DCnU Reviews, Week 1: Action Comics

(Back in June when the new DCU titles were announced, I ranked all 52 titles on my likelihood of buying them. Only fair then to look back and see if my initial assessments hold up. My plan is to review each of the new titles as they come out.)

Action Comics #1
by Grant Morrison, Rags Morales & Rick Bryant

Original Rank/Assessment: 1 (Definitely Yes) - They had me at Grant Morrison + Superman.

Of all of the New 52 relaunch titles, this is the one which had me the most excited. Grant Morrison's All-Star Superman (with Frank Quitely) is in my opinion the best super-hero comic of the past twenty years. So Morrison's new take on Superman has a lot to live up to. Thankfully, it mostly does.

It is tempting to compare Action to All-Star; where the later presented a Superman at the end of his career, Action starts the story in Superman's early days. All-Star was an ode to the silver-age Superman, while Action draws upon Superman's earliest golden-age adventures for inspiration. But I think that such comparisons at this point are a bit premature; All-Star is a completed work, while Action is just the first issue in what is meant to be the foundation of a new mythology for the Man of Steel.

True to its name, Action Comics has plenty of action. A young Clark Kent is new to Metropolis, and is committed to fighting injustice, both as a would-be hero-of-the-people and as a crusading reporter for the Daily Star. We get introduced to Kent, as well as his best friend Jimmy Olsen and Olsen's boss Lois Lane, both of whom work at the rival Daily Planet. We also get a glimpse of Lex Luthor, who is working with a homeland security-type organization to try to bring the brash young hero down.

What we don't get is an origin story. In All-Star, Morrison covered the well-known origin of Superman in just one page. In Action, he dispenses with it entirely. This is good. If any super-hero's origin is well-known, it is Superman's. Instead we are thrown right into the action, drawn with dynamism by Morales, in an escapade that could have come right out of one of Superman's earliest stories by Siegel and Shuster in the original Action Comics.

In fact, keep your copy of the first volume of The Superman Chronicles handy, as there are and I presume will continue to be many allusions and call-backs to those formative stories of the late 1930s. Those were the days when this country was straining to climb out of the great depression, and there was still great mistrust in politicians, corporations, bankers, etc. Not a completely analogous situation to today's America, but not far off either. And thus we get a Superman for our times, a crusader who stands for truth and justice. Every generation gets the Superman it needs; and Morrison is giving us ours.

Rating: 4 (of 5).

Library of the Living Dead!

The Miller Library at McPherson College made a comic book to teach incoming students how to use the library. It has zombies. You can download it at http://blogs.mcpherson.edu/library/zombie-guide-to-the-library/

Amazon Top 50

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


1 (-). Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 6) *
2 (+4). Sailor Moon 1 *
3 (-1). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
4 (R). Castle: Richard Castle's Deadly Storm *
5 (+8). Codename: Sailor V 1 *
6 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth
7 (N). Ender's Game: Formic Wars: Burning Earth *
8 (-5). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
9 (-5). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
10 (+1). Dork Diaries 3: Tales from a Not-So-Talented Pop Star
11 (+1). Dork Diaries 3 (Kindle edition)
12 (-5). Amulet #4: The Last Council
13 (-3). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
14 (+2). The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (revised and expanded edition)
15 (-1). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
16 (-7). Watchmen
17 (N). Feynman
18 (-). The Walking Dead Volume 14: No Way Out
19 (-11). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
20 (-3). Batman: Year One
21 (-6). V for Vendetta
22 (+12). Naruto, Vol. 52: Cell Seven Reunion
23 (+6). The Walking Dead, Book 7 *
24 (-4). Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 2 *
25 (-6). Batman: The Killing Joke
26 (+1). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
27 (-4). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
28 (N). Black Bird, Vol. 10
29 (N). Locke & Key Volume 4: Keys to the Kingdom HC
30 (+11). Big Nate Out Loud
31 (-6). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 8: Last Gleaming
32 (+3). Dork Diaries 3 1/2: How to Dork Your Diary *
33 (-7). 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth
34 (+5). Sailor Moon 2 *
35 (-5). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
36 (-15). Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Boxset
37 (+9). Dork Diaries 2 (Kindle edition)
38 (N). Finder Volume 4: Prisoner in the View Finder
39 (-15). The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale
40 (-12). Dork Diaries (Kindle edition)
41 (N). Brightest Day Vol. 3 *
42 (+2). Batman: Hush
43 (-12). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Box of Books
44 (-1). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
45 (-3). Hark! A Vagrant *
46 (+4). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes
47 (R). We3 Deluxe Edition
48 (N). Detective Comics (2011) #1
49 (N). No Such Thing as Ghosts (Dragonbreath)
50 (-18). Big Nate Out Loud (Kindle)



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:

* Just one week until the new editions of Sailor Moon hit stores, and they sit at #2 and #5 on the chart. Will next week see a dethroning of the Wimpy Kid?

