Monkey Covers

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

The gorillas have a secret weapon, as evidenced by the cover of Strange Adventures #88 (1958) by Gil Kane & Joe Giella.

(Standard disclaimer about giant gorillas who fight flying dinosaurs not really being monkeys applies.)

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

Amazon Top 50

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


1 (+8). Dork Diaries 3 (Kindle edition)
2 (-). Dork Diaries 3: Tales from a Not-So-Talented Pop Star
3 (+3). The Walking Dead Volume 14: No Way Out *
4 (-3). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth
5 (-1). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 8: Last Gleaming *
6 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
7 (-4). The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (revised and expanded edition)
8 (+4). Dork Diaries 2 (Kindle edition)
9 (-1). 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth (And Other Useful Guides)
10 (+3). Big Nate Out Loud
11 (+5). Batman: Year One
12 (-2). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
13 (+4). Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Boxset
14 (-). Dork Diaries (Kindle edition)
15 (+7). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
16 (+30). The Arrival
17 (-2). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book
18 (-7). Batman & Robin Vol. 3: Batman Must Die!
19 (+2). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Box of Books
20 (+8). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
21 (+2). Naruto, Vol. 51
22 (+22). Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale
23 (-5). Dork Diaries 2: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
24 (R). Astonishing X-Men Omnibus
25 (-1). American Vampire Vol. 2
26 (-6). Big Nate Boredom Buster: Super Scribbles, Cool Comix, and Lots of Laughs
27 (-2). Watchmen
28 (R). Green Lantern: Rebirth
29 (+14). Fables Vol. 15: Rose Red
30 (-11). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
31 (-5). Batman: The Killing Joke
32 (R). Bone, Volume 2: The Great Cow Race
33 (-1). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
34 (N). Dark Tower: The Gunslinger, Vol. 2 - The Little Sister of Eluria *
35 (+2). Brightest Day, Vol. 2
36 (-9). Big Nate: From the Top
37 (N). Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 25
38 (+10). Thor by Walter Simonson Omnibus
39 (+11). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
40 (-4). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
41 (-12). Paying for It
42 (+5). Walking Dead Volume 13
43 (R). Bone, Vol. 3: Eyes of the Storm
44 (-11). Vampire Knight, Vol. 12
45 (-3). Bleach, Vol. 35
46 (N). Anya's Ghost
47 (-2). Ouran High School Host Club, Vol. 16 *
48 (R). V for Vendetta
49 (R). Bone, Vol. 1: Out From Boneville
50 (-20). Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: "Race to Death Valley" (Vol. 1)


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:

* And we have a new #1: The third Dork Diaries volume is finally released, and takes the top two slots with its Kindle & print editions.

* The only hint that there's a #1-at-the-box-office X-Men movie at the theaters is the Astonishing X-Men Omnibus about halfway up the list. Not bad for an expensive hardcover, but when you consider that the Simonson Thor Omnibus reached the top 5, this is a bit disappointing as far as coattails go.

* Only three new titles this week, all in the second half of the list: a new Dark Tower; a new Fullmetal Alchemist; and Anya's Ghost.

* I'm not really sure why three of the Bone color collections showed up on this list this week...

Mystery Men and Trademarks

Today Marvel publish the first issue of their Mystery Men comic, the title of which has caused some consternation due to the fact that Bob Burden had a comic called Mysterymen some years back–published by Dark Horse–that was subsequently adapted into a film.

We've discussed trademarks on this blog in the past (e.g. here, here, and here). The bottom line is that trademarks are not like copyrights. Basically there is a 'use it or lose it' factor with trademarks; just because you've used a title in the past doesn't mean that someone else can't use it in the future.

A quick search of TESS (the USPTO's Trademark Electronic Search System) reveals a registered trademark for Marvel:

I could not find a registration for Burden's version (with either spelling), either active or dead. (Note that you don't have to register your trademark to claim it, but it sure helps with enforcement.)

