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compiled/edited by B. Munn

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. (9) Naruto 36, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
5. (11) Naruto 37, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
6. (10) Skim, Mariko Tamaki/Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood)
7. (4) Naruto 33, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
8. (5) Tsubasa 20: Reservoir Chronicle, Clamp (Random House)
9. (6) Garfield Spills the Beans, Jim Davis (Random House)
10. (-) Batman Killing Joke, Moore/Bolland (DC)
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11. (16) Rosario+Vampire 5, Akihisa Ikeda (VIZ)
12. (8) Maximum Ride 1, James Patterson/NaRae Lee (Yen)
13. (7) Naruto 32, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
14. (22) Bleach 25, Tite Kubo (VIZ)
15. (24) Naruto 2, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
16. (29) Pokemon: Diamond and Pearl Adventure! 2, Ihara Shigekatsu (VIZ)
17. (-) V for Vendetta, Moore/Lloyd (DC)
18. (13) Marvel Chronicle, Tom DeFalco (DK)
19. (14) Death Note 1, Ohba/Obata (VIZ)
20. (15) Otomen 1, Aya Kanno (VIZ)
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21. (20) Naruto 1, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
22. (12) Fruits Basket 21, Takaya Natsuki (Tokyopop)
23. (-) Maus II, Spiegelman (Knopf)
24. (-) Persepolis 1, Satrapi (Pantheon)
25. (-) Death Note 12, Ohba/Obata (VIZ)
26. (21) Bleach 1, Tite Kubo (VIZ)
27. (-) Tsubasa 19: Reservoir Chronicle, Clamp (Random House)
28. (-) Dark Tower, King et al (Marvel)
29. (17) Vampire Knight 3, Matsuri Hino (VIZ)
30. (-) B.O.D.Y. 4, Ao Mimori (VIZ)


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: Manga, manga, manga! Lots of movement due to new volumes of translated Japanese comics. And for the first time since we’ve been collating these lists, Lynn Johnston is bumped from the top 30 (her Home Sweat Home collection falls from 30 to 86)!

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. (4) Louis Riel, Chester Brown (D+Q)
3. (2) Home Sweat Home, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
4. (4) The Burma Chronicles, Guy Delisle (D+Q)
5. (7) Ojingogo, Matt Forsythe (D+Q)
6. (6) Senior’s Discount, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
7. (5) Big Foot, Graham Roumieu (Plume)
8. (24) Plain Janes, Castelucci/Rugg (Minx/DC)
9. (22) Scott Pilgrim 4, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
10. (9) Spirit 1, Darwyn Cooke (DC)
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11. (11) Drop-In, Dave Lapp (Conundrum)
12. (12) Family Business, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
13. (15) the great hopeful someday, Elizabeth Belleveau (Condundrum)
14. (16) Baloney, Pascal Blanchet (D+Q)
15. (20) Essex County 2, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
16. (8) Essex County 1: Tales from the Farm, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
17. (25) It’s a Good Life, If You Don’t Weaken, Seth (D+Q)
18. (-) Scott Pilgrim 3, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
19. (27) The Big 5-0, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
20. (10) Milk Teeth, Julie Morstad (D+Q)
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21. (13) Dramacon Ultimate Edition, Svetlana Chmakova (Tokyopop)
22. (17) In Me Own Words: Bigfoot, Graham Roumieu (Plume)
23. (18) Scott Pilgrim 1, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
24. (19) Middle Age Spread, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
25. (23) Keep The Home Fries Burning, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
26. (28) I Never Liked You, Chester Brown (D+Q)
27. (30) Batman: Ego and other tales, Darwyn Cooke/Paul Grist (DC)
28. (-) Strange and Stranger, Nlake Bell (Fanta)
29. (-) Scott Pilgrim 4, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
30. (-) Never Wink at a Worried Woman, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)

No new faces this week but considerable shuffling.

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