by 
Updated on December 10, 2021
Marvel’s “Marvel Legacy” #1 topped September 2017’s direct market comic sales. Meanwhile, “The Walking Dead” was the top-selling trade paperback.
Comics
Below are September’s top-selling comics, according to Diamond.
| Rank | Title | Price | Publisher |
| 1 | MARVEL LEGACY #1 | $5.99 | MAR |
| 2 | DARK NIGHTS: METAL #2 | $3.99 | DC |
| 3 | VENOMVERSE #1 | $4.99 | MAR |
| 4 | BATMAN #30 | $2.99 | DC |
| 5 | BATMAN #31 | $2.99 | DC |
| 6 | HARLEY QUINN 25TH-ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1 | $4.99 | DC |
| 7 | THE WALKING DEAD #171 (MR) | $2.99 | IMA |
| 8 | BATMAN: THE RED DEATH #1 | $3.99 | DC |
| 9 | BATMAN: THE MURDER MACHINE #1 | $3.99 | DC |
| 10 | ACTION COMICS #987 LENTICULAR EDITION | $3.99 | DC |
Marvel’s only two entries in the top 10 this month are event-related, “Legacy” and “Venomverse” (one guess who that’s about). Not even “Star Wars” is in the top 10 this month. (A book about Captain Phasma came in at #11, according to Comichron.)
Meanwhile, DC’s top 10 are the usual: “Batman,” a “Harley Quinn” 25th anniversary special (she debuted on “Batman: The Animated Series” in 1992), and “Dark Nights: Metal.” Also appearing is “Action Comics” #987 (for a lenticular cover).
The only non-Big Two title in the top 10 is also the usual one: Image’s “The Walking Dead.”
Trade paperbacks/graphic novels
Here’s the top-selling trade paperbacks for September.
| Rank | Title | Price | Publisher |
| 1 | THE WALKING DEAD VOLUME 28 TP (MR) | $16.99 | IMA |
| 2 | BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT III: MASTER RACE HC | $29.99 | DC |
| 3 | STAR WARS: DARTH MAUL TP | $16.99 | MAR |
| 4 | EAST OF WEST VOLUME 7 TP (MR) | $16.99 | IMA |
| 5 | DC SUPER HERO GIRLS VOL. 4: PAST TIMES AT SUPER HERO HIGH TP | $9.99 | DC |
| 6 | SEX CRIMINALS VOLUME 4: FOURGY TP (MR) | $16.99 | IMA |
| 7 | ALL-STAR BATMAN VOL. 1: MY OWN WORST ENEMY TP | $16.99 | DC |
| 8 | ROYAL CITY VOL. 1: NEXT OF KIN TP | $9.99 | IMA |
| 9 | HARLEY QUINN VOL. 3: RED MEAT TP | $16.99 | DC |
| 10 | WOLVERINE: OLD MAN LOGAN VOL. 5: PAST LIVES TP | $17.99 | MAR |
“The Walking Dead” is the top-selling trade this month. Image also has three other titles in the top 10, “East of West,” “Sex Criminals,” and “Royal City.”
DC took up four slots, with “The Dark Knight III” hardcover as their top seller. Of interest is that a DC Super Hero Girls book, “Past Times at Super Hero High,” came in (at fifth place) as DC’s second biggest selling trade paperback/graphic novel this month.
Marvel only had two titles, led by a Darth Maul book.
“East of West” is by Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta, featuring a sci-fi Western series set in a dystopian version of the United States. “Royal City,” by writer/artist Jeff Lemire, is a series about a writer returning to his declining childhood hometown, where he deals with family related drama.
Other figures
The top five publishers by dollar share:
- Marvel: 37.97%
- DC Comics: 30.21%
- Image: 9.55%
- IDW: 4.3%
- Dark Horse: 2.44%
The top five publishers by unit share:
- Marvel: 38.13%
- DC Comics: 36.68%
- Image: 8.81%
- IDW: 3.67%
- Dynamite: 1.91%
Comments
Sales continue to be soft for the year overall versus 2016.
I’ve seen some on Twitter comment on the closeness of the unit sales figures for Marvel and DC. I assume the whopping $6 cover price for “Marvel Legacy” and $5 for “Venomverse” helped keep the dollar sales figures much further apart.
