CovrPrice.com Top Ten Selling Comics for Week of 5/3/19

30 thoughts on “CovrPrice.com Top Ten Selling Comics for Week of 5/3/19”

1. 6/10 this week.

   I did not get the list via email this week, but I did get an email from covrprice.com asking me if I got an email. Weird.

   This list isn’t too surprising. I usually find 11-20 to have potential flips I can still find at my LCS. Hopefully it comes out before I stop in for FCBD tomorrow.

   1. No e-mail here either yet. Maybe this afternoon.

      1. Now that the free trial is over you basically can’t see anything on their site with the free version. it appears to be geared to pushing the $80 a year subscriptions or higher Monthly rates.

         1. I am a subscriber. I normally get the email but it hasn’t come out.

            1. I think comichron has been having issues as well. They hadn’t released last months numbers and the last time I checked a few days ago, site wouldn’t even load. Did a lookup of their host provider and they were having issues. Just loaded their site now and it seemed really slow, looks like they finally got March numbers posted.

            2. That’s my fault. I write the newsletter for the site. I was on vacation last week and spent this week catching up. We also have a new section hitting the site. So it’s been a little crazy this week. Sorry folks!

               Also, the newsletter will always be for all users. We actually have a new price point coming for those who only want to use the price guide. That will be $3.99 a month. Free version still gets several free ones every day.

               Thanks all!
               Matt @ CP

               1. There is no vacationing in comics. How dare you sir!

2. I guess I don’t understand some things like, why is the comic where Iron Man wields the Infinity Gauntlet worth more than the first Infinity Gauntlet issue? Bendis’ Avengers titles had a pretty high print run and am betting there are many more of those issues in nice condition than Infinity Gauntlet #1 and that comics is 10-15 years older as well.

   1. Avengers #12 had a print run of 63,441.

      I’m pretty sure Infinity Guantlet was in the hundreds of thousands. Before the 90’s crash, they were printing hundreds of thousands, even millions of books since there was not only comic shops but also newsstand editions. You could find comics at your local Eckerds or grocery stores. Any store with a magazine section and a spinner rack for the most part.

      We’ll likely never know the real print run of Infinity Gauntlet but I’m sure it’s easier to obtain than Avengers #12 from 2011.

   2. Because people saw it in the movie and just had to buy it. The hype will die down soon and with it, the price of the comic.

      1. Also true. If you want to spec long term winner though.. Infinity Gauntlet will win over Avengers #12. As time passes, more issues are lost, destroyed, tucked away into collections never to be seen again. As more collectors are born to seek out classics, over time I think IG will be more key to Avengers #12 that’s just a depiction of Iron Man holding the Guantlet, the IG story will live on as a great comic book story.

         1. I don’t even understand why Infinity Gauntlet is on the list it’s going for about half of what it was a couple years back.

      2. What is your take on Hulk 377 since its a 1st appearance?

         1. Sell while you can it’s the highest printed Hulk book ever.

   3. The 1st Gauntlet is a classic book that has been relevant in comics for some time. Iron Man wielding the gauntlet has been relevant for 1 week. It is shiny and new. That, I believe, is the answer to your question, Bluebolt.

3. I sold my IG #1 9.8 a few weeks ago. I have a 9.4 signed in silver sharpie by Perez that is pretty sweet.

   Silver Surfer 44 is the true key in the IG saga. Also Thanos Quest 1 & 2 which does not get enough love. Maybe if the MCU stayed more true to the comics that would be different. But they had to condense it and use only the characters they had rights to and seen as marketable to a larger audience. I get it. Comics still are the better story, IMO.

   1. I have Thanos Quest 1&2. Found a nice set recently for dirt cheap.

4. comichron numbers for March are up and they are staggering low!!!!!
   Spider-man Deadpool 47 only had 17,783 copies?
   Immortal Hulk 15 53,120 copies?
   Immortal Hulk 14 only 45,708?
   Only 3 titles over 100,000 print runs and it took maybe 11 or 12 covers for Detective Comics 1000 to be one of them.
   Naomi 3 14,691 copies
   Incredible Hulk 181 Facsimile Ed. 56,754 outsold Immortal Hulk 15?
   No wonder everything Marvel prints has to get Second Printings immediately. Noone’s ordering First Printings.

