May is Free Comic Book Month 5 at YACB!

May is rapidly approaching, so it's time for the Fifth Annual Free Comic Book Month!

May 2 is Free Comic Book Day, but here at YACB one day isn't good enough. For the fifth straight year, we'll be giving away free comics every day of May!

That's right, free comics! Each day of May I'll pick someone to receive a free comic, taken from my personal collection: duplicates, things I have in trades, and other stuff. My goal is to match up people with a comic that they haven't read but that they may like. My tastes are wide and varied, so chances are I have a comic for you.

And by free I mean free. Really. No cost, no shipping & handling, all free.

Here's what you need to do to enter:

By email (superman@umich.edu), send me the following:

* Your name
* Your postal address
* Titles of five comics that you like
* One other thing that you like (a book, a movie, an activity, etc.)
* Please include 'FCBM' in the subject line

That's it! For every day of May I'll choose at least one entry and try to match up that person with a comic, then I'll mail the comic to him or her. It's easy, and it's free!

(Note that this year I'm adding one more piece of entry data: something other than a comic that you like. I hope that this will make things a bit more interesting and help me better in fitting you with a comic.)

Last year I gave away 106 comics to 47 different people!

Of course, there are a few restrictions:

* You must be 18 or older
* You must live in the United States
* You may enter at any point during May, but only one entry per person.

And a little bit of fine print:

* Persons receiving comics are chosen by me, based on whether I feel I can provide a comic to you
* Even if you've entered in previous years, you're welcome to enter again
* I'll try my best, but there's no guarantee you'll actually like the comic I send
* All winners will be announced here on Yet Another Comics Blog (please let me know if you don't want your real name used)
* At least one winner will be selected each day, but it may take me a few days to get to the post office, so please be patient
* I will not use your address to spam you, nor sell or give your information to others

But wait, there's more!

Each person who has a free comic chosen for him/her will also receive a copy of the 2008 Halloween ashcan edition of either A Peanuts Halloween or Walt Disney's Donald Duck. (Let me know if you have a preference, though no guarantees; and if I go overboard again his year and run out I may substitute something else.)

That's right, two free comics! How could you ask for anything more?

So what are you waiting for? Send in your entry today!

Monkey Covers

Sunday is Monkey Covers day here at YACB. Because there's nothing better than a comic with a monkey on the cover!

Casper frightens King Kong on the cover of The Friendly Ghost, Casper #218.

(Standard disclaimer about frightened giant gorillas not really being monkeys applies.)


Image courtesy of the GCD. Click on the image for a larger version.

Friday Night Fights: Magnus vs. Robots

From Magnus Robot Fighter #2 (1991). Art by Bob Layton & Kathryn Bolinger. Colors by Janet Jackson & Karen Merbaum. Letters by Jade. Story by Jim Shooter. (click pic for larger)

One panel? SQUEEE!

Amazon Top 50

Here are the Top 50 Graphic Novels on Amazon this afternoon. All the previous caveats apply.

