Monkey Covers

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

Toby Tyler's friend is a monkey on the photo cover to Dell's Four Color #1092 (1960).

(Standard disclaimer about chimpanzees dressed up for the circus 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 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth
2 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
3 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Box of Books
4 (+2). Walking Dead Volume 13
5 (-). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
6 (+3). Dilbert: 2011 Day-to-Day Calendar
7 (-3). Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale
8 (-). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
9 (+7). Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Boxset
10 (-). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim Versus The World
11 (-4). Superman: Earth One
12 (-). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together
13 (+1). Dork Diaries 2: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
14 (-3). Scott Pilgrim Volume 6: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour
15 (1). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
16 (-3). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 3: Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness
17 (+6). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
18 (-). Big Nate: From the Top
19 (-2). 40: A Doonesbury Retrospective
20 (-1). The Walking Dead, Book 6
21 (-). Walking Dead Volume 12
22 (-). Batman and Robin, Vol. 2: Batman vs. Robin
23 (+1). Odd Is on Our Side
24 (+1). The Walking Dead Volume 11: Fear The Hunters
25 (+9). The Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye
26 (-). The Walking Dead, Book 1
27 (+6). The Walking Dead Book 5
28 (-1). The Walking Dead, Vol. 9: Here We Remain
29 (+2). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 7: Twilight
30 (+5). The Walking Dead Book 2
31 (R). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
32 (+4). V for Vendetta
33 (+6). Fables Vol. 14: Witches *
34 (R). Tales from the Crypt #8: Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid
35 (-6). The Walking Dead, Vol. 10: What We Become
36 (N). Dr. Horrible and Other Horrible Stories
37 (R). Blackest Night
38 (N). Dork Diaries (Kindle edition)
39 (+5). Batman: The Killing Joke
40 (R). The Walking Dead Volume 2: Miles Behind Us
41 (-21). The Complete Peanuts Boxed Set 1975-1978 (Vol. 13-14)
42 (+1). The Walking Dead Volume 3: Safety Behind Bars
43 (-5). Stephen King's N.
44 (R). Kick-Ass
45 (R). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
46 (-4). The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks
47 (R). The Indispensable Calvin And Hobbes
48 (R). The Walking Dead Book 3
49 (-21). X'ed Out
50 (R). Batman and Robin, Vol. 1: Batman Reborn


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 Wimpy Kid holds the top 3 spots on the comics chart, but still cannot crack #1 on the overall chart; he sits at #2 behind former president Bush. (Yes, this is the same bullet point text as last week!)

* Scott Pilgrim sales stay about the same, though the boxset moves up into the top ten.

* The holiday shopping season is upon us. We're just on the cusp of it this morning, but expect to see some major changes in the chart over the next few weeks.

* The top debut this week is Dr. Horrible and Other Horrible Stories, which actually came out a few weeks ago but is just now making the top fifty. The only other debut is the kindle edition of Dork Diaries.

* The bottom of the chart is rather healthy #1,560 this week on the overall chart.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Those of us here at YACB wish you a Happy Thanksgiving (and hope that yours goes better than Shaggy & Scooby's!)

(Cover to Scooby-Doo #114 by Robert Pope, courtesy of the GCD.)

Visions of The B-Team

You may recall that back during our 24 Hour Comics Day event at the library, I did an awesome little comic called The B-Team Returns.

In the wee hours of the morning, the talented Adam Buttrick took time out from drawing his own comic to draw a few scenes from mine! Here then are a few images from my comic drawn by Adam:

(Some of the scenes seems a bit more violent when not drawn as stick figures...)

Finally, here's a group shot of some of the characters the comic that Adam drew:

Go visit Adam's blog, where you can see more of his drawings, including his own 24 Hour Comics Day comic: Tim Tadabrucki and the Stealing Trick.

Monkey Covers

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

Yes, that's a monkey riding on the back of a gorilla on the cover of Tibor #27 (2003), which is about as hardcore awesome as you can get on a monkey cover without involving a jetpack or Kryptonite.

