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compiled/edited by B. Munn

Running a little late this week…

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) Fruits Basket 22, Takaya Natsuki (Tokyopop)
3. (3) Vampire Knight 6, Matsuri Hino (VIZ)
4. (9) Naruto 41, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
5. (-) Negima! 21, Ken Akamatsu (Random House)
6. (11) Naruto 40, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
7. (7) Naruto 36, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
8. (5) Naruto 37, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
9. (13) Naruto 39, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
10. (4) Naruto 34, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
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11. (6) Naruto 35, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
12. (8) Naruto 38, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
13. (10) Bleach 26, Tite Kubo (VIZ)
14. (20) Rosario+Vampire 6, Akihisa Ikeda (VIZ)
15. (22) Louis Riel, Chester Brown (D+Q)
16. (-) Dark Tower, Stepen King et al (Marvel)
17. (12) What It Is, Lynda Barry (D+Q)
18. (19) Pokemon: Diamond and Pearl Adventure! 2, Ihara Shigekatsu (VIZ)
19. (14) Maximum Ride 1, James Patterson/NaRae Lee (Yen)
20. (26) Naruto 2, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
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21. (15) V for Vendetta, Moore/Lloyd (DC)
22. (16) Naruto 1, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
23. (-) The Joker, Azzarello et al (DC)
24. (17) Naruto 32, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
25. (30) Maus I, Spiegelman (Knopf)
26. (-) The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Vol. 2, Tanigawa/Tsugano (Yen)
27. (18) Watchmen Hardcover, Moore/Gibbons (DC)
28. (-) Skim, Tamaki/Tamaki (Groundwood)
29. (-) Batman: Year One, Miller/Mazzuchelli (DC)
30. (-) Shugo Chara! 5, Peach-Pit (Random House)


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: Two Canadian books, three books from Canadian publishers. Oddest (to me) new entry: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya-chan is based on the popular anime, in turn based on a series of light novels.

Canadian Content: You have to wade through an awful lot of translated Japanes manga, U.S. superhero fantasies, 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. (2) Louis Riel, Chester Brown (D+Q)
2. (1) Skim, Mariko Tamaki/Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood)
3. (6) Big Foot, Graham Roumieu (Plume)
4. (3) Scott Pilgrim 5, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
5. (5) Plain Janes, Castelucci/Rugg (Minx/DC)
6. (4) The Burma Chronicles, Guy Delisle (D+Q)
7. (11) Pyongyang, Guy Delisle (D+Q)
8. (8) Scott Pilgrim 3, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
9. (14) It’s a Good Life…, Seth (D+Q)
10. (7) Home Sweat Home, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
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11. (15) Scott Pilgrim 4, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
12. (16) Essex County 1, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
13. (17) In Me Own Words (Bigfoot), Graham Roumieu (Plume)
14. (9) Scott Pilgrim 1, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
15. (12) Scott Pilgrim 2, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
16. (10) Ojingogo, Matt Forsythe (D+Q)
17. (13) Senior’s Discount, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
18. (25) Essex County 3, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
19. (27) Dramacon Ultimate Edition, Svetlana Chmakova (Tokyopop)
20. (18) Paul Goes Fishing, Rabagliati (D+Q)
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21. (21) Drop-In, Dave Lapp (Conundrum)
22. (23) the great hopeful someday, Elizabeth Belleveau (Condundrum)
23. (22) Spirit 1, Darwyn Cooke (DC)
24. (24) Family Business, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
25. (26) Witness My Shame, Shary Boyle (Conundrum)
26. (28) Essex County 2, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
27. (20) Milk Teeth, Julie Morstad (D+Q)
28. (-) Pohadky, Colek/Marek (D+Q)
29. (30) Shenzhen, Guy Delisle (D+Q)
30. (19) Baloney, Pascal Blanchet (D+Q)

Analysis: It’s official, Bryan Lee O’Malley is the new Lynn Johnston of Canada, idol of millions and champion bestseller comic booker. O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim series has 5 volumes in the top 30 this week, to Johnston’s 3. A year ago, the situation would have been reversed, with Johnston hogging between 5 and 10 spaces, sometimes with volumes of comics dating back to the 1980s. Guy Delisle travelogue trilogy and Jeff Lemire’s Essex County books rank just below Johnston, with 3 relatively lower-ranked books in the top 30. The number 30 book, a translated edition of Pascal Blanchet’s newest, is less popular than Essential Spider-woman 2 by Michael Fleisher, Chris Claremont, Steve Leialoha, and the great Carmine Infantino, according to BookManager.

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