Marvel Comics has now won the comic shop market share three weeks running. That’s the headline, and it’s true. But read the Marvel Comics and DC Comics market share numbers for those three weeks in order, and the more interesting story is how fast the gap is closing.
According to the Prana Direct Market Solutions point-of-sale data that Bleeding Cool published this morning, Marvel took 40.31% of direct market sales for October 13 to 19, against 35.00% for DC. Image was a distant third at 11.22%, with IDW at 4.51%.
Marvel DC market share: three weeks, one trend line
| Week | Marvel | DC |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 29–Oct 5 | 51.07% | 26.20% |
| Oct 6–12 | 45.00% | 33.29% |
| Oct 13–19 | 40.31% | 35.00% |
Sources: Sep 29–Oct 5, Oct 6–12, Oct 13–19 (Bleeding Cool, Prana data).
Marvel Comics’ lead went from roughly 25 points to under 12 to about 5 in three weeks. The first of those weeks saw Marvel Comics delivering Amazing Spider-Man #1000 plus a fifth week of the month with no new Absolute Universe or Batman books from DC. That is a massive caveat. Sure, Marvel Comics may be able to post a big weekly win, but that is only when DC Comics’ two all-star players are on the bench and not in the game. Those are the two franchises powering DC Comics’ impressive resurgence over the past year.
The second week saw Marvel Comics unleash the Midnight launch, which helped boost sales. The third week leaned on Midnight’s second week plus Amazing Spider-Man #1001, Venom #1, Doom All-On-One #1 and DNX #3.
What you see there is a stack of anniversaries, #1 issues, and event books. It’s exactly how Marvel Comics can win a week. It’s not yet proof that Marvel Comics has won a quarter.
What Midnight actually earned
I will give a hat tip to Marvel Comics. Midnight Spider-Man #1 and Midnight X-Men #1 sat at #1 and #2 on the Prana Top Ten for a second straight week. Second-week sales holding at the top of the chart is a better sign than a big launch week, which variants and speculators can inflate. The share numbers say the momentum is real but cooling.
DC isn’t missing from that chart, either. On the same Oct. 13–19 Prana top ten, Teen Titans #2, Doom Patrol #2 and Legion of Super-Heroes #2 placed seventh, eighth and tenth. If second issues hold their spot in a week stacked with Marvel Comics launches, that’s DC’s version of the same good sign.
As a long-time Legion fan, I am keeping my fingers crossed that Legion of Super-Heroes does not crater with the second issue. However, I have to be realistic. There is no way that titles like Legion of Super-Heroes, Teen Titans, and Doom Patrol are going to have second-issue holds like what Midnight Spider-Man and Midnight X-Men enjoyed.
Don’t throw out the Q3 numbers yet
Just last week, ICv2’s Q3 report had DC Comics ahead of Marvel Comics 33.6% to 29.8% in dollar share, with the Absolute line doing the heavy lifting. Those figures come from a different dataset (ComicHub point-of-sale data from more than 125 shops) and cover July through September, so they don’t contradict October’s weekly Prana numbers. They do remind you that one great month doesn’t erase DC leading both Q2 and Q3.
Look at how Marvel closed the gap in Q3, too. ICv2 credits “two premium-priced issues, the Blind Bag Variant of Queen in Black #1 and the milestone Amazing Spider-Man #1000,” while DC leaned on Batman of Two Worlds and the Absolute books. Dollar share rewards expensive covers. Part of that lead was bought with price, not readers, and October’s anniversary issues use the same playbook.
The next real test is coming fast like a prime Mike Alstott firing through the A-gap. Absolute Batman #25 is coming and ready to bring a big bag of whoop-ass with it. This might wipe out Marvel Comics despite their sales success of the past three weeks. If that happens, Marvel’s October looks like a launch spike. If Midnight’s books keep charting in their third and fourth weeks while Absolute Batman #25 is in stores, Marvel has something more durable.
The caveat that always applies
Prana’s data covers 600-plus stores out of the estimated 1,800 to 2,000 direct market shops. It’s the best weekly read we have, but it’s a sample, not the whole market, and weekly share swings hard with the release calendar. Watch the trend, not the single week.
So who’s actually winning the direct market right now? Marvel, for the moment. Ask again after Halloween.
