DC Comics released a new series of books in September based around the villains and had these villains’ books come out instead of the heroes titles. According to Bleeding Cool on Oct. 4, that helped DC Comics destroy Marvel Comics in sales for the month.
DC Comics market share rose 10 points in September. DC Comics dollars spent rates went from 30.16 percent to 40.39 percent while Marvel Comics fell from 22.7 percent to 28.49 percent in sales. In actual comics sold, DC Comics finished with 45.17 percent while Marvel Comics finished at 29.83 percent.
What is interesting is that “Villains Week,” the big event responsible for the sales, was not the only riser for DC Comics. They also saw a rise in graphic novel dollars, which rose by 11.93 percent in dollars spent. These rises are even higher than last year’s big event when they released the “Zero” numbered issues.
There is a chance that DC Comics numbers drop, because there were both 2D and 3D covers ordered for most of the “Villains Month” comics and the 2D cover issues can be returned if they don’t sell, Many retailers are returning stacks of the 2D cover issues.
To put an explanation point on the entire surge in sales, the 10.43 percent increase in dollars spent on DC Comics from 2012 to 2013 is a larger increase than all other print industries.
The Top 10 comic books sold in September was split evenly between Marvel Comics and DC Comics, with “Forever Evil” #1 taking the top spot.