* Marvel's Castle OGN wasn't on the chart at all last week, and this week hops back on all the way up at #4. I smell a mainstream media mention sometime in the past couple of days...

* Marvel also have the top debut this week, a hardcover collection of one of their Ender's Game series. This may be the first time that Marvel have had two top ten books (and note that neither is one of their super-hero properties...)

* Amazon finally decide that Feynman is indeed a comic, so this week it 'debuts' at #17. Other debuts include new volumes of Black Bird; Locke & Key; Finder (the Yaoi, not the CSM comic); Brightest Day; and Dragonbreath.

* Yes, that's Detective Comics #1, one of the New 52 comics from DC, peeking in near the bottom of the list. No, Amazon is not selling individual comics themselves, but enough people bought this from third-party sellers on Amazon or it to make the list. Interesting, and indicating that maybe this one was under-ordered by comic shops.

New Library Comics: July 2011

Here's a list of the comics we added to our library collection in July:


Abrams, Lamar. Remake special / Richmond, Va. : AdHouse Books, 2011

Airfighters. no. 1 / Calumet City, Ill. : Moonstone, 2010-

Amend, Bill. Math, science, and UNIX underpants : a themed FoxTrot collection / Kansas City : Andrews McMeel Pub., c2009.

Archi & BD : la ville dessinée / Blou : Monografik éditions ; [Paris] : Cité de l'architecture & du patrimoine, [2010]

Archie : a celebration of America's favorite teenagers / San Diego, Calif. : Yoe Books : IDW Pub., c2011.

Armstrong, Jason. Ferro city nos. 1-4 / Berkeley, Calif. : Image, 2005-

Bagge, Peter. Bat Boy : the complete Weekly World News comic strips / San Diego, CA : Idea & Design Works, c2011.

Black Goliath. v.1 no.3 / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics Group, 1976

Black panther (New York, N.Y.) Black panther. v.1 no.6 / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics, 1977-

Blechman, R. O. (Robert O.), 1930- The juggler of Our Lady : a medieval legend / New York : Holt, [1953]

Boer, Florian. De Urbanisten and the wondrous water square / Rotterdam : 010 Publishers, 2010.

The brave and the bold. nos. 97, 103 / Sparta, Ill. : National Comics Publications, 1955-1983.

Broome, John, 1913-1999. Showcase presents the Elongated Man. Volume one / New York : DC Comics, c2006

Byrne, John, 1950- Torch of liberty special / Milwaukie, Or. : Dark Horse Comics, 1995

Campbell, Ross, 1979- Shadoweyes v. 2 : Shadoweyes in love / San Jose, Calif. : SLG ; London : Diamond [distributor], c2010-

Capp, Al, 1909-1979. Al Capp's Shmoo : the complete newspaper strips / Milwaukie, OR : Dark Horse Comics, 2011.

Carlson, Bryce. WALL-E. Out there / Los Angeles, CA : Boom Kids!, 2010.

Carrillo, Tony. F minus / Kansas City [Mo.] : Andrews McMeel Pub., c2007

Casey, Joe. Marijuanaman / Berkeley, CA : Image Comics, 2011.

Chaykin, Howard V. Batman Catwoman. Follow the money. / New York, NY : DC Comics, c2011

Claremont, Chris, 1950- X-treme X-men vol. 6. Intifada / New York : Marvel Comics, c2001-

Claremont, Chris, 1950- X-treme X-men vol. 7. Storm : the arena / New York : Marvel Comics, c2001-

Claremont, Chris, 1950- X-treme X-men vol. 8. Prisoner of fire / New York : Marvel Comics, c2001-

Costa, Mike. Resistance / La Jolla, CA : Wildstorm, c2010

Dark Horse presents (2011) Dark Horse presents. no.1 / Milwaukie, Or. : Dark Horse Comics, Inc

DeFilippis, Nunzio. New X-Men, Academy X. Choosing sides / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics, c2004.

