Amazon Top 50

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


1 (-). Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 6) *
2 (+4). Sailor Moon 1 *
3 (-1). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
4 (R). Castle: Richard Castle's Deadly Storm *
5 (+8). Codename: Sailor V 1 *
6 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth
7 (N). Ender's Game: Formic Wars: Burning Earth *
8 (-5). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
9 (-5). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
10 (+1). Dork Diaries 3: Tales from a Not-So-Talented Pop Star
11 (+1). Dork Diaries 3 (Kindle edition)
12 (-5). Amulet #4: The Last Council
13 (-3). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
14 (+2). The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (revised and expanded edition)
15 (-1). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
16 (-7). Watchmen
17 (N). Feynman
18 (-). The Walking Dead Volume 14: No Way Out
19 (-11). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
20 (-3). Batman: Year One
21 (-6). V for Vendetta
22 (+12). Naruto, Vol. 52: Cell Seven Reunion
23 (+6). The Walking Dead, Book 7 *
24 (-4). Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 2 *
25 (-6). Batman: The Killing Joke
26 (+1). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
27 (-4). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
28 (N). Black Bird, Vol. 10
29 (N). Locke & Key Volume 4: Keys to the Kingdom HC
30 (+11). Big Nate Out Loud
31 (-6). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 8: Last Gleaming
32 (+3). Dork Diaries 3 1/2: How to Dork Your Diary *
33 (-7). 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth
34 (+5). Sailor Moon 2 *
35 (-5). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
36 (-15). Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Boxset
37 (+9). Dork Diaries 2 (Kindle edition)
38 (N). Finder Volume 4: Prisoner in the View Finder
39 (-15). The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale
40 (-12). Dork Diaries (Kindle edition)
41 (N). Brightest Day Vol. 3 *
42 (+2). Batman: Hush
43 (-12). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Box of Books
44 (-1). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
45 (-3). Hark! A Vagrant *
46 (+4). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes
47 (R). We3 Deluxe Edition
48 (N). Detective Comics (2011) #1
49 (N). No Such Thing as Ghosts (Dragonbreath)
50 (-18). Big Nate Out Loud (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:

* Just one week until the new editions of Sailor Moon hit stores, and they sit at #2 and #5 on the chart. Will next week see a dethroning of the Wimpy Kid?

* Marvel's Castle OGN wasn't on the chart at all last week, and this week hops back on all the way up at #4. I smell a mainstream media mention sometime in the past couple of days...

* Marvel also have the top debut this week, a hardcover collection of one of their Ender's Game series. This may be the first time that Marvel have had two top ten books (and note that neither is one of their super-hero properties...)

* Amazon finally decide that Feynman is indeed a comic, so this week it 'debuts' at #17. Other debuts include new volumes of Black Bird; Locke & Key; Finder (the Yaoi, not the CSM comic); Brightest Day; and Dragonbreath.

* Yes, that's Detective Comics #1, one of the New 52 comics from DC, peeking in near the bottom of the list. No, Amazon is not selling individual comics themselves, but enough people bought this from third-party sellers on Amazon or it to make the list. Interesting, and indicating that maybe this one was under-ordered by comic shops.

New Library Comics: July 2011

Here's a list of the comics we added to our library collection in July:


Abrams, Lamar. Remake special / Richmond, Va. : AdHouse Books, 2011

Airfighters. no. 1 / Calumet City, Ill. : Moonstone, 2010-

Amend, Bill. Math, science, and UNIX underpants : a themed FoxTrot collection / Kansas City : Andrews McMeel Pub., c2009.

Archi & BD : la ville dessinée / Blou : Monografik éditions ; [Paris] : Cité de l'architecture & du patrimoine, [2010]

Archie : a celebration of America's favorite teenagers / San Diego, Calif. : Yoe Books : IDW Pub., c2011.

Armstrong, Jason. Ferro city nos. 1-4 / Berkeley, Calif. : Image, 2005-

Bagge, Peter. Bat Boy : the complete Weekly World News comic strips / San Diego, CA : Idea & Design Works, c2011.

Black Goliath. v.1 no.3 / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics Group, 1976

Black panther (New York, N.Y.) Black panther. v.1 no.6 / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics, 1977-

Blechman, R. O. (Robert O.), 1930- The juggler of Our Lady : a medieval legend / New York : Holt, [1953]

Boer, Florian. De Urbanisten and the wondrous water square / Rotterdam : 010 Publishers, 2010.

The brave and the bold. nos. 97, 103 / Sparta, Ill. : National Comics Publications, 1955-1983.

Broome, John, 1913-1999. Showcase presents the Elongated Man. Volume one / New York : DC Comics, c2006

Byrne, John, 1950- Torch of liberty special / Milwaukie, Or. : Dark Horse Comics, 1995

Campbell, Ross, 1979- Shadoweyes v. 2 : Shadoweyes in love / San Jose, Calif. : SLG ; London : Diamond [distributor], c2010-

Capp, Al, 1909-1979. Al Capp's Shmoo : the complete newspaper strips / Milwaukie, OR : Dark Horse Comics, 2011.

Carlson, Bryce. WALL-E. Out there / Los Angeles, CA : Boom Kids!, 2010.

Carrillo, Tony. F minus / Kansas City [Mo.] : Andrews McMeel Pub., c2007

Casey, Joe. Marijuanaman / Berkeley, CA : Image Comics, 2011.

Chaykin, Howard V. Batman Catwoman. Follow the money. / New York, NY : DC Comics, c2011

Claremont, Chris, 1950- X-treme X-men vol. 6. Intifada / New York : Marvel Comics, c2001-

Claremont, Chris, 1950- X-treme X-men vol. 7. Storm : the arena / New York : Marvel Comics, c2001-

Claremont, Chris, 1950- X-treme X-men vol. 8. Prisoner of fire / New York : Marvel Comics, c2001-

Costa, Mike. Resistance / La Jolla, CA : Wildstorm, c2010

Dark Horse presents (2011) Dark Horse presents. no.1 / Milwaukie, Or. : Dark Horse Comics, Inc

DeFilippis, Nunzio. New X-Men, Academy X. Choosing sides / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics, c2004.

DeMatteis, J. M. Green Lantern : Willworld / New York : DC Comics, c2011

Diantantu, Serge, 1962- Mémoire de l'esclavage : Bulambemba / Lamentin : Caraïbéditions, c2010

Drake, Arnold. Showcase presents The Doom patrol. Volume one / New York : DC Comics, c2009.

Dunn, Joe. Sarah Palin versus the world / San Antonio : Antarctic Press, 2011

Endore-Kaiser, Guy. Brevity 4 : another collection of fine comics hand selected by Guy & Rodd. / Kansas City, MO : Andrews McMeel Pub., LLC, 2009

Ennis, Garth. Thor : Vikings / New York : Marvel, c2004

Feiffer, Jules. Sick, sick, sick. / New York : McGraw-Hill, [1958]

Feiffer, Jules. The unexpurgated memoirs of Bernard Mergendeiler / New York : Random House, c1965

Feist, Raymond E. Magician apprentice. v. 1 / New York, N.Y. : Marvel ; [London : Diamond, distributor], 2007.

The Flash. no. 206 / New York, N.Y. : National Comics Publications, 1959-1985

Flash Gordon the movie / Racine, Wisconsin : Western, 1980

Fox, Gardner F. (Gardner Francis), 1911-1986. Showcase presents Adam Strange. Volume one. / New York, NY : DC Comics, c2007.

Gately, George. Heathcliff spins a yarn / New York : Tempo Books, 1983

Gorden, Greg. Torg nos. 1-4 / Westlake Village, CA : Adventure Comics, 1992-

.hack//link vols. 1-3 / Los Angeles : TokyoPop, c2010-

Hamazaki, Tatsuya. .hack//G.U.+ v. 5 / Los Angeles, Calif. : Tokyopop, 2008-

Hilburn, Scott. The argyle sweater : a cartoon collection / Kansas City, MO : Andrews McMeel Pub., c2009

Himekawa, Akira. The legend of Zelda vols. 1-10 / San Francisco : VIZ Media, 2008-

Howard the duck (New York, N.Y. : 2002) Howard the duck. nos. 1-6 / New York, NY : Marvel Comics, 2002

Howard, Jason. Sea bear and grizzly shark / Berkeley, CA : Image Comics, 2010

Hutchison, David, 1974- Mischief & Mayhem : field trip to Heck / San Antonio, Tex. : Antarctic Press, 2006

The indomitable Iron Man. / New York : Marvel Comics, p2010.

