Rocket Bomber - rankings

Editorial: I’ve a lot of ground to make up and only so many days left in the calendar year. I may have to resort to some short cuts and post ‘provisional’ top ten lists to fill in the gaps and play catch-up — but unlike last year’s hiatus, I am now in the habit of archiving web sources, so nothing is actually lost. I can go back and fill in the blanks with corrected posts [the full rankings] at some later date. For the rest of this week, at least, there are no compromises — other than the fact that the charts are months late ;) — and I’ll post one of these a day until I collapse. Get in the habit of checking the site around midnight EST. [with love. MB, 16 Dec.]

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Your Executive Summary and Index, Week Ending 16 August 2009

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last week’s rankings
About the Charts
Analysis and Commentary Posts

The Weekly Charts:
Your Executive Summary and Index
Week ending 16 August 2009009

Comics Top 500

1. ↔0 (1) : Watchmen – DC Vertigo, Apr 1995 [827.1] ::
2. ↑1 (3) : Batman Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader – DC, Jul 2009 [766.7] ::
3. ↓-1 (2) : V for Vendetta – DC Vertigo, Apr 1995 [722.2] ::
4. ↑1 (5) : Batman The Killing Joke – DC, Mar 2008 [700.4] ::
5. ↑2 (7) : Final Crisis – DC, Jun 2009 [695.0] ::
6. ↑3 (9) : Green Lantern The Sinestro Corps War 1 – DC, Apr 2009 [689.4] ::
7. ↓-3 (4) : Fruits Basket 23 – Tokyopop, Jul 2009 [682.7] ::
8. ↓-2 (6) : Batman The Dark Knight Returns – DC, May 1997 [667.2] ::
9. ↑3 (12) : Asterios Polyp – Random House Pantheon, Jul 2009 [652.1] ::
10. ↓-2 (8) : Dark Tower 3 – Marvel, Apr 2009 [634.9] ::

[more]

Top Imprints
Number of titles ranking in the Comics 500:

Viz Shonen Jump 55
DC Vertigo 50
DC 40
Viz Shojo Beat 33
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 31
Tokyopop 28
Marvel 24
Dark Horse 23
Del Rey 19
Viz 15

[more]

Top 50 Series:

1. ↔0 (1) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [2,102.8] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Batman – DC [1,993.9] ::
3. ↑2 (5) : Green Lantern – DC [1,599.7] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Sandman – DC Vertigo [1,476.2] ::
5. ↓-2 (3) : Fruits Basket – Tokyopop [1,442.5] ::
6. ↑4 (10) : Vampire Knight – Viz Shojo Beat [1,240.2] ::
7. ↓-1 (6) : Bleach – Viz Shonen Jump [1,219.1] ::
8. ↔0 (8) : Dark Tower – Marvel [1,218.1] ::
9. ↓-2 (7) : Fullmetal Alchemist – Viz [1,154.4] ::
10. ↑10 (20) : Rosario+Vampire – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [1,136.5] ::

[more]

Top 500 Manga:

1. ↔0 (1) : Fruits Basket 23 – Tokyopop, Jul 2009 [682.7] ::
2. ↑8 (10) : Vampire Knight 7 – Viz Shojo Beat, Aug 2009 [631.7] ::
3. ↓-1 (2) : Naruto 45 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2009 [621.2] ::
4. ↑1 (5) : Maximum Ride 1 – Yen Press, Jan 2009 [589.9] ::
5. ↓-2 (3) : Fullmetal Alchemist 19 – Viz, Jul 2009 [577.1] ::
6. ↑22 (28) : Rosario+Vampire 8 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Aug 2009 [564.2] ::
7. ↓-3 (4) : Dark Hunters 1 – St. Martin’s Griffin, Apr 2009 [558.1] ::
8. ↓-2 (6) : Naruto 43 – Viz Shonen Jump, Apr 2009 [521.8] ::
9. ↔0 (9) : Naruto 44 – Viz Shonen Jump, Apr 2009 [500.0] ::
10. ↓-3 (7) : Fruits Basket 22 – Tokyopop, Mar 2009 [484.3] ::

[more]

Top 50 Manga Series:

1. ↔0 (1) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [2,102.8] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Fruits Basket – Tokyopop [1,442.5] ::
3. ↑2 (5) : Vampire Knight – Viz Shojo Beat [1,240.2] ::
4. ↓-1 (3) : Bleach – Viz Shonen Jump [1,219.1] ::
5. ↓-1 (4) : Fullmetal Alchemist – Viz [1,154.4] ::
6. ↑2 (8) : Rosario+Vampire – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [1,136.5] ::
7. ↓-1 (6) : Ouran High School Host Club – Viz Shojo Beat [947.8] ::
8. ↓-1 (7) : Negima! – Del Rey [875.8] ::
9. ↔0 (9) : Death Note – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [870.1] ::
10. ↑2 (12) : Berserk – Dark Horse [717.8] ::

[more]

Top 50 New Releases:
(July & August 2009)

2. ↑1 (3) : Batman Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader – DC, Jul 2009 [766.7] ::
7. ↓-3 (4) : Fruits Basket 23 – Tokyopop, Jul 2009 [682.7] ::
9. ↑3 (12) : Asterios Polyp – Random House Pantheon, Jul 2009 [652.1] ::
11. ↑23 (34) : Vampire Knight 7 – Viz Shojo Beat, Aug 2009 [631.7] ::
12. ↑3 (15) : Green Lantern Rage of the Red Lanterns – DC, Aug 2009 [626.6] ::
14. ↓-4 (10) : Naruto 45 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2009 [621.2] ::
17. ↓-3 (14) : Fullmetal Alchemist 19 – Viz, Jul 2009 [577.1] ::
18. ↑12 (30) : Parker 1 The Hunter – IDW, Jul 2009 [575.6] ::
20. ↑58 (78) : Rosario+Vampire 8 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Aug 2009 [564.2] ::
24. ↑46 (70) : Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451: The Authorized Adaptation – Macmillan Hill & Wang, Jul 2009 [549.2] ::

[more]

Top 50 Preorders:

129. ↑9 (138) : Diary of a Wimpy Kid 4 – HNA Amulet, Oct 2009 [309.4] ::
256. ↓-45 (211) : Dean Koontz’s Nevermore – Del Rey/Dabel Bros., Oct 2009 [217.4] ::
260. ↑87 (347) : Peanuts Complete ’71-‘74 – Fantagraphics, Sep 2009 [217.1] ::
263. ↓-53 (210) : Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight 5 – Dark Horse, Sep 2009 [216.2] ::
338. ↑389 (727) : Iron Man World’s Most Wanted – Marvel, Nov 2009 [170.2] ::
340. ↑109 (449) : Peanuts Complete ’73-‘74 – Fantagraphics, Sep 2009 [169.7] ::
375. ↓-31 (344) : The Book of Genesis – Crumb – WW Norton, Oct 2009 [158.5] ::
407. ↑45 (452) : Simon’s Cat – Grand Central Publishing, Sep 2009 [144.6] ::
411. ↓-8 (403) : Neon Genesis Evangelion The Shinji Ikari Raising Project 1 – Dark Horse, Sep 2009 [143.9] ::
430. ↓-99 (331) : Street Fighter SF20: The Art of Street Fighter – Udon, Sep 2009 [136.4] ::

[more]

Your Executive Summary and Index, Week Ending 9 August 2009

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last week’s rankings
About the Charts
Analysis and Commentary Posts

The Weekly Charts:
Your Executive Summary and Index
Week ending 9 August 2009009

Comics Top 500

1. ↔0 (1) : Watchmen – DC Vertigo, Apr 1995 [830.5] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : V for Vendetta – DC Vertigo, Apr 1995 [730.9] ::
3. ↑2 (5) : Batman Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader – DC, Jul 2009 [723.3] ::
4. ↓-1 (3) : Fruits Basket 23 – Tokyopop, Jul 2009 [720.5] ::
5. ↓-1 (4) : Batman The Killing Joke – DC, Mar 2008 [701.4] ::
6. ↑1 (7) : Batman The Dark Knight Returns – DC, May 1997 [682.9] ::
7. ↓-1 (6) : Final Crisis – DC, Jun 2009 [681.2] ::
8. ↔0 (8) : Dark Tower 3 – Marvel, Apr 2009 [671.2] ::
9. ↑14 (23) : Green Lantern The Sinestro Corps War 1 – DC, Apr 2009 [647.6] ::
10. ↑1 (11) : Naruto 45 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2009 [640.6] ::

[more]

Top Imprints
Number of titles ranking in the Comics 500:

Viz Shonen Jump 55
DC Vertigo 46
DC 40
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 35
Viz Shojo Beat 34
Tokyopop 29
Dark Horse 26
Del Rey 22
Marvel 21
Viz 14

[more]

Top 50 Series:

1. ↔0 (1) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [2,171.1] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Batman – DC [1,947.7] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Fruits Basket – Tokyopop [1,556.4] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Sandman – DC Vertigo [1,516.1] ::
5. ↔0 (5) : Green Lantern – DC [1,514.0] ::
6. ↔0 (6) : Bleach – Viz Shonen Jump [1,253.0] ::
7. ↔0 (7) : Fullmetal Alchemist – Viz [1,216.9] ::
8. ↔0 (8) : Dark Tower – Marvel [1,194.3] ::
9. ↔0 (9) : Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Dark Horse [1,158.0] ::
10. ↑2 (12) : Vampire Knight – Viz Shojo Beat [1,140.3] ::

[more]

Top 500 Manga:

1. ↔0 (1) : Fruits Basket 23 – Tokyopop, Jul 2009 [720.5] ::
2. ↑1 (3) : Naruto 45 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2009 [640.6] ::
3. ↓-1 (2) : Fullmetal Alchemist 19 – Viz, Jul 2009 [624.3] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Dark Hunters 1 – St. Martin’s Griffin, Apr 2009 [595.1] ::
5. ↑14 (19) : Maximum Ride 1 – Yen Press, Jan 2009 [545.4] ::
6. ↑1 (7) : Naruto 43 – Viz Shonen Jump, Apr 2009 [529.7] ::
7. ↓-2 (5) : Fruits Basket 22 – Tokyopop, Mar 2009 [513.8] ::
8. ↓-2 (6) : Negima! 23 – Del Rey, Jul 2009 [508.6] ::
9. ↓-1 (8) : Naruto 44 – Viz Shonen Jump, Apr 2009 [503.0] ::
10. ↑17 (27) : Vampire Knight 7 – Viz Shojo Beat, Aug 2009 [500.9] ::

[more]

Top 50 Manga Series:

1. ↔0 (1) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [2,171.1] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Fruits Basket – Tokyopop [1,556.4] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Bleach – Viz Shonen Jump [1,253.0] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Fullmetal Alchemist – Viz [1,216.9] ::
5. ↔0 (5) : Vampire Knight – Viz Shojo Beat [1,140.3] ::
6. ↑1 (7) : Ouran High School Host Club – Viz Shojo Beat [983.3] ::
7. ↓-1 (6) : Negima! – Del Rey [977.7] ::
8. ↑1 (9) : Rosario+Vampire – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [969.0] ::
9. ↓-1 (8) : Death Note – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [908.1] ::
10. ↔0 (10) : Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle – Del Rey [780.8] ::

[more]

Top 50 New Releases:
(July & August 2009)

3. ↑2 (5) : Batman Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader – DC, Jul 2009 [723.3] ::
4. ↓-1 (3) : Fruits Basket 23 – Tokyopop, Jul 2009 [720.5] ::
10. ↑1 (11) : Naruto 45 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2009 [640.6] ::
12. ↑1 (13) : Asterios Polyp – Random House Pantheon, Jul 2009 [628.0] ::
14. ↓-4 (10) : Fullmetal Alchemist 19 – Viz, Jul 2009 [624.3] ::
15. ↑1 (16) : Green Lantern Rage of the Red Lanterns – DC, Aug 2009 [605.5] ::
18. ↔0 (18) : Superman Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow – DC, Jul 2009 [573.3] ::
29. ↓-7 (22) : Negima! 23 – Del Rey, Jul 2009 [508.6] ::
30. ↑45 (75) : Parker 1 The Hunter – IDW, Jul 2009 [506.0] ::
34. ↑30 (64) : Vampire Knight 7 – Viz Shojo Beat, Aug 2009 [500.9] ::

[more]

Top 50 Preorders:

