Comic-Con is over, and we’re still sorting through the photos and press releases, but the best-seller list marches on. Here’s a look at what was hot this week in digital comics.
1. Sandman #1
2. Injustice: Gods Among Us #27
3. Justice League of America #6
4. All-New X-Men #14
5. Avengers, vol. 5 #16
6. Batman ’66 #3
7. Batman and Robin #22: Catwoman
8. Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, vol. 2 #25
9. Thor: God of Thunder #10
10. Invincible #104
As usual with comiXology, all this week’s best-sellers are single issues that were released this week—with the exception of Sandman #1, which is neither new nor new to digital.
1. Superman #1
2. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
3. Deadpool Classic, vol. 1
4. The Walking Dead, vol. 1
5. Wolverine: Old Man Logan
6. Deadpool, vol. 1: Secret Invasion
7. Injustice: Gods Among Us #1
8. Deadpool, vol. 2: Dark Reign
9. Deadpool, vol. 3: X Marks the Spot
10. Wolverine: Enemy of the State (Ultimate Collection)
This rather odd collection can be explained by looking at the prices: The Deadpool and Wolverine books are graphic novels of between 120 and 352 pages, all priced at $2.99 or $3.99—basically, a graphic novel at a single-issue price, and some of these go for close to $50 in hardback. So Amazon must be having a Marvel sale in honor of Comic-Con, although I haven’t seen it advertised in their newsletter or on their comics page. Also there’s a Wolverine movie due out soon, which is probably stirring up interest.
1. Injustice: Gods Among Us #23
2. Injustice: Gods Among Us #25
3. Bleach, vol. 57
4. Injustice: Gods Among Us #26
5. The Walking Dead, vol. 1
6. Injustice: Gods Among Us #1
7. The Walking Dead, vol. 2
8. The Walking Dead, vol. 3
9. Injustice: Gods Among Us #20
10. Injustice: Gods Among Us #2
I stripped out all the free books in order to make this list comparable with the others, but it’s worth noting that the same issue of Sandman #1 that people are paying $1.99 for on comiXology is free on Nook. Also that free downloads are outnumbering paid by a factor of five to one in the Nook comics store.
iBooks
1. Injustice: Gods Among Us #27
2. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
3. Injustice: Gods Among Us #1
4. Injustice: Gods Among Us #26
5. Injustice: Gods Among Us #3
6. Injustice: Gods Among Us #2
7. My Little Pony Micro Series #6
8. Injustice: Gods Among Us #5
9. Injustice: Gods Among Us #6
10. Injustice: Gods Among Us #10
There’s a certain sameness to this week’s iBooks chart, isn’t there? Last week’s herd of My Little Ponies has been elbowed aside by Injustice: Gods Among Us, probably for some reason having to do with Comic-Con. Also, that Sandman comic is free on iBooks as well.
As in previous weeks, the charts seem to have little in common other than the popularity of Injustice: Gods Among Us. In that way, this week was typical, although there may have been promotions at Comic-Con that distorted the charts a bit. The fact that a substantial number of people paid $1.99 for Sandman #1 on comiXology rather than getting it for free on Nook or iBooks suggests that there isn’t much crossover between comiXology and the e-book platforms. Either that or maybe people just like having all their comics in a single place more than they like having two bucks in their pocket.
A former book editor and newspaper reporter, Brigid Alverson started MangaBlog to keep track of her daughters¹ reading habits and now covers comics and graphic novels for Comic Book Resources , School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly Comics World, Robot 6, and MTV Geek. She also edits the Good Comics for Kids blog at School Library Journal. Brigid was a judge for the 2012 Eisner Awards. Send her an email to wordballoons@gmail.com