Some thoughts on the pricing of Marvel's Miracleman Reprints

I left this as a comment over on a post about Marvel's Miracleman reprints over at Comics Worth Reading, but it seems substantial enough to re-post here on my own blog:

A lot of people are complaining about the price tag. And yes, $5 or $6 seems like a lot for a reprint comic. But there are some mitigating factors:

• This is more than a simple reprint; the stories are being completely re-colored and re-lettered, and they’ve been tracking down the original artwork as much as possible and doing new scans. Opinions will of course vary, but IMHO they look fantastic. (I recently looked through my old Eclipse versions, and the Marvel editions look so much better.)
• Marvel are apparently paying decent royalties to all of the creators involved (except of course for Moore, who doesn’t want any of the filthy lucre, or even his name associated with the work). This presumably is also the reason why they are including the old Mick Anglo reprints as well, to toss some royalty money that way too.
• It’s not all reprints of the Eclipse material; issue #2 includes a story from Warrior that has never before been reprinted, for example. And in a couple of years we’ll finally get to the new Gaiman/Buckingham material.

It will be interesting to see the sales figures on these. I’m expecting somewhere in the 20K range, and frankly I don’t think they’d sell that many more units had they been thinner $4 books without all the extra material. The collections will probably sell decently outside of the traditional comics market, much better than Marvel’s collections usually do.

So yes, the price points may not be ideal for every consumer. But this is a seminal work in the comics field, and if the choice was between having it this way or not having it available at all, I for one am glad that it is back in print after all these years.

Amazon Top 50 - January 31, 2014

Here are the Top 50 Comics & Graphic Novels on Amazon Friday morning. See About the Amazon Top 50 Lists for more information on how this list is compiled.

1 (N). The Ultimates Vol. 1: Super-Human (Kindle)
2 (-1). Hyperbole and a Half (paperback)
3 (+1). Hyperbole and a Half (Kindle)
4 (+7). Saga Volume 3 *
5 (+3). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 2
6 (-4). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
7 (N). Injustice Year Two #2 (Kindle)
8 (-1). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
9 (-6). Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
10 (-5). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
11 (+30). The Batman Chronicles Vol. 1 (Kindle)
12 (+7). Snowpiercer Vol. 1: The Escape
13 (-3). Watchmen
14 (-2). The Walking Dead, Vol. 19: March to War
15 (-9). The Complete Persepolis
16 (-3). The Walking Dead, Vol. 20: All Out War *
17 (N). Herblock: The Life and Works of the Great Political Cartoonist
18 (+12). Attack on Titan 11
19 (-4). Saga Volume 1
20 (-2). Darth Vader and Son
21 (-7). The Sworn Sword: The Graphic Novel
22 (+14). Batman: The Killing Joke, Deluxe Edition
23 (-6). Vader's Little Princess
24 (+7). Saga Volume 2
25 (+1). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
26 (+6). Batman Vol. 3: Death of the Family (The New 52)
27 (-). How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You
28 (-7). American Born Chinese
29 (-20). Dilbert 2014 Day-to-Day Calendar: There's No Kill Switch on Awesome
30 (-2). Attack on Titan 1
31 (-6). Understanding Comics
32 (-10). Stephen King's N. (Kindle)
33 (-13). Batman Vol. 2: The City of Owls (The New 52)
34 (+9). Star Wars: Jedi Academy
35 (-). The Hedge Knight: The Graphic Novel
36 (+9). The Walking Dead, Vol. 18: What Comes After
37 (-). Injustice Year Two #1 (Kindle)
38 (-15). V for Vendetta
39 (-15). Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls (The New 52)
40 (R). Big Nate: From the Top (Kindle)
41 (+1). The Hedge Knight: The Graphic Novel (Kindle)
42 (+5). Attack on Titan 10
43 (R). Blue is the Warmest Color
44 (+2). Big Nate: I Smell a Pop Quiz! (Kindle)
45 (-7). X-Men: Days of Future Past (Kindle)
46 (-17). The Sworn Sword: The Graphic Novel (Kindle)
47 (-13). The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale
48 (-32). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
49 (-16). The Walking Dead #120 (Kindle)
50 (R). Marvel Encyclopedia