DeMatteis, J. M. Green Lantern : Willworld / New York : DC Comics, c2011

Diantantu, Serge, 1962- Mémoire de l'esclavage : Bulambemba / Lamentin : Caraïbéditions, c2010

Drake, Arnold. Showcase presents The Doom patrol. Volume one / New York : DC Comics, c2009.

Dunn, Joe. Sarah Palin versus the world / San Antonio : Antarctic Press, 2011

Endore-Kaiser, Guy. Brevity 4 : another collection of fine comics hand selected by Guy & Rodd. / Kansas City, MO : Andrews McMeel Pub., LLC, 2009

Ennis, Garth. Thor : Vikings / New York : Marvel, c2004

Feiffer, Jules. Sick, sick, sick. / New York : McGraw-Hill, [1958]

Feiffer, Jules. The unexpurgated memoirs of Bernard Mergendeiler / New York : Random House, c1965

Feist, Raymond E. Magician apprentice. v. 1 / New York, N.Y. : Marvel ; [London : Diamond, distributor], 2007.

The Flash. no. 206 / New York, N.Y. : National Comics Publications, 1959-1985

Flash Gordon the movie / Racine, Wisconsin : Western, 1980

Fox, Gardner F. (Gardner Francis), 1911-1986. Showcase presents Adam Strange. Volume one. / New York, NY : DC Comics, c2007.

Gately, George. Heathcliff spins a yarn / New York : Tempo Books, 1983

Gorden, Greg. Torg nos. 1-4 / Westlake Village, CA : Adventure Comics, 1992-

.hack//link vols. 1-3 / Los Angeles : TokyoPop, c2010-

Hamazaki, Tatsuya. .hack//G.U.+ v. 5 / Los Angeles, Calif. : Tokyopop, 2008-

Hilburn, Scott. The argyle sweater : a cartoon collection / Kansas City, MO : Andrews McMeel Pub., c2009

Himekawa, Akira. The legend of Zelda vols. 1-10 / San Francisco : VIZ Media, 2008-

Howard the duck (New York, N.Y. : 2002) Howard the duck. nos. 1-6 / New York, NY : Marvel Comics, 2002

Howard, Jason. Sea bear and grizzly shark / Berkeley, CA : Image Comics, 2010

Hutchison, David, 1974- Mischief & Mayhem : field trip to Heck / San Antonio, Tex. : Antarctic Press, 2006

The indomitable Iron Man. / New York : Marvel Comics, p2010.

Jacobs, Jesse. Even the Giants / Richmond, Va. : Adhouse Books, 2011, c2010

Jones-Quartey, Ian. RPG world. Volume 1. Unlikely hero out for adventure / Temple City, Calif. : Keensport Entertainment, 2004.

Jones, Bruce, 1944- Hulk/Wolverine : six hours / New York : Marvel Comics, 2003.

Kanigher, Robert. Showcase presents Enemy Ace. Volume one / New York, NY : DC Comics, c2008

Kanigher, Robert. Showcase presents Metal Men. Volume one. / New York : DC Comics, c2007

Kanigher, Robert. Showcase presents the haunted tank vols. 1-2 / New York, NY : DC Comics, c2006-

Kanigher, Robert. Showcase presents Wonder Woman vols. 1-2 / New York : DC Comics, c2007-

Kawaguchi, Kaiji. Eagle, the making of an Asian-American president vols. 1-22 / San Francisco, CA : Viz Communications, c2000-

Keeler, Greg. Poetryman : five poems / Bozeman, Mont. : Bozarts Press, c1988

Kelly, Joe. Deadpool in Mission : Improbable / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics, 1998.

Kleid, Neil. Ursa minors! no. 1 / San Jose, CA : Slave Labor Graphics, c2006-

Kliban, B. Cat (kat), n. ... / New York : Workman Pub. Co., 1975.

Kliban, B. Whack your porcupine, and other drawings / New York : Workman Pub. Co., 1977.

Kovalic, John. Dork Covenant / Madison, Wis. : Dork Storm Press, 2001

L33T : comics for gamers. no. 1 / Temple City, CA : Keenspot Entertainment, 2002-

The legend of Isis / La Mesa, CA : Alias Enterprises, 2005-

Leong, Sonia. Once upon a time- / [Cambridge] : Sweatdrop Studios, 2009, c2008.

