The Top 100 Selling Graphic Novels for August 2006

Thanks for checking out this column which is a look at sales of Graphic Novels where I comment on their sales, if they are any good or whatever other snarky remarks come to mind as I look over the sales figures. 

So, what is this list?  Every month, Diamond Comics (the company that ships comic books to comic book shops) list the sales figures of the previous month so that they can list actual sales through the entire month, but they list it in the form of “average number of copies sold to each comic shop”.  Then, the site www.ICV2.com goes through the numbers they post and attempts to turn it into an approximation of the actual number of books sold.  This doesn't doesn't list the graphic novels sold in bookstores, just comic book shops which is where the big publishers like Marvel, DC and Image sell most of their books, but Manga publishers sell far more in stores like Barnes and Nobel or Borders.

The story for July is the large number of hardcovers and specialty books that are filling the charts. DC released two of their “Absolute” collections, which are oversized, slipcased collections of stories have become classics, and the Absolutes are like the Deluxe DVD collections of them, with script pages, sketches, preliminary artwork and the like.

“Dark Knight Returns” and “Kingdom Come” have both sold over 100K as paperbacks, so the fact that they were able to sell so many copies of a Deluxe, High Priced version of the books shows that DC is being successful at selling people comics they already own in special editions. The other HUGE success is the Halo Graphic novel, which is in the top 10 for a second month, and has sold over 120,000 copies OUTSIDE the comics market according to a press release from Marvel.

What does all of this mean? It means that comics fans are becoming more willing to shell out money for a hardcover or deluxe edition of a story they like, and DC and Marvel will probably be putting out more books like that, books in comic shops that cater to the hard core fan, while pushing the cheaper paperback versions to mainstream books stores. It also means that there will be more books like Halo, media tie-ins that are treated as important, upscale books with top-notch talent instead of contractual obligations that are given to whoever is hanging around the office.

The other thing that jumps out at me is that DC's “Showcase” format is selling better than Marvel's “Essential”, even though they are both reprinting about 25 – 30 older comics in the same cheap, black and white format. DC does a better job on making the art look good in black and white, while some of the more recent books from Marvel have had blurry and poorly done reproduction, which has probably hurt sales.

There's a lot of good stuff this month, so let's get right to the reviews and sales analysis!

1 MARVEL ZOMBIES HC $19.99 MAR 11,019

The success of this series is a huge surprise to me, since this sort of thing is the kind few comic that usually fails. It's a 5-issue series set in a universe where most few the Marvel super-heroes have become zombies, but not the George Romero zombies since they are intelligent and still have their powers. This is not a story for people under the age of 18, but if you are a zombie fan or a Marvel fan, this series is filled with sick humor and goes over-the-top at every opportunity. If you liked “Return of the Living Dead”, buy this one as a hardcover and laugh to your sick little heart's content. Highly recommended.

2 FAMILY GUY VOL 2 GN (Of 3) $6.95 DDP 8,466

Just like the first one, I don't see why this is listed as a “graphic novel” in the sales charts, since it's just a square bound comic, and they have already announced a collected version of the three issues. If you're a Family Guy fan, this is a solid, if overpriced, comic based on the show, and has the same art style and gags. Mildly recommended for fans.

3 IDENTITY CRISIS TP $14.99 DC 7,746

I KNOW I'm one of the very few people who didn't like this series as much as I was supposed to, and it has been hugely successful for DC, selling hundreds or thousands of comics, thousands of the hardcover, and did reasonable well for the paperback printing. At the story's heart, it's a mystery...Who killed Elongated Man's wife, but along the way it deals with the fact that, in the past, DC's super-heroes have gone too far, messing with the minds of some of the super-villains to try and get them to be less anti-social. As a Big Event, it's better than most, but as a mystery, it's painfully obvious to anyone who is a fan of the genre. Mildly recommended.

