Vault in the Daily

Local comic store Vault of Midnight was recently profiled in the Michigan Daily (the U-M student newspaper): "Mining the Vault: How A2's premier comic store came to be"

It's a pretty good piece, though I'm amused at the titles that the reporter chose in the last paragraph to illustrate the "independent comics" that Vault carries, especially since the store has a very wide selection and far more independent-ish comics than are mentioned.

Suntan in the Snow

Bizarro is brought to you today by Head Games.

Last weekend I was in Florida for three days doing a talk, visiting with family, and sitting outside without a shirt. The next day I was looking out the window of my apartment here in Brooklyn at great wads of snow falling from the sky. Three days later and it is still snowing. The forecast has it continuing for a few more days yet.

It seems surreal to go from a sunny, warm climate to a snowy one in a single day, because it is. We only recently gained the ability to do this, so it is only natural that it seems unnatural. A few times in my life I have traveled to the other side of the globe and the feeling when I returned was very strange. My mind resists fully grasping the concept that yesterday afternoon I was in Bangkok, now I'm in Texas. It's enough to whiplash the sense right out of you.

Here is a picture of my backyard today.













To more pressing issues, who killed this snowman?

Amazon Top 50

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


1 (-). Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1 *
2 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
3 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
4 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
5 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid
6 (+2). Kick-Ass
7 (-1). The Walking Dead Volume 11: Fear The Hunters
8 (+3). The Splendid Magic of Penny Arcade: The 11 1/2 Anniversary Edition
9 (-). The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb
10 (-3). Fables Vol. 13: The Great Fables Crossover
11 (-1). Dark Tower: The Fall of Gilead
12 (-). Watchmen
13 (+1). Star Wars: Legacy Volume 8 - Tatooine *
14 (+15). Dark Avengers, Vol. 2: Molecule Man *
15 (N). Negima! 25
16 (+1). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 6: Retreat *
17 (+1). Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth
18 (+8). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
19 (-4). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
20 (+15). The Walking Dead, Vol. 10: What We Become
21 (+27). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
22 (+6). Batman: The Killing Joke
23 (+21). Asterios Polyp
24 (+3). The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks
25 (N). Halo: Helljumper *
26 (+6). V for Vendetta
27 (-14). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
28 (R). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
29 (-6). Starman Omnibus Vol. 4 *
30 (-6). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
31 (R). Tales from the Crypt #8: Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid
32 (+10). Predators and Prey (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Vol. 5)
33 (-11). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
34 (R). The Walking Dead, Vol. 9: Here We Remain
35 (N). Bleach, Vol. 30 *
36 (+3). Bone: The Complete Cartoon Epic in One Volume
37 (-4). The Complete Persepolis
38 (R). The Arrival
39 (-23). Naruto, Vol. 47
40 (-15). Stitches: A Memoir
41 (R). Mercy Thompson: Homecoming
42 (-3). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
43 (N). Twelve Kingdoms, The - Hardcover Edition Volume 4: Skies of Dawn *
44 (N). Deadpool Volume 1: Secret Invasion Premiere HC *
45 (-26). All Star Superman, Vol. 2
46 (R). The Sandman Vol. 3: Dream Country
47 (R). The Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll's House
48 (R). The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
49 (R). Marvel Encyclopedia
50 (-7). Berserk Volume 33



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:

* Kick-Ass continues to inch up the charts. For comparison, it is #316 on the overall chart, while Diary of a Wimpy Kid, just above it on the comics chart, is #183 on the overall chart. So it still has a way to go to challenge Twilight (#96 overall) and the Wimpy Kid. (But as the movie draws closer...?)

* Marvel have a second good week in a row. In addition to their non-Marvel Universe properties remaining strong, the second Dark Avengers hardcover moves up into the top 20, and a Deadpool hardcover debuts in the bottom half of the list.

* The Walking Dead continues to grow, with four collections now sitting in the top 50.

* The highest debut at #15 is the latest Negima! volume. Last week's manga champ, Naruto, takes a steep drop to #39.