(Standard disclaimer about gorillas running away from arrows 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 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth
2 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
3 (+6). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Box of Books
4 (+4). Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale
5 (+5). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
6 (+6). Walking Dead Volume 13 *
7 (+4). Superman: Earth One
8 (-5). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
9 (+5). Dilbert: 2011 Day-to-Day Calendar
10 (-3). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim Versus The World
11 (-6). Scott Pilgrim Volume 6: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour
12 (-8). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together
13 (-7). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 3: Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness
14 (+7). Dork Diaries 2: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
15 (+3). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
16 (+9). Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Boxset *
17 (-1). 40: A Doonesbury Retrospective
18 (+2). Big Nate: From the Top
19 (-2). The Walking Dead, Book 6
20 (+22). The Complete Peanuts Boxed Set 1975-1978 (Vol. 13-14)
21 (+9). Walking Dead Volume 12
22 (-7). Batman and Robin, Vol. 2: Batman vs. Robin
23 (+5). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
24 (-2). Odd Is on Our Side
25 (+8). The Walking Dead Volume 11: Fear The Hunters
26 (-). The Walking Dead, Book 1
27 (+7). The Walking Dead, Vol. 9: Here We Remain
28 (R). X'ed Out
29 (R). The Walking Dead, Vol. 10: What We Become
30 (+13). The Adventures of Ook and Gluk, Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future
31 (-12). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 7: Twilight
32 (+7). The Boys, Vol. 7: The Innocents
33 (-6). The Walking Dead Book 5
34 (-10). The Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye
35 (+10). The Walking Dead Book 2
36 (+5). V for Vendetta
37 (R). The Adventures of Unemployed Man
38 (-7). Stephen King's N.
39 (N). Fables Vol. 14: Witches *
40 (-11). Acme Novelty Library #20
41 (R). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
42 (R). The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks
43 (R). The Walking Dead Volume 3: Safety Behind Bars
44 (+3). Batman: The Killing Joke
45 (R). Bad Kitty Gets a Bath
46 (+2). Serenity, Vol. 2: Better Days
47 (-3). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
48 (R). The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb
49 (R). Watchmen
50 (R). The Walking Dead Vol. 4: The Heart's Desire


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 Wimpy Kid holds the top 3 spots on the comics chart, but still cannot crack #1 on the overall chart; he sits at #2 behind former president Bush.

* Scott Pilgrim sales start to soften as the Amazon super-heavy discounts give way to more modest discounts. On the plus side for Scott, his Precious Little Box Set starts to move up, just in time for the holiday shopping season.

* Only one new title on the chart this week: a new Fables collection pre-order at #39.

* I somehow missed the fact that last week Watchmen slipped off the chart, which I think may be the first time it's done so since the big movie push last year.

* Walking Dead Watch: Thirteen separate collections on the charts this week.

* The bottom of the chart is #2,256 overall this week.

Sometimes I Hate Being Psychic

Three weeks ago, I wrote a Ten Random Things About Comics post. Number four was:

4. The big two have created an event mentality that hinders their ability to successfully launch new titles. When you send out the message that "these comics 'matter,'" that also sends out the message that "these other comics don't 'matter.'" Take for example Marvel's new all-ages Thor: The Mighty Avenger; just about anyone who has actually read it agrees that it is very good, perhaps even wonderful. But hardly anyone reads it, because it's not the 'real' Thor, and the out-of-continuity stories don't 'matter.' It also doesn't help that there are something like five or six different Thor comics being published every month right now.

And now we learn that Thor: The Mighty Avenger has gotten the axe, just as former editor Nate Cosby has written an article about the way that overhyped event mentality solicitations are hurting comics.

Apparently Marvel is now undertaking an effort to cut back on the number of multiple titles for identical characters. Which in general is good (and addresses my Number five...) but the fact that they've chosen this particular title is a sad way to begin.

We can gnash our teeth all we want, but there's just no way that an all-ages, non-continuity super-hero book is going to survive at Marvel, especially when there's little promotion and it is lost in a sea of similar sounding titles.

Never mind that Marvel Adventures Spider-Man is the best Spider-Man comic being published right now; between Amazing Spider-Man being published 3 times a month, ancillary in-continuity titles and minis, and Ultimate Spider-Man, people just aren't willing to give the Marvel Adventures version a try.

The moral of the story is that if you want better comics, you have to buy better comics. (It should go without saying, but downloading off of torrents doesn't help...) Also, you have to seek out better comics; you cannot count on the comic companies properly promoting their own wares (as crazy as that sounds!)