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:

• Hyperbole and a Half is displaced from its top position on the chart this week due to a one-day $1.99 sale on the Kindle edition of the first volume of The Ultimates. I would expect that next week Ultimates will fall of the chart completely and H&H will regain its #1 status (though who knows what kind of tricks Amazon has up its sleeve…)
• Also debuting in the top ten is the second issue of Injustice Year Two on the Kindle. Unlike with the first series, there seems to be a bit of a delay before the Year Two issues chart. It could be that the gap in publishing lessened demand, or the bi-weekly schedule means that readers aren't in the habit of regularly checking for new issues.
• The other debut this week is Herblock: The Life and Works of the Great Political Cartoonist, no doubt with demand driven by the recent HBO documentary.
• With still two months to go before its release, the third Saga collection rises to #4. Saga is clearly a mainstream hit.
• The university required texts (Persepolis, Fun Home, Maus, Watchmen, etc.) slip this week as students wrap up their book buying for the semester.

Amazon Top 50 - January 24, 2014

Here are the Top 50 Comics & Graphic Novels on Amazon Friday morning. See About the Amazon Top 50 Lists for more information on how this list is compiled.


1 (-). Hyperbole and a Half (paperback)
2 (-). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
3 (-). Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
4 (+1). Hyperbole and a Half (Kindle)
5 (-1). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
6 (+5). The Complete Persepolis
7 (+2). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
8 (-1). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 2
9 (-1). Dilbert 2014 Day-to-Day Calendar: There's No Kill Switch on Awesome
10 (-4). Watchmen
11 (+4). Saga Volume 3 *
12 (-2). The Walking Dead, Vol. 19: March to War
13 (+3). The Walking Dead, Vol. 20: All Out War *
14 (+25). The Sworn Sword: The Graphic Novel
15 (+4). Saga Volume 1
16 (+2). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
17 (+6). Vader's Little Princess
18 (+4). Darth Vader and Son
19 (N). Snowpiercer Vol. 1: The Escape *
20 (+17). Batman Vol. 2: The City of Owls (The New 52)
21 (+9). American Born Chinese
22 (+4). Stephen King's N. (Kindle)
23 (+4). V for Vendetta
24 (+10). Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls (The New 52)
25 (-12). Understanding Comics
26 (-6). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
27 (-15). How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You
28 (+13). Attack on Titan 1
29 (N). The Sworn Sword: The Graphic Novel (Kindle)
30 (N). Attack on Titan 11 *
31 (-6). Saga Volume 2
32 (-11). Batman Vol. 3: Death of the Family (The New 52)
33 (N). The Walking Dead #120 (Kindle)
34 (+10). The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale
35 (+3). The Hedge Knight: The Graphic Novel
36 (-19). Batman: The Killing Joke, Deluxe Edition
37 (-23). Injustice Year Two #1 (Kindle)
38 (-3). X-Men: Days of Future Past (Kindle)
39 (-11). Infinity Gauntlet (Kindle)
40 (+8). Batman: Year One
41 (N). The Batman Chronicles Vol. 1 (Kindle)
42 (R). The Hedge Knight: The Graphic Novel (Kindle)
43 (-11). Star Wars: Jedi Academy
44 (-8). Fables Vol. 19: Snow White
45 (-14). The Walking Dead, Vol. 18: What Comes After
46 (-22). Big Nate: I Smell a Pop Quiz! (Kindle)
47 (-2). Attack on Titan 10
48 (R). Attack on Titan 2
49 (R). Attack on Titan 3
50 (-8). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes


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:

• Still on top is Hyperbole and the Half, which slips a bit more on the overall books chart to #69. Persepolis, Fun Home, Maus, Watchmen, etc. continue to chart strong as students buy their required reading for the semester.
• The top debut this week is the first volume of Snowpiercer, a French BD that has apparently been made into a South Korean action thriller film starring Capt. America himself Chris Evans. Hello global economy!
• Also debuting this week are the latest Attack on Titan volume, the Kindle edition of The Sworn Sword, the Kindle version of the latest issue of The Walking Dead, and the bargain-priced Kindle edition of the first Batman Chronicles volume.

