Image’s July and August 2026 ordering charts paint a busy picture for comic shops: a new Terminal series arrived at the front of the July single-issue list, Invincible Universe: Battle Beast reclaimed the lead in August, and D’Orc, Vol. 1 headed the publisher’s collection rankings.
There is an important asterisk the size of a trade paperback here. These rankings track orders placed by stores, rather than verified copies purchased by readers. They also do not account for applicable bookstore returns. That makes the lists a useful measure of retailer demand and stocking decisions, but not a final scoreboard of what has reached readers’ long boxes, shelves, or backpacks.
That distinction is worth keeping in view whenever a chart is described as “best-selling.” In comics, an order chart can reflect faith in an established property, enthusiasm for a debut, a shop’s expectations for regular customers, and the desire not to be the unfortunate retailer who runs out of the issue everyone wants on release week. It is adjacent to consumer demand, certainly, but it is not identical to it. For more on why that language matters, see our look at what comics sales charts actually measure.
July 2026: Terminal makes the strongest entrance
Terminal #1 was July’s most-ordered Image comic, beating an issue of Invincible Universe: Battle Beast, a new Exquisite Corpses: Rascal Randy miniseries installment, and the continuing Transformers line. A first issue taking the top position is notable because a launch is a retailer commitment before it becomes a sustained reading habit. The more revealing data point will be whether subsequent issues retain enough ordering momentum to show shops that the opening-order appetite has legs.
That immediate follow-through is partly visible in the next month: Terminal #2 remained in August’s top ten, at No. 3. It did not repeat the No. 1 position, but staying near the front in its second issue is materially different from disappearing from the list. The available charts cannot explain exactly why its relative position changed, since no totals are supplied, and rankings alone cannot show how close any two titles were. Still, the two-month result establishes Terminal as one of the period’s prominent new series at the shop-order level.
July’s top 10 ordered single issues
- Terminal #1
- Invincible Universe: Battle Beast #11
- Exquisite Corpses: Rascal Randy #1 (of 5)
- Transformers #34
- D’Orc #6
- M.A.S.K. #2
- G.I. Joe #24
- G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #330
- Odin #3 (of 9)
- Void Rivals #32
The list also shows considerable durability from ongoing series. Transformers #34, G.I. Joe #24, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #330, and Void Rivals #32 all placed despite their high issue counts or established runs. In practical terms, that suggests retailer confidence was not reserved solely for No. 1s and special releases. Shops also made room for dependable continuation business.
Robert Kirkman-associated projects were especially visible in the July lineup: Terminal led; Battle Beast was second; Transformers placed fourth; G.I. Joe was seventh; and Void Rivals rounded out the top ten. The chart does not supply creative-credit details or sales totals, so it cannot establish a precise share of the month’s orders. What it can show is a broad presence across both new and continuing books.
August 2026: Battle Beast takes the round
August’s list shifted the top three without abandoning July’s major players. Invincible Universe: Battle Beast #12 took first place, followed by Transformers #35, then Terminal #2. That is a useful reminder that an issue’s rank depends on the full month’s release slate. A series can remain a leading order while moving down a few places if other titles command bigger orders in a particular period.
Battle Beast’s No. 1 finish also gives the Invincible corner of the line two consecutive top-two appearances: No. 2 in July for issue #11, then No. 1 in August for issue #12. Again, the lists do not offer volume, percentage movement, or direct customer sell-through. But a consecutive-month presence at the very top is strong evidence of retailer appetite for the title.
August’s top 10 ordered single issues
- Invincible Universe: Battle Beast #12
- Transformers #35
- Terminal #2
- G.I. Joe #25
- Hammerfist #1
- The Last Driver #1 (of 5)
- D’Orc #7
- Witchblade Vampirella #1 (one-shot)
- ROM Special #1 (one-shot)
- Exquisite Corpses: Rascal Randy #2 (of 5)
Transformers moved from fourth in July to second in August, while G.I. Joe rose from seventh to fourth. D’Orc stayed in the top ten in both months, moving from No. 5 with issue #6 to No. 7 with issue #7. Exquisite Corpses: Rascal Randy likewise made both lists, with its first issue ranking third in July and its second chapter ranking tenth in August.
