 100 chart.
Distributor charts are regional commodity reports, not measures of a work's total reach. Read our FAQ.
The links lead to current listings for each item on eBay. You can also find the books at your comics shop.



UnitsComic-book TitleIssuePriceShippedPublisher
1Uncanny X-Men224$0.7508/18/87Marvel
2X-Factor23$0.7508/25/87Marvel
3Silver Surfer6$0.7508/18/87Marvel
4Nam13$0.7508/25/87Marvel
5Solo Avengers1$0.7508/18/87Marvel
6G.I. Joe A Real American Hero66$1.0008/18/87Marvel
7New Mutants58$0.7508/04/87Marvel
8Alpha Flight53$1.0008/11/87Marvel
9Amazing Spider-Man295$0.7508/11/87Marvel
10Justice League International8$0.7508/18/87DC
11Classic X-Men16$1.0008/25/87Marvel
12Superman12$0.7508/18/87DC
13Web of Spider-Man33$0.7508/04/87Marvel
14Daredevil249$0.7508/04/87Marvel
15Avengers286$0.7508/18/87Marvel
16World of Krypton1$0.7508/11/87DC
17Flash7$0.7508/11/87DC
18Doom Patrol3$0.7508/25/87DC
19Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe19$1.5008/25/87Marvel
20Peter Parker The Spectactular Spider-Man133$0.7508/25/87Marvel
21Alpha Flight Annual2$1.2508/27/87Marvel
22West Coast Avengers27$0.7508/04/87Marvel
23G.I. Joe Special Missions8$1.0008/04/87Marvel
24Fantastic Four309$0.7508/25/87Marvel
25Action Comics595$0.7509/01/87DC
26Thor386$0.7508/25/87Marvel
27Iron Man225$1.2508/25/87Marvel
28Iron Man Annual9$0.7508/11/87Marvel
29Wonder Woman11$1.2508/18/87DC
30Batman414$0.7508/18/87DC
31Captain America336$0.7508/11/87Marvel
32Shadow5$1.5008/25/87DC
33Shadow Annual1$2.2508/11/87DC
34Detective Comics581$0.7509/01/87DC
35Phantom Stranger3$0.7508/25/87DC
36Doc Savage2$1.7508/11/87DC
37Underworld1$1.0008/25/87DC
38Adventures of Superman435$0.7508/25/87DC
39Sonic Disruptors1$1.7509/01/87DC
40Transformers35$1.0008/25/87Marvel
41New Teen Titans38$1.7508/25/87DC
42Who's Who Update '875$1.2508/11/87DC
43Lone Wolf and Cub4$1.9507/31/87First
44Marvel Age57$0.50 8/18/87Marvel
45Strange Tales9$0.7508/11/87Marvel
46Incredible Hulk338$0.7508/18/87Marvel
47Suicide Squad8$0.7509/01/87DC
48Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles12$1.50Mirage
49Captain Atom10$0.7509/08/87DC
50Legion of Super-Heroes41$1.7508/11/87DC
51Wild Dog4$0.7508/11/87DC
52Wasteland1$1.7508/08/87DC
53Slash Maraud2$1.7508/25/87DC
54D.P. 714$0.7508/18/87Marvel
55Marshal Law1$1.9508/18/87Marvel
56Strikeforce Morituri13$1.2508/04/87Marvel
57Captain Justice1$1.5008/11/87Marvel
58Spectre9$1.2509/01/87DC
59Outcasts3$1.7508/25/87DC
60Alien Legion1$1.2508/25/87Marvel
61Young All Stars7$1.2508/18/87DC
62Green Lantern Corps219$0.7508/25/87DC
63Elfquest: Siege at Blue Mountain6$1.75Warp
64Teen Titans Spotlight17$0.7509/08/87DC
65Silverblade4$1.2508/11/87DC
66Swamp Thing67$1.2508/25/87DC
67Question11$1.5008/18/87DC
68Secret Origins21$1.2508/18/87DC
69Booster Gold23$1.0008/18/87DC
70Firestorm the Nuclear Man66$0.7508/11/87DC
71Star Trek45$0.7508/18/87DC
72Groo the Wanderer34$1.2508/11/87Marvel
73Psi Force14$0.7508/04/87Marvel
74Infinity Inc.45$1.0008/25/87DC
75Justice14$0.7508/18/87Marvel
76Marvel Saga25$0.7508/18/87Marvel
77Elfquest29$1.0008/25/87Marvel
78Conan the Barbarian201$1.0008/18/87Marvel
79G.I. Joe 3-D2$2.50Blackthorne
80Lords of the Ultra-Realm Special1$2.25DC
81Grendel12$1.50Comico
82Blue Beetle19$1.0008/18/87DC
83Amethyst2$1.2508/11/87DC
84Elementals17$1.50Comico
85Batman: Son of the Demon HC$14.9508/18/87DC
86Visionaries1$1.00 07/21/87 Marvel
87Outsiders26$1.5008/11/87DC
88Vigilante48$1.5008/11/87DC
89Justice Machine9$1.50Comico
90Jonny Quest16$1.75Comico
91Hawkman17$1.0009/01/87DC
92Warlord124$1.0008/25/87DC
93Savage Sworld of Conan142$2.0008/11/87Marvel
94Boris the Bear13$1.75Dark Horse
95Cerebus101$1.70Aardvark-Vanaheim
96Badger30$1.7507/31/87First
97Marvel Tales206$0.7508/18/87Marvel
98Airboy28$1.2508/04/87Eclipse
99Airboy27$1.2508/18/87Eclipse
100Airmaidens Special1$1.7508/11/87Eclipse




August 1987 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 graphic novels on Diamond's comics chart.

Only one graphic novel made the Diamond Top 100 unit chart, but several other graphic novels were solicited — including, rather importantly, Watchmen, which was announced for a Sept. 8 trade paperback release. Other announced graphic novels included Will Eisner's The Building and New York from Kitchen Sink; their rankings are not known.



UnitsTrade Paperback titlePricePublisherEst. units
1 Batman: Son of the Demon HC $14.95 DCn.a.