Stats Week: DC New 52 Sales

Last year I published a look at title longevity and sales of DC's New 52. So with another year under their belt, how do things look?

(Click on charts for larger versions.)

Number is the issue number published during that month (cover dates are given, not on-sale dates). They are grouped by 'wave.' Only regular, intended to be ongoing series are tracked (no mini-series, one-shots or annuals). November 2013, aka 'Villains Month,' is not on this chart since essentially every comic published that month was a one-shot special.

The main thing that becomes clear is that starting in the second half of 2013, DC pretty much gave up on trying to publish fifty-two regular series every month, despite keeping the New 52 moniker. Yes, there were mini-series and whatnot, especially Forever Evil and its tie-ins, but there were also mini-series back in the first year of the New 52 and those didn't count as part of the total 52.

While number of titles may be interesting, what you're really here for are sales:

Sales figures are rounded to the nearest thousand and include re-order activity and additional printings and are adjusted for returnability as per the calculations over at The Beat. (Except for Jan 2014, which are taken directly from ICv2.)

It is here that the real tragedy of the second year of The New 52 comes into focus. Outside of titles featuring Batman or Justice League (or to a lesser extent Superman, thought mostly credit Jim Lee for Superman Unchained…) DC just cannot get any traction on their titles, especially new titles. There are way too many titles in the 20-45K range. There just doesn't seem to be enough interest in non-marquee titles to justify publishing so many of them. DC seems poised to shake things up a bit with a couple of weekly series on the horizon (which is really going to muck up the simplicity of these charts…), but will that appeal to a customer base that already seems to be sated? Even if one of those is a Batman title, do readers feel that they already have enough Batman each month?

So the question remains, was the New 52 reboot worth it? Surely in the short run they got a big boost in sales; but now two years later I can't imagine that things are much better than they would have been. They have been unable to successfully launch any new concepts out of the reboot. Average sales for the DC Universe are about 1000 units higher than they were before the reboot, so it did buy the line a couple of years of respite from declines; but those days are over now.

Coming soon: a similar look at Marvel NOW...

Amazon Top 50 - January 17, 2014

Here are the Top 50 Comics & Graphic Novels on Amazon Friday morning. See About the Amazon Top 50 Lists for more information on how this list is compiled.


1 (-). Hyperbole and a Half (paperback)
2 (+3). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
3 (+3). Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
4 (-). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
5 (-2). Hyperbole and a Half (Kindle)
6 (+12). Watchmen
7 (-). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 2
8 (-6). Dilbert 2014 Day-to-Day Calendar: There's No Kill Switch on Awesome
9 (-1). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
10 (+1). The Walking Dead, Vol. 19: March to War
11 (-2). The Complete Persepolis
12 (+2). How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You
13 (-). Understanding Comics
14 (+34). Injustice Year Two #1 (Kindle)
15 (-5). Saga Volume 3 *
16 (-4). The Walking Dead, Vol. 20: All Out War *
17 (+13). Batman: The Killing Joke, Deluxe Edition
18 (-2). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
19 (-4). Saga Volume 1
20 (+2). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
21 (+6). Batman Vol. 3: Death of the Family (The New 52)
22 (-2). Darth Vader and Son
23 (+6). Vader's Little Princess
24 (+10). Big Nate: I Smell a Pop Quiz! (Kindle)
25 (+3). Saga Volume 2
26 (-7). Stephen King's N. (Kindle)
27 (+8). V for Vendetta
28 (+11). Infinity Gauntlet (Kindle)
29 (-8). Naruto, Vol. 64: Ten Tails
30 (-4). American Born Chinese
31 (+10). The Walking Dead, Vol. 18: What Comes After
32 (-1). Star Wars: Jedi Academy
33 (R). Big Nate: From the Top (Kindle)
34 (-1). Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls (The New 52)
35 (-11). X-Men: Days of Future Past (Kindle)
36 (+1). Fables Vol. 19: Snow White
37 (-14). Batman Vol. 2: The City of Owls (The New 52)
38 (-2). The Hedge Knight: The Graphic Novel
39 (N). The Sworn Sword: The Graphic Novel *
40 (R). The Walking Dead, Vol. 17: Something To Fear
41 (R). Attack on Titan 1
42 (+5). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes
43 (-26). The Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye (Kindle)
44 (+1). The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale
45 (+4). Attack on Titan 10
46 (-). Monster Musume Vol. 2
47 (R). Blue is the Warmest Color
48 (R). Batman: Year One
49 (R). I Am Pusheen the Cat
50 (-7). The Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye


