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: Dog Days
2 (-). The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb
3 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
4 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
5 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid
6 (-). The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks
7 (+1). Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth
8 (+1). Watchmen
9 (+3). Bloom County Complete Library Volume 1
10 (+20). Stitches: A Memoir
11 (-). Dilbert: 2010 Day-to-Day Calendar
12 (-5). Tales from the Crypt #8: Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid *
13 (-3). Predators and Prey (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Vol. 5)
14 (+12). V for Vendetta
15 (+10). Batman: The Killing Joke
16 (+6). Asterios Polyp
17 (+1). The Complete Peanuts 1971-1974 Box Set
18 (-3). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
19 (R). The Best American Comics 2009
20 (-6). Masterpiece Comics
21 (N). The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook
22 (+6). R. Crumb's Heroes of Blues, Jazz, & Country
23 (-6). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
24 (R). The Arrival
25 (R). Batman: Year One
26 (-10). Vampire Knight, Vol. 8
27 (R). The Complete Far Side 1980-1994
28 (-9). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
29 (R). The Complete Persepolis
30 (N). Wolverine: Old Man Logan *
31 (R). The Stonekeeper's Curse (Amulet, Book 2)
32 (N). Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic Volume 7 - Dueling Ambitions
33 (-20). Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds HC
34 (+10). Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began
35 (R). Serenity, Vol. 2: Better Days *
36 (+1). Fables Vol. 12: The Dark Ages
37 (N). Criminal (Deluxe Edition) *
38 (R). The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
39 (-8). The TOON Treasury of Classic Children's Comics
40 (R). Scientific Progress Goes 'Boink': A Calvin and Hobbes Collection
41 (-20). Simon's Cat
42 (R). Dark Tower: Treachery
43 (-4). Mercy Thompson Homecoming
44 (N). Warriors: Ravenpaw's Path #1: Shattered Peace *
45 (N). Bone Volume 1: Out From Boneville
46 (-26). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
47 (+2). Time of Your Life (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8, Vol. 4)
48 (-12). Tumor Chapter 1 (kindle)
49 (R). Bone: The Complete Cartoon Epic in One Volume
50 (-23). 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:

* It's relatively quiet at the top of the chart, with the exception of Stitches leaping back up into the top 10 after last week's momentary blip.

* The highest debut belongs to Eleanor Davis's The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook, a graphic novel I wager very few of us were even aware of. It's a good reminder of the secret comic book economy...

* Marvel have a relatively good week, with Wolverine: Old Man Logan debuting at #30, Criminal (Deluxe Edition) debuting at #37, and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Dark Tower: Treachery returning to the list.

* The only manga title to chart is Vampire Knight, Vol. 8.

Halloween Redux

Bizarro is brought to you today by Belated Holidays.

Since I post my cartoons about a week after they appear, these cartoons from Halloween weekend seem conspicuously tardy. So just pretend you're reading them a week ago and you're putting the finishing touches on your Shrek costume in today's blog.

I love love love the Sleepy Hollow gag and wish I'd written it. But, alas, it came from my good friend Richard Cabeza (funniest spanglish name ever). He can be a real genius sometimes, and at this very moment his wife is expecting a baby or some reasonable facsimile. Thanks for the gag, Dick, and good luck to all involved with that baby business.


The Frankenstein gag is okay, I guess. I'm not crazy about it, but it's a good picture and has a monster theme. I've done some better Frankenstein gags in the past, which if I had any kind of reasonable filing system I'd be able to show you a few now. I hate myself sometimes.

In case you didn't know, Sleepy Hollow is a real town beside the Hudson River just north of New York City. Washington Irving wrote a lot about New York City and the surrounding areas, he popularized usage of the term "Knickerbocker" for New Yorkers and is also responsible for the myths about Manhattan being bought from the Indians for twenty-something dollars and a handful of trinkets, as well as the one about Christopher Columbus trying to prove the world was round. Both appeared in Washington's works of fiction but eventually were incorporated into elementary school history classes.

Scary.

WINNERS OF CONTEST #10!!!

The winner of contest #10 is Chris Bulock, whose email did not appear in his/her entry. (So leave it in the comments section of this posting, Chris, and I won't publish it.)

Second place goes to Spyra.

Third place goes to Aftersox.

Debbie P, you were damn close, with the second entry in the comments section and all of your answers were correct but YOU ONLY HAD 14! I hate it when that happens. I should send you a consolation prize.

Thanks to all who played our idiotic little game, your trading cards will be zooming toward you soon, with my DNA all over them!

Correct answers this week:
1. “heAded” vs. “heEded”
2. eyeball on leader’s hat looking other way
3. real hand vs. hook hand
4. front child’s beard
5. troop vs. poop
6. second child wearing lady’s shoe
7. fifth child has banana on hat
8. snake around third child’s stick
9. second boy with arrow in butt
10. fourth boy with xxx jug
11. fourth boy with glasses
12. fifth boy with watch
13. sixth boy with lizard tongue
14. seventh boy with pipe
15. final boy’s bird beak

CONTEST #10!!!!!

