It’s the beginning of the month and given the recent talk about Chris Ware’s bestseller, I thought I’d check to see how it was selling over at Books.com.    #911.  Not too surprising, but what caught my eye were the numerous titles above it!  So I figured it was time for another periodical look at what was selling.

What do I look at?  Any title in the Top 1000 titles overall.  A title in the Top 100 should be considered a bestseller, as B&N merges all books into one big list, just like USA Today.

This list was snapshot at about 10:45 AM, Tuesday, October 2. (I generated the young readers list at about 11 AM.)  I have no inside knowledge about what sells on this list, or how it is calculated.  The number rankings come from the distinct pages for each title, while the list is what appears when you click the B&N link above.  All of the data below, except for my commentary, comes from their website.  Click on the cover, title, or author for more information (including illustrators)!  All information is from BN.com, I’ve got nothing to do with what’s shown.  The rankings are fluid.

 

So what’s interesting?  Well, the second volume of the Walking Dead Compendium charts at #20, on pre-orders alone.  Like the first volume, this collects 48 issues of The Walking Dead into a 1,068 page paperback volume.  That, plus the upcoming premier of the third season, also helps sell the other volumes, with seven titles in the Top 1000, which, amazingly, are all hardcovers.  What’s the worst selling Walking Dead book?  (Sales rank: 438,126)

Yet, Wimpy Kid beats The Walking Dead in the pre-order race, charting at #9.  Many would say that middle school romance is more scary than zombies.  Of course, both are incurable diseases, involving hearts and brains.  Yech.

Batman has numerous backlist titles appearing, most likely due to the recent blockbuster.  Aside from the staff which wrote the serialized “Knightfall” epic, no authors repeat, except for Jeph Loeb, who wrote two very different stories about the Dark Knight Detective.  Perhaps DC should bring back the Elseworlds line…

Boom! charts with The Armory Wars.  Might we see more graphic novels from musicians?  If Madonna can write picture books, why couldn’t Lady Gaga write (and draw?) a comic book?

James Patterson, bestselling adult author, has become a bestselling young adult author as well, both in prose and graphic novels.  It’s now not uncommon for a prose series to be adapted or spun-off into a graphic novel line, as seen with Rick Riordan or Eoin Colfer.

Oh, and then there’s Raina Telgemeier.  Her first book continues to sell two years later, charting at #1 over on the New York Times bestseller list, while her brand-new book Drama sells just as well.  If one doesn’t consider Jeff Kinney a cartoonist, then Ms. Telgemeier might be the first original graphic novelist to become a superstar.  Or maybe Kazu Kibuishi is.  Me, I don’t care, because any book which encourages kids to read, and to create comics, is okay with me.  (Hey, Abrams, how many of those Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Books have you sold?  It’s currently #550 at Books.com.)

“graphic novels for kids”

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#793

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 Graphic Novels

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#588

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