Friday, June 29, 2012

Amazon Top 50

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


1 (+2). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise, Part 2
2 (-). Dork Diaries 4 (Kindle)
3 (-2). The Walking Dead, Vol. 16: A Larger World
4 (-). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise Part 1
5 (-). The Third Wheel (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 7) *
6 (+1). Dork Diaries 4: Tales from a Not-So-Graceful Ice Princess
7 (+4). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise, Part 3 *
8 (-). Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 6)
9 (-3). Darth Vader and Son
10 (N). Get Jiro! *
11 (+14). Batman: Earth One *
12 (R). Health Care Reform: What It Is, Why It's Necessary, How It Works
13 (-3). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
14 (-2). Batman: The Killing Joke
15 (+8). Watchmen
16 (N). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume III: Century #3 2009 *
17 (R). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
18 (-5). Dork Diaries 1 (Kindle)
19 (-7). Big Nate and Friends (Kindle)
20 (-6). The Walking Dead, Vol. 15: We Find Ourselves
21 (-5). Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 1
22 (-3). The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (revised and expanded edition)
23 (-14). Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls (The New 52)
24 (+11). Kick-Ass 2
25 (-1). The Ugly Truth (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 5)
26 (-8). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
27 (R). Big Nate: From the Top
28 (-7). Dog Days (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 4)
29 (-). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Lost Adventures
30 (+1). Dork Diaries 2 (Kindle)
31 (-9). Dork Diaries 3 (Kindle)
32 (+8). Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 2 - Knightquest
33 (-16). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (Kindle edition)
34 (-19). Big Nate: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
35 (-7). Are You My Mother?: A Comic Drama
36 (+11). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
37 (N). King City
38 (-1). The Walking Dead, Book 7
39 (-2). The Walking Dead, Vol. 14: No Way Out
40 (+8). Big Nate Fun Blaster *
41 (-14). The Walking Dead, Book 5
42 (-22). Batman: Year One
43 (R). The Walking Dead, Vol. 11: Fear The Hunters
44 (R). Watchmen (Kindle edition)
45 (N). Harvey Pekar's Cleveland
46 (N). Fatale Volume 1: Death Chases Me *
47 (-2). Batman: The Black Mirror
48 (R). Batman: Hush
49 (-8). The Complete Persepolis
50 (R). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art


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 second volume of Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Promise, ends the month the same way it began: at the top of the Amazon comics chart. It swapped places with last weeks #1, the latest Walking Dead collection, while the fourth Dork Diaries volume remains sandwiched between them.
  • There are a lot of new entries on the chart this week,  led by a surprising top ten debut of Vertigo's Get Jiro!, no doubt due to the involvement of celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain. Other debuts include the third and final volume of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century; Brandon Graham's King City collection; Harvey Pekar's Cleveland; and the first collection of Brubaker & Phillips' Lovecraftian noir comic Fatale.
  • Dead Watch: Just seven Walking Dead collections on the chart this week, down three from last week.
  • Bat Watch: Ten Batman titles on the chart this week, same as last. Batman: Earth One climbs up the chart but not quite enough to reach the top ten. It comes out in a couple of weeks, right before the release of the movie, so I expect that convergence will push it up closer to the top...

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Monkey Covers

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


Tiger Girl tries to save a gorilla on the cover of Fight Comics #69 (1950) by the Iger Shop.

(Standard disclaimer about tied-up gorillas not really being monkeys applies.)

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

Friday, June 22, 2012

Amazon Top 50

The Walking Dead, Vol. 16: A Larger World
Here are the Top 50 Graphic Novels on Amazon this morning. All the previous caveats apply.