138. ↑32 (170) : Diary of a Wimpy Kid 4 – HNA Amulet, Oct 2009 [308.8] ::
210. ↑10 (220) : Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight 5 – Dark Horse, Sep 2009 [244.9] ::
211. ↓-9 (202) : Dean Koontz’s Nevermore – Del Rey/Dabel Bros., Oct 2009 [243.7] ::
331. ↓-92 (239) : Street Fighter SF20: The Art of Street Fighter – Udon, Sep 2009 [171.3] ::
344. ↓-35 (309) : The Book of Genesis – Crumb – WW Norton, Oct 2009 [167.8] ::
347. ↑20 (367) : Peanuts Complete ’71-‘74 – Fantagraphics, Sep 2009 [166.7] ::
403. ↓-14 (389) : Neon Genesis Evangelion The Shinji Ikari Raising Project 1 – Dark Horse, Sep 2009 [146.5] ::
449. ↑21 (470) : Peanuts Complete ’73-‘74 – Fantagraphics, Sep 2009 [130.5] ::
452. ↑159 (611) : Simon’s Cat – Grand Central Publishing, Sep 2009 [130.0] ::
524. ↑29 (553) : Asterix How Obelix Fell into the Magic Potion When He Was a Little Boy – Orion, Oct 2009 [109.6] ::

[more]

Your Executive Summary and Index, Week Ending 2 August 2009

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last week’s rankings
About the Charts
Analysis and Commentary Posts

The Weekly Charts:
Your Executive Summary and Index
Week ending 2 August 2009

Comics Top 500

1. ↔0 (1) : Watchmen – DC Vertigo, Apr 1995 [811.8] ::
2. ↑2 (4) : V for Vendetta – DC Vertigo, Apr 1995 [725.2] ::
3. ↓-1 (2) : Fruits Basket 23 – Tokyopop, Jul 2009 [715.0] ::
4. ↑1 (5) : Batman The Killing Joke – DC, Mar 2008 [695.4] ::
5. ↑8 (13) : Batman Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader – DC, Jul 2009 [693.5] ::
6. ↓-3 (3) : Final Crisis – DC, Jun 2009 [681.1] ::
7. ↓-1 (6) : Batman The Dark Knight Returns – DC, May 1997 [678.1] ::
8. ↔0 (8) : Dark Tower 3 – Marvel, Apr 2009 [668.5] ::
9. ↑3 (12) : Sandman 1 – DC Vertigo, Sep 1991 [636.0] ::
10. ↑4 (14) : Fullmetal Alchemist 19 – Viz, Jul 2009 [634.8] ::

[more]

Top Imprints
Number of titles ranking in the Comics 500:

Viz Shonen Jump 59
DC Vertigo 45
DC 37
Tokyopop 34
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 34
Viz Shojo Beat 33
Dark Horse 24
Marvel 21
Del Rey 19
Viz 15

[more]

Top 50 Series:

1. ↔0 (1) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [2,205.7] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Batman – DC [1,887.8] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Fruits Basket – Tokyopop [1,637.6] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Sandman – DC Vertigo [1,534.1] ::
5. ↔0 (5) : Green Lantern – DC [1,374.8] ::
6. ↑3 (9) : Bleach – Viz Shonen Jump [1,248.5] ::
7. ↑1 (8) : Fullmetal Alchemist – Viz [1,243.2] ::
8. ↓-2 (6) : Dark Tower – Marvel [1,225.2] ::
9. ↓-2 (7) : Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Dark Horse [1,182.8] ::
10. ↔0 (10) : Y The Last Man – DC Vertigo [1,127.3] ::

[more]

Top 500 Manga:

1. ↔0 (1) : Fruits Basket 23 – Tokyopop, Jul 2009 [715.0] ::
2. ↑2 (4) : Fullmetal Alchemist 19 – Viz, Jul 2009 [634.8] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Naruto 45 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2009 [628.7] ::
4. ↑1 (5) : Dark Hunters 1 – St. Martin’s Griffin, Apr 2009 [584.3] ::
5. ↑2 (7) : Fruits Basket 22 – Tokyopop, Mar 2009 [541.5] ::
6. ↔0 (6) : Negima! 23 – Del Rey, Jul 2009 [533.2] ::
7. ↑1 (8) : Naruto 43 – Viz Shonen Jump, Apr 2009 [526.3] ::
8. ↑1 (9) : Naruto 44 – Viz Shonen Jump, Apr 2009 [498.8] ::
9. ↑4 (13) : Naruto 40 – Viz Shonen Jump, Mar 2009 [490.7] ::
10. ↔0 (10) : In Odd We Trust – Koontz, Chan – Del Rey, Jun 2008 [489.1] ::

[more]

Top 50 Manga Series:

1. ↔0 (1) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [2,205.7] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Fruits Basket – Tokyopop [1,637.6] ::
3. ↑1 (4) : Bleach – Viz Shonen Jump [1,248.5] ::
4. ↓-1 (3) : Fullmetal Alchemist – Viz [1,243.2] ::
5. ↑1 (6) : Vampire Knight – Viz Shojo Beat [1,098.3] ::
6. ↓-1 (5) : Negima! – Del Rey [1,030.8] ::
7. ↔0 (7) : Ouran High School Host Club – Viz Shojo Beat [1,008.8] ::
8. ↑1 (9) : Death Note – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [955.4] ::
9. ↓-1 (8) : Rosario+Vampire – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [955.3] ::
10. ↔0 (10) : Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle – Del Rey [831.3] ::

[more]

Top 50 New Releases:
(July & August 2009)

3. ↓-1 (2) : Fruits Basket 23 – Tokyopop, Jul 2009 [715.0] ::
5. ↑8 (13) : Batman Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader – DC, Jul 2009 [693.5] ::
10. ↑4 (14) : Fullmetal Alchemist 19 – Viz, Jul 2009 [634.8] ::
11. ↓-1 (10) : Naruto 45 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2009 [628.7] ::
13. ↑7 (20) : Asterios Polyp – Random House Pantheon, Jul 2009 [619.2] ::
16. ↓-7 (9) : Green Lantern Rage of the Red Lanterns – DC, Aug 2009 [595.8] ::
18. ↔0 (18) : Superman Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow – DC, Jul 2009 [576.8] ::
22. ↓-3 (19) : Negima! 23 – Del Rey, Jul 2009 [533.2] ::
44. ↓-4 (40) : Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle 22 – Del Rey, Jul 2009 [460.3] ::
55. ↑21 (76) : Mercy Thompson Homecoming – Del Rey/Dabel Bros., Aug 2009 [440.6] ::

[more]

Top 50 Preorders:

