compiled/edited by B. Munn
This semi-regular feature of Sequential presents a snapshot of comics sales in Canada.
Part 1 .
Intro: The bestselling graphic novels and comics collections in Canada, courtesy of BookManager. The full list by BookManager is available, with some work, here. The list is compiled by BookManager based on sales through over 400 independent bookstores, including several comic book stores and the D+Q store. Sales through most comic shops and larger retailers like Chapters-Indigo are not reflected in this list. For balance, you might want to try the Amazon.ca and Chapters-Indigo lists. See here for our previous list.
Sequential’s Over-All Top 30
from BookManager
1. (1) Bone Prequel, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
2. (3) Scott Pilgrim 1, Bryan Lee O’Malley (ONI)
3. (2) Warriors 3, Erin Hunter et al (HarperCollins)
4. (4) Scott Pilgrim 2, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
5. (5) Scott Pilgrim 6, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
6. (15) Maximum Ride 3, James Patterson et al (Orbit)
7. (7) Scott Pilgrim 5, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
8. (10) Scott Pilgrim 4, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
9. (11) Twilight 1, Stephanie Meyer et al (Orbit)
10. (16) Naruto 48, Masashi Kishimoto (Random House)
—–
11. (6) Scott Pilgrim 3, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
12. (27) 500 Years of Resistance, Gord Hill (Arsenal Pulp)
13. (18) Maus 1, Spiegelman (Pantheon)
14. (9) Rosario+Vampire : Season II, Vol. 2, Ikeda, Akihisa (VIZ)
15. (8) Black Bird 5, Kanoko Sakurakoji (VIZ)
16. (12) Warriors 2, Erin Hunter (Harper Collins)
17. (14) Negima 27, Ken Akamatsu (Random House)
18. (-) Death Note 1, Ohba/Obata (VIZ)
19. (20) Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (Pantheon)
20. (13) Garfield Fat-Cat 3-Pack, Davis et al (Random House)
—–
21. (19) Watchmen, Moore/Gibbons (DC)
22. (-) Asterix and the Great Crossing Goscinny/Uderzo (Orion)
23. (-) Louis Riel, Brown (D+Q)
24. (-) Beach 32, Tite Kubo (VIZ)
25. (21) Walking Dead 12, Kirkman et al (Image)
26. (23) Logicomix, Doxiadis (Bloomsbury)
27. (25) Simpsons Comics Get Some Fancy Book Learnin’, Groening et al (HC)
28. (-) Manga Messiah (Tyndale)
29. (-) Vampire Knight 10, Matsuri Hino (VIZ)
30. (17) Inuyasha 51, Rumiko Takahashi (VIZ)
Comment: The Scott Pilgrim movie has taken in $32 million worldwide to date and must in part explain the strong sales for the comics (last week it was still around the #10 movie in North America).
Part 2. Canadian Content:
You have to wade through an awful lot of translated Japanese manga, U.S. superhero fantasies, and collected editions of Sherman’s Lagoon to come up with a list of 30 bestselling books created by Canadians. In total, BookManager lists over 4000 graphic novels, trades, and strip collections, the vast majority of which are not by Canadians. On this list, a single sale in a single tiny bookstore can make all the difference. This list does not include books that are only illustrated but not written/created-by Canadians.
Sequential’s All-Canadian Top 30
from BookManager
1. (1) Scott Pilgrim 1, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
2. (2) Scott Pilgrim 2, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
3. (3) Scott Pilgrim 6, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
4. (5) Scott Pilgrim 5, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
5. (6) Scott Pilgrim 4, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
6. (4) Scott Pilgrim 3, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
7. (7) 500 Years of Resistance, Gord Hill (Arsenal Pulp)
8. (8) Louis Riel, Chester Brown (D+Q)
9. (9) Neil Young’s Greendale, Chiang et al (DC)
10. (-) Indoor Voice, Jillian Tamaki (D+Q)
—–
11. (10) Red: A Haida Manga, Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas (Douglas & McIntyre)
12. (22) Bigfoot 1, Graham Roumieu (Plume)
13. (-) Schenzhen, Guy Delisle (D+Q)
14. (-) Essex County, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
15. (13) Pyongyang, Guy Delisle (D+Q)
16. (14) Sweet Tooth 1, Jeff Lemire (DC)
17. (27) The Hipless Boy, Sully (Conundrum)
18. (12) Skim sc, Mariko Tamaki/Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood)
19. (17) Children of the Atom, Dave Lapp (Conundrum)
20. (18) Wall-E Vol 1, J. Torres (Boom)
—–
21. (19) George Sprott, Seth (D+Q)
22. (16) The Selves, Sonja Ahlers (D+Q)
23. (11) Burma Chronicles, Guy Delisle (D+Q)
24. (-) Important Artifacts, Leanne Shapton (FSG)
25. (25) Skim hc, Mariko Tamaki/Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood)
26. (15) Senior’s Discount, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
27. (24) Home Sweat Home, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
28. (23) Nightschool 3, Chmakova (Yen/Orbit)
29. (26) Graduation, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
30. (27) Nightschool 2, Chmakova (Yen/Orbit)
For the record, this week out, Prince Valiant Vol 2 by dead Canadian ex-pat Hal Foster would be #28 on the Canadian list if it was actually a Canadian creation (see here for background).