4 ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN VOL 16 DEADPOOL TP $19.99 MAR 7,045

Again, I have to go against the majority of readers who didn't care for this story. I loved it, as Spider-Man and the X-Men end up on an island where hired mercenaries are trying to kill them, all for the reality TV audience. There's constant action, great dialog, and it's told in a nice way that gives the reader the feeling of watching the TV show AND reading the story, showing how “reality” TV may not have all of what's real. A great Spider-Man story and highly recommended.

5 ULTIMATE GALACTUS BOOK 3 EXTINCTION TP $12.99 MAR 6,604

And this version of the “Galactus” story first done by Lee and Kirby back in the 60's comes to its ending, and while it didn't have the charm and fun of the original (which gave us the Silver Surfer), it did a good job of creating a sense of dread and menace that the original story couldn't have. It's not a GREAT story, but taken with the other two volumes, it's a decent enough super-hero story. Mildly recommended.

6 STAR WARS CLONE WARS ADVS VOL 6 TP $6.95 DAR 5,874
7 SHOWCASE PRESENTS BATMAN VOL 1 TP $16.99 DC 5,817

The Showcase books are DC's version of the “Essentials” from Marvel: 500+ pages of reprints in black and white, and DC's printing on them has been much better than Marvel's for some reason. This volume reprints Batman stories from the early 60's, right after they decided to quit doing the silly stories that nearly got the character canceled, but before the TV show. The stories are still firmly aimed at kids, rarely feature the Batman villains that made the series fun, and still feature stories by Bob Kane (who actually hired a series of “ghost artists” to draw for him that can be hard to get through at times. However, it's better than most few the DC stuff of the same era, and are stories that haven't been reprinted in an affordable format before. Highly recommended for nostalgia buffs and mildly recommended for everyone else.

8 ABSOLUTE KINGDOM COME ED HC $75.00 DC 5,557

Kingdom Come was a “this could be the future of the DC heroes” story that combined incredible painted art by Alex Ross and a solid story by Mark Waid. The “Absolute” books are the equivalent of a loaded DVD, with script pages, annotations and sketches by the artist. This is for the hard-core fan, but the cheaper paperback version is one of the better graphic novels available.

9 NARUTO VOL 11 TP $7.95 VIZ 5,519
10 HALO GRAPHIC NOVEL HC (MR) $24.99 MAR 5,202

Another 5K sold in comic shops, and Marvel has said that they have sold through over 120,000, meaning that it is blowing off the shelves in bookstores since it's only sold about 17,000 in comic shops so far. It's a good media tie-in, and has some experimental art (which surprised me for a book aimed at the general public), and does a solid job of fleshing out the different alien races and other characters in the video game. A must read for fans of the video game, but a pass for people who haven't played it.

11 JUSTICE SOCIETY VOL 1 TP $14.99 DC 5,125

Here's where we get into the fact that I am a hard-core fan, and comic companies are catering to me and people like me. The Justice Society is a mild success currently, and DC has pretty much reprinted all of the stuff they can for the series. The entire run of the comic is in trade paperbacks, the original stories of the 40's have been collected in expensive hardcovers, and now they are reprinting the failed revival of the team from the 70's. The 70's version of the series had most of the WWII era heroes and a few modern heroes so that the team wasn't filled with guys in the 60's, and the one breakout character was Power Girl, who got a spin-off series attempt soon after this series started. How is this book? It suffers from lackluster art by people who have done much better, and continuity heavy, over-written stories by Paul Levitz...but that's what was selling in the 70's. For 70's comics fans, this is mildly recommended but for other people, it's like walking in the middle of a conversation about a TV show you've never heard of.

12 BATMAN & MONSTER MEN TP $14.99 DC 4,118

Matt Wagner can do no wrong in my eyes, and this collection of his most recent story about Batman at the beginning of his career is just another amazing comic. His art is some of the best in comics, and the story updates on the first Batman stories of the 30's, echoing Batman's horror/pulp roots. Just a great read and highly recommended.

13 DECIMATION SON OF M TP $13.99 MAR 4,050

What started as a decent story following up on the “House of M” mini-series quickly got bogged down in Marvel continuity, a parade of characters who add nothing to the story, and endless, pointless whining by Quicksilver, the uninteresting lead character. It's just a BAD comic, and anything in it that is needed to understand other stories will be explained in those stories.