Monkey Covers

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

Alas, poor Doom, Mr. Fantastichimp knew you well on Frank Cho's variant cover for Fantastic Four #561 (2008).

(Standard disclaimer about super-stretchy chimpanzees not really being monkeys applies.)

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

Amazon Top 50

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


1 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth
2 (+3). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
3 (+1). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
4 (+5). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together
5 (+2). Scott Pilgrim Volume 6: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour
6 (+2). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 3: Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness
7 (-1). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim Versus The World
8 (+2). Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale
9 (+8). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Box of Books
10 (-7). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
11 (-9). Superman: Earth One
12 (+1). Walking Dead Volume 13 *
13 (N). Picture This: The Near-sighted Monkey Book
14 (+5). Dilbert: 2011 Day-to-Day Calendar
15 (+7). Batman and Robin, Vol. 2: Batman vs. Robin
16 (-). 40: A Doonesbury Retrospective
17 (-6). The Walking Dead, Book 6
18 (-). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
19 (-7). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 7: Twilight
20 (-5). Big Nate: From the Top
21 (-1). Dork Diaries 2: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
22 (-8). Odd Is on Our Side
23 (R). What It Is
24 (-1). The Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye
25 (N). Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Boxset *
26 (-2). The Walking Dead, Book 1
27 (+1). The Walking Dead Book 5
28 (R). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
29 (N). Acme Novelty Library #20
30 (-9). Walking Dead Volume 12
31 (N). Stephen King's N.
32 (R). Tales from the Crypt #8: Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid
33 (-1). The Walking Dead Volume 11: Fear The Hunters
34 (+1). The Walking Dead, Vol. 9: Here We Remain
35 (+7). The Walking Dead Volume 2: Miles Behind Us
36 (N). Tonoharu: Part One
37 (+6). The Walking Dead, Vol. 10: What We Became
38 (N). Absolute All Star Superman
39 (N). The Boys, Vol. 7: The Innocents *
40 (R). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
41 (-16). V for Vendetta
42 (+7). The Complete Peanuts Boxed Set 1975-1978 (Vol. 13-14)
43 (-2). The Adventures of Ook and Gluk, Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future
44 (-8). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
45 (+3). The Walking Dead Book 2
46 (R). Dark Tower: The Battle of Jericho Hill
47 (-21). Batman: The Killing Joke
48 (-15). Serenity, Vol. 2: Better Days
49 (-5). Scott Pilgrim Bundle Volumes 1-6
50 (N). The Little Prince Graphic Novel


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 months on the chart as a pre-order, Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5 finally comes out this week... and stays at #2 on the overall chart as it cannot budge Bush's memoir out of the top spot. The previous Wimpy Kid book gets a boost up to #2 on the comics chart and #64 overall.

* The Walking Dead Compendium and Superman: Earth One dip back below Scott Pilgrim, likely due to a boost from the SP movie's DVD release. Being out-of-stock also probably didn't help Superman this week.

* An interview on NPR helps Linda Barry's new Picture This debut high, and sees her previous book, What It Is, return to the chart.

* A plethora of other debuts this week include Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Boxset, Acme Novelty Library #20, Stephen King's N., Tonoharu, Absolute All Star Superman, The Boys Vol. 7, and The Little Prince Graphic Novel.

* Walking Dead watch: twelve collections in the top fifty this week.

* The bottom of the list this week is #2,352 on the overall chart.

Attention: This is the New Face of Comics

Raina Telgemeier has a livejournal post about her recent book tour for her graphic novel Smile. Schools, book stores, libraries, conventions, even an orthodontist's office! Speaking to crowds as large as 220 (mostly kids). Doing a comics workshop for a bunch of middle school girls. Giving a lecture to a class of college students. It's well worth a read.

The future of comics is in good hands.

(link via The Beat)

Monkey Covers

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

Mahilla Gorilla maybe should not have used spot remover on the cover of Magilla Gorilla #4 (1970).

