9. The Phantom

Comics are big business. Well, actually that's not true, since sales of funny books have been steadily declining - although helped by the leap into digital as of late - but that doesn't mean there hasn't been some huge successes over almost a century of sequential art. Some series have managed to break the million-selling mark due to popularity, some to notoriety, some down to sheer perseverance. A lot of them might surprise you, too  they're not all underwear perverts in there  but how's about we stop beating around the bush, and start counting down the nine biggest-selling comic book series of all time?Beginning life as the hero of a newspaper strip in 1936, The Phantom's escapades are frequently repackaged into full-length comic books for the overseas market, which is partly why the number of sales has reached such heights. Another reason is because that he's still getting up to said escapades, in both newspapers and comics published by Dynamite Entertainment. The Phantom has a particularly bonkers story, even in the realms of superheroes: the 21st in a line of infamous crimefighters, he has no significant powers besides a purple leotard, his wits and a trained wolf called Devil. You might remember him from the 1996 film adaptation where the hero was played by Billy Zane. But you could easily as not.