| Tags: - Written by: Bryan
The Toronto FanExpo was held this past weekend at the Metro Convention Centre. The big story from the event was the massive logisitics fail and general disorganization leading to long line-ups and the eventual shut-down of the building by the fire marshall. Sequential tried to keep up-to-date all weekend-long with all the photos and twitter links that mattered (Day 1, Day 2, Day 3) and now it’s time to look at the big picture. The last time I was at the show (2 years ago), crowds were totally manageable and navigable with the only bummer being the entrance lines which I assume to be more normal, with an approximate 1-hour wait time. Based on reports, this was not most con-goers’ experience of the show. The biggest problem day seemed to be Saturday, when the 27393-person capacity of the North Building was reached and hundreds more people were still trying to get in. Pass holders, vendors and guests couldn’t get back in once they stepped out. Communication broke down, tickets continued to be sold, and there were reports of a near-riot. Inside, the show was extremely crowded, but aside from a few scheduling complaints, long lines, and late-starts for events, there were no major incidents. Obviously, the con is growing and the combination of a beautiful weekend, lots of media attention, and a new space were too much for show owner Aman Gupta’s Hobbystar Marketing team. Gupta has said as much in an apology that appeared on the FanExpo website earlier today.
“On behalf of the staff of Fan Expo Canada I would like to apologize for the lengthy delays and inconvenience experienced by many at Fan Expo Canada this past weekend. We were, quite simply, inadequately prepared for the increased crowds in a venue that was neither familiar to us nor not capable of meeting our collective demands. We recognize and have heard from many of you that this was unacceptable and unfair to our loyal fans.”
Gupta goes on to say that he has booked the full South Building of the Convention Centre for next year, “the largest area ever used for our show and its layout is far better suited to the size and nature of our event.” He also notes that he and his staff are reviewing ticketing practices and the mechanisms in place for dealing with access. No promise of refunds or report at this time as to the actual attendance numbers for the show.
And now, what everyone else had to say:
Item: Jamie Coville has audio of many of the big comics panels and tons of photos.
Item: I guess these loot pile pics are an established sub-genre of con photoblogging.
Item: The Canadian Press article.
Item: Steampunk fashion show.
Item: Richard A. Kirk heard a crowd estimate of 100K.
Item: Jeff McClinchey report at Bleeding Cool –where was the Scott Pilgrim presence?
Item: Cosplay gallery.
Item: The Geek Family gets locked out.
Item: Michael Nus’ FanExpo tragedies.
Item: A nice, news-y report from the Star.
Item: A traditional con-report.
Item: blogto asks Is Toronto a Nerdy City?
Item: Mightygodking has some thoughts.
Item: Aspirational Cosplay.
Item: Macleans gets some Stan Lee quotes.
Item: James Turner vid.
Item: Living Between Wednesdays.
Item: Jason Truong has a sketch-heavy report, as usual.
| Tags: - Written by: Bryan
Day 1 Day 2
“when geek culture becomes km long lines outside TO’s major convention ctre 3 days straight, one wonders how ‘counter’ it still is.” from twitter, Day 3
I’m sure the number of people complaining about long lines and crowds are vastly outnumbered by fans having a great time at FanExpo, but I think the legacy of the 2010 event will be the over-capacity long march of misery story side of things, judging from the vast amount of tweets and blog posts so far. But, hey, it’s the internet: built for pseudo-anonymous complaining. Not sure if the main issue was the move to the North building or just growing pains? We shall see.
Below, some more belated links to Day 2 chatter and some hits from Sunday/Day 3. I’ll try to do one more round-up later in the week after sober second-thought has had time to percolate.
Item: Still a ticket line-up with 3 and 1/2 hours left in the show.
Item: We have Borgnine video!
Item: The FanExpo search in flickr.
Item: Panorama of the show floor, Day 3.
Item: A thorough report of the mechanics of navigating the show.
Item: DC panel blog report.
Item: Nice. The non-cosplayers gallery.
Item: It’s seems they actual announce publishing news at FanExpo. In this case, Marvel folks talk about upcoming Spider-Man and Daredevil series/events, including the hint that DD might be replaced with the 90s X-Men character Gambit –the worst character design and mutant ability since Dazzler. I shit you not: I read the whole article. I know, it’s hard to wring anything new out of these old Lee/Kirby/Ditko/Everett concepts.
Item:Day 2 cosplay.
Item: I don’t know, I’m just not into Ghostbusters cosplay.
Item: The Rant Guy has some positives from Day 2.
Item: CBC covers the long line thing from Saturday and gets the lowdown from Cobra Commander.
| Tags: - Written by: Bryan
Welcome to FanExpo! Now Get in Line! (borrowed from @mrs_the_monarch on twitter)
Please send me your Borgnine sightings and notes!
God bless you, nerds of Canada, for updating your blogs so quickly after Day 1 of FanExpo in Toronto. Below you will find some hilights from yesterday that weren’t in my first post as well as the “breaking news” from the floor on Day 2 (mostly from Twitter).
