DC Monthly Sales Figures 1967-1987
Jonathan Hoyle
A couple of years ago, I visited the Audit Bureau of Circulation
offices to obtain comic book sales figures for DC & Marvel comics.
Russ Maheras had done so sometime earlier and posted his results of
comic book sales figures from the 1940's. Wishing to continue on in
that tradition, I obtained the semi-annual filings for DC & Marvel
covering the period 1950-1987. [To view my post on the 1950-1987 semi-
annual sales figures, visit:
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.comics.dc.universe/browse_frm/thread/6b57f4066cef7dce
]
With this post, I am detailing the monthly circulation figures for DC
Comics covering the period 1967-1987. (My previous post showed only
the semi-annual figures.)
Until 1977, DC Comics circulation data was divided into three
different categories: "Blue Group", "Red Group" and "Teen Group". The
"Teen Group" was a smaller collection, consisting exclusively of the
romance titles. All other titles were divided into the "Red" and
"Blue" categories. Until 1970, no Teen Group data was reported, so
only the Red and Blue groups had circulation data. In 1974, the Teen
Group was disbanded and its titles were divided amongst the Red and
Blue Groups. In 1977, the Blue and Red groups were disbanded, and all
titles were combined into a singular "DC Comics Group". The titles
associated with each group between 1967 and 1976 are detailed at the
bottom of this post.
Here now are the monthly sales figures for DC Comics beginning with
January 1967 (best viewed with a monospaced font):
BLUE GROUP RED GROUP
01/67: 2,709,227 2,797,372
02/67: 3,166,345 3,211,263
03/67: 2,658,754 3,127,212
04/67: 2,421,560 3,022,944
05/67: 2,694,352 3,070,568
06/67: 3,388,013 2,814,974
07/67: 2,813,365 2,728,091
08/67: 3,489,522 3,993,736
09/67: 4,237,625 3,696,691
10/67: 3,162,770 4,060,324
11/67: 3,061,823 2,914,511
12/67: 3,645,814 2,999,158
01/68: 2,931,012 2,939,906
02/68: 3,113,106 3,224,062
03/68: 2,933,995 3,023,951
04/68: 2,397,941 3,123,193
05/68: 2,885,554 3,022,849
06/68: 3,573,153 2,681,356
07/68: 3,094,019 2,937,738
08/68: 3,741,125 3,545,209
09/68: 3,665,049 3,593,526
10/68: 3,794,640 3,600,353
11/68: 3,015,152 2,561,644
12/68: 3,069,010 3,072,417
01/69: 2,596,562 2,571,736
02/69: 2,799,132 2,808,093
03/69: 2,816,011 2,670,755
04/69: 2,317,582 2,763,906
05/69: 2,221,766 2,589,915
06/69: 2,716,380 2,268,985
07/69: 2,675,703 2,652,213
08/69: 2,663,065 3,144,069
09/69: 2,946,081 3,144,941
10/69: 2,999,186 2,661,886
11/69: 2,236,409 2,435,870
12/69: 2,140,721 2,580,601
Beginning in 1970, sales data for the Teen Group began to be reported.
BLUE GROUP RED GROUP TEEN GROUP
01/70: 2,232,530 2,010,744 689,093
02/70: 2,294,820 2,280,491 608,647
03/70: 2,311,120 2,249,833 441,575
04/70: 2,167,522 2,167,162 862,477
05/70: 2,262,264 2,281,077 423,976
06/70: 2,393,570 2.003,891 583,589
07/70: 2,471,198 2,230,078 800,362
08/70: 2,830,507 3,018,467 778,720
09/70: 3,138,212 3,226,167 721,869
10/70: 2,739,062 2,731,155 1,019,923
11/70: 2,233,577 2,273,058 462,328
12/70: 1,923,887 2,446,796 584,525
01/71: 2,121,013 1,813,291 822,966
02/71: 2,342,034 2,350,232 561,594
03/71: 2,102,691 2,378,602 411,363
04/71: 2,083,817 2,080,684 821,363
05/71: 1,911,489 2,391,069 440,857
06/71: 2,376,736 2,224,568 568,781
07/71: 2,488,348 2,298,503 799,936
08/71: 2,273,206 2,524,200 594,747
09/71: 2,405,787 2,447,283 582,571
10/71: 2,221,893 2,097,033 543,105
11/71: 2,336,312 2,187,078 609,336
12/71: 1,995,627 1,923,778 648,816
01/72: 1,377,681 1,565,934 547,870
02/72: 1,909,752 1,864,060 549,190
03/72: 1,770,010 1,876,808 554,157
04/72: 1,835,072 1,619,638 534,976
05/72: 2,106,046 1,903,614 562,254
06/72: 2,039,821 1,907,597 553,958
Beginning with the second half of 1972, DC Comics circulation data was
reported bimonthly instead of monthly. To estimate the monthly sales
average, divide the bimonthly figure by 2.