Click on the cartoon contest image below to enlarge and play!

RULES, ETC:
As usual, the upper image is the original cartoon, the warped image beneath it has been changed. Your mission, if you are a groovy dude, chick, both or undecided is to find those differences.

1. There are 15 differences between the two cartoons.
2. NONE of the differences have to do with the warped nature of the second image.
3. ALL of the differences are something missing, added, or moved, not just "bent" from the distortion. The differences will not be too subtle, so once you spot one you should be relatively certain you've found it. (As opposed to something like, "I think that guy has one extra whisker. Hmmm.")
4. FIRST PERSON to correctly list the 15 differences in the comments section of the contest post wins 5 packs of Bizarro Trading Cards, mailed by me personally from Bizarro International Headquarters in Brooklyn. I'll even lick the stamp, unless it's self adhesive. SECOND AND THIRD persons with correct answers will each get 2 packs of Bizarro Trading Cards!
5. Put your email address on your comment so I can contact you if you win. I won't post it or keep it or file it or sell it or mount a Broadway musical about it.

Enjoy, good luck, and always wear protective goggles! Click on the image to enlarge...

Cartoons and CONTEST!

Bizarro is brought to you today by Super-Fun-Pack Comics!

I'm still backlogged with cartoons not posted while I was in Florida with the insects, so here's another super-fun-pack, to borrow a phrase from the inimitable Ruben Bolling.

The origami cartoon is my favorite because it's dry, funny, and SUPER easy to draw. Makes my job so much easier when I come up with one of these. Because I am obsessed with details and background, however, it is rare.


Here is a fun take on the cartoon cliche of the guy in the bar telling a hotty that his wife doesn't understand him. If you think about it, it's a ridiculous premise no matter how you draw it. NO man's wife or mother understands him. It's a given!

Speaking of marital problems, here is a cartoon about them now. When I do cartoons like this, people who know me often assume that CHNW and I are having problems. Of course we are not, we are huge celebrities and do not suffer from the day-to-day maladies of the average joe and jolene.


I like this gag because I hate it when people talk on their cell phones while driving. (An ex-girlfriend of mine used to always say, "'hate' is a strong word" everytime I would say "hate." She didn't understand me.)

A reader wrote in to tell me that it is not "ironic" that he hit the guy he was talking to, but rather "coincidental." He's probably right, but like the vast majority if Americans, I have no idea what the word "ironic" actually means.

I sincerely hope you have enjoyed this short tour of last week's postings. I'll be putting up a contest tonight, this time at 7pm NYC time. Hope you'll dig it like a dog's bone.

Photo: Self portrait by CHNW

Florida Vacation Pics

Here, today, for what it's worth (probably very little) is my vacation blog. Whatever.

I took last week off and went to the Gulf coast of Florida with CHNW to hang out with her dad, a terrific guy and also a professional cartoonist. Getting out of town for a 365-day-a-year deadline person like me is very hard. I usually work 6 to 8 hours a day, seven days a week, so to get ahead by a week I have to double that. It's bad.

The first night in Florida I let loose and relaxed with way too much scotch. The pic above was taken at sunset, holding my camera as still and level as I could. It got worse as the evening wore on. I haven't been that drunk in over ten years, I'm happy to report.

The next morning, bleary-eyed and swollen-headed, we drove down to an old beach resort on Captiva Island. Along the way, CHNW discovered that if she held her mouth open in the wind, it would blow her cheeks out and vibrate them. We all laughed and I wished my headache would go away.

CHNW and her dad, Ralph, have been going to Captiva yearly since she was 5 years old. This was their 30th year. One of the things they always do is have dinner at an indescribably weird place called The Bubble Room. Out in the various parking areas, The Bubble Room leaves nothing to chance with plenty of parking signs. From top to bottom: "Any car parking on roadway will be ticketed and towed," "Bubble Room parking," "You must find legal parking," and "Additional parking across the street." If a person visiting The Bubble Room gets towed or ticketed, they should not be let out of the house without a guidance counselor.

Here is a nice shot of Ashley breaking out of the gorilla cage outside The Bubble Room. We feel confident that no one has ever taken a shot like this before.

Inside, one finds an insanely decorated world of hallucination and chaos. The diner is never left wanting for wacky and kooky things to look at. You can see how much fun I'm having in these candid shots.











One good thing to do at a beach resort is to visit the beach, which we did daily.


To answer a question that I get a lot, yes, I do swim with a cigar.











The dapper gentlemen shown here was screaming at me for "swimming topless again." After some clarification, we discovered he had mistaken me for his wife. He said it was the cigar.