Jacobs, Jesse. Even the Giants / Richmond, Va. : Adhouse Books, 2011, c2010

Jones-Quartey, Ian. RPG world. Volume 1. Unlikely hero out for adventure / Temple City, Calif. : Keensport Entertainment, 2004.

Jones, Bruce, 1944- Hulk/Wolverine : six hours / New York : Marvel Comics, 2003.

Kanigher, Robert. Showcase presents Enemy Ace. Volume one / New York, NY : DC Comics, c2008

Kanigher, Robert. Showcase presents Metal Men. Volume one. / New York : DC Comics, c2007

Kanigher, Robert. Showcase presents the haunted tank vols. 1-2 / New York, NY : DC Comics, c2006-

Kanigher, Robert. Showcase presents Wonder Woman vols. 1-2 / New York : DC Comics, c2007-

Kawaguchi, Kaiji. Eagle, the making of an Asian-American president vols. 1-22 / San Francisco, CA : Viz Communications, c2000-

Keeler, Greg. Poetryman : five poems / Bozeman, Mont. : Bozarts Press, c1988

Kelly, Joe. Deadpool in Mission : Improbable / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics, 1998.

Kleid, Neil. Ursa minors! no. 1 / San Jose, CA : Slave Labor Graphics, c2006-

Kliban, B. Cat (kat), n. ... / New York : Workman Pub. Co., 1975.

Kliban, B. Whack your porcupine, and other drawings / New York : Workman Pub. Co., 1977.

Kovalic, John. Dork Covenant / Madison, Wis. : Dork Storm Press, 2001

L33T : comics for gamers. no. 1 / Temple City, CA : Keenspot Entertainment, 2002-

The legend of Isis / La Mesa, CA : Alias Enterprises, 2005-

Leong, Sonia. Once upon a time- / [Cambridge] : Sweatdrop Studios, 2009, c2008.

Licensable Bear TM. nos. 1-4 / Thousand Oaks, CA : About Comics, c2003-

Loeb, Jeph. Hulk Vol. 6 World War Hulks / New York : Marvel, 2009-

Mami, Itou. Street fighter gaiden. Volume 1 / Thornhill, Ont. : Udon ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2010

Mariotte, Jeff. Desperadoes : banners of gold / San Diego, Calif. : IDW, 2005

Mariotte, Jeff. Desperadoes : epidemic! / La Jolla, CA : Homage Comics, 1999

Martin, Ted. Pavlov / New York, N.Y. : T. Doherty Associates, 1988, c1982.

Marz, Ron. Witchblade. [Vol. 10], Witch hunt / Orange, Calif. : Image Comics, 2006

Merritt, Cliff. Cliff Merritt's man on the move! / New York : Popular Library, c1973.

Metal Men. Metal Men v.14 no.50 / Sparta, Ill. : National Periodical Publications, 1963-1978

Miers, Doug. Criss cross. #1 / [S.l.] : Arcana Studio, 2005.

Mighty Thor (New York, N.Y. : 1966) The mighty Thor. v.1 no.246 / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics, 1966-1996

Monstrosity. no. 1 / Damascus, MD : Slap Happy Comics, 1998

More teen power / New York : Pyramid Books, 1970

Morgan, Melanie J. Betty & Veronica double digest. Volume 151 / Manaroneck, NY : Archie Comic Publications, Inc., 2007.

Mullaney, Dean, 1954- Genius, isolated : the life and art of Alex Toth / San Diego, Calif. : IDW, 2011

Mychaels, Marat. Demonslayer / Sunnyside, NY : Avatar Press, 2002

The mystic hands of Doctor Strange / New York : Marvel Worldwide, 2010.

Nakahira, Masahiko. Street fighter alpha. 1 / Richmond Hill, Ont. : Udon, c2007.

Ogino, Shin. Mega Man ZX. Vols 1-2 / Richmond Hill, Ont. : Udon, c2010.

Ordway, Jerry. The messenger / Orange, Ca. : Image Comics, c2000

Ōsaki, Mitsuru. Onimusha : night of genesis. vols. 1-2 / Richmond Hill, Ont. : UDON Entertainment Corp., 2006.

Pak, Greg. The Incredible Hulk. [Vol. 3], World War Hulks / New York, NY : Marvel Worldwide, c2011

Palmiotti, Jimmy. Prototype / La Jolla, Calif. : Wildstorm, 2010

Perry, Fred, 1969- Maidens of Twilight nos. 1-4 / San Antonio, Tex. : Antarctic, 2009.

Peters, Mike. Grimmy, best in show / New York : Tor, 1990, c1989.

Peynet, Raymond, 1908- The lover's bedside book / New York : Grosset & Dunlap, c1964

Peynet, Raymond, 1908- The lover's weekend book / New York : Grosset & Dunlap, c1964

Peynet, Raymond, 1908- The lovers' keepsake / New York : Grosset & Dunlap, c1964.

Pfeifer, Will. Vertigo resurrected. Finals. / New York, NY : DC Comics, 2011.

Raicht, Mike. The stuff of legend v.1 The Dark bk.1 / [S.l.] : Th3rd World Studios, 2009-

Redfern, Christine, 1966- Qui est Ana Mendieta? / Montréal : Éditions du Remue-ménage, c2011

Reed, Brian, 1973- Halo : fall of reach. Boot camp / New York : Marvel Worldwide, Inc., 2011

Reklaw, Jesse, 1971- Dreamtoons / Boston : Shambhala, c2000.

Riley, John. Lost stories nos. 1-7 / Williston Park, NY : Creative Frontiers, 1997

Ryan, Johnny. Take a Joke / Seattle, WA : Fantagraphics Books, 2011

Savic, Boris. Bānimon Bk. 1. The prisoner of Tesla Mountain / Arlington, MA : Rocket North, c2007-2010

Schmidt, J. Marc. The Sixsmiths / San Jose, CA : SLG Pub., c2010.

Scooby-Doo. vol. 2 : Ruh-Roh! / New York, N.Y. : DC Comics, c2003.

Searle, Ronald, 1920- Hurrah for St. Trinian's and other lapses / London : MacDonald, 1948

Searle, Ronald, 1920- Ronald Searle's non-sexist dictionary. /London : Souvenir, 1988.

Sez who?!. v.1 no.2 / Bristol, R.I. : Dark Dimensions Publications

Sfar, Joann. Dungeon. Monstres, v. 4. Night of the ladykiller / New York : NBM, c2006-<2007>

Showcase presents Aquaman vols. 1-2 / New York : DC Comics, c2007-

Showcase presents Batman vols. 1-3 / New York : DC Comics, c2006-

Showcase presents Green Lantern. vols. 1-3 / New York : DC Comics, c2005-

Showcase presents Robin the boy wonder. Volume one. / New York, NY : DC Comics, c2008

Showcase presents Teen titans. vols. 1-2 / New York : DC Comics, c2006-

Showcase presents The Atom. Volume one. / New York, NY : DC Comics, c2007.

Showcase presents the Flash. vols. 1-2 / New York : DC Comics, c2007-

Showcase presents The house of mystery. vols. 1-2 / New York : DC Comics, c2006-

Showcase presents the house of secrets. Volume one / New York, N.Y. : DC Comics, c2008.

Showcase presents The phantom stranger vols. 1-2 / New York : DC Comics, c2006-

Showcase presents The Unknown soldier. Volume one / New York, NY : DC Comics, c2006.

Simon, Joe. Fighting American / London : Titan Books, c2011.

Solin, Gary. Mute point / Garden City, N.Y. : Doubleday, 1970.

Stein, Leslie, 1982- Eye of the majestic creature. / Seattle : Fantagraphics Books, 2011

Straczynski, J. Michael, 1954- Dream police / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics, 2005

Sumimaru, Koichi. .hack//4koma + joke champion / Los Angeles : Tokyopop, 2010

Tarzan (New York, N.Y. : 1977) Tarzan. v.1 no.2 / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics Group, 1977-1979

Tedesco, Ralph. Salem's daughter. Vol. 1 / Horsham, Pa. : Zenescope Entertainment, 2011

Vinicoff, Eric. Spinworld nos. 1-4 / San Jose, CA : Amaze Ink, c1997-1998.

Vip, 1916-1984. Crazy cartoons : 200 triple-x charges of high-explosive humor! / Greenwich, Conn. : Fawcett, c1956.