1 (N). Dilbert 2.0: 20 Years of Dilbert
2 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
3 (-2). Watchmen
4 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
5 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid
6 (-1). Star Trek: Countdown TPB
7 (+5). Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman's Co-creator Joe Shuster
8 (+3). Stephen King's Dark Tower: Treachery
9 (+4). Mercy Thompson Homecoming *
10 (N). Huntress: Year One
11 (N). The Perry Bible Fellowship Almanack
12 (-2). V for Vendetta
13 (-5). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
14 (-7). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume 3: Century #1 *
15 (-9). A Drifting Life
16 (-7). Batman: The Killing Joke
17 (+1). Blueberry Girl
18 (-3). Time of Your Life (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 4) *
19 (+16). Serenity, Vol. 2: Better Days
20 (-3). Batman: Year One
21 (-7). Batman: R.I.P.
22 (+10). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
23 (+1). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1
24 (+15). The Long Way Home (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 1)
25 (+4). Bone: One Volume Edition
26 (+14). The Saturday Evening Pearls: A Pearls Before Swine Collection
27 (-8). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
28 (-1). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
29 (-8). Wolves at the Gate (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 3)
30 (+12). Dark Tower: The Long Road Home (Exclusive Amazon.com Cover)
31 (+10). The Complete Peanuts 1971-1972 *
32 (N). Serenity, Vol. 1: Those Left Behind
33 (N). The Arrival
34 (-12). Ignorance, Thy Name Is Bucky: A Get Fuzzy Collection
35 (N). Unmanned (Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1)
36 (-16). Angel: After the Fall, Vol. 3
37 (-4). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
38 (N). Justice Society of America: Thy Kingdom Come, Part 3
39 (+5). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 2
40 (N). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
41 (N). Marvel Zombies 3 *
42 (-16). The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle
43 (+5). Angel: After The Fall Volume 1
44 (N). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
45 (-22). All Star Superman, Vol. 2
46 (N). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier
47 (N). Batman: Heart of Hush
48 (-18). The Beats: A Graphic History
49 (-2). No Future For You (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 2)
50 (N). Fables, Vol. 11: War and Pieces



Items with asterisks (*) are pre-order items.


Commentary:

* Another exciting week on the Amazon charts. The biggest news was the mysterious and sudden rise of Huntress: Year One, which earlier this week jumped up to the top of the comics chart and #10 on the overall books chart. It turns out that the author, Ivory Madison, had used Amazon to purchase and send out a bunch of review copies. A perfectly legitimate if unorthodox use of Amazon; all the copies were ordered and paid for. It does serve to illustrate the volatility of the Amazon bestseller rankings and how a short spike in sales can affect the charts. (Which really makes these weekly snapsots looks of mine rather pointless, doesn't it?)

* Speaking of short sales spikes, Dilbert 2.0: 20 Years of Dilbert is today's featured Gold Box deal on Amazon, with plenty enough people buying the book at 60% off to send it (momentarily) up to #1 on the comics chart and presently #6 overall.

* Even without the sudden Dilbert bump, Watchmen would have fallen from its coveted #1 slot this week, as its sales finally dipped below that of the latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid volume.

* Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman's Co-creator Joe Shuster jumped up another five slots this week, no doubt buoyed by author Craig Yoe's appearance on yesterday's Fresh Air broadcast on NPR.

* A Drifting Life remains the only manga title on the list this week. The next volumes of Naruto & Fruits Basket aren't due until early July, so it could be a long dry spell for manga on the charts.

* Marvel Zombies 3 pops up in the bottom quarter of the charts, giving Marvel something other than Dark Tower to show for.

* Anybody know why The Perry Bible Fellowship Almanack might have popped back in way up at #11? I'm at a loss.

Hugos

For the first time this year, the Hugo Awards have a category for "Best Graphic Story." The nominees were announced last month; and in the Graphic Story category, the nominees are:

• The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle Written by Jim Butcher, art by Ardian Syaf (Del Rey/Dabel Brothers Publishing)
• Girl Genius, Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones Written by Kaja & Phil Foglio, art by Phil Foglio, colors by Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment)
• Fables: War and Pieces Written by Bill Willingham, pencilled by Mark Buckingham, art by Steve Leialoha and Andrew Pepoy, color by Lee Loughridge, letters by Todd Klein (DC/Vertigo Comics)
• Schlock Mercenary: The Body Politic Story and art by Howard Tayler (The Tayler Corporation)
• Serenity: Better Days Written by Joss Whedon & Brett Matthews, art by Will Conrad, color by Michelle Madsen, cover by Jo Chen (Dark Horse Comics)
• Y: The Last Man, Volume 10: Whys and Wherefores Written/created by Brian K. Vaughan, penciled/created by Pia Guerra, inked by Jose Marzan, Jr. (DC/Vertigo Comics)

My pick out of these would be the final volume of Y, the Last Man. The winners for all of the Hugo Awards will be announced August 6 at WorldCon in Montreal.

