Premiere issue of an ongoing series in the Absolute Universe, a dimension built on Darkseid energy
Introduction of Alfred Pennyworth, an M16 agent
Introduction of Black Mask
Introduction of Waylon Jones, Killer Crock in the mainstream universe
Introduction of Martha Wayne, Commissioner Gordon, Barbara Gordon, Harvey Bullock
Introduction of Selina Kyle, Oswald Cobblepot, Edward Nygma, Harvey Dent - as children in a photograph
Introduction of Matches Malone
Introduction of Joker, first cameo appearance
Introduction of Julia Pennyworth, cameo appearance
Introduction and death of Thomas Wayne
1st team appearance of the Party Animals, led by Black Mask
Absolute Batman #1 preceded by a 16-page black and white ashcan preview
🏅#1 on the Hot 10
Transactions from this week that sold for higher than the previous twelve-month average:
9.8 sold for $404 vs the average $161 (+151%)
26 copies outsold the average
The following sales all established new record high sales:
9.0 sold for $236 [$100 in Nov] +136%
BERTRAM FOIL 9.8 sold for $290 [$210 in ] +38%
TAN VARIANT 9.8 sold for $249 [$240 in Dec] +4%
DRAGOTTA VIRGIN FOIL 9.8 sold for $185 [$168 in Nov] +10%
LEE FOIL 9.8 sold for $185 [$150 in Dec] +23%
LEE NON-FOIL 9.8 sold for $160 [$150 in Dec] +7%
WES CRAIG 9.8 sold for $130 [$90 in Nov] +44%
GERADS FOIL 9.8 sold for $185 [$145 in Dec] +28%
LEE VIRGIN SKETCH 9.8 sold for $475 [$430 in Dec] +10%
LEE VIRGIN 9.8 sold for $200 [$190 in Dec] +5%
BERTRAM FOIL 9.6 sold for $158 [$145 in Nov] +9%
BERTRAM FOIL 9.4 sold for $110 [No Previous Data]
KIRKHAM VARIANT 9.4 sold for $52 [No Previous Data]
THIRD PRINTING 'AKIRA' SKETCH 9.8 sold for $190 [$185 in Dec] +3%
SIXTH PRINTING MORA FOIL 9.8 sold for $81 [$68 in Dec] +19%
The success DC has seen with Absolute Batman raises an important question about how this momentum may shape future publishing strategies at DC and across the industry
It is estimated that DC’s announced orders for Absolute Batman #15 exceeded 300,000 copies
Initial orders for Absolute Batman #1 were closer to 200,000 units
It is exceedingly rare for an issue this far into a series’ run to surpass issue #1 orders, signaling growing interest rather than attrition
These figures echo prime sales decades of The Amazing Spider-Man in the 1970s and 1980s, when circulation routinely ranged between 200,000–300,000 copies - a figure that has since declined to an estimated 60,000 copies today
Much of this long-term decline can be attributed to the gradual disappearance of the newsstand market
But things are turning around due to trendy marketing efforts and risks taken on legacy characters
When examining ICV2’s Top 10 comics sold in December, there is mostly an interesting value proposition to the collector attached to each entry:
Absolute Batman #15 – the rebooted-universe Joker takes center stage
Ultimate Endgame #1 – blind bag distribution
Batman #4 – strong sales from a flagship DC title benefiting from a new reader entry point
Absolute Wonder Woman #15 – crossover with Absolute Batman
Batman/Deadpool #1 – publisher crossover
Mark Spears Monsters #8 – blind bag distribution
Absolute Batman #14 – strong series retention fueled by sustained media coverage praising the title’s quality
Ultimate Spider-Man #23 – penultimate issue of Marvel’s rebooted universe
DC K.O. Knightfight – an anomaly in the Top 10 due to a.) being an event tie-in that does not significantly impact the main DC K.O. arc and b.) being issue #2 of a four-issue tie-in series whose first issue ended on a strong cliffhanger
TMNT #13 – blind bag distribution
We will continue tracking how the success of recent publishing experiments influences future strategies for both major and independent publishers
This is the sixth consecutive week that Absolute Batman #1 ranked in first of the Key Collector Comics Hot 10