   1. I should have the Month in Review up in a few days.

      And yes, I’m glad I only bought one Hulk 181 Facsimile… I’m gonna be ashes by the time that one is worth flipping..

      1. Okay, wasn’t sure if it was getting a topic here or anywhere else. A walk-in was just asking me about opening a store in NC while I was looking at the miserable results for March and contemplating what they mean for the future. I had tell him it sounded like he’d be better piggy backing off his friends store/Diamond account so they both get a better discount rate than trying to fly solo and compete. he’s more into gaming and only wants to dabble in comics a bit in his store but his friends gaming setup is filled with customers but imagine if he made his just as good. now both of them could have half the traffic and slowly go bankrupt together. Rent doesn’t wait for market upswings, one badly bounced box from UPS could spell disaster and Diamonds not above mistakes themselves that can tie up thousands of dollars for months at a time, especially if you’re on COD and have to refuse an entire weeks delivery since you can’t fund them soliciting eaches and shipping+billing COD for case qtys you ordered as eaches.

         1. @BJ…why are Marchs numbers so concerning? Upon an initial glance, March numbers look pretty normal to me.

            1. From the numbers I’m seeing print runs are averaging less than 10% of what they were in the 70’s and 80’s. The number of stores left may now be under 1,800. I would have assumed the top 10 at least would have been 6 digit print runs. I’ve read Marvel likes to cancel anything with print runs less than 30,000. That’s every single title not in the top 59 and even more staggering is this appears to be a bulk listing of all covers within a title so no matter how it looks combined, it’s really far less per cover. The biggest seller by far has 12 covers at $9.99 each accounting for their #1 position so it’s most likely not 6 digit print runs for any of them individually.

               Free Comic Book day was so small this year Diamond distributed from their normal opertating facility instead of setting up a separate place and shipping separately from there which actually saved us money in shipping this year.

               3 of the top 5 publishers losing millions a quarter I worry every day about how long it’ll be until one of them closes or Disney forces Marvel to hand over production to other companies like they already do with their own comics with IDW, Joe BOOKS, and Dark Horse. If Marvel topples it’ll probably take the industry with it. At the very least it’ll kill off more stores that have less to offer and can’t afford to keep trying.

               DC’s cutting production drastically and trying to cater to younger teens which can even be seen in their FCBD offerings this year. They’ll only have about 105 comic covers combined come out in June. Marvel’s trying the opposite approach it seems and increasing production diversity while apparently reducing overproduction for diamond to stock forcing just about everything to need an additional printing. they’re scheduled for about 256 individual covers for June which I expect reprint covers to take them over the 300 mark by the time the dust settles.

               While production has dropped off maybe 90% since the 70’s and 80’s, the population of the planet has close to doubled meaning it’s actually worse in comparison. Great for short term spec. Death bells for something I love and have invested into trying to regrow.

               1. i cant argue with the underlying issues your present, BJ. However, these print numbers have been pretty relatively consistent for, at least, the last 4 years (I have only been back into reading and collecting for 4 years now). I have pretty much watched the monthly numbers over that period of time, and from memory, there have not been a lot of monthly titles that hit the 100, 000 on a regular basis, outside of Batman or ASM. And even they rarely see that number w/o some sort of event.
                  Comparing the numbers of any print medium in the 70s and 80s to now is not a valid argument, imo. The industry, the medium and the world, is a completely different place. As main stream as comic characters have become, comic books is now a niche collector hobby for adults. It is no longer a source of entertainment for the majority of todays children. Comic books, compared to most other forms of print media in the last decade, has sustained itself quite nicely, imo.
                  I can not attest to the publishers losing millions of dollars, I am not sure if that is wholly accurate. But if they are, i am sure there is a sustainable business model for a publisher to employ so they could continue making printed comic books at a profit.
                  And in a worse case scenario (all publishers fold and weekly printed comics no longer exist), there is still 80 years worth of comics out in the market for us to buy, collect and enjoy. So, even if the weekly/monthly floppy format disappears, the hobby will not.

