Diamond's Top 300 Comics for January 2013

Media Release -- Otto Octavius begins his new as Spider-Man in Peter Parker's body in Dan Slott and Ryan Stegman's Superior Spider-Man #1 from Marvel Comics, the best-selling comic book in January.

In total, Marvel Comics had seven of the month's top ten best-selling comics. New Avengers #1 ranked #4, Superior Spider-Man #2 ranked #5, Savage Wolverine #1 ranked #6, Uncanny Avengers #3 ranked #7, Avengers #3 ranked #9, and Uncanny X-Force #1 ranked #10.

DC Comics rounded out the top ten with three titles, led by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Batman #16 at #2. Also in the top ten were Justice League #16 at #3 and Detective Comics #16 at #8.

Among the premier publishers, Image Comics' top book in January was Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead #106 at #19.

Dark Horse Comics' Star Wars #1 sold out its initial print run on its way to a third printing and was the publisher's top-selling book in January at #53.

Finally, IDW Publishing's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Secret of the Foot Clan #1 was the publisher's top book at #108.

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.

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.