Heroes are no zeroes

How do the numbers stack up in Graphic Novels?

Superhero movies have had a grip on Hollywood since Marvel Studios broke all box office records with “The Avengers” in 2012 and, during the summer, hardly a week has gone by without the release of another big comic book adaptation, crowded with Hollywood stars, special effects and more brightly coloured Lycra than a wrestler’s wardrobe.

It would be surprising if the comic books themselves hadn’t benefited as a result. And they have—in 2014 the Graphic Novels sector experienced its best year since BookScan records began in 1998, enjoying a 13.9% increase in value year on year. While the General sub-genre’s value increased 2.17% (to £8.4m) in 2014, the Manga and Superheroes sub- genres posted phenomenal growth of 25.4% (to £4.4m) and 21.6% (to £7.1m) respectively. During 2015, the Superheroes sub-genre has drastically closed the gap on General in value terms. In the 52 weeks to 8th August, Superheroes’ value stood at £3.52m to General’s £3.56m, a gap of just 1.04%. It is likely that Superheroes will be the biggest category by the year’s end.

Mark Millar’s Civil War (Panini) was the sector’s overall number one for the 52 weeks to 8th August 2015, with last year’s bestselling title, Ryan North’s Adventure Time (Titan Comics), falling into sixth place. Civil War sold 25,999 copies in that period, a 195% increase on the preceding 12 months’ figure, increasing its value by 179% in the process (to £246,132). Other Marvel titles in the top 20 include Age of Ultron in third place (11,584 copies); Avengers vs X-Men in ninth place (8,832 units); and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Avengers Vol 1 in 17th place (7,034 copies). DK’s Marvel Avengers: The Ultimate Character Guide also featured in 27th place, with sales of 5,688 units.

Artwork from Sing No Evil by J P Ahonen and K P Alare, published by Abrams ComicArts.

Though the General sub-genre saw less of a rise than elsewhere in the sector, Robert Kirkman’s Walking Dead series (Image Comics) sold strongly as the fifth season of the AMC television adaptation draws to a conclusion. The first in the series, Days Gone Bye Vol 1, sold 9,367 copies, and A New Beginning Vol 22, released in November 2014, sold 8,274. Seconds, the first in a new series by Scott Pilgrim author Bryan Lee O’Malley, has sold 8,464 copies since its release in August 2014. But Ryan North’s Adventure Time Vol 1 topped the General category, despite its volume across the 52 weeks (10,393 units) representing a 39% fall from the previous 12 months’ figure (17,056 copies). Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons’ The Secret Service: Kingsman sold 3,759 copies, a 188% increase year on year, as the film adaptation starring Colin Firth was released in January 2015.

Supermanga

The Manga category’s biggest sellers were the Death Note Black series by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, with volumes one, two and three selling a combined 25,074 copies. Isayama Hajime’s Attack on Titan series sold strongly too, with the first three volumes in the top 10 and No Regrets: Attack on Titan by Hajime and Gan Sunaaku (published in June 2014), the first in a prequel series, selling 3,833 copies.

Though the Superheroes category was dominated by Avengers titles, with Civil War taking £125,000 more than the next most valuable Graphic Novels title, Death Note Black Vol 1, the highest new entry in the sub-genre was Batman: Death of the Family Mask and Book Set (DC Comics) with 6,676 copies sold. Three other Batman volumes feature in the top 10, with The Killing Joke by Alan Moore, author of Watchmen, shifting the most copies (10,567). Watchmen sold 6,235 units in 2014–15, 2,283 more than in 2013/14.

Mark Millar and John Romita’s Kick-Ass 3 sold 4,634 units after its release in September 2014, but the first two volumes in the series posted sales of 980 and 625 respectively, after selling 3,275 and 3,166 in the previous comparable period. Sales of spin-off title Kick-Ass 2 Prelude: Hit Girl, released in March 2013, also plummeted, from 2,230 copies to 407, possibly because of less-than-stellar box office receipts for “Kick-Ass 2”.