Item: Around 1PM the show seems to have reached full capacity (reportedly 27,393 people), with the fire marshall closing the building and movement in and out severely restricted, according to several tweets I read, preventing a mass of people from ascending to Nirvana. Many “fail” tweets and reports of fans outside chanting “Let us in!” At 2PM the situation was much the same, with a re-entry line snaking allover downtown. The chant had transformed to a request for refunds and “rip-off” by then, with rumours of human sacrifice and a total breakdown of civilization. It did look pretty crowded, and by 4pm there was still a large line-up to get in, prompting the show to extend its hours to 8pm.
Item: The photostream from Panels of Awesome.
Item: Twilight poisons everything.
Item: Stan Lee asserts his sexuality.
Item: The first floor shot I saw on Day 2.
Item: Maybe the Daleks think Borgnine is Davros?
Item: Long lines were reported by Robin Fisher for the Yoshitaka Amano q&a. Amano is one of the most culturally significant guests at the con: character designer behind Gatchman (aka Battle of the Planets), Final Fantasy, and Vampire Hunter D. Sure, he’s no Stan Lee or Ernest Borgnine, but he makes purty pictures.
Item: Buying art and sketches, Day 1.
Item: More on the standing in line experience.
Item: The faithful stand-by, The Rant Guy.
Item: I have to admit, that’s a pretty good Gwen Stacy.
Item: The sadness of FanExpo. (includes a Borgnine sighting: he’s on wheels for the show!)
Item: Not really related to comics, but I was interested and since I found out about it from following a FanExpo link, here it is. The Toronto After Dark Film Fest awards were handed out yesterday. As well, British director Ken Russell (!) gave Cronenberg a lifetime achievement award at FanExpo.
Item: Ty Templeton recalls a past con in comics form.
Item: A massive cosplay photo-dump from the AnimeLondon site.
Item: X-Men panel hilights. Find out if Kitty still has a crush on Colossus!
Item: Podcast of Awesome looks back at Day 1.
Item: Richard Pace sketches Day 1.
Item: One of many “fail” blog posts I expect to see over the next few days. Also note the presence of the doomsday soothsayers.
Item: The vegan FanExpo experience.
| Tags: - Written by: Bryan
The FanExpo event in Toronto has been oversold all day, causing huge line-ups and eventually prompting the fire marshall to restrict access to the show. The chaos has led Hobbystar to extend the show hours until 8pm tonight. As of this writing, fans are still reporting very long lines, hours of waiting, and crowded aisles.
| Tags: - Written by: Bryan
In case there’s not enough comic content this weekend for you with Read Comics In Public Day, Fan Expo and Comix and Stories, then the Tranzac in Toronto has you covered.
For the third year, the bar/cafe/arts space on Brunswick just south of Bloor will play host to a variety of (mostly) self-publishers/crafters, including Doug Wright winners Marc Bell and Michael DeForge, Dalton Sharp and the Wowee Zonk crew. It’s PWYC and there will be music going on as well.
Check out more links on the 50 exhibitors at this event here.
No word on whether Stan Lee will speak at this particular event.
Ernest Borgnine Cosplayers Overrun FanExpo
Item: My biggest regret in not attending FanExpo is the missed opportunity to meet my favourite actor of all time, Ernest Borgnine. Not just and Oscar-winning actor (Marty), Borgnine was also in such classics as The Wild Bunch and starred in the McHale’s Navy tv sitcom (I’d love to have a signed copy of Dell Comics’ McHale’s Navy!). Not least because of his Spongebob connection, I predict that Borgnine cosplay will be a big trend at the con.
Item: The con was in the top 10 trending topics on Twitter (Canada) all day, off-and-on.
Item: How to prep for FanExpo vid.
Item: Most people tweeted about the long lines outside and, once inside, the lines to meet celebs or get things signed. Cartoonist Alexander Florov (I like his drawing style!) noted that around 4 o’clock the line to get in stretched around the Metro Centre, “several blocks from the Rogers Centre” where the con is based.
Item: The first picture of long lines I saw.
Item: But this one was better.
Item: I really can’t complain about the first cosplay photo I saw, especially since I have a very serious academic interest in the 1930s pulp magazine industry and its attendant literature.
Item: Borgnine! Borgnine! Borgnine! The first Borgnine sighting!
Item: Steve Murray drew the best fan art I saw, pre-con.
Item: I enjoyed Benjamin Rivers photos of mini-comics and related artifacts he saw and/or bought on Day 1.
Item: The first bird’s-eye-view photo I saw.
Item: Journalist is also panelist.
Item: Stan the Man looks a little lonely?
Item: Citytv was on site and snapped some pics, including a killer Canuck cosplayer.
Item: G4 has a “lounge” where the sweaty masses can camp out and read comics.
Item: Bob Layton?
Item: Also, they have the Batmobile (this is a bad shot of it because some girl is standing in front of it –move over!)
Item: ECW Press (Booth 728) has a line of comics and graphic novels, but they really seem to be pushing their fan-based merch and paraliterature, like books on Twilight and True Blood at the con.
Item: Jim Zubkavich (UDON booth) is promoting his new Skullkickers project with a prequel at comixology.
Item: A nice chunk of cosplay photos in a facebook album.
