Dark Horse Releases Retro Manga Sales

Dark Horse Comics has revealed that the success of its graphic novel re-releases of the Lone Wolf & Cub and Akira manga have met with unanticipated, overwhelming success. It’s been revealed now that even at a significantly higher cover price, the first graphic novel volume of Lone Wolf & Cub has amassed sales that rival the sales of an average monthly issue of Batman.

The first Lone Wolf and Cub collection, for example, has over 42,000 copies in print and is in its fifth printing. The second and third volumes are both on their third printings, and books two through four each have about 35,000 copies in print. The remaining collections (5-12) each have about 30,000 copies in print.

The first Akira collection is on its third printing, and like the first Lone Wolf, has about 42,000 copies in print. The second has about the same number of copies in print, and collections three and four each have around 30,000 copies in print.

However, the popularity of these series has yet to break into the mainstream market. About 90% of the sales of Lone Wolf and Cub come from comic stores, and about 80% of the sales of Akira are from that channel.

Source: ICV2.com

Article courtesy of Scott Green