(Dislaimer: I am not a lawyer; I am a librarian at a US Patent & Trademark Depository Library. My comments are my own and do not necessarily represent the view of my employer.)

New Library Comics: May 2011

Here's a list of the comics we added to our library collection last month:


Alter ego (Raleigh, N.C.) Alter ego. v. 3 no. 44 / Raleigh, NC : TwoMorrows, 1998-

Amity Blamity : Book One. / Slave Labor Graphics, 2011.

Ayuyang, Rina. Whirlwind wonderland : a collection of old favorites and new stories / Portland, OR : Sparkplug Comic Books : Tugboat Press, c2009.

Back issue. v. 1 no. 9 / Raleigh, NC : TwoMorrows, 2003-

Bautista, Jamie. Cast. nos. 1-3 / Makati City, Philippines : Nautilus Comics, 2004-

Beaulieu, Jimmy, 1974- Suddenly something happened / Greenwich : Conundrum Press, c2010.

Bertozzi, Nick. Lewis & Clark / New York : First Second, 2011.

Blain, Christophe. Isaac the pirate v. 1. To exotic lands / New York : NBM Pub., c2003-c2004

Blain, Christophe. Isaac the pirate v. 2. The capital / New York : NBM Pub., c2003-c2004

Breathed, Berke. The Bloom County Library. Volume four, 1986-1987 / San Diego, Calif. : IDW Publishing, c2011

Brennan, Michael. Electric girl. Volume 1 / San Francisco : Ait/PlanetLar, 2006.

Brown, Jeffrey, 1975- Incredible change-bots two / Marietta, GA : Top Shelf Productions, c2007

Brunetti, Ivan. Cartooning : philosophy and practice / New Haven [Conn.] : Yale University Press, 2011.

Callen, Kerry. Halo and Sprocket Vol. 1. Welcome to humanity / San Jose, CA : Amaze Ink, 2003-

Callen, Kerry. Halo and Sprocket Vol. 2. Natural creatures / San Jose, CA : Amaze Ink, 2003-

Cantor, Jay. Aaron and Ahmed : a love story / New York : DC Comics, c2011

Chaykin, Howard V. Howard Chaykin : conversations / Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, 2011.

Cherrywell, Steph. Pepper Penwell and the land creature of Monster Lake / San Jose, Calif. : SLG ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2011.

Cilla, Chris. The heavy hand : a comic book / Portland, Or. : Sparkplug Comic Books, c2010.

Claremont, Chris, 1950- Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars, warlord of Mars / Milwaukie, OR : Dark Horse Books, 2011, ©2011.

Collier, David, 1963- CHIMO / Greenwich, N.S. : Conundrum Press, c2011

Comic book artist. v. 2 no. 1 / Marietta, GA : Top Shelf

Crane, Roy. Roy Crane's Buz Sawyer : the war in the Pacific / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics Books, c2011

Crumb, R. The complete Crumb v. 13. The season of the Snoid / Seattle : Fantagraphics Books, [1987?]-

Cruse, Howard. The complete Wendel / New York : Universe, 2011.

Daly, Joe, 1979- Dungeon quest. Book two / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics Books, 2011.

Dysart, Josh. Unknown soldier : haunted house / New York : Vertigo/DC Comics, 2009

Easton, Lee. Secret identity reader : essays on sex, death and the superhero / Hamilton, ON : Wolsak and Wynn, c2010.

Ellis, Warren. Freakangels vols. 1-2 / Rantoul, IL : Avatar Press, Inc., p2008-

Ellison, Harlan. Phoenix without ashes / San Diego, Calif. : IDW ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2010

Foster, Harold R. (Harold Rudolf), 1892-1982. Prince Valiant v. 3. 1941-1942 / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics ; London : Turnaround [distributor], 2009.