170. ↑304 (474) : Diary of a Wimpy Kid 4 – HNA Amulet, Oct 2009 [272.2] ::
202. ↓-17 (185) : Dean Koontz’s Nevermore – Del Rey/Dabel Bros., Oct 2009 [248.0] ::
220. ↓-51 (169) : Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight 5 – Dark Horse, Sep 2009 [234.2] ::
239. ↑187 (426) : Street Fighter SF20: The Art of Street Fighter – Udon, Sep 2009 [226.1] ::
309. ↓-5 (304) : The Book of Genesis – Crumb – WW Norton, Oct 2009 [185.2] ::
367. ↓-11 (356) : Peanuts Complete ’71-‘74 – Fantagraphics, Sep 2009 [161.5] ::
389. ↑42 (431) : Neon Genesis Evangelion The Shinji Ikari Raising Project 1 – Dark Horse, Sep 2009 [152.0] ::
470. ↑31 (501) : Peanuts Complete ’73-‘74 – Fantagraphics, Sep 2009 [126.6] ::
553. ↑357 (910) : Asterix How Obelix Fell into the Magic Potion When He Was a Little Boy – Orion, Oct 2009 [105.0] ::
567. ↑30 (597) : Fables 13 The Great Fables Crossover – DC Vertigo, Feb 2010 [102.8] ::

[more]

I’ve slid from 7 weeks to a full 3 months behind.

I’m working on it.

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Your Executive Summary and Index, Week Ending 26 July 2009

last week’s rankings
About the Charts
Analysis and Commentary Posts

The Weekly Charts:
Your Executive Summary and Index
Week ending 26 July 2009

Comics Top 500

1. ↔0 (1) : Watchmen – DC Vertigo, Apr 1995 [796.0] ::
2. ↑1 (3) : Fruits Basket 23 – Tokyopop, Jul 2009 [722.0] ::
3. ↓-1 (2) : Final Crisis – DC, Jun 2009 [720.7] ::
4. ↑1 (5) : V for Vendetta – DC Vertigo, Apr 1995 [703.9] ::
5. ↓-1 (4) : Batman The Killing Joke – DC, Mar 2008 [683.6] ::
6. ↔0 (6) : Batman The Dark Knight Returns – DC, May 1997 [665.5] ::
7. ↑1 (8) : Maximum Ride 1 – Yen Press, Jan 2009 [654.7] ::
8. ↓-1 (7) : Dark Tower 3 – Marvel, Apr 2009 [645.0] ::
9. ↑8 (17) : Green Lantern Rage of the Red Lanterns – DC, Aug 2009 [637.8] ::
10. ↑2 (12) : Naruto 45 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2009 [637.6] ::

[more]

Top Imprints
Number of titles ranking in the Comics 500:

Viz Shonen Jump 60
DC Vertigo 47
DC 37
Tokyopop 34
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 34
Viz Shojo Beat 32
Dark Horse 24
Marvel 21
Del Rey 19
Image Comics 16

[more]

Top 50 Series:

1. ↔0 (1) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [2,168.5] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Batman – DC [1,838.5] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Fruits Basket – Tokyopop [1,626.1] ::
4. ↔0 (4) : Sandman – DC Vertigo [1,529.6] ::
5. ↔0 (5) : Green Lantern – DC [1,441.2] ::
6. ↑2 (8) : Dark Tower – Marvel [1,234.1] ::
7. ↑2 (9) : Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Dark Horse [1,205.2] ::
8. ↑4 (12) : Fullmetal Alchemist – Viz [1,198.3] ::
9. ↓-3 (6) : Bleach – Viz Shonen Jump [1,190.4] ::
10. ↓-3 (7) : Y The Last Man – DC Vertigo [1,143.6] ::

[more]

Top 500 Manga:

1. ↔0 (1) : Fruits Basket 23 – Tokyopop, Jul 2009 [722.0] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Maximum Ride 1 – Yen Press, Jan 2009 [654.7] ::
3. ↔0 (3) : Naruto 45 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2009 [637.6] ::
4. ↑17 (21) : Fullmetal Alchemist 19 – Viz, Jul 2009 [594.1] ::
5. ↓-1 (4) : Dark Hunters 1 – St. Martin’s Griffin, Apr 2009 [577.6] ::
6. ↓-1 (5) : Negima! 23 – Del Rey, Jul 2009 [568.8] ::
7. ↔0 (7) : Fruits Basket 22 – Tokyopop, Mar 2009 [537.4] ::
8. ↓-2 (6) : Naruto 43 – Viz Shonen Jump, Apr 2009 [517.3] ::
9. ↓-1 (8) : Naruto 44 – Viz Shonen Jump, Apr 2009 [501.8] ::
10. ↓-1 (9) : In Odd We Trust – Koontz, Chan – Del Rey, Jun 2008 [491.0] ::

[more]

Top 50 Manga Series:

1. ↔0 (1) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [2,168.5] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Fruits Basket – Tokyopop [1,626.1] ::
3. ↑2 (5) : Fullmetal Alchemist – Viz [1,198.3] ::
4. ↓-1 (3) : Bleach – Viz Shonen Jump [1,190.4] ::
5. ↓-1 (4) : Negima! – Del Rey [1,075.3] ::
6. ↔0 (6) : Vampire Knight – Viz Shojo Beat [1,038.2] ::
7. ↔0 (7) : Ouran High School Host Club – Viz Shojo Beat [967.4] ::
8. ↔0 (8) : Rosario+Vampire – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [924.5] ::
9. ↔0 (9) : Death Note – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [910.1] ::
10. ↔0 (10) : Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle – Del Rey [845.2] ::

[more]

Top 50 New Releases:
(June & July 2009)

2. ↑1 (3) : Fruits Basket 23 – Tokyopop, Jul 2009 [722.0] ::
3. ↓-1 (2) : Final Crisis – DC, Jun 2009 [720.7] ::
10. ↑2 (12) : Naruto 45 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2009 [637.6] ::
13. ↑49 (62) : Batman Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader – DC, Jul 2009 [604.1] ::
14. ↑40 (54) : Fullmetal Alchemist 19 – Viz, Jul 2009 [594.1] ::
18. ↑64 (82) : Superman Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow – DC, Jul 2009 [574.1] ::
19. ↓-3 (16) : Negima! 23 – Del Rey, Jul 2009 [568.8] ::
20. ↑76 (96) : Asterios Polyp – Random House Pantheon, Jul 2009 [562.3] ::
22. ↑1 (23) : Green Lantern The Sinestro Corps War 2 – DC, Jun 2009 [560.3] ::
23. ↓-5 (18) : Halo GN Uprising – Marvel, Jun 2009 [551.1] ::

