First-quarter 2025 comic-book sales have been batty
Word Balloons #1263: Batman, 'Absolute' lines driving purchases
For the first quarter of 2025, it’s been a Dark Knight indeed.
Batman is nearly always one of our better sellers at Speeding Bullet Comics in Norman, Oklahoma, but it’s been a particularly strong year so far for the DC Comics hero.
Looking at our best-selling issues of the quarter, it’s Absolute domination for DC, with the “Absolute” line taking nine of the top 11 slots and 10 of the top 20.
“Absolute Batman” #4 comes in at No. 1; #3 and #5 of the same title also make the top 5. Jim Lee and Jeph Loeb’s return to “Batman” for “Hush 2” cracked the top 5 for the quarter, with only six sales days to do so in “Batman” #158. (The two previous issues of “Batman” also make the top 20.)
“Absolute Superman” #3 rounds out the top 5. Issues 4 and 5 of “Absolute Superman” chart at 8 and 16; “Absolute Wonder Woman” issues 4 and 5 grab slots 9 and 10.
“Absolute Flash” launched at #6 and “Absolute Martian Manhunter” at #14.
The highest-ranking Marvel title for the quarter is “Ultimate Wolverine” at #7. Marvel’s other titles in the top 20 are both issues of “Ultimate Spider-Man.”
Image’s first appearance is with “G.I. Joe” #4 at No. 12; “G.I. Joe” #3 follows at #19.
Coming in at No. 17 in a slight surprise for me is “Zatanna” #1 from DC Comics.
Book sales for the first quarter aren’t quite as Dark Knight-heavy, but “Batman: Hush” does hold down the No. 1 slot.
The first volume of the new editions of “Invincible” ranks second, followed by the first volume of the current run of “Ultimate Spider-Man.”
The omnibus edition of the “Amalgam” titles from DC and Marvel takes the fourth spot, followed by the new Marvel Premiere edition of “Daredevil: Born Again.”
The first quarter's biggest draw out of the back issue bins was “The Punisher.” Likely other media continued to help drive interest in this property and others in the first quarter.
Other Marvel titles in the top 10 were “Amazing Spider-Man,” “Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man,” and “Daredevil,” as well as mainstays “Uncanny X-Men” and “Wolverine.” The “Daredevil” show could have helped the first three of these, as well as “Punisher.” “X-Men” titles are always strong, but “X-Men ‘97” and “Deadpool & Wolverine” may still be causing some continued interest.
Also seeing significant action were DC’s “Batman” at No. 2 and “Superman” at No. 6. A surprise title sneaking into the top 10 was DC’s “Spectre.”
Image’s highest-ranking title was “Invincible,” cracking the top 10. Dark Horse and Boom! Studios saw action on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” back issues. IDW and Archie comics gained ground with “Sonic the Hedgehog” issues.
Matthew Price, matthew@matthewLprice.com, has written about the comics industry for more than two decades. He is the co-owner of Speeding Bullet Comics in Norman, Oklahoma.