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:

• Still on top is Hyperbole and the Half, which slips a bit more on the overall books chart to #63.
• The College Course Trinity of Persepolis, Fun Home and Maus reside in the #2, #3, & #4 spots.
• The Only debut this week is The Sworn Sword, the second of the prequel graphic novels to A Game of Thrones.
• Unlike the first series, it looks like Injustice: Year Two will not be a weekly series, which give the first issue time to move up on the chart.
• In case you missed it, our 2013 Amazon year-end round-up finally came out this past Tuesday.

Stats Week: 2013 - A Year of Reading Comics

Here's a chart showing how many comics I acquired each week, and how many I read each day of 2013:

My comics week starts on Thursday, as that's when the weekly DCBS shipment usually arrives. Each individual item counts as a comic, whether it be a 22 page floppy or a 600+ page graphic novel opus. The 'Roll' column represents the total delta from when I started keeping track (Feb 2009).

Once again this year I counted digital comics in the count in addition to physical comics. While I purchased fewer comics this year than last year (1683 vs. 1868) I read even fewer, leaving me with a sizable 75 comic deficit. I partially blame the massive comic book weeding and organizing project that I began in the second half of the year; it turns out that organizing comics takes away time from reading comics!

(Charts for 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012.)

Hey look, graphs! 

Stats Week: Amazon Top 50 for 2013

Here are the top 50 comics from the weekly Amazon Top 50 posts of 2013:

1. The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
2. The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 2
3. Darth Vader and Son
4. How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You
5. Vader's Little Princess
6. Diary of a Wimpy Kid 7 (Kindle)
7. Saga Volume 1
8. Diary of a Wimpy Kid 7: The Third Wheel
9. Hyperbole and a Half (paperback)
10. The Walking Dead, vol. 18: What Comes After
11. Dork Diaries 5 (Kindle)
12. Diary of a Wimpy Kid 6 (Kindle)
13. Diary of a Wimpy Kid 6: Cabin Fever
14. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
15. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
16. Dork Diaries 6 (Kindle)
17. Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
18. Saga Volume 2
19. Batman: The Killing Joke, Deluxe Edition
20. Diary of a Wimpy Kid 1 (Kindle)
21. Batman Vol. 2: The City of Owls (The New 52)
22. Dork Diaries 4 (Kindle)
23. Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2 (Kindle)
24. Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5 (Kindle)
25. The Walking Dead, vol. 19: March to War
26. Diary of a Wimpy Kid 4 (Kindle)
27. The Complete Calvin and Hobbes (paperback)
28. Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Search, Part 3
29. Star Wars: Jedi Academy
30. Diary of a Wimpy Kid 8 (Kindle)
31. The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (revised and expanded edition)
32. Watchmen
33. Dork Diaries 6: Tales from a Not-So-Happy Heartbreaker
34. Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Search, Part 2
35. Diary of a Wimpy Kid 3 (Kindle)
36. The Walking Dead, vol. 17: Something to Fear
37. The Walking Dead vol. 1 (Kindle)
38. Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Search, Part 1
39. Diary of a Wimpy Kid 8: Hard Luck
40. The Walking Dead, Book 9
41. Big Nate Makes the Grade (Kindle)
42. Injustice: Gods Among Us #1 (Kindle)
43. Why Grizzly Bears Should Wear Underpants
44. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
45. Batman Vol. 3: Death of the Family (The New 52)
46. Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls (The New 52)
47. The Complete Persepolis
48. Hyperbole and a Half (Kindle)
49. Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth
50. Hawkeye, Vol. 1: My Life as a Weapon

Methodology: I took my weekly (compiled on Friday) lists of Amazon Top 50 Comics & Graphic Novels, and for each week assigned a comic a numerical score equal to 51 minus its ranking; e.g. the #1 book got 50 points, the #2 book got 49 points, the #3 book got 48 points, etc., all the way down to the #50 book getting 1 point. I poured everything into a spreadsheet, and voila. You can download a spreadsheet with all of the data here.

