Sunday, January 31, 2010

Monkey Covers

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

Gorilla Man does his best John Travolta imitation on Carlo Pagulayan's 1970s Variant Cover to Agents of Atlas #7 (2009).

(Standard disclaimer about disco dancing gorillas not really being monkeys applies.)


Image courtesy of the Comic Book DB. Click on the image for a larger version.

Friday, January 29, 2010

Amazon Top 50

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


1 (-). Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 *
2 (+1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
3 (+1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
4 (+2). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
5 (+2). Diary of a Wimpy Kid
6 (-1). The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb
7 (+2). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
8 (-). Watchmen
9 (-7). The Walking Dead Volume 11: Fear The Hunters
10 (+2). The Complete Persepolis
11 (+25). Batman: The Killing Joke
12 (-1). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
13 (+6). Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth
14 (-4). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
15 (-1). Dark Tower: The Fall of Gilead *
16 (-3). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
17 (-1). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
18 (-3). Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
19 (+22). Batman: Year One
20 (R). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
21 (+10). The Walking Dead Book 5 *
22 (N). Naruto, Vol. 47 *
23 (-1). American Born Chinese
24 (+18). Fables Vol. 13: The Great Fables Crossover *
25 (-7). Asterios Polyp
26 (N). AOZORA Finder Rock
27 (-1). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 6: Retreat *
28 (-4). Stitches: A Memoir
29 (-6). Stephen King's The Stand Vol. 2: American Nightmares
30 (+16). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
31 (N). Bone Handbook *
32 (N). Vampire Knight, Vol. 9 *
33 (-6). Thor, Vol. 3 *
34 (R). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
35 (N). Tsubasa 25
36 (N). Black Bird, Vol. 3 *
37 (-7). Predators and Prey (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Vol. 5)
38 (R). Dark Tower: Treachery
39 (-6). V for Vendetta
40 (N). Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Volume 8 - Destroyer
41 (R). Serenity, Vol. 2: Better Days
42 (-21). The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks
43 (R). Dilbert 2.0: 20 Years of Dilbert
44 (-15). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
45 (-13). The Cartoon Introduction to Economics: Volume One: Microeconomics
46 (+1). Stephen King's The Stand Vol. 1: Captain Trips
47 (R). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 3: Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness
48 (-8). The Long Way Home (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 1)
49 (R). Simon's Cat


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

N = New listing appearing on list for first time
R = Item returning to the list after having been off for 1 or more weeks


Commentary:

* Twilight: The Graphic Novel as a pre-order has slipped to #21 on the overall chart, but that's still good enough for it to rule the roost on the comics chart.

* Last week's Walking Dead euphoria—anchored by a tv series green-lighting and a rave review of vol. 11 on BoingBoing—has slipped off somewhat, but vol. 11 remains in the top ten.

* A relatively big week for manga: Naruto pops in as the highest debut, and a kindle manga, AOZORA Finder Rock, debuts just a couple of slots lower. Three other manga titles debut on the list as well.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

The Apple iPad: Will It Save the Comics Industry? Or Destroy It?

Probably neither, at least right away.

Yesterday Apple finally unveiled their tablet computer, the iPad. Which means that after weeks of rampant speculation as to what it means for comics, there's finally something concrete that can be considered.

Apple has decided to use the open ebook standard EPUB for their new iBookstore and reader on the iPad. Which is great for mostly textual books, but not so good for highly graphical publications such as comic books. This means that it is highly unlikely that publishers will offer comics and/or graphic novels directly through iBookstore. Thus, comic distribution on the iPad will no doubt be tied to a number of different 3rd-party apps, such as comiXology and the like. So instead of there being one place on your iPad where you go for all your comics and other reading material, you'll need to fire up a bunch of different apps, each of which has a different interface, different agreements with different publishers, and different pricing schemes. In other words, kind of a mess that won't make it easy for the casual comics reader to decided to download the latest 'it' comic that they hear about on NPR or see a review of the the New York Times.

