.

Beware the Ides of March…
…as well as men who weren’t born.  And Ents.  And Triffids.  Brrr….

If we analyze the entrails of the Internet, might we prophesize what is to come? Is the past prologue? Is it all tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow? A walking shadow? Well, if this shadow has offended, let me know.

Here’s a snapshot of what was selling over on Barnesandnoble.com on March 15th, at approximately 6 PM. For simplicity’s sake, I’m only listing those titles which chart above #1000 for all books on BN.com . This is the order they were displayed, so rankings might be a bit disorganized. I have no understanding how their algorithms work, I’m just reporting what I saw. The dates after the title are when that particular edition was published. Titles and authors link to BN.com .
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A Game of Thrones: The Graphic Novel, Volume One# 24

by George R. R. Martin

Pre-orders and word-of-mouth shoot this collection into the actual Top 100 bestseller list!  The e-book has an impressive sales ranking of #1441.
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The Walking Dead Compendium, Volume 1# 36

by Robert Kirkman

Another overall bestseller!  Even more impressive, this is the 1088-page hardcover with a $60 cover price (currently discounted 44% on BN.com).  As I type this, it ranks #22 overall.  It collects the first forty-eight issues.

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Sailor Moon, Volume 4# 184

by Naoko Takeuchi

The relaunch continues to steamroll!  Volume 5 ranks #487 on pre-orders, and Volume 6, due in July, ranks #65,135.

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The Walking Dead, Book One#155

by Robert Kirkman

The regular $35 hardcover.  (All “Book” editions listed below are hardcovers.)

The ranking goes volumes 1, 5, 4, 6, 3, 2, 7.

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The Walking Dead, Book Five# 331

by Robert Kirkman

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Pandora Hearts, Volume 9#826

by Jun Mochizuki

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Maximum Ride Manga, Volume 5# 754

by James Patterson

The e-book edition ranks #12,515

(So, when will the other bestselling authors begin adapting their works to graphic novels?  How many parents would buy a “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing” graphic novel for their kids?)

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Health Care Reform: What It Is, Why It's Necessary, How It Works# 467

by Jonathan Gruber

Educational comics?  Since this is March, these sales are most likely not from university reading lists.

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The Walking Dead, Book Four#441

by Robert Kirkman

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The Walking Dead, Book Six#592

by Robert Kirkman

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The Walking Dead,  Book Three#664

by Robert Kirkman

List Price $34.99

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The Walking Dead, Book Two# 666 [sics]

by Robert Kirkman

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Watchmen# 795

by Alan Moore

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The Last Council (Amulet Series #4)# 960

by Kazu Kibuish

Kids are reading graphic novels!  This is the first juvenile full-color graphic novel on the list.

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The Walking Dead, Volume 12: Life Among Them# 849

by Robert Kirkman

The first trade paperback.  All hardcovers except Volume 7 sell better than the paperbacks.  This volume is part of Book Six above, so it’s not a result of people buying the paperbacks which have not yet been collected in hardcover.

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The Walking Dead, Volume 13: Too Far Gone#852

by Robert Kirkman

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The Walking Dead, Volume 11: Fear the Hunters#733

by Robert Kirkman

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The Walking Dead, Volume 2:  Miles Behind Us#775

by Robert Kirkman

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The Walking Dead, Book Seven#923

by Robert Kirkman

The lowest selling hardcover.  Seeing how the other hardcovers are selling way better than the trade paperbacks, Image should announce Book Eight immediately!

Also, they might want to flip the publishing order, putting out the hardcovers first, then six months later the first half in paperback, and a year after the hardcover, the second half.

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The Walking Dead, Volume 9: Here We Remain#732

by Robert Kirkman

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1 COMMENT

  1. 13 out of 20. What the fuck. Is the Walking Dead series really that good? I’ve heard stuff about the TV show good and bad, but have never read a real review of the comics.

  2. Selling better:
    50 shades of grey (viral erotica)
    All three Hunger Games novels.
    So Waking Dead is as close as it’s going to get to #1.

  3. I do a weekly snapshot of the Amazon comics & graphic novels bestsellers every Friday; the one for March 16 is here.

    There are some interesting similarities and differences between the BN & Amazon lists. But the domination of The Walking Dead collections in a common factor. Historically the WD does well when the tv show is airing, and demand softens when it is on hiatus.

  4. @Allen Rubenstein

    I’ve only read the comic. I’ve read the first 90-odd issues. It’s solidly ok. The comic is essentially a soap opera with the setting being changed from rich socialites or a hospital to a zombie infected post-apocalyptic thing. The best issues are one where some long-simmering issue is brought to a climax; the worst are the ones where long-simmering issues keep simmering.

    I think your enjoyment of it would depend upon if you’re more a long-form soap opera sort of guy or a done-in-one, quick set-up resolution sort. No harm in either.

  5. “There are no names of the artists in this list. Shame on you.”

    All data shown after my boilerplate is from the Barnes & Noble website.

    If you click the link in my introduction, you will be taken to a list of bestselling graphic novels. It is that page of results I used as the foundation for the listing which follows.

    The layout of that page does not list illustrators. Why? I don’t know. Probably because it deals with a variety of products, and the author is the only important item to list on that page.

    If you click through to the actual title page (click on any title above, or the cover), you will find the actual page on BN.com, where all contributors are listed.

    Could I have added the contributors? Yes, but that would require more time, at least an hour. Since the links provide the full details, and since I am more concerned with the title and the ranking, it’s not that important to this posting.

    I support all creators, no matter what they do.

  6. Been reading the Game of Thrones in single issue form. I’m a crazy, crazy fan of the books and a huge supporter of the HBO show.
    The comic book version is really great and pretty much spot in adapting the book. It’s going to be 24 issues so there is a “little” breathing room and they follow ALL the characters, so far. The art work is decent and getting better with every issue. All though I would’ve loved if Dynamite would’ve gotten Mike S. Miller (who did The Hedge Knight and Hedge Knight II: The Sworn Sword for Marvel) to draw this series.