The best selling comic books of all time

[stargazer01]

Good to see Action Comics #1000 is there. I was surprised to see Detective Comics #1000 selling similar to Superman, though. I heard that one had sold much higher.

Surprised Death of Superman isn't in this list. I thought it had sold more.

Crazy number for X-Men #1!

It's interesting to see how comic book sales don't always translate to box office or mainstream popularity.


https://www.polygon.com/comics/2019/...en-1-marvel-dc

[Kuwagaton]

https://www.comichron.com/monthlycomicssales/1992.html

By the same account 1993 was a huge year for Superman sales across the board, and the circulation before 1970 indicates those AC #1000 numbers were pretty average in the earlier decades.

Man of Steel #1 and Superman #1 (1987) were huge sellers by other accounts, likely beating AC #1000 on both.

EDIT: I called it poorly written but that's not really true. The writer does make concessions... but in holding out for "hard data" the list ironically becomes inaccurate.

[DochaDocha]

Good to see Action Comics #1000 is there. I was surprised to see Detective Comics #1000 selling similar to Superman, though. I heard that one had sold much higher.

Surprised Death of Superman isn't in this list. I thought it had sold more.

Crazy number for X-Men #1!

It's interesting to see how comic book sales don't always translate to box office or mainstream popularity.


https://www.polygon.com/comics/2019/...en-1-marvel-dc

Per Comichron,

November 1992 saw the single biggest sales day in comics history, with DC's "The Death of Superman" in Superman Vol. 2 #75 helping comics shops bring in $30 million in a single day.

I think the reason why they don't have DoS on that list is because they don't have the actual number. However, if you go to the totally reliable, trusted, and never fake Wikipedia, DoS sold 6 million copies. If the issue was selling for $2.50, you don't get multimillion-dollar revenue unless you sell about a million copies.

Kind of funny how Comichron doesn't have a DoS sales estimate.

EDIT: And now I'm sad, because the article is an example of how inaccurate news (or "fake news" as certain people like to call it) propagates.

[captchuck]

Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #144 sold 3,115,000 copies in September 1952. Source: Wikipedia.

[Jim Kelly]

Good to see Action Comics #1000 is there. I was surprised to see Detective Comics #1000 selling similar to Superman, though. I heard that one had sold much higher.

Surprised Death of Superman isn't in this list. I thought it had sold more.

Crazy number for X-Men #1!

It's interesting to see how comic book sales don't always translate to box office or mainstream popularity.


https://www.polygon.com/comics/2019/...en-1-marvel-dc

The irony is that most of those comics are nearly worthless because they sold in such high numbers. Whereas the truly valuable comics are the ones that sold in low numbers--or the ones no one valued enough to hang onto them in perfect condition.

The Overstreet Price Guide used to have a list of the top one hundred titles. That wasn't for a single issue but for the entire run of each title. In the 1976 OPG, for example, the top five were (as of 1975) ACTION COMICS, MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS, DETECTIVE COMICS, WHIZ COMICS, WALT DISNEY'S COMICS & STORIES, in that order. I think this is why so many collectors wanted to get the full run of a title, with no holes, because having a complete run was more valuable than a partial run.

Man, if only I could have persuaded my dad to float me a loan, I could have gone to Golden Age Collectibles and bought their stock--I'd be a millionaire now. I once overheard the owner to say he possessed everything DC ever published.

[Menacer]

Good to see Action Comics #1000 is there. I was surprised to see Detective Comics #1000 selling similar to Superman, though. I heard that one had sold much higher.

Surprised Death of Superman isn't in this list. I thought it had sold more.

Crazy number for X-Men #1!

It's interesting to see how comic book sales don't always translate to box office or mainstream popularity.


https://www.polygon.com/comics/2019/...en-1-marvel-dc

Didn't death of superman issue sell 6 million??