(BALTIMORE, MD) — (February 22, 2019) — The battle between Batman and his malevolent counterpart from the Dark Multiverse intensifies in Scott Snyder and Jock’s The Batman Who Laughs #2 from DC, the best-selling comic book of January 2019 according to information provided by Diamond Comic Distributors, the world’s largest distributor of comics, graphic novels, and pop culture merchandise.

DC had five titles in the top ten overall including Tom King and Mitch Gerads’ Batman #62 at #6, King and Mikel Janin’s Batman #63 at #7, King and Clay Mann’s Heroes in Crisis #4 at #8, and King and Mann’s Heroes in Crisis #5 at #9. Marvel Comics also had five titles in the top; Kelly Thompson and Carmen Nunez Carnero’s Captain Marvel #1 led off at #2, followed by Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw’s Guardians of the Galaxy #1 ranked #3, Jason Aaron and Mahmud Asrar’s Conan the Barbarian #1 at #4, Nick Spencer and Chris Bachalo’s Amazing Spider-Man #14 at #5, and Tom Taylor and Juann Cabal’s Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1 at #10. Among the premier publishers, Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead #187 was Image Comics’ top book at #30; BOOM! Studios’ Buffy the Vampire Slayer #1, a present day reimagining of Joss Whedon’s cult television series, was their best-selling book for January at #70; Dark Horse Comics’ Stranger Things #4, based on the Netflix television series, ranked #85; Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons & Dragons #4, the final issue of IDW Publishing’s crossover event, ranked #98; and Dynamite Entertainment’s Elvira: The Shape of Elvira #1 ranked #174.

Marvel Comics was January’s top publisher, leading in both the dollar share (39.24%) and unit share (41.29%) categories. DC was second, with a dollar share of 29.70% and unit share of 33.39%. Image Comics was third, with a 7.56% dollar share and a 7.77% unit share. Dark Horse Comics was fourth with a 3.95% dollar share and a 2.97% unit share, followed by IDW Publishing with a 3.75% dollar share and a 3.32% unit share, then BOOM! Studios with a 2.32% dollar share and a 2.23% unit share, and Dynamite Entertainment with a 2.13% dollar share and a 1.83% unit share.

The collected edition of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s Dark Nights: Metal from DC topped the graphic novel chart in January. Also in the top ten from DC were Dark Days: Road to Metal at #8 and Sean Murphy’s Batman: White Knight at #9. Marvel Comics had five titles in the top ten, led by Jim Starlin, George Perez, and Ron Lim’s The Infinity Gauntlet at #2, followed by The Life of Captain Marvel at #3, Star Wars: Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith Volume 4 at #4, Cosmic Ghost Rider: Baby Thanos Must Die at #5, and Spider-Geddon: Edge of Spider-Geddon at #10. Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston’s Black Hammer Volume 3: Age of Doom Part 1 from Dark Horse Comics ranked #6. Image Comic was also in the top ten; Rob Guillory’s Farmhand Volume 1 ranked #7.

Wicked Cow Studios’ Lulu Is a Rhinoceros, a picture book for young readers about a dog who wants to be a rhinoceros by Jason Flom and Sophie Corrigan, was January’s best-selling book. Gemstone’s Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide Volume 48 returned to the charts at #5.

Funko’s POP! Power Rangers: Lord Drakkon Vinyl Figure, a PREVIEWS exclusive figure, was January’s best-selling toy product. Also in the top ten from Funko was the PREVIEWS Exclusive POP! DC Heroes: The Batman Who Laughs Vinyl Figure at #5. Diamond Select Toys had two products in the top ten, led by the Marvel Select: Avengers Infinity War: Iron-Spider Action Figure at #6. Also in the top ten, DC Collectibles’ Harley Quinn: Pink White & Black Valentine by Stanley “Artgerm” Lau Variant Statue ranked #10.

January’s best-selling game product, Green Ronin Publishing’s Critical Role: Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting, a sourcebook for the Critical Role role-playing game, topped the sales charts for a second month in a row. Paizo Publishing had a strong month with six products in the top ten, led by the Starfinder RPG Core Rulebook at #2. Also in the top ten, Dynamite Entertainment’s Red Sonja Tarot Card Set ranked #10.

TOP COMIC BOOK PUBLISHERS

 COMPARATIVE SALES STATISTICS

NEW TITLES SHIPPED

TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS BY UNITS SHIPPED

TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS BY DOLLARS INVOICED

TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS BY UNITS SHIPPED

TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS BY DOLLARS INVOICED

TOP 10 BOOKS BY UNITS SHIPPED

TOP 10 TOYS BY DOLLARS INVOICED

TOP 10 GAMES BY DOLLARS INVOICED

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.

***

ABOUT DIAMOND COMIC DISTRIBUTORS (DCD)—Diamond is at the nexus of comics and pop culture merchandise. Based in Baltimore, MD, DCD is the world’s largest distributor of English-language comic books and pop-culture related merchandise, servicing thousands of specialty retailers worldwide. For more information, visit Diamond on the web at www.diamondcomics.com.