Marvel Variant Cover Mania!

Of the twenty-three new comics Marvel is releasing this week, eleven of them have variant covers (Hulk #11 has four different covers!) In addition, four collections have variant editions, and there are six 2nd or 3rd printings with new covers.

Marvel appears to be joining younger publishers like Boom!, IDW, Avatar & Dynamite in having variants be the norm, rather than the exception.

Yes, there will be a Free Comic Book Month event this year

Despite the fact that posting has been rather sparse here over the past few months, I do plan on running Free Comic Book Month again this May. This will be the Fifth annual FCBM here at YACB. Look for the official announcement early next week...

Amazon Top 50

Here are the Top 50 Graphic Novels on Amazon this afternoon. All the previous caveats apply.


1 (-). Watchmen
2 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
3 (+1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
4 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid
5 (-). Star Trek: Countdown TPB *
6 (N). A Drifting Life
7 (N). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume 3: Century #1 *
8 (+1). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
9 (-1). Batman: The Killing Joke
10 (-4). V for Vendetta
11 (+30). Dark Tower: Treachery *
12 (N). Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman's Co-creator Joe Shuster
13 (-6). Mercy Thompson Homecoming *
14 (+7). Batman: R.I.P.
15 (+4). Time of Your Life (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 4) *
16 (+9). The Joker
17 (+22). Batman: Year One
18 (-8). Blueberry Girl
19 (N). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
20 (-9). Angel: After the Fall, Vol. 3
21 (-8). Wolves at the Gate (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 3)
22 (-8). Ignorance, Thy Name Is Bucky: A Get Fuzzy Collection
23 (+21). All Star Superman, Vol. 2
24 (-7). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1
25 (+5). The Walking Dead, Vol. 9: Here We Remain
26 (-14). The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle
27 (-). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
28 (N). Batman: The Long Halloween
29 (+7). Bone: One Volume Edition
30 (N). The Beats: A Graphic History
31 (-8). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
32 (-4). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
33 (N). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
34 (-19). The Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, 39th Edition
35 (-13). Serenity, Vol. 2: Better Days
36 (N). Crown of Horns (Bone, Vol. 9)
37 (N). From Hell
38 (N). The Sandman Vol. 3: Dream Country
39 (-1). The Long Way Home (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 1)
40 (N). The Saturday Evening Pearls: A Pearls Before Swine Collection
41 (-12). The Complete Peanuts 1971-1972
42 (N). Dark Tower: The Long Road Home (Exclusive Amazon.com Cover)
43 (N). The Marvel Encyclopedia
44 (-1). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 2
45 (-21). Watchmen (Absolute Edition)
46 (N). Y: The Last Man Vol. 4: Safeword
47 (-12). No Future For You (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 2)
48 (N). Angel: After The Fall Volume 1
49 (N). The DC Comics Encyclopedia, Updated and Expanded Edition
50 (N). The Absolute Sandman, Vol. 3


Items with asterisks (*) are pre-order items.


Commentary:

* It was an extremely volatile week on the Amazon list this week, with many titles taking huge jumps up or down the charts, and a greater number than usual titles either debuting or returning.

* The highest debut is Yoshihiro Tatsumi's A Drifting Life, which was positively reviewed earlier in the week by the New York Times. It ranked even higher earlier in the week, and as late as yesterday evening it was charting above a couple of the Wimpy Kid volumes.

* Also debuting high is the pre-order for the first issue of Moore & O'Neill's new League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. (You might think that this would also cause a resurgence of the previous LXG volumes, but you'd be wrong.)

* Aside from A Drifting Life, no other manga volumes make the list, with even Naruto completely disappearing.

* One of the biggest gainers is Marvel's Dark Tower, with the pre-order for the new collection climbing way up, and the first collection making a return appearance.