I could be wrong. Jobs casually mentioned textbooks being part of iBookstore, and in the case of many math- and science-related textbooks there are graphical challenges as well, so maybe there's a plan to support formats other than EPUB in the iBookstore at some point. In which case, we'll be headed down a different rabbit hole all together.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

That Twilight Manga Adaptation

I don't have much to add about the upcoming Twilight manga adaptation, but one thing jumped out at me when I saw these preview pages in Entertainment Weekly:



Poor balloon placement.

IIRC, this is artist Young Kim's first comics work, and in these pages it shows. She neglected to leave enough room for the word balloons, and as such we get the semi-transparent balloons so as to try to show the art underneath, or balloons covering up half of a character's head. For example, panel 3 of the second page above, where you can barely see Bella's face squeezed between the two balloons.

No offense to Kim, whose character designs I really like and who seems to do a decent job with the storytelling. But an editor really needed to point out the balloon placement deal on the layouts...

Monday, January 25, 2010

Graphic Narrative Discussion Group

Our Graphic Narrative Discussion Group met last week and selected our readings for 2010. They are:

February 18, 2010: American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
An award-winning and highly-praised graphic novel that intertwines three separate narratives to explore the Chinese-American experience and issues of myth and race.

April 15, 2010: Clover by CLAMP (omnibus edition)
A shoujo (‘girls comics’) futurist cyber-fantasy by the preeminent Japanese mangaka collective.

June 17, 2010: Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli
This artistic & narrative tour de force about an architect who re-examines his life was one of the best reviewed graphic novels of 2009.

August 19, 2010: Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos Papadimitriou
Parallel stories set in the 19th century and the modern day examine Bertrand Russell’s foundational quest in mathematics.

October 21, 2010: Parker: The Hunter by Darwyn Cooke & The Hunter: A Parker Novel by Richard Stark
Cooke’s highly-praised adaptation of Stark’s seminal noir novel gives us the opportunity to discuss the challenges and opportunities involved in adapting a work from one medium to another. (We will read and discuss both the original prose novel and the graphic adaptation.)

December 16, 2010: Masterpiece Comics by R. Sikoryak
Adaptations of literary classics produced by mashing-up comic styles and characters with the source material, e.g. The Little Lulu characters in a retelling of The Scarlet Letter.

Our Website at http://webservices.itcs.umich.edu/mediawiki/gndiscuss/ has been updated with the 2010 schedule.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Monkey Covers

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

This monkey on the cover of Pyton Spesial #1 (1992) is a crazed comics-making machine!


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

Friday, January 22, 2010

Amazon Top 50

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


1 (N). Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 *
2 (+22). The Walking Dead Volume 11: Fear The Hunters
3 (-2). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
4 (-2). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
5 (-2). The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb
6 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
7 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid
8 (-4). Watchmen
9 (-2). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
10 (-). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
11 (-3). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
12 (-3). The Complete Persepolis
13 (-2). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
14 (+15). Dark Tower: The Fall of Gilead *
15 (-3). Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
16 (-3). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
17 (-1). Footnotes in Gaza: A Graphic Novel
18 (+2). Asterios Polyp
19 (-4). Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth
20 (N). Benny And Penny in The Big No-No
21 (+1). The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks
22 (-8). American Born Chinese
23 (+13). Stephen King's The Stand Vol. 2: American Nightmares
24 (-6). Stitches: A Memoir
25 (N). King of RPGs 1
26 (+5). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 6: Retreat *
27 (N). Thor, Vol. 3 *
28 (R). Batman: Battle for the Cowl
29 (+20). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
30 (-3). Predators and Prey (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Vol. 5)
31 (+13). The Walking Dead Book 5
32 (N). The Cartoon Introduction to Economics: Volume One: Microeconomics
33 (-14). V for Vendetta
34 (-11). The Arrival
35 (-9). Blankets
36 (-8). Batman: The Killing Joke
37 (-20). The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale
38 (R). Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth
39 (+4). Wolves at the Gate (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 3)
40 (-6). The Long Way Home (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 1)
41 (-8). Batman: Year One
42 (N). Fables Vol. 13: The Great Fables Crossover *
43 (-3). No Future For You (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 2)
44 (R). Time of Your Life (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 4)
45 (R). Wolverine: Old Man Logan
46 (-25). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
47 (R). Stephen King's The Stand Vol. 1: Captain Trips
48 (N). Little Mouse Gets Ready
49 (R). Invincible Iron Man, Vol. 3: World's Most Wanted, Book 2 *