Girard, Pascal. Reunion / Montréal : Drawn & Quarterly, 2011

Goodwin, Archie. X-9 Secret Agent Corrigan. v. 2. 1969-1972 / San Diego, Calif. : Library of American Comics ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2010-

Goscinny, 1926-1977. Asterix and Obelix's birthday : the golden book / London : Orion, 2010

Gould, Chester. Best of Dick Tracy. Volume 1 / San Diego, Calif. : IDW ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2010

Herriman, George, 1880-1944. Krazy & Ignatz : a kind, benevolent and amiable brick : convening the full-page comic strips, 1919-1921 / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2011.

Howarth, Matt, 1954- The Downsized / Richmond, VA : Adhouse Books, 2011

Hughes, Rian. Yesterday's tomorrows : collected comics / Berkeley, CA : Image Comics, c2010

Immonen, Kathryn. Pixie strikes back / New York : Marvel ; London : Diamond [distributor], c2010

Indy magazine. no. 14 / Gainesville, FL : Blackmore Pub., c1996-

Jodorowsky, Alejandro. The technopriests v. 3 / Hollywood, CA : Humanoids Pub. ; New York : DC Comics, c2004-

Kalesniko, Mark. Freeway / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2011

Katchor, Ben. The cardboard valise / New York : Pantheon Books, c2011

Kirby, Jack. Captain America omnibus / New York : Marvel Worldwide, c2010

Konami, Kanata, 1958- Chi's Sweet Home = Chīzu suīto hōmu v. 5 / New York : Vertical, 2010-

Lee, Elaine. Starstruck / San Diego, Calif. : IDW ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2011.

Lee, Lela. Fairy tales for angry little girls / New York : Abrams Comic Art, 2011.

Lomax, Don. Vietnam journal. Book six. Bloodbath at Khe Sanh / Charleston, SC : Transfuzion Pub., 2011.

Loux, Matthew. Salt water taffy : the seaside adventures of Jack & Benny v.4 Caldera's revenge part 1 / Portland, Or. : Oni Press ; [London : Diamond, distributor], 2008-

Love, Jeremy. Bayou v. 2 / New York : DC Comics, 2009-

McNeil, Carla Speed. Finder : Voice / Milwaukie, Ore. : Dark Horse Books, 2011

McNeil, Carla Speed. The finder library v. 1 / Milawukie, Or. : Dark Horse Comics, 2011

Mezzo, 1960- King of the flies v. 2 / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2010-

Mizuki, Shigeru, 1922- Onward towards our noble deaths / Montréal : Drawn & Quarterly, 2011.

Mome. Winter 2011 / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2005-

Morse, Scott, author, illustrator. Strange science fantasy / San Diego, CA : IDW Publishing, 2011, ©2011

Myhre, Lise. Nemi IV / London : Titan, 2007.

Nolen-Weathington, Eric. Jeff Smith / Raleigh, NC : TwoMorrows Publishing, 2011

Nowlan, Philip Francis. Buck Rogers in the 25th century : the complete newspaper dailies v. 4 / Neshannock, Pa. : Hermes Press, c2008-

Ohba, Tsugumi. Death note. Black edition v. 2 / San Francisco : Viz Media, 2010-

Ott, Thomas, 1966 June 10- R.I.P. : best of 1985-2004 / Seattle, WA : Fantagraphics Books ; [New York] : W.W. Norton and Co., Inc. (distributor), [2011]

Peyo. The Smurfs and the egg / New York : Papercutz, c2011

Pood. no. 1 / Brooklyn, NY : Big If Comics

Randall.C, 1967- Sleepyheads / London : Blank Slate Books, 2011.

Roberson, Chris. iZombie : dead to the world. / New York, NY : DC Comics, c2011

Robinson, Jerry. The comics : an illustrated history of comic strip art 1895-2010 / Milwaukie, Or. : Dark Horse Books, 2011, c1974.

Rostan, Andrew. An elegy for Amelia Johnson / Los Angeles, Calif. : Archaia Entertainment ; London : Diamond [distributor], c2010.

