The Top 50 Selling Graphic Novels for September 2002

This list comes from digging through sales figures, asking too many questions and using Diamond Comics information. The snotty comments in white are mine.

1     LONE WOLF & CUB VOL 26 BATTLE IN DARK TP (MR)      DAR      13,033

The best graphic novel series ever and possibly the best comic series of all time.  The story of a masterless samurai and his small son is well known in Japan and is finally getting a full reprinting here.  I praise it every month, and this month is no different.  Highly Recommended.

2     MARVEL ENCYCLOPEDIA HC    MAR      8,263

The new version of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe with character stats, costume designs and a bunch of other stuff that bores me beyond tears.  I have no clue how much Spider-Man can bench press, and if I ever need that information, please shoot me in the back of the head immediately.

3     LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN BOOK ONE TP      DC      8,001

Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's wonderfully entertaining mini-series of a group of Victorian heroes teaming up to fight evil.  It's such a great idea, I can't believe no one has tried it before.  Well worth reading, just to see Mina Harker and Captain Nemo interact...Highly Recommended.

4     BATMAN DARK VICTORY TP    DC      5,280

A tale of Batman's second year, a year long mystery sequel to "Dark Halloween" and a much better mystery than the first one was.  I loved it so much I bought it in Hardcover.  If you haven't read it yet, it is one of the better Batman stories with beautifully moody art.  Highly Recommended.

5      MIDNIGHT NATION TP      IMA      4,426

One of JMS's miniseries for Top Cow, so the breakdown is a very good story and the art is filled with tons of computer color effects and huge breasts.  Highly recommended if you don't mind stick women with breasts bigger than their head cluttering up the art.

6     GI JOE VOL 4 TP      MAR      4,107

Marvel continues their project to reprint their 80's GI Joe series in trade paperbacks.  I hated these comics when they came out, and they have soured with age.

7      ESSENTIAL DAREDEVIL VOL 1 TP      MAR      3,863

Nice to see a new Essential, even though I hear Marvel may discontinue them.  Bastards.  Daredevil was one series where Stan Lee didn't have a balancing influence like Ditko or Kirby, so the soap opera stuff went quickly out of control in a goofily fun way.  For $15 you get over 20 issues of a fun Silver Age comic with art by Wally Wood and John Romita.  BUY IT!

8     BONE VOL 8 TREASURE HUNTERS SC      CAR      3,767

Bone reads much better as a collected edition, but it has still slowed to a snail's pace, and is missing the infectious fun of the earlier books.  Buy it only if you want to complete your set.

9      SPIDER-MAN PETER PARKER RETURN O/T GOBLIN TP      MAR      3,724

Bringing back the Green Goblin after 25 years was one of the worst ideas from the past 10 years.  I'm surprised that Marvel hasn't buried it and the people behind it in a ditch somewhere (although they did fire the Editor in Chief and Editor behind it).  I hated this story when it saw print because of what it did to continuity, and it hasn't gotten any better.  The Goblin should have stayed dead.

10    ASTRO BOY VOL 8 TP      DAR      3,671

11    INCREDIBLE HULK VOL 2 TP MORNING AFTER MAR      3,619

The first trade showed that writer Bruce Jones had found a new, entertaining approach to the Hulk...it must have sold well, since they rushed out this skimpy trade soon after the first one, only reprinting 5 issues.  Hey Marvel, we like the trades, but they be a bit bigger for the money we shell out?

12    TRANSFORMERS DARK DESIGNS GN      TIT      3,580

13    SUPERMAN IN FIFTIES TP      DC      3,541

These are some of the goofiest stories in comics history.  I know a lot of people are nostalgic for this type of stuff, but as you read the clichéd stories with the endless gimmicks you'll see why Marvel was such a breath of fresh air in the 60's.

14    NEW X-MEN HC      MAR      3,480

The first year of Grant Morrison's run in a hardcover.  If you don't already have these stories as individual issues or in the trade paperbacks, this is a fine collection that is well worth the money.  Highly recommended.

15    EXPO 2002 ANTHOLOGY      CBL      3,118

This yearly anthology of stories by small press artists is thick enough that it can withstand a few bad stories.  I buy it every year as a sampler to expose me to new creators, and it's always got enough good stories to make me feel like it was worth the money.  Recommended for people who want to try new stuff or think that comics are all super-hero stories.

16    OH MY GODDESS FINAL EXAM TP    DAR      3,078

17    LOVE HINA VOL 6 GN    TKP      3,000

18    ART OF JOSEPH MICHAEL LINSNER HC      IMA      2,996

This man has made a huge career out of drawing one character, and his art in amazing when it comes to that one character.  It would be nice to see him try a few other things (like his Killraven one shot for Marvel), but this is pretty much a BIG Dawn pin-up book.

