The DC reboot has proved successful where it counts the most–in sales.
The reboot helped power DC’s comic sales past Marvel for 2011.
DC rebooted its entire comic book line late last year, launching 52 new number one issues in one month. Since September, the new books have out sold primary competitor Marvel comics.
The “New 52” also helped reverse a four-year industry trend of downward sales, albeit with overall sales growth of just 1 percent to 2 percent.
According to DC, its top books (Figures are accurate as of Dec. 13, 2011.) were:
- Justice League no. 1, written by Geoff Johns and illustrated byJim Lee, which has shipped 361,138 copies since its August launch and has gone to press five times;
- Batman no. 1, written by Scott Snyder and penciled by Greg Capulo, which has sold 262,379 copies in two printings;
- Action Comics no. 1, which sold 250,898 copies, going back to the press three times.
Those numbers, accurate as of Dec 13, easily rank those books as some of the decade’s best.
By contrast, Marvel’s best-selling 2011 comic was Ultimate Spider-Man no. 160, which featured the death of the hero and shipped 159,355 copies in June.
It’s important to note that the figures represent sales to comic shops and outlets that order the books, not actual copies bought by customers. But now, with multiple print runs behind them, an clear picture can be drawn of the sales figures of some of these books.
DC’s 2011 success coincides with its strong push into digital. All issues of the New 52 debuted in digital formats the same day they hit stores, and industry observers believe downloads have been strong. (In November, Marvel followed DC in adopting same-day digital sales.)
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