While Batman has always been a profitable character for DC Comics, 2019 has been particularly generous to the caped crusader. In a not-so-surprising announcement, Diamond Comic Distributors (the world's largest comic book distributor) has placed DC's wildly successful Detective Comics #1000 at the top of the sales charts for all of 2019!
This marks the second year in a row that DC has topped comic book sales, with Action Comics #1000 being the 2018 bestseller. The two comics were both landmark titles, representing incredible publishing milestones and the 80th anniversaries of Batman and Superman. Tec #1000 was made by an all-star lineup of both old and new creators, resulting in an impressive collection of art, variant covers and short stories. Check out our review of the comic here!
This was not the only DC book to make the bestseller list, however: the incredibly popular limited series DCeased also found its way to #5 on the charts! DCeased was a thrilling twist on the concept of a "zombie apocalypse" in a superhero universe, and was brought to un-life by the talented team of Tom Taylor, Trevor Hairsine, James Harren, and Stefano Gaudian.
Meanwhile, DC saw five of their books in the top ten of graphic novels and trade paperbacks sold in 2019. Watchmen found itself at #1, Mister Miracle at #5, Batman: White Knight at #7, Batman: The Killing Joke at #9, and Batman: Damned at #10.
While several of these books showcase the full scope of the DC Universe, it's clear to see that Batman was a big contributor to the company's success. DC Co-Publisher, Dan Didio, had the following to say about the sales:
“These rankings demonstrate how Batman continues to be an important part of our publishing success, in comic books, original graphic novels and collected editions. I’m incredibly happy to see how enthusiastically fans responded to Detective Comics #1000, especially during Batman’s 80th anniversary and to be the best-selling comic book two years in a row is a fantastic achievement.”
Congratulations to DC Comics! With milestone issues for Wonder Woman and Robin on the way this year, it'll be exciting to see what the future holds for DC in the comic world.