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

N = New listing appearing on list for first time
R = Item returning to the list after having been off for 1 or more weeks


Commentary:

* The big news of course is the Twilight graphic novel, which is #4 on the overall Amazon bestseller list and towers over anything else in the comics and graphic novel section. Expect to see it enthroned at the top of this list for a long time to come.

* Other debuts this week include the Toon Book Benny and Penny in The Big No-No, the first King of RPGs collection, the latest (and last) JMS Thor collection, The Cartoon Introduction to Economics, the latest Fables collection, and Jeff Smith's Little Mouse Gets Ready.

* The Walking Dead gets a huge boost, no doubt due to the announcement this week that it will be turned into a television series by AMC.

* Marvel do relatively well this week. Mostly due to Stephen King, but Thor, Wolverine, and Iron Man also make appearances.

* Yes, I know I didn't get around to the big 2009 wrap-up post last week. Soon...

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Monkey Covers

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

It's Grendel vs. Gorilla on Matt Wagner's cover to Grendel: War Child #5 (1999).

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


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

Friday, January 15, 2010

Amazon Top 50

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

1 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
2 (+1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
3 (-1). The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb
4 (+3). Watchmen
5 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
6 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid
7 (-1). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
8 (-). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
9 (-). The Complete Persepolis
10 (+3). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
11 (+5). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
12 (-). Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
13 (+1). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
14 (+9). American Born Chinese
15 (-4). Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth
16 (-4). Footnotes in Gaza: A Graphic Novel
17 (+12). The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale
18 (+16). Stitches: A Memoir
19 (-2). V for Vendetta
20 (-5). Asterios Polyp
21 (+1). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
22 (+4). The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks
23 (+18). The Arrival
24 (-7). The Walking Dead Volume 11: Fear The Hunters
25 (N). Unwritten Vol. 1: Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity
26 (+14). Blankets
27 (-3). Predators and Prey (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Vol. 5)
28 (R). Batman: The Killing Joke
29 (N). Dark Tower: The Fall of Gilead *
30 (-11). Dilbert: 2010 Wall Calendar
31 (-). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 6: Retreat *
32 (-2). Simon's Cat
33 (R). Batman: Year One
34 (+15). The Long Way Home (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 1)
35 (-7). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
36 (-). Stephen King's The Stand Vol. 2: American Nightmares
37 (N). Cover Run: The DC Comics Art of Adam Hughes
38 (N). Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 22
39 (R). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
40 (+5). No Future For You (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 2)
41 (R). Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1: Unmanned
42 (-). Marvel Encyclopedia
43 (R). Wolves at the Gate (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 3)
44 (N). The Walking Dead Book 5
45 (-35). Dilbert: 2010 Day-to-Day Calendar
46 (-2). The Complete Peanuts 1971-1974 (Box Set) (Vol. 11-12)
47 (N). Palestine
48 (R). Green Lantern: Agent Orange
49 (-3). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
50 (N). Babymouse #12: Burns Rubber



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

N = New listing appearing on list for first time
R = Item returning to the list after having been off for 1 or more weeks


Commentary:

* The University Effect is still strong, with graphic novels favored by college courses still hanging out near the top of the list.