Waid, Mark, 1962- City of heroes / Los Angeles, CA : NCSoft : Cryptic Studios, 2005.

Waid, Mark, 1962- City of heroes nos. 1-3 / Berkeley, CA : Image Comics, 2005

Waid, Mark, 1962- The unknown. [Vol. 2], The devil made flesh / Los Angeles : Boom! Studios, 2011

Walt Disney Productions presents The Black hole. / New York : Random House, c1979

Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse : 300 Mickeys / Los Angeles, CA : Boom Kids!, 2011

Warlands vols. 1-3 / Orange, CA : Image Comics, 2001-

West, James V. PAN-GEA : one-shot / San Diego, CA : Ape Entertainment, c2005

Winshluss, 1970- Pinocchio / San Francisco : Last Gasp of San Francisco 2011, c2010

Wood, Brian, 1972- Northlanders vol. 4. Plague widow / New York : DC Comics/Vertigo, c2008-

Yuki, Kaori.  Tenshi kinryō-ku vols. 1-15 / Tōkyō : Hakusensha, 1995-2001


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

Monkey Covers

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

FX fights a giant gorilla in his very first issue, as seen on the cover of FX #1 (2008) by John Byrne.

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

DCnU Reviews, Week 0: Justice League

Back in June when the new DCU titles (aka DCnU) were announced, I ranked all 52 titles on my likelihood of buying them. As it turns out, my comic shop was offering a deal such that if I pre-orderd all 52 #1's, they'd be 50% off. So, I pre-ordered them all. Only fair then to look back and see if my initial assessments hold up. My plan is to review each of the new titles as they come out, starting with:

Justice League #1
by Geoff Johns, Jim Lee & Scott Williams

Original rank/assessment: 5 (Definitely Yes). I've bought every regular JL comic since the 80s, and this big-guns approach with Johns & Lee looks to be what I'm after in a JL comic.

As it turns out, not exactly what I'm looking for after all. We're getting an original story of the new Justice League, set five years in the past. Which is fine as far as it goes, but it is starting off much too slowly. The only way we know that Flash, Aquaman and Wonder Woman will be on the team is that they appear on the cover. It's mostly a Batman and Green Lantern team-up, with the heroes first fighting, then teaming-up, while posturing as to who is tougher/more qualified. Superman zips in for a last-page reveal, and Cyborg is seen only as a pre-transformation Vic Stone. (Which would imply that Cyborg's origin story will now be tied to the Justice League, rather than to the Teen Titans...) I keep thinking that opening with a multi-part flashback origin story was perhaps not the smartest move for the DCnU's flagship title. Instead, why not have the present day team fighting a global menace, like the Justice League is supposed to do? You can always flash back to the original later. It was a perfectly fine comic, about the base level that you would expect from Johns and Lee; but I was hoping for more bang from my four bucks.

Rating: 3 (of 5).

Amazon Top 50

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


1 (-). Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 6) *
2 (-). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
3 (-). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
4 (+2). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
5 (+2). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth
6 (+9). Sailor Moon 1 *
7 (+3). Amulet #4: The Last Council
8 (-4). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
9 (+7). Watchmen
10 (+4). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
11 (-2). Dork Diaries 3: Tales from a Not-So-Talented Pop Star
12 (-4). Dork Diaries 3 (Kindle edition)
13 (+8). Codename: Sailor V 1 *
14 (-3). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
15 (-3). V for Vendetta
16 (-3). The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (revised and expanded edition)
17 (-). Batman: Year One
18 (-). The Walking Dead Volume 14: No Way Out
19 (-). Batman: The Killing Joke
20 (+13). Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 2 *
21 (+10). Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Boxset
22 (-2). The Complete Peanuts Boxed Set 1979-1982 (Vol. 15-16)
23 (+5). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
24 (+20). The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale
25 (+7). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 8: Last Gleaming
26 (+4). 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth
27 (-2). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
28 (-2). Dork Diaries (Kindle edition)
29 (-6). The Walking Dead, Book 7 *
30 (-3). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
31 (R). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Box of Books
32 (+6). Big Nate Out Loud (Kindle)
33 (+16). Garfield Lard of the Jungle: His 52nd Book *
34 (N). Naruto, Vol. 52: Cell Seven Reunion *
35 (+1). Dork Diaries 3 1/2: How to Dork Your Diary *
36 (+7). Batman: The Long Halloween
37 (-8). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume III: Century #2 1969
38 (-16). We3 Deluxe Edition
39 (N). Sailor Moon 2 *
40 (N). Batman: Earth One *
41 (-1). Big Nate Out Loud
42 (-37). Hark! A Vagrant *
43 (R). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
44 (+4). Batman: Hush
45 (N). DC Comics: The New 52 *
46 (-22). Dork Diaries 2 (Kindle edition)
47 (N). Bleach, Vol. 36 *
48 (N). Serenity Volume 2: Better Days and Other Stories *
49 (N). Codename: Sailor V 2 *
50 (-15). 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:

* It's a good week to be Sailor Moon. The first volume breaks into the top ten, while Sailor V vol. 1 rises to #13. Meanwhile, the second volumes of each series—not due out until November—enter the chart at #39 & #49.

* Last week, Kate Beaton's Hark! A Vagrant leaped up into the top 5; this week is plummets all the way to #42. Obviously there was some mainstream press notice that hit at just the right time last week to give it a big bump on Friday morning.

* All of this week's debuts are down in the bottom half. Along with the two Sailor Moon properties, there are the latest volumes of Naruto and Bleach; Batman: Earth One and DC Comics: The New 52; and a new hardcover edition of Serenity: Better Days, which appears to be adding a couple of the one-shots to the mini-series.

* Pal JimO dropped me a note last week pointing out that First-Second's graphic novels are not categorized as Comics & Graphic Novels by Amazon. So for example while his and Leland Myrick's Feynman is selling quite well, it doesn't show up on Amazon's Comics rankings. Just another reminder to not read too much into these rankings.

Success Metrics for the new DCU

Tomorrow the era of the new DC Universe (DCnU) begins with the release of Justice League #1. The "New 52" (as DC are calling it) represents a bold and, as DC have more-or-less admitted, somewhat desperate publishing strategy: 52 new (or new-ish) monthly titles starting with #1 issues, available day-and-date as print and digital versions. They are hoping to attract new readers to DC Comics, or at least capture back a good number of lapsed readers. So how might the success of the DCnU be judged? Here are some possibilities:

(Note that I am considering success from the publisher's perspective in this post. For we readers, success will and should be determined by quality of the comics themselves.)

Profit. Actually, the chance of making a profit from the venture is slim at best. But that's okay, as profit isn't the main motivator for DC anyway. Oh sure they'd be happy if all of their titles were making money, but I suspect they'll be perfectly happy with simply losing less money overall, especially if some of the other metrics are met.

Sales. Obviously, increasing sales is one of DC's main goals. This could be measured in many ways, e.g. by increase in individual titles that are being relaunched, or the number of the 52 titles over a certain threshold. But as this is a complete line-wide revamp, perhaps the most salient number to look at will be the average sales of the entire DCU line. Courtesy of The Beat, here's a table of the line-wide averages for the DCU as of this past June's sales figures:

DC UNIVERSE
06/2006: 53,274
06/2007: 47,986
06/2008: 35,800
06/2009: 36,329
---------------
06/2010: 34,612 (- 7.6%)**
07/2010: 35,372 (+ 2.2%)
08/2010: 33,411 (- 5.5%)
09/2010: 32,042 (- 4.1%)
10/2010: 32,832 (+ 2.5%)
11/2010: 34,180 (+ 4.1%)
12/2010: 30,870 (- 9.7%)
01/2011: 24,321 (-21.2%)**
02/2011: 25,887 (+ 6.4%)**
03/2011: 26,720 (+ 3.2%)**
04/2011: 29,126 (+ 9.0%)
05/2011: 27,745 (- 4.7%)**
06/2011: 28,673 (+ 3.4%)**
----------------
6 months: - 7.1%
1 year  : -17.2%
2 years : -21.1%
5 years : -46.2%

Notice a trend? Even the two-year comparison is bad, and the five-year number is atrocious. Now part of that five-year decline can be attributed to DC pumping out even more low-selling titles; one sure way of raising the line-wide average would be to cut out all of the low-selling titles and publish fewer comics. But since DC seem determined to publish 52 monthly titles (or more, with additional mini-series coming starting in October...), getting the line-wide average as it stands a year from now up to at least where it was in 2009 would be considered a win.

