ComiXology Sales Total An Estimated $19 Million In 2011, Could Triple in 2012

How big is the digital comics market? That's been a particularly difficult question to answer with neither publishers nor digital distributors giving out solid sales estimates in the past, but a new profile of distributor ComiXology goes a considerable ways toward changing that.As noted by Brigid Alverson, a feature on the future of the digital comics platform at private equity blog peHUB estimated that ComiXology "produced $19 million in gross merchandise value in 2011." More impressively, it adds that that number "is expected to jump to about $70 million... this year."

Earlier this year, Milton Griepp's ICv2 estimated the overall digital market at around $25 million for 2011; if that estimate is correct, it means that ComiXology holds almost 80 percent of the market; whatever the projected jump to $70 million will do to that percentage remains to be seen, but if the trend holds, it could mean the second year in a row where the size of the digital market triples compared with the previous twelve months.

The peHUB piece also quotes ComiXology CEO David Steinberger as mentioning that the company may be looking for growth capital in the next six months, although he admits that "we're really at just the beginning of our strategic initiative."

One more (if perhaps less obvious) sign of ComiXology's success and continued growth can be observed on its careers page, which currently lists a number of job openings for skilled full-time staffers.

[Via Robot 6]