DSTLRY has revealed that its debut publication, the 88-page $9.99 short story collection The Devil’s Cut, netted orders exceeding 50,000 from comic book stores. These orders secured The Devil’s Cut as one of the most successful independent comics, let alone oversized anthologies, published in the past decade. 

Contributing to the success is the fact that The Devil’s Cut is fully returnable, never to be reprinted in this format again, and 8 of the 11 stories will continue as a series in the fall of 2023 and throughout 2024. That means retailers were more than likely to increase orders, especially to take advantage of variant covers that required certain ordering thresholds. The issue is also a “key’ in that it’ll debut at least 8 new series. All of that increased sales by decreasing risk and increasing the collectability.

According to direct market sales data available via Comichron.com, The Devil’s Cut would have been the 13th highest-grossing independent comics of 2021 and 4th top-grossing independent comic of 2019. If categorized as a graphic novel, DSTLRY’s debut would be 5th top-grossing independent graphic novel of 2021, and the number 1 top-grossing independent graphic novel of 2019. Indexing of sales data stopped in mid 2020 and 2022, so there are no available rankings for these years.

DSTLRY’s The Devil’s Cut features a flight of high-proof work and unfiltered stories from the most fearless creators. Edited by the legendary Will Dennis, The Devil’s Cut is a one-shot offering with 11 stories crafted by the most innovative pioneers in comics, including the Founding Creators of DSTLRY Mirka Andolfo, Brian Azzarello, Marc Bernardin, Elsa Charretier, Becky Cloonan, Lee Garbett, Jock, Joëlle Jones, Tula Lotay, Jamie McKelvie, Junko Mizuno, Stephanie Phillips, Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, and Ram V alongside friends Francesco Francavilla, Ariela Kristantina, Eduardo Risso, and Christian Ward. 

You can watch our review of the SDCC exclusive release here.