Market Share. Despite DC's claims to the contrary, I believe that a market share win against their cross-town rivals at Marvel will be considered a victory. Market share is one of the things you can trumpet even when you are not actually making money. And if market share wasn't a top concern, there would be no reason to be pumping out so many new comics every month, most of which are losing money and whose only purpose seems to be taking retail shelf space away from your competitors. It seems highly likely that DC will see a market share win in September; if they can keep that going for a majority of the coming twelve months—or at least keep it more competitive than it has been in the recent past—they will consider the New 52 a success.

Digital Sales. With the day-and-date availability of digital versions of all of the DCnU titles, DC is obviously hoping to pick up new readers who are willing to pay for online comics. To date, digital sales on most comics have been a small fraction of the print sales, due to: 1) inconsistent availability; 2) the gawdawful hard-to-use old comiXology app (a new revised version was released last week, and based on my initial few minutes of testing it appears to be vastly improved); and 3) competition from cost- and DRM-free illegal scans. With all of the DCnU titles now available online on a consistent basis, they should see an upswing in the number of people buying online. The question is how big that upswing will be? I don't imagine that the number of people who are willing to pay the parity-with-print $2.99 cost for the digital comics in their first month of release will be huge; but there may be enough people willing to cough-up the month-old $1.99 price for titles to make up for any deficiencies in the sales of print.

Visibility. The real business of DC Comics, as far as their corporate overlords are concerned, is in generating characters and other intellectual property that can be exploited for profit in other media. Not just blockbuster movies like The Dark Knight, but in video games, television, licensed apparel, etc. So every time a story about the DCnU hits the comic press, or especially the mainstream press, it is a win for DC. Even if all of the other metrics we've discussed are moderate at best, the amount of publicity already generated is likely being viewed as a success.

Long Term. It will be tempting to look at the first-month sales figures for the DCnU titles and make a snap judgment about the New 52's success. But the real measure won't be apparent until at least a year, or even better two years, down the line. How many of the New 52 are still being published in 2013? Will the "cancellation floor" for the line as a whole rise? Can titles maintain their initial sales boost? Will DC be able to successfully launch new comics and properties? Answers to these kinds of questions will ultimately tell us if this big experiment has really succeeded.

Amazon Top 50

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


1 (-). Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 6) *
2 (-). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
3 (-). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
4 (+10). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
5 (R). Hark! A Vagrant *
6 (-2). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
7 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth
8 (-3). Dork Diaries 3 (Kindle edition)
9 (-). Dork Diaries 3: Tales from a Not-So-Talented Pop Star
10 (+19). Amulet #4: The Last Council *
11 (-5). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
12 (+4). V for Vendetta
13 (+6). The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (revised and expanded edition)
14 (-2). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
15 (+5). Sailor Moon 1 *
16 (-3). Watchmen
17 (-6). Batman: Year One
18 (-10). The Walking Dead Volume 14: No Way Out
19 (+7). Batman: The Killing Joke
20 (-10). The Complete Peanuts Boxed Set 1979-1982 (Vol. 15-16) *
21 (+10). Codename: Sailor V 1 *
22 (-4). We3 Deluxe Edition
23 (-2). The Walking Dead, Book 7 *
24 (+3). Dork Diaries 2 (Kindle edition)
25 (-2). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
26 (+2). Dork Diaries (Kindle edition)
27 (+3). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
28 (-4). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
29 (-14). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume III: Century #2 1969
30 (-13). 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth
31 (-6). Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Boxset
32 (+6). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 8: Last Gleaming
33 (+7). Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 2 *
34 (N). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection Volume 1 *
35 (R). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes
36 (N). Dork Diaries 3 1/2: How to Dork Your Diary *
37 (-). Big Nate: From the Top
38 (R). Big Nate Out Loud (Kindle)
39 (-). The Complete Peanuts 1981-1982 (Vol. 16) *
40 (R). Big Nate Out Loud
41 (R). Locke & Key Volume 1: Welcome to Lovecraft HC
42 (N). Fables: The Deluxe Edition Book Three
43 (-10). Batman: The Long Halloween
44 (-22). The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale
45 (N). Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1 (Deluxe Edition)
46 (R). Palestine
47 (R). Castle: Richard Castle's Deadly Storm *
48 (-16). Batman: Hush
49 (-8). Garfield Lard of the Jungle: His 52nd Book *
50 (N). Big Nate Boredom Buster



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:

* Two upcoming releases show strong interest this week: Kate Beaton's Hark! A Vagrant collection leaps from down off the charts all the way to #5, and the latest in Kazuo Kabishi's Amulet series hops up to the #10 spot.

* It's slightly cheaper to buy the two volumes of Maus separately in paperback than to buy the one-volume edition in hardcover, but only slightly so. Me, I'd rather have it all in one nice hardcover for just a couple of bucks more, but then I'm not a broke college student trying to stretch my book-buying dollar as far as possible.

* The upcoming new Sailor Moon editions are showing remarkable staying power for manga, moreso than any other manga in recent memory on this chart (including Naruto and One Piece).

* All of the debuts this week are in the lower part of the chart, led by a sizable collection of classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a Dork Diaries spin-off, and deluxe editions of Fables and Y, the Last Man.

Shameless Friend Promotion: JimO's Feynman

Pal Jim Ottaviani has a new book out next week: Feynman (drawn by Leland Myrick).

Today over on John Scalzi's blog Whatever, Jim has a guest post in the Big Idea series.

Also, all week excerpts from the book are running over on Tor.com.

Monkey Covers

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

Sad Sack learns that there's a good reason for the 'Do Not Feed the Monkey' sign at the zoo on the cover of Sad Sad Sack World #25 (1970) by George Baker.

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

Amazon Top 50

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


1 (-). Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 6) *
2 (-). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
3 (+1). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
4 (+8). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
5 (-2). Dork Diaries 3 (Kindle edition)
6 (+1). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
7 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth
8 (-3). The Walking Dead Volume 14: No Way Out
9 (+4). Dork Diaries 3: Tales from a Not-So-Talented Pop Star
10 (N). The Complete Peanuts Boxed Set 1979-1982 (Vol. 15-16) *
11 (-3). Batman: Year One
12 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
13 (+1). Watchmen
14 (-4). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
15 (-6). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume III: Century #2 1969
16 (-1). V for Vendetta
17 (+3). 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth
18 (N). We3 Deluxe Edition *
19 (-2). The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (revised and expanded edition)
20 (+4). Sailor Moon 1 *
21 (+26). The Walking Dead, Book 7 *
22 (+6). The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale
23 (-). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
24 (+11). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
25 (-). Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Boxset
26 (-4). Batman: The Killing Joke
27 (-8). Dork Diaries 2 (Kindle edition)
28 (-10). Dork Diaries (Kindle edition)
29 (+16). Amulet #4: The Last Council *
30 (-9). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
31 (-5). Codename: Sailor V 1 *
32 (+1). Batman: Hush
33 (-3). Batman: The Long Halloween
34 (+9). Blackest Night
35 (+7). Daytripper
36 (+8). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
37 (+1). Big Nate: From the Top
38 (-4). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 8: Last Gleaming
39 (N). The Complete Peanuts 1981-1982 (Vol. 16) *
40 (-24). Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 2 *
41 (N). Garfield Lard of the Jungle: His 52nd Book *
42 (-10). The Walking Dead Volume 13
43 (N). Mega Man Gigamix Volume 2 *
44 (N). No Such Thing as Ghosts (Dragonbreath)
45 (R). The Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye
46 (R). The Hobbit
47 (R). Batman: Dark Victory
48 (R). The Stonekeeper's Curse (Amulet, Book 2)
49 (R). The Stonekeeper (Amulet, Book 1)
50 (R). The Walking Dead, Book 6



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:

* Persepolis, Maus, and Understanding Comics are at #2, 3, & 4 on the chart; looks like college classes are starting soon!

* Several debuts this week, led by the latest Complete Peanuts Boxed Set at #10 and the We3 special edition at #18.

* The long-out-of-print Hobbit adaptation sneaks up onto the list again. Strange...

An Alternate DCnU

A few weeks ago I wrote a post where I detailed some alternate DCnU titles that I would have liked to have seen in the relaunch.