14 PENNY ARCADE VOL 2 LEGENDS MAGIC SWORD TP $12.95 DAR 3,897

Another collection of the popular web comic If you are a video game fan, you'll love this book, even though most few the jokes are dated, and if you aren't, you'll get maybe two or three of the jokes in the entire book. Check out the website at www.penny-arcade.com, and if the strips make you laugh, you'll want this book.

15 DNANGEL VOL 11 GN (Of 11) $9.99 TKP 3,878
16 ABSOLUTE DARK KNIGHT HC $99.99 DC 3,657

This Absolute collects both Dark Knight and Dark Knight Returns, both by Frank Miller, but done about 15 years apart. A lot of people have called Dark Knight the best Batman story ever (and there are times I will agree with them) and about the same number of people hated the sequel (which I loved). This $100 collection has the art printed larger, has the initial pitch and other DVD type extras. However, I'm upset about the fact that the 10th Anniversary hardcover I bought back in 1996 has a LOT more extras than this collection does. Still, for the hard-core collector, this is like buying the DVD Special Edition, and for non-collectors, just pick up the trade paperbacks of both books.

17 EXTERMINATORS BUG BROTHERS TP (MR) $9.99 DC 3,628
18 SPIDER-MAN KRAVENS LAST HUNT PREM HC* $19.99 MAR 3,513

This story from the mid 80's is one of the best Spider-Man stories ever done, and it's a good thing that it's back in print as a trade. In the story, Kraven defeats Spider-Man and takes his place, but that's just where it starts. It's a powerful story that is just as fresh and shocking now as it was then, and might well by one few the top five Spider-Man stories of all time. Highly recommended.

19 FORGOTTEN REALMS DARK ELF TRILOGY VOL 3 SOJOURN TP $14.95 DDP 3,465
20 DECIMATION 198 TP $15.99 MAR 3,350

Another of the sequels to th “House of M” crossover, and if anything, this is the worst. Boring characters in a story where, in the end, nothing has happened other than we met a bunch of limited characters who fail to engage the reader. The living embodiment of a waste of time.

21 STAR TREK MANGA GN $9.99 TKP 3,273

A new series of Star Trek comics, this one done in the style of manga. I am a bit of a Star Trek fan, but I have felt the franchise has been played out for quite some time. As I read this comic, I had the same feeling. It's good for what it is, but brings nothing new to the party, and really just exists as another version of the original crew. The Japanese style art helps the story flow better than most Star Trek comics, but the stories are like watching filler episodes of the TV show. For fans only.

22 BLEACH VOL 14 TP $7.95 VIZ 3,263
23 HELLBLAZER STATIONS OF THE CROSS TP (MR) $14.99 DC 3,196

Hellblazer is one of those books that I want to love, but I think I am buying it more out of habit than the fact that it's telling good stories. This story has Constantine losing his memory as his enemies are gathering to exact revenge, and while it's good, it's not as good as the stories that have been written by Jamie Delano and Garth Ennis, both of whom have trade paperbacks available with the character. Mildly recommended for fans of occult stories and horror comics, but only if you've got the better Constantine books.

24 PROMETHEA BOOK FIVE TP $14.99 DC 3,071

While this is the last part of what is really a long five part story, it reads surprisingly well on its own. Promethia is one of the best comics from Alan Moore, and since Alan Moore is one of the best writers in comics, that's saying a lot. The story pulls back from being a Big Cosmic story about The Meaning Of It All to focus on the story few the women who became Promethia and how the revelations affect her personal life before plunging headlong into ideas that seem so far beyond what is in most novels that it's surprising in a comic book. Best trade of the month and highly recommended.

25 GREEN LANTERN GREATEST STORIES EVER TOLD TP $19.99 DC 2,995

The “greatest stories ever told” books usually fall short for me, since they have to try and tell stories for every era of a character, rather than just pulling the Best of the Best, and this one is no exception. It was SUPPOSED to feature all of the main people who have been Green Lantern at one time or another, but instead focused almost exclusively on the 60's and 70's Hal Jordan stories, and as an introduction to that character, it's a good collection. Mildly recommended.