Commentary:

• This was the year that weirdness happened. Specifically, in late August, Amazon reclassified all of the Dork Diaries and Diary of a Wimpy Kid books to not be comics and they disappeared entirely from the Comics & Graphic Novels bestseller chart. This caused no end of havoc on my weekly snapshot compilations. Had they stayed on the chart I am almost certain that DoaWK 7 would have been the #1 book of 2013. But they didn't, and so we're stuck with the data as Amazon gave it to us. And unless Amazon reverse course sometime in the next year, you won't see any of the Diary books on the chart in 2014.
• So, the top book this year was the first Walking Dead Compendium, followed closely by the second Walking Dead Compendium.  But while in 2012 every extant Walking Dead collection showed up on the Top Fifty chart for at least one week, that wasn't the case in 2013. Still, many WD collections did chart, including quite a few that ended up in the yearly top fifty.
• Once again, Batman is the only one of DC's New 52 properties to place any collections in the yearly top 50. A couple of Justice League volumes also charted during the year (at #112 & #117) as did a Nightwing collection for one week (placing it in a tie for #311). A few sale-priced New 52 Kindle editions charted as well.
• Marvel actually placed a title in the annual top 50 this year! Okay, it was in the #50 slot, but still... compared to other Marvel collections, Hawkeye is a mainstream hit!
• The two Saga collections had a great year, placing at #7 and #18. Granted those aren't quite Walking Dead numbers, but then again Saga doesn't have any sort of television or movie exposure, meaning it achieved its sales based solely on the appeal of its comic-ness. 
• It was a great year for Jeffrey Brown. He had two of the top five books with Darth Vader and Son and Vader's Little Princess, and his Star Wars: Jedi Academy (which came out later in the year) is at #29. 
• Several perennials make the annual top fifty, including Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Persepolis, Watchmen, Batman: The Killing Joke, Maus, and Fun Home.
• There were 347 different works that showed up at least once on the weekly top fifty charts during the year (up from 275 last year). Of those, 123 only showed up once. Five showed up for all fifth-two weeks: The two Walking Dead Compendia, Darth Vader and Son, How to Tell if Your Cat…, and the first volume of Saga.
• It was not a great year for manga; the top seller for the year was the first volume of Attack on Titan, which places at #107. Most of the AoT volumes charted at some point during the year, as did most of the volumes of Sailor Moon and Naruto that were released; they just never stuck around the chart very long.
• This was the year that regular-priced Kindle editions of single issues started to chart. Mostly Walking Dead, but also Sandman: Overture, Forever Evil, and Justice League. Mostly they just appeared for one or two weeks, but that's more than we've seen in the past.
• On the digital first single issue front, Kindle editions of the Injustice: Gods Among Us tie-in comic ruled the year, especially for the weeks around the release of the video game. But for all the noise the individual issues made on the weeks they were released, most didn't stick around for long (I detail this in yesterday's post). Only the debut issue made the annual top fifty chart.
• Predictions for the coming year can be hard to make; last year I didn't foresee the wholesale Diary reclassification... We're likely to see continued strong sales from Hyperbole and a Half and Walking Dead collections (particularly the Compendia). I won't be surprised if the third Saga trade shows up in the #1 spot when it is released. If there's another Matthew Inman book or another Jeffrey Brown Star Wars book those should sell strong. I predict that in spite of at least four Marvel-related movies coming out in 2014 the sales of collections to the general public will remain weak. The new Sin City movie might drive sales of the trade collections (if Dark Horse can keep them in stock/print).

Stats Week: Injustice Kindle Sales

I'll soon be posting the Annual Amazon Top 50 round-up post (likely tomorrow), but here's a look at the sales of the Kindle editions of Injustice: Gods Among Us, the digital-first tie-in to the hit video game:

(click the image for a larger version. Seriously, there's no way to read it otherwise!)

In this chart, higher numbers are better; e.g. 50 means it was #1 on the comics chart that Friday, 49 means it was #2, 48 means it was #3, etc.