* There are a lot of new titles this week, led by the first collection of Mike Carey & Peter Gross's Unwritten at #25. This is the first time since I've been keeping track that Palestine has made the top 50, and also the first appearance of one of the Babymouse volumes (squeaking in at #50).

* Looks like I'm going to stick with Fridays for compiling these lists, so just treat last week as a slight aberation.

* Yes, I'm still going to post an epic Amazon Best sellers of 2009 follow-up; I hope to work on it some this weekend...

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

A Year of Comics Reading

Well, 11 months actually. Here's a chart showing how many comics I got each week, and how many I read each day, from February to December of 2009:



(Click to make it legible size...)

I've mentioned before on this blog the fact that I have a fairly sizable comic book backlog; I estimate that it's somewhere around 1000 unread comics. This chart was part of my plan to try to reduce the size of the backlog.

Studies show that people who track calories by writing them down and monitor their weight weekly do a better job at losing weight and keeping it off. So early last year I decided to do the equivalent to see if I could slim down my comics backlog.

It seems to have been successful; by the end of the year the backlog was down 102 comics from where it was at the start of the year.

I averaged reading 31 comics each week. The biggest day for reading comics was Saturday; the lightest were Tuesday & Wednesday.

I began my 'week' on Thursday, since that's the day my DCBS shipment usually arrives. Any other comics acquired during the week also got added in.

I counted each item acquired and each item read as one comic, whether it was a 24-page pamphlet or a 720-page tome (I'm looking at you, Dash Shaw's Bottomless Belly Button!)

Monday, January 11, 2010

YACB Best Comics of 2009

Let's see, I'm probably going to forget something... Here are my twenty favorite comics from the past year, in no particular order:

Yotsuba&! vols. 6-7 - Nothing gives me greater joy than a new volume of Yotsuba&!, and in 2009 we got two, thanks to Yen Press's resurrection of the title. I actually preferred ADV's less-literal translations, and I'm not a fan of the mess of fonts that Yen is using, but those are minor quibbles. When I was telling people that the new volume 6 was out, I simply said "Yotsuba gets a bike"; those who were familiar with the comic would instantly light up, knowing that Azuma is able to wring much hilarity out of such simple everyday premises.


Batman & Robin #1-3 - Grant Morrison is a good comic writer. Frank Quitely is a good comic artist. But put the two together, and you always get something greater than the sum of its parts. They kick off the era of the new Dick Grayson Batman with a three-part story that is full of action, plot and character. Every time Quitely draws a comic, he shows me something new.


Detective Comics #854-860: "Batwoman" - Like Morrison & Quitely, Greg Rucka & J.H. Williams III make for a great team. Their new Batwoman headlining feature in 'Tec is a visual tour de force, but always in service to the story. Most of today's comics waste their high production values on mediocrity, but here the bold colors jump off the shiny pages and the contrasts between the chaotic action and the sedate in-between sections work in ways to stretch the narrative.


3 Story - Matt Kindt's OGN about a man who never stops growing. Kindt takes a fantastic narrative and makes it compellingly ordinary. Craig Pressgang is a character both compelling and enigmatic, as his story is told from the viewpoints of three women in his life.


Ganges #3 - Kevin Huizenga's ode to insomnia. If 3 Stories makes the fantastic ordinary, Kindt pulls off the opposite with his Glenn Ganges stories, making the ordinary compelling.


Incredible Hercules - The perfect example of how to do a myth-based super-hero comic. This past year saw Herc and his pal Amadeus Cho journey to the afterlife, have a falling out, and then come together to take on the Olympians outpost on Earth. Along the way, Hercules impersonates Thor. Fun from beginning to end.


The Muppet Show - There may not be a better pairing of artist & commercial subject matter than Roger Langridge and the Muppet Show. Langridge distills the essence of what makes the Muppets work and filters it through his own sensibilities. With so many mediocre licensed comics out there, Langridge & Boom! show that it can be done right.


