The two lists here represent the best-selling
single issue comic books at Flying Colors for the calendar year of 2022.
(Click on the Best Sellers lists to enlarge them for easier reading)
The periodical comics market is filled with different ways to get consumers
interested in buying comics. Above all, we hope the entertainment of reading
comics is the driving force for most buyers. Some customers like having
different covers to choose from, preferring one artist over another. They'll
even follow favorite cover artists from title to title.
Others buy for "collectibility"--- a
mostly elusive thing and definitely NOT recommended!
The first list counts ONLY the main cover for each comic book.
The second list COMBINES the sales of all variant editions for each issue...
and that
significantly changes the list.
A few notes:
*
BATMAN SPAWN wouldn't even make the top 72 based on sales of just the main
cover.... but it vaults all the way to #1 when sales of all variant covers are
included.
* Several different issues of
BATMAN and AMAZING SPIDER-MAN make the list...
and the sales of each of those vary from issue to issue. Why? Flying Colors is
the first choice for many comic book buyers, but sometimes we're the 2nd, 3rd
or 4th choice for less frequent shoppers (such as out of town visitors, other
shops selling out faster than we do,etc). The lack of consistency of sales from issue to
issue of the same title increases our risk.
* The dominance of Marvel Comics and DC Comics on this list of best-selling
comic books is clear. The large lead The Big Two have in the periodical
category is due to familiar and popular characters that have been around as
long as 85 years.
* There are lots of awesomely entertaining and engaging comics from publishers
large and not so large, from well-known companies to more obscure small press. We invite you to explore what we have in stock
and try something new outside your usual comfort zone. New entertainment
awaits!
* Notable best-selling comics NOT published by Marvel or DC include:
--- CHARLEY & HUMPHREY #1, the cool comic from 10Ton Press that's drenched in Bay Area kids-TV nostalgia
--- STARHENGE, the absolutely trippy series from amazing artist/writer and FlyCo Fave LIAM SHARP.
--- SAGA, Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples' sci-fi epic from Image Comics.
All of these are in stock and highly recommended!
* Crazy Factoid: During 2022, Flying Colors sold at least one copy of 9790 different comic books. That big number includes variant editions of the same issue, plus some special single issue requests for items we didn't have for rack sales. So 2301 out of 9790 line items we sold just one copy each.
* Our challenge at Flying Colors is to find the right combination of what we
stock, what we sell and what we have left over. Our goal for 2023 is sell more, for sure, but
to have less left unsold. For that, we need the help of every one of our FlyCo
Faithful. If there are titles you know you want to get issue after issue,
please add them to a reservation list at our shop. That way, you'll never miss
what you want and you'll be helping us make more educated guesses when we place
our orders.
THANK YOU to all those who shop here at Flying Colors. As we head into our 35th
year in Concord, we know we couldn't be here without your kindness, your support
and your regular visits to shop here!
Comments about these best-seller lists are welcome! You can add to the discussion
with a comment here, or join the discussion on our Facebook page, follow me on Twitter or better yet, visit the shop and we can discuss it there.
Happy 2023, FlyCo Faithful!
--- Joe "FlyCoJoe" Field