[more]

Top 50 Preorders:

9. ↑8 (17) : Green Lantern Rage of the Red Lanterns – DC, Aug 2009 [637.8] ::
76. ↑81 (157) : Mercy Thompson Homecoming – Del Rey/Dabel Bros., Aug 2009 [388.6] ::
112. ↑215 (327) : Vampire Knight 7 – Viz Shojo Beat, Aug 2009 [333.9] ::
169. ↑17 (186) : Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight 5 – Dark Horse, Sep 2009 [273.6] ::
171. ↑783 (954) : Rosario+Vampire 8 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Aug 2009 [272.5] ::
185. ↑26 (211) : Nevermore – Koontz, Champagne, Smith – Del Rey/Dabel Bros., Oct 2009 [261.2] ::
289. ↑51 (340) : Fables 12 – DC Vertigo, Aug 2009 [187.4] ::
304. ↑2 (306) : The Book of Genesis – Crumb – WW Norton, Oct 2009 [178.8] ::
322. ↑331 (653) : Mouse Guard 2 Winter 1152 – Archaia Studios, Aug 2009 [171.6] ::
352. ↑24 (376) : Walking Dead 10 – Image Comics, Aug 2009 [159.5] ::

[more]

Seth Godin over on his thought-of-the-day blog points out something I might have said myself once or twice. There isn’t one bestseller list

“The way to understand lists that aren’t vintage pop music is this: it isn’t one list. It’s four or five, mushed together. You have the list of rock acts, overlaid with the list of comic book heroes, etc. There isn’t one person (at least I hope not) who’s interested in all of these articles.”

He also points out that combining markets can result in some marketing missteps — oddly enough, he doesn’t reference my favorite example: People eat breakfast in the morning. People take showers in the morning. But you should stop short of putting a toaster in the shower. [that’s a false synergy right there. When some flack comes at you with merger-this and new-synergies-that remember the Shower Toaster]

There are at least five threads in the ‘comics’ market right now: Marvel/DC, Vertigo/Image/Darkhorse/Other-Indy, “serious” graphic novels (mostly biographies for some strange reason), manga, and comic strip collections.

Yeah, sure, Blackest Night or Dark Reign or whichever event is the “bestselling” comic right now: but bookstores make more off of Dilbert, FoxTrot, and Peanuts than “graphic novels” at the moment. What, exactly, does the New York Times track? What are their sources — what might be excluded?

Why do we slavishly link and reprint their hackneyed list? What is the magic that is conjured by the label “New York Times Bestseller”?

other than the fact that they post on time every week. [*cough*]

Your Executive Summary and Index, Week Ending 19 July 2009

7 weeks behind — no excuses there. But I have been archiving my sources, and if I can manage to post a chart every 4-5 days instead of once a week… I’ll be caught up in 3-4 months. [*sigh*]

I spent a lot of time behind-the-scenes to present the following reports — part of that was to dramatically expand to scope of what I’m tracking while maintaining the “look & feel” that had been established (and the simplicity of this Top 10 Summary report) while also diving a little deeper into the data set.

I’m pleased to present the following seven Top 10 reports: Comics, Imprints, Series, Manga, Manga Series, New Releases, and Pre-orders. This is my new slate. Each top 10 is just the tip of the iceberg: The Comics and Manga Charts are a full 500 titles, other charts pull from a top 50 in each category, and the Top 10 Imprints are just one way to look at the Publishers’ Scorecard. (links to each full chart are presented below)

Update 5 Sep 09, 20:40PM: A simple—but significant—error in the New Release and Preorder charts has been corrected. The links above (and below) go to the corrected page; the top 10s as posted below have also been corrected

Other corrections, questions, and other feedback can be emailed to Matt, or posted as a comment at the bottom of this post.

If you would like to receive this weekly report as an e-mail, please send an email to matt [at] rocketbomber [dot] com with the subject “Sign Me Up!”

##

last week’s rankings
About the Charts [see also: this post.]
Analysis and Commentary Posts

The Weekly Charts:
Your Executive Summary and Index
Week ending 19 July 2009

Comics Top 500

1. ↔0 (1) : Watchmen – DC Vertigo, Apr 1995 [802.4] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Final Crisis – DC, Jun 2009 [752.8] ::
3. ↑11 (14) : Fruits Basket 23 – Tokyopop, Jul 2009 [715.9] ::
4. ↓-1 (3) : Batman The Killing Joke – DC, Mar 2008 [706.1] ::
5. ↓-1 (4) : V for Vendetta – DC Vertigo, Apr 1995 [697.9] ::
6. ↔0 (6) : Batman The Dark Knight Returns – DC, May 1997 [683.5] ::
7. ↓-2 (5) : Dark Tower 3 – Marvel, Apr 2009 [662.9] ::
8. ↔0 (8) : Maximum Ride 1 – Yen Press, Jan 2009 [655.8] ::
9. ↑1 (10) : Sandman 1 – DC Vertigo, Sep 1991 [628.2] ::
10. ↓-3 (7) : Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight 4 – Dark Horse, Apr 2009 [625.8] ::

[more]

Top Imprints
Number of titles ranking in the Comics 500:

Viz Shonen Jump 64
DC Vertigo 48
Tokyopop 38
DC 37
Viz Shonen Jump Advanced 34
Viz Shojo Beat 33
Marvel 22
Dark Horse 20
Del Rey 19
Yen Press 15

[more]

Top 50 Series:

1. ↔0 (1) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [2,271.1] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Batman – DC [1,901.2] ::
3. ↑1 (4) : Fruits Basket – Tokyopop [1,618.9] ::
4. ↓-1 (3) : Sandman – DC Vertigo [1,543.7] ::
5. ↑14 (19) : Green Lantern – DC [1,300.9] ::
6. ↔0 (6) : Bleach – Viz Shonen Jump [1,236.5] ::
7. ↔0 (7) : Y The Last Man – DC Vertigo [1,228.6] ::
8. ↔0 (8) : Dark Tower – Marvel [1,219.1] ::
9. ↓-4 (5) : Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Dark Horse [1,191.1] ::
10. ↑10 (20) : Negima! – Del Rey [1,122.8] ::

[more]

Top 500 Manga:

1. ↑88 (89) : Fruits Basket 23 – Tokyopop, Jul 2009 [715.9] ::
2. ↑7 (9) : Maximum Ride 1 – Yen Press, Jan 2009 [655.8] ::
3. ↑521 (524) : Naruto 45 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2009 [622.6] ::
4. ↑31 (35) : Dark Hunters 1 – St. Martin’s Griffin, Apr 2009 [589.8] ::
5. ↑new (0) : Negima! 23 – Del Rey, Jul 2009 [567.5] ::
6. ↓-5 (1) : Naruto 43 – Viz Shonen Jump, Apr 2009 [547.5] ::
7. ↓-3 (4) : Fruits Basket 22 – Tokyopop, Mar 2009 [545.4] ::
8. ↓-6 (2) : Naruto 44 – Viz Shonen Jump, Apr 2009 [529.9] ::
9. ↑43 (52) : In Odd We Trust – Koontz, Chan – Del Rey, Jun 2008 [518.1] ::
10. ↓-7 (3) : Naruto 42 – Viz Shonen Jump, Apr 2009 [512.0] ::

[more]

Top 50 Manga Series:

1. ↔0 (1) : Naruto – Viz Shonen Jump [2,271.1] ::
2. ↔0 (2) : Fruits Basket – Tokyopop [1,618.9] ::
3. ↑1 (4) : Bleach – Viz Shonen Jump [1,236.5] ::
4. ↑5 (9) : Negima! – Del Rey [1,122.8] ::
5. ↑2 (7) : Fullmetal Alchemist – Viz [1,084.4] ::
6. ↓-3 (3) : Vampire Knight – Viz Shojo Beat [1,045.3] ::
7. ↑8 (15) : Ouran High School Host Club – Viz Shojo Beat [1,000.5] ::
8. ↓-2 (6) : Rosario+Vampire – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [970.3] ::
9. ↓-4 (5) : Death Note – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced [930.8] ::
10. ↑44 (54) : Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle – Del Rey [862.1] ::

[more]

Top 50 New Releases:

2. ↔0 (2) : Final Crisis – DC, Jun 2009 [752.8] ::
3. ↑11 (14) : Fruits Basket 23 – Tokyopop, Jul 2009 [715.9] ::
12. ↑30 (42) : Naruto 45 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2009 [622.6] ::
16. ↑67 (83) : Negima! 23 – Del Rey, Jul 2009 [567.5] ::
18. ↑2 (20) : Halo GN Uprising – Marvel, Jun 2009 [561.4] ::
23. ↑34 (57) : Green Lantern The Sinestro Corps War 2 – DC, Jun 2009 [527.5] ::
34. ↓-9 (25) : Ouran High School Host Club 12 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jun 2009 [477.5] ::
35. ↓-20 (15) : Bleach 27 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2009 [476.4] ::
41. ↓-11 (30) : Rosario+Vampire 7 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Jun 2009 [463.4] ::
49. ↑168 (217) : Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle 22 – Del Rey, Jul 2009 [442.9] ::

[more]

Top 50 Preorders:

17. ↑81 (98) : Green Lantern Rage of the Red Lanterns – DC, Aug 2009 [562.4] ::
157. ↓-44 (113) : Mercy Thompson Homecoming – Del Rey/Dabel Bros., Aug 2009 [287.5] ::
186. ↓-15 (171) : Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight 5 – Dark Horse, Sep 2009 [259.4] ::
211. ↓-8 (203) : Nevermore – Koontz, Champagne, Smith – Del Rey/Dabel Bros., Oct 2009 [238.8] ::
306. ↑22 (328) : The Book of Genesis – Crumb – WW Norton, Oct 2009 [187.3] ::
327. ↑149 (476) : Vampire Knight 7 – Viz Shojo Beat, Aug 2009 [174.6] ::
340. ↑78 (418) : Fables 12 – DC Vertigo, Aug 2009 [171.2] ::
376. ↓-19 (357) : Walking Dead 10 – Image Comics, Aug 2009 [158.1] ::
388. ↓-92 (296) : Peanuts Complete ’71-‘74 – Fantagraphics, Sep 2009 [154.3] ::
487. ↑246 (733) : Cat Paradise 1 – Yen Press, Aug 2009 [120.0] ::

[more]

Boneheaded error: Obviously, if these are the charts from way back in July, the new releases and preorders should reflect those dates, not Today’s date.

Here are the corrected charts.

##

Top 50 New Releases
(Jun & Jul titles)
Consolidated Online Sales Rankings
for the week ending 19 July 2009