19    FORGE #6 (Note Price)      CRO      2,904

CrossGen's monthly compilation series has gone up to $12, but it's still a nice way to read the company's output, which always looks good, even if some of the stories aren't the best.  OK, the ones by Barbara Kesel are painfully unreadable shit, but they look good at least.

20    BATMAN WORLD'S FINEST ARCHIVES VOL 1 HC  DC      2,873

More Batman Golden Age stories, long after the initial rush of the first two years.  These haven't been reprinted before, and should be OK reading for Golden Age fans, of which I am one.  But not a book for casual comics readers, or even most modern comics fans.

21    CHOBITS VOL 3 GN      TKP      2,847

22    EDGE #6 (Note Price)      CRO      2,817

The other CrossGen Compilation book.  Same thing applies as applies to Forge.  Why this one sells 100 copies less, I have no idea.

23      PHANTOM VOL 3 GN TREASURES OF BANGALLA      MNS      2,664

24    IN SHADOW OF EDGAR ALLAN POE HC (MR)      DC      2,660

A Vertigo hardcover I know nothing about.

25      THUNDER AGENTS ARCHIVES VOL 1 HC  DC      2,533

I read that DC is disappointed over the sales of this book, and probably won't finish up reprinting the series, which will be a damn shame.  This was a series by Tower Comics in the 60's with art by Ditko, Wally Wood and other artists of similar caliber.  The few stories I have read were well done, have held up over time and were worth getting if you are a Silver Age fan.  Highly Reccomended even if it's just for the art, and the stories are well-done Silver Age Super-Hero stuff.

26    ARCHIE AMERICANA SER BEST OF 40S VOL 2      ARC      2,363

More Archie stories from the 40's.  The first volume was interesting, and showed trends among teenagers during and right after WWII, but it wasn't until the mid 50's that Archie stories were good enough to read so long after the fact.

27    X-MEN VISIONARIES JIM LEE TP (RES) MAR      2,280

I really really disliked Jim Lee's art on the X-Men.  I know it makes me a minority, but read these stories and try to make sense of them without knowing 10 years of comic book history. 

28    HAMMER O/T GODS MORTAL ENEMY TP    IMA      2,237

By the artist of POWERS, so at least the story will look great.  I haven't read it yet.  Like I have time to read EVERYTHING.

29    FUTURAMA O RAMA VOL 1 TP      BON      2,137

Reprinting the first few issues of the Futurama comic book, which in some ways was funnier than the TV show.  Highly recommended.

30    SIGIL VOL 3 TP LIZARD GOD      CRO      2,115

31    INU YASHA VOL 12 TP    VIZ      2,054

A Japanese series by the creator of Ranma 1/2, Lum and Maison Ikkoku.  While not one of her better series, it still has a nice mix of humor, romance and action.  Recommended for Manga fans. 

32    DV8 NEIGHBORHOOD THREAT TP (MR)  DC      2,041

33    QUEEN & COUNTRY VOL 2 MORNING STAR TP (MR)      ONI      2,010

34    SCION VOL 3 TP DIVIDED LOYALTIES      CRO      1,997

35    ELEKTRA LIVES AGAIN HC NEW PRTG (RES)      MAR      1,962

36    SPIDER-MAN TANGLED WEB VOL 3 TP      MAR      1,936

37    SKREEMER TP (MR)      DC      1,919

38    ESSENTIAL UNCANNY X-MEN VOL 1 TP NEW PRTG      MAR      1,892

39    BILLI 99 TP DAR      1,892

40    DRAGONBALL VOL 9 TP    VIZ      1,879

41    GTO VOL 6 GN      TKP      1,849

42    STAR TREK NEXT GENERATION GORN CRISIS TP    DC      1,810

43    BTVS DEATH OF BUFFY TP      DAR      1,801

44    REAL BOUT HIGH SCHOOL VOL 4 GN    TKP      1,709

45    DEADLINE TP MAR      1,557

46    WISH VOL 2 GN      TKP      1,526

47    CERES CELESTIAL LEGEND VOL 2 YUHI TP      VIZ      1,448

48    ART OF JOSEPH MICHAEL LINSNER LTD ED HC IMA      1,435

49    MORGANA BOOK 1 HC HEAVENS GATE (MR)  HUM      1,417

50    FLOOD NOVEL IN PICTURES TP      DAR      1,417