Gene Colan

Back in 2008 when Steve Gerber passed away I posted about one of my favorite Gerber stories, the four-issue Phantom Zone mini-series he did with artist Gene Colan. With Colan's passing yesterday, it seems appropriate to once again highlight that awesome head-trip of a story, for which Colan's art was perfectly suited:

I was too young to encounter Colan's seminal work for Marvel on the likes of Tomb of Dracula or Howard the Duck, but I was right in the prime spot for his 80s DC work on this and on Night Force (soon to be collected in hardcover). The energy in his unconventional layouts and fluid drawing was obvious even to the novice eye of my twelve-year-old self. Thanks, Gene, for all the great comics you drew.

Amazon Top 50

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

1 (+2). The Walking Dead Volume 14: No Way Out *
2 (-). Dork Diaries 3 (Kindle edition)
3 (-1). Dork Diaries 3: Tales from a Not-So-Talented Pop Star
4 (-3). Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 6) *
5 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth
6 (-). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 8: Last Gleaming
7 (N). Hark! A Vagrant *
8 (+5). Dork Diaries (Kindle edition)
9 (-). The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (revised and expanded edition)
10 (-3). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
11 (-). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
12 (-2). Dork Diaries 2 (Kindle edition)
13 (-1). Batman: Year One
14 (+15). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
15 (-1). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
16 (-8). 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth
17 (+19). Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 2 *
18 (+1). Big Nate Out Loud
19 (+28). Green Lantern: Brightest Day
20 (+3). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Box of Books
21 (+4). Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Boxset
22 (-6). Dork Diaries 2: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
23 (+4). Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, Vol. 2 - The Little Sister of Eluria
24 (+6). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
25 (+1). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
26 (-5). Batman: The Killing Joke
27 (+6). Walking Dead Volume 13
28 (-). Watchmen
29 (+11). Green Lantern: Rebirth
30 (+4). V for Vendetta
31 (R). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes
32 (-12). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
33 (-18). Batman & Robin Vol. 3: Batman Must Die!
34 (N). Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Lost Adventures
35 (R). Green Lantern: The Sinestro Corps War, Vol. 2
36 (R). Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale
37 (-5). Big Nate Boredom Buster: Super Scribbles, Cool Comix, and Lots of Laughs
38 (R). X-Men: Second Coming
39 (R). Batman: The Long Halloween
40 (+8). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 7: Twilight
41 (N). Castle Waiting
42 (R). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
43 (R). 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth (Kindle edition)
44 (N). Congress of the Animals
45 (R). Green Lantern: The Sinestro Corps War, Vol. 1
46 (-29). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book
47 (R). Daytripper
48 (R). The Walking Dead, Vol. 10: What We Become
49 (R). The Walking Dead, Book 6
50 (-12). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art


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

N = New listing appearing on list for first time
R = Item returning to the list after having been off for 1 or more weeks


Commentary:

* For the third week in a row we have a new number one, as the imminent release of the next Walking Dead collection climbs up to the top spot.

* Debuting in the top slot is the collection of Kate Beaton's Webcomic Hark! A Vagrant. Other debuts are Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Lost Adventures; Jim Woodring's Congress of the Animals; and Linda Medley's first Castle Waiting collection.

* There's a bit of splash up for Green Lantern titles which may be due to the movie, though the release of a new collection (in this case, Green Lantern: Brightest Day) often has the same effect on the backlist without a movie.