Most of the beloved Marvel characters from the comic books, films, and TV series wouldn't exist if it hadn't been for the legendary writer Stan Lee. It's in dollars and DC is #1 which is not surprising because they shipped 95 comics in May and June compared to Marvel's 18. The writer, Ali, states that Marvel Comics published an official index in 2009, listing a total of 32,000 publications. But dont worry if you dont know either; even hardcore Marvel fans would be hard-pressed to give you definite answers about the number of comics that exist (the other questions are, thankfully, a bit easier to answer). To use individual functions (e.g., mark statistics as favourites, set In 2015 an agreement between Disney and Sony brought Spider-Man (who had previously appeared only in Sony-produced films) into the shared universe; the character would subsequently be available for use by both studios. According to Bookriot, Marvel alone has been publishing comic books for more than 80 years and probably has close to 73,000 characters that appeared in around 40,000 comics. Please check your email to find a confirmation email, and follow the steps to confirm your humanity. Search. There are always surprises like this. 1 (March 1941). Want to read more about Marvel? Marvel Studios, the companys film and television division, continued to set records with its flagship Avengers, but it also packed theatres with relatively unknown heroes such as the Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Ant-Man (2015), and Doctor Strange (2016). Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Over 90% of all US comic sales belong to Comichron and Diamond Comics. Sixty years total, and over 540,000 pages . July 5, 2022. So lets do some math. Via Mashable, we've learned that author Douglas Wolk read every single Marvel Universe comic, from the birth of the Fantastic Four in 1961 to today. Japan is the largest global comic market, and the popular manga One Piece is the biggest selling comic book collection in the world. But youre selling bubbles and tulips, and one day the bubble will burst, and the tulips will rot in the warehouse.. Its a big jump from Fantastic Four #60s 752,699 copies and Star Wars #1s just over one million. This trend continued with a flood of other superhero characters introduced by Marvel Comics during the early 1960s, including Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, and the X-Men. 210. The issue itself contained the backup story Spidey Meets the President, in which the Chameleon uses his skills at mimicry to try and take then-Senator Obamas place and be sworn in as President. All of these factors may have contributed to its sell-out quality. On Thursday, March 17, a CGC Universal grade 9.2 Marvel Comics #1 sold for an astounding $2,427,777.65 at the auction site, Comic Connect. In 1988 Todd MacFarlane began a popular run as artist on The Amazing Spider-Man. Unfortunately, not much has been sticking. Thank you for signing up! . He's heavily involved with his local church, and anyone who checks him out on Twitter will swiftly learn he's into British politics too. Things began to change in the late 90s, when Marvel began to find its feet again: Blade was a hit, and X-Men began to finally move ahead at Fox. Ill get to the number of characters and heroes, but to know just how big the Marvel Comics universe is, we need to look at the history of Marvel. DC Comics: A History Of Success In The Comic Book Industry DOG MAN: TWENTY THOUSAND FLEAS UNDER THE SEA has sold 378,000 copies in two weeks. All the opinions youll read here are solely ours, This success is particularly remarkable, given in 1997 there were literally twice as many comic book stores, while 2016 saw the high-profile "DC Rebirth" initiative that relaunched DC Comics' entire range.. Summer traditionally performs well in terms of comic book sales; that's why most publishers save major events and relaunches for the summer, when footfall and demand are at their highest. Print sales still outweigh digital editions significantly, but digital sales increased by 750 million dollars in 2020. The 2015 version continued the Everyone is here! vibe by destroying the Marvel multiverse. 