August also mixed several kinds of releases: ongoing books, first issues such as Hammerfist #1, a five-part miniseries beginning with The Last Driver #1, and one-shots including Witchblade Vampirella #1 and ROM Special #1. That variety makes direct rank-to-rank comparisons tricky. A one-shot is a self-contained buying proposition, while an issue in a long-running series relies on an existing readership and retailer estimates about continuation demand. A first issue may attract a higher initial order because shops expect curiosity buyers, even before there is evidence of repeat readership.
D’Orc tops the collected editions
Collections offer another view of the catalogue. The July collection chart placed D’Orc, Vol. 1 TP at No. 1, ahead of Invincible, Vol. 16 (New Edition) and Void Rivals, Vol. 5 TP. “TP” means trade paperback: a collected edition that packages multiple comic issues or related material into a book-format release. For readers, it can be an easier on-ramp than finding individual back issues. For shops, a collection can have a longer shelf life than a periodical, although these rankings still represent store orders rather than confirmed reader purchases.
D’Orc’s performance is notable because it appears in both formats. Its monthly issues made the July and August single-issue top tens, while the first volume led the collection chart. That is not proof that the audiences are identical. Some readers follow a series month to month; others wait for a collected edition. But it does show meaningful retailer interest in having D’Orc available for both approaches.
July’s top 10 ordered collections
- D’Orc, Vol. 1 TP
- Invincible, Vol. 16 (New Edition)
- Void Rivals, Vol. 5 TP
- Hyde Street, Vol. 2 TP
- Ghost Pepper, Vol. 2 TP
- The Darkness (2025), Vol. 1 TP
- I Hate Fairyland, Vol. 10 TP
- Radiant Black, Vol. 8 TP
- Wrestle Heist TP
- Starhenge Book One: The Dragon and the Boar TP
The collection list has a different flavour from the periodical charts. Alongside D’Orc, Invincible, and Void Rivals, it includes Hyde Street, Ghost Pepper, The Darkness, I Hate Fairyland, and Radiant Black, plus Wrestle Heist and Starhenge Book One: The Dragon and the Boar. That variation may indicate that certain titles are comparatively stronger as a book-format proposition than as a monthly floppy purchase. It should not be overstated, though: without quantities and without a matching August collection chart, the data cannot establish a complete format-by-format trend.
What these rankings can—and cannot—tell readers
For readers deciding where to start, the lists are a concise map of which Image releases retailers considered significant across July and August. Terminal is the obvious new-series entry point, while Battle Beast, Transformers, G.I. Joe, Void Rivals, and D’Orc demonstrate sustained visibility. The collection ranking gives a separate shortlist for readers who prefer bound volumes, with D’Orc, Invincible, and Void Rivals leading the way.
For collectors, the responsible takeaway is narrower. A high placement signals broad retailer ordering, not rarity, future value, or a guaranteed shortage. Nor does a lower ranking prove a book lacks an audience. Store ordering is shaped by many practical choices, including what a shop expects its regulars to buy and how much stock it believes it needs. The absence of unit figures means the gap between No. 1 and No. 10 is unknown.
The most defensible headline from these two months is therefore not that one book “won” the audience outright. It is that Image’s retailer-order charts gave strong positions to a mix of fresh launches, Invincible-related momentum, Energon Universe books, and D’Orc in both single-issue and trade paperback form. Terminal won the July opening bell. Battle Beast won August’s round. D’Orc took the collected-edition crown. The rest of the story will depend on later orders—and, beyond these charts, what readers ultimately choose to buy and keep reading.
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