Rocket Bomber - comics

Once again, while looking at the New York Times comic chart, I’m struck by their choice of language.

If I didn’t know any better, if I were an average reader with an average [non-existent] knowledge of sequential art employed in long-form storytelling, I might see a “Graphic Books” Chart tucked in at the end of other bestseller lists and assume that Graphic meant something else.

Like gory. or violent.

English is a marvellously flexible language, and new words get coined all the time, and old words are dusted off and forced to pull double (and triple) duty.

Take ‘novel’. It used to mean ‘new’. It was applied to a new form of literature, several centuries back, but now very few of us think of [or know about] this double meaning of the word ‘novel’ when we talk about books, even while the meaning of ‘novel’ as new is still current and in currency. In fact, it’s not so far out of the pale to imagine a reviewer discussing a novel novel, though most would balk at that construction.

‘Comic’ used to mean ‘funny’ – and still means funny when we talk of the people who engage in funny as a profession, especially those determined to do so in live performance venues. But for most of a century, ‘comic’ has also been applied to the funny-pages, a shorthand for a whole class of graphic arts that once started with ‘comic strips’ but now encompasses a Whole World of Art, some of it dark, some of it ‘graphic’ in the splattery-gory-sense-of-the-word-graphic; some of it dramatic and weepy; some of it experimental and edgy and expanding the form; and occasionally some of it also quite funny.

The fact that ‘comic’ once only referred to funny, or it’s continued utility in that role shouldn’t automatically preclude it’s new use-and-meaning as a shorthand for sequential art. Just as a ‘novel’ is hardly new these days but is the accepted term for a lengthy work of fiction, ‘comic’ should be good enough as the accepted term for a lengthy work that combines integrated pictures and words in the service of a narrative.

##

Graph as a Greek-derived English word-root is slippery, but almost always comes back to the verb ‘to write’. We can gerund that verb to a noun: “writing” — which is the meaning employed in things like Telegraphs, Photographs, and Spirographs (which are more properly known in mathematics as epicycloids).

Over time, the act of writing and it’s descriptive qualities espoused a new meaning for graph — anything that adequately described something might then be called a ‘graph’ – from pie charts and tables to epigraphs, graphemes, and eventually, the graphic arts.

yes, all this has to do with ‘writing’, in as much as we are still putting marks down to represent ideas, but the meaning of ‘graphic’ doesn’t gain from it’s long history, and only takes us farther away from the unique artistic forms developed in the 19th and 20th centuries.

And ‘graphic’ as an adjective has also picked up the meaning of ‘vividly and plainly shown’ — which is a complement, until one begins to talk about graphic sex and graphic violence. Indeed, given how quickly most of us resort to thoughts of sex and violence, most casual references to the term ‘graphic’ will never be considered outside of that sordid application.

So when I see a bestseller list of Graphic Books on the New York Times website, comics are the furthest thing from my mind.

Oh, I know what the Times means; and I get that they would desperately love to have been the ones to coin the term that defines a whole medium of human expression [who wouldn’t?] but “Graphic Books” they ain’t.

“Graphic Books” conjures up images of noir & splatter & loose women and looser men and No Details Left Out — and, honestly, I’m up for that — but I’m not sure what that has to do with comics. And if one cared to scratch even a millimetre into the etymology of ‘graph’ calling something a Graphic Book is like saying it’s a ‘written book’ and all books are written down, no? might as well call them book books, or recorded stories. “Graphic” means nothing, or at least nothing special in this context.

Yes, I know, I’m nitpicking and cherry-picking when it comes to definitions of Comics — and I’ll concede that “Graphic books” is a neologism adapted from “Graphic novels” — and I appreciate the time and effort the Times invests in tracking comics, which are a growing but still very small percentage of publishing overall.

I just personally dislike that label, ‘graphic’ books. In either case, we’re re-purposing an old term for a new form, and if it is impossible to use Eisner’s term, Sequential Art, then my preference would be to call the whole mess Comics.

So, DC: I’d like to ask –

how much did you recently spend on plastic rings as opposed to, oh, say, the now-past 5-year marketing budget for now-defunct [alas] critically-acclaimed manga publisher CMX?

No, honestly: how much did you spend on trinkets—ephemeral souvenirs—and how much did you dedicate to the hard-working localizers who were slowly building a critical acclaim you didn’t even deign to recognize? CMX was too good for you; you employed staff that handily exceeded the goals set for it — ‘you’ (via your agents) licensed titles so good that fans drooled, and yet even with that beach-head and head-start, you failed them in your execution. And You Did This For Five Years.

Dude.

It was free money. Just sitting there. We can’t hand you a better deal. DC, you bungled it.

If I had the money, I’d buy up everything and everyone involved with CMX and prove to you just how badly you botched this. Dear DC: Is the focus on summer tent-pole movies [not that you have one] and easily-licensed third-party crap, really more important than quality comics?

Oh, I already know the answer – I just wanted to get the uncaring, corporate, anti-fan bastards on record, saying the actual product counts for crap and the only thing that matters is making money on the hard work of artists. Dear DC: fuck you.

##

I’d like to start by mentioning Free Comic Book Day is a fabulous thing, and at least in concept is genius — actual implementation varies from year to year but it’s a great event that has my full support.

##

That said:

I’m making good on a previous threat

It won’t take much. Every blogger just needs to include a blurb for the CBLDF in any post reporting on the Free Comic Book Day. I’m hoping we can even get some cool graphics going (soviet-era-style propoganda posters, ironic or otherwise, would be great) so maybe it’d end up as little more than posting a button & a link at the bottom of any Free Comic Book Day report. (On top of whatever other promotion my fellow bloggers feel like giving this initiative)

I didn’t wait until May to make another donation to the CBLDF; they already have another hundred of my hard earned dollars. But I’ll be back in April to remind everyone of this drive and with a special challenge:

DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, Image, Tokyopop, Viz; Random House, Hachette, Penguin, HarperCollins, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster: I’m an unknown blogger with $100 — but I’ve put that c-note where my values lie. Can you match me? Just $100, I’m not asking for more. $100 to help protect your retailer partners, your customers, and yourselves. $100 out of your massive PR budgets to show even a token acknowlegement to the concerns of your fans, and to promote both free speech and the future of the comics industry.

You can donate $100 to the CBLDF in my name, or in Christopher Handley’s name, or under your own aegis; and I hope you donate more but $100 is the challenge. Can you match my commitment? And if you can’t, I wish you’d tell us why.

I’d like to challenge every fan and blogger to donate today, dammit to the CBLDF. “Free Comics” means more than just a once yearly industry promotion. “Free Comics” is not a corporate sponsored promotion. “Free Comics” shouldn’t be a gimmick or slogan or me-first-grab-fest.

Free Speech and Free Comics for All

I put my money where my mouth is: I myself donated an additional $100 to the CBLDF just 45 minutes ago. I hope my most recent hundred bucks pays directly for an amicus brief to the Supreme Court on any of the IP and Censorship issues that will no doubt soon be considered, given recent rulings.

My 2010 challenge now sits at $200: I’ve given that much this year just so far and I Dare all publishers [and any fans or bloggers who are also game] to match me at this level.

##

No one submitted any images; I was forced to ‘shop my own propaganda posters.
(All images released under a non-commercial CC license; so please share.)
(And I like to once again encourage others to make their own)

source image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kentwang/18520131/

source image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ford/16127481/

source image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rodrigot/3818305854/

Not May Day Soviet, but worth including:

source image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulpod/3293054712/

And not ‘free comics’ but I saw the source and had to add it:

source image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/modestchanges/3214701312/

[and I’d love to see a whole slate of similar “women make/read comics” posters; I’ll be happy to post-&-link to any submitted to me]

1 May is also May Day, a day-of-note for revolutionaries the world over. I’m quite pleased to make my call for increased reader freedom on the same date. Free Comic Book Day, quite honestly, should be more than a promotion-and-giveaway: let’s all take a minute to consider that Free Comics Day should also be a day to celebrate Freedom in Comics.

##

Here’s the donation button again: please consider giving money to the CBLDF to keep Comics Free.

[link]

Not every blog is as easy to navigate and link to as, say, Rocketbomber.com [*cough*] but this shouldn’t be an impediment when the articles themselves *must* be read.

