Diamond's Top 100 Small Press Comics and Graphic Novels for 2012

Media Release -- One of the legendary publishers of the 1990s, Valiant Entertainment, returned to comic shops in May with X-O Manowar #1, relaunching the series about a Visigoth barbarian who wears an alien suit of armor, giving the publisher the best-selling Small Press comic to comics retailers in 2012.

The rebirth of Valiant sent nine titles to the top of the charts for the year. Also in the top from from Valiant were Harbinger #1 at #2, Bloodshot #1 at #3, Archer & Armstrong #1 at #4, Shadowman #1 at #5, X-O Manowar #5 at #6, X-O Manowar #2 at #7, X-O Manowar #2 at #8, and Harbinger #2 at #9.

Also in the top ten was Zenescope Entertainment with Wonderland #1 at #10.

Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen III: Century #3: 2009, the conclusion to their century-spanning trilogy from Top Shelf Productions, was the year's best-selling Small Press graphic novel.

Other publishers in the top ten include Abstract Studios, Archaia Entertainment, Bantam Books, Kodansha Comics, Legendary Comics, and Oni Press.

Diamond Comic Distributors defines Small Presses as publishers outside the top-10 bestselling publishers over the previous six months. In offering these breakdowns of the bestselling small press comics and graphic novels, a spotlight is shown on these publishers, affording them recognition for their strong sales in a crowded marketplace. To help retailers contextualize the relationship between the Small Press sales rankings, each chart offers for each book the overall ranking for the month amongst all publishers.

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 accounts, comprised of comic book specialty shops and other merchant stores and buyers. The shops are primarily located in North America, with a percentage of sales also to international stores and buyers located throughout the world. The account base includes not only brick-and-mortar comic book specialty shops, but also Internet stores, chain stores, and other specialty stores.

Unit and dollars sales are calculated based upon orders 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.

About the Diamond Sales Index: The Sales Index of selected monthly Best Seller Charts is presented as a comparative tool for retailers and publishers. It presents Diamond's monthly sales for individual titles in relation to Diamond's total sales for the issue of DC Comics' monthly Batman comic book. (Batman is used as the control title – with a value of 100 – because sales of Batman usually remain relatively stable.) This allows for easy comparison to other titles and helps retailers gauge their orders for all other titles. This formula is only a guide, other factors may impact a titles' ability to sell in certain locations and clientele.