Well, Jon Morris has done me one better. For his new blog, DC Fifty-TOO!, Jon has asked a plethora of cartoonists to come up with their own ideas for DCnU relaunch titles, and he's posting four new titles each day from now until the real DCnU launches at the end of the month. Check it out, as it looks to be two weeks of interesting and fun!

Amazon Top 50

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


1 (-). Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 6) *
2 (-). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
3 (-). Dork Diaries 3 (Kindle edition)
4 (+3). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
5 (-). The Walking Dead Volume 14: No Way Out
6 (+2). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth
7 (-1). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
8 (+1). Batman: Year One
9 (-5). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume III: Century #2 1969
10 (+1). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
11 (+4). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
12 (+1). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
13 (-3). Dork Diaries 3: Tales from a Not-So-Talented Pop Star
14 (+4). Watchmen
15 (+4). V for Vendetta
16 (+5). Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 2 *
17 (-3). The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (revised and expanded edition)
18 (-2). Dork Diaries (Kindle edition)
19 (+12). Dork Diaries 2 (Kindle edition)
20 (+6). 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth
21 (+3). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
22 (+5). Batman: The Killing Joke
23 (-6). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
24 (+1). Sailor Moon 1 *
25 (-13). Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Boxset
26 (+16). Codename: Sailor V 1 *
27 (+7). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Lost Adventures
28 (+7). The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale
29 (R). The Walking Dead Volume 12
30 (-2). Batman: The Long Halloween
31 (R). Big Nate Out Loud (Kindle edition)
32 (+17). The Walking Dead Volume 13
33 (-10). Batman: Hush
34 (-14). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 8: Last Gleaming
35 (+1). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
36 (-7). Jericho Season 3
37 (R). Ghost World
38 (-8). Big Nate: From the Top
39 (N). Amazing Spider-Man by David Michelinie & Todd McFarlane Omnibus *
40 (-8). Big Nate Out Loud
41 (R). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
42 (R). Daytripper
43 (-). Blackest Night
44 (+3). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
45 (-8). Amulet #4: The Last Council *
46 (R). Brightest Day, Vol. 2
47 (N). The Walking Dead, Book 7 *
48 (R). Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1
49 (R). The Walking Dead, Book 2
50 (N). Blue Exorcist, Vol. 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:

* A relatively sedate list this week, with most book showing small increases or decreases, and only a few jumping large on the chart.

* Top debut this week is Amazing Spider-Man by David Michelinie & Todd McFarlane Omnibus at #39 (also Marvel's only book on the chart). Also debuting are the newest Walking Dead hardcover, and the manga Blue Exorcist.

Monkey Covers

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

The Fly and Fly Girl battle a monster gorilla on the cover of The Adventures of the Fly #22 (1962) by John Rosenberger.

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

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

Amazon Top 50

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


1 (-). Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 6) *
2 (+7). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
3 (-). Dork Diaries 3 (Kindle edition)
4 (+1). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume III: Century #2 1969 *
5 (-1). The Walking Dead Volume 14: No Way Out
6 (+4). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
7 (+5). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
8 (-2). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth
9 (-1). Batman: Year One
10 (+3). Dork Diaries 3: Tales from a Not-So-Talented Pop Star
11 (+11). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
12 (+17). Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Boxset
13 (+2). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
14 (+2). The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (revised and expanded edition)
15 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
16 (+11). Dork Diaries (Kindle edition)
17 (-). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
18 (+3). Watchmen
19 (+5). V for Vendetta
20 (+3). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 8: Last Gleaming
21 (-1). Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 2 *
22 (R). 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth (Kindle)
23 (+8). Batman: Hush
24 (+1). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
25 (+11). Sailor Moon 1 *
26 (-). 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth
27 (-9). Batman: The Killing Joke
28 (+9). Batman: The Long Halloween
29 (+21). Jericho Season 3
30 (+18). Big Nate: From the Top
31 (-12). Dork Diaries 2 (Kindle edition)
32 (+10). Big Nate Out Loud
33 (R). Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
34 (-2). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Lost Adventures
35 (R). The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale
36 (R). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
37 (-4). Amulet #4: The Last Council *
38 (N). K-ON!, Vol. 3 *
39 (-37). The Stonekeeper (Amulet, Book 1)
40 (-12). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Box of Books
41 (R). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes
42 (-1). Codename: Sailor V 1 *
43 (+2). Blackest Night
44 (R). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 7: Twilight
45 (-1). The Walking Dead, Book 1
46 (N). Warriors: SkyClan and the Stranger #1: The Rescue
47 (R). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
48 (R). Blood Work: An Original Hollows Graphic Novel
49 (-19). Walking Dead Volume 13
50 (-3). Batman: Dark Victory



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:

* It's only the first week of August, but that seems to be close enough to the start of school that books like Persepolis, Maus, The Dark Knight Returns, and Understanding Comics are starting to show gains as students take a look at their syllabi for their upcoming classes and the University Effect begins.

* There are seven Batman books—all catalog titles—on the list this week; two of them in the top ten. And that's without a movie this summer...

* Only two debuts this week, and both in the bottom half: a new volume of the manga K-ON!, and a new Warriors.

Monkey Covers

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

Kamandi fights a gorilla over Superman's costume on the cover of Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth #29 (1975) by Jack Kirby and Bruce Berry.

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

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

Amazon Top 50

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


1 (-). Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 6) *
2 (R). The Stonekeeper (Amulet, Book 1)
3 (-1). Dork Diaries 3 (Kindle edition)
4 (-1). The Walking Dead Volume 14: No Way Out
5 (+25). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume III: Century #2 1969 *
6 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth
7 (R). The Stonekeeper's Curse (Amulet, Book 2)
8 (-1). Batman: Year One
9 (-1). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
10 (R). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
11 (R). The Cloud Searchers (Amulet)
12 (+1). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
13 (-9). Dork Diaries 3: Tales from a Not-So-Talented Pop Star
14 (-5). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
15 (+16). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
16 (-6). The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (revised and expanded edition)
17 (-1). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
18 (+4). Batman: The Killing Joke
19 (-7). Dork Diaries 2 (Kindle edition)
20 (-2). Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 2 *
21 (+8). Watchmen
22 (+13). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
23 (-12). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 8: Last Gleaming
24 (+3). V for Vendetta
25 (-10). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
26 (-2). 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth
27 (-21). Dork Diaries (Kindle edition)
28 (-2). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Box of Books
29 (-10). Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Boxset
30 (+8). Walking Dead Volume 13
31 (-2). Batman: Hush
32 (+7). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Lost Adventures
33 (N). Amulet #4: The Last Council *
34 (R). The Walking Dead, Book 2
35 (+2). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
36 (R). Sailor Moon 1 *
37 (-17). Batman: The Long Halloween
38 (+2). Black Butler, Vol. 6
39 (R). Daytripper
40 (N). The Hobbit
41 (N). Codename: Sailor V 1 *
42 (+1). Big Nate Out Loud
43 (R). Batman & Robin Vol. 3: Batman & Robin Must Die!
44 (R). The Walking Dead, Book 1
45 (-24). Blackest Night
46 (R). Hark! A Vagrant *
47 (+1). Batman: Dark Victory
48 (R). Big Nate: From the Top
49 (R). Locke & Key Volume 1: Welcome to Lovecraft
50 (N). Jericho Season 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:

* After being featured on NPR, the volumes of Kazu Kibuishi's Amulet hop up high onto the list: the three released volumes into the top eleven, and the pre-release of the upcoming fourth volume as the top new item.

* Alan Moore still has what it takes to sell books: the second volume of LOEG: Century hops up to #5 this week.

* How does the long-out-of-print graphic novel adaptation of The Hobbit hit the chart this week? Strange and mysterious are the ways of the Amazon comics chart...

All-Time Top Comic Book Movies

Movies based on comics properties, ranked by Worldwide box office gross:

1. The Dark Knight ($1001.9)
2. Spider-Man 3 ($885.4)
3. Spider-Man ($806.7)
4. Spider-Man 2 ($783.6)
5. Iron Man 2 ($616.8)
6. Men in Black ($587.2)
7. Iron Man ($571.8)
8. 300 ($456.6)
9. Thor ($445.1) *
10. Men in Black II ($425.6)
11. Batman ($413.2)
12. X2 ($406.4)
13. Superman Returns ($389.6)
14. X-Men Origins: Wolverine ($374.9)
15. Batman Begins ($352.0)
16. X-Men: First Class ($346.0) *
17. Wanted ($338.8)
18. Batman Forever ($335.0)
19. Over the Hedge ($329.6)
20. Fantastic Four ($329.3)
21. The Mask ($320.9)
22. X-Men ($294.1)
23. Superman ($289.4)
24. Batman Returns ($282.8)
25. Casper ($282.3)
26. Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer ($277.5)
27. The Incredible Hulk ($254.2)
28. Hulk ($241.7)
29. Batman & Robin ($237.2)
30. Constantine ($229.5)
31. Ghost Rider ($219.7)

Box office grosses given in millions. Source: IMDb.