Item: If you are a comics person in town for the con, you might want to check out 2 comics-related events. Friday night is the premiere of a new film with some Toronto-area comics personalities, No Heart Feelings (facebook event page). As well, the artzine Free Drawings is launching its final issue tonite (facebook events page).
I am the Great and Powerful FanExpo! Pay no attention to that giant line-up behind the curtain!
(twitter photo borrowed from @suzemuse)
| Tags: - Written by: Bryan
It’s going to be a comic filled weekend here in the rainy city. The comic jam on Saturday, followed by Comix & Stories on Sunday. No rest for the nerdy!
What: Vancouver Comic Jam
When: Saturday, August 28, 2010. Starting at about 8:00pm and going until midnight-ish.
Where: The Wallflower Modern Diner, 2420 Main St, Vancouver, BC
Who Can Come?: Anyone who is of legal drinking age is invited.
How Much: No admission fee. Bring your own pencils/pens. Paper is provided.
The restaurant provides their regular menu to order from and alcohol galore: beer, wine, highballs and shots.
Don’t forget to tip your waiter or waitress well!
If you’re drawing with markers that bleed through paper, be sure to either bring a drawing surface or place extra sheets of paper under the paper you’re drawing on.
Crosspost as you see fit.
See you there!
To be added to the VCJ mailing list, email edbrisson[at]gmail[dot]com.
Comix & Stories: A day of alternative & small press comics, zines, artwork & culture
Special Guests:
Joey Comeau & Emily Horne (A Softer World)
Featured Artists & Publishers:
Brandon Graham ( King City, Multiple Warheads)
James Stokoe (Orc Stain, Sullivan’s Sluggers)
Steve Rolston (Ghost Projekt, Emiko Superstar)
Marley Zarcone (Forgetless, Madame Xanadu)
Verne Andru (420)
Ken Boesem (The Village)
Robin Bougie (*NSFW* Cinema Sewer *NSFW*)
Ed Brisson (Acts of Violence, Murder Book)
Jesse Davidge (Mathemagick & Mystiphysics)
Kelly Everaert (Trilogy of Terror)
Trevor Frick (Centuri Way of the Ninja)
Miriam Libicki (Jobnik!)
Josue Menjivar (Everyday Things, Way Off Main)
Matthew Ocasio (The Matter)
Simon Roy (Jan’s Atomic Heart)
Jeremy Sawatski (Purple Soul)
Sketchrospective (Cowboys, Robots & Dinosaurs)
Jason Turner (True Loves)
Andrea Hooge
Mary Karaplis
Jackie Klobucar
Jim McPherson
Jenna Sokalski
Jeri Weaver
and many more!
Sunday, August 29
11AM to 5PM
Heritage Hall
3102 Main Street
Vancouver, BC
Admission: $4.00
In a short time Anne Koyama, the publisher of Koyama Press, has made quite an impact in independent comics.
by David Hains
It’s a recent development; in 2007 she began to publish art a variety of art projects (The latest being Aaron Leighton’s Spirit City Toronto) and since then branched into comics.
TCAF 2010 came with recognition for the work Koyama Press was doing. Michael Deforge, one of the first cartoonists (Edited: originally this indicated Deforge was first, but that was Chris Hutsul. Apologies for the error.) published by Koyama, won the Doug Wright award for Best Emerging Talent.
Koyama took some time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions about how she got into comics, which upcoming cartoonists she thinks you should check out and comments on which cartoonist’s Kung Fu skills scare her.
For more on Koyama, check out this recent interview done at Avoid The Future.
Thanks for taking the time to do this Anne.
It’s my pleasure.
John Martz remixes Lucy with the Koyama Press Logo
You have a background in film and as far as I understand didn’t really get into comics until recently. How did you get into comics and what is it that you found compelling about them?
As a kid I read and loved Little Lulu, Nancy, Archie, Peanuts and some superhero comics. My uncle had Pogo comics so they were around too. I didn’t read them again until Calvin and Hobbes came out.
I got back into comics because I found and loved Michael DeForge’s art and when I approached him to work together, we decided to publish his LOSE comic.
I credit him with introducing me to the work of a lot of current comic creators.
I really like what a lot of indie comic artists are doing these days. It’s the art that attracts me but the writing has to be good too.
Read more ›
Item: It looks like the Scott Pilgrim movie is starting to peter out around the $21 million mark, in terms of worldwide box office sales to date. It came in at #10 over the weekend, pulling in another $5 million. In comics terms, that’s huge: the 500,000 more people who chose to buy a ticket this weekend is many times the number of people who bought the initial print run of the latest book. In movie terms, still not enough to outrank Nanny McPhee Returns. And still only part of the way to earning back its reported $60 million production cost. Kevin Boyd at the joeshusterawards.com has some analysis.
Item: Comics historian John Adcock unearths another lost Canadian comic strip, The Adventures of Captain Morgan. John’s blog is always worth checking out for great scans of obscurities and classics as well and he has helped me immeasurably in my own researches into 1930s left-wing cartoonists.
Item: Andreas Schuster has a cartoon report of the recent Jeet Heer talk at the D+Q store in Montreal which is very excellently hilarious and also includes a Scott Pilgrim review. (using part to illo this post)
Item: What to expect at FanExpo in Toronto this weekend.