26 ESSENTIAL LUKE CAGE POWER MAN VOL 2 TP $16.99 MAR 2,966

Sweet Christmas! Luke Cage was Marvel's attempt to cash in on the Blaxploitation movies of the 70's like Shaft, Superfly and Blacula by having a Soul Brother super-hero who talked like he was in a “G” rated version of those movies. The stories here range from goofy as hell to standard 70's Marvel fare. The reproduction of the art is poor, but you get over 25 comics worth of silliness for $17, and as long as you don't take any of it seriously, this is fun stuff. Mildly recommended for people who remember calling people Jive Turkeys.

27 LOST GIRLS DELUXE SLIPCASED ED $75.00 TOP 2,937

This is the new Alan Moore work, and is certainly an impressive book when you see it on the shelf. The story is erotic fiction about the meeting of Wendy (from Peter Pan) Dorothy (from Wizard of Oz) and Alice (from Alice in Wonderland) as they describe and share their sexual adventures. It's not porn, but it's certainly fiction of a sexual nature. I didn't buy it, since I read the first two comics that were eventually put into this work , made up the first six chapters, and found I didn't care for it. At $75, it's pretty much for people who are already fans of Alan Moore and are interested in the concept. Still, I'm amazed at how well it sold, and it has since sold out of its first printing over a little over 5000 copies.

28 DEATH NOTE VOL 7 TP $7.99 VIZ 2,927
29 NEXTWAVE AGENTS OF HATE VOL 1 THIS IS WHAT THEY WANT PREM HC $19.99 MAR 2,899

And this book is just fun. Pure fun. Warren Ellis has said that this is his version of distilling down super-hero comics to their base elements, fight scenes and stuff blowing up. In this book, he takes five D-Level characters, puts them together in a team and has them fight Big Monsters. The dialog is hilarious (for example, when The Captain explains that he called himself Captain Fuck until Captain America washed his mouth out with soap), and the stories reprinted here are just fight scenes. Highly recommended for ANYONE, but super-hero fans will love this comic if they just quit taking the damn things so serious.

30 NEW X-MEN CHILDHOODS END VOL 2 TP $10.99 MAR 2,851

This series started as a new series about the students in the School part of the X-Men's mansion, but starting with Childhood's end, it has been in the middle of a year long story where the old cast is wipes out and new characters show up amidst a n attack by an old X-Men foe. I wanted to like this book, but by this point in the story, it became “who are they killing off in THIS issue” rather than a story that engaged me enough to care about the characters. Pass.

31 PATH OF THE ASSASSIN VOL 2 TP (MR) $9.95 DAR 2,755

Another series by the creators of “Lone Wolf And Cob” this about a ninja in feudal Japan, but with enough twists that it doesn't just read like another rehash of their other work. The creative team on this book are by FAR my favorite Japanese writer/artist team, and each $10 volume is as rich as a written novel. Highly recommended.

32 FRUITS BASKET VOL 14 GN (Of 19) $9.99 TKP 2,659
33 SENTRY REBORN TP $21.99 MAR 2,630

This reprints the recent mini-series that brings back the character after his appearances in The New Avengers. The character is one of Marvel's more complicated ones, and this story does its best to try and simplify the concept enough that the character can be used in other books, it's still more of an examination of the concept of an ultra-powerful super-hero than a super-hero story. It's got a limited appeal and is mildly recommended, but the original Trade Paperback featuring the character is much better than this one, and that is Highly recommended.

34 BONE ONE VOL ED SC $39.95 CAR 2,620

Jeff Smith has reprinted the Bone series in a single book again, and it is one of the more expensive books that is worth the price. Not only does it reprint over 55 comics worth of story, it's one few the great fantasy works in comics. Excellent art and a story that rival Tolkien for adventure, this is one of the best comic series of the last 25 years and is highly recommended.