BLUE GROUP RED GROUP TEEN GROUP
07-08/72: 3,816,000 3,588,000 1,239,000
09-10/72: 5,848,000 4,979,000 1,313,000
11-12/72: 5,426,000 5,203,000 703,000
01-02/73: 3,763,139 4,047,050 546,488
03-04/73: 4,456,208 4,694,166 556,880
05-06/73: 2,756,397 2,320,956 220,031
07-08/73: 4,796,497 4,641,478 571,956
09-10/73: 6,260,291 5,431,402 675,704
11-12/73: 4,857,259 5,441,041 691,344
Beginning with 1974, the Teen Group was disbanded, with the surviving
titles being divided up amongst the Red and Blue Groups.
BLUE GROUP RED GROUP
01-02/74: 5,365,333 4,851,786
03-04/74: 5,318,653 3,633,205
05-06/74: 4,268,326 3,666,082
07-08/74: 3,699,368 3,890,100
09-10/74: 4,124,867 4,368,313
11-12/74: 3,992,258 4,600,203
01-02/75: 2,884,617 3,721,401
03-04/75: 4,394,955 4,017,390
05-06/75: 4,618,691 4,748,748
07-08/75: 4,242,397 4,368,825
09-10/75: 5,351,590 5,306,420
11-12/75: 4,359,405 3,811,685
DC Comics circulation data for the first half of 1976 was missing from
the microfilm. I can only assume that a clerical error took place
during the creation of the microfilm. Data continues with the second
half of 1976:
BLUE GROUP RED GROUP
07-08/76: 3,799,588 3,706,468
09-10/76: 4,876,894 4,286,880
11-12/76: 4,444,965 3,808,734
Beginning with 1977, the Blue Group and Red Group separation was
abandoned, and circulation data was combined into a single "DC Comics
Group" listing.
01-02/77: 8,416,830
03-04/77: 7,973,868
05-06/77: 7,653,764
07-08/77: 7,904,135
09-10/77: 10,246,033
11-12/77: 9,019,420
01-02/78: 6,748,467
03-04/78: 7,630,284
05-06/78: 7,134,357
07-08/78: 7,755,572
09-10/78: 7,268,045
11-12/78: 6,047,058
DC Comics Group circulation data for the first half of 1979 was
missing from the microfilm. It appears that filing did in fact take
place, as it was included in the microfilm index. I can only assume
that a clerical error took place during the creation of the
microfilm. Data continues with the second half of 1979:
07-08/79: 6,061,779
09-10/79: 6,715,048
11-12/79: 5,900,777
01-02/80: 5,711,320
03-04/80: 5,736,926
05-06/80: 5,261,197
07-08/80: 5,746,218
09-10/80: 5,646,039
11-12/80: 5,521,655
01-02/81: 5,551,579
03-04/81: 5,531,817
05-06/81: 5,442,426
07-08/81: 5,828,992
09-10/81: 7,325,361
11-12/81: 6,164,875
01-02/82: 5,987,558
03-04/82: 6,092,252
05-06/82: 6,263,048
07-08/82: 6,508,931
09-10/82: 6,801,587
11-12/82: 7,021,225
Beginning with 1983, the DC Comics Group data returned to reporting
monthly figures:
01/83: 3,146,507
02/83: 3,179,922
03/83: 3,049,807
04/83: 3,222,442
05/83: 3,444,303
06/83: 3,347,720
07/83: 3,713,143
08/83: 3,601,424
09/83: 3,618,330