Awareness was slow to build, with none of the issues charting until issue #3 was released. Interest gradually built (a classic word-of-mouth scenario). The game was released on April 16, and you can see the explosion of interest in the Fridays immediately before and after the release date. After that it settled into a predictable pattern: each week a new issue debuted—usually in the top five—and then hung around for another week or two.

Clearly Injustice: Gods Among Us was a digital success for DC, and one that they hope to replicate as the first issue of Injustice: Year Two was released last week. There's also a digital first tie-in comic to Scribblenauts Unmasked, but so far none of the issues of that have charted (there have been four so far).

Stats Week: My Year in Music 2013

Last.fm conveniently keeps track of all of the music I listen to. Here are my top twenty-five artists, albums & tracks for 2013 (Links are for Spotify):

Artists

 1. Hey Ocean!
 2. They Might Be Giants
 3. Kacey Musgraves
 4. Kim Richey
 5. Pentatonix
 6. Cassadee Pope
 7. San Cisco
 8. Elizabeth Mitchell
 9. Kelly Willis
10. Daft Punk
11. Scala & Kolacny Brothers
12. Heather Nova
12. Adele
14. Moxy Früvous
14. Gangstagrass
16. Tegan & Sara
16. Mandy Barnett
16. Cara Dillon
16. Mindy Smith
20. The Beach Boys
20. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
20. Sarah Jarosz
23. Kathryn Williams
23. She & Him
25. Genesis
25. Mannhaim Steamroller
25. Jessica Andrews
25. Tok Tok Tok
25. Echosmith


Albums

 1. Hey Ocean! – IS
 2. Kacey Musgraves – Same Trailer Different Park 
 3. Teen Beach Movie (Soundtrack)
 4. San Cisco – San Cisco
 4. Kim Richey – Thorn In My Heart
 6. Best of Bootie 2012
 7. Chess in Concert
 7. Elizabeth Mitchell - The Sounding Joy: Christmas Songs in and out of the Ruth Crawford Seeger Songbook
 9. Pentatonix – PTX, Vol. 2
10. Daft Punk – TRON: Legacy
11. Mandy Barnett – Winter Wonderland
12. Tegan and Sara – Heartthrob
13. Heather Nova – 300 Days At Sea
13. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy – It Feels Like Christmas Time
15. Kathryn Williams – Relations
15. Pitch Perfect (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
15. They Might Be Giants – Nanobots
15. Mindy Smith – Snowed In
19. Lori Carson – Another Year
19. The Last Bison – Sleigh Ride
21. The Crooked Jades – Shining Darkness
21. Cara Dillon – Hill of Thieves
23. Moxy Früvous – Bargainville
23. They Might Be Giants – Here Comes Science
23. Balligomingo – Under an Endless Sky
23. Oh Darling – Brave The Sound
23. Daniela Andrade – The Christmas EP


Songs

 1. Signe Tollefsen – As the World Falls Down
 2. Heather Nova – Until The Race Is Run
 2. Hey Ocean! – Big Blue Wave
 2. Kacey Musgraves – Blowin' Smoke
 2. Chambaland – Semi-Charmed Call (Bootie Edit) (Carly Rae Jepsen vs. Third Eye Blind)
 2. Echosmith – Cool Kids
 7. Hey Ocean! – If I Were a Ship
 7. Hey Ocean! – Jolene
 7. Hey Ocean! – Change
 7. Hey Ocean! – Bicycle
 7. Hey Ocean! – Make a New Dance Up
 7. Hey Ocean! – Islands
 7. Kacey Musgraves – Merry Go 'Round
 7. Kacey Musgraves – Silver Lining
15. Hey Ocean! – Steady
15. Hey Ocean! – I Am A Heart
15. Hey Ocean! – New Love
15. Kacey Musgraves – Dandelion
15. San Cisco – Hunter
15. Pentatonix – Run to You
15. Mindy Smith – Tomorrow Is Christmas Day
22. Hey Ocean! – Last Mistake
22. Maren Ord – The Gift of Sacrifice
22. Hey Ocean! – Give
22. Hey Ocean! – (For) Give
22. Kacey Musgraves – I Miss You
22. Kacey Musgraves – My House
22. San Cisco – Fred Astaire
22. San Cisco – Beach
22. San Cisco – Awkward - EP Version
22. Hey Ocean! – Liar
22. Bonnie McKee – American Girl
22. Pentatonix – Daft Punk
22. Pentatonix – Little Drummer Boy