1 (cover dated October 1939), which featured several superhero characters, most notably the Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner. But it couldnt claim the clout of a long-time Marvel Comics writers first DC Comics work in years, or a costume change, to sweeten the deal. The most reliable figures are the smaller groupings. Marvel, DC Slug It Out On The 2019 Comics Sales Charts - Forbes They list 72,659 Marvel characters in total, including a bunch of side-characters and about 146 different versions of Luke Cage (yep, I counted again). Comic books are a big business. ", Comichron, Comics with the highest estimated number of shipments to comic book stores in North America in April 2022 (in 1,000 units) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/369073/best-selling-comic-books-north-america/ (last visited May 02, 2023), Comics with the highest estimated number of shipments to comic book stores in North America in April 2022 (in 1,000 units) [Graph], Comichron, July 5, 2022. What Ultimate Spider-Man is, in hindsight, is the beginning of a series that would spell massive changes for Marvel Comics. Rounding out the bottom of our list are the two youngest comics on it, this one commemorating the 80th anniversary of the first superhero and the second oldest continually running superhero comic still on stands today: Superman, and Action Comics. Those films differed from prior efforts to translate comics to the big screen in that they were set in a single shared world. 1. When you purchase through links on Meanwhile, DC's share has dropped from 32% in 2010 to 29% in 2011. . Other executives with ties with Perlmutter were also severed, including CEO Scott Sassa, whose tenure had, all told, lasted just eight months. Its success spawned a wave of television programs, beginning with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. All told, those acquisitions cost Marvel a reported $700 million. First, by marking the beginning of the rise of writer Brian Michael Bendis, and second, by eventually creating the circumstances under which Miles Morales would become Spider-Man. What was the first Marvel comic? Keep an eye on your inbox. The best-selling comic books of all time - Polygon However, all opinions expressed on our site are solely ours, and this content is in no way provided or A major breakthrough came in 2005, when Marvel managed to make a deal with Merrill Lynch. So lets take a dive into the Marvel Comics universe, and see just how big it is. But that seems too small a number for the Marvel Universe. Point One (2012) DC Comics printed the 80-page giant with 11 different covers, which is par for the course with a book of its magnitude and era. However, with the growing popularity of the Marvel and DC film series, comics have found a large new audience, and the industry has grown significantly. If you want to base everything on confirmed numbers, youve got to throw in quite a few caveats. Feiges love of comics was such that, despite his relatively young age, he landed the role of producer on Foxs production of X-Men he was just 27 at the time. Fantastic Four #60 combines the appeal of The 10-cent Adventure and Amazing Spider-Man #1. When it comes to. Comic Book Cover Price Increases through the Years But thats because it lists series, not individual issues or volumes. Please enter a valid email and try again. The last few years have been difficult for the comic book industry, and the entire direct market has frequently been called into question. This issue is valued at $25,000, while the verified record sale is $456k. Summer 2021 has made history with some of the best comic book sales in 25 years - and the best since DC's Rebirth initiative in summer 2016. Marvel Comics, American media and entertainment company that was widely regarded as one of the big two publishers in the comic industry. How to account for the book selling 22 thousand more issues than Action Comics #1000? Heidi MacDonald-04/14/2023 4:45 pm. The lure of finding a copy of Action Comics #1 and turning it around for over a million dollars gripped many people, and comics companies played into it, hyping big events new costumes, first appearances, character deaths, and first issues as not just narratively exciting but literally valuable. And if youre producing your own movies, why cant the stories cross over with each other, just like they do in the comics? Which means that the number of characters that exist in the comics has to be higher than that. In this index, the Hulk has 8 different entries and Spider-Man has 13. season 5 episodes 1 & 2 review: Orientation, Moon Knight: The History of Marvel's Next TV Star, Always Sunny to Talking Sopranos: The Best TV Rewatch Podcasts Hosted By Cast & Creators, The Star Trek Story Bridging the Gaps Between Deep Space Nine and Picard, Taskmaster and The Underrated Comic Genius of Kiell Smith-Bynoe, How Marvel Went From Bankruptcy to Billions. Were trying to know how many Marvel comics have been published since 1939. In his free time (which is pretty scarce, thanks to his three kids), Deyan enjoys traveling and exploring new places. That this plan