1 (+1). The Walking Dead, Vol. 16: A Larger World
2 (+1). Dork Diaries 4 (Kindle)
3 (+1). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise, Part 2
4 (+2). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise Part 1
5 (-). The Third Wheel (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 7) *
6 (-5). Darth Vader and Son
7 (-). Dork Diaries 4: Tales from a Not-So-Graceful Ice Princess
8 (+2). Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 6)
9 (-1). Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls (The New 52)
10 (-1). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
11 (+1). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise, Part 3 *
12 (+12). Batman: The Killing Joke
13 (+29). Dork Diaries 1 (Kindle)
14 (+4). The Walking Dead, Vol. 15: We Find Ourselves
15 (+11). Big Nate: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
16 (+12). Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 1
17 (-6). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (Kindle edition)
18 (+4). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
19 (R). The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (revised and expanded edition)
20 (-). Batman: Year One
21 (+9). Dog Days (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 4)
22 (+16). Dork Diaries 3 (Kindle)
23 (-7). Watchmen
24 (+3). The Ugly Truth (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 5)
25 (R). Batman: Earth One *
26 (-9). Big Nate and Friends (Kindle)
27 (+8). The Walking Dead, Book 5
28 (-7). Are You My Mother?: A Comic Drama
29 (+5). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Lost Adventures
30 (+2). Justice League Vol. 1: Origin (The New 52)
31 (+14). Dork Diaries 2 (Kindle)
32 (R). Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
33 (R). V for Vendetta
34 (-3). The Boys, Vol. 11: Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men
35 (R). Kick-Ass 2
36 (-11). Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 1: Faces of Death
37 (R). The Walking Dead, Vol. 14: No Way Out
38 (+9). Big Nate Out Loud (Kindle)
39 (-10). The Walking Dead, Book 7
40 (-3). Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 2 - Knightquest
41 (R). The Complete Persepolis
42 (-6). The Walking Dead, Book 6
43 (R). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
44 (R). The Adventures of Tintin, Vol. 1
45 (-6). Batman: The Black Mirror
46 (R). The Walking Dead, Vol. 13: Too Far Gone
47 (-7). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
48 (N). Big Nate Fun Blaster *
49 (-3). The Walking Dead, Book 1
50 (R). The Walking Dead, Book 3


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:
  • No surprise at this week's new #1 book, as the latest Walking Dead collection is released. It currently sits at #46 on the overall Amazon books chart.
  • Only one new title on the chart this week: Big Nate Fun Blaster (which appears to be part comics & part activitities) slips in at #48.
  • Dead Watch: Ten Walking Dead collections on the chart this week, up from six last week. The new collection shows some modest coattails, though not at all what the season finale of the television show accomplished earlier in the year.
  • Bat Watch: Ten Batman titles on the chart this week, with just four weeks to go until The Dark Knight Rises...

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Monkey Covers

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

Läderlappen #8 (1980)

It's Batman vs. a gorilla on the cover of Läderlappen #8 (1980).

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

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

Friday, June 15, 2012

Amazon Top 50

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

1 (-). Darth Vader and Son
2 (-). The Walking Dead, Vol. 16: A Larger World *
3 (-). Dork Diaries 4 (Kindle)
4 (-). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise, Part 2
5 (-). The Third Wheel (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 7) *
6 (+1). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise Part 1
7 (-1). Dork Diaries 4: Tales from a Not-So-Graceful Ice Princess
8 (+1). Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls (The New 52)
9 (+2). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
10 (-2). Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 6)
11 (N). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (Kindle edition)
12 (-2). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise, Part 3 *
13 (+6). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
14 (R). Watchmen (Kindle edition)
15 (R). Health Care Reform: What It Is, Why It's Necessary, How It Works
16 (-4). Watchmen
17 (-2). Big Nate and Friends (Kindle)
18 (+3). The Walking Dead, Vol. 15: We Find Ourselves
19 (N). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes (Kindle edition)
20 (+12). Batman: Year One
21 (-8). Are You My Mother?: A Comic Drama
22 (+12). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
23 (+4). Kick-Ass 2
24 (-8). Batman: The Killing Joke
25 (N). Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 1: Faces of Death
26 (+7). Big Nate: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
27 (-10). The Ugly Truth (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 5)
28 (-7). Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 1
29 (-1). The Walking Dead, Book 7
30 (-10). Dog Days (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 4)
31 (-7). The Boys, Vol. 11: Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men *
32 (-6). Justice League Vol. 1: Origin (The New 52)
33 (N). V for Vendetta (Kindle edition)
34 (+6). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Lost Adventures
35 (+4). The Walking Dead, Book 5
36 (-5). The Walking Dead, Book 6
37 (-8). Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 2 - Knightquest
38 (-15). Dork Diaries 3 (Kindle)
39 (+2). Batman: The Black Mirror
40 (R). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
41 (R). Batman: The Complete Hush (Kindle edition)
42 (-6). Dork Diaries 1 (Kindle)
43 (N). Dracula: A Classic Pop-Up Tale (Graphic Pops)
44 (N). Big Nate Makes the Grade *
45 (R). Dork Diaries 2 (Kindle)
46 (-16). The Walking Dead, Book 1
47 (-12). Big Nate Out Loud (Kindle)
48 (-30). Marvel Encyclopedia
49 (R). Animal Man Vol. 1: The Hunt (The New 52)
50 (R). Batman: Year One (Kindle)