Stats Week: Top Comic Book Movies of 2013

Here are the domestic grosses of comic book-related movies released in 2013, according to Box Office Mojo:

1. Iron Man 3: $409M
2. Man of Steel: $291M
3. Thor: The Dark World: $204M
4. The Wolverine: $133M
5. 2 Guns: $76M
6. The Smurfs 2: $71M
7. Red 2: $53M
8. R.I.P.D.: $34M
9. Kick-Ass 2: $29M
10. Oldboy: $2M
11. Blue is the Warmest Color: $2M

Amazon Top 50 - January 10, 2014

Here are the Top 50 Comics & Graphic Novels on Amazon Friday morning. See About the Amazon Top 50 Lists for more information on how this list is compiled.


1 (-). Hyperbole and a Half (paperback)
2 (-). Dilbert 2014 Day-to-Day Calendar: There's No Kill Switch on Awesome
3 (-). Hyperbole and a Half (Kindle)
4 (R). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
5 (+40). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
6 (+9). Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
7 (-3). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 2
8 (-3). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
9 (+34). The Complete Persepolis
10 (+40). Saga Volume 3 *
11 (+2). The Walking Dead, Vol. 19: March to War
12 (+10). The Walking Dead, Vol. 20: All Out War *
13 (R). Understanding Comics
14 (+6). How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You
15 (+8). Saga Volume 1
16 (R). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
17 (-1). The Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye (Kindle)
18 (R). Watchmen
19 (+29). Stephen King's N. (Kindle)
20 (+7). Darth Vader and Son
21 (N). Naruto, Vol. 64: Ten Tails
22 (+20). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
23 (+7). Batman Vol. 2: The City of Owls (The New 52)
24 (-5). X-Men: Days of Future Past (Kindle)
25 (N). The Walking Dead #119 (Kindle)
26 (R). American Born Chinese
27 (-2). Batman Vol. 3: Death of the Family (The New 52)
28 (+5). Saga Volume 2
29 (-1). Vader's Little Princess
30 (+16). Batman: The Killing Joke, Deluxe Edition
31 (R). Star Wars: Jedi Academy
32 (-20). The Argyle Sweater 2014 Day-to-Day Calendar
33 (R). Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls (The New 52)
34 (+6). Big Nate: I Smell a Pop Quiz! (Kindle)
35 (R). V for Vendetta
36 (R). The Hedge Knight: The Graphic Novel
37 (+1). Fables Vol. 19: Snow White
38 (R). The Hedge Knight: The Graphic Novel (Kindle)
39 (-2). Infinity Gauntlet (Kindle)
40 (R). Abina and the Important Men: A Graphic History
41 (R). The Walking Dead, Vol. 18: What Comes After
42 (-35). The Essential Calvin and Hobbes (Kindle)
43 (R). The Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye
44 (N). History of World Philosophy (Kindle)
45 (R). The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale
46 (N). Monster Musume Vol. 2
47 (-). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes
48 (N). Injustice Year Two #1 (Kindle)
49 (N). Attack on Titans 10
50 (R). Hyperbole and a Half (hardcover)


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:

• Still on top is Hyperbole and the Half, though it has slipped a bit on the overall books chart to #52.
• The University Effect is in full swing this week: Persepolis, Maus & Fun Home all move up into the top ten, with Understanding Comics, Watchmen, American Born Chinese, and Abina and the Important Men also making returns to the chart.
• Last week's DC Kindle sale has ended and those books disappear from the chart. Some of the Marvel and Image Kindle collections remain on sale, though of those only Steven King's N. and Infinity Gauntlet remain in the top fifty.
• The top debut this week is the latest volume of Naruto. Two other manga volumes, the latest for Monster Masume and Attack on Titan, also debut.
• Two regular comic issues on the Kindle also debut this week: The latest issue of The Walking Dead and the first issue of the new volume of Injustice. Injustice debuts relatively low compared to what it was selling at the end of its previous volume; it is possible that its audience didn't know that it was returning. Alternately the lay-off between volumes may have dampened enthusiasm...
• Much like this week's new comics shipments in the Midwest, this week's planned 2013 Amazon Year-End Round-Up was delayed due to weather. Look for it early next week instead.
  