(Marvel: 17. DC: 9. Dark Horse: 2. Image: 1. United Media: 1. Harvey: 1.)

Monkey Covers

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

The Gorilla battles mobsters on the cover of Fantastic Adventures #15 (1964) by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito.

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

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

Amazon Top 50

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


1 (+2). Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 6) *
2 (-1). Dork Diaries 3 (Kindle edition)
3 (-1). The Walking Dead Volume 14: No Way Out
4 (-). Dork Diaries 3: Tales from a Not-So-Talented Pop Star
5 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth
6 (+6). Dork Diaries (Kindle edition)
7 (-). Batman: Year One
8 (+1). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
9 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
10 (-4). The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (revised and expanded edition)
11 (-1). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 8: Last Gleaming
12 (+1). Dork Diaries 2 (Kindle edition)
13 (+1). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
14 (+11). The Griff: A Graphic Novel
15 (+11). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
16 (-1). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
17 (+33). X-Men: Age of X
18 (+16). Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 2 *
19 (+3). Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Boxset
20 (+3). Batman: The Long Halloween
21 (+19). Blackest Night
22 (-2). Batman: The Killing Joke
23 (N). Holy Terror *
24 (-6). 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth
25 (+13). Batman: Hush
26 (+1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Box of Books
27 (+2). V for Vendetta
27 (+17). Negima! 30: Magister Negi Magi
29 (-1). Watchmen
30 (N). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume III: Century #2 1969 *
31 (+6). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
32 (-11). Dork Diaries 2: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
33 (N). Batman: Knightfall, Part One: Broken Bat
34 (-18). Paying for It
35 (+4). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
36 (-4). Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, Vol. 2 - The Little Sister of Eluria
37 (+4). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
38 (-2). Walking Dead Volume 13
39 (+10). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Lost Adventures
40 (+2). Black Butler, Vol. 6
41 (N). Batman: Bruce Wayne: The Road Home
42 (R). Green Lantern: Blackest Night
43 (-12). Big Nate Out Loud
44 (R). Bone: The Complete Cartoon Epic in One Volume
45 (-28). Incognito, Vol. 2: Bad Influences *
46 (N). Maelstrom 1 (kindle)
47 (-23). Highschool of the Dead, Vol. 3
48 (R). Batman: Dark Victory
49 (R). Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
50 (N). Batman: Knightfall, Part Three: KnightsEnd



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:

* And now the preorder for Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever pops back to the top of the list. Is this a permanent rise, or will the dance at the top continue? Tune in next week to find out!

* Top debuts this week are preorders for Frank Miller's Holy Terror and Alan Moore & Kevin O'Neill's LXG 1969. Other debuts are a couple of Batman: Knightfall collections; the Batman: Bruce Wayne: The Road Home collection; and a yaoi comic for the Kindle.

* Several big jumps this week; at least one—X-Men: Age of X—is due to its being offered at 60% off for a bit earlier in the week.

It's Time for a New Superman

Superman debuted in Action Comics #1 in 1938.

The Silver Age (aka "Earth-1") version came about sometime in the late 50s/early 60s; there was no hard reboot, but for the sake of this argument let's say it was 1960, when he appeared alongside other silver age heroes in the first appearance of the Justice League of America.

The Post-Crisis (aka the "Byrne") version debuted in Man of Steel #1 in 1986.

And now the DCnU reboot will come out in 2011.

22 years between the debut and the silver age version
26 years between the silver age and Post-Crisis versions
25 years between the Post-Crisis and the DCnU versions

Looks like we're right on schedule!

Expect a brand new reboot of Superman for his 100th Anniversary in 2038...

Monkey Covers

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

Wonder Man fights off an Ape Attack on the cover of West Coast Avengers #33 (1988) by Al Milgrom and Mike Machlan.

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

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

Amazon Top 50

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


1 (-). Dork Diaries 3 (Kindle edition)
2 (-). The Walking Dead Volume 14: No Way Out
3 (+1). Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 6) *
4 (-1). Dork Diaries 3: Tales from a Not-So-Talented Pop Star
5 (+1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth
6 (+6). The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (revised and expanded edition)
7 (+6). Batman: Year One
8 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
9 (+1). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
10 (+4). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 8: Last Gleaming
11 (+5). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
12 (-1). Dork Diaries (Kindle edition)
13 (-4). Dork Diaries 2 (Kindle edition)
14 (+1). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
15 (-7). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
16 (-11). Paying for It
17 (N). Incognito, Vol. 2: Bad Influences *
18 (+1). 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth
19 (-1). Blood Work: An Original Hollows Graphic Novel
20 (+4). Batman: The Killing Joke
21 (+2). Dork Diaries 2: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
22 (-5). Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Boxset
23 (-3). Batman: The Long Halloween
24 (+4). Highschool of the Dead, Vol. 3 *
25 (-4). The Griff: A Graphic Novel
26 (+24). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
27 (+2). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Box of Books
28 (+5). Watchmen
29 (+2). V for Vendetta
30 (-5). Batman & Robin Vol. 3: Batman Must Die!
31 (+10). Big Nate Out Loud
32 (+5). Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, Vol. 2 - The Little Sister of Eluria
33 (R). 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth (Kindle)
34 (R). Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 2 *
35 (-9). Green Lantern: Brightest Day
36 (-13). Walking Dead Volume 13
37 (-1). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
38 (-3). Batman: Hush
39 (-7). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
40 (R). Blackest Night *
41 (+2). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
42 (-4). Black Butler, Vol. 6 *
43 (+1). Sailor Moon 1 *
44 (R). Thor by Walter Simonson Omnibus
45 (N). Negima! 30: Magister Negi Magi *
46 (R). Big Nate: From the Top
47 (R). The Walking Dead, Book 1
48 (R). The Walking Dead, Book 6
49 (-19). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Lost Adventures
50 (N). X-Men: Age of X


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:

* Not much exciting at the top of the list. Throughout the week, Walking Dead & Dork Diaries traded places several times, but at the time of this list compilation it is Dork Diaries still at the top.

* I'm amazed at how much better the Kindle editions of Dork Diaries sell than their print counterparts. One can only imagine how well other graphic novels might do if offered in that format...

* The top debut this week is the second Incognito collection. The only other debuts are the latest Negima! volume and X-Men: Age of X, both down near the bottom of the list.

Amazon Top 50

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


1 (+1). Dork Diaries 3 (Kindle edition)
2 (-1). The Walking Dead Volume 14: No Way Out
3 (-). Dork Diaries 3: Tales from a Not-So-Talented Pop Star
4 (+1). Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 6) *
5 (R). Paying for It
6 (-2). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth
7 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
8 (+7). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
9 (-). Dork Diaries 2 (Kindle edition)
10 (+3). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
11 (-3). Dork Diaries (Kindle edition)
12 (-6). The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (revised and expanded edition)
13 (-1). Batman: Year One
14 (-3). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 8: Last Gleaming
15 (+1). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
16 (+1). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
17 (+1). Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Boxset
18 (N). Blood Work: An Original Hollows Graphic Novel
19 (+1). 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth
20 (R). Batman: The Long Halloween
21 (N). The Griff: A Graphic Novel
22 (-3). Dork Diaries 2: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
23 (+8). Walking Dead Volume 13
24 (R). Batman: The Killing Joke
25 (+2). Batman & Robin Vol. 3: Batman Must Die!
26 (+14). Green Lantern: Brightest Day
27 (+14). Black Bird, Vol. 9
28 (N). Highschool of the Dead, Vol. 3 *
29 (-8). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Box of Books
30 (-2). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Lost Adventures
31 (-9). V for Vendetta
32 (R). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
33 (-7). Watchmen
34 (-2). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book
35 (R). Batman: Hush
36 (R). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
37 (R). Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, Vol. 2 - The Little Sister of Eluria
38 (N). Black Butler, Vol. 6 *
39 (N). Rosario+Vampire: Season II, Vol. 5
40 (+6). Fables Vol. 15: Rose Red
41 (-18). Big Nate Out Loud
42 (-12). Irredeemable, Vol. 6
43 (-19). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
44 (N). Sailor Moon 1 *
45 (N). Dance in the Vampire Bund, Vol. 10
46 (N). Pokemon Black and White, Vol. 1
47 (R). Batman and Robin, Vol. 2: Batman vs. Robin
48 (N). Y The Last Man Deluxe Book Five
49 (R). The Long Way Home (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 1)
50 (-8). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)


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 Walking Dead and Dork Diaries switch positions at the top of the list. I expect me may see this dance for a while...