35 DONALD DUCK ADVS VOL 19 TP $7.95 GEM 2,563
36 AUTHORITY LOBO HOLIDAY HELL TP (MR) $17.99 DC 2,476

Lobo is a character that has become a joke, not because the character is treated poorly, but because he is at once a parody of how comics have become super-violent as well as BEING super-violent. This trade reprints a series of comics where he meets with an ultra-powerful super-hero team...ok, the plot really doesn't matter since The Authority is after Lobo for killing Santa Claus, and Lobo as been hired by a bunch few wormlike aliens to kill the Authority. Violence ensues. A lot of violence. The art is wonderful, although it is simply depicting violence and low-brow humor. Highly recommended, but the audience is pretty limited.

37 DEVIL MAY CRY 3 VOL 2 GN (Of 2) (MR) $9.99 TKP 2,476
38 RANMA 1/2 VOL 35 TP $9.99 VIZ 2,467
39 GREEN ARROW HEADING INTO LIGHT TP $12.99 DC 2,438

Judd Winnik can write great comics, but this isn't one of them. Following up on the events unveiled in “Identity Crisis”, Dr. Light is back to being a dangerous psychopath, and decides to go after Green Arrow. Why? Well, that isn't really explained all that well, and it really feels like Winnik just wanted to do this story, and Green Arrow was a convenient book to do so in. This is clearly for DC continuity fans and holds little to no appeal for casual readers.

40 RETURN TO LABYRINTH VOL 1 GN (Of 3) $9.99 TKP 2,400
41 SPIDER-WOMAN ORIGIN PREM HC $19.99 MAR 2,390

I never gave a damn about the 70's character Spider-Woman. She was created so that a cartoon company couldn't steal the concept of Spider-Man and use it on a female character, and Marvel tried to make it different enough from Spider-Man that it could stand on its own, which it never really did. In this story, Brian Michael Bendis sifts through the various versions of the character's origin, finds a way to make the story interesting and makes Spider-Woman I care about for the first time. However, what really makes the story work is the excellent artwork of the Luna Brothers. They bring a naturalistic style to the art that makes each character seem like a real person, and tell the story without a lot of flash. GREAT artwork, a decent story and this book is highly recommended. I never though I would ever recommend a comic with Spider-Woman, but this shows there are no bad characters, just poorly done stories using them.

42 REVELATIONS TP $17.95 DAR 2,380
43 BATTLE VIXENS VOL 9 GN (Of 10) (MR) $9.99 TKP 2,371
44 X-FACTOR LONGEST NIGHT PREM HC $19.99 MAR 2,361

X-Factor is a relaunched series by writer Peter David, who is capable of writing great comics. He shows here that when he's on, there are few people who handle the super-hero genre better. Starting by having the characters set up a detective agency, and taking the story forward from there, this series has a darker edge, and as it goes on, the characters become more interesting with each passing issue. Highly recommended.

45 V FOR VENDETTA TP $19.99 DC 2,361

Still selling. Still good. Better than the movie and the movie was damn good. Highly recommended.

46 WOMEN OF MARVEL TP $24.99 MAR 2,361

Another of Marvel's “Origins” books, this one focusing on the female characters. It shows that female super-heroes have really gotten the short end of the stick through the years, and most of the stories reprinted here are lame at best. Does the world need a reprint of Dazzler #1, Ms. Marvel #1 or Shanna The She Devil #1? Not really. Neither do you.

47 TSUBASA VOL 10 GN (Of 10) $10.95 RAN 2,332
48 CABLE DEADPOOL VOL 5 LIVING LEGENDS TP $13.99 MAR 2,304
49 ULTIMATE X-MEN VOL 6 HC $29.99 MAR 2,294

Reprinting the 6th year's worth of this comic in hardcover for less than it would have cost to buy the individual issues. This is BY FAR the best way to buy this series, since it's written in longer story arcs, and the hardcovers are printed a bit bigger than the comics, so the art looks better. This X-Men series doesn't come with 40 years of back story or tie-ins to five other books every month. A solid super-hero series in a GREAT format.