Item: Inbetween eating macaroni, drinking wine, checking facebook, playing with the cats, and watching Letterman/Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, I saw the bulk of this special on Graphic Novels on the Space Channel when it was rebroadcast last night, and it was not too idiotic or infuriating, so consider this a tepid recommendation if you like to see great cartoonists talk about their work in very short clips, broken up with lots of ads and banal bridging segments from the hosts of the Inner Space entertainment news show with an able assist from Ty Templeton. The focus of the show is on popular rather than excellent graphic novels, but there is some crossover. Lots of bits filmed at recent Toronto comics events like TCAF and FanExpo. Dan Clowes is in there, as is Bryan Lee O’Malley. Some other Canadian content (Willow Dawson, Jeff Lemire) plus Jeff Smith, Paul Gravett, webcomics, and more. I don’t think you can see the show online yet, but you can still see their video reports from TCAF and the Calgary con here.
Item: Kill Shakespeare at Publisher’s Weekly.
Item: More on the Cathy dust-up from the Toronto Star and Rina Piccolo.
compiled/edited by B. Munn
The Bestseller List: I think this week’s list might actually reflect sales in bookstores since the Scott Pilgrim movie opened, as opposed to last week’s “anticipation effect” list. As with our last installment, as I compile this list the various volumes are racking up strong sales around the globe.
This semi-regular feature of Sequential presents a snapshot of comics sales in Canada.
Part 1 .
Intro: The bestselling graphic novels and comics collections in Canada, courtesy of BookManager. The full list by BookManager is available, with some work, here. The list is compiled by BookManager based on sales through over 400 independent bookstores, including several comic book stores and the D+Q store. Sales through most comic shops and larger retailers like Chapters-Indigo are not reflected in this list. For balance, you might want to try the Amazon.ca and Chapters-Indigo lists. See here for our previous list.
Sequential’s Over-All Top 30
from BookManager
1. (1) Bone Prequel, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
2. (2) Warriors 3, Erin Hunter et al (HarperCollins)
3. (4) Scott Pilgrim 1, Bryan Lee O’Malley (ONI)
4. (8) Scott Pilgrim 2, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
5. (3) Scott Pilgrim 6, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
6. (13) Scott Pilgrim 3, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
7. (12) Scott Pilgrim 5, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
8. (-) Black Bird 5, Kanoko Sakurakoji (VIZ)
9. (7) Rosario+Vampire : Season II, Vol. 2, Ikeda, Akihisa (VIZ)
10. (14) Scott Pilgrim 4, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
—–
11. (6) Twilight 1, Stephanie Meyer et al (Orbit)
12. (10) Warriors 2, Erin Hunter (Harper Collins)
13. (-) Garfield Fat-Cat 3-Pack, Davis et al (Random House)
14. (11) Negima 27, Ken Akamatsu (Random House)
15. (-) Maximum Ride 3, James Patterson et al (Orbit)
16. (11) Naruto 48, Masashi Kishimoto (Random House)
17. (-) Inuyasha 51, Rumiko Takahashi (VIZ)
18. (16) Maus 1, Spiegelman (Pantheon)
19. (15) Watchmen, Moore/Gibbons (DC)
20. (-) Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (Pantheon)
—–
21. (28) Walking Dead 12, Kirkman et al (Image)
22. (-) Black Bird 1, Kanoko Sakurakoji (VIZ)
23. (-) Logicomix, Doxiadis (Bloomsbury)
24. (30) Wilson, Dan Clowes (D+Q)
25. (19) Simpsons Comics Get Some Fancy Book Learnin’, Groening et al (HC)
26. (17) Manga Metamorphosis, (Tyndale)
27. (18) 500 Years of Resistance, Gord Hill (Arsenal Pulp)
28. (25) Blackest Night, Johns et al (DC)
29. (20) Naruto 1, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
30. (22) Tsubasa 27, Clamp (Random House)
Part 2. Canadian Content:
You have to wade through an awful lot of translated Japanese manga, U.S. superhero fantasies, and collected editions of Sherman’s Lagoon to come up with a list of 30 bestselling books created by Canadians. In total, BookManager lists over 4000 graphic novels, trades, and strip collections, the vast majority of which are not by Canadians. On this list, a single sale in a single tiny bookstore can make all the difference. This list does not include books that are only illustrated but not written/created-by Canadians.
