Amazon Top 50

Here are the Top 50 Graphic Novels on Amazon this afternoon. All the previous caveats apply.


1 (-). Watchmen
2 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
3 (+1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
4 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid
5 (+2). Star Trek: Countdown TPB *
6 (-1). V for Vendetta
7 (-1). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
8 (-). Batman: The Killing Joke
9 (N). The Beats: A Graphic History
10 (+5). Naruto, Volume 43 *
11 (N). The Saturday Evening Pearls: A Pearls Before Swine Collection
12 (+2). Naruto, Volume 42 *
13 (+3). Angel: After the Fall, Vol. 3
14 (-3). Blueberry Girl
15 (+14). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
16 (-4). Mercy Thompson Homecoming *
17 (+3). Naruto, Volume 44 *
18 (-9). Dark Tower: Treachery *
19 (-9). Watchmen (Absolute Edition)
20 (+29). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
21 (-8). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
22 (-). The Joker
23 (+3). Batman: Year One
24 (-). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1
25 (N). Ignorance, Thy Name Is Bucky: A Get Fuzzy Collection
26 (-9). Batman: R.I.P.
27 (-6). Serenity, Vol. 2: Better Days
28 (+7). From Hell
29 (+5). Wolves at the Gate (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 3)
30 (+10). Time of Your Life (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 4) *
31 (N). Berserk Volume 28
32 (N). The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle
33 (-14). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
34 (+2). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
35 (+3). No Future For You (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 2)
36 (N). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
37 (-19). Fruits Basket, Vol. 22
38 (-11). The Complete Peanuts 1971-1972 *
39 (N). Y: The Last Man, Vol. 10: Whys and Wherefores
40 (-17). All Star Superman, Vol. 2
41 (+6). The Long Way Home (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 1)
42 (N). Y: The Last Man Vol. 4: Safeword
43 (-10). Bone: One Volume Edition
44 (N). Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
45 (+5). Serenity, Vol. 1: Those Left Behind
46 (N). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim Versus The World
47 (-10). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
48 (N). Batman: The Long Halloween
49 (-4). Crown Of Horns (Bone)
50 (N). Battle Angel Alita: Last Order, Volume 11 *





Items with asterisks (*) are pre-order items.


Commentary:

* Watchmen slides again down to #17 on the overall list. It's only 3 places ahead of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw, so look for Watchmen to lose its place atop the comics list in the next week or two.

* A surprise top ten debut for The Beats: A Graphic History. Didn't see that one coming.

* Other strong debuts for strip collections for Pearls Before Swine & Get Fuzzy.

* In manga rankings, the Naruto pre-orders inch up the charts, and we get volumes of Berserk & Battle Angel Alita popping onto the list.

The Player

Bizarro is brought to you today by Cat Zombies.

As a teen, I worked as a busboy in a restaurant with a piano bar. I was fascinated by the old drunks that sat around the piano every night "singing" to the show tunes coughed up by Morey, who wore a tux and had a phony smile cemented to his face. At the time I was in a band, a typical teenage rock star wannabe, and felt sorry for Morey. I imagined that when he was my age, he dreamed of throngs of appreciative music lovers at Carnegie Hall, or a theater on Broadway. He likely taught music lessons to dopey kids during the day to make ends meet.

Making a living as a musician is a nearly impossible task and most people give it up eventually and get a "real" job, maybe play in a hobby band at night. There is nothing wrong with that, of course, music is one of those things you do because you love it.

After a few years of playing weekend nights around the Southwest, I gave up my band to concentrate on becoming a cartoonist. It worked out well for me, I beat the odds with a lot of luck and a bit of hard work and have thanked my lucky stars ever since. I still love music, however, and though I was the singer and never learned to play anything, I still long to be in a hobby band. I recently started to learn to play guitar for reals, as the kids say. It's monstrously fun and I wonder why I didn't do this years ago.

The guitar in the cartoon is fashioned after my own Gibson ES-137. It is tied for my favorite inanimate object that I own, the other being my '82 Vespa. The thought of drunks resting their cocktails on it (my guitar, not my scooter) as they blather out the words to "That's Entertainment" (the one by Schwartz and Dietz, not by The Jam) makes me cringe.

You're welcome to rest your drinks on my Vespa, however. It's waterproof.