(Standard disclaimer about dog-washing 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 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth *
2 (-). Superman: Earth One
3 (+9). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
4 (-1). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
5 (+3). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
6 (-). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim Versus The World
7 (-3). Scott Pilgrim Volume 6: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour
8 (-1). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 3: Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness
9 (-4). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together
10 (-). Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale *
11 (-2). The Walking Dead, Book 6
12 (-1). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 7: Twilight
13 (+2). Walking Dead Volume 13 *
14 (-). Odd Is on Our Side
15 (+3). Big Nate: From the Top
16 (-3). 40: A Doonesbury Retrospective
17 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Box of Books
18 (+1). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
19 (+7). Dilbert: 2011 Day-to-Day Calendar
20 (+5). Dork Diaries 2: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
21 (+2). Walking Dead Volume 12
22 (N). Batman and Robin, Vol. 2: Batman vs. Robin *
23 (+10). The Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye
24 (R). The Walking Dead, Book 1 (Bk. 1)
25 (R). V for Vendetta
26 (R). Batman: The Killing Joke
27 (-5). Lynd Ward: Six Novels in Woodcuts
28 (-1). The Walking Dead Book 5
29 (N). Alice in the Country of Hearts Volume 5
30 (R). The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks
31 (+9). Watchmen
32 (+9). The Walking Dead Volume 11: Fear The Hunters
33 (+15). Serenity, Vol. 2: Better Days
34 (R). The Walking Dead Volume 3: Safety Behind Bars
35 (R). The Walking Dead, Vol. 9: Here We Remain
36 (-1). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
37 (-3). Parker: The Outfit
38 (-18). X'ed Out
39 (R). Bone: The Complete Cartoon Epic
40 (N). Irredeemable Vol 4
41 (-4). The Adventures of Ook and Gluk, Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future
42 (R). The Walking Dead Volume 2: Miles Behind Us
43 (R). The Walking Dead, Vol. 10: What We Become
44 (R). Scott Pilgrim Bundle Volumes 1-6
45 (+2). The Cloud Searchers (Amulet)
46 (R). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
47 (R). Serenity, Vol. 1: Those Left Behind
48 (R). The Walking Dead Book 2
49 (-). The Complete Peanuts Boxed Set 1975-1978 (Vol. 13-14)
50 (R). The Walking Dead Book 3


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

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


Commentary:

* Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5, which finally comes out next week, still claims the top spot on the comics list and #2 on the overall list (losing out this week to the Bush memoir). Superman: Earth One went out-of-stock this week at Amazon, but sold briskly enough in backorder sales to stay at #2 on the comics chart and #70 on the overall chart.

* The Walking Dead TV series was a huge hit for AMC, and that translated into continuing high sales of the comics. The massive (over 1000 pages) first compendium volume is #3 on the comics chart and #93 overall. More WD volumes pepper the top 50, taking 12 of the slots, though oddly they're largely different WD books from last week.

* Batman was absent from the charts last week, but comes back strong this week with the top debut, Batman and Robin, Vol. 2, and a couple of his perennials returning to the list as well. Other debuts this week are new volumes of Alice in the Country of Hearts (the only manga on the chart) and Irredeemable.

* No Marvel books in the top 50 this week; they usually manage to at least place a Dark Tower collection.

* This week's #50 book is #2,121 on the overall chart.

New Library Comics: October 2010

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


Acevedo, Juan. Ciudad de los reyes / Lima, Perú : Contra Cultura, 2009.

Anderson, Ho Che. Ho Che Anderson's sand & fury : a scream queen adventure. / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics ; London : Turnaround [distributor], c2010.

AX : alternative manga. / Marietta, Ga. : Top Shelf ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2010.

Bell, Blake. Fire & water : Bill Everett, the Sub-Mariner, and the birth of Marvel Comics / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics ; London : Turnaround [distributor], c2010

Brown, Jeffrey, 1975- Cats are weird and more observations / San Francisco, Calif. : Chronicle ; Grantham : GBS [distributor], c2010.

Brubaker, Ed. Bad night : a criminal edition / New York : Marvel, c2009.

Brubaker, Ed. The sinners : a Criminal edition / New York : Marvel ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2010

Butler, Tracy J. Lackadaisy / [Carmichael, CA] : 4th Dimension Entertainment, 2009-

Campbell, Ross, 1979- Shadoweyes. Volume 1 / San Jose, Calif. : SLG ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2010.