Amazon Top 50 - January 3, 2014

Here are the Top 50 Comics & Graphic Novels on Amazon Friday morning. See About the Amazon Top 50 Lists for more information on how this list is compiled.


1 (-). Hyperbole and a Half (paperback)
2 (+1). Dilbert 2014 Day-to-Day Calendar: There's No Kill Switch on Awesome
3 (-1). Hyperbole and a Half (Kindle)
4 (+1). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 2
5 (-1). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
6 (-). Batman: The Complete Hush (Kindle)
7 (R). The Essential Calvin and Hobbes (Kindle)
8 (+35). Batman: Year One (Kindle)
9 (+3). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (Kindle)
10 (+4). Batman: The Killing Joke (Kindle)
11 (-1). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes (Kindle)
12 (+14). The Argyle Sweater 2014 Day-to-Day Calendar
13 (-6). The Walking Dead, Vol. 19: March to War
14 (+11). Batman: The Long Halloween (Kindle)
15 (R). Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
16 (R). The Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye (Kindle)
17 (+11). V for Vendetta (Kindle)
18 (+11). Kingdom Come (Kindle)
19 (R). X-Men: Days of Future Past (Kindle)
20 (-12). How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You
21 (+1). Watchmen (Kindle)
22 (+19). The Walking Dead, Vol. 20: All Out War *
23 (-3). Saga Volume 1
24 (N). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol. 1 (Kindle)
25 (-16). Batman Vol. 3: Death of the Family (The New 52)
26 (+13). Cartoons from The New Yorker 2014 Day-to-Day Calendar
27 (-12). Darth Vader and Son
28 (-10). Vader's Little Princess
29 (N). Hawkeye, Vol. 1: My Life as a Weapon (Kindle)
30 (-19). Batman Vol. 2: The City of Owls (The New 52)
31 (N). Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1: Unmanned (Kindle)
32 (N). Saga Volume 2 (Kindle)
33 (-14). Saga Volume 2
34 (R). The Walking Dead, Vol. 19: March to War (Kindle)
35 (R). The Walking Dead, Vol. 2: Miles Behind Us (Kindle)
36 (+12). Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile (Kindle)
37 (N). Infinity Gauntlet (Kindle)
38 (-21). Fables Vol. 19: Snow White
39 (N). Final Crisis (Kindle)
40 (-24). Big Nate: I Smell a Pop Quiz! (Kindle)
41 (R). Saga Volume 1 (Kindle)
42 (-21). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
43 (R). The Complete Persepolis
44 (N). Nowhere Men Volume 1: Fates Worse Than Death
45 (R). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
46 (-23). Batman: The Killing Joke, Deluxe Edition
47 (R). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes
48 (-18). Stephen King's N. (Kindle)
49 (N). The Flash: Rebirth (Kindle)
50 (N). Saga Volume 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:

• Hyperbole and a Half remains on top this week, and is #19 on the overall Amazon books chart.
• The top six this week are simply a rearranging of the deck chairs. It is after that where things start to get interesting... 
• Earlier in the week, the Kindle edition of The Essential Calvin and Hobbes was at #1 for several days, due to a weekend sale. Such was the strength of its saels that even now, days after the sale price ended, it is still sticking around in the top ten.
• Speaking of Kindle sales, this week's chart is dominated by sale-priced Kindle editions of collections from DC, Marvel and Image.
• That domination suppresses somewhat the Winter semester University Effect. Still, editions of Fun Home and Persepolis manage to make the chart.
• Non-Kindle debuts this week are the first Nowhere Men collection, and the pre-order for the third Saga collection. Pay attention to the Saga collection; even though it is debuting way down at #50, when it comes out in March we can expect to see it climb rapidly.
• The 2013 year-end review will likely be out sometime next week. Stay tuned...

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from Betty & Veronica and all of us here at Yet Another Comics Blog!

(Cover to Betty and Veronica New Year's Resolutions! by Dan DeCarlo & Alison Flood.)