10/83: 3,742,174
11/83: 3,617,356
12/83: 3,461,413
01/84: 3,080,164
02/84: 3,348,722
03/84: 3,261,788
04/84: 2,887,712
05/84: 2,887,368
06/84: 2,673,644
07/84: 3,307,796
08/84: 3,157,838
09/84: 3,315,090
10/84: 3,267,383
11/84: 3,174,532
12/84: 2,862,282
01/85: 2,540,792
02/85: 3,316,170
03/85: 2,895,724
04/85: 3,537,620
05/85: 3,079,095
06/85: 2,934,347
07/85: 3,371,973
08/85: 3,116,707
09/85: 3,457,393
10/85: 3,224,737
11/85: 3,270,791
12/85: 2,609,030
01/86: 2,168,193
02/86: 2,525,341
03/86: 2,492,095
04/86: 2,133,800
05/86: 2,058,384
06/86: 1,996,732
07/86: 1,934,569
08/86: 2,464,852
09/86: 2,476,123
10/86: 2,686,215
11/86: 3,291,839
12/86: 3,177,130
01/87: 2,915,836
02/87: 3,051,225
03/87: 3,102,388
04/87: 2,869,619
05/87: 2,775,748
06/87: 2,909,455
07/87: 2,915,962
08/87: 2,855,157
09/87: 3,210,091
10/87: 3,527,469
11/87: 2,765,667
12/87: 3,040,072
Below are all of the titles DC Comics produced between 1967 and 1976,
categorized by which group they were affiliated. Note that Giant size
special issues may be placed into a different group. For example,
although Superman is a Red Group title, Superman #193 is counted with
the Blue Group since it is also 80 page Giant #G-31.
For a mapping of the 80 Page Giant "G" issue numbers, visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/80-Page_Giant
For a mapping of the DC 100 Page Super-Spectacular "DC" issue numbers,
visit: http://www.metropolisplus.com/dc100page/First%20Listing.htm
BLUE GROUP:
Action Comics, All Star Comics, Anthro, Aquaman, Atom/
Hawkman, Batman, BatLash, Beowulf, Blackhawk, BlackMagic, DC Special,
DC Super Stars, Demon, Flash, Four Star Spectacular, Freedom Fighters,
>From Beyond the Unknown, GI War Tales, Hawk & the Dove, House of
Mystery, House of Secrets, Hot Wheels, Johnny Thunder, Justice Inc,
Justice League of America, Kung Fu Fighter, Kobra, Leave It to Binky,
Lois Lane, Legion of Super-Heroes, New Gods, Our Fighting Forces,
Omac, Plop, Ragman, Rima the Jungle Girl, Sandman, Superboy, Legion of
Super-Heroes, Supergirl, Sugar & Spike, Showcase, Sherlock Holmes,
Secret of Haunted House, Spectre, Secret Society of Super-Villians,
Star Spangled War Stories, Stalker, Starfire, Super-Team Family,
Strange Adventures, Strange Sports Stories, Swing with Scooter, Swamp
Thing, Tarzan, Tales of Ghost Castle, Tomahawk, Trigger Twins, Tales
of the Unexpected, Weird Mystery Tales, Weird Worlds, Wonder Woman.
Giants: #G31, G36, G37, G39, G41, G42, G43, G48, G49, G52, G55, G58,
G60, G61, G64, F2, G67, G70, G72, S76, S13, S14, S20, G79, G82, G84,
S26, G85, G88, DC11, DC12.