Sequential’s All-Canadian Top 30
from BookManager
1. (2) Scott Pilgrim 1, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
2. (3) Scott Pilgrim 2, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
3. (1) Scott Pilgrim 6, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
4. (5) Scott Pilgrim 3, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
5.(4) Scott Pilgrim 5, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
6. (6) Scott Pilgrim 4, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
7. (7) 500 Years of Resistance, Gord Hill (Arsenal Pulp)
8. (8) Louis Riel, Chester Brown (D+Q)
9. (9) Neil Young’s Greendale, Chiang et al (DC)
10. (10) Red: A Haida Manga, Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas (Douglas & McIntyre)
—–
11. (21) Burma Chronicles, Guy Delisle (D+Q)
12. (20) Skim sc, Mariko Tamaki/Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood)
13. (12) Pyongyang, Guy Delisle (D+Q)
14. (14) Sweet Tooth 1, Jeff Lemire (DC)
15. (19) Senior’s Discount, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
16. (25) The Selves, Sonja Ahlers (D+Q)
17. (26) Children of the Atom, Dave Lapp (Conundrum)
18. (27) Wall-E Vol 1, J. Torres (Boom)
19. (28) George Sprott, Seth (D+Q)
20. (11) Kenk, Peter Poplak et al (PopSandbox)
—–
21. (-) Sword of My Mouth, Munroe/Gerrard (insomniac)
22. (15) Bigfoot 1, Graham Roumieu (Plume)
23. (-) Nightschool 3, Chmakova (Yen/Orbit)
24. (14) Home Sweat Home, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
25. (18) Skim hc, Mariko Tamaki/Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood)
26. (22) Graduation, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
27. (23) The Hipless Boy, Sully (Conundrum)
28. (29) Nightschool 2, Chmakova (Yen/Orbit)
29. (30) Nightschool 1, Chmakova (Yen/Orbit)
30. (-) Catland Empire, Keith Jones (D+Q)
For the record, this week out, Prince Valiant Vol 2 by dead Canadian ex-pat Hal Foster ranks 29708, putting it at #22 on the Canadian list between Sword of My Mouth and Bigfoot (see last week’s comments).
Japanese manga creator Hitoshi ARIGA will be making a rare Canadian appearance.
ARIGA is the creator of the official Mega Man manga, based on the video games, and we’re holding a reception/book launch for him at The Japan Foundation.
ARIGA will be giving a short presentation, and will be taking questions from the audience, signing and maybe even sketching. An RSVP at The Japan Foundation website is required, but it’s totally free to attend otherwise. Get your RSVP in early!
RSVP REQUIRED, NOT JUST FACEBOOK!
RSVP at (416) 966-1600 ext. 103 or online.
The Japan Foundation
131 Bloor Street West Facebook Toronto, ON
Fasebook event page, lot more info on this page.
| Tags: - Written by: Max
Item: Fall and Winter books from D+Q, from their distributor’s catalogue. Joe Ollman Pascal Girard, et plus.
Item:
Upcoming book of interest, Jim Zubkavich’s Skullkickers, gets the hard sell treatment from Chris Butcher.
Item: Some Canadian nominees for the Ignatz Awards. 4 for Sherwin Tija!
Item: Jim Munroe on the division of labour between writer and artist in his graphic novels.
Item: Rina Piccolo on the strength of the newspaper comics market.
Item: San Francisco’s Cartoon Art Museum’s latest exhibit “Graphic Details: Confessional Comics by Jewish Women,” featuring some Canuck women like Miriam Libicki, will be traveling to Toronto’s Koffler Gallery.
Item: Jeet Heer wonders if the late-nationalism of Seth, Chester Brown, and David Collier is indicative of anything.
Item: Kevin Boyd wonders, what makes a Canadian comic?
Item: In back to school news, Ontario kids will be forced to hand in their reports in comic book form this Fall.
I just heard about this tonight, ultra cool gallery and hip shop of stuff, Monastiraki was burgled a couple of weeks ago!
Sounds like it was not too horrific, mostly a wad of cash and some collectable playing cards were taken – but now the shop needs to raise a few bucks to help balance the books. So they will be having a “good vibes fundraiser” this coming weekend! Monastiraki is a vital part of the mile end arts scene and big supporter of the comix arts, so if you’ve got even 5 bucks to spare show your support by showing up this sunday the 22nd, smoozing, and being generous when the hat gets passed. Trust me, all the cool people will be there. They live there.
Book Launches and party party!
And the next weekend, Dave Lapp and Philippe Girard will be at Monastiraki in to mark another year of awesome for Conundrum Press.
There will be a signing and live interview hosted by Immediate Productions
Dave Lapp: Children of the Atom
Philippe Girard: Ruts & Gullies
Sat. Aug 28,
Monastiraki, 5478 St-Laurent, 5-7 pm.
thanks for the tip Joe!
Just in time for the dog days of Summer, U.S. publisher Marvel Comics has announced it will be publishing a one-shot floppy by writer Jim McCann and artist Reilly Brown featuring defunct superhero team Alpha Flight. The brainchild of former-Canadian John Byrne and never-Canadian Chris Claremont, the team of Canuck supers had its genesis in the Uncanny X-Men and was spun off into its own series during the 1980s. Now that most of the characters have been killed off in various plotlines, the team is eligible for a revival as part of a new Marvel mini event starring all of their dead characters. Dave Richards at Comic Book Resources has the scoop (tip of the Sequential chapeau to Kevin Boyd at joeshusterawards.com who pointed the way):
“Chaos War: Alpha Flight” takes place in Canada shortly after the events of “Chaos War” #3, about which McCann says, “I know that I said that Canada doesn’t define Alpha Flight, but the timing of where this appears during ‘Chaos War’ is important. That’s because of what the Chaos King and his minions are doing. What happens in ‘Chaos War’ #3 makes this story happen at this time. It couldn’t really happen at any other time or place.”
