What Sells Comics: The Six Best-Selling Comics of All Time

Comic books have captured the attention of all manner of people for generations. With big names like Marvel and DC each publishing comic book issues that regularly exceed a million copies sold, and countless other smaller names enjoying steady success for decades, the love of comics seems unlikely to be going anywhere anytime soon, despite the constant evolution of other entertainment options.

But what comics are the most popular, and what are the secrets to their success? This is what we’re going to uncover in this article as we take a look at the six best-selling comic issues of all time.

Number One: X-Men #1

With a total of 8,186,500 copies sold, the 1991 X-Men #1 comic by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee is by far the most popular comic of all time. The comic itself was released as a kind of ‘thank you’ note to dedicated fans as Claremont came to the end of his 16-year career with the X-Men Series. The comic told the story of two new X-Men teams teaming up to battle Magneto and the Acolytes, and with over 3 million more copies sold than the second highest on this list.

Although the comic was first released in 1991, fans still have plenty to engage with when it comes to the X-Men series. There are fourteen movies to sink your teeth into, the Storm Force Acceleration ride at Universal’s Islands of Adventure in Orlando, and even X-Men themed slots for casino lovers. There are several sites that stand out every month for the quality of their slots and other casino games, as well as the several bonuses and rewards they offer to both new and seasoned players.

Number Two: X-Force #1 

This is yet another X-Men comic that proves the overall popularity of the franchise. X-Force was also published in 1991 and sold around 5,000,000 copies. Created by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld, this issue featured a group of mutants joining together in battle against the Mutant Liberation Front.

The popularity of this issue and the later comics that were released in the series likely comes down to the popular anti-hero tropes contained within the stories. Unlike the X-Men, the team behind X-Force didn’t have any rules and regulations and could be much more ruthless in their actions. 

Number Three: Adventures of Superman #500

With 420,000,000 copies sold, issue #500 of Adventures of Superman is still to this day the third most popular comic book issue in the world, despite having been released in 1993. The reasons for the popularity are mostly down to the events that had occurred almost a year prior in this particular series, when Superman had ‘died’. In this milestone 500th issue, creators Jerry Ordway and Tom Grummett were able to tease the resurrection of their titular character and prepare fans for the infamous “Reign of the Superman” storyline.

As such, the success of Adventures of Superman #500 is mostly due to the effectiveness of the overarching storyline, and it shows just how talented these comic creators were at keeping their fans engaged.

Number Four: Superman #75

As well as being the fourth most popular comic of all time, with 3,000,000 copies sold, 1993’s Superman #75 is also one of the most heartbreaking. Created by Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding, this issue features a tense battle between the Justice League and Doomsday, a battle that leads to the tragic death of Superman himself. Yet, it turns out it would take more than death to keep this comic book hero away for long.

With such a climactic and tragic end, it isn’t surprising that this issue did so well. Nobody wanted to see Superman die, and yet, for many of us, we had to see it to believe it. Luckily, however, as we have seen, the hero would soon make a return.

Number Six: Spider-Man #1 

Finally, we have the sixth most popular comic book issue of all time, Spider-Man #1, which was released in 1990, and sold 2,500,000 copies. This issue was created by Todd McFarlane, who was known to the fandom as the official artist behind the Venom comics. The story was also unique in the fact that it had a slightly darker storyline than most of its Spider-Man Predecessors.

This issue’s popularity came from the fact that many people were looking forward to seeing McFarlane’s work again, and the iconic cover, which depicted the titular hero tangled in a web and surrounded by spiders, was so impressive that it became one of the most famous pieces of Marvel artwork.