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:
  • Jeffrey Brown's Darth Vader and Son remains at the top of the list for the second week in a row, a week which saw very little change at the top of the chart. The top five are exactly the same as last week, and nine of the top ten were in the top ten last week.
  • A huge surge in Kindle editions this week as Amazon makes color graphic novels available on the Kindle app on Android and iOS. Such color graphic novels are almost exclusively from DC, which gives them a big boost on the chart.
  • Only three non-Kindle books are new this week: The first New 52 Detective Comics collection; Dracula: A Classic Pop-Up Tale, a bargain priced pop-up comic book (which was way up in the top fifteen just yesterday); and the pre-order for the latest Big Nate comic compilation.
  • Dead Watch: Just six Walking Dead compilations this week, with others being pushed out of the top fifty by DC's Kindle editions.
  • Bat Watch: Eleven Batman titles on the chart this week, helped by Kindle editions of several classic Batman collections.



Sunday, June 10, 2012

Monkey Covers

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

Planet of the Apes #10

Apes attack from above on the cover of Planet of the Apes #10 (2012) by Mitch Gerads.

(Standard disclaimer about gun-toting, zeppelin-repelling apes not really being monkeys applies.)

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

Friday, June 08, 2012

Amazon Top 50

Darth Vader and Son by Jeffrey Brown
Here are the Top 50 Graphic Novels on Amazon this morning. All the previous caveats apply.


1 (+3). Darth Vader and Son
2 (+7). The Walking Dead, Vol. 16: A Larger World *
3 (+10). Dork Diaries 4 (Kindle)
4 (-3). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise, Part 2
5 (-3). The Third Wheel (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 7) *
6 (+5). Dork Diaries 4: Tales from a Not-So-Graceful Ice Princess
7 (-4). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise Part 1
8 (-). Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 6)
9 (-4). Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls (The New 52)
10 (-4). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise, Part 3 *
11 (-4). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
12 (+2). Watchmen
13 (-3). Are You My Mother?: A Comic Drama
14 (+2). The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (revised and expanded ed.)
15 (-3). Big Nate and Friends (Kindle)
16 (-1). Batman: The Killing Joke
17 (+1). The Ugly Truth (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 5)
18 (R). Marvel Encyclopedia
19 (-2). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
20 (-). Dog Days (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 4)
21 (+7). The Walking Dead, Vol. 15: We Find Ourselves
22 (-1). Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 1
23 (+1). Dork Diaries 3 (Kindle)
24 (N). The Boys, Vol. 11: Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men *
25 (+5). Dork Diaries 1 (Kindle)
26 (-1). Justice League Vol. 1: Origin (The New 52)
27 (-8). Kick-Ass 2
28 (+8). The Walking Dead, Book 7
29 (-6). Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 2 - Knightquest
30 (-3). The Walking Dead, Book 1
31 (+7). The Walking Dead, Book 6
32 (-1). Batman: Year One
33 (-11). Big Nate: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
34 (+15). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
35 (+11). Big Nate Out Loud (Kindle)
36 (R). Dork Diaries 1 (Kindle)
37 (-3). Sailor Moon 5
38 (-9). Infinity Gauntlet
39 (-6). The Walking Dead, Book 5
40 (-8). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Lost Adventures
41 (R). Batman: The Black Mirror
42 (N). Dork Diaries 5 (Kindle) *
43 (R). The Walking Dead, Vol. 14: No Way Out
44 (R). Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451: The Authorized Adaptation
45 (N). Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb
46 (-20). Big Nate: From the Top (Kindle)
47 (R). The Walking Dead, Vol. 9: Here We Remain
48 (N). Empowered Volume 7 *
49 (N). Ouran High School Host Club, Vol. 18



