compiled/edited by B. Munn
And we’re back. Welcome to the first Sequential Bestseller list of 2010. A new year and a new decade. I try to do these weekly, but real life often gets in the way.
Intro: The bestselling graphic novels and comics collections 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, including several comic book stores and the D+Q store. Sales through most 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. See here for our previous list.
Sequential’s Over-All Top 30 from BookManager
1. (-) Naruto 47, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
2. (-) Vampire Knight 9, Matsuri Hino (VIZ)
3. (16) Book of Genesis, Robert Crumb (WW Norton)
4. (1) Zombie Survival Guide, Max Brooks (Crown)
5. (-) Black Bird 3, Kanoko Sakurakoji (VIZ)
6. (-) Maximum Ride: The Manga 1, James Patterson/NaRae Lee (Orbit)
7. (-) Seekers: Toklo’s Story, Erin Hunter Bettina Kurkoski (Harper Collins)
8. (-) Shugo Chara! 8, Peach-Pit (Random House)
9. (11) Garfield Fat Pack, Davis et al (Random)
10. (-) Otomen 5, Aya Kanno (VIZ)
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11. (-) Cirque Du Freak: The Manga, Vol. 1, Darren Shan/Takahiro Arai (Orbit)
12. (6) Logicomix, Apostolos Doxiadis et al (Bloomsbury)
13. (-) Persepolis 1, Satrapi (Pantheon)
14. (2) Watchmen, Moore/Gibbons (DC)
15. (3) Zombies: A Record of the Year of Infection, Roff et al (Chronicle)
16. (-) Dance in the Vampire Bund 6, Nozomu Tamaki (Seven Seas)
17. (-) One Piece 33, Eiichiro Oda (VIZ)
18. (-) Fullmetal Alchemist 22, Hiromu Arakawa (VIZ)
19. (7) Naruto 46, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
20. (-) Tsubasa 25, Clamp (Random House)
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21. (5) Asterix and Obelix Birthday, Uderzo (Orion)
22. (-) Black Butler 1, Yana Toboso (Orbit)
23. (-) Alice In The Country Of Hearts 1, Quinrose Soumei Hoshino (Tokyopop)
24. (-) Black Bird 2, Kanoko Sakurakoji (VIZ)
25. (10) Maus 1, Spiegelman (Knopf)
26. (23) Louis Riel, Brown (D+Q)
27. (-) Fables 13, Bill Willingham (DC)
28. (26) Complete Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (Knopf)
29. (-) Black Bird 1, Kanoko Sakurakoji (VIZ)
30. (-) Zeus: King of the Gods, George O’Connor (First Second)
Analysis: It’s a brand-new day. Tons of new manga and juvenile/genre series have debuted since our last list, with a volume of the Olympians edging out Joe Sacco’s Footnotes in Gaza at the #30 spot.
Canadian Content: You have to wade through an awful lot of translated Japanese 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. On this list, a single sale in a single tiny bookstore can make all the difference. This list does not include books that are only illustrated but not written/created-by Canadians.
Sequential’s All-Canadian Top 30 from BookManager
1. (2) Louis Riel, Chester Brown (D+Q)
2. (1) Red: A Haida Manga, Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas (Douglas & McIntyre)
3. (4) Skim, Mariko Tamaki/Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood)
4. (15) It’s a Good Life, If You Don’t Weaken, Seth (D+Q)
5. (24) The Hipless Boy, Sully (Conundrum)
6. (25) Nightschool 1, Svetlana Chmakova (Orbit/Yen)
7. (11) The Plain Janes, Castelucci/Rugg (Minx/DC)
8. (6) Home Sweat Home, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
9. (12) Big Foot, Graham Roumieu (Plume)
10. (26) Collected Doug Wright 1, Doug Wright (D+Q)
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11. (19) Burma Chronicles, Guy Delisle (D+Q)
12. (9) Scott Pilgrim 3, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
13. (17) Essex County, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
14. (-) Adventures of Rabbit and Bear Paws, Chad Solomon (Lone Pine)
15. (21) the great hopeful someday, Elizabeth Belliveau (Conundrum)
16. (10) George Sprott, Seth (D+Q)
17. (5) Hot Potatoe: Fine Ahtwerks, Marc Bell (D+Q)
18. (20) Pyongyang, Guy Delisle (D+Q)
19. (22) Important Artifacts, Leanne Shapton (FSG)
20. (28) The Big 5-0, Lynn Johnston (Andrews)
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21. (13) Scott Pilgrim 5, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
22. (18) Ojingogo, Matthew Forsythe (D+Q)
23. (3) Senior’s Discount, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
24. (-) Kaspar, Diane Obomsawin (D+Q)
25. (-) It’S The Thought That Counts, Lynn Johnston (Andrews)
26. (7) Scott Pilgrim 1, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
27. (-) Captain Canuck 1, Richard Comely/George Freema (IDW)
28. (-) Last Straw, Lynn Johnston (Andrews)
29. (-) Just One More Hug, Lynn Johnston (Andrews)
30. (-) Adventures of Rabbit and Bear Paws 2, Chad Solomon
Analysis: With the possible exception of Last Staw and Just One More Hug, two For Better or For Worse compilations from the 1980s, none of the books on this week’s Canadian list are new to the list. All have appeared on the list at least once sometime over the previous 12 months. Conclusion? No new major Canadian comics are being published. We are in the doldrums. At this point you would think at least one English-language graphic novel by a Canadian would be published per week, but 52 graphic novels a year is a little too much to ask, I guess. I know this list isn’t the most accurate guide to popularity, sales or even, in general, what’s out there. But still, I wish there was more variety, more quantity, more quality. And that the buying and reading public would appreciate same.
Also, outside of Watchmen, the only superhero book on either the international or Canadian list is Capt. Canuck.
(note: previous rank in parentheses)
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Please feel free to comment or email about these lists.