compiled/edited by BK Munn

This semi-regular feature of Sequential presents a snapshot of comics sales in Canada.
Fittingly for Groundghog Day, this week’s list closely resembles last week’s. No new publishing “events,” really. A few perennials bumped a few other perennials, that’s all. For instance, an uptick in the sales of a few Tintin books bumped Louis Riel right out of the Top 30 (to #33). Interestingly, the top 25 comics in the country all fall within the top 1000 bestselling books overall (Kate Beaton is #94 and Walking Dead Volume 15 is #993). I don’t know about you, but I’m quite amazed that 25 of the top 1000 books in Canada are graphic novels. Even more amazing? Those 25 books are by only 8 different creators.
(Note: previous week’s rank indicated in (parentheses). N=new and R=returning after an absence from the top 30.)
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. BookManager national sales Rankings are updated weekly. For balance, you might want to try the Amazon.ca and Chapters-Indigo lists. See here for our previous Sequential list.

Sequential’s Over-All Top 30
from BookManager

1. (1) Hark a Vagrant Kate Beaton (D+Q)
2. (2) Amulet 4, Kazu Kibuishi (Scholastic)
3. (3) Tintin Secret of the Unicorn, Herge (Egmont)
4. (4) Amulet 1, Kazu Kibuishi (Scholastic)
5. (5) Tintin Red Rackham’s Treasure, Herge (Egmont)
6. (6) Inappropriate Tales for Young People Graham Roumieu (Random House)
7. (7) Bone 1, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
8. (8) Tintin Crab w Golden Claws, Herge (Egmont)
9. (11) Amulet 3, Kazu Kibuishi (Scholastic)
10. (9) Bone 9, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
—–
11. (18) Tintin in Tibet (Egmont)
12. (12) Amulet 2, Kazu Kibuishi (Scholastic)
13. (10) Walking Dead Vol. 1, Kirkman, et al (Image)
14. (14) Naruto 54, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
15. (13) Bone 11, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
16. (15) Tintin Explorers on the Moon, Herge (Scholastic)
17. (16) Tintin Destination Moon, Herge (Scholastic)
18. (17) Bone 2, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
19. (19) Tintin Black Island (Egmont)
20. (20) Black Butler 8, Yana Toboso (Yen)
—–
21. (21) Tintin Cigars of the Pharoah, Herge (Egmont)
22. (N) Tintin Red Sea Sharks, Herge (Egmont)
23. (23) Tintin Blue Lotus, Herge (Egmont)
24. (22) Tintin Black Gold, Herge (Egmont)
25. (25) Walking Dead Volume 15, Kirkman et al (Image)
26. (24) Tintin 7 Crystal Balls, Herge (Egmont)
27. (N) Tintin Shooting Star, Herge (Egmont)
28. (28) Bone 8, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
29. (26) Best of Archie Comics Various Archie and Friends All-stars, Dan DeCarlo et al (Archie)
30. (30) Bone 4, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
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) Hark a Vagrant Kate Beaton (D+Q)
2. (2) Inappropriate Tales for Young People Graham Roumieu (Random House)
3. (3) Louis Riel, Chester Brown (D+Q)
4. (5) Paying For It, Chester Brown (D+Q)
5. (6) Scott Pilgrim 1, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
6. (4) Essex County, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
7. (26) The Klondike, Zach Worton (D+Q)
8. (8) The Great Northern Brotherhood of Canadian Cartoonists, Seth (D+Q)
9. (7) Two Generals, Scott Chantler (McClelland & Stewart)
10. (11) Scott Pilgrim 2, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
—–
11. (9) Scott Pilgrim 6, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
12. (20) Pyongyang, Guy Delisle (D+Q)
13. (10) Scott Pilgrim 3, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
14. (12) Kill Shakespeare 2, Connor McCreery et al (IDW)
15. (16) Scott Pilgrim 5, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
17. (18) Kill Shakespeare 1, Connor McCreery et al (IDW)
18. (24) Nightschool, Vol. 1, Svetlana Chmakova (Yen)
19. (29) The Never Weres, Fiona Smyth (Annick Press)
20. (22) You are a Cat! Shirwin Tija (Conundrum)
—–
21. (15) Skim (pb) Mariko and Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood)
22. (N) The Next Day, Jason Gilmore/Paul Peterson/John Porcellino (Pop Sandbox)
23. (14) The Blue Dragon, Robert LePage et al (House of Anansi)
24. (R) 500 Years of Resistance, Gord Hill/Ward Churchill (Arsenal Pulp)
25. (19) Nightschool, Vol. 3, Svetlana Chmakova (Yen)
26. (13) Big Foot, Graham Roumieu (Plume)
27. (28) Nightschool, Vol. 2, Svetlana Chmakova (Yen)
28. (23) Bigfoot, Pascal Girard (D+Q)
29. (N) Collier’s Popular Press, David Collier (Conundrum)
30. (R) Something Old, Something New, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)