Welcome back to TBU by the Numbers. Here we take a look at the sales numbers for DC Comics, in particular, the books TBU considers Bat-Books from March 2020. All numbers presented in this article are from the March 2020 Comichron page. These numbers only represent comics distributed by Diamond to the United States comic book stores. They do not include sales outside the US, digital, newsstand, or any other distribution method.
DC and TBU Overall Numbers
* Includes ALL DC comic sales, including reorders
** TBU titles are defined by that month’s releases and does NOT include reorders
Though at first glance it seems like the 10% drop in unit sales from March of 2019 spells doom and gloom, overall unit sales are pretty close to the previous month (February 2020). The large drop in sales year-to-year is actually due to the overwhelming popularity of Detective Comics #1000, which came out in March 2019. However, due to COVID-19, store sales were adjusted after store closures were announced, with only some opting to do mail order or curbside pickup. Diamond themselves had closed many of its warehouses and would not ship anything April 1 and on until further notice. Though the last week of March had the most new releases in a while (127 new books) sales were down 15% from the previous month.
April 2020 numbers will be the month where we see an astronomical drop in sales, and that is even if numbers are released since Diamond was closed for the majority of the month due to the current pandemic.
Ongoing TBU Books
All market positions adjusted to include the issues featuring a higher price for cardstock covers
Nightwing saw a miraculous spike in sales, up from its downward trending 18K to 23K, due to a certain clown prince of crime. Batman is also seeing a steady increase in sales, which is well deserved, in this writer’s opinion, as Tynion has been doing a bang-up job headlining the book. Batman and the Outsiders also saw a small uptick in sales last month. On average, all other books are on a decline in sales, with Batman Beyond, Batman and the Outsiders, Batgirl, and Red Hood Outlaw all staying in the cancellation zone.
Limited Issue TBU Books
All market positions adjusted to include the issues featuring a higher price for cardstock covers
There were only two limited books this month and one special. The Batman’s Grave hit its halfway point down 57% from #1, while Batman: Curse of the White Knight finished up the run with #8 down 42% from its #1 with 53K. Its predecessor, Batman White Knight, only lost 15% of its readership, ending at 73.6K. Both of these books will be covered in upcoming episodes of TBU’s Comic Podcast, where a more in-depth analysis will be presented, and we can see if this dip in sales is deserved.
Other TBU Books of Interest
All market positions adjusted to include the issues featuring a higher price for cardstock covers
March saw three other TBU titles with two dollar comics and a single facsimile issue, all featuring the Boy Wonder. Batman #428 was book three of four of “A Death in the Family” where we are witness to the death of Robin, Jason Todd, and was supposed to be his final appearance until 2003’s Hush arc. Detective Comics #38, a facsimile edition, titled Robin: the Boy Wonder, gave us the first look at Robin’s, aka Dick Grayson’s, backstory, which has gone relatively unchanged in the last eighty years. To round it all out, we also got treated to a dollar comic featuring Tim Drake in 1991’s Robin #1, a five-issue limited series, which did so well that later it was given its own ongoing title.