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:

  • After several weeks of bopping around in the top ten, Jeffrey Brown's Darth Vader and Son finally lands in the #1 slot.
  • The top debut this week is the latest volume of Garth Ennis's The Boys. Also debuting are the fifth Dork Diaries, Jonathan Fetter-Vorm's Trinity, the latest volume of Adam Warren's Empowered, and the final volume of Ouran High School Host Club.
  • Dead Watch: Just nine Walking Dead collections on the chart this week. But the latest trade collection comes out in a couple of weeks and is already in the #2 position.
  • Bat Watch: Seven Batman titles on the chart again this week, with DC's well-timed re-release of the Knightfall collections capitalizing on the upcoming Dark Knight Rises film.




Monday, June 04, 2012

The Garlicks Interview: Q&A with Lea Hernandez

Writer and artist Lea Hernandez has been involved in both print and online comics for over twenty-five years. In the print world she is best known for her work on the graphic novels Cathedral Child, Clockwork Angels, Rumble Girls, and Killer Princesses (with Gail Simone). In the world of Webcomics she has published on the site Modern Tales and was the original editor of Girlamatic.


Lea's latest project is The Garlicks, an all-ages story about a vampire family that will be published online and then collected into a print edition. Lea is seeking funding for the project via Kickstarter. She took time out of her busy schedule to answer my questions over email about her new venture:

The Garlicks by Lea Hernandez

YACB: Prior to The Garlicks you've written and drawn several other comic projects. What attracts you to comics as a medium for telling stories?

LH: I like to write and draw. Telling stories any other way doesn't satisfy me.


YACB: When you write and draw a comic, what is your creative process like? Do you first produce a written script or an outline? Or do you work from rough notes and/or thumbnails?

LH: It depends. In the case of The Garlicks, it started with a letter I wrote to a friend after I mis-read the name "Gorelick" (Go-REL-ick) as GORE lick. I thought, that's a wonderfully demented name for a vampire, and immediately knew I didn't want to write horror (which Gore Lick demands), I started playing with the name. A short Google search later confirmed that somehow there had never been vampire named The Garlicks. Then I poured out what I was thinking to the friend: the names, motivations and first story were right there.

I write a full script: page layout, panel descriptions, dialogue. I've tried other ways, but that's the only one that works for me. Since The Garlicks is also episodic, I keep a file of story ideas to draw on.
After scripting, I do rough layouts in pencil on paper, then import them into Photoshop, improve them (usually) and then tighten the pencils. After that, I either print them out and use a light table to finish the art by hand, or continue to ink and paint digitally. (The vid for my Kickstarter shows this process.)


YACB: You've mentioned that The Garlicks is your first creator-owned graphic novel that you've colored yourself (Lovern Kindzierski previously colored your work on the Hardy Boys graphic novel). Why did you decide to produce The Garlicks in color, and how did you decide on the color palette?

LH: My good friend Adam Warren (Empowered) kept telling me my color work was stronger than my b&w/limited palette/pencils, going back to my story for Comic Book Tattoo, until I took the plunge.

He was right, and I've had so much pleasure in working in color.


The Garlicks by Lea Hernandez
YACB: I've noticed a distinct lack of panel borders in the pages for The Garlicks. Was this a conscious decision on your part, or something that happened organically? 

LH: I wanted the art to have the feeling of a sketchbook/diary, and went back to some of my previous work that I got the best response to, A comic that I do every few years, Near-Life Experience, which has diary-like art with a freer page structure. It's also the structure that makes me happiest. I suppose that comes through!


