DC Comics had a big sales year in 2025. Diamond is officially done. Ultimate Endgame blind bags see damages.
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Episode Transcript:
DC Comics sold big in 2025.
Diamond is officially done.
Ultimate Endgame gets damaged.
This is Comic Book Club News for January 5, 2026.
DC Comics Sell Big In 2025:
Who wants some catch-up for the New Year? You do! Way back in December of 2025, The Hollywood Reporter put out a big end of year Hollywood report about the state of DC Comics. And that state? Pretty good.
While most of the article is essentially a victory lap for the publisher, there are some actual figures shared. Specifically, “the Absolute Universe line of monthly comics has sold over 8.2 million units in total, not accounting for December sales. Absolute Batman, the flagship title, makes up around 35 percent, close to 3 million, of that total. The first issue of Absolute Batman continues to sell well and is now in its 10th printing, while the latest issue, Absolute Batman No. 15, has orders of over 300,000.”
The trade also notes that “five of the six titles have outpaced and outperformed DC’s previous relaunches and reboots, 2011’s New 52 and 2016’s Rebirth. Even Absolute Martian Manhunter… received orders in the six figures.”
As for the main line of comics, the real winner is Batman, with the titular hero dominating sales, and the Matt Fraction/Jorge Jiménez reboot of the title garnering more sales issue by issue, a rarity in the industry.
However, while we don’t have exact sales figures for the House of Ideas, on charts like those provided by ICv2, Marvel makes up in volume what they might lack in individual title sales. Meaning at least going into 2026, Marvel is still number one… Though they absolutely should watch out for DC.
Diamond Is Officially Done:
You won’t have Diamond Comics Distributors to kick around anymore, for real this time, as the company was officially, for real, definitely closed down this time on December 31.
Per The Beat, not only did the company close the doors on its office, but they let go the last of their remaining employees, leading to some poignant goodbye messages from those who remained. As for the company, the tiny pieces left will rebrand as Diamond Select, and become part of a company called Enesco, which is owned by Ad Populum.
Thus ends over a year of the most byzantine business finagling seen in the comic book industry since… Well, the last time something this weird happened. As for whether there will be more legal issues going forward into 2026? Yeah, probably. Somehow.
Ultimate Endgame Blind Bags Get Damaged:
Our last catch-up story — probably — the Blind Bag editions of Marvel’s Ultimate Endgame #1 were widely reported to be damaged.
Released on December 31, multiple comic book stores and purchasers noted on social media that the packages they received were improperly packed. The culprit? The blind bags are larger than the comics, meaning the books tended to shuffle around while shipping, damaging the spines. And particularly for a book meant to be collectible, featuring everything from card-stock prints of the main cover to unique sketches signed by Robert Downey Jr., that instantly downgrades the value.
Subsequently, multiple stores noted they were pulling the Blind Bags from circulation, and not selling them to customers. However — and this is anecdotal — the Blind Bags seem to be a hit, at least for those who were able to pick them up. Videos of opening the bags dominated video platforms like TikTok, and while some fans noted the damage, others wondered what the big deal was.
The good news, potentially? Despite shipping a ridiculous number of copies, with some printings of the issues being sent back to Penguin Random House, which distributes Marvel’s books, that could drive up the price of those left. And as of this recording, a cursory glance at eBay shows unique sketch covers selling anywhere from $70 to $300.
For Comic Book Club News, I’m Alex Zalben. And Happy New Year! You’re all caught up now.
Got tips or stories you’d like us to cover? Email us at comicbookclublive@gmail.com.
For more comic book news, reviews, and interviews, check out comicbookclublive.com.
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