Licensable Bear TM. nos. 1-4 / Thousand Oaks, CA : About Comics, c2003-

Loeb, Jeph. Hulk Vol. 6 World War Hulks / New York : Marvel, 2009-

Mami, Itou. Street fighter gaiden. Volume 1 / Thornhill, Ont. : Udon ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2010

Mariotte, Jeff. Desperadoes : banners of gold / San Diego, Calif. : IDW, 2005

Mariotte, Jeff. Desperadoes : epidemic! / La Jolla, CA : Homage Comics, 1999

Martin, Ted. Pavlov / New York, N.Y. : T. Doherty Associates, 1988, c1982.

Marz, Ron. Witchblade. [Vol. 10], Witch hunt / Orange, Calif. : Image Comics, 2006

Merritt, Cliff. Cliff Merritt's man on the move! / New York : Popular Library, c1973.

Metal Men. Metal Men v.14 no.50 / Sparta, Ill. : National Periodical Publications, 1963-1978

Miers, Doug. Criss cross. #1 / [S.l.] : Arcana Studio, 2005.

Mighty Thor (New York, N.Y. : 1966) The mighty Thor. v.1 no.246 / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics, 1966-1996

Monstrosity. no. 1 / Damascus, MD : Slap Happy Comics, 1998

More teen power / New York : Pyramid Books, 1970

Morgan, Melanie J. Betty & Veronica double digest. Volume 151 / Manaroneck, NY : Archie Comic Publications, Inc., 2007.

Mullaney, Dean, 1954- Genius, isolated : the life and art of Alex Toth / San Diego, Calif. : IDW, 2011

Mychaels, Marat. Demonslayer / Sunnyside, NY : Avatar Press, 2002

The mystic hands of Doctor Strange / New York : Marvel Worldwide, 2010.

Nakahira, Masahiko. Street fighter alpha. 1 / Richmond Hill, Ont. : Udon, c2007.

Ogino, Shin. Mega Man ZX. Vols 1-2 / Richmond Hill, Ont. : Udon, c2010.

Ordway, Jerry. The messenger / Orange, Ca. : Image Comics, c2000

Ōsaki, Mitsuru. Onimusha : night of genesis. vols. 1-2 / Richmond Hill, Ont. : UDON Entertainment Corp., 2006.

Pak, Greg. The Incredible Hulk. [Vol. 3], World War Hulks / New York, NY : Marvel Worldwide, c2011

Palmiotti, Jimmy. Prototype / La Jolla, Calif. : Wildstorm, 2010

Perry, Fred, 1969- Maidens of Twilight nos. 1-4 / San Antonio, Tex. : Antarctic, 2009.

Peters, Mike. Grimmy, best in show / New York : Tor, 1990, c1989.

Peynet, Raymond, 1908- The lover's bedside book / New York : Grosset & Dunlap, c1964

Peynet, Raymond, 1908- The lover's weekend book / New York : Grosset & Dunlap, c1964

Peynet, Raymond, 1908- The lovers' keepsake / New York : Grosset & Dunlap, c1964.

Pfeifer, Will. Vertigo resurrected. Finals. / New York, NY : DC Comics, 2011.

Raicht, Mike. The stuff of legend v.1 The Dark bk.1 / [S.l.] : Th3rd World Studios, 2009-

Redfern, Christine, 1966- Qui est Ana Mendieta? / Montréal : Éditions du Remue-ménage, c2011

Reed, Brian, 1973- Halo : fall of reach. Boot camp / New York : Marvel Worldwide, Inc., 2011

Reklaw, Jesse, 1971- Dreamtoons / Boston : Shambhala, c2000.

Riley, John. Lost stories nos. 1-7 / Williston Park, NY : Creative Frontiers, 1997

Ryan, Johnny. Take a Joke / Seattle, WA : Fantagraphics Books, 2011

Savic, Boris. Bānimon Bk. 1. The prisoner of Tesla Mountain / Arlington, MA : Rocket North, c2007-2010

Schmidt, J. Marc. The Sixsmiths / San Jose, CA : SLG Pub., c2010.

Scooby-Doo. vol. 2 : Ruh-Roh! / New York, N.Y. : DC Comics, c2003.

