What are pre-orders? The world of retail is a world of calculation, a world of supply and demand. Figuring out what is selling and what is not. What is hot and what is not.
The outlet then needs to take that information to deduce how much of a product they need to stock to meet the demand of their customers. So obviously, if a product is popular then they are going to want to stock up on more of it. On the flip side, if they are having trouble moving a product, then they will order less on their next shipment.
Your classic bricks and mortar comic book shops fall into this very category. They need to know which comics are moving and which are not, in order to meet the demand of readers. According to the newest statistics from Diamond Comic Distributors, Scott Snyder and Jock’s The Batman Who Laughs took the top two spots for advance pre-orders.
Some other Batman highlights on the Top 25 include Catwoman #6 variant edition, Batman Annual #3, and Batman Who Laughs #1 (of 6) blank variant edition. Suicide Squad #49 variant edition and Justice League Dark #6 variant edition round out the bottom of the top 25. The rest is occupied by either Marvel or Image Comics titles. Check out the full list below:
| Publication | Price | Publisher |
| BATMAN WHO LAUGHS #1 (OF 6) VAR ED | $4.99 | DC COMICS |
| BATMAN WHO LAUGHS #1 (OF 6) | $4.99 | DC COMICS |
| INFINITY WARS #6 (OF 6) BROOKS VAR | $5.99 | MARVEL COMICS |
| FANTASTIC FOUR #5 | $7.99 | MARVEL COMICS |
| CATWOMAN #6 VAR ED | $3.99 | DC COMICS |
| SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #1 SG | $3.99 | MARVEL COMICS |
| X-FORCE #1 | $4.99 | MARVEL COMICS |
| FANTASTIC FOUR #5 BROOKS VAR | $7.99 | MARVEL COMICS |
| BATMAN ANNUAL #3 | $4.99 | DC COMICS |
| BATMAN WHO LAUGHS #1 (OF 6) BLANK VAR ED | $4.99 | DC COMICS |
| AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #12 | $3.99 | MARVEL COMICS |
| MAGIC ORDER #5 (OF 6) CVR C LARSEN (MR) | $3.99 | IMAGE COMICS |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #6 | $3.99 | MARVEL COMICS |
| STAR WARS DARTH VADER #25 | $4.99 | MARVEL COMICS |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #6 JSC CONAN VS MARVEL VAR | $3.99 | MARVEL COMICS |
| MAGIC ORDER #5 (OF 6) CVR D BENGAL (MR) | $3.99 | IMAGE COMICS |
| UNCANNY X-MEN #7 | $3.99 | MARVEL COMICS |
| DEAD MAN LOGAN #2 (OF 12) | $3.99 | MARVEL COMICS |
| INFINITY WARS FALLEN GUARDIAN #1 | $4.99 | MARVEL COMICS |
| MURDER FALCON #3 CVR B HEAVY METAL VAR | $3.99 | IMAGE COMICS |
| DEFENDERS BEST DEFENSE #1 MARVEL RISING DOLL HOMAGE VAR | $4.99 | MARVEL COMICS |
| SPIDER-GEDDON #5 (OF 5) IN HYUK LEE CONNECTING VAR | $4.99 | MARVEL COMICS |
| CAPTAIN AMERICA #6 | $3.99 | MARVEL COMICS |
| SUICIDE SQUAD #49 VAR ED | $3.99 | DC COMICS |
| JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #6 VAR ED | $3.99 | DC COMICS |