2. ↔0 (2) : Final Crisis – DC, Jun 2009 [752.8] ::
3. ↑11 (14) : Fruits Basket 23 – Tokyopop, Jul 2009 [715.9] ::
12. ↑30 (42) : Naruto 45 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2009 [622.6] ::
16. ↑67 (83) : Negima! 23 – Del Rey, Jul 2009 [567.5] ::
18. ↑2 (20) : Halo GN Uprising – Marvel, Jun 2009 [561.4] ::
23. ↑34 (57) : Green Lantern The Sinestro Corps War 2 – DC, Jun 2009 [527.5] ::
34. ↓-9 (25) : Ouran High School Host Club 12 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jun 2009 [477.5] ::
35. ↓-20 (15) : Bleach 27 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2009 [476.4] ::
41. ↓-11 (30) : Rosario+Vampire 7 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Jun 2009 [463.4] ::
49. ↑168 (217) : Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle 22 – Del Rey, Jul 2009 [442.9] ::
54. ↑277 (331) : Fullmetal Alchemist 19 – Viz, Jul 2009 [432.1] ::
62. ↑34 (96) : Batman Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader Deluxe Edition – DC, Jul 2009 [418.7] ::
65. ↑182 (247) : Kitchen Princess 10 – Del Rey, Jul 2009 [415.0] ::
82. ↑307 (389) : Superman Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow Deluxe Edition – DC, Jul 2009 [385.7] ::
89. ↓-10 (79) : Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Movie Prequel Alliance – IDW, Jun 2009 [376.1] ::
96. ↑142 (238) : Asterios Polyp – Random House Pantheon, Jul 2009 [361.1] ::
116. ↑49 (165) : Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 3 – Yen Press, Jun 2009 [331.3] ::
120. ↑152 (272) : Junjo Romantica 10 – Tokyopop Blu, Jul 2009 [322.5] ::
130. ↑232 (362) : 100 Bullets 13 – DC Vertigo, Jul 2009 [317.2] ::
133. ↓-23 (110) : Wild Ones 7 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jun 2009 [313.2] ::
140. ↑199 (339) : Dance in the Vampire Bund 4 – Seven Seas, Jul 2009 [304.7] ::
143. ↑193 (336) : Sundome 5 – Yen Press, Jul 2009 [302.8] ::
155. ↑244 (399) : Fairy Tail 7 – Del Rey, Jul 2009 [291.9] ::
160. ↑210 (370) : Angel Diary 9 – Yen Press, Jul 2009 [285.2] ::
161. ↓-5 (156) : Yu-Gi-Oh! GX 3 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2009 [284.8] ::
165. ↑220 (385) : Dark Reign Deadpool/Thunderbolts – Marvel, Jun 2009 [280.8] ::
168. ↓-40 (128) : One Piece 21 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jun 2009 [279.7] ::
182. ↓-30 (152) : Warriors Tigerstar & Sasha 3 – HC/Tokyopop, Jun 2009 [261.6] ::
205. ↑168 (373) : High School Debut 10 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jul 2009 [244.4] ::
206. ↑7 (213) : Negima! Neo 2 – Del Rey, Jun 2009 [243.4] ::
207. ↓-63 (144) : Warcraft World of Warcraft Ashbringer – DC Wildstorm, Jul 2009 [242.0] ::
218. ↑15 (233) : Captain America The Man with No Face – Marvel, Jul 2009 [235.7] ::
219. ↑232 (451) : Shaman King 23 – Viz Shonen Jump, Jul 2009 [235.0] ::
222. ↑168 (390) : Nana 17 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jul 2009 [233.3] ::
231. ↑287 (518) : Gakuen Alice 8 – Tokyopop, Jul 2009 [228.9] ::
233. ↓-33 (200) : Green Lantern Corps Sins of the Star Sapphire – DC, Jun 2009 [228.5] ::
240. ↑116 (356) : Batman All-Star Batman & Robin 1 – DC, Jun 2009 [224.6] ::
241. ↑159 (400) : The Boys 4 – Dynamite Entertainment, Jul 2009 [224.0] ::
244. ↑165 (409) : Captive Hearts 5 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jul 2009 [222.4] ::
249. ↓-108 (141) : Dresden Files Storm Front – Del Rey/Dabel Bros., Jun 2009 [218.9] ::
254. ↓-46 (208) : Legend of Zelda 5 – Vizkids, Jun 2009 [214.4] ::
255. ↑244 (499) : Inuyasha 38 – Viz, Jul 2009 [214.2] ::
258. ↓-30 (228) : Nora 5 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Jun 2009 [213.1] ::
260. ↑157 (417) : Angel After the Fall 4 – IDW, Jul 2009 [211.4] ::
265. ↑100 (365) : Bride of the Water God 3 – Dark Horse, Jun 2009 [209.9] ::
266. ↓-96 (170) : Starman Omnibus 3 – DC, Jun 2009 [209.5] ::
277. ↑239 (516) : Red River 26 – Viz, Jul 2009 [201.0] ::
279. ↑6 (285) : Cirque du Freak 1 – Yen Press, Jun 2009 [200.3] ::
280. ↑352 (632) : Pet Shop of Horrors Tokyo 5 – Tokyopop, Jul 2009 [200.1] ::
283. ↑138 (421) : Strawberry 100% 9 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Jul 2009 [197.6] ::
284. ↑156 (440) : S.A (Special A) 11 – Viz Shojo Beat, Jul 2009 [197.4] ::

##

Top 50 Preorders
Consolidated Online Sales Rankings
for the week ending 19 July 2009