Jonah Hex #50 - An epic western tale in one (oversized) issue, with art by the always reliable Darwyn Cooke. Brutal, violent and heartbreaking. In other words, everything you want in a Jonah Hex comic.


Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #53-58 - Paul Tobin's reboot of the Marvel Adventures line finds us with a Peter Parker in high school, and a perfect cast of supporting characters to round things out. Every story is done-in-one, but with enough continuing subplots to keep things going from issue to issue. It looks like Marvel is canceling this soon, which is a shame.


Batman: The Brave and the Bold #4 - Mainly the first two pages, which may be the best comics I've read all year. Batman teams up with Sugar & Spike to take on Felix Faust. Really. It's awesome. Thank you, Matt Wayne & Andy Suriano!


Beasts of Burden #1-4 - Evan Dorkin & Jill Thompson take their stories of animals who protect their neighborhood to their own series. Thompson's painted artwork is perfect. The ending of issue #2 is one of the saddest, most brutally heartbreaking things I've read in a long while.


Captain Britain and MI13 #10-15: "Vampire State" - DRACULA shoots VAMPIRES at EARTH from a CANNON on the FReAKIN' MOON! Sometimes I just love comics!


Love & Capes #9-12 - Thom Zahler end the first 'season' of his romantic comedy super-hero story with the lead-up to Mark & Abby's wedding. Both the drama and the gags work well, and Zahler's art keeps things zipping along.


The Cartoon History of the Modern World pt 2 - Larry Gonick finishes his 30-years-in-the-making History of the Universe, and it's worth the wait. Gonick is the measuring stick against which all other non-fiction comics should be measured.


Johnny Cash: I See a Darkness - Reinhard Kleist's German OGN about the original Man in Black is translated into English. Kleist captures the essense of Cash's life with his appropriately moody artwork, and does an excellent job interweaving some of Cash's songs into the narrative as visual reveries. A good example of how to do a comic book biography.


The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - Did we really need another comic book adaptation of Baum's Oz? Yes, when done with great skill by Eric Shanower & Skottie Young. By giving the story proper room to breathe, Shanower is able to bring to the front parts of the story that are usually glossed over or missing from other adaptations (I'm looking at you, well-loved MGM movie!) And rarely have the denizens of Oz looked better than when drawn by Young.


Cat Burglar Black - Richard Sala's fun-goth sensibilities are filtered though an all-ages story, but never lose their essence.


"Supergirl" in Wednesday Comics - In a comic full of all-star talent, Jimmy Palmiotti & Amanda Conner more than hold their own. Krypto & Streaky go nuts, and Supergirl must get them under control. Out-cutes just about anything else published this year.


Parker: The Hunter - Darwyn Cooke's adaptation of Richard Starking's first Parker novel is dripping with mood. It's comic book noir done right.


Beanworld Book 3: Remember Here When You Are There! - Larry Marder finishes the 'spring' cycle of Beanworld in an all-new hardcover. A great reminder of just how far the simple comic format can go. Funny how I'd never before caught on to the Gnostic undertones of the Beanworld narrative...



I'm sure there are plenty of good comics published last year that I sadly haven't yet got around to reading, so don't fret if your favorites aren't listed here.



Sunday, January 10, 2010

Monkey Covers

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

Wolff & Byrd defend the proverbial 800-pound gorilla on Batton Lash's cover to Supernatural Law #35 (2002).

(Standard disclaimer about gorillas who can sit wherever they want not really being monkeys applies.)