                  1. I would like to add that if you look across the landscape of the hobby, it seems rather healthy. Given that it is a form of print media. There are new on line retailers popping up all the time, there are many forums and platforms that the hobby uses and are buzzing on a daily basis. CHU alone is starting a 2nd site for forums. Im sure Anthonys traffic for his site has grown every year since its inception. Prices on the secondary market are higher than they have ever been before.
                     There may not be 350,000 kids spending $1-$2 every week on comics, like in the 70s and 80s. But there is now a strong base of adults who spend $100s per week/month on comics. It is an interesting intersection where a dying medium meets a thriving hobby. Whatever happens, I am along for the ride. No regrets.

                     1. “However, these print numbers have been pretty relatively consistent for, at least, the last 4 years”

                        To me they’re brand new. I just discovered the list last month even though the totals for the last few years are similar overall, that in and of itself represents a decline since the population is still growing and new markets are opening up.

                        The most shocking part to me where what I assume should have been huge sellers that have been in the top 10 regularly dropping off like Walking Dead putting up the lowest March numbers since 2012.

                        Hot titles I expect would have been ordered heavy waaaay down the list and a large # of titles less than 30,000 print runs.

                        ” It is an interesting intersection where a dying medium meets a thriving hobby.”

                        A 500,000 print run of a $1 comic in the 80’s would have topped everything on this list except detective in total sales not even factoring in for inflation. A 250,000 print run of a $1 comic would have topped most of this list.

                        I’ve been under the assumption that most books were hovering in the 30,000 + range if they were still in print past issue 4 or 5. Only 59 of the top 500 meet that mark according to the list and that’s with who knows how many variant covers combined for those issues to even put up that number which the variant thing wasn’t a factor back in the day.

                        It appears the drop off in total comics from March 2018 compared to March 2019 is 75,036 less comics shipped counting the top 300 in sales.

                        Compared to March 2017 that’s a drop of 639,366 less comics shipped this March from the top 300.

                        “Whatever happens, I am along for the ride. No regrets”

                        I’m along but I’ll be kicking, screaming and trying anything else I can think of to prevent the end and maybe even turn it around some.

                     2. Lets take a closer look at those numbers. If 75,036 ledd comics shipped in March 2019 compared to 2018, then that averages approx 19,000 less per week (given 4 weeks per month). If there are 2500 diamond accounts, then that works out to approx 6 less books, per week, per account. With every account ordering 6 less books a week, i do not see that as any real sign of a ‘dying’ medium. I understand that new sales on floppies is a tough gig these days and Obviously an increase in shipped units would be ideal, but the 75,036 number is not as drastic when it is scaled down to per account changes.
                        The Kickstarter comment is a great example of where this medium can go. What if Disney allowed creators to make, fund and produce new comics featuring their properties? Im sure there would be more than enough creators champing at the bit to create some stories under that model.

         2. BJ, thanks for sharing logistics. When I got into organic farming, many people were sipping the kool aid and they are no longer. Margins are very real and can be very sobering. However, with clever overhead management and honest marketing your walk in may have a go here in NC. AVL is saturated, would recommend piedmont area=largest population and fastest growing. BTW you talked me out of sipping any LCS kool aid wherever we relocate. My wife and kids thank you!

5. In the 1970s, Marvel would cancel a title if orders are under 170,000 copies. Now 20,000 is considered decent. Unfortunately, print medium and retailers have been in decline for decades.

6. I’m a long time COVRPRICE members/subscriber and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND for everyone into this hobby of ours to at least try it out for 1 month. I’m sure after that one month has ended you’ll feel naked without it the very next time you go to your LCBS or go online for your next purchase. I know I do. It’s worth the monthly fee.

   1. Do they provide anything CHU doesn’t 5 minutes later? I imagine if you’re in a target rich market chasing with a big budget where minutes count on you beating Bob to the cheap boxes it might pay for itself a few times.

      Sell me on it. I need the hard sell here. I’m too cheap to pay for Hulu, Netflix or any streaming service. I walked over to Hardee’s this morning for 4 biscuits (2 for $4 twice plus tax comes to about $10) I had second thoughts after a minute in line and settled for walking to the gas station across the street with no line, picking up 4 Little Debbie Honey Buns for $2 and walking home eating with $8 more in my pocket than I expected to. By the time I walked back I’d eaten the honeybuns except for a piece I saved for the puppy and was missing the $2.

      I need me some hard sell that says replace CHU with pay for minutes sooner info.

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