June 2026 Active Subscription Chart - What Readers Are Actually Following

Commentary by Walt:

Before we dive into the rankings, a quick note on why this chart is interesting: Unlike the monthly Top 50 Singles Chart, which is influenced by launches, blind bags, hot variants, speculation, and all the other chaos that makes comics fun, this ranking is based on something much more fundamental: active subscriptions.

Subscriptions are the bedrock of every comic shop and the heart of the comic industry. They're the pull lists maintained by the most loyal and consistent readers, the people who show up month after month because they genuinely want to follow a series.

That makes this chart a very different kind of market analysis. Less hype, less FOMO, fewer one-off spikes. What you're looking at here is the industry's core readership and the books they are actually committed to reading long term. Alrighty, let's get to it!

No big surprise at the top: the King of Comics remains Absolute Batman. And not by a small margin, either. Nothing else is currently even coming close.

At #2 we have its sibling title from DC's main continuity, Batman by Matt Fraction and Jorge Jiménez, which, for me, is the most successful and surprising relaunch of the 2020s so far. An absolute banger. Especially when you compare it to the previous volume, which had only a fraction of the subscribers. It's also a book that keeps attracting new readers month after month.

After that comes a triumvirate of success. Not because they're ranked next to each other, but because of what they represent in terms of growth and momentum. With Absolute Green Arrow and Absolute Catwoman, we have the third wave of the Absolute initiative, and so far it is easily the most successful one. In fact, Absolute Catwoman reached triple-digit subscription numbers before a single issue had even been released, while Absolute Green Arrow needed just one issue to get there.

Even Scott Snyder has admitted that Absolute Green Arrow is the biggest Absolute launch to date, and we are absolutely impressed. Which raises an important question: how many times can one use the word Absolute before dying of boredom?! You'll find out in this article, promised!

Then we come to Daredevil, the third member of this group. And honestly, I'd call it Marvel's Absolute title. Because when I compare the subscription numbers to where they stood back in April, all three of these books have grown by almost 50%. That's crazy growth. In Daredevil's case, and this is a title that already has two issues out, it shows that readers have genuinely connected with the book. Marvel, you can still do it after all.

At #5 we have Absolute Wonder Woman, the undisputed Team Walt favourite and a permanent fixture of the Top 10. In fact, until recently, it was even sitting comfortably in the Top 3. We love this book and hope it keeps going strong for a long time to come.

At #7 and #8 we find two more Absolute titles, Absolute Superman and Absolute Flash. Both have firmly established themselves in the Top 10. They may not be growing quite as explosively as the newest wave, but they're still steadily adding subscribers and proving that the Absolute line has real staying power.

At #9 we reach the first title that isn't published by either Marvel or DC and is not even AN ABSOLUTE TITLE... WOW! Invincible Universe: Battle Beast. The Invincible festival season is slowly coming to an end. After Season 4 completely crushed it (and generated incredible sales for us in the collected editions department), some of that gold dust has also settled on the Battle Beast series. It's been one of the biggest success stories outside the Big Two.

Rounding out the Top 10 is Lobo, the most successful launch from DC's Next Level Initiative.

DC really can count itself lucky right now. Even books from what used to be considered the second (third-fourth) row of characters are pushing their way toward the top. Between #11 and #20, we find a mix of DC and Marvel books that can all still be considered major successes.

And the lowest-ranking Absolute title (Green Lantern) is still the 11th most subscribed series overall, which, again: just absolute. After that come Batwoman and Zatanna from DC's Next Level Initiative, both of which are connecting strongly with readers.

At #14, we have a book that I almost want to call a homegrown success. Not because it's actually our book, of course, but because it's a title we've been pushing very heavily at Walt's. I'm talking about If Destruction Be Our Lot from Image Comics, written by Matthew Rosenberg. And that's a particular reason for celebration. It shows that Matt's and our efforts were heard and that even "just an online comic store" can help shape taste and create interest in books that might otherwise fly under the radar. So thank you for your trust.

And then, finally, Marvel enters the picture. Avengers: Armageddon, Chip Zdarsky's upcoming Avengers event series, is beginning to cast its shadow. We very much hope there's more steam building behind it, and that the locomotive develops enough pulling power to drag the slower Marvel boats along behind it. The outdated , and also incoherent , metaphor actually gives an adequate Marvel '26 vibe (and also shows my grandpa age!)

