Diamond's Top 400 Comics for March 2014

Media Release -- The second story arc of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's "Zero Year" storyline came to a close in the double-sized Batman #29 from DC Entertainment, the best-selling comic book in March 2014.

DC had the month's top four comics. In addition to Batman #29, Snyder and Jim Lee's Superman Unchained #6 ranked #2, Geoff Johns and David Finch's Forever Evil #6 ranked #3, and Neil Gaiman and J.H. Williams III's Sandman Overture #2 ranked #4.

Marvel Comics had four titles in the top ten, led by Dan Slott and Giuseppe Camuncoli's Superior Spider-Man #29 at #5. Also in the top ten were Mark Waid and Chris Samnee's Daredevil #1 at #6, Slott and Camuncoli's Superior Spider-Man #30 at #7, Slott and Michael Allred's Silver Surfer #1 at #8, and Brian Michael Bendis and Chris Bachalo's Uncanny X-Men #19.NOW at #10.

Rounding out the top ten, Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard's The Walking Dead #124 from Image Comics ranked #9.

Among the premier publishers, Dark Horse Comics' The Star Wars #6, an adaptation of George Lucas' original screenplay, was the publisher's top book at #38. Finally, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic #17 was IDW Publishing's top book at #81.

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.