Peter Parker has a second chance at life and heroism in Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos’ Amazing Spider-Man #1 from Marvel Comics, the best-selling comic book of April 2014 according to information provided by Diamond Comic Distributors, who deliver comics to Britian’s many comic shops and worldwide.

Marvel Comics’ Amazing Spider-Man #1 was the comic industry’s best-selling comic book in both units and dollars in over a decade and was one of four titles placed by Marvel in the top ten. DC Comics took the remaining six spots in the top ten, led by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s Batman #30 at #3.

Marvel Comics was April’s top publisher, with a 39.27% Dollar Share and 41.15% Unit Share, compared to 23.65% and 27.24% respectively for DC Entertainment. Image Comics had a robust April with a 9.34% dollar share, followed by strong showings for Dark Horse Comics at 5.54% and IDW Publishing at 5.10%.

The science fiction comedy crime caper Sex Criminals by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky from Image Comics was April’s best-selling graphic novel and was one of the publisher’s seven titles among the month’s top ten. Also of note, Marvel Comics’ Amazing Spider-Man: Family Business original graphic novel ranked #5, and DC Comics’ The Joker: Death of the Family ranked #7.

BOOM! Studios’ first novel in the Jim Henson Archives, A.C.H. Smith’s novelization of the film Labyrinth, was April’s best-selling prose book. Also in the top ten in April were St. Martin Press’ The Walking Dead Book 4: The Fall of the Governor Part 2 by Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga at #2 and Dark Horse Comics’ Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia at #3.

The heroes and villains of the DC Comics universe are recreated as cute mini-figures for the Scibblenauts Unmasked Series 2 Figures from DC Collectibles, April’s best-selling Toy product.

For the second month in a row, USAopoly’s Monopoly: The Walking Dead Survival Edition topped the sales charts as April’s best-selling Games product.

TOP COMIC BOOK PUBLISHERS

NEW TITLES SHIPPED

COMPARATIVE SALES STATISTICS

TOP 10 COMIC BOOKS

TOP 10 GRAPHIC NOVELS & TRADE PAPERBACKS

TOP 10 BOOKS

TOP 10 TOYS

TOP 10 GAMES

Data for Diamond’s sales charts — which include the monthly market shares and all top product charts — are compiled by Diamond Comic Distributors from a universe of over 3,500 comic book specialty shops located in North America and around the world. The account base includes brick-and-mortar comic book specialty shops, Internet merchants, and other specialty stores.

Unit and dollar market shares are calculated based upon orders for comic books, graphic novels, and magazines invoiced and shipped to Diamond accounts during any given month, which comprises initial pre-orders, advance reorders, and reorders, minus any copies that are received back from a title marked as returnable.

Please note that comics marked with an asterisk have had their reported quantities reduced due to retailer returnability, and thus may rank lower on the charts than their actual sales would reflect.

The count of new titles shipped includes all titles that were invoiced by Diamond to retailers for the first time during the month and is not the official solicited title count for the month. Variant edition comic books and graphic novels at the same price point count as a single SKU. Variant edition comic books, lenticular covers, digital combo packs, and graphic novels at different price points count as separate SKUs for each edition.

• About the Author
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John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.

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Categories: Books, downthetubes Comics News, Games, Merchandise, Other Worlds, US Comics

Tags: Chip Zdarsky, Dark Horse Comics, DC Entertainment, Diamond Comic Distributors, IDW Publishing, Image Comics, Marvel Comics, Matt Fraction, Spider-Man, US Comic Sales Figures