The machinations of the Chaos King and his followers creates a situation that allows dead Alpha Flight members Guardian (James MacDonald Hudson), his wife Vindicator (Heather Hudson), Shaman (Michael Twoyoungmen) and Marrina Smallwood to return from the grave. They won’t be the only Alpha Flight members in the book, however; McCann plans to reunite them with several of the team’s still living members.
Got’s some more funny pages.
I was recently introduced formally with the work of up an coming cartoonist and member of the En Mass collective, Connor Willumsen. He’s got his comics online here. Remarkable draftsmen and formalist. He was interviewed for Vice, who ran one of his strips in the magazine. Bellow is Fiddle Song, and i’m really digging his scrolling infinite canvas piece, Everett.
Dream Life is holding at page 50 for FanExpo 2010, and you can read Helpless in full on RevolveR.
A short story about escaping mortality based on prose by a.j.duric. Published in English online, & in RevolveR One in 2004. It was drawn a little while before in 2002 i think. And it’s been published in French ['Impuissance'] in Plan Caertésien in 2006. Translated masterfully buy Éric Allard! [site?] Published by mécanique générale | les 400 coups.
Gabrielle Bell had a series of strips about her experiences at the San Diego Comic Con’s
Not a Canadian but i just looked through the strip and it’s pretty amazing! Michel Fiffe’s ZEGAS on act-i-vate.
And to rap it up with class…
The Pointer Always Sniffs Twice - Karl Kerschl’s The Abominable Charles Christopher. I love drawing dogs. This is from earlier in the month, the current strip is The Story of Vivol & Moon Bear – part seven.
compiled/edited by B. Munn
The Bestseller List: Our last list came out just after the Scott Pilgrim 6 book launch and this one is being published just after the Scott Pilgrim movie‘s opening weekend. While the movie seems to be underperforming (if not exactly a bomb, its reported initial estimates of a weekend take of about $10 million in the U.S. and Canada is about 1/6th of its production budget and I don’t think that includes the huge marketing costs. Of course, word of mouth is a wonderful thing and there is also the dvd end to turn things around). However, it may be on track to become one of the most successful Canadian movies ever made. I’m not quite sure how such things are calculated, but surely an almost-all-Canadian cast, Toronto setting and book, and some Canadian money/tax credits/grants buried somewhere in the budget offset the British director and U.S. producer in some way to qualify. If not, then people should stop talking about Meatballs or Porky’s as Canadian movies.
Regardless of why or whether the movie Scott Pilgrim vs the World “Gets it Together” or experiences “Infinite Sadness,” the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels continue to be a publishing phenomenon. In that sense, the movie may well serve as a very expensive marketing campaign for the books. As with our last installment, as I compile this list the various volumes are racking up strong sales around the globe. Scott Pilgrim Vol.1 is #9 overall in the Amazon sales rankings and #1 in the comics and graphic novel category. Vol. 2 is #11 overall and Vol. 6 is #13. Even Bryan Lee O’Malley’s first book, Lost at Sea, ranks in the top 20 of Amazon’s graphic novel bestseller list currently. At Amazon.ca, a bundled collection of all 6 volumes of the series priced at $47.61 is currently ranked at #5 overall. And so on. (Note: The list below is based on rankings compiled from sales data collected previous to the release of the movie this past Friday).
This semi-regular feature of Sequential presents a snapshot of comics sales in Canada.
Part 1.
Intro: The bestselling graphic novels and comics collections in Canada, courtesy of BookManager. The full list by BookManager is available, with some work, here. The list is compiled by BookManager based on sales through over 400 independent bookstores, including several comic book stores and the D+Q store. Sales through most comic shops and larger retailers like Chapters-Indigo are not reflected in this list. For balance, you might want to try the Amazon.ca and Chapters-Indigo lists. See here for our previous list.
Sequential’s Over-All Top 30
from BookManager
1. (-) Bone Prequel, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
2. (-) Warriors 3, Erin Hunter et al (HarperCollins)
3. (2) Scott Pilgrim 6, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
4. (20) Scott Pilgrim 1, Bryan Lee O’Malley (ONI)
5. (-) Black Bird 4, Kanoko Sakurakoji (VIZ)
6. (3) Twilight 1, Stephanie Meyer et al (Orbit)
7. (-) Rosario+Vampire : Season II, Vol. 2, Ikeda, Akihisa (VIZ)
8. (10) Scott Pilgrim 2, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
9. (-) Negima 27, Ken Akamatsu (Random House)
10. (4) Warriors 2, Erin Hunter (Harper Collins)
—–
11. (1) Naruto 48, Masashi Kishimoto (Random House)
12. (15) Scott Pilgrim 5, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
13. (-) Scott Pilgrim 3, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
14. (-) Scott Pilgrim 4, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
15. (16) Watchmen, Moore/Gibbons (DC)
16. (13) Maus 1, Spiegelman (Pantheon)
17. (-) Manga Metamorphosis, (Tyndale)
18. (5) 500 Years of Resistance, Gord Hill (Arsenal Pulp)
19. (7) Simpsons Comics Get Some Fancy Book Learnin’, Groening et al (HC)
20. (-) Naruto 1, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
—–
21. (6) Vampire Knight 10, Matsuri Hino (VIZ)
22. (-) Tsubasa 27, Clamp (Random House)
23. (9) Fullmetal Alchemist 23, Hiromu Arakawa (VIZ)
24. (-) Pride Prejudice Zombies, Grahame-Smith (Random House)
25. (-) Blackest Night, Johns et al (DC)
26. (12) Book of Genesis, Robert Crumb (WW Norton)
27. (23) Manga Mutiny, (Tyndale)
28. (-) Walking Dead 12, Kirkman et al (Image)
29. (8) Zombie Survival Guide, Max Brooks (Crown)
30. (14) Wilson, Dan Clowes (D+Q)
Part 2. Canadian Content:
You have to wade through an awful lot of translated Japanese manga, U.S. superhero fantasies, and collected editions of Sherman’s Lagoon to come up with a list of 30 bestselling books created by Canadians. In total, BookManager lists over 4000 graphic novels, trades, and strip collections, the vast majority of which are not by Canadians. On this list, a single sale in a single tiny bookstore can make all the difference. This list does not include books that are only illustrated but not written/created-by Canadians.