Searle, Ronald, 1920- Hurrah for St. Trinian's and other lapses / London : MacDonald, 1948

Searle, Ronald, 1920- Ronald Searle's non-sexist dictionary. /London : Souvenir, 1988.

Sez who?!. v.1 no.2 / Bristol, R.I. : Dark Dimensions Publications

Sfar, Joann. Dungeon. Monstres, v. 4. Night of the ladykiller / New York : NBM, c2006-<2007>

Showcase presents Aquaman vols. 1-2 / New York : DC Comics, c2007-

Showcase presents Batman vols. 1-3 / New York : DC Comics, c2006-

Showcase presents Green Lantern. vols. 1-3 / New York : DC Comics, c2005-

Showcase presents Robin the boy wonder. Volume one. / New York, NY : DC Comics, c2008

Showcase presents Teen titans. vols. 1-2 / New York : DC Comics, c2006-

Showcase presents The Atom. Volume one. / New York, NY : DC Comics, c2007.

Showcase presents the Flash. vols. 1-2 / New York : DC Comics, c2007-

Showcase presents The house of mystery. vols. 1-2 / New York : DC Comics, c2006-

Showcase presents the house of secrets. Volume one / New York, N.Y. : DC Comics, c2008.

Showcase presents The phantom stranger vols. 1-2 / New York : DC Comics, c2006-

Showcase presents The Unknown soldier. Volume one / New York, NY : DC Comics, c2006.

Simon, Joe. Fighting American / London : Titan Books, c2011.

Solin, Gary. Mute point / Garden City, N.Y. : Doubleday, 1970.

Stein, Leslie, 1982- Eye of the majestic creature. / Seattle : Fantagraphics Books, 2011

Straczynski, J. Michael, 1954- Dream police / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics, 2005

Sumimaru, Koichi. .hack//4koma + joke champion / Los Angeles : Tokyopop, 2010

Tarzan (New York, N.Y. : 1977) Tarzan. v.1 no.2 / New York, N.Y. : Marvel Comics Group, 1977-1979

Tedesco, Ralph. Salem's daughter. Vol. 1 / Horsham, Pa. : Zenescope Entertainment, 2011

Vinicoff, Eric. Spinworld nos. 1-4 / San Jose, CA : Amaze Ink, c1997-1998.

Vip, 1916-1984. Crazy cartoons : 200 triple-x charges of high-explosive humor! / Greenwich, Conn. : Fawcett, c1956.

Waid, Mark, 1962- City of heroes / Los Angeles, CA : NCSoft : Cryptic Studios, 2005.

Waid, Mark, 1962- City of heroes nos. 1-3 / Berkeley, CA : Image Comics, 2005

Waid, Mark, 1962- The unknown. [Vol. 2], The devil made flesh / Los Angeles : Boom! Studios, 2011

Walt Disney Productions presents The Black hole. / New York : Random House, c1979

Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse : 300 Mickeys / Los Angeles, CA : Boom Kids!, 2011

Warlands vols. 1-3 / Orange, CA : Image Comics, 2001-

West, James V. PAN-GEA : one-shot / San Diego, CA : Ape Entertainment, c2005

Winshluss, 1970- Pinocchio / San Francisco : Last Gasp of San Francisco 2011, c2010

Wood, Brian, 1972- Northlanders vol. 4. Plague widow / New York : DC Comics/Vertigo, c2008-

Yuki, Kaori.  Tenshi kinryō-ku vols. 1-15 / Tōkyō : Hakusensha, 1995-2001


 As always, this listing is available as an RSS Feed.

Monkey Covers

Sunday is Monkey Covers day here at YACB. Because there's nothing better than a comic with a monkey on the cover!

FX fights a giant gorilla in his very first issue, as seen on the cover of FX #1 (2008) by John Byrne.

Image courtesy of the GCD. Click on the image for a larger version.

DCnU Reviews, Week 0: Justice League

Back in June when the new DCU titles (aka DCnU) were announced, I ranked all 52 titles on my likelihood of buying them. As it turns out, my comic shop was offering a deal such that if I pre-orderd all 52 #1's, they'd be 50% off. So, I pre-ordered them all. Only fair then to look back and see if my initial assessments hold up. My plan is to review each of the new titles as they come out, starting with:

Justice League #1
by Geoff Johns, Jim Lee & Scott Williams

Original rank/assessment: 5 (Definitely Yes). I've bought every regular JL comic since the 80s, and this big-guns approach with Johns & Lee looks to be what I'm after in a JL comic.