A recent link from Dirk (¡Journalista! at The Comics Journal) pointed me toward the 10th and 11th instalments of Stephen Bissette’s excellent series “Forgotten Comics Wars, Or: How Angry Freelancers Made It Possible for A New Mainstream Comics Era (Including Vertigo) to Exist”

If you’ve missed this up until now (like I had) — You Need To Read This.

and to make it easier, I’m going to spoon-feed you the links:

Part 0 : Part 1 : Part 2 : Part 3 : Part 4 : Part 5 : Part 6 : Part 7 : Part 8 : Part 9 : Part 10 : Part 11

…and more is promised. This puts my rather pitiful attempts to chronicle fandom to shame, and for me is also an education into comics that I, as a manga-fan, sorely needed.

So. I’m not sure exactly why stupidity, ignorance, and baseless accusations always end up costing me money, but with the recent news of the Handley sentencing, The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is now in possession of another $100 of mine that I’m hard-put to do without. Honestly: do you know how many comics, how much beer that is?

brief recap of events follows; please keep reading to the end:

ANN, Christopher Handley Pleads Guilty to Possession Charges

ANN, Christopher Handley Sentenced to 6 Months for ‘Obscene’ Manga

RC Harvey at The Comics Journal, Our Nonexistant Liberties

Neil Gaiman, Why defend freedom of icky speech?

David Kravets at Wired’s Threat Level Blog, U.S. Manga Obscenity Conviction Roils Comics World

News @ the CBLDF: Handley Sentenced to Six Months in Prison

and a Google search pulls up so much more.

I’ve posted twice to RocketBomber, once about manga porn generally (including the sticky bit of representations of underage female characters) and more recently re: the loli question,

I just want to read books. All kinds of books. Anything that gets in the way of that is bad, in my opinion. We can question the motives of people who produce works that seemingly encourage Bad People to do Bad Things to children (“Think of the children!”) but I firmly believe that in a free society that encourages free speech, free thought, and free expression we cannot question their works as works. If you can prove a crime, with a real victim, then we can revisit the value of the work.

But Books don’t kill people. People who burn Books kill people. You want to ban something “for the common good”?

I find that to be as abhorrent as the worst, least defensible porn.

And of course, this also cost me $100 back when Handley plead guilty 9 months ago.

##

Here’s my proposal:

You all know about Free Comic Book Day, right? It’s an annual event, happens to fall on May 1st this year. Free Comic Book Day gets an orgy of online blog coverage (and even a smattering of mainstream journo attention) and rightfully so, because, dude: free comics.

This year, in addition to the “Free Comic Book Day” promo offered by Diamond and the major pubs, we need to run a parallel CBLDF “Free Comics” fundraiser.

Free as in Beer plus Free as in Speech.

It won’t take much. Every blogger just needs to include a blurb for the CBLDF in any post reporting on the Free Comic Book Day. I’m hoping we can even get some cool graphics going (soviet-era-style propoganda posters, ironic or otherwise, would be great) so maybe it’d end up as little more than posting a button & a link at the bottom of any Free Comic Book Day report. (On top of whatever other promotion my fellow bloggers feel like giving this initiative)

I didn’t wait until May to make another donation to the CBLDF; they already have another hundred of my hard earned dollars. But I’ll be back in April to remind everyone of this drive and with a special challenge:

DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, Image, Tokyopop, Viz; Random House, Hachette, Penguin, HarperCollins, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster: I’m an unknown blogger with $100 — but I’ve put that c-note where my values lie. Can you match me? Just $100, I’m not asking for more. $100 to help protect your retailer partners, your customers, and yourselves. $100 out of your massive PR budgets to show even a token acknowlegement to the concerns of your fans, and to promote both free speech and the future of the comics industry.

You can donate $100 to the CBLDF in my name, or in Christopher Handley’s name, or under your own aegis; and I hope you donate more but $100 is the challenge. Can you match my commitment? And if you can’t, I wish you’d tell us why.

##

I’ll repeat this post closer to the actual Day (April 15th, tax day, I’m thinking) with another call for funds, and renewed argument that we all need to adopt Free Comic Book Day as both a cause and call to action. And I’ll likely donate another $100 on that day, though I can hardly afford it. How many companies, how many of you, will join me in this?

Now Here’s a cross-company Multi-Title Event I can get behind:

http://www.topshelfcomix.com/swedish-invasion

I’ll reprint [about half of] the email I just got this morning:

*********************************************************
WELCOME TO THE TOP SHELF SWEDISH INVASION!
*********************************************************
www.topshelfcomix.com/swedish-invasion

Välkommen!

Okay, so our mastery of the Swedish language stops there.
But we’ve got to say how excited we are to welcome you to
THE SWEDISH INVASION, our overall title for a whole host of
amazing Swedish stuff coming to you from Top Shelf this spring.

By April, we’ll have seven whole books showcasing the best of
this hotbed of comics talent, including four full-length
graphic novels, two incredible anthologies, and one full-color
reference book by one of Sweden’s top comic scholars! It’s a
veritable smörgåsbord of comics!

At New York’s MoCCA Festival and Chicago’s new C2E2 Convention,
we’ll bring along a whole host of the Swedish cartoonists who
created these awesome books, and throw, not one, but two (!)
killer parties to welcome them to the States in style. We hope
you can join us in the celebration.

The comics scene in Sweden is a real treasure trove that has
gone virtually unnoticed in our part of the world… but now
we’ll all have a chance to get to know these creators and
fall in love with their books. Take a look at the information
below, and let the invasion begin!

Chris, Brett, Rob and Leigh
Top Shelf Productions

*********************************************************
HERE’S WHERE THE PARTIES WILL BE!
*********************************************************
www.topshelfcomix.com/swedish-invasion

***************
NEW YORK
***************

FRIDAY, APRIL 9TH, 8:00PM PARTY at ROCKETSHIP COMICS
— 208 Smith Street, Brooklyn, New York, Phone: 718-797-1348
— Come meet and party with Mats Jonsson (HEY PRINCESS), Simon
Gardenfors (THE 120 DAYS OF SIMON), Kolbeinn Karlsson
(THE TROLL KING), Niklas Asker (SECOND THOUGHTS), Fredrik
Strömberg (SWEDISH COMICS HISTORY), Johannes Klenell (Editor
of NORTHERN LIGHTS), and NORTHERN LIGHTS contributors Sofia
Olsson, Sara Granér, Benjamin Stengard, Asa Grennvall, and
Emelie Ostergren; as well as Chris Staros, Brett Warnock,
and Leigh Walton of the Top Shelf crew. Food and cash bar
will be provided by the Clover Club private room
(attached to Rocketship).

SATURDAY & SUNDAY, APRIL 10TH-11TH, MoCCA ARTS FESTIVAL
@ THE 69TH REGIMENT ARMORY
— 68 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York (Between 25th & 26th)
— Hang out with us at the Top Shelf tables where the whole
gang will be signing books all weekend.
— Also appearing: Nate Powell, James Kochalka, & Alex Robinson!

***************
CHICAGO
***************

SATURDAY, APRIL 17TH, 8:00PM PARTY at the renowned DOUBLE DOOR
— 1572 North Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, Phone: 773-489-3160
— Tickets on sale www.doubledoor.com, $10/$8 with C2E2 pass, Doors 8 p.m. Show @ 9 p.m.
— Come meet and party with Mats Jonsson (HEY PRINCESS),
Simon Gardenfors (THE 120 DAYS OF SIMON), Kolbeinn Karlsson
(THE TROLL KING), and Chris Staros (TOP SHELF), as Top Shelf
co-sponsors the official C2E2 After Party with the Nerd City
crew. It’ll be a music and event-filled night, featuring sets
by DJ Ghengis Won, Major Taylor, burlesque troupe The Flaming
Dames, and headlining band The Jai Alai Savant (fresh off
their recent show with Ted Leo and the Pharmacists).
Simon Gardenfors — a well-known Swedish rapper as well —
will also be featured in a special performance.

FRIDAY THRU SUNDAY, APRIL 16TH-18TH, C2E2
(CHICAGO COMIC AND ENTERTAINMENT EXPO)
— McCormick Place, 2301 S. Lake Shore Drive, Downtown Chicago
— Hang out with us at the Top Shelf, Nerd City, and Chicago
Comics booths, where the Swedish crew will be signing books
all weekend long.
— Also appearing: Jeffrey Brown, with his new UNDELETED SCENES!