17. ↑81 (98) : Green Lantern Rage of the Red Lanterns – DC, Aug 2009 [562.4] ::
157. ↓-44 (113) : Mercy Thompson Homecoming – Del Rey/Dabel Bros., Aug 2009 [287.5] ::
186. ↓-15 (171) : Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight 5 – Dark Horse, Sep 2009 [259.4] ::
211. ↓-8 (203) : Nevermore – Koontz, Champagne, Smith – Del Rey/Dabel Bros., Oct 2009 [238.8] ::
306. ↑22 (328) : The Book of Genesis – Crumb – WW Norton, Oct 2009 [187.3] ::
327. ↑149 (476) : Vampire Knight 7 – Viz Shojo Beat, Aug 2009 [174.6] ::
340. ↑78 (418) : Fables 12 – DC Vertigo, Aug 2009 [171.2] ::
376. ↓-19 (357) : Walking Dead 10 – Image Comics, Aug 2009 [158.1] ::
388. ↓-92 (296) : Peanuts Complete ’71-‘74 – Fantagraphics, Sep 2009 [154.3] ::
487. ↑246 (733) : Cat Paradise 1 – Yen Press, Aug 2009 [120.0] ::
518. ↓-126 (392) : Peanuts Complete ’73-‘74 – Fantagraphics, Sep 2009 [110.9] ::
642. ↑249 (891) : Looking for Calvin & Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Waterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip – Continuum, Oct 2009 [88.4] ::
653. ↑57 (710) : Mouse Guard 2 Winter 1152 – Archaia Studios, Aug 2009 [86.1] ::
676. ↑273 (949) : Fables 13 The Great Fables Crossover – DC Vertigo, Feb 2010 [82.5] ::
693. ↑271 (964) : The Nobody – DC Vertigo, Sep 2009 [80.9] ::
727. ↑280 (1007) : Dick Tracy Complete 8 – IDW, Aug 2009 [75.6] ::
730. ↑201 (931) : Prince Valiant ’37-‘38 – Fantagraphics, Aug 2009 [75.0] ::
789. ↑130 (919) : Bone Prequel: Rose – Scholastic Graphix, Aug 2009 [66.6] ::
798. ↑84 (882) : Green Lantern Agent Orange – DC, Nov 2009 [65.3] ::
814. ↑262 (1076) : The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks – Random House Three Rivers Press, Oct 2009 [63.9] ::
816. ↑53 (869) : Angel Aftermath 1 – IDW, Sep 2009 [63.6] ::
832. ↑82 (914) : Death Absolute Edition – DC Vertigo, Oct 2009 [61.7] ::
867. ↑238 (1105) : Naruto 46 – Viz Shonen Jump, Oct 2009 [57.2] ::
928. ↑ (last ranked 3 May 09) : Neon Genesis Evangelion The Shinji Ikari Raising Project 1 – Dark Horse, Sep 2009 [49.4] ::
933. ↓-36 (897) : Fables Peter & Max: A Fables Novel – DC Vertigo, Oct 2009 [48.9] ::
945. ↑1168 (2113) : Vampire Kisses 3 – HC/Tokyopop, Sep 2009 [47.4] ::
954. ↑1113 (2067) : Rosario+Vampire 8 – Viz Shonen Jump Advanced, Aug 2009 [46.7] ::
957. ↓-63 (894) : Warriors Ravenpaw’s Path 1 – HC/Tokyopop, Nov 2009 [46.1] ::
963. ↑260 (1223) : Walking Dead 11 – Image Comics, Dec 2009 [45.2] ::
998. ↓-61 (937) : Final Crisis Legion of Three Worlds – DC, Oct 2009 [41.7] ::
1065. ↑254 (1319) : The Rocketeer Deluxe Edition – IDW, Oct 2009 [34.1] ::
1090. ↑new (0) : The Marvel Art of Marko Djurdjevic – Marvel, Aug 2009 [31.7] ::
1118. ↓-57 (1061) : The Good Neighbors 1 Kin – Scholastic Graphix, Oct 2009 [29.4] ::
1134. ↑37 (1171) : Batman Battle for the Cowl – DC, Nov 2009 [27.4] ::
1149. ↑236 (1385) : Dilbert 14 Years of Loyal Service in a Fabric-Covered Box – Andrews McMeel, Oct 2009 [26.0] ::
1191. ↑330 (1521) : The Phantom Complete ’36-‘38 – Hermes Press, Oct 2009 [23.3] ::
1193. ↓-30 (1163) : Hellboy Library Edition 3 – Dark Horse, Oct 2009 [23.0] ::
1196. ↑new (0) : Oishinbo 4 Fish, Sushi, & Sashimi – Viz Signature, Aug 2009 [22.9] ::
1213. ↑366 (1579) : Fables Jack of Fables 6 – DC Vertigo, Oct 2009 [21.7] ::
1214. ↑257 (1471) : Starman Omnibus 4 – DC, Feb 2010 [21.6] ::
1219. ↑1363 (2582) : Legend of Zelda 6 – Vizkids, Aug 2009 [21.2] ::
1229. ↑182 (1411) : Runaways 10 – Marvel, Nov 2009 [20.4] ::
1241. ↑29 (1270) : Bloom County Complete 1 – IDW, Oct 2009 [19.7] ::
1247. ↓-13 (1234) : Kimi ni Todoke 1 – Viz Shojo Beat, Aug 2009 [19.4] ::
1250. ↑15 (1265) : Buck Rogers in the 25th Century The Complete Newspaper Sundays ’30-‘35 – Hermes Press, Sep 2009 [19.3] ::
1271. ↓-173 (1098) : Gate 7 vol 1 – Dark Horse, Aug 2010 [18.1] ::
1281. ↓-168 (1113) : Toxic Planet – Yen Press, Aug 2009 [17.7] ::
1283. ↑155 (1438) : Wolverine Old Man Logan – Marvel, Nov 2009 [17.6] ::
1285. ↑56 (1341) : Momogumi Plus Senki 1 – Tokyopop, Aug 2009 [17.5] ::
1290. ↑795 (2085) : Black Is for Beginnings – Llewellyn Flux, Sep 2009 [17.3] ::

Hey, remember the rankings?

I sure do.

It’s not like I’ve abandoned that little project. Actually, I like it a lot; but then I’m hard-wired weird like that — I strongly identify with one of the basic geek prototypes, “good with numbers” — and in fact I like numbers better than about half of the people I know (I’m not sayin’ which half) and y’all should know: even a two-month lapse in regular reports and a full week gap in posts of any sort shouldn’t be taken as my last statement on the subject .

[yeah, yeah: my apologies for no posts last week. as stated: busy, busy, busy]

Graphic novel rankings are a big damn chunk — As of 19 July: 8,214 titles.

I know the total number of titles rather specifically and I can assure you there are no duplicates or other errors, as this is exactly what I’ve spent the past six weeks researching. 100 line entries or so of the old database were obvious typos and duplicates — and another 200 or so were less obvious, but still errors — but I’ve gone through the whole database, line by line, to figure out what I have and to nail down a publisher and (at least one) date for every last one of them.

On the one hand: 8,214 is quite a lot. 8K of anything is a bit much.

On the other: 8K is a start, but even with what I have listed I know that I can go back, fill in middle and missing volumes of some series and we’ll be up over 10,000 before you know it.

That is to say: the two years I’ve put into this odd hobby to date are just a start.

##

Titles as listed conform to my own idiosyncratic nomenclature; typically —

• Series/Property/Character, then


• Iteration/Volume/Mini-Series, then


• Special Qualifiers (i.e. novel, manga), then


• actual volume number.

Ideally, it ends up being just Series Title plus Volume Number.

The output of most publishers, however, is far from ideal. [Marvel, in particular, may be responsible for a new, unseemly facial tic I exhibit whenever anyone starts talking about X-Men.]

Now that I have a solid base to launch from, though, I should be able to play catch up on the Graphic Novel Rankings — in fact, I have 1.2GB of archived web pages saved to my hard drive specifically for the GN rankings.

All I need to do now is, *sigh*, even more data entry so I finally get up to date.

Here’s the latest:
Full List by Title
Full List by Publisher/Imprint

Corrections are invited; just not here — I’ll try to get a web form up in a separate post so folks can submit title corrections before the end of the week.

In order to get more meaning from my core sources (Amazon, B&N, and Borders) (or rather, to extract more meaning from the data that is already being collected) starting with the charts dated the week ending 19 July, I’ll be using a new scoring method from the 3 core charts:

#1 as found is still scored at 100.0 points, from there points awarded decrease by three tenths through the first 67 titles, by two tenths through the next 201 titles, by one tenth through the next 300 titles, then by a mere .05 through another 199 titles, and then remaining titles found score a mere tenth of a point for as long as I care to keep up the data entry — another 133-200 titles depending on if I stop at the first 900 titles found (which I most often do, gratefully) or continue on to a full accounting of the top 1000 titles found on a given source chart.

[all of which is in the image above, only in a much-easier-to-understand presentation]

Nothing changes at the top (#1 still equals 100 points) but this gives us [me] a better accounting of midlist and backlist titles that appear on source charts, and was done primarily to help me detangle (and understand) a largish chunk of the manga midlist. I don’t think this breaks any ties or materially alters the rankings — I wanted some more detail, so I made arrangements to have it.