In spite of the fact that I am a huge celebrity, I like to look for shells just like a normal person. When I do this, I call myself Captain Beachcomber. The cape is particularly effective if there is a stiff breeze.













Because we were there the week before Halloween, the resort was decorating for a party. We found the bottom of a mummy in the parking lot and used it for these quaint shots, which make us look extremely thin.

This next sequence shows my willingness to share with the dead. (click it to big it)





And what family vacation destination is complete without a naked, bald, beaten and dismembered woman?









Florida is known for its large bugs, which we discovered first hand when attacked outside our cabin by this spider.






















We also happened across some Xmas decorations stored in a carport. Here are two Santas, one with significant saltwater decay and the other completely out of the closet.












Something we came across in town was this interesting graffiti technique of scratching your message into a leaf. These samples were all found on the same tree. Be sure to click the image for a larger view so you can read them. Locals told us that Ryan left town and is fine.

I have more pictures but they are even more boring than the ones featured here, so I'll end now. I hope you enjoyed my vacation blog as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you.





I will leave you with this picture of me and CHNW's dad, Ralph, as I attempt to prove to him that his daughter did not, in fact, marry an effeminate wimp. I think I nearly had him convinced until moments later, when I attempted to jump the marsh on my rented bicycle. This episode ended with me running from a startled egret, screaming like a little girl.

New Library Comics: July 2009

Here are the comics we added to our library collection in July (yes, I'm way behind; I'll be catching up over the next several days...):


Adachi, Mitsuru. Tatchi = Touch vols. 2, 7 / Tōkyō : Shōgakukan, 1992-1994.

Adams, Scott, 1957- Stick to drawing comics, monkey brain! : cartoonist ignores helpful advice / New York : Portfolio, 2007.

Akimoto, Osamu, 1952- Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen mae Hashutsujo vols. 5, 74, 101 / Tōkyō : Shūeisha, 1977-1997.

Azuma, Kiyohiko. Yotsuba to! vols. 1-5 / Tōkyō : Media Wākusu : Hatsubaimoto Kadokawa Shoten, 2003-

Bagge, Peter. Everybody is stupid except for me : and other astute observations : a decade's worth of cartoon reporting for Reason Magazine / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics Books, c2009.

Bilal, Enki. The Beast trilogy. Chapters 1 & 2. / Hollywood, CA : Humanoids : DC Comics, c2002.

Bliss, Harry, 1964- Luke on the loose : a toon book / New York : Toon Books, c2009

Brown, Jeffrey, 1975- Funny misshapen body : [a memoir] / New York : Touchstone Books, c2009

Chao, Fred. Johnny Hiro : (half Asian, all hero) / Richmond, Va. : AdHouse Books, c2009

Claremont, Chris, 1950- Wolverine / New York : Marvel, 2009.

Corben, Richard. H. P. Lovecraft's Haunt of horror / New York : Marvel, 2008

Cronin, Brian. Was Superman a spy? : and other comic book legends revealed / New York : Plume, 2009.

Fingerman, Bob, 1964- Connective tissue / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2009

Friesen, Ray. Lookit! : comedy & mayhem vol. 1 / Tehachapi, CA : Don't Eat Any Bugs Productions, c2005-

Hazuki, Kanae. Voices of love / [Torrance, Calif.] : Luv Luv Press, 2008.

Hernandez, Gilbert. Luba / Seattle, WA : Fantagraphics, 2009

Hōjō, Tsukasa, 1959- Kyattsu ai = Cat's eye vol. 10 / Hōjō Tsukasa. Tōkyō : Shūeisha,

Ikeno, Koi. Tokimeki tunaito vols. 1, 11 / Tōkyō : Shūeisha, 1998-

Jodorowsky, Alejandro. Megalex bk. 1. The anamoly / Hollywood, Calif. : Humaniods Pub. ; New York : DC Comics, c2005-

Jodorowsky, Alejandro. The Incal. [v.1] The epic conspiracy / Hollywood, Calif. : Humanoids Pub. ; New York : DC Comics, c2005.

Jodorowsky, Alejandro. The Incal. [v.2] The epic journey / Hollywood, Calif. : Humanoids Pub. ; New York : DC Comics, c2005.

Jodorowsky, Alejandro. The technopriests bk. 1. Initiation / Hollywood, CA : Humanoids Pub. ; New York : DC Comics, c2004-

Jodorowsky, Alejandro. The technopriests bk. 2. Rebellion / Hollywood, CA : Humanoids Pub. ; New York : DC Comics, c2004-

Kelly, Joe. Ballast / Los Angeles, Calif. : Active Images, 2005.

Kelly, Walt. Positively Pogo. / New York : Simon and Schuster, [1957]

Kieth, Sam. My inner bimbo / Portland, Or. : Oni Press, 2009.

Kim, Dong Hwa. The color of earth / New York : First Second, 2009.