*******************************************************
PREORDER THE SWEDISH INVASION BOOKS
IN THE CURRENT DIAMOND PREVIEWS!
*******************************************************

The current Diamond Previews catalog has all SEVEN of the
Swedish Invasion titles — 5 all-new, plus 2 classics —
available for pre-ordering right now. SEVEN all-too-human
stories, finally available to an English-speaking audience.

I’ll cut it off there; if you want to read the blurbs and see the previews, you should check out the Swedish Invasion link. Hopefully, a full press release will post sometime soon to either Top Shelf’s Home Page or it’s news page.

Since no one, and I mean no one, left a comment on either post, y’all are stuck with merely the 100 titles I was already reporting.

sheesh. New topic in the following blog post.

The relevant data from this week is copied below, with a handy reminder that It Was Already Included In The Weekly Reports ( …I was offering more, but if no one needs it, I won’t bother.)

##

Top 50 New Releases
(December 2009 & January 2010 titles)
Consolidated Online Sales Rankings
for the week ending 10 January 2010

23. ↑1 (24) : Bleach 29 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2009 [518.0] ::
27. ↑21 (48) : Footnotes in Gaza – Macmillan Metropolitan Books, Dec 2009 [498.9] ::
53. ↑27 (80) : Yotsuba&! 7 – Yen Press, Dec 2009 [416.0] ::
57. ↑7 (64) : DNAngel 13 – Tokyopop, Dec 2009 [411.9] ::
76. ↑25 (101) : Berserk 32 – Dark Horse, Dec 2009 [381.4] ::
79. ↓-18 (61) : KISS Kompendium – Collins Design, Dec 2009 [374.1] ::
85. ↑7 (92) : One Piece 23 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2009 [361.1] ::
94. ↑36 (130) : Pandora Hearts 1 – Yen Press, Dec 2009 [348.1] ::
112. ↑119 (231) : Chew 1 – Image Comics, Dec 2009 [318.2] ::
128. ↑129 (257) : Walking Dead 11 – Image Comics, Dec 2009 [303.1] ::
130. ↑33 (163) : Warcraft Death Knight – Tokyopop, Dec 2009 [301.9] ::
138. ↑21 (159) : Star Wars Legacy 7 – Dark Horse, Dec 2009 [297.6] ::
144. ↑20 (164) : Yu-Gi-Oh! R 2 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2009 [294.6] ::
189. ↓-18 (171) : Nora 8 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Dec 2009 [252.7] ::
193. ↑16 (209) : The Boys 5 – Dynamite Entertainment, Dec 2009 [251.8] ::
199. ↑390 (589) : The Stand 2 American Nightmares – Marvel, Jan 2010 [247.9] ::
212. ↓-1 (211) : Ex Machina 8 – DC Wildstorm, Dec 2009 [236.3] ::
217. ↑229 (446) : Spice & Wolf (novel) 1 – Yen Press, Dec 2009 [234.6] ::
222. ↑261 (483) : Vampire Hunter D (manga) 4 – DMP, Dec 2009 [231.1] ::
225. ↓-39 (186) : Rasetsu 3 – Viz Shojo Beat, Dec 2009 [225.1] ::
250. ↑10 (260) : Dogs 2 – Viz, Dec 2009 [211.8] ::
251. ↑56 (307) : Junjo Romantica 11 – Tokyopop Blu, Dec 2009 [211.0] ::
260. ↑16 (276) : Azumanga Daioh Omnibus – Yen Press, Dec 2009 [207.1] ::
265. ↑82 (347) : Mega Man X Official Complete Works – Udon, Dec 2009 [206.1] ::
269. ↑445 (714) : The Stand 1 Captain Trips – Marvel, Jan 2010 [204.8] ::
273. ↑322 (595) : Fairy Tail 9 – Del Rey, Dec 2009 [203.1] ::
276. ↑48 (324) : Criminal Deluxe Edition – Marvel Icon, Dec 2009 [202.4] ::
297. ↑7 (304) : Mixed Vegetables 6 – Viz Shojo Beat, Dec 2009 [194.7] ::
330. ↑271 (601) : Inuyasha 44 – Viz, Jan 2010 [180.4] ::
343. ↑151 (494) : Vampire Hunter D (novel) 13 – Dark Horse, Dec 2009 [174.7] ::
346. ↑23 (369) : Lucky Star 3 – Bandai, Dec 2009 [173.3] ::
347. ↓-164 (183) : Legend of Zelda 8 – Vizkids, Dec 2009 [172.9] ::
356. ↓-46 (310) : Captain America The Death of Captain America Omnibus – Marvel, Dec 2009 [169.2] ::
380. ↑354 (734) : Ninja Girls 2 – Del Rey, Dec 2009 [159.1] ::
400. ↑404 (804) : Negima! Neo 4 – Del Rey, Dec 2009 [151.5] ::
401. ↑911 (1312) : One Piece 24 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2010 [151.5] ::
432. ↑84 (516) : Butterflies, Flowers 1 – Viz Shojo Beat, Dec 2009 [143.6] ::
437. ↑1144 (1581) : One Piece 25 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2010 [142.1] ::
443. ↓-16 (427) : .hack// Alcor – Tokyopop, Dec 2009 [140.4] ::
447. ↓-75 (372) : Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle Album De Reproductions – Del Rey, Dec 2009 [138.7] ::
454. ↑483 (937) : VB Rose 7 – Tokyopop, Dec 2009 [134.8] ::
466. ↑436 (902) : Bamboo Blade 3 – Yen Press, Dec 2009 [131.5] ::
468. ↑353 (821) : .hack// Legend of the Twilight vols 1-3 collection – Tokyopop, Dec 2009 [131.2] ::
478. ↑1460 (1938) : One Piece 26 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2010 [129.0] ::
484. ↑736 (1220) : Yu-Gi-Oh! GX 4 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2010 [126.5] ::
486. ↑573 (1059) : Star Wars The Thrawn Trilogy – Dark Horse, Jan 2010 [125.9] ::
492. ↑1032 (1524) : Nana 20 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jan 2010 [124.6] ::
495. ↑new (0) : One Piece 28 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2010 [124.1] ::
496. ↑1778 (2274) : One Piece 27 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2010 [123.6] ::
497. ↑new (0) : Reborn! 14 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Jan 2010 [123.4] ::

##

Top 50 Preorders
Consolidated Online Sales Rankings
for the week ending 10 January 2010