Chieffet, George. Lucky in love. Book one : a poor man's history / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics ; London : Turnaround [distributor], 2010

Clowes, Daniel. Daniel Clowes : conversations / Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, 2010

Cthulhu. / [Philadelphia] : KettleDrummer Books : Diabolo Ediciones, 2010

Dinski, Will. Fingerprints / Marietta, Ga. : Top Shelf ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2010

Doerr, Stephen. Exorcisms and pogo sticks / [Las Vegas, Nev.] : Yaoi Press, c2005-2006

Dupuy, 1960- Haunted / Montréal : Drawn & Quarterly ; New York : Distributed in the USA by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2008.

Ellis, Warren. Transmetropolitan v. 8 : dirge / New York : DC Comics, c2009-

Gaiman, Neil. The dangerous alphabet / New York : HarperCollinsPublishers, c2008.

Galliquio, David. Lito "el perro" / Miraflores, [Perú] : Ediciones Contracultura, 2009.

Giandelli, Gabriella. Interiorae no. 4 / Seattle, WA : Fantagraphics Books ; Bologna [Italy] : Coconino Press, c2005-

Girl comics / New York : Marvel ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2010.

Goodwin, Archie. X-9 Secret Agent Corrigan v. 1 : 1967-1969 / San Diego, Calif. : Library of American Comics ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2010-

Griffith, Bill, 1944- Zippy the pinhead : ding dong daddy from Dingburg / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics ; London : Turnaround [distributor], 2010.

Hagio, Moto, 1949- Moto Hagio's a drunken dream and other stories / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics ; London : Turnaround [distributor], 2010

The Harvey Comics treasury. v. 1. Casper: the Friendly Ghost & Friends! / Milwaukie, Or. : Dark Horse ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2010-

Hernandez, Jaime. Love and rockets : new stories v. 3 / Seattle, WA : Fantagraphics Books, c2008-

Holkins, Jerry. Penny arcade. 6, The halls below / New York : Del Rey : Ballantine Books, c2010.

Holmberg, Pablo, 1979- Eden / Montréal : Drawn & Quarterly, c2010

Jacobson, Sidney. Anne Frank : the Anne Frank House authorized graphic biography / New York : Hill and Wang, 2010.

Johnson, Mat. Dark rain : a New Orleans story / New York : DC Comics/Vertigo, c2010

Killed cartoons : casualties from the war on free expression / New York : W.W. Norton & Co., c2007

Kim, Susan, 1958- Brain camp / New York : First Second, 2010.

Kitchen, Denis, 1946- The art of Harvey Kurtzman : the mad genius of comics / New York : Abrams ComicArts, 2009.

Konami, Kanata, 1958- Chi's Sweet Home = Chīzu suīto hōmu v. 2 / New York : Vertical, 2010-

Langer, Sergio, 1959- Langer for export. / [Perú] : Ediciones ContraCultura, 2007.

Lapham, David. Modern Warfare 2. Ghost / Jolla, CA : Wildstorm, c2010

Lee, Stan, 1922- Marvel masterworks presents the Silver Surfer v. 2 / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics, 2003

Lemelman, Martin. Two cents plain : my Brooklyn boyhood / New York : Bloomsbury, 2010.

Lewis, Corey Sutherland. Seedless / Berkeley, Calif. : Image ; London : Diamond [distributor], c2010.

Lockpez, Inverna. Cuba : my revolution / New York : DC Comics/Vertigo, c2010

Marzocchi, Leila. Niger no. 3 / Seattle : Fantagraphics Books ; [Bologna, Italy?] : Coconino Press, c2006-

McCarthy, Brendan. Spider-Man. Fever / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics, 2010

McDonnell, Patrick, 1956- Earl & Mooch : a Mutts treasury / Kansas City, Mo. : Andrews McMeel Pub., c2010

Messmer, Otto, 1892-1983. Felix the Cat : the great comic book tails / San Diego, Calif. : IDW ; London : Diamond [distributor], c2010.

Mignola, Michael. The amazing screw-on head and other curious objects / Milwaukie, Or. : Dark Horse ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2010

Millionaire, Tony. Billy Hazelnuts and the crazy bird / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics ; London : Turnaround [distributor], 2010.

Montana, Bob. Archie : the complete newspaper comics. Vol. 1, 1946-1948 / San Diego, Calif. : IDW ; London : Diamond [distributor], c2010.

