edited by B. Munn
**We have some new competition in the Bestseller List game. This past weekend, I noticed for the first time that the Globe and Mail is posting the occasional top 10 Manga and Graphic Novel List, based on Booknet numbers. The list is similar to the Bookmanager list, but with presumably more numbers backing it up.**
The Top 30 Graphic Novels in Canada, courtesy of BookManager. The full list by BookManager is available, with some work, here. The list is compiled by BookManager based on sales through over 400 independent bookstores. Sales through comic shops and larger retailers like Chapters-Indigo are not reflected in this list. For balance, you might want to try the Amazon.ca and Chapters-Indigo lists. This list has two parts, the top 30 overall and (at the bottom) the top 30 by Canadian creators. See here for last week’s list.
Top 30 Comics and Graphic Novels in Canada
1. (1) Watchmen, Moore/Gibbons (DC)
2. (2) Naruto 34, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
3. (3) Naruto 35, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
4. (4) Naruto 33, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
5. (5) Tsubasa 20: Reservoir Chronicle, Clamp (Random House)
6. (6) Garfield Spills the Beans, Jim Davis (Random House)
7. (19) Naruto 32, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
8. (9) Maximum Ride 1, James Patterson/NaRae Lee (Yen)
9. (-) Naruto 36, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
10. (10) Skim, Mariko Tamaki/Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood)
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11. (-) Naruto 37, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
12. (8) Fruits Basket 21, Takaya Natsuki (Tokyopop)
13. (7) Marvel Chronicle, Tom DeFalco (DK)
14. (11) Death Note 1, Ohba/Obata (VIZ)
15. (-) Otomen 1, Aya Kanno (VIZ)
16. (16) Rosario+Vampire 5, Akihisa Ikeda (VIZ)
17. (-) Vampire Knight 3, Matsuri Hino (VIZ)
18. (-) Papillon 2, Miwa Ueda (Random House)
19. (18) Negima! 20, Ken Akamatsu (Random House)
20. (23) Naruto 1, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
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21. (-) Bleach 1, Tite Kubo (VIZ)
22. (12) Bleach 25, Tite Kubo (VIZ)
23. (26) The Walking Dead 9, Robert Kirkman et al (Image)
24. (14) Naruto 2, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
25. (15) Simpsons Treehouse Horror, Groening et al (HarperCollins)
26. (27) Death Note 3, Ohba/Obata (VIZ)
27. (20) Naruto 31, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
28. (22) Death Note 2, Ohba/Obata (VIZ)
29. (17) Pokemon: Diamond and Pearl Adventure! 2, Ihara Shigekatsu (VIZ)
30. (13) Home Sweat Home, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
Standard explanation: The pattern that emerges from looking at these lists over a period of weeks is that certain books, especially manga series, continuously jostle with each other, sliding up and down the longer list on the strength of a new volume or a spate of purchases for the kiddies. This week: The Naruto surge continues, with several other newly published manga debuting high on the list.
Canadian Content: You have to wade through an awful lot of translated Japanes manga, U.S. superhero titles, and collected editions of Sherman’s Lagoon to come up with a list of 30 bestselling books created by Canadians. In total, BookManager lists over 4000 graphic novels, trades, and strip collections, the vast majority of which are not by Canadians.
Sequential’s All-Canadian Top 30 from BookManager
1. (1) Skim, Mariko Tamaki/Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood)
2. (2) Home Sweat Home, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
3. (4) The Burma Chronicles, Guy Delisle (D+Q)
4. (3) Louis Riel, Chester Brown (D+Q)
5. (6) Big Foot, Graham Roumieu (Plume)
6. (5) Senior’s Discount, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
7. (19) Ojingogo, Matt Forsythe (D+Q)
8. (7) Essex County 1: Tales from the Farm, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
9. (8) Spirit 1, Darwyn Cooke (DC)
10. (11) Milk Teeth, Julie Morstad (D+Q)
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11. (12) Drop-In, Dave Lapp (Conundrum)
12. (-) Family Business, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
13. (17) Dramacon Ultimate Edition, Svetlana Chmakova (Tokyopop)
14. (10) Essex County 3, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
15. (21) the great hopeful someday, Elizabeth Belleveau (Condundrum)
16. (-) Baloney, Pascal Blanchet (D+Q)
17. (13) In Me Own Words: Bigfoot, Graham Roumieu (Plume)
18. (14) Scott Pilgrim 1, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
19. (15) Middle Age Spread, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
20. (16) Essex County 2, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
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21. (18) Hall Of Best Knowledge, Ray Fenwick (Fanta)
22. (20) Scott Pilgrim 4, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
23. (22) Keep The Home Fries Burning, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
24. (9) The Plain Janes, Cecil Castellucci et al, (DC/Minx)
25. (23) It’s a Good Life, If You Don’t Weaken, Seth (D+Q)
26. (24) Lillian the Legend, Kerry Byrne (Conundrum)
27. (25) The Big 5-0, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
28. (26) I Never Liked You, Chester Brown (D+Q)
29. (27) Just One More Hug, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
30. (28) Batman: Ego and other tales, Darwyn Cooke/Paul Grist (DC)
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Please feel free to comment or email about these lists.