689. ↑171 (860) : Fables 13 The Great Fables Crossover – DC Vertigo, Feb 2010 [80.5] ::
696. ↑334 (1030) : X-Men X-Force 3 – Marvel, Apr 2010 [79.4] ::
850. ↑138 (988) : Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight 6 – Dark Horse, Mar 2010 [58.9] ::
864. ↑183 (1047) : Peanuts Complete ’75-‘76 – Fantagraphics, Apr 2010 [57.0] ::
900. ↑214 (1114) : Dark Tower 4 The Fall of Gilead – Marvel, Mar 2010 [53.3] ::
934. ↑290 (1224) : Blackest Night – DC, Jul 2010 [48.6] ::
1171. ↑118 (1289) : Warriors Ravenpaw’s Path 2 – HC/Tokyopop, Mar 2010 [25.4] ::
1192. ↑new (0) : Dark Reign The List – Marvel, Feb 2010 [24.3] ::
1219. ↑1039 (2258) : Iron Man Omnibus 1 – Marvel, Mar 2010 [23.1] ::
1300. ↑new (0) : The Cabin in the Woods Land of the Rising Terror – Tokyopop, Feb 2010 [18.6] ::
1308. ↑36 (1344) : Necessary Monsters – AiT/Planet Lar, Feb 2010 [18.2] ::
1324. ↑new (0) : Marvel Adventures Spider-Man & The Avengers Digest – Marvel, Feb 2010 [17.3] ::
1331. ↑33 (1364) : Gold Digger Peebo Tales – Antarctic Press, Mar 2010 [17.1] ::
1333. ↑34 (1367) : Birdhouse – SLG Publishing, Mar 2010 [16.9] ::
1335. ↑37 (1372) : Vampire Samurai – Dimension Entertainment, Mar 2010 [16.7] ::
1344. ↑ (last ranked 3 Aug 08) : Pick of the Litter 5 – Tokyopop, Apr 2010 [16.4] ::
1351. ↑55 (1406) : Digger & Friends – IDW, Mar 2010 [15.7] ::
1356. ↑52 (1408) : Last Resort – IDW, Mar 2010 [15.5] ::
1360. ↑55 (1415) : Space Ace – Arcana Studio, Mar 2010 [15.3] ::
1372. ↑52 (1424) : Kingyo Used Books 1 – Viz, Mar 2010 [14.9] ::
1379. ↑49 (1428) : Pink Innocent 1 – Del Rey, Mar 2010 [14.7] ::
1386. ↑46 (1432) : Deka Kyoshi 2 – CMX, Mar 2010 [14.4] ::
1390. ↑117 (1507) : Bloom County Complete 2 – IDW, Apr 2010 [14.3] ::
1402. ↑42 (1444) : Ode to Kirihito 2 – Vertical, Mar 2010 [13.8] ::
1409. ↑41 (1450) : The Calling – Tokyopop Blu, Jun 2010 [13.6] ::
1411. ↔ (0) : Love Knot – Tokyopop Blu, Mar 2010 [13.5] ::
1417. ↑37 (1454) : Graphic Classics Western Classics – Eureka Productions, Apr 2010 [13.4] ::
1439. ↑48 (1487) : Diamond Girl 1 – CMX, Apr 2010 [12.7] ::
1440. ↑311 (1751) : Planetary Absolute Edition 2 – DC Wildstorm, Jul 2010 [12.7] ::
1444. ↑47 (1491) : Indoor Voice – Drawn & Quarterly, Apr 2010 [12.5] ::
1448. ↑52 (1500) : Sword of My Mouth – IDW, Apr 2010 [12.3] ::
1457. ↑295 (1752) : Wallflower vols 22-24 collection – Del Rey, Oct 2010 [11.9] ::
1470. ↑290 (1760) : The Selves – Drawn & Quarterly, Apr 2010 [11.5] ::
1475. ↑295 (1770) : Catland Empire – Drawn & Quarterly, Apr 2010 [11.3] ::
1481. ↑299 (1780) : Carmine Infantino: Penciler, Publisher, Provocateur – TwoMorrows Publishing, May 2010 [11.1] ::
1488. ↑298 (1786) : My Girlfriend’s a Geek 1 – Yen Press, May 2010 [10.9] ::
1505. ↑new (0) : Ooku: The Inner Chambers 3 – Viz Signature, Apr 2010 [10.0] ::
1526. ↓-1 (1525) : Vampire Knight 9 – Viz Shojo Beat, Feb 2010 [9.5] ::
1555. ↓-222 (1333) : Popgun (anthology) 4 – Image Comics, Feb 2010 [9.1] ::
1562. ↓-226 (1336) : Black Jesus – Arcana Studio, Feb 2010 [9.0] ::
1574. ↑new (0) : Inuyasha VizBig Edition 2 – Viz, Feb 2010 [8.7] ::
1583. ↑new (0) : Krazy & Ignatz 1916-1918 – Fantagraphics, Feb 2010 [8.6] ::
1606. ↓-220 (1386) : Last Reign – Boom! Studios, Mar 2010 [8.3] ::
1630. ↑680 (2310) : Wednesday Comics – DC, Jun 2010 [7.9] ::
1639. ↓-20 (1619) : Vampire Hunter D (novel) 14 – Dark Horse, Mar 2010 [7.7] ::
1649. ↓-14 (1635) : The Phantom Complete ’38-‘40 – Hermes Press, Mar 2010 [7.5] ::
1704. ↓-12 (1692) : Samurai Harem (Asu no Yoichi) 4 – Tokyopop, Mar 2010 [6.7] ::
1714. ↓-247 (1467) : King of Cards 9 – CMX, Apr 2010 [6.6] ::
1755. ↓-19 (1736) : Avengers Hawkeye – Marvel, Apr 2010 [6.1] ::
1762. ↑new (0) : Ratman 1 – Tokyopop, Apr 2010 [5.9] ::

I could be accused of having only one trick; but it’s a good trick and it’s housed in a humongous, sortable spreadsheet.

When I have time, I can usually find new ways to play with it.

I look deep into online sales trends (hundreds of pages into the relevant web sites) but for the most part the data just sits there, unused, except for numerous ‘top 50’ lists that post with the rest of charts, but down at the bottom after most have had their fill of Top 10 Lists and like the hyperactive-internet-junkie-gerbils that a cruel (and eventually unpopular) blogger might characterise them as, they just go blank and forget that you even posted them.

[Edit 1am 15 Jan: this was at the end of the post, but I had to move it; once again, no one will see anything added to the end of a eye-numbingly-long list:]

This is the information that could be most useful to retailers — not what’s in a top 10 but what new (and upcoming) books folks are buying on the internet.

Should I re-establish New Releases & Preorders as a blog category? Anyone want this data? And would it be best as a ranked list (as above edit: as presented below) or divided by month of release?

Since I usually receive no comments on blog posts, any one person with an opinion could end up being the deciding vote on how I report this data.

##

New releases and preorders are the reason I post a weekly chart, and one reason I skipped 4 months of false promises to once again take up arms with current numbers to post a *timely* chart. And so:

New Releases — Nov. & Dec. ’09 titles:

8. Vampire Knight 8 – Viz Shojo Beat, Nov 2009 [643.0] ::
12. Batman Battle for the Cowl – DC, Nov 2009 [628.7] ::
13. Wolverine Old Man Logan – Marvel, Nov 2009 [625.7] ::
23. Fullmetal Alchemist 21 – Viz, Nov 2009 [520.8] ::
24. Bleach 29 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2009 [520.1] ::
38. Ouran High School Host Club 13 – Viz Shojo Beat, Nov 2009 [461.9] ::
41. Tales from the Crypt 8 Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid – Papercutz, Nov 2009 [455.0] ::
43. Green Lantern Agent Orange – DC, Nov 2009 [439.0] ::
48. Footnotes in Gaza – Macmillan Metropolitan Books, Dec 2009 [426.8] ::
59. Black Bird 2 – Viz Shojo Beat, Nov 2009 [411.1] ::
61. KISS Kompendium – Collins Design, Dec 2009 [407.7] ::
64. DNAngel 13 – Tokyopop, Dec 2009 [402.0] ::
66. Utopia (Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men) – Marvel, Nov 2009 [399.2] ::
70. Rosario+Vampire 10 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Nov 2009 [392.4] ::
80. Yotsuba&! 7 – Yen Press, Dec 2009 [370.5] ::
92. One Piece 23 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2009 [350.7] ::
101. Berserk 32 – Dark Horse, Dec 2009 [338.1] ::
106. Marvel Zombies 4 – Marvel, Nov 2009 [332.7] ::
130. Pandora Hearts 1 – Yen Press, Dec 2009 [305.7] ::
159. Star Wars Legacy 7 – Dark Horse, Dec 2009 [287.3] ::
161. Justice Absolute Edition – DC, Nov 2009 [283.2] ::
163. Warcraft Death Knight – Tokyopop, Dec 2009 [281.6] ::
164. Yu-Gi-Oh! R 2 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2009 [281.4] ::
171. Nora 8 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Dec 2009 [270.7] ::
183. Legend of Zelda 8 – Vizkids, Dec 2009 [260.3] ::
186. Rasetsu 3 – Viz Shojo Beat, Dec 2009 [259.1] ::
207. Green Lantern Corps Emerald Eclipse – DC, Nov 2009 [240.5] ::
209. The Boys 5 – Dynamite Entertainment, Dec 2009 [236.7] ::
211. Ex Machina 8 – DC Wildstorm, Dec 2009 [236.1] ::
231. Chew 1 – Image Comics, Dec 2009 [226.2] ::
244. Peanuts Celebrating Peanuts: 60 Years – Andrews McMeel, Nov 2009 [218.6] ::
253. Warriors Ravenpaw’s Path 1 – HC/Tokyopop, Nov 2009 [215.3] ::
257. Walking Dead 11 – Image Comics, Dec 2009 [210.9] ::
260. Dogs 2 – Viz, Dec 2009 [205.7] ::
276. Azumanga Daioh Omnibus – Yen Press, Dec 2009 [200.4] ::
280. Incognito – Marvel, Nov 2009 [196.0] ::
290. Bloody Kiss 2 – Tokyopop, Nov 2009 [192.0] ::
295. Beast Master 1 – Viz Shojo Beat, Nov 2009 [189.2] ::
304. Mixed Vegetables 6 – Viz Shojo Beat, Dec 2009 [185.7] ::
307. Junjo Romantica 11 – Tokyopop Blu, Dec 2009 [184.0] ::
310. Captain America The Death of Captain America Omnibus – Marvel, Dec 2009 [182.0] ::
324. Criminal Deluxe Edition – Marvel Icon, Dec 2009 [177.7] ::
331. Otomen 4 – Viz Shojo Beat, Nov 2009 [175.4] ::
347. Mega Man X Official Complete Works – Udon, Dec 2009 [170.2] ::
369. Lucky Star 3 – Bandai, Dec 2009 [163.7] ::
372. Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle Album De Reproductions – Del Rey, Dec 2009 [162.3] ::
411. Jack Frost 2 – Yen Press, Nov 2009 [151.1] ::
427. .hack// Alcor – Tokyopop, Dec 2009 [145.5] ::
446. Spice & Wolf (novel) 1 – Yen Press, Dec 2009 [141.2] ::
450. Gentlemen’s Alliance† The Gentlemen’s Alliance Cross: Arina Tanemura Illustrations – Viz Shojo Beat, Nov 2009 [139.8] ::
455. Crimson Shell 1 – Yen Press, Nov 2009 [138.7] ::
459. D. Gray-Man 15 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Nov 2009 [136.8] ::
467. Shaman King 25 – Viz Shonen Jump, Nov 2009 [133.9] ::
483. Vampire Hunter D (manga) 4 – DMP, Dec 2009 [130.2] ::
494. Vampire Hunter D (novel) 13 – Dark Horse, Dec 2009 [125.2] ::
497. Sandman The Dream Hunters (Russell) – DC Vertigo, Nov 2009 [123.9] ::
502. Wolverine Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk – Marvel, Nov 2009 [121.9] ::
506. Case Closed 32 – Viz, Nov 2009 [120.2] ::
516. Butterflies, Flowers 1 – Viz Shojo Beat, Dec 2009 [117.0] ::
532. Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei 4 – Del Rey, Nov 2009 [112.6] ::
538. War of Kings – Marvel, Nov 2009 [111.4] ::
545. Me & My Brothers 10 – Tokyopop, Dec 2009 [109.3] ::
552. Princess Resurrection 7 – Del Rey, Nov 2009 [106.6] ::
554. Honey Hunt 3 – Viz Shojo Beat, Nov 2009 [105.6] ::
569. 1000 Comic Books You Must Read – Krause Publications, Nov 2009 [102.7] ::
584. Inuyasha 43 – Viz, Dec 2009 [100.1] ::
586. Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden 9 – Viz Shojo Beat, Nov 2009 [99.8] ::
588. High School Debut 12 – Viz Shojo Beat, Nov 2009 [99.3] ::
595. Fairy Tail 9 – Del Rey, Dec 2009 [98.4] ::
596. Samurai Deeper Kyo vols 35-36 collection – Del Rey, Dec 2009 [98.3] ::
598. Claymore 15 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Nov 2009 [98.1] ::
599. GI Joe Classic 6 – IDW, Nov 2009 [98.0] ::
608. St. Dragon Girl 5 – Viz Shojo Beat, Dec 2009 [95.7] ::
611. Magic Touch 5 – Viz Shojo Beat, Dec 2009 [95.3] ::
613. Pet Shop of Horrors Tokyo 6 – Tokyopop, Nov 2009 [94.6] ::
619. Tsubasa: Those with Wings 3 – Tokyopop, Nov 2009 [93.6] ::
627. Eyeshield 21 vol 29 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Dec 2009 [90.8] ::
638. Future Diary 4 – Tokyopop, Dec 2009 [88.3] ::
658. Monkey High! 8 – Viz Shojo Beat, Dec 2009 [85.3] ::
661. Great Place High School Student Council 1 – DMP June, Dec 2009 [84.9] ::
694. Angel Diary 10 – Yen Press, Nov 2009 [79.5] ::
720. Love*Com 15 – Viz Shojo Beat, Nov 2009 [75.8] ::
727. Rurouni Kenshin VizBig Edition 8 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2009 [73.6] ::
728. Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Guilty Pleasures Complete – Marvel, Nov 2009 [73.5] ::
734. Ninja Girls 2 – Del Rey, Dec 2009 [72.5] ::
744. Strange Suspense: The Steve Ditko Archives 1 – Fantagraphics, Nov 2009 [71.1] ::
752. Madness 1 – Tokyopop Blu, Dec 2009 [70.5] ::
769. Avengers New Avengers 11 – Marvel, Dec 2009 [68.7] ::
771. Inuyasha VizBig Edition 1 – Viz, Nov 2009 [68.2] ::
804. Negima! Neo 4 – Del Rey, Dec 2009 [63.7] ::
811. Inuyasha 42 – Viz, Nov 2009 [62.4] ::
821. .hack// Legend of the Twilight vols 1-3 collection – Tokyopop, Dec 2009 [61.2] ::
825. S.A (Special A) 13 – Viz Shojo Beat, Nov 2009 [60.8] ::
826. Herge: The Man Who Created Tintin – Oxford University Press, Nov 2009 [60.4] ::
827. Iron Man World’s Most Wanted – Marvel, Nov 2009 [60.3] ::
829. Usagi Yojimbo Yokai – Dark Horse, Nov 2009 [60.1] ::
849. Deadpool Classic 3 – Marvel, Dec 2009 [57.8] ::
861. Powers Definitive Edition 3 – Marvel Icon, Dec 2009 [55.4] ::
878. Ooku: The Inner Chambers 2 – Viz Signature, Dec 2009 [53.2] ::
893. Captain America Road to Reborn – Marvel, Nov 2009 [51.1] ::
902. Bamboo Blade 3 – Yen Press, Dec 2009 [50.4] ::
913. Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit 3 – Viz, Nov 2009 [49.5] ::
916. BODY 7 – Viz Shojo Beat, Nov 2009 [49.2] ::
937. VB Rose 7 – Tokyopop, Dec 2009 [46.0] ::
945. Luna Park – DC Vertigo, Nov 2009 [45.2] ::
947. Pokemon Adventures 4 – Vizkids, Dec 2009 [45.0] ::
970. Raiders 1 – Yen Press, Dec 2009 [42.8] ::
972. Star Wars Clone Wars Slaves of the Republic – Dark Horse, Dec 2009 [42.7] ::
978. Gen13 vol 4 – DC Wildstorm, Nov 2009 [41.4] ::
981. Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka 6 – Viz Signature, Nov 2009 [41.0] ::
996. The Gift of the Magi – HarperCollins It Books, Nov 2009 [39.6] ::
1006. Hikaru no Go 17 – Viz Shonen Jump, Nov 2009 [38.6] ::
1007. Yellow Omnibus 1 – DMP June, Dec 2009 [38.4] ::
1010. Ex Machina Deluxe Edition 2 – DC Wildstorm, Dec 2009 [38.3] ::
1013. Geronimo Stilton 3 – Papercutz, Nov 2009 [37.8] ::
1037. Shinobi Life 3 – Tokyopop, Nov 2009 [35.2] ::