The 'Nam v. 2 / New York : Marvel Comics, c1999-

Niffenegger, Audrey. The night bookmobile / New York : Abrams, 2010.

Nury, Fabien. I am legion / Hollywood, CA : Humanoids, c2010

O'Connor, George. Athena : grey-eyed goddess / New York ; London : First Second, 2010.

Ono, Natsume, 1977- House of five leaves. v. 1 / San Francisco, Calif. : Viz Media ; London : Simon & Schuster [distributor], 2010

Pérez-Ruibal, Jorge. Y se me presento en forma de Bestia / Miraflores, [Perú] : Ediciones Contracultura, 2008.

Pettingill, Norman, 1896-1991. Norman Pettingill : backwoods humorist / Seattle, WA : Fantagraphics Books, c2010.

Ponchione, Sergio. Grotesque no. 4 : unknown questions / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics Books ; [Bologna, Italy] : Coconino Press, c2007-

Reading with pictures : an educational comics anthology v. 1 / [S.l.] : www.readingwithpictures.org, c2010-

Rossell, Luis. Entre cuadernos y barrotes : la educación peruana desde el punto de vísta de sus víctimas / Miraflores, [Perú] : Ediciones Contracultura, 2008.

Rossell, Luis. Rupay : historias gráficas de la violencia en el Perú, 1980-1984 / Lima : Ediciones ContraCultura, 2008.

Rucka, Greg. Batwoman : elegy / New York, N.Y. : DC Comics, c2010

Ruckdeschel, Sandra C.  Ellen Degeneres / [Vancouver, Wash.] : Bluewater Comics, 2010

Ryan, Johnny. Prison Pit. Book 2 / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2009

Sally, Zak. Sammy the mouse no. 3 / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, c2007-

Schulz, Charles M. (Charles Monroe), 1922-2000. The complete Peanuts v. 14 1977 to 1978 / Seattle, WA : Fantagraphics Books, c2004-

Shanower, Eric. The marvelous land of Oz / New York : Marvel Worldwide, Inc., 2010.

Simon, Joe. The Simon and Kirby superheroes / London : Titan, [2010].

Somei, Yoshino. Skyscrapers of Oz / New York : Kitty Press, [2004], c2001

Stanley, John, 1914-1993. Giant size Little Lulu v. 2 / Milwaukie, OR : Dark Horse Books, 2010-

Stanley, John, 1914-1993. Little Lulu's pal Tubby : the castaway and other stories / Milwaukie, OR : Dark Horse Books, 2010.

Stanley, John, 1914-1993. Tubby / Montréal : Drawn & Quarterly, c2010.

Sturm, James, 1965- Adventures in cartooning : activity book / New York : First Second, 2010

Takahashi, Rumiko, 1957- InuYasha vols. 51-52 / San Francisco, CA : Viz, LLC, c2003-

Takahashi, Rumiko, 1957- Rin-ne v. 4 / San Francisco, Calif. : Viz Media, c2009-

Tezuka, Osamu, 1928-1989. Apollo's song. Part 1 / New York : Vertical, c2010.

Tezuka, Osamu, 1928-1989. Apollo's song. Part 2 / New York : Vertical, c2010.

Tezuka, Osamu, 1928-1989. Black Jack v. 12 / New York : Vertical, c2008-

Tobe, Keiko. With the light : raising an autistic child v. 7 / New York : Yen Press, 2007-

Toyoshima, Tak, 1971- Secret Asian man : the daily days : a collection of daily comic strips / [S. l.] : Tak Toyoshima, c2009.

Turner, James, 1968- Warlord of Io / San Jose, Calif. : SLG ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2010.

Urasawa, Naoki, 1960- 20th century boys v. 10 / San Francisco, CA : Viz Media, 2009-

Venus ataca : 10 historietistas peruanas / Miraflores, [Perú] : Ediciones Contracultura, 2010.

Walker, Mort. Beetle Bailey : daily & Sunday strips 1965 / London : Titan, 2010.

