compiled/edited by BK 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 Sequential list.
Guide: numbers in parentheses indicate previous rank; (n) indicates a new book making its debut on the list; (r) indicates a book making a return to the list after an absence.
Sequential’s Over-All Top 30
from BookManager
1. (3) Bone 11: Tall Tales, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
2. (7) Bone 5: Rockjaw, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
3. (2) Bone 1: Out from Boneville, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
4. (6) Bone 4: Dragonslayer, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
5. (5) Bone 6: Old Man’s Cave, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
6. (9) Bone 9: Crown of Horns, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
7. (4) Essex County, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
8. (14) Bone 3: Eyes of the Storm, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
9. (11) Bone 2: The Great Cow Race, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
10. (8) Bone 7: Ghost Circles, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
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11. (15) Scott Pilgrim 2, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
12. (16) Bone 8: Treasure Hunters, Jeff Smith (Scholastic)
13. (10) Bone Prequel: Rose, Jeff Smith and Charles Vess (Scholastic)
14. (12) Rosario + Vampire II 4, Akihisa Ikeda (VIZ)
15. (13) Scott Pilgrim 1, Bryan Lee O’Malley (ONI)
16. (n) Black Butler 5, Yana Toboso (Yen)
17. (r) Maximun Ride 2, Kames Patterson et al (Yen)
18. (n) Drive!: Zits Sketchbook 14, Jerry Scott/Jim Borgman (Andrews McMeel)
19. (n) Fables 15: Rose Red, Bill Willingham/Mark Buckingham/Steve Leialoha (DC)
20. (17) Naruto 50, Masashi Kishimoto (VIZ)
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21. (r) Black Butler 3, Yana Toboso (Yen)
22. (26) Scenes From an Impending Marriage, Adrian Tomine (D+Q)
23. (r) Warriors: Ravenpaw’s Path #3: The Heart Of A Warrior, Erin Hunter/James L Barry (HarperCollins)
24. (18) Walking Dead 1, Kirkman/Moore (Image)
25. (n) Maximum Ride 4, James Patterson/NaRae Lee (Yen)
26. (23) Watchmen, Moore/Gibbons (DC)
27. (r) Zeus: King of the Gods, George O’Connor (First Second)
28. (r) Black Butler 4, Yana Toboso (Yen)
29. (22) Scott Pilgrim 5, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
39. (24) Black Bird 7, Kanoko Sakurakoji (VIZ)
That’s a whole lotta Bone in the top 10!
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) Essex County, Jeff Lemire (Top Shelf)
2. (3) Scott Pilgrim 2, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
3. (2) Scott Pilgrim 1, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
4. (4) Scott Pilgrim 3, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
5. (5) Scott Pilgrim 5, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
6. (7) Scott Pilgrim 6, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
7. (8) Scott Pilgrim 4, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
8. (6) Louis Riel, Chester Brown (D+Q)
9. (17) Tangles, Sarah Leavitt (Freehand Books)
10. (r) Nightschool 2, Svetlana Chmakova (Yen)
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11. (15) Mid-Life, Joe Ollman (D+Q)
12. (9) The Never Weres, Fiona Smyth (Annick)
13. (r) Pyonyang, Guy Delisle (D+Q)
14. (10) 500 Years of Resistance, Gord Hill (Arsenal Pulp)
15. (24) Skim sc, Mariko Tamaki/Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood)
16. (11) Harvey, Herve Bouchard/Janice Nadeau (Groundwood)
17. (12) Two Generals, Scott Chantler (McClelland and Stewart)
18. (14) Kill Shakespeare 1, Mccreery/Del Col/Belanger (IDW)
19. (18) Sweet Tooth 1, Jeff Lemire (DC)
19. (r) Red: A Haida Manga, Michael Yahgulanaas (D&M)
20. (13) Bigfoot, Pascal Girard (D+Q)
—–
21. (r) Sweet Tooth 2, Jeff Lemire (DC)
22. (r) Nightschool 3, Svetlana Chmakova (Yen/Orbit)
23. (r) Burma Chronicles, Guy Delisle (D+Q)
24. (16) Nightschool 1, Svetlana Chmakova (Yen/Orbit)
25. (n) The Hunting of the Snark, Lewis Carroll/Mahendra Singh (Melville House)
26. (19) Lost at Sea, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
27. (18) Big Foot, Graham Roumieu (Plume)
28. (21) Bitter Medicine: A Graphic Memoir of Mental Illness, Clem Martini/Olivier Martini (Freehand Books)
29. (22) Scott Pilgrim Box, Bryan Lee O’Malley (Oni)
30. (23) Senior’s Discount, Lynn Johnston (Andrews McMeel)
Launched in January in Canada, Mahendra Singh’s Hunting of the Snark makes its first appearance on the Sequential Bestseller List this week.
From the publisher: Adventures in Wonderland is perhaps Lewis Carroll’s most famous literary work. It has been adapted countless times in countless ways, from the recent film by Tim Burton starring Johnny Depp, to the famous Disney cartoon, Alice in Wonderland, from 1951. While Alice certainly deserves the attention, she has overshadowed some of Carroll’s other classic works.
Now, The Hunting of the Snark, one of Carroll’s most beloved and linguistically playful poems, comes to life in this wickedly inventive new edition. Perfectly suited to the modern form of the graphic novel, Singh’s illustrated adaptation compliments the timelessness of this classic poem with an edge that incorporates movements in art from Carroll’s time to the present. The Snark may never be found, but the hunt for him has never been more arresting.