YACB: Why did you decide to make your protagonist, Pandora, an aspiring graphic novelist?

LH: I wanted to do a comic in a style that was less grid, more open, which led me to decide it should be someone's notebooks. So, Pandora got the job of being a graphic novelist. I also want to put this aspiration to write and draw stories in the minds of The Garlicks intended audience.


YACB: Why vampires? How do you feel that vampires work as a vehicle for telling stories in general and The Garlicks in particular?

LH: I was ambiguous about vampires. I've liked books that happened to have vampires in them, but I wouldn't choose a read because it had vampires. I didn't tell myself, "No vampires EVER!" I couldn't let The Garlicks idea go once it had me, saturated sub-genre or not. As for The Garlicks, it's useful for showing sibling rivalry and bigotry. And, I like to think, will be a take on vampires that's new. Or new-ish.


YACB: You've stated that you intend for The Garlicks to be targeted towards girls (though any comics reader should be able to enjoy it). What led you to decide to target that demographic with this comic?

LH: I make comics I wanted to read as a kid/teenager. Writing for girls (which is a habit, rather than a targeting move) has the happy side effect of being a small remedy to the problem that there are flat-out not enough comics for girls. I always hope for crossover appeal (and I get it), but I create for girls first.


YACB: What are the elements of The Garlicks that you feel make it 'for girls'? (In both a 'for females' and 'for younger readers' sense.)

LH: A lead who is a girl, for one. She has a relatable problem a lot of girls who are older siblings have: riding herd on the younger ones.

Pandora is cute, but not sexualized, so a girl/woman reading The Garlicks doesn't have to have that feeling of, "You said this was for me, but there's the thing that shows me you didn't have the confidence to not throw in "something for the guys."

There's something wonderful about knowing, as a girl/woman, that something is for you and will always be for you first.


The Garlicks by Lea Hernandez
YACB: Are there any creators and/or works (either in comics or other media) that you consider to be inspirations for The Garlicks?

LH: Brianne Drouhard, Brittney Lee, Steven Silver, Lauren Faust, Mike Rohde. The first three are concept artists and character designers with lovely senses on color, weight and line. They're fantastic. The fourth, Lauren Faust, I was a fan of back to Cats Don't Dance, a criminally underrated animated movie. Her take on My Little Pony showed that "girly" had appeal across gender and age, but could remain true to its audience. Mike Rohde invented a method of visual note taking called Sketchnotes. Being inspired by his work after a long, depressing dry spell helped give me a new direction in my comics. 


YACB: How have your previous experiences with Webcomics informed how you are producing The Garlicks? Why did you decide to use Kickstarter as a method of funding this latest project?

LH: Webcomics are a proven model in that they are the most frictionless way to get a story to an audience. There's also instant gratification for reader and creator. There's no working in a vacuum, then sending it off, then waiting for it to hit shelves. That can take three or more years, whereas a webcomic can start as soon as a creator has drawn it. No submissions, no delays, no rejection, no waiting a year or two AFTER completion to see a physical book.

I decided to use Kickstarter for two reasons. One: I need a job while I look for regular employment, so I made one. Two: people have responded very well to The Garlicks, and I have had no time to add to the webcomic because I've been trying to cram it in the spaces between commissions, school, job hunting. A funded Kickstarter solves both problems very well for me and my fans.


YACB: Is there anything else that you'd like to tell readers about The Garlicks? Any other projects that you are working on? (Plug away!)

LH: That I won't get to that $40,000 Kickstarter finish line without a LOT of help in the form of backers and supporters! It's not just important to me (but getting a year to work on my next book without worrying about eating or bills is REALLY important), it's important to keep showing that 1) girls DO want comics and 2) everyone wants GOOD comics.

I'm also working on a great graphic novel by Josh Hechinger called The Moon is Mine, about a candy factory on the moon and the giant robot battle to control it. Josh is a talented writer, insanely so, so I'm giving it my best, albeit slowly!

Other than that, not much, because running a Kickstarter takes a LOT of time. I'm going to be writing an article about Kickstarting with Dani O'Brien, writer of All New Issues, about putting together and running a campaign. I'm enjoying myself, because I love challenging projects, but it's also an emotional roller coaster and a lot of stress. Fun, but very very hard.