Wang, Jen, 1984- Koko be good / New York : First Second, 2010

Weing, Drew. Set to sea / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2010

Wertz, Julia. Drinking at the movies / New York : Three Rivers Press, c2010

Yaginuma, Kō, 1973- Twin spica v. 3 / New York : Vertical, Inc., c2010-


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

656 Comics Collective in Ann Arbor on Friday

This coming Friday, the comics collective 656 comes to Ann Arbor for a public presentation and book signing.

Trick or Treat 2

Another Happy Halloween Ten of a Kind! (With a shout-out to everyone's favorite Little Stuffed Bull)

(Last year's Trick or Treat ten of a Kind is here!)

Friday Night Fights: Batman vs. Solomon Grundy

From Batman: The Long Halloween #2 (1996). Art by Tim Sale. Story by Jeph Loeb. Colors by Gregory Wright. Letters by Richard Starking. (click pics for larger)

Jamming something up the nose? It's a Free-for-All!

Amazon Top 50

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


1 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth *
2 (+6). Superman: Earth One *
3 (+4). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
4 (-1). Scott Pilgrim Volume 6: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour
5 (+1). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together
6 (-1). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim Versus The World
7 (-3). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 3: Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness
8 (-6). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
9 (+1). The Walking Dead, Book 6 *
10 (+4). Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale *
11 (-2). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 7: Twilight
12 (-1). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
13 (+11). 40: A Doonesbury Retrospective
14 (-1). Odd Is on Our Side
15 (+7). Walking Dead Volume 13 *
16 (+13). Bloom County: The Complete Library Volume 3
17 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Box of Books
18 (-2). Big Nate: From the Top
19 (+7). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
20 (-8). X'ed Out
21 (+13). Y The Last Man Deluxe Edition Book Four
22 (+10). Lynd Ward: Six Novels in Woodcuts
23 (-3). Walking Dead Volume 12
24 (-5). X-Men: Second Coming
25 (-4). Dork Diaries 2: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
26 (+1). Dilbert: 2011 Day-to-Day Calendar
27 (+14). The Walking Dead Book 5
28 (-10). Witch & Wizard: Battle for Shadowland
29 (+2). The Walking Dead, Vol. 9: Here We Remain
30 (+12). The Walking Dead, Vol. 10: What We Become
31 (+6). The Adventures of Unemployed Man
32 (N). Luthor
33 (R). The Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye
34 (-19). Parker: The Outfit
35 (-5). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
36 (R). Dark Tower: The Battle of Jericho Hill
37 (-14). The Adventures of Ook and Gluk, Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future
38 (N). Negima! 28
39 (R). Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 6: Retreat
40 (-2). Watchmen
41 (-5). The Walking Dead Volume 11: Fear The Hunters
42 (+4). The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb
43 (-6). Kick-Ass
44 (N). xxxHOLiC 16
45 (N). Bad Kitty Gets a Bath
46 (R). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
47 (+2). The Cloud Searchers (Amulet)
48 (R). Serenity, Vol. 2: Better Days
49 (-14). The Complete Peanuts Boxed Set 1975-1978 (Vol. 13-14)
50 (-6). Four Color Fear: Forgotten Horror Comics of the 1950s *


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

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


Commentary:

* No, your eyes do not deceive you Superman: Earth One, the OGN rebooting Superman for the modern era by JMS & Shane Davis, bounces up ahead of Scott Pilgrim to land at #2. Even more impressive, it hits #20 on the overall list, and this in the week before it is available through bookstores. Superman still cannot beat The Wimpy Kid though, which slips a smidge to #4 on the overall list.

* On the eve of the debut of the AMC television series, collections of The Walking Dead take up a full nine of the slots in the top fifty.

* The hardcover of Azzarello & Bermejo's Luthor is the highest debut this week. The other debuts are xxxHOLiC vol. 6, Negima! 28 and Bad Kitty Gets a Bath.

* This is the first time I remember that there hasn't been a Batman book in the top fifty since I started monitoring these rankings in early 2009.

* The bottom of the list this week is #2,556 overall.

Ten Random Things About Comics

It's all the rage this week to make up lists of ten things about comics. And it's fun to rant. So...

1. Everybody reads comics. Well, nearly everybody. They may not be reading traditional comic books, but they will read collections of their favorite comic strips; or one or two Web comics; or the latest graphic novel reviewed by the New York Times; or the comic that an upcoming movie is based on; or a comic purportedly written by their favorite prose novelist; or, well, you get the idea. The notion that comics readership is limited to one particular demographic (be it 40-year-old super-hero fans or 15-year-old manga fans) is just not true.

