DC Just Crushed Marvel’s Market Share to Start September—and It Wasn’t Even Close
DC Comics’ ridiculously impressive market share continues to soar, with the first week of September seeing the publisher almost double its rival Marvel, setting the gap even larger.
As we reported earlier this year, DC carried its immense 2025 momentum into 2026, with the publisher hitting a massive 34.7% market share in Q1. At that point, there was a 5.3% difference in their market shares, which was significant at the time. However, in the most recent metrics from September 1-7, we’re seeing DC double down on its domination, with its market share hitting an unprecedented 49.19% compared to Marvel’s 27.42% in comic shops. That’s a wild 21.77% difference in market shares.
It’s clear that DC is dominating, and that the driving force behind the lead is the publisher’s behemoth Absolute Universe. Spearheaded by Scott Snyder, the Absolute line of comics is among the most successful we’ve ever seen, with Absolute Batman dominating month-on-month sales lists. In addition, Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez’ Batman series is going exceptionally well too. According to ICv2, out of the top 5 best selling comics of August 2026, the top 4 were all DC titles: Absolute Batman #23; Batman #12; Absolute Green Arrow #4 (Of 6); Absolute Superman #22. Only Marvel’s debutant Miles Morales Spider-Man #1 made the top 5.
So what does the market share look like overall. Thanks to Bleeding Cool, you can check out the figures down below:
- DC Comics – 49.19%
- Marvel – 27.42%
- Image – 12.74%
- Dynamite – 3.05%
- Boom Studios – 2.17%
- IDW Publishing – 1.37%
- Oni Press – 1.17%
- Ignition Press – 1.00%
- Dark Horse – 0.96%
- Titan Comics – 0.92%
To compare to Q1 2026, Image Comics notably grew from 11.8% to 12.74%, likely through its myriad excellent new releases this year. Meanwhile, BOOM! Studios has grown; it finished 2025 on 2.3% and boasted 1.7% in Q1 2026, now growing to 2.17%. Surprisingly, IDW has lost a significant market share, dropping by almost 3% from Q1.
All of that said, DC is the clear winner by a landslide. It’s going to take some toppling, but Marvel has a trick up its sleeve coming this October. The publisher will see the release of its Midnight Universe, and it all kicks off three new titles: Midnight Spider-Man by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and ScieTronc, Midnight Fantastic Four by Benjamin Percy and Kev Walker, and Midnight X-Men by Jonathan Hickman and Matteo Della Fonte. This darker, glitter take on Marvel heroes is gaining a lot of attention, and if it lands, Marvel suddenly has a breakout line of its own to rival the Absolutes. But of course, that’s a big ask.
Are you surprised by DC’s enormous market share? Or was it inevitable? Give us all your thoughts in the comments down below!