1061. Cat Paradise 2 – Yen Press, Nov 2009 [33.7] ::
1075. Supergirl Who Is Superwoman? – DC, Nov 2009 [32.5] ::
1077. GoGo Monster – Viz Signature, Dec 2009 [32.4] ::
1080. Hot Gimmick VizBig Edition 3 – Viz Shojo Beat, Dec 2009 [32.3] ::
1152. Hulk No More – Marvel, Nov 2009 [26.2] ::
1153. Record of a Fallen Vampire 7 – Viz, Nov 2009 [26.2] ::
1155. Kyo Kara Maoh! 5 – Tokyopop, Dec 2009 [26.1] ::
1158. Prince of Tennis 34 – Viz Shonen Jump, Nov 2009 [26.0] ::
1178. IDW Graphic Classics Sherlock Holmes 1 – IDW, Nov 2009 [24.9] ::
1179. Moyasimon 1 – Del Rey, Nov 2009 [24.8] ::
1181. Farscape 2 – Boom! Studios, Dec 2009 [24.6] ::
1200. Gin Tama 15 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Nov 2009 [23.3] ::
1201. Hell Girl 6 – Del Rey, Nov 2009 [23.2] ::
1205. Hayate the Combat Butler 13 – Viz, Nov 2009 [23.0] ::
1206. Sherlock Holmes 1 The Trial of Sherlock Holmes – IDW, Nov 2009 [22.8] ::
1230. Terra – DC, Dec 2009 [21.2] ::
1234. A Kidnapped Santa Claus – HarperCollins It Books, Nov 2009 [21.1] ::
1247. Amory Wars 2 – Image Comics, Dec 2009 [20.6] ::
1260. Teen Titans Deathtrap – DC, Dec 2009 [20.0] ::
1276. War of Kings Nova – Marvel, Dec 2009 [19.2] ::
1293. Gundam 00 vol 2 – Bandai, Dec 2009 [18.1] ::
1301. Tomb of Dracula Omnibus 2 – Marvel, Dec 2009 [17.6] ::
1314. Drawing Down the Moon: The Art of Charles Vess – Dark Horse, Dec 2009 [17.2] ::
1315. Hayate x Blade 5 – Seven Seas, Dec 2009 [17.2] ::
1331. Ciao Ciao Bambino – DMP June, Dec 2009 [16.7] ::
1355. Nana 19 – Viz Shojo Beat, Nov 2009 [15.6] ::
1359. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep 1 – Boom! Studios, Dec 2009 [15.4] ::
1360. Moon Boy 7 – Yen Press, Dec 2009 [15.4] ::
1371. Modesty Blaise The Scarlet Maiden – Titan Books, Nov 2009 [14.9] ::
1381. 20th Century Boys 6 – Viz Signature, Dec 2009 [14.6] ::
1384. Tarzan Archives 4 – Dark Horse, Dec 2009 [14.5] ::
1433. Fushigi Yugi VizBig Edition 4 – Viz Shojo Beat, Dec 2009 [12.4] ::
1437. Excel Saga 20 – Viz, Dec 2009 [12.3] ::
1466. Doctor Grordbort Presents: Victory – Dark Horse, Dec 2009 [11.1] ::
1482. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z 11 – Marvel, Dec 2009 [10.5] ::
1488. We Were There 7 – Viz Shojo Beat, Nov 2009 [10.4] ::
1499. Batman The Dark Knight Archives 6 – DC, Dec 2009 [10.0] ::
1505. Spike Omnibus 1 – IDW, Nov 2009 [9.9] ::
1512. NG Life 3 – Tokyopop, Nov 2009 [9.7] ::
1522. Gun Princess – Seven Seas, Dec 2009 [9.6] ::
1530. Kanokon (novel) 1 – Seven Seas, Dec 2009 [9.5] ::
1532. Liberty Liberty! – Tokyopop Blu, Nov 2009 [9.4] ::
1533. Sgt. Frog 18 – Tokyopop, Dec 2009 [9.4] ::
1534. Slam Dunk 7 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2009 [9.4] ::
1540. Gundam 00F vol 1 – Bandai, Dec 2009 [9.3] ::
1541. Waqwaq 2 – Viz Shonen Jump, Nov 2009 [9.3] ::
1562. Flame of Recca 33 – Viz, Nov 2009 [8.9] ::
1569. GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class 2 – Yen Press, Nov 2009 [8.7] ::
1570. Kitchen Princess (novel) Search for the Angel Cake – Del Rey, Nov 2009 [8.7] ::
1577. Wolverine Origins 7 – Marvel, Dec 2009 [8.6] ::
1593. MySpace Dark Horse Presents 4 – Dark Horse, Dec 2009 [8.2] ::
1595. Noble Causes 9 – Image Comics, Dec 2009 [8.1] ::
1599. Batman The Cat & The Bat – DC, Dec 2009 [8.0] ::
1615. Gravel 2 – Avatar Press, Dec 2009 [7.9] ::
1628. Re:Play 3 – Tokyopop, Dec 2009 [7.6] ::
1641. Kashimashi Omnibus 2 – Seven Seas Strawberry, Dec 2009 [7.5] ::
1642. Electropolis – Dark Horse, Dec 2009 [7.4] ::
1663. Emma 10 – CMX, Dec 2009 [7.1] ::
1673. Kick-Ass 1 – Marvel Icon, Dec 2009 [7.0] ::
1700. Farscape Uncharted Tales – Boom! Studios, Dec 2009 [6.6] ::
1712. Prince Valiant The Definitive Prince Valiant Companion – Fantagraphics, Dec 2009 [6.4] ::
1730. Runaways Homeschooling – Marvel, Dec 2009 [6.2] ::
1771. The Spirit 4 – DC, Nov 2009 [5.7] ::
1794. Sundome 6 – Yen Press, Nov 2009 [5.4] ::
1802. Maria Holic 2 – Tokyopop, Dec 2009 [5.3] ::
1803. Pig Bride 3 – Yen Press, Dec 2009 [5.3] ::
1824. 100% Perfect Girl 10 – Netcomics, Nov 2009 [5.0] ::
1826. Spider-Man American Son – Marvel, Nov 2009 [5.0] ::
1838. Hulk Green Hulk/Red Hulk (hardcover) – Marvel, Dec 2009 [4.8] ::
1839. Red Sonja Savage Tales of Red Sonja – Dynamite Entertainment, Nov 2009 [4.8] ::
1857. Batman The Cult – DC, Dec 2009 [4.4] ::
1878. Pogo Complete 1 – Fantagraphics, Nov 2009 [4.1] ::
1902. Tea for Two 3 – Tokyopop Blu, Dec 2009 [3.6] ::
1947. Itazura na Kiss 1 – DMP, Nov 2009 [2.9] ::
1988. Daredevil Return of the King – Marvel, Nov 2009 [2.3] ::
1996. Gothic Yaoi Bundle: The Works of Dany & Dany – Yaoi Press, Dec 2009 [2.1] ::
2008. Tales from the Crypt vols 5-8 box set – Papercutz, Nov 2009 [1.9] ::
2022. Blue Sheep Reverie 2 – DMP June, Dec 2009 [1.6] ::
2038. Kurohime 14 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Nov 2009 [1.4] ::
2066. Wonder Woman Rise of the Olympian – DC, Nov 2009 [0.9] ::
2074. Spider-Man Marvel Masterworks Edition 3 – Marvel, Nov 2009 [0.7] ::
2092. Detroit Metal City 3 – Viz Signature, Dec 2009 [0.5] ::
2103. Pictures That Tick – Dark Horse, Dec 2009 [0.4] ::
2106. Yokai Doctor 3 – Del Rey, Nov 2009 [0.4] ::
2109. Superman/Supergirl Maelstrom – DC, Dec 2009 [0.3] ::
2110. Wolverine Weapon X Adamantium Men – Marvel, Dec 2009 [0.3] ::
2128. 30 Days of Night Collector’s Set – IDW, Nov 2009 [0.2] ::
2130. Batman Battle for the Cowl Companion – DC, Nov 2009 [0.2] ::
2135. Invincible Ultimate Edition 5 – Image Comics, Nov 2009 [0.2] ::
2136. Jihai 3 – CMX, Nov 2009 [0.2] ::
2139. Outsiders The Deep – DC, Nov 2009 [0.2] ::
2146. The Sword 3 – Image Comics, Nov 2009 [0.2] ::
2147. Wolverine Dark Wolverine 1 – Marvel, Nov 2009 [0.2] ::
2148. X-Men Wolverine/Gambit – Marvel, Dec 2009 [0.2] ::
2175. Naruto 47 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2009 [0.2] ::
2178. Only One Wish – Del Rey, Dec 2009 [0.2] ::
2236. Children of the Sea 2 – Viz Signature, Dec 2009 [0.1] ::
2241. Draw Furries: How to Create Anthropomorphic and Fantasy Animals – Impact, Dec 2009 [0.1] ::
2245. Family Circus 1 – IDW, Nov 2009 [0.1] ::
2254. Happy Cafe 1 – Tokyopop, Dec 2009 [0.1] ::
2256. Incredible Hercules Full Circle – Marvel, Nov 2009 [0.1] ::
2257. INVU 5 – Tokyopop, Nov 2009 [0.1] ::
2259. Kimikiss 3 – Tokyopop, Dec 2009 [0.1] ::
2260. Kull The Chronicles of Kull 1 – Dark Horse, Dec 2009 [0.1] ::
2262. Mad Love Chase 2 – Tokyopop, Dec 2009 [0.1] ::
2263. Maid Sama! 3 – Tokyopop, Dec 2009 [0.1] ::
2267. Mercy Sparx 1 – Devil’s Due, Nov 2009 [0.1] ::
2268. Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation 14 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2009 [0.1] ::
2271. Neon Genesis Evangelion The Shinji Ikari Raising Project 3 – Dark Horse, Dec 2009 [0.1] ::
2273. Night Head Genesis 1 – Del Rey, Nov 2009 [0.1] ::
2275. One Piece VizBig Edition 1 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2009 [0.1] ::
2279. Phantom Dream 4 – Tokyopop, Nov 2009 [0.1] ::
2281. Rann/Thanagar Holy War 2 – DC, Dec 2009 [0.1] ::
2291. Solomon Kane The Chronicles of Solomon Kane – Dark Horse, Dec 2009 [0.1] ::
2294. Tales from Wonderland 2 – Zenescope, Dec 2009 [0.1] ::
2300. The Goon 9 – Dark Horse, Nov 2009 [0.1] ::
2308. Very Very Sweet 5 – Yen Press, Nov 2009 [0.1] ::
2309. Wasteland 5 – Oni Press, Dec 2009 [0.1] ::
2312. Wonder Woman Showcase Presents Edition 3 – DC, Dec 2009 [0.1] ::
2313. X-Men Dark X-Men The Beginning – Marvel, Dec 2009 [0.1] ::
2381. Mikansei No. 1 vol 1 – Tokyopop, Nov 2009 [0.1] ::
2382. Jormungand 1 – Viz Signature, Nov 2009 [0.1] ::
2407. Goats The Corndog Imperative – Del Rey, Dec 2009 [0.1] ::