50 DECIMATION SENTINEL SQUAD ONE TP $13.99 MAR 2,275

Another of the follow-up mini-series from House of M, this one about the people who run the new Sentinels That's right, a comic book series about people who run giant mutant hunting robots. If that sounds interesting to you, our tastes are just too different for me to be of any help to you.

51 THING IDOL OF MILLIONS TP $20.99 MAR 2,236

This trade reprints all eight issues of this sadly canceled series. The Thing was once one of Marvel's most popular characters, but over the years, a combination of poor writing and neglect has made it so people aren't as interested any more. This book shows why that is a damn shame. The book is well drawn, but it has good, solid super-hero stories that are fun to read, and remind us why Ben Grimm is such a great character. Highly recommended, and a great book for casual readers.

52 MICKEY MOUSE ADVS VOL 11 TP $7.95 GEM 2,217
53 ROBIN DAYS OF FIRE & MADNESS $12.99 DC 2,208

The Robin series at DC is emerging from quite a few years of bad stories and endless tie-ins that made the comic have to struggle to live on it's own. The trade reprints those last few issues where the book may have featured Robin, but the stories just didn't fit. In this one, he's recruited for some military operation and three issues into the story, I lost all interest. The book won't help with that at all.

54 SPIDER-MAN VISIONARIES KURT BUSIEK VOL 1 TP $19.99 MAR 2,169

I'm kind of shocked that they called this new run of trade paperbacks “Visionaries” since they normally save that for creators who are known for hugely popular runs on a character, and this reprints a great series called “Untold Tales Of Spider-Man” that sold poorly and was ignored by most fans at the time. The stories are set in Spider-Man's early career and actually fit in with the old Lee/Ditko stories without feeling like they are just a big fanboy wank.

55 STRANGERS IN PARADISE VOL 18 LOVE & LIES TP $14.95 ABS 2,131
56 GIRL GENIUS VOL 5 TP $19.95 STU 2,054
57 IRON MAN INEVITABLE TP $14.99 MAR 2,035

This was a mini-series put into production because the regular Iron Man series was running so late, people didn't know Marvel was publishing the character any more. It reads like an extra long fill-in story and is instantly forgotten when it's over. For Iron Man fans only...hey, are there any Iron Man fans?

58 X-STATIX PRESENTS DEAD GIRL TP $13.99 MAR 2,025

I wish this comic sold better. While it SAYS it's a X-Statix story, it's really a Doctor Strange story by the creative team of the brilliant X-Statix comic that pokes fun at the fact that Marvel characters just can't seem to stay dead. Collected as a trade, it reads much better than it did as a monthly comic, and the art by Mike Allred looks so much like 60's Marvel that it almost seems like a lost Marvel comic from the Silver Age, although the story is completely, wonderfully insane. There are fight scenes, the return of long-dead characters who actually stay dead and great characterization through the entire book. Not for people who take their comics overly serious, but a great read. Highly recommended.

59 YOSHITAKA AMANO HERO VOL 1 PX HC $19.99 BOO 2,025
60 WILL EISNERS SPIRIT ARCHIVES VOL 19 HC $49.99 DC 1,987
61 WATCHMEN TP $19.99 DC 1,958

Yep, STILL selling almost 20 years since it wrapped up. A great story and always highly recommended.

62 ULTIMATE X-MEN VOL 6 RETURN OF THE KING TP $16.99 MAR 1,814
63 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST VOL 9 TP $9.99 VIZ 1,814
64 TEEN TITANS GO VOL 5 OF THE MOVE TP $6.99 DC 1,795
65 BOOK OF LOST SOULS TP $16.99 MAR 1,766

Marvel has started up a “creator owned” imprint, and so far it's just Powers and this book, which sold poorly. This trade reprints the entire series, but it feels more like a pilot for a new series than a complete story. It has excellent art by Colleen Doran, but the story just doesn't live up to it.