New Library Comics: March 2009

Here's a list of the titles we added to the library's comics collection last month:


Aesfi, Christo. The adventures of Charlz from Marz / Hermosa Beach, [Calif.] : Dreamland, 2008-

Apple : a place for people who love entertainment : creative illustration collection. vol. 2 / Richmond Hill, Ont. : Udon Entertainment, 2008-

Aranzi Aronzo Inc. The complete Aranzi hour / [New York : Vertical Inc., c2008]

Bajram, Denis. Universal War One vol. 1 / New York : Marvel, 2008-

Bechdel, Alison, 1960- Fun home : a family tragicomic / Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 2006.

Blanchet, Pascal, 1980- White Rapids / Montreal : Drawn & Quarterly, 2007.

Breeden, Jennie. The devil's panties vol. 3 / [Fairfax, Va.] : Silent Devil Inc., 2007-

A comics studies reader / Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, 2009.

Cthulhu tales : the whisper of madness. / Los Angeles, CA : Boom! Studios, c2008.

Eastman, Kevin B. Underwhere / Northampton, MA : KESI Entertainment, c1995.

Ellsworth, Theo. Capacity / Jackson Heights, NY : Secret Acres, 2008.

Gaskin, Samuel C. Fatal faux-pas / Jackson Heights, NY : Secret Acres, c2008.

Geissman, Grant. Foul play! : the art and artists of the notorious 1950s E.C. comics! / New York : Harper Design, 2005

Gould, Chester. The complete Chester Gould's Dick Tracy vol. 6 : 1939-1940 / SanDiego, Calif. : IDW Publishing, 2006-

Hommer, Sascha. Insekt / Berlin : Reprodukt, 2008.

Hubert, 1971- Miss don't touch me / New York : Comics Lit, 2009.

I saw you : comics inspired by real life missed connections / New York : Three Rivers Press, 2009.

Immonen, Kathryn. Never as bad as you think* / [Los Angeles, Calif.] : Boom Studios, 2008.

Kariya, Tetsu, 1941- Oishinbo, a la carte / San Francisco : VIZ Media, 2009.

Kochalka, James. Johnny Boo : Twinkle Power / Marietta, Ga. : Top Shelf Productions, 2008.

Kôsen. Saihôshi / [Las Vegas, Nev.] : Yaoi Press, c2007.

Kôsen. Stallion / [Las Vegas, Nev.] : Yaoi Press, c2006.

Kovac, Tommy. Skelebunnies : [complete collection] / San Jose, Calif. : SLG, 2009.

Kreitz, Isabel. Die Sache mit Sorge : Stalins Spion in Tokio / Hamburg : Carlsen, 2008.

Lay, Carol. The big skinny : how I changed my fattitude : a memoir / New York : Villard, c2008.

Little, Troy, 1973- Angora Napkin / San Diego, Calif. : IDW, 2009.

Mallratte, Fiona. Tranny : boys will be girls / Portland, OR : Manx Media, 2008.

Manhwa 100 : the new era for Korean comics / Seoul, Korea : C&C Revolution, Inc. ; Glendale, CA : Distributed by Netcomics, c2008.

Marvel Europe. / New York : Marvel Enterprises, 2009.

Mawil. Das grosse Supa-Hasi : Sonntag-Nachmittags-Album für die ganze Familie / Berlin : Reprodukt, 2005.

Mawil. Meister Lampe / Berlin : Reprodukt, 2006.

McCay, Winsor. The complete Dream of the rarebit fiend (1904-1913) by Winsor McCay 'Silas' / [S.l.] : rarebit-fiend-book.com, 2007.

McGregor, Don. Sabre / Dallas, Ga. : Image Comics, c1998.

McKeever, Ted. Eddy Current / Berkeley, CA : Image Comics, 2008.

McNamara, Jason. First moon / San Francisco, CA : AiT/Planet Lar, c2006.

