Graphic Novel Bestsellers

By Calvin Reid — Publishers Weekly, 11/2/2009 4:16:00 PM

1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days.
Jeff Kinney.
Abrams/Amulet, $13.95 ISBN 978-0-8109-8391-5
Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series is a publishing phenomenon. Dog Days, the fourth book in the hybrid comics and prose series sold more than 1 million copies at launch and went back to press for 500,000 copies. Store events attract mobs and the series is a global bestseller. Number two on the list? Wimpy Kid: Last Straw, the previous book.

2. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Last Straw.
Jeff Kinney.
Abrams/Amulet, $12.95 ISBN 978-0-8109-7068-7

3. Naruto, Volume 46.
Mashashi Kishimoto.
Viz Media, $7.95 ISBN 978-1-4215-3304-9

4. Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks.
Max Brooks and Ibraim Roberson
Three Rivers Press, $17. ISBN 978-0-307-40577-7
Based on Max Brook’s 2003 hit, Zombie Survival Guide, which now has over a million copies in print; Recorded Attacks, with drawings by Ibraim Roberson, is a graphic novel update that now has 133,000 copies in print after 3 printings. The book just won’t die!

5. The Book of Genesis Illustrated.
R. Crumb..
W.W. Norton, $24.95 ISBN 978-0-393-06102-4
R. Crumb calls, The Book of Genesis Illustrated, a “straight illustration job,”—there’s no satire or visual jokes, just a serious transformation of Genesis into comics. Norton released 50,000 copies initially; has gone back to press for 30,000 more and Crumb’s signing at B&N Union Square was packed with more than 600 rapt fans.

6. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8: Predators and Prey, Volume 5.
Jane Espenson and Steven S. DeKnight et al.
Dark Horse, $10.99 ISBN 978-1-59582-342-7

7. Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth.
Apostolos Doxiadis, Christos H. Papadimitriou, Alecos Papadatos and Annie Di Donna.
Bloomsbury, $22.95 ISBN 978-1-59691-452-0
Bloomsbury’s Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth, an unusual graphic biography and intellectual adventure focused on the life of the great mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russell, has more than 35,000 copies in print after three printings. Publicity director Peter Miller says, “backorders are still coming in; demand is steady and retailers plan to promote beyond the holidays into the new year. We couldn’t be happier.”

8. Rosario + Vampire, Volume 9
Akihisa Ikeda..
Viz Media, $9.99 ISBN 978-1-4215-2354-5

9. Chibi Vampire, Volume 14.
Yuna Kagesaki.
Tokyopop, $10.99 ISBN 978-1-4278-1625-2

10. Full Metal Alchemist, Volume 20.
Hiromu Arakawa.
Viz Media, $9.99 ISBN 978-1-421-53034-5

Kinney’s Dog days is, by far, our most popular title on this list.  We currently have over 470 holds. Book of Genesis and Logicomix are receiving strong reviews.

Posted by Becky

B & N’s Nook eReader reviews and news

People considering an eBook reader for themselves or as a gift have more options than just the Kindle and Sony.  The Nook from Barnes & Noble the latest entry into the market is taking pre-orders for a ship date sometime this month.  Jason Griffey has written a thoughtful review on ALA Tech Source that compares the Nook against the Kindle.

Via  ALA Tech Source:

“The Amazon Kindle’s first real competitor saw the light of day for the first time this week, and it looks very, very impressive. The Barnes & Noble Nook launched Oct 20th, and it stands toe-to-toe with the standard that has been set by the Kindle, even exceeding it in many ways.
The important bits: The Nook has the same 6-inch eInk screen as the Kindle, and is $20 cheaper (the Nook preorders for $259, while the Kindle 2 is still $279). The Nook also has a remarkable navigation system: a secondary color touchscreen display, directly under the eInk. It’s a great-looking innovation, and one that gives the reader’s interface flexibility that the Kindle just doesn’t have. In my opinion, as you go through the specs, the comparison seems to favor the Nook over the Kindle.

Lend to a friend :LendMe

One of the most intriguing features of Nook, is it’s LendMe feature which allows you to loan an eBook to a friend to read for 14 days.  The LendMe feature works across platforms so you could share a book to your friend’s Blackberry or iPhone.  While the book is on loan to your friend, it’s disabled on your reader, so it becomes inaccessible to you.  Whether publishers will support LendMe or try to pull the plug on it is another question entirely.

posting by jim