66 STAR WARS DARK EMPIRE II TP 2ND ED $19.95 DAR 1,747

In this book, Dark Horse fixes a problem they have had with the “Dark Empire” books for years. They were incomplete! Dark Empire was the first major Star Wars work after “Return of the Jedi”, and was written as a direct sequel to the movie with a clone of the Emperor, Luke falling to the Dark Side, and all sorts of great plot twists. The story was told in three mini-series: Two six issue minis and a two parter that wrapped everything up, but when they were collected, the two part finale was put into a smaller square bound comic that quickly fell out of print. Now, it's reprinted in this book, where it should have been.

If you are a Star Wars fan and haven't read the two Dark Empire trades, go get the NOW. They are direct sequels that make the “prequel” movies look even worse than they ended up. GREAT stories for anyone who even just liked the three original Star Wars movies, and probably even better than “Return of the Jedi”. Highly recommended.

67 WALKING DEAD VOL 1 DAYS GONE BYE TP (MR) $9.95 IMA 1,728

This fantastic zombie series is still in the top 100 after over two years. This series like like the “Dark Side Of The Moon” of comic book paperbacks. Highly recommended.

68 ULTIMATE X-MEN VOL 9 TEMPEST TP $10.99 MAR 1,728
69 GRENADIER VOL 1 GN (Of 7) $9.99 TKP 1,718
70 FANTASTIC FOUR RESURRECTION OF NICHOLAS SCRATCH TP $14.99 MAR 1,708

Reprinting the last few issues of the failed “Marvel Knights” Fantastic Four series. This series was a downbeat, depressing version of the FF that had lost their money and had to live as “normal people”, which means that the creators didn't understand the concept of the Fantastic Four at all. The reason the FF is a great comic is because they are simple characters thrown into Fantastic situations, but this attempt as a ground-level super-hero book was dull and listless. Pass.

71 KINGDOM HEARTS VOL 4 GN (Of 4) $5.99 TKP 1,680
72 CHIBI VAMPIRE VOL 2 GN (Of 7) (MR) $9.99 TKP 1,680
73 WIZARD MARK SILVESTRI MILLENNIUM LTD DLX HC $29.99 WIZ 1,660

Mark Silvestri is one of those artists that I just don't get. I find his over overly busy, all of his female faces look exactly the same, and much of the time, he is unable to tell a story for all of the crosshatching and “pin-up” art. If you like his stuff, this is a nice hardcover collection of it, but if you aren't already a fan, all this book will do for you is give you a headache. Pass.

74 FABLES VOL 7 ARABIAN NIGHTS & DAYS TP (MR) $14.99 DC 1,641

Fables is one of Vertigo's better series, and is a great “urban fantasy” putting storybook and fairy tale characters in a modern, realistic world. It's a great series, but the books don't stand on their own very well, so while this is a great book, it's great for the people who've read the other 6 volumes. #1 is highly recommended, and you'll eventually get to this one.

75 YU GI OH DUELIST VOL 16 TP $7.95 VIZ 1,612
76 CONCRETE VOL 6 STRANGER ARMOR TP $12.95 DAR 1,603
77 KICKBACK HC $12.95 DAR 1,584
78 LITTLE LULU COLOR SP TP $13.95 DAR 1,574

Every time a new collection comes out, I recommend Little Lulu. Dark Horse is doing a great job of reprinting these timeless stories that don't read at all like they are from the 40's, and can truly be enjoyed by all ages. This Color Special is a collection of stories from the entire 30 year run of the series, and is a great sampler to see just why this is considered one of the all time classic series. Highly recommended.

79 Y THE LAST MAN VOL 1 UNMANNED TP $12.99 DC 1,574

The first book in this well done series about the world after a disease has wiped out all male mammals. It's been selling well since it came out, and is, as always, highly recommended.

80 SUPERMAN BATMAN VOL 2 SUPERGIRL TP $12.99 DC 1,565
81 TENJHO TENGE VOL 9 $9.99 DC 1,565
82 BECAUSE IM THE GODDESS VOL 1 GN (Of 3) (MR) $9.99 TKP 1,545
83 PLASTIC MAN ARCHIVES VOL 8 HC $49.99 DC 1,536

Plastic Man is another of the Archives that is accessible to modern readers. I hope that DC reprints these stories in a cheaper format sometime soon, since they are STILL fresh and funny fifty years later. Highly recommended.