Rough stuff : celebrating the art of creating comics. v. 1 no. 2 / Raleigh, NC : TwoMorrows Pub., c2006-

Rucka, Greg. Gotham Central. Book one, In the line of duty / New York : DC Comics, [2011], c2008

Ryan, Johnny. The klassic komix klub / Oakland, CA : Buenaventura Press, c2008.

Sabo, Brittney, 1985- Francis Sharp in the grip of the uncanny!. Chapter 1 / Saline, Mich. : McNaughton & Gunn, 2010.

Sacco, Joe. Safe area Goražde / Seattle, WA. : Fantagraphics ; London : Turnaround [distributor], 2011

Sacco, Kevin. The plane story / San Diego, CA : IDW Pub., 2011

Sagendorf, Bud. Popeye : the great comic book tales / San Diego, Calif. : Yoe Books! : IDW Pub. ; [Timonium, Md.] : Distributed by Diamond Comic Distributors, c2011.

Sánchez Abulí, E. Torpedo v. 3 / San Diego, Calif. : IDW ; London : Diamond [distributor], c2010.

Santino, Charles. Ayn Rand's Anthem : the graphic novel / New York, N.Y. : New American Library, c2011

Sassienie, Paul. The comic book : the one essential guide for comic book fans everywhere / Edison, N.J. : Chartwell Books, Inc., c1994.

Schulz, Charles M. (Charles Monroe), 1922-2000. The complete Peanuts v. 15. 1979 to 1980 / Seattle, WA : Fantagraphics Books, c2004-

Secret prison. no. 2 / Philadelphia [Pa.] : Secret Prison, 2010-

Segar, E. C. (Elzie Crisler), 1894-1938. "Wha's a jeep?" / Seattle, Wash. : Fantagraphics, 2011

Showcase Presents : The witching hour v. 1 / New York, NY : DC Comics, c2011-

Side B : the music lover's comic anthology. [San Diego, CA] : Poseur Ink, c2009.

Simmons, Nick. Incarnate. nos. 1-3 / Los Angeles, Calif. : Radical Comics, 2009.

Siu-Chong, Ken. Street fighter II : the ultimate edition / Thornhill, Ont. : Udon ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2010.

Spurlock, Morgan, 1970- Supersized : strange tales from a fast-food culture / Milwaukee, Oregon. : Dark Horse Books, 2011.

Stanley, John, 1914-1993. Giant size Little Lulu v. 3 / Milwaukie, OR : Dark Horse Books, 2010-

Stanley, John, 1914-1993. Melvin Monster v. 3 / Montréal, Québec : Drawn and Quarterly, 2009

Tadano, Nobuaki. 7 billion needles. Volume 3 / New York : Vertical, c2011

Tardi, Jacques. The Arctic marauder / Seattle : Fantagraphics Books, 2011.

Taylor, Des, 1971- Des Taylor's The Vesha Valentine story / San Jose, CA : SLG Pub., 2011

Trudeau, G. B., 1948- The Doonesbury chronicles / New York : Holt, Rinehart and Winston, [1975]

Van Lente, Fred. Comic book comics no. 5 / Brooklyn, N.Y. : Evil Twin Comics, 2008-

Vankin, Deborah. Poseurs / Berkeley, CA : Image Comics, c2011.

Vieceli, Emma. Dragon heir : reborn / Cambridge, UK : Sweatdrop Studios, 2010

Walker, Brian. Comics : the complete collection / New York : Abrams, 2011

Wilson, Seán Michael. The story of Lee / New York : NBM ComicsLit, 2010-

Wizard : the Avengers special. / Congers, NY : Wizard Entertainment, c1999

Wizard JLA special / Congers, N.Y. : Wizard Entertainment, c1998

Wizard the Alex Ross special. / Congers, N.Y. : Wizard, c1999.