Kim, Ho-sik. My sassy girl vol. 1. / Fremont, Calif. : ComicsOne, 2003.

Kyle Baker / Raleigh, N.C. : TwoMorrows, 2008

Lasko-Gross, Miss. A mess of everything / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2009.

Love, Jeremy. Bayou vol. 1 / New York : DC Comics, 2009-

Malki, David, cartoonist. Clever tricks to stave off death / Los Angeles, Calif. : Wondermark Enterprises ; Milwaukie, Or. : Dark Horse Books, 2009.

Matsumoto, Izumi, 1958- Kimagure orenji rōdo vol. 8 / Tōkyō : Shūeisha, 1991-1992.

Milligan, Peter. Johnny Nemo : existentialist hitman of the future vol. 1 / Somerville, MA : Cyberosia Pub., c2002-

Monath, Norman. Songs of the Pogo / New York : Simon and Schuster, c1968

More than mortal vol. 1 / [S.l.] : Liar Comics, 1998-

Morioka, Hiroyuki. Seikai trilogy v. 1. Crest of the stars / Los Angeles : Tokyopop, c2004

Morioka, Hiroyuki. Seikai trilogy v. 2. Banner of the stars. The shape of bonds / Los Angeles : Tokyopop, c2004.

Muth, Jon J. The stonecutter / New York : Feiwel and Friends, 2009

Niles, Steve. Freaks of the heartland / Milwaukie, Or. : Dark Horse ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2005

Nilsen, Anders, 1973- Monologues for calculating the density of black holes / Seattle, WA : Fantagraphics, 2008.

Nishi, Yoshiyuki. Muhyo & Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation, BSI vol. 1 / San Francisco, CA : Viz Media, [2007]-

Northeast, Christian. Prayer requested / Montreal, Quebec : Drawn & Quarterly, 2009.

O'Reilly, Sean. Ezra : Egyptian exchange / [British Columbia] : Arcana Studio Inc., 2005.

Okano, Reiko, 1960- Yōmi henjō yawa vols. 1-2 / Tōkyō : Heibonsha, 1999-2001

Ottaviani, Jim. T-minus : the race to the moon / New York : Aladdin, 2009.

Ploy, Anne. Transgenesis 2029 : fides / Hollywood, CA : Humanoids/DC Comics, 2004-

Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849. The raven and other poems / New York : Papercutz, 2009

Pope, Paul. 100% / New York : DC Comics/ Vertigo, c2009.

Power, Natsu Onoda. God of comics : Osamu Tezuka and the creation of post-World War II manga / Jackson [Miss.] : University Press of Mississippi, c2009

Raiti, Ashly. Mark of the succubus vol. 1 / Los Angeles, CA : Tokyopop, Inc., 2005-

Rall, Ted. Silk road to ruin : is Central Asia the new Middle East? / New York : NBM, c2006

Robinson, James. London's dark / London : Titan Books, 1989

Saito, Takao. Golgo 13 vol. 1 / San Francisco, CA : VIZ Media, c2006-

Schultz, Mark, 1955- The stuff of life : a graphic guide to genetics and DNA / New York : Hill and Wang, 2009

Shimizu, Toshimitsu. Maico 2010 vol. 1 / Femont, Calif. : Comics One, 1997-

Shipman, Gary. Pakkins' Land. Paul’s adventure / Plymouth, MI : Caliber Comics, c1997.

Shuster, Joe. Secret identity : the fetish art of Superman's co-creator Joe Shuster / New York : Abrams ComicArts, 2009.

Stearn, Ted. Fuzz & Pluck in Splitsville pt. 2 / Seattle, WA : Fantagraphics, [2001?-

Tannenbaum, Felix. Chronicles of some made / Denver, CO : Passenger Pigeon Publishing, 2008

TenNapel, Doug. Power up / Berkeley, Calif. : Image Comics, 2009

Tezuka, Osamu, 1926- Black Jack : Best ... stories vols. 1-2 / Tōkyō : Akita Shoten, Heisei 5-15 [1993-2003]

Tezuka, Osamu, 1928-1989. Hi no tori vols. 4-5 / Tōkyō : Kadokawa Shoten, Heisei 4 [1992]

Tezuka, Osamu, 1928-1989. Tetsuwan Atomu = Mighty Atom vols. 1-2 / Tōkyō : Kōdansha, 2002.

Warren, Adam. Dirty pair : dangerous acquaintances / Milwaukie, OR : Dark Horse, 1997

Winick, Judd. The big book of Barry Ween, boy genius / Portland, Or. : Oni, 2008

Wolverton, Basil, d. 1978. Basil Wolverton's Powerhouse Pepper / Seattle, WA : Fantagraphics Books, c1994

Yamanaka, Akira. Spider-Man J. Japanese daze / New York : Marvel, 2009


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