The Garlicks by Lea Hernandez


Thanks again to Lea for taking the time to answer my questions. You can follow Lea on Twitter @theDivaLea ; see images from The Garlicks and other projects on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/divalea/ (from where images on this post are taken); or read her LiveJournal Dangerous Beauty at http://divalea.livejournal.com/ . The Kickstarter campaign for The Garlicks is at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/divalea/the-garlicks-pandora-orange-fail-vampire

Friday, June 01, 2012

Amazon Top 50

Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise, Part 2
Here are the Top 50 Graphic Novels on Amazon this morning. All the previous caveats apply.


1 (+16). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise, Part 2 *
2 (+6). The Third Wheel (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 7) *
3 (+8). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise Part 1
4 (-). Darth Vader and Son
5 (-4). Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls (The New 52)
6 (N). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise, Part 3 *
7 (-2). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
8 (-5). Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 6)
9 (+3). The Walking Dead, Vol. 16: A Larger World *
10 (-4). Are You My Mother?: A Comic Drama
11 (+12). Dork Diaries 4: Tales from a Not-So-Graceful Ice Princess *
12 (R). Big Nate and Friends (Kindle)
13 (-3). Dork Diaries 4 (Kindle) *
14 (+1). Watchmen
15 (+6). Batman: The Killing Joke
16 (-7). The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (revised and expanded ed.)
17 (+2). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
18 (+7). The Ugly Truth (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 5)
19 (N). Kick-Ass 2 *
20 (+15). Dog Days (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 4)
21 (-8). Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 1
22 (-4). Big Nate: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
23 (+11). Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 2 - Knightquest
24 (-4). Dork Diaries 3 (Kindle)
25 (-9). Justice League Vol. 1: Origin (The New 52)
26 (+15). Big Nate: From the Top (Kindle)
27 (+21). The Walking Dead, Book 1
28 (-4). The Walking Dead, Vol. 15: We Find Ourselves
29 (-22). Infinity Gauntlet
30 (-3). Dork Diaries 1 (Kindle)
31 (-1). Batman: Year One
32 (R). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Lost Adventures
33 (-4). The Walking Dead, Book 5
34 (-20). Sailor Moon 5
35 (-3). Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
36 (-6). The Walking Dead, Book 7
37 (-11). V for Vendetta
38 (-5). The Walking Dead, Book 6
39 (R). The Walking Dead, Book 2
40 (-3). The Walking Dead, Vol. 9: Here We Remain 
41 (R). The Walking Dead, Book 3
42 (-11). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Box of Books (1-5)
43 (N). Big Nate: What Could Possibly Go Wrong? (Kindle)
44 (-1). The Walking Dead, Vol. 10: What We Become
45 (R). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
46 (-18). Big Nate Out Loud (Kindle)
47 (R). A Game of Thrones: The Graphic Novel: Volume One
48 (N). Scott Pilgrim Color Hardcover Volume 1: Precious Little Life *
49 (R). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
50 (R). The Walking Dead, Vol.12: Life Among Them



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:
  • A huge surge by Avatar: The Last Airbender comics gives us a new number 1 on the chart as the three volumes of The Last Promise take up three slots in the top ten, including the top debut, part 3 (which doesn't come out until October).
  • Also debuting this week are Kick-Ass 2, the Kindle edition of the latest Big Nate strip collection, and the color hardcover of the first Scott Pilgrim volume.
  • Just releasing the title of the next Wimpy Kid book, which doesn't come out until November, gives it a surge into the second slot on the list. Unless something very unusual happens, look for this book to dominate the chart at the end of the year...
  • Earlier in the week, before the Avatar surge, Jeffrey Brown's Darth Vader and Son was momentarily in the #1 slot.
  • Dead Watch: There are twelve Walking Dead collections on the chart this week, which is up two from last week.
  • Bat Watch: There are seven Batman books on the chart this week, same as last (though Morrison's Arkham Asylum takes the place of Morrison's Batman, Inc.).