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

Saturday, January 09, 2010

Amazon Top 50

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

1 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
2 (-). The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb
3 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
4 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
5 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid
6 (+6). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
7 (+1). Watchmen
8 (+12). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
9 (+8). The Complete Persepolis
10 (-4). Dilbert: 2010 Day-to-Day Calendar
11 (-4). Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth
12 (+21). Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
13 (+8). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
14 (+10). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
15 (-5). Asterios Polyp
16 (+13). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
17 (-8). The Walking Dead Volume 11: Fear The Hunters *
18 (-3). The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks
19 (-8). Dilbert: 2010 Wall Calendar
20 (-7). Footnotes in Gaza: A Graphic Novel
21 (+1). V for Vendetta
22 (-6). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
23 (+19). American Born Chinese
24 (-10). Predators and Prey (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Vol. 5)
25 (R). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 3: Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness
26 (R). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim Versus The World
27 (R). Serenity, Vol. 2: Better Days
28 (R). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
29 (R). The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale
30 (-4). Simon's Cat
31 (+8). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 6: Retreat *
32 (R). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 5: Scott Pilgrim vs The Universe
33 (N). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together
34 (-6). Stitches: A Memoir
35 (R). Bone: The Complete Cartoon Epic in One Volume
36 (+11). Stephen King's The Stand Vol. 2: American Nightmares *
37 (-10). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
38 (R). The Sandman Vol. 4: Season of Mists
39 (+10). Incognito
40 (-6). Blankets
41 (-). The Arrival
42 (-24). Marvel Encyclopedia
43 (N). Invincible Iron Man, Vol. 3: World's Most Wanted, Book 2
44 (-9). The Complete Peanuts 1971-1974 (Box Set) (Vol. 11-12)
45 (R). No Future For You (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 2)
46 (+4). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
47 (-16). The Boys Volume 5: Herogasm
48 (N). Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth
49 (R). The Long Way Home (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 1)
50 (-2). Batman: Battle for the Cowl


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

N = New listing appearing on list for first time
R = Item returning to the list after having been off for 1 or more weeks


Commentary:

* I forgot to do this list on Friday, so here it is on Saturday morning. I may decide to move this feature to Saturdays for 2010. Or not. I have six days to decide, I guess...

* With the start of a new semester, the University Effect is in full swing, with titles like Maus & Persepolis popping up into the top 10.

* Recent publicity about the upcoming Scott Pilgrim movie seems to be the impetus for all five Scott Pilgrim volumes suddenly showing up in the middle of the list. Will this be sustainable (at least until the movie comes out)? Oddly, volume 4 never showed up on the top 50 list last year.

* Also oddly Chris Ware's Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth never appeared on the list last year either. The only true new item this week is the latest Invincible Iron Man collection.

* That promised 2009 Amazon best sellers mega list and commentary will hopefully be posted sometime next week...

Monday, January 04, 2010

Amazon Top 50 of 2009

I've finished tabulating all of the data, and here are the Top 50 Graphic Novels sold on Amazon in 2009:

  1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
  2. Watchmen (paperback)
  3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid
  4. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules
  5. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
  6. Batman: The Killing Joke
  7. V for Vendetta
  8. Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
  9. Mercy Thompson Homecoming
  10. Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
  11. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
  12. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
  13. Batman: Year One
  14. Time of Your Life (Buffy season 8, vol. 4)
  15. The Complete Persepolis
  16. The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
  17. The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
  18. Asterios Polyp
  19. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
  20. The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb
  21. Serenity, Vol. 2: Better Days
  22. Wolves at the Gate (Buffy season 8 vol. 3)
  23. The Joker
  24. Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
  25. Dark Tower: Treachery
  26. Batman: R.I.P.
  27. Star Trek: Countdown TPB
  28. Predators and Prey (Buffy season 8 vol. 5)
  29. The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks
  30. Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth
  31. The Complete Peanuts 1971-1974 Box Set
  32. Bone: One Volume Edition
  33. Final Crisis
  34. Stitches: A Memoir
  35. Dilbert: 2010 Day-to-Day Calendar
  36. Bloom County Complete Library Volume 1
  37. Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? Deluxe
  38. The Walking Dead, Vol. 10: What We Become
  39. Blueberry Girl
  40. Watchmen (hardcover)
  41. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1
  42. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 3: Century #1
  43. The Walking Dead, Vol. 9: Here We Remain
  44. Fables, Vol. 12: The Dark Ages
  45. The Long Way Home (Buffy season 8, vol. 1)
  46. The Arrival
  47. Watchmen (absolute edition)
  48. Parker: The Hunter
  49. The Marvel Encyclopedia
  50. Tumor Chapter 1 (kindle)
I'll have a much larger post in a few days that includes the much longer list and describes my methodology; and at some point I'm going to play with some graphs as well.