Wood, Brian, 1972- Demo. [Vol. 2] / New York : DC Comics/Vertigo, c2011

Yaginuma, Kō, 1973- Twin spica v. 6 / New York : Vertical, Inc., c2010-

Yo gabba gabba! : comic book time / Portland, Or. : Oni ; London : Diamond [distributor], 2011, 2010.


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!

Congorilla jumps into action along with the rest of the Justice League on the cover of Justice League of America #41 (2010) by Mark Bagley and Bob Hunter.

(Standard disclaimer about giant gorillas who fight flying dinosaurs not really being monkeys applies.)

Image courtesy of the Comic Book DB. Click on the image for a larger version.

Amazon Top 50

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


1 (-). Diary of a Wimpy Kid 5: The Ugly Truth
2 (+7). Dork Diaries 3: Tales from a Not-So-Talented Pop Star *
3 (-1). The Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book (revised and expanded edition)
4 (+22). Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight Volume 8: Last Gleaming *
5 (-1). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
6 (+1). The Walking Dead Volume 14: No Way Out *
7 (N). Be Good, Little Puppy: A Penny Arcade Book *
8 (-2). 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth (And Other Useful Guides)
9 (+12). Dork Diaries 3 (Kindle edition) *
10 (+3). Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
11 (-6). Batman & Robin Vol. 3: Batman Must Die!
12 (-2). Dork Diaries 2 (Kindle edition)
13 (-5). Big Nate Out Loud
14 (-2). Dork Diaries (Kindle edition)
15 (-4). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-It-Yourself Book
16 (+2). Batman: Year One
17 (-). Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Boxset
18 (+1). Dork Diaries 2: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl
19 (+3). Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History
20 (-5). Big Nate Boredom Buster: Super Scribbles, Cool Comix, and Lots of Laughs
21 (-7). Diary of a Wimpy Kid Box of Books
22 (-6). The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1
23 (N). Naruto, Vol. 51 *
24 (+16). American Vampire Vol. 2 *
25 (+4). Watchmen
26 (-1). Batman: The Killing Joke
27 (R). Big Nate: From the Top
28 (-4). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
29 (-26). Paying for It
30 (N). Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse: "Race to Death Valley" (Vol. 1)
31 (+11). Castle: Richard Castle's Deadly Storm *
32 (-5). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
33 (N). Vampire Knight, Vol. 12 *
34 (+9). Batman: Hush
35 (N). Claymore, Vol. 18 *
36 (R). Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
37 (-7). Brightest Day, Vol. 2
38 (N). Green Lantern Corps: Revolt of the Alpha Lanterns
39 (R). Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
40 (R). Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)
41 (N). The Mighty Vol. 1
42 (N). Bleach, Vol. 35 *
43 (-23). Fables Vol. 15: Rose Red
44 (R). Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale
45 (N). Ouran High School Host Club, Vol. 16 *
46 (-18). The Arrival
47 (-10). Walking Dead Volume 13
48 (-25). Thor by Walter Simonson Omnibus
49 (R). Daytripper
50 (-3). The Complete Calvin and Hobbes


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:

* A lot of volatility this week. The final Buffy volume moves up into the top 5 with its imminent release, while Paying for It, Thor by Walt Simonson, and Fables suffer significant drops.

* A new Penny Arcade collection debuts in the top ten. Other debuts are the first Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse volume, a new Green Lantern Corps collection, the first volume of The Mighty, and five manga volumes, led by Naruto.

* This is the best week in a while for manga on the list with those five debuts; however, none of the manga that was in the top 50 last week remains this week.

* The new Dork Diaries finally comes out next week, and currently sits at #2; can it overtake the Wimpy Kid next week? Tune in next Friday to find out...

Monkey Covers

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

G.I. Robot teams up with a giant gorillas to fight a pink pterodactyl on the cover of Weird War Tales #120 (1983) by Ross Andru and Klaus Janson.

(Standard disclaimer about giant gorillas who fight flying dinosaurs not really being monkeys applies.)

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