##

Preorders — at least as of 3 Jan:

589. The Stand 2 American Nightmares – Marvel, Jan 2010 [99.1] ::
601. Inuyasha 44 – Viz, Jan 2010 [97.5] ::
714. The Stand 1 Captain Trips – Marvel, Jan 2010 [76.0] ::
860. Fables 13 The Great Fables Crossover – DC Vertigo, Feb 2010 [55.5] ::
908. One Piece vols 1-3 collection – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2010 [49.8] ::
940. Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev Omnibus 2 – Marvel, Jan 2010 [45.8] ::
988. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight 6 – Dark Horse, Mar 2010 [40.4] ::
1011. Asterix and Obelix’s Birthday: The Golden Book – Orion, Jan 2010 [38.2] ::
1030. X-Men X-Force 3 – Marvel, Apr 2010 [36.1] ::
1047. Peanuts Complete ’75-‘76 – Fantagraphics, Apr 2010 [34.6] ::
1059. Star Wars The Thrawn Trilogy – Dark Horse, Jan 2010 [33.9] ::
1114. Dark Tower 4 The Fall of Gilead – Marvel, Mar 2010 [29.2] ::
1220. Yu-Gi-Oh! GX 4 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2010 [21.6] ::
1224. Blackest Night – DC, Jul 2010 [21.3] ::
1281. Rocketbots Trouble in Time – Image Comics, Jan 2010 [19.0] ::
1284. Grunts: War Stories – Arcana Studio, Jan 2010 [18.7] ::
1289. Warriors Ravenpaw’s Path 2 – HC/Tokyopop, Mar 2010 [18.3] ::
1298. Vagabond VizBig Edition 6 – Viz Signature, Jan 2010 [17.7] ::
1312. One Piece 24 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2010 [17.3] ::
1326. Cabin in the Woods 1 – Tokyopop, Feb 2010 [16.9] ::
1333. Popgun (anthology) 4 – Image Comics, Feb 2010 [16.6] ::
1336. Black Jesus – Arcana Studio, Feb 2010 [16.3] ::
1344. Necessary Monsters – AiT/Planet Lar, Feb 2010 [16.1] ::
1364. Gold Digger Peebo Tales – Antarctic Press, Mar 2010 [15.2] ::
1367. Birdhouse – SLG Publishing, Mar 2010 [15.0] ::
1372. Vampire Samurai – Dimension Entertainment, Mar 2010 [14.8] ::
1386. Last Reign – Boom! Studios, Mar 2010 [14.5] ::
1406. Digger & Friends – IDW, Mar 2010 [13.6] ::
1408. Last Resort – IDW, Mar 2010 [13.4] ::
1411. Marvel Zombies Return – Marvel, Jan 2010 [13.3] ::
1415. Space Ace – Arcana Studio, Mar 2010 [13.2] ::
1424. Kingyo Used Books 1 – Viz, Mar 2010 [12.8] ::
1428. Pink Innocent 1 – Del Rey, Mar 2010 [12.6] ::
1432. Deka Kyoshi 2 – CMX, Mar 2010 [12.4] ::
1444. Ode to Kirihito 2 – Vertical, Mar 2010 [11.9] ::
1450. The Calling – Tokyopop Blu, Jun 2010 [11.7] ::
1454. Graphic Classics Western Classics – Eureka Productions, Apr 2010 [11.5] ::
1467. King of Cards 9 – CMX, Apr 2010 [11.1] ::
1487. Diamond Girl 1 – CMX, Apr 2010 [10.4] ::
1491. Indoor Voice – Drawn & Quarterly, Apr 2010 [10.2] ::
1500. Sword of My Mouth – IDW, Apr 2010 [10.0] ::
1507. Bloom County Complete 2 – IDW, Apr 2010 [9.8] ::
1511. Natsume’s Book of Friends 1 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jan 2010 [9.7] ::
1524. Nana 20 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jan 2010 [9.5] ::
1525. Vampire Knight 9 – Viz Shojo Beat, Feb 2010 [9.5] ::
1535. Strawberry 100% 11 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Jan 2010 [9.4] ::
1548. Awakened Soul – Tokyopop, Jan 2010 [9.3] ::
1560. Coin Operated Boy – Arcana Studio, Jan 2010 [9.0] ::
1564. Gahan Wilson: 50 Years of Playboy Cartoons – Fantagraphics, Jan 2010 [8.8] ::
1575. Complete Milt Gross Comic Book Stories – IDW, Feb 2010 [8.6] ::
1581. One Piece 25 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2010 [8.5] ::
1610. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 8 – Dark Horse, Jan 2010 [7.9] ::
1619. Vampire Hunter D (novel) 14 – Dark Horse, Mar 2010 [7.7] ::
1626. Ignition City 1 – Avatar Press, Mar 2010 [7.6] ::
1634. Copper 1 – Scholastic Graphix, Jan 2010 [7.5] ::
1635. The Phantom Complete ’38-‘40 – Hermes Press, Mar 2010 [7.5] ::
1664. Life & Times of Savior 28 – IDW, Jan 2010 [7.1] ::
1672. Winterworld – IDW, Jan 2010 [7.0] ::
1677. Green Lantern Tales of the Green Lantern Corps 2 – DC, Feb 2010 [6.9] ::
1684. Waqwaq 3 – Viz Shonen Jump, Feb 2010 [6.8] ::
1692. Samurai Harem (Asu no Yoichi) 4 – Tokyopop, Mar 2010 [6.7] ::
1736. Avengers Hawkeye – Marvel, Apr 2010 [6.1] ::
1751. Planetary Absolute Edition 2 – DC Wildstorm, Jul 2010 [5.9] ::
1752. Wallflower vols 22-24 collection – Del Rey, Oct 2010 [5.9] ::
1759. Ninja High School Shidoshi 8 – Antarctic Press, Mar 2010 [5.8] ::
1760. The Selves – Drawn & Quarterly, Apr 2010 [5.8] ::
1770. Catland Empire – Drawn & Quarterly, Apr 2010 [5.7] ::
1780. Carmine Infantino: Penciler, Publisher, Provocateur – TwoMorrows Publishing, May 2010 [5.6] ::
1786. My Girlfriend’s a Geek 1 – Yen Press, May 2010 [5.5] ::
1827. Spider-Man Red-Headed Stranger – Marvel, Jan 2010 [5.0] ::
1840. The Chill – DC Vertigo, Jan 2010 [4.8] ::
1848. X-Men vs Fantastic Four – Marvel, Feb 2010 [4.6] ::
1858. Oh! My Brother 2 – CMX, Apr 2010 [4.4] ::
1875. Shaman King 26 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2010 [4.1] ::
1900. Spell Checkers 1 – Oni Press, Apr 2010 [3.7] ::
1938. One Piece 26 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2010 [3.0] ::
2069. Doom Patrol Showcase Presents Edition 2 – DC, Aug 2010 [0.8] ::
2129. Babymouse 12 – Random House, Jan 2010 [0.2] ::
2165. Green Lantern Rebirth Absolute Edition – DC, Apr 2010 [0.2] ::
2246. Fantastic Four The Masters of Doom – Marvel, Jan 2010 [0.1] ::
2247. Fear Agent 5 – Dark Horse, Jan 2010 [0.1] ::
2258. Iron Man Omnibus 1 – Marvel, Mar 2010 [0.1] ::
2274. One Piece 27 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2010 [0.1] ::
2310. Wednesday Comics – DC, Jun 2010 [0.1] ::
2314. X-Men vs Avengers – Marvel, Feb 2010 [0.1] ::
2612. Walking Dead (hardcover) 5 – Image Comics, Jan 2010 [0.1] ::
2632. Modesty Blaise Death in Slow Motion – Titan Books, Apr 2010 [0.1] ::

