compiled/edited by B. Munn
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. As this list is compiled, Jeff Lemire’s Essex County collection is #1 in the Amazon.ca graphic novel charts and #11 overall. See here for our previous Sequential list.
Sequential’s Over-All Top 30
from BookManager
1. (1) Bone: Quest for the Spark, Jeff Smith/Tom Sniegoski
2. (2) Essex County, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
3. (3) Out from Boneville: Bone #1, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
4. (4) Bone 11: Tall Tales, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
5. (5) Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Riordan/Venditti/Attila Futaki (Hyperion)
6. (6) Bone 4: Dragonslayer, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
7. (7) Scott Pilgrim 1, Bryan Lee O’Malley (ONI)
8. (26) Naruto 50, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
9. (8) Bone 5: Rockjaw, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
10. (9) Bone 2: The Great Cow Race, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
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11. (12) Bone 3: Eyes of the Storm, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
12. (10) Bone 7: Ghost Circles, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
13. (11) Bone 9: Crown of Horns, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
14. (13) Bone 6: Old Man’s Cave, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
15. (16) Scott Pilgrim 4, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
16. (17) Bone Prequel: Rose, Jeff Smith and Charles Vess (Scholastic)
17. (21) Scott Pilgrim 3, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
18. (14) Bone 8: Treasure Hunters, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
19. (-) I’m Tempted to Stop Acting Randomly: A Dilbert Collection, Scott Adams (Andrews McMeel)
20. (19) Bone the Adventure Begin HC, Smith (Scholastic)
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21. (28) Black Bird 7, Kanoko Sakurakoji (VIZ)
22. (15) Scott Pilgrim 2, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
23. (22) Scott Pilgrim 5, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
24. (18) Scott Pilgrim 6, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
25. (24) The Amulet of Samarkand (A Bartimaeus Graphic Novel), Jonathan Stroud/Andrew Donkin/Lee Sullivan (Hyperion)
26. (-) Picture This, Lynda Barry (D+Q)
27. (23) Walking Dead 1, Robert Kirkman/Tony Moore (Image)
28. (-) Zita the Spacegirl, Ben Hatke (First Second)
29. (20) Simpsons Homer for the Holidays, Groening et al (Harper Collins)
30. (-) Naruto 49, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
The deck gets shuffled slightly, with a few new additions. The new Bone book is #6 OVERALL in all book categories. A popular series.
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. (1) Essex County, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
2. (2) Scott Pilgrim 1, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
3. (4) Scott Pilgrim 4, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
4. (6) Scott Pilgrim 3, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
5. (5) Scott Pilgrim 2, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
6. (7) Scott Pilgrim 5, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
7. (5) Scott Pilgrim 6, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
8. (8) Something Old, Something New, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
9. (9) Tangles, Sarah Leavitt (Freehand Books)
10. (11) Harvey, Herve Bouchard/Janice Nadeau (Groundwood)
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11. (10) Louis Riel, Chester Brown (D+Q)
12. (12) Milk Teeth, Julie Morstad (D+Q)
13. (19) Red A Haida Manga, Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas (Douglas & McIntyre)
14. (13) Two Generals, Scott Chantler (McClelland and Stewart)
15. (-) The Native Trees of Canada, Leanne Shapton (D+Q)
16. (14) 500 Years of Resistance, Gord Hill (Arsenal Pulp)
17. (16) Palookaville 20, Seth (D+Q)
18. (-) Sweet Tooth 1, Jeff Lemire (DC)
19. (15) Kill Shakespeare 1, Conor Mccreery/Anthony Del Col/Andy Belanger (IDW)
20. (17) Nightschool 4, Svetlana Chmakova (Yen/Orbit)
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21. (24) Sweet Tooth 2, Jeff Lemire (DC)
22. (30) Scott Pilgrim Box, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
23. (-) Bigfoot, Pascal Girard (D+Q)
24. (20) Skim sc, Mariko Tamaki/Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood)
25. (28) Rabbit and Bear Paws 3, Chad Solomon (Little Spirit Bear)
26. (-) Husk: The Hollow Planet, Scott Thompson et al (IDW)
27. (18) The Saga of Rex, Michel Gagne (Image)
28. (-) Big Foot, Graham Roumieu (Plume)
29. (-) Northwest Passage, Scott Chantler (Oni)
30. (-) The Hunter, Darwyn Cooke (IDW)
You know it’s a Canadian comic book list when there are two books about Big Foot by two separate creators. This week: Jeff lemire and Scott Pilgrim continue their dominance. With the exception of Scott Thompson’s Danny Husk graphic novel, all of the books on the list have been here before.