84 LITTLE LULU VOL 11 APRIL FOOLS TP $9.95 DAR 1,536

See what I said about the Little Lulu color special up above? It is applicable for this book as well, except this book reprints the stories in black and white, and in the order they were printed. Highly recommended for all ages.

85 BLEACH VOL 15 TP $7.95 VIZ 1,536
86 SUIKODEN III VOL 10 GN (Of 11) (MR) $9.99 TKP 1,469
87 BEST OF CURSE OF THE SPAWN TP $16.99 IMA 1,469

This is a trade paperback that reprints a bunch of issues in the same format as the “Essential” and “Showcase” books. It's a nice format, but the stories are such a Gawd Awful mess that it's not worth the trouble. The black and white format also highlights just how much the art is dependent upon the coloring for the separations to make it all make sense.

88 FALLEN ANGEL IDW VOL 1 TP $19.99 IDW 1,459

Fallen Angel was the book that renewed my faith in Peter David's writing ability. For the longest time, his writing had fallen into being overly joke-y and self-referential, but when this series started at DC, he showed he could handle the series stories, and didn't have to depend on years of built-up continuity The series was “let go” by DC, and since David owned it, he was able to take it to a different publisher and start it over. This book collects the first five issues of the new series, has painted artwork instead of the line-based art in the DC run, and goes much darker with this story. You don't need to have read any of it to get started, and this book is highly recommended.

89 YU GI OH MILLENNIUM WORLD VOL 4 TP $7.95 VIZ 1,449
90 FAMILY GUY VOL 1 GN (Of 3) $6.95 DDP 1,440

This was one of the top books last month, and is still selling. It's written by one of the writers of the TV show, but hold off on buying it, since the publisher will be reprinting the three issues in an actual trade paperback (instead of this 48 page square bound comic) by the Holiday season.

91 LULLABY VOL 2 POWER GRABBER TP $14.99 ALI 1,440
92 SPIDER-GIRL PRESENTS AVENGERS NEXT VOL 1 DIGEST TP $7.99 MAR 1,430

The “Spider-Girl” series is set in a possible future of the Marvel Universe where Spider-man's daughter May didn't get...um...vanished as she was in the normal Marvel storylines. This reprints the first six issues of a spin-off series set in the same possible future, and reads like a typical 80's Marvel comic, with soap opera plots on top of super-hero fight scenes. It's like reading a nostalgia book even though it's fairly recent. Mildly recommended.

93 ABSOLUTE BOYFRIEND VOL 2 GN $8.99 VIZ 1,430
94 PHANTOM LAW OF THE JUNGLE GN $11.99 MOO 1,401
95 Y THE LAST MAN VOL 7 PAPER DOLLS TP (MR) $14.99 DC 1,363
96 GIRLS BRAVO VOL 5 GN (Of 10) (MR) $9.99 TKP 1,353
97 MARVEL MASTERWORKS INVINCIBLE IRON MAN VOL 3 HC VAR ED 65 $54.99 MAR 1,325

Just barely making the list is the “rare variant” cover for this Masterwork, and the regular cover didn't sell well enough to make it on the list. So, since the rare cover has more copies than the regular one...

Anyway, Iron Man is one of the lesser Marvel series of the 60's, and the Masterworks are a great package for people who really want the best presentation of the material. If you are interested in the Iron Man stories of the 60's, you can get a LOT more of them (albeit in black and white) for a much cheaper price in Iron Man Essentials, and these stories are reprinted in the second volume of that series. For hard-core collectors only.

98 REX MUNDI VOL 3 LOST KINGS TP $16.95 DAR 1,305
99 WANTED SC (MR) $19.99 IMA 1,296
100 GERARD & JACQUES VOL 1 GN (Of 2) (MR) $9.99 TKP 1,296

And that's it for another month! Thanks for reading!

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