Messner-Loebs, William. Journey : the adventures of Wolverine MacAlistaire vol. 2 / San Diego, Calif. : IDW Publishing, 2008-2009.

Miller, Frank, 1957- Daredevil : born again / New York : Marvel Publishing, 2009.

Moore, Alan, 1953- Saga of the Swamp Thing vol. 1 / New York : DC Comics, 2009-

Morales, Robert. Captain America : truth / New York : Marvel Publishing Inc, 2009.

Neal, Nate. The sanctuary nos. 1-3 / Grand Rapids, Mich. : OM Comics, c2006-

Nemoto, Takashi, 1958- Monster men Bureiko lullaby / Brooklyn, NY : Picture Box Inc., [2008?].

Nowlan, Philip Francis. Buck Rogers in the 25th century : the complete newspaper dailies vol. 1 : 1929-1930 / Neshannock, Pa. : Hermes Press, c2008-

Ōba, Tsugumi. Death note vol. 1 / San Francisco, CA : VIZ Media, 2008.

Obomsawin, Diane. Kaspar / Montréal, Quebec : Drawn and Quarterly, 2009.

Oscar Wilde / Mount Horeb : Eureka Productions, 2009

Pekar, Harvey. Another dollar / New York, NY : DC Comics, c2009.

Poe, Marshall. A house divided / New York : Aladdin Paperbacks, 2009.

Prizewinning political cartoons / Gretna, La. : Pelican Pub., 2008.

Rosson, Keith. The best of intentions : the Avow anthology / Elkford, BC : Fork In The Road Press, c2003.

Sequential art anthology 2008. / Savannah, GA : Savannah College of Art and Design, 2008.

Seyfried, Gerhard, 1948- Die Werke. Alle! : sämtliche Cartoons, Illustrationen, Poster und Gemälde sowie Skizzen und Entwürfe / Frankfurt am Main [Germany] : Zweitausendeins ; Affoltern [Switzerland] : Buch 2000, 2008.

Shadmi, Koren. In the flesh / New York : Villard, c2009.

Talbot, Bryan. The adventures of Luther Arkwright / Milwaukie, Or. : Dark Horse, 2007.

Tan, Shaun. Tales from outer suburbia / New York : Arthur A. Levine Books, 2009.

Tanaka, Masashi, 1962- Gon vol. 7 / La Jolla, CA : WildStorm Productions, c2007-

Teenagers from the future : essays on the legion of super-heroes / Edwardsville, Ill. : Sequart Research & Literacy Organization, 2008.

Tezuka, Osamu, 1928-1989. Black Jack vol. 3 / New York : Vertical, c2008-

Urasawa, Naoki, 1960- Pluto : Urasawa x Tezuka vol. 1 / San Francisco, CA : VIZ Media, c2008-

Urosawa, Naoki, 1960- 20th century boys vol. 1 / San Francisco, CA : Viz Media, 2009-

Van Lente, Fred. Comic book comics no. 3 / Brooklyn, N.Y. : Evil Twin Comics, 2008-

Vankin, Jonathan, 1962- Tokyo days, Bangkok nights / New York : Vertigo, c2009.

Ward, Bill, 1919-1928. Torchy, the blonde bombshell / New York : Pure Imagination Publishing, 2008.

Watson, Esther. Unlovable / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2009-

Yaoi : anthology of boys love stories vols. 1-2 / [Las Vegas, Nev.] : Yaoi Press, 2007-



As always, this listing is available as an RSS Feed.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter from your friends at Yet Another Comics Blog!

(Cover by Mau Heymans from Walt Disney's Donald Duck and Friends #338.)

Quick Reviews: Awesome Batman Comics

While the regular in-continuity Batman titles take a rest for the 3-month-long "Battle for the Cowl" angst-fest, a couple of out-of-continuity Batman titles are giving us all the Caped Crusader awesomeness we need.