was clearly impossible became evident to most comics retailers early in 1993, as more and more fans simply quit collecting due to the high cost, and amid a widespread perception of declining quality in Marvel comics., [related article: Complete Marvel Movie Release Calendar]. Have you already figured out why an otherwise unremarkable issue of Mark Waid and Barry Kitsons Amazing Spider-Man made it on this list? The battle, when it finally ended in December 1998, had a strange outcome which few could have predicted: after a lengthy court case, ToyBiz and Marvel Entertainment Group were finally merged, but Perelman and his nemesis Icahn were both ousted in the process. If in 2009, Marvel had 32,000 comics, this would give them about 457 comics per year for 70 years. So, to get a rough idea of how many comics were published each year, you divide 32,000 comics by 70 years that gives you 457 comics per year. DC and Marvel are constantly battling for the top spot, but both outstrip their smaller competitors by a long way. A to Z in Marvel Comic Series | Marvel - Marvel Entertainment For several decades Marvel and DC were the top companies in the industry. For years, Marvel had struggled to get its properties onto the big screen: the rights to Spider-Man were stuck in a tangled web which wouldnt be unpicked until the late 90s, while 1986s Howard The Duck was a critical and financial disaster. 1-800-548-3314. 40 of the Most Anticipated Beach Reads of 2023, Books About Riots, Murder, Terrorism To Be Removed from Minors at Hamilton East Public Library (IN), The Best Sci-Fi Spaceships from Across the Galaxies, Expand Your Bookshelf With These 8 Interstellar Books Like The Expanse. Having risen to the rank of CEO at ToyBiz, and described as the hottest developer in the toy business by one contemporary, Arads big career change came when Marvel bought a 46 percent share in the company in 1993. Image has released a raft of celebratory titles such as King Spawn #1 and Spawn Universe #1, and even Boom! About 358 comics each year. newsletter, the companys monopolistic takeover of the American comic book shipping market, the milestone in comics history it represented, a big turn around for the legendary Marvel Comics creator, writer Dan Slotts now legendary Spider-Man run, eventually creating the circumstances under which Miles Morales would become Spider-Man. our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. They have long been a leading name in the industry and a top rival of DC. Check out these interesting comic book facts! Rare Copy of First Marvel Comic Sells for $2.4 Million So, though unofficial, I think the Marvel fandom database could be the closest to the real number. And the numbers really dont add up, even if they include the Lego versions of characters. Login. Accessed May 02, 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/369073/best-selling-comic-books-north-america/, Comichron. A company that had grown in stature throughout the 60s, 70s, and 80s thanks to the often stunning art and storytelling in such comics as Fantastic Four and The Amazing Spider-Man, Marvels financial success had reached a peak by the early 90s. List of current Marvel Comics publications. The comic book industry looks a lot healthier right now. According to Diamond, Marvel dominated the market share for periodicals with a 44.72%-30.74% lead over DC in unit share and a 40.2% to 29.29% lead in dollar share. I would get $8 a month allowance from my folks and I spent it all on comics. is huge in Japan, and they have 43% of the total global market share, making them the biggest market for comics in the world. These were snapped up hungrily by readers, but also by speculators assuming that theyd stumbled on a sure-fire means of making money by storing copies up and selling them for a profit in the future. Over 94 million copies of comic books and graphic novels were sold in 2021 in the United States. Its likely the books actual sales numbers are slightly higher, as the data we have on it does not include any reorders retailers may have made past that initial sales cutoff. The X-Men and Spider-Man movies were huge hits, but Marvel only saw a small percentage of the profits. Its nothing! Mar 20, 2023. Steranko was influenced in his work by James Bond films and the psychedelic and Op art movements, and the resulting stories melded groundbreaking visuals with equally innovative storytelling techniques. switching to Penguin Random House Publisher Services, Star Wars: Trail of Shadows Begins a New Mystery With Dead Jedi. Whether Perelman was directly to blame or not, the consequences for the industry as a whole were painful in the extreme. The