Sunday, January 03, 2010

Monkey Covers

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

Bufkin, the flying monkey who is dangerous because he reads, gets ready to go into battle on Joao Ruas's cover to Fables #87 (2009).


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

Friday, January 01, 2010

Amazon Top 50

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


1 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
2 (+1). The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb
3 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
4 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
5 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid
6 (-). Dilbert: 2010 Day-to-Day Calendar
7 (-). Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth
8 (+1). Watchmen
9 (+6). The Walking Dead Volume 11: Fear The Hunters *
10 (-). Asterios Polyp
11 (+30). Dilbert: 2010 Wall Calendar
12 (+12). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
13 (+13). Footnotes in Gaza: A Graphic Novel
14 (+18). Predators and Prey (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Vol. 5)
15 (-4). The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks
16 (-8). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
17 (-3). The Complete Persepolis
18 (-6). Marvel Encyclopedia
19 (R). Time of Your Life (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 4)
20 (R). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
21 (+22). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
22 (-3). V for Vendetta
23 (+16). The Rocketeer: The Complete Deluxe Edition
24 (-8). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
25 (N). Ex Machina, Vol. 8: Dirty Tricks
26 (-8). Simon's Cat
27 (+7). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
28 (-11). Stitches: A Memoir
29 (+4). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
30 (-7). Wolverine: Old Man Logan
31 (+18). The Boys Volume 5: Herogasm
32 (R). The DC Comics Encyclopedia, Updated and Expanded Edition
33 (+7). Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
34 (+12). Blankets
35 (-13). The Complete Peanuts 1971-1974 (Box Set) (Vol. 11-12)
36 (-8). Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft
37 (-9). Batman: The Killing Joke
38 (-17). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
39 (N). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 6: Retreat *
40 (R). Wolves at the Gate (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 3)
41 (+7). The Arrival
42 (R). American Born Chinese
43 (R). The Walking Dead, Vol. 10: What We Become
44 (-24). Bloom County Complete Library Volume 1
45 (R). Parker: The Hunter
46 (R). Locke & Key: Head Games
47 (N). Stephen King's The Stand Vol. 2: American Nightmares *
48 (-13). Batman: Battle for the Cowl
49 (N). Incognito
50 (-19). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1


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

N = New listing appearing on list for first time
R = Item returning to the list after having been off for 1 or more weeks


Commentary:

* Welcome to 2010. Of course, this chart generally reflects the past week, so it's really marking the final week of 2009 between Christmas and New Years. Again, slightly larger grain of salt due to today being a holiday.

* Crumb's Genesis crawls its way back towards the top of the list, with it's sights set on the Wimpy Kid. The books are at #56 & #39 on the overall list.

* Highest debut belongs to the latest Ex Machina collection at #25. The pre-order for the latest Buffy collection pops in at #39 (and also gives a slight bump to the previous Buffy volumes). Rounding out the debuts are a couple of non-Marvel-U Marvel books near the bottom, Stephen King's The Stand & Incognito.

* The biggest gainer is the 2010 Dilbert Wall Calendar; 50% off seems to be enough for people to pony up to hang it on their cubicle next week. Other big gainers are those comics typically used in college classes, as students get ready for the new semester.

* Look for a 2009 year-end Amazon sales chart analysis coming soon-ish...

Happy New Year 2010!



Yet Another Comics Blog, Angel & Spike, along with goth girl Nemi and her friend, all wish you a prosperous New Year!

(covers to Angel #28 & Nemi #76).