It’s been a while since we took a look at The New York Times’ graphic novel best sellers lists. Let’s take a peak shall we?
Hardcover
1: Y THE LAST MAN, BOOK 5, by Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra. (DC Comics, $29.99.) — What can we say? The gift that keeps on giving.
2: MISTER WONDERFUL, by Daniel Clowes. (Pantheon Books, $19.95.) — This has been on the list for four weeks, so a strong outing for Random House and Clowes.
3: DELIRIUM’S PARTY: A LITTLE ENDLESS STORYBOOK, by Jill Thompson. (DC Comics, $14.99.) — The Sandman/Gaimanverse has legs.
4: THOR: OMNIBUS, by Walter Simonson. (Marvel Entertainment, $125.) — Once again it’s pretty remarkable to see a $125 1200 page book leading the merchandising for a feature film.
5: THE LITTLE ENDLESS STORYBOOK, by Jill Thompson. (DC Comics, $14.99.) — BACKLIST, BACKLIST, BACKLIST.
6: THOR/IRON MAN: GOD COMPLEX, by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. (Marvel Entertainment, $19.99.) — Two great movie franchises in one handy volume!
7: SCREAMING PLANET, by Alexandro Jodorowsky and various. (Humanoids, $24.95.) — Now THIS is a surprise. But Jodorowsky is a legit major cult figure, and one whose comics works are a key aspect of his oeuvre, and this book got MAJOR press. Here’s a fine interview with Jodorowsky.
8: BATMAN: THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE, by Grant Morrison and various. (DC Comics, $29.99.) — This has been on the list for 13 weeks. Grant Morrison’s name sells books.
9: HALO: FALL OF REACH BOOT CAMP, by Brian Reed and Felix Ruiz. (Marvel Entertainment, $19.99.) — Marvel’s Halo tie-ins are consistent sellers. Indeed, one might see in Marvel’s strong showing some evidence of the success of their move to Hachette as distributor,
10: S. H. I. E. L. D.: ARCHITECTS OF FOREVER, by Jonathan Hickman and Dustin Weaver. (Marvel Entertainment, $24.99.) — see above.
1: FABLES, VOL. 15, by Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham. (DC Comics, $17.99.) — Another proven franchise.
2: HUNTINGTON, WEST VIRGINIA: ON THE FLY, by Harvey Pekar. (Random House, $19.95.) — This book, the first of several posthumous works by Pekar, hasn’t gotten much buzz so it is selling on Pekar’s rep alone, which is impressive.
3: SCOTT PILGRIM: PRECIOUS LITTLE LIFE, by Bryan Lee O’Malley. (Oni Press, $11.95.) — A modern-day classic.
4: THE WALKING DEAD, VOL. 1, by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore. (Image Comics, $14.99.) — A modern-day classic.
5: WATCHMEN, by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. (DC Comics, $19.99.) — BACKLIST, BACKLIST, BACKLIST
6: SCOTT PILGRIM’S FINEST HOUR, by Bryan Lee O’Malley. (Oni Press, $11.99.) — A mod — say, what are you doing this weekend?
7: SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD, by Bryan Lee O’Malley. (Oni Press, $11.95.)
8: SCOTT PILGRIM AND THE INFINITE SADNESS, by Bryan Lee O’Malley. (Oni Press, $11.95.)
9: V FOR VENDETTA, by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. (DC Comics, $19.99.)
10: SCOTT PILGRIM: GETS IT TOGETHER, by Bryan Lee O’Malley. (Oni Press, $11.95.)
Do you get the picture? The trends we always note on the best seller list are in force again — backlist and name brand authors sell graphic novels, just as they do novels.
It’s surprising to see so few NEW books on the paperback list. Only FABLES and Harvey Pekar. We need some new heroes. What we’d REALLY love to see is a brand new, breakout book by a talented new creator crack the list, something that happens all the time in the book book world.