problem, however, would be convincing Marvels board of directors and, just as vitally, gaining the requisite financing. Because of the plethora of distributors at the time, it's hard to determine how many copies of Venom: Lethal Protector #1 sold in late 1992 and early 1993. No, Diversity Didn't Kill Marvel's Comic Sales - CBR Profit from the additional features of your individual account. Plus, it also depends on what you want to count as Marvel. Marvel Comics also owns and publishes series like Star Wars or classic monster series like Frankenstein. What are the best-selling titles? We may earn a commission from Timely Comics, the precursor to Marvel Comics, was founded in 1939 by pulp magazine publisher Martin Goodman. The Den of Geek quarterly magazine is packed with exclusive features, interviews, previews and deep dives into geek culture. [Online]. In order to capitalize on the growing popularity of comic booksespecially those starring superheroesGoodman created Timely Comics. But, like Ali at Retrogeekery says, its probably best to round this number up to 40,000 thanks to variations in comic publishing. Bruce Wayne had been framed for murder, and the only way to get out of it was to admit his secret alibi: Hed been miles away as Batman at the time of death. Our reviews The heroes are on their knees, the citys a smoldering ruin and the villains are closing in for the kill. And yes, that wiggle room matters. Its a cheap price! Arad said. and lower prices. 2021 was a record year for comic book sales, as well as fiction book sales overall, over the last 5 years and very close to 2016 levels when 99 million copies were sold to comic book stores. The title of Timely Comics first comic book, in 1939, was Marvel Comics no. Comic book sales in North America generated nearly $2.08 billion in 2021, up from $1.28 billion in 2020. Comic books are traditionally seen as a male-dominated industry, and the statistics reflect that. Advertising spending in the U.S. 2020-2024, Film industry in the United States and Canada - statistics & facts, Profit from additional features with an Employee Account. Oops. Theyd been pushed out by two ToyBiz executives whod been on Marvels board since 1993: Isaac Perlmutter and Avi Arad. Peter Parker is on hand covering the inauguration as a Daily Bugle photographer, and, as Spider-Man, he ferrets out the real Obama from the Chameleon by asking him a question only the real Barack Obama could answer: what was his nickname on his high school varsity basketball team? The source tracks copies in circulation, a category which includes both copies on retail shelves and in consumers' hands. Register in seconds and access exclusive features. With their newfound clout, Marvel managed to reacquire the rights to characters it had sold over the years, including Iron Man, Black Widow, Thor, and Hulk. That would mean from 2009 to 2019 there would an additional 4570 comics published. Just about every great comic book story has a darkest hour moment: a point in the tale where all seems lost. So with who knows how many Earths in the multiverse (enough for +100 versions of Luke Cage), I think their number is the closest to the real thing. Always with a few chargers and a couple of gadgets in the backpack. In 1956 rival company DC Comics ushered in the so-called Silver Age of comics by reintroducing superhero titles with significant commercial success. DC Comics limped into second place with a pathetic two titles in the Top 10. The number of Marvel comics sold increased from 22% in 2018 to 29% in 2019. The character has appeared in numerous different iterations, with total sales of 474 million issues. show that Marvel and DC are less prevalent in Japan, but they still prevail in overall comic book sales. Marvel Comics differentiated itself from DC Comics in the 20th century by introducing human, fallible superheroes with unlikely or unexpected origin stories. To do this, he planned to buy the remaining shares in ToyBiz and merge it with Marvel, creating a single, stronger entity. While the comics were flying off the shelves, Marvel attracted the interest of a man named Ron Perelman. Little Richard: I Am Everything Reveals a Sometimes Reluctant Rock Pioneer, Evil Dead Rise Has a Lot of Blood But Little Heart, Beau Is Afraid: Joaquin Phoenix's Mommy Issues Aren't the Only Problems in Ari Aster Film, The Road To Civil War: Marvel Renaissance review, Marvels Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Superhero-like, Marvel survived its darkest hour in 1996, and from the jaws of defeat, pulled a multi-billion dollar victory. Updates? Access to this and all other statistics on 80,000 topics from, Show sources information Finally, a character whod languished in development hell since the 1990s (Universal originally owned the rights, before they passed to Fox and then New Line) was finally getting a shot at big-screen stardom. Which still leaves a lot of ground to cover. But then a series of bursting financial bubbles and questionable business deals saw Marvels stock value collapse; shares once worth $35.75 each in 1993 had sunk to $2.375 three years later. Get full access to all features within our Business Solutions. 