Dark Horse, long a pioneer in bringing manga to the United States, has cemented its place as the leader of the pack, claiming the top seven spots in Diamond Comic Distributors' list of 2004's top-selling manga. 2004 marked an expansion of Dark Horse's core manga titles and continued the success of the titles Dark Horse launched in the fourth quarter of 2003. Hence, early volumes of Samurai Executioner, Trigun (and Trigun Maximum), Hellsing, Berserk, and Megatokyo comprise the list. This bodes well for Dark Horse's continued success in 2005, as the aforementioned series all have multiple volumes coming out this year.Dark Horse's continued commitment to the growth of the comics specialty market has driven many new people into comic shops to pick up these manga works, many of which are based on recognizable anime properties, which are massively popular with both male and female teens. Another strong manga year for Dark Horse in 2005 will mean more new customers and another strong year for comic shops across the country.
The seven best-selling manga through Diamond Comic Distributors for 2004 were:
1. Samurai Executioner vol. 1
2. Trigun vol. 2
3. Hellsing vol. 2
4. Trigun Maximum Vol. 1 Hero Returns
5. Berserk vol. 2
6. Megatokyo vol. 2
7. Hellsing vol. 3