Diamond’s Top 100 Comics and Top 100 Graphic Novels: April 2010

DC Comics continued their run atop the comics sales charts with the release of Brightest Day #0 in April, the sales chart-topping prelude issue to the 26-part biweekly series that ushers in a new era of heroism and reestablishes fan-favorite characters in the wake of the Blackest Night.

Including the aforementioned Brightest Day #0, DC Comics had five books that placed in the top 10 — The Flash #1 from Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul at #2; Green Lantern #53, picking up the threads of Blackest Night, at #3; Batman and Robin #11, the second part of Grant Morrison’s “Batman Vs. Robin” storyline, at #4; and Green Lantern Corps #47, also following on from Blackest Night, at #8.

Crosstown rival Marvel Comics rounded out the top ten with five titles. New Avengers #64, a tie-in to the Siege event, ranked #5; Uncanny X-Men #523, the second chapter of the Second Coming crossover, ranked #6; Invincible Iron Man #25, the start of the “Resilient” storyline, ranked #7; Ultimate Comics Avengers 2 #1, the debut of the Ultimate Universe’s covert Avengers team, placed #9; and Thor #609, part of the Siege event, placed #10.

TOP 100 COMIC BOOKS
Based on Total Unit Sales of Products
Invoiced in April 2010

Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr.’s collected edition of Kick-Ass was the best-selling graphic novel for the month of April as the Kick-Ass Premiere Hardcover topped the sales chart for the second month in a row, its sales fueled by the just-released film adaptation from X-Men: First Class director Matthew Vaughn.

Marvel Comics had, in total, three books in the top ten for the month. In addition to Kick-Ass, the Ultimate Comics Wolverine Vs. Hulk trade paperback, collecting the mini-series from Lost’s Damon Lindelof and Secret Invasion’s Leinil Francis Yu, ranked #5 and Marvel Zombies 4 ranked #10.

DC Comics had two books in the top ten graphic novels. Batman and Robin Deluxe Volume 1: Batman Reborn collects the first two story arcs of Grant Morrison’s Batman and Robin and ranked #2. The Flash: Rebirth from Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver returns Barry Allen, the Silver Age Flash, to the DC Universe and placed #3 on the charts in April.

Dark Horse Comics had three graphic novels in the month’s top ten. B.P.R.D. Volume 12: War on Frogs collects the latest story arc of Mike Mignola’s series and ranked #4. Another Mignola creation, Witchfinder: In the Service of Angels, ranked #7. Finally, Star Wars: Invasion Volume 1: Refugees, a series set during the Yuuzhan Vong of the Star Wars galaxy, ranked #9.

Rounding out the top ten were Avatar Press with Crossed Volume 1 at #6 and Raw Junior with Benny & Penny in The Big No-No! at #8.

TOP 100 GRAPHIC NOVELS
Based on Total Unit Sales of
Products Invoiced in April 2010

This information may not be reproduced in any format without the express permission of Diamond Comic Distributors.

For retailers, Diamond offers the Top 300 Comics and Top 300 Graphic Novels sales charts on the Diamond Tools page of the Diamond Retailer Services website to provide more information about the industry’s top selling publications.

How does Diamond calculate the charts? It all starts at the comic book shop.

Data for Diamond’s sales charts – which include the monthly market shares and all top product charts – are compiled by Diamond Comic Distributors from a universe of over 3,500 accounts, comprised of comic book specialty shops and other merchant stores and buyers. The shops are primarily located in North America, with a percentage of sales also to international stores and buyers located throughout the world. The account base includes not only brick-and-mortar comic book specialty shops, but also Internet stores, chain stores, and other specialty stores.

Unit and dollars sales are calculated based upon orders invoiced and shipped to Diamond accounts during any given month, which comprises initial pre-orders, advance reorders, and reorders, minus any copies that are received back from a title marked as returnable.

About the Diamond Sales Index: The Sales Index of selected monthly Best Seller Charts is presented as a comparative tool for retailers and publishers. It presents Diamond’s monthly sales for individual titles in relation to Diamond’s total sales for the issue of DC Comics’ monthly Batman comic book. (Batman is used as the control title – with a value of 100 – because sales of Batman usually remain relatively stable.) This allows for easy comparison to other titles and helps retailers gauge their orders for all other titles. This formula is only a guide, other factors may impact a titles’ ability to sell in certain locations and clientele.

Source: Diamond (Reprinted with Permission)
Syndicated from The Outhouse – The Greatest Comic Book Website
Posted originally: 2010-05-09 11:14:59

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Jay Katz

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