Top Selling Comics & Publisher Market Share: December 2015

Each month, Diamond Comic Distributors announces their top sellers, via press release, in the realm of comic books and more. This can give readers an idea of what folks are gravitating towards. What's working? What isn't? Let's take a look at the best of the best for December 2015.

Marvel took the top spot for December.

Here's some visual aids.

SECRET WARS #8 took the top spot for December, followed by DKIII #2.

Brian K Vaughan's THE PRIVATE EYE got the number 1 spot for trades last month.

Here's how many books each company published.

Finally, here's the comparative sales chart.

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

Data for Diamond’s sales charts — which includes the monthly market shares and all top product charts — are compiled by Diamond Comic Distributors from sales made to thousands of comic book specialty shops located in North America and around the world. Additional sales made to online merchants and other specialty retailers may be included as well.

Unit and dollar market shares are calculated based upon orders for comic books, graphic novels, and magazines invoiced and shipped to Diamond customers during any given month, which comprises pre-orders, advance reorders, and reorders, minus any copies that are received back from a title marked as returnable. Please note that comics marked with an asterisk (*) have had their reported quantities reduced due to retailer returnability, and thus may rank lower on the charts than their actual sales would reflect.

The New Titles Count Chart includes all titles that were invoiced by Diamond to retailers for the first time during the month and is not the official solicited title count for the month. Variant edition comic books and graphic novels at the same price point count as a single SKU. Variant edition comic books, lenticular covers, digital combo packs, and graphic novels at different price points count as separate SKUs for each edition.

What are your predictions for January?

Heh batman vs Star Wars

What? Marvel didn't have a bazillion number 1s in December?

I am surprised TDKIII 2 was outsold. It was even better than the first issue imo, just because it upped the pace.

It took the help of Batman but glad to see TMNT crack the top 10. Hopefully some of these readers will jump on the regular TMNT book!

Holy shit, Batman is on the top 10 again. I wonder if it has something to do with Rookie not being on the cover? When I went to the store yesterday there were only 2 issues of Detective comics left. I would also like to know where Daredevil goes in the top 100

@johnapocalypse: I think it's because Marvel didn't have too many number ones.

Gasp, Marvel stops with the number 1s and some market share starts going back to DC?! Who could possibly have seen this coming!? (This may seem like sarcasm, but seriously the number of people losing their shit last month as if the 26% wasn't a result of all the number 1s was absurd...)

Batman is like the Great Wall of DC.

Here is the actual Unit Market Share rankings (what actually matters). Again Valiant being misrepresented by the Dollar Market Share orderings in the article.

Brilliant to see Renew Your Vows there. honestly when is Marvel going to learn.

And it only took them 27 more books then Marvel...

So Harley is back

@dan12456: Yep and it only took pushing out over 2 dozen more books than marvel to do it, congrats you still lose.

Just counted DC and Marvel books myself.

135 DC

131 Marvel

Here's the source: http://www.previewsworld.com/Archive/1/1/71/994

January is probably going to be similar to December.

@avalancheblank: Then there are 23 books from Marvel not being calculated here.

Star Wars keeping Marvel strong.

Batman and HArely Quinn keeping DC steady.

~MiB

people care about batman / TMNT crossover? seriously?

so glad private eye did so well. what a great book and a great place for it to come from, too.

Marvel are praising their Disney overlords for that Star Wars driven 11% between DC in unit share. That market share leap though, going from 36% to Marvel to a 41% unit jump compared to DC is a huge contrast between the two, DCYou was not as successful as All New, All Different, All Whatever Marvel.

Dc did a lot better!!

@feartheliving: good point, so with the 23 phantom titles included Marvel would be even more popular! It's ok, DC fans, I'm only teasing.

VERY interesting to see Renew Your Vows in the top ten tpbs and how good is it to have a top three without any #1s.

Also does anyone know how the de-powered Superman is selling?

@damominimus: I kind of remember seeing some of the recent Superman issues somewhere between the 300-350 of the 500 best selling comics

Honestly I find it so shocking that after he massive success of Renew Your Vows they decided to go the way they did with Amazing Spider-Man.

@vox bosh: WHat exactly does he lose?

10/10

Marvel will probably be number one for this year as well.

Lol it's all Batman and star wars in the top 10

My sentiments exactly. Difference is Batman is an actual DC IP. Marvel is just leeching off Disney's gifts.

*Looks at Secret Wars being #1*

...Right.

LOL at the stock brokers here.

So Marvel only shipped 81 books and 27 graphic novels to DC's 98 and 36 respectively? Not surprised Marvel's market and dollar share went down a little bit compared to recent months.

@squalleon: Marvel also shipped several fewer books in December than DC. As for DKIII, I'm not. While it was always going to be a high seller, Frank Miller's bad writing for the last 15 or so years was going to cause some people to stay away.

OMG 1 title! All else is nullified in that case.

If not for Star Wars, DC might've "won" this month. But Star Wars does exist, and the sales do count for Marvel. I have trouble believing people actually want to read a comic based on a movie but apparently they do.

Point being it's still a Marvel title and we haven't seen what comes after the top 10 so if SWs wasn't there, there might very well could be other Marvel books right on its heels not Star Wars related. Also that 1 title also happens to be at the top spot in front of both Batman and Star Wars and features nothing but Marvel Characters.

@feartheliving: Yeah well at this point Batman and number 1 titles are the only thing keeping dc relevant in all forms. Its funny you talk about Secret Wars considering Darksied War isnt even in the top 10 considering it features all of dc top hitters.Lol

*Sigh* Every. Freaking. Time. Wish some DC fans weren't so bitter about being #2. And wish some Marvel fans weren't so obnoxious about being #1. Talk about sore losers AND sore winners. That's right, both sides are sore and it ain't pretty.

4 Batman titles and 4 Star Wars titles in the top ten lol

@vox bosh: Sure, Justice League wasn't in the top 10, it was in the top 11. Gasp, how irrelevant that book must be.

Guardians of Infinity at #6? I'm shocked. Not even remotely excited about it

We're nerds/geeks, we can't help ourselves....