2. Not all of those people pay for the comics they read. They borrow them from the library, or a friend. They read their favorite Web comics online. I've even heard that some people download comics through means of dubious legality. Most people enjoy comics, but not enough to pay for them more than occasionally.

3. The big two publishers cater to a particular demographic because those are the people who continue to pay for their comics. If you want to see a Supergirl comic written for tween girls, people are going to actually have to buy it when it is published. If not, you're just going to get yet another iteration of Secret Civil World War Blackest Infinite Crisis War.

4. The big two have created an event mentality that hinders their ability to successfully launch new titles. When you send out the message that "these comics 'matter,'" that also sends out the message that "these other comics don't 'matter.'" Take for example Marvel's new all-ages Thor: The Mighty Avenger; just about anyone who has actually read it agrees that it is very good, perhaps even wonderful. But hardly anyone reads it, because it's not the 'real' Thor, and the out-of-continuity stories don't 'matter.' It also doesn't help that there are something like five or six different Thor comics being published every month right now, which leads us to the next point:

5. The big two are flooding the market with titles, which has destroyed the mid-list and hinders their ability to successfully launch new titles. If one Deadpool book is selling moderately well, then why not have five Deadpool books? Well, because 50,000 people copies sold of one Deadpool comic does not equate to 250,000 copies sold of five Deadpool comics; you'll actually be lucky to get 100,000 sold. (I just made those numbers up; I'm too lazy to look up actual sales numbers.) That equates to money that comics buyers could be spending on something else; it also equates to an opportunity cost in not publishing something else. The only comics properties that should be carrying more than one title are Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, and maybe X-Men; and those should cap out at two titles for each.

6. The manga boom is over, and it's not coming back. It was killed by a flood of titles. And returns. A few popular titles like Naruto continue to sell well, but it's mostly transformed into another niche market. Not that there's anything wring with niche markets; as long as I can still get Yotsuba&!, or stuff by Jiro Taniguchi, and Fantagraphics is willing to put out a nice hardcover of Moto Hagio's stuff, I'm happy.

7. The best way to sell comics to a general audience is to have a tie-in to some other media, preferably a movie. Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Scott Pilgrim. The Walking Dead. Kick-Ass. Buffy. Etc. Mostly this means "Well-regarded comic becomes a movie," and not "make a comic based on a movie property." Or (in the case of Buffy), "creator with a rabid fan base continues his creation in comics form." (Note the necessity of the term 'rabid.')

8. Some of the biggest comics series are not sold primarily (or at all) through Diamond. Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Amulet. Witch & Wizard. Ook & Gluk. Did you see those at your local comics store? Probably not. But they're comics for kids that are selling quite well in the bookstore market.

9. Digital is the wave of the future for the traditional comic book. It's simple math: when you cut out printing and distribution costs, you need only sell half as many comics to make the same profit digitally. (Alternately, cut your prince in half, and make more money in volume.) With digital distribution, your comic is always available, and you can get long-tail effects. In five to ten years, look for the digital market to replace the traditional floppy market. Absurd you say? I'm sure they thought the same at Tower Records. Or Blockbuster.

10. People will continue to create comics, whether or not there is an industry to support them. Just like people will continue to write and perform music whether or not there is a record industry. We just had a 24 Hour Comics Day event at the library where I work, and I had the pleasure of sharing a room with thirty mostly college-age kids all making comics. Most have no desire to be professional comics creators, but they do have a desire for self-expression through art. And with the Internet, they can share their work with others. The currency they'll trade in is attention (and for those who are profit-minded, they'll find that attention translates to sales).

Monkey Covers

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

A gorilla harasses Jerry and his girl on Owen Fitzgerald's cover to The Adventures of Jerry Lewis #41 (1957).

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

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

Friday Night Fights: Captain America vs. Baron Zemo

From Avengers #6 (1964). Art by Jack Kirby & Chic Stone. Story by Stan Lee. Letters by Sam Rosen. Color reconstruction by Tom Ziuko (from Avengers Classic #6 - 2008).

The American Way? It's Free-for-All!