by 
Updated on December 10, 2021
DC’s “Rebirth” once again dominated comic sales in August. Leading the pack as the top-selling book this month is “Harley Quinn” #1.
Comics
Listed below are the top 10 selling comics for August, according to Diamond. Asterisks indicate the books are returnable, as part of DC’s “Rebirth” promotional effort.
| Rank | Title | Price | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HARLEY QUINN #1 [*] | $2.99 | DC |
| 2 | ALL-STAR BATMAN #1 [*] | $4.99 | DC |
| 3 | SUICIDE SQUAD #1 [*] | $2.99 | DC |
| 4 | AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #16 | $3.99 | MAR |
| 5 | SUICIDE SQUAD REBIRTH #1 [*] | $2.99 | DC |
| 6 | BATMAN #4 [*] | $2.99 | DC |
| 7 | BATMAN #5 [*] | $2.99 | DC |
| 8 | JUSTICE LEAGUE #2 [*] | $2.99 | DC |
| 9 | HARLEY QUINN #2 [*] | $2.99 | DC |
| 10 | SUPERGIRL REBIRTH #1 [*] | $2.99 | DC |
As shown above, DC completely dominates the top 10 selling books this month. Comichron notes it’s DC’s highest sales in several years. It’s also another month with sales led by a book starring a woman. Fortunately, that’s an occurrence that’s becoming more and more common in recent years.
Presumably coming out biweekly is helping “Batman” a lot, as it has two slots.
Marvel’s one entry in the top 10 is an issue of “Amazing Spider-Man.”
Trade paperbacks/graphic novels
Below are the top 10 trade paperbacks and graphic novels. Information also taken from Diamond.
| Rank | Title | Price | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | STAR WARS: DARTH VADER VOL. 3: THE SHU TORUN WAR TP | $16.99 | MAR |
| 2 | BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE SPECIAL EDITION HC | $17.99 | DC |
| 3 | BLACK PANTHER BOOK 1: NATION UNDER OUR FEET TP | $16.99 | MAR |
| 4 | SPIDER-MAN/DEADPOOL VOL. 1: ISN’T IT BROMANTIC TP | $17.99 | MAR |
| 5 | STAR WARS VOLUME 3: REBEL JAIL TP | $19.99 | MAR |
| 6 | BATMAN/TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES HC | $24.99 | DC |
| 7 | SAGA VOLUME 6 TP (MR) | $14.99 | IMA |
| 8 | TEEN TITANS EARTH ONE VOLUME 2 HC | $22.99 | DC |
| 9 | HARLEY QUINN BOOK AND MASK SET | $34.99 | DC |
| 10 | HARLEY QUINN & THE SUICIDE SQUAD: AN ADULT COLORING BOOK TP | $15.99 | DC |
Marvel’s “Darth Vader” topped the TPB/GN list. Following it in second place is perennial “Family Ties”-era best seller “The Killing Joke.”
Other top sellers include “Black Panther,” “Saga,” and a few Harley Quinn books. “Saga” for some reason is the only non-Big Two book in the top 10 this month.
In contrast to the above, the New York Times paperback best-seller list (for the week of September 25) is available here. The top sellers are “Angel Catbird, vol. 1” (hardcover) and “March, Book Three” (paperback). Other best-sellers include “Maus,” “Persepolis,” and “American Born Chinese.”
Miscellaneous
The top five comic publishers’ dollar and unit share respectively:
- DC Comics, 39.27%/44.59%
- Marvel, 30.78%/32.11%
- Image, 7.66%/7.78%
- IDW, 4.92%/3.53%
- Dark Horse, 3.08%/2.28%
Sales rose (by dollars/units) by 14.13%/8.95% over July. They’re up by a whopping 31.62%/40.77% over August 2015. (This August had five shipping weeks in it, on top of “Rebirth.”) Sales for 2016 are up by 2.71%/0.14%.
Overall, things look positive for the comics industry, with sales still up. While “Rebirth” won’t keep DC aloft forever, it might give a boost to the industry as a whole, like the New 52 did in 2011.
