compiled/edited by BK Munn
Whew, with all the excitement of TCAF and the Victoria Day long-weekend, I plum forgot to put together this list!
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. See here for our previous Sequential list.
Guide: numbers in parentheses indicate previous rank; (n) indicates a new book making its debut on the list; (r) indicates a book making a return to the list after an absence.
Sequential’s Over-All Top 30
from BookManager
1. (3) Bone 1: Out from Boneville, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
2. (6) Bone 9: Crown of Horns, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
3. (n) Paying For It, Chester Brown (D+Q)
4. (r) Louis Riel, Chester Brown (D+Q)
5. (1) Bone 11: Tall Tales, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
6. (8) Bone 3: Eyes of the Storm, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
7. (r) Percy Jackson and the Olympians – The Lightning Thief: The Graphic Novel, Rick Riordan/Robert Venditti/Attila Futaki
8. (4) Bone 4: Dragonslayer, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
9. (12) Bone 8: Treasure Hunters, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
10. (2) Bone 5: Rockjaw, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
—–
11. (9) Bone 2: The Great Cow Race, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
12. (5) Bone 6: Old Man’s Cave, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
13. (10) Bone 7: Ghost Circles, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
14. (7) Essex County, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
15. (17) Maximun Ride 4, Kames Patterson et al (Yen)
16. (15) Scott Pilgrim 1, Bryan Lee O’Malley (ONI)
17. (n) Black Bird 8, Kanoko Sakurakoji (VIZ)
18. (13) Bone Prequel: Rose, Jeff Smith and Charles Vess (Scholastic)
19. (n) Negima! 29, Ken Akamatsu (Kodansha)
20. (r) Scott Pilgrim 4, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
—–
21. (n) Simpsons Comic Meltdown, Groening et al (Harper Collins)
22. (29) Scott Pilgrim 5, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
23. (11) Scott Pilgrim 2, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
24. (29) Maximum Ride 2, James Patterson/NaRae Lee (Yen)
25. (r) Scott Pilgrim 6, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
26. (r) Maximum Ride 1, James Patterson/NaRae Lee (Yen)
27. (24) Walking Dead 1, Kirkman/Moore (Image)
28. (r) Naruto 50, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
29. (n) The Sign of the Four (Illustrated Classics): A Sherlock Holmes Graphic Novel, AC Doyle/I N J Culbard/Ian Edginton (Sterling)
30. (r) Scott Pilgrim 3, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
Bone maintains its stranglehold on the list, Scott Pilgrim makes a precious little comeback, and Chester Brown debuts in the number two spot with Paying For It.
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. (n) Paying For It, Chester Browb (D+Q)
2. (8) Louis Riel, Chester Brown (D+Q)
3. (1) Essex County, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
4. (3) Scott Pilgrim 1, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
5. (7) Scott Pilgrim 4, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
6. (5) Scott Pilgrim 5, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
7. (2) Scott Pilgrim 2, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
8. (6) Scott Pilgrim 6, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
9. (4) Scott Pilgrim 3, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
10. (n) The Klondike, Zach Worton (D+Q)
—–
11. (n) The Next Day, Jason Gilmore/Paul Peterson/John Porcellino (Pop Sandbox)
12. (12) The Never Weres, Fiona Smyth (Annick)
13. (15) Skim sc, Mariko Tamaki/Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood)
14. (n) Killing Velasquez, Philippe Girard (Conundrum)
15. (17) Two Generals, Scott Chantler (McClelland and Stewart)
16. (14) 500 Years of Resistance, Gord Hill (Arsenal Pulp)
17. (10) Nightschool 2, Svetlana Chmakova (Yen)
18. (22) Nightschool 3, Svetlana Chmakova (Yen)
19. (28) Bitter Medicine: A Graphic Memoir of Mental Illness, Clem Martini/Olivier Martini (Freehand Books)
20. (11) Mid-Life, Joe Ollman (D+Q)
—–
21. (20) Bigfoot, Pascal Girard (D+Q)
22. (r) Chimo, David Collier (Conundrum)
23. (n) Reunion, Pascal Girard (D+Q)
24. (18) Kill Shakespeare 1, Mccreery/Del Col/Belanger (IDW)
25. (r) Something Old, Something New, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
26. (24) Nightschool 1, Svetlana Chmakova (Yen)
27. (r) Nightschool 4, Svetlana Chmakova (Yen)
28. (n) Constructive Abandonment, Michael Dumontier/Neil Farber (D+Q)
29. (9) Tangles, Sarah Leavitt (Freehand Books)
30. (19) Red: A Haida Manga, Michael Yahgulanaas (D&M)
Chester Brown’s Paying For It debuts at the number one spot on the Canadian List and the number 3 spot overall after a ton of positive press and a running start due to a national tour and several big conventions including TCAF. While there have been a few negative reviews that focus on the moral/political nature of being a john and perhaps profiting from the experience, most have been like the latest, in the New York Times, or this interview in Mother Jones, generally laudatory bookchat with a few jabs at the author’s emotion-less presentation. Still, it looks to be selling okay.