compiled/edited by B. Munn
Running a little late (again) 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. Last week’s rankings are in parentheses.
Interested readers might want to check out what Chris Butcher has to say about the problems with the New York Times comics list, which is too responsive to blips caused by books delivered by Diamond, and which I think may have bearing on this 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. (-) Naruto 44, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
5. (5) Negima! 21, Ken Akamatsu (Random House)
6. (4) Naruto 41, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
7. (-) Naruto 43, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
8. (-) Naruto 42, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
9. (6) Naruto 40, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
10. (12) Naruto 38, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
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11. (8) Naruto 37, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
12. (9) Naruto 39, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
13. (7) Naruto 36, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
14. (10) Naruto 34, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
15. (11) Naruto 35, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
16. (14) Rosario+Vampire 6, Akihisa Ikeda (VIZ)
17. (-) Killing Joke, Moore/Bolland (DC)
18. (13) Bleach 26, Tite Kubo (VIZ)
19. (17) What It Is, Lynda Barry (D+Q)
20. (15) Louis Riel, Chester Brown (D+Q)
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21. (22) Naruto 7, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
22. (16) Dark Tower, Stepen King et al (Marvel)
23. (-) Kitchen Princess 9, Natsumi Ando Miyuki Kobayashi (Random House)
24. (18) Pokemon: Diamond and Pearl Adventure! 2, Ihara Shigekatsu (VIZ)
25. (19) Maximum Ride 1, James Patterson/NaRae Lee (Yen)
26. (21) V for Vendetta, Moore/Lloyd (DC
27. (-) Daniel X: Alien Hunter, James Patterson (Little, Brown)
28. (28) Skim, Tamaki/Tamaki (Groundwood)
29. (-) Death Note 2, Tsugumi Ohba/Takeshi Obata (VIZ)
30. (-) Naruto 6, Masashi Kishimoto (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: Not much change, with the exception of more Naruto (three new volumes out for Easter).
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. (10) Home Sweat Home, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
4. (3) Big Foot, Graham Roumieu (Plume)
5. (4) Scott Pilgrim 5, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
6. (5) Plain Janes, Castelucci/Rugg (Minx/DC)
7. (6) The Burma Chronicles, Guy Delisle (D+Q)
8. (7) Pyongyang, Guy Delisle (D+Q)
9. (12) Essex County 1, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
10. (14) Scott Pilgrim 1, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
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11. (19) Dramacon Ultimate Edition, Svetlana Chmakova (Tokyopop)
12. (17) Senior’s Discount, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
13. (20) Paul Goes Fishing, Rabagliati (D+Q)
14. (8) Scott Pilgrim 3, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
15. (23) Spirit 1, Darwyn Cooke (DC)
16. (9) It’s a Good Life…, Seth (D+Q)
17. (26) Essex County 2, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
18. (11) Scott Pilgrim 4, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
19. (13) In Me Own Words (Bigfoot), Graham Roumieu (Plume)
20. (-) Adventures of Rabbit and Bear Paws: The Voyageurs, Chad Solomon (Little Spirit Bear)
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21. (15) Scott Pilgrim 2, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
22. (18) Essex County 3, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
23. (16) Ojingogo, Matt Forsythe (D+Q)
24. (21) Drop-In, Dave Lapp (Conundrum)
25. (22) the great hopeful someday, Elizabeth Belleveau (Condundrum)
26. (24) Family Business, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
27. (28) Pohadky, Colek/Marek (D+Q)
28. (-) Lillian the Legend, Kerry Byrne (Conundrum)
29. (29) Shenzhen, Guy Delisle (D+Q)
30. (19) Baloney, Pascal Blanchet (D+Q)
Analysis: It’s interesting to note that between #28 Lilian the Legend and #29 Shenzhen, there are hundreds of non-Canadian comics on the full list. Lillian’s sales rank is 56499 while Eric Stanton: The Dominant Wives and Other Stories (Taschen) is 59890.
The Complete Little Orphan Annie Volume 2 is 59927 and Canadian publisher Udon’s Darkstalkers Graphic File is 61175. Craig Thompson’s Blankets is 61378 and Avril Lavigne’s Make 5 Wishes Volume 1 is 64626. Nobuyuki Anzai’s Flame of Recca, Maggie the Mechanic, The Goon 5, Garth Ennis’ The Punisher 2, Superman : Birthright, Hellboy 3, One Piece Vol. 16, Jack of Fables VOL 03, Avatar Volume 7, He Is My Master Vol 3 , and Ai Yori Aoshi all rank higher than the all-Canadian Guy Delisle who comes in at a sales rank of 67123. There are also several hundred more comics between Shenzhen and Pascal Blanchet’s Baloney, which has a sales rank of 68000.
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