Batman Confidential #28 is the conclusion of "A New Dawn," the three-part story that features the first comics-based appearance of King Tut, the villain from the 60s Batman TV show. Writers Nunzio DeFilippis & Christina Weir give us Batman teaming up with his old foe The Riddler to try to unravel Tut's scheme. Their Egyptology seems to be on the money, or at least good enough to fool me in fiction. The real awesomeness of the story however lies with legendary penciller José Luis García-López, who hasn't lost a step and can draw dynamic scenes of talking and fluid scenes of action like nobody's business. His art meshes surprisingly well with the inks of Kevin Nowlan. The only thing missing art-wise is the yellow oval around the bat-insignia, because: a) the grey-and-blue coloring for the costume looks odd without the yellow oval; and b) this is totally the kind of story that needs the yellow oval.

Even more awesome? Batman: The Brave and the Bold #3--story by Matt Wayne & art by Andy Suriano & Dan Davis--guest starring Green Arrow in the story "President Batman!" (exclamation point in the original, and mandatory.) How awesome is it? In just the first few pages: Green Arrow lands the Arrow Plane on the lawn of the White House; to foil a kidnapping plot, Batman assumes the identity of the President with the help of a holographic image projector; Batman & Green Arrow break up a floor fight in Congress while disguised as the President and a Secret Service agent--with their fists!; I could go on, but won't save to mention that the baddie is a Golden Age Superman villain with an albino gorilla sidekick. Batman + Gorillas = great comics!

Looking forward to the new Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely Batman and Robin comic, which will surely also be awesome even if it only comes out three times per year. But in the meantime, there's plenty of great Batman stories hiding out there if you know where to look!

Rating for both: 4 (of 5).

Amazon Top 50

Here are the Top 50 Graphic Novels on Amazon this afternoon. All the previous caveats apply.


1 (-). Watchmen
2 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
3 (+1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid
4 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
5 (-). Star Trek: Countdown TPB *
6 (-). V for Vendetta
7 (+9). Mercy Thompson Homecoming *
8 (-). Batman: The Killing Joke
9 (-2). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
10 (+4). Blueberry Girl
11 (+2). Angel: After the Fall, Vol. 3
12 (+20). The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle
13 (+16). Wolves at the Gate (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 3)
14 (+11). Ignorance, Thy Name Is Bucky: A Get Fuzzy Collection *
15 (N). The Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, 39th Edition
16 (-6). Naruto, Volume 43
17 (+7). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1
18 (-6). Naruto, Volume 42
19 (+11). Time of Your Life (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 4) *
20 (-3). Naruto, Volume 44
21 (+5). Batman: R.I.P.
22 (+5). Serenity, Vol. 2: Better Days
23 (N). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
24 (-5). Watchmen (Absolute Edition)
25 (-3). The Joker
26 (N). Batman: Heart of Hush
27 (+6). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
28 (-7). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
29 (+9). The Complete Peanuts 1971-1972 *
30 (N). The Walking Dead, Vol. 9: Here We Remain
31 (+14). Serenity, Vol. 1: Those Left Behind
32 (+5). Fruits Basket, Vol. 22
33 (N). Junjo Romantica Volume 9
34 (+13). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
35 (-). No Future For You (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 2)
36 (+7). Bone: One Volume Edition
37 (N). My Bad: A Zits Treasury
38 (+3). The Long Way Home (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 1)
39 (-16). Batman: Year One
40 (N). Spike: After The Fall HC
41 (-23). Dark Tower: Treachery *
42 (N). Final Crisis *
43 (N). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 2
44 (-4). All Star Superman, Vol. 2
45 (N). Absolute Death *
46 (-12). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
47 (N). Angel: After the Fall: First Night Volume 2
48 (N). The Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll's House
49 (N). Eerie Archives Volume 1
50 (N). Scott Pilgrim Volume 5: Scott Pilgrim vs The Universe



Items with asterisks (*) are pre-order items.