As it turns out, not exactly what I'm looking for after all. We're getting an original story of the new Justice League, set five years in the past. Which is fine as far as it goes, but it is starting off much too slowly. The only way we know that Flash, Aquaman and Wonder Woman will be on the team is that they appear on the cover. It's mostly a Batman and Green Lantern team-up, with the heroes first fighting, then teaming-up, while posturing as to who is tougher/more qualified. Superman zips in for a last-page reveal, and Cyborg is seen only as a pre-transformation Vic Stone. (Which would imply that Cyborg's origin story will now be tied to the Justice League, rather than to the Teen Titans...) I keep thinking that opening with a multi-part flashback origin story was perhaps not the smartest move for the DCnU's flagship title. Instead, why not have the present day team fighting a global menace, like the Justice League is supposed to do? You can always flash back to the original later. It was a perfectly fine comic, about the base level that you would expect from Johns and Lee; but I was hoping for more bang from my four bucks.

Rating: 3 (of 5).

Amazon Top 50

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


1 (-). Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 6) *
2 (-). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
3 (-). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
4 (+2). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
5 (+2). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth
6 (+9). Sailor Moon 1 *
7 (+3). Amulet #4: The Last Council
8 (-4). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
9 (+7). Watchmen
10 (+4). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
11 (-2). Dork Diaries 3: Tales from a Not-So-Talented Pop Star
12 (-4). Dork Diaries 3 (Kindle edition)
13 (+8). Codename: Sailor V 1 *
14 (-3). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
15 (-3). V for Vendetta
16 (-3). The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (revised and expanded edition)
17 (-). Batman: Year One
18 (-). The Walking Dead Volume 14: No Way Out
19 (-). Batman: The Killing Joke
20 (+13). Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 2 *
21 (+10). Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Boxset
22 (-2). The Complete Peanuts Boxed Set 1979-1982 (Vol. 15-16)
23 (+5). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
24 (+20). The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale
25 (+7). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 8: Last Gleaming
26 (+4). 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth
27 (-2). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
28 (-2). Dork Diaries (Kindle edition)
29 (-6). The Walking Dead, Book 7 *
30 (-3). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
31 (R). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Box of Books
32 (+6). Big Nate Out Loud (Kindle)
33 (+16). Garfield Lard of the Jungle: His 52nd Book *
34 (N). Naruto, Vol. 52: Cell Seven Reunion *
35 (+1). Dork Diaries 3 1/2: How to Dork Your Diary *
36 (+7). Batman: The Long Halloween
37 (-8). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume III: Century #2 1969
38 (-16). We3 Deluxe Edition
39 (N). Sailor Moon 2 *
40 (N). Batman: Earth One *
41 (-1). Big Nate Out Loud
42 (-37). Hark! A Vagrant *
43 (R). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
44 (+4). Batman: Hush
45 (N). DC Comics: The New 52 *
46 (-22). Dork Diaries 2 (Kindle edition)
47 (N). Bleach, Vol. 36 *
48 (N). Serenity Volume 2: Better Days and Other Stories *
49 (N). Codename: Sailor V 2 *
50 (-15). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes



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:

* It's a good week to be Sailor Moon. The first volume breaks into the top ten, while Sailor V vol. 1 rises to #13. Meanwhile, the second volumes of each series—not due out until November—enter the chart at #39 & #49.

* Last week, Kate Beaton's Hark! A Vagrant leaped up into the top 5; this week is plummets all the way to #42. Obviously there was some mainstream press notice that hit at just the right time last week to give it a big bump on Friday morning.

* All of this week's debuts are down in the bottom half. Along with the two Sailor Moon properties, there are the latest volumes of Naruto and Bleach; Batman: Earth One and DC Comics: The New 52; and a new hardcover edition of Serenity: Better Days, which appears to be adding a couple of the one-shots to the mini-series.

* Pal JimO dropped me a note last week pointing out that First-Second's graphic novels are not categorized as Comics & Graphic Novels by Amazon. So for example while his and Leland Myrick's Feynman is selling quite well, it doesn't show up on Amazon's Comics rankings. Just another reminder to not read too much into these rankings.