compiled/edited by B. Munn
Well, what a difference a month makes. Lots of new books and a huge surge for Jeff Lemire’s Essex County, apparently boosted by the Canada Reads hype.
This semi-regular feature of Sequential presents a snapshot of comics sales in Canada.
Part 1 .
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. This week, lots of Scott Pilgrim in the amazon.ca top 50. As well, Scott Pilgrim, Essex County, and Louis Riel seem to be among the high-ranking Christmas bestsellers on the Chapters-Indigo list. See here for our previous Sequential list.
Sequential’s Over-All Top 30
from BookManager
1. (3) Out from Boneville: Bone #1, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
2. (1) Bone 11: Tall Tales, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
3. (-) Essex County, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
4. (13) Bone 7: Ghost Circles, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
5. (10) Bone 4: Dragonslayer, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
6. (2) Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Riordan/Venditti/Attila Futaki (Hyperion)
7. (22) Bone 5: Rockjaw, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
8. (9) Bone 9: Crown of Horns, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
9. (21) Simpsons Homer for the Holidays, Groening et al (Harper Collins)
10. (7) Bone 3: Eyes of the Storm, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
——
11. (16) Bone 8: Treasure Hunters, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
12. (18) Bone 6: Old Man’s Cave, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
13. (11) Bone 2: The Great Cow Race, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
14. (8) Bone Prequel: Rose, Jeff Smith and Charles Vess (Scholastic)
15. (4) Scott Pilgrim 1, Bryan Lee O’Malley (ONI)
16. (23) Scott Pilgrim 4, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
17. (17) Scott Pilgrim 5, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
18. (15) Scott Pilgrim 3, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
19. (-) Vampire Knight 11, Matsuri Hino (VIZ)
20. (20) Scott Pilgrim 6, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
—–
21. (25) Tangles, Sarah Leavitt (Freehand Books)
22. (5) Scott Pilgrim 2, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
23. (28) Louis Riel, Chester Brown (D+Q)
24. (30) Archie’s Christmas Stocking, Dan Parent et al (Archie)
25. (24) Archie Marries, Uslan et al (Abrams)
26. (26) The Amulet of Samarkand (A Bartimaeus Graphic Novel), Jonathan Stroud/Andrew Donkin/Lee Sullivan (Hyperion)
27. (-) Logicomix, Doxiadis/Papadimitriou/Papadatos (Bloomsbury)
28. (19) Two Generals, Scott Chantler (McClelland & Stewart )
29. (-) Something Old, Something New, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
30. (6) Naruto 49, Masashi Kishimoto (Random House)
Part 2. 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. (21) Essex County, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
2. (1) Scott Pilgrim 1, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
3. (7) Scott Pilgrim 4, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
4. (4) Scott Pilgrim 5, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
5. (3) Scott Pilgrim 3, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
6. (6) Scott Pilgrim 6, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
7. (8) Tangles, Sarah Leavitt (Freehand Books)
8. (2) Scott Pilgrim 2, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
9. (9) Louis Riel, Chester Brown (D+Q)
10. (5) Two Generals, Scott Chantler (McClelland and Stewart)
—–
11. (-) Something Old, Something New, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
12. (12) Harvey, Herve Bouchard/Janice Nadeau (Groundwood)
13. (11) Skim sc, Mariko Tamaki/Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood)
14. (-) Native Trees of Canada, Leanne Shapton (D+Q)
15. (-) Rabbit and Bear Paws 3, Chad Solomon (Little Spirit Bear)
16. (10) 500 Years of Resistance, Gord Hill (Arsenal Pulp)
17. (-) Burma Chronicles, Guy Delisle (D+Q)
18. (13) Palookaville 20, Seth (D+Q)
19. (14) Great Hopeful Someday, Elizabeth Belliveau (Conundrum)
20. (-) Suddenly Something Happened, Jimmy Beaulieu (Conundrum)
—–
21. (-) Scott Pilgrim Box, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
22. (-) The Saga of Rex, Michel Gagne (Image)
23. (-) Pyongyang, Guy Delisle (D+Q)
24. (-) Senior’s Discount, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
25. (-) It’s a Good Life if You Don’t Weaken, Seth (D+Q)
26. (-) George Sprott, Seth (D+Q)
27. (-) War at Ellesmere, Faith Erin Hicks (Slave Labour)
28. (-) Nightschool 3, Svetlana Chmakova (Orbit)
29. (-) Nightschool 4, Svetlana Chmakova (Orbit)
30. (29) Lost at Sea, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)