Amazon Top 50

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

1 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
2 (-). Watchmen
3 (+28). Asterios Polyp
4 (+1). Final Crisis
5 (-2). Diary of a Wimpy Kid
6 (-2). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
7 (+17). Green Lantern: Rage of the Red Lanterns
8 (-). Fruits Basket Volume 23
9 (+1). Time of Your Life (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 4)
10 (+1). The Complete Persepolis
11 (+14). Naruto, Volume 45
12 (+4). Mercy Thompson Homecoming *
13 (-7). Maximum Ride, Vol. 1 Manga (kindle)
14 (-). Batman: The Killing Joke
15 (-8). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
16 (+4). V for Vendetta
17 (+4). Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? Deluxe Edition *
18 (N). 100 Bullets Vol. 13: Wilt *
19 (+29). Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps War, Vol. 2
20 (N). Green Lantern: The Sinestro Corps War, Vol. 1
21 (-12). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
22 (+6). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
23 (-11). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
24 (-11). Stephen King's Dark Tower: Treachery
25 (N). The Boys, Vol. 4 *
26 (N). Bone: One Volume Edition
27 (+20). The Dark-Hunters, Vol. 1
28 (+8). Negima!: Magister Negi Magi, Vol. 23
29 (N). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
30 (-3). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
31 (N). Junjo Romantica Volume 10
32 (N). The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Vol. 1
33 (+13). Batman: Year One
34 (N). Parker: The Hunter *
35 (-16). Batman: R.I.P.
36 (-14). American Born Chinese
37 (N). Y: The Last Man, Volume 9: Motherland
38 (N). Unmanned (Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1)
39 (N). No Future For You (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 2)
40 (+4). Achewood Volume 2: Worst Song, Played On Ugliest Guitar *
41 (N). Tsubasa 22: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE
42 (-25). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
43 (-9). Wolves at the Gate (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Volume 3)
44 (N). The Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll's House
45 (-4). Star Trek: Countdown TPB
46 (N). Y: The Last Man, Vol. 10: Whys and Wherefores
47 (-5). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
48 (-18). Starman Omnibus Vol. 3
49 (N). Batman: The Long Halloween
50 (-32). Warriors: Tigerstar and Sasha #3: Return to the Clans

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


Commentary:

* See what rave reviews in the mainstream press will get you? David Mazzuchelli's OGN Asterios Polyp jumps way up to the number three slot this week.

* Final Crisis surprisingly stays strong, moving back ahead of a couple of Wimpy Kids.

* Several Green Lantern collections perform well this week, although Sins of the Star Sapphire falls, predicating what is sure to be a flash-in-the-pan for the others.

* Highest debut this week belongs to the final 100 Bullets volume in a pre-order. Other pre-orders debuting well are The Boys, Vol. 4 and Parker: The Hunter.

* A good week for manga. (What is Junjo Romantica, and why is the 10th volume debuting relatively well?)

Nude Diving

Bizarro is brought to you today by Moth Lingerie.

I normally blog about my cartoons a week after they have run in the paper, but I've decided to bump this one up in the queue because I've gotten a lot email about it.

The cartoon is meant to be a guy coming home from work and, seeing the trail of clothing, assumes his wife wants to have sex. Instead, she has jumped out the window, presumably to her death.

I didn't realize there would be so many ways to interpret this, but I've heard plenty. Some excerpts:

"Are they his clothes and he can't wait to put them on and then sneak out the window?"

"Is his wife some kind of naked Superwoman?"

"Is his naked wife trying to lure him to the fire escape so he'll be blown up by the TNT on the sofa?"

"There seems to be a syringe on the sofa pillow. Did his wife get high and then jump out the window naked, thinking she could fly?"

More than a few people asked about the firecracker on the sofa pillow wondering if it figured into the joke, a couple thought it was a syringe. If you are among those readers who have never noticed, I hide little symbols like that in virtually all my comics for no good reason. The current list is: Firecracker/dynamite, eyeball, pie, alien, bunny, K2, upside down bird, a man's loafer, a fish tail, a crown, and the exceedingly rare arrow in the back. The number above the signature tells you how many symbols to look for, a la Al Hirschfeld.

That should clear up the mystery. I now return you to a nation mourning the death of Michael Jackson.