1 . Check out our list of the top 15 most powerful characters, or laugh with this 60s Marvel superhero kit. Then theres the official Marvel character index. Its a very strong brand, and we planned on this brand. Marvel Comics | History, Characters, Facts, & Movies Show publisher information In an interview in 2017, former Disney CEO Bob Iger said that Marvel Studios had the rights to 7,000 characters. Sales of a new comic, X-Force, were similarly huge, thanks in part to a cunning sales gimmick: the first issue came in a polybag with one of five different trading cards inside it. Use Ask Statista Research Service, excluding DC titles; includes all items on Diamond's Top 400 charts, plus any post-#400 items from its Top Independent Publisher charts. These are calculated based on all the public reports issued by Diamond for comics shop sales in each month. How many Marvel comics there are? Undoubtedly yes, but this is why SELL-THROUGH reveals so much. Corrections? [9 Easy Methods], BeenVerified Opt Out Guide [7 Easy Steps], How To See How Many Friends You Have On Snapchat? Then, just as Gaiman predicted, the bubble burst. Its important to note that there is no official record of all of Marvels publications, so the best we can get is an estimate. Sales made through them account for 90% of all sales nationwide. I remember how pissed I was as a kid when comics went from 20 cents to 35 cents in just a few years. Although he's now dedicated to Star Wars content, he's a lifelong fan of several other major franchises including Doctor Who and Marvel. By 1995, Marvel Entertainment was heavily in debt. To make things worse, there doesnt seem to be an agreement on an approximate number either. The company wouldnt be known as Marvel Comics until much later, but we can safely say this is the start of the Marvel Universe. The shared storytelling palette known as the Marvel universe was unveiled in 1961, when Goodman responded to the growing interest in superhero books by commissioning writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby to create the Fantastic Four. Then fast forward to the early 60s, after DC Comics ushered in a so-called Silver Age of comics. There are decades of comics history where industry number-crunchers only counted how many issues of Superman and Captain America newsstands ordered, leaving historians with only hard sales numbers from 1997 onward. The 1980s also saw Frank Millers stint on Daredevil, which took that book in a darker and grittier direction, reviving sagging sales and making it one of Marvels best sellers. Perelman, Icahn argued, Was like a plumber you loan money to get him started in business; then he comes in, wrecks your house, then tells you he wants the house for nothing.. In the 21st century Marvels profits were increasingly derived from toys, video games, and other merchandise featuring their most popular characters and from the production of a string of commercially successful movies. Diamond Comics is one of the largest comic distributors in the US. With the financial intrigue in the boardroom settling down, Marvel began to turn its attention to a target it had been trying to hit since the 1980s: the movie business. How many characters are there? During the 1990s and early 2000s a new wave of writers, including Brian Michael Bendis (Daredevil, The Avengers), Jonathan Hickman (Fantastic Four), and Ed Brubaker (Captain America), became well known for their mature and sometimes controversial takes on Marvels characters. A year later (thanks to only a little bit of editorial shuffling of issue numbers) Batman got his own 80th birthday present, with Detective Comics #1000, for the first four-digit issue of the actual oldest still-running comic series. Please create an employee account to be able to mark statistics as favorites. Do you know how big the Marvel Comics universe is? In 1991, X-Men #1 sold an estimated 8,186,500 copies, making it a likely contender for the best-selling single-issue comic book in history. Within adult fiction, the graphic novel genre had the biggest increase, with units jumping 109.3%, followed by fantasy, which saw sales rise 45.3%.
