One Piece is not only a gigantic franchise, it's also arguably one of the most famous in the world. Since starting in 1997, Eiichiro Oda's story about Monkey D. Luffy and his band of rag-tag pirates' quest to become the world's best pirates has enthralled audiences with its mix of adventure, drama and comedy. The series has broken numerous records and milestones. However, the most recent one has generated both excitement and confusion.
Recently, several websites have posted articles alleging that One Piece has sold 490 million copies overall, worldwide. This, according to these reports, means that Luffy and his gang have outsold Batman, the stalwart of the American comics industry, who has sold 460 million copies. There are several issues with this statement, and these issues give us a fascinating glimpse at how different the manga and comic industries are.
The main issue is that Shueisha, One Piece's publisher, didn't report that it had sold 490 million copies. As AnimeNewsNetwork details, it actually said it had 490 million copies in circulation, which is a very different statistic. Manga circulation figures record the number of copies physically printed rather than the number actually sold. Now, while circulation numbers are a helpful metric for telling us how in-demand publishers think a series is, it doesn't really link to sales figures in any direct way, making it pointless to compare it with Batman's sales figures.
Another issue is that these figures are also tracking different release formats. The 490 million number for One Piece is only counting the number of collected tankōbon volumes printed. However, the 460 million figure for Batman is only recording sales of the weekly periodical releases. It omits both the trade paperback market and digital-only sales, which are a big deal in the modern comics industry. So, to truly compare Batman's sales figures to a manga, you would have to find figures for these other formats. And on top of this, these figures only include certain retail groups, as many retail groups simply do not release sales figures to the public, adding another variable to the already complicated calculation.
It should be noted that this isn't the first time that this confusion has occurred. A few months ago, a blog post declaring that Demon Slayer had single-handedly outsold the entire American comics industry went viral on social media. Much like the report on One Piece, this blog post confused circulation numbers with sales numbers and used sales reports from a single retail group. More rumors like this will likely circulate in the future, simply because, unless you work in the publishing industry, the difference between the various tracked metrics is not something you ever have to deal with.
Is One Piece bigger than Batman? The jury is still out, and unless more figures enter the public sphere, we're likely never going to know for sure. What we do know is that One Piece is a massive, record-breaking franchise. And it is also the most popular comic book volume series of all time. However, Batman might still have the lead if all formats are taken into consideration. It should be noted, however, that Batman started in 1939 while One Piece started in 1997, which shows just how many copies One Piece has had to sell to even come within (theoretical) touching distance of the Caped Crusader despite its nearly 60-year head start.
One Piece's success should be celebrated, as even if it isn't beating comics' mainstays, it is still a worldwide phenomenon. In fact, the idea that people believe and care that One Piece is outselling Batman is a fantastic example of how manga has grown in America during the last 20 years. Gone are the days where manga was an often-overlooked niche in the corner of specialist stores. Now, people globally can enjoy the stories, characters and creativity of the industry in an easy and accessible way.
