Friday Night Fights: Illyana Rasputin vs. S'ym

From Magik #4 (1984). Art by Sal Buscema & Tom Palmer. Colors by Ken Feduniewicz. Letters by Tom Orzechowski. Story by Chris Claremont. (click pic for larger)

One panel? UARRRGH!

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 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid
4 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
5 (+2). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
6 (-1). Watchmen (hardcover)
7 (-1). Batman: R.I.P.
8 (+4). V for Vendetta
9 (+7). Watchmen (Absolute Edition)
10 (+1). All Star Superman, Vol. 2
11 (-3). Scott Pilgrim Volume 5: Scott Pilgrim vs The Universe
12 (-2). The Joker
13 (-4). Batman: The Killing Joke
14 (-). Serenity, Vol. 2: Better Days
15 (-2). The Walking Dead, Vol. 9: Here We Remain
16 (+4). Naruto, Volume 38 *
17 (-2). Batman: Year One
18 (+14). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
19 (-). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
20 (+2). Naruto, Volume 40 *
21 (-). Naruto, Volume 39 *
22 (+16). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
23 (N). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1
24 (N). The Starman Omnibus, Vol. 2 *
25 (+22). Unmanned (Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1)
26 (-2). Naruto, Volume 41 *
27 (-2). Wolves at the Gate (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 3)
28 (+9). Crown Of Horns (Bone)
29 (+6). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes (Calvin & Hobbes)
30 (-2). Watching the Watchmen: The Definitive Companion to the Ultimate Graphic Novel
31 (N). Y: The Last Man Vol. 2: Cycles
32 (N). Vampire Knight, Vol. 6 *
33 (N). Time of Your Life (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 4) *
34 (N). Y: The Last Man Vol. 3: One Small Step
35 (+13). No Future For You (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 2)
36 (-9). The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle
37 (-20). Secret Invasion
38 (-7). Mercy Thompson Homecoming *
39 (-). The Long Way Home (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Vol. 1)
40 (N). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 2
41 (N). Star Trek: Countdown TPB *
42 (N). Y: The Last Man, Vol. 10: Whys and Wherefores
43 (-). Serenity, Vol. 1: Those Left Behind
44 (-14). The Hidden Temple (Star Wars: Legacy, Vol. 5) *
45 (N). The Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll's House
46 (N). Fruits Basket Volume 22 *
47 (N). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier
48 (N). From Hell
49 (+1). Bleach, Volume 26 *
50 (N). The Adventures of Johnny Bunko (Kindle edition)

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


Commentary:

* How big is Watchmen? The regular paperback edition is not only #1 on the Comics & Graphic Novels chart, but also #4 on the overall Amazon bestsellers chart.

* How big the the Watchmen halo effect? All three League of Extraordinary Gentlemen volumes debut on the list, as does From Hell.

* Y, the Last Man makes a strong showing this week, with the first volume rocketing up twenty-two places, and three more volumes debuting on the list.

* All manga on the list, save one, are pre-orders. In addition to the usual Naruto, we also see new volumes of Vampire Knight & Fruits Basket pop up.

* That one non-pre-order manga title is The Adventures of Johnny Bunko, a job hunting guide done as manga. A sign of the economy? Even more oddly it's the Kindle version (the print version is apparently not in print/stock from Amazon); if you need a job hunting book, how is it that you've spent money on a Kindle?

* Another bad week for Marvel on Amazon; they place only one title, Secret Invasion, and that falls a whopping twenty places on the chart.

Take Me Back

Bizarro is brought to you today by Giant Drag Queens and the Men Who Love Them.

I've touched on this subject of young men dressing like rodeo clowns before, but this is perhaps my favorite one. I did a cartoon back in the 90s about cops having covertly started the baggy pants fad to make gang members easier to catch on foot. Might be true.

This week, a real life cop wrote to me and said he could not count how many times this had actually happened to him. He cuffs a suspect, their pants keep falling down, and they blame him.

When the baggy-pants-underwear-showing look first became popular, I laughed out loud and thought it could not possibly last. Here we are like, what, 20 years later and it's still hip? I mean phat? WTF?

I'm heading to Tulsa in a couple of hours to visit my family and to perform at a fundraiser for my old high school, Booker T. Washington. If you have some extra bucks to donate to educating ne'er-do-wells and miscreants (some in baggy pants, no doubt), and nothing to do on Saturday morning, come join us.