Please note the Modesty Blaise titles; since they’re from Titan I think these are technically imports but for most major independents, this is exactly the kind of book you should be stocking:

1371. Modesty Blaise The Scarlet Maiden – Titan Books, Nov 2009 [14.9] ::
1825. Modesty Blaise Green Cobra – Titan Books, Sep 2008 [5.0] ::
2580. Modesty Blaise The Lady Killers – Titan Books, May 2009 [0.1] ::
2632. Modesty Blaise Death in Slow Motion – Titan Books, Apr 2010 [0.1] ::
. (last ranked 30 Aug 09) : Modesty Blaise Mister Sun – Titan Books, Jul 2004 [0.0] ::
. (last ranked 6 Sep 09) : Modesty Blaise The Gabriel Set-up – Titan Books, Apr 2004 [0.0] ::

And now, something special for everyone:
Your Executive Summary and Index, Week Ending 3 January 2010

##

last posted rankings for week ending 6 September 2009. [Yes, procedures and archived data are already in place to cover those four months, but I thought most of you wouldn’t mind me getting on with the most current set of charts.]
About the Charts
Analysis and Commentary Posts

The Weekly Charts:
Your Executive Summary and Index
Week ending 3 January 2010

Internet Archive link: http://www.archive.org/details/GraphicNovelRankingsWeekEnding03January2010

Comics Top 500

1. The Book of Genesis – Crumb – WW Norton, Oct 2009 [810.6] ::
2. Watchmen – DC Vertigo, Apr 1995 [775.5] ::
3. The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks – Random House Three Rivers Press, Oct 2009 [759.1] ::
4. Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth – Bloomsbury, Sep 2009 [690.9] ::
5. Maus 1 – Random House Pantheon, Aug 1986 [664.9] ::
6. Batman Arkham Asylum – DC, Nov 2005 [662.0] ::
7. Batman The Killing Joke – DC, Mar 2008 [659.8] ::
8. Vampire Knight 8 – Viz Shojo Beat, Nov 2009 [643.0] ::
9. Maximum Ride 1 – Yen Press, Jan 2009 [642.2] ::
10. Sandman 1 – DC Vertigo, Sep 1991 [634.4] ::

[more]

Top Imprints
Number of titles ranking in the Comics 500:

Viz Shonen Jump 53
DC Vertigo 40
Tokyopop 32
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 31
Andrews McMeel 27
DC 26
Viz Shojo Beat 24
Yen Press 24
Marvel 23
Dark Horse 16

[more]

Top 50 Series:

1. Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [2,002.7] ::
2. Batman – DC [1,853.6] ::
3. Sandman – DC Vertigo [1,431.5] ::
4. Vampire Knight – Viz Shojo Beat [1,342.0] ::
5. Bleach – Viz Shonen Jump [1,330.0] ::
6. Bone – Scholastic Graphix [1,279.0] ::
7. Maximum Ride – Yen Press [1,258.8] ::
8. Fruits Basket – Tokyopop [1,225.4] ::
9. Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Dark Horse [1,174.4] ::
10. Maus – Random House Pantheon [1,164.1] ::

[more]

Top 500 Manga:

1. Vampire Knight 8 – Viz Shojo Beat, Nov 2009 [643.0] ::
2. Maximum Ride 1 – Yen Press, Jan 2009 [642.2] ::
3. Maximum Ride 2 – Yen Press, Oct 2009 [616.6] ::
4. Naruto 46 – Viz Shonen Jump, Oct 2009 [570.8] ::
5. Fullmetal Alchemist 21 – Viz, Nov 2009 [520.8] ::
6. Bleach 29 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2009 [520.1] ::
7. Naruto 45 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2009 [497.6] ::
8. Fruits Basket 23 – Tokyopop, Jul 2009 [483.7] ::
9. Vampire Knight 7 – Viz Shojo Beat, Aug 2009 [468.1] ::
10. Ouran High School Host Club 13 – Viz Shojo Beat, Nov 2009 [461.9] ::

[more]

Top 50 Manga Series:

1. Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [2,002.7] ::
2. Vampire Knight – Viz Shojo Beat [1,342.0] ::
3. Bleach – Viz Shonen Jump [1,330.0] ::
4. Maximum Ride – Yen Press [1,258.8] ::
5. Fruits Basket – Tokyopop [1,225.4] ::
6. Fullmetal Alchemist – Viz [1,137.8] ::
7. Ouran High School Host Club – Viz Shojo Beat [976.7] ::
8. Death Note – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [960.3] ::
9. Rosario+Vampire – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [881.9] ::
10. Black Bird – Viz Shojo Beat [779.3] ::

[more]

Top 50 New Releases:
(November & December 2009 releases)

8. Vampire Knight 8 – Viz Shojo Beat, Nov 2009 [643.0] ::
12. Batman Battle for the Cowl – DC, Nov 2009 [628.7] ::
13. Wolverine Old Man Logan – Marvel, Nov 2009 [625.7] ::
23. Fullmetal Alchemist 21 – Viz, Nov 2009 [520.8] ::
24. Bleach 29 – Viz Shonen Jump, Dec 2009 [520.1] ::
38. Ouran High School Host Club 13 – Viz Shojo Beat, Nov 2009 [461.9] ::
41. Tales from the Crypt 8 Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid – Papercutz, Nov 2009 [455.0] ::
43. Green Lantern Agent Orange – DC, Nov 2009 [439.0] ::
48. Footnotes in Gaza – Macmillan Metropolitan Books, Dec 2009 [426.8] ::
59. Black Bird 2 – Viz Shojo Beat, Nov 2009 [411.1] ::

[more]

Top 50 Preorders:

589. The Stand 2 American Nightmares – Marvel, Jan 2010 [99.1] ::
601. Inuyasha 44 – Viz, Jan 2010 [97.5] ::
714. The Stand 1 Captain Trips – Marvel, Jan 2010 [76.0] ::
860. Fables 13 The Great Fables Crossover – DC Vertigo, Feb 2010 [55.5] ::
908. One Piece vols 1-3 collection – Viz Shonen Jump, Jan 2010 [49.8] ::
940. Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev Omnibus 2 – Marvel, Jan 2010 [45.8] ::
988. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight 6 – Dark Horse, Mar 2010 [40.4] ::
1011. Asterix and Obelix’s Birthday: The Golden Book – Orion, Jan 2010 [38.2] ::
1030. X-Men X-Force 3 – Marvel, Apr 2010 [36.1] ::
1047. Peanuts Complete ’75-‘76 – Fantagraphics, Apr 2010 [34.6] ::

[more]