2015 was a strange year for Marvel publications. There was a line wide shake up and relaunch along with several months of virtually nothing but mini-series. With all those goings-on happening at the House of Ideas, what were the highest selling entries? I’ve included the number of copies sold and the total entries the series showed up on the diamond sales list (this means the number will include reprints and individual issues in the series).
10 – Silk – 463,842 – 10
A bit of a surprise to see this one make the list, but in a year where most series didn’t have much more than five issues before the Secret Wars event and then the post-Secret Wars reboot, maybe this isn’t all that large of a surprise. Truth be told, it really wasn’t that bad of a series, and it felt more like Spider-Man than most other Spider-Man books. Also, congrats to Jason Aaron for Original Sin having lasting effects.
9 – Uncanny Avengers – 480,340 – 8
This one is on the list in a large part due to the post-Secret Wars relaunch with Deadpool on board. The pre-SW book that Remender finished his run with did not do too well in sales. You can chalk this rank up to the Merc With a Mouth. Are you reading this for Rogue and Brother Voodoo? No.
8 – All New X-Men – 510,198 – 10
Bendis’ run and the first two issues of the post-SW series make up these sales with Bendis’ work most likely carrying the brunt of the load. While Bendis does have his fair share of vocal haters, he also has an incredibly large and loyal following.
7 – Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows – 566,535 – 5
Probably the most surprising entry on this list, not because of the quality of the issues but for the quantity of the issues. Spanning only five short issues, this miniseries in the Secret Wars event covered what could be considered the prequel to what is known as the MC2 by fans of the Spider-Girl series. Many of the positive reviews received for this series stated a feeling of familiarity and the Spider-Man from years ago. This is the second entry on this list that could be considered in the vein, and it isn’t the last.
6 – Wolverines – 631,534 – 20
You could say, unlike the previous entry, this is more about quantity and less about the quality of the issues. While it wasn’t a horrible series in the least, it isn’t one that will go down as a must read when future readers look back at this period in time.
5 – Deadpool – 841,854 – 12
Wade Wilson is at the top of his game, even if myself and other fans don’t believe the writing on his series is at the top of its game. This series included the publicized “death of” issue and the post-SW relaunch which did incredibly well. Suffice it to say, even if it isn’t the greatest read, Deadpool always makes a fun read, and apparently many fans are fine spending their money on that.
4 – Spider-Gwen – 986,380 – 10
The fans spoke by supporting this character’s breakout issue of the Spider-Verse tie-in miniseries. Instead of Tumblr for once just speaking up and not showing up with their green in hand, this time capitalism proved that if you support what you love you get what you love (though lifelong Marvel fans may argue this point). This could also be another example of a series that felt more like Spider-Man than the main Spider-Man series.
3 – Amazing Spider-Man – 1,715,735 – 18
Marvel’s bread and butter – of course he’s going to sell! It doesn’t matter how far he’s come from the days most of us started reading him, like moths to the flame we buy this series. Most of the time it is actually written well, even if we don’t always agree with the change in characterization.
2 – Secret Wars – 1,964,356 – 14
If people hate events then they need to stop buying them. In terms of Marvel’s main continuity the seven issues of this series that barely squeaked out in 2015 all not only sold well on their initial printing, but several had reprints. This doesn’t bode well for the “event fatigue” criers, as this series is only throwing fuel on the flame that is perpetual event building.
1 – Star Wars (Includes proper title, Darth Vader, and Princess Leia) – 5,279,110 – 58
On their own Star Wars took the #1 spot, Darth Vader # 3, and Princess Leia #8, so I’ve combined all of them just to make this not a completely Star Wars dominated list. With continuity, characters we know and love, solid art, and great writing why should we be surprised these sell so well? This is in many ways everything that fans are so critical of most other Marvel properties for lacking, right?
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