Then we have what is currently the remaining midfield of Marvel: Punisher, Captain America, and Amazing Spider-Man. Together with #19 and #20, where two more Next Level titles are waiting for us, Deathstroke: The Terminator and Barbara Gordon: Breakout: Rock solid performers.

Ranks #21 through #30

Ranks #21 through #30 don't tell one coherent story. Depending on the title and publisher, you can interpret these positions as a success, a solid performance, or already a slight disappointment.

One title that stands out is Terminal by Robert Kirkman, which lands at a strong #22. The fact that the eternally running Detective Comics secures a place in the Top 30, just like Nightwing at #26, once again demonstrates the strength of the Bat-Universe titles.

Deadman, by the creators of Ice Cream Man, is more of a hidden gem, similar to Fury of Firestorm. Both can almost be celebrated as indie books operating from within a major publisher. The same is true for Swamp Thing 1989, which finally makes the last issues of Rick Veitch's run accessible for the very first time. It has been met with enormous enthusiasm both within Team Walt and among readers worldwide. It also proves something I've believed for a long time: Swamp Thing is a fantastic character and one of DC's hidden stars, who is currently underrepresented. I just wish we'd rediscover more gems from the 1980s. Or better yet, just reprint more of the old material. Grandpa Walt would happily buy and read it all over again!

Then we have two solid Marvel series with Alias and Cyclops. I think it's fair to call both of them C-list characters, and viewed through that lens, they're actually performing quite well. Finally, Odin by James Tynion lands at #30. I'd call that a respectable success. It hasn't connected with readers quite as strongly as something like Exquisite Corpses during its initial launch, but for an Image series, this is still a very solid position.

Ranks #31 through #40

Ranks #31 through #40 contain a few highlights that are worth calling out.

Ben 10 from Dynamite is a complete surprise to me. I already mentioned it in the Singles commentary, but this is a massive success. It's also the highest-ranking title from a publisher that isn't Marvel, DC, or Image.

Then we have D'Orc from Image, representing what I would call the new generation of Image success books. This is the segment that probably benefits from the afterglow of the Absolute phenomenon. People come to singles for Absolute Batman and the rest of the line, or they return to comics because of it, and then they start looking for the next fix. Especially among younger readers, that often leads them to Image. I've also seen the theory that the big Image successes of the 2010s, books like Saga, Sex Criminals, and others, were heavily fueled by the influx of readers brought in through the New 52. Those readers entered comics through superheroes, but after a while many wanted something different and began exploring creator-owned books. That theory would fit very well with DC's current strategy:

The Vertigo relaunch seems specifically designed to capture exactly that audience. So far, I would say the results are... okay. At #35 we have The Peril of the Brutal Dark, the highest-ranking title from the Vertigo relaunch. Slightly further down, at #39, we find Bleeding Hearts by Deniz Camp. For creator-owned books, these are perfectly respectable rankings.

What the relaunch is missing, however, is a real flagship title that can pull the entire line forward. In the old days, that role would have been filled by an established DC character such as Swamp Thing or Hellblazer. The original Vertigo formula was a mix of reimaginings and new creations. I worry that the split between Vertigo and DC Black Label weakens both imprints rather than strengthening them.

Without a bigger statement piece, this Vertigo relaunch may end up following the path of previous initiatives: gradual dilution and a slow fade into the background.

And then there's some Marvel, again. Remember them? Though the fact that a Wolverine series ranks at #36 and a Spider-Man series ranks at #38 and can still be counted among Marvel's comparatively successful books... (things get rough further down the rankings. Like in: No X-Book in the Top50. I still cannot believe I'm typing this.). Anyway... don't want to end on a negative note.

I'm sure we're going to get some major surprises next month at San Diego Comic-Con, along with a whole wave of announcements. And, as luck would have it, I'll be there in person to report on them. :)

But before that, we'll see each other again in about a week for the Single Issue Top 50 Chart and Commentary.

Chart Explanation

This chart tracks active subscriptions at Walt’s Comic Shop. Unlike a monthly sales chart, it is not mainly shaped by launches, variants, blind bags, or one-off spikes. It shows the series readers are actively committed to following long term through their pull lists.

Ranking: Titles are ranked by active subscriptions. When books are very close together, this should be read as a snapshot of reader commitment rather than a final verdict on demand.

Publisher groupings: The main Top 40 includes all publishers. The Indie and Non Big-3 tables below highlight performance outside the dominant publisher groups.

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