"Justice League" #5 hit the #1 spot for top comics sold in January.Diamond Comic Distributors has released estimated sales numbers for January 2012, with Marvel Comics edging into first in dollars, while DC Comics is ahead in units. While Marvel locked up the dollar share locked up currently, DC had a blow-out month, nabbing every slot of the top ten single issues and topping the industry in overall units sold sold with Geoff Johns and Jim Lee's "Justice League" #5 leading the pack. "Justice League" has been the top selling single issue in every month it's had a new issue since the book's premiere in August 2011. Bat-books dominated the top ten with #5 issues of "Batman," "Detective Comics," "Batman: The Dark Knight" and "Batman and Robin" all making appearances.
DC also excelled in the top ten graphic novels and trade paperbacks, with "Batman: Through the Looking Glass" Hardcover coming in at #1 as one of five DC graphic novels in the top ten. Despite having a higher dollar share than DC, Marvel's only product to crack either of the top ten lists was the "Fear Itself" Premiere Hardcover. Robert Kirkman's "Invincible" and "The Walking Dead" trade paperbacks continued to sell well in January, accounting for three of the top ten graphic novels and trades.
Overall, sales were down from December with single issues falling by 7%, while graphic novels dropped by 4.5%. However, the month still improved overall from January 2011, with an increase in sales by 32% for single issues and 18% for graphic novels.
Check out the sales charts below and stay tuned to CBR News for more in-depth analysis of Diamond's January 2012 sales numbers.
| PUBLISHER | DOLLAR
SHARE | UNIT
SHARE |
| MARVEL COMICS | 35.17% | 37.51% |
| DC COMICS | 33.55% | 39.86% |
| IMAGE COMICS | 5.48% | 4.83% |
| DARK HORSE COMICS | 4.89% | 3.55% |
| IDW PUBLISHING | 4.35% | 3.78% |
| DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT | 3.46% | 3.66% |
| BOOM! STUDIOS | 1.66% | 1.35% |
| EAGLEMOSS PUBLICATIONS LTD | 1.47% | 0.30% |
| VIZ MEDIA | 0.92% | 0.42% |
| RANDOM HOUSE | 0.79% | 0.18% |
| OTHER NON-TOP 10 | 8.26% | 4.57% |
| DOLLARS | UNITS | |
| JANUARY 2012 VS. DECEMBER 2011 | ||
| COMICS | -7.01% | -8.93% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | -4.51% | -4.86% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | -6.25% | -8.65% |
| JANUARY 2012 VS. JANUARY 2011 | ||
| COMICS | 32.05% | 33.56% |
| GRAPHIC NOVELS | 18.38% | 8.46% |
| TOTAL COMICS/GN | 27.47% | 31.38% |
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | PRICE | ITEM CODE | VENDOR |
| 1 | JUSTICE LEAGUE #5 | $3.99 | NOV110104 | DC |
| 2 | BATMAN #5 | $2.99 | NOV110133 | DC |
| 3 | ACTION COMICS #5 | $3.99 | NOV110125 | DC |
| 4 | DETECTIVE COMICS #5 | $2.99 | NOV110138 | DC |
| 5 | GREEN LANTERN #5 | $2.99 | NOV110154 | DC |
| 6 | BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #5 | $2.99 | NOV110140 | DC |
| 7 | SUPERMAN #5 | $2.99 | NOV110129 | DC |
| 8 | THE FLASH #5 | $2.99 | NOV110113 | DC |
| 9 | BATMAN AND ROBIN #5 | $2.99 | NOV110145 | DC |
| 10 | AQUAMAN #5 | $2.99 | NOV110109 | DC |
| RANK | DESCRIPTION | PRICE | ITEM CODE | VENDOR |
| 1 | BATMAN: THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS HC | $22.99 | SEP110169 | DC |
| 2 | INVINCIBLE VOLUME 15: GET SMART TP | $16.99 | NOV110396 | IMA |
| 3 | THE WALKING DEAD VOLUME 1: DAYS GONE BYE | $9.99 | JUL068351 | IMA |
| 4 | FEAR ITSELF PREMIERE HC | $34.99 | OCT110712 | MAR |
| 5 | THE UNWRITTEN VOLUME 5: ON TO GENESIS (MR) | $14.99 | OCT110301 | DC |
| 6 | BATMAN: THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE TP | $19.99 | OCT110245 | DC |
| 7 | THE WALKING DEAD VOLUME 15 TP (MR) | $14.99 | OCT110502 | IMA |
| 8 | B.P.R.D.: HELL ON EARTH VOLUME 2: GODS AND MONSTERS TP | $19.99 | SEP110018 | DAR |
| 9 | SWEET TOOTH VOL. 4: ENDANGERED SPECIES TP(MR) | $16.99 | OCT110296 | DC |
| 10 | BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT VOLUME 1: GOLDEN DAWN DELUXE EDITION HC | $24.99 | SEP110181 | DC |