* Chester Brown's Paying For It was MIA on the chart last week, but this week returns all the way up at #5. It's been quite a yo-yo ride on the chart for this particular title.

* The top debut this week is Blood Work, a graphic novel set in Kim Harrison's popular Hollows series of supernatural novels. Also debuting is The Griff, the first graphic novel by popular humor author Christopher Moore; a Y the Last Man hardcover; and a bunch of manga volumes.

* Speaking of, there are seven different manga volumes on the chart this week, which historically (well, since I've been keeping track...) is a relatively high number.

New Library Comics: June 2011

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




Aaron, Jason. Punisher Max. Kingpin / New York, NY : Marvel Worldwide, 2010.

Adam, Peggy. Luchadoras / Madrid : Sinsentido, c2007

Allred, Mike (Mike Dalton) Madman : all-new giant-size super ginchy special! / Berkeley, Calif. : Image Comics, 2011.

Amou, Kanami. .hack//Alcor / Hamburg ; Los Angeles : Tokyopop, c2009

Anderson, Kevin J., 1962- Star Trek—the next generation : the Gorn crisis / La Jolla, CA : WildStorm/DC Comics, 2001.

Asamiya, Kia, 1963- Steam detectives. v. 1 / San Francisco, CA : Viz Communications, 2002, c1998.

Bachelet, Gilles. Hotel des voyageurs : (a naughty pillow book) / New York : Abrams Image, 2007.

Bagge, Peter. Yeah! / Seattle, WA : Fantagraphics, c2011.

Banville. Asymptote. 1, La fin du monde / Montréal : 400 coups, c2011

Barson, Michael. Agonizing love : the golden era of romance comics / New York : Collins Design, 2011

Berenstain, Mike, 1951- Child's play : the Berenstain baby boom, 1946-1964 : cartoon art of Stan and Jan Berenstain / New York : Abrams, 2008.

Bocquet, José-Louis. Kiki de Montparnasse / London : SelfMadeHero, 2011.

Bound & gagged. No. 1 / Los Angeles, CA : I Will Destroy You Comics, c2010

Brady, Pat, 1947- Rose is Rose 15th anniversary collection / Kansas City [Mo.] : Andrews McMeel, c1999.

Brin, David. Forgiveness / La Jolla, CA : WildStorm Productions, 2001.

Brown, Chester, 1960- Paying for it : a comic-strip memoir about being a john / Montréal : Drawn & Quarterly ; New York : Distributed in the USA by Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2011.

Card, Orson Scott. Dragon age. [1] / San Diego, CA : IDW, c2011

Cauwelaert, Didier van, 1960- L'enfant qui venait d'un livre : romanga / Paris : Prisma, 2011

CBLDF : 2010 year in review. / New York : Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, [2010?]

Chaykin, Howard V. Son of Superman / New York : DC Comics, 2011.

Clowes, Daniel. Mister wonderful / New York : Pantheon Books, c2011.

Comics buyer's guide 1994 annual : the standard reference for today's collector / Iola, WI : Krause Publications, 1993.

Crandall, Reed, 1917-1982. The Reed Crandall reader. / NYC : Pure Imagination Pub., c2011

De Campi, Alex. Kat & Mouse v.1. Teacher torture / Los Angeles, Calif. : Tokyopop, Inc., 2006

De Campi, Alex. Kat & Mouse v.2. Tripped / Los Angeles, Calif. : Tokyopop, Inc., 2006

DeCandido, Keith R. A. StarCraft : Ghost Academy v. 1-3 / Los Angeles : Tokyopop, c2010-

DeMatteis, J. M. Brooklyn dreams / New York : Paradox Press, c2003.

Drake, Arnold. Deadman. Book 1 / New York : DC Comics, c2011

Easton, Michael, 1967- Soul stealer vols. 1-3 / [Toronto, Ontario] : DMF Comics, c2008

Echanique, Deanna. La macchina bellica v. 1 / [Washington, D.C.? : D. Echanique, 2009-]

Ellis, Warren. Transmetropolitan v. 9 : the cure / New York : DC Comics, c2009-

Evens, Brecht, 1986- Night animals : a diptych about what rushes through the bushes / Marietta, GA : Top Shelf Productions, 2011

Expo 2000 / [Bethesda, Maryland?] : The Expo, c2000.

The Fleagles : the classic E.C. artists. / NYC : Pure Imagination, c2011

Frazetta, Frank. Johnny Comet / Lakewood N.J. : Vanguard Productions, 2011.

Frazetta, Frank. White Indian / [Lakewood, NJ] : Vanguard Productions, 2011.

Fry, Michael, 1959- Over the hedge : stuffed animals / Kansas City, Mo. : Andrews McMeel, c2006.

Furuya, Usamaru, 1968- The Lychee Light Club = [Litchi Hikari Club] / New York : Vertical, Inc., c2011

Gage, Christos. Area 10 / New York : DC Comics, c2010.

Gallagher, John, comic book author. Buzzboy. Volume II : monsters, dreams & milkshakes / Falls Church, VA : Sky Dog Press, 2003.

Guisewite, Cathy. Cathy twentieth anniversary collection / Kansas City : Andrews and McMeel, [c1996]

Gulledge, Laura Lee. Page by Paige / New York : Amulet Books, 2011

Hachigian, Jennifer Lynn. Lore v. 1 / Burbank, Calif. : Greeble Graphics, c2008

Hamazaki, Tatsuya. .hack//G.U.+ v. 1 / Los Angeles, Calif. : Tokyopop, 2008

Hart, Tom, 1969- She's not into poetry : mini-comics 1991-1996 / [S.l.] : Sequential Artist's Workshop, c2011

Hernandez, Gilbert. Love from the shadows / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, c2011

Hope : the hero initiative : [26 stories by over 80 creators to benefit the Hero Initiative]. / [Canada] : Ronin Studios, 2011

Howard, Josh, 1976- Black harvest / Berkeley, CA : Image ; London : Diamond [distributor], c2010.

Hughes, Susan, 1960- No girls allowed : tales of daring women dressed as men for love, freedom and adventure / Toronto, Ont. ; Tonawanda, NY : Kids Can Press, c2008

Jodorowsky, Alejandro. Alexandro Jodorowsky's Screaming planet / Hollywood, CA : Humanoids, c2011

Jodorowsky, Alejandro. Weapons of the Metabaron / Hollywood, CA : Humanoids, Inc., c2010.

Johnston, Lynn Franks, 1947- A look inside— for better or for worse : the 10th anniversary collection / Kansas City : Andrews and McMeel, c1989.

Jones, Gerard, 1957- Networked : Carabella on the run / New York : Privacy Activism/NBM Pub., c2010.

Kishimoto, Masashi, 1974- Naruto : [Omnibus Edition] v. 1-3 / San Francisco, Calif. : Viz, 2011

Knaak, Richard A. Warcraft. The sunwell trilogy v. 3 : ghostlands / Los Angeles, CA : TokyoPop, c2005-2007.

Kodaka, Nao. Kilala princess vols. 1-2 / Los Angeles : Tokyopop, 2007

Kovaleski, John. Bo Nanas : monkey meets world / Kansas City, Mo. : Andrews McMeel, c2005.

Kubert, Joe, 1926- Jew gangster / New York : DC Comic, c2005

Kubert, Joe, 1926- The Joe Kubert reader / NYC : Pure Imagination, c2010

Kudō, Kazuya. Mai, the psychic girl. 1 / San Francisco, CA : Viz Communications, 2002, c1995.

La Neve, Michelangelo. Day of the magicians / Hollywood, CA : Humanoids Inc., c2010.

Lambert, Joseph. I will bite you! : and other stories / [Vermont] : Secret Acres, 2011

Lappé, Anthony. Shooting war / New York : Grand Central Pub., 2008, c2007.