Commentary:

* Watchmen falls to #30 on the overall charts, but maintains it's footing at #1 on the comics chart.

* The Beats: A Graphic History, which debuted way up at #9 last week, is completely absent this week. Flash-in-the-pan, or bizarre sales spikes and dips? We shall see in the coming weeks...

* Manga sales see Naruto volumes slipping slightly now that they're no longer pre-orders. Surprise debut at #33 of a volume of Junjo Romantica, a yaoi title I'd never heard of before.

* Highest debut this week is the Overstreet Price Guide at #15; rumor has it that this may be the last ever Overstreet.

* Also debuting down near the bottom of the list are DC's hardcovers for Final Crisis & Absolute Death; the Death volume doesn't street until October.

* Marvel's lone title, a pre-order for Dark Tower: Treachery, takes a drastic fall down twenty-three places.

Monkey Covers

Sunday is Monkey Covers day here at YACB. Because there's nothing better than a comic with a monkey on the cover!

Konga is torn between revenge... and love! on Dick Giordano's cover for Konga #13 (1963).

(Standard train-attacking giant gorillas not really being monkeys applies.)


Image courtesy of the GCD. Click on the image for a larger version.

Amazon Top 50

Here are the Top 50 Graphic Novels on Amazon this afternoon. All the previous caveats apply.


1 (-). Watchmen
2 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
3 (+1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
4 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid
5 (+2). Star Trek: Countdown TPB *
6 (-1). V for Vendetta
7 (-1). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
8 (-). Batman: The Killing Joke
9 (N). The Beats: A Graphic History
10 (+5). Naruto, Volume 43 *
11 (N). The Saturday Evening Pearls: A Pearls Before Swine Collection
12 (+2). Naruto, Volume 42 *
13 (+3). Angel: After the Fall, Vol. 3
14 (-3). Blueberry Girl
15 (+14). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
16 (-4). Mercy Thompson Homecoming *
17 (+3). Naruto, Volume 44 *
18 (-9). Dark Tower: Treachery *
19 (-9). Watchmen (Absolute Edition)
20 (+29). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
21 (-8). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
22 (-). The Joker
23 (+3). Batman: Year One
24 (-). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1
25 (N). Ignorance, Thy Name Is Bucky: A Get Fuzzy Collection
26 (-9). Batman: R.I.P.
27 (-6). Serenity, Vol. 2: Better Days
28 (+7). From Hell
29 (+5). Wolves at the Gate (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 3)
30 (+10). Time of Your Life (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 4) *
31 (N). Berserk Volume 28
32 (N). The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle
33 (-14). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
34 (+2). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
35 (+3). No Future For You (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 2)
36 (N). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
37 (-19). Fruits Basket, Vol. 22
38 (-11). The Complete Peanuts 1971-1972 *
39 (N). Y: The Last Man, Vol. 10: Whys and Wherefores
40 (-17). All Star Superman, Vol. 2
41 (+6). The Long Way Home (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 1)
42 (N). Y: The Last Man Vol. 4: Safeword
43 (-10). Bone: One Volume Edition
44 (N). Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
45 (+5). Serenity, Vol. 1: Those Left Behind
46 (N). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim Versus The World
47 (-10). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
48 (N). Batman: The Long Halloween
49 (-4). Crown Of Horns (Bone)
50 (N). Battle Angel Alita: Last Order, Volume 11 *





Items with asterisks (*) are pre-order items.


Commentary:

* Watchmen slides again down to #17 on the overall list. It's only 3 places ahead of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw, so look for Watchmen to lose its place atop the comics list in the next week or two.

* A surprise top ten debut for The Beats: A Graphic History. Didn't see that one coming.

* Other strong debuts for strip collections for Pearls Before Swine & Get Fuzzy.

* In manga rankings, the Naruto pre-orders inch up the charts, and we get volumes of Berserk & Battle Angel Alita popping onto the list.