RED GROUP:
Adventure Comics, Angel & Ape, All Star Western, Brave &
the Bold, Binky's Buddies, Blitzkreig, Black Magic, Bob Hope, Bomba,
Boy Commandos, Brother Power the Geek, Captain Action, Captain Storm,
Challengers of the Unknown, Champion Sports, Claw the Unconquored,
Creeper, Date with Debbi, Debbi's Dates, Detective Comics, Doom
Patrol, First Issue Special, Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion, Four
Star Battle Tales, Forever People, Fox & the Crow, Ghosts, GI Combat,
Green Lantern, Hercules Unbound, Inferior 5, Isis, Jerry Lewis, Jimmy
Olsen, Joker, Kamandi, Korak Son of Tarzan, Laurel & Hardy, Meet
Angel, Metamorpho, Metal Men, Mr Miracle, Our Army at War, Phantom
Stranger, Plastic Man, Prez, Secret Six, Secrets of Sinister House,
Sea Devils, Shazam!, Secret Origins, Stanley & His Monsters, Super DC
Giant, Super-Friends, Super-Heroes Battle Super-Gorillas, Superman,
Superman Family, Sword Sorcery, Three Mousketeers, Tor, Teen Titans,
Wanted, Warlord, Windy & Willy, Witching Hour, Weird War Tales, Weird
Western Tales, Welcome Back Kotter, World's Finest. Giants: #G32, G33,
G34, G35, G38, G40, G44, G45, G46, G47, G50, G51, G53, G54, G56, G57,
G59, F1, G62, G63, G65, G66, G68, G69, G71, G74, G75, G77, G78, S15,
S16, S18, S19, G80, G81, G83, G86, G87, G88, S25, DC10.
TEEN GROUP:
Falling in Love, Girl's Love Stories, Girls Romances,
Heart Throbs, Secret Hearts, Young Love, Young Romance. Giants: #S17,
S21.
GROUP CHANGES:
After 1974, the Teen Group was disbanded, and "Young
Love" was moved to the Red Group whilst "Young Romance" moved to the
Blue Group. In the first half of 1975, "Justice League of America"and
"Swamp Thing" were moved from the Blue Group to the Red Group, whilst
"Shazam!" and "World's Finest Comics" were moved from the Red Group to
the Blue Group. In the second half of 1975, "Young Romance" was moved
from the Blue Group to the Red Group. In 1977, all group
identification was eliminated, and all DC comics were counted
together.
For more information about these different groups, see my newsgroup
post from: http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.comics.dc.universe/browse_frm/thread/0cc2d8039e179e0b
Thanks,
Jonathan Hoyle
www.jonhoyle.com
Math1723
> DC Monthly Sales Figures 1967-1987
Very interesting! A couple of questions, though:
1. Does the circulation data by ABC include direct sales as well as
newsstand sales? With the late '80's onward, direct sales becomes the
more important of the two.
2. How much past 1987 is there ABC data for DC Comics? I know that
from 1988 forward, DC stopped displaying annual Statement of Ownership
figures in their books. What is the relationship between these two
figures?
Jonathan Hoyle
> Jonathan Hoyle wrote:
> > DC Monthly Sales Figures 1967-1987
>
> <snip>
>
> Very interesting! A couple of questions, though:
>
> 1. Does the circulation data by ABC include direct sales as well as
> newsstand sales? With the late '80's onward, direct sales becomes the
> more important of the two.
A list of titles associated with the figures was shown on each ABC
report, but unfortunately, I transcribed them only for those periods
in which DC separated titles into different groupings. I simply
assumed that all titles were covered after 1977. I assume that direct
sales was included, since by the late 1980's, newstand sales had
essentially dried up. For example, ABC data shows that Marvel
averaged nearly 8 million copies sold per month in early 1987, which
the largest monthly average for any Jan-June period since 1950. It
would be hard to believe that this could be true of newstand-only
sales.
> 2. How much past 1987 is there ABC data for DC Comics? I know that
> from 1988 forward, DC stopped displaying annual Statement of Ownership
> figures in their books. What is the relationship between these two
> figures?
I did not get a chance to see if DC Comics had entries beyond 1987.
As for the relationshiop between the two numbers, I assume that they
are unrelated. ABC gives numbers for all titles combined, whilst
Statement of Ownership figures are on a per title basis. Furthermore,
DC editors are more interested in how their individual titles are
doing, so as to determine whether it needs to be cancelled, increased/
decreased in frequency, etc. ABC data is more of interest to
investors interested in the health of the company overall, or to
advertizers wanting independent verifications as to the value of their
spending dollars.
If anyone else can weigh in on these matters, I would be interested to
hear what they have to say.
Regards,
Jonathan Hoyle
http://www.jonhoyle.com