The MAD bathroom companion / New York : MAD Books, c2000.

Mariolle, Mathieu. Nola's worlds v. 1 : changing moon / Minneapolis, MN : Graphic Universe, 2010-

Moncuse, Steve. The fish police. Vol. 1. [Hairballs] / San Diego, CA : IDW Pub., 2011

Moore, Alan, 1953- Voodoo, dancing in the dark / La Jolla, CA : Wildstorm Productions, c1999.

Naifeh, Ted. Unearthly. Vol. 1 / Los Angeles, Calif. : Seven Seas ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2005

Nishi, Keiko. Love song / San Francisco, CA : Viz Communications, 1997.

Ohba, Tsugumi. Death note. Black ed. v. 3 / San Francisco : Viz Media, 2010-

Opper, Frederick Burr, 1857-1937. Frederick Burr Opper's Happy Hooligan / New York : Nantier, Beall, Minoustchine, [2008?]

Ōtomo, Katsuhiro, 1954- Akira vol. 6 / New York : Kodansha Comics, 2009-

Pekar, Harvey. Huntington, West Virginia "on the fly" / New York : Villard, c2011.

Peterson, Paul. The next day : a graphic novella / Toronto : Pop Sandbox, 2011

Petrucha, Stefan. Vampire slayer. Part one / New York : Papercutz, 2010.

Peyo. The Smurfs and the Howlibird. / Flemington, NJ : Papercutz, 2011

Riley, Andy. D.I.Y. dentistry : —and other alarming inventions / New York : Plume, 2009, [c2008]

Robinson, Jerry. Jerry Robinson's Astra / New York : CPM Manga, c2002.

Ryan, Johnny. New character parade / Oakland, CA : Pigeon Press, 2010

Sawai, Yoshio, 1977- Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo / San Francisco, Calif. : Viz Media, 2006, c2005

Schulz, Charles M. (Charles Monroe), 1922-2000. Happiness is a warm blanket, Charlie Brown / Los Angeles : kaboom!, 2011

Schulz, Charles M. (Charles Monroe), 1922-2000. It's great to be a superstar / New York : Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1977.

Schulz, Charles M. (Charles Monroe), 1922-2000. Summers fly, winters walk / New York : Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1977.

Schulz, Charles M. (Charles Monroe), 1922-2000. The Snoopy festival / New York : Holt, Rinehart and Winston, c1974.

Schulz, Charles M. (Charles Monroe), 1922-2000. What's wrong with being crabby? / New York : Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1976.

Schulz, Charles M. (Charles Monroe), 1922-2000. You're barking up the wrong tree, Snoopy! / New York : Scholastic Inc., c1980.

Shindoh, Arashi. Leader's High. 1 / LaJolla, CA : CMX : WildStorm Productions, an imprint of DC Comics, c2008.

Shirai, Yumiko. Tenken / New York : One Peace Books, [2010]

Simone, Gail. Spiderman's pal Gus Beezer / New York, NY : Marvel Comics, 2004.

Skillman, Eric. Liar's kiss / Marietta, GA : Top Shelf Productions, 2011

Smith, Rick. Yehuda Moon and the Kickstand Cyclery Vol. 1. Life on a bicycle / Shaker Heights, Ohio : Kickstand Cyclery, 2011-

StarCraft : Frontline. v. 1-4 / Los Angeles, Calif. : Tokyopop, 2008-

Suzuki, Julietta. Karakuri Odette. Vol. 1 / Los Angeles : Tokyopop, 2009.

Sweet tooth. no. 21 Jul 2011 / New York, NY : DC Comics, 2009-

Tadano, Nobuaki. 7 billion needles v. 4 / New York : Vertical, 2010-

Tenuta, Saverio. Legend of the scarlet blades / Hollywood, CA : Humanoids, c2011.

Toth, Alex. Jon Fury ... in Japan. #1 / Burbank, CA : Paul Power Publication, c2010.

Trondheim, Lewis. Approximate continuum comics / Seattle, WA : Fantagraphics Books ; [New York] : Distributed in the U.S. by Diamond Comic Distributors, 2011.

Urasawa, Naoki, 1960- 20th century boys v. 12-14 / San Francisco, CA : Viz Media, 2009-

Valentino, Serena. Gloom cookie / San Jose, CA : Slave Labor, 2001-

Walker, Mort. Beetle Bailey : revenge / New York : Tom Doherty Associates, 1985.

Watts, Jean, 1949- Off hours : cartoons / Dayton, Ohio : Ohio Psychology Press, c1992

Wilson, Tom, 1931- The great big giant book of Ziggy / New York : Galahad Books, 1988.

Winick, Judd. Exiles. Vol. 4, Legacy / New York : Marvel Comics, 2003.

Wolfman, Marv. Night Force / New York : DC Comics, 2011

Worton, Zach, 1977- The Klondike / Montréal : Drawn & Quarterly, 2011

Yaginuma, Kō, 1973- Twin spica v. 7 / New York : Vertical, Inc., c2010-

Yokoyama, Yuichi. Garden / Brooklyn, NY : PictureBox, 2011


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

Holiday Ten of a Kind: She's a Grand Ol' Flag

 

Animaniacs #23

Aventuras em Patópolis #45

Flare Adventures #19

Hot Stuff, the Little Devil #136

King Comics #76

March of Comics #420

Supergirl #80

Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #22

Walt Disney's Comics in Color #5

Werewolves on the Moon versus Vampires #1

(Covers courtesy of the GCD. As always, with apologies to and admiration of Bully, the Little Stuffed Bull)

Monkey Covers

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

Lex Luthor faces off against Gorilla Grodd on the cover of Action Comics #893 (2010) by David Finch and Richard Friend.

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

Click on the image for a larger version.

Amazon Top 50

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

1 (-). The Walking Dead Volume 14: No Way Out
2 (-). Dork Diaries 3 (Kindle edition)
3 (-). Dork Diaries 3: Tales from a Not-So-Talented Pop Star
4 (+1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth
5 (-1). Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 6) *
6 (+3). The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (revised and expanded edition)
7 (+3). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
8 (-). Dork Diaries (Kindle edition)
9 (+3). Dork Diaries 2 (Kindle edition)
10 (N). Toy Story: Return Of Buzz LightYear
11 (-5). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 8: Last Gleaming
12 (+1). Batman: Year One
13 (+2). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
14 (N). Toy Story: Mysterious Stranger
15 (+9). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
16 (-2). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
17 (-6). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
18 (+3). Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Boxset
19 (+3). Dork Diaries 2: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
20 (-4). 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth
21 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Box of Books
22 (+8). V for Vendetta
23 (-5). Big Nate Out Loud
24 (+1). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
25 (+4). Green Lantern: Rebirth
26 (+2). Watchmen
27 (+6). Batman & Robin Vol. 3: Batman Must Die!
28 (+6). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Lost Adventures
29 (-12). Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 2 *
30 (N). Irredeemable, Vol. 6
31 (-4). Walking Dead Volume 13
32 (+14). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book
33 (R). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes
34 (R). Uncanny X-Force: The Apocalypse Solution
35 (+12). Daytripper
36 (N). Wizards Of Mickey Volume 1: Mouse Magic
37 (R). Hellboy Library Volume 4
38 (R). Naruto, Vol. 51: Sasuke vs. Danzo!
39 (-4). Green Lantern: The Sinestro Corps War, Vol. 2
40 (-21). Green Lantern: Brightest Day
41 (N). Black Bird, Vol. 9
42 (-10). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
43 (R). Be Good, Little Puppy: A Penny Arcade Book
44 (R). Uncanny X-Force: Deathlok Nation
45 (-7). X-Men: Second Coming
46 (R). Fables Vol. 15: Rose Red
47 (N). Donald Duck and Friends: Double Duck
48 (R). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
49 (N). The Muppet Show Comic Book: Meet The Muppets
50 (R). American Vampire Vol. 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 Walking Dead stays at #1 this week (and is #70 overall). Most of the rest of the top ten is dominated by The Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries.

* If you're wondering what all those Disney/Pixar/Muppets books from Boom! are doing on the chart, it's because they are all heavily discounted at 60% or more. Seriously, how could you not buy a copy of Roger Langridge's first Muppet Show collection for just $3.85?

* The only other debuts this week are the latest volumes of Irredeemable and Black Bird.

* If you are wondering why there will be very little change in the DCnU versions of the Batman and Green Lantern books, look no further than this chart; they're the only DC super-hero properties that appear.