Sequential’s All-Canadian Top 30
from BookManager
1. (1) Scott Pilgrim 6, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
2. (6) Scott Pilgrim 1, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
3. (3) Scott Pilgrim 2, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
4. (4) Scott Pilgrim 5, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
5. (7) Scott Pilgrim 3, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
6. (10) Scott Pilgrim 4, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
7. (2) 500 Years of Resistance, Gord Hill (Arsenal Pulp)
8. (16) Louis Riel, Chester Brown (D+Q)
9. (5) Neil Young’s Greendale, Chiang et al (DC)
10. (19) Red: A Haida Manga, Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas (Douglas & McIntyre)
—–
11. (18) Kenk, Peter Poplak et al (PopSandbox)
12. (15) Pyongyang, Guy Delisle (D+Q)
13. (9) Home Sweat Home, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
14. (14) Sweet Tooth 1, Jeff Lemire (DC)
15. (11) Bigfoot 1, Graham Roumieu (Plume)
16. (25) Important Artifacts, Leanne Shapton (FSG)
17. (-) Plain Janes, Castelucci et al (Minx/DC)
18. (-) Skim hc, Mariko Tamaki/Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood)
19. (-) Senior’s Discount, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
20. (8) Skim sc, Mariko Tamaki/Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood)
—–
21. (24) Burma Chronicles, Guy Delisle (D+Q)
22. (27) Graduation, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
23. (28) The Hipless Boy, Sully (Conundrum)
24. (-) It’s a Good Life, Seth (D+Q)
25. (17) The Selves, Sonja Ahlers (D+Q)
26. (22) Children of the Atom, Dave Lapp (Conundrum)
27. (12) Wall-E Vol 1, J. Torres (Boom)
28. (13) George Sprott, Seth (D+Q)
29. (-) Nightschool 2, Chmakova (Yen/Orbit)
30. (-) Nightschool 1, Chmakova (Yen/Orbit)
I thought long and hard about including the new collection of Prince Valiant strips from Fantagraphics (vol. 2). This reprint from Canadian ex-pat Hal Foster ranks 17222 at Bookmanager, which would put him between #13 and #14 on the All-Canadian list.
Otherwise: 6 Scott Pilgrims in the top 6!
It’s so hot, I think I’ll bust out a C-List.
Item: When it gets hot like this, as it is over many parts of Southern Canada, please remember the top 4 Dangerous Enemies of your most valuable possessions.
Item: Today is Hal (Prince Valiant) Foster’s birthday. There is a public event at his birthplace in Halifax.
Item: Comics blogger Dalton Sharp has the low-down on what is purported to be James Simpkins’ last interview. Simpkins (1910-2004) created Jasper the Bear, the iconic Canadian comics character which ran as a panel for decades in Macleans and later as a newspaper strip. Lots of photos and select examples of the panel at the link.
Item: The National Post book blog reminds us of cartoonist Gary Clement’s summer book club in comics form, including reviews of Persepolis, Heinlein, and Mordecai Richler.
Item: Cartoonist Len Norris (1913-1997) is featured in a war art exhibit at the Comox, B.C art gallery.
Item: The Toronto Star profiles a couple of graphic novels with “Canuck links”.
Item: In international news, Cathy Guisewhite has announced that her comic strip “Cathy” will end in September after 34 years. In something like 1400 papers, the departure of the gormless, much-hated strip (let’s face it, Guisewhite is no Roz Chast) will leave a giant hole in the newspaper page that may be filled with either nothing (newspapers are dying) or a vaguely woman-centric feature or something with a strong female lead or point-of-view (the traditional industry approach to replace like with like, for the demographic’s sake), according to pundits. Among the frontrunners to replace Cathy? Canada’s (and New York’s) own Rina Piccolo, whose ”Tina’s Groove” has Cathy beat all to hell in the art department.
Before Scott Pilgrim took it over, Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas’s Haida Manga “Red” was the last tittle to own the Canadian top 10 bestsellers.
A search of the blog’s archive gives you some idea of the kind of lasting impression his last book had.
A few days ago i started posting his story Raven Kept Walking on the site. Bellow is the next 3 pages of that, the first two were posted here in this comics post. Enjoy!
