Bestselling Graphic Novels

by Calvin Reid — Publishers Weekly, 10/7/2008 11:46:00 AM

 

(We feel that Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a novel with illustrations, not a graphic novel. A few of these titles are on order, but do not yet show in the catalog. Becky Buckingham)

1. Naruto, Volume 31.
Mashashi Kishimoto.
Viz Media, $7.95 ISBN 978-1-421-519432
Naruto, Viz Media’s bestselling manga juggernaught, is back on top of the list, taking over from Jeff Kinney’s Rodrick Rules, which has been the top seller since February. In volume 31, Naruto and his close friends go into battle and one of them won’t survive.

2. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules.
Jeff Kinney.
Abrams/Amulet, $7.95 ISBN 978-0-810-99473-7

3. Vampire Knight, Volume 5.
Matsuri Hino.
Viz Media, $8.99 ISBN 978-1-421-519548

4. Bleach, Volume 24.
Tite Kubo.
Viz Media, $7.95 ISBN 978-1-421516035

5. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.
Hadon Blackman, Brian Ching et al.
Dark Horse, $15.95 ISBN 978-1-593-07891-1
Haden Blackman, who wrote Dark Horse’s Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, also produced the video game the graphic novel is based on. Each copy of the video game purchased at StarWarsShop.com includes a special Force Unleashed mini-comic and DH publicist Jacq Cohen said the graphic novel has 75,00 copies in print and sales of more than 52,000 copies to date.

6. Batman: The Killing Joke.
Alan Moore and Brian Bolland.
DC Comics, $17.99 ISBN 978-1-401-21667-2

7. Negima: Magister Negi Magi, Volume 19.
Ken Ahkamatsu.
Del Rey, $10.95 ISBN 978-0-345-50526-2

8. Naruto, Volume 30.
Mashashi Kishimoto.
Viz Media, $7.95 ISBN 978-1-421-51942-5

9. The Gentlemen’s Alliance +, Volume 7.
Arina Tenemura.
Viz Media, $8.99 ISBN 978-1-421-51973-9

10. Wanted, Volume 1.
Matsuri Hino.
Viz Media, $8.99 ISBN 978-1-421-519340

Take Note: PW’s starred review of DC Comics’s All-Star Superman (#11 on the list) says, “Morrison’s superb Superman stories can be poignant, action-packed or downright silly, often in the same tale.” Along with artist Frank Quitely, Grant Morrison has reinvented the Man of Steel for a new generation.

In DMZ vol. 5 (#14 on the list), published by DC/Vertigo, acclaimed comics writer Brian Wood has vividly re-imagined New York City as a war devastated Demilitarized Zone in a futuristic U.S. Civil War.

Alan Moore and David Gibbon’s classic superhero epic, Watchmen, continues to be the bestselling backlist graphic novel on the planet. Over the previous four weeks the title has sold more than 70,000 copies.

Cool library promotion idea–bookmobs

OneCity OneBook, originally uploaded by Steve Rhodes.

San Francisco Public Library launched their One City One Book campaign by organizing a bookmob. What’s a bookmob? A bookmob is similar to a flashmob…huh? I’ll let Library Journal explain,

a “book mob,” using blogs and local online arts calendars to alert people to form flash mobs. Some 60 people showed up; a clever anchor was the SFPL bookmobile, with the ile on the word bookmobile strategically covered with a One City One Book logo so that attendees could gather at an actual “bookmob.” Read more and see a picture of the bookmob here.

Snow Owl Librarys ???

I’ve seen some bungled versions of our name, but this one tops the list for me.

Snow Owl Librarys ???, originally uploaded by kiltedlibrarian.

Using video games to pull in readers

Publishers are starting to include video games as a draw for new fiction titles for young people.

Scholastic has recently released The Maze of Bones, by Rick Riordan, which is the first in a 10-book mystery series named The 39 Clues and has a web-based game.  Online players search for some of the clues themselves, seeing background stories about new characters as well as text and pictures about everything from the Titanic to the Iditarod sled-dog race, material that supplements the novels.

In advance of the publication of “Brisingr,” the third book in the best-selling “Inheritance” fantasy series by Christopher Paolini, Random House Children’s Books commissioned an online game. About 51,000 people have signed up since June to play and chat on message boards on the site.

Pairing electronics games with books — marketing gimmick or creative way to get kids to read?

(NYTimes